Expensive Afternoon

As followers of my blog know, my countdown is moving closer and closer to zero hour.  The time I pack up (again), sell off everything else (again), and move across the ocean (again).  This time, however, I will not be going direct.  Since I am starting a new job in mid-September that promises to be more demanding (and hopefully more exciting) than my current one, I decided to take a vacation first.  Well, more of a trip, really.  I am going to South America for 18 days prior to moving back to Chicago.  I booked my tickets this afternoon.  I'll be flying from Hawaii to Chicago, dropping off some bags, flying the next morning to Lima, Peru, hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, going over to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands, and then heading back to Chicago to start my job.  It'll be a whirlwind trip, but I'm looking forward to it.  Machu Picchu has been on my bucket list for quite a while, so I can't wait.

So What's Next?

After completing my second sprint triathlon, I decided that I really like them.  Sprint triathlons are a great because they are short and relatively easy to do.  I don't mean to say they're "easy" but if you are moderately athletic you should be able to finish one without much problem.  Obviously being competitive is a different story, but hopefully you get my point.  They're enjoyable.

Races are also fun.  You get a couple hundred people together to test their bodies and push themselves as hard as they can.  Everyone is friendly, supportive, and encouraging.  It doesn't matter how fast or slow you race, everyone just gives each other credit for being out there.  Ironically the only "criticism" I've heard (i.e. you don't swim fast enough or sprint triathlons aren't "real" triathlons) have come from non-competitors.  I find that both hypocritical and funny.  I also find triathlon races to give a real high upon finishing.  Not to mention you get cool free stuff.  Free t-shirts, snacks, vitamin samples, etc.  Who doesn't like free stuff? Of course, it does cost money to enter these races, but my point stands.

Swim

So I've done two sprint tris and I was asked the other day, "so what's next?"  The Tinman Triathlon, that's what. The bike and run portions are twice as long as the sprint triathlon distances and the swim is 250 meters longer.  That means it is a 750 meter swim, a 24.8 mile bike, and a 6.2 mile run.  It starts with a swim at Queen's Beach in Waikiki, then we bike around Diamond Head, through Kahala and back, and then a run around Diamond Head.  I am already signed up and ready to go.

Bike

I anticipate the biggest challenge being the a longer distance.  So far I have been satisfied with myself if I ran 5 miles and swam for about 20 minutes.  That's just not going to cut it for this one.  Not only are the distances longer but more people compete.  The previous triathlons have had about 300 competitors.  The Tinman traditionally has 900!  So in order to adequately prepare and come in the top 5-10 in my age group, I really need to swim for longer periods of time and do a lot of supersets (bike and run back-to-back or swim and bike back-to-back).  I also made sure everyone at work knew that I beat my co-worker that I can't let this one slip away!

Run

Training for the Tinman will officially begin next week.  I have visitors coming into town tonight who will be here until Wednesday.  I have done a little bit this week, but not much.  This was mostly a recovery week from the Marine Corps Base Triathlon.

Improvement

So yesterday was the big day.  The Marine Corps Base Hawaii Sprint Triathlon.  In the days following the Lanikai Triathlon, I vowed to take this one seriously and drastically improve my time.  So I actually trained all the way until race day this time around. I swam somewhere around 2-3 times/week and ran 3-4 times/week and biked to work everyday and then did one long ride per week.  It wasn't the most grueling training schedule ever, but it was an improvement over last time.  Then Friday and Saturday before race day, I carbo-loaded by eating lots of bread, pasta, pancakes, and fruit.  Then my co-worker and I went out for a massive pasta dinner at Buca di Beppo (map) on Saturday night and stuffed our faces with some delicious food.

Sunday morning rolled around and I felt good.  I felt prepared and ready to do well, which was a much better feeling than the one I had last time.  There was just one problem: the weather.  We pulled onto the military base and there was heavy cloud cover, strong wind, and it was cold (Hawaii cold...so around 68-70 degrees).  At least it wasn't raining...yet.  It looked like most people were setting up their transition stations in sweatshirts and all I could think about was how cold that water was going to be.

As 7:00am rolled around (start time), everyone was standing on the edge of the water ready to go when the gun went off.  There was a mad dash in the water and while most people were probably focused on getting to the first marker, I was just thankful that the water was really warm.  The swim is still my weakest event, but I found that I was much stronger this time.  Of course, the waves were incredibly choppy because of the strong wind so it made it that much tougher to plow through the water.  Then about halfway through the swim, it started to downpour.  Hard.  The rain reduced visibility to zero, the waves were knocking people all over the place and no one was going straight.  I'm shocked there is still water in Kaneohe Bay b/c I thought I swallowed it all.  Nonetheless, I got out of the water and beat my former swim time by about one and a half to two minutes.

It was still raining as I got on the bike and started to pedal.  Part of the bike course was on the runway and there were massive gusts of 20 mph wind coming right at our face.  I was pedaling as hard as I could but wasn't going anywhere!  Everyone was struggling to fight the wind apparently because at the end of the race that's all people were talking about.  The best part of the bike portion was that I passed my co-worker about 10 minutes into it and never gave back the lead.

Now, I haven't made the plunge to get clip-in bike shoes so I wore sneakers.  And because of all the rain, they were SOAKED.  The water from the tires splashed up and the rain poured down.  So as I took my first steps in the run, not only did my legs feel like bricks from all the pedaling, but the water in my shoes and socks made it feel like there were weights in my shoes.  The running course was nice, though.  For the most part it was flat except for one really steep hill that was just a nightmare.  At one point in the run, though, I looked back to see if my co-worker was closing in.  I saw someone maybe 80 yards behind me who had the same shirt on and the same type of dark shorts and was convinced he was catching up.  So I took off running harder to try to keep my lead.  In the end, however, it wasn't my co-worker...because it turns out I beat him by 7 minutes.

Ultimately, I did not win my age group.  However, I improved my time by 13 minutes and finished close to my goal of 1:10:00.  I didn't beat my goal, but I was happy with my improvement.  Next comes the Tinman.

Back from Chicago

I went to Chicago last week and got back Sunday night.  So the lack of blog posts was because I was busy enjoying deep dish pizza, 312 beer, and Cubs games.  The first couple days in Chicago represented everything that's great about that city.  The weather was warm.  The Cubs were playing.  People were out walking around enjoying the city.  The beer and food were flowing like water.  And the parks were crowded with people playing community sports.  The last couple days, however, made me happy to come back to Hawaii (temporarily, at least).  The weather literally went from 78 degrees on Tuesday and Wednesday to 43 degrees and rainy when I left on Sunday morning.

As far as my triathlon training, I did a fairly decent job keeping up with it.  I worked out a couple days, but not as many as I would have liked.  I ate healthy, but couldn't control myself all week so I enjoyed a few unhealthy meals/snacks/desserts.  Nonetheless, I am back at it and things are going pretty well.

Week 3 - Second Triathlon Training

The third week of my renewed triathlon training hit a minor snag.  It rained all week.  It wasn't just a little rain, either.  There were massive thunderstorms, power outages, and pool closures.  The ocean (and air) was freezing and the roads were constantly flooded.  It was a little insane.  Anyway, this made swimming a lot more difficult.  I didn't give up entirely all week, but I decided to take the opportunity to rest and lift a little more than usual.  The real challenge is going to be this week.  I am headed to Chicago for the next 6 days where the food and alcohol will be plentiful.  I mean, how can one travel to Chicago and NOT eat deep dish pizza or drink Goose Island's 312 beer?  I also won't have access to a bike, a gym, or an ocean.  I suppose I could try to swim in Lake Michigan, but there are two problems with that: 1) it's only early May so the water is FREEZING; and 2) Lake Michigan is gross and dirty.

Anyway, here is my Week 3 training schedule:

Monday - Run 25 min (2.8 mi.) + swim 15 min

Tuesday - Off day

Wednesday - Weight Lifting + Run 26 min (3.1 mi.)

Thursday - Off day

Friday - Bike 20 min. + Run 26 min. (3.1 mi.)

Saturday - Off day

Sunday - Weight Lifting + Bike 50 min. (16 mi.)

Week 2 - Second Triathlon Training

It's hard to predict success this early in the training process.  I didn't start having issues with training until about week 3 last time around.  Thus far, I haven't had any major distractions or disruptions, so I haven't slipped up at all, which is a positive.  I've also done far more swimming this time around, so my confidence is building slowly.  I'm hoping that by May 22 (the day of the sprint triathlon) I'll be able to shave a minute or two off my (swim) time.  Anyway, here is the week 2 training schedule.

Monday - Run 25 min. (2.8 mi.) + swim 30 min. (1200 meters)
Tuesday - Off
Wednesday - Run 26 min. (3.1 mi.) + swim 30 min. (1200 meters)
Thursday - Weight Lifting
Friday - Weight Lifting
Saturday - Bike 2 1/2 hours (35 mi.)
Sunday - Run 46 min. (6 mi.)

Week 1 - Second Triathlon Training

As I mentioned before, I am doing another sprint triathlon on May 22.  This one is on the marine corps base in Kaneohe on the East side of O'ahu.  It's the same distance as the Lanikai Triathlon - 500 meter swim, 12 mile bike, 3.1 mile run.  Since my Lanikai Sprint Triathlon results were less than inspiring, I vowed to get serious for this one.  So here is the schedule of my first week of training:

Monday, April 18 - Run 45 minutes (5 mi) + Swim 30 minutes
Tuesday, April 19 - Off
Wednesday, April 20 - Run 45 minutes (5 mi) + Swim 30 minutes
Thursday, April 21 - Off
Friday, April 22 - Bike 40 minutes (13 mi) + Swim 50 minutes
Saturday, April 23 - Off
Sunday, April 24 - Run 40 minutes (6 mi)

Manoa Valley District Park

I discovered last night that there is a community swimming pool about 2 1/2 miles from my apartment that is perfect for swim training.  The pool is located at the Manoa Valley District Park.  It's 50 meters long, so an olympic sized pool, has about 8 lanes for swimming laps, and three times a week they are open from 6:30-8:30pm so I can swim after work.  It's free to use and it wasn't even all that crowded.  As with everything in Hawaii, though, there were some confused asians swimmers who didn't know what was going on or how to stay in one lane, but for the most part it was the perfect set up for my purposes.

The park itself is also pretty cool.  They have basketball courts, baseball fields, a track, and the pool.  The only downside would be that there are usually events scheduled so you need to know when to show up (i.e. lots of games scheduled on weekends).  But to have such a great (and free) place in the middle of Manoa is perfect.  I've heard some people say that the fields could be better maintained, but the pool was in perfect shape.  So I'd say for a community park/pool, you can't beat this place.

I am particularly excited to have found the pool because now I don't have to rush to the beach immediately after work to get in a swim before dark.  I also don't have to deal with dirty, gross water and sand in my ass crack.  It's the perfect solution.  Now yes, swimming in the ocean is different, and harder, than swimming in a pool.  The current and tide wreak havoc.  However, for the Lanikai Triathlon, I swam at best once a week for 20 minutes in the ocean (and not at all the month prior to the triathlon).  Swimming in a pool is better than doing nothing.  I also plan to swim once on weekends in the ocean, so that should be all right.  So the current plan is to run to the pool, swim, and run back.  I'm out for blood in the next one.

Well that didn't take long...

I said I hate losing.  More than anything I hate that nagging feeling that I could have done more or could have done better.  Maybe it's my ego.  Maybe my narcissistic type A personality.  I don't know.  Whatever it is, though, it led me to sign up for another triathlon.  Two, actually.  The first is another sprint triathlon on the marine corps base in Kaneohe on the East side of O'ahu.  The other is the Tinman Olympic distance triathlon in Honolulu.

I signed up for two triathlons for a few reasons.  First, I decided to do another sprint distance to prove that my crappy time in the lanikai sprint triathlon was a fluke.  I am out to beat my time (and my friend who also did the lanikai triathlon this past weekend).  Second, triathlons are a lot of fun.  They're not like marathons or bike races where you just do the same thing for a couple hours.  No, triathlons work your whole body and mix things up to the point so you can't just rely on muscle memory.  So I actually did enjoy myself.  Third, I signed up for the Olympic distance to prove that I can do "real" triathlons and I can cross triathlons off my "to do" list without any harassing conversations!

This time, I'm taking no prisoners, though.  I'm going to train seriously this time with no excuses.

Lanikai Triathlon

Sunday, April 17 was the 10th annual Lanikai Triathlon.  I competed in it.  Though, I suppose it's fair to say that what I did was not so much "competing" as it was "participating."  I didn't exactly give anyone a scare in terms of my competitive prowess.  Nonetheless, it was a fun time and I'm glad I did it.  There were about 360 people in the race and it was really well organized.  There was plenty of space for all the participants in the transition area and everyone was really nice and energetic.  The volunteers were amazing and helpful, so it was overall a great experience.

Setting up at 4:30am

You may notice that on the right side of my blog, I have checked off my "goals" list that I competed in a triathlon.  I discussed with someone yesterday, however, that I shouldn't be able to say I did a "real" triathlon because it was only a sprint triathlon.  Now, my achy legs and shoulders take exception to this remark, but I began to think: this person had a point.  On one hand, sure, I worked out for an hour and a half and I did, in fact, do three events - swim, bike, and run in succession.  On the other hand, it was a short distance and nowhere near the length of an Olympic distance.  So can I really mislead people by suggesting that I will be the next Ironman?

Getting Free Stuff

So my answer to the charge is first, feel free to compete in your own triathlon and then give me a call.  But my competitive nature really kicked in this weekend.  I showed up at 4:30am to set up my transition station and realized that I was grossly unprepared.  I mean sure, I trained for the first three weeks, but then everything went to shit.  I looked around and there were some seriously competitive people there.  Even then I figured I was athletic enough to hang in there.  Not so much.  At the end of the day, I felt like I accomplished something, but not what I wanted to accomplish; I wanted to be competitive.  I wanted the triathlon to be the culmination of months of hard work, commitment, and discipline.  I wanted to cross the finish line gasping for air because I pushed myself.  I didn't do that on Sunday.

Finish Line

So that raises the question: do I want to do another one?  I did have fun this weekend.  It was definitely a challenge and they gave out free stuff at the end! Who doesn't like free stuff?  Jamba Juice smoothie?  I'll have 6, please.  I think I do want to do another one.  The only concern I have, of course, is my ability to train for the next few months.  I am going to have the same challenges I had this time: visitors coming to Hawaii and going on a week-long golf trip with a bunch of old men who drink more in one sitting than I can usually drink in a weekend, and a week-long trip to Chicago.  At what point would I be able to sufficiently train so that I can be competitive the next time around.  I refuse to do another triathlon unless I can devote my full energy to the training.

For now, I am happy to say that I have done a Sprint Triathlon and I look forward to the next.

Packet Pick-up

Sunday is the Lanikai Sprint Triathlon.  The race organizers have been sending emails all week telling participants where they can pick up their packets, what to bring, what to expect, etc.  The fact that the race is actually happening didn't sink in until this week.  I went to the website, saw the race map, and realized that I hate doing things half-assed.  I mean, if you're going to compete in something, why not race to win?  I never understood or appreciated the saying "everyone's a winner."  Everyone is not a winner.  Vince Lombardi once said, "if it didn't matter who won, then why keep score?"

Now, I am not saying there is no point in doing something if you can't win.  That being said, the goal should always be to try to win. Unfortunately, my training went to hell in a handbasket and being competitive is probably out of the question.  That doesn't mean I'm not going to try like hell to still place as high as I can.  I am still looking forward to the race (and the post-race free stuff).

So anyway, today and tomorrow is the packet pick-up for the race.  Then the race begins at 6:15am on Sunday morning.  Last year's winner finished in just under an hour and the last place person took about two hours.  So I imagine I'll finish somewhere around 1 hour and 15-20 minutes.  Then afterwards Jamba Juice sponsors post-race refreshments.

Here is the map of the race (500m swim, 20k bike, and 5k run);

Next Scuba Trip

Now that I'm scuba certified (and leaving Hawaii in September), I figured I should take advantage of it.  Lucky for me, today's LivingSocial deal was 50% a charted boat scuba diving tour.  For certified divers, you get a two-tank dive for $59 (normally $125).

I was explaining scuba diving to someone the other day and I think the best way to describe it is like swimming through an aquarium.  You're in a zero gravity environment just floating around looking at cool stuff that no one else gets to really see.  I'm looking forward to the boat dive because I think that's going to be the best way to dive.  During the training course we did shore dives where you put your gear on at the car and walk across the beach into the water.  That just seems particularly inconvenient and unnecessarily time-consuming.  I think I am going to prefer just entering the water from the boat.  Then after you're finished with one tank, come up to the boat, have a snack, and then go down with the second tank.  You can also avoid all the sand and crap that gets stuck on you as you cross the beach.  Plus, who doesn't enjoy being out on a boat in the middle of the ocean just hanging out in gorgeous weather?

Scuba Certification

This weekend was incredibly busy for me.  I spent the last four days getting my scuba certification, which was incredibly time-consuming, but also one of my goals while in Hawaii.  I had never been scuba diving before, but found it to be a lot of fun.  The first two days were spent in a pool just practicing various skills that are necessary for the certification.  For example, you have to practice what happens if your mask falls off (or gets kicked off) or what happens if you run out of air or how to rescue an unconscious person at the bottom of the ocean.

After the first two days, our second two days were spent in the ocean doing actual dives.  We did two tank dives on Saturday and Sunday.  Each tank has 3,000 psi (or about 45-60 minutes of breathing time).  Saturday and Sunday were more practice drills and skills tests, but we also got to look for cool stuff.  The places we went - Electric beach and Ala Moana beach - were not the coolest dives in the world, but they were still pretty awesome.  I think I was most surprised by the great visibility.  It was, for the most part, like being in a pool.

Electric beach is called that because it is right next to an electrical power plant on the West side of O'ahu.  There is a big pipe in the water where the plant takes in cold water and pushes out hot water.  A reef has developed around it and there are thousands of fish living there.  When we got in the water, we swam through two giant schools of fish (I don't know what kind of fish).  It was like swimming inside an aquarium.  On Sunday, we went to Ala Moana beach and although the visibility was not quite as good, we swam right next to a huge sea turtle (pictured below), which was pretty cool.

Picture taken by one of the other divers

So now the advantage of having a scuba certification is that I can go on boat dives through local dive shops for about $65-75 instead of the $250 they usually charge tourists.

Week 3 Triathlon Training

This week, I looked at the 2009 and 2010 race results for the Lanikai Triathlon and compared the various winners' times to my training times.  I think that might have been a mistake.  I am a naturally competitive person.  I think most lawyers are.  I played competitive sports growing up and into college.  I love to win and I hate losing.  I also think it's really important to push yourself to try new things, have different experiences, and learn as much as you can.  Obviously you don't have to compete in sports to do all those things, but that mentality has carried over into my training.  I originally set a goal to finish in 1:10:00.  However, looking at the results from the last two years, I have a new goal.  I want to finish in the top 10-25.  The only problem, of course, is that to do that in the last 2 years would have required a time of less than an hour.  Right now, my times are nowhere close to that.  Yeah yeah, I know.  It's still early and it's my first triathlon.  I don't buy into those excuses.  I'm a relatively athletic person who should be able to make a strong showing.

I went out and bought two books on triathlons the other day - Your First Triathlon (yes, it does sound like a child's book) and Triathlon 101 - and have found them both informative, but maybe a little simplistic.  They each say that the goal of your first triathlon should be to "finish with a smile."  Yes, I swear it says that.  I feel like the book is written for parents whose kids are retarded but still get the "everyone's a winner" trophy.  I smile when I win.  You should not be smiling when you finish in 100th place. I understand that the book is designed to encourage everyone, but this whole "you're a winner if you try" crap is exactly the kind of mentality that led Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell to say that America has turned into a country of wusses.  That said, I think the books' nutrition chapters about the proper foods to eat to boost energy and build muscle will be incredibly helpful.

Anyway, I am getting off track.  So far, in week three I have been doing a pretty good job of staying on pace with the training.  My uncle was nice enough to send me his really nice triathlon bike so I have a fighting chance out there.  When I told him that I planned to just get a Craigslist mountain bike, I believe his exact words were "hey rook, get serious.  converse high tops and gym shorts ain't gonna cut it." I appreciated his enthusiasm.  This is another reason I love having a big family.  There is always someone there to encourage you and help out whenever they can.  I'm pretty excited to get it all set up.  In fact, there is a triathlon club here in Hawaii that holds weekly bike rides, seminars on fixing/tuning up your bike, etc that I am going to start participating in.  Island Triathlon & Bike is going to be a great resource, I think.

So here was my Week 3 Schedule:

Monday - Swim 25 minutes

Tuesday - 40 minute run (was supposed to be 48 - I got bored) and 20 minute bike (again, should have been longer, but I got bored and tired)

Wednesday - weight training + 45 minute bike

Thursday - Off

Friday - 38 minute swim + 29 minute run

Saturday - 45 minute bike + 10 minute run + weight training

Sunday - Pro Bowl - too much drinking to train

And of course, if anyone has any training suggestions, post them in the comments!  Now that I will be riding a bike outdoors (I have previously been riding stationary bikes in the gym), I'll be posting pictures of my training progress.

Week 1 Triathlon Training

The only word that really describes training for a triathlon is: "sucks."  My legs hurt, my feet hurt, my shoulders hurt, and I'm tired. I started on Monday, January 10 - last week - and I quickly learned how out of shape I am.  Sure, I can run.  I can swim (sort of).  I can even pedal a stupid bike.  However, doing those things for long periods of time or even doing two of them back to back is a challenge that leaves me dropping to the floor.

The first week went like this:

Monday - Off
Tuesday - 40 minute run + weight training
Wednesday - 24 minute swim/48 minute bike
Thursday - Off
Friday - 24 minute run
Saturday - 35 minute swim + weight training
Sunday - 30 minute swim/80 minute bike

Now, to be fair, my swimming is not for 30 minutes straight, but I don't get out of the water until I actually swim a complete 30 minutes.  It's also not too dreadful because when I get out of the water, I sit on the beach for a little while (my swim training is in the ocean).  The training schedule only gets more intense from here, so I'll be sure to update the blog weekly with the progress.  All I can say is I better finish in the top 10 of this thing!

Day 100

I have officially been in Hawaii for 100 days.  Although that doesn't sound like much, it has felt ridiculously long.  Someone suggested the other day...again, not in the comments!...that I talk about what the first 100 days has felt like.  To be honest, I'm not sure yet how I feel about the entire experience.  Obviously I am doing a lot and experiencing a lot of the island culture.  That said, I also miss being close to my friends and family.  Turns out, it's pretty impractical to just fly home for a weekend when you live in Hawaii.  Before I left everyone kept telling me what a tremendous opportunity it was to live out here for a couple years.  "When else will you have the time to live in Hawaii," they said.  I also talked to several lawyers who are well into their careers and they all repeated the same thing, "if I could go back and had the chance to clerk in Hawaii, I would definitely do it."  So alas, I took the leap of faith, sold all my stuff and moved out here with 2 suitcases and no place to live (yeah, I stayed in hotels the first 10 days until I found a place).

I think most of my friends would say that, as a general rule, I hate change.  At the same time, I have a tremendous fear of waking up one day and looking back at a life spent doing nothing.  I can't think of anything worse than being stationary.  Consequently, I tend to seek out new opportunities and adventures and (begrudgingly) welcome radical change.  Hawai'i, while I criticize it sometimes for its ass backwards way of doing things, is proving to be an experience and challenge that I am happy I embraced (begrudgingly, of course).  I've always loved to travel, and I regularly try to figure out ways to get someone to pay me for it.  I also have a few bucket list destinations floating around in my head that I insist will come to fruition one day.  One of the toughest things about moving here, though, was that it seemed like so much more than just a "trip."  1) I'll be far away from friends/family for two years, and 2) I just spent the last 8 years in school preparing for a career that, for all intents and purposes, won't start until I get back.  Selling and packing your life away to move to a new place, to a new part of the world, and leaving everything else behind is a pretty daunting feeling.  I wholeheartedly recommend it.

I recently read two blogs by guys I went to middle school and high school with.  One is teaching English in China for 2 years and the other recently got back from teaching English in China for 2 years and is now a radio broadcaster in Alaska.  I don't know why, but reading about their experiences made me feel much better about being isolated in the middle of the pacific ocean.  I mean, the first thing I realized is that things could obviously be much worse: Being in an entire country of Asians? No, thank you.  Being in a place where temperatures can drop to -50 degrees? I'll pass. At least it's warm here and people speak English.  The second thing is that they helped me remember how young we are.  At some point in the process of moving here I think I forgot that.   Almost everyday I hear about people I went to high school with buying houses, getting married, settling into their careers, etc.  I have no interest in that stuff right now and am nowhere near being ready for it.  Nonetheless, hearing it everyday made me think that here I was finishing law school - the point at which your career is supposed to start - and I up and move to Hawai'i.  It was nice to hear about other people tackling new adventures.  It made me much less crazy.

I know what you may be thinking: uhh...are you complaining about living in Hawaii!?  No, I am not.  Just the opposite, in fact.  I am fully embracing the adventure.  That doesn't mean it's always easy.  Overall, I have been pleasantly surprised by the last 100 days.  Having moved from a big city with plenty to do, I was nervous that I would get bored quickly.  Instead, I have been shocked at how much there is to do here and I look forward to doing even more.

Lanikai Triathlon

You may have noticed on the right side of the blog that I have a list of things I want to do before leaving Hawaii. One of my goals is to compete in a triathlon.  Well, I just registered for the Lanikai Sprint Triathlon.  It consists of a 500m swim, 20k bike, and 5k run and takes place on April 17, 2011.  There are a few races that take place earlier in the year, but I wanted to give myself plenty of time to train.  Even though this race isn't particularly long or grueling, I also have not trained for a triathlon before.  If any readers have suggestions for a training schedule (or even a bike), that would be much appreciated.  Right now, I have downloaded a few training schedules I found online and plan to start training seriously after the New Year.  For now, I think I am just going to start swimming as much as possible.  I can already run the 5k without any problems.  It's putting the swim, bike, and run together that presents the challenge.  I'm looking forward to it, though.  It should be fun.  If you're interested, you can click here to see the Race Map.

Also, since I have no idea what a good "time" is for a sprint triathlon, I looked up last year's race results and filtered by my demographic: Individual Male 25-29 (can I just say, btw, that I don't remember entering this age group...what ever happened to 18-24?).  Anyway, the top finisher for this division finished with a time 59:02 (he placed 7th overall).  The person who finished last in this division did so in 1:42:09.  He finished 335th overall. There were 366 total finishers.  You can see the complete list here, if you're so inclined.

What should my goal time be?  If anyone says, "you should win" I will automatically disqualify your opinion as ill-informed and ridiculous.  I would like to finish in the top 10 of my division.  Last year's 10th place finisher for the M25-29 division finished with a time of 1:07:41.  He was 39th overall.  That might be tough.  I was thinking my time would be somewhere around 1:15:00.

New Adjunct Professor

I guess I'll have to stop verbally bashing the GW alumni network - well, at least as much as I do now.  As I have previously written, a few weeks ago, I contacted one of the professors who teaches trial practice at the University of Hawaii law school.  We went to the same college (a few decades apart, obviously).  Normally GW alums don't offer each other much support, but he seemed thrilled to talk to someone from him alma mater.  Anyway, the trial practice class is taught by him (let's call him Professor C) and a former state-level trial court judge (let's call her Judge M).  Professor C said he would talk to the judge and get back to me.  I honestly expected that I would have to call him back after New Year's when the semester started in order to remind him.  I was wrong.  He called me back two days ago to schedule a meeting between the three of us.  Well all met at Professor C's office this morning and talked about what I wanted to do, what my interests were, my qualifications, and the reasons I wanted to help.  The meeting lasted about an hour (wherein the judge talked A LOT about how awesome she is...I liked her right away!).  They gave me a copy of the syllabus and case file they use for class and said if I was willing to commit to the entire semester that they are happy to have a third.  In fact, it actually works out well because Judge M won't be there for the first 3 weeks so they needed the extra help anyway.  The class starts January 18 and as of that day, I think it's safe to cross off something on my list of things I want to do before leaving.

So how does the class work!?  I knew you'd want to know, so I will tell you.  There are 12 students in the class.  Each student is given the same case file, which includes several deposition transcripts/statements, a few exhibits, stipulated facts, and jury instructions.  It is a civil medical malpractice case about a guy suing a hospital for injuries he suffered from a procedure (I haven't read the whole case yet).  The class is then divided in half (6 Plaintiff/6 Defense) and they are expected to prepare each aspect of trial from start to finish. The first week the students conduct voir dire (jury selection).  The next week they do opening statements.  This continues until the end of the semester.  Unlike some schools, there is no final trial at the end where they are expected to put everything together.  It is more of a weekly exercise class and is graded pass/fail.