And the results are in

The results of my triathlon yesterday have been posted, these are the official results. I was 25th overall! Not too bad. In the individual events, I was 75th on the run with a time of 24:09 for 3.2 miles. I know running first was going to help that run time! I was 13th on the bike with a time of 34:51 and an average of 21.2 miles per hour. In my estimated time I blogged yesterday that was taking into account the portions of the race where I run out of the transition area with my bike and run off of the bike back to my transition spot. Anyway, there time is exact pedal to pedal time. The swim time incorporates both of the transitions times I believe, because my swim time is listed as 8:10. I could to 300 Meters doing the dead mans float faster than 8:10, so I think the transitions are built into that time since they aren't listed anywhere else. My time of 1:07:11 was good for 7th in my division, although the top 2 males in my division were first, second, or third in the overall standings. That's why I was listed as 9th yesterday, because you can't win the overall title and win your division. There were 39 people in my division so 7/39 means I finished faster than 82% of my division. and I finished 25/327 which translates to finishing faster than 93% of the total field!

Compared to last year I finished 140/303 and in my age division 18/31. I think that is pretty good progress! Hopefully I'll do even better in my next 4 races this summer and have even more good finishes!

The odd triathlon

I did it! But it was a struggle. So I woke up this morning to rain, and temperatures in the low 40's. I was really concerned that they were going to cancel the race. So much so that I let Bridget go back to bed and let the kids sleep in, I ventured out on my own. Of course, it stopped raining and the sun even poked out for a while. So the Triathlon had already set plans in place to race in inclement weather, so even though the weather was OK (it was still really windy and cool, still in the 40's) they did a "reverse" triathlon. So we ran first, then biked, then swam. I was a little upset at first because the weather wasn't that bad, I thought we should go in the correct order and swim first. But no. So then to make matters worse they staggered the start in waves of 100 based on your race number. Your race number was assigned based on your estimated swim time, so all of us fast swimmers were the LAST to leave on the run. I really don't understand their thinking, I'll explain in a minute. So the run went really well, probably because I wasn't all tired out from having ran and swam. It was a 5K, and I hauled butt. I didn't have a watch on so I don't have an exact number, but I'd be surprised if it was over 25 minutes. The bike was awesome as usual, despite the wind. The wind was head on for all of the uphill sections and at our backs for the downhill. It was nice because it really killed a lot of bikers! I flew through it though, nobody passed me...and I passed a TON! I was a little disappointed in my MPH average of 19.5, but blame that on the head wind when I was only doing 12 or 14 MPH uphill. So then came the swim. So the nice part about swimming with people who correctly estimate their swim time is that you swim with people who are more or less going the same speed as you. Not the case with the jumbled start, I was stuck in spots....kicked in the face (twice)...elbowed more times than I can remember...and I had to wait at two of the turns (indoor pool) for slower swimmers to get out of my way just so I could turn. And forget about flip turns they were out of the question. On the final lap I was just content to finish next to this other guy, then as I was next to him I noticed his age division on his calf...he was in my age division! So I wasted time thinking the chances of him being in the same age group were remote, I only had about 15 meters to pass him. I went all out, he put up a fight. We exited at the same time but I mis-stepped over the finish line (only about 2 feet long, sensor cord to the race computers) and my finishing time didn't record, some lady grabbed my arm and made me go back over and it stopped. He beat me by 2 seconds on the final results, I was upset cause I could have just passed him easily at the start of the lap....don't know what I was thinking.

So the official results have not been published yet, I'll get them up as soon as I find out. Preliminary results have me in 9th place in my age group (30 - 34 is typically the most competitive because that it the "peak" for endurance athletes), with a time of 1:07 and change. I don't know where that pus me overall or my exact times in each sport. Last year on the same course in perfect conditions I finished in 1:16:36, so I was about 9 minutes faster in the wind even! Also if I would have entered the Clydesdale division (guys over 200 pounds) , I would have won the division by better than 5 minutes! But I refuse to enter as a Clydesdale because it seems like handicapping for larger or overweight people, and that's pretty much the opposite of where I am at right now in my life! So I'll post the official results in a day or two, should have a better idea of how I did overall then. I also won a raffle at the end of the race! I won 2 pounds of TwinLabs protein powder to make shakes out of. Says on the bottle, "great way to add mass"....just what I need! I'm trying to lose weight here people! I tried to trade with some guy who won $100 sunglasses but no go. Oh well, I might try some this winter in the off-season or when ever I hit my goal weight and need to start adding calories to maintain that weight. Since I don't have a goal weight in mind yet, I don't foresee me eating it anytime in the near future. And I don't want to take it and like it since it is expensive, $20 for 27 servings!

34 is my new friend!

I went shopping for shorts today, and yep 34 was the size! I must have been excited about that because I bought 7 pairs of shorts I think! I went to a local thrift store though, clothes are much cheaper that way. I really have no idea how long it has been since I have worn 34's. When I started dating Bridget I had 36's, I remember cause I bought a new pair of pants the day before our first date! In high school I was really overweight until my senior year when I lost a bunch of weight, but I think from my freshman year through my junior year I was in 38 - 40 range. So like I said yesterday I was at least Junior High when I was wearing 34's, but since I was overweight then I'm sure it was early junior high. Anyway, I hope that I keep losing weight and get even leaner, maybe at the end of summer I'll be talking about my new 32 inch jeans for fall! We'll see, one day at a time just keep chugging away at it!

In other news I am resting my legs today, no exercise. Saturday is my first triathlon of the season. I hope to write an awesome finishing time on Saturday afternoon for all of you to check out! So check in on Saturday, Bridget will have the camera maybe she can get some good action shots! Wish me luck and keep your fingers crossed!

Inching closer!

I am inching even closer to that illusive 100 pounds lost mark. I stepped on the scale today and was at 91 pounds lost! I have been recording everything I eat, their calories, and my exercise on an e-mail that I send to my friend Nick. It has really helped me, for one it adds accountability to what I am eating. It also helps keep me motivated because I keep wanting to hit my caloric mark everyday without going over. Anyway it is cool, and I am really happy to be inching closer to the goal!

Tomorrow I am going to buy some shorts for summer and I think I'll be looking at the 34 inch waist sizes! All of the pants that I bought in November were 36's, and now they are loose in the waist. I think I was wearing 38's when I was in the 9th grade, so you would have to go back to junior high (maybe even 4th or 5th grade) to find the last time I was wearing 34's! I just keep plugging away at it, one day at a time!

Another great day!

Today was really one of the best days we have had in a long time. Bridget had the day off so we decided to go with the Partners in Medicine playgroup which was "Mommy and me movie time" which is when they let all the kids and strollers into the movie theater, they only dim the lights 1/2 way, the volume is supposedly turned down (although the kids all covered their ears when the movie started) and it is acceptable to let your kids run around the theater during the movie. So we saw Horton Hears a Who, and it was a really good movie. Sydney really liked it, and the popcorn! After that we went to the California Pizza Kitchen, I have fallen in love with their salads...they are to die for! Then we walked around the mall for a while and came home. We then took Bridget's mountain bike and my road bike to the shop for tune ups. After that I went for a run, and wouldn't you know it was like the greatest run I've had in a long while. Get this, 8 miles....non-stop....1 hour 9 minutes 42 seconds....breaks down to 8 minutes 42 seconds per mile! I felt great and I really ran well, this after I ate more Easter chocolate yesterday than I'll ever admit to anybody yesterday!!!

Why can't things be easy?

Ok, our old fridge was literally being held together with duct tape. Well the shelves were anyway! So once we got that tax return we went to work spending it. We found a deal on one and drove an hour to go check it out. It was in great shape, only 2 or 3 years old. Before we even went on the drive we measured the VW and it "should" fit according to Bridget. We get there, we buy it and we cram about 1/2 of it into the back of the VW where it really didn't fit. But we made it home with lots of rope and one stop. The fridge has an ice maker, and the previous owner said he never hooked it up. Well I did and wouldn't you know it water was flowing over the ice maker and filling the bin. So I consult the world wide web, check all of the things that a few sites recommended...still no fix, my freezer looks like Niagara Falls! So off to Sears, and get this they won't hardly help me because I didn't know the model number of my fridge even though when I looked up the part online it said the ice maker fit every top freezer fridge built since 1993! So I run across town to The Home Depot and buy the entire ice maker kit complete with hoses and extra parts that I was sure I didn't need. So I put in the new ice maker (2 screws, and plug it in) and start up the water again....NIAGARA FALLS! So there was another part in the box that I quickly put on and tried again. And I had done it. I felt so primitive, I had made ICE! So I don't know if the old ice maker was broken for sure, but I think it was after I was "tinkering" with it!

What is in a name

I had to read this 3 times to get it figured out, but I got it and it's funny. The NFL draft is in April, that's what the little blurb refers to.

Houston should be banned from drafting University of Tennessee tight end Chris Brown. It would be unfair. The Texans already have former Titans running back Chris Brown, as well as kicker Kris Brown. To add one more Chris Brown would be lethal for announcers, sportswriters, fans and the organization itself. It hasn't happened yet, but Chris Brown the Tennessee tight end should be taken off the Texans draft board. Immediately.

Nice run

I killed it today on the treadmill. I ran 6.17 miles in 50 minutes. I was trying to get to 6.2 miles which would be a 10K. However it would have taken me about 30 seconds to cover that .03 of a mile, so i was pretty close. My minutes per mile pace was 8:06 per mile, and maybe the greatest feat in all of this was that I never walked for the whole workout! I was impressed with my running and pretty proud!

I needed the good workout though after we went out last night. We made a trip to Brewvies, my favorite place on earth. Our movie started at 8, Bridget came straight from work and hadn't eaten since noon. I knew we were going out so I didn't eat dinner either. So we ordered a 14 inch BBQ chicken pizza, large nachos, and 2 diet cokes. Sadly, we ate it all! Every last bite. When I weighed in this morning I was 7 pounds more than Sunday morning!!! That better not stick around very long or I might never go out to eat again (yeah right)! I think a lesson in portion control would be a good thing!

Bragger

I don't know how often I get to brag about my wife, with specific examples. I mean I brag about her all the time to anybody who has ears, but this is good....this comes with hardcore evidence. She asked me to check her work e-mail right before she went to bed for the night and there was an evaluation of her from her recent rotation in the well baby nursery. So we opened it, I copied it, and now you get to see the proof!

and I quote:

Dr. Brown is a fantastic physician. She is competent, bright and compassionate. She is very trustworthy. She provides competent and sensitive care which is mindful of each patient's socioeconomic/ sociocultural background.

pretty cool huh?!?

More than 1 year

My blog had its first birthday last week, and everybody unceremoniously missed it! The funny thing about blogging is I think it really messes with my head. I get down on the whole thing when there are no comments, I obsessively check at least 3 or 4 times per day. But I know people read it because you all have told me so. Then the fact that the blog is a good way for people to keep tabs on what I am doing and what I am up to, I get less e-mail. I also obsess over e-mail! So with no meaningful e-mail or comments I start to wonder if anybody even likes me. I start questioning my blog existence, am I isolating myself because of what I write about? I told you it messes with my head! Anyway, if I am boring, annoying, repetitive, or any other negative adjective then I apologize. All I really want is for the readers to enjoy my thoughts, leave some comments, and validate my blogging and blog existence. Happy 1 year Blog and your 226 blogs!

Getting around town

The weather is getting to be so nice I think it is time to break out the bike and bike carrier kid carrier thing. I'm going to start riding to and from the rec center which will add a nice 7 miles to my workout totals each day, and will save the miles from the car. Plus it is always fun to confine the kids in a small space and buckle them in close enough to each other so that they can steal toys from one another. A good time is had by all once they both start screaming for what ever reason, usually a stolen toy, people must think I don't care as I keep pedaling while they are screaming bloody murder. But most of the time they enjoy the ride, the fresh air, and going fast!

I'm no math wiz, so I'll probably just screw this up and look like an idiot with shaved legs but.... my car gets about 290 miles on a tank of 14 gallons of gas. Roughly 19 miles per gallon, that is all city driving it gets considerably better mileage on the highway. So 7 miles constitutes 2.4% of the 290 miles (7/290 * 100), and 2.4% of the 14 gallons of gas I need to fill the tank is roughly .33. So I'll save 1/3 of a gallon of gas each time I ride rather than drive, and at todays gas price of $3.04 per gallon (with grocery card discount of .15 per gallon) for the mid grade (not the cheep stuff) I'll be saving $1.01 per trip.

New Painting

We went to a "starving artist" sale in downtown today. It was kind of interesting, kind of odd. There were lots of styles, but it left us wondering how they get the paintings? They are real paintings with real canvas and real paint. One lady explained that she thought they were from art students who had an objective to paint their take on a classic. Anyway, we got 2 paintings and they were really cheap. This is the first new one that is in our living room where the Celtic crosses used to hang.

We really liked the 3d effect that the paint makes on the tree, it's much better in person than in the photograph. We bought a smaller painting for the newly remodeled bathroom, it seems to fit in really well, here it is...a nice Venice scene:

There was a little bit of controversy though. I really liked a painting for our bedroom, but Bridget wasn't 100% sold. We went back and forth and couldn't agree on it. So who won? Bridget of course, so we just bought the 2 paintings.

If anybody has any insight about these "starving artist" sales let me know. Are they a bad thing? Are these rip off's of classics? Are these made by poor kids in China who shoot the canvas with a paint gun or something? None of the artwork was signed which leads me to think something was up.

Composting

So I thought I took my composting pretty seriously, everything goes in the compost heap right? Well I guess not everything, I just have this funny image of the hippie who tried to compost his/her pot clippings:

updated 8:27 p.m. MT, Mon., March. 3, 2008

SAN JOSE, Calif. - A pot grower in northern California is following nature's rules, if not the law.

Workers who were sorting items at a San Jose recycling center last week found a large trash bag full of marijuana plants.

The center collects leaves, tree limbs and other natural material for composting, but San Jose police say the plants won't end up that way. Instead they'll be held as evidence of a crime.

To shave or not to shave....That is the question!

Ok so there is a culture among triathletes that exists, we are an odd bunch for sure. How else could you explain going out and pushing yourself to the physical limit over and over and over again (three times for us triathletes). Anyway, lately I've been talking with a few guys at the pool and everybody seems to be getting really excited about this upcoming season. It seems like the 4 or 5 of us are in the same races, should be fun. So I started thinking am I a "real" triathlete? I like triathlons more than running and more than just swimming and biking alone. I am doing 5 triathlons this year, capping the season off with a half ironman. So I would consider myself a triathlete. So then it comes to this question, for countless reasons male triathletes shave their legs. After an internet search I found that the biggest reason was because of the potential for a bike accident. Nothing worse than cleaning dried blood that has caked itself to your hair. Plus bandages stick a lot better when there isn't any hair, they also remove easier. Some say speed and aerodynamics are the reason, although most admit that is all in their head. But I think the biggest reason for it IS mental, if you feel fast you'll go faster. There is also a lot of stories about the first time you jump into a pool all freshly shaved, with most people reporting they feel immortal! Sounds fun! So I am undecided about all of this, maybe I will before my first race later this month. As for all of the rest of my bodily hair I'm leaving it alone since I have a new triathlon racing suit to wear. I don't think I could ever be hairless like a hairless cat or something, maybe I'll just start with my legs. Here is the consensus from a few pages:

The reason?

And I quote, “because, when you look good, you feel good, and when you feel good, you swim good.”

Let’s face it…most of us keep our legs shaved throughout our triathlon training because it looks and feels pretty cool! And yes, even the chicks dig it…once you sell them on the idea that you are a triathlete and throw in a few of those BS reasons mentioned above. My wife sure doesn’t complain.

So, basically, shaving is an ego thing…and so what if it is!

I say, what the hell…

Keep your legs shaved, stir up some controversy, look cool, feel good and hall ass in your next race!

What not to do if you are a streaker!

I have never streaked across a playing field, but if I ever do I know one thing.....seems rather obvious...AVOID THE REALLY BIG GUY STANDING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FIELD!!

What's been going on

Bridget had the weekend off, it was her "golden weekend" which means she had Saturday and Sunday off. So on Saturday we went snowshoeing in Millcreek canyon. It was pretty good, we went for 2 hours with one of Bridget's friends Brooke. After that we went to Brewvies and saw Sweeney Todd. I think I was the only one who liked it, and the girls were withholding the fact that it was a musical. I like the lady that turned Todd's victims into meat pies. Very clever! After we picked up the kids from the babysitters we called it a night. On Sunday I did a triathlon training session in the morning, and then we hosted our friends the Donnelly's. It was fun, we made fajitas and had a good time while the kids went nuts. Then unfortunately Bridget was on-call today, so we don't get to see her until tomorrow afternoon. Bummer, all good things must come to an end I guess!