Wednesday, November 09, 2011

So, what happened in October?

Lemme tell ya...

9/30 - I had a great interview for an Executive Assistant position with a company in Menlo Park.

10/3 - My recruiter called to let me know the company was considering an offer.

10/4 - I received an offer letter.

10/5 - I gave my two weeks notice. No one was surprised, including my boss who said, "Everyone is leaving, I hope people don't think that I'm a bad boss. . . *nudge* *nudge*"

10/21 - I found a remarkably good temporary replacement for my position, I trained her, and I left my job.

10/23 - I ran the Morgan Hill Half Marathon, and completed it in just one minute under my personal record. I am stoked because the course is more difficult than my current PR course! Yay for tri training!

10/24 - I started the new job. They are currently honeymooning me, but I don't mind the slower pace (for now). People are generally cool, and they are very open about how to/not to do things. The company has direction, and focus, and everyone works hard.

10/30 - Halloween.

Monday, November 07, 2011

I finished.

In case I kept all two of my readers waiting on the results of my triathlon. (Is anybody out there? Seriously.)

Swim 41:52

The fear that I would not be able to complete the swim was resolved by many swims in the Foster City lagoon, and two trial ocean swims at Aquatic Park and Lover's Cove. By the time the day arrived, I knew I would make it. Mind over matter. I read the book, "Born to Run" while training - "You don't have to be fast, you have to be fearless."



Bike 1:24:04

A week before race day, I acquired a bike from my boyfriend's co-worker. This bike is a rad racer, used by a professional triathlete maybe 10 years ago. It is super small and speedy, comes with tri handlebars, gears that make slight adjustments automatically, and just looks cool. I took it to my local bike shop for new tires and pedals and they thought it might be worth a couple thousand dollars. My boyfriend is a good negotiator, and I got it for $350. Long story short, I decided to use the new bike for the tri, although I'd only ridden it on one training ride. It was super fast, but I also got some super rash in unmentionable areas. Lesson: always check the height of the seat with the shorts you will be wearing that day, and use Glide - lots of it.



Run 53:50

As I came out of the transition area for the run, my boyfriend comes running towards me, "If you run 8 minute miles, you can finish in under 3 hours!" He is so sweet for thinking I can still run an 8 minute mile after swimming a mile and biking 24. My miles were more like 8:40, and I was pretty happy with that.

So, to recap.
#1) I finished.
#2) I could take 6 minutes off of the swim next year, and possibly finish in under 3 hours.
#3) Lubricant.
#4) I would not have survived this summer without going into therapy without this triathlon and everyone who supported me through it.