I finally got in the pool today for my first triathlon swimming session. I knew it wouldn’t be easy but it was quite different than I had imagined.

To preface, I feel like I am in pretty darn good shape. I have been doing a fair amount of running, biking, and biking then running to get the feel for transitioning. In fact last week, I biked 15mi and ran 3mi right afterward. You may be thinking 2/3 legs, not bad. That’s what I thought.

Well I got into the pool today and started swimming, I really have no guide or pace since this is my first training/workout swim in a very long time [read 6th grade]. I had to limit myself to 100m iterations and then a short rest. It was quite a workout, but I think the breathing really got me. It’s a different workout when you have to hold your breath and try to establish a breathing rythym that is determined fully by your ability to get your head out of the water long enough to take a breath and not suck in any water.

I’m glad I didn’t wait longer because I’ve got some work to do to get back into a swimming mode… I suppose I could always resort to the Elementary Backstroke.

Well it’s now been 90 days (92 to be exact) since Tina and I quite smoking. So far so good. And it feels good. w00t!

As an added bonus, I bought myself a new car. I’ve been looking on and off for about a year and stepped up the search this spring. In particular when my key broke off in my door and I found a leak which turned out to be a loose oil filter (I think). It needed an oil change anyway. It was getting old and I knew at some point there would be a day when it just wouldn’t run anymore. For those of you that have known me, I have always driven around the sub-compact (save for a few months when I drove a Buick Lesabre in high school and college). First it was the Saturn that lasted a mere 115K miles, then it was the Mitsubishi Mirage. So I decided I wanted to go with something nicer and more sporty before we start having kinds. I went with a 2005 BMW 325xi, black. So far it’s been awesome. Very smooth ride and nice handling. I guess time will tell me if it’s the Ultimate Driving Machine. It’s off to a good start and from what I have to compare it to, it won’t take much :).

Since it is April 1st this would be an opportune time for a prank (*cough, rick-rolled), but I’ll skip it this time around.

Just this past weekend it felt like spring was finally upon us. Not so much come yesterday and this morning. After a wicked snowstorm I feel back in the doldrum of winter. Although it appears it won’t stick around for long. I am refusing to shovel or snowblow the driveway. Seems like wasted energy.

On another spring note, baseball opened up this weekend. I’ll label yesterday as opening day since that’s the way it always should be… a Monday afternoon. The Cubbies started off with a rousing 9th inning comeback and lost in the 10th. But the Twins won an exciting one. While yesterday would have been a terrible day for an outdoor baseball game, they really need that new stadium up and running.

Also a little news from the NFL yesterday. Minnesota will open up the 2008 NFL season against Green Bay at Lambeau on Monday Sept. 8. Both Dan and I reserved hotel rooms at the Fairfield in GB. Hopefully we don’t get bounced to a hotel in Appleton like we did for the re-opening of Lambeau in 2003. Now we just need to find some tickets.

… not really. But I gotta figure out a way to find the missing SpiderMan 3 DVD in my house. I think we’ve had our current netflix discs for like 2 months. We have all three envelopes and two out of three DVD’s but no SpiderMan, go figure. It’s really irking me. How long do I hold out? There are no late fees… :-/ I might just need to buck up and pay. Maybe they’ll even give me a free pass on one! Perhaps calling an exterminator would surface the disc somewhere.

Last night I received a pleasant surprise in the mail, after recently exchanging my GH3 mono disc for a properly manufactured stereo disc, Activision sent me a brand NEW Guitar Face Plate for being patient. Hell it only took about 10 business days, 5 of which I was on vacation. I can’t argue with that. I’m glad I didn’t waste my stickers now.

Tina came home one day proclaiming that she wanted a bike and that she was going to compete in the Lifetime Fitness Triathlon. I brushed it off and thought good for you. Sounds like a good fitness goal. Well, I think I’ve caught the bug and frankly I needed a little extra motivation to get back to the gym and work towards something. I decided I should train and “compete” as well.

We’ll be doing the mini course which is a .4mi swim, 15mi bike, and 3 mi run. I think the swimming will be toughest part for me. I was a strong swimmer in my younger years, but haven’t really done much of it for a long time. I’ll be sure to spend plenty of time in the pool over the next 4 months.

Yesterday was my first real training day. I don’t have a training guide so I am going to wing it. I biked for 10mi and then ran for 2mi. It was a darn good workout and I feel like I could have had the endurance to bike all 15 and run all 3, but that’s easy to say now. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got work to do but it was refreshing to know I wasn’t starting at square 1.

Next on my list, a new bike, running shoes, and swim googles…. who knows maybe this will become a hobby and someday I’ll make it up to the Olympic course or even (gasp) the famed Ironman (It’s at least an excuse to go to Hawaii :))

Update:

Shoes… Check

Googles… Check

No doubt we’ve all heard the news already.

Brett Favre is calling it quits. To me it was unexpected. I, like a lot of others thought that with the season the Packers had, he would be back for one more shot. Apparently he caught us all off guard. Although somewhat fitting he both began and ended his career with an interception. Am I disappointed? I don’t think so. Don’t get me wrong, I think he still gives Green Bay the best chance to win and I’d certainly welcome him back if he changed his mind. But I guess it’s about time the torch get passed. It would seem to be at an opportune time with Green Bay’s young team, their quality defense and offensive playmakers (and here and here).

Naturally with a legend leaving the game, the media is milking it for all they can. Which means I got to catch some Brett Favre moments on the NFL Network. It was a nice reminder of his durability and his accomplishments for the city of Green Bay, the Packer organization, and the NFL as a whole. I can’t lie, it was a bit emotional. Mostly from the segments about the passing of his father, his personal problem with addiction, and his wife’s battle with cancer, all things the average Joe can relate to. I think I’ll be keeping them on the DVR for awhile.

Lastly, I wanted to take this moment to say Thank You Brett, enjoy your retirement, and best wishes to you and your family.

We made it out of Cancun successfully.  Overall it was a great trip.  The sun got to be a bit much for us Minnesotans, but I can’t argue with the weather.  It was all-inclusive and naturally the food got old, so we got adventerous and hit a good local restaurant and then a couple of popular ones.

One day we hit up the “power boat” and snorkeling tour.  The power boats were fun to drive through the choppy lagoon.  Once we got to the snorkeling our guide had fish food and of course he dropped all over the place early on.  I’m not one to be swimming through a school of fish.  Once we got through that we saw a turtle and a stingray.  The water was a bit cloudy and the underwater scenery wasn’t great.  I think it’ll be tough to beat Hawaii’s snorkeling… even though that area is supposed to have great diving and I would assume snorkeling.  We never did get to one of the clubs.  I think our serious attempt was kaboshed by a day at the activities pool with vodka and sprites.

I believe I’d go back, but there would probably be other places I’d visit first.

I’ve just about had it with Vista.  While it looks prettier than XP and there are a few more features, there are many things about the functionality and customization that drive me crazy.  I’ve had issues with programs randomly closing (crashing) without error or warning, I’ve had issues with folder and file displays, I’ve had issues with file copies, I’ve had issues with the permissions manager, and I can go on.

I am certainly not an Apple Fanboy, but my iPhone’s ease of use and my experience with other Apple products have kept me happy(ier than that of MS).  While MS is actually my bread and butter, I am disappointed with Vista.

Obviously Apple has the hardware down.  And apparently the OS as well.  I’m committed to saving for a new Macbook Pro and a household iMac which will probably go to my better half.

Courtesy of AJB…

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/jan/30/hundreds-portable-toilets-burned-tarpon-springs/

If only we had such imagination while students at UW-LaCrosse. I must admit I was witness to several tippings, but this would have really topped it off. I doubt I’d have the stones for something like that though.

Oh well it made me laugh and brought back some memories

1 Month, 7 hours, 1 minute and 23 seconds.

312 cigarettes not smoked, saving $70.40.

Life saved: 1 Day and 2 hours of my life.