I'm back...sort of.

As this blog was originally intended to encompass all things Ironman and I am no longer training for an Ironman, I took a little break from updating it. However, I realized that tri season is quickly approaching and I need a good kick in the ass to get going again. Perhaps updating my blog more frequently might be that kick in the ass I need. Don't worry...I have plenty of masochistic things planned this season to detail (some perhaps even stupider than Ironman...yes, a Grand Canyon run falls into that category).
While I'm not doing an Ironman this year, in addition to tri training and a race schedule that is quickly turning insane, I'm planning a wedding. Which, in a lot of ways, is just as masochistic (some might say more) as Ironman, but far less badass (you only get a medal at the end of one. And no one gets "just married" tattoos. I'm just sayin'...); however, there are myriad similarities between the two:
1. Everything is overpriced. Fact. $50 for a race shirt made in Taiwan in a sweatshop? $200 for a veil made of a cheap comb, fake pearls, and some fabric made in Indonesia? Plenty of people willing to pay regardless? Yes.
2. Once people find out you are doing it, it's all they ask you about. "How far did you run today?" " Do you have a photographer yet?" I do like to pretend that I have other interests. Like watching old Kona reruns on my DVR on the trainer while flipping through bridal magazines...
3. You find, after awhile, that it is all you CAN talk about. "OMG, my quads are killing me". "So...I've decided on save the dates, but not on invitations..."
4. There is a lot of technical terminology that I still don't understand. Seriously. I still don't know the difference between a Zipp 400 and 800 (those are the right sizes right?). I still don't know what "picking your colors" means. What exactly is supposed to be this color? Is EVERYTHING supposed to be the same color? And what everything does this encompass? Seriously, if anyone has an answer to either, please post in comments. I'm so confused.
5. What you wear doesn't really matter all that much, but people act like it's the most important decision you're going to make. I mean, tri shorts are tri shorts are tri shorts, right? and a dress is a dress is a dress. Both are made in China in mass production. Let's be real. And let's also be real that by the end of the event, you are going to be none too comfortable anyway...something will be cutting in somewhere unpleasant, you will most likely have chafe marks no matter what, and damn it, your feet are going to HURT.
6. You have to drop weight and obsess about food to do either. Brides-to-be and triathletes are perhaps the two most weight obsessed groups of people on the planet. Somehow both getting married and being a recreational athlete gives people the idea that they can talk about weight ad nauseum and have it be socially acceptable. "race weight", "dress weight", I don't really see that much of a difference.

There are more, but I'll stop here. I mean, there are other things to think about other than tris and wedding stuff. Like yoga. And dropping this last five pounds before the (wedding, tri) season starts.