Road Warrior
Topic: On the road
"We are not here to create road warriors" - quote from my boss of 2 months ago. (do you see the correlation between that and the pool absence?)

This month:
Jan 12: DC
Jan 17: Vegas
Jan 23: Newark
Jan 25: Galena IL - only self inflicted trip this month
Jan 26: Bloomington
Feb 04: Palm Beach - family obligation

How the heck am I suppose to train with that kind of a schedule? Good thing we are still in the off season here...

But coupled with the: new house, wedding planning, and a social life... how's a person suppose to get anything done?

I guess, when you work hard, you got to play harder. Let me superimpose known major social events onto this calendar:

2 planned dinners with friends,
2 marjor family events
Jan 12: DC
1 planned dinner
Jan 17: Vegas
1 major family event
Jan 23: Newark
Jan 25: Galena IL - only self inflicted trip this month
Jan 26: Bloomington

Somewhere in there, I'm suppose to buy 4 sconces, 1 couch, 1 dining room table, a veil, hire a band, pick a ceremony, send out wedding invitations, a photographer, and a florist.

I have to catch up on things after the holidays, figure out a way to take all that in stride... and pick and achieve some major goals this year.

How do you cope with stuff like this? And don't tell me to cut back! Cuz I can't!

back to the pool
Topic: On the way to Triathlon
It's resolution time, so I was back at the pool today for the first time since October. Nice to know I can still be put in the best lane :).

I still haven't sat down and given this year any thought. Shame on me.

The plunge pix - see I really did it!
Topic: On the way to Triathlon

Polar Bear Plunge
Mood:  caffeinated
Topic: On the way to Triathlon
What's the best way to ring in the New Year? Well duh, the Chicago Polar Bear Club Annual Plunge! I've been thinking about doing that for a few years now... (This is something I did it by accident when I was 6...)

So... What better way to start making resolutions then to resolve to go into the icy lake and then go through with it? That's like instant gratification - if I can do this, then I could do just about anything, no matter how difficult the task!

And really, there couldn't be a better day for it - it was a high of about 40+ degrees, and the lake didn't have any ice on it. So it wasn't a big deal at all. I mean, the lake doesn't get any colder then about 40 degrees, and there was no wind.

The trick about this, the only rule about this, is that you have to go completely under the water, head and all. Of course, that part sucks - who wants to be in the cold with wet hair? Since I've had to go into pretty cold waters for some of my swims to practice for the triathlon, and since my very first triathlon actually had patches of 40 degree water, it wasn't that big of a deal at all!!! How sick is that? Is this what I have to do to get my thrills now? Is this what it's come to?

Anyway, it was actually much easier then I thought - once you are taking your clothes off, you get so cold so fast that you just want to get it over and done with as soon as possible! And once you are in the water running, you want it over and done with as soon as possible, so of couse, you dive in as soon as you can!

I strongly recommend this to EVERYONE - it's fun, and as I arrived at the lake, I got this goofy grin on my face and I knew I did the right thing by coming because it's so crazy. There was like a 1000 people there and people were having a lot of fun - many people wore crazy outfits and stuff, many people cannonballed in. It was fun to watch, and so I had to go through with it. The things you need to know about it are:
1. Bring two towels
2. Bring dry clothing including a hat and a warm ski jacket that can be washed easily
3. Have a get-away car near so that you can get into the warmth quickly.
4. Bring a thermos.
5. Put your stuff as close to the water as possible without it getting wet
6. Bring a camera!!!!
7. Don't plan on doing anything else the rest of the day besides a hot bath, sleeping and eating - this is like getting beat up - at least it was for me - you get really tired afterwards from the shock of cold water. But not in a bad way!!! Look at it this way - it'll be the fastest workout with the most results - I dunno if it works out you muscles or just fatigues them, but it can't be all bad.

Pictures coming soon as well as a list of goals. (Surveys say - you are like much much more likely to accomplish your goal if you write it down, so write down yours!)

Happy New Year!!! Hope all your goals are accomplishments same time next year.

Related links (ed. 01/02/06):

trib article

Chicago AA pix

Top 25 Ways to tell your girlfriend is a triathlete. (or wife!)
Topic: On the way to Triathlon
Top 25 Ways to tell your girlfriend is a triathlete. (or wife!)

1. You find yourself having to be supportive, as she works out for a few hours a day.
2. Your home decor "style" consists of triathlon memorabilia, posters, medals, and photos.
3. Your dates are always pasta dinners with other triathlete couples.
4. She asks you, do those jeans make my butt look too ripped?
5. Sport-related expense is a not so modest number on your combined budget.
6. You can't TIVO Sunday's football game because your TIVO is full of extreme sports recordings.
7. Your girlfriend always smells like chlorine.
8. Your girlfriend's car smells like chlorine.
9. Your girlfriend's arms are bigger then yours.
10. She's got Lance tattoed on her butt.
11. Your girlfriend belongs to more then one gym.
12. There is a bike rack on your car and it is actually used.
13. She makes you repeat where her insurance information is before leaving the house for a "workout".
14. Her bicycle costs more then your TV and gets used more in net hours.
15. Her favorite web site is ironmanlive.com.
16. Your girlfriend was not home, so you had to sign for the delivery of the 3 pallets of Gatorade.
17. Your living-room table is covered with wet swimsuit, towel, goggles, and helmet.
18. Her bicycle has more add-ons then your car.
19. You are sunburned from waiting at the finish-line
20. You have to designate a "triathlon-free" room in the house.
21. You have to compete for her time with her physical therapist, her personal trainer, her swim coach, her training partners, and her triathlon team.
22. You got engaged, and your wedding registry is full of triathlon gear.
23. You got engaged, and the first thing she asked was, can we go on our honeymoon to Kona, say, some time in mid-October?
24. You are used to calling her beautiful, despite of helmet hair and swim cap hair, and goggle eyes.
25. You find yourself leaving a hotel room in the middle of nowhere at 3 in the morning, carrying about a hundred pounds of "gear" to something called the "transition area".

Some day he'd like to do a triathlon
Mood:  caffeinated
Topic: On the way to Triathlon
It is quite an experience to go to an away game of your favorite hockey team while wearing their jerseys. It is an even more interesting experience to do that when they kick butt and the home crowd goes crazy. So my favorite team sport happens to be hockey. I'll be one of those moms that forces all the kids to play it. And my favorite team is the St. Louis Blues. They have a unique style, work great as a team, and are awesome skaters. Anyway, my friend got us tickets to the Blues/Blackhawks game, and so we were two of three people in blue in a sea of red. It was awesome to go to a hockey game this year after there was no hockey for a whole year! And seeing the Blues win was an extra bonus.

But here's the funny: I bought the "programme" of the game and in it, of course, there were profiles of all the players. Many of them are so young that they are too young to drink! One was from my home town of Park Ridge! But here's the kicker - one said in his profile that he'd like to do a triathlon some day. Wowy zowy - I have something over an NHL player! Sweet.

Santa's Helper
Topic: pets

let it snow let it snow let it snow
Now Playing: Let it Snow!
Topic: Day to Day
It's snowing golfballs outside! If it stops melting, then I'm hitting the ski area!

snow

The stapler
Topic: Joblog
I kind of interviewed for another job with a friend's company. Interesting opportunity but I am too loyal to my company right now. Plus I want to continue to be able to work from home and take bike rides in the morning forever. (when it's not snowing.)

But while surfing his corporate office in some NW suburban location, I spotted "the stapler" on a desk. This place looked like the scene from office space anyway and driving to the place felt like the first scene in office space anyway. I was even swearing in Hindi... Okay, I can't remember if the guy swears in Hindi or in Enlish actually... And to be honest, I only know like 2 swears in Hindi.

Couldn't resist posting this
Topic: On the way to Triathlon
this is from the last tri.