If you can't play with the big dogs... then stay on the porch

This week has been full of learned lessons... some harder than others... but still lessons learned...


Monday night we (Mike, Kesia, Justin, Luwis, and I) celebrated Mike's birthday at Dime-A-Dog night at the Clippers game! Mike almost ate a whole 25 hotdogs... and we had lots of fun!

Kesia, Justin, and I got Mike a cake to celebrate after the game which already had "happy birthday" printed on it. We decided to get it a little more personalized so Kesia and I asked the two young gentlemen behind the counter to "personalize" it...

In case you can't see it clearly... it says T.I.T. Kesia was the brave one to ask and the man said "You want it to say what?" We said "we know what it spells but just do it." We may or may not have been judged but the lesson to be learned here is that it does not matter what others think when you are going to lengths for a teammate, you do it because we love each other.

I started my official job as a Y.P. this week and in doing so met a guy who is a hardcore triathlete. He was really excited to find out I was doing a triathlon with the best team in the world and gave me some awesome tips...
The biggest thing he recommended was overcoming the dreaded "brick." He explained that the hardest part of the triathlon is after you get off the bike and you begin your run... he explained something about the muscles basically going into shock and "bricking" and he said if you have never felt it before you do your triathlon then it will knock you down big time. So he said it is important to be biking... jumping off and then start running immediately. He said the first mile will be mighty painful but push through it. We need to practice the brick!

Lastly... the hardest lesson learned this week came tonight after a wonderful and difficult swim with Mike at Alum Creek. It was a hard swim with lots of waves and Mike's injured leg. I was pulling out of the park cruising at 35 miles per hour in a 20 mph zone (in just my swimsuit). I was unaware of the 20mph limit and the next thing I know i'm being pulled over by the park cop. In the 6 years I have been driving I have never once got caught speeding, which is something I do a lot. To make a long story short... I ended up with a $130 park citation for speeding. We need to pull together and do some fund raising to cover this cost. We will sell candy bars or something. Any ideas are welcome.

I thought some mean things about that park ranger... maybe shed a few tears... laughed about it... and realized that my new young professional pay check won't nearly be as enjoyable when I have to write a $130 check from it. I could have easily thrown in the towel and my tennis shoes and quit the triathlon all together but I came home... ate some chicken... and went out for a 2.5 mile run in honor of the officer that gave me my ticket. Two-a-days are IN.

In the words of Men at Work, "ain't nobody gonna break my stride... ain't nobody gonna slow me down... oh no... i got to keep on moving..."

I will see most of you tomorrow at the equator for some more training! Two a days here we come!