And now, now it’s time to give birth.

Here’s the hitch, by the time the last one came out, it only took me 2 hours start to finish . I am going to be doing this ironman for 12-14 hours.  Maybe I needed a 24 hour labor to prepare me.

I have no idea what to expect, well that is not all together true, I know the stories of others that have gone before me and the “idea” of what I think it is going to be like.  I do know this, I will try to live in the moment, I will be grateful for the experience and for all of the people in my life that have been nothing but the most wonderful support staff anyone could ask for.  So, thank you, thank you, thank you.

The one thing that isn’t the same as pregnancy, is that after the race I won’t be coming home with a small little baby that needs to be fed, changed and taken care of.  Or maybe that will be me.

You can follow the race live on race day at http://www.ironman.com.

Here are the bib numbers of the folks you may want to track.  Please no placing bets in the comments section.

Mary Sellke 2664

Courtney Steilen 2607

Todd Olson 1378

Diane Birkeland 2743

Vicki Carver 2700

Jackie Dezellar 2816

Danielle Pellicano 2394

Scott Welle 475

Here are some updates:

T-odd, just found out his bike has a crack in the frame and is unrideable.  No, I am not kidding.

Jackie, just got her race wheels on, with her brand new bike and biked through wet cement and then ran over a squirrel.

Vicki, just got her cast on.

I think I am going to lock myself up in a dark room until I get picked up on Friday morning.

The day we came home from Ironman Camp in Madison, Jackie forgot her bike was mounted on the top of her car and ran it right into the garage.  Needless to to say, it broke in two, IN TWO!  So three weeks out from the race, she was on the hunt for a new bike.  Not really the thing she wanted to be doing.

(Old)

(New)

Last weekend, when we were all on our Clover Leaf of Death ride, the LAST hard ride of training, 15 miles into it Vicki went over her handle bars.

Out cold for a good 30 seconds, just laying there in the road still as a stone.  Her wrist is broken, her body is scraped up and they are is still trying to figure out why her knee swelled like a blow fish.

She is getting run through the paces; x-rays, MRIs, pulling, prodding.  She is doing everything she can to move forward and YES, still complete the race.

These are the moments, after all the months and miles and sweat, that you sometimes hit.

You can either be torn apart by them and quit or move forward and persevere.

Let’s hope the rest of the days leading up to the race are smooth sailing.

The system fell apart somewhere along the line and per usual the containers where lost, living under a bed, thrown behind the couch or eaten by the dog.

Today, KP told me he has found a new home for the new thumb tacks and was wondering if he could keep them in his room.

AND HELL YES HE DID!

Congratulations Omar, Becca and Surly Brewing Company!

“Ernst & Young LLP is pleased to announce the winners of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® award in the Upper Midwest Region. This group of leading entrepreneurs was selected by an independent judging panel made up of regional business, academic and community leaders. The winners were revealed at a gala event on Thursday, June 10 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

“Ernst & Young believes in the power of entrepreneurship,” said William Miller, Partner and Strategic Growth Markets Leader with Ernst & Young LLP’s Minneapolis office. “These Entrepreneur Of The Year award winners are best in class, and we are proud to honor their outstanding success.”

The Upper Midwest program recognizes companies based in Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota and South Dakota. The Upper Midwest winners for the Ernst & Young LLP Entrepreneur Of The Year award in 2010 are:

·    Lifetime Achievement – M. A. “Mort” Mortenson, M. A. Mortenson Company (Golden Valley, Minnesota)
·    Master – Jack Link, Jack Link’s Beef Jerky (Minong, Wisconsin)
·    Emerging – Joe Keeley, College Nannies & Tutors (Wayzata, Minnesota)
·    Technology – John Romans, BioMedix Vascular Solutions (St. Paul, Minnesota)
·    Retail – Rollie Benjamin, ABRA Auto Body & Glass (Brooklyn Center, Minnesota)
·    Distribution – Jimmy Vosika, ShopJimmy.com
·    Consumer Services – Peter Taunton, Snap Fitness (Chanhassen, Minnesota)
·    Health Sciences – Jerome Ruzicka, Starkey Laboratories, Inc. (Eden Prairie, Minnesota)
·    Consumer Products – Omar Ansari, Surly Brewing Co. (Brooklyn Center, Minnesota)

We recently started running just a touch later on Saturday mornings, which means by the end of our runs the sun is trying ever so hard to come up and we can actually see where are feet are landing.

About two weeks ago, I noticed this little spray painted bit of graffiti on the bike path around Lake Harriet and I just couldn’t let it go.

It makes me smile and want to go spray paint some stuff.

Learning to use my big girl camera on MANUAL.

Lots to learn.

I have tried to write this post several times.  To no avail I have either lost it or run out of time trying to edit it.

That must mean something right?

What it means is you get to read T-odd’s rendition of the weekend.  Don’t stop before you get to The Gary Project.  It is just pee in your pants funny.

And yes, we did sign up.

OMG we signed up!