So Much to be Thankful for.

I know it's been a little while since I last wrote. I promise, I have not given up on my journey, although I may have gotten a little off track. With the Holidays and a VERY stressful last month of work that was very full of travel, I got lax with my blog. The other reason for the lack of writing was what those of us in the business call, "Writers Block." I couldn't think of anything that I wanted or had to say. (I know that is hard for anyone to believe, but yes, sometimes I just don't have anything to say.) I assure you, I will be back on top of my blog and continue forward on my odessy.

At this point I wanted to put more focus on the end of the year and the blessings I am thankful for. With so much turmoil throughout the world, this year was very difficult for many. I have definitely been affected, but after great reflection I know that the blessings in my life far outweigh the tough times.

I'm thankful for my family. They bring so much joy and frustration into my life. I know that it sounds weird to be thankful for the frustrations they bring, but I honestly am. It helps put things into perspective.

I'm thankful that I'm working, no matter how tiresome and difficult it can get. I have had the displeasure of laying people off this year and it hurt me each time. I can't help but have mixed emotions with regards to work...but at the end of the day, I'm working and able to take care of my family.

I'm thankful for a strong mind. I realize that to many I have a cracked mind, but I know that I have a good mind that is able to think and learn. I am so grateful for the ability and desire to read and learn, and then work to apply my learning's to my life.

I'm thankful for my wonderful wife. Yes, technically she is part of my family, but she warrants a paragraph all to her. Jody means the world to me and I would be so lost without her. She's not perfect, but she's not far off. I pinch myself at times when I sit and watch her do her thing. :)

I'm thankful for parents that LOVE me and continue to teach me. My Dad is great at subtle teaching. He has his way of constantly pelting you with e-mails, articles and the occasional discussion. Mom and Dad never butt in, but they are always there with wise council whenever asked.

I'm thankful for my physical health. Although I'm a far cry from the svelte figure I aspire too, I recognize that I am in relative good health. I walk and run and swim, which is more than many of our less fortunate brothers and sisters are able to do. It's so easy to take this for granted...but I'm trying really hard not too.

Lastly, I'm thankful for good friends. Life is a challenge and sometimes, even with family and coworkers, it can get lonely. It's nice to have others that think you are pretty neat and like to be around you. Knowing that others care and love you sure makes those tough times a little more bearable.

My list could be so much longer. I'm sure I could fill volumes with those things I'm thankful for. In misfortune we can find fortune. Through tough time, we can learn toughness. I am an optimist at heart and believe that the glass is half full, and the clouds have silver linings. It's not always easy to see them or remember the things we are thankful for...but they're there, and there is SO MUCH TO BE THANKFUL FOR.

Putting it ALL Together

We did it! Porter and I finished our first triathlon, and Dixie finished second in her age class in her second triathlon. These were big accomplishments for all of us. HOWEVER, this is really just the beginning.

As I was reflecting on my sense of accomplishment I quickly realized that I had only completed a portion of my goals. I really hadn't put it ALL together as I hoped and expected.

When I started this Odyssey I planned to become physically fit. I have made great strides to achieving this goal, but I haven't made as much progress as I should have. When I started getting serious about training for the triathlon I increased my workouts and saw immediate results. However, I didn't continue to follow a diet like I should have. I allowed myself to get lulled into a false sense of comfort that I was doing what I should to reach my goal. I saw some incremental success and let go of my diet.

So, as we move forward toward the next triathlon I have recommitted myself to my diet AND workouts. I KNOW that together I will see the results I'm looking for and in the process help my goal of reducing my race time by 10 minutes in the next race.

My weight goal remains the same...200 lbs. by the time we do our triathlon in March. I will follow a lower carb (not a no carb,) diet and reduce my total caloric intake. I will continue to work out 5-6 days per week and increase my swim work outs each week. I am going to focus on Putting it ALL Together and realize my goals.

Another Step On the Path.

When I began this blog my goal was to hold myself accountable by reporting my progress to whoever wanted to read this blog. I didn't have too many goals beyond getting in shape. Then about 6-7 weeks ago my younger sister Dixie threw out the idea of doing a Thanksgiving morning triathlon. As crazy as I thought she was, I accepted the invitation and began training for it 6 weeks ago.

When I started the training I struggled to run a mile, I hadn't ridden a road bike in 15 years and had not swam a laps in a pool since Moses parted the red sea. I remember my first morning of swimming laps. I looked at the pool and thought, hmm, 16 laps, no problem. (2 laps later I was gulping for air like a fish out of water...BIG problem.) But something happened along the way. I got committed to doing this triathlon. I trained as often as possible with Dixie because she has a way of driving me on the bike and run. When I was on the road I made sure to run and bike and where possible, swim. I saw progress being made and that encouraged me to try a little harder.

No, before I go into the pictures let me be clear...I have a LONG way to go before I'm at a level of fitness that I want. This was a step on that path. To me it was a big step, but just a step nonetheless.


Me, Dixie, and Porter. (Sister and Brother.) We did this together and spurred each other on. It was great!


Me during the transition from the run to the cycle. I have been told I lack technique and should have sat down. Live and learn.


Me at the finish line after the swim! I was totally spent.


The competitors after our finishes. Dixie beat us by about 11 minutes. I finished about 2-3 minutes before Porter.



My family. My rocks and support. They cheered me on throughout the training and the race. It was so good to have them there and see their smiling faces as I completed each leg of the race.

I didn't put in all of the pictures, like me swimming the backstroke at times to keep afloat and breathing. I left out the picture of me puking after the finish. I thought most could assume those things and didn't need the visual.

This triathlon was a great experience for me. It gave me a focus for my training, brought me closer to my sister and it has helped me along my journey toward real physical fitness. I was reserving any future Triathlon goals until after I finished my first race. Now that I have done one, I KNOW I'm going to do more. My goal now is to do two more sprints (Tempe and Rocky Point,) and eventually an Olympic Triathlon. Each of these are another step on the path toward my ultimate goal of peak physical fitness.

No Road Blocks

Historically working out on the road has been a real challenge for me. Between late meetings, dinners out with clients, no wife to push you out of the comfy bed early in the morning, working out on the road is hard to do.

As I've been working on my fitness this time around I committed to myself that I would work out on the road. I wasn't going to allow traveling to be an excuse for not doing what I know I need too. Initially it was still really hard. I hadn't realized my motivation. This time was different.

I got to Chicago Sunday night. By the time I was in my hotel it was 8pm and it was dark and cold. I had planned on swimming laps, but after careful consideration I decided it would be bette for me to contemplate my navel while watching Sunday night football. I discovered I'd have a betweeny if there wasn't so much of me to love. It was probably for the best anyway. It was Sunday, the day to rest.

Monday morning I got up at 5:30am and headed down to swim laps. I had the entire pool and work out area to myself the whole time. The pool at the Holliday Inn was great. It was 20 yards long, which made it easy to figure out how many laps I needed to swim. I actually lost count of the laps I swam because I changed my focus to swimming for 20 minutes. I alternated between freestyle and back stroke to keep going. I stopped a few times, but nothing like I used too. By the time I finished my head was spinning and my hamstrings, lower back and shoulders were not happy with me. They all made their displeasure very clear. GREAT work out.

As the day wore on I kept thinking that we don't have much time before this race, and I'm still not comfortable with my preparedness. I decided that as soon as we finished our meetings I would get another work out in before our dinner. I did it. I was the first to the hotel and within a few minutes had changed and headed down to the gym. I got 2 miles in before I had to go shower for our dinner. I felt great. (My shins hurt a bit, but not so bad that it concerned me.)

On Tuesday morning I figured that I should finish the trifecta and get my cycling in while on the road. So, I rode the excercise bike for 30 minutes. I have no idea how far I went, or how fast I was going because the display was broken. I do know that I kept a pretty fast cadence for the entire 30 minutes and left a puddle of sweat behind that resembled Lake Michigan. I felt great about that work out too.

As I walked the corridors of O'Hare airport yesterday evening I was reminded of my work outs. I felt the tightness in my hamstrings and lower back and thought about the swim, and my calves and shins reminded me of my run the evening before. I noticed that my stomach felt a little firmer and my pants fit a bit looser. Even though no one stopped me and asked for my autograph because I was confused with a super model, I felt pretty darn good. My hard work was paying off. I was able to overcome the Road Block Blues and get three solid work outs in. I was seeing the difference and that was what mattered. At the end of the day this whole journey is about me triumphing over the old lazy weaker minded me.

28 miles down and the world to go!

Yesterday at 6:45am Dixie knocked on my door. She was there so we could take our first "LONG" ride together in preperation for our upcoming triathlon race. We have both been riding in the gym together, but it's not really indicative of how riding outside is. So, we had to get outside and get used to real world environments.

I have to admit that I woke up at 6:30am to get ready before Dixie got there. I got my lovely blue bike shorts on, and promptly covered them up with another pair of shorts. I made sure my new helmet fit me properly and filled my water bottle. I was getting geared up for the ride, but deep inside I was a bit nervous because it has been over 15 years since I've riden a bike more than 15 miles at a single time. I didn't want to fall short of finishing the ride when I knew Dixie would never quit till she was finished.

So, with cleats on my feet and bike ready, Dixie and I headed off on our ride. We began at Harris Road and McKellips and road east on McKellips to Lindsay. At Lindsay we went North to McDowell then continued East on McDowell out to Las Sendas. I didn't notice the wind when we started, but by the time we were on McDowell I could feel the gusts of wind pushing back on me as we rode head long into it. The wind was noticeable, but as long as we were on the flat straights, it wasn't horrible. Dixie and I kept a solid pace and shared time leading until we got to Power Road and McDowell. We had to stop at the light which took all of our momentum. If you are not aware, at Power and McDowell it becomes a more noticeable hill that continues to grow as you go through Las Sendas. It was amazing how quickly Dixie took off, and how mired down I got when we went up the hill. I could not keep up and by the time I got to the turn off to Las Sendas I thought my legs were going to fall off. The muscles were screaming at me to stop and my lungs cried for air. Fortunately for me Dixie was so far ahead of me that she missed the turn off to Las Sendas. I waited at the light until Dixie realized that I was far back waiting for her to come back. Even with that rest I couldn't keep up with her when it came to climbing hills. I told her that it was easier for her because she's smaller...I'm like a Sail billowing in the wind, not to mention that I'm having to propel twice as much mass up those darn hills. (reality or not, the theories made me feel better.) It was one thing having Dixie get ahead of my on hills, but it was quite another to have old men pass me like I was standing still. As one man, obviously well into his 60's, passed me he said, "You know it's togh to climb hills, but it's hell when you have to climb hills with hard wind in your face." That was great...I had another excuse why I sucked at cycling.

So, with no Dixie in my sights I continued to churn my legs as fast as I could to get to the precipice of this hill Las Sendas is built on. When I crested the main point I looked out over Mesa and rememberd that the entire ride from Lindsay through Las Sendas is up hill, albeit a slight grade, but uphill nonetheless. In that brief moment of realiztion I felt a sense of accomplishment and excitement. I had ridden into the face of a stiff wind, uphill, and I was still riding and hadn't thrown up any lungs. That was the accomplishment part. The excitement came when I remembered that what goes up must come down and in this case it was ME. I put my bike into the lowest gear and began cranking as hard as I could. I started picking up speed and before long I was blowing past Dixie. (Mass is an interesting thing. When we climbed hills Dixie's lack of mass enabled her to climb faster and easier...when we were going down hill, my MASS gave me more speed.)

We flew down the hills of Las Sendas and back out to Power Road for our return. The entire ride home felt so much easier as the wind was too our backs and the grade of the road was now in our favor. We passed other cyclists who promptly scolded Dixie for not having a helmet. (I was pleased that it was not me that got chided...as it usually is.) We saw runners and cyclsits a plenty. I felt like part of the club. Just months ago I looked at these same people with a sense of disbelief and wonder as they rode up and down hills for mile after mile. Now I was one of them, and their reasons for riding those long miles and hard trails became very clear. As I finished my ride with my little sister I felt great. Yes, my butt hurt a little, but the overriding feelings of completion and growing fitness level were so much more powerful.

I want to thank Dixie for her continued prodding. It has been great training with her, and I look forward to many more years of training with her.

Biking, FOR REAL!

Last night I picked up my bike that I'm using in the triathlon. Thankfully I live in a biking rich neighborhood. I'm not kidding, we counted 8-10 SERIOUS bikers in my neighborhood. They all belong to a biking club and ride 5 days a week, culminating on Saturday with a 60-80 mile ride. These people are SERIOUS.

This group has been trying to get me to come ride with them for years. They saw the fat out of shape blob I had become and knew that biking would be a great way to get me into shape. They are also a good group of people who are genuinely friendly.

When I began talking about training for a triathlon many of my biker friends asked me what I was going to be riding. I told them I didn't know as I didn't have a bike now, and couldn't see spending $1500-$3000 on a bike if I wasn't going to continue with the cycling. Without having to ask, I had three people offer to let me use their EXTRA bike. Fortunately for me all of the bikes were good, but only one fit me, so it made the choosing easy.

I picked up my bike last night, but still had to get pedals, cleat shoes and helmet. I got everything but the helmet taken care of last night. The bike is an Italian road bike called a Bianchi. It is a combination Chromoly/carbon fiber bike. It rides like a dream.

I was anxious to actually get out on the bike and see how different riding in the wild was compared to riding a stationary bike in the gym. So, today I decided to ride to the gym for a duel work out. I rode 5 miles to the gym, swam my laps, then rode home. Although I did feel a difference on the road, it wasn't significant and I felt strong in my cycling. I know that I could not keep up with my SERIOUS cycle buddies, but for my level of fitness I am doing pretty well.

I have decided to continue with the cycling even after the triathlon. I am going to join in with this group and see how far I can take it. I have incentive...three of my neighbors that joined this group have each lost an average of 30 lbs. They look great, and you can see that they feel great. I don't have any false aspirations of becoming Lance Armstrong, but I do believe I can get in great shape and have fun doing it.

Just a Quick Note

So, naturally injury and illness affect world class athletes as well as out of shape ametures like me. I'm wondering what they do to keep from getting derailed like have for the past week?

I have had a head cold and sore back for the past week. (Back for nearly two weeks.) In addition I have been traveling most of the week. As a result I have not done well with my work outs this week.

I am going to hit it hard starting today and keep it going till the triathlon. My back is finally starting to feel better. As for the head cold, it continues to linger. I'll just have to deal with it I guess.

That's it for now.