First, an obligatory "knitting in the tent" self-portrait. The hat is for a friend's baby born last week. The yarn is that stretchy Cascade Fixation, in bright, lovely, self-striping colors. It's pretty cute.

And here's a 5th anniversary self-portrait with kayaks on Willard Island.

Friday was cool and cloudy. We took a water taxi out on to Willard Island that afternoon, set up camp, then went for a short paddle up to the very beautiful Beloit Glacier. It was my first time back in a kayak since my second shoulder surgery ... four years ago. I have to admit that the shoulder didn't hold up quite as I'd hoped. Fortunately we were in a double and I could take lots of breaks and just hang out and take photos. It was a beautiful paddle -- I'd never been out there and it was pretty spectacular. Enjoyed a campfire -- and a humpback whale sighting -- that evening.

Saturday the weather was amazing -- sunny, no clouds, water like glass. We went for a longer paddle to Beloit and Blackstone glaciers (although were kept at a pretty considerable distance by the ice). A really amazing trip. Had another campfire that night, and, this time, actually had the entire island to ourselves as the other group of kayakers had left that afternoon.

Sunday morning was rainy and cold and I will admit that I missed the pop-up camper ever so slightly. But Terry set up the tarp over the camp table with a view of the glacier, made us coffee and kept us dry until the water taxi picked us up at 1:00.

Overall it was a great weekend. Here are a couple of photos from Saturday's paddle.

Terry and me watching the Beloit glacier.

Lauri and Joel doing their best to impersonate a guidebook cover. Wow it's beautiful here.

On the Kenai River, taking a break from fishing.

Terry by the campfire.

Me and Nellie.

The thing I love most about camping.

Family portrait with Little Nellie.

We spent the weekend camping in our wonderful new pop-up camper (which will require a separate post extolling its virtues). It was a very low-key weekend, and I did more knitting than I've done in at least a year. I even finished a project -- a baby hat for the Haas's baby-to-be, Logan.

Here are some action pics of knitting by the campfire (and in front of the pop-up camper).

I did very little knitting this past year, and am am way too embarassed to admit how long it's been since I finished a knitting project. I have about 5 scarves really close to completion but haven't finished anything in a long, long time. But I had a lot of fun knitting this weekend ... made the baby hat and came within about 10 rows of finishing a Noro "silk garden" scarf I've had on the needles since before my shoulder replacement surgery.

The most exciting part of the weekend, knitting-wise, is that it got me re-energized enough about knitting that I'm thinking about starting another sweater. Maybe the cardigan in Hip to Knit. I have a sweater's worth of grey cashmerino to work with, so want something worthy of really nice yarn....

I was really struck, during the GNT, at how much harder I felt like I was working and how much slower I was going than the folks who were zooming past me on road bikes. Maybe it's b/c I'm appallingly out of shape and was having a protracted asthma attack for most of the race. And maybe it's b/c I'm terribly afraid of crashing so ride the breaks on all the downhills. But maybe it's at least partly because my adorable flowered urban cruiser, my first "big girl" bike in 5 years, is not exactly a performance machine.

So ... what better way to celebrate Terry's birthday than a trip to the bike store? How about a trip to the bike store to get me a new bike? And here it is:

Yes, this does officially make me the worst wife ever. In all fairness, he had gotten both a new bike AND a new car in the previous 2 months.

No action shots of the bike yet, but I'm delighted to report that I felt pretty comfortable riding it, first around the bike store parking lot for about 30 minutes, and later out on the coastal trail. The shoulder held up nicely and I didn't feel terribly unsteady. (On a related note, I think I've discovered that the reason I was so afraid of road bikes for so long is that I've never before had one that was properly sized for me, which this one is).

Homer, here I come!

Like doing another triathlon!

I didn't like the idea of having all of my big training goals met by mid-May, so started looking for another event to do. I thought about trying to do the Skinny Raven half marathon in August (and still might ...), but am worried that my foot/arch/shin splint problems might preclude that kind of intense running-only event. And I really enjoyed doing the triathlon. So ... the (tentative) new goal for summer is the Homer Marathon Triathlon.

It's longer than the GNT in all events -- 1000m swim (as opposed to 500m), 15 mile bike (as opposed to 10 mile) and 5 mile run (as oposed to 4.1 mile). But it's also three months away, which should allow for plenty of time to get up to speed. As an added bonus, it's on my birthday, which I figure should give me an extra push of adrenaline.

More details to come as they emerge....

It was a very emotional experience. Pretty difficult on a lot of levels. Pretty fun, too. Very rewarding.

My bionic shoulder held up like a champ. Where I really struggled was with my breathing -- felt like I never caught my breath during the swim or bike, and then had an asthma attack at about mile 3 of the run. Pretty unusual for me (but so is biling 500 m, biking 10 miles and then running 4.1 miles, so that could have something to do with it). So it was very challenging, physically.

The thing that was most amazing to me (other than the mere fact that I did a triathlon 15 months after having my shoulder replaced) was how incredibly supportive people were. Being cheered on by other racers is a really amazing experience. People were amazingly kind, supportive and encouraging.

As an added bonus, it was a really beautiful day -- the forecast had been for mostly clouds and maybe some rain. But it was gorgeous and sunny -- one of the nicest days all year.

So ... here are a few photos in case you find the whole story a little too far fetched. :-) Not that I'd blame you.

With Jara and Jen, waiting for our numbers to be called for swimming:

With Jen, getting ready to swim:

Swimming action shot:

Swimming, when it looks like drowning:

Transitioning to the bike portion (what a beautiful day! I had planned to race in running tights and full jacket; ditched the tights and took the sleeves off my jacket):

Looking slightly absurd biking in big honkin' urban cruiser.

Running, Chugach Mountain backdrop (I think this is my favorite photo of the event).

Elated at the finish.

With Jen and Jara after the race:

I'm also feeling a little overwhelmed in general by the various stages of this event. The day before the race we have to drop off our bikes, plus our "transition" items -- both for "T1" (swim to bike) and T2 (bike to swim). I'm filled with what are probably pretty silly questions. Like ... what do you wear on your feet between the pool and your bike? Everyone talks about putting your shoes on at the bike. But surely you're not barefoot running through the parking lot. Right?

In other news ... did I mention that Fish & Game reported at least one "feasting bear" on the grounds of Bartlett High School last weekend. I hope they're not feasting on slow runners.....

i went swimming again today and am amazed that no matter how many times i go, i don't get any better. i have asthma, and so there's a lot of desperate gasping for air. i think i scare the lifeguards.

as i was getting out, a nice man at the pool asked me if i was swimming for pleasure or if i was in training. i explained that i was "in training," but only in the "trying to finish the event" sense. he was very encouraging. he also asked me which was my "best event." i told him that i think i'm equally bad at all three events. which is really true. they are all incredibly challenging, just in different ways.

but this time last year i couldn't swim or bike or run, and i couldn't walk more than 1/2 mile without the arm in a sling. so challenge is good. and i'm trying not to care if i finish last in my age group (which it seems i'm pretty certain to do, no?)

Without entirely intending to, today I did my own triathalon of sorts:
- First I took Truman to the dog park for a run. We only went a mile, because the park is nasty and muddy. But there was running.
- Then I went to the West High pool to practice not looking like I'm drowning. I need a lot more practice in that skill, incidentally.
- Then this afternoon I took the bike on its longest ride yet. I'm not exactly sure of the distance, but I think it was 7-7.5 miles. This is not far for most people, I realize, but it's far for me (see previous post re: pathological fear of biking). The shoulder is definitely a little achy, but nothing too terrible.

So there you have it. My own private triathalon.

My crazy heart rate monitor (coolest gadget ever, by the way) insists that the 3 activities combined burned 850 calories. If that doesn't say "big yummy dinner in my future", I don't know what does!

the biggest problem by far has been getting comfortable on the bike. i've never been a very strong cyclist -- always felt pretty wobbly up there. with my shoulder injury, it had been a good 5 years since i'd been on a bike at all. plus, now, the stakes are quite for me. if i fall while biking (or while doing anything else, for that matter), i am very, very likely to suffer a serious injruy to the shoulder. so that fact is never far from my mind, which makes me even more nervous.

all of which is to say that it's been much harder than i'd anticipated to get back into biking. while i've been doing a spinning class (the other kind) at my gym the last 2 months, it didn't translate at all to the not-freaking-out part of bike-riding.

but this week ... with spring finally upon us ... has been a bit of a breakthrough week for the bike. i started off the week literally just riding my bike up and down the street while terry yelled various encouraging tidbits like "don't look down!" and "remember -- motion is propelling yourself forward!" then i graduated to rides around the neighborhood and down to the Coastal Trail.

i'm still not super comfortable on the bike, but it's improved A LOT in the last week.

i told him that i thought a shark attack was pretty unlikely in the bartlett high school pool, but that i would exercise heightened vigilence.

i don't think it made him feel better when i told him that i was actually much more likely to get killed by a moose or a bear during my triathlon....

i'll soon be the proud owner of a polar heart-rate-monitor watch and "coded transmitter." boy am i excited. i tried a timex heart rate monitor last summer but really hated running with it b/c the transmitter strap was incredibly uncomfortable. the one i ordered yesterday (1) can be used w/o a transmitter strap (doesn't give you continuous information, but can give you readings on demand, and (2) allegedly has a soft elastic strap that doesn't feel like you're running in a vise.

oh, and it's waterproof, so can be used in the pool. now i can see with mathematical certainty just how out of shape i am in multiple settings.

but wait ... there more. i also ordered a pair of fancy running headphones. although ... and this is by far the worst thing about this triathalon ... we're not allowed to listen to music during the race. this policy is apparently for safety reasons (moose, bears, traffic). i don't mind running, but for me it's all about the music. running 4 miles without music just sounds boring as hell. but i'm sure the race itself will give my ADHD-addled brain lots of things to look at and focus on -- someone told me that one year there was a moose giving birth on the side of the trail. but the headphones will still be nice for training, since the ones i have now have a freakshily long cord that i'm always afraid i'll trip on....