On disappearing from the planet...

In case anyone was worried, I'm still alive. School started RIGHT after my triathlon and it brought a whirlwind of general crap and responsibility. I moved into a new apartment and quickly realized that when you live in an apartment, you need things like lights, and food, and paper towels. So it was a little busy there. BUT I'm all settled in now and classes have started. My cross country season begins in just a few days and my half marathon is in just a few weeks, so good stuff coming down the pike. Until then, I'm just running and lifting. I did a six mile run on Saturday and though I'm not following a specific schedule, I feel like as long as I do one long run a week (gradually getting longer each time) and three to four other runs a week, I'll be good. I'm also cooking for myself, which is new so get ready for food porn :) starting with MUFFINS! I'm so healthy, I know. As for the Tri....

We left for the Jersey Shore the day before the race.My aunt drove, somehow getting four bikes and four people in one minivan, and we checked in to our hotel and the race before cargo loading at Olive Garden. We chilled, watched the olympics, and went to bed pretty early, which turned out to be pretty pointless as I got probably a total of 4 hours of sleep the entire night. Oh well. When the alarm went off at 5 am, I had a momentary feeling of why-am-I-doing-this, but by the time I was back in the car and on my way there, I was back to being excited. We got the bikes set up and our numbers written on our arms, and stripped down to our suits. I wore an Athleta bra and Asics try shorts. We started in heats and the water was warm but way choppy. I got in and out of the 1/4 mile swim in 7 minutes and then ran up the beach to my bike where I threw on my socks, sneakers, helmet, and knee brace. I ran my bike to the start and hopped on.
The beginning was a little scary, as I'm SO uncomfortable on the road bike but after playing with the gears for a few moments I was good. Actually, once I got to the right gear, I felt like I was flying. Carbon bikes are fast!!!! :D
After the bike ride (11 miles, about 45 minutes) I hopped off the bike, took off the helmet, and threw on my team singlet with my bib #. The run was hard, as my legs did NOT want to go, but I was under 29 for the 10k so that's alright, I guess. My total lime was somewhere around 1:20, so super psyched! It was nice, everyone in my family did well, and I majorly pr-ed from last year. My training paid off!

Now half marathon time :)

And MUFFINS! (banana chocolate chip, to be exact)