Two Thumbs Up

Local critics, Crazy Pete and G.I. Joe give the Lake Placid Iron Man two thumbs up. Crazy struggled a bit on the run, but was rescued by a few good cups of warmed broth. He finished swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112 miles and running 26.2 miles in approximately 14 hours.

G.I. Joe crashed his bike and finished despite a serious case of road rash (not pictured here).

These two are nuts, and will probably always be a diagnosis shy of the "funny farm."

At Large

These two mystery shoppers have been cruising through small unsuspecting eastcoast communities posing as tri-athletes when in actuality, they are bread inspectors. A local vendor, who chose with remain anonymous for this story, claimed these two were in his store "for sure". He says he knew right away by the wild look in their eyes, thier rabid appetitie for fresh baked goods and (of course) their shaved legs.

"As they left the shop in leaving a wake of crumbs and drool I could swear I overheard one of them say something about getting an Ice Cream chaser."

Official Entry Essay:

Friedrich Nietzsche International Duathlon 2008

Sitting at the back of the classroom, the kid to my right leans over and whispers “Psst, hey Taylor, I wonder what would happen if…. __________?” (fill in the blank). My unflagging response was probably a shrug and “I don’t know, let’s find out”.

Many years later, a friend (we’ll call him Crazy Pete) hands me a copy of an interview with Ann Trason. In it she talks about running 100 mile events (can you imagine?!). I was dumbfounded. If I remember the article correctly, during her first 100 mile competition she was pulled from the race at mile 90 because she was violently ill and puking everywhere. The article goes on to talk about her many subsequent ultra running accomplishments and victories and the fact that Ann now realizes that she could have finished that first 100 miler because (as she blithely put it) she always gets sick at about mile 90. How cool is that?

This became a topic (among others) of conversation with Crazy Pete during casual afternoon jogs as we trained for our first ½ marathon. And as our discussions digressed into more (and more) extreme events, we made a bargain: I would help him through his first IronMan triathlon if he would help me through my first marathon.

As it turned out, one thing led to another and we did complete our marathons and an IronMan distance triathlon before I moved to Texas two years later.

Within the first year of my arrival in Texas, I received an email from Crazy Pete asking me to “check this out”. It was a link to an article about a 50 mile run Palo Duro (TX) Canyon… Pete joined me in this adventure the following fall. Then, shortly after I relocated to Wisconsin, I got a similar email about a 100 mile run the Southern Kettle Moraine forest. Pete pointed out, it was practically in my “back yard” so the only thing I had to loose was an entry fee, some sleep and a little gas… he paced my dragging arse for the final 25 miles and a 10th place finish.

And so it goes that we continue our separate adventures, in separate locations with an occasional rendezvous to do something ludicrous or inane for the sake of adventure, to share a few laughs and perhaps make us stronger in one way or another.

It’s been a few miles and several silly events since our jogs and panicked discussions about the fallout from running a 13 mile race. And, while I can’t (nor do I want to) speak for Crazy Pete, I can say a personal highlight was a regurgitated tribute to Ann Trason at mile 70 on my way to completing the Leadville Trail 100 for the first time. I couldn’t imagine what would happen when I first read her interview several years ago, but now I know.

So what’s my point? Well today… I received yet another note from Crazy Pete with an attachement. The email said, “Not sure what I was thinking, but I sent in my entry essay.” The attachment started, “In 1992 my wife, Clar Baldus and I hosted the first ever Friedrich Nietzsche International Duathlon, a 155 mile bike and 32 mile run event held her in Cedar Rapids, IA…”

Hmmm? I don’t know... I may have to find out.

News Sans Pic

Big News: You'd think of all the photo ops I get, I wouldn't miss a big one, but I did. Last Thursday evening, Big Dawg announced that he wanted to ride a two wheeler. So I went out and raised the training wheels as high as they would go so the bike still had some help, but only if he tipped pretty far.

When I guided him around the block he was able to go about five squares of sidewalk before he'd tip onto a training wheel. Chalupa took him out again on Friday and it was about the same thing. Nothing on Sat.

Yesterday, one trip around the block, the training wheels were removed and Voila! He's riding a two wheeler! Just like that. It was quite amazing.

In other news: Peanut's soccer team won the district championship with earned the team a birth into the State Tournament which begins this week and runs 1o days. It's double elimination so it could be a few long evenings. We'll see!

Bavarian Fest

We helped work the Optimist Fried Cheeze Curd booth at Bavarian Fest.
Big Dawg and Buzz Daddy enjoyed some of the sights and sounds.
It also looks like Buzz met one of the Bavarian Princess's Whoo HOoo!

Year End Soccer Party

Well the season ended with a Spash. The Chalupa's year-end soccer party digressed to a mass of latex and water as balloons were launched from all directions at all people. This picture only shows one portion of three simultaneous battles taking place in and around huddled adults. In this picture you can see Chalupa in the lower left (brown tank) reaching for more ammo, and Big Dawg in the far right (green) turning his head from errant water shrapnel.

From the top: Hollywood, Colonial, General, The Boot, Chester, Chalupa, Squid, and Blondie. (not pictured: Legs)

It was a good season. It was a good team. Now onto Fall Ball!

Good Neighbor?

Ok, the story behind the fish is this... Z-man, our neighbor (10 years old) caught this bad boy in a neighboring lake. When he brought it home this evening, his mother did not have the stomach to cook it or kill it. His father was out-of-town, so BD was asked to help Z-man find an appropriate, yet humane home for this aquatic beast. It was a 10:00 p.m. run to the Minnesota River and a long dive from the bridge, but the fish is free and when the good Dr. returns from his trip, he won't have to eat sushi.

Sans Specs

Now that Peanut sports two week disposable contacts, we can see her effervescent smile.

Go Kart Racing

Buzz Daddy is on the Foundation Board for MRCI a regional organization dedicated to create innovative and genuine opportunities for people with disabilities or disadvantages.

Anyway, he was able to recruit this rag tag team of drivers from his day job to compete in this charity Go Grand Prix Go Kart race. What we didn't know was this team would race against teams who compete on a regular basis at events like these.

[TOP: Ripka #30 holds off a band of drivers who couldn't pass her for the bulk of her portion of the second heat. Team TOG held on to win this heat of competition. BOTTOM: BRoessler, CSchrieber, Ripka, Pohlman, and Svir know that #2 is almost as sweet as #1]

At the end of three heats of racing (each 45 minutes long), Team TOG finished second over-all out of 53 teams! While they may not be ready for NASCAR, they had enough fun to want to do this again next year. Having never followed this stuff in the past, once I kinda knew what was going on, it was really quite exciting.

Dorothy? Toto? - Nope. Reevelettes!

We knew there was something special about our neighbors across the street, but this was a bit much to stomach!

Peanut and Chalupa Return

It's been a quiet week at la hacienda. The Peanut and Chalupa have been at camp until today (Friday). Can you imagine five days without any bickering... man alive it was quiet. And we are thrilled to have them home safe and sound. We're not quite ready yet for that much peace and quiet.

And how has our first night gone you ask? Well, it's 2:00 a.m. and the Peanut has puked twice. Sh is one tired child. At least her aim has improved and can get it all into one load of wash. Whew.

An update on the back. I was diagnosed on Monday with a ruptured disc between L4 and L5 (for those who know such stuff). Thankfully the disc ruptured up which will facilitate my recovery. The family doc said surgery, but the neurosurgon said, "if you are in pain and you are suffering any weakness, then I see no reason to operate."

I've been off meds for almost a week and feel great. I've run a few miles, swam a few laps and has spent some time on a bike... and no pain or stiffness. Perhaps I'm whistling past the graveyard when I say I feel a bit guilty about not having pain, but I sincerely feel great. Perhaps my situation is extraordinarily unique, and I'm thankful for that.

The Okoboji marathon is in a week and it looms as a distinct posibility. We shall see.

A Reevelett B-Day

Here is A Reevelette #3 celebrating her 7th B-Day with her introduction to the birthday egg breaking tradition.

On Parade

Peanut, Chalupa and Big Dog just completed the Fun Days Kid's Parade. They looked like they had fun. After pizza and a few Carnival rides, it was all zzzzzzzs for the rest of the night.

Manna Manna in Monkey Doo

This was the view from across the street. Fireworks, kids, adults and chaos amok on July 4, 2007.

HAPPY 4th Of JULY!!!!

Be thankful for our Independance and Freedoms. Remember, it's never too late to be a kid again, and the 4th of July is a good time to start! Happy Fourth one and all.

Ack... The Curse of The Blog

No sooner was Buzz Daddy's streak on published record (below), than it came to a painfully abrupt halt. After an ambulance ride to the ER, to include some serious pain killers and an MRI a herniated disc (between L5 and L6) was dicovered as the cause of severely cramped and spasmed muscles that the streaker was summarily paralized and unable to continue this annual endeavor. The Afton 50 has been erased from the schedule and the Okaboji Marathon moved from ink to pencil. July can be the cruelest month.

SPECIAL REPORT: Kamp Kutner

To celebrate Noah "The Arkvar's" ninth birthday are (from left front) McCabe, Addie, The S. S. Cole, Big Noah, (back row from left)- The Arkvark, and last but not least, the Mouse. Where's King Rat? Probably taking the picture. Looks like fun and everyone seems like such normal people. Ah yes, but looks can be decieving can't they? Bon Anniverser Arkvark! An egg and bald head await your celebratory efforts.

The Streak Reaches Six Months

A running streak is defined as completing a fixed minimum distance every day without missing a day. Every year since 2002 Buzz Daddy has started a streak on New Years. His best year, 2004, he kept his two-mile-a-day streak alive for seven weeks. As of today, Buzz Daddy's 2007 streak has reached six months.

His goal is to get his name on the official list of streak runners, but to achieve this mark he must continue his streak for six more months. To find out more about streak running, check out this site: http://www.runeveryday.com/.

Buzz Dad Vs. Squirrels III

When I saw seven squirrels huddled in, around, on, and under our bird feeder, I knew it was time for serious battle. These damned rodents consumed more than 5 lbs of bird seed in less than 3 days. They're not squirrels, they're pigs!

Rather than kill them or ineffectively throw rocks at them, we thought we'd trap them then transport them a mile or so away. In less than five hours we trapped 6 squirrels and successfully relocated 4 of them - two escaped en-route. But we'll catch 'em. Mark my words, as God as my witness, they will be goners.

Don't Look So Excited!

Seriously, we really did want our picture taken. From left: Sidetrack, Aunt D, Beaner and Aunt P. Three sisters, a daughter and a niece.