Team 'Ohana--No One Left Behind: The Continuing Adventures

[tiberius]

Yay!!! I'm gone for a while and when I come back some of my cousins have come back!

John - Thanks for the 2015 travel and race ideas. That sounds like a great plan to me. I love the sound of the Two Oceans Ultra.

George - Meeting Debra is always a high point of Goofy for me as well! (Just don't tell her that I said that. ;-) )

Jackie - Just to be clear, I qualified for the USAT Nationals before the whole getting hit by a car thing. Still, my recovery seems to be leading me to where I can have a good race at Nationals in August. I'm hoping to have some good races before then.

Rose - Thanks for the kind words and for thinking the word normal could ever apply to me!

Debra - It sounds like you may be getting some time for yourself in that schedule, and that's a good thing. Wishing you well with the maintenance miles and the cat-caring.

AFM - Life goes on and so does training. I'm finally getting back into full training mode. I'm certainly not perfect but I am very much improved. I still have some comfort issues with my collar bone (which was broken in four places and surgically reconstructed with a plate) but I can deal with that. I am very glad to be back in the saddle (and the pool and on the road) again. I am ramping up the training for a tuneup half iron race in Galveston in early April and then Ironman Texas in mid-May.

 

[FFigawi]

I only run with a phone when I want to take pictures along the way. That's pretty much only at Disney races, though I'll be carrying one at Two Oceans as well. Can't go to a race like that and not snap some photos of the scenery during the race.

Richard - I've got an even better travel and race idea for you: come run Comrades in 2014. There's about 15-20 of us from my running club here in Doha that will be doing it. Plus, 2014 is a "downhill" year.

Debra - I think that's great that you want to invest in your local distillery. I do care very much, and I'm sure that Corinna does too. I am putting some money into a new small brewery in Houston, though I did get to taste their beer first. Hope the tour comes through for you soon.

AFM - not much new over here. Just over two weeks to race day, and I've still got two long runs to go. My coach is trying to balance a short taper for Two Oceans with keeping my intensity up so I can try for another PR this spring. Still trying to decide between a race in Maine in May or in Stockholm in June. Oh, and I have to get the house all clean and tidy. My wife comes home this weekend after spending a month in India studying yoga in Mysore.

 

[tiberius]

I keep my phone with me in a belt pouch foot most runs and rides. My iPhone actually survived my collision in October, though the screen needed replacing. That is one tough pone.

John -- lLook at you throwing around one of my bucket-lost races! Comrades is a very tempting race for me and I will seriously consider it. Given the date, it would pretty much mean I'd have to skip Ironman Texas next year :-( but I have been thinking of getting back to more running for a while, so that's not a bad thing. Hmmm......

 

[FFigawi]

John -- lLook at you throwing around one of my bucket-lost races! Comrades is a very tempting race for me and I will seriously consider it. Given the date, it would pretty much mean I'd have to skip Ironman Texas next year :-( but I have been thinking of getting back to more running for a while, so that's not a bad thing. Hmmm......

Do it! It's been on my list for years, and after becoming friends with people who have done it a dozen times or more, I'm even more determined to run there next year.

 

[tiberius]

Do it! It's been on my list for years, and after becoming friends with people who have done it a dozen times or more, I'm even more determined to run there next year.

Definitely giving it some serious thought, and it could be the perfect "excuse" to step away from triathlon for a little bit to work on my running for a while. It's also been on my bucket list for some time.

 

[GeorgeAndDiana]

Debra - It really IS her fault! She "tipped the scales" on both races! It had nothing to do with the runDisney bag. And yes, Sweet Caroline stuck with me too that day! As far as my running break, it's still going on.. two weeks and a few days. I'm here at WDW with a class during the day, so with all the walking in the parks after very full days of learning, it's hard to start back up. Maybe next week, with even fewer blisters!

Jackie, The Scream looks different indeed! The "screaming descent" scares me a bit!

Richard - Haha, indeed! Twenty-six miles with anyone means you'd better enjoy their company or it will be a long race!

and...

JenB - get in here and tell everyone you're my enabler! Don't let them think you're innocent! Where did we park again??

 

[deekaypee]

I think you've all talked me into continuing the way I like - without a phone! At least until I pick up IM training like Richard. Thanks for telling me what I want to hear!

Jackie: I'd all-but-forgotten you're a Galloway group leader. How's that going? You're perfect for that mentor role. And your weather sounds perfect. We've been swinging back and forth between great days and freezing rain. Even my cats have cabin fever.

Richard: I just caught your NM pics on Facebook. I was there a couple of years ago - beautiful. How did you handle the climbs? Did you collar bone bother you a lot? How is training going? It sounds like you're back in the swing of things pretty quickly, all things considered.

John: It sounds like you have the best travel options for races! (Maybe that makes up for the less-than-ideal training conditions.) Did you decide between Maine and Stockholm? And I didn't realize you'd been living the "bachelor" life with your wife - her life & travels sound as exciting as yours.

George: How was your class? I can't believe you get to go to WDW for such things! Did you pick back up on your running?

AFM: I'm in D.C. right now - here for less than 48 hours for a D23 Disney event; DOOD is at the Folger right now, checking up on some sources That's our spring break getaway. Our cat is in the care of a special cat caretaker, one who has experience with her condition.

I'm sure you've seen the rumors circulating about WDW Marathon Weekend - possible 10K race added plus an official Dopey. It all seems reasonable, given that fact DL added a 10K and the survey rD has circulated. What do you think?

It looks like we'll be trying to keep things local here over the next few months. Things are up in the air. We want to decide on the RnR Pgh Half soon before pricing goes up another notch - the timing conflicts with a possible trip to DL, but we don't know if we'll be able to travel then. And I do hate to say it, but travel is a big carrot for me and training. How about you?

 

[MouseDogMom]

George - Don't fall for that "screaming descent" bit. They lie. There is a LOT of descent, but there's about 5 miles of uphill interspersed with the downhill. In the end, though, your legs are screaming - for days afterward. I felt like I'd never run a day in my life and just got up off the couch and decided to run 13.1. But it was also the most fun I've ever had during a race, and we're all going back and doing it again!

John - There are several of our running group who ran Comrades last year. I don't think it was a coincidence that it was also a downhill year... Did you get the house cleaned?

Debra - Galloway is in the off season right now. We still run unofficially, but there are no true leaders. My only role during the winter is to send out an email each week telling everyone where to meet on Saturday morning. That, I can handle. Our weather is ridiculous. After a brief hint of spring, we've regressed back to winter. We have the same cabin fever, and are desperate for warm weather. My biggest fear now is that we'll skip spring altogether and wake up to 90 degree days and it will be hot, humid summer. Probably when we step off the plane from Paris.

I'm trying really hard to be organized and keep it together. We leave in 2 weeks for Paris. Two weeks after we return, we got to Myrtle Beach for a half. Two weeks later, Annie graduates. Two weeks after that, we go to Indianapolis. I'm thinking I have 8 weeks of chaos? Would someone like to come be my personal assistant?

Jackie

 

[Rose&Mike]

Jackie--that race looked pretty cool--but very painful. I would rather run uphill than downhill. Yes, I am strange. I am never comfortable on big downhills. It is such a beautiful part of the country. And I loved that you could get dq'd for dropping your trash. We have a couple of olmstead parks around here where everyone runs and it just blows my mind when people throw their gu wrappers, etc on the ground. Enjoy all the fun stuff you have coming up!

Debra--enjoy DC. I heard yesterday the cherry blossoms are late this year. This weather has been over the top. Our high yesterday was our average low for the year. Everyone is getting cranky--not just me! As for the phone, I carry one when I am by myself but don't really do anything with it. When I had the weird heart thing going on, Mike always carried one when we ran together. Now it's hit and miss.

****
As for all this disney race hoopla. I think we might be going a different direction for a while. We will still go to disney too many times this year (to eat g-f and enjoy the sunshine) but Mike is kind of over the disney races and I have been so ridiculously stressed the last couple of times that it kind of dampens the trip. (Hence the gatorade and tequila ). We are still on the fence about W&D. I love the night race. And we talked about trying to convince DS to run with us. But Mike suggested I google and see what other night races are out there and there are several. So thinking about it.

We booked a last minute trip for next weekend to wdw. Looking forward to running my mile a day in warm temps, eating out and seeing DS who is flying down to meet us.

 

[tiberius]

Debra -- It was a great to visit to New Mexico! I was able to get in some running at high altitude--ugh--and some touring. Our best day was going through the forest, hills and canyon in a remote national forest which was the home of Pueblo Indians hundreds of years ago. As far as IM training, things are not quite where I'd have wanted them to be, but they are going as well as possible. This past weekend I went over 90 miles on the bike for the first time since I did my last IM. I have a half iron race in two weeks that will be a real test for me, then the full 112 mile course ride the week after that. It's hard to believe that I really only have about 5 weeks of solid training before I start thinking taper.

George -- So very true!

AFM -- I suppose most of what I have going on is summarized in my comments to Debra above. I'd been giving serious thought to reducing my 2014 triathlon schedule to go back to a more running centered approach for a year; at least I was until I got the opportunity to get a steep discount on a year's coaching and early entry to IM Texas 2014. Now I'm not so sure which way to go.

I have some other exciting things afoot that I hope to be able to talk about soon if they come to pass.

 

[GeorgeAndDiana]

Debra: Still not running, yet. The class was a long one, so fitting in the parks as well as a run was pretty impractical. As for the rest of the month, I don't really have a good excuse. Mostly, it has been the lingering winter coupled with my next registered race being so far in the future. I really need to get back in there! The class was wonderful, though. It was one of those topics that really grab your attention for the entire week. So, despite the 48 hours of training, it went by quickly, and I felt it was one of the best I have attended in a very long time. Being able to eat dinners at the World and play a little in the parks helped, too!

Jackie: Thanks for the elaboration on the race, I definitely have to see if the timing works, it sounds like fun!

Rose: I've come to expect seeing you at WDW races, so I'm officially creating the "Get Rose and Mike back into runDisney" Club.

Richard: Keep us posted, and keep moving forward!


Cheers, my friends. Be well!
George

 

[FFigawi]

Hi cousins! I just got back from South Africa and running Two Oceans. What an absolutely amazing race. Wonderfully friendly people, gorgeous scenery, very challenging course, and brutal conditions (25-35 knots of cold wind). I had a blast! Here's the brief description of my day that I posted on FB:

Two oceans, two mountains, 56km, 3 dozen bags of water, 2 dozen bags of Powerade, 6 strips of KT tape, 4 gels, 2 packs of bloks, 1 pack of beans, and 6 hours of fun.

I'll have a full trip report soon, but in the meantime, here are some pictures for you to look at.

P.S. Jackie - yes, I managed to get the house clean. Barely. Debra - I'm signed up for both. Maine will be the PR attempt where I can also visit my brother and his family. Stockholm, if I go, will be just for fun.

 

[Rose&Mike]

Congratulations John. Beautiful pictures. Thanks for sharing. I hope the KT tape wasn't for an injury that was too troublesome.

 

[FFigawi]

No, it wasn't for an injury at all. It was to prevent chafing since Bodyglide and/or Band-Aids seem to wear off or fall off after a few hours.

 

[tiberius]

I'll have a full trip report soon, but in the meantime, here are some pictures for you to look at.

Love the photos!!!

I'm doing a taper week this week for a half iron race in Galveston this weekend, I'll report back after that!

 

[FFigawi]

Hello Cousins! Just wanted to wish a Happy Mother's Day to all the moms in the group. I hope you have a wonderful day.

Also, it only took me six weeks, but I finally managed to get my Two Oceans race report done.

Lastly, I hope you're all doing well and are enjoying your spring races. Good luck to Richard in IMTX next weekend. I wish I could be there to cheer you on, but I'll be in Maine visiting my brother and his family and running a marathon at Sugarloaf. It's a good tune-up before my last race of the season in Stockholm on June 1.

 

[tiberius]

Thanks, John, I appreciate the well wishes for Saturday. I'll miss you in the throng of wild fans. I hope you enjoy doing your marathon up in cooler weather!
For my cousins that aren't also Facebook friends, my recovery story was the subject of an Ironman.com story that posted yesterday. I was certainly surprised to be contacted by the writer the week before. After sharing background information and having several discussions with the writer, it was a long wait to see if the story would post or not. Here is the link if anyone would like to read it. http://www.ironman.com/triathlon-news/articles/2013/05/richard-tramm.aspx#axzz2TQ5CWg5r

 

[FFigawi]

Great article! I'm glad you were able to convince your coach to take you on. More proof that truly dedicated athletes come from anywhere.

 

[jeanneg]

Wow, this thread is so dead......is there a counterpart on Facebook?

P.S. congrats to Richard on his amazing Ironman finish!

 

[tiberius]

Wow, this thread is so dead......is there a counterpart on Facebook?

P.S. congrats to Richard on his amazing Ironman finish!

Thanks, Jeanne! If there is a counterpart on Facebook they left us out! Maybe we just need to be more active here and lure them all back.
John, that part about the coach was a bit of a misquote. She was dubious about how serious I might be but she was always willing to help. It's fair to say I was probably her least competitive athlete at the time, at least in terms of physical ability. However, she did eventually coach me to three age goups wins last year and even I would have never thought that possible back then. For that matter I scarcely believed it when it happened the first and second times.