Triathlon.

Training for a sprint triathlon was one thing I wanted to do this year. What were the others?

2009 New Years Resolutions
1. Get a steady volunteer gig with a theatre.
I just started my first project with the Arts and Business Council Business Volunteers for the Arts program. I felt like a bit of a spy, as I seem to know way more about the arts than other volunteers. However, my first partner is a on-line project manager and a lighting designer on the side, so I think I'm okay. Not as cool as a lighting designer, but okay.

2. See a play at least once a month.
I have not kept up with this one. I'm working on it! Summer proved harder than I thought, and the tickets proved a bit more expensive than I thought.

3. Keep credit card debt at zero.
Let's keep moving.

4. Run another marathon triathlon.
Substitute triathlon for marathon, and we're in good shape! I completed the Danskin Women's Triathlon last weekend with the following times:



I made it through the triathlon, but man, it would have been a lot easier if I had trained 100%. In reality, I probably trained about 60%. I did the triathlon alongside a relay team lead by friend Kaye. We woke up at 4:15 a.m. last Sunday and both had panic attacks. It was about 45 degrees outside. And we would be swimming in a lake in about 3 hours. We bundled up, headed over to Kaye's the home of Kaye's running teammate, Leslie, a couple blocks over, and snoozed in the car all the way up to Pleasant Prairie (Leslie's fiance drove. They just got engaged, and were canoodling the entire time, it was the cutest thing in the world). Getting there took longer than we thought, and there was also a hiccup at the drop off. Thankfully, Kaye's team member Maria took our bikes up the day prior, so we had very little to do to prepare. Kaye and I found the bikes, jumped up and down a couple times, and realized that about 75% of the women there were stretching into wet suits. After helping a woman get into hers, I turned to three other girls our age in swim suits.

"Hey, are you guys using a wet suit?" I asked.
"No! Are you?!" they asked. We could see our fear mirrored in each others faces---were we crazy? Was the water freezing? Would we sink without them? ARE WE COMPLETELY UNPREPARED?

HA! Jokes on all those old ladies with money for wet suits. The lake was a balmy 72 degrees. A wet suit would have helped with buoyancy, for sure, but Kaye and I both pulled through the lake with no major problems. Kaye killed it, coming in at about 15 minutes for 800 meters. I had a mid-level moment of panic and decided to backstroke the whole thing at the last minute. A wise decision.

Maria and Leslie were waiting at the bikes and I didn't have to pour water on my feet cause the jaunt across the parking lot from the swimming area cleaned my feet adequately. I popped on my shorts, socks, shoes, helmet, and shirt, and jogged my bike over to the start line. And, friends, this is where I KILLED IT. My sweet, sweet bike was one of the few road bikes being used that day, so I passed about 150 people in the 12 mile ride. Woot woot! I was so happy the swim was over I was cheering on other participants and yelling hello to all the geese flying south. Hello, Geese! Hi, Goose! Goose, goose, goose! Happy to be out of the water like me, Goose?

And did I mention I looked THIS GOOD?



When I got off the bike, I found I couldn't quite feel a couple of my toes, and my calves felt like bricks. I dropped the bike and kept running for the last leg of the race, the 5k. I felt like I was running on wooden stumps because my legs were so tight, but I knew that 3.1 miles was nothing, so I pushed through and passed a bunch of people again. I should note that every participant had their age written on the back of their right calf. So while I passed ladies with 35 or 45 on their leg, I didn't feel too great. But, when I picked out a 23-year-old in the line and ran past her, I was cheering in my head: YEAH, 23! TAKE THAT! YOU CAN STILL DRINK AND CAROUSE ALL NIGHT AND FUNCTION THE NEXT DAY? Take THAT! MY 27 PITIES YOUR STRIDE WITH ALL THIS WISDOM AND JUNK I HAVE OVER YOU.

By the end of the race, I felt just as bad as I did after the marathon last year, but I recuperated much more quickly. Would I do it again? Definitely. But I'll prepare much more and try swimming in the lake before the race day.


5. Learn to play racquetball
Done and done, and I still have the YMCA membership to prove it.

6. Record more songs.
Tim and I recorded a song for our friend Sara and Joe's wedding gift. It was pretty great.

7. Back up the laptop.
I think I did that on January 2. So we're good.