so I'm up on the official teamTBB website, my picture next to the likes of Hillary Biscay and teammates such as Bella Comerford (winner of my 2nd Ironman) and Belinda Granger (winner of my 4th Ironman).  The team manager, head coach, webmaster, and "operations executive" have been bombarding me with emails and notes of "congratulations!" so besides my teamTBB profile, I think that's as official as it gets, right?

I'm extremely honored and absolutely ecstatic--this is the melding of all my passions into the ultimate dream job.  I'm going to compete in the pro ranks, race all over the globe, and on the O&P side of things, volunteer at prosthetic clinics in Southeast Asia.  WOW.  even in my wildest dreams I can't say I'd ever imagined this.  so it's time to stop dreaming, and make it all a reality.

In the meantime, I also have a blog and my own personal forum on the team website.  Blog entries will most likely be cross-posted here, and as for the "chat with Jocelyn" feature on the forum, it's really easy to sign up for a free account and is a fun way to keep in touch.

I've decided beforehand not to race again until August or even September, and my performance this weekend reaffirms that decision.  As obnoxious as it sounds, I can still do decently well (i.e. place in my AG) at these local sprints without training very much.  But I'm totally cheating myself.  I realize that anybody who beats me most likely trains more than I do, and if only I trained as much as anyone else did, I'd be that much better.  but it's been fun.  but oh, it hurts more, and getting passed and feeling you don't have it in you isn't cool.  but the most uncool is seeing how you look in a two-piece outfit and not wanting to post them.  ha ha.  :(

race morning--a lot of adrenaline was burned leaving home a little late and trying to get to the race site in time (just a 30-min drive).  the cool thing was it was an 800m open water swim, and the waves were co-ed.  This was nice, because that was more opportunity for drafting.  I lined up towards the front and there was definitely some more of the "washing machine" effect, but I bashed back.  I can be aggressive about holding my line when there are faster/stronger swimmers who don't know how to go in a straight line to the buoy.  it subsided after 100m or so.  I continued to move up, drafting when I could.  at the final turn, we went straight into the sunlight and it was hard to see, so I depended on the general direction of the swimmers in front of me.  Post-race, "flag guy" Aaron Patel thanked me for the fast swim, as he drafted me almost the entire way.  I was super flattered and hope that reflects how much I've improved in the swim.  I pride myself on being able to navigate open water.  There was some prickly seaweed in some areas of the swim, which I thought was cool.  I think it freaked out a lot of people, but I was just happy it wasn't slimy.  :)

Since it was a good size sprint tri (506 finishers), there were a bunch of people out on the bike.  It was mostly flat, so I hammered it as best as I could, passing some, and being passed by some.  Not too many women out in front, so I was passed by a lot of men.  I started feeling the glutes burning, and was running out of juice in my legs.  In hindsight, I could've hydrated better--it ended up being pretty warm out there on the run.  I was passed in the final 1/3 of the bike by a girl in red, in my AG, who it turns out has pegged me as her "nemesis".  I tried to keep an eye on her and reel her in, but she slowly pulled away, and I didn't have much more in me.  I remember thinking "if she gets a mile ahead of you on the bike, that's gonna be impossible to catch on the run!  minimize the damage..."

I got into T2 and pulled on my Ace ankle wrap (I had minorly sprained it on Wednesday and would take the run conservatively); unfortunately I had forgotten my run visor in my haste to leave this morning.  I knew I'd regret it, as it became pretty hot out there.  Luckily some of the run was shaded.  I spotted the girl in red (phew) and knew I would overtake her.  She had a blazing fast bike split, I'll give her props for that!!  My run splits went from 7:19 to 7:45 to "just get 'er done..."  With a mile to go, I could see that the other women in front of me were going to be a stretch to catch...some had started out with a 4-minute lead in the earlier wave, the others would be in my AG.  So I just tried not to get passed by other women in the end.  My ankle discomfort was at a tolerable level, and I didn't dare push any harder; it wouldn't be worth further injuring myself over a sprint I was out of shape for.  (and wow.  that just sounds sad.  the not being in shape for a sprint part.)

So I was pleased with my AG 2nd (originally 3rd, but the winner who whupped me by some 9 minutes was in our AG and I got bumped up).  13th overall, there were some really quick juniors in the last wave, and really I'm not going to complain about my performance, all things considered.  I was lucky to keep the ankle out of too much trouble, and it's been healing decently.  Had I been training more and really peaked for the race and had the same outcome... well, that's a completely different story.   It'll be good to take a little break from racing, move out of here, get settled back in California and really put in some solid volume.

ok, we are coming up on my final day of work tomorrow at UT Southwestern.  yes, it's on a Monday, and that's weird, but I figured I started last year on Monday, June 5th, and this year, June 4th is a Monday.  The exciting part is that starting Tuesday I pretty much get to train full time for the next two months!  well, in the midst of packing, selling everything but the bikes and the dog, moving, and more fun stuff.  Tuesday-Thursday I will sleep extra and train to my heart's content as people jet off to work; Friday and Saturday I will be in Oklahoma City to volunteer for the Endeavor Games.  Saturday night I will be back in the DFW area to watch one of my sports heroines, Danica Patrick, race at the Texas Motor Speedway!  It'll be my first time going to the car races.  Then Sunday will be my Texas tri season finale, the Metroplex Sprint Triathlon held at Joe Pool Lake in Grand Prairie.  For once, I'm looking forward to the longer swim (800m vs. the 300m pool swims) since I may actually be able to put more time on the faster bikers, not something I've ever said in previous seasons.

This past weekend, I had a blast with my friends who have helped make Dallas much more tolerable than it initially was.  We went skating at a roller rink right by White Rock Lake--the last time I'd gone was in 6th grade!  I felt like a kid again, pure bliss.  80's music with games like limbo, the Hokey Pokey, and one-lap races.  The limbo bar started at 28 inches and as flexible as I can be, at my height I could only bend over so far!  the kid who won was like 5 years old!  then we went salsa dancing at night and I would have to blame my ineptness on my various partners.  if the boy can't lead, then it's not your fault if you get confused, right?