Three

3 was the first pick the Browns had in the draft.
3 picks for Clevelands best draft since Lebron
3-0 Cavs over wizards
3 runs in the 8th as the Indians take a 3 game series against the 3rd place Orioles
3000 yards in the pool this morning
3 swimmers in my lane.
3 miles on the bike to and from the train station.
3 powergels in my fuelbelt
3 o'clock meet up with Dane for long run.
3 hr run on the towpath this afternoon
3 weeks till Rite Aid.
I am ready.

"Race to Remember" recap

Following a week of steady training, a gig, a Peace Action board meeting, and of course, work, I rolled into Friday knowing I had earned a rest day. I left work and headed to indies(Indian food) for some tasty food. I stopped at the bank to deposit my check and took the train home.

Friday night some of the Coventry locals threw a party. Keg of Dortmunder Gold and some great food. The women(Julia) cooking everything made lots of vegan food specifically for me. The party included an Art Piece hunt. I found a DVD of my friend XELA whom I produced a CD for a few years back. I also found a some glass that had been blown by my friend Tack. Very fun party with lots of old friends. The only thing that bothered me was the Turduckin. Shove a duck into a chicken and shove both smaller birds into a turkey. Deep fry it.......
Is anybody else really creeped out by this?. What is wrong with Americans?.
I left before these 3 birds were defiled.

Saturday I set off to Mayfield Hts to meet up with 2 Jacks and Adam for a little 67 mile ride followed by a 1 mile brick run. I am now bright red...I need to buy some sunscreen.
I had Thai for dinner and had a last minute gig at the Barking Spider. The Spider is my favorite place to play. Full house.
2 gigs this week. Both of them positive. This makes me happy.

This all brings us to race morning.
"A Race to Remember" is a 10k/5k that runs through the Flats in downtown Cleveland. The race benefits the Alzheimer's foundation.
The morning was perfect. Sunny and warm. I rode my bike to the race.
Pre race was good. Said "hello" to Daisyduc, TriSaratops, and Roger from CTC. Had some personal time in the water closet. I met Dane and lined up at the start.
Because the race was chip timed I lined up deep in the field. The bell sounded, and we were off.
My plan, move forward through the crowd and hold 8 minute miles.
My only concern was fatigue from yesterdays ride.

At mile3 my pace was right on and I was fighting through the fatigue. My mental focus was steady and I felt negative splits could be a reality.
To my surpise the next split was very fast...to fast....the 4 and 5 mile markers never showed. I just dug in till the finish.

Chip        Clock        Pace
43:56.45    44:28.70     7:05/M

Not an April Fools joke this time.
The course was cut short because a lift bridge had been raised for a barge.

I mapped out the course on Google earth and found it to be 5.58 miles. My actual pace was 7:52 mile.
I did what I wanted to do.
I rode home. I watched The Cavs do what they wanted to do.
Good races were also had by everyone I talked to.

Final Note
Please respect what you eat. It gave its life so you can have yours.
Shoving multiple animals into one another is not my idea of respect.
Say "No" to Turduckin!

"All the true things I am about to tell you are all shameless lies,"

Finding meaning in an otherwise meaningless world. This was the goal of Bokonism, the religion described in Kurt Vonnegut's "Cat's Cradle".

I use races in the same way. Not that I don't see all of the benifits in living a triathletes lifestyle.

I make a lot of positive decisions to attain the title IRONMAN. The goal of a medallion and a finishers shirt gets me out of bed on sunday at 6:30 for a swim.

Somewhere along the way good things start to happen. I start getting up at 6:30 am because I enjoy the folks that are at Oberlin every other Sunday. I look forward to the conversations with friends that I would never have met had I not been doing triathlon. I look forward to a focused and structured workout .

The people at the workout are goal oriented for the sake of the process. The reward is unexplainable. In a world that sometimes feels so out of control with greed. A triathlete works to get better because healthy people want to succeed. A healthy community wants everyone in the community to succeed. Our reward exist deep within. When we do well, we know our reward. When we see others around us do well we share in the celebration of each others accomplishments.

In my journey to a meaningless race I find many answers to life's questions. I come to understand what hurts me. I come to see what creates suffering in me. What makes me weak and steals my health.

This journey has shown me how to overcome my weaknesses. How to walk away from destructive habits. How to recognize problems and work to rectify them.
My training has shown me the value of rest. Real rest. Rest is when we heal.

Through my training I become a better person every day.

I don't really see any great meaning in a race.
The meaning I find is found along the way.
The promised land is not a destination. The promised land is happening RIGHT NOW.


So long Kurt. Your stories have shaped much of my thought. I raise my feet to you.

I am a fan

Triathlon season in the northern hemisphere has begun. CTC triathletes have already begun to post great races. the Boston marathon is monday. Opening day is tomorrow......Kinda. Due to a lot of snow and the gamesmanship of the "human snow delay", Mike Hargrove(as a player he was known as the human rain delay because of his ability to drag out time, making adjustments at the plate). The tactic would really keep the pitcher of balance and skrew up the rythem of the pitcher.

As we train, we are we are thrown a steady diet of pitches. The weather here on the great lakes throws curve balls, change ups, sliders, fastballs, Knuckle balls, Spitballs, it brushes you off the plate, and once in a while it just beans ya. Drills you in the ear peice. The kind of pitch that makes your batters helmet ring for weeks due to the sustained echo in your head.

Cleveland is harsh, and as Bloggister wrote, April is the cruelest month.

The need to make adjustments in training is constant. My wardrobe is immense right now. I have gear for every thing. I am not ready to put anything into storage. This week I have run in every variable of clothing. My trainer remains front and center in the living room. Workout times are planned according to the bus schedules.

As summer approaches so will thunderstorms and heat waves. I have run very few perfect weather races in my life. It is just the way it is. Weather changes often in Cleveland , Ohio

The tribe have been temporarily relocated to Milwaukee to play under a dome this week due to mother natures Cy Young performance.

I am not a dome fan. I think the records are all screwed up due to domes. No distiction is made. It is controlled. Track records are distingushed between indoor and outdoor, but not baseball or football.

If Ironman were run in the Mall of the Americas it wouldn't be Ironman. Triathlon is about remaining flexible and rolling with the punches. Triathlon demands that you be prepared to deal with any and every obstacle in your path if you want to finish.

What seems so frustraiting to so many people I talk to, is a great opportunity for me to develope my mental strength. In endurance sports we get very few chances at an "A" race thru the year. Weather is always a factor. Our races are shaped in part by the weather, but our races should not be decided by the weather. Unless the RD says so. I need to be prepared.

Anyhow, this being the night before the "official Opening day" here in Cleveburg. I say "Go Tribe" and "Good luck Boys". I will be following the BA's, ERA's, Wins, and Losses. I will pontificate from time to time on what move Shapiro and wedge need to make. I will demand that some retire or be traded. I will wonder why the wonder boy of the farm is stuck in Akron, while some stiff is sleeping in left field. I am a fan of baseball and I look forward to the season ahead.

This year however my heart is with all of you. My hopes are for Ironman finishes, PRs, BQ's first races, Marathons, and short course success. My hope goes to all of you for safe travels across highways, mountains and oceans.

I look forward to following all of your successes and struggles. I look forward to hearing how we all deal with adversity and overcome our personal weaknesses.

I am reading the sports page here in blogland. I am following your races.
If you are ever in a race and think "does any one care if I finish in 138th place of the stinkyvill 5k?". Know that I do. I am rooting for all of you. I am a fan. I hope I get a chance to meet all of you during our travels. Have a great season. May we all find peace.

Meet My Dad

Here is a photo of my Mom and Dad. I went to their house last night to celebrate my Dads birthday, and for Easter. My brother, the folks, Zeus, Artemus the Cat, and I Gathered round the table for dinner.
My family has been really supportive about my diet. Roasted veggies and and rice, apple pie and soy ice cream......and Vino....the appetiser did have an animal product, but I ate around it....humus and cut veggies lightly garnished with dog hair. Zeus was sooo happy to see me. He wagged and wagged. Yum, dog hair in the humus.

We sang happy birthday while Susie and Sarah joined us from Chicago via speaker phone.
My dad is a cool fella. I could say a lot about him. The first thing that comes to mind is respect. He seems to respect everyone, and everyone seems to respect him. I think the only lack of respect he ever received was from the for of us kids while we dealt with adolescences and Artemus the cat after she woke up on the wrong side of the radiator.

Here is a bio of my dad that someone wrote. it is fairly accurate.

We all had a good time, My mom and her 3 men.

In other news(little tribute to my dad)

Dane and I had a 2:40 hr run planned. It was snowing, but not to badly. She called and asked if we were really going to run in this snow storm. I announced "of course we are going to run". Deep down I had the same reservations about the weather, but she wasn't going to see it. I told her I would help her train for a marathon.

When we began running the weather was becoming BAD. The kind of wind and snow that just hurts to run into. the roads were covered in slush and we were making life for motorist hard.
We decided to reevaluate the run ever 1/2 hour and just meander through Cleveland Heights and Shaker. 2 hr and 43 minute later We were done. The run was a good one. The snow continued. so far the Easter blizzard is second only to the Valentines day blizzard of '07.
You gotta love Cleveland.

Darkest before the Dawn

Yesterday we had temps of 81 degrees. I took full advantage. As a triathlete training through the winter in Cleveland, Ohio, you never take days like these for granted.

When I arrived home for the night I looked at the radar(Some of the training tools we have are awesome. The desktop weather center is very cool.) and I saw something nasty moving east. I logged my workouts and read blogs. Apparently it was snowing in Iowa.

We all know what happened next. The wind blew, temps plummeted throughout the day and by 5PM snow was here once again. I had seen this coming long enough to schedule a run and lift day.

It took an hour of hearty procrastination to get running but by 6:10 I headed out the door and west down Mayfield toward Little Italy. The music was Yousou N'dour singing "My Hope Is In You". An African song of hope got me going and enabled me to quickly find my groove.

I hadn't really noticed the buds and blooms yet. The city was still winter black and white. Everything was still bare.

The Snow was starting to really come down. As I descended down Mayfield, it seemed as if the forsythia was blooming its first golden sign of spring in front of my eyes. A few more branches along the way were bursting with green. It was snowing while spring was happening before my eyes.

I ran down into University Circle which seemed like watching fireworks on independence day. I ran past the Cleveland Museum of Art and noted to my self that I needed to hurry up and go see the Monet exhibit. As I turned and headed around the lagoon in front of the museum I saw the willows and cherry Blossoms, forsythia and ground cover all coming back to life. The snow was like a thin veil lightly turning the scene pale while the new colors of spring were swimming together in a surreal manner that reinforced my desire to see the great impressionists work.

I traveled past a couple of softball games at Case. I saw an inside the park home run in one game. In another game I saw a catcher stop a similar outcome with nerves of steel at the plate as he survived a plate collision reminiscent of Pete Rose and Thurman Munson.

I headed up the hill and headed home.
One last shot at winter for the year. I don't want to miss this part. The earth is waking from it hibernation. As a triathlete training through the winter in Cleveland, Ohio, you never take days like these for granted.

No workout tomorrow. My pal Brendon is coming in from AZ and we are going to sit behind the score table at the Q for Shaq and Lebron.

Right now I am procrasnating my lifting. G'night

Bridges to Recovery 5k Race Recap

This was an unscheduled race for me. The decision to run it was made last Sunday to give Dane some race experience. Needless to say, I was not altering any plans for this race.

Yesterday I did a 2hr brick. Watched the IM 70.3 Championship on NBC. Followed Jodi and Matt's race in Cali(Amazing Job to both of you.) Went to help my friend Becca buy a road bike. I ate dinner while watching OSU beat Georgetown(Time for some Gator revenge). I went to the Peace Action "Peace Jam". Met Rob Reddy at the Grog shop and danced till 1:30am.

Well rested I was not. At 7:45 this morning I rode my steed to the rapid station after quickly developing a flat. I arrived at the race with 20 minutes to spare. I met with Dane,and we walked to the starting line. I did a brief warm up. I lined up near the front, the bell sounded and we were off. The first mile went up and over the Hope Memorial bridge. My pace was fast and I could see the front runners. Mile 2 we hit wind as we traveled past the Hard rock and Jacobs field. I was feeling fast despite my night of dancing and drinking. Mile 3 came back over the Lorain Carnegie bridge and past the West Side Market. All systems were go and I pressed forward knowing that I was having a good race. At the 3 mile mark we turned for the final .11 mile and I finished with a strong time of 13:21.87.

This was a good race for me. My best 5k in 7 years. Wahoo!