The White Salamander

New Design

2009-09-14T08:30:00.001-07:00

Just finished designing a new website for Canyon Motocross

Welcome to the little guy

2008-10-25T16:24:00.000-07:00

The Little Salamander has finally made an appearance. 8.5 lbs and 21.5" This happened 2 weeks ago and I haven't had time to do much besides hang out with the little dude and change diapers. Hopefully I can get back on some kind of training schedule this week.

The Waiting Game Continues

2008-10-09T08:16:00.000-07:00

When is this little guy going to make an appearance? He is almost a week late at this point. We went to see the dr. yesterday and she scheduled us to have birth induced on the 15th if he still hasn't been born. Hopefully he will come out before then. The wife is handling things bravely but she it isn't much fun for her right now.

I haven't been able to train very well this week (i've been distracted) I finally made it to the pool this morning. Traffic was horrible getting to the pool, and then the lanes were full. I hung out in the hot tub for a while waiting for an opening. I got in and only managed about 700 yards before having to head into work.

late

2008-10-06T08:39:00.000-07:00

Well the little Salamander's due date came and went yesterday so he is officially late. It makes it hard to go into work everyday knowing that it could be any day now.

Yet Another Shirt

2008-09-26T08:02:00.000-07:00

Here is another t-shirt design I just completed. One of the boy scouts that got one of the scout shirts I designed is in his high school marching band and apparently the scout shirt was a big a hit and they asked me to to do a shirt for the marching band.

two weeks and counting

2008-09-18T10:00:00.000-07:00

we are really starting to get excited as the little salamander is due in just over 2 weeks. Really it could be any day now. I had root canal on tuesday that wasn't a whole lot of fun but it wasn't too bad as far as root canals go. Still, making pretty good progress on the weight loss front but I think I might start trying g to sneak in some 2 a day workouts too really try and jump start things.

2008-09-11T08:24:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how bad traffic is this morning

Back To Normal

2008-09-02T14:05:00.000-07:00

I am back after finishing two back to back 80-90 hour work weeks. Brutal. But it only happens once a quarter so no big whoop. And it went a little more smoothly this quarter than it did last quarter so that's good. The good news is that I managed to keep sneaking in at least 3 workouts per week. For swimming I've been lucky having lanes to myself which have enabled me to a lot IM workouts, which is great as it helps relieve the monotony of seemingly endless freestyle laps. I've also started using hand paddles to add a little variety. I love the feeling of swimming after removing the paddles. It makes me like my arms are pulling no water at all. I'd really like to get into doing some open water swims.

I spent Labor day putting together our new Crib from Baby's R Us. It was of course a pain in the neck to put together but finally I think I have it all put together with no extra pieces and screws laying about.

Disappointing

2008-08-22T12:26:00.001-07:00

I was disappointed by the open water swimming event in the olympics. I imagined them swimming in some real open water, like across a lake, or to an island or something. I thought it was a little underwhelming to see them swimming in a big canal. Not that it isn't a huge athletic achievement to swim 10k and all but I was expecting something more dramatic.

The Little Salamander

2008-08-19T23:15:00.001-07:00

We are about 7 weeks out from my wife's due date. Here is a cool 3d glimpse of the little guy. Technology is out of control!

Selfish Swimming

2008-08-12T22:31:00.000-07:00

Had a great swim workout this morning. I arrived at the pool just as a couple of lanes cleared so I had a lane to myself to start. In order to keep the lane to myself I periodically worked in a length or two of butterfly. I figure less people will want to split a lane if they see all the splashing and commotion. Is that bad of me?

Took a week off

2008-08-10T11:56:00.000-07:00

I had my parents and little brother and sister up from Idaho for the week last week. I originally determined to continue working out but it was just too hard with family visiting so I ended up taking a break from my routine. We went out to eat a lot as is usually the case when entertaining. I tried to eat light and stick to fish and so but I am a nervous about what tomorrow's weigh in will be. So I'm going to try hard to get back into the swing of things tomorrow.

The next to weeks are going to be rough at work as I am going to be working 80 hour weeks in getting a retail design finished for a certain Beaverton, Oregon based athletic shoe company (that shall remain nameless)

Other than that, not too much going on. Just vegging and watching the Olympics.

a bad start to the day

2008-07-29T09:09:00.000-07:00

I'm blogging this morning from the Portland light rail. I wish I could say that I was taking public transportation out some sort "helping the environment" type of motivation but instead it's simply because I some how managed to lock myself out of my house this morning. So I'm going to easily be an hour late in this morning. Plus I didn't get up in time to swim, so I was going to swim tonight but now I'll be home late as well, so we shall see. Not a great start to day to say the least! The good news? I was down another two pounds at yesterday's weigh in.

The brutality of the Salamanders commute

2008-07-26T13:12:00.000-07:00

Oh the humanity! I've been toying with starting to commute to work in order to save on gas and speed up the weightloss. I gave it a try today to see if I can find my way and see what time I'd have to leave in the morning. Some pretty crazy climbs on this route so it took me an hour and half to do the 17 miles into work. The route is below.

Aloha to Work
Find more Bike Rides in Aloha, Oregon

Treading Water

2008-07-23T21:03:00.000-07:00

I've been trying something new for my last couple of swim workouts. As I have complained about in previous posts the swimmers in the greater Portland metro area reject the traditional "keep to the right" circle swimming when more than 1 swimmer is in the lane in favor of splitting the lane in half with one swimmer swimming staying on the left and the other keeping to the right. So when I show up in the morning all of the lanes are typically full with two swimmers in each lane. If they were circle swimming then the lanes could allow for additional swimmers. So now, instead of waiting around for an open lane, I've been jumping into the diving well area and treading water until a free lane opens up. So far I've been going 1 minute with right hand out of the water, 1 minute left hand out of the water, and then 1 minute both hands out of the water and then repeat. I wonder if the lifeguards will let me bring in a milk jug or something I can fill with water and hold above the water to increase the difficulty?

Resting While Jogging

2008-07-21T12:05:00.000-07:00

“C’mon lads! Keep’em moving! You can get your rest on the jog!” I remember hating that statement more than anything. Early on in my rugby playing career, our team had enlisted the services of a personal trainer named Adrian. I can’t recall now if he was a Kiwi or an Aussie but he was from down under and he was intense. Thursday night practice he would come out to give us some “conditioning training”. Oh how I hated Thursday nights. Conditioning training usually entailed the team being split into 4-5 groups. Each group would be involved in some kind brutal training regime. Maybe one group was tackling dummies, another on the scrum sled, another group playing Irish rugby and so forth. When the whistle blew you were supposed to rotate to next exercise in the circuit. Walking to the next section in the circuit was out of the question, if you were walking Adrian would seemingly appear in the blink of an eye and be alongside you with endless enthusiasm and encouragement. “C’mon lads! Keep’em moving! Get your rest on the jog!” I remember at the time that it was all I could do not to fall to my knees and start sucking wind, and I was really confused how I was supposed to “rest” while jogging. But sure enough, as you began moving your feet a little faster you found that you could recover a little before the next circuit. I think it’s a good analogy for life. I know in my own life I have been caught walking from “circuit” to “circuit” when I should have been resting on the jog. It’s ok to slow down a little but don’t stop moving, it’ll be harder to get up and going again if you stop to suck wind.

A Typical Portland Sight

2008-07-17T21:45:00.001-07:00

As much fun as going to the dentist

2008-07-14T15:31:00.000-07:00

Pretty much the thing I hate most in life is going to the dentist and yet here I am Sitting In the waiting room blogging on my iPhone while iwait for the moment of doom, I would rather do two hours worth of hypoxia drills instead of this...anything but this.

I did manage to wake up and get a workout in at the boxing gym this morning and weighed myself at the gym and was happy to see that I had dropped 3 lbs. Nothing dramatic I know but at least it was progress. Heading to the pool tomorrow morning

Great Ride

2008-07-12T08:36:00.001-07:00

This morning I managed to drag my butt out of bed at 6 AM and get into the saddle. I ended up not doing my Helvetia ride on Thursday as I opted for flatter ride for my first ride of the year. So I decided to tackle it today. It was a beautiful morning, a little chilly but I knew once my hear got pumping I'd warm right up. After traveling about a mile down the road something didn't feel right, I felt awkward, like I was missing something......Ah, my helmet.....I'm not wearing a helmet. So I swung back to house grabbed by brain bucket and hit the road again. It was a little rough and I only averaged 16 mph on the 20 mile loop buy hey it was a start so I felt good about it.

Overall the week went well. I was able to get a workout in 6 days in a row:

Monday: Boxing
Tuesday: Swimming
Wednesday: Boxing
Thursday: Cycling
Friday: Swimming
Saturday: Cycling

I'm going to take Sunday off and rest and then hit it hard again on Monday.

Goggle Thief

2008-07-09T15:24:00.001-07:00

Let me first just say, I have lost my fair share of goggles in my day. I have left them poolside, I have lost them behind my cars seats and so on. Yesterday was the first time my goggles were actually stolen. I finished my swim workout yesterday morning (500 warm -up, 2 x 2oo free, 4 x 100 IM) opened my locker to get my towel and take a shower and hung my goggles on the outside of the locker door handle so they could drip dry. I took a quick shower and came back to find my goggles stolen! Ugggh! so annoying! They weren't expensive but they didn't leak, didn't fog up and the straps were comfortable. I have to find a replacement soon as another swim is scheduled for Friday. Tomorrow I'm going to reintroduce my cycling legs to the rolling hills the Helvetia farm country.

Back in the agua

2008-07-06T09:13:00.001-07:00

So, it looks like so far I am managing about 1 post a week. For those of you keeping score, that is a huge improvement over 1 post a year :)

I hope all my American friends had a good holiday weekend. I wanted to go and see the fireworks but I just couldn't bring myself to go out and face the unwashed masses.

I did manage to muster up the courage to get into the pool on Friday and crank out some laps. Nothing fancy, no IMs or any drills. I just swam freestyle until my arms got tired and then grabbed a kick board and kicked out 50's and then swam some more. I'm not going to lie, it was ugly my friends but it felt good to get the ball rolling again. Then I did a grueling boxing workout on Saturday....so sore today.

So now my new exercise plan is this:

I have a monday and wedensday early morning boxing class I can do and on tuesday, thursday, and friday I'm going ride my bike to pool (7 miles) and do a swim workout and then ride home.
What I'd loke to do is just ride into work but it's about 14 miles (not too bad once I get in shape) but there is no shower at work and I sweat. I don't want to start running until I lose around 20 pounds as I want to save my knees and joints from the pounding.

A Confession

2008-06-29T13:41:00.000-07:00

It's time for me to face the facts and come clean. In the last year I have packed on some pounds. From the stress of losing my job, to the stress of starting a new job, to the stress of a son on the way, and sympathy pregnancy weight. I have't been on my bike, or in the pool in almost a year. I am needing to lose 20-40 pounds and I am really having a hard time making it happen. I tried joining a boxing gym, and while the workouts are great, I have a hard time making it with enough frequency to have much benefit. I can't seem to get motivated and I feel tired all of the time. I'm not sure what's going on but I need to find a way to get with it.

In other news, I received news that my tshirts have been printed. I haven't seen them yet but the printer is asking for permission to display one in their lobby so I'll take that as a good sign.

My shelves are half built. It turns out one of the walls in the closet isn't quite straight so I'll have to shave an 1/8th off of some of the shelves in order to get them to fit.

Lastly, a big congrats to the Spanish soccer team for their fantastic tournament win today. It was well deserved. While I was sad to see my beloved Portuguese knocked out earlier at the trophy will go to their Iberian neighbors. The goal that Torres scored was pure poetry in motion.

This weekend's project

2008-06-20T08:04:00.000-07:00

Going to be busy building some shelves into one of our closets this weekend. With the baby on the way we are trying to maximize our minimum space. And coming up with ways to store more of our stuff in more effecient ways. These shelves will be four our pantry. They were easy enough for me to build in 3D now will see if I can build them in "real life" Our town house is around 950 square feet, so space is an issue. Wendy you can find a metric converter here since I know as a Canadian you must find all this talk of square feet somewhat confusing. :)

Approved!

2008-06-18T15:15:00.000-07:00

Just received word that the T-shirt design was approved. Now I just need to pick shirt colors and ink colors and get the design off to the printer. Thanks everyone for your complements on the design the day before.

T-Shirt Design

2008-06-17T13:58:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post. Here is a T-Shirt design I just finished up for the Boy Scouts. It might be a little unconventional for such a conservative organization but I had fun making it. The Scout Law is featured on the far left with the words of the out coming up on the right vertically towards the neck. Fleur de Lis (part of the bsa logo) elements are scattered throughout.

I'm tired

2008-06-12T12:52:00.000-07:00

Can you believe how long it's been since my last post?

What's happened since my last post:

Changed jobs, got laid off, got new job/career,Wife got pregnant (now at 6 months), found out we are having a boy.

I'm tired...

The Triathlete Saw His Shadow

2007-05-03T15:43:00.000-07:00

It is surely spring/triathlon season in the great Northwest. Over the last couple of weeks at the pool I have noticed a steady increase of people showing up wearing faded Triathlon t-shirts event specific t-shirts that testify to their past glory and achievements of yesteryear. Exciting times my friends, exciting times.

I haven't managed a bike workout in the last couple of weeks. I keep living with the fantasy that I'll manage to start commuting into work but it isn't happening. On the bright side, it is getting so light in evenings that I might be able to start managing 20 miles rides after work.

I'm dying to play some rugby. It been so long since I've hit somebody with all of my might. If only there some rugby options on the west side of Portland. It's way to hard to get on the other side of the river after work. Bah!

Homesick for AZ

2007-04-16T08:11:00.000-07:00

Really felt homesick for Arizona over the last couple of weekends. First I missed going over having Easter lunch with Fumo Santo and his girlfriend and I missed being at the Ironman this year. I went out and trained to try an make myself feel better yesterday. Swam on and half miles, biked 25, and ran 3. I sat around the rest of the day and watched the bike race on versus. So many cobblestone so little time. What a brutal race.

What a difference.

2007-04-02T20:11:00.000-07:00

Training has been going very smoothly. I was even able to sneak in a 30 mile ride on Friday. I picked my bike up from the shop and performed wonderfully. For those who are new to the blog I purchased Commodore's old Softride Roadwing a while ago. It's a bit of an old timer but exudes class and still has a few races left.

I weighed myself the other day and was amazed to see how much weight I had lost in the last 4 months. What a difference 20lbs makes when you are swimming. I felt like I was just flying through the water during my workout today. My lats were torched with that sweet burning sensation as I cranked out sprint set after sprint set. Ben and I confirmed that we are for sure going to do the Hagg lake triathlon this summer. Now we have to decide, will it be the Sprint or Olympic distance. I'm feeling Olympic is in order but we'll wait and see.

I am super excited to see how Commodore does in the Ironman AZ. I wish I could be there cheering him from high atop the Mill Ave Bridge.

Job is going well. We just had a record month so morale is high right now. I just finished reading a good little book entitled, The Richest Man in Babylon. I recommend it for it's easy to follow and common sense reminders on wise financial budgeting and finance.

WAX ON.....WAX OFF....WAX ON...WAX OFF

2007-03-27T17:06:00.000-07:00

So over the winter me and my cycling partner, who shall now be know as Ben (because I'm tired of typing "cycling partner) got the bright idea that we would degrease or bikes and instead use White Lighting Wax for lubrication. It seemed a swell idea at the time but now something is wrong. I'm not blaming the wax but we must have screwed something up during reassembly. The chain keeps coming off. The chain will momentarily stick or something while peddling only to break free and jump about 4 gears. So lacking any sort of mechanical wherewithall, I took my bike into a shop and the guy at the shop pointed all kinds of things that were screwed up and he is going to repair them. He also recommneded that I go back to a more traditional bike oil and lose the wax. What are your guys' thoughts on the matter? Should I stick with the wax or switch back to oil?

Screwed out of my swim two days in a row by visiting sales reps who arrived without appointments. The new receptionist hasn't yet figured out how to get a card and bring it back to me to see if I want to receive them. Instead she just pages me to the front and puts me in an awkward situation. They always show up right around swim time because swim time is just before lunch and they always want to follow up by taking me to lunch (I know rough life) but since I'm trying to eat healthier eating out for lunch is something I'm also trying to avoid.

Sorry For Having Been Absent

2007-03-25T13:59:00.000-07:00

So it's been awhile since I've had a chance to post. I've almost gotten as bad as Flatman....almost. It's super busy at work right now as a lot of vineryards are being to bottle wine and are in desperate need of labels.

I've still managed to get to the pool at least three times a week and with the weather getting better I've even managed a couple of 20 mile rides. I've really been amazed at how well my swimming was able to help me out with my cycling conditioning. A couple of Saturdays ago I went for a ride with my cycling buddy. Last year he really left in the dust most days and I generally had a hard time keeping up. He is a new father and hasn't had a chance to ride at all since his son was born so Saturday was his first ride of the season and the tables were turned. I easily led the workout (for once). I'm sure he'll get back into things and we'll be back to normal but I was surprised at how well I did with really only having swum for any type of winter exercise.

Yesterday I did a brick. 1 mile swim, 20 mile ride, 3 mile run. It felt fantastic. I really need to work on my running but I'd like to loose another 10 pounds or so to help keep my joints from taking a beating.

Been Sick

2007-03-05T17:55:00.000-08:00

Bah! Been sick for the last couple of days. My last workout was a swim on Saturday. Got all my shopping done though. Picked up a cool pair of earrings that are made of glass and have little owls painted on them....very cool. Weather is finally nice but I'm too sick to ride my bike. Is there no justice?

Where did all the time go?

2007-02-27T19:09:00.000-08:00

Not too much to report here recently. Didn't make it for my Saturday swim this week. I made it too the pool but the lifeguards couldn't get the lights to turn on over the lap pool so they wouldn't let us swim. Mind you there was plenty of ambient light but I guess rules are rules.

Made it to the pool on Monday and tried somethng new. I did 3 sets of 500 free style on 8 minutes. I am trying to figure out a way to real start building better endurance for longer distance swims and still be able to clip along at a descent pace. Any thoughts how best to accomplish this? Should I just get in the pool and start swimming a nonstop mile? Or is it good to break it into a few longer hard swum sets? I don't know.

The Salamander and his wife will be celebrating their 8th anniversary next week. Feels like 2 or maybe 3. Where did all the time go? So far so good. Need to go do some jewelry shopping.

Playing Chicken

2007-02-22T16:37:00.000-08:00

An interesting workout today in the Tigard pool. It was oddly very crowded (with no lap lanes in of course) and there were a lot of people wearing flippers for some reason. The last time I worked out using flippers I was a sophmore in high school trying to make the jump from the 200 IM to the 400 IM and my coach thought that It would help to get my body conditioned to the idea of the extra 200 yards.

So the other key component to this story is the fact that at this pool they also don't believe in circle swimming. (swimming in a clockwise or counter counterclockwise pattern inside of your lane) instead they like to split the lane in half, "you stay on the left and I'll stay on the right" which is fine except for days when the pool is crowded and you have people literally standing on the deck waiting for people to leave so that they can have their turn to split a lane. With circle swimming you can get 3 or 4 evenly paced swimmers comfortably into the same lane .

So I'm swimming along and the swimmers to the left and right of me are both wearing flippers and cruising super fast. Sometimes, when I would flip and start back down the length they would be matched stride for stride with each other heading towards me and sometimes straight at me. With their flippers they would be going fast enough to create a kind of an anti draft or current that I would then have to plow through. There were several near misses and I was fortunate to escape without any head-on collisions.

I really need to find a longcourse pool to start really training for my Hagg Lake swim. Shute park has one but it is only open to the highschool swim teams for some reason.

An Ego Boost

2007-02-19T06:50:00.000-08:00

Shute Park in Hillsboro is quickly becoming my favorite place to swim. I wish it opened up earlier than 7 AM on a Saturday but the temperature is about right and lap lanes are in so I'll take what I can get. They have signs up at the start of each lane declaring the speed of the lane, Slow, Moderate, Fast, and so on. I was the first swimmer on deck that morning so I grabbed a kickboard and slipped humbly into the "moderate" lane. I had a great workout, swimming 1 mile nonstop freestyle and then stringing together 5 x 100 IMs on 30 seconds rest. The best part was exiting the water and seeing the pool now filled with swimmers and that the lifeguard had reassigned my lane as the "fast" lane.

All pools are closed today for President's Day. So grabbed my running shoes and I'm going to attempt to run at lunch. I hate running (unless some kind of oblong egg shaped ball is involved) so I'm not looking forward to it but it should be good for me.

Goal Announcement

2007-02-15T18:53:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the lack of posts this week. Work has been a real bear. The good news is that I did manage to get to the pool Tuesday and Wendsday and I'll be going again tomorrow and again on Saturday. I really need to get some rides in but it has been raining way too much. Hopefully it will let up.

And now for the goal announcement:

On April 7th, I am going to attempt to swim the length of Henry Hagg Lake. It looks to be about a 2.5 mile open water swim. This will be the longest open water swim I have attempted. I need to work out a few logistics such as arranging some one to paddle along side me (safety first says the salamander. ) I'll also be swimming it according to English Channel Swimming reguluations. That's right ladies, just a speedo, goggles, and cap so bring your cameras! More on this later.

Locked Out

2007-02-11T15:54:00.000-08:00

There is a paradox when it comes to trying to find a good place to swim in the Portland area. It seems that for whatever reason if a pool has lap lanes then it is also 86 degrees. If it is of an adequate swimming temperature than then there are no lap lanes. I should say that there are lanes on a spool on the deck but the pool staff can't seem to be troubled to put them in water. I'm not sure what makes Portland so bizarre in this regard. I guess it doesn't matter all that much if everyone gently swims freestyle at snails pace. The problem is that I love swimming butterfly but I don't want to create an open water swimming experience for the rest of the patrons so in the end I refrain. I remember that when I was a high school lifeguard I was constantly having to put lanes in, move lanes, and take lanes out. It seemed to be the same way in Arizona too so I'm assuming that Oregon is (as usual) a little different from everywhere else.

At any rate the good news is that I went to the Shute Park aquatic center in Hillsboro yesterday and it had its lanes in and for once it was the perfect water temperature. Usually it is way to warm but there was a highschool swim meet later in the afternoon so they must have lowered the temperature for that I assume.

Great workout. About 2000 yards total but with a lot fly drills and and 5 x 100 IMs. I was feeling so good I planned to go for a ride when I go home but when I arrived I realized I had locked my house key in the house. Bah!

Congrats To The USA

2007-02-07T20:34:00.000-08:00

Very exciting soccer match just concluded in Glendale, AZ. Very happy to see the US stick it to the Mexicans ONCE AGAIN! Too bad the Mexican players and fans continue to exhibit an amazing lack of class when losing. Throwing beverage containers on the field during play, not shaking hands at the end of the match, the Mexican goalie lashing out and trying to trip a US player (FIFA will hopefully review) after being rocked by Landon's second half goal.

Don't usually post twice in a day, but I'll make an exception for this outstanding win.

Tagged

2007-02-07T16:56:00.000-08:00

So I've apparently been "tagged" by Shelley

I've never been through one of these ordeals and I really don't have enough Triathlon experience under my belt to answer the questions (sorry Shelley). Reading the questions did make me look back into my memory banks to see if there were any sports related events that I would consider to be "a moment of self discover.:

Here it goes:

The one that came to mind was that of a rugby match that took place a couple of years ago in Phoenix were I played for Phoenix Rugby Club against local rivals Red Mountain. Going into this match we knew we were severely outmatched. Red Mountain was ranked nationally and super solid squad. Now, before you start to yawn and think I'm telling you some kind of Cinderella story let me assure that I am describing is quite the opposite. We were beaten that day badly. Our opponents were bigger, faster and vastly more experienced. What I remember most was our cheerfule united defiance in a losing cause. Yes, they racked up the win but we gave them everything we had. Total effort. Brutal tackles. Glorious effort. I remember in the closing minutes of the game, as the ref called for yet another scrum, looking through my blackened swollen shut eye over at our team captain who was literlly bleeding out of his ear. He cheerfully smiled and said to us "let's hitt'em one more time boys". I learned a lot about respect that day, repect for myself, respect for teammates, respect for our opponents, and respect for the game.

Since I'd didn't really complete the requirements for the "tag" I won't pass it on. Sorry for the non-triathlon related post.

Good swim today. Managed to sneak in about 1500 yards.

Am I Going Crazy?

2007-02-06T10:43:00.000-08:00

Sorry for not posting yesterday. I've super busy over the last couple of days. We are doing some secret R&D project for corporate and I have been busy dealing with visiting engineers from Japan who are here to oversee the project.

As a brief catchup, I did get my ride in Saturday. It was 32 degrees and my feet froze even though I wore two pairs of socks. Also my legs froze cause I'm way to manly to wearing riding "tights". I don't want to complain too much though because I'd always rather have cold than wind.

I knew I'd be entertaining guests for lunch yesterday so I came into work at 4AM and then went for an early 5:30AM swim. Good swim, about 15oo yards.

I think I'm going crazy though because it always seems like the person in the lane next to me trying race me or bust my balls in some other fashion. Am I the only one who thinks this type of thing is always going on? I swear I am keeping my normal pace but all the sudden as start to begin to pass somebody it seems like they try to find another gear. I don't know maybe it's my competitive nature taking over, deep down wanting it to be race so I imagine things.

I Got My Butt Kicked By A Girl

2007-02-03T06:36:00.000-08:00

So, the story goes like this:

I found myself with some extra time for my swim on Friday and a little bored of my own swim workouts. Recently there has been some swim crazed Canadian chick named Wendy
posting comments on the Salamander's blog. I noticed she had a separate link were she posted her nearly daily swim workouts.

So I decided to mix things up a bit and take on her workout from Febuary 1:

2200 metres

400 warm-up (600 assigned, but it took some time to sort out the lanes)
4 x (4 x 100 IM on 2:15) :30 between sets repeating 1:45-1:50 (I did catch-up free instead of backstroke)
4 x 50 easy on 1:00 (:45 - :50)
(The assigned set was 6 x 50 hard, 4 x 50 easy)

It was a severe butt kicking. I managed it but barely. At the end of the last 50 I was barely able to drag my tired body out the pool but I was happy that I had been able to sneak in a third swim workout, I was happy to know that all I needed was to get ride in Saturday and this week's mission would be accomplished. I was also humbled .....knowing that I'd had my butt kicked by girl.

Thanks for the workout Wendy.

Finish On A Positive Note

2007-02-01T22:17:00.000-08:00

So I haven't been able to get in the pool over the last couple of days. I've been totally screwed over at work. Since the first production shift starts at 6:00am everyone takes their lunch at around 10:30. I can't be in the pool until 11:30 (when lap swim starts) so it's hard for me as a supervisor to leave for an hour in the middle of 1st shift production. There are always fires that need putting out and crisis that need to be managed.

So I'm a little bummed that I didn't complete the goal I set up for myself at the start of the week but if I can just make it to the pool tomorrow and go for a ride on Saturday, I think I can feel good about the week's effort.

Spring Cleaning

2007-01-30T18:53:00.002-08:00

I did manage to sneak away from work for yet another swim today. That makes two days in a row! I only managed just over 1000 yards but it was better than nothing. Additionally I think it really goes a long way to helping my mood out for the rest of the day. I don't seem to be nearly as irritable throughout the rest of the afternoon. Swimming gives me time to meditate and come back to work with a new fresh energy. Infact, I think work should actually pay my swim feee since they are reaping a benefit.

Now for the Spring Cleaning. Since my blog sat inactive for so long, I found that I had a lot of outdated links that are no longer what I would call "daily reads". So I have started a new list from scratch. So feel special...Very Special if you find yourself making the list.

So far we have:

Racing The Edge
Common Man Syndrome
Flatman (although his posts are rarely daily)
Kona Shelley at IRONM4N
Nancy Toby at Run Big!

If you are on the above list I'm at your blog daily...soaking in your wisdom.

Plan B

2007-01-29T17:10:00.000-08:00

So waaaaaaay too cold and waaaaaay to windy to ride in this morning. If I didn't have to be to work at 6AM it would make riding in a lot easier. So I took my swim stuff and made a mental commitment to swim every day this week. I'll go for another ride on Saturday so that I can ride with the sun being up.

I snuck away for my swim during my lunch hour. It took about 10 minutes to get to the pool and then another 5 to get in the water, so all in all I hade 30-40 minutes to try and get in a good workout. I did a 500 yard warmup and then 5 x 200 on 4 minute stages. Then I sat and rested for a bit and cranked out 100 yards of butterfly just to try and make it a bit more of a workout.

Trying to improve my diet at the same time as restarting my workouts. Today's menu was a kashi bar,string cheese,half chicken breast, handful of almonds, and zuchini w/salmon fillet.

Tune in tomorrow for even more excitement.

This Week's Goal

2007-01-27T21:58:00.000-08:00

I was excited to see some of my friends from my old triblogging days are still around. It nice to read so many of your posts and see what everybody is doing. I was happy to receive comments from old long lost friends such as Soccerdad and Commodore.

I got screwed out of the Friday afternoon swim I had planned by a management crisis at work, so I went to bed that night bound and determined to take the bike out and go for a ride no matter how poor the weather ended up being. I left Aloha at around 8 and went rode out into the farm country in the Helvetia hills. It was about 35 chilling degrees under a cloudless sky for the duration of the trip. The route I take is essentially a 18 mile loop through rolling hills. On the return portion of the trip I was blasted by a strong wind, I don't the mph but the final 6 miles were brutal and not alot of fun. I really had to hunker down and shift gears inorder to struggle back home.

It's been a few months since I've been on the bike so I'm sure I feel saddle sore tomorrow. My own fault for not having ridden in so long.

Hopefully the wind will calm down for the rest of the week as I am making it a goal to commute on bike to work every day this week. Wish me luck.

Banished!

2007-01-23T20:02:00.000-08:00

It has recently come to my attention that I have seemingly been banished from the official blog role at International Tri-Blogger Alliance. At first I though this must be a mistake. Surely that Salamander hadn't been eliminated. I scanned through the list at trigeekdreams.com and saw I wasn't listed under Oregon. A minor oversite I thought, I'm probably still listed under Arizona. I scrolled franticly through the lists with mouth agape in utter disbelief. I went through denial and then rage, and finally acceptence. I guess that's what happens when you let 6 months pass without a post.

At any rate, just a quick update for anyone out there who happens to stumble by out of idle curiosity.

Turned 30 in Decemeber.
Still working like a dog.
Managing to only sneak in one or two workouts a week right now (usually a swim)
Needing some cold riding gear so I can't start riding into work in the morning.
Haven't ran in ages.
Considering joining a Master's team.

That's all for now.

This is the Salamander....Over and Out

Fajitas and 5k runs

2006-07-28T10:51:00.000-07:00

The story goes like this:

I made it home from work at around 7:00

Mrs. Salamander was making fabulous fajitas.

At 7:45 fajita numero uno tasted fabulous so I decided to have another
at around 8:10 I looked and there was one tortilla left and a few bits of chicken and pepper left in the frying pan. Not enough for leftovers but certainly enough to put over the edge between comfortably full and ridiculously full

soooooooo…..I ate it.

I suddenly regretted the second and third fajitas
but nevertheless agreed to meet them for a run.

Now there is additional history here as well in that Ben (cycling friend) and I took JL along for a bike ride a couple of weeks ago. JL hadn't really seriously cycled before and showed up on a mountain bike and for whatever reason Ben was in a ball busting mood and the short 15 mile ride we had planned turned into 22 mile race which was fine for me but nearly destroyed JL.

Jl is an experienced marathon runner and informed before the run started to not take offense but that it was time for him to give ben some paybacks

So we took off at a blistering pace (for me anyways) and we ran this predetermined course that JL had set. It was a beautiful night and the run took on a sections of a couple of different nature paths and up some pretty extended hills and inclines.

The fajitas took their toll.

All the while JL was encouraging (taunting) us.

He would run several hundred yards a head then circle back behind us...then pass us and do it again

I'm not sure if I was delusional or not at the is point but I think the phrase "C'mon rugby boy" actually left his lips as he literally ran circles around me whilst doing cross over drills up hill.

Nevertheless finished the 5 k run in 32 minutes which for me is the fastest I have run it in some time.

An Amazing Difference

2006-07-15T14:40:00.000-07:00

I went for my first official ride today with clipless pedals and shoes. I finally accumulated enough profit sharing bonus money at work to be able to afford a set of LOOK pedals and a pair of shoes and cleats. Anyway, I have had them for over a week but was too nervous to go out on the open road without being totally comfortable stepping out of the pedal so I have been riding around the neighborhood just stepping and stepping out for pactice.

I had been told it would be different but I didn't realize how much. It seemed to work my quads in a different location and each stroke really seemed to deliver more power. The hardest thing is getting clipped back in again after coming to a complete stop.

So I did about 19 miles through the forest grove farm country got passed by some 20 plus member cycling group (a blow to the ego but still fun to be out in the mix) and on the return leg into town I was greeted by two F-16 fighters flying low out past the Hillsborough Airshow. A very cool day.

30 Miles in The Freezing Rain

2006-04-16T12:24:00.000-07:00

It didn't feel that cold outside as I left but at about mile ten of my Saturday ride the freezing rain really began to fall. It was a gorgeous ride north west of Portland through rolling hills of farms and quaint countryside churches but I was not dressed for such adverse conditions. Just shorts and t-shirt as the temperature to a plummet below 50 degrees. I had thoughts of turning back but thought to myself that as soon as I get home the rain will surely lighten up but too my dismay it only intensified and it got much much colder. 15 more miles later I arrived home, my hands were sooooo cold that I couldn't undo the laces on my soaking sneakers.

I guess if I am going to live in the Northwest an investment in some cold/wet riding gear is long overdue.

I'll be riding in tomorrow to work so hopefully the rain will give me a bit of mercy.

I am considering buying this shoe for my first venture into road shoes.

And these pedals.

Any thoughts from those of you who know?

An Interview With Mike From Fumo Santo

2006-01-16T12:46:00.000-08:00

I am going to copy and paste this little exchange I had with my friend Mike and use it as today's blog post if you don't mind. To showcase my skills as interviewer

Mike: So my first 1/2 marathon is in the books.And my calves are screaming sore!

WSalamander: Hey congrats how did you do?

Mike: Not bad for the first race... 2:12:35 - 10 min pace...placed in the 37th percentile of 1/2 marathoners

WSalamander: Well done. Nice job.

Mike: Thanks I'll send you pics when I get them... My best split time was 9:03

WSalamander: Where was that? mile 4 or 5? that is when I always have my fastest mile

Mike: 4. The pacing was spaced out rather nicely, for they coralled the runners into 20 groups, so everything was spread out nicely.

WSalamander: Very cool did you find it pretty easy during the race or did you find yourself at mile 12 asking yourself wtf?

Mike: Well, since my longest run to date was about 10 miles, I hit a mental barrier at about mile 11. That was also the spot where we ran into some small hills around Papago. So, yes, I had a couple of wtf moments, but they passed away rather quickly. Once I saw the Mill Ave bridge around mile 12, I knew I was close.
The last mile was pretty good, since there were thousands of people cheering on.
I think if I had incorporated a 13 mile run in my training, I would have done better mentally. And, if I were to have added one additional song to my playlist, I would have ended on the last one... Turns out that I missed my playlist goal by about 2 minutes. Oh well I blame it on the water stations!!

WSalamander: You should have had The Riddle of Steel from Conan The Barbarian. That would have easily cut off :30 from your time.

Mike: Battle Without Honor or Humanity got me going. I think that's the name of it.

WSalamander:That's not bad, infact it is also on my running playlist, however there is no substitute for the blaring of brass and the pounding of pagan drums to stir the soul into performing spectacular feats of both strength and endurance

Mike: I'll have to incorporate that around mile 11 next time.

WSalamander:damn right

Mike: heh

Take a Bureaucrat to Lunch

2006-01-10T16:08:00.001-08:00

Not too much to report here over the last couple of days. Not alot to report by way of training anyway. I found a local pool that has what they call a moonlight swim with a lap swim from 9:30-10:30. But only on Wed.

One irritating thing about Portland is how focused they are on their "out of district" fees that they want to charge if you don't live in the district of a specific Parks and Recreation area. Now we had these fees when I was a lifeguard in highschool. I remember it was a buck extra if you weren't a city resident but I don't remember once requiring a patron to show proof of residency before letting them pay the fee and enter the pool. In Portland they are VERY serious about it. They actually enter you into a computer database once you have provided documentation to prove you are district resident.

Now I am a district resident but have yet to obtain an Oregon Driver's Permit. This permit is required to prove you are a district resident. No other documentation is acceptable. I tried bringing in my utitlity bill to prove residiency but to no avail. The reason I don't have a permit is Oregon requires you to retake your driving test if you have moved from another state. I have lived in other states and even in two foreign nations and have never once been asked to retake my drivers test. I am trying to schedule in some time with work so I can go down and take the test. Of course the DMV is open on Saturday but only for renewels. If are a new resident you have to take time off of work in order to obtain your first permit.

I am concerned about all of the extra time the hard working city employees have to be so intently focused on their residency database. How much does it cost to maintian such a database? I would venture to say the database has cost way more than any revenue they may have gained by charging out of district residents addtional fees. You would think with all this extra time they would at least have the ability put the lap lanes in the pool during scheduled lap swim time. I know it is a bit of a pain in the butt but c'mon toss some *&^%*&$# lanes in the pool. Jeez!

I have planned to go to the gym with the wife tonight. That's it for now.

The Spice of Life

2006-01-05T22:05:00.000-08:00

One of the fantastic things about running in Portland is the variety. I love the new route I ran tonight. It's about 5 miles of nice undulating hilly terrain. Steady climb followed by long gradual decents through winding serpentine streets. I love the cool damp air, the smell of the grass and pine and being able to see my breath when I exhale.

It was around mile 3 when I was really starting to settle in that my thoughts turned to my friends Commodore and Mike. I felt bad for them. Here I was enjoying this amazing and beautiful run through Tanasborn and I imagined/remembered how their runs must be in Phoenix I couldn't help but wince. Runs on straight flat roads though an endless urban sprawl of beige and brown stucco homes and strip malls. The dust and smog choking them as they pass by mile after mile of cookie cutter "desert" landscaping. Poor bastards. My hat truly goes off to them and I salute them for their undying dilligence and dedication. No wonder I had such a hard time motivating myself to run in Phoenix.

Either a swim for tomorrow or a strenght workout in the gym. It depends on wether or not I can get the wife to come to the gym with me or not.

A Solid Plan B

2006-01-03T23:01:00.000-08:00

Yeah...so there was no way I was going to get up and bike. My third shift artist was calling me every half an hour through the night/morning with problems and questions and when I finally went to bed, I was too drained and slept in till 5.

So I threw some workout clothes in the old gym bag and headed into work. It was raining like crazy when I went to take a luch. Now this is only the third 1 hour lunch I have taken in the last 6 months. I typically have only been able to dart out for 10-15 minutes, cram something down my pie hole and then get back to work. This also explains how and why my diet has gone totally down the tubes. So I have decided I am taking an hour lunch to workout as rule rather than an exception and everyone is just going to have to learn to deal with it.

At any rate I just did a full body workout of high reps and almost zero rest inbetween sets and it felt fantastic. Probably won't get up to bike tomorrow either so I am going to get another run in.

That's all for now.

Are You Waxing or Waning?

2006-01-02T21:00:00.000-08:00

I was out for a run, my first run in months and it felt great. Early in the day I was determined to go no matter what, but after a 13 hour day at work I really just felt like vegging on the couch and watching tv and just zoning out for awhile. But somewhere in the back of my mind a twinge of guilt refused to allow me to totally relax. I knew I would feel guilty in the morning so I put on some sweats, grabbed the iPod and was out the door. Suprisingly the run came easier than I had anticipated. The recent swim and bike workouts were rude awakenings and I excpected nothing less from the run. I was suprised when I reached the 15 min mark (I planned a 30 min run) and still felt pretty good. I turned to head back home, looked up in the sky and smiled.

I can't remember the last time I saw the moon. Tonight was the first time in months that I had seen her. Living in the perpetually overcast northwest, glimpses of the moon are rare at best and I counted myself as fortunate. Jogging back I started to try and figure out the current phase of the moon. It was crescent moon but was it waxing or waning? I didn't know when the last full moon was I couldn't decide. As I tried to recall basic information from my college astronomy class taken years ago I started to ask myself (philosophically) am I, in my own life, waxing or waning? Not just in fitness but in life in general? I hope I am waxing. I hope I am going to be able to rededicate myself towards my fitness goals. I hope there are better things approaching me in my future.

I have to be into work tomorrow by 6, I am going to try and be out the door by 4:15 so I can bike. It will probably be cold wet and miserable but I hope to give it a go. Wish me luck and I'll let you know how it went

Nothing Like A 2 Month Break

2005-12-30T13:58:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's been two months without a post. So ridiculous. No excuse. Training has been sporadic at best and nonexistant at worst. It's funny but it was at about this same time last year that I really got excited by the prospect of competing in Triathlon. Now a year has passed and I have come full circle. Now I am in many respects starting all over. I went to swim last weekend and struggled to complete a meager 1500 yrd workout. The next day my upper back and tri's were sore with the lactic shame of inactivity.

The cold damp conditions have caused a constant dull throbbing in my left knee making running an unappealing prospect. I need to break down and get a rain jacket so I can continue riding even in this constant rain. I need to get out and ride tomorrow. Even if it is just for a short ride, just to get the blood pumping in my legs again.

Sorry for the uninspired post, right now I feel tired, slugish, and guilty for letting myself slip.

ESPN's Love Affair With Brett Favre

2005-10-25T07:53:00.000-07:00

Begin Rant:

ESPN radio's Dan Patrick is such a Brett Favre fanboy! Yesterday, during the Dan Patrick show, Dan was discussing the worst teams in the NFL. As ususal he brought up his favorite whipping boys, The Houston Texans and the 49ers. He went on at some length, trashing their offense and their QB decisions. He refused however to include the 1-5 Green Bay Packers in with the worst teams in football. I am so tired of ESPN going on and on about Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers. How you can never count them out and how Brett is such a "competitor". As "journalists" you would think they would observe and report rather than play favorites. The Packers are bad team. It's time to call a spade a spade. Favre is a good (once great) QB but the Packers are a banged up group of aging veterans that have relied and gotten by on pixie dust and favorable calls from officials for too long. They have dug their own grave and now it is time for them to lie down in it.

End Rant.

In other news, it felt fantastic to lace up the boots and play some rugby last week. I was really sore afterwards for a couple of days. Its funny how in training for triathlon you assume you are in decent shape but the different way the same muscle groups are worked when you are diving, tackling, and sprinting. Playing rugby in Portland is a blast in comparison to Phoenix. It feels fantastic to get tackled and actually land on some grass. I have another practice tonight and have a pool workout scheduled for tomorrow night.

It's faint but its a pulse

2005-10-16T16:10:00.000-07:00

This is just a quick post to say hey I am still alive and well up here in Portland. Things are going well. The job is settling down a little bit so hopefully I will start to find time get back in the pool and start cranking out some laps again. I have been sneaking a run here and there but nothing steady in terms of a scheduled workout to follow. It's the swimming I most miss.

The bike Commodore sold me a couple of months back is a blast to ride. I ride into work as many times as I am able (usually 2-3 times a week) it's a strenous hilly ride but it is really therapuetic in some ways, it gives me time to think and be alone to myself for a bit. And so far, only 1 flat tire. The flat caused me to do the walk of shame 5 miles back to work, but I now ride with a patch kit and a spare tube in the pack so hopefully that won't happen again.

I have hooked up with a new rugby squad as well. I am going to start going to practices on Tuesday and Thursday nights. First I need to find some new cleats as I think I musted have pitched mine into the trash during the move.

The main thing that is killing me now is nutrition. I really need to get back on somekind of healthier diet. I am eating like trash and it shows. I have less energy my pants are starting to fit a bit tighter so I need to nip it in the bud before it gets out of control. Other than that not too much going on. Looks like there isn't much in way of triathlon in oregon this time of year and I'll have to wait till spring I guess.

Well, that is it for now.

This is the White Salamander, over and out,

All I need is a Helmet

2005-08-31T22:35:00.000-07:00

Alright, so the bike is assembled and working well. The beam technology on the Soft Ride is suprisingly stable and comfortable. I had my doubts. Anyway I haven't been able to take it for a serious ride yet. Just a few jaunts around the neighborhood. Mrs. Salamander has pretty much forbidden any riding until I secure a helmet. The Flabby Ironman was able to give me a few pointers on selecting a suitable (cheap) helmet so if I can manage to get off work sometime before 7 PM this week I am going to go and purchase one.

I wish I could explain what went wrong on that print job for Wil and Commodore but it is far to complicated an issue to explain in a blog entry for you two rubes so you will have to satisfy you sadistic urges elsewhere. At any rate I masterminded a solution that saved the day and turned what originally was going to be a catastrophic debacle into a minor mishap.

My job is a weird transition for me. It is weird going from common underling production artist to an art supervisor role. Just two months ago I was the one bitching about the way management was running things and now the shoe is totally on the other foot. I am now the one having to come and tell some poor bastard to cancel his Saturday plans so he can meet at work for some glorious color separations. I try not ask them to do anything I am not also willing to do, I hope that goes a little way towards softening the blow but I'm sure if it does. Damn all of this irony!

In other news, some how I have to find more time to train. By the time I get home I barely have time to see my wife. I am trying to get her out running with me so I can train and we can still be together but its tough getting our schedules to jive. In the mean time, I am just trying to watch what I eat so I don't gain back all of the weight I have lost over the last few months but I know without training I will soon end up reverting back to my old ways and thus my old weight.

Copying an Email

2005-08-25T21:48:00.000-07:00

Not much time for blogging today. Really busy trying to figure out a way to fix what may be the greatest error I have ever witnessed as a print professional.

So by way of update to my bike situation I am just going to paste a reply I sent to Commodore about what was going on with the bike he sold me. Basically I am too lazy to type it out again.

"Commodore,

I am glad you received the check. I don't think the bike is stripped down to the point where a normal person wouldn't be able to easily reassemble it but keep in mind I am a totally cycling newbie, totally mechanically challenged, and am so afraid of bending or breaking something that I think it best to take it to a shop. Plus I have decided to go ahead and get measured and have it fitted to me. I might as well ride in relative comfort.

Anyway, I found what I think is a pretty good shop, they are going to assemble and fit it to me tomorrow."

For a workout, I was only able to squeeze 1000 yards before the pool closed but better than nothing I guess.

Some Assembly Required

2005-08-24T19:43:00.000-07:00

Holy Crap! Has it really been 20 days since my last post? I received an IM from the flabby ironman today letting me know that Kahuna had issued an edict about blogs that are being frequently updated. I thought to myself "Hmmmm, surely I won't be among those, sure I haven't been blogging everyday but I blog pretty regularly." But imagine my surprise when I realized how long it had actually been. Anyway I'm not too worried, I doubt Kahuna has ever actually visited this blog so he wouldn't know it had been updated or not. But I am going to endevour to post more actively anyway just more my own sake.

So, since my last post not a whole lot has gone on. I have been able to squeeze some workouts here and there but I need to get some more intensity going. I just feel like I am going through the motions. Probably becuase I am training but not for any in race in particular. I think I need to just pick one and start broadcasting to everyone that I am going to do it so that I will be forced to "put my money where my mouth is" sort of speak. I have also come across a couple of websites for Triathlon teams and I am considering contacting a couple of them and seeing if I can come and get a run or a swim in with them.

I have purchased a used bike. It is a 98 Softride. I will award 50 points to the first reader who can identify which member of the trigeek alliance sold it to me. Heh. Needless to say, in the true spirit of trigeek charity he gave it to me at a super more than fair deal. The only problem now is that it is pretty much disassembled beyond my ability to reassemble. I am going to look for local bike shop and see if they can give me some assistance.

So that's it for today. Didn't get my run in today as I had planned but I have swimming scheduled for tomorrow.

50 Yards of Bliss

2005-08-04T22:40:00.000-07:00

I have been searching since my arrival in Portland to find a good pool. I was apparently a bit spoiled in Scottsdale with an outdoor lap and fitness only pool. As it turns out seemingly all the public pools in Portland only have lap swimmng as an after thought and their main function is general public or "open" swim. The pools that I have found haven't really be suitable for lap swimming at all. Those of you who have followed this blog for any length of time will know that the swim is my most beloved of the three triathlon disciplines. So it was with a heart full of doubt when I swung open the doors of the last pool in my area.

I was struck dumb in utter disbelief when I looked out through the observation glass and beheld the glory of a giant long course pool. I could almost hear the halleluja chorus singing. I paid the guard 2 bucks and was into the drink. It had been so long since I had a chance to swim long course and I found it no less than exilirating. I was plowing through the water in my typical mastadon fashion when I noticed, as I approached the wall, a kickboard being submerged at the end of my lane. When I reached the wall I looked up to see the lifeguard on duty signaling for me to move to one of the "fast" lanes. The salamander instantly felt his ego and head begin to swell. I had never been moved to the fast lane before. Needless to say I love this pool and will return. If for no other reason than to stroke my amphibious ego.

My bike search continues. Thanks everyone for their helpful advice. With help from Commoder, I now have my eye on a used bike that we seem to be a perfect match. A used bike, but lovingly cared for, and a great deal. I am still working out the logistics and trying to convince my wife that the bike is far more important than some elaborate gift for her sister's wedding. Heh, wish me luck on that.

Your thoughts on a used bike?

2005-07-30T08:44:00.000-07:00

I am going to go out and go bike shopping today I think. This is my Saturday off in 4 weeks so I am going to do a 45 min run, come back and shower and see if I can find a bike shop. It's amazing to finally have a day off. I also read on line that there is pickup rugby match at Reed College on Saturdays so I might investigate that also.

On my last post Wil said, "And 12 hour days, geez! How is it that you even have energy to train at all?" That is proving to be the real dilema. I need to restructure my department at work a little bit and I need some people to step up to the plate or heads might have to roll. I have never been, "The Boss" before so it all new territory to me. I am going to restructure and and start delegating out a lot of the work that just seems to weigh me down so that I can't get any of my main goals accomplished. What I really need is a clone.

So, what are thoughts on buying a used bike? I guess it probably hit or miss like buying anything else used, there is alwasys the risk of getting a lemon. Especially for someone like me who doesn't really know what to look for. If only I had payed more attention at Ironman AZ when Commodore was pointing out all the various bikes and addon components in transition area. If only Flatman was man here to set me in the right direction.

Oh well, I am off for my run.

Alternate Uses For The Eye Wash Station

2005-07-19T22:20:00.000-07:00

First let me just that there are ton cyclists in Portland. I mean a truly amazing amount. The area itself seems to be alot friendlier to bikers than Phoenix ever was. There are so many bike lanes. The guys on bikes have amazing cycling etiquette as well. They always seem so much more aware of their surroundings than guys in Phoenix (Commodore being the exception of course). They frequently turn and make eye contact with motorists, and not only signal but also point to let you know where they are going as well as rap with their knuckles on your rear window at stop lights so you know that they are there. Also, their "uniforms", "outfits" whatever you call them are 100% less garish than those of their Phoenix counter parts, generally just shorts and some kind of reflective shirt or jacket. It has me seriously considering purchasing a bike. As soon as Mrs. Salamander is gainfully employed it can be more of a reality.

I am trying to scheme up a plan where I could ride to work. It's about a 15 mile commute from my spacious and luxurious Beaverton townhouse to the salt mine where I work so I am thinking that it might be doable. If I drive into work for example with my bike in the back of the truck, ride my bike home in the evening, and then ride it back in the next morning and then drive home that evening and so on. The only trouble is going to be taking a shower in the morning at work after the ride. I am thinking of away to rig up the emergency eye wash station located in the men's room as shower of sorts. I am the first one in by far so I might be able to swing it.

Workouts are going well when I can squeeze them in. I am working 12 hour days right now trying to play catch up and I have a bit of a learning curve involved in learning the prep for files on the digital press. I am really needing to commit to a solid date for a race, even if it is just a 5k race just to get me focused.

Finally, my heart and prayers go out to the family and friends of the Aussie women's cycling team. Truly a tragedy. I'll be playing "Waltzing Matilda" at midnight tonight in my own tribute. As a rugby player I have had the opportuniy to know a lot of Australians and proudly call many of them good friends. I was really hoping Cadel Evans would have won the stage but his daring climb, being the first to top the mountain, was truly an inspiration.

A Salamander At Rest Tends To Stay At Rest

2005-07-14T23:03:00.000-07:00

I woke this morning to the sound of laughter. Not they happy sort of jovial chuckle, but rather the kind of mocking "I'm laughing at you" tone. The laughter was only in my head but it seemed to be almost audible, so much so that I hastily got out of bed before the sound woke my sleeping wife. As I stood in the shower I was perplexed at the source of the annoying derision still ringing in my head. Where was it coming from? Why was I the subject of its taunting scorn?

Then, like a 2x4 across the forehead it hit me. The laughter was coming from The Common Man. "Who did you think you were?" he sneered. "You?...Training for a triathlon?...Of all the lofty unrealistic ambition you've had, this one takes the cake!" I hung my head in apathetic shame. He was right of course. How many times in the last month since the move to Portland had I sworn that, "Today would be the day training would start again." only to find myself once again on the couch, flipping the television remote wondering if I had really eaten the entire contents of the now empty bag of Doritos next to me on the sofa.

"Well, you gave it the good college try, it just isn't in us to do that sort of thing. You've got other things that need your focus right now.", he rationalized, trying to make me feel better. "Yup, we have alot of other things we need to do."

I got into work and started going through the motions. Mike from fumosanto sent me an IM chiding me for my lack of recent blogging. Feeling needles of guilt I conceeded that it had been pretty lackluster as of late but it is hard to have a triathlon blog when you aren't even contemplating a workout. The shame of it stuck with me the rest of the day. The shame gradually turned to irritation. Irritation gave way to motivation. Next thing I new I was mapquesting trying to find the nearest pool.

I turned to the web and my old amigos from the triathlete alliance. I turned to their blogs for motivation and wisdom. I was inspired by Commodore's posted swim workout. I was amazed at his improvement in the pool and at his dedicated training in the blazing Arizona heat. Flatman's Lord Chesterfield quote from way back in June really hit home. Wil's humurous SEBA accounts really motivated as well. And of course the Kahuna's wild boasting always helps to raise one's spirits.

So, 9:30 this evening found me in this bizarre Beaverton public pool for the late night lap swim. The lighting was horrible, the chlorine overpowering, and the water some bog like toxic shade green. Nevertheless, I was determined to prove The Common Man wrong and into the drink I went. I was the last one in the pool when the lifeguard kicked me out at 1200 yards but I didn't care, it was my first official Oregon workout and it felt fantastic to get the monkey off my back.

On the way home I began setting my odometer in my truck and driving along some options for tomorrow's evening run. Probably going to start off easy, just three miles or so.

Who's laughing now?

Amazing

2005-06-22T06:12:00.000-07:00

I just have to say that I am amazed that you guys still came to read my blog after I let it sit on idle for about a month. Thanks for all your well wishes. I am super stressed now about driving the the 24' UHAUL with the car carrier in tow. My friends Mike and Joe have both told me a few horror stories in recounting their cross country escapades with the same logistical setup. I am just plan on taking it nice and easy so hopefully it won't be too much of a disaster.

Couldn't sleep last night at all. Worked on tying up some loose ends on a couple of freelance projects and then sat in front of the t.v. in a daze until all early hours of this morning. Must just be the anticipation of the impending challanges on the horizon. So anyway, it really bent me out of shape at 1:30 this morning, while I was watching the end of Logan's Run, when I realized that the cable channel I was watching showed the classic sci-fi flick as only a 2 star movie. What kind of bull crap is that? It is easily a 3.5 if not a 4 star movie. If I wasn't so tired I and taxed for time I would fire off an email of dispute. Anyway that's all for now. I hope you trigeeks are keeping up with your workouts, I hope to back in the saddle soon.

This is the Salamander....Over and Out.

and without any further delay...

2005-06-21T11:15:00.000-07:00

Ok everyone, just a quick update and explanation of my prolonged abscence.

I went to Portland, interviewed for the job and was made and offer. I made a little counter offer and they accepted. I spent a few more days up there last week cross training with the guy I am replacing. It has really been a lighting fast whirlwind of change in my life. Mrs. Salamander and myself have been packing like crazy and trying to make all the arrangements for the big move. I don't even have a place to live in Portland yet so we are just going to move up into a hotel and put everything in storage while we look. I picking up the UHAUL on Thursday and we are hitting the road on Friday.

So needless to say, we are stressed out and run ragged right now. I have mixed emotions about leaving so many good friends but at the same time I am really excited by the prospect of some new adventures and opportunities in Portland. I haven't had time to workout at all and the city of Scottsdale and their silly public pool schedule has really put a crimp in my training.

That's all for now. Talk to everyone later. Thanks for your support.

News From The North

2005-06-03T06:15:00.000-07:00

Wow! Two posts in the same week. I am really on a roll! Thanks to everyone for their comments on the prospect of joining a team. I guess I find the idea of being a member of team to be attractive in some ways. I think it would help motivate me a little better and I could get more out of my time spent in the pool. I know damn well there are times when I lose focus and take :45 or even a full minute between sets when I am actually good to go but just being lazy. Sometimes I think I need someone standing over my lane with a whistle to make me get my butt off the wall. Obviously it would be silly to join if I ended up getting a job in Portland. I was more just curious as to peoples' individual feeling on the idea of joining a swim team in general.

Next question: Am I really doing myself any good by riding a stationary bike at the gym? With all of the mechanical problems I have been having with Sgt. Jones's 80 lbs Huffy (now needs new set of bearings dropped in the back wheel) and with the ridiculous Arizona heat I have recently been doing little mini bricks of the stationary bike and runnin on the treadmill. How does training on a stationary bike translate into benefit for biking on the road or would taking a spinning class be more beneficial?

Finally, thanks to everyone for the good luck wishes. My interview went great and the plant manager told me he is going to seek corporate permission to make me an offer. In some ways it is a little scary because the facility up there is in kind of transition and pretty disorganized compared to what I am used to at our Phoenix facility. So I will be way out of my little comfort zone, but at the same time it is a great opportunity to go up there and really contribute to turning that place around and it would also give me some solid management experience and chance to grow. Portland was really a beautiful city and I could absolutely see myself living there. I think Mrs. Salamander would love it too but I might need to fly her up there so she can see for herself.

To Join Or Not Join

2005-05-31T00:47:00.000-07:00

Once again, after yet another prolonged abscence:

I was recently flattered when after my early morning swim I was approached by a couple members of the Masters swim team and asked why I hadn't already joined the team. I responded that I didn't feel I was quite up to their level (they graciously assured me otherwise) and that I didn't know if I was ready to make that type time/financial commitment to a team. Its not bad, only $60 a month which of course includes pool fees. So I told them I would take it under advisement.

Later I wondered if doing something like that might not be in the best interests of my triathlon goals anyway. I mean wouldn't that cause me to really over focus on just one event? Swim practice would be daily and since swimming is probably my strongest of the three events, it seems less reasonable to add all of the additional time in the pool when I should be on Sgt. Jones's 80 lbs Huffy putting in some miles. What do you guys think?

In other news, I had my phone interview with the manager in Portland and everything seemingly went well. They are flying me up on Thursday for an in person interview, so wish me luck.

Finding Time to Blog

2005-05-23T16:45:00.000-07:00

Man, it has been hard to find time to blog in recent weeks. I have just been plain slammed at work and have had my nose to the grind stone at home cranking out some serious freelance work. It's hard not having any free time but it feels good to make some extra money to start paying off some bills. Anyway I am hoping to really get back into the habit of daily blogging. It is amazing how much common man syndrome has effected my workouts since I stopped blogging. I have been only squeaking in a couple of work outs a week (for shame). Plus it is going to be even harder now that it is 110 every day here. I tried swimming on Saturday and the water was soooo warm that it was hard to swim. My muscles just felt lethargic and fatigued after the first 500. Looks like the stationary bike and the treadmill are going to have to be my new companions for the next couple of months. I think I am going to call the pool tomorrow and ask if there is anyway they can float a couple of blocks in my lane before I arrive. That way when it gets too warm I can just grab a block of ice and use it like a kickboard.

Other than that not too much to report, I put in for a transfer/promotion to my company's Portland facility. I have never been to Oregon but I hear it is nice and anyway I could use a change of scenery. My wife and I have a little bit of nomad in us and ocassionally we just need to pull up the tent stakes and go somewhere else.

Anonymous Brings Up Some Interesting Points

2005-05-15T18:43:00.000-07:00

An "anonymous" commenter made some interesting points in referance to my last post. I thought they were thought provoking enough to go over in a separate post rather than just comment directly back to him/her in the comment box.

The First Contention:

Anonymous: Are you telling me that, in your life, you've never left something on a table, bench, or some other space because you "assumed" someone would pick it up?

My Response: I can honestly say the answer to that is an emphatic no. If I have left something behind then it has been out of genuine accident and never out of the assumption that somebody else has the obligation to clean up after me. (Of course the actual "garbage man" would be exception). I guess if you have ever had to clean up after other people as part of your employment than you tend to remember how it was.

Anonymous: I've been taking an informal poll over the past few years, asking people who stay in hotels if they "leave the room a mess," and "if they ever leave a tip." To the first question, from very successful (read: educated AND well-off) travelers..

My Response: You can add to you informal poll then that I never leave my hotel room a mess. Perhaps it comes from Freshman year on the debate team when we weren't allowed by our coach to checkout of our hotel room unless it was clean, with the comforters made up back over the beds and all towels and washclothes gathered together and left in the bathtub. The room was inspected by the Varsity captain before the bus left the parking lot. I guess some habits die hard. I will also leave a tip for the maid if she has made an effort to personalize the service in someway such as by leaving a signed note or something so that I may know who to tip.

The Second Contention:

Anonymous: Not to defend these kids, but...honestly do they "know" any better? Not know like "2+2=4," know like us tri guys know that today's hypoxic workout will actually make a difference in our race 3 weeks from now?

My Response: I agree on this point. I think my frustration wasn't with the kid's themselves but rather with attitude they expressed through their actions. The pool where I swim is an afluent area and these kids are only behaving in way that they have learned is ok. If you go to a fast food type resturaunt in this area you will often see adults not even bothering to clear their trays of even dispose of their empty drinks. That is what is so annoying about it, that their unacceptable behavior not only goes unchecked by coaches and parents but is actually execerbated by the adults through their own behavior.

The Third Contention:

Anonymous: I recognize your frustration; what I'm confused (read: disillusioned) about is that the pebble they threw in your pond was so distracting that it took you out of your zone...

My Response: You are right. I should have been able to put it out of my mind and bust through my workout. For me my morning swim is special...almost a ritual and it just through me out of my state of mind.

The Fourth Contention:

Anonymous: Ever try to push the waves back into the ocean?

My Response: Absolutely! It is an impossible endeavor but I submit that there is honor and nobility in the effort. Think of the imagery of the great hero of Irish myth Cuchulain, when he waded out into the sea and fought against the raging ocean by cutting the tops off the waves.

Spoiled Rich Kids

2005-05-12T07:49:00.000-07:00

I have been just crazy busy at work the last couple of weeks. I haven't had time for my workouts or for much blogging. So, I was super excited this morning to get the chance to hit the pool before commuting to work. For me there is nothing that can start the day off better then putting in some laps at the pool. It seems like the day just seems to flow better and I have better focus.

Anyway, I arrived at the pool as it opened and was surprised that the parking lot was full of a variety of highend SUV's and pricey cars. Most of the cars/SUVs were occupied with the driver yawning and taking ocassional sips from a Starbuck's coffee cup. "Swim team practice" I said to myself as I recognized the tell tales signs of parents waiting for their kids to exit the pool.

I entered the locker room and it was a disaster. Orange peelings and food wrappers all over the wet tile floor. The kids in the locker room didn't even seem to notice. They were laughing and getting dressed. As I reached the door I was nearly struck by empty Gatorade bottle thrown in the somewhat general direction of the garbage can. It missed horribly and richocheted off the wall and rolled into the bathroom area under a locked occupied stall. Shaking my head in disgust, I made way across the pool deck. I could feel myself getting annoyed. Making matters worse, I saw across the pool kids finishing their workouts, existing their lanes and leaving disposable water bottles sitting on the side of the pool or on the starting blocks.

I started my workout and tried to focus on my swim. But I could tell I was still irritated. I was annoyed at the attitude these teenagers seemed to have. Almost as if they considered themselves "above" picking up after themselves. It seemed more than just lazy somehow, it seemed flagrant and deliberate. Did they really consider themselves to be so high class as to have the right to treat all the other pool patrons with such disrespect? I thought about the poor lifeguard having to go into the locker room and discovering the soggy debris strewn about the shower area and having to clean it all up. I guess it would be one thing if it was the end of a public open swim (you would almost expect it) but you think a swim club would take a little more pride in their pool. And what about the coach? I know if I had tried something like that when I was a kid my coach would have been all over me with the riot act.

Anyway, it was just too much of a distraction. My workout was an unfocused 1000 yrds. I got out, and scooped up a few of the water bottles on my way to locker room and tossed them in the trash.

Hypoxic Drills

2005-05-09T09:24:00.000-07:00

Once again a planned weekend swim workout was thwarted by an unexpected high school swim meet. I had been really looking forward to the workout all day and not being able to complete it really bummed me out. I had planned on reaching way back to my old competitive swim team days and start mixing in some hypoxic swimming drills. I know some people say they are bad, but I have only ever had a positive reaction to them so I am going to work them into tonight’s workout.

Commodore called me Friday night and let me know about a 5k race this coming Saturday at the Phoenix Zoo. I am in a desperate need of some free T-shirts and it sounds like a lot of fun so I guess I going to go for it.

Commodore also let me know that California shock jock Hugh Hewitt had some derogatory things to say about the White Salamander and his fellow Trigeeks. Calling the Salamander “unbalanced”, Mr. Hewitt, who had been challenged by the Kahuna to compete in a triathlon, said, “I will consider the prospect on my 18 mile run tomorrow…”. Now, I would submit to you that I don’t think Mr. Hewitt has done 18 miles of anything that didn’t involve him behind the wheel of his pretentiously overpriced Saab. Furthermore, I am not surprised at all that he scoffs at those of us who are of the multi-sport persuasion. Listen to his show and you will soon understand that in general he lacks versatility and is hyper one dimensional, thus his need for outstanding guests such as Dr. David Allen White. This lack of versatility is what confines him strictly to only running boring marathons and never finding the true bliss that is the essence of the triathlon.

Fighting Boredom

2005-05-02T20:36:00.000-07:00

Alright, I am now back in my normal routine. Sorry for my abscence from the land triblogging. My sister-in-law was in town so exercise and blogging all went right out the window. Only got in two swim workouts and 0 blog updates.

So first off I just wanted to join my fellow try bloggers and give a big congrats to the guys over at trigeek dreams. They did a truly amazing job at Wildflower and the salamander is super proud of them.

Next, just as a matter of business, I am going to be cleaning up my links on the right a little to more accuratley reflect my daily reading. I will be bidding a fond farewell to Nutbolt, it was a fun ride while it lasted but he shutting it down his blog so he has been removed. In his place I am adding a bunch of other great blogs that I have been reading for sometime but have been to lazy to add. Mike over at fumosanto has filed an official grievance that he has been filed under "Arizona Living" so he is being refiled under "Vice and Fine Living." I think it appropriate and that he won't complain. You will never in your life meet a person more beholden and enslaved to his own vices for cigars, fine wines and fine cuisine than Mike so I hope he is now satisfied.

And finally onto today's topic. I had a great swim tonight and all is well, but I am starting to really develop a problem with running. It's not my normal complaint of shin splints or getting winded but rather I am just finding it BORING! Does this happen to anyone else? I am pretty new to distance running and at first I found it fun but I am starting to find it really tedious. Don't confuse easy with tedious, I am not saying that it is so easy that I am bored but rather I just don't seem to get excited about it the way I do for swimming and riding. Its hard for me to run I guess unless there is some kind of inflated leather ball that I am chasing or unless there is a promise of collision and bodily harm at some point towards the end of the run. Maybe it is because I missed my planned race date and haven't scheduled a new race to take it's place? Does this happen to anyone else or am I alone in this?

Quote of the Day

2005-04-26T21:27:00.000-07:00

Not too much to report today. I am going to have to find a new pool. I love the pool where I have been swimming but they are switching soon to summer hours where they will only have adult lapswim from 3-7 PM and even then we will be sharing the pool with the local teenage swim club so there only be 3-4 lanes available. It doesn't make much sense to me that the pool closes earlier in the summer. Back when I was a lifeguard, our pool would be open till 10:30 PM in the summer with the last 2 hour being reserved strictly for lap swimming.

Today's quote comes from a rugby coach I once had who was lecturing at the start of a new season about commitment and what it would take to reach our team goals. In a heavy aussie accent he said, "Remember the enemy of perfection is to focus on the outcome at the expense of the process." To me that meant that our goal of having the best defense in the union was a failed ambition if we focused solely on results without taking into account the training and dedication it would take to reach that goal.

A Salamander in Motion Tends to Stay in Motion

2005-04-25T21:18:00.000-07:00

Not too much to post today. My sister-in-law is visiting from Idaho and my wife had class tonight so it was up to me to entertain. I thought about trying to convince her as to the excitement of coming and watching me swim but decided to bite the bullet and just get up early tomorrow for a dunk in the pool before work. I'll try to sqeeze in another 2,000 or so but I only have 30-45 min of actual swim time before I have to hit the showers and head in work. So the sister-in-law and I went and had dinner and rented a movie, and it was a pretty good time.

I had an interesting comment from soccerdad yesterday where he was letting me know that 2,000 yards is a lot and that I shouldn't be taking it so lightly. Its funny how we have all come to the sport of triathlon with our different strengths and weaknesses. I am horrible on the bike for instance, I am basically toast after a 10 mile ride on the stationary bike at the gym but love to swim and am ok at the run. I think that is what makes triathlon so interesting and special to me. It is so rare to find someone who can truly excel at all three events. Now, imagine if you could make your own triathlon centered around three sports, any sports that you know you perform well. What would be your ideal triathlon? I was thinking of mine and how I would structure it. I would start with a swim, then off to lead climb a pitch of 5.8 or 5.9 granite, upon reaching the top of the cliff you would go to the fencing area, draw your epee and have a series of round robin bouts to determine the final winner of the triathlon. Anyone want to give it a try? What would your's be?

Back in the Saddle Again

2005-04-24T09:57:00.000-07:00

Ah, I finally feel like myself again. Last week was very bizarre. I got myself in some kind of wierd depressed, tired, rut/funk. I'm not sure what caused it exactly. I didn't want to work, train, sketch, paint or any of my normal stuff. I think I was just a little down after my buddies got laid off, then I didn't get the gig in California, and I had to cancel my plans to do my first tri over the weekend. Anwyay I woke up Saturday feeling a little better. I forced myself to get into the pool and crank out a workout, not much just 2000 yards, just enough to get back on track and get my blood pumping again. They must have just cleaned the pool. It was crystal blue! No gunk or bandaids or any other usual foul debris that I typically see floating on the bottom of the pool.

Anyways, it feels good to be back. Thanks to everyone in the alliance for their excellent posts last week. They really helped me feel guilty or not training and helpded drag me out of my own self induced funk.

Good Friends We've Had, Good Friends We've Lost

2005-04-20T06:23:00.000-07:00

I am a little down today. We had a couple of lay offs at work yesterday, a couple of guys were good friends. I understand the whole restructuring thing and how the company needs to progress and all of that but I still hate to see hard working honest people out of work. When announcing the lay-offs the team leader actually said, "Well, think of it this way, when the bonuses come out there will be a little more to go around now." That may very well be true, but I just thought it was a hell of a thing to say while I am imagining my friend having to go home in shame and tell his wife and kids he lost his job.

It looks as there won't be a race in my near future. Turns out I'm not going to be able to make the GCC triathlon this weekend due to family commitments. After that it is just going to be too hot this summer for doing much actual racing. I am thinking about looking into doing a race in California but we'll see.

Looks as though my logo designs have made it over to the Kahuna's page. Thanks to everyone for their kind words about the designs yesterday. I really like Mr. Iron Wil's design as well so I am thick skinned and fine if Kahuna decides to go with it (as I suspect he will). After seeing the other designs I wanted to just do something with text or something a little mysterious that didn't actually have any representation of an actual athlete in the logo. I had fun making them so that is all that matters.

That's it for today folks. Hopefully a good workout in the pool tonight can serve as a little therapy and cheer me up.

Still Recovering From the Weekend

2005-04-18T20:20:00.000-07:00

Had a fantastic time this weekend but I am totally drained. It is funny how I actually don’t go to bed and go to sleep unless there is someone to coax and tell me to do so. Since my wife/adult supervision was gone all weekend I don’t think I managed to get to bed until well after 4 AM each night/morning. No, I wasn’t out on the town or anything, just parked in front of the T.V., computer, or sketching in a mindless trance.

Mike and I had great workout on Saturday. I drove out to his place in Litchfield Park which ends up being basically East LA by the time you get out there and we went to his super swanky upscale Verrado health club. Really a nice place. It was almost a surreal experience to get use the equipment without having to wait in line or waiting for some pretentious Bally’s personal trainer to stop flirting with some girl so that you can make your way from exercise to exercise. His club also had a 4 lane 25 yrd pool so we went down for laps. Now earlier in the week, Mike had been saying that he wasn’t sure how good his stroke was and that perhaps poor mechanics were to blame for him tiring quickly on the swim. I was expecting to see a total disaster but his stroke was actually pretty good. We just made a quick adjustment to his head alignment and he was off like Spitz. Mike is already a wiz on the bike and can certainly run so with his swimming now on track, I suspect he will soon fall victim to trigeek syndrome and that will be that. Perhaps you can all pass by his blog from time to time and call his manhood in the question to help speed up the process. The salamander could use a good training partner.

It looks as though Kahuna already has the store up and running so my logo submission is a bit late. I figured I would just post what I had in mind anyway for fun. I basically wanted to try and go in a different direction from the other designs and be a little esoteric so that meaning of the logo wouldn’t be immediate, I don’t know that I achieved what I had in mind but here are the results of my initial brainstorm.

The Pressure is on...

2005-04-15T11:30:00.000-07:00

Sheesh, I was just reading the comments over at TriGeek Dreams and I am starting to feel the pressure of getting a logo done. Wil's husband has made a couple of nice submissions. I was going to take the weekend to work out an idea but will the Kahuna's devotees wait that long? I think they are going to have to wait as I am just slammed work wise right now. But there will be something by Monday for sure.

Mrs. Salamander left for Vegas this morning with a bunch of her coworkes to go to a wedding and has left the salamander to his own devices for the entire weekend. Now the salamander was torn between two polar opposites. Should he take full advantage of the wife being gone to totally trigeek out and get in as much guilt free training as is humanly possible or should he spend the entire weekend with his good friend over a fumo santo (whose significant other has also left him for the weekend) going to the movies and pigging out on fabulous fabulous cuisine.

Now my friend at fumo santo is also a fitness fanatic and could likely be easily pushed over the edge into becoming a total Trigeek. So we have decided on mixing both training and fun into one glorious event filled day of bachelorhood bliss. Swimming and biking in the morning and Sin City in the evening. Wish us luck!

Can't Catch a Break to Save My Life

2005-04-14T16:55:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lateness and general lack of posting today. I have far to busy wallowing in total self pity, being depressed and just feeling sorry for myself in general.

I had recently been contacted by a Visual FX supervisor of a major national t.v. show about moving to California and becoming a member of his team. Now this has always been my dream (I know I have said working for myself is my dream but this surpasses even that) but I kept telling myself, "Don't get your hopes up, Don't get your hopes up" but alas it was to no avail. My hopes sky rocketed out of control and I started even looking into apartments in California.

Late last night I received this:

"Rett,

I wanted to let you know that I received your e-mail and appreciate your interest in -----
As it stands now, there is an individual in another dept. on the show that is interested in the position. I feel it important to extend this opportunity to him as he has been a dedicated member of the crew for some time. ----- speaks very highly of you which I considered when making this choice and if there were more than the one position I would be asking you to come out for an interview. If things change I will be in contact.

Thanks again for your interest.

------ -----"

Bah! nothing quite like having your hopes dashed against the jagged rocks of despair.

In other news I have been working on a few different logos concepts for TGD and hope to have some to show by Monday. That will give me the weekend to polish and tweak them a little. I can't wait to see what the Flabby Ironman dreams up.

Brick Completed

2005-04-13T08:20:00.000-07:00

I had only planned on doing a pool workout. Nothing too hard, just enough to get me back on track after my disappointing Monday. As I gathered my gear together I saw my running shoes sitting in the corner of the room. I thought about it for a second and decided to toss them and a pair of running shorts into my bag. I thought to myself, “If all goes well, maybe I just might be able sneak a brick in tonight.”

Once I got poolside I saw that for whatever reason the pool was just packed. It was scheduled for Adult Lap Swim but there were two Jr. High age swim teams and a diving practice which left only 3 lanes open for Adult Lap Swim and they were all occupied. I began to feel myself getingt a little irritated, “This is what I get for daring to throw a pair of running shoes into my bag” I said to myself. I thought back to some of Wil's recent lap lane horror stories and almost just walked back to my truck. But then the words of Flatman came to my mind “Have a good workout tonight and let us know how it went. We are gonna have to come rough you up if you skip today too!” Not wanting to have to report another failure and not wanting to slapped around by Flatman I decided to suck it up and approached one of the lanes where a swimmer was resting on the wall. I made I contact and then made a “circle swim” type of motion with my hand and he graciously nodded and agreed. The swim workout went great. I was only slightly faster than him and only had to pass him twice during my first 1000 yards. He got out and I had the next 1000 all to myself.

Feeling great I got out of the pool, threw my running stuff on, grabbed the iPod and I was off to run the 4 miles home. Now, I have some questions for you more experienced endurance athletes. Why was my first mile after my swim so easy? I mean, when I go out to do a run workout my first mile always sucks and I typically do it at a 10 min pace, but this time, when I got the 1 mile mark I looked down at my watch and it was only at 8:10. Not only that but I wasn’t even winded. I had some weird cramping going on it my lats from the swim but running seemed much easier than normal. My legs were more tired than when I normally run but just in terms of breathing and heart rate, everything seemed to be not as strenuous and I was even running at a faster pace. Why is that? Is it because my heart rate was already up from the swim? Kind of like when the time for the run came I was already in my second wind?

Anyway, got home (4 miles) in 37:14. I then had to coax the Mrs. Salamander off the couch (she had just worked a ridiculous 13 hour day) and get her to drive me back to the pool to retrieve my truck. After some gentle harassment and coaxing on my part she finally gave in. Oh, the sacrifices she makes on my behalf. So, it was a great workout made possible by the support of my fellow trigeeks. Thanks for your motivating workout stories and for your help and suggestions.

It's Becoming a Sad Trend...

2005-04-12T10:27:00.000-07:00

I am going to go ahead just have to stop planning brick workouts. Every time I plan one the triathlon gods conspire against me and I usually end up not only not getting to do a brick but chances are I won’t get to workout at all. Even worse after not working I am likely to consume large quantities of pizza or some other unhealthy meal for dinner at around 10:00 PM.

Last night after arriving home I said goodbye to the wife as she headed of to class I began getting my gear together. Just as I was about out the door I received a frantic call from a client who was begging to come over with a design emergency. Now this particular client still has two past due invoices for previous design work and I should have said “Yeah come on over so long as you bring a check” but no, for some reason I am super nice and sympathetic to her plight and concede to let her come over and we workout a design. This is precisely why I need some kind of business manager. This is why I am not getting anywhere in terms of being able to quit my job and work fulltime for myself. I am just a lousy bill collector. I am no good at holding people’s toes to the fire as it were. I am just too damn nice I guess. Later on I kick myself and swear that for now on I am making some rules like “half up front and half on completion of the job” but I always waffle.

Anyway, by the time she left my workout was a bust, it was now almost 9:45, the wife would be home soon and I hadn’t made anything for dinner so I picked up the phone and gave Pizza Hut a call. It tasted good last night but today I am disappointed in myself. Disappointed cause I didn’t work out, disappointed cause I once again let myself get pushed around by a dead beat client, and disappointed that my diet will power crumbled like the flakey thin crust of my pizza.

Hoping for a Brick Tonight!

2005-04-11T09:08:00.000-07:00

Alright, it’s Monday again. Just let me tell you how glad I am to be at work. I will take some comfort in the knowledge that Wil is now back at work and not just taking it easy enjoying her spring break.

Going to do a brick tonight, swim and run. Hopefully the bike shop will be able to add some new bearings so I can start working on some bike training. It was amazing to feel the difference between riding the Trek mountain bike and Sgt. Jones’ 80lbs Huffy. The first difference I noticed was the Trek actually worked, no tire rubbing on frame or constant complaining coming from the chain as I shifted gears. The next thing I noticed was how light it was in comparison and therefore so much easier to ride. The third and final thing of note was that the bike took to my destination and then back again. I didn’t even have to get off of it after a mile or so take the walk of shame with a broken bike and broken dreams. Thanks again to Commodore for arranging the loaner for me.

Now for the much vaunted additional photos:

Here is a bird’s eye view of the swimmers as they went under the Mill Avenue Bridge at the start of the race.

The swimmers as they head off into the rising sun.

This is had to be discouraging. When you take into account all the time spent in training and preparation only to have some kind of silly mechanical problem with your bike right out of the transition area.

Just a quick shot of some of the first wave of bikers as they finish their fist loop.

Talk About Motivating!

2005-04-09T12:25:00.000-07:00

Wow! This morning was simply outstanding. First I just want to take a second and thank the Commodore for showing me around the event area, arranging for me a loaner bike, and for just being a real standup guy in general. I was glad to have the chance to meet him in person.

Now for the pics.

Below is a pic of the guy Commodore saw and mentioned in his blog who decided to show up without a wetsuit. I searched my images and found him for you. I know we are in Arizona, but at 6:30 AM the sun wasn't really up and the wind was blowing so it had to have been cold, so he gets an extra punch his Man Club Card for that one.

Just a general picture of the total madness at the start from the bridge.

And their off for the grueling bike distance.

Not sure who this is but he was among the first finishing the first lap.

I'll post more pics later. I am hoping to make it back down later tonight to watch some of the finishes. This has been an awesome experience and super motivating for me to continue on with my training. In the meantime head over to Common Man Syndrome where Commodore has addtional photos posted.

Can't Wait for Tomorrow

2005-04-08T18:36:00.000-07:00

I know this is later than my typical post. My apologies, I have been simply swamped at work all day.

I am really looking forward to meeting with Commodore tomorrow morning so we can bike over to watch the start of the Arizona Ironman. Apparently Commodore has been kind enough to secure a loaner bike for tomorrow's activities. I am really getting spoiled here. This will be my first time ever watching (in person) a triathlon and my first experience gets to be with an Ironman event. I know the Shadow Spawn and the Soccerdad have been pushing for Commodore and myself to really think about participating next year but I think I at least am going to need a couple of years to build up that kind of endurance.

Anyway, I am excited to meet Commodore face to face. Its funny having read his blog for the last month or so, I feel like I have known him a long time. So it is almost like a blind date only in a super nongay uber heterosexual way.

So, I will hopefully have some photos and good stories to share tomorrow so stay tuned...

The Buoys Are In The Water!

2005-04-07T10:52:00.000-07:00

Very cool, on my way home from work last night, I looked down at Tempe Town Lake and saw all of these odd orange and yellow buoy type structures floating in the lake. Just as I was wondering what the purpose of the buoys would be, I realized they must marking the course for the Arizona Ironman for this weekend. I am of course going to have to go down and watch the swim from Tempe Beach. I am really excited. I am going to bring along my camera so if anyone has an athlete who they especially idolize, let me know and I’ll try to get you a picture.

Sadly spectators aren’t being allowed at the finish line, it would be fantastic to be there and cheer the athletes on as the crossed the line. The website for event states “Unfortunately due to the high congestion of the finish line area, no spectators will be allowed into this area. Please do not try and gain access to
this area, as it is must remain clear for the safety of the athletes.” Oh well.

I am going to start just using the stationary bike at the gym for my bike training and then rent a bike for race day. I am exasperated to no end with Sgt. Jones’s 80 lbs. Huffy and am calling quits for now.

Quote of the Day:
It is possible to fail in many ways...while to succeed is possible only in one way.
Aristotle, Nichomachean Ethics

Bike Woes Continue

2005-04-06T08:58:00.000-07:00

So, the team leader seemingly knew what he was doing yesterday. He looked at the bike and determined the wheel was straight but the axle and bearings where loose so he tightened them and all seemed to be well with the world. But alas, a mile into the ride the wheel once again began rubbing against the brake and frame. So I did the all too familiar walk of shame home with the bike and went for a run instead. Just did 3 miles at about 10 min per mile pace. I know Soccerdad considers this to be SLOW but I don't care, it was good for me. It was also my first time running in the afternoon sun. It was about 80 at the time and it really seemed to sap the energy out of me. I really need to start drinking more water, especially in light of the Commodore's post from yesterday.

Quote of the Day:

For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them.
Aristotle, Nichomachean Ethics

Would You Trust This Man To True Your Rim

2005-04-05T09:42:00.000-07:00

Heh, the above is a photo of the art department team leader where I work. I actually made this as a joke when I was moonlighting as a news artist over at FOX, a joke yes, but fitting none the less. I think that there is a high probability that several warrants are currently outstanding for his arrest.

Anyway, he heard me bitching and moaning about my tire woes and has volunteered his services. Now, he is a self proclaimed “bike expert” and by virtue of his own wild boasting a former BMX racing god of yesteryear. He is convinced that I am just too dumb to mount the tire properly and that the axel is therefore crooked. So, I brought Sgt. Jones’ 80lbs Huffy in today so we shall see if he is able to fix it.

In other news, my swim workout last night was tremendous. I completed my first 3000 yrd (cumulative) workout since I was on swim team. It felt great. It was bizarre, at about 2,200 I was going to call it good and head home, especially since the blowing wind was brutal, but I got this from out of nowhere burst of energy and added a couple more sets of 400’s. Man, it really felt fantastic, especially in light of the weekend training frustration. I even put an exclamation point down on the workout by finishing it off with 100 yard fly.

That’s it for now, I’ll update on the condition of the bike wheel when a diagnosis is confirmed.

The Best Planned Workouts of Salamanders and Men

2005-04-04T09:48:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone for their kind words of encouragement on my last post. This is an awesome community we have developed here. I learn so much from all of you guys, its almost like having an entire coaching staff in my corner.

So, my big plan to have my own little mini triathlon training was a total debacle. I hurried home from work on Friday evening , put my bike in the truck and went to the pool. I was really starting to get excited at this point and was really looking forward to the workout. I pulled into the pool parking lot and immediately something wasn’t right. The entire parking lot was jammed full of cars. Weird, I thought as I finally found open spot and headed up to the pool. Before getting to the gate I could already see why the parking lot was full. There was a massive high school swim meet in progress.

I was distraught by the realization that there would be no pool workout but decided to make the best of things and drove home and got out the bike. I’ll just do a good solid brick of biking and running. I got about 5 miles from home. My bike workout was going fine when the bike began behaving funny. It started to become really hard to pedal and at first I thought I must just be getting tired. Then I noticed what sounded like a “rubbing” sound and looked back at my rear tire. It seems that somehow my rear tire is rubbing against the frame of the bike and also against one side of the rear brake. So, I didn’t want to do any further damage to the tire or bike, so I walked it the 5 miles home. I was pissed at this point I didn’t even run. I tried fixing the bike but I am not sure why it is doing that. I checked the nuts and they were nice and tight.

I spent the rest of the weekend working on a bunch of freelance graphic design, watching movies, and eating things I shouldn’t have been eating. Oh well, it’s a new week, swimming planned for tonight to get me back on track. Gotta solve the bike dilemma.

Look Away, I'm Hideous

2005-04-01T11:01:00.000-08:00

Nothing lets the wind out of my sails more than the realization that I have not gone as far as I had thought. Nothing is worse than confusing some intersection or landmark and thinking you are at the 4 mile mark and then later realize you have only gone two.

That is essentially what happened, in a metaphorical sense, to me last night. My wife and I recently went on a hike into the Bradshaw Mountains. While we were hiking she snapped some photos along the way. Anyway, the pictures were developed and I was disappointed with my physical appearance. Don’t get me wrong, I have made some great progress in the last six months but I guess I had built up a rather optimistic self image of myself over the last month or so. I’ve dropped 30 lbs and still have another 20-30 to go before I can get back to my old “playing weight” of yesteryear, but seeing the photo was more or less discouraging.

I received some great comments yesterday on my post and wanted to thank everyone for their points of view. Wil made a great point when she said. “Just for the record, there are several Mexicans I know who aren't thrilled with the way Mexico played, so it's not a whole country thing. It looks bad, I know, but obviously it's not everyone.” I want to say that I didn’t want to imply that all Mexicans are anti-American. 80% of my coworkers are Mexican immigrants and most of them are really quite pro-American. At the same time, I don’t want to let the fans at Aztec Stadium off the hook by saying it was just a few rowdy fans here and there causing all of the trouble. When the Star Spangled Banner was played it was absolutely drowned out by taunts and boos. That means at least 100,000 people were behaving in a rude and unsportsmanlike manner.

Thanks to everyone for informing me that a “brick” consists of only two sports performed back to back, not all three. Nevertheless in a super mastodon like fashion I will still perform all three. I am going to drive to my pool and swim, and then grab my bike from the back of the truck and go for a ride that will eventually end at my apartment where I will ditch the bike and run back to the pool (4 miles) and drive home.

How to Host a Guest

2005-03-31T09:49:00.003-08:00

Results from the soccer world were very satisfying last night. The U.S.A. bounced back from Sunday’s defeat against Mexico with offensive explosion against a spirited but outmatched Guatemalan side. The 2-0 victory showcased some of the best attacking performances I have seen the U.S. produce in recent memory.

Although I was happy with result of the U.S. vs. Guatemala match I was even more pleased to watch Panama come from behind and tie their match against the cheating Mexican team. Honestly, if you are Mexican fan, I don’t know how you can be proud of a team like Mexico. It would embarrass me to no end to watch my team taking dive after dive, rolling around on the ground in what appears to be total agony, only to get up and be at a full sprint 10 seconds later. The Mexicans are constantly getting carded for cheap shots and late behind the action fouls. I was cheering so hard for Panama to tie the match. I wanted Panama to score a goal and tie more than I wanted Maximus to kill Commodus at the end of Gladiator.

I would like to point out to the Mexican fans that after the U.S. beat Guatemala, the American fans didn’t take to streets and start burning and stomping on the Guatemalan flags. Nor did the U.S. supporters drown out the visiting teams national anthem with jeers and boos. Perhaps the Mexicans can use this as an example of how to behave and how to properly host a visiting team.

On the triathlon side of things, I had a short but good swim yesterday and hope to get some time on the bike this afternoon. My boss just asked me if I could give him a ride all the way out to the northwest valley after work since it is “on my way”. Yeah, on my way home right! So I’ll have to see what kind of time I have by the time I get home. This Saturday, I am going to attempt my first “brick” training session. From what I understand from other blogs, a brick is essentially where you train all of the triathlon events in immediate succession, sort of like a little mock triathlon.

Knock on Wood

2005-03-30T09:42:00.000-08:00

I am jinxing myself big time by writing this post, but oh well I am doing it anyways. I finished my run last night and realized that since beginning my triathlon training regiment I have been pain free. Of course I have had general muscle soreness, the kind you would expect to have from running, biking and swimming hard, but my chronic shin splints seem to have taken a hike.

The last two rugby seasons I had been plagued by severe shin splints. I mean really bad to the point where I needed serious pain killers to even do the pregame up warm up jog. The first 15 minutes of each match were brutal but eventually the pain would subside and I could finish the match. The next day however I knew I would be paying some serious consequences.

Now my shin splints seem to be totally gone. I keep waiting to feel a hint of them here or there but there is nothing. I wonder what has made the difference? Has lap swimming somehow been therapeutic for my shins? I am running on concrete now instead of grass and I would think the hard concrete would make the splinting even worse. Is it the fact that I am wearing running shoes instead of cleats? Or is it the 30 Lbs I have dropped? Or is it an all of the above type of scenario? If I could identify the cure it would help me immensely to know how to train to guarantee they don’t come back. At any rate, I am glad (for now atleast) that they are gone and I hope this post doesn’t jinx them back into existence. Knock on wood.

I Realize I Am A Geek For Pointing This Out....

2005-03-29T09:02:00.000-08:00

So, last night, after my 3 mile run, I sat down to watch the much promoted Conquest of America series on the History Channel. First I want to say this is an excellent series of documentaries and I enjoyed them immensly.

However, there was a scene where they showed Marie de Medici playing chess with her son. Now Marie de Medici was a 17th century French Queen but the chess set they were using, upon close examination, can easily identified as the famous Isle of Lewis Chess set.

The problem is that the Isle of Lewis pieces are 12th century Norse and weren't discovered until 1831. Thus making it unlikely that Queen Marie would have had a minature replica set of these Norse pieces.

Very Puzzling

2005-03-29T08:01:00.000-08:00

What the hell is wrong with Mexico? I watched Sunday’s soccer match and was obviously disappointed with the result as the U.S.A. lost 2-1. Especially since the second Mexican goal came as the result of an obvious cheating hand ball from a Mexican player. I was disappointed by the outcome, but I was even more shocked and dismayed by the antics of the Mexican fans after the game. Why would the Mexicans gather together and burn the American flag and start chanting “Osama! Osama!”?

Sadly this isn’t the first instance of such idiotic and unsportsman like behavior from the Mexican fans. The same thing happened in last years Olympics. I just want to ask “Hey Mexico, what the hell?” I have typically always supported our neighboring countries in soccer matches. For example, if there were a match between Canada and England, I would cheer for the Canadians. If it was Mexico against Germany, I would have supported Mexico. Those days have past. Mexico is now my most hated soccer team. Which is why I will be cheering big time for Panama this Wednesday night in their match against Mexico.

Sleek and Aerodynamic

2005-03-28T08:07:00.000-08:00

Man oh man!, shaving the head feels uber fabulous! I'm sure it will help with the swimming as well. It's gotta be the equivalent of wearing a swim cap so I should be able to "shave" a second or two of my time. (Oh bad bad pun)

Had a good weekend. No training just some hiking in the Bradshaw Mountains. I figured it would soon be way to hot to even consider hiking there so it was my last chance to get up there for at least 6 -7 months.

Quote of the Day:

"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves, that we are underlings."
Julius Caesar (I, ii, 140-141)

This quote came to mind after hitting the snooze button for the 6th time and thus dooming my high ambitions of doing 10 workouts this week. I was hoping to get one in before work and one after but just couldn't muster the energy required this morning. Feeling guilty right now, but I gotta get past it so I can focus and make the best of the remaining time this week.

Bald is Beautiful

2005-03-25T12:44:00.000-08:00

Swim workout went well last night. It was a cloudy night so the Worm Moon didn’t make it’s much anticipated appearance. I tried a new regiment recommended by Wil. I started out with a 500 warm up and then did a 3 x 400 with RPE’s starting a 2 and then to 3 for the second set and then up to 5 for the final set. It felt really good and was surprised at how good of shape I am getting in endurance wise. I think the strength in my arms was starting to wane long before my lungs. The Flabby Ironman also recommended a swim program called Total Immersion. I went and checked it out and watched some of their demo movies. Pretty good stuff as far as I am concerned. It is more or less the same philosophy under which I was coached back in my swim team days.

I am trying to scheme up a way of sneaking home a little early today from work so I can shave my head before Mrs. Salamander shows up to protest. The temperature in Arizona is starting to heat up a little and now that I have experienced the comfort of the hairless head (the front row of my rugby squad all shaved our heads last year in a super manly show of solidarity and unity) there is no going back. I have had hair now for well over six months and it driving me crazy. Plus imagine how much more streamlined I will be during those pool workouts!

Worm Moon, You Saw Me Standing Alone

2005-03-24T07:56:00.000-08:00

I hope you all find time to go out tonight and enjoy the Worm Moon. I missed my swim workout this morning so I will be swimming under the warmth of Worm Moon’s haunting glow tonight.

I finished reading the book Beyond Beliefby Elaine Pagels last night. It was very interesting and well written. She makes very interesting points about the varying opinions, practices, and factions among members of the early Christian church. My only complaint is that it seemed, to me at least, that she is overly critical of the Gospel of John and super accepting of the Gospel of Thomas when the two seemed to be in doctrinal conflict. Is was almost as though that because the Gospel of Thomas is Gnostic it is therefore automatically more correct and trumps whatever is written in John.

This article is dedicated to all of my fellow patrons at Bally’s last night. They all seemed hell bent, in some kind subconsciously united effort to keep me from using the machines I needed to complete my planned workout. I dedicate it specifically to the guy in the tiger striped workout pants who needed 15 minutes to complete 3 sets of weighted calf raises. According to Dr Julien Steven Baker in the article "It's quality over quantity. It means that it may be you can spend less time in the gym as long as the exercise you are doing is intense.” Obviously we aren’t talking distance and endurance training but just in terms of weight training in the gym.

Sound Familiar?

2005-03-23T10:51:00.000-08:00

I came across this interesting article on the RTP. For those of you who don’t speak Portuguese, the basic gist of the article is that a group of Portugal’s religious leaders, from varying faiths and ethnicities, got together and formed a coalition called Different Children of Different Gods.

The group came to several conclusions, one of which is that the practice of religion in general, be it Sihk, Catholic, Protestant, Filadélfia or any number of faiths, contributes to a more open and less racist Portuguese society.

The article focuses specifically on the transformation of the Gypsy population and how the influence of the Church of Filadélfia on curbing the types of behaviors that have become Gyspy stigmas and stereotypes. Specifically, that men not consume alcohol, and be honest in their business dealings.

Professor Bastos, the expert quoted in the article, concludes, “churches can do more alone than the State to help minority groups.” (translated to the best of my ability). He however laments the fact that groups such as Different Children of Different Gods get no support from the government in spite of their proven track record in effecting social reforms.

Hmmm, sound familiar?

What Will It Take

2005-03-23T08:41:00.000-08:00

The Commodore has an interesting post over at Common Man Syndrome. In his post he talks about the different mental attitude and toughness required by traditional team sports such as football and soccer and that requisite for a triathlete. He says, “A few understand the personal competition I put myself through to run a marathon or train for an adventure race events, but if it dosen't fit into the pre-molded form of a football, baseball or basketball most dismiss it as mish mash or a diversion from real exercise.”

As a newbie/wannabe triathlete I have been pondering whether or not I myself have the right mind set. Do I have the mental/physical fortitude for this type of attrition? I have competed in a variety of different sports through the years. I have played soccer, been a varsity wrestler, a competitive swimmer, and rugby player. I know I have experienced what I previously considered to be near total effort and exhaustion. How will the last miles of the run of the trialthlon compare to the last 5 minutes of rugby match. In the dying moments of the match you are battered, bruised, and exhausted. The whistle blows and you hear the ref yell “Scrum down”, and you know that from somewhere you have to summon not only the strength but also the courage to bind in and brace for the impact and collision of the front row.

Will the triathlon be worse? Will it be easier? Or will it just be different?

To be honest I have a lot of self doubt about whether or not I will be up to the challenge. It is that doubt that has me getting up early and hitting the pool, running further than I ever thought I could, changing my diet, and even starting to pound out miles on Sgt. Jone’s 80 lbs Huffy. Ok it’s not 80 lbs., but when going uphill it sure feels that way. The Pat Tillman race is fast approaching and I guess we’ll find out soon enough, one way or the other

Building Endurance

2005-03-22T09:30:00.000-08:00

So I am trying to come up with a plan to build endurance on my swim. This morning I gave it a try. I started up with 500 yrd warm up and then went and did a 200 yrd pyramid starting at 200 and working my way down to zero by 25 yrd incriments. From 1 x 200 followed by 1 x 175, then 1 x 150 and so on .30 seconds of rest between each set. I am hoping to get to the point to then work back up to 200 by 50 yrd incriments.

I don't know if this is the most effective way to go about it or if I should just get in the water and crank out a mile and call it good. I only have about a 45 min window between when the pool opens and when I need to leave for my grueling commute from Scottsdale to South Phoenix.

Any thoughts from those who know? I have eliminated the kickboard section of my workouts for the time being as was suggested at Tri-Newbies.