Yes, Parents Have Birthdays, Too!

And they have birthday wishes. What I wanted for my birthday this year was to have my whole family accompany me to the Escape From Fort Delaware Triathlon, which was actually on June 28. This was a really fun race. The swim starts from an island in the middle of the Delaware River where there is an old Civil War fort. Participants in the race were ferried out for the start. The only downside this year was that the weather was extremely hot. And the race did not start until after 8:00 a.m., meaning that we were running in the real heat of the day. I suffered through and made it to the finish line, in no small part due to the inspiration I drew from having Lisa and the kids there waiting for me. Here I am recovering afterwards.


The race generally was a success, as I finished first in the 40-44 age group and in 6th place overall. For full results, click here. And here are a few of the pictures Lisa snapped -- I think she has a future as a sports photographer!

This Explains A Lot

I've found the missing element in my swim training regimin for all those years.  Clearly, I could have been an Olympian if only I had watched my diet more carefully.  Back when I was swimming competitively, I was probably only consuming 1/3 or 1/2 of what Michael Phelps eats during a typical day:

Phelps has to keep his intake up in order to compensate for all the calories he burns during the 30-hours per week he spends in training. He told NBC that an average day might have the following menu:

Breakfast: 3 fried egg sandwiches, 2 cups coffee, 5-egg omlette, bowl of grits, 3 pieces of french toast, 3 chocolate chip pancakes

Lunch: 1 pound pasta, 2 ham and cheese sandwiches, energy drink (1,000 calorie)

Dinner: 1 pound pasta, 1 large pizza, energy drink (1,000 calorie)

Three years ago, Phelps told an interviewer:

I eat pretty much whatever I want. I don't have a strict diet. It's all about cramming in as many calories into my system as I possibly can. To be honest with you, I have a tough time keeping weight on.

IGNORE MY POST ABOUT ORDERING PRINTS

Aunt Katherine has pointed out to me that, in fact, when you view the blog through an external web browser (i.e., not signed in on AOL), you do not get the option to order prints.  I am currently researching whether there is some way that is not immediately apparent for all of you out there to order prints from the blog.  Stay tuned.  In the meantime, I'd be happy to send prints of any pictures you might want.  Just send me an email.

David's Birthday - Yankee Stadium

Since we moved to NJ, David has become quite the Yankee fan. And I am a baseball fan myself, and have a deep appreciation of the game's history. So, with Yankee Stadium in its last season, the perfect outing for David's birthday this year was a trip to the Bronx with David and two of his friends (see picture below) for a game against the Cincinnati Reds.

We definitely got the full Yankee Stadium experience. We arrived early enough to watch the teams take pre-game batting practice; we saw the great Ken Griffey, Jr. of the Reds hit a home run; we got caught in a huge rainstorm and experienced a one-hour rain delay; and then, in the end, saw the Yankees win the game.

Here are a few pictures from the day.

Fifth Grade Graduation

I'm not a huge believer in elevating mid-stream "graduations" (pre-school, kindergarden, elementary school) to a status that approaches that of a real graduation, but our Wildwood School does have a nice ceremony for the Fifth Graders who are moving on to Briarcliff Middle.  This year, it was David's turn.  I was thwarted in my attempts to get decent pictures, but did manage to snap the one below of David with two of his classmates at the reception after the ceremony.

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Olympics: Time Sink

Updating the blog over the past several days has taken a back seat to watching the Olympics.  Trying to get back on track now.  However, before getting back into updates on our family events, I have to pause to comment on the swimming competition we have seen so far from Beijing. 

Now, what we are seeing from Michael Phelps is truly spectacular.  He is a once in a generation, perhaps once in a lifetime athlete.  However, the best performance we will see in these Olympics will not be any swim by Phelps; or Natalie Coughlin, Katie Hoff or any of the others who got all the (well-deserved) pre-Games hype.  Instead, the best swim we will see at these Games, and perhaps the most remarkable swim any of us will ever see, occurred during my personal favorite event -- the men's 4x100 freestyle relay -- and was turned in by someone that only swimming geeks had ever heard of before Sunday night.  If you did not see this, go find it on nbcolympics.com and watch.  The anchor leg by Jason Lezak for the American team was absolutely phenomenal.  Lezak entered the water for his swim a full six tenths of a second behind the French anchor, world record holder Alain Bernard.  That's a huge time differential against anyone, but against this guy, it obviously meant game over, right?  Wrong.

Lezak swam the perfect race; a race far beyond anything he'd ever done before; the kind of race that, in my experience, can only happen in the team dynamic of a relay event.  Lezak used his experience, and pure will, to triumph over Bernard's suprerior talent, but relative lack of experience.  Bernard clearly took the race out too fast -- his stroke tempo was that of the 50 meter free all out sprint, not the 100, where you have to hold at least a little something back.  Bernard also drifted over to the side of the lane nearest Lezak, allowing the American to catch a healthy draft until, with about 10 meters to go, and Bernard tying up, he was able to slingshot even with, and then just ahead of the French swimmer at the wall.

I would not believe it if I had not seen it.

April Visit To Maryland

In late April, we traveled to Maryland for a weekend visit. This was my first chance to meet baby Michael Lopez. Lisa and the kids had been to visit before in February, not long after Michael was born. He's just short of 3 months old in these pictures.

The Olympic (Mind) Games

Here's a great article bringing you behind the scenes to the "ready room" where swimmers wait before their races at the Olympics.

I Just Like This Picture

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IMPORTANT BLOG NOTE -- YOU CAN ORDER PRINTS

I wanted to make sure everyone was aware that you can order prints of any of the pictures I post here on State of Nature.  Click on the picture that you see in the blog entry, and there is a button in the top right of the window that says "Order Prints".  Just follow the links and go to town!!

Easter 2008

In bringing the blog up to date, I'll try not to belabor too much ancient history. But in case the hot weather where you are has you pining for Spring, below are a few pictures from Easter here in Mountain Lakes. Yes, I know, Easter was in March. However, for the sake of completeness of the record, I feel compelled to at least post a little something. The pics here are of our Easter egg dying party.

You Had To Figure This Was Coming

Better living and fitness through pharmaceuticals -- and now how you probably think!

Like A Phoenix From The Ashes . . .

State of Nature has risen up and is back and, hopefully, better than ever (or at least more consistently updated with new material than ever).

Bookmark this page and check back over the next week or so as I bring things up to date!