Lucy Cooking (again!)

This time in the snow

Merry Christmas!

Lucy after one too many..

Lucy Singing to Tom

Tom's 2nd day...

He's just a little peanut!

Lucy playing babies...wait, this one is REAL!

Fresh like a box of Krispy Kreme

Tom, Aged 2 minutes!


A few minutes later...


The new family of FOUR!

surprise!

12:30am charlotte woke me up
1:15am korie arrived to stay with lucy
1:35am arrived at hospital
2:35am epidural complete
2:45am 3 pushes and out he came!

Thomas Mueller Bashforth born 12/10/2008 at 2:45am. About a month early at 5lbs 8oz, 18inches long.

Lucy with her Baby Brother Tommy:

3 Nights in Arizona

By the numbers:
4 trips to In-n-out Burger
1 chocolate Shake
1 Neopolitan Shake
1 French Fries
2 Arnold Palmers (1 M, 1 XL)
6 Double Doubles Animal Style

Tasty!



Is there a better way to watch an Ironman than with a double double?




Tobin anxious to dig in for his first bite..

New England in November...it ain't Florida!!

Lucy all ready for the great outdoors!

Lucy fashion

Lucy's favorite pastime is cooking in the back yard and wearing ALL her colors and patterns at the same time!

Westchester Toughman Triathlon

Last Sunday I participated in the Westchester Toughman Half Iron distance triathlon. This was the first running of this hopefully annual event and I was particularly looking forward to it as a portion of the bike course overlapped some of my favorite training routes. True Motion were also sponsors of the Age Group Awards so we were involved at the expo with a booth to sell our goods as well as providing gift certificates for the top three in each age group.

The race was set to start at 7am but a little fog over the water created a 10min delay until the course became visible and the race organizers blew the horn to send off the first wave which included my age group (M35-39). Unfortunately, the fog then really came in quite thick and it became impossible to see any of the turn buoys. Instead we had to take cues off the supporting Kayakers and after managing to successfully navigate to the first turn buoy the kayaker I was following seemed to lose track of the course and I ended up going way past the 2nd turn only to come across a police boat stopping us from going further afield. Fortunately I could just about make out a silhouette of the shoreline so I decided to swim straight for it, figuring if I missed the official exit I could at least find my way to it along the shore. Luckily my directional sense paid off and I ended up swimming straight to the exit but by this time I had lost around 10mins to what I expected. However, I expected many others to have been in the same predicament so I just got on with getting my bike gear on and set off on the bike.
Swim 43:14
T1 1:47



The weather was a little chilly first thing – about 50F so the first few miles took some warming up. Hitting the first hill I ran into issues with my gears slipping when in the small ring so I stopped a couple of times to see if I could make a quick adjustment. No joy there so I figured I’d just have to use the big ring for the majority of the ride and use the small ring for only the steepest of climbs (luckily, the lowest gear was the only one not slipping!). After about 10miles I found myself going back and forth with 3 or 4 other guys. Typically they would pass me on the uphills and I would pass them back on the down hills and stay ahead until the next climb. The course itself was on open roads but traffic was light so cars didn’t present a problem. Mid way through the bike I noted how strong I felt yet my breathing was extremely easy. I had not been doing a great deal of long training sessions so I was concerned if the bike took too much out of me, the run would be a disaster so this was a good sign. I kept on at the same intensity through the remainder of the 56miles eventually dropping the group of guys before mile 50.

Bike 2:45:41



Transition was very quick. True Motion Marketing Director Mimi Boyle was volunteering in the transition area and her cheers spurred me onto a race best 23 second T2 split and out I went onto the run course.



Aerobically I felt very strong on the run but early on I felt the onset of cramping in my lower quads. I had probably consumed a little less fluid on the bike than I would prefer so I was a little anxious the cramps would worsen and I could end up walking at any moment. I diligently took on water and Gatorade through the aid stations and managed to stave off the cramps but as the course took a turn into the hills the leg pain certainly didn’t go away! While also challenging, the run course was really beautiful, with road sections through residential parts of Croton, trail sections through the woods and a section across the top of the dam. Finally by mile 11 the pounding up and down the hills got the better of me and my pace really slowed as my legs seemed to fall apart. Having passed a few until this point and been running relatively solo I was now passed by 4 or 5 other athletes as I ran into the last mile. I did managed to eek out a little more speed down the finishing chute as the race announcer called out my name.
Run 1:46:01



I later found out I had managed to hold on for 3rd place in my age group and that two of the guys passing me in the last mile had actually knocked me down from the 1st place spot!

All in all, a very challenging but fun triathlon. The Toughman was an exceptionally well run event and I look forward to being a part of it in the future.

Sch-wing batter, batter, batter....

The Padres are having a shocking season this year. I think it's time the called up Lucy from the minor, minor league ranks :)

Gran and Grandad before they were even Parents!

My dad made the mistake of sending me this classic picture from before I was born...

I can't resist making a few cheeky remarks:

• How skinny??? Skinnier than I have ever been I am certain!


• My mum's gloves - beautiful!


• Ginger Goatee - say no more!


• Top Hat - wonky for effect i wonder?


• My mum's handbag - looks like she could have bought that this week!

Dancing Queen....on no naps and way past bed time!!

After an early wake up, long drive to Orlando and a long day in Disney we then tested Lucy's mettle even further by taking her to a raucus Greek restaurant for dinner... As can be witnessed below, she passed the test in flying colors!

News from the Bashforth's....

Some General news updates on a few changes coming up for the Bashforths....

1. As the picture above might suggest - we're pleased to announce we're expecting our second child in January 2009!! So far we're at 14 weeks so still a little early to find out the gender but Charlotte is certain she saw a "winkle" while getting the ultrasound this morning. We'll find out the gender for sure in a few more weeks. Naturally we're really excited and Lucy seems to be as well - she was asking Mommy if she could see the bay inside her tummy last week :)
2. Charlotte has taken a new role with Diageo based back in Norwalk, CT so our time in FL is coming to an end. We're officially "heading north" on August 10th and will be returning to live in Stamford CT (but not in the same house!). We're certainly going to miss our friends down here and the FL lifestyle but we're also excited to be nearer to our old friends and family and I of course am excited to be nearer the snow!(Charlotte not so much!!)
3. I am also on the move job wise and will be starting a new role with Jefferies at the beginning of August.
   

Disney and why it pays to take along your daughter ;)

As we have now entered our final month of Florida residency :( we decided to make a trip to Orlando this past weekend for a couple of days at Disney World.


Amongst the many, many attractions for Lucy to see , her favorite activities seemed to include anything that involved a Princess. As a father, I'm sure you will understand just how much of a drag this was ;)

Lucy with Sleeping beauty (we caught her between naps)
Cinderella (yes, the glass slipper DID fit!)

Lucy with Belle (having tamed the Beast - see further down)

Lucy with Ariel

The Beast dancing with the beauty (I was picked from the crowd to play "the Beast" at story time with Belle which was of course devasting for me....)

the Beast now turned into a Prince! (and we all lived happily ever after....)

ABCs..

Lucy picked up the Mike and gave us a (partial) rendition of her ABCs!

Tidyman's Carpets

This one is an absolute classic...my friend Dave and I used to recite this on a daily basis walking back and forth from school...

classic North - South humour!!

Splash n Play

my first ever Sprint Triathlon!!

Although the Mack Cycle Trilogy #1 race in Key Biscayne FL was my 30th multisport event it was first ever SPRINT distance triathlon! The race was due to start at a nice and civilized 7:30am so i ambled over to registration around 6:30 and got myself set up in transition. In retrospect I should have arrived much sooner and had a proper bike warm up but as it was, being a "newbie" at the distance i only had time for a 5min spin before it was time to head over to the beach.

Swim - 0.25 miles, 6:22mins
The swim was none wetsuit (Water temp 82F) and being so short i debated whether to wear my Xterra speedskin wondering if it would take more time to take off than the time i might gain from wearing it. I tested it out in the pool last week and was convinced it would be worth it. The pool was a beach start out to the first buoy then a left turn to a straight away parallel to the beach then the exit. My wave was quite large so there was a decent amount of mayhem going into that first run but quite honestly the swim was over so quickly I can't remember anything else!




T1 - 0:54mins
T1 involved a decent beach run, through a nice deep puddle from the storm the night before which served nicely to get rid of any sand from my feet and then into the grassy transition. Pulled off speed suit, Grabbed helmet and was on my way...

The Bike - 10 miles - 25:39mins
Went against all rules of power meter pacing and pretty much just went for it! the course was a simple out and back with a short climb over the flyover bridge once in each direction. Instead of "managing" my work over the bridge ascents I just hammered up in the aero bars both times and perhaps paid for it as my watts dropped slightly from what i thought i should be able to hold in the latter miles.




T2 - 0:45
Not my fastest ever T2 but ok. had to navigate a few large puddles and didn't have an optimal location in transition....was nice to come in and see so few bikes though!

The Run - 3.1 miles - 19:17mins
Went hard from the start with no regards for the heat figuring it was 3.1 miles so I should be able to hang on regardless! First section was 0.5miles out and back so I soon saw (as expected) the phenomenal John Reback (one of US Olympian Laura Bennett's brothers) as race leader and was pleased to see there was not too many folks between us. Unofortunately there was a duathlon going on simultaneously and also other fast age groups starting in waves behind us so it was really no indicator of where i was in the field. I just kept looking for the next guy ahead and aim to reel them in. By the finishing final long straight before the finish I could see a couple more ahead but just didn't have any kick in my legs so just kept up the same hard pace. Felt great crossing the line after a good short sharp "workout" and after spending a few moments to recover and cool down I enjoyed watching and cheering folks coming into the finish.




Finish time - 0:52:57
3rd/89 Male 35-39
17th/771 Overall


Bike Power info:
(this is having removed the coasting in and out of transition and putting on shoes etc..)

TSS: 40 (intensity factor 1.009)
Norm Power: 241
VI: 1.04

Min Max Avg
Power: 0 397 231 watts
Cadence: 61 108 95 rpm
Speed: 11.1 35 24.0 mph
Temperature: 80.6 86 84.3 Fahrenheit

Classic cycling from 1987

I found this clip on You Tube from the 1987 Tour De France - it is one of the most memorable stages of all time and from the era when I first became a fan of the race.

Ireland's Stephen Roche had lost a bit of time to race leader Pedro Delgado but made a miraculous ascent up to the ski station town of La Plagne taking about about 1 minute appearing round the last corner seconds after Delgado. Roche then went on to win the Tour...skip to about 2mins into the clip to see the finish and witness Phil Liggett (Commentating) at his most excitable!

hot! hot! hot! (Eagleman 70.3 Race Report)

I had been really looking forward to this race and hoping to finish even faster than my PR day last year. I have recently changed up my training routine some and noted some good improvements in training, particularly in my swim and bike…..That was until a) I foolishly thrashed my body water skiing the weekend before the race resulting in severe aches and pains throughout most of last week and b) finding out the race day weather forecast – 95F and insane humidity! Still – I was raring to go and felt great race morning, albeit hot and sticky as I entered the Choptank River in my wetsuit.

The Swim (36:40)
For once the Choptank river was not living up to its name and instead was as calm as a mill pond. I positioned myself way to the right of the field to try to avoid too much hustle and bustle and took a few warm up strokes prior to start to loosen things up. From the gun I managed to avoid too much contact and soon settled into a strong rhythm that I felt I could sustain for the distance. I actually really enjoyed the swim for a change and definitely noticed my improve swim fitness towards the end as I felt strong throughout. I was slightly disappointed to see my split being slower than last year but realized the current in the river was probably against our favor so remained positive.

Coming out of the water


T1 (2:53)
Pretty uneventful although I did notice a few more bikes than usual in my section of transition so this gave me some confidence of an improved swim relative to my peers. The aero helmet straps present the usual fumbling but not too many lost seconds and I was soon on my way.

The Bike (2:32:13)
I did a race rehearsal 2 weeks ago at goal watts and felt perfect so I knew this was purely going to be a repeat exercise in patience and execution rather than any racing and I just went with my power meter for pacing right from the start. In my race rehearsal I had learned that in the past I had perhaps tried to consume too many calories on the bike which had led to bloating and discomfort on the run so today I went exactly as rehearsed and it worked perfectly. 2x nuun tabs, 2 ½ scoops of carbo pro, 2 gu packets and water was all I took and finally everything was absorbed without issue. By Mile 40 I had been steadily passing people and noticed there seemed to be a lot fewer folks on the course this year than last. This was probably due to me starting in a prior wave but probably also due to many people opting not to start the race due to the ridiculous weather. And then came a fairly large pack of about 8 guys, some of them guys I had passed in my AG earlier and others from the wave behind catching up and for the next 10 miles or so my even pacing strategy went a little out of the window. Although I a pack, for the most part everyone was proactively trying to ride the legal distance apart but the congestion added a new twist to what had been a pretty mindless pacing effort until this point. For a while I had to keep make surges to re-pass the group as they slowed and then had to soft pedal or coast to drop back when they pulled past and cut in right in front of me which was a little frustrating. I missed a water bottle hand off at the final aid station which came up much sooner than expected but thankfully one of the guys in the group offered up half his bottle. (thank you Scott from Maryland Tri club – you saved my race as that water was just enough to get me into t2!) After about 5 miles the group finally seemed to drop off the back but they caught and passed me again about mile 50 when I started to cramp up in my backside and hamstrings. I had been aero the whole time until now and pedaling constantly but I think the water skiing aches had finally caught up with me and returned sporadically for the remainder of the bike. I was optimistic they would not impact my run but for the next 5 miles my avg watts dropped fairly significantly as I would stand, coast, stretch etc.. every few mins to try to get rid of the pain. Coming into T2 I watch the seconds tick by and noted my split would be pretty much identical to last year. However, I noted during the ride how using the power meter for pacing had made me much more even than normal where I would inadvertently surge and then slow down even though I thought I was pacing evenly. I also felt incredibly fresh despite the heat of the day and was now ready for the most challenging part of the day in this weather.


Early in the race, no one around :)



Later in the bike, pulling along the Peleton :(



(Scroll down for Bike Power data)

T2 (1:42)
No messing around: rack bike, take off helmet, put on shoes, go. Wasn’t really going all out for the fastest T2 award but efficient enough.

The Run (1:50:18)
Last year I had an amazing run in this race and I felt my speed coming into the race was at least as fast as last year but my long runs had been sporadic at best in the last 2 months so the endurance could be questionable. I started out very conservatively in the heat and soon noted the lack of obvious mile markers so my pace was something of a mystery. I was pretty much passing people and only rarely being passed and I had no GI issues so my attention was focused on keeping cool and getting adequate but not too much hydration and nutrition to no upset the apple cart. From the first aid station I tried the “ice in the running hat” trick for the first time and was quite amazed how effective it was at keeping the core temperature down. As the ice typically melted a minute or so before the next aid station it became obvious how quickly things heated up without it so I knew I was onto something good and kept at it. I hit the turn around at mile 6.55 at exactly 50mins so got the first indication of my pacing. While certainly not close to my previous time on this course I was relatively pleased as I still felt I would have enough gas to pick things up in the last few miles and negative split the run. Then things started to go a little down hill. On the way back the aid stations were not in reverse order with ice coming up first which meant I had to stop to fill my cap before taking water/coke for drinking. I also had to make a bathroom stop so this started to cost me some time. Somewhere in the middle of the course there was a long stretch between aid stations which also seemed to be the most exposed and felt incredibly hot. This section really took its toll and I could feel my pace beginning to slow. By the time I got to the next aid station I was desperate for fluids and downed was too much water and coke. Minutes later I paid for this with a painful side stitch and was reduced to a combination of walk and jogging for the next mile or so until it miraculously disappeared just before the final aid station. Foolishly I didn’t take any ice or fluids at this stop and my pace ground down to a virtual crawl as I seriously started to over heat. By the time I hit the finishing chute I had nothing left in me to pick up the pace even slightly and I literally could barely walk another meter once I crossed the finish line. Following a 20minute lie down with a few bags of ice in the med tent I took a nice long dip in the river which was literally the most pleasant part of the day!

Although my time was 21 mins slower than last year I am very pleased with the outcome of the race and particularly my progress in the swim and bike. I finished a good 10% higher relative to the field this year in both those disciplines which gives me a lot of confidence the changes I am making to my training.


Fairly early in the run



Finish Time 5:03:44
142nd /1382 overall
26th /207 in M35-39 Age Group.

So with IMAZ in April, that is two races done this year and both in 95F+ weather conditions! Next race I hope for a bit of a break in the weather department! Even rain would be a pleasure!


Afterwards - please to have finished!




Bike Power Data
FT is 239, Goal Watts 198 (IF 0.83/TSS 173)

Entire 56 miles:
Duration: 2:32:00
TSS: 172.3 (intensity factor 0.825)
Norm Power: 197
VI: 1.02
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 664 194 watts
Cadence: 51 108 92 rpm
Speed: 5.7 27 22.5 mph
Temperature: 82.4 95 88.9 Fahrenheit


first half:
Duration: 1:15:55
TSS: 87.6 (intensity factor 0.832)
Norm Power: 199
VI: 1.01

Min Max Avg
Power: 0 518 197 watts
Cadence: 53 106 92 rpm
Speed: 11.1 25.9 22.5 mph
Temperature: 82.4 89.6 85.3 Fahrenheit

Second Half
Duration: 1:16:10
TSS: 84.8 (intensity factor 0.817)
Norm Power: 195
VI: 1.03
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 664 190 watts
Cadence: 51 108 91 rpm
Speed: 5.7 27 22.5 mph
Temperature: 89.6 95 92.4 Fahrenheit

a swimming mom...pretty amazing!

End of the school year

Lucy's time at Coconut Grove Montessori has come to an end :(

Graduation was on Wednesday and yesterday was their final day. She will miss her buddy Valentin.

Lucy and Valentin

Another reminder of younger Bob...

Here's our lass aged 18 months in Queenstown, NZ

It's a hard life living in Florida...

Well, we had a very fun and hectic weekend between stints of tedious tidying up necessary for getting the apartment ready to sell...

Saturday we went to visit Lucy's beau Valentin, his sister Josephine and mom Erika (Father Emanuel was away in France for work/family visit). The weather was superb so we spent much of the time playing in the yard, in and out of the pool and eating Brazilian snacks. Some photos below. Later we went to dinner on the Miracle Mile in Coral Gables and Lucy got to stay up WAY past her bedtime and ended up hitting the pillow around 9pm!

Lucy pretending to "go to the bathroom"



Lucy carefully considering a Marriage Proposal by Valentin


Valentin didn't take too kindly to the rejection


Sunday morning we were up bright and early for a day of boating on the bay with Charlotte's former boss and some colleagues. We spent most of the morning zipping around taking turns to water ski and i managed to learn how to mono-ski for the first time - naturally I was up and doing turns on the second attempt ;) We then moored the boat close to a sandbar and hung out for the afternoon relaxing in the sunshine, eating etc.. Was a lot of fun and we call caught our fair share of rosey-skin before returning back to dry land on Key Biscayne about 5pm. Our final social commitment was then a quick BBQ at our neighbours Lyndsey and Jason. They had a few other friends visiting and we went round for some hot dogs and the like before returning to more cleaning up and bed for Bob. A very fun but exhausting weekend was had by all.

Today (Monday) I am feeling stiff as a board and sore from head to toe from the waterskiing!

Little Bob...

Now Lucy is 2 and a little girl i thought it might be fun to remember her as a little squirt.... :)





and one from when she was even younger:

some nice publicity for true motion...

have a look at this interview....

popcorn and twizzlers...

a short movie clip from Ironman Arizona...filming by my dad, very poor attempt at editing by me :)

Bob turns 2!

Saturday May 17th marked Lucy's second birthday so we invited a bunch of people round for her birthday celebration. The VIP guest for the day was Lucy's special friend Valentin, her glamorous half French/half Brazilian sweet heart from Coconut Grove Montessori. We also had a bunch of other kids and their parents (mostly our friends or Charlotte's colleagues) and had a good old time.

Charlotte did a splendid job of planning a "Go Diego Go" themed party with lots of decorations, games and toys for the kids. We also had a small buffet and of course the Kid favorites of Pizza and PBJ's didn't last long as the parents seemed to prefer them over the more adult oriented hors d' 0euvres!

Lucy of course was very spoiled with lots of gifts and thoroughly enjoyed being the center of attention! The finale was a purple Dora the Explorer cake with Peanut Butter Ice cream inside.

Poor Lucy was worn out by the end of the day but as you can imagine didn't want the day to end so going to sleep that night was a little more work than normal!

The calm before the storm:


Paul, Charlotte and Lucy


Christy, Mauricio and Lucy


Lucy assisted by Valentin


Lucy's cousin Sotiri


Lucy applying her lipstick


Josephine (no relation to Napoleon but she IS half French...)


Christy, Max and Lucy