I Suck at Blogging

Ugh, I am a horrible blogger.  Actually, I'm not a bad blogger when I am blogging.  It's the getting to the blog and writing in the blog that I am not so good at lately.  The problems are stemming from the fact that I have very little time to blog about and have few blog-worthy activities to mention here.

I will sum up the past couple weeks here as succinctly as possible:

Hurricane Irene - I was luck in that my home escaped Irene with no damage what so ever.  Also, my parents managed only a few problems, flooding in their garage destroyed a refrigerator and cabinets and wind knocked out their hot water heater.  Yes, it cost money to fix/replace, but otherwise the house is OK.

Soccer - Both of my daughters are playing soccer and for the first time in three years I am not coaching either of their teams.  It is driving me crazy not being involved.  I am turning into "that Dad" who complains, etc.  I have decided that I am going to abstain from saying anything about the coaching and be a cheerleader for my girls and photographer.  Below is a picture of the the girls new cleats, very stylish, eh?

Surfing - Ugh, so many good waves between Labor Day and September 7th....and I suck at surfing.  I tried and even though I failed I was still out there.  I crashed more than I rode, but I was brave and tried to take of on a lot of waves.  I really want to get better at surfing next year.  Here are some pictures of sunrises from Labor Day weekend.

Pregnancy - Whew, my wife is big, and I mean that in a good way.  She is in her 31st week I think and the due date has been set for the third week in October.  I need to start banking sleep now because those first few months are going to be rough.  I suspect I will be getting back to doing my morning work-outs thanks to 4AM wake up calls.  A little tidbit of information about me:  When my wife was pregnant with our second daughter I weighed the most I have ever in my life....220 LBS!!!  I am not that heavy now, but I feel close to it.  Below is a picture of the first day of school for my girls.

Work - I have been all over Maryland and DC the past couple weeks and I am going to be down in Richmond and Virginia Beach soon as well.  I hope this travel turns into dollars for me!!!

Training - Nonexistent at this point.  I actually went ten days between runs recently.  TEN DAYS!!!  That is unacceptable.  I need to get out and run on the weekends, maybe even get out and ride my bike.  I think a gym/pool membership is much needed.  I need to set up my bike trainer in the basement and get back to my evening training sessions.  If I am going to be sitting around watching TV, I might as well be burning calories, right?

I hope to spruce things up here soon, maybe liven things up a bit.  Cheers!

Dark Clouds....then Sunshine

Today was a tough day for me, but not because of training.  It was tough because of my job and my boss.  Every morning when I wake up, I don't think about the lonely hours I will spend staring at the black line at the bottom of the pool or the endless spinning of the wheels of my bike or the cold dark miles that may pass when running.  No, when I wake up I think only about how much I dread going to work.  I get nauseous when I think about the weekly project status meetings I have with my manager.  I have never been in a situation like the one I am currently in.  I truly hate my job.  Today was a confirmation of that I need to move one...and quickly.  The dark clouds were upon me.

I don't want to sound to insane here, I know of too many people that over the past year or so have lost their jobs.  I am luck to have one, lucky to be able to help support my family.  The problem is that I have a manager that is trying her hardest to ensure I do not have a job in the near future. 

On my drive home I was full of emotion, so much anger, sadness and confusion.  The only thing that could take my mind off of my situation was the fact that I was on my way to pick up my two little girls and no matter what I am their "Daddy" and they love me.  When I picked up my oldest, I asked her to hurry up so we could get her sister.  She was dragging her heels.  I asked her to please hurry up, I didn't have a good day and I just wanted to get home.  She asked me why it was a bad day, I simply said, "It just wasn't good."  She had a sad look on her face, so I stopped and knelt down in front of her and asked if she was OK.  She said that she was sad because I had a bad day and she wanted to try and help me.  She didn't know it but she already had.  She is a special little girl.  The clouds began to part a little bit.

When we got home I had to make them a quick dinner because "The Diva" had a Brownie meeting.  While they were eating I got a phone call, it was a good call...a really good call.  It appears that things might be taking a turn for the better.  The sunshine had finally broken through the clouds.  Hopefully I can share more in the upcoming weeks.

Training update:
Tuesday:  A very solid 3,600m swim, I felt pretty good.  My stroke is coming around.  I also had a pretty good 50 minute run that included some speed work.  Unfortunately it was at 9:00PM at night and I was beat from my long day.

Wednesday:  I was up at 5:15AM and in the basement putting in an hour on the trainer and followed that up with a 20 minute run.  A good workout, still a little tired from the run the night before.

Today:  One of my best swims sessions over the past few weeks.  3,400m and I got stronger with each set.  Finally, I felt good and smooth in the water.  Yeah!!!  Tonight I put in and hour and 25 minutes on the trainer in my basement while my little one watched High School Musical 3.  I spent most of the ride just watching her watch the movie....she is so cute and such a good kid.

That is it for now.  It is 10:00PM and I have to get up at 4:20AM to get my swim workout in.  Oh yeah!  Peace out!

Good Days, Bad Day

After Saturday's race it was back to Ironman training.  There is not rest for the weary and I couldn't rest the day after the race, I had training to do and I couldn't bail on it!

Sunday
I was able to sleep in until about 7:15AM, thanks to a tired wife and two exhausted little girls.  I lounged around until around 8:30AM when I decided that it was time to get my ass in gear and head out for my three hour ride.  I was on the road a little before 9:00AM and it was already hot out, Africa hot.  I realized right then why it is better to leave the house by 5:15AM rather than 9:00AM.  I soldiered on and rode out to Evansburg State Park, which ended up being kind of a let down.  I guess I expected a big lush park and although nice and the fact that I was only really on the eastern side, it wasn't all that interesting.  I was happy to make the turnaround and head for home.

I don't have a lot to say about the ride other than it was HOT and I had just enough fluids to get me home.  I ended up riding 54 miles in 3:00:00, averaging 18 MPH.  It was hilly, hot and humid...I can live with those numbers.

I followed the ride with a 25 minute run (was supposed to be 30, but I cut it short), which was supposed to be run in Zone 2 (heart rate).  I had to walk a few times to get my heart rate down, the ride and heat were driving it way up and I couldn't cool down.  I was happy to get it over and done with.  When I got home I found myself locked out of the house so I went to the back yard, set up a chair, grabbed a hose and did my best to keep cool until the ladies arrived home.

Monday
Rest day!!!  It was so great to be able to rest all day and not do anything.  I picked up the girls from school, got a lot of love from my youngest (big hug and kiss) and a little from my oldest (moderate hug). 

Tuesday
I was up at 4:25AM and immediately asked myself, "Why am I doing this?"  I didn't dwell on it, I simply got dressed and headed to the pool.  I put in 3,000 meters (500wu, 4 x 100 drills, 200-300-400-500 @:45 seconds, 8 x 50, 300 cool down) and felt OK doing it.  I had some really good smooth laps and some struggling to get through them laps.  It took me about 1:02:00 to finish it all up.

Work, work, work, then an afternoon run.  It was hot out, but no nearly as humid.  I made sure that I was drinking water throughout the day and I think it made a big difference on my run.  I did a 10 minute warm up, then 2 x 4:30 Z4 with 1:30 recovery, followed by a Z2 run for the remainder of the hour run.  The Z4 sections were tough and I pushed it hard (around 7:00/pace).  I ran around 7.4 miles in 1:00:59.  I was surprised by how good I felt afterwards, it had to be the water I drank, properly hydrated was I!

Today
Another late-early morning, meaning I slept in until 5:15AM (yea!).  Within 15 minutes of getting up I was in the basement and on my trainer riding (45 minutes) along watching the 2007 Ironman World Championships (love them!).  I felt OK and was sweating like crazy....I forgot to set up the fan.  I did my best to push myself and put in a good ride.  I followed that immediately with a 30 minute run all in Z2 (heart rate).  I started out at an easy pace but picked it up at the end.  All in all a really good morning work out and totally done by 6:50AM!!!!  So psyched!

So above are the good days...now for the bad day.  I am really not happy at work right now.  We have undergone a significant reorganization and new people have been brought in.  My role has been turned upside down and the focus has shifted 180°.  The past three weeks have been very frustrating for me and I am looking to make things better for myself.  I hope that everything turns around soon.  I want to be happy at work, I don't want to dread every moment that I am there.  Stay cool and be happy!