Chicken

I'm such a chicken. I told myself I was going to get a new bike today... to bring Speedy home. (I'm trying this nickname... we'll see what happens). Buuuut, here I sit and my will to walk out the door and drop many $$$ is faltering. In a desperate attempt to do something towards acquiring a bike, I emailed the salesman I talked to when I ventured down to browse last week. Along with buying a bike (as if that isn't enough), I think I will purchase a 'bike fit' which is a three-ish hour ordeal where they will adjust the bike specifically to me and my flexibility (...uhoh) and everything that will produce efficiency and prevent injury. Hard to argue with that, except for the fact that it will be $150 extra. GEEEEEEEEEEZ PEOPLE. And that is the 'discounted' price. Seriously, it's usually $300. So I emailed asking how it will all go down. It's a long process after all, and I feel like said fitting needs to be scheduled. I am all about efficiency so I don't want to have to go down buy the bike, then go back AGAIN to do the bike fit. One trip. One sweep. Thankyouverymuch, goodbye. So we'll see. I am insisting it's smart planning... but that little voice keeps making chicken 'bocking' noises at me.

Went swimming on Monday with my co-worker/triathlon buddy. Swimming is so different. I wasn't mentally prepared to do a good work out. I get nervous when swimming with someone I know, it's ridiculous. I can go and be in a pool full (ick) of people I don't know and be absolutely fine, but the second I even slightly recognize one of them I flip out. So that'll be an adjustment. I'm hoping to go again today.

My goggles irritate my eyes more than anything and that irritates me! How am I supposed to train appropriately if doing so leaves my eyes SO PUFFY (puffy enough that multiple people ask 'Oh my gosh what is wrong?!') and red and dry. It's gross, it's uncomfortable, and it's annoying. My goggles are latex free, so that shouldn't be a problem. I wear eyeshadow maybe once a week, so I have a hard time accepting that it's an allergic reaction. If it's mascara that I'm allergic to, I'll grin an bear it because lets get serious folks-- mascara is my security blanket.

Anywhoooo--- I registered for the Chicago Tri-- eek! It's exciting but daunting and makes my stomach knot. By not participating in TNT this year I don't have the reassuring thought that I have a plan and a 60 person support group to help me train appropriately. Ahh to be nerrrvous. My goal this week is to register for the sprint in June (either one in Naperville or Twin Lakes). We'll see.

The Hills are Alive in Chicago...?

I've been running outside to try to prepare for the Shamrock Shuffle (which I AM running-- I finally found someone to work for me that day!). The weather has been gorgeous for a couple of days here and there, who am I to not embrace it? Real sunlight and warmth do SO MUCH GOOD for my soul. I am very grateful for the good weather-- no matter how sporadic it may be.
Anyways-- you know you're out of shape when you think "man this hill is steep" whilst running in CHICAGO. Yowzer. There are slight slight inclines between my apartment and the lake...inclines that I didn't even notice six months ago. Now they make my snails pace even slower and that irritates me.

The girls I'm coaching won their game today-- big time. This is especially nice since on Thursday they lost-- biggER time. I am pleased that they were successful and hope we can continue on that note as the season continues. I got a little bit of a sun tan, too. What a day!

Speedster

Bike.
I've convinced a co-worker to embrace the triathlon season with me. The two of us went to Element Multi Sport on Tuesday to view their bicycle (and overall triathlon equipment) selection.

Meet the Speedster S40.

This is the bike I think I'm going to get. It is not a triathlon bike, and I am okay with that mostly because to get a triathlon bike (vs. a road bike) would require close to an extra $1,000. I think a road bike will be a large enough step up from the great Iron Horse that I won't be kicking myself too hard for not taking the plunge for a full out tri bike (which I almost think they should call a tri-cycle... but whatever).

So I walked away from the bike shop with a catalog of bikes and a business card and the aftermath of a myocardial infarction. I've known that this was going to cost a lot, but it doesn't make it any easier to come to grips with the price tag.

As I was talking to the salesman (who still insisted on remembering my open-water swimming incident...) he said that this bike would not be one I should use for my transportation around town, but solely for training and racing. =( He gave two legit reasons: 1) It can't take the wear and tear, and 2) It'll get stolen. Hard to argue I guess. All this is to say I am now looking for a functioning junker bike that I can use to get to work, the store, etc. Mas $$$. No bueno.

Progress is progress and I think I'll actually make the purchase sometime next week. Next step is to actually register for these races! Geez louise. I am going to need to take out another loan! Yowzer.

While Speedster S40 hardly has the same verbal impact as IRON HORSE, it is something I think I can warm up to. It's hard to argue with speed after all.

I'm back to the day shift, woohoo! First day back was absolutely insane due to measures beyond my control-- and it was a WEDNESDAY no less (multidisciplinary rounds... one more thing to do...). It is only typical of my luck though. I am so grateful to have some normalcy back. Yes.

Will Work for Race Registration $$$

I finally ran 5 miles. I thought I would be ecstatic when I got to 5, but my celebration is dampened by the pace I ran it at. I'm sooooo slow! Regardless, it is good to know that I can physically do the distance of the race coming up in two weeks. Ironically, though, I'm scheduled to work during the Shamrock Shuffle, and no one is jumping at the chance to switch weekends with me, so I might not even be able to go!

I went to Oprah and walked away empty handed. I don't know why I was convinced that EVERYONE gets some kind of giveaway at the Oprah show. But I was sorely mistaken. Her eyelashes look much more fake in person. They like extend out beyond the side of her face when looking face on. Gives her an Asian effect. I was also surprised by the fact she didn't really engage with the audience much aside from the scripted parts. I guess after decades of taping three shows a day (!!!) I wouldn't be super enthused about engaging strangers either... but still. A fun experience none the less.

I have found several races I want to participate in. A sprint triathlon in June, an Olympic in July, and assuming all goes well (or okay even) a half ironman in August. There is a half ironman in September which would be more appealing if it wasn't 205 miles away! The travel is the one thing that is making me hesitate with all these races, as none of them are in Chicago and reach-able by public transit. I've looked into car rental, but am deterred by the price-- especially since I am under the age limit of 25 years... that increases the price significantly. So we'll see. Sometimes I miss my parents chauffeuring me around. Another thing that makes me 'gulp' is the price! Each race is at LEAST $100 to register! Yowzer.. and most are more. No tengo dinero!

Give me Daylight or Give Me Death

Geography is not my forte, ask anyone who knows me.

But-- aren't there places in the world where the sun rises for only a few hours of the day during some seasons? If this is true (which I think it is...?) then that leads me to believe that there are some places in the world that the sun only goes DOWN for a few hours of the day. Where ever that is-- I will work the night shift THERE. Because then on my nights off, at least it will still be light outside and I can function outside my apartment despite the time being 3:00am.

I don't think that fear of what might happen is a good reason to avoid anything. ..Except when it's fear of what might happen while walking in Chicago at 3:00am because the bus and train lines don't run at that hour. Something about stray bullets and unwanted drunken attention keep me inside.

Ten more days until the DAY shift. Praise the Lord.

Sleep? At NIGHT? Pshhh

Being back on the night shift=uncontrollable insomnia=me being irritated.

--BUT--

The scheduling gods smiled upon me and I will be rotating back to days on the 18th!! YES-- 12 more days of this nonsense and i.am.back.to.normal. YES.

My goal for this month is to get serious about the quickly approaching triathlon season. This will consist of two main things:

1) Buying a bike. Still overwhelming. Still something I wish I could avoid. However, the temperature soared above 40 this past week so I brought out the Iron Horse for a spin... and reality came rushing back that I NEED a new bike. Even if I weren't going to do anymore bike-racing events-- I would still NEED a new bike.

2) Deciding which races I'm doing, and then registering for them to prevent sloth and procrastination on the training front. It should be exciting, and if I hadn't lost all ability to run somewhat decently, I might feel that excitement. But running is no longer something I enjoy, it's something I do because I 'have' to and it sucks. Woohoo, bring on training.

I've started to coach a soccer team at a high school near my alma mater. It makes me miss the sport. Despite unfortunate circumstances in my last year of competitive play and most teams I was on lost more than they won (ever since the FLAME in 4th grade...), I did enjoy playing. So it's fun to be back out on the field, even if it is watching and holding a whistle. It's a good activity that has been curing my sedentary lifestyle for the past week.

Ironically, the mascot of this team is the Mustang. I feel like there is some punn regarding the Iron Horse waited to be coined... but can't quite put my finger on it.