Longest Swim Ever

So, I bit the bullet last night and signed up for my first ever 5k swim. It's happening September 9th in Chicago and should be a blast; I will be swimming with my boy Dave and a few of his buddies.

I needed some sort of big goal, and with my hip still being out of sorts (though slowly improving), I think this is a good one. I love the open water and my longest swim was part of Ironman more than a decade ago, so this should fit the bill.

Of course, though this seem daunting to the uninitiated, it's a proverbial drop in the bucket compared to what my friend Pablo is planning; a 78 mile crossing of the Sea of Cortez. Words can't describe how gnarly this is, on so many different levels. Pablo has been training in our local pool and I've never seen anyone put in so many hours and such effort. If anyone can make it, it's him.

If you are interested in learning more, check out this article here from our local paper. He's getting set to take off for Mexico pretty soon. Please send good vibes his way.

Summer Plans

Now that Memorial Day has come and gone (and what a good one it was), I guess it's officially Summer. I'm not there in my head quite yet - too busy with work - but I will get there soon enough. Don't have any "formal" plans, but things I am looking forward to include:

-- my annual sojourn East to get the kids prepared for Summer. I really love the Adirondacks in particular in Summer and look forward to going back to Lake George, one of my favorite places in the world
-- our annual Boy's trip to Michigan. Can't talk too much about that one since it's a .. boys trip (ok, I'll break that rule. Here's what we do: eat a ton, drink a ton, tell the same stories over and over, go for an occasional swim and run. That's it. It rules).
--going on the Top Secret camping trip (again, can't talk about it. That's why it's called Top Secret) with a few of the Boys to Yosemite. It's disgraceful that I've lived in California this long and haven't been to Yosemite. Super stoked.
- and last but not least: watch the Olympics. I love the Olympics like nothing else; I can't get enough of it. Swimming, weightlifting, baseball, boxing, triathlon, cycling, track and field - bring it all on. I'm just sorry that the Little Boy is going to be away at camp - would be awesome to watch all of this with him. He's turning into quite the sports enthusiast himself.

Anyway, that's my Summer plan. Would be interesting to hear yours (or woudl be interesting to hear any comment - what's the matter with you all? On that topic - anyone having trouble posting comments? If so, hit me offline - I am curious to know).

Memorial Day

CrossFit. Decorating a float. The pool (always, the pool). Fireworks. Beer. BBQ. Parade. CrossFit. Bar Mitzvah. Amusement Park x 3 days in a row. Trail run. Concert. More BBQ. Maybe one last beer.



The weekend that was.

Holiday Weekend

Happy long holiday weekend, all. This has been one long ass week and a break could not come at a better time. Taking the Little Boy to a Yankee's-A's game tomorrow and beyond that, not sure. Probably some Cross Fitting, swimming, running and who knows what else. Hopefully will even get the Paddle Board out on the Bay. I love that thing but don't use it nearly enough. Maybe even some reading, if there is time; anyone have a good recommendation?

Mount Everest

I've been slightly obsessed with what's been going on on Mount Everest these past few days. If you haven't heard the most recent news, four climbers died over the weekend, making it one of the worst disasters in the history of the mountain. The pictures, which mostly come courtesy of Outside Magazine (who, per usual, have been absolutely killing it with their coverage) have been extraordinary. One picture showed nearly 300 people queued up for a summit push and climbers who have made the descent are starting to say that the traffic is responsible, in part, for several of these deaths.

I think what's happening on that mountain is an absolute joke, bordering on travesty. People who are incapable climbers at worst, amateurs at best are shelling out $60,000 per head for the sole purpose of saying they've climbed the world's highest mountain. To me, that represents everything that's wrong in the world of "sport."

"Vanity" climbing has always struck me as a bit of a joke but it's gone well beyond that. Base camp has been desecrated with litter and people are not just dying but endangering the lives of others. I imagine Sir Edmund Hilary is doing 180's in his grave.

I'm not sure what, exactly, can be done to bring about an end to this nonsense but I think something has to give.  Will be interesting to see Outside's perspective on the matter as the story takes shape over the next few months.

All I can say is that if the next 300 or so who are lined up to climb really want to impress, maybe they should focus their attention on an adjoining peak; a K2, Lhotse or Annapurna. They might not be tallest, which might not necessarily resonate in today's society, where the urgency always seems directed towards the "biggest and best" but without question, those are real climber's peaks.

Damn Yankees

I'm not exactly certain what's going on, but I do know that the Yankees season is in serious jeopardy if they don't get their act together. Losing 6 of their last 7 and getting shut out by the Royals at home? Unacceptable.

The problem, as has been the case for the past several years, is their pitching. Kuroda's last few outings have been terrible. I think there is enough evidence to say that Hughes isn't all that good. I'm concerned that hitters have figured out Nova. Which leaves us with CC and ... Andy Pettite. I'd feel better about that if we were looking at the year 2004.

Also, Tex needs to wake up and Arod needs to find some power. We are .500 at the end of May. ALl is not lost yet but they need to wake up soon. And Girardi better sound the wake up call or he will soon find himself replaced by Donnie Baseball (I'm writing this post form Los Angeles .. and I can tell you that they love Mattingly in these parts).

Ok, diatribe over.

Let's Go, Yankees!

Visit with the Parents

Well, the parental units have departed. Hope they agree that a good time was had by all - was sorry to see them go. We had our usual fun-filled weekend that included:

-- a Giant's game with the Little Boy

-- a swim meet

-- Little Boy baseball game

-- swimming and tennis

And who knows what else - we are always on the go doing something. 

Highlight for me though running with the boy from Mill Valley to Stinson beach via the famous Dipsea trail. It was a 7.2 mile run and he kicked ass - arguably faster than me. 

The other highlight was the solar eclipse. Any of you see that? We saw it with special goggles and it was a site to behold. One of the coolest things I've ever seen; the kids and I were absolutely mesmerized.