All She Wants to Do is Dance--31 days 'til race day

The Eagles, without a doubt, were one of my top five fav bands of the 70s and 80s. I adore their mix of country twang and rock, and to know the lyrics of their songs was kind of a badge of honor back in college at UT Austin (especially Hotel California--not that anyone understood what the song meant, of course, but to sing it all through, drunk or sober, was considered very cool). The first time I saw the Eagles in concert was 1975, and they were the BACK UP band for the Rolling Stones at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, where I and about 10,000 other weary souls stood, or passed out, as the case was, in 110 degree heat for 12 hours to hear the Stones play, but the Eagles were just as good IMO that day, plus they came on at a reasonble hour. Yeah, I was 18 and stupid, but it was good to be 18 and stupid. It's good to be 53 and stupid, too. Trust me.

One of their great jogging songs IMO is All She Wants to Do is Dance. If you can listen to that tune without moving some part of your body, you are in more trouble than I can help you out of. Great lyrics too--the Eagles actually knew how to throw in words on top of a tune.

I listened to that tune this morning ("Malatov cocktail, the local drink...and all she wants to do is dance....mix it up right in the kitchen sink...and all she wants to do is---" you know the rest, sing along here) as I headed out on an hour tempo run at 6:55 a.m., my reflecto bands glinting in the daylight savings time darkness. Very windy and humid--gonna be like that on race day, though, so good practice. Did a couple of hills easily, thinking, wow, after spending 5 days in Colorado clambering uphill in bulky ski boots, this is easy stuff (no wonder the pros live up there and come down to race). Of course, by minute 45, it wasn't as easy as minute 2had been, but it was okay, even in the howling wind.

Last night was a 2200 yard swim drill and the water felt great. 5 days away from swim-bike-run last weekend has re-energized my muscles, even though I spent 3 of those days doing some hard skiing (the hardest part was, as you know, putting on those dadgummed ski boots--busted 300 calories each time, I swear to you). I felt like I was gliding through the water, even during the 8 x 25 yard bust yer rear sprints. Never underestimate the power of going hard, and then going for a rest.

Broke down and ordered a new wetsuit today. My old one is fine, a used Zoot Fusion I snapped up for $85 on sale, but it has several (repaired) tears in it that are starting to think about leaking, and so now I'm going to sell it and get a new Quinta Roo Hydrofull (assuming I like it once I try it on). I realize back of the packers don't need to spend all this $$ on gear, but dernit, if I'm going to swim 1.2 miles I am going to be comfortable doing it. Plus I intend to keep doing this triathlon stuff for many years (although probably Oly and sprint distances until I hit work retirement). There. I've just justified spending money on something non-essential. I'm very good at that.

Now all I need is some new goggles--I can buy those locally--a haircut and a bike tune up, and a night next week pretending to fix a flat tire so I can remember how to do it if that becomes an issue on race day (I didn't train for a year to DNF on a flat tire!). Last long brick this weekend, and a long swim without stopping.

So today, I'm feeling good about the whole thing. All I want to do is dance! :-) I'll get my opportunity soon. Here's hoping for good weather and good health on race day.