"Rats-1, Peter-0"

Obviously brother Bill was right!

I set up Roo's automatic bird camera which took almost 400 pictures between 6 pm and 6 am.  Of those 400 pictures there was not even one shot with multiple rats, which makes one wonder?  Is there only one?  Not very likely I think, unless I did indeed manage to kill the majority of them with the diesel fumes.  You can see that the pics are time stamped and if you watch the comings and goings in order it appears that there must be at least 3 or 4.  I can't set the camera up immediately at the chickens feed source or else I would get a bunch of chicken pictures, and probably a bunch of chicken shit on the camera.

Instead, tonite, I made food and water available right where the camera is pointed.  I'm hoping to get some sense of how many there are, and if indeed I learn something then I will set up traps the following night and start killing the wee darlings!!

Man this is fun!!

Training continues to go reasonably well.  Both the intensity and duration of my workouts is less than my previous preparations at this point of the preparations but I think that's actually a good thing.  I am trying to train a little smarter this time and I truly believe it will work out.  Besides I'm enjoying the current workload and that's probably the most important thing anyway.

Love
Peter

"Needing a Break"

I have finally accepted that posting daily feels more like a chore than a pleasure.  If I truly believed that I had a lot to offer I would continue anyway, but it would take an arrogant mind indeed to suggest that be the case on many days.

So I will continue to blog but only as the spirit moves me.  I know this means that I may lose some attention, but so be it.  I do encourage you to keep my site bookmarked however as I still intend on keeping you updated on my training progress and certainly any racing that I do.

And of course the invitation for guest bloggers remains always open.

"For me, the big chore is always the same: how to begin a sentence, how to continue it, how to complete it."---Claude Simon

Love
Peter

"Time Out"

I'm living in the moment.

Love
Peter

"Live In The Moment"

That's what everybody says!  I think there have been about a million books written around that idea.  Apparently that one little concept is the key to everlasting peace and happiness.

And real easy to do at times.  I'm sure I can think of some?

But today when I was doing my bike workout I was looking forward to it being over.
As I sit here typing I look forward to my grandchildren coming over later.
I'm even looking forward to Christmas.

Is that living in the moment?  I'm not so sure.  It seems to imply that I will be happier when....

Just asking...

Oh and I'm also looking forward to spring.  It seems that November has arrived just in the last couple of hours.  Nasty!

(swim drills, computrainer 60 mins)

"Lose not yourself in a far off time, seize the moment that is thine."---Friedrich Schiller

Love
Peter

"Blogged Down"

No inspiration.  Settle for this!

I think this was one of the very few times where the dreaded hand-me-downs skipped me and went straight to Bill!  I'm the one in the very manly bib shorts.  It's also the first picture evidence of what has become a healthy lifelong habit...scratching my balls!

(swim drills, run 7.3kms)

"Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be."---Ralph Emerson

Love

Peter

"No Internet"

Which isn't much of a step down from our usual service.  I can tether my phone but that costs about a hundred dollars a minute, so that's my excuse for this very short hello.

It was an easy day with a very short ride on the trainer, and the usual swimming pool visit.  Speaking of which, I no longer seem to resent going there.  I think that must mean something eh?

(swim drills, computrainer)

"Never forget that only dead fish swim with the stream."---Malcolm

Love
Peter

"Genetics"

One is rarely surprised when a child bears the same physical traits as a parent, or when brother and sister look alike.  Those vertical and horizontal lines are common, and not  unexpected. The ones that do sneak up on you now and again, are the diagonal lines.

Just recently I came across this old picture from a newspaper. This is our youngest son Adrian when he was about 8 years old.

Last night after we tidied up grandson Colby's hair (he's Adrian's nephew) we snapped this picture.

I find it so intriguing.  While they are far from being an exact match, the glint in their eyes and the mischief in their smiles are undeniably similar.  Which makes one wonder?  If they share some physical characteristics, do they also share personality traits?  I can tell you for a fact that they both know everything! While the very thought of similar personalities scares the hell out of me, is it perhaps also an opportunity?  Maybe there's a way to take all my learning's from parenting Adrian, and apply them to grandparenting Colby?

Colby!  You're grounded!!

Whoops....never learned a thing I guess!

Anyway sitting here comparing these two wonderful young men reminds me just  how lucky I am to have them both in my life.  And it also reminds me that a lot of their shared personality traits are the ones that make me most proud of them....and myself.    Besides the propensity for always being right, I think of curiosity and passion and a wonderful kind of stubbornness that clearly identifies them as part of the larger idiotic Rooyakkers clan!

Oh and Miguette thinks that Colby just looks like his Dad, which really frightens me!!!

I had another decent workout day today with an uneventful but acceptable swim and a little longer run without pain.  All is well.

(swim drills, run 11 kms)

“The laws of genetics apply even if you refuse to learn them.” ---Allison Plowden

Love
Peter

"Happy Monday!"

Interesting day today in light of yesterdays post.  I hadn't thought about it at the time but I woke up this morning realizing that it was "test" day.  Perhaps not what the doctor ordered?  Test day is in preparation for my 20 week bike training program.  The creators of the program guarantee a 10 percent improvement over the 20 weeks, and so of course I needed to measure the current state.  That comes in the form of a 30 minute, balls out, time trial on the trainer.

I was quite nervous going into it but after the lengthy warmup it calls for, I actually felt pretty good.  In the end I produced an average of 172 watts, at an average heart rate of 144.  I was pleasantly surprised.

Now if they know what they're talking about....and if I do the work... by next march I should be able to produce 190 watts at about the same heart rate.  That would indeed be an accomplishment.  "Time will tell!!

Before my bike ride I went to the pool where I made it a point not to do any measuring.  And a more casual attitude may well be the right thing in the water.  Perhaps I've explained this before but the dependency on flotation devices that I've allowed myself to build over the last year has pretty well killed my ability to swim without.  Today I decided as soon as I got in the pool that I would do a few lengths of very relaxed swimming without any help, and without any attention to the clock.  Much to my great surprise I swam 250 metres and felt very good doing so!!  This is a mini breakthrough and hopefully a result of focusing on drills.  "Time" will tell!!

Lastly for today I must tell you about a brief note I received from brother Bill this evening.  He tells me that my "diesel" engine may not be very effective at killing rats.  I didn't understand why, but when I researched it I found to my surprise that diesel engines produce far less carbon monoxide than gas engines, primarily because they are so much more efficient.  Live and learn!  I still suspect that I killed them as I left it run for 45 mins in a fairly small space, but I now fret that maybe it was not very humane!!  If there was one thing I learned from my Dad it was that you never knowingly allowed an animal to suffer  needlessly.   "Time" will tell!!

(swim drills, computrainer 75mins)

"I took some time out for life."---James L Brooks

Love
Peter

"Ignorance is Bliss"

I had to take this position in a high school debating contest many moons ago.  If I remember correctly I won the debate quite handily.  I'm not sure if it was because I was a very good debater, or because it was an easy position to argue, but I suspect the latter.  I think it's obvious.  If one is oblivious to future perils why would one not be happy??

Actually when I put it that way I'm suddenly not so sure?

Maybe I was good at arguing??

But let's just say for now that the answer is clear, and that indeed, ignorance is bliss.

If I think about that statement in the context of all this health and fitness stuff, it occurred to me that knowing your body inside and out can be a bit disturbing at times.  Perhaps because this fitness stuff encourages one to constantly measuring his/her success via all kinds of data.  Weight, heart rate, speed, power output, etc.

Of course all that data collection, and observation, and analysis, achieves the exact opposite of keeping one blissfully ignorant.

Day after day, month after month, year after year the data keeps hounding you.  Try harder, be smarter, work longer!  And yet year after year, it also reminds you that you are fighting a losing battle.

I'm much more educated and experienced than I was some years ago, and to some degree that has allowed me to offset the slowing down that comes with age.  Despite that I can feel myself slipping.  Day after day, month after month, year after year.

And I'm not complaining...just observing.  I welcome your thoughts.

(run 7.3 kms)

"Children's talent to endure stems from their ignorance of alternatives."---Maya Angelou

"Where ignorance is bliss, 'Tis folly to be wise."---Thomas Gray

Love

Peter

"Planting Trees and Killing Rats"

How do you end up with rats under your chicken coop?  Are there rat families out there shopping around for a new and better place to live?  Do they travel around as a family until they find just the right spot and then move in?  Or do they have a scout that checks out new places and then reports back to the family?  Or maybe they have rat, real estate agents?

And the only reason I ask this is because I would like to know how long it will take for the next batch to show up.  I say the next batch cause I'm pretty sure I effectively murdered all of the current inhabitants today.  Of course I have no proof of that.  All the rat corpses are still under the coop and it is too big to move easily.

Of course this has you wondering how I murdered them, and why I believe I did so effectively.

I packed all the outside walls with dirt.  Closed off the holes they had chewed through the floors, and then I stuck a 2 1/2" pipe underneath, the other end of which I attached to the exhaust pipe of my tractor.

Oh, and then I started the tractor and let it run for 45 minutes!!

They should all have gone peacefully to rat heaven!

I spent the remainder of my day transplanting trees.  Over the last few years we have participated in a planting program with the local conservation authority, and now are finding the places where I wish I hadn't planted.  But not a problem as the world will never run out of places that needs more trees.

(computrainer 60 minutes)

Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree."---Martin Luther

...and this is one of those I wish I had thought of...

"The clever cat eats cheese and breathes down rat holes with baited breath."---W.C. Fields

...and this totally unrelated one that I think is profound...

"To speak ill of others is a dishonest way of praising ourselves."---Will Durant

Love

Peter

"Around The Block"

When I first started running about 20 years ago we still lived in town.  I remember being so proud of myself when I first made it around the block without stopping.  I also remember clearly the length of that block.  It was 400 metres, give or take a few yards.

Today wasn't the same kind of accomplishment, although I did once more make it around the block without stopping.  It is still quite a short block at 7 kms give or take a few yards, but never the less I was pretty happy to get around.  I'm a bit sore for sure but I am also confident that if I just remain patient I will make a full recovery.

Of course everything is relative and a full recovery for my right calf/achilles/foot means getting back to what is my 57 year old normal.  That leg is, and always will be challenged, as the tendon is thickened from years of abuse.


I spent some time today with my good friend and honorary brother Richard.  Rich and I worked together for most of the last 25 years, and so of course talk drifts to many of our experiences working in the auto industry.  Although he is a few years older than me, he is currently actively working and  I can tell that there will come a time when I will have to get back into it.  I have now been unemployed for more than 8 months!!

I will try to resist the urge as long as I can and maybe the feeling will pass eh?

(run 7.3kms)

"The supreme accomplishment is to blur the line between work and play."---Arnold J Toynbee

Love
Peter

"The Crucible"

A play by Arthur Miller performed by an incredible amateur cast in London Ontario.  Go and see it!

http://www.artsproject.ca/theatre/passionfool-presents-the-crucible

(swim drills, computrainer 60 mins)

"Let you look sometimes for the goodness in me, and judge me not."---Arthur Miller

Love

Peter

"Fifty-Seven"

It sounds like a lot but it don't really mean much since I'm in pretty decent shape.  But it is still a number and that's all the rest of the world has to go by. Today I had my first experience as a discriminated against minority.

For my birthday my wife decided to help me experience a long time dream....to skydive.  They have something called a tandem jump where you are actually strapped to an experienced jumper, but I had not interest in doing that.  I want to go by myself.  Well guess what?  I'm too old!!!

Yup!  If you're over 50 they want you to do the tandem first in order to prove that your not senile.  I told them to forget it.  I'll find some place that doesn't "age" discriminate.

I do understand of course why they have such rules.  It's to protect themselves from lawyers.  A by-product of our litigating society.  I also understand the bias against old people.  I have it myself.

Today I was guilty of feeling it a little bit.  While swimming in the lanes one of the "old" aqua fit ladies got a bit of my splash on her blue hairdo.  She was indignant! She actually cried out and put her hands to her head.   I so badly wanted to go over and throw some water in the "old" biddy's face.

God grant me the serenity......

Went for a little walk/jog today.  I think my patience is paying off.  Although it is still there, threatening to flare up with every step, I gained a little confidence.  I will try again in a few days to do a steady run.

Mean while, 'peace' my family and friends.  I must be the luckiest 57 year old on the planet.  Fist off I have my health, something I no longer take for granted.  I have 4 beautiful sons, 2 even more beautiful daughters, and 2 amazing grandchildren. I live in a fantastic home in the country that I share with the love of my life.  A love that still turns my crank, and who for some unfathomable reason, despite her old age, has turned into a pastry chef???  In other words, as well as cooking in the bedroom, she now cooks in the kitchen!!

Yup!!  Life at fifty-seven is just fine!!

(swim drills,  walk/jog 4 kms)

You can't help getting older, but you don't have to get old."---George Burns

Love

Peter

"Climbing Back On"

Spent 45 minutes on the bike today. My diet wasn't much better, and tomorrow's not gonna be either.
Life is short.

(swim drills, computrainer drills)

"All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on."---Havelock Ellis

Love

Peter

"Tomorrow It Begins"

I have been dragging my ass since the marathon and although I acknowledge that my injury is a part of it, I also concede a definite lack of interest.  I've fallen off the wagon in all regards.  Of particular note is the lack of any kind of diet discipline.

So I'm having one last ice cream and then heading off to bed knowing that I will wake up full of enthusiasm!

(swim drills)

"None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm."---Henry david Thoreau

Love
Peter

"Happier Times"

Why does everyone look so happy?

I think because at this point there was still enough food to go around.
Or maybe it was cause Old John hadn't arrived yet.....which I suppose could be one and the same reason....sorry John.

Anyway I think this is one of the funniest pictures I've ever seen.  My favorite, and I'm sure hers as well, is Teresa.  She's the really cute one, middle right.  And who would have thought that at one point in his life Terry (front right) was the skinniest of us all.  Bill (front middle) was obviously a farmer already then.  And what about Elly in the top left?  It hit me like a ton of bricks to see her daughter Paula looking out at me!  Cory(sitting) seems to think the whole thing is hilarious and Mary was, and still, is the beauty of the family.  Larry (the baby of the day) just looks like he's shitting his pants!  What a hoot!!  I keep going back to look at it again, and each time I laugh out loud again!!!

My training today consisted of taking my grand kids to the Y for a swim and a bit of basketball.
I am starting to get little inklings of progress in the pool.  I think I am actually doing something that I once declared impossible, and that's finding my balance.  What this means simply is that I can keep my body almost horizontal without the aid of a wetsuit.  This is just a baby step but I'm pretty sure it is an important one.  I can only do it for about 50 metres before I am fatigued, but one thing at a time.  I am basically learning to swim all over again.

(swim drills)

"Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier."---Mother
Teresa

Love
Peter

"No Excuses"

I dragged my butt off to the pool this afternoon and my leg was just fine.  No excuses to not be going there every day while I mend.  I also spent 20 mins in the hot tub which is probably good for it as well.

(swim drills)

"Difficulty is the excuse history never accepts."---Edward R Murrow

Love
Peter

"The Good Old Days"

Looks like Christmas.  Candles on the table??  I have no recollection of that at all.  I think I was the one taking the picture since that's my empty place at this end.  Either that or I just fell down the basement stairs which were just behind me.  Dad warned me that was gonna happen if I kept leaning my chair back on 2 legs.

What amazes me the most is Terry/Larry/John, the 3 on the left.  Poor Mom was forever pregnant.  What must that have been like?  But the bishops and their German boss say too bad!!  You wanna screw, you gotta accept the consequences!!  Do you think that if she knew how Old John was gonna turn out she may well have defied them anyway?

My freaking leg is still no good, but I am determined to let it heal.  I will try the pool on Monday.  If that goes okay I will try riding.  I'm pretty sure that running is at least another week away, if not more.  This is testing my resolve!!

"As a child my family's menu consisted of two choices: take it or leave it."---Buddy Hackett

Love
Peter

"It's Thursday"

Tomorrow's Friday!

"No one can confidently say that he will still be living tomorrow. "---Euripides

Love
Peter

"Crosstraining"

I am putting my injury time to good use.  I have spent the last 3 days in a major house and farm cleaning frenzy.  I rented a dumpster in which everything went other than the stuff I could give away at the road.  Speaking of which, it is amazing what people will cart away for you if you put a great big free sign on it.  Things like an old solar pool cover, a 75 year old roll of tar paper, a weed eater that wouldn't run, and my favorite, an outdated satellite dish that we used to use to get an Internet connection.  Add to that countless old bikes, and partial bikes, a bunch of used wire shelving, an old bi fold door etc, etc.  

In the end the dumpster I rented was bigger than I needed, but I was so happy to see people take away stuff that I no longer wanted.

The whole trashing was an exercise in nostalgia as I threw away junk that I have had for years.  It really wasn't that tough and anything that really struck a chord with me I kept anyway.

I even ditched lots of stuff from our children's early years until I came across this little keepsake.  The funny thing is, I had no idea that we still had it.

When wee Mikey was born he spent the first month or so in his own little glass box.   Here's an old shot of it.  They didn't allow fuzzy toys in there so please look at the bottom right hand corner of the pic for the plastic kitty we gave him for company.

Not having seen this thing for years I tentatively pushed the button.

Yup!!

Twenty five plus years and the freakin thing still plays with the original built in battery.  Amazing!  Hats off to Playskool toys! 

My leg continues to mend slowly but surely.  I know that patience is the key.  If I wait long enough it will be fine....if I don't...it won't!

"Nostalgia is a seductive liar."---George Ball

Love

Peter

"Deep Breath"

I'm gonna take the entire week off form all activities and hope for the best.  I am able to walk pretty normally now but the whole lower leg feels like one big bruise.

I went out tonite and bought these ridiculously ugly compression sleeves, but they feel amazingly good.  I will also continue to ice and take naproxen regularly.

Supposedly the compression is gradual from bottom to top, thereby encouraging fluids to migrate back to the upper body.

"You're never promised your next breath."---Lenny Kravitz

Love
Peter

"A Learning Opportunity"

Try this!

Get out your sharpest hunting knife and sharpen it some more, especially the point! Then heat the blade until it's red hot.  Then with all the strength you can muster, grab it in 2 hands and drive it deeply into your soleus muscle!! (that's the inside muscle of your calf)

I've never done this myself but I'm pretty sure I now know what it would feel like.  It was as if I had been shot.  I literally fell to the ground clutching my leg.

My right calf had been twitching on and off for several kilometres but I have experienced that before, and it always remained just that.  Twitching.  So when it hit me I was in shock.

Sorry Michael I didn't mean to worry you.  I'm sure it's gonna be just fine, it's only a matter of time.  I can barely walk right now but with the right attention I hope that I'm back to running within a week.

My immediate frustration however was not with the pain.  It was with the instant realization that the expectation that I had been building up for the last 2 1/2 hours had just evaporated.

It is not an exaggeration to say that I was crushed.  I never really told anyone, even Roo, but I had a very good feeling about this race for some time.  I had it in mind that I could maybe run faster than my first ever marathon of 18 years ago, and in actual fact I was on a pace to beat it by a lot.  My 1994 Detroit marathon was 3:25:29 and I was on track for a sub 3:18!!!  Although this is a very fast course (downhill), compare that to my spring marathon where I was just over 3:33.

Since any racing I have done over the last several years has been focused exclusively on Ironman preparation I never really tapered for any of them.  This time I had rested well before the race, and that is one of the reasons I was cautiously optimistic about my potential for the day, and why I still felt so good at 32 kms.

No sir!  Not this day!

Once I had gathered myself together at least physically, I had a decision to make.  If I quit then, I had about a 4 km walk to the finish line.  I knew that this was the smart thing to do.  The sooner I got off my feet the better. But smart isn't part of my makeup, so after some stretching, and after the pain subsided, I decided I was gonna at least try to keep going.  I managed about 100 metres of walking at which point I gave it up for good.  I took my number off and started dragging my butt to the finish line.  I was totally dejected. I probably walked for about 5 minutes, the whole time thinking about how I would word my explanation to those I would see after the race.  I can tell you that when I hear other "quitters" rationalize their decision, I am usually a bit sceptical, and to be honest with myself I was gonna have to have this same attitude towards 'yours truly'.

...I put my number back on and rejoined the race....

  After a period of awkward walking I tried a little shuffle and managed that for a minute.  Back to walking, and then a little longer shuffle.  The whole time I knew I was not doing my leg any favours, but by now a new determination had set in.  After alternating walking and jogging several times I eventually managed some extended periods of the Terry Fox shuffle, and eventually crossed the finish line.  Somehow I managed to get past the finish area without getting a finishers medal, and I'm good with that.

I'm sure that the whole issue was due to the cold weather.  It was barely above freezing and the promised sunshine did not materialize.  To compound that it was not a very well organized race, and we were left standing at the start line freezing our proverbial balls off  for an extended period of time.  The best run races always, always, start on time.  It's a religion for them, and I have found it to be one of the best indicators of the overall quality of an event.

So there you have it.  I don't know if you can imagine the sense of disappointment I felt at the time.  When you work hard for something, and when you write an accompanying success story, and it all ends in one flashing moment it is a bit overwhelming.

I don't know what happens physiologically when a muscle cramps like this but I understand it is somehow a natural reaction intended to prevent you from further harming yourself.  That's all very good if you actually listen to that warning and stop the activity.  As a result of my stubbornness I don't think I'll be doing too much for the next week or so.  Maybe I'll try the pool tomorrow, but no running or cycling until I can at least walk normally.  In the meantime lots of RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation).

First thing this morning.  The bruising starting to show.

After taking the wrapping off this evening.  

So what did I learn John?  Well I guess listening to my wife may be one thing, since she warned me it was too cold for shorts.  And probably I also learned that as you age you have to change the rules.  I have stuck by a policy of never going to long pants until it was below freezing.  Although it was bordering on zero at race start, I decided to stay with the beautiful new yellow Under Armour spandex.  A decision that I now regret.  From now on the rule is that I will wear long pants when it feels too cold for short ones!!

What I did not learn, and choose no to, would be the idea of not having expectations.  I think that this is a necessary part of life.  We need to make plans, to strive, to look forward to success, to expect the best out of ourselves, and to anticipate the pleasure of celebration.

Anyhow, in an effort to drown my sorrows I immediately started looking for another marathon to shoot for, but at this time of year they are few and far between in our area. I could go down south but that doesn't really appeal to me.  So for now at least I will console myself with preparing for, and running a strong 30 kms  at Around The Bay in March.  I'm already signed up for it.  In the normal course of Ironman preparation I would not taper for that race either, but in this case I may just make an exception.

Oh and Cathy thanks for the prayers, I'll take em  But as far as teaching my loved ones goes, that probably ain't gonna happen, they're all as stubborn as me.  And that goes for both sides of the family, if you get my drift!

"By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest."---Confucious

Love

Peter

"Pissed!"

I ran the fastest 32 kms I've run in probably 15 years. I was under 2:30 at that point.  And then it happened! I am very disappointed, which is a step up from the "bitterly disappointed" I was for several hours after the race.
By the time it happened I had my post completely prepared in my head and it was gonna be beautiful.
That post no longer applies.
I'm not gonna tell you what happened today because today is for feeling sorry for myself.
If I thought Old John would let me get away with it I may try for another day but alas, I know him too well.  So I promise to tell you the whole unemotional story tomorrow.....well  maybe with a bit of emotion.
Meanwhile I ran an amazing 32 kms today!!  I have to hold on to that.

(run 42.2 kms, 3:37:54)

...and this one describes exactly how I feel...

“It was one of those times you feel a sense of loss, even though you didn't have something in the first place. I guess that's what disappointment is- a sense of loss for something you never had.”---Deb Caletti,

Love
Peter

"Oh The Waiting"

The day before a longer race is always the most trying.  You feel all pent up and ready to do something, anything, but the only option is to rest.  I will get all my stuff ready, eat an early supper and then try to relax with my book.  Speaking of early the bus leaves town tomorrow morning at 5!  Thank goodness for the time change tonite eh?

I did make a last minute change of plans regarding shoes.  I was gonna wear the laceless ones that will be my triathlon shoes for next year but I decided against it. I wanted to see how they would stand up for a marathon, but perhaps that isn't the best way to test them.  Instead I will go with these beauties.

In actual fact this pair has never been worn before, but I ran for a good part of the year in the same model (remember the blue Ironman ones), and I am very confident in them.  Of course laces are not a problem for a run only event.

I do have one bit of amusement to keep me occupied today.  My buddy is doing Ironman Florida today and I'm following him on-line.  It's kinda nice to be tracking someone else's pain from a distance.  Of course his pain hasn't really started yet since he's still on his bike.

Lots of pissed off people in New York today, or at least on the way to New York.  Yesterday they cancelled the NYC marathon that was scheduled for Sunday.  A sad thing really as I see that kind of thing being good for a recovering municipality, instead of negative. After all, running a marathon is about perseverance and determination.  But apparently there was some bitching going on, and although I truly believe it would have been a very small minority of people that had an issue. politics won out.  Sorry you 25,000 people that have planned this for the last 6 months!!

The race I am in opened up their registration to another 250 people in an effort to help out.  That was all  the overflow they could handle.  Nice gesture though I thought.

And although I'm a bit nervous not really knowing what to expect, I am looking forward to the experience.  There truly is something magical about  a marathon.  A special camaraderie  that you can't get anywhere else.  I will enjoy the day, come what may.

That's it!  Game on!  Talk to you tomorrow night.

"If you want to win something, run 100 meters. If you want to experience something, run a marathon."---Emil Zatopek

A brain and some shoes are essential for marathon success, but if it comes down to a choice, pick the shoes. More people finish marathons with no brains than with no shoes."---Don Kardong

Ah just felt like runnin."--- Forrest Gump

Love

Peter

"The Finishing Touch"

I knew that if I was patient I would find these.  I am giddy with delight!

Not just are they pretty, they are soft and fluffy.  Perfect for wiping snot!

(movie date with my honey)

"When you're out with your honey
 And her nose is runny.
 And you think it's funny.
 You're wrong!
 Cause it' (s) not!"---Anon

Love
Peter

"Gettin Antsy"

Several days without any serious workouts and my anxiety level has skyrocketed. Some times it scares me a little bit.  It doesn't feel a whole lot different than when I was not very effectively dealing with the painkillers a few years back.  Like there's this little man repeatedly tapping you on the shoulder with the answer to your problem.  ...take your medicine....take your medicine...

There's a message in there somewhere, and unfortunately I think I know what it is.  Everything in moderation!!!  Please remind me of that right after I do this Ironman!

And for Cathy.
1) Miguette did the face painting.  She is quite a gifted artist.
2) piss off!

(swim drills)

"Excess on occasion is exhilarating. It prevents moderation from acquiring the deadening effect of a habit."---W. Somerset Maughan

"I realized, 'Yo, I can't do anything in moderation. I don't know how."---Eminem

....and here's a beaut...

"Moderation is the inseparable companion of wisdom, but with it genius has not even a nodding acquaintance."---Charles Colton

Love
Peter