Commute Ride Report

It was a cold, muddy ride on the mean streets of Manhattan today. I was hoping to get out before the rain started, but I missed the last bit of merely overcast weather by maybe fifteen minutes.  As it turns out, it wasn't too, too bad, but now I'm on the train with wet, muddy jeans, and that's never fun.

I Finally Broke Down and Admitted It...

People suck. They are pissing me off. I tried taking a deep breath, letting go, letting myself relax...   

But no.  That didn't work. Everyone, if you are reading this, you can get fucking bent. 

Oddly, having taken a stand, I now feel better. 

Triathlon Training Log: 3-10 to 3-16 (Week 3)

I’ve been telling myself all season that I’m not gonna race that much this year.  And since the season’s gotten off to such a super-slow start in terms of training overall, I’ve even been resisting calling these Monday posts “triathlon” training logs, labelling then instead merely “training logs”.  But.  The YMCA’s Tri Club is now officially back in business, and I’m still coaching, so…  It seems a little silly.  

I’m still not sure how much I’m going to race this season.  However, to the extent that I’ve been training, it’s definitely been multi-sport training, and the YMCA is hosting a short Y-Tri at the beginnning of May, and I’m gonna compete.  With that in mind, I’ve relabeled these posts “triathlon training logs”, understanding as I do that there are a lot of triathletes out there--most, probably--who train a lot more than I do.  

Truth is, I haven’t pushed at all this season.  In fact, I’ve barely been training, and as far as that’s concerned, I don’t even have any goals.  Nevertheless, I’ve gotten out there three weeks in a row as of this writing, and that’s got to count for something.

New Shirt, New Tie

Last week, my wife Sally decided that I'm not flashy enough. So she bought me a new shirt and tie.

She really likes the look, so now she's ready to go shop some more and buy me lots of new clothes. 

Saturday News and Notes

The Tennessee Titans have been surprisingly active in free agency.  Here's a rundown of their signings, the most high-profile of which is Right Tackle Michael Oher, whose life story was told in the movie The Blind Side.

Bottom line: 4 years, $20 million, more than $9 million guaranteed.  That ain't a bad payday.  In fact, it's making people kind'a skeptical.

Five Things on a Friday: Words of Radiance Edition

Words of Radiance is Brandon Sanderson’s newest novel, the second book in his epic fantasy series, The Stormlight Archives.  I put it on hold at the Milford Library several weeks ago but then broke down and bought it for the Kindle app the day it came out.  I finally finished reading every one of the thousand-plus pages in a long, rather frantic reading session Wednesday night, so that I then had to sit down and read the ending again on Thursday morning, and yup… I’ve been trying to figure out what the Hell I just read ever since.

Cover art for Words of Radiance.

I’m going to try to keep my thoughts on the book spoiler-free, but only for Words of Radiance.  This edition of Five Things on a Friday assumes you’ve read at least most of the way through The Way of Kings.  

If you haven’t, go do that now.  Then come back and read this.

Taylor Swift's "Fearless"

Hannah sang "Fearless" at Sunday's spring show.

Tri Training Log: 3/3 - 3/9 (Week 2)

This was the second week in a row that was a decent work week.  I got some work done in each discipline--twice!  All things considered, that's not bad.  

Swim

Got in the pool twice this week.  The first time was Tuesday evening, when I met my friend Ben, and we did a long set of 200's.  Then I got in again on Saturday, putting in 15 x 100 @ 1:30 after going for a five-mile run.  That Saturday workout wasn't great, but it was decent aerobic work, so I guess I'll take it.

Tuesday's workout is probably the only one that's worth reproducing here:

Five Things on a Friday: Better Late than Never

1. The Red Skull never died.

You only think I'm dead.

I was watching Captain America: The First Avenger last night with my girls, and I noticed something.  The Red Skull doesn’t die at the end.  What happens instead is that he accidentally activates the Cosmic Cube, and it shoots him off into space—presumably to the throne of Thanos!  

I hadn’t noticed before, but I was paying attention this time because my daughter Hannah said that…

*spoiler alert*

Transformers 4 Trailer

Not sure what to make of that beyond the obvious fact that the U.S. military is obviously no longer on the side of the angels anymore.

Is that a reflection of what's going on in society, or maybe blowback from all the crap going on with the NSA, or have we simply moved to a more cynical take on what is by now a well-aged franchise looking for new ideas?

Tri Club is Back in Action!

The Woodruff Family YMCA Tri Club will be holding it's annual Organizational Meeting on Tuesday, March 11th at 6:30 at the Y. 

If you've always wanted to try Tri, this is your perfect chance. Our first race is a very short Sprint on May 10th that starts with a 300-yard pool swim. You can do that!!!

If you're interested, let me know, or just come on out!

Thanks.

Before & After

Training Log:

I don't know that I want to call this past week a real Training Week, but it's almost a Training Week, and at this point, I'll take what I can get.