Duxford Girl

Moooooo, splash, splash. You guessed it, another swim night:

http://www.shape.com/fitness/sports/training_triathlon_week_1_wednesday

Swimming can sometimes be daunting before I even leave the house. First of all, I don't want to wear my competitive suit right now. It's too tight around my chest and squeezes everything in exactly the wrong way. Even when my weight is down I look stupid in my suit. I almost welcome the fact that I'll have to be in a wetsuit for my tri. I'll know I've finally hit the pinnacle of fit and thin when I can put on a Speedo or Tyr and not look like a giant potato. So for now, it's various parts of tankinis that I wouldn't wear to the beach and don't care if the chlorine destroys them.

Is Bruce Springsteen made of cheese and scotch because he just keeps getting better with age:

www.brucespringsteen.net

There was a time that I would not look forward to going for a run but tonight was a scheduled run and I thought about how great that run was going to be all day:

http://www.shape.com/fitness/sports/training_triathlon_week_1_tuesday

As explained on Shape's site, this plan is to get a person up to speed for a Sprint Tri so I should be in great shape for an even smaller length race. Because I've been running for awhile now, I didn't bother to do the walking portions. I warmed up, ran my 25 minutes and cooled down.

The good news is that because of my two-week tussle with the flu I've lost all of my post-vacation booze weight. The bad news is that I've also lost two weeks of training. Hence, my first triathlon has been moved to mid-July instead of the end of May. I'm disappointed but I'd be way more disappointed if I got a DNF in my first tri.

I'm competing in the Coral Springs “Tri-It” on July 18th, www.coralspringstriathlon.com. It includes an open-water swim which the original tri I was signed up did not have. The event is short; 350 m swim, 10 km bike and 2.5 km run. If it goes well, I'm going to move on to Sprint length with the end goal of competing in Olympic length triathlons. I've yet to get the Ironman bug but I won't rule it out. If my years of weigh loss have taught me anything, it's that anything is possible if you set your mind on it.

The night before I left for Jamaica, I had the sudden brain wave that at a couples resort there was probably going to be more than a few good opportunities for bride pictures. I raided my gown cupboard and found a dress I'd purchased cheaply, a so-called “destination” wedding dress. I tried it on, it fit. I tossed it in my suitcase with a veil.

It's hard to believe that it's been a year since I got happy amnio results. Right about this time last year I got the thrill of baby's first kick. That kicking isn't so thrilling anymore as it's usually accompanied by screaming. Still, it's all mostly good as Simon changes and grows.

Today's our last day here which is unfortunate because I'm finally relaxed enough to just chill. It takes me a long time to wind down. Here's a few thoughts and notes as I sit on the beach and enjoy the ocean.

Some of you may remember a flick in the late 1980's called Cocktail. It was a relatively forgettable movie, made to cash in on the massive appeal of Tom Cruise at the time. The most memorable thing about it, in fact was a song about being happy that got a ridiculous amount of radio play time. In any case, if you remember the movie at all, there was a love scene that took place in a waterfall. It was supposed to be this intimate grotto in the woods.

In reality, it was the Dunn's River Falls (www.dunnsriverja.com), one of Jamaica's favourite tourist spots, the least likely place for a lover's tryst. That doesn't negate the fact that the falls are spectacular and well worth the visit. There are a number of ways to visit the falls and we choose to take a catamaran tour. For the record, the ride home was pretty choppy and I DIDN'T GET SEASICK ONCE!

I've always wanted to go to Jamaica. I'm not really sure why. Maybe it's from reading too much about Nelson's time in the West Indies, or maybe it's too many years of listening to bands at Folk Fest cover Marley, or maybe I just got the idea that it was a good place to go back in the early 80s when The Love Boat was on and I was young and impressionable.

In any case, I'd heard from people over the last several years that they did not enjoy Jamaica. Complaints about weather, safety and atmosphere abound so I took everyone's advice three years ago and went to Mexico instead.

As I sit on the balcony of my room on this hot, beautiful night (listening to a live Reggae band), I'm hear to tell you; I'd take Jamaica over Mexico any day.