What a game!

Olivia rocked today in soccer! She scored three goals in about three minutes. "They call that a hat trick, Daddy", she said with her hands on her hips.

A math equation

Perhaps my dad can figure this one out...not me, I have an English degree.

I wore my heart rate monitor for the first time ever in a race. I've trained with it before, but am just trying to figure out how to use it effectively.

I forgot to stop it when I finished, and didn't realize it was still running until I had finished cleaning all the mud off of me. I stopped it at 6:20, when I had finished almost exactly 30 minutes before. I was probably near enough to my bike (where the receiver was attached) to register for about 7-8 minutes after I finished.

So...what was my TRUE average heart rate? It read that I had averaged 160 when I stopped it, but there was at least 20 minutes of a zero reading while I went off to clean up. So, 5 hr. 50 minutes of exercise, +/- 10 minutes of recovery (probably around 100 beats per minute) , +/- 20 minutes of zero reading.

My guesstimate is somewhere around 170. I had it in my mind (had done some rough calculations) that I needed to be around 167 to keep from generating too much lactic acid for my body to handle. Most of the time I looked down, I was in the 170's and 180's, but I couldn't read it for a while for the mud, and honestly didn't look at it for much more than the time reading.

I will probably set a window between 165-175 for my next race. I can set the watch to beep when I am out of that zone. Staying consistent is hard, but necessary in these types of races for ultimate results.

New look

I think this template makes my blog read better (easier). What do you think?...Who the hell am I talking to? There are maybe four people that read this...

Ft. Yargo Race Recap

^I'm on the left - this is 2 minutes in and I would never be cleaner^

Well, I'm done racing for a while, unless the team want to pay my entry to the big track race this weekend. I won't waste my cash, as it seems I still don't feel 100% myself. I feel better, but I definitely don't have the top-end power I'd need to be competitive at the track.

I raced 6 hours at Ft. Yargo this past weekend. My mom and dad came in town to help with childcare (Thanks, Mom!) and race support (Thanks, Dad!). Dad and I got up early Saturday to pretty nice weather and arrived at Yargo a little past 8am. I got my number and we walked around, found a good pit, and set up. Having a little local knowledge really helped, as I knew a clean and vacant bathroom was only a quarter mile spin on the bike away from the crowded, nasty bathroom next to the start.

I went through my nutrition plan with Dad and went to the line. The announcer said there were around 400 riders, however there are lots of teams, so not that many actually line up, but there were at least 200 at the start. We took a parade lap before hitting the singletrack to sort things out. I hit the singletrack in the top 25 and settled into a pace. I got passed quite a bit the first half lap before finding a comfortable spot.

At the end of the first lap and into the second I rode with my friend Matt. We talked, and it got me through the "pissed off" stage I seem to enter early in a race. I picked up the pace about 1/4 into my second 11.5 mile lap, and finally started to feel a little better. I am not climbing worth a shit and really need to work on staying seated like a mountain biker, and stop standing. In the wet it just makes you lose traction and you spend more energy standing, but it's just my natural thing to do.

About 2/3 into the second lap I don't know what happened, but I went into a tree like it jumped into the trail. I don't know how, but I came to an abrupt stop and my saddle went up my ass like like that thing that takes your money at the bank drive thru! I immediately felt like I had just spent my first night in prison. I could feel the skin rip and was worried that I might have broken something. It brought a sweat across my brow and my eyes swelled up. I got back on the bike gingerly and rode a little tenderly for a few minutes.

The third lap started to feel pretty good and then my front tire went down quickly. I got off and changed it pretty damn fast. I honestly don't think I lost more than 2 minutes, but it pissed me off. I rode a little more aggressively after that, then all hell broke loose from the skies. It absolutely poured! The trail quickly looked like a small creek bed. Most people start bitching about this time, but for some reason I thrive on that shit. I came in the pit and it was just storming. I got my GU, my salt tablet, and my bottles from Dad and told him I had flatted, but that the rain wasn't bothering me at all.

Unfortunately, it only rained about 25 minutes. When I saw the skies start to lighten I was not a happy camper. Not only would it become ridiculously humid, but the trails would actually get muddier as it dried, and my ass (which had stopped hurting for a while) was going to start getting raw as my clothes dried.

The fourth lap just sucked. It became hard to ride lots of parts of the trail, my ass was killing me, and it had become obvious that I wasn't going to make my goal of six laps. The interesting part was that no one had passed me in over an hour, and I was slowly picking people off left and right.

I came in for my final lap and got some chamois cream to put in my shorts to ease the chaffing. Relief. I took off, but was starting to really feel the pain. My shoulders just wouldn't ease up, my left hamstring had been bruised from my wreck and was starting to hurt. I felt on the verge of cramps on each hard climb, and my hands were starting to blister as my gloves dried. To top it off, my bike was starting to protest all the mud, water, and grime. I was getting "chain suck" in my small cog, and rendered it useless. I could only stay in three gears, some of which were just not enough, and forced me to get off and run a few sections. I'd try the small ring every now and then only to have it bind up, get off bike, unwind the chain, and get back on.

I fell apart focus-wise for about 20 minutes, and just slugged my way through. I had no idea where I stood as far as placing, and I was just too close to cramping to push as hard as I wanted. About a third of the way through the lap the course started to dry enough to be confident in corners again, and I decided to catch anyone I could, and put my head down. It hurt, but I just kept walking down anyone I could see in front of me. I crossed the finish line and sat on the bike a minute and talked to my dad. Fortunately, he had packed everything up and I didn't have to do any of that tedious crap when you feel like hell.

I went down to the lake and hopped in with all my stuff on, and proceeded to remove about 90% of the mud. It was THICK and everywhere. When I finally got clean enough to put clothes on, we went to see if it was worth sticking around for the awards ceremony. It took a while, but we finally found out I had finished second in class! I was really pleasantly surprised, as I had no idea where I stood. The good news was that NO ONE had completed 6 laps, even the Pros, so I didn't feel bad about not meeting my goal.

We got my medal and bag o' swag and headed into town for one of the best Burger King burgers and Butterfinger pie I've ever had. Both of us were starved.

I still didn't feel 100%, but I think I'm feeling a little better. Unfortunately, it will have to wait. I've got other things in life I need to get straightened out before I worry about racing anymore. The next in the series is not for a couple of months, so I'll re-assess my motivation, fitness, and financial standing in a month or so. I have to say that despite not feeling great physically, I think I am enjoying these endurance races, and think if I can get my shit together I might be pretty good at them. We'll see.

Oh, yeah, and screw the pigs...

I don't have time for the swine flu. I'm still busy trying to avert the bird flu, SARS, Hoof and Mouth disease, and peanut poisoning that were all supposed to wipe out half the world's population. Thank you, liberal media for creating yet another ridiculous uproar.

I have sworn off newscasts all together. Since when did we define "news" as anything negative? I don't need to hear about another car crash, another murder, another corrupt politician, another layoff, another bankruptcy, another celebrity, or even the chance of "severe" weather. I may see the glass as half empty sometimes, but at least it's a clean glass.

Hectic week

Short post.

I went to Yargo early Sunday to test the course for this weekend's 6 hour race. I finished second in my race and felt a little better than I have the last month, but not great.

I have Olivia from tonight through Sunday. My parents are coming in town tomorrow. My dad will help me at the race on Saturday and my mom will take care of Liv that day.

Got a lot to do between now and then.

Olivia's book

Olivia has been home sick with Strep Throat for the last two days. Yesterday, she spent the day with her mom and made this book. Today we have colored sand animals and are about to make purses and bags.

Catching up

A lot has happened since my last post. Quit my job at the bike shop, attended my brother's wedding, went on a cool camping/hiking trip up the Appalachian Trail, Olivia lost another tooth, did my first mountain bike race of the year, blah, blah, blah.

I'm sitting at work, with an unusually small amount of actual work to do today, which is odd considering it has been very busy lately. My knee is throbbing from a foolish ride yesterday. I really haven't recovered from what was a pretty unspectacular race this past weekend.

I was really hoping to use this past weekend's race as a primer for a 12 hour race in a few weeks, but I knew going in that something is just off. It has been for a few weeks. I know my body well enough to know when it is not running on all cylinders. I really can't pinpoint what it is - possibly stress. I just feel like I'm operating at about 80%. I didn't ride poorly - as a matter of fact, my lap times were very consistent over the 5 1/2 hours, but when I wanted to pick it up, I just couldn't. My bike handling skills had gone the way of the Dodo bird. I wasn't smooth and I wasn't as focused as I wanted to be. It's made me re-evaluate my next race. I think I'm going to try the 6 again, instead of 12. It's a good, familiar course for me. If I ride shitty, I'll know that something is wrong.

Got to see my sister's house, and meet her extended family for Easter. It was a really good time. My brother and his new wife appear to be doing great. Their wedding was a really neat, low-key affair. Olivia was thrilled to be the flower girl. My parents just go back from a NC/SC coastal trip, and are busy planning being hosts for a big motorhome rally in Oshkosh, WI in July.

We had a little party for my sister's birthday, my parents' anniversary, and me and my brother's birthday. I got a Jack Lalane Juicer. That will be a whole blog post in itself. The juice is good, but the act of getting it and cleaning up is quite interesting.

A couple of weeks ago, my friend Jay and I hiked from Amicolola Falls to the lower end of the Applachian Trail. It was my first backpacking trip in a while. I hurt for several days afterwards! We camped on Springer Mountain, and it was cold as balls! We considered packing up at around 10pm and hiking out in the dark, but were just too chicken to get out of our sleeping bags. Jay lost his job recently, and we had hours of discussion on the meaning of life...PS - we didn't figure it out.

Olivia has about a month of school left. She has a front tooth that is about to come out. She is growing up so fast, but also reminds me that she is still a little girl; the other day she was with me at the grocery store, talking to her mom on the phone as we were walking the aisles. She was in the middle of a conversation, and realized that she had put on some new lip balm, so she asked her mom if she could smell over the phone. It was priceless.

A little of this and a little of that

I have ADD - I think about a lot of things, and forget about 75% of it. By the time I find a piece of paper to write down my idea or thought, I've forgotten what it was.

I am reminded constantly what a positively foul habit smoking is. From my observations, smokers have little respect for other people. Hardly a day goes by that I don't see someone throw a butt out their window. Exactly WHO do you think is going to pick that up??? It's your fucking nasty habit, don't turn the world into your ashtray. If it's so great, then why not keep the butt in your car as an air freshener? Why do most of you look like you just rolled out of bed, regardless of where you are or what you do for a living? Why do you hang your cig out the window - Aren't you inhaling that shit?

I have a day off tomorrow - my first in I can't remember when. So...they schedule a mandatory meeting at 10 a.m. Now I have to drive in to town for a stupid hour in the middle of the morning. Some day off. I'll take advantage of it somehow though.

I'm doing a 6 hour mountain bike race the day before Easter in Rock Hill, SC. The team I'm riding for will pay the entry and give me a gas stipend. The only other race I have planned is a 12 hour race on May 2, here at Ft. Yargo, GA. The 6 hour will give me a good idea of where my fitness is. It's a rough course, from what I'm told - lots of climbing, which isn't my strength, but I will be able to work on pacing, nutrition, water intake, etc. I don't expect much, but if I feel good, I'll give it all I have.

If you want a peak at pure comedy, then watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8N2uQ7Fg_Uk Before you watch it, here is a synopsis: Apparently, this woman is a congressperson that is a graduate of Florida. She spends 3:28 butchering the English language, destroying people's names, and generally making no sense whatsoever. It is a sad commentary on our country. I'm not being racist, I'm not being sexist, I'm not mocking the Democratic party, and I'm not bashing the University of Florida.... I just don't get how the FUCK this woman can fold her own clothes, much less represent ANYONE in our great country. Jesus, America, where's your pride????

Balance

There's a guy I know that refers to life's balances as the "three-way teeter totter" - family, fun, work. Life is great when the teeter totter is balanced, but not so great when one (or more) ends are down. Despite lots of stress, my life is o.k. I am, however, finding the teeter totter more like the Whirlygig ride at the fair.

It's really gotten under my skin lately that I just never get a day to do whatever I want. I am committed to something every day of every week of every month right now. I work 12 days in a row, followed by 2 days off - those being the weekends that I have with Olivia. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't give up my time with her for anything, but it just never leaves a day that I am not obligated to her, her AND work, or just work.

Olivia is going with her mom for Easter, a weekend I would normally have her, and am off work...so, what am I going to do? I'm going to do a 6 hour mountain bike race, followed by hanging with my family to celebrate my sister's birthday, my birthday, my brother's birthday, and my parents' anniversary. It will be a busy couple of days, but it will be a balanced teeter totter.

Right now, I'm watching my NCAA bracket get blown to Hell on the first day of the tournament.

Random thoughts:

Why do lakes get different treatment than other bodies of water? You have the Chattahoochee River, the Pacific Ocean, the Dead Sea....but Lake Michigan, Lake Lure, Lake Allatoona. I don't get it.

I grew up loving the opportunity to watch Pro baseball on TV, but couldn't give two shits about it right now. Saturation makes it less special.

Living without credit cards is hard - I'm on month 3. Not because you want to buy something you can't afford, but the lack of simply pulling out the card makes you think twice about a purchase.

I have never looked more forward to warm weather than this year. I've been freezing for too long this winter. Something was different.

I mowed the grass in the dark tonight for the first time this year. I smell like wild onions.

The weekend

Lots happening in the last week or two. I have some pics from testing bikes in Tsali, NC that I'll post later. Went to my brother's wedding shower last weekend, as well....More on that later, too.

Wanted to get a post up to let everyone know that we survived WINTER STORM 2009!!!! without incident. It really was kind of cool. The flakes were huge. Unfortunately, mix it with about 2 inches of rain and it made a huge mess. Olivia enjoyed it nonetheless.

Saturday started with gymnastics ^
Took Olivia and Sophia bowling after Sunday School^
It started to snow while we were bowling^

Massive snowman ^

Sometimes it doesn't pay to be photographer^

Amazing

So, I just happened upon a blog by a guy that regularly posts on the SORBA (Southeastern Off Road Bicycling Association) website. Apparently, he is trying to market himself as a "blog expert". Most (of what little I read) seems to be trying to tell the visitor how to create a successful, and, I assume from what he's writing, profitable blog.

Problem is, half the sentences didn't make any sense. Some were riddled with punctuation errors. Others were simply partial sentences. There were at least 5 words on his home page that were spelled wrong.

I was listening to talk radio last night while cleaning dishes. It was a sports talk show discussing media and the sports fan. The host suggested that blogs have become a legitimate source of sports information....BUT, the bloggers don't have any accountability. That's a pretty big "but" in my mind! He lamented that the internet doesn't have any rules, and he's right. You can pretty much say or do whatever you want on the internet and there's no police.

Back to the above mentioned blog - it looked really slick, but I just don't know how you can claim to be an expert on anything that shows a complete lack of respect for our language. Oh, well.

Random "pisses me off" subject of the week:
Wednesday, I did something I rarely do. I went to Starbucks for a cup of coffee. I got my coffee and looked for a place to sit for a couple of minutes so I wouldn't spill my hot beverage in the car like I'm known to do.

I look around for a table, but there's not a single seat available. What I do observe is that at least half the tables are being taken up by someone with a laptop, and, in some instances, a pile of shit strewn all over the place. Why the FUCK is this acceptable? How does buying a four dollar cup of coffee entitle you to set up a home office for 3 or 4 hours??? I see it everytime I go in there, and I just don't get it. This is a RETAIL establishment. Would you sit in the aisle at Kroger and sample food for 3 hours? Starbucks' stock is in the shitter, in case you haven't noticed. I wonder why? I'd say it has at least a little to do with the fact that people aren't BUYING coffee. They are simply "hanging out" at the coffee shop.

Walk into Barnes & Noble. Look at all the people sitting around like it's their living room or the public library; little study groups here and there. Look over at the douchebag taking vigilant notes out of the "Job Searching for Dummies" book. It's a BOOKSTORE! They SELL books! I can pretty much assure you that in 10 years we won't remember what a bookstore was.

Got that off my chest. Off to do a little bike ride before heading to work. Happy Valentine's Day!

Damn...

Found out tonight that my hours were cut at the bike shop for the third straight month. Trying to stay positive...but.

I'm going to think of something really funny to write to make up for my bitching. Just give me a day or two. Perhaps it's time for another "random thoughts" post. That's always fun!

Brookshire Dominates College Football Handicapping Competition

(ATLANTA, GA)

Brookshire, a name synonymous with winning, is on the tongues of Las Vegas wagerers this morning. In what was billed as an epic season-long handicapping competition between three college friends, there really was very little actual competition. James Brookshire, aka "The Puppet Master", simply toyed with his buddies, ultimately sinking the dagger with his Nostradamus-like predictions during the 5 game bowl season. The fact that he will go 4-1 after Florida covers on Thursday is simple gravy at this point.

"There's a homeless guy that shits on my back porch every week. During the season, I'd put out a newspaper and wherever his logs landed is who I picked that week" says Brookshire, laughingly. "It turns out that I could stay competitive with these guys with that technique, and I didn't have to waste any time scouring the scouting reports each week". "When the bowls came around, I simply used my superior knowledge of all things sporting, and pretty much rocked the house".

Recently ousted Tennessee football coach, Phil Fulmer, had this to say about Brookshire: "The kid is always in it for the long run; witness the fact that it took him SIX years to get a degree from UT. He also knows a lot about college football". "James could have probably won this competition with half his brain tied behind his back, especially against a couple of known homosexuals like Bruce and Kyle. They might know a lot about which jersey fabric resists grass stains or what end-zone pattern might compliment the band's uniforms, but they are clueless about the actual game of football".

When asked if he had any comments about his competition, Bruce Irvine and Kyle Rankin, Brookshire had this to say: "Bruce's winning percentage was quite strong...if he were vying for a major league batting title, where getting a hit 3 out of 10 times is impressive. Kyle reminds me of that "special needs" kid that lived down the street from me. You know, the one that talks a lot, but makes no sense. His knowledge of college football is similar to his knowledge of female anatomy; he knows what the parts look like, but has no idea what to do with them."

Brookshire sadly laments that he has no room in his Marietta mansion to display the winner's trophy. "Look, winning is nothing new to me. When it comes to trophies, medals and ribbons, I've got more hardware than a well stocked Home Depot. Knowing that Bruce was responsible for the trophy, you can assure it's small (because he knew he wouldn't win), so I'll probably display it like a Tiki Doll on the dash of my car".

When queried about what he would do with the monetary portion of his winnings, Brookshire became more stoic: "I've thought long and hard about this. I think that I will donate a portion of it to the University of Tennessee athletic department, in hopes that they might be able to buy a win for their football team next year, and the rest I will give back to Bruce and Kyle so that they can buy a clue about college football wagering"

Hanging with Olivia

Olivia and I have spent a lot of time together lately. Yesterday she told me she wanted a camera. We went to the store and she looked at them. She liked one that was $39.99. I told her that if she did some chores over the next few weeks that she could use any change that she could round up around the house.

She emptied both cars, my change jars, looked in drawers and other places. We went to Kroger and the Coinstar machine. I let her use the machine, take the ticket, and present it to the service person for her money. Coincidentally, she found $39.26! We went to Target and bought the best camera we could for the money. She paid for it and I also taught her about taxes...which she had to ask me for.

Afterward, we went on a hike at Kennesaw Mountain. She took some pics, but I haven't uploaded them yet. I chronicled the whole day with my camera though:

Collecting change in a plastic bag ^

Visiting the wonderous Coinstar machine...for the lazy coin roller ^

Emptying her stash ^

Sitting on the bench at Target - cash money in hand ^

A new camera....and maybe a small lesson learned. Hopefully. ^

Like every six-year old, she has her moments, but she is a very happy, well adjusted, intelligent little girl. And that makes me happy.

Happy New Year

Celebrated the new year in style - On the couch watching some guy jump his motorcycle in Vegas. Put Olivia to bed at her usual time after a New Year's Eve dinner at Chili's with her and her mom.

Liv and I woke up yesterday and just hung around in our PJs until her mom picked her up. I then headed to Ft. Yargo State Park after picking up my friend Thomas. We were meeting four other guys, but they were running late. Thomas, Mike and I put in one of the 11 mile mountain bike loops before meeting Terry, Gary and Lee in the parking lot. We rode another pretty hard lap, then took a break and did a shorter lap, but this time Terry, Gary and myself got a little lost! We made it back. Great sunshine, but a little cold. A great way to spend New Year's Day though.

Back to the grind today at work. Tonight calls for a beer, deep cleaning the house, and putting away the Christmas decorations. Need to start the new year with a spotless and organized crib.