A run around the block... 3 coconuts style
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Being a triathlete in Live Oak would be a very lonely proposition if it weren't for each other. Most people here (and I guess many other places) don't know what triathlon is, and certainly don't seem to understand it when we attempt to share our enthusiasm. Let's just say it's good that most days we like each other and enjoy spending time together. I did a hard long run earlier this week which left me really devastated mentally and physically, especially when I tried to add on a little 70 mile bike ride with Blain where I just wanted to be left beside the road for the vultures... but we aren't going to go there. Today was Blain's long run day and I volunteered to keep him company while Tyler enjoyed her last day of sleeping in before the fall semester starts. Okay maybe a small and ugly part of me wanted to watch him suffer some after the aforementioned bike ride... but that wasn't meant to be as the day dawned cooler than normal and just perfect for a combo run and photo session. It was so pretty I had on my happy face and decided to share what a run around "our" block looks like. One warning: our block is roughly 15.8 miles long.
My fine ride for the day... It's Greenie, first bicycle as an adult.
In the driveway, leaving home.
Turn right at mailbox, run to neighbors fence where we keep stick stashed, pick up stick to beat off nasty neighbor dogs... got lucky on way out dogs didn't come out. Most important, deposit stick at end of fence... you may not be so lucky on the way back, they smell tired sweaty human flesh.
Turn right at mailbox, run to neighbors fence where we keep stick stashed, pick up stick to beat off nasty neighbor dogs... got lucky on way out dogs didn't come out. Most important, deposit stick at end of fence... you may not be so lucky on the way back, they smell tired sweaty human flesh.
First 2 miles on soft dirt road. Then fun to watch shadows as the sun rose behind us.
We woke up a fat white pony.
A dock without a lake, it was a lake when we moved here but mother nature changed her mind.
Long highway run.
Turn at cactus.
Cross over the I-10 the first time. I always think the drivers wish they were out for a run or a bike when they see me.... I know when I'm driving, it's what I think.
Pass soybean fields. And the old house that used to have the 3 legged dog that chased us on the bikes. We had the best sprints there... honest injun, that dog could run 21 mph.
Still running, another left turn.
Watermelons that fell off the trucks during the past harvest. Seeds take root and leave new vines and surprises in the woods alongside the roads.
Still in America, this is significant... the last turn for home occurs only after passing thru Mexico.
Over the old stone bridge.
Through the water sprinklers at the church for a quick cool down. Then turn at pasture with big red bull, who was hiding in the shade today. Into the home stretch now, about mile 11.5 this red bull means time to pick it up.
Back over the interstate.
Back over the interstate.
Mile 13 is a welcome site. Yes, I encourage grafitti and vandalism in the name of training. Tyler and I marked this route.
Yippee, we're in Mexico (flag not flying, because no wind). But that means it's time to turn for home.
Back on the dirt road.
Pass the piggies. Goats were being shy today.
Pick up Stick, beat off dogs (Pitt bull stays behind fence when you carry stick, Dachshund shows no common sense. Without stick, Pitt will eat you. Both have been maced enough to develop immunity.) Don't forget to stash your stick for the next runner!!
Pass the donkeys and horses.
Home and shoes off. Thank goodness for injinji toes socks, no blisters. A good run (2.09 total with 8.05 per mile average) and not a bad way to start the day. Think of all you missed by sleeping in.
Time to eat!!! Tyler and Mimi have been cooking.
First ham and eggs, then spoonbread. Hope you enjoy sharing our morning.
Aloha,
The Three Coconuts
Back on familar ground, errrrrrr....I mean sand
Friday, August 21, 2009
St. Augustine Sunrise.................beautiful!
Two of my favorite places in the world are St. Augustine Beach and my newest favorite place, Big Island of Hawaii. It has been since, hmmm, July 4th weekend, I think, since we were last at the condo in SA. As my Dad would say it is one of those places you go to cleanse your soul. No worries, no schedule.........unless you're OCD like yours truly. In that case there is a schedule and it sounds something like this.......Friday, stop at UNF on the way to the beach for a sufferfest swim......more on this later. After swim, it's our favorite Carrabbas and then on to the condo, let supper settle then hit the beach for an 8 miler at a comfortable pace. Saturday, up at 5 to eat and get out the door for 3 hour bike with some harder efforts and a 30 minute run off the bike. Sunday, out the door before sunrise for a 1:45 run picking up the tempo the last 20 minutes...........try and be done early each day so we can spend the rest of the day surfing or just relaxing on the beach.
The "Diesel" and the "Genius" had gone over to the condo earlier in the week. You can do this when school is out and you do not have a real job. So Friday afternoon they drove up to Jacksonville and met me at UNF to swim. They were feeling pretty frisky so we decided to scrap coaches workout and do a 500 warmup with some kicking and drills mixed in and then the main set would be 40X 100s on 1:45.........there is a catch.......I do the 100s, Julie and Tyler team up and do a relay, Julie swims the 1st 50, Tyler swims the anchor leg, all with the intentions of making me suffer. This is competitive group and none of us like to lose, even if it means leaving earrrrrrrrrrrly. When it was finally over, we had a ball pushing each other to our limits. I was able to hold 1:08s to 1:12s and they killed every 50, not a slack one in the bunch. Once again the "Genius" amazed her Mom and Dad. Not really in the best of shape right now she can still get in the pool or on the bike or out on a run a give it right back to you. Oxygen may be required but she WILL HANG and give you 100%. She drives me CRAZY.................please just structure a little training into your life.......you could be VERY SCAAARRRRY! Please pay no attention to the low thudding noice in the background................that is me beating my head against the wall.
After our swim and food, we finally got to the condo. It had flooded rain all afternoon and I did not think my run was going to happen, but it stopped about 7:30 and the girls mounted on their mountain bikes and we hit the beach. For 7 miles they rode along next to me chatting up a storm. With about a mile or so to go it got dark........very dark, then it was like drunken bike riding. I was just trying to keep from stepping in an abandoned sand castle or holes left from the outgoing tide. They were trying not to ride straight into the ocean.
The rest of the weekend was pretty uneventful, some hard training, naps on the beach, naps in the bed, and no surfing. It was flat so Tyler did try her hand a paddle boarding.
Sunday came too soon and before we knew it we were home getting ready for Monday......yuk. Good knews is Hurricane Bill does not look to be a threat to the Southeast coast, BUT is close enough there is going to be waves............Saturday and Sunday looks like it is going to be BIG. If I'm lucky I'll get my training in early and slip off Sunday to catch a few.
Aloha for now.
The Three Coconuts
Le Boeuf Bourgignon
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
The new Meryl Streep/Amy Adams movie titled "Julie & Julia" came out last Friday, and after much anticipation, Flipper (Dad), Turtle (Mom), and I went and saw it that night. The movie was basically about how Julie Powell (Amy Adams) decided that she was going to spend a year cooking her way through Julia Child's cookbook "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" and write a blog about it. The movie flips back and forth between Julie's year cooking and blogging, and the process of Julia Child (Meryl Streep) living in Paris and writing the book. Awesome movie :) would recommend it to anyone.
Anyway, the main dish in the movie (and arguably the most important) is the Boeuf [boof] Bourgignon [bore-gih-nyoh]. Boeuf Bourgignon is a beef stew, and was the first Julia Child recipe that Julie Powell cooked and was also the first recipe out of Julia's cookbook that the editor tried out when she was trying to decide whether to publish the book or not. Turtle and I were so inspired by the movie and so excited that the next morning while Turtle was biking, I was writing down all of the ingredients for the Boeuf so we could make it for dinner that night. A mad dash through Publix later, we were chopping and prepping and attempting to get this thing done that was supposed to cook for 2 and a half-3 hours by 5-o-clock.
We did have one main setback while cooking... although it was more like a discovery than a setback, although it did cause some irritation at the time. The discovery? I found that Julia Child did not write a cookbook filled with recipies. She wrote a textbook filled with examples. What I mean by this is that none of the recipies were just instructional "do step A, then follow by doing step B and step C". They all say what you do, then why you do it and somewhere in the middle of explaining why you do the step, she adds a VERY important detail that if you do not analyze and try to learn what she is saying, you miss. Important steps such as putting the beef in the hot pan in batches so they do not crowd each other and brown better, and blanching the bacon for ten minutes before you fry it were missed because they were in the middle of the explanation instead of being in the actual instructions. My fault, though! Not Julia's! It tasted good anyways!
Also found out that Julia loved her wine. Between braising the onions in wine, and using almost an entire bottle in the Boeuf itself... lets just say that it was a blessing that all of the alcohol cooked out of it :-)
Julia's recipe called for a full bodied red wine, and we were hunting the wine aisle at Publix for the symbol in the shape of a wine glass that indicates a "full bodied" wine. Finally we found it, and realized that it was the only one with this symbol in the entire aisle! And for good reason. I mixed the correct amounts of wine and beef broth in a big measuring cup and let it sit there for a little while while I was fixing the Boeuf, and when I poured the wine/beef broth mixture in the pot there were fermented grape filmy-chunk things stuck on the bottom of the cup... ewww!!! Turtle was wanting to taste test some of the wine and poured herself a glass, only to come to the conclusion that it was WAYYY to strong for her tastes (which turned out to be a good thing because I needed the wine in that glass to braise the onions in anyways lol) Sous chef Turtle was nearly thrown out of the kitchen for wine embezzlement, then for taking her clothes off when it started to heat up due to all of the cooking x)
We served the Boeuf over rice, and it was out of this world! The sauce was incredible, and the beef was very flavorful. However, we did have some issues with inconsistency, because some of the beef chunks would melt in your mouth, but others you would have to chew on for a very long time to be able to get them to go down. Either way, it was incredible... Will definately have to cook that one again! However, I doubt that I will take the Julie Powell approach and cook through the entire cookbook... learning how to properly carve and prepare calf brain does not sound like my idea of a good time :P
Aloha!!!
~The Threeeee Coconuts :)
The Run Dog
Sunday, August 9, 2009
When we moved to the farm in Live Oak in 1995 my sister, Joy, gave us a puppy named Jessie. She was rambuctious and unfortuantely we were at a point in our lives where we played with her but never really trained her. She was bred to be a working dog, herding specifically. Because we didn't teach her a job, she frequently came up with things to do on her own... which were not always appreciated. Excessively exuberant, would be a good phrase to describe her. But she made her place on the farm, watched everything, and seemed to be a happy dog with her companion (another Aussie) Blue. We lost Blue due to illness and old age back about 2006, which is about when we started running... and when, at the ripe old age of 11, Jessie has finally found her job in life. We thought she was a farm dog, in fact she was born to run.
At an age when dogs should be slowing down, Jessie started running every training mile with us. We run on dirt roads and less travelled country roads with very little traffic, but she was always very aware of cars and never in the way. She stayed close to you but never in front of you, or crowding you during a run. If you went the usual routes she'd hang back and wait on you to turn around, then she'd rejoin. Many days, she ran more than once as Blain, Tyler and I were on different schedules. She was slow to get up, showing her arthritis, and generally looked old... until someone walked out in run shoes (yes she knows the difference), then she'd bounce around like a puppy again. Sometimes, especially during the heat of the summer, we tried to make her stay home but she evaded most plans for entrapment... even though they were in her best interest. If she got too hot she'd lay down in the shade or wet ditch by the road and wait for the sag wagon. If you ever made it home from a run without Jessie, you got the car and went back for her.
In 2007 Jessie trained for her first marathon... with both Blain and I. I have no idea how many miles she logged that winter. When we ran our half marathon, and our marathon we trimmed little tufts of Jessie hair and pinned it to our numbers during the race. She did the training and it was the closest we could get her to actually doing the races. The hair tufts did generate some questioning glances, a few got brave enough to ask, and they seemed to understand. After Ironman Florida the masseuse working on Blain asked about the hair, and he shared Jessie's story. She teared up and began talking about a special dog in her life. Consequently, Blain was still on the massage table, when I crossed the finish line. How lucky we are to have animals in our lives, and to have had so many that have affected us, taught us, inspired us, loved us and somedays even saved us.
Jessie is now 14 years old. She lives in the house in front of a fan. She needs help somedays to get up, but she still makes all the short runs. She knows the routes and does a little more waiting... a little less covering ground. She can't hear the cars anymore, and requires alot of watching over. She runs near you, often touching which she never did before. We discuss the dangers of letting her come on the runs, but can't justify taking them away from her. Honestly, somedays we have to touch her to wake her up, just to make sure she's still alive. But everytime we think she's down for the count, we just put on our run shoes and then try to beat her to the maiilbox.......HA!...at 14, still undefeated.
Why would we write about this? Well, because as usual you can learn as much about whats important from animals as humans. It's OK to find your passion late in life, and persue it with great joy and reckless abandon. It's not OK to try to take something away from someone who loves it... even if you're think they're too old to do that anymore, or it's not safe. The key to staying young is to have something you're wildly enthusiastic about.
Aloha,
The Three Coconuts
Appreciating Being Healthy..............
Being active people with type A personalities Blain and I have always pushed the envelope in our work and play. No holding back. Tyler has been raised in this environment and has only recently begun to realize how "totally NOT normal" we are, thankfully she thinks we're very cool and everyday that we wake up, a new adventure begins. We could never be described as an average family.
Showing horses we aspired to lofty goals, we developed a lifestyle as necessary to achieve those goals and we lived it 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Doing so enabled us to earn awards at national and world events over a period of years. It is this same devotion that we now apply to the triathlon lifestyle. Maybe we're a little over the top, but we don't seem to be able to dip into a hobby, we go total immersion into one. Because of this enthusiasm there will always be a risk of physical injury and/or mental burnout. That's OK, it's accepted because there is no place as exciting (mentally or physically) as treading that red line and attempting something that you didn't think you could ever accomplish. If you're not near that line, then you're not really ever going to learn what you're capable of. The irony is that by our excess and enthusiasm there will be periods of required mental and physical rest.
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Alan and oldest daughter Leah who is fixin to take the Clemson triathlon team by storm!
One of our compatriots is our brother in law, Alan. He came to triathlon of his own course, after starting as a runner. He is always our go to guy, when we need a team mate for an adventure or someone who doesn't think we're nuts to talk about events, training, mental aspects of training and racing. He was there with Tyler and Mom for support crew at our first Ironman. We were there for his first Half. He was first to sign on when I called and said "lets do this 178 mile run accross Florida". Unfortunatly, he has been injured all summer. A stress pelvic fracture that reared it's ugly head somewhere around Lake Okeechobee on our now infamous run.
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Still he supported our team and with everyone else used completely up, ran in the final leg with excrutiating pain and courage to finish the relay on the west coast of the state. He couldn't walk the next day or for weeks afterward but he did something most people would never even consider trying. He has had to stay home from work because of the physical nature of his job......and no training......all summer. I don't know how he has done it. I don't handle even a minor 1-2 week lay up well. I become evil.......I start thinking I may never be able to run again and all my plans might be gone.
But that's how we choose to live. Every jump I aimed a horse at was a risk, every time I get on a bike there is risk, I would still make the same choices. Alan is coming up on another check up. He is signed up for his first Ironman at Florida in November. It won't be the fast and furious or as highly trained as he had planned, but he is adapting and accepting that IF he can train and finish and experience the day, it will be reward enough. There will be many other opportunities to worry about going fast. So take your fast races with your slow ones, and just be happy that you're out there running :)
UPDATE!!!!!!!..........On Wednesday the Dr. gave Alan the OK to start swimming, biking, and water jogging or eliptical. Although his pelvis is not 100%, he is 95%, and is released for anything non-weight bearing. He goes back on Sept. 3rd and the Dr. thinks at by that time things should be 100% and he should be good to run...............easy. When I called to find out the results he sounded like a kid in a candy shop. After so many months of darkness, the sun has started to rise and begin a new day. My only concern is that he over does and reinjures himself.........we are Type A personalities........Alan is Type AAA.........this guy can log some serious miles. The next race on his calendar of Xs is IM Augusta 70.3, the end of September. Barring no hickups my bet is he will toe the line. In the mean time I better stock up on plenty of butt cream, keep my recovery socks handy, and get ready to suffer.................from now till IM Florida, Alan, "the Diesel", and I have some catching up to do :)
... and to show that the horse front is still covered, Cody (Alan and Joy's youngest daughter) just won two World Championships at the Buckskin World Show in Memphis. Way to carry on the tradition.
... and to show that the horse front is still covered, Cody (Alan and Joy's youngest daughter) just won two World Championships at the Buckskin World Show in Memphis. Way to carry on the tradition.
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Aloha for now!
The Three Coconuts
Lake Logan Race Report
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Thursday afternoon was the start of a 3 1/2 day whirlwind of travel through 4 states, 1 Olympic distance tri, and some nice family visits. We got to my Aunt's and Uncle's beautiful home about 6:30 and she had a delicious spaghetti dinner ready, perfect start to a two day carb load. Aunt Lois and Uncle Andy's Bed and Breakfast... our favorite Atlanta stop. Sensational company and great food... though she complains we won't ever eat anything but spaghetti, as we are usually pre race. I think she's secretly worried that we are actually Italians impersonating family. Got to do our day before the race short jog on the hills in their neighborhood, when it's not the day before a race it makes for a great leg thrashing.
Always around the table with Lois and Andy. Spaghetti dinner was served formal style in the dining room with candles... bet nobody else got that kinda atmosphere with their carbohydrates!... Did we forget to mention the coconut cream pie?
Drove through mountains and over the Tallulah Gorge on the way to Waynesville, NC. The Gorge is the deepest canyon East of the Mississippi. Quaint roadside stores, antique shops and apple stands line the roads. Most interesting sight (other than some of the positions Tyler and Julie got into napping) was a store with buildings with flat roofs. There was grass growing on the roofs and large signs advertising "Goats on the Roof".... it was pouring rain so sorry for no pics.
It rained all the way to NC. Was great to get to our usual hotel, the three bears were still there waiting on us. Good time for a nap, then out to the race site for a quick bike ride. "The Diesel" rode out to assault the initial climb out of T1 and the challenging climb that brings you back into T2. "The Genius" and I rode out and back up the run course. This is our third year doing this race and we each have our own prerace routine here that seems to work best. Note from Julie: riding the hill pre race didn't seem to help much, other than convince me that I would get up it... and it wouldn't be easy or fast. Good news is even though I still weigh less than Blain, I descended the thing faster... so maybe it did some good, or Blain could be right that I just don't use good sense (or my brakes).
Waynesville is a quaint mountain town, but it is somewhat limited on places to eat healthy. We struggle with this every year we have been there. This year was no different. Now you need to know that I am very picky about what I eat race week and especially Thursday and Friday nights. Pasta or potatoes is usually the norm. Rice is always good but usually hard to come by in enough volume eating out........................unless you do Chinese. I do not like to experiment the night before a race, but "the Diesel" and "the Genius" convinced me to be brave and give a shot. So it was Fried rice, shrimp and veggies and more steamed rice. "The Genius" did Lo Mein. It was surprisingly good and we each splurged with an egg roll. Yum! I topped the tank off with a couple glasses of Chocolate Milk before bed and by 8:30 it was lights out.
I always get a kick out of telling the front desk we need a wake up call at 3:50 am. They think you're nuts. But when the call came, the alarm went off, and my watch started beeping, we got up and went through the routine that we have gone through so many times before. "The Diesel" ate PB and honey sandwich and 2 pepto bismol tabs..............don't ask. I had a banana and PB and J sandwich on Oatnut bread. "The Genius"........well if you have kept up with earlier blogs you would guess correct.......Ramen noodles. Shower, stretch, suit up, pack up, check out, and we leave for the race about 5:00.
As we walked with all our gear from the Pathfinder to transition a van pulling in to park stopped and rolled his window down and asked if anybody had seen "TEAM ROADKILL"...............a self given name to our Sunrise to Sunset relay team after 178 miles of pain and suffering. It was our brother-in-law Alan!!! He drove 3 1/2 hours Friday night, spent the night in the van in the parking lot of a church just to be there along with Tyler to cheer us on. Alan deserves his own story, but he has been one of our training and racing buddies from the onset of our triathlon days. He has raced Lake Logan with us the past 2 years but a fractured pelvis back in March rendered him inactive and this race among others on his schedule have come and gone without him in the lineup. He patiently waits clearance by the Dr. but until then he gives his undieing support to us and the other athletes competing. His presence aligned all the planets for our race and MOJO was present and accounted for.
Julie had a great race considering a mechanical problem on the bike that we found after the race. Her rear brake had come completely loose from the frame at mile 4 and was laying on the tire therefore causing her to be slower than she would normally be and for those who have never trained with her on the bike.........she can HAMMER, knows no pain, and at mile 80 she gets stronger(unfortunately this bike was only 25 miles long)............thus the nickname. Her swim was solid and steady and she PRed her run on this course. Notes from Julie... I always seem to get my clock cleaned up here, but I still love to come and race. It makes me humble, sometimes frustrated, frequently angry and I go home and train harder for fall. Usually I then have great fall races... so Lake Logan is always a good trip.
Leading up to this race some not so good training days had left me with some questions as to how this race would go. My swim fitness is really good right now so I was able to get out of the water with a lead. Then it is like a rabbit being chased and I really hate that feeling. My strategy was to be conservative on the flat sections and attack the climbs and it paid off because I got off the bike still with the lead and I was ready to hurt on the run. I really tried to run strong the first half knowing that the steady uphill grade would hurt for everyone and then use the downhill to maintain momentum and speed. Julie had told me before the race that when things got painful, find a place to put the pain.......an orb........then protect the orb. So that is what I did. And like Julie, I PRed the run and along with a PR on the bike I was able to win my AG. We hung out for the awards and then by noon we were on the road to Columbia to visit more family. Played cards with Gram and Pop Champey half the night.... the Diesel and the Genius once again victorious!
Highlights of the course are the lake.
Running in the shade with water falls on one side and the river on the other.
Then there is the shooting range just over the hill beside the run course. Glad they finally put a sign up, the first two years we thought some mountain people were trying to shoot the wierdo's in the lycra.
Having family there cheering you on is invaluable. They are the mental and emotional aid station. Thank you Tyler.....#1 Fan..................and Alan........we are all ready to reverse the roll at IM Florida.
The most memorable moment of the weekend was my bike ride with Tyler on Friday afternoon. She has not been on her bike much the last few months because of a busy school schedule but as usual she got on and just hammered..........this kid can swim, bike, and run......she's a natural. When we finished and and with sweat pouring from her face she told me how much she missed riding her bike. Well between me and mom we can fix that!
Aloha for now.
The Three Coconuts
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