Do you see that ticker??

Goose here. I know. It's been awhile. Hi.

That triathlon ticker currently says 2 DAYS!! Wow, I remember when it said 100 days.

So. I am ready! Let's get on with it already.

Training with my partner in crime, H, has been steady for months now. I learned to ride my bike outside and switch the gears to maximize my abilities on hills and straitaways. I still get lapped by H on our rides.

I discovered I was a natural swimmer and have, in all honesty, only swam laps a handful of times because I am not really even worried about that portion...although more on that in a little bit.

I feel confident in the run. My speed has noticably increased to me in the last few weeks.

H and I have done several bike to run bricks. We have a favorite n'hood that is rolling hills and we ride back and forth for 10 miles in that n'hood, which has a couple really killer hills, and then we run 3 miles. I figure 10 miles on these killer hills has to be harder than 12 miles in the race on flatter ground.

So all was going well until last weekend. I fell sick! I mean, sick, sick. Like flu, with horribly painful swollen glands, sore throat, terrible body aches, fever. I started feeling it Sat, but stuck with our very fun family dinner plans with friends, Sun. I stayed in bed all morning until I rallied to head to inlaws for the rest of the day, where I felt mostly awful and even took a nap, but tried to rally here and there. Monday, I never got out of bed the entire day.

I was freaking out thinking I needed to work out and was going to derail all my efforts. i plied myself with Zicam, vitamin C, and Goody's body ache powder. By Tues. I thought I would live and pushed myself to do a 3 mile run which went fine. I was starting to feel a little encouraged that I had beat this thing, when the cough started. Now I have an insessant, horrible cough. So bummed. But what can you do. I have not worked out the rest of the week. I am a little nervous about that, but I guess you are supposed to take it easy in the last week, so I am trying to bank on that.

So last night I started looking up newbie triathlon articles to find out what to wear and what to pack, eat, etc and what the experience might be like. I was most interested in the swim portion articles and stories about what the lake swim experience would be like. It is going to be much different than the clear, lane lined lap swims I am used to. All the articles say that you WILL panic in the first minute or two, but then you will get over it and be fine. So I am just visualizing that I will start strong and get out ahead of my group so I don't have to be sloshed around with everyone flailing and panicking...it is a first tri for all of us, afterall.

Aside from being sick, my biggest fear is that as I get underway it will feel harder than I am expecting it to...my biggest hope is that it will feel easier than I am expecting it to.

My goals are to land in the top half of my age group, and to finish in 1:30-1:45. We shall see.

I am just ready to get on with it.

Maverick arrives today.