fair performance

Well, my 3rd triathlon attempt ended pretty well, with a sprint finish at the end between myself and my neighbor. I let him win, seeing as it was his first finish and all. ;-) Seriously though, I had no idea when we were going to hit the finish line as there was no banner, and you had to make about 2 S turns before you had a 5 yard final straight. Everyone who was there lamented about the lack of a true finish line and how un-spectator friendly it was.

That all being said, it was a decently ran race I guess. The more I think about it, the more I'm kind of down on it though. The turnaround point on the run was a orange cone and a lady sitting in the shade. I had to ask if that was the turnaround point or not, there was no signage. We were told that "we couldn't miss it" as we were getting our final notes before the swim.

Oh well. I swam crappy as usual, biked ok (didn't feel that strong), and ran pretty well. I'll take it. Especially for eating tacos and drinking beers the night before the race. I really didn't want to do this tri, as cross season was so close, but I signed up shortly after the letdown at Shawnee Mission Park. I'm glad I did, but even more glad to start serious bike training and put this multi-discipline stuff on the shelf for a long time.

Results are still out there, somewhere in the ether. Hopefully we'll see them soon.

BIG THANKS to everyone who came out and cheered for me. It was really nice to have a well-sized contingency on hand to cheer us on. At this stage in my athletic life, it's not so much that the cheering makes me dig deep and press harder, but it gives me something to quiet down the "just walk a few steps" voice in my head, and to keep my pace steady. Fast and steady wins the race.

Update: Here is how I did. I'm pretty pleased with the performance, especially when I felt at least 1 mph slower on the bike than I averaged.
My place/Total sprint participants: 204/396
My place/Age group participants: 22/39
Swim time: 16:00 (30/39, I could easily whack 5 minutes off this time with some technique)
T1 time: 3:27 (17/39) Could trim some time here with some tri shoes and learning how to flying mount
Bike time: 40:07 (17/39) 17.6 mph, I could easily buy some speed here with an aero kit, probably about 2-3 minutes easy
T2 time: 1:22 (10/39) Some sockless shoes are in order I think, but an ok transition considering I took a few seconds to finish off my bike bottle
Run: 28:58 (22/39) I did pretty good here. I think my pace was a 9:40 mile, which I'd like to get down eventually. Lots of other areas to improve first.
Overall time was 1:29:52, which my first tri was at 1:53:58. Considering the swim was longer in that one, I was still ~15-16 minutes faster. I'll take it.

100 ideas

I had about 99 ideas for blog topics today, mostly dealing with my frustration with the general stupidity of western society. But I think I'll choose a better path today, and offer this quote that struck me as both fair and true.

"Success is proportional to our abilities to self-correct."

The quote comes from a triathlete website and a particular article on food consumption and the emotional components of eating. But this quote is applicable far more broadly than our eating habits. If you want to read further, feel free. It's a good article. http://www.slowtwitch.com/Opinion/My_relationship_with_food_1446.html

First day

AB started Kindergarten today. I was pretty blase about it until I was standing on the neighbor's driveway talking to her, while all the kids buzzed about this morning. I remarked to her that "this is one of those moments that I know will soon become a distant memory".

I don't get too misty-eyed about AB and K getting older, but as time keeps marching on to its ever-steady beat, it makes me want to hold on just a little longer to my boys. One day soon, K will be off to school, AB will be off to middle-school, then high school, then college. They'll both be out of the house living their own lives and Penny and I will look at each other wondering where our little rambunctious boys went. I know in my head that day is a long ways away, but I also know out of my short parental experience thus so far, that life has a way of slipping through your grasp, especially when you try and hold on too tightly.

If there is any reward this life has to offer, it is the sheer pleasure of watching these two once-upon-a-time infants grow up, changing our worlds and seeing how the world changes them.

nos es caecus ut sors

..."we are blind to fortune".

At least that is what I intended to say in Latin.

As I was driving into work I was thinking about why is it second nature to to take things for granted? I was sitting there driving to a air conditioned job, that pays me well, in a nice car, with a nice house, kids, wife, etc etc. Everyone around me is healthy, and have little if no reason for complaint. Yet how often do we savor our good fortune?

Why is it that people who come close to dying often realize how precious life is, while the people with the full faculties to enjoy life often worry about the inane and unimportant things?

We don't notice a lack of pain or discomfort, and only once we are having to endure an especially difficult burden or sickness do we remember how things were once effortless. Even in a more milder sense, how often when we a "suffering" through a bad head cold do we just wish to be able to breathe through our nose or taste our food?

I certainly have more blessings than anyone should have, but I think it would be both wise and rewarding if we all should pause more often to remember what we have set before us.

Dear family...

I am applying for a job as a bartender at McMurdo Station, Antartica. This is good bye. The heat is just too much and I don't see why any sane person would live anywhere that has heat indexes over 100 for 14+ days straight. I tried to run last night (and did), but the heat index was 103* at 9:45pm. That is not normal and I didn't sign up for this.

As soon as I pack my bags and bartending bibles I'll be on my way. I'll pour you a drink should you be in the neighborhood.

Bye!

Chris

This video is for Aiden

Whoa.

So nice I watched it twice

Undercover Karaoke with Jewel from Jewel