10-letter Word for a Period of Absence

Sabbatical.  That was one of tonight's Jeopardy clues and a pretty good reminder that I haven't blogged in six months.  Alex Trebek gave me that "I'm not mad, just disappointed" look through my 46 inches of Sony Bravia goodness that only a Canadian without a mustache can.  I don't answer to Trebek, luckily, but to you, me and the channels of Al Gore's Intarwebz.  To say that the last six months have been busy would be a serious overstatement, but there have been highs, and oh, there have been lows.

So what?  What do I have to tell?  Where has my life been?  I have been to the same old haunts - Spain, Germany, Turkey, Iraq, Afghanistan, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait - but I've also had the incredible treat of getting two days off in San Francisco.  As much as I enjoyed my Cafe Steamer in a hotel microwave in Germany for Christmas dinner last year, it has been my distinct pleasure to have every, every, holiday at home.  It's been so great that I even had Valentine's Day with my wonderful bride (right before I ran out the door to San Fran) even though I had to watch her drink wine.  There has been lots of bad TV including Dance Moms (or Abusive Bitches), Teen Mom 2 (or Dumb Bitches) and the entire Colts season and quite a bit of awesome Hoosier basketball.  I've consumed wine, made wine and am always taking donations in the form of empty bottles to fill and dollars to buy my next wine kit.

While that's all well and good, the real reason I'm sure you're all here is to hold me accountable for my triathlon training.  After all, Ironman Lake Placid is only a short five months away from tomorrow.  Even though it might come across as quibbling, I have to start this segment with the back story to try and legitimize my actions, if even simply in my own head.  Rebecca and I decided quite last minute that we should take a vacation right after Thanksgiving.  We got a great deal on an all-inclusive resort in the Dominican Republic and spent 5 nights down there eating and drinking ourselves stupid.  On day three we were exploring and found the fitness room.  I stepped on the scale, and, lo, I weighed 192 pounds.

Now I know I promised 6 months ago that I wouldn't pass 185, or whatever it was, and I really let that one get past me.  So for the next 2 months I went on a crash diet and worked from running 21 miles a week to running 35 miles a week.  Over that time I lost 13 pounds.  Although I wasn't spending any time on the road, but I did miss many L-Trains (lunch) at work in favor of my Slim Fast.  It was the hardest thing I'd ever done.  Then I took three weeks off.  Oops.

So three weeks cold, I jumped into my race specific training today.  1.25 hours ride in at 50 degrees in a pretty stiff breeze made me pay, but karma for those three weeks really struck in the form of a small sliver of glass in my back tire.  I was warm up to that point, but at 20 miles in, I stopped, got cold and never warmed up again.  This is going to be a long 5 months, but the weather this winter has been mild so far, so it should be a pleasant training season.

I've realized that my promises of rapid updates are now empty and the triathlon paragraph is the shortest, but stay tuned, this could get good.  It's winter.  Who wants to focus on that anyway!  And if all else fails, there's at least 25 gallons of wine in the house, I'll get toasted and type away.  And if you want to chat, stop by and we'll split the 25 gallons.

The Dog Days

It's been almost one month now since I put forward 666 bones for IMLP (hopefully that's not a sign of things to come) and over three weeks since I first blogged.  My mindset is much more that of an Ironman at this point than it ever was before either Arizona in 2007 or Florida in 2010.  I'm much more excited about training and racing (not finishing...racing).  All reports indicate that Lake Placid is an absolutely amazing venue from the scenery to the Olympic history to the small town/big support feel.  I'm 100% more excited about the coming year than I have been for many years.  The world ends in 2012 anyway, so I might as well try to make it a great one!

The last few weeks haven't been all sunshine and unicorns grazing on rainbows, though.  I've been slow to return to training, I'll admit, but my life hasn't been completely devoid of cycling and running.  Over the last three weeks I've ridden 175 miles and run a truly meager sum of 22 miles.  These are numbers many would scoff at.  What causes that, though, is perhaps the greatest barrier to my training:  simple fatigue.  Although the world flying business has slowed considerably, I'm still flying 1-2 times a week locally meaning nearly a full day lost each time.  It is absolutely worthwhile, though.  See the photo of yours truly below.  I'm up late with my best lady every night and up early the next morning, so if I'm not flying I can work up a sweat with my mates (volleyball, tight jeans, dog tags, etc.).  I just enrolled in another course working toward my MBA, and I've got several tests remaining for my professional development course at work.  I am still taking a day a week for my golf swing, though, but that will soon disappear as I need to really buckle down.

So where am I really right now?  Well, in my eyes not so great.  My year long journey begins at a weight of 185.  While that's nothing I'm proud of, it gets worse.  I just measured myself for the tux that I'll be wearing during the marriage of two of the greatest people in the world, and my waist measured a portly 37 inches.  Thank God I wear pajamas every day.  I think I can hear my dad laughing as we've gone quickly in opposite directions.  Now I have a few more goals to set.  By race day I WILL weigh 165 and have a 33 inch waist.  Hell, by the 500 Festival mini-marathon I'll acheive those measurements! 

Now I've got two promises to make:  I'll update you in a week - or at least by next Sunday night - and I'll give you 15 miles running and 100 miles cycling by that update.

Yours truly.

In the beginning

Monday I waited patiently by my computer at work for the clock to strike noon Eastern which signalled the beginning of my third year-long journey to the land of the Ironman.  My chosen race for 2012 (the one chosen for me really, but I've got no complaints at all) is Ironman Lake Placid, the New York site of the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics.  Think "miracle on ice" without the ice and much less miracle.

Surely those who've discussed triatlon and iron-distance races with me are a little surprised by this and might wonder how this came about.  I had no intention of entering another Ironman for many years due to the time committment associated with it, my job and the rest of my life.  After hearing me complain about the pounds I've gained in the 9 months (baby weight?) since I raced in Florida, however, I think Rebecca finally caved.  She didn't open the conversation lightly, striking quickly with "you know, I miss your Ironman body..."  Well I certainly do, too, and welcome the chance to get it back.  Of course I'd been hoping it wouldn't be too long before I could get back to training like I did last year, but I certainly didn't expect it to be this year.  When given the list of races to choose from, she snubbed Arizona (too hot last time) and Florida to settle on Lake Placid.  As a flat-lander, the massive elevation gains on the course aren't my strength, but the scenery is breathtaking and it's the second oldest North American race.  Needless to say, I couldn't be more excited. 

Why no miracle, though?  Because when I cross the finish line July 22, 2012, I won't have done anything that anyone couldn't do.  I'm always reminded of the pep talk Fortune gives in the movie "Rudy:"  "You're 5 foot nothin', 100 and nothin'..."  I'm a little more than "100 and nothin'" but I think you get the point.  Anyone feel like joining me yet?

It won't be a miracle to achieve, but I'm still holding myself to the same goals I had when I raced last November.  I want to finish in less than 12 hours.  I didn't make it last time, but that leads me right into my second goal.  I will not let my training plan take the nosedive that it did in the last 5 weeks before the race.  My race specific training plan is 24 weeks long, so for a July race, that means beginning in the first week of February.  It's hardly an ideal time for training, but if I'm able to put my purse down this winter and train like a man, it should be no problem.  Likewise, goal three is to have a solid base going into that training program which is something I didn't have last year.  Part of the reason I've decided to share all this with you is to keep me honest about my training and eating habits even through the winter.  Fourth is my eternal quest to have fun.  The moment that stops is when I should reevaluate everything.  Finally, I will try to not annoy Rebecca any more than I already do.  All solid goals I think.

Now about this training - it all starts now.  And really now means tomorrow when I drag my sorry ass out of bed.  Put on my running shoes, still angry, and pound five miles worth of pavement.  I would have said it started yesterday with a nearly puke-tastic bike ride, but I hit Chipotle on my way home from work today instead of working out (oops).  I hope to keep you abrest of my training with weekly updates, and if I don't, I'll have some sweet excuses (sun's in my eyes).

Until next week,
Andy