Dumbo & Santa

Another weekend is finished and we are starting the shortest week of the year, Thanksgiving week. Woohoo as workers around the US rejoice well almost all workers except the poor souls that have to work Black Friday sales. Talk about crazy times. I have yet to see the carnage that is Black Friday yet but I might one of these days.

I went for a run with the fellow Ironman Canada PFers(possible finishers) this Saturday. Jeff, Don and few other tri folks I didn't know braved the wet cold morning for a nice 6 mile loop. I got to see both Jeff and Don run for the first time. I gave them some suggestions for their respective running styles to help them improve their running economy. It's great to see various strengths and weaknesses from individuals in the sport of triathlon. I completely stink at swimming and both Don & Jeff are super fast. They're struggling with their running form and it's second nature for me. At Canada, I'll be chasing them all day which will make the race interesting for me. Will I be able to catch them? Will it be on the bike or on the run? I can't wait.

I mapped the route in my Runner's World training log at 5.8 miles. With our time, we averaged 8:30 miles. Not bad considering Don hadn't run since September.

So I got a little bit more swimming advice from them about reaching farther by turning your shoulder and basically rubbing the side of your head with your arm. I tried this on Sunday morning's swim and I discovered that I have big fat Dumbo ears. My times were crap as I think I was slowed down by all the ear friction. I was tired from the previous swimming so I'll have to try again to see if I can use it to my advantage. I got on the treadmill as Elena played in the massive 24 hour fitness playcenter. I had a nice treadmill workout which is quite easy but helps with efficient strides.

After the workout, I took Elena to see Santa. Elena gets a yearly picture with Santa every year that I used for my Xmas card. With all the move turmoil coming during December, I decided to get Santa out of the way early this year. He had just arrived at the mall on Friday. We got there and there was no one in line. She got a nice picture and then I built my Xmas cards right there. It was cool. All I have to do now is mail them. Elena is all about asking questions and making deductions. She asked how old Santa was. I said I didn't know but pretty old then she thought her Grandpa was probably older and didn't have Santa when he was a kid. Interesting conversations. I'm still in a state of shock that she's 6. I can remember things I did when I was 6 and now I have a daughter who's 6.

Well time to slave away at work albeit for 3 days...