Reminders

My life seems a constant reminder of things to not do. I have affirmations and prayers that I use to create a vision for my life the way I want it to be, but the rest of the day seems to be a liteny of thoughts telling myself, "too fast, be patient, your not cleared yet" and so forth.

I am heading out right how and going to push my HR a little bit on a short 30 minute run and perhaps a bit on a mountain bike later in the day. Nothing extreme, like say, oh 165 bmp. But nevertheless.

When I have thoughts like this I think, "Just push it a little. Don't get emotional about it and start charging up hills, its a treat to run in the woods at sunrise, not a punishment."

I had no clue that one year after not finishing Arizona that I would not finish again. I certainly had no clue what was going on with my body to that extreme, what I had been doing to it. But it showed me that, its always still there inside of me. It can lie mostly dormant for a year or years and then when I need it the least, a race, my system shuts down and I need a gallon of IV fluid.

But I apprecaite the object lesson. The whole year between those races I trained without a clue to the damage inside me. Blaming it on a virus and not realizing that I was burning my kidneys up from the inside, not only with my training but with my nutrition.

So with every workout that leads to my recovery I remind myself that I have to stay in control of every workout. I have to be adult, or mature, or wise about the choices I make when I see a short climb or pancake flat with with some prize at the end. And with that, the trees await.

A view afield

This trip to Seattle I am not renting a car, I will be using public transportation to and from the airport and a combination of taxi/buses/feet around town. Part of this decision is financial, this medical visit is expensive. Also, I booked a hotel about a mile and half away and can walk to and from the clinic gathering my thoughts and enjoying cooler weather. Lastly, I would not mind trying something new. I do not have a history of using public transportation and this is sort of a trial run on how I can adapt to traveling abroad, ya know in case I get on Amazing Race, in a familiar city.

BTW, the Phoenix public transportation blows. Hard.

I am looking forward to hoofing it. It simplifies my decision making. Mistress has come to terms with me ignoring all our friends on this trip but has given me two mandates. First, I must go to the REI flagship store and second I must enjoy a nice seafood dinner. I love fresh seafood.

BTW, the Phoenix seafood scene blows. Hard.

I am sure I will have plenty of time this evening to post some thoughts from the days events.

Russian Roulette

Well three of my team mates, two of which are my primary training partners, Jeff and Hardcore, pulled the trigger on the 2009 Ironman CdA. None of them would have considered it had I not been talking about this event due to all the bloggers there last weekend and my overwhelming guilt for not being there myself to sherpa and fellowship.

I of course wanted to bite the bullet for next year. I logged into Active.com and stared at that screen. Each frenzied call asking me to go over the times for enrollment, what is the webpage address, I got in. It only made me happier for my friends and more melancholy for myself. Then realized if I completed the entry form it wouldn't be a hypothetical gun in my mouth but literally biting down on a cold hard barrel and blowing my brains out.

I knew this day was coming, when IM life would finally leave me behind kicking and screaming. I told myself that knowledge is power and in my condition it's not my place to debate the obvious stupidity of doing something like an Ironman that is well beyond the exertional stress my kidneys and liver can handle for the next several years if ever.

To hammer the point home, I have a test kit I am mailing out today. I don't think I would survive till morning if I came home telling Mistress, "Hey babe, I mailed off my metabolic test. By the way, signed up for another Ironman today." I can already smell the April Fresh fabric softener on the pillow case that would be smothering me in bed.

There is more to life than Ironman. I'm over it. My hang up is not that I can't do the race, its that I want to be there in training for my friends and supporting them every stroke, pedal and stride like we have done for each other for almost four years. I still want to be relevant. I've heard its hard to be that when your dead.

Healing old pains

Monday was a really great day for me. My godfather is in town for a week helping my mom help my dad recover from a neck surgery. Mo was already there so Mistress and I stayed for a steak dinner. Mistress bbq'd steak and I bought desert. Worked out for them and us since the a/c is still out at our place.

I came home around midnight and putz'd around for a few moments with the dog and surfing cable and caught the last few minutes of United 93 about the September 11th hijacking. I have avoided any movie about 9/11, the live feed I watched and the subsequent replys of WTC coming down are more than I need for the rest of my life. It is still so raw for me, believe it or not.

I think I have mentioned in the past that that day changed the paradigm of my life in fundamental ways.

In September 2001, I had not had sugar or caffeine for over five years. I was a powerlifter weighing 225 pounds and starting a diet for a body building show I was doing around Thanksgiving. On the 11th, a Tuesday, I was several days into a fishing trip in Montana with my dad and godfather and couple other guys. I had just toured Little Bighorn as part of a historical military exercise and was staying at a military base in Helena on the 10th and 11th.

I was trying to get the gang out the door, it must have been a bit after 7am and we were dawdling. I went to turn off the tv and Bryant Gumbel came on with a special announcement saying a plane had hit the WTC. I called everyone in and thought out loud that it must have been a plane malfunction. Something similar had happened not long back.

As a camera showed the plumes coming from the building, I saw the second plane in the background. I knew then and I don't know how that this was something much more than pilot error. We all stood agape as the second plane hit the WTC in real time. Man.

I remember sitting down and saying, "My life will never be the same." I then asked my godfather for a cup of coffee and a candy bar. My demand was almost as unnerving as the tv, I had been eating nothing but chicken breasts and ground beef for four days as part of my contest diet. I had relented to a few beers on the river but unmoved with taunts of sugar and espresso, up till that minute. Everyone knew how long I'd been off those items and to drink two cups of coffee and three candy bars was profound. Needless to say we sat there for about an hour. I could have sat there all day and would have if at home. But we decided that it was best to let the process play out and console ourselves by fishing.

I realized that day on the river that my life was too much time spent in the gym. Between work and workouts I spent between 80-85 hours a week in a gym environment. Even the running I had done outdoors became a treadmill chore because of the desert heat. Mentally I dropped out of the bodybuilding contest. How could I be so vain at that moment? I decided I couldn't exercise in a gym any longer and thats the spark that turned me back towards my dreams of competing in endurance events, eventually triathlons. I also decided my life needed more variety and I added carbohydrates back into it. I went from 80% protein to a 40/30/30 plan, denying myself nothing with moderation.

By the end of the day, we had to drop my dad off at a state level military meeting, he was the third highest ranking officer in the state. By the end of the week, my brother was gone for a year, as a member of the first guard unit called to service in the GWOT. The fishing trip ended with my godfather and I saluting my father as he lifted off a tarmac in a heavily armed gunship to prepare his soldiers for the unknown. I flew out, trying to explain to the guards in the airport that hemostats to pull out fish hooks were not dangerous and should be allowed on the plane. They were.

I didn't have a son then. I had been married for quite a while and had a business that had started a few years earlier but I was ready to go back into the service. I looked into it but they didn't want me at the time. I had been out five years and that was too long for them at my age and job ability, Infantry officers are a dime a dozen.

With the changes I made to my diet and exercise and stress, I lost fifty pounds getting the anger out of me at what had happened to my country and the politics that came after. I was preparing my body for the combat I felt would be placed on me, but the call never came, even when I called them.

With all things the pain lessoned and I put on some much needed weight. Mistress changed too. She had been adamantly opposed to kids but less than a year later she was pregnant. I think I can blame 9/11 for her change too. I sometimes selfishly wonder 'What If' that day never happened. Would I be a father? Would I have done an Ironman? Would I have the balance in my life with work and nutrition that I did not have then?

Watching just twenty minutes of United 93 pulled this out me just now. I do not think I can watch it all, yet. I have a "9/11" CD of saved videos, images and articles from the internet that I saved for my son. To show him what really happened as opposed to the revisionist views that I knew he would be taught in school. I don't want to forget, nor think I ever will. People remember where they were when Kennedy was shot, or when Challenger exploded. I remember 9/11 just as clearly.

Thanks for reading something I had to get out of me before bed.

A Systems Go

Productive phone call Tuesday with the Seattle doctors. I have been given a Green Light for all things fun, or in this case exercise. And I have an action plan for the next few months from them. To begin with I can swim and use weights. I can bike and I can run. I have to self-monitor (uh-oh) and gradually build back up. Nothing long yet. I can go to altitude.

I am being sent a couple of test kits. I need to see some other doctors down here for specific exams. They want me to eventually come up and while there do a lactate threshold and resting metabolic test with a power to weight ratio thrown in. I said I can do that here no problem.

We talked about training volume and nutrition and different scenarios I can look into down here to help me out.

I asked if there was any conditions I need to place on my training and he was pretty straightforward, nothing to hard. He has a client on the Slipstream cycling team that has a similar condition to me and is now doing very well but it was a process.

I am ready for my next big adventure...I just gotta find my running shoes.

The rides been a good one

Well I have 85% of my gear bags packed. Need a couple of odds & ends before drop off and I'm good. I don't know if I will post before the race in any detail, perhaps a few anecdotes from the blogger party and a "I'm off!" message and thats it.

Before I begin to tunnel vision into a singular purpose I want to express with the strongest terms possible the energy, excitement, comradeship, filial love and happiness that I get from all of you. Thousands will do an Ironman this year without good training weather, without training partners, without a blog, without family acceptance and they are all stronger men and women than me. It is not a sign of weakness to admit that in this respect of my life, I need fellowship and feel that I get it in multiplicity in this sport.

So thank you for investing in me this last year. The rides been a good one I hope. Now if you'll pardon the absence of thought and introspection for the next few days...I'll see you on the other side. I have an Ironman to finish.

Activism?

I came home tired last night to an exaggerated Mighty Mo proclaiming loudly in the kitchen to Mistress and the dog that at school, "Pokie Bugs are dying and we have to build hospitals to save them!" By the obvious look on the dog and the mom, this 5 year old (on April 24th) had been on his soap box for quite some time on the issue. Quite literally since he has a step-up box to reach the counter.

I scooped him up for his shower and he went at it with me, pledging all the money from his piggy bank and all the loose change on the counter tops. He reminded me that, "A Mann protects the weak." (part of his prayers)

From my questions I have found out that Pokie Bugs are:

• Not class pets
• They are outside by the fence on the playground
• They are dying!!!!!!
• When they die they become bones and skin
• Mistress and I absolute had to to stop their dying by building Pokie Bug hospitals.

Mistress called me this morning to let me know she has witnessed the graveyard of Pokie Bugs. They are not really bugs, their some kind of weed and as the weather heats up they are releasing their spores, turning brown and dying. The husk and stalk are the skin and bones.

Mistress took the opportunity to tell him that they are not bugs but plants and when they die they are sending seeds to grow somewhere else. This seems to have made him feel better now that he can use his money for toys and not hospitals.

No son you don't have to use your money for building hospitals, mommy and daddy are doing that for you already. You just keep that imagination going and keep your nose to the bugs.

PSA; Be Prepared

The news hounds have been talking about the dad and kids in California that got stuck in the woods for three days while trying to cut down a Christmas tree. Not too much it appears because every other word out of their mouth is humbly praising God and their faith carried them through. I am going to give you my thoughts on this survival story and then some tips for yourself at the end.

SHORT TANGENT: I think this hasn't got as much publicity as the Kim tragedy or the Mt. Hood tragedy because the news feels it okay report someone 'found' God in a foxhole, or use Him as a euphemism they just can't REALLY believe in religion or allow the name Jesus Christ used as a affirmation of His plan for your life.

But the point of this post is to mention the importance of the 6P's. Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance or a my platoon sergeant used to say to me, "Planning equals not getting killed, Mann."

First, the family did not tell anyone where they were going. "It was a nice day. They were just going to the woods to cut down a tree after church, they didn't know the weather would turn," you say? Look what happened. Things like this do happen and while it may seem foolish to tell people where your going all the time, its important to do so when you will be out of good communication or cell phone service.

Second, they had an ax/saw to cut the tree, but no matches or lighter. This really comes down to having just some basic thoughts about your environment. I have no illusions that most of us would carry a sleeping bag, some water, maybe a map and compass or a even a knife with us on a short trip to the woods. Even so the items would probably be left in the car. However, everyone understands that winter weather is unpredictable and can change rapidly. Carrying some basic survival gear takes up less than a jacket pocket. Just a simple fire would have increased their chances of being seen, improved their morale and kept them warm.

Staying on preparedness for a moment; be ready to spend a night outdoors, regardless of the time of day you leave and plan to return, every time you leave suburbia. Its easy to flag down a car on the side of a major freeway to change a tire, a bit more difficult if the main road is several miles away or the road is less traveled. Chances are 1/10 someone would stop anyway on a deserted road to help you.

Here are some tips I have for you and your next outing.

• Leave a note or voice mail of where your going and the when will be back. This can be as easy as telling your spouse the route your running and how long it will take. In the winter if you slip on some ice and break a wrist or sprain your ankle you may not get back in time and they can come looking. For longer solo trips or overnight trip in a group, give a NLT (No Later Than) time. For example: tell someone where your hiking and will be back by 4pm. If they don't hear from you by 8pm to call the closest police. Personal Note: When I swim up at Canyon Lake there is no phone service, as I drive up I tell Mistress when I will be back down the mountain and I call her as soon as service is available.

• Stand out without standing out. Its seems silly but you're not alone outdoors. If you do become lost it is probably on a path or in an area that people do frequent. So if SAR (Search And Rescue) is called to look for you its a good idea to give them some info to discern you from everybody else in the last week that has been where your at. For example: when you leave your car pull out a square of aluminum foil and step on it with your footwear, making an imprint of your sole. On the back, tape a piece of paper with your route or destination, the gear you have with you and what your going to do if you discover your lost; sit and wait or move to 'handrail', (like knowing that at any time if you walk east you will reach a stream). If SAR knows that your heading to Mt. Trundle, have a sleeping bag rated for the season, a means to make fire, cold weather clothing and a flashlight, they can create a better plan of finding you than searching an unknown grid. Personal Note: A friend of mine became lost on a mountain while out running. She had several pairs of the same shoe so I brought a pair to the SAR base camp with thoughts on her running routes. The were quickly able to find her shoe imprint leading off the main trail and found her by a stream with a broken foot, she needed to refill her bottle and slipped on moss. She would have been found eventually but was saved several hours earlier.
  

• Be Prepared. I know it sounds incredibly cliche and you might feel weird, but a small backpack or fanny pack can sustain you for days in freezing weather if you have the right gear with you. I won't belabor the obvious so I will link to the 10 Essentials. Personal Note: While I am often maligned for my ubiquitous backpack, I have most of the 10 on me at all times, with redundancies in many cases plus a few extra tricks I learned on my own. My EDC (EveryDay Carry) fits into a small 3x5 pouch and goes every where with me. Maybe I put up some photos of my stuff for you to see.
  

Most of you will have started scrolling by now, so how about ending this on a positive note, Christmas. Here are some last minute fantastic Christmas presents for someone you love. A car emergency kit. A small personal survival kit, my personal favorite. What guy doesn't like a simple compass. A medical kit. Headlamp or flashlight (personal fav's). Go to your local big box like Wal-Mart or Target and make a nice emergency kit for someone with a cheap backpack include; flashlight, small blanket or inexpensive sleeping bag, a bright colored rain poncho, a single bladed knife, generic multi tool, cheap transistor radio, compass, a waterproof match case or waterproof matches. Lighter. Duct tape. Extra batteries.

By the time you're done you'll have a second set of everything for yourself.

Race Season 2007-2008

I am the 'Intrepid Age Grouper'. It's my homage to Calvin and Hobbes.

This is why I took two months off, then a strict three month build with no racing.


11/17/07 Intrepid Age Grouper @ El Tour De Tucson, 110 mile cycling race. The 25th Anniversary of this race will have 10,000 cyclist riding around Tucson. It is a rolling course with two dismounts to cross streams. I am pacing a buddy through this race with a goal time of under 7 hours. I have always wanted to do this race.

12/02/07 Intrepid Age Grouper @ Tucson Marathon. The whole enchilada. I am pacing a friend. Again a race I have always wanted to take part in.

1/13/08 PF Chang Half Marathon @ Intrepid Age Grouper. I have heard bloggers are coming down to this race. It won't be my first time but it will be fun with friends.

3/22/08 Intrepid Age Grouper @ Lake Havasu Triathlon. Olympic Distance. Last epic training before Ironman. After all the long IM training, this will help me remember how fun racing is. Swimming under the original London Bridge should be a blast for this history buff.

4/13/08 Ironman Arizona @ Intrepid Age Grouper. The Reckoning. I am above becoming to emotional about this race. I got really sick and still raced in 2007. Stupid. Still, this 'A' race represents my vision of having a great race and is my focus. My goal is sub-13.

5/03/08 Intrepid Age Grouper @ Rocky Pt. Mexico. Olympic. I love this race. Its international. It's on Saturday. We stay in a 5,000 square foot penthouse with great friends at an awesome resort.

5/18/08 Tempe International Classic @ Intrepid Age Grouper. International. Not a great race. Super hot. But if I stay healthy, I will PR.

6/08/08 Intrepid Age Grouper @ Escape From Alcatraz. Olympic. Need to get a lottery pick first. Heard good things. Want to challenge myself against the current of SF Bay. There really could be sharks in that water! Destination race in a good city. Something that I would not do every year so it appeals to me.

7/20/08 Intrepid Age Grouper @ Mountain Man, Flagstaff. Half Ironman. Bolder has told me if I do this race as a Half Iron, he will give me a life time exemption of SLP status. The course starts at 6,500 and tops out at 7,500. If I do the Olympic, as I have done in the past, (notably when I stress fractured my leg on the bike and finished in 2006), he will just renew my 2 year exemption.

9/21/08 Intrepid Age Grouper @ Cancun Ironman 70.3. Cancun has the lure of the tropics and is another punch on the international triathlete card. Several friends and team mates could make this a long weekend of fun and for those north of Kansas City, it will supply a winters worth of stories of palm tree and frilly drinks. Maybe recreate a past spring break or create our own. No kids allowed. My second 'A' race of the year.

9/22/08 Nathans Olympic Triathlon @ Intrepid Age Grouper. Sprint or Olympic TBD. If Cancun is a bust I will have this as a local back up for same weekend. Just a training day race to have fun on the course before getting serious for Vegas.

9/28/08 Intrepid Age Grouper @ Las Vegas Triathlon. I actually decided to break my base training camp in 2007 and do this race with Iron Kahuna and Robo Stu but a wedding in Seattle the same weekend forced my hand. This is a provisional race again in 2008 as Cancun is one week earlier than this race and I plan on being in Cancun for at least four days with Mistress and friends. That being said, I would really enjoy doing this race.

10/26/08 Soma @ Intrepid Age Grouper. Half Iron. If I can't get to Cancun 70.3 in September I will do Soma as my last long course tri of the year.

11/08/08 Just Another Mad Dog 50K @ Intrepid Age Grouper. My first Ultra baby! I would have done this in 2007, except El Tour de Tucson is the next weekend and needed fresh legs for a 110 mile bike. Even though a 50K does not have the oomph of a 100 miler, I would really like to put ultra-marathon on my resume and cap this magical season off with authority.

On the radar for next year but not listed is the local MyoMed Ragnar Relay, a 189 mile running relay for a team of 12 and the possibly still complete my dream of a rim to rim of the Grand Canyon.

This is an aggressive race schedule and not for those who are new to running or triathlon. I am looking for new locations and challenges for this season and created a plan that keeps me off balance and fresh.

Soma Epic Weekend

Disclaimer- I am too tired to hyperlink all the bloggers mentioned or alluded to in this report. I do not do their deeds justice in this post nor can I truly explain the magnitude at which I appreciated being apart of special weekend.

Wow!

Talk about a gangbuster fast weekend of blogger-centric activity. I most certainly will not be able to condense everything into a cogent post and really my contribution was minimal considering I did not have a bib number.

Bolder and I again slit our fingers and mashed them together in blood-brotherhood and swore oaths to meet for race weekend once per year. That may also have been spilled our beer and cursed like sailors, but you get the point. Bold stayed with me at Casa del Comm's while Mistress and Mo were in Seattle. I could not promise turn down service or home cooked meals but he got excellent sleep every night and a personal chauffeur at his beck and call. I can do no more.

As Nytro so eloquently pointed out at lunch during the expo, the only places I eat with her and Ben are Olive Garden and Monti's (a rustic restaurant directly across the finish line of Soma and IMAZ) Rainbow and Hubby could only claim Monti's with me, so Nytro felt superior. Which isn't surprising.

I finally met Stronger. Reaching out to finally touch someone in person that has touched me so much as a person, I admit got me teary eyed. I may in future references blame horseradish for the redness in my eyes. But nevertheless I could have done nothing else the whole weekend and meeting her made it complete.

Of course my email training partner, MoMo was there all the time (we keep emailing schedules and have yet to ride together), 21st Century Mom whom is as sweet a person IRL as online, thank you for the gifts. The Dread Pirate, AAAARRRR she was ruckus woman. There will be much said regarding her race and I give her high praise for never speaking a disparaging word about it. Un-pirate like to not blame 'The Man' but she showed me once again the triathlon spirit that an indomitable attitude is more important at a triathlon than a great race.

Oh geesh, so many people at a 25 person dinner that its hard to give proper dues. But at least thanks Brian and the New Mexico Outlaws for allowing me to attend the dinner. I sat at a table with great minds and easy smiles. It was a bit overwhelming to maintain so many threads of conversations, I wanted to be a part of them all and not miss anything.

The Race. How did my race day go when I wasn't racing? Well being Bolder's personal driver is a big responsibility. I woke at 0220, unable to sleep so I hopped on my trainer until 0400 when my alarm when off. Pre Race was great, I did not see much of the out of towners except Bold so we stayed with AZTRICLUB members. We're not hard to see, racers and supporters alike in our bright orange shirts.

I jumped in and volunteered a couple hours stripping wet suits. Fun. Drank some beers. Then when Big John came out of T2, I went out to pace him for his first half of the 13.1 mile run. At three miles, we ran into Duane and I decided to walk the remainder of his quarter man 10k with him as he was starting to be affected greatly by the weather. It hit 100 degrees out there during the race. Duane and I did not get a chance to talk much at the dinner and I felt badly about that. Maybe God had put him and I out there together on the run course together so we could spend the time together that I wanted the night before. I was compelled to push John forward and stay with Duane.

Duane got so much praise and support from fellow competitors out there. It was affirming of the human spirit and humbling. His mouth, all our mouths, were so dry that he simply could not respond to every person who spoke to him or touched him when they ran by in support of his efforts.

In all I spent two hours and seventeen minutes on the run course, running up and down, walking with and talking to important people who needed encouragement or a side-five. Doing that while first pacing John then pacing Duane really made me feel like a better person than just being a spectator.

The AZTRICLUB tent was a hub of activity. This time we had three 10x10 tents for shade with 5 cases of beer, 6 bottles of champagne, water and Gatorade, muffins, danishes, homemade burritos, German chocolate cake, bagels, fruit and chips. The team probably handed out a case of beer and couple dozen small glasses of champagne to friends and fellow athletes who felt obliged. We may not be the fast tri club in the city, but everyone knows we do it up at races.

While Soma is the end of most peoples seasons, Florida Ironman and Silverman not withstanding, my season is soon about to begin.

Let's have fun....

Mt. Lemmon trip

Well there was some great and some not so great doings on the Aztriclub trip to ride Mt. Lemmon. We got out of Phoenix on time but due to a rare early morning rain storm our drive time was significantly longer.

We decided before riding that we'd go to Tri Sport's headquarters and see what they claim is the largest tri store in the world. We were all very unimpressed and quite frankly severely disappointed. Perhaps they are a force online but Tribe Multisport in Scottsdale, my store, is infinitely more impressive is size, vibe and personnel.

Due to time constraints we decided to start two miles up the mountain and ride two hours; each turning around where we were at when 4:30 struck, catching the rest on the next morning. Let me just say that I turned around at 1 hour completely knackered. Perhaps it was the 10 mile run the day before, or already being up 12 hours and driving for six, or maybe I was just not far enough into base training to attempt such a climb at altitude so soon. I got to the point where my rpms for 5 minutes were below 35 and another two minutes below 30. I was sort of just waiting to fall over. While I felt fine for the most part, my legs were simply lead. Whatever the reason its never fun to be the only person to turn back in the group.

Everyone else did really well.

When we got back to the camp, I tried to start the fire with the most rudimentary tools possible. Starting off with dry tinder, some moss and my Light My Fire firesteel. I didn't count on five very hungry and tired triathletes clambering for fire and food and to start flicking matches into my fire pile. Their 3 minute timeline, got counted as far as Jeff and Andy could reach for packets of match sticks. I ended up using my lighter but the prep work was spectacular and given a few more minutes feel pretty confident I would have got it going.
I did get some photo's of my sleep set up, the hammock and tarp. Good set up, I was very warm the entire time and pretty comfortable all things considered. The main detraction is that I am a side sleeper and being forced onto my back without the ability to move my legs and body kept my sleep level at the most minimum. Add to that my already stunted sleep pattern in unfamiliar places, so although my eyes were closed and I know I slept it was not recuperative in the least and heard almost every snore and carried voice in the area all night long.

I have this meditative trick of counting backwards from 100 to clear my mind. I start over each time I go from counting down numbers to a thought that pops in. I must have restarted forty times, reaching zero perhaps twice.

Waking up the next morning, we were all quite tired. No one really got any good sleep but who said camping was about restful nights sleep. The rest all slept in a decent size family tent but the snoring, uneven surface, the issue of moving over men to got take a leak outside and just being outside to sleep at all, caused a lack of rest that night.

We decide that instead of unpacking the bikes we would go into town get a good meal and head home.

We all had a great time. The evening spent around the campfire drinking beer and hearing new stories and repeating old. Teasing and pushing buttons in the way chums do. While I thought selfishly and sheepishly that I would be derided for turning around, I don't think it even came up except for my own self-deprecation. If that is because my team mates know that I have been busting my ass training for three straight weeks or because they know that even good people have bad days, or whatever, deep down I was thankful they respected my failure to complete the ride.

To use my new favorite term, That'll Happen.

Pack Out

Well heading down to Tucson for a ride up Mt. Lemmon, the supposed gem ride of Arizona. Its 26 miles from base to peak with recommendation of starting about ten miles out to get warmed up before the incline. Rumor has it and I hope its true that the incline is about 6%. We will see.

We, that would be Jeff, John, Hardcore Mike, Glen and 'Chili' Andy, are also camping 21 miles up the mountain at a State park. So after the ride we will relax and do guy stuff around a fire.

This has given me the opportunity to pack out my camping kit as if I was going out on a much longer trip. Below is my base kit that would last me indefinitely minus food and water. (And of course all the bike and car camping gear I am taking for luxury which would not being going into the backcountry).

In case this doesn't blow out when clicked on. I will describe my gear with hyperlinks. Starting left top to bottom and traveling right top to bottom.

Total base weight, including all the clothes I would be wearing is 16 pounds.

Left Column: Big Agnes Yampa sleeping bag (Outside Gear of The Year 2004), Big Anges sleeping pad (also GOTY 2004). Poop trowel (the campground has bathrooms though) Green 7' x 9' waterproof tarp, ENO single nest hammock with ENO SlapStraps inside (Outside Buyers Guide 2007). Titanium pegs. 150 feet of 550 cord.

Middle Column: Go Lite Race Pack with 3L bladder inside. In the top pouch is a RSK folding knife and Gerber Infinity flashlight, in the pockets is vaseline lip balm, paper, sharpie, wool watch cap, photon freedom micro light clipped to zipper, spf 35, digital camera case, map case with directions to camp ground and Brunton 8096 Adventure Racing compass. On top are Montrail Namche boots (Outside BG 2007) (REI socks inside) and Black Diamond Spot headlamp (Outside BG 2006).

Right Column: Inside clothing bag which is what I will be wearing after the ride- Mountain Hardware Canyon Shirt and Canyon Pants, extra socks, Ex Officio britches, REI base layer, wool beanie, buff, Cool Max base shirt, buff. Next two bags are REI rain jacket, Seirra Design Rain pants.

At the bottom of the right Column is my red EDC (EveryDay Carry) bag. This is with me 24/7 and I use these items on a regular basis, including and replacing items as I use them. It includes an emergency blanket, Photon micro light, generic lighter, Swiss Firesteel fire starter, quart zip lock bag, gallon zip lock bag, button compass, 3 feet of duct tape, signal mirror, whistle, spark lite fire starter with spark lite tinder quick, 4 Gerber Strike Force tinder cubes, list of emergency phone numbers, $50. Calling card. Gerber folding knife.




With these 16 pounds I would have about 11 in the pack and 4 on me in clothes, boots and gear. Its car camping so no water purifier or Nalogene bottles, but I am taking my Naly bottle with Firefly light. A ten day trip would have the same gear above, adding 16-20 pounds of food and stove/gas, remove the hammock system and add another 3 pounds for a tent. Situationally and seasonally dependent I hope the total weight would be less than 40 pounds, closer to 35 making hard choices.

As I get the sleeping shelter set up this weekend I hope to take pictures of how the hammock floats under the tarp. It would be very cool if I can get some video or photos of me starting a fire using the EDC kit and I will first try without the lighters. But hell worst case scenario, which is what I am practicing, I have a flare in the car if I have a real problem. haha.

Vacation was a success

Overall we did really well with each other and now that we finally made it home we can marvel in our ability as intense individuals to come together as a family for such an long period of time.

For the entire six days we travel together Mighty Mo only had about 45 minutes total of fussy four year old behavior. He turned out to be a tremendously fun travel companion which has really allowed Mistress and I to contemplate more trips as a family.

We all ended up being really tired after Disneyland so we elected to forgo the San Diego zoo and play in the pool at the hotel and do some shopping at the mall. Oh yeah and we got to have dinner at Hooter. Yummy wings.

We still have two weeks to use the passes to other Sand Diego parks so we may take a quick overnight back there for the zoo or wildlife park.

As we were driving home, Mistress told me our next vacation should be something more active. I started to laugh because that is all I want my vacations to be and she quickly amended with, "Oh there has to be hotel rooms for sure."

Here are some shots from SeaWorld.

Mo in the stands for Cirque de Mer a water based Cirque de Soleil

Shamu flying high at his signature show. Perhaps because I was so tired from the trip but I was quite emotional for this show. Anheiser-Busch who owns SeaWorld was very patriotic to our soldiers and veterans during this show.

At Cirque de Mer, Mo wouldn't stop pulling us close and hugging us.
Turned out to make a good and quite rare full family photo.

Disneyland Day 2

Well another great day and really it was Mistress who stepped up big time. By the time we got to the park the Finding Nemo submarine ride was already a two hour wait. No thanks. So we went to Space Mountain which many consider the best ride in the park. Mo and I had a good time but Mistress, sitting alone in the back was crying her eyes out when we got done, goose bumps, sweat. A wreck. She was motherly enough to make sure Mo was good when we were done then with shaky legs went for sun and terra firma.

She dismissed the Matterhorn but Mo and I had a good time there and then we all went to watch the Jedi University skit when kids in the audience get to fight Darth Vader and Darth Maul. It was fun for Mo to watch and to my thankfulness he was not chosen to fight Vader. He and I fight with all types of swords at home and I was afraid he would either bull rush Vader or turn around and join the dark side since Lord Vader is his favorite character.

The second spot Mistress proved herself today was California Adventures. Mistress is terribly afraid of heights. In the National Park challenge area people walk around a rope bridge three stories over the ground. We did not really know this at the time. Mo and I each took her hand and we soothingly took her across the first bridge. Then she saw the second and cursed out loud in front of some kids. Then once across there was only three more bridges and she went across them all with Mo and I holding her hands the whole way.

There was a bouldering area for kids and Mo got to work his way across. I asked if I could do the harder route and went across that. I spent ten minutes trying to tie two routes together that staff said was impossible. I doubt it. They just haven't had the right person do it yet. The right shoes, a guy in good climbing shape and it will be done.

Mo Fu with lightsaber

Copping a squat at California Adbentures

2nd entry for Mo & Daddy annual photo

The Intrepid Age Grouper working a difficult route

Disneyland Day 1

Well it was a day of days that is for sure. Both Mistress and Mo had a wonderful time. Mistress expecting adult type rides of swoops and drops and adrenalized rushes was pleasantly surprised to find the rides well...childlike in enthusiasm.

First, I would like to comment on one of those insufferable comments I cringe hearing from people who rarely exercise, "I walked like 20 miles today." Well I wore my Polar HR foot pod today and we were on site for 7hrs. 12min. and we walked all over the park taking over a dozen rides. I walked 5.12 miles. I would say that is comparative to the average family in the park. So while my feet are certainly a bit tired from standing in line for several minutes at a time and walking around the park in general, I did not however walk '20 miles' or '10 miles' or any nonsensical distance like that.

It was hard to judge the likes and dislikes of a 4 year old boy. Pirates was fun, a bit dark. The haunted mansion elevator really freaked him out. He did really well at Star Tours when I really thought the motion would make him scared. He refused a couple of rides but thats fine. He really liked the Teacups and according to him, "Mo and daddy go much fas', Mommy!"

The B&W was in line at Peter Pans Flight the longest wait of the day (40 min.) for a 5 minute ride, but I felt it was a must ride for both of them. Mo and I since the week he was born and each year since have had a photo taken in one of those photo kiosks that draws the photo out and put it on the wall. Well the mall took it out this year. Now I decided that I would hang a photo of Mo and I doing something memorable and this is my first attempt this year. If a better photo comes up I will use that one.

It was a bit hot but we found seats for the parade and waited 15 minutes for it to start. The photo at right is him waiting those last few minutes. He really like the costumess and as luck would have it we sat right in front of where all the floats stop to do a song and dance number. Apparently they only do that just two spots and we just lucked out.

I would be remiss if I didn't get misty eyed at a couple of points today. Being able to share this day with my son and my wife was special. Each of them have done something so completely Americana in origin.


This final picture was taken on Main Street in one of the many shops. I looked for Disney DVD's to increase my personal collection and got skunked out. I thought that would have been a given.

Tonight we go out for dinner and tomorrow hit three or four more of the main attraction rides then chill out doing whatever we want.

Are we there yet?

Well Google maps certainly made our day interesting turning a 5.5 hour drive into 7.5 on top of the 2 hours spent at outlet malls, restaurants and gas stations. After 9 hours on the road and the last two completely turned around thanks to Cal-trans building a new interchange and my poor Mistress who could find where we were on a map but not how to go anywhere, I pulled over at a Starbucks leaned over my hood and plotted out my course using the techniques that made me such a tracking stud in the infantry. This skill was always to the consternation of other units and leaders who couldn't find their way on a golf course with a caddy and map.

We finally got settled in around 9:30pm and I have scouted out some possible runs in the morning but its already midnight and I have been averaging little sleep and rest the last two days. I am sure the first day at Disneyland will be a walk fest anyway so we will see how I feel about running at five or six o'clock in the morning.

I will say this for our first day of vacation. We all got along and Mo did freaking awesome as a travel companion. He had us laughing and talking the whole way. I think on every vacation there needs to be a word or phrase that makes everyone laugh, these are usually completely useless outside of the the fishing trip or hiking trip or outside the group dynamic. Well Mo has been watching the first live action Scooby Doo movie a lot and there is a scene where Scooby and Shaggy have a burp and fart contest. One of the retorts from Scooby is, "Your mother eats cat poop."

Well lets just say I can not stop my 4 year old from saying 'poop' a 100 times today but Mistress certainly does not want any mother in this family being maligned that way so it is now, "You eat cat poop." Feel free to try that with your spouse or child next time you're having a conversation and see where it goes.

As we headed into the Morongo Casino area, Mo looked at all the rocks and mountains and asked if there were dinosaurs that lived out there. Of course Mistress says no and about a minute later I look off the freeway and see a huge T-Rex. So I pull over and sure enough there is a dinosaur park with four story dinosaurs. The Brontosaurus has a decent dinosaur store in its belly and the owner was very cool. He asked if I was military due to my studly physique and high & tight haircut that is unchanged in two decades and we conversed about each others exploits for a few moments. He opened the T-Rex for us and waiving the fee allowed the three of us to climb all the way up into the mouth.

Mo was agog as he always wanted to be eaten by a T-Rex. Almost shaking he was so excited. I snapped lots of photos but here are the two best so far.

Mo finally in the mouth of a T-Rex.

Mo couldn't believe how tall these guys were.
They look so small on Land Before Time DVD's

As I ran Mo to the bathroom, Mistress went back to the store to buy the dinosaur shoes we got for him, (heres a link) and the owner totally comped us with all sorts of DVD's and dinosaur trinkets thanks to Mo's utter politeness and sincerity about loving dinosaurs and as a thank you to me for my time in service. I was very moved by his generosity.

Tomorrow, ahem...Today we storm the Disney Castles.