I took the plunge

M and I stopped at on outlet mall on our way home yesterday and found that the Pearl Izumi store was having a *huge* sale. I finally took the plunge and bought these. They are the Attack MTB II cycling shoe.

M promised we will go to the park this weekend so I can learn how to clip in & out of my pedals. We bought pedals last year that had one "regular" side (for use with sneakers) and a clipless side. They have been waiting for the day I would decide to start riding with real cycling shoes.

Why go to the park, you ask? Because there will be lots of grass there to cushion my many, many falls.

I made the cut!

Of course, I'm bummed that my co-worker didn't make it in this year. She really wants to do a triathlon (its a life long goal for her). From the information I found, they closed the registration on June 21; she sent her stuff in later that week. She was going to do Highline with M and I, but her step-sister was getting married the same weekend in Las Vegas. I told her if she went to the wedding (long story on why she didn't want to go), that we would go to Glenwood together. I feel awful I have to go back on my word.

In other news, I re-worked my training schedule and had my brother-in-law and his wife take a look at it. They are quite the knowledge base! I could sit there for hours and hear stories about their training and adventures. I guess that will have to wait until we don't have 12 people at the lunch table.

Instead of using TriNewbies as I did for Highline, I modified Hal Higdon's novice half marathon schedule to incorporate all three sports. The run is 5 miles instead of 5K, so I think if I focus on that leg I can shave a lot of time off. I've worked up a preliminary "goal time" in my head, but I want to get some more training under my belt before I share it with the world.

Nine weeks to go, with promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep.

I have been stalking Triglenwood.com

The entry form said they would post which athletes made the lottery "the first week in July." Well, I've been stalking the website ever since July 1. There is still nothing listed, but I guess if you consider this the first full week of July, they have until COB today.

On a brighter note, I went to look at my checking account online this morning and guess what got cashed??? My check for the entry fee. I would hope they would only cash the checks of those they accepted and return the others instead of cashing them all. DON'T BE A TEASE TRI GLENWOOD!

Traveling and Training

I seem to have an extremely hard time getting my training in when I travel. Traveling overnight for work is a twice monthly occurance for me (at least), so I try to find a hotel that has a fitness center and pool (out here my choice is pretty much limited to the Hampton Inn). By the time I get there, three thoughts run through my head:

1. Dinner
2. What work should I do tonight to get ready for tomorrow
3. Training

The great thing about my job is that I can work >8 hours while I travel and get "credit" for them later. So, if I work an extra 3-4 hours while I'm gone I can take Friday afternoon off. That dangled carrot always seems to get in the way of working out.

I'm traveling to see my parents this weekend. I'm going to try a couple of different things to get my training in before I come up with an excuse not to. This will probably mean switching my runs to the morning. I prefer to run in the evening after it cools off, but this means we don't eat dinner until 9pm. While M said he had no problem with this, my run schedule last night proved otherwise. At least I got a good reminder why I don't run with anything in my stomach.