Saved, but by whom?!?!

You ever have one of those surpirses that make you wonder? Wonder why its been done? Who done it? Well this evening when I rolled upon the homestead, via Ruby the Redline of course, the yard had been taken care of. I mean really taken care of. Kate and I spent a better part of Sunday morning raking the back yard and formed 4 HUGE piles. Lola was getting lost in the smallest piles and Benny in the bigger ones. I was struggling to see Kater if she was behind one of them....shes not so tall, ha!! Well, some kind folk took care of the front yard, the back yard, the flower beds and proceeded to give me the nicest yard on the block, now only if the house itself would transform for me tomorrow. It was a nice surprise to know that I don't have to worry about dealing with the yard anymore this year.

Its Always Something....

....today's adventure started out with my morning commute via Menagerie with a brisky air temp of a balmy 27 degrees. Watching the weather prior to departing, it said a chance of rain this afternoon. The thought of grabbing the cross bike today was an option. An option that was probably better than taking Menagerie the road bike. So the morning goes on at the office as usual. Nothing exciting or out of the norm. I decide against the turkey and cheese sandwhich and apple for lunch and go with some co-workers to the food court at the EP mall. I start with chicken and brocolli with an egg roll. I wash that down with a medium Oero blizzard. Still hungry. Off to McDonalds for more food. A double quarter pounder, should have gotten the meal, but got just the sandwhich...damn tape worm. Back to the office and what appears to a pending rain storm.

As the day apporaches quieting time, its getting darker and clearly raining at this point. Not so bad, its a short 5 mile ride home. Its one of those rides thats almost not worth getting all of the spandex and riding gear on. But I am dork and dawn it anyway. Lots of wise cracks from the not so in shape co-workers and off I go. The weather isn't so bad, a little rain and what feels like sleet in the face, stings a touch...but I have no choice but to carry on. As I apply the brakes for my first big turn, the back tire fish tales and I am heading street side and in a hurry!!! I am some how able to keep the rubber on the road and am now taking a different way home. This way is a less traveled and newly paved road, so it actually worked out better. I keep on my way, now getting very wet, my shoe covers are no longer keeping my feet warm, or dry for that matter. About 2 or 3 miles from the house my back tire is getting really spongey, kind of like when you know your getting a flat. Sure enough, FLAT!! So off the bike and time to run it home. I keep my shoes clipped to the bike and start to hoof it homeward. Socks are completely soaked, feet are freezing and feel like cinder blocks. I make it home, almost biff it on the tile in the entry way, grab a beer and let the 8 of you that read this know about my day. Hope everyone else had just as much fun today!!

The bike I should have taken

Oh Crap!!! Hang on!!! Sonofa.....

Well, big red isn't nearly as tough as I thought it to be. If you "bump" a Chrysler Aspen on 494 while taking your brother and sister in-law to the airport, it will wrinkle, dent, lose pieces, etc. I've always tried to convince myself that I am a really good driver, had this been true, I would have missed this guys bumper and not cracked up the truck....PISS!!!
Yes, it does seem to always be an adventure with me. I got the truck off of 494 and beat on the bumper to try and successfully get my riders to the plane on time. Hell, I even went to Walgreens for a hammer and Jiffy Lube for a pry bar to try and bend the bumper away from the front tire so it wouldn't pop. Alas, no luck. A cab was called for the travelers as well as a co-worker for me so I could attend work. No injuries other than bruised pride, so that's a plus. I will be a biking everywhere until I get big red back though, no worries, much like my running, I just need a reason to get back on the bike.
The worst part of the whole deal, I spilt my coffee on myself and needed to stop home to change!!!

What the?!?!?

Another long day at work. Another night I come home and want to kick my feet up and hold the couch down as some tv show lulls my into a daze. Another night I am not looking forward to cooking, cleaning, doing laundry; you know all of the standard life and household crap that one has to deal with.

So tonight, other than just having the thought of running, I actually put my gear on and out the door I went. What a great night for a run. Cool, a slight breeze, colorful trees and just me and my thoughts.

The first thought: as I am running past a small road construction project (I should stop and wish a fellow buddy happy birthday, his house was on my route tonight)...than what exactly are they doing to the road? The boulevard looks the same as it did earlier this summer...dug up with pipes resting near holes and cables/wires shooting out of the ground. Clearly something is happening to the area, I wonder what it is.

Second thought: why am I running? What am I running from? What am I training for? Why can't I go home and hold the couch down? I am running to relax, I know it sounds odd. I am running to prep myself for the coming Goofy Challenge, this weekend's Monster Half and the 2010 Mpls Marathon.

3rd thought: When will I turn around and head home? I wondered around the local park and paved trail system and even did a section of cross country running....my favorite by the way.

4th thought (by far the best of the run): when did the church behind my house put a concrete buck statue in the parking lot. Wait? What the?!?!? I stop running and watch an 8 point buck stand perfectly still in the parking lot. I must have watched this deer for 10 minutes, thankfully I was almost home. As the cars zoomed by and went along with their busy lives answering cell phones and text message or the mother yelling at the kids...I stood and watched this gentle looking animal. He didn't seem scared, worried or even concerned with the cars passing by us. As I walked around in the grass getting closer, he simply watched me. I told a fellow walker about what I had been watching, he grumbled some comment on how this animal is impeding his space; that guy was an ass. I ran the rest of the way home and entered through the back door thinking I might see the deer one last time. I walked to the back of the property to the church parking lot; sure enough there he stood on the hill looking back at me. It was a great way to end the run!!

5th thought: during my training this year, I have probably seen more deer than my dad will all year hunting them, ha!!

Michael and I stopping for a photo opt along the run course of IMOO '09

Hell's Kitchen or Iron Chef??

EnJ, I am making tator tot hotdish again!!! I have bought all of the "correct" ingredients, I learned my lesson last year, ha!! At any rate, Casa de Veggie smells great. As long as this turns out better than the chili debacle from a week ago or so. Anyone ever burn chili? Ever second guess how hot a gas stove will get when you return to the office during lunch to let your supper simmer? Anyone ever get a little pissy because you no longer own a crock pot, and kick yourself for walking by them at Target and thinking "humm...I should get one, BUT when would I ever use it" Needless to say, I think I will be getting a crock pot for Christmas, I have recently lost my microwave as well....hint hint. The microwave disappearance of 2009 has actually been a GREAT for me. It has caused me to cook meals and not just warm up left overs all the time. I regress back to the "Great Chili Cook-off" As my elder brother would do, I laid out all of the "stuff" to make sure I didn't get half way through and need to run to the store, remember I am doing this during my lunch hour, AND its interrupting my nap time. I get everything going and it smells good. I know walking into the house after work to the smell of chili on a what was a cold wet crumby day out, was going to be exactly what I needed. Alas, I walked into a stench, much like foot...but with a burnt odor, as I entered the house. Now, for those that have never burnt any tomato based soups, sauces, etc I would recommend against it. Not only did I damn near ruin a stock pot, I had to toss my supper in the garbage. Thankfully I had frozen pizza and beer to fall back on. Now I like to cook. Its relaxing, calming, peaceful and I love all of the smells that I can generate from a pinch of this and a dash of that. But I am suddenly second guessing my ability to cook. Perhaps it was all of the Ironman training this past summer that got me out of my groove to cook.,,,,Qdoba called the other day and wondered if I was still breathing. I hadn't been in for a few weeks to get my usual 2 chicken burritos and chips/cheese order. I was apparently the result of their economic downturn.
I have yet to remake chili...I have eaten 3/4's of a pot of Kater's...which is fantastic. Perhaps I am gun shy and not sure if I can cook. Perhaps I should return to Qdoba? Maybe go to Lets Dish and do the frozen meals? Maybe I'll just start eating McDonald's and muster up that great McMusk smell you get from eating it. Now these are random thoughts, maybe I'll go through with them, more than likely not. Why you ask? Because I am neither Hells Kitchen nor the Iron Chef, but I can cook, and I love to do it!!!

Done and Inked

I will work on getting more info to the masses that follow this blog.....but for the time being, as you can see, I have successfully finished IMOO 2009 and had a BLAST!!!

Recap

Sorry for the long delay with regards to the last few days. I know I had great intentions of updating on a daily basis and that didn't happen. My sincere apologies for the 4 or 5 people that were eagerly waiting on the edge of their seats for updates.

I already told you about Thursday night when Kate arrived and how we started running non-stop. I filled you in about the house guest and hopefully roughly what we had planned for the weekend

Saturday morning, we were awaken by the famous Blackberry alarm at 4:15 as we prep for the Liberty Half. We arrive to the race course and the weather is looking perfect for a great day. Now for those that race, everyone has encountered the "Bucket Guy" For those that don't, this is the "racer" that shows up to transition with everything he owns, everything his neighbor owns and a bucket just in case he is isn't sure if he has a enough shit in transition. And everyone dread this "racer" racking next to them.....guess who the lucky winner was today. Not only does this moron rack next to me and take up about 6 spots, he sits down and starts reading a book with his fake iPod in. He is racing the Olympic race, which I wasn't aware of ahead of time, so upon my return from the bike...I find my run shoes covered by his bucket, towels (yes towels) and whatever else his neighbor leant him. So, in typically Marcus fashion, I politely get my run stuff, keep my comments to myself and head out on the run. Even dealing with this guy's crap, I still managed the 2nd fastest T2 of the day!! I ended up with a PR by about 12 minutes and am super happy with my race.

Saturday night was a hoot. Kate and I sat in the back yard sipping beers and enjoying a great evening. The crazy old lady next door even summonsed me for a beer. That's a whole different Oprah episode for another time.

Sunday morning wake was the same as Saturday as we were headed out to Manitou to volunteer. We were not 100% sure what to expect, other than help with the swim. This was the first year the race was under the supervision of SCS, and I must say these 3 guys did a great job. It was another picture perfect day and F-A-S-T as D Palmer was able to prove. We left the race site about about 11:45, totally spent, in need of food and a nap. We got both. Sunday night was followed by a few more beers at Old Chicago and an early night.

Monday, back to work, well for me anyway....Kate held the home office down again, Rome of the North some might call it....okay so maybe no one calls it that. But she has a pretty sweet set-up to work from. Her favorite part is the unlimited number of times she is able to watch 40 Year Old Virgin and Step Brothers!! Monday night we got a couples massage from Scott at Quantum Massage Works. This was the first couples massage I have ever gotten. It was a blast. For fear of missing out on conversation, I was in the room for Kates and vice versa when it was mine turn. I think Scott was a little uneasy at first, but it was a blast and we laughed and chatted for the whole time. What a great way to get your body worked on. Following the massages we meet S Nelson for beer and to hear all about her race 70.3 race in KS.

Tuesday, work during the day and than a race to Hudson to meet the parents for supper. My mom was super excited to meet us and try Chipotle for the first time. This might seem silly for those that have eaten at this establishment in the past, but she never has and was looking for something different. Given the look on her face when she walked in, it was different and not what she was expecting at all. Like my dad, "long freakin' way to eat at a McDonalds" We had a great time and were happy they were able to meet us.

Wednesday, FINALLY DATE NIGHT for us. This entire week was suppose to be one long date night and as you can see by the stuff we had going on, not a whole lot alone time. We ended up at Champps for live music and found a new artist that we both really enjoyed, Shane Martin. Marginal food, cold beer, good music and Kate....really what else can I ask for.

Thursday was the end of our time together......not really, but under the same roof for a while, okay only 1 night. We had coffee and brekkie together and both headed to work. Kate had a short 3ish hour commute first though.

All and all we had a BLAST together and are already trying to figure out when we can do it again

Have you seen my bucket?

Kate and I made it last week just fine for all the worriers, or is warriors, either way we are still alive and kicking. Been going a zillion miles an hour if 12.3852 directions. I will do a full Team WE recap in the next day or so. Stay tuned, sorry the generic tweeter thing sucked.....I know it would even when I typed it, ha!!!

Day 1

Thus far 1 full day with Kate and the fun we've had. A quick recap:
She arrives last night about 6ish to find me on the bike just finishing up and getting ready to change for a quick transition run. For those that care about me, I felt good and feeling ready for tomorrow.
After the training is done, a quick shower to rinse off and than the "rat race" is on. We head to Start Line for packet pick-up. Off to Gear West for new replacement pedals for Kate's road bike.....long story for this trip. The first 2 stops are north and west of for us. Now comes the true test of driver skill, which for me is speeding without having the po-po catch me....knock on wood I've succeeded so far. Any rate, we are headed to Chaska and Brickyard Bikes to visit our buddy and get some bike "love". We discuss possible new toys and than need food. By this point in the day Kater has been in the car for about 5ish hours and in need of fuel for the body.......who am I kidding, I am starving as well. We stop and get a burrito at Qdoba, only 1 for me tonight, i had 2 from Chipotle last night. I've been told thats about 2000 calories or so, but who's counting, ha!!! We arrive back to Casa de' Norde and call it a day. In goes one of the Seinfeld DVD's and we are both fast asleep.
Today brings another day of fun....the alarms squawks at 5:15 telling us to get to the pool. We show up and are met in the parking lot by our weekend roomie; Matt Wilson. We all change and hop in the warm pool for a short set and off to brekkie at the Original Pancake House. This is a Monster favorite hands down. They have the best bacon I've ever had...the good thick kind. Plus, I've never drank a cup of coffee during breakfast; they are johnny on the spot to refill your cup. I worked at the office today as did Kate, the only difference she works from the comfort of the living room while watching Step Brothers or 40 Year Old Virgin. When I got home from work we got the bikes all set for "the big race" had supper and now we are resting watching game 7 of the Cup.
To be continued.......

T-Minus 1 Night

So its been a really really long time again since I have updated this for the 6 people that occasionally check out whats going on in my life. Since my last post, not much has changed. I am still working, which is always a plus in today's economy. Still training. Still commuting to and from IA to see a little cutie that makes me smile.

Common questions that I am asked that I will answer and then continue with this little post.

Whats new?

Not much. Pretty much the same as always.

Hows training and racing going?

So far its going good. I feel I am swimming faster than I ever have before. My bike feels solid and my run, well, its my run. Lets just say I am glad that I am not "just" a runner

How are things with you and Kate?

Good. We are able to spend a ton of time together regardless of the distance and we make the most of our time. Seldom are we just sitting around. We are constantly on the go

Okay, with those answered, lets continue.

I have Liberty half coming up this Saturday. It will be a good start to the season and a great fitness check for me. I have raced a few times already and have felt pretty good. I did a 10k in IA last Saturday and was going to work on race pace stuff. Clearly I am a moron and have Z-E-R-O concept of pacing. I was out of the gates way to HOT. Tried to settle down and get in a groove, no luck. Tried again at the still no luck. But, like I said I felt good. So I just kept my pace for that race. Not really the goal I had set in my coco-noodle when I woke that morning. So, I feel ready for what is looming ahead for me on Saturday. Sunday morning we (Kate and I) will be up at the butt crack of stupid and heading to the Manitou Sprint race as volunteers. Afterwards we have plans on going to Stillwater to watch the last stage of the Nature Valley Grand Prix cycling race. I've seen stages of this race in the past and its an amazing thing to see. The riders are so impressive and the crashes rival those that Bob Roll shows on his crash compilation DVDs.

More importantly than all of the that is what is arriving tomorrow evening. Kate is coming to stay for the next week!!! I am going to work on doing a generic version of Twitter and give daily updates as to what Team WE is doing....so stay tuned, I promise to entertain.

So for those 3 faithful followers, thats what I have been up to as of late. Exciting huh? Makes you happy that you decided to stop by and take a look, ha!!!

A Weekend of 1st!!!

1st tri of the year
1st tri ever for Boo's dad and oldest sister
1st tri of the year for Team WE
1st in the pool
1st out of the pool
1st in on the bike
1st to cross the finish line
5th overall
Not so bad for the 1st official race of the year.

Grocery Shopping

So its been a few days sine my last post, sorry. Since my last post, I've turned 30, I traveled to Fl and had a wonderful weekend with Kate and her parents in the Villages...which happens to be the most active retirement community I've been to. Okay, so its the only retirement community I've been to, but I had a blast. Kate and I brought the bikes down and got in 2 great rides with Mike. I encountered my 1st flat of the year; only to be followed up by my 2nd flat of the year on Wed during a ride to the bike shop to get more spare tubes. I got to do the walk of shame back to the house to switch bikes. Nothing more depressing than being all dressed to ride and have to push your bike back to the stable because you are out of the proper equipment to repair it on the road. Needless to say, I got more tubes and have had many a good rolls since.
So as the title of the post might or might not lead you to think, I need to go to the grocery store and restock. I tend to forget the amount of food that I consume during training and racing season. I find myself eating 2 sub sandwiches, cookies, soup and sometimes a pop for lunch. I start the day with oats, yogurt, fruit and coffee. Have a mid morning snack, either the listed lunch or leftover pasta, tacos, really anything I can get my hands on. Supper, well my friends, this is usually some sort of Thanksgiving fest. If I have pasta, I always add more noodles than the pot can hold and get the burger and sauce going. I will usually consume all of it in one sitting. Only to find myself hungry 30-45 minutes later. I have a co-worker that thinks I have a tape worm, I am starting to think he might be right.
So tonight, after eating just about everything in the house and not having anything left to make a meal, I am off to the store. This will start with a plan. I will walk into Cub (I {heart} my Cub) dead set on what I need to get. What aisles I need to go to and have meal plans all drawn up in my head. Only to walk into the store and have my mind go totally blank. I will look at items that I can't pronounce, only to see if I can add it to a dish and make a some sort of new meal. The kicker is, because I go into the store sans a list, I will undoubtedly forget something. For instance, I am looking to make baked chicken and rice with beans; I will forget chicken. I don't know what happens to men when we walk into a grocery store; but the next time you see a guy in the store, take a look, he is utterly clueless on what he needs. You will see him when your leaving, more than likely in the same spot you first saw him, still lost. So when you see me, please help. Than just to be extra nice, can you show me to my vehicle as well.

How much is TOO much

With training in full swing, swimming a few times a week, biking what seems like every 6 hours and running whenever I am awake; I have noticed something. I own a lot of spandex and Lycra based clothing. I have it hanging over doors to dry for the next session, loaded in the laundry baskets to be washed, my wetsuit hanging in the shower to dry after a recent pool workout. My house is starting to smell like a hockey locker room with just a hint of neoprene. Its an odd aroma, but one that has quickly grown on me. Is it odd that I find myself doing more loads of training clothes laundry than work clothes? At what point do I get rid of some of it? Than do I have to buy more? I have about 1500 technical t-shirts from races; what am I keeping them all for? I have 3 large Rubbermaid stack able bins just full of "stuff" My cold weather gear; hats, gloves, etc don't even have their own bin. They just get tossed in the training room until I need them again. I have done athletics for pretty much my whole life and if I got all of that gear in one room...my tri stuff would still out number all of the it!

Movies. This is another thing. I have increased my movie collection 10 fold in recent months so I have entertainment while on the trainer or dreadmill. Yet I find myself watching the same few over and over again. I mean, Dumb and Dumber, Elf, Christmas Vacation, Wedding Crashers, 40 Year Old Virgin, Fletch; these are great and make the time fly by.

I have 3 helmets, 3 pairs of cycling shoes, about 8 pair of running/racing shoes, 3 wetsuits, 4 bikes....why? Am I trying to compete with Gear West; I feel like I am running a small tri shop evrytime I enter the house.

So I ask a simple question....how much is TOO much? I might be over my limit.

Sleep, eat, train, work....REPEAT

Movies to pass the time while running or on the trainer

The "South"

The past few weeks have been busy with work, training and travel to see Kate. I pretty much wake up and head to the pool, try to be there by 6, usually late though. Than head to work. Maybe another training session during lunch (if not I head home to nap...the joys of living only a few miles from the office), back to the office for the rest of the day and than a some sort of training at night. I would love to keep a calorie log, but not sure I can count that high. So, if you've been wondering what I've been up to...thats pretty much it. If you are trying to find me...I'll be the one in the pool, or on the treadmill, or the trainer...sometimes I can even be spotted lifting or better yet, attempting yoga.

Livin' on a Prayer

Race 1 for the season is in the books. Okay, so it was a little more like a long fun run for me. Going into it (Disney Marathon) I had averaged about 15 miles a week, thats probably a stretch, and my longest long run was about 10-11 miles. But i had 2 little cuties to keep me company for the 26.2 mile jaunt through Disney. Its the place where dreams come true, maybe you hadn't heard that.

Sup bitches!?!?! My running partners.....oh the fun we had

Not sure if I had joined a basketball team, or was going for a run

The trip started Thursday afternoon with what was so to be a very very common occurrence; Giggle-fest 2009. Only problem, I didn't remember buying my ticket for this event, but i am glad I was able to sneak in. "Well, go ahead a do it smart-ass" We never did figure out if this was the correct line from "A Christmas Story" 0r not, but it didn't much matter....Bratzy was laughing so hard as she was trying to say it, it didn't matter if it was right or not. As we headed out the door to airport I remember asking Kate if we left from the big terminal or the little one. Her response was something along the lines of, "we leave from the big, I always leave from the big one." Note to self, Kate doesn't always leave from the big one; noted, dually noted. We eventually made it to the Humphrey Terminal, boarded and headed to sunny Orlando

We got the rental car, another little adventure on this the first day of the trip and head to meet Mike and Bonnie for supper. This is when the real fun started. Seafood and a few drinks, off to the rental house to unpack and set plans for the next day. We needed to get out race packets, walk the expo and HK and Bonnie needed to set plans for a day at Magic Kingdom. After a fun day of travel and excitement, we were all off to bed.

Friday was filled from start to finish with pre-race day prep for Mike, he was running his first half marathon, only a few months after knee surgery. We hit the expo, put food in our bodies and was even told that "what, this car doesn't go to Walgreen's?" One of the more memorable lines form the weekend.

Saturday we were up early to make sure Mike was ready to run....little did I know he was an early riser, REALLY early riser. He was up, dressed, had eaten and ready to walk out the door before I was even out of bed. He was ready to go, had the pre-race excitement in his eyes, yet the calm that comes over some racers prior to an event. Me, I am not like that at all. I talk and ramble on like a babbling idiot. We left Mike to head to the start line as we made our way around Disney property to watch. I was shocked by the sheer number of runners on Saturday, little did I know that Sunday would be more than double the runners. We were able to see this first timer 3 or 4 times, each time looking stronger than the last. Nice job Mike, I had a blast following you around the course.

Saturday came to a close and for one of the marathoners, reality was starting to set in. Not a lot, but just the thought of 26.2 miles, its a daunting task, even if your a veteran at that distance.

We were up and out of the house a little before 5 on Sunday morning. Weather was humid and warm, but very nice compared to what I am used to dealing with this time of year. As we slowly started making our way to the start, the number of runners was unreal. The entire day of running, we were surrounded by people. As the count down from Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy began, so did the fireworks. I am struggling for words to describe this scene. But it was 6 in the morning and with the amount of fire works going off, it could have been noon. It was really cool to be a part of. We looped Epcot, head to Magic Kingdom and than to Animal Kingdom. Finally to return to Epcot and finish. Heading to Magic Kingdom was the highlight of the run for me. We turned a corner and were meet by a mass of spectators and a great view of the castle. Characters were all over the place and the guys playing the trumpets on the balcony of the castle were a great addition. We saw The Country Bears, Winnie the Pooh and his friends, Capt Jack and his pirate buddies, etc. It was a blast to run through the all of the parks. The costumes that the other runners had on were great as well. My favorite was the guy with the Yoda back pack and light saber. We must have saw him 10 times during the run. About mile 17, Kate and I had a quick chat with Kelley and told her we'd meet here at mile 21. I had fun encouraging Kate to keep running and hold a pace that she didn't seem to be happy about, but when we were able to stop at mile 21 and chat as we waited for Bratzy, I think she was okay with it. This was a "fun run" after all; and that is exactly what the 3 of us had.

Monday brought reality. We got on the plane, it was about 75 or so in Fl, we landed in Mpls and it was about 5 or 7...with blowing snow and a wind advisory. Today when we woke up; yep all 3 of my little Iowans were stuck with Marcus for an extra night, it was -20 outside. Thats about a 110 degree swing from Sunday afternoon to Tuesday morning that we had just been part of. But such is life and I am happy to be back home. Race 1 for the '09 season will be a tough one to beat, if thats even possible.

HK and I on the wrong escalator in the wrong terminal. She was a rock-star kid all weekend long!!

Boo and I doing our best squishy faces

Oh, I'm sorry I thought you were looking in a mirror!

End of an era

Okay, so its not really the end of an era, but as I sit here setting the coming season's races....I am drinking a Black -n-Tan and eating Cool Ranch Doritos with a little hottie....realizing that come Monday Jan 5th, my ass is going to be handed to me. That day my friends, is the day that the '09 season begins. I finished '08 on a less than stellar note, had a train wreck of a personal life and worked on drinking and eating frozen pizza (clearly my 2 biggest vices).

I am planning a big year for the coming race season, maybe not performance-wise, but I will be attempting my first full iron distance race. If successful, hopefully than I will be looked at as a real triathlete, ha! I will also be under taking a few additional halfs...I will be going back to DCT to see my buddy in Egg Harbor. When he found out I was from MN the first time I stayed at his hotel, we got a discount. He said its a discount he likes to pass onto his fellow statesmen.

As the dates fill up to meet team obligations, its quickly becoming reality that trying to get to Mad-town to train will be a tough task. I am currently looking at another 9-10 race season, maybe 11 or 12 if I am not careful or smart about it.....hell, if Potts and Crowie can do it, why can't I, right? Oh, that's right, they're good!!!
So for those that are also setting schedules and getting back at it again.....best of luck to you this season and I'll see you at the start line...I'll be the nervous talker