6 Days...

Until Big Kahuna Triathlon. The nerves are definitely starting to bubble to the surface. In fact, I baked two nights in a row to deal with my nervous energy. Fortunately, my husband's co-workers are more than happy to help me deal with my neurosis by taking one for the team and eating home baked goods.

So, it is what it is. I have had quite a few solid weeks of training under my belt. I did have some paranoia about the bike cut off, as I had flashbacks of being pulled from the race at last year's Wildflower. But, I will have to do the number crunching to figure out my sweet spot for mph on the bike and pay attention to that. The run...well, as my coach said, "The run will be the run."

In other news, something amazing happened this weekend. In addition to swimming, biking, running, celebrating my 5th wedding anniversary, and getting in some much needed family and friend time, I did something I NEVER had done before.

(wait for it)

I poached an egg.

Seriously, this is like an amazing feat for me. This past year I have mastered the creamiest scrambled eggs (the trick: melt butter in pan over low heat, while it melts whisk your eggs about a minute, and a tablespoon of milk and then whisk the eggs like crazy, to the point of your bicep hurting, then add to melted butter, let is sit 30 seconds, and every once in a while scrape the eggs around in the pan. slow. low heat. perfection!). For some reason I could not figure out how to poach eggs. The whites would separate and float all over the pan, or I would overcook the yolk. I even watched a Good Eats episode for guidance. One day I went through a whole carton of eggs with no success.

But something got into me Sunday morning. I wanted to make breakfast for hubby and didn't want to go to the store. I made mixed berry muffins from scratch, but used up the rest of the milk, so couldn't make scrambled eggs. I eyed the carton of eggs and grabbed my America's Test Kitchen cookbook with authority. You better watch out eggs, because today you are getting poached.

I analyzed the recipe and the accompanying picture for submerging the eggs in the water. I took a deep breath and got all the utensils ready. My skillet was filled to the brim with water and some vinegar. I set the temp high to get the water to boiling point. I took out two ramekins and cracked two eggs in both. I could feel beads of sweat forming at my forehead. Hubby came into the kitchen and asked in a cheerful voice, "What are you making?"

"I am poaching eggs."

"Whoa," he said and gradually inched backwards to make an escape. See, he was there through a majority of the poaching attempts and may still be a little traumatized by all the swearing.

The water was boiling, now time to reduce the heat. I gradually tipped the eggs into the water, put a lid on the skillet removed from the heat and set the timer for 5 minutes.

Longest. Five. Minutes. Ever.

Finally the "beep beep" came and I removed the lid, scared at what I was going to see. I carefully took rhe eggs out with a slotted spoon and placed two on a plate with a muffin and presented to hubby.

"So," I told him, "I think I did it. I think those are poached."

He cut into the egg with his fork and the right amount of yolk oozed out. He took a bite.

"Yup! Those are poached!"

Yay!

So, you are probably thinking what the heck do poached eggs have to do with a half ironman?

Well, I guess what I realized was that I poached the egg succesfully because I focused on all the steps. There is no room for error. My plan for Sunday: stay focused and in the NOW of the event. Every stroke of my swim will be deliberate.If I find myself slacking on the bike, I will evaluate my posture, ensure I am pushing through pedal strokes. On the run I will just keep my legs going and remind myself I have done 13 miles plenty of times. And that even though it feels like a long time, it's really about the same amount of time as a Transformers movie with previews in a theater (and I will repeat to myself that sitting through Transformes would prbably be more painful than the run). I will ensure that I drink water and eat enough on the bike. I have a couple friends who are making the trip to santa cruz just to cheer me on. How awesome is that?

My plan for Sunday? It really boils down to one thing: I plan to cross that finish line.