Well my recon mission went well. Sat morning I got off work @6am and completed my 2.5hr run in an atrocious time. Then I loaded all my family's luggage for a 4 day trip. Add my bike & that was one heck of a packed van let me tell you. We were supposed to have left our house in Santa Fe @ 10am. But my wife who is chronically late wasn't ready to leave until 12:30. I was really annoyed, but in all fairness one of her 2 only faults is her ability to be on time. So I usually ignore her uncanny ability to be 2-3 hrs late anywhere. Yup, 2-3 hrs. I'm not exaggerating. I HATE to be late so this is a great opportunity for me to learn patients.
Once we FINALLY left I slept while my wife drove & she was nice enough to log in every gas station, truck stop, eatery (is eatery a real word?), & hotel from Santa Fe to Hobbs on a piece of paper so I could plan my bike ride in Nov from our house to Hobbs this Nov. I didn't sleep well because the only other fault my wife has other than being late is her ability to drive, or lack there of. LOL. So now I know she's trying to drive while also writing down every possible stop a bicyclist may need to make. I just didn't feel safe enough to get very restfull sleep.
Here's the itinerary.
Day 1: I'll leave Santa Fe on Sun Nov 18th at day break. I'll refill my Gatorade in Eldorado, then eat/refill bottles @ Clines corners. From Clines Corners I'll ride all the way through to Vaughn where I'll stop for the night. 120 miles.
Day 2: Only one stop between Vaughn & Roswell. It's a rest stop @ the 56 mile mark. I can carry enough fluid on my bike for 3 hrs of riding. I usually ride at around 13-14 miles an hour. Approximately 52-56 miles. I'll need to load up on food/cliff bars in Vaughn and carry powdered Gatorade from my house because all that is available at this rest stop is water from a drinking fountain or Coke from a vending machine. I'll stay the night in Roswell. 110 miles.
Day 3: There are 2 gas stations in between Roswell & Hobbs that are exactly at the %30 & %60 mark. Perfect. 96 miles to my aunts door step.
The time spent here in Hobbs has been great. I'll spare all you the boring details. It is good enough to simply say we are having a nice relaxing time visiting my Grandmother, 2 aunts, & 2 uncles. I did go on an easy 1.5hr bike today (Sun). I would love to live/train out here. It is completely flat! A Clydes dream terrain!
My wife brought up my natural father's Dad today. His name is Bill. Grandpa Bill I guess. I haven't seen my Dad or anyone on his side of the family since I was 13 or so. Grandpa Bill lives here in Hobbs. My wife said we should probably call him and allow him to see his 2 grand children.I don't agree, he doesn't even know he has Grand children. & what he doesn't know won't hurt him I always said in mid school. So here I am @ 2am unable to sleep and stuffing everything I can find into my face. Food is where I go to find comfort. I've been doing great avoiding binging for almost a month. The last time I really had the need to jump head first into a Calderon of chips & ice cream I called a friend of mine who has the same issues. He talked me down so to speak. I don't want to call him now because of the time. He has a wife and 2 young children. Danm, I'm a nervous wreck. I haven't been this worried since my high school sweet heart's Mom caught us fooling around in their RV while in AZ on summer vacation. I thought for sure they were going to drop my butt off on the side of the road. Note to self: never take my daughter's boyfriend on summer vacations with us no matter how much we like him. Because if we like him that much, she probably likes him more.
On a side note here. My daughter keeps waking up crying. I'm not sure if it's because we are in a new place or what, she's having as hard of a time sleeping as I am. She's only 2 and she has my heart in her little hands. I am COMPLETELY wrapped around her little finger. The last time she woke up my wife went to comfort her. She yelled "No! I want my Daddy!" I always do the proper husbandly thing when that happens & tell her "Don't talk to Mommy like that. Be nice to her". But I actually like it. My wife is forever saying the reason she had another baby was because she wanted one that liked her. LOL. Luckily God graced us w/ a son 2nd time around. He's only 2.5 months old and already a Mama's boy. After Mom was rejected I went over and laid next to my baby girl. I asked her what's wrong. She's to the age where she can tell us some of the things that are bothering her. She just cried harder which meant she didn't know how to explain it. I asked if she needed her diaper changed: no. Was she uncomfortable (she's sleeping on a blow up bed next to our bed). No. I went through the whole gambit. No's to everything. So I asked her "are you crying because you're so pretty?" She shook her head yes & stopped crying. My wife and I lost it. We laughed until we had tears coming out of our eyes. That made my daughter mad & she pointed at us, said "NO!" And started crying all over again. LOL. I love being a Daddy. It's the best thing that's ever happened to me.
October 15, 2007
October 13, 2007
Dreaded long day & a reconnaissance mission
This week I had a rough week of training. For some reason each of the workouts I did I struggled on. An eight mile run on Wed was the worse of the bunch. My left knee was hurting again like it has been for almost a month. So no surprise there. But this time my left hip and lower back was hurting also. That's usually not a problem though, I will just train through any pain. But for some reason I was so slow on every workout I did this week. Agonizingly slow. So consequently I was really dreading my long brick today. I was scheduled for a 6 hr bike followed by a 45 min run. To make me even less enthusiastic I got off of work @ 6am and was scheduled to return again that night at 6pm. When I got home I slept for as long as I could. I knew I needed to be on the bike by 9;30 to have enough time to complete my workout and then get ready for another 12hr shift of work. I got 2.5hrs of sleep. I was dang tired when I had to get up. To make me even less exited about my workout, my wife was home because this was her 1st day home as a stay @ home Mom. I missed her. Because we have been working opposite shifts I have only seen her once or twice a week for the last month. I really missed her! I decided to do the first part of my workout on my indoor trainer so that I could at least talk to her a little while I rode. I actually had a great time being with her while I got in my mileage. We talked for quite awhile. Then turned on the TV & we watched my favorite TV show The Biggest Loser. While watching the show Cindy pulled a stool next to my bike and we held hands for almost ten minutes. Holding hands while I rode my bike indoors wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world for either one of us. But we missed each other so much we were content despite the awkward angle I was having to ride in and how sweaty our hands were. I ended up doing 3hrs on the trainer. 1.5hrs was the most I'd ever been able to tolerate before. The last 3 hrs of my scheduled ride I rode from my house on highway 14 just south of Santa Fe, North on 14 past Madrid NM. While riding through Madrid I hit a pot hole and my new PDA fell onto the road @ 25 miles an hour. I Stopped, picked up the pieces & continued riding. I was pretty P.O.'d at having busted up my palm pilot. Yes, it is expensive, but the reason I was most upset was because it was such a kind and considerate gift from my wife And I ruined it in less than a day.I ended the bike ride feeling a little more tired than I usually am at that distance. 81 miles in 5hrs 51 minutes. I believe lack of sleep had allot to do w/ that. I hit 8 thousand miles on my bike today which was a pretty exiting mile stone for me. I felt much better on the run than I usually do after a long bike like that. As a matter of a fact, I felt great! I felt fast which is unusual for me I felt like I could of completed a marathon. Good thing considering I will need to run a marathon after 112 miles in the saddle in less than a month I ended up completing 4 miles in 40 minutes. I know, not what most would call fast. But it is for me.After my brick I started getting ready for work and noticed the air bubble on my left work boot had popped. Who knows how long I'd been wearing those boots with improper support for my left foot. I believe I have found the culprit of my nagging left knee, hip, and lower back issues lately. I'm really exited about the possibility of fixing that problem. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the boots were indeed the issue. After I finished getting ready for work I had some extra time to see how bad the damage was to my PDA. Believe it or not I was able to put the dang thing back together again and it still works perfectly! The back side is pretty badly scratched but that is the extent of the damage. No damage to the camera lens, the touch screen or anything else. I'd suggest the Teo 700 for anyone wanting a biker proof PDA.I suspect tonight I'll be exhausted. Tomorrow won't be any easier either. I will be doing a 2.5 hr run as soon as I get off work. & then the wife kids & I are going to be driving to Hobbs to visit my family. I'll get as much sleep during the drive as possible, by that point I'll be very sleep deprived to say the least.I've driven to Hobbs many times. But this time I'll be doing some reconnaissance. You see, barring snow, Sunday Nov 18th I'll be leaving my house on my bicycle. My destination....you got it, Hobbs. It will be a 3 day ride of a total of about 350 miles. I tell you, life is good. And I'm choosing to live it to the fullest.
October 11, 2007
New supermarket technology
The new supermarket near my house has an automatic water mister to keep the produce fresh. Just before it goes on, you hear the sound of distant thunder and the smell of fresh rain.
When you approach the milk cases, you hear cows mooing and witness the scent of fresh hay.
When you approach the egg case, you hear hens cluck and cackle and the air is filled with the pleasing aroma of bacon and eggs frying.
The veggie department features the smell of fresh buttered corn.
I don't buy toilet paper there any more.
When you approach the milk cases, you hear cows mooing and witness the scent of fresh hay.
When you approach the egg case, you hear hens cluck and cackle and the air is filled with the pleasing aroma of bacon and eggs frying.
The veggie department features the smell of fresh buttered corn.
I don't buy toilet paper there any more.
IM article
My coach sent me this. Thought you all would injoy it.
It follows you everywhere. Like an ever-present shadow or an alter ego, and at times it can follow you like an annoying guilt-inducing time management stalker. But most often it follows you around as a confidence-inspiring best friend. Ironman is always with you.
You realize in this crazy and dynamic sport that Ironman is not just a logo on the products that appear everywhere around us---on supermarket shelves, in clothing stores and bike stores. Ironman is not just a race or a goal. Ironman is a life-changing experience that irrevocably gifts you with intense lessons about yourself and a fitness level that is often unsurpassed.
Whether you are training to race in your first Ironman, or you’ve finished nine World Championship Ironman races in Hawaii, this experience stays with you. When you mention the words of Ironman triathlon to other people, it changes things. It changes things in you, and it changes things in them. Telling someone you’re an Ironman or that you are going to do one commits you in a binding way. It has been said that when you fully commit to something or someone, you find it easier to tell other people. It’s also been said that once you are fully committed to something or someone, you are bound by your word and your internal commitment to yourself.
Wearing an Ironman T-shirt opens the door for people to talk to you in airports, on the street, or in restaurants. And like a club with a secret handshake, when you see other people who have finished an Ironman, there is a silent understanding. Most relationships are forged with a common experience, and the bond of experiencing an Ironman is one that breaks conventional relationship boundaries. Just go to Kona---or Lake Placid or France---to witness people from all over the world with ultra-diverse backgrounds becoming part of a very special and supportive family.
With the commitment to train and race in an Ironman, you’ve started along the yellow brick road that will present you with far more than the lions and tigers and bears of your own self-doubt and fear. Training gives you a strong heart, physiologically and emotionally. Racing will grant you courage. Finishing will give you dauntless confidence. This yellow brick road to Kona, Hawaii---or to any Ironman race worldwide---will be jammed with lessons. You’ll rapidly learn that biking shoes are like ice skates on the slippery floors of grocery stores and that a bike can seem just a few pounds lighter than your running shoes. You will also learn very difficult lessons that will shake and sort your priorities in life like a powerful earthquake, revealing the basic truths that support who is really important to you.
If you’re not myopically focused on the size of your chain ring, or your finishing time, then Ironman just may teach you what you honestly value in your life. You will learn the basic lessons of what to eat, how to train, and how to run a marathon after being glued to your bike seat for more than 112 miles. You will learn that the wind, the rain, the heat and the struggle are often overshadowed, even forgotten, when you reach the last few miles of an Ironman and find the courage to break through your own boundaries. It is inevitable that when you watch an Ironman, or when you do an Ironman, the words never or never again will pass through your mind as you click your running shoes together at mile 15 of the run and say, “I wish I was home, I wish I was home.” But then you’ll realize that it’s within the Ironman experience that you just may find yourself more at home than laying in your bed on a rainy Sunday afternoon. Ironman may follow you like a shadow, but like all kids, you’re destined to find out that your shadow is a mere representative image cast by an object blocking illuminating rays. And that object is you, rebuilt with the adventurous fortitude of the Ironman experience. Let your running shoes click together in your next stride and glance down at your shadow. You’re home.
It follows you everywhere. Like an ever-present shadow or an alter ego, and at times it can follow you like an annoying guilt-inducing time management stalker. But most often it follows you around as a confidence-inspiring best friend. Ironman is always with you.
You realize in this crazy and dynamic sport that Ironman is not just a logo on the products that appear everywhere around us---on supermarket shelves, in clothing stores and bike stores. Ironman is not just a race or a goal. Ironman is a life-changing experience that irrevocably gifts you with intense lessons about yourself and a fitness level that is often unsurpassed.
Whether you are training to race in your first Ironman, or you’ve finished nine World Championship Ironman races in Hawaii, this experience stays with you. When you mention the words of Ironman triathlon to other people, it changes things. It changes things in you, and it changes things in them. Telling someone you’re an Ironman or that you are going to do one commits you in a binding way. It has been said that when you fully commit to something or someone, you find it easier to tell other people. It’s also been said that once you are fully committed to something or someone, you are bound by your word and your internal commitment to yourself.
Wearing an Ironman T-shirt opens the door for people to talk to you in airports, on the street, or in restaurants. And like a club with a secret handshake, when you see other people who have finished an Ironman, there is a silent understanding. Most relationships are forged with a common experience, and the bond of experiencing an Ironman is one that breaks conventional relationship boundaries. Just go to Kona---or Lake Placid or France---to witness people from all over the world with ultra-diverse backgrounds becoming part of a very special and supportive family.
With the commitment to train and race in an Ironman, you’ve started along the yellow brick road that will present you with far more than the lions and tigers and bears of your own self-doubt and fear. Training gives you a strong heart, physiologically and emotionally. Racing will grant you courage. Finishing will give you dauntless confidence. This yellow brick road to Kona, Hawaii---or to any Ironman race worldwide---will be jammed with lessons. You’ll rapidly learn that biking shoes are like ice skates on the slippery floors of grocery stores and that a bike can seem just a few pounds lighter than your running shoes. You will also learn very difficult lessons that will shake and sort your priorities in life like a powerful earthquake, revealing the basic truths that support who is really important to you.
If you’re not myopically focused on the size of your chain ring, or your finishing time, then Ironman just may teach you what you honestly value in your life. You will learn the basic lessons of what to eat, how to train, and how to run a marathon after being glued to your bike seat for more than 112 miles. You will learn that the wind, the rain, the heat and the struggle are often overshadowed, even forgotten, when you reach the last few miles of an Ironman and find the courage to break through your own boundaries. It is inevitable that when you watch an Ironman, or when you do an Ironman, the words never or never again will pass through your mind as you click your running shoes together at mile 15 of the run and say, “I wish I was home, I wish I was home.” But then you’ll realize that it’s within the Ironman experience that you just may find yourself more at home than laying in your bed on a rainy Sunday afternoon. Ironman may follow you like a shadow, but like all kids, you’re destined to find out that your shadow is a mere representative image cast by an object blocking illuminating rays. And that object is you, rebuilt with the adventurous fortitude of the Ironman experience. Let your running shoes click together in your next stride and glance down at your shadow. You’re home.
Palm pilot, Drizzit the pet snake N such
Like I wrote yesterday on my blog I not only don't mind working as much as I
have been. I'm actually loving it! The only thing I wasn't enjoying about it was
that I was really missing keeping in touch w/ my internet/email buddies,
checking out my tri club's chat board, surfing the web, & blogging. I simply
don't have the time to be on a computer at all. Well my wonderful wife took care
of that for me. She bought me a Palm Pilot (it's a phone/computer combined into
one small & portable device) that I can surf the web on, and even receive & send
emails from the same email account I have on my home PC! I thought it would be difficult to use, but it is suprisingly idiot proof. It works almost the same as my phone & my home PC would. Which I suppose makes sense because that is exactly what it is.
I was able to figure out pretty much everything w/ just the directions except
how to make it so that my Palm Pilot receives/sends emails on the same email
account as the one on my home PC. To get a little more spacific to show how cool it is when my home PC gets an email, my Palm Pilot gets the email too.
So anyhoo I needed to call technical support to synchronize it to my PC. I was
on the phone w/ technical support for 2.5 hrs trying to get that done. They'd
have me do something on the phone, then if it didn't work I would hear the
techy start typing furiously on her computer to see what the next step should
be. Sometimes it would only take a couple moments, but sometimes it would take
up to 5 minutes before she'd be prepared to have me try something else.
After about an hour & a half I started getting up between attempts to do things
around the house. Once she said she was ready to try something else I'd run back
to the computer/phone. On one of those times I opened up my pet snakes cage to
change it's water. When my tech person came back for round 72 or however many &
that point I went back to where my computer & phone was About 10 minutes before
I had to leave for work the synchronizing was finally complete.
I went to the kitchen to grab my lunch box & saw my snakes water bowl on the
counter. I finished filling it w/ water & put it into the cage where my snake
should of been. But my 6' snake wasn't in there anymore! Oh crap!!!
Let me give you a little back ground here. My wife is scared to death of any
snakes larger than a foot or so. Under a foot long & she can tolerate it- she
doesn't like it, but she can tolerate it. The only reason I was allowed to have
this snake was because I found it outside in our yard when it was a hatchling.
It wasn't any longer than 5 inches or so when I found it. It couldn't of been
more than a few weeks old because it still had that large head w/ odd bulging
eyes that snakes have when 1st hatched. I asked if I could have it, & she said
yes because she was under the impression that it was an adult. Honestly I didn't
tell her that it was an adult. But I didn't tell her she was wrong either. I
started feeding it as much as it would eat so it would grow as big as possible.
Next thing my wife knows we have a 6' snake living w/ us. She hates it, but
doesn't make me get rid of it because she knows how attached I've become to it.
I named it Drizzit after the star of my favorite book.
So it's time for me to go to work & my beloved Drizzit is loose in the house. To
make it even worse my Mom is on her way over & she's bringing her Yorkshire
Terrier she calls Guss. My bullsnake Drizzit is big enough to eat Guss. He he
he- no wait, sorry, that wouldn't be funny. I've gotten a demented sense of
humor after working 12 years in a super max prison. Remind me to tell you the
story of the inmate who I watched rip his own face off. Yeah, true story.- But
anyway, back to the story of the large free meal for Drizzit. He he he. Just so
you know though, Guss doesn't meet his demise from my snake. I'm not that
demented to write about it jokingly the night of the death of my Mom's dog. No,
he's not dead, I'm saying that hypothetically. Ok. Back to the story of Drizzit
the bull snake.
I looked for him as long as I could. But it finally got to the point where I was going to
be REALLY LATE if I didn't leave right then. I was hoping Drizzit wouldn't
surface until I got home from work & could find him. I wasn't @ work more than
45 minutes before my wife calls work & demands they send me home to get this
DA*M snake ouy of her house. I did notice she said her house, not ours. So of
course my supervisor can't just send someone out to relieve me from my post
quietly. He has to say over the radio "officer Hanson come to the front entrance
so you can go home and get a snake out of the house for your wife." Oh boy. The
comments stated being shot out of the radio right away. "Hey Cody you need an
extraction team to be assembled?" "hey Cody don't worry we'll call in the ERT
Team right away" someone even said "the snake is connected to Sancho so you
better bring a big net". For those who don't know what a Sancho is, it's Spanish
for "the other man".
When I get to the house I'm sweating because I ride my bicycle to & from work & I rode home as fast as I could because I was having visions of me getting home & finding Drizzit cut into pieces by my wife brandishing a shovel. When I got home & walked into the house I realized my worries were not realistic at all. My wife was on top of the kitchen table with a can of Spam
being pointed & the other side of the house like a pistol. Turns out she saw
Drizzit while preparing a pan for frying. LOL. I walked over and picked up my
snake ever so lovingly so as not to spook it & started walking towards my wife
while explaining that there nothing to worry about because it's our snake
Drizzit. I assumed that when I explained it wasn't a wild animal, but was our
pet snake she would no longer be scared. WRONG!!! When she saw me getting closer
w/ the snake she started screaming bloody murder! When Drizzit heard my wife
screaming he started thrashing around trying to get out of my arms to hide. When
Drizzit started thrashing around my wife let out a bone curdling scream that
should of awoke the dead! It reminded me of the scene in E.T. When Drew Barrymore and
E.T. are introduced and both start screaming uncontrollably. He he he.
I told my wife to calm down, she was scaring him. Wrong answer! After I finally
got Drizzit back into his cage my wife was FURIOUS that I was worried about the
snake instead of her when I should of seen how distressed she was.... She had a
good point too. Wish I would of thought of that before she pointed it out to me
none to kindly. He he he.
Well needless to say I didn't need to stay home to comfort her. I was
unceremoniously kicked out and told to go back to work before she made matching
wallets & boots out of both of us. He he he.
have been. I'm actually loving it! The only thing I wasn't enjoying about it was
that I was really missing keeping in touch w/ my internet/email buddies,
checking out my tri club's chat board, surfing the web, & blogging. I simply
don't have the time to be on a computer at all. Well my wonderful wife took care
of that for me. She bought me a Palm Pilot (it's a phone/computer combined into
one small & portable device) that I can surf the web on, and even receive & send
emails from the same email account I have on my home PC! I thought it would be difficult to use, but it is suprisingly idiot proof. It works almost the same as my phone & my home PC would. Which I suppose makes sense because that is exactly what it is.
I was able to figure out pretty much everything w/ just the directions except
how to make it so that my Palm Pilot receives/sends emails on the same email
account as the one on my home PC. To get a little more spacific to show how cool it is when my home PC gets an email, my Palm Pilot gets the email too.
So anyhoo I needed to call technical support to synchronize it to my PC. I was
on the phone w/ technical support for 2.5 hrs trying to get that done. They'd
have me do something on the phone, then if it didn't work I would hear the
techy start typing furiously on her computer to see what the next step should
be. Sometimes it would only take a couple moments, but sometimes it would take
up to 5 minutes before she'd be prepared to have me try something else.
After about an hour & a half I started getting up between attempts to do things
around the house. Once she said she was ready to try something else I'd run back
to the computer/phone. On one of those times I opened up my pet snakes cage to
change it's water. When my tech person came back for round 72 or however many &
that point I went back to where my computer & phone was About 10 minutes before
I had to leave for work the synchronizing was finally complete.
I went to the kitchen to grab my lunch box & saw my snakes water bowl on the
counter. I finished filling it w/ water & put it into the cage where my snake
should of been. But my 6' snake wasn't in there anymore! Oh crap!!!
Let me give you a little back ground here. My wife is scared to death of any
snakes larger than a foot or so. Under a foot long & she can tolerate it- she
doesn't like it, but she can tolerate it. The only reason I was allowed to have
this snake was because I found it outside in our yard when it was a hatchling.
It wasn't any longer than 5 inches or so when I found it. It couldn't of been
more than a few weeks old because it still had that large head w/ odd bulging
eyes that snakes have when 1st hatched. I asked if I could have it, & she said
yes because she was under the impression that it was an adult. Honestly I didn't
tell her that it was an adult. But I didn't tell her she was wrong either. I
started feeding it as much as it would eat so it would grow as big as possible.
Next thing my wife knows we have a 6' snake living w/ us. She hates it, but
doesn't make me get rid of it because she knows how attached I've become to it.
I named it Drizzit after the star of my favorite book.
So it's time for me to go to work & my beloved Drizzit is loose in the house. To
make it even worse my Mom is on her way over & she's bringing her Yorkshire
Terrier she calls Guss. My bullsnake Drizzit is big enough to eat Guss. He he
he- no wait, sorry, that wouldn't be funny. I've gotten a demented sense of
humor after working 12 years in a super max prison. Remind me to tell you the
story of the inmate who I watched rip his own face off. Yeah, true story.- But
anyway, back to the story of the large free meal for Drizzit. He he he. Just so
you know though, Guss doesn't meet his demise from my snake. I'm not that
demented to write about it jokingly the night of the death of my Mom's dog. No,
he's not dead, I'm saying that hypothetically. Ok. Back to the story of Drizzit
the bull snake.
I looked for him as long as I could. But it finally got to the point where I was going to
be REALLY LATE if I didn't leave right then. I was hoping Drizzit wouldn't
surface until I got home from work & could find him. I wasn't @ work more than
45 minutes before my wife calls work & demands they send me home to get this
DA*M snake ouy of her house. I did notice she said her house, not ours. So of
course my supervisor can't just send someone out to relieve me from my post
quietly. He has to say over the radio "officer Hanson come to the front entrance
so you can go home and get a snake out of the house for your wife." Oh boy. The
comments stated being shot out of the radio right away. "Hey Cody you need an
extraction team to be assembled?" "hey Cody don't worry we'll call in the ERT
Team right away" someone even said "the snake is connected to Sancho so you
better bring a big net". For those who don't know what a Sancho is, it's Spanish
for "the other man".
When I get to the house I'm sweating because I ride my bicycle to & from work & I rode home as fast as I could because I was having visions of me getting home & finding Drizzit cut into pieces by my wife brandishing a shovel. When I got home & walked into the house I realized my worries were not realistic at all. My wife was on top of the kitchen table with a can of Spam
being pointed & the other side of the house like a pistol. Turns out she saw
Drizzit while preparing a pan for frying. LOL. I walked over and picked up my
snake ever so lovingly so as not to spook it & started walking towards my wife
while explaining that there nothing to worry about because it's our snake
Drizzit. I assumed that when I explained it wasn't a wild animal, but was our
pet snake she would no longer be scared. WRONG!!! When she saw me getting closer
w/ the snake she started screaming bloody murder! When Drizzit heard my wife
screaming he started thrashing around trying to get out of my arms to hide. When
Drizzit started thrashing around my wife let out a bone curdling scream that
should of awoke the dead! It reminded me of the scene in E.T. When Drew Barrymore and
E.T. are introduced and both start screaming uncontrollably. He he he.
I told my wife to calm down, she was scaring him. Wrong answer! After I finally
got Drizzit back into his cage my wife was FURIOUS that I was worried about the
snake instead of her when I should of seen how distressed she was.... She had a
good point too. Wish I would of thought of that before she pointed it out to me
none to kindly. He he he.
Well needless to say I didn't need to stay home to comfort her. I was
unceremoniously kicked out and told to go back to work before she made matching
wallets & boots out of both of us. He he he.
I'm back
Goodness, I have been completely out of contact recently. I've been averaging
72-86 hrs a week at work for about the last month. Originally it was because my
wife was on maternity leave & I needed to make up her income. But a couple weeks
ago she went back to work. That didn't go very well. She cried every morning as
she was getting ready for work, she also cried allot while @ work. After about a
week of that she asked me if she could be a stay @ home Mom. To be honest, when
I heard this I became elated! When she & I were both working we were working
opposite days. I already explained in a recent post the nightmare it was trying
to fit in the time to train for triathlon with that sched. I was always working
out @ odd hours, usually in the dark. During the time she was on her maternity
leave I worked a 12 hr shift @ night, slept, woke up at about noon, trained.
Spent a little time with the family, then back to work. It was so easy even
though I had to work at least 48 hrs of OT every 2 weeks to make up her pay. Well, tomarro, Oct 11th is her official last day of work.
My wife and I figured it out & with 48 hrs of OT every 2 weeks on my part we
can have the exact same lifestyle as when she was working.That would give me 3
days off every 2 weeks. But she & I have decided to go a step farther. We just
finished reading a book called "The Total Money Make Over" by Dave Ramsey. WOW.
What an amazing book!!! Already that book has changed our lives! We were, like
most people living pay check to pay check. We decided we didn't want to live
like that anymore. After reading this book we realized we don't have to. We are
now on our way to being debt free. Imagine that people, no debt at all. No car
payments, not even a house payment. Wonder how? Buy the book, you won't regret
it I promise you!
So to make a long story only slightly shorter, starting this week my wife will
be a full time Mom, I'll be working 7 twelve hr shifts a week unless I have a
race that weekend, and I'll be able to train at normal hrs of the day.
A few side notes. Most people are unable to train allot during the winter
because by the time they get off work it gets dark to soon to get any
substantial training done. Since I work at night that won't be an issue w/ me.
I had been steadily gaining weight for the last 8 months. I ballooned up from 211 to 250lbs a few weeks ago. The times I tend to have problems with my diet are when I get stressed, or life starts getting too rushed & chaotic. Well since I've started working this much I have been on this perfect schedule. I've been getting more than enough sleep, time to work out,
time with my beautiful wife, & time to train. When I am on a good schedule I
rarely splurge on food for comfort, which is a problem w/ me. So for the last
3-4 weeks I've been doing great on my diet. I've lost 8 lbs so far. The only
negative about me working so much has been I don't get as much time w/ my
daughter as I'm used too. But I've found that I'm replacing quantity w/ quality.
& the last side note is that since my wife & I have decided to pinch pennies I
have decided that I won't do another Ironman next year. They cost too much, &
it's even more costly to travel to them because there aren't any nearby. I feel
badly about that decision because a good friend of mine S Baboo really bent over
backwards on The NM Outlaws web site to inform/include me on what Iron races the
team will be doing as a team next year. Sorry S Baboo. I really appreciate you
making that effort on my behalf though.
I'm out. And until next time, PEACE!
72-86 hrs a week at work for about the last month. Originally it was because my
wife was on maternity leave & I needed to make up her income. But a couple weeks
ago she went back to work. That didn't go very well. She cried every morning as
she was getting ready for work, she also cried allot while @ work. After about a
week of that she asked me if she could be a stay @ home Mom. To be honest, when
I heard this I became elated! When she & I were both working we were working
opposite days. I already explained in a recent post the nightmare it was trying
to fit in the time to train for triathlon with that sched. I was always working
out @ odd hours, usually in the dark. During the time she was on her maternity
leave I worked a 12 hr shift @ night, slept, woke up at about noon, trained.
Spent a little time with the family, then back to work. It was so easy even
though I had to work at least 48 hrs of OT every 2 weeks to make up her pay. Well, tomarro, Oct 11th is her official last day of work.
My wife and I figured it out & with 48 hrs of OT every 2 weeks on my part we
can have the exact same lifestyle as when she was working.That would give me 3
days off every 2 weeks. But she & I have decided to go a step farther. We just
finished reading a book called "The Total Money Make Over" by Dave Ramsey. WOW.
What an amazing book!!! Already that book has changed our lives! We were, like
most people living pay check to pay check. We decided we didn't want to live
like that anymore. After reading this book we realized we don't have to. We are
now on our way to being debt free. Imagine that people, no debt at all. No car
payments, not even a house payment. Wonder how? Buy the book, you won't regret
it I promise you!
So to make a long story only slightly shorter, starting this week my wife will
be a full time Mom, I'll be working 7 twelve hr shifts a week unless I have a
race that weekend, and I'll be able to train at normal hrs of the day.
A few side notes. Most people are unable to train allot during the winter
because by the time they get off work it gets dark to soon to get any
substantial training done. Since I work at night that won't be an issue w/ me.
I had been steadily gaining weight for the last 8 months. I ballooned up from 211 to 250lbs a few weeks ago. The times I tend to have problems with my diet are when I get stressed, or life starts getting too rushed & chaotic. Well since I've started working this much I have been on this perfect schedule. I've been getting more than enough sleep, time to work out,
time with my beautiful wife, & time to train. When I am on a good schedule I
rarely splurge on food for comfort, which is a problem w/ me. So for the last
3-4 weeks I've been doing great on my diet. I've lost 8 lbs so far. The only
negative about me working so much has been I don't get as much time w/ my
daughter as I'm used too. But I've found that I'm replacing quantity w/ quality.
& the last side note is that since my wife & I have decided to pinch pennies I
have decided that I won't do another Ironman next year. They cost too much, &
it's even more costly to travel to them because there aren't any nearby. I feel
badly about that decision because a good friend of mine S Baboo really bent over
backwards on The NM Outlaws web site to inform/include me on what Iron races the
team will be doing as a team next year. Sorry S Baboo. I really appreciate you
making that effort on my behalf though.
I'm out. And until next time, PEACE!
September 27, 2007
Flirting w/ the Ironman cut off time
I felt great on today's 3hr 15min run. I got some stomach cramps at the 2hr 15 min mark that lasted 15 minutes. After that I started running again very well. I feel fresh now that I've finished. I took the time to calculate the times of my training rides/runs for the first time today. I realized I'm barely making the Ironman time minimums on my training days. Although I feel good at the end my long days I'm just plain slow. I'm worried I'll not make the cut off times. I have been averaging 13 miles an hour on my 6 hr long bike days which has around 9,000 feet elevation gained and lost. My long runs are around 3 hrs 15 minutes and I am covering around 15.5 miles. That's a 12:42 ave. I don't know the elevation on those training runs. On one hand I feel better after completing these distances than I ever have before. But it just boils down to me being dang slow.
September 19, 2007
cancer
I got this letter from my cousin about my Aunt Leah this morning:
Well, mom had a follow-up appointment with her oncologist today and the prognosis is defiantly Multiple Myeloma. Mom has a bone biopsy scheduled for this Friday with another follow-up on Sept. 27 to develop a game plan for treatment and determine how far along her blood borne cancer is.
There is no treatment for this cancer, you can only treat the symptoms (that may include kidney problems, broken bones, susceptibility to illness, etc.). Hobbs has a wonderful cancer treatment center and all of mom's needs should be met right there! Initially mom will start a round of 3 (or so) medications to slow the progression with chemotherapy to take place sometime in the future.
Aside from the anemia mom isn't experiencing any other symptoms. This can progress very slowly, so keep your fingers crossed and mom, dad and Big Mama in your prayers.
My Aunt Leah is like a mother to me. So this isn't going to be easy for me. I was wondering if you all could pray for my Aunt Leah, my Grandmother Mona, and me. My Grandma has lost her husband and a daughter from cancer already. This is her 2nd daughter who has been diagnosed with a non-curable form of cancer. all prayers would be greatly appreciated.
Well, mom had a follow-up appointment with her oncologist today and the prognosis is defiantly Multiple Myeloma. Mom has a bone biopsy scheduled for this Friday with another follow-up on Sept. 27 to develop a game plan for treatment and determine how far along her blood borne cancer is.
There is no treatment for this cancer, you can only treat the symptoms (that may include kidney problems, broken bones, susceptibility to illness, etc.). Hobbs has a wonderful cancer treatment center and all of mom's needs should be met right there! Initially mom will start a round of 3 (or so) medications to slow the progression with chemotherapy to take place sometime in the future.
Aside from the anemia mom isn't experiencing any other symptoms. This can progress very slowly, so keep your fingers crossed and mom, dad and Big Mama in your prayers.
My Aunt Leah is like a mother to me. So this isn't going to be easy for me. I was wondering if you all could pray for my Aunt Leah, my Grandmother Mona, and me. My Grandma has lost her husband and a daughter from cancer already. This is her 2nd daughter who has been diagnosed with a non-curable form of cancer. all prayers would be greatly appreciated.
September 18, 2007
Her first I love you
I was in Co. Sat Sept 15th at around 8pm and it was the day before the Harvest Moon 70.3. I was talking to my daughter on the phone and she told me "I love you daddy" for the first time. She said it very clearly, as if she'd been saying "I love you Daddy" for years. It was a perfect weekend.
September 17, 2007
Harvest Moon post race report
The race this weekend was bitter sweet. There were a couple of bad things, but mostly good.
I'll start with the best thing first. Most of you guys know me and know that Michael and Amanda Lovato are my two biggest idols. They are two VERY dominant triathletes. The way they treat people, the way they persevere through tough times, are rare traits in pro athletes these days. I wrote Michael about three months ago, he responded with a personal and heart felt letter. Here's a portion of the letter I sent:
I watched the 2005 Kona Ironman and saw you were forced to walk the run course. It was explained to me that if a pro triathlete is unable to finish in the top 20 that that they almost always quit. But you didn't. You continued to walk finishing around 395th. I was completely motivated by your determination and refusal to quit! That night I pulled out my indoor trainer, wiped off the dust and started training again. I haven't stopped training since. Every time I become frustrated or want to quit I think of your outstanding performance at the 2005 Ironman world championship race- yes, I feel it was the most outstanding performance of the day! You could of stopped and packed it up once you realized you're race was impacted by severe GI problems. Most pros would have to insure not becoming injured. But you didn't, and I haven't quit either.
I plan on doing the Harvest moon long course half Iron distance triathlon in Col. as a tune up race in Sept. Then the Silverman Iron distance in Nov. If I can persevere and never quit like your example has taught me next year I'll be known as an Ironman not just a former fat guy. Knowing the gratitude I have for you, my cousin called me to tell me he watched Kona in person, he said you came back out after your race and cheered on the last people to finish. He said you were the only pro who before the race was smiling at all the amateurs, you were friendly and approachable. We believe you are an incredible representative of the sport, and I just wanted to take this opportunity to tell you that after what I've done, and plan to do my life will never be the same. I owe allot of that to you due to your example.
Well, Michael and Amanda were at the Harvest Moon half Iron. Amanda was racing the long course. She actually started the race on the same wave as me, but she wasn't on the course nearly as long as I was :) She took 1st place with a blazing 4:34!!!!
From my letter Michael and Amanda knew I'd be at the Harvest Moon. After the race they took the time to find me and introduce themselves. After that we hung out for almost an hour. What great people they are. It really made this weekend a special occasion! On a really cool side note: When I first got introduced to them I went to shake Amanda's hand and instead she gave me a great big hug!! I got to hug Amanda Lovato!!!!!! I can die happy now. That just shows how down to earth and approachable those people are.
Now for my post race report. This was the Clydesdale long course championships. So I was pretty exited. I have always raced half Irons at a high zone 2 heart rate so that I can finish in a good time and not fall apart on the run. At the Harvest Moon I decided to try and push mid zone 3 on the bike and run. I knew I may end up bonking, but I wanted to test my limits. ]
I got out of the water in around a 37 minute time. It would of been a PR but T-1 was around 200 yards from the exit of the water, so my official time was 41:57. On the bike my mid zone 3 is around 135 beats a minute. My race strategy was to keep it around that area. But because of my coach was there, it was the Clyd long course championships, and probably the biggest reason was the Lovato's were there I couldn't help pushing it harder than I should have. I never let my HR below 140. My ave HR for the bike ended up being 142. I also only kept one water bottle holder on my bike. Which meant I was limiting my fluid intake to 26oz every 15 miles. HUGE mistake!!! My sweat rate is immense! On a day where the temp is about 90 degrees I sweat approximately 50 oz an hour. It turned out the temp's were almost at 90. So at the 10 mile mark I was out of fluid. The next aid station wasn't until mile 15. Between every aid station I became more and more dehydrated. At the 40 mile mark I stopped sweating and had a migraine head ache that was so bad I could only keep one eye open. Keeping 2 eyes open seemed to make the migraine feel worse.
By mile 45 I was only keeping up a 10 mile an hour ave. I was crashing hard! I could tell by the way my body felt that I could of kept up the pace I was trying to keep on the bike if I had been able to stay hydrated. Coulda, woulda, shoulda.
When I got off the bike I felt HORRIBLE! I've bonked before at races and on long training days. Not sure if it's me or if every one is like this, but when I bonk there is no possibility of recovering. The days race or training is essentially over. I have never once recovered from a glycogen or hydration deficit no matter how much I drink or eat. But let me tell you, I've never given up on a race. In April of this year I got two flats but only had one tube so I walked 7 miles with my bike to T-2 and finished the swim anyways. I was dead last, but I didn't DNF! Did I mention I saw a guy named Michael Lovato do something like that in 2005 at Kona? I wasn't about to start quiting now. I walked to the first aid station which was at the 1 mile mark in 16 minutes. I slammed 2 cups of water. I would of drank more but I felt like I was going to throw up if I did. I did a shuffle to the next aid station at the 2 mile mark in another 15 minutes. At that station I drank 3 cups of HEED and ate a gel. By the 2.5 mile mark I had recovered enough to start a semi-run. Did you hear that people? I was recovering! I ended up able to keep up a 10:30 pace the rest of the race finishing the half marathon in 2:26.
I ended up with a total time of 6:26. 2nd best of four 70.3's for me. If I would of managed my hydration correctly I'm pretty confident that I would of finished around 6:06. Considering how dehydrated I got and that I recovered from a bonk really makes me feel confident of my fitness level. The Silverman is MINE baby!!!!! It also makes me realize I have a great coach! Peter Alfino at Mile High Multisport if anyone out there in blog land is in need of a dang genius! So, I finished 3rd place Clyd 39 and under in the Clydes long course championships which technically ranks me as the 3rd place Clydesdale in the world at the long course this year. Hey, if there's faster and they didn't toe the start line that's their fault. I'm only reiterating what the results are telling me. The Harvest Moon RD is going to mail me my plaque. I'm pretty exited.
I'll start with the best thing first. Most of you guys know me and know that Michael and Amanda Lovato are my two biggest idols. They are two VERY dominant triathletes. The way they treat people, the way they persevere through tough times, are rare traits in pro athletes these days. I wrote Michael about three months ago, he responded with a personal and heart felt letter. Here's a portion of the letter I sent:
I watched the 2005 Kona Ironman and saw you were forced to walk the run course. It was explained to me that if a pro triathlete is unable to finish in the top 20 that that they almost always quit. But you didn't. You continued to walk finishing around 395th. I was completely motivated by your determination and refusal to quit! That night I pulled out my indoor trainer, wiped off the dust and started training again. I haven't stopped training since. Every time I become frustrated or want to quit I think of your outstanding performance at the 2005 Ironman world championship race- yes, I feel it was the most outstanding performance of the day! You could of stopped and packed it up once you realized you're race was impacted by severe GI problems. Most pros would have to insure not becoming injured. But you didn't, and I haven't quit either.
I plan on doing the Harvest moon long course half Iron distance triathlon in Col. as a tune up race in Sept. Then the Silverman Iron distance in Nov. If I can persevere and never quit like your example has taught me next year I'll be known as an Ironman not just a former fat guy. Knowing the gratitude I have for you, my cousin called me to tell me he watched Kona in person, he said you came back out after your race and cheered on the last people to finish. He said you were the only pro who before the race was smiling at all the amateurs, you were friendly and approachable. We believe you are an incredible representative of the sport, and I just wanted to take this opportunity to tell you that after what I've done, and plan to do my life will never be the same. I owe allot of that to you due to your example.
Well, Michael and Amanda were at the Harvest Moon half Iron. Amanda was racing the long course. She actually started the race on the same wave as me, but she wasn't on the course nearly as long as I was :) She took 1st place with a blazing 4:34!!!!
From my letter Michael and Amanda knew I'd be at the Harvest Moon. After the race they took the time to find me and introduce themselves. After that we hung out for almost an hour. What great people they are. It really made this weekend a special occasion! On a really cool side note: When I first got introduced to them I went to shake Amanda's hand and instead she gave me a great big hug!! I got to hug Amanda Lovato!!!!!! I can die happy now. That just shows how down to earth and approachable those people are.
Now for my post race report. This was the Clydesdale long course championships. So I was pretty exited. I have always raced half Irons at a high zone 2 heart rate so that I can finish in a good time and not fall apart on the run. At the Harvest Moon I decided to try and push mid zone 3 on the bike and run. I knew I may end up bonking, but I wanted to test my limits. ]
I got out of the water in around a 37 minute time. It would of been a PR but T-1 was around 200 yards from the exit of the water, so my official time was 41:57. On the bike my mid zone 3 is around 135 beats a minute. My race strategy was to keep it around that area. But because of my coach was there, it was the Clyd long course championships, and probably the biggest reason was the Lovato's were there I couldn't help pushing it harder than I should have. I never let my HR below 140. My ave HR for the bike ended up being 142. I also only kept one water bottle holder on my bike. Which meant I was limiting my fluid intake to 26oz every 15 miles. HUGE mistake!!! My sweat rate is immense! On a day where the temp is about 90 degrees I sweat approximately 50 oz an hour. It turned out the temp's were almost at 90. So at the 10 mile mark I was out of fluid. The next aid station wasn't until mile 15. Between every aid station I became more and more dehydrated. At the 40 mile mark I stopped sweating and had a migraine head ache that was so bad I could only keep one eye open. Keeping 2 eyes open seemed to make the migraine feel worse.
By mile 45 I was only keeping up a 10 mile an hour ave. I was crashing hard! I could tell by the way my body felt that I could of kept up the pace I was trying to keep on the bike if I had been able to stay hydrated. Coulda, woulda, shoulda.
When I got off the bike I felt HORRIBLE! I've bonked before at races and on long training days. Not sure if it's me or if every one is like this, but when I bonk there is no possibility of recovering. The days race or training is essentially over. I have never once recovered from a glycogen or hydration deficit no matter how much I drink or eat. But let me tell you, I've never given up on a race. In April of this year I got two flats but only had one tube so I walked 7 miles with my bike to T-2 and finished the swim anyways. I was dead last, but I didn't DNF! Did I mention I saw a guy named Michael Lovato do something like that in 2005 at Kona? I wasn't about to start quiting now. I walked to the first aid station which was at the 1 mile mark in 16 minutes. I slammed 2 cups of water. I would of drank more but I felt like I was going to throw up if I did. I did a shuffle to the next aid station at the 2 mile mark in another 15 minutes. At that station I drank 3 cups of HEED and ate a gel. By the 2.5 mile mark I had recovered enough to start a semi-run. Did you hear that people? I was recovering! I ended up able to keep up a 10:30 pace the rest of the race finishing the half marathon in 2:26.
I ended up with a total time of 6:26. 2nd best of four 70.3's for me. If I would of managed my hydration correctly I'm pretty confident that I would of finished around 6:06. Considering how dehydrated I got and that I recovered from a bonk really makes me feel confident of my fitness level. The Silverman is MINE baby!!!!! It also makes me realize I have a great coach! Peter Alfino at Mile High Multisport if anyone out there in blog land is in need of a dang genius! So, I finished 3rd place Clyd 39 and under in the Clydes long course championships which technically ranks me as the 3rd place Clydesdale in the world at the long course this year. Hey, if there's faster and they didn't toe the start line that's their fault. I'm only reiterating what the results are telling me. The Harvest Moon RD is going to mail me my plaque. I'm pretty exited.
September 14, 2007
The end of a crappy day
Today was one of those dreaded crappy days. When I was packing for my race I couldn't find allot of my race gear. I do allot of races every year, usually around 12-18. So I've mastered the art of packing for a race. It usually takes me about 45 minutes. Today I couldn't allot of my gear so it took me 3 hrs. 3 hrs of packing after having to cut my days sleep short in order to get all the things I had scheduled to get done today. So after I finish getting all my things ready to go I take my bike on one last short ride to make sure the race wheels I put on for my race are performing well, and the drive train is shifting well. Well, it wasn't shifting well at all. I couldn't get my rear derailleur to shift into my highest gear. I spent an hour and a half adjusting, riding a few feet to see if it's working, getting off again to adjust, riding long enough to see it's not. Etc, etc. Finally at 5pm I realize something is up, and I wasn't going to be able to fix it. The bike shop is 20 minutes away, and they close at 6. I can't have it fixed tomorrow because I leave for Co. at 6am! On top of that I was supposed to be in to work at 6pm. On the way to the bike shop I had to call in sick to work. So there I am using 12 hrs sick leave that I'll need soon because I just found out my favorite aunt has a rare form of cancer. Aunt Leah has been like a 2nd Mom to me. I used to spend my summers with her & her family. Those summers were especially wonderful for me because I was raised in an abusive household. Those summers were the only times growing up I really ever felt safe. Consequently she has a VERY special place in my heart. To make that an even more sensitive situation my Aunt Jackie died of cancer less than one year ago. My Grandmther is a wreck because her 2nd daughter is gotten cancer in so short of a time frame.
The way the state Penns pay system works is we get time and a half pay for overtime, but if we call in sick, however many hrs sick leave we use, that many hrs OT turns to straight time. So because I called in sick I have lost my family $96. That's allot when I am the sole provider for 2 adults, a toddler, and a new born.
When I get to the bike shop I run in with my bike and tell one of the salesmen that I'm about to have an emotional beak down, I have a race I'm leaving for tomorrow morning and my bikes not working. The salesman says he'll see if one of the bike tech's would be willing to stay late to fix it. The first 3 of the 4 say no. The fourth says ok. He fixes it perfectly. But while doing so he also adjusted the Aero bars and bull horns so my bike is in a better riding style. At first i freak out about this, but when he sets the bike up on an indoor trainer and says try it, I realize it was perfect! I'd never felt so good in my Aero's. But still, I know no one is EVER supposed to make adjustments to their bike before a big race. And the Clydesdale long course championships are 2 days away. Well, I can just be optimistic and hope it actually makes me faster, not hurt me.
Now to the good news. The guy at the bike shop saw how grateful I was, he worked on my bike for an hour, well past closing time. He said he knew what panic feels like when something like this comes up before a big race. He said he was glad to be able to help, and that he doesn't want to charge me anything at all, but his boss would have his tail. So he only charged my $12.50. I tried to give him a tip. But he steadfastly refused.
So then I get home, my wife is there waiting for me. I tell her I had to call in sick at work because of the situation with my bike. I'm ready for a butt chewing because I just lost us almost $100 when we really need it.... It never came. All she cared about was if I got the bike thing worked out. Dang it I have a great wife! The way she handled that situation seemed to lift so much offthe days stress of my shoulders. I don't know why I was expecting her to be upset. I've never really seen her get upset at me. All she ever does is give me her unconditional support. She is TRULY a gift from God!
Once I got home I was still stressed. I felt better because my wife was so understanding and supportive. But I was still stressed. When I get stressed I, like allot of people, turn to something that makes them feel better. For some it's alcohol, or drugs. For me it's food. I find comfort in food, not sure why, but that's what I have always turned to when I'm sad, stressed, overly tired, or even exceedingly happy. The more emotional I get, the more I'll eat, the more I eat the more guilty I feel because I don't like the way I look or feel. The worse I feel about having just over eaten, the more I eat to rid the feelings of guilt of over eating. I'm over weight, and a triathlete. Not 2 things that fit well together. But something great happened recently. A fellow triathlete who has been following my blog saw some of the signs of eating for comfort. Turns out he does too. He reached out to me and offered to be my sponsor. Basically that means he's been giving me some advise on how this food issue affects us, and ways of dealing with this. He also said in times of stress when I want to start binging on food, I could call him, no matter what time it is. So when I got home and went straight for the refrigerator, I stopped and decided I'd try calling him. We never talked about food during that conversation, we simply chatted casually. I brought up some of the crap that had happened with my bike that day and laughed it off like it wasn't a big deal. Never really brought up all the other stress of the day. We mostly talked about our triathlon goals, and how we were going to accomplish them. Again, we never talked about food, but by the time I got off the phone I was ready to eat a reasonable sized, healthy meal. I ate healthy, and in reasonable portions! I know it doesn't seem like that big of a deal. I didn't over eat on one meal. Big deal. But with me, one meal starts me feeling crappy because I realize I'm now one step farther away from my ultimate goal of looking like a triathlete, not just being one. So then I eat to make myself feel better. It's not uncommon for me to start an avalanche, that by the time I am able to stop it I have packed on 20+ lbs in a couple of weeks! No exaggeration at all. Over 20 lbs in less than two weeks... Happens to me all the time. But not this time, because of an outstanding person, my sponsor, who showed up in my life unexpectedly. The only people who read my blog are my triathlon team mates, and strangers. But while surfing this blog world I have seen how supportive everyone always is. So that's why I chose to share my weakness today. This is actually the first time I've let anyone know other than my wife, my sponsor, and couch-potatoe-to-ironman. Felt pretty dang liberating to stop hiding it.
Tonight was a real treat because I have been working nights for 2 months now, so I don't get to sleep at the same time as my wife. When I get home from work she's usually getting up to take care of our little ones. I usually am a very deep sleeper. But tonight I just laid there most of the night unable to sleep because I'm used to working at nights. I tried to be as still as possible so my wife could sleep well. Twice during the night I felt my wife lean over to me and kiss the back of my head. I would never of felt her kiss me on most nights because of how deeply I sleep. And I realized she wasn't doing it because she wanted to show me some attention, she thought I was asleep. She did it simply because we are in love, and she was grateful I was home for the night even if it did mean I was losing my family money.
Life can dang good sometimes you know?
The way the state Penns pay system works is we get time and a half pay for overtime, but if we call in sick, however many hrs sick leave we use, that many hrs OT turns to straight time. So because I called in sick I have lost my family $96. That's allot when I am the sole provider for 2 adults, a toddler, and a new born.
When I get to the bike shop I run in with my bike and tell one of the salesmen that I'm about to have an emotional beak down, I have a race I'm leaving for tomorrow morning and my bikes not working. The salesman says he'll see if one of the bike tech's would be willing to stay late to fix it. The first 3 of the 4 say no. The fourth says ok. He fixes it perfectly. But while doing so he also adjusted the Aero bars and bull horns so my bike is in a better riding style. At first i freak out about this, but when he sets the bike up on an indoor trainer and says try it, I realize it was perfect! I'd never felt so good in my Aero's. But still, I know no one is EVER supposed to make adjustments to their bike before a big race. And the Clydesdale long course championships are 2 days away. Well, I can just be optimistic and hope it actually makes me faster, not hurt me.
Now to the good news. The guy at the bike shop saw how grateful I was, he worked on my bike for an hour, well past closing time. He said he knew what panic feels like when something like this comes up before a big race. He said he was glad to be able to help, and that he doesn't want to charge me anything at all, but his boss would have his tail. So he only charged my $12.50. I tried to give him a tip. But he steadfastly refused.
So then I get home, my wife is there waiting for me. I tell her I had to call in sick at work because of the situation with my bike. I'm ready for a butt chewing because I just lost us almost $100 when we really need it.... It never came. All she cared about was if I got the bike thing worked out. Dang it I have a great wife! The way she handled that situation seemed to lift so much offthe days stress of my shoulders. I don't know why I was expecting her to be upset. I've never really seen her get upset at me. All she ever does is give me her unconditional support. She is TRULY a gift from God!
Once I got home I was still stressed. I felt better because my wife was so understanding and supportive. But I was still stressed. When I get stressed I, like allot of people, turn to something that makes them feel better. For some it's alcohol, or drugs. For me it's food. I find comfort in food, not sure why, but that's what I have always turned to when I'm sad, stressed, overly tired, or even exceedingly happy. The more emotional I get, the more I'll eat, the more I eat the more guilty I feel because I don't like the way I look or feel. The worse I feel about having just over eaten, the more I eat to rid the feelings of guilt of over eating. I'm over weight, and a triathlete. Not 2 things that fit well together. But something great happened recently. A fellow triathlete who has been following my blog saw some of the signs of eating for comfort. Turns out he does too. He reached out to me and offered to be my sponsor. Basically that means he's been giving me some advise on how this food issue affects us, and ways of dealing with this. He also said in times of stress when I want to start binging on food, I could call him, no matter what time it is. So when I got home and went straight for the refrigerator, I stopped and decided I'd try calling him. We never talked about food during that conversation, we simply chatted casually. I brought up some of the crap that had happened with my bike that day and laughed it off like it wasn't a big deal. Never really brought up all the other stress of the day. We mostly talked about our triathlon goals, and how we were going to accomplish them. Again, we never talked about food, but by the time I got off the phone I was ready to eat a reasonable sized, healthy meal. I ate healthy, and in reasonable portions! I know it doesn't seem like that big of a deal. I didn't over eat on one meal. Big deal. But with me, one meal starts me feeling crappy because I realize I'm now one step farther away from my ultimate goal of looking like a triathlete, not just being one. So then I eat to make myself feel better. It's not uncommon for me to start an avalanche, that by the time I am able to stop it I have packed on 20+ lbs in a couple of weeks! No exaggeration at all. Over 20 lbs in less than two weeks... Happens to me all the time. But not this time, because of an outstanding person, my sponsor, who showed up in my life unexpectedly. The only people who read my blog are my triathlon team mates, and strangers. But while surfing this blog world I have seen how supportive everyone always is. So that's why I chose to share my weakness today. This is actually the first time I've let anyone know other than my wife, my sponsor, and couch-potatoe-to-ironman. Felt pretty dang liberating to stop hiding it.
Tonight was a real treat because I have been working nights for 2 months now, so I don't get to sleep at the same time as my wife. When I get home from work she's usually getting up to take care of our little ones. I usually am a very deep sleeper. But tonight I just laid there most of the night unable to sleep because I'm used to working at nights. I tried to be as still as possible so my wife could sleep well. Twice during the night I felt my wife lean over to me and kiss the back of my head. I would never of felt her kiss me on most nights because of how deeply I sleep. And I realized she wasn't doing it because she wanted to show me some attention, she thought I was asleep. She did it simply because we are in love, and she was grateful I was home for the night even if it did mean I was losing my family money.
Life can dang good sometimes you know?
September 12, 2007
The Lovato's and race day strategy.
I decided since I'm going to be in Co this weekend I might as well try to see if I could get in contact with my idols: Michael and Amanda Lovato. I sent them an email asking if I could buy them some coffee. They said they'd be willing to meet me on Sat after Amanda picks up her race packet. Turns out she's doing Harvest Moon also. I'll post the picks. I'm pretty exited.
Speaking of Harvest Moon my coach sent me an email stating I should look at the Harvest Moon as a training day, not a race. Reason being is that this race is the first day of my next big build. Since I'm thinking this race doesn't really matter in the long run, I think I'm going to try and push myself harder, closer to the red line, than I would for an A race that's a 70.3. The positve of trying to push closer to the red line is that I could break my PR at that distance. That would be really something considering my 70.3 PR is at Clearwater. Clearwater is a totally flat course! The danger of pushing myself that hard will be bonking early. That would ruin my race. But again, it's a tune up race for the Silverman. So if it does get ruined I'm ok with that. It's worth the risk in my mind. I get my T-shirt regardless of if I PR or bonk. I am slightly worried about this weekends race though. My throat has been a little sore the last 2 days. And my left knee was hurting really badly earlier in the week. It is much better now, but it still hurts a bit when I run.
Peace!
Speaking of Harvest Moon my coach sent me an email stating I should look at the Harvest Moon as a training day, not a race. Reason being is that this race is the first day of my next big build. Since I'm thinking this race doesn't really matter in the long run, I think I'm going to try and push myself harder, closer to the red line, than I would for an A race that's a 70.3. The positve of trying to push closer to the red line is that I could break my PR at that distance. That would be really something considering my 70.3 PR is at Clearwater. Clearwater is a totally flat course! The danger of pushing myself that hard will be bonking early. That would ruin my race. But again, it's a tune up race for the Silverman. So if it does get ruined I'm ok with that. It's worth the risk in my mind. I get my T-shirt regardless of if I PR or bonk. I am slightly worried about this weekends race though. My throat has been a little sore the last 2 days. And my left knee was hurting really badly earlier in the week. It is much better now, but it still hurts a bit when I run.
Peace!
August 31, 2007
Over Time, Iron training, and the NM marathon
This is my 50th post, so I thought I'd do something special...How about posting for the first time in almost a month? I became motivated to do so when I got a call from one of my idols Tricia Hoyt. Turns out she has been checking out my blog. She was nationally ranked in fitness competitions. Then she decided to try running, she qualified for Boston almost immediately. Now she owns her own buisness called Fitness on Wheels. I had no idea I was being read by such accomplished people. Here Goes:
Since the birth of my son 27 days ago my wife has been staying at home using her maternity leave. The first week of of her 6 weeks off she had payed leave. The 2nd and third week off we had enough $ saved to cover her net pay. The last 3 weeks of her maternity leave she's not getting paid and we don't have anymore $ saved to cover her income-no lack of trying on our part.
So consequently I have been working a bunch of overtime to make up her usual wages. No easy thing considering she makes more money at her job than I do at mine. I have worked a 12hr shift every night except one for the last 3.5 weeks. All my tri-buddies told me going into this that one thing or another had to give: a new born, 24 twelve hr shifts in a 28 day period, and to top it all off I'm only 10 weeks away from my Ironman debut. 10 weeks out means I am seriously ramping up my training! Anyone who has trained for an Ironman knows the feeling accompanied to the last 2 months of Iron training. To put it simply it's sheer exhaustion! I'll be pushing my body to the limit, getting as close to over training, even injury as possible without passing that fine line. The build phase of Iron training is always hard, even without waking up every 3 hrs to feed my newborn son, even without the extra shifts at work, this was going to be hard. And now that I'm actually putting all this on my plate I'm shocked to find out that I'm actually more able to handle the higher workout load now than what I was doing before.
That realization has gotten me to thinking Why? The answer was simple enough. Now that I look back I realize it's common sense. You see before I'd work 6am-6pm Wed-Sat. As soon as I got home from work I'd start working out. More often than not I wouldn't get done with my workouts until after 10pm. I'd eat, spend a little time with my bride, get 4-5 hrs sleep, then do it again. On my RDO's (regular days off) I was completely exhausted and I slept in until my daughter awoke at 8:30am. I'd take care of her until my wife got home from work at 6 or 7pm. I'd spend some quality time with my wife. And once the family was settled I'd get to training. It wasn't uncommon for me to start running at the track or riding my indoor trainer at 11pm. Often times my wife would want me to hold her until she fell asleep, so I wouldn't start my workout until 2am. Crazy I know! but simply put, my family is my #1 priority. I always made sure to fit training in when I could. No matter what, I would always train. You see, I married up. So I have to continue to look good for my wife!
Now that my wife is home all day I have been getting home from work, sleeping(not much), working out, then spending time with my family. Wow, how easy this has been! There's actually been structure and a pattern to my training and my life!!! Even with 6 twelve hour shifts of work a week, waking up frequently with a new born, sleeping during the day, and Iron training my family still has more time together, I'm getting more structured sleep, and my training has been more consistent. OH, hallelujah!
Now on to the next subject. I just finished my first big Build block of training for the Silvermamn. On Saturdays I was doing 6.5hr bricks, and on Sundays I was doing 13-14 mile runs, add what I was doing during the week I had averaged 17hr 45 min of working out a week. The last day of a 3 week build was supposed to be a 14 mile run. It happened to be on the same day as the NM half marathon. What a great opertunity! Friendly people to run with. Aid stations with people to hand me Gatorade, water, and salty snacks! And a finishing medal.
I knew I was in better shape than the time I ran my PR half marathon of 1:57. But I also knew that because of me being at the end of a vicious build cycle I was going to struggle with this run. Oh did I ever struggle! I pushed myself as hard as I ever had, but it felt like I was running in quick sand.
The nick name that my tri team "The NM Outlaws" bestowed upon me is Smilin Cody. Because I talk allot and have fun during races. That doesn't mean I'm not giving it my all, I am just a jokester when I race. And since this was a C race, also known as a training race, I was being even more goofy than usual.
Right before the race started I realized I had to go un-carb-build :) I had taken care of that awhile earlier, but when nature calls, I must answer! While I was in the Porto-potty I heard the race director start the count down. Dang it, not the way I wanted to start the day's run. About 15 seconds before the start time is when I hop out of the John, and that is exactly when the RD says over the bull horn "anyone else in the restrooms?" 150 turn and watch me depart the Porto-potty. Hi people! "Don't look at me like that" I'm thinking, "you do it too."
At every aid station there was people yelling Gatorade! And I yelled back Pollo! (Marco, pollo. Get it?) At the time I thought I was being very funny, but now that I look back I realize no one ever laughed, or even cracked a smile. I am my own biggest fan.
Around mile 10 I catch a guy who only weighs about 150 lbs. He looks at me, then does a double take. I know what's coming, I get it all the time. He says to me "are you running the 5K?"
"No I'm doing the half."
"How does a guy as big as you run so fast?"
" I have allot of stored energy" I reply.
"I'd say" he replies. Ok, now that was rude. I get the -wow most guys that big don't usually run this fast- thing all the time. I actually like hearing that. I take it as a complement. But something about the "I guess" comment rubbed me the wrong way. So I turn and look at the guy and said "If we were playing tag, you'd be it forever." And then I stomped on the gas! I kept up an 8:30 ave the last 3 miles. The guy tried to keep up, but after about a quarter mile I popped him. I popped him so hard it was audible. By the time Mr. "I have the perfect running physique" passed the finish line I had already gotten my picture taken by a photographer, found my family, drank some water, and came back to the finish line to watch him get his finishing medal. I'm not usually one to gloat, but that did feel good.
I finished 2:01. Not bad considering how hard my body had been pushed for three weeks. But I must say I was a little disappointed. I really wanted to break my 1:57 PR. I'm feeling really good about my training. I've felt better at the end of my long days than I have ever felt. I believe I'm going to conquer the Silverman!
I'd like to promise that it won;t be so long until my next post, but time has been a commodity I've been lacking recently. But I'll do my best. I will be doing the Harvest Moon half Iron 9-16. That is the Clydesdale long course championships. I'm very exited. I will at least give all you out there in blog land a post race report.
By the way, thanks for pushing me to continue posting more frequently Couch-potatoe-to-Ironman!
Thanks for reading. I'm out.
Since the birth of my son 27 days ago my wife has been staying at home using her maternity leave. The first week of of her 6 weeks off she had payed leave. The 2nd and third week off we had enough $ saved to cover her net pay. The last 3 weeks of her maternity leave she's not getting paid and we don't have anymore $ saved to cover her income-no lack of trying on our part.
So consequently I have been working a bunch of overtime to make up her usual wages. No easy thing considering she makes more money at her job than I do at mine. I have worked a 12hr shift every night except one for the last 3.5 weeks. All my tri-buddies told me going into this that one thing or another had to give: a new born, 24 twelve hr shifts in a 28 day period, and to top it all off I'm only 10 weeks away from my Ironman debut. 10 weeks out means I am seriously ramping up my training! Anyone who has trained for an Ironman knows the feeling accompanied to the last 2 months of Iron training. To put it simply it's sheer exhaustion! I'll be pushing my body to the limit, getting as close to over training, even injury as possible without passing that fine line. The build phase of Iron training is always hard, even without waking up every 3 hrs to feed my newborn son, even without the extra shifts at work, this was going to be hard. And now that I'm actually putting all this on my plate I'm shocked to find out that I'm actually more able to handle the higher workout load now than what I was doing before.
That realization has gotten me to thinking Why? The answer was simple enough. Now that I look back I realize it's common sense. You see before I'd work 6am-6pm Wed-Sat. As soon as I got home from work I'd start working out. More often than not I wouldn't get done with my workouts until after 10pm. I'd eat, spend a little time with my bride, get 4-5 hrs sleep, then do it again. On my RDO's (regular days off) I was completely exhausted and I slept in until my daughter awoke at 8:30am. I'd take care of her until my wife got home from work at 6 or 7pm. I'd spend some quality time with my wife. And once the family was settled I'd get to training. It wasn't uncommon for me to start running at the track or riding my indoor trainer at 11pm. Often times my wife would want me to hold her until she fell asleep, so I wouldn't start my workout until 2am. Crazy I know! but simply put, my family is my #1 priority. I always made sure to fit training in when I could. No matter what, I would always train. You see, I married up. So I have to continue to look good for my wife!
Now that my wife is home all day I have been getting home from work, sleeping(not much), working out, then spending time with my family. Wow, how easy this has been! There's actually been structure and a pattern to my training and my life!!! Even with 6 twelve hour shifts of work a week, waking up frequently with a new born, sleeping during the day, and Iron training my family still has more time together, I'm getting more structured sleep, and my training has been more consistent. OH, hallelujah!
Now on to the next subject. I just finished my first big Build block of training for the Silvermamn. On Saturdays I was doing 6.5hr bricks, and on Sundays I was doing 13-14 mile runs, add what I was doing during the week I had averaged 17hr 45 min of working out a week. The last day of a 3 week build was supposed to be a 14 mile run. It happened to be on the same day as the NM half marathon. What a great opertunity! Friendly people to run with. Aid stations with people to hand me Gatorade, water, and salty snacks! And a finishing medal.
I knew I was in better shape than the time I ran my PR half marathon of 1:57. But I also knew that because of me being at the end of a vicious build cycle I was going to struggle with this run. Oh did I ever struggle! I pushed myself as hard as I ever had, but it felt like I was running in quick sand.
The nick name that my tri team "The NM Outlaws" bestowed upon me is Smilin Cody. Because I talk allot and have fun during races. That doesn't mean I'm not giving it my all, I am just a jokester when I race. And since this was a C race, also known as a training race, I was being even more goofy than usual.
Right before the race started I realized I had to go un-carb-build :) I had taken care of that awhile earlier, but when nature calls, I must answer! While I was in the Porto-potty I heard the race director start the count down. Dang it, not the way I wanted to start the day's run. About 15 seconds before the start time is when I hop out of the John, and that is exactly when the RD says over the bull horn "anyone else in the restrooms?" 150 turn and watch me depart the Porto-potty. Hi people! "Don't look at me like that" I'm thinking, "you do it too."
At every aid station there was people yelling Gatorade! And I yelled back Pollo! (Marco, pollo. Get it?) At the time I thought I was being very funny, but now that I look back I realize no one ever laughed, or even cracked a smile. I am my own biggest fan.
Around mile 10 I catch a guy who only weighs about 150 lbs. He looks at me, then does a double take. I know what's coming, I get it all the time. He says to me "are you running the 5K?"
"No I'm doing the half."
"How does a guy as big as you run so fast?"
" I have allot of stored energy" I reply.
"I'd say" he replies. Ok, now that was rude. I get the -wow most guys that big don't usually run this fast- thing all the time. I actually like hearing that. I take it as a complement. But something about the "I guess" comment rubbed me the wrong way. So I turn and look at the guy and said "If we were playing tag, you'd be it forever." And then I stomped on the gas! I kept up an 8:30 ave the last 3 miles. The guy tried to keep up, but after about a quarter mile I popped him. I popped him so hard it was audible. By the time Mr. "I have the perfect running physique" passed the finish line I had already gotten my picture taken by a photographer, found my family, drank some water, and came back to the finish line to watch him get his finishing medal. I'm not usually one to gloat, but that did feel good.
I finished 2:01. Not bad considering how hard my body had been pushed for three weeks. But I must say I was a little disappointed. I really wanted to break my 1:57 PR. I'm feeling really good about my training. I've felt better at the end of my long days than I have ever felt. I believe I'm going to conquer the Silverman!
I'd like to promise that it won;t be so long until my next post, but time has been a commodity I've been lacking recently. But I'll do my best. I will be doing the Harvest Moon half Iron 9-16. That is the Clydesdale long course championships. I'm very exited. I will at least give all you out there in blog land a post race report.
By the way, thanks for pushing me to continue posting more frequently Couch-potatoe-to-Ironman!
Thanks for reading. I'm out.
August 12, 2007
weekly Miles
The last 2 weks training has been a little difficult with the birth of my son. I think I did pretty well getting my miles in considering th new arrival.
7-30 through 8-5
11hrs 10 min training
swim 3875 yd
bike 21.88 miles
run 6.7 miles
Brick 55.84 miles
MTB 8.81 miles
stairs 2 miles
This week
14hrs 27 min
swim 2700 yds
Bike 21.43 miles
Run 28.89 miles
Brick 71.74 miles
7-30 through 8-5
11hrs 10 min training
swim 3875 yd
bike 21.88 miles
run 6.7 miles
Brick 55.84 miles
MTB 8.81 miles
stairs 2 miles
This week
14hrs 27 min
swim 2700 yds
Bike 21.43 miles
Run 28.89 miles
Brick 71.74 miles
August 11, 2007
Isn't it strange 4
Isn't it strange how 2 hours seem so long when you're at church, and how short they seem when you're watching a good movie?
Isn't it strange that you can't find a word to say when you're praying, but you have no trouble thinking what to talk about with a friend?
Isn't it strange that you can't find a word to say when you're praying, but you have no trouble thinking what to talk about with a friend?
August 10, 2007
A bonding experience with my daughter
For the last 4 years I've tried to live a very active life style not only to be healthier, but also to be a good example for my daughter. I often take her to the track with me loaded with toys that she can play with on the football field in the middle of the track I end up running on. She'll play around in the grass or the long jump pit entire time I run. While the family watches movies I often ride my indoor bike trainer. I also take her to the pool or park on every one of my days off. I wasn't sure if I was making a difference in the way she'll live her life, but I enjoy living like this. And I really do hope my life style can create healthy choices made by her later in life. About 5 months ago I bought my daughter a pink Dora the Explorer bike and a pink Princes helmet. I jumped the gun on that one let me tell you. Her little feet couldn't even reach the peddles. She got on the bike that had pink training wheels maybe two times at the most. Both times she got on it I made her wear a helmet. Although she thought the helmet was pretty, she hated wearing it! After 5 months I assumed she would have forgotten all about her helmet and what it was used for.
Today I was scheduled to ride 1.5hrs. I wasn't motivated at all. I grabbed my cycling shoes and helmet, set them in my chair and that's where they stayed for over 2 hrs. I was pretty sure I was going to miss this one. Then around 6:30pm my 22 month old baby girl walked up to me with both of our helmets in her hands. She looked up at me with those big blue eyes and said "please!". I have a bike cart for her but I had never taken her on a training ride with me before. She wanted to go with me on my bike ride and she was even willing to wear her helmet if that meant she could go with me. My heart skipped a beat, and my eyes started filling up with tears. Not only was I touched because she wanted to be with me no matter what it was I was planning on doing. But I also realized all my efforts of exercising in front of her was paying off.
I grabbed us both bottles filled with water, we put on our helmets, and she crawled into the cart before I could even hook it to my bike. I was a little worried that if I did my usual 22 mile loop she'd get bored or uncomfortable and start crying. I wanted to make sure this was a pleasurable experience for her, but the Bonanza loop is really the only place with a shoulder large enough to feel safe riding while pulling my precious cargo. I decided to ride the loop and hope for the best. We ended up doing a 1hr 44 minute 22 mile bike ride. She did great. The entire ride she kept herself occupied and really seemed to enjoying herself. All in all I believe it was a great experience for her. I know this was one of the coolest experiences of my life. I sure love being a Dad.
I got Tagged
Dread Pirate tagged me. I had no idea what that meant until today. I think Dread Pirate will be very disapointed. Outside of work I lead a very boring life.
Jobs I held
In high school:
grounds maintnance.
As an adult
Army reserves 8 years
Pet shop salesman 6 months
Hung drywall(contruction) 6 months
Correctonal officer 12 years
movies I can watch over and over:
The Bourne Supremacy
Good Will Hunting
Star Wars episode 4
Return to me
Pitch Black
The 13th warrior
My guilty pleasures
Any and all food!
triathlon
triathlon training
sweets
exessive amounts of coffee
Places I've lived
As a child:
Hobbs NM
Los Cruces NM
Soccorro NM
Truth or Consequences NM
Albuquerque NM
Cedar Crest NM
Tijeras NM
Lincoln Nebraska
New Orleans Louisiana
Atlanta Ga
Tarpon Springs Fla
Houston TX
Amarillo Tx.
As an adult
Albuquerque NM
Edgewood NM
Santa Fe NM
Since we moved so much as a child I really hate moving now as an adult. I'd rather get a vacectomy than move!
TV shows I enjoy
The biggest loser
The Ultimate Fighter (favorite all time!!!!)
Criminal minds
America's home videos
Favorite foods
Any kind of food. I love to eat.
sweet. I have a nasty sweet tooth!
Fried chicken
Beef jerky
Places I've been on vacation
As a child there was to many to count. My natural Father picked my up every summer and spring break to take me to new vacation places until I was 13. Traveled all across America as a child.
As an adult:
Juarez Mexico
Disneyland
Disney world
2 cruises
All of those except Juarez has been in the last 4 years with my wife. Boring I know. I'm quite the home body!
Body parts I've injured
Nose and cheek Reconstruction in 1999
IT band 2006
Stitches in forhead 1994
Stitches on chin 1994
That's it believe it or not.
Awards I've won:
1985 most improved student (did not deserve that one. I think they gave that one to me because it was the only one not handed out yet)
1986 Fla YAFL Champions
2nd place open division at the 7th annual Arizona's Brazilian Jue Jitsue tournament
Allot of Marathon, half-marathon, duathlon, and triathlon top 3 placings.
2006 SW Challenge series 2nd place Open Clydesdale Div
Nicknames
Codeman
Hanson(this is actually what most of my friends and Co-workers have called me for years. I rarely get called Cody anymore)
Nick names for my children:
Daughter:
Smelly Belly
Stinky
Stinker
Bell
Pincess
Pumpkin
Son:
Champ
Little Richy
& Son
Web sites I check daily
NM Outlaws!
SW Challenge series standings
Athlinks
Training peaks
Sports
Duathlon
Triathlon
Brazilian Jue Jitsue
Football
Kick Boxing not that great at this one. I do have a great hay maker and left hook, but I'm mainly a ground fighter. I'll trow a few bombs to get a quick KO or just to soften him up so I can take him to the ground easily. Then it's tap, snap, or nap! Meaning I plan on making him 1)tap out(means give up or Uncle) 2)snap: meaning I broke something of his, ie. leg, arm, wrist, neck etc., or 3)nap: meaning he got choked out and put to sleep(my personal favorite. I'm actually pretty good at getting people in chokes. Sometimes I even let go before they pass out:)
I'll tag couch potatoe to Ironman because his is my favorite blog
and one man to beat
Jobs I held
In high school:
grounds maintnance.
As an adult
Army reserves 8 years
Pet shop salesman 6 months
Hung drywall(contruction) 6 months
Correctonal officer 12 years
movies I can watch over and over:
The Bourne Supremacy
Good Will Hunting
Star Wars episode 4
Return to me
Pitch Black
The 13th warrior
My guilty pleasures
Any and all food!
triathlon
triathlon training
sweets
exessive amounts of coffee
Places I've lived
As a child:
Hobbs NM
Los Cruces NM
Soccorro NM
Truth or Consequences NM
Albuquerque NM
Cedar Crest NM
Tijeras NM
Lincoln Nebraska
New Orleans Louisiana
Atlanta Ga
Tarpon Springs Fla
Houston TX
Amarillo Tx.
As an adult
Albuquerque NM
Edgewood NM
Santa Fe NM
Since we moved so much as a child I really hate moving now as an adult. I'd rather get a vacectomy than move!
TV shows I enjoy
The biggest loser
The Ultimate Fighter (favorite all time!!!!)
Criminal minds
America's home videos
Favorite foods
Any kind of food. I love to eat.
sweet. I have a nasty sweet tooth!
Fried chicken
Beef jerky
Places I've been on vacation
As a child there was to many to count. My natural Father picked my up every summer and spring break to take me to new vacation places until I was 13. Traveled all across America as a child.
As an adult:
Juarez Mexico
Disneyland
Disney world
2 cruises
All of those except Juarez has been in the last 4 years with my wife. Boring I know. I'm quite the home body!
Body parts I've injured
Nose and cheek Reconstruction in 1999
IT band 2006
Stitches in forhead 1994
Stitches on chin 1994
That's it believe it or not.
Awards I've won:
1985 most improved student (did not deserve that one. I think they gave that one to me because it was the only one not handed out yet)
1986 Fla YAFL Champions
2nd place open division at the 7th annual Arizona's Brazilian Jue Jitsue tournament
Allot of Marathon, half-marathon, duathlon, and triathlon top 3 placings.
2006 SW Challenge series 2nd place Open Clydesdale Div
Nicknames
Codeman
Hanson(this is actually what most of my friends and Co-workers have called me for years. I rarely get called Cody anymore)
Nick names for my children:
Daughter:
Smelly Belly
Stinky
Stinker
Bell
Pincess
Pumpkin
Son:
Champ
Little Richy
& Son
Web sites I check daily
NM Outlaws!
SW Challenge series standings
Athlinks
Training peaks
Sports
Duathlon
Triathlon
Brazilian Jue Jitsue
Football
Kick Boxing not that great at this one. I do have a great hay maker and left hook, but I'm mainly a ground fighter. I'll trow a few bombs to get a quick KO or just to soften him up so I can take him to the ground easily. Then it's tap, snap, or nap! Meaning I plan on making him 1)tap out(means give up or Uncle) 2)snap: meaning I broke something of his, ie. leg, arm, wrist, neck etc., or 3)nap: meaning he got choked out and put to sleep(my personal favorite. I'm actually pretty good at getting people in chokes. Sometimes I even let go before they pass out:)
I'll tag couch potatoe to Ironman because his is my favorite blog
and one man to beat
August 08, 2007
The birth of my son
Brandy, my wife, and my boy!
And yes boys, Brandy is single:)
Cody James Richard Hanson
Big shoulders and chest. Long tourso, and the Hanson's short stubby legs. Sorry about that son.
When my wife went into labor with my daughter it was a slow and relatively easy birth. Not so with little Cody. My wife's water broke at 10:50pm Sat Aug 4th. I thought people's water only broke like that in the movies. But nope, in the real world, just like in the movies, no warning, nothing, just BAM. Or should I say SPLASH. Ok, more like a steady and constant trickle. Too much info? Sorry. Just trying to set the mood, which for this labor was fast, intense, and all in all surprising. We called my Mother-in-law right away to come pick up my daughter because it was show time!
My gorgeous wife's contractions didn't start until about 20 minutes after her water broke. Since her contractions didn't start right away, and my daughter took a day and a half to get here after contractions started with her, we assumed we had plenty of time to wait for my In-law to drive from Albuquerque to Santa Fe. Wrong! The first contraction suprised my wife and I with how strong and long it was. So I grabbed my little girl in one hand, our suit cases in the other and sprinted out the door. On the way to the hospital her contractions were lasting 2-3 minutes and were only about 2 minutes apart.
By midnight we were in hard labor. Notice how I say "we". I guess technically she was the only one going through labor. Don't know why I feel compelled to say "we" considering she was the only one in intense pain. But anyhow, at midnight Dr. Kelly is in the room and telling her to push. They could feel his head and each time she pushed they said he was getting closer. By 3am the Doc and nurses are starting to get concerned. Cindy's really hurting and I'm freaking out! The medical staff are busy so they aren't really able to explain much. What they do tell me is that with every contraction my son's heart rate is slowing down and my son seems too big for my wife to push out. Shortly after 3am the nurses are saying the problem with my son is getting worse, so they put an oxygen mask on my wife. And then my wife flat lines! I'm no medical expert but I've seen enough movies to know when someone flat lines: it means they have died. I've never been so scared in my life! 2 of the three people I love most in this world may be dying right in front of my eyes. I looked at my wife when the machine claimed that she flat lined and she was in the middle of a contraction. Other than that she seemed fine. Is there some kind of delay or something? Turns out the machine they were using to monitor my wife's vitals had been malfunctioning allot recently. She was still alive, just machine malfunction. Thanks for the warning about the machine people!
But unfortunately my son's HR dropping with every contraction was still a real concern. Just before 4am the Doc said she wanted to try a couple more times, but if my wife wasn't able to deliver they were going to do a C-section. So on the last contraction the Doc actually reaches in and grabs hold of my sons head, and the nurse pushes on the top of my wife's stomach with both hands when my wife pushed. Thankfully my son's head plops out. And then no movement again at all. His head is stuck-literally. My wife is still pushing, the nurse is still pushing on the top of my wife's stomach, the Dr is even wanking on my son's head. But he's not coming out! I'm in complete melt down mode. My wife starts weeping and saying "I can't, I can't do it." The Doctor then said in a very loud voice, almost yelling" Cindy push, you have to push" while simultaneously wanking on my sons head again. My son did finally get pulled out and my wife let out a horrid yelp! Turns out the Doctor said he had some of the biggest shoulders she'd ever seen on a new born. When he comes out he's blue and apparently there is something wrong because they cut the cord right away and rush him over to a corner to start working on him. I was frozen. I couldn't move, I wasn't thinking, I couldn't even get out a full prayer. I just kept repeating over and over in my head " oh please God, Oh please!" After what felt like an eternity I hear what sounded like a squawk, then it turned into a real cry. He was alright. Thank goodness God answers prayers even if when I turned into a complete and bumbling idiot that couldn't even fully articulate a full prayer!
From that point on everything was fine. Cody James Richard Hanson was born at 4:01am, 8lbs 7oz. 22.5 inches long. No fat on that kids body! He was all head, chest and shoulders. I'm telling you, this kid has some seriously broad shoulders on him. He was born ready to bench press 220. After he was cleaned up he and I had our first arm wrestling competition, and I'll be dad gum, the little turd beat me. Alright, a little exaggeration there, but I can't help it. I'm just so dang proud.
I've attached pics. Let me tell you, they don't do my boy justice, he's much more handsome in person. And I'd like you all to notice, even after such a hard night how beautiful my wife still looks. Enjoy.
My gorgeous wife's contractions didn't start until about 20 minutes after her water broke. Since her contractions didn't start right away, and my daughter took a day and a half to get here after contractions started with her, we assumed we had plenty of time to wait for my In-law to drive from Albuquerque to Santa Fe. Wrong! The first contraction suprised my wife and I with how strong and long it was. So I grabbed my little girl in one hand, our suit cases in the other and sprinted out the door. On the way to the hospital her contractions were lasting 2-3 minutes and were only about 2 minutes apart.
By midnight we were in hard labor. Notice how I say "we". I guess technically she was the only one going through labor. Don't know why I feel compelled to say "we" considering she was the only one in intense pain. But anyhow, at midnight Dr. Kelly is in the room and telling her to push. They could feel his head and each time she pushed they said he was getting closer. By 3am the Doc and nurses are starting to get concerned. Cindy's really hurting and I'm freaking out! The medical staff are busy so they aren't really able to explain much. What they do tell me is that with every contraction my son's heart rate is slowing down and my son seems too big for my wife to push out. Shortly after 3am the nurses are saying the problem with my son is getting worse, so they put an oxygen mask on my wife. And then my wife flat lines! I'm no medical expert but I've seen enough movies to know when someone flat lines: it means they have died. I've never been so scared in my life! 2 of the three people I love most in this world may be dying right in front of my eyes. I looked at my wife when the machine claimed that she flat lined and she was in the middle of a contraction. Other than that she seemed fine. Is there some kind of delay or something? Turns out the machine they were using to monitor my wife's vitals had been malfunctioning allot recently. She was still alive, just machine malfunction. Thanks for the warning about the machine people!
But unfortunately my son's HR dropping with every contraction was still a real concern. Just before 4am the Doc said she wanted to try a couple more times, but if my wife wasn't able to deliver they were going to do a C-section. So on the last contraction the Doc actually reaches in and grabs hold of my sons head, and the nurse pushes on the top of my wife's stomach with both hands when my wife pushed. Thankfully my son's head plops out. And then no movement again at all. His head is stuck-literally. My wife is still pushing, the nurse is still pushing on the top of my wife's stomach, the Dr is even wanking on my son's head. But he's not coming out! I'm in complete melt down mode. My wife starts weeping and saying "I can't, I can't do it." The Doctor then said in a very loud voice, almost yelling" Cindy push, you have to push" while simultaneously wanking on my sons head again. My son did finally get pulled out and my wife let out a horrid yelp! Turns out the Doctor said he had some of the biggest shoulders she'd ever seen on a new born. When he comes out he's blue and apparently there is something wrong because they cut the cord right away and rush him over to a corner to start working on him. I was frozen. I couldn't move, I wasn't thinking, I couldn't even get out a full prayer. I just kept repeating over and over in my head " oh please God, Oh please!" After what felt like an eternity I hear what sounded like a squawk, then it turned into a real cry. He was alright. Thank goodness God answers prayers even if when I turned into a complete and bumbling idiot that couldn't even fully articulate a full prayer!
From that point on everything was fine. Cody James Richard Hanson was born at 4:01am, 8lbs 7oz. 22.5 inches long. No fat on that kids body! He was all head, chest and shoulders. I'm telling you, this kid has some seriously broad shoulders on him. He was born ready to bench press 220. After he was cleaned up he and I had our first arm wrestling competition, and I'll be dad gum, the little turd beat me. Alright, a little exaggeration there, but I can't help it. I'm just so dang proud.
I've attached pics. Let me tell you, they don't do my boy justice, he's much more handsome in person. And I'd like you all to notice, even after such a hard night how beautiful my wife still looks. Enjoy.
August 06, 2007
My son is born!
My son was born Sun Aug 5th at 4:01am. He was 23 inches long, 8lbs 7oz. He has very little fat on him, has huge shoulders and chest, a long torso and the short powerfull Hanson legs! I'll have more info with pictures once we get released from the hospital!
August 03, 2007
weekly miles/monthly miles
Weekly miles: recovery week
swim 1300yd
bike 40.9
run 7.89
MTB 6
streangth 1.5hrs
stairs 2 miles
weight: 229
July miles
52:41 hrs trained
swim 8729 yds
Bike 209 miles
run 50 miles
stairs 6 miles
MTB 42 miles
Brick154 miles
Race 11miles
streangth 4.5 hrs
swim 1300yd
bike 40.9
run 7.89
MTB 6
streangth 1.5hrs
stairs 2 miles
weight: 229
July miles
52:41 hrs trained
swim 8729 yds
Bike 209 miles
run 50 miles
stairs 6 miles
MTB 42 miles
Brick154 miles
Race 11miles
streangth 4.5 hrs
July 28, 2007
Heart Break Hill Duathlon?
I thought about something today and decided to ask my friends, family, and church members what they think.
I was thinking about putting on a benefit duathlon for our church building. There is only 1 triathlon and 2 duathlons for all of central NM. Alb and Santa Fe are 2 of the largest cities in NM. Most of the duathlon in NM are raced by people from those two cities and most du's/tri's are at least 4 hrs drive from Alb.
I have friends at the NM Outlaws, NM tri club, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and the Tri-atomics triathlon teams. They would probably be willing to send out emails to all their members and serious competitors in NM. And if we also put fliers at all the run and bike shops in Alb and Santa Fe at minimum we could get 50-100 racers at $40 per that's $2000-$4000. But I don't know why we wouldn't get more like 75-150 racers. If we decided to put it on in early 08, perhaps late Feb-late March, we could probably get into the SW Challenge series. If we did that I'd be willing to bet we could get between 100-450 competitors. The Jay Benson gets 450 racers every year and it is a rough road with allot of switch backs. It's not very pretty terrain.
We could have the transition area at the Entranosa/344 church property. The run could go up Entransoa and back. The bike could go south on 344, down heart break hill and turn around right before highway 14. An absolutely beautiful and challenging ride. Not very much traffic. No major intersections to worry about. And heart break hill is famous in this area among cyclists and multi-sport athletes!
Another great thing about a benefit duathlon is it could possibly get some people to come visit my church or be a great way to reach out to believers or non-believers alike. I could put out church fliers in the race packets. Mark or one of our elders could give a pre-race prayer. It could be a fun way to reach out to the community and also a great tool to help get funding for building our church.
*The hardest thing with duathlons is usually getting enough volunteers to hand out bottles filled with gator aid for the bike leg and cups of gator aid for the run leg. But since it's for the church I bet we'd have more than enough volunteers from our members.
*I would need to see if we could get enough sponsors for enough $ up front to purchase enough gator aid to be handed out on the bike and run legs to every competitor, water bottles for each competitor on the bike leg, small paper cups for the run leg, 26 medals for top 3 males and top 3 females in each age group, 6 plaques: 3 for top three overall male and 3 for top three overall females.
*I would need to find out where to purchase insurance for a duathlon and how much it would cost.
*I would need to see what it takes to become USAT sanctioned race, and if it is even worth it.
So what do you think? Please leave feed back with your opinions. All opinions positive and negative would be appreciated. I don't know anything about putting on a multi-sport race, but I'll do anything to spread Gods word and to support our local multi-sport athletes!
Cody Hanson
I was thinking about putting on a benefit duathlon for our church building. There is only 1 triathlon and 2 duathlons for all of central NM. Alb and Santa Fe are 2 of the largest cities in NM. Most of the duathlon in NM are raced by people from those two cities and most du's/tri's are at least 4 hrs drive from Alb.
I have friends at the NM Outlaws, NM tri club, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and the Tri-atomics triathlon teams. They would probably be willing to send out emails to all their members and serious competitors in NM. And if we also put fliers at all the run and bike shops in Alb and Santa Fe at minimum we could get 50-100 racers at $40 per that's $2000-$4000. But I don't know why we wouldn't get more like 75-150 racers. If we decided to put it on in early 08, perhaps late Feb-late March, we could probably get into the SW Challenge series. If we did that I'd be willing to bet we could get between 100-450 competitors. The Jay Benson gets 450 racers every year and it is a rough road with allot of switch backs. It's not very pretty terrain.
We could have the transition area at the Entranosa/344 church property. The run could go up Entransoa and back. The bike could go south on 344, down heart break hill and turn around right before highway 14. An absolutely beautiful and challenging ride. Not very much traffic. No major intersections to worry about. And heart break hill is famous in this area among cyclists and multi-sport athletes!
Another great thing about a benefit duathlon is it could possibly get some people to come visit my church or be a great way to reach out to believers or non-believers alike. I could put out church fliers in the race packets. Mark or one of our elders could give a pre-race prayer. It could be a fun way to reach out to the community and also a great tool to help get funding for building our church.
*The hardest thing with duathlons is usually getting enough volunteers to hand out bottles filled with gator aid for the bike leg and cups of gator aid for the run leg. But since it's for the church I bet we'd have more than enough volunteers from our members.
*I would need to see if we could get enough sponsors for enough $ up front to purchase enough gator aid to be handed out on the bike and run legs to every competitor, water bottles for each competitor on the bike leg, small paper cups for the run leg, 26 medals for top 3 males and top 3 females in each age group, 6 plaques: 3 for top three overall male and 3 for top three overall females.
*I would need to find out where to purchase insurance for a duathlon and how much it would cost.
*I would need to see what it takes to become USAT sanctioned race, and if it is even worth it.
So what do you think? Please leave feed back with your opinions. All opinions positive and negative would be appreciated. I don't know anything about putting on a multi-sport race, but I'll do anything to spread Gods word and to support our local multi-sport athletes!
Cody Hanson
July 23, 2007
Turning over a new leaf
As many of you know I have been struggling with my weight. In Feb/March I was down to 211 and was faster than I'd ever dreamed I could be. At that time I weighed less than I'd weighed in over a decade. But now I'm struggling to keep off the lbs. What changed? My motivation is what changed. The last two years I'd been racing against 2 really fast guys in the Clydesdale 39 and under division. Jay Engebretson and Arnold Ceniceros. They were fast, and the competition drove me. I ended last season 2-2 against Jay. And 1-3 against Arnold. I have to say the only reason I even got 1 win against Arnold was because he wrecked. By the end of last season I was obsessed with training, diet, and racing. I wanted to beat these guys so bad!
By the Dec 06 Polar Bear triathlon I had made major time improvements. It was the 3rd time I'd done that course and I beat my PR by over 13 minutes! The closest Clydesdale in my division was 3.5 minutes behind me. In April of this year I placed 9th overall at Sully's super sprint and 15 overall at the Atomic man duathlon. But alas, Jay and Arnold never showed at ANY SW races at all.
Turns out at the beginning of this season Jay moved away and Arnold took this year off to concentrate on college. By April I had 5 1st place finishes and one 5th place (due to 2 flats at MVTC). Without those two triathletes there, there wasn't really anyone in my division to compete with me. So as I got more comfortable with mounting wins I became lazy and started cheating on my diet.
I got news recently that Arnold graduated and he has stated training again. Hard. He plans on competing again next season.
Struggle alleviated.
-I haven't cheated on my diet in 7 days.
- I've givin up coffee for the first time since 2000 because I want to ensure I'm always well hydrated. If a person is hydrated they recover faster.
- I've been making sure I get a full 8 hrs sleep (very unusual for me).
-I even started swimming.
-For the first time ever in my life I've started doing portion control when eating.
-I'm eating every 3 hrs to speed up my metabolism.
-Any workout under 2 hrs I make sure to do first thing in the morning on an empty stomach to burn more fat.
I'm back. I am now in predator mode and I have sighted my prey.
I'll keep you updated on how the hunt goes. So farThis week:
hrs trained 14.05
swim 1000 yards
Bike 50.1
Run 13
Brick 50.1
Running stairs 2 miles
Weight 233lbs
By the Dec 06 Polar Bear triathlon I had made major time improvements. It was the 3rd time I'd done that course and I beat my PR by over 13 minutes! The closest Clydesdale in my division was 3.5 minutes behind me. In April of this year I placed 9th overall at Sully's super sprint and 15 overall at the Atomic man duathlon. But alas, Jay and Arnold never showed at ANY SW races at all.
Turns out at the beginning of this season Jay moved away and Arnold took this year off to concentrate on college. By April I had 5 1st place finishes and one 5th place (due to 2 flats at MVTC). Without those two triathletes there, there wasn't really anyone in my division to compete with me. So as I got more comfortable with mounting wins I became lazy and started cheating on my diet.
I got news recently that Arnold graduated and he has stated training again. Hard. He plans on competing again next season.
Struggle alleviated.
-I haven't cheated on my diet in 7 days.
- I've givin up coffee for the first time since 2000 because I want to ensure I'm always well hydrated. If a person is hydrated they recover faster.
- I've been making sure I get a full 8 hrs sleep (very unusual for me).
-I even started swimming.
-For the first time ever in my life I've started doing portion control when eating.
-I'm eating every 3 hrs to speed up my metabolism.
-Any workout under 2 hrs I make sure to do first thing in the morning on an empty stomach to burn more fat.
I'm back. I am now in predator mode and I have sighted my prey.
I'll keep you updated on how the hunt goes. So farThis week:
hrs trained 14.05
swim 1000 yards
Bike 50.1
Run 13
Brick 50.1
Running stairs 2 miles
Weight 233lbs
July 21, 2007
Lance an Ironman?
Just read an article that says there is a rumor floating around that Lance armstrong will be competing in Ironman. The article has some convincing arguments. Just wanted to see, after some of my fellow bloggers read the article if they think it's true, and if so how they feel about it? Personally I'd be stoked to watch him try any Iron! I'd call in sick to work if I had to just so I could watch it. That's saying allot because I usually only call in to work if there's a race on Sat I really want to do! I even force myself to go to work when sick so I have race/sick days accumulated! Say, did you know he is a former Texas state age group champion in the 1500m freestyle? Yup, true story.
http://www.joereger.com/entry-eventid4352-Whats-Next-for-Lance-Armstrong.log
http://www.joereger.com/entry-eventid4352-Whats-Next-for-Lance-Armstrong.log
July 20, 2007
Future triathlete
Carb building
Swim leg
Bike leg
Run leg
RecoveryI'm very lucky in the fact that my wife and I work opposite days off. Consequently every Mon, Tue, and every other Wed I get my daughter all to myself. I make sure to do allot of fun things with her. Her favorite thing is swimming. She has learned to go down the pool slide all by herself both face up, and face down. The pool is indoors and there is an indoor track upstairs that I take my daughter to every day after the pool. I started having her run one time around the track because once we get home she goes to sleep after we eat. The swim and run combo really makes her sleep well. She's gotten pretty good at keeping up a slow jog the entire way around the track which is one tenth of a mile. A long distance for a 21 month old. I've also been teaching her how to ride her bike, but so far that isn't going very well. Her legs just aren't strong enough to peddle yet. Swim, bike and run. Gee I wonder what sport I want her to do when she gets older? I've posted some pictures of her triathlon training:)
July 15, 2007
Weekly miles
13 hrs 32 min
Swim 3116.8 yd
Bike 49.75 mi
Run 12.06 mi
Brick 52.71 mi
MTB 10.77 mi
Stairs 2 mi
Weights 1 hr 46 min
Hey everyone, look! I swam a little 2 weeks in a row! I think I might of actually earned the name Triathlete this month!
Swim 3116.8 yd
Bike 49.75 mi
Run 12.06 mi
Brick 52.71 mi
MTB 10.77 mi
Stairs 2 mi
Weights 1 hr 46 min
Hey everyone, look! I swam a little 2 weeks in a row! I think I might of actually earned the name Triathlete this month!
July 11, 2007
Weight loss lost
Well, to say the least I'm not very good at this whole weight loss thing. I had gotten down into the high 220's. I'm back to 236. I really suck at portion control. I'm not so good at eating the foods I'm suposed to either. come to think of it isn't those 2 things all it takes to lose weight? 0-2. Not so good.
I've decided to try something a great blogger and all around great guy, couch-potatoe-to-Ironman, suggested. I'm going to start logging everything I eat into a log book. Even on days I splurge- which seems to be allot these days- I'm going to write down each and everything I eat. Perhaps if everytime I open that book I see recent accomplishments and failures I'll be less willing to keep stuffing my pie hole!
I'll keep tou informed on how my diet goes. Seems when it comes to my blog I only write it down when the news is good. No news is bad news:)
On another note I found the most incredible web sight. It has thousands of race results from races all over the world. Once you sign on you can claim any races you did under your name. It copares you to other racers and does many other pretty cool things automatically. I found 2 marathons, 1 half marathon, 2 70.3's, and 1 oly tri that I'd done all on the same page just waiting for me to click on it. http://www.athlinks.com/
Peace!
I've decided to try something a great blogger and all around great guy, couch-potatoe-to-Ironman, suggested. I'm going to start logging everything I eat into a log book. Even on days I splurge- which seems to be allot these days- I'm going to write down each and everything I eat. Perhaps if everytime I open that book I see recent accomplishments and failures I'll be less willing to keep stuffing my pie hole!
I'll keep tou informed on how my diet goes. Seems when it comes to my blog I only write it down when the news is good. No news is bad news:)
On another note I found the most incredible web sight. It has thousands of race results from races all over the world. Once you sign on you can claim any races you did under your name. It copares you to other racers and does many other pretty cool things automatically. I found 2 marathons, 1 half marathon, 2 70.3's, and 1 oly tri that I'd done all on the same page just waiting for me to click on it. http://www.athlinks.com/
Peace!
July 09, 2007
Weekly miles
12hrs 24 minutes trained last week
Swim 3312 yards
bike 13.46 miles
run 10.41 miles
Brick 25.5 miles
Race 11.43 miles
MTB 11 miles
I tapered this week for the state club championships
Swim 3312 yards
bike 13.46 miles
run 10.41 miles
Brick 25.5 miles
Race 11.43 miles
MTB 11 miles
I tapered this week for the state club championships
Great team members makes for an amazing team!
This weekend was the Bottomless lakes triathlon in Roswell NM. The bottomless lakes tri was going to be the state club championships race. Last year the Outlaws won the club championships, we were hoping to repeat, a feat that has only been done by one other team before.
Sat night I met most of the club members that were there that night to race the following morning for dinner. I had an awesome time hanging out. Truly some wonderful people in our club. I was able to meet some triathletes there that were new on the team: Matt H, Michale L(more about Michael later), and his girl friend(can't remember her name). Great people, and a great time.
The town of Roswell only has about 50,000 people living there, and this weekend there were almost 50,000 visitors there to celebrate the UFO crashes that happened many years ago. After dinner we all watched a parade go down Main street, many people were dressed as Aliens, star wars characters, there was even a Santa Clause that had an outfit on that made it look like he was fighting an abduction. That one creeped me out:)
One of the Outlaws I met was Matt H. He is 19 and just completed the college nationals. He finished in 2:28 finishing 300th out of 500 competitors. Turns out the nationals was his first race ever! Can you imagine the pressure of your first race being the college national championships race? I ended up sharing a room with this guy. I was very impressed by him. very friendly, mature, really seemed to have his head on straight. I know I sure didn't at that age! He also had a real thirst for triathlon knowledge. I tried answering as many questions as I could, things like training by HR, how to test your HR, the importance of training in Z-1 & Z-2 to build mitochondria and capillaries, race equipment, the differences between tri and road bikes. This guy was a sponge. He caught on quick. While explaining bike fit(I did warn him I know very little about a good bike fit) I noticed he had an older Treck bike that he seemed to be taking very good care of. I knew his bike was older because it had the shifters on the bottom bar, but it was a Treck so I knew it was top end at the time it was new. I decided to pick up his bike to see how light an older bike like that would be. HOLLY COW! That sucker weighed more than my 21 month old daughter does! How the heck did he do an Oly in 2:28 pedaling a tank around! I pulled off one of his wheels and just about broke my back. Those wheels would be great for dumbbell curls, not for racing!
A quick side note here, I guess I acclimated to night shift better than i thought. I just laid there looking at the ceiling until 4am. Ah well, sleep is totally overrated.
The next day at the race sight I start telling some of my fellow Outlaws about Matt's tank-of-a-bike. Steve Hall goes over and offers to let Matt use his disk. Michael (one of the new members) without missing a beat tells Matt he could use his road bike to race. The bike is probably worth over 3 G's. The disk wheel is a HED-C. Also pretty dang expensive! The 2 of them offered this without ever meeting Matt before. They had no idea if the kid would take care of it or not. They just chose to trust in him blindly. I was touched and really proud to be an Outlaw. Great team members makes for a an amazing team.
Matt finished the race which consisted of a 400 meter swim, 14K bike, 4K run in 48:02 finishing 6th place overall! 1st place 19 and under! Very impressive! Steve Hall(the guy who lent his disk) ended up taking 3rd place overall. Michael L(the guy who lent his bike) took 7th overall. I took 2nd place Clyd and placed 30th overall. One of my Idols and Outlaw leader the Clydeologist took first place Clyd by crushing me by over 5 minutes!!!! Geek girl took(the clydeologists beautiful wife) took 1st place athena. Sw tri gal finished 2nd place even after having a pretty bad crash and getting road rash all over her face, her husband (whom I have to say is one of the most laid back great guys I've ever net) took 1st place in his div. Helen Crane took one of the top 3 in her div. Stuart, Helens husband raced an amazing race! I saw him on the run. He looked in allot of pain. But kept pushing long after most would of slowed to ease some of the pain. Seemed to me like almost every Outlaw there either placed top 3 or was dang close. It's not official yet, but I'm pretty sure the Outlaws won the NM team championships for a 2nd year in a row. No team has ever won it 3 years in a row. But I think with the kind of team work and camaraderie I saw that day there isn't another team out there that doesn't deserve it more than my fellow Outlaws!
Sat night I met most of the club members that were there that night to race the following morning for dinner. I had an awesome time hanging out. Truly some wonderful people in our club. I was able to meet some triathletes there that were new on the team: Matt H, Michale L(more about Michael later), and his girl friend(can't remember her name). Great people, and a great time.
The town of Roswell only has about 50,000 people living there, and this weekend there were almost 50,000 visitors there to celebrate the UFO crashes that happened many years ago. After dinner we all watched a parade go down Main street, many people were dressed as Aliens, star wars characters, there was even a Santa Clause that had an outfit on that made it look like he was fighting an abduction. That one creeped me out:)
One of the Outlaws I met was Matt H. He is 19 and just completed the college nationals. He finished in 2:28 finishing 300th out of 500 competitors. Turns out the nationals was his first race ever! Can you imagine the pressure of your first race being the college national championships race? I ended up sharing a room with this guy. I was very impressed by him. very friendly, mature, really seemed to have his head on straight. I know I sure didn't at that age! He also had a real thirst for triathlon knowledge. I tried answering as many questions as I could, things like training by HR, how to test your HR, the importance of training in Z-1 & Z-2 to build mitochondria and capillaries, race equipment, the differences between tri and road bikes. This guy was a sponge. He caught on quick. While explaining bike fit(I did warn him I know very little about a good bike fit) I noticed he had an older Treck bike that he seemed to be taking very good care of. I knew his bike was older because it had the shifters on the bottom bar, but it was a Treck so I knew it was top end at the time it was new. I decided to pick up his bike to see how light an older bike like that would be. HOLLY COW! That sucker weighed more than my 21 month old daughter does! How the heck did he do an Oly in 2:28 pedaling a tank around! I pulled off one of his wheels and just about broke my back. Those wheels would be great for dumbbell curls, not for racing!
A quick side note here, I guess I acclimated to night shift better than i thought. I just laid there looking at the ceiling until 4am. Ah well, sleep is totally overrated.
The next day at the race sight I start telling some of my fellow Outlaws about Matt's tank-of-a-bike. Steve Hall goes over and offers to let Matt use his disk. Michael (one of the new members) without missing a beat tells Matt he could use his road bike to race. The bike is probably worth over 3 G's. The disk wheel is a HED-C. Also pretty dang expensive! The 2 of them offered this without ever meeting Matt before. They had no idea if the kid would take care of it or not. They just chose to trust in him blindly. I was touched and really proud to be an Outlaw. Great team members makes for a an amazing team.
Matt finished the race which consisted of a 400 meter swim, 14K bike, 4K run in 48:02 finishing 6th place overall! 1st place 19 and under! Very impressive! Steve Hall(the guy who lent his disk) ended up taking 3rd place overall. Michael L(the guy who lent his bike) took 7th overall. I took 2nd place Clyd and placed 30th overall. One of my Idols and Outlaw leader the Clydeologist took first place Clyd by crushing me by over 5 minutes!!!! Geek girl took(the clydeologists beautiful wife) took 1st place athena. Sw tri gal finished 2nd place even after having a pretty bad crash and getting road rash all over her face, her husband (whom I have to say is one of the most laid back great guys I've ever net) took 1st place in his div. Helen Crane took one of the top 3 in her div. Stuart, Helens husband raced an amazing race! I saw him on the run. He looked in allot of pain. But kept pushing long after most would of slowed to ease some of the pain. Seemed to me like almost every Outlaw there either placed top 3 or was dang close. It's not official yet, but I'm pretty sure the Outlaws won the NM team championships for a 2nd year in a row. No team has ever won it 3 years in a row. But I think with the kind of team work and camaraderie I saw that day there isn't another team out there that doesn't deserve it more than my fellow Outlaws!
July 02, 2007
Junes miles
48 hrs training in June
Bike 170 miles
run 60 miles
running stairs 9.7 miles
MTB 41 miles
Brick 191 miles
raced 16 miles this was the Gallup triathlon. I did 400 meters swimming during that event. Which means I did actually swam this month:)
The 4th week of June I was only able to do 2 workouts. A Co-worker got stabbed at work so we've been slammed with overtime. Unable to workout regularly.
The 3rd week of June my family and I went to Co. for vacation. Had no internet service, so that's the reason the last 2 weeks I haven't been able to keep up on my fellow bloggers entries. I'll play catch up today. Sorry fellow bloggers, I didn't mean to neglect you!
Bike 170 miles
run 60 miles
running stairs 9.7 miles
MTB 41 miles
Brick 191 miles
raced 16 miles this was the Gallup triathlon. I did 400 meters swimming during that event. Which means I did actually swam this month:)
The 4th week of June I was only able to do 2 workouts. A Co-worker got stabbed at work so we've been slammed with overtime. Unable to workout regularly.
The 3rd week of June my family and I went to Co. for vacation. Had no internet service, so that's the reason the last 2 weeks I haven't been able to keep up on my fellow bloggers entries. I'll play catch up today. Sorry fellow bloggers, I didn't mean to neglect you!
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