Tri Oomph

Well, here I am at the end of a very long and mostly happy weekend.

I was awake this morning at 4:00 a.m. I was loading up bikes before 5. At 6:33, I was wading into 74-degree water in Tempe Town lake with about 50 other 40-somethings in dark blue bathing caps. The race was on!

I expected, correctly, that the swim would be my worst event -- hardest, slowest, and least pleasant. There were 3 buoys out in the lake and we had to swim a triangle around them. Most of the rest of my wave was far ahead of me by the time I was about half way (200M). At that point, the next wave, 30-35-year-olds in red swim caps, were suddenly surrounding me. Soon most of them were past me as well, along with a few from the next wave after them. Still, I'm pretty sure I was not the last blue-cap out of the water. And I never had to stop and grab a rescue buoy.

I made it out of the water and trotted into the transition area. It took me a while to get my jersey and shoes on and get on my bike.

I am becoming famous for having exactly the wrong equipment for the sport I'm trying to accomplish (next up: a tennis racket at a softball game?) In this case, it was my mountain bike (actually my son's mountain bike) amongst a sea of racing bikes. It was two times around a 10K course that somehow seemed to be uphill all the time. But I made it through, didn't crash, didn't stop.

The run would be, relatively speaking, the easy part. I actually passed some people while running, something that never happened once in the swim or bike. With the early start, the temperature had been reasonable through the bike ride, and even the first two miles of the run. By the last mile, though, I could really feel the heat.

Everybody's age was written in marker on their calf. So I knew the age of everyone who passed me. The last person to come flying past me at the end of the race was 67 years old. Humiliating and inspiring all at the same time.

So my goals for this, my first tri, were to finish the race, not stopping during any event and never walking during the run. As a bonus, I would have loved a total time of under 2 hours. I met all my major goals, and I was only a couple of minutes over 2 hours, so I'm very happy about the whole thing.

I don't know if I'll do another one, though. I really don't like the swimming. If I keep doing these, I'll definitely need to get an appropriate bike.

Well, there's one thing to check off my bucket list!

Tri-al Run

Nine days until the triathlon.

Yesterday was the first time we did a full practice run-through. There are four or five of us training together (depending on the week), though only three of us will be competing in this upcoming triathlon.

Our normal routine has been to meet together after work on Mondays and Fridays at Reid Park to swim and then run; we had talked about biking together at other times, but logistically we never worked anything out. I managed to do some biking on my own, but really not much, so I was pretty concerned about that aspect.

Yesterday, we all met at Mike's house at 5:30 pm. We were in the water at the community pool a little after 6. I think swimming is my weakest event. Everyone else had finished 400 meters before I got to 350. Since only Mike knew the whole course, we agreed to wait for the slowest (generally me) so no one would get lost.

It probably took 15 minutes after getting out of the pool before we were on our bikes and rolling. The others all have racing bikes; I have a mountain bike that I am borrowing from my son. I've already spent several hundred bucks on this triathlon, and I can't justify buying a whole new bike just for one race. Nonetheless, I did much better at biking than I expected, I was not too far behind the others. At a few points, I was even ahead of Melissa and Joy. This was the first time since training began that I did a full 20K bike ride.

The transition from biking to running was the hardest. This was new for me; we'd always just gone from swimming to running. My thighs were angry with me within a minute of starting the run. But I pushed through it and after a half mile or so my muscles adjusted. I was able to finish the run without having to walk any of it, and Joy and I came in just a couple minutes behind Mike and Melissa. I was amazed to find out that less than two hours had gone by since we got in the pool!

Also, once I caught my breath, I didn't feel at all tired (that would come the next day). I think I finally experienced that "runners high" that they talk about.

We all headed to Texas Roadhouse for a celebration dinner. This week we are taking it easy, and eating lots of carbs, as we get ready for the big race.

Nike on the Other Hand Seems Indifferent

Oh, look, it's May.

The triathlon is in May. May 18, less than three weeks away.

The training has been basically going well, except for the biking. I just haven't found time to get biking in. I've done a few 3 mile rides and a 6 mile ride, but the bike part of the tri will be 12 miles, so I really need to get with it. 12 miles tomorrow, I promise.

The swimming and running has been going fine. I've been training every Monday and Friday with my triathlon buddies.

The very best part of the training is the camaraderie. It's really the main reason I'm doing this at all -- I enjoy the company of my fellow triathletes. Being in good shape is a great fringe benefit.

My friends are all younger, stronger, and faster than I am, which is okay because they seem happy enough to put up with the old slow guy. But they also all appear to be possessed of a competitive spirit that I think I lack. I'm wondering if it's something one is born with or something one develops. If it is the latter, I'm wondering if it's something I ought to be working on.

Tri Again

Well, this year's seven day roguelike is coming up soon. Or maybe it already started. I have been very bad and haven't even checked. I know I can't participate this time around.

But, I am hoping to do a regular old sprint triathlon in Tempe in May. 400M swim, 12 mile bike ride and 5K run.

Today was my first training day: a 650M swim followed by a 3 mile run. I actually did pretty good for an old guy.

God Smiles on Us

Well, let's summarize.
I completed the seven-day roguelike
I did not even attempt the 24 hour comic
I did completed less than 1% of NaNoWriMo
I gave up training for the half marathon.

I have really good excuses for all that I did not do. But I don't want to be a man of excuses.

On the upside, I did do a 5K run today, to benefit the Arthritis Foundation, which has lately become near and dear to my heart. I had no team to run with, no friends to share the experience with, but I had my wife cheering me on.

We arrived at Reid Park at 10 minutes until 9:00 a.m. It was pouring rain. Registration began at 9. I slogged through the rain to register, got my bib, tried to decide, do I pin it on my T-shirt or my sweatshirt? Just how miserable is this run going to be? The run was scheduled to begin at 10.

It continued to rain, heavier and lighter, over the next hour. At about 5 minutes before 10, suddenly the clouds dispersed and there was blue sky and sunlight over all of Reid Park. Nina set up her chair near the start/finish line, and I pinned my number on my T-shirt.

The run was beautiful, clear sky, no rain, sunlight but not hot. My goal was just to run the whole course without stopping to walk (I was unable to do this on my first attempt at a 5K). I was one of the last to run across the finish line, my time somewhere around 35 minutes, but I did achieve my goal. I was cheered to the finish by my wife and by some new friends she had made while I was running.

I got my shirt for finishing the race, and we went to Crave to celebrate with a Latté. As our coffees arrived, the rain began to pour down once again.

NaNoWriMo

Well, we are two days into NaNoWriMo.

My wife is home from the hospital after a successful surgery.

My product is in open beta after a successful release.

There is zero chance that I will be writing 50,000 words in November. I should have over 3,000 already.

I have 295. Here they are:

“Rock stars aren’t supposed to be awake at 6:30 in the morning, unless they haven‘t gone to bed yet.”

It’s a misty morning in Nashville in late August of the year 2000, and Mitchy’s sounding bitchy. But really, if they’d just let her sleep in until eleven or so, she’d be looking forward to the tour. When Dave gets back from the Starbucks run, things will pick right up.

This is a Paradigm Stickshift 20 years past their prime as measured by what matters in the music biz -- 20 years after their biggest hit, and long past the days of playing stadiums. They are the original members, and they are not tired of the music, each other, or the road. They haven’t stopped writing songs, making albums or touring. Not a lot of people are aware of that. But there are enough to sustain them. Financially and emotionally.

Paradigm Stickshift is Darcy Lane Schultz - guitars, backing vocals, and rainbow vests; Dave Schultz - bass, roadie, emotional stability and driver of the Dodge Caravan; Bob Nordskog - drums, roadie, webmaster and babysitter; Ted Sanders - sound engineer, driver of the Winnebago and rememberer of the good old days; and Michelle “Mitchy” Marks Nordskog - keyboards, lead vocals, writer of the songs, keeper of the flame, and in dire need of a latté.

Oh, and Paradigm stick shift is also April and Dylan Schultz and Mickey and Donny Nordskog, ten, seven, seven and three years respectively. Homeschooled and in the way and along for the ride on a tour of the Midwest college towns that provide the most loyal of Stickshift’s fans. Four angelic faces fast asleep in the Winnebago; oblivious to the commotion going on around them as instruments and equipment are loaded in.

24 - hour comic: not happening.

Well, this is a setback. I must adjust my plans down a bit -- at least remove the "within a calendar year" part from my goal. I need to look into whether I can do the comic "off-schedule", but I won't be able to do one on October 20th.

When I set myself upon this adventure, I was at a low point in my life, working at a job I hated, and not particularly happy. Now I'm in a job I really love, but it is a startup and we are in a big push to hit a major milestone. Also, my wife has another surgery coming up and there is much to do around the house to set it up for her recovery. Bottom line: even if I did the comic here at home, I could not spare the time.

I will do a 24 comic someday, inshalla.

Nanowrimo also seems pretty unlikely this year given my workload. I don't think I'll try to write 50K words in November, but maybe I'll start writing again.

I dunno whether there will be any reason to add to this blog, maybe there will be. But I'd like to thank my loyal reader :)