I was off of work Tuesday sick. So what did I do? I signed up for two more races! The Rockman Triathlon and the Quarryman Challenge 10-mile. So now my race season is "official". That's four races now. Quarryman, Rockman, Bang's Lake, and Ironman. That's a run, an olympic tri, a half IM distance, and a full IM distance. My plan from the beginning of the year was not to go too crazy and let the Ironman take over my life and end up burned out by August. So I am trying to keep the race schedule light and to keep my focus on the goal anyways.
213 day 'till Ironman. Oh, shit!
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
A Serious Post
I never intended this blog to be serious or express my (sometimes skewed view on politics or religion) views but I feel the need to express my thoughts on this whole Barack Obama inauguration spectacle. And that's a perfect word for it spectacle. Also, it is YOUR right as an American to vote, support, think whatever you want and never be persecuted for it. Maybe be told your an asshole for it, but that's OK too.
A couple of observations/issues:
Sorry for the rant and candor but they are some of my feelings from the last 2 days. (Yes, I do have a serious side.)
On a training note (since this is what this is supposed to be about):
No Sunday workout -- the post-bowling celebration took it's toll.
Monday -- Indoor run at the Sportplex. 45 minutes, felt good and fast. I love running on those rubberized tracks.
Tuesday -- Barbell strength class at Lifetime. Strength conditioning is good, right? Instructor led, low weight, and lots of reps.
Wednesday -- Master swim at Lincoln-Way North H.S. I love swimming in the deep end.
Tonight -- back to the Sportsplex track.
Tomorrow -- Master swim.
Weekend -- I see what the weather looks like. I am afraid to run on the ice/snow. I don't want to slip and end up with a injured knee of ankle.
220 days 'till Ironman. Oh, shit!
A couple of observations/issues:
- One thing that bothers me about Obama, the general perception is that this guy is the second coming of Christ and he walks on water.
- The general rock star status he has achieved.
- $160 million dollars spent on the inauguration spectacle. Are you kidding me? Who pays that bill? Aren't we in the middle of a dire financial crisis? Couldn't that money be better spent elsewhere? How many teens who are qualified and want to go to college but can't afford it could be educated? A one day waste of 160,000,000.
- The next time I hear the political/social views of a celebrity or major pro athlete I think I might puke. I mean this group of people are the most of of touch with reality people I can think of.
- Rush Limbaugh saying he hopes that Obama will fail. This guy needs help. Serious help. Love Obama or hate Obama the majority of Americans have voted for him and he is now our president. Wouldn't our energy be better served at this point to support and hope he succeeds? Failure for him means failure for our country and I hope no sane American wishes that.
- Last but not least, and excuse the crudeness of this last statement, but the chances are that if you were a crack-ass m'fer loser on 1/20/09 the chances are that you will still be on 4 years from now. How is it that a lot of people don't realize that the only person that can help yourself is yourself? Get off the drugs, go get an education, get a job, get of the welfare, set a goal, and take some pride in yourself. Yes, you might have to start at the bottom flipping burgers or something like that, and it might take some hard work and responsibility to achieve your goals, but in the end it is worth it.
Sorry for the rant and candor but they are some of my feelings from the last 2 days. (Yes, I do have a serious side.)
On a training note (since this is what this is supposed to be about):
No Sunday workout -- the post-bowling celebration took it's toll.
Monday -- Indoor run at the Sportplex. 45 minutes, felt good and fast. I love running on those rubberized tracks.
Tuesday -- Barbell strength class at Lifetime. Strength conditioning is good, right? Instructor led, low weight, and lots of reps.
Wednesday -- Master swim at Lincoln-Way North H.S. I love swimming in the deep end.
Tonight -- back to the Sportsplex track.
Tomorrow -- Master swim.
Weekend -- I see what the weather looks like. I am afraid to run on the ice/snow. I don't want to slip and end up with a injured knee of ankle.
220 days 'till Ironman. Oh, shit!
Monday, January 19, 2009
Bike Love
I know some people like to take life easy,
That's not my style.
I'm not the type to let this life tease me,
I'm gonna make it wild.
I just wanna ride,
Get on my bike and ride.
Some people think you've got to like your life one way,
I disagree.
I'm not gonna pay attention to them anyway,
It's got nothing, nothing to do with me.
Life is so short, we've got
No time to waste at all.
I just wanna ride,
Get on my bike and ride.
I just wanna ride,
Get on my bike and ride.
I see the road, as it opens up before me,
I feel the heat.
I'm gonna go where I want, when I want to.
I've got to be free.
Feels so right...
Feels so right...
- "Ride" by Joe Satriani
I miss my bike.
223 days 'till Ironman. Oh, shit!
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Center Cut Shanta
Dear people,
After careful and lengthy research, I finally found a reliable source for a nickname. So without further adieu I unveil my new official nickname, so according to Shawn Spencer my new nickname is
I will only be responding to that from now on. Thank you.
Signed,
The Management
225 days 'till Ironman. Oh shit!
After careful and lengthy research, I finally found a reliable source for a nickname. So without further adieu I unveil my new official nickname, so according to Shawn Spencer my new nickname is
I will only be responding to that from now on. Thank you.Signed,
The Management
225 days 'till Ironman. Oh shit!
Friday, January 16, 2009
My Last Post About the Weather
I hate to post any more on this incredibly cold weather but I keep seeing things that amaze me. Let's start with the my morning temperature update.
Yup, that's right, -23 degrees Fahrenheit. 23 degrees below zero. 55 degrees less than the freezing point of water! 100 degrees lower than my favorite temperature. This kind of stuff absolutely amazes me.
Luckily, I was able to convince my boss to let me work at the plant in Stickney so i could avoid the whole Metra and walking downtown thing. Every overpass than spanned water was a complete sheet of ice.
I work for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, so the above mentioned plant is the largest waste water treatment plant in the Americas and one of the largest in the world. When I got there the place looked like it was on fire. It was just steam coming off the final settling tanks.
Now to put this in perspective these pictures are of tanks open on the top, probably 20 feet deep and maybe 100 feet in diameter. There are 92 of these! And that's just these large, round open air tanks. So you could imagine the sight. You can't see it in the first picture but there was an effin' duck swimming. Take my word on that.
On a training note, I had my longest swim ever on Monday. About 3000 yards. I did a spin class on Tuesday. Blew Wednesday's swim off because I was too big of a wuss and didn't want go out in the snow and cold. Rode the trainer for a little over an hour last night. My intentions is to go to master swim tonight and try to "man up" for some run this weekend outside as well as try to find some kind of bike time, whether it's real bike on trainer or spin class.
Coming attractions:
226 days 'till Ironman. Oh, shit!
Yup, that's right, -23 degrees Fahrenheit. 23 degrees below zero. 55 degrees less than the freezing point of water! 100 degrees lower than my favorite temperature. This kind of stuff absolutely amazes me.
Luckily, I was able to convince my boss to let me work at the plant in Stickney so i could avoid the whole Metra and walking downtown thing. Every overpass than spanned water was a complete sheet of ice.
I work for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, so the above mentioned plant is the largest waste water treatment plant in the Americas and one of the largest in the world. When I got there the place looked like it was on fire. It was just steam coming off the final settling tanks.
Now to put this in perspective these pictures are of tanks open on the top, probably 20 feet deep and maybe 100 feet in diameter. There are 92 of these! And that's just these large, round open air tanks. So you could imagine the sight. You can't see it in the first picture but there was an effin' duck swimming. Take my word on that.
On a training note, I had my longest swim ever on Monday. About 3000 yards. I did a spin class on Tuesday. Blew Wednesday's swim off because I was too big of a wuss and didn't want go out in the snow and cold. Rode the trainer for a little over an hour last night. My intentions is to go to master swim tonight and try to "man up" for some run this weekend outside as well as try to find some kind of bike time, whether it's real bike on trainer or spin class.
Coming attractions:
- Some previously promised bike love, and
- Why 80's Hair Metal may be the best music ever
226 days 'till Ironman. Oh, shit!
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Brrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yup. That's the Chicago River frozen (2 days ago it was liquid!)
Yup. That's -17 degrees outside.This sucks. And that's all I got to say about that.
Only 227 days 'till Ironman. Oh shit.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Finally a New Post
It's been a while since I posted but the new year is here and I guess it needs to start again.
I've been doing okay trying to keep myself in shape since the last post. Some running and biking both on the trainer and the occasional spin class. I finally started going back to master swim last night. I thought it went pretty well since I've probably have swam 3 or 4 times since the end of August. So I guess master swim 2 times a week, run 2 times a week, and find the bike somehow 2 times a week until I have a better training plan.
On a side note:
WTF!
"Like plum pudding, spotted dick is a baked pudding with primary ingredients of flour, currants, golden sugar, rum, and suet. Suet is traditionally made from raw beef fat, though vegetarians may take heart since suet can also be made from a combination of vegetable fats. Most often, however, suet in spotted dick is of the non-vegetarian variety. Spotted dick often has sweet spices added, like cinnamon and nutmeg. "
It's got RUM!
This is the EVERY GOOD HOSTESS MUST HAVE for your cupboard, April 12, 2008
Don't just giggle at the can- open it and eat it!
There is nothing more wonderful than Spotted Dick with lashings of custard and a good cup of strong tea with friends. YUM! I keep it in the cupboard and am ready for friends and tea at a moment's notice. This is a rich sponge cake with currents and savory rich tones of brown sugar. The chocolate and sticky Toffee and Treacle are all good too - when you can get them.
I know the name seems a bit naughty--it just adds to the fun of offering some cultural engagement to our wonderful world. I do slip it into gifts and offer to bring dessert to friends. BUT I also love this line of products for the QUALITY
Or in my case I NEED A CAN JUST TO SIT ON MY DESK AT WORK!
Also:
"Some concern about the name of spotted dick has been expressed because of the use of the term as a curse word. In some places one may see spotted dick offered as spotted Richard or spotted dog."
Uh, duh. Let's review the facts: It's called SPOTTED DICK people!
Like I said WTF! What would we do without the British?
Coming soon: Pics of my bike. Why? Because I want to. And it's way prettier than I am and we'll be spending lots of time together.
234 days 'till Ironman. Oh Shit!
I've been doing okay trying to keep myself in shape since the last post. Some running and biking both on the trainer and the occasional spin class. I finally started going back to master swim last night. I thought it went pretty well since I've probably have swam 3 or 4 times since the end of August. So I guess master swim 2 times a week, run 2 times a week, and find the bike somehow 2 times a week until I have a better training plan.
On a side note:
WTF!"Like plum pudding, spotted dick is a baked pudding with primary ingredients of flour, currants, golden sugar, rum, and suet. Suet is traditionally made from raw beef fat, though vegetarians may take heart since suet can also be made from a combination of vegetable fats. Most often, however, suet in spotted dick is of the non-vegetarian variety. Spotted dick often has sweet spices added, like cinnamon and nutmeg. "
It's got RUM!
Or as a review on amazon.com says:
This is the EVERY GOOD HOSTESS MUST HAVE for your cupboard, | By | Maggie C (Spokane,WA) - See all my reviews |
There is nothing more wonderful than Spotted Dick with lashings of custard and a good cup of strong tea with friends. YUM! I keep it in the cupboard and am ready for friends and tea at a moment's notice. This is a rich sponge cake with currents and savory rich tones of brown sugar. The chocolate and sticky Toffee and Treacle are all good too - when you can get them.
I know the name seems a bit naughty--it just adds to the fun of offering some cultural engagement to our wonderful world. I do slip it into gifts and offer to bring dessert to friends. BUT I also love this line of products for the QUALITY
Or in my case I NEED A CAN JUST TO SIT ON MY DESK AT WORK!
Also:
"Some concern about the name of spotted dick has been expressed because of the use of the term as a curse word. In some places one may see spotted dick offered as spotted Richard or spotted dog."
Uh, duh. Let's review the facts: It's called SPOTTED DICK people!
Like I said WTF! What would we do without the British?
Coming soon: Pics of my bike. Why? Because I want to. And it's way prettier than I am and we'll be spending lots of time together.
234 days 'till Ironman. Oh Shit!
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