tc's gear

community. wiki says:

The word community comes from the Latin communis, meaning "common, public, shared by all or many."

common, public and shared by all. that has been the hallmark of the fitness blogging community. from triathletes diving into the water for the very first time to ultra marathoners with several western state buckles, we've become a community that has a common focus and goal, publicly expresses opinions, tips and results and shares in the roller coaster that is training and racing.

in that vein, i'm asking for community to take part in the first steps of raising a boy in a healthy, fitness focused lifestyle. as most of you know, smsmh and i will be adopting baby thunderclap newman smith on may 31st of this year. typically, there are baby showers and baby registries for friends and family. when i think about my friends and family, the fitness blogging community has evolved into a integral part of MY family, MY friends. so, in that vein, i've set up a chip-in account to let my friends and family that have made fitness a part of their lives make fitness a part of tc's life.

i've selected a baby jogger and bike trailer that i'd like to let the blogging world purchase for tc. every run that we take him on, every ride that he cruises through will have been brought to him by my community; the community that has seen the importance of fitness as a lifestyle. click the widget in the upper right hand corner of the main blog page to 'chip-in'!

smsmh, thunderclap and i thank you!

running with flipper - boston 2007

it's funny trying to come up with a race report when your partner for race day has already summed up the event so perfectly. flipperhead already posted her recap of the event and pretty much captured the feeling and events from the day. epic weather up until the time we hit the corals, the joy of being out on the course, and effort required to go the distance.

again, i find that i enjoy running in support of another runner much more than i enjoy running for myself. i find that my mind is completely off of how i'm performing, but focused on my ward, and that seems to allow me to perform without the stress of worrying about how i'm going to perform. sure, i may try to go sub 3 again at some point, but for now, this is where i'm finding my joy.

and joyful, it was. we've all see just how deep flipper will dig for a hard workout or a race, and we've all read just how tough she is, but it was impressive to see that first hand. we ran a really steady race for the entire course and only slowed slightly over the newton hills. the amazing thing, was that when flipper found out we had dropped the pace while climbing the first couple hills, she started to pick up the pace. i was a little concerned that she'd burn out early, but when we crested heartbreak right on pace and then she surged as we flew down the other side, i was pretty confident that the wheels weren't going to come off this bus.

my race wasn't really that remarkable, but i did flirt with some hamstring cramping and calf cramping and a couple times, came close to have those muscles lock up on me. again, focusing on form and making sure i kept the fluids coming was what did the trick. the pace was very sustainable for me, and i never had a problem keeping flipper trotting along at that 8:05-8:10 pace, but toward the end of the race, i started noticing that my muscles were really starting to show fatigue. it wasn't until we got back to flipper's house after the race that i realized why my muscles felt like they were taking a beating. i hadn't really tapered much. duh.

anyway, i know that's sort of a lame race report, but the day was all about flipper, and i was just there as a spectator.

praying for negligent parents

tomorrow's race should be worthy of much story telling. what with the freaky reports coming from the weather service and the fun chance of loosing extremities due to the rain and wind. like i said, it'll be challenging for sure. but, hey, anyone can run when it's dry out, right? right.

our big hope, though, is that there is a decent crowd turn-out. i was talking to april anne this morning and figuring that she'll be more uncomfortable standing out in the cold and wet waiting for us to run by than we'll be actually running in it. the best thing i remember about last year's boston race was that there were tons of kids out lining the course. at any point, you could run to the side of the course and high five a row of them.

there's something magical about high-fiving a kid during a race; it's like pac-man hitting one of those power-up dots. start to turn into a zombie at some point? high five a kid and pull yourself out of the pit. winded after climbing a tough hill? high five a kid and take off with a burst of energy. lost your limb due to frostbite? high five a kid and watch a new one grow in it's place.

so. with the nasty weather tomorrow, i'm really hoping that the number of kids out on the course is not reduced. i'm hoping that the folks that live along the course from hopkinton to boston are the most negligent parents in the country, with a complete disregard for the health of their little tykes.

one can only pray.

wouldn't have it any other way

the problem with blogging once a week or once a month, for that matter, is that you have so much to report that you either write a novel, or you skip all the fun little details and making it sound like you've had nothing going on. well, i'll try to hit the highlights.

on the training front, i've had a couple really solid 50+ mile rides and for the first time, ever last week my cycling passed my running in the number of hours trained. the swimming has been amazing, as well, with long swims of 3000 yards coming easily and quite fast, i must say. the running, while mostly preparation for this coming monday's race, has been strong and i have continuously stepped onto the track or various speed workouts and shocked myself with my performances. it's a great feeling, that's for sure!

on the baby front, things are going along quite well. we hosted the mom and girls for a couple days last week during the girls spring break. we took them to disneyland, the beach, the pool, etc and had a great time with them. we have our c-section date, and our son will be born on may 31st. we've even picked a name with lots of character for the boy; thunderclap newman smith.

well...the weekend is upon me. tonight i fly to the east coast to join flipperhead and the rest of the 13000 coral in the 111th running of the boston marathon. keep an eye on flipperhead's blog on monday for the blogcast from the infamous boston blogcaster, runnersusan. this year, i'm bib # 6750, so feel free to follow along! the weather looks like it's going to be something of a challenge, but, hey...anyone can run when it's dry out, right? i don't think i'd have it any other way.