Friday, October 22, 2010

A little bit of this, a little bit of that

Well, I've finished packing for Izena and thought I'd write some thoughts that have been going around my head the last couple weeks. For those of you who don't know Izena is a triathlon a ferry ride away from Okinawa. It consists of a 2K swim, 66K bike, and 20K run.

- I've been at my job for about a month and I like it. That's hard for me to admit because I always thought I was meant to be doing something in science. I mean I got my B.S. and Master's in the biological fields and now I'm doing admin work. Technically, I don't think I needed anything past high school to get this job.

- I find my job strangely fulfilling. I like that we're getting kids active, that I can help people, and that I get to organize large events (sport seasons). Most of the time I'm busy and I like that.

- I discovered that my "post allowance" (basically the cost of living allowance for being overseas) covers weekly massages and weekly maid service. This doesn't really mean I'm making a lot, just that you can get a cheap mama-san in Okinawa.

- I love our mama-san Emilia. She is sweet, speaks Spanish, and makes our home ridiculously clean. Chris asked why we didn't do this sooner. I told him it was because I didn't have a J-O-B! And when I say ridiculously clean I'm talking scrubbing out the sliding glass door track with a toothbrush.

On to thoughts about Izena.

- Izena has me scared. I am way under prepared and we're talking real distances here.

- I've ridden my bike with my clip-in shoes exactly 4 times.

- I've completed 3 bricks (back to back workouts with tri components).

- The idea of the hour long ferry ride after the storms we've had all week makes me want to vomit.

- Deep down I really believe that, despite the fact that I am under trained, I can finish this race.

- I figure nothing can be as bad as Mongolia. I loved Mongolia after the first climb, even with the food poisoning, but it was a hard race.

- I'm mostly worried about the 7 hour time limit.

- I thought the rain was over after 5 days, but as I sit hear typing it has started pouring again. I don't really know how to bike on wet streets. Hmmmm.

- I have the best husband in the world who told me to approach it as "Amy's Day of Adventure". That sounds way better than an 88K tri.

- Despite all my worrying over Izena, a sick part of my brain was already figuring out that if we could push back our expected departure date by 60-90 days I could sign up for Izena again. Really? What's wrong with me?

Alright, I feel better! Thanks for reading. You know I can't have a blog without a single picture so here we go:

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

i still really enjoy your blogs and i love the pictures of Rana. keep up the good work. love and miss you guys. mama price

Unknown said...

Lovely picture of Rana but where is my toy boy Oscar. Enjoyed this post as it has been a while and you know how I enjoy them. By now you have nailed Izena as I knew you would. Missing you every day. xxx