Too funny not to share.

My sista-in-law is the best. Check out this birthday message she sent me.

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40 things about me

I've been wanting to do something like this for quite some time. Here is my first installment.

1. I played clarinet in elementary and junior high school.

2. I only have one kidney.

3. I broke my wrist during a freshman track meet….running the hurdles.

4. I ran the 800 and record setting 1600 relay the same meet.

5. My grandfather and I share the same birthday.

6. My dad, brother and I were all cub scouts.

7. My dad and I were Scout leaders as adults.

8. I’ve worked in the IT industry for 20 years.

9. I didn’t work until after I graduated from high school.

10. Spiders give me the heebie jeebies. I’ve gotten better.

11. My dad, brother and I have birthdays in February.

12. I got my first dog at age 30. Snickers is awesome.

13. I played on the very first soccer team at our high school.

14. I like to sing karaoke…..and my brother says I’m not bad.

15. I lived in Ohio my entire life, so far.

16. I’ve been shaving my legs for the past ten years.

17. I earned my blue belt in karate when I was studying.

18. I don’t care much for baseball, football and basketball.

19. I like the changing seasons in Ohio.

20. I spent freshman year of college at Bowling Green State University

21. I spent the following 10 years at Cleveland State University to get my Bachelors Degree.

22. My brother is seven years older than me.

23. My brother is gay…….and I don’t mind at all.

24. I enjoy camping, but rarely get a chance to go.

25. My nickname used to be two-beer……actually it’s still true.

26. My favorite nickname is Pumpkinhead.

27. My dream job would be an active vacation tour guide.

28. I don’t like playing poker…..but will play Euchre anytime.

29. I never thought I would do a marathon, much less and Ironman.

30. I enjoy cooking. Especially on the grill.

31. I work-out today at the same YMCA where I learned to swim, shoot a bow and arrow, build
models, jump on the trampoline and play basketball.

32. Growing up I like to build models. Cars, planes, space shuttle.

33. I have never suffered a deep personal tragedy. I pray I never have to.

34. I was captain of the varsity soccer team my senior year of high school.

35. Growing up I wanted to be an architect. Turns out Aimee had the same idea. She
currently works for an architecture firm, accounting.

36. I still have the G.I Joes I used to play with as a kid. These are the original 12 inch Joes.

37. I’ve never tried drugs like marijuana, cocaine, uppers/downers, etc. Never needed them.

38. I didn’t eat salads until after high school.

39. I wrote articles for my high school newspaper.

40. I’ll cry like a baby if the situation calls for it.

For some reason that seems like enough for today.

Game On.

When a Boy Becomes a Man

It's an age old question. When are you considered a man? Is it based on age? 18, 21, 25, 40. Is it based on experience? Personal tragedy, insight, self enlightenment, achievement, responsibility.
The journey through life is such a strange and wonderous thing. So many things to think about, worry about, experience. So many people to meet, love, hate, ignore, tolerate. So many changes that must occur as you grow physically and emotionally.

I've often wondered about my own maturity. Each year as I get older, I'll be 40 this month, I try to think back to things that I have done. Sometimes I'm amazed at how my memory is triggered at the weirdest times and I think of an event from years ago. Often that event is a defining moment that shapes who you are. I guess that's why it's permanantly stamped into your brain.

I look back at those "events" and think, "What a stupid dumbass I was". Why would I do something like that? Probably because I didn't know any better, I guess it's part of the learning process.

As I watch myself grow, I also have a son and daughter to watch grow as well. Sometimes it's painful to watch them learn about life but they have to learn somehow.

With my son at college I keep touch with him via instant messaging. He is real good at updating his away message/comments, too good sometimes. So I check his messages on occasion and obtain some interesting insight of his college life, such as:

Tuesdays suck. He has class all day then works 4 hours after dinner.
He's working out (weight lifting) on a regular basis and is getting stronger.
He stated recently, "(I) never realized how much college changes ppl i guess..."

He comment above is what prompted my own introspection about changes. College, he will find, is not the only time in his life that other people (ppl) or himself will change. Hopefully those changes will be for the better.

So as I get older I try to hold on to the youthfulness in my life. Don't ask me what I want to be when I grow up since I don't plan on "growing" up. I'll be mature and professional when I need to, but I'll also be playful and fun to balance things out.

Mid-life crisis?!?!?! Yeah right.

The Game is so On for the next twenty+ years.

Who do you fight?

“I seek strength, Father — not to be superior to my brothers, but to be able to fight my greatest enemy, myself. Make me ever ready to come to you with clean hands and a straight eye, so that when life fades like a fading sunset, my spirit may come to you without shame.”


CHIPPEWA PRAYER

Cold Morning Run

Work had me out of town the last half of the week. I was "forced" to run indoors on a treadmill two days, 40 minutes each time. So my long run this morning I wanted to do outside. Of course the weather showed the thermometer at around 8 degrees and Weather Channel was saying wind chill at -3. I was not going to run 10 miles on a treadmill!!! So I bundled up and headed out, around 6:30AM. All of the stats are below. I was actually overdressed for the run but the extra layers helped when I turned into the wind. The out and back run allowed me to know my mileage based upon the BimActive program on my cell phone beeping each mile. On the way back I was great with a most spectacular sunrise. One where a bright red flame of fire shoots up from the horizon as the sun starts to rise. It's looks so cool. I'm glad I had my phone because I could take this picture. The picture doesn't do justice of what I was truly seeing but you get the idea. This made me glad I decided to brave the cold temps and run outside. Have a great weekend and find some way to get your Game On. Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 690 ft Location: North Ridgeville, OH Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 02/10/07 Up/Downhill: [+49/-49] Time: 06:35 AM Difficulty: 3.5 / 5.0 Weather: Partly Cloudy 8F temp; 72% humidity 8F heat index; winds SW 10 Performance Distance: 10.03 miles Time: 1:21:16 Speed: 7.41 mph Pace: 8' 06 /mi Calories: 1221 Map Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 8' 16 +0' 10 7.3 -0.2 0 ft 2 8' 01 -0' 05 7.5 +0.1 +6 ft 3 8' 20 +0' 14 7.2 -0.2 -3 ft 4 8' 09 +0' 03 7.3 -0.1 -3 ft 5 8' 32 +0' 26 7.0 -0.4 0 ft 6 8' 01 -0' 05 7.5 +0.1 0 ft 7 7' 43 -0' 23 7.8 +0.4 0 ft 8 8' 05 -0' 01 7.4 +0.0 +6 ft 9 7' 54 -0' 12 7.6 +0.2 -3 ft 10 7' 57 -0' 09 7.5 +0.1 -4 ft end 8' 53 +0' 47 6.8 -0.7 0 ft Versus average of 8' 06 min/mi

Posted from bimactive.com

OOOOOUUUUUUCCCCHHHHHHH

That is what my muscles are saying each time I get out of a chair, be it a desk chair or the car. I started lifting again. I keep telling myself to keep at it so I don't have to deal with muscle soreness when I restart a lifting program. Damn it hurts. I guess you can say it's a good hurt though. Reminds me that I am alive. It will go away soon. I did some abdominal work last night also, so I just can't wait for those muscles to start hurting.

Am I the only one who falls off the weight training schedule when good weather hits. I just can't stand being inside lifting weights when I could be outside riding the bike or running or swimming in the lake.

Must remind myself, a strong core leads to a more complete and stronger body.

Game, ouch, On.

2006 in review....by the numbers

I don't know why I didn't think of this earlier but I guess it's because I've never been obsessed about the numbers. I do my time, get it done and keep moving forward. But I think a look back at the numbers is in order since 2006 was the year of Ironman. Let's see how things stacked up.

I am pulling my numbers from Training Peaks. My coach had her athletes using it for 2006. I don't like how the reports turn out numbers, I don't know what is being combined, double counted or broken out.... a little confusing.

So here goes.....

447 Hours of training......equals 56 eight hour days

260,587 yards swimming......divided by 1760 equals 148 miles....DAMN, that's more than IM

1,635 miles on the bike....this was on my mountain, road and tri bike.....that's far.

743 miles running........and I had a couple of times when I was injured and not running.

1,482 miles of bricks.....this is the category that has me pissed with TP. There is not breakout of miles riden versus run. I think this is new "improvement" that I think is stupid. I have a question about it to them.

So those are my numbers for 2006. All of it was worth it to become Iron.

2007 game is on. Will be interesting to see what the numbers hold for me this year.

Game On.

Cookies like Grandma used to make

Mmmmmmmm......cookies. Who doesn't like those yummy, soft, chocolate chip cookies? I can't get enough of 'em when they are made fresh. I try to eat them quickly so they get the hell out of the house. I don't need that temptation while I am trying to keep close to fighting weight during the winter.

The cookies are worst for me when I drive for work. More times than I care to admit, when I leave a customer I am sometimes hungry....definitely thirsty. On the longer drives home, 1.5 hours plus, I will stop in at a Speedway (get those points) and grab a Gatorade. But sometimes the munchies are evident as well. My favorite item to grab lately is Grandma's Homestyle cookies. Two yummy soft cookies in one bag. Case in point I was driving home from lovely Bucyrus, OH and grabbed the Gatorade (not that damn AM crap either...save that for another post) and my cookies.

During my drive home I read the nutrition label on the packaging. I pulled down this label from the www.fritolay.com site.

Now I am no math major but something doesn't quite add up here. I check out the calories and fat so I know what I am consuming. One cookie is 190 calories. Two cookies is 370 calories. One cookie has 9g fat.....two cookies has 17g fat. WTF!!!!!!

Unless there is a bug in the Windows calculator this is not adding up correctly. I even tried Excel and it also tells me that 2 x 190 = 380. If Bill Gates' software is the official calculating authority then so be it. Fat check.....2 x 9 = 18. The Trans. Fat is off kilter as well. All of the other numbers make sense. What the hell is going on?

Is this information trying to tell me that one of the cookies is low cal? Is one of the cookies low fat? If so, which one is it. Is one low fat and the other low cal? I'm telling you, it just don't make sense.......kind of like the Chewbacca Defense.

There is some false advertising somewhere. I want to eat the low fat cookie. I don't mind the calories......I'm burning those off while I sleep, but I want low fat. Which god damn cookie is low fat please.

So I'm driving home stupified by the nutrition label eating my cookies and drinking my Gatorade (32oz. bottle / 4 servings) and before I know it the cookies are gone. So did I eat 380 calories or 370 calories. Am I now 17 or 18 grams heavier with fat?

All I know for sure is that I ate two very yummy cookies.....and drank 32 ounces of Gatorade.......and had to pee real bad when I got home.

If someone figures this out, please let me know. In the mean time I am NOT going to loose any sleep over this.

Game On People

Thursday Game of Tag

Oh..My..God. My very first game of tag. Believe it or not this is my first official invitation to play tag. It's kind of nice when you don't have to think of anything "original" to post. My good IronSista, TriSaraTops smacked me with this tag. Here goes............

1. Describe a memory from your first triathlon ever

2001 edition of the Huntington Beach sprint tri in Bay Village, OH. Aimee and I both did this tri. We tried to train for the swim and that is how I discovered I really sucked for the swim. However this swim was only 400 yards.
Memory 1
This picture shows me with two other people exiting the swim at the back of our wave.....the very back of the wave.......I'm sure some people in our wave may have been in T1 already.

Memory 2
Aimee's wave started late enough that I was done before she finished her bike.....with an almost flat front tire. While she was in T1 she was very frustrated and asked me to run the 5k with her. Here I am chasing her down out of T2......So I ran another 5k to be with Aimee. It was worth it.

2. Describe a memory from your most recent triathlon

That would be Ironman USA. So many to choose from. How much I saw Aimee. I caught a glimpse of her while running to T1.....on the bike course........on the run course (alot)......and another glimpse of her running down the finishing chute. Just like in training she was there with me the entire time.

3. What's the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you in a tri?

I caught a fist during the first 200 yards of an olympic distance tri in '04. Split my lip and was bleeding the entire two loop swim. As I approached T1 I asked where medical was. The race announcer said, over the PA system, "Eric the ambulance is back there". Of course Aimee heard this as she was approaching T1. Everything was fine and I completed the race. This picture shows the gauze I got from the EMTs. I had it in my mouth for 10 miles to stop the bleeding.

4. What's the most thrilling thing that's happened to you in a tri?

2004 edition of the Huntington Beach Tri. This was my final tune-up for my first half IM. I finished top 10 overall, first in my age group and caught almost everyone in the wave ahead of me...2 minute gap......including TriAl. Sorry Alan....I had to mention it.

5. What is something you discovered about yourself by doing triathlons?

How to keep things in perspective. How to prioritize what is truly important. How to have fun.

6. What is The Big Goal that you're working towards?

I've "discovered", through triathlon/training, that I am not a big life goal planner. I plan my race schedule more than I plan my life. So from a Big Goal aspect, two things. First, there is an 80% chance that I will be doing IM Wisconsin in '08. Second, keep finding those certain "events" that will push me farther than ever before. Be them athletic, personal, career, life.

Who do I tag......BuckeyeRunner (or the Mr.), My Coach Angela, Snickers Girl, Eric Hodska (my coach's coach)