Misery Loves Company

None of us remember what its like to be a baby. Now I know why ... teething! I'll let Theo tell you his story in his own words.



I'm teaching Daddy to play the drums. He's terrible and he doesn't know how to hold the sticks. At 4 months old I was really happy minding my business banging on the drums!



See ... before I had those bony things in my mouth. I was really happy at 6 months old.



This was me about 6 months later .... UNHAPPY!!! Growing teeth must be the most painful experience I've gone through so far next to childbirth of course. Plus they put me in this stupid costume! Do I look like a horse to you? Horse have teeth ... I'm a baby!


Now I have 4 teeth coming in at the same time. AAAAAAAAAhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!! I just wanna scream! All the time. Daddy keeps saying that misery loves company, so when I'm sleeping and my teeth bother me ... I want some company durnnit. I wake EVERYBODY up! My mouth hurts!!!!!!!!!!

Snowed in!

Yesterday we got 18 inches of snow so I guess I'm trapped in the house. What better excuse to catch up on this blog.

I got to the pool late last Sunday! It was daylight savings time, I didn't sleep well the night before but I made it and I was ready to swim. Coach had a present for me - an Orca wetsuit provided by Team in Training! I don't have to worry about drowning or staying on top of the water now. I can focus on form, technique and endurance.


Trying out the wetsuit in the pool.

How many of you can say you're training with Olympians and Superwomen?

I'm still running at a slow pace but at this point the distance is more important than the time.

Did I mention that I am sore in body parts that I long ago forgot existed? After last weekend's swim and run my shoulder started bothering me. The next morning it was KILLING me. Not sure why but at the very top of my shoulder it felt like someone hit me with a hammer! So I gave up any weights this week and focused on my swimming. I worked abs 3 days, ran 2 days and of course I hit the pool 4 times this week.

A Glimpse of what it's really like

If this is what it's really like ... I quit!

What a Week

It's bedtime but I promised to give a quick update. I went to FL last week on business and even though I got to the airport over an hour early, my plane never took off. Due to mechanical problems and not being cleaned the night before ... all the passengers were bussed to the nearest airport 2 hours away! Peter Pan bus lines did the right thing and got us there in one piece safe and sound. We got the New York's JFK and had to fight for meal vouchers. It was the least they could do. I felt like Tom Hanks in the movie "The Terminal". I helped a woman who didn't speak any english. I made sure all of the passengers from my flight knew about the meal vouchers even though we got split up across different flights. I didn't find an outlet and wireless in the same area until it was almost time to board the plane, so I charged my phone and read my book. Once we got on the plane ... the Jet Blue flight was great. I was supposed to arrive in FL around 11am and ended getting there by 6pm.

I had an interesting week working in FL, I learned much and pray that the customers don't misuse the new features they are about to get. I'll be giving presentations next week to all of the employees ... let's hope I retained all the information.

I was able to swim everyday once I checked into the hotel, did the stairmaster one morning and ran another morning. I took today off and its back to serious hardcore training in the morning.

I came back to find that the electrical work on kitchen rehab 1 is complete. We are waiting for an inspection. The wall and base cabinets have been purchased and delivered! I talk to the contractor tomorrow so we can plan for this week.

Oh yeah, I'm about halfway through the Wealthy Pauper and will be doing a book review soon.

Triathlon Simulator 1

OK so today was the simulator! This is what everyone was dreading. We are supposed to swim, bike and run back to back with no rest in between except to change. Almost like a real race except everyone took their time changing. Each event is performed for 30 minutes and the coach records your progress and gives you tips.

It seems that although we are 5 weeks into the training schedule everyone's only focus has been swimming.

Results:

OK so if this were a real race I would've drowned but I did 16 lengths or 8 laps in 30 minutes. My breathing was labored and I stopped to rest but I completed 16 lengths! Not bad for someone who can barely tread water and couldn't swim 5 weeks ago!!!!!!

The bike 30 minutes, indoors on a trainer - no problem. But the run was outdoors and it was about 30 degrees today. Even bundled up I was freezing but toughed it out. I must have walked about a third of the way. I reaaaaally shouldn't have run yesterday.

Kitchen Rehab #2 underway

The kitchen for rental unit number 2 is as gutted as its gonna get. Finally all the wallpaper is removed and most of the demo is done.

The layout is completed and the cabinets have been picked out. I went with the in-stock Oak model at Lowe's although I liked the maple a little better. Its a rental unit and the Oak looks good enough for people who only want to stay 1 or 2 years then transition to a bigger rental or purchase. Plus I didn't want to spend the extra money.

The electrician was in here and started the wiring for the new range and microwave. Now that we figured the layout, he can complete the job. I have to clean up tomorrow and we're done for week 1.

I'm in Florida next week so I'm trying to work out the actual purchase of the cabinets since Lowe's can't guarantee they will have the items in stock when I pick them up even if they are in stock when I buy them. Strange policy but hey.

Triathlon Training - Week 5

5 weeks ago I couldn't swim. I could float face down and flop around looking like a fish out of water . . . except I was in water! As of yesterday I can do a lap. I ran 2 days this week, but today was the first time outdoors . After 45 minutes I realized that I needed to spend more time outdoors. There were definitely different muscles at play here.

Background:
After the first couple weeks of attending group swim coaching, I realized that I wasn't going to cut it on my own during the week and group sessions on weekends. The head coach hooked me up with her daughter who agreed to coach me 1 on 1 Tues and Thurs at 5am. This was great news!

Obstacle 1:
I have a 17 month old son and his daycare center doesn't open until 6:30am . So what do I do? I wake up at 4am, get him ready and get to the pool by 5:15 or so. After I change, he follows me alongside the pool screaming dada!!!!!! while holding coach's hand. Of course this takes away from the coaching experience but some improvement is better than no improvement.

Schedule:
After swim I usually drop the baby off at school and hit the weights at the local gym. Tuesday = lower body and Thursday upper.
Mon, Wed, Fri I usually run and stretch in the mornings followed by whatever bodypart I missed on my weight day.
I haven't touched the bike yet ... at least not consistently.