As the world turns.......

I'm going to go out on a limb and say Spring has arrived in Central Texas and we're loving every minute of it (training update below).

Kevin and I are doing great, staying healthy and on Tuesday 3/17, we will be celebrating 12 great years together. Raise you green beer in a toast to us.

Work is keeping both of us very busy, but we are lucky enough to still have work and give thanks everyday for all we have. We have great friends and a wonderful family and we wish everyone life, love, and happiness.

Well the Ironman to be is entering week 9 of the 24 week training plan and it is going very well. The normal aches and pains are there but nothing stretching, massages and occasional rest doesn't fix. Some of our teammates have been sharing tips and things to consider as you go on this journey and even though I'm not training for an Ironman I've picked up tips from their advice and past experience. Like they say "you're never to old to learn and you should strive to learn something everyday."

My training is going great and earlier today I went back to race where I did my first multi-sport race last year hoping to improve. http://www.seguinsunriselions.org/Blue%20Norther%20Duathlon.htm

My gear was totally different than last year so I was prepared to lay it all out. That pretty much what I did and improved in a major way; 1st place Clydesdale age group. This is one of the best race sites I've competed on and the race organizers and volunteers are great. One of my teammates John, carpooled down with me and competed in his road racing multi-sport event. Good job John!! Also, great job to Amy & Brandon Marsh overall male and female winners, Adam Stroobandt & Missy Ruthven for both finishing first in their age groups.

Now it's time to turn the training book page and prepare for Lonestar Half-Ironman on April 5th. Kevin will be competing in his first tri of the season and I will be riding the bike leg of my relay team with Darcy swimming, and Tim running, wish us all luck.

Until next time, be safe and smile a lot the world needs it

Chris & Kevin

Post Marathon Update

Well the Austin marathon is all but a memory now and what a good but painful memory it is.

After fighting allergies for two weeks, a trip to visit my family in Detroit the weekend before and a three day business trip to Atlanta race day finally arrived. The morning was nice and chilly just like we wanted it to be and I felt pumped to run this race in my home city. Everything started out great and I was ahead of pace through mile 10. The blisters I felt coming on at mile 6 were blocked out of my mind and I was having a great race through mile 15. That's when the fast pace in the beginning started coming back to haunt me in a really bad way and by mile 20 the marathon monster was riding me like nobodies business. The last 6 miles finished with a run/walk approach because that's all I could do to finish the race. But in the last two miles the crowds were getting thick and I knew it was time to turn it on. So at mile 24 1/2 I splashed water on my face to get ready for the cameras and to finish strong and that's what I did. I looked great crossing the finish line but as I have been told and can now say it's never as good as the first time.

Below is a link to some of the pictures from the race.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2017822&id=1262473642&l=2308d

Big thanks to Kevin, Darcy, Carlos and all of my other friends who were out there cheering us runners on.

Bring on the Marine Corps Marathon October 25, 2009 in Washington D.C.!!

January Update

Well, as the last weekend this month starts I figured this would be a great time to update the blog and give you a summary of what's been going on with us.

Not so funny, Sampson has a pulled or strained muscle in his rear right leg and he's not even the one training. I think he is just jealous of us using the foam and trigger point rollers and he wants in on the action. He seems to be in a lot of pain and like many of us know, muscle aches suck. Wish him a speedy recovery.

Work has been keeping both of us very busy and in this economy busy with a job is very good because so many people wish they had a job to be busy at. Hope the world heals soon.

Onto more fun stuff, our training is going great. Were both building our training base for the long training season ahead and so far so good. The aches and pains haven't been to bad and we're still tweaking the things we wanted to improve on from last season.

Our race results for this month were, Runtex 20 Miler 3:40 and Frost Yer Fanny Du a second place age group finish.

Kevin, ran his first stand alone half marathon and finished with a great time of 1:33. I keep telling him he doesn't know just how fast he is. I just can't wait until he earns us a trip to Kona.

The next couple of weeks are going to be very busy on several accounts. I'm going to visit my family in Detroit and then head to Atlanta for business meetings. I say there's nothing like piling it on before a big race right? Then comes another big day, the Austin Marathon February 15th. My goal is to match my San Antonio race time and given the Austin course has more hills that will be a challenge. I like challenges!!

So until the next update be safe and may you and yours live life to the fullest.

CK

2009 is off to a great start!!

As we start off the first full week of 2009, we look back at 2008 and get excited at all the new and exciting things the new year is going to bring us.

Training for my (Chris) second marathon is peaking and the race is just over a month away. I'm physically ready for the race, but what the coaches did not give me coaching on was how to mentally prepare for two marathons within three months. Needless to say I won't do this to myself again. But I have already signed up for the Marine Corps's Marathon in D.C. in October.

And since I can't turn down a good challenge I will be starting my duathlon season with the Frost Yer Fanny duathlon in three weeks, just as we start the taper for the marathon. I'm hoping to do well in this race, but since it's the first of the season I really want to see where I am against the competition this season, since I did finish last year second in my age group. No I'm really not competitive.

Today 1/6 is the first official training day for Kevin's Coeur d'Alene Ironman and it's cold and rainy. So the choice is to do cycling class and skip track workouts. But the day will soon come when this will not be an option to choose. Over the next 6 mos there will probably be long rides and runs in the rain but I guess that's what you have to go through in order to call yourself an "Ironman". We will be sharing the duties of posting here because I can only give you the supporter view of the road to becoming an Ironman.

Until next time

Happy New Year

Chris, Kevin, & Sampson

The votes have been counted and the winner is??

Sampson the fawn colored boxer for the best looking dog in the world.

The much delayed update

Well since our last update Kevin, Sampson and I have been very busy and just haven't had time to update the blog. We both completed the San Antonio marathon with great success and then enjoyed a long weekend in Tempe, AZ seeing several of our friends race Ironman AZ. While there we shared a condo with our friends Robert (completed Ironman) and Kevin and we had a blast visiting Sedona, Scottsdale, and climbing Camelback mountain. Days after returning home it was time to enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with friends prepare for the busy holiday season.

Well here we are in mid-December and as usual this time of year, we're wondering where the year went, trying to decide what party to attend and not stress ourselves out and looking forward to a few days off work. But none the less anytime away from the office is always good.

So with 10 days left until Christmas, we'd like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, & Happy Happy New Year.

As promised below is our busy race schedule for next year and we hope to see your smiling face there on the sideline.

• Jan - Runtex 20 Miler 1/11(Chris), Frost Yer Fanny Duathlon 1/25(Chris), 3M 1/2 marathon 1/25(Kevin)
• Feb - Austin Marathon 2/15(Chris), Upside Down Duathlon 2/22 (Chris volunteer)
• Mar - Blue Norther' Duathlon 3/8 Seguin TX(Chris), Gonzo Duathlon late March San Antonio TX (Chris)
• Apr - Lonestar Triathlon 4/5 Galveston TX(Chris & Kevin), Striders Duathlon 4/19 San Angelo TX(Chris), Hill Country Ride for AIDS 4/25 (Chris & Kevin)
• May - Shiner Ride 5/2 90 miles Austin to Shiner(Chris & Kevin), Rookie Triathlon 5/10(Kevin & Chris' first triathlon), Cap Tex Triathlon 5/25(Kevin), Real Ale Ride 5/30 Blanco TX(Chris & Kevin)
• Jun - Ironman CDA 6/18 - 6/24 Idaho (Kevin)
• Jul - Chris Brown Tulsa Duathlon mid-Jul Tulsa OK (only if I don't qualify in San Angelo)(Chris), Howdy Duathlon early Jul(Chris), Toughest Duathlon late Jul(Chris), Couples Triathlon 7/12(Kevin)
• Aug - Jack's Generic Triathlon 8/2(Kevin), Darnds't Duathlon 8/9 San Marcos TX(Chris), Hotter N Hell Ride 8/29 Wichita Falls TX (Chris & Kevin)
• Sep - Duathlon Championship 9/26 Concord NC(Chris), Augusta 70.3 Triathlon 9/27 August GA (Kevin)
• Oct - Marine Corps Marathon 10/25 Washington DC (Chris yes & Kevin maybe)
• Nov - Wurst Ride 11/7(Chris), Rock-N-Roll Marathon 11/15 San Antonio TX (Kevin maybe)

In the beginning .......

Well here goes nothing....

First we joined Face Book and now we have a blog, what next running marathons and riding on little skinny bike seats for hours upon hours? Wait, we already do that.

Well since several of our friends have asked how they can stay up to date on what we're doing and since Face Book doesn't seem to be the answer, we're here, hope you enjoy and stay in touch.

This upcoming weekend is race weekend, Kevin and I will be running the San Antonio Rock-n-Roll marathon and we are ready. This will be Kevin's second marathon and my first and we are trained and ready to race. Since this is our last race of the year, we're going to take a deserved break and go watch several of our friends and training buddies race Ironman Arizona next weekend.

So until next time when we update you on the marathon and our busy upcoming 2009,

Peace

Chris & Kevin