Tanner hits Double digits!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TANNER! I cannot believe that my son turned 10 yesterday. Where is the time going? He is one special kid!
Tanner you amaze me everyday with your love, sweetness and curiosity for life. You are one awesome piano player! I don't know too many kids playing Bach's Invention 13 at ten. You worked hard and got your black belt in Tae Kwondo at 9. I am convinced you are a maths genius, and you play a mean guitar hero! I won't even get started on your athletic ability....you are running 8 min miles with no training...All Star baseball player and you have a gift for acting! You are loved by all! I am proud to have you as a son!

Week 1

I am happy to report that I am finally back to a training schedule!!!!
While I am still going to ART, Physical Therapy and Acupuncture I feel like I have made HUGE progress.
I have spent the last few weeks working on a strength training program for my legs as my left hamstring strength was very weak.
I have enjoyed my time of being able to do what I want when I want but I love the commitment of a schedule, a plan, and goals to meet.
It is both satisfying and rewarding to have a starting point and then feel yourself getting stronger by the week. I did my first hard bike in 2 months and was disappointed to see all the strength I had lost on the bike. My power was way down and my heart rate high...but I shall work hard and watch those numbers improve to where I was a few months ago.
For now it shall be about building a base and getting strong again!
I am in the middle of organising my 2010 year. I am excited about possible new sponsorships and new race venues.
As I felt robbed of my second half of my season, I so look forward to being out there racing next year. I LOVE TO RACE!
Good luck to my friends racing Arizona this weekend.

Big Thanks to Brielle Cyclery!

Just wanted to say a BIG THANKS to Kathy and Brielle Cyclery for all the support over the last few years. You guys are always smiling,happy and ready to help any way you can. My Cervelo P3 has been my best bike by far and the only problem was I just did not get to race on it enough this year.
Brielle has been around for 39 years and remains as strong as ever thanks to their great staff and all their loyal customers. Your support and attention to the much needed and ever growing Jersey Shore Triathlon Club has been fantastic. With over 500 members this is the most exciting thing going on down at the New Jersey Shore and it shall only keep growing. It is unbelievable what is going on around here. When I first started training for triathlons there were always only one or 2 riders on the road. Now you go out on the weekend and you see huge groups everywhere. Between the indoor winter spinning classes,the group rides and all the programs offered out of Brielle for triathlon, we have alot to be thankful for that we have them around.

Congratulations also to Kathy on her new position as President of the Jersey Shore Triathlon Club. She amazes me with all she can balance and I am sure she will make the club bigger, better and spread the happiness she exudes to everyone!
Thanks for your warm hugs Kathy!

Hiking Dunnfield Creek Trail on Mount Tammany

On Thursday Tanner,Sydney and myself drove up to The Deleware Water Gap for a little adventure. As they had called for rain I was in no rush to get up there as my plan was to hike the following day. So we took a leisurely drive in the afternnoon and got up there just in time for a 3.30 tour of Lakota Wolf Preserve in Knowlten Township,NJ. Wolves are stunning animals and I was excited for the kids to see them up close in a natural surrounding. It was very interesting learning about them and lucky us got to hear them howl too.






After a good dinner,plenty jumping on hotel beds, and a game of Tricks and Spells we got a good nights sleep for our big hike.
As this was an adventure I relied on my inner GPS system to find our trail. Actually my plan was to stop at the Deleware Water Gap Recreation Center and get a map as I had done a little research and knew where I wanted to hike. However the center for some reason was not open so we headed to the next town over to find a map. I could barely find a store, or a person and thus definitely I found no maps. I told the kids we were just going to find a spot on the side of the road ,park and start climbing up the mountain until I drove up on Worthington State Forest. This is located along the Kittatiny Mountain adjacent to the Deleware river. My plan was to hike some of the Appalachian trail and this is what I had found! The kids were a little nervous about all the Bear warning signs but I assured them if we saw one just to drop their ever so special stash of powerbars,candy and chips that they had them with and slowly at first... then really speedily run in the opposite direction. This image provided alot of stories and laughter all day long!
My goal was to get to the Sunfish Pond which was named one of New Jersey's Seven Natural Wonders. To get their we would hike along a beautiful creek that falls over 1000ft from Mount Tammany to the Deleware river. We got pretty close to the pond but my kiddies fingers were starting to freeze as it was in the high 30's when we started and the temperature was dropping so to keep it a memorable happy experience even though I really wanted to see the pond I made the decision to turn. We got three slow but fun hours of hiking in! The kids were AWESOME!

IMFL

Well I saw they did not take my name off the race list for IMFL..it made me a little sad to see it there... but on the other hand it just fires me up to get back to training.
I keep checking in to see how the pro race is turning out and also to see how my friends from NJ are doing. It's always fun too see how the race unfolds! In the mens race I am rooting for my South African buddy Raynard Tissink although it looks like Luke Mckenzie is having another great race. On the womens side I am hoping Heather Gollnick can run down the other women. It looks like it may be a close race between her, Bella, and a few other talented ladies!

Today in honor of Ironman I did my own little triathlon. A nice 3700 yard swim,followed by a 1hr30 mountain bike ride and a short 30-40 min trail run. Boy did I feel unfit! From 7.30 am when I jumped into masters, the whole workout seemed like a race. The ride,I felt the urge to go as fast as I could (staying safe of course), and the run I felt totally out of shape! It was however one of those workouts that are good for the body,mind and soul...It was fun and reminded me of the old days when this was my routine every Saturday.

Sand thoughts!

Do or say something nice to someone today!
Make a difference in a childs life!
Be happy!



Enjoy life and all it has to offer!

Our ride from our house!

A few pictures from our ride yesterday. My kids are off school all week for "I don't know what now" but lucky me gets to enjoy and do fun stuff with them. Yesterday was a beautiful day and we headed out on a bike to the beach from my house.

looking for treasure!





Brother/sister competition! Sydney gets a small head start...which always ends ends up on a close finish!

Mr Sandman!

Life is Good!

Well I have been keeping busy. I am still going to Physical Therapy,Active Release and Accupuncture and while I still have some issues I am definitely feeling alot better. I am back to running,biking and swimming...just at a lower intensity and duration. I am looking forward to getting back to training in the next week or two.

In the mean time I have enjoyed Halloween, NYC,mountain biking and some cool beach days with the kids!
Last week Sydney and I got to spend a girls weekend in NYC. I insisted on taking our bikes so Sunday morning we got to do a great ride up the whole west side up towards the GW Bridge. This area was so full of energy with people training for the NYC marathon and big groups of cyclists heading up to Bear Mountain. We both loved the ride and it was a great way to start our day before meeting my friend and her daughter for lunch and a show!

The sites along the way!


A perfect example of how not to lock your bike on the streets of NYC!



Sydney has been waiting to see this show.."Phantom of the Opera" We loved it!