Let me introduce Clover, I can't explain why I haven't before now. My only explanation is this. She thinks she is a debutante. Most young ladies of that world are introduced to society at a cotillion, making an entrance in full dress regalia down stairs of marble. It is an event riff with all the pomp and circumstance that befits their closed society.
Consider this post Clover's Ball. Right now she is alternately laying in my lap while I write and biting my chin when she feels the need. Her breath stinks. I can guarantee it. The picture above is her, after eating a hole in a paper grocery sack, and popping out of that hole. She has added a lot of joy to our humble abode, despite the lost sleep and smelly poo.
She is named after the horse in George Orwell's Animal Farm. Clover, the horse, is the engine that keep the farm running under a violent and irreverent totalitarian dictatorship. Clover, the cat, has none of those responsibilities. She lives not in the harsh world of totalitarian society, but more like a benevolent oligarchy, where she has nearly equal say in the daily household operations as Dacia or I. Such is the life of a cat.
It is true. Help has arrived in the form of a 50lbs of maltodextrin. Thanks the Honeyville Grain Company for shipping it to me for the low low price of $5.95. A couple weeks ago I wrote about my fueling woes during a specifically long day of training. After some discussion with my coach, Scott, about the most appropriate fueling strategy, we decided to start with some basic maltodextrin mixes.
All fifty pounds fit nicely in two five gallon buckets, plus one auxiliary container. I was concerned fifty pounds would be more than I could store, but that wasn't the case. As I have no experience with this, I don't know how long it is going to take to go through this much product, but I do know I have what feels like a lot.
This past Saturday I had good training day.
Swim: 2700 Yards in 56:51
Bike: 67.87 Miles in 4:07:59
Run: 3.18 Miles in 25:38
Although I did not feel the strongest I could have on the bike. I think I may have learned more about myself and training than I have in a very, very long time. I learned that you have got to be diligent in consuming your calories, oh those sweet calories, when on a ride of that length. By the time I pulled up to the front door I could barely hold myself up. I was out of gas. I tank was empty and I was a mess. I know I didn't fuel appropriately before setting out and certainly didn't attempt to keep my calorie intake high while I was out either. After getting myself filled up on pasta and juice, doing a couple errands, and resting up, my legs felt springy and alive.
My run later made my day. I was frustrated my bike ride and needed a something to validate the work I had done that day. It is sometimes amazing how a short run can really make the day.
In light of all this new information, Scott, my coach, and I are beginning to dial in my nutrition strategies for both racing and training. This is always been a challenge for me and I am looking forward to seeing continued results. Starting this week I am going to start implementing all the new strategies Scott and I have worked on. I look forward to continued success, thus far Scott has not lead me astray. I have seen only improvements.
So, no shit, the weather has been better here, in Portland, Oregon, than nearly anywhere in the country save Sunny San Diego. Today, when I left work, the temperature gage in my car read 63 degrees. SIXTY-THREE!!!!! IT'S FEBRUARY! The past three Saturdays have been great weather as well. Instead on spending those days on the trainer watching movies, I have been out there, actually outside. Most importantly, I have not been freezing my ass off. This makes training so much better. Today I wore shorts on my run. SHORTS!
In lieu of this, training has been going really well. I feel like the consistency I have been able to get has really allowed me to make some good strides, especially in the pool. As well, Scott, my coach has been invaluable. As of now...all things are good.
We also got a cat a couple weeks ago. I will post pics soon. Her name is Four-Leaf Clover or just Clover if you need something shorter.
It has been pretty cold here, in Portland, Oregon. It hasn't been cold, like Boston cold, but still in the 30's. People are freaking out. The people here think they are at the dawn of a new ice age, and its 37 degrees outside. It makes me remember the days when I would stand at the Brookline Village T stop at 4:45am to wait for that blasted train to pick me up for work. Those mornings the snot would freeze in my nose. I bought a giant down jacket, one more giant than the most giant you could think of. It wasn't enough. I still froze my ass off. Last winter we started talking about taking a winter tropical vacation. That dream comes to fruition Wednesday when we leave for Belize.
The basic outline of the trip goes like this:
1. Fly to Houston and connect to flight bound for Belize.
2. Arrive at Belize City airport.
3. Get picked up and driven to the jungle where will get to experience some magnificent Mayan ruins.
4. After 3 nights in the jungle we will travel to Ambergis Caye.
5. Enjoy the beach life for 5 nights. Snorkel. Yes please. Mai Tais. Yes.
6. Leave Paradise for Portland, Oregon.
Sounds good? You bet it will be. Upon our return it is going to time to get down to business triathlon. I hope to get in some big miles and some quality work next month. After the vacation it will be time to get at it. Yipee.
I have been sick the last couple of days. I have never been ill so many times in a one year period. Dating back to my run-in with strep throat after racing at Cascade Edge I have been sick at least 3 times including this year. I blame it mostly on my work. I am in constant contact with a plethora of people, all of them with their own set of plagues. Now I am sick again, not training, watching a lot of tv, interneting (I will take the liberty to call this new word a verb, infinitive form), and being glad I again live in the Pacific Northwest.
Last year at this time I was in Boston, freezing my ass off as I waited for the T to pick me up and take me to work. Those subarctic mornings seem to me a distant memory. Now I live in Portland = Paradise. If you don't believe: Portland.
I will be be better soon. I am going to train hard this week and through the next weekend. Then it will be off to Belize.
My grandfather, Howard George Jasperson, died on the morning of December 26, 2007. He was a loving and caring man. He was man with a tremendously generous heart. He will be sorely missed.
The past two weeks have been rough emotionally, physically, and mentally. I have been exhausted by the contemplation of mortality. I was charged with the task of writing my grandfather's obituary and addressing the throng at his funeral with words that somehow were to be a brief summation of this man's character. I did the same for my grandmother when she left this world. In both cases I have been lauded by those who both knew my grandparents and heard my words. I hope they have taken some solace in them. However, I am not completely certain whether, for me, this process has been cathartic. Everyday presents new challenges in filling the empty space left behind.
As I have had the opportunity to reflect on his life, his accomplishments, and his family, I can't help but wonder whether he knew it was time. He had spent the last three days of his life amongst his family, whom he loved with all his heart. Those days were filled with the conversation he loved, filled with his endearing laugh, and an unforced congeniality that set him at ease. I think he knew we would be alright. I think he knew that he had shepherded his family through times good and bad. I think he knew he had taught us values that would endure, that his legacy was secure. We will always love him, for he taught us how to love.
