if we can't laugh at ourselves, who can?a couple of weeks ago i was introduced to the blog stuff white people like by my friend trevor. trevor sent a link to this blog to a group of us "white folk" & the e-mail responses from all of us whities were absolutely hilarious. i recall our friend walt saying he had to stop reading the blog after about 5 posts because he was scared his name would show up any minute.yesterday i myself experienced what should be the next post to the stuff white people like blog. what should have been a long bike training morning for me turned into a shopping extravaganza at the yuppie domain right here in austin. kristin wanted to meet-up with the team-in-training staff who were recruiting for the nike women's marathon in san francisco later this year (kristin signed up folks!) at austin's very own betty sport run shop. after hanging at betty sport for a bit & me binging on the free luna teacakes (i must have eaten 7 of these luna bars) being advertised at a booth in the domain atrium we decided to do a bit of clothes shopping for the new VP of business development as i'd soon be needing some new threads as i travel the world obtaining new business for my company!eventually i find myself in a leather chair at cole haan trying on new dress shoes. i'm wearing a pink t-shirt that kristin insisted i buy a few weeks back, i've got my starbucks coffee right beside me, & the free pelligrino sparkling water the sales assistant (lyn - she's a chemist during the week) offered me. i felt like such a yuppie king & at that moment i handed kristin the camera (iPhone - jeez, how yuppie am i?) & said you've got to take a picture of this... how yuppie white can i get i thought to myself. the sad thing - none of this was staged! oh, & if you are wondering i did not buy the $200 shoes lyn was so kind to fit for me :).
today is april 15, 2008. it's also tax day & i've taken the day off of work so that i could do our taxes. why oh why do i procrastinate like i do? hell, i'm procrastinating right now... i should be doing our taxes this very moment yet i'm taking time out (procrastinating) & making a blog post about the very thing that i'm saying i shouldn't be doing...if you follow my blog, you'll notice a large gap (2-week period - end of march through the beginning of april '08) where there was basically zero activity from me. not only was the ironman training consuming so much of my time, but the act of blogging was becoming some what of a to-do list for me. i would start a number of posts & i was keeping track of things i should blog about but i didn't just sit down & write the post. so now, i've got stacks of thoughts & pictures for which i'm not sure i'll come back to post about. it's just like letting dishes stack up in the sink, or clothes in the laundry basket, etc. if we would simply maintain these "to-dos" they would simply become motions that make up our day rather than feeling like work. i actually think i'm pretty good about keeping up with the dishes - i'll defer to my beloved for her opinion.OK, i really do need to do the taxes now :)
i have yet to try mcdonald's coffee, however, i hear it really is good. the idea of ordering a coffee from someone that just mixed up a batch of mcmuffins, big macs, & fries just doesn't sit well with me. regardless of my feelings about mcdonalds & their coffee a number of folks do order their daily cup of joe from this grease pit.of course it is this grease pit's ability to offer good coffee for less than a buck that continues to make starbucks nervous. further to their dollar cup of joe, today while visiting usatoday.com (wondering why i was visiting usatoday.com today?) i noticed a mcdonald's ad for their lattes. i'm not sure if this is a new offering by mcdonalds or if they've been doing this for some time... the cool thing is that they sell their medium latte for less than $2 bucks (a $1.87 i think). if it's any good, like their coffee supposedly, starbucks could be in some serious trouble. if anything, those of us regulars at starbucks we'll all benefit as starbucks may need to soon lower their prices to remain competitive.
i really love coffee & i enjoy visiting new coffee shops too. recently i've visited a number of coffee shops here in austin. did i mention i've been drinking soy caffe lattes too? way to expensive, but oh so good!today i ventured out to starbucks to try their new pike place blend. i thought they were serving cups all day beginning at 11 AM CT for free (as stated in the austin biz journal & on NPR this morning). it turned out they were simply offering a free tasting (read tiny cup) from 11:00 AM to 11:30 AM CT. i stopped in after lunch around 1:30 PM to find this out. the starbuck's crew behind the counter turned out to be pretty cool & hooked me up with a short cup (i'll introduce this later) regardless.the pike place blend is a medium roast that i wasn't too crazy about. it had a very weak after-taste & it just felt to light. starbucks is obviously excited about this new blend - it's their back to the basics approach. howard shultz (returning CEO) is trying real hard to turn the company around. starbucks even developed new branding on all their cups to promote this new blend - they really want us to know that they've got it!a fun little fact about starbucks that i learned while having lunch with the CEO of one of our vendors. he said starbucks has a 'short' cup size. it's one size smaller than the 'tall' & about $0.50 less for any drink. if you've ever ordered a to-go pot of starbucks you should be familiar with the 'short' cup. funny (upsetting) how they don't promote it on their menu though...the more i think about coffee & visit new coffee shops the more i think i should start a coffee shop review blog. i want to do it right & currently i don't have the luxury of time to start such a blog. it's something i (& you) can look forward to when this full ironman training is over with.
i've taken a break/vacation from blogging since kristin & i left for la jollam, california last week. while in la jolla i decided i wanted to stay as far away from the computer as possible. when we returned to our daily lives here in austin late monday night (flight delays in dallas) we were both wiped. i hit the ground running both at work & with training the very next morning & am just now feeling like i have an opportunity to come up for air.it's been a tough week recovering from the race, the vacation, adjusting to work, gearing up for kristin's birthday (it's today!), preparing for my parent's & my brother & sister-in-law's visit next weekend, & getting right back to ironman training (which is not going so well right now).
if you are following my thoughts & stories what's to come:
- i'd like to introduce you to some really wonderful people we met during our vacation
- a race report on my first half ironman
- the wonderful cuisine we enjoyed while in la jolla
- traveling with our buddy danielle
- coffee shops
- the value of the dollar
- my training
- my mom's first 5K
- kristin's birthday
so stay tuned family, friends, & strangers because more posts are coming soon!
i picked up my new asics nimbus 9s this afternoon. it's either a great move or a *really* bad move to be running in new shoes for my upcoming & first half ironman this weekend. trust me, i tried getting them before last weekend but timing & posted store hours for the new rogue run store (really cool place - glad to see some competition for run tex) didn't jive well. anyhow, i'm returning to the nimbus 9s after a couple of years of bouncing between mizunos & brooks running shoes. i bought my first pair of nimbus 9s back in 2004 just prior to running my first 1/2 marathon (the 3M) & they rocked & were the best pair of shoes ever. i'm really not sure why i switched to something else after i wore those shoes out. i think i was looking for something cheaper & for a support shoe versus a comfort/cushioning shoe. anyhow, the mizunos that i have now have really done a number on my feet & ankles so i'm looking forward to being back in a pair of nimbus 9s - they even match the t3 colors - white/grey/blue!i took them for a test run as soon as i picked them up today. i had just finished lunch at casa with kristin & i needed to burn off my 4 plates worth of food. plus the sun was out & i could use a bit of a tan. they felt great, however, like breaking anything else the 4-mile run resulted in a small blister on my right foot. i figure i'll wear them on the plane tomorrow & around san diego prior to the race & they should be fine. plus i plan on getting in a short jog tomorrow or friday so come race day they should be good-to-go.regardless, i'll berunning in them on race day - it can't be any worse than what happened at the austin tri last year when i ran without socks & zip laces for the first time. i've still got the scars on both feet & the blood stains on the mizunos to prove that it wasn't a pretty sight.
packing for an out of town triathlon is a lot of work. i packed less for a 3 week vacation to europe. for once i can give kristin about all the stuff she's packing because i've got way more with me than she's ever packed for a trip :)consider that i need all the goodies for an open water swim (wetsuit, goggles, swim cap, slippers, & towel), a bike ride (bike, bike shoes, tri shorts, tri top, food while on the bike, bike box (we'll talk about this one in more detail) sun glasses, water bottles, helmet, & maybe gloves), a run (running shoes, socks, visor, more nutrition - gu packs), & of course a bag to lug all this stuff around in. i'll also need some workout clothes prior to the actual race (t3 coaches say i still need to get in a run on thursday/friday & a decent bike ride). then there is the "normal" packing. i need day clothes & night clothes especially if we want to visit some nice restaurants. & of course these days no one can travel anywhere without your iPod & your laptop too.out of all these goodies you got to bring with ya i've still got to be super good about my nutrition so we may be packing some stuff just to ensure i've got the right type of protein bars, gus, shakes, etc.the best & most scary part of all this packing was packing up the bike. i think next time i'll definitely pay to have the bike shipped in one piece. i borrowed a bike box from my buddy ed. i was expecting the bike box to be this BIG box that had the perfect foam cut-outs for a bike. instead it's a tiny box (in comparison to what i was expecting) with basically just 3 pieces of foam inside. you practically have to take your whole bike apart to get it in there. i wasn't prepared to do this at all - thank goodness for the guys at Jack & Adam's!even with the expertise of the Jack & Adam's crew i'm still very nervous about my bike. both wheels came off, the seat posts comes off, the pedals come off, & the handle bars come off. then the wheels are placed in the box between two of the three pieces of foam & then the bike is jammed on top just barely fitting into the box. to close the top of the box you are basically crushing the entire bike which is sort of a good thing because at least nothing (the seat & handle bars) should move around inside.after all that work to get my new B12 & get it setup just perfectly to fit me i'm nervous about getting it put back together & having everything work/fit perfectly when we arrive in san diego. i've also got race wheels for this race that i've never been on before so i'm hoping everything synchs up well when they are put on the bike. danielle, a friend who is also doing ironman california, has an appointment for us at a local bike shop to get our bikes put together. thank goodness because i don't think i could do it right. at the end of all this we've got to repeat this entire step of breaking the bike back down & putting it back together when i get to austin. please oh please don't let anything happen to my bike!!!off to the races now!
this was a solid, yet relaxed week of training. coming of the 100 mile ride & 21 mile run this weekend made anything less feel easy. i only worked out with t3 once this week - an afternoon swim & a track practice). this was my first track practice with t3 & i did enjoy the intensity & will make it a point to attend at least one every other week as this ironman training continues. i also hopped into the quarry for this first time this week on easter sunday. while the quarry isn’t as “cool” as barton springs i do enjoy that it feel more like an open water swim & i don’t have to watch out for other swimmers (head on collisions). i’m thinking it may be time for a new wetsuit – i need something a bit more “pro” than the wetsuit i got from team-in-training last year. week12 training should be interesting as it’s going to be a mix of IM CDA training & preparing (tapering) for my first ½ IM (oceanside) next weekend.
week11 CDA ‘08
mar17 – mar23
mon
- elliptical (2 miles) at pure (20-minutes)
- total body weight workout at pure (20-minutes)
- swim (1000 meters) at pure (20-minutes)
- total: 1-hour
tue
- trainer at home (1-hour & 5-minutes)
- run (2 miles) in neighborhood (20-minutes)
- swim (2500 meters) at pure (1-hour)
- total: 2-hours & 25-minutes
wed
- track (6.2 miles) workout (1-hour & 15-minutes)
- total: 1-hour & 15-minutes
thu
- swim (3050 meters) with t3 (1-hour & 15-minutes)
- spin bike at pure (1-hour & 15-minutes)
- treadmill (1.5 miles) at pure (15-minutes)
- total: 3-hours & 15-minutes
fri
- run (5 miles) at town lake (45-minutes)
- total: 45-minutes
sat
- road bike (50.5 miles) to MD & up & down 360 (2-hours & 45-minutes)
- total: 2-hours & 45-minutes
sun
- run (11 miles) at town lake (1-hour & 25 minutes)
- open water swim (1500 meters) at the quarry (30-minutes)
- total: 1-hour & 55-minutes
total training time: 14-hours & 20-minutestotal run: 27.7 milestotal bike: 50.5 miles road & 2-hours & 20-minutes spin bike/in-door trainertotal swim: 5.03 miles or 8050 meters
kristin says that every guy should own at least one pink shirt. while shopping yesterday for some new shorts at the one store that wasn't closed on easter sunday (both costco & the rogue run store were the other stores we were hoping to get some shopping done at) kristin insisted that i purchase my first pink shirt. while not totally objecting to the purchase of a pink shit i am a bit leery to say the least. rather than going "all in" i'm starting off with a cheap cotton pink t-shirt prior to spending the big bucks on a nice pink dress shirt. i'll take my chances & wear this bad boy into the office today just to see how much grief i get from the guys. i'm not really sure that fashion statements coming from software engineers is a really good test though... what do you girls & guys think about the pink shirt?
as a result of the 4 most recent US soldier deaths just reported (march 23 2008), the number of american soldiers reportedly killed in iraq since the beginning of this war is now 4,000. let's put these numbers into perspective... this war was launched just over 5 years ago. (4,000 / 5 = 800) 800 soldiers a year on average have died in iraq. (800/365 days in a year = 2.19) 2.19 is the average number of american men & women killed each day in iraq.tomorrow when you get up & enjoy our morning breakfast & coffee & then go to work & come home to complain about how hard your day was - think about the two US soldiers that gave their life that day so you could complain about that "hard" day at work.*** this post was *not* published in support of or against this war, bush, or any candidate running in this year's presidential election. it was simply an observation of the US men & women paying the ultimate sacrifice for what most of us to often take for granted - our freedom. ***
sometimes it is hard to believe that starbucks is having financially difficulty. while their falling stock prices & the firing of their CEO end of last year clearly points this fact out it's still hard to believe given the perception one sees when visiting a starbucks. especially if you are visiting one in the yuppie suburbs of dallas, TX one morning on your way into the office for all day meetings.there must have been 15 cars lined up around the starbucks drive thru & at least 10 people deep in the line inside. these people weren't just stopping in because it was friday (this picture was taken on a wednesday morning) & they wanted to treat themselves to an expensive morning treat - they were regulars for sure. i noticed 3 women in their cars putting on their make-up - just part of their morning routine while waiting for their caffeine fix. you'd think that starbucks is putting crack in people's coffee given the way that these people get so excited when they get their order served up too. oddly enough, i rarely leave the house in the morning without having coffee.it surprises me that so many folks do get up & get ready at home but don't actually have their coffee until on their way into the office or when they get in the office. coffee is part of my morning wake-up ritual. to each his own obviously. oh, & this week i started ordering soy caffe lattes & i even going as far as adding a bit of soy milk in my cup of joe at home - just looking to add a bit more protein/calories to my diet plus i like the way it tastes :)
a number of our friends & family members have been asking about payton. how's he doing with the cats, how big is he now, how far can he run, etc. given that he'll be 8 months old on august 5th (just two weeks away) & kristin took this great picture of him this easter morning (minus the girlie flower on his collar) i thought it a good time to post an update about him.each day with payton just gets better. kristin is so amazing with him - those dog whisperer DVDs really helped :) payton is now weighing 70+ pounds & can easily run 4 miles. the vet recommends we keep him under 4 miles until he's a year old so while he got the stength we'll have to hold him back for 4 months more. payton & the cats (bevo & cubbie) while not best friends for sure, they do get along better than before. bevo stands up to him every now & then & cubbie just runs around the house like a soldier running for his life & as long as payton never gets a view of him all is good.payton has some new friends now too. a couple of weeks ago kristin set him up for a play date with cisco (a yellow lab) down the street & he & cisco enjoyed a 1/2 day running around in cisco's back yard. cisco's owner said that the two of them playing looked like a mix between a bad porn video & a wrestling match. payton has yet to be "fixed" & is all to happy to be a bit to friendly with anything with four legs. payton also plays with charlie (another yellow lab in the neighborhood) at the dog park at the end of the street. just yesterday payton met royal who will soon be one of his best friends. royal (a vizsla) belongs to our friends greg & katie who will be hosting payton at their house for the weekend while kristin & i are in san diego. to ensure payton & royal get along well we introduced the two dogs at bull creek yesterday. royal showed payton the ropes & taught him a thing or two about bull creek & swimming. actually dad had to help with the swimming - it took a little push but once in the water payton swam like a champ :)so payton is doing well. i think we enjoy him more than he enjoys us, although he's quickly becoming a momma's boy. he still greets dad at the door when i come home, but he's definitely more loving towards his momma.
today (easter 2008) is just the day for firsts... brunch came second, i had to work up an appetite before i could truly enjoy casa :)both kristin & i met our friend danielle at the quarry at pure austin. danielle & i are racing together next weekend at ironman oceanside & this was her first open water swim of the year. if you've been paying attention to my blog you already know that i've enjoyed a few open water swims at barton springs this year.i actually think that the water at the quarry is colder than barton springs right now - it felt like 30 degrees when i jumped in. that's me in the water screaming like a girl & payton getting a bit hyper on the pier in reaction to me jumping in & screaming. kristin said that when i started to swim off he ran to the edge of the pier & almost jumped in after me - lucky for the both of us, & payton for that matter, that he didn't go through with jumping in.minus the freezing temperatures & the fact that some of the buoys had gone off path & one seemed to have disappeared completely it was a great swim workout. both danielle & i completed two laps (1500 meters - just shy of 1 mile) right at 30 minutes. i'm definitely finding myself more comfortable in the water & i am getting used to breathing on every other stroke. i do notice that when i breathe on my right side that i pull way left so i'll have to be careful about that & get that bad habit under control soon.i feel like i had a really good training/recovery weekend following a very long one last weekend. i rode just over 50 miles yesterday via a modified version of the dam loop which included a number of trips up & down 360. then prior to meeting up at the quarry this morning i got an 11 mile run in down at the lake.when arriving to casa following this morning's run/swim the "family style" serve yourself approach was a welcomed site to my tummy!
this easter sunday kristin & i enjoyed brunch at casa de luz with our dear friend danielle. this was in fact the first time that any of us had made it to casa for a sunday brunch. we've enjoyed a many of dinners at casa & every so often we are fortunate enough to make it to casa for breakfast & lunch.the BIG deal about casa’s sunday brunch, so we thought, is there pancakes with fresh fruit. while they were healthy pancakes, they didn’t have the yummy factor i was anticipating. i would have been completely OK with the lack of yummy tastes if it were to have been replaced with a super hearty/healthy taste. instead they were pretty dry & boring; even with the fresh berries draped on top.if you do like the sunday pancakes you are in luck because just like everything else they are served “family style.” now this part about sunday brunch i thoroughly enjoyed! for dinner & lunch you serve your own soup & salad (as much or as little as you like & as many servings as you like too) & the staff make your plates. normally your first plate is prepared according to the menu & brought to your table prior to you finishing your soup/salad & then should you want more (like me) you can either ask for another plate “as-is” or you can ask for a little of this, a lot of that, & none of that for example – again, as many trips back as you like (i’m a 4 – 5 plate kind of guy). anyhow on sunday everything is yours for the picking from the beginning! today’s menu – see below – was pretty amazing. i was a big fan of the tempeh veggie stir-fry & the black beans with suncheese (my first time to have suncheese). i was also quite impressed with the jalapeño hot sauce – it was a nice compliment to everything on my plate minus the pancakes, soup, & salad. to note, today was a 5 plate meal for me :)sunday brunchmarch 23, 2008specials: pancakes w/ fruit sauce (contains gluten)
specials: tempeh veggie stir-fry
specials: *jalapeño hot sauce*
soup: cauliflower & summer squash
salad: garden salad w/ ume flax veggie dressing
grain: short brown rice
greens: mixed blanched greens w/ mustard & basil tahini sauce
veggie: baked sweet potato, kabocha & butternut squash
bean: black beans w/ suncheese
pickle: radish & onion
made with infinite love by: timo, ada, ciara, ross, cory, & rosi
since we parked the grill in the garage & moved into rosedale (9 months ago) we haven't made or had burgers. that all changed tonight - we made burgers & we made them with a whole new style & attitude. don't get me wrong, the "old" burger was amazing & super healthy. this "new" burger however was off the charts & reflected the new style & attitude that we have both adopted since moving back into this great city.the "old" burger was made with super lean beef or bison meat seasoned with rancher's steak rub from wildtree herbs. we used whole wheat buns, smoked provolone cheese, sliced avocado, & sauteed baby bella mushrooms. sounds pretty tasty doesn't it?the "new" burgers - let's call them the rosedale burgers are jazzed up to better suit our new lifestyles. remember, kristin became a vegetarian in october off last year & while i haven't completely kicked the meat habit i've grown to love & crave vegetables with everything that i eat.kristin's rosedale burger was made with a portabella mushroom cap. she used a whole wheat bun from whole food's bakery, goat cheese, oil curred olives, & grilled garlic artichoke hearts. it was the best looking & best tasting vegetarian burger she's ever had.brian's rosedale burger was made with a half a pound of bison meat seasoned with cracked pepper & sea salt. i used a seduction bun from whole food's bakery with avocado spread on one half of the bun & garlic hummus on the other half. i also topped this beautiful burger with baby spinach salad, oil curred olives, & sun dried tomatoes.on the side, we both enjoyed roasted sweet potato sticks seasoned with olive oil, cracked pepper, & sea salt.we washed these rosedale burgers down with a 2005 claret from becker vineyards. this claret was light, crip, & full of berry flavors.it was simply an amazing burger night in our austin home & we'll enjoy future rosedale burgers very soon.
if we can't laugh at ourselves, who can?
