Time to Buy a Watch

Last night I finally pulled the trigger on something I’ve been talking about doing for years. I bought a watch. Seriously. I’ve procrastinated for something like five or six years on this.

For a period of time I found watches to be stress-inducing. I have an extreme sense of urgency and my old watch just seemed to shout out at me, “Dude… You’re never going to get X done unless you do A and B, like, RIGHT NOW!” So, instead of checking myself into therapy, I ditched the watch. Cheaper.

Living watch-less was liberating. I found that I could always figure out what time it was. I could spy someone else’s wrist. I could look at the lower right side of my computer screen. Think about it… VCRs, microwave ovens, car dashboards. They’re all gentle reminders! I could sense approximate time by how I felt, whether I was hungry, sleepy, or had to relieve myself. I took better notice of sun and moon positions. Having no watch gave me a great excuse to initiate conversation with others. When my “Spidey sense” let me down, and there was nobody else around, I could always pull out the damn cell phone (I think I detest that thing more than any watch).

After living a few years like this (and being pretty proud of myself) I started training for triathlons. I needed a watch. Not the metal-banded corporate droid type, mind you. I needed something plastic. Waterproof. It needed big dorky digital numbers and giant red buttons. You know, something that would read heart rate data from a chest-mounted transmitter, sense running pace from a transmitter in my shoe, or align itself with global positioning satellites. Wearing that heavy clunky thing on my rather small wrist? One word… SWEET! Sometimes at work I have to play the, “I’m-a-gifted-engineer-that-habitually-solves-problems-with-the-quadratic-equation” role with customers. I always wear my Polar S625x under just such circumstances. It’s like a modern-day pocket protector… complete with taped eye glasses.

But back to my new watch. I must have a better sense of perspective these days. I finally decided to purchase the metal-banded variety. Guess I’m ready to be a big boy. We’ll see how long it lasts. Doh! Look at the time! Gotta go…

Planning Heats Up

Man… what a difference a week makes! I headed out on a group run this morning at 5:30. C-C-COLD WIND!!! There’s something about that group dynamic that gets you out the door after hearing the wind howl all night. A competitive camaraderie that keeps you from wimping-out.

As we finally start experiencing some seasonal winter weather, my race and fundraising planning are beginning to heat up. On the fundraising side, I’m pleased to report that my employer, McClure Company, has pledged a leading gift of $5,000. We're developing a mailing campaign to our entire customer base. If you would like to be on the mailing list, please let me know. The first piece will go out in mid-February.

I’ve also made all the necessary decisions relating to race planning. Here’s my lead-up plan…

• March 11, Caesar Rodney Half Marathon, Wilmington, DE
• May 6, New Jersey Devilman Half Ironman Triathlon, Cumberland County, NJ
• June 5 thru 10, “Ironcamp” Training Block in Lake Placid, NY
• July 22, Ironman USA, Lake Placid, NY

Now I must shift gears to another sort of planning… for Kyle’s birthday party tonight!

Bridge of Hope part 2

Whew, what is the date anyway? Mid-January you say? I've heard of Indian summers, but this is a little ridiculous. Haven't had to endure any slippery cold runs like this one. Three hours of biking and running in the warm mist today. Hope we're not getting lined-up for a snowy bludgeoning through February and March!

I promised to follow-up with more information about the Bridge of Hope. We're in the process of drafting the campaign materials now. It's a trick to tell the whole story in just a few words, but here's an early attempt... and thanks to the BOH staff for these words...

The Bridge of Hope connects homeless women and children with a caring community, by training and developing mentoring groups within church congregations, so these families can achieve permanent housing and financial self-sufficiency while building a network of stable ongoing relationships.

Participants are expected to graduate from the program in 12 to 18 months. Success is measured against the following objectives:

• Has the family attained and maintained housing?
• Has the woman attained financial self-sufficiency through employment, budgeting and through the securing of adequate transportation, child-care and health insurance?
• Has the family developed a support network through mentors and other people?\
• Has the woman grown in areas of holistic living, including parenting and emotional/spiritual/physical health?

Brief enough? It's gonna have to fit on a post card.

New Year Training Update

The new year brings great expectations for the journey toward Ironman. It’s time for stronger focus on achieving my fitness and fund raising goals.

A lot of people are asking, “How’s the training goin’?” Being an engineer I have a hard time giving a simple and straight answer. Please forgive me, but here it is...

Basically at this point of the training cycle I’m resisting the urge to train long and hard. Last season is now a distant memory. I’ve taken some time off and feel pretty good and motivated. The paranoia of being under-trained for Ironman occasionally kicks in (usually around 3 am), but there’s a real danger of achieving a fitness peak too early, or of burning out, or of getting sick or injured if I pump up the volume too early.

My goal is to reach a fitness peak a little over six months from now. Fitness-wise that’s still a long ways off. Right now I’m training 9 to 10 hours per week. I’ve spent a fair amount of time working on flexibility, sport-specific strength, and technique. Staying disciplined right now with these drills and maintaining workout frequency (not volume) is building a good foundation of fitness and efficiency for the hard pounding to come.

I will slowly build toward a training peak from mid-May through mid-June. During that time my #1 priority will become triathlon. Until that time, though, it’s about staying consistent, smart, and patient.