Only 10 days left?!?!

So Ms. Denise and I were chit-chatting and she pointed out that I have only 10 days left before my first ever triathlon. Yes indeed, such is the case. As the 26th of September bears down upon us, I figured it would be best to take a moment to see what's happened. As of today, I've been straddling the line between bike-racer / triathlete for the past 2 months and have enjoyed every bit of it. However, as with everything, there are parts that I like and dislike.

DISLIKE:
1) Swimming - What can I say about this one...I'm skinny [but wasn't always like that!] and therefore, I SINK in the water. Truth is, I don't pack a lot of mass in my upper body and so my arms always feel like lead weights in the water. Let's make no illusions about it: I SUCK at swimming. Will it get better over time? You bet your ass it wil...

2) PAM Spray - Not vegan? Hold your horses Nancy. This isn't to eat. Triathletes must spray themselves with PAM on parts of their body to get the wetsuit to come off easier. Do I do this? Nope. Will I? Probably not. However, I witness it.

3) Waterbottles out the okole - C'mon..any roadie will tell you that having water bottles shooting out your arse is extremely frowned upon in cycling. Triathltes just say 'get over it'. I say: Once a roadie, always a roadie. NEVER EVER EVER will I stoop so low to have bottles out the ass.

4) Choppy water - This needs no explanation. Combine rough water with the fact that I sink in the ocean and you've basically got Titanic Part Deux except without so many people. I'm Jack [Leonardo DiCaprio] sans the douchebag haircut and cheesy I'm-a-figure-drawing-artist-pick-up-lines.

5) [and I guess this is a run off of 4] INGESTING salt water. It's hard not to when you're swimming. Doubly hard when you're swimming in open water and you're all full of lactic acid. I swear, I must take in so much salt water it's no wonder my salt values are always high despite my high sweat-rate on the run!

6) Sockless [running and] Cycling - C'mon. Really. I mean...seriously? Triathletes dont wear socks to increase transition speed among the disciplines. I agree with the concept however, I don't think I'm at the point where I can get used to it. I tried it out a couple of times and was left with bloody blisters from my shoe material scrapping against my bare skin. No bueno. Eventually, I'll have to bite the bullet on this...for now, I'll take my feet the way they are currently...ya know...not bleeding. :-)

tomorrow the LIKES! That'll be enough to tide you over hopefully.