Welcome to earwater!!!

Well if you were wondering what I zero o’clock was here it is. After taking one last short swim with the master’s swim on Wednesday night I got home and tried to hit the sack. I didn’t get to bed to early and the 4 o’clock alarm was brutal.
After a quick shower and final packing Natalie, Greg and Leara showed up at 4:45am to pick me up and we headed to the airport. It was still dark and I am pretty sure I was still half asleep. Check-in went smooth and before we knew it we were on the plane and headed to Florida. Our first stop was Salt Lake and the flight attendant informed us that it was a balmy 23 degrees. I was just glad I got to stay in the airport and was headed to sunny Tampa.

I have never been able to sleep on planes but I was optimistic that this would be my day. I had been up since the butt crack of dawn and the movie they were playing was a classic. Journey to the Center of the Earth, the new one, and if that couldn't put me to sleep then nothing can.

We finally arrived in Florida and were welcomed by a nice sunny sky. The weather is warm and the beaches look awesome. After grabbing out luggage we headed to the bike shop, with the help of Betsy, to pick up my bike and then we were off to dinner.

This is Betsy. Claudia couldn't get the time off for the trip.

Look at the SUNSHINE!!!

When in Florida you do like the Floridians do right. So we chose the fine dining establishment, Eddies. It just happens to be right next to the liquor store and on Tuesday nights, ladies drink for free. That’s my kind of place:) If you get to drunk and fall down you can just head next door to the medical store. Can you get a DUI if you are on a scooter?

The condo we are renting is freaking awesome and right on the gulf. The picture below is the view out our back patio. I am sure it looks better in the daylight but you will just have to wait and see.

Well tomorrow I do my first official ocean swim and I have to tell you I am a bit nervous. Then we get all checked in and it actually becomes official. I have this weird feeling that the atmosphere might be just a 'little' different then Boise or Lake Stevens. Thanks for all the well wishes and I hope to keep you updated throughout the trip.

The Adventure BEGINS!!

Tomorrow morning at zero o’clock, I am off to Florida. Sounds like a great vacation right? Well most of the time will be nice and relaxing, all except for about 5 hours on Saturday morning. I really don’t know how my body is going to react to this race. The heat and humidity will definitely be a factor along with seeing how my body will hold up.

I have yet to ride over two hours for a few months and only have a handful of long rides. P-Dub has been in the back of a FedEx truck for the last week snuggling up to all the other lonely boxes. I just got word that he has arrived in Tampa and the weather is absolutely awesome. I haven’t heard if there was any damage during the trip since he was too busy hangin’ at the beach trying to pick up on the hot lady bikes rolling around.

Last weekend I was able to get in my first long run 1.5 hrs and covered about 10.5 miles. I was relieved that I felt good at the end, so that is a bonus. Thanks to Tim for joining me and getting me out for one last good effort.

As I leave the nice ‘COLD’ confines of my house in search of some sun and warmer weather, can’t wait to get the race started. Since dominating a race of this caliber is only for the best, I know what I should be capable of and anything less will just not work.

In case you are up at some ungodly hour out here on the west coast, my heat starts at 5:00am PST or 8:00am EST. My athlete number is #1411 and you can track all athletes at http://ironman.com/worldchampionship70.3.

I hope to keep you all posted on all the fun adventures in Clearwater. Stay Tuned!

I VOTED- 2008

Well, I VOTED. This is a first for me. I am not sure why I haven't voted in the past but this year was the first time. There are no excuses and I guess I could be one of the millions to blame for our current state of chaos.

I really don’t care who you voted for, that is not the issue. The fact that you take pride in your country and feel that your voice is important is the biggest concern.

'WE' Americans are about to embark on a new journey and right now it may be difficult to see the finish line but at least we are back in the race.

BYOP 2008- Bring Your Own Pumpkin

This year was my first BYOP Party hosted by the Byrd’s. They were breaking in their new house in style, beer and pumpkins. What could be better? In true fashion, there is a contest to see who can crave the most creative pumpkin. I really can’t remember the last time I carved a pumpkin so I was actually pretty excited to get back in the game.

A few weeks ago, Tiffany made a comment that Jessi was sure I was going to come up with something good and win. At this point in time I had put no thought into it and the pressure began to build. Now I had to show up and represent in true A+ style.

Enjoying a little bit of pumpkin guts. I had to be one with the pumpkin.

I came up with one idea about a week before the competition was to begin but had yet to find the pumpkin to execute my plan. So after the long search for the perfect pumpkin, a whole 3 minutes at the Fred Meyer boxes, I found my pumpkin palette.

The craving began not with a knife but with a green marker and after about 15 minutes of drawing out my design before I began to carve my pumpkin. After many confused glances by my fellow competitors my design began to take shape. Slow removing piece after piece, my pumpkin was “actually” turning into a success.

After a few additions (or was it subtractions) here and there my masterpiece was complete and I walked away with first place, and that never happens when I am around other triathletes:)


Thanks again to the Byrd’s for hosting an awesome party and already looking forward to next year.

PS: Hopefully you can see what it is and if not, think triathlete.

My First 5K: Tri-Fusion Style

I am now in my third year of triathlons but had yet to actually race a 5K. I have ran Bloomsday a few times but nothing that short. Since my running is just now coming back to me I really didn’t know what to expect. I wanted to see how the knee would do but at the same time it still needs to stay together for two more weeks.

The Tri-Fusion 5K was held on the Mead cross-country course. I have run on trails before but never raced cross-country. Running from dirt to sand to a track surface and grass was going to really test how I was feeling. After running a couple of test laps earlier in the week I was ready to go. I wasn’t sure how to attack the race and after a brief conversation with J-Deere (formally known as J-Dogg), Jessi Thompson, there is only one way to race.

I knew there was no way I would win this thing or even be in the top 10. The only goal I had set was to try and finish under 20 minutes. I wanted to go out and test my endurance.

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Me and my trusty knee strap.

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The first mile started out fast, like 5:57/mile fast. The only way I was going to keep up this pace was if I had wings and a little jet pack, but I did feel good and the goal was to test the limits. The second mile was quite a bit slower as I could feel my legs begin to slow and hit Mile 2 at 12:45 running 6:48/mile.

At this point I was almost home and did my best to push until the end. I ran the last 1.1 miles in 7:15 which was good for a 6:35/mile pace. I finished the race in 20th place with a time of 20:00. Sounds like I have a new favorite number. Maybe next time when I am running down the finish shoot and can barely breath I will look at the clock and just push that much harder.

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Finishing strong, just not strong enough!

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I seem to always set my goals just out of reach. I guess I am have a better understanding of my fitness but I also need to push myself just a bit farther out of my comfort zone to attain those goals. They are close but just out of reach.

Overall it was a fun race and the knee felt great. I am getting ever more optimistic to see what happens in Clearwater.

12 Hours!!

There is a lot you can do in 12 hours. You can watch about 8 movies, you can drive to Portland and back and you can even finish an Ironman if you are fast enough. Well what did I do for 12 hours last night, I slept. Yep, I crawled in bed at 6:30 pm to take a quick nap before I headed to swimming and didn't get out of bed until 6:30 am this morning. WHO DOES THAT? Who actually has the time to sleep that long. Apparently I do, well did at least last night.

There was actual time I spent laying there thinking I should get out of bed before I forget how. There were the brief moments at 3:00 am when I was considering getting up because I felt like I had my usual nights rest. There was also the time around 5 am when I thought about getting up and doing some workout and soon decided it was to cold and my bed was much warmer.

Then came the alarm around 6 am and this was when I really didn't want to get out of bed. After all that sleep it was still tough to pull myself out of my little home inside my home. Finally throwing off the blankets I forced myself to get up and get the day started at 6:30 am.

So I ask you, what is the longest you have slept? It doesn't count if you were sick and on the brink of your death bed. Just an average ole night.

My Weekend Triathlon

Optimism: an outlook on life such that one maintains a view of the world as a positive place.

My life is relatively simple, work, train, sleep and play. I don’t have the stresses that many of my friends have to deal with in their every day lives. There are times that I get down with all the small things that add up but this weekend I might have turned over that heavy stone that was holding my training down for the past few months.

I am optimistic that my race will go better with each day that passes. This weekend I did my first triathlon since August. This was not your typical triathlon, the one where you swim, bike and run in that order and you are done once you cross that finish line. My finish line was making it back to Wandermere after a 40 mile ride Sunday morning.

The race began on Saturday when D-Tib and I decided to go for a short run. I really had no idea how this would go or how long this run was going to last. I was going to run completely on feel. It could have lasted 5 minutes or 5 miles. I am happy to say that it was the later. We by no means were breaking any pace records but it really did feel good to get out and put some miles under my feet. I used a patella tendon strap and I really think this might be the trick to finishing at Worlds but only time will tell.

Saturday afternoon I entered my first ever swim meet. This was put on by the Spokane Waves, a master’s swim group I joined at the beginning of the summer. I had actually never even been to a swim meet to watch let alone compete.

I started off signed up for the 50y, 100y, 200y freestyle relay and the 400y freestyle relay. As soon as I arrived I had a feeling this was going to be interesting. Besides the group I usually swim with throughout the week, the other participants were definitely more “masters” than I was. The majority of the other competitors were masters on how to survive the last economic depression we had, the one in the 1930’s. We were by far the youngest of all the swimmers by decades.
Throughout the meet I was pretty excited by some of the times I posted. There was the 26.09 in the 50y freestyle which included one of my best flip turns I have ever done. We also won the both the relays and I almost broke 1 minute in my 100y freestyle with a time of 1:01.25.

Overall it was definitely fun to be part of and it was great to see all my masters teammates get out there and compete. Also, special props to all those swimmers who were out there swimming in the 70’s and 80’s. If I can get out of my recliner when I am their age I will be ecstatic.

To finish off my trifecta of training this weekend I woke up Sunday morning to head out for a 2 hour ride. After dragging myself out of bed I began to feel this might not have been such a great idea. My knee was still sore from running and I wasn’t really feeling to motivated. Slowing getting “almost” all my gear together we headed out to Starbucks to meet up and ride the famous Greenbluff loop. I have to thank the Thompson’s for the helmet rental, since mine was still sitting in my closet at home. Rookie mistake:)
The ride was tough and it took awhile to get warmed up but once we started going my knee was pain free. I still rode with the patella strap and I really think this is helping. Each time we stopped the discomfort came back but once we were moving I was good to go. And since you are not supposed to stop in a race, I might just be able to keep going. Next weekend might actually include a brick workout.