2011 Zipp Firecrest 606 Tubulars with Brand Spankin’ New Vittoria Corsa Evo Cx 23′s glued on.  NEW tires as in NEVER GONE ON THE BIKE since mounting!  That’s a big money value right there!  Wheels were purchased as an impulse buy that I probably shouldn’t have done.  Comes with  Cassette (12-25 I think, have to check)

I’m keeping the Zipp Skewers, but have other ones if you need something.

Now the fun part……… $1,800 will get you a FAST set of wheels with <300miles and new rubber!

First $400 takes it.

http://www.portmancalculator.com/

For shits and giggles I punched in one of my last Full distance Triathlon races I did. That happened to be Rev3 Cedar Point Full Race Report here.

Info is as  follows (in minutes):

Swim= 63

Bike= 293

Run = 221

Race day weight was ~175#’s (maybe a little more)

Put all this into the little calculator thingy and push go and you get something like this:

So, What does that equate to?  Let’s figure this out. 

“They” say in order to burn ONE pound of FAT you have to have a calorie deficit of 3,500….. so a Full distance triathlon can burn 3lbs of fat!  not that much really if you think about it, but hey it’s only 10hrs of work….  yeah!

Where does one even THINK about getting fuel for this?  Perhaps you think you can cram down some energy Gels to replace all of this?  At ~100 cals per Powerbar Gel that would mean 105 gels OR a gel every 5.75 minutes….. that’s not going to sit well!

How about something more relateable to the “Mass” public?  (perhaps some pun intended there)

My favorite Mc’y D’s Extra Value Meal is the Double Quater Pounder with Large Fries and a Large Coke!  I feel like such a slob after consuming one of those meals, but I love them so!  How many of those meals could I eat?  Try SIX!  But wait!  I get to have TWO Oreo Cookies and Cream McFlurries as a treat too!  Good times.

Sure that’s not really the ‘best’ fuel, nor are you going to be able to process that so I suggest staying away from McD’s for your long distance triathlon Fuels.  Equally so, you aren’t going to be able to live off gels alone.  No matter how you slice it, at the end of the day you are going to be in a caloric hole! 

I’m hungry now……

Tim

Anywho,onto the show.

Saturday’s Fly-By-Night Duathlon on the Watkins Glen international race track was my 5th year racing this event.  My first attempt at this event was in 2008 and I was able to finish 5th overall.  I was super excited on that day as it was a definite suprise AND I found a new race that I love. 

Since this first race I have been lucky enough to be on the overall podium each year since,with a 2nd in ’09 and two 3rds in ’10 and ’11

I have been a brides maid for years…… and I’m not yet a bride. 

This year I finished again on the podium,but as Ricky Bobby says “If you ain’t first,You’re last”.  Second step was mine this year,though it wasn’t ‘free’ for the taking,there was a big effort put forth to get there. 

It seems every year there are a few new faces that show up to try and take the crown,this year was no different.  On the starting line there were the usual player and some new faces.  Being a 7 time champion of the event Travis Kuhl was lined up to my right at we normally do.  This year had a few Slowtwitch members showing up and ready to raise the bar.  Barry McMaster,Brett Long,and George Hade.  All very capable individuals.  There was also a fantastic showing of Rogues out there as well.  With the option of relay’s and the individual race,the Rogue team sets up some ringer relay’s.  This year was a combination of Jim Derrick(Run) and Jeff Naylor(bike) and Dave Cook(Run) with Bill Solt(Bike).  There were more,but those were the front of the pack guys. 

When the ‘gun’,rather a cowbell, went off there must have been an explosion behind us as EVERYONE came off the line at a near sprint!  I was glad to not be wearing a watch as that first mile was BLISTERING!  With Jim and Dave running the relays they weren’t holding anything back.  This meant if you wanted to be at the pointy end you better be able to break a 5min mile!  I can’t,so I was left to lay chase.  That first run FLEW by in a whirl wind of pain and dry mouths gasping for air as the pace never let up.  Coming into T1 I was 4th individual and 7th (I think) person thanks to the relays. 

Transitions are a chance to make or break your race,just ask Bruce,a Rogue that is SUPER strong but doesn’t have the transition skill mastered just yet and lost valuable time there.  It would seem that my competition for the day was Brett Long as he came off that first run two folks back in only 3seconds behind.  With a T1 time of :27 for me which was 3rd fastest but not fast enough as Brett was able to gain a full second on me.  Looking at the results shows that two of the individuals that we were chasing lost MASSIVE time allowing for 30+ seconds put into them starting the bike.  This left me in 2nd starting the bike and Brett still hot on my heels. 

Onto to the bike with Brett just behind andTravisout of sight up the “road”.  This bike course is by far the best you could possibly find,sorry to all the other RD’s out there you just can’t compete with this one.   Three laps of the race track that is far hillier that one would expect,nets us about 10.2 miles of closed course HUGE sweeping turns with long gradual climbs and fast descents with no potholes or broken glass all on silky smooth pavement.  How I ask could this NOT be a place found in heaven?  Any who,back to the race.  Out of pit lane we fly with a clear track in front of us for a full lap.  Brett and I are pushing each other as neither of us wants to admit how tired that run made us.  This is great since being alone against some of the relentless climbing on the back side of this track would make you soften your effort enough to allow gaps to be closed.  So with Brett alongside/behind/infront (in a non drafting,legal format) I was biking scared.  The whole time dicing it up with Brett I also knew there was Bruce an animal on the bike somewhere behind us “burying himself” and surely making big gains.  With the first lap down and going into the 90* turn one,which is a hoot at 30mph with no need to even consider braking,we encounter the first of the traffic.  Thankfully the track is wide enough that there is plenty of room for everyone.  We negotiate the traffic for the next two laps with Brett pushing the uphills and making me cry while I fly effortlessly down the downhills and make up time and return the gap into my favor.

Coming into T2 I always remove my feet from my shoes,today being no different.  The joys of coming in hot and scaring the volunteers screaming of the dismount line.  Love it!

T2 was FAST!  Having a cushion of 13seconds over Brett after a strong finish of the bike. (though I didn’t know if was 13 at the time) should relieve some pressure,but it didn’t.  I knew Traviswas up the road and that’s who I was chasing while I was trying my best to not let those behind me catch up,which Bruce had done!  He was hot on my heels as I heard via the announcer.  “Tim Andruswith a teammate hot on his heels”  I didn’t look back,I knew who it was.  Bruce had turned a 36second gap into only a 12 second gap coming into T2!  There is no rest for the wicked!  With my bike racked and sneaks on in 25seconds flat I was out the gate and onto the run in 2^nd overall.   I was able to put 4 more seconds into my chasing foe, if you will, during this pitstop giving me a 17 second lead out of T2.

Run2.  Traviswas up the road….. waaaaay up,out of sight up,like 1:19 up the road!  Daunting to say the least!  Now is where the head game of “chase Or pace?” begins.  I didn’t want to loose that 2^nd step but I really wanted that top step, which at this point seemed very out of reach.  With no time to consider I went with a little of both.  I was up against my redline for pace but still had a little in reserve ready to push another bike/run.  During this run I had the pleasure of being passed by the two Rogue relay’s as their runners were stupid fast and of course had rather fresh legs.  Apparently I left a little too much in the tank as Brett was setting a pretty burly  pace behind me as he choose the option of “Chase”.  Into T3 he had closed that 17 second gap down by 13 seconds!

T1……..again.  Brett was still 4 seconds in arrears with Bruce well behind.   It’s make or break time.  And I broke!  Brett smoked that T3 like it was a cigar!  Making up those precious 4 seconds in T3 and coming out side by side into the last bike.  It’s gonna be a fight to the finish!

The last bike!  Brett was on his saddle at the same time as I was.  Down pit lane we both were having the same issues getting our feet in the shoes as they never seem to be setup as nicely the second time around.  We both managed to get strapped in as if we practiced in unison.  I was first to get in attack position and was onto the ‘course’ a mere split second ahead.  The track was littered with folks still on their first bike but again plenty of room to move around.  This set of laps would prove to be more painful than the first!  The wind was a little different giving a tailwind up the climbing back stretch.  This helped me as a non-climber,to keep up and even push the pace a little.  The front stretch in front of the crowd was a slightly downhill section only this time with a headwind.  We were side by side in a drag race down the front straight on both of the trips through.  Normally you get a smidgen of a rest through this part,not today.  The jockeying for position was constant with neither of our ego’s willing to let up.  It wasn’t until the final lap where Brett showed any weakness,even then it was only at the very end of that lap.  I later found out he had a cramp as we crested the last hill that was maybe a quarter mile or so from the finish of the bike.  I pushed at that point in a last attempt to get away from him going into T4 the final transition.   It worked as I came in 7 seconds up! 

T4  a little slower this time,but not by much.  28 seconds as I was having a bit of trouble with my bike/shoes hitting the pavement and forcing me to lift the whole bike up and run with it for a second to get it back straight,couple that with my running shoe folding over a bit and me fixing it slowed me down a little.  Still even with what I would consider a few follies,I was able to grow my gap on Brett by an additional 2 seconds leaving me with a 9 second margin coming out of T4 for the last time.

The last run.  Hitting the ground running at this point was/is tough but it’s tough for everyone,so no time to let up.  As I hit the course just out of transition I was in second again,having passed the relay bikers.  I heard a volunteer/spectator say “You can catch him”.  This had me thinking “yeah right!  That gap was HUGE (remember 1:19 after the 2^nd transition).  As I turned onto the pit lane straight away that starts the run I could seeTravis!  Not way off in the distance either!  He was only 39 seconds up… or for you math majors out there about 185yards up.  That’s close….. but not gimme close.  Jim Derrick, runner for the lead relay, FLEW by me in those first couple hundred yards and made me feel like a chump.  He closed the gap onTravis in moments and made me feel like I could do the same.  It wasn’t as easy as he made it look!  Trust me, I tried.  I was pushing for all it was worth and the gap was getting smaller, but not as quickly as I needed it to.  Meanwhile I had Brett starting only 9 seconds behind me and closing fast.  Was he going to pass us both?  It got to one point where I could hear his footsteps and I swear I could feel his breath on my neck!  His recount says he was 10yards back at his closest….. Man 10yards seems close!  I had to put in some surges to break Brett off my tail.  It worked after the final climb surge put him off my back for good, though by this timeTravis had a gap that I couldn’t close.  It made me feel good seeing him looking over his shoulder, a sign of someone hurting (like I tell my kids all the time “never look back!”). 

At the tape.  

At the finish line I was 3^rd across the line as the first was one of our relay teams made up of Jim Derrick and Jeff Naylor, 2^nd over the line was Travis 28 seconds up the road and the closest margin he has ever won by.  I was 17 seconds up on my chaser Brett after he told me of my last surge putting the final nail in his proverbial coffin.  The 4^th person across the line was the other Rogue relay that was mixing it up in the front of Dave Cook and Bill solt. 

Once again I was a bridesmaid,but I’m not complaining.  This was a hard one!

A fantastic race!  I had a blast and was spent when I crossed the line.  I was fearful of a sprint finish and very glad it didn’t come to that as I’m not sure how that would have turned out as the tank was on “E” for most of that last run.  The push of a race is something that can’t be recreated in training.  That feeling of being chased is something that is primal.  Something that I enjoy more than most anything else.  I love racing!  Thanks to all those out there that make it happen!  Keep ‘em coming!

Next YearTravis!  28 seconds!

Tim

My totals for the year up in the corner are way off now. I think I need to spend some time update if that. Maybe tonight after I am done drinking a few beers while I re-wire my bike that has decided it doesn’t like heavy doses of sweat seeping down into the soldered joints.

Ah the fun we have.

Fly-by-night is tommorow night at the glen. Should be a blast. If you like the pain of dragging your tongue on the ground for over an hour and not being able to breathe. That reminds me, last night I found (rather Kelly found) a box of breathe rite strips in the medicine closet, so I use one on my run and then bike. I had forgotten how much air those let you breathe in and how much less effort is needed. I guess I will be sportin’ a weird tan line this summer.

Friday May 4th we packed up Ace and Axl with a couple bags of clothes and a crap ton (metric crap ton) of gear and set off on a trip to Knoxville Tenn. for my first Triathlon of the 2012 season. Revolution3 Knoxville Half

700miles of driving takes more out of you than you might think. I sure give those long haul truckers some credit! The trip down was pretty uneventful with your regular fuel stops and potty breaks making the trip take roughly 12hrs. A long day for sure.

We rolled into Knoxville at 6:30 and found our hotel, which just happened to be 2 blocks from the race expo/finish area. A score in our book.

After we checked in and unloaded our things we hit the ground for some walking around to check out the area. Having been here before, it looked the same. Grabbed a beer in the hotel and called it a night.

The next morning had breakfast at the hotel and an early start to the day outside. (Perhaps hindsight has this as a bad idea) We wandered around waiting for things to open and our Rev3 Tri Team meeting at 11:30. Down at the “practice swim” I found a bunch of my teammates chillaxing and we all exchanged our pleasantries. We have been in contact for a while now online and this was the first time that most of us have been able to meet in person. Nice group of folks to call my team.

We got our sweet Pearl Izumi gear and grabbed some TriSlide and got ready for the swimmers. An impromptu TriSlide pit was put on by us as folks were getting their wetsuits on. If you haven’t tried TriSlide I highly suggest you do. (click the link on the left for SBRsportsinc.com) This was my first time using it with a wetsuit. It did exactly what it was supposed to do and it does it very well. No chaffing or hot spots.

In the water, cozy 66 or so degrees, I felt pretty good. I have been swimming fairly well lately so I was half expecting to feel good. I only swam for a few minutes as I wanted to get back for the kids adventure race. Hit a couple sticks in the water and called it a swim. Took my Blue Seventy wetsuit off and grabbed the wife and kids to head up for the Rev3 Kids adventure race.

The kids’ adventure race is a series of check points throughout the park that vary from simply running a ways to get to them to performing physical challenges. The A-Team came out of the gate strong and only got stronger from there. Having two kids that can run a 24min 5k comes in handy. From start to finish took us 22:xx and we were the proud family that ran across the finish line first, with our hands up. Good times were had by all. Thanks to Fuel Belt for the cool prizes and to Rev3 for the new pilsner glass!

Dinner then bed time…. Ok I think there was more, but this is getting rather long with out pictures. (Sorry, phone was dieing the whole weekend some limited on the pictures)
Race morning always comes about 5minutes after going to sleep I swear! Well actually for a change it didn’t come ‘that’ early. Since our hotel was right on top of the race venue we got to sleep in a little longer than normal. This was a good change of pace.
The morning ritual begins just the same with setting the coffee and grabbing a Powerbar (vanilla crisp on this day) as well as the other things we do on race day ?

Time to leave finally rolled around and we head off down to set up Transition.

Transition was in a covered parking garage so all of our bikes were nice and dry and we didn’t have to walk around in wet dew covered grass like most sites. Just a small detail that was nice.

Fast forward and we are hanging out with a bunch of rubber clad grown athletes leaving wet footprints on an otherwise dry concrete sidewalk (you do the math).

Mama Bear (swim course director and team leader) called us down after the pro’s had started their day 30 minutes in advance. It’s finally go time.

In the water with 2 minutes ‘til the puck drops. (chilly)

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1-BANG This was/is always the crowning moment of all that goes into what we do. That loud bang is the last thing you hear that isn’t coming from inside your own head. For the next half an hour the only person you have to talk to is yourself.

Today’s swim was good. I started out quick and in the first couple hundred yards had clear water. No body to draft, but then again no body to try and swim over/around. I could see a group of 4-5 that were just flying off the front. I have improved my swim, but not like that. I knew they were gone and only hoped that later I could scoop them up on the other two legs. After all this is a TRI-athlon so if you aren’t great at one event you still have two chances to redeem yourself.

The swim starts off swimming upstream and away from the finish of the swim. About a 1/3 of the distance up stream followed by the 2/3 back the other way. If there was a current it wasn’t very strong as swimming both directions felt about the same effort wise. After the turn around buoys I passed one guy and that was it. I swam alone. Crawling out of the water alone with no body in front and no body behind is odd. People didn’t really know how to react, so I gave them some wise cracks and some arm pumps on the way by to get them going again. My official swim time is light years slower than the actual ‘swim’ time as there was a short marathon of a run to get to transition where the timing mats were. I remember looking at my watch and seeing a 27:xx and I see my official time is 28:5x, so it was a fair amount of running with a wetsuit. Never the less the swim was done.

T1, thanks to the before mentioned TriSlide, my wetsuit came flying off and I wasn’t left feeling like a middle schooler that just found out about hickeys. I had a little pre race scouting mistake as I tried to go out the wrong side of transition cost me maybe a few seconds but nothing too incredible.

Onto the bike, Kelly and the kids were waiting for me as I turned onto the main road. A quick hoot-n-holler and it was back inside my head for a while. The mounting and getting my feet in the shoes went very smoothly with no time or forward motion lost. The road in front of me was clear for just about as far as I could see and the same behind. It’s good to be lonely sometimes. The first few miles (10ish) had more ups than downs. I was able to catch a couple people that were up the road and I was also caught by a couple from behind, so no net gain. I did my best not to burn any matches on the hills as I know my weakness. It’s really easy to start digging a hole rather early. Even though I’m a big fan of “Hammer down from Gun-2-Done” even I know there is a limit to crushing oneself. So there were folks that passed me on those long grueling uphills. I have the benefit of going DOWNhill like nobodies business! This is how it went for 56miles. I would go up these hills at my pace and get passed by the same 3 guys. I would go down at MY pace and get a big gap on these same three guys. For about 35miles there were 4 of us, 3 that were riding clean, the fourth guy seemed to think we were some type of paceline where it was ok to draft. Not cool buddy. Any who, it was starting to get warm during the bike and this is when I knew there were going to be issues to deal with later in the race. I was sweating far too much. I took water at the aid stations and was able to drink all of it. I just don’t think there was enough fluid for my sweat rate. Especially considering I might have been a smidgen under hydrated from the day spent in the sun running around with the kids and not drinking enough. Oh well, nothing you can do but try and fix the problem. Finished strong with a top 5 or so coming off the bike (not sure about other waves)

T2, I was a little clustered in my functioning here. Almost ran over a slower moving racer from the oly race, Sorry I tried to yell but you didn’t hear me or it was all in my head. At my spot I over shot my landing so to speak and had to back up a few spots. Not a big screw up, but just another detail to add to the mix. Add the slow application of a pair of socks and a short decision making on gel reserves and you get a less than stellar T2. I did how ever come out of T2 right on the heels of the guy that was up the road from me so position almost gained!

The run (Aka; The melt down!)
The run is the event that I’m most ambiguous about. I’m certainly not the fast guy on the course but I’m equally not the slowest guy on the course (most days). Generally speaking when I get off the bike I can count on gaining a few spots on the run while simultaneously losing a couple more with a net loss sadly. It’s something I need to work on I know, but never the less that’s what happens.
Today was definitely not one of the days where I was the fastest. Well, let me back up. The first mile went like this; I had to pee but the next place up was just 20yds up from me. After setting pace with him for a little bit I realized I wouldn’t be running to my potential if I didn’t go pee. So I stopped and I went. It took some time, since I had been holding it for most of the bike. Good news is after I went I was able to start moving and I was feeling really fresh. A couple miles clicked by and I was catching back up to my ‘minute man’. We were somewhere in the neighborhood of 3miles when the course cleared out. The oly distance was mixed in up until we go to their turn around point. After that it was lonely again with only half racers left to chase after. I continued gaining ever so slowly on my guy as one of those faster guys comes flying by us from behind. Always a terrible mental moment, but when you know you can’t match the pace; you just have to let them go. By this time we were out of the shade and the temps were really starting to get to me. Up until this point I would guess we were running at just below a 7 minute pace (no mile markers, and I didn’t start my watch) this wasn’t fast but felt very comfortable to the point where I was happy to go for a strong finish. The problem was, when I got to what would be around mile 5 my body stopped. The hills and the heat had taken their toll on me and it all came to a screeching halt at that point. I wasn’t alone in this misery as I saw other cracking as well. I had passed a few that had already popped and I was passed. From that mile 5 on was just a matter of getting fluids in my system and trying to keep cool since I was pretty much done sweating on my own at that point. Those 82go water packs they were handing out on the run were great. Gave me loads of water to keep putting in the system and on me to keep me cool. If it wasn’t for those I might not have made it to the finish line.

Well, after an epic explosion like that and still having a handful of miles to traverse there isn’t much to look forward to, well except for what I got at the finish line. It was pretty cool. Ace and Axl were wearing their Rev3 Shimmer Speedo’s and waiting for me. If only Kelly had one too. They ran down the finish shoot with me arms up and proud. Just after the finish I went and played in the water fountain with them and got cooled off and cleaned up.

5:00hrs isn’t something that I’m proud of, but some days things happen. Today was one of those days. I learned that I need to run more, but specifically I need to figure out how to deal with heat.

I had a great time and can’t wait for the next race Quassy. Until then I think I will be running in my winter parka.

Thanks for the well wishes out there.

Tim

This year was no different.

Bruce, Dave and myself loaded up the truck and hit the road to the first ‘real’ road race of the year that anyone puts any value on locally. The week prior there was much talk of skipping as the history of weather and the current outlook seemed to be ligned up as if there were a ruler involved. It wasn’t until late in the week Friday before the race to be exact that the trigger was pulled. The weather man had promised us streets lined with gold and women in bikini’s it was going to be a spring break haven of glorious weather for racing.
Due to this race destroying me last year I was planning on bringing a less than beat down version of myself to the starting line. So instead of doing any running, biking or swimming I opted for the far less taxing duty of installing a patio and misc other projects around the house on Saturday. The rains came later in the day on Saturday and allowed for much relaxing.
Sunday, Dave rolls to my house and the weather outside is damp…..not raining but damp. That’s ok, because the latest forcast show’s a 0% chance of percipitation at the race start time. We picked up Bruce on the way and continued to follow the squeaking sound of some windsheild wipers for most of the drive. All the while we continually laughed and repeated the 0% chance of rain and nice weather were ahead and the current 35* and moisture laden air was a mere momentary blip on this radar. Well it wasn’t.
That’s not entirely true. I don’t think it was actually raining at the start of the race, but one couldn’t tell as just like in Forest Gump “Sometimes the rain even seemed to come up from the ground”.
The race started on wet roads with grey skies, nothing but the best. We rolled the neutral 2-3miles to the start and fired off the line as if a slingshot had been released. The pace was quick from the start, but having rested legs I was feeling strong and ready. The first few bumps go by and the long downhill passes into the first turn. The first small attack is thrown to spread the field a smidge but everyone gathers quickly. A few miles of rising rollers and tight groups has the chit chat missing. All of a sudden that oh so lovely sound of a tire puncture is heard in the not so distant..distance. In fact I was most certain I could feel the air rush out of that persons tire. I was quickly informed that said person was in fact ME and I had punctured a brand new tubular tire in the first miles of a 44 mile road race. I was bummed as I don’t carry a spare, since the group doesn’t wait there is not time to replace it anyways. I was done….. almost. As the race goes, this was a DNF did not finish. Problem was I wasn’t ‘Finished’ by any stretch. I still had, according to my odometer on my bike, 7.64 miles to travel back to the truck. I turned around and started making the slow trip back not wanting to wait for the sag wagon to come around and pick a hypothermic wet and miserable version of myself up. I climbed back up the big hill and through the rolling terrain watched the next races go by and continued on my way. With nearly a mile or less to go to the real Finish, the parking lot, I hear that sound again. PFFFTsssssssssss! Yep, Number two! I finished my ride laughing audibly as I calculate the cost of this “Race” in my head. It’s only money.
I finished up the day hanging out in the warm truck at the start finish line as I watched Bruce and Dave as well as the other races/racers continue to do laps. After a long day, we hit the road and went home. None of us very happy on the day. Bruce also had a flat, only his was a mere mile FROM the finish, what a crappy way to finish a race after working hard.

Better luck next time I suppose

I’m working on that now. Please stand by while your party is reached.

Cliff’s notes version of the following posts:
Bloomfield bike race = DNF and $$$
Worked too many hours
Ran some
Rode some
Coached some
Sick for 2 days
Binghamton RR
Machine!
She’s got Talent
Two day’s left?

let’s see how much I can remember.

Tim

Today’s goal was to run after work and then hit the group ride up for some good times.
The weather did not seem to want anyone out on a ride, so it was a good thing I got a run in.

The bad thing happened during the run. I know what a pregnant women feels now when they feel the first kick of a baby. I was running along on my usual route when about 4-5 miles in I felt a pain in my gut. No problem just getting a cramp. Well, I should have known. I finished up that run without too much issue with a pace close to normal. Actually it was on the faster side of the trend line as of late, so good news there.
When I usually get done with a run I’m hungry, not tonight. The cramps started slowly and I ended up in bed at 7:30 and sound asleep shortly there after. The next day I manned up and went to work only to leave at 10:00 after I found out what Chuck Norris’ mother must have felt when he roundhouse kicked her from inside the woom. I spent the next day on the couch, the floor, the toilet, the bed and in hell. I even thought at one point I was dieing from a Heart Attack as the pains in my chest were so severe I was rolling in agony on the floor. I managed to muscle up and put on a good show for the first night of practice. Having only had a few pieces of toast in the past 24hours had left me pretty weak. It was another early to bed night with lots of tossing and turning. Saturday didn’t start any better, only now I knew I wasn’t dieing. I don’t have time for being sick. So projects were started and completed and by 5pm I had my first meal. I was so hungry I’m pretty sure I ate a half of a sheet pizza!

It’s good NOT to be sick, but we sure take the pain free life we live in for granted don’t we?