A Plate of Wet Served with Sauce and Sweat

Hubby and I spent part of last weekend at a ranch in the middle of Nowhere, Texas.  Before we settled in, the high temperatures and instability of a stationary front brought Nowhere some much needed rain.

That didn't stop us from driving back to "town" to eat at a local BBQ joint.  The amount of food on our plates could feed several starving children or one super-sized Texan.  They were a bit skimpy on the sauce which was brought to us in a small flask but they were quick to bring us some more once our flask was running on empty.   I topped off my dinner with a yummy slice of Peanut Butter Pie!

Afterwards, back at the ranch, we captured a sunset photo as another thunderstorm was doing its best to dazzle us:

Hubby was trying to photograph the lightning before it got too dark.

Saturday, we enjoyed a pleasant day in Nowhere, walking dripping sweat all over the 5-mile nature trail before spending most of the afternoon in the shade at the pool.   

 Two geeks in Middle Earth Nowhere

At the pool, we soaked ourselves in the warm water a few times.  It was almost pleasant outside while we were wet.  After dinner Saturday evening, Hubby drove us back to civilization so I could get ready for my race and attempt to get some sleep.

Sunday, I got up at the quiet, non-shining hour of 4:15 am.  This must be before that Crazy Early Girl Dawn but after the crickets and night owls have finally gone to sleep.  I left Hubby snoring softly although he tells me he doesn't sleep well without me beside him (Neither do I when the situation is reversed.)   As I drove out of the neighborhood, I disturbed a baby fox.  He was adorable but I told him to go home to Mommy.

 No, this isn't "my" fox.  It was dark outside, remember?

  My fox was close in size and color to this little tyke.

I found the event without incident and got all my stuff ready.  There were several newbies and since I've done this before I played coach.  Evil Twin tried to intervene and tell people they had to swim naked and wear their bike helmet while running but I didn't let her ruin their experience.  

Sheesh.

The swim was held in an outdoor pool.  This time of the year, the water is Texas warm (cooled bath water).   Although swimming is still tough for me, the water felt great.  

The bike route was reasonably scenic for Texas country; beat-up pickups on the side of the road, trees and shrubbery, a few *old-style churches here and there, cattle and horses in the fields, and flattened and chopped up armadillos in the middle of the road.  Yeah, just the normal stuff.

The course had Texas hills (just ask my legs) and the prevailing southerly summer breeze (My legs didn't like this but my face did)!

It wasn't really hot on the bike since I was still wet from the swim.  My backside was more than ready to be off that bike, though, after the 16 miles.  Places that shouldn't be numb....er...well.....were.

By the time I was off the bike, I was reasonably dry.  My legs were noodles, formed from quicksand.

The running course was on part of a golf course.  I felt like I was wearing an oven.

The best part about the event besides the finish line?  It was the post-race ice-cold water, pancakes and watermelon.

YeeHaw!

*In the larger cities, we have numerous what I call "new style" churches that meet in strip shopping centers.  What the no steeple?

Photo credits:  Geeks: Jan Powers,  Storm: Hubby,  Baby fox: Here Be Dragons on flickr. com, Creative Commons license (see sidebar).

Tri Baby, Tri!

My very first triathlon is complete. Status: PASS

I'm already planning improvements for next year. Grab some caffeine and let me tell you all about it:

We gathered in the transition area at O'Dark-Thirty before Dawn had even thought about showing her butt crack. This is where were marked for target practice......er....I mean labeled with permanent markers. Yes. I still have the remnants of my race number on both arms and my age on my leg. No, I didn't get any pictures of my arms and legs.

That's my blue bike and the pirate wig is
at the bottom of the pile.

After setting up my bike and organizing my stuff for the race, standing in line to get my timing chip, and a quick pit stop, it was time to start the race.

The first event was swimming which is by far my weakest event. We had to swim 300 meters in an indoor pool. The lanes were 50 meters long and the course was like a snake. That is, you swim down the lane, cross under the rope and swim up the next lane, etc., until you either drown or finish the course.

OK. OK. There were some cutie lifeguards that looked about 10. They probably wouldn't have let me drown.

The "snake" course allows all swimmers to be going the same direction. The announcer said that if you encounter someone going the wrong way, you were welcome to "de-pants" them. Hum.....I'm not sure I would have had the energy to do that.

Because I estimated my swim time to be "forever and a year", I got a high race number. This meant that I was towards the end of the line to start the swim. It was almost an hour before I was in the pool. I was very happy that the water had warmed up because this pool is usually incredibly cold but I did get tired of waiting.

The most challenging part of the swim besides huffing and puffing and not being able to blow anything down, was all the other swimmers in the pool. It seemed likes someone was always trying to pass or I was needing to pass someone. I was doing all I could to make it from one end to the other. The shallowest water was 6'2" so it's not like I could stop and walk. I'll admit I took breaks at the end of the lanes.

Finally, it was done.

Biking: I jogged to the transition area, barefooted and wet, patted my hair a few times and sucked up some extra water from my swim wear. I put on my biking shirt, socks and shoes, sunglasses, helmet, grabbed my bike, and started the cycling segment. I was still dripping!
The bike route was up and down some long hills but I swear there was more up than down. Going up the last hill, I saw a poodle walking a lady and I really wanted to draft off that poodle.

As I was finishing the bike course, I saw several runners at the turnaround point. They were moving incredibly slow and some were walking. I'm thinking to myself, "Hum....why are they moving so slow? I won't have that problem...". Then I finished the biking event.

BAWAHAHAHAHAHA! I had to eat humble pie! By the time I got off my bike, my legs were barely moving and it was surprisingly hard to breathe! I have actually practiced this transition and noticed the noodle legs but my practice ride was not as long or hilly. I was very happy to get off that bike!

Back in the transition area, I took off my helmet and put on my pirate costume, including the wig, and started running. I had already pinned my racing number to my costume. The run: I provided entertainment for the other runners and volunteers. They seem to enjoy the red-headed pirate that looked like she was running through cheesecake. The run was uneventful otherwise.

I finished and really, really wanted to puke. No really. But I didn't. Then I realized that somehow I had missed the pancakes. Holy Pathetic Pancake for a Pirate! What's up with that?

Yea! My medal:

Mr. Pumpkin wears my medal.
It says Monster Triathlon Finisher. No really.

Ms. Pumpkin has been pumping some iron.
Look at those shoulders!

When I returned home, I found that our house had been given a "Halloween Chain Letter". The instructions indicate to post the sign that indicates that you have been given the treats and to secretly provide treats for two other neighbors. Hum.....I think I will accidentally forget to post my sign and hope that other neighbors give me more treats.

Um...ReformingGeek?

Yes?

That sounds like something I would do. Good for you. You're learning.

Photos: Race photos NOT taken by still sleeping ReformingGeek Hubby. Medal photos staged and photographed by ReformingGeek pretending to be a fashion designer.