10 random things and BIG swim PR's

Ok ok ok, I have been tagged by all of my fellow blogger buddies to post 10 random things about myself. Since today is sort of an off day (I did get a swim in!) I figure I would finally post 10 interesting things about myself.

#1: If I find a passion for something, its going in all for broke. Hint: Triathlon and brewing.

#2: My first triathlon was June, 2008. It was a sprint and I had nightmares of the swim leading up to the race. I also had nightmares that I forgot my bike.

#2: I was born way up in Aroostook County, Maine in the tiny town of Ashland. All I know is that kids would go to school early in August, then stop going to school for a few weeks to pick potatoes, then go back to school in September. I was 6 weeks old when I moved to NH, where I grew up.

#3: I am the third of 4 children. I have two older brothers and a younger sister. I was such a little shit to my oldest brother before my sister was born that had my sister been another boy, my oldest brother would have put himself up for adoption. I am still a little shit.

#4: After graduating from college, I re enrolled BACK into the same school, just so that I could go back as a "continuing education student" to the school's campus in Provence, France for the summer to bike. It was actually a REALLY cheap 9 week vacation in paradise!

#5: I make animated movies for a living. If you have seen "Ice Age 2: The Meltdown," "Horton Hears a Who," and "Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs," you may have seen my work. My next movie coming out in April 2011 is called "Rio!" I put fur, hair, and feathers on digital characters.

#6: My first job in my industry was during that summer in France where I worked for a week for a bunch of pot smoking Parisian hippies. I was deathly sick that entire week. Note: Chinese food in Paris will give you diarrhea!

#7: I have seen a bunch of great pro cycling races in person. I was able to see the Tour de France in person in 2003. I was up on Alpe D'Huez during the finish of that stage and was on the Champes Elysees at the finish when Lance won #5. I saw Floyd Landis, Levi Leipheimer, Lance, and a number of other great cyclists duke it out to the finish of Brasstown Bald in the Tour de Georgia in 2004 and 2005.

#8: I used to be a competitive snowboarder in high school. No jumps or halfpipes, just race boards and gates. That's were I learned that team sports involving spherical objects were not for me and that I was much better at racing against a clock. I went to our league's national championships my Junior and Senior years of high school. I placed............ok. :)

#9: I can't dive. Seriously. I am cursed!

#10: I learned how to cook by watching my mom cook for a number of years. When I became a junior in college and got my first apartment and had to cook for myself, it took a few phone calls home, but the cooking thing came naturally to me. Now it feels weird if I am NOT cooking most nights! I still call my mom for help :)

I am supposed to tag some more people, but I think everyone has done it already!
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I hopped into the pool at lunch today. Man oh man I wasn't expecting to go super fast since we basically beat the crap out of ourselves on Monday and Wednesday.

We went:
500 WU
2 x 100 pull
6 x 50 on 1:00
5 x 300 Main Set
50 CD
2550 total yards

The 5 x 300 set was the man maker. My super swimmer coworker and I raced. Since he is much faster than I, he can do 400 yards in the time it takes me to do 300 yards, so we are about even with those two distances.

I felt like total crapola by the time I finished my first 100 yards of the first 300 yarder and wanted to concede defeat right there, but I beat him, but a little bit. My time was 4:57, which was almost a PR for that distance.

#2 We are off. My arms magically feel better and I throw it down. 4:46. New PR by 9 seconds! Bob concedes defeat.

#'s 3 and 4 are going easier-ish to make #5 count.

#5: We take an extra minute of rest and we are off. I am hurting. Hurting BAD. By 150 yards, he is at 200 yards but is ahead by a few body lengths. I am in the hole! When I turn at 275 for my last 300, he is at the flags coming in for 375 and I know that that is not a lot of distance that he has to make up on me. I gun it. When I breath to my right, I am looking for him in the corner of my eye. He never shows up! Finally when I hit the flags, there he is and closing. I have 5 feet to go; he as less than 10. I put my head down and windmill my arms as fast as I can. I edged him out by a hand's length!!! Time 4:44. New PR! Slightly less than a 1:35/100 pace. I was shaking from exhaustion! This swim will pay off dividends in April.

Im off to NH for the weekend to visit the folks and scope out the Mooseman course again. Hope everyone can get out this weekend for a long ride or run in the sun!