Can I go to the bathroom Miss Clendaniel?

I had basically given up on ever using my teaching certificate.  

I viewed it as a $28,000 piece of paper.  I certainly never would have guessed that I'd be using it here, in Kodiak.  But for the last 2 weeks and until January 25 I am Miss Clendaniel, high school English teacher, long term substitute.  And it's absolutely terrifying.   And exhausting.  And emotionally draining.  And very time consuming.  At least it keeps me occupied, and I'm getting paid.  And sometimes it's not so bad and I do enjoy myself.  I only have to make it through the end of January.  On the downside, I'll be unemployed again at the end of January.  I'll probably be ready to hand the reins back to the original teacher though.  I spent my weekend at school.  I might..just might...have managed to get things prepared so that I don't have to go in this weekend.  But we will see.  Seems like there's always something.  

So it means I've been slowed up on finishing my socks.  I have only just gotten to the point of turning the heel.  It does tend to go fairly quickly from here on out, but I only get about 10-15 minutes in every now and then.  Not going to move out too quickly at this rate.  

I really don't have much else going on.  I started working September 19th.  That's basically occupied my time since then.  I have managed to get out on 2 runs though! They're short.  At 20-25 minutes in I start to get really tired and things start to hurt.  At 30 minutes I'm ready to stop.  I went out on a loop that was too long yesterday and had to walk at least 5 minutes at the end.  At 35 minutes I was just done.  I'm very disappointed about that.  It's going to take a while to build back up to where I was.  In the meantime, I can focus on helping Kevin work on his running.  We were trying to get him ready to run the Run the Rock 1/2 marathon next Saturday.  But things keep getting in the way like too many frickin' vacations!  And injuries.  Toe injuries and calf cramps.  I had him up to 8 miles a couple weeks ago.  But I don't want him to do too much and really hurt himself.  Way too much responsibility to be a coach!  I am proud of him though.  I think he's been sticking with it longer than he ever has before.  I hope he doesn't quit after this race though.  

Other news...possibly moving into a house in November.  

Kevin's working on buying this house.  It's a duplex and already has tenants for one half.  Pretty excited.  Nothing final yet, but working on it.  

And...other news?  Not much.  I've almost been here 4 weeks!  Things seem to be going well.  Kevin hasn't kicked me out yet ;)  

20+ hours a week of training --> 20+ hours of knitting

Now that I'm done spending about 2 hours a day training, and I can't resume training for anything new  because my leg still hurts, and I've been unemployed the last 3 months...I've had a lot of spare time.  I finally finished this afghan I started 3 years ago and which has sat for almost 2 in a laundry basket waiting for the last 8 inches to be knitted.  It really needed one more row of the dark purple at the end to finish it off but I didn't have the yarn and I just wanted to complete the project.  It has so many mistakes in it but it appears as though the Feathers and Fan pattern with big needles is rather forgiving.  Too many yarn overs  at some points which means having to reduce stitches with too many K2tog but....it's done and I'm actually rather pleased with it.

But I believe I start working tomorrow, so my knitting projects might slow up a bit.  I'm almost to the heel of my second sock that I'm making for Scott.  And after those socks, I have a pair to make for Hilary.  I might branch out and do a new pattern!  I feel like I have a good understanding of the basic sock pattern now.  I should.  I have now made 6 pairs.  If I keep it up to the finish, this pair for Scott will be the first without mistakes.  That makes me very happy.

And then after Hilary's socks....I want to make a sweater.  I've been browsing patterns on Ravelry and I now have about 10 different patterns of sweaters or dresses or cardigans or tunics that I'm in love with.

So I think I'll be busy knit wise.

Hoping to transition this blog into more of a journal.  I've forgotten the joy I get from putting things down in words.

Eat. Swim. Bike. Run. Eat. Sleep. Repeat.

I have been neglecting this.  So I apologize for writing a short novel in trying to catch up.

I have not been neglecting my training though.  I'm logging 2-3 hours a day during the week thanks to trying to bike commute.  4-6 on Saturdays and at least 3 on Sundays.

I'm feeling pretty good. My butt hurts.  Its rather painful when first sitting down on the saddle.  And then it settles in and I don't notice it much.  But for some reason the left side is feeling more "bruised" than the right.  My seat is on straight.  So I must do something that's a bit different on the left than the right.

I actually think I might be feeling a bit better than how I did with close to the same amount of time before my first marathon.  I was resorting to quite a bit of advil and tylenol to help me sleep at night.  I've only had a couple days the last month or so that I felt like I really needed some advil.  That doesn't mean things don't hurt.  They do.  My knees.  My hips.   Maybe they've just been hurting so long it doesn't even register anymore.  Hard to say.

All of this cycling though has me looking forward to finishing that 112 miles in Canada and then packing up my bike, for a long time.  I do like biking, but I don't love it, and I do really like my road bike, but the passion isn't there.  What I do love is bike commuting.  And I love riding my bike along the coastal trail late when the sun starts to dip in the sky.  But I'd rather be on my commuter.  Yes, my 14 year old heavy hunk of metal.  Maybe it suits my personality better than my road bike.  True it's slow, but it's comfortable.   I can haul a lot of gear on it.  It keeps on working year after year.  It's low maintenance and dependable and cheap.  Sounds like a good relationship to me.  My road bike is finicky.  It's designed for performance, not comfort.  I'm limited in how much stuff I can transport with it.  It needs a lot of attention.  It's expensive to maintain.  I worry about leaving it locked up outside.  I bet you can imagine all too well the type of person that might also fit both of those descriptions.  Who would you rather be friends with?

My swim is feeling smooth.  Managed to get 3000 yards in on both Tuesday and Thursday this week.  In about 55 minutes or so for each.  My swim is probably the only workouts where I'm done and something does NOT hurt.  But it's also the most booooooooooooring.  I think once I'm done with Canada, and I'm in Kodiak and needing activity so I don't turn into a blimp, that I will get a waterproof mp3 player.  It will be worth it.  Right now, it's good for me to have to occupy my mind while swimming, since there won't be headphones at Canada.  I am not restricting myself on my bike rides and runs though.  There is only so much torture I can take.  Solo rides and solo runs with no one to talk to and seeing much of the same scenery is a different scenario than race day.  I'm going through quite a few Radiolab podcasts.  I learned about color last weekend.  This week it was about stress.  Love Radiolab.  I also reserve Wait Wait Don't Tell me for workouts.  And now I have new audiobooks.  I'm pretty stoked.  I will finally finish An Echo in the Bone, by Diana Gabaldon.  I read about halfway through when it first came out and then I just stopped.  No clue why.  Particularly now that I'm listening to it and I'm wrapped up in the story once again.

And I'm reading again.

The one unforeseen consequence of Kevin heading to Europe.  No more nightly chats.  I first stopped reading when I started dating Micah.  And then I kind of got back into it but not fully until Kevin.  My 30-60 minutes that I used to spend reading before bed was replaced by computer use.  Worth it at the time, but not without cost.  So I'm rather glad I've returned to flipping pages, although sometimes I have to set a timer so I go to bed before it's too late!

In other news the Mayor's half-marathon went well.

Finished in 2:07:36.

I felt good about it.  I definitely pushed it and I don't think I could have run it much faster.  Good day all around.

Tomorrow is the XTERRA Hammerman triathlon.  I'm doing it as a team event with Gavin riding the bike.  So I get to do my two loves, swimming and run.   The swim will be great open water practice.  And I just love trail running, period.  Race report to follow.

Sunday is a 5 hour ride.  My longest yet.  Then the following week I get to drop it back a bit to 3.5 hours.  Then another 5 hour.  And finally the century.  And then it's just two more weekends of moderately long rides and....RACE DAY!!!!! I am excited.

Most of my long runs are 2 hours, a few a bit longer and then the weekend before race day I'll do the Big Wild Life Half.  I need to take it easy, and the best way to do that is to do it with someone else.  Otherwise I'll race it.  I'd probably get close to 2 hours, knocking time off of my Mayor's time.  But this would not be very beneficial for my legs.  So I am hoping to run it with Krista.  Or walk it with Kate.  We shall see.

Not a lot of time left.

But I don't have the days counted, and I keep forgetting how many weeks are left.  The only count down I have going is the 10 days until Kevin returns.  One thing at a time.  Still not sure which one I'm looking forward to more.  It's a tough call.  I've been waiting almost 7 weeks to see Kevin again.  I've been training for a year for this race.  Not an even time comparison.  And completely different events.

Oh man, and I went up Mt. Marathon too.  And the Clendaniel Mile.  And Dad was here for almost 2 weeks, and I've been bike commuting from upper o'malley while I'm dogsitting for a month, and I had to say goodbye to my kitty Zuma....  There's just too much to write about it all.

Clendaniel mile - 7:13.  Yeah.  I'm rather pleased with that one.  Ok, that's an understatement.  I'm superbly satisfied.  Nearly 45 seconds off of last years time.

And I'm at 144 this morning.  Trying to hold on to that.  Massive amounts of cookies are disappearing into my mouth.  But meals are healthy, balanced and moderately portioned.  Not feeling guilty for the cookies.  I love them and I've earned them.

Working on my nutrition plan for race day.  I'll get to test some of it out this weekend for the 5 hour ride.  Picked up Hammer Solids.  Hoping they sit well with the tummy.  Carbo Pro has been good for me so far.  And the Hammer Gels are working too.  Will have to decide what to put in special needs bags and transition bags.

Bottom line:  I'm entering the home stretch.  I'm excited.  I look good.  I feel good.   I'm happy.

No end in sight

Here is a brief run down of my last 3 weeks.   Post Wildflower has been 2 weeks of no activity beyond walking (horribly sick, ears totally clogged, like having ear plugs in.  Major congestion.  Wicked phlegmy cough).  Then last Saturday I got smacked in the head very hard by a softball. Very painful at the time but did not pass out.  Sunday was a sprint tri. (500, 12, and 4)  I went in to it not having done any exercise and having been sick for 2 weeks and not having slept well for 3 nights in a row. But I absolutely rocked it.  8:13, 41:02, and 36:59. Sunday night I started to feel a headache, but thought maybe I was just dehydrated from the race.  I'm not that great at hydrating for shorter things and I sweat a lot, even when it's cool out, which it was.  Monday my head was hurting a lot and then nausea hit.  Still went swimming though (I'm stubbornly stupid) and things felt really good while swimming, until after showering and nausea returned with headache. Had to go home from work i felt so shitty.  Felt like a bad migraine.  Tuesday was manageable, although still pain.  Felt better in the evening though, and biked 11 miles, felt ok while biking.  Wednesday wasn't good during the day.  But got out in the evening for a 5 mile trail run that was pretty good.  Thursday I went to the doctor.  Antibiotics for sinus infection, nasal spray for allergies and congestion. A different asthma inhaler for races.  And the possibility to get a cat scan if I wanted. Not going to get one.  Can't afford it (no insurance) symptoms are indicative of possible concussion, but nothing is scary, no vomiting, loss of consciousness, no memory issues, no change in behavior.  

I was given strict orders not to work out until I'm better.  And I cried sitting there in the doctors office.  (Then, 2 days later, I had to say goodbye to Kevin for 2 months, and an hour later go to a memorial service for my grandmother.  When it rains it pours?)

I have no idea when I'll be "better."  My head still doesn't feel right.  My ears are still plugged up from sinus crap.  Occasional cough.   I was already nervous about having enough time to get my mileage up to be ready for Canada.  If I miraculously feel better by the end of this week (unlikely), can I do it in 11 weeks?  And I feel like I'm losing everything I've spent the last 7 months working on.  

Wildflower

It's been over a week since I "competed" in one of the toughest half-iron distance triathlons in North America.  I've put competed in quotes since really the only person I was competing against was myself, but I was there.  I swam 1.2 miles while trying to avoid being whacked in the head.  I biked 56 miles over hilly terrain in the sun and ran 13.1 miles.  Ok, I walked a big portion of it.  But I ran most!

Quick Overview of Results
Total time: 7:27:57 (Got saddled with a drafting penalty of 4 minutes. So real time 7:23:57.  Probably while going uphill...since I was never drafting but did get a little close to some people while going uphill.  I don't think you can really draft when you're going 6mph.....)
Swim: 36:23 (woohoo!)
T1: 8:24 (not woohoo)
Bike: 3:58:55  (Yeah, just under 4 hours!)
T2: 4:43 (not too bad)
Run: 2:35:32 (wanted to get under 2:30 but considering circumstances and course, this is ok)


Age group: 49 out of 72 ( +5 who didn't finish)
Gender: 295 out of 420
Overall: 1447 out of 1807 (+ approx 50 who didn't finish)



And it was one of the best weekends of my life.


Transition set up

- Had to find bar ends for my aerobars.  But race officials were super nice and friendly and helped me find some of the small ones that would fit.  Also had to ask for a new cap! That was my one item I forgot.  Not too bad in terms of forgetting something, as I was able to find one pretty easy.  Sarah was great with helping me set things up in an efficient way. 
-Sunscreen.  Lots of it.

-Had time to kill so I watched the pros start with Heidi.  And then the first few men's waves and then headed back to get suited up.

(The Pros showing us how it's done)

-Took way way way too long to get my wetsuit on.  I was cutting my start time close!  Downed a gel fast and grabbed my letters, ripped off the envelopes and read them as I walked to the start.  It meant I had to stash them on the side and didn't get to keep them, but they were perfect.  Wonderful encouragement just when I needed it. 



Swim
-My wetsuit chafed my neck.  I could feel it from the first stroke.  It's a week later, it's almost healed.
-Arms felt good.  Swimming with so many people did not.  It's unlikely I'll be able to get over that before Canada.  And Canada is a mass start, not wave. 
-Managed to haul myself up out of the water and walk/jog to transition.  And got my wetsuit to my waist by the time I got there.

(I hate this picture....)

T1

-But I need to see if I can cut the legs of my wetsuit so that it won't take me forever to get it off.  Forever.
-More sunscreen.
-Almost 9 minutes.  9 freaking minutes. Waaaaaaaay too long.

Bike
-Seriously, I'd say the first 3 miles of the bike were a bit of a blur.  I didn't even register going up that first nasty hill. 

-And I felt good. 
-I felt great!
-I was cruising pretty good, battling a headwind for a while.  Some bad cross winds for a stretch. But  just steadily moving along.  I celebrated every mile marker.

-Nasty Grade came.  Tried to take it easy.  I believe this is when I fell in love with my bike all over again.  So glad I have a road bike and not a tri-bike.  I passed a lot of people.  Yes, you heard that right. I, Slow Glo, passed people going up a hill. 
-Unfortunately, on the super steep downhill on the other side of Nasty Grade, I realized my heart rate had gotten pretty high, and it wasn't going down.  And my chest hurt. 
-But I was still pedaling strong.  Although my neck and back were killing me, as I knew they would, from aero. 

(To be honest, I didn't even register going up some hills)

-Rolled into the park and saw runners shuffling along.  I started to think about trying to run and just about psyched myself out.
-That last downhill was scary.  Long.  Steep.  Other cyclists.  And runners.  Lots of braking.

-oh yeah, did utilize 2 port-a-potties on the bike.  I was drinking as much as possible.  I think I went through at least 7 bottles.  I wasn't counting, I just kept drinking and refilling.  I discovered that the white chocolate macadamia nut cliff bars are absolutely delicious. 

T2
-Managed to remember how to unclip my shoes to dismount and not trip or fall over.  Success.
-Bike racked, helmet off, shoes off, inhaler used, water belt on, hat on.  Look around dumbly because you feel like you're forgetting something important...and off!
-Oh yeah. Forgot to down a Gel. Shit.
-Didn't have enough with me.  Powerbar Gels(what's on the course) make my stomach sick.  I was already feeling a little nauseous.  This was going to suck.

Run
-Trying to get into a rhythm.  Heart rate crazy.  Breathing crazy.  Hot. 
-First couple miles go ok.  Haven't had to walk yet.
-And then we hit the hills.  And while walking I realize I'm not in great condition.  Dehydrated and underfueled and breathing is rough.
-Walked all uphills.  Jogged all down.  Tried to run flats, but a few I had to walk.
-Until about mile 6.  And things felt good.  Had gotten a bit more fuel.  Rehydrated.  Head was feeling better.  Was getting doused with water at every aid station.  Some had hoses which was wonderful.  The volunteers quickly caught on as I was pouring cups of water over me and helped out.  Great volunteers.  My attitude was positive and upbeat and I was ready to take on the rest of this race.
-Stopped to use the bathroom.  If I'd just had to pee it wouldn't have been an issue.  But it wasn't.  I was a second too late to be first in line and I ended up waiting 5 minutes.  5 minutes!  But I felt much better afterwards.

-Saw Fred at the top of the pit.  He had warned us about this hill the night before.  Psychologically it's gonna be killer he said, because you're going downhill, and you'll hit the turnaround point, and you'll have to go back up what you just ran down.  What he didn't say was how long it was.  A mile long downhill.  It's a curvy road.  I kept thinking "When the f*** is this hill gonna end?"  And after each bend in the road it just kept going.  But I'm a trooper running down hill so I just kept rocking it.  Hit the aid station at the bottom.  Got soaked again and started the walk up.  Powerwalked that m****f**** hill and then kept on running. 

-And I felt pretty good for the rest of the run.  That same last steep downhill to the finish for the bike was hard on the run but I just kept picking up the feet and trying to breathe.  And then I was there....

FINISH
...At the finish.  And I heard them call my name, and say Anchorage, Alaska and I "sprinted" in to the finish.

And got my medal.  And almost fell over my own feet.  And saw the TNT staff.  And then tried really hard to breathe right.

For almost 30-45 minutes. 

I headed down to the transition area to pack things up but I had to walk up and down the aisle at a snails pace trying to get things under control.  I'd already used my inhaler.  Nothing else I could do.

I was doing ok after a while, but I had to get my bike out of the transition.  And all my stuff.  Loaded it up in the backpack and I hauled my bike up a flight of stairs.  And boy am I glad I ran into Bobbie at the top.  As I triggered another complete closing of the airways by walking up the stairs and then seeing people I know trying to congratulate me.  But got it calmed down.  And she told me where the team was, which was great.  Finally sat down.  Got more food in me.  And eventually started to feel remotely like a human being again.  And it was fun.  Really fun to be hanging out with everyone and enjoying the scene.

So I had my first real asthma attack.  Not really wanting to do that again.

And after watching everyone come in and cheering....we get to walk up that big hill to get back to camp.  With heavy transition bag and bike.  yay!  But I made it.  Went super super slow. 

Showered first, before anything else.

Then ate dinner. Best brownie ever. 

Drank 2 beers.

Felt drunk (woohoo!)

Went to bed.

And in the morning I packed it all up, said goodbye to some of the most amazing people ever, and rolled away.

And I only sunburned two symmetrical strips on my back next to my Jersey.  Yay for weird tan lines.

And that cough I had, that I was almost over before the race, turned into a raging sickness.

I'm still sick.  I haven't worked out since race day.  Mucus mucus everywhere.  Chest, nose, sinus, ears.   If I knew I'd get this sick for this long, would I have still done it?  Oh yeah.  No question.

Now it's time to get refocused.  101 days.

Canada here we come!!!!

Where did I put that packing list!?!

I'm not sure where to start.

My plane leaves in about 10 hours. 


Here are a few negatives:

I have pretty much all my packing to do.

I am wired like an Energizer bunny.  Unlikely to sleep.

I am worrying about every little thing.

Always nervous about packing my bike.

I don't think I can get to Fresno in time for my return flight home.

I still have a cough.  I'm on my 4th super huge glass of water for today trying to wash it away.

Here are some positives:

Last few workouts have been ok.  Legs are tired but they have 2 full days of rest coming up. 

Was under 39 minutes for my last swim on Monday.  Fairly positive I can break 40 for the race.

Set a PR for a 5k during the Heart Run on Saturday!!!!! 25:09

I had a great dinner with friends last night.  I have wonderful notes to read while I'm gone. 

Kincaid trails were runnable this morning, so I didn't have to run the same boring coastal trail or on the roads!

I had an unexpected but pleasant surprise of getting to see Kevin this last weekend. 

I reached  my goal race weight. 


And I'll adress that one. Because it's both a positive and a negative.

Why would that be a negative Glo?  Because I'm afraid I've lost it too quickly and I'm concerned about that.  I didn't plan on reaching my goal race weight because I didn't think I had time to get there. 

I am about to say something that I never ever EVER would have imagined myself saying.

I might need to eat more.

I haven't really been that hungry.  I'm eating 3 healthy meals and some snacks.  And I am always eating after my workouts, and I normally time them right so that they are after I've eaten something too. 

I cut out ice cream at Lent.  It's a trigger food.  I have one bowl, and then another, and then maybe find something else, etc.   I haven't had any since Lent started in February.  Easter was a few weeks ago.  I gave up chocolate after spring break.  It too is a trigger.  I have been staying away from sweets and have only had a few beers for the last few months.

But maybe it's not so bad.  I've lost 15 lbs since Valentines Day.  That's 10 weeks.  So I guess it's ok.  But at this rate I'm going to need a few new shirts that fit better, and maybe pants.  Even if I do gain some of it back after Canada.   

But maybe I should add some more calories in.  I stopped tracking what I was eating (weight watchers points)  I figured my weight was doing well, and I was eating a pretty balanced diet. Lots of fruit, vegetables, lean proteins, whole grains, a lot of water, and no junk (except gold fish crackers.  They remain my one vice).  But I suppose I might want to see where I'm at.  This last week has been fairly hectic and stressed.  My mom leaving for Nana's funeral, making sure Nayyer was doing ok, Kevin being here, (not actually a stressor but an added event that isn't normal) and being sick. 

So I guess I just need to not worry about it. 

But I'm worrying about everything.  It's one of the few things I'm exceptionally good at.

What I should be focusing on is how wonderful this trip is going to be.  Sunshine.  New people.  A challenge unlike any before.  And hopefully, if it all goes right...that feeling of accomplishment that is unlike any other. 

So that's my focus.  This is going to be great.  And I CAN DO THIS!

Time to start planning the 2012 Clendaniel Mile

Well, I caught a bug.

Sore throat hit me on Sunday morning.  Extremely painful for 3 days.  Yesterday it lessened in intensity.  Started to get a bit of a cough.  Today it still hurts but isn't as bad as it was.  Still have the occasional cough, which just makes that sore throat feel lovely.  I've been doing my best to get extra sleep, extra fluids and extra vitamin C.  I don't know if it's helping, but at least it makes me feel like I'm doing something.  8 more days to get better.

I had a great run yesterday.  The Heart Run is this Saturday.  My friend talked me into doing it.  It's a 5k.  He asked me what I thought my time might be, to see if maybe we could run together.  I had to think a little.  How fast can I run a 5k?  I guessed 27 and then said maybe if I pushed it I could do 26.  So for my short run yesterday I ran a mile warm up to the coastal trail, then 1.5 out to the mile marker just past that first parking lot, so you have to go up the earthquake park hill and up a little bit past it.  Turned around and bombed back down the 1.5 and jogged the last mile super easy.  So it wasn't a full 5K because I'm missing the .1 or whatever...but my time was 25:35.  Never ever ever would I have thought I could run at that pace.  It was super hard.  I was breathing really heavy, huffing and puffing in my asthmatic way.  But it felt good.

It may not look like much to some, but that's a significant improvement over the last year.  I don't think I've ever broken 9's for more than 2 consecutive miles.

And today I weighed in at 147.6.  Which is just about where I was last week.  Which is great.  I was trying to hit 145 before the race but this is still a lot lighter than where I was in February.  So I am very very pleased.  And the body fat% said 25. The lowest it's ever been.  Which means I've actually lost some fat this go around.

And I've officially lost 60 lbs since 2007.

60.

There are people I meet now, that can't imagine that I ever weighed over 200 lbs.  "But you're so active!"  Well, I didn't used to be!

Our family should be getting ready for the Clendaniel Mile pretty soon.  An annual running event our family does.

This is me running it 3 years ago.  Probably at about 195.  I had lost quite a bit between 2007 and 2009, and then I went back to school.  And gained a lot back.  A lot.

For many runnings of the Clendaniel Mile I would be extremely happy if I could get my time close to 10 minutes.  For one mile.  I think Joyce and Zareena are about to lap me here.  

Last year I ran it just under 8.  And I just about cried with joy.  

No clue how this year will unfold.  I'm more fit, I weigh less, but my breathing still holds me back.  The legs are willing, the lungs are not.

I'm doing things I've always wanted to do.  I have always wanted to be someone who ran regularly, who bike commuted instead of driving.  I always wanted to be someone who hiked up mountains for hours.  I never really shared that much with anyone.  You look at someone who's pretty overweight and not active and you don't think that there greatest desire is to run a marathon.  

I know that I really need more time to fully prepare myself for my Ironman.  Another year of training and I'd probably do fairly well.  Especially on the bike.  But I don't know when I'd have the opportunity to do one in the future.  The timing was right for this fall.  And even if it takes me 16 hours and 59 minutes to finish, I'll have finished.  And I'm going to finish.  

And I'll be broke.  I won't have a job.  And I'll be heading out on a new life adventure.  They say doing an Ironman changes you.  Let's hope it's for the best.  

On a side note...I would really appreciate little notes or letters to open up and read the morning of my race.  I won't have any of you with me in person, but a few words would be very welcome.  Don't have to write much, just a little.  Hand it to me in person this next week (I leave super late on Wednesday night) mail it to me, or email it.  I can't think of a better way to start the morning.