Really, not much to say. I finished the race, I didn't train as much as I said I was going to, and I didn't beat my times from prior years. I finished in 1:32 and change. Not bad. Now, for the overanalysis...
- Transitions can make or break you. My T1 (Swim to Bike) was over 4 minutes. T2 (Bike to Run) was pushing 5... That's what happens when you have to stop and make a pee break before you start your run.
- Why do I say transitions make or break you? Because my swim time was a good 30 seconds faster than my first year (which was faster than last year), and my bike was a good 2 minutes faster than last year (which was a minute faster than the prior year). Even with a run that was a good 2 minutes longer, I would have come damn close to tying my prior times.
But whatever... I had a blast, and next year I want to go for broke and hit the long course.
This made it all worth it though:
I also want to extend a congratulations to three of my colleagues - Big Mark, PK and Brad... Big Mark did his first triathlon with Team In Training; PK did the long course AGAIN, and Brad also did the long course - a day before his MBA graduation, and on the road to Ironman Paris!!!
And then there was much beer consumed. I mean, Fourth Event has always been my strong suit after all...
Two weeks after Wildflower, we were getting set to Hawaii. Alli's cousin was graduating law school, so I blew off that Friday, and drove up to Roseville to go for a long ride with my buddy Scott. We had intended to do about 65 miles, but only got in 50 because of a little SNAFU with my bike... More on that later. Anyway, we were riding and he took me to the hill where he has made the descent at over 60 miles an hour. I hit 42; that was good enough for me. My new bike is so much more stable than my old bike; but nonetheless, when you wipe out going 20+, it hurts. Bad. I can only imagine at 40+. So I am still cautious even though my wreck was two years ago, and I was relatively unscathed. Anyway, after we descended the hill, I kept going for about another quarter mile, while Scott was climbing back up. I slowed down thinking "What - is he doing it again?" Not a bad thought with Scott... Then I saw him coming toward me calling out "Dude, come on - we've got to climb back up. This was just a little side trip!" What. A. Dick. He then apologized and said "Sorry dude, this is my one dick move... I had to show you that descent... but I knew you wouldn't want to do it if you knew we had to come back up. Think of it as preparation for Metcalf." About halfway up the climb, he said "Look back 15 years at our high school class... Can you think of two more unlikely people to blow off a Friday at work to go for a long bike ride while preparing for a century?" Good point...
So the mechanical glitch... Turns out I had a malaligned rear derailleur, which caused my chain to jump too far over my lowest cog and get caught between the cassette and the hub. And we couldn't get it out. And the wheel wouldn't turn. So I'm faced with a two mile hilly walk to a coffee shop (where, conveniently, they had bike tools). Conveniently, a guy with a truck pulls up and says "Want a lift?" Thanks, Steve, for saving the day. He dropped us off at Trailhead Coffee & Cycling lounge, which was not only open with tools, but also a bike mechanic!!! 10 bucks, bike fixed, ride salvaged!!! Back to Roseville to clean up, then off to Davis for the graduation.
Ricky decided he wasn't having it during the ceremony, so Alli went out to quiet him down. We realized it was going to be a while, so I followed with the diaper bag, to change several full loads. We caught the ceremony on the screens, and popped in to see her cousin walk, and we were first in line for food. Ahhh, the advantages of screaming infants.
So that Sunday, we were off to Hawaii. With the baby. With my in-laws. All in all, we had a great time. But we didn't get much sleep. Ricky was cutting teeth (four were coming in). Remember that baby I bragged about that slept through the night since he was 3 weeks old? I don't know where he went.
Oh yeah - and the amount of extra shit you have to bring with you when you travel with an infant? Wow.
And I don't know why I bother bringing my running shoes on vacation... Next time, I'm going to make sure Alli just makes me leave them behind.
My in-laws were extremely helpful... Alli and I were able to go to dinner several times sans baby. But even when we had him with us, he was pretty good, and not once would I classify him as "THAT" kid or us as "THOSE" parents. Although there was a good hour on the plane home where he was "THAT" kid... but all subsided and he was fine.
3 rounds of golf with my father-in-law. Good times. We played one round up at Princeville... Very tough course. Am I glad I played it? Absolutely. This is the #4 course in the world top 10... absolutely professional tournament caliber. Even though it was windy as hell and pissing rain on and off, I'm glad I played it. Am I chomping at the bit to play it again anytime soon? Not bloody likely. I went Peach style, lost a dozen balls, the wind was so bad it killed any distance you could muster... oof.
Took a sunset cruise to the Naapali coast - pretty amazing - and a whole school of dolphins were swimming alongside our boat on the way back! That is something to see...
Took Ricky to his first Luau. He was very good and we got a lot of "What a cute baby" from the people at our table. There were a couple of honeymooners that my father in law was talking with.... Nice folks. I didn't get the whole conversation - but I did catch some of the initial small talk:
GB: "Where are you from?"
HM: "Ohio."
GB: "Oh - I went to Michigan."
HM: "Don't worry... We're not Ohio State fans. Where are you all from?"
GB: "Oakland. Don't worry... We're not Raider fans."
Anyway, good food, good times, free mai tais, and Ricky fell asleep, only to awaken during the fire dancers. He has an awesome "WTF?" face. I wish I had a picture of that.
All in all, with the exception of that whole "not sleeping" thing (I blew off a drive to Waiamea Canyon to catch a nap), it was a great trip.
Conclusion... Unless you have very supportive family with you to take the kid for a few shifts, skip the travel with the infant. Wait until he's 3. Or 18.
Ricky loved the water though. We took him in the pool a few times. He had a little floatie, and eventually, he fell asleep with grammy whilst in the pool. Hopefully we can start him on swimming lessons soon, so he knows proper pool safety when we're down at Kurler & Grampanator's house this summer. Or in the future, I should say.
After we returned, it was a few days down at Mom & Dad's... They babysat Izzie for two weeks. Two weeks with monster mutt. They all had a great time... They said she's welcome any time. Which is nice, because even if I had to take a day to drive her down there and another to pick her up, it would save me a grand by not having to put her in the kennel!
We went and saw my uncle's new store up by Lake Nacimiento... Oak Hill Market... (Shameless Plug Alert) A great selection of local wines and beers, topnotch service butcher and high-end deli. Stop by...
We spent a few hours at the wineries, and restocked the cellar... Eberle, Turley, and Zenaida... all make a fantastic product, and I have to thank Jessica at Zenaida... She always remembers us as "Hey! You're Annie's brother!" (My sister got married there... whenever we go, Jessica hooks us up.)
What's next on the agenda... Well, right now, I'm forcing myself not to check my work email, waiting for the long Memorial Day weekend to end before going back to work tomorrow. I took a nice 55 mile bike ride yesterday, in preparation for my first century - the Livestrong Challenge - which is in six weeks. Suck it, Metcalf Road. I will make you my bitch.
That's about it. Till next time...
0 comments:
Post a Comment