Faking it.

This year we made the decision to go with a artificial Christmas Tree. This was a hard decision for me as I have had a real tree for as long as I could remember. That's not entirely true as I can remember when we lived in an apartment in Jersey City when I was a real young boy having a artificial tree. But then when my parents bought a house in Old Bridge we went with the real deal.

We have noticed in the past few years the quality of the real trees going way down in New Jersey. And then when Christmas is over we just discard it to the street. Doesn't seem like the "greenest" thing to do. So as I went kicking and screaming I went and bought this tree yesterday. We got it up and the kids had just as much fun decorating this one as any other in the past. And we even got the one with the lights already on it.

Now I just have to go out and buy some real tree spray to have the full effect.

Kids Art Show at Rowan University

This is kind of a test, but I took pictures from the kids art show today and thought I could post them all using Picasa. Looks like only the first 4 are going to upload. Oh well I will keep playing with it.

Any how the kids started an Art Class at Rowan University about 6 weeks ago. They had a great time and it got them doing something on Saturday mornings. Oddly enough I am also at Rowan University on Saturday Mornings taking part in a triathlon class. Today was the kids last class and they had a very nice art show at the end. These 4 pictures that are posted are all from Liam.

If I don't get all the pictures up you could click this link or just click the link on the left sidebar.

Philadelphia Marathon

No I am not running the Philadelphia Marathon but I did want to wish all you that are running this year the best in your race. Whether you are doing the 8k, 1/2 marathon, or the full marathon good luck to you. I know the weather is going to be cold so be prepared. I may try to sneak over the bridge at some point Sunday to watch.



These 2 pictures were taking when I did the 8K in 2006 (at packet pick up the day before). This is Liam after he "ran" up the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum. If you are not from the area this is the famous Rocky spot.





On any given day you will see 100's of people doing the "Rocky Run".

Happy Birthday to ME.

So the day is finally here, I turn 40 today. Since we did our celebrating back in September with friends in Atlantic City, tonight will just be our local Applebee's. And then I will head to my Triathlon Class. I went Saturday to cast my vote so I don't have to wait on the long lines today.

One thought about turning 40. Since making changes 3 years ago I can honestly say I am a much healthier person at 40 then I was at 30 and probably even 20.

Enjoy, and get out to vote.

PHINALLY

Congratulations to the Philadelphia Phillies and to the fans of the Phillies. Yes, I am a Yankee fan but I live in South Jersey right outside of Philadelphia, so since the Phillies were not playing the Yankees I was pulling for the Phillies this year. Of the 13 major markets with 4 profesional teams Philadelphia has gone the longest without a championship. It's been 25 years (100 seasons - 4 teams) since the City of Brotherly love has crowned a champ. Looks like the curse of Billy Penn has been lifted.

Political

I know a few posts ago I said I don't get too political but a friend sent me this link that was pretty interesting. Turns out the candidate I am leaning towards (still have not made up my mind) came out way ahead when I took the quiz. It will take you less than 5 minutes to complete if you chose to take it.

Here is the link CLICK ME

New Blogger

Just want to take a second to introduce a new blogger. His name is Matt and his blog is here. I met Matt at the local pool about 9 months ago (give or take a month). He has probably lurked your blog so stop by and say hello to him if you get a minute. He is currently training for his first Marathon in November (Philly). And after that he will start his training for IMKY 09. Yes Matt is tackling an Ironman next year. I will do my best to help him when I can with his workouts. He is younger and faster than me so like I said I will do my best.

Good luck Matt.

VP Debate

I don't get too political on this blog or in my daily life for that matter. But this is my guess for today. If you are a Republican you think Palin won the debate. And if you are a Democrat you think Biden won the debate. One thing I like doing right after the debate is turning on Fox News to hear all their "experts" tell us how the Republican did so great. And then I turn to MSNBC to hear their "expert" tell us how the Democrat kicked ass.

For the record I don't vote party lines, I try to do my best to decide for myself who will do the best job for the country. This year I am still undecided, however NJ is a huge Democratic State and although I will vote, the Democrat's will most likely win NJ running away.

Back to the 40th birthday.

Like my training, my blog post's have been very sporadic. So let me go back to last weekend when I was celebrating my 40th birthday (actual birthday is Nov. 4th). So as previously mentioned we were celebrating with friends in Atlantic City. The plan was to meet everyone at Bobby Flay's restaurant for dinner and then after dinner maybe some drinks and/or gambling.

Including myself and Kim there were to be 12 of us for the night. In-laws were watching the kids so we were crashing at The Villa (Sea View Marriott) with two friends of mine, Lu Anne and Mari. I have known Lu and Mari for almost 20 years now, 7 years longer than I know Kim. So apparently there is a great spa where we were staying, and since we were getting there early all the girls were going to the spa for one thing or another.

Now you really have to understand something here. I have never even had a massage in my 39+ years. But since this was a special day/weekend I agreed to get the massage. And this is where it gets a little crazy, trust me I agreed to this part kicking and screaming (the girls see it differently but guess what they don't have a blog). I agreed to get a SPORTS pedicure. Hey what can I tell you, these feet take a pounding and they needed some love and the bottom line is it had SPORTS in its name. I am not going to lie to you it felt great. Got the feet done first and then finished with my first massage. Again that felt great as well. This picture was pre service.




After all the pampering we got car service to drive us the 8 miles to the Borgata for the night. Everyone meet at Bobby Flay's (one friend called that he was running way late and would miss dinner - his loss). We had great food, drinks, and conversation. It was great to catch up with great friends. As we mature and our families grow, time with friends seem to be the time that suffers the most. So I was very happy to celebrate this way with good people. If I do this right I will try to post just some more pictures from the night.

I have told her already, but I really have to thank Kim for making this night possible.

This is me and my friend Tom. We have been friends for 30 years now.

Friend Eric and I. Friends for about 28 years.

Me and my Baked Alaskan. Yes it was good.

Kim and I after dinner.

Me and Luanne

Me and Mari (Lu and Mari are twins)

Me, Matt (more on him in future post), and his girl friend.

Amy and Mike, friends from our old neighborhood.

Amy, Mary Lou (Tom's wife), and Kim

Me the next morning at breakfast.

Yankee Stadium

Wow that really came fast. I can hardly believe as I type this, there are only 5 home games left in "The Cathedral of Baseball".

Being originally from North Jersey and have had worked in New York City for a few years I have been to the "House that Ruth Built" more times than I can remember. My father used to take us as a family when we were younger. My Uncles used to take me when they had tickets. I would go with friends families as well. And then as an adult and working in the city tickets just were thrown at you, maybe not so much for a weekend series vs. the Red Sox. But on any given Monday thru Thursday if the Yankees were playing a home game you could probably fine a way.

I probably took it for granted how accessible The Stadium was to me. Now I live down in South Jersey, in Philadelphia Philly territory. Going into the season I didn't give much thought, I just assumed I would get to a game this year. Only problem is, I should have gave it a lot of thought. Tickets as you can imagine are few and far between. And until just a few minutes ago when I checked how many Home Games are left I figured I still had time.

You want to know the real killer here? A good friend of mind (who knows how bad I want to get to the stadium) called me Monday with a ticket if I wanted it for a game that night. Mondays don't work for me as Kim has her Doctorate class on Mondays so I just said thanks but no thanks. Had I realized we were in the last week of home games I might have tried to work something out (close In-Laws are great). For the heck of it I just checked Stub Hub and I see tickets are as high (you can get some for a couple of hundred) as $15,000. Remember when I said Kim knows if I want something I usually get it. Well this would be a time where that doesn't work.

Its OK I have quickly come to terms with the fact that I will have to just hold my memories of the "Greatest Stadium Ever". If you have never been you would not understand how I can say that. There is just a certain allure (not sure if that is the word I am looking for or not) to Yankee Stadium. Yes it is old and really is not up to the standards of the new Stadiums in MLB but there was just a feeling that you got when you walked into the stadium that I don't think will be duplicated ever. But again it is OK and at least I have had that feeling numerous time over.

Lastly I will tell you the greatest game I ever saw at Yankee Stadium. I hate that as time goes on when I tell people I was at this game they usually say "yeah you and about a million others that say they were there". But that being said I was at the Dave Righetti no hitter on July 4, 1983. Spur of the moment, I was 14 years old and a friend of mines brother who was a few years older (and drove) asked me and the friend if we wanted to go to the game. We said sure, my parents had no problem with it so we went. It was a Monday we (he) scalped 3 tickets and we were in the ballpark. Cutting to the chase if you are a baseball fan you can image the atmosphere as the game got into the late innings - it was electric to say the least. The last out was just magical as he struck out Wade Boggs who was batting .361 at the time (I looked up the avg. - I'm not that good). Simply the best game I have ever seen. I really need to dig through my old bedroom as I bet the stub is somewhere in there. Box score from the game.

So to Yankee Stadium I say "Goodbye for now old friend, you will be gone but not forgotten"

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The Treadmill review - Horizon T1200

Kim and I decided that we needed a treadmill with our schedules (Kim's very busy schedule). We decided that $1,000 would be our limit. I went to Dicks Sporting Goods and saw one I liked. Yes it was the Horizon T1200. After tax it would be about $1,200 and I didn't know it I would be be able to get it home (this box was huge). So I came home and checked Dicks on line to see how much with shipping. Looking at about $1,300 at this point. More than we talked about, but as Kim knows when I see what I want it usually ends up in our house (have I ever mentioned how great Kim is?).

I decided to check E-Bay to see if any were being sold, before shelling out the $1,300. I find that Horizon is selling reconditioned ones. These are being shipped directly from Horizon and they have a great E-Bay rating. So I thought, yeah I can trust this. I lost one in the last minute of bidding, so decided to just do the buy it now option. And since it was less than $900 (shipping including in this price) I decided to take the extended warranty and still got it all for less than $1,000.

I used paypal and it was being shipped a day later. Got a call a few days later that they would deliver the next day. I dreaded putting this beast together but Jeff told me he has a Horizon and putting it together was not that bad but that it weights a ton. So I put it together right in the garage which was where it was going to stay (since Kim vetoed the family room - in her defense I currently have the bike trainer in the family room.

Jeff was right it really was not hard to put together at all.

Today I took my first run on it and I love it. Very sturdy, and quiet. Love the built in Ipod player also.

So if anyone is looking for a very good treadmill and is not worried about a reconditioned one I would highly recommend E-Bay, they are constatnly selling them on there.

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Turning 40 - Well sort of.

Birthday is not until November but Kim has planned my celebration today. I will blog more about it tomorrow evening but at 11 am we will be dropping off the kids with the Mother in Law and headed to Atlantic City (only a 45 minute drive). Massage is planned first and then dinner at the Borgata (Bobby Flay's restaurant). And then I am sure some (a lot) of drinking will transpire.

Will be about 12 of us including Kim and I. Hope I remember the night well enough to blog about it. Have a great day all.

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Our new addition

To be delivered today. Hope it is not too hard to put together.

The Horizon Performance Series T1200 Treadmill features a 375 lb weight capacity and has a 2.75 continuous duty motor that offers powerful performance for users at all training levels. This high-quality treadmill has premium speakers and unique console buttons that allow you to control your iPod®, which conveniently fits in the iPod® Docking Station that charges your battery during use. iPod® is NOT included. (duh)

Horizon Fitness, Inc is known worldwide for its quality and quietness.
The T1200 retails for $1,999. This treadmill has been fully refurbished using all Horizon manufactured parts. FREE SHIPPING...Directly from Horizon Fitness!

Details
Running Area: 20x55"
Speed: .5-12 mph (Quickspeed Keys)
Power Incline 1-12%
Horsepower: 2.75 chp
Programs: 6 Pre-Set Programs & 2 User & 2 Heart Rate (10 total)
iPod® plugs into console. There are buttons on console for controlling your iPod
Frame: Heavy Gauge Steel Fold-Up
Max User Weight: 375 lbs

Warranty * (We went for the extended warranty)
Frame: Lifetime
Motor: 5 Years
Parts: 90 Days
Labor: 90 Days

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Ironman Louisville

I certainly want to update you on my Team Triumph members who competed at IMKY this past weekend. I thought we had 4 going but it turns out we had 5 participants from our little South Jersey club.

I told you "here" about Brian, who was hit by a car a week before the race on his last bike ride before the bike was to be shipped. Well Brian contacted IM and let them know about his situation. And in typical IM fashion they denied him the opportunity to transfer his entry to another race. So it was either do the race or you lose your entry. More later on Brian.

As for Team Triumph's entries.

Roy #892 finished in 11:02:23 (yeah he's fast).
Dave #1694 finished in 12:37:07
Bill #206 finished in 13:09:57
Christ #1635 finished in 15:53:53 (no Christ didn't walk on water).

And as for Brian. He did decide to do the race. I was spending the whole day between doing things with the family. So here were his numbers.

Swim 1.2 miles 1:53:36
Bike 112 miles 7:26:31 (I think he must have been hurting as I know Brian to be much faster than this).
Run 26.2 miles 5:54:56 (I would imagine there was a whole lot of walking going on here).

So yes BRIAN IS AN IRONMAN. 15:42:54

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Marlton Lakes Sprint Tri - Report

Total Time = 1h 24m 53s
Overall Rank = 290/363
Age Group = Clydesdale
Age Group Rank = 19/25

Official Results are here (look at the sick time the 53 year old winner put up).

Pre-race routine:

I try to pack as much as possible the night before. So I woke up at 5:30 had water and bagel with peanut butter. Loaded up the car, kissed the wife (semi sleeping) and stopped by to pick up Matt for the race. Got to race and racked the bike and got ready.

Event warmup:

I don't warm up.

Swim ¼ mile 11:23 (313 out of 363)

Comments:

Elected not to wear the wet suit. Point to point, so we walked to the start and I was first wave so off we went. Very shallow, I think you can walk the whole way. As a matter of fact I saw 2 guys in my wave run the whole way. Pissed me off because the race director told everyone that if you have to stop you can stand but "don't" walk or run forward. Oh well who are you really cheating.

What would you do differently?:

Lose weight and train more. My training has been in the toilet.

T1 3:54 (320 out of 363)

Comments:

I have to be the slowest person ever in transition. I have to get better at it, I was 320 out of 363. So I guess there are 43 slower.

What would you do differently?:

I don't know, there are so many things. One tip Kurt from my team gave me was to not worry about putting on gloves for a 11 mile ride. I think that is a good idea.

Bike 11 miles 35:53 (236 out of 363)

Comments:

This was my best sport of the 3. But that is not saying much. Pretty nice ride. Since I was in the first wave of the swim there were plenty of people behind me to pass me. I think I only passed 2 or 3 people.

What would you do differently?:

Lose weight and keep up the bike training. My bike is actually getting better.

T2 1:42 (249 out of 363)

Comments:

A little better transition. I was 249 out of 363.

What would you do differently?:

Still a lot of room for improvement.

Run 3 miles 32:04 (308 out of 363)

Comments:

Felt ok off the bike and thought just maybe I could pull a 28 - 29 minute 3 miler. Well that was not the case. I decided not to wear my Garmin for the bike or run (even though I brought it. So I had no idea of my run times. Got to the turn around and I was going real slow at this point. I didn't walk but man did I want to. About 1/2 mile left I was being passed (again) but this time the lady encouraged me to pick it up and run with her. I did and that was great, thank you BIB # 104. I stayed with her until about 50 yards (guess) I told her to go for it. She sprinted to the line I jogged and sprinted with about 25 yards to go.

What would you do differently?:

Lose weight and run more.

Post race

Warm down:

Wife and kids come for the finish so I saw them and a bunch of other people from Team Triumph. Waited around for a while and then got stuff and headed home.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Really not a good year form me training wise and weight wise. So I need to manage the weight and train.

Event comments:

DQ does a great job with everything but with securing the transition area. Way too many people that should not be in transition before, during, and after the race.

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2008 Run for Tony 5K

I did this race last year, it is a benefit for a great cause. But this race had a special meaning. I tell all my non-runner friends about the benefits of running and how the couch to 5K is a great plan. Well my friend Lou, who over the last year was diagnosed with type II diabetes, really wanted to try running. So our families were at Great Wolf Lodge together at the end of June and I told him to bring up running shoes we are starting. He brought them up and we got out for his day 1 of the C25K. He followed the program at home and this race was perfect timing for him. He told me he thinks he could run 33-34 minutes. So me knowing that races are a little faster than you think was thinking maybe sub 30. We did his pace and came in on Garmin 30:51 (no chip) officially 30:57 so sub 31 will have to do. Oh I should mention that Lou is since off all meds from the type II through diet and exercise. Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 68 ft Location: Haddonfield, NJ Elev. Gain: -4 ft Date: 08/27/08 Up/Downhill: [+68/-72] Time: 06:59 PM Difficulty: 1.8 / 5.0 Weather: Mostly Cloudy 76 F temp; 40% humidity 77 F heat index; winds E 12 Performance Distance: 3.10 miles Time: 0:30:51 Speed: 6.0 mph Pace: 9' 57 /mi Heart Rate: 159 bpm (Avg) Calories: 549 180 bpm (Peak) Map Elevation (ft) Pace (min/mile) Heart Rate (bpm) Heart Rate Zones Zone Range (bpm) Time In Zone Distance In Zone Zone 5 163 - 181 0h 08m 27% 0.83 mi Zone 4 145 - 163 0h 24m 78% 2.43 mi Zone 3 127 - 145 0h 00m 2% 0.07 mi Zone 2 109 - 127 0h 00m 0% 0.02 mi Zone 1 91 - 109 0h 00m 0% 0.02 mi (none) out of range 0h 00m 0% 0.00 mi Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Heart Rate Elev Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 9' 28 -0' 29 6.3 +0.3 151 +10 ft 2 10' 12 +0' 15 5.9 -0.2 159 -7 ft 3 10' 17 +0' 20 5.8 -0.2 163 -3 ft end 8' 10 -1' 47 7.3 +1.3 176 -3 ft Versus average of 9' 57 min/mile

Posted from bimactive.com

Friend needs your positive thoughts.

So to anyone that might get to read this and will be at Ironman Kentucky this coming weekend. Please keep an eye out for a team member of mine. His name is Brian and if he is able to compete is bib number will be 2383.

Brian has been working his ass off this year getting ready for his first Ironman and up until just a month or so ago was not really sure if he would be able to complete 2.4 miles of swimming. I happened to see Brian at one of the local OWS a few weeks back and he did indeed complete the 2.4 miles without stopping, and with out a wet suit I might add ( a big fear of his).

But this past weekend when Brian was doing his last bike workout he unfortunately was hit by a car. Here is Brian’s report about the accident that he posted on our team message board.

Hey guys,
To update everyone with things, after a trip to the ER, I have a nice road rash on the arm but it was not broken and I didn't even need stitches which they first thought I might, that's the good news if you can call it that...lol Now the bad news the x-rays showed I have two hip bone chip fractures and I most likely will miss IMKY. I have to go first thing in the morning for an MRI to confirm if they will allow me to run or not?
I bleeping can't believe this! All that training down the tube... so many miles, burnt back and all as many of you know, and now they may say it's a no go I am still holding out a small glimmer of hope I can somehow do this but from what everyone has said so far it is not looking good. Need to find an orthopedic doc that knows how much it means and gives me the clear....
I will post again when I know more and maybe have a miracle MRI and orthopedic doc visit that shows it's cool?

Then this morning Brian updated the team with this news.

The Good news - the hip has trauma but does not appear to be fractured, tissue trauma and fluid build up is how he put it. The arm has started to mend just a weeping mess right now...yuch!The plan right now....I am going to KY either way, whether it's to jockstrap or complete is still to be decided? Right now I couldn't think of putting this arm in the Ohio River...lol. The Orthopedic doctor has told me, that while he doesn't recommend doing the run, running will not do any permanent damage it just could inflame thing more and just make it that it takes longer to heal fully. So the plan is to rest it for a bit more and try to see if I can run on it maybe Thursday or Friday (or even wait till race time to make the call. Right now I working on getting this arm to scab over, if not I'm not swimming with this mess...lol! I may also see a PT guy on Thursday to work on the hip and shoulder (sorry our PT Katie is out of town).

So I know Brian can use all the positive thoughts that you can send his way.

Here's a picture of Brian and me at Parvin State Park Tri earlier this year (Brian is the one that actually looks like a triathlete).

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Saturday's workout.

I did get out for a ride/run brick on Saturday. Rode about 22 miles and then ran/walked about 4.7 miles (ran 3 and walked about 1.7 miles). Garmim battery died during the run so only have about 1.25 of that. Using BIM to see if I have any troubles and can help J-Wim. I think mine is working properly. Bottom line is I was happy to get out. Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 0 ft Location: Williamstown, NJ Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 08/23/08 Up/Downhill: [+0/-0] Time: 08:20 AM Difficulty: 0 / 5.0 Performance Distance: 21.70 miles Time: 1:18:56 Speed: 16.5 mph Pace: 3' 38 /mi Heart Rate: 144 bpm (Avg) Calories: 1575 158 bpm (Peak) Notes I did get out for a ride/run brick on Saturday. Rode about 22 miles and then ran/walked about 4.7 miles (ran 3 and walked about 1.7 miles). Garmim battery died during the run so only have about 1.25 of that. Using BIM to see if I have any troubles and can help J-Wim. I think mine is working properly. Bottom line is I was happy to get out. Map Elevation (ft) Speed (mph) Heart Rate (bpm) Heart Rate Zones Zone Range (bpm) Time In Zone Distance In Zone Zone 5 163 - 181 0h 00m 0% 0.00 mi Zone 4 145 - 163 0h 50m 63% 14.18 mi Zone 3 127 - 145 0h 26m 33% 6.94 mi Zone 2 109 - 127 0h 03m 4% 0.62 mi Zone 1 91 - 109 0h 02m 3% 0.64 mi (none) out of range 0h 00m 0% 0.05 mi Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Heart Rate Elev Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 4' 10 +0' 31 14.4 -2.1 106 -- ft 2 3' 29 -0' 09 17.2 +0.7 139 -- ft 3 3' 28 -0' 10 17.3 +0.8 137 -- ft 4 3' 23 -0' 15 17.6 +1.1 133 -- ft 5 3' 31 -0' 07 17.0 +0.5 146 -- ft 6 3' 34 -0' 04 16.8 +0.2 143 -- ft 7 3' 23 -0' 15 17.7 +1.2 150 -- ft 8 3' 24 -0' 14 17.6 +1.1 151 -- ft 9 3' 18 -0' 20 18.1 +1.6 148 -- ft 10 3' 33 -0' 05 16.8 +0.3 150 -- ft 11 5' 36 +1' 57 10.7 -5.8 142 -- ft 12 3' 27 -0' 11 17.3 +0.8 144 -- ft 13 3' 32 -0' 06 17.0 +0.5 151 -- ft 14 3' 41 +0' 02 16.3 -0.2 153 -- ft 15 3' 34 -0' 04 16.8 +0.3 148 -- ft 16 3' 32 -0' 06 16.9 +0.4 150 -- ft 17 3' 30 -0' 08 17.1 +0.6 146 -- ft 18 3' 25 -0' 13 17.6 +1.1 146 -- ft 19 3' 39 +0' 00 16.4 -0.1 148 -- ft 20 3' 28 -0' 10 17.2 +0.7 150 -- ft 21 3' 43 +0' 04 16.1 -0.4 149 -- ft end 5' 17 +1' 38 11.3 -5.2 141 -- ft Versus average of 16.5 mph

Posted from bimactive.com