Initiate Blog Sequence!

I didn't post last night because I am cheap and didn't want to pay the $11 for internet access so I'm blogging about yesterday this morning after getting my dad to donate to my cause. Because I'm poor and stuff.

I'M TOTALLY IN MAUI!

So excited. I don't even care if the race sucks and my arm falls off or something. My arm will have fallen off in Maui at the World Championships, so I can still at least sound cool.

Now I will bore you with my travel stories because I wanna.

I got all packed up on Wednesday night, as is my habit (last minute packer here), and got a little derailed as I was planning to get a new battery for my easy-to-use camera at Target but they didn't have any and it was late so all the other places were closed. I couldn't find the charger for my big I-wanna-be-a-photog camera, but my dad called on Thursday morning and said he would pick one up before his flight. Score! I also left my laptop cord at the shop on Wednesday so I had to make a 6:30am bike shop stop, but no biggie. I took my bike and shoes and crap to Elliott's on Wednesday night too, and he demonstrated the proper way to pack a bike in his bike box. I was somewhat pre-occupied texting while I was there (who me? No way!) so he added some treats to the box while I wasn't looking. So far I have found a little kid's pink Barbie bike helmet and a rubber ducky. I'm unpacking my bike for reals today so we'll see what else he packed.

I had my friend Carla pick me up and drive me to the airport (thanks Carla!), which was a little bit of an adventure as neither of us is much over five feet tall and we had to get the bike box and my huge bag in the back of the truck and we didn't want to mess with the attached bike rack or tailgate. Much giggling ensued. Her mom decided to ride along, so we played "Did you have this teacher when you were in school? How about this one?" all the way to the airport. Her mom is a substitute teacher, so it wasn't completely random. Carla and I hoisted my crap out of the truck once again, and I stumbled my way into the airport.

Now, the bike box is pretty big and heavy. So much so that I can't drag it away from my body so it hits the back of my legs when I walk, making me walk like a weirdo. Add the big pink rolly bag that I have to hold pretty far away from my body so it clears the bike box that has a tendency to flip over if I hit a bump (similar to the alligator death-roll) and the 40 lb backpack I had on (I over pack), and I was kind of a mess. I took the elevator to the ticketing counter, and was laughing out loud at how retarded I was. I somehow made it through the hoards - possibly expedited by the "look how wretched and miserable I am" face I was trying to get people to move - and proceeded to get yelled at by the Hawaiian Airlines greeter lady. When she saw my bike box she gave me the dirtiest look EVER. Kinda bitchy, that one. Happily the actual ticketing lady was cool and told me how to word things so I didn't have to pay extra. Sweet.

My first flight from San Jose to Honalulu was quite nice. No one was sitting next to me (in an otherwise packed plane) so I got a whole row to myself. That never happens to me! I brought a bunch of work crap along, so I spent the whole flight listening to music and organizing invoices.

I had a couple-hour layover in Honalulu before I flew to Maui so I found an electrical outlet and fired up my laptop and was about to start working when my friend Whit, the race announcer for XTERRA and Ironman and a bunch of other races came and found me and gave me a lei. What the hell?? I turned beet red and was all embarrassed and sweaty and ridiculous. Good times. He was hopping a flight to Maui as well, only his was an hour and a half before mine, so he didn't have much time to hang around. I mentioned that I was stuck waiting for my dad to arrive since I can't rent a car (until next year) and he offered to wait around and give me a ride if I needed it. I said maybe.

On my second flight I realized I left my iPod on the first flight so I was a little upset. But then I mentally smacked myself since I still have all my music and I can buy another one, and spent the rest of the very short flight enjoying the beautiful scenery. Live in the moment, or something.

Once we landed in Maui I hit the bathroom and made my way to the baggage claim, where my bike box was hanging out with 8 or so other bike boxes like little soldiers. Mine was the first one. Right next to it was my bag. Apparently my stuff had flown earlier than I did, as it wasn't even on the carousel. I loaded up, made some old ladies hustle out of my way, and found Whit still hanging out in the airport. Apparently his bags had JUST got there, so he had had to wait around anyway. Score for me, I didn't have to wait four hours for my dad!

We got to the hotel, I spent a few minutes convincing the bellhop that I wasn't Swedish (he was insisting), convinced the check-in lady to let me get in my room even though it was under my dad's name, and worked on my invoices and relaxed on the balcony. My friend Ian (of Specialized Rider's Club fame) called me up and we went for a short run around the hotel and on the beach. The section on the beach is part of the course and it's going to be rough. Holy crap. Unstable footing at the end of the race? Ankles beware! I got a little taste of the heat and humidity on my run (my face was a little purple afterwards), and am making sure to be extra hydrated come race day.

Once my dad and stepmom got here we got dinner and passed out, and I got to listen to my dad snore all night. Today I'm buying earplugs.

Thank you all for your support, I'm loving all the "good lucks"! And don't worry, I will definitely have fun!