Final Post!

Well, after many years of updating this blog weekly it is time to call it quits. I have moved on to the next stage of my life and have set a huge goal for myself. I thought it would be best to start a new blog dedicated to my new goal. Please follow me on my new blog at www.the-ironman-mission.com

Thanks for all the reads and comments over the years and looking forward to hearing from you on the new blog!

On Vacation

Well the time has arrived, I am officially on vacation for two weeks. It will begin with a few days of getting caught up on life, and chores, and then I will be heading to Europe for 10-11 days. I can't wait!!

Last week I was traveling in the US, Wichita Kansas specifically. It is a nice city but it was hot. It was over 100 degrees every day I was there. I did manage to run a couple of times in the heat, it felt good. The bad news was I ate out for four days. I tried my best to order the better things on the menu but that didn't always work out well. Getting on the scale Monday will not be pretty.

And imagine next week's weigh in, after having been on the cruise for a week, yikes!!!

I signed up for my first official 1/2 marathon this past week as well. It is on labor day weekend so it will be here in no time at all. I am not ready for it yet, I will have to do some training while on vacation!

Stay safe!

Vacation is approaching.

Our trip to Europe is quickly approaching and I can't wait for it to get here. I have a business trip this week which is unfortunate but when Friday comes I will be off for two full weeks!

I had a good week of training and capped it off with another victory in a sprint triathlon. It was my last tri of the season so now I have to wait and see how the final season standings fall out. There are a couple more events to come but I can't make it to either of them. Brittany also ran in a 10k race at the same event and had a great run for a personal best!

Tomorrow is a holiday for me in Canada so I am looking forward to that as well! I hope to get through a book I just started before my vacation begins next week.

The excitement is never ending!!!

The Olympics is here!!!

Every four years our house is transformed into a frenzy as the summer Olympics kick off. This year was no different! We were gathered around the tv for the opening ceremonies last night in London. We also had an Olympics cake to celebrate the occasion. Early this morning we were on the couch watching the first few events. The time zones always create issues during the Olympics, this year it means early mornings for us. The best part of the Olympics is the motivation it provides to us lowly age group athletes. I can't wait to see the triathlon events this year, being that I can relate to the athletes a little bit more. Let the games begin, and the sleep end!!

Ironman Lake Placid

Wow, so inspirational! This will be a short entry today as it is late and I am tired. You heard it here first. I will hear "Mike McEachern, you are an Ironman!" in the next two years. Stay tuned people, stay tuned....

Bone tired.

I am so tired right now. This week was a very busy one for me. I think I either drove to Kingston or Ottawa every night after work. All of it to setup Brittany's new house. I hate putting Ikea furniture together, lol. So I think she is almost ready. The van is still full of a few more items so there will be one more trip to Kingston. So on top of all of the travel time I was up early this morning for another triathlon. This one took place in Carleton Place. I did well but pulled a muscle in my left calf about halfway through the race. I got to the finish line but it is really sore now, and will be worse tomorrow. I finished 1st in my age group! So,that is my fifth triathlon this year and I am tired now, bone tired.I need a break, and the good news is that one is coming! We might do another event as a relay, Brit, Tyler, and myself, but we are not signed up at this point. Next weekend, Ironman Lake Placid! I am really excited about it, we are volunteering at the event. The only downside is that we have to dress up like rednecks as part of a theme. I am not amused at that, we will have to see how it turns out... Stay safe everyone.

OK, I am late!

Geeze, just when I think no one was reading my blog I am one day late posting and all the emails are coming in. "Where is your most recent update?" Well, here it is. It is good to know that some people are following the boring life of a 40 something guy with not mch to say. This past week was a busy one for me and the family. Brittany had her wisdom teeth out so that was interesting. Lots of drugs and nursing required, most from Jackie of course. I also was the co-organizer of a charity event this past Saturday. It was a poker run with Motorcycles. The event went well, we earned over $1000 for the charity which was great! We also learned a lot about how to run this kind of event, next year we will be even better!! I also competed in my fourth triathlon of the year yesterday. This one was north of Kingston in a town called Sydenham. It was a really tough course, particularly the bike portion. The hills were crazy big and it was windy as well. I bonked about 1/2 way through the run but still managed to get a second place. I continue to lead the overall standings for the Somersault Series for the year. I hope I can hold on to the lead all the way to October. Brittany and I are registered in another race next weekend in Carleton Place. I will need a break after that one as my body is tired, really tired.... Until next week, stay safe!!

Headache!

Yes, I have a headache. It makes writing in my blog kinda difficult. In fact, I can't remember much about the past week right now. Oh yeah, I had visitors in town most of the week for work, that was time consuming and cut into my training time. I did manage to sign up for my next race, next weekend in Kingston. I am hoping that my transition Matt and new wetsuit both arrive soon so that maybe I can use them in my next race. It is Canada Day today so we will all go down to the waterfront to watch fireworks later. We plan on meeting my son's girlfriends parents down there. That could be interesting, maybe we will enjoy ourselves, maybe not, lol. Did I mention that I have a headache? I lost at golf yesterday to my brother. It was close but in the end he beat me. That doesn't happen very often, good for his self esteem I guess. Did I mention that I have a headache?

Triathlon #3

Well I travelled up to Smiths Falls for my third triathlon of the season. For some reason I was VERY nervous about the swim in this race. I was playing head games with myself about whether I should wear the wetsuit or not. I scoped out the course and in the end decided to wear it. I was glad that I did as I had a goos swim. There were a couple points where I was kicked and hit but by far I was calmest I have ever been during a race swim. It was very hot during the race so the bike and the run were tough. I tried to conserve some energy during the bike but it didn't work as I ran out of energy during the run. My run time wasn't awful, but it could have been a lot better. So, after all that about my race, how did I do? I won my age group once again. I guess I can't complain about that now can I. I compete against myself primarily, and I was pleased with my race!

Weight gain...

I just can't figure it out. I workout regularly, well if I am honest, I work out a LOT. I feel strong and all, but I continue to weigh more than I would want to. And I gain weight at strange times (mostly Monday mornings which are my weekly weigh in days). I would think about throwing in the towel, lose hope of ever getting to my goal weight, but that is just not me. I am competitive so I will keep trying to solve this puzzle. I just wish I was a bit closer to my goal weight.

It was Father's Day yesterday and everything went well. I got a number of cards and also the go ahead to pick up a new wetsuit. The bad news was that everywhere I looked they were out of stock! I might do a deeper search later today to see if I can find one somewhere. I might pick up a new tri-jersey as well.

Next week I have my next triathlon. It is in Smiths Falls. I went there to check out the bike course this weekend and it was a tough one! This next race will be a real test for sure.

Stay safe everyone!

Simple Post - The winner!

Not much to say this week other than the picture below. You are looking at the winner of the Ottawa River Triathlon!! Yep, its me!!!

My first one!!!!!

Another Move In

Well we got the keys to Brittany's new house on Friday afternoon. This is the place we hope she will be staying for the remainder of her University stay, hopefully 3 years. It is an older house that had three male students in it previously. IT was very dirty. It has a good layout, plenty of space for her and her two friends, but needs a good coat of paint. The landlord was very hestitant to allow us to do any painting. I think he has fears of hot pink going everywhere. We really just want to freshen up the walls, it would make a world of difference to the overall appearance of the house. We had Brittany pick a colour for her bedroom. She went with Malted Milk. It is a cream colour, almost white really. I was a little disappointed by it all. I was hoping that it would be a touch darker but not much I can do about it now. We spent Saturday and Sunday working on the painting of her room. When I say we I mean me and Jakie and Mom, Brit was too busy with her job. So it is Monday now, her room is completed. I think we will move on to the railings and stairs next. They are really dirty looking. Overall it will be a nice place once it is cleaned up some more. I hope her roomates like her!!! Stay Safe Everyone!

Week of good weather!

I would have to say that summer weather has finally arrived. It has been awesome weather here all week. In fact, it has been very hot on some days. It has been necessary to have sunscreen with me at all times this week. My training has gone well this week. I had a good pool swim mid-week. I attempted to swim in the river yesterday in my wetsuit but it was FREEZING. The wetsuit helped with the temperature but my hands and feet were numb after only a few minutes. I didn't want to risk anything so I got out after 5-10 minutes. I had a 2 hour bike ride yesterday and a 1 hour run earlier this morning!

Brittany is pushing for her, Tyler, and me to do a team Triathlon in the near future. I think we would do pretty well. She will swim, I will bike, and Tyler will run. I think it will be a fun event, but I also think that there won't be much competition as there are not many teams that compete.

My eating has been very bad, nothing new there. I would say that I need to change that, but I have said that before and I have had little success. I think I will drop some old friends off of lose it and find some new ones. It is time for new motivation to kick start my discipline.

That's all for this week!

Triathlon Completed!

Yesterday I completed my first triathlon of the season. I had competed in this same event last year so I was interested to see if my times had improved. Guess what, they did! I beat my previous time by about 4 minutes overall. That is an awesome improvement if I do say so myself. I ended up in second place, only 12 seconds out of first place. Now that hurt! Only 12 seconds! Looking back I certainly could have been 12 seconds faster if I had known I was that close to first place. Lesson learned for next time, leave everything out there, never assume I am out of the running.

It was a taper week for me so my training was limited. I did a few light rides, swims, and runs. I fear that the low calorie burn will show on the scale on Monday morning. But at this point, having a silver medal will cheer me up!!

Stay safe everyone!

Pool Time!

So this week we opened our pool for the year. It is always an exciting time as it means summer is coming and we can spend some time outside (finally)! The water temperature is curently in the low 60s so no one will be in the water anytime soon! I have not put the heater on yet, it would cost too much to keep the water warm at this point. We will let mother nature do a bit of the heating first.

This week was my last hard week of training for my first triathlon of the season. I had some long swims, rides, and runs this week. Next week will be a taper week so I will be taking it easy, or at least that is the plan! The triathlon is on Saturday morning, so exciting right?

We have been eating out a lot this week. Today is Mother's Day so there will be more bad food to consume. I think I ate out 3-4 times this week. Not only is it expensive but it is also very bad for weight loss. Another date with the scale tomorrow will not be pretty!

Another week has passed..

So time seems to go by very quickly doesn't it? I remember when I was younger thinking that 40 was old, like over the hill. Well guess what, I am in the over the hill category now. Of course, age is just a state of mind. So I choose to be 25!! This week was a busy one at work, lots of deadlines and such. I think this summer will be a stressful one for both Jackie and I at work. Hopefully we can stay employed through this recent economic downturn. I have continued to train really hard. My weight is not moving at all, but I must be building muscle. I have been thinking about the 2013 Lake Placid IronMan. We are volunteering at the event this upcoming year which gives me a chance to stand in a line and get an entry into the 2013 event. I need to look into this more and make sure I know when and where the sign up occurs. I don't want to miss it! At is point, I don't think I can do the IronMan, but I have a year to train right? Stay safe everyone!

All together again

Yes, the family is all back together once again. Brittany wrote her last exam on Thursday and we picked her up that evening for the drive back home. We had to make many trips up to the 6th floor of her residence to load everything up in the van for the trip back home. It is crazy how much stuff she has. It will be nice next year as she has rented a house so we can leave the stuff there over the summer, less packing and unpacking from this point forward (hopefully)! She is currently looking for a summer job to help out with the upcoming school expenses. She can get a few hours here and there coaching gymnastics but would prefer full time hours all summer somewhere else. This upcoming week she will have to make job hunting her number one priority. The bottom line is that year one is complete and I am very proud of her. She has grown immensely this past year and maintained excellent grades as well, and hopefully all of her scholarships! Now if I could just get her to clean her room we would be all set!

Does anyone read this stuff?

Ah, the thousand dollar question. Does anyone really read my blog? Comment if you do so I know someone is listening! I started my new triathlon workout program this week and it is kicking my butt. The workouts are both long and hard and sometimes they are two a days. I am enjoying the challenge, just not sure I can keep up with the program. Monday is an off day and I am looking forward to that for some rest and recovery. I weighed myself this morning to see how I was doing. I am up about a pound. All of this working out and I still can't lose weight anymore. I guess I have just lost the ability to drop pounds like I used to. I will keep trying of course. I would be marginally happy if I could maintain where I am today long term. Well, honestly I would like to be 5 lbs lighter. I have a project due at work this week, it is stressing me out. Anyone want to help with developing a financial benefits case? Drop me a line if you do. We have ants in the house. I hate ants. There is poison out everywhere but I am not sure we are gaining on them at all. I will give it another week and then report back.... Stay safe!

I am back!!!

It has certainly been awhile since I wrote in my blog, things have gotten crazy busy. I spend 8 days in Belarus delivering humanitarian aid. It was an awesome experience, one that I hope to make an annual event. The highlight of the trip was that I got to visit my Belarussian daughter three times while I was there.  She is all grown up now, it is amazing how big she is! Everyone in her family is doing well. It was hard to leave them, but I had to get back to my family in Canada.

I purchased a new Triathlon program called Tri4P. I am excited to get started on it. It will begin on Monday and will kick my butt. I signed up for my first tri of the year on May 17th in Ottawa. I am looking forward to it but at the same time I know I am not in as good shape as I was last year at this time. I am heavier as well. I have some work to do but I have 6 weeks to get ready. Will it be enough?

Brittany is in her final exams now so I am thinking about her. I hope she does well and doesn't stress to much about them. Brandon has another possible gig lined up for a local festival. News of his greatness is getting around, lol.

That's all for now, stay safe everyone!

Charity

What is it about helping others that creates a sense of fulfillment in ourselves. Whenever I feel down the easiest way to improve my mood is to get involved in some small way with helping others. Later this week I head to Belarus on a humanitarian aid trip. Me and a group of other caring individuals will be delivering food and other necessities to impoverished individuals in the contaminated zone of the Chernobyl disaster.

It will be a long trip across the Atlantic. I fly from Ottawa to New Jersey, from New Jersey to Warsaw, and then Warsaw to Minsk. From Minsk it is a four hour drive to the small town of Chausy. It has been eight years since I have been there. During my last trip I stayed on a collective farm. I had no running water of bathroom facilities and there was 6 of us in a one room house. Sounds awful right? Funny thing is it was a very fulfilling experience! I hope my upcoming trip has the same effect! Wish me luck!