Thursday, March 22, 2012

The Hunger Games & March Madness

Yes, I know, its been out for a while but I'm late to the game. I just finished reading this book and it was fantastic. It was a super fast read and I thoroughly enjoyed it and am super pumped for the movie that comes out tomorrow. What a great way to enjoy my "recovery" week other than watching the Cats play tomorrow night, watch the Hunger Games on Saturday, and then hopefully watch the Cats again on Sunday (assuming we can beat Indiana which we failed at miserably the first time we played them).

Training has been going great with no set backs and with race results starting to pop up, it gets me even more excited for the season. I was kind of depressed with San Juan 70.3 last weekend since I was sitting in KY not doing that race like I did last year. But the weather has been AMAZING for the past 1.5 - 2 weeks. It is 82 right now and sunny. This has allowed me to put in some solid bike miles without riding the trainer once. I had a huge bike week last week, when compared to all of my other weeks this year, and am recovering from that week this week. Its my down week this week so I have been doing some catching up on my reading and enjoying my relaxed workouts.

When it comes to reading, I believe I have done more reading in the past 3 - 4 months than I did all of 2010 and 2011 combined. I start every morning with my Bible reading (or 90% of mornings). I am currently doing a "read the Bible in a year" plan and as of right now, I am right on schedule. Obviously, I'm still in the Old Testament and it is very interesting.

"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" was kind of the book that really got me reading a lot this year. I read that series of books in about 2 - 3 weeks or so. These are great books but there is A TON of info/details that has to be processed. These books go into a great amount of detail and they introduce a bazillion characters. So its hard to remember each and every character but they are definitely worth your time if you haven't already read them.

Then I went straight into Stephen King's new book "11/22/63" which was fantastic. I had trouble putting this book down. In short, its about time travel and the Kennedy assassination. This, I believe, is the longest book that I've ever read. But it went by fast.

I then read "The Meaning of Marriage" which was actually recommended to Casey and myself (since we are getting married in September) by several different people. It has some fabulous insight into marriage and how to make the marriage work while also helping each individual realize that their relationship with God is the most important aspect of one's marriage (or single life). I believe it will help our relationship and our marriage while helping up develop that strong relationship with God.

And most recently was "The Hunger Games." I am now reading the 2nd book and making quick work of it as I'm about a third of the way through it and just started it last night. This may mean I have too much down time and I need to train more???

The first 1/2 of my race schedule is now posted at www.usprotri.com I will start it off in NOLA for the 70.3 there in April. Then Rev 3 Knoxville on May 6th, Columbia Triathlon on May 20th, Rev 3 Quassy on June 3rd, and Eagleman 70.3 the following weekend. I will then return to Muncie 70.3 for revenge on that stupid run course as it destroyed me last year. After that race, there are about 6 - 8 races that I have my eyes on, but only 2-3 that I can actually fit into the schedule before the Wedding. I'll keep you updated but am focused on the first 1/2 of my season for right now.

Well, I guess the main focus for RIGHT now is for the Cats to win the big dance this year. Calipari has done a fantastic job with the team and they have been exciting to watch this year.

9:45pm tomorrow night vs. IU. tune in.

Friday, March 9, 2012

Where have you been???

Yes, I know. It has been a long time and I'm sure that my dedicated readers have stopped checking as they have given up on me. I will assure you that training is going well and that I am doing well. Wedding Planning, Triathlon training, and coaching have taken over the past few months. Casey has taken charge for the wedding planning and I'm just her support crew. I help out when I can, but mostly stay out of the way. It has actually gone very well and there is no way I could have done over 50% of the things that she has done.

My training has been very good. I haven't done anything too crazy, just putting in the work. My goal the past few months was to be consistent with my training which it has been. My run training has slowly come back as I finally got rid of that stupid heel pain that I had. I thought that it was Plantar Fasctia (spelling?) but found out that I did everything that I did to prevent/cure this disease (while taking time completely off from exercise), did not help with the pain. I never really got a diagnosis but Casey's mom (who is a Physical Therapist) thought that it may nerve related and showed me some stretches to help with this. I did those stretches and it helped and got better.

I don't have a race schedule set in stone for the year yet but I am still with the US Pro Tri team. We have picked up a few new guys and have a pretty solid team this year. It is always exciting to have a line of sponsors to help out and to be apart of such a good team. I'll have my race schedule soon.

The only thing that is set in stone is...

MY WEDDING!!!!

SEPTEMBER 2ND, 2012.

I'll post more often from here on out. I promise.

Tony