"That Guy"

Who's going to do it today? Barcelona? Man U?

Did I mention I am now on a soccer team? Well, I am. There's a one day tourney in my town on the July 4 weekend, and I was recruited by one of the teams. Was I recruited because of my soccer prowess? No, I don't think so. I haven't played futbol since I was about seven years old. No, I think I was recruited because I'm "that guy".

One of the guys that talked to me about playing said something like, "You're always running and stuff so I figured you'd be in shape enough to play." Well, there are worse reputations to have. I hope he understands that just because I do it doesn't mean I'm great at it.

The only thing I worry about competing on an ironic adult soccer team is getting kicked in the leg by another adult. I'm not down with that.  I may have to invest in shin guards.

BTW, Google Blogger won't let me reply to comments. There's some glitch, at least when I try it from this PC. Thanks for reading. Now, I need to get out of the house and do something.

Crunch Time

Jimmy Fallon has an audience full of sailors and Marines. It's fleet week in NYC. I have fond memories of fleet week, but it seems like a million years ago. We didn't pay for one drink the whole time we were there. I'm sure the guys are receiving similar treatment this time around. Go Navy!

Crunch Time

Not that I do crunches much anymore. Rather I'm racing June 4th in the Sedalia Spring Into Summer Duathlon. That, then, begins my race season, and I don't feel at all ready. The funny thing is, however, I'm itching to race.

I have to hit the pool hard in June. I'm drowning in laziness, and my swim has hardly progressed. My favorite part about the upcoming duathlon? The part where you don't swim. I know why I'm so lazy about swimming; it's because Branson seems so far away, and I'm so sleepy in the mornings. But my wife and I made an agreement-she agrees to force me out of bed when the alarm goes off, and I agree to not drown.

The in-laws graciously took the kids this weekend for a while, so I hope to get in a long ride and maybe even a run tomorrow. I'd swim, but the pool isn't open for laps.

Until next time...

Alternative Forms of Work Out

Usually when I hear about some alternative form of anything I get skeptical. Alternative medicine, alternative energy, alternative music. They're all like the real thing, just less effective. Like the other day when I tried to get rid of my headache by listening to Interpol on my wind-up radio, and it totally wasn't working. The radio that is. I finally plugged it in and got an aspirin.

But I'm trying to convince myself that there are alternative forms of work out that are just as effective as actually running, swimming, and biking. Activities like mowing my yard. My lawn tractor broke the other day, so I have to push mow until I fix/buy another. Keep in mind, my house is planted firmly in the side of a hill, so my yard is an inclined plane, and a steep one at that. The only thing that makes mowing it bearable is that somehow I imagine I'm engaged in training.

The last time I mowed I carried my Garmin eTrex with me. (I'm mad at eTrex, so don't interpret this as some sort of recommendation.)  I wanted to see how far I actually walked when I mowed, but the stupid thing shut off without warning at some point. It's been doing  this to me for awhile, and it's not because the batteries are low, because they're not. So I caught it and turned it back on. I was surprised to see I'd only walked 0.62 miles when I was done. Total distance would be a little more to account for the shut off.

So, should that count as my training for that day? What if I threw in some yoga or tai chi? What if I visualized myself working out? Would that work? What if I visualized myself mowing the yard? Would that actually cut the grass? I'm just asking, people.

My new cross-trainers

First Brick of the Year

Why is it called a brick? I have no idea.

On Saturday I rode eighteen miles and ran four point five miles. Basically, that's two thirds of the SM Triathlon.

Thoughts? None here.

It was chilly and windy here on Saturday, so I decided to wear pants when I rode. I don't have riding pants, so I wore my Rocky Balboa gray sweatpants pants. Was that a good look? Well, do we need another Rocky movie?

Speaking of Rocky, a week ago Saturday I ran in a local 5K, and I developed a plan that would ensure I ran the best 5K of my life. Did I train a certain way? Did I mind my nutrition the morning of the race? No, of course not. I had a way better plan than that. What I did was create a playlist on my iPod with songs that would certainly inspire me to run fast. I don't know where I got it, but I have a CD with songs from Rocky I, II, III, and IV. So I put all of those great training montage songs on there, and you can only imagine how well I did once that started playing.

How well did I do? First in my age group. Was I the only guy in my age group? I think so. The race is the local Girls on the Run 5K, so I think a lot of guys stay away thinking it's only for girls. My time was twenty-two minutes something. Not great at all, but I accomplished my goal which was to run seven and a half minute miles the whole way.

Until next time...

All Consuming

Lately, if I find I have it, I use my free time for lifting, running, riding, swimming, eating cake, etc.  Trying to train for a triathlon can seem all consuming, and you find that other hobbies you used to have get forgotten.  For instance, I occassionally lke to refurbish a piece of furniture or even build a simple table or stool or whatnot. I don't get to it as much as I used to, but I did find something the other day I could work on.

Recently my lovely bride and I decided we needed a new table to consume food off of, so we went shopping, and were aghast to see what they charge for brand new wooden eating platforms. So we decided to go to shops where they sell experienced furniture.  We found a table that I said we could re-finish, which means aside from buying a table, I bought a project. Re-finishing a table can count as cross-training, can't it?

Here are a few pics of what I found humorous that day (simple mind, simple pleasure), and my new projects.



Subtle



You can buy anything at an antique shop.

Freaky

Obama chia and some Saget movie.

Table after I removed the top and put everything on the work table.

I negotiated with the guy and got this sewing table. It's in great shape, just needs some re-finishing.

Table top before we stripped it.

My lovely bride.

Yes, I made my wife put that on before I showed her what it said. She's a good sport, but she said she'd kill me if she got lice. Anyway, it was a good day because we spent the day together while the kids were at school, and I still managed to swim in the morning.

Everybody Wants to Rule the World...

Except me! I'm not so much about in it to win it as I'm in it to finish it.

Julius Caesar, like so many other triathletes throughout history, had a choice: Leave his legion and retire into the background, or swim his legion across the Rubicon and show Rome he was too young to retire. I'm telling you, after seven years of fighting the Gauls, I would've been content to take it easy. Of course prosecution was likely waiting Caesar if he didn't show up in Rome with an army, but that's another matter.

I recognize that I could train harder, and I have a lot of excuses as to why I don't. Chief among them-I'm too lazy. This morning I was supposed to swim. Instead I slept until seven. Saturday I was out on a ride and I see that my average heart rate was 142 bpm. I normally hover around 168 when I'm running, so I probably could've pushed it a little more on the bike, but what the hey!

However, it's time to get a little more serious. There's a 70.3 in September that I'm signed up for. I have yet to develop all my goals for that race, but I know what the first two will be:

1. Don't die
2. Finish

Actually I would love to finish in the top half of my age group, but that'll be quite a challenge. (If Caesar had said that we probably wouldn't have the word "Caesar", or Caesar Salad, or Little Caesar's).

Anyway, since I was lazy this morning, I did hit the weights tonight. Squats and deadlifts. Tomorrow I'll run and bench press. There, I said it, now I have to do it. Veni, Vedi, Vici!

Pics from the ride along highway 54 between Collins and El Dorado Springs, MO:

Body Soup

The pool where I swim has at least six rules, I assume. I'm sure they have rules like "No Running," "No Diving," and "Speedo Must Fit Properly." But the only rule they post is Pool Rule # F, which says, "ALL SWIMMERS MUST SHOWER OFF BEFORE ENTERING THE WATER".

I don't know what Pool Rules #s A-E are, but I do know I'm supposed to "shower off" before jumping in the chlorine. And yes, it bothers me that they list it as "# F". Why not just "Pool Rule F"?

Though the syntax irritates me, I'm quite pedantic, so I always adhered to Pool Rule # F and showered before swimming. Then, dripping wet and freezing, I'd walk through the lobby to the pool (yes, you have to go through the lobby area to get to the pool from the lockers).

Then I noticed that hardly any of the regular, long time swimmers were showering. They said Pool Rule # F that and sauntered right to the pool and jumped in. It became apparent that Pool Rule # F was not enforced.

I think I know why THE MANAGEMENT would adopt Pool Rule # F. I assume it has to do with hygiene. The pool is not the bath tub. I personally wish everyone would "shower off", though I seriously doubt it's efficacy.

Sadly, I joined the crowd and quit showering before my swim as well. I'm embarrassed by that, but I'm a lot less inconvenienced. I think about it, though, every time I get a mouthful of water. Where else has this water been? Maybe that shower is a good idea (especially for everybody else).

Well, none of it is hurting my swim any. I took a minute and a half off of my 1100 yard swim today. My goal is to do it in twenty minutes. That may not be realistic for me, but that's where I'd like to be.

What do you think of showering before hitting the pool? (Oh, BTW, though I shower thoroughly after I get home, I still smell like chlorine the rest of the day.)