For those of you doing IM this year this is for you (via Frazz)

Some Pix from Today's Expedition

Here's some pix from today's trip. Hey Chey, Tom got a hot dog at Rona in your honor which he enjoyed! We also enjoy motoring around in Blue Baby Roo and some good tunes, including Chey's namesake song.

See the full gallery on Posterous

New addition to the family

We just got a sack of preying mantis eggs. Watch out vile mosquitos!
Sherry brought a giant topiary bunny we are at the store to get moss
to stuff it with

We are the worms

Tom & Sher are visiting and we are doing it all in LonOnt! Another
round of nematodes! Meanwhile Cass is at the giant water gun fight in
Victoria Park.

TTT: closure

Well it is already Tuesday and I've got to get a few random TTT thoughts down. Fast.

1. We had a gas, despite the race.

2. The water was stinky.

3. On Stage 3 I ran for almost 40 min without talking. Honest. Ask AO. I just kept mentally singing the Quiet Song (AND THIS IS HOW IT GOES)

4. Amy P is a good sport, and I will never mention Sunday lap 2 to anyone. Ever. Don't ask.

5. The St Thomas Girlz is hardcore.

6. The run was so tough on Stage 4 that Coach didn't have the lungs to chirp my rotten arm swing.

7. The water was cold and despite the air temperature AO and I almost had to stop on the bike. I was shaking, she was convulsing, honestly her rear tire was bouncing off the ground.

8. You don't want to buy my bike shoes used at any price. Thank God for Lysol.

9. Zen moment: I saw a beautiful butterfly land on a fresh dog turd.

10. Terrapin moment: there was a turtle in the middle of the road on one of the descents.

11. Saturday night we watched some replays of the 2001 TdF. I waited for the 2nd time up the giant, long climb on Sunday and did this to AO (actually footage): [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7THIhZEP4QM?wmode=transparent].

I am a bad person and should respect her "big disel engine".

12. They ran out of cups on the run and people were drinking with their hands out of the buckets. For some reason I skipped those aide stations. Fussy fussy.

13. We all went to Dairy Queen after and had Blizzards. 8000 cal burned this weekend and I wiped out my deficit in 15 min.

14. In Columbus OH AO finally admitted I was smarted then her $200 GPS unit. I'm flattered.

15. We went to the duty free in the wee hours and it felt like being a teen again and ending up twisted at some random Burger King.

16. Never let Jesse do the talking through customs. "Did you buy anything while away". "No sir". "Any liquor". "Yes sir, we bought it at the duty free". It decayed from there but we got through.

17. AO and I have adopted our all-star youngsters Jesse and Amy P as they are adorable despite their physical and mental challenges.

18. Including: Jesse's alarm which I hope goes off tomorrow for swim at 5:15, and not race morning when I want to sleep in until 5:30.

Well done all, I hope it was as miserable a character-building experience as I had promised! Thanks to all that wished as well and helped us get to the starting (and finishing) line. FYI pictures are of AO and I surviving the big descent in Stage II and finally bringing our core temperatures > 30 C on the top of the first time up the big climb during sunny Stage IV.

PO,

boB

See the full gallery on Posterous

TTT stage II

Rained like crazy overnight but dry skies for Stage II. We all kept it
real and had steady races with the only blemish being yours truly
having a brain cramp and swimming to the wrong buoy which cost us some
time. Prudence is the buzz word now, as we have to do another
international tri this aft and a half tomorrow. Amy is still chirping
us like a songbird, ahh to have all that youthful energy. Us old folks
are all lying down pretending to sleep trying to avoid moving until
1430 when we have to head down to the start. I just asked AO for any
thoughts but I think she and the Coach are actually asleep. Rest while
you can cause that's the Way of the Road!
PO,
Bob
Ps our team's new mantra is "no child left behind"

LOST the TV show. We is lost in Ohio

On the Road to TTT

Hey Janice, further to your comment on my new career, how's this:
rainin cats n dogs in Toledo, don't know if my libido, will get me out
of this old van and to the start. We'll get wetter on the climb
tonight then on the swim at the race start.

Triple T weekend! That's right Bubs, it's The Way of The Road.

OK, finally packed and ready for HFP Racing's American Triple T triathlon, 4 tris in 3 days adding up to over an Ironman of fun and some brutally hilly bike courses and a beautiful run trail loop with a serious amount climbing. You can see the race details here: http://www.americantriple-t.com/events/oh/home, and they may even post some results. Racing starts tomorrow (Fridays) afternoon. I'm looking forward to any new "chubby" jokes AO has prepared for the hills and I'm sure she'll have more fun than last year's solo DIY TTT she did when I managed to injury myself right before the race. I'll try to stay in touch over the weekend, bandwidth permitting. And unlike my past trips down there when they were only a handful of Canadians, this year there is a big group of fellow Team Sheri-ites on hand for the fun.

Forest City Road Races

Forest City Road Races

The Forest City Road Races are the biggest thing London has on the running scene, including a marathon, 1/2, 10 km, 5 km and 2.5 km. 3 Sicas participated and we all had fun, I did the half, Cass the 10 km and Pat the 2.5 km. Unfortunately, weatherwise it was a brutal day, not the kind of day it is fun to hang around and socialize which was disappointing. It was grey and 5 ºC with a 30 km/h NW wind and I don't think I have FLA out of my blood yet: it was bitter. I brought my bike and spun 30 min before dropping off my bag and doing some pickups, and even riding the trainer it was hard to get warm.

The start was fun, since this for me was a 'C' race I was loose and got to see some friends I hadn't talked to since last season or longer. We headed out and did our running, and I managed to handle most everything but the Shriners on the corners, something about a Fez which stirs bad chemicals in me. I asked several times to anyone around "where are the tiny cars! dammit!". From about 2 to 10 km there were several of us 50-54s all running about the same pace, but we got thinned out going up Adelaide into the wind. I stuck to my plan to stay relaxed to about 16 km then pick it up to the end. The race really thinned and by 18 km I was basically by myself until the finish. I went steady to the end and ran 1.41.28, about 4.5 min slower than last year. This was about 2-3 min due to wind and the rest my lack of effort. Last year I was in my build for IMCDA in June, while this year the serious racing is still awhile off. I really know what's up tomorrow, and see if I recover like a normal long run or if I'm sore at all. So far so good.

Cass had a great race, 4th in his AG, and is really coming along with his training. We're going to do the Milton Tri together at the end of the month (hope it warms back up so we have a swim first and not a skate). After his race he got to share Mother's Day with his Mom on her race and was her pace bunny. After race we indulged Mom in her 2 favorite pastimes: puttering at greenhouses (so many kinds of basal, so little time) and collecting rocks. This must be why Chey is studying to be a geologist. The woman is loves her rocks. This affliction has gotten worse, she used to just pick up rocks and bring them back from everywhere we would go (enduring years of my comments about air heads and rocks in your pocket). Her "passion" has gotten worse and the rock on the right is the size she is fiending now. "Pat, I can't pick that up." "You just don't want to, boo hoo". AAAHHH. So we cruised around a new subdivision going in near us and she happily found a 25 lber to put in her new garden space out front.

(I mean I'm pre-driving the course at Muskoka a few years ago, "Stop, look at that one" and almost got a hernia putting it in the van which sat so low on the shocks we couldn't drive above 80; I thought I wouldn't be able to race the next day. We have a strict rule now, no rock hunting during an IM taper. :-)

OK 8 days to Victoria's Du and we'll see where I'm at there. I hope it is a warm day.

Happy Mothers Day to all qualified candidates,

boB