packed and preped... and shocked

Well, the bike is boxed up and ready, and I'm just one load of laundry from being packed and ready for my trip to Club Nationals. It's been an exciting year, and I'm ending it with one last race that I never thought I'd be doing. I'm participating in a National Championship. Plus I get to do it while representing more than myself. I get to do it on behalf of my teammates of Wheelworks Multisport.

The funny thing is, I'm actually pretty nervous. I'm doing a triathlon far away from home, I don't have Rach by my side, and some of the stuff I'll need, I have to buy when I get there because of air travel rules against Gu and CO2 canisters. Plus, It's a course I've never seen, and I'll be relying on my sister-in-law for a lot. Not that she isn't super reliable, but I just feel bad for asking so much, so she's definitely getting fed on Saturday after the race.

What matters though is I get one last race in, and for a distance this short, I'll get to go all out. Nothing left behind, every last bit of effort given. And it's going to be SO much fun. It's just the right amount of suffering for a trip like this. And then I get to relax and have fun. I have a great hotel room, a great locale with nice weather predicted, and even fairly short flights.

On another topic, just a few hours ago it was announced that Alberto Contador tested positive for Clenbuterol during the Tour de France. He claims it had to have come from food contamination. Clenbuterol is used outside the US to help provide a larger lean meat yield in some farm animals. One would think it's possible he's telling the truth, and the levels of his positive test haven't been released yet. But it certainly doesn't look good, and with the history of doping in the sport, and the recent admissions by Floyd Landis, it's hard to think anything other than the worst.