July 9: Baby Smith

What a great Christmas it was sharing the good news of Rachel being pregnant with our families and friends. She is due on July 9th so that puts her about 12 weeks along. The big man upstairs continues to bless Rachel and I time after time. We are very excited for this addition to our family.

The Smith family as a whole is growing quickly. After our baby is born that will make 15 total with spouses and then our children. My brother Mike gets married in 2 weeks and then my other brother and his wife will be having their first baby in May.

We have some catching up to do on the other side with the Gaynors, but I wouldn't be surprised if one or two other little ones make it here by the end of 2011. It's going to be the best year yet!

Oh, and don't think for a moment I won't be as hungry as ever to do my very best at triathlon. If anything it has already provided a ton of motivation. With me missing out on most of last year with my broken collarbone I have a definite chip on my shoulder.

Happy New Year and remember you can't change the past so leave it and move forward to bigger and better things.

Marc Herremans

We have some amazing athletes in triathlon...here is one of them: Marc Herremans

All is very well here in Mancelona. Just living life to the fullest and having fun while doing it. Training is going well and I got out on the xc skiis on thursday again. No soreness like last time so I'm hoping my body has made a quick adjustment to using some of those new muscles. Our jv basketball team I'm helping coach is 1-1. We lost in overtime on Thursday. It was an exciting game and our kids played hard. We lost to a bigger school who has a freshman team and therefore all their players were sophomores. That year makes a difference in a tight game like that. Our kids are starting to come around though. Lots of things to work on, but they are willing to get better.

We're off the Mt. Pleasant today for Susie and Jeremy's graduation and then tommorrow morning we're headed to Auburn for Brody's baptism. It's awesome being back close to family!

Snow!

Well, the snow is officially here with a good foot at least now. For most endurance junkies in Michigan, xc skiing enters the picture come December or so. I have done some classic xc skiing a couple of times, but today was my first time out on skate skiis. I plan to do a few xc ski races this winter and I think I'll focus solely on the skate races. The trails were a bit rough today, but definitely skiable. I have some work to do from a technique standpoint, but I think I did okay for my first time out. I skiied with the Cross Country Ski Shop team out of Grayling and it was a lot of fun. They were very kind to let me tag along and share some tips with me. I am sure I'll be a bit sore tomorrow as xc skiing forces you to use some muscles you don't use so much while swimming, cycling, or running. It's awesome cross training though and will really help me supplement the low cycling volume. 2 - 3 focused trainer sessions per week for 60-75 minutes will be enough to help my cycling still progress. Off to the gaylord pool in the morning for a 5:45AM session. If you live in northern Michigan and are a triathlete you should come join us!

On a side note, I am helping coach high school basketball this year and our team has it's first game on Tuesday. We had two great scrimmages last week so i think we're ready to roll. I'd be shocked if we lose more than a couple of games this year. The kids are really putting in the effort. I just wish they would play year round a bit instead of just during the season. They would be scary good if they played more the rest of the year. Who knows, maybe I can instill that work ethic in some of them.

It's going to be a busy December, but I wouldn't have it any other way.