Monday, November 30, 2009

Brief November recap

November had a lot of high points but one of the two best was Thanksgiving with part of my family at my brother's house in Ashland - my two sisters were unfortunately unable to make it. Nor were the older two of my five nieces but oh well. Hopefully at Christmas. I got to see the younger ones. And have dinner with them! Plus both my brothers, my Mom and Dad, Kevin's wife and her family, and a lot of great dogs and cats.

Another high point was completing my seventh Ironman (in seven years) in Wilmington, NC on November 7. And my Mom and Dad were both there! Which made things much more enjoyable.

A friend made a nice comment about these pictures on my fb page. He said I'm smiling just as much after the race as I am before the race. Which is certainly a good goal to shoot for. But if you look closely you can definitely see I don't have quite the "spark" in the second picture. The race took me fourteen hours and fifty-six minutes so I was definitely worn down some. But there's no feeling in the world like crossing the finish line after that much time, and you certainly get a boost from that. I'll be signing up for the 2010 race at 8:00 sharp tomorrow morning (December 1, 2009) when registration opens up. The race in 2010 will begin on Saturday, November 13 at 7:00 AM in Wilmington, NC. There's no real need to sign up this early; this race won't fill up fast. But registering early helps keep me in the "triathlete mentality," gets me in a good state of mind and helps keep me there all year long.

Have a great December,

Jay

With Dad, half an hour before the start - 37ยบ!


Off the bike after 112 beautiful miles


Gorgeous day for a 26.2 mile run

I'm smiling because:
1. My Mom is at the finish line and
2. I don't have to train any more!


Monday, November 23, 2009

Shocking - no August, September or October posts

I've been fooling around with fb too often and not paying enough attention to blogging, which I enjoy a great deal more.

First, from August, the adorable Gandhi, teacher of satyagraha, since moved on to a lovely new home:
Next, from September, a lucky shot of a Great Blue Heron we startled while walking along the river one lovely morning:

Finally an October post, this one of Roux taking an early morning dip while Mackey lifeguards: