One degree makes all the difference.

Week 1 of 20

So my first week of Ironman training is in the books, and it unfotunately didn't make the book any heavier. I ended up with 2 rides, 2 runs and 1 weight session for a grand total of 5 hours and 15 minutes. I am about as tough as a wet paper towel right now. We had a cold front come through this week and it curtailed my morning workouts and there's not a whole lot of daylight by the time I get home. But, as a teacher, I hate excuses. I took the easy road this week and looking back I am not real proud of it. I do however know that IM is accomplished over the long haul with consistency. Hopefully things will turn around this week and I can improve on what I didn't do this week as there is definetly room for improvement. Reading a post on Danny's blog helped me out as he talks about what it takes to get to your goals, thanks bro. I know what I need to do, going out and doing it is the hard part. I need to make training more of a priority but do it in a way that I am still here for Lindsey and Emma. I am off now to set an alarm for 5:15 AM..........BRRRR.

It's been a while since I uploaded any pictures from the camera but I have finally gotten around to it. The first two are Emma playing with some costumes that Grandma Burns got her at an after Halloween sale. The third picture is Emma driving around in her Dora the Explorer VX beetle courtesy of Nana. And the last picture is her jumping all crazy at Grandma Sue's house over Thanksgiving. Grandma rented a jumping thing for the kids to enjoy. I think this summer a trampoline is on our minds.

Training for 2007 has started this week as I am currently 20 weeks out from Ironman Arizona. Check back and I'll do my best to update how things are going and the adventures I have.

I was looking through some old pictures and I cam across this one. I remember Lindsey helped me do it and I showed up in Hawaii and when I got off the plane I walked right past my mom and cousin because they did not recognize me. It was fun. Mike had just finished Ironman Hawaii and we were relaxin on Alii Drive.

This one was from the first time we went to Hawaii. Mike and I were rockin the same bike, THAT was cool.

Here we are finishing Ironman Florida and having a beer in Mexico.

And all of these pictures remind me of this one, my Dad and his brother Abel.

Halloween

We went to the Pumkin Patch this weekend

We really had a fun weekend. Saturday night, Lindsey and I were able to get away and leave Emmster with Erica, her babysitter. They have a lot of fun coloring, dancing and watching Nemo. Lindsey and I went to see the Aggies lose. It was the first complete game I have seen this year and it was exciting for anout a half, then it got ugly. Oh well, basketball season is around the corner and we'll be very very good. Season tickets should arrive soon as they start playing the first half of November.

Sunday we got out to the pumkin patch here in town. Davey, Kelly, Sydney and Thomas met us there and we went on a hay ride, picked pumkins, went down slides, played in corn, ate corn.....Here are some pics.

Alamogordo

So You Think You Have a Crappy Job?



Danny Enjoying a Great Day at the Fair



Track & Field Can Be Very Dangerous

Future Swim Star

Nothing Like a Day at the Fair

My Tatto is a work in Progress

And it is another step closer to being finished. I just had my 5th visit and it looks better every time. It all started with my M Dot, that I got after I finished my first Ironman race. Next up was a bird, just like my dad's, on the inside of my bicep. I miss him and every time I see it I remember how cool I thought his were. Then I decided I needed to connect the two of them up with something colorful so I decided on flowers and clouds. Let me know what you think.

KISS Rocks Vista Middle School


We had our first school assembly of the year and our theme was "Vista's Got Talent." There were plenty of kids that did different things but a group of teachers and myself were the closing act and we brought down the house. We decided to dress up as KISS and rocked out to "I want to Rock n Roll All Night." It was alot of fun and the kids really enjoyed it.....and several asked me to never wear tights again.

Socorro Chile Harvest Triathlon

The hometown race, the one that started it all, the 10th annual Socorro triathlon was held this past weekend. What an awwesome and unique race and in my opinion the very best in New Mexico. To back this up it has been sold out for over a month with 390 participants.

The race itself went great and I set a PR for myself with a 1:00:28 finish which was good enough for 5th overall and 1st in the 25-29 year old age category. My swim was ranked 7th overall fastest and my bike was 3rd overall fastest. My run left some to be desired, especially with all the hard work I put in during July. Oh well, it's tough putting together a solid race where all three disciplines click. I had fun and that's exactly why I am still gun-ho about triathlons after 10 straight years. Next up for me is a the NM state mountain bike championships in a week and a half. The race will be here in Las Cruces and I know the course pretty well. I don't consider myself a mountain biker but I am curious to see what I can do in the dirt. In October I will do a 100km mountain bike race in Juarez, Mexico, and the last big thing will be the SOMA 1/2 ironman triathlon in Tempe, AZ, at the end of October.

By the way, the Chile Harvest was won overall by my brother Mike. He is 2 for 2 this year so far. My best buddy, Danny, was second overall. It would have been nice to be third overall and be on the podium with the two of them but it just didn't work out (I was in third starting the run). Here is a link to the Socorro newspaper and a great Jerry Springer style story.

http://www.dchieftain.com/sports/63909-08-16-06.html

And another great article in a different newspaper.

http://www.mymountainmail.com/stories/spotriathlon08-17-0620060817.php

Some Old Pictures I Found

This picture was taken at the Burn Lake Triathlon here in Las Cruces, sometime in the late 90's. Danny and I hammered the bike passing just about everyone and we came into the second transition in first and second place overall. I beat him out of the transition but he was too good a runner to keep up with. I really miss this race as it is now a duathlon and Burn Lake is pretty disgusting. It would be so nice to have some open water to swim in that is close by.

This picture was taken in the bike transition area after the Buffalo Springs Lake triathlon. I would guess late 90's here too. Mike looks pretty old school in his speedos (banana hammock) and top. Nice hair too, Mike!

Lance Armstrong Nike Commercial


I love this commercial. Lance started out as a triathlete and was racing the sports very best while he was still in high school. As a cyclist he won 7 straight Tour de France races after battling cancer. His training and preparation for the tour is unrivaled. I believe him, why shouldn't I? We need heroes. Here is a quote from Lance made after his 7th Tour victory, "For you people who don't believe in cycling, the cynics and the skeptics, I'm sorry for you. I'm sorry you can't dream big and I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles. ... There are no secrets. This is a hard sporting event," he said, "and hard work wins it."

Goodbye to Summer Mexico Trip

We just got back from a trip down to Puerto Penasco, Mexico, where we celebrated the end of a great summer. We were down there for a week in a house right on the beach. The place had a pool and 2 water slides that Emma couldn't get enough of.
As for the summer, I say it was one of the best. We started by traveling to Hawaii, had a rough June with my ear problems, then finished with an awesome July and Mexico trip. Had I been healthy in June, I could have added another 1/2 Ironman triathlon and a trip to Rhode Isalnd. I guess things work out though, instead we stayed in Las Cruces that month and spent time together. There were lots of pool, park, and Scoopy's visits. The value of our tickets is still good so I'll be seeing you Tom, don't worry.

One of Emma's favorite things has been to go "bike ride" with Daddy. We usually ride to a local elementary school and play there or sometimes we'll go a little futher to Dairy Queen for some ice cream.