Is it September 11th yet?

I've decided that training for an Ironman is a lot like being pregnant. At first, you're so excited and happy and can't wait until you get to wear maternity clothes. You tell everyone that you're expecting and share every little detail about how things are going so far. You're tired, you feel nauseous, you cry at stupid things, but it's all good b/c after a while, you'll have a tiny, precious baby in your arms, looking up to you for comfort, love and protection. After a while, though, you get fat and uncomfortable and REALLY tired, and you hate wearing maternity clothes, and you don't want to talk about being pregnant any more. You can't wait until that baby comes, b/c right now you're incredibly miserable. I think I'm in my third trimester of Ironman training. I had a really tough weekend training wise, and I'm just ready for race day to come. I'm tired, I'm emotional (watching "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" is not a good idea for Iron(wo)men in training!), and I'm losing my mind. Riding your bike 107 miles then running 30 minutes one day, then the next day running 18 miles, all in the 100 degree heat, definitely fries some brain cells. I've been told by Ironman veterans, though, that's it's totally normal to feel this way right now. If I think I suck, then I'm doing everything right and things will be just fine. I just have to stick it out for 3 more weeks, and then we'll start tapering (cutting back on our training time to give our bodies a rest before the Big Day). I can do it for 3 more weeks. And what's the craziest thing about all of this? The moment I cross that finish line, everything will be so wonderful that I'll forget the misery I went through to get there and I'll want to do it all over again. Just like having children.

On the knitting front, I finally have a picture of a Finished Object:



This is Tempting from Knitty. I used 5 skeins of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran. I really like the way it turned out, but knitting it was a complete bore. Simple projects are nice sometimes, though, especially when they turn out as cute as this one did! The ribbon I used is Hanna Silk, which I would not recommend. It frayed a lot while I was weaving it in. I've got 2 other ribbons so I can interchange them, but I haven't done that yet. One thing I'd do differently if I did this again is to use a smaller needle to bind off. I find that the sweater will start to creep down my arms and if I'm not careful, I'll end up giving people a show!

Today's my day off of work, so I've got to catch up on some household chores that didn't get done over the weekend (who has time to do housework when they're putting in 12 hours of training time between Friday night and Sunday morning?) and then do a bit of knitting. I'm working on a pattern right now that I might give up on b/c a)I can't figure out the instructions, b) I haven't fallen completely in love with it yet (with the yarn, yes; with the pattern, no), and c) I've got a list a mile long of other things I want to make . I also have to do a swatch for my Union Square Market Pullover (one of the things on previously mentioned list). I ordered my yarn from Jimmy Beans Wool last Thursday, and it came in Saturday!

Knit on!