The Terrible T's

I am on an emotional roller coaster that I blame on the terrible T's. I'm Tapering, it is almost that Time of the Month (read PMS) and I'm Tired. Thirteen days left - I hope I survive.

Yesterday, I got up at 3:55 AM in order to meet Paula, A, M, SJ and IronJohnny for a 4-hour bike ride/30-minute run. I didn't mind getting up so early - it was going to be hot, so it was good to get out early. For the most part, the ride was good. My lower back ached though from a botched head stand at Yoga Thursday night. It still hurts now, but I'm hopeful it will go away with time and rest.

After the workout, I drove down to Canton to go out to lunch and a movie with my mom and brother. We saw Transformers. While you have to ignore some plot flaws, it really was quite entertaining. On the way home, I got stuck in a traffic jam which was caused by rubberneckers. Grrr, I was so damned tired and certainly didn't need people slowing down to see a burnt-out car! I rallied enough when I got home to be able to go out to dinner with my husband, but I crashed on the couch by 9 PM.

I had a dream last night that my step-dad was still alive. I was so damn happy to see him. I recalled the dream over my Cheerios this morning and I bawled into them. I miss him so much. I wish he could be here to see me take on this Ironman adventure. He never knew me as an athlete and I think he would have been proud of me. Heck, he was always proud of me. He used to say "I couldn't be prouder of you if you sprung from my own loins." He was such a great guy. He's been gone for 8 years now, but it still hurts. Now, I'm crying again.

After breakfast, I headed out for a 90-minute run. It was the first time in a long time where I didn't care what my pace was. I just watched my HR and day-dreamed about Lake Placid. I was on a high when I got home. Good tunes were on my iPod, so I danced around the kitchen while drinking my chocolate milk from my Whiteface Mountain glass.

I then headed out to help Matt change my wheels on my bike. It is going in for a tune-up and we thought it best if the race wheels were on it for the tune-up. While Matt changed out my cassette (there is no way I'm attempting that Ironman course with a 12x25 - only a 12-27 will do), I practiced changing a flat on my training wheel. It was textbook and I got it finished in mere minutes. But then, I went to put my back race wheel on and I couldn't figure out the damn horizontal drops again. I swear changing out wheels and changing tires is really the only time when my husband and I cannot get along. He doesn't understand why I don't understand how to do it, so he gets frustrated, barks at me, I tell him not be an ass and then he apologizes 2 seconds later. Luckily for us, neither of us has a sustainable temper. But of course, by then I was crying again from frustration. While I'm explaining my feelings to him, I automatically slipped the wheel into place. Of course, that helped the mood tremendously. I hope all this tire changing practice doesn't need to be put into use on race day.

Before the emotional swing back down, I had Matt take these pictures of me. I think this will be my run get-up that I'll be sporting across the finish line (assuming it isn't cold).








So, now Sunday is almost over and the rest of the day was uneventful. In two weeks, hopefully, I will be on the second half of the marathon course. All of this taper madness will be worth it then!