its official

the uniform has arrived. its actually not too bad looking and fits well. both of which i was a bit concerned about.. also got a few cool freebies including a hat that bobby has already claimed.. and a new water bottle. which brings our household total up to about 35. some women collect shoes, i get excited if i get a new bottle... call me crazy.. but now the reality has hit.. its funny, i know exactly how many days away the race is thanks to NBC and their constant reminders about the olympics starting - seeing that my race is 2 days after that. i almost feel like they are talking to me as well as the olympic athletes.. (hey i can dream!)

smokey is excited for the trials as well. something i learned 4 years ago in richmond.. she is a tv watcher. no joke. her favorite programs include meercats, the kitty litter commercial with the blood hound dog (no kidding. she comes running when that music starts), sci fi movies, and of course swimming. i'm not sure what it is about swimming but she is mezmerized. she follows the swimmers across the screen. i know its a case of everyone thinks their dog is the cutest.. but...

in the midst of my biggest training week ever so we'll see how i survive come sunday when its finished! bobby and i are doing the firecracker ride tomorrow am. its a HUGE annual group ride - i think last year they had about 800 riders. my goal is to get in with the front riders for a while and just hang on for at least 1/2 of the ride. seeing as i wont know where i am until that point its not just work out related but survival as well... i'm not that great at following the cue sheets they give you as i'm always looking for the wrong road. so we'll see how the 100k goes..

its been challenging balancing a full time job with the increase in training. thankfully my job is not overly stressful (as most of you know from the millions of emails i send out daily) and i've been able to work around travel.. but i do envy those who work from home or have flexible hours.. did a run then a ride on the trainer to night. caught up on my secret TV show i like to watch - days of our lives. i know possibly the worst thing on tv right now - or ever. bad acting, bad story lines, but just a guilty pleasure.. i mean the deceit, the manipulation, the love fiascos, the attempt to create a cool looking hip dance club on tv - or most recently the fitness club where people are pretending to work out.. so good.

but i do love what i'm doing, otherwise i dont think i could get myself out there everyday.

happy 4th!