Word to your mom!

Word to your mom! And by that I mean, I am getting very nervous for my triathlon! It's officially less than two weeks away now. The swim alone, no problem. The bike alone, no problem. The run on it's own, no problem. Even the swim plus the bike, or swim plus the run, no problem. However, the bike with the run...um...yeah, it's going to be difficult. I have no doubts I will finish, I'm just scared the run will end up being the most miserable 13.1 miles of my life and I will begin to question why I thought this was such a brilliant idea??

Perhaps we should weigh some of the pros and cons of this whole triathlon thingy:

Pros:

1. Bragging rights: If I'm going to be perfectly honest I must put this somewhere towards the top of the list. I mean anything with the word "ironman" even when preceded with "half" sounds pretty hardcore.

2. Getting my "tri" body: This in theory sounded really cool about two months ago. Truth be told I look about exactly the same. I mostly blame it on chocolate. But oh well, I'll be equally as thrilled when I'm passing some little 115 lb girl with a killer body and thinking to myself, "yeah, you may have the perfect body...but you're still being beat by the chubby girl. That's just pathetic!"

3. Making the most of my singleness: As you can see, I'm struggling for pros. But lets be honest, real people don't have time in their busy schedules for such self indulgence. So in essence, what I'm saying is graduate students are not actually productive members of society. They are mostly confused young adults trying to buy some time before they have to grow up and decide what to do with the rest of their lives. Okay, so maybe I'm just describing myself :) With that said I'm open to suggestions on what to do with the rest of my life.

4. Road biking: Yes, I have discovered the joys of riding my bike. I'm not sure what makes this so fun, perhaps it's the fact I no longer have to run everyday, or maybe it's all the fun gear, or maybe it's just another device to further prolong my graduation? Anyway, it sure is fun.

5. Stress Reliever: Sometimes there is nothing better than running away for 2 hours, literally :)

Cons:

1. Expensive: I'm too embarrassed to express just exactly how much this race will cost me...but just know it's alot. Entry fees, cost of travel, wetsuit rental (??), tri-clothing, etc. Infact I just purchased a nice set of aero bars for my borrowed bike. I find it slightly ironic I now own aero bars yet no road bike?? I suppose their is only one solution to this problem...I'll have to buy a bike!

2. Time consuming: Seriously it's like a part time job...only you don't get paid.

3. Guilt: Ah, yes the guilt. I suppose this may negate "stress reliever". While it may be a stress reliever on some days other days it's just a chore. And like any other chore that doesn't get done it's always on the back of your mind eating away at you.

So there you have it. The pro's win by 2pts...therefore I guess I'll go ahead with it.