Feeling Inspired by Recovery and The Girls Helped With It All

Last night was a rough night. Well, long for me but not that rough. Faith on the other hand seemed to be on the rough side. Lucie has developed a real temper when she’s not getting what she wants, especially when she wants to be held, but last night she was so constipated she screamed her head off till she blew up 2 diapers in a row! So while Faith tended to Lucie’s dilemma I chillaxed with Leola as we did the 3 hour relay. One bottle, 3 hours sleep, wake-up and repeat till morning. Usually Sunday night and Monday night Faith takes point and lets me sleep so I can train the next morning, but this week is a recovery week and boy, could I use some recovery, so I bucked up and split the duty and took care of Twin B. This caused me to change my training plans and work schedule, which is totally cool with me.
As I thumbed through an ArtForum while my coffee warmed it hit me! I’m starting to feel rested and I can’t wait to make art again! It is, as if my brain chemicals have been refilled! I remembered there are all these great projects I want to work on and finish. The newer ones will involve triathlon and the “art” of endurance training.
Balance and patience, Jason, it will happen. Right!
My legs are not feeling so heavy as well.
Tomorrow morning I’ll do the very short run I planned to do today and hop into the pool to do some kicking to finish up some of the recovery then head to THE STUDIO! Of course there are some errands that have to be run that support the goal of working in the studio, but I can do it! I know it!
Then Friday I’ll be working on the video from the training footage! It so hard to set-up again to edit, but I’ll just have to slide the swing and boppies over to make room for the hard drives.
I’ll be heading back up state on a bike ride on Sunday if the legs continue to lighten up, which I think is definitely happening now. I think I’m going to take my camera and snap some pics to post.

I guess the point of this post is to say, “I’m feeling so much better!” and it is because the girls made me improvise my recovery, which reminded me that, “yes, I am still inspired!”

This is a pic of my dear friend Sarah and me enjoying the sun and a Stone!Thanks for the pics Heather!

Riding In The Dark, Stiff Legs and An FYI for My Blog Readers

One of my favorite things to do is commute on my bike in the morning before the sun comes up. If I am training, I try to leave the house by 4:15am. At this time, the streets are usually deserted. It is safer for me to make it through the streets to the bike path without encountering much traffic except for the delivery trucks making their pre-dawn drop offs.
The city seems like another place at this time. I often see and hear things that usually get missed during the hustle and bustle of rush-hour, like hearing the birds chirping and the sky going from black to deep blue, then to orange as the sun comes up. On the cold mornings I see the grass glistening as the lights of the cars reflect off the frost and my invisible breathe appears as a smoking grey when the light of day starts to peak through. By the end of the ride/ workout the color of day has appeared and a new has started for all around me.
This morning’s commute and the ride post swim was the first of coming warm summer days. I was able to wear shorts, no sleeves and no toe covers which is the tell tale sign that warmer days are on the way. Although it is suppose to cool of again I think the thawing has officially started. This a pic of my bike path just as I get on it.

I have been meaning to write about my bike commute in the dark for awhile, but hesitated to share it because I didn’t want anyone to worry, but after reading a forum post on trifuel I realized I wasn’t the only one out there that braves the dark for a brisk morning ride. I wear white, and reflective garments with flashing lights on my bike, so don’t worry Mom.
Well, as of my last post my body has been fighting to recover. I took Friday off, did a short 3 mile run on Saturday, followed by my first ice bath of season, then cancelled my long ride on Sunday and enjoyed the after noon playing Guitar Hero Metallica, stretched, rolled, stretched and rolled some more while chilling with the my girls. As of last night, my legs were still stiff and sore, so I went ahead and shaved my legs so I could really get into the muscles with all my massaging tools. There are other reasons for us triathlon peeps to shave their legs, but I’ll save that for another post.
After talking to some my friends who read my blog (but don’t comment!?!?!)
I have to clarify how I write and edit each post.
I usually sit down and just write out the rough entry as soon as I can, to keep the thoughts fresh in my head. Then I’ll post it without very much revising. As the day goes on I’ll revisit the post to make changes, edits etc…So if you’re reading a new post early and it sounds like I’m a crappy writer I’m sorry I just haven’t had a chance to go over it yet and fix the mistakes. But, rest assure I will and I promise that I’m not a challenged blog writer.
I am going to the studio Wednesday if it kills me

Found Myself Standing On The Edge Of A Training Cliff

SPENT!
Today marks the first day in my training saga that I must listen to my body and it is telling me, “Jason, you better back off or I’ll make you pay for putting me through anymore overtime!”
It is a feeling I can’t explain. Even after you get plenty of sleep, stretch and eat for an entire day you just can’t get your body to perform at the level needed to make progress. Some call this over reaching. I’m even considering canceling the bike ride I had planned for Sunday because my legs feel like I’m carrying around lead weights in my flip-flops.
There is an upside to times like these in ones training cycle. It allows for improvising and creative thinking to be injected into the normal routine, because when I start feeling like this I don’t want to train. Every task becomes a grind and that is red flag #1. Next week was supposed to be recovery week, so to make it fun I will be taking the camera along to see if I can get some more training footage to work with.
I’ve spent the morning looking at my plan and beginning to make some adjustments to keep me interested and fresh. Will keep you updated on what they are and how it works.
I really want/ need to get back into the studio. I hope by the end of next week I’ll have the wig for Dorothy finished. (If I can ever get it to Grace!) and be able to finish up the aero helmet paint job. AND….
Allow my brain to clear up, so I can make a more insightful post for you all to read.

Where I'm at today....

Man, what a week and weekend! Right now I’m exhausted! I’m going into week 4 of a cycle and last week topped out my run training so far. Tues I did 7 miles at the track, Fri 3miles of a BRICK and Sunday did 10 miles! Total 20 miles! And I’m shot. I got into the pool this morning and by my 2nd 400 I knew I wasn’t going to be able to hold any kind of interval. I just had no juice left in the tank. This past weekend it was gorgeous here, high in the 70’s on Saturday.
The girls are doing good, we seem to be a good team! Faith has been awesome. She is accommodating my training, but on my off days, I give Faith time off to do her stuff and I spend all my time with the girls.
More and more I find myself in a weird headspace, pondering the meaning of balance in my life now. Before I worried about the what-ifs, now I’m more content in my daily routine and I get excited about what the next day might bring. We’re thinking about moving back, which has always been the plan, but things seemed to be working for me here right now. I have a good job that I like, I’m getting in shape to race again, I’ve stayed inspired with my art (even though not able to get into the studio much right now) and I’m cool with how everything is right now. Every time I wake-up to see those little girls faces all the small stuff just melts away with the warmth of their little grins! I think for the first time in my life I truly believe it’s all going to work out in time, just be patient Jason and enjoy every breath of life you breathe.

The Mountains Win Again and Walter Returns Home

Easter Sunday I headed out on my first “real” long bike ride since starting to train again. I say “real” because the route is on 9W heading into upstate NY and it is hilly to say the least. Knowing that it was going to be hard ahead of time is one thing, but you add 15- 20 mph wind into the mix and you have a recipe to become the cowardly lion!
Nevertheless, I packed the bike in the car with all my cold weather gear and headed to Williamsburg Brooklyn to start my Easter morning ride.
Going into the ride, I knew if I was going to accomplish my goal of riding 5 hrs I would have to seriously pace myself. The first hour and a half were really rough because of the wind chill, but by the time I got to the hills I was warmed up and positive about my decision to get out on the road despite the wind and the cold.
Luckily, the wind was in my face going out, which meant I was going to have some help heading back in, on some of the steepest climbs. I didn’t encounter the most extreme inclines because I only was going 30 miles out (2:30 hrs) then turning around, but I did go far enough to I realize my decision to practice diet discipline and drop these last 20 lbs by limiting my weekend splurges will help immensely the next time I head out there in two weeks.
However, even with the tail wind coming back I have to say that the mountain won this battle, but I did survive. I love those gut check type workout on such nice days and in such beautiful places .
I saw some funny things on the ride that I have never seen before. As I climbed a hill I could hear this music coming up behind me, thinking it was a car approaching I eased further into the median. Only to laughed out-loud as another cyclist rode past with 2 small speakers stuck in the back pocket of his jersey blaring hip-hop from his ipod . The other was an older gentlemen blowing past looking like he stepped out of a picture from the1960 Tour de France, wearing and using all old school vintage cycling equipment. It was awesome.
As I headed back, the wind was blowing the hardwood blossoms off the trees and I could see the slightest hint of green color in the distance. I took the moment in as long as I could…..
By the time I got to Central Park this song by Blues Traveler was playing in my head.
So keeping with my theme of adding a sound track here is that song.



Yesterday evening after Faith and the girls rescued me from locking my keys in the car (lack of sleep?) Faith made a comment about our youngest cat “Walter” going missing. This isn’t unusual because he has always been a cat that marched to the beat of a different drummer and he comes out when he’s ready.
Walter is named after John Goodman’s character, “Walter Spochak” from the movie The Big Lewbowski, which is probably my favorite movie. After finding a 2 week old kitten in the street about 5 years ago I knew this would be his name. Since then he has always retained some of the character traits from the movie. Here is a compilation vid of some of “Walter Spochak” and his famous lines!





Back to the story:
The trick is to shake the treat bag to get all 3 cats to come running. This works no matter what.
We shook the bag, but still no Walter. We searched the house literally inside and out and still, No Walter. We even walked down the street shaking the treat bag and still... No Walter.
Going to bed last night we were very sad and worried about our Walter.
As I told Faith goodbye this morning, she asked me did I see Walter. I said, no :(
When I walked out the door I stopped, stood really still and called his name…………….. thinking just maybe he'd respond. I waited...............

“meow”
I called it again….

“meow?”

I kept calling him till, I found him in our neighbors backyard under one of their kids toys. I reached under it and grabbed him then took him inside and surprised Faith!
Not a scratch, just a little scared.
The Family Still Intact! Thank Goodness!

Beer, A Close Call and the Stealth Bomber Survives

Now it’s just the 4 of us. Both pair of grandparents has gone home. We’re settling into our family routine and the plan is in effect to balance training a helping with the girls. To be honest I couldn’t have ask for better babies. They are sleeping a good 3 hrs between feedings so Faith and I have set up shifts according to my training schedule which seem to working pretty good. Some days we’re more tired but like today we’re all rested and doing great!

Well after this weekend I have come to a crossroad with my diet and now that the girls are here it’s time that I stop saying it and do it. Up until now training has allowed me to be relatively slack with my diet and still lose weight, but it has come time for me to break-up with me weekend girlfriend, good ol’ “craft beer” and a butt load of pizza! I fell in love with IPA’s about 3 years ago when I drank my first Dog Fish 60 min IPA. It was an explosion of flavor that I never tasted in a beer before. From that pint on I have sought out new and different beers that has now turned me into a very well educated craft brew connoisseur. An IPA is short for “East India Pale Ale” the tradition of this beer dates back to the colonial traders. They brewed with a lot of fresh Hops so it would last the journey of the ships and still be fresh and tasty.
Unfortunately beer hinders your body’s ability to burn fat up to 73% within an hour of consuming 3 beers. You add a couple slices of pizza to that and you have a recipe for triathlon diet sabotage. My problem is on Friday and Saturday I’ll kill a 6 pack and 3 slices because I trained so hard that week, but now it is absolutely crucial that I begin tuning my body into a fat burning machine as these workouts go from 2 hours to 5-7 hr journeys into personal discovery. Although my fitness level is where it needs to be it’s time to admit that carrying 20 extra pounds on an 8 hr 100 mile bike ride in the mountains ain’t a good idea, not mentioning racing a 70.3 Ironman with that extra weight.
So in attempt to get over my break-up I’m going to introduce you to some of the best beer in the world.

In the past few months I’ve been obsessed with the IPA’s from the Stone Brewery in San Diego California.

Their regular IPA is awesome! Pair with just about any food. Especially anything with cilantro and of course totinos frozen pizzas.

For a kick in the mouth and little more buzz go for the “Renusiaitor” IPA, best paired with super flavored foods (big robust Italian taste) because normal taste fade fast when drinking this brew.

Then there is their new “Cali-Belgium IPA” which Is one of the top 3 beers I’ve ever had! A must try for any beer lover!

Well, yesterday I had an incident that was bound to happen no matter how careful I am riding my bike. About time minutes into the bike portion of an EZ brick workout riding in the bike lane a van passes me, then cuts me off as he turns into a gas station. This causes me to slam on breaks and do everything I can to keep from smashing to the ground, but unfortunately that did happened! Picking myself of the ground, making sure all my parts were ok and the Stealth Bomber was no worse for wear I headed over to the asshole who about killed me! At this point he is casually filling up his van. As it turns out he’s a Russian gentleman that apparently doesn’t speak English. So I said my piece of mind and got back on my bike and went on down the road and 15 min later a flat tire! This allowed me to cool off and I finished the workout on a very positive note.
So for you reading that don’t ride a bike on a regular PLEASE keep an eye out for those of us who do and know that an extra 30 seconds and 5 feet for us on the bike goes a long way.
Now excuse as I say good bye, to the last of a Lagunitas IPA. Parting is such sweet sorrow.
Cheers!

The Magic of Life!

As I mentioned in a prior entry The Allman Brothers Band played their 40th anniversary shows at the Beacon Theatre during the month of March and every Friday up until the girls were born was our music night. Faith and I would play music for the girls still in her belly, including the music from the Allman’s Beacon run and yes some Kid Rock “Only God Knows Why” .
We decided to start playing music for the girls at about 3 months. We bought a little set of “ear plugs” that pressed against Faith’s belly which plugged into the ipod. The first night we did this, we didn’t have to ask each other what song to play first, Soulshine!
I scrolled to the what I think is the purist of the many live recordings of the song from Gov’t Mule’s “With A Little Help From Our Friends” recorded New Years Eve 98-99. This version features Chuck Leavell, Derek Trucks and the late great Allen Woody on bass. At the end of the song Derek breaks a string on his guitar but rips on seamlessly without missing a note.
As we played the song, we looked at each other and smiled as tears streamed down both our cheeks. We knew we had just introduced the girls to the love and power of music that has been such a big part of ours since we were both small children.

Fast Forward 5 ½ months to approx 7:15-pm Friday March 27th in the recovery room waiting to be taken in for the C-section.
I turned to Faith and said” If things go according to schedule the girls will be here about the time the Allmans take the stage", thinking that we would be have them around 8:30pm like the doctor was saying. (The shows had been starting between 8:40pm and 9:00pm) Well, that wasn’t the case, but everything happens for a reason, right. There were a couple of emergencies that took priority over us, so we kept getting pushed back and by 10pm we were in the O.R. getting ready to meet the girls. Lucie was born at 10:13pm and Leola at 10:14. Personally, I think it was a few minutes earlier than that but that’s what they put on the birth certificate.
After sitting in the recovery room with Faith and the girls for a few hours, they sent my home to meet my parents who were on their way to NY. It was 2am
I picked up a 6 pack and a frozen pizza and headed home.
I waited for my parents to arrive at around 4am. As I ate my pizza and drank my beer I decided to see how the Allman Brother’s show went.

At approx 10pm the Allman Brothers played Soulshine w/ Kid Rock as their special guest! (give or take depending what time they went on). I was overwhelmed with emotion! As I balled like a baby I text Faith to let her know that this had actually happened!



And the tears kept flowing when the next song they played was “Can’t You See” by the Marshall Tucker Band (who are from South Carolina, for you folks who don’t know that, can’t you see what women are doing to me!)

Fate, Coincidence, or Luck? I believe it was Destiny! Better yet MAGIC!

If you haven’t heard the song you can listen to the actual event above (sorry it's so shakey) and sorry I don't have the recording handy that we first played for the girls, but
this version by Beth Hart fits the post perfectly, being that the song will be sang by the girls in the future.


SOULSHINE
Written by Warren Haynes 1994

Part 5: What Now For Kendallprojects?

Just minutes before I got the call that the twins were on the way, I had a great conversation with a friend of mine about what we make as artist and why we do it. With the economy in such awesome shape the art world has, is and will continue to change. Although galleries are closing and people are losing money, the art is growing! For some of us it was never been about the money or the fame, but about the work! As we looked at what I've been working on, talked about triathlons and how it was shaping my ideas, I was reassured that I'm doing it the right way! I'm searching! Day in day out I'm looking for "it"! All the while accepting that I may never find it!
Hats off to my fellow artists who forge ahead in this uncertain time looking for IT!

My aero helmet is really coming along pretty good, there are some flaws in the paint layers due to having to spray outside (dust dirt etc...) and I rushed the drying a little, but the clear coat is really starting to make it look good! I'm about 1/3 of the way done. The clear coat has a few more layers then the flat black racing stripes go on. It will have some red pen stripes and one last surprise detail that will able to be seen in the right light! (hint: flames, dragon, skull!)
After 1 clear coat:


TRAINING:
Now that the girls are here and we will be able to set a schedule that works for all of us I HAVE to get down to serious training details! Diet is now priority 1 and stretching and recovery is a very close 2nd! The workouts are requiring me to concentrate on what I'm putting into my body everyday all day....cheat or sblurge days have to be regulated to drop the last remaining pounds!
Don't Let Fatigue Make You A Coward!
Coming Soon: TheDorothyProject
Hopefully by the end of the month I'll have the drawings and plans I've been working on, finished enough to post.

Part 4: Back at Home Ready for the Hard Stuff!

Well, we're all back at home now and the girls are settling in just fine. (notice Gammy's handmade coming home outfits, beautiful! So pretty I even wore one home from the hospital when I was born.)
The first night home I took point on the night time shift of feedings and changing, and by about 2am they finally went down for the night. They seem to love their room and crib...ITunes (Sleepy Time Hits)...they definitely love the nursery ipod selection!
We're all getting the feeding schedule down and learning about the growing girls every second. I'm trying really hard to take in and enjoy everyone of those seconds, even when I'm exhausted and they're screaming!

Part 3: More of the Girls

The girls were a dream at the hospital. They ate and slept just fine from day one. Although my schedule was all turned upside down because they kept Faith in the hospital 2 days longer to monitor her blood pressure I was able to get in the training for the recovery week. However the diet was harder to keep on track.

Me and Dad, The Kendall Men holding the "Kendall Twins" (which I'm sure they will come to be known!)

Part 2: What was happening before the “call”…

The day of the birth I got up at 3:45am to swim. It was the last workout of the 4 week cycle…and I was absolutely exhausted! The plan was that I would go to the studio continue working on the aero helmets paint job, go get our favorite pizza and beer (for me) and head home for an early dinner and early bed time. WRONG!
Before Faith called me to let me know she was going to the hospital I was putting the final touches on the 1st layer of clear coat on my aero helmet.

Part 1: The TWINS

On Friday March 27th at 10:13pm and 10:15 pm Lucile Margaret Kendall and Leola Estelle Kendall were born into this wonderful world. Due to Blood Pressure issues Faith was taken to the hospital and by 2:30pm it was decided by the doctors that the girls would be delivered by C-section at approx. 7:30 pm (they had to wait 8 hrs from the last time she ate). However, 7pm was shift change at the hospital and there were a lot of other emergency c-sections that got pushed ahead of us. We even sat in the OR for an hour and shot the sh#t with the nurses waiting for the Doc to scrub in, but it finally happened! Here are the first pics of the family post delivery.

WOW WOW WOW WHAT A WEEK!

MAN, I never in my life thought I’d go through a set of events like the ones I experienced this past week!
First, this will be a giant post and will be posted in installments.