what's in you wednesday

So, technically, by the time I was able to select a winner for the KitchenAid mixer, it was April 2.

But, I started entering in all of the names in to an excel spreadsheet on April 1.

Then, I had to go cross-reference them against Margaret's Team-in-Training page ... and Charlie's Team-in-Training page ... and my Team-in-Training page to make sure that I didn't leave any one out. And then, I had to be sure that people were entered in to the drawing once for every $5.00 that they entered.

All told, that took me ... oh, I don't know ... three hours.

Then, I had the muchies. So, I took a break to eat some Peanut Butter Cups from Trader Joe's. I haven't splurged on TJ PB cups for at least six months. But Charlie picked some up for me earlier this week when he thought I was being a little grumpy and perhaps a little bite of candy would help?

And ... well ... he was spot on!

I'm such a simple creature.

Just put a pile of chocolate in front of me and whatever was wrong is now right.

So, while I'm standing in the kitchen chowing on PB cups, Charlie receives an e-mail from our Team-in-Training leader. The e-mail was a reminder that this coming Sunday, all of the people who are training for the marathon next month (OH MERCY, it's NEXT month!) are scheduled to run in a race this coming Sunday.

At 7:00 AM.

In Carlsbad.

One hour north.

And oh? They want us there at least a half hour before the race starts.

Considering we're all still feeling sleep deprived from the triathlon this past weekend, the thought of getting up and leaving our house by 5:30 in the morning on Sunday - with all four children in tow because there is no way we'd get a babysitter to be here that early in the morning - is quite unpleasant.

While Charlie was reading this e-mail to me, I could feel my anxiety level start to rise, so as a distraction, I started throwing PB cups high in to the air and tried to catch them in my mouth while running underneath. Right then, my husband looks up from his computer and after staring at me for a moment asks, "Why, exactly are we doing this? Can't we just stay home, sleep in and be fat and happy??"

When he put it that way, it sounded so good.

Alas, the reality is, my husband is much more pumped than I am for all things athletic.

But, he's done a marathon before. And he enjoys waking up at 5:15 in the morning to be in a cold pool swimming at 6:00 AM. As for me, now that our Team is running upwards of 14 miles every Saturday, I feel like someone who has spent their entire life in remedial math, and now, I'm being forced to take a Quantum Physics final that I have to pass.

At first I was optimistic and I bought myself a graphing calculator and a new notebook and I was excited that soon, I'd be a Quantum Physicist. But after the first couple of classes, when I struggled through some homework assignments and I could see that the learning curve was getting steeper and steeper, and holy crap totally vertical, I decided that Quantum Physics is completely out of my league and I'll just go back to simple multiplication.

(Or maybe addition.)

I haven't been doing much in the way of running at all lately because I think I am totally overwhelmed by the huge objective before me. So instead of doing anything, I've completely seized up. Fortunately, I know that the mind has a tremendous amount of control over the body. And, I know that if I can just get out there and put one foot in front of the other, eventually, I'll get to the end.

Somewhere between the beginning and the end, I usually have enough fun that it makes me want to keep doing it. And even though I may not excel at the training that is required for races, I love being a part of races and collecting little medals and t-shirts.

And that is the only reason I can figure out why I keep signing up for them.

So, we'll be at the race this weekend. With all four kids.

That's 1+2+3+4.

Or, actually, 1+1+1+1 = 4.

(See, my addition skills aren't so great, either.)

Thankfully, I had random org generator to help me figure out that the winner of the KitchenAid mixer is Kathleen Langley!

Congratulations Kathleen!! Please send me an e-mail to: TheAmazingTrips(at)gmail.com with the color preference of your new KitchenAid and the address you would like it shipped, and I'll get it sent off as soon as I can.

Also, with the assistance of my calculator, I figured out that between Margaret, Charlie and I, we have raised almost $9,000.00 for cancer research within the past two months. And even though we've all met our minimum fundraising requirements, there will be at least one more Leukemia & Lymphoma contest coming up. The details will be announced this coming Friday.

But as a teaser?

The awesome people at BOB finally responded to my request for sponsorship.

And no - that's not an April Fool's joke. Although I did hear some good ones.

Like the one that was put out by Car & Driver where they reported that President Obama ordered Chevrolet and Dodge out of NASCAR. And the one that was put out by Cycling News that reported Lance Armstrong had undergone major surgery to shorten both clavicles and narrow the width of his upper body in order to improve his aerodymanics on a bicycle.

You know, although that story was a farce, something tells me Lance Armstrong doesn't spend a whole lot of time tossing PB cups in to the air and trying to catch them in his mouth.

So, how are you doing with your goals?