Newfangled Dad

Sometimes it's just not in the cards. That goes for knowing how hard to push during workouts. And how to fit your sport into daily life. My plan had been to celebrate turning 35 next season with an Ironman. Specifically, Ironman Wisconsin. But at some point this summer it just became crystal clear that it's not going to happen. Financially, it's not in the cards to spend the money for a weekend away volunteering to secure my spot. Where you pay for your next year's registration immediately, mind you. Cole is starting school and needs supplies. We're trying to take our weekend away without the kids in October. It's just the absolute worst time for a variety of reasons. I still can't bring myself to cancel the hotel reservation and e-mail my coordinator that I won't be able to make it. But I'm nearly there. Because when I step back to the bigger picture, I realize I've never had to learn the harsh lessons of being injured during training. At ...

The nice thing about having 3 sports is that there is always at least one you can do indoors. (This is also a negative against triathlon for those of you who have trouble finding motivation for training. You'll feel like a bad person if you don't go.) So when Mother Nature wasn't cooperating last night, I went to the pool for the first time in about a month. Pretty easy workout of 25's and 50's for about 30 minutes. Why does it always seem like no matter how hard or easy I swim, it always comes out to 2:00/100m on the pace clock? Which is nice if I can settle into the "why not just go easy then?" attitude. I'll be honest though, I was just screwing around. It felt good and my form came back...maybe not so much on the endurance end. But with nothing actually "scheduled" and no race to anticipate, it feels to me like just wandering around the lanes of a pool for awhile. I did some off strokes and intervals and called it a night. This has be...

Happy Downton Abbey Season Finale to all the fans! We're under the weather in my house...it's been a slow progression starting with Patient Zero  Kelly feeling tired for a week, finally getting a cold, then it spreading. First to Leda. Then to Cole. Finally, yesterday, I made sure to get some laundry done and had Kelly buy a pound of coffee for me even though I was going to roast...I had a feeling I'd be in no mood to do much. Yesterday was just that tired, run-down feeling that I was hoping was maybe from my swim on Friday. So I skipped the gym yesterday even though I wanted to practice. But my instincts were right and I ended up with a stuffy nose overnight and feeling like I've been hit by a truck today. Took a nap that helped a little. And we did manage to make it out to the grocery store as a family. Where I tried to let Cole pick his cereal...and he selected Cookie Crisp. Yep, I have a kid. No longer a baby, he went for the sugary cartoon character crap on the e...

The irony is that this was supposed  to be my 2nd running-related post today. (It will be Oct by the time you read this--Race Week--but I'm writing it the same day in July as the news breaks about updated Start Corrals for the Chicago Marathon.) In reality, it's my 3rd running post today. The wave start in Grant Park isn't the deciding factor for me...really it's not that big a deal. But I find it funny that in my head I was already moving away from marathoning when this happens. Something I read earlier today about what event to do said, "do what you want, not what you should." I think I'm going to take that advice and go with it. This week marks my 5th marathon. 3x in Chicago now. It's not currently my PR course...though we'll see after Oct. 7...but it was the race that sucked me into endurance sports. It was what inspired me, convinced me that I am capable of whatever I put my mind to, gave me self-confidence, and is just a good fun time. Th...

Well, if I wanted an exciting welcome to the world of triathlon, this was it. And let me preface today's adventures at Ironman Wisconsin by saying that Kelly had to come home early from work on Friday because I'd called her to tell her that Cole had split his lip open in the living room and was bleeding all over the place. It stopped and I didn't have to call the doctor, but she came home anyway out of concern.  Thankfully, our Saturday was busy-but-routine. Because we were up at 3:30am and had the kids in the car by 4am for the 3 hour drive to Madison from Chicago. It was dark and chilly and Cole was excited to figure out what was going on so he stayed awake staring out the dark window almost the entire way. By the time we arrived at the Start, the sun was up and the athletes were already in the water...well around the first turn.  We walked from the capital, past what would become the Finish, to Monona Terrace--a Frank Lloyd Wright designed building that sits on ...