I successfully completed my first Olympic Triathlon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What an INCREDIBLE experience!  I could barely keep the smile off of my face for most of the race.  Yep, I ended up walking 80% of the 10K, but I could care less.  I had a blast, I completed the race, and I am happily exhausted!!

Unofficially, I completed the race in 3:58:46 -  "way back when" I started to think about completing an Oly, my goal was to come in under 4 hours - W00t, W00t!

Photos are in my album:
http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/photos/show-album.asp?albumid=9401&photoid=74435

I am excitedly nervous about tomorrow's race! I will be leaving work early to head to the Mpls convention center to pick up my race packet!!

Cripes! I feel like a kid waiting for Christmas! I am having an incredibly difficult time staying focused at work. {staring at the clock, waiting for 1:30 PM}

Alrighty, here is my plan for the weekend, thanks to great advice from Dr. Scott - who reminded me that a DNF is okay. It is acceptable (and intelligent) to stop if I start getting really uncomfortable.

As I recall another BTer stating: DFL > DNF > DNS
So... if it is DNF, it is still better than DNS

This is not my A race for the season, and I have always been of the mindset that this is a warm-up for the Turtleman Oly, in August.

I have made a promise to myself that I will complete the swim and the bike legs, period.
The run is two laps, which gives me the opportunity to assess my physical state between the two laps, to determine whether the second lap is wise.

It has been a busy, and fun, couple of weeks. I am in the process of moving back in with my honey - amazing what 12+ months of personal growth can do for two people.  It is wonderful to have the "pack" reunited - I missed the house, the boys (two goldies, two kitties), and, obviously, Val. 
She is doing great after having the heart attack, and will be going back to work, next week.  Even though my "vitals" are great (BP, cholesterol, etc.) I have joined her in "heart healthy" eating - including saying good-bye to my beloved cheese {sigh}.  Okay, perhaps once in a while I will indulge, but very rarely. 

I am still a bit up in the air about this weekend's Oly triathlon.  My back is being a bit finicky lately, but I have also been pushing myself a bit more, and also dramatically reduced the amount of ibuprofen that I have been taking, and virtually eliminated the use of flexeral.  I have left a detailed message for Dr. Scott to get his educated opinion, since he has been working with me this whole time.

One of the exciting aspects is that Val and I picked up used, matching 2008 Yamaha Zuma scooters... they are fantastic!!!  I have been commuting to work on mine the past couple of days... what a blast! The previous owners modified a few things - they removed all of the decals, painted the gray parts black, as well as the chrome seat rail... it is a sleek looking machine.  Plus, they adjusted the throttle a bit so this bad boy can almost hit 40 mph!