SalsMiles2

HGTV and TLC should be banned from cable. Oh, sure, anyone can knock out walls, kitchens, bathrooms and do electrical or plumbing work. Well, no they can't! This weekend was spent refinishing the living room floor. The same floor I refinished incorrectly 2 years ago! Jan ran 12 miles Saturday morning with friend and training partner, Eileen. The second stage of this special triathlon was helping me move a 1,000lb upright, 100+ year old piano, couches, chairs, tv and more. No fighting or arguing, at least nothing more than the Costanza's from Seinfeld. Gee, why do the kids live out of state? Just kidding, the moving went well except for my torn deltoid, the same one I tore a month ago putting wheels on the evil piano. I rent a sander and go to town. It actually comes out well, even the bare floor looks better. The tri continues as Jan sweeps, dusts and mops several times so the floor is ready for staining. For the third stage Jan bikes a mere 60 miles, on the trainer in the ...

The Louisville Ironman course maps were released this weekend. The swim is one loop in the Ohio river, out against a "slight" current, then back to Waterfront Park. The marathon is said to be a flat two loop course. Jan has already printed out maps to study. The elevation map for the bike course is misleading. The hills are scrunched together and makes the course look like the Rocky Mountains. The largest climb is from mile 10-21, an elevation increase of about 400 feet. The course rolls along until 90 miles, then drops in elevation for about 10 miles and another 10 miles flat to the finish. Training on the bike around Mendon Ponds and the Finger Lakes area should serve Jan well. We are lucky to have reservations at the Galt House hotel, just 3 blocks from the finish line. The Galt House is also the site of athlete registration, so it will be busy, but convenient.

Thursday was my first attempt to ride the mt. bike home after work, about 16 miles, from the old Sibley's building downtown to Spencerport. The ride started fine as I worked my way over to the Riverwalk trail heading towards the canal path. Construction stopped me at Brooks Ave. as the trail suddenly ended. Brooks, my alternative route to the canal, wasn't bad, though weaving between the broken glass without a repair kit was a concern. A nice day immediately began to look ominous as heavy black clouds loomed in the distance. Damn weather channel I checked before leaving work said no rain until 8pm. The promised SSE that should have been pushing me home never appeared, it was a headwind all the way. Four miles from home the rain started. Three miles to go and the lightning began. I have never liked being out in thunder and lightning. Riding a metal object on an open path, next to a long body of water, under and over metal bridges, didn't seem like a great plan, but what was ...

I just mapped the bike route (56 miles, mostly rt. 3) for the Tupper Lake, NY Tinman . This is the 25th anniversary for the race and will be held on June 30. The USATF create a route site wouldn't calculate the total climb for the race or elevation change. Since it is an out/back route just double the amount (1518' climb, 3150' elevation change for 28 miles). The route I mapped is close, but not 100%. I did this mainly as a training tool so Jan and others get ready for hill climbing. To find the route go to the USATF website, click on "find a route", then type in Tupper Lake and NY. It is the only route listed for Tupper.

When does a normal person get inspired to train for and run an Ironman? Beats me. We have always watched the Hawaiian Ironman on tv and while Jan has talked about how great it would be to do that some day, I never felt the same motivation. We've had friends who've completed many triathlons, half-ironmans and the full Ironman distance. Two, Patty Pernie and Augie Calabrese, have had the pleasure(?) or honor of completing the Hawaiian race. That is certainly inspiring and to be respected. Local tv reporter Christine Webb chronicled her experiences with triathlons, particularly the Lake Placid Ironman, on television and in her own blog. Still, their accomplishments haven't instilled in me the need to try one myself. It seems to somehow have affected Jan though. To go from being a runner to a tri-sport athlete is a big step. To go from that to the Ironman distance is a bit insane. So, I'm looking forward to watching her at the Tinman in Lake Placid and then the full Ironma...

Sunday was a 5k that began and ended in an office and community park near Brighton, the 2007 Parkinson Canal run /walk. Jan and I rode our mt. bikes from home to the canal path to the start. Jan ran the 5k, then we rode back home. A nice workout of about 32 miles on the bike and learning how legs feel after riding for awhile and then trying to run. The race began at the weird time of 12pm and it was already 75 degrees and sunny.

Jan was just a spectator Saturday as I ran the Muddy Sneaker 20k in the High Tor wilderness area of New York. After the race I was told by a veteran of 8 of these runs that conditions were the worse ever. The snow from last week turned everything to mush in the woods. It was a “right of manhood race” for me. Two days later and my quads are still shot, I’m not an efficient steep downhill runner. I have a lot of respect for the people who could race this course. I survived it, only falling once, cutting and bruising a knee, breaking a pair of sunglasses, cutting my hand, man what fun! The last 1.4 miles is all up, with .2 or so having to hang on to tree branches to pull yourself along, it was that steep. I think we ran up and down the hill (mountain?) 4-5 times during the race, I lost count after awhile. If we weren't going up we were going down, there was no "flat" section. Through the dense woods it was single track, about 4 miles with 2-6 inches of mud, slippery rocks, ...

So, we have been watching a tape of the Boston Marathon , which was held on Monday, when I found out how overweight I really am. It isn't the lack of talent that held me back all these years, it's the fat. Robert Cheruiyot, third time winner, is 6'1" and weighs 136 pounds! That is absurd. Maybe if I lose 32 pounds from what I thought was a fairly thin body my speed will increase? I haven't weighed 136 pounds since 9th grade when I was considered a skinny football player. Cheruiyot must have bird bones, no wonder he can race in shoes that weigh 3.5 ounces.

Move over Rachel Ray and your 30 minute meals! Last night we discovered a tasty meal made by Barilla pasta company. We purchased the sauce, pasta, sausage and peppers frozen meal at Super Walmart, of all places. Usually Wegman's people, we visited the new Walmart in Brockport on Sunday. The Barilla caught my eye and I cooked it last night. A complete meal for two that finished cooking just as Jan walked in the door from work. According to Weight Watchers the dinner was 11 points, which is high, but I had just finished running 5 miles so I wasn't worried. The Barilla bag also suggested pairing the meal with Chianti which we were happy to try. Cleanup was one pan, so little work that Jan volunteered to do it. Sure, I could have boiled my own pasta, cooked the sausage, added the sauce, cut up peppers, blah, blah. More dishes, more utensils, more cleaning. No thanks, not last night. Sometimes you just want good and quick.

I didn't hear the 4:50am alarm, didn't feel her get out of bed and never heard the treadmill going in the basement. Jan had six miles in before I poured my coffee. Hooray for her. I'll run after work tonight when my eyes are willing to stay open.

Sunday was a long bike day, fifty miles, indoors. The weather outside was rain, 40-ish degrees, windy, not good for biking.

It's six a.m. on a Tuesday and I can just make out the whirring of Jan's wheel going around on the indoor trainer. Once again I didn't hear her get out of bed at 5 something, get dressed and start to workout in the basement. Fifteen or twenty miles before work is her goal. Mine is to get another twenty minutes of sleep! We usually leave for work within ten minutes of each other, around 7:15am, and Jan has one workout in most mornings, leaving her the opportunity to double up for the day. I need more time to to make my muscles want to move. Running, whether on the treadmill or outdoors, early in the morning, just seems like a violent activity, better left to others, those "morning people" of which I must not be one. I could bike, but sleep, ahh, now that's a morning activity.

As a 2006 graduate of Fleet Feet's Tri-Community College , Jan has been invited back to encourage and assist with coaching this years participants. Forty people completed the "course" last year, learning swimming, biking and running techniques and training methods. Many of the athletes competed in the Shoreline Triathlon at Hamlin Beach State Park in upstate NY.

Why would someone jump in a pool, dive deep into the water and pull off their shorts? This is exactly the question Jan asked herself while swimming at the local college pool. Seems the young man had on baggy shorts, decided to take them off after getting wet, and continued swimming with just his underwear on. The baggy shorts were thrown onto the pool deck and presumably retrieved before the man left for the day. It was snowing outside though, so with his wet underwear and shorts he must have frozen a few important body parts on his way home! We will never know because Jan completed her workout and left before seeing anymore of the young man.