Heart (not HART) Issues

OK, I had to take an EKG test today for my new job and got some disturbing news. Does anyone know how to read this?:

12hrs of fun

So this weekend was the HART training camp. It was fine. It was actually considerably easier than the one I attended at the beginning of the year. It started off with an easy mile run around Double Lake. After that, we went on a two lap hike and bike along the roads in the park. Tommy, Iris, and Raymund were on my team. We came in from this leg first. Then we sat down for a quick nav class in the lodge. We plotted points for the paddle and then biked about 6 miles to the put in. We came in first here, too. This, however, is where it all turned sour. All but 2 or 3 of the sevy's had holes in them. They looked like some kind of rodent or insect chewed through them. So we spent about an hour or so trying to patch them up. We had one good boat, but the one that Iris and I paddled in had a slow leak and had to periodically pump it back up. To make things worse, I made a steering error and punctured the boad at a tight turn in heavy brush. We had yet another hole to patch. During the final leg back to transition, our boat was barely inflated and it was a real struggle to keep that thing tracking straight.



We biked back on the hilly road to transition and had to quickly get ready for the nav. Teams had already took off before us, so we were at a disadvantage there. We eventually headed out and were the last ones out. We made quick time, though with Iris' double time pace. We actually caught up with a team that headed out 30min before us on the way out. After finding the first point, we passed them and never saw them again. Then we caught up with the rest of the group... a huge merging of 3 or more teams. I couldn't we caught up with all of them! One team we never caught up with was the "girls team": Justin, Lori, Jaunda, and Cynthia. We couldn't make up any time on them because it was now night and we didn't want to risk twisting ankles while running. I made one nav error when I didn't read the whole clue for the last cp and overshot it. Raymund caught it and we headed back and found it. We got back to transition in less than 4 hrs, which is about a 3mph+ pace. Could have been faster.

We had the option to go back out for the short nav section, but we all decided to bag. I didn't want Renee and her friend to just sit around waiting for us while we went out again. We packed up and headed back into town. It all lasted about 12hrs--9 to 9. We didn't bike the trails because the boat debacle took too much time.

Turkey Coma

Just got over mine and am now at Salento. Coffee good. Yesterday I decided to head over to Port Bolivar to have Thanksgiving dinner with Dale and Deb's family. I felt akward, but I figured I had nothing else to do. It was a nice drive down to Galveston because the traffic was light and then I took the ferry to Port Bolivar. That was cool because there was a family of porpoises around and even a couple were racing a tanker heading out to the gulf. The temp was brisk, but it was sunny so it made for a nice view on the ferry. Then it was off to a rental beach house...it was nice! The beach was just a few steps away. Deb's family was nice and the food was great! Deb's Dad made fried turkey--my first time! After watching the Bears get embarrased by the Cowboys, we headed down to sit by the fire. It was a nice night--the sky was clear and the moon was full. I decided that we needed to rent a place like this some other time and bring our kayaks, etc. I stayed until about 9 then I decided to make the drive back. They wanted me to stay the night, but I figured it would be better to just get back home and get an early start today. I still have to pack for the camp...and do laundry! I'm going to need all the dry clothes I can get my hands on!

I don't think I'm going to get swept up in the post-Turkey day shopping anarchy...maybe. I'm still contemplating camping tonight before the camp...but then again I'll probably sleep better at home. Yeah, driving in the morning will be better. Ooooh, I'm dreading the cold and wetness to come...

I'm such an airhead

So I was planning to pee in a cup today, thinking to get it out of the way since it was Turkey day...drug testing for the new job. Then I realized, the place is probably closed because it is Turkey day! Idiot. Its ok. Just skated 6 miles instead. It was a bit chilly, but after a while I actually enjoyed it, for once. My back didn't have that intense pain this time around--please say my back is getting stronger! Yesterday I did "Halle's Loop" with Chris. Newcastle-Brays Bayou-Hermann Park-San Jacinto-Downtown-Sabine-Buffalo Bayou-Sheperd-Memorial-Woodway-Sage-Rice-Westpark-Newcastle. About 25 miles. It was a little chilly and windy, but a good easy workout as well.

Have to reestablish email contact with all my neglected friends...

Sore

I just don't feel right. I think I overtrained. Either that or its the change in weather--the temps dropped about 20deg overnight and it's "cold" now, for Texas standards. Here's my training log:

I wish I was doing this right now

Friends

How many of us have them? I know I have at least one. She has been consoling me by email and it has been very helpful as of late. She seems to always understand. I think Kenny just needs a hug...or a smack upside the head. Can''t sleep again.

Man, this is the first time in a long while when I've felt whipped after a practice. Its probably because all I did is run for over 3hrs today...that and I probably didn't eat/drink enough before heading to the park. I started it off with a light run and then intervals at the track: 100-200-300-400-300-200-100. That's what really kicked my butt--that was about when I was hoping practice would be light. Not. I ran back to the parking lot and Rick was there with coordinates from Aaron in the "triangle", which is on the other side of 610. So I ran there and back with them. We didn't find any of the points because part of the bank was under water from all the storms. Then Rick tells the "fast" group (somehow I'm in) to run that stupid jogging loop TWICE and do cals as well. I wouldn't have mind, probably, if we stuck to the original plan of 8min pace the whole way. No, everyone except me decided that a sub-7min pace would be better. I told them I wasn't feeling right, but they just went on. Great teammates.

Finally I told them I was only doing one lap and then heading back to the cars. I took the rest of the time biking the fruit loop. My legs were toast even then...I started cramping a little--I haven't cramped in many months! Then I got back at about the same time everyone else did and we did sprints and push ups. I felt like crap...lightheaded and with thighs of lead. I was still hurting when I got back home. I ate a huge dinner, but I'm still hungry right now...

Sun, for now

Finally, some break in the monsoon. I called Stress and told them that I was taking the position. I'm excited, but a little apprehensive. This represents another chance for me, so of course I'm a little scared. I just hope we are more compatible this time around...I know I'll need to work a lot harder to make it happen, but I just wish that the company meshes better with who I am. I have had a lot of sleepless nights lately just thinking about it. Perhaps that's why I've been gaining weight despite running 6 miles yesterday. Donno. Metabolism must be in hibernation mode.

Still don't know what I'm going to do for Turkey day. I can't afford doing the Big Bend trip unless I take some money out of my savings. I don't want to do that. I guess all I can do is plan for the training camp. On a side note, the top navigators on HART have set up a nav team to train. Its cool--we each will take a month or two and plant cp's around memorial during that month and have the other members find it afterwards. I really like that idea--we get a lot more consistent training that way and can do it whenever. Also, Chris asked me if I wanted to be team leader for HART's MS150 team. That would be good too.

Crocodile on my feet, fox fur on my back, bowtie around my neck, start callin me a gangsta mack in a cadillac

Smooth. Decided to brave the oh so wonderful weather and go for a 6 mile run. Luckily I timed it just right and I didn't get dumped on. It really started to come down as soon as I left the park. I tried something different this time: instead of shooting for an average pace for the whole distance, I shot for an average pace for the first half and then shot for a negative split for the second. It worked out well. I figure this is a good way to train my body to kick it into high gear towards the end of a race. Hardly anyone was out there of course. I really hope the weather turns soon or I'm going to go kichigai!

guess what

Damn, its coming down! Looks like another wet training day. Ugh. I want to skate more, but this rain is kicking my plans in the ass!

Another Rainy Day

Yep, another rainy day. Didn't have the desire to go out and run in the rain so I just spent the whole day at home, veggin. I probably will hit the gym tonight, just cause I need to do something so that I don't feel like a total slug. It must be the post-party depression or something...speaking of, look what I got a hold of from the RUMSPRINGA Halloween Party:




Actually, there are other, more incriminating pics but I figured I shouldn't post them here in fear of my life. There are some good pictures from last night's party floating around out there, but I have none of them. Looks like my political career is over...again. Decided to take some time out to cook this weekend--made an omelet for breakfast and cooked up a steak and some rice for dinner. I was planning to do a 12hr race with Tina this December, but its coinciding with a research meeting in Tucson. I do have a couple of 24hr races that i have committed to--one in Jan (Big Chill in Bastrop) and Feb (Swamp Stomp in Florida). The one in Bastrop involves a tyrolean traverse and an inline skate section! That means more skating for me..I just put on the brake on one of my skates since I figured that will be essential in race conditions. Pretty excited.

Tribute

HART Women rule!

Chanel no. 5

Nice. Just got back from Jill's party. Mostly Jill's friends but there were some HART people who showed. Chad, Angus, Ashley, Mike, Stan, Melissa, Iris, and Luis. It was really good. It seeemed like a lot of peeps there were going through a lot at the time, so it was good to commizerate. I feel better. Had a few heart to hearts...no pun intended. I feel great, but hten again i;ve had a few wells than I expedcted. I;m glad that a few people decided to stay longer with me...I felt needed. The spread awas great--Jill's housemate Zack was amazing! Keg, wine, and open bar--whoa nelly! The food was good too! I tried to get more info about the race out of Luis but he seemed preoccupied. Ash is an awesome person. Zzzzzzzzzz

Ludacris says its Saturday

Ok, I'm tired of projecting a gloomy persona. I was going to start this blog off with something lame like, "the weather seems to mirror my day today--cloudy and dreary." Not today--I'll take a break from all that crap. I will say that I just found out that a friend of mine just left for Oklahoma City today to meet her boyfriend. I'm just perturbed because I wasn't invited when I usually am invited to all road trips. Especially now that I have no work obligations. Oh well. Will have to occupy my time some other way. There is a party tonight, so maybe I'll hit that. I should also figure out some other road trip as my days of freedom are numbered. I'm going to be an Associate and should start work on Dec 1. I'm actually pretty sad that I'll be losing my freedom--usually I'd be going crazy right now because I'd be so bored. I think all of the races and training have kept me busy. I'll miss that the most. But I do miss the financial freedom--have to definitely get that back, so work must be done.

Just found out one of our papers got nominated for another award--the T. Y. Lin award. All you engineers out there know who he is, so you know this is a prestigous award. I'm happy about that. Also, my former advisor is planning to fly me over to Tucson to get my input on some of the research that they are about to undertake--stuff that stemmed from the work I did at ND. I can't wait! I'll have to do some hiking when I'm over there...maybe visit Tombstone if I have the time! "I'll be your Huckleberry."

Muddy Kenny

OK, I AM an idiot. A day after the torrential rains I decide to do a trail run in Memorial. Most of the trails were ok, just a little moist and a few puddles here and there. But when I got closer to the bayou, that's when I ran into trouble. Some of the trails flanked and even crossed some of the creeks leading to the bayou and they were virtually impossible to follow. Apparently the water got so high that they covered the trails will a thick, nasty mud. The first time I encountered these trails I got lost. I was too concerned about not sliding into the creek. The second time around I figured out what I did wrong, but still got my shoes and hands all muddy trying to keep my balance. Mosquitos were abound so I didn't dink around trying to find the safest route. I made it out, but it was obvious that I was the only fool who tried to "run" through those trails. I was spent afterwards--a couple of pounds of mud on your shoes makes a huge difference! The whole endeavor took more than an hour.

We had nav training again during AR practice. We had 3 points to find and it was new Dave, Vera, Renee and I. We weren't supposed to run. I let the others do the navigation this time, but after a while I got impatient and started doing more of the navigation myself. The first one was not a problem and we hit it perfectly on a pacecount. The second we had more trouble with because the plot point was on the other side of a creek from where it really was. That was probably my fault. The third wasn't too hard, but we almost missed it because we almost turned around right before we stumbled on it. Thankfully, Dave had a higher viewpoint and spotted it before we turned around. We also had trouble finding the trail leading to it because the entrance was overgrown with brush. Overall, it was a good outing because we found them all, which is a great accomplishment!

Nav God!

G's to the bizack and ladies here we gizo

OK, the Masi doesn't need a wash anymore. I'm an idiot. I decided to go riding this afternoon through what I can only describe as a downpour. Water was spilling off of my hubs as if they were connected to a faucet. The large drops of water stung my face and arms. After a while there were no longer puddles here and there--the entire road was covered by sheets of water. I was the only "dedicated" one out there. I kept yelling, "is that all you got, huh?!" and the rain would correspondingly get harder. I stopped taunting the rain god after a while. While I was able to keep a speed of about 22-23mph, there were times I couldn't even keep my eyes open--the rain stung too much. After 12 miles, I finally called it quits and wouldn't you know, as soon as I opened my trunk the rain stopped. Bastard. That was fine, though. Adventure racers should be used to foul weather. I actually liked all of it except the not being able to see part. The hum of my wheels cutting through the river of rainwater was a calming, soothing sound.

I then went to REI afterwards to buy chainstay guards, slime tubes, and co2 cartridges. That's it. I'm on a budget..and its called "P-O".

Relocation

Cool. I found a new coffee place that has free WiFi! Salento in Rice Village. It has a sweet ambiance to it and a nice selection of house music...seems to be set up for laptops--there's a cove in the back with a lot of lounging space and outlets. Now if only the coffee was better...actually, its not bad, just different. Go to www.salentocoffee.com.

Last night was a clusterf---. Good thing I came to Memorial early to work out. I went out and did some mtb trailwork and did the fruit loop as well for some sprints. Lasted about 1.5 hrs. Then I came back when the rest of the crew was showing up. We were going to do a brick workout at the fruit loop when Deb raced in telling me that Renee got into an accident. She was alright and just waiting for the police to come by so that she could file a report, so I'm not sure why I drove over there just to wait with her...for 2 hours! I missed all of practice. I'm sure Rick would have made me go and make sure she was ok anyway. At least no one got hurt.

I went to Sam's Boat after getting back. Had a few drinks and too much food. Don't know why we keep coming back there--nothing too special and the service is nothing to be desired. Oh well, old habits are hard to break, I guess. Firestarter is playing right now...

Weather is nasty right now--gonna make it hard for me to get motivated to workout...I need to though since I missed yesterday's practice...back to the job decision.

Technical difficulties

OK, I seem to be having trouble with this blog...let me try something...

D-day

So is it better to be a senior engineer or an associate? Associate sounds better, I think. I wish it was as easy as that...I have to make my decision soon. I wish it was a clear cut decision, but where one company is stronger than the other, the other company has another aspect where it is stronger. Neither seems to be very consistent. There is one other thing--cubicle vs. office.

Went on a very short run last night--only 20 min at easy pace. Probably the right thing to do anyway...I need some easy recovery days in there too...contrary to me gaining weight despite all the work I did in the past week! Hopefully that's muscle mass. Ha! I started a weight program that Ian Adamson recommends, so hopefully that will help my core strength and I can be a little more than a weenie when it comes to pullup time.

I think the *$ girl is flirting with me...she gave me a smile and called me by my name and jumped to say my usual drink. Funny. Tim is on me to do a 1/2 ironman again...what part of "my swimming sucks" does he not understand? I would imagine that I need to do a sprint triathlon first to see how I do in the water. I really do want to do the ironman, but not sure how realistic it is to shoot for next year. I would need to dedicate most of my training to swimming and no one really has the routine here to keep me honest. We'll see. That would be a HUGE accomplishment.

Everytime they run away, we take a shot

So I'm just realizing that I eat food for comfort during stressful times...I'm not one of those people who lose their appetite. Ever since things have been going down during the past two months I've been going for more fat-laden foods. Even my servings have been getting bigger. It came home to me this morning when I actually rode 64 miles this weekend and skated for 30mins (6mi) I still gained 2 pounds! I gotta cut back, especially during this critical time. Don't want to balloon during the winter and have to start at square one again.

So, yeah, I skated yesterday. It was cold and my back was fine until the last lap--I could barely keep speed. Its probably because it was already hurting from the bike ride on Sat. I've been conversing with the keeper of the website, Picquest, where I got my picture from the last mtb race. He seems like a really nice guy--he asked me all about my race and what I was going to race in the future. It felt good to have someone care about what you did. He probably was just trying for small talk while he really wanted to know what I thought about his site, but still it felt good.

Looks like rain today.

Swass

NovemberFest

So I decided to do a road ride this morning. Did I say that I haven't done one of these in a long time? Also, I tried out thinner tires--20s vs. 23s. Big mistake. This route was hella bumpy and I remembered that Renee told me this only after I already started the route. Cynthia and Jaunda were there too, but I did the 64 while they did the 44. I stayed with the lead pack for most of the way until Sun and Ski dude decided to blow up the pack. It was then just me and two other guys...and then I got a pinch flat. I told them to go on. 20s are tight, or it might be because its wire bead not kevlar. It took me forever to change and I spent two co2 cartridges (my co2 valve is faulty and leaks). I was able to hook up with another group and limp back to the finish in 3hrs. OK considering my flat. But my back and behind let me know that they weren't happy about jumping back to this distance without much notice, especially with the rough roads and windy conditions. I brought my heart rate monitor--I wasn't taxed bpm-wise, it was just my back--I couldn't put much power in my stroke because of the pain. It eventually went away and I was able to pull the last few miles. Rewarded myself with funnel cake...mmmm, funnel cake!

Watched the incredibles in the afternoon. Sweet flick! Its amazing how good animation is these days--sometimes it looks so real! I loved Sam L's character, Frozone, despite his small part in the movie. I figured his voice must cost a lot per hour, at least that's how I'm rationalizing it. Was watching SNL, but not very funny...the crew is all different now and I think its back to being mediocre. Too bad. Well, should sleep since I have nothing else to do.

Night Nav

Yesterday was another good day of training. I came early again and did an hr trail run at Memorial. I ran into a dog halfway through my run, but was extra cautious because there were reports of coyotes in the park. So I picked up a branch and urged the canine to "go home." I was able to find new trails that I can use in the future--did a little more exploring. Saw two more mtb-ers using blocked off trails...this time I told them they shouldn't be riding there. I would say it turned out to be about 6 mi.

Practice was all land nav. I was paired up with Cynthia and we were supposed to find 3 points. First one was relatively easy, but was a little hard to find because it was already getting dark. We ran to get the second point, the farthest one. It was off of Crestwood and Memorial. It was near a nasty drainage area with all kinds of culverts, trash, and questionable water. Tina and Nick caught up with us there and we swept the area, going down to the drainage area. We had a tough time finding it, but I didn't want to go down too far down that ditch since my pace count put us at about where we were. Finally, Cynthia and I decided to get back up on the ledge and start over again. That's where I found it--we just walked past it.

It was down to the final one which I THOUGHT would be the hardest one since it looked like it was in the middle of nowhere. In reality it was next to the green trail, but we couldn't use the trails since they weren't on the map. So I did pace counts and it led us right to it! We were the first ones to get back by a wide margin...and even 30 min after that we were the only ones who found all of them! I was feeling more confident about my nav skills--especially since it was night time.

Little Bunny FuFu

Skated 6 miles and biked about 15. I did sprints at the end of both and they felt good--I went about 18mph on my skates and 31.5mph on bike. My back doesn't hurt as bad as it usually does after a skate, but it does still hurt. We saw a black rabbit when going around the fruit loop, just sitting there alone at the side of the road. Symbolic? It obviously was domesticated bc it just sat there as people came up to pet it. Hope to make the job decision either today or tomorrow.

XLR8!

Practice was really good last night. I came early and did a 35-40 min trail run in the "non-mountain bike" trails...of course, I ran into 2 guys riding the trails back there. I gave them the look. My legs were still gassed from this past weekend, but it still felt good to get a nice solitude run. During practice we did bike work around the fruit loop for the most part. Rick was mysteriously late. I was first paired with Tom and then Tara--both of them raced Colorado Bend, so they were a bit spent and not willing to go my pace. So I turned it down a notch. This is the time of year where we start doing more nav during practice. I like it but we don't get as much of a workout since we're walking around more.

Livin La Kenny Stupid

I couldn't sleep last night--I stayed up and organized my email inbox...man, I have a huge backlog. Should have blogged too, but didn't think of it. I brought my bike in last night to have my rear hub looked at and they're still gonna charge me to repack the bearings. I'm such a pushover. I also brought in the bike that I borrowed the rear wheel from bc it doesn't shift into the largest 2 rear cogs--should have checked that out before I took the wheel off in the first place, now I don't know if that problem is pre-existing or something I caused. Sigh. I'm reaching the limit of my savings and shouldn't be spending it on fixing other people's bikes.

Speaking of repairs, I took in Audi to have the oil sludge problem fixed and it looks like I won't have Audi for a week. At least they gave me a A4 loaner--it only has 100 miles on it and it's crispy clean and almost all the options on it. Tight! The only problem is that it doesn't have a bike rack so I'm gonna have to pack it into the trunk like old times. Seems like a pain in the a** now--I'm so spoiled.

This is my rifle this is my gun, this is for fighting this is for fun...

TMBRA Mountain Bike Race: Piney Hills Classic

The TMBRA Piney Hills Classic in northern Lousiana was great! It was held at Lincoln Parish Park in Ruston and I heard from many accounts that this is one of the best courses in the country. It did not disappoint! Rick was right about the monster downhills! I maxed 35mph on one of them and caught air on almost all of them...the next to last one almost caused me to yard sale. The trail is well maintained, technical, and unique--along with the heart-stopping downhills they had one switchback section that was actually fun and great scenery with ponds and lakes right along the course. Weather was perfect at mid-70s at my race time.

Classes were smaller than usual, probably because of the remoteness of the location--my class is usually the largest at an average of 30 and yesterday there were half that. I felt good for the most part and didn't crash, which is remarkable. I started my final kick after the last downhill and was able to pass one guy but had nothing left after that and came in 4th, missing 3rd by 3 seconds. I was very happy with that--it also vaulted me to 4th in the overall series standings. There were a few adventure racers from other teams and they recognized HART, so it was a good way to spread recognition.

Summary: if you're ever in Northern Lousiana, definitely do this trail!

Omedetou Gozaimasu

My birthday. One of the most uneventful, if not the most. My life is full of stress and it seems like my base of friends has been cut in half. Don't know what to do. I didn't even go out tonight. I was actually trying to drive to a bike race this weekend, but Audi decided to have a fit--oil sludge. Had to drive back and have someone else drive. At least it happened only an hour out of town, not halfway through--its 7hrs to Ruston, LA. Now we're planning to just leave early in the morning. I wish I was already there. Life is a trip.

On another note, my rear wheel's bearings are shot. I just bought a new one. The shop better fix it when I get back--it sounds worse than my old wheel! I had to borrow someone else's wheel to race this weekend...why did I think this would be a good weekend.

Fall

Ah, yes its here finally. A little abrupt, but I'll take it. It was nice to put the windows down on Audi this morning and let the crisp air hit me in the face while the sun shone brightly.

PFT PR

Yesterday was our Personal Fitness Test (PFT) for HART. I felt good about it even though I hadn't been running as much--have been riding more, preparing for the final mountain bike race of the year. We did the usual chase the rabbits, pushups, situps, and pullups...then it was time for the 3mi timed run.

I was barely over 22min my last run, so I just wanted to break 22 this time around. Again, wasn't sure how realistic it was since I haven't been running at all. It started out good, as usual. Felt loose and had good form. I was actually at the front with Tom! There were 4 of us at about the halfway point. I knew that Tom would take off at any time--he was taking it easy since he had a race this weekend...so I just tried to stay with him as long as I could. Then at the 2mi point, the initial acceleration came and Aaron drifted...then I started to drift. My new goal was to just keep them in my sights. After the final turn, I turned it on, but they turned it on too. I came back to my original goal of sub-22. I looked at my watch and I was in good shape! I sprinted in and ended up at 21:40, 20 secs better than last time! I can't believe that I started at about 28mins the first time I did the PFT! Now, just have to keep the weight at bay during this holiday season...holla!

Voting is Cool

Yep, went to vote this morning. One of those computer voting booths--I'll miss the old mechanized booths of yester-year. Who did I vote for? Well, Rick James, of course! Prince is VP. It was sweet because the polling was held in the basketball court at my apt complex...hope they didn't mind me hitting a trey right after I finished voting...splash, in your eye.

Rain

Blah. Flood watch. No training today, which I guess is alright since PFT is tomorrow. Instead, I'm planning my backpack in Big Bend NP: doing the Pinnacles-Juniper-Dodson-Blue Creek-Laguna Meadow Loop. Including sidetrips, should be about 40 miles or so. That's a lot of water.

Went to my loyal outfitter, REI. Why can't they be like West End and give us ALL a discount?! Ugh. Anyway, this time, I have all my rain gear ready--not going to be cold, wet, and miserable this time around! Expecting a crew to come out this time and we're bringing kayaks and bikes, too...like good adventure racers should.