Mid-Week Ramblings ...

I hope everyone is having a wonderful week!  All is going well here.  The recovery from Sunday's race was far shorter than what I anticipated.  After driving 5 hours on Monday morning the legs were a little tight but nothing 10 minutes with the foam roller could not fix.  Other than that I am feeling great.  Tomorrow evening Annie and I are flying to Pittsburgh to visit my family for the weekend.  We are going this weekend because they are having a birthday party for my niece Ava, she is 3 years old.  Here is her 3-yr old picture:

Isn't she adorable?

My sister, Liz, is a BeachBody workout freak and loves P90X, Insanity, and Chalean Extreme. We are staying with her Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.  She is excited to have us to workout with on Friday and Saturday but I am not too sure what I am going to do?  Maybe bring the kicks and get in some hill running in the Western PA mountains? 

Onto the Ramblings ....

• I hear a lot of Triathlete's complain about the World Triathlon Corporation (The company that does Ironman) because of how "corporate" and "for-profit" they are.  On some message boards I even read people who say they prefer to not do WTC events and go to smaller races.  Well, after going to a WTC (Galveston 70.3) HIM and participating in a local HIM (TexasMan HIM) I have to say I completely disagree with the boycott-ors.  The WTC ran a first class event for both the athletes and the spectators. Everyone involved had a memorable experience.  The  TexasMan HIM pretty much sucked ass for the athletes.  I was pretty easy on the organizers in my RR but after talking to other participants over the last few days we all agreed that this event was poorly done and will never do it again.  If next year you are planning your race schedule and you coming across this post do yourself a favor and cross the TexasMan HIM off your list.

• Speaking of Boycotting!  How about the feud between Los Angeles and Arizona over the Illegal Immigration Bill?  Los Angeles said they were going to stop doing business with AZ and suspend all city travel and spending to AZ, essentially enacting a boycott of AZ.   I love Activists, they are so cute when they try to make a point.  Well, AZ responded by informing the proud Mayor of bankrupt Los Angeles that if they proceed with the Boycott then AZ will no longer send power to Los Angeles from their Nuclear Reactor.  Los Angeles receives over 25% of their power for AZ.  Well played AZ, Well played!  You can probably tell that I personally am in favor of the ILLEGAL Immigration Bill.  If you would like to debate this with me feel free to comment or email me.  But make sure you at the least read the bill (Here), unlike Eric Holder, and maybe watch this - HERE. 

• LOST .... WOW!  The finale is going to be great!  Last nights episode just set everything up for us and it is all happening on Sunday starting at 7pm and running until 11:30pm.  Dad, if you read this can you go ahead and set the DVR for LOST on Sunday night?

• How about Daris running a 4:02 Marathon on The Biggest Loser!  He was damn impressive and should win the show just for that alone, but then he went and ate like a crazy man and gained 2 pounds.  He seems like a good kid and I hope he figures it all out and is able to maintain the weight loss!  Now as for Michael ... not sure what to say here?

• The Pittsburgh Pirates beat Roy Halladay and the Phillies 2-1 last night. I'd be happy with ending the MLB season right now with that memory!

• Some strong posts in our little slice of the interebz:  Amanda @ MissZippy  put up some interesting thoughts on Obesity in America;  Fatty over @ FatCyclist.com is giving you a chance to win some great prizes - including a Lance Armstrong Autographed Jersey! - with a small donation to help fight cancer; and Scott @ TriDiesel wrote about a real cool event that is going on tonight in memory of Cyclists that lost their lives while riding.

• OHHHH ... my goal of GAINING 10-15 pounds is going strikingly well.  On Saturday morning I was at a very skinny and lean 151 lbs.  About an hour ago I was at a much beefier 157 lbs.  My clean diet is not changing.  I cannot go back to ever eating fast food or garbage again and the thought of a McDonald's cheeseburger makes me feel nauseous. That means my weight gain will be done healthy and not with saturated fats or complex carbs.  I am just not going to be doing double s/b/r workouts for a few weeks and that means I am going to go from calorie intake neutral to calorie intake positive.  I am also going to lift some weights and get the upper body buffed up some until the next HIM Training Plan begins (June 21st).  So if anybody wants to join me for a Weight Gain Challenge speak up now (KC already politely declined)!

So that is probably going to be it until Monday when we get back from Pittsburgh.  I'll try and take some fun pics to post up of the old stomping grounds.  

Happy Trainings!

Thanks for Reading,

Jeff