Tuesday Training

OK, so I already missed my first theme day for my new blog resolution...damn. Mondays are going to be devoted to media (movies, music, TV, games..etc) and I was ready to do a little review of Inglorious Bastards, but it just didn't happen so I'll catch up on that next Monday. But today is Tuesday so......

WHAT NOW?

I am going to dedicate my Tuesday blog posts to training, working out, exercise and all things devoted to healthy living. My wife and I are a couple of years into our endurance racing journey, and boy what a ride it's been so far. If you are really interested check out my tags for this post and go back in time and see what we've been up too.

I am currently a month into my new training routine for my next marathon (with a couple of half marathons thrown in). It is amazing how different this time around is compared to last time. One of my new favorite bloggers CAUTION: Redhead Running is also training for her second marathon and she talks about training "in the know." What a perfect way to describe it! Last year while training for my first ever marathon every day was a new challenge. Each weekend's long run was the longest I had ever run to that point. Every workout I put in between those runs was more working out than I had done ever. And every pain, ache and soreness was something I didn't know if I could push through until I did. Hell, I was training for something that I didn't even know for sure I could finish. It was all so new and with every step I felt a strange combination of excitement and trepidation.

This time around is so different in that I know I can finish what I am starting. I know what my body can take and actually can try to prevent those things that may slow me down. I feel faster, stronger and more in control this time around. It's no longer will I finish, it's how much faster can I finish and how much better can I feel during the process. Training "in the know" has been a wonderful experience so far and I can honestly say I am really looking forward to these upcoming races, all of which I will talk about in more detail down the road.

Thanks for stopping by and giving me a quick read. Take care and peace out!

Things I learned in 2009

What Now?

In the past 12 months I have learned the following things:

1. My wife is an athlete! I always new she had athletic ability, but after she crossed the line of her first 70.3 half Ironman triathlon, I knew she had realized her athletic potential. I am so proud of her, and the best is yet to come.

2. My oldest child is one of the sweetest people I know. I think it's kind of rare to find a 7-year old that puts the needs and feelings of everyone else before her own, I and Love her so much for that.

3. My youngest, while being extremely challenging at times, will go on to do great things when she is older. The challenging, stubborn child of today will turn into an independent woman tomorrow, willing to try anything and succeed at most.

4. While the nation's economic trouble was very hard for a lot of folks, I believe it was one of the best things that could have happened to our family.

4a. My family can do more with less. Excess is not our thing, and it never will be.

5. There is way too much reality tv, social media, and methods to contact people in the world today. For all the advances we have in communication I think these things are very unnecessary (yes, I would give up blogging too if that meant ridding the world of all the other social media outlets).

6. I can accomplish just about anything if I put my mind to it and give it my best shot. Last year it was finishing a marathon. This year..........

7. Sex gets better with age.

8. There are different levels of success. I had my worst career year ever, and yet I would call 2009 one of my most successful years. It all comes down to priorities.

9. Blogging can be fun, entertaining and educational. And you can meet some great people along the way.

10. You just can't beat experiences with your kids when you think of what is truly important to you. This year was incredible for my family in regards to the places we got to visit, events we got to attend, and time we spent with each other and members of our family and friends. I am the richest man on earth thanks to the special people I share my home with. I love you all and look forward to having a great 2010 with you!

Peace out!

Where do you find your inspiration?

WHAT NOW?


I am writing this post from my very cozy bed in a downtown Boise hotel. That's right, I am away from home, with my wife, and without our kids. They are home with my folks and having a great time without Mom and Dad, so we can concentrate on the reason we are here and not worry about kids entertainment. That reason is the Boise 70.3 Ironman triathlon. My wife will join 1800 other athletes tomorrow in this grueling test of the human will. At 2pm she will get in the water for a 1.2 mile swim, after which she grabs her bike for a 56 mile ride and then tops it all off with a 13.1 mile run. Those distances by themselves are amazing, and putting them all together will test her as much mentally as it will physically. She is ready. She has put in the training, she has her equipment prepared and she feels good. If the weather holds up not only will she finish this amazing accomplishment, but I think she will kick it square in the ass. If someone would have told me back when we got married, 13 years ago this Sunday, that my soon to be bride would be competing in any triathlon, let alone a 70.3 Ironman, I would have probably had to postpone the wedding because I obviously don't know this woman as well as I thought. She is just an amazing person and I am reminded each and every day how lucky I am to have her as my wife. I think it is important that the person you marry not only is the love of your life, but also your best friend. I have both of those in my wife, plus one more think I never expected...my total inspiration. She is a incredible wife, mother, friend, daughter, sister, aunt, employee, the list can go on and on, and she is also a triathlete on top of all that. Before she started her own personal triathlete journey two plus years ago I was at my heaviest and had very little motivation to work out. Today, thanks to her, I am at my lowest weight since college, I'm in the best shape of my life, and I finished my first every marathon just last month. It is all because of her, and I'll never be able to tell her how grateful I am to her just for that. I know she will read this and say something like "you are way too nice", but I mean every single word of it. This Sunday marks 13 years of marriage and over 20 years of being together and there is no other way I would want to spend it then to spend my day tomorrow cheering her on and watching her accomplish her goal. NO FEAR, NO DOUBT, ALL IN, BALLS OUT. Go for it B, it's your day!





PEACE OUT DADS!

More random Monday thoughts

WHAT NOW?

I really have no central theme for my post today, but I do have many very random thoughts...here they are:

a) Last fall we had a bit of a mouse invasion...6 little buggers to be more precise. After spending a small fortune on traps and several hours of deep cleaning we took care of the problem, we thought. I did keep some traps in our mechanical room just in case. This is a room my kids are not supposed to go in, so when my oldest told me she went into the room my moment of unhappiness with her only lasted until she told me we caught another mouse....SON OF A BITCH!!!

b) After almost a week with this mouth torture device (also known as braces) on I am almost comfortable with it. Too bad a good friend of ours told me I look 14 with them on. Just bring on the acne and bad teenage mustache and I am back in 1984.

c) After spending a few minutes cleaning up in the basement, also known as the kids tornado zone, my oldest raced upstairs saying that she had to go to her room. I asked her why and she said she was in big trouble. I asked why she was in trouble and she replied "because I lost your mullet wig!" That is a sentence I never thought I would hear from a 7 year-old.

d) Every so often my dog lets loose a cough that sounds like an alien hatching from the chest of a human host...I'm just saying.

e) My blog may take some time off from Wednesday to Sunday of this week. I am taking my wife to Boise, Idaho so she can compete in the Ironman 70.3 triathlon. That's right, my wife is a bad ass. She is going to rip up that race during the day and have some beers to celebrate that night. God I love that woman.

PEACE OUT DADS!!!