Lake Placid Ironman!

This past weekend we travelled to Lake Placid, NY to watch the annual Ironman race. It was so inspiring!!! We arrived as most of the athletes were on the bike so we positioned ourselves at the beginning of the run. It was cool to see the elite athletes transition from bike to run and head out on the marathon course.

We heard many inspiring stories from the spectators who were there to support family members and friends. Many of the runners would stop to hug and kiss their loved ones as they past by them on the run course. There were lots of signs and personalized t-shirts everywhere! It was an amazing atmosphere!

We spent some time and money in the Ironman store, a few t-shirts and mugs, etc. The prices were reasonable.

We stayed to watch the first two finishers and then decided it was time to jump in the car for the long drive home. I will definitely come back for next year, and who knows, maybe even compete some day!

Be safe!

Hot Hot Hot!

Wow, it has been a hot week in my neck of the woods. Of course, I am not complaining, I have been waiting for this weather all year. I particularly like to do my training in the hot and humid weather. There is nothing like sweating BEFORE you even start your run or bike! My Triathlon program is beginning to really ramp up now. Most days are multiple workouts, or bricks, as they like to call them. It is like doing mini events all in one day. It is good as you get to practice the transitions. Let me tell ya, getting a wetsuit off is no peice of cake. I laugh at myself everytime I get stuck in the damn thing. I envision being in a race and having to withdraw when I can't get my legs out of the suit to prepare to mount the bike!!! I am sure I will have nightmares of that in the upcoming weeks leading up to my race.

My weight seems to have found its equilibruium. I don't gain or lose anything to speak of on a regular basis. I sit between 172-173. I guess my goal of 165 was just a little to agressive. As long as I don't slowly pick up some more weight I will be happy with where I am.

Stay safe everyone!

Open Water Swimming

Ok, so I am not a "natural" swimmer. I have been training in the pool over the past few months to build up my confidence a bit. I felt like it was time to venture out into the open water. Talk about scary! I mean if I get anxious there is no side of the pool to grab. I started by investing in a wetsuit. After some investigation I decided on a BlueSeventy Axis wetsuit. These wetsuits are made for people who are poor swimmers, so they are not fast, but they are buoyant!

So yesterday I headed out to the St. Lawrence river with Jackie as my spotter. It was not the best entrance point that I picked as it was very rocky, in fact I cut my foot getting in. Once I started swimming everything was AWESOME! I had no issues and swam anxiety free for about 20 minutes. I could really feel the extra buoyancy that the wetsuit provided.

So, time for some serious training in preparation for another triathlon, this one in open water, in mid August.

Be safe everyone!

Reading

I have never really mentioned that I read lots of books. I used to be a fiction only guy but recently I have gotten into business books and other like that. I think it is important to continually learn about things that interest you and fiction just does not do that. Don't get me wrong, I still read some fiction, just not exclusively. So I have read about 20 books this year, most of them business related.

The book I just finished was called the Organic Manifesto by Maria Rodale. This was not a typical book I would read but Jillian Michaels recommended it so I figured I would read it. It was a very interesting book about all of the chemicals that are in our food today. It also touches on the politics involved by big business to continually push chemicals and GMOs. The final two chapters really hit me on how bad our situation really is, there are chemicals entering our bodies everyday via our food and water. I would recommend that others read this book as well, just to understand the risk. You may choose not to take action but at least you will increase your awareness. Oh, btw, those chemicals can limit your weight loss!!!

Be safe everyone.