Lust for Life

Spring already? yawn

2009-03-02T02:06:00.002-05:00

*smack* *smack* Hmm. Okay, I'm getting up.

I'm totally behind on everything, except house sale preps. Amazing how much time can get sucked away doing stuff that's the least fun.

I'll try to get back into the blog world shortly. Promise. (I did say *try*!)

NUW Security

2008-12-22T20:43:00.004-05:00

I stopped by the Y today to get some laps in the pool, and had a product idea that is (dare I say?) brilliant! I shall call it the N.U.W. Security System, and it will be a valuable tool in protecting your semi-valuables in an unlocked locker. The key to this system? Nasty UnderWear. Who would want to reach through soiled panties or manties to root around in someones pockets? Now, they don't have to be actual soiled skivvies; it amazing what a schmere of brown shoe polish will do. And the deluxe model? They come with some dark colored curly fibers all over them.

Honestly ask yourself: would YOU touch them to get what's past them if you didn't know who's they were? I think not.

So, as I previously alluded to, I swam this evening. It sucked, but I'm glad I did it. I need to do it more often, and in greater volume. (that's what she said) Rest time is over, though, and it's base time. I also need to hit the gym and do a lot of muscle training. Ah, the off season!

And, since it's Christmas time, I thought I'd give my lady readers a gift:

Stay warm and hydrated. And no, Marcy, cosmos out of sippy cups don't count for hydration. Look it up.

Guy's night

2008-12-18T23:40:00.002-05:00

What a great night! I got to hang out tonight with Scott, beloved bride...er, wait...husband of Robin. Anyway, he's been sniffing paint fumes and eating Fruit Loops for way too long, so we had "a" beer and some laughs. Mendy suggested us coming back to the Main Lair (my basement Fortress of Solitude) and hang out after formal beers. He kicked my butt in pool (9 games to 2?) but we talked music, smoked some fine cigars, enjoyed some single malt, and had a blast. And my wonderful bride was gracious enough to let us hang out while taking care of Grace all evening. She's pretty awesome, in case you didn't already know.

Anyway, guy time doesn't come around that much while I'm at home, so it was a welcome distraction. I'm sure Scott welcomed it, too. I do have to bone up on my pool skills, because that was embarrassing on my home felt. Good dude to hang out with, and I highly recommend him if you are visiting the area! :-)

Thanks, Scott! We'll repeat again, soon!

I wouldn't call it clean shaven

2008-12-14T23:17:00.003-05:00

I had thought about signing up for the Shave Your 5K challenge, but didn't want to embarrass myself if I either failed to beat my early PR, or simply failed to complete another 5K in time. But I did manage another 5K, just under the wire, and did manage to beat my PR.

At the last minute, while trying to talk my friend Pam into doing the Paris Mountain Road Race 5K, I wound up talking myself into it. The catch? It was exactly 1 week after completing the Kiawah Island Marathon. If you haven't been following my blog long, yes I am that stupid! While others are taking 1-2 weeks completely off of running, I did a shakedown run on Thursday, and competed in the race on Saturday (Dec 13th).

Now I will fully admit, my legs are still really sore. They were only just beginning to feel better, with my calf extremely tight and the area behind the same shin very sore. That does not deter me, however, since I am caveman - watch me run! The only obstacle to overcome now was the weather. It's been cold here. Not Canada cold, or even Dakotas, Wisconsin, or New York cold, but still pretty cold.

So, I sign up for the race on Friday evening, where Mendy was volunteering at the registration and packet pick-up event. Fleet Feet of Greenville has done an awesome job of putting this on the last few years, and this was no less great. In lieu of getting (yet another) race shirt, we got cinch bags this year. Yay, something functional! And my race shirt drawer is happy to not have another addition to bulge it's seams.

We get up at a reasonable hour (7 AM) on Saturday to prepare. It's upper-mid 20s outside, and I guess on my race apparel. It wound up being spot on with the approximately 29-31 degree race start temps. I was chilled before (not "chilling" mind you), but began to warm up as I ran. My friend, Pam, was happy she stayed with the tights and long sleeve, too. As we left Mendy to watch the collection of children (her 2 and our 1), we were off to the starting mob.

The course doubles back on its self along a very scenic mall on the Furman campus, almost one half mile long each direction. As I came back by the start and saw the elapsted time (ET), I was fairly happy, but couldn't remember where the 1 mile mark was. I passed a few people, and found my self in good position. Just around the corner, there it was, and I saw 6:04 on my watch. Around the back of the course we came upon the lonely single, but quite sharp, hill on the course just past mile 2 (6:20 something). The dude ahead of me started walking near the top; BOOM! I gotcha, bro! Now on the down slope of the hill and the race, I cam upon some water that was spilling across the path. Woops! Yeah, it was ice! I passed the aid station, and told them about the ice, but they seemed disinterested. So, I pressed on, trying hard to hold on to my position. I finally made it back onto the mall, and tried my hardest to muster up an honest sprint. I looked at my ET, and realized I wouldn't make my year's goal.

I crossed the line in 19:38 clock time (probably 19:35 chip time) which was 26 seconds faster than my PR at the same race last year, 9th place overall, and 1st place in my age group. And I almost unswallowed all the nutrition from that morning just across the finish.

After leaving the finishing chute, I came back around to cheer in Pam, who wound up having a great run, and completely destroying her goal time! Way to go, Pam!!

Michael, of Fleet Feet, was the Race Director, and noted at the awards ceremony that I had just ran a marathon the week before, and in fact could barely walk one week before, but somehow was able to run a 19:xx 5K. So, I finally felt like one of those running freaks that do crazy (stupid?) feats of back-to-back running. And now I'm thinking of the next big 5K, the Greenville News 5K. Hmmm, maybe this running gig ain't so bad...

(Shhh, don't tell anyone I said that!)

Things I learned at the Kiawah Island Marathon (sort of a race report)

2008-12-08T21:03:00.005-05:00

Apparently there's a little known breed of alligator, indigenous to the Kiawah Island area. Now I'm familiar with normal alligators, and consider them dangerous, but it seems there is a whole separate breed called the Danger Alligator. I know this because many of the ponds around Kiawah Island had signs that said they existed there (Danger Alligators). Weird.

Another thing I learned was a hidden and previously unrealized pocked in my running shorts. This is where I was forced to put my pride as I began to get passed and then "chicked" about 5 times in the second half of the marathon. Not the last girl, however; somehow I found a sprint (or what felt like a sprint) in the last .2 of the 26.2, proving to me that it took me 26 miles to really warm up and get in the zone!

Speaking of the second half of the run, it became quite clear to me that you either need an incredible base of real distance runs (8-15 miles) or a proper and complete training plan that will get the athlete up to the 26 mile point gradually and while retaining some semblance of limb health. That keeps the aforementioned athlete from wishing a danger alligator would leap out and rip his leg off so that his knee would stop hurting like a thousand knives were embedded in it. Of course, had this athlete taken his time training, his hamstring wouldn't have been weakened, causing it to be tight, causing a favoring that led to some shin pain, which led to a tight calf, which caused the knee to try desperately to leap from my body during every step.

On the wardrobe front, I have to say that for me the smaller and lighter shorts are always better for really long runs. This becomes doubly important when the humidity is near 328%, and perspiration does not evaporate. At all. Long baggy shorts (with long liners!) weigh up to 47 pounds (that's a lot of kilos for Lily and Nikki) when soaked with sweat, and tend to droop on the old caboose while running.

There are some flippin weirdos out there. After the race, G-Man and I decided to geek with our medals while walking around the shops with our ladiez and getting some lunch. After some cavorting with large copper frogs, we went to the market shop (snooty grocery store) to get some stuff for the party later on. We round a corner toward the check out, and a lady stops us, asking if the medals meant we won. I said, "Yes, I won twice!" Then I followed that we were actually wearing them to explain why we were walking this way, and she said, "Like you're hot?" Then she nervously laughed and went around the corner, congratulating us. She wasn't mocking at all, but none of us were sure what she really meant, other than alluding to me walking like someone attractive. Either she's into 60 year old retired football players with bad hips, or she is junkie with a fist full of cash. Speaking of weirdos...

It was a well done event, and besides my own lack of training, the only complaint was that the full marathon was nothing more than 2 laps of the half marathon course. My split at the half was only about 1 minute off my PR for a half marathon, which I was happy with, and my overall time (3:27:19) was only about 7 minutes off my goal time, and equates to a sub-8 pace, netting me a 124th place out of over 800 finishers. Okay, so that last stat isn't too impressive. Whatever! I gotz me a sweet medal, so shut it!

Thanks for the encouragement. This may be my last ever marathon. And I'm okay with that.

Okay, I think I have everything:

2008-12-05T10:48:00.003-05:00

Bike gear for easy ride today (huh?) - check
Shoes and modular clothing options for the stupid marathon tomorrow - check
Ipod loaded with wack rhymes - check
PJs (believe it or not, I forget usually) - check
Pic of Marcy to toss behind me as I cross the finish, proving I beat her - check
More bike gear for moderate ride on Sunday (what the?) - check
Tight calf - check
Some shin soreness - check
Hunger for the bling and tasty carb refreshment beverage at the end - CHECK!

Okay guys, I think I'm ready. Thanks for the encouragement! We'll see how it goes, but this may be my only marathon, other than at the end of (probably one and only) full iron-distance tri. But that will be down the road. WAY down the road!

Have a great weekend, and go kick some butt to all those racing (Jess) this weekend! To the rest: train hard, the reaper is coming. LOL

Hello darkness, my old friend...

2008-12-03T23:46:00.003-05:00

"I've come to talk with you again,
Because a vision softly creeping,
Left its seeds while I was sleeping,
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence."

I'm totally looking forward to the marathon this Saturday. Seriously. Or not.

But, we did get our tree tonight. Completely different from last year's pygmy tree, this one is a handsome height and breadth. And it smells of glorious evergreen! Time to break out the Christmas candles from last year's Yankee Candle after season sale.

But back to the marathon: pray for me. I totally want to quit it now, and I haven't even packed my running gear. Okay, that's a bit dramatic, but don't come here looking to find that I have done the mythical BQ thing on Monday!

It finally happened :-(

2008-11-20T08:52:00.003-05:00

Yes, Grace has finally gone to the dark side. The other day in Target a toy or something caught her eye and she said she wanted it (she's in full-force Christmas "I want" mode). I noticed it was an item from the dreaded "Hannah B'tana," as Grace calls her. Just to confirm, I asked if she liked Hannah B'tana, and she said yes. I've been happy until now that she always answered no, but I suppose all good things come to an end. *sigh*

I got in the pool for the first time in a looooong time last night. It sucked, big time. I'll blame it on my baggy shorts, but the reality is I could have had a motor strapped to me and it would have sucked. I can't wait until this stupid marathon is over so I can normalize my training a bit.

There may be a 5k in my future. Watch here for details...

"THAT guy"

2008-11-16T23:04:00.003-05:00

Remember, a few years ago, before you were serious about running and fitness? Remember coming home from shopping or eating in late fall or winter, still early in the evening but dark, and seeing some nut running down a dark road with maybe a blinky light and some reflective gear on? "What is wrong with those idiots," I'm sure I said more than once. "I hope it's worth it to risk your life for a stupid run!"

Yeah, I was that guy tonight. Couldn't put together the run yesterday or this morning, so this evening it had to be, even though Chris and his lovely wife and family were coming over for pizza and beers. The road was dark - dark like sitting in a closet at night with the light off - and I thought a couple of times I might get hit or turn an ankle on rail lines. I could almost hear people calling me an idiot. I FELT like an idiot! But, I knocked out 17 miles (or 17.1, per Garmin) and am almost back on track for marathon training. To that end, I gotta ask...

What the heck is wrong with the Greeks? A marathon is a STUPID idea!! I mean, I love their food and they did a lot of cool stuff for the world with science and philosophy advancements, but running 26.2 miles? And not running from anything that might eat/disembowel/set aflame/boil the runner? Why? I'll tell you what: I'll go get some metal from Home Depot and make a stupid medal, then string it on the most magnificent ribbon you've ever seen. WAY better!

Anyway, the training continues. I'm observing my increase-at-LEAST-10%-in-mileage-per-week rule, which I only recommend for idiots like myself. Wednesday was 13 miles, nothing until today, and then 17 miles. I'll shoot for 20 later this week. If I can do 20-22, I can do 26.2 as long as I keep the nutrition going.

Hope you all had a great weekend! Ours was busy (no surprise) and Grace tested our patience (no, really!!), but tomorrow it's back to the salt mines for me. Boo hoo.

A concert in the park

2008-10-31T23:35:00.003-04:00

So, I get an email from a friend/teammate about going downtown to the park to check out some music. Sounds pretty cool, and we have nothing else planned, so we agree. Besides, some other friends will be there and the main event is Livingston Taylor, brother of James Taylor. The plan was to bring some snacks and some frosty barley sodas (beer), and have a very chill evening. Just what we needed.

We loaded up and got downtown, called Chris, and made our way into the park. It's a bigger event than I expected, with tables and people milling about, so I wonder what's up. We found our friends and found a place to plop down. The mood was light and it was great chatting with them about end-of-season wind down and stuff. As we are naturally moving toward the adult beverage portion of the evening, and the subsequent music, some things began to become clear. We seem to be the only ones in redneck 4th of July mode. The first group to come on stage is a church choir. Huh?

Chris and I venture off to find some paper cups to mask our libations, and return to some jeers from the group. Yes, it seems we had brought cooler bags of beer to a recovery benefit concert. Oh boy! Chris looks at me and says, "Do you see any clouds?" Undeterred, we decide to enjoy a couple as the sun was going down. It was patently obvious that this wasn't "our crowd" as we were having way too much fun. I stated that we probably weren't fooling anyone, as the recoveries in the crowd could probably smell us 50 yards away.

Oh well, it was a fun evening (until Grace moved from energetic girl to pain-in-the-butt, forcing our departure) and Livingston Taylor was really great. Sounded just like his brother, not surprisingly. I think that's a chapter out of the book "How to Lose Friends and Alienate People." Oh well.

Other than that, I'm in Marathon training. Probably not taking it as seriously as I should, but this is a "complete" event, not a "compete" event.

I hope the folks doing Beach to Battleship and IMFL a great race and great weather this weekend! And to Robin: knock the MMTR out! To the rest of you: have fun, but don't get arrested!

It's not too early!

2008-10-16T20:33:00.003-04:00

To start thinking about holiday shopping, that is! And, if you have a little girl or two in your house, there's a good chance some Polly Pockets might be on the list. Recently, at the local Target, we happened on the Polly Pocket aisle, and I spied this little nugget. It's Disssco Rick, a boy Polly Pocket, who wears a pink shirt, leather pants, and hangs out in a DJ booth mixing music. Okay, I'm an open-minded dude that can try to dig this:
Oh, but what's that? Who's Disssco Rick's little sidekick? None other than a little gerbil. Are you freakin kidding me?!?!? But at least the little animal is wearing a harness. Hmmm, he seems to be smiling, too. And what exactly is he looking at?
Yeah, don't you worry about Grace; this little chestnut won't be entering Casa del D! Little Rickssster will have to fine another funky fresh house to chill out in. Clay probably has some extra room, though his new child is probably a bit young for the small parts.

That is all, please carry about your business.

Tidbits and loose ends 2

2008-10-13T20:52:00.004-04:00

So, it's been a minute since I last blogged. Not much has happened:

Hartsville Sprint Triathlon - I raced hard in the hot water and super humid conditions. I got first in my age group and 11th overall. It's weird finishing a race that high up, because there's hardly anybody hanging around at the finish. It was a fun race, and trying to have a strong race to honor Mendy's birthday propelled me. I won a SweatVac visor.

I signed up for a stupid full marathon in December. Not sure if I covered this already. I'm stupid.

Our team, TYBRacing, totally dominated the tri series, and we had a blast really getting to know each other better.

Java rocked a metric (+) century ride, and had a great time!

Paul ate up Kona and finished strong! I was so glad to be able to tune into the live streaming and catch his finish across the line. Hopefully he'll be all over the highlights and specials.

Marcy destroyed her first fo really realz marathon. Now she has to trade in her old shirt for a new one.

The sub-19 5K still eludes me, but I think I'm just about there. Time to race shop!

This past weekend I did Hickory Knob Sprint, the final race of the season. I came in 14th overall, and 2nd in my age group. This netted me 2nd overall for my age group for the entire season, which got me a fly poster thingy that said so, which means it's official. So there, put that in your pipe and smoke it!

Hope to be heading back out to San Diego in early Nov, and I'll see if I can get an autograph from Kona Paul. At least I'll get some pics.

There's a chance that Mendy and I will be enjoying sides of cheese and Chandler water in a few months, for some little event in Phoenix. Hey Lisa, did you know it's only $35 to upgrade to the full?

I'm sure I missed some milestones and accomplishments, but I honestly haven't been able to catch up with my peeps. Sorry, y'all!

Sorry I've been gone so long, but life has been nutz. Time for the "off season", which means the run-intensive program. Remember how much I like running?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MENDY!!!

2008-09-10T11:16:00.002-04:00

(not her actual cake; chosen for nerd humor factor)

Hello, Mr. Sex Offender List

2008-09-05T22:05:00.008-04:00

As Grace and I were cruising to Red Robin this evening, listening to the "Dude, it's the 80's" weekend play list on the local radio station, the song "She's only 17" from the spectacular 80's 1-hit-wonder-band Winger came on. Back in the day, when I was 16, 17, or 18, it didn't strike me as that weird. Today, it's totally weird. But consider the source (submitted for the enjoyment of Marcy, Jess, Lisa, Taryn, Michelle, Nikki, Olivier, Lily, Robin, Stacy, Jen, Erin, and probably Mendy):

And one special one, just for the neighborhood perv, Marcy:

Have a good weekend, all. Marcy, I expect we won't hear from you until about Wednesday with all the eye candy. Enjoy. weirdo!

Happy Labor Day!

2008-09-01T08:56:00.002-04:00

I went for a ride

2008-08-29T13:33:00.003-04:00

Yesterday I decided to go up a hill

I saw this guy going up as I was going back down. He waved, I waved back.

I decided to ride it again today

I saw him again.
But he was riding with some other guys, so he didn't wave. Some of them did, though.
I stopped at the top to get my breath, and saw this guy.
I descended with him and a couple of other riders for a while. I asked him, "So, you going to the big show next year?" He replied, "The Tour?" I acknowledged, and he returned, "It looks like it right now. It's a ways off, so I have some time..." I told him that was awesome, and good job. I'm a dork.

Then I saw this guy again, on his way back up.

He was riding with a team mate from: Today's ride was better, but my legs were a little tired from the thrashing they took yesterday. Still, today was faster. Lots more pros out, too! I stopped at the bottom and talked to a dude for a while, chatting about the course. Nice guy; I hope he does well on Sunday.

Quitter

2008-08-27T16:01:00.002-04:00

With plenty of regret and irritation over wasted entry fees, I've decided to bail out on the Va Beach RnR Half Marathon this weekend. I'm not trained up to kill it, so it would be an event of completion. That coupled with the hotel costs, travel costs, and how packed Va Beach will be on Labor Day weekend, and the fact that Mendy and G-man are medically unable to do the run, helped me lose all motivation for this one. I'm the one that didn't even want to do the stupid thing in the fist place, but was talked into it by some other folks (this is your cue to hang your heads in shame). So, instead we will hang out here, have a nice dinner out, and watch the...

U.S. Pro Cycling Championships for both Time Trial and Road Race. w00t! This is the race that qualifies the two winners to wear the Stars and Stripes jersey for the discipline they won at every event they compete in for the next year (i.e. the RR champ wears it in every road race, the TT champ in every time trial). Anyway, I'm geeking out, so I'll shut up now.

So, our office has recently moved to a location across town. This has seriously impacted my training regimen, since I'm no longer able to go home and train from there. So I've been doing a lot more running. The big difference is, the roads around the new office are HILLY! Like 358-feet-of-climbing-in-4-miles hilly. I fear I may have a return of some shin splints if I'm not careful, due to the descending stresses. Gotta watch that.

Oh, y'all go check out Ashley's blog. She had a pretty nasty bike wreck this weekend and snapped her collar bone. Apparently she scuffed up some skin and ruined a perfectly good helmet, too. She's in good spirits, but her season is wrecked. In the same light, it was a bad weekend for cyclists as Wes and Nick both had spills, though not quite as serious. Get better, folks!

Greenville Sprint Tri

2008-08-21T20:52:00.004-04:00

At 5:22, lightning was flashing and the rain was washing against my window. "Sweet!" I thought, "I don't have to race today!" I don't dread racing, and began to look at it as a training day. What I do dread, however, is constantly doing really well, only to have several dudes in my age group do just a little bit better. Mendy and I tried to talk each other out of it without looking like we were wimping out. We agreed to just go and see if it was going to happen. Yeah, that would the *the sign*.

It stopped raining on the way, but I knew another small cell was on the other side. We arrived to sprinkles and more natural fireworks. Setting up transition was reminiscent of Langley Pond, and I feared I would be dumping cups of water out of my helmet and sloshing around in my running shoes. There was some talk about it being a duathlon, but I was getting the feeling we were going swimming. We headed into the pool building, and I got in line for the ole morning constitutional. Yes, that time was again upon me. Hopefully I could make up some time on the bike...

So, I knew I was woefully mis-seeded on the swim. I entered a conservative /100yd swim time, but didn't get back into the website in time to change it to a more accurate number. I started about 1/4 back, at 172, but should have been around 110 I figured. I went off the wall with a lady and never saw her again. I quickly caught one swim pair, then another. Then I caught on the tail of another mis-seeded swimmer, and drafted him as we picked through the slower swimmers. This was good, until I found myself on the last lap, approaching the exit ladder with two other swimmers. Probably a good 5 seconds urinated away there.

Out of the pool, through transition (which felt like a leisurely picnic in the park) and on the bike. Wow, the legs felt strong and warm right away! Time to put the hammer down! Oh wait, it's still sprinkling. I was cautiously aggressive, hammering the straights, careful in the corners, pushing the hills, and passing everyone. One guy I passed came back by me while I was recovering from a climb, and once my legs were back I up shifted and blew by him like he was standing still. Nobody ever passed me. Quickly back into transition...

I pulled my socks on so fast, they were way up my calf. And these were no-show socks! Oh well, it's just another 20-ish minutes to the finish. I took off and immediately felt my effort on the bike. My HR was still soaring, and I had a tough time catching my breath. I was keeping decent time and seeing some team mates ahead of me doing well. We did the "Go man!" thing, and I tried to stay steady. On the second lap, a racer I encountered and finished just ahead of in the Clemson Sprint, then spoke to at Tri the Midlands, came up behind me and said, "Come on, Dave! Let's bring this in." Damn! I was just at the point of cruising in, but I wasn't going down like that. So, we paced each other in, and hopefully I pushed him as much as he pushed me. Down the rocky trail back to the parking lot, I started to feel strong again, and began my finishing kick as I got back on pavement. Not quite a dead sprint across the line, but I was pushing hard. I just about un-swallowed after I stopped. Great race, and one I didn't even want to do!

As we were hanging out near the finish, a girl came across and began holding her mouth. I told my teammates, "She's gonna hurl!" She walked around, and then as she came past I yelled, "DO IT!!" She replied, smiling, with "SHUT UP!!"

So, the results:

I came in 5th in my age group. 4th place was 2 seconds ahead of me. 3rd place, the guy that pushed me in, was 19 seconds ahead of me! 2nd and 1st place (way to go, Nick!) weren't even close. I was irritated because I'd rather lose a podium spot by several minutes than a handful of seconds. My friend Olivier helped me put it in perspective, though, saying that it means I'm *right there* with them, so it's a good thing. I guess it makes sense, but still no less frustrating. Maybe next time...

The day was capped off with some hanging out with the team, a party for the opening of the new Go Tri Sports store in G'ville, and a party at Team Long training central. Good times, great day, and lessons learned. Also great results from Chris O, G-man, Pete E, Pete R, Stephen, and Jonathan from the team! And great efforts from Mendy and Eric, too! It's the hanging out after that makes these races REALLY worth it! (until I start winning, that is) ;-)

GET SOME!

2008-08-20T09:12:00.002-04:00

This is how you get super aero on a Dora bicycle!

A tale of two masters

2008-08-15T22:34:00.004-04:00

It's been a successful couple of weeks of training...sort of. My most immediate test is the Greenville Sprint Tri, which is bike-focused. Today I wrapped it up and got all the "hay in the barn" with a 5 mile run, 5 mile ride to the pool, 1000yd swim (sidestroke - I forgot my goggles), and a 5 mile ride home. But in two weeks I will be "enjoying" my third Half Marathon of the year, and I'm woefully behind in distance runs. I've been concentrating so much on short, intense runs and rides, I haven't been doing the distance I need. To be honest, I'm a bit behind on training for the SC Half. I know I can get through the half, and it will be a nice stepping stone training run for me, but I really wanted to PR this and go 1:30 or better. I may have to call my meth dealer to accomplish that.

In other news, I had a great time hanging out with Wes and his son when I went to the Atlanta area recently. I'll be back soon, so I may get another chance. They are good peeps, and if you find yourself spending any time in Atlanta, look up Wes and Dee Dee.

Tomorrow morning I'm getting up at the unnatural time of 6-ish to go volunteer at a local kid's tri. Now, I don't mind doing it, but do they really have to start the thing so early? It's not like it's closing down a main thoroughfare; it's on a university campus...on a freakin Saturday...in mid-August!!! Uh, what's the deal, dudes? Maybe they have to clear the place for the lunar observation party at noon. Whatever.

Hope all you freaks have a great weekend, and stay out of jail and the ER. Especially you, Lily!

Crazy?

2008-08-08T13:56:00.002-04:00

Some people have called me crazy. Well, to be fair, people have called me a LOT of things! But, for the purposes of this discussion, let's just stick with crazy. I submit to you all that, compared to the camera person in this video, I've never had a crazy notion in my life. See if you can watch the whole thing without elevated heart rate or some sort of nausea (completely safe for work):

What a year it's been

2008-08-07T09:26:00.003-04:00

It's kinda hard to believe that one year ago I stared the reaper dead in the face, and told him to get outta my friggen way. Had I never experienced my little "interruption" in training, I'm sure I would be were I would like to be right now. But, I honestly didn't think I would be back to this level of fitness and speed as I spent the many hours thinking over what had happened and how beat up I was. Most surprising of all is that my face (for better or for worse) looks almost exactly like it did before I did my physics experiment, save for some small scarring!

http://rspdiver.blogspot.com/2007/08/not-way-group-ride-should-end.html

http://rspdiver.blogspot.com/2007/08/i-wish-this-was-only-damage.html

http://rspdiver.blogspot.com/2007/08/regarding-incidents-of-august-7th.html

It's been a crazy year, for sure, but I'm glad to be back on the road!

You're an IDIOT!

2008-08-05T09:11:00.004-04:00

That's what every fiber in my body is saying after signing up for what may be my last race of this year. Why do I do things like this? I swear, I don't even like running that much! Oh well, I guess the events I've got between now and then will be nice stepping stones on the way: the Half Marathon in Va Beach (sorry dudes, it's Labor Day weekend) and the SC Half (half iron distance race, Sep 28). Still, I think the best part of the weekend will be if we get to hang out in the big beach hizzy G-man is lining up for a bunch of runners.

Okay, so I've also been slacking on the swimming. Since my super-awesome swim focus week, and the subsequent success of it, I've not done a good job of reinforcement training. But, my cycling is fairly strong (still not where I wish it was), and my running is returning. Now it's time to focus on distance. Long rides and long runs. Loooooong ones!

In this heat? Are you freakin' kiddin' me? It's been in the upper 90's for the last few weeks, and I'm sweating like a...thing that...sweats a lot? Sweating like Richard Simmons at a hot dog stand. And with the afternoon rains and post-rain humidity in the bazillion % range, it's shocking how much I sweat. No evaporation, after all. This evening after an intense 2.4 mile run, Grace started singing "Rain, rain, go away..." because she saw me dripping so much. No joke!

So, that's about it for now I guess. Reserves this weekend, so maybe I'll get a chance to hang out with Wes and the lovely Ms. Dee Dee. Then the following weekend is the kid's Tri to Cure that our team is volunteering at. That should be a blast to watch all the kiddies racing and having fun! I hope all you people in the area can make it out. The next day is the Greenville Sprint tri, which should be nice. Later we are going to get tore up from the floor up (well, maybe not) with the super awesome Ashley and some other cool athlete homies. It should be a great time, even if we all start talking about men's leg shaving technique, gearing on our bikes, benefits of swimming speed skins, the Olympics, drug/doping use in pro cycling, etc. Tri dorks, ya know.

I'm trying to get caught up, but no promises. So tired...so...very, very...tired...

*snore*

I'm too sexy

2008-07-31T23:07:00.005-04:00

That's my new ring tone. Yep, the song by Right Said Fred. Mendy's custom ringer is Baby Got Back. That's my girl!

In other news, I'm a slacker in the blogging and friendship world. Sorry, dudes! I've been training hard, and my legs are beautifully shaven. Perhaps that was the turning point in the training season? I did finally hook up with a chiro, and I'm starting to get fixed up. The focus weeks have been beneficial (lots of personal bests), and I'm ramping up toward the 2nd half of the tri season.

Speaking of training, some jerk talked me into doing the Va Beach RnR Half Marathon, then a bunch of friends agreed to do it with us, and now everyone has bowed out. Thankfully G-man is going to go up there and run it with me. And I hope both of us figure out our ketosis/catabolic/ammonia smell/nutrition issues by then. Or, we could both just figure out how to do the HM in under an hour...(he has a much better chance of pulling this off than me!)

More story later...

Oh, and thanks to J-mom for the List of the Day!

Aquaman

2008-07-02T18:48:00.005-04:00

Is it seriously only Wednesday? Geez, it feels like Friday at least. And today (at work) took FOREVER to end! Part of it is the anticipation of a long weekend, but part is that I've stepped up the training this week. I took an unplanned "rest" couple of weeks, with limited intensity, and it actually wound up being a great time to start the season anew. And Monday of this week I heard the most wonderful news of all: No kid's swim lessons this week at the Y!!!

The last couple of weeks, since school let out, have been awful in the pool. I've submitted my displeasure to the aquatics director, and maybe they will do something. Several days I've showed up to swim in one of the 3 lap lanes, only to find one is filled with physical therapy oldies, one has 2-3 people doing laps, and one has private kid's swim lessons going on. I don't have all day to wait, so I turn around and walk out. Talk about a motivation killer (for me)! At that point I may squeeze in a short run, or just go back to work so I can leave early and get a run or ride in. But not this week! I've swam 3 days in a row, and plan on finishing out the week in the same fashion. Add to that the other workouts (running and cycling, with a brick tomorrow) and it's a recipe for one tired David.

As far as the spectator report for IronGirl Atlanta '08, Wes, Scott, and I were duty-bound to suffer through 700+ sets of spandex clad boobies. Being a supportive husband isn't always easy, but at least it shows I care. Seriously, though, it was great to see Mendy, Denine (Mendy's friend), Robin, Jackie, Dee Dee, and Lauren have fun and do well, as well as all the other ladies (of widely varying physiques and speeds) tri-ing their best and doing something good. And believe me, it was a tough course! I told Scott I was glad I wasn't racing that day. See Mendy's blog for the pictorial. Of course, the preceding night's dinner was fantastic, and a great chance to meet Kevin and Cathy, along with all the other suspect characters. All the fixins of a great weekend!

I swear I'm going to get around to all the other blogs and check on my homies. Sorry for the absence - life has left little spare time lately.

Mr. How-not-to-do-it

2008-06-16T15:28:00.005-04:00

You ever wonder if your purpose is to provide people around you with the perfect example how not to do things? Sometimes I do things in my training that just seem soooopid upon reflection. You know, like the times that you do a hard free weights routine before a hard swim routine. Or maybe when you plan a hard run the day after a day you know you won't get proper hydration. Or when you double up some workouts that just make zero sense? Yeah, I'm that guy. The jury is still out whether or not it makes me tougher by training fatigued, or just compromises my training so it's not as effective as it should be. If you haven't guessed, I'm kinda pissed about my competition results so far in 2008.

As an aside, let me just tell you that you should totally visit despair.com for some comedic motivation to hang on the cubicle or workout area!

So, I did the Tri the Midlands sprint the other day. Though I wasn't where I wanted to be for general swim performance, this was advertised as a 500m swim. I think not! Let's go with 650, just for round numbers' sake. After that I felt I hammered the bike course with a +22mph average pace. And the run course was hilly and somewhat technical. This netted me a 7th (of 25) in my age group and a 37th overall (of 241 men) which is supremely disappointing given how strong I felt during the race. I recognize that not everyone would find this as a negative, but I have a team to represent, and I'm serious about that. In addition, I feel like I should have been better. But I have to reflect on some dumb training as previously referenced.

Thus I usher in the training cycle that will make me a beast during the 2nd half of the 2008 SCTS season. Bring it! This is the year that I decide if long course events are for me, forever enabling or dashing my desires to do a Kona qualification. I'd like to follow in Paul's footsteps, and I'm starting to think long is my thing. Mendy may disagree... ;-)

Thanks to all that have hung with me through the house shopping, training, burnout, parenting, job flux, and general life business that has drawn me away. You guys rock, and it's the reason I don't just delete this stupid part of cyberspace into oblivion. If you want to see freakin' awesome tri performance, check out Chris's blog (a team mate and hero). This dude is super human, and I'm proud to wear the same uniform as him and every member of TYB Racing (soon to have a new website)!

Where do farts go?

2008-06-01T00:18:00.004-04:00

I've often wondered what happens to emissions from the "stink whistle", and if the world in general just stinks more now that it did yesterday, 10, 500, 2000, and a bazillion years ago. Are we all just walking around in fart soup, breathing it all in? And for us athletes, are we filtering even more with our pink lungs because we elevate our breathing during exercise? Well, I found out some info while reading about Facts on Farts:

Do fart particles disperse in the air and float around until they hit something and then stick to it?

The ultimate fate of fart particles depends on the nature of the particles. Gas molecules mostly mix into the atmosphere, although some may react chemically to form new substances. Aerosolized particles of liquid and solid poop probably do condense on surfaces. Most of these particles are polar (with a positively charged end and a negatively charged end) and are attracted to other polar substances or charged surfaces like a monitor screen. Other fart particles condense on microscopic water droplets in the air if the humidity is very high (as in a bathroom), and some particles go into solution in water.

Hmmm, not very promising for future generations. I'm sure lots of the gasses and particles (seriously? GROSS!) disintegrate or break down into smaller, simpler chemical compounds. But still, in the presence of a butt alarm, you gotta wonder about what's floating around.

Have a great weekend, and go easy on the beans, Marcy.

Gratitude

2008-05-26T00:15:00.004-04:00

Thank you

Work smart

God speed

Remember the heroes

Clams and carne asada

2008-05-14T22:08:00.004-04:00

Barely enough time to (re)pack, but certainly not enough for laundry! I got in tonight just before 8, but I'm back out to the (other) coast first thing in the morning. I'm starting to understand how Tiff lives. This is hectic, and not a ton of time to exercise. Well, business meetings (i.e. free dinner) got in the way of my planned long run, but I don't know how conducive that area is for running anyway. I will be able to over the next few days, though. Maybe even get a chance to do a group ride with Paul. Well, way behind him, but the same day and in the same-ish zip code.

I'm looking forward to doing something more fun on this trip. Boston was all business, albeit good for my career. I try not to schmooze, so I wind up off the radar until things are a big deal, then I pop up and execs wonder where the heck I've been hiding. Anyway, San Diego will be some Navy stuff and some diving, and it's been too long since I've been able to go diving.

Anyway, the Clemson tri went pretty well. I was faster than last year, though still disappointingly slow on the ride. It's really hilly, and seems to not let me get into my stride until almost half way through. I managed to get 5th in my age group, out of 34. I think I went 54th overall out of 328 men. Our team had a good showing, and one of my team mates took 3rd overall, while another went 2nd in our age group and a third went 3rd in his age group. For reference, I was :40 off 4th place, :64 off 3rd, and :76 off 2nd. Tight competition, for sure! Full race report here.

I hope I'll be able to get online tomorrow evening and catch up some more. But most of all, I hope Mendy and Grace don't forget me by the time I get back.

Thanks, hippies

2008-05-08T10:09:00.006-04:00

For the last few days I've been drinking hot tea. In fact, it's displaced my normal coffee consumption, and today was the first day in several that I've had that delicious elixir of sleepy eyes. But, the tea is decent: it's a little less bold, has decent flavor, some caffeine, and antioxidants. The problem is, I'm starting to feel like one of those pretentious fruit bats that spend WAY too much time at B&N, thinking that they are really really smart because they read the latest book by a smart person. You know the type: looking down their nose at people ordering a skinny mocha, because that was so 90's. Now it's organic chai tea with a drop of raw wild honey and a stick of conflict-free cinnamon in it. Some crap like that. Hippies. And not even real hippies.

It's been a very odd week. This week was supposed to be the start of a build period toward my next big race, Festival of Flowers Oly, in June. Instead, it's become some sort of disjointed semi-taper week with a complete lack of organization...and quite frankly, motivation. I don't want to break myself down too much, because I'm going to be racing at:

Clemson Sprint Tri

After this weekend, though, it's back to some basics and an increase in distance/time for the exercise. Mendy's also ramping up her distances for upcoming races and general capability. It was great to see her swimming so much at the OWS this past weekend. It was obvious her endurance in the water was improving, since successive swim laps had her passing other swimmers who were getting fatigued. Way to go!

After the swim, I had a hankering for wings. Well, not really wings, but "chicken feathers" from Wild Wing Cafe. They are just boneless, skinless, breast strips, grilled and coated with wing sauce of your choice. The WWC out at Clemson has a great outdoor patio that just invites relaxing and having a long, lazy meal. But I had to give a shout out to my gangsta sistas, MixMasta McG, J-Mizzle, and Funkmasta J.

Werd

Grace gets to go to Grandma's Day Spa and country retreat this weekend. Usually when she's there and we call to see how she's doing, Grandma will ask if she wants to talk to us. In her sweetest little voice, and without taking her eyes from the movie she's watching (Barney, Dora, or whatever) she says, "No, thank you." At least she's polite, right?

And with Grace at Grandma's, Mendy and I get to go out and drink some old grape juice with some good friends this Friday. Not too much, mind you, and we gots to get our carbs on, too. I really want to knock this race out of the park. It's one of our team's "home" races (along with the Greenville Sprint and some YMCA races), so a strong showing is important for the sponsors and such. Big ups to Ashley on her 1/2 IM this weekend. Go get 'em, girl! And to all the homies doing the 10k on the 10th (RD'd by the most awesome Nancy), run hard and have fun!! To everyone else, have a great race or training weekend!

Peace, out.

M-W-F

2008-05-02T14:15:00.007-04:00

Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I'm presented with my greatest challenge and temptation. Those are my swim days. Those are the days I walk out to the parking lot, around the back of the cafeteria, and smell the aroma of food frying (soaking up grease) and start to taste it in my mind's palate. Other days, when I'm going to ride my bike and/or run, I'm not quite so tempted. But swim day? Well, those are easy targets for me to postpone. Or rather, "postpone", since I probably would make extremely little effort to make up those swims. Still, I walk on. I get in the car. I go to the stupid pool, and I try to pretend that I'm not about to drown.

In last month's GO Magazine, my friend and teammate G-man wrote an article about getting in your head and figuring out why you do what you do, why you are performing a workout, and why the basic human response to complain or make excuses can be the biggest damage. It's a good article, and goes a long way to explain why he's so messed in the head. And I mean that in the nicest possible way: Chris is an animal when it comes to training, and doesn't seem to experience the same fatigue and pain reactions that humans do. Perhaps he's really from another planet. Back to the point, it shores up the words underneath the title of my blog. Have you noticed them? It's a thought that occurred to me a while back, and have experienced more times than I can count. It has haunted me, limited me, propelled me, and energized me. There is no greater opponent in life than your own self doubt.

I have to brag on Mendy for a bit: She struggles with self doubt a lot, yet her courage to keep going inspires me. Sometimes she pretends not to listen to advice on how to improve, but she hears it and later I find out that she has tried it and either likes it or thinks the advice giver (usually me) is stupid. Well, maybe not that extreme, but she will decide if the technique or change is for her or not. Keep it up, Mendy, and don't let "it" catch you. You're doing great!

So, why do I keep walking to my car? Why don't I just turn around and go have a big plate of fries and a slider, then sit in the sun and doze off? I go to the pool to get better at swimming and more fit. I want to be better at triathlon, but it also helps me when I'm cycling and running. And when I'm doing those, I pass by people waddling out of the hamburger joint...again. I'm glad I'm not living that life, and can provide a healthy and active example for Grace for her life. I'm glad I will live long enough to enjoy lots more life with her and Mendy (as long as I stay away from the business end of bridges). And hopefully, to at least one person, I can be an example. When they ask, "Hey, long lunch, huh? Where'd you go?" I can reply, "I went and swam intervals for over a mile" or "I had to get some bike time in, so I blasted out a quick 24 miles" or "I needed to run, so I knocked out a quick 5 miler." And maybe one person will look at themselves, and make a change in their life, and enjoy extra days that they won't have by going to the burger joint.

But I wouldn't wish today's workout on ANYONE! LOL
200yd wu
50yd x 6 on 1:00
100yd x 4 on 2:05
200yd x 2 on 4:30
100yd x 4 on 2:05
50yd x 6 on 1:00
200yd cd

2200yds
49 minutes (total time in pool)
3.7 gallons of pool water swallowed

Have a good weekend!

Wicked game

2008-04-30T08:49:00.007-04:00

Not the hypnotic Chris Isaac song, the video of which has him trying to look cool while being blown off by some robo-bitch looking model. No, I'm referring to this thing of multi-sport training. In and of its self, it's not so bad. But when you mix in a real job, social activities, and all the family responsibilities (not to mention house selling efforts), it can become difficult to get everything in.

I guess, on some levels, I'm providing myself some excuses for some training plateaus. Other people are more busy than I, yet they find time to train. So, it must be about capturing the opportunity to get the right training in, and flexing the schedule around needs and available time. I really need to do this with my cycling, and in a hurry. Though I already had some hints, I became grossly aware at Langley Pond that my abilities on the bike aren't where they should be at this point in the season. The big hill on the route should have been no problem, and I should have been able to average at least on more MPH on the course. This is frustrating.

What I think I can attribute this to is three things:

Preseason focus was on running; my aerobic fitness improved, but strength decreased
I haven't been putting in NEARLY the necessary bike mileage in the last couple of months
I've been taking it too easy, opting to spin up hills rather than attack, on the rides I have done

So, yesterday I went out with the goal of punishing my legs. I got a nice ride in at lunch, and stayed in the big ring (compact 50 tooth) with a wide ratio cassette. Not super hard core, but at least I didn't make it easy on myself. And there were some damn tough hills on the route yesterday. I returned feeling pretty wiped out, but still giving 100% efforts with a finishing sprint. Sure my average pace could have been a bit better had I taken some hills easier and saved energy, but that wasn't the goal. I find a lot of benefit in doing lactate threshold cycles, where I get up to max effort, then allow a recovery, and repeat. It aids me in recovering faster from hard efforts, so I can charge up the next hill effectively.

Hopefully I can organize my schedule appropriately and keep this level of effort up. There's a lot of season left to improve upon.

Oh, and I forgot to give props to Nick in my race report. Last year we were racing pretty closely, only because I was doing very well on the bike and run, making up for how much time I gave him on the swim. Well, this year not only is he a better swimmer, he's gotten really good on the bike, and his run is improving very rapidly. Nick would have won our AG, had it not been for all the import racers. Way to go, Nick! He's also the one, along with swim mentor and friend Pam, that put a boot in my butt and got me to HTFU about swimming, which has proved very beneficial. It's not so much like slow drowning any more. Thanks man!

**UPDATE**

Okay, I was reflecting on my "problem" and remembered what I came up with last year: focus weeks. I would take each week and do a bit extra of one discipline (no, Marcy, not dominatrix/submissive stuff), and rotate through them, always keeping sort of a core routine or minimum. I'll have to develop that again for this year.

Oh, and for Marcy who was hoping for some boob and pee pee action ('cause she's a sick puppy):

The race that almost wasn't

2008-04-27T23:06:00.008-04:00

We made good time to Aiken, and got to the race venue in time to pick up my race packet. I checked my phone and noticed a text from Wes asking if we had left home yet. Hardy freakin har! So I called him back and made some loose dinner plans. Knowing the layout of the area, Mendy and I decided to just drive to Aiken and meet Wes and the lovely Dee Dee at their hotel, vice checking into ours. This wound up being a very good move.

We arrived on the directions Wes provided Mendy, and noticed the RSV (Race Support Vehicle) of Chris and his lovely wife Janis. Looked like we were at the cool club meeting place! By the time the ignition was de-keyed, Chris was on the balcony, and Wes and Dee Dee were coming out. All of us made the introduction rounds, while Mendy and I quickly decided we would just stay there vice the motel that would offer a more treacherous route to the race site in the morning. We got a "non-smoking" room that smelled like a thousand cigar enthusiasts had taken turns living there for the last 10 years.

Chris and Janis went for milkshakes, and the 5 of us went downtown for grub. It was a great dinner, but even better company. Sadly, it had to end for some bike preps and some sleep. It was all going to plan...

So, we get to the race site, and the clouds look ominous. The forecast was for 10% chance of rain until about 11 AM, where it turned to 40%. Yeah, not so much. As Jeremy Davis, the evil race director/route planner for the SCTS was calling all the eager (smart) athletes in from the water from warming up, moments before the race...

*FLASH* BOOM!

"Uh, we are going to have a short delay...about 15 minutes, and then start the race. So, uh, about 10 minutes and we'll get started."

*FLASH* BOOM!

Then the animals began to line up, two-by-two, as the flooding rains came down.

So, eventually they let us get started, 1 hour late, no warm-up time, and with a shortened bike course. My heart had already decided I wasn't swimming, so I wasn't mentally prepared anymore. But, I got going with a bit of drama (some choking, some bracingly cool water, and a lot of human traffic), and then settled into a nice comfy pace. I strayed a bit after one buoy, but largly it went well.

Back on sweet dry land, I was almost ready to vommit: high heart rate while running while peeling a wetsuit off while wearing goggles is not a good combo. I made it to my bike, poured 3 inches of water out of my helmet, and got going. I hammered as well as I could, but my cycling hasn't been up to par of late. Into transition, rack the bike, and off on the run. Holy crap, my butt was hurting me like I just did a hitch in the state pen! I guess it was that I did a lot more climbing than I was used to doing on my tri saddle, which I normally ride just on the ol' taint. It slowly worked out, and I was making good time. I hoped for 7min/mile or better, and was happy to see 13:xx as I passed mile 2.

Near the turn-around, I saw regional speedy girl, Katie Malone just a bit ahead. She looked like was facing some nutrition challenges, probably due to the 1 hour delay. She absolutely smoked me on the run at Festival of Flowers last year, so I was happy to be this close. Katie was now my rabbit, but with all respect in the world. I finally caught her about 1 mile from the finish, and as I passed I tried to light-heartedly encourage her with, "Come on, you aren't going to let some boy beat you, are you?" She laughed and encouraged me right back with well wishes, and I was ready to finish. I tried to stair-step the pace up in that last mile, finishing with as close to a sprint as I could muster.

So, I was anticipating great results, but found that many of the dudes in my age group came in from out of state. And were blisteringly fast. As in, 4th and 9th overall fast. Of the "regulars" to the SCTS series, I think I went 2nd in my AG, but on paper I was 7th. Disappointing, but my numbers were decent (for me): 8 minutes faster on the swim than last year at Festival of flowers, 21mph average speed on the bike course that included a long uphill, and a 6:39 average run pace.

Post-race, there was sort of a feeling that most people had resigned this to a B or C race, and it became almost laughable as the torrential rain started again, and the RD announced that all sound equipment they had didn't work.

It was a good weekend, and a fun time. The race? Well, it was a nice training day. And we got to hang out with Wes & Dee Dee, Chris & Janis, the rest of the dudes from our team, Ashley and our mutual friend Matt, Chris, and a bunch of other cool peeps.

**Update: okay I just found out the winner of our AG was Rafael Fiallo, ITU pro from Venezuela racing as an age grouper. Thanks dude.

Where does the time go?

2008-04-23T22:38:00.004-04:00

I swear, I'm not purposely neglecting you guys. I just run out of day before I'm done doing stuff. Looking at houses and lots to build houses on has taken a bunch of our time lately, though. Things are well, and I am getting training in...I HAVE my priorities! LOL

Well, since Mendy didn't spill the beans, yes I got her a wetsuit. I figured she wouldn't get herself one, and she'll be glad she has it next month at the Clemson Tri. Plus, she looks super hot in neoprene! :-)

Had a PR on my standard (2.4 mile) brick run route the other day, which is pretty awesome. My bike time/mileage has not been where it should be lately, though, and it's showing. Man, I guess I'll have to get on the trainer if I can't get out on the fo really reals road.

Anyway, hope you all are well. I'm going to do my best to catch up!

I should have swam, instead

2008-04-17T14:32:00.005-04:00

Funny how plans can take on a mind of their own. So, tomorrow I'm going to wolf down some Thai food with Eric, Chris, and Mendy. That means my normally scheduled Friday pool suffering has to shift. That means the brick I was thinking of doing after work had to move, too. So, the plan was to knock out the brick at lunch, and then swim after work as early as possible so Mendy could get to the tri clinic.

It was all going to plan, until I got a flat. See, the last time I rode my tri bike, I broke a spoke on my training set of wheels (yes, I'm that freakin' awesome!), so I had to mount a spare wheel. This was the first time riding it, and the wheel, tube, tire, and cassette (gears) went together moments before the ride. I normally have zero time to spare on a lunch brick, doing about 13.3 miles on the bike and 2.4 on the run. As soon as the road started feeling bumpy and the bike started to fishtail, I knew what it was. Damnit!!! So, do I change it and go home? Do I walk it home and use my sailor words the whole way? Do I quickly change it and continue with the brick? I chose the last option, but cut the bike route short (to 9.5 miles).

As if that wasn't enough, at the turn-around point on the bike I went to take a drink from my bottle, and sprayed Powerade right into my eye and all over my body and the bike. Are you serious? I was mad enough to quit, but I didn't. I could still salvage this! I hammered it home and went out for the run, which actually went rather well. The weather was beautiful (71-72) with almost no wind! And my run time was only 13 seconds slower than the stupid morning run I did yesterday, and that was without cycling prior. Yay!

Another interesting thing happened. Some mystery box arrived at our house around lunch time.

I wonder what the contents could really be?

It's probably not a prom dress; we are WAY too old for that, and still too cool to be chaperons to a prom. Hmmm, maybe Mendy can fill you all in this evening...

Update: nevermind! Swimming still sucks worse than changing a tube in the middle of a ride. Doing speed intervals when you are dog-tired, after doing a bunch of pull ups, is worse than changing tubes and attempting to blind yourself with blue, sugary, electrolyte drink!

I'm not fast

2008-04-09T21:52:00.010-04:00

Not that I really thought I was, but when you go running with some people, you realize there's a whole other level of speed. It's insane how effortlessly really fast runners can glide along, looking like it's no big deal. But Paul is a very humble, helpful, and nice guy, so you wouldn't suspect he's so crazy fast.

So, after several attempts to go out to Coronado, CA, for military training, I finally made it out, and was able to meet up with Paul. I drove to the other side of San Diego ("discovered in 1912 by the Germans" -Ron Burgundy) to La Jolla. Just past the Ferrari and Bentley dealerships is Paul and Suzie's place. She was out with friends, so the two of us went out for some pizza and adult sodas. Great little joint for food! Then we swung by the beverage shop for some imported/unique barley sodas, and hung out for a while. Paul offered for me to come running with him and a friend on Sunday. I wavered, but he said it was going to be a slow run. I told him that his "slow" is probably my "race pace", but he assured me it was going to be about 8 min miles. Okay, I was in!

I shot out there early Sunday morning, thinking that I was running behind. Apparently I was the only one of us three that got up with the early birds. The run went well, but as we descended onto the boardwalk, Paul took off like he was in Land of the Lost, and the Sleestaks were chasing him. We quickly went from a sub-8 pace to somewhere around 6 pace. No problems, until I realized this was an out-and-back, and I was only half way done. And we had run down hill a lot to get here.

After the run we were headed out for some brunch; Suzie was famished, as is to be expected when eating for two. We went to a great little museum cafe, and the food was awesome. Then we walked around La Jolla, and engaged in a search for the perfect San Diego/La Jolla stuffed animal for Grace. She wound up with a stuffed Shamu.

It was a great time hanging out with them, and Spencer is way cuter in person than the pics show! What a happy little guy, but we wore him out. I hope I didn't wear out my welcome, hanging out watching a replay of the Ironman World Champs all afternoon, so that I can go hang out with them again on future trips.

The temps were nice: not too cold at night (low 50's) and moderate during the day (low to mid 60's), with sunny skies about half the time I was there. I got a good feeling for my new unit, and was able to catch up with some old friends, Chris and Allison, from back in the day when I was on active duty in Charleston. They cooked up a freakin awesome meal (well, Allison did), and we sat around and talked about the good people that we were stationed with back then. Great people, and I can't wait for Mendy to meet them.

In more recent news, I have discovered a fantastic new bit o' fashion for McG to sport while she's standing on the curb yelling at all the neighborhood kids, Marlboro dangling from her lips, rollers in her hair, and legs looking like barely ripe bananas. :-p

That's about it for now. I'm training hard, and getting tired! I guess that's how it's supposed to work, though.

It was a great walk

2008-04-05T23:24:00.011-04:00

It probably was a pretty good "jog". But the run? It sucked! Not the course, but all the people that were either far too ambitious when entering their projected finish times, or decided that the dedicated walkers had every right to start the course ahead of the 3rd corral (behind the elites and the Paul-fast people). 4 miles into the race I was still passing crowd like they were standing still, and I was very honest with my anticipated finish time - above 40 min and below an hour, the only suitable category for this 10K. I wonder how far extra I ran weaving back and forth to find gaps? Funny thing, though; I was almost at the crest of the bridge before I realized I was on the bridge, mainly out of frustration with the crowds.

As we spent 4 minutes walking up to the start, I wished they had organized the Cooper River Bridge Run as well as the PF Chang's RnR Arizona Half/Full Marathons, wherein the separate corrals started at staged times, walking up to the start line prior to their gun, and strict adherence to the appropriate corralling. No, this was mass-start, albeit chipped for start and finish. Still, this 10K had 10k more people than BOTH the half and full at Arizona!

And yes, the Kenyans won. A pack of them.

But, by mile 4 it was starting to thin out a bit and I could go in very fast spurts, then cruise to get my HR down. The last mile was a very solid effort, and there wasn't much more I could have given at that point. Had I been able to hold consistent effort, it may have been a different race. But at least I have a baseline now for a 10K (45:23) to go by, and this is definitely not a race to PR at unless you qualify for a sub-40 minute finish.

So, Mendy and I had plans to meet at the BI-LO tent after the race, knowing that we would finish separately. I waited for her to pass on the street, but didn't see her, and then waited for well over an hour at "the" tent. Then I did some laps as the crowds thinned. Waited some more. Did another lap. Then we found each other near where I had been waiting...at ANOTHER tent! Yep, two tents. Boy, did we feel like buffoons! We wasted so much time that we could have enjoyed together. Oh well, next time we'll plan better.

After the race, Mendy and I cleaned up and we all headed out to Vickery's on Shem Creek, where you can watch the shrimp boats come in under a nice sunset on the marsh. It is my favorite place to eat, bar none, for the atmosphere. I had a fantastic array of seafood (shrimp, crawfish, crab meat, and fried oysters) over creamy grits. Delish! We were all very stuffed, even with as famished as we felt prior. The rest of the weekend has gone very well, and we avoided the forecasted crap weather for the most part. It did kill our Saturday night dinner plans, but I think we made out in the end with a GIGANTIC pizza from Andolini's on John's Island. If you go to Charleston, go there for pizza! If you order a whole pie, bring some help.

I ran into friend and team mate Pete at both Vickery's and outside the cigar shop downtown. His lovely wife, Elizabeth I believe, was with him at the former, and he didn't shop at the latter. I did, however. I enjoy a good cigar, but they are difficult to find. I have been spoiled by some cigars that leave most of what's commonly available in the dust. At any rate, it was great to see Pete and his bride, and I'm sure Pete had a very nice finish time.

Grace, being herself, carried a Spiderman doll through the Charleston Market. Yeah, that's my girl. *shaking head* She's enjoying time in Chucktown, and with Grandma. She's quite a character, as Mendy's pictures will show, I'm sure.

I hope you all are having a great weekend, and I promise to get the recap from San Diego up soon! Catch you all later...

Oh, and sorry we missed you, Tiff. Hope Grampa is better soon!

**Update, with a special pic for Marcy

Sunday was awesome, and I didn't want to leave. Breakfast at Joseph's, walking on the beach, and lunch at Folly Beach Crab Shack. I'm trying to talk Mendy into moving back down there!

My wife rocks!

2008-04-03T20:35:00.003-04:00

With everything else she's busy with, and all the exercise, she was still able to bring together some great friends and family to "surprise" me at our favorite pizza joint (Mellow Mushroom) last night. I quote surprise because I knew something was up. She cut her run short, quickly showered, and came downstairs demanding we leave right away. Normally she would plop down on the couch for a few minutes and check all your blogs, then check email, and eventually we'd head out before I passed out from hunger. Nope, not last night. So I asked her what time we needed to be *there*, suspecting something was up, and she got tight-lipped. BINGO! She tried to play it off, but I knew something was up.

So, anyway, she got a bunch of folks together at the last minute to come out and chow down on some great pizza and have a really fun time. So many people, in fact, that it wasn't possible to speak with everyone as much as I'd liked. But I thank them for dropping what they had going and coming out. It meant a lot to me!!

And thanks to all you great blogging homeys for the birthday wishes. It's not every day you turn 83 (right Eric?), so it was awesome to have so many people wishing me their best. Grazie, my bestest peeps!

And a very special thanks to Tony and Pat, parents of my friend Alan that left us just before Thanksgiving. Our birthdays were only 4 days apart, which made us really feel like brothers growing up. Every day is hard for them, and times like this are even more significant. But they called to wish me a happy day, and that was incredibly special and touching to me. Thank you so much!

It was a great birthday, and Grace tried her best to steal the show. I'm just glad I was home this year, since I've been gone on other birthdays (both my own, and Mendy's). The best gift was being home. And yes, Mendy gave me presents, but that's all I'm saying. ;-)

I'll recap the trip later, but now I have to catch up with you guys.

Home again

2008-04-02T08:11:00.003-04:00

Just a quick note. I got in late last night, and I'm tired today. Flights went reasonably well, and I guess they were successful since everyone on board is still alive. Good to be home!

In the middle of the night, Grace woke up and realized I was there. She said, "Mommy, wake up! Daddy's here!" Then she wanted to watch cartoons (to celebrate?), but we went back to sleep.

I'll give more of a recap later. :-)

In Utopia; back soon

2008-03-28T01:44:00.003-04:00

Easter address to the blognation

2008-03-21T22:00:00.007-04:00

I hope everyone rounded out their week nicely, and I wish everyone a wonderful Easter. As I stray briefly from the true meaning, I have a rant.

Peeps are one thing: small, yellow, marshmallow, chick-shaped treats. They aren't purple, pink, bunny-shaped, or anything else. They CERTAINLY aren't snowmen or some other perversion of the original intent. Do not celebrate these other fake "peeps", or you too shall suffer their fate. Embrace the not-from-nature yellow hue, adore the cutesy shape, and cherish the marshmallowey goodness. And, for a special treat, open the package and don't touch them for at least 3 days, but 10 is better. Peeps mature when open to air, and become much more enjoyable when more firm.

Peeps compete closely with strawberry (is there any other?) Twizzlers for the best candy ever! Scooter would agree with me on the Twizzies, though he may have not yet embraced the Peeps. His loss, but probably Jess's gain. Technicolor yellow poopies may not be the best morning greeting for anyone.

That is all, and I bid you a joyous Easter weekend. Just don't slack off too much! ;-)

He swims with the fishes

2008-03-20T20:18:00.008-04:00

Though you may expect me to just make a thin reference, but then proclaim how I swam super fast with super fast swimmers, this is not the case. I firmly mean this in the mafia sense, as in I felt mostly dead after swimming drills yesterday. I showed up to the pool and tried my best to talk my way out of them, but my swimming mentor and head executioner...er...coach, Pam, wasn't having it. You see, Nick and Pam were recently giving me "the business" about my purple line (swim minutes) being very puny and weak. I just wasn't swimming enough, but for some reason was expecting miracles in the pool come race time. Nick and I competed hotly last year in the SCTS races, and is looking strong this year. Pam is just some kind of fish, while trouncing all the other ladies in her age group in biking and running. She's fast. REALLY fast! As I mentioned, I lobied hard to just swim distance. Pam gently twisted my arm, and I was then on a path to certain drowning.
1700 yards, just under an hour, heart rate probably about 327 at times, and these evil little bands that go around your ankles to limit your kick amplitude. I meekly sulked away, proverbial tail between my legs, truly humbled. Pam was, in contrast, doing 3600yds of evil drills in 1.5 hours. Did I mention she's a fish?

To top it off, I have decided to try and incorporate 5 sets of 5 pull ups every day I'm at work (5 days a week, usually), no matter what other exercises I'm doing. This started Tuesday, but was immediately regretted on Wednesday, after the drills. *sigh*

Today was a nice brick. Now this I can handle! I took the bike out and cranked it HARD. I beat my course record by about 30 seconds, and then cranked out a strong run. Unfortunately, I had to guess at the time, and do a little reverse calculations based on estimated start time and bike time. I think I was around 6:46 per mile. Not Paul pace for a brick, by any means, but not bad for this stage of the season for me. And I finished strong with gas in the tank. I'm again hopeful for the season...as long as Pam doesn't kill me in the pool!

In other news, I get to spend Good Friday with Grace tomorrow, since her day care is closed. We are going to sleep in (ahhhhhh!) and then go to the gym. She'll enjoy some child care for a bit while I do some laps (not enough punishment this week?) and then she'll join me for some fun times in the pool. Yay!! Mendy should be showing up to do laps around that time, which should be good.

I'm looking forward to my body adapting to this level of training, but first I'm very much looking forward to a day off. I've had 1 full off day in the last 20, and 2 days off in the last 27. "Stimpy, my friend, I'm BUSHED!"

Oh, and a big shout out to my bro, currently stationed in England. Apparently he's been stalking my blog and keeping tabs on the training. I'm sure he's jealous, since the weather there is absolute poop for outdoor activity 9 months out of the year. Anyway, hi John! Our love to Robin, Lexi, Victoria, and Olivia, too! Hopefully we'll get a chance to get over there and visit for some REAL food. :-)

I'm trying to stay up with the rest of you guys, but time runs short. Looking forward to jogging the CRBR with Mendy and Tiff in a couple of weeks, with lots of pics and fun stories to follow. Eh, I guess I better start running longer distances again, huh? Later, peeps! Catch up wit youze as I can.

Thank you, Matt

2008-03-17T14:48:00.007-04:00

Without Matt being there, I think I would have DNF'd, but certainly would have done much worse. It was one of those days where the mind said go, and the body said nope. But as I climbed onto the bicycle, coughing and sputtering from the horrid pool experience, I remembered the pictures of Matt. I realized that if I competed with half the heart that he lived life with, I would win every damn race. So, I talked to Matt several times and felt encouraged. I wouldn't quit, because he didn't. I tried hard, and hoped to give my best. What I gave was what I could muster for the day, and I can say I went way beyond any comfort barrier. Thanks for introducing us, Nic.

So, that's my race report, in a nutshell. The details are on my training log. I went overall faster than last year, but I didn't do as well as I had hoped. I have some things to work on, but mostly it's my attitude and who I'm racing against: me. Vendettas and grudge matches (that aren't explicitly friendly) don't do anything but poison best efforts.

So thanks to Matt, and I'll try to do it better (and therefore faster) next time.

And thanks to Lisa for chatting with us on the way down, and to Marcy for FINALLY answering the phone. Man, we got screened like Justin trying to get back with Cameron. Thanks to Scott and Robin for calling to see how see did. Get better, Scott!

Mendy did great, and we had a good time. It was an awesome experience to be part of a great team, and celebrate as a group for individual accomplishments. We met Chris in person, and hung out with Eric and some other good people.

When I die

2008-03-13T08:30:00.010-04:00

I hope it's on the set of Days of Our Lives. That way I will come back in a few weeks or months, completely unchanged, save for a handsome tan (and more money from the contract renegotiation). And the best part? It won't take long for me to figure out what I missed and pick back up into life. Unless, of course, I have amnesia or have been turned into a killing zombie by Stefano DeMerra.

There's a down side: Mendy will likely have remarried at least once, and "had relations" with several people, including one villain and possibly one suspected family member (later discovered to be a vagrant, or something). That's just the way it rolls at DoOL. If we did get back together, raising her love child would only take about 4 years from birth to college, so that's a big plus.

Today will round out day number 13 of training, and usher in a sweet, sweet rest day tomorrow. I wonder if I'm getting slap-happy yet? Nah, couldn't be. I think I'm going from general soreness to general numbness. Either that, or my body is adapting to the new level of training, which is much better. The weather is looking AWESOME right now, and coupled with the time change I'm likely to be doing a lot more out in the fo really reals world.

This may be the last journal entry until we get back with race reports, so we'll see you then! Mendy's gonna do GREAT, and I know she can meet and exceed her goals. Eye of the tiger! And to any body else racing this weekend, go kick it's butt! Leave it all on the course so you don't come back with regrets. And for the rest: train hard and have some fun. Hopefully our northern neighbors (Lily, this means you) will start to see a break from the snow soon!

You've reached the blog of David...

2008-03-11T10:39:00.006-04:00

Please leave your comments, insults, jabs, best wishes, or general chit-chat after the beep.

Where does the time go? I've found it really hard lately to set aside some time to update you all on my comings and goings. Sorry about that, and I hope I still have some interested readers (as much as you were ever "interested")!

First things first: my thanks and highest praise to Wes and Dee Dee for being such awesome hosts and forcing me to walk out on my check at their place. It's not all the time that you get to hang out with great people, stuff your face with hot wings and cold barley sodas, and then be not allowed to pick up your own tab. Thanks guys, you are the best! And Dee Dee: Lisa says hello (from the pic I texted to her).

Things are going pretty well for the fam. The weather certainly is looking better most days, which makes training better. I'm still getting to bed earlier, which is nice. The time change screwed that up, especially since I had drill and had to get up super early (for a Sunday morning, anyway)! I had really hoped to get a nice run in on Saturday, but the weather was like something out of some crazy Northern state! It snowed all morning...yes, in Atlanta...in MARCH! The wind was going at about 12-17 mph, and the temps never really got above 38. I could have ran, but wasn't prepared for those temps and conditions, clothing-wise. So, I did weights and floated in the pool. Much better option! Remember, running is the devil.

I was so glad to be able to get home (averaging 80-85 mph) from Atlanta in time to ride with Mendy and our friend Denine. It was a nice ride day with almost perfect conditions. Mendy did so well, and has come such a long way in a such a short time (considering how little she even rides), and 2 laps was nothing to her. Way to go, Mendy!

And way to go, Lisa, Karen, and Taryn for the awesome 13.1! You guys rocked it AND had fun. What's better than that? And of course to Jess for kicking some booty on the 4 miler. Way to go, speedy!

Today's brick will be the 11th straight day of training, even though Friday and Saturday weren't really hard-core training days. My shoulders are still feeling them, though, especially after the swim session yesterday. I did a nice 500yd, then 5x100yd sprints on 2:30 intervals. Tomorrow will be another swim, with a low-key run on Thursday, then Friday is rest. I'm looking forward to the rest day, for sure!

Well, I'll close out for now. I do have some more things to share, but I'll put them up later. I've been thinking about all of you guys, even if I haven't been blogging or commenting like I should. Take care, and happy Tuesday!

**UPDATE**
Crap, I missed another blog homie with a great race! Way to go with the HUGE PR, Michelle! That's a huge improvement!!

Not so much a brick...

2008-02-29T14:21:00.005-05:00

but more of a block...of ice that is. Yesterday I went out for the first real brick of the season, and it just happened to be a balmy 37 degrees, with 8mph winds. I was feeling kinda hard-core for doing it, not seeing anyone else out on the roads running, riding, walking...or doing anything for that matter. As I pondered this while thawing in the post-exercise shower, it occurred to me that I may have been less hard-core, and more idiot. Come on, spring!

Thankfully, I can report that I'm feeling all my extremities again (even if Mendy refuses to feel some of them)! I was planning on running today, but may just take a rest (or core/weights) day. Probably ride tomorrow, and run Sunday. Then back to the wretched pool.

Have a great weekend, all. And have a great race, Mendy!!

What is IT?

2008-02-27T22:01:00.004-05:00

Can you feel it, see it, hear it today?
If you cant, then it doesn't matter anyway
You will never understand it cuz it happens too fast
And it feels so good, its like walking on glass
Its so cool, its so hip, its alright
Its so groovy, its outta sight
You can touch it, smell it, taste it so sweet
But it makes no difference cuz it knocks you off your feet

I fully realize that Marcy will have no idea what that song is. That song is a metal-grunge transition song. The band: Faith No More. The inspiration (to me): the return to high intensity training. It's a feeling that I can't really compare to anything else. Part satisfaction, part desire, part hope, part dread, and a lot of "oh, I can totally kick that person's butt this year!"

As I'm sure you all know, since you hang on my every word and celebrate my every breath (LMAO!!!), I've been cruising through the off season and focusing on running time/distance. I took about 2 months off swimming (yikes!) and rode my bike sporadically at best. But now, it's game on! Go ahead, check the training log. I'll wait...

Okay, I won't wait. Whatever! Anyway, cranking up the intensity up has really got me mentally and physically energized, fueling my inner beast for more. And it has fortified the belief in me that a very healthy off-season (or mid-event rest period, if you don't follow a "season") is incredibly beneficial and supports a great follow-on season (or training cycle). I'm in such a different mindset than this time last year. I was wide-eyed, wondering what I could do for sport and competition, and eager to start, but I didn't notice that I was just training volume and not specifics, and it was dumb determination that propelled me.

So, I guess my advice to new athletes and those approaching a significant break in training cycles is to take a real break, then get things started with some smart structure, and have an idea what your plan will be toward performance peak before your "A" and "B" events. I can't say that I'll make last year's results look like a practice run before the big show, but I think I have a much better handle on what I have to do, and when, as well as how to cycle my training throughout the year.

Tomorrow I'm hoping to do a very high intensity brick to top off the short-course training for the week, and then do a long-ish run tomorrow, then a bike on Saturday. As always, my plan is fluid and can change. Plans are good, but weather and life happens: know how to adjust and keep your training goals in sight.

Epic weekend!

2008-02-22T09:19:00.007-05:00

What a really fantastic weekend! And not so much for the training, but just the fun and good times. If every weekend was like this, I wouldn't have any excuse to complain.

First off, the promised office-isms: The cafetorium let me "enjoy" three songs on Friday morning. I caught the end of that crappy Goo Goo Dolls song from the Meg Ryan dies/Nicholas Cage lives movie, then a jump into the way-back machine for "If this is it" by Huey Lewis & the News, followed by half of "Total eclipse of the heart". Yeah, chase that junk out of your head! The cafetorium also offers some interesting people watching opportunities. There is a lady that seems to consistently make the same order from the grill: 3 egg whites (very specific), scrambled with American cheese, and 2 links of breakfast sausage on the side. Does anyone else see this as totally freakin hilarious? Why bother with the egg whites at all? Whatever the chicken put in the yolks HAS to be better than whatever Jimmy Dean puts inside those sausage casings. And processed cheese is about as nutritious as deep-fried margarine. Whateva...

One of the stalls in the men's powder room is wheelchair accessible, but we have nobody on our floor using a wheelchair, so it's always up for grabs. And it's so luxurious and spacious! It reminds me of that Seinfeld episode where Kramer adopts 2 miles of 4-lane highway, then paints every other line black, making it into 2 wide lanes. It's a good thing there's not a TV and mini-fridge in there, or it would need a "Now Serving" number thingy.

After work we got Grace and met up with our good friends from Church for pizza at Brixx. We always love the food there, and it's served so fast. This time, fortunately, we arrived early so we seated in a reasonable amount of time. This is very important for Friday nights in Greenville: the lines grow very quickly, and 45 minute waits are pretty standard after about 6:30 PM. After dinner we went over to B&N for the kids to play, me to get a new triathlon magazine, and for everyone to get some Charbucks. (yes, Lisa, but any port in a storm will do) We ran into my teammate Chris and his lovely wife Janis, so naturally Chris and I talked about sport...again. We had just met at for lunch at the Thai place, and talked about nothing but training and racing. But, neither of us seem to ever tire of discussing it, so that's a good thing. All good things must end, and we made it home. Surprisingly, we all got into bed at a reasonable (for me) hour, and got a full night's sleep.

Saturday morning I slowly and begrudgingly got up and got ready for the CT group ride. It was very foggy, and parts of me were hoping it would be canceled. I got to the turn that leads to the shop, and the group was already taking off. I asked which group it was (A, B, or C) and the response was that everyone was together. Cool, so at least it wouldn't be a hammerfest. I joined in and enjoyed a nice ~25 mile ride at a reasonable pace, but with a few chances to sprint and climb with some of the fast dudes there. Teammate Pete Risell was also there, and we got a chance to chat a few times.

Afterwards it was the much anticipated pancake outing, though Grace didn't eat as much as we hoped. She fueled sufficiently for some house "shopping" and driving around, though. We ran some errands and measured the land we've been contemplating, then went downtown to Wild Wing for some tasty treats. Home at a decent time, we again were in bed at a reasonable hour.

Sunday was a great day at Church, followed by lunch at Panera (geez, do we eat out enough on the weekends?) and a trip to Target. Then, since Grace was not likely to take a nap, we all changed and headed for a fun family time in the pool at the Y. Grace had a BLAST, and didn't want to get out. Thankfully the pool was closing in a bit, so we used that. We wound up running into Pete again, who was there with his family having a swim day. We joked about the "training" we were getting in, and both half-heartedly committed to separately doing some sort of fitness activity later that day. It was great to meet them all, and we hope to see them again soon.

We stopped by the grocery store, then dinner was at Red Robin (no, I had salad) and Grace was starting to wear down. She ate like some kind of crazy eating machine, and we hoped for a food coma. Back at home I jumped on the trainer for an intense 30 minute ride. I should have waited for my food to settle more, but at least I got something in. After a while in front of the tube, Mendy and Grace headed up, but I followed about 30 minutes later. Grace finally went to sleep, and we again had a good night's sleep. Wow, 3 nights in a row! It doesn't make the mornings much more pleasant, though. Waking up sucks worse that going to sleep early.

So, in all, a fantastic weekend, lots of activity, and lots of eating out. Our neighbor saw us coming and going about 5 times over the weekend, and I'm sure he wonders what is wrong with us. It's pretty hard to actually catch us at home unless the timing is just right.

Hope you all had a great weekend, and sorry for the extremely long read on a Monday.

Pump it up!

2008-02-21T21:58:00.003-05:00

Like Mendy, I'm starting to get really amped about the tri season kicking off. The only difference is that I'm focusing on the tri series, instead of triathlon as a part of a bigger race/training plan. So, there will be pressure. Lots of pressure. ha ha ha

Yesterday was a swim at lunch and run after work, and today was a nice short bike ride at lunch. I'm ramping up the frequency of training now, and in a few days will start to crank the intensity way up, with proper fueling and efforts that leave me exhausted when I'm finished. That's the weird thing about training for sprint distance tris: you have to be ridiculously fast to be competitive, so the training is often super intense without much "smelling the roses".

As I mentioned before, however, I think I'm going to really focus on the Olympic distance tris this year. That is, if I can get my swimming to improve from pond slime pace. I swear, sometimes my swimming feels like Will Farrell in Old School, when he shoots himself with the tranquilizer dart and falls in the pool at the kid's birthday party.

Looking forward to this weekend, though! No long run (6 miles, maybe), but a long-ish ride, a brick perhaps, some pancakes, swimming with Grace, and a natural wake up time. Wait, pancakes? That's not training!?!? Yeah, it's been a few weeks since we've done some Grace Time, so we are going to do some stuff for her. Not that she's been suffering: weekends at Grandma's is like a 3-year-old's resort and day spa. Grace got a FOOT MASSAGE last time she was over there! Are you kidding me?

Tomorrow is Funday Friday, so maybe I'll look around for some office-ism to share with you peeps. There is never a shortage of head shakers, but I become numb to them. I'll do my best, and even share whatever horrid "adult hits" song I'm tortured with in my head after a trip to the cafetorium. (you're welcome!)

Happy Hump Day!

2008-02-20T10:41:00.002-05:00

Hope everyone has a humperiffic day today, and may all your humpiness be humptastic!

I have to swim today. Well, I don't have to, but my tri friend Pam is giving me a bunch of crap about having no purple (swim minutes) in my training log graph. Apparently, as she reminded me, swimming is actually part of triathlon. CRAP! Okay, so I'll go do some laps. I'm thinking I need to run this afternoon, since the weather will be nice. That may not happen if it's too windy, though.

So, with the pre-season essentially over, I'm starting to think about multiple workout days (i.e. bricks, swim lunch/run evening, etc). I'm anxious to get going, but with any big change in routine it's best to do ramp up, not just jump in. I'm WAY more inclined to do the latter, but I'm determined to play it smart(er) this year. So, I will probably start with a couple of swim/run days, and then maybe a couple of bike/run days, and then in a week or two start doing a brick every week or two. As the season gets going, I will be doing at least one, but probably two +, bricks per week. I really got a lot of benefit from that last year.

I also need to fix my back! I've had a couple of vertebrae out of alignment for about a year now, and it's most likely what's causing the upper ham/lower glute pain I get after running hard. The sensation is very similar to slipping on the ice and falling on one cheek hard: sort of a deep tissue soreness. I just need to suck it up and go to a Chiropractor, though I'm sure there will be much laughter when he examines my wonky back.

Which reminds me: why is it that EVERYONE knows a good Chiro? Nobody ever says, "Man, my Chiropractor is a total POS! He's really rough and doesn't seem to know his butt from a hole in the ground!" In fact, nobody ever even says, "My Chiro is pretty okay, I guess. You could do better." No, it's always, "Oh, I know a GREAT Chiropractor! You should totally go see him!"

2008 Myrtle Beach painfest

2008-02-18T10:33:00.004-05:00

Though it pales in comparison to the mighty JavaFest 2008 (no tree lights, no sides of cheese, all driving times greater than 20 minutes, and no blogging buddies), we did try to revive the spirit for JavaEast. We didn't have much room left in the truck once this sign was packed, but somehow we got all of our fitness wear crammed in.

Then there was the race, its self. What a very crappy time, indeed! I have come to the conclusion that something in the Fazoli's food we ate the night prior caused a mild poisoning effect, since all 4 of us there together (Larry and Shelly being the others) had a very painful run and immediate intense soreness all day long. But, we got it done, and my foot/shoe may be famous. I stumbled on that pic in the previous post, and I'm pretty sure it's me: exact same shoe, same no-show black socks, similar shorts, and legs as chicken-like as mine.

We were happy to have it behind us, frankly. I had a decent time (1:34:25, a new PR), but it took every bit of mental effort to keep going. It was not a fun time at all. It did, however, net me a 132nd overall (out of 2842) and 13th of 133 in my age group (M 30-34).

The next day, amid curses from Mendy and Shelly about how stupid it was to ride the (advertised) 32 mile course the day after that hard run, I was looking forward to a good test on the new bike. Ain't she purdy? Too bad I look like such a dork. Oh well...
I rolled over the start line about mid-pack, but was in the top 5 a couple of miles later, and then caught up with the 2 leaders at about mile 8. They drafted me for about 8-10 miles, and offered to paceline (trade the lead to limit time in the wind) but I declined so I could get in the triathlon mindset. About half way, they pulled away from me a bit, but stayed in sight. Until I caught a red light, that is. With the headwind on the return, I wasn't able to bridge the gap, and wound up finishing 3rd overall. The bike performed beautifully!

After finishing, I went to get my medal and take off my chip. Just a few feet after that, my front brake pulled out of the fork! Holy cow, I'm so fortunate that didn't happen on the course! The retaining nut had simply come loose, and somehow I was able to recover it also. Then I rode back along the course to pick up Mendy, so we could finish together. I did the customary sneak-up-and-grab-the-hiney maneuver, but she barely flinched. Hmmm, perhaps I should worry.

Mendy and Shelly were still complaining, but more intensely now since the 32 mile ride was actually pushing over to 36 miles total. As we approached the finish, though, Mendy began to smile at the thought of completing her longest ride ever. She did great, and I was so glad to be there with her across the line.

Afterwards, I did a quick brick run around the parking lot, maybe a mile total distance. It felt rough, and people were looking at me funny. They're the weirdos, though.

It was a good weekend, and we had lots of fun. If the half marathon hadn't been involved, it would have been a great weekend. Stupid running! I'm looking forward to the transition to in-season training, and really cranking this thing into gear. Sorry I've been so out of touch lately; lots to time building the bike, and not much time for blogging. Hopefully I'll catch up today.

2008-02-16T20:31:00.002-05:00

"Red-shoed runners seemed to be leading the pack minutes before sunrise on Ocean Boulevard in the 11th annual Myrtle Beach Marathon on Saturday." (caption from MyrtleBeachOnline.com)

Well, I broke in my new red Mizuno Wave Revolvers. :-)

Horray for small races!

2008-02-02T19:41:00.000-05:00

So, when I picked up my race packet on Friday, this was the number I pulled out. Obviously for a different race, but please note the race format under the number.

I really didn't feel like getting up, mostly due to the previous week's cold and subsequent lack of training intensity. But, I figured I would go ahead and run it, and see what happened. At the site, I began my ancient poses for race success. (Honestly, they caught me somewhere outside a stretch)

After the race, Grace decided she needed to be carried around for a while, to celebrate her efforts to show up and mooch free food. She was a great cheering section, though. I'm sure her mom helped her focus.
Ah, some Chik-fil-A (supposed to be for the runners) is a nice way to warm up in the cold temps.
I decided to customize my own race number, making it a bit more accurate.
The skinny of it is that it wasn't a PR, and it didn't feel at all comfortable running this race. The hills really spiked my HR. But, it was a very small race, so I came in 9th overall, and 1st in my age group (30-39)!! That was good enough for a $35 gift certificate to a local running store. Glad I showed up, after all.

The search for the elusive 18.xx 5K continues...

I forgot the most important pic of all! Here's proof I actually did an event. :-p

I have a WHAT tomorrow?!?!

2008-02-01T16:05:00.000-05:00

Don't you just love those little races you sign up for, thinking they'll be nothing, a mere paving stone in your overall fitness plan, and then events conspire to make them a completely regretable experience? This has been a phlegmy week at the old Lust for Grits house. And the other day I remembered I have a stupid 5K tomorrow morning. (blech) Not that the race's cause is stupid, just my participation in it. The up side is that it isn't an A or B race, and it will be near calm in the wind department. The down sides: I feel like poo still, I'm expecting a brisk 35-40 degrees at start time, and I would much rather sleep in and then go eat pancakes. Well, at least we can go do the flapjacks afterward. Oh, another up side to it is that the start line is about 1/2 mile from my home, so my warm-up will be getting to the race.

Training has suffered this week. I did ride a couple of days, back-to-back. In retrospect, however, I should have rested on the second day. Sometimes I think I'll never learn: train hard, race hard, rest hard, recover hard. The intensity at which you demand performance from the bod must be matched with the intensity that you take care of it. Oh well, better now that in a couple of weeks when we will be in Myrtle Beach for the early season's big running event.

I'm so depressed, I think we will go drown our woes in Mellow Mushroom and Blue Moon. he he he he :-)

The good, the bad, and the irritating

2008-01-29T08:57:00.000-05:00

Instead of some lengthy complaintfest from the weekend, I'll just sum it up:

Even runs you prepare well for can go bad, and just feel rough
Organizations like the military have lots and lots and lots of inherent flaws, mainly due to the size and subsequent communication breakdown
Driving skills and avoiding drinking while actually driving seem to be optional items for most Atlanta residents

Okay, I feel marginally better. It wasn't all bad, however; I got to hang out with Wes and have a couple of frosty beers over a cheese steak. That was a lot of fun, and I had to send J-Mizzle a pic of us just to rub it in a little. I tried to subtly talk him into JavaFest 2008 Part Deux in Va Beach, but I'm not sure if I did a good enough job.

So, back to work. Blah! Still trying to tie up some loose ends from the Reserves. I'm glad I get to do my real job and take care of all this other crap at the same time. Maybe I'll go ride my bike at lunch, just to get some frustration out. Training is going pretty well (despite the less-than-stellar run on Saturday), and if I do go out today it will be day 9 since rest. Well, day 7 was just some light weight training, so I'm not sure that counts. Whatever, I'll take it.

Saving the biggest news for last, it's Magnum's birthday today! So, guess what tune I have stuck in my head today? Go ahead, take a guess. I'll give you three chances, and the first two don't count.

Oh, and Marcy, I heard on the radio today that the Puke Heads on the Knock won't be getting back together, at least according to one of the "band" members (not sure if it was Donny, Danny, Dippy, or Skippy). I'll send you some Kleenex to mop up the tears.

Ctrl + Alt + Delete

2008-01-24T14:09:00.001-05:00

Would someone please help me get this dude's crappy music out of my head? Every morning, when I go down to the work cafeteria, they are playing one of those stupid "light rock" stations that specialize in workplace music. Invariably, I get some horrid song stuck in my head for way too long. Yesterday it was the damn Goo Goo Dolls, with their song from that Meg Ryan movie where she dies and Nicholas Cage is an angel that lives....*vomit* Today, it's "Endless Summer Nights" by one of the mullet brothers, Dick Marx. (The other being Sir Michael Bolton) Oops, I guess he goes by Richard. Anyone know how to reset the inner jukebox? I gotta reboot this thing. Grrrrrr!

In other news, I had a decent run at lunch. My standard 4.28 mile loop, in 29:22. Not a record pace, but only about 35 seconds off. All this talk about the plank is making me want to try to incorporate it into daily life. The other day Nancy inspired me to do it for as long as possible. After 150 seconds I was shaking like a dog passing a peach pit. I would like very much to get that higher, and not look like I'm in the middle of an earthquake when I'm doing it.

Tomorrow evening it's off to the Atlanta area. I hope to get a nice long run in Saturday afternoon, on the Air Farce base (sorry, fly boys), and then cruise through Sunday until I can come home. If I have internet, I'll be in touch. If not, have a great weekend, and race/train hard!

Edit: A big shout out to my home girl Jess - have a great half this weekend!

Getting back into it

2008-01-23T22:53:00.000-05:00

I had a date with this little piece of equipment today. I haven't been on my tri bike in months, and it shows. I felt like doing 45 minutes, almost quit at 20 minutes, but wound up doing 60 minutes. Oh, yeah, it was on the trainer, so I held a 21.77 mph average. I haven't been on the road recently and riding the trainer is way different that riding on the fo really reals road.

So, my experience on this horrid piece of equipment quickly numbed my wedding tackle while on the bike. Fortunately, feeling returns quickly afterwards. A lot of the reason for this is the difference from a fo really reals ride: you aren't cornering, climbing hills, free-wheeling, or modifying position much. Just constant pedaling. The other reason is just getting used to riding on it, which I sorely need to before the Parris Island Sprint I just signed up for.

But, I am getting back into more routine training, mixing it up and doing some cycling and swimming to supplement the running. That's a very good thing, not only for injury prevention and quality of training, but for my own sanity. Do you guys have the problem that you really want to go do something (run, bike, swim, lift, pilates, whatever), but just don't feel like doing it when it's time? I guess that's why I enjoy triathlon so much, since it's all cross training. Well that, and all the spandex.

It's great to be back into some multi sport training, though I fear my first brick in many months. As soon as the MB HM is done, it's ON as far as training goes. The bike ride the next day should help to reinforce that. Hopefully the weather will cooperate as Spring approaches. Stupid weather. (That's just winter bitterness talking - and all you snow runners: shadaap!)

Ain't no Eskimo!

2008-01-21T13:55:00.000-05:00

Since I'm quite sure you all diligently follow my training log, you'll note that I didn't complete the planned run yesterday. Not to fear, I haven't given up running. Regain your composure and read on.
:-)

I decided, regardless of temperature (or lack thereof) and wind, I was running at lunch. I had to try out my new Mizuno gear, right? I opted for the running pants, which lent themselves well to wearing shorts underneath (Marcy - unlike the tights, where you will find no panty lines on me!), and a long sleeve base layer under a long sleeve running shirt. Add on the running beanie and some running gloves, and I was just a touch on the cool side for the 8 miles in 29 degree weather, with 7-9mph winds. Should have worn a wind vest!

I did realize that running in very cold (for me) is a bunch of crap! My legs felt tight and my breathing inadequate the whole time. Unlike Stella, I just couldn't find my groove. So, plans are off to move to North Dakota. Sorry peeps: staying in the South!!

You may now return to your normally scheduled Case of the Mondays. :-)

Tidbits and loose ends

2008-01-20T01:12:00.000-05:00

First, a couple of outstanding questions:

Jess, I shaved because the old Captain Caveman face was starting to require "beard maintenance," which I'm ill-equiped to perform. And, during the HM, the Accelerade and water was just sort of soaking onto my face. Kinda gross, and uncomfortable. I had intended to shave it into some sort of wacky pattern at the request of the JavaFesters, but they only mentioned lightning bolts or something. With all the festivities, I didn't have time pre-race. So, back to my regular old face (for better, or worse).

Wes, I think I will be doing Langley Pond, Olympic distance. I'm thinking that will be the distance I'll focus on this year. I don't have the raw speed to be competitive in the sprints, and I can't realisically focus on half-iron or iron distance races. Maybe I'll find my speck in the sporting world. We'll see...

Man, the weather has been poopy for running. *this is where all you eskimos north of the Mason-Dixon call me a wus* Between snow, cold, rain, cold rain/snow, and Mendy's drill weekend, it's been tough to run a lot. I did go for a nice 3.4 miler the other night in the chilly temps (29 F?) and I'm sure people were looking at me funny from the safey of their steel chariots. We are both planning a 8-ish mile run tomorrow, so we'll see how that goes. Next week, I'm going over-mileage for the MB Half, then start a taper program.

Today our local Fleet Feet was having their birthday sale. I picked up 2 pairs of Mizuno running pants and 1 pair of Mizuno tights, all Breath Thermo. I've heard great things about the BT material, and it should be better in the cold than just thin tights for...uh...maintaining my image. That thin spandex doesn't block all the cold, and the tights don't leave much to the imagination, if you know what I mean. I don't want to be arrested by Interpol for olive smuggling.

Updates tomorrow from the run!

For immediate release

2008-01-17T13:31:00.000-05:00

I'm very proud to announce that 2008 will be the inaugural year of TYB Racing triathlon/multisport team! Some time mid-2007 I approached Jamie about tri teams in the area, which there are very few of. Over the months we talked about it, and discussed with some of the other area triathletes, and the concept was born of a team as an off-shoot of Jamie's triathlon/multisport coaching, TriYourBest.com. It's now official, and our team is stacked! We are going to totally rock 2008, and intend to be very visible on the podium all year. Thanks to our awesome sponsors for helping a concept mature into a reality.

I've been itching to announce it, but some details had to be worked out first. I'm really looking forward to training and racing with my team mates. They are all great guys, and I'm pretty sure I'm the slow guy of the bunch! LOL Oh well, at least I look awesome in spandex. :-p

I invite you to visit our blog to check us out. There's a good chance we'll upgrade to a formal website, but we are just getting started from scratch and things take time. We'll get there, though.

And yes, you may kiss my ring. :-)

And I ran..

2008-01-15T14:17:00.001-05:00

...I ran so far away...

We had to take a plane there

But Javamom took care of the other transportation
We enjoyed a delicious Mexican dinner the first night

And, of course, had to visit the bathroom

The obligatory pre-race pasta meal. Where's J-mom?

She showed up 20 minutes later ;-)

We had to wait for the race start

We waited for quite a while

Then we all finished the race!

We enjoyed recovery burgers

Then we enjoyed recovery cocktails

A (boys) bathroom pic with the queen of bathroom pics!

We went to a great Italian restaurant

We ate Italian food there

We enjoyed some more recovery cocktails

We eventually had to leave Javafest 2008

We layed over in Houston

We had a really, really, really, Java~rific time!

Thanks to J~Mom for hosting and transporting us all around, and for entertaining us immensely. Thanks to Pokey for volunteering her husband's gigantic SUV and taking us to the race (and back). Thanks to Jess for the race watch updates! Thanks to Mendy, Lori, Marcy, J~Mom, J~Dad, Pokey, Pat, Eric, Taryn, and Clay for the great times and new friendships! And thanks to all the other blog homies that cheered us on! Yes, it was fun; yes, you should have been there; yes, you can come next time!

And the run? 1:37:34 It started great, but I would swear the 2nd half was longer than the first. Shoulda taken in some calories. But, in the end, this weekend wasn't about the run. It was about the fun, and we had plenty!

"C" race, "A" event

2008-01-10T22:58:00.000-05:00

So, I'll go ahead and classify this as a "C" race for my 2008 schedule. It's my own fault: I have only this week engaged any semblance of early (or pre-) season training. Running has been hit-and-miss, with a 10 miler done 1.5 weeks ago, and 6+ done on Tuesday. But, I am happy to report that I ran the 4.3 Monday, 6+ Tuesday, biked 21 Wednesday, and FINALLY got back in the pool for a painful and difficult 1000yds today. Running is going well, but it's apparent I haven't cycled or swam in quite a while. For details, check the training log link on the right.

Am I dismayed by all of this? Heck no! I'm fitt'n to raise up and get my fiesta on with J~mom, Marcy, Lori, Eric, Pokey, Pat, Chad (hopefully), Taryn, and...oh yeah, Mendy (though every day is like a party with her!). I hope I didn't miss anyone. This will be a really fun time for us, and something we've been looking forward to, even if dreading the actual run. Eh, it's only an hour and a half out of the weekend, right? I hope so, anyway.

We are flying out tomorrow, and will be offline until Monday night (at least), unless Lisa lets us hijack her computer. But that means slowing down (and Mendy sobering up enough...j/k) to check in. Nah, just expect some pics and accounts next week. Wait, does what goes on in AZ stay in AZ? Well, maybe you all will just have to rely on the updates the lovely Jess provides. Thanks Jess!

To all others racing or training this weekend not where we are going to be, go kick some butt and do your best!

I resolve

2007-12-31T20:11:00.000-05:00

It's that time again. Time to make empty promises and grandiose claims for the future. No, I'm not referring to writing wedding vows, but rather the annual tradition of swearing to self, family, and friend, sometimes with hand raised in a show of sincerity, of our self improvement plan for the next year and beyond. By January, probably 90% of our solemn vows go the way of the dodo, at least in years past. In humor, I've occasionally heard and sometimes repeated that this years resolution is to stop making resolutions. Yeah, that one didn't last, either.

Anyway, cynical observations and commentary aside, it is a good chance to reflect on where I am at, what I've been doing, and how I can improve in the coming year. To that end, my resolutions:

Get to bed by 11:00 on "school" nights
Limit adult beverage intake significantly during training and the competitive season
Follow a more structured training and nutrition regimen
Impose training on my time so I can spend more time with Grace and Mendy
Be more involved in Church
Be the best example I can be for Grace and other kids
Develop professionally in a more aggressive manner

Those are the big ones, anyway. Certainly do-able, but areas I could improve in.

Today was a great day. It started off with a rough-feeling run, but one that was necessary to prepare for PF Chang's RnR Half in just under 2 weeks. Happy to have it over (10.4-ish miles), we made last preps for Grace's 3rd birthday party. Not a huge event, with just a few of her close friends coming over to eat pizza and cake, and run around like monkeys at the zoo. Ah, sugar loading in lieu of nap time. She had a blast, and got even MORE Dora stuff. *sigh*

We are settling in to watch the Clem(p)son/Auburn game, and ring in 2008. I hope you all have a wonderful, fun, and safe New Years Eve, and many blessings in the coming year. Take care, y'all!

Feliz Navidad!

2007-12-25T00:43:00.000-05:00

A very Merry Christmas to all! I'll be back after a brief pause. But first, something for Scott, Marcy, Lori, Nikki, Jess, and just maybe Lisa, Michelle, Wes, and Robin. :-)

I'm up, I'm up!!

2007-12-20T23:15:00.000-05:00

Well, I decided to put an end to my sloth, and went for a run today around my favorite 4.28 mile loop (for consistency's sake). I knew at the half-way point that I was on a good run, and at the finish I was hopeful...

"Sadly," I was a measly 1 second off my all-time PR for this route, set last July. Today was 28:50. I could have found 2 seconds to shave somewhere...some...where...

But it goes to show you that the little nagging feeling to go for a run may be your body telling you something. Today, my legs were ready to play, even with the cool temps and chilling wind. Had I warmed up prior, who knows? ;-)

Go run, have fun!

Today's word: Acedia

2007-12-20T10:12:00.000-05:00

From Wikipedia:
In the Christian moral tradition, sloth (Latin: acedia, accidia, pigritia) is one of the seven capital sins, often called the seven deadly sins; these sins are called the capital sins because they lead easily to other sins. Sloth is defined as spiritual and/or actual apathy or laziness, putting off what God asks you to do, or not doing it or anything at all. Acedia is a Latin word, from Greek akedia, literally meaning "absence of caring". Acedia can also lead to God's wrath.

Kinda sums up my recent exercise patterns. I've been feeling really lazy of late, and it sucks! Preparations for upcoming Christmas activities are definitely edging out training time, but I haven't "made" the time, either. Time to put my rally cap on and get to it.

I'll start tomorrow.

Gratitude!

2007-12-15T23:21:00.000-05:00

My sincere and heart-felt thanks to all the fast men (30-34 years old) for NOT racing in the Paris Mountain 5K today!

So, the alarm went off, and I was very tempted to turn it off, wake up when I felt like it, and hopefully catch Neese after the race. In fact, almost every fiber in my body was screaming for this. But I figured I wouldn't wake up in time, and we wouldn't make it over to Furman U, and I would let Neese down. Mendy and I both wanted to hang out with her again, because she's just so darn sweet and fun to talk with. And the chance to meet her husband and Anne was an additional draw.

Anyway, we made it there in time to enjoy the pandemonium of pre-race activities: ran out of shirts (even for pre-registered), apparently no race packets, delayed start, etc. Neese, Rhett (her husband), and Anne (Rhett's daughter) were right out front waiting for some slow pokes to finally arrive...us! By the time I got my bib number, there wasn't much time before the start. I did a couple hundred yards of warm up, and I am now a believer in this. Moments before the gun, I tried to share some last minute experience and tips with Neese and Anne, and then we were off.

I felt great, and was running a nice pace with a great feeling of efficiency. And I had my tights on, so I looked great! LOL I passed a bunch of people (I should have been way closer to the start line) and crossed the 1 mile marker at 6:09. SWEET! Then the wind came: 46 degrees and about 14 mph whipping across the lake through most of mile 2. Mile 3 greeted us with a little bump: a very steep up and down hill that just totally messes up your rhythm. It was about this time that I started regretting the large coffee (with 4 espresso shots) I drank on the way to the race.

I kept with my chosen pace group, wasn't passed, and traded places a couple of times with a young guy that finally edged past me. I crossed the line with 20:04 showing (a PR for me), but figure that if chipped, I would have actually had a 19:58. WOO HOO! It was good enough for 2nd place in my age group. Neese and Anne also had a great race with a very strong finish! This course, and today's weather was no joke, and it appeared that times across the board were down compared to other 5Ks with the same people.

I was happy that I braved the morning and weather, very glad to have hung out with Neese and her crew, and very happy to have Mendy and Grace there cheering me on ("Doing great, Daddy!"), which overshadowed the unfortunate disorganization of pre-race activities. I'm sure next year will be better, and I hope the race directors from this year direct next years race, as I'm sure they will iron out all the bugs. They really did a great job considering they had to handle two very separate races today with their full schedules with their running store. And, they are nice people, extremely easy to talk to.

When's the next one, Neese? :-)

No high hopes

2007-12-14T21:04:00.000-05:00

Thanks for the well wishes on tomorrow's race, but I am not expecting much. I've felt like dookie all week, and tonight my head is pounding. In true 3-year-old form, Grace is going mental. If it weren't for Neese running tomorrow, and the 25 bones already paid, I wouldn't go. We're looking at 47 deg and 13mph winds, if you can believe the forecasters.

Anyway, here's a recipe for you guys to try. Marcy and J-Mom, feel free to substitute Russian potato wine (vodka) for the agave nectar! ;-)

TEQUILA COOKIES
1 cup of dark brown sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 cup of granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2 cups of dried fruit, such as dried cranberries or raisins
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 bottle Jose Cuervo Tequila (silver or gold, as desired)

Sample the Cuervo to check quality.

Take a large bowl, check the Cuervo again, to be sure it is of thehighest quality, pour one level cup and drink.

Turn on the electric mixer. Beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl.Add one teaspoon of sugar. Beat again. At this point it's best to make sure the Cuervo is still OK, try another cup just in case.

Turn off the mixerer thingy. Break 2 leggs and add to the bowl and chuckin the cup of dried fruit.Pick the frigging fruit up off floor.Giggle.

Mix on the turner. If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaterers just pry it loose with a drewscriver. Giggle again.

Sample the Cuervo to check for tonsisticity. Giggle some more.

Next, sift two cups of salt, or something, whatever. Check the JoseCuervo.

Now shift the lemon juice and strain. Add one table full of that one stuff. Add a spoon of shuga, or somefink.Whatever you can find. It all looks the same.Grease the oven. Turn the cake tin 360 degrees and try not To fall over.

Pick yourself up off the floor. Try not to giggle, it makes the floor fall out from underneath you.Don't forget to beat off the turner.

Finally, throw the bowl through the window, finish the Cose Juervo and make sure to put the stove in the dishwasher.

**** CHERRY MISTMAS ****

See you tomorrow, Neese! Go have an awesome race!!

"Those" runs

2007-12-13T09:59:00.000-05:00

I really hate "those" runs. You know the ones that just don't turn out as well as you hoped, either in feel, speed, or distance, and sometimes a combination of several. For me, they tend to be very frustrating, and I immediately feel like going back out the door and running again, in an attempt to redeem myself. Not that the results would be much different: the factors that affect a run are built up over days prior to, not just the hours before. I had a couple this week, which could easily be attributable to fatigue from Monday's ride and the cold I'm currently enjoying. Add on top of those the horrid bouncing of Fuel Belt bottles on my back, and unseasonably warm weather (which I'm not used to), and I suppose I can't expect everything to go perfectly. And even if I do, they didn't, so I just have to suck it up and prepare well for next time.

So, I haven't discussed office-isms in a while. I've noted a few lately, since we've had a bunch of folks changing physical locations, changing floors, and general shuffling. There are an alarming number of younger men that have to, when standing at the urinal, bend over and reach for their urine gear because of belly size. I would personally see that as a sign for change; I can't imagine looking down and not being able to see Mr. Happy because of a big ole' meat shelter belly. But I guess that's why I'm me, and they are them. I do always hope that my apparent fitness efforts may inspire some folks around the office.

There's a group of guys that go down every morning to eat breakfast together. The group has grown from 2-3 to now about 6-7 over the past couple of years. A thought occurred to me this morning for a title of these guys: I shall call them Reservoir Dorks (in reference to this being an IT organization, but absolutely without any disrespect to them.)

My environment has shifted 180 degrees with respect to background noise. The lady that sits on the phone all day talking about what her 16 y.o. daughter wears swimming, the cost of wheelchair rental at Dollywood, the level of the water in the lake near her lake house, ice skating, Girl Scout cookies, Tupperware, and all things extremely geeky and technical about mainframe administration, has moved to another floor. My former manager, that used to hold 120db speakerphone conference calls all day, every day, has also moved floors. The two dudes in the next aisle that discussed matters of personal life and laughed very loudly at jokes have moved now. It's like a morgue around here most times now. Except for the residual tinnitus, that is.

Our new departmental Admin Asst has an open-format cubicle right outside the bathroom. I was considering it yesterday, and although it's spacious, I would not like to sit there. With a view of the bathroom doors, and my tendency to people-watch, I would inadvertently start noticing how long people have been in the potty, and label them as poopers or pee-ers. As disturbing as it would be to realize the guys who had just finished dropping a deuce, I would be very very uncomfortable concluding that some of the ladies had just finished pushing some brown. I don't like believing that women do that.

I was doing really well about getting into the Christmas spirit, but 4 days of weather in the mid-70s and sunshine has got me thinking about spring. Probably not all bad, since I should begin making my transition from base building to preseason transition. I will figure out a way to get some swimming and cycling in every week (though cycling is tough with the short daylight hours), while maintaining the running focus for the next couple of months. March isn't far away, and that's the first tri!

Folding mirrors

2007-12-10T15:35:00.000-05:00

I'm glad newer cars are equipped with these. I'm also glad newer cars are smaller than the 70's battle tanks, which were piloted by the extremely elderly until about the mid-90's.

Today the weather has been up to 77 deg here, which I couldn't let get away. I took a half day (still lots of floating vacation days to take this year, and they don't carry over) to go for a ride. The wind was kickin' like karate, so it wasn't going to be a long ride. Just about 1.5 hours or so, which wound up being a hair under 30 miles. Lots of big hills on this route, as well as stop-and-go traffic. Funny, I hadn't experienced any training-induced drama in quite a while...

So on the way back, I'm riding up a feeder road that will cross over a main road, then up through a neighborhood. All of a sudden some old lady clipped me with her car mirror, and kept on going! Fortunately, I was in an aggressive stance and it didn't affect me really. But boy did I let her have it at the next light! I told her she was a not nice person, and lacked in abilities. Roughly...

It was a nice ride, though. Nice to get back on the bike after a couple of weeks off. On the up side, I was rarely winded, which made me feel good about the aerobic base I've built with the running. Now it's time to think about the transition into preseason. Hmmmm. Maybe after the 5K this weekend.

What a great way to spend a Monday, though. And tonight we are going in search of Stella, thanks to a post by Jess that got Mendy thinking. Maybe even sit outside, if it's still nice enough. Hope you all are doing as well as me, but probably not.

:-p

Just saw this, and think it's freakin hilarious. Pretty much my approach to training myself. Maybe I should go work at Dick's Sporting Goods.

8 on the 8th...er, 7th

2007-12-07T14:42:00.000-05:00

I hate going first! I have no "carrot" to chase, and end up being a big target for everyone. Oh well, fire away:

8.05 miles in 57.26 @ 7:08/mile
m 1 - 6:29
m 2 - 6:47
m 3 - 6:41
m 4 - 7:30
m 5 - 7:22
m 6 - 7:36
m 7 - 7:44
m 8 - 6:58
1235 calories - woo hoo!

I really wasn't feeling a run today at all. My legs felt stiff coming into mile 5, and pretty much stayed that way. The weather was a bit cooler than I would have liked, too (49 °F) but the wind was decent (6-8 mph). I guess it was an okay run for me. Hope you all go knock it out, and do really well!

It's alive! ALIVE!

2007-12-06T23:12:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the recent quiet. I'm still reeling over my DNF at the NY Half Marathon...

;-)

A few highlights, if you want to call them that:

I got a picture DVD of my friend that included a ton of old pics and some more recent ones. It's put me in a bit of a funk, but I will figure out a way to honor him and will definitely stay active in the lives of his parents.

A few of the runs since I found out have been...unstructured? Basically I've been running angry, which has maybe released some pent up emotion, but wasn't particularly good for training. As silly as it sounds (and sounded as I dissected it in my head at the time), I wondered if I ran hard enough, would I turn back the hands of time, and somehow get a second chance at doing something - anything - to prevent it. I'm still in a lot of shock about what happened, and frustrated that time fleeted and can never be touched again. That sucks!

The painting of the "Man Lair" is just about complete after a long pause. It was the detail painting that was lacking, and I think it's close to done. The lighting is bad in the room (think British pub/pool hall), so some spots get overlooked. Now I just need to get some crown moulding, stain and varnish, and finally install it. The option would be painting detail at the top corner and covering mistakes in dark green with white paint on the ceiling. *blech*

The Christmas tree is now decorated!! Grace put the angel on the top, as well as hanging most of the ornaments. It looks nice, but is notably smaller than last year's tree. That's okay; we'll decorate the rest of the house a bit, and concentrate on the core of the season.

I'm amped to do the Eight on the Eighth virtual race tomorrow (yeah I know tomorrow is the 7th)! I'm taking the afternoon off so I can do it, since Mendy has drill this weekend and I will have Grace all to myself.

I also signed up for a 5k on Dec 15th. This will surely be a better race, and I vow to get more sleep, while drinking less wine and smoking fewer cigars, the night before the Turkey Trot last month! Stay tuned for details...

I'm starting to get a good feeling about the security of my job lately. There was some (plenty) speculation that our group, and the entire US presence of our company, would dissolve in the next year. But reports from senior management seem to suggest that we will again start looking at growing as a business, corporation, and presence in the US. Hooray!

Weight training and running has been haphazard recently, but I will get back on track. I need to get on the bike and back in the pool! The good news is that it will be in the low-mid 70's early next week here, and that can't be a bad thing. Woo hooo!!! Now if only the stupid sun would stay up longer...

That's all for now. I'll catch up with you guys as I can, and sorry for my absence.

Race Report

2007-11-30T22:51:00.000-05:00

Last night I ran the New York Half Marathon. It almost didn't happen, since I couldn't find my race number bib since Mendy and I returned from our vacation to the beach resort. But, I decided to sneak in, get my timing chip, and got going way late. I mean I took off with the stroller crew, just behind the university rally club. Mendy decided at the last minute to go ahead and walk the course with the stroller peeps, pushing Grace.

Anyway, I was making up decent time, but the course kept going through the buildings of sponsoring businesses and landmarks. I got lost a couple of times, and the damn stroller pushers kept catching up to me. Man, that's annoying. And every mile or so there was a checkpoint, but about 4-5 miles in, they started planting little construction/engineer flags, the ones on the little metal sticks, in the ground to mark the routes and lanes (for the race crowd to stay organized), and the things kept stabbing me in the foot!

One landmark I came upon took me up to a house, and I lost the course, so I went inside. I wound up meeting a guy from my church that was also racing, and we tried to find the course through. He suggested some stairs, but when we opened the door the hall was covered in cobwebs. Clearly not the race course. Back outside, we saw where it went around the yard, and we were back on our way...

Again with the stroller pushers! Man they are fast!!

That's about where I woke up. Man, I have some really weird dreams!

:-)

Range of motion

2007-11-26T22:02:00.000-05:00

In the gym at work I witness an incredibly broad spectrum of interpretation of how to use the machines and weights. From the guy that uses only the last 4-6 inches of a 30 inch range-of-motion (ROM) exercise, to the guy that creates a full body exercise in the (improper) use of a machine designed for 25-30 inches of ROM.

When doing resistance training, it's very important to be conscious of a few items. These will not only maximize the benefit from your training, but also help prevent possible injury, as well as the belly laughter from people watching while you do something truly silly.

1) Understand what you want to gain. If you are looking for muscle peak and size, then you can concentrate on just a short ROM with maximum weight, muscle failure, and low reps. If you are looking for strength for sport, a longer ROM with more reasonable weight, rep, and set selections may be a better choice.

2) Think about natural body movements. If you have selected a reasonably movable weight, it shouldn't cause immediate pain to do the exercise. If you do experience immediate pain, either lower the weight, or re-evaluate the motion and cycle used. ALL resistance/weight training should be done with smooth and controlled motion, never whipping or transferring shock through the body. If you can't do the motion slowly at the weight, lower the weight. It's okay to use explosive movements, but don't throw your back out trying to do 220 lb lat pull-downs by jerking on the bar with everything you have in your entire body.

3) If training for a sport, think about the ROM the sport requires and tailor exercises to target weak areas. Swimming and running are large ROM sports, so their corresponding resistance training should largely be full ROM. Pinball requires a very small ROM, so train accordingly. (nerd)

4) What kind of improvement are you looking for? For endurance training, I recommend about 65% max weight at most, for 3-4 (or more) sets, and 15-20 reps. For general strength, I like 75-80% max, 3-4 sets, and 10-12 reps. Size and power get into a grey area, in my opinion. There are techniques like descending number of reps on sets with increasing weight, ascending number of reps on sets with decreasing or constant weight, or just 90-95% max weight for as many reps as it takes to muscle failure, for 3-4 sets. It's hard to nail down precisely how the fibers will react. Which is a segue to...

5) Mix it up! There's a reason we do track workouts, intervals, hill repeats, sprints, and other crazy exercises in running, cycling, and swimming: muscles will adapt to constant demand for identical performance. You will simply plateau after a while if nothing changes. With resistance training, I have found good benefit from changing things up about every month to 6 weeks. And the changes can be sets, reps, weight, or some combination of any of it. Also, go from slow and controlled movement to explosive contraction and slow retraction, or vice versa.

If in doubt, find someone that appears to be working out fairly well, has good balance of muscle tone, and also appears to have a sensible routine they are doing. Then ask that person, or an employee if at an attended gym, how to properly do an exercise. Hopefully they will steer you in the correct direction. When all else fails, get a trainer for a month or so to get an idea of what the basics are.

Sites like this may be helpful in explaining things and providing examples.

Whoops, I forgot one important thing: if you enter into a resistance/weight training program, you will almost invariably have to increase the amount and quality of protein you intake, just as Fian recently discovered. You are stressing and damaging muscle fibers, and without acceptable levels of protein to repair them, you won't spring back, may lose motivation, will likely be sore, and could starve other parts of your body as the machine inside scavenges for what it needs.

Cinque

2007-11-25T00:25:00.000-05:00

Tag, I'm it. I don't know who I would tag in return, so I'll just tell you all a few nuggets about me. As such, no need to post the rules I suppose.

1) I was born in South Africa. I left when I was about 3 years old. No, I didn't swim across; I enjoyed the luxury of a transport ship with my family. I haven't been back since, mainly out of fear for being detained for conscription into the military and the ridiculous cost of travel there. I hope to return, but will have no idea where I'm going unless I return with either my brother, father, or somehow locate an uncle that may still live there.

2) I have/had a heart murmur. It doesn't seem to have affected my athletic ability much, but who knows? The last physical I had in 2006, the Doc mentioned that he still heard it. Oh well, I guess I'll keep going until it does something wacky.

3) I came very very close to dying as a child from a major intestinal infection. I didn't gain any weight from about 6 to 14 months old, if I recall what my dad has told me accurately. Apparently I didn't sleep through the night until this was cured, and the first night I did my parents hovered over me all night making sure I was still alive.

4) I enjoy classical music. Seriously! While I listen to mostly rock (classic and modern hard alternative), I will sometimes pop in some Mozart, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, or others, and really enjoy it.

5) In the Navy, I was a bomb disposal diver and parachutist. I used to hunt sea mines underwater with a handheld sonar and a big chunk of C4. I was trained in search, identification, and neutralization of all other weapons systems (from hand grenades, to IEDs, to nuclear weapons), but my main focus was underwater disablement/disposal operations. And yes, I can't discuss most of it in much detail. :-)

I did a 4.3 mile recovery run today. The legs felt stiff, which I suppose is expected given Thursday and Friday's runs. Still, the time/pace wasn't too shabby. No PR, and not even close, but a solid run. One thing I'm noticing about winter running: way more laundry produced! I rarely get away with using stuff twice, probably due to how much I sweat when running (gross, huh?), and I can't wash out tights, base layers, and long sleeve running tops in the shower like I could with shorts and a tank in the warmer months. Stupid winter!

We got our Christmas tree tonight, but that will be saved for another post. Hope you all had a great weekend!

A new day

2007-11-24T00:51:00.000-05:00

First, I would like to thank everyone for the thoughts, sentiments, and help in remembering my friend. To be sure, things are different now, just as with every loss. But he lives on in memories and reminders. So a sincere thanks in sharing my tribute.

I hope Thanksgiving gave everyone a chance to be with family and share special times and good food. Mendy and I enjoyed family times and lots of fantastic food. Thankfully, it wasn't too much of the latter! For the first year in many, I think we actually stayed ahead of the calories this year. Hopefully we can do the same for Christmas.

On the exercise front, I've been focusing on running, for obvious reasons. Wednesday I rode back to work after lunch in preparation of an after work ride. The weather cooperated nicely (68-70 deg temps, but with 9-12 mph winds), and I got in about 26 miles on an out-and-back, with the return a negative split. I wasn't pushing it, but it was nice to finish strong. Turkey day began with a great 7.38 mile run (per my Garmin) with my friend Chris (G-Man), complete with intermittent drizzle and pleasant temps. Somehow, Chris found a route with more uphill grades than downhills, but we survived. Well, I survived, but I'm sure Chris went out and did a good run or ride afterwards. Thanks Chris!

After the turkey feast, I was feeling very guilty, and went outside to punish myself with 50 "8-count body builders" (a Navy Diver exercise) to burn off some calories. Grace went to grandma's, and Mendy and I got home just in time for a fantastic short ride before dark. It was only 13.5 miles, but we had a great time and capped off the day with some movies, Port, and cheese. Gotta have some dinner, right?

This morning I was thinking of doing a tiny little run to attack some residual calories, since Mendy was going out for a 6-miler. I went a different route, and wound up doing 7.07 miles, running with her for the last 2 miles and finishing at our local coffee joint for some bagels and caffeine, our first calories of the day. I was happy to complete almost 14.5 miles in two days of (evil) running, doing the second half on an empty stomach but with almost the same pace.

Today was the dreaded shopping. I think most of it is done, so I guess it was worth it. I did get a couple of things for myself, and we rounded out the activities with a great dinner at Macaroni Grill and then picking up Grace from grandma's.

And the best part? The weekend is only just beginning! Maybe a swim and some weights tomorrow. Or a bike ride. Or some combination, thereof. Hope you all enjoy the weekend, and finish up the bird leftovers.

EAT!

2007-11-22T10:33:00.000-05:00

Saturday wasn't so great, after all

2007-11-19T22:26:00.000-05:00

I got a call a few hours ago that was one I never expected. Instantly I recognized the voice: the father of my best friend growing up, since we were about 4 or 5 years old. We were absolutely inseparable as kids, beat the hell out of each other, gave each other stitches, grew up, and made plans together. His name: Alan Garrision. We were born 4 days apart.

Saturday, his parents came home to find him no more of this world. (It's just too hard to type the other word) The news hit me like a ton of bricks; I have lost touch with basicly everyone from my childhood, and have only ran into one person from High School a couple of years ago. I always figured that "one day" I would give Alan a call and somehow make plans to meet up with him, and for us to become close friends again. We weren't identical, but we understood each other, and always had something to talk about, always able to have fun.

The last time I saw him, we went to a White Zombie concert together. We both had a blast, and I wished at the time (and now more than ever) we could have hung out more. But he had to work, and I didn't, so our schedules didn't mesh. The last time we talked was in about 1999; I was trying to grasp at something in my life with roots. My mom had just died a few months before and I was pretty hollow. We didn't get a chance to talk that night, and I probably moved shortly afterwards, changing phone numbers.

I thought about him the other day, and thought, "I should really call Alan up, and see if he wants to talk." Every birthday I thought about him, since his was so close to mine. Every time I see the cover of the original Candlebox album, I think of him, since the singer looks a lot like him in that photo. Rollerskating reminds me of him, since we used to go all the time as kids. And seeing children riding bicycles takes me back to when we were little and rode around the neighborhood all day.

I will continue to do all of those.

The doctors still aren't sure what caused it. I will remain in contact with his parents to find out, and also to just stay in touch. Very few childhood memories are completely without reference to Alan and his parents. I'm going to miss him. He was a good man, and would give you the shirt off his back. He once got a speeding ticket trying to get me to a remote military base in time so I could schedule a shipment of my stuff so my mom could sell our family house. And, through thick and thin, he loved his parents.

God speed, Alan. Love you, bro.

You're supposed to prepare for a race?

2007-11-17T23:52:00.000-05:00

I have nobody to blame but myself. And, certainly, I can't really have high expectations when I do the exact opposite of proper race preparation. I stayed up until 1 AM (-ish), enjoying a few glasses of wine and a couple of cigars. Needless to say, I wasn't feeling on top of my game when I got up this morning.

Okay, the race sucked, and I didn't reach my goal. Something much better resulted from the day, however, since we got to hang out all morning with Neese and her co-worker Wayne, as well as spending some time chatting with the G-Man. I tell you, folks, Neese is one of the sweetest and best natured people you are likely to meet. Grace normally takes a while to warm up to new people, but not her; instantly she grew comfortable and even sat with Neese during the door prizes and awards presentos. Thanks Neese for encouraging me to run today, giving us the chance to finally meet. Mendy and I had a really great time!

After that, we went and had a (quite sinful) lunch at Sticky Fingers. Cheddar fries for an app (about 3K calories each), followed by a beef brisket sandwich for me. We both felt hugely guilty afterwards, and went for a walk around lovely downtown Greenville. A nap was attacking me, so we went up to CT for a jolt of caffeine: "dirty hippie" for me and skinny mocha for Mendy. Ben rocks! I also got some (fairly stern) advice about doing the full marathon in Arizona. I think, as much as it pains me to say this, I really won't consider doing it. Just the half for me. Good thing, because running is the devil!

Then some shopping ensued, and we picked up some running and fitness gear. We ran into Holly and her mom, and chatted for a bit. Hopefully she will hang out with is some while Roby is out of town. Interesting shopping note: Brooks has these neat dayglo yellow running hats with reflective panels and a blinky light on the rear. Pretty sweet! We got matching ones. Time was running out, and Grace wanted fries for dinner. Yep, fries. Since we were in the Shops of Gridlock (as Neese calls it), we opted to go to Red Robin. Due to the guilt from lunch, we opted for healthy meals (salad for me, wrap for Mendy) while Grace tore up a corn dog. Funny thing: didn't eat ONE french fry.

Finally we made it home to watch Clemson play well until they were allowed the opportunity to throw away the game in the 4th quarter like a bunch of ding-dongs. Same as it ever was.

Hope you all are having a great weekend!

And now, a brief intermission...

2007-11-16T21:12:00.000-05:00

I guess I couldn't go too long without testing myself against others. After INTENSE prodding by Neese (okay, she mentioned and suggested it, once each), I signed up for this race tomorrow morning. Am I "ready"? Um, no. The last 5K road race was in Jan, and it was about 20:45 (official time), so I have a decent goal to beat...not at my prime. My legs are still a bit sore after Wednesday's workout, and I haven't been doing any speed work at all. But, I will give it all I have and hope to get a PR out of it. RR to follow...

In other news: The lifting is less inspired than before, so I really need to buck up the aerobic base-building and running. Especially if I plan to upgrade to the full 26.2 in January (Lori, did you know it's only $35?). I have been longing for the high intensity training even more in the past couple of weeks. I know the resistance training is important, and everything I do now affects my performance next season, so I have to box in my focus and realize the near-term goals. In the end, I suppose it's a very good thing that I hunger for the next phase, instead of dreading it. That way I will be able to periodize much more effectively and easily.

While I'm running my 3.1 miles tomorrow, UltraBob and Scott will be killing it on the JFK Ultra 50 miler. Go get 'em, guys! And to those of us running the Turkey Trot (like Neese and I think Chris and wife Janis), have a blast and do your best! To all others, have a great weekend!

Hey Marcy!

2007-11-15T11:26:00.001-05:00

Announcing:

2007-11-13T22:08:00.000-05:00

"Dear David ______
Your Receipt is attached for your reference. Thank you for registering for an Elite Racing event."

Registration: David ______

P.F. Chang's Rock 'n' Roll Arizona - Half Marathon
Starts: Sunday, Jan 13, 2008

Yeah, Lisa got to us, too.

We found our family outlet

2007-11-12T00:40:00.000-05:00

On our way to breakfast.

Grace is super excited!

I'm not sure which of her parents she gets her nutty enthusiasm from.

This is our favorite little breakfast diner. Tough to beat a good old fashioned joint like this.

The waiting is always fun. The games we come up with can be so creative.

But, thanfully, we didn't have to wait too long. Grace LOVES her Mickey pancake, the restaraunt's signature "dish" for kids. DIG IN!!
Here Grace is eating butter. With her finger. Can you see the look of nausea on my face?
Ah, nothing like a full belly!
Time to hit the road. The weather is beautiful to enjoy a fall day. But what best way to enjoy a day like this?
Ah, the outlet mall. Fun for the whole family! (just not all at the same time)

I think Grace is wondering what's about to happen

And for the Marcy and Lisa, here's a shot of the changing room in the Polo store

Thank goodness that's over!
Grace fought a good fight, but eventually was overcome

And here's the haul for the day

Thanks for coming along with us on a family Saturday! Hope you all had great weekends, and spent less money.

A theory for practice

2007-11-10T00:44:00.000-05:00

I enjoyed a fantastic Thai lunch today with G-Man and Eric, and naturally the conversation centered on training, racing, and all things fitness. The food was, as always, fantastic. Only rivaled by the company! At some point I proposed a concept to these fine gents that seemed to pique some interest in both, and I would like to share that.

Tuesday was a weight training day for me. I decided to do a back workout, mainly out of progression through muscle groups. Two days later, Thursday, was a swim; my first in a couple of weeks. The plan was to simply swim for 30 minutes, maintain a constant pace and 65%-70% effort, and concentrate on my efficiency and style. What I realized, vividly, was the musculature impact the swimming and weight training had. I was acutely aware of what muscles in my back and triceps I was using, and something occurred to me for training.

During the off-season, or maybe a phase of training where one may want to get back to basics, I think it's highly beneficial to perform weight training on the general muscle groups that you intend to train in performance activities 1-2 days later. Not an intense weight session that will leave you immobile in those areas for days, but one that stresses you and leaves a bit of soreness and fatigue. For example: multiple back exercises (seated row, lat pull down, upright row, etc) prior to swimming, full leg exercises (leg press, leg curl, extensions, and dead lift) prior to running or cycling, etc. If the weight training is balanced, you should experience the precise areas that the performance activity (running, cycling, swimming, tennis, etc) is stressing, and subsequently where your weaknesses may exist. This is mostly a concept for me, personally, and I haven't yet researched if it's practiced by others. I just wanted to pass it along to others that may not practice it and are searching for their weaknesses.

In other news and events: I wish Wes and J-Mom well in their events this weekend. Go tear it up, y'all! And to the veterans, I hope you remember your good friends and good experience this Veteran's Day. We understand each other, and I appreciate each and every one of you warriors!

Restraint

2007-11-07T23:02:00.000-05:00

I'm settling into a bit of a routine, though it will likely evolve a bit over the next few weeks to the extent I'm able to perform some activities during the week, and what has to wait until the weekend. I'm really enjoying the weight training (focusing not on mass or muscle endurance, but somewhere in between) and am finally back to some of the fun - cycling, running, swimming. The weight training will certainly evolved into more of a muscle endurance mode, mostly by maintaining the weight and just increasing the reps as I'm able to support it. If you are curious, the weight routines are on my training log, linked on the right sidebar.

Now to the aerobic base activity. Hmmm... I want to maintain minimal bike and swim for now, and focus on running. The problem I'm having is holding the reigns tight and not pushing myself. I did a nice 2+ hour ride on Monday (vacation day) and tried hard - REALLY HARD - to hold back, but some times I just had to push it. I rode the long way to Cleveland Park, which was nice, but in the park some dude decided he was too good to return a friendly "hello," yet wanted to suck my wheel. So I hammered it to drop (or at least punish) him a bit. That didn't help! But, it was largely a base-level ride and left me happy.

Today at lunch I went for a run on my 4.28 mile loop. My goal was to stay in the 150-155 HR zone, but I kept creeping up as I pushed it in a couple of spots. I ran-by-Garmin, but for my HR and not pace or time. I wound up spending the vast majority of the time in zones 3 & 4, and had a surprisingly decent pace for a restrained run: 7:44/miles (a hair over 33 minutes). Just about where I wanted to be. On average, at least. I did notice that I was controlling my HR through my breathing more than I suspected, and further believe that I have not been purposely breathing deeply enough over the last year to support much better pace. Must work on that.

But, apart from the HR pacing, I concentrated on posture and form: shoulders back, chin slightly up, hands relaxed with forearms parallel to the ground and at waist level, minimal upper body motion (bouncing, rotating, and swinging), and near flat foot strike with controlled stride length. A major revelation to me over the past season was to shorten my stride. Once I developed that, I never had shin splints. At all! And this has always plagued me, probably because I believed long legs should stride out more. Ben (from Carolina Tri) informed me during the Cleveland St YMCA Clemson Tri Clinic that I was, indeed, over striding, and this isn't necessarily better. Thanks (again) Ben!

Tomorrow I may swim, if I don't ride to work. Or I could go after work, when Mendy goes to the receiving of friends for her uncle's mom. (BTW, please keep them in your thoughts and prayers) Friday is Thai food with Chris and our tri buddy Eric. Speaking of Chris, check out his troubling race report from IM FL. Sad state of sportsmanship today. Makes you wonder what some people consider right and wrong. But hats off to Chris for taking a stand. Hats also off to Robin for a great job and leaving nothing back on her A race, the Mountain Masochist 54 Mile Trail Run. May not have turned out as planned, but it's a hell of a lot better than I could dream of doing! Way to go, guys!

Bored...but with highlights

2007-11-04T00:59:00.000-04:00

I guess my recent blogging habits have reflected my exercise mood: I'm in a weird, unstable, and unfulfilling state of post-season training. I do have to keep reminding myself, daily, that I'm post-season, as opposed to pre-season. But I haven't done anything fulfilling in weeks, and I find my motivation for weight training is waning. Next week I'll get out and start doing some base hours (time being more important than distance) in the three disciplines, though.

On the weight training side, I've been focusing on balancing my muscle mass and strength/capability. I do this by performing single side exercises, or non-conjoined exercises (dumbbells as opposed to bar). Single-leg press is evil. Single leg ham curls are more evil, but I'm gonna have a sweet butt from it! I digress; the main importance for doing the single side/individual effort exercises, other than symetry, is to develop stabilization muscles and connective tissues, something that can be grossly neglected in repetitive motion exercise like cycling (especially with clipless pedals) or running in a known route with little need for adaptation. Trail running would not qualify, since you are constantly changing and adjusting stride with terrain.

Anyway, through the grey of the recent training, I've thoroughly enjoyed last weekend (some AWESOME wines enjoyed with great dinner at Northampton) and Halloween with Grace. Oh, excuse me: a purple Care Bear that we walked around my co-worker/friend Shane's neighborhood. This is the first year she "got" it, and knew she was getting candy. Motivation wasn't so difficult, unlike last year. The weather was much nicer, dipping into the mid 50's I think.

Today Grace and I went and had coffee (chocolate milk for her) and bagels at our local coffee shop. That was really nice, and the owner (Dana) is again going to join us at church tomorrow. She said she really had fun last week, and looks forward to it again. Oh, and by "us" I mean Grace and I; Mendy is playing Navy this weekend. Early mornings for her, and some interesting dynamics within the leadership structure. After that, we went downtown to Carolina Triathlon to see if they had any running shoes on sale in Mendy's size, but no luck. So I had a "dirty hippie" (coffee with a shot or two, thanks Ben!) and talked fitness stuff. Then, Grace and I went and rode race cars (go-karts) at Frankie's Fun Park. She had an absolute blast, and Mendy actually drove Grace on the third time on the track. Mendy's got the pics, but they clearly show both had tons of fun! Grace loves it, and was so amped to ride them, she was urging me to drive faster and faster on the way to Frankie's. Funny stuff!

Robin had her race today, but by the time things settled, we realized it was too late to call at 9:30. She ran for probably close to 12 hours, so I'm sure she was sleeping like a baby on NyQuil by then. I'm sure the race report will be interesting, entertaining, and quite eye-opening for those of us with enough sense (j/k) not to do ultra-marathons. Not sure if anyone else raced, but I hope it went well.

New postion

2007-10-31T10:19:00.000-04:00

I think I might try for a lateral move within the company. I like this particular job profile:

I surrender!

2007-10-30T23:46:00.000-04:00

Okay, I get it! It's autumn!! Geez, do we have to usher in the frigid temps already?

So, it's clearly fall here in the upstate these days. I've been hitting the weights of late, but looking semi-longingly to the sunny (albeit frosty at 55-60 deg temp) afternoons, thinking about days of lunchtime brick workouts, hard runs, and generaly sweaty exercise of a few weeks ago. The problem is, I am currently quite satiated with these thoughts, with no real desire or motivation to train with the remote intensity of the summer. Visions of Breyers ice cream and dark imported ale dance in my head, displacing the running pace and average MPH goals of yore.

And I've gained about 8 lbs since the season ended...about 3 weeks ago! What? Yeah, becoming a blimpy lardy butt on you guys. Well, not too bad, since I am lifting. I did shoulders today, and man I looked good! LMAO Okay, I could tell I've been active, and I'm still sub-200 lbs, but I gotta get some cardio going soon.

Oh, and the anniversary weekend was great; thanks for all the well wishes! Days like those make me think Mendy will put up with me for a few more years. Unfortunately, the days after resemble the day after Christmas (Boxing Day for the frozen crazy canucks), where you wonder what all the hype was about, and can't wait until next year.

Okay, I kid a bit. In truth, the anniversary days (both Friday and Saturday saw celebration) gave me a chance to show Mendy how much I love her. I probably didn't do a good enough job, but I'll keep trying. Hopefully she'll provide me a few more anniversaries to show a better effort.

Sorry I've stayed behind on the comments and blogging. Man, work has been rough lately!

Hello, old friend.

2007-10-24T22:28:00.000-04:00

It wasn't that long ago that weight training was my friend, but it feels like it has been decades. Monday I initiated the heavy weight training portion of my post season. I knew I was battling muscles adapted to endurance sports, so I didn't plan a long workout. I did single leg press, single leg curls, and seated single calf extensions. My legs today, two days later, are completely destroyed still.

My freakin legs are killing me! Actually, I said this yesterday, and Grace said, "My freakin legs are killing me, too!" Whoops!! Ah, kids...gotta love those little parrots.

Today I did chest, and tomorrow I'll focus on another single muscle group. I'm planning on doing low rep/high weight for a couple of weeks, and then put some structure in it (descending weight/increasing rep or vice versa, etc), and then move into endurance lifting as I transition to base aerobic training.

I have yet to chart next year's races (A, B, and C), but I'm beginning to think that I will incorporate 2 or more "mini-seasons", much like what my friend Chris did for 2007, having distinct late spring and fall seasons in his training and racing efforts. Similar to normal peaking, but perhaps a bit more dramatic and pronounced to benefit from very specialized training. This will be a vast departure from this year's "plan." As Mendy mentioned, we had lunch with Chris, Jason, and a Navy Reserve friend Erik yesterday, and most of the conversation was dedicated to training and racing. Sorry, Erik! Anyway, next year came up a couple of times, and I hope Chris and I can do some winter training together soon.

Speaking of Chris, he competed in the ITU World Duathlon (run, bike, run) Championships on the 21st, and did extremely well! 2nd place in his age group and 6th overall (non-pro athlete). Holy cow!!! Way to go, amigo!

Since I'm going back in time, I'll show you a pic of my little cyclist-in-training. She had such a blast at the park, in spite of the hooligans (child AND adult) that were there. And she did so much better on the bike, pedalling (forward) about 60% of the time - a huge improvement! Here, she's taking a break (the 28th in 50 feet, I think) to drink some water from her pink water bottle.

To Paul and others out in San Diego, I hope you folks stay safe and don't take any chances. I would hate to hear of property loss, but that sure beats injury or death. Take care!

2007 Hickory Knob sprint triathlon race report.

2007-10-18T20:52:00.000-04:00

For the first time, I was VERY happy with my swim. I paced well, drafted effectively, navigated perfectly, and really hit my stride in the water. I didn't know how well I had done, exactly, but the number of bikes still in transition gave me a clue. This picture doesn't show it well, but the run up from the lake is something of legends. The ramp from the dock to the sidewalk was probably 50-55 deg (angle). The event director, Jeremy Davis, is a sick puppy! 7th in AG and 28th overall (out of 145).

Heading out of transition, I wasn't winded and felt great. I was, however, concerned about the brutal hills on the bike course that I had observed on the drive in that morning. A couple of crazy corners, too, which I'm still a bit nervous through since the wreck.

The bike went fairly well, but it's just been too long since I have focused on hills, so I was just hemorrhaging time on the inclines. I was holding great pace on the flats, false flats, and down hills. I'm sure I surprised more than one person that crept by me on a hill, that I in turn blasted past on a flat. In the end, though, I had lost time to the guys I wanted to be with into T2. I was 7th in my AG, and 22nd overall.

The run went well, and once I found my stride I really started to make up some ground. I pushed hard, and wound up with the 3rd best run split for my age group, and 19th overall. Not too shabby!

It was a good race, but if I do it next year I intend to be trained up on the hills, and do the Olympic distance instead of the Sprint.

Welcome to off-season 2007

2007-10-16T15:38:00.000-04:00

I was so happy to cross the finish line Saturday. Not because I has set the world on fire with some blistering pace, or had broken through some fantastic distance barrier. I just wanted the competetive season to be over. Burn out.

All in all, it was a good race. I felt strong in the water, held a decent pace on the bike (especially considering some of the monster hills on the course), and had a good run. No podium finish, but 5/17 in my competitive age group, and 18/145 overall. During the bike leg, toward the end, I realized I still had to run and was filled with dread. I had noticed the burn out building over the last few weeks, but it really peaked at that moment. Much like Paul noted recently, I've been having trouble gathering enough motivation to train like I need to be. I just wanted the season to be over.

I know I'm not alone when it comes to these end-of-season sentiments and attitude. While some people can keep charging on at a constant pace, year in and year out, I think it's a function of truly maximizing your training and ability, along with cycles of peaking, that drive an athlete to desire - almost require - a break in the intensity. Surely many elite athletes also attribute an off season to injury prevention, be it soft and connective tissues due to altering the training focus, or joints and bones due to recovering focus and intensity and reducing complacency at the limits of performance.

So, I have done nothing since Saturday's race until today. I will probably ease into some training this week, but it will be low-key. My plan at this point is to:

Rest tired muscles, connective tissue, and brain cells
Get/keep moving with some aerobic benefit
Hit the gym hard to build up some muscle mass in key areas, for about a month
Begin base mileage and aerobic capacity building
Chart my reentry to next season's training cycle

For the last step, I will need to decide on next year's race schedule. For sure, I will be more selective than this year. I also intend to include a greater variety of events, such as more running events and a couple of purely cycling events. I think that there's a different dynamic to competing in the single event races that will help me achieve and keep an edge in multi sport. I hope to break through some barriers that I'm sure exist, wherein I'm holding some of "it" back for the next leg of the race.

There are also some exciting things brewing for next year that I will share with you guys as soon as I'm able to. For sure, it's going to be an awesome season and I will realize a hope/dream that I had toward fall of last year, around the time that cycling was forever infused with my life and running was becoming a personal challenge.

But before all of that, it's going to be a great fall and winter with my family and friends, tons of good food, and reflection on my first of many years training hard and competing in triathlons. The good people I've met and relationships I've formed this season have opened my eyes, and the community that came together to help and support me when I tested physics was incredible, as were all the well wishes, thoughts, and prayers from you awesome folks. Thanks for listening to me, laughing with me, helping me, educating me, and entertaining me. Don't go getting slack on any of it, though! ;-)

Okay, enough of the sappy stuff.

Zoom-zoom, putt-putt, vroom-vroom

2007-10-10T19:02:00.000-04:00

It certainly was a full weekend! And yes, I realize it's hump day; I've been really busy, so BACK OFF!! As you know, Mendy has launched herself into the car buying frenzy, so naturally Grace and I go along for the ride. Saturday, after the eventful group ride with CT, we decided to go car shopping. I knew the day was going to be long, so I resigned myself to occupying Grace while Mendy went nuts on test drives. First was Subaru, which had some great cars and SUVs, but the package combinations missed the mark in the feature-to-cost ratio, or simply didn't have what we wanted in package combinations. We both liked them, though, so that would be sort of a bench mark in a way.

Next was Suzuki, to check out the XL7 and Gran Vitara, mostly for an option in case the Roadster didn't sell and Mendy had to carry two payments. They were nice, but not particularly inspiring. The XL7 had a lot of features, but the loaded out version pushed into a new category at the price-point. And, again, they just didn't trip our triggers.

Then came Mazda, and the CX-7. By now I was getting a bit frazzled by Grace, and my patience was wearing thin. I caught a couple of the features, and let Mendy go test drive. She really liked it, and I briefly test drove after her. It had a nice ride, and leather seats, but something just seemed weird to me. Perhaps it's the whole new "crossover vehicle" thing. It's like a minivan with a chopped roof, no sliding doors, and maybe all wheel drive. There's almost no off-road pretenses, like I would expect from an SUV. Still, it was a peppy car and handled well. So far, this was in the lead.

We left and went to Nissan, just to see the other side of the spectrum. I've always appreciated the XTerra for it's true-to-advertising purposeful design and build. This is a truck you can take off road and drive hard, while having room and features. Not quite a smooth or well appointed as a crossover, but way more capable in other areas. Mendy liked it, with it's plentiful power and good seating position. The sales guys told us about a CPO Pathfinder at the same price, so we briefly checked it out. By now my nerves were frazzled by Grace, and I was happy to leave, and even happier Honda was closed.

Sunday we went to Frankie's Fun Park to have some fun! Grace played putt-putt, which was an interesting treat in sportsmanship and athletic prowess. She plays with some sort of combination of croquett and shuffleboard, and liked to pick our balls up and move them when she darn well feels like. It was fun, though, and afterwards we walked over to the go kart track. Mua ha ha ha ha ha! She said she wanted to ride them, and fortunately she was above the minimum height restriction. I strapped her in next to me in the two-seater, and she had a BLAST! As we came around on the 2nd lap, I asked if she was having fun, and she yelled "YEAH!" at the top of her lungs. At the end of the ride she wanted to go back around, but it was getting dark. We promised we would come back, and I will make good on that promise. What a great time.

So, Monday we test drove the CX-7 again and checked out the Pathfinder. Monday night we took the Pathfinder home, and Tuesday took it to test drive a 4Runner. That was a really nice truck, too, but felt a bit odd to me. The features in it were great, though.

Tonight, a new vehicle should be parked outside our house (which we have to go pick up in a minute) for good. I'm not going to spoil Mendy's thunder, but I'm glad the Great SUV Search of 2007 is over. And I'm glad we've had such fun the last few days.

I did some running, cycling, and swimming, too. Most of it was really great, but some was troubled (notably, the Saturday group ride). If you want to see the numbers, check out my training log linked at the right. Sorry for the novel!

Oh, and one last note, Mendy and I were feverishly looking for Chicago Marathon info Sunday evening, and any clues of our friends running. Man, what a disaster that was! I'm glad everyone we know was okay, and hopefully you'll find another, better, race to do soon!

*cough*myrtle beach half*cough*

*cough*Jess and Tiff*cough*

:-)

Witness the pumpitude! Jah!

2007-10-04T20:51:00.000-04:00

It actually felt really great to get back into the gym this afternoon. The weather was crap outside, I was actually looking for a rest from running or cycling, and I hadn't done weights in a long time. Of course, I was reminded why I have stayed away from them almost all season: I inflate like a balloon when I'm lifting consistently. I did make a very conscious effort to reduce weight and crank up the reps, but I honestly could have gone lighter and longer. Benefit of that? Less bulk, and more of an endurance type (slow twitch) work out for getting a hard body. Hard like woodpecker lips. Yeah! (I can almost hear Marcy laughing now). Anyway, the stats:

Exercise--------------------------Sets--------------Reps-------------Wt. (lb)
Lateral pull-downs--------------3------------------20----------------100
Seated row-----------------------3------------------15-----------------100
Straigh arm pressdown-------3------------------20-----------------70
Rope pulldown------------------3------------------15------------------80
Side DB raise-------------------3-------------------15-----------------15
(Done in circuits, one set of each)

The weather had us staying in tonight, and watching the new My Name is Earl and The Office. Man, what great shows! Tomorrow is back in the pool and maybe a nice run after work. Or should I say "nice"? I still think running is the devil.

My best wishes to those racing this weekend (Robin, Jess, Tiff, and the others) and those of you putting out max efforts in the name of fitness. Rock on, my peeps!

Swimming is like golf

2007-10-03T15:46:00.000-04:00

In more ways than one! Both frustrate the crap out of me, take far too much practice time to improve at, and reward finesse (not the shampoo) with results. I'm really beginning to realize how clumsily I was swimming before. My friend and fellow triathlete Pam has been giving me lots of pointers with swimming technique, and even took me under her wing a couple of weeks ago for a lunch time swim drills session. It's become quite clear to me that I try to attack the pool as I would if I were riding or running, and wind up fighting the water using my upper body while my legs drift along.

Anyway, through drills with names like butt-tap, tarzan, catch up, 1 arm, and finger drag, I'm starting to get some style...and improvement. Today I hit the pool for drills, focusing on the glide and kick aspect. Drill days always wear me out, but they are almost immediately apparent in their worth. Friday, after riding to the gym as a warm up to start my mini-tri, I swam 500yds in 8:23 @ 1:41/100yds. Today, after 700yds of drills and reinforcement laps, I swam 500yds in 8:13 @ 1:38/100yds. 10 seconds faster, and I was less fatigued! And after the drills!!

The changes I'm making are just relaxing my upper body and using a smooth stroke while concentrating on a steady, rapid kick. Concentrating on my stroke has had me forgetting to kick and dragging my legs through the water, further slowing me, and making me work harder still with my arms. I'm stretching out fully, gently placing my hands in the water, and while turning my trunk I use the rotation to power the previous stroke arm. After getting this process in motion, I can forget about it and focus on head position and kick, gliding and streamlined.

I guess the difference is that if you wear spandex or a blue speedo to golf in, the old men will look at you funny. Oh, and you can't drink beer while swimming. Seriously, I've tried!

Tonight is our weekly pilgrimage to some delicious south o' the border treats. The week is going by slowly for me (as opposed to screaming by for Tiff and Jess, I'm sure), but this marks the downward slope. I just hope Grace is in a good mood. Mendy's always in a good mood, so I don't sweat that...

:-)

I guess plans can be good

2007-10-01T19:16:00.000-04:00

What an awesome weekend! Friday really set my mood in motion, and I kept positive Saturday and Sunday, even becoming more hopeful of my performance in the upcoming Hickory Knob Sprint tri in a couple of weeks. I already picked out two really fast dudes, so right now the best I can realistically hope for is 3rd in my age group. Not downing myself, just reality; I haven't been doing this long, and my swim doesn't do me any favors. But, I think I can do well, and intend to be in the top 5. Or should I say "plan"?

At the end of my last entry, I mentioned planning on doing the group ride with Carolina Triathlon on Saturday morning. I also alluded to not planning on setting any land speed records, meaning I was going to try to have an easy-ish ride, hopefully hanging off the back of the B group. Half of that wasn't meant to be. I did join the group ride, but they decided (without consulting ME!!) to join the A (lightning fast) and B (pretty fast, but comfortable for me) groups, essentially creating a B+ group. The alternative was the *ahem* more conservatively paced C group, but that would have just made me irritated. {sigh} So, B+ group it was. We wound up going at a pretty fast pace in a lot of sections, but I held on okay. I pulled some, but tried to not push too much. One of the shop guys leading it, Sideshow (real name Tim, but nicknamed for his hair), had to peel off and get back to the shop, so we took a shortcut. Truth be told, everyone was supposed to take it, but the lead group didn't hear that, so they zigged when we zagged. Anyway, we wound our way back, and I wound up pulling the 3 of us up a ~2 mile stretch that's mostly a shallow uphill. At the light near the shop, I made a futile attempt to sprint finish, but Sideshow walked away from me. Still, it was a great ride:

42.76 miles in 2:14:50 @ 19.03 mph avg

I went straight to the coffee shop (Lava Java) to meet my ladiez, already gettin their grub on. I sat there in my spandex, looking goooooood, and chatting with our friend - the shop owner. Grace ate a whole bagel & cream cheese to herself! Then we went home, did some chores, and I talked Mendy into going to Northampton Wines for some relaxation and grub. Sooooo delicious!

Sunday started before I had planned, since I stayed up to watch Bug (not bad, but don't let the kiddies watch - boobies and wiener), but I did enjoy the trade off: we enjoyed a family breakfast out at our favorite diner. Then we were off to church to see Chris Sligh (of American Idol fame) play for the last time at our church. He left today for Nashville, where he is beginning his music career: Christian music, not country music. I had forgotten how great he harmonized with the lady that sings, and how well it all sounded with the band. Man, we are going to miss his contribution, but wish him well!

After church, we came home again, and were off to the park downtown, cameras in hand. Grace had a BLAST playing on the slides and all the other playground toys. Then we had ice cream from the little truck (Grace ate a Dora head ice cream - kinda disturbing), and got thoroughly messy. What fun! Time to get in the water, right? We drove up to main street and parked, then wandered down to a new kids play area with a waterfall and fountain that shoots jets up at random patterns. The water was freezing, and the air wasn't hot (78 deg and in the shade), but Grace wanted to play. I decided she should change into her swim suit (yeah, a bikini) to play any more, since we would need warm clothes to change her in to. She flashed everyone before we could react, and then got her changed surfer style, behind a towel. After about 20-30 minutes, she was getting pretty cold, so I was somehow able to talk Mendy into going to the Mellow Mushroom for some grub. Perfect ending to the perfect day.

Okay, so it wasn't the end: we came home and sat out on the back deck enjoying the evening. Grace finally fell asleep around 9:30 and her parents were able to enjoy some nice shiraz. Awesome evening, mostly unplanned, but perfectly according to plan.

Today was back to the pool for some moderate distance and a nice run after work:
Swim: 1500yds in 25:54 @ 1:44/100yds (8:21, 8:51, 8:42 splits)
Run: 4.28 miles in 29:16 @ 6:50/mile

That is all: carry on...

Resume mental state of training

2007-09-28T20:59:00.000-04:00

Because sometimes I do think I'm mental. Seriously.
This morning I got up super early for a run: 6:20, and out the door about 7 minutes later. Okay, so maybe that's not too early for the truly insane (Robin, Marcy, Jess, I'm talking to you 4:30 weirdos!), but it's a full 40 minutes before I have to wake up, which is the equivalent of paying money to receive hemorrhoids in my opinion. Regardless, I did it (the wakeup, not the 'roids). I had to make up for yesterday, when I skipped my lunch brick to go eat Thai with Mendy. Good trade, but the crazy hot food stuck around and I just wasn't feeling it after work, so I sat around like a turd. Anyway, you morning runners are officially out of your minds! Running early in the morning is like running at night, except the people are more hungover, less awake, and in a bigger hurry. I would like to say my pace suffered due to watching - and occasionally dodging - homicidal commuters. It probably had more to do with being half asleep, empty stomach, and just a touch of erratic pace. I honestly felt like I was going faster than the numbers, though:

4.28 miles in 29:55 @ 6:59/mile

The cool thing was that all day the run seemed like a dream, as if I hadn't actually done it. Weird, and cool. I again skipped my lunch workout, this time to lunch with my mental training mentor, Chris G-Man Giordanelli. The Greek food was great, but didn't compare to the sharing of training ideas, goals, history, fitness philosophy, upcoming race schedules, and some other chit-chat to fill in between talk of running, swimming, and cycling. We talked a bit about the wreck, and Chris shared how he was pleasantly amazed I had missed flying over the edge to the creek below, and how much the whole scene is still very vivid to him. I'm still/again very thankful that he, Clay, Cynthia, and the others were there to help me. Can't imagine if I was alone.

I left again inspired to push harder, break down barriers, and never quit striving for a new dream. I already had it in my mind to do something after work, probably swimming. After checking on Mendy's plans, I decided to ride to the gym to swim. That morphed into swimming and riding. Hmmm, what's left to do after swimming and riding? Might as well do a mini tri! What is wrong with me? Anyway, the stats:

500yd swim in 18:23 @ 1:41/100yd
13.95 mile ride in 41:06 @ 20.36 mph
2.4 mile run: 17:06 @ 7:08/mile

I'm now officially tired. I'm still planning on doing the group ride tomorrow, but I don't plan on setting any land speed records. Plans, schmans!

Good times, bad times

2007-09-22T20:28:00.000-04:00

We all need reminding (none more than me, I sometimes think) that not every day can be great, and certainly not better than the last. Training just isn't always linear in an improving pace/speed value tangent. But I do believe firmly that it's important to push hard on those days that you just aren't as fast, or the miles just aren't coming along as easily.

Variables? Well, the fueling, rest, recovery from last workout, and preparation certainly play huge roles. If you have not put (the right) fuel in your body, you can't expect to do as well as you hoped, and probably shouldn't push yourself to attempt your goal. That's just reality: a car doesn't go as fast on no or low-grade gasoline. Neither do athletes. Likewise if you did nothing to come down from your last hard workout and did nothing to come up for the current workout, there is no right to expect excellent results. It may happen, but it will be the exception as opposed to the norm.

Such is the case today for me. I'm not sure the percentages of the above factors, but I know fuel was a huge portion. I drilled this morning (after sleeping less than I would have preferred) in the reserves, and afterwards decided it was far too nice a day to not ride...and run. Now, keep in mind that I plan to do a publicity ride tomorrow morning with a local Pro 1/2 race team, of which a friend of mine is a member. I hope to do the 66 mile, but may do the 35 mile ride.

Anyway, around 2pm I set off on the bike after preparing my "transition area". I was doing pretty well, but I was becoming progressively gassed on the hills. This route has several short, steep hills on the way out, and lots of long shallow hills on the way in. As I found, the return was more taxing for me without appropriate fueling prior. I did okay, but was spent for the run, and my pace was WAY off my norm, by about 1 min/mile. Anyway, the stats:

Bike: 20.92 miles in 1:00:28 @ 20.76mph (on my tri bike)
poky 1:23 trans
Run: 2.4 miles in 17.55 @ 7:28/mile

What did I learn? If I don't prepare, I'm gonna suffer, and I shouldn't give myself a hard time. Just learn from it, press on, and do a better job next time. We will have good days, we will have bad days. It just happens, and none of the people reading my blog have the luxury of tailoring each day around their athletic endeavors, like a pro athlete would. And life sure happens. Often!

Take care, all, and have a great weekend! I'm fitten' to raise up and get my movie on. :-)

Happy birthday!

2007-09-20T08:30:00.000-04:00

Matthew and Gunner Nelson, turning the big 4-0 today! And for Marcy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHaI4uZ4oeg

Speaking of music, Grace did the funniest thing the other day. While sitting on the potty, she started singing a song without any provocation at all. To the tune of "Farmer in the Del" she was singing:
My bottom's hanging out
My bottom's hanging out
Lets all clap hands
My bottom's hanging out.

Yeah, she's a nut.

In the name of health!

2007-09-19T21:12:00.000-04:00

I was contemplating breakfast this morning: Honey Nut Cheerios, with some skim milk, and about 2/3 cup fat free PLAIN yogurt on top. It made me notice (but not quite question) my dedication to eating healthy things on purpose, at the expense of any sort of flavor. Seriously, fat free PLAIN yogurt is something that I would never wish on anyone as a noticeable ingredient. It would be okay as part of a curry dish, or maybe with a lot of additions for taste, but as a prominent flavor...blech. Still, I eat this stuff, and often.

Now, I'm no monk when it comes to food. I will occasionally be seen eating pancakes, or even scrambled eggs with cheese and ham (gasp!). I enjoy some barley sodas in the evening, or a nice wine. I do eat fairly tasty food for dinner often. Truth be told, I LOVE food. As much as or more than any person I know, and I relish rich and (pleasantly) flavorful foods. I guess I just have a weird suffer gene when it come to choosing meals that really don't matter for flavor, but matter a ton for correct carbs, light texture and food weight, low fat content, and overall health. Does that make me weird? Perhaps just dedicated? I do enjoy great food intensely when I get that kind of treat, perhaps more so due to the "suffering". I don't mind so much.

Anyway, yesterday I did take Robin's advice and layed off the calves after work, having only done a swim at lunch. I did hit the roller a little, and just relaxed. Anyway, stats are:

1500yds in 26:34 @ 1:46/100yds

Not bad, but not what it was. And my endurance was off, as my pace suffered in each successive 500yd split. And it was difficult. I felt beat afterwards.

Today was a new day, and I decided on a brick at lunch. The wind was about 14-16 mph, but I decided to do it anyway. Do race directors stop the wind? Uh, no. So, here was the result:

Bike: 14.23 miles in 40:30 @ 21.08mph avg
Trans: leisurely 1:36
Run: 2.4 miles in 16:56 @ 7:04/mile

My pace was off, probably due to the wind, which likely affected my run also. It was weird, though, since I felt like I was hammering on the bike and hitting higher speeds at the key points on the route that I normally monitor. Hmmm. Oh well, I guess it makes me stronger for next time. I can look forward (with tongue firmly in cheek) to swim drills tomorrow. *sigh*

You call that recovery?

2007-09-17T23:01:00.001-04:00

So, at some point in the run on Saturday my calves decided to seize up, probably at different times. Today my left calf (the one I didn't notice) has been aching, and I've been trying to rub it. I attempted to roll it, but OUCH!!!! At lunch the plan was to swim. *harumph*

Run: 4.28 miles in 29:35 @ 6:55/mile

Yeah, uh, I forgot my swim stuff. Didn't realize it until I had parked at the gym, either. So, I went home (not enough time to go back to work and get swim bag, and return to gym) so I could get a run in. Remember, I already knew my calf hurt. But the run wasn't so bad, and my time improved about :35 over the last time I ran this. I felt better, and the breathing is way improved! I'll cover the Cordyceps thing when I have a bit more data to display.

Anyway, I go back to work and the calf tightens up a bit. I rub it, stretch it, and try to move around a bit. The end of the day rolls around, and I go get Grace, then shoot home. I ask Mendy if she wants to go for a family walk, and she just isn't up to it. (Doc diagnosed ear and sinus infections...ouch!) So, what better to do for recovery and with a tight/sore calf? Yep, go for a bike ride.

20.83 miles in 1:03:10 @ 19.70mph avg

I honestly was restraining myself. More than I wanted to. But that drive inside me kept sneaking up and grabbing my legs, pumping them harder. At the turn around, somewhere around 31:20, I decided I was going to shoot for a negative split on the return. I didn't quite make it, but had fun trying. And again, I was trying not to go too close to lactate threshold. Additionally, my rear cassette (newly switched out) was coming loose, and rattling. Not sure if that affected me to any credible degree, but it was annoying.

My friggen calf is tight now! I'll definitely swim tomorrow at lunch. After work? Well, that's any one's guess!! *Mwa ha ha ha ha ha ha* I may do either a short run, or a longer (than recent: 6-7 mile) run. Until then, it's...