Does anyone else have that phobia where they wonder if a Great White Shark could have somehow gotten through the Ballard Locks, then the Montlake Cut, then somehow made it up the Sammamish Slough into Lake Sammamish...and now is really hungry because there are no sea lions in the lake, and is only 10 feet beneath you, hidden in the murky green water, invisible no matter how hard you squint towards the lake bottom, far, far below you? No? That's just my personal irrational anxiety? Damn.

Watched the Angels stay alive by beating the Red Sox in 12 innings.

Wow, long time without entering anything. I'd like to say I was working out but too busy to enter anything, but the reality is I wasn't working out. Sure there was the 3 1/2 hour mountain bike ride up Suntop. And I went out dancing Saturday night but that was clearly offset by the dinner beforehand and the champagne during.

Fun is over; working on TRO briefs the rest of the day.

I do have to say it was cool being "that guy" in the pool. You know, the one that is there when you start swimming and is still there when you leave, whose simple presence makes you feel guilty about getting out of the pool (what? no one else has that particular competitive neurosis? damn!). At least 5 people came, swam a little, and left while I was happily swimming laps. Nice.

Ran with other ISP parent (also from Seattle, with Microsoft). Nice to have buddy to run in Bois with . . . Harsh to need to bump up the age in my profile, but also adjusted weight down, so as long as it keeps working that way I guess I can't complain . . .

193. That's 20 pounds since last November. w00t.

Watched the season opener of Survivor...oh, what I wouldn't give to be in the Gabon jungle tonight...

Managed to tweak something in my upper back. Pooh.

Skirt disaster! Ruined a beautiful piece of olive green corduroy on a pattern that did not work. Got some good practice on my new sewing machine though. Maybe I'll finally finish the insomnia dress tonight.

Looks like I'm going to be doing a lot of yoga these days--until I can figure out something else to do in the basement.

Oh boy I need to get back on my bike(s). Truth is going to REI for an overhaul in time for this weekend, though.

Ran 2 miles then did 5 minutes of walking lunges until my legs started shaking and then ran 2 miles back! My legs just wanted to go but my lungs said NO! Haven't been running in a long time! It felt great to be out. Hoping to get back into some sort of regular work out regime. I was huffing and puffing so hard when I got home but then when I looked at what time I actually did the run in I was shocked. 33 minutes after not running for well I don't know how long.

Wow. It's been a long time since I rode on the trainer. But it's been pouring rain for the entire weekend...no chance to get out and ride, so I put the Specialized on the trainer and got a little ride in while watching MiB 2...not a very good movie, frankly.

Took the kids to see the Shrek musical at the 5th Ave on its final day before it heads off to Broadway. The first half is kindof boring - it pretty much exactly follows the movie and the music is just OK. I literally dozed off during the final scene. The second half, however, had a few interesting twists that made it more interesting, including a little more description (haha..get it?) of how Farquad got to be the way he is. I don't foresee a super long Broadway run, though. It certainly is no Beauty and the Beast (my favorite musical so far).

Rather than exercise, I spent last week starting to train my eating habits - coming off Cycle Oregon where the routine was basically ride, eat, ride some more, eat some more (etc.), sleep, and do it again. I've been successful, for one little week, at watching my food intake. Dropped four pounds last week (the first couple are always the easiest), for a grand total of 18 since last November. We'll see how long I can keep up the healthier eating as I re-activate the exercise routine.

Seeing as I just booked my airline tickets to PHX for IMAZ and my new tri wetsuit arrived in the mail, I guess I'm committed to at least jump in the water of Tempe Lake on 11/23. For the next two months, I'm mostly going to concentrate on swimming and cycling, with occasional runs and hikes. My running just doesn't have time to get where it needs to be - if I can manage a marginal swim and a solid bike, I'll have time to just walk. Maybe I'll actually finish by midnight, maybe I won't, but at least I'll jump in the lake and start.

Gonna help Ian celebrate big victory tonight. Yahoo!

I'm all for Lance returning. It's been boring with him gone. And given that our new apartment is only two blocks from the Champs Elysee I plan to be out there next summer dressed in head-to-toe yellow with a huge US flag chanting, in the words of Al Trautwig, "Lance, Lance, Lancity Lance".

Mary asked about Lance...

I don't really understand it - he's got very little to gain and everything to lose by racing. While there are some rumors about his 7 wins and most of those around him were caught, he never tested positive. If he doesn't win this year, and that could happen for any number of reasons that have nothing to do with his training or team or even equipment, he just permanently tarnished his 7 wins in a way that the rumors never could. And if he wins? That won't quiet any skeptics - "Hell, he's got the best science money can buy; I'll bet he just figured out an even better way to dope!"

Have I really been off my bike for *six days*?

This was a shorter/easier Cycle Oregon than last year, so we did every optional route to add miles and elevation. Overall, 450 miles and 21521'. Great scenery including Hell's Canyon, Lake Wallowa, lots of mountains and prairies and rivers and snow(!) and flowers and trees and deer and [...so on...]. Unlike previous Cycle Oregon's where we've seen at least one day of wet and/or super-cold, the weather was great every day with starting temps in the 40s and day temps just about hitting 80. The support was Cycle Oregon's usual (great). Got to hang out with Bill and John Burke a little and even ride with John briefly. A nice week of riding.

I somewhat watched my food intake (there is food everywhere on this ride!), and managed to lose 3 pounds. We'll see if I can keep it off while I train for not putting myself in the hospital attempting IMAZ (my new, adjusted for the reality of my current level of training, goal).

well its been I think 5 or 6 weeks since I have been on my bike! I can't remember so its been awhile. I haven't done anything as of late. Turns out I am anemic and this inturn explains the zilch amount of energy I have had. All I wanted to do was sleep I couldn't move. The iron is finally starting to kick in and I am feeling alot better then I was. That being said I forgot how much I love riding my bike. I actually wore my heart rate monitor for the first time I think all year. I thought I should keep track of what I am running since I have done nothing in a long time. I really tried to not push too hard, I didn't know how fast I was going as I got a new computer and well I can't get it working so I will have to take it in and have them do it. But when I got around the lake in an hour and 17 I realized I was holding a good pace until the next couple miles of all up hill.

So what does everyone think about the return of Lance? Did anyone think he could stay away? And or do you think with the hit that the Tour has seen with all the doping they begged him to come back?

Inaugural gathering of the 16th Ave NE book club at Jenn's house. Hadn't read the book, of course, but I wasn't the only one, thankfully, and turns out it was a story about the trials of a group of "illegal" immigrants from Mexico, so I could contribute anyway, or at least I felt like I could.

Should have mentioned--though I had no problem navigating downtown Bellevue thanks to Dave's flawless guidance, I did miss the turn at first for the bike path to Mercer Island and found myself about to enter I-90 with all the cars. So there was a small amount of backtracking involved.

Turns out the reason the Check Engine light was on was because the gas cap was loose. Duh.

No word back on the apartment we applied for. Or rather lots of words, but no resolution.

IMPORTANT UPDATE: After dinner Dave let me drive his beautiful, pristine '67 Mustang coupe. Words fail me. The most fun I've had since Switzerland.

The pig had already gotten squeaky; on the way home, its neck came loose. The tool I had with me wasn't long enough to reach the spot I needed to get at to fix it, so I rode the last ten minutes or so with my bars waggling all over the place. Tomorrow I'll ride the Rodriguez (oh the suffering).

Great moment running along the Champs de Mars with Liam. Heartwarming. I blessed my luck that I could share such a wonderful thing, that I was healthy enough to run with my child, that my son was healthy enough to run with me, that we're living in a world-city.

Then I totally ruined it with a Chevy Chase/Vacation moment, "well Liam, you should really appreciate this". Crap. I will try again next time, maybe run to the Arc de Triomphe or something. Or get berets while we run.

August sucked. I mean, seriously. Can anyone remember a worse August in Seattle? Severe thunderstorms (none of which dropped tornadoes, dammit). Hail. Rain. Wind. Cold. WTF?

January 2009 had damn well better be sunny. Or else.

After my ride saw Mamma Mia! in Ballard with my parents. I think it must have been the silliest thing I have ever seen in my life. All the same, the bachelors in flippers won me over.

The time has come to drop our old, boring, staid sports. The time has come for... Extreme Ironing! As the site says, it's the latest sport that combines the thrills of an extreme outdoor activity with the satisfaction of a well pressed shirt. As soon as I can find a Basal Metabilic Equivalence for this I'll add it to bricin.net. In the meantime I've been reading up on this and am thinking about picking up one of these. I'm not usually a gear-head, but with the removable "iron rest shoulder fit end", it's just talking to me in a way new skis just can't compete with.

Liam really wanted to ride a velib so we went and checked one out. Unfortunately the stand here only had one so I trotted with him down to Trocadero, none left. We then scooched over to Place de Mexico. On our way there we went by two 12 year old girls (age identified by the braces and giggling). As Liam rode past they both stopped, starting whispering, and pointed at him. I think they had never seen a kid their own age riding a velib. It was cute and when I related this to him later he blushed. Parenting can be fun.

At Place de Mexico we found a bike, but as I started riding it had a flat. Thankfully the velib stations have a screen which tells you which nearby stations have available bikes so headed in a slow and ginger fashion towards rue de la Pompe. *Finally* I had a decent bike and we headed west to Bois de Boulogne. When we got there the place was a mob scene. There is a huge carnival. And it was sunny so half the families in Paris were out strolling, boating, or sunning themselves. It was really nice getting out and riding, especially with Liam.

Izzy invented a great new game where I lie down on the rug in the living room and she tucks me in for a nap by piling tea towels and stuffed animals on my head. Then she lies down next to me and we pretend to nap. Or, she pretends to nap.

Changed the big ring on the tandem from a 52 to a 55 and took it for a test ride. Adds 4-5 mph to the top end on slightly downhill sections before we spin out out gears. Nice. Something's making a funky noise when we're in the 55-11...I think it's the front derailleur rubbing, but can't be sure since we only hear it at >30mph and the wind noise makes it hard to identify.

Stopped along the way, helped an old(er) lady change her flat tire. Felt like a boy scout doing my good deed for the day.

I'm determined to stay up until 11. If I can stay up until 11 and then sleep until 6 I may finally feel normal for a day.

Getting my first professional pedicure tonight! Watch for photos on flickr.