19 and counting...

Heading out for a mid afternoon summer run... nuts..

Running for 19 miles .. crazy..

Out with wife and son (pacing on the bike) .. priceless..

2007 Accenture Triathlon

The last Triathlon on my 2007 race schedule is now in the books. Today, I completed my second Chicago Accenture Triathlon (this year was the 25th annual). The PA announcer called out that this triathlon was officially the largest in the world according to Guinness Book.

Before I get into my own results. Lets talk about Luis. A fella I work with that I passed along the triathlon bug to. This is a fella that only learned how to swim in late spring, on only finished his coaching lessons a short time ago. He has one sprint tri under his belt, and today competed in the Accenture Sprint tri (.47 mile swim, 13.64 mile bike, 3.1 mile run) Luis finished the sprint in 1:54:10. His 37:33 in the swim was awesome. He probably didn't hear them but he had tons of fans cheering him on as I followed along on shore. Congratulations on an awesome race Luis! Only 365 days until next year when you step into the Olympic distance.

As for me, I competed in the International (aka Olympic) distance. (.93 mile swim, 24.8 mile bike, 6.2 mile run) The goal of the race this year was to have fun, and to try to break the 22 MPH barrier on the bike. I was ok with a race time that was not a personal best. Last year I finished the race in 2:42:10. That broke down as 33:42 swim, 3:52 T1, 1:12:18 bike (21.0 MPH), 4:02 T2, and 48:15 (7:46 min/mile) run. 684/3719 overall and 144/538 in my age group.

This year, the break down was 31:35 swim, 2:46 T1, 1:08:06 bike (22.3 MPH), 2:19 T2, 45:53 (7:24 min/mile) run. The total time was 2:30:42. A striking 11 1/2 minutes faster than last year. I finished 297/3928 overall, and 71/521 in my age group.

Needless to I am very pleased with the results. I'm sure that the training for the Racine half ironman and the Chicago marathon training all helped to contribute to this years results. But in the end, its the Lord that deserves all the credit. And I lift up all the joy to him for being able to represent Chicago Team World Vision.

Thanks to all that the prayed and supported me in my Tri's this year. Thanks Mom and Dad for coming downtown today to cheer me on. Its always a boost to see people you know cheering your on. Thanks!

Peace
(p.s. I'll post pictures as they become available)

Dossier is off to Ethiopia!

We got some exciting news today from our agency that our dossier was shipped to Ethiopia yesterday! YAH!!! There was a bit of confusion about the age of child (we said infant boy, but our notice indicated a boy 0-2yrs), but I am sure that will be resolved easy enough. We are officially on the wait list and were notified that referrals have been received by people whose dossiers went to Ethiopia in Jan. of 2007. We can check back each month for progress. Our wait will depend on how many people are requesting infant boys ahead of us. I know we have a long wait ahead of us, but I am so excited to be at this next step in our journey.

A little package also arrived in the mail Monday. The package contained an Ethiopian doll we ordered for soon to be big brother E. E seemed a bit timid when dad and I held the doll and rocked him then asked E if he would like to hold him and feed him a bottle. E settled into the rocker with dad and did a professional job of holding the bottle. I know he is going to be a great big brother!

Team World Vision 2007

Just Press Play...


To Join or find out more information go to
http://www.worldvision.org/chicagoteam

To help out and make a contribution go to
http://www.firstgiving.com/twollnik2007

Quick Adoption Update

Well, it has been a couple of weeks since our dossier went to our agency and unfortunately, the documents that went to Washington DC to be certified have still not caught up with the rest of our paperwork. These documents are needed before the dossier can be sent to Ethiopia. AAI hopes we will have the documents back in another couple of weeks. USCIS has all our paperwork for the I-171H which is the other piece of paper we are lacking at this time so we will be waiting by the mailbox patiently for that as well. Looks like we will be waiting a couple of weeks to start the real waiting! I have been trying to track the referral times based on when people with AAI have sent their dossiers to Ethiopia. At this point, it does not appear that anyone requesting an infant who's dossier went to Ethiopia after the first of the year has received a referral yet. By my count, that makes the wait for referrals for infants at least 8 months (which is subject to change based on how many people are requesting infant boys ahead of us). Looks like it might be a good time to start learning some Amahric and working on those long awaited home renovations. Anyone up for some demo work?

Legend of Coffee

A few months ago, our family stated a new Sunday morning tradition of having coffee after church at a local Fair Trade Coffee House establishment. I found this Legend that is included on their brochures very interesting and wanted to share.

The legend of the coffee plant is curious and fascinating. It is said that a Shepard named Kadi, while grazing his flock in the mountains of Ethiopia, noticed that the sheep were quite lively after having eaten some of the berries.

Monks at the nearby monastery, studied the plants, their medicinal properties and other usages. Steeping the berries, they noticed that the more one drank the more one could stay awake and dedicate time to prayer.

The infustion became so loved for its taste that it became part of the Arab world. It is believed that the word coffee comes from Kafka, a region located in the mountain valley of Ethiopia.

From there it spread and so did the stories.

ASAP and World Vision Experience

I was reading an article in our diocesan newspaper, and came across a concept that I personally thought was motivating. To Quote Father John Slampak, STL:

The acronym ASAP usually means as soon as possible. You know the drill: there's work to do, deadlines to meet and you've got no time to spare, but as you hurry and scurry, ASAP: always say a prayer. In the midst of family chaos, quality time is rare. Do your best and let God do the rest, ASAP, always say a prayer.

He continues with

God knows how stressful life is and wants to ease your cares and will respond to to all your prayers, ASAP, always say a prayer

It is so simple. We are not talking about starting a novena, or praying the full rosary, but maybe just a quick "thank you" or a "I could use your help" said within your own head and heart. At least for me, I've started to put this into practice. For the good times, and the challenging times. After all, we're taught the more we relinquish control to the Lord the better off we'll be.

Being involved with Team World Vision, we get information about other happenings within the overall World Vision organization. I received this about the World Vision Experience: AIDS. It looks like a remarkable experience. When we go, we'll post on it.
http://www.worldvisionexperience.org/

Peace

Copperman Results and Photos

Better late than never. The Copperman Triathlon 2007 is now in the books. Early in my event planning for the year, I was worried about how I would respond to doing a sprint triathlon only 13 days after a 1/2 ironman. Much to my surprise I felt pretty good.

That said, I still approached this race as a fun or training opportunity. I was not out to have a PB (personal best) swim time or run time. And given the hill in furthest reaches of the Upper Peninsula Michigan, a PB on the bike was not expected. So onto the results.

The swim was in Lake Fanny Hooe. Water temps was probably high 60's low 70's. This race had about 300 total participants, with just under half competing as teams. I finished the 1/2 mile swim in 16:01, which placed me 28th out of the 112 total male competitors.

As anyone who knows the Keweenaw Peninsula of the UP, it is anything but flat. To a flatlander from Illinois, these were hills. That made for an interesting experience on the bike. It was very nice change of pace from the mostly flat courses around here. One striking observation was the shocking amount of "drafting" that was occurring on the bike. This was not a USA triathlon sanctioned event, but it was startling how much occurred. I myself ended up drafting a little bit if for no other reason that I got boxed in about 4 to 5 times, and didnt have room to clear out for over a mile. I finish the 19 mile bike ride in 53:29, which placed me 29th out of 112. The good news is that averaged close to 21.5 MPH, a personal best, despite the hills.

The 5 mile run course was an excellent combination of gravel trail running with some pavement. Like the bike, it also had its share of hills. I felt relatively strong, so I though I would try to see if I could hold an 8 minute per mile pace. There were not many mile markers, so measuring pace was a challenge. I finished the 5 mile run in 38:10 (~7:51 min/mile), which placed me 31 out of 112.

As you can see in the photo at right, I had a little extra motivation at the end of the race. E came along for the last 25 yards! At the end of the day, I finished the race in 1:47:39, which placed my 21st overall, and 8th within my age group (out of 35). It was a fun race. The people we nice. The camping added an interesting twist to pre and post race activities, but for a sprint tri, it worked out wonderfully.

Peace

full race photos and results can be found here

Dossiers the Copperman, and more

Its been awhile, lets recap whats been going on..

Racing and training: Since the Spirit of Racine 1/2 Ironman on the 22nd of July, I have been primarily resting, except for the Marathon training. My plan called for 15, which was my first run greater than 13.5 miles. 17, 18, 19, 20 miles are in the upcoming weeks. This weekend, Saturday is the Copperman Sprint Triathlon. This will be more of a "fun" and training race for me. Not going to go nuts on it. The Copperman 1/2mile swim, 19mile bike, and 5 mile run should help keep me tuned up for the Accenture Chicago Triathlon on the 26th.

Adoption: As Jodie posted already, our Dossier was submitted. I cannot speak for her, but I think I was surprised by how quickly we turned that around. Our "Dossier Blitzkrieg" took just under two weeks. So we are now officially into the "waiting for a referral" stage. We will get some minor milestone updates, such as the re-opening of our Illinois Foster care license, and the notice of our Dossier has completed being translated and was sent to Ethiopia for processing. Jodie and I are ready and energized for the long referral wait that has now begun.

Lastly.. I've overheard someone wonder why people would put themselves through this (a 1/2 ironman). I can't answer for anyone but myself. And throughout the posts of this blog I've answered this question. To put it plainly... I Tri (as in triathlon) because I care. Its simple enough to just write a check, or drop change into the collection basket. I do that all the time. I Tri.. because I want to do more than just write checks. I Tri..because I have Faith that when I offer up the joys I receive, or the accomplishment I feel, or the suffering and pain I endure to the Lord, with the hopes and intentions that all those "offerings" will be accepted by the Lord and used to help others. Namely the children and families Team World Vision is working to help. I Tri.. because I can.. and its just another way I feel I can help others. Not everyone may believe in these sorts of offerings, nor may everyone have such faith. I Tri.. for Hope.. hope that my "works" serve as inspiration and motivation to others, and will be accepted by the Lord for the benefit of others...

Reading of the Day...

Hebrews 11:1
Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen

Spirit of Racine Race Photos

Included below are some of the shots of my from the Spirit of Racine 1/2 Ironman. The day ended up being quite nice, and the water was a refreshing 63 degrees. Enjoy...




The Bike was a good ride. While more hills than I am used to. The sun was not to bad, nor was the heat.


The Run was much more difficult that I had thought. Especially since the run is/was to be my strongest event. I finished the 1/2 marathon run in just under two hours. In all it was a good day. A tad bit of dizziness at the end. But nothing that some ice, fluids, and sitting down a bit couldn't fix.