Ready, Set: Hike!!!

Well, that is not really how it happened, but Alicia and Jason are the proud parents of a happy and healthy baby boy. Dillion Issak was born yesterday, around 6:30 pm. Even though I didn't witness the event, I must confess it was one of the warmest, and most heart-touching events I have seen take place in someones life. I am so happy for you all three of you, and my thoughts and prayers will continue for your new family.

So, I could pretty much end the post there, because that is what went down over the weekend. Alicia went into the hospital on Wednesday, mild labor began on Friday, and out popped Dillon on Saturday evening. As you may have guessed, plans changed a bit for everyone this weekend. I did not roll down to Springfield, nor did I really give my bike all that much attention. I was facinated by the begining of this new story. Here is a quick run down since last Thursday:

I ran some errands, and did some core work before taking Alicia some clothes, but not before I got to panty-raid her dresser (that's right, I know she is married with child, but who could resist?). So, she told me to bring some particular shirts...so I brought five, thinking one of them had to be the right one (bingo!). So, then it was off to work. I was exhasted when I got home, so no workout for me. We went to see Alicia and Jason at Boone that evening.

Friday: I opened at work, made a delivery, hiesmanned a fitting (actually, my client didn't show up) and came home to ride. Then, I went back to work, closed, and went to the hospital to chill with J & A. Baby wasn't too far off.

Saturday...lazy day. I woke up at 5:00 am to run over to TJ's and tell him he was on his own for the weekend. Then, Krista and I did some work around the house, went to the hospital, took a nap, did more work, then went to the hospital just in time to hear the baby was arriving (as we were entering the hospital). We hung out there most of the evening, and came home, exhausted once again. No ride, no exertion what so ever.

Sunday: Slept in again. I made breakfast, and we did some more stuff around the house. Then, we went to Target, Wal-Mart (devil), Famous, and Hy-Vee to get our shop on. By 1, we were back and I was ready to ride. Krista wanted to nap, so I cleaned the house a bit. I got out on the bike a bit later, just long enough to call it a ride. Nothing structured, just nice easy recovery.

This week marked the last recovery week of the season (that is, until I hang my bike up and try and forget about it). This comming week will be really tough, as I plan on schlacking myself several times before the weekend. State Crit is this weekend, followed by Tour of KC...should be some good times.

Long sleeves in July...heck yeah!

I was so pleased this morning to wake up and be absolutely cold. I woke up at the butt-crack as usual to go out and drive for TJ.

When I got home, I made breakfast and lunch, and headed to the shop. After dropping my grub off, I headed out on a pretty chill big tree. I did all the extra loops and off-takes, and headed back into work. I felt really good today. This week is a rest week, and my legs feel fresh...this always worries me for the race weekend. I always seem to do better going into the weekend feeling tired. Unfortunatly, I missed my core workout today...I will probably hit that up in the morning.

So, work was fine, and all was well. This evening, we hung out with the Prozenbergers and TJ for a bit, and now we are off to bed. Tomorrow looks like a ride at tempo, just after my slacker-ass does my core workout.

A little pain, a little rain

I met Jason at 6am this morning to go hit the hill loop...I was completely delerious this morning. I was stumbling over everything, and falling down stairs; you would have thought I was drunk! After my first cup of coffee, and as I was slipping into the chamios, my blurred vision began to subside.

I felt pretty decent hammering my legs out this morning. I did several laps, and feel well prepped for the up and comming hilly-crits.

Work was work; bikes were repaired, fitness equipment was built, and some really funky pizza was injested. I remembered this afternoon why I chose a field in nutrition: because there is some really nasty s#*! out there that people put into their bodies (but it typically tastes so good).

K and I are getting ready to head over to our friend Matt Bond's house, for a going away party. Matt will be heading to Des Moines to trade punches with DO school. Good luck Matteo.

This evening we recieved a bit of rain, which cooled things off nicely. I think I actually may wear a long sleeve shirt this evening.

Tomorrow, the plan is to drive cars for TJ, then ride bikes for Curt, and hit up some good old fashioned Walts time.

This one goes out to the Angry man

Who probaly isn't too angry anymore...because he just asked his gal Sarah McCann to be his wife...I can not tell you how excited I am for you Micah; being engaged and now married has changed Krista and I's perception of life so much. Anyway, I just wanted to give Micah and Sarah a big shout, and wish them well in the many months of planning ahead. I love you guys

96 degrees

In the Sha-iiiiiiiade...that one goes out to my home boy Jason Prozenberger, who is just a few weeks shy of becomming a daddy. BTW, Jason also competed in his first dualathalon, where he took first in his age group...way to go Jason.

So, the past few days, have been extreamly hot. TJ and I ventured out yesterday at around noon on Jack Daniel's favorite ride, Old # 7...I had my first bottle drank before we got out of the driveway. Seriously, it was very hot. We went through our first three bottles in the first hour. We stopped at a little non-convienient--convienince store to douce our heads and fill our bottles. Within a few minutes, the bottles felt like they were on fire. I mean, it was very difficult to actually take in any water. So, we stopped again a few more times to fill bottles, and pour our boiling brew out onto the pavement (which, could probably could have fried an egg). So, our last stop was about .5 miles short of Columbia, which we considered stopping again before the city limits. Anyway, our boy in the store was illin' out listening to the ball game, and I asked him how accurate his thermometer was...he said pretty dead on. TJ and I were riding in 116 degree weather...that was quite the kick in the junk. We limped on in and decided that riding bikes in the dessert was not a good idea.

What did I do today??? I went riding again. This time I brought K along. I took her on a short ride that was quite demanding. She did really well, and it allowed me to just chill out. Anyway, the weather wasn't horrible, but it was still somewhat miserable.

The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing...my folks came up and helped out with some home repairs and to celebrate my birthday. We BBQ'ed and played in the pool, re-screened our screened-in door, and cleaned up a bit. I also spent the majority of the evenings trying to revive our dead grass, which, I need to go turn off the water now.

I worked today, and will again tomorrow. There is a core workout in the forcast for tomorrow, along with me setting up K with her new workout. She will be spending some time on the trainer, as long as the weather keeps up it's temper-tantrum.

Oh yeah, if you have tried, or plan on trying to get a hold of me on my mobile phone, you can think again...I am comtemplating on betting Thomas another 40 bucks to see if I can hit the roof of the pasta factory for the second time, from Willies deck...but seriously, my cell phone doesn't work, so call K's.

Back to Back 10 hr days

Yeah, that's right...20 hrs in two days. And I only rode a combined total of 80 some-odd miles. The past few days, I have been vollunteering at a boy scout camp for one of my friends, John Stansfield. I met John when Micah and I were running the MU Club, as he was our faculty contact. Our ride consisted of a three mile loop around Stevens Park, a local summer hot spot. By the time 7 groups of with a combined total of 100 scouts visited me throughout the day, I had rode a whopping 21 miles in 8 hrs. One must always remember the wise words of Luke Musselman, "chamois time is trainging time".

So, I have another 5 hr day planned with the scouts...which reminds me, I only made it to a bear scout before moving and totally losing interest in the boy scout way; however, this pretty much makes me an honorary Tenderfoot, which I have been told it well on my way to an Eagle scout. I will keep you posted on any future service projects.

Before my long arduous days in the saddle with the campers, I went out early for some rides of my own. Wednesday, I crawled around for a bit, then came home and hit a core workout. Yesterday, me and Master Prozenberger rode a pretty hard Ashland (well, out to Ashland, then I rode home...Jason had to work). We rode at and above tempo the entire ride. I managed to make it up Sapp hill without really losing too much concentration (or oxygen for that matter).

Needless to say, with working this week, vollunteering at scout camp, riding and trying to live my life, I am absolutely exhausted. K and I are getting ready to go to Ernies, in luie of riding my bike. More to come soon.

Early to rise

I am really going to beat TJ to a pulp...actually, I really didn't have much of a choice in the situation. I have to go into work early today, so that means waking up about an hour earlier than normal. So, after several interuptions, I am finally able to dedicate the next 32 seconds to this post.

Yesterday was quite nice. I got about 2.5 hours of internet surfing in the morning, followed by a somewhat productive day at work, a really bitchin' core workout, and a quick fall to bed. I also managed to complete some of our much overdue thank you cards from the wedding...I promise, they will be in the mail soon.

So, TJ and I are hitting up a top secret ride today: sorry I can't tell you what we are doing, but it is pretty cool...not really, we are heading out to Easley, the local wall that cyclists like to ride their bike into. I am not sure that TJ has ever been there, so things should be interesting.

State TT Drown

So, I didn't do as well as I had hoped, but I had a really good ride down at the State Suffer Fest. We have a few guys around here that can pedal their bikes really fast, and not think about things like pain and cardiac arrest. None the less, on a windy day, I put up a respectible time in the 40k, 55:38, beating my time from last year (which was an easier riding condition); this time was good for 4th.

Jason broke out of the closet and dominated the Master's 30+ field with a 55:37, taking the jersey and putting a second into his minute man...me. TJ had a good ride and will do really well in time trials to come. This was his first 40k, and he has a bit to learn about riding at redline. Anyway, expect blazing speeds out of TJ over the next year.

After dying on the bike, we rolled home and I began prepping the house for Bruce's going away party. First, I jumped in the pool, then got right out...then, I jumped in again and got right back out (both of these times, I managed to splash K quite a bit ;) Then, the cleaning frenzy began. Actually, we didn't totally dial in the place, but we put some stuff away, and put the plastic on the couches for all the peeps to catch some tour vision. Yesterdays stage was a good one, if you haven't already caught up with your tour coverage, George Hincappe won his first ever tour stage in ten years of riding in the event.

The BBQ was great, and the clean up was relatively painless. I have to work today, and I really need to get going on my internet class. Krista and I have to dot some i's and cross some t's on our thank you cards and get those rollin' out the door. So, if you are wondering what kind of inconsiderate people we are, please understand that our lives have been crazy, and we really appreciate everything from over a month ago.

So, maybe a quick ride, core workout, and some pretty serious stretching today, followed by some exhaust inhaling pain tomorrow morn...until then

State TT Bound

Remember when you were in High School and your team made it to state and the cheerleaders plastered state bound all over the vehicles leading you to your destination?...well, we will not be doing that for the state TT, but that is where we are heading in about eight hours.

Jason, TJ and I hit up a Big Tree in our aero gear. Needless to say that the loop is a bit more vertically challenging than I would normally would like to ride my TT bike on. However, we had to make sure things were dialed in.

Things at work were crazy...I haven't worked a Saturday in ages. I really almost forgot how intense they can be. So, that was quite exhausting. Sarah Ashman broke out of retirement and won the Womens' Single Speed Championships down in Jeff City today, while another co-worker, Keven Bricknel took second in the mens. Way to go Walt's crew.

This evening, I went grocery shopping, watched Tour vision, and cleand up a gang of dishes.

Updates tomorrow regarding bike racing, and bourbon drinking.

Aren't new things wonderful? I mean, I have not missed a day of updates all because I am excited about this new blog. Actually, I really miss all the flair the old site had...however, we must think economically here.

I rolled around town on the old road bike today, hitting up some of my favorite neighborhood loops. I rocked it out of a few corners, and took in the beautiful morning.

Work was good, I had a few things to tend to as soon as I arrived, a service call, and a pretty in-depth fitting, which challenged my mind quite a bit. Brain stimulation will always be welcome now that I am out of school, so bring it.

Tomorrow, TJ and I are waking up early to get a ride in before work...that way, we can get a full recovery before the TT on Sunday morning (which also happens to be at the ass-crack of dawn).

What else is new...my birthday is comming up, I think it is actually Wednesday. Other than that, our weekend outlook has a going away party for a great co-worker, Bruce Schuster. He will be joining his wife (for the first time in quite a while) out in Washington state. I assure you, he will be missed, but I think I am a bit excited for him to head out as well; you see, now I know someone in the Pacific Northwest...cyclocross time!!! Just kidding, Bruce, I wish you well. Also, for some reason I can not get my spell check to work on this program, so if I mispell something, don't hold it against me.

So, lets give day two a try...shall we?

I had a pretty rough ride this morning; the damn stop signs ruined it for me. I finally found myself into a rhythm while slobbering all overmyeslf and listening to the latest from System of the Down when I had to stop due to crossing traffic. How on earth am I supposed to get ready for the
TT this weekend if I have to keep stopping for bull crap like that?

Work was pretty typical today, except we had two of my favorite things in the world, Bankok Gardens (nice little Thai joint downtown), and DQ...I only hit a small up, but it was such a good 4:30 treat.

So, like I said, this weekend is the State Time Trial. I have pretty high hopes for the race, but there are several super fast cats that come across to race for practically nothing but bragging rights and a jersey with a couple of bears on it. The pic above is from last years race (I took 2nd as a 3).

Anyway, not a whole lot has been happening. I have managed to touch base with my boy Micah, and Thomas and I have been playing a bit of phone tag over the past few days.

I am going to try something a bit different...The whole website thing is becomming a bit cumbersome. So, this is an experiment if you will. A's blog is somewhere out on this host, so I figured I would give it a whirl. Pictures and words should be plenty...besides, there is too much going on in the whole website world; sometimes, things change so quickly, you can't keep everyone up to snuff with what is going on.

So, this past weekend was Soulard and the SIUE Crit. I suffered like a dog both days to finish 8th (3rd in the field sprint) on Saturday, and worked my tail off in Soulard trying to get away in the final laps of the race...fourtunatly, Johnny was well rested and took 2nd, just after I exploded on my last effort to get away. Funny how things workout sometimes.

The weekend before was the Columbia Cup...more suffering, and quite similar to my past race weekend. I did a lot of sacrificing and we came up with some some chips; Johnny took 3rd in the crit, and Nagy took 9th in the RR.

This week has been pretty chill. Core workout on Monday, a motor pacing workout attempted, but failed yesterday (TJ's Durango should not be cruised behind at speeds in excess of 40mph in the rain). Instead, I just cruised on into Ashland and did an out-n-back on Columbia's favorite, not so flat road, Rangeline. Later in the day, I hopped up on the bike again to cruise around with Prozenberger and came home to catch some Tour Vision. We also had J & A over for dinner and a few cocktails (well, Jason had a few beers, and I had the cocktails). Today, I drove the car for TJ, and took joy in his suffering. That kid never ceases to amaze me. I am getting ready to head home and hop on the bike for a bit, then convert it over into my TT machine for the weekend.

So, we will see if this starship stays off the ground...until then