I'm not...

... a particularly religious guy... but I came across this passage in the Bible during the funeral of a very dear friend's Dad today:

"... not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance, and perseverance, proven character, and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint..." Romans 5:3-5

Just a little food for thought.

Thank you for taking the time to read. Hope you're all happy, healthy, and whole.

Breathe...

Halloweenie!

This is a "triathlon blog" right? Huh. That'sinteresting... anyway!

I like candy. No... scratch that... I LOVE me some candy... and guess WHAT? So do my kids! Halloween is right up there with Xmas in our family! Festivities, of course, began with the pumpkin patch at Johnson's Farm. Farmer Johnson has the craziest hay ride in the nation! There is no putt putting around with him. Basically, during this 20 minute excursion you haul ASS around the patch throwing gords and smaller pumpkins at scare crows that have been setup around the patch. SO fun! Halloween day was spent carving pumpkins, shuttling kids to soccer tournaments, a meal of "Bloody Mary Flank Steak" and vomit casserole, then, of course, trick or treating! It was a great day/night with the kids and Kathryn... but we missed Jack. Being 13 and all, he has started the inevitable process of finding his independence as a young teen. Yeah, (sob), he chose to forego trick or treating with the family to go to a Halloweenparty. We missed his presence but know that he had a grrrrrrrEAT time with his friends! Here's some pictures!

Master gutter!

Jack!

Duh punkins!

Sugar coma!

I didn't realize how TIGHT swim caps and wetsuits are until that night! Ugh!

In other, more fitness related news, I went up to Corvallis, Oregon last Sunday to race the Mac Forest 15k trail race. Not having truly, "trained", since IM CdA... I didn't have very high expectations other than to have some fun! This course is no joke. The elevation gain alone just about made me projectile vomit. Overall I ran well all things considered and ended up 37th out of 245 runners. Not bad but BOY did it hurt... in a good way! Check out the elevation map...

Thanks for taking the time to read. Hope you're all happy, healthy, and whole.

Breathe...

Lonliness

I've always enjoyed being around me. Ya know what I mean? Seriously... I'm pretty good company.

I was thinking back on my Ironman training earlier this year. I can honestly say that I trained with others less-than 3 times. Seriously. That's kinda odd isn't it? I mean really... that's a LOT of hours to be by yourself. Towards the end... I was logging roughly 20 hours/week... completely solo. I've always seen this as a blessing. To be comfortable with one's self is a gift... isn't it?

Well? Maybe not. Maybe I'm completely full of shit. Here's the thing: While I may actually be comfortable being alone with my own thoughts, fears, demons, and joys... I also might only be THAT comfortable with all of them b/c I KNOW... beyond a doubt... that I have someone to come home to and share my experiences with. Maybe being comfortable while alone... is simply a function of having, (or needing), someone to share those thoughts and experiences with.

Huh. Interesting right?

Just a thought.

Hope you're all happy, healthy, and whole. Thanks for taking the time to read.

Breathe...

p.s. High FIVE!

Here's the thing...

about football: The game itself, to a 6 year old boy, (at least MY 6 year old boy), is only as good as the soft pretzel, the "Sierra Mist", the donut, the Coke, the frozen lemonade, unshelled peanuts, AND the comfy stadium chair!

Let's just say that Tom had an outstanding time at the Oregon vs. Cal game last Saturday. I had a great time to... not because the Ducks stomped the CRAP outta Cal... but b/c I got to spend a little time with my little man... just us guys... doing supposed "guy things". Which is funny... b/c I'm MORE than willing to bet that the majority of women out there know more about football and stats and players than myself... which makes me wonder... is watching football REALLY a guy thing? Which brings me to yet ANOTHER question: Why the HELL go if you could truly give a crappolio about the sport!

Let's face it... despite what the picture in my last post might show... I'm a skinny bastard. Yeah... I know... GASP! But its TRUE! I've always been skinny! SHOCKING! I can remember being in middle school and looking in the full-length mirror and noticing that my "quads" were about as large and buff as my "biceps". I said to myself, "That ain't right." (Yes... I used "ain't" and was living in Oklahoma at the time), but there was literally nothing I could do about it. My point... this little skinny guy didn't pursue a career in football... and as a result... felt it a complete waste of time and energy watching something that held ZERO meaning to him. Therefore... I grew up knowing very little about the sport... nor caring about it. Don't get me wrong... if there was EVER a pick-up game in the neighborhood or even a game of "Smear the Queer", (how crude), I was right there slugging it out with the large-boned kids like Bigun and Ryan. As a matter of fact... I kinda liked throwing my wafer thin frame at those guys... ultimately injuring them with my bony

elbows! But WATCH a football game while sitting on the couch? On TV? Psssssh... hellz no! This has carried over into my adult life and really... the only football I'll watch is Duck football... and only from Autzen stadium. As a result... at corporate meetings for instance... I'm the handy-tard that stands there with the guys nodding his head, smiling, and pretending he understands what the hell the football-obsessed masses are talking about. I usually supplement the nodding and smiling with comments like, "Yeah." and, "Totally", and "Psshh! No kidding.". I don't really think it works... but it makes me feel better.

The truth is... football is all about the person sitting right next to me. So I'll continue to buy season tickets just like I have for the past 8 years... and I'll cheer with the best of them... but the reality is... I'll spend more time watching Tom enjoy his treat of the moment... than watching the game... and it's worth every penny.

Breathe...

Off-Season?

Fat AND hairy! This was taken after a particularly excessive binge on pulled-pork. (hee hee... I said "pork").

It might be a bit early for most of you to be calling September "off-season"... but considering the fact that I've not raced since CdA... my "off-season" began early. Don't get me wrong... I'm still doing things... and stuff... but its extremely unstructured. I'm quite enjoying it actually. If I feel like running? I run. Biking? I bike. Swimming? I swim. It's that simple and it's actually quite fun. There are moments where I crave the structure... I crave the goals... but it passes. There will be time for that next year. Right now... I'm enjoying coaching Lila and Tom's soccer teams... "Flash FC" and "Ninja Ants" respectively... hangin with Jack and watching as he becomes a "real teenager"... and taking Aggie to the dog park as much as possible.

Hope you're all happy, healthy, and whole... and thank you for taking the time to read.

Breathe...

Fair Time!!!

Every year, during the 3rd week of August, Eugene welcomes the Lane County Fair! The fair is something that we've gone to EVERY year as a family for the last 12 years... we LOVE the fair!The fair is our opportunity to spend ridiculous amounts of money, eat "dirty" food, ride questionably safe, rickety rides, and observe the local, cultured clientele with varying numbers of teeth! Yeah. We fit right in. The only difference between yesterday's fair fest and previous year's was that our money... well... it didn't go as far as it did last year. 8 tickets of a single ride???? That's just crazy talk! Anyway... we still managed to have a fantastic time... so enjoy a few pics of the fam!

Looks FUN huh? It was!

Training continues at a subdued level... which fits in just perfectly. My schedule for next year is beginning to solidify... and I'm truly looking forward to hitting it pretty hard starting in Jan of 2010.

Thank you for taking the time to read! Hope you're all happy, healthy, and whole.

Breathe...