Bye Bye, Boston

Tonight is one of those nights where sleep is evasive, but I'm not sure why. It's probably not any one thing, more likely it's a combination of a lot of things.

There's a Bittersweet Ave right by our hotel, but I'm lazy so you get this

• Tomorrow is my last day of work at my current employer, and I'm having mixed feelings about it. When I started there I really thought I'd be there a very long time, and if we weren't moving I probably would be. I've made some great friends, worked for a very good boss, and grew as an analyst and a person. No job is perfect, and this one definitely had some foibles (hello, way too much testing), but in the end I'm really sad to be leaving it.
• I'm Really going to miss a lot of people here. I spent most of my time working or training, so most of my friends are co-workers, team members, or triathletes I met along the way. The triathletes hopefully I'll run into at big races now and then, but a lot of people I may have already seen for the last time. Sure, there's facebook, twitter, and blogs to read, but nothing quite compares to sitting down with someone after a long day at work or on the bike, and just relaxing over a beer.
• Moving is expensive and stressful. Even though I've gotten absolutely the best deal I could on the rental truck, I'm getting quality movers to help load the truck for dirt cheap, and I've booked the two nights of hotels before we get to our new place on priceline. It's still expensive, and 3 days after the move we're headed back to Ohio.
• Speaking of expenses, I now have only $115 dollars to raise by race day, so if you still have donated, I'd sure appreciate it if you could. Even just $5 or $10 would really go a long way.
• Tapering has been really easy this week because I have been so busy with everything else, I've barely had time to get any workouts in. Tomorrow we're going to swim at Walden one last time, and I'm going to go for a last Boston bike ride. I'll be leaving work early tomorrow and we're checking into a slightly nicer hotel not far from Walden so it should be easy to make the time tomorrow. 
• I'm thrilled to be leaving the Natick Travelodge. They've been great to us, letting us stay in the same room all month, automatically updating our online pre-bookings, and providing an endless stream of room keys as our move out date continually extended. I'm going to miss my little buddy Mikey, but I will not miss the screaming baby that has lived (and screamed) next door to us for most of the month we've lived here.
• Some of the friends we wanted to see before we left we just won't get to, and frankly, that sucks. But with work and moving and training, it's been pretty unavoidable that we don't get to say a proper goodbye to everyone.
• With all that, I'm still excited to get down to North Carolina and settle in at our new house. It's going to be a grand adventure, and I'm really looking forward to it.
• The race is coming, and frankly, I'm pretty confident. I'm down to minute planning details now, like what to put in my transition bags, and which watch to wear on each part of the race. I don't have a bike computer, so I've decided on the Garmin for the bike, as I want the pacing for the longest part of the race. And it's not that hard to do hit the lap button and do math every time I come to a mile marker on the run course.
• I really am glad Rachelle decided on BU for this little stop of our long journey together. I can't believe how much this place has meant to me, and how it's going to take quite a while to call North Carolina home.