Nautica Malibu Triathlon - Sunday 9/25/2005

I completed my first triathlon! We arrived at Zuma Sunday morning at 5:30am. I set up my transition area, applied the body glide, took a group photo with the rest of the Dney Tri Team and then walked around chatting with fellow teammates. I felt surprisingly calm even as I looked out at pretty big waves. We headed to the beach for 7:00am greeting by the race director then watched the elites head out at 7:15am. My wave wasn't until 8:00am so I went back to the transition area, did a shot of gu then headed back to the beach to contemplate going into the water for a warmup. At 7:50am I went into the water - damn it was cold! 59 degrees! Yikes. So I went in and dove under a few waves just to feel the water, feel the current, get used to the shock. Then back onto the beach to wait for the cannon to signal my start. I lined up toward the back of the pack and on the left. 8:00am - BOOM!! and here we go! I ran out to the water, there were people everywhere - nowhere to dolphin because I'd get kicked. Dolphined a couple of times, dove under some big ones and then finally had fairly calm water and started to swim. Rounded the first buoy quickly and came up to the second one pretty quickly, too. The third buoy seemed to take forever but once I rounded that it was time to turn back into shore. As I swam into shore I kept looking over my shoulder for a big wave to either ride in or dive under. Unfortunately when the big wave came I couldn't make up my mind about riding it in or diving under it and mother nature made the decision for me when that big, bad wave crested on top of my head and spun me around like the spin cycle of a washing machine. Finally, I managed to get my head out of the water for a giant breath and then started swimming again. I kind of caught a little wave that propelled me toward shore and I realized the water was shallow enough that I could start running. Except that I could barely feel my legs. Everything was pretty numb. Did I mention how cold the water was? Anyway, finally got out of the water and started shuffling through the sand. It's hard to run through sand when your body is numb and you've just swam a half mile. Somehow peeled my wetsuit off my body and got my cycling jersey on, then helmet and sunglasses, socks and shoes, got the bike off the rack and off I went. It sounds so fast as I write it but it took me 6 minutes. Nothing eventful happened on the bike - it just took forever. You know, rolling hills blah blah blah. People passing me constantly. Then finally, I'm back in the transition area racking the bike and taking off the helmet, then off I go again for the run. My goal was to complete the whole race in 2 hours 30 minutes. When I looked at my watch after the bike I realized I was really going to have to run hard to make it. Well the first mile felt like I was running on concrete pillars - everything ached and burned. But at the first mile marker I started hitting my stride and feeling comfortable. I passed tons of fellow Dney tri teamers and hearing "Go Team Dney!" as you pass them really spurred me on. At the 2 mile mark I checked the watch and realized I was going to have to run really fast to hit my time goal. I kicked into high gear and before I knew it I was nearing the finish line. The finish area was lined with people cheering and when I came through they started yelling "Go Dney" and that just made me sprint home. I crossed the finish line with a time of 2:28:19! My 4 mile run equaled 42 minutes - that's the fastest I've ever run 4 miles. It was awesome! I can't wait to do it again.
Goals for next year:
1) Shave 1 minute off the swim
2) Shave 2 minutes off T1
3) Shave 15 minutes off the bike
4) Shave 2 minutes off the run

That'll get me closer to 2:10 and then hopefully the following year I can beat 2:00.

More goals for next year:
Besides Nautica, 2 other triathlons.
LA Triathlon - maybe Olympic distance??

Fundraising note: I raised $1775.00 for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation and the Dney Tri Team together raised $168,000.00!!

MOM!

That's what J calls me now. MOM! Like he's 13 and he needs some money to go play video games with his delinquent friends. I'm too young to have a 13 year old. T is a little amused at my reaction to this new development. I suppose I would be too, if it weren't for the fact that it's happening to ME! I have noticed that if I don't answer J right away that he reverts to calling me Mommy. But that's probably not the best way to handle it. The thing about J is that he has kind of a wicked sense of humor and is getting quite a kick out of calling me MOM! So the best approach is probably just to ignore it and he'll eventually start calling me Mommy again and then all will be right with the world.

Triathlon Picture

I love this picture.

Thank God Tanja didn't snap a picture of me struggling to get out of my wetsuit.

SCARY!!

Beach Boys

Memorable Quotes

Heard on the way home from the mall last night:

Don't ever bite me. Ok moon? - Dean

Don't talk to me. I'm talking to Daddy. - Dean to Jack

Ramblings

I don't have anything really to say. But I feel guilty for not writing anything since September 4. It's not that our lives have been especially quiet lately, it's just been exceptionally busy and I haven't had the time to chronicle the funny, weird, maddening events of our lives. Plus, it seemed so trite to write about the mundane suburban adventures when so many people have been displaced with just the clothes on their backs. The President addressed the nation last week and it was the first time I was able to listen to one of his speeches the whole way through. Of course, I was just listening to him on the radio so I didn't have to see his facial expressions as he worked his way through the difficult text. The speech was fine but it was just delivered too late. At any rate, I can't really write about it in a thoughtful, diplomatic way and that's not what this blog is about.
The boys are doing well although, Dean's going through a phase which is not at all attractive. He's become very - well sensitive, I guess. He just loses it without any warning and then all is lost. Even Jack has tried to help him but that just makes him more mad. Last Sunday when he woke from his nap he just sat on Tom's lap and cried for an hour and a half. Tom and I were acting like flustered waiters - can I get you some milk? some yogurt? some applesauce? do you want some water? juice? PLEASE TELL ME!!!!! Finally, I asked if he wanted a sippy cup and he half wailed, half cried "yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh". Affirmative??? Now that's something I can work with. So after he sucked down a cup full of rice milk, all was right with the world. That bipolar thing is tugging at the back of my brain - I swear! But those moments really aren't that often. Jack climbed into bed this morning, wrapped his arms around my neck and exclaimed, "I love you mommy". That's what it's all about. Bedtime with Dean is one of my favorite times of the day. He nestles into my arm to read books and then when it's time for him to climb into bed he turns to me with his lips pursed ready for kisses. And I can't help but lay my head next to his and tell him over and over what a good, sweet boy he is and that I love him sooooo much. He smiles and says "ok".
Life is good.

Heartbreak

I haven't written about Hurricane Katrina and the devastation along the Gulf Coast, especially New Orleans, because nothing I say can possibly describe the gravity or enormity of the tragedy. The entire city of New Orleans is wiped out. It and the surrounding towns are under water. The floodwaters reached the rooftops and still haven't receded because they haven't been able to repair the broken levees.
How in the world could this have happened? There was warning that a category 5 hurricane was due to hit the gulf coast. There was a mandatory evacuation of New Orleans and yet there were thousands upon thousands of people left in the city. People who were then told to take shelter in the Superdome - where they ran out of food and water within a day or two and the conditions became so unsanitary and unsafe that they began using the stairways as bathrooms.
And where was our President? What of Homeland Security? FEMA? Our Secretary of Homeland Security claimed in an interview on Thursday, Sept. 1st that he had no idea that people in the Superdome were out of food and water. How is that possible when I read about it on the internet on Wednesday?
It makes me sick. And when this administration is questioned on it's slow, inadequate response they divert the question and accuse Democrats and the media of politicking and politicizing. Everything about this President and his corrupt administration is too little, too late. I don't know if America can afford another 3 years of this.

Night Out

Last night was our friend Rishika's birthday dinner at a nice little Indian restaurant in West Hollywood. We took the motorcycle!! I had reservations about taking the motorcycle - mostly because we haven't finished our will. But, we did it anyway and it was glorious. Snaking through the canyons, smelling the eucalyptus, the wind blowing around us - feeling like we escaped the responsibilities of parenthood for a brief moment. You can see it on our faces, those smiles that broadcast our happiness. There have been other examples of it. Like when we went to Mexico for a wedding and the bridal couple thoughtfully arranged for a babysitter so we could have an evening out in San Miguel de Allende, just the two of us.
Do you see what I mean? Those smiles say so much. Yeah, that was fun.
Anyway, I seem to be getting off topic. Last night was great fun, visiting with friends we haven't seen in a while, enjoying great food and finishing off the evening with a cool ride through the canyons.

Happy Birthday Rishika! Thanks for giving us a reason to escape the valley, if only for a few hours.

Can Kids be Bipolar?

Seriously, I wonder. Last night as we were leaving daycare, Dean was screaming at the top of his voice. For a skinny little kid he sure is loud. So he's screaming and Jack is trying to calm him down which only makes him more mad. Finally, I crank the stereo to drown out the noise (Gwen Stefani seems to calm the beasts) and the back seat quiets. Until we get home when Dean starts crying and I don't know why. We get in the house and he's just crying and crying. Everything I say to him only makes him more mad and more upset. I literally start wandering around the house and into the backyard because I don't know what else to do. Suddenly, he's quiet and then he announces, "I happy now. I not crying."

Did someone slip him some paxil when my back was turned? Can I have some?