The Universe's Delivery System

Remember back when I was waiting for the universe to fill my order for squillions of dollars so I could buy cool triathlon gear? I'm still waiting for the moola, but - and this is an exciting but - I got some cool new gear without even having any money!

The universe decided to use the Richard vector to deliver into my hot little hands a Garmin Forerunner 301. Richard is a long time friend of John's who became family, first by becoming our daughter's godfather and then by becoming an uncle when the rest of the kids laid claim to him. He didn't put up much fuss. I think he got a kick out of it when they used to jump around like fleas screaming "Uncle Richard is here! Uncle Richard is here!" (They're bigger and somewhat more lethargic fleas now, being teenagers and all, but they still love to climb and hang on Uncle Richard - as you can see from these pix of Richard's recent visit. I am posting two pictures of the crew because as usual with our "party sized" family, it was hard to capture a decent picture of everyone in one frame. My minimum standards of decency are not stringent! Is it too much to ask for a non-silly smile and no mug shot faces? Apparently, yes, it is too much to ask!! Anyway Richard is in the center, John is to the back right, the kids are clustered around, the dogs are out of view at everyone's feet wanting attention, and I think Donna must still have been at work.)
While he was here, Richard and I got to talking about triathlon. He lived in San Diego during the birth of triathlon and did several of the local ones there at the time (Carlsbad - or was that a ride? and maybe Coronado? - I'm a little iffy on those details). We did the ole "my how things have changed" routine and I ended up waxing poetic (or maybe just interminable) about all the nifty gear like tri-specific wetsuits, disc wheels, aero bars, and heart rate monitors with GPS that is around these days.

A few days later I got an email that said:

I tend to not give gifts for "special days". I prefer to give them when there is the "perfect storm". Usually that requires a casual conversation followed by an equally casual event that combine and result in a "that would be perfect for ...". In this case it was you.

Guess what, that just occurred.

In the pile of mail I got when I got back from Pittsburgh (I was home 1 day between visiting all of you in NC before leaving for 4 days in Pittsburgh) there was a flier from Costco. One of the specials was for a Garmin 301. Enjoy it. I am hoping it will ship on Monday.
-Richard

Wow! How much fun is that?!! I immediately sent him a thank you note (that was more like a thank you novel which will not surprise anyone who reads this blog or has me for a commenter on their blog.) I promised I would post one of those coolie-cool elevation chart/heart rate graphs from a workout as soon as possible. Of course that means that not only do I have to figure out the software, but I must first run or bike somewhere with some elevation changes and wear my new Garmin while doing so. Okaaaay.

Actually I've encountered a few, minor difficulties getting set up. I started to say that I haven't managed to get my resting heart rate much less my max heart rate, but my issues started even before that hurdle. The first step was to charge "the unit" (which, if said with waggling eyebrows, could mean something else entirely) and I could NOT figure out from the instructions how to do this. Being a good little girl, I tried RTFM first. The manual was written by monkeys. Robot monkeys. Martian robot monkeys. I finally stopped reading and employed John's method of randomly pushing buttons and plugging shit in until it worked. (There is a cord which plugs into the Garmin and also into an adapter which itself plugs into another adapter which finally plugs the whole mess into the wall!!)

After three days, I am still in the fixing to get ready to get started phase of training with my Garmin. I need some superhero chant to bring my mad geek skills to the fore. Didn't you used to love it when Isis would raise her arms and intone, "Oh, zephyr winds which blow on high, lift me now so I can fly!" I thought that was awesome*. But the only thing I can think of is "Oh Garmin new which came in the mail, synch yourself so I can ...flail?" That's not so helpful!! I'm close though. In a few more days I am sure I'll have some charty goodness for you. (And I'll say it again: Thank you Richard, thank you Universe - for my Garmin!)

Training wise - had a teeny, little 500 yard swim today and a slow-ass 30 minute run yesterday. Looking forward to tomorrow's bike to be better! I'm proud that I've done my workouts but I want some pep, man! This week I'm thinking of my buddies who are tapering and preparing for races - Willie (OKC Memorial Marathon), Southbay Girl and Maryland Girl (Country Music Half Marathon), and IM Able (NJ Devilman Half Iron next weekend). Go buddies go!

*A final note to RBR: I love it when you use the word 'awesome'!!

Peace out.