The Hungry Hungry Writer

Two days before Jessica leaves for Texas we decided to go to Disneyland.

First let me say, it was a very sad day for me on Sunday. Maybe I’m in denial or something. But I really don’t like the fact that Jessica is leaving again. It’s not easy. She has been very helpful with the kids, she’s been a great workout partner the couple of times we worked out together, and there’s this sense of security, a sense of belonging, a sense that the house is complete when she’s here. She’s leaving today at 2:00 PM.

It’s not so complete when she’s gone. There’s a void in the house. There’s this lingering feeling of her presence and a longing that she should be there but she’s not - as if the empty space is temporary. And it kinda is temporary – but it’s a long temporary. I bet this is how the kids feel… like she’ll be back sooner than she actually will be. They look forward to it. I know they’ll be sad – especially Jacob. Bella… who knows. She’s off in her own little world- grandma, grandpa, Jessica… they come and go and when they’re here, she loves it. When they’re gone, they’ll be back. No biggie.

I think the one person Bella would probably miss a lot would be if Jacob left for an extended amount of time. And Jake and I will be in New York for almost a week this month. So she’ll probably be spoiled by Donna.

Back to Jessie… I’ll miss her. I always do. Lets face it, she was my first child even if she is my step daughter. It kinda sucks. It doesn’t kinda suck, it really sucks. I wish she would just decided to stay and we’ll figure out how and what to do next. But it’s her choice. I provide no influence or manipulation in her decision. It’s all hers.

Just think. Donna will be at work tonight. The kids will be in their room and I’ll be alone without Jessica in the dining room on the computer Instant Messaging and listening to her music. I won’t have to say, “Don’t go to bed too late” and I won’t hear her at 1 AM getting ready for bed. There won’t be any activity, no shuffling of feet, no hearing her eat a late night snack. It will be quiet. Absolutely quiet. Absolute lonliness.

Yes, the house will be lonely now that she’s back in Texas.

Whew.

The house is going to feel so empty.

I hate it.

I’m dreading tonight.

Whew.

[Deep Breath]

Back to Disney.

Wow. Disneyland. Could it be any bigger? We didn’t even venture to all the areas of the park and it was exhausting! But we did pretty damn good if you ask me.

After what took almost an hour and half in friggen Saturday bumper-to-bumper traffic due to tree cutting on the freeway, we were there. After parking, taking the tram, getting our bags inspected, waiting in line to get into the park and then getting a stroller… the day starts. It took us almost 45 minutes to get from the car to actually get into the park itself. It was ridiculous!

So the eight of us rushed over to the Pirates of the Caribbean to check out the ‘new’ additions. Who were the eight?

Me, Donna, Jessica, Isabella, Jacob, Auntie Lori, Emo Lana and Uncle Peter.

The line was long but quick. 25 minutes. We were in and out in no time. And let me say, the first Jack Sparrow display – AWESOME. I felt like asking for his autograph. The movement, the ‘animatronics’ (I believe that is what it’s called) was so realistic. It could have been Johnny Depp right there in front of us. The other Jack Sparrow displays were good but not great. The first, wow – impressive!

After Pirates, we decided to split up. Donna, Jake, Bella and I went to do the kid thing while the rest went to do Indiana Jones, etc.

So Peter Pan, then the carousel and Bella’s favorite ride in the whole park, the Dumbo ride!

Then it was - meet for lunch time.

After a relaxing, no rush lunch, we got in line for the Rocket ride. The highlight of the day was Donna, Lana and Bella SQUEEZING into the rocket where Donna had no place to put her purse. It was quite hilarious. I got it on video. Bella and Jake loved it!!! To me, that was the most important thing – that the two kids got to experience things and enjoy it.

We rode the Buzzlight Year ride then rushed over to Space Mountain with our Speed Pass.

They CLOSED Space Mountain 1 minute after we got there. What a bummer. We were all looking forward to the new ride and it was closed.

So off to the Matterhorn.

Although the Matterhorn was kinda scary, Jacob was around 3 years old when he rode it the first time. Yes, he was scared. He cried. I was like, suck it up… He did… he was just scared. In the end, he liked it. I think he did it twice but was scared both times but sucked it up and enjoyed it. It’s always after he gets off the ride that he says he liked it. And, yeah, although roller-coasters are scary, you like it, I like it, we all like it; the rush, the accomplishment. We all feel the same right? We’re scared, but it’s safe, we don’t die, it’s a rush and we do it over and over again despite the fear.

Bella… she’s three. She rode the Matterhorn on Saturday. I held her tight. She’s brave. She didn’t cry. But the little scared noises she made throughout made me feel sick to my stomach. She didn’t cry… she was just scared. And when we splashed down she let out a very excited, “YEAHHH!!!”. She was asked if she liked it, she said “YEAH! IT WAS FAST!”. She was asked if she wanted to do it again, “NOPE!”

Its weird. My little girl. With Jake, I’d say, c’mon – the more times you do it the better. With Bella I’m like… if you don’t ever want to do it again that’s fine.

Later I asked her if she was scared. And she said something that made my heart melt. She said, “Yeah, but I wasn’t scared because you were holding me tight.” It was true. I held on to her like you wouldn’t believe. I kept telling here, “You’re okay, I gotcha, you’re okay, I gotcha!”

My Bella. She liked it in the end. But even so, she was scared. Why would I put them through such torture? Because I know they can handle it. She can handle it, she’s not afraid to try something new, I’ll just make her make that decision. But that’s what I say today. She’s the one who wanted to do rock climbing. She’s the one who wants to learn how to dive from a 10 meter platform. She’s the one who wants to learn how to swim. She’s the brave one. And she knows it.

She really wasn’t afraid of trying any ride we got on. Oh, except for the Haunted Mansion. But that was because I screamed like a girl and made other kids cry. It was HILLARIOUS!!! Okay, besides that ride, she wasn’t really scared to try anything else. She’d just get on with no questions.

We did the Buzz Lightyear ride a couple of more times, then Lori, Donna and Jake went on Star Tours while I brought Bella back to Dumbo. That line was hella long. But she was so patient as we waited. When it was done, she was so sad. But she was so happy that she did it again.

We then met everyone else back in front of the castle where they had blankets spread out. It was around 7:45ish. We waited for the fireworks to start. Scheduled at 9:25.

We had the BEST fried chicken ever as we waited. Jake took a nap, Bella was up and about, I laid down trying desperately to rest, and finally 9:25 came…

And 9:25 went…

I’d like to say the fireworks display at Disneyland was fantastic. It might have been. If it wasn’t CANCELLED!!!

Basically, that’s how we ended the night. Gathering our things at the locker, shopping a little then Jake, Bella and I went to the car. Bella was asleep so we decided to go to the car and wait for the others as they went to Downtown Disney to shop. Jake did great not complaining about having to walk while I carried Bella. She woke up a little on the tram but immediately went back to sleep. Jake watched Alladin in the car while I took a nap. I don’t know what time it was when they got to the car. Probaby 11ish. I don’t even remember what time it was when we got home. All I know was that I was tired.

Whew… what a day.

I kinda hate the whole Disneyland lines and heat and crowd thing. But to be honest, Saturday wasn’t bad at all. Not at all.

Now the question is: Can a day at Disney count as Training? Read about it!

JESSICA -

WE’LL MISS YOU ONCE AGAIN! COME BACK SOON!

Enjoy your new iPod, your new running shoes and all the clothes your mommy bought you! THANKS FOR BEING A GREAT DAUGHTER!!

Love YOU!!

LA Triathlon Anxiety

A couple of weeks ago I decided to actually click on the ‘submit’ button on the LA Triathlon online entry form. I may have lost a couple of pounds in sweat as I nervously filled out the application. I sat and contemplated it for a few weeks. Should I enter the race or not? Sure it’s still a sprint and not the Olympic distance, but the sprint is the “A” race that I’ve been training for all year long.

I have avoided the application process, hoping maybe it was sold out when I eventually try to signup. If it was sold out then it would be a sign to not do the race.

Why?

Because I’m scared.

I shouldn’t be scared right? I mean, I’ve done three sprint triathlons already right? It should be a piece of cake. Its not as long as a half Ironman, its so much shorter than an Ironman, which is my ultimate goal, yet I’m afraid of a little sprint? A tiney, weeney, little sprint?

Well, it wasn’t sold out. My application was submitted with the click of a button. And as punishment, they charged me more money because I was applying late. [sarcasm]Great[/sarcasm].

Twenty miles on the bike through the closed streets of Hollywood and Los Angeles seems extremely hella fun. Follow this up with a 5K run with a start up a hill is challenging, but heck, I can run a 5K! So the bike and run part should be a piece of cake like it should be. But the swim?

This triathlon, when I mention it to people drop their jaws and say things like, “That’s crazy”, “From where to WHERE?!?”, “Why would you want to do that?”

You see it starts at Venice beach with the swim. Then it’s a 20 mile bike ride through Hollywood and Los Angeles and then a 5K run in LA where you reach the finish line at The Staples Center. That’s a long stretch of land and seems very intimidating. But the bike is flat and fast and the run is as I said, only a 5K. What really gets to the pit of my stomach is…

THE SWIM.

The swim, the swim, the swim. Yes, once again the dreaded, unforgiving torture that is the swim. Am I a strong swimmer after 6 months of training? NOPE. Can I go 200 meters non stop without having to grab on to the pool wall or on my back? NOPE. Are my LEGS still sinking when I swim? YES. And… how long is the swim? 645 meters. Its ½ Kilometers. It’s almost a 1/3 mile! A third is a like almost a half mile. And based on the fact that I’ll be pushed around in the water and forced wide to avoid the crowd, it could be a half mile swim for me. And not only that, ITS IN THE FRIGGEN OCEAN!!!

THE OCEAN! VENICE BEACH!

And you know what’s in the ocean?

THERE ARE SHARKS IN THE OCEAN!

There are no pool lanes, no pool ledge to hang on to, there’s this thing about waves in the ocean AND there are going to be hundreds of people smashing and crashing into me as I swim. And did I mention sharks?

Okay, I’m not so scared that a shark will actually chomp me up. There are other meatier Triathletes out there. Trust me. I’m scared of two or three… maybe four other things.

One: The ocean is dark, deep and scary. Its not Maui. There’s nothing visually stimulating and wonderful and peaceful about Venice Beach. In Maui there are fish. Beautiful fish. Coral. Beautiful coral. Yes, there are also sharks in Maui as I encountered one myself – 10 meters away! Sounds closer than you think but 10 meters is 30ish feet. But swimming in Maui is like being a part of nature, a part of something bigger and better than life itself. It’s peaceful, beautiful, serene. It is like swimming in a dream.

Venice beach. It is like swimming in a nightmare!

Two: There was a two wasn’t there? The ocean is scary? Lets skip to…

Three: It’s an open water swim way out in the scary ocean.

And…

Four: I’m scared of the Ocean?

Okay its like one or two things.

So on September 10th, 2006, my “A” race is on the calendar. And you can actually track me on your computer during the race. You’ll see where I am and watch the finish line when I cross. Cool huh?

So if you’re watching, and see my ‘dot’ on the ocean… and its not moving… OR moving too fast… either I’m drowning or… I’m being dragged around by a shark.

Wish me luck. I’ll need it.

This was in our local news cast last night so i looked it up. It happened in Colorado.

Woman On Mountain Bike Crashes Into Black Bear
DENVER Triathlete Sabrina Oei was speeding downhill at nearly 40 mph, cycling through the Colorado foothills, when a black bear brought her to a sudden, painful, stop.

Oei (pronounced “OU’-eee”) slammed broadside into the bear when it wandered onto the race course Sunday. She went airborne, then slid on her back across the pavement.

She wasn’t seriously injured and even finished the triathlon. The bear didn’t seem to be hurt, either, scampering back into the woods. But the unusual high-speed encounter is a dramatic example of what experts are seeing across the West as drought forces bears to forage farther for food while urban development pushes into formerly wild areas.

Oei said she was focusing on the paved trail in the Boulder Peak Triathlon, which draws more than 1,400 athletes to a course just three miles outside of Boulder. She spotted the bear out of the corner of her eye and knew in a flash she had no way to avoid it.

“It was just unbelievable,” Oei said Monday, recovering from scrapes and bruises. “In that moment you think, ‘I’m going to hit this bear.”‘

- MORE OF THE STORY -

SUNDAY – 07-23-2006
They have really good meat at Arts Meat Market. They are about 3.46 miles away from my house if you take Glenoaks Blvd, go North on Ethel then West on Mountain. Follow Mountain to Brand, head North to Kenneth and follow Kenneth going West till you hit Grandview and you’re there - 1402 W. Kenneth Road. So yeah, 3.46 miles give or take a couple of tenths.

We like ordering their BBQ ribs – cooked. Sometimes we get meat for stir fry.

But we didn’t do anything like that this weekend.

This is what I… and what ‘we’ did on Sunday.

Sunday is my ‘long run day’. Last week I did a 2 loop run around the Rose Bowl pushing the kids in the Bob Duallie stroller. This week it was just me and the road.

ARTS MEAT MARKET OUT AND BACK RUN
Whenever I pick up an order from Arts Meat Market I take the route mentioned above. I love driving on Mountain and on to Kenneth. The trees, the homes, the people walking their dogs, it’s American ‘good life’ as I see it. I always see people walking or jogging on Kenneth in the late evenings. It always looked like a great place to run.

So yesterday I decided to run it. An out and back to Arts Meat Market.

I started right when Donna got home from work. I figured an hour or so and I’d be done.

I started my run at 8:12 AM. It was already hot out and a summer rain made it humid. The air was thick. Not a good sign for my breathing problems – you know the asthma thing.

It took me a good solid mile before my legs felt good. But any small incline would send sharp pains to my left knee. It was feeling great the two days leading up, but for some reason any kind of push up the tiniest of hills would be a struggle if I didn’t watch my step. This all comes from a stupid slip at home last week where I fell back and hyper extended my knee. I need to be more careful. Other than the pain in my knee, everything else felt great.

The music of choice on my iPod was the album by Collective Soul: “Youth” and Dishwalla’s “Dishwalla”.

Its hard to remember some of the things I think about when I run. Different life scenes play out that seem interesting at the time – and I should try to write them down one day. I think about the IronMan Championships in Hawaii. I think about how it will be to be halfway through the run, the time ticking away to the 17 hour cutoff. I think about how old the kids will be by then and who will be at the finish waiting for me. I think about working at Starbucks or Barnes & Noble. I think about swimming two hours straight in the Pacific Ocean. I think about playing hockey or paintball again or how I can make more money to buy a new bike. This helps me get my mind off of the fatigue, the heat and the occasional pain I get in my knee when I run.

Usually I hit 3.1 miles (5K) and turn around to make it 6.2 (10K) on an out and back. But 3.1 miles I’m still a little distance away from Arts Meat Market. I figure I’ll hit Arts, turn around, and log my time after another 3.1 miles, walk the rest of the way home and call it a day.

Finally I’m there. Through all the mathematical calculations on time and speed and where I’d be at 6.2 miles, I arrive at Arts Meat Market turn around and start my run home. That’s when I realize I’m running East – right into the sun.

Time passes, my knee hurts a little bit more especially during the small incline run on Mountain right after Brand and my goal is to at least get to Nibley Park where I can cut through a neighborhood to get home. But I ran past Nibley and looked at my Garmin. I was at 6.02 miles in an hour and 5 minutes. It’s close to the time of my first 10K – but I had a few hundred meters left. I didn’t cut the neighborhood; I got to Ethel and tracked back home to Glenoaks and then to my street for a true out and back run. In other words… I wasn’t going to stop at 6.2 miles. I was going to run until I got to my doorstep.

I passed my house at the 7.2 mile mark. I felt this wasn’t good enough and wanted to at least go 7.5. That’s 1.3 more miles than my longest run. So I ran down my street a bit, turned around and by the time I was back in front of my house I was at 7.5 miles. A personal best, both in distance run for a day, and for the month! I was at 30 miles for the month, 10 miles more than my average, and I have one week left to do more!

At the 6 mile mark my legs were still feeling great. At 7.5 I thought I could run another half mile. But I decided to stop to forego any possible injuries. It was a fun run really – despite the heat – and an accomplishment in my running that I never knew possible. I’ll have to more than triple that for an IronMan (marathon distance) but at least I’m making baby steps and building a base!!!

I’m so proud of myself! J

My heart rate was right where I wanted it to be for this type of training – Zone 4.
Min HR: 130, Avg HR: 183, Max HR: 191

My splits:
Mile 1- 0:09:41
Mile 2- 0:09:45
Mile 3- 0:11:20
Mile 4- 0:11:26
Mile 5- 0:11:47
Mile 6- 0:12:10
Mile 7- 0:11:33
Mile 7.5 - 0:05:45
Total- 1:23:27

Whew.

My legs were shot! I could barely walk. BUT… I promised Jake to play catch with him outside when I got back.

PLAYING IN FIRE
Jake, Bella and I went outside to play. It was around 10:00 AM and it was hot!

Here’s how much I trust my sons throwing arm. He’s like me. He can throw with some serious accuracy. Even at age two-ish, he was throwing the ball with pretty good form. For a two year old that is.

I opened the minivan door, sat at the foot of the door - my legs outside the van my butt inside if you know what I mean. Jake stood in the grass about twenty five or so feet away I would say. And I pitched to him; gunning it at him and him returning the favor just like I like. If he was off on his throw I figured I could struggle to get up quick enough and catch it before it hit the car. But I told him, make sure you look at me and follow through because I don’t want you to hit the car!

The kid can throw.

He didn’t hit the car.

Bella played horseshoes with plastic horseshoes and hoops. She didn’t want to toss the horseshoes but tried to wear them on her feet and ‘giddyup’. It didn’t work. She also tried to draw flowers and a hopscotch thing with chalk.

They were happy with the time spent outside and we headed back into the house after about 45 minutes.

Jake played video games, Bella watched cartoons in their room and I warmed them up left over CPK pasta for lunch.

After lunch and a few video games with Jake, I asked them to let me rest on the recliner for a few minutes and asked Jake to tell me when it was 12:30. I promised to take them swimming at the Rose Bowl and recreational swim started at 1:00.

At 12:30, Jake woke me up from my 40 minute nap. We woke Jessica up. Yes… woke her up… and got into the Rose Bowl by 12:50. There was a line waiting to get into the pool.

THE SWIMMING SPEECH

“I don’t want to learn how to swim!”
“I don’t want to be on a swim team like Jessica!”
“I just want to do Duathlons and not Triathlons!”
“I don’t care if I don’t swim in Hawaii!”

All these from a scared little six year old boy who doesn’t want to swim.

I’ve had the same kind of complaints from Jessica when she was five. I gave her a long speech about not having a choice in the matter. Learn to swim. Don’t be afraid. And even you are, suck it up and just do it! The next thing you know you’ll be swimming.

I had the same speech with Jacob last week. He didn’t agree, he didn’t complain, he just listened. He has no choice in the matter and I made that clear.

So on Saturday we signed him up for swim class. Level II since Level I, Bella’s class, was filled. This meant he needed to know how to float on his back for 5 seconds unassisted, float on his stomach for 5 seconds unassisted, bob up and down blowing bubbles and getting air three times assisted and finally gliding for five feet unassisted.

Tall order in nine days. Tall order because I have two or three opportunities to teach it to him. Tall order because of the above complaints. Tall order because I was the one doing the teaching and not a swim teacher who he’d probably respect more than me.

So another short to the point speech was in order on Saturday. And it was as simple as this. “Tomorrow I’m going to teach you how to float on your stomach and on your back and there will be no crying because I won’t let anything happen to you. I will only let go when you are comfortable and YOU WILL NOT SINK because I’ll be right there.”

“OK.” He quietly agreed.

Straight and to the point.

So we’re in the pool. The water was warm. The place was packed.

And within 10 minutes…

Jake floated on his stomach for 5 seconds unassisted. He floated on his back for 5 seconds unassisted. He bobbed, blew bubbles and went under water with Jessica and floated till he needed a breath… and he swam to me. Yes… swam. He swam ten feet taking as many as four breaths of air during one attempt!!! So I skipped the gliding for 5 feet part but I’ll review that with him next week. I mean, he did 10 feet of swimming which counts as a pass to the gliding thing if you ask me. He’s ready for swim class.

Bella… she can’t swim. But she loves the water. And not only is she ready for swim class, she wants to high dive. “I’m brave.” She said to me when I asked her if she wanted to do the high-high-high dives that the divers were doing on Saturday. She’d be a good high diver - athletic and graceful. My hopes of her playing women’s softball are now replaced with Bella as a water athlete!

THE REST OF THE DAY
Back home, 3:00 PM, and time to wake Donna up for an early dinner.

Octopus Sushi Japanese Fusion Restaurant. It was more than a hundred degrees out just so you know.

And that’s our Sunday in 3-digit degree Los Angeles weather!

SATURDAY 07-22-2006
Me like when Donna is off on Saturday.

It’s better when she’s off the whole weekend, but if she’s off at least once during the weekend I’m a happy camper.

Well, technically she wasn’t off on Saturday. She was off on Friday night which meant she could come out and play on Saturday morning (and Friday night too if you know what I mean) before taking a nap Sat afternoon before work that night.

My plan was to get up early for a ride around the Rose Bowl. Of course, Donna would push the kids around with the stroller while I did my laps – as I’m WAAAY behind on bike training for the month.

CYCLING AROUND THE BOWL
By 8:30 AM we were at the Rose Bowl and there were quite a few people there trying to get their workout in before it got too hot. As if the high 80s wasn’t hot enough already. Yowza.

On Friday my sister got me a speed/cadence sensor which goes hand in hand with my Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS/HRM! It calculates the speed you are traveling and records your cadence or RPM of a crank arm. A much needed tool as I feel I’m not churning the cranks as fast as I should during training. I’d rather go slower at a higher gear than faster on a lower gear. But you expend much more energy pedaling slower at a higher gear than pedaling faster on a lower gear at the same mile per hour. This mean you’ll tire faster, which means fewer miles.

The most I’ve ever done at the Rose Bowl as 12 miles or 3 laps. The last time I rode and Donna did a walk/run, I managed 6 miles and tried to run 3 but only managed about a two mile out and back to meet Donna walk.

Today was different. I’d be concentrating on cycling, cadence, speed and distance. I wanted to do 16 miles – a personal best as far as mileage is concerned. I did 15.94 or something like that in Sacramento during the Duathlon.

And today I did it. I past Donna and the kids five times as I pedaled around the Rose Bowl. I got off my saddle and practiced pedaling hard for 10 seconds. I did a full lap on the big ring and I hit a top speed of 30 mph.

I’m not as fast as I want which is really disappointing. I was surprised that I was actually at 100 RPM on my cadence during one mile of my ride but teetered in the high 70s and 80s. I need to work on that.

That speed/cadence sensor is awesome by the way!

But for the most part, I rode a good ride for training and 16 miles was perfect timing as I made it to the mini-van right when Donna and the kids did!

Min HR: 136, Avg HR: 179, Max HR: 190

Here are my splits:
Mile 1- 0:03:41
Mile 2- 0:02:47
Mile 3- 0:02:58
Mile 4- 0:03:59
Mile 5- 0:02:57
Mile 6- 0:02:59
Mile 7- 0:04:14
Mile 8- 0:03:01
Mile 9- 0:03:01
Mile 10- 0:04:20
Mile 11- 0:03:20
Mile 12- 0:02:46
Mile 13- 0:04:09
Mile 14- 0:03:26
Mile 15- 0:02:40
Mile 16- 0:04:15
Total: 0:54:33

After cooling down a little, we headed to the Aquatic Center to sign the kids up for swim class.

A MESS IS A MESS IS A MESS
The signups started at 10:00 AM. We were there at 10:00 AM. The line for signups was out the door! Donna got number 65!

Did I mention it was hot?!?

The kids and I sat under a shade to eat some ice cream. Since I’m supposedly an MS EXCEL expert and Financial Analyst by day, here’s the formula I had to work with on Saturday morning:

Kids + 100 degree weather + Ice Cream = A BIG HUGE STICKY MESS

Yeah, it was a mess. They couldn’t eat it fast enough poor things. But they tried, and I watched ice cream drip down the back of their hands.

I cleaned them off then we found a seat in the sun to watch High Divers splash down into the water. Bella was very impressed. She mimicked the style, the grace, the dive to the entertainment pleasure of others around. I saw them pointing at her, laughing at how cute she did the arch of the back, the positioning, the dive… every time they hit the water she’d say… WOW!!!

I asked if she wanted to do that. She said, “YES! I’m brave!”

So there you have it. She’s the one who wanted to rock climb, she’s the one who wants to dive into water from a 30 foot platform, but she doesn’t want to catch a softball because it might hit her head. UGH! Do Colleges give out Diving Scholarship? If so… I’m all for her diving!

THE LAST HALF OF THE DAY
Finally, by 11:45 we were out of there. We picked up some food for lunch and I went to get a hair cut.

For dinner I went to pick up food from CPK. When I went to pick it up the food wasn’t there because Donna ordered from the wrong CPK. So I replaced the order and waited for the food to be prepared. It kinda defeated the purpose but in the end it was all good.

I watched the Battle Star Galactica mini series on DVD and fell asleep around midnight.

Sin City (2005)
My Rating: 7/10
Just like the graphic novel when it first came out and I read it. Wow but, huh? All good, breakthrough, but… what page was I, did I miss something, should I rewind? Both managed to be the same, cool, but not the rave.

Weatherman (2005)
My Rating: 9/10
This was BETTER than I expected. Great characters, great writing, great story… pretty damn good!

The 40 Year-Old Virgin (2005)
My Rating: 9/10
Hella, hella, hella funny! And it wasn’t just funny but good writing and story.

Battlestar Galactica: The Miniseries (2003)
My Rating: 9/10
Excellent, excellent, excellent! I watched it all in one sitting!

Midnight Run (1988)
My Rating: 8/10
Great structure, great buddy-buddy movie, great everything! It was funny but wasn’t really a comedy.

Failure to Launch (2006)
My Rating: 9/10
What a surprise! This movie was way funnier than I thought it was capable of being. Matthew McConaughey & Sarah Jessica Parker were great together and the story was believable to a degree. It was the actors that made it work!

The Third Man (1949)
My Rating: 6/10
It was okay. There were tons of holes, unbelievable character situations, story, meh… but it was okay. If you want a classic film noir, try it out!

I’m catching up. Here are some movies I’ve watched in the last two or three months.

Little Manhatten (2005)
My Rating: 6/10
It was okay. VO throughout really made it an amateur type film. “Mine will be better”: is what I kept thinking.

Le Samorai (1967)
My Rating: 6/10
“Alittle bit gangster film, a little bit samurai flick…” is what Netflix describes it as. For the late 60s it isn’t so bad. But ’samourai’ it isn’t!

What a Woman Wants (2000)
My Rating: 8/10
Pretty funny. I really enjoyed this movie. Mel Gibson did a really good job as a lead in a RomCom. I can’t remember any other RomCom he has done prior or even after this. He should do more.

The Ice Storm (1997)
My Rating: 9/10
A dark, searing character driven movie! One of Ang Lee’s best directed movies imho!

X-MEN: Last Stand (2006)

My Rating: 8/10
I have to like it. But it was a little disappointing to be honest. Story wasn’t that great and action was forced and not spectacular.

Cars (2006)
My Rating: 9/10
I didn’t think Disney/Pixar could pull off a car type movie and portray human emotions despite a solid story and script. Well, they did. Should I be surprised? No. But I am! And I was VERY entertained as was the family!

Four Brothers (2005)
My Rating: 4/10
Your kidding right? Good cast, but an UNBELIEVABLE story line. I was like, yeah right – that could happen (note the sarcasm).

Weekends are tough when Donna works. I try to plan a day where the kids don’t bother Donna when she sleeps and the kids and I don’t get cabin fever. This means going out. In 100 degree weather the task is nothing less than daunting.

So it begins. Around the nine-ish hour of the morning, we’re off to get bagels. If I time that right we’ll be there for at least an hour. On Saturday, Jessica was actually able to drag herself out of bed to join us.

Nothing spectacular to report. The wrong bagel was prepared for Jake & Bella (Banana Nut) so I had to get a corrected order of a Cranberry Bagel. Jessica had a plain bagel with strawberry cream cheese and I had a Jalapeno Cheese bagel. The problem with bagels like Jalapeno Cheese bagels is that the jalapenos and cheese are on the top half. When it’s cut and toasted, the bottom half is like a plain bagel and offers no bang for the buck. So I enjoyed the top half before venturing to the plain bottom half and after a few bites abandoned it for a couple of bites of Bella’s half of the Cranberry Bagel.

And after an hour… we were gone.

I purchased an $11 silicone swim cap earlier in the week. I used it on Thursday and Friday night and when I got home on Friday night I realized I left it in the locker room of the gym. Nobody returned it. So the next stop was the Rose Bowl’s Aquatic Center.

If I planned it better, the kids would have had swim suits on and a recreational swim would have been a perfect end to a hot morning. I purchased my swim cap and a new pair of goggles, Tyr X-Sight Lite.

I can’t believe a swim cap is $11. But once you go silicone you can’t go back to those cheap $2 latex caps anymore!

We stood around the pool and watched some diving, some people swimming laps, and other little kids having a great time in the water. Jake wasn’t too interested in swimming but Bella wanted to jump in. Maybe next week.

The kids agreed to go to the 24HR Fitness Kids Club while Jessica and I worked out. So we got home, gathered up our things and headed to the gym.

It was around 11:00. Just a couple more hours before nap time!

Okay, things were going well in the sweltering heat! Until we got to Kids Club. Bella wanted to stay but Jakey… he cried like a baby. He didn’t want to stay. He was ‘scared’. He likes it there, Bella likes it there, but today… scared. UGH! Talk about frustrating. It wasn’t fear – it was lack of sleep, grumpiness and time for a nap! I was sweating, I was irritated and Bella started to cry because Jacob wanted to leave. It was a 10 minute ’test my temper’ fiasco.

I decided to take the kids home and gave Jacob a strong ‘talking to’ outside. I wasn’t about to leave him with ‘strangers’ if he didn’t want to be there. It sucked, I was pissed, but I wasn’t going to force him to stay just so I could work out. If this was school it would have been a different story. So now, he’s not going to Kids Club anymore until he asks and not because I offer it up. Which throws a kink into my workouts. Its just one of those things to work around once again.

Home. Twenty minutes to prepare pasta and the kids had their lunch. I reminded them about being good, and off to nap time they went. Bella curled up in bed with Donna, Jake got into his bed, and within just a couple of minutes, both were snoring - this after complaints of not being tired or sleepy or not needing a nap.

Nap times means ‘my’ time. Video games, reading, watching baseball, cycling, running or the gym. Today… the gym.

Jessica and I went to the Gym, had a thirty minute basketball shoot-around, then into the surprisingly empty swimming pool.

I went straight to my swim. No drills. I’m bored of drills. I know I should do drills, drills, drills and more drills without even thinking about a swim workout, but today… I wanted to swim. Swimming is boring. Drills are worse.

1000 meters was the goal and would be the 3rd day straight I’d do them. 1000 meters is my minimum goal. 1000 meters usually takes 35 minutes. I told Jessica to do 32 laps (1 mile), straight or with breaks. However she wanted.

When she was at 1000 meters I was struggling to complete my 850th meter. When I was at 1000 I decided that would be all and she convinced me to do 12 more laps (600 meters) like her. She did her mile and I was at 29 laps. 3 more to go. Jessica told me to do them non-stop. “I can’t” I said. God, I hate saying that. “I can’t?!?” When do I say that? Even when I can’t I struggle through so I could say “I did”.

“Yes you can. Just do it.” She replied.

So I pushed off the wall.

One lap done, “Come on, papa”.

Second lap done, “Come on, one more, papa!”.

A quarter lap and I’m on my back, pushing it to the wall, a tap of the wall and I’m heading back - an all out sprint to the finish. Two feet left and I reached, winded, tired, fatigued, ready to pee… “See… I told you you can!”

Oh Jessica… its so nice that you’re here this summer. You just pushed your 39 year old step dad to do his fastest mile swim. An under 1 hour struggle.

“I can’t.” – “Yes you can”.

Nine years ago Jessica started swimming lessons. She was 6. I was living off nine months severance pay, a growing stock portfolio, and a very hot summer where I went to the race track almost every morning, babysat nephews, wrote my first screenplay, shot my first short film “First Time” and took Jessica to swim class every day. The best summer of my life as I like to call it.

Every day she would cry about swimming. Everyday she said ‘I can’t swim’. Everyday I gave her a lecture about ‘just doing it.’ Just saying to yourself, in your head, “I can do it, I can do it, I can do it.” And without fear, just doing it!

A year later she was on a swim team.

9 years after her first swim lesson she was the one telling me to ‘just do it.’

She wasn’t saying ‘you can – just do it’ to mock or mimic those great summer days of 1997. She doesn’t even remember those lectures and talks I had with her about convincing yourself that you can, even if you’re scared and don’t want to. It was later I reminded her of those pre-swim days that she had when she was Jacob’s age. It’s the same talk I have with Jacob now. Except he’s harder to motivate. He’s harder to convince. To him, I’m his dad, not a motivator or coach or teacher or a friend. I’m his dad and someone he can cry like a baby to and get what he wants – some of the time. Back when Jessica was his age, I was her pal. Her mom’s boyfriend. Her babysitter, guardian, caretaker. Not her dad. I was just ‘Glennie’ as she used to call me before Donna and I got married. I was ‘Glennie’ before ‘Papa’. I hate being called ‘Glennie’. I always have. There’s only two kinds of people I really allowed to call me that. My hockey team and Jessica.

I try not to think about her leaving once again. In two short weeks she’ll be back in Texas and I’ll be back to daily texting her, bugging her during class, and getting upset when her ‘dad’ doesn’t pick her up from basketball games on time. I probably text and talk to her more than her mom and dad combined.

Oh well… that was a sidetracked moment.

So where was I? Nine years later? The swimming pool? And a mile swim in under an hour!

“Wanna go to the sauna?” Jessica asks.

I don’t usually go to the sauna. But Jessica likes it. So whenever we swim, we go to the sauna. I mean its 100 degrees outside and she wants to go to the sauna. Jessica will eat hot soup and hot cocoa for lunch in 100 degree weather. Her response is something like, “It’s not 100 degrees in here.”

So off to the sauna for five minutes we went.

After the sauna we left the gym to go grocery shopping for dinner. Asparagus, salad, rib eye steaks… by 4:30 we were home. The kids had just gotten up from their almost three hour nap. Donna got six hours of sleep in and dinner would be prepared within an hour.

Donna went to work and I went to bed – early.

A good Saturday.

Sunday Morning:

I checked the weather forecast: 100+ degrees for Sunday and I needed to run!!!

Beat the heat! Beat the heat! Sunday is my ‘long run day’ if I can actually get one in. It was harder this Sunday as it was supposed to be hot.

I had a plan. Get out to the Rose Bowl for a 10K run with Jessica and the kids as soon as Donna got home from work. 8:30.

Beat the heat!

There’s a reason why I bought a Bob Duallie jogging stroller. It’s days like Sunday where I needed to get in a 10K run with nobody to watch the kids. And a double jogging stroller is the perfect solution. $349 on special at REI. I saved $100!

By 9:00 AM we were out. Jessica, unmotivated to do a run, shrugged me off when I tried to wake her up. So it was Jake, Bella and I.

After getting tons of water bottles together, strapping on my HRM, and walking to my ‘starting line’, we were off! 9:21 AM.

The first mile was tough - pushing the stroller up an incline. At the end of the two mile mark I started to have an unusual pain in my right arch. A blister? Ugh. It was sharp and painful. The start of the 4th mile I felt a sharp pain in my left knee. The cause of a fall I had at home on Friday after stepping on air bed on a slippery hardwood floor. I hyper extended my knee as I fell back. It wasn’t that bad at first, but I felt the pain as I got to the 4th mile. The kids were great the first 3 miles. I felt bad to have them sit there for another 3, but they managed with water squirts at each other, a snack munched, and a couple of stops to take their shoes off and to pick up a dropped toy. The last three miles the sun was creeping above us and what I wanted to avoid was not avoided. It was hot!

It’s funny how pain and your brain works. I remember focusing on the run, my stride, my push up a small little hill. I remember hitting the five and half mile mark and thinking just .7 miles left. And in this space of time there was no pain. None. Just legs moving, kids complaining, and struggle to the finish. But once I came out of my ‘lost in thought’ portion of the run, the blister seemed to get bigger faster, the pain in my knee felt uncomfortable and walking was the only choice.

It’s easier to say ‘I can’ when you run. It’s more natural to move the legs. It’s harder in a swim when you have to think about breathing techniques, stroke techniques, and a wall to grab on to. Running means you have to get back to where you started. The finish. And why walk when you can run, right? Running will mean ending the pain sooner. So not once during my 10K did I stop or walk due to the pain. Granted, two stops for shoes and a dropped toy, but that was that. I ran, I ran, and ran before I stopped running at 6.2 miles. 1 hour 11 minutes and 54 seconds of actual run time.

Here’s the MotionBased data: Rose Bowl 10K with Bob Duallie Stroller

I cooled down at the minivan, then walked the kids over to watch an inline skate class going on. They were teaching the beginners how to fall. It was kinda funny.

Then we went to Barnes & Noble for a snack, and by the time we got home… it was nap time.

I dropped Jessica off at the movie theater after the kids fell asleep, then tried to get in a nap. But by the time I fell asleep, Jake woke up… then Bella woke up… and it was time to get ready to go to Liza’s house for dinner.

If there is one thing that puts a cap to a long hot weekend its my sister’s Roast Beef! Yum! After a great workout weekend, a meal like this just hits the spot like you wouldn’t believe!

After BB7: All-stars, we were back at home. The kids got to sleep and Donna and I watched “Failure to Launch”. -good movie by the way!

The weekend – as perfect as it could be despite the lack of Donna. If she didn’t have to sleep or go to work it would have been a perfect-perfect!

What’s new in the world of XBox?

Well, not in XBox, but in the world of Glenn playing XBox…

The new games I’ve been playing are MVP 06 NCAA Baseball & Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06… These are the two ‘newer’ games in “our” (Jake’s and mine) collection. The reviews are here: NCAA Baseball & Tiger Woods.

But… the game I’ve been playing like it was new is: FIFA 06! (old review) It could be because of the World Cup, but I have been really into this game the past few days.

I don’t play soccer… I don’t play golf… but these two games REALLY make me want to go out and run around on a soccer field or swing a club. Seriously.

But I’ll stick to video gaming.

We brought all our games up to Sacramento for my race this past weekend. Jake was able to pass some of his time by playing his games and I was able to pass some of my time playing both Tiger Woods Gold and right after the World Cup Championships, play FIFA 06 with the Italian team against, of course, the French.

Oh… here are some pictures of the kids at the beach. “Emo” (auntie in Korean) Lana took them to Laguna Beach a week ago. They had a great time.

Bella and the sand.

Jake and big sister Jess.

The crystal dark waters of the California coast. (I want to go to Hawaii for crystal clear waters!)

Lunch break!

*** MORE PICTURES FROM LAGUNA ***

July TRI for FUN Summer Duathlon (relay)

The plan…

Keaton would swim the 800 meters in Rancho Seco Lake, I would ride the 16 mile bike and Desmond would anchor with the 5K run. A triathlon relay.

Then… Keaton had to go to football camp.

So… Jessica was expected to swim the 800 meters in Rancho Seco Lake OR run the 5K mile run (Duathlon), I would ride the 16 mile bike, and Desmond would anchor with the 5K run. A triathlon or duathlon relay.

But… Jessica really wasn’t up to either the swim or the run. The swim I thought she could accomplish with no problems whatsoever. The run – maybe a little struggle for the last mile or so but doable.

SO… I jumped into Rancho Seco Lake the day before. I squeezed into my wetsuit and ’tried’ a non-stop 400 meter swim. Well, I stopped here and there but nothing toooooo significant. And I did it in the fastest split time ever! But it was hard, I was out of breath and another 400 meters would be a HUGE problem.

SO… even though I mentally did not prepare for this I decided to do the 5K run and 16 mile ride with Desmond anchoring with a 5K run. A two person duathlon relay.

Completely doable but I was mentally unprepared. I’ve done a Run/Bike several times which is easier than a Bike/Run that’s for sure. But I’ve never done 16 miles on the bike. And this would follow the run. Still… completely doable.

SOOO… that’s what we did. My cousin Des and I ran the ’family relay’ together.

We got out of Roseville by 6:00 AM and arrived at the park just before 7:00. There were tons of people and all the ‘key’ areas for transition were taken. So I had to find something in the middle and didn’t have my BRIGHT YELLOW transition towel to highlight the area. I had to count the rows and find my bike - six. Six rows was the key number.

The Duathlon started promptly at 8:00 AM and I was off and running. There has to be something done about my hydration. Boy do I get thirsty early lately. It could be the heat, but lately my runs have resulted in a lot of water. Both for intake and for pouring on my head for cooling. It could be that it has been quite hot when I’ve run lately. And today, Saturday the 8th, was HOT!

I was prepared for the dirt fire trail as I brought my trail running shoes – Saucony Grid Omni 5 TR - but was not prepared for the rolling hills and the dust that kicked up. Yuck. When I saw the halfway mark I was VERY happy. Who wouldn’t be? I was actually struggling and thinking about walking. I don’t know why I think like this. Obviously I can run a 5K without walking. Especially, if it’s the first part of a race. I completed the run without walking. It wasn’t a problem, but during the run it was a huge problem. I don’t get it.

I was determined to run through transition, which is a big change from walking in and taking up time. I ran in and grabbed my bike in average transition time for me. 1:42. It could be A LOT faster! But for some reason I can’t get passed the 1:40ish mark.

Run time (3.04 miles): 28:02 – 9:13 min miles. Pretty on the money for me.
Transition time: 1:42. Again – could be faster.

So on the bike I go.

16 miles. This was the best bike ride I’ve ever had. I was on my average MPH (17) on a rolling hill course. I was on the big ring for most of the 1st half but went to the small ring on the last half. I really felt like I was moving the bike and concentrated on high pace through a lot of the ride. It felt longer than I expected and actually took me 15 minutes longer than I predicted.

I stopped at transition and got off my bike. Jake, Bella, Drew and Donna were cheering me on. It was so cool to have them there. It gives me a little more energy when I see them. Especially Donna. Jake always has this worried face on him. It cracks me up. I smiled and waved and he gave me a little wave as I ran to rack my bike.

Here’s why I like to find a key transition area. Everyone is the same way probably. Hence, getting to the race as early as possible. Why? So you can establish a transition area that is EASY to find. And I couldn’t find my area!!!

I had counted six rows. That was key right? But I counted it from the run in and not the bike in. So I came in and was in such disarray I ran down the wrong row and did not find my area. At least my brain was working and I decided to rack it and touch Desmond off for his run. So that’s what I did. I racked the bike in a random area, took off my shoes and ran as fast as I could (in socks) and tagged Desmond. I was surprised how well I ran. Maybe it was because I wasn’t wearing shoes!

Bike time (15.94 miles): 55:58 – 3:31 min miles. Again, pretty much on the money for me.
Transition time: approximately 1 minute.

So off Desmond goes!

And off I go to find my bike.

For a second there I was worried. Where the heck was it!!! But I found it. Two rows off. And I brought it back, racked it, and as I tried to slip on my shoes the most excruciating cramp hit my left calf. It almost knocked me down! I was kinda weak already, and when this hit I thought I would fall over and cause a commotion to the people in the transition area. I couldn’t even massage it I was so weak. But I managed to grab an ice thing from my lunch box and placed it on the cramp and miraculously it went away! Wow. I stretched, walked it off and found Sheri, Jessica, Drew, Donna, Bella and Jake.

We then waited for Desmond at the finish line. And here he came, over pronating as I do, as the race announcer announced: “Here comes #81 of the Triathlete Nuts!”

“It was harder than I thought it would be.” Was Desmond’s quote soon after he crossed the finish line. But he did it. And he felt like I do after a race – like he can go out and run another! Although if it was offered I don’t think we would.

Yes, it was hot. Des admitted to that. The trail didn’t affect his traction which is also good. Obviously he doesn’t need water like I do as he didn’t carry a water bottle nor did he drink much at the water station halfway in.

Des’ approximate run time (3.1 miles): 27:02 – 8:43 min miles.

Here are the spilts based on my Garmin Forerunner 305:

0:28:02 Glenn’s Run (3.04 miles)
0:01:42 T1
0:55:58 Glenn’s Bike (15.94 miles)
0:01:00 T2 (approximate time)
0:27:02 Des’ Run (approximate time) (3.10 miles)

1:53:44 Final

This is not even close to the 1:30:00 time predicted by yours truly. Why? Because I didn’t expect to ride 16 miles in 55 minutes!

Other information:

RUN HEART RATE
Min HR: 137
Avg HR: 191
Max HR: 198*
*I did not hit the 205 max I did in San Bernardino and my July 4th run!

BIKE HEART RATE
Min HR: 170
Avg HR: 179
Max HR: 189

So that’s that. Next year it’ll be better. I believe there will be more participants as this run motivated both Sheri and Donna to get their running shoes out and workout!

Thanks to EVERYONE who came.
Donna – Of course my favorite person in the world and NUMBER ONE FAN!
Jake and Bella – My future Triathletes!
Jessica – My first daughter, swim coach, and current workout partner.
Sheri – The coolest cousin I have through marriage who ALWAYS opens her house to us and feeds us.
Drew – ‘An angel of a man’ - my late cousin Joshelene’s husband.

And special thanks to Desmond, my 45 year old cousin. Hey, he’s almost 50! Without you we wouldn’t have a team! Thanks for stepping up and running! Next year it’ll be the Olympic distance Triathlon or Duathlon – a 10K run! So you better practice!

Official Results: TBF Racing Summer Duathlon Overall

Motionbased data:
Run | Bike