San Antonio Day 1 – Great AM run, past Alamo, Majestic, around Alamodome. Beautiful AM 3.27 mi @30:27

Just landed in San Antonio! Need a beer and Tex-Mex

Upper bod weight workout. Back to the ol’ reliable workout routine!

finally getting caught up on the backlog of work…

Oh. My. God.
to Make a Choco Taco | Serious Eats : Recipes

we are Soooo making these for the next dinner party…

So if I’m a boomer by demography, but a GenY by action, where does this place me?

the Recession Putting Gen Y in its Place? – BusinessWeek – BurnURL

Seriously, we (boomers) should get a clue. Tune in (to the social media), turn on (the computer) and drop out (of our predisposed social position)

How do I know this?  We’ll I had my 1st race of 2009 (5k, 23:48), I rode the bike into work this AM, and heard the peepers along the Dead River.  It’s only a matter of time before we can start cycling and running outdoors in shorts & short sleeves.

Bring on the warmth!

I’m too tired to make a lot of comments, so here are the Friday WTF in (mostly) unblemished greatness:

(1) For the boys: & Girls: Two Things That Turn Heads On The North Shore
(2) Yep, we KNEW this was true: Porn in the USA: Conservatives are biggest consumers
(thanks to William Lobdell for this link)
(3) Tall bikes are cool. Antique tall bikes are spendy: Record Manufacturing Company Giraffe Lamplighter’s Bicycle, 1898 (props to BikeSnob NYC)

Enjoy your weekend! Roll your clocks forward, spring is here!

Wow, another month of 2009 is almost in the can.  Where does the time go?  It’s been a busy month to be sure.  Consistent training (more consistent that not, but not up to where I’d like), cold weather, busy work schedule and other real-life stuff has kept me busy.  But to what end?

It’s probably why I hate February so much.  Besides the darkness and the weather, it’s sort of a let down month.  After all the fun and activity of the holiday season, with Thanksgiving, bowl-games, Christmas, New Years, birthdays and NFL playoffs all complete, February arrives on our doorstop like a pile of dung.  You can’t really ignore it, you have to move it to progress, so you hold your nose and to shovel it away. 

So now that it’s over (almost) what do we have to look forward too?

Spring!

I’m starting to see some evidence that we’ve made it through most of the winter.  I saw some daffodils begin to poke out of the mulch at work today.  All of the snow is gone (it was 60F here today!), and the sun feels just a wee bit warmer.

Other evidence?  My first race of 2009 is Sunday.  I came very close to blowing off the race, as winter will be trying to make a comeback.  The forecast is for 20F and “wintry mix” precipitation.  Not really the best weather to run a half marathon.  I posted my intention to skip the race, and got called out by a fellow triathlete and all around hard-ass.  I challenged him to show up and race with me, and he took me up on it.  So it looks like I’ll be toeing the line at the Murray Todd Half Marathon very early Sunday morning.  My friend Brian is bringing the camera, so we should have some interesting pictures at the end of the race.

Looking a little further out on the calendar, we have the Odd Man MTB Duathlon, one of my all time favorite races. It was my very first multi-sport race that I ever competed, and this will be my 3rd time to do the race.

I think that once I get these two races under my belt, I’ll be in full-on Tri season mode.

Bring it..

While browsing around my home computer’s “My Documents Folder” I stumbled upon this gem:

WHY?

First, when I swim, bike and run I feel vibrantly alive. The kid in me again feels what it is like to take a risk without having to engage in reckless or irresponsible behaviour. On any given day I am given the opportunity to feel awake, to take a chance and see if I can go a little faster, a little further or handle something a little harder. This constant source of feedback has been so wonderful. Some days I have had it and some days I haven’t but I have been determined to give myself the opportunity.

Secondly, even though I am the only triathlete in my immediate world, when I am out there doing my thing either training or racing, I know that I am a part of something. I belong somewhere. The importance of belonging that I thought had disappeared with my youth is alive and just as needy in my adulthood. I used to feel a tremendous sense of belonging at work but the new work culture of slash and burn leaves me reluctant to get too attached here anymore.

Second time around

By Alison Colavecchia

6.28.04 (www.slowtwitch.com)

I’m not so down on my day job as Alison, and I really do like working with the team around me, I can feel the constant stress of  ‘slash & burn’ taking it’s toll.  Glad I have the S/B/R to keep be balanced.