35 to Go

The first week of school is usually the most exhausting, and this year's proved no exception. With my increased capacities as local tech dude -- now for the whole campus, instead of just the Engrish department, it has become increasingly difficult to find time to work out, let alone get my actual work done. Still, I managed this past week -- and with only minor exhaustion, too. We'll have to see what happens when morning swim workouts start this week.

This past week, I've been gearing both up & down for the upcoming season. The Polar is back on eBay (now with free shipping! check it out!), so I'm hoping to get rid of it before too long. I've also started using a square-cut practice suit, which I find far more comfortable than the jammer style; 3km in the pool isn't quite so bad. While still in the pool, Swedes have indeed made a comeback for me. I think I finally have the adjustment method down, which took but three years to figure out. What a genius I am. The aforementioned aside, what I am most excited about is Rudy's new entry in the sunglass market: The Exowind.

I stumbled upon these on their site a couple of weeks ago before finding them on the B2B portal this past weekend. The order was placed on Sunday afternoon, and they were on my doorstep on Wednesday. I've yet to really try them on a bike ride or run (more on that in a bit), but, thus far, I am totally stoked about these shades. Finally, Rudy Project has crafted a pair of sunglasses that can rival the sadly, long-outdated Tayo. I promised a contact at Rudy a full report after tomorrow's double-header.

The Nike Human Race 10k is scheduled for tomorrow night in Austin. A victim of the hype, I signed up for the race back in July, much to the chagrin of N---, for 08/31 is the same day as the HOT Championship. She & I were both greatly relieved to discover the Nike Human Race doesn't begin until 6:30 PM, so we'll be long finished with the HOT triathlon by then. Yes, we: I, too, am racing a HOT series triathlon, for the first time since my baptism in the series three years ago. Unlike the last HOT race I did, this one won't be at Canyon Lake, but still on post at Fort Sam. Five @#%* loops on the bike...but, at least it's a different course than last time. Regardless, I'm there to watch N--- finish strongly, clinching the crown as the Queen of the Heart of Texas Triathlon 2008. What a gal.

I think my eggs & waffles are getting cold, so it's time for me to end this post and go feed my face before journeying up to A-town for packet pickup (@#%* Nike isn't doing race-day packet pickup, which really sucks for out-of-towners). Check back Monday or Tuesday for a race day report and to read how the Exowinds perform under pressure. A school routine should be nailed down in the next week or so, so regular posts can begin again. Well...regular for me, but I'm sure you're used to that by now. Thanks for reading.

From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea

It seems like I've been using a lot of song titles for titles to blog posts as of late -- and by "as of late," I mean in the past couple of months; I realize I've posted precisely squat the past several weeks. Why? Certainly not for lack of anything to say, nor was it anything you, my faithful readers, had said. Rather, the plain and simple lack of time. Here's a run-down on what's been going on in the wonderful world of .: d since the last post:

• Went to the school to start setting up my classroom. Found out I and the rest of the English department had been relocated to the other side of the school. Only good thing is that we can now say we are all a bunch of "Gs." After 3+ weeks, the room is finally good to go.
• Dog-sat for N---'s friends in Rio Medina, again. Had a couple of great days of training: 40-mile ride & 4-mile brick at race pace; 60-mile ride at moderate pace; 10-mile long run. I am so enjoying this.
• Finished my CDL stuff. The wheels on the bus can now go round & round with moi behind the wheel. Bwahahaha!
  
• Updated my First Aid & CPR training since I get to play swim coach this year.
• Turned another year older.
• Saw the new Star Wars movie, Clone Wars. It was much less than what I was expecting, but it did afford me & M--- the opportunity to get dressed up in Jedi garb and discover that he & I are not as hopeless of dorks as some others in attendance are.
• Officially began in-service for the school year. The gloves came off on day one, making for a less-than idyllic beginning to the 08-09 year. I just hope the fist can relax some (okay, a lot) between now and June.
• Playing techno guy for the whole @#%* campus. Most of my mailbox has been filled with messages bearing the subject line "HELP!" I so cannot wait to see what comes next.
  

Not a whole lot, I suppose, but enough to keep me swamped. I mean, I just did my lesson plans today. Nothing like waiting until the last, possible second. Speaking of, I need to go check how many minutes:seconds are remaining on lunch. The day is growing longer, and N--- & I are growing hungrier. The first day of school is tomorrow, plus there's a SAW meeting tomorrow night, so no telling when I'll pop back in. Oh, and I hope to start posting some training data over on Bicycle Heaven's blog, per a request from M. More on that another time. For now, it's time to eat. Don't forget to wash up, and thanks for reading.

How Swede It Is

It is indeed triathlon season. I raced last Sunday at the Small Texan (bettered my PR from 2006 with a new one this year by nearly ten minutes!), with N--- her usual awesome support. This morning, it was my turn, as N--- returned to claim her Heart of Texas crown as the fastest female of the lot. I don't recall her time, but she is still dang fast.

After the race, I hopped in the pool to take advantage of access to a 50m pool. A couple of days ago, I made some adjustments to the Swedish-style goggles I had, shortening the nose bridge even more in the hopes of making the lenses fit better. It worked. Even though I managed to eek out a mere 1.5k, the goggles never leaked and were far more comfortable than anything else I've used, save other Swedish goggles. I just hope they continue working that well for at least the next year.

It's bum mode time, again. Since returning from FSH, N--- & I have accomplished little more than
watching Cloverfield and eating ice cream. We're going to continue the trend and watch Juno. Like the shirt says: "Life is good." Hope yours is, too. Thanks for reading.

The Beginning Is the End Is the Beginning

Today is August 1, 2008, and I officially began my training for Ironman Coeur d'Alene today.

Initially, I was thinking to begin with a 10-mile run, as I've not been running as much, lately. However, my foray into triathlon began with the bicycle, so I thought it only appropriate to begin my training with a ride. Unlike tri-riding, though, this morning's ride was a group effort: I conned D--- into going with me. Yeah, it took a lot of arm twisting and texting to & fro, but the latter was merely to arrange the particulars. Asking a cyclist if s/he wants to go for a ride is like asking an alkie if s/he wants a drink.

The plan is to build base from now until the end of the calendar year, and the plan is, so far, going well. D--- & I managed to get in 45 hilly miles at a casual pace this morning, and I've another 80 planned for tomorrow with SAW. My weekend will wind down with a 3k swim in the pool at Ft. Sam, as N--- has a race, along with a crown to defend. After taking the month of July off for holiday, I'm certain there are some would-be princesses thinking they've got the HOT thing in the bag. My gal has to go put them in their place.

Speaking of, I need to get going so I can meet her for lunch. Now that I'm actually training, I'll try to make a point of poking in every now & again to post how things are proceeding. As always, thanks for reading.

Insomnia, Part Something

Sad to say that the only chance I've had to write anything here is this morning, when I'm affected by insomnia. It's not entirely my fault. I've been unable to fall asleep, for each time I nearly drift off, a voice in my head awakens me. It's a voice of panic that I cannot place but disturbs me, still. As long as I'm awake, everything is fine. (One, two: Freddy's coming for you...)

Although it's easy to do -- and I certainly have the time -- I'm not going to write & back-date any entries to outline what's been happening since N--- & I returned from Colorado, so here's a run-down of some of the high points in my life the past 22 days:

• Drive back from CO was painstakingly long. Saw three bears (sans Goldilocks) crossing Highway 87, in NM. In an incident completely unrelated to the bears, although shortly after sighting them, I scored a serious crack in my windshield. First time for everything.
• Been on a comic book kick at the movies: Saw both The Hulk and Iron Man on subsequent days. The Dark Knight is on tap for this weekend.
• Passed four of the six written tests for my CDL. Still need to pass "General Knowledge" and "Pre-trip Inspection" -- you know, just in case I need to do either of those for the big rigs that I will neither be licensed to drive nor have any reason to drive, let alone inspect, pre-trip or otherwise. I love bureaucracy.
  
• Ordered new faucets for the bathrooms. No clue as to when I'll have time to install them.
• Started the assessment gig. Talk about mind-numbing work: Sit in an uncomfortable chair, in a super-frigid room, and assess ~8 essays per day, hand-writing coded comments from an approved list of adjectives. I leave every day with a headache and a strong desire to sleep. Sitting in traffic for half an hour afterwards doesn't help either of them. However, playing outside seems to cure them both.
• Went to H-town for a couple of Cubs games (that was the big surprise N--- had planned for me; my gal rocks), and tooled around downtown & Memorial Park. The former informed us that the big hotel chain that starts with an "H" and includes brattish, socialite daughters sucks as a place to stay (more another time, maybe), while the latter revealed that Houston has more to offer athletically than San Antonio...at least with regards to running.
• The Tour is on. The Argyle Army isn't fairing so well at the big dance, either. However, Paris is still a ways off, and they just hit the Alps this week.
• The new SAW site is now live. Gotta finish the EHCT site, now.
  
• Registered for Small Texan this Sunday. Like TIR, I've a feeling this is going to be one of those "It seemed like a good idea at the time" races.
• Selling the Polar (or trying to -- I just posted it an hour ago). After much debate and additional research, I've come to the conclusion that, while cool, HRMs aren't all that. Yeah, they give data, although it tends to be a bit too much data, taking the fun out of training. Plus, it's not exactly fun to head out training with more electronics on you than the Borg, as a collective. Resistance, apparently, is not futile.
• Faster-than-planned-pace ride in ridiculously hot temperatures (104°, according to the bank in Marion), made even worse by the fact I assess papers in a meat locker eight hours a day. I feel severely dehydrated. (Hmm...wonder if that's what's triggering the voices?)
  

The past couple of hours, I've been sorting through some papers that needed to be filed or filtered for shredding (guess where the bulk wound up?) and trying to print out a calendar for planning out IM training. Had to switch over to the inkjet, for the toner cartridge in the laser finally gave out. Too many Sudoku puzzles? ;-p

My alarm's going to go off in a little over an hour, signaling the time to get up, get packed up and head over to the gym for a morning swim session. Yeah, that'll be interesting on two hours' sleep. At least the pool's not shallow, so my chances of drowning are minimal. If you don't hear back from me by...hmm...given my propensity for proliferation in this blog, I'd better not set deadlines. Just keep an eye on the obituaries at mysa.com, if you're morbidly curious. In the meantime, thanks for reading.

Riders on the Storm: BSLT 2008

Today was my attempt at retribution for the Buffalo Springs Lake Ironman 70.3 Triathlon -- Buffalo Springs or BSLT for short. It was a cold, wet, windy day, and two, maybe even all three, of those factors had a significant outcome on my finishing time. In any event (well, all three, if you'll pardon the pun), today was a good day to race in Lubbock, Texas, and gave me a much fresher and appreciation of what is to come for IM CdA next June.

Just like in 2006, N--- & I stayed at a Marriott property in Lubbock, and, just like in 2006, I didn't sleep for squat last night. Not that I was getting midnight phone calls, but the pool was apparently the happening place to be at this particular hotel. Noises from out yonder dropped me in and out of sleep from ten o'clock until nearly 2:00 AM. When the alarm went off at 3:30, I had little choice but to stay conscious, as I didn't want a parking repeat of last time.

Fortunately, N--- & I got ready, breakfasted, and checked the weather, and it wasn't looking to be too beautiful of a day in the neighborhood: high winds and lots of rain were on tap. We were able to make it to the lake, get set up in transition, and ready to race well before six. I was able to maintain my sunny outlook, even if the weather wouldn't.

1.2 -mile Swim | 34:30
Water temperature at the start was just barely wet suit legal, but, as I was still extremely tired from the night's noises by the pool, I decided to don the Vortex. Unlike my last experience at BSLT, though, I was able to maintain a decent pace in my trek around the lake. Two things I noticed that made me question race standings:

1. At the start, several (dozen) competitors in each wave, trotted through the water a good 50+ meters from the beach, hugging the shoreline around the lake, as that area was just deep enough to cover the ground below. While humorous to watch, I did feel it was a lot unfair, given their distance from the start and that fact they were supposed to be swimming.
2. No strippers at the swim exit. There was still a great bunch of volunteers hoisting our weary, wet bodies from the water, but the absence of strippers threw my transition off by a good 20-to-30 seconds.

Even with the above, I still felt calm and comfortable in the water. However, I would, at some point, like to begin this race the sheer feeling of exhaustion that has plagued me the last two times I've been here. On the bright side, I was relaxed out of the water and set up for a good bike.

56-mile Bike | 2:52:04
My main reason for coming to this race again turned out to be the main reason I didn't fair so well in my time. The weather all but refused to cooperate, rendering me an obstinate rag doll to be tossed here and there, due to the deepness of my front wheel. This was most noticeable just after the first turn-around, when a high-speed descent and an equally high-speed cross wind caused my front wheel to oscillate with great rapidity. Fortunately, I was able to get the bike back under control, but the next several miles were difficult at best, given the low gear in which I spun in order to maintain control. Finally, I managed to get it back together, take in some nutrition, and get back up to speed for a bit.

I'd a friend competing in the aquabike event (same distances as me, but no running) who had expressed something short of concern over a section of the bike course known as "the spiral staircase of death." There were actually two sections that could have fit this description, but it was the first one that had my attention, for it was there where I flatted in 2006. No flat this time, but I also took the corners far more conservatively than before, due to the aforementioned instance of maintaining control in the crosswinds, as well as the wetness of the roads. I was able to recover lost terrain on the flats and on the climbing, as several of the competitors and I played leapfrog all the way until T2.

13.1-mile Run | 1:49:54
This was the only section of the course where the wet, overcast conditions were a blessing. Unlike the last time I ran here, I had no issues with overheating and no near-collapses from total exhaustion and lack of nutrition. In fact, despite the horrid weather conditions on the bike, I managed to take in the right amounts of nutrition to keep me motoring along. So, coming off the bike, I felt good. Really good.

My first three mile splits were consistent, around 7:45. Then came the hills. Unlike in 2006, I didn't walk any of them, but they did slow my pace down...a lot. By the time I crossed the finish, I was crawling at 8:23, nearly half-a-minute off of my target pace. Gotta do something about maintaining strength on the run. Of course, it could have had something to do with the fact I really had to pee, but, what's done is now done, and my intended retribution on the course is successfully completed; I bettered my time by nearly 23 minutes.

All Said and Done | 5:22:40
Weather in Texas is completely unpredictable, and in Lubbock, this holds especially true. Overall, it was good to have such an overcast day for such a long race, but I could have done without the gale-force winds on the bike course. In all, it was a fun race, but I'm not 100% sure I'll do it again. Next year is definitely out, as the week prior is CdA, but who knows what will happen in subsequent years.

Much appreciation to all of the usual suspects for their usual support, with particular notes going out to M--- for the awesome wheels, D--- & K--- for a super pre-race meal and good company (great to see you both again; missed you), and, of course, N--- for keeping me company on the long road behind and the even longer road ahead (we leave for Colorado tomorrow), as well as that cheer as I approached and crossed the finish line.

Next race will likely be Small Texan, at the end of July, but, we'll wait & see how I feel after vacation. Regardless, stay tuned to find out how IM prep comes along, how the school year starts up, and all of the other exciting things in my life that make this the best blog on the Internet. As you fall off of your chair laughing, accept my thanks for reading.

Lock & Load

BSLT is on Sunday.

Transition & vacation bags are packed. Bikes are primed. I, for a change, feel relaxed and focused on the job at hand: Have as awesome of a race as possible.

While I don't recall every nuance of the course, I do remember some of the key points (like the mile-long, 9% climb right out of T1). That, plus the use I've been making of my HRM during training should make for a quality race. Of course, I've no hopes of qualifying, but that's not why I'm going. I'm going to have a more enjoyable race than I did in 2006 (no offense, B---, as it had nothing to do with you, S---, or the abundant hospitality given to me, the leach).

With that said, N--- & I are going to swing by the gym for a light swim (just to stretch out after an awesome massage last night), fuel ourselves, fuel up the car, and then head out. I've no idea what Internet access will be like in Lubbock or in Colorado (where we're headed the day after the race), but I'll be sure to pop back in with a post-race report as soon as I'm able. Have a great weekend, and thanks for reading.

I'm In

I did it: I am officially registered for Ironman Coeur d'Alene, June 21, 2009.

What began as just shooting the breeze with D--- on his last ride with SAW this past weekend, I got to thinking about it, debating it with N--- (cost was a huge factor -- $551 [incl. Active.com fees {geez, can you say "racket"?}] is a lot of money for a single race), and I finally broke down and signed up. I am committed. Heck, I should be committed. Well, at least I can say that I've done one...or will be able to say. Then again, I guess I'll need to train. Seriously.

The back yard needs mowing, so I'm going to go tend to that. Wish me well and stay tuned for the hilarity that is sure to be my year's worth of training to not only finish Ironman Coeur d'Alene (yeah, gonna need to work on that spelling), but also to finish it in less than 12 hours. That's just a personal goal I'd set for myself, hence the extraordinary delay in my registering (that and the HUGE price tag, but, with an increase of $100 in this year versus last, my argument was that, like the price of gas, it's not going to get any cheaper).

Thanks for reading.

A Well-earned Rest Day

It's Monday, and I don't have a meeting today. How nice.

What would have made it nicer is being able to sleep a tad later without the cat dancing on my tummy to let me know it was past her designated (by whom?) feeding time. All the same, I've much to do today.

The house is still pretty clean, but I've a pile of laundry to fold before heading to the gym to do paddle drills. BSLT is now less than a week away, and I want to make sure all parts of me are ready.

Swim: Eh...check, I think. I feel semi-fluid in the water, despite my poor form during the swim analysis at Trisition Area last week. Swedish style goggles have made a comeback, now that I think I've the adjustment thing down properly.

Bike: Check. Logged 234 miles since last Tuesday, including three consecutive days of hard riding. Hopefully, there will be no mechanicals on Sunday. Heaven has the B2, getting it prepped; it'll be ready Wednesday.

Run: Check. Been doing long runs, including bricks, the past two weeks.

So, now it's taper time. Again, paddle drills this evening, brick tomorrow, swim on Wednesday, track (gonna try to sneak into Dobie [Shhh!]) and massage on Thursday, and a swim Friday morning before N--- & I hit the happy trail to Lubbock via Dallas.

Here's to a good race. Light a candle for me, or whatever. And, thanks for reading.

Fast Women (well, "Woman")

Mom always told me to watch out for fast women. Little did she know I would end up with the fastest one around. Yup, for the second time, N--- took first overall female at the second of the Heart of Texas triathlon series.

The HOT series always yields something interesting . This morning, it was a toss-up between some guy attempting to race for the first time on a (girl's) loaner bike with a broken rear derailleur or some woman finishing the bike (and starting the run) wearing an iPod who, somehow, managed to avoid being disqualified. The RD reminisced about past oddities, including one guy who did the swim portion wearing sneakers, so as to have a faster transition time.

Post-race-o, it was off to Cracker Barrel for brunch with N--- & the folks, it being Father's Day and all. Long wait but good food. I'm glad they were able to make it out.

Between the past two days' racing, I think I feel a nap coming on. Of course, the napping cat in my lap is of little use when it comes to resisting such urges, so, if you can't beat 'em...

Training recommences tomorrow. Until then, it's nap time. Thanks for reading.

En Español

English or Spanish, I've TRIed it, and I like it. A lot.

This morning was the first "Tri" IT IN Spanish Triathlon (henceforth referred to as simply "the race"), held in the blissfully vacant town of Zorn. Most folk are not familiar with the blip on the radar northeast of New Braunfels, but it's just up the road from another hiccup, Freiheit, so I went into the race feeling really confident: I could at least make it to the start.

Held at a private ski lake (sans skiers for the race), the venue was near-perfect. The race was not without its issues, but they were minor. Here's the run-down:

400m Swim | 8:13
A time trial start, we had to dive in from a dock and start swimming. Way cool idea, except my goggles fogged up as soon as I surfaced. The next 10 seconds or so were spent flailing about as I attempted to defog them. I can only imagine how stupid I looked to the viewers from shore. Once de-fogged, though, I was good to go. Really good.

25k Bike | 41:23
Navigating the private drive out of the ski ranch was problematic at best. The drive was less-than-idyllic: pot holes were everywhere -- which wasn't such a big deal on the way out, but would be on the return trip. My other issue was getting my right foot clipped in properly -- it slipped out twice when I tried to adjust the strap on my shoe. However, once clipped in and out of the drive, this became my race...well, almost.

I think I was somewhere around 14th or 15th out of the water, and it didn't take me long to begin picking off cyclists, one by one. M--- was kind enough to loan a pair of Zipp 808 race wheels (see previous posts), which made traversing the rolling hills of FM 1101 feel almost effortless. By the time I had hit the turn-around, I had fewer than four cyclists left in front of me (well, five, but I think that guy was drafting...he shouted something to me as I blew past him for the second time in less than a quarter of a mile, but I paid no mind). Two miles left, and I was sitting pretty in third.

5k Run | 22:36
Bleck: A trail run.

I was promptly passed right out of T2 by the guy who would ultimately take third overall in the race (I took 6th OA), but I did manage to keep him in sight the whole run. The shade was nice, but the unpredictable path had me rolling my feet on more than one occasion. Still, I managed to keep from falling or otherwise injuring myself, and I crossed the line just under one and a quarter hours, planting me first in my age group -- a first in itself.

Training: It's not just for the pros
Yes, I've actually been training. Not as much as I should have been, but school's been out for only a week. Hopefully, my results from this morning are a nice harbinger for BSLT and/or Longhorn. Stay tuned, and I'll keep you posted on how things progress. For now, it's bedtime, as N--- has HOT #2 in the morning, and it will be my turn to play support person for her. I've some big shoes to fill, though, as better support at my races couldn't be bought. Thanks, luv.

And thank you, dear reader, for reading.

Zipp-a-Dee-Doo-Dah

Every day should start off with a ride as good as today's, regardless of the fact that my day didn't literally begin with the ride. Still, it's hard to argue with the sensation of flying down the road at an average of 21.5 (including stop signs & one traffic light; those are the "dips" in my speed), so I won't.

Further, my initial concerns over the 808s appear now to have been completely unwarranted. There were no issues concerning control, cornering, or anything else, for that matter. To paraphrase Ferris Bueller: They are so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking up a pair.

And now, it's time to be serious. I need a cleaning and so does my house. Check back tomorrow to find out how the "Tri IT in Spanish" went. Until then, enjoy your Friday, junk food or not. Thanks for reading.

Crazy 8(08)s

My second race of the season in which I proclaimed I would not race is the day after tomorrow. Granted, it's a sprint, but I want to use it as a preview for BSLT, with regards to gear, transition setup, and whatnot. About the only thing that will be different (apart from the obvious differences in distance and elevation) is that Saturday's swim is not wet suit legal. Doesn't much matter; BSLT has strippers. No, not that kind, you perv.

The day was ultra-busy, especially in comparison to yesterday when I accomplished precisely Jack and <expletive>. Too much food the night before and too much allure of Lego Star Wars (I cleared it and am now in free-play mode, where I get to be whatever characters I want; General Grevious is fun) for me to feel like doing anything, training-wise. But, again, I more than made up for it today.

After this morning's light run with N---, I rode to the gym, did a 2000m kick drill workout, rode home, played some Lego Star Wars, walked to Clemens to tend to insurance re-enrollment, walked home, more Lego Star Wars, cleaned the kitchen, rode to the post office to inquire about how I would receive my mail with all of the construction in front of my house, more Lego Star Wars, then went to Trisition-Area & Bike Heaven with N--- to pick up my packet for Saturday's race and race wheels, from the respective shops. M--- is planning on using the usual 404 setup in a crit on Sunday, and I wasn't 100% positive I could get them back to him, post-race, so I declined using them. Never one to disappoint, M--- pulled a rabbit out of the hat in the form of a pair of Zipp 808s: REALLY DEEP dish wheels. Other than the flat tubulars on them, they are yummy.

Once home, I aired up the tires and installed the new cleats that came in the mail (must have come by after N--- & I left for the shops) in order to take the B2 for a ride around the block. I don't think I'd ever made it around the block quite that fast. Granted, I could have just felt fast due to the 808s, but I'll test that notion with a tad more extended test ride. The only down side I've noticed thus far is difficulty in controlling the bike in the cross winds. Based on how things go tomorrow, I may just opt for the Sciroccos. I just don't feel like wasting all of my energy on the bike trying to keep the rubber side down.

Phew, what a post. I'm sure more (interesting stuff) happened today...I'm just at a loss for what it was. I need to badger off in order to get a couple more pages of the SAW site taken care of; I'd really like to have that thing finished by this time next week. Feel free to take a gander and let me know what you think. Whether you do or not, thanks for reading.

Winds of Change

Not much to report in tonight other than that summer holiday officially began today. I had no obligations to go anywhere or do much of anything today, so, after a track workout at UTSA (high school tracks are still under a path of gravel that would seriously disrupt anything faster than a 10-minute mile) with N---, I headed home and proceeded to play Lego Star Wars for the better part of the morning. After some piddling around the house (and a nap with the cat), I headed out for the Tuesday night ride in Cibolo. Boy, did that suck.

The wind has been blowing nearly non-stop for the past week or two -- and it's been more than a gentle summer breeze. Tonight's wind was so fierce, I almost considered abandoning the ride with J--- & B--- because I was having so much difficulty controlling my bike (oh, yeah, forgot to mention: the top tube now sports a really neat indention, courtesy of a concrete pylon at the Shell station on 281; no word from Cdale, but I'm not exactly holding my breath). A short while later, though, we caught the tailwind and cruised at ridiculous speeds. I ran out of gears on the flat stretches, hitting nearly 40 in some areas. Imagine if my legs hadn't been shot from the morning's track workout.

Gads. So much babble. I need to wrap this up and head to bed. More later, depending on how bored I get during the summer. Thanks for reading.

Counting Down

To-day is Monday. To-day was a good day. To-morrow begins final exams. School will be over on Friday.

All things considered, I should be happier than a pig in its own feces. However, I'm somewhat reserved when it comes to my classroom setup, as the composite video cable I ran a couple of weeks ago turned out to be no good; at least, I could get no signal through it. My initial response was to simply replace it with an S-video cable, as I had a 25' cable with me at school, but that cable turned out to be a few inches too short, literally.

A quick trip to Altex has remedied lack of a cable, but it now means I need to arrive to school extra <expletive> early tomorrow in order to run the bloody thing. Plus, tomorrow is "salad day," which means I'll need to pack in some green (eggs just finished boiling, too) in addition to the cable running gear (fish tape, in particular). With the extra boxes of hanging file folders (I am finally getting my file cabinets organized...two years later), it doesn't look like I'll be commuting tomorrow. And that, I suppose, it was I am most upset about.

No commuting today, as my bike was still in my classroom from Friday. Lots o'crap to haul tomorrow, so that's a no-go. Wednesday & Thursday...maybe. Much will depend on how much stuff I can get taken home with me tomorrow. This is the part of the end of school I really dislike.
Eggs are done, which means I need to wrap things up here and in the kitchen before crawling into bed. Tomorrow's swim workout will come even earlier than desired due to the aforementioned cable running gig. Sheesh, the things I do to make my classroom more fun.

More in the next few days on training, next year's schedule, and so on. Goodnight, faithful reader. Thanks for reading.

That's HOT

Holy mackerel. The past few days have kept me moving along at an insane pace.

Thursday

• Morning run at 7:08 pace
• "Work"
• New shoes at Trisition Area
• Exchanged iPod Shuffle at Apple (they lost my appointment, so it took a tad longer than planned, but I now have a new Shuffle, also in red)
• Pop in to see N--- & her sister, dropping off CDs, sunglasses, and other stuff that N--- would need for her Friday training
• Paper grading at Borders

Friday

• Breakfast with J--- & J---
• "Work" (started packing up classroom [sniff.])
• Went with J--- to pick up a moving truck
• Laundry (Fridays rock!)
• Dinner & movie (Minority Report)

Saturday

• Doggie Dash 5k (5th OA/1st AG)
• Ride with D--- (should have been 50-ish miles, but my fit on the bike wasn't feeling right; we capped at ~20)
• Refitting on the Cdale (saddle position was ~3cm too low!) & tuneup of N--'s Cdale at Bike Heaven
  
• Returning of Zoot Ultra Tempos to Tristion Area (sniff; I loved the way the foot strike felt but was unable to tolerate the blistering)
• Grocery shopping
• Washing of Buckbeak
• 70th birthday party/dinner with the folks
• Met N--- at home for a relaxing evening

And today was the first in the Heart of Texas (HOT) triathlon series. N--- signed up to do them all and started off fantastically well today: 1st AG / 1st OA (female). My fiancé rocks.

Back at home, N--- is getting cleaned up from her win, the kitty is cozied up in my lap as I type this, and we've a pool party this afternoon at W--- & S---'s. Summer is off to an awesome start, even if it doesn't officially start (for me) until next Saturday. Whenever it arrives, here's to a smoother, less-wet summer than last. Thanks for reading.

Off-Track

Re-surfacing seems to be the flavor of the moment, 'round these parts. Many stretches of my favorite riding routes are torn up, being replaced with state favorite chip-seal, which is akin to riding over a cheese grater. On top of that (well, not literally, for I'm sure it'd be an improvement), the tracks at both schools are inaccessible, as both fields are being re-surfaced with artificial turf. Yea, that it'll conserve water; boo, in that it's eliminated my ability to run track on Thursday mornings. Instead, I've been running Liiiiiive Oak the past couple of weeks. This morning, I opted for the shorter route (out & back, as opposed to the full loop through Cibolo...which, incidentally, turns out to be just over half-a-mile longer but does keep me from having to cross 3009), and it was good.

The Polar kept me aware of where my ticker was ticking, so I was able to get close to gunning it for the whole 3.44 miles. Total time for the run was 24:35, which figured out to be a 7:08 mile. While not anything to really write home about, the only thing that really kept me from going longer was time -- I had to get my butt home, showered, and to work. Saturday's 5k is looking to be a pretty good workout for me, even if I have no hopes in winning it.

There's a new shop in town: Trisition Area. SA's first tri-specific shop (okay, there's Soler's, but that's in Helotes and is way too far for me to drive; Trisition is on the way to N---'s). I paid a visit to them and subsequently paid them some coin for some new racing shoes.

I've seen the Zoot running shoes making their rounds in Slowtwitch, the trade mags, and the like, but was curious to try a pair for myself. The sales folk said they weren't good for anything more than a half, but, as IMWI is over a year out, even if it turns out to be more than a pipe dream, I'll be due for new shoes before then, anyway. Besides, Trisition gave me the option of doing one run in them as a demo; Saturday's 5k should prove perfect.

This post is beginning to look mighty incoherent, so I think I'll take that as my cue to bugger off and go to bed. I've ~100 pages left in 1984, so I'll go work on that in order to drift off to sleep. I'll pop back in on Saturday for an update on how I faired in the 5k and the follow-up ride out to Sattler with D---. Hope you could make sense of what I wrote, but, in even if you couldn't, thanks for reading.

A List of Demands

It's coming up on 4:30 in the morning, and I have been awake for the past hour. With no hint of sleeping returning to me, I thought it best to rouse myself and get some grading done. Thus far, the backpack still sits in the living room, untouched since being put there nearly an hour ago. I am the picture of productivity.

Actually, it's not been that bad. I did get my checkbook reconciled and also did some reading up on reasons to not train with a heart rate monitor. There aren't any. Instead, I was just being a whiny boy when complaining about the additional (non-visible) gear necessary to go out & train. I guess wearing the HRM strap isn't too big of a deal...will need to monitor my bike mileage more closely, though. So, the question now becomes, what do I do with the two, week-old Specialized SpeedZone Sport wireless cycling computers? eBay or Craig's List, I suppose.

Last night's 2s ride was a tad more intense than I was expecting. There are some really fast guys showing up to the school, now; I am not one of them. One does claim to be a triathlete, but I'm honestly not sure (or caring, for that matter); I'm just left wondering if the Tuesday night ride really is the best use of my training time. Yes, it is tradition, but I'm not wanting to become the local pariah who can't cycle worth a flip. Then again, I think I've already become that: A Triathlete: Jack of all trades; master of none.

Those papers aren't going to grade themselves, so I suppose I'll get crackin' on them. In consideration of how full my calendar is for the rest of the week, this is likely the best chance I'll have for free grading time, so I should best use it. Stay tuned, faithful reader, to find out just how successful the grading was (no bets, please; my self-esteem is low enough, right now), what was transpired at the pre-construction meeting regarding the Parkway, and how my appointment at Apple to exchange my Shuffle was (Shuffle died on me during my run this past Sunday; grrr!). Thanks for reading.

Quality Time

Three days, and that was barely enough for this Memorial Day weekend. Granted, it was one day more than your garden variety weekend, but I'd also been spoiled by having school wrapped up and put to bed by this point; I've still another two weeks before I can sing my lullabies for this year. Poor, poor me.

And just [what] was the weekend? A whole lot of quality time with N--- , including a brick out at Boerne Lake again (I ever be able to swim out there without gale-force winds one way or the other?), followed by a few days of house & dog sitting for some friends of hers. The bad part was they live way out from city limits, which I typically would not consider bad, but for the price of gas...and the fact they'd been killing rattlesnakes by the gross the past few months.; fortunately, the weekend was snake-free. The good part about house-sitting is they had satellite, which meant TV. More to the point: TV at a time when N--- & I could just veg out in front of it. So, we did.

Saturday was, by far, the best day. Silver Stars played Seattle and whupped up on 'em summin' fierce. On the ice, it was Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals, where Detroit shut out Pittsburgh 4-0. Incredible hockey. Rewinding to the WNBA game, Nike was advertising their new Sparq line, which featured a pretty nifty soundtrack, as is typical of Nike. The soundtrack was so nifty, in fact, that I decided to download the whole album from its artist, Saul Williams. It should be finished by the time I complete this post.

Sunday meant more TV (movies, mostly), preceded by a 90-minute long run out on deserted FM roads -- that's the really good part about house-sitting in the middle of nowhere. Two sour notes on my run: 1) Got severely dehydrated and had to walk the last half mile back in; 2) My Shuffle died on me. Bummer of the deal is that Apple is closed today for the holiday, so I'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out what to do about this. Geez, can you imagine?

More warm fuzzies from the weekend to outweigh the bad: Chatted with D--- on the tele and by text, too. He & K--- are doing well; N--- & I hope to meet up with them for dinner or breakfast on our way to Lubbock at the end of June. N--- & I also started making tentative wedding plans, but much depends on the dates for UTSA's commencement ceremonies, as well as those for the LV marathon. I'll not say any more until m'lady & I have had a chance to chat and scheme some more.

For the final bit of quality time, I need to leave my computer. I've a kitty curled up in my lap who apparently missed me this past weekend. We're going to go do some serious cuddling in preparation for my penultimate week of school while listening to the new Saul Williams CD. I'll give the cat a scratch under the chin for you, if you like. Regardless, thanks for reading.

Whoah, That Rocked

This has been a busy week. Time gives the impression of creeping by, but the last few weeks of school are typically that way. All the same, my platter is full with cramming in the last bit of the scope & sequence to my courses and readying the kiddos for finals. Add to that tri training and there's not time for much else. Makes one wonder how I found time to get engaged.

You read that right: I am engaged.

On a sunset walk along a "beach" (quote marks used as it was along an inlet of Corpus Christi Bay, so not a beach, in the traditional sense), and on bended knee, I asked N--- to marry me, and she said yes. The wedding will not take place for some time, as common thought is for her to finish grad school. For the most part, don't hold your breath for an invite; we're hoping for a ridiculously small ceremony: Family and a few close friends, only. Keep your eyes peeled for a picture, though.

Elsewhere, I'm getting my position on the Felt tweaked. New aerobar position called for it, in a worse way than I possibly imagined. After installing the new saddle I scored for a song at Bike Heaven the other night, M--- did some adjusting to the saddle height and forwardness of it, raising me a little over 2cm and slamming me forward. He's even talking about a tad more height and maybe even a shorter stem by a centimeter or two. Those first few adjustments, though, made a world of difference: A little over half-a-mile per hour faster over last night's outing -- and with no pain in my IT band. I hope I can keep training going strong until the end of June, for I cannot wait for retribution at BSLT.

In addition to needing a shower, the cat is screaming for me, so I suppose I'll button this up. Thanks for reading.