Daily Positives – 9/15/2010

Posted on September 15, 2010 by dean
  • Felt good enough to head back to work a day early.
  • Great acupuncture session, very relaxing and my back and shoulders are feeling much better.
  • Received an equipment reimbursement check for my bike from the pick up truck driver’s insurance company.
  • Went to the Capitol View Farmer’s Market with a friend.
  • Fun dinner with the Franczek’s.
  • Productive LLTAM session with Norm.
  • Got some great shots from the professional photographers for IM Wisconsin.
Ironman Wisconsin Run

Ironman Wisconsin Run

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Daily Positives – 9/14/2010

Posted on September 14, 2010 by dean

Great Recovery Day #2!

  • Slept in and got some good rest.
  • Relaxing drive to Wollersheim Winery. Hung out, enjoyed a bottle of Pinot Noir, and snacked for most of a lazy afternoon with a friend.
  • First trip ever to Ski Hi Orchard. Hoped for some decent apples but apparently its early and only three varieties were available.
  • Got to catch up a bit with Laurel and picked up their pics from IM WI. Some great shots from before during and after.
  • Enjoyed a lazy evening of rotisserie chicken from Jenifer Street Market and a movie – Jesse Stone: No Remorse. This is the sixth in the Jesse Stone novels by Robert B. Parker. Haven’t seen any of the previous ones but likely will now. Decent flick, though somewhat predictable in spots, certainly not an an action flick (this is ok), and keeps you on your toes mentally. I loved some of the concise, mechanical dialog exchanges. Selleck does a great job as the deeply-flawed protagonist.
  • Erik told Laurel that “Dean is my favorite grown up in the world.”

Made the realization today that I am a four-time Ironman Finisher. Wow, that’s just crazy. Sometimes I surprise and amaze myself!

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Daily Positives – 9/13/2010

Posted on September 13, 2010 by dean

Great Recovery Day #1!

  • There is a tremendous amount of standing in line waiting during an IM event weekend, while that sucks its a great opportunity to meet new people, reacquaint yourself with others and swap stories. Got lot’s of that in today while in various lines.
  • One of my favorite parts of Ironman is the camaraderie that develops among athletes and between their families/supporters. I was introduced to several people this weekend that were great to meet and I also introduced several others. Case in point: I’d introduced Becky & Mark to Josh (and Al) on Friday while waiting to get into the Welcome Dinner. Knowing Josh should have finished less than 15 minutes behind me Sunday night, I went looking for him around the finish area. I happened to run into Becky & Mark at the food tent where they alerted me to Josh being taken to the Medical tent immediately after his finish. I love the Ironman community! Outside of the swim, people really take care of each other.
  • Three friends that ended up in the medical tent all ended up being ok.
  • Enjoyed hanging out with friends and catching up on each other’s days during brunch.
  • My friend Erin won her age division and set a course record on the bike.
  • Nap & two mochas!
  • Sitka and I went out for a hobble. He was walking much better than I.
  • A friend made me an awesome steak dinner and pampered me all evening while we watched the DVR’d Packer game.
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Daily Positives – 9/12/2010

Posted on September 12, 2010 by dean

With the love, help, and support of a lot of incredible people and some fortitude I didn’t know I had, I finished Ironman Wisconsin today and with that, completed The Trifecta. An incredibly challenging goal I set for myself nearly 16 months ago, The Trifecta entailed completing three full Ironman distance events in 11 weeks.

Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go. – TS Elliot

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Daily Positives – 9/11/2010

Posted on September 11, 2010 by dean
  • Able to connect with a lot of great people at Mark Peterson’s memorial service. Also got to meet his mother and express my condolences as well as how highly he spoke of her the last time Mark & I talked a few days before his passing.
  • All gear organized, bike and transition bags checked in. All set for IM WI.
  • Got to catch up with some friends after check in at the Great Dane.
  • Final check-in’s with a few close friends before final evening prep and wind down.
  • Sitka and i enjoyed an peaceful sunset walk.
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Daily Positives – 9/10/2010

Posted on September 10, 2010 by dean
  • Got a couple of items crossed off my to-do list and most of my gear organized.
  • Checked out Catalyst, a new running/active clothing store next door to PilateSpa. Great conversation with Gail (one of the owners) and she was very interested to hear what kinds of gear I liked and what I’d like to see brought in. I’m excited about a cool store like this on the East side.
  • Sitka and I had a good walk.
  • Enjoyed the camaraderie and catching up at the athlete Welcome Banquet.
  • Fun catching up with some friends at The Mason.
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Daily Positives – 9/9/2010

Posted on September 9, 2010 by dean
  • Enjoyable casual conversation at work with a couple of coworkers visiting from another office.
  • One of my friends that used to be in our department will be rejoining our department next week. It looks promising that we’ll have a department next budget year (Oct 1), there has been some doubt about that over the last few months.
  • Lunch and conversation with a friend.
  • Crono got my bike all ready to go (again). Tuned up, swapped crank sets, and checked on rear cassette/hub issue. Those guys have been great to me!
  • Ran into a fellow SWIMfast’r at Crono. Great to catch up and talk IM and reflect on our last days with Mark.
  • Met up with Al and Josh to register for IM WI. At it’s core, the comerarderie is what really makes these challenges worth it. Al was a key inspriation for me to get started with IM’s. So much fun hanging out with a first-time IM’er again. Refreshing to see things through “new” eyes and be able to answer (or try to) all of the inevitable questions.
  • Great massage from Suzie at Af’firm.
  • Relaxing, low key evening at home with Sitka.
  • Made it through my first former anniversary. Much less sad about it than I expected to be. I’m much more exited about looking forward than back.
Al, me, and Josh post IM WI athlete check-in

Al, me, and Josh post IM WI athlete check-in

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Daily Positives – 9/8/2010

Posted on September 8, 2010 by dean
  • Opportunity to discuss future departmental direction at work, this time in a small group with the C-level we report to. I appreciate being asked for my feedback.
  • Appropriately communicated my thoughts regarding a request made by past primary partner. Historically in situations like this, I would typically acquiesce. It felt awkward and caused me way more angst than it should have, but I took care of myself.
  • Great swim at Rock Lake. My first swim since IM Louisville and first with a wetsuit since IM CdA. Felt great in the wetsuit, makes and incredible difference for me. Norm was kind enough to kayak with me.
  • On the way home from Rock Lake, stopped by friends’ house, caught up, and made some plans for the weekend.
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Daily Positives – 9/7/2010

Posted on September 7, 2010 by dean
  • Involved in additional discussions regarding future departmental direction at work.
  • Reasonably pleasant experience picking up some groceries at Willy St. Co-Op.
  • Good dinner and conversation while I helped a friend set up a new iMac. Amazed at how easy it is to transfer settings, files, and applications from an older Mac.
  • Sitka and I got out for a casual walk.
  • Overall, the professional pics from IM Louisville that I ordered were much better than IM CdA. Very pleased with a couple of the shots.
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Daily Positives – 9/6/2010

Posted on September 6, 2010 by dean
  • FTP: more casement prep done
  • Fun and relaxing afternoon at the The Franczek’s with great food and great friends.
  • Got my rear bike wheel back from Trek. I had discovered the cassette was loosened from hub after IM Louisville. They tightened things up a bit. No charge!
  • Restful evening watching Batman Begins. By far my favorite Batman movie, I get a new message out of it every time I watch.
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