Randolph Lake Triathlon

If you find my triathlon race reports boring or tedious (as Lisa does), you can stop reading now and I won't be offended. 

Last weekend, I raced a sprint triathlon only 20 minutes away from our house.  The Randolph Lake Tri consisted of a 1/2 mile swim, 16.4 mile bike and 3.1 mile run.  We had absolutely beautiful weather, if a little hot, and I had a little extra inspiration knowing that Lisa and the kids were actually going to be waiting for me at the finish.  For the swim, I elected to go without a wetsuit given that conditions were warm, and thinking that any time gained wearing the wetsuit could be lost taking it off.  I had a solid swim, coming out 16th overall.  The bike was very tough for a relatively short course, with several steep climbs.  I had a good ride, winding up with the 14th best split overall.  The run was pretty flat and there was a decent amount of shade.  I cruised into the finish with the 8th best run split.

Overall, I came in 9th out of 300 entrants, but only 3rd in the 40-44 age group.  Not only that, but one 40 year old was in the top 3 overall, meaning he didn't count in the age group standings.  Pretty impressive group of old guys -- four out of the top nine overall were 40-44!  Results from the race are here if you want to take a look.

Why I Like The Internet

I was cooking a pot of red beans today and got to thinking about some of the Louisiana delicacies I miss the most.  Knowing that Community Coffee is available through its website, I decided to do some quick research on some of my other favorites.  Wouldn't you know it, through the wonders of technology (and UPS), just about anything a Louisiana ex-pat could want is right at his fingertips.  I put some sites over with the favorites in the margin.  A lot of Zatarain's products are available in grocery stores outside of Louisiana, but the one thing I need -- creole mustard -- can be very hard to find.  The biggest surprises to me were the online availability of Steen's cane syrup, Camillia red beans and even Union Coffee and Chicory!  I guess I won't be needing that extra empty suitcase when we head down to Louisiana in August.  

They REALLY Don't Like Him In Europe!

This will give you some sense of the depth of the dislike for Bush overseas. 

 

U.S. President George W. Bush hands back a crying baby that was handed to him from the crowd as he arrives for an outdoor dinner with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Trinwillershagen, Germany, July 13, 2006. REUTERS/Jim Bourg (GERMANY)

No. 2 is Nine!

David recently had his ninth birthday, believe it or not!  The big day itself was spent by most of the family in Maryland with Nonni, Aunt Christina, et al.  That weekend we had a party at a place called the "Funplex" with a group of David's new NJ friends.  I didn't take as many pictures as I should have, but here are the best of the ones I did get.

Would This Be Called A Quadrathlon?

I did something last weekend that some might characterize as a bit nuts.  Friday night, I arrived back from my trial in Houston on a flight that landed in NJ at 10:30pm.  Saturday morning, I was up at 4am to run in the Wyckoff YMCA/Franklin Lakes triathlon.  I had signed up for the race, so figured I'd go ahead and do it.  Under the circumstances, the race went pretty well.  The swim was smooth and fairly easy, and I came away with the 5th best time overall.  I did not ride well, which is not surprising since cycling is the hardest thing to keep up with while on the road (as I was over the preceding four weeks).  My run was strong, which again is not surprising, as running is the easiest training to manage while traveling.  Overall, I placed 16th out of approximately 650 entrants, and was 3rd in the age group.  Complete results can be found here.  Also check out race day pictures of the run and the bike, and another on the bike.

Early 40th

Lisa and my good friend Rob Clark organized an early 40th birthday celebration for me the weekend of June 3-4.  The spark for the get together was a food and music festival just 25 minutes from Mountain Lakes called Crawfishfest.  There was good New Orleans music and food at the two day event, which was great fun despite the dicey (rainy) weather.  Who would have thought such a thing existed here in Yankeeland.  Rob used his superior powers of persuasion to convince our college friends Jeff Maher, Mike Marchitelli and Joe Toman to fly in from around the country.  Saturday night, we were joined at a party at our house by a couple of other Tulanians who live in our area, including my former swimming teammate Tiger Cass.  What a weekend!  I didn't take a lot of pictures, but here are two of some of us at the Crawfishfest Sunday.

Memorial Day Fun

We had our first trip out on the canoe over Memorial Day weekend.  We saw the sights all along scenic Mountain Lake.  The canoe ostensibly was a Christmas gift for the kids, but I think I am enjoying it as much as they are.