One week to go...

This is about it...

 Time to drag out the gear and get organized. The unfortunate side effect of racing only once a year is that this process is particularly daunting.  I've been fussing  over such things as: the condition of my race wheels, whether or not I have enough CO2 cartridges in working order and where I'll carry them, the condition of my "aero" helmet and cleanliness of my pearlized cycling shoes. I've donned my race running shoes and decided that they will be functional on race day, although I'll bring along my daily running shoes. I've received reports of unusually warm water temps, so I'm bringing two wetsuits, one with and one without sleeves. Unfortunately my sleeveless suit is riddled with holes and the sealing compound that I've used in the past to mend holes has dried up.  Race attire, which needs to be supplemented by some cold weather layers, in the event of cooler than usual temps, an abundant supply of nutritional powders, gels, and so on.  Hat for sun, selection of socks, prescription sunglasses with a selection of tints depending on the quality of light come race day.  It's good to start organizing this stuff well in advance, particularly due to the fact that there is no shortage of nervous energy and that I'm not supposed to be training much these days.  Add a dose of unseasonably warm air, and I'm happy sitting on my porch, organizing my toys.

Now, put these on without falling and hurting something!

Race Motto: Be Here Now.

Now we're talking.  Ironman meets badminton.

Coffee. Eternal friend.

Photos courtesy of Peter.

Taper Field Trip!

LF of the blog knows the appropriate pose

Taper time! Three weeks of backing down on the training and getting all those things in the house organized, errands run, and general all around fun!

Today Mark called and said that he needed to rent a wetsuit because he is going to be a "swimming angel" for the Big Shoulders Open Water 5K.  This means that he'll be swimming alongside a novice, so in all likelihood, his pace will be slower than usual, and, well, with very little body fat he will be very cold.  He asked me if I had ever been to Urban Tri Gear and I had never even heard of it (shame on me). So I suggested a field trip and we were off!




And don't you think, for one moment that I wouldn't find something for myself.  The camera doesn't lie, and I always knew that I had pink compression socks in my future, it was simply a matter of time. In case you're not aware of what tri-geeks have been wearing for the past five years or so, this is one of the biggies.  Not cheap,  but they create the same aesthetic as the tube socks that we all wore when we were rockin' The Doobie Brothers. And so it goes.

They're practically jumping off my legs!

Energized, rested!  Compressed!

Next stop? Whole Foods Hinsdale, for the second day in a row. Go figure?  It's taper, what can I say.  This time to retrieve the planner that I had left in the store Monday. When I went to the customer service desk I read aloud what I had written on the front insert:

In case of loss, please return to: Karen. As a reward: $ my everlasting gratitude.

Wouldn't that be great? Welcome to Illinois. Now get on your bike. 

We then admired the granny-triangle-clad bike out front.  Needless to say, this is an employee's bike (nobody in hinsdale has a ride like this).  But we were so excited by the serendipity of it all. And look at the bumper sticker on the dark side of the vehicle!