Steve in a Speedo?! Gross!: April 2014

Lots of "Finisher Shirts"

>> Wednesday, April 30, 2014

As I noted last week, our Governor passed a proclamation that April 25, 2014 was "Finisher Shirt Friday." Here's the official proclamation that Twin Cities in Motion sent out:

I had to bite. So I wore 14 different finishers shirts last Friday. Here's what I posted:

Kicking off @twincitiesinmotion #FinisherShirtFriday by remembering my amazing trip to Israel.

Rockin my Chisago Tri shirt for my morning workout. #FinisherShirtFriday

Post-workout shirt for #FinisherShirtFriday - remembering my 59:05 @twincitiesinmotion 10 Mile.
(Race report HERE.)

Working in the garage on my Pine Line 13.1 sweatshirt. #FinisherShirtFriday

#FinisherShirtFriday Sporting my Winter BeGone Du shirt while building Henry a sandbox (see background). Maybe this race only existed for 3 years because the shirts sucked so hard. #JustATheory

Reading stories with Henry in my Liberty Tri shirt for #FinisherShirtFriday.
Set my 2:15 Oly PR at this race! (Race report HERE.)

The best race shirt ever. #BeerMile #FinisherShirtFriday
(Race report HERE.)

My first triathlon ever. These 8 years have flown by! #Boob #FinisherShirtFriday

More good race memories: finished 3rd overall in 2012 while pushing Henry! #FinisherShirtFriday
(Race report HERE.)

While TECHNICALLY not a race shirt for #FinisherShirtFriday, this zip-up is something I'm
pretty proud of. Got this for completing (and winning!) the 2012 "Grand Prix" series of races in MN.

Another special shirt for #FinisherShirtFriday: my first duathlon win last year.
#InBabyBoyNumberTwosBedroom (Race report HERE.)

Another #FinisherShirtFriday from the epic @Trinona Time Trial last year
(while working in the garden behind the garage).

#FinisherShirtFriday One of my uglier ones, but my first multisport race ever, so it's special to me.

My FINAL post for #FinisherShirtFriday - my proudest race accomplishment.

I know that last one said "final," but I had one more I had to post before going to bed:

One last #FinisherShirtFriday - my pregnant wife claimed my @Trinona zip-up
as her own many months ago. Baby boy #2 fits in there well... :)

Sorry to anyone following me on Instagram or Twitter on Friday... I kinda went nuts with the #FinisherShirtFriday tag...

I actually used #FinisherShirtFriday to sort some shirts in my drawer. I found 53 finisher shirts. Many were thrown away (or turned into rags) about 2 years ago, and a bunch were cut up and set aside for t-shirt quilts. But I still have 53 in circulation:

Covering our queen size bed.

Finally, on Monday night, I got this tweet:

TC in Motion told me it was totally a random pick (they use random.org just like I do for giveaways). The funny part is that they commented on a #FinisherShirtFriday photo of mine early in the day on Friday, and I commented back with "And unrelated, I know #FinisherShirtFriday isn't a contest... but I'm totally trying to "win." Ha!" Well, I DID win something. Awesome. Thanks TC in Motion! See you at the "Looney Challenge" this October!

My Pregnant Wife at Her Triathlon Yesterday

>> Monday, April 28, 2014

As I mentioned in Saturday's post, I was still much too injured to race. I couldn't even run 3 steps without major foot/ankle pain. Here's a reminder of what it looked like 2 weeks ago:

But my wife was in FINE shape to race! Sure, she was 38 weeks pregnant, but she was ready to take it easy and just have a good time at the YWCA of Minneapolis Indoor Triathlon:

Ready to race!

Just the normal transition stuff: shirt, run shoes, bike shoes, water bottle,
and a big tan "belly band" to help hold up our baby.

From my Instagram: "Pregnant Pharmie about to start the Indoor Tri!!"

A few seconds after the start.

I took her 100 splits for the heck of it. She swam 2:01, 2:15, 2:17, and 2:16 to finish the 400 yard swim in 8:51. And she requested an outside lane so she could use a ladder to get out of the pool. For obvious reasons.

Mama and baby putting on a shirt in T1!

Did I mention she was the FIRST IN HER WAVE TO GET ON A BIKE?!?! Rockstar.

Pharmie's joked that in BOTH of her recent indoor tris, NO ONE has wanted to bike
next to the pregnant woman! She's all by her lonesome to the far left.

Henry in his track suit (yes, we planned that) stealing some of Mama's water.

Running! She was doing the "mini sprint" which had a 1 mile run (8 laps).

High five!

About half way into the run, Henry missed his high five with Mama... (continued...)

... so Mama stopped and backed up to make sure he got his high five! Precious seconds were wasted.

Anne introduced herself to me pre-race - she's a blog reader. NICE WORK, ANNE!
And nice to meet you!

Pharmie leading a group (including Anne) around the track.

From my Instagram: "Last lap at the Indoor Tri!!!"

Obligatory hitting-your-watch-at-the-finish-line photo.

A hug for Mama just after she finished.

Off to the goodie table to get a snack.

Pharmie (post-race) and a co-worker who was about to start in the next wave.

Henry zonked out on the way home with Mama's finisher's medal around his neck
(that's the orange ribbon).

Comparing her finish from a few weeks ago with her finish yesterday, she actually PRed yesterday! Her swim and run were slower yesterday, but her bike was a bit faster. With all that added together, it leads to an (unofficial) PR by about 10 seconds! Congrats Mama!

Good News / Bad News

>> Saturday, April 26, 2014

GOOD NEWS: Yesterday, Henry and I built this:

"Is it level, Buddy? It is? Good!" I didn't have the heart to tell him he was doing it wrong.

A corner seat.

His new sandbox! (Henry's currently studying a worm.)

First of 2 leveled veggie beds for the 3' strip of land behind our garage. A row of those
pavers will go down next to the beds, and that will be RIGHT to the edge of our property.

The sandbox is 12 inches deep, and 5x7 feet. I need to sand it, round over the corners a bit, seal it, lay down some landscape fabric, and fill it with about 25 cubic feet of sand. Henry's PUMPED! (Oh, and the raised veggie beds are 12" deep, and 1.5 x 8.5 feet. There will be 2 end-to-end back there.)

BAD NEWS: I'm not doing the indoor triathlon tomorrow. My ankle LOOKS a lot better, and it seems to be slowly getting better, but I can NOT run on it. I tried swimming last Friday, and I couldn't push off the walls or kick. So it wasn't really "swimming." (I haven't been in the pool since, but I'm sure it'd be a fair amount better.)

I tried running on Wednesday, and I had sharp pain RIGHT away on the inside/top of my foot. I was expecting a bit of an ache, but that sharp pain was new. I couldn't even get through the straightaway on the indoor track at the Y - I ran (and it was "limpy") for about 20 seconds. I was used to my ankle being sore (and sore to the touch) just above my ankle bone, so to have this sharp pain appear in a totally different spot really threw me for a loop.

Time for just more rest. I have a doctor's appointment next week just to check that everything's really OK in there.

But Pharmie is doing the indoor triathlon tomorrow (37.5 weeks pregnant), and Henry and I will be there to cheer her on! So stop back for some fun photos of her racing!