Still Life (not fruits)

What is This, Craigslist?

I got some cool new stuff today. After rejecting a variety of ugly TYR transition bags (sorry TYR, you make great swimsuits, but those bags were unattractive) I chose a neat-o North Face bag at the Sports Basement. It has the following nifty features:
1. You can wear it as a backpack (oh, say, on your bike, to travel to Aquatic Park) or carry it like a duffel (perhaps to the Bakar Fitness Center).
2. It is waterproof.
3. it is bright yellow, a good, safe color.
4. It is boxy, and therefore, a good use of internal space.





I also got one of those cool O'Neill swim shirts I wished for merely a week ago!



Ah, capitalism! I reap your gifts.

Wrong 55!

Today marks the official start of the Spring 2008 Team in Training Season! The kickoff event was downtown in a hotel, just like last year. Nate planned to meet me there after he ran some errands of his own...and I inadvertently sent him on a wild goose chase. I remembered from last year that the kickoff was held at the Parc 55 Hotel, and I reminded Nate of this fact. When I got off MUNI at Powell station, I checked my informational brochure (go me for remembering to bring it, along with my health and liability forms!) and did a double take...the kickoff event was actually being held at a different hotel: The Mariott 55! Apparently the Marriott 55's address is 55 4th street, whereas the Parc 55 is located at 55 Cyril Magnin Lane. Fortunately, the two hotels are just a few blocks apart, but how random is that!

In my haste, I failed to convey this information to Nate, and apparently after he wandered around the Parc 55 for awhile, he had the presence of mind to go to the Apple store and use the free Internet to figure this whole mess out. He arrived promptly as the kickoff was wrapping up and filled me in on the whole delightful treasure hunt. Ok, it's not much of a story, but I thought the deal with two 55s was vaguely entertaining. I tried.

I was so happy to see so many familiar faces at the kickoff! There were lots of teammates from the Spring 07 season back for another go around. To top it all off, I got a free TNT chapstick AND green swimcap for my pre-season fundraising efforts. Go Team! Looking over the schedule, I see that I will really be getting the season started off right by missing the very first team workout due to an after school workshop. Those thirteen miles will run themselves, right?

Wish List...in Particular Order

Smile Pretty!

I was looking for some triathlon-related photos of some sort on Nate's computer and I stumbled (hehe that's what I do!) across some old photos of myself, all pre-TNT. The first thing I thought was, "Wow! Did I really have that many different haircuts in the 1.5 years we lived in Campbell?" Although I was teaching step aerobics and "Body Pump" at the time, I had no idea what exciting athletic endeavors were waiting just beyond the horizon for me, out at the Presidio Sports Basement.


This one is from my "Lost in Translation" phase...or should I say Nate's "Lost in Translation" phase.


Definitely from my "I want to be a NOFX groupie" phase (I would have settled for being a Rancid groupie during this phase, too).


Ok, ok, I cheated a little here. This was probably taken VERY shortly after we moved to San Francisco from Campbell. I'm in my "Having short hair will make me look more like a teacher, right?" phase.

Enough said.

Whose Pool Rocks?

I have to admit, I have really been spoiled in terms of pools. It all began at UCSC, when Nate and I decided to take swimming class. The pool at UCSC is AMAZING! To be fair, it's true that some of our fond memories have less to do with the pool itself than of the people in it. Our first swim instructor, Julie, was my inspiration to race in the Sentinel triathlon (check that one of the list, baby!). And fortunately, no one but Nate and myself remembers the hilarious "Lindsey incident" of 2001. Perhaps even more hilarious was the obscene zebra-print Speedo Tyler used to wear to impress the ladies during class the following year. But I digress.

After a traumatic pool experience as members of the Saratoga YMCA (indoor pool only...too many fumes...elderly doing water aerobics...small children in pool diapers) we are SO back on track at the new UCSF pool (those Regents don't get much right, but they sure can build pools!). Our current pool has the following awesome attributes:

1. Proximal to 22nd street CalTrain station
2. Proximal to Potrero Sports Basement
3. Rooftop!
4. Heated, especially on the weekends
5. Incredible view of the downtown skyline (see item #3)
6. No diapers :0) (There's also an indoor pool...yikes...that pool is at least 100 degrees...stay away!)
7. The enticing aroma of the Anchor Brewery

Let's be fair here. Nothing is perfect. I would change the following about the UCSF pool:
1. Gale-force winds in the pm hours
2. The bike locks. WHY REINVENT THE WHEEL? I can't stand those preposterous contraptions!

Nate and I swim there a lot. Nate is a great swimming partner, but he always beats me, even though he swims, like, half as often as do I. He has the height advantage. He is like a graceful dolphin in the pool, and I am like a trout trying to go over one of those little bridges that protects fish from the California Aquaduct. Sigh. Slow and steady wins the race, anyway, right?

Goooaaaal!

By the end of the season, I'd better be able to lift that bike with one arm, not two.

Please, please, autographs after the interview!

I just found this short video interview Nate conducted with me at the finish line in Honolulu. I can't wait to have that feeling again!

Back and Better than Ever!

Well, after I finished my last tri in Santa Cruz (alas, NOT with TNT...) lots of folks were asking whether or not I planned to do Team in Training again. I said "Hell, yeah!" but I needed a couple of years off to recoup and so forth, and then registration for the Spring 2008 season rolled around and guess what? True to form, I impulsively signed up not to do a sprint, not to do an Olympic, but to compete in a HALF IRONMAN triathlon. Yikes! Who here is crazy? I am so excited to be back in the game with this new goal. The season kickoff isn't until 1/26/08, so technically, this is a sneak preview announcement with more to come in a couple of weeks. No diggity, no doubt!

Here's the address for my TNT fundraising page for those early birds who want to spend some of their hard-earned worms:

http://www.active.com/donate/tntgsf/rebkline