My pick for Woman of the Month..................the stunning Eva Mendez
copyright K.Markus

Al Gore........................The dude jinx'd us !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This prolonged winter is really too much. Spent almost all of last week sick. I never get sick,but I happened to miss my stack of vitamins + airborne one night after a hard bike/run brick, so I'm sure my Immune system was depressed.........bam ! woke up the following morning with a tight throat and it kinda went south from there.

Probably good timing though, as I should have still been taking it easy post-marathon, instead I was cranking up the boost a wee bit. The end result is I now feel very fresh and most likely have absorbed all the fitness gains from this past 3 weeks.

Lots of peeps at Boston.

My good friend a training partner missed his goal by quite a bit, 3:03 in 06 , 3:16 this time around.
He said it really wasn't the ideal day, but it wasn't really all that bad either.
FWIW, he's just been racing a crap load since last Nov.

Let me see.......he did the 35 mile Ultra in NYC( 9:10 pace top 15 finisher), NYC marathon also 3:07, Hyannis Marathon w/ me a few months ago, 1/2 marathon in NYC, Ocean Drive Marathon w/ me last month then Boston a few days ago. The guy can't say NO to a race .

Plus, he swims 25-30K/week !!!!!!!!!!!!!

I told him he's going to give up some speed due to all the endurance he's building. He's actually OK with it, as he's gearing up for some ultra swims this year and perhaps a channel crossing.

We've talked a lot in length about our 3 year plans.

I told him that once I go sub 14 in Ironman I'll probably walk away from it. My next quest is to BQ. It might take me a few years, but I'm determined to go there.

To do that , I would have to focus on just running.

Of the 3 on my ALL TIME lists I've already crossed off doing an Ironman. The only reason I'm doing it again is because I can do better than last year. I'm also realistic and know my limitations. There's a 13+ hr Ironman in me..........I'm going to get it done ! but thats it. My qouta of fulfilment is good after that.

Next is to do Boston, then finish a 24hr Mountain Bike event solo..

All this while juggling my career ,working on getting my 2nd book published, becoming a better father/husband and human being. IF thats not hard core then give my the 800 # to call.

Things To Share:

-I'm reading Gilead by Mariylenne Robinson . It won the 2004 Pulitzer Prize. So far its one of the most amazing books I've ever read ! She writes like no other.

-Rachel Yamagata- new on my iPod. Amazing ballads. Take the best of Cheryl Crow,Carly Simon, and Bonnie Raitt mix em in a jam session and now you have Rachel Yamagata.

-Walmarts version of Under Armour tights...............Awesome ! 80% cheaper and just as good. Stock up before they stop carrying these, especially the longsleeve ones.

-Best Damn Rice Recipe Period !!!!!!! Mine !

Take 3 cups of Uncle Bens Brown Rice ( parboiled type in box)
add 3.5 cups water
add- 3 tbs of Olive Oil
Sea Salt
add some frozen Collared Greens/ Frozen Corn/
all in a microwave safe dish w/ cover .
Cook in the micro at HIGH setting for 9 mins.

Serve this with some Tilapia fillets or Grilled Salmon and it just rocks !