Well, this is awkward. I'm so used to writing this blog under the assumption that approximately seven people read it, four of them being my family, that I'm afraid of being too ... well ... impolitic or graphic or plain boring.
Och, what the hell. You all know me and shouldn't be surprised by anything I write.
For those of you who have been following along, you'll know that when you last left your heroine, she was facing some pretty tough times at work. Well, as of today, I no longer have a job. Oy. Bit of a bugger, but I know it is the very very best thing for me and the timing really could not have been perfect. As much as I didn't need the drama the week before my Ironman, truth to tell, I prefer a crying jag or two each day to eight hours of anxiety and unhappiness. And the even better news is that I can now take all the time in the world to spend with our uncle and cousin who arrive from New Zealand on Monday.
Did I ever tell you about them? Possibly not because it was to have been a surprise for Mark. In our entire extended, combined family, Garth and Mel are the two who are most likely to understand why we do this crazy sport. They're both cyclists and Garth is an amateur road racer. The day I heard they were coming, I jumped up and down in my office screaming. For a few weeks, I kept the secret to myself - I was going to pick them up from the train station an bring them home to Mark. But then my very very wise MIL suggested that just perhaps, I might consider telling Mark so that he could enjoy the anticipation of the visit. She was right and thank goodness - I can't imagine having to do all the prep by myself with everything else going on! And now I have three whole people who will be at the race to specially cheer for me. I am such a lucky person.
So you see, I am extraordinarily happy to have this precious time with them and to be free of the dark cloud that has been the past few months.
And because I can't ever go quietly, I arranged a happy hour last night with my friends at work and had just a lovely time. I even was given a poem that one of my staff members had written specially for me. Let me tell you - every 40 something year old woman should have the pleasure of receiving a poem written for them. Hear that, guys?
Let's see - what else has happened this week? My graphic designer friend totally came through with two beautiful tattoo designs that met all my criteria. I can't wait to see the finished design and get it inked. Course, I have to earn it first!
Workouts have gone well too. I visited the track and saw some of my running peeps on Thursday and ran my last 'long' run this morning - only an hour, so a weird definition of 'long.' A short ride on tap for tomorrow and then some play time with my friends.
Something I do have to do over the next couple of days is write up a race plan - a document that will lay out exactly what I'm to do at each stage in the race and before, and what I'll do if things go wrong. Our coach gave us some wonderful advice for coping with adversity. For instance, if I have a flat tire, stop, get off my bike and cheer for the first ten cyclists who pass me before I attempt to change the tube. That way I don't panic and shred a second tube in my haste, and get to focus on something other than my crisis. And put something you REALLY love in your special needs bag on the run. I wonder if toffee pops will survive the heat?
Weather for the day right now looks kind of crummy, but it's the mountains and anything could happen, no matter what the forecast says. We'll be taking all our wet weather and cold weather gear for the sherpas - I learned the hard way last year about how miserable it can be if you dress for summer and get wet early on. And we'll be taking large, heavy duty garbage bags.
I think that's all for now. Cherrio.
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