Daniel Snyder is killing my Redskins

Sad times for a once proud franchise...

Almost 3 months to the day

A post once a quarter :)

I want to do better.

This is me, smiling

Why am I smiling, you ask. Isn't it obvious? I have spotted my loving wife, my sherpa for life, as I cross the finish line on a hot, sunny, late July morning. A few minutes earlier, as I crested a hill under the blaring sun, I was not smiling. What can turn my mood? Jane can. She takes such good care of me, is patient beyond belief with me, and just amazes me with her love.

I'm being encouraged...

... to write here more. So, here I am. If people I care about and who care about me want me to write, I'll write.

Finished my 2nd race of the season, the Philadelphia Insurance Triathlon - Olympic distance. I did pretty well considering I did not train specifically for the race and I had been struggling with some congestion. I am in the midst of a 20 week HIM plan and have two Olympic distance races during that time (Philly and NJ State). I am really looking forward to NJ because this will be the first time I've repeated a race. It will be a good gauge of my progress.

here are some pics from Philly......

the absent blogger

I haven't been on here for quite some time but I want to say, my wife is awesome!!!!!!!

Are we there yet?

Just a few days until the wedding and I get more excited every day. I also have moments of panic worrying about all the logistics. We are going DIY for much of it and I really want it to be perfect. Of course, it will be. We finished up the play lists last night and got them on one iPod. Now we will put them on two more for backup. I also needs to check out my audio receiver to see what I need in order to use it as the output. We are borrowing some sort of board/amp from a friend but that will stay in the main room and we need something for the bar area during the cocktail hour.

But, enough about the "stuff". On to what's real; cementing our commitment in front of God, family, and friends. Jane and I take turns telling each other how lucky we are. I know I am so blessed to have such a wonderful woman but she seems to think she's getting the better end of the deal. Not possible! There was a time not too long ago when I decided that I was not going to settle on the kind of partner and relationship I wanted. Looks like that's what the Universe was waiting for because not too long after that Jane came into my life. I am blessed beyond belief and maybe more than I "deserve". Wait, scratch that. We all deserve the very best God has for us which often times is way better than we could ever imagine. Beyond my wildest dreams!

Yes I can!

I haven’t posted for a while and I’m not sure why. It’s not like I don’t have plenty of opinions on stuff. Work has been busy with pressure from several fronts, my training has picked up over the past few weeks, and wedding plans are cruising right along. Only 22 more days until we tie the knot. I am really looking forward to this. We will be cementing our commitment legally even though we are already there emotionally and spiritually.

I was thinking last week about all the steps that have led me here; my marriage, my divorce, a broken heart or two, breaking a heart. I had a couple of relationships since my divorce and one that was pretty significant in many ways. She was (is) a really good person and cared for me a great deal. I just couldn’t fully reciprocate and at times feel badly for how things went. We were together and apart a few times, with me ending it each time. There was a strong bond between us, and us being together and apart ultimately led me to refine and hold onto the four things I wanted in a mate; to really connect emotionally, spiritually, intellectually and physically. She and I had some but not all and at times I wondered if I was asking for too much. I wondered if I really could have it all. Guess what? I can. We all can!

Sherpa for life

Jane is awesome. Period. She loves and supports me, cooks excellent food for me, gets up at the ass crack of dawn to be there with me while I spaz about my race stuff, tells me how great I am, is open with me and to me, makes passionate love with me, makes time for herself and her creativity, loves her children, squeals when I tickle her, challenges me, inspires me, believes in me.

Winter Wonderland

We had a bit of snow yesterday and took some time last night to enjoy it. Time seemed to stand still, like we had nothing else to do but play and enjoy. When I got home from work I shoveled the walk but it was pointless because the snow kept falling. At least I got some ice melt down so shoveling this morning was much easier. Anyway, I poked my head in the front door and announced that everyone was required to stop whatever they were doing and come outside for a snowball fight. The kids obliged, but Jane decided to enjoy some time alone. We played for 20 minutes or so, then went in so they could eat dinner and I could get on the bike trainer for a workout.

After dinner and my trainer ride (boring!) Jane and I went for a nice long walk in the falling snow. Alone. Max started out with us but we made him go back because he wasn't wearing a hat. It was so nice to spend time together in the cold and snow. We walked through the small downtown area and up and down the streets of our neighborhood. When we came back to the house we got ambushed by the kids with snowballs. We spent quite a while out there throwing snow around. Kids from across the street came out for a while until their dad announced it was 9:30, time to come in. WTF? It was snowing! There is no time to come in when it's snowing. Especially not at 9:30 when it's almost certain schools would be closed or at least delayed in the morning. Things quieted down a bit after that so we went in to enjoy some hot chocolate.

Sitting there sipping the hot chocolate I couldn't stop thinking about a hill at the school just up the road. After some mental debate, I got my gear together and Jane and I headed up there so I could ride my snowboard. The hill wasn't very big and there really wasn't enough snow but I got in 6 rides or so and it was pretty awesome. I haven't been out in a while and now I've got the fever again. We WILL be heading to the Poconos at some point this winter! Kendall wants to learn and Max seems open to the idea. Not sure if they will ski or snowboard, but I know what I will do!

Groundhog Day

Well, Phil saw his shadow which means the sun was out this morning in Punxsutawney, PA. What that has to do with the weather I'll never know. But it sure made for a great movie.

I just got back from the gym where I swam for 30 minutes and I'm enjoying delicious leftover chicken pot pie. My baby can cook! I ran 30 minutes this morning in cold darkness. I really don't like running in the dark and this morning was especially bad because of the ice. So much melted yesterday and then refroze overnight. Plus some people don't bother to clear their sidewalks at all. What is that about?? Still, it was good to be up and out though it is beautiful out there now. Sunny, low 50's. Opened the sun roof on the drive back from the gym. Nice.

On a side note, I am having bad Garmin karma. I didn't record my bike ride yesterday as a bike ride so I couldn't upload it to my training log on BT. I usually just turn it on and hit go then when I download to TC I just drag and drop bike workouts to the Bike folder. Looks like I'll have to set the appropriate sport when I'm training. Another thing to try to read without my reading glasses. This morning the thing kept beeping at me throughout my run and I couldn't see what the display said (see previous sentence). Turns out the memory was full so when I turned it off I lost my data. I know it was just over 30 mins, about 3.5 miles and a 9:00 pace.

Sunday Scribblings 1/31/09

Regrets, I’ve had a few;
But then again, too few to mention.


It’s pretty hard to move forward while looking back. Most of the time you walk into a pole, sometimes into oncoming traffic. That’ll leave a mark. Sure there are things I’d do differently if I could do them over but I can’t so why waste energy on it. Then again, maybe I wouldn’t. The person I am is a culmination of all my experiences; everything I’ve done, said, thought, and seen, plus all the things I’ve not done, said, thought or seen.

The biggest one I used to have on the “things I’ve done” side of the ledger was thinking I never should have married who and when I did. But if I hadn’t I would have missed so much; I wouldn’t have two great kids who are evolving into great adults, I wouldn’t have moved to Philly to be a part of a dynamic and revolutionary group of recovering people, I wouldn’t have become a member of Unity church and would not have had intense life transforming experiences through the classes and workshops there, I wouldn’t have met the most perfect woman in the world for me.

The biggest one from the “things I’ve not done” side was not finishing my degree. But it is never too late. For anything. Ever. It’s all about choice. We cannot change the past but we control our future. Keep looking forward. Here, this might help; Luke 17:32.

Double

Run and a swim today, but not a brick.

4.5 miles
40:04
lap 1 - 9m 22s 1.00 miles, 9m 22s /mile
lap 2 - 9m 00s 1.00 miles, 9m /mile
lap 3 - 8m 50s 1.00 miles, 8m 50s /mile
lap 4 - 8m 18s 1.00 miles, 8m 18s /mile
lap 5 - 4m 34s 0.57 miles, 8m 04s /mile

Stretch, eat, then off to the gym for swim:

40:58

100 wu

250 4:56
100 1:40
50 44:11
25 20.00
25 21:15

250 4:48
100 1:45
50 44:72
25 20:00
25 21:15

300 5:44 (lost count)
100 untimed
50 47:87
25 20:87
25 20:88

150 CD

Now I am kinda tired, but it feels good. Gonna head over the bridge to NJ for a Wegmans trip and some wedding ring shopping. :)

Biscuit Head

Saturday morning and I'm sitting at the counter watching Max and Jane make biscuits, inspired by the Spin Doctors. Thanks to me, Max has become a fan of their song Biscuit Head. He found videos on you tube, is learning the lyrics, and wants us to play it at the wedding. I like the way he thinks.

My brother's wife was in the area last night because their oldest was at a Catholic HS swim meet. We met up for dinner and a visit. We went Italian and I ate too much. Feeling it this morning. I am scheduled for a 40 min run and a 40 min swim today. Kendall has a BB game at 10:00 so I won't have time to run before. Of course, I could have managed my nutrition and sleep better and gotten up earlier with less pasta sitting in my belly and gotten that done. At least it's sunny out. Tomorrow it's supposed to be sunny too and in the low 40's so I'll do my 80 min bike outdoors (yeah!!)

Wedding plans coming along but I am behind on my items; suit and music. We are going DIY digital so I have to collect and arrange the songs. No big deal really, just time consuming. The suit is not that big a deal either, but I have to coordinate with my son who does not own a suit or have money to buy one. Apparently he has money for other things, but not a suit for his father’s wedding. Does that sound resentful? I am a bit, but I understand. The boy (“grown ass man” in his words) has his own priorities. I don’t necessarily agree with him but want to be supportive. It will be my gift to him. He can wear it on job interviews after he graduates from college in a few years. The tricky part will be arranging the time around his school and work schedule; 12 credit hours and 30 hours of work. Very ambitious undertaking, considering he's not been in a traditional college setting before. He wants so badly to be out on his own again after his time in the Army. Living with his mother is cramping his style. I get it, but he has no idea what a gift it is to be able to live for free while going to school. He intends to pay his own way living on his own and going to school. He and some friends plan on getting an apartment near campus in North Philly. I want him to succeed but worry he is biting off too much. Of course, he knows better than me. Ah, to be 20 again. On second thought, no thanks!

Love is

Jane... need I say more?

She is my North.

Going nowhere fast

Trainer ride after basketball practice. Got started around 7:30. Don't really like starting that late, but I'd rather that than get up early. I can't wait for warmer weather and longer days.
Inside the numbers:
1:02:44
15.59 Mi
14.8 avg MPH
21.8 max MPH
95 avg Cad
115 max cad

Did iPod intervals, where I ride hard for the duration of a song. The faster the song the harder I ride. Good thing most Ramones songs are 3 minutes or less.

Forgot the Garmin. Again.

30 minute run scheduled today. Did it at work which required packing cold weather gear in my gym bag. My hat and gloves were in the basement on the drying rack. I was upstairs and had not even showered yet. I could have showered and gotten dressed and taken everything from my room down stairs and then gone to the basement for my other stuff. I didn't. I like to fully pack my bag before I do anything else. Not efficient, I know. Multiple trips up and down the stairs.

We all have our insanity. One of mine is making sure I have "everything." I get nuts on race mornings. Hell, I get nuts the night before the race especially if there are weather issues. Last fall I ran the Philly marathon. I planned and worked for months to go for a BQ @ 3:30:59. Show up race morning, walking to the start line when I realize I do not have my Garmin. Fuuuuuck! I was beside myself. I almost went into a panic. How the hell will I track my pace? What the fuck am I going to do? I might as well not even race if I can't see the fruits of all my hard work. Then I took a few deep breaths, gathered myself and knew I would just have to make do. Make do turned into wearing Jane's pink ladies Times Ironman watch. At least I could have some idea of my pace, if I could see the numbers and if I could do the math. I have trouble doing math on paper, let alone when my brain is oxygen deprived. And who the hell decided an hour should be 60 minutes? How about a freakin' decimal system so it's easier to do the math? Anyway, I manged to squeeze out a 3:33:38. Not quite my goal but pretty damn close and I don't know if having my Garmin would have helped or not. But I still wish I had not forgotten it. So... I forgot it today. Had to use my Timex Ironman watch for the time. No distance, no pace. I know I was about 4.10 in distance and the time was 33:05...but I don't have my splits. I like my splits. I'm sure I had negative splits. But I did remember my iPod which was in neither my bedroom nor the basement. But it was a nice run. Sunny and cold.

Workout #2

Gym swim. 30 minutes continuous after 100 yd warm up, followed by 50 yd of my patented back float stroke. I was gonna time each 250, but I lost count. I gotta remember to use that $50 lap timer thing. I haven't used it since I got the Timex IM 100 lap watch.
The pool was very crowded. Every lane was double and people were waiting. Why, I don't know. I am not about to stop my workout and offer to share a lane, especially when we are already double. If asked I always share and I have no problem asking others to share with me. Just don't stand around expecting me to offer. Ain't gonna happen.

Training 1/28

Strength training with Dominic

I work with a trainer every week, right now it's on Wednesday at 11:30 am so I can then eat and make my boss's staff meeting at 1:00. He mixes things up for me quite a bit which I like. That's why I decided to spend the $350 every 10 weeks; so someone else can figure it out. He has me do 9 exercises total in groups of 3, doing each exercise twice, usually 15 reps. It works like this: 1,2,3,1,2,3 - 4,5,6,4,5,6 - 7,8,9,7,8,9. Got it?

Today was (not in actual order. It's enough that I remembered all 9!)

- fly and press with 35lb dbs, balanced on ball
- assisted pull ups
- 20 single step ups w/ 8lb ball overhead wall touch - repeat with opposite leg
- Standing Military press w/squat on seated press machine - 70lbs?
- single arm row 50lb db - repeat with opposite arm
- reverse incline crunches, legs extended, with hip raise
- 20 static lunges with 35lb dbs, lift foot at end of range - repeat with opposite leg
- dbl leg press all plates
- 20 push ups w/boxing gloves then 100 jabs into hand pads

OUCH

Is it soup yet?

I was thinking about how much I've grown and changed throughout my lifetime, but also about what has not changed.

1977



2007

I look a bit different but still love to skate. The biggest difference is I don't live for it. There was a time when all I thought about was skateboarding. I never went anywhere without my stick. Not so much any more. In fact, at one point I made a conscious decision to NOT skate while training for a marathon, then that rolled over into triathlon training. I don't want to twist an ankle and derail my training. But I do miss skating. When I skate I skate hard and the potential for injury is there. If I skate hesitantly or hold back I actually increase the chances for injury. A few weeks ago Jane and I went down to FDR. I didn't bring a board. I hate going there without a board.



I really came into my own through skating. I developed a lot of confidence and a bit of respect from peers. I was arguably the best skater in my HS in 1977. I surpassed others that I had looked up to when I first started. I was no pro or anything, and there are plenty of kids who are better than me today, but it's a whole different style of skating these days. I don't ollie. My idea of street skating is to race down the suburban hills where I grew up. My idol was (is) Tony Alva, the father of vertical skating (pools and such)

I once wrote a song about skating:

Blue Tile Fever

My feet are itchin'

I can't stand the pain

I got to hit vert

Before I go insane

I got the blue tile fever

Sk8 or die!

Name that tool

I rarely pass on those lame web jokes, but....

Drill Press: A tall upright machine useful for suddenly snatching flat metal bar stock out of your hands so that it smacks you in the chest and flings your beer across the room, denting the freshly painted project which you had carefully set in the corner where nothing could get to it.

Wire Wheel: Cleans paint off bolts and then throws them somewhere under the workbench with the speed of light. Also removes fingerprints and hard earned calluses from fingers in about the time it takes you to say “oh Sh…

Electric Hand Drill: Normally used for spinning pop rivets in their holes until you die of old age.

Skill saw: A portable cutting tool used to make studs too short.

Pliers: Used to round off bolt heads. Sometimes used in the creation of blood blisters.

Belt Sander: An electric sanding tool commonly used to convert minor touch up jobs into major refinishing jobs.

Hacksaw: One of a family of cutting tools built on the Ouija Board principle. It transforms human energy into a crooked, unpredictable motion, and the more you attempt to influence its course, the more dismal your future becomes.

Vice Grips: Generally used after pliers to completely round off bolt heads. If nothing else is available, they can also be used to transfer intense welding heat to the palm of your hand.

Table saw: A large stationary power tool commonly used to launch wood projectiles for testing wall integrity.

Hydraulic Floor Jack: Used for lowering an automobile to the ground after you have installed new brake shoes, trapping the handle under the bumper.

Band Saw:
A large stationary power saw primarily used by most shops to cut good aluminum sheet into smaller pieces that more easily fit into the trash can after you cut on the inside of the line instead of the outside edge.

Two Ton Engine Hoist: A tool for testing the maximum tensile strength of everything you forgot to disconnect.

Pry Bar: A tool used to crumple the metal surrounding that clip or bracket you need to remove in order to replace a 50 cent part.

Phillips Screwdriver: Normally used to stab the vacuum seals under lids or for opening old style paper and tin oil cans and splashing oil on your shirt; but can also be used as the name implies, to strip out phillip head screws.

Straight Screwdriver: A tool for opening paint cans. Sometimes used to convert common slotted screws into non-removable screws and butchering the palm of your hand.

Hose Cutter: A tool used to make hoses too short.

Hammer: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the object we are trying to hit.

Utility Knife: Used to open and slice through the contents of cardboard cartons delivered to your front door; works particularly well on contents such as seats, vinyl records, liquids in plastic bottles, collector magazines, refund checks, and rubber or plastic parts.

Damn-it-Tool: Any handy tool that you grab and throw across the garage while yelling “Damn it” at the top of your lungs. It is also most often the next tool you will need.

You never get a second chance...

Start of the game. First and ten. Do I call a roll out? Test the D early? Maybe a straight dive. Don't want to be predictable but do want to set the tone and make a statement. This is me. This is what I do. This is what to expect for the rest of the game. Wing right motion in 34 dive. Enough football analogies? Nope. There are never enough of those. Life is a game; football is serious. I'm starting this off with my blogger version of the dive play; coming at you right up the middle. If you don't get it, oh well. I know what I mean.

I don't know who will find this space, who will read these words, and certainly don't know why the hell they would. Not my concern. I'm just gonna put me put there and take what comes. I've long known that writing helps me sort through stuff, helps tidy up the mess in my head. Ok, maybe just a little. No matter. I'm going to just put stuff out here. I thought about a theme for this; my spiritual life, my triathlon training, my creative journey. I settled on "my". Me. Period. This will be all things me. Still not sure to what level I will identify myself or to whom I will acknowledge the existence of this thing. What will happen when worlds collide? Do I want work people to see this? Do I want my family to see this? Do I want my friends to see this? They all see a part of me. Does anyone but God and me see the whole of me?