I'm very excited for this new season to begin.  I'm working on creating my 2009 schedule.  I was debating about doing some out of state races this year.  Although, I haven't completely decided not to, it's still on the table.  I should have my planned schedule posted soon as well as some goals for those races. 

I want to bring back something that I used to do all the time and something that is a weird addiction of mine.  Top Ten lists.  So, for this installment:  The Top Ten Stand-Up Comics of all-time.

10.  Lewis Black
9.  Dane Cook
8.  Demitri Martin
7.  Bill Cosby
6.  Richard Pryor
5.  Lenny Bruce
4.  Mitch Hedburg
3.  Jerry Seinfeld
2.  Chris Rock
1.  George Carlin

Complain all you want.

Now I must stress that very, very, very rarely do I ever eat fast food.   However, I'm also not a huge fan of cooking.  And a man can only eat so much frozen lean cuisine pizzas, flatbread melts, and paninis.   So on occasion I may run through a local fast food joint and get something.  Now fortunately I work out enough that it doesn't really matter too much.  Heck, Michael Phelps eats a billion calories a day and admittedly eats a lot of fast food.  Anyway, this isn't really getting to my point.  What I'm going for is the fact that the ice coffee's that McDonald's have are delicious. 

In our troubling economic times I try to save as much money as possible, but if I don't have enough time for breakfast at home then I may grab one of these drinks on my way to work.  I prefer the Large Vanilla.  For some reason the large is labeled as $1.99 but they always charge $1.69.  So I'm really not going to complain about that.  But they also got really excessive on the vanilla.  Which is awesome.  As I sat in the drive thru this morning I watched the girl make my Vanilla Iced Coffee.  I think normally they would put about two squirts into these drinks, but I counted 5 squirts that she put in.  Yummy! 

For those fans of the Frappachino from Starbucks, this is a great alternative.  It's 3 times the size and the same price as their small ones.  

I finished up my season on August 31st and have been taking some time off for my body to heal a little.  I think I need to go a little harder in the off-season.  I think I may do an Indian Run towards the end of September.  Which sounds like a lot of fun.  But I am missing swimming so I'll probably get back in the pool soon.  I have a bunch of pictures form my last race, which I'll try to get soon.  I know I never posted the last ones, which I need to do still.  Sorry. 

I just completed the Columbus International Triathlon Sprint distance.  There was nearly 700 people competing which just blew me away.  It was amazing looking over the sea of bikes in the transition area. 

I felt good all morning and actually slept surprisingly well the night before.  I was definitely as prepared as I could be for the race.  The water temperature was 80 degrees by 5 in the morning, so no need for a wet-suit.  Fortunately I have a very nice tri-suit which can get me through all the events.  The start was a time trial start where they only start one at a time every 3 seconds.  So it takes awhile to get through everybody.  I struggled with the swim a bit more than I thought I would.   Open water is way different than swimming in a pool, thats for sure.  It was still fun and I never thought I would die, so I suppose thats a plus.  There was a decent run out of the water to the transition area, including a big hill which kinda sucked. 

Transition 1 was okay.  I struggled getting on my socks because of two broken toes that I have been dealing with.  And then I had to get someone's bike off mine and re-mount theres because it had fallen over on top of mine.  SO that slowed me down a bit, but I still felt good.

The bike I did a million times better than I thought I would.  It was amazing.  I ended up with the second best time overall.  I thought I would actually struggle with the bike, but oh well.  I guess I'm a better cyclist than I thought.  I felt I needed to make up some time from the swim so I may have pushed myself harder than normal.  Actually, I know I pushed myself harder than I should have, because coming into transition 2 I felt like crap and had the urge to puke.  I actually had to pause a minute to see if it was going to come up.  I held it back and took another swig of my Motor Tabs drink and grabbed my race belt and started running.  It should be noted that I ate a few bites of a Clif Bar towards the end of my bike which I really shouldn't have.  A few hundred yards into the run I began to feel a bit better.  About at mile 1 had the puking urge again but it went away pretty quick.  I finished the run pretty strong and was so happy to see the finish line. 

I ended up with a time of 1:31:49.  I was 98th out of 306 overall for the sprint distance.  And 7th out of 27 for my age group.  Not to bad.  I should have some pictures soon.        


Practice Notes:  More open water swim practice.  More brick workouts.

And not to be left out, I just picked up Motor Tabs as a sponsor as well.  So a big thanks to them!

Big thanks goes out to SponsorHouse for getting me hooked up with my first ever sponsor.... Fluid

I'm very excited to be working with them and using their product to help my performance and recovery times.  Go Team Fluid!

I haven't posted much recently, because frankly, I haven't had time.  I've upped my training quite a bit these past few weeks, including much more time in the pool.  I down to my final 11 days until the Columbus International Triathlon so I'm starting to bear down a bit.  I'm looking forward to my extra rest days coming up though.  I think my legs could use the break. 

On June 28th I volunteered for Fat Rabbit Racing and their own International and Sprint Triathlon.  Which I enjoyed doing quite a bit.  The rest of their races for the year I am competing in so I won't be able to help them again for awhile but I'll try to help them out again next year. 

I did get a new wetsuit a couple weeks ago.  Which I really need to get into the open water and try out.  I'll probably go down to Alum Creek this week and try to swim 750 meters or so and see how I feel in it. 

I may not be able to post again until after my next race on the 20th.  Here is my training schedule until then:

July 9 - Swim
July 10 - Rest
July 11 - Open Water Swim and Bike
July 12 - Long Run
July 13 - Open Water Swim
July 14 - Long Bike
July 15 - Rest
July 16 - Light Bike and Light Run
July 17 - Swim and Bike
July 18 - Rest
July 19 - Light Run and Light Bike (15 Minutes of each) Rest
July 20 - RACE!

While the Reds are still bottom feeders in the NL Central division, they have some hope for the future.  They have a ton of young players who look like future All Stars, as well as a lot of prospects in the minors who are ready to shine.  Including outfielder Jay Bruce who had his major league debut last night with the Reds.  Helping them to a 9-6 win versus the Pirates.



Here's an article from Mark Sheldon (mlb.com) about Bruce's debut:

CINCINNATI -- A victim of veteran pranks already, new Reds center fielder Jay Bruce proudly wore the spoils of his spectacular Major League debut.

Bruce got two shaving cream pies to his face and a bucket of ice water splashed at him on the heels of Tuesday's 9-6 Reds win over the Pirates at Great American Ball Park.

Welcome to the big leagues, rook. That's the reward when you go 3-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored while reaching base in all five plate appearances.

"That's probably as good of a debut I've ever seen," said Reds manager Dusty Baker, a veteran of 40 big league seasons said. "He made his debut well documented and something he'll never forget. You see what's there. You see why he's so highly touted. He picked up here where he left off in Triple-A."

To chants of "Bruuuuuce" in his debut plate appearance from 17,964 fans, the 21-year-old Bruce drew a first-inning walk. His first hit came in the third inning when he lined a single to left field off of Pirates starter Ian Snell.

Perhaps Bruce didn't need the postgame ice water soaking. Baseball's top prospect already had the stuff coursing through his veins.

"I was a lot more calm than I thought I was going to be," said Bruce, who was batting .364 with a nine-game hitting streak when he was promoted from Triple-A Louisville. "It was fun getting warmed up and everything. It almost felt like another baseball game. I think the most important thing for a debut is getting a win and that was awesome. Hopefully, there's a lot more coming."

Snell (2-4) gave up six hits and seven walks in his five innings, but the Reds and Johnny Cueto were trailing by a 3-0 score after the top of the fifth inning. In the bottom half, Snell issued three straight one-out walks -- including one to Bruce -- before Brandon Phillips hit a sacrifice fly to center field. Then came the crushing blow.

Next up was Adam Dunn, who lifted a 1-0 offering into the next-to-last row of seats in right field for a 4-3 lead. The 454-foot shot was Dunn's team-leading 15th homer of the season, his third in four games and eighth in 12 games. The 252nd homer of his career also moved him past Ted Kluszewski for fourth on the club's all-time list. Dunn also had an RBI single in the sixth for a four-RBI night.

Cincinnati added another four-spot in that sixth, including a bases-loaded single by Bruce off of lefty Damaso Marte, for his first RBI. The lefty hitter sent the knock into left field, which impressed his manager.

"That's a positive sign, the fact he's using the whole field," Baker said. "A lot of guys come up and they're trying to pull and hit a home run. He's staying within himself and did what he does best."

In the seventh, Bruce sharply lined a two-out double to the right-field wall for his third hit. The last Reds player with three hits in his debut was Willie Greene on Sept. 1, 1992.

"I don't think you can write it any better than this," said Bruce, the Reds' first-round Draft pick in 2005.

The big nights by Bruce and Dunn covered up a lackluster night for the pitching staff. Cueto (3-4) gave up three runs, two earned, and nine hits over five innings while throwing 119 pitches. The 22-year-old right-hander, who walked three and struck out four, hasn't made it beyond the fifth three times over his last four starts.

"He threw a lot of pitches in a short period of time again, but he battled," Baker said. "He was in trouble almost every inning, but he held them to three to give us a chance to win the ballgame."

The Reds missed a chance to coast to a six-run victory when reliever Jeremy Affeldt gave up two homers for three runs in the ninth. Closer Francisco Cordero had to be used to get the final out for his 11th save.

A win made it possible for the shaving cream pies to fly, which happened as Bruce was being interviewed on the field during the postgame broadcast.

"I didn't do it," said right fielder Ken Griffey Jr., who knew the culprits. "I can be bribed."

"What can he be bribed with?" Bruce retorted about his well compensated teammate and boyhood idol. Touche.

It turned out that David Ross supplied the shaving cream while Aaron Harang provided the water.

Now Bruce can come back to the ballpark and do it all again on Wednesday.

"Jay, you can get here at 4 o'clock tomorrow, not 12," Griffey said as he walked out of the clubhouse.

Other than that, just another typical day in baseball, right?

I have been a running fool here recently.  I've got to the point where I no longer worry about my distance, or set distance goals.  I'm going by time which I think is much better.  I can guesstimate how far I go by my time since my pace is pretty much the same from start to finish. 

But each time I go out running I'm adding anywhere from 5 - 10 minutes to my time.  I'm no over the hour mark for running straight.   So I'm pretty confident on my run.  I need to take by bike up to my favorite bike shop and it get tuned up for the summer before I get to serious on it.  I've been using my mountain bike here recently, which I think will probably help me once I get back on my road bike.

I'll be out again running tonight.  My Triathlon Team has a lot of activities starting as well as training sessions upcoming so I'm trying to get more involved with them.  Mainly because I think it will be beneficial to me.

This weekend, I was out for a quick bike ride when about two miles from home I noticed my bike tire acting funny.  I hopped off and sure enough it was flat.  Fortunately I had my pump with me.  So, I got off the side of the rode a little bit and got to work.  Sadly though, I must have had a puncture because it just wasn’t getting full and I could hear the air seeping out from somewhere.  So I had to hike my bike back home two miles.  That was fun.  I need to get it worked on anyway, but I wasn’t planning on getting new tires so soon.  I probably could use the upgrade anyway.  I do have my mountain bike that I can use until then.  It’s a great bike that I could probably use for mountain bike Xterra triathlons.  Which would be pretty cool I suppose.

Last night I decided to kick my running speed up a notch and was able to run just over 30 minutes straight.  Which kind of surprised me.  I also think that I might be on the edge of shin splints.  So I might have to take a few days off to relax and rest so I don’t end up with a stress fracture.  One of these days I need to stop into a running shoe specialty store and be evaluated.  I like my New Balance that I’m running with now.  And I have a new pair of bike shoes on there way to me.  But I need a new pair of tri shoes really.

Here’s a crappy cell pic of my poor bike with its flat:

I had my first real test to see how far along I am last night.  I did a 12 mile bike ride then a 5k run and felt pretty good.  I bought some new running and biking clothes over the weekend and gave them a try yesterday.  I really like my new Nike running shorts.  I'll get some use out of those this Summer.   I'll probably take it somewhat easy tonight.  I might just do some a little Tae Bo.  I've had this new Tae Bo DVD for awhile and have only done it once. 

Since it was such a beautiful weekend I was able to get out and do some riding this weekend.  The bike felt really good.  I biked a little over 10 miles on Saturday, just to get started a little bit and ran about 5 or 6 miles on Sunday.  I got a lot of yard work done on Sunday as well, so that didn't let me get quite as much running in.  All in all though, I think my progress is doing good.  I need to start more interval training here soon. 

Also, the Reds have been playing well so that makes me happy.  They are 4-2 so far and their young pitchers look great.  Griffey hit homer number 594 yesterday, so the countdown to 600 continues.

      

You may remember me buying my new bike last year.  Well, I got a lot of use out of it and hopefully this Spring, Summer, and Fall and ge me through a few tri's. 

I got it out last night to prepare it for riding.  I'm definitely ready to ride, thats for sure.  I might go out for a quick ride tonight, but that all depnds on the wind.  It has been very windy lately.  Yesterday we had gusts up to 45mph.  Rain doesn't usually bother me, except that I have to wear a helmet, which I typically don't enjoy.

I am selling some old equipment on ebay right now to buy some new stuff.  I need a couple more things for this year:

- A wet suit.  Although I may just rent since they only last 2-3 years and it's rarely needed at events.
- New bike shoes.  The ones I have now I mostly run in and would like single strap shoes to make transitions quicker and easier.
- Transition Bag.  I have a couple things that work right now, so this may not be necessary.  But I've never really had an official transition bag. 
- New cyclecomputer.  I had one that is ancient and not even sure how accurate it is anymore.  It's time for a new one and they are cheap enough so.....

My personal favorite triathlete and Olympic hopeful, Andy Potts won the Ford Ironman at Oceanside (California) on March 29th.

While not always the best at any of the three events, he makes sure that he is good enough on all of them that he can still pull out the win.  Potts, was the third out of the water, but by the 5th mile of the 56 mile ride, he had created a 1:10 lead over Cameron Dye.  And by mile 10 of the bike, he had expanded the lead to 1:42 which would be close to his biggest lead. 



The pack behind him began gaining ground going into T2 and all through the run.  At the final turn on the half-marathon, Potts lead was a 1:20 with 2006 70.3 World Champ Craig Alexander closing in.  And With three miles left, Potts' lead had shrunk to 30 seconds.  Potts himself admitted that he was dragging.  "Someone told me Craig was coming up behind me, and I thought to myself, 'I don't feel like going any faster.  This hurts!'  At about the 12-mile mark, it's like the last 3 hours and 55 minutes didn't matter.  It had become a race," said Potts.

Potts finished first with a time of 3:58:22, only 3 seconds in front of Alexander. 

Potts, a regular International/Olympic distance triathlete, said he had no hesitation signing up for the Ironman.  "It's a good measuring stick for me.  It makes a difference; it's one of those things that says I'm in shape and ready for it."

Thank goodness we are allowed to use the physical therapy equipment at the hospital I work at.  It has definitely saved me a lot of money.  I was not lifting like I should have this winter, but I'm trying to get back in and more involved with it.  Plus, the treadmills and elliptical machines save me from running outside in the cold all the time, which I hate anyway.  I'm a warm weather person. 

But anyway, I went in last night on a mission to change all that.  I went pretty hard on my upper body and back.  The lateral pull down machine is the best thing ever.  I read an article on Michael Phelps once and he said that is the only exercise he does, with the exception of swimming of course.   But it works your back, shoulders, chest and arms.

I was also able to crunch 150lbs, which was the max on the machine.  I was quite impressed with that.  Normally I just stick with 100lbs, but I figured I'd try to max out with one, just like I do with the bench press, which is by far the thing I hat the most. 

Once I was done, I was able to run a 5k on the treadmill.  An overall pretty good time, but I need to start running outside more often now. 

I'm sure most people are familiar with Guitar Hero at this point.  But a rival game has come out recently called Rock Band.



I bought it a few days ago and can't stop playing it.  While Guitar Hero has just a guitar, Rock Band one ups it with a guitar of it's own, a drum set, and a microphone so you can sing the tunes as well.  The guitar doubles as a bass, or you can buy another one and have friends over to play/sing all four parts.  I haven't played through all the modes yet, other than quick play and part way through the Solo Tour, but it is extremely addicting.  The music is great and I know that XBOX Live has a lot of extra song download packs that you can download.  If you haven't played it yet, you must give it a try.

Alright!  The Office returns at the beginning of April. 

Here's my Summer schedule for Triathlons:

6/08/2008 - Deer Creek Triathlon (Deer Creek State Park) - I may go to be a spectator.

6/20/2008 - RadioU 88.7 5K (Alum Creek Park, Westerville, Ohio) - I may run in this.

6/28/2008 - Fat Rabbit Racing International and Sprint Triathlon (Alum Creek State Park, Lewis Center, Ohio) - I will be working at this one.

7/20/2008 - Columbus International and Sprint Triathlon (Antrim Park. Columbus, Ohio) - Sprint Distance

8/16 - 8/23/2008 - Vacation at Fairport Harbor (Lake Erie) - Hardcore Training and serious open water swims.

9/07/2008 - Great Lake Escape Triathlon(East Harbor State Park, Marblehead, Ohio) - Olympic Distance

Since the weather in Ohio is never nice in the Winter, I've been taking it fairly easy the past few months.  Well, I'm trying to get back into gear.  I usually eat pretty healthy but it's time to get back to running and biking at least.  

I ran a few miles last night in 28 degree temperature.  Burrrrrr....... 

Hopefully the weather will be changing for the warmer soon so it will make running a bit on the easier side.

I have to share this little story.  Everyday when I leave work, I walk by the cafeteria and kitchen.  Well, as I was leaving yesterday, I could hear down the hallway Alvin and The Chipmunks.  As I got a little closer to the sound I realized that it was The Chipmunks singing Bad Day by Daniel Powder.  As I walked passed the dishwasher room I see this young guy who works in the kitchen, maybe 20 y/o, rocking out and dancing while he was doing dishes.   I just thought that was hilarious. 

Well, basketball season is officially over.  It's nice that it's done, but we lost in the semifinals, putting us one game away from the championship game.  So that's a little disappointing.  We finished the season 13-3.  So an overall pretty good record.  I think I'm going to take a couple years off from coaching for awhile to get my life in order then maybe get back into it in the future.  I'll definitely keep up with these last three classes of kids that I've had and follow them through high school to see how they do.  My first group is now sophomores and one of them is just an exceptional athlete.  He was starting varsity as a freshman and is now by far their leading scorer as a sophomore.  Last week at a game he had 43 points.  I'm definitely proud of him.

Anyway, here's a few pictures from this season.  I don't have a whole lot, so I'll just throw a couple out there. 


Pregame meeting with the opposing teams coach.


Last minute adjustments.


A little direction.


My post at the line.


Preparing my match-ups before the semifinal game.

Fat Rabbit Racing has posted bits and pieces of their 2008 events schedule, including the Great Lake Escape at Marblehead.  It's a little later this year than it was last year.  This year it's September 7th which is two weeks later.  Which means it will most likely be a little colder jumping into that water.  I'm also getting scheduled for a few sprint triathlons in June and July in Lewis Center and Columbus, Ohio.  You can see the entire events schedule here.  Keep in mind that only a portion of the events are currently scheduled.

I should be able to start back up and getting a lot more serious about training in the upcoming weeks with basketball season coming to an end.   We actually had our last game last night.  We finished up the season with a 12-3 record.  Will have the next week without games and then tournaments will start after that.  I think a few teams have some makeup games next week and then each team will have their overall records.  We are tied for second place as of right now.  So it will come down to a coin toss if we get that second or third seed.  If we get the second seed we get a first round bye and get to host a couple games in our gym.  So here's hoping. 

I do have a few pictures from our game on 1/15 against my alma mater, Highland.  I'll get those posted when I get a chance.

Obviously my prediction of the BCS did not come true.  But at least Ohio State did not get blown out.  Going to the BCS Championship game 2 years in a row, and 3 times in 6 years is something to be proud of. 

I suppose I should mention something about Ohio State since it's been awhile since I've talked about that.  I don't feel that they will come in overly-confident like last years championship game obviously.   I think the Bucks stand a good chance as long as Beanie plays well and Boeckman plays doesn't turn the ball over.  I'll be happy if they can just compete this year and not get blown out, which I don't see happening. 

My prediction - OSU 31-28


Matthew Emmons/US Presswire

I was talking with a co-worker the other day about music.  He mentioned that his son bought him a few CD's for Christmas and we were discussing those artists.  Well, then I thought back about the last CD I purchased.  Which I really couldn't think of it.  And when I went through my music in my CD shelf, I realized it had been about 5 years since I actually went to a store (which includes online) and bought a CD.  A friend gave me one a couple years ago, but that doesn't count.

Now, I'm not saying that all my music that is newer than 5 years old is illegal, I'm just saying that you don't have to purchase the CD anymore.  I know some people who like to have them for the album and CD artwork, but after about 30 seconds of looking at that, am I going to want to go back and browse through it again?  So basically, they are paying $10-$20 for a little bit of artwork.  To me it's just not worth it anymore. 

Now, I am in full support of the writer's strike.  They definitely deserve more credit and money that what they currently get in most cases, however this really sucks.  I know some people are starting to cut deals (David Letterman did) while others are coming back a little bit without writers (Conan and Leno).  But the regular TV sitcoms and dramas is what is being effected the most.  Heroes ended after maybe a half a season.  And most shows once they come back in the next week or two, only have a couple episodes remaining that were drafted by the writers before the strike.   I believe that The Office only has two episodes left.  Which is one of my favorite shows.  

Please cut a deal!  For the sake of them.....

I know, I know.  Me posting something has become a bit of a rarity.  Love has been slightly crazy recently.  The good news is that basketball season is beginning to slow down a bit.  We have 4 games left and then the tournament.  So basically 1 more month.  I'm not saying that I haven't enjoyed coaching this year, it's just that it's pretty rough sometimes.  I have a pretty talented group this year, so we are winning more, but they just are a bit crazy sometimes.  Plus, the schedules with games and practices and scouting usually wears me down a bit.  It makes it worse that basketball season is in the winter.   And just to keep you updated, we are now 7-3 and won the Holiday Shootout tournament that we went to.  So that is a nice little boost. 

In other news, I see that the scheduled the Olympic distance triathlon that I'm doing next year.  It's on September 7th.  Hopefully it's a remotely warm day unlike it was last year.  It was cold and rainy and the water temperature was about 50 degrees.   I haven't been training as much as I would like the last couple months.  But I do practice with my team every once and awhile so thats helped a little.  Come March I'll start up pretty hard again.     

Hey there!  Basketball has got my schedule all messed up so I haven't posted anything for awhile.  We just had our third game on Monday and our fourth is Thursday.  Good news, is that we are 3-0 so we are off to a pretty good start.  And the next two teams we play should be fairly easy teams to beat.  But after that, we will have a tough three game stretch, which this team lost to all three of those teams last year.  SO that will be the true test of how we are doing.  I'll try to get a few pictures sometime to post.

Well, I've officially started practice.  This is our first week of it and I'm already having some issues with these guys.  I'm loaded with talent but they just have some crappy attitudes.  On our first day of practice I had two kids asking about starting positions.  How in the world am I going to be able to figure out starters based on one day? 

On a side note, I've been extremely busy with basketball stuff the last few weeks that I haven't had a whole lot of time for running and biking.  Somehow I am going to have to make time for it.    

Well, we start conditioning for basketball on Monday.  We had an Open Gym last weekend and another one this Sunday.  I should start having a pretty big turnout now that football is over.  I've been looking forward to this season for awhile because if the kids I have coming into eighth grade. 

I'm also going to the Ohio State game on Saturday.  I'm looking forward to that of course.  I'm hoping for another blowout.  At least it should be.  And it's supposed to be a sunny day with no rain so that's gonna be nice. 

This past Sunday I went out to a new bike path and gave that a try.  It was a nice path, but had way too many stop signs.  It seems like I would just get going at a good pace and get comfortable when I'd have to stop.  So I don't think I'll be going that route anymore.  Although, the spot that I started in is kind of a half way point of the path and I just biked about 10 miles one direction then came back.  So when I got back and mounted my bike to the car, I decided to run the other direction to see what that was like and I made it down about 3 miles without seeing a single stop sign so I turned around and came back.  So maybe I'll go that direction the next time.  Overall the path is beautiful.  Great scenery and nicely paved and maintained path.   Plus you go through a couple towns so thats kinda cool. 

A co-worker suggested I watch the new show Chuck last night for the premier.  And I must say, it was pretty freaking hilarious.  If anyone wasn't thinking about watching you, you should definitely give it a try for a couple weeks.  The pilot was great, so I'll at least give it awhile and see where it goes. 

I don't know if any of you have done extensive training, running, biking, or whatever, but my ankles are like jello.  I messed up my left ankle with a third degree sprain a couple years ago.  So that ankle is always sensitive and sore, but now my other one just feels funny.  Fortunately my knees feel fine.  Last night I was out running and usually after about mile 4 my feet go numb.  Which may or may not be unrelated to my ankles.  I'm not really concerned about them because theres not really pain involved, they just feel funny.

My calfs have been pretty buff for years, but now they are seriously ripped.  And I've got that sexy thigh muscle thing going on.  And I've lost 9lbs in the past 4 weeks.  I don't really have much more weight that I need to lose.  Plus this winter I'll gain it all back while I'm lifting.

The after effects of the stunning win over no. 5 Michigan may be great for Appalachian State.  The Associated Press poll stated that they will now open it up to lower division schools, which means that Appalachian State may just crack into the top 25 next week, assuming they beat Division II Lenoir-Rhyne this Saturday.

I would be pretty happy for the Mountaineers if they could make it in.  However, they do not face anymore big time opponents.  Therefore, they would not have a chance to move any higher than say maybe 20-25, even if they go undefeated, which is a good possibility. 

The USA today poll states that they will not make the change and continue only to rank Division I schools in their polls. 

Check out my new gear!

Triathlon Suit and Bike Gloves.  Now, if only Clif would pay me.

I went up this past Sunday and watched the Great Lake Escape Triathlon at Marblehead.  I stood out on the cold and rain to watch it.  The water was about 50 degrees at the time of jump which was 7AM.  This is one of two triathlons in the world that you start by jumping from a boat into the water.  The other being the Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon in San Fran.  Which the GLE is actually a qualifier for so I'm hoping to do really well in that one next summer.   1.5K swim, 40K bike, 10K run. 

I took a bunch of pictures and a couple videos, so I'll try and remember to post those.  Most of them didn't turn out very well because I had the auto flash on and it messed some of them up because it was only picking up stuff about 10 feet in front.  Doesn't work well when you are trying to take pictures of stuff far away.   But eventually I realized it was the flash that was making all of them dark and turned it off.  Oops. 

I did get my new bike put together over the last couple days.  A little more complicated that I thought.  I was able to ride it a little bit last night, maybe about 6 or 7 miles.  There are definitely a few small adjustments I need to make, but I think it will work.  I'll probably take it to a bike shop to get a tune up before I do anything hardcore on it. 

In light of Michael Vick's case and upcoming guilty plea, I decided to create a top ten lists of stupid athlete criminals.

And here they are: ... << MORE >>

While I was at work yesterday, I was walking down the hallway when all of the sudden, a small kid (maybe about 10 years old) comes flying around the corner at 20mph on his shoes with wheels in them and ran right into me.  He acted like it was my fault.  The sad thing though was the kid was fairly short, but really chubby.  If I was the kids parents I would think I would force them to walk, rather than spoiling him by buying him expensive shoes with wheels so he can exercise less. 

I looked these up on-line and found they are called Heelys.  I may be the last person on earth to know this so I am sorry.  Most of the time it doesn't bother me when I see the kids flying through Meijer or Target.  And most kids I think are in decent shape that its not that big of a deal.  But kids are going through businesses, such as mine, which is pretty impolite and inappropriate.  I can't believe parents allow their kids to do that.  A couple weeks ago I was leaving the movies when I saw two young boys with whom I'm assuming are their parents.   Well, they are flying through the parking lot and one of them almost gets hit by a car driving through the parking lot, then again by a car backing up.  Only because he wasn't paying attention to traffic, but keeping his balance on one foot while flying on the pavement.  So I turned my attention to the parents, whom I would think would scream at the kid, but only to find them laughing. 

AHHHH!!!!

I've been training pretty hard recently for a triathlon next summer.  It's the same place that I go on vacation ever year, so thats pretty cool.  Plus, if I do well in this event, then it qualifies me for the Escape From Alcatraz triathlon for the next year.

I just bought a new tri-bike online that I'm really excited about.  It was actually the same bike that Lance Armstrong won his first race with.  Which is awesome.

The Celtics have had an extremely busy off-season. They’ve added two huge stars to their current one and picked up a few more pieces to the puzzle through the draft and free agency. Now Reggie Miller is considering coming out of retirement to be a reserve player for the Celtics.
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This past weekend I got to watch the movie 300.  I really enjoyed it and before I returned it to Blockbuster I had to watch it over again.  It was amazingly well done and directed.  Before the movie came out I read in a magazine article, that the entire movie was filmed indoors, which is very impressive when you are dealing with that much action. 

The battle sequences were extremely impressive and fun to watch.  The different creatures that were involved were extremely believable.  And there are many great performances from all of the actors.  

It is another movie based on a Frank Miller graphic novel and directed by Zack Snyder who also did Dawn of The Dead.  It is shot very similar to Sin City, so if you are familiar with that style and enjoyed it, be sure to check out this film.

I was reading through a Calvin and Hobbes book the other day and realized that some of the quotes are just way too good for others not to see.

So here are a bunch that I really liked....
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I suppose I've been gone for awhile.  Probably doesn't help with people coming back.  I've been pretty busy lately with a lot of different things which has hindered me a little bit with getting on here and adding something new.

Pretty huge week in sports with career milestones.  A-Rod hit his 500th Home Run, making him the youngest person ever to hit 500.  Tom Glavin got his 300th win.  Every eleigible 300 win pitcher is in the hall of fame.  And last, Batty Bonds tied Hank Aaron with 755 Home Runs.  I'm sure A-Rod will someday pass him, but for now it's his, regardless of steroid use or not.   I'm a beleiver in innocent until proven guilty, so in that case I do feel a little sorry for him. 

Back in high school I was addicted to Semi-Charmed Life.  You guys remember that one?  I just loved rocking out to it and driving to it.  Of course, I was too dumb at the time to realize what it was about.  The pasrt about crystal meth should have given me a hint.  But it didn't matter, the song was so fun.  Then along came songs like Jumper, Hows It Gonna Be, Graduate, and Motorcycle Drive By.  There were a ton of different hits all on one album.  Yet somehow, they didn't get all that much exposure. 


Their second album had a somewhat darker sound to it.  It covered more serious topics and Stephen Jenkins lyrical abilities really hit stride here.  Listen to the non-instrumental version of Slow Motion to see what I mean.  Their first hit off Blue was Never Let You Go, which had an amazing guitar part.  Even the music video was cool, which I tend to hate music videos.   The other two big hits on Blue are Deep Inside of You and 10 Days Late.  Both are great songs but might lack a little punch as far as huge hits go.  There are a few cult followed songs like Slow Motion and The Red Summer Sun. 

And finally, 3eb's most recent album Out of The Vein.  This album is very different than the others.  The one hit that got air time (Blinded) is not the most listened to song on the album.  However, the song is full of songs that feature solid parts all the way through.  Drums, Bass, Guitar, Lyrics, you name it, they've got it.  You know how when you are listening to an album, there are usually a few songs you skip past.  Not with Out of The Vein.  Ever song has something unique to offer. 

One of these things is not like the others,
One of these things just doesn't belong,
Can you tell which thing is not like the others
By the time I finish my song?
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Hey!  Sorry I haven't been around much.  I've been busy with a lot of different things lately.  Including getting my new car which I pick up today.  It's a black Dodge Caliber.  I post some pics once I take some.

A girl and her grandparents have sued the Chicago Board of Education, alleging that a substitute teacher showed the R-rated film Brokeback Mountain in class. The lawsuit claims that Jessica Turner, 12, suffered psychological distress after viewing the movie in her 8th grade class at Ashburn Community Elementary School last year. The film, which won three Oscars, depicts two cowboys who conceal their homosexual affair. Turner and her grandparents, Kenneth and LaVerne Richardson, are seeking around $500,000 in damages.<< MORE >>

This has been the week for season finale's.  This past Thursday was the season finale of The Office.  Which was amazing.  And what a cliffhanger to leave on.  Then last night was the Heroes finale.  That ended very well and almost felt like a last episode for the whole show, if they didn't have that little part in the end with Hiro. 

I thought for a seond when you see somebody land in that field that it was Peter.  It will be interesting to see if he is still around next season, or if he is dead.  When everybody came together there in the end to help each other it was kinda cool.  If Sylar really is dead, then I wonder what is going to happen next season.

You can check out some of my articles now on Blogger News Network.  Including my article on Lebron James.