Más Pastel

This morning, of course, Donovan and I each had another cake slice b4 breakfast. He was having a hard time b/c he couldn't find a particular toy. Ah, but then a slice of pastel de tres leches restored balance to his universe. Wish everything was that simple....

I give it 4/5 days until it's all gone. :o)

36

oh man, I'm feeling old. Today was my bday.

Theresa and Donovan made an awesome dinner and dessert. For dessert, we had Pastel de Tres Leches, one of my favorites and a classic Mona used to make. In fact, Mona's was so damn good, she even sold them to the oldest ice cream shop in the city for a few years. Needless to say, eating pastel de tres leches with my wife and son brought back lots of memories of my childhood.
This past weekend I got the chance to watch one of my buddies race at an indoor track event at the U of W. Walking around the track facility, realizing some of the pimply college kids tearing around the purple Mondo surface were half my age, made me feel way old. Still, it was a blast, and it made me feel good to be in decent shape at my old age.

That's about it for right now. Just happy my bones are still holding up. Now where is that AARP application?

New, new, new....

Good ole' blog, it's been a while, just a busy time of the year. The new year came and went, and we didn't do a whole lot to 'bring it in', we found ourselves already in bed before the fireworks started going off. Anyhow- new, new, new!

New Year- This year marks me moving into the last year of my mid-thirties. Oh boy... time is just ticking away... I'll be turning 36 in just a few more days. 2010 will also mark my 5th year racing long course triathlons, and I'm hoping 5 is the charm.
New Work Schedule- I have to take 10 scheduled furlough days this year, so from time to time, I'll have 3-day weekends. Not too bad, I do enjoy the extra rest day at home. The first furlough day, combined with MLK day, netted me a 4-day weekend. Sweet.
New Strokes-Been trying to swim a good amount lately. I've been working on my technique, thanks to some good, simple tips from a local guru. Amazing, really, what someone who knows what they're doing can point out, and suggest ways to improve. I'm happy to report I'm zippin along quite nicely in the water, practicing to permanently incorporate the changes to my stroke.
New Sponsors- Not trying to jinx it, but let's wait and see.
New Race Schedule- Up soon.

In the meantime, an image that made me laugh lots....

talk soon

Feliz Navidad

It was fun to see Donovan so excited about presents. His grandparents & aunts/uncles surprised him with lots of toys, giving us lots of play time every morning. Santa delivered an awesome balance bike, which he totally loved. The continental cycling development squads might wanna take note.

Theresa and I were telling Donovan of the toys we had when we were kids. We were saying how computers did not exist back then, which prompted him to ask in a very matter-of-fact tone, "how did you check your email?". It was very funny, and a little intimidating too, to see that at 3yrs old, he is aware of the heavy influence of technology on daily life.

Though I was pretty beat down with a serious cold for a few days, the holidays were filled with fun. Yesterday I was putting on clothes to go biking, when Donovan asked if we could go 'swimming'. I thought about it for a half-second, and the number of ZEROs I had already racked up this week because of the nasty cold, and a half-second later, I was stuffing my bag with our swim shorts, towel, snacks, etc. We had an absolute blast in the water, and my butt did not miss the bike seat, not even for one second.

Soggy runnin' mess...

That's what you get when you go running on evenings when it rains moderately hard here in Seattle. As silly as I may have looked last nite, I wore my cycling plastic rain jacket, you know, one of them transparent non-breathing rubbery ones. And while I got mildly wet from the inside out, I was immune to the wind and cold rain, and it made for a nice 45min run. My feet were the only part of me that were cold.

So, if you want to keep PNW weather out, try a cycling rubber cape. In my mind, it is easier to unzip stuff than to try to get wet stuff warm.

'Tis the season...

Been meaning to write this for some days, but have been fairly busy.
'Tis the season. To decorate a tree, and hang stuff around the house. To plan Saturdays around going swimming with Donovan, and workouts around parties.



'Tis the season. To spend time with family and friends, to share a yummy plate of food and drink. We recently had a little get-together at our home, which was an absolute blast. The excellent buffet dinner was provided by my sis-in-law, Chef Christina.


Donovan and the rest of the kids had a ton of fun, as evidenced by the state of the basement post-party. Scott (of NUUN) and Shawn (of Blue Seventy) showcased their babysitting skills, and Donovan asked when they'd be coming back to play....



'Tis the season. To recognize how important are the people in our lives. Not because I don't do it at other times of the year, but it is a good time as any to reiterate it to those present. When the people are gone, they are gone for good, and it really sucks when you start filling your head with "I should have..."s. I really miss Mona, and I'm happy for all the people close to us and that are part of Donovan's upbringing.

'Tis the season. To do unstructured training, and do it for fun. To make sure the energy is renewed and the embers in the tummy stay lit. Many are the days ahead with long hours and constant fatigue.


'Tis the season. Peace.

Of financial moves and validation

This is one of my favorite pictures to date. Donovan's first race. The game-face is priceless. All intensity, all concentration....

On the days leading up to it. He would announce to everyone we met about how we were traveling to Canada for his race. And, how he planned on going super fast.

Finally got a chance to write this- I wanted to share my thoughts on the WTC pro membership announcement, and on a discussion that ensued in widely-read triathlon forum.

Great move by the WTC for the WTC- it strenthens up their global branding, generates them more revenue, and intends to regulate the pros. What it means to the guys/gals paying the $750 yearly membership, aside from entry to WTC events, truly remains to be seen. For one thing, if I were to pay the $750, it would make me consider WTC events I would not have thought about before if only to get my $'s worth. I postulate the 5% and 8% rules attached to the announcement will result in a rise of DNFs in the pro ranks for the people looking for a pay-day/pro slots. What I would really like to see is the proposal for the anti doping program that supposedly will be encompassed by the membership. Now, that alone would be worth the fee. Look- I'm not saying everyone's a doper, but the enforcement just isn't there at present. I also think the (hefty) fee will likely make events outside of the WTC more popular. Finally, if an athlete union is born of all this, it would be sweet....

As far as the reaction the announcement triggered, it went off on several tangents, most of them dealing with economics, branding, and validation of the sport and its athletes racing as pros. On the latter topic, yeah, everyone is entitled to their opinion, and here is mine (Note-I am referring to guys/gals recognized as elites by the governing body of their respective national federations): The sport is big enough for everyone, and if some of us choose to race in the first wave, that is our decision- It has nothing to do with whether one does sport full-time or tries to fit in to life on top of an 8-5 job/family/etc. It is about bringing it on race-day. For those that are still in development, looking to deliver that one breakthrough performance, and/or have a bad day(s) at the races, I believe most still race our hearts out, represent hard for our sponsors and take nothing away from the winners. Or dilute the sport in any way. For those who argue the sport needs to be elevated to the likes of FIFA futbol, Nascar racing or the NBA... I get what you are saying, and I'd love to see the sport grow too. My opinion is triathlon, specially at the long-distance, is not (and will never be) a fan-based sport. Despite NBC heart-warming, award-winning Kona broadcasts, the weekend warriors and public in general look at triathletes as freaks- They neither relate to them nor the sport. I am not trying to be a negative dude, but that is my perception of reality. Mis dos centavos.

peace out

Hello again, blog...

As I've said before, a period of no blogs is a reflection of how busy our little life gets. This time around, it has been a busy and fun time with family and friends.

First, here are some pictures of the summer now gone. We had a really good one.

Donovan getting TV air time at the Vancouver Half Ironman.

His future sponsors should take note...

Enjoying the sun at the beach 5minutes from our house

Donovan's last minute preparations before his first race.

Halloween came and went and it was a blast. Neighbors forewarned us of the amounts of kids, and the night lived up to its expectations. We estimate we handed out candy to about 400 kiddies. Woah. We went trick-or-treating, and Donovan, dressed up as Darth Vader, had a really good time. Almost all the homes in our neighborhood really get into it, and the streets were full of adults and children, everyone having a good time. It was very cool.

Donovan and I have been going to this indoor pool some 15minutes away from our house. It's a pretty neat, shallow set of pools, specifically designed for water fun and swim instruction. The bottom and sides of the pools are soft, the water warm and shallow, and there are a few water elements, different toys, and whole lot of other kids to play with. It's been a lot of fun for the two of us, and a great activity for this crappy weather we've been having lately.

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and with it, Christmas. Donovan has been flipping pages of toy catalogs, making his imaginary wish list pages long. Theresa is equally excited, planning lights, decorations and all the cheer she enjoys spreading. It's not that I'm a grinch, but I don't get in to it as much as they do- they REALLY get into the spirit.

Sport-wise... my season officially ended after the win at Black Diamond. We looked into traveling to do Ironman AZ, but it was too costly. I wish I had raced more, but sometimes it is hard to line up all the details (time, $, etc). All in all, except for the windy day at Canada, it was a good (short) season.

Delayed BOO!, and early gobble-gobble-gobble to you.
Thanks for reading,

JC