The Final Countdown!

It's T-minus 5 days and counting. Everything still feels good - no sore muscles, no tight IT bands, no nuthin'! Sparkle and I took a bike ride on Sunday, and I was really starting to "feel my fitness." Those are the days that you just want the race to feel like.

I've been trying to get all my stuff together for the weekend. I've got lots and lots of lists so I don't forget anything. My room looks like a triathlon store exploded.

Packing for a race is generally no problem, but this is more like packing for an expedition. Not only do I need race clothes, but the weather is iffy and I need clothes for any number of weather conditions: rain, sun, clouds, cold, blazing heat, etc. Then I need workout clothes for swimming, biking, and running the few days before the race. Plus, clothes for going out to dinner, going to the pre- and post- race meals, sleeping, just kicking around, etc. I've got a LOT of stuff to take. Good thing I've got this big truck!

Today when I got home from my run, I had a package waiting for me. The return address told me it was from Mike and Meghan Klein, my cousin and his very cool wife from Seattle. Inside was a great card and possibly the most thoughtful gift I've ever received. First, a little background. In the fall of 2004, I flew to New Zealand for 2 weeks to hang out with Mike and Meghan during their 7-month "vacation" in Kiwi-land. We had a blast driving from one sketchy holiday park to the next. We bungeed, hiked, ate PB & honey sandwiches and about 40 avocado, devoured hokey pokey ice cream, and drank beer. Our favorite beer was the Speight's - The Pride of the South. I think we drank a 12-pack a day for the whole trip. Of course, that meant Meghan and I each had 2 and Mike played clean-up on the remaining beverages.... The last few days of my time in NZ, we went searching for Speight's souvenirs. We found Mike a shirt and some koozies, but all the shirts were too big for Meghan and me, so I basically came home empty-handed. I left Mike and Meghan with instructions to keep searching after I had left, but they ended up not ever finding anything.

This is a picture of the koozie that I came home from New Zealand with:

Mike spent some serious time in front of the computer designing this and making it into a shirt for me:

It's WAY better than a real Speight's shirt, and the best part is just how thoughtful those 2 are and what great friends we've become over the last few years! Thanks guys! I love it!

This is probably going to be my last post before the big day! Thank you all for reading along over the last year, for all your comments, for all your encouragment, for all your love! THANKS!