Beautiful Day on Saturday

Wasn't sure what kind of day it was really going to be -- and it turned out to be beautiful. Jeff ran trails this morning and had to work some this afternoon. I was able to get out and walk - nice to have the sun and no rain.

Tomorrow hope to ride 3 hours on the trainer - atleast that is the plan today.

Thursday Ride

Well with the good news, Jeff had planned to trail run with Joe W after work. As the day progressed, the weather turned down hill and he called and wanted to know what I was going to do. With all plans changed, we decided to ride to Aero Base Builder !!, which is about 1 1/2 hours. I had ridden it before, and it focused more on steady tempo for long periods of time. Wasn't sure Jeff would really like this but, as the DVD progressed and Coach Troy (don't ya just love him!) explained why he thought this was important. Surprisingly, Jeff like the DVD. Time went by much quicker with someone else to ride it with. It went extremely well with both of us riding together - good sign that this won't be a long winter on the bike.

Jeff gives me the encouragement that I need to keep going. And, I have to actually admit I really enjoy Spinervals. Yes, I know Egg and Dobo wait until the Indoor 100, I will learn to hate Coach Troy again.

Well, I am off to walk and Jeff is off to the YMCA to run in the water. Training is fun!

Good News - Bad News

Jeff had his Dr appointment on Thur afternoon to get results on the MRI on his shoulder. The bad news is --- yes he does have a tear in his rotator cuff - which would explain the pain when he tries to exercise using his shoulder. The good news is--- his Dr has had surgery on his own shoulder and it didn't last long. He said as long as he could tolerate the pain and it didn't really affect his everyday life, then he would suggest holding off on surgery -- You betcha skippy - this is training season to be followed by racing season!!!! I did get on line today to do research on this - looks like his TENS unit and OTC pain relief is the way to go. So it is time to TRAIN!

Wednesday

I guess you could say this was sorta a day off. We were meeting people Jeff knows from work for dinner - Andrew got home from work a little late and my day was very filled with AJ.

Got home late for me (Noose) and had very little time to do something for me. Found a DVD that would help get some junk out of my trunk and did it. Not exactly what I had planned, but it was 45 minutes worth.

Jeff and I met the couple at Applebees - we had salads and an excellent time talking. On the way home talked about our goals for the year - Jeff made a very suggestions for me and I really liked one of them. Now we just need to map out my goals.

Hopefully this week we will be able to map out Jeff's races for this next year. One thing is certain --Brasstown!!!

UD Flyers basketball team won tonight- life is good :)

Good night to all - once again past out bedtime (this seems to be a habit with us lately!)

January

Wow what a warm start to the year. Goose was able to get out a ride with the Cows. Thanks to them, he didn't turn around and head back to the truck. He finished and was filthy when he got home!

Goose set up his trainer with mine. First time riding together went OK - it will take time to get use to each other. We rode again Tues night together and it went much better. It help pass the time when there is somebody else in the room besides your dog and 3 cats!

I have gotten a few new DVDs of Spinervals and looking forward to riding to each one. Had lots of suggestions on what to get, and have been able to get most of them. When bike shops gets new shipment, I hope to get a couple of more.

Weather permitting (in other words - crappy day) will be at Dobo's for his indoor 100 at the end of January.

2007

Wow, what a year - 2007 had many ups and downs. On Jan 1st Jeff starting focusing on the new year. Had goals and wanted to make his dream come true. With aging up this year to the 55-59 age group – he knew it was now or never for the World Championships.

He trained hard on his trainer and took his trip to Asheville. Although the weather wasn’t the best – rain, snow, wind – they were able to get a couple of good rides in. Next trip was to Chattanooga for the 3 State/3 Mountain. Thanks to Egg and Dobo he was able to hang on – and thanks to an older man alongside a mountain – he got back on his bike and rode. His finish time was much better than expected.

Opened his triathlon season with Little Miami – while practicing the canoe, he pinched his elbow. Didn’t think much about it – went on the race and won. The next weekend was Milton Triathlon. Although he had a “good” race, something wasn't right Didn’t think much about it until a few days later. The elbow he pinched was swollen and turning red. After a few more days he went to the Dr. Treated with meds – got a little better but a soon a he quit the meds it returned. Found out he had a staph infection. After 2 months of treatment it finally went away.

It was now or never to qualify for World’s. Decided to try at Mansfield – long story make short he did. We traveled to Richmond VA for a very satisfying race – 6th in the World – Jeff was extremely pleased.

After we got home we received news that his Uncle Rich had an inoperable brain tumor. Less than 2 weeks later, Rich died on what would have been his 75th birthday. Rich had overcome so much adversity in his earlier days – was an extremely smart and caring person – loved to walk and write. It was very devastating to all of us.

Jeff ran and I walked the Turkey Trot to officially end his training season for the year. Jeff’s heart wasn’t really into the race – he hadn’t worked on speed this year – mostly endurance.

Christmas was wonderful. We got to spend it with family – especially my brother. We haven’t been together for 13 years – lot of family history (mainly his wife that died in July). Jeff got his compact crank (for Brasstown Bald) which has made everyone happy!

Received news that his Aunt Ellie (Rich’s widow) had been diagnosed to colon cancer and would be having her surgery on Jan 2. The news was not good – stage 3 – it had not progressed to her liver. Treatment? That is up to her. Very sad news.

Ended our New Year with very good friends. Egg was back playing with Funky G for the evening. Haven’t seen Egg smile like that in a long time. Everyone had “something” to let go of and embrace the New Year with hopes and dreams.

What will 2008 hold? Nobody knows. Just glad to be here and welcome the New Year in. We each have our goals and dreams. I think we have learned to roll with the punches.

Richmond Pictures

Parade of Countries - Jeff is all smiles
First run - somewhat of a smile on his face


Can you say aero bars? Love the one picture- makes him look like his riding really fast (hehe)


The pain shows on his face on the last run .

The time is in the books for this one

6th Place

Food and water replenished - now he is all smiles again.

AJ's sign read "Go PoPo, Love AJ"

Once again - thanks to everybody that helped Jeff - Craig for mentally and physically pushing him on the bike, Dobo - riding and pushing him, Red Dog (Mark) running with him, Tipp Cyclery for keeping him on the road and Shawn for the wheels.

It was fun and interesting to meet people from all over the world - but I must say I am not going to encourage him to do it again for a LONG TIME!!! Looking forward to 2008 and the trips we have planned. Looks like a bigger group which always makes good stories and laughs.