It's a crazy semester already...school lets you off for a wonderfully long summer vacation and instructors expect you to come back warmed up and ready to sprint.  Or is that just me? 

Dan and I continue to overwork our bodies and are hanging on by the skin of our teeth to the training and event schedule we had planned.  So, in addition to studying for two tests in two days, clinical, the crazy IT course where we talk to eachother through the computer (oh, yes, folks, nursing informatics is moving forward), we also ran the Nations Triathlon.  It was the second annual event in our nations capital.  We swam in the Potomac River (where they found male fish with eggs last year...Dan is hoping his pregnancy test comes back negative) for one mile, biked up and down Rock Creek Park for 26 miles and finally wound our way through the streets and monuments of downtown DC to finish with the capital building at our back.  3hrs and 33 minutes after the start, I completed my triathlon and was so happy to have just survived.  Dan tells me that I need to change my thinking...what runs through my head the whole time is a running commentary of how beautiful the scenery is, what a nice day.  That's how it is for the first 20 minutes of each leg, after that, I start saying my rosary, trying to distract myself by writing blogs in my head, singing in my head (spare my poor fellow athletes), and finally hating myself for even thinking I can complete such a long event.  Ugh.

As is tradition for Dan and myself, we unquestionably choose the worst pre-race dinners.  This time it was our favorite Ghanaian meal of fufu and ground nut soup.  Written as I wrote it from West Africa between 2002-2005 "Fufu is kasava root, plantain or yam pounded. It is pound in a round wood bowl with a long branch with a blunted end.  After cooking the root (similar to yam) pound until it reaches the consistency of warm playdo.  Add soup and eat with hands.  DONT CHEW, just swallow."  Sound appetizing?  Many of my friends think I'm sick to still enjoy it, but boy do I love those simple carbs!  Now, as for a pre-race meal, I don't recommend it. But, what can I say? I love that Ghanaian restaurant (it's the same one that catered my wedding this summer and I've heard from friends that it was the best wedding food they've had).