This… should be interesting!

I’ve long touted my formula for losing weight with friends of mine.  In a nutshell it is that I, being a man of average height and wanting to lose 2+ lbs. a week, gets to eat 1,000 calories a day plus 500 calories for each additional hour of working out that I do.

People say I’m nuts, too extreme, not practical, etc.  But a good friend of mine just referred me to the McMillan Running Nutritional Calculator which seems to mirror my thoughts on dieting.  His estimates seem to be spot on to what I think is necessary for losing weight.  Of course, eating calories in those amounts sucks, makes me extremely grumpy, and hungry much of the time.  But if it were easy to be thin, everyone would be.  Such is life… and why I’m 30 pounds over (race) weight. :)

I’ve been mighty lazy these days (surprise, surprise).  I’m leaning towards making a run for IMWI 2009, but I’ll have to think about how feasible that is now with baby and having been out of anything active for two years now?  I’ve been thinking about doing shorter events.  I just don’t know if I’ll feel challenged enough to diet and train adequately for shorter races.  The hills at Wisco put the fear of God in me to show up trained and as thin as possible.  Not to mention that I’m still waiting for my perfect weather day.  Grrr!  I shouldn’t have cancelled in ‘07!

“The Americans? We’re going to smash them. That’s what we came here for.”

- Some French swimmer nobody will remember

Mmmm hmmm.  Eat it, Frenchies.  See you in 4 years. :)

Nope, nothing really new to report.  Just checking in to make sure this hasn’t gotten too rusty and to post more pictures of the lil’ one.  She’s really not so little anymore and getting to be mighty quick, attempting to grab anything and everything that’s within arm’s reach.  I must say that she gives a might good slobber kiss, though!

As you can see, Caitlin isn’t the only one that’s getting bigger.  Her daddy is pictured above a good 30 pounds (still) over race weight.  I’d post a better body shot, but I don’t have a wide angle lens quite that strong – sorry! :)  There is still nothing on the calendar so there is still little motivation to get on it.  I’m still thinking doing “something” in 2009, but haven’t decided what something will be.  St. Croix is still on the contenders list, along with New Orleans and California.  Whether I’ll return to IMWI or not in 2009, I have no idea.  I can’t fathom a Sprint distance right now let alone something that far. I suppose I should take one step at a time.

All for now…

So, the turning over a new leaf hasn’t been so much a turning over as it has been a peeking under. Progress is slow going at best, but I will say that I’m at least conscious about being a little more active and watching what I eat a teeny bit. What can I say? It’s just hard getting going when I don’t really have anything on the horizon to scare the crap out of me enough to push the pedal to the metal.

In previous years, it was those hills in Verona that scared me enough to keep the fork down. I remember coming back from my honeymoon around 15 pounds over weight and needing to drop that in six weeks. I managed to get it off (with time to spare, surprisingly) because there was no way that I wanted to carry that extra 15 pounds around the back half of the bike course, let alone the marathon to follow (in hindsight, the weather being what it was in 2006, maybe an extra 15 pounds of insulation might not have been a bad thing :P).

But, I’m moving forward which I guess is the important thing. I’m looking at maybe some races in 2009? Perhaps the St. Croix 70.3? And possibly an Ironman later that fall? I don’t know. I can’t even fathom 140.2 miles right now. Heck, I can’t fathom a sprint tri at this point. But in a year… anything can happen.

So for now, I focus my little bundle of joy that’s been my life for the last few months. She sure is growing like a weed!

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!