This is normal....right?

What a great weekend! The weather was absolutely gorgeous. We hosted a wedding shower for my brother this weekend, so the house was filled with yummy treats and food. It was good to visit with friends and family and soak in some sunshine for the first time in a while.

Today we headed out for a 56 mile bike in preparation for New Orleans 70.3. As usual, I was running a bit late this morning when my brother showed up. He showed up right at 10am and I had only eaten a bowl of delicious Honey Nut Cheerios. Thinking that would not get me through the ride, I decided to grab two yummy mini Rainbow Chip icing cupcakes leftover from the party. I mean it is carbs....right? I also took my First Endurance Multi-V, which I will talk about in a little bit, but man does this stuff work. Anywho, the ride is going great. I am feeling fresh and climbing better than I have all year. I feel invincible. And then mile 40 hits and a ginormous bear jumped on my back. I hit the proverbial wall. Luckily, there was a gas station about 5 miles away, so I limped into the store and decided to fuel up on what else.....the biggest Rice Krispy Treat I have ever seen. This is normal bike nutrition right? It helped a bit, but not much. I finished the ride and at this moment I am now laying on the couch...5 hours later. Moral of the story...take your nutrition seriously.

I did muster up the energy to take my daughter on a bike ride and dig around in the dirt for some cool (her rules, not mine) rocks. I was also able to help some fellow riders out with a mechanical problem that allowed them to finish their ride. So all in all, despite the not-so-stellar ride, I feel like today was a success.

Now a quick note on the First Endurance Multi-V...the stuff works. At first I wasn't sure that I could tell a difference, but now I am a believer. I have really noticed the past few rides that I stay stronger longer than before. If you haven't heard about the stuff, check it out at www.firstendurance.com If you have heard of the company, but have yet to try any of their products....WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? If it is good enough for me...oh who am I kidding? I eat Rice Krispy Treats during my long rides. But seriously, Contador uses first Endurance...Cavendish uses First Endurance....the Lovato's use First Endurance, why aren't you?

Have a great week everyone and remember to laugh and smile each day...it will make you feel better.

Online Q&A with pro triathlte Julie Dibens

Julie Dibens will be online answering questions tonight at 8pm eastern. Go to rev3tri.com for details.

Proud Daddy stories, training and of course...product reviews!

So, being a Dad is pretty cool. I have come to the conclusion that your kids will do just about anything that you tell them to and will try to do some things that you do. Recently my daughter has decided to inform people, some random, some not, that I am an Ironman. Despite what my wife thinks, I have never told her to do this. I have a small Ironman tattoo on my wrist, but other than that, I never really mention it outside of my wife and training partners (who did the race with me). Well the other day, my daughter and I were riding bikes and she said that when she got older, she was going to be an Ironman like me...watch out Chrissy! I felt a little emotional:) Now there are things that I do try to get my daughter to do and say for a good laugh. Among other things, she now can do the sprinkler dance move, sing numerous Black Eyed Pea songs on the karaoke machine, and eve tells me "peace out" when I drop her off at daycare in the morning (complete with a fist pound followed by an explosion of course). Well, the newest thing she does now is to tell people that the party doesn't start until she walks in (yes the line from the Ke$ha song). Such a proud dad:) Around the beginning of May, I will have another young mind to mold, when our second daughter arrives.

This weekend has been a pretty good training weekend. The weather has finally gotten above 50 so I did a 30 mile ride Saturday followed by a 10 mile run today. Only 7 weeks until 70.3 New Orleans and I am starting to get excited about it. I am treating this as a "fun race"and not my A race (that will be Cedar Point). I am entering the race with my brother and this will be his first long distance tri, so it should be a good time.

Now to the product reviews. I received some products from the good people at SBR Sports, Inc., who manufacture Tri-Swim hair and skin care, Tri-Slide and Foggle. The hair and skin care are awesome. I no longer have to carry around kids chlorine shampoo in the locker room, thus receiving some strange stares. The products do every thing they claim and remove the wonderful smell of chlorine (not to mention the poison that it is). Their products in the Ti-Swim line include shampoo, conditioner, body wash and lotion. Recommend it all! But the two products that are my favorite are Tri-Slide and Foggle. Tri-Slide is a spray on anti chafe skin lubricant. Think of body glide in a spray. The stuff is AWESOME! I tried some on my run today by putting it on my feet (have had some hot spots on a few toes lately) and on my nipples (yes I said nipples...it isn't a fetish, just that some of my long sleeve shirts are a bit loose and tend to rub me raw). The Tri Slide worked flawlessly. Foggle has become another favorite. It is an anti fog wipe. No more leaking anti-fog in my gym bag...YEAH! I tried it the other day on my goggles (which claim to be fog proof....FAIL) and lasted the entire swim (1600 meters) with clear goggles. The good thing about the wipes is that you can reuse them. Simply store them in a zip lock bag, and a wipe can be reused about 5 times. If any one is having problems with foggy goggles, pleas give these things a try. Thanks SBR Sports, Inc. Your stuff rocks!



A final random note....I can't wait for Ludacris new album release. How Low has been a recent favorite during training runs, so I am looking forward to see what the remainder of the album is like. That is all. Train hard and have fun!