I'm Glad This is a Hobby...

...because if it were more I would be one frustrated dude! All was going well training/fitness wise for the Spa City 6hr season opener this past weekend until Sunday's long training session ended with a little twinge in my throat; knowing Jake had been sick with a massive cold I was hoping for the best. Monday started with my head and body feeling like crud and now it's day 9 of 'the sickness' and I'm starting to feel like I am coming out of it.

Needless to say I pulled the plug on the Spa City event and watched my entry fee slide away (I hate that), but it's better than feeling 'obligated', racing it at less than half effort, and having the potential for long term illness to grab hold. I was bummed, but to keep it in perspective it is just a hobby and not life changing.

So besides hacking and snorting last week was pretty routine for us. Ian has a couple weeks off before his next basketball game (2 to go at The Courts), but he started baseball practice. Jake is finally coming out of his sickness. Week 5 down in the adoption/foster sessions with 9 to go (27hrs).

Friday evening was Ian's birthday party at the SBU pool which included 10 high strung boys. It was a great time, but the funniest part of the night was when I herded all the boys out of the pool to the locker room to change up and they started talking about PE that day and how they had to watch the 'Puberty' movie. Several made statements that there was no way they were going to do that 'puberty thing' and no more videos at school, but one kid (actually a 40yr old in a kid's body) tried to rationalize with the rest that it was just 'part of life' and they needed to understand and deal with it. I pretty much had to ensure that young man made it out of the locker room alive. Hilarious!

Saturday morning I had enough of laying around so Dale and Nate towed me around on the bike for three hours of easy (I mean super easy) riding. I felt OK as long as the effort level stayed low even though I hacked and coughed most of the time. Good to get outside.

Sad evening for Ian as he had to watch his UNC boys get whipped by the Blue Devils (which put them as a #1 seed in the West). Luckily I was playing some cards with friends and he didn't have to listen to me rub it in...

Sunday Jake had his cross country awards banquet after church and his coach did a great job of describing my boy's dedication and leadership. Coach summed it up by saying not only is he losing on of his best athletes and leaders, but also his best friend (touching). Jake walked away with the 'Iron Liberator' award along with a couple recognitions.



Immediately after the awards Jake and a couple teammates headed off to LofO for the DECA state competition (held Monday and Tuesday). Hoping he has fun and does great.

Ira and I jumped out on the trails (Sac) for the first time in 2011 and for first trail rides on new 29'ers. I should sub-title this entry as HOLY COW I LOVE MY 29er!!!!! That thing is super fun and rides over stuff so easy compared to the 26". I was worried the hardtail would be pretty rough, but not an issue at all and it's so much faster overall then my old Trek. I rode it in 1x9 setup, but decided to keep it SS (like my 32/18 setup) and Sac was super fun and manageable that way. I am looking forward to mtb racing this year and am re-evaluating some of my spring summer racing to include more mtb'ing. It had been some time since Ira and I rode and it was great having fun just cruising around with him (I like to follow as I learn a ton from his 'line' choices).




Monday it SNOWED! The below picture doesn't do it justice as nothing really was sticking, but at one point it produced the largest flakes I had seen in years. Supposed to quickly warm up for the rest of the week which I know we are all anxiously awaiting. I did play an hour of basketball at noon and tried to blow out the pipes'. It worked a little, but still am suffering.




Tuesday I still felt bad so took another day off.

Wednesday I started feeling human again and got out for 2.5hrs on the road bike and actually had a solid ride (good for my mental state); now to get the legs back up to speed.


Today Ira and I skipped down to Sac at lunch and got in a good ride. It was a little muddy, but nothing too bad. Ran the Rig as a SS this time and the 32x18 was perfect. Fun fun fun.

This week hopefully I'll get more time back on the bike without too much hacking. We are taking the boys for a quick weekend trip to catch a Spurs vs Mavs game, hit some of the cultural stuff in the big D, and returning Sunday afternoon/evening. Getting to ride with Rod (The Rocket) Lake who lives in the Allen, TX area (really looking forward to this).