1000 m !! And year end

What a great way to end the year! My swim was 1000 m and could have gone further, though it was slow slow slow. But I'll give the number, mainly for reference. 21:38, and as background for new readers, I cracked a bone in my elbow Sept 5th, and it's been a long recovery. You can go back through my archives for details; look for posts with OW in the title, but beware the one with graphic followup. There are photos of teeth. Sorry to remind you Susi, but after your reaction it's only fair to warn them.

The swim felt great this am. My inner shark buddy showed up about lap 15, said hi, noted that I wasn't going to catch dinner swimming that slow, but that it was looking much better. I had looked over the video on flip turns again and tried one, just for fun, and did much better. I'm still not going to try it in a crowded pool yet.

Aside from my fall, 2008 has been a terrific year for me. I'm certainly running better than I was this time last year, and I'm way stronger on the bike. Of course, the swim isn't doing so good. Last year this time I was doing 1000m in 19 min or less, but it will come. While I'm not hung up about being a particular weight, I do keep track of it semi-regular. A year ago I was 245 or so, now I'm 230 or so. There's a huge pile of too-big clothing going to the Sally Ann.

In my personal life, Linda and I took a major vacation in England and Italy. You can see some of the photos by looking for my non-fitness web page in my blog list. Aside from some bad transit moments in Torino, we had a wonderful time. I'm enjoying the work I do, and hope that the economic slowdown doesn't find me scrounging for a job at Tim Horton's.

This blogging thing has turned out to be far more fun that I thought it would. I do it primarily for me, keep track of my little triumphs, my ups and downs. There's been several times where I've felt really bad about a workout. Then I go scrolling back to find it wasn't that long ago that I either couldn't do it at all, or had just done it. My coach reads it, (Hi Greg!) and finds it's a great way to keep track.

Most importantly, it's turned out to be a way of meeting the nicest people. I scoped out Greg through his blog, when Susi suggested him as a coach. Julie never would have banged on my door and showed me her new bike. I'd never have gone for that ride with Jenna and Susi, with the Sushi pig out, I mean, Sushi recovery dinner after. I wouldn't have known to say hi to Kelsey as we got rained out of the Vulcan Tri. Leaha would have been a stranger to me. I mean, how else can you walk up to a woman, on a beach, introduce yourself, and NOT come across as a creep? I haven't actually met Kelly yet, but I'm looking forward to introducing her to the Road to Nepal, and there's another thing. How else would you feel comfortable staying with someone you've never met before? When Shannon walked into spin class, it was like we were already old friends. I first met Darryl before a training swim at one of our lakes, but got to know him better by tossing around a ball, during a swim. Remember? The ball Greg swiped from some poor kid? (hahahaha, just kidding!) Leslie and I meet at spin class. There's other people I follow that I haven't met yet, and might one day. And lest you think I've forgotten Susi, (who could EVER do that) I knew her 5 years before I started blogging and this is just one way to stay in touch. Watching for her online as she worked through IMC 2007 is totally what got me into this. Thank you for everything Susi!

All you guys have been inspirational, funny, supportive, and a hundred other things. Your blogs are the 'must read' of the day, often several times a day to track the comments. I totally love following the various adventures and misadventures of real people, as you struggle to get through the workouts and races, while juggling family, work, friends, and life in general. From the bottom of my heart, I wish you all the best in 2009.