Santa is the best

Wishing you all a non-denominational Merry Christmas.


I must have been a good boy this year.


2008 QR Caliente

Blood red and pearl white.
It all starts with this beautiful frame. Oh what to name her when she's all built up?
Any suggestions?

How lucky am I?
The color scheme is an early prototype so I was told it's only one of 2 that exist and it has no serial number either.
Good thing I've got all winter to make her whole, beautiful, and lust over her until the snow melts.

She always said I was crazy...

Up with the sun
Gone with the wind
She always said I was crazy...
And those are the memories
That make me a wealthy soul.

Bob Seger, Travelin' Man

These cold days of winter offer a different palate. Contrast, light, dark, shadows.
I learned to read much later than my classmates but I always loved the pictures. They seemed to tell me enough of the story.

Mama told me there'd be days like this

5 AM Saturday Morning.


Ice cakes form when the wind blows all night.



Cold and White


Black and White.

Lakeside frost.

Good morning, the rooster crows.

Just dropping a note for now

Still not much time to stop in and visit you all but I'm making some hits now and then.

I went sliding with some buddies and their kids last Sunday and had a BLAST!

I was a bit sore on Monday but it was so worth it. We had sleds and tubes and wore the kids out. After numerous pile ups and white washed faces, we called it a day and made hot chocolate for the kids. We adults added some peppermint schnapps...oh yum.


Crazy working hours but all is well.

Blog you soon.

Long hours and not enough sleep

I just took on some new work duties and have really missed all you wonderful blogger friends.

So here's the quick run down.
I'm working 12-14 hour days, 6 days a week. The actual work hours are 10-12 but the total time from leaving my house until I get home is usually 14 hours. Thank goodness I'm still in the off season.
I have to commute about 150 miles round trip and work most of the day in my truck checking on and enforcing environmental compliance on a pipeline construction project. It should only last another 4 or 5 more weeks and then I'll get back to semi-normal.

I have very little time to check on you blogger buddies so forgive my temporary neglect. The only computer time I can stand after a long day is doing my reports and clicking 'send'. Then I do a short work out, eat, and go to bed. My alarm clock goes off at 4:30 AM, I put on my purple, green, and gold "Captain Planet" body suit. Goggles, cape, and knee high motocross boots.
Now there's an image for you.
And then it's hi ho off to work I go.

The pay is good and I've been promised a bonus (in writing) when I'm done with this duty. I think that surfing trip to Costa Rica may really happen.

I think it's all worth it.

Hey, fresh snow today. Waxing up the skis and getting ready for cross training now.
Woot woot.

A little bit of sum'n sum'n

I still can't post photos so I'm gonna just move on for now and get some of this gobbledy-gook out of my head.

Thanksgiving is coming right up and I'm thankful for all of you blogger friends. You've really added a fun new element to my life and I think you're the shnizzle.

That pinched nerve in my neck is 50% better so I'm slowly getting back to establishing a base level of fitness in what is now my off season. I've been doing a couple spin classes a week, some weights, and yoga. Feeling a bit better and looking forward to starting IM Canada training in January. My mom said she might be in Penticton on race day. How cool is that? I'm also looking forward to Tri Camp in Italy in late March.
And, get this, I just had a call from a buddy who wants me to come to Costa Rica in February for a week of surfing in 80 degree water. Oh darn, I hate it when that happens.

My other mom died 2 weeks ago. Judy was the mom of one of my life-long friends and she passed away after having Pick's disease the past few years. When I got the call from Davey, I was heart broken and had to really control myself until I hung up the phone. My guts were twisted up badly and I wept for a damn long time. The memorial service was yesterday and it was one of those services filled with remembrances of the many fun times at the MCC, McCuskey Country Club. That's what we called their house on the lake. I lived there as much as I did at my own house. It was always good times there and Judy was the reason why. She was an amazing woman. More on her in later post.
I was also thankful to catch up with many of my buddies and exchange new contact information so we can once again plan some outings to the MCC and get Dave Sr. all riled up again. He is quite a polarizing figure himself.

There are a few changes coming up soon in my job situation that are giving me some angst. I may have to relocate for a short time to manage 2 of the options that are on the table. Nothing new for me. That's the nature of my biz. I'm an environmental prostitute and I'll do what I get paid for...environmental protection. Go ahead and call me slut if you must, I'll wear the title proudly.

What is it with this warm weather? Global warming I suspect. Back in the 80's, there was enough ice on our neighborhood pond by thanksgiving for hockey games and by Dec. 1st, I was packing down the xc ski trials through the woods behind my house. Right now, the pond is still liquid and there is no snow in the forecast. People are still riding bikes and motorcycles all over the place. Stop the insanity.

Last Friday was the Midwest Events Tri Night 2007 Awards Night and I got to co-host the Peoples Choice Awards and give away a bunch of free stuff. We packed the banquet hall with 300 people and had a really good time. I didn't leave until 3:30 AM the next morning and made it to a spin session at 8:00 AM. Yeah, I took a nap at noon.

Y'all be well and be all you want to be.
And call your kin just to let them know you're thinking about them...you are now aren't you?

Page Not Found

Arrrgh.
I have 3 different posts sitting as drafts .
Why are they sitting as drafts?
When I attempt to add a photo, I get Page Not Found.
Something has gone awry and I can't add photos to my post. Grrrrrrrrrr.
This has been a problem for 2 weeks now. Dag nab it.

It's just not enough without a photo.

Stay tuned.

All is well today

Thanks tons for the comments on my last post. I didn't expect anyone to acknowledge my whining.
It's so nice to know I have many "moms" out there concerned about my health an well being. Right back at you.
Our club spin was early in the morning so we set up on our trainers at the shop and followed a Coach Troy Jacobson Spinerval for 70 minutes. The outside temperature was 32 F (0 C) so we were all in agreement that it was a tad too chilly outside for a group ride. And my neck was fine with that.
No bad pains and my man card is still intact.

Oh, and congratulations to all the IMFL finishers. Great job, "YOU ARE AN IRONMAN"!

I hope you all have a fine weekend and you're able to enjoy the great outdoors.

Pain in the neck and double booked

The pain in my neck flaired up about 6 weeks ago and has just now started to feel mildly better.
A little history. About 20 years ago, I was hit by a car while on my bike and got pretty messed up. The first part of my body to contact the car was my head/helmet and as a result, I had a concussion and whiplash. Besides a few other broken, shattered, or cracked bones, the rest of my body was mostly intact.
Now. Every few years, the nerve that comes out between the C5 and C6 down to my right shoulder gets pinched and then my neck muscles, trapezoid, and deltoid have a sympathetic response and tighten/cramp up. I have a good chiropractor that takes care of this problem and usually relieves the pain after a few adjustments. But this time, it's being a bit stubborn and the pinch has continued for the past 6 weeks. I seem to be fine while laying down and sleeping is fine too but after a few hours of being upright and supporting my head in normal daily fashion, intermittent pains bother me for most of the day. I've only been on my mountain bike for a few short coasts through the neighborhood to run my dog. I went down into aero position last night at a spin class and yeeeeow! Don't go there. And this is a weird thing, if I run on a downhill, I'm almost pain free. Running on flats and up hills is a bit painful. But, I block out the pinch as much as I can and continue.
So here's the deal. My tri club is starting "off season spin sessions" tomorrow at the bike shop but if the weather is nice, we'll ride outside. No biggy if I'm spinning on the trainer cuz I think I can sit upright enough to avoid really bad pain. But aero position? I don't think so. The forecast for tomorrow is sunny and 50. I'm a bit anxious.
My mtn bike teammate, Thick, called me about a trail ride tomorrow morning. I think I'd be OK with the more upright position on the mtn bike but the jarring on the trail may be more than I can handle.
So here I sit trying to decide what to do. Road ride or trail ride. Maybe I could use my mtn bike for the road ride. I'd be more upright and likely pain free but I'm guessing I'd get dropped in the first 1/4 mile. The alternative to both of the riding options is that I go to the YMCA and spin. But that's indoors and with a forecast of sun and 50 on a crisp autumn day, the Y is very unappealing. I want to ride outside so badly but I'm not sure my neck can handle it without some pain killers or an epidural and a setback in the healing process.
Arrrrgh, I hate being a pain in the neck.

Got EPO?

Warning: I'm gonna vent here for just a moment.

I just read this on a friends newsletter...

A survey that was conducted on some top-level athletes that asked the following question:
“If you could take a drug that was undetectable and *guaranteed* you a gold medal at the next Olympics, BUT you would die within 5 years, would you take it?”
Survey says? More than HALF would take the drug!…

I'm guessing those top-level athletes were not triathletes but what the eff?!!!
That really pisses me off! I look up to top-level athletes and even more so to Olympians. It really makes me sick to my stomach that someone would be that...I don't know..."selfish." Is it selfish or something else, maybe many things, that would compel someone to knowingly do something that would kill them in 5 years...blip, blip, beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep. Gone, nadda, kapooey.
I think about what I was doing 5 years ago and I had plans in my head for what I'd be doing 5 years from then, now, and being dead was not in that plan.

I can't imagine myself being dead 5 years from now. I see myself still living...and enjoying the lifestyle I have with a few things being even better. Like even more close friends, great memories of the experiences I've had in the past 5 years, love, travel, finishing a few more ironmans, my dogs' gray muzzle, a new car, a new bike, a bazillion more blob posts... you get the idea.
I just couldn't fathom being a gold medalist and in 5 years, ceasing to exist.

I don't believe in living day to day or one day at a time. I think about tomorrow, next week, next year, next decade. I wanna be here making a positive impact/contribution to the world. I plan to share experiences and keep on sharing of myself what I'm capable of. What goes around comes around and I believe you get what you give. Sure, there are some things I'm selfish about but those things are few and they are personal things that don't, as far as I know, have a negative impact on anyone or any thing.

I plan, yes PLAN, on living a few more decades and won't knowingly do something stupid that will stop me short of my finish line...at age 100 or so.
I sure hope I'm not alone on this.
Thanks for the outlet.

It just feels so good

Not much to say so here's a couple photos to do the talking.

Oh the weather outside is beautiful.

It feels like fall and I'm just glad to be outside.

Roommate wanted

Must enjoy food, wine, swim, bike, run, food, wine. Repeat.

Go to the link below and sign up.

I signed up for an early season triathlon training camp...in Italy.
And I need a roomy.
check it out.

http://www.scsmultisport.com/SCS_ITALY_brochure.pdf

Tummy Trouble in Kona

Champions, Goddesses and Gods.

I feel like a little kid looking up at his heroes and heroines. I love the sport of triathlon so dang much I can't imagine my life without it. I get all chicken skinned watching the world championships.

Some of the following is from a press release posted at Ironman Live.
With a 2:42:02 marathon, Chris McCormack claimed his long coveted first Ironman title. I'm really glad that Macca finally got this one.
Chrissie Wellington, who had only done one Ironman (7 weeks ago in Korea) and only been involved in the sport for a little over a year claimed the world title with a 2:59:58 marathon.

Ironrookie, Samantha McGlone finished second with a 3:00:52 marathon.

Where was Desiree Ficker? She had a tough day. Desiree was sick earlier in the week and her strength was zapped on race day.

"Puke and"...'nuff said.
A stomach virus took out both defending champions Michellie Jones and Normann Stadler and champion from two years ago Faris Al-Sultan and Cameron Brown. Normann Stadler looked like he was making a break to the front, then pulled to the side of the road and promptly threw up. Within a few miles he was out of the race. A run in with a road cone took out Natascha Badmann and totaled her bike and her body early on in the second leg of the day. A leg injury sideline Luke Bell. Joanna Lawn, for the second year in a row, was sick for much of the day, too. Michellie Jones wasn’t herself either – turns out she had a perforated ear drum from being hit in an open water swim three weeks ago. Michellie Jones was yet another casualty to the throwing up problem at 70 miles. Rutger Beke got hit in the face during the swim today – he was pretty much out of commission for the rest of the day.
Dang, I was really hoping Rutger would make a good showing on the day. He's been through alot to get back to Kona the past couple years.

It's kind of difficult for me to realize that even the worlds best can have a bad race day. I thought a bad race day with tummy trouble and physical inflictions were for guys like me. Why do I feel like I should be the martyr and bare those burdens? Because they are my heroes and heroines and I want them to stay that way.
But, I keep on striving to be the person my dog thinks I am.

A hallowed event takes place tomorrow

Tomorrow is







and next August I'll be doing




What the effing heck got into me?!!!
It's not like I had a few hundred bucks burning a hole in my pocket. I didn't win any cash prizes at the church bingo game. I didn't even find any loose change under the couch cushions. And I'm still tatoo-less from IM Switzerland.
Jeees, now I gotta lay out a training schedule and all that hoohah. I think I'll wait a couple months.
Yeah, I bought my way into Ironman Canada 2008.
I filled out the community fund slot request, sent them 2 cheques; one for the entry fee and one for the community fund donation, mailed it and then waited.
2 weeks later, I got a simple email requesting I confirm the information on the request form and to complete a race entry form.
I'm IN!!!
Anyone out there ever done IM Canada?

Up NORT'

The annual Columbus Day weekend in the north woods is something I look forward to every year. It's when the weather is usually cool and the fall colors are beautiful.

Well, this year the temperatures were very warm and lots of rain added some nice dynamics to the weekend.


I took a long hike in the woods and through the bogs. I felt the spongy sensation of floating on the mat of sphagnum moss and finding new mushrooms had emerged.


Good friends paddled over for some...


beers and bourbon with branch water.


An unusual dawn to the day provided a palate of orange I had never witnessed before.
(this is not a doctored photo, it really looked like this at 7 AM)
A foggy haze in the eastern sky and grey overcast at the cabin reflected off the forest greens and fallen leaves.

DAM! What a day.

Drying out by the fire with good friends, cigars and whiskey.

Memory Booster

I just had a feeling that more good news about drinking was on the horizon...There is a GOD.

Drinking beer improves your memory

I don't know about you, but after a couple beers, I'm not exactly the sharpest tool in the box. However, recent research seems to suggest that beer is better for your brain than you might think -- as low to moderate alcohol consumption apparently enhances your memory.
The science behind why this is true isn't exactly easy to follow -- but, essentially, consuming alcohol reportedly enhances activity in one part of a receptor that's located in an area of the brain that's critical to memory. So, when researchers gave alcohol to rats (about the equivalent of one or two drinks per day for a human, depending on your size), they discovered that the rats performed better in memory testing.
Which means, says one scientist, that even though people often drink to "drown sorrows," consuming alcohol "could actually paradoxically promote traumatic memories." Bummer.
On the other hand, I guess this also means that if you're having a couple pleasant drinks every afternoon, you're going to be a little more on the ball than if you went teetotal. This is such great news, I think I'm going to go celebrate -- with a beer!


Off season is so much fun. 'Clink'um and Drink'um'

It's my Dog's life now

Now that my race season is over, it's all about my dog being the center of my universe for the next few weeks.
Why?
It's fall in the north woods and she does love the woods. So do I.

On the rocks near Sawyer Creek


Along side Sawyer Creek.


St. Croix River Trail


Sandy Rocks cliff, St. Croix River

My dog days are over and hers have just begun.

PUKE and RALLY!

Colorado Outward Bound Relay.

Team Puke and Rally started our race with...


A tour of the Coors Brewery, Golden CO.


mmmmmmmmm, Beeeeeeeer


A few beers later... " I can ride anything!"


Ready to go at 5 AM.


We found it all along the way.


Running my first leg, The BUTT BUSTER, up Guenella pass.
That little dot on the right side of the road is me.


The top of Guenella Pass.


Hoooweee, you said it. Done with my last leg,
31 miles under my belt. Gerrrrr.


29 hours, 170 miles later,
Lounging at the finish and having some beers.

Who's in for next year?

Team THINK and THIN recap

And here they are.
Rrrrrrrrrrepresenting Team THICK and THIN...

Big, Thick Tommy 29er. 200 pounds of Runaway Freight Train.

A little slow on the uphills but never touches the brakes on the downhills.

Lead, follow, or get the hell out of his way.

Gashed knee Dave. 180 pounds of Ironman and off road.

New to the off road game this year and can't understand why

"those big guys go flying by me."

It's all about inertia and gravity Dave, find it and you will fly too.

Broken Fork Bradley. 170 Pounds of Happy to Finish.

Got clipped on a fast corner and flew over the bars, broke his front fork and rode 12 miles after that to finish the race.

Hoping it's under warranty.

Old School Benson. 155 pounds of piss and vinegar...Thin.

Getting his wheel sucked by guys half his age.

"C'mon guys, take your skirts off and ride like you stole it."

Fattire 40, quick race report

Team THICK and THIN all crossed the finish line with only one bloody knee and one broken front fork.
40 miles later, the thickest man on our team of 4 finished first among us in 3:04. I came in at 3:12 and our 2 remaining crankers limped across in 3:21 with a bloody knee and 3:27 with a broken front fork. We spent the afternoon eating brats and belting down a few beers.
The day started with a temperature of 25 at sunrise and by the 10 AM start time, it was maybe 40 degrees. The sun was shining and the trail was in great shape for the 25th Anniversary of the Chequamegon FAT TIRE 40.
The mass start is slow as heck and it took me 3 minutes just to cross the start timing mat. Then it's a 3 mile roll out on pavement before entering the woods, forest roads, logging roads, ski trails and single tracks. Plenty of variety, sand, gravel and ROCKS! Oh my god were there rocks and boulders everywhere? Heck yeah. There were a few times when those soccer ball sized rim benders could not be avoided and I just hung on while my teeth got rattled. LOVED IT!

After the race, I got to schmooze with a couple Team Trek riders and...
Guess who?

Ross, Me, GARY FISHER, Sue.

All is well today but my legs are cooked.

LOVE IT!

How do I know when it's almost OFF SEASON?

I've hung up my tri bike and greased up my mountain bike and...

I have a 40 mile MTN bike/off road race this Saturday

Chequamegon 40

On Saturday of the event weekend, this 40 mile, mass start, point-to-point off-road bicycle event travels from downtown Hayward, WI, over the famed American Birkebeiner Ski Trail, forest roads, snowmobile trails and other wooded lanes to the finish line in Cable, WI.

1,700 participants will take part in this challenging fat tire marathon.

Fat Tires Friends and Fun Throughout the Weekend

Friday warm-up event, Pasta Feast, product displays, awards presentations, hundreds of miles of bike trails, fresh air, clean cold water and countless stars.
Saturday is "race day", and Sunday is "fun day"!

GET FAT soon!

and then a 170 mile running relay race the following weekend as a 5-man Ultra team.

10th Annual Colorado Relay
The Colorado Relay is a 24-hour+ 170-mile team relay race, and is Colorado's Premier Team Relay designed for athletes of all abilities. The 2007 Colorado Relay will run on September 21-22, 2007.

THEN it's off season and I head for the woods for some camping and grouse hunting.

I'm so excited I'm practically peeing my pants.

My Hero? Tarzan.

I just spent most of the day driving out to the field job site, sitting in meetings and day dreaming...alot.

My childhood hero was Tarzan. OK, Tarzan is STILL my hero.

I lived in Ethiopia for 4 years as a child and my family would often travel to Kenya. We spent many weeks on camping safaris and I think that explains alot about me, my lifestyle and my personality.


The first Tarzan I remember watching on TV was Johnny Weismuller. The 1924, 1928 Olympic swimming champion. He was "considered one of the most perfectly formed men on the planet." And his beautiful costar, Maureen O'Sullivan. What more could a man want? OK, maybe a loin cloth and a big knife, but that's it.

Who could forget the Tarzan call? "Victory cry of the bull ape." I spent many childhood days running around with bare feet, raggety cut offs, and a pocket knife doing my best to imitate the Tarzan victory cry.

Then it was Denny Miller who played on the Hollywood Tarzan sets. His boyish looks and a full head of blond hair was more of a surfer looking dude than I cared for.



Lastly, from my childhood memories, came Mike Henry. An ex-pro football player with 8-pack abs. Well spoken and crossed over into the color TV scene.

My imprinting was complete. I wanted to be Tarzan. I believed I was Tarzan.

Tarzan got to live in the jungle and was lord of all the apes and other creatures.
Tarzan always saved the day, saved the river, saved the mountain, saved the jungle, saved the girl.

Tarzan got the girl.

Tarzan was THE multisport athlete. He could swim, man could he swim! He could run, jump, swing, dive, climb, wrestle, flip, throw, shoot a bow and arrow, stab, and, if he had one, I bet he'd bike like Lance.

I spent most childhood summers shirtless and bare foot and I always had a pocket knife with me. I'd have had long shaggy hair too but my dad always clipped me pretty short with his home barber electric clipper. It wasn't until my teen years that I was allowed to let me hair grow longer. At one time, it was nearly touching my shoulders. Man, that was cool.

And now.
Instead of a loin cloth, I sometimes wear a speedo brief.
Instead of bare feet, I sometimes wear Teva's.
Instead of a knife, I have a nail clipper in my shave kit.
Instead of long hair, I use my dads old clipper and buzz it off every 2 weeks.

Who were your childhood heroes? Tag, your it.

Arrrrgh, I've been caught!

Tagged by TriGirl and Wylee...first. And then tagged by a couple others, so...


Jobs I've Held:
Newspaper boy
Neighborhood lawn boy (mowed lawns for $2.50 an hour)
Lifeguard (many years at local pools and beaches)
Swimming instructor
Naturalist, Florida gulf coast
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Biologist, Florida gulf coast and Minnesota
Environmental inspector; MN, MI, WI, ND, WY, MT, WA, OR.
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Environmental Monitor; AL, CA, AZ, MS.
Environmental Manager for private consulting company

Places I've lived:
Stillwater, Oklahoma
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Minnetonka, MN
Big Sky, MT

Movies I can Watch Over & Over:
Stripes
Napoleon Dynamite
Oh Brother Where Art Thou
Bull Durham
For Love of the Game

My guilty pleasures:
I don’t do guilt.
I do pleasure.

Shows I enjoy:
I usually only have time to watch the news but:
Lost was favorite series
The office

Places I've been on vacation:
Several “summer vacations” all over the USA
My favorites were; Montana,
Boundary Waters Wilderness Canoe Area. Many times.
Quetico Provincial park, Canada
Wyoming
California
Colorado
Vermont
Maine
Maui

Switzerland
Canada, many places
Bequia, SCUBA diving
Granada, sailing
Bonaire, swimming and diving
Bahamas, sailing
Provo, Turks and Caicos

Favorite Foods:
Pasta, Pasta, Pasta
Stir fry
Salmon
Wild game
Deep dish Pizza with everything

Websites I visit Daily:
google
your blogs

Body Parts I have injured:
From top to bottom;
Brain (concussion)
Broken Collar bone
Shattered wrist
4 cracked ribs (2 in front, 2 in back)
Cracked Ishium
Cracked Patella
Cracked Tibia
Sprained Ankle
Hyper extended big toe

Awards I've won:
None. Still hopeful.

Nicknames I've been called:
Schultzy
Shitsy
Snoopy
Jethro
Woody

Ah, sweet relief...

From the heat and humidity finally came today. After a couple good storms last weekend, this morning it was 65 degrees. I slept with the my window open for first time since this past May.
Lana in Tennessee gave me this idea:

The summer heat. The humidity. It's all coming back to me now.

Reminds me of helping mom hang out the wash to dry in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
The dry season in Ethiopia and Kenya when we'd go on camping safaris and the wind would blow up dust devils in the dry river beds and my brother and I would run through them yelling " I caught you devil".
Reminds me of family gatherings with all 30 cousins at Lake Watab.
The dog days of August at Shady Oak Beach to cool off cuz we didn't have air conditioning.
Reminds me of my bedroom in the basement that was always cool and quiet.
Flipping the pillow over to the cooler side.
Running through the lawn sprinkler with all the other neighborhood kids cuz some of them didn't have air conditioning either.
Reminds me of riding our bikes all day to feel the wind cooling our shirtless sunburned bodies.
Jumping on the trampoline for hours.
Reminds me of shacking up most of the summer at my best friends house cuz he lived on the lake and it was always cooler by the water.
We water skied, sailed, swam, paddled, fished, jumped off bridges, midnight boat rides with our girlfriends...our bodies were bronzed like Greek Gods.
Steamy windows from making out in the back seat of her station wagon.
Reminds me of life guarding at the beaches around the lake and making enough money to buy my first real 10 speed road bike...and my first car that cost me $400 bucks. A Datson F10 hatchback with a kick ass Jensen stereo...tape deck.
Showing up at college 2 weeks early for my job as an RA and the dorms were not air conditioned.
Summer job at Dauphin Island, Alabama and helicopter transport to the offshore lay barge where the temperature on deck was always over 100 degrees.
Hurricane season.
Reminds me of working in the Mojave desert...115 degrees at 10 o'clock in the morning.
Learning to surf in Cardiff at turtles...no wetsuit.
Reminds me of training and acclimating every afternoon, the heat of the day, for my first half ironman during August in Iowa.
Last week when the temperature at sunset was 92 degrees, 70% humidity and the storms were rolling in from the west.
Being woken up by thunder and looking out the window at the flashing display of ribbons of lightning through the black clouds and smelling the ozone and dampness of the pouring rain.
God how we needed that rain.
Feeling relief.

Quatro Quatro!

I have no idea if that's proper Spanish for 44 but that's my age as of last Friday.

I had a really fun weekend at the lake with some tri buddies and made some new friends too.

Arrival late Friday night we were lakeside by the fire and having a drink. Being the athletic group that we were, we all crashed by 11 o'clock.

The decompression was beginning.

Saturday was BIRTHDAY CAKE DAY!

We ate cake for breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner, snack. Yum Yum.

4 August birthdays.

Oh yeah, we also did a brick bike run and swam across the lake to a bar for drinks and appetizers.

Late night around the fire with homemade music (drums, shakers, sticks, and a didgeridoo).

Decompression nearly complete.

Sunday morning was cool and overcast...perfect for a long run. I went solo to the opposite end of the lake and back. EZ pace, good form and focus on cadence. It was a nice run through the country passed horses, corn fields, wild turkeys, and alfalfa fields.

Decompressed.

A visit from Laura

The First Lady, Laura Bush, must be in town right now.

I know this because my office window is about 5 blocks from the I35W bridge collapse and there are Army helicopter gun ships buzzing over head.

Well, it's been a busy week and I'm a bit emotionally stressed out so I'm gonna ditch the office a couple hours early. I'm gonna pack the my truck with water play toys, wake board, bike, and dog. Then I'm gonna pick up a few tri friends and we're headed up north to a cabin on a lake and celebrate our August birthdays...redneck style. Yee Haw!

B-double-E-double-R-U-N!

Lucky or...I just don't know.

The local news last night was horrible and tragic.

I'm working in MN now and typically cross that bride 2 or 3 times a week. Last night, I left my office early to take care of some personal business and bypassed the bridge 2 hours prior to it collapsing.

When I turned on the news last night, I was frozen. I literally felt like I was in suspended animation. I nearly lost my breath. I don't want to over dramatize my personal experience here or make it sound like I'm lucky to be alive but the magnitude of this slammed me right in the chest. I'm praying every few minutes that none of my coworkers or friends are among those still missing.

I just hate it when the media say things like "it could have been much worse" or "imagine if this had happened when..."

Shut the eff up. This is bad, period. I'm venting a little here.

There is no 'worse' or 'imagine if'. It was 6pm rush hour and cars on the bride were bumper to bumper. Many of them fell 60 feet and some toppled into the river. There are no rescue efforts going on now. It's a recovery. It sucks really really bad.

I'm counting my blessings. Please do the same.

Talk to your loved ones, hug your kids, be thankful for every good thing.

Peace.

SLOW is the new FAST...race report

I thought my ironman fitness would carry over to the half ironman I did yesterday but Nooooooooooooo.

I went into this race feeling 100% and ready to have some fun at a local half ironman on a beautiful summer day made for racing.



Warning: This race report contains references to bowel movements.



Chisago Lakes Triathlon. Half Ironman.



My race day started off a little dicey. I woke up with a sour stomach and started my day on the toilet with a very mild case of the raspberries (aka diarrhea). Not the explosive kind or a complete draining of the intestinal tract butt more loose than usual. After my morning constitution, I chewed down a couple tums and took my dog for a walk for her morning constitution. After eating my usual oatmeal with fruit breakfast, I was feeling much better and began to execute a hydration plan.

I slammed a small V8 juice, loaded my car, and headed out the driveway just as the dawn was breaking. It was beautiful.

During my drive to the race, I drank about 20 ounces of water and 10 ounces of Gatorade Rain berry flavor. yum. My stomach was back to normal and I was feeling pretty optimistic about the race. I took a Thermolyte tablet cuz the forecast for the day was 90 and humid.

I was a little late setting up in transition so I didn't have time to warm up but I let that go and walked down to the swim start. I ducked into a little blue office (aka port-a-potty) and sat down for one more very very small poop and peed. All was seeming right with my GI tract and hydration.



I started the swim slowly to use as my warm up and things went really well. 32:35.7.

It was a long uphill trot into T1 and I was feeling fine. T1, 3:52. I took my time to drink more gatorade before leaving transition.



The bike was really good and I purposely kept my pace slower than usual to make sure my heart rate stayed low so I could stay hydrated and achieve maximum absorption. I took about 8 Thermotabs during the bike and drank about 100 ounces of liquids (energy drink, gatorade, water) and several packets of gu. It was hot, no wind and all went well. 2:48.06. I didn't rush T2, 1:12.



I started off running really smoothly. That was weird. My legs usually feel heavy for at least the first 10 minutes. Well, the fun was over at about mile 3 when my quads and hams began to cramp up like they did during my ironman. DAMN IT! Why is this happening? I'm all hydrated, electrolytes are balanced and I'm not over heated...yet. I jogged as much as I could between aid stations but the blazing heat and temperature of the pavement began to kill my run. I felt like I was running on the surface of the sun and I swear I saw the Devil in the heat waves that rose from the pavement. 'Welcome to Hell, you just try and run, you're in my house now and the rent is due.'

The last 3 miles felt like a death march. Dizzy, nausea, sweating like Ned Beatty in Deliverance, and my legs were cramping at regular intervals to keep me wincing and awake. I was sunk.

I managed to jog through the finish chute. 2:28.41.
Finish time, 5:54.26. My worst half ironman ever.



Lessons learned:

Diarrhea the morning of a race is a sign of bad things to come.

When you see the Devil out there, it's also a bad sign.

Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.

Still learning something new everyday. Even if the lesson is a very painful one.



Today: sore legs and sunburned nose. Otherwise, all is well.