La vie est belle = Life is good

oh blog, how i have missed you. i promise to never neglect you for this long again. this triathlon training, better said, this ironman distance triathlon training has been an incredible journey so far but at the same time, it has really consumed a lot of my life (free time). funny thing is, i'll be ready to do it again and again i'm sure. i've loved every second of it, even the going to sleep early and getting up at 3:30am on some mornings. i've learned more about myself this year than ever before.  my philosophy is this, take one day at a time. i intend on carrying that same philosophy into the race come October 23rd...tackle one mile at a time, especially those last 26.2 miles. sometimes when i'm running, i get goosebumps just thinking about running that last mile and running under that FINISHER banner. it's so close now, i can taste it.

time to catch you up on the last 3 weeks in bullet point style...

• the weekend before my birthday, i went to rainbow river to float down the river on a raft and just relax. yes, i said relax...something i'm learning to do still and it is not easy but i had fun. the river is always 72 degrees so it felt pretty cold to me.

• realized i should invest in bubble wrap. you remember my run in with the owl watcher a few posts ago? well, i had another little accident at rainbow river the next week. as i was getting off the raft at the exit ramp, i slipped on the algae infested bottom and landed hard on my left glute...the glute that has given me fits for years. it hurt like a mother driving home in the car for 2 hours too. all in all, it worked out and just seemed to be more of a deep bruise than anything else so it didn't hinder my training at all. another bullet dodged.

• i have to learn to say NO to over the counter drugs. since 2006, i have had 2 really bad allergic reactions to aleve and tylenol gel caps and as of this week, i can add another to the list. it is unreal how just a few doses can turn into a week long nightmare of itchy welts/hives and swollen lips.

remember will smith in the movie hitch? this time wasn't that severe but the 2 others were, which scared the crap out of me. i thought i was in for round 3 this week but thankfully the reaction was mild in comparison and for that, i am thankful. another bullet dodged. for the record, after the big race, i'm going to see an allergist about this problem.

• the weekend after my birthday, the j-man and i went down to sebring, fl to do the bok tower century. this 100 mile ride has some rollers but mostly flat and a very fast ride. we immediately got with the lead group and worked together very nicely to finish my fastest ever 100 mile ride in 4 hours and 36 minutes!!
• this weekend (sunday) we are doing the assault on sugarloaf. this is a 112 mile course and a lot of the course we'll be riding is used for the 140.6 i'm getting ready to do-the Great Floridian. this will be a good training opportunity and i'm looking forward to it. i did this ride before and it is very, very hilly! there will be no PR here.
• i'm very excited about my latest purchase. i bought the H2O audio thing for my tiny ipod so i can swim with music now. i need music! i can run and bike without it but man, this swimming is BORING me to tears. according to fedex, it should be at my doorstep today and i can hardly wait to test it out.

that's all i've got for now. i'll be back soon (not in 3 weeks). i want to thank everyone for the birthday wishes. i can't believe i'm 40! i sure don't feel like 40, whatever that feels like?? i do know that it puts me in an even more competitive age group...nice! bring it on ladies!

have a great weekend everyone...much love and peace out!