Ironman

This is a 5 minute video about Ironman. It is the distance that I one day hope to complete. Not because I think I can win, but because doing it is the victory. As Teshie says, "this is about limits, reaching them, exploring them, exceeding or coming to the conclusion that are none."

I've seen this video and others like it hundreds of times. I see their pain and suffering. I've read peoples accounts of doing an Ironman, there is nothing easy about it. I do not take that for granted. Knowing what people go through to complete one of these races inspires me. And somewhere deep inside me is a burning desire and a need to do this.

Thanks to Flatman for posting this.

Hammer Time

I want to be 10 minutes faster in the Windsor Tri this year. To do that I need to cut at least 5 minutes out of the bike portion, which means going from an average speed last year of 32.5 km/hr to 36 km/hr. I think it can happen.

Today was the first day that I've really hammered it on the bike. I went from work to home in just over 13 minutes and was able to sustain 34+ wherever there were no stops. The best part is that I still have three higher gears to use.

Vocabulary Explosion

Darcy's vocabulary switch has been moved from "On" to "Overdrive". Apparently, she's right in the middle of the vocabualry explosion. Not everything is clear, but this week she's been non-stop putting two and three words together, she's also been trying out some big long words, like "Chocolate milk, please?" It's hard to resist such a polite little girl.

The other day Sue was getting her out of the car and said, "Darcy tell Daddy want you want." The kid looked me dead in the eyes and said, "Baby sister." The next thing I remember was the EMT's giving me mouth to mouth.

FOR THE RECORD, there is NO baby is process. While we're not ruling out the possibility of other little Titcombes, there is nothing to report. Period.

Apparently, Dora The Explorer had a baby sister and Darcy never stopped saying "Baby sister" all day long. Instantly aging both her parents 10 years in the process.

--- UPDATE ---

While there is still nothing to report, I've been informed (by my sister-in-law, Hi!) that Dora's mom actually had twins. A boy and a girl. So, apparently Darcy doesn't want anything to do with a baby brother, just a baby sister.

Ankle Problem

Since Tuesday my left ankle has been bothering me. I sprained it in 1993, really badly, and again in January. I took my time recovering and my ankle never really bothered me again. There's some pain about an inch below the ankle bone, on the outside of the foot. Nothing is swollen, but it is tender if I push on it. I ran tonight and could feel the tenderness the whole time. I've reintroduced myself to biking to work, but I can't think of anything that would have aggravated the sprain.

I was hoping to increase my mileage this weekend, but I guess I'll play it safe and wait.

Lotus Elise

Remember the James bond car/submarine? It was a Lotus Esprit. Back in the 60's and 70's Lotus was an up and coming name in the sports car world. They gained a lot of notoriety in F1 while Colin Chapman was leading that team, until his death in 1982. He was a pioneer to the sport of auto racing and many of his innovations are still in use today. After he died, Lotus fell off the map, but has had a bit of a resurgence lately, with the help of Toyota.

Their latest incarnation is the 2006 Lotus Elise. I saw one last week and took a close look. It's a small car and, not surprisingly, it looks like the Toyota Spider, but hotter. Way hotter. If the Spider looks like a fast car, then the Elise looks like an Olympic sprinter. Enormous air intake on the hood and grill, monster brake discs and calipers. Right down to the tires, super slim, almost racing slicks, that are sure to keep the wheels glued to the road.

It's available in hard top, but I couldn't find a price for the submarine option.

Life Altering Questions

My parents and sister were here for the long weekend. Here are some of the questions that Darcy asked:
Where's Papa (Grandpa)?
Where's Papa's car?
Papa?
A book, Papa?
Another book, Papa?
A walk, Papa?
Again, Papa?

And since they've gone home:
Where did Papa go?

I think she has a new favorite person.

Heart Rate Monitor

Today was my first run with my new HRM. I've playing with it for the past few days and am very impressed. When I just sitting around, not doing anything, my resting heart rate is usually below 50 beats per minute. The lowest I've seen is 44 bpm.

I need to establish what my peak heart rate is, so that I can zero in on my ideal zones. There are many easy ways to figure that out (210 - age gives me 179, 214 - 0.8age gives me 189.2). But I'm a sucker for punishment, so I'm going to do it the old fashion way; work it up until I can't get it any higher. I'm in good shape now, so I'm fairly confident that my max is higher than the equations show. Once I know what it is, I'll be able to focus on heart rate training more seriously.

Here are a few numbers that my watch recorded today (my run was 6.5km in 31:34):
Calories burnt (based on the weight that I input): 552
Avg HR: 163
Max HR: 176
Min HR: 133

Some hilarity, from a galaxy far, far away...

Here are a few funny little Star Wars spoofs:

Napoleon Skywalker - having seen both movies will help.

Store Wars - an Organic attack on the Empire.

More Spoofs - these are not as strong as the other ones.

It's Finally Here!

In January, I lost my watch, so I ordered a beautiful Timex Heart Rate Monitor off eBay. Unfortunately, it was lost during shipping and never arrived. I contacted the seller and he was going to send a replacement, but was out of stock. So he gave me a refund and asked me to check back with him in March. So I did. Once he had more in stock, he sent me the replacement and finally, three months after I originally ordered it, it came today!

S W E E T N E S S !

Long Weekend

I was telling Sue yesterday that Jake was doing a 22 mile training run yesterday. Her response was simple; why? Of course, he won't be able to go the full 26.2 on race day if he doesn't work for it now.

I've been part of a Youth Band of the Salvation Army for the last 3 1/2 years. We represent the region from Windsor to Woodstock. Right now we're in the process of planning a trip to Bermuda next May, as a return for hosting their band, which is coming here in November. Clearly we got the better end of that deal! I'm officially too old to be in the band, but I got roped into being on the planning committee and now I'm stuck. Anyone who knows me is probably thinking, "Yeah, it must be a real burden for Nick to have to play in a brass band and go on trips." Okay, I admit, there are some perks.

This weekend was one of those times. We had recording sessions on Friday night and Saturday morning. This meant for a short night Friday (home after midnight, gone by 7:15am), and a looong day Saturday. While I'm was practically falling asleep over my diner last night, it was worth it. For the same reasons Jake puts in huge miles for the marathon; you can't have the glory without the suffering.

I think that makes an interesting theme this week.

Change of Scenery?

In late November I sent my resume to a very large company. Since early January, I've been doing testing to see whether or not I qualify. So far, I've done very well on all the tests and very nearly got exempt from ever needing to be tested again in one area.

Today I had my formal interview in front of the board of directors. A little nerve wracking, but not as intimidating as I feared. All those years of 'opening night jitters' helped me deal with the nerves. The tough part is the waiting. I won't find out anything about today's interview until June or July. If I move on to the next step, I'll be sent away for an extensive training period. And the kicker is, even if I pass the interview, I could be in the waiting pool for as little as four weeks or as long as two years before I get sent for training. IF, capital I and F, I pass the training period, then I've got the job. If not, I need something to fall back on (like maybe my current job?). To me (and to Sue), this opportunity is worth the wait and the risk.

That's pretty much all I'm going to say about it.

The Magic is Over

Officially, the 2006 NCAA champ has yet to be crowned, but our office pool is over. Jake wins whether or not Florida beats UCLA. I'm in second place right now, but if Florida wins, I'll drop to third. Shameful.

Incidentally, Jake ran the Martian Half-Marathon (see his shirt?) on Saturday. He did very well, running 1:41:38 (a PR), beating his goal of 1:45. Well done Jake! Our next head to head battle will probably be at the Moon in June (5 or 10km), I know you're all giddy with anticipation.

Goal #2 - Complete

Today I completed another of my goals for 2006. I ran 10 km in under 45 minutes, I finished my 10 km route in 43:46. Considering it's the third time in my life that I've run that far (once 13 years ago at John Abbott & once in January), I'm very happy to have met my goal time already. Maybe I set it too high, but there's still room for improvement.

I've been having some really good runs from work lately. So I figured it was a good time to try another long one. We had another spectacular day here, it was around 15C and I wore shorts and a T-shirt. I felt strong throughout the first half, but my 5km time was a little slower than where I wanted it. The route takes me right by the house and I had left a water bottle on the porch this morning. Once I got some water in my mouth, it made a big difference. I did get some slight cramping in my left calf around 7km, but it never got painful. I did get one tiny blister on my left "piggy who went WEEE WEEE WEEE all the way home." That was because the seam of my Ultimax socks went right over the edge of the toe. No big deal, easy enough to fix next time.

This ended up being a great run for me. At the race last week, I ran 21:54 over 5km or 4:23/km. Based on that time, according this fatigue calculator, my 10km should be 45:37. If you double my 5km time, 10km would 43:48 - and I beat that time and pace today! I guess that shows that I had a very bad run during the race and I had a very good run today.

Nearing the end of the Madness

I'm sure you all know by now, the Final Four has been decided. This weekend proved again why they call it "March Madness". It's the first time since the early 80's that no #1 seeds made the Final Four and George Mason is the highest seed (#11) to make it this far in a long time, and could be the highest seed ever to make the final if they beat Florida.

As for the office pool, there are only four people that still have a team alive. I'm holding strong, but now in second place and all my hopes rest on UCLA making the final and Florida not making the final. Jake is beating me, I think he's getting used to that... If Florida wins, Jake wins it all. If Florida loses their game to George Mason and UCLA makes the final, then I'll win. Those are pretty long odds.

A small rant

Tonight was a night to run home from work. It did not get off to a good start.

Right at the beginning had a little "heart to heart" with the railway police for crossing the tracks after the train had gone by, but the gates were still down. I only got a warning, what a sweety. Then a 400 lb man told to run on the grass, because it would be easier on my knees. Clearly he was an expert.

Usually I use these end of day runs to de-stress after work. Today I was more stressed when I finished.

Madness Baby!

I'm not a basketball fan, but I cannot resist following the NCAA tournament every year. It's one of those great equalizers in life. You don't have to know anything about basketball or you can follow every game, and the odds are you'll pick the NCAA tournament equaly. At work we do a pool for the world's tackiest trophy.

After night #1, I'm in first place. More updates to follow.

UPDATE!

After the first weekend, I'm still leading the office pool. In the first round I picked 26 of 33 games (including the play-in game) and in the second round I picked 11 of 16 games. I have five of my elite eight still alive and all of my final four (Texas, UCLA, UCONN & Villanova). I've picked UCLA & Villanova in the final, with Villanova winning it all.

Race Day

Not a good race. I ran at a good pace, but couldn't get warm. There was a cross wind and my fingers and nose didn't get warm until 4.5 km. I had some serious side stitches from 4 km on. I just never felt that race instinct. I wanted to catch some of my pacers, but just couldn't make the move. I've still not found a good way to eat when running in the morning, today I had a bagel w/cream cheese & a banana, 2 hours before running. My gut just got worse as the race went on. I was happy with my time, but I wish it had been a better run.

Some things I noticed: The guy who was lined up beside me with a DOUBLE jogging stroller got behind because of the mass start, but then blew by me around the 1 km mark.

A kid who was less than 11 passed me after the turnaround and I could barely keep up. He finished two spots ahead of me. While we were in the finishing chute, I put my hand on his shoulder and said, "Hey man, you were awesome." He was kind of shy about it, but the girl who finished right in front of me said so too.

The winner went sub-15 minutes. Holy crap.

My co-worker Jake had a great race. He took off like a bullet and I knew that there was no way I was going to keep up with him today. He finished 56th overall and 9th of 32 in our age group. His time was 20:35.

I finished 87th out of 395, 15 of 32 in my age group. My time was 21:54. The results are posted here.

I still have a soft spot for The Force.

Courtesy of Jason Kottke, I couldn't pass up taking this little quiz. And so I encourage you to take 3 minutes and "let your feelings guide you." - Ben Kenobi.

I don't know what web 2.0 is. For the record, I got 35 and moved out of my parents basement over 9 years ago.

Running Hard

The weather has been amazing here recently. For my last couple of runs I've been wearing shorts. Last week it rained while I was out and when I came in Darcy took one look at me and said, "Dada, why ze watur?" I asked her, "Why is Daddy covered in water?" "Yeah." She was fascinated by the fact that my hair was soaking.

Today is was 18C while I was out, in shorts and a T-shirt, in mid-March. I love it here. The wind was very strong today, but lucky for me it was at my back the entire way (from work to home). I tried to pick things up a notch, but couldn't get the speed that I used to have. Still I managed a very respectable 29 minutes for 6.5 km. My legs felt great the whole time, but between 3-4 km I got a good side stitch. By the time I hit 5km, the hard breathing was getting to my gut. I've had no pain in either ITB for a couple of weeks now. Stretching works.

All in all, I should be happy with this run, but I'm always expecting more out of myself.

Race #1

The seasons first race for me is next Sunday morning. Our local Running Factory hosts the Spring Thaw 5K. The very informal DigiPrint Running Club seems to have disbanded after the Santa Shuffle in December. Chris discovered he has a bone spur on the ball of his foot and Lorne wasn't all the motivated to keep slugging through the winter months. Jake's going warp speed in his marathon training (he'll be running the London Marathon on May 14th). I've had a rough winter, two weeks lost to injury and another 10 days lost to sickness running through our house. So it'll just be Jake and I going at it next week.

I'm not expecting much. I haven't been working on speed, so I'll be happy to finish around 22 minutes.