Almost There!

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, folks.
Pray that it isn't a train.
I made it through scary events number two (fundraiser) and three (Easter).
Ok, they weren't really scary but just stress inducing.
The fundraiser was, in a word, awesome!  I have my amazing family and teammates to thank for that, because I was as near a total meltdown as I have ever been that night. 
Normally I like to think that I am quite calm; it takes a LOT to ruffle my feathers.  I take great pride in the fact that I'm not an over reactor.  But you know what they say about pride...  I think that if you asked me my name in the hour before the event, I would have been hard pressed to think of it, let alone spell it correctly.  My wonderful cousin took the day off of work to help me out.  She and a teammate of mine set up all the food (chafing dishes of hot dogs and wings, plates, cups, ice, waters, chips, sandwiches..) and then re-arranged everything when the wind started blowing the sterno out!  All while I stood there staring into space, drooling, and forgetting what I was supposed to be doing next.  I honestly would not have managed without them!
But... I made it through!
We had fun!
We ate chocolate fondue!
AND... raised nearly $700 when all was said and done.
I was honestly hoping for more.  So many people put in so much effort for this event to come together.  I was hoping for $1200, but I'll take $700 - it is more than I had on Wednesday!
The bottom line is that we all had a great time, right?
I have to give a few major should outs to my amazing donors.
First of all, Thirs-tea corporation provided all the beverages for the event.  Not only that, but the president of the company helped me set up, clean up, and he provided the flyers for the event at no charge.  What a great guy that Ray Welch is, easy on the eyes, too.
Second, the owner of Boca Raton Melting Pot was there himself, serving chocolate fondue to all of my guests.  Yes, you read that right - delicious melted chocolate, served over your choice of fresh strawberries, pound cake, marshmallows, brownies, or rice crispy treats.  Oh, joy!  Not only that, but he provided an amazing gift basket for a raffle prize. 
Finally, Alise from Putt'n Around Delray Beach, the venue for the event, was so amazing.  Not only did she let us have the run of the place (I'm not sure their landscaping will ever be the same), but she gave me a donation back based on the number of attendees at the event, AND provided a four-pack of mini golf as a raffle prize!
My amazing, inspiring teammates were there in force to assist me - so much purple in one place - it was great!  I am humbled by their support, and forever touched by their kindness.

Saturday morning was another one of those long bike rides - you know, all this training is getting in the way of the fundraising and socializing (ha!). 
We rode sixty miles on Saturday.
Yes, 60.
On bikes.
All at once.
(Ok, we had two pit stops for food and potty breaks)
We rode our bikes from Boynton Beach to Ft. Lauderdale and back.
Seriously?
When we reached the turn around point, I looked around and realized just how far I have come.  I also realized how far away from home I was, and how I was never going to make it home by 11:00 AM, like I told my family.  One of my teammates looked at me, and said "We just freaking rode our bikes to Ft. Lauderdale - I don't even like driving this far." 
I cracked up laughing.
Well, it was that, or cry.
What else could I do? Call a taxi?
I forgot to mention the wind.  Oh, it was windy. Like, blow you off your bike in a crosswind windy.
But, I survived (barely).  I realized that I am still having anxiety issues on the bike - probably from the crash.  I'm going to need to get over it (or take a Xanax before every ride).  I'm not sure I have time for hypnosis therapy before June 5th.  Where would I squeeze it in?

Finally it was Easter Sunday.
He is Risen.
As was a certain six year old at 5:30AM.
"Mommy?" she presses her nose against my face in the pre-dawn darkness.
Forcing one eyeball open, "Yes?"
"I think I hear the Easter bunny."
Listening hard I reply, "I think it's just the rain."
"Oh, ok. Yeah, it's rain. Can I see if the Easter Bunny came?"
"Um, sweetie, it's a little early."
"Can I get in bed with you, then?"
"Um, sure," rolling over to make some room.
"No. I want to be in the middle."
sigh
We arose when the sun came up, and sure enough, the Easter Bunny came to our house.  Candy, toys, and treats for all.  Luckily he also remembered to get the coffee pot ready the night before.
That's one smart bunny.

Long time...

Yes, I know...  I haven't updated in a while.
It's not that I haven't been thinking of you all, because I have, really.
I just don't know where the time goes! 
Oh, wait, yes I do.
I'm a working mamma, married to a traveling man, trying to get in 20 hours of endurance training a week.  Not only that, but this week my own Mamma (my rock steady backup, babysitter, support system) has been out of town at my sister's house, AND I have been prepping for a fundraiser this week, AND I had my first triathlon of the season last week, AND I am trying to get ready for Easter, too!
I love you all, I really do, but...
This girl's gotta sleep once in a while!
Fortunately, my good friend and awesome teammate, Andi is VERY good about regularly updating her blog about training for the Tahoe ride.  I thought about simply posting a link to her blog and leaving it at that, but I don't want to seem rude.  Believe it or not, I blog a lot in my brain - unfortunately the thoughts never actually make it onto this site.  Maybe I'm more of a Twitter blogger - 140 characters, posted throughout the day, to keep you all up to date.
Nah, I wouldn't keep up with that either.
So, when we last left our hero (me), I was healing nicely from a bike wreck, but still complaining about it to whoever would listen.  I was breaking in a new bike (yay), and was waiting to effortlessly break the sound barrier.  I was beginning to stress about two big dates - the first April 17, the date of the FAU Wellness Triathlon (my first of the season), and the second date was April 21, the date of my big fundraiser.

Finishing the run at FAU - don't I look happy?

Well, the first scary date has come and gone... and I survived.  I was a little (ok, a lot) nervous about this race.  I signed up for this MONTHS ago, before I had even considered signing up for another Team in Training event.  I figured that is a sprint race (1/4 mile swim, 10 mile bike, 3.1 mile run) and it is practically in my backyard, so I had to do it!  And then... I signed up for a century ride.  And all of my spare time is suddenly being spent on a tiny hard bike seat (believe me, it's even more uncomfortable than it sounds) going 19-20 mph.  So, I didn't exactly get much swimming or running in before this race.  But, I did fine.  I finished strong and happy, and I'm sure I have my awesome bike coach to thank.  I am more fit now than ever.  I averaged 18.5 mph on the bike course which more than made up for my abysmal swim time.

Now, onto the next stress-inducing item... A Fundraiser!!  Because I just shook everyone in my address book down for donations to help me get to the Nation's Triathlon, I was a little sheepish about asking you all for money again, and decided to try and make it work this time around with a few fundraising events.  Tomorrow night is Putt'n for a Cure in downtown Delray Beach.  Yup, we're taking over the mini golf course for a good cause! I have had lots of donations of food and drinks, and a DJ, tons of raffle prizes too!  My incredibly awesome teammates are also coming along to help out; serving food, selling raffle tickets, and picking pockets if they have to.  I have most of the stuff ready to go, and just have to make it through to tomorrow evening!
If you live in the area, come on by!

I hate to look too far ahead, but I did sign up for another triathlon a while back (what was I thinking?).  This one is NOT a sprint race, though.  It's an olympic distance (1 mile swim, 25 mile bike, 6 mile run) race.  It is May 1st, and I am so not ready for this one, but what can I do?  I've paid the race fee, I have an offer to carpool and a free hotel, so I'm going.  I'll survive.  As long as I make it through the swim in Tampa Bay (ick), I'll be fine.  I'll be channeling Dory from finding Nemo (just keep swimming, just keep swimming).  I know I can bike the course, no problem, and I can walk the 6 miles if I have to, but I have to swim the swim - come on Dory!

How do I know I can bike the course with no problem?  Well, last week halfway through a training ride, I got a flat tire (boo).  Coach Bryan wanted to change it for me, but no, I insisted on doing it myself.  I could see him switch into "pateint parent of a stubborn toddler" mode when he realized I was going to delay him by 15 minutes or more as I learned to change a back tire.  We got it done, but I don't think I put it all back together right because my ride home was hard, very hard.  I could not get my bike faster than 16 mph, and even that was a struggle.  We were riding into a pretty significant headwind, but still, I was SLOW.  I figured that I was tired, maybe I was bonking, maybe I didn't train enough during the week, or eat the right foods last night.  Was it that ONE glass of wine? What was wrong with me? I beat myself up the whole way home, questioning everything, and then when I pulled in my driveway and got my bike out of the car, I noticed it.  My rear brake was rubbing on my tire the whole time. No wonder it was SO HARD!  So, yes, If I can ride 25 miles into a headwind with my brakes on, I am pretty sure I can manage that distance under normal conditions.

One of the many hills in Clermont, FL - it keeps going and going...

Speaking of difficult riding conditions, check out Andi's blog about our team trip to Clermont, FL a few weeks ago.  This was our chance to takle some real hills (yes, there are hills in FL), and it was a blast!

In the few moments before drifting off to sleep last night, I had a major "Bad Mommy" moment.  I can't believe I'm actually writing this down and admitting it to the world, but I realized that I have done NOTHING to prepare for the Easter Bunny's imminent arrival in my home.  Not one egg colored, no chocolate purchased, no basket at the ready.  I have no secret hiding closet full of plastic Easter grass, or a plush bunny rabbit (bad mommy).  Fortunately for me, it's only Wednesday night and Walgreens is open 24 hours a day. 
So, for those of you who ask me, "How do you do it?"  The answer is - I don't.  I just fake it really well, and depend on my awesome husband and my incredible mother to get me through.
Sigh.. until next time.