Ugh...I thought I was back.  Forgive my fickleness.  I suppose I am done here as the pull is getting less and less.  Besides, I don't suppose most of you cared too much for the left wing socialism combined with right wing fiscal responsibility.  If more people liked that our government would look completely different than it does!

Save us all from the new supreme coart...and welcome to the Dark Ages!

Did you miss me?  I am back

well..1 more marathon down (www.martianmarathon.com)

Well, I wish I could tell you tales of high adventure, over coming serious adversity, and a drama to fill a page with awe inspiring drama.  Instead, race day was kind of a non-event, which in itself is a good thing actually.  The weather was forecast to start out windy and right at the freezing point and then a snow storm was destined to hit around 11 AM, about ½ hour before I hoped to finish.  This led to the only real “drama” of the day as I was torn between shorts and running tights.  I opted at the last minute to wear tights, a thin shirt and a wind proof jacket.  I had a hat and gloves that I knew I’d shed around mile 3 when I got warmed up.  The decision to wear tights was probably the right one, but it was right at the limit of my thermal comfort.  But when headed into the wind, which was omnipresent all day, the tights seemed like the best decision, when running with the wind when the sun was peaking out…the tights seemed a bit much…

The 8 AM start was small and simple and overly crowded on the narrow pathway, I ran the first mile with my friend Rob and then as my legs loosened up I picked up the pace and started passing people, a trend that would last the rest of the run.  At mile 4 I passed my acquaintance Brian who was running the ½ marathon and had started closer to the leading edge of the pack.  That felt good.  The half marathoners separated from the marathon track at mile 7, a sign read “Smart people turn around here”…I ran right past that feeling strong.

After 2.5 miles out from the ½ marathon turn, the marathon path doubled back.  So at mile 12 we rejoined the slower ½ marathoners at their mile 7 point.  The group was pretty much strung out at their respective paces.  My pace at this point was just below 8 minutes per mile, right where I wanted to be.  I was hoping to see Carol on the ½ marathon course, but her pace kept her ahead of me.  At mile 14 the marathon course again separated and went out along a lonely bike path along the expressway.  The traffic noise was at once disturbing and comforting, drowning out all but the most persistent of pain.  The snow still hadn’t rode into town on the 10 to 15 mph wind, but the cold spring finally betrayed us when at mile 18 the path and the terrain around it was covered in water.  Both of my feet got wet. 

I was so happy to see the mile 20 marker. My time was 30 seconds short of 160 minutes, so I was right where I wanted to be.  I still felt strong. 10k to go.

Mile 21 went by in just over 8 minutes but I noticed that I started to feel fatigued.  The wind was starting to wear at me and my left foot was starting to blister.

Mile 22…mile 23 slowly crept by.  My time slide to about 9:20 a mile for those two miles.  My brother in law Pat joined me at mile 23 to run the last 5k with me, it was like a breath of fresh air.  Here is where the only real drama of the race occurred.  A runner came up and latched on to my pace.  Breathing hard with a shuffling stride. Really irritating.   I ran with him for less than a quarter of a mile before I picked it up, he tried to match pace.  I put a little distance between us but my heart rate peaked at 175+, I had to throttle back and he once again latched on to me.  Mile 25 found us stride for stride with Pat encouraging me on. My form felt good and I found some fresh legs.  I picked up the pace and dropped my leach.  I crossed the like at 3:33:30 official time.  My unofficial time was 3:32:14 from the starting line to finish line according to my watch.  I ended up with a pretty good blister on my left foot, but other than that everything went just fine.  No drama, no excitement.  The best part was having my daughters at the finish.  I don’t think they understood the distance or the loneliness that goes into all 26.2,  But two little hugs were definitely more memorable than the finishing medal.

I am thinking I might be done here.  Not that I don't (or didn't enjoy it). I am actualy looking forward to Sealkitty's baby and hoping that rache doesn't eat the placenta or anything too weird.  Not to mention the wedding.

Life here is good but moving so fast that I can barely keep up. Chicago Triathlon went ok last weekend. I finished in the top 1/3 of the men, but I had a horrible swim the 64 F water combined with the waves and diesel fuel were not what I had prepare for.  My swim took about 8 minutes longer than I had hoped because I kept swimming into the sea wall to save my candy @$$.  Thus, much more time to be spent in the pool and I'm gonna buy a killer wetsuit. (www.rooworld.com)

More training in my future, more stress and politics at work, more angst and anquish over the stupidity of our elected leaders, more joy from my children, more solace in my family.

So, until next time, so long and thanks for all the fish.

Ok, 4 things.

1. Hillary Clinton is a horrible public speaker, she has two volumes, kind of annoying and really annoying.  I don't think this woman likes people in a physical sense.  I think she really does care, but please don't touch.

2. Bill Clinton is an amazing public speaker, even as much dislike as I have for the man (he is a liar we all know that right?), he is still fun to listen too.  I find it odd that this man, rose to be president, screwed an intern, and then gets to live a public life without even a mea culpa.  Either way I suppose, I really enjoyed the content of his speech...I just have to wonder how much was the truth.

3. Kerry better not screw this up.  4 years of Bush was enough.  Re-election may result in witch hunts and mass burnings and the installation of fascism in this country.  Not that I honestly think that Kerry is the end all, be all. But I guess at least he killed people with his own rifle while under fire, I suppose that makes him a better man the defender of the Rio Grande.

4. Ever wonder about the inanity of a blog?  Here we are, sharing our thoughts with a whole lot of people that we'll probably never meet (Hi John Ashcroft!).  Time is so amazingly precious and yet here I sit sending thoughts into the ether.  Hmmm....time to go play with my kids.

Things are weird right now.   My oldest is out west with my parents visiting my sister, my wife is out of town and I'm playing single dad with my 2.5 year old.  It has been a great weekend!  We've gone to the park 3 times, went to a open air free concert, went on a bike ride (she rides in a bike cart we've affectionately dubbed "the rocket cart"), watched a little IMAX movie.  She sleeps well when we hang out together, I think that is partially what dads are for, physical parenting so to speak.

Work is slow right now and that is almost irritating after all the rushing around, a fair amount of busy would welcome.  The good news I suppose is that I am almost constantly talking to our managers about one thing or another and mostly it is good things.  I suspect that promotion is inevitable but maybe a couple of years off yet, which is fine with me.  It actually is kind of pathetic how much I think about this, but the more I earn I figure the earlier I can check out from the rat race and the more I can leave my kids.

Well happy sunday, probably going to go swimming today with the offspring.  That should be a blast, she loves the pool.