The Friday Top Five: The Top Five Things You Give Up When You Become A Parent

5) Being Cool: Although some parents try desperately to remain cool by declaring to all the world that  they would "would never be caught dead in a minivan," having an infant pee, poop, and vomit on you makes what type of ride you're rolling in the least of your problems. You have to worry about whether anyone at work can smell that vomit on your clothes because you were too tired to change them on account of staying up all night wondering why how your child will cry all evening for you then manage to sleep all afternoon when you need to run errands.

4) Listening to your music in the Car: I have tried desperately to indoctrinate my children to my musical aesthetic. It has worked for the most part. Sometimes, it is a little embarrassing. I mean, I remember my boys singing "Brass Monkey" at some pretty inopportune times as well. Now, my youngest wants to hear her Suzuki violin CD and everyone in the car will sing Lightly Row, Twinkle Little Star (to the rhythm of "Mississippi hotdog"—a personal favorite of mine). I have also listened to enough Disney tunes in the car with the kids that I have temporarily "misplaced" the CD... perhaps forever.

3) Reasoning: It is nearly impossible to try to reason with five year old. Their brains—although amazing sponges—do not function quite the same way as a fairly well-adjusted adult. I use "fairly adjusted" here, because, let's just face it, all of us are still recovering from the trauma of are dysfunctional childhoods. Children believe that are at the center of the universe and that everyone and everything should revolve around them. Forget trying to speak sensibly to a screaming toddler. What I have learned is that inconsolable screaming over
not having the right dinner fork or wrong socks to wear with their school clothes is usually a result of on of two things:

                        1) child is hungry
                        2) child is tired

Here is a diagram of how the average child thinks:

2) Sanity: Yeah, wifey and I left this at the turnstile long ago. (I am not even sure what that means). All I can attest to is that having young, fragile lives to take care of every second of the day is a daunting task. There are times when I have been so crazed trying to get the kids ready to do something that I leave the house without remembering to bring my computer, or lunch, or brain to work with me.

1) Sleeping In: Yeah, forget this completely. Sleeping in when you have small children means waking up past 7 a.m. I remember the first time we had to set a mandatory "sleep in" time with my oldest son. He came into our bedroom and climbed into bed with me and asked if we could go downstairs and play. It was 6:30. I said "No, buddy. We have to sleep until seven o'clock." He nestled in right next to me and went back to sleep.... or so I thought. As soon as the clock hit 7 a.m., he turned around with his
eyes wide open and said "Okay!  It's seven o'clock daddy, let's go downstairs!" Ugh!


Training: Training is going pretty well, as in I am finally training and not just cobbling together a bunch of half-assed workouts and feeling good about myself. Guilt has a way of turning the screw and

My recent delve back into the world of training/self-flaggalation has been directly linked to a few different factors:

1) I was tired feeling like out-of shape. If I intend on keeping my ridiculous Ironman like diet (which I have absolutely no intention of departing with), then I thought that perhaps I should start training more consistently. I am self-motivated, but I needed some time off to regroup after Rev3 Full Cedar Point to reassess what I wanted to focus on this season.

2) I have a coach. I am now trained by Coach Kelly over at T2Multisport. The cool part about training with Kelly is that I have known her for a long time. We went to graduate school together some.... hmm, 12 years ago!

3) Work: This semester has been incredibly crazy, not to mention the fact that we moved twice in the span of two months. We are settled now, but it made training insane.

I have some lower back pain that I have been wrestling with. I could not figure out where it was coming from. I thought that perhaps it was a result of bumping up the training again. Wifey's back has also been hurting her. We have been giving each other nightly massages. Bonus.

Last night I finally figured out where all my pain is coming from. I knew that is must be some movement that I have been doing because it is really localized. While I sit in my office, I often throw my feet up on top of a chair—as I am sometimes sitting in front of my computer for hours out of my day—and write. Last evening, I noticed that my torso was having to twist around to put my feet up and that the numerous hours I have spent in that position have caused a great deal of pain. It reminded me of when I was a graduate student at the Ithaca Conservatory and I spent the summer painting houses. I was young then (with more hair), and I spent hours on a ladder painting trim with my arm stretched over my head. I didn't notice anything at the time until the next morning when I got up and my neck was absolutely killing me.

The Rest:


My youngest has graduated to her first real violin after spending a few weeks on the noodle-roni box. So awesome! Watch out, Vanessa Mae!

Beautifully Chaotic

There are points in all of our lives when we are completely surrounded by chaos, when we feel like we like we are barely holding it all together.
I'm there.

When this happens, it is difficult to think straight, let alone write. I had a professor in graduate school at Ithaca who always use to preach "In order to write clearly, you need to think clearly." I believe that now more than ever. When I do any academic work, whether it is prepping a class, correcting papers, or writing music, I need to be somewhere where I have a lot of space and is free from distractions. Thus, home is NOT the ideal place. Yeah, someplace without five children running around asking me to wrestle every five minutes, or play a game, do a puzzle, play catch, build legos, or sing songs. The problem is, I would MUCH rather be doing that all that stuff with my kids than getting work done.

It has been my experience that chaos induced stress can leads to one of two outcomes:

1) Leaves stressed-induced individual utterly paralyzed, unable to perform a single task for  periods of time.

2) Further motivates stressed-induced individual to get their tail in gear and slowly chip away at the stress, all the while promising themselves never again to overcommit. Yeah, right!


Lately, I  resemble both of these outcomes.

Last Friday, I attended a play called The Laramie Project with my colleague Yisrael from the english department. My wife was a bit jealous that I had a date with someone other than her. Two of our colleagues from the Theater Department were involved in the project—one directed the play, and another played multiple roles in the performance. Needless to say, I am a fantastic date. We went out for dinner, saw a play, and I drove.

My pear salad

Yisrael enjoying some good food, a beer, and an annoying photographer.

Here is a picture of my meal. I call this "Swordfish Therapy."

This is as pretentious as I could possibly look drinking coffee.

Whenever things get stressful, I think about what an amazing life I have: an incredibly supportive wife, an amazing family, and good friends who lift my spirits when I am feeling overwhelmed. My children are also incredibly therapeutic. Sunday morning, Stella came into bed and started talking to me. 

She said "Daddy. Do you know what I like? I like skeletons, princesses, and R2D2."

Ah... I've raised her right!

Interactions like this with my children make me focus on what is truly important in life. 

Training: The training is currently at a minimal "get-it-done" level. This is my off-season, and I am relishing it. I have been trying to get in run and swim workouts, but I have still not been on a bike since Ironman!  Come December, that is ALL going to change. I will be back in the saddle again. I have some very exciting news to announce regarding my training this season. I will have the help of a coach. Look out age-groupers, I am getting serious!  What is the reason for seeking out a coach? Well, with my insanely busy lifestyle, I either will have to give up training for triathlons entirely, or find a way to do something that I love and makes me happy without sacrificing time with my family. When I met with my coach for the first time, I told her that minimizing time away from my family is my number one priority. I want to be done with the bulk of my training before 8:00 a.m. (with the exception of the insanely long weekend ride in preparation for Ironman). I know that she  understands and appreciates my concerns. She is a wife and mother, and serious triathlete. I will write a separate post about my new coach in a future blog. I am very excited to be working with her.

One other thing I hope to do this season is to keep track of all of my workouts. I did not do that last season. I had no idea how many miles I was biking, running, or swimming each week. I could look back at my training plan, but I never followed it to the letter of the law. Keeping track of all my data will prove to everyone what an incredible slacker I can be, and why I am not running a faster HIM.

Okay.... more good news to come. Train Smart!

... and to all my blogger buddies: I look forward to catching up with life and your blogs real soon!

10 More Days!

Only 10 Days left until I raffle off a Timex Ironman Race Trainer Kit provided courtesy of Timex.

You have up to four chances to win the watch just by:

1)  Be a follower of my blog, leave a separate comment letting me know

who you are. (1 entry) 

2) Become a fan of Timex Sports on Facebook (nudge, nudge-wink, wink) Leave a separate comment letting me know.

(1 entry)

3) Post this contest on your blog, leave a separate comment letting me

know you've done so. (1 entry)

4) Go to the Timex website and then come back and leave a comment

telling me which products you like AND when you would wear it. (1 entry) 

Training: I had a pretty good morning workout: 1900 yard swim followed by a 40 minute (5 mile) run. My swim was suppose to be 500 yards more, but I somehow read the workout incorrectly, or did I?  Off to bed here right away. I have another early morning session planned: a one hour swim at 6:00 a.m. I hope the water temperature is not ridiculously warm like it was this morning. It literally felt like I was climbing in my bath tub.

Looking forward to getting my NEW Kinetic Fluid Road Trainer next week. Nothing is worse than having to perform a long indoor bike workout on a spinning cycle. Looking at this weekend's 2:45 minute ride was all the incentive I needed to order one. My butt usually falls asleep just about midway through, which of course means, that it is going to be up all night. I don't even know what that means. I'm tired and apparently delusional. I need sleep.

Oh, yes... almost forgot. The Luke Skywalker/Bytterfly picture turned out great. My friend Cristina said that I do not quite look mean enough. She suggested I work on my "vicious soulless hunter look." She said I look a little too much "spaghetti and meatballs." I'll work on looking less Italian Cristina.

Train Smart!

The Best Part About Being A Dad

Often, people ask me what the best part of being a dad is. This is a difficult question to answer because there are so many things that I find rewarding—and challenging—about being a father of five children like: writing music, paying for groceries, training, watching a half of a football game, going to the bathroom by myself, trying to field more than one demand or question at a time. The wifey and me keep a mental journal of every amazing  and hysterical thing our children have said and done over the years. 
I think the best part of being a dad are the conversations that you have with your children. The conversations I have had with my children have left me dumbfounded, perplexed, amused, and in great awe at the philosophical inquiries their young minds are capable of.

For instance, just the other day I opened the door just as Luca was walking into the house. He asked, "Hey dad, how did you know I was at the door?"  I jokingly answered, "Luca... come one, I am your father, I know everything. Go ahead, ask me a question, anything. I am sure I'll know the answer." To which he replies, "Okay....  how did God make us?" I was not quite ready for that one. Where the heck did he come up with that one?

The other day my six year old, Julian, was practicing piano while Alaina was helping him along. Julian indicated that he was going to play a part of the piece incorrectly. When Alaina told him he was going to play it wrong he said, "I was just being sarcastic." One of the funniest things I ever heard Julian say occurred one night after I had just finished reading the children a book about animals. I asked the boys if they could be an animal, what animal they would be. Luca said he would be a lemur—strange, I know—but I think a lemur was one of the animals we read about in the book, so it made sense. Then I asked Julian what animal he would be. In a very soft, unassuming, little voice said he would like to be a coyote. When I asked him why, he paused briefly and said "... because coyotes eat lemurs."Luca looked over at Julian on the other side of the bed and said "Julian!











As for my girls, they just brighten my day! I am convinced that they will probably grow up to work as human P.A. systems, air raid sirens, or high frequency hearing aid testers. Yes, they are loud. They also never, EVER stop talking They talk all the time. How is that  possible? I guess I should enjoy it now while they are young. I mean, how long until they start resenting me, I become the least cool person they know, and are embarrassed of me? I think I roughly have eight more years left. I plan on enjoying my time being the center of their universe until then.


Okay off to bed so I can training tomorrow and have something to report. Don't forget to get moving on my Timex Triathlon Race Trainer Kit Giveaway!!

Feeling like an Ironman

I met Manuel at the gym today for a little LSD—NO, not the trippy 1970's hallucinogenic drug made popular by such psychedelic rock bands as The Greatful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, and The Jimi Hendrix Experience, but rather some Long Steady Distance. We averaged just under 8 minute miles on our hour run. We were not pushing it at all,  but I still felt incredibly strong today. We opted to run inside today on the treadmill. Although it was a blistering 12 degrees out, and the wind was whipping pretty fierce, we decided that our lungs and nerve endings would thank us in the long run (no pun intended,) if we ran inside on the treadmills. I always put the treadmill on an incline of one to one and half degrees, as I am told that this will more accurately simulate running outside (sans -5 degree wind chill.)  It is amazing how much more energized I felt with a little rest and some quality tunes rocking out on my iPod. I also did a little bit of daydreaming/visualization on my run today. I don't know if any of you have ever done this—and I embarrassed to admit this—but I often think of me racing while I am out training. I get these images in my head of me on the bike passing by onlookers—and other bikers—and running strong the last 10K of a race to while listening the music and excitement at the finish line. I might sound lame, but it is that little psychological espresso that I need to keep motivated. This week was pretty hectic with a lot of time spent writing music, and a heavy swimming volume. By Friday evening, I was pretty spent, but I managed to find a second wind Saturday morning for my run/bike. I can not believe that I am already entering week 5. Here are the number comparisons between weeks:

WEEK #4 - 2nd Week of 1st Pre-Season Cycle
Swim 2:30 - Bike 4:30 - Run 2:20 -- Total: 9:20


WEEK #5 - 3rd Week of 1st Pre-Season Cycle
Swim 2:30 - Bike 5:30 - Run 2:50 -- Total: 10:50


The bike is not daunting to me at all—boring as hell sometimes—but never daunting. Actually, for the first time since I have started training  for triathlons, I am actually really excited to get out there and perform whatever discipline is on the docket. I use to dread swimming, but I enjoy it once I am there. The hardest part is waking up at that scorchingly obscene hour—4:45 a.m.—to get to the gym.  The long steady swims are still difficult, especially when it comes to keeping my technique solid on long swim, but when I can break up the workout with different drills and strokes, it makes it a lot of enjoyable and manageable. 


Running is extremely contagious. Once I get bit, I want to continue piling on the volume. For some reason, I noticed last season that I perform better as the running miles increased (with the notable exception of the Cats Half Marathon Course, which was ridiculously difficult. Adam, Vanessa, and I counted fifty hills. My hamstrings were pretty much ripped to shreds by mile 10.  So, say if I were out for a 13 or 14 mile run; I would start to really get into a rhythm—and start to run negative splits—at mile 8 or 9. Crazy, right? That high is so intoxicating when you know you feel strong at the end of a fairly long run, and you allow yourself to use that adrenaline to motor the rest of the way. 

The Team:

I have wanted to introduce the team for some time. For some strange reason, we either never had a camera around, or we are never all in the same place for very long. I mean, let's get real, you can not have all the Superfriends in the Hall of Justice at one time for very long. Who would be out there fighting crime?

From front to back: Me, Scott, Adam, and Manuel.

A big thank you to my Spinning instructor (that's Lori in the pink,) who kicked our tails so hard Saturday morning that I thought oxygen masks were  going to deploy from the ceiling.

Left to Right: Me, Jodi, Lori, Adam (training partner.) I have to use that caveat, because we spend so much time together outside of the gym, there are some who think that we must be domestic partners.

Giveaway: Don't forget, I am giving away one (1) Ironman Race Trainer Kit  (courtesy of Timex) on my blog. I own one. I love it. You are automatically entered if you are a follower, but you could increase your chances by following the directions here.

Good luck everyone, and happy training!

Watches, Aquaman and Race Entry Fees

Holy Awesomeness Batman! What's this? Timex is introducing a GPS enabled watch to hit stores in September 2010. And what's more, it actually resembles a watch, and not a small hand held Star Wars pod racer. Don't get me wrong, I like pod racers, I just do not necessarily want to wear on on my wrist. A friend of mine recently purchased a Garmin 310 XT. It's neat-o to be sure, but he does not want to wear that puppy on his wrist 24/7. I wear my Timex Ironman Race Trainer watch everyday. It is comfortable enough to even play piano with it on. I can not tell you how many watches I use to take off to play piano and leave inside the well of a grand, only to never be found again. They are now in watch purgatory.

Okay, okay... I know what you're thinking. Given the choice, wouldn't you want to wear one of those pod racers?  No way man. I guess I am just incredibly loyal to my gear. My Timex watches have had a track record of performing well, so I can not part with them. I can honestly say that I see more people with Timex race watches on than any other watch. What's the reason? Dependability and affordability. Kudos to Timex for taking the time to introduce a sleek new design and "get it right!"

Training: I got in the pool this morning for my swim: a 600 yard warm up followed by 10x100. Doug led the way pacing me this morning and we motored (for me anyway.) We averaged about 1:50, which I am okay with. Last season, I had trouble keeping my 1000 yards under 20 minutes. What a difference a year makes! My team has decided that those of us training for Ironman should just be able to go into the Y and show our imaginary "Training for Ironman" superhero cards, so that we can commandeer any piece of equipment that we need, or tell the water walkers that we have important Ironman business to do. We can then suggest they should consider doing needlepoint for an hour while we do our best Aquaman impersonation.

One the docket: I am currently investigating race entry fees. About three months ago I wrote a post about the prohibitive cost of the sport of triathlon. I love triathlon. I love training, but you have to go out there and race during the season, otherwise you do not get to reap the rewards from all the hard work you put in during the off season. The satisfaction you receive from seeing improvement in your racing is quite gratifying.

The only problem is that the sport is really expensive. The Rev3 Ironman Cedar Point is five hundred dollars. That is a lot of dough for most mortals, especially during this economic climate. Somehow, triathlons seems to be gaining popularity and races continue to sell out as more and more people are getting turned on to the sport. Among the folks I will be interviewing are Jeff Henderson—race director for the Musselman Half Ironman. He has some opinions why races are so expensive. Jeff wrote me an email recently telling me that this is definitely a hot topic of discussion in the triathlon world.

Post-Bedtime Traumatic Caveman Disorder

Phew! We had a pretty nice Monday morning swim. After an 800 warm up, we did 5x300 with 20 seconds rest in between. We finished with a 200 warm down. The swim stroke is feeling a bit better these days and my swimming endurance has improved tremendously, but I am still not, nor do I think I will I ever be, a swimmer. When I started all this triathlon nonsense—as my wife sometimes affectionately refers to it—I really could not swim a lick. I don't even think I swam a thousand yards in preparation for my first sprint triathlon. I underestimated how difficult the run was going to be. I was running six miles two or three times a week, thinking "...heck, the run will be cake." Not after a 24 minute swim and a 17-mile trek on a mountain bike with a front suspension fork. Although, now that bike ride would would be excellent training. The most difficult part of training is still the hidden variable of being a father. By the time we get all the kiddies in bed—sometimes it is real work—it is approaching nine o'clock. Alaina and I are usually spent and need time to unwind. Most times we will recharge with one another, but we have been known to go into our individual caves and get the fuzziness out of heads for a half hour before we can even begin to communicate using things other than grunts and moans. This "fuzziness" is something that I like to refer to as "Post-Bedtime Traumatic Caveman Disorder." This is a serious and common affliction that should not be taken lightly. As many as... every parent suffers from this disorder, whether they know it, or believe it. Seriously, the kiddies can really tap you. My theory is that our kids have so much energy because they steal it from us.

Generally, parents embrace that time with their partners. As humans, we need that time. That is why I am still getting in bed a bit later than I would like. I like to pretend I am still marginally connected with the outside world when I am done wrestling all five of my kids. Coincidentally, the boys might be bigger, but those girls are pretty squirrely and have no fear. They also think nothing of it running full speed and crashing their knees down in your stomach after dinner. Lovely. A premature post-bedtime traumatic caveman syndrome (PBTCD) sound is usually uttered: "Huuuuaaaaggghh!" Good thing I have been working those core muscles. If only getting punched in the gut without warning were part of the transition process, I would be completely prepared for it.

I am already looking forward to Friday when we have a tough 3200 swim again. What make this one especially tough is the main set is 2x1000. Dreary folks, dreary. My form starts to slip a tad (by a tad, I mean, it starts to look like I may be in need of some assistance from the lifeguards) after the first thousand and I have to be conscious of it, otherwise I start slowing down, and it just takes that much longer. Okay, off to battle. Happy Training everyone!

Iron Reflections: 3 Weeks In

Who the hell knew training for Ironman was going to be this difficult? Someone forgot to tell me just how grueling this training volume actually is... and I am barely getting my feet wet. Well, it seems like I have been getting my feet a lot more wet than usual as of late. The swim workouts are not feeling quite as difficult as they once did. I remember when a 2200 yard swim workout use to be excruciatingly long and difficult. Now, it is only sometimes, excruciatingly boring. Although, I have to say that Wednesday's swim workout was actually a lot of fun. Today I swam 3200 yards. Last year, the longest swim Adam and I had in preparation for the Half Iron was 3000 yards. It took us nearly an hour and some change. We swam the 3200 yards today in approximately 45 minutes. I don't believe I am actually going to say this, but.... I think, rather, yes, I know I actually like swimming now. It pains me to say it. It took me four years to come around. Swimming is no longer this thing that I have to do to train for triathlons, but something I enjoy doing as part of my training.

The most difficult part of training, still, is getting my butt out of bed at 4:45. That hour still seems scorchingly obscene for some reason. I feel great once I get my first hundred or so in at around 6:00 a.m., but even walking into the Y at 5:55, I am still barely awake. At the end of each week I have been pretty fatigued from the workouts, managing five kids, and composing. I have managed to hold up to my end of the bargain with the wifey and have all of my workouts finished before 8:00 a.m. Of course, like I've said before, Alaina understands that I can not really go out for long rides and be home before 8:00 a.m. unless I leave by 4:00 a.m. That is certainly not going to happen!

I missed one day this week because I came down with the stomach bug. I could always use my rest day—tomorrow—to catch up on that workout, but I have heard that is not a good idea. I will use the time off to rest, write music, and spend some extra time with the kiddies. Wow, I love rest days.

My training group's morale is still very high. We are all pretty excited to be training, but we'll need each other to keep our spirits high throughout the season when we are out there suffering, er... enjoying our 5 hour bike rides, three hour runs, and trying to work out our nutritional needs.

More soon. Happy Training!

Stomach Bug and Numbers

Last night I called my Crankskins team members; Manuel, Scott and Adam and made plans to meet them at the Y at 11:00 for our  thirty five minute bike ride followed by an hour run outside. Things don't always go according to plan. Last night Julian came down with the stomach bug and was up all night. I am the only one in the family who has managed to somehow miraculously escaped the stomach bug. Still, I am keeping my fingers crossed the next couple of days.

Alaina had a three hour rehearsal today, so I called up everyone this morning and told them I was not going to be able to make it. I was especially bummed out because it would have the first time we have all ran together since training for the Musselman Half Ironman last season. After July, we were all busy training for different races, except for Adam and I who ran the same triathlon to end our seasons. This year, we are all training for the Rev3 Iron Distance Triathlon at Cedar Point. Needless to say, I spent the day at home hanging out with the kids, playing games and making sure Julian felt better. It ended up being a great morning and afternoon. I spent the morning and early afternoon playing Spiderman Memory, building a LEGO AT Walker, and making some pretty delicious penne with shrimp if I do say so myself. Adam came by after his workout at the Y and brought me some nutrition for my run later (what a great training partner.)

After putting all the kids down for their naps, Luca accompanied me on his bike for my hour run. It was great fun for both of us! Early on, he kept asking me "Daddy, are you okay?  Do you need some of my water from my water bottle?" This was after I had only run a mile. Missing the training run with my teammates stunk at first, but I let me spend some time with Luca getting some exercise.

A 6:00 a.m. swim scheduled tomorrow to begin week three, then off to the office to write some music.

And now, some numbers: 

Number of yards I could swim without stopping four years ago:    75

Number of yards I've swam since 3 January 2010: 12,800

Number of children I had when I started my PhD: 1

Number of children I had when I finished my course work: 5

Number of times daily someone calls for "Daddy:"  175

Number of times daily someone calls for "Mommy:"  6 billion

Number of CD's I own: 300

Number of CD's I've purchased since 2007: 10

Number of times I've watched Star Wars: 20+

Number of times I've seen Godfather: 0

Number of Ironman Races I have attempted: 0

Number of days until my first Ironman: 237

Iron Training Week 2: Reflection

Wow, am I tired! I have to start going to bed much earlier. Seriously, training for an Ironman is no joke. It has me  waking up every morning by 4:45 a.m. or shortly thereafter to get to the gym and get in my workouts. I admit, I do like getting the workouts done, but I also like my sleep. I have been teaching a winter sessions class every day over the break. It meets four hours every day for two weeks, with an hour break for lunch. That is a huge chunk out of my  day and leaves me pretty fatigued by mid-afternoon when it is all said and done. Then, I take a break—if you can call it that—for an hour to recharge my batteries, catch up on emails, and grade papers. After that, I write music for three hours. Every day. I get home after 7:00 p.m., help get the kiddies in bed and then have an hour and a half to unwind before I have to get ready for bed. Crazy.

In an attempt to fit more things in my day, I have come up with three possible solutions: 1) Quit training for Ironman altogether  2) Slow down the Earth's rotation by by placing planetary sized magnets at either end of the poles   3) Deal with the fact that my new part-time job—Ironman—is going to demand a lot of time, and that I am somehow going to have to manage it while not forgetting my first responsibility—my family. Oh, and no one—least of which my wife—wants to hear any whining about training!

So far, so good, but I need to get some serious Zzzzz's at some point, because it will start to adversely affect my training if I don't. On average, I am getting about five and a half to six hours of sleep, and that is just not going to get it done. I do not know how much sleep human beings are "suppose" to get, but I do know that it makes swimming at 6:00 a.m. a bit more difficult on six hours, coupled with the fact that the pool feels like it is about 150 degrees in the morning. Maybe I could start napping during my lunch hour? If I did that, I am afraid I would never get up. You say Einstein, one of the greatest minds of the twentieth, century only operated on four hours of sleep?  Smart dude, to be sure, but as far as being an endurance athlete, I am confident I have him beat.

A Decent Recovery and Lego Star Wars

Okay, waking up early this morning to meet Adam (my training parter) at the gym did not happen. Every once in a while—for some suspicious reason unbeknownst to my wife and I—our five alarm clocks, er... children do not wake up before Foghorn Leghorn at the crack of dawn. For those of you who did not grow up in the mid-70's, Foghorn was a cartoon that ran during the Bugs Bunny Road Runner Hour. We do not know why this happens, but we are usually filled with joy with every minute of sleep past 7:00 a.m. We've found that each minute translates into approximately one minute more of "parental patience" at bedtime. Adam and I finally got to the gym at 8:15 did some quick weight training and then I did a quick speed workout on the treadmill. I wanted to get outside, but it was 9 degrees this morning and too much ice on the ground. I can handle the cold. Ice is treacherous, and I am clumsy enough as it is. Anyway, I did a nice 5K at a 7:40 pace on a 1 degree incline. I could have run faster. I felt pretty food this morning even though I thought I was going to feel tired and have a mediocre run. Must have been the banana the night before! It felt good to have a decent run after that miserable swim workout because of the cramp in my right thigh. I have to admit, it bothered me most of the day thinking about how I had to bag the workout. The silver lining is that I learned something. I really need to remember that I sweat A LOT and that I need to replace those fluids during and immediately after a long hard ride, or I am going to risk cramping again. I have a 8 mile run scheduled on Thursday with Vanessa. Again, Adam and I convinced her to swim a 1000 yards before going out to run (that is the only chance we have of keeping up with her.)

I have some interesting new developments happening this spring. It looks like I might be "training" a group of young, aspiring first time triathletes. They are mostly students of mine at the college who have expressed an interest. I don't know how they would have gotten the idea. I very rarely talk triathlon with anyone. We'll see how long they last when the pressure of exams, papers, social life, and the rest of the banal indulgences of la vie quotidienne come calling them away from training minutes.

Other News: Christmas was great. The boys got a Lego Star Wars game for the wii and a Lego Star Wars model. Alaina asked me why they would put Legos and Star Wars together. Puzzled, I looked at her and asked her if she were serious. "Alaina," I responded, "they are only the two coolest things ever!" Unconvinced, she said, "It must be a boy thing." This may be true. My girls have been dressed up in the princess outfits they received for Christmas almost every hour. Must be a girl thing.

Cavatelli Salad for lunch today: Cavatelli, olive oil, garlic, basil, tomato's, part-skim  mozzarella, balsamic vinegar. Heaven.