UPCOMING WEEKEND.

First, good luck to Sharon and Ross, who are doing a 5k tonight--Sharon's first in a while and Ross's first ever. Should be exciting! And hopefully, the weather in sunny Florida will be warmer than here.

Second, tomorrow is my indoor triathlon, so I will be competing with my friend Jan and her daughter. The event is at a Y, and I have done this event 2 or 3 times before, the most recent last year. They have changed the format somewhat from last year, in that we will be riding road bikes (on trainers) as opposed to mountain bikes. My main hope on this is that I don't have to follow a 6 foot plus Amazon person who puts all the gears on and then leaves the bike this way. Last year, it took me almost 3 minutes to get my bike geared properly so I could move the pedals around without practically standing. Add to that, the seat was maxed out in height, so I had to fix that first. Since we only get 5 minutes between the swim/bike/run segments, and since EACH segment takes place on a different floor, its a little difficult to plan much time to fix your bike in time. And you don't get a choice in bikes, you have to take the number you are assigned to.

I'm not really sure how any of these events will go, since I really haven't been working out that long yet to have any real idea of what I can or will do. I don't know the length of the pool I swim in now, so I can't even make a judgment on that. Last year, in 15 minutes, I went over 800 yards, by far a PR. I don't think that will happen this year. The bike portion was a little skewed last year because of the seat and gearing problem, but I still had almost 3 miles, all things considered (they take yardage, not mileage). The run, I think I did 1.7 miles in 15 min. The run is done on a track on the upper level of the Y, above the basketball court--while a game is going on usually. It is 19 laps to the mile, but once you get the momentum going, it seems like you are really flying, or maybe more like a hamster on a wheel. And again, I'm not sure of the talent of all the individuals in my heat, so I can't guage what I will do against any of them. You compete in your age group anyway, but run in heats of various ages. I think its mostly randomly selected or maybe first come, first served.

Jan and I asked to be in the same heat with her daughter since we were all riding together anyway. I do know there are at least three other super fast triathletes in my age group, so basically the three of them will battle it out for win, place, and show. I'm sure one of them will take masters, so that may leave me with a slight chance of moving up to third. Dream on! Jan, I expect, will take first in her age group again, or battle for second.

It will be a fun event, but I am more than positive I will be whipped when I am done. I have taken it especially easy this week, only doing one run and bike, and all the other days short swims. But I have been stressed out about other things, and also put in long hours on the day of my dad's last treatment so I wouldn't have to work this weekend, so am on the lacking side for sleep.

I'll post a report after tomorrow, and maybe have some pictures as well.