It's been a while!

I has been very busy around chudville these days! Let's see....I'm training for the Manitoba Marathon (end of June), triathlon season officially started for me today (Thief River Falls sprint tri) and the Brain Tumour Foundation run is rapidly approaching.

Marathon training has not been going all that great. The past 2 long runs I've done were very hard, my legs were heavy and I had very little energy....not to mention some gastrointestinal distress! I need to put in a couple of solid runs in the mid 30k range to build my confidence level up. Short runs have been easy (when I do them!) I usually use my bike commuting as my short runs...it's kid of a cross training thing. I think that because I am still a larger guy (relatively speaking) my knees and hips appreciate the rest from running too much. I still get the cardio and leg strength benefits.

Thief River Falls triathlon was awesome this year! I ran it in 1:19:59 (swim was a sad 12:21...it was only a 457 meter swim, most sprints are 750 meters. Bike was unreal 20k in 39:35...that was an average speed of 30.32km/h!! and my 5k run was respectable at 26:46...a little slow due to a shoe lace coming undone and a "crampy" left calf to start the run....I could have pushed harder for sure.) All said and done I think I did quite well considering I drove down the morning of (had to wake up at 4:30 - YAWN!) I also met a fellow down there just before the race started who I went to school with. I don't remember him at all, but he knew me! He graduated in '88 I was in '89....guess I'm famous....or maybe infamous! Had a nice chat non the less. It turns out that his wife and kids do a ton of triathlons. He said he was mainly a spectator and chauffeur but from time to time he'll jump into one.

As for the Brain Tumour Foundation run/walk....I really am disappointed with the lack of progress we've made as a committee. It seems we have some people who want it to be a fun family event and are happy getting 200 people out. Then there are some who want to grow the event and chase corporate sponsorship to make it bigger every year. As for me I see the merit in both ways of thinking...I just don't know which way I'm more inclined! There are sooooo many charities all fighting for the small amount of money that is out there. Part of me kind of feels like it would be nice to keep it a small event that is simple, family oriented and fun....but then the ambitious side of me wants to raise tons of money. To be honest, simple does not raise much money!

On a more "personal" note....I think I am a couple steps closer in deciding my next career path! It's time to learn something new. More on that next time!

That's it from chudville for now, over and out!