Triathlon

Whew. I did not put in enough training for this race, and anticipated correctly that the run would be my weakness. My plan was to push hard in the swim, something I've never done, and I was looking forward to seeing how my new road bike would feel. I was anticipating a 3.5 hour finish.

Results:

1K swim 23'
(I had a terrible time catching my breath but got into the rhythm by the second buoy)

T1 5'
(Not very impressive. I was pushing it during the last part of the swim and consequently was pretty disoriented during T2)

40K bike 1 hour 40 min
(This is a pretty good time for me, and includes about a mile I did on an accidental detour)

8K run 44 min
(Yay--9 minute miles! Once I started the run, I saw that I had a chance to beat 3 hours, and decided to give it a try. Towards the end it was not great but I told myself that I could do anything (any amount of pain) for just 20 minutes, and, indeed, I could)

Total time: 2:55

Afterwards--brunch at IHOP with friends and some leisurely computer work on the couch. Tomorrow--probably pain.

Quaker Garden

Here is my progress from Blackbird Design's Quaker Garden. I love the colors and the pattern, and I think I'm going to try to make it into an anniversary sampler by switching out the alphabet for our names and the date of our wedding. This is one of a series of patterns called Loose Feathers, and I've (probably stupidly) joined the "Loose Feathers Club" for a year. Every two months I'll receive a pattern, floss, and fabric for a small project like this one. I gather that the theme is "gardens" this year, which is perfect.

Paradigm Lost in the Snow

Here is a picture of my latest progress with PL. I did a lot of stitching up at Tahoe, which seems appropriate, since these patterns look a lot like snowflakes.

Housekeeping

This book was wonderful. The language and the story are lovely and I found myself reading more and more slowly, making sure that I didn't miss anything. The book is set in, I think, the cold mountains of Idaho, and imagery involving water and wind are used to describe the permanence and impermanence of loneliness, family, and home.
Two quotes:
"Their lives spun off the tiliting world like thread off a spindle, breakfast time, suppertime, lilac time, apple time."
"And here again is a foreshadowing--the world will be made whole. For to wish for a hand on one's hair is all but to feel it. So whatever we may lose, very craving gives it back to us again. Though we dream and hardly know it, longing, like an angel, fosters us, smooths our hair, and brings us wild strawberries."

Squaw Valley

Snowboarding was awesome; the conditions were truly excellent. The only low points were when I took a big digger and jolted my neck, and when we decided to ski down the mountain at the end of the day--the run was too flat for a board.