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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