Experior and Slornow's Spring/Summer Mentor Group-CLOSED (Page 94)

Sorry to hear about the sad news, Randy, but also glad to hear the good.

Nick -- nice post.

My dissertation director (and more important, best friend and mentor through a trying few years of grad school) took his own life a few years after I graduated, with very little warning.  I was pretty devastated for a good while, and then another friend, and co-author of a 400-page book manuscript (so yeah, we spent a LOT of time together) passed away from a rapidly developing cancer. It can be really really hard to understand these events, and finally I had to accept that maybe there is nothing, really, to understand.  There was no way to make sense of it that made any sense.  At any rate, that realization is what allowed me to move on.

Good run for me today.  (And yeah, running gets me through a lot of sh$t too...)  My calf is still injured, but I think I can get through it (and keep running) without any serious consequences.

Randy, so sorry to hear about the loss for you and your community, and most importantly to your friend's family.  Karen and I were watching a documentary last night called MissRepresentation which is more about what young women in our society have to overcome / ignore to grow up.  It was sobering.  I have no idea what was facing your friend, but I do think we all have a difficult time living up to the ideals that are out there in our culture and media, and maybe most of all, in our own minds.  And when we can't, because we lose our jobs due to a rough economy, or whatever else life may throw at us, sometimes we don't have the tools or experience to gain the perspective we need to see it through.  I like what Nick had to say about how triathlons can be a helpful part of finding that perspective, and especially about the bike rides and runs.  In a season of ups and downs, my highlight was spending time up on the Skyline Drive biking with friends - not races, PRs, etc.  And, of course, that paled in comparison to sitting on a bench down at the water at Parent's Weekend next to Katherine and Karen, with our arms around each other, just letting the wind blow away our cares while we watched the boats in the bay.  It really saddens me to think that your friend just lost that kind of moment for him and his family going forward, but from what you said about the eulogy, it sounds like they did have many in the past - and that counts for alot.

Randy - Sorry for your loss! It is hard to imagine why someone would ever do that and how deep they must have fallen to see only one solution to end their problems. Unfortunately their is nothing we can do about. I have gone through similar situations in the past. A friend of mine when we were 17 years old took his own life. Nobody had the slightest idea that he was such a troubled soul. 

Nick - Very nice post. Those are the posts that keep you engaged, keep you going, keep you thinking about life and how lucky we are that we have found the sport of triathlon. 

Yesterday was horrible. I was supposed to run 10 miles for my half marathon training. We started as a group but the group split pretty quickly. Saturday's we meet at 6pm to run at various places. Yesterday we met at a farm road that barely has any traffic on it at all. I was running and felt ok for the first 5 miles and hit the turn around. I hit 7 miles and my knees hurt and my mind was not in it either. I saw a truck coming at me from some distance and as soon as the driver saw me hit started heading right for me ... I had to jump in the ditch to get out of the way and all i heard was laughing! I was wearing a reflective running vest and a very bright headlamp that you can see from miles away. I walked the remaining 2 miles back to my car. Needless to say that was one of my worst runs ever. It was one of those where you think to yourself why you are even doing all this. I could be sitting on the couch watching TV. 

I guess something like that you have to chalk up to a bad day and a stupid redneck driver!

Two hour ride with a short brick run this morning. Then, my wife and I went and saw the new James Bond movie this afternoon. I think this is our third movie in the last 2 years. That's about twice as many as the previous five years   Before that it was kids movies. The movie was good and a fun way to spend the afternoon.

Michael/d3-sounds like a tough run. Glad you made it home safely and will have the chance to do it again. We can't count on vehicles seeing us no matter how visible we are.

Jason/Jimmy-countdown to IMAZ...how are the tapers going?

Randy 

Michael -- sorry to hear about the crappy run.  I've had similar experiences.  No fun at all.  Put it behind you, don't let it make you angry, and keep at it.  You are doing an amazing job training.  Keep that in mind!

I needed to give a slightly tweaked calf a break from the planned long run today, plus it was absolutely gorgeous outside, so I biked outdoors for the first time in many many weeks, then brief brick run.

No, it isn't wrong.  It's your way of being committed to consistency.

As for injury, it generally ain't the mileage, but the intensity.  Take 5-6 days off (from running at least) after the IM, then run three *silly* easy miles a day after that.  By 'silly' I mean that you are possibly embarrassed to be seen running like that.  You aren't even sure that it counts as running (it does).  You are laughing at how hard you have to concentrate to avoid speeding up.  If you aren't laughing at yourself, it isn't silly easy.

Rene -- just log the housecleaning and it'll feel like you're training again...

I didn't do my long run yesterday (opted for a bike ride plus short run instead).  But I did rip about 100 bushes (weeds) from my back yard.  My back is killing me this morning!

Good morning everyone. We have our first taste of Winter here. 41 degrees with a North wind. Should warm into the 60's as the day goes by. Early morning on the treadmill for me and then hopefully short swim and bike later. What's everyone up to?

Randy 

Jason-you have done the work. You will have a great race.  I will be following you and Jimmy. A great reminder that we do this for fun. Doesn't always feel like fun when we are racing but the feeling of crossing the finish line, satisfied that we have done all we could, sure seems to wash away the suffering we experience during the race. I have joked many times after a race that if race sign ups were at the halfway point of the run I would never do another tri.

Jimmy-what's your IMAZ #?

Randy 

Great attitude.  Have a great race.  I'm traveling on Sunday, but plan to check in when possible.  

Good job Michael! Busy work schedule has my swim workouts screwed up this week and probably the same for next week with it being a holiday week.

I know we have Jimmy and Jason racing this weekend.  Anyone else have any races coming up over the next month? I'm planning to do a local HM 12/9. It has been 2+ years since I last did a HM so not real sure what to expect.

Have a good Thursday!

Randy 

Michael, excellent job with the swimming!  I had a much larger swimming volume than usual last month and found myself actually looking forward to the pool on some mornings.

Well, I arrived in Arizona Weds evening.  Checked in Thursday morning.  Now just enjoying the sites, meeting people, soaking up the experience.   Will pick up the bike today and do a short ride. Practice swim in the morning. Lots of sight seeing planned. 

My bib is 2348, Jim Barron.  My first goal is always to finish, my time to beat is 13 hours. 

My other goal, which was to raise money for a local organization that successfully finds homes for the forgotten pets in the shelters and rescues them from abusive environments, has been met!!! 

I am ready!!!

Jim-sounds like a great cause. Enjoy the race. You have worked hard and done the training. Be confident.

Stu-How about those Tarheels

Michael-I use to travel alot when I was a young lawyer. It was exciting for awhile but quickly got stale. Would fly to some cool place and never actually leave the airport. Depositions/meetings at airport conference rooms. Hotel at the airport and then fly home. Now my travel is limited to driving 1-2 times a week for hearings and appointments 1.5 hours away. Boring but at least I'm home at night.

Hard to believe Thanksgiving is almost here.

Randy

It's tough being a Hoo this year :-)  Froze my buns off on Thursday night in a losing effort.  The only thing worse is reading the fan boards.  Almost as bad as the political ones (I hear you've got a topless carwash guy leading your secession efforts in Alabama - egad!).  I swear I don't understand people's perspectives anymore - it's a game for goodness sakes (football that is).  Anyway, for the Hoos in football and hoops, it's a bit like my triathlon expectations.  MOP is what I expect.  Every now and then, I'm surprised and we celebrate!  Alternatively, I could become an Olympic sport fan - we're better in those ;-)

Final countdown for 140.6!  Good luck manana, gents!

Stu