Y-Freedom Tri... and some personal fitness recap.

Just a few notes about the adventure before heading off to bed. You can check out my wife's blog and my sister's blog for more info on the adventure :-)

My sister is an inspiration to me and always has been. I attribute her zeal for fitness as to why my whole family is in much better shape than we were 5 years ago. After the 5k that I got to run with Lisa a while back, I didn't plan on being able to compete with her at this triathlon. So, my goal became to finish. I haven't done a triathlon in.... *GULP* 3 years! I was booked to do the 2007 CB&I triathlon, but I came down with a bad sickness and was unable to participate. Last year I had a couple of firsts (albeit, in reverse standard order) running a marathon in the summer and 1/2 marathon in the fall. So, that pretty much took up all of my training time in 2008.

The first triathlon that I "did" was the 2006 CB&I. The bike and swim got rained out so... it became my first 5k ever and was pretty emotional because at that point it was the longest I had EVER run for an extended time period in my life. My first "official" and only triathlon previous to this year was Jeff & Brede's Intergalactic Tri in 2006.

So... back to the present.

Based on my estimations my goal was to finish between 1:30 and 1:45 total race time. Actual time? 1:33:33.0 I couldn't be more pleased. Since my goal was just to finish (and I knew that in order to finish strong I couldn't push myself too hard on the swim and the bike... ) I kept things at a moderate pace throughout. I DID get to have the privilege of beating my sis at the swim portion though - by approximately 11 seconds! However, as she mentioned in her blog (and as I witnessed firsthand) there was a considerable pileup that she had to deal with. Who knows how we'd fair if this had been open water? I had a pileup to deal with too though. And I felt pretty victorious having passed 3 other swimmers during the course :-)

Overall, for me the most valuable time that comes from these sort of things is the time with family. My wife greeting me at the finish line, my parents giving the pre-race cheering, and the photos and encouragement along the way, and the laughter and love over a good breakfast afterwards. It feels good to be healthy. I'm craving more...

I got to catch up with my Dad some today over the phone. There is absolutely nothing that compares with hearing your father tell you how genuinely proud they are of you. I got to hear that today - with zeal and sparkle. My dad even remarked about how he was impressed with how much in shape I was to be able to do something like that. I think I've caught the tri bug because I want to do another.

On a side note - I don't think I'll be able to get the new Garmin 310xt until after we get back from our mission trip to Latvia. Who knows... maybe it will lower in price by then ;-) But I doubt it.

Latest craving...

June 8th can't come quick enough. At least that's when I heard the release date is for the new Garmin Forerunner 310xt. Orange (to match the bike) AND it's waterproof and transmits data wirelessly. Pretty cool. Now I just need the high tech elite body to match this kind of cool gear! ;-) Hopefully Garmin can help. My quest is kicking off this year with a 5k at the end of the month. And a tri in July. So, I know where my B-day money is going. Any suggestions for spending some extra $$$ at Sur La Table? What would you get for $50?

Picking Possibilities (for me) include: Grider attachment for my kitchenaid mixer, Bodum "Assam" teapot, KitchenArt Meassuring tools, a Butter Bell, Pastry Cloth, French & Balloon Whisks... hmmm too many things to ponder. Obviously I like cooking. I can't decide. Wanna Help? I'd love to hear what you'd get.

G

Time flies...

Much like the posts on my blog... time just seems to fly by. Two of my cousins graduated recently, my nieces are growing and changing before my very eyes, and I feel like before I know it I'll be hitting 40 and wonder where all the time has gone. I miss my family. I miss my friends. I long for some of those conversational moments where life seems to run in slow motion - even if only for a moment. Currently my RH index finger is broken due to accidental door closure. So I must keep this brief. It's cathartic to write a bit though. I'm thankful to have such a wonderful partner in life as its wheels keep on keeping on :-)

G

Spring is here!

Spring has returned! (Albeit, with some freaky weather - I guess that's what we get for being on the gulf coast of Texas). I have returned to gardening after my green thumbs went into a long hibernation. And, apparently the petunias that we planted last year decided to come back too. AND did they EVER!!!!!

All of these came back with absolutely NO effort on my part. I guess they are happy in their new home.

The one thing I can't figure out is why the gardenia on the left is doing SO much better than the other two on the right. Maybe the ones on the right just don't like the noise of the A/C unit :-)

I started a new raised bed today. I'm planning ahead for a vegetable garden this year. We already have a yellow bell pepper on the way. I can't wait!

Adventure Anyone?

So, the economy has finally reached me and I have lost a handful of students. I need to find something new and a little more stable. I feel like I know the pieces of the puzzle, but I don't know what the picture on the box looks like. The perfectionist in me wants to have it all figured out before taking the next step, but I realize it wouldn't exercise my faith if that were true.

The journey continues. I'll learn as life unfolds before me. I guess lately I've just been in a funk because I feel like my wheels are just spinning and it's the same ol', same ol'... dishes, cleaning, teaching, bills... wash, rinse, repeat.

My heart is longing for adventure and to see some new things. I'm longing to embark on conversations that embrace the deep and plant the seeds of new fertile memories. I suppose I'm just looking for the reassurance that life and the meaning thereof is FAR more interesting and meaningful than the mundane. But until then... I will do my best to be faithful with the tasks at hand.

God meet in the wilderness, but also at the well.

Cracks me up!

I know, I know, I don't blog nearly enough as I should. Melissa is always encouraging me to "write a blog about it!" and "you gotta seize the moment!" So this morning, I've been inspired :-)

My wife can make me giggle and giggle. She is VERY funny and this morning she made me laugh.

She informed that she was going to go into the kitchen this morning to bake a cake that she needs to take to work tomorrow and from the other room I hear,

"Awwwwww CRAP!"
"It's BOILED!!!" (see exhibit A... above)
<I commenced giggling>

"You should label these for me or something so I'll know!", she said.
(even though these are the same eggs that I boiled for her and informed her which carton was which:-)

Here is exhibit B (note the brown shells):















And in a valient effort to serve my wife, below is my feeble attempt at helping the said problem of sleepy-headed-egg-mis-identification:







(hee hee! more giggling...)
:-)

Upcoming Birthday-Girl! or alternatively, "Our Wii is smart!"

So, Melissa will soon be having her birthday. I think she's rather stoked about it let me tell you! ;-) Anyway, apparently our wii is clued in on the action! Check it out!!!!

Yes. Yes I have. Thanks Wii Fit! This thing is awesome! :-)

... or scary. I haven't quite yet decided how big-brother-ish it really is just yet.