Developments

As most of my friends know I was laid off about a month ago. The good news is that, despite the economy I have been generating lots of interest with my resume and I have my first interview (phone) on Monday. It has been a long time since I have been on an interview and I am glad the first one is on the phone...I do much better on the phone. I will let everyone know how it turns out.

In other developments I started a Speed Development Program with my local running club. We had our first meeting yesterday for about 2 hours to discuss various items, cancellation policy, weather, how to dress, and what to expect. It was a good discussion and there were LOTS of people. The program has about 300 runners this year. WOW! I have heard many good things about this program and have been really looking forward to it. We start running this Tuesday and I will keep everyone updated.

Lastly, I added my 2009 race schedule on the blog. Please feel free to follow my results throughout the year. Most of my races are local this year, so if you want to come out and cheer me I could use the support.

Christmas Redo

Yesterday my wifes family was finally able to celebrate Christmas together. If you remember from my previous blog entry my wife and I were in Texas for Christmas helping my Mom recover from knee surgery.  We cooked all the traditional foods, big turkey, potates, etc, etc....except we put a twist on it. You see, I was bored with the traditional foods prepared the traditional way. So we came up with a plan to DEEP FRY the turkey. 

Made a call to Mike (wife's brother) and he brought over his deep fryer. We first injected the turkey with a lots of cajun spice, then put more spice (rub) on the outside of him, and dunked him in the fryer. MAN, let me tell you that was the best turkey I had a quite some time. The turkey set the tone for the rest of the meal, everyone embrassed the theme and made the meal just a little different. Its was great!

Before the big feast I went on my normal Saturday morning bike ride with my neighbor Ed. Great guy, great family and kids, and just fun to be around. We headed out on the C&O Canal, we had to cut it a little short because I needed to get back to the house and help prepare for company. We biked 16 miles. Ed wanted a Coke (yeah we live large!) and there was a store about 1 mile from the parking lot. So, I said hay, I am going to meet you at the store....I will run. Ed, being a former triathlete himself took it in stride and said "ok". So, that was it, MY FIRST BRICK workout of 2009. A 16 mile bike folllowed by a 1 mile run. For the record, I was on a 7 min/mile pace (fast for me) on the run. Now I just have to get to the pool. Which I hope to do today! 

Its been a long time!

To all my blog readers out there in the blog world I apologize for my long absence.  Rather than harp on the past, I will focus on more recent events and move forward from there. Rest assured, I have been training. 

Good news - Angela (wife) had her 1 1/2 year CT scan - and the results were GREAT! She has not had any setbacks and the doctors are extremely pleased with her progress. Yay!!! She has been working hard on regaining her strength and is doing well. Angela also has finally warmed up to running. In 2008 she has competed in several (4 or 5) 5K races.

Mom has been delaying knee surgery (knee replacement) and finally in early December she decided to do it. The doctors said she would not be able to walk or drive for 3 weeks after the procedure. My brother was able to help her the first week and Angela and I were there for 2 weeks over Christmas to continue to help. I did my job of nagging her to do her exercises, drink lots of water, and eat a banana per day...all doctor prescribed. In the end, when we left she was able to walk short distances and showed good progress. 

Bad news -  in December I was laid off from my job at CSCI. I was one of the causalities of a mass layoff of 30 people. I had a sense this was coming but I thought I was not going to be laid off. However, it turns out I was wrong. I believe I have an understanding of how business operates and in tough times there are difficult decisions. Fine, I get that. What I lack the understanding of is how a business can lay off so many individuals just before Christmas, without warning, and (seeming) without remorse. In this case there was no severance pay - not one day! I am not one to dwell on those types of things; really, I just want to work. I spent some time updating my resume over Christmas and had received lots of interest but I am trying to get the right job, not the first job.  So I am taking my time.

NOW --- HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Last night we spent New Years Eve quietly with some of our friends...very typical for us. But today we ran a local 5k with our running club. It was cold (22 degrees) and windy. The course was a little hilly but not too drastic. I have not trained for a 5K before, usually the shortest I run is 10K so I was unsure how I could do. I ended up with a personal record (PR) time. I averaged a 7:39 mins per mile pace which is VERY fast for me. It is almost too long ago to remember last year when I was training in the 10:00 min/mile pace. Running wise, I am very happy with my progress over the past year. 

Next week I begin a speed development training program with my local running club. I have heard great things about this program and hope it will help me with my other races this year. Which brings me to my BIG race for next year....1/2 IRONMAN.  The 1/2 Ironman is 70.3 miles: 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run. The race, called Longhorn Ironman, is located in Austin, TX. Since I was in Austin last week helping my Mom, I used the opportunity to drive the bike section of the course. It was miles of rolling hills; bumpy roads filled with large cracks, gravel, and small potholes; and pretty strong winds. Probably typical for Texas hill country but new to me.  So, stay turned for my 1/2 Ironman training.