Actually, it’ll be more a hairpin turn of sorts. It’s becoming clearly obvious to me that I’ve slothed for entirely too long and that something needs to give before the sludge in my veins gets any thicker. Even my “fat, off-season” clothes are getting much too tight for my own liking. I haven’t stepped on a scale in ages, but if I had to guess I bet I’m 30 pounds over race weight (which I’ll admit is about 10 pounds less than what I should “normally” weigh… but that still makes me 20 pounds over). Not to mention that these days, doing simple tasks like bouncing Caity around seems to an threshold workout for me. I don’t foresee a triathlon comeback this year and there certainly won’t be an Ironman in my near future (i.e. 2008), but I should probably start doing something. ANYTHING!

The weather here hasn’t been entirely cooperative. It’s mid-April and it’s 31 degrees and snowing here today?! That and I’m trying to manage the purchase of a new house, a move (to another suburb in MN, for those that don’t already know), and sale of my existing house. But my goal is to start May 1st. That gives me a couple weeks still to wrap things up and to mentally prepare for the suckage that is will to occur when I attempt to set in motion that which has been still for over a year and a half. I’m totally not looking forward to it, but something has to give. Preferably, not the waistband of my pants.

… and we’ve managed to keep Caitlin alive somehow. Actually, it hasn’t been that bad (although I suppose I should let my wife comment on that since she’s been doing all the feedings). After all the horror stories that I’ve heard from new parents, I anticipated the first three months being significantly worse than they have been.

Anyway, I just wanted to drop a quick note saying we’re all still alive and kicking over here. And, of course, to share a picture of our little angel. :)

It was about a week earlier than we expected, but Monday night (12/10) around 10 PM, “Caitlin Faith” made her debut weighing in 6 lbs. 2 oz. Everything is going as well as can be expected, which is to say that the baby is adorable and that we all wish she’d sleep more so we could get some ourselves!

Hopefully I’ll have more to share a little later regarding the whole experience. Sorry this is getting to you all a few days late. We actually didn’t commit to a name until yesterday and I didn’t want to post or send out emails or anything until I could put a name with her face for you all.

More to come…

Pulling into Madison last night, I couldn’t help feel the Ironman excitement. It’s just in the air, plain and simple except this time with a totally different feeling. Gone was the anticipation and nervousness of the race. It was rather more of a joyous feeling that my comrades were going to be sharing an awesome experience on Sunday.

Seeing all these fit athletes around was slightly depressing. “I used to be one of those guys,” I thought to myself several times last night. That and the predicted weather forecast of 73 and dry?! Why after three years of 90+, 90+, and 55 with rain would this be the year I’d sit out? But alas, while I’ll definitely miss the race on Sunday, I still didn’t miss those long runs and long rides that I’d have otherwise been doing this summer. It takes a lot of work and dedication to be one of you folks.

So… I may or may not see you guys out on the course, but I wish you all the very best! Enjoy the race and soak in the experience that is Ironman. You folks all deserve it!

So, I’ve taken a long break from posting. Longer than usual, even for my standards! I’ve lurked and kept in touch with a few of you via email, but alas a post for the masses is in order.

If it’s not clear already, my 2007 season is non-existent. Minimal training and zero races on the calendar for the year. I’m suffering from a bit of burnout, I think. The past three years was fun and I took myself places that I thought I’d never see. But looking down the road of 2007 earlier this Spring, the places I’d go seemed a bit too familiar and try as I might the motivation to get down that road just wasn’t there. The training for me would have been more going through the motions than it would have been enjoying the journey.

But the real nail in the coffin in deciding what to do with this season was the news that Carol and I are expecting our first baby this coming winter! We’re both excited and nervous at the same time. She’s a little over 1/2 way through the pregancy and doing really well - no real morning sickness or anything during her first trimester. Other than not being able to sleep on her stomach, it’s been going very smoothly for her!

So instead of opting for endless cycles of training and recovery, I’m opting for recovery, vacations, and more recovery. I’m sure come December, I’ll wonder where those nights of 8-10 hours of sleep and my free time have gone. But I’m looking forward to it! I have yet to meet a parent that says it’s not all worth it in the end.

There you have it. Now, (maybe) back to my deep hibernation. :)

PS. I’m still planning on being out to Madison for IMWI 2007! Hope to see you folks there!

So… I’m watching TV and The Karate Kid comes on. I remember what an awesome movie this was when I was younger. What the heck was I thinking? :P

Still, the end comes on and Daniel is all ready to kick ass and take names and this starts playing. How come they never play this at races? I think it’s all motivational and everything… in that totally 80s kind of way. :)

All things can be fixed with duct tape…

(Our friends’ baby after Dad ripped the strap off…)

Zip. Nada. Nilch. No weight lost, but no weight gained - I’m still sitting at 168.2. I will say that I probably slacked a bit this past week in terms of being good with my diet. With my sour attitude toward things as of late, I’m also finding it hard to adhere to the terms that I set out for myself initially. I’m not eating terribly, but it could be better. I grab a handful of Pringles here or there and in my worst of moods this past week, I succumbed to the power of a Chipotle(-like) burrito. Even so, I still do think I made progress this past week, even if Tanita won’t confirm it. I’m down another notch on my belt and I think I’m solidly in between my winter and summer jeans. I haven’t yet tried on the summer jeans, but the winter ones no longer stay up with my belly alone providing back pressure. Belts are a requirement these days, so I guess that’s good!

Thanks for the feedback on my last post. I know it was a bit crummy, but ehh… it needed to get said. I’ve pretty much decided that I won’t be doing the 1/2 IM that I signed up for in a couple months. More than likely, I’ll try either converting my entry into the Olympic category, or finding some other folks doing the race to do a relay. Just doing that helped my attitude towards things a bit. I don’t feel as much pressure to make weight by June. I don’t feel as much pressure to get my running volume (while nursing sore Achilles) up to 1/2 IM levels. I don’t have to worry about posting an all time worst 1/2 IM time. Training can now resume at a slower pace and we can see later where this season takes us.

The temperatures have finally gotten up a bit and hopefully the rain stays away long enough this weekend to get a nice longer ride in on Sunday. Ironmomjenny is putting together a ride this weekend. I think it’s a secret goal of hers to try and get a Guiness World Record for longest paceline ever. For any of you locals, I think the plan is 2-4 hours @ 18-20 MPH on Sunday afternoon. I’ll probably be at the smaller end of both of those, myself. :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

For those looking for their daily dose of inspiration and motivation, this isn’t the post for you. If you want to continue, be my guest but don’t say I didn’t warn you…

(more…)

So… I weighed myself this morning - 168.2. Not terrible for a little over a week. I have the feeling that I was a little more dehydrated than normal when I weighed in, but it should be close. I had a decent week last week of eating. I did splurge a little last Saturday utilizing my optional “special occasion” card (if you must know, was my birthday this past weekend. :) ). And I may have eaten slightly more than I was allotted on Easter, although if I did it wasn’t by much.

Three pounds in a week and a half or so is right on target, I’d say. I will say that I don’t strict calorie count so much as I sort of ballpark estimate everything. I think my guesstimates now doing this for a few years are pretty accurate though. And when I watch what I eat, I tend to eat the same things over and over and over again. Lunches are comprised of either a 6″ Subway Club (no cheese or mayo), or maybe a Quiznos small Sierra Smoked Turkey. Fruit I usually classify as 100 calories a piece. And I’m pretty in tune with my portion control. It’s amazing how little 1/2 a cup, or even a whole cup is for that matter! I still get very hungry at times, but this week seems to be better in terms of dealing with cravings and what not. I find that if I can ween myself off foods that I really like, I usually lose the desire to eat them in the second or third week.

I had forgotten how working out feels when you’re trying to lose weight, though. There have been a couple runs these past couple weeks where I just ran out of gas and had to cut my runs to walk/runs. Not so much because I was out of shape (although there is some of that), but more so because I was just completely out of energy. It comes with the territory I suppose. And probably better to have workouts suffer now in the early season than when the brunt of the training is supposed to come.

That’s it on the weight front. Everything else is going well. Training is slow going, but I think I managed 8-9 hours last week? I’m slow as molasses at running, I have no muscular endurance on the bike, and I feel like I’m swimming through jello in the pool. At least I don’t have one glaring weakness - I’m bad in all three! :)

The weather here continues to suck. We have a winter advisory here today until 7 PM and are expecting 3-5 inches of snow. :( Which just strengthens my case that I have to get out of this state sooner than later. I hate the weather here. It drives me absolutely nuts.