Howard Solomon

Swimming with Sharks

So, I'm swimming my first Alcatraz race this weekend. It's an aquathlon - my first ever. Kicks off with 1.5 mile swim in the 57 degree, shark infested waters (hi mom!) and a 7 mile run through the Presidio. I'll confess to being a tad bit, shall we say "apprehensive" about the swim. I know I'll be stoked when I'm done however; Alcatraz swim has long been on my bucket list. I'm doing this race with my boy Dave who's emerged as a super strong swimmer so I'm hoping I can stay on his toes.
 
Anyway the swim has necessitated a few purchases including a full suit and a neoprene hoodie. I figure both will get plenty of good use over the next few years.
 
Anyway, here's to hoping that the sharks take a pass on the skinny guy. I'm trying out this ensemble (pictures attached for your viewing pleasure) tomorrow might as part of a test. Hope it goes well.

Dusk in Marin County

Sometimes - but not often- I forget how fortunate I am to live in such a beautiful part of the world. These pictures don't do justice to how beautiful the view is at dusk, when the moon comes out in full effect over the Bay. Just incredible and without getting too new-agey it makes one believe in a Higher Power.

Go Julie Go!

Julie Westcott, aka @curesrock was one of my Livestrong teammates at Boston. She and I email (tweet, actually) regularly and I consider her a friend. She is also incredibly inspirational - honestly, one of the most inspirational individuals I have had the pleasure of gettig to know. Shortly after Boston she suffered a bit of a setback, but I know she's going to kick cancer to the curb this time around. Anyway, I was absolutely thrilled to see that Lance dedicated stage two of the Tour to her. He could not have picked a more worthy individual. Please take a moment to watch this video. And go get 'em Julie. Tons of us are pulling for you.
 
http://www.livestrong.com/lance-armstrong/video/stage-2-dedication-julie-westcott/3ccebe15-2ee4-47b7-a7c2-d700e0c77215/

Mount Tam

For the first time, I climbed up and over Mount Tam. The peak was absolutely sensational. You can see tha I was pretty high above the cloud line. Even on an overcast day I was able to see as far as Napa on one side and Mount Diablo on the over. I confess that he "run" up was more like a hike/slog and it just about did me in. My friend Brian and I hen ran all the way down to Stinson Beach where we me our two families for breakfast. A magnificent way to start the day.

Sweet Home Chicago

The Wife, Girl and I are back from a fantastic trip to Chicago, our trip to the ER nonwithstanding. We did nothing but han out (and eat) with four sets of amazing friends and I could not imagine a more enjoyeable weekend. Nothing in the world likegood friends. What made the weekend even more spectacular is that not only are the kids all growing up, they get along amazingly well. I must confess that as I sit on the plane typing hear words, for the first time I'm. Bit wistful that I don't live in Chicago. Wait a second; I just mentally recalled how cold it is in February. Ok, I'm over it.
 
In other news, the Tour started today and i could not be more excited. The real story, in my opinion, wasn't Lance but rather his teammate Alberto Contador. He showed the field that he's the guy to beat.

Happy Birthday Little Girl

The Little Girl turns seven today and she does so in the town in which she was born. Yesterday The Wife took her to American Doll Store and she fell in love with the place which is I guess what girls her age do. Interesting to me, though, as she's never been much interested in dolls. Regardless we now have a new member of our family and her name is Olivia. She's named after her (practically) brand new cousin, Olivia who she has yet to meet (but already very much loves).
 
Anyway happy birthday Little Girl! I hope that you get to celebrate 100 more birthdays.

My New Sport: Stand Up Paddling

We went to the beach in Sausalito today and my buddy Mark just bought a new paddleboard. This is a different type of board than the one I wrote about a year ago; this is a stand up board.  It's super wide and fairly easy to maneuver. I paddled around the Bay for quite some time until I got the hang of it and I have to say that ir was both super fun and one heck of a workout, mostly the arms and core. The Board is big enough that the Little Girl was able to get on it with me and we cruised around quite a bit. She was loving it and I think I might have to get one of these bad boys. The only problem is that they aren't exactly inexpensive. Let me know if anyone would like to sponsor me (read: you, Dad). It was a very California day in total: went for a long swim in the Bay, paddled around for a good while and then ran six miles (see previous post). And to top it off, it was 77 and blue skies. I couldn't ask for a more perfect day. 

Barefoot Running

I have recently started running in my Vibram FiveFingers, which is essentially the same as running barefoot save for a very thin piece of rubber. I'm taking it slow but ran six miles today. Since wearing these things my calf pain that has persisted since Boston has all but gone away and I can feel my feet getting much stronger. I think my posture has improved as well. I admit they are pretty weird looking - I get constant abuse over them - but they definitely have functional use. They are probably a passing fad but even if so they have injected some fun and a new spin into my running.

Way to Go Little Girl

Solid effort today for the Little Girl; she swam best times in both freestyle and in butterfly (which she won). Backstroke wasn't too bad either - just one second off her mark. All in all a good day despite the fact that I sat in 93 degree heat for five hours to watch her swim less than two minutes in total.

Missing the Little Boy

I'm generally not too prone to what I'd call "sappy" posts but this is an instance where I really can't help myself. The Little Boy has been at camp for little over one day and already I miss him dearly. How could one not miss a face lime this?Not sure how I'm going to get through the next three and a half weeks without him. Of course I know how this story will play out: as soon as he's back and fighting with his sister I'll wish he was away again.