The great wet north

First off, the wedding Mistress and I attended in Seattle, of my partners daughter, was the most religious wedding I have ever been too. Not only has she been a leader in her church, she married a youth pastor. Her older daughter married a pastor from the same church a few years ago.

Some perhaps catty comments of the event. I would estimate the entire evening cost $150,000. The bride and groom have been dating for three years. Their first on the lips kiss was during their wedding ceremony and they were married as virgins. The dry reception alone had a ten piece orchestra with vocals. The 400 guests ate a gourmet sit down meal of Fillet Mignon or Salmon. The grooms family has a unique and amazing history. The parents of the groom had been imprisoned in Asia for preaching the Gospel. They are credited with smuggling 4 million bibles into communist Russia in the 70's and 80's.

Whether you are religious or not, you must recognize that the bride and groom held themselves to a level of commitment that is unique in todays world. They are roll models for hundreds of teenagers in their church and set a perfect example.

The rest of the weekend was full of many highs and one big low for me. The low is that I did zero training. Not a lick. I feel horrible for it. I had only a few hours sleep on Tuesday and Wednesday night and flew to Seattle completely exhausted. There was so many things that Mistress and Mo and myself wanted and needed to do that logistically it really weighed on me. I put 800 miles on our rental in three days.

We did get to see many friends and walk through some old haunts special to Mistress and I. Mo spent Friday night on our friends farm with my Mom of all people who was up there visiting from Phoenix the same weekend. On the farm we were able to eat blackberries from the bush, a true Northwest delight. I will post some photos of Mo calling for the chickens and chasing some ducks.

Time to knuckle under this week and get back on the horse.

What's the big deal?

I've done Ironman. I've done 100 Ironmans. When I was 8 I did the first Ironman in Hawaii. I was too young to be put on the results page. I also think it was just a piece of paper stuck to a palm tree at the beach until it blew off. I mean who remembers that kind of stuff anyway.

When I was a teenager, Mark Allen came to me for advice on how to win Kona, since I had done the race more than anyone else. He won. I only asked that he not give me any credit because I am a humble guy. Not sure if he stayed with the sport.

Pretty soon the Ironman became to easy. The worst I have ever done is 11:50. I decided to do it again and see if I could finish it under 12 hours. I am the only one in the Universe that has ever done two Ironmans in 24 hours. By the way, I negative split the second Ironman.

I do a self supported Ironman every Saturday and Sunday from my house. My fastest time is 6 hours and some change. Guinness came one day to follow me, but I moved so fast they couldn't keep up. I have done ten Ironmans in a row. I couldn't stop myself. As soon as I finished I just started again. Why not? Their easy.

I have come close to not finishing at all. Yes I am human to. I did Kona one year and a fresh lava flow crossed the road and destroyed my tires. I had to ride back on just my blown rear wheel and popping a wheelie for 40 miles. I stayed aero.

When I did the first Coeur de Laine, Idaho Ironman, I helped a lost group of spawning salmon upstream in the middle of the race. Sure it added some time to my swim but the look on those poor fishy's faces when they reached their homes was priceless.

When people ask me if they should get into triathlon, I say "No. There is only Ironman and you need to buy a Janus spot immediately." It's the only way to go. Don't spend years thinking about what you eventually will want to do anyway.

My home reflects my Ironman status. I don't have carpet, or wood or tile. My floor is a combination of parking lot asphalt, grass and beach sand. I put timing mats at the entrance of each room, so when you walk in it beeps.

My fitted bed sheet is 2mm neoprene. My comforter is 5mm neoprene. If its too hot I have a couple of space blankets I use instead. Pillows are obviously overinflated tire tubes. I learned if I rode in the aero position I get faster on my bike. So I installed aero bars on my bed frame thinking that if I sleep in aero, I will improve my sleep. My alarm clock emits a cannon blast.

I have no shower. Instead I have lined my bathroom counter with paper Gatorade cups and as I run into my transition area (i.e. closet) I splash cups of water on me. The first half of the counter is a mix of soap and water and the last half is just water. I have also installed a hose over the door jam, in case I have sand on me.

I don't have a tub, I use an endless pool. In fact I took out the mirror on the bottom of the pool and installed a flat screen plasma tv so I can bathe, workout and watch tv at the same time. Usually I just watch Ironman DVD's.

People never complain about not having enough bathrooms at my house. I have no toilets, I purchased Porta-Potties and have them lined up along the wall in the living room.

There are no chairs in my house. I have used old Sella Itaila Trans Am bike saddles and attached them to custom carbon fiber frames. Instead of his and hers recliners facing the entertainment center, I installed his and whomever's treadmills. Its better to run together than sit together.

I don't think it's weird. I have been to homes of rock climbers and they have rope and one inch web straps all over the place. All their stuff hang off carabiners. I have been to homes of surfers and they live right on the water. They use surf boards for benches and tables and hang them on their walls. They have no shirts. I have shirts from all the races I have entered. If they need to cover up they zip up their wetsuits.

So what's the big deal?

I was so excited...

I was up this morning at 0216. Couldn't sleep. Thought about riding for a couple hours on the trainer then do the scheduled easy 1 hour run. Decided to stay in bed and think about all the stuff going on this week. Had a good run. Don't normally see runners out that early, mostly cyclist. But saw one and ran him down. We ran for a mile together. That was unexpected and fun.

Had a meeting at work. I was excited when I got out. So excited I decided to go right away to the local pool and get in a hour instead of getting lunch. I was so motivated that it wasn't until I was deep into the swim that I realized I was swimming with Coach Nick later that day. Drat.

Instead of bailing on him, I showed up. We talked about other stuff, the race from last weekend and our impressions. What my race schedule will be or might be next year. Nick challenges me in a ways that I can't figure out. Thats a good thing.

In all I am pretty motivated. Why else would I be up after 22 hours today. I have been getting up between 3:00 and 4:00 in the morning more often than not to get in one of my two workouts for the day. Living on between five and six hours sleep. Sometimes four. But I am excited about getting in a run in cool weather or riding my bike on the trainer and catching up on some Tivo.

Mistress and Mo leave today for Seattle. I have to keep myself busy so I'll ride outside or on the trainer for three and half hours today, getting in my long ride for the week and trying to fit in my long run in Seattle.

Is the a/c off?

That time of year has arrived in Phoenix where a few days at a time the high is double digits and not triple. Mo has taken to eating breakfast on the patio in his chair swing. Mistress leaves the back door open for hours at a time with no fear of bee's or fly's or bugs. For me it means I have to put on a shirt when I run.

The rest of the year here, is much like the weather the rest of the country experiences during their summers. By November the high's will be in the low 80's, crisp mornings. Yes even a few freezes. But then again it's hit 100 in the middle of October. But that sweet spot between November and March, not to be missed.

Tomorrow Mistress and Mo head to Seattle for a wedding. I follow on Thursday. Its a packed trip of going to REI, a real zoo (unlike phoenix), the aquarium (phoenix has none), the wedding, eating at some restaurant's we grew up with and seeing some friends in some remote areas before flying out early Sunday.

I am so hoping to run in the woods. These damn cactus parks drive me nuts.

Its Electric

The starts of triathlons are so electric. The vibration level is amazing. It was a bit odd, walking around before the swim start and motivating and encouraging people and not being a part of the action.

I was asked several times about my own participation and most people that know me, know my training plan for the year, plus I was supporting Mistress in the relay and there are a lot of triathlon couples in this area of the country, so it wasn't weird at all.

Part of me before the swim, really did wish I had done the race. The competition against my team mates, the camaraderie that would follow. Then I went to the hot corner of the bike portion and OMG, it was bumper to bumper. A team mate was standing next to me, yelling "2 minutes" because everybody, EVERYBODY, was drafting. You almost had to, just out of frustration of having one lane of the road for 1,000 people to do 2 or 4 loops. From my vantage it look frustrating to be out there.

Mistress did really well. There was 123 people in her wave (Pink Caps-All relays, Women Oly's, Pro/Elites) and she was between 12-15 out of the water. At least three of those I know were collegiate elites or a Pro.

She got out at 26 minutes +/- 10 seconds. There was a lot of crowding due to loops and some scratching and bruising going on. Typical stuff. The wave that went off four minutes before her was female sprints and true to form there were lots of new triathletes out there who immediately started zig zagging or back stroking after 100 yards.

The nice thing about a race like this in a metro area is that it does bring new people into the triathlete environment. The bad thing was the road construction and constrictions that I am sure left some people with hard feelings about being yelled "Left" every few seconds. Hopefully everything except the bike will stay in their head and the finish more satisfying than the movement between T1 & T2.

Congratulations Honey. And welcome new triathletes.

Card is pulled.

Well I am not much of a believer in jinxes but I am fairly confident enough to proclaim that the Intrepid Age Grouper is no longer a Clydesdale.

I know Big'un, stop crying. Its okay. I don't feel faint and don't need caloric assistance. No. Yes! Please take the doughnuts and Classic Coke away. Fine. I will keep one Kit Kat for later, in case I feel dizzy.

I've been steadily under two bills now for two weeks and my main concern was at the end of this week as I have a very short training week. Three off days.

THREE OFF DAYS. ARE YOU KIDDING ME.

No. I switched my long run to mid week instead on Fridays which conflict with Mistress swimming before work. So I kept my old off day of Monday and started my new off day on Thursday's. This Sunday I am taking off for spectating the triathlon.

Have Fun.

A long time ago...

...I almost drown in Canyon Lake. My how my swimming has changed. How I have changed.

Anyway, I think about this event at least twice a week since I still swim this same route around those two buoys up front to the one in the back, though now its simply a starting point. The beginning of "the next lap".

It took me three separate trips up to the lake to get the courage to swim to that buoy by myself. All those 70-100 yard swim dashes from one side of the cove to the other, just off the channel, while everyone else made it look so easy. They still do.

No I am doing at least 2,000 yards per workout there. Usually 3,000 yards, peaking at several 4,000 yard swims before an IM. I have done as many as 5,000 yards at one time. But I think about that first 400 all by myself that almost took my life.

Now with the club, people routinely come join us at the lake and right off the bat swim the 400 yards round trip to the buoy as their first OW experience. Each time it blows me away to see this. Was I that bad? That full of fear? The answer to both was probably yes.

I also think that personally its one the best post I have done. Maybe because the scare is still so visual for me. That the words written are a bit too close to the reality of it. I remember every one of those thoughts while I was out there.

Damn it I still say there is sharks in that lake!

I also looked at the commenter's back then. When you read them you will see very familiar names, another level of security in my life. We were all so disjointed then. Just starting our Triathlete Alliance. Maybe two dozen at that time. But we stuck together and we taught each other and we grew. Now my blog roll is over a hundred strong. The Alliance has become a community. And its better to swim in a community than alone.

Thanks.