Baby steps for Babies!
On a trail. With hills. I was chasing Barb. That speeds me up.
First "long run" this Saturday. Six miles. Going to try to do it somewhere on the Raleigh course. Have yet to run that long. Going to take it slooooow.
So, a few months ago, my pal Barb quit smoking.
She decided to do a Triathlon to deal with it.
I decided to support her and go along for the ride. And the swim. And the run.
On Sunday, June 28th, I completed my first Sprint Triathlon.
The day started at 4:45am. I hadn't really thought about breakfast so ended up having cold pizza and a Peppermint Patty.
Breakfast of Champions, right?
We arrived at the race site at 5:45am.
The instructions they sent over the day prior made the pre-race period seem complicated but in the end we easily got everything done (get chipped, body marked, set up transition area). They write your number all over your body and on the back of your leg they also write you age. Er.
Prior to the race, all participants submitted a 100m swim time. This time determined you start time for the swim. I didn't want to get trampled by other swimmers so I was very conservative about my time. Turns out I could have trampled some of the people in front of me. Next time I won't pad my swim time. And, I've got to get comfortable passing people (you need to tap them on the foot or grab their ankle or something) and I'll do flip turns as well (it just felt too crowded for that). Even with the slowdown of the folks in front of me I was ranked #42 for swimming out of 150+ women. I'm proud of this and know I can beat it.
I need to work on my transitions "wardrobe changes" if you will. My transition time from swimming to riding was almost as long as my swim. Doh! I'm definitely going to get a tri suit and I'll also remember to do basic things like have my shoes untied so that I can slip them on (I will also get the plastic things that tie your shoes for you). Silly rookie mistakes! I also need to research using sneakers and toe cages for the ride instead of clip ons. I guess the question is how much time do clip on shoes save versus how much time it take to put them on and take them off?
Here's me after the race with more thoughts on transitions
The ride was really nice. As people were passing me, I admit I was curious when they had started. I was seeing a lot of low numbers like 40, 56, 28, etc and I thought to myself "Damn, I'm #175 and I'm with the folks at the front of the pack." Until I remember that I was looking at their ages, not their start numbers. Whoops.
I took the ride as an opportunity to hydrate. Somehow I managed to drop my waterbottle while riding. It was a Carleton College Reunion waterbottle I had just gotten the weekend prior and it killed me not to stop and get it. And, I was worried about littering (concern about littering seemed to be a theme during this tri!).
I was most worried about the run. It's my weakest leg of the tri and I had to do it after a swim and a ride. My goal was just to run the whole run. And I did! It was also hillier than anything I had ever done but I made it. Hooray again. The water stations were intriguing. It's very hard to run and drink (Ahem, drink water). And when I was done I did not know what to do with the cup. Especially given what I had heard about being disqualified for littering. At the second water station I asked (while I was still running) and they told me just to throw it to the side. "Really?" I asked (still running). "I can litter?" Finally, I just threw the cup on the road. How liberating.
In the end, I was happy. I made it. And now I'm hooked. I'm planning on doing another Sprint Tri on August 9th. My birthday! I want to have a nice dinner at Bella Monica with my pals the night before and then hope some of them can attend the race the next morning to cheer me on. I think I can improve a lot now that I know how this works. I know for sure I can bring down my transition times. And, I want to up the distances a bit so I'm looking at an Olympic Tri in October.
Hey, I was named after the bionic woman, after all.
Yeah, not even 10 minute miles just yet.
But you gotta start somewhere.
So, I've started.
I began this run at 8:50. Temps were down and sun was going down. It was a perfecting setting for my first 3.1 attempt.
Facebook people go to this link for videos:
Throwing all common sense to the wind, Jamie and I signed up to foster four kittens last night.
Jamie's Note: I didn't sign anything.
Jamie's Note: A video of us on the drive over to Petsmart
I know, I know. Move on.
When we arrived at the PetSmart to get them, the coordinator had a carrier with four of the CUTEST kittens you've ever seen. Three orange tabbies and a grey tabby. All at that fluffy, mewing 8 week age where you find yourself reduced to a blathering idiot, willingly offering your fingers for little kitten claws to tear to shreds while you coo, "Who's a cute widdle kitten? You are! Aw, so precious and cute you widdle dawling kitty."
Jamie was instantly in love. Out came the camera (surprise) to take video of our darling new babies purring and playing through the bars of the carrier. SOooooo cute....
Jamie's Note: Here is said video. They like my purse.
But no. Not our kitties.
You should have seen Jamie's face. So disappointed. I swear she was already contemplating how she was going to get one of those fluffballs in her purse when in walked OUR kitties.
Jamie's Note: They did like my purse.
They were in two carriers. Draped with Big Towels. Carried by two people who said things in sinister voices like, "They've never been outside before... EVER." And, "They've never seen another human being before... EVER."
And, my personal favorite,
Cat People: "They're pretty scary."
Jamie: "You mean scared?"
Cat People: "No, scary."
Off come the towels, and from the very back of the carriers, squished as far as they could go, came adorably pathetic "Hiiiiissss" noises.
Jamie's Note: Before we met them, I made a joke that our kittens would be all black. Our kittens are all black.
I think Nick may finally have met his match.
I can't wait to pick up four foster kittens tonight. I want to name them
1) Precious
2) Really Precious
3) Super Precious
4) Quite Precious
Diane will never let it happen, tho.
Because I am an archivist and a minimalist I am in the midst of digitizing all my photos. It's a bit of a walk down memory lane for me going through these old pictures. Getting me ready for reunion, perhaps? Anyway, here's one of me I like. I'm a little spec on the field on the hill. Waving hello. Or goodbye. 
So, I drove to High Point NC tonight with Adam to go buy a SAAB. I told Adam that because he was a male who knows about cars and is also my boyfriend that he was going to play a crucial role in this negotiation (in other words, I wanted him to do it).
I knew Adam would do a great job playing the scene. What I didn't realize was that he played me too (in a good way though).
As we were exiting for the dealer Adam said something along the lines of this is not what he would do. Now I know that he would just go get a Hyundai or something but what I was looking for from him was his advice and counsel within the context of what I wanted to do.
I have to admit, his comment pissed me off. I've been talking about the car for weeks and if he thought I was making a big mistake, I want that information to consider. Before we were within 5 minutes of the dealer.
Little did I know he got me in this state of mind on purpose (or so he says).
Also note, and this is important, we drove out Friday after work. Arrived at 7. Dealer closes at 8. I have usually had dinner by 8.
So, we do the bullshit back and forth thing and around 745 we are $300 apart. Adam has me unsure about even wanting this car. And, I am hungry. So, it's easy for me to just walk away. And that's what we do. Walk away.
All I can think about is dinner. All Adam can think about is how quickly the dealer will call back to accept the offer.
We find dinner in Greensboro and about 2 hours after we leave we get the call.
I get the price.
I get the car.
And, I get a sandwich.
All is well.
Thanks Adam.
I am very close to buying a Black SAAB in High Point, NC. I did take one look at a different SAAB in Raleigh on Thursday morning. It was green and I liked that. It was also a super hippie car. Food coop and peace and Obama stickers galore. 
After test driving it I decide to pass.
Don’t take too long to think about it. Fifteen books you’ve read that will always stick with you. First fifteen you can recall in no more than 15 minutes. Copy the instructions into your own note, and be sure to tag ME if I tagged you.
Diane flipped the kid books switch. Looks like I haven't read a book since 5th grade.
1. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
2. The Corrections
3. Middlesex
4. Positivity
5. From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
6. Corduroy
7. Love Monkey
8. The Adventures of Cavalier & Clay
9. The Time Traveler’s Wife
10. Ramona Quimby, Age 8
11. James & The Giant Peach
12. The Phantom Tollbooth
13. Little House of the Prairie
14. The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew
15. The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
In other news, Team Bob Saget got second place tonight. We were a big group (actually, technically we were too big this week). With two sets of new folks there were multiple conversations occurring and I felt disoriented. Funny birthday shot at the end though.
For my ten year college reunion. Now I need to think of a clever response to "So, how've you been?" 
I am excited about this. Something to show for the last ten years.
Adam (I think that's the name of the guy I hired to join me for reunion. At his rate, I'll call him whatever I want).
&
And a minor improvement in Swing Dance ability.
I must work in a trip to Sawatdee.
I love birthdays because I love Bella Monica. Have a birthday. I take you to dinner at Bella Monica. Everyone wins.
And I love Diane getting a little tipsy because she is unafraid of bugs and will whack! whack! WHACK! at them until they are very very very dead.
We threw a bowling party for Bengt. Overall, we're not great bowlers. But, boy, is there some great spirit.
Look at my high score. Look, look! 
Look! Look at the cool bowling shirt we (well, Mary) made for Bengt.
And we closed it out with some karaoke
I ordered this for breakfast.
Got this
And left this on my plate
Rode for Clive, and then I rode a Segway around downtown Raleigh with Adam and David. David dropped in from IL for the weekend. It was great having him here. The less notice, the more fun.
After Segway adventure, we went to a Swing Dance. And then to the Marriott Bar for drinks. There was a middle school prom going on at the Marriott Bar. Diane saw some kids in the restroom who she thought were doing drugs. She reported them to the chaperones. Busted!
They tore town our porch so we had to empty out the storage shed.
This Friday night was dedicated to getting it back to it's original Tetris perfection.
Wild and crazy Friday night indeed! With Chubby Tacos, too. Mmmmm tacos.
Hooray.
Also, we are secretly planning Bengt's birthday party during this trivia.
Money for a gift is collected in a menu that is secretly passed to me. I almost blurt out "Oh my god, there's $100 in the menu!" but then I remember the secret plan.
Pal Barb and I have decided to do a Sprint Triathalon at the end of the month. I like calling it Baby-Tri but those real runner athlete people are quick to correct regarding matters of terminology. I have one goal. To finish. The hard part. The Run. So, we hit the American Tobacco Trail tonight and run. 3 minutes walk, 3 minutes run. 
I kind of hate running. All the more reason to try to kick it in the.
I've also been playing some tennis. Tonight I went shopping for a pair of shorts with pockets for tennis. Ended up almost buying a super cute $100 tennis outfit but I would have distracted my opponents and won on looks, not tennis skill.
Diane comes home with a new guy tonight. We like this one. He is the one.
Oh yeah, he's a vacuum cleaner.
Over Facebook, we discuss why Roomba > Men.
Click to enlarge.
A large portion of this weekend was dedicated to the planning and preparation for Carleton Fun Day for Families. I'm pleased to report it was indeed fun
For the kids.
And the grownups.
Title of this post from the movie UP. What a sweet happy film. And, in 3-D.
Squirrel!
From 15+ year old rollerblades to these babies. Sweet. They are very fast and fun.
At Capital Creations in Raleigh. I used to have pizza from CC quite often on Sunday nights to go along with my Desperate Housewives. But that was long before the days of pizza night.
One note about Capital Creations. Two locations. Oops. I ordered pizza from one location and then went to pick it up from the other.
In terms of ranking, it's good. Unique topping combinations. But a bit pricey. I mean, it's pizza.
We've got all day in Saluda before the wedding. What to do? There's a sign right by our hotel that says "Rafting" so we take a quick turn expecting some sort of info or outpost right around the corner. We don't have our suits or anything but figure that we'll get the info, decide what to do and grab suits from hotel if necessary.
Yeah, 16 corners later, and by corners I mean switchbacks we're at the bottom of a really steep hill that I want to call a mountain we're at the rafting station. All I want is Dramamine.
Needless to say, there was no way I was going up that hill and back down again, go rafting and go up that hill. I eagerly asked if there was an alternate route out. There was but it was twice as long. So, up the hill we went again.
It was really one of those er "adventures" when you really ought to stop but I was convinced the rafting place really was right around the next corner. About 20 times.
Headed to Saluda, NC for a wedding. Stopped in High Point to look at a car. The best part was watching everyone struggle with how to get the key out of the ignition (the car needs to be in reverse).
We arrived just in time to miss the BBQ food at the square dance. So, we headed over to the Saluda Inn. This was not where we were staying, but some of the guests were. This place is prime for a weekend murder mystery, no?
Roses
Not even Fruity Pebbles could do the job. Though I enjoyed the attempt.
No trivia tonight. Too grumpy.
Tried to buy Rollerblades.
Tried to buy groceries.
Tried to watch Desperate Housewives Finale.
I have been told that either I blog about this, or the story will be told for me. So, here it goes.
I'm helping some friends move. At the end of the day friends and movers are gathered in the kitchen decompressing. I'm standing at the pass through counter and notice a bag of some sort of treat. As we're talking, I grab one of the treats. It looks like a seed of some sort. I'm intrigued. I sniff it and then take a tiny bite out of the side.
I've just hate a bite of dog food.
One of the movers is so amused by this that he has to pace the length of the apartment laughing. He feels bad he laughed so much and so hard that he eats a whole kibble and then starts howling like a dog.
It was funny.
Earlier that day, I ended up having to pee in the woods because I read a book at a park with no facilities.
I'm only human. Or not.
We were smart. We went rollerblading before dinner so we would be good and hungry and could pig out guilt free. Mmmmmmmonica!
Dined here tonight. It reminded me of Wendy & Cliff. I miss Wendy and Cliff.
Dentist appointment today. No cavities. Hooray. An Apple a day keeps the...nah, bad Apple.
