Not Exactly a Stereo-Typical Spring Break

I finished my last day of classes for the quarter last Thursday, 3-17, but I didn’t really feel like my two weeks of scholastic freedom had started. I didn’t really feel like I would enjoy the first week anyway. There were still assignments to be submitted, and a bike choice to make, and surgery, and girls(there’s always girl issues. Story of my life, but I’m not writing about those), and blah blah blah. I was looking forward to sleeping late though…as if that could happen. As melancholy as all that sounds, a lot of big events happened, really exciting things, and I’m a little anxious to be writing and sharing them.

Let’s talk school first. I took two classes this quarter because I didn’t get the email that registration was open until the last couple days, and almost everything was filled. So with just Health/Wellness and Abnormal Psychology on tap, I started out the quarter thinking, “Maybe I can pull off a 4.0.” The health class was a joke. With test questions like, “What is flexibility” as a matching, I was only worried about my grade being below an A due to the fact that I’m always 5minutes late, and teachers and SUPPOSED to mark off after X number of times. And I LOVE psychology, so I made sure I actually went to class and paid attention. Lots of good stuff going on in that class, and a bit of self-discovery. After a 78 on the first test, because I didn’t know how the teacher did her exams, I settled into it and that was my lowest grade. I knew a B was the lowest I could go(unless she counted off for those 5minutes), but I wanted an A. I enjoy school, and the only reason I(was)still playing catch-up is from all the screwing around (mainly because I was bored with all the BS core classes I had already taken in HS, so I had a shoddy attendance record) I did in between graduating high school and my wreck. So I went to class 95% of the time, and turned in everything ahead of time, and then when grades were posted yesterday… I FINISHED WITH AN A IN BOTH CLASSES!! I even got praised from my psych teach because of my 100% on the case study I did. Those 2 As mean that all my classes actually count now, and no more playing catch up. It’s a good feeling.

Now my sinus surgery was on Wednesday, the 23rd, and after talking to my doc, and him knowing me pretty well, he gave me clearance to do anything I felt like as soon as I left the OR, as long as I was smart about it. That’s not hard now, but had he told me that 4-5months ago, and if I didn’t have a coach who has reeled me in, I would have gone way too hard as soon as passed over the hospital threshold. The doctor opened my sinuses, and as soon as I woke up post op(minutes after getting out of the OR), I was pushed back down to the bed by the nurse because i tried to get up and go. That’s how good I felt, and why I told everyone I’d be up and about as soon as the surgery was over. I’m kinda resilient. After a couple cups of coffee and breakfast after, I was ready to run… But Coach wouldn’t let me do anything. I wasn’t even “allowed” to take a walk until Friday. It was terrible; worse than my 140.6 taper. I felt like my whole body was electrified, and like I was going to explode. This is where Coach’s “Quote of the Week” come in handy; they’re all about patience and practicing the little things. It’s like Jedi mind-training, which is good because self-control and patience are not things I have when it comes to training and racing. Anyway; even with the sponges in there to make sure everything is clotted, I can breath a gazillion times better. It’s like I’ve never been able to breath before, and honestly feels like I’m wearing an O2 mask because there’s so much more airflow. I feel like this is going to have a giant affect on my training, especially swimming, which is great since I’m trying to make this year a real breakthrough season. And by trying I mean I am 😀

So; the bike… Let me start by saying all things happen for a reason. You can argue that with me all day, but you’ll lose. The circumstances of my wreck alone trump your arguments. So here’s why I said that. I got a Retul fit a few months back to see what size and frame I needed to order from Kestrel. We also factored in that I would be doing mainly 70.3 or longer races(SO not the plan now), and decided that while all of Kestrel’s frames will make me aerodynamical(fun word), the 4000 would be the best fit for long course because of its’ somewhat less aggressive geometry, and therefor greater comfort. Well my order had some issues when submitted, completely my fault, due to my Microsoft Office being from like 2000. Weren’t we still running DOS back then? So when I emailed the completed Excel forms back to our A-M-A-Z-I-N-G troop mother Carole(DON’T FORGET THE E) Sharpless, my fossil of a program ate her whole file of everyone’s info, so I just had to tell her what I wanted every time an order form was sent out. So, because of my old programs(got the brand new ones now), my order was sent in late. Kestrel didn’t have any more 4000s, but they did have the more aggressive AIRFOIL SL. Somehow Amanda ann Carole had my bike ordered, shipped, and too my house in 4days. All3Sports had it built to fit in 2, and now she’s in my room. Notice how my seat is a good 3-4 inches above my hoods…the set up makes my old one seem as relaxed as a road bike fit. I took her on a quick 5min spin in my neighborhood, and DAMN!! I’m going to be SOOO fast, and I left her in the little ring the whole time. It’s going to take some getting used to though. That’s part of the fun though, and with the crappy rain here in GA, I’ll put her into the trainer and learn to change my grip so I can do it like second nature when I take her outside and open her up. I went outside the club here and named her myself instead of having a sort of contest on here to pick a name. She’ll be called Cassia Karma. Cassia is Greek for champion, and Karma for, ‘you get out what you put in’. That way I’m reminded of my aspirations and remember that there’s no half assing about it; you have to work to obtain results. Besides that, there’s 2 major changes. She weighs 3lbs less(18.5) than my old bike, and her feet literally don’t even feel like they weigh anything. The other is that now I have an ULTEGRA crank set. And that makes my pedal stroke feel like it’s 1000x stronger thanks to the highly improved power transfer over my old crank set. Anyone know what the land speed record is? Or have Cancellara or Phinney’s number?

Speaking of awesome sponsors, TYR has the best swim stuff out there. Case and point is I’ve had one jammer for almost 18months, and it still fits like it should, and isn’t see through. I went through 2 suits of another less SPEEDY brand just in the 8 months of actual race season my first year competing. So, with their support, and a few things I needed(and more that I just wanted because they’re BA), my first shipment came with lots of goodies. The most important is my new favorite hat.  My old black hat I’ve had since middle school, and the bill is broken in half along with quite a few other character traits. I also got my Streamline Training Board, Competitor Tri Short, Alliance Durafast Splice Square Leg, and a pair of board shorts for the beach this summer. (that month at Sea Island can’t come soon enough, especially since it’s 15minutes from the best training local I’ve ever been to, Jekyll Island. Also the site of my very first tri back in 2009). Go check out the tri gear. The shorts have this awesome ZIPPERED pocket in the back(I’ve lost stuff plenty in tri shorts w/o a zipper), and these new super comfy stoppers at the end of the legs. A1 gear for sure.

I haven’t been able to use my new aero helmet yet (LAZER tardis), surgery and weather, but I did design my custom paint job. WARNING: THESE ARE VERY ROUGH SKETCHES. Here’s what I want on my crazy space helmet:  The spider is a long story, and I think I only told it to one person, and I think she’s engaged now, but IDK. The verses are very important for different reasons. Jeremiah 29:11 was kind of ‘MY’ verse when I had my wreck, and when I was given my choice while in the coma. 1 Corinthians 9:24 is about how to race, and how to live. I want the font to be graffiti-ish, but like I said, these are very rough drawings.

(I told you I’m not writing about the girl issues)

So now I may be able to actually enjoy the break from school. As an triathlete, sleeping in means sleeping past 8, and there’s no worry of fitting training around the day’s events because I don’t have anything else I have to do. I may even go out late!! And once classes do start back it marks officially only having 26 days until the first race of the season at TTP John Tanner #1, and only 47 until REV3 KNOXVILLE!!! Patience… Patience