I'm Back

I am bike at training...oh I mean back. Well both actually. I have been waiting to get a bike so I could go ahead and keep training for this duathlon coming up on Oct 6th, and between no bike, being sick, vacation and super busy couple weeks at work I didn't quite stay with what I wanted. My biggest thing for me was getting a bike. I wanted to ride, and train on it. I know I can go out and run a 27 minute-ish 5k, which still needs to improve, but I am happy with for the race. The thing I haven't really known is how well I can do on a bike.

Last Monday I finally sold my guitar, which gave me enough money to go ahead and  purchase my bike. I knew what I wanted, and I had ridden it one other time at the bike shop. It was an Orbea Aqua TTG with Shimano Tiagra/105 components. When I hopped on that bike I knew. It was smooth, it road like a dream and picked up speed effortlessly. The shifting was a fine as I could ever want. Black and Charcoal grey mixed in design. It was perfect!

So I called the bike shop again to make sure they still had it in my size . . . well no go. They didn't have it anymore, and the only thing they did have in my size and price range was an Orbea Aqua TPX with SRAM Apex components. When the person on the phone told me that I said, "with what?" He explained it and told me that is what he rides with and loves them, but I still got off the phone a little discouraged. I wanted to go to this bike shop because it offered lifetime free tuneups and a couple other things that I really liked, and I really wanted my bike now....not really later, but I knew I wasn't going to settle.

I had done research and research after riding my dream bike on Orbea's and Shimano components, but had only seen stuff on SRAM and never really looked into it. As soon as I got off the phone I started researching. I knew I liked the Orbea Aqua frame, no problem there, but what about this SRAM? Everything I read said they were very good, same type of quality as Shimano, but not as smooth!!, felt different!!, and used something called a double tap system!!??? I did not like the sound of that, but I knew the only way to know was to go up and ride it.

It was cloudy, gloomy and rainy, but my wife and I took the little longer than usual hour drive to the bike shop.I walked in, and told the guy what I was looking at, and he hooked me right up, and let me take it out for a spin in the rain. I hopped on and road around that parking lot probably 20 times. Back and forth, back and forth. I like the feel, I loved the red and white color, but I was still not sold on the SRAM shifting, and so I kept riding. Eventually I came in and said, yep this is what I want!

It was only a couple minutes later and I was on the bike again, only inside this time, out of the rain and on a trainer. The guy was sizing me and the bike up to make sure the fit was perfect. A little later I was grabbing a spare tube, a hand pump, and a case for my iPhone. The rain had finally let up, but I still wasn't using the bike rack. We removed the front tire and laid the seats down in my back seat and the bike fit perfectly.  I was a very happy man.

Since then it has been a few days and I have been itching to get on the bike. My family and I took a leisure ride where I hooked up the kid trailer to the back of it, and we had a nice family ride. The next morning I woke up at 6 to go out and ride, and it was pitch black outside. I turned on my little lights, but knowing the roads out by my house i couldn't go that fast or I would wind up in a major pothole with a bent wheel. Finally Tuesday morning after all my meetings I went for an 11.2 mile ride. It was amazing!! Beautiful morning, great roads and actually got to get out on my new bike and log a few miles, even if I did realize how out of shape I have gotten. I also fell in love with the ultra quick shifting of the SRAM double tap system.

In the end, it is bike on. Training is back and I couldn't be happier. I am eating better, working out better and overall my motivation is through the roof.

Training Notes:
Sept 17th - 6.3 mile ride, 25:43, 14.7mph
Sept 18th - 11.2 mile ride, 44:46, 15 mph

Looking Around

This morning I decided to go for a run. It had been a long while since I had been running, or working out. Really since the 10k. I was sick and then work was busy, and I haven't been eating well, and well those are all my excuses. So My wife and I went on a 7 day diet to correct this and this morning it was time to run again.

I started off with my normal short walk to warm up, followed by a little stretch and then off I went. When I'm running from my house I always run the same route. Walk down my street, start running as I take a left, turn the corner by the lake, run down to the stop sign and keep going until I know I am halfway through my run, and then come back. This morning was the same, but as I rounded the first corner by the lake I had to stop. . . . .not because I hadn't been running, or I was mostly out of shape, but because I saw this

This stopped me in my tracks. I had to pause my run and take my phone out of my arm strap and take a picture. The moon and the stars were as clear as anything and the sun was rising up over the lake. I started to run again and this scene reminded me about what my daughter had done at the dinner table a while back. 

It was a few weeks ago, but after dinner that night I made sure to take out my phone and write a note. It was one of those moments. We had just made dinner and sat the girls down at the table as we took our spots. Before we started to eat, Kairi (our oldest) said that she wanted to pray, so we all bowed our heads, and she paused for a moment. She then starts to pray, "Dear God, I pray for . . . mommy, and daddy, and Braycee, and . . . our food, and the window, and . . . the flowers . . .amen!"

There aren't any bad prayers, God simply says "come to me and talk", but I had never heard someone pray for a window. My 3 year old, though, connected me with something that day. During her prayer I realized that she was simply just looking around the room and praying for what she was seeing. We all had our eyes closed but she did not, she was simply seeing the work of God.

So this morning as I stopped and looked at the amazing picture in the morning sky, I simply looked around. I thanked God for who He was and what He has put in this world, in my life. I thanked Him for my wife, my family, where I live. I thanked Him that yesterday a good friend went through surgery and it went great. For another family, who got to go home from the hospital and a big scare. I thanked Him that I could sell my guitar, and was going to be able to buy a bike this weekend. I just thanked Him for what He had put in my life.

I know this isn't really about my training or triathlons or anything of the sort, but maybe its really about everything. Sometimes we need a 3 year old to remind us of what is really important. So this morning as the sun, the moon and the stars aligned I spent my morning connecting with God.