MDot Florida

Oh my gosh, Ironman Florida is exactly one month away!!!! Curt took the past week off for longer training periods. In between eating and sleeping, he swam 1200 meters (about 7.4 miles), biked 304 miles, and ran 61 miles! And for the uninitiated, look at the "M" in the "Ironman" banner above. The dot is for the "I" in Ironman. A lot of athletes will get an MDot tattoo after they complete their first Ironman. So if you ever see one you'll know what it is and not confuse it for the Minnesota basketball team or something. :)

We have found a gorgeous place right on the beach in Panama City to share with Marc and Diana. Click on this link to see our place AND our view!. It is within walking distance to the race. Marc finished his first Ironman this year in June at Coer d'Alene. They know several people competing so they are going just to watch and cheer everyone on. Can you say cowbell? We also have room for another competitor, John, and his wife. John works with Curt.

So, I'm not sure why but Curt entered us as another relay team in the Suncoast Triathlon on October 25 - a week before his Ironman competition. OMG! Can you say break a leg? He'll do the swim and run again while I do the bike. It's going to be an experience because this will be my first time on the road with clip-in pedals. I've only been using them for a couple of months now but I never ride on the road. So new bike shoes but In These Shoes, I don't think so...

I'm headed to NY on Friday and staying through Monday. If anyone sees a 2003 anniversary red corvette on the road with a bike rack, give me a ring on my cell phone!

Have Kayak, Will Travel

The temperatures are dropping in Tampa (yeah, we're in the 80s now!) and fall is in the air. You might think the 90s is perfect beach weather but it's hard to say. Yesterday was one of the most perfect days I've ever spent at the beach. Diana and I were going to Caladesi Island because, well, because, we're beach snobs. It's $9.00 to take the ferry but worth every penny when you consider how pristine the beach is and how the price of the ferry keeps most people away. Since Honeymoon Island is where the ferry leaves from and you can go there for free, there will always be crowds at Honeymoon. Unfortunately, our timing was off and when we got there at 2, the ferry was at capacity and the next ferry wasn't leaving until 3. What to do. An hour is an awfully long time to wait so we decided, grudgingly, to go to Honeymoon Island. We ate our lunch there and I couldn't help remark, as I often do when all seems just right with the world, "I wonder what the poor people are doing." Diana deadpanned to just look over my shoulder. OMG. There were so many people there (too many) and the beach was full of rocks, even in the water. We were outta there. We decided to rent a kayak and paddle over to Caladesi but the funniest part was that the 3pm ferry crossed us on our way! So here's the view from land before we head out. And next is the view from Caladesi from the point where we launched. We spent the afternoon shelling and reinacting the SNL skit with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler until we had totally cracked each other up.

There are always men waiting for us where ever we go. Okay, okay, it's the owner and an employee but we agreed to take a picture of them with their website on the sign. I didn't pose them - they came up with that all on their own!! And, yes, we did let the sun go down on us in the Gulf of Mexico at 7:50pm last night.

Birthday Tri, TP, and a Plate of Potatoes

For the past three years, Curt has done the Sand Key Triathlon which falls either right on or around his birthday. He has placed 4th, 2nd, and 3rd in his division. Diana and I helped provided kayak support on a goregous morning today in the Gulf of Mexico while Marc was on the sidelines providing athlete support (Go, Tracy!!). Curt's arch nemesis, Tracy Parker, was on hand and in fine form. She always gets in before Curt. She has been ranked by Athlinks.com as the one rival who beats him the most and the most convincingly. This drives him wild. It's always only by a few minutes (and she's 10 years younger) but nobody likes getting chicked (overtaken by a girl). Here's her profile picture from Athlinks.com.




Next is a picture of one of the two bridges the racers ride over in Clearwater. You will have to double click the image for a closer look because I took it at quite a distance.












The next picture is of me with Sarah Palin cropped out. Now I know everyone else is cropping her in but I can't have that gun-toting beauty queen stealing all my attention. No MLFs on my blog!









Here's Curt running after Tracy has already gone by! Unfortunately my camera setting is usually on "auto" so action shots don't come out very clear.




This year's cake was pretty funny. It showed a biker down after a squirrel got caught in the spokes. You can't really tell from the picture but that little brown spot to the right of the biker's head is the squirrel's head. His body is scattered across the cake. I wonder whose nutty idea that was!!





And then it was out to breakfast at a little Italian place in Clearwater. I'm notta kidding. It's da kinda place where da waiters get slapped around if they aren't providing a gooda service. Anyhow, Curt didn't want his potatoes...

Lightning Twice

This post is about a friend I made when I started blogging. Marc told me I should do an internet search for Scrabble players as a way of looking for something in common with someone and that's how I found Zack Hample. He is a most amazing guy even before he did what he just did! Please click on his name to read the post when I first met him.

In two consecutive nights at Yankee games this week, Zack caught two home run balls. You HAVE to watch this video: http://www.zackhample.com/baseball_collection/homers/johnny_damon.mpg. Be sure to listen to the commentators. They're talking about this play being better than the play the night before. And they're talking about Zack's play - not Johnny Damon's play!! He is an internet sensation, I tell ya...

And if you're still interested in learning more about this incredible guy, check out: http://snaggingbaseballs.mlblogs.com/

I'm in the Coast Guard (Auxiliary) Now, I'm not behind the plow...

It all started this summer when my brother, Tim, told me that I would need a certificate stating I took an 8-hour boating safety course. It is required in NYS in order to operate a PWC (personal water craft). So I took the course. Little did I realize how interested I would be. The course was taught by the Coast Guard Auxiliary and, of course, they take a moment or two to recruit new members. They also offered a more in-depth course this fall which I am currently taking. AND I enrolled on Saturday to become a member. The Coast Guard, as well as the Coast Guard Auxiliary fall under the Department of Homeland Security. There are many opportunities in the USCG Auxiliary and I chose patrols. When we first moved to Tampa in 2001 and took our first cruise, I immediately applied to Carnival for an accounting position. I loved being out to sea.

So here I am being fingerprinted. The FBI will do a background check. It's the real deal. I will have to purchase uniforms. In order to qualify for the boat crew, I have to complete 4 online courses and I finished my first one over the weekend (see certificate). Questions?

Culture Club

Tonight was the season premiere of "Blackbird" at Jobsite Theater. Not only was it the opening of the play but it was the opening of Jobsite's 10th season. AND I am a season ticket holder along with my good friend, Tom, who also doubles as my Scrabble partner. What I love about this venue is that it is small, cozy, and affordable! The configuration of the stage determines how many seats in the house. Tonight there were 115 seats. This playhouse is a jewel. We bought season tickets for 117.60 (six shows). What a bargain.

"Blackbird" was written by David Harrower who hails from Scotland. The play is loosely based on a true story about a former US Marine who abducted a 12-year-old British girl in 2003. He spent four and a half years in jail before being deported back to the USA and sentenced to another jail term in April of this year. The Marine was 32 years old at the time. The play takes a further step. The Marine is out of jail now and the girl visits him 15 years later. I don't want to provide any spoilers so suffice it to say the play was excellent as was the talent. I had expressed my hesitancy to see all the plays on opening night thinking that they wouldn't have all the kinks worked out. I couldn't have been more wrong.

Tom and I are looking forward to "The History of the Devil" by Clive Barker (Oct 30-Nov 16), "Picasso at the Lapin Agile" by Steve Martin (Jan 8-25), "The Leiutenant of Inishmore" by Martin McDonagh (Mar19-Apr 5), "Rabbit Hole" by David Lindsay Abzire (June 4-21), and Pericles (book by Niel Gobioff & Shawn Paonessa) showing Aug 6-23. Tonight's performance runs through Sept 28.

I wore all black for tonight's performance. I can't wait to shop for "The History of the Devil!" We discussed the title of the play on the way home. Since Tom knew the lyrics to "Blackbird" by the Beatles, it all started to make sense. See if you don't agree...

Blackbird singing in the dead of night

Take these broken wings and learn to fly

All your life you were only waiting for this moment to arise

Blackbird singing in the dead of night

Take these sunken eyes and learn to see

All your life you were only waiting for this moment to be free

Blackbird fly Blackbird fly into the light of the dark black night

Top, pants, and shoes are all from Deborah Kent's. Everybody gets a plug tonight!