She's back!!

OK, almost a month has gone by since my last update. Shortly after my bike debacle I flew to Mexico for a lovely mini-vacation. Upon my return I got sick ... and stayed that way for at least two weeks as my symptoms morphed from sore throat and fever to an ultimate chest cold. Now that there's all the press about the swine flu ... I wonder if I could have caught that? Doesn't really matter now that I'm better, but I do think I will heed the advice to STAY home and quarantine yourself when sick.

And then I went to Santa Fe for a lovely mini-vacation with the 'rents. Strange being alone with them for days on end, riding in the backseat of the van, without any other company! We had a splendid time, walked at least 10,000 steps a day at high altitude and saw many new things. So today's jolt back into the reality of tri training was a bit of a jolt. One hour of spin class at 6 am followed by a 3 mile run. A nice mini-brick as prep for the SCARY mock-triathlon on Saturday which will be a full Olympic distance. Someone will be there, as a volunteer, to count my laps as I swim the distance in the pool. My question is ... will I drown?? Can I go the distance? I'm getting in an extra swim session by going tomorrow AM, not that it will help me physically, but psychologically it will give me a boost.

Another curious thing happened ... I actually had people talk to me after the spin class and run alongside a while. I've made friends in the swim group, but the run and bike classes tend to be much more solitary. The funniest part was discussing what to wear for the mock on Saturday ... one other Athena asked me what I wore as she was a bit nervous, so I gave her my advice (tri-suit with sports bra on underneath for the swim and bike, and a t-shirt added for the run). Frankly, its all about making sure the girls are compressed and held tight. When I finished the run and was waiting at a stoplight for the final three blocks, another Y-tri caught up to me. We too discussed the joys of spandex and shoes- what made it most endearing, however was each of us commenting on the fact that people who are 200+ should not be running. Or at least, that is what we're told, whether by shoe salesmen, or smaller athletes. But we persevere and I'm excited to think I have someone that I can actually do the race with in Philly as we're pretty matched in the bike and run portions, and I believe in the swim as well.

Stay tuned ... birthday soiree tomorrow now has sixteen people in attendance ... I promise to be a good shopper at Costco tonight with healthy alternatives for everyone!