Cool Time Lapse

Here is a cool time lapse of Obama's speech from last week, I think it it is pretty sweet!

A change, but why?

No I'm not talking about my new blog appearance...but not too shabby, eh? I am talking about soda. Pop. Coke, well more specific diet coke since I haven's had a non diet coke in a few years. 2 weeks ago I decided to axe diet cokes from my diet. No real reason. It was a little expensive, especially when not on sale. People talk about an athletic advantage if you don't drink soda. I don't know if I buy it. It's not a caffeine thing, since I still enjoy coffee when ever I have the mojo to make it. I don't know, I suppose I just got tired of it! I guess I'm weird or something.

Back to that athletic advantage I mentioned, obviously a big thing in my life. But when you hear people tell you "you shouldn't drink soda because of the carbonation" or "because of the caffeine". I have read that carbonation may lead to a little GI distress, but what ever I'm over that. I figure a little GI distress will just help me run faster....so I can get to a porta potty sooner! This article pretty much sums up everything from carbonation to caffeine to regular sports drinks and cites lots of research on the whole issue.

Maybe my subconscious reason is to wean myself off of it and then drink some on race day (September 6th, Camp Yuba Olympic Triathlon) and hope for a boost? I don't know, but I did like one of the suggestions from that article of mixing Coke 1/2 and 1/2 with a sports drink. That way I get the carbs, the sodium, and the electrolites. I might give it a try this weekend on my longer run! We'll see!!!

Funny

No words necessary, the picture says it all!Michael Phelps, the early years.

And so it begins!

We got home from a camping trip today and managed to dump all of our stuff in the middle of the living room floor. Ordinarily the clutter will stay there for a few days, but this time something different happened. We had a return of THE MOUSE! Bridget and I had it trapped, then it escaped, then we cornered it again...only to have it escape again and run down to the basement! We chased it and cornered it again, and finally caught it in a tupperware. I took the mouse for a drive and released it by a ditch more than a mile away from our house. Anyway, after all of the excitement our entire house looked like a prison cell that had just been ransacked by guards looking for shanks or drugs or something!

So we started the purging process. I listed 3 items for sale on Craigslist and on KSL.com. I know 3 items doesn't seem like much but it is a start. I put up my beer making kit, our bread machine, and a kid carrier frame backpack. Eclectic grouping of stuff, no? Hopefully we'll have some luck selling our stuff, and we'll have a lot more stuff to put up. I might just become the kingpin of Craigslist and KSL!

The big 3-0-0

Well I went out and killed myself today in 90 degree heat, and for what....?.....so I could reach that 300 miles ran milestone! I needed 6 miles to do it, and I didn't get out nearly as early as I wanted to. By the time I made it outside it was nearly 11:30 AM, which pretty much makes it too hot to run here in the desert. But I'm young, and I'm dumb so I went anyway. I started the run listening to one of my favorite Foo Fighters albums (Dave Grohl (lead singer for the Foo Fighters) has seriously one of the best rock and roll screams of all times)(yes, I did use parentheses inside of parentheses)...anyway, all was good until the batter died on my mp3 player. Yeah, pretty sweet. I was only about 2 or 3 miles in. So I finished the rest of the run with just me and the cars and the exhaust. And oh yeah the wind, I hate the wind.

In other news the final triathlon of the summer somehow got moved up 1 weekend from the time that I registered for it. It was supposed to be on the 12th of September, now it is on the 6th. That's good news and bad news, good news in that I'll be able to stop running for this year all that much sooner...the bad news is I have 1 week less to prepare. I don't know how much preperation I need, but the more the better. Although when it is done, I am planning on taking a running break until March 2009 or so. Lots of swimming and biking for me this winter! Hopefully a long hiatus will fix the plantar faciitis that still bothers me every day. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

The violent world of water polo

I had no idea water polo was a particularly violent sport. Then I read this article on ESPN today, really an eye opener! I played inner tube water polo in college, it was violent...trust me it was (extreme sarcasm). The most violence I saw was pushing down really hard on a foes tube and watching them flip over. But when one of the assistant coaches for the U.S. water polo team says:

"First time, let me move your ear guard. Next time, I'm breaking your ear. Maybe knuckles in the eye, see if they panic. When it gets bad is when people try to take the eyes out. That wakes you up, when someone does that to one of your teammates. Then, when you get your chance, you take your shot and send that guy to the hospital, too."

Wow, what is this, prison rules water polo? Apparently what goes on under the surface of the water stays under there....unless you lose control and become blatant, then the ref steps in. "I've had my eyes gouged, [testicles] grabbed, gotten stitches," American center Ryan Bailey said. "There's tons of stuff that happens." You even hear about some centers who have been the recipients of uninvited prostate checkups. (Think Chevy Chase singing "Mooooon Riverrrrr" in "Fletch.")

Stinking cute kids

I'm sorry, I can't resist....I think my kids are the cutest kids in the world. There are lots more on my website if you want to see more safari pictures.

Are Wii having fun yet?

Yes Wii are having fun with our new Nintendo Wii! Bridget and I are getting better at some of the Wii sports like tennis, bowling, and golf....a game Bridget surprisingly likes! Although we both got up yesterday and complained that our right shoulders hurt! The kids even get in the act by cheering for either Mommy or Daddy. It is really fun to get to play with Bridget, we are really enjoying this lighter schedule that she is on. Good times, if you don't have one you should get one!

The Job

I know 90% of you already know about this job, so this post is really for those 10 percenters out there. Here's the big news....Bridget got hired by Loveland Pediatrics (Loveland, CO)!!! While she won't actually start working until July 2009, it is a very good feeling to know where we will be moving to and that we'll be so close to home. There are lots of things that she needs to do before she starts doctoring out there like get her Colorado board certificate, round up a slew of insurances, pass a background check, and all of that professional sort of stuff. Oh yeah and she also has to finish up that pesky little residency thing she is doing now here in Utah.

Loveland really offered her a "dream" opportunity. The money is great, the benefits are equally great, they offered her some student loan repayment, they pay for moving expenses, they even pay for the family to fly out a couple of time to shop for houses! Bridget fit in really well with the other doctors as well, I know that that was easily more important to her than all of the other stuff combined. She is so excited to start, that she wants me to put a countdown timer on my blog until she starts work!

The end is in sight, putting behind all of the grueling years of medical school, residency, and the moving around from state to state. We are very excited to settle in to a place where we are hopefully going to stay for the long haul. It's going to be great and another exciting chapter in the lives of us!

Olympic Expectations

Do you ever find yourself watching Michael Phelps swim, and then watch ANY other Olympic event and just assume that person should win as well? He makes it look soooo easy. Last night he swam for 2 more gold medals, 2 more world records, became the most decorated Olympian....ever, and so on and so forth. Then they cut to ladies gymnastics, and my mind just expected them to win easily, and they didn't. They had balance issues, and unfortunately they occurred on the balance beam. Oops. Maybe Michael Phelps should have competed, he probably would have won gold. Just think of it, he's got those size 14 flippers he calls feet...he could miss the beam by a foot to either side and still grab hold with those babies. They also made it a point to say that he was double jointed in his knees, that's got to help out in gymnastic flexibility!

While I'm talking Olympics, I don't understand what the fuss is over China using a stand in for a 7 year old girl who sang in the opening ceremonies. Apparently the people that decide this sort of stuff deemed she was unfit for tv viewing. The way I see it pretty much everybody I know, myself included, is unfit for tv. Have you looked at people on tv lately? They are all so fake looking! From news anchors, to sitcom stars, reality tv people, movie stars, musicians, the whole lot of 'em. I don't think I know anybody that is tv worthy, I know I wouldn't enjoy seeing myself on tv...all I know is that I look like a giant dork when I see myself on home videos. Maybe we should just clone Michael Phelps, he seems to be everywhere and on every commercial anyway. Think about it, Live with Michael and Kelly.....Good Morning America with Michael Phelps, your local evening news with Michael Phelps. Michael Phelps stars as Indiana Jones and the Slime Creatures From Outer Space. Survivor Beijing with Michael Phelps versus himself 16 times over. Biggest Loser Michael Phelps edition, he would have to lose the remaining 1/2 an ounce of body fat that he currently has or be subject to elimination. Ahhh, I could rant all day...but I think I'm done now. I feel better. Phelps as a Blogger, another way he is WAY better than me.

Back at it

Still a little gimpy (read as incapacitated and sore beyond belief) I tried the rec center on Monday. I rode the recumbent bike for 30 minutes and it was really great! My legs felt good and I even raised the resistance a bit after 15 minutes and still felt good. Then I stood up. Thought I was going to die. My legs were screaming in an octave that makes dogs howl...and me too! Anyway, a good nights rest and I was back at it today. I tried swimming today and it went great. I did 1500 yards, just to kind of loosen up. I felt so good I swam a timed 300 just to see, and I finished 40 seconds faster than my last recorded 300 on swimplan.com. Pretty good!

I guess it feels good to get back into the swing of things, although I think I'll wait a few more days to try running. Maybe Friday? As for my foot, it feels great. I think the 13 miles of pain must have either fixed the problem or tricked my pain receptacles. But I think it will be back, I just like to be hopeful!

Now What? (half ironman recap)

Well the Utah Half Ironman has been and gone, and I survived...sort of! So the day started off as usual, I slept like crud the night before and woke up feeling semi groggy at 4:30 AM. We went to the start line and got attacked by MILLIONS of mosquitoes in the transition area. The people who put on the race were fairly discombobulated, disorganized, and what ever adjective you would like to use that starts with dis. Anyway, my sister in law Melissa drove out from Colorado to race with me, so I had a partner in crime for all of this. They told us we were going to have wave starts, well if waves mean guys and girls then I guess they did that....would have been nice to do waves of 50 or 100 or something. Instead I started in the middle of the pack, got frustrated when I kept getting kicked and elbowed. I finally found a decent spot and swam most of the race on the sides of the crowds. I used 90% all arms, no kicking and still finished in the middle of the pack in my age division....what would have happened if I kicked, I might have been in the top 3! So after the swim there was a long run to the transition area, was especially bad for me and my bum foot. I gimped my way to the bike and off I went. My goal on the bike was to keep it at 21 MPH average. I know it sounds funny to limit how fast you go in a RACE, but I was trying to save some juice for the run. The bike was 56 miles, and at the halfway turnaround point I was averaging 22 miles an hour, so I slowed down a bit on the way back and finished at 21.5 MPH, pretty good considering I think I could have averaged 24 considering the wind was at my back for the return trip! Anyway, I got off my bike and I was more tired than I thought but still doing pretty good. I stole one of Melissa's 32 ounce Poweraids and chugged it (I ran out of drink with about 15 miles left on the bike) and off I went on the run. The run was surprisingly good...for about 1/4 mile. My foot felt OK, not 100% but still runable. Then at 1/4 mile the course had a hairpin turn and when I made it BOTH of my legs cramped at the SAME TIME! I tried to walk it off, no luck. I had to sit down and stretch out my cramping quads. They stopped and I took off slowly and tried to resume. Every 1/2 mile or so, or everytime the course had a turn in it they would both seize up. At 4 miles into the run a found Bridget on the sidelines and asked her what I should do. I was looking for her to tell me it was OK to quit or that it wasn't worth hurting myself. Um no. She told me to get out there and keep running. During our little pep talk I was sitting stretching my quads. So I tried running again, feeling a little dejected that my wife, the love of my life, wanted to KILL me on the run! About a tenth of a mile later both legs seized up again. I slowly chugged my way to the 1/2 way point and again I had the perfect chance to quit but passed it up thinking that if I returned to the transition area without crossing the line I'd be divorced before we returned to SLC! The final 6.5 miles were nothing short of brutal. My legs hurt so much, I had to sit and stretch...sometimes just sit and ponder life and curse at my hurting legs. But I am proud to report that I did make it, although I was no where near where I thought I would finish, and the time was horrible. I made it, I suffered, I got a cool medal, in retrospect I am glad I finished....don't think I had a good enough time to do another half ironman again anytime soon.

As for Melissa, my sister in law, she finished the swim 16 seconds faster than me and finished the entire bike course and then decided that she had enough. Melissa also admittingly didn't train at all for this race. She rode her bike twice and swam once, and that was it except for her soccer leagues. She had a good time, and she looks a lot happier than me today as she can move around freely and appears pain free. I on the other hand say "oh shit" every time I stand up and start moving!

Above, me approaching the finish line...the pain is about to stop.

Above, I grabbed the kids at the finish...they crossed with me!

Finally, the finisher medal. I did it, don't think I'll do that again...so this one is special!

Comments

One of my favorite pastimes is to read online news stories and then scroll to the bottom of the article and read the readers comments. I read an article about a guy here in SLC who tried to attack his family with a Chainsaw. When the chainsaw wouldn't start he picked up a weed whacker which also wouldn't start. When that failed he got in his car and tried to run them over, problem was it took him long enough to get the keys and get in and get it started that his family walked inside and called the cops. I realize the subject matter isn't funny at all, but the outcome is kinda funny...c'mon admit it...anyway, the comments of the story were pretty funny. One person commented that is why he does yearly maintenance on his yard equipment, "they always start on the first or second pull". Another person posted something about devine intervention, that a "higher force" prevented the yard equipment from starting. One person responded to that comment and said the higher force was called oxidation. Another called the higher force fouled spark plugs. And a third person said it was high gas prices, cracks me up!

Well I guess I better get going. I was having trouble with my chainsaw the other day and I just couldn't get it started. I pulled and pulled the cord an it just wouldn't go, so I had to use the weed whacker, but again it wouldn't start, so I had to drive to The Home Depot....I couldn't figure out why my family was running away from me as fast as the could.

More Sunflowers

As the sunflowers keep coming out I keep getting reminded of what I planted! I forgot that I bought a package of purple sunflowers, and when they started popping out a couple of days ago I thought something was wrong because they were black as night. I took a couple of pictures today, but they are clearly turning more purple than staying black. Anyway, it's funny to me that I forget what I planted and where I planted it....so when it comes up it is a big surprise!

Less than a week

6 days and counting down until the BIG race. I am really nervous. First thing is first I need to get my diet under control....quickly. The trip to Loveland really threw me into a tailspin, and somehow seemed to justify a few extra days off since we have been home! I don't know how that works, but it did! I ran 4 miles on Friday and was completely useless for the rest of the day and most of Saturday in terms of my foot. I really don't know how it is going to hold up for the race and what is going to happen to me post race. My taper schedule calls for me to do light runs and bikes as well as swim everyday. I think I might skip the running, unless I do some short 2 mile treadmill runs.

We'll see I guess. I am nervous to say the least, but I have a plan and I'll just have to stick to it and see how it goes!

My Sunflowers

A while back I posted about my sunflower seed that I planted and I was very concerned that I got them in the ground too late and wouldn't get any decent flowers....check them out today! They are about 6 feet tall and the sunflowers are just starting to come out.