my daughters big week

This has been a big week for my daughter. She lost her 2 front teeth and got her ears pierced!

                          This is moments after my daughter and her friend got ther ears pierced

                                        this is shortly after she lost her front teeth

play time

A couple weeks ago I decided I'd take a month off of triathlon training and racing. I've been taking advantage of the extra time with my kids. Yesterday my wife and I drove the babies to the Albuquerque Sunport and watched planes take off and land. I gave about a thousand rides to the kids on my shoulders, they held their arms out and made airplane noises pretending they were flying. This morning the boys were running around the house with stuffed animals on their shoulders making plane noises. They told me they were giving rides to their kids like I did for them yesterday. That touched my heart.  

Today I taught my boys how to build a fort out of blankets and the living room furniture. Then we played Avengers for an hour. You can see my son holding his stuffed Captain America in the pictures.

Earlier this year I registered for the Santa Fe triathlon, the Damitman triathlon, and the Elephantman triathlon, those were supposed to be my priority races this year. I wont be competing in them, I've gained a ton of weight this year, weight gain and triathlon do not mix. I'd rather be a no show than show up slow, over weight, and an embarrassment to myself. Hopefully I'll be able to figure out a way to stop the weight gain and start some losing soon.

Now that I weigh over 200 pounds again I changed the name of my blog back to Cody the Clydesdale. That sucked. I'm hoping to be able to change it back to Cody the former Clydesdale again soon.

Ever notice how the heavier you are the less capable you are of tolerating the heat? Man, I'm miserable in this heat right now!

qualified for the 2012 USATriathlon national championships

I received an email from USAT that I qualified for the USA Triathlon national championships held later this year in Vermont. This was the 3rd time this season I finished a race with a high enough placing to qualify. We can't afford to go to Vermont this year, I'm hoping 2014 is the year.

Congratulations Cody Hanson. You have qualified for the 2012 USA Triathlon Olympic-Distance National Championship after finishing in the top 10 percent in your age group at the BUFFMAN & SQUEAKY AND THE DOG HOUSE SPRINT.

The Olympic-Distance race will be held Aug. 18 in Burlington, Vt., as part of the 2012 USA Triathlon Age Group National Championships, presented by People’s United Bank. This race serves as the nation's premier Olympic-distance event, with the top age-group athletes from all 50 states forming a prestigious field.

USA Triathlon is now making additional slots available after the event was announced on June 5 as being sold out in record time. (For example, USA Triathlon is working with the City of Burlington and local organizers to receive the necessary permits to expand the transition area.)

In order to fill these slots as they become available, USA Triathlon has set-up a wait list. Effective now, you can add yourself to this wait list. We encourage all qualified athletes to do so as quickly as possible, because we anticipate that slots will be allocated immediately upon their availability.

Also, please note that the Sprint-Distance event, which will be held on Aug. 19 as part of the 2012 USA Triathlon Age Group National Championships in Burlington, Vt., is not yet sold out and registration is still open. While qualification is not necessary, the Sprint-Distance event will provide an equivalent National Championship race experience and, like the Olympic-Distance event, serve as the exclusive qualifier to become a member of Team USA and compete in the 2013 International Triathlon Union (ITU) World Championships in London, England. However, any athletes who register for the Sprint National Championships, and are later added to the Olympic-Distance National Championships via the wait list, will not receive refunds.

For more information on the 2012 USA Triathlon Age Group National Championships, please visit www.USATNationalEvents.org. Please note: athletes must be current USA Triathlon annual members through August 18, 2012 before registering. You may renew your membership at www.usatriathlon.org.

acceptance

Since taking on the Total Money Makeover I've been working allot of hours. Since starting to work this much I've been unable to heal well from my training, I've been getting sick a lot, and I've been struggling horribly with my weight; I weigh over 200 pounds again, I'm a Clydesdale again for the 1st time in over 2 years, and that makes me very very disgruntled. I don't mind working this much because I'm changing my wife and kids future for the better, but I've realized I need to rearrange some things to make this a little less difficult on me. If I try to do everything perfectly all the time I'll never be able to do anything well. That's where I've been recently. I'm struggling to find enough time to sleep, finding enough time to spend with my wife and kids, struggling with my weight, I'm getting ill frequently, missing a lot of workouts, and not healing from my training.

I've decided I need to take some stress and pressure out of my life. I've been praying to try to have the serenity to accept the things I can not change, to have the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. I've been stressing myself out about my weight gain. I've been trying to drop back down to 175 pounds and it has not been going well. Rather than continue to beat myself up about my weight gain I'm going to try and maintain my current weight. I'd be happier if I was lighter, but I'm really unhappy with myself when I keep trying to force myself to diet and fail, diet and fail, diet and fail. I raced for years as a Clydesdale and enjoyed myself, there's no reason I shouldn't accept myself exactly as I am now. There's no reason for me to make myself as miserable as I have been about my weight. I may be a little slower at this weight, but I'm still in the healthy range, and I'm still a God fearing christian who is a good husband and father.

I've also decided to start training a little less and lower the intensity of my workouts. I haven't been healing well and I've been chronically over trained. I keep missing workouts due to fatigue and illness, I've always heard that it's better to go into a race a little under trained than a little over trained. I'm going to test that theory. The extra time I have will help bring a little more balance and health into my life. More importantly I believe God has been trying to get me to make these changes in my life for awhile. If it's God will I should listen. He is perfect after all.

God, please help me accept your will over mine, and to figure out what your will is for me, in Jesus name I pray. Amen

 

workout woes

I worked 40 hours of overtime during my weekend. I got off a 16 hour overtime shift this morning. I've been working like this since December. I'm so tired. I can't even get the energy to get up to fix another cup of coffee, much less get the energy to workout. I'm hoping to find a way to get in a 75 minute bike ride before I have to go back into work tonight. I missed Monday and Tuesdays workouts, I can't keep missing training like this or I'll be back to being a fat slow Clydesdale in no time. Must.... go... ride....

becoming debt free with Dave Ramsey's The Total Money Makeover

In late 2011 my wife and I decided to try to become debt free.We attended The Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University to learn how. So far we've completed step one of The Total Money Makeover which is saving $1000 for emergencies and step two which is paying off all debt using Dave Ramseys debt snow ball. I'm very proud of my wife and I, we've accomplished so much. Who in America these days can say they have no debt? My wife and I now can. The most important thing we've learned in the process of paying off all our debt is that ppersonal finance is 80% BEHAVIOR and only 20% HEAD KNOWLEDGE. Most people live outside of their means. They use credit cards and get loans to get things they don't need with money they don't have. They buy more than they can afford and justify it by saying to themselves we deserve this, we work so hard, or the kids shouldn't go without should they? But what they should be saying is "do we deserve to be broke and should we be teaching our children to be broke and live irresponsibly too? We know, because we lived like that most of our lives.

We are now approximately 4 weeks away from completing step three which is saving 3 months of expenses in case I lost my job or became temporarily disabled. Dave Ramsey said on average it takes most families 24-36 months to complete steps 1-3. If all goes as planned by August my wife and I will have completed steps 1-3 in 8 months. It's been hard, much harder than I thought it was going to be. I've been working 72-84 hours a week every week since December of last year. I've had to miss kids soccer games, family activities, friends get-to-gethers, UFC parties, workouts, triathlons, bike races, etc. Pretty much all I've done is work and sleep. I'm beyond tired. Since I started working this many hours I've struggled with weight gain, being too tired to work out, getting sick frequently and taking a long time to get better. Worst of all is that I miss my wife and kids desperately. But it's been worth it. After 8 months of sacrifice and prayer we are so close! I can't wait to be able to wake up every morning knowing we owe no one any money and we are finally living the way God wants us to. The bible says these things about debt:

The borrower is slave to the lender. When you are in debt to another, you enter into a slave/master relationship with your creditor. (Proverbs 22:7)

We are required to pay back what we borrowed. It is easy to take this lightly, but if we borrowed it, we should pay it back. (Psalm 37:21, Ecclesiastes 5:4).

There are no instances in the Bible where God provides through a loan. He provided for His people in many ways but loans were not one of them. That is something to think about next time you get tempted to reach for the credit card. 

If anyone else is interested in becoming debt free I'd highly suggest attending The Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University. It's nine 90 minutes classes over a 9 week time and it costs less than $120. I promise you, it'll change your lives and your children's lives. It'll change your legacy.

deodorant and cancer

I've heard a lot of things on the net and news that deodorant may cause cancer. I found this, thought I'd share. 

What do scientists know about the ingredients in antiperspirants and deodorants?
Aluminum-based compounds are used as the active ingredient in antiperspirants. These compounds form a temporary plug within the sweat duct that stops the flow of sweat to the skin's surface. Some research suggests that aluminum-based compounds, which are applied frequently and left on the skin near the breast, may be absorbed by the skin and cause estrogen-like (hormonal) effects (3). Because estrogen has the ability to promote the growth of breast cancer cells, some scientists have suggested that the aluminum-based compounds in antiperspirants may contribute to the development of breast cancer (3).
Some research has focused on parabens, which are preservatives used in some deodorants and antiperspirants that have been shown to mimic the activity of estrogen in the body’s cells (4). Although parabens are used in many cosmetic, food, and pharmaceutical products, according to the FDA, most major brands of deodorants and antiperspirants in the United States do not currently contain parabens. Consumers can look at the ingredient label to determine if a deodorant or antiperspirant contains parabens. Parabens are usually easy to identify by name, such as methylparaben, propylparaben, butylparaben, or benzylparaben. The National Library of Medicine’s Household Products Database also has information about the ingredients used in most major brands of deodorants and antiperspirants.
The belief that parabens build up in breast tissue was supported by a 2004 study, which found parabens in 18 of 20 samples of tissue from human breast tumors (5). However, this study did not prove that parabens cause breast tumors (4). The authors of this study did not analyze healthy breast tissue or tissues from other areas of the body and did not demonstrate that parabens are found only in cancerous breast tissue (5). Furthermore, this research did not identify the source of the parabens and cannot establish that the buildup of parabens is due to the use of deodorants or antiperspirants.
More research is needed to specifically examine whether the use of deodorants or antiperspirants can cause the buildup of parabens and aluminum-based compounds in breast tissue. Additional research is also necessary to determine whether these chemicals can either alter the DNA in some cells or cause other breast cell changes that may lead to the development of breast cancer.