Money Party!

I had my fundraiser party (a.k.a. Major Source of Stress) last Saturday, and it went almost as well as I'd imagined and hoped. Which doesn't mean it didn't go really well, just that I always imagine astronomic possibilities for any endeavor I undertake. As a delightful internet list, reasons the party went well:

-raised $800 dollars ($798 to be exact). As a portion of my total, doesn't sound huge, but it got me to within $400 of the $6500 mark. Wonderful!
-all my great friends pitched in, and it was fun: Colin got 250 bottles of beer donated (!!!); Dave and Marly booked comics and hosted & performed, respectively; Lee DJ'd; Tina, Sam, Trevor & Mike let me use their lovely backyard; Rizzi leant me a PA system; Keith brought some mic's and Bella the Dog to wander around; Charlyne and Mookie performed; Raj Desai performed, who I would like to call my friend but am still a little on the creep-stranger side for that; a few others helped just to get things set up last minute, especially Mike, Josie & Delia; and Justin really helped with picking up chairs and tables & swooping into BevMo to rescue me from my keg indecision (ANCHOR STEAM).
-people's 'tudes were swell, and getting them to toss donations in was relatively painless. I was really grateful for this.

The atmosphere was as cozy, familiar and specific, which is what I had wanted - I wanted people to get some genuine fun in return for their 10 bucks, and a community-based night as unique to our Angeleno microcosm as it gets.
The fundraising meta-lesson learned was: low overhead, fearlessly asking for volunteer help, negligible ticket price, keeping people happy. Everything I need to know about throwing fundraiser parties I learned from throwing house parties in college. DIY: Achieved.

What Two Inches of Seat Post Feels Like (That's What She Said)

What do I possibly have to say? What is there? I'm so tiiiiiiired of training. I want my life back. Ah, that's not true. I do want my life back, but I'm not sure if I'm tired of training - I'm still making gains.

I'm still proud for having done the century ride last weekend. I swam just under 2 miles today. Yesterday - no new distances, but I rode with a bike that fit me properly for the first time and WOW! I can ride my bike, it turns out. Went fast, kids; I'd say I started to lose the line between a person on a machine and an organ-muscle machine riding an aluminum one, but the sweat, aches and occasional crankiness kept my wah-wah humanity front and center. My first impulse is to say it was exciting to feel my potential opening up, but I feel more like a basic frustration melted away - I wasn't fighting anything, and my bike was letting my legs do what they were really capable of. $200 well spent? Sigh. Probably. Ugh.

Getting really stressed about the fundraising, and opening myself up to the possibility that I'll be going out-of-pocket for what I can't raise between my current $4300 and the $6500 I need. I have 80% of a party planned, but a couple details just won't settle themselves...and the training schedule doesn't leave a whole lot of time for much besides work and tri. But! It's what I signed up for, so ahead I charge.

My brain feels flattened out.

Green Hills Ahoy

That's Lake San Antonio! I am excited today, though still a bit nervous for May. I'm not nervous about this weekend. I've been wanting to camp, this is good. I have 10 gallons of water, a bike, shoes n junk, a cooler of food etc etc in the car out the window behind my back in the parking lot, waiting for me to get done working . . .

The schedule for this weekend of fun is:
today, Friday
6 pm - drive up to Monterey County after work
11 pm - pitch my tent & go the heck to sleep

Saturday
6 am - Breakfast & packing lunch ! Pack. Lunch. Fun. To remember!
6:45 am - Roll Call. More kid stuff! More fun!
7:15 am - Swim Clinic in the Lake!
7:30 am - Swim 1.2 miles !
8:15 am - Bike Clinic
8:30 am - Bike 56 miles !

AND then a break I guess! I brought T.S. Eliot's "On the Problem of Pain" to read...but maybe I'll just eat, pass out, eat & nap instead.

5 pm - Dinner. Probably my favorite part of the weekend!
7 pm - Meeting & it is rumored a talent show - I am not sure what I'll do. I'm good with Excel. And. Uh. Embarrassing myself. Which is. Neither a talent nor immediately reproducable. Uh. Huh.

Sunday
6 am - Breakfast. 6 am again, consistent, I can hang with that.
7:45 am - Run Clinic
8 am - Run. Thirteen. Point. One. Miles. Furthest I've ever gone.
12 noon - Optional Swim. Huh. That's...weird.
2 pmm - Break down & go home.


I think any real anxiety is coming from the fundraising email I am about to send out - I hate asking / I hope it goes well / I need it to go well / eXtreme deadline / I don't have the money to pay the difference in two weeks if I'm not able to raise enough. Yikes. It's just a bit distracting, but I suppose is also the point.

Guess what? I'm hungry!

ONE MORE TIDBIT IN THIS SPRAWL OF AN ENTRY:
Josie Campbell calls Ironman "Death Race." This is one of those things that makes my face warm in embarrassment & pride at once.

On Truly Starting

I drank too much coffee!!! I've been sitting at one of Venice's loveliest outdoor cafés for four hours, compiling my fundraising list and belatedly composing my letter, and I drank 3 cups, after having cut coffee from my life for a couple months. As my old roommate Ali would say, I'm "doing" caffeine. TEETH GNASH TEETH GNASH TEETH GNASH

Okay okay okay, what are we writing about here today?
Ah ha!
First use of mileage tracking website (no hidden costs in THIS girl's triathlon) yields $4.78 in fuel to get to & from the first Training meeting, where we talked bikes and LSD (long, slow distance).
That's pry low, since I spent 30 minutes not finding the meeting - it was on Colorado Ave, not Montana, as I thought, which would be fine except I'm from Wyoming. Sorry Mom & Dad!
We almost had an additional mishap though! Bridget Jones 'R' Us!

I feel really elated to be starting this. I have moments where I can actually see myself on mile bajillion of the race, and in those moments I'm terrified. But luckily, never having experienced acute endurance pain like what I am in for, those are fleeting thoughts, and mostly I'm enjoying feeling as determined as I do.
I feel like I have a lot of big ideas that I completely back off from, which is part of why I'm undertaking this; millions of literal footfalls will take me, slowly but surely, towards an incredible goal, and I doubt the physical journey won't reap psychological dividends. That sounded sort of clinical, but I meant it.

I should be able to get my letter out tomorrow...could be today, but I feel like I want Granpa and Robin to read it, just to sort of...sign off on using Randy's name. Is that weird? I just want to make sure I'm honoring the guy I'm honoring.

My training schedule says today is a rest day, but the coffee is making me bonkers! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH