The Search...

For the first time in my career I was "impacted" by a "reduction in force" Thanksgiving week. While it is never a time to get whacked from one's job, having it happen (unexpected as it was....) right before the holidays is even worse. There's good and bad here though...the bad is obviously that I'm now in the midst of a fevered job search. The good though is new opportunities abound! The job market is scary right now with many, many, many qualified candidates for virtually every job that's out there. I am really looking at taking this opportunity to move into a somewhat new industry as well. Carrier services has been good to me but let's face it: it's not the most exciting industry that's out there. It doesn't necessarily improve people's lives in a meaningful way (I know that's debateable) and more important to me, it is certainly not very innovative.
I would really like to work for a high-tech manufacturer which is where I have been focusing my efforts in the short term. If that is 1A, then 1B would be managed services such as web hosting or professional services, and going back to carrier services would come in after that. I know that business and could easily slide into a role there and be effective and impactful to an organization. But I am definitely trying to find something more personally fulfilling such as green technology, internet security, something that matters and is relevant to my value system. Yep, I get it, easy to be altruistic when only the hunt for only a couple of weeks....let's see how hungry he is in February if he still hasn't landed...truth be told, I'm prepared for that. I'll do what I have to do to support my family. But why not aim higher now, right?
In other 'news' the New England cyclocross season ended last week and as I reflect back on the year, I have to be happy. I absolutely improved over last season with mostly top 15's and top 20's with a few top 10's even. I did not reach my goal of hitting a podium this year which is a bummer. I need to get 15-30 seconds faster over the course of a 40 minute effort. It doesn't sound like much and a good place to start would be my starts! They SUCK ASS. Not sure why but I always am late clippin' in and hitting the gas in those first couple of minutes. Before I know it the leaders are up the course and I'm chasing, tongue hanging and completely on the rivet. That's one area I can improve upon and be at the front sooner instead of fighting the whole race to get there. Second off is overall fitness. I feel like I made huge gains this year, but let's face it, I'm still only talking about cat 4 races. I have the experience now to move up to either the 3's or the A masters (the latter being one hell of a beatdown with the top 10 guys all being pretty much former pros). In the 3's I'd be a mid-packer but there are guys I know that I can hang with. The question to move up has two parts: 1. do I want to try and win one before I go up and 2. can I get the permission slip to race at noon instead of 8:30 am.
We'll see....for now, I'm enjoying a month off the bike, getting ready for the holidays and spending as much time as I can with the kids.

Much to be thankful for!

As they say, 'tis the season....this year more than ever, I have so very much to be thankful for. As is often the case it takes a somewhat tragic incident to knock us back to what's real. A week and a half ago I was unexpectedly laid off from 'big telecom'. While the immediate loss of income is very much real and has kept me up most nights this week, it could also be a quiet blessing. To be honest, I haven't found much in this field to get me fired up. Telecom simply isn't very innovative and with each passing day becomes more and more a commodity/utility. I took on the challenge of going to grad school part time with the responsibilities of being a husband, father, and provider in order to position myself to move out of telecom (or at least to a more impactful segment). The economy and intertia admittedly has kept me here. Now that I'm out of it for now, it is forcing me to open my eyes to new things.

This is the one I am currently checking out: www.gazelle.com - talk about a fantastic idea that is relevant!

So while losing my job is super difficult right now, I am considering how lucky I am in other aspects of my life. I have the most amazing partner - she's smart, she's tough, and she's resilient. Our personalities our different as I have written about in other forums (she's a packrat and I am joe organized, she's a hopeless constituent of Red Sox Nation and my fidelity is betrothed to the 27 time World Series Champion New York Yankees, I love to ride my bike fast against other weekend warriors, she got up today at 4 am to go shopping....you get the idea) but opposites attract. While we have watched good friends get married and then divorced, I cannot imagine sharing life with anyone else. We have been 'blessed' (and I used that word judiciously) with 3 fantastic kids who each have terrific personalities and interests. Our families are healthy and for the most part happy. We have a modest home that I am slowly renovating to make into our own little nest in the woods, and we live in a wonderful community with great folks all around. In simple terms other than the "work thing" (or lack thereof...) we're doing Ok.

I have a cousin who is a West Point grad and is serving his third tour overseas and is currently deployed somewhere in Afghanistan. My aunt and uncle haven't heard from him in almost a month now due to the crap communications infrastructure there. While visiting a prospective new employer in Boston this past week I came across half a dozen homeless folks that were looking for some help in the pouring rain. We have a lot of family that is within driving distance of our house, so Thanksgiving dinner was a fun-filled party with lots of yummy food and cheer. I don't have anything to gripe about.....life's pretty good for me right now.

I'm looking forward to some new adventures and I am hoping that I'll be able to find some work that is more personally fulfilling and interesting and most importantly, makes a difference. Until that though, I am thankful for what I have.

Frustrating....

I am officially NOT a packrat. I purge my things regularly - I like to live (as best I can anyway...) an efficient and streamlined lifestyle. I don't own much in the way of clothes, I don't have 10 bikes (I have 3), I don't have closets full of health care products, and I generally speaking am good about excess paper (though I really want to get a paper shredder at some point). There are definitely some areas where I could be even more prudent...I still have a separate fax machine and printer, and I probably hang on to many nuts and bolts and scrap lumber from home projects (but that latter makes for great kindling in the winter months).

I am married to the mother of all packrats. I have "time on my hands" these days and decided this morning to attack our bedroom linen closet (reason being I was looking for the bottle of vitamin C tabs as I'm feeling just a bit of cold coming on...). One thing led to another, as other organized types will understand, and I felt compelled to clean that damn closet out.

12 bath towels. TWELVE!!! For just wife and me. The kids have another set in their newly reno'd bathroom (I'm really happy with how that came out BTW). Well, I could use some new rags....
12 bags of random make-up stuff. I.....I simply don't know what to say about that. She's a gorgeous, beautiful woman. But my god how does she even know what she has in all those bags?
I found a couple of completely dried up make-up things, 4 half empty cans of hair spray crap, and prescriptions dating back to before we moved to this house (which begs the question, why the hell did I move it here in the first place?).
Weeeell, in attempting my best to be supportive and diplomatic, I've laid out all twelve bags of stuff on our bed as well as the questionable "products" that I wasn't sure what to do with (if I were my mother, that whole pile would already be in the dumpster) and have sweetly asked her to go through and consolidate.

The good money's on all of it being shoved right back into the closet by day's end.

Still love her to death though!

You remember...

...When Morpheus was showing Neo what the Matrix was and he perfectly hit the spaces between the 'people' walking down the street? I tried that at North Station today and it worked!

Unless of course I was simply invisible?

Halloween happenin's +

Been a bit since I've had the chance to write....seems every time I jump onto my Blogger account, my sister in law has since written a novel which certainly makes me feel a bit slackish...

In no particular order.....
-after a LOOOOT of studying, a preparatory bootcamp in Denver, and some purusing of "those" test prep sites, I successfully passed the Cisco Certified Design Associate exam. Am I now qualified to create an enterprise network with EIGRP, OSFP, and BGP fully functional? No chance. The thing with certification exams is that while the achievement is all well and good, its the substance behind the cert that matters. I need to treat this as simply a check mark but continue to be diligent in studying. I was psyched to pass it on the first go nonetheless, and if nothing else, I learned how to subnet and summarize a network through CIDR. Routing protocols and QoS...well, that's a story for another day.
-the World Series is in full swing and the Yankees pulled out a clutch and gritty win last night and essentially stealing the home field advantage back (though I'm not necessarily convinced it means much considering how both teams have played thus far). A-Rod got a big hit (first in the Series, and hoping his playoff stroke continues after being dormant for the first two games), and Pettite helped out his own cause with a bloop single that scored Swisher. Pettite hung tough and after that sketchy opening. As I had hoped, the Yankees were able to put some numbers up against Hamels, who simply isn't what he was last October. Tonight's game is going to be huge with Sabathia going on short rest against Joe Blanton, who the Yankees line-up simply needs to take advantage of. Number 3/4 starters in the National League should NOT be able to keep American League playoff lineups down. And if the Yankees can win tonight and go up 3-1, the momentum clearly slides over.
-the Commuter Rail offers both good and bad....the good being that it's nice to read on the commute home and not have to deal with traffic. The bad being the dude with the dragon breath that plopped his sorry ass next to mine at the Porter Square stop.....and just my luck that he was in for the whole ride out to metro-west.
-the kids' bathroom project is just about done. I'm working on the punch list stuff now....Penny surprised me by priming the new window y'day so I just need to put a couple of topcoats on it. Billy D. brought the wall cabinet to Canton 'Cross so I need to paint that and hang it and I can pretty much put a fork in it. Bill does fantastic work and I'll be posting some photos later today. Next up after 'cross season is to finish the lingering crap that I've been neglecting for the last couple of years.....namely hanging the double closet doors in Ryan's room (so that I can finish up the baseboard), replacing the baseboard heating covers behind Penny's computer (so that I can do the baseboard in that room), and then hopefully knocking out the linen closet door and baseboard in our bedroom. If I can get all of that stuff done over the winter, then the next project will be the bathroom in our bedroom...it's a very small full bath so it presents some interesting design challenges.
-'Cross season is in full swing here in New England, and another year of experience coupled with some structured training have provided some decent results so far. After two logistical snafus, I finally got the season going at Gloucester and considering I started both days in the very back of the starting grid I was happy with a couple of top 25's (about 100 guys per race each day too!!!). I had to shoot to Denver for work and missed the Providence races which is a bummer because I heard the courses were fantastic. Hit the Hartford 'Cross race and finished 5th last weekend and then put up a solid 13th y'day at Canton (which was ridiculous....120+ starters in my field, about 35 guys across the road at the start). Some asshole from Bike Barn desperately tried to come around me on the slippery pavement section on the last lap and ceremoniously slid out. I have NO problem with aggressive moves on the 'cross course-but this course had P-L-E-N-T-Y of places to pass, so I'm hoping this jackass has road rash and healthy contusion for his stupid move. Assuming I continue to do Ok this year, I'm going to apply for an upgrade either this year or before the start of next year. I know that I can hang with the 3's. Mebbe mid pack to start but there's guys racing 3's now that I know that I'm faster than so I shouldn't DFL in those races. The Noho double weekend is up next on the schedule and I'm looking forward to see how I can fare there. A couple of top 20's there and I'll do the 3's for the remainder of the season. However if I get my ass handed to me then I'll sit tight in the 4's this year and keep the work up.
-We had a blast with the kids trick or treating last night (and how awesome was it to be out in shorts and flip flops?????). Ryan walked pretty much on his own the entire time with big sister Cait being a bit pooped out halfway through. Cait's been battling a cold/flu all week so just being out there was great. Meghan is now 8 and has a pretty good handle on how to maximize the T and T effort and scored a ridiculous amount of loot!

Well that's about it....photos of the latest project soon to come...

Thoughts....

So, back from a week in Denver at corp HQ training center for a little Cisco beat down. I'm sitting for the CCDA exam in a few weeks and thought a bootcamp would be helpful....all I can say is selling the stuff for the last decade vs. actually diving into the technical surface (emphasis on surface because the bottom is a few miles down) was a helluva lot more than I bargained for. It took me 3+ nights to figure out subnetting....and it's still not automatic....CIDR isn't too bad now that I've kind of figured it out. And don't even let me get started on routing protocols. Let's just say I'm not all that confident going into this test. Happy thoughts, right? Who can tell me what the network address, first and last host address, and broadcast address for the following:

171.25.63.20/25

On the bike front, things are ok....I never thought I'd be so twisted up bio-mechanics wise at 39 than I am....I'm seeing both a PT and a chiropractor (and the co-pays absof*ckinglutely SUCK, btw) once per week, stretching about 30 minutes per day and now starting to throw in some core strength building stuff. The plus side is that my back pain in the morning isn't as bad as it was this summer (it's still there but it doesn't take an hour to loosen up). The down side is that I feel like I'm spending an inordinate amount of time trying to get it back in shape.....and I'm ACTIVE!!! I ride my bike all the time and race a bit. I don't eat great, but it could be worse. How bad would this be if I was the proverbial couch potato???

On the home front, the kids' bathroom is just about done. I need to case out and paint the window, add some accessories and get my tools out of there. Give me one good day and she's in the books. I do need to finish up the guest room as well since I stole some of the closet to make room for the new vanity. Next project hopefully will be the master bathroom. And I really, really, REALLY need to finish up the lingering baseboard project. While I really don't want to replace any of the baseboard heating covers, I don't see any way around it. No one seems to make the end caps for the ones we have. Bummer that.....

Time to go finish stretchin'....then back to subnetting....let me know when you figure out the answer....

October observations....

I'm sitting in my hotel room in Denver on a break from a Cisco class that I'm incredibly under-qualified to be taking but hoping to make the best of....while I should be head down in the books right trying desperately to make sense of SONA, IIN, and the core, distribution, and access architectural modules, I needed a break....so here are some random things....

My cyclocross season FINALLY got underway after two false starts this past weekend at Gloucester. Due to some piss poor scheduling on my part, I was rewarded with back of the pack starts with 100 fellow weekend bike racers. Luckily for me, the back pain has begun to subside just a bit and I managed to finish 27th and 24th respectively over the weekend. Of course no good deed goes unpunished....I dropped my Blackberry in a puddle on Saturday so I'm without a phone while my warranty BB gets shipped to the house. Makes for staying "in touch" interesting...

I had the pleasure of sitting next to a couple of German kids apparently visiting the States during my flight out to CO...too bad they hadn't showered in about a month...nothing like some quality BO to experience for 4+ hours!

The class I'm taking is a bootcamp ahead of a certification test that I'm looking to take in the next couple of weeks. I feel so completely out-matched on this thing....trying to stay positive and focused and hoping that the light bulb moment happens soon or I am screwed come test time!

Miss my kids and can't wait to get back home!

Irritated...

....how do I measure my irritation today? By the fact that I realized I had forgotten my helmet and shoes for the first 'cross of the season as I was pulling into registration. I am such a collosal asshole sometimes. I got up extra early to stretch out my aching back, had a cup of joe, and did all sorts of wiggling around on the Swiss ball. Jumped on the trainer for 15 minutes for some light spinning, had some more coffee, and a trip to the hopper. I was excited and nervous and fired up and ready to GO! I love to ride my bike, but I really, really, REALLY LOVE to race cyclocross. The lung-bursting effort, the mud, the comraderie, the cupcakes, the fall weather, all of it.

F*CK, I am so pissed off at myself for missing this race! It's a wonderfully fun course and it's wet and mucky today, so I was psyched to blow some of the crap out of my lungs and get going.

Honestly though, this is somewhat indicative of how life is these days....as much as I'm trying desperately to simplify, simplify, simplify, I am running in a thousand directions at once and it is taking its toll. My life is anything but simple. Work has been bananas busy as I am working to build my business in the NE region. I am plugging away with the gut job of the main bathroom in our house (sealing the new floor tile at 10pm last night is likely why I forgot to pack my sh*t correctly for today's race). All of the kids are busy with either school and/or fall sports. Penny is working a couple of days per week so we're both running the household solo most of the time. I am back in chiropractor/physical therapy a couple of days per week to continue to work out my back issues.

UGGGGGGGGGGGGGH. I thought when I got out of school my schedule would free up a bit, but it seems like I am more busy than ever.

I think I need some some professional help! But hey, it's just a bike race, right???

Bathroom model updates

So I'm about a third of the way through the big remodeling job of the kids bathroom and while it's going fairly well, I'm beginning to rethink some of my attitudes concerning home projects. No doubt, my oft-painful back these last bunch of months coupled with me hanging on to 30-ism is contributing to these thoughts.

I have ALWAYS been a DIY-er. Why pay someone to do a project that I can pretty easily do? Where I generally draw the line is on safety and efficiency. The access in the bathroom is tight and work has been bananas busy the last few weeks, so I opted to sub out the electrical and plumbing. Good move because what would have taken me a whole lot of time was nothing more than after-work fill in for the pros....

Demo-ing the absolute shit that was there previously then framing out the new walls, hanging sheetrock and mudding the walls is all pretty easy stuff, so I've attacked that with an abandon....I would have preferred to use a plasterer because I can't stand flinging mud but the best price I got was 500 bucks to plaster. Nahhh I thought, that's crazy.

Here's where "wisdom" begins to take root....how nice would it have been to spend that 500 bucks and arrive home from the office and be ready to paint? In my earlier 30's the thought would never have entered my mind. Now.....MAN do I wish I had spent that dough! I have one more skim coat to do and I should be able to get that done tonight, but had I just paid the damn plasterer, I'd be getting ready to lay tile instead of getting ready to prime the walls.

What I'm learning is that I need to be more cognizant of the opportunity costs associated with my time. There's not a lot of simple carpentry jobs or landscaping work that I will EVER out-source.....to me simple is pretty much anything that doesn't move the weight bearing structure of the house-those things are just too much in my wheelhouse to do.....but my kiddo's are not going to be the cute little dudes they are forever and I need to remember that. Install a new window, build a wall unit, a deck, a patio, whatever, I'll do that stuff. Rip a rug, re-do a floor, ditto. Hang kitchen cabinets (next big one on the list btw), easy. And with the internet I have a virtual trade school at my finger tips to answer a question I may have.

But today is a landmark day because I'm DONE with hanging board. And frankly, I'm ok with it. From now on, I'll do the jobs that I sort of enjoy (I don't really enjoy any of it frankly....but still) and can whip off pretty easily. I want to make sure my kids also have a good level of self-sufficiency in these areas. But from now on, I'm gonna pick and choose more carefully-life's too short.

Where does the time go?

MAN, what a long time it's been.....

1. Work is crazy - I'm more about motion right now rather than action and that's definitely frustrating. I'm working much harder but I am having a tough time working smarter. Quotes are flying out the door, but we're not selling much...
2. While work is crazy, I'm grateful to be employed...there's a lot of really great, really talented folks that are not working and I remind myself of that every day.
3. The girls bathroom is coming along slowly....hopefully the plastering contractors won't kill me on the estimates....I really do NOT want to mud that whole thing myself....wimpish, I know, but I just don't like slingin' mud.
4. While I feel like I have a great fitness base this year, probably the best I've ever had, my gimpy back has me feeling disconcerted about 'cross season. I don't want to skip a season, but I can't keep living this way. My back is weak and sore pretty much every day. It doesn't bother me when I'm on the bike, but every morning when I get out of bed....oh man.
5. TOTALLY looking forward to a couple of shows coming up....U2 and the Allman Brothers/Widespread Panic.
6. Family camping trip number two coming up soon....this one will be 5 nights. WAY curious to see how the boy manages....

That's it for now....I'll post up some photos of the BR project as it progresses...

The Hub of my grief...

Late last summer I did the 24 Hours of Great Glen mountain bike race with some of the good folks at MRC. It was a great time, if not wet. It's been great to get back on the trails more the last two years because that's where my passion for bikes began. Amethyst Brook in Amherst, MA, senior year in college on a borrowed rigid hardtail is how this affair all started...



In any event, once upon a time I was an absolute bear about maintaining my mountain bike...these days, not so much. It probably doesn't help that my bike is older than my marriage, and parts are tough to come by. But being the rather frugal yankee I'm trying like hell to keep this limping along. A fancy 29er or full suspension rig just ain't in the budget this year.



As it turns out, I really should have done a better job of cleaning my bike after Great Glen last year....I didn't and one of the cartridge bearings in my circa 1996 Hugi/Coda rear hub has completely seized....

That's about 14 years of trail grime built in there....the seal really wasn't sealing anything at all! I really can't remember if I've seen a sealed bearing actually seize. I mean that inner race has ZERO movement in it! While the other bearing seems to be in terrific shape, it looks like I can get both of them for about 40 bucks shipped. Considering what they are that seems expensive, but assuming I can figure out to press these back into the hub body, it's cheaper than a whole new rear hub. Plus I have been taking a certain amount of pride in keeping this old steed still bouncing off the rocks and roots...

Now if I can just get that god-damned creaking sound out of the bottom bracket (yep, an old White Industries Ti square-taper beauty, same vintage...), all will be well!

Dave at Fenway review....

Have been an ardent fan of Dave Matthews since my senior year in college and have been making it a "guy outing" every year. The last few have been at Great Woods, so it's been a fun tailgating type event. This year however, they're doing the double at Fenway, so the tailgate turned into a mini pub crawl. We decided to start up in Allston at some old hangouts and make our way down to Kenmore Square, keeping in mind that pretty much everything right around Kenmore would be mobbed. The plan worked out really well - we had a beer and food at the Sunset Grill, then stopped at the White Horse.

Then moved further down the road to the other place that Sunset owns near BU (forget the name)...Hugh had joined us at this point making for a quartet of silliness for the afternoon. Steve decided that we ought to start exploring 10% beer in a can (all set for this kid, thanks!), which laid the foundation for...well, for nothing good frankly.

then finally shot down to the House of Blues across the street from Fenway (that's it in the background). Though there was a bit of a line, we had a good time hanging out and revelling with other Lansdowne partiers...

Then we went into the park to see the show....we weren't exactly sure where our seats were at first, but got pretty excited, pretty quickly!

5th row, pretty much center!!!

What a Setlist these guys threw down:

Nanta

Rapunzel

Alligator Pie

Don't Drink...Seven

Gravedigger

So Damn Lucky

Funny the Way it is...

Nancies

Why I am

Spaceman

41

R and R

Squirm

Crush

Time Bomb

Two Step

Encore: Dirty Water and Stay

Simply an AMAZING SHOW!

After the show we decided on some late night eats (definitely due in part to the aforementioned canned beer silliness....). This one is after Guy consumed the biggest double burger concoction I've ever seen....must have been two lbs of meat alone!

Steve followed that "show" up with this lovely display...

I know everyone has an opinion when it comes to music, but as a lifelong fan of the "Jam Band" genre, there aren't many that I enjoy as much as DMB. The Allman Bros. are probably my all-time favorite closely followed by the Dead, Phish, and Widespread. Then there are the "not as commercially well-known offerings from moe., Stringcheese, Dispatch, etc. But Dave is just a fantastic feel good show and the crowd is generally really cool. The only shows that I can think of that I'd classify as somewhat dissappointing were the two that I traveled to in Charlottesville, VA. My brother and sister-in-law were there for her MBA at UVa, so the trip was fun nonetheless. And considering that DMB got their start there, we figured it would be a lights out show. They weren't, and in fact the band seemed pretty tired and ready for a break. But other than that, I guess I'd consider myself pretty lucky.

Wish I had the guts....

....some people simply shouldn't wear certain things. I wish I had the guts to either a. politely say something or b. snap a photo and post it. Rather, I sort of smile and shake my head and go on my merry way. Some examples:
1. Belly shirts - don't think I need to add any more description here....either you look good in one or you don't. If you don't, then please find something else to wear.

2. Sneakers with suits - as a fellow Metro-west commuter, please, please, PLEASE guys - stop wearing your $100 Mizuno track flats (which have never seen a track by the way) with your suit. Ten years ago when dress shoes were still stiff as hell, not very comfortable, and had leather soles, fine. Today, with the amount of choices in dress shoes that feel and fit like sneakers, get with it. Women, I see the point....well, I don't really see the point of the shoes you wear to work in the first place, but I'm not an afficionado on women's footwear....anyway, sneaks for the commute are ok with me, as I can't imagine walking from North Station to the Financial District in high heels, god that must suck.

3. Fat guys in cycling gear - Ok, this one hits home....I'm a cyclist and I fully realize that you sort of have to be one to get the whole lycra wearing, leg shaving thing. But guys that are north of three bills and are falling out of their regular clothes (let alone their cycling gear)....sorry, just don't get that one.

Last but not least.....when will women's fashionistas figure out that sun dresses with baseball hats and flip flops are what guys want to see girls wearing? A nice tan, zero make up, and sun-drenched curly hair and the above-mentioned ensemble....Pen...you reading this???

What a weekend!

Man, you just can't ask for a better Memorial Day weekend than what we had up in New England. I took Thursday and Friday off to catch up on some MUCH needed landscaping....on Thursday I cleaned out and edged all the planting beds and then on Friday I spread 12 yards of mulch. While my back literally gave out on me toward the end of the day, the yard looked fabulous and ready for our "Stow-folk" party on Saturday. I say Stow-folk because of last year's soiree....we figured we'd throw a little BBQ for those of our friends that didn't have any other place to go and assumed that it would be a smallish affair. Over a 100 people showed up!!! I ended up flippin' burgers for close to 3.5 hours!!! So this year we limited the guest list to just Stow friends and still had over 50 people! And our "one big party" is supposed to Oktoberfest - but truth be told, we love to entertain and house is set up well for it. Seeing all of the kids bookin' around the house and the parents enjoying adult beverages and funny stories is so well worth it.

I managed to get some fantastic riding in too. 3 hours on the road Saturday, 2 hours on the trails Sunday, and then another 3 hours on the road Monday made for quality training. I'm trying to rack up the miles ahead of the B2B which is upon us in just 4 weeks now!! Overall, I'm pretty happy with my mileage thus far....over 1300 in the books in '09. But not as much long rides that I need...and the event calendar is definitely LIGHT in June and July.

On the back front, overall I'd say I'm feeling better (this weekend's marathon mulch spreading notwithstanding), but morning is still just awful. I think it's our mattress being too soft, but considering that we're still paying for it, I may not have many options in the short term other than sleeping on the floor!!! I have been faithfully stretching and doing the PT exercises though. Am considering some yoga/pilates as well.

Adventures in commuting....

So I've decided to try and do some commuting by bicycle, and today was the first day. In my previous position, it was difficult. Dress code and meeting schedules were often difficult to predict, but now I have a bit more control over my schedule. The distance/time is also a bit of a factor...not so much for the going into Boston part, but the coming out - I can leave whenever I need to in the morning. I'm usually out of the house before the kids wake up anyway, but I absolutely hate getting home so late that I don't see them before bed too. Plus with the coaching that I'm doing and my wife working part time a couple of nights per week, I can't afford to have a 2+ hour bike commute home. So I drove part way and rode the rest of the way. This morning it was perfect - 15 miles on the bike, about 45 minutes total, nice cruisin' pace. Great way to start the day.

The one issue though was the tool for the trade....I took my road bike (an older Seven Ti custom beauty). I didn't realize how banged up roads in Waltham and Watertown are....so I ordered up a pair of fat wire bead road tires that I'll put on my 'cross bike and use that. The shorter top tube and more upright position will make bunny hopping a bit easier as well. I thought for sure that I would mis-time a launch at some point and wind up fixing a flat on Mt. Auburn St which would have SUCKED!

I also need to get my morning routine set up once I get to the office. I just assembled an anti-stink/quick cleanup kit with baby wipes, deoderant, and some shampoo. There's no shower at work so that's a bit of an issue that I'll have to work on.

If anyone has any tips to share, please let me know. I'm hoping to ride in twice per week!

Quick Sterling and Sunapee Reports

So after a few crits, I've finally gotten some actual road racing in the books. Here are some impressions of the events.

Last weekend my club hosted it's 15th annual event, the Sterling Road Race. This has become sort of a fixture of the spring season, and this year was well attended by strong fields across the board. While I have a lot of good experience in riding in general but virtually none in competitive road racing I'm starting with the 35+ beginners. The point is to gain the pack-riding experience necessary to be safe in the category 4 races which is my next step. I lined up at 11ish for 3 laps of an 8+ mile course with a pretty big field (north of 75 guys).

This race was a study in positioning-something that isn't really that big of a deal in cyclocross and mountain bike racing. Conversely, it's of critical importance in road racing. On the last lap into town, I found myself feeling pretty strong for the finishing climb but in shite position to help out the other guys on the team. I felt that I could have provided a solid leadout to our strongest guy in the race-bury myself to string out the field going into the base of the climb and then spring him for the finishing sprint. That's something I was planning to carry into the next race for sure-being more mindful of positioning. I finished 26th overall, which isn't bad for my first go around.

Yesterday was my next go at the Lake Sunapee Race in NH. The race featured two laps of a 25 mile circuit around the lake (beautiful spot). Each lap featured ove 1300 of climbing per lap with lots of rolling terrain. I was determined to be more animated and have a few digs on this one to see what I was capable of, as well as ride for and protect my team mates when we got down to the wire. Each lap had a couple of pretty tough climbs for racing. Racing climbs are harder it seems than training climbs. The peloton doesn't ususally recover after them....hard pace up the climb and then full gas over the top. I am finding that I need to work on that ability to apply the power on the climb and then the ability to accelerate. Right now I don't have that. I was able to get into two mini-breaks yesterday and do some quality pulling. I really thought that the second attempt could go. It looked like we had some cooperation going but just as we were ramping up, our group was neutralized by the pace car. Seemed to be a misunderstanding on our group coming around the race in front of us. They literally stopped us on the road and re-grouped us. So for the last 2/3 lap the entire group drove hard. On the last big climb, I came un-glued. There was push in the pace and I couldn't stay on. Broke myself to catch back up before the rollers and then the pace pushed again and I was gone. I'm not sure of how I did overall but I ended up just spinning in the last 5 miles. Probably mid-pack I'd guess.

Both races were fun (in a twisted sort of way) and also great experience. To be honest, they're harder than I thought (and this is coming from someone who is riding in the Cat 5's). The competition is strong and fitness levels are high. My strengths thus far are interesting--I never considered myself the "breakaway" type but I can get out there and pull hard for stints. I did think I was a better climber than I am right now. I can spin ok with a group, but when the screw gets turned, I run out of gas pretty quickly. And when I pop, I really pop. Time to get to work on that one.

All in all though, I enjoy the competition and the team work. The latter is the interesting aspect of road racing. It's real--keeping the strong team mate out of the wind makes a TON of difference for the finishing sprints and a smart riding team can lead out well and deliver victories. And let's face it, my favorite discipline is 'cross and this racing is money in the bank come fall.

Aging right before my eyes...

So this morning before my first cup of joe, I noticed my two year old playing with a stuffed panda bear....he was calling it "my doggy"; I was correcting him as follows: "Ryan, this is a polar bear. Can you say 'polar bear'?"

Thankfully, by lovely wife handed me a cup of coffee and asked me if I was sure it was a polar bear.

MAN, I'm getting old. Unless there's evidence of black and white polar bears, of course.....

BTW, pay no attention to crap kitchen floor....we'll get to THAT project soon enough...

Time....or lack of it.

I never reeeeeeally thought that managing my time effectively was that much of a chore, challenge, task, etc for me. Generally speaking, I've always considered myself relatively organized and able to "fit it all in". Given my schedule these days, clearly I had WAAAAY too much time on my hands!!!

One of my desires/goals post grad school was to become much more engrained in the lives of my children. As a lifelong average athlete but lover of pretty much all sports it's important to me to engage and introduce these things to my children. If they become little Mia Hamm's so much the better, but my goal is to get them in the fresh air with their friends and enjoy the competition and the sweat. To that end I volunteered to coach both soccer and softball. What I didn't realize was how much that absolutely is cutting into training time! While I once laughed at some of the multi-sport athletes in my club for dawn patrol rides, I realize the absolute necessity of them! With Saturday mornings gone (soccer), Sunday afternoons gone (wife working), Mondays shot (need to be in the office in Boston all day), Tuesday nights shot (softball + wife working), Friday nights shot (wife working), there appears to VERY little "Scott time". Add to this that my wife is taking on the 3-Day Breast Cancer Walk and is training for that, my schedule is suddenly JAMMED. I've already had to eliminate a couple of races that I really wanted to do.

PHEW, ah well. The sacrifice is definitely worth it (Meghan and Caitlin are loving their sports and I can't ask for anything better), and to be honest, it shouldn't be that hard to start getting my ass out of bed at 4:30 for pre-work rides. Gary gets up that early to go swimming a few days a week (I mean gimmeamutherfingbreak....SWIMMING AT 4:45am???? All SET, thanks....).

I now need to figure out how to Ryan (he's almost 2), to forego ball sports altogether and take the Steve Wright route to athletic fulfillment.....

I'm running out of names for posts....

"Random is as random does?"

Whatevah....here's a new list of silly noticings and musings for this week:

-It bothers the ever loving shit out of me on the commuter rail when I encounter double-wides; a double-wide is someone that takes up the space of two commuters side by side when exiting the train. You've seen them, the people that are too f-ing lazy to have a regular work bag or backpack, they have to use a rolling bag to carry a laptop. One word: gimmeamotherfingbreak.

-My new niece Cameron is gorgeous! We just did the Skype video thing so that we can talk with Jere and Stacey (they're silly Charlotte folk now....I'm sure my brother will be wearing a NASCAR team hat soon enough). Technology rocks.

-My back is still sore, but gradually less so each week. I think the physical therapy is working, thank god, 'cuz nothing else has!!! Funny thing though, on the bike, it never really seems to bug me. Bending over to pick up the little dude is what hurts the most.

-Speaking of the bike, training's been good. For the first time ever, I'm sort of on a "program" that has been good. So far the fun aspect of riding a bike is still there (though I haven't been on the mountain bike yet). I did get smoked in a super windy race this past weekend, but I'll chalk that up to some tired-ass legs.

-My yard looks like shit which is depressing. Said gimpy back makes a hard core spring clean up tough to fathom right now, and let's face it, with the economy being what it is, outsourcing that just ain't gonna happen. I'm thinking of doing it in "stages". Divy the yard up into quadrants and sort of have it one section at a time. It depresses me that I'm breaking down so quickly at sub-40.

-We just got our tax return and we need to gear up for the one big project we'll likely do this year, which is the kids' bathroom. Big one for a bathroom, we're going to expand it a bit by stealing some of the guest room closet so that I can install a double sink vanity. Man does that room need it because the prior owners, god love 'em, did a crap job.

-Did 24 throw absolutely EVERYONE for a loop last night or was it just me? I mean, C'MON, Tony can't be a bad guy. There MUST be something more here that we're not seeing yet. And BTW, was Kim Bauer smokin', or what????

-Listening to U2's new one, No Line On The Horizon, and it's growing on me. Not as dynamic as the last one (which was a FANTASTIC album IMO, right up there with J-Tree and Unforgettable Fire) but still good. Can't wait to hear Dave's new one....in fact I need to remember to download the new one tonight.

-Lovin' the new job so far, but hating the fact that I need to be in Denver next week for training. The fact that I'll be missing two consecutive racing weekends plus leaving my poor wife with the kids during school vacation week sucks. This too shall pass.

-The Spring Classics are behind us, and once again, one of my personal favorite pro riders of all time, George Hincapie, had some bad luck. Here's hoping that he can gear up for another year or two and win one of his personal favs though admittedly, his time is running out. But how SWEET would it be to see him on the podium for the Ronde or hoisting the cobble over his after a victory lap in the velodrome?

Random crap...

Just some random randomness.....

-I'm not sure how or why, but my almost 2 year old son loves to watch NASCAR.

-Skype is cool-my brother (who lives in Charlotte) and his wife just had a beautiful baby girl. We hooked up a webcam and have gotten to see our new niece first hand! We even have my folks on it...as long as big brother ain't watchin', all good.

-I've started seeing a physical therapist for my back....it's still REALLY sore pretty much every morning that I wake up (and requires sort of limping around the house for 30 minutes before it starts to loosen up), but the prognosis is good. It's weak abs....we knew that.

-Having fun being on the bike more and more lately. Really trying to be more structured and efficient this year. Duty calls as munchkin soccer and farm league softball coach.

-While I love winter I'm just so damn ready for shorts and flip-flops.

-The high of the new J-O-B took a bit of a downer today when 10% of the sales staff nation-wide got whacked today. When will this madness stop???

-After two back to back killer workouts (y'day I did two hours solid, avg HR about 155 trying to chase Smudger and company around; today I did LT intervals solo) my legs are dead. Good thing tomorrow is an off-day!

-Wonder how the Bombers are going to be this year??? On paper they look great, but not too confident in Burnett's health and Sabathia's longevity. Should be an interesting summah.

Interesting....

Well, winter's definitely over and it's time to start building fitness. Even though my back is still gimpy (it hurts every morning getting out of bed), I'm now seeing a physical therapist to try and get this corrected. Thus far, the issue seems to be one of core strength (or lack thereof) coupled with riding more. Cyclists are constantly in flexion in the lower back during workouts and without proper "opening up" of the lower back muscles, pain can persist. Couple that with ridiculously weak abdominals and the picture becomes more clear. So I'm now doing some specific core muscle stretching and work with the PT. I'm hopeful that the pain will subside over the next 6 weeks or so....
I also have decided to enlist some pro help with training this year. Since I've gotten more serious with riding the last couple of year, it's becoming apparent that I don't know very much about efficiency when it comes to training. I pretty much just ride my bike a lot. Which is fine, but with 3 amazing little kids and a lovely wife that I want to spend time with, I need to fine tune a plan and eliminate garbage miles. To that end, coach needed to have an understanding of my 30 minute time trial effort. F*ck if I know, I've never actually done a 30 minute TT so it was an adventure in pain. I set up the trainer in the garage, popped on the iPod, warmed up for a good 20 minutes and then cranked. As hard as I could for 30 minutes. The monitor said the avg HR was 163 bpm...I am pretty sure that I gave it everything...I was seeing spots by the last few minutes. My goals are to do a few more road races this year as well as a few MTB races and gear up again for 'cross. I'd really like to grab a couple of podiums next year and I'm hoping that coach will provide the guidance.

In other news we have a beautiful new addition to the Sweeney clan...my brother and sister in law welcomed Cameron Patricia Sweeney into the world this week. Can't wait to meet her!!!

We also have a new string of kids' sports gearing up (which is also why the aforementioned coach was put on the payroll, as Dad is going to start coaching...). Meghan is in farm league softball with her buddies which I think is going to work out better than teeball. She was the only girl on her team last year and it started to wear on her by the end of the season. Caitlin gets her first shot at team sports this spring with Munchkin soccer. It's our belief that she's going to enjoy the conflict and rough-play; getting bounced around pushed Meghan away from soccer and I'm thinking Cait is going into the scrum with elbows up!

It's been awhile...

Haven't posted in a long-ass time, that's for sure!!! It's been a pretty slow winter thus far...work has been one ridiculous merry go round of management and responsibility changes. I've just about had it with the place to be honest and I'm rather dissappointed in how all of the changes had me feeling about myself. So I've decided to simplify myself a bit and get back to finding fun and joy in the little things: who I am, what makes me happy, and remember how lucky I am. When I strip away all of the bullshit associated with the job and the Jones', life isn't quite as complex as I often make it out to be. My two New Year's resolutions for the year are to be happier and cheerful in who I am and what I am and to try and focus only on the things that I can control, namely attitude, effort, and activity. While those things sound pretty simple, it takes perseverence. Quite frankly, I am surrounded by so many people at work who create and lend no value whatsoever, but their "info-mercials" tend to keep them safe. I guess it's just workplace politics, and I suck at that game. But I can't control it, so out of my mind it goes!!!

This weekend is my oldest daughter Meghan's 8th birthday. WHOAAAA! "Getting old" check here....I took the opportunity to cruise through some of her baby pictures and it's pretty amazing. I'm sure all parents go through this sort of thing, but man the time has just flown by!!! In my little reminiscing sesh I created another resolution that's so cliche but so on point: seize the day, because these amazing little ankle biters will be in college before I know it. Case in point....I was in the office until 6 tonight; the office is in Boston. I live not so close to Boston, so by the time I got home, my little dude was about ready for bed. So in effect I got to spend all of 10 minute today with him. That's just plain wrong in so many ways, and it's going to change. Work doesn't define me. My family and my fun define me. So in the spirit of controlling what I can, I need to figure out how to be more efficient at work so that it doesn't interfere as much with what defines me.

Almost sounds like the beginning of a mission statement....