In astrology terms, this means all kinds of hell is going to break loose.  And perhaps there’s something to this theory after all. 

Last Friday, Jennifer and I adopted a 6-year-old border collie named Winston.  He’s a super cool dog, incredibly smart, amazingly well-behaved, obedient, and an awesome frisbee catcher.  He loves us incredibly, and when I’m at home he’s my constant shadow.  I love dogs, and we’ve thought about getting one ever since we bought the house in 2006, but had never taken the plunge.  But after meeting Winston we couldn’t say no any longer.  He’s an excellent dog, and has already made his debut as the shop dog at Jay’s Cycle for a couple of hours today.

However, our household before Winston was a delicate balance of feline power.  Lucas (Jen’s spoiled baby, an Oriental Shorthair), Maxine (my girl, mischievous and beautiful Persian), and Fiona (a very strange Devon Rex - like Dr. Evil’s cat) had a tenuous peace between them, never without drama but not too awful.  Lucas and Maxine get along, but Fiona is a bit of a loner, attached to people but leery of other cats.  Adding a dog to the mix was like adding vinegar to baking soda - oops!

Chaos ensues . . . .  Turns out that Winston has canine tapeworms, and then he cut his paw playing frisbee a bit too vigorously.  He has been wearing a ridiculous halo and pooping nastiness for the last 6 days.  Lucas, in the meantime, has suddenly developed kidney stones, which he’s painfully trying to pass.  Maxine has been doing her share of hissing at Winston, but that’s getting better.  However, she’s been playing her favorite game way too much - in the middle of the night she reaches up under the end of the comforter on our bed and with one single sharp claw, she pokes me right in the middle of my foot.  She thinks it’s pretty damned funny - it’s pretty obvious that this is her favorite trick, as she’s practically giggling as she runs away.  Now, instead of once a week, she’s doing it once every hour.  On top of it all, Jennifer is sick too.  She has a wicked sore throat, and even though she’s been home from work, the last thing she wants to do is visit the vet every single day.  Total chaos, all around. 

To top it off, someone stole a bike from the shop today.  If you see anyone with this bike, call the Westfield Police immediately at (908)232-1000, and then call me (908)232-3250.  Only a handful of these were ever shipped to dealers, so if you see one on the trail, it’s most likely the one stolen from us.  And if you see a Specialized dual-crown suspension fork or a Specialized rear shock on any other brand of bike, it was most likely stripped off an Enduro, since those suspension parts aren’t sold aftermarket, only as original equipment on Specialized bikes.

Mercury in retrograde.  Hmm, sounds like a bike crash waiting to happen.  I finally have my new bike together.  The SL2 is a rockin’ piece of equipment - there is no better bike in the world.  Having ridden hundreds of great bikes, I believe this is the best.  So I’m hesitant to ride it on our Wednesday night rides.  At least until the astrological chaos is gone.

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My buddy and client Nick Roger just sent me photos from his marathon adventure at the Big Sur International Marathon a few weeks ago.  I’m pleased to say that the training plan worked, and Nick ran the distance with more energy than ever before, definitely a better performance than his first marathon (NYC 2007).  Congratulations Nick!  Great performance at the world’s most scenic marathon.  Scenic = hills, and you rocked!

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“Oh my ears feel funny!  Like furry little bunnies!”

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Yes, it’s been a while.  The Drake, Matthias, and even my dad have been sending me little tidbits of blog fodder, trying to coax me into writing something.  It’s been a crazy, busy few weeks.  I’ll try to fill you in a bit.

Crash:  the aftermath.  My frame was trashed.  The maddening thing about carbon frames is that this tiny little fracture is the death of the frame.  Thankfully, my friend Dan at Specialized wants to keep me riding the best, so I was able to upgrade to an SL2 for less than the usual price, but it still hurt.  If only I had the time to build the bike!  It rained hard tonight, so we didn’t do a Wednesday night ride, and I stayed at the shop to build up the frame.  To add to the pain, I realized that the fat, tapered seat tube of the SL2 requires a braze-on front derailer, not the clamp-on type that I have, so I have to invest in even more redundant hardware.  Look for a 10-speed Ultegra SL front derailer on E-bay next week!

Regardless, the SL2 is going to be amazing.  It’s a sprint machine.  I loved the Tarmac Pro for the 6 weeks I had it, but as stiff and responsive as it was, it still wasn’t as good as my old S-Works Tarmac E5, even though it was lighter.  This frame should be better in every way:  stiffer, lighter, sharper handling, and more comfortable.  I can’t wait until next Wednesday’s ride.

The last month has been full of successes.  My clients have done great things, and I’ve had some good performances myself.  Nick ran his second marathon at Big Sur and had a great time on a very challenging course, Tim set a marathon PR at the Jersey Shore Marathon, Cassandra surprised herself with her fastest intervals ever, and my lovely wife Jennifer kicked some ass at the Long Branch Duathlon.  We both had good races.  I had a solid race, finishing exactly as I planned at 59 minutes flat.  In 2007 when there were 60 participants, that time would have won, but in 2008 with 270 participants, I still managed 3rd place in my age group and 16th overall, even with a hamstring cramp that cost me about 8 places over the last mile, and a sub-par bike split (23.7 mph, slower than usual for a 9.5 mile course).  Jennifer, Stefanie, and Erik had a friendly rivalry going, and there was no shortage of trash-talking and plotting going on.  Erik was determined to beat Stef, and he didn’t really consider Jen to be a threat, since he knew she was not as fast in the run as Stef.  Stef didn’t want Erik to beat her, but I don’t think she had any idea of what the race would be like either.  Jen had done one duathlon before and won her age group, so she knew she could do well, but regardless, I knew it would be close.  So the battle going on behind me was really the most exciting part of the Long Branch Du.

The run course was an out and back loop on the same stretch of road with 2 turnarounds, so I was able to keep tabs on everyone after I had passed the turnaround and was headed the other direction.  1-1/2 miles into the first run, Stef was smoking, and Erik and Jen were cruising along about a minute behind.  Predictably, Erik had a solid performance on the bike, but what he didn’t anticipate is this:  Jen averaged 19.9 mph for the 9.5 mile course.  Starting the second run, Erik was in the lead but looking rough, Jen was one minute behind and looking great, and Stef was 2 minutes back.  Over the next mile, Jen hunted Erik down, catching up with him with 1 mile to go.  They ran together for a minute, but Jen eased ahead when Erik was obviously slowing.  With 100 meters to go, Jen poured it on and left Erik 7 seconds behind.  Stefanie made up a big deficit to come within 30 seconds of Erik, and the three of them finished 70th, 71st, and 73rd.  My girl totally rocked - I think she finally figured out that she’s a duathlete, not just a runner.  Check out Tracy’s great photos here.

Jen, Stef and I also ran the Long Branch Half Marathon a couple of weeks ago.  I put in a decent performance, although I certainly wasn’t prepared as well as I would have liked.  But I worked my way through a thick crowd in the early miles to settle into a 7:10 pace and finish with a 1:35 chip time (1:38 gun time).  Jen and Stef both slipped in below 2 hours, feeling good.

So this is a good place to be:  half marathon fit.  I love being able to go race a half marathon at a moment’s notice.  Give me a month, and I can build up to marathon endurance.  I love half marathons - it’s a distance that is still raceable, not just a survival contest like a full marathon.  I can run full throttle for the 90+ minutes of a half marathon, but a full marathon requires a more conservative pace, more training, more recovery, and in the end much more of a selective focus that detracts from the other things I want to do.  That being said, however, I’m now shifting my focus more toward the coming Louisville Ironman.  I have the speed, but now I need to get the high-level endurance back.  Maybe I should ride across the country again?

Lots of cool stuff going on:  the Giro d’Italia is rockin’, the Tour of Somerville is coming up on Monday, and Jen and I are adopting a dog.  His name is Winston, he’s a super smart border collie, and he’s coming to live with us this Friday.  Not only will he be a dedcated running partner for Jennifer, but I’m going to train him to growl every time she eats chocolate.  Hopefully that will be the deterrent she needs. 

I guess we’re not the only ones having totally crap weather:

More coming soon.  Sorry it’s been such a long time, but I promise to keep the words flowing.

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