Celebrations!

The April craziness continues. The NCE, one final paper, and a few other assignments are behind me, and now my pro-sem paper (aka: thesis) looms. The due date for that is next Thursday, which is going to make for a few unpleasant days next week. Before that, though, I have some celebrations to attend!

First, my friend Julia's 30th birthday, for which I will serve as DJ. Julia is a very devout Catholic, and God seems to have tested her by making her 30th birthday fall on Good Friday. Not the most appropriate day for a celebration. I saw Julia back in December, and she told me dejectedly that she thought she might not have a party at all. I told her that she was looking at the situation all wrong- God had handed her the perfect setup for the most fabulously sacreligious party EVER! Immediately, we started throwing out themes (see this post to get in on that), and eventually Julia decided to throw a "Last Supper" in her 20's today, the day before Good Friday. I am writing this post to the sounds of playlists I will debut in just a few hours, and I am certain this will be a fabulous party. I just hope that I can stay awake and that nobody has to take my cup from me...

Tomorrow, my friend Pat and I are heading up to Middle-of-Nowhere, Pennsylvania for the wedding of our friends Krista and Ray. Krista and Ray are super-athletes, who got engaged just after completing a 50-mile race,  so of course they decided to schedule their wedding around a triathlon. Krista informed me months ago that Ridgway, PA, close to her hometown, has a 30-year tradition of hosting a run/bike/canoe triathlon on Easter Saturday. The race is a 5-mile run, followed by a 15-mile bike race, and 9 miles in a canoe or kayak. It can be done as individuals (they call that the "Ironman division") or in teams of 2-4. Krista and Ray will be competing as individuals, Pat and I will be a team of two, and seven relatives have formed two teams of three and four. I have been super-excited about this race for months, but it is also intimidating, for three reasons: 

First, the schedule. The race starts at 11am and should take about 4 hours to complete (just under 1 hour each for the bike and run, 2 hours for the canoe, and a few minutes for transitions). Then, we'll have to take a shuttle from the finish back to the start, drive 40 minutes to our hotel, shower and change, and be ready for the start of wedding festivities around 5pm. This will take a near-miracle to pull off.

Second, the competition. I have reviewed last year's results, and these Ridgway people are fast. For the 2010 run leg, 48 of 49 competitors came in under my 5-mile PR. I am fairly confident that I can shave 5 minutes off that time, but even that would only get me to position 43 of 49. Gulp. Also, Pat and I have only put in two canoe practices. We can keep the boat moving, steer (sort of), and go for a long time, but we don't really know if we can race.

Finally, the weather. Currently, the forecast is for rain all day on Saturday. That's no problem for the run, but could make the bike and canoe legs treacherous. Still, I'd rather deal with difficult conditions than have the race cancelled. When else will I be able to say I competed in a wedding triathlon?   

God and weather-willing, I look forward to posting a celebrations and race report sometime Sunday or Monday. Until then, have a good weekend and happy Easter!