Sandy's Power

Yesterday, I went on a 8+ mile run through Plainfield, Scotch Plains, Edison, and South Plainfield for two reasons: relieve the cabin fever and to see the damage nearby.  The trip was pretty breathtaking. 

Unless a storm like this hits every year (which is possible..... Oh, God, Al Gore may be right),  I may never experience a run like this ever again.  I primarily run on roads, unless of course, if I go to trails.
 
Today, however, running on the streets was pretty much a trail run dodging branches, tree limbs, a massive amount of leaves, power line poles, and of course, trees.  Well, take out the power line poles and you have a trail run.  It was crazy though.  It was so frequent to see power lines on the road, it felt weird when I didn't see one in a quarter mile. 

The incredible and scary thing is, all of this was within a three mile radius from my home.  Easily, this could have happened to me but it didn't and that is something to celebrate. Yes, I know there aren't as many trees on my street compared to Plainfield and Scotch Plains but it just makes you thankful for things breaking your way. 

We, as a socitey always complain about the negative (human nature) but we never celebrate the small (or in this case, big) victories that occur in our life.  I go on facebook and must of my friends are complaining about losing power.  It's really not that big of deal.  If anyone was that concerned about losing the ability to go on their laptop or Ipad, they would have purchased a generator after Hurricane Irene (totally indefensible if you didn't).  Plus, if any of these people would go to a store, restuarant or bar and watch the news, they will see that the south side of Staten Island is almost completely gone, Manhattan is a mess, 20,000 people are STILL stranded in Hoboken, and the Jersey Shore will never be the same.

Newsflash: the storm isn't over.  The south side of Sandy carried the heavy rainfall.  If that rain goes into the Delaware water basin (which it is doing right now), where do you think it will outlet to? 

It's on the tip of your tongue but your afraid to say it... Go On.... The Delaware River

It will flood everything and destroy anything in it's path on both the PA and NJ side. 

It's Science...

So please be thankful for what or what didn't occur instead of complaining.

Where was I?

After finishing Ironman Wales a few weeks ago, it's time to get back into the thick of things.  I have started training again but not at the level I was.  You have to give your body some time off.  It's an extremely tough thing to ask of yourself to sustain the level of Ironman intensity when training. 

The four week layoff I took off after the ironman was the first time I haven't done anything in the endurance game in 2 1/2 years.  It feels pretty weird.  My mind and body were on Cloud 9 during the break but during the tail end, I started to drive myself crazy.  I started to get impatient and moody, it's very similar to drug users when they go through withdrawal after they stop using.  That's the weird thing about long distance competitors, primitively, you are no different than a drug user.  You need a fix.  You need an escape.  And only a certain level of masochism will suffice the sense of itchiness your body creates when you don't get the necessary release. 

Therefore, I started where I left off, running, swimming, biking, and doing core exercises to stay in shape.  I just really want to stay in Olympic shape until I start serious training in February.  I have the most demanding race schedule in my short triathlon career coming up and I have to be in peak position.  I want to start getting sponsored and approach part time professional level but it's going to take some hard work, luck, and determination.

This will not only help myself but the foundation.  The better I get, the better the foundation gets.  So, there is really only one option.  Do better