In between..

I am:

-In between races. IMCDA out of the way, Vineman next Sunday.
-In between trips. Just got home from Ohio, heading for the West coast on Thursday.
-In between feeling excited about Vineman and just saying to hell with it. Just going to show up!-
-In between laundry loads again!
-In between being sick but almost totally healthy again. Still cough at times.
-In between spring and fall.
-In between riding my road bike and my tri bike. Tri Cervelo is in the LBS which is, shall we say, "disorganized" at best and can't seem to get to my bike after a week just to tweak it after cables have streched. Grrrrr....

So it is an "in between" week so far. I just left my girls back in Ohio, my people, my oldest bestest friends in the world after what seemed like a 3 day slumber party all over again. We laughed, gossiped, played, drove by old boyfriends' houses, our old houses, old haunts where we use to hang back when life was simple. We shopped we ate, then ate some more. Seems like we were never away and it has been about 35 years since we graduated high school. Here we are now (with the last mom that lives in my home town). I am on the end right:

I miss the old days! Sigh...

Pictures tell it all..

New duds..

I have had an interesting training week. Monday I swam, Monday night I coughed all night. Tuesday back to the Dr. and got new antibiotics. Today rode 40 miles on my road bike, coughing is less with the new meds. I am getting really annoyed by the lingering cough. The Dr. says it is allergy related (infection) and that we have had 2 bad allergy years and the weather here in the SW is changing. Can anyone say global warming? I really hope this does not continue to be an issue, this whole coughing thing-I am nice to the environment-shouldn't I have good karma for that? I am a little worried about upcoming Vineman 70.3. There was a brief sense of dread that came up today while riding-like who the hell do I think I am signing up for 2 big races so close to each other? WTF??

I am headed to Ohio tomorrow to spend the weekend with my oldest friends in the world. My three best girlfriends from small town Ohio. We met when I was in the 4th grade. Once every few years we all get together and it is like we have never been apart, or grown up..We laugh and reminisce, just like high school..These girls know me better than anyone else, except Hartley I suppose. There is something about seeing the folks you grew up with that is special and rare. The people who knew you before life set in, tainting your perspective, rubbing you raw in places that were once innocent. They knew me in my baby skin, which is now all wrinkled and spotted. Finding memories that have been long forgotten in the recesses of my old menopausal mind..peeps who knew me at my awkward adolescent stage and still love me anyway. I am truly looking forward to this..

Retail therapy: I got me one of these today for an early birthday present (only 2 mos. early). Will be trying it out in the lake tomorrow and hopefully wearing it at Vineman.

You know the ride is going south when..

1. You get your bike out to start the ride and it has a staple in the back tire.

2. You hit a bump and lose your yellow thingy that goes in your aero bottle and don't realize it until you are up the hill. You decide to get it on the way back, never find it and end up spilling liquids all over yourself at every bump. Sticky liquids!

3. Your favorite Ruby sunglasses you have had for years break in the middle of the ride and you end up riding without one of the side ear pieces and have sticky stuff from all the liquids on the remaining sunglasses.

4. You lose your Garmin at yet another bump, don't realize it for 3 miles, then have to ride uphill to go get it. You find it in the road and luckily it has not been run over.

5. You don't take enough nutrition and end up bonking on the brick/run after the bike.

6. It is 95 degrees and you wish you were in the 55 degree water at IMCDA again!

So that was my ride today. Not my best but did 57 miles and a wimpy 1 mile walk/run afterwards. Scarfed down a Dion's sandwich at record pace afterwards. Whew! Made it...

Random dream and thoughts..

-I had a dream that I got lost at the Danskin Tri and still got first place. It was in the snow (Iknow-it is a dream you know). They did not have splits but I definitely won the swim.

-There are 27 women in my AG at Vineman. Not that I am really training or anything. The only training I have done since IMCDA is an hour run and my legs are sore..uh-oh..

-I'm heading out to the lake this AM to swim with H and the tri couple down the street. They rented a kayak so what the heck? I only have to bring my wetsuit, cap and goggles this time. What a treat with no extra warmth layers!

-This cough is getting downright annoying and I am running out of cough medicine (the good kind for night). Damn!

-My back lawn is dying for no particular reason. What a major pain in the butt!

-I feel grumpy!

Addendum: I went for a 1.2 mile OW swim this AM and did it in 40 min. Amazing how without all the extraneous sh%^$&*t how fast I can be! Oh and the water-like a bath of 68 degrees. Ohmmmmmm........