I've been tagged...

1. Describe a memory from your first triathlon ever.
Other than, “O Shi#, I’m finally doing this thing”…..
Standing on the shore waiting for the swim to start, I looked up and saw D.J and K.J. standing on the dock smiling, watching, and waiting for me start. That was pretty awesome.

2. Describe a memory from your most recent triathlon.
I was sick the two weeks prior to my last tri. I felt like A$$ and almost didn’t compete. I had some friends coming to watch me race and I really didn’t want to let them down by not racing. I ended up taking third in my age group (my first tri medal). That was pretty cool.

3. What's the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you in a tri?
Actually, it wasn’t a tri, it was a half marathon. It was the end of the race and I was hurting bad… the tunnel vision going strong. I blew by the final turn that lead to the final 200 yards to the finish line. I realized my mistake, did a U-turn, and made my way to the finish line. Nothing like providing a little free entertainment for the masses.

4. What's the most thrilling thing that's happened to you in a tri?
Crossing the finish line at Gulf Coast Half Ironman with K.J. last year.


5. What is something you discovered about yourself by doing triathlons?
There are so many……I’ll hit a few.
I’ve discovered that I am capable of far more than I ever thought. I’ve discovered I LOVE pushing my body to its limits (not always a good thing). I’ve discovered I can be extremely organized. I’ve discovered that 24 hours just isn’t enough.

6. What is The Big Goal that you're working towards?
Ironman Florida 2007

Wes,FE-LADY, Flatman,
Jen,
IronJenny and
Jay, you've been tagged.

WIR #4

It’s that time again….week in review.
Monday morning started out with a 1600 yard swim. Monday afternoon was my long run for the week. It was rainy and a bit chilly. I finished up wet and cold with 9.55 slow miles with an average heart rate of 146.

I hit the weight room Tuesday morning for 38 minutes. Tuesday afternoon I did an hour on the trainer, average heart rate of 140.Tuesday night I did about 15 minutes of core work.

Wednesday morning I was back in the pool for 2150 yards. Wednesday afternoon I ran 4.17 miles with an average heart rate of 144. Wednesday night I did 15 minutes of core.

Thursday morning was another strength session of 44 minutes at the Y. Thursday night I did another hour on the trainer, 139 average heart rate. I then jumped off the trainer and onto the treadmill for a 1 mile t-run, average heart rate for the run was 144.

Friday morning I did my long swim of 3000 yards, actually 3050. I use my stop watch to track my laps and I misread it at the end and thought I had one more to go. I felt great during the entire swim and felt like I could have done much more. I ran 5.68 miles Friday afternoon at an average heart rate of 143.

I rode Saturday afternoon (after it warmed up) and ended up with 42.8 miles, average heart rate of 140.

All in all it was a great week. Time-wise I ended up with 13 hours of training. I’m still keeping everything below my capped heart rate of 149, so my paces are still very slow. I’m thinking of adding in a bit of intensity this week to see how my body reacts. Best of all, I’m uninjured and feeling great….and I want to keep it that way.

TJ

WIR

Monday morning. Time to review the previous week.
Last week was my first “full” week of training this year. I hit every workout ( 3 swims, 3 bikes, 4 runs, 2 strength sessions) and ended up with just over 10 hours of training for the week. I’ll add the core back in this week. I had a momentary lapse of common sense Saturday morning and decided to do my ride on the trainer, even though the weather was nice. Two hours later I was asking myself….WTF were you thinking? It’s all good though. What don’t kill ya….right!

I followed the trainer ride with a walk along the river with D, K, and Caesar. Which was followed by a trip to the ice cream shop. Vanilla for me….dipped in chocolate. Oh yeah!
Had a great swim this morning. Nothing fancy, 1600 yards straight.
Long run this afternoon…9-10 miles…probably in the rain.
Life is good.

TJ

Triple Chocolate Meltdown

I never was much of a sweet eater growing up. Not that I was eating celery and carrots rather than cookies and ice cream. I just never did seek out sweets when I was a kid the way my daughter does.

Well.....that's all changed. I blame my wife. It's all her fault. I was blissfully living in my sweet-sheltered existence until she, in her evil chocoholic way, guided me to the dark side. Dark chocolate that is. She believes there should be a whole food group devoted to chocolate. She's totally brought me over to the dark side and I've become as much or more of a chocolate lover than she is.



Which brings me to the subject of this post. There I was, sitting at the table after dinner Saturday night at Applebee's, waiting for the waitress to bring the check. As we waited, I picked up the dessert menu to have a look. I noticed a dessert named Triple Chocolate Meltdown. "WOW! That sounds awesome! I've never noticed it before. It's my birthday (the day before actually). I'm totally going to treat myself and have one of those". I ordered one and it soon arrived. It looked and smelled amazing. I offered to share with D.J. and K.J., but they were too full. So, I proceeded to eat the whole freakin thing myself. It was beyond delicious. 726 calories packed with 31 grams of fatty goodness. Damn it was good!


I can't wait for another special occasion so I can treat myself to another one. I think I may have two after Ironman Florida.

A Very Cool Girl

My days start early. The alarm stirs me out of bed at 4:30am and I'm usually in the pool or weight room by 5:00am. Friday was my long swim day and started out just like all the others. That is, until I opened the hall door to walk into the living room. "Happy Birthday Daddy", was the first thing I heard when I flipped on the light switch. There, sitting in the middle of the living room floor, was my eight-year-old daughter. In front of her were three presents; two from her and one from D.J. She'd also put up happy birthday banners she'd made herself.
She had plans to go to a friend’s house later in the day for a sleepover party and wouldn't have been home when I got in from my run that afternoon. D.J. later told me that K.J had insisted on getting up to see me and give me my presents on my birthday, rather than the day before or after. She set her alarm, got up, prepared everything and waited for me to walk in.
As I sat there at 4:40am opening my gifts, I couldn't help but think how blessed I am to have such a very cool girl as my daughter.

Catching up...

It was back to reality/work for me last Thursday. I’m just getting caught up enough to get around to updating the blog. It’s amazing how quickly things can pile up. I always look forward to taking a break from work and the normal day to day routine, but I’m always glad to get back to it.

The 24th thru the 27th was a blur of gatherings with family and friends. It’s great to see everyone, but it sure does get tiring after a while.

Me at one of our many stops

Christmas morning was spent at home. This was K.J.’s first Christmas knowing that the big guy doesn’t really come down the chimney to deliver gifts. Which meant a full night of sleep on Christmas Eve for Mom and Dad. I kind of missed the cookies and milk though.

K.J. Christmas morning

I didn’t do much training while I was off. I trained when I felt like it and was lazy when I didn’t. I stayed up late and slept in if I wanted. We watched movies, played board games (I suck at Battleship, but I kill at Monopoly), ate good food, goofed off, and enjoyed not being on a schedule.

Me and K.J. horsing around in the back yard

I LOVE breakfast, but I usually don’t have time to do the full sit down. I made up for it during my break. Homemade pancakes, bacon, eggs, fruit, bread, the works. I snapped this shot one morning. For the diet police, that’s turkey bacon, and I use a three to one egg white/yolk ratio.

Check out that fine China...

We also added a new member to the family during our break. D.J. has been searching for the “right” puppy for months. While out shopping about two weeks ago, she found him. She called me up and told me she’d found her Yorkie. I headed up to the pet store to have a look for myself and we were soon on our way home with Caesar.

D.J. with the new man in her life



Caesar

It’s back to my normal training week. My long sessions before the break were an hour swim, 4 hour bike and an hour and forty five minute run. I’ll work back up to those over the next 2-3 weeks and then begin building up again. I am going to add in more recovery also. Six weeks “on” is too much for me. I’ll be scheduling recovery weeks every 3-4 weeks. I didn’t realize how tired I’d gotten until I rested. I made it back to the weight room yesterday morning and will add one more strength session. I’ll continue with two per week for a while and possibly add one more down the road.
I look forward to a great year of training.

Happy New Year!
TJ