Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Back from the dead (actually, the comatose), this post is kind of Erie

Good morning!

Sorry for my unscheduled absence yesterday. I spent the day recuperating from a long weekend spent driving. It was a weekend I know I'll never forget, and I'd like to share a bit of it with you today.

Friday Night - Rachelle and BU Women's hockey were in Pennsylvania at the site of the Women's frozen Four, taking on Cornell. After a balanced first period, BU took command and won 4-1. Much celebration ensued, which included me jumping around and screaming in my living room. It also meant I would be making the long trek out to Erie, PA to watch BU take on Wisconsin in the National Championship game.

Saturday Morning - The reason I wasn't in Erie for the whole weekend, is that the World Multisport Expo was in Boston on Saturday AM. Wheelworks had a booth, and the Multisport team helps staff the booth to get the word out about the team, and to recruit members. My shift was from 11-12:30, which gave me time to explore the show, and to help setup. The show was an unmitigated success, from both a personal and a team perspective.

Personally, I found some nice stuff for really cheap prices including some training gear for Rach and I that were just $5 each for high quality tops and bottoms. Plus, I found a pair of the shoes Ive been wearing recently for $50. And I won a couple prizes in a raffle put on by the regional collegiate triathlon association, including a nutrition sample pack from GU and Fluid and 2 gift cards for $25 each to a bike shop right down the road from my house.

From a team perspective, we had quite a few new members who are looking to sign up, and who attended the social held following the Multisport Expo. I missed that because at that point I was somewhere near Albany, New York on my way to Erie. But I heard it was well attended, and we'll probably be adding new members.

Saturday Night - When I finally got to Erie, I got to see Rach and my father-in-law who was my roommate-in-law for the night, and also an old friend. My friend Leigh is a women's/girls hockey coach and came to town to help with coaching a couple of seminars. I haven't seen her in a few years, and it was really great to get to spend an hour or so catching up. Plus, whenever I see my wife after a few days, things are always made better. All that and a couple beers made the 8 hour drive ok.

Sunday - I could talk about how I got up in the morning and did a 10 minute ultra hard effort on the exercise bike at the hotel, or that Rach's dad and I went on an adventure and broke the law to take a look at some train engines at the GE Transportation plant in Erie, or that for a $4 buffet, breakfast at the hotel was really good. Instead, I just want to say how proud I was of the BU women for their outstanding season. I am so fortunate to be married to Rachelle, and the wonderful women of BU Women's hockey.

All of these girls, their families and the coaches really took us in and made us feel welcome and part of the family. While they fell just short of a national championship, losing 4-1 to Wisconsin on Sunday afternoon, they had a tremendous season with a very young team. They played hard, and did things the right way along the way, and can hold their heads high. Where ever we wind up after Rachelle graduates in the spring, I know that this is a chapter in our life that we will always be thankful for. Plus, we now have a very cool trophy on our mantle that each member of the second place team received. I'm sure Rach will blog more in depth about this weekend, and I'll link to it when sher does.

Sunday Night/Monday Morning - After the game, I joined the team for dinner, and then headed out for what wound up being a 12 hour drive back to Boston. It took me 3 1/2 hours longer to get back even though I was driving in the middle of the night. There are a lot more construction areas, and what I can only assume was an accident as I waiting on I-90 for 2 hours. yech. I got home at 6:30 AM, having left at 7:15 PM the night before. Not fun.

Monday Night -  After a lot of sleep and a little walking around to get some of that sitting out, I finally signed up for a training plan. I picked a 13 week half-ironman plan from Training Peaks, because with their Swimsense integration now complete, I can import every workout I do into Training Peaks, and have data and metrics afterwards to track my progress.

Tonight we run and swim.

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