I need to post ...

Struggling a bit with what to write.

I had an article written that described my thoughts on optimistic vs. pessimistic outlooks based on our current political and economic situation. I couldn't pull the trigger on it because I was basically just validating my optimistic perception and my focus on rather trivial things while telling others who seem to be licking their wounds from 2008 how to put on a smile and march ahead. I don’t want to minimize what some people are going through. I’m thankful that my situation is great, partially because I don’t put a large emphasis on monetary and material possessions, and partially because my family and I are in good health. I’m optimistically looking forward to many things on the horizon.

So what’s the latest?

Christmas was fun and not at all stressful. We kept it fairly modest (as always) and managed to stay home for the entire holiday. That’s the great thing about having kids … you can use them as bait to draw the grandparents to you instead of having to travel. Sometimes you have to play hardball, but in the end they will cave!! Santa brought me a used treadmill that was purchased from a friend of mine for $75 dollars because the digital display doesn’t work. My workouts come as RPE so actual numbers aren’t important … only feel + time. If it bothers me too much to not know my pace, I will get a foot-pod for my Forerunner 305, but so far I’m good with it as is.

Training is going well. I haven’t taken a day off since the 26th of November yet I feel very fresh. The last two weeks have had over 17 hours of training and my lightest week this month had 14.5 hours. My running health continues to restore. I actually have a 1 hour run this week! Swimming is going great. I’m looking forward to a substantial improvement over last season. We’ll see what the bike fitness looks like if I can find a way to get out and ride with JB and crew. Looks like those boys go pretty hard!

My body has been responding well to the training load this month and I’m starting to look lean and mean again. It’s funny that I actually gained weight in the buildup for the ironman. I think I was eating for the Ultraman! I’ll do a body comp soon to tell for sure but I would guess that I’m around 8% body fat now which is how I raced for most of last year. This is still a bit heavy for my liking. If I can exercise a little will power in my choice of foods I think I can get to around 6% without too much trouble. This is where I would like to be for the upcoming race season.

Work is work. I hope when the kids get in school my wife can pickup a few more group fitness classes or personal training clients which would allow me to work part time instead of full time. Colonial is supportive of this in the IT department and it would fit my lifestyle much better. Wouldn’t that be nice?