Gas...

Woo hoo! Bought a tank of gas for under $45 yesterday at $1.29/gal.

Isn't it sad to get excited about gas that is STILL over 3 bucks a gallon? Sheesh.

The Time Capsule

Today I took a sick day and managed to make it fairly productive. Recently, I'd done a lot of filing and had a pile of paperwork I wanted to put into a storage box. I kept those boxes in the garage and they're full of records from the Air Force, taxes and other paperwork I decided to keep.

I took them into the living room and decided to go through them to see what I had in them. It was amazing! I had file pouches for each year I was in the AF Reserves (back to 1996), taxes back to 1998, credit card and utility records back to 2002 when I moved to Dallas from St Louis, and even found a package of photos mom sent me a few years back. There were even 4 notebooks of notes I'd taken during chemistry classes back in Germany. What an amazing find!

I realized that I really didn't need all this stuff so I sorted through it to figure out what could be shredded. I ended up with a stack of file folders about 2 feet tall. I kept only the past few years tax records and some house records. Everything else had to go.

So as I sat on the floor, watching bad morning TV and shredding, I found myself going through a pile of memories. The bulk of the paper were travel vouchers and pay statements from my time in the Reserves. Occasionally, a large packet would bring me back to my trips to Germany, Barbados, Panama and Honduras. THere were the many trips to St Croix, Florida and Hawaii.

There were records of being in my favorite room at the Buccaneer in St Croix. There were the numerous quick trips to Biloxi from both St Louis and Dallas. I even found some of the paperwork from my brief time in the IL Guard as a Boom Operator.

I had saved every one of my LES's, Leave and Earnings Statement, (pay stubs for your civilians). Those too, got shredded. Well, all except my very first one. I kept that first pay stub from my time in basic training, just to see how far I'd come. It was for around $300 for my first 2 weeks of service. I think I spent that much today just running errands. It's amazing how much changes in 22 years, isn't it?

Each one was its own little archive of memories. I almost hestiated to shred them, but realistically, there was no reason to save them. 2 large garbage bags are now by my back fence, waiting to be sent away. It's a sad way to say goodbye to memories, but at the same time, it's a clean feeling to be rid of stuff I just don't need.

What are in your personal archives?

Hotter N Hell 100k

Oh heck yeah, the biking bug is firmly planted in my core. I'm loving it!

Last weekend was the Hotter 'N Hell 100. The main race/ride is 100 miles, IN AUGUST, IN TEXAS! Normally, it lives up to its moniker, but this year, a week of cooler weather sure helped out the heat. It still was close to 75 at the start, but by the time Maribel, Pierre and I finished at 11:30, it was in the low 90's.

What an amazing sight it is to see nearly 12,000 riders of all shapes and sizes saddled up and taking off. It started off with the sound of clips attaching to pedals and the excitement of the riders as they chatted and warmed up with the slow pack. It took about 25 minutes from the time the gun went off before we crossed the starting line and there were still thousands behind us. Incredible.

The night before, the girls and I all camped out. INstead of hitting the large grassy area behind the convention center, we just decided to park near a grassy flat spot in the parking lot. We looked like squatters and in a sense, I suppose we were. But the good thing was that we had great parking close to the center! It was noisy and bright that night, but we managed to eke out about 5 good hours of sleep before the rumble of cars started coming in around 5.

So during the ride, there were several times where large yawns came around. I was tired, but thoroughly enjoying the ride. There was a crash about a mile or two into the ride. Bikers slowed and passed the woman being loaded into the ambulance. It was a lot like rush hour traffic in Dallas on a Friday, sadly enough.

I tried to keep up with Maribel and Pierre for a while, but the traffic jam of bikes slowed me too much. I'd left Debbie behind me in about 3 miles with April, Dianna and Mitch coming in behind Deb. I hit the first aid station near 10 miles fairly quickly despite the crowds and decided to pass. It was crazy with people. I love hearing the whir of wheels on the ground when people are more quiet.

I stopped at the 20 and 30 mile aid stations, but didn't linger. They too were crowded and crazy. I refilled bottles and grabbed some cookies. After the 30 mile point, 3 girls crashed ahead of me. It was a tangle of bikes and bodies, and fortunately none were seriously hurt. I stopped to help pull bikes off of them, but they had plenty of help so I moved on.

A few miles after that was a temptation. The 100k I was on continued straight ahead after a railroad track crossing while the 100 miler turned left. For a moment, I seriously considered turning towards the 100 miler, but thought about having people waiting for me at the car. In hindsight, I wish I'd have done it now. It was a cooler than normal year, I felt great and as it turns out, most of our group came in 2 hours behind us. Maribel went through the same dillemma with the same outcome.

I skipped the 40 mile aid station and just grabbed some ClifBlox out of my pocket. Mmmmm! These taste like margaritas and I love 'em! Somewhere around the mid-40's, we turned onto a service road which parallels a highway. The pavement was awful chip seal which just bumps the crap out of you. What speed I had going was lost. It was frustrating and the heat was starting to kick in. My back was starting to tighten and knots formed.

Finally, the 50+ aid station came into view and I stopped to grab a quick treat and some cold drinks. As I turned the corner, I was excited to see Maribel and Pierre. I didn't think I'd catch up to them. Pierre had just gotten there and Maribel had been waiting for him for a while. I was really excited! We probably stopped for about 15 minutes, grabbing icy cold water, cookies and a few pickles (perfect for the heat!). And in a matter of minutes, Maribel said that it was time to go. We only had 9 miles or so to the finish!

She hopped on her bike and sped off. It was all Pierre and I could do to keep up with her. We did for maybe a mile, then it was just he and I. He sped ahead of me at one point, but I decided to give him a good chase. At the top of an overpass, I pushed hard to pass him. I told him to latch on and I'd pull him for a while. That lasted a few minutes, until we got to Shepard AFB.

Now going through the base wasn't going to be a big deal for me. I'd been there once long ago and have been on many bases otherwise. The course was on beautifully smooth road and even wound through a static display of some planes. We even passed by a beautiful C-130H and I grinned. The best part of the ride was yet to come.

I tuned onto a street and could hear a thunder of young voices yelling. Sure enough, there were about 200 of the students along the side of the road. The crowds voice died down somewhat so I bellowed, "Lemme hear you! Go Air Force!" and they roared again! It was sooo much fun! I put my hand up to high-five them as I passed by, nearly getting toppled near the end. What a delight. I grinned the whole rest of the way to the finish.

My 100k adventure ended without much fanfare. I spotted Maribel who'd finished just ahead of me. Pierre soon followed and we dashed over to the open fire hydrant to cool off. Amazing ride. I felt great and was hardly sore the next day.

Next year, 100 miles!

Inspiration

I found this blog through another blog. http://jonnyoworld.blogspot.com/2008/08/media-friends-and-rain.html This triathlete is mildly retarded and battles Crohn's Disease and ulcerative colitis. A friend's son has the same disease and it tears him up.

"Now, millions of km later, after 14 years of sacrifice and small and tiny consistant improvement, ... i had a exceptionnal day and crossed the line at ironman canada in 8h39 minutes. Instantly, jonnyo the geneticly retarded athlete was now see by people that dont know him as a gifted elite athlete that as a special genetic inside of him to make him go this quick. Well, people just dont see the big picture, only the 2007 version of the athlete that i became. They dont see the other 13 years behind..., the coaches that have try to turn me away as i wasnt a good enough athlete......these 13 year where no magic....just consistant work. .."

This kid is amazing. The link itself is to one of his blogs from last year. I read some of the recent postings he has where he's getting ready to head up north for Ironman Canada. Amazing.

kk

Run training

Let me start this blog by saying, Indian Food for lunch makes for heartburn later while running. LOL!

So last night I was just in the mood to do something physical after work and I really need to get some running in for a race up in MN soon. I grabbed my bag of running gear that morning and had forgotten that I had my swimming gear already in there. So what the heck, I decided when I got to the gym to do both.

The run actually felt really good! About a week ago, I did a fast mile on the treadmill to get warmed up for something else and didn't do much walking to start. It was fast and furi0us and fun! Last night, I tried to do something similar and I'm liking the results.

2.5 min warmup/walk
5 mins at 6.0
5 mins at 6.5
5 mins at 7.0 (whoa! didn't know I could do that!)
3 mins and 7.5 (even better!0
1 min at 5.5.
Ladder intervals at 30 seconds, recovering at 5.5 between. 8.5, 8.0, 7.5, 7.0, 6.5, 6.0.
Finished the last 1/2 mile at about 6.5, then did a cooldown.
Fun workout and I feel so much better about still being able to do a 5k at a decent speed, considering all I've really been doing is biking lately. Yay!

Once the heart rate recovered, I changed for a quick pool workout. Since the old-lady water aerobics crowd would be showing up at about 6, I had about 20 minutes to spare before they descended upon to pool.

After a brief 200yd warmup of the arms, I did 10, 1-minute intervals of the 50yds, concentrating on form more than anything. Did 4X25yds at 30 secs, then a quick cooldown.

I can really feel the speed when I know I've hit the stroke correctly. I'm also experimenting with kicking to see how much it actually adds (especially after watching the Olympic swimmers!). Also tried keeping my head a little further down and not have it pop up so much.

Fun stuff. Now I have all winter to figure out the good stuff. Watch out! I'm hooked on this triathlon sport! :)

More great riding moments

Wednesday morning I woke up early, checked the weather and decided it would be a great day to ride into SWA again.

Sunrise now isn't until about 6:45, and I need to leave around 6 to make it into work at a reasonable hour, so it was time to dig out the lights from my adventure racing box. My old front bike light didn't work anymore, even after recharging it, so I jury rigged a headlamp to stay on the handlebars. I did find my old taillight and with a quick battery change, it was up and running.

It was a cool 72 that morning. It was almost chilly in short sleeves and I wished I'd have worn my arm socks. That's a note to self for later.

The best part of the early morning darkness was seeing about a half dozen shooting stars. The first one came just as I was going down my block. I wasn't sure what I saw but thought it might be one. I saw another just a few moments later and remembered an article I read recenly about the Perseid meteor shower happening now. As I rode I saw more and just loved it.

The sunrise came and it was both beautiful and disappointing. The next few days will be covered in clouds so I figured this had been my best view of the meteor showers. I wonder if Greg and Deeann out in Guam are seeing them in those clear skies?

Olympic influence

I've been glued to the TV this weekend watching volleyball (indoor and sand), gymnastics, cycling and swimming. I watch the athletes move in each of their sports and it inspired me to get to the gym this afternoon. I hope this wave continues.

With volleyball and swimming, Tivo has been a luxury. I slow down to watch the precise movement of their bodies. I'm looking at the fluidity of the swim strokes or the accuracy of passes. Maybe someday I can improve because of watching their technique.

4 baseball stadiums in 4 weeks!

Last night I went to a Ranger game and completed a pretty cool accomplishment. I've been to 4 games in 4 weeks and each time, the home team won. Neat, huh?

Here's the rundown:
July 5, Cleveland Indians vs. Minnesota Twins - Free game for military members. Great evening with Deeann and her son, Chris. I'll have to go back when the new stadium is built.

July 19, San Diego Padres vs. St Louis Cardinals - Quick trip to St Louis with Mom and Jim. I was rooting for my Cards and they for their Padres. I love what they did with the new Busch stadium.

July 27, Arizona Diamondbacks vs. San Diego Padres - Once again, it was my first time in the new Petco park. Mom and Jim took me and we had a great time and even got to see "The Closer" take the game to the end.

August 5, NY Yankees vs. Texas Rangers - What an awesome game, though the pitching left something to be desired. Went with the girls and had great seats hovering above homeplate, way up in the nosebleeds. We laughed while watching a poor pigeon trying to get out of the field. The wind from the dying Edouard made all kinds of eddys within the stadium.

River Cities Triathlon - Shreveport, LA 8/3

Sorry it's been a while since posting. I went out to San Diego for a volleyball tournament, then spent two days at work trying to recover from time away. Then it was off to Shreveport this weekend for the triathlon. It's been a busy month, so I'm glad it's all finally over and behind me.

This was my second triathon and I was excited to experience this one with highly trained athletes and men as well. This is in comparison to the Danskin Tri back in June, where it was all women, many of which were doing a tri for the first time. It was a great warmup experience to get to the race this past weekend.

I didn't do much training again for this one, honestly. I've been biking a lot, but it's been about distance, not speed. Outside of that I swam once or twice and only ran at the Afton Trail run in early July. It's sad, but true. Next year will be a different story, though.

Based on my time and knowledge of what I did at the Danskin Tri in Austin, I figured I could do this one in under 2:15, with a decent chance of doing it in 2:00 even. The difference was that the ride was 18+ miles as opposed to 12 in Austin. With those resonable goal times in mind, I set out.

There were 4 other people in this race I knew - Yvette, Rob, Jennifer and Jeff. Yvette, Rob and I came with a posse to cheer us on - April, Becky, Mike and Martha. It was great having them there to help cheer us on! All but Martha had also signed up for the race, but dropped because they weren't ready.

The swag on this race is pretty incredible, so there is a reason even the dropped folks came out for it. We got 2 shirts (1 was tech, the other cotton), a cap, race poster, sunglasses, beach towel, socks and an awesome tri backpack to carry all the stuff in. Wow! It was worth the $100 entry fee for sure.

The race started at 8am with the first wave of fast males. There were about 11 waves after that, each going out in 4 minute intervals. I was in the 3rd from the last wave, so there were plenty of opportunities for catching people ahead of me.

The gun...or cannon really...for my wave went off at 8:32. I'd set up in a direct line with the first bouy, but paused for a moment, lettting some of the faster chicks get started (a trick learned at Danskin). I kept a good even pace, not panicking this time, and managed to pass quite a few people on the first leg. By the time I turned the corner, I was starting to see caps for the wave in front of me. I passed quite a few from the wave in front of me and even quite a few from my own. I pulled out of the water and noticed that I'd done the swim in about :18, which blew me away. I'd planned on close to :25! Whee!

I ran up the ramp and passed Yvette, who was in the wave in front of me. Little did I know it, but I was only about 90 seconds behind Jennifer, who's a serious triathlete!

I changed as quickly as I could and headed out on the bike. The bike portion is mostly flat with a few minor hills thrown in. I stayed in my big chain ring for most of the race, only dropping down to the middle chain ring twice for hills. The wind was tough on occasion, but I managed. I eyeballed some of the aero bars as faster people passed me. Hmmm...

I've been reading a Triathon Training Blog with some frequency lately (see it to the right?). This lady has some great ideas and thoughts around her training. I'll never get to her level of analysis and training, but there are some interesting reads. One of her blogs recently talked about how many cyclists tuck their knees in as they ride, I suppose to cut down on wind resistance. I noticed a few who passed me were riding like this and made a mental note to at least give it a shot someday.

For the most part, I hustled on the bike, but I did hold back just a little so I had some leg strength leftover for the run. In hindsight (and with Di's suggestion), I should've probably gone out a little harder to make up more time. In the end, I did the bike in 1:04. I think I can cut that closer to 1:00 or less next year without much difficulty (and maybe with new aero bars!).

The run just sucked the life out of me, unfortunately. It was mostly flat and even a bit was on trail. The heat was really starting to kick in and make its affects known to me. I struggled a bit the first 1/2 mile or so, then seemed to kick it in gear okay. But by about 1.5 miles, I was struggling again. I walked and jogged the remaining 1.5 miles, though I knew I was very close and capable of finishing in under 2:00 if I'd have jogged the whole thing. Finished the run in :35 and wish I'd have pushed that a bit harder.

All in all, I came up with a 2:02 overall. I have no doubt that next year with a little training and perserverence, I could get under 2:00 and maybe even under 1:55 if I push it. Of course, you'll have to remind me of this next year!