Keep checking back, I should have this thing updated sometime over the weekend. I'm sure you all want to hear about my Mardi Gras experiences. I've been quite busy so I haven't had time to tell those tales. I do have time to tell them now but I am way to tired. Looks like I'll be sleeping by 8:45 tonight. I'll be getting up at 4:30 to hit the pool in the morning. Ah yes, this life of mine, 'tis the battle i love.

I will tell you this though, I went to an Indian(as in India) restaurant for dinner tonight, it seems that I do like Indian food that doesn't have much curry. Now I know.

a weekly update

Well it’s been a week or so since I updated so I thought I would give you an update as to my goings on.

Triathlon training is going well so far. The swimming is getting much better but I have this click in my left shoulder and after many clicks it starts to ache. I’m sure I take several hundred strokes per workout. That equals a lot of clicks. Thus, my left shoulder is very sore today. I’m pretty sure that I’m going to need to have someone look at it eventually. But, I have found that I can modify the stroke on my left arm and avoid the click. It just creates a stroke that is much different than the one I do with my right. I don’t know if it throws off my balance or efficiency but it doesn’t hurt and that works for me.

The cycling is going well. I invested in the padded shorts. Whoever invented those things was a genius. The only down side is that I feel like I’m walking around wearing a diaper. Not Cool!

Oddly enough, running is the hardest part. I’m not really enjoying the running right now, probably because the other stuff is new and exciting. But running is my old standby and my true love. The passion will return when the excitement of the new stuff wears off, I hope.

Last weekend was a good weekend. I was much busier than I anticipated. Dinner Friday night was awesome, pork tenderloin, green beans, and mashed potatoes. Saturday, I thought I would be hanging out around the house for most of the day but I ended up cycling in the morning for 80 minutes and went running at the LSU lake with a friend around 4. Steven and I hit Brew-bachers for lunch, my belly was quite full. It’s probably good that I had 2 workouts. Sunday was good too. A little family/parade time in Slidell. Of course someone had to bring fried chicken. Yes, it was good. But I limited myself to 2 pieces. But I did have 5 brownies.

I feel a little guilty that I was not home more. Luckily the dogs have each other to entertain themselves. Nothing beats coming home and having those 2 sweet angels jumping all around with there tails wagging happy to see me. I gotta get a camera so I can post some new pics, they are the most awesome dogs ever!

This week at school is one that I have been looking forward to for a while now. We are studying Supreme Court Cases. I find this stuff to be very exciting, almost as exciting as the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Wednesday and Thursday should be good. The kids have wanted a debate for a while now, and now they get it. Among the other cases we will mention I am going to let them discuss Roe v. Wade for a few minutes. Sparks will fly, that’s why were going to do it last. Hopefully time will run out before we get there.

In other good news, I got my taxes done and don’t owe anything, Yea! I’m getting a little back. I think I’m going to spend it all on frivolous things to stimulate the economy, any suggestions? And no, personal checks to you do not count.

Another movie review

I went to see the movie "Taken" tonight. I thought it was pretty good. I wouldn't put it in the great category but it was very good. I don't know exactly what I was expecting but it didn't meet my expectations. But again, It was good, worth the price of admission but I probably wouldn't go twice. Looking back on what I just typed, I think it's safe to say I'll never work as a movie critic.

On the training front. I did my first workout in the pool yesterday. 40 laps=1000 yards. In the beginning it was a bit awkward but by the end of the workout I figured a few things out. I slowed down, got into a rhythm and controlled my breathing. It got better, I didn't drown. The good news is that I swam 1000 yards(924 meters). The race in April has an 800 meter swim, so it seems that I could make it. The problem is that yesterday I stopped after every 50 yards. Stringing the laps together is definitely gonna take some work and effort.

Today I came home and got on the bike. I rode for an hour(roughly 13 miles) and felt good at the end. The race is 18 miles so I'm very confident that the cycling part of the race wont be a problem. The trick is definitely gonna be surviving the swim. Tomorrow I'm supposed to run for 25 minutes. I'll probably double that. I feel like running is my thing, the part of the race where I can have the most success. Also, 25 minutes just doesn't feel like much to me right now. But I don't want to push to hard. I'm trying to progress slowly and steadily so I don't burn out. It seems like the right thing to do.

That's all I had for today. I hope you all are doing well, I'll holla atcha lata. Scott.

Down the Bayou, Over the River and Through the Woods

Down the Bayou
Well, I did not really go down the bayou but I did do a little Cajun dancing Friday night. Thursday night I got some waltz and two-step lessons. Friday night I went to Boutin's. It's a Cajun restaurant here in Capital City. The great thing is that Thurs-Sun night they have a live Cajun band playing and a large dance floor in the middle of the place. I put my skills to work. I'm not a great dancer but luckily no one got hurt. Luckily my legs finally felt rested from last weeks marathon, 'bout time. I also recommend the blackened alligator, DELICIOUS!

Saturday
It was a good day. I took the kids(dogs) to the Dog park for a couple of hours. It was absolutely gorgeous outside and there were tons of dogs there. Lily is getting more social, she ALMOST plays with other dogs, almost. Sadie on the other hand will play with anyone. She does not discriminate. She played with a Dachshund and 5 minutes later became best buds with a great Dane. I gotta get a camera, Sadie and the Dane were hilarious. Once we got home we kicked it around the house for a while before I headed out to the movies. "The Wrestler" is definitely a guy movie. Ladies, you may enjoy it but if there is another option I would take it. Guys, you gotta see it. You can thank me later.

Over the river and through the woods
Today I got up early and headed to "The Country" to spend some time with my Grandmother, who is completely awesome. One of my cousins is currently living with her(because she goes to college to get more knowledge) and the 3 of us went to church and then out to eat. I absolutely loved it. My Grandmother never ceases to amaze me and make me laugh. I am 34 now and today is the 1st time I ever remember hearing my Grandmother sing. She was singing the hymns at church and it dawned on me that I had never heard her sing before. It was one of the sweetest sounds I have ever heard. I will never forget today or the sound of my Grandmother singing. It makes me smile just thinking of it.

Then we went to lunch. Catfish topped with Crawfish Etoufee(A-2-Fay). Quite tasty, but not as the delicious as the seafood and spinach dip, Amazing! Then we headed back to her house and sat and talked for a while. My Lil' cousin is great, I don't know how to describe her but to say she's great(sorry I couldn't think of anything better than that).

Then it was back to the house. I did my first run since the marathon today. 30 minutes worth, or about 2.75 miles. It felt good. Tomorrow I start my training for the triathlon. After work its off to the Y to do some laps in the pool. I know it's gonna kill me, but I can't wait.

It was a pretty full weekend. But not a stressful weekend.

I feel good about things right now. Not great yet, but definitely good. The Sun was definitely shining this weekend, in so many ways.


Hopefully you got the over the river and through the woods(to grandmothers house we go) joke. I'm going to get a camera soon, it's been a while since I've put up any pics of Sadie and Lily. I know how you all look forward to pictures of those 2.

The Next Big Thing

So here I am, just days after completing my first marathon. I'm still a little sore but I'm already looking ahead. I have decided to do the 16Th annual Louisiana Triathlon in New Roads, Louisiana on April 18Th. This race consists of a half mile swim(800 meters), 18 mile cycle, and a 3.1 mile run. This will be my first Try at a Tri(my attempt at humor). I am super excited. Ive got a little less than 2 1/2 months to get ready.

I joined the local YMCA today so that I can start training for the swimming portion of the race. I think that will be the most difficult part. The "Y" also has spin classes which I can use as an alternative to riding my bike around Capital City.

I'm not going to start any training until Monday. I'm giving my body time to recover from the marathon. But I am excited about training for three events at once. I think it will be good because I wont be bored because I'll be doing something different every day. We'll see.

Well, I just wanted to let you all know what I was up to. I'll be chillaxin' for a couple more days but come Monday it's back to work. Who knows, this could be the summer of the 6 pack, HA!

My First Marathon

All the training seems to have paid off. About 6 months ago I decided that I wanted to run a marathon. I had several reasons for wanting to do it but mostly I wanted to see how far I could go(as most of you know I tend to go too far). Well, I didn't go too far yesterday, I went just far enough. The months of training paid off as I finished the New Orleans Mardi Gras Marathon in an official time of 4:58:35. My goal was to finish under 5 hours. Well, let me back up, my goal was to FINISH. My second goal was to finish under 5 hours. I finished with a minute and 25 seconds to spare. Yea Me!

I ran with the 5 hour pace group. Katherine our leader(the lady carrying the sign in the pictures) was great. She kept us motivated, entertained, and maintained an even pace. I don't think I would have been as successful without her, and her running skirt(inside joke).

I slept very little Saturday night. I was up at 4:45, made it downtown at 6:15. the race started at 7AM. My only warm up was some stretching. I knew my body would warm up over the first 2-3 miles, and it did. The 1st 2 miles hurt as my body woke up. As I passed mile 3(picture below) I starting feeling loose. I shed my long sleeve shirt and grabbed my 1st bottle of Gatorade from one of my support crew(newly dubbed "Team Pegasus"). Notice that I am smiling in this picture.

We made our way up St. Charles Ave to Audubon Park. I love Audubon park. It's a special place to me. As I ran around the park I couldn't help but think about the time Sadie jumped into the fountain there, makes me laugh every time. The picture below is at mile 8.5. I was feeling really good at this point, even high-fiving my peeps. Notice that I am running with a group of people. at this point there were probably 50 of us in the group(that's Katherine carrying the sign).I made it to the half way point in 2 hours 29 minutes. We were right on pace. We lost most of our group at the halfway point because most of the people were doing the half marathon. Our group shrank to about 15-20. Halfway through (13.1 miles)and I felt really good. This is where I made my one pit stop, a little to much Gatorade perhaps.

We then headed down towards City park, which again makes me think of the time Sadie jumped in the lagoon there, that makes me laugh too. I was feeling good when we reached the park. At about mile 16 I started to feel a little pain. Mile 18 I started to hurt. I carried that hurt with me the rest of the way. I stopped for a minute at mile 20 to stretch for a minute. It's OK, that was a planned stop. I got fluids and gel from Crawford and Bern and spent the next mile catching up to the ever shrinking 5 hour group. I caught them at mile 21.

The picture below is at mile 22. The group is much smaller now. Everyone was hurting here but everyone was being really positive. One of the things that I enjoyed was the camaraderie that developed. People who had never seen each other before were constantly encouraging new friends. It was great to see people supporting each other like this. It made a big difference in my day. Had I done this alone I may have finished, but there is no way I would have finished under 5 hours. At this point every part of my body was hurting but I had decided that there was no way in hell that i would stop. At mile 24 we were down to a group of 3. Our fearless leader, me, and the lady with the doo-rag(I don't remember her name). But doo-rag began to fade a bit. So, It was just the 2 of us as we reached mile 25. Katherine said she was gonna walk through the last water station to help doo-rag. She told me that if I was feeling good that I should just keep running to the finish. I said OK(that's all the words I had energy to muster). Below is me, alone, just after mile 25. Here I had one mile to go. I spent the last mile thinking about everything I have been through in the last couple months. I thought about the highs and lows. I thought about the brightness of the future and what it will bring. I thought about all of the hard work and training I put into this race. I thought about the commitment I made and how, even though every step hurt, I was glad that I was doing this.


Then, about a half mile from the finish, I didn't notice the pain anymore(but believe me, it was there). All I could think about was me and the rapidly approaching finish line. I knew I was going to finish. The thought of finishing what I started 6 months ago was almost overwhelming. From running 3 miles a few months ago, to 26.2 yesterday was an amazing thought. To know that the farthest I had ever run was 20 miles a few weeks ago to 6 more than that in the race was an awesome thought. I looked down at my watch, looked up to see how close I was to the Superdome, looked at my watch again then said to myself, "i got this". I knew I was getting close to going under 5 hours, I thought I needed to pick up my pace just a little to make sure. In my head I could feel that I was pushing harder but my body didn't seem to be moving any faster. About a quarter mile to the finish I could finally tell I was moving faster As I approached the finish The PA announcer announced my name, I wasn't expecting that, and that's when I knew I was there. I ran across the line and smiled for the first time in miles. I bowed my head and some guy put my finishers medal on me.

Then I stumbled around for a few minutes. I congratulated some of the people who I ran with, some finished ahead of me others behind, and thanked Katherine for her help.

I thought to myself how in many ways I was glad I crossed the line by myself. I thought how I was glad that my support team hadn't made it to the finish line in time to see me cross. I could not have made through the race with out them and it would have been great to have them there yelling for me at the end, but this race was a very personal quest and achievement. I did this for me and now I know what I can do. I know that I can handle the tough times. I know that i can continue on through the pain because there is joy at the end. I learned a lot yesterday.

So I finished my first marathon yesterday. 4 hours, 58minutes,35 seconds.
Maybe I'll do another one some time, we'll see .

THANK YOU
Thank you to my race day support team and to all of you who have been sending me emails and texts.

Special thanks to Crawford and Bern, Having you there was awesome. good work on the signs. my favorite was the one about Sadie chasing the Squirrel.

Uncle Brian- Thanks for coming in, I really appreciate it. You can run with me next year.

Aunt Wanda- It was a surprise to see you and it really picked up my spirits to see you.

Elizabeth- It always makes me smile to see you, I'm glad you came.

Steve- you might have been the loudest of the group, but that wouldn't surprise anyone who knows you. You are a great brother and I really appreciate you being there.

Tom- Thanks for not falling asleep during the race

Mom- Thanks for being there, as you always are. What else can I say

Special thanks to my training partners Sadie and Lily for getting me through those tough training runs.

And finally, Thanks K, for all the times you believed in me and told that I could do anything. Thank You!

Drums please!

I did it! the goal was to do it in less than 5 hours. I did it in 4 hours 58 minutes and 35 seconds. I'll write the full story tonight, after the SuperBowl, or tomorrow morning. But The good news is in, I DID IT!