Ho, Ho, Ho!

Brrr! It's been very chilly here! We've got several inches of snow on the ground and the temperature hasn't risen above freezing in over a week.

I just had to go out for a run last Sunday, not long after it started snowing. Awesome experience. Even at 11am, my little town was still locked up tight. The inch of new snow was totally undisturbed on the sidewalks of downtown Cheney. It was snowing pretty heavy, and aside from an occasional passing car, it was eerily quiet. I've been wanting to get back out there, but the temperatures have been just a little too chilly for me. When it warms up to about 32 degrees, I'll be there!

Urs and I have been in the Christmas spirit this year, even setting up our teeny tree with fiber optic lights, hanging socks and adding lights around our living room window. Tuesday, we snuck over to her mom's house and decorated while she was out at an appointment. It was a nice surprise for her and she was so happy, she took us out for a nice lunch!

For most of our 13 years together, Urs and I have ignored Christmas. We've never been much on giving or receiving gifts. In fact, our ideal Christmas was the time we left town and went to the Grand Canyon. Christmas day was spent in Sedona, Az. Being in the desert with it's incredible red rock formations was so different from what we were used to... so non-Christmas, it was perfect. We just enjoyed being together and hiking around one of the most interesting and beautiful spots on earth.

But this year, the lights are up and gifts have been purchased. I'm excited! I want to know what I'm getting and I can't wait to show Urs what I got for her! I'm not good with surprises. When I buy someone something, I want to give it to them Right Now! I hate having to keep a secret! And, if you've got a surprise for me, I want to know what it is! I hate to wait!

When I was a kid, mom and dad bought my brother and I a slot car race track. The package was all wrapped and hidden under their bed. Every morning, after they left for work, I would dig out the gift and Very Carefully cut the scotch tape and unwrap the present. Then I'd put the thing together and play with it until it was time to go to school! I just couldn't stand it! I wanted to play with it NOW! No one ever caught on, but it definitely fed into my need for instant gratification!

I think the last time Urs and I really got into the Christmas mood, we had just moved into a new house. Christmas Tree Lane is a short looping street of 1960's custom homes. The home owners there are known for their use, or should I say over-use, of decorations during the holidays. I remember as a child, my parents driving around Christmas Tree Lane and I peering out the fogged up car window at all the lights, displays, plastic reindeer and Santa sleighs.

So, doesn't it seem strange that two people who do not "do" Christmas, would buy a house in a neighborhood that "over does" Christmas? Well, I don't think we really thought much about it until we started to meet the neighbors, all of whom informed us in one way or another that it was required that we put up Christmas lights.

Ok, so we should have figured as much, and we wanted to fit in with our new neighbors, so we went all out! There were thousands... MANY thousands of lights on the house, on the bushes up the trees. The power company loved us and air planes would mistake our roof for a landing strip! But hey, that was cool. We were going to do the neighborhood thing... just like I remembered as a kid.

As it turned out, all the original owners of the homes, the ones who went overboard with the holiday theme, had long since moved away. The newer generation of owners kept up the decorating tradition, but to a much lesser extent. Each house decorated A bush or A tree. It was like they were trying to conserve electricity or something. And then there was our house... a bright beacon on a dark night! :)

So... back to several more years of ignoring the holidays! Ho, Ho, Ho!

This Day In 1963

"John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963. Kennedy's
assassination is considered to be a defining moment in US history due to its traumatic impact on the nation as well as on the political history of the ensuing decades, his subsequent branding as an icon for a new generation of Americans and American aspirations, and for the mystery and conspiracy allegations which surround it." Wikipedia.org

Yes, it was a tragic day for the Kennedy family and for the Country. It is one of those events that everyone remembers where they were and what they were doing when they heard the terrible news. This applies to my parents.

I'll skip the details and give you the abridged version. Mother was upset at hearing of Kennedy's death, father comforts mother, father continues to comfort mother, father moves in a little close and continues to comfort mother... and guess what? A little baby girl is born exactly 9 months later. Ta Da! Guess who?

So, while it was a day of national sadness, I would not be here were it not for JFK's untimely passing.

I know... it's one of those weird little Barb factoids that you could most probably have lived without knowing, and most likely wish you had quit reading several paragraphs earlier. But, how many people know the day of their conception, let alone one that accompanied such an infamous event?

My Debut

Ok, here it is... my moment in the lime light. My friend Tyler Darby interviewed me for his podcast. Finally! For all you Easties, here's proof that people on the West Coast don't have accents! :)

Here is a link to the audio file.

http://www.aircrewphotos.com/files/jetpackshow_25.mp3

You can also subscribe to his show via Itunes. Search for The Jetpack Show.

Meet Tyler Darby

Thought I'd share a video with you about my friend Tyler Darby. I met Tyler, aka Jetpack, on Triscoop.com and he recently interviewed me for his podcast. (I'll post a link when the podcast is up.) Tyler has survived testicular cancer and has changed his life into one of a triathlete. He is an inspiration! Check it out at:

www.aircrewphotos.com/media/momxmas05.wmv


You can see more videos of his inspirational journey and follow Tyler's training for Ironman Wisconsin 2007 at his web site:
www.aircrewphotos.com

RaceAthlete Top 10 Blogs of 2006

The Blogosphere has voted and here are the Top 10 Triathlon Blogs of 2006. Soon, the #1 blog will be selected, guaranteed to bring fame and fortune. Ok... so probably not. Will keep you all posted on who takes home the virtual yellow jersey!

Just in case you are lacking daily reading material.... here are 10 more reasons to get nothing done at work!

1.Athena Diaries
2.Bolder In Boulder
3.The Daily Grind
4.Elizabeth Fedofsky
5.Ironman Triathlon and Me
6.LM's Blog
7.Iron Wil
8.Train-This
9.Tri Geek Dreams
10.Tri Sara Tops IM Adventure

My Kind Of TV

For your viewing pleasure, I thought I'd pass along some info about a couple of new TV shows on the Discovery Channel. You'll either Really like them or Really won't. That's ok. I won't take it personally.

Man vs Wild (Fri. 9pm E/P)

In this show, a man is dropped into dangerous situations and while using his survival skills, teaches the audience how to get out of these challenging dilemmas alive.

The premier show dropped our survivalist into the desert at Moab, Utah. His goal was to survive the 110 degree heat, and most importantly, make his way to safety. He traveled through the desert, displaying some impressive climbing skills while navigating a quintessential sandstone slot canyon. He showed us how to find food, get out of quick sand, find a clean water source and swim a river with a strong current.

Overall, I thought the show was pretty interesting. I'm always interested in learning new skills, especially if they can save my life.


I Shouldn't Be Alive (Fri 10pm)

This show is on immediately after Man vs Wild, and aside from the corny title, the first episode turned out to be a pretty interesting story. This week's drama retold the story of two brothers out for a hike, again in the Utah desert, in the Brrr of November. The hike was of a pretty high difficulty level in that rock climbing and repelling was required to get through the slot canyons.

Of course, it wouldn't be a story had they not fallen into a pool of freezing water with one of the brothers severely breaking his leg. Bro #2 hikes through the freezing temperatures to find help, and it seems that he spends more time swimming than walking. Having missed the route back to his car, it ends up taking him 23 hours to complete what was a 4 mile hike. They do both make it out... and yes, they shouldn't be alive!

Everest - Beyond The Limit (Tue 10pm )

I'm looking forward to the first episode of this show. I've read a lot of books about Everest and mountain climbing, the best being Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer and Touching The Void by Joe Simpson.

What makes this series interesting is the current ongoing debate about the quality of mountain climbers currently making a bid for the Everest summit. Climbing Everest is akin to running an Ironman... it takes the average person years to be physically prepared to accomplish the task. Unfortunately, there have been recent stories of climbers learning to rappel and ice climb for the first time while climbing the mountain. At a cost of nearly $50,000 per person, we seem to be seeing a trend of the trendy buying their way up the mountain. One in every five climbers have given their lives to the mountain. The cost seems quite high for the reward, especially when so much depends on luck.

The show preview already hints that the Everest exhibition will go terribly wrong, as it shows someone being removed in a stretcher. Aside from the "just gotta look at the car wreck", the program promises to show unbelievable climbing and mountain footage thanks to their three Sherpa-Cams. I'm interested to see if the show addresses the inexperience on the mountain or if it glosses over it.

As you can tell, I have a taste for epic adventure. If nothing else, these shows will keep my mind occupied while I'm on the treadmill!

One More Goal

Ok, so the 2006 race season is over. I think most people are assessing their year and already planning the next one. During the review of my 2006 training log, I realized that I had one more goal to reach... and that is the 1000 mile mark. I rode my bike very little this year (350 miles compared to over 1000 miles last year!), and I've run just over 500 miles... adding the two together puts me about 150 miles shy of 1000 miles for the year. A nice round number to end the year on.

1000 miles should be very do-able, assuming I can get in consistent 20 mile weeks. I say this as I sit here with an ice pack on my leg due to shin splints. I should have known better. I've been doing lots of short duration speed work lately. Until I reach my 1000 mile mark, I think I'll go back to long, slow distance.

www.Routeslip.com

I wanted to pass along this cool new mapping program I recently learned about. It's quick and simple to use, but what really sets it apart from other mapping programs is that it maps the elevation of your ride/run. I plan to use it to map the bike and run courses of races. Knowing the elevation changes will help me better prepare during my training.

Here is a screen shot of one of the bike rides I do near my home. The starting point (my house)is the green dot near the bottom of the picture. All you big city kids can see how dinky the town is where I live.

Here is the elevation map that comes up after the route is saved. Some of my routes differ in difficulty depending upon which direction I ride them. The elevation chart makes this very obvious. (not so much on this particular chart.)

The site owner has noted that his service provider can barely handle his site traffic, which can cause some problems during high use times. He is working to improve this situation, but overall, I've had very few problems using the site.

Glad to see everyone got out and voted! :)

Ironman Florida

Here are the finishing times of bloggers and podcasters from yesterdays Ironman Florida at Panama City, Fl.

Bolder In Boulder -- 11:53:17
Dave -- 12:23:30
Robo-Stu -- 12:56:48
TriMama -- 13:42:21
Kona Shelly -- 13:52:20
Tar Heel Tri -- 13:56:08
Big Kahuna -- 13:57:23
TriBoomer -- 14:36:16
Commodore -- 14:40:57
Nancy Toby -- DNF


Congratulations to everyone! Nancy... you were awesome! You'll get it next time!

The Seven Dwarves