Bleh.

BIB NUMBERS: 1032 (me) and 1043 (Sweet Baboo). You can track us HERE

From the website: Bike course: 8 challenging hills, ranging from 2.9% - 8.9% grade and a quarter of a mile to 1.2 miles in length.

Run: 3 challenging hills, ranging from 10-14% (not the same hills as found on the bike course) grade. The hills are approximately 300 yards to 880 yards in length.

I just can't seem to do a flat race to save my life. :-( It's going to be HOT, too. Wait--can I just have one more month to train? The course cutoff time is 8 hours, which is my PR for a flat half iron. Eep. Other bloggers doing this race: Greyhound - Crazy Jane - SW Tri Gal - Sweet Baboo.

You can track us HERE.

I'm still heavy, not an ounce down since January. I'm getting pretty depressed about my weight; I'm 20 pounds heavier than I was this time last year, and 175 is a lot to haul around a long course with hills. I'm eating about 1500 calories a day and training. This used to work for me. No more. I don't know where to go from here. If eating less, and moving more, doesn't work - then what does?

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I lost my keys again. DAMMIT!! The last time I lost them, about a year ago, they were found outside, behind the air conditioning unit, 3 months later. I have no idea how they got there. My keys are definitely in my home, somewhere, and I've had enough of this $hit.

Last time, I bought one of Sharper Image's "now-you-can-find-it" things which isn't made any more, and good thing, too, because it was utter crap. You had to be within 2-3 feet and pointing it straight a the lost object, and there could be nothing covering the lost object, not a sheet of paper, item of clothing, nothing. I think it's safe to say that everything I have ever bought from SI has been utter crap.

I've ordered one of these: Find-One-Find-All and this time, I'm keeping the receipt.

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Yes, I have pre-race cranky craziness. You got a problem with that?

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In which I don't suck as badly as I thought I did. (Race Report)

I was ready for any excuse to avoid this race.  I remembered it from 2007, and remembered that it was HARD.  I hadn't done a multisport race since last August, and had just started running again about a month ago.  Throughout the winter I mostly sat and hated my shins for not healing, 

then hated my IT band.  Then there was the thyroid thing and exhaustion.  I woke up from my exhaustion two weeks ago to argue about whether I really needed this race.

Yesterday, we paid a guy to dig a hole.  He hit a sprinkler line we didn't know was there.  Water gushed.  We called someone.  Here it was, my excuse!  Well, there, see, we can't go to Los Alamos now...don't we have to stay and keep and eye on this?  

Sweet Baboo however, assured me the line was fixed.  We were going to Los Alamos.  and so we went.  As is my custom when anxiety is high, I binged.  My pre-race supper was 2 pieces of birthday cake (not mine), ice cream, 2 bags of chips, 2 candy bars, and some gatorade G2. 

The morning of the race, I was the spouse from hell.  I can't do this now;  I didn't get enough sleep.  I told you I need more sleep than this.  Oh, hell, I didn't think it w

as going to be so windy.  Dammit, I hate the wind.  You know I can't race at altitude!  What is it, 7000 feet up here?  Christ, it's cold!  I mean, really cold....Well, of course they screwed up my registration....OMG, I'm so not ready for this.  I don't know why I'm doing this.  I'm completely untrained.  I've barely been on my bike in the past 6 months, and yesterday when I did that 1 mile jog I couldn't catch my breath.  WTF was I thinking?  This is going to suck.  I mean, REALLY SUCK.  I will be WALKING my bike up those hills.  I'm so not r

eady for this!  Why am I here?  Why did I think I could do this?

Finally, Baboo leveled his gaze at me.  MISTY! he said sharply. Why don't you just...

then he stopped, took a deep breath, and his voice softened.  It's not 

going to be as bad as you think. It will be okay.  Okay?

Okay.

My front tire was flat.  Nobody could fix it, even the even bike mechanic, 

who didn't have the right tools to inflate a HED3 wheel.  Well, that's that!  I said triumpantly.  No bike, no duathlon.  I finally had a viable excuse not to do this. Yay!

But, my "friend" Karen suggested a solution, and she and Baboo inflated the tire, and then she announced happily to me that I would be able to race, after all.  

Yes, I said grimly.  THANKS for that.  

Karen laughed, knowing full well that I didn't want this, and knowing full well that I needed this.  

I chewed my lip and waited for the start, and then...

and then...

well, it wasn't as hard as I remembered it.  It wasn't as long as I remembered, or as hilly.  I ran the first 4k with about a 11 minute pace.  Then I spent 5 minutes in transition fiddling with my helmet, which for some mysterious reason was so tight that when I tried to put it on

, I choked and gagged.  What the hell, had my head gotten fatter?  I went to my car and dug around, emptying bags, looking for a tool to get the very tight buckle loosened.  Finally, I got the helmet on, and then got onto the bike, and headed out.  

and...amazingly, the bike wasn't as hard, either.  It seemed really, really short, shorter than I remember.  And not as hilly.  Why had I been dreading this race?  It sure was windy, though.  Crap.

But even still, amazingly, I was only a couple minutes behind 

my prevous time, even though I was far less trained an

d 15

 pounds heavier.  I took 1st Athena.  

Oh, I was definitely at the back of the pack.  But now, I feel a little more confident.  I'm ready for the next race.  Sweet Baboo, meanwhile, got first Clydesdale on the long course.  The prizes were glasses inscribed with the name of the race, in blue for first place.  We came home with a matched pair of them.  

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