10 things that make me happy.

Tagged by Running Buddy

1. Spontaneous displays of affection by Mrs. Supervision. That really brightens my day.
2. Watching the kids achieve something. - Make a basket, win a debate, show me something they made or learned.
3. Being very small - Those times when you look up or around and think to yourself - "damn, look at that! not many people get to see that!" Example: swimming at Lucky's Lake Swim, looking up at the stars and the moon, then watching the sun rise as you are swimming, seeing shafts of dawn filtered down through the water.
4. Picking scabs. Weird, I know. It just feels good to pick whatever it was that was on your skin off.
5. Post workout THROB. Knowing you worked out so hard that your muscles are singing, and going to really hurt tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, and possibly even sometime next week.
6. Friends. I am making more, and the ones I have really are cool.
7. Eating. This one sucks a bit because I am trying to lose weight, but Mrs. Supervision is a really good cook, and even when she thinks a dish is not so good, it is great. Example: Breaded Chicken breast stuffed with shrimp and brie. Awesome.
8. Feeling strong. Sometimes I just feel like I could do anything.
9. Being included. I love getting invited to stuff. Even if i can't go. It means someone chose me. - having my blog followed is the same feeling.
10. Managing people and groups. I like to be responsible for multiple people, having them achieve their goals, while at the same time, having goals for the entire group and achieving them as well. I like to advocate for people and fight to get them what they want, need, or deserve. Ultimately (and eventually), I would love to coach.

There is 10 things. Notice none of them say "getting melanoma." Fer pete's sake, people, cover up! no tanning booths. SUNBLOCK

Although, I still am scabbing and picking at my last melanoma incision....

Now I have to tag 10 people? sheesh, some are going to be double tagged.

Elizabeth the Marathon Girl
Trigirlorlando
miss melanoma
kim ("teta" means "booby" in spanish
Tawnee at Tri*tawn
Krazy Kit Kat
tri-al
Terri at My Life. My Sport.
Michael @ Trilife
Ryan from Caught on the Run.

Some of you have not posted in a while, and will not likely get this because you don't follow me, but you need to post! I miss some of you!

I appreciate this post because sometimes you have to sit down and think about what makes you happy. It is more of an exercise for you, than for those who read it. Except the fact that now people know some of my secrets that are kinda disturbing...

intervals and a pffft

Last night was Y-Tri workout night, and we warmed up with 1 mile and some plyometrics like lunge walking, reverse lunge walking, karaoke run, dips, pushups,

(pause) here is where I got something in my eye.

then another little run

(pause) I tried to rinse my eye out in the bathroom to get whatever it was out, but that was not happening. My wife and son noticed as I was heading to the bathroom to clean it out, and when i came out, they told me how bad it looked, and got me a cold pack. After a couple minutes, they went to yoga, and I got me a bike and went outside for the workout.

Spinning was interesting. I had a pretty high cadence on the bike initially, and i guess i was supposed to be standing vertical for a part, instead of leaning forward, but for the most part it felt pretty good. After a few intervals of speeding up, then mashing, then sprinting, then spinning, we headed out for our first run. (less than a mile, pretty hard.) The goal here is to exercise, and get used to bike-run transition. I mid-packed it for the run.

Then we were on the stationary bikes again. spin, standup, sitdown, mash, etc. the coach mentioned that I had it to easy, so i spun the knobby thing twice and continued. standup, mash, sprint, then pretend like powering up a hill fast, then we ran again.

Here is about where my run breaks down - and where I realized this was a great drill for me. I was out of the gate last, and stayed last for the whole .6 mile run. Looking back at it, I probably could have gone faster running. I need to realize that the workouts are only 1.5 hours long, and that I really need to push it more. That would also increase my speed/cardio/mitochondrial density? etc. Note for Thursday, push harder.

Cooldown was core and stretching.

Note to self, I did 20 pushups for warmup. that is lots more than i did before. (like 2x)

Today I was going to bike on the airport loop, but one workout partner didn't have their bike, and one didn't want to go out if we didn't have a group. (I am sure that group meant that he didn't want to look at my butt the entire time... (kidding)). So, I have between now and this evening to do something. Maybe I will take a long lunch or a pre-dinner bike ride. It should be warmer by then. It was 40degrees F this am, which is pretty darn cold. BTW, this is the pffft. workout planned, but not executed.

Sunday.

Yesterday's bike was good. Really good.

6 mile warm-up riding to the Y

2 mile time trial (HR up to 167 which was as high as I could get it.)

3x9mile ride. 18-20 avg for first 9, 15-18 avg second (got a chance to chat with a guy named eric) and 18-22 for the third 9

6 mile cool down ride home.

total: 41 miles.

Today was supposed to be a run day, but i am taking a day off. I feel like the soreness and tired legs would get me into trouble, and I have a big workout week planned for this next week, so I am taking today off from a workout.

Went to see Avatar last night with the family. The images of flying are a little what I am trying to get to when i am on my bike. I strive for the glide, piercing the wind like an arrow. I get that feeling some when I am riding at 30+mph. That doesn't happen much, but it will. I had it on Thursdays ride in the wind, and yesterday for a few minutes in the time trial.

On a positive note, my ass doesn't hurt near as much today as it did last sunday, and the mileage is similar. I figure in a few more weeks, I will be able to do 50 pretty easily and then I can start getting my legs to push me faster, and also will be able to start doing a long run the day after.

Y workout

warm-up.

Run test - don't know how long it was, ran as fast as possible. 8 Laps around this little grassy thing. Kept HR at max, which was between 175 and 180.

running drills - kinda like swim drills, only running. butt kickers, knee ups, side running, form running with emphasis on pulling knee through and landing mid sole, lean knee-ups against a wall - (or some guy named todd)

pushups, situps, dips, strength plyometrics like walking lunges, side hops, backwards running, etc.

planks. (holy mother of all creation that hurt.) both sides, and middle plank.

stretching/yoga.

I think that was all of it. I am tired.

What I should be posting...

I really don't plan any time to actually post anything here. It is just a process of logging in, looking at other people's blogs, then vomiting some stuff that has happened to me lately. I really should be logging my workouts, or making cute observations, or laying my soul bare, or something...

In an attempt to be more consistent with my training, I am doing a couple of things. I joined the local YMCA tri-team. Y-Not-Tri.

They are located less than 5 miles from the house, and there are 20 or more people in the club. - At least there were at Monday's strength assessment. I am hoping to increase my Triathlon network, (maybe some of these people will work out with me.) and save money on gas and tolls because practices will be close to home.

My strength assessment sucked. Here are some reasons why. 1. I rode 45 miles on Saturday, and a "recovery" 20 miles in hills on Sunday. My legs were toast. That means my wall sit was about 2 minutes. I am overweight, and weak in the upperbody. So, that means 1.5 pullups, and 9 pushups in a minute. That is totally cool. I have a lot of improvement there.

Situps took me for a loop. I did 34 situps in a minute. I remember when I did 70+ in high-school. I think that just goes to show how far out of shape I am now. It is Thursday now, and my abs are still sore...

I rode 25 miles today in the wind. That was an awesome ride. 15-16 miles per hour going out, then 24 miles an hour going back. Then 16mph going out again, then 24+ coming back. I wanted to see how fast I could go, and hit 30mph before I had to slow down. 30mph on the flat is awesome. (even with a wind at my back).

Tonight is the run assessment at the Y. I suck at running (i mean running is my biggest obstacle), so this should be fun.

Here is the new haircut. Mrs. Supervision didn't want to go all the way bald, so we went with a #1 all over. I kinda like it. Now that I cut it this short I see lots of people with this style, (or lack of style) and it doesn't bother me. it does bother me that when light hits the sides of my hair it is light, but when it hits the tops it is dark, which gives me a halo of sorts in certain lighting. My kids mentioned that now my whiskers are longer than my hair, but since they mentioned that I will have to shave... I always shave when people mention my whiskers. They know they can get me to shave just by saying "Dad, are you growing a beard?"

On the training front, I am focusing on running. Monday I did intervals, I do not have them mapped, but since my entire run took 40 min for 4 miles, and I alternated running fast and walking, I would estimate the running portion to be sub 8 minute miles. Wednesday was a solid 10 minute mile tempo run.

Now that my incisions from the melanoma have mostly healed, I think I can start getting back into the pool. Now I just need to find a lane that is heated and not filled with New Years resolutionists.

It is quite cold out (32F) and so I am going to have to set up the trainer for the bike for a couple weeks. I was really hoping to get outside, but that is going to have to wait until the weekend when I can start a little later in the day when the temp is closer to 50F degrees.

So that is it in a nutshell. I am mostly healed and ready to go. Gulf Coast Tri is in 17 weeks. I gotta get my volume up and start working on that run. Since Augusta was 6.5 hours, I am going for sub 6 at gulf coast. I think that the courses are both easy, and the 10 minute benefit I got from swimming downstream in Augusta should be made up in at least 10 minutes gained on the flat bike course. The run for GCT is flat as the one in Augusta so hopefully overall fitness and improved running efficiency should get me 30+ minutes - hopefully. We will see. My parents got me a digital video recorder for Christmas, so maybe I can make some video to post too.

Thanks to Miss Melanoma

So, when there was a chance that my Melanoma was going to be more invasive, I looked for blogs that would give me an indication of what I would be going through. Miss Melanoma's blog gave me information about what to expect if my condition was just slightly worse than it was, and if you read her blogs from 2005 til now, you will be amazed. She is an awesome person, and an inspiration. Thank you for blogging, Miss Melanoma. I really appreciate your spirit.

Why Triathlons are cool.

So, here is a huge reason why doing triathlons are cool. I know that Lance Armstrong is going to return to triathlons in 2011 and is going to be at Kona that year. Me, a below average AGer, can focus this year on general fitness and 70.3 distance races, then next year move into IronMan distances, and there is a possibility that by either qualifying, or winning a spot in the lottery, that I could be racing in the same race as Lance. I went to Augusta in 2009, and was racing in the same race as several professional athletes, and even got to meet a few.

Triathlons are all about personal improvement, but there are not many sports that you can sign up for a race, as just an everyday Joe, and race with the pros. I can not play basketball or baseball with professionals. There is no chance that I could be a basketball or baseball professional. There IS on the other hand a chance that someone could work hard and go from amateur status to professional status in triathlon. I do not necessarily think that I could do it, but there is a chance.

It is also not age specific. Due to the natures of basketball and baseball, once you hit a certain age you are pretty done. Triathlon has age groups to very late ages, and your potential for doing well AG wise actually goes up the older you get.

It is also not boring. You always have something that you need to work on specifically. Then you will have the next thing. Example: Last year I could not swim a full lap of the pool without stopping or floating on my back. I really worked on that, and feel as though I am an adequate swimmer now - meaning I can do 4x500 at www.luckyslakeswim.com and not drown or start having hallucinations. Now that I have that base in swimming, I am focusing on my running - which at this point takes longer than the bike leg for me. Once that is good, then I will have another area that I can focus on to make my overall time better.

Anyway, these are some reasons why triathlons are cool.

Luckiest person at the cancer center.

Well, the waiting is over. That waiting is over. I got the results back, and the lymph nodes which were removed are negative for melanoma. The additional mole which was removed was negative for melanoma, and the margins which were removed were negative for melanoma. All that means that I am cleared and go back into mole-watch mode, and can continue planning the rest of my life.

I got that information on tuesday, and then had an oncologist appointment on thursday at the MD Anderson Cancer center. Even though the melanoma had not metastasized, the doctors wanted me to see an oncologist. This happened last time I tested positive for melanoma, and when I saw the cancer doctor, he said, "Why are you seeing me? You are healthy." This doctor was different because he was amazed that I could grow up in Alaska, not be exposed to much sun, not have any family history of melanoma, and show up in his office. When he found out that I have been diagnosed twice I think his jaw hit the floor. So, essentially, I have been diagnosed with the most deadly form of skin cancer, and have lucked out in having it localized to the skin - twice. As I looked at all the patients in the cancer center, I can't help but feel...lucky? Blessed?

Anyway, this year has definitely been one of the most challenging years for me and my family. I want to clearly delineate this year from the next, and my intent is to celebrate the new year in a way that everyone in the family can clearly see that it is a new year. In addition to the celebration, this is also when I will get my new "January haircut".

I spoke with the surgeon, and she will schedule me for an appointment in the beginning of the year to look at all of the moles on my head, and every January I will shave my head to determine if there is any change in the ones she decides to leave. I expect to have a few taken off initially, just to make sure. I guess I can't be too careful when it comes to that.

I look forward to closing the door on 2009, and having a life-changing (in a positive way) 2010. Planning for a great year is a sure way of having one, right?

waiting...

I feel like we have been waiting a lot lately. I havent posted on this blog in a while because I have been waiting for something to say. I still don't have much, but i am sitting by myself while everyone is at work or school, and figure I may as well fill you in as to what is happening up to this point. So, last Friday I had my surgery to remove a wider incision around the mole which came up positive for melanoma. it is behind my left ear. I also had a lymph node mapping, which is not as much fun as you would imagine, so they could remove some of my lymph nodes to determine if my cancer has metastasized.

Lymph node mapping is where they stick you with really painful needles of radioactive material, then you lay under a scanner in what starts out as a comfortable position, but what you figure out after 10-20 minutes of holding still, is quite painful. Some people complain that you get a taste in your mouth after the shots, while others have the feeling of wetting themselves. I just had the feeling that someone was jabbing me really hard 4x with a needle full of radioactive material behind my ear, which then decided to bleed and ooze.

Then 20 minutes on my stomach, hands over my head while looking left for the first picture.

Then 10 minutes on my back, hands over my head with a scanner 1mm from the tip of my nose (if you are afraid of enclosed spaces, this would be a nightmare. I on the other hand, was trying not to cough cause I have a slight cold, and a tickle in the back of my throat.)

Then 10 minutes on my back, hands over my head looking right.

Then wait to see if it is ok.

Then 10 minutes on my back hands over my head looking right again.

Then 10 minutes on my back hands over my head looking right again while drawing with some marker thing.

Finally I was done, and we could go over for surgery. Surgery was the same as it ever was. Get in a gown, get your vitals, put on a weird hat. Go to the OR, breathe this..... out. Josy told me when I woke up that when they had shaved to prep for the surgery they found another mole that looked like the original ones they had taken out, and that they made the wider incision, took 3 lymph nodes, and took out the mole that looked like the bad mole. Originally Josy had joked about shaving my head, and the doctor said it was probably a good idea. I have a similar mole behind the other ear, and could very well have more hidden in my hair. Josy has since bought me a stocking cap to keep my head warm - "In case we end up cutting it closer...".

So, after surgery, I came home, and started in on recovery. Weird thing is that I can not use the muscle to make me pee. I know I have to pee, but the muscle will not contract. It takes me 30 minutes to get enough pee out to feel like i should not have to pee any more.

By day 2, I notice that I can not tell if I have to go #2 either. So, not only do I not have to pee, but i have to pee, but I know i have to poo, but i can't tell if I have to poo! This probably does not make much sense, but it does to me. Sunday night I am not able to go (#1 is ok since i have trained myself to spend 10 minutes dribbling enough out to be ok about every 1-2 hours.) so i decided to stop the pain meds. Last pain meds i took was last night at 8. this morning, I could use the bathroom for both types. I really had to go. REALLY. After getting that out of my system, I looked in the mirror at my wound - which i really hadn't seen since the steristrips had come off, and decided I may need to go back on the meds. it looks painful, so, I think i am going to try the meds i had from last time. I think they are lighter duty, but at least i can feel my functions with them.

That catches you up to now. Tomorrow i have the meeting with the surgeon so i can hopefully find out whether the lymph nodes are clear, and whether the other flap of skin is clear. Based on that information, I will see the oncologist on Thursday to find out what-if anything- needs to happen there. I anticipate having some advance notice of tomorrows information today. I imagine that if the other mole comes back as anything but normal, that the doctor will call and ask me to shave my hair close for tomorrow's visit.

Anyway. Now you are up to date. Here are some pics.