It's almost here. Am I ready?

The training is done. My bag is packed with everything I (think) I need.

All that's left for me to do is load my bike onto my car, stop at the gas station to put a little bit more air in the tires and point my car south to Pleasant Prairie, Wis. tomorrow where I'll go through all the registration and pre-race stuff.

What for you ask?

That whole triathlon thing. It's Sunday. As in 48 hours from now I'll be a triathlete. Unless of course I die during the race. But I don't think I will. At least I hope I won't.

There are so many emotions running through me right now. I'm scared. I'm nervous. I'm excited. You name it, that emotion is probably running through me right now.

As for the training that I did? Part of me feels prepared. The bike? Considering I've fallen in love with my new set of wheels, I'm pretty sure I'll be OK on the bike, except if the course is really hilly. I know I've put in the time at the pool. But there's still part of me that wonders if it was enough. The run? That's where I'm worried the most, which is odd since I ran a half-marathon in September. But I've been doing some major slacking in the running shoes, so 3.1 miles at the end of a triathlon could be a huge undertaking.

And let's not even talk about the uncertainty that's running through my head, mostly due to the fact that I've never even seen the course. So I don't know what kind of terrain to expect. Is it going to be hilly? Flat? A combination? I haven't got a clue. Looks like I might be scouting out the course tomorrow afternoon to ease those fears a bit.

I have a goal time in my head. But I'm going to keep it there. I've put the monster that lives in my head to good use, entrusting my goal finish time to him. My biggest goal is just to finish. Honestly, time doesn't really matter to me, especially since this is my first tri.

And then I remember to look at the big picture. That it's for a good cause, one that's affected my own family, breast cancer research. And it makes me feel good knowing I'm helping someone out in my own little way and that there are worse things that I could be going through other than a half-mile swim, 12.4 mile bike and a 3.1 mile run.

Good luck to all who are taking on the Danskin triathlon this weekend - including Danielle and Running Jayhawk and anyone else I may have missed!

I did it!

Good news. The bathroom? It's sparkly clean.

When I got home from work, I was soaking wet. Mostly because I got caught in a torrential downpour where the rain was coming down in sheets. And since I was wet and had a new shower liner in my possession, I figured I should just suck it up and clean the bathroom.

So I did. The worst part was actually putting the new shower liner up. Mostly because it's a pain in the butt. But I installed it. And I don't think any curse words escaped from my mouth. I guess sweeping up all the long hair that I've shed over the past two months or so was a pain in the butt as well. But that's because I saw the amount of hair I've lost. Not just from regular daily shedding, but from the nasty medicine I'm on as well. That's a whole other story though.

The point is. The bathroom's clean.

Granted once I finished I got it dirty again. Because boy did I need a shower. But it's still cleaner than it was this morning.

Anybody know a good cleaning service?

I'm not a slob. Really. I'm not.

But I'm not a super clean freak either. I don't mind if my junk mail piles up on the counter for a week or so before I get around to throwing it away or shredding it. And as long as the dirty dishes are hidden in the dishwasher, I don't care if they don't get washed for a week. And once a week is plenty when it comes to pulling out the vacuum cleaner.

I like to think of it as a "lived in" looking style. I don't think I could handle living in my apartment if it was so clean it sparkled and looked as though no one lived there.

That being said, my apartment? It's in need of a good cleaning. And I'm dreading it.

Actually, there's only one part left that needs a good scrub down. Over the past few days I've managed to tidy up the rest of my apartment. It's just the one area left that I keep avoiding.

The bathroom.

I shudder when I think about it. I hate cleaning the bathroom. Despise it. Loath it. You get my point.

Normally I can keep it in semi-clean shape by pulling out the broom to sweep up the hair and giving the counter a quick wipe down. But this time? This time it looks like a war zone. And it's totally not all my fault.

Well, maybe it is. But I blame it partly on being sick for three weeks when the cleaning time came. And once I felt better? Well, then the shower drain was clogged (again) due to the whole long hair thing. And my landlord took his sweet time coming over to unclog it. And while I could have partially cleaned my bathroom while waiting for the shower to get unclogged, I figured why have a half clean bathroom?

So I kept putting it off.

Then the shower finally got unclogged but then I went on the spree of 11 straight days of work. And who wants to clean after working for 11 straight days? Not me.

So it's still dirty. And I'm still avoiding it. My excuse now? I mind as well wait until I get a new shower liner, which became kind of nasty during the whole clogged shower thing, because why have a sparkly clean shower if the liner is dirtier than a pig after it rolled around in a mud bath?

Hopefully it'll get done tomorrow. Because I really don't want to deal with coming back from a week of vacation to a grimy bathroom. Besides, I'm running out of excuses about why it's still not clean, I don't have anyone else to blame and the dirtiness is starting to bug me just a tiny bit

The monster wasn't grumbling about the bike

Normally I'm not one to complain about weather. I understand living in Wisconsin summer is short, so I should enjoy it while it's here.

And most of the time I can handle the weather. But the combination of high temperatures and humidity? Not so fun. It's uncomfortable. And I just have a little tiny window air conditioning unit that kinda of works (hey, I got spoiled with the central air conditioning at my parents' house growing up).

But my biggest problem? The monster that tends to take up residence in my head? He really doesn't like the heat and humidity combination. And then he gets a little angry and cranky. And the head starts to hurt. And that's not good.

So the last few days I've been dealing with a bit of a headache on and off. But I've managed. Since it was nasty outside yesterday, what with the rain and the mugginess, I opted for the YMCA where I hit the treadmill, pounded out 2.5 miles and sweat so much it felt like someone poured a bucket of water over me. Of course, it didn't feel so bad when I jumped in the pool for a quick swim.

But by the time I left work today, the humidity had broken a bit. So I hopped on my bike, pressed play on my iPod and listened to some John Mayer as I pedaled for 12 miles. It was a good ride. I enjoyed it, except for the 5 minutes I spent waiting for a train to go through. The only bad part? Towards the very end, the monster in my head started getting a bit cranky, probably due to the weather and the fact that I should have drank a bit more water.

He's calming down now. Just an occasional grumble. And if he doesn't disappear in a few hours, I'll just remember to drug myself up before going to sleep. That'll teach him a lesson.

And besides, it was too nice, minus the lingering humidity, to skip an opportunity for a good bike ride.

Triathlon Training: Week 11

Um, where have the last 11 weeks gone? They seemed to fly by really fast and all of a sudden, I have just a handful of days before the triathlon.

That's crazy. And scary. And exciting.

And a whole other post. Which I'll write at some point this week.

But now? A recap of Week 11 training.

Monday: 10 mile bike
Tuesday: 6 mile bike
Wednesday: 3 mile run
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 18 mile bike
Sunday: Rest

It was a bike heavy week. But I was dealing with that whole sore calf muscle thing. I'm happy to report that it's feeling a lot better now. No more pain. So I can finish off my last week of training and head into the triathlon without having to worry about a bum calf muscle.

Just a few more days. I can't believe it.

Today we celebrate our independence

The fireworks. The parades. The barbecues. A day in the sun.

However we do it, today we celebrate the Fourth of July. Our country's independence.

For me? The celebration got off to a bit of an early start with a trip to WIR last night to watch my cousin race and then the night was capped off with a fireworks display. But sadly, I had to head back to the City on the Water since I'm pulling holiday reporter duty. I can't complain though. My assignment? Cover the city's Fourth of July parade.

And while it might be easy to forget with all the holiday festivities, while watching the parade this morning, which included a bunch of veterans groups, I was reminded what this day is all about. Our freedom. Our independence. And those things didn't come easily to us. Or without a cost. And today I'm thankful for those freedoms, and those who helped give them to us.

Once my work day is done - which by the way will be the 11th day in a row that I've worked, it's time for a break - I'll point my car north and head up to a family gathering for food, fun times and another fireworks display.

It hurt, but I still ran

I haven't run in over a week. My calf still hurt. And my triathlon's quickly approaching.

Doesn't sound good to me. In fact, it's a bit concerning.

But this morning when I woke up? My calf didn't hurt too badly. I thought I'd try to sneak a run in. Since it was supposed to be hot, humid and stormy today, I packed my gym bag and lugged it with me to work. I figured I would try to get in a 2 or 3 mile run on the treadmill. Besides, that way if I started running and it hurt too much? I'd only have to walk downstairs to the locker room and then to my car rather than having to walk more than a mile home with a gimpy leg.

Maybe it was because I was sitting at my desk most of the day, but once I got up to leave? My leg hurt. And then I started to worry. And I seriously considered skipping the run and going home. But I didn't. I went to YMCA, laced up my sneaker and hit the treadmill.

And I ran. It didn't hurt too badly either once I finally started running. I was even able to incorporate a little bit of speed work into the run. I ended up logging 3 miles in about 32 minutes. I admit, I didn't run straight through, there were a few times, OK maybe 5 or 6, where I did that whole put your feet on the sides and just watch the treadmill belt keep turning thing. But that was usually after I upped the speed for a bit.

The run itself wasn't bad. If my leg didn't hurt, I don't think I would have had as many breaks.

In the back of my mind I might have been hoping the run would make my leg stop hurting all together. But it didn't. It still hurts. So I guess it's some more Tylenol and ice tonight. And hopefully someday the pain will go away.

I'm just happy. I logged a run. And I didn't die. Let's hope I can keep it up for another two weeks.

They really meant I got to pick a prize.

I swung by the library after work tonight to pick up my prize.

Honestly, I wasn't expecting much. I thought I'd end up with a funky bookmark, sticker, pencil or something else.

So when I went over to the information desk and told them why I was there, I was a bit confused when she grabbed a set of keys and asked me to follow her. I did. Right over to this big cabinet that she unlocked and told me I could pick anything from the top two shelves.

There were no stickers or bookmarks.

It was two shelves full of books. And CDs. And a T-shirt was stuck in there. I was overwhelmed. I didn't think I'd get to choose an actual book or CD. And I felt like I was sort of rushed. I mean, the lady was waiting for me to make a decision so she could go back and man the information desk.

As I scanned the titles, I asked her if she had any suggestions. She pointed out one author and said he was a good suspense writer. Wasn't feeling it. One title caught my eye, I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb. But I didn't want to pick it since I've read it already and it's somewhere in my apartment. So I kept looking. The CDs didn't jump out at me either.

I didn't want to chance it by choosing a book by an author I've never heard of. I was getting worried. Here I was, able to pick out a prize and I couldn't make a decision. And the lady was waiting for me.

Then I saw it.

It was kind of hidden in the back of the cabinet. And a green T-shirt was kind of obstructing its view. But it was hard to miss the familiar green onion logo. Yes, a collection from the Onion.

I was looking at Dispatches from the Tenth Circle: The Best of the Onion. I grabbed it. Seriously, how could I leave it sitting there? Do you know how many issues of the Onion I read before lectures began while a student at Wisconsin? Heck, sometimes if the lecture was really bad (and really big), I'd even read the issue while the professor droned on.

So that's my prize. Good stuff from the Onion. And I'm happy with my prize. I'm sure it'll be good reading.