Wednesday, May 19, 2010

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



18 comments:

  1. Aaawww, your niece Ava is beautiful! Have a wonderful time in Pitt visiting the fam. Running some mountains sounds like a good plan....mountains and hills are speed work in disguise. Thanks for the plethora of info on the Garmin. Next step, convincing the J-man that I NEED one.

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  2. hmmm, so much to comment on...your niece is the same age as my daughter...I can see that she and her doll have matching dresses on!

    LOST! surprised to see Anna Lucia show up...in that last scene did Kate and Syeed make a deal with the Devil when they were split up into the cars??

    and I completely agree with you over the AZ bill....

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  3. Misc. responses:
    Parents used to live in Pitt while I went to WVU, so technically I guess I lived there....

    That 4:02 looked awfully suspicious based on the pace I saw. BL has been known to make up their own rules.

    Hope he doesn't beef up like some of the returning guys that were running with them.

    WTC: I don't get the bad mouthing. They put on a first class race and $550 entry? So what. It costs a hell of a lot more to get and stay and the venues anyway. So what's the difference between $550 and $450? Hell, Priceline your rooms and you have paid the difference.

    Plus, they have the right to the name Ironman, so technically any other event makes you not an Ironman but an iron distance finisher???.....

    Now all this bragging on WTC changes if they give me shit about the name of my book "ONEHOURIRONMAN"

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  4. Hi Jeff,
    Yes, I would say that little Ava is a doll:) I bet she just loves her uncle Jeff and auntie Annie! Have a good trip in Pittsburgh!

    I am with you...McDonald's is just gross:( I can't even remember the last time that I ate there! Keep it clean:)

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  5. Your niece is adorable!
    McD's is not an option for me.....yuck!!!

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  6. First of all, you niece is a doll! What a smile! Have fun with her and your family.

    Of course, you know I am with you on the AZ bill. Not only Eric Holder, but Napolitano didn't read the bill. McCain grilled her about that. Btw, you gotta love how the nation just purged a bunch of useless, big spending, dead wood out of Washington.

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  7. ...and you know where I am with that AZ law. I loved the "counter-offer" from AZ to LA!

    Have fun in Pittsburgh. Sorry that you have to sweat out the MLB season. I had to put up with Detroit's 119 losses in 2003. It made opening up sports pages a huge drag on the psyche.

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  8. Agreed, Daris marathoon was super impressive...so was his 5K a few weeks back!
    also passing on the weight gain challenge! but thank you for turning me onto the pushup challenge...it's tough!
    -D

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  9. Yeah not so sure I am beliving there was no creative editing done for his marathon time!!! HAHA.

    Great job on taking it somewhat easy after your race, your body will thank you :)

    PA hills, good lord, have fun haha!

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  10. I know people have a hard time shelling out the $$$ for a WTC event, but I think it is worth it. Having the luxury of a water station every mile on the run with a total of 20,000 pounds of ice on the course is great!

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  11. Yes, she is adorable. What a cutie!

    BTW, I'm on day 24 of P90X and knocked out my first superman banana rolls yesterday. Wow, what a workout!

    Have a good wknd!

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  12. she is freaking adorable!!

    Right now . .

    I
    am
    so
    proud
    to
    be
    an
    Arizonan.

    UGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!

    ; )

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  13. Random responses:
    -SO happy to hear recovery is going well.
    -Your niece is so cute!!!
    -I agree with your comments on WTC - I appreciate a well organized event, and you probably would have been a bit more comfortable if TexasMan was WTC (at least you would have had fuel!)
    -AZ's counter to LA was genius. I almost stood up and cheered.
    -LOST!!! What can I say besides you know where I will be Sunday night.
    -Take my weight, please.

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  14. Wow--so much here to comment on. Thanks for the Biggest Loser update. I haven't been able to watch recently. :)

    Next: I have a great article on recovery, but I'm not sure if the link will post correctly. If you have a problem with it, email me, and I'll send it to you.

    It's a great article.
    http://www.active.com/triathlon/Articles/Determining_Your_Race_Recovery_Time.htm

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  15. Love the "in other news" posts. It's cool to see what everyone else has going on. Any chance you'll be photo-shopping any more maps soon. That's still my fave.

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  16. Seems alot of people want to give you their weight, so advantages to this, no longer need a wetsuit and you will by the king on the decents on the bike. Sounds like a good deal to me

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  17. I do not have any problems with the WTC as a governing body. They take a lot more positive actions than negative in my opinion. However, after interviewing several race directors, I wish that they could make it less cost prohibitive. The races are always profitable.

    One race director told me the reason that they are so expensive is that the host city has to pay $250-500K per year for the first five or ten years to have the name Ironman attached to the event. The city might not even make dough—or a lot of dough— for first decade. Crazy! I might have my numbers a little off, so go easy on me, but you can research that information as well.

    As far as LOST goes... my wife and me kind of had a feeling it was heading in that direction all along. We kind of think that everything from the crash on ONLY existed in their subconsciousness.

    Did you notice Kate had on a different outfit and makeup on from the time she spoke with Jack in the car and the church? Bizarre.

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  18. Your niece looks so cute and adorable.!!I like her pic,I am pretty much sure Jeff that you did enjoy your trip in Pittsburgh.!!The place is really awesome.
    arizona weight loss

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