Cracker Barrell Collection

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The funny thing is that in the four years since I drew this comic, Krista has gone from modern or something thereabouts, to Cracker Barrel, which has the chic name of "French Coastal".  Being a student of French history, I asked her, "Which coast?", to which she just rolled her eyes. 

Kick Comics: Labradoodle

This is actually how I doodle.  On old notepads you'll see those 'x/diamond' things all over the place, and various shading.

What A Guy Should Do When You Lose A Baby

I've been asked a few times what a husband should do when you lose a baby.  Unfortunately, my wife Krista and I have lost two babies still-born- Zoe in 2004, and Jonathan this past August.  Just like all the advice you get showered with regarding marriage and raising kids, I can't say what is right for you or a friend of yours dealing with this, especially in even worse situations where the baby is lost during or just after birth, but I can say this is what helped with me.  My wife Krista (www.HopeInTheWaiting.com) has written about this for women, and I thought I'd write down what might be helpful for guys.

I'd say the first thing is that

Rev3 Knoxville Triathlon

http://rev3tri.com/events/I'm very excited about the chance to race in the Rev3 Knoxville Olympic distance triathlon Sunday.  Here is a quick video from last year's event:



The Rev3 series is pretty cool.  They're attempting to give people another option outside of the IronMan brand, with races where you can race with top international pros (who finish several hours before you do :), it has a big event feel, but you don't have to go the full Ironman distance.  Its been two years, and only the second time since I've done this distance- 1.5K swim (about a mile), 24.9 mile bike, and a 6.2 mile run.

Being near the mountains, this course is known for its hills.  Here is a quick look at the elevation chart:



Right before mile 8, after climbing for three straight miles, you have a 'category 5' hill, which means 'holy cow, steep!'  Its actually the easiest of the rated climbs (this is the system they use for the Tour de France and others), but 'easiest' is a relative term.

Here are my race goals:

+45 minute swim
+3 minute T1 (transition 1)
+1:35 bike (15.75 miles per hour average)
+2 minute T2
+62 minute run (10 minute pace)
=3 hours, 27 minutes total time.

For those not into triathlon, this is what is considered "very slow".   But, here is how it compares to the one and only other Olympic race I did two summers ago:

In July 2009, my times and ranks (in the 30-34 age group)
1:04:43- swim   (rank was 37 out of 37)
1:36:26 (bike + T1)   (rank was 37 out of 37)
1:13:22 (run + T2) (rank was 37 out of 37)

In my defense, I was sick for the week beforehand, and finished something like 396 out of 400, but at least I finished.

The biggest time change in this case will be the swim. I'm well aware that even if I finish my swim 20 minutes faster than I did last time (my goal), I might still finish last in my age group. In training I'm hitting around 42 minutes, and I'll be wearing a wetsuit for the first time (water temp is around 65-70 degrees), so who really knows?

However, I hope that I don't finish last in either the bike or the run.  I'll probably be near the back of the pack, but I don't want to play caboose.  In shorter distances, I'm generally near the back of the pack on swimming, in the middle on the bike, and maybe mid to back on the run.  For this one, since its so long, even though my best discipline (relatively speaking) is the bike, I'm trying to hold back so I don't completely flop on the run.  Hopefully overall I'll have a better time that way.

Wetsuits Do Not Make Everyone Look Cool

Easter Bunny Says What?

I just found out the 'mute' guy in the bunny costume (who wasn't allowed to break character and talk) that my friend Daniel and I mercilessly made fun of at the Easter picnic was not, in fact, our good friend Michael, but a last minute replacement. Awkward.