And Then There Were Nine...Toenails

Well, again....sorry for the blog delay of a week. My life has been utterly hectic this past week and you all know how it is.

Today I lost my one toenail from my marathon...finally. Has been hanging on by a thread for the past few days and I've been paranoid I was going to rip it painfully off somehow by snagging it on something. I'm glad it got stripped, before my first tri race on Sunday - so I don't have to worry about being careful about that sucker during transitions and all.

Recap highlights (that I vaguely remember) from the past week:

• Friday went to core class with the crew...bright and early in the AM. Hurt to get up, hurt to do crab walks, hurt to do most of the 'animal' named moves that are inflicted during these sessions - but I was there.
• Saturday had a massage with Mike, worked the entire hour on my calfs and hamstrings. My one calf is still acting up since the marathon and I think he finally loosened it up pretty good. Walking was much better after that.
• Sunday had a good ride out in the windy weather - made a new route by my house that should be utilized in the next few months quite a few times for longer local routes. Not a darn hill, but good shoulders.
• Monday went running over lunch with Jim around Normandale Lake quickly - calf started seizing up a bit at the end and we spent some time on the foam rollers after that.
• Tuesday at spin class my shifter broke on my bike, but Jonny was able to rig 'er back up again in short order. Thank goodness for the mechanically inclined! And that it didn't happen in my race this weekend...
• Yesterday, went to Moore Lake to swim a bit (not sure if C.R.'s pool is open yet or not) and had a great set of 400's. Am holding them at about 1:00 faster than last year's splits - which I'm uberly surprised at. Am seriously questioning the length of these pools lately. Are they shorter?
• Today had another run and my calf is feeling OK, got my Yankz put into my new shoes and am getting those sorted out for this weekend's race.

Sunday I'm racing the Olympic distance at Buffalo. Am hoping to better my time from last year...however this is totally just a "C" race and basically a training brick with spectators (and a medal!). Am pretty confident that my swim is faster this year, as is my running - per my pacing lately in practices. I am a bit paranoid on the bike, however. I cannot tell in my practice rides where exactly I am at compared to last year - as each ride is different with weather conditions (darn wind!) and me getting comfortable on my new race wheels. I'm hoping I'm stronger - per all the extra spin training I've done this past off season...but I guess we'll see come Sunday. Wish me luck!