Monkey Gone to Heaven

Still...recovering...from...partial...HEATstroke from Lollapalooza yesterday. It was pretty friggin' awesome, but the word "HOT" does not justifiably describe what it felt like. A fan of the outdoors during bouts of extreme hot weather I am not, but for good music and a potentially once-in-a-lifetime opportunity (hours of great music against the beautiful skyline in Grant Park), I'm willing to suck it up. Ooh, look mom -- a run-on sentence! I'm glad I took that opportunity, but I doubt I could do it again. I'm getting old!

In short, I LOVED the Pixies, being the late-blooming fan I am, as well as the Arcade Fire, Spoon, and the Killers. I also enjoyed an entertaining show by International Noise Conspiracy, even though I don't know a single one of their songs. Weezer and Death Cab for Cutie were good too, but because they both closed each night, I had officially run out of steam and thoughts of a cool shower and a cool, comfortable, air-conditioned home (and bed with freshly laundered sheets) dominated my mind and outweighed my interest in the music. I admit it: I'm a wuss. Anyway what have we learned about ourselves? I heart the Pixies and I cannot tolerate hot weather very well.



After a week of not working out and eating like shit, it's time to get back on (or off) the wagon. I just feel gross, and I definitely don't want to look how I feel. Back to LPAC and the bike path, here I come. Also, if I'm truly going to do Lake Geneva, I can't get all lazy and undisciplined. I realized too I will have to figure out a way to somehow get exercise in Maine -- either hiking or going for runs would be ideal.

Damn work, now getting in the way of my life. Why is it that every single one of my cases rears its ugly head at the exact same time!? I have a house to decorate and depressing thoughts to contemplate, people! Instead, it's "joint and several liability" THIS and "Illinois Securities Law" THAT, and Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 sleep inducement. GOD, law is boring. Sing on, Mr. Grieves.

I Did It!

I did it! Or, I should say, Brittany, Raquel, Kate, and I did it! To forewarn you, this may be a bit annoying because I am going to talk about the race. So skip to the bottom if you'd like. It's still kind of sinking in, but I can't believe we did it. A half-ironman triathlon! Even more so is that it wasn't as horrible as I thought it would be. I mean, it was not easy by any means, but I think with the training that we did, and the mental preparation, all of that together made me realize that we would be able to finish. To recap, it was muggy and overcast. The water was choppy, and I had a bit of an episode that really made me freak out and feel like I was going to drown a bit in the water. It's not a good feeling, people. I actually had to force my mind to calm down, because I knew if I continued to panic, I would be unable to finish (and I was going to finish, goddammit). As bad as it was, it made me realize why I do these friggin' things. I really feel as though I challenged myself to complete something that a year ago I would not have thought possible. It took both mental and physical discipline, and really made me realize that I am not comfortable unless I feel challenged in some way.

Anyway, Kate and I swam together as much as possible, waited for each other in transition, and took off on the bike together. It began to rain the moment we set off, and rained (hard) for the entire 56 miles, but the rain was actually a blessing. I've never biked in the rain before, but it was AWESOME. It was cool and refreshing, and FAR better than hot and sunny, even when it poured so hard the raindrops actually began to hurt. I got pretty good at eating and drinking while riding. Thanks to Raquel, "Big Poppa" from Ready to Die was in my head for most of the time:



Needless to say, I did not too engage in many deep thoughts, but I tried to contemplate as many non-bike thoughts as possible ("Ooh, look at all the corn." "What should I name my bike?" "Why did I do this again?" "Who in god's green earth would live in Blountsville, IN?" "Should I have more gatorade or water?" "Disgusting Clif bar." "What are we going to eat tonight at Jeff's?" "Was that a rooster?" And especially, "Oh, I see, this is why John Kerry lost.")

We found each other on the run and were able to talk and encourage each other through goddamn 13 miles of pain. The run was definitely the most physically challenging portion. I have to give so much credit to Raquel and Kate because I began to get crabby by the end I would not have been able to continue without them. I also give so so much credit to Brittany for rocking out (I'll leave the other part out) and for letting us rely on her for just about everything. So thanks, gals. I'm so proud of us!

We spent the remainder of the weekend at Jeff's parents' lake house in Culver, IN. We were so blessed to be treated with incredible hospitality -- tons of food, booze, pop, dessert, central air conditioning, and comfortable beds waited for us when we arrived. We slept in, had coffee on their pier, ate a delicious breakfast of pancakes, bacon, and eggs, and spent the rest of the afternoon resting, swimming, going out on their boat, and just generally lazing around. It was difficult to come back.

So, all in all, I've learned a couple of things about myself. First, it's always good to have friends, especially friends who are generous, kind, and supportive (and make sure you reciprocate that generosity, kindness, and support). Second, always challenge yourself! But don't get too cocky. Third, be grateful for your health. I am.

And, summer is only HALFWAY over, dammit.

Countdown to Muncie

OK OK I know, I am getting repetitive with my titles here. But I couldn't think of another way to phrase it and I'm short on time so get over it. Three days and counting to the longest race I have attempted thus far. I know, who cares (I hardly do), but it's hard not to be distracted by this. There is so much going on right now, and always in the back of my mind is, "How am I going to run a friggin' half-marathon after sitting on my ass for 56 miles?!?!?" Seriously, the last time I ran that distance was at least two years ago with Jess and we were both about to die by mile 10, and that's after doing absolutely nothing beforehand! Augh! And anyone who knows me knows I couldn't care less about mileage or distances or any of that crapola, but I'm just seriously communicating my anxiety about this thing. I also can't help but feel that my friends/training partners (picture below) are going to be relying on me to not be a whiney little girl. And yes, I do mean that pejoratively even though I'm supposed to be a feminist. We have worked hard together up until this point, and I don't want to let them down. In some ways they will be the ones getting me through this psychological test.

Anyway, that is all. I'm supposed to be drafting a reply brief right now about fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, bleah bleah bleah, so I will go back to that riveting subject matter. Wish me luck, peeps!

Here are a couple of pics of my good friends and training partners (minus Kate):

One more thing: just when you lose faith in everything because of the walking evil that is Karl Rove, the Daily Show comes to restore that faith. Hot Karl! I'm dying! But I still do not think he is going to go down. He is just too evil, powerful, and manipulative.

The Countdown Begins

Summer's . . . almost . . . over!!!