New swim suite

I finally got a new swim suite. I don't think I'm any faster, but It feels a bit better than my old stretched out suite. It's pretty, though. And my first suite that isn't a solid, but has actual printing on it. Oooooh.

Boston Bound!

I'm going to grad school!

I got the official accetance to the program at Brandeis yesterday, although they told me over the phone about a week and a half ago. Now I'm a confirmed future grad student, and I can't wait. This fall I will be working on an MA and an MPP. Two for the price of one.

In preparation for this big move, I am on a buying moratorium. I am not allowed to buy anything other that essential toiletries and grocery items. I am also not allowed to eat out more than twice a week (this includes breakfast, but does not include when I'm out of town eating on the union's dime). I must be frugle to save the money and cut down on crap in my life.

I am starting the pairing down process this week. It's going to take some time to get everything down to fit in my car. As I'm a total freak for planning, I've begun writting a transition plan for my move. I may even let you in on it if you like. It will be great!

!Lunes Giante!

I have a new bike!
Last night Ken and I went searching for a tiny road bike for me. We went to Jack and Adam's, Bicycle Sport Shop, REI, and University Cyclery. It was a fluke that we ended up at University Cyclery (UC). We were passing by, and just checking to see if they may be open, we stopped by.

For some reason UC seems to stock a lot of really big bikes and really small bikes. I'd been looking for a women's specific frame with a 43cm seat tube and 650c tires. I'm small, my bike needs to be small. And old yellow Trek was really too long for me in the top tube.

So we're looking around and I see this tiny light blue Giant road bike on clearance for $1700. Now, that may not seem like a clearance price until I tell you about this bike. It's an all carbon fiber frame with Shimano Ultergra components, 30 speed(three rings in front, 10 in the back), with Shimano SPD clippless pedals (on it's own not a big deal, just means I don't need to move my old pedals). It's light as a feather and rides like a dream. And at $1000 off (originally $2600), I couldn't pass it up.

We went on a ride this morning (me and the bike, that is). And it was incredible. It took a little getting used to the back gears (there are so many and they are so close in size), and to learn this shifting habits of the front gears. The great thing is that after the ride my shoulders don't hurt. And the carbon fiber frames lends to a much softer ride than my old aluminum.

We're going to have a photo session tonight, so I'll have pictures up soon. Above is a stock picture of the bike from the Giant website.
Anyone want to go for a ride?

Tri Blogging Consolidation

Some of you loyal readers may have noticed that I have another blog called Tri it Out. This was the chronicle of my first triathlon. This was last summer (about a year ago), when I did the Danskin for the first time. It was great fun, and I can't wait to do it again this year. But rather than maintain two separate blogs, I will only be keeping this one up. So look forward to updates about biking, swimming, and running on Ring The Bell.

I'm going to look for a new road bike this afternoon at Jack and Adam's. Wish me luck!

Oh, and on the weightloss persuit. I'm down another pound, woohoo! A pound a week ain't too shabby. This is even including a trip this weekend to meet Ken's folks (it went well, by the way). Road food is terrible for you, but I still did okay.

Oh! Hi!

This morning, as I'm running late for work, I'm walked to my car in the parking lot of my apartment and see this guy come out of his apartment. He kinda looks familiar, but who knows. He walks to his car and in surprise exclaims, "Oh! Hi!", so I do know him.

This kid is a guy I flirted a bit with at the Jewish social events I'm so fond of attending (this was before I started seeing Ken). His name is Ryan, and he works with the elderly. The kind of good Jewish boy a mother would love. Turns out he's been living in the next building in my apartment complex for the past year and somehow our pathes never crossed before. It's a small small world. Ironicly, he'll be moving out next month.

Tri season is on!

Tonight was my first training meeting of the season with my Triathlon training team. There were a few great folks from the team last year who came back this year, it was great to see those folks, but I definitely miss a couple of folks who didn't make it back this spring.

We did the regular sub-max tests to estimate our max heart rate. Since all of our workouts are structured around heart rates zones with the TriZones Training, knowing your HRMax is pretty important. My HR was all over the place, so I'm just going to go with what we estimated it to be last year.

I'm planning to do another three triathlons this summer. I have four in mind, but I think only the energy to do three. I'm thinking...
CapTexTri in May
Danskin Triathlon in June
Couples Tri in July
Jack's Generic Tri in August

Ideas?

Lunchopolis

Last week, or maybe it was two weeks ago, Ken and I went to Wheatsville Co-op, and besides him running into a bunch of old friends (including an ex-lover, which is another story for another time) the trip was rather uneventful. Until I met the Laptop Lunch. It's this little bento-box style lunch container that is a really cute all-in-one and environmentally friendly. I stared at this system for about 15 minutes, going back and forth with myself about getting it. I opted to wait.

The Laptop Lunch (LTL) was haunting my dreams. I day dreamed of lovely little organic meals, each dish in it's own compartment, oh the joy of garbage reduction!

Last night Ken and I went back to Wheatsville. I was determined to get the LTL. Back at the shop I remembered why I didn't get it in the first place, the whole system was a whopping $35. This was more than I wanted to pay, and the dishes didn't have lids to them. What if my food spilled everywhere, and the glorious segregation of salad and fruit was ruined into some kind of Califorication-miscegenation of strawberries with my romaine?! Sad and disappointed, dreams dashed, I looked down to see LUNCHOPOLIS!.

This little lunch system came with lids, and more boxes, and a real water bottle, and the ever so fashionable pink! And at $27, it suddenly seemed more reasonable. So today, I packed my lunch in individual pink polycarbonate containers, secured each dish into it's insulated carrying case, and enjoyed fresh, healthy, tasty food on my way out to Bryan, TX. No McDonald's for me. I'm Lunchopolis all the way.

Oh, and what was in the lunch box you ask?
Grilled salmon
Brown rice
Steamed green beans
Pink grapefruit wedges
Sugar Snap Peas
An apple
2 Clif Bars (for snacks)
A bottle of water

Yeah...it was a pretty yum day.