Looking Up

Things are starting to look up.  Then again my back is absolutely killing me at that present time, but everything else is definitely getting better.  I am not so good at the posting on my blog lately because of life complications and other issues.  Those complications are getting, well, less complicated and as a result things are looking up.  I can't really get into it all as of yet, but job stuff has finally turned the corner.

I am going to write some more over the next day or two, once things are more concrete.

As for my training, it has been sporatic at best because of my achy back.  I have been getting on my bike for about four hours every week, but running has been difficult because of the soreness in my lower back.  The snow this week hasn't helped matters, especially the initial six inches that we received today.  We are supposed to get another 8 - 12 inches this evening which should add up to a lot of couch time tomorrow, resting.

That is it for now.  Again, good news is coming soon!

IMAZ Photos

Almost two months after Ironman Arizona and I am posting some pictures from the race, courtesy of ASI Photo.

I was freezing, but done swimming, you would think I would be smiling.

Just starting out on the bike, adjusting my watch.

I think this is the end of the first loop....two to go.

The hill on the first loop of the course, I was feeling OK.

Getting my arm warmers on; getting cold out.

That same hill on lap two...not feeling so good.



Finally DONE!!!



Smiling because I am done.

The smile would evaporate about 10 - 15 minutes later when I got to the finishers tent.  I felt like I was hit by a Mack truck.

I'm Back....Kind of

I have been very negligent in writing on my blog over the past month or so.  My life has been turned upside down over the past three weeks for reasons I can not get into right here/now.  I haven't felt like jotting down what has been going on for the simple reason that it doesn't need to be out there just yet.  So....what can I write about?  Well, how about my health and the upcoming race season.

Health
Ugh, not great!  I played indoor soccer about a month ago and injured my left leg and after about two or three weeks I developed a bump right on my hip flexor.  Initially my sports doc thought was a hernia, so I had to go see a surgeon.  At the surgeon's office I was told that it wasn't a hernia.  Great news!  Well, I guess so, except that I still didn't know what the bump was.  Dang!  So back to square one to find out what the heck is wrong with the leg.  I am also dealing with some numbness on the outside of the leg as well, that is the real concern.  The funny thing with all of this is that I have been able to bike on my trainer with out any pain or discomfort.  In fact, I feel better after exercising.

The one other issue I am dealing with is pain in my lower back and that has curtailed any running that I might be doing.  I am really missing running right now, especially with all of the snow and cold weather.  This is my favorite time of the year for running.  I guess I just have to play it day by day.

Up-Coming Season
I took some time today to write down a tentative 2011 Race Schedule and here is what I came up with:

• March 20th - Central Bucks YMCA 5K
• April 17th - UNITE Half Marathon, Rutgers University, NJ
• May 1st - Broad Street Run (10M), Philadelphia, PA
• May 18th - SERTOMA 5K, Doylestown, PA
• May 21st/22nd - JerseyMan Triathlon (Spring/HIM), Clinton, NJ
• June 11th - Lavaman Triathlon, Lavallette, NJ
• July 23rd/24th - NJ State Triathlon, Mercer County, NJ
• August 6th - Born To Tri, Asbury Park, NJ
• August 7th - Steelman Triathlon, Quakertown, PA
• September 10th - Hunterdon Half, Lebanon, NJ
• October 2nd - Pocono 70.3, Stroudsburg, PA 

Not everything above is set in stone, e.g. probably not doing two races the weekend of August 6th.  Also, I may add some additional things in there as the year progresses, but at least this is a starting point for getting my training schedule started.  Of course I need to get health first.  Also, I haven't registered for most of the events either just yet, so there is a possibility that I might not get into some of them.

Oh, the last final bit of news is that I got a new phone, the iPhone 4!  It is awesome!  I absolutely love it.  I have only scratched the surface for what it can do and the apps that I can load on to it.  I need to find some good training apps.  So excited!!

That is it for now.  I am going to try and get back in to writing in this more often and hopefully be able to write some positive things soon.  Cheers!

Bad Days

So much to write, but it can't be written yet.  It has been a bad week...and that is an understatement.

• Job Issues
• Inguinal Hernia
• Lower back pain

More to come once I get a very important phone call.  If you have some positive karma to spare, please sent it my way.