3....oh, it's a magic number
yes, it is....
it's a magic number

it takes three legs to make a tripod
or to make a table stand
it takes three legs to make the journey
to become an ironman (ok a little writers embellishment, there)

Anyway....let's get to the Tri training.

The last few weeks have been busy with getting ready for the New Baltimore, MI triathlon. The distances are a little odd

.5 mile swim
11 mile bike
3 mile run

Don't look for it online anywhere. In the internet, this tri does not exist. Yet to the 225 participants this tri is a little gem. Of which, i think i am one of those participants. See, the only way to register is to go to the NB activities center and get a registration. Then deliver this registration with a check to the NB municipal offices. (not the same building)

Then you train and wait to see if the check actually clears prior to the race day. Your receipt of registration. Now is this old school registration or what.

I've been told this is a nice event, but with nothing to judge it by here's what i know. The wife of a chiropractor i know has done this one for years and loves it. An eye doctor i know was hit by a car last year when a NB policeman had a car pass the route in front of him.

So reviews are a bit mixed, eh????

The training.

NB has a muni pool about a mile from the office. So i have been a fixture 3 times a week. A couple real tri-athletes....i.e. training for full ironman types....have been helping with my lack of technique. Week one a swam some 16 lengths...400 yards (.25 mile) and thought i would drown...Week two...24 lengths...600 yards(.375) better, i can know breathe correctly and actually use my legs.
This week....32 lengths....tri distance....better technique...controlled breath....a little breast stroke for rest...a little backstroke for rest....just do the distance....and i feel the difference in my abs. (i don't actually have abs, i think it's more just one...ab)

great but a tri is three(the magic number) things, what about the biking and running?

Well, here's a funny thing....Today i biked 11 miles and ran 3...to get a feel for the race...usually i do two things a day, swim/bike, swim/run, bike run....Today was bike/run....11 miles 43 minutes and 3 miles 23:30.

I gotta say, this has been fun. Mile .25 of the run, i seemed to develop a golf ball in each of my calves.....they went away by mile .75.....this was new.....

I also can't believe how numb my feet get after 10 miles of biking...Then try to run 3 fresh miles on numb feet, with golf balls for calves.

One morning...i got up early...ran 6 miles....went to the office....11:00am swim at the pool(24 lengths)...after work...rode bike 5 miles to Jimmy's little league game, coached, and rode 5 miles home.

Next day was a rest day.

Per Therese, thanks my friend, next post....an analytical critical discussion of "I am Legend" and why the most recent movie strayed so off point from the 54 year old story.

Thanks for reading

Three Is A Magic Number lyrics - Blind Melon lyrics

Three Is A Magic Number Video - Blind Melon Music Videos

Music Videos by VideoCure

Man, this was a great band. This is the only thing i can find of my favorite and first Ska band. Yessir, sitting in Tom's Foolery, fall of 1987 to watch Lansing's own.

What a great bar band. Whatever happened to them? i wonder

Well, why is this here? Well, Fun Guv found an old cassette of these guys, and since my car somehow has a cassette player, i've been rediscovering the joys of reggae and ska.

Bad segue....this allows me to go from (bop) harvey to Bob Marley and the "Legend" album, somehow forced into making the title for "I am Legend" fit the oddly titled, somewhat similar-to-the novella-it's based-upon movie.

As i enjoyed the movie, i decided to read the story....and to my amazement....found the entire point of the book to be lost. It actually fits well in todays society, cause our hero in the book, learns to live, and maybe die, (not to give anything away) with the knowledge that change is inevitable. As what is "normal" changes for humanity, he has become the "scary monster" the new humanity fears...hence the title...I am Legend.

The movie has so much resistance to this concept, that it is completely ignored. And the title is used in a forced Bob Marley freedom fighter reference.

....But really what does any of this have to do with my blog???

Well, here is my struggle. i'm having a hard time blogging about the things i would like to. Cause oddly enough....hypothetically enough....i could post an opinion about politics, or war, or gay marriage, or anything and a client or prospective client could happen upon my site and being upset with an opinion could view this opinion as representative of my employer, and bam!!! employer fixes that problem.

So my solution is to use Fun Guv as my little helper. She can actually work my opinions into her own post, and this allows me to rant. She can feel free to keep posting about her new camper.

I can keep posting about amatuer athletic endeavors.

Which means, and this may be getting a little ahead. Fun Guv is way early beginning to plan a 4 day weekend in Cincy next year. A little camp at King's Island campground, a little King's Island, and a little big run around the town known as The Flying Pig.... I think the new camper sleeps 7 or eight....

btw....anyone notice Fun Guv's feminine touches already???? pictures in the sidebar. Wow!!!!

Thanks for reading.

Sorry, I'm going to interrupt this running blog with one more camping post....

We're getting a camper YEAH!!

Yesterday we went to another dealer to check out their offerings and they had a 2007 Starcraft Centennial (which appears to be their top-of-the-line) pop-up camper that had just come in. It was sold last year to a 70 year old couple with all of the whistles & bells. They used it once and it was too much for them to handle. So they came to this dealer and traded it in for an ultra-light travel trailer.

This bad boy features a slide out, A/C, built in stereo system w/CD player, microwave, oven, stove, small grill that hooks up to the outside, 2 king sized beds, hot water heater, outside shower (still don't get why/when you'd use that, but let's go with it), huge 2 level storage trunk, tons of storage space inside, oh and push a button and it's up...no cranking. The couple even put some carpeting in there - which I may take most of it out...the thought of kids, sand and carpeting are not a pleasant one...I will not take a vacuum camping with me.




We put a deposit on it so I could think about it today. I think I'm done thinking...it's ours. I will call first thing in the morning and start the paperwork process.

The dining area

The kitchen area

Vanna showing off the outside grill

Now I'm looking into booking another week of camping...thinking 8/22 - 31. Somewhere close so Mike can come up with us and spend the weekend and then go home & work, then come back up to help pack up. I'd love for him to stay the week, but someone has to work and earn money to make these payments! Algonac has 3 acceptable sites (read, close to bathroom and level)available as of this morning, he could possibly commute to work from there. As long as we're getting the thing, we might as well use it. Anyone want to join us?

Where do i go from here???

Well, now that the Bayshore is behind me and i can look forward to next months Tri and 10k on the schedule a few final thoughts of the Bayshore...

It's a fast race. It get's great reviews for the views of the water, and it is rolling. But the runners of this race tend to be a little quicker. Ergo....

6 hr time limit. Take one of Michigan's biggest resort communities, add Memorial Day weekend and try to be on the marathon planning committe who trys to keep a major tourist-tee area, shut down any longer.

It has ok viewing areas, but the people there to root people on are not fans of marathoners. They are fans of their families, who just happen to be running. Once their families pass, guess what...they go to the finish line.
Once their family member finishes, guess what...they leave, cause it's tourist-tee town.

So, i gotta give this race a big thumbs up. No expo...who cares this is a little 3000 person race(1/2 and full runners), no prize money and no elites.

Fan support, not really...being a non runner for all the time i grew up in Traverse City, i gotta say i never heard of the race, it's only promoted by runners. But great places for your family to come out on the course and watch you.

It's inexpensive..really a resort community could cost more to run, and the race could be much larger, but as their website states...intentionally this race is kept small and registration typically closes a few months early. They bus the 1/2 marathoners out to the start, top avoid conjestion. They provide a wonderful technical shirt. A very nice finishing medal. The course has ample water, gatorade and Gu available.

What more could a person ask.

Now, in a brief personal defense of my hometown marathon.....

well, no i don't think this extremely public forum perhaps the best place to throw anybody under a bus. Please return my phone call.

Thanks,

The Bayshore Marathon Race Report. (finally)

OK, here are the good and bad and real ugly...

Let's start with the good.(also known around my house as the first half)

As was the original plan, i started a little slower than i had been training and i hoped to hit the halfway point around 1:43 ish. See what is in the tank and go for a BQ if i could. Per the race mat, my halftime was 1:43:02, at a 7:53 pace.

Great, right where i wanted to be. Close enough to keep thinking about a BQ, and i felt tired but not so bad. Great pace, but a few really quik moments in the first half may have hurt me in the long run.

Another great stat...i was called a clydesdale around mile 5...Not really intended as a negative from the runners i came upon who looked over and said.

"hey, we're running with a clydesdale" Really, now sure i'm a big guy but more on that later

And the real stats per garmin:

Mile 1 7:45
Mile 2 7:36
Mile 3 7:39
Mile 4 7:34
Mile 5 7:45
Mile 6 7:54
Mile 7 7:49
Mile 8 7:48
Mile 9 7:58
Mile 10 7:48 total elapsed 1:17:35 fastest 10 miles evah!!!
Mile 11 7:58
Mile 12 8:00 (are you starting to notice a trend here????)
Mile 13 8:09 elapsed first half 1:43:02

See this was great, best 1st half, but obviously i was slowing down. In part to conserve energy, i did make a conscious decision to slow a little but....

The Bad...or the second half

Not so good, mentally i was ok, but really....being a large guy and being a little quicker than most at this point leads a lot of volunteers to say encouraging things like....

"great job, big guy" or "keep it up, big guy" or "looking good, big fella" at seemingly every water station. I get it!!!

I am a large man. and i get that the volunteers are trying to be encouraging but....

for christ sake after a while, i'm beginning to think it's surprising and unnatural to be running given my bulk.

But back to the bad...2nd half 2:06:19

again the bad stats

Mile 14 8:19
Mile 15 8:23
Mile 16 8:29
Mile 17 8:38
Mile 18 9:52 saw nitmos here and knowing that i had lost a BQ attempt here started to walk, and walk, and walk....my goal was to not break stride until i saw Mr and Mrs Nitmos...thank them for encouraging me and continue on, but i just wanted to quit. but no....after a few hundred yard, Nitmos was next to me running with me a pacing me to no longer BQ, but to just finish...
Mile 19 10:14
Mile 20 10:16
Mile 21 8:53
Mile 22 10:02
Mile 23 11:02
Mile 24 11:51
Mile 25 9:36
Mile 26 9:03
Mile .2 3:09

Total time 3:49:21

i promised Mack and Jimmy and Allison that if i didn't have a BQ, i would grab them and the three of us would cross the finish line together. So in my most painful finish, i had Mack in one hand and she had Jimmy struggling to keep up in her other. Allison was in a port-a-potty line and missed it, but....the moment was still nice. Then....the finish line, and refreshments...also known as....

The Ugly

It's funny how the body can react after being pushed to it's limits. After getting a finishing medal and having my chip removed, i went to the line for refreshments. Some ice cream a banana, some water and stuff.

As i stood there, i quite honestly lost control of my bodily functions and my bladder unloaded itself right there in line. Nothing i could consciously do to stop it....hell, i didn't know it was happening until half way through, then i looked down. Weird thing, no other runner even flinched. Then...the tunnel vision set in. "Well, this is weird" i thought to myself, as i began to shake, just a little. I figured, a banana would help, and as long as i stayed calm i would be ok...so i looked at the runner right behind in line and said.

"if, i fall over, will you get someone. i think i'm ok, but i'm getting a little wobbly"

"do you need someone now?"

"no. i think some food will fix it, but just in case"

"ok"

Well, i did not fall over and some food helped, and taking my shirt off and hanging it from my waistband hid the pee. So i felt better, grabbed the kids, and headed off the grab a shower.

Real Ugly.

Well the shower helped and after getting dressed sat down in the hotel room and asked for a few minutes to sit before heading back to watch Lisa finish. i guess my five minute little rest turned into a half hour snooze, cause next thing....

"Mike, get up. Mark just called and Lisa's not done yet and it's been 6 hrs"

"Crap...check with the medical people, we're on our way." Adrenaline can be a funny thing. To see me move for the next few minutes, you swear looking at me you couldn't have been able to tell i'd just run a marathon. Boom....shoes are on and we're getting the brood of kids together, a running for the elevator to head the 2 miles to the finish line.

Mark calls a few minutes later and she's found and fine and finished.

But, in true Steers spirit...i was not there to cheer on her finish.

For that i am truly sorry.

....but the beauty of an 18 year friendship, is that within 6 months these little gaffes have a habit of turning into stupid running jokes (sorry bout the pun there...totally unintentional, and not at all avoidable)

Anyway, after that.

A great cookout, catered by the Nitmos clan with a few drinks, dogs, burgers and hopefully a rather enjoyable evening by all.

Housekeeping Stuff

i hope a fresh look will keep me more engaged.

also, Fun Guv is now a blog member and no more phantom post from her (cause after 13 never dull years of marriage, continuos years at that....i still think the sun shines out of her butt)

i'm going to be less random, i have a few things to post about soon, then a slightly adjusted direction, again part of the decision to end the blog and start over was part of a fresh start.

Since the Bayshore is done...next post will be some final thoughts on the Bayshore Marathon, and the next thing, and then a post on the new rules for the blog (and i may ask for some advise on this one)

Thanks for reading

"Nothing Great was ever Achieved without Enthusiasm"
-R.W. Emerson

i used to have this quote on a poster as a kid growing up. i guess, it has always stuck with me and i have used it to help push me. i've always been the kind of guy who let his enthusiasm push me. i'm a good cheer leader and i admit to trying to leave things better than how i find them.

i am making some changes to the blog and it seems now is a good time.

Now quite honestly, if a few people are curious about this little blog, well...truthfully i have been thinking about why i write it. And more importantly....why continue...

After all, work, kids, spouse and training...not in that order....have controlled my time ...also charity, and boy scout den leadering, and rotary, and little league coaching, and....small wonder this doesn't get anytime.

Soooooo,

Fun Guv has asked me to keep writing and i will keep trying, i promise to do a race report tomorrow with all the great and ugly stats and a reflection on the day.

Also, i brief update on the Tri-training....and

the next big and little races in the plan, and will i try for a Bq in the next big run???

....and where this blog is artistically headed, and why

Sorry!

I've tried to get Mike to sit down and post, but shockingly, he won't listen to me. I feel like this is going to turn into my blog soon, but I don't run, and my name's not Mike so I think it would be all wrong.

He's heading up to a neighbors cabin right by S Higgins Lake State Park. They 2 guys are going with the 2 boys for a weekend of boating, fishing and swimming....sounds like fun. Mack is going to her grandparents house for the weekend which leaves me here, alone, with the dog YEAH!!!!!

Actually, I had already signed up for a 14 hour crop at a local scrapbook store for Saturday, so I will be there all day with a friend and my mom. But I still have tonight and most of Sunday for some peace & quiet.

I guess this is the long, roundabout way to break it to you....Mike won't be posting anytime in the next couple of days. I swear I will keep working on him and get a post out of him soon.

Quick update....

This evening we headed back up to the RV dealer so the rest of the family could see the camper choices. Upon 2nd look (and possibly because they moved it inside and when you looked out the window you saw wall instead of sky) option #2 feels a quite a bit smaller than I remember it being yesterday. Now we're really leaning more toward option #3, though if it were up to the kids we would get #2...or actually option #4 ...

but that would require a new, bigger car which is NOT an option...but man, you can throw a party in this one, it's huge!

I'm going to keep looking. I will not give up. I am armed with a list of 5 other local dealers that I will investigate tomorrow or early next week...plus I told Mike I would call and get a price on option #3 since I neglected to do that yesterday ~ oops!

Well, since Mike's not going to post anytime soon, I will. He opted to take the time we would have spent at Jimmy's baseball game tonight that got rained out to go for a run instead. How dare he!

So, I'm going to ask for a little help and advice

I went camper shopping today. This weekend I got the go ahead to and buy the family a camper. This basically came after the realization that our Cubmaster and his family rent the exact same camper that we do from the exact same place (they had it last weekend when we went up to hang out for the day). Now Mike can't wrap his brain around sleeping in the exact same spot as someone he knows...so I finally get my camper.

While I started out looking for something used I found out the exact model we've been renting, but in a 2008 version (the fabric colors may be the only thing different) is really not too much more than any of the used campers I've been looking at. This one comes with an awning so the free one I've been using the last few years can be retired, duct tape and all! Here's the floor plan:


Now while at the dealership I also decided to take a peek at what they call the "hybrid style". I came across this little beauty for only a little more per month than the above model.

Isn't it cute? But it gets better, here is the floor plan.

Yes, it has a bathroom (though I'm not in the market for cleaning out a camper toilet so it would be only used in extreme emergencies...and no poopin' in there either EVER!). It also has a stove, an oven, a microwave, A/C, an antennae jack and an AM/FM/CD stereo with outside speakers. What more could I ask for?

Here is the link to some interior pics

http://www.travelstarrv.com/travelstar_sport_highlights.html

There is also the option of going right down the middle with this floor plan in a pop-up style.

I don't have to make a decision right away. All of these models are in-stock and can get to me pretty quick. I think I'll take Mike up there in the next couple of days so he can see them for himself.

So, I know someone out there still reads this blog. I'm looking for some feedback. Please! Help me help Mike make the right decision!