Well this is embarrassing...

I've gotta come clean. I thought about just letting it slide... hoping no one would notice but I just can't.

January 12th has been circled on my calendar since October.  Why, you ask?  Well January 12th is Age Group Nationals Registration Day!  Woo, right?!?  It turns out it's more like WAH. 

Exactly at 1pm on the dot, I drop any work that I am doing, go straight to the AG website and click register.  It says to enter USAT member number.  I enter my #.  The screen now says there is a problem registering.  Either my USAT membership is expired (it hasn't), I mistyped the number (I didn't and re-did it 6 times to make sure) or I didn't qualify.  Blasphemy I yell at the computer screen!  Or maybe it was another 4 words I'd rather my Mom not read (you know you're reading this Mom... hi there!) like SOAB!!

I followed the directions and emailed the registration department.  It went something like this:

"I am trying to register for Age Group Nationals and I think there may be a mistake..."

I plead my case, providing race results, remember I totally qualified at the Montauk Olympic tri getting 2nd in my Age Group, and hit send.

And then it happened.  I got a swift response from USAT.  I think you can see where this is going.... even though I placed SECOND in my age group (with a small age group field only 1 & 2 in my age group can qualify) the first woman OVERALL is 32, therefore bouncing my slow ass out of Age Group Nat contention. 

So for the past 3 1/2 months I've been talking a BIG game...  I'm SO speedy... I QUALIFIED for Nats... I'm the coolest of cool....  Blah Blah Blah... but in reality I was WRONG.

Yes, I placed well, but in a larger race I wouldn't have come close to top 10! So am I disappointed...? um YEAH!  I'm bummed.  I didn't even realize I wanted to qualify for AG until I (falsely) did.  Now I miss it.  And now I have to rearrange my race schedule.  Do I try to qualify at another race in June/July??  Should I add another early Olympic specifically to try to qualify?  Or do I say "screw you, speedsters" and add another Half Ironman, like Timberman in August? 

Grrr... I feel lame.  Sorry for talking up a big game... when I got none!!

Antigua "Race" Report

If my end of 2011 race goal was to....

SCUBA DIVE

SHARK HUNT

DRINK TOO MANY RUM PUNCHES

(rum punching with my bro)

(Rum punch knocked me out for Christmas morning)

CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS ON THE BEACH

TAKE OVER A PIRATE SHIP

SEE A DOUBLE RAINBOW

AND RIDE IN A DINGY BOAT WITH A HOLE IN IT OUT TO SEA

(my Dad steering while the boat dude gets water out of our leaking boat dingy)

Now... if I just happened to do all that, giving 100% all out effort, what was my race result?  Well, it was a close race but..... I got SECOND woman overall.  So just who was the fancy fast lady who beat me for #1 party animal????  

My Mom of course!!  Now I see where I get it from.

(so angry someone put a thumbprint on the camera at this point!)

After our week long "race," we headed back to the Big Apple to celebrate New Year's... 

dunce caps and all! 

And after a week of eating and living it up like a Queen, ringing in the new year with my love, feeling not so fit after imbibing 8 days in a row... what could possibly happen next??

An early morning January 1st run in Central Park of course!

I'm sweaty and ready to rock 2012!!  HAPPY NEW YEAR!