Elizabeth the Triathlete!

I've always wanted to do a triathlon and so I have decided to do the Long Beach Sprint Distance Triathlon on September 19th which will probably be just a few weeks before my embryo transfer.  In a sprint distance triathlon you swim 1/2 mile, bike 11 miles, and run 3 miles.  This is a view of the course:

I am hoping to finish in under 1 hour and 45 minutes.  I signed up for the Athena division for women who are 145lbs or heavier.  (I thought it was nice of the race people to give us a dignified name like Athena rather than what they call the heavier men, "Clydesdales".)  It will be interesting trying to keep up my training while in Italy but you can run anywhere and I can bike, run, and weight lift in the gym on our 12-day cruise.  Maybe I will practice my open water swimming in the Mediterranean.  This is the triathlon suit that I just ordered for the race.  It is a bit daring huh?  It will be good though for moving from water to the bike to running. 

On the recommendation of one of my spin instructors who is the strength and conditioning coach at UCR I have recently added a lot more weight lifting to my exercise routine and I am sure it will make a difference.  Dan and I even bought a Bosu ball which I was introduced to by a personal trainer.  It is amazing how many exercises you can do on it.  It is especially good for working on your core which is one of my weaker muscle groups.