Quite A Weekend

And I have a feeling this is going to be quite a post!

Ok first, lets just get the whole celebrity death thing out of the way.  Wow.  I just re-read that sentence and it seems harsh…was it harsh?  At any rate, I don’t mean to be harsh, I am just so not into the whole Hollywood hoopla thing.  I think they are all grossly overpaid, and while I do enjoy their acting/singing/dancing/whatever talent they have, I don’t particularly care about what coffee they are drinking, what park they are walking or whose shoes they are wearing.  I am not an Entertainment News person…I don’t watch any of the paparazzi shows or read Perez or peruse the gossip magazines while in the supermarket lines, but even I know that this was a HUGE week for Hollywood. And quite the sad one.  Two icons. Two legends.  

• Farrah Fawcett- who didn’t love Farrah, really?  Not only was she gorgeous but the girl could act!  People talk most about Charlies Angels but I remember her most from a mini-series titled “Small Sacrifices”.  Her performance was simply amazing.  I highly recommend the movie if you are a fan of hers.  Shortly before she died, I watched her documentary which followed her journey through her illness.  She really gave it her best fight and while it is sad, I am glad she has found peace.
• Michael Jackson- I refuse to make jokes or get into a battle with people over his personal life.  People will all have their own opinions and I respect that. I just don’t want to debate it. I think the man had many problems. I don’t think, given his childhood, he had much of a chance.  I think he is a musical genius.  I think he is a Hollywood tragedy.  

Whew…now that I got that out of the way, lets talk about what this blog is really meant for:

-Thursday night I took my mom to a Bruce Springsteen tribute band concert.  It was outside and the weather was awesome.  It was such a nice night in the open air, just chatting with my mom and listening to good music.

-Friday was my first summer Friday off and it was hectic. I had to get an oil&filter change and had to get to MVC to get a copy of my drivers record which of course turned into an all day event.  I went to my local MVC, waited in line for the receptionist for about 30 mins just to find out the paperwork I needed could only be processed in Trenton. Of course. Of freaking course!!!  The upsisde to this (and I had to look hard for an upside) is that I wasn’t too far from Trenton at the time, only about 25 mins, so at least it wouldn’t be a long drive.  But it is Trenton, and like most capital cities it is a nightmare to drive into.  Not to mention it isn’t the safest place in New Jersey (heck, it was rated like the 7th worst city in the entire US) so I wasn’t exactly thrilled when I got there and couldn’t find parking. Once I got in things moved fast but then it was another headache getting out of there.  By the time I got back to my parents house, where I was meeting them for my mom’s bday dinner, it had been about 2.5 hours.  UGH!!! I hate the MVC and I know I am not alone; I am sure everyone has their own MVC horror story!      

-I did not run the 5k on Sat. Friday night I was feeling so tired I actually felt sick.  I know this is my body’s way of telling me to get rest so I nixed the run and slept in until 8am on Saturday! Yes, 830am is sleeping in!  I am so glad I did too because I felt totally refreshed and ready to tackle a good workout.  I went to the gym and ran 3miles on the dreadmill and did a heck of an arms/abs workout.

-My first tri of the season is 13 days away and I am getting really excited/nervous.  I am so much more ready (and by so much, I mean soooooooooooooo much) for this Tri than I was last year.  Last year, having only done one Tri, I had no idea what I was getting into.  I just jumped in blind and did it.  Knowing is actually making me nervous.  The good side to knowing what I am in for is that I feel I have prepared more effectively.  I feel good about the swim, except a little nervous about swimming in the Sckukill River.  Everyone says it isn’t bad and that is is actually nicer than some lakes, but still the whole idea of it skeeves me a little.  Of course, once the day comes and I have to get in a swim, I know I’ll be fine.  As far as the bike goes, I know I am prepared.  I have been spinning two days a week and did a lot of outdoor biking as well.  I feel extremely comfortable on my bike and have so much more confidence this year with biking than I did last year.  I am still slow and I still have fears but I really think I am going to be okay on the bike portion.  The run is probably the least of my worries.  Other than some heavy legs and some exhaustion, I forsee no problems on the run.  If my knee starts bothering me, I’ll walk/run.  No matter what happens on the swim, bike or run, one thing is for sure…I WILL finish!

Whew…see I told you this would be quite a post! I wanted to post over the weekend but my laptop has been funky; I am having it checked out by the IT in my building and just hoping it isn’t a virus.  Whatever it is, some sites arent coming up right and one of them is google reader so I am WAY behind.  I am going to try and catch up over lunch and hopefully by next weekend my laptop will be back to normal. 

In the spirit of my upcoming tri here is a pic of me from my first tri last year:

I love this picture of me. I didn’t know it was being taken and my face so perfectly says everything I am feeling.  It was my nerves, excitement, fear and pride all rolled into one.  I had come a long way and looking at it now reminds me how much further I have come since then and how much further I can go!