Balancing a Triathlon and a Family

2011

2011-12-31T10:24:00.001-07:00

Sayonara 2011. I hope most had a good one. 2012 WILL be better.

Trucked

2011-11-06T15:42:00.001-07:00

31 hours travel time, door to door. Always a fun excursion. 1 Celcius vs. 12 Celcius.

Time to take care of unfinished business.

Keep trucking on

2011-10-15T11:26:00.004-06:00

Flight count for the year is at 50 for 50. Yippee. Glad it's 100%

Did an analysis of the days I have been out of the country YTD, a nice round 187 days, by the end it should be 202. Next year I plan for a hundred or less.

Running is back on. Since my 1:17:48 10 miler last weekend (and a slight jaunt in between) I decided I better pull up my trousers and start adding the mileage. Yesterday was 10.1 and today was 11.1 in 1:20:25 and 1:27:18 respectively. My goal goal for year end is to accumulate 1000 miles, which now I am at 641.4 which means I have to find 4.781 miles per day, which would include my trip out of the country again. I will just have to put the efforts in.

Not too sure what next year has in store race wise. I would like to do some pretty silly things but I will keep them to myself right now. No Ironmans as I cannot commit to the biking and swimming.

Have a great weekend!

2011 Army Ten Miler Shadow Run

2011-10-05T12:14:00.000-06:00

Kandahar...

Finished in 1:17:48...

Happy with the time with little to no training. Who knows what's next???

Happy Oct 1

2011-09-30T23:37:00.002-06:00

Finally received my bag 5 days later.

I signed up for the Army Ten-Miler Shadow Run tomorrow. My guess is that they call it a Shadow Run because it starts at 0430. I am not setting any expectations for this gig. Usually I would be a little optimistic on this and peg it at 70 minutes. Given that I have run 36.2 miles in September and 40.7 in August, I will throw 78 minutes out there.

Will follow up tomorrow afternoon with how that pans out, hopefully I don't wreck nothing.

I have not stayed away from exercise though. My staff have managed to swindle me in going to Zumba with them. Yep. Trev with two left feet and zip for coordination. Hard enough for me to put one foot in front of another for 100,000 steps let alone actually having to place my foot in any strategic movement.

Flying

2011-09-24T22:12:00.003-06:00

So far this year I have taken 43 take-offs (much more with stops on the way without deplaning) and thankfully 43 landings.

I arrived yesterday and mysteriously my luggage is 10,000 miles away in Chicago still.

Not sure if it will arrive before I leave on the 6th but I guess that will be a flip of a coin.

I hope all are well!

Kids 1st Day - 2011

2011-09-07T07:16:00.002-06:00

IMCAD 2011

2011-08-27T23:43:00.003-06:00

Good luck to all the Ironman Canada Athletes tomorrow.

If there are any spots open on Monday noon it looks like I am in at the moment but lots can change in the next 36 hours plus that darned 702 USD entry fee.

I will be there in Spirit but for now be enjoying at 26c at home with 2 brand new, broken compressor air conditioning units... Ick.

Giver

RHCP

2011-08-18T19:56:00.004-06:00

Only 12 more days until the new RHCP album drops. Wow, been a while.

"Who knew that putting together a guy with a mustache, a young dude wearing grandpa pants, a flea with blue hair and Will Ferrell you could have the best band in the world?"

Tomorrow starts full bore running, ran Tuesday and things hurt so should be back to normal tomorrow morning and then need to drop that 17.

Looks like I am not going on business next week which I thought a few weeks ago so maybe I will go and sign up for IMC with the boys? I need to figure out next years work schedule in the next few days or I won't be able to commit. Ick... Ugh...

Holidays

2011-08-12T11:49:00.002-06:00

It has been a while since I posted, I have been out of Afghanistan since July 17th and holidays since.

Tonight is the last night abroad, finishing up in Palm Springs and fly home tomorrow.

Going to get back on the train game starting on Sunday morning and will be back on my regular updates.

Till then.

GWN / TdF

2011-07-03T00:13:00.002-06:00

Good luck to the Great White North triathlon folks for today (Especially you Cam).

TdF started yesterday so I will manage to find some distraction.

Kids passed their school, Simon is in Grade 4 and Kamden moved to Grade 5. Next year they will be in a new school so I hope the transition for the both of them from the FFCA charter school into the public system is seamless. The new schools will be in walking distance from the house so I am sure they will enjoy the 10 minute walk instead of the half hour car ride.

Kandahar is hot everyday 42c in the shade and warmer in the sun. Just the way I like it except the dust.

Rubbin's Racin'

2011-06-21T19:12:00.003-06:00

Managed to exchange some yellow paint with a stationary object yesterday. I had to park tight and then to get out was even worse and I had to hurry as tactical vehicles were going to monster truck me over. I guess I cannot harass my staff anymore as my record is not so clean... Ooops.

Ectomorph

2011-06-16T11:09:00.002-06:00

Yesterday was an odd day which brought back a memory from long ago. Years ago my Dad used to call me an ectomorph, probably thought it was funny then as I did not know what it was. Then I turned into an endomorph before shedding those 66 pounds many years ago. Yesterday at the airport some ripped up dude started to talk to me and then called me an endomorph again, wasn't really too sure on how to take it but took it in stride. I haven't run since May 22nd so almost a full month off of fun. I was going to git at her today but recently I have remained sleep deprived so I have opted out. Plus this 43c degree weather here in Kandahar is a titch hot. No reason though, I just need to get a haircut and start busting it out.

I hope all is well.

MK82

2011-06-07T13:25:00.002-06:00

The past few nights someone either got torn a new one or else the military was busy on the range.

They tend to drop these MK82 bombs and you can feel the shock waves pounding on my container. It is such an ominous sound.

Then they decide to rattle off either the M61 Vulcan or GAU-12/U Equalizer on the Spooky/Spectre, just happy I am not on the receiving end of any of those.

Other than that, all is well.

Calgary Marathon 2011 Results

2011-05-29T15:27:00.003-06:00

Wow, here.

Nice job Darryl, Cam and Curtis! Cam, you just about took it from DP this year, looks like you will have to pay up. Darryl, next time I see you I will I fork you over the cash.

Congrats to the others as well.

Deb, great to see the 1:30!

Out of Africa

2011-05-27T19:16:00.001-06:00

I made it out of Africa this morning at 0300 and enroute to Kandahar at 0830 so a bit of a layover, no hotel required.

No running discovered in Africa this go round, I was either too tired, working, or too hot and humid in Djibouti. I guess that makes it for 24 hours a day I was busy, oops. I have an outline and my goals I want to reach in my own running challenge in KAF this go round. Last year I did 226 miles in July so I will try that between June 15 and July 15.

Good luck to my Mates in Calgary running the Marathon this weekend, I would have like to have been there but had this commitment after I registered. Good luck to cdnhollywood whom is running the Ottawa marathon this weekend too!

Addis - KC

2011-05-23T22:47:00.002-06:00

Last night on my flight to Addis from London I met a interesting individual who I want to laugh at but cannot.

He was in the seat next to me and from the get go I thought something was a titch off. During the dinner service he knocked the crap out of the drink cart and the bottle of red spilled all over him. He was a French dude and he took it pretty good except he was explaining to me that he was slightly embarrassed as the red spilled on the spot on your "trousers" where you are not supposed to spill. So internally I was laughing as it totally missed me.

After dinner service he orders a rum and Coke, puts it on the centre console and I said to myself "Nah, can't happen". 5 minutes later the glass was in the air and Trevor was covered in Coke. There are only a few people I know that could be this clutzy so I had to add the Strange Frenchman to my list.

Raining here in transit to Djibouti in 3 hours.

London was uneventful except I was declined into the business lounge for wearing a hat and shorts. I gave them a sob story about 31 hours of flight time and they felt sorry for me and let me enter. That 7.5 hour layover was long but manageable being sleep deprived and all. Djibouti is 38c right now but will be 34 by the time I get there at noonish.

Skipping

2011-05-20T10:19:00.002-06:00

Cam, to answer your question, I will not be attending the Calgary Marathon next weekend as I have to jet this Sunday evening to Africa. I would rather have stayed and ran the race but the meeting I have to attend was limited by the attendee's presence.

That being said, I really am not too sure when the next race will be. I have not really done all to much running as of late. This morning I managed to eek out an 11.5 miler in 1:25:13 so still have a bit of speed left in my legs. With the trip to Africa means more running at sea level whilst being chased by mosquito's, only for 3 days though. Next stop is back to the 'Stan for a longer time to enjoy the 42c everyday.

Sundays

2011-05-15T11:38:00.002-06:00

Back to back Sunday's had me a moderate long run:

May 8:

17.80 Miles - 2:20:30
13.11 Miles - 1:43:52

May 15:

16.10 Miles - 2:06:59
13.11 Miles - 1:43:57

I have been wearing some new shoes (the usual Asic 2150's) but this round it seems to be rubbing on my left big toe and turning it into hamburger. Not sure why as I thought all runners are the same.

Next Sunday I plan on getting a 20 miler in so depending on how the running goes during the week we will see if it is achievable. I am going to see if I can get 90+ miles in 8 days before I am off again (including today).

Nothin'

2011-05-10T18:53:00.002-06:00

Nothing is new these days. Just getting caught up on work, ran a 17.8 miler on the weekend and hanging out with the kids when I can.

Touista Trevor leaves on the 22nd for a while to more hot, sunny places. Only if I had time to work on my tan...

Short Strokes

2011-05-01T12:11:00.002-06:00

Sorting

2011-04-29T20:07:00.003-06:00

After sorting out some issues I decided that I may as well continue on my blog, no matter what, I can always go back and read what I did years or days ago.

Today I was up at 0500 as it was 5k race day. I always told myself that I wouldn't get up that early to run a race, maybe a half marathon but a 5k? It was for Cancer Research UK so no better reason that to bust one out this morning in good ole Kandahar.

All felt good, nothing sore so I pushed it and managed to come in about 8th place or so in 19:34. There are some pretty fast dudes out here and I chatted quick with the winner whom was 43 and finished in 17:45ish I think he said.

Tomorrow was supposed to be a 10k which I was going to shoot for that elusive sub 40 but due to security reasons it has been pushed back to May 6th but unfortunately (or fortunate?) I will be home and have to miss it. There will always be another one around the corner.

Calgary Marathon is at the end of May but it appears that I will forgo it this year as I will be in another "tourist" destination.

Good luck to Jeff and Pieter who will be busting it out at the Big Sur tomorrow. Wish I could have been there but, well, I am 10,000 miles away. Enjoy your day.

Sea to 1,000M

2011-04-16T10:59:00.002-06:00

At lunch today I decided that I best clear my mind a go for a run as it has been a week since the last one of 20 miles. It ended up being 7.8 mile in 58:22 around the Kandahar flight line but I should have probably taken off a little slower as my first mile was 6:48 and I definitely was not at sea level anymore, rather 1,000m. That being said it was tougher than Hawaii but still a good contest all round.

Other than that, that is all that's new. Kids are good and snowing at home while I am in 30c weather with rain today. Things are getting done out here and feels good to see progress.

Home

2011-04-10T09:29:00.002-06:00

We got home from Hawaii Friday at around 23o0 hours, quite a long trip but it was nice to come home. As soon as we opened the house door the kids say "Wow, smells like a show home". Was pretty cool to enter a clean nice smelling house.

Yesterday Simon and I got our hair cut, Simon hadn't had his done since Christmas so it was a little uneven and mine, well, double zero doesn't really get too uneven.

Before that I managed to squeak out another 20 miler in 2:37:21, running at sea level maybe gave me a little bit of an edge to push a little more. I didn't fuel too well on Friday so I would be led to believe that I could have done better had I ate better.

Last night we watched Yogi Bear with the kids while I worked...

Aloha Bag

2011-04-06T13:22:00.003-06:00

Sunday had us swimming with Dolphins at Sealife park. Means that we got lift them, get a couple of kisses, surf on the and get dragged.

Monday had us snorkeling in Hanauma Bay which was okay, just is not the same as SCUBA diving which I prefer.

Yesterday, Tuesday, I surprised the family by taking them on a 1 hour helicopter ride, Simon and I in the front Kamden and Mom were in the back. After about 15 minutes I looked over my left shoulder to see Kamden using the "Aloha Bag". Apparently she filled up two of them over the course of the hour.

Today and tomorrow should be overcast days with Heavy thunderstorms predicted before leaving for home on Friday morning.

McDs

2011-04-01T12:17:00.002-06:00

Nothing like having your finish of your 9.81 mile run at the entrance / exit McDonald's and while you are waiting at the light to cross 4 separate individuals walk out with bags completely full of breakfast "stuffs".

Motivation enough to stay away from that place as not to look like that consuming that crap... Although we did go there for supper late night on Sunday when we arrived in Hawaii so I just contradicted myself...

Haw Why EE

2011-03-30T00:51:00.002-06:00

We arrived here on Sunday night after our 16 hour flight which was almost longer than it takes me to get to Dubai.

Nothing really has occurred which would be a show stopper. Booked something cool for the kids for next April 5th so we will see how they handle that one.

Ran a 9.71 miler this morning around Diamond Head in 1:12:36 so ran well at sea level. Tomorrow will have me run two loops around DH and then back to the other end of Waikiki. Putting my miles into the bank as I will need to draw on them sooner than later.

So that is pretty much it for now, Susan's friends wedding on Friday.

While

2011-03-21T22:25:00.003-06:00

It has been a while since anything has been posted. Not much really all that new here, just plowing through work getting ready to go on holidays to Hawaii over the kids spring break.

Simon is finishing up his indoor soccer and tonight they won 5-2 in City Finals which puts them in contention for the bronze final on Thursday night. They lost 2-6 last week so no gold / silver match.

Kamden and Simon both signed up for outdoor soccer this season but we learned tonight that only 5 girls signed up for U10 so Kamden won't get to play for another season. She really wants to play but not enough sign up.

Both kids are in Piano and getting that done.

Kamden has her dance recital the day of the Calgary Marathon I believe in Airdrie this year and should be an entertaining event. It will be interesting to compare this company to the last few years now that we have moved out of the big city.

Snow seems to keep finding us until end of the weekend which will mean it should start getting warmer as we are leaving here.

Susan has been sick for the past little while with a fever of 102 today. Trooper still came out to watch the kids tonight as I met them at the Soccer Centre.

Got my 18 mile run in on the weekend at 2:25. This Saturday I will go for the 20 and then keep it easy in Hawaii.

Warming up

2011-03-08T19:09:00.003-07:00

After 27 days of no running I decided to lace up after the weekend in Edmonton and see how yesterday would go. I squeaked out a 7.7 mile in 1:00:45 and this morning a 8.2 mile in 1:05:17. Legs kind feel stupid tonight but as we are off to Hawaii in 19 days I need to make sure I shave off my Afghan gut to make sure I can still fit into my banana hammock that I am going to have to dust off.

Calgary Marathon is coming up down the pipe so I may as well begin to train for that too. Who knows if I will have a wretched back or a kinked neck, but that is what makes it fun.

Anyhow, keep on rollin'...

36 hours

2011-03-05T08:35:00.004-07:00

I arrived to the PAX terminal at 1330 on Thursday in Kandahar and made it to Edmonton at 1320 - Friday (11.5 hours time difference) yesterday which puts it around 36 hours door to door. Makes it for a long time without a shower as I did not stay in the hotel for my 10 hour layover in Dubai.

Felt good yesterday jumping in the shower.

Simon had his first game of his soccer Tourney (Tied, 4-4) here in Edmonton and came pretty close to scoring, inches above the goal post. I told him that if he scored I would shave today but since he didn't, well, I guess not. I will though as I cannot give the kids any hugs until it's gone. Here it is pre-shower, no shaving since Jan 22:

Post:

Happy 10th Birthday!

2011-02-25T03:40:00.002-07:00

Happy 10th birthday to our little girl, finally reaching double digits.

Ticking down

2011-02-20T23:28:00.003-07:00

The days are flying by and the days I have remaining away from Canada are lower. Always a good thing.

Simon has a soccer tournament this weekend and apparently they are doing quite well and he has done me proud. Good job little man! Tomorrow they go for the silver medal round so hopefully they will be triumphant. Better to win a medal instead of getting the Participant ribbon / medal that he has gotten up to U8. U10 is competitive so now they get the real stuff.

Seems like it is pretty cold back in Calgary. Here in Kandahar just seems to rain one day, dry out, and then start again. It is windy as heck so the dust is flying around as usual.

Guts finally sorted themselves out after the weird whatever it was last week. Took a while but I would not succumb to it.

Running and an exercise regime really have not been on the top of my priority list list since Djibouti. I brought enough clothes to fill almost a bag but looks like I may not get to use them all. I have really no excuse other than saying that work keeps me busy but if we all said that then no exercise would be had.

Looking forward to Hawaii at the end of March over Spring Break.

Mysterious

2011-02-13T09:53:00.003-07:00

A weird thing happened to me in the past couple of days. After these years of traveling to strange places I have never, ever gotten sick, till yesterday. And it did not even happen from eating the local Afghan culinary delights either. Before I boarded the Emirates flight from Manama, Bahrain to Muscat, Oman, I was in the lounge and decided I was going to have this "stuff". I really don't know what this stuff consisted of but it was pretty good.

Anyhow, upon arrival in Muscat and exiting the gates of the airport, it felt like I was a top of a steep climb in the Tour de France with this narrow walk way before hundreds of people. As I was trying to avoid these creeps I twisted my back. Yep out again. Got to the hotel, woke up in the morning, and that was the start of my journey into he!! of sorts. Let's just say the Immodium has not worked yet and it has been 36 hours since this started. I should market that food stuff as a new diet pill as I was down 12 pounds before I left this morning and it has not stopped.

Dubai tonight, dustbowl tomorrow.
Seeing how big I can get this beard by the time I return on the 5th. Susan and the kids are real fans of it... Not.

Omani Bound

2011-02-10T20:51:00.001-07:00

Flying out from Qatar today to Oman.

Another transiting day....

Doughead

2011-02-09T08:35:00.003-07:00

After my 5 rewarding days and nights in Djibouti I headed back the way I came and had an overnight last night in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Would have been nice if it was for a holiday but not this go round, I had to visit the Canadian Embassy on some Djibouti items.

The next couple of nights are in Doha, Qatar and then I will be off for a few nights elsewhere and then back to the 'Stan.

Running was 4 days straight in Djibouti for 20.96 miles in 2:42:58.

Other than that, things are good.

Djiboutan

2011-02-04T01:58:00.002-07:00

Last night I arrived at dusk in Djibouti, Djibouti, a little place in Africa. I could make jokes but the people here are too nice to make fun of the their city and country. I won't go into too many details other than that I look out the ground floor patio room straight out on the Gulf of Aden. Pretty funky. I will snatch a few pictures when I can but I have plenty of work to get through instead of gallivanting around sightseeing, Safaring (I made that word up) or shopping.

I am here for the better part of a week and then I am off to some other worldly destination that I will share once I arrive.

This morning had me run for the first time since the Dubai marathon two weeks ago. Felt good to finally get up and do some activity. I brought enough clothes to fill an entire duffle bag from Canada so I better use my gear. I did 5k in 24:37 and 10k in 48:36 and 10.93km in 53 minutes.

I better get back to work.

Bizarre

2011-01-29T01:46:00.003-07:00

Last night was the first time I have been in Kandahar and it has rained. Weird hearing it come down last night, bouncing off the tin roof. Somewhat of a soothing sound as it is something different than the Mirage and the F18's which pretty much blow the doors off.

I have yet to run since the Dubai marathon 8 days ago. I brought enough gear to run everyday with a laundry day chucked in every 5 to 8 days or so. Sleeping patterns out here definitely change and I suffer at the hands of a lack of the Sandman which puts a damper on my motivation.

Next week things get messy, I cannot mention now where but I will be off to, but a few places (not in Afghanistan) which are not too touristy. I will provide the details when I can. I will bring a few sets of running gear to see if I can get some miles in in some screwy places to say I have run there. Some associates ask me why I get to go these "fun" places and the answer is "no, I did not draw the short straw". I want to go...

Susan had to opt out of the running challenge as has Cam. Looks like only a couple of left so keep running guys!

Marathon #19 - Dubai

2011-01-22T20:09:00.003-07:00

Another one under the belt. Lessons learned, if there is no expo don't expect much more than that. Mile 20 came and still not one gel on the course. So as you can imagine what I love the most about endurance sport is persevering through the bonk and seeing what mettle we have to get the medal.

Half was completed in 1:42:04 with full being knocked out in 3:41:06 (1:59:03). Not sure how that split adds up but I guess rounding. The end finally came and picked up my food which was a bottle of Gatorade and a Aquafina water. Gee, thanks... I wonder what the 100 USD entry fee paid for. The medal is alright, not my favorite, but another one done.

Place: 264/1298
Dudes: 220/1012
Age M35: 41/190

Next up is Calgary Marathon at the end of May.

Yesterday was flight day (love those after races) and did not get settled into my quarters until 7/8ish, so pretty much a 13 hours transit. Can't really get into details but the airlines were not the only inept people amok.

Kandahar is a balmy -1c this morning, cooler than Calgary at 3c. 10 days here and then I get to test out my Malaria pills in some other nondescript part of the world where people would not want to holiday in...

Dubai Marathon Expo

2011-01-20T07:41:00.003-07:00

Picked up the race package today. Spent around 10 minutes looking for the expo until I decided to stop by the information booth (typical dude) and had to ask where it was. I didn't feel like such a dolt after I was told that there wasn't one...

Swag bag is, well, not a swag bag just a bag to carry a shirt and a "stubby" sized beer bottle energy drink of sorts. Feel like I got ripped but we will see at gun time @ 0700 tomorrow morning.

"Assembly" is at 0630 so probably have to leave the hotel around 0545 for transit.

Trusting my back is okay but we will see how she goes...

Seinfeld

2011-01-16T19:42:00.003-07:00

As they said on Seinfeld so many years ago when they slammed their money down on the counter, "I am out".

Wednesday night was Simon's soccer practice and we were kicking the ball back and forth and then somehow, mysteriously, I twisted my back outta shape. I still managed to get my run in Thursday morning but by the end of Thursday I told Susan I was throwing in the towel.

Friday came and I felt better by Friday night so I did a hobbling 2.7 miles in 23:43. Yesterday I thought what the heck I may as well keep going so I did 5.4 miles in 44:37 but I think that is what sent me over. Today I couldn't walk and considering I am on the plane tomorrow night for 24 hours I may as well not be gimped. Plus with Dubai Marathon in 5 days, may as well not jeopardize that either.

So with that being said, my 15 consecutive running days comes to an end on day 16 with a total of 97.09 miles in 13:07:22, average speed of around 7.4mph.

Everyone who knows me knows that to give up is not in the cards but I for some reason maybe I have learned something all these years later.

Good luck to the rest of you and I will start up again a few days after the marathon on the 21st. Looks like we didn't need to change the rules after all but I still may need them.

Freeeeze

2011-01-12T09:51:00.002-07:00

This morning it is a balmy -20 with snow forecast for the rest of the week and weekend. Not so fun but I guess it is January and it is winter. Folks back East have it far worse with 12" of snow coming down.

Today was consecutive 12 days of running, totals on the side bar.

DTM

2011-01-10T10:18:00.003-07:00

This weekend we had a getaway weekend to Banff. As we were staying in the Banff Springs Hotel Susan had a bright idea to get a massage done. I had my first deep tissue massage done in a long time and today I am feeling it, love it. Gotta love it.

The drive home was uneventful. The weather out here in Calgary these days is quite awful but we still manage to get to the kids to school on time and all the other things we got going on.

The running challenge is going. Day 10 done, 70.49 miles in 9:26:16, pace of 7.43mph or 8:05 per mile. I keeping a good pace and not out there to bust any records or anything (not now anyhow).

6 for 6

2011-01-06T16:40:00.002-07:00

I too have managed to keep my running challenge for the year going. Getting up 3 days in a row before 5:30am has been a task in itself letting alone running 46.10 miles in 6:14:59. No reason to quit either as nothing hurt and sleeping is sleep and as long I get some I am okay. Susan has kept up with hers too so both of us have staved off elimination. Reminds of a Seinfeld episode...

This weekend we are off to Banff Springs Hotel so we will have to put some mileage in the fitness centre as we are expecting snow and -24/-25 mornings/evenings.

2 days and counting

2011-01-02T13:02:00.001-07:00

Don't know who can be proud of a two day run streak but I guess considering my Sep thru Nov 10 I didn't run two days in a row I guess it would be considered an accomplishment.

2 days, 17.5 miles, 2:22:56.

Yippee for me.

2010 Totals

2011-01-01T11:03:00.002-07:00

Should probably stick this in so I can remember it...

2010 Running miles: 1,347.03
2010 Running time: 184:50:59
Running miles since Sep 1/2007: 4,865.86
Running time since Sep 1/2007: 671:59:49

Still on my "Trevor' Triangle" goal which was to go from home to Oak Island, NC, to San Diego, CA and back home.

With the Jan 1, 2010 start that puts me at Tomah, Wisconsin.

Happy New Year 2011

2011-01-01T10:20:00.002-07:00

Happy New Year to all.

Last night Susan went to bed at 10:30ish, Simon passed out on the couch at 11:15 and Kamden stayed up till 12:02.

Today the Christmas tree came down first thing in the morning before the kids got up.

Cam threw down the gauntlet this morning and started up the running challenge for 2011 beginning today. Last time I lasted 206 days with a minimum 20 minutes per day. Easy to beat I am sure, however, I had to ask for an exemption on flight to Dubai days as I leave in the PM and I lose one full day with time change and flight time. Hopefully I can be granted this. I can make up for it by running in the morning on the day I come home and then running again when I get home which would mean twice on the same day.

Happy Saturday!

Calgary Marathon 2011

2010-12-28T21:47:00.001-07:00

Alright gents, I have signed up for the Calgary Marathon, it will be #7 for this race. Hope to see all you guys (and gals) out there. I should be there pending any mishaps abroad.

Astroministitics

2010-12-26T17:03:00.003-07:00

Merry Christmas all!

Kind of another delayed blog but this Oseen family has been busy with all the festivities of the Season.

Today was Boxing Day so ventured out at 8:30 and shopped for a few hours picking up some miscellaneous things. Nothing that we intentionally set out for so we did not have to be there for the doors to open at 8am.

My big present this year was:

http://www.celestron.com/c3/product.php?CatID=78&ProdID=642

That was from Susan and the kids but it was more of a way that we could justify spending that much money on a present for the kids if it was to me. Kamden is showing interests in becoming an Astrophysicist so this will be the beginning. If she wants to take it any further then we have enabled her with the beginning of ?

Simon, well, he is still on his Architectural kick and got the London Tower and a "Mom and Dad" printed certificate" for the Taj Mahal made out of Lego.

Susan managed to get iPad and a whole bunch of little stuff.

Kamden swindled herself into an iPod touch and also a whole bunch of little stuff.

So this Oseen family did well and there were no complaints.

This week we are off to the Wizard of Oz at the Jubilee courtesy of Grandma and Grandpa and have them over on Saturday.

After that, New Year's will be here sooner than later and then of we go into a busy, busy planned 2011...

Ticks

2010-12-19T09:15:00.002-07:00

As the time ticks by and Christmas gets closer, I realize that my time left here in Canada is ticking away.

Cam, still around, just too busy to update this thing as I promised I would. I find it harder and harder to get around to write something as every spare minute I have is with the kids or a compulsion to work. It is an unhealthy thing I know but I will figure it out.

Last week I had to fly out to Yorkton, Saskatchewan, for a meeting which meant I had to fly into Regina and then a 3 hours drive in blowing snow where with wind chill was -30. Fun stuff. I rented a Yukon so I would have a tank on the road. Driving back on Friday the roads were in crappy shape and a bunch of vehicles were in the ditches. Glad I spent a "little" extra for the 4 wheel drive as I only needed to use it once.

This past week has seen everyone in the family get sick except me. Normally I would be included but I guess my immunity has gotten better or stronger since being exposed to all the weird viruses all over the world. I will need to get my Malaria shot soon as my destinations next year will be compounded with some exposure to some new places. As per usual, I won't get into those details until the part of the trip is completed as I don't advertise when and where I am going prior to.

Christmas is around the corner and all the shopping is completed except for some straggling things. I think with just our family shopping alone we have knocked up a point or two in Ottawa's proof that there is no recession.

Today we are off to Church while missing Simon's practice at 0930. He had a temp of 103f last night so we are just keeping him home today. We will spend the afternoon at Susan's parents house I have not been there since before Halloween. I am trying to compile my running schedule for next year without irritating my wife...

Couch to Marathon

2010-12-08T20:21:00.002-07:00

Over several years I have always told Susan that at a drop of a hat I could run a marathon with no problems. As I have mentioned in my past posts, the longest run I have done since the Calgary marathon was probably 12 miles back in July. Since September 1st I only logged 83.74 miles in 11:04:14, not really a great amount of training.

I told my boss before his trip that I was going to get 3:36 and Sherman at work said to get better than than that and qualify for Boston. I decided I would just try for the 3:36. For the first 5k I managed 25:14 and the next 5k at 24:48 and the half around 1:51 (website reads 1:59 but that was for 13.9 miles). After that half split things just went down hill and the usual play in my head keeps asking why I was doing this and that I shouldn't be running without training. I just thought I was going to hurt the next day. But thoughts of Cam and Darryl and my wife kicking my butt cause I shouldn't have raced stuck in my mind so I had to finish. It was the second ugliest marathon (of 18) of my 8 years of running at 4:23:15. I even had some better Ironman runs to compare it to.

As we came home Sunday night after the race I thought I was in purgatory for the 3 hour flight home, what an awful experience. Perhaps I should have trained more, perhaps Susan and I should not have walked 6+ miles a day 3 days in a row and perhaps we should have eaten better. I will go with the training reason. We will do it next year but train.

As the boys have been tempting me, I will sign up for the Calgary marathon. I am away from April 10 to May 15th so it will be sweaty and dusty training once again but some is better than none.

This weekend is our house warming party so it should be a busy 3 to 7pm. Susan has it catered to allow for more socializing, less cooking.

Vegas Marathon 2010 Results

2010-12-06T13:03:00.000-07:00

Here

Wasn't a good day running for some but I will update that later.

Settled

2010-11-30T17:31:00.002-07:00

I got back last week from Afghanistan on Thursday and brought the nice weather with me back to the -30c Calgary.

I arrived back to the house I have only slept 6 nights in before I left and today I am at 10 days with one more night before I leave again. Susan and I are traveling to Vegas for the marathon on December 5th. Speaking of the marathon, this is the most under trained I have ever been for a race as I have run only 83.74 miles since September 1. Not optimal I must say.

This past weekend we gave the kids to Grandma and Grandpa for Saturday night as I had my work Christmas party out at the Banff Springs Hotel. It was a great night which culminated in a ghost hunt from 2 to 3:36am. The hunt came up empty handed as I had expected but the others who had been into the sauce thought otherwise.

Sunday was an anniversary of sorts of 6 years without drinking. Everyday is always a success without...

I have planned my next year of being on the road and it is not slowing down anytime soon. Looks like my airmiles account will get somewhat of a bump with my plans.

Well, tomorrow night we will be in Vegas and then hopefully I will be back to regular routine on my blog as it seems the updates are missing some of the finer details.

Stroke

2010-11-19T21:36:00.002-07:00

Today I did the 5k race which I decided to sign up for to motivate me to get off my butt here in Kandahar. It was a blistering 2c and all I had was a short sleeve and short shorts. Yup, froze my rear off.

What got me was that with all the technology out there (including the military) that they still have not figured out how to measure 5k. Last time was 6k and this time I have no clue as I finished in 18:08.

What motivated me to get out of bed at 5am was that I would get a shirt in the end. Well, since my race number was 575, anyone over 500 has to wait 10-14 days for their shirt... I am outta here in 4 sleeps... No shirt...

Plodding On

2010-11-18T13:27:00.002-07:00

My days are numbered here in Afghanistan and usually I am scrambling trying to make sure that everything is in order before I leave. This time I believe I have as I have half the right team in place and should know by Christmas the rest of my team. I still have my other 28 reports but I need to make sure I have the proper management in place.

To get me out and running I signed up for a 5k on Saturday. The race starts at 6am which means a 2c start (not the -25 with windchill that Susan and the kids have right now). We will see how that goes as I have no warm running clothes here...

I am out on Wednesday so my next report will be in Dubai!

Dusters

2010-11-12T09:00:00.002-07:00

A while back one of my colleagues Mr. Orr told me that it does not matter how much I fight I will never win the war against dust. Out here in Kandahar, today I almost through the towel in as it just seems to get everywhere. Two minutes out of the shower, bang, dirty again. Man, it just drives me up the wall. At home we have our new hardwood floor and every two minutes I am grabbing Susan's Swiffa and wandering around the main floor with no destination in site other than making it look good. So you can imagine me here and having no defense against it.

Hopefully I don't bring home any more bad habits or lose some good ones.

Twelve days till I exit the dust bowl. Hopefully my 83.74 miles of running since Sept 1 takes me through to the finish line in Vegas or else...

Tripped Out

2010-11-05T07:43:00.003-06:00

After these past few months of packing and unpacking I finally thought I had it down to an art and concluded that I must be a packing ninja. Well, so be it that when I woke up this morning to go for my 2 hour run in Dubai lo and behold I had no shorts. I wasn't too sure what they would do to me in this country if I ran without trousers on so I opted out. I guess I will have to pick some up tonight. I brought all my shirts and socks but not shorts. Susan said that she put them back in my drawer at home as they were sitting out. I have yet to perfect the 15 minute complete pack job and get it right.

Susan and the kids are having a blast in the new house, too bad I only slept there 6 nights and then I had to leave.

That's about it, it's supper time so I best get to Dubai Mall and see if I can find those shorts for tomorrows run before my flight to the dustbowl on Sunday.

Moved

2010-11-02T09:30:00.003-06:00

We successfully moved and I ended up not losing too much hair, growing more grey, or not busting my nose... Busting my nose? Yeah, smacked it into the dining room light in the old house. Not so cool.

Unofficially we are the 14286, 14287, 14288 and 14289 residents in Chestermere as per the sign which has read 14285 for some time now.

Last year on December 5 at the Las Vegas Marathon Susan and I put $20 bucks on San Fran Giants winning the world series. 22/1 odds sounded good and last night was even better. Funny how the last time we won $600 was on the New York Giants to win Super Bowl. Must be a "Giant" thing.

I should really put up some new pictures of the house but have been too busy. Too busy to even run lately as it has been 2 weeks tomorrow that I have done anything. I guess it is rest time as the next month I will be pounding out who knows how many miles prior to Vegas on the 5th.

Kids acquired 10 pounds of Halloween candy each, less than the 28+ pounds combined last year. The houses are farther apart out here so I will blame that on the lack of production.

Done

2010-10-27T00:40:00.002-06:00

As I take a break from some late night work (the day was spent morning to night packing, visiting the lawyer, kids to orthodontist, bank, piano lessons, bank again and more packing) I figured I should put something down.

I went to Ottawa on Sunday afternoon and returned late yesterday. A whirlwind trip but got lots accomplished. The Porsche has been dead since I left to Afghanistan as the battery dies after about 6 weeks not being used as the alarm is on and just discharges over that time. I got it boosted tonight and drove it out to the new house tomorrow as I won't have any time in the morning.

We did our last walk-through to make sure everything is packed up here and ready for transport tomorrow. I am not looking forward to the process but I think Thursday morning I will like things better.

Susan wrote this tonight on her Facebook account and made me think: "

Finally...our very last night in our very first home....off to bigger and better things. I am sad, but definitely more excited....It will always be the home that we first bought when we got engaged and the home that we brought Kamden and Simon to from the hospital. ...we cried here we laughed here....lots of great memories...I am going to miss you house...you have been good to us :)

"
It really has been a riot over these last years but as long as we never forget then this place will hold a special place in our hearts.

I better get back to work or my moving day tomorrow will be miserable as I hope to cut my prescribed all nighter into maybe a 2:30isher.

Next time I write will be in the new house! (if the internet connection gets installed that is...)

Packin

2010-10-20T07:31:00.003-06:00

Things are coming along but we still have a long way to go in regards to this packing thing. I was supposed to help last night but ended up on a business call for an hour + so Susan ended up washing the foyer floor and emptying the closet on her own. Hopefully I will still have a friend at the end of all this.

Last night we dropped by the new house and the appliances were there as well as the dude doing the back spalsh in the kitchen with Susan's funky tiling. One funny thing is that due to the odd perception of the towel rack for the main bathroom, the rack somehow got installed for the toilet paper holder. We showed the builder after we strolled through and we had a good chuckle.

I missed my long run over the weekend so my mileage for this month is pretty much hosed. I will see about an 8 miler at lunch today and then 18-20 miles on Sunday as we need to be 99% complete packing by end of day Saturday. So no distractions this weekend please.

Bizy

2010-10-14T07:10:00.002-06:00

Lately we have really had no time and I am sure you all know that having kids in events can be enough but then throw in work and packing to move it just gets that much more fun.

We are skeptical that the house will be done for the walk through next Friday morning but we will see. Yesterday they laid 1500 sqf carpet and were finished in one day so that was easier than I thought. Now they have 1200sqf of hardwood to lay however long that takes. It took 5 days to put down the 200sqf of tile so looks like I have no clue how long things take. I also had all the gym equipment moved on Tuesday but since the basement is not insulated and vapour barriered they could not finish. I will have to get the gym guys in again to finish.

I managed to get a 7.85 mile, 1:00:04 run in yesterday at lunch, first time in a week. Hopefully I can find the elusive 18-20 miler this weekend but we will see if I can get that in.

Windows to no where

2010-10-06T16:57:00.002-06:00

Why have I not blogged in a week, well, nothing really to say other than we are are busy that we cannot create new stuff to talk about. All this moving stuff is keeping us busy with getting stuff done here and there.

Tonight Kamden and I are off to dance for 8pm but we will leave at about 7:10 so we can visit the house before hand. Susan said that there was tile down yesterday so hopefully tonight is a continuation of that. The walk through is coming pretty quick on the 22nd so that is a target date. We will do plenty of packing and getting stuff ready to go this weekend.

I was supposed to me the blinds guy tonight but he jammed out as he has little ones too. Susan doesn't want towels over all 46 windows we have to get covered...

Kabinets

2010-09-29T07:51:00.002-06:00

We dropped by the new house yesterday and the cabinets were partially installed.

Now we are just in the midst of getting the moving companies set up and the utilities moved over.

Anyhow, not much new other than everyday jam packed full of stuff.

Busted

2010-09-26T21:01:00.002-06:00

Last week I bought an R/C racing car for the kids (well, more for me but it was easier to convince Susan if I say it was for us) and we took it outside for the first time today as we had a nice day. I kept giving the kids warnings not to bust it and they didn't. Simon managed to bust my Bosses but I will jut buy the $8 piece tomorrow. I should have heeded my own warnings as somehow I ran into a soccer goal post and cracked the chassis and shifted the motor. We fixed the motor but looks like one day I will need to replace the chassis but that can wait. We still ended up having fun for an hour or so so now the kids want to get their own but not as much juice.

Susan has been keeping busy at Church the past few nights as we will be leading a new small groups out in Chestermere once we get there.

The house was coming along fine yesterday. The painting is all done as is the staining. There might be a bit left but everything is coming along. We have permission to move the gym equipment in a little earlier and our possession date was moved up a couple of days to accommodate our move out.

Three dudes at work signed up for the Big Sur Marathon in May 2011 and they are trying to convince me to go. Usually May 1st I am coming home from Afghanistan so maybe I will fly East home and stop off in California. Susan wants to do the race to so maybe she can meet me there for a few days.

Sold

2010-09-23T20:06:00.003-06:00

Today we can mark in the calendar that i) I ran 8.1 miles in 63:39 and ii) we sold the house. We now have closing issues and moving logistics which will transpire over the next few weeks with us moving out on the 25th and into our new place 2 days early on the 27th.

I visited the house last night and they were staining the railings and doing the first paint coat on the upper floor.

Age Group

2010-09-21T21:28:00.002-06:00

Happy 36th Birthday to my wonderful wife who changed age groups this morning into the 36 to 40 category. I think this group is a little tougher...

50 Ironman Club

2010-09-20T07:14:00.004-06:00

At the first annual BBQ at Darryl P's house last night we pulled out our abacus and calculated that between the 5 of us dudes we have a total of 50 Ironman's underneath our belt. Funny thing is that Greg in the picture has done 18 Ironman's and never a marathon on it's own.

Yesterday we had a downpour so I realized early that our run scheduled for 4:30pm would be a wet one. I decided that I may as well get my run done early so I did my 16 miles (supposed to be 18) in 2:13:35. Simon had soccer at 10 so I had to cut it short. After that we ended up going to the Calgary Home Show and walked around for a few hours getting some ideas for the house. Susan also had her birthday lunch at Tony Roma's which is tomorrow.

Tonight is the Justin Bieber concert and I think I may be more excited than the kids (yeah, call me what you want).

Curtis Vierling (2), Cam Dawes (19), Greg Bradley (18), Darryl Penner (4) and me (7)

Back

2010-09-14T07:26:00.002-06:00

I arrived back at home on Saturday to a waiting family at the airport and then headed out to see how the new house is coming along. We finally have our dates with the walk through on Oct 22 and possession on Oct 29. We still have not yet sold the existing so things are getting down to the wire. Not too sure how the banker will think of having two mortgages but hopefully we will not find out.

Today I officially started my training program for the Las Vegas Marathon. After taking a few days off since Sep 6th, I have begun on week 7 of 19 with 8.1 miles in 1:04:26. Felt not too bad but I think I need to drop the Kandahar Kilo's and things will be better.

This weekend we have a BBQ at some friends house. I will feel like the odd man out as there will be four families there and all the dudes have subbed 3 except me. Looks like I will have some work ahead of me for that Vegas Marathon but as I get older things don't get easier but no excuses as Steven proves me that it can be done.

Susan has started her Vegas Half Marathon program yesterday and this morning she began her Insanity program. I think she will be able to stick to this for another 12 weeks.

It has been raining for the past couple of days here with snow anticipated on Thursday / Friday. Looks like the Porsche will get an early garaging.

50 hours

2010-09-09T09:11:00.003-06:00

50 hours and counting until I get home and get to see my lovely wife and kids. It has been a long 7 weeks in Kandahar but now I am back in Dubai to do a little bit of shopping for those patient folks at home.

A couple of days ago during my sleep I got bit by something on my outer forearm and by midday you could see some weird poison from the bite up towards the old ticker. It only got to mid inner-bicep by the time I went to the infirmary and got my meds for a spider bite. Should be fixed up by the time I get home as right now it feels good.

Anyhow, I better get shopping as I only have so much time here.

Beat the General 5k... er 6k

2010-09-05T22:29:00.002-06:00

I finally got to bed last night just after 1am and surprisingly fell asleep. For those that have been with me for the past 6 weeks you all know that I only get 3 hoursish of sleep a night. Those darn Mirage planes when they take off rattle my entire body for a good 15 seconds and there are 2 on each sortie.

Anyhow, I was up at 4:54am so I got I think close to 4 hours of sleep as I had to be at the race site at 5:30am with a start of 6. I seeded a bit better today than last time but still didn't get the time I wanted. I don't have a watch or a Garmin so I was just going by PE. After the race was over I figured that someone hosed the measuring of the course as the turnaround was close to the last 5k race but then they added an extra block on the return which ended up at 6k instead. People were complaining about the extra k. Not really sure why, I would have liked to have run the course a few times.

The time for 6k was 24:31. The girl who beat me last time again pulled in front of me at I presume the exact same distance and this time I was not going to have any of that so I turned the jets on and beat the second place girl. The first place dude beat me by 3 minutes and these guys are good out here.

3 more sleeps until Dubai...

Countdown

2010-09-03T03:36:00.003-06:00

I guess I can officially count my days now until I depart Kandahar and head back home. I can say that this trip I have worked the most in my entire life over the past 7 weeks with putting in day after day of 21 hours while running on little sleep.

When I leave here on Thursday next week, the operation I will leave behind will be in trusted hands and will be able to take a break for a bit. Not sure when I will be out again as the house is coming up for moving soon and I have plenty of things to take care of between now and then.

I actually got to go swimming last night for a couple of hours in some of the clearest water pools I have ever seen. Surprisingly outdoors and in the middle of a desert.

I am looking forward to getting home and seeing the kids and of course my lovely wife.

Ironman Canada 2010

2010-08-29T05:58:00.002-06:00

Good luck to:

Cam Dawes - 997
Graham Sherman - 421
Tracey Sherman - 2335

http://ironmanlive.com/tracking.php?race=canada&year=2010

I wish I could have been there but after 4 years in a row Susan and I decided we were going to take a bit of time off from Ironmaning and do family time instead. I can start again when Simon and Kamden are 18/19 and we can do it as a fam.

Good luck gang from Afghanistan!

Haircut = Speedwork

2010-08-26T06:39:00.002-06:00

Yesterday I went for my bi-weekly double zero haircut. So today for my run I decided I was going to push myself a bit more without compromising anything. So I did 10.82 miles in 1:21:54. When I was done I felt fantastic and that I could have either continued further or gone faster. I wanted to but as lunch was approaching I ended on that note.

Kandahar has been one giant dust bowl these past few days and the dust is finding everywhere to hide.

Yesterday night I moved from my old compound over next to Canada House down to South Park, KAF. What kept me up all night before was the traffic of people walking through the gravel outside my door and the doors slamming for the MWR facilities. Now what keeps me up is the F18's are taking off and landing all night long as the runway is just out my door. And on that note, here comes a swarm of Chinook helicopters. I am sure I will get used to it sooner or later. Probably later as I leave on the 9th from here to go back to Calgary.

Other than that I am looking forward to some downtime when I get home. I know the kids went back to school and Susan to work so I cannot see me having this downtime. This will be the first year that I have not used all vacation days. I have only used 7 days this year and worked most of the stats (as I have been overseas for the last 3 of 4). I will just probably end up taking days off when the kids have PD days and hanging out and try not to work.

80kg

2010-08-21T01:20:00.002-06:00

I don't think it was a very brilliant idea to do sitting calf raises with 80kg after how many months of not doing them. I think I am walking on my tippy toes today, oops. Looks like today is a mandatory day off running with only 140.52 miles this month. I will fall short of my 250 goal but I will still read my 10k a day average.

Early Parole

2010-08-20T09:10:00.002-06:00

As I was mentioning the other day that I was awaiting the outcome of my meeting this morning and after being in Kandahar for 33 days I had already booked my trip home. Well, that meeting was a success which means that I will be here for another 3 weeks while I get things in order and I can pass the torch onto new hires which I will have to add.

The house possession date is coming soon so we need to get things going on that front back at home. It will be Susan's birthday shortly after as well.

So that's it, I cannot say what it is but I am sure you wouldn't want to know anyhow.

Hangin' on and out

2010-08-19T03:12:00.002-06:00

Kandahar is just that, still dusty and hot...

The kids are off to their Grandma and Grandpa's for the next week or so as Susan started back to work yesterday. She enjoys having the 6 weeks off but getting back into the routine of getting up early after you have been staying up till midnight every night eventually catches up with her.

The last two days have been productive on the running track with yesterday's 10 miles in 1:16:29 and today's 9.04 miles in 1:09:58. So that means I have tallied a total of 166.30 all purpose Kandahar miles in 20 days of running out of 31 days since I left Canada.

My fate here and stay in Kandahar is hedged on a meeting tomorrow morning at 10am. If it is successful it means I am coming home in September and if it is not, well, that is not an option (but I do have my flight booked for the pessimist in me).

Beat the Trevor 5k

2010-08-16T04:01:00.002-06:00

I signed up for another 5k as it the next race that will be held in Kandahar on Sept 6th, Labour Day. The name of the race is Beat the General 5k. So if you beat him then you get a shirt and if you don't, well, then tough. So my goal will be to beat my time from yesterday, even if by a second need be will be my gauge of success. If not, that is fine too.

5k Result

2010-08-14T23:02:00.003-06:00

My first 5k managed a 20:16. I think there were approx. 500 entrants so it was a good race around the dusty roads of Kandahar.

That wasn't enough so I did another 9.27km in 45:01, a little pokier but I had nothing to prove.

5k

2010-08-14T06:09:00.002-06:00

My first 5k ever is tomorrow, imagine that, 17 marathons and 7 Ironmans and I am finally sneaking in the 5k? Oh well, I will take what I can get out here. I really don't know how to pace it but I guess I will just giv'er. Kandahar is like living on my Grandma and Grandpa's old farmhouse out in the Lethbridge area. Every day is 38c, windy and dusty as heck from the dirt roads. Take a shower and 5 minutes later you are dirty from walking from the showers, sweating and the dust blowing back on. I guess it is all about getting rid of dirt layers 5 thru 7 so you can start somewhat fresh.

I am sure if I had a camera I would be literally eating the dirt of the guy in front of me. It should be *THAT* good.

The last (and only) deal we had written on the house fell through. We couldn't come to a compromise over 5k. We went half way but dude wouldn't go the other half so that was it. The house is still for sale.

War

2010-08-11T02:16:00.002-06:00

Not the the one that I am staring at outside my window, but the one at home. After 3+ weeks of the house on the market we finally had an offer yesterday morning which expired at 11pm. Well, let's say what they offered was way off what we wanted, 10% in fact with 30 days sooner on possession.

By 2330 last night (Susan's time) we were a paltry 5k away from conditionally sold but we will stand our ground on this one. Hopefully they will sleep on it and be disturbed that they did not win against the Oseens so they will call up first thing and just do it.

Then it will give us a piece of mind of selling the house. I still don't know what day they want possession. If it is Sep 15th we have a little bit of work ahead of us as I don't get home until September 11th which leaves the 12th (Sunday) for a major pack job w/Monday moving, and Tuesday for cleaning the place up. Cutting it tight but I think we can do it. The big event will be getting all the gym stuff taken apart out of the house, stored and then assembled in the new Villa.

We sure don't like taking things the easy route...

Routine

2010-08-07T11:30:00.002-06:00

Now that I am in some sort of routine out here things seem to be falling into place. Every morning I get in my 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minute run (average is 7.63mph), walk 10 minutes at a 4.2mph @ 10% incline and then do weights for 15 to 25 minutes. It took some figuring out plus with the Vegas Marathon looming I might as well train for it instead of just getting off the couch and giving 'er. Now I just have to stay away from the DFAC (buffet).

Susan and the kids got back from the lake and went out to visit their Auntie's farm to ride horses. Apparently they did not get enough of those critters at the camp they were at. Hopefully they will have a nice day as it reads that it should be raining there sometime today.

That is pretty much it. For those watching in anticipation, Ironman Canada is coming in 29 days so for those that made wagers with me you better have your cheque book out as your body won't be cashing any of mine. I have a wager for half the entry fee to Kona if my associate happens to qualify. If he doesn't, he owes it to me. Yup, enough said!

Antics

2010-08-05T01:42:00.004-06:00

Even with all the antics here in Kandahar I am still plowing through a tonne of work and getting some running in. Hopefully I will get caught up on all the things that have fallen off my virtual desk in the next few days in anticipation of things ramping up.

My trip home this weekend has been delayed into September so looks like I will be in the dust bowl for a while longer. Good things is that as soon as I wake up in the morning I give Suz and the kids a call for 20 minutes. It is always nice to hear them before they go to bed and get my day started.

Running is going well, I am going to see if I can eke out a 250 mile month. So far this month I am on track with 41.82 miles in 5 days in 5:26:21. My Kandahar mileage this trip is 72.14 miles in 9:26:47. So far so good and no injuries. I am sure I could be a little faster but this diet I am on does not work so hot when there is a buffet for lunch and dinner. I am getting tired of the food though so maybe it will come off sooner than later.

Posing for the Pap's in Kandahar. Notice the Double Zero haircut. I fit in...

Run with the Chief

2010-08-02T01:47:00.002-06:00

It looks like I will stay a little longer here in Kandahar as business has not been completed. That's the way somethings go... I miss the kids and Suz but they understand why I am here. I think I wrote that several times in my blog.

I officially signed up for the Kandahar Run with the Chief 5k run. It will be my first 5k in my entire life as who wants to get up at 5 and race at 5:30 for 20 minutes just sit around at 6am bright eyed and bushy tailed? Oh well, I don't know when I will have the opportunity to run again in South West Asia so I will take what I can get.

I officially passed 1,000 miles of running this year. Yippee. I managed 5 of the last 6 days running 37.95 miles in 5:00:46. Not bad but not super. I still have a few Kandahar pounds to get through.

I hope all are well back home on this long weekend!

The Rack

2010-07-29T22:24:00.003-06:00

After being here in Kandahar for a while it seems like I need to visit a Chiropractor. The bed I sleep on I think must be made of some inferior materials as I cannot walk all too well today. Even though I have ran the last couple of days and stretched it out, it does not seem to be making a difference. All night long I toss and turn in pain. That's all the gripe I have today.

Susan will go and pick the kids up from Camp tomorrow in which she is pretty excited at that as boredom has set in in the usual rambunctious Oseen household.

Apparently the new house is coming along as the builder has now locked the door so they must be doing some funky stuff inside.

Our house is still up for sale. We have a family coming for a second visit this weekend so hopefully an offer next week.

New

2010-07-27T03:21:00.002-06:00

Wow, I have not written in 5 days and guess what, nothing is new.

The kids are off at camp so Susan is chillin' and taking a break by her lonesome.

Simon had his birthday party over the weekend and celebrated his 8th birthday. Happy Birthday little boy! My Mom and Dad celebrated their 40th anniversary. Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!

For me, the only thing that is new is the dust storm that will be here on Thursday. Not really looking forward to it but I will just stay inside. I can't wait to see this:

Other than that, I have no definitive return date so I guess it is just playing it by ear until everything I came over here for has been complete.

Oh yeah, one more thing, Susan and I are doing the Last Vegas Marathon again this year.... Whoop Whoop!

Ho hum

2010-07-21T13:51:00.004-06:00

So this afternoon (well afternoon here anyway) I rolled into Kandahar for my short (or long depending on how things go) stay here. It only took till 2020 (8:20pm) for the first rocket attack of the evening. We only had to lay on the ground for a few minutes as I was right by the hockey rink and the Tim Horton's mowing down on some Kebob's.

I spent the last two days in Dubai which were 43/44 degrees with ridiculous humidity.

And that is about it. I brought 5 sets of gear which I am sure will get turned over quite a few times 41c tomorrow and not a hint of a cloud.

Sayonara

2010-07-17T22:59:00.002-06:00

The last few days have been a whirlwind. There are a couple of days of Stampede left and we did not get down to the grounds once this year. This is the first summer in which I cannot remember how long that we are not going away some where as a family. With the house being built holidays are second priority.

Susan was home yesterday and they got the pictures taken of the house to be listed on the internet today. So far at 2312 tonight it still has not been updated on the MLS site.

The kids had their final summer recital for the years music lessons, Simon on keyboard and Kamden on guitar. Quite entertaining stuff! They both did good and I think Kamden will transfer to piano next year.

Simons birthday is next Saturday so we are going to Tony Roma's for lunch. Once again I will miss another child's birthday as I will be away on business as I leave tomorrow night. This time I have full intentions of exercising while I am away. It is just the 44/45c weather that drains every last drop of energy out of me.

Listed

2010-07-13T21:20:00.001-06:00

Well, we have the sign on our lawn now but not up on the internet. Soon!

Back is still buggered so I just went to the Vibe place today for stretching and see if it will fix me up. The alarm is set for 5:30am so it better be fixed.

Hail

2010-07-12T21:02:00.003-06:00

We had some wacky weather here in town with some golf ball sized hail hitting the city just after noon. I had my car parked at work but it did not hail at work thanks! My Boss drove his 458 downtown but conveniently had it parked at the valet of a hotel so it escaped the carnage.

We have not been out to the house since Saturday afternoon as things were taking too long so we decided not to go until Wednesday.

The existing house will be listed by the end of the weekend with the pictures going up on Friday. Should be fun stuff. Susan has come down to short strokes in getting the house ready, just a matter of me finishing deck painting and doing some miscellaneous stuff.

The kids are in Sports camp all week so they will kept busy at Mount Royal U. Seems like Simon has a new friend named Kamal.

Yesterday the kids made it to the rodeo while Susan and I went shopping.

I buggered up my back somehow so once again I have not run for 4 days. I have a heat pad on right now so hopefully it will assist in getting 'er done in the morning.

4 days

2010-07-09T19:12:00.002-06:00

I ran M, T, W and R this week and since we had the Stampede Parade this morning I decided to take it off. It wasn't a lightening fast week of 33.5 miles in 4:44:13.

The house cleaning is coming along with a Kijiji special going tonight of someone coming to pick up some furniture.

It was a toasty day today of 28c, so the fans are all on high in the house. It will be nice have A/C in the new house and we will never have to worry about sleepless nights because of the heat, just the thought of paying those 2 gems off.

Tomorrow the kids have a friends birthday party and Susan and I will visit with the Realtor. We are tentatively scheduling listing next Friday so we will continue decluttering and continuing to clean the house and walls.

Cleaned by the Closet

2010-07-06T21:20:00.002-06:00

Susan and I went to pick and design our closets today. When the builder says that what they give you in a standard estate home should not have to be upgraded I don't know what they mean. By the time we left Home Solutions we were lighter, I mean, a lot lighter. I didn't know how much closets cost until today. Man!

My running has continued to the second day in a row with tomorrow planned as a third. Today's distance was only 8.4 miles in 1:11:20, so pretty much on pace with yesterday's at 7.07mph.

We stopped by the house today and they installed the batten on the back of the house with some of the siding done on the walkout. Still a long way to go. The kids get home tomorrow and are looking forward to the new stuff done in the past 10 days that they have been absent.

Susan scrubbed all the bathrooms down, did some miscellaneous walls and stuff and swung by and dropped off more donations. We could have had a garage sale and probably paid for some of the closets but Susan and I feel better just giving the stuff away as there are more people out there that need it.

At work one of the opportunities I have been working on for a while today get to fruition and now it is just a matter of short strokes till everything is signed at the end of the month. Pretty exciting stuff!

Hiatus

2010-07-05T07:44:00.001-06:00

Hiatus... Over.

Finally managed to run this morning for the first time since June 10, 8.3 miles in 1:10:29. Felt a little rusty but we will see if I can beat my 29.4 miles I did in June by Thursday.

:)

Precast

2010-07-03T19:46:00.002-06:00

Every day for the past 4 days we have gone to visit the new house but little has been done. I like it when we go twice a week on Wednesday and Sunday's as there is noticeable differences. Today when we arrived the pre-cast veranda had been installed. Susan and I went to watch Knight and Day last night and then went to the house and did not get there till 9:30pm. We did not think anything would be done due to Canada Day yesterday.

Susan and I have spent the last 3 days decluttering the house. My Dad came over as went to show him the new house this afternoon and it was a disaster. Good thing the front door wouldn't open too far or maybe he would have taken his shoes off and seen the chaos. We have gotten rid of plenty of things with 7 bags of clothes going to Sally Ann.

Tomorrow we will finish the main floor (the basement is done) so all that will be left in the next 10 days is my side of the walkin closet and then the kids rooms which Susan can work through with the kids. We will also move the stuff off the deck tomorrow so Susan can start getting the deck sanded and painted.

Maybe I will get my first day of running in a month tomorrow, only time will tell...

Nuttin

2010-06-28T20:42:00.002-06:00

Nothing is new with Susan and I. The kids got picked up by Susan's Mom on Saturday evening and then they all went out to their cabin at Pigeon Lake. Susan and I then went out for supper at The Living Room. It was nice to get out and have a high end dinner and relax without having to think about the kids waiting for us at home.

Yesterday we watched Germany beat England then finally got out of bed at 10am. Then we went out to the house and checked to see how things are going. I wanted to make a change on some cabling but it was too late. We then went shopping up at Cross Iron Mills and bought some stuff and then to home depot to buy the paint for the window casing.

Today was a warm day in Calgary and we both worked all day (Susan's last day is Wednesday). Tonight we went to Home Depot again and bought the paint for the deck. We were looking for some "oh oh" paint but they did not have what we wanted.

Still not running, not because I am injured I think it is just a temporary break for a bit. Now that I cannot make my goal it seems to have slid. Susan wants me to do the Stampede Half marathon on July 11th so I probably will do that instead of my road trip to Missoula (Sorry cousin Rhonda!).

IMCDA

2010-06-26T20:39:00.002-06:00

Good luck to all the chaps in Ironman Coeur d'Alene tomorrow including Darryl P. and Curtis V. Wish I could have been out there with you guys but this year is off from Ironmanning.

Bandwagon

2010-06-23T07:45:00.002-06:00

Now that I am back from Afghanistan I have neglected my last two mornings of running and really need to jump back on the bandwagon. I am feeling much more lethargic than I use to. My weight hasn't really flew up like I though it would after eating way too much since March 27th (prior to the cruise). I am only up 10 pounds so in essence it really is not too bad. :)

Today I am off to the house at lunch to do the electrical inspection. Susan says they have the shingles on as well so everything is coming along. I am not too sure what is up next but we will see. The Realtor comes over tonight who will start the process of getting our house listed soon. I am sure he will say that we need to declutter first but we all ready know that.

Happy Father's Day

2010-06-20T10:38:00.003-06:00

To me!

Kids didn't say it on the phone when I called them this morning so looks they can live vicariously through me. Happy Father's Day to my Dad and Father in Law as well!

I arrived in Dubai this evening and heading back to Calgary at 7am which will end up being a 24 hour door to door excursion. Not too bad with a 3 hour layover in London but I will just hang out in T5.

When I left Afghanistan this afternoon it was a balmy 43C and man, was that toasty! I am sure I will be back sooner than later so I won't slam it.

Have a great Father's day to all those Dad's out there.

Oh yeah, I picked up 3 World Cup Soccer balls for the kids (and one for me). Man those things cost alot but they are $30 cheaper here than back at home (plus no tax) which ended up saving over $100 including tax. I also picked them both up shirts that read "I Love Justin Beiber". I am sure they will beat me when they see it but that's okay, I got them from London.

Desert

2010-06-18T23:27:00.003-06:00

Still in the desert for a bit longer.

I brought my running gear but the 41/42c weather kind of deflates my motivation. It looks as if my running challenge for the year (running 2500 miles) may be along the roadside. I am 273 miles behind what I should be at which would mean I need to run 8.1 miles each day to the end of the year. Maybe I will just extend my target day an extra month due to outside influences that are non-conducive to getting running in.

It sounds like Susan and the kids are having fun back in Canada. Tonight they went to Toy Story 3 at the IMAX and had a ball. Apparently they thought I may like it but oh well, I have no time for movies.

That's about it for now, just lot's of eating and working (not much sleeping).

Kandahar Again

2010-06-15T11:10:00.000-06:00

Back to KAF again, only for 8 days this go round.

Glitter

2010-06-12T20:13:00.001-06:00

As per Susan, "Glitter is the herpes of the fashion world". All our stuff is absolutely covered with it after our City Chase today and then attempting to wash it off with our normal clothes in the washer.

Dang...

Gearing up

2010-06-10T20:49:00.004-06:00

Once again we are gearing up for a busy weekend. Tonight the kids had swimming lessons and then Simon and I went to his school for 6pm for the Grade 2 night where they show us what they have been doing all year. It was fun so it went okay.

Tomorrow we drop the kids off at Susan's Mom and Dad's for the evening as we have the Calgary City Chase on Saturday morning. Susan was busy checking out the competition when she was picking up the race package so we will see how that goes.

Saturday night I am to have my 20 year High School reunion but due to not knowing when our event is over we probably won't end up going.

Sunday we have church early, then to Susan's Mom and Dad's hous

e again to have early Father's Day dinner (her Dad is off to the Cabin so won't be around for FD). Then Sunday night we get to watch Kamden's dance recital. I missed the last competition as I was in Afghanistan so I really, really don't want to miss this one. As things go though it may happen again and I have instructed Susan that if she is on the stage after I leave that She will tell her that I had to go but I watched the whole thing. One day I hope she will understand why I do what I do but as I say, "That's the way it is" and I just try my best.

The house is coming along just great. It has been raining all week long and did not expect anything more to be done last night but there was more work done. The plumbing had been installed, the showers and the tubs as well as drywall in the fireplace area. Not really sure why they stuck one section of drywall in but whatever. It was a big mess filled with mud from the workers trekking from the basement to the top floor. Yesterday we did

a number on Susan's credit card as we picked all the lighting. With all our upgrades, if we wanted to add it into the mortgage we would have had to pay an additional 20% margin to the builder so we skipped it and paid yesterday. Ouch.