Coming clean.

So I have to come clean. I started this blog for a number of reasons, among them, to hold myself accountable for the choices I make, and for the ways in which I choose to spend my time and money. I wanted to make a conscious effort to balance work, training, and family life, and [...]

Parenting (and training) at 80%

***photos by Benjamin Lopez*** When I was in graduate school, one of my good friends, a father, practicing doctor, and fellow MPH student, told me something rather prescient: You can’t be 100% at everything you do. You can’t be a great student, a great doctor, AND a great father. One of them has to give. [...]

Race Report: Dalmac Bike Tour

Another great race is in the books: the Dalmac bike tour from Lansing, MI, to Mackinaw city, MI, a distance of 322 miles. Bike tours like this are a blast, and I would encourage anyone that loves a) challenging athletic endeavors and b) serious tailgating, to try one. These rides last for a few days, [...]

cracks under the surface

So as I gently alluded to in my last post, I had a slight ankle/achilles tendon injury during the Detroit Marathon. Essentially, I feel a *slight* pain in my right ankle, alternating between the achilles, the sides of the ankle, and every once in a while, the arch of my foot. It has gotten less [...]

Marathon Report 2: Recove(red)

—continued from previous post— I folded my Two Weeks shirt and put it back in my drawer, and at this point had thoroughly tainted all these people’s future accomplishment by assessing their behavior by a different standard. I had missed the essence of what they were doing: ironically, participating in one of the few cross-culturally [...]

Controlled Chaos

You talk to any first time parents, and my guess is that they will tell you the same thing: parenting, in the beginning anyway, is at best controlled chaos. You are accustomed to a life in which you have a routine, you have a schedule, you know what has to be done and when.  But [...]

a PR or the ER?

I have never run more than 13.1 miles straight. True, I have done my share of half-marathons, and even tacked a 13.1 onto the end of a 1.2 mile swim and 56 mile bike at the Galveston Half-Ironman, but more than 13? Nope. Never. But I was all set to do so last Sunday. I [...]

Race 1: Island Lake of Novi 1.5 mile swim

Ahhh, the first race of the season! My wife and I signed up for the Island Lake of Novi 1.5 mile open water swim. My longest swim prior to this is the 1.2 miles swim in Galveston Bay for the Lonestar Triathlon Half-Ironman in 2007. Thus, at 1.5 miles this will be the longest consecutive [...]

Why Race I Race: Part 1

I have watched my wife do three marathons, and I never cease to be inspired. Come the end of the race, you see such pain in people’s faces, such suffering, as if this was the worst decision they ever made, and you really can’t help but get the chills. People cross the finish line in [...]

8 hours of sleep, where are you?

Last night I was scared, for the first time, of this whole combing-fatherhood-with-an-ironman thing. My daughter decided not to go to bed until late. Then, as babies do, she decided to wake up multiple times during the night. Then, as babies also do, she decided to get up early. Real Early. My wife and I [...]