Not a Morning Blogger

Happy Friday, folks!

I'm sitting here and now realizing that blogging in the morning might not be the best idea. I don't think my brain is completely operational (no jokes please) which is making it difficult to think of anything interesting or witty. So, I'll apologize now for yesterday's post and probably today's as well, it's not starting out so good.

Some highlights from the last week:
1) Had stuffed salmon on the grill last night. It was very good, but hot. Next time I think we'll have it at the table and not on the grill.
2) On Tuesday night we had our mentor training for winter season. We have a great group of mentors, even Misty. Kidding! BTW, birthday shout out to Misty!! Partying hard in Vegas as we speak, or, as I type.
3) The chicken made his appearance at the team run on Wednesday night. Not everyone was happy to see him.
4) Bathed on Monday. I like to get that out of the way at the beginning of the week.
5) Yeah, that's all I've got.

I have no idea what to say about this one.

Found this picture of me from a few years ago.

Everyone have a great weekend. And I'll do my best to avoid morning blogging from now on.

The Alarm Went Off

Hey folks! Just wanted to jump on line quickly this morning and let you guys know we're still here, just been busy this week. I'll hopefully be able to post again tonight, because I'm sure you're all on pins and needles anxiously waiting for what I write about next.

Ok, who is absolutely ANNOYED by the asinine Rainbow Food commercials? I'm tempted to email them and say they have lost me as a customer if they continue with them. It's amazing how something like a radio commercial could make my blood boil like it does. And Julie and I seem to have the alarm go off in the morning RIGHT when the commercial is on - what a great way to start the day.

Why do you say "the alarm went off" when it's actually turning on?

Come to find out that we actually swam a mile at our mock tri on Saturday, which is WAY cool. So, with the exception of a mile on the bike and 3 miles on the run we did the same distance we'll be doing on July 14th. Feeling much better, now we're just anxious to get it done.

Short post, have to get ready for work. Everyone have a FAB day!

Tri As We Might

Well, Saturday morning was our mock triathlon at Lake Nokomis and it was a mixed bag.

We were nervous about it all of last week, knowing it was looming on the horizon like a storm cloud. (Yeah, I know, not a very positive analogy.) Coach Ingrid informed us to try and get a great night's sleep on Thursday night as that was more important that getting great sleep the night before. You never seem to sleep well the night before an event.

It just so happened with us that Friday was the better night, but the alarm going off at 5:23 AM on Saturday still came too early. We got everything ready and had the car packed the night before so all we needed to do was get dressed, throw the bikes on the rack, and head out.

When we arrived at Lake Nokomis we were among the first group to show, other than the coaches, of course. We picked our spot for our transition area - under a tree so we could stand our bikes up instead of laying them down - and got ourselves ready for the race. We registered with Ingrid, got our race numbers written on our leg and arm, and started to mentally prepare for the day.

We had 75 fellow TNT participants doing the mock tri with us, along with some great alumni who came out to provide support and do water stops. Right around 8 AM we gathered for a team meeting to go over the course, who would be doing what, asked any questions, got a moving mission moment from alum Fred, and did our final prep for the race.

At 8:15 we moved down to the beach, broke off into our separate groups - those doing the sprint distance and those doing the Olympic distance - had a minute of so of meditation, got focused, calmed the nerves down as much as we could, and we were off!

Those of us doing the Olympic distance did 6 laps around the buoys (2 more than we thought we were going to do), which equated to about 3/4 of a mile, followed by a 24-mile bike, and finishing with a 6-mile run. The sprint distance athletes did 4 laps, a 12-mile bike, and a 3-mile run.

We did a mass start for the swim, which was the first time we had done anything like that. It added quite a bit of stress at the beginning as we jockeyed for position, trying to find our spot in the water and get into our stroke. Very quickly we were winded and frazzled, not feeling at all comfortable in the water. It wasn't until we were on our second lap that things started to settle down.

The swim was tough on us with me coming in just under an hour and Julie not far behind me at just over an hour. Neither of us ever really got into a zone, although Julie was feeling much more confident on her last lap. Coming out of the water I decided to do the "dolphin dive" that Coach Mike had shown us at a previous training, and on my second attempt my right calf seized on me and I got a very painful charley horse. After a few seconds of rubbing my calf I was finally able to put some weight on my leg and I hobbled out of the water over to the transition area.

Under advisement of the coaches I drank some electrolytes and had a Gu in hopes that the muscle would loosen up during the ride. Julie and I both did well during the transition and we were on to the bike portion of the race.

Since we didn't have enough support to actually bike the race course we ended up doing 8 laps around Lake Nokomis to get our 24 miles in. Everyone was doing well, my legs (other than my calf) felt good, but Julie's legs were feeling heavy. I finished the bike in about 1:40 and Julie came in around 1:50.

The second transition went even better than the first. I quickly learned that I was not going to be able to run at all, in fact I could hardly walk without limping. I made it over to the water station a little more than half-way around the lake and was greeted by Fred and Diane who had a cold towel and a cup each of water and Gatorade. They also had fresh fruit and pretzels, along with some good tunes on the radio.

I finished the first lap at 59 minutes and, after discussing the situation with Ingrid, decided to stop there. We didn't want to do anything to hurt myself any further only being 3 weeks from the big day. Julie did her lap around the lake in around 45 minutes but was still not feeling well, so Ingrid had her stop as well.

All in all, it didn't go as we hoped, but it was a tremendous help to us in terms of getting us ready for the event, understanding the mental aspect of the race, going through transition, understanding how our bodies will respond going from one discipline to the next.

We're very glad we did it. The support everyone showed for each other was so very typical for TNT. We were all out there together, encouraging each other, supporting each other.

We still plan to swim twice a week so we get more used to the open water, and we'll continue doing BRicks to keep ourselves focused. The next 2+ weeks will be the big push to event day. We have anticipated all along that from here until July 14th we'd become more anxious with each passing day. After having done the mock tri on Saturday we won't be getting as anxious. We know we'll be ready. We know we'll do well. We know we'll finish. And we'll be proud of the work that we and the rest of the team has done for the Society, the money we've raised, and the people we've helped.

Thank you to all that have supported us and encouraged us. Your help is greatly appreciated. If you still would like to donate please do so by clicking on either Julie's or my link on the right side of the page. Thank you again.

Julie & Patrick

I Have Run Through The Fields

For lack of anything better to write about I'll post some random musings, stories, links, music, and whatever else happens to catch my eye.

As of 1995, every president of the twentieth century had been portrayed on-screen - except one. Warren G. Harding, who succeeded Woodrow Wilson and preceded Calvin Coolidge, spent two undistinguished years in office between 1921 and his death in 1923. Nothing he did was of sufficient moment to warrant his depiction in a theatrical movie.

In honor of the first day of summer here is a list of songs with "summer" in the title. Feel free to make your own mix tape...
"Boys of Summer" - Don Henley
"Cruel Summer" - Bananarama
"Endless Summer Nights" - Richard Marx
"Hot Fun In The Summertime" - Sly & The Family Stone
"In The Summertime" - Mungo Jerry
"Sausalito Summer Night" - Diesel
"Suddenly Last Summer" - Motels
"Summer" - War
"Summer Breeze" - Seals & Crofts
"Summer In The City" - Lovin' Spoonful
"Summer Nights" - Van Halen
"Summer of '69" - Bryan Adams
"Summertime" - Booker T. & The M.G.'s, D.J. Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince
"Summertime Blues" - Blue Cheer, The Who
"Things We Did Last Summer" - The Beach Boys

This Saturday Julie and I will be participating in a mock tri at Lake Nokomis with a majority of the Life Time team. We'll be doing about a 1/2 mile swim, a 21-mile bike, and a 6-mile run. This will be a good test to see where we are at this point. Saturday will be three weeks before the bid day, and the nerves are starting to get a little mixed up. My shin splints have reared their ugly head again (I shouldn't have stopped going to see the Doc) so I have an appointment for Friday morning to start getting treatment again. Hopefully he can work some miracles over the next 3 weeks.

Here is a picture of Julie on our wedding day...

You ever see yourself on video and think "Man, you are such a dork!"?

Julie took this great shot of me.

Notice how when most people say, or especially sing, certain words or phrases they tend to get lazy in their pronunciations? For example, if you look at (or listen to) U2's song "With or Without You" the pronounce it as "With or withou-choo" instead of "With or withouT you". Or the Romantic's "What I Like About You" is usually sang as "What I like abou-choo". Annoying, but I find myself doing it as well. Let's all make a conscious effort to not do that anymore. Dealio?

Sweet.

Fade To Black

It was unseasonably warm that day in the late spring of 1982, as we gathered in a small church in Monroe, Michigan. It was the wedding of my oldest brother Mike to his beautiful fiance Marilyn. OK, maybe it wasn't unseasonably warm; heck, I was only 13 at the time and my memory fails, but I'm sticking with the heat deal. It was hot.

Before I go any further, I'm going to take a moment to tell you about a little interesting fact within the Gibson family. With the exception of Julie and I, everyone in my family married someone with the same first initial. For example, my dad and mom are Bill and Bernice, and the rest of the family follows as Mike (Marilyn), Tim (Terri), Dan (Denean), Kathy (Keith), and, well, then there is Julie and me. However, I say it still works for Julie and I since I would go by the name PJ as a kid, which would make the whole Pat & Julie deal work. But I digress...

So, at the tender, innocent age of 13 (yes, I was innocent at one time) I was called upon to be in the wedding. While I had already been in Tim & Terri's wedding two years earlier it was still a nerve-racking event. I knew I was going to have to dance with my bridesmaid, which was not one of my strong suits (and still isn't), and I was also sure I would forget where I needed to be during the ceremony. So, needless to say, I my heart was I'm sure racing throughout the hours leading up to the service.

All was going well and we were standing at the front of the church, my brother Dan was on one side of me, I can't remember who was on the other side. Now, keep in mind it was HOT that day, like 120 degrees or something like that with 200% humidity, and my monkey suit was not made of a wicking material. I don't think I had eaten for a week or had anything to drink since I was 12, and the collar of my shirt was about two inches too small. Ok, I think that's all my excuses. Oh, and I had just done an Ironman the day before. Yeah, that's the ticket.

So, as I was saying, everything was moving along all hunky-dory when I noticed that someone was slowly turning down the lights in the church. I thought that was rather odd, but maybe they were setting the mood. Weddings are darn romantic, you know - a fact not foreign to 13-year old boys. Anyway, the lights continued to go down until it became completely dark in the church. I couldn't see a thing!

While this was going on, I apparently developed a bit of a sway as I stood there, bobbing around like a buoy in the midst of the perfect storm. Did I mention it was hot that day? Like 130 degrees and 500% humidity.

The sway I didn't notice but the fact that the church was completely black was not lost on me. I turn what I think was in the direction of my brother Dan and promptly tell him, "Dan, I can't see! Dan, I can't SEE!" This would be a good time to panic, which I'm sure I did in good measure. It seemed obvious to me that no one else was having this same blindness issue, but then again, how would I know! I couldn't see anybody!

At this point, I believe Dan leans over to me and asks what I had said. Even in this immense state of distress I was using my indoor voice, which is remarkable considering I WAS BLIND! I don't recall answering him. The next thing that I have some slight recollection about was being outside the church, where the world slowly came into focus. It was at this point that my sister-in-law Terri mentioned that she saw me swaying, and, realizing we weren't in a Baptist church and that I wasn't part of a gospel choir, she assumed something wasn't right. Quick thinking on her part.

I guess she got to me at just the right time, as my legs were about to turn into Jell-O, and just prior to doing my best Gumby impersonation. I was apparently on the verge of fainting, at which point my mother yells out from her pew "Are you pregnant?!" Actually, that last part I made up, my mom didn't really ask me that then. That came later.

I remember sitting outside the church, trying to calm myself down, only to be stressing about how I was sure I had ruined their wedding. As it turns out, they had no idea all this was going on as I was behind them. Not sure when they found out, but they were quite supportive. Good people, I tell you, good people.

If you've never fainted, and I guess the jury is still out on whether or not I actually did (do you need to hit the ground like a bag of wet cement for it to count?), it's an interesting experience. It's right up there with getting the wind knocked out of you, also a feeling that you are in control of absolutely nothing.

So, as I reminisce about that HOT, HOT, HOT day in the spring of 1982, I send out a sincere Happy 25th Anniversary to Mike and Marilyn. Oh, and be careful of the heat, it can sneak up on you, especially if you've just done an Ironman, and haven't eaten in 9 months, and are wearing shirts made for people half your size....

Don't Mock My Tri

It's been a very busy last 4 days. I'll hit on some of the highlights...

On Friday Julie and I worked at the Man & Woman of the Year Grand Finale where a friend of ours was running for Woman of the Year. The black tie event was very successful, more than doubling the money raised last year. When all was said and done, the 9 candidates had raised more than $193,000 over the last 10 weeks. Over $26,000 in silent auction items were sold Friday night and probably another $10,000+ in the live auction.

One of the items that was up on the live auction was a seven week old pure bred black lab. It didn't take long after we got there before Julie had him in her arms and was carrying him around. I'm sure if it wasn't for the fact that our association limits us to two dogs he might have come home with us. He looked remarkably like Gracie did when she was that age, which made Julie want him all the more.

Saturday we met Misty at Lake Nokomis and swam a half mile, ran/walked 3 miles, and biked another 6 or so. It was the first time Misty had swam in open water and it was a bit overwhelming but she made it through. We know how she felt - we were the same way last week. My arms felt like lead weights so I was doing a couple different strokes to change it up and work different muscles.

On Sunday Julie and I met the fall marathon runners back at Lake Nokomis at 7 AM and did a water stop for them. We also ran another 2-3 miles.

This morning we got up at 3:45 AM (yes, AM) because KARE 11 was doing their next spot on Team In Training. There was a large group of current TNT participants, coaches, mentors and staff who all met at Lake Calhoun for a live remote. It was a pretty neat experience and great for TNT to get the exposure. Everyone did a great job representing TNT and I'm hoping to get the video posted - I had recorded it on the computer. We'll also include a link to the story when it shows up on the KARE 11 site.

We're now less than 4 weeks until the big day, and we know it will get here fast. I know we'll be ok, we just want to get more swim practice in. The bike/run part doesn't worry us as much. This Saturday Coach Ingrid has organized a mock tri which should give us a general indication on where we're at right now. We'll see how it goes!

On to a different subject, I found this story to be one of the most ridiculous ones I've heard in a LONG time. What have we come to? I mean, seriously. Come on.

Here is another one. You seriously think 9-year old kids wrote this? Don't think so.

The Maui tri team did a GREAT job a couple weekends ago. I hear the ocean was cool to swim in but the bike and run were very tough. Congrats to all, especially to Greg, Tracy and Kim for medaling in each of their respective age groups. Way to go TEAM!!!

Well, it's time for bed. Been up since 3:45 this morning. This boy is tired.

Happy Father's Day

For all the Fathers out there...

"According to my dad, he had a really tough childhood. He had to walk twenty miles to school in five feet of snow, and he was only four feet tall." - Dana Eagle

"I'm a grown woman, but my father still thinks I know nothing about my car. He always asks me, "You changing the oil every 3,000?" "Yes, Dad. I'm also putting sugar in the gas tank. That way my exhaust smells like cotton candy." - Mimi Gonzalez

"You can tell what was the best year of your father's life, because they seem to freeze that clothing style and ride it out. And it's not like they don't continue shopping; they just somehow manage to find new, old clothes. Every father is this fashion time capsule. They should be on a pedestal, with someone next to them going: 'This was 1965.'" - Jerry Seinfeld

"I never know what to get my father for his birthday. I gave him $100 and said, "Buy yourself something that will make your life easier." So he bought a present for my mother." - Rita Rudner

"My dad asked me, 'Stuey, have I been a good father?' I said, 'Dad, you're the best; why do you ask?' He said, 'I wanted to make sure the way you turned out is your fault.'" - Stu Trivax

"My dad is not real bright. But I love the guy. We go into this trophy shop because my basketball team won second place. We were in this shop, and there are trophies everywhere. My dad looks around and goes, 'This guy is really good.'" - Fred Wolf

"If you ever want to torture my dad, tie him up and right in front of him, refold a road map incorrectly." - Cathy Ladman

Everyone have a great week!