Mommy Lion in full attack mode

Today was a very long day. Today was flag football " super bowl" sunday for the Furse family. My son Cade was playing in the superbowl for the 5-6yr old division, my daughter Shea and son Alex were playing in the semi-playoffs first and if they won would be playing in the superbowl for the 7-8 yr olds and my son Kellen was playing in the superbowl for the 9-11yr olds.

Ok, game #1 the 7-8yr olds won to make it into the superbowl. My son Cades team won the 5-6yr old superbowl by 3 touchdowns, it was super fun they haven't lost a game for over a year, they are just amazing. Then it was off to the superbowl for my son and daughter. Well, lets just say, two seasons in a row this team has gone undefeated to only lose in the superbowl, its so heartbreaking but the kids seemed to love the trophies they got so they looked happy and it didn't seem to bother them.

Ok, the game of the day, our 9-11yr old Bucs playing the Vikings. Over the last 2 years fall and spring we go back and forth between who wins and who loses the super bowl, we were fortunate the last two times to win but this year the Vikings were stronger, faster and a mighty opponent. Anyhoo, my son Kellen plays quarterback and also defense, he had an incredible first half, a few long touchdowns some great runs it was awesome. The only problem that I was noticing is that the Viking's had a blitzer who came hard at Kellen almost every down and twice in the first half almost knocked him down, he hit him hard and Kellen lost his balance and had to really get his body together to get the ball off, I commended Kellen for his ability to shake this kid off but I was "pissed"that this kid was doing this and there was no call for a penalty and the kids coach didn't do anything about it. I understand the adrenalin of the situation, it very well could of been completely unintentional and just him being full of energy during the plays, that being said I was getting a bit frustrated. This is FLAG FOOTBALL no TACKLE.

Ok, we are up 18 to 12 with just about 8 minutes to go to play and kellen drops back to pass and this kid comes rushing in and completely takes him out, Kellen is down and grabbing his knee, he is crying and just really upset. Phil runs over to him to check on him and now I run out to check on him. Phil said it didn't look good, the way his leg bent back, etc... I looked at the ref and just said, " Are you kidding me, this is the 3rd time this kid has done this to my son and now he is really hurt, how can this keep happening, this isn't tackle football, this is why we play flag". The ref gave the kid a roughing of the passer penalty which gave us a first down but I still had to carry my child off the field and make sure he was ok.

To make a long story short after assessing him and getting him to calm down he ended up being ok, shooken up and I'm sure he'll have a nasty bruise on the inside of his knee tomorrow but he was ok to go back into the game and play. Our Buc's ended up winning 18 to 12 and are the SuperBowl 9-11 champs.


What I was mad about was that the coaches on the other team didn't take the child out for a few downs to make sure the child understood that his actions weren't right, to reinforce and to have the child check in with himself regarding his adrenalin and to make sure he knew what he was doing was a bit " too" aggressive for FLAG FOOTBALL, but that didn't happen, And, it took 3 hits to my son for the referee to give a roughing of the passer penalty to their team, which maybe if each time this happened to my son they were penalized he might not of been hurt late in the game. I also wish that the child who did this to Kellen apologized to him after the game, which he didn't. As a parent my son would of been dragged by his ears to apologize to the coach and the child if he or she ever did that, intentional or not, and to also make sure the kid was fine, its just what you do, its the right thing to do.

I'm not an alarmist parent, I'm one whose daughter was bleeding during the middle of her game today, I wiped off her mouth told her to put her mouthguard in and get back in to play, it takes a lot for me to get pissed and I was pissed today. Don't mess with mommy lion because you don't want to meet her on any field.

6 hrs today at the flag football field, two super bowl champions and 1 runner-up, it was a great day. I am a big supporter of good sportsmanship and that should come first in any situation, its not only the child's responsibility but the coaches, parents, and refs to make sure this occurs on and off the field, thats just my two cents.

" The Race", by D.H. Groberg

I know this might be a bit long but the message is so very clear and pure, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.


The Race

" Quit, give up, you're beaten"
They shout at you and plead
"There's just too much against you
This time you can't succeed".

And as I start to hang my head
In front of failures face
My downward fall is broken by
The memory of a race

And hope refills my weakened will
As I recall that scene
Or just the thought of that short race
Rejuvenates my being

Children's race, young boys
Young men, how I remember well
Excitement sure, but also fear
It wasn't hard to tell

They all lined up so full of hope
Each thought to win that race
Or tie for first, or if not that
At least take second place

The fathers watched from off the side
Each cheering for his son
And each boy hoped to show his dad
That he could be the one

The whistle blew and off they went
Young hearts and hopes afire
To win and be the hero there
Was each young boys desire

And one boy in particular

Whose dad was in the crowd
Was running near the lead and thought
" My dad will be so proud"

But as they speeded down the field
Across a shallow dip
The little boy who thought to win
Lost is step and slipped

Trying hard to catch himself
With hands flew out to brace
And amid the laughter of the crowd
He fell flat on his face

But as he fell his dad stood up
And showed his anxious face
Which to the boy so clearly said
" Get up and win the race"

He quickly rose, no damage done
Behind a bit that's all
And ran with a all his might and mind
To make up for the fall

So anxious to restore himself
To catch up and to win
His mind went faster than his legs
He slipped and fell again

He wished then that he had quit before
With only one disgrace
"I'm hopeless as a runner now
I shouldn't try to race"

But in the laughing crowd he searched
And found his fathers face
That steady look which said again
" Get up and win the race"

So up he jumped to try again
Ten yards behind the last
If I'mg going to gain those yards he thought
I've got to move areal fast

Exerting everything he had
He regained eight or ten
But trying hard to catch the lead
He slipped and fell again

Defeat, he lay there silently
A tear dropped from his eye
There's no sense running anymore
Three strikes, I'm out, why try"

The will to rise had disappeared
All hope had fled away
So far behind so error prone
A loser all the way

"I've lost, so what", he thought
I'll live with my disgrace
But then he thought about his dad
Whom soon he'd have to face

" Get up" the echo sounded low
"Get up" and take your place
You were not meant for failure here'
" Get up", and win the race

With borrowed will " Get up" it said
You haven't lost at all"
For winning is no more than this
To rise each time you fall

So up he rose to run once more
And with a new commit
He resolved, that win or lose
At least he shouldn't quit

So far behind the others now
The most he'd ever been
Still he'd give it all he had
And run as though to win

Three times he'd fallen, stumbling
Three times he'd rose again
Too far behind to hope to win
He still ran to the end

They cheered the winning runner
As he crossed the line first place
Head high and proud and happy
No falling, no disgrace

But when the fallen youngster
Crossed the line, last place
The crowd gave him the greater cheer
For finishing the race

And even though he came in last
With head bent low, unproud
You would have thought he'd won the race
To listen to the crowd

And to his dad he sadly said
" I didn't do too well"
"To me you won", his father said
" You rose each time you fell"

Race photo's

I have never liked any picture of me from a race, not even ironman, but this one isn't too bad and I was also really proud of the way I performed on this day, it has been a long time since I've been able to say that, maybe 2 years, so posting a picture of the event was a necessity.

Anyhoo, testing is on friday, LT on the bike, getting nervous, wanting to perform well, etc.... I have high hopes for this season if I can continue to stay healthy and follow the core and stay true to the zones I am given. I know I can have more races that I'm proud of and most importantly continue to enjoy what I'm doing, I'll keep you posted.

Back at it......

Ok, since I didn't/ couldn't do IM Arizona due to many family reasons my last official race of the season was the Newburyport 1/2 marathon 3 weeks ago. The 1/2 marathon was a really good race for me and an overall PR of over 3+ minutes. After the race coachie put me on an " absolutely no workout week" which I have never done in over 5 years since embarking on this crazy journey and then 2 full weeks of doing literally 1/4 of the work I normally do and all at recovery paces. To say I'm looking forward to a bit more exercise and a little bit more intensity is an understatement. That being said I have testing coming up this week, a threshold test on the bike on Friday and then my 800 swim test the following week. I'm not quite sure what I'll be doing for the run, either timed mile repeats at the track or a local 5k, we'll have to see what he has in store for me.
I'm a bit nervous about the testing since it feels like I've done nothing for the past 3 weeks and I haven't been fully on the core either so I'm feeling a bit unprepared, we'll see how it goes.

So what's in store for me this season. WEll, for sure I'm scheduled to go to QT2 camp the first weekend in FEbruary in Clearwater, Florida and then following that up with the Hyannis 1/2 marathon at the end of the month. I may possibly be doing Texas 70.3 in early April and then after that I'm not too sure, except for Ironman Mont Tremblant in August of 2012. I need to really figure this out since races are already selling out.

Some goals for me this season are to rebuild my bike fitness and to start performing at where I was two seasons ago but at a better heart rate and where I can run successfully off the bike. I am going to train on a computrainer in the winter and spend some real quality time in volume, f/b a ton of bricks. I also want to do a bit more open water swimming which I wasn't able to do this year which I feel really impacted my races a bit ( not that two races really counts for a season). Anyhoo, psyched to be back at it and can't wait for a full and healthy race season to come.

Happy Training.

I think I have may gone even lower.... Justin Bieber, really?

Ok, I don't have a ton to say on this topic but here is what I know.

1 year ago after one of his concerts at LA Staples Arena a bodyguard of his supposedly picked this lady out of the audience ( age- 19 at the time) and after his show they supposedly had sex that lasted 30 seconds. He was 16 at the time. Statuatory guidelines for the state of California is under the age of 18. She has given birth to a little boy, she has filed and placed a swoon affidavit in the court of law asking for a paternity test and child support.

My issues with this is a few:

1. She legally has stated that she was 19 and he was 16 and her lawyer did not advise her ( so it seems) that she could be charged with statutory rape, we've seen this locally with elementary teachers sleeping with their students, its gone both ways, female teachers going to prison and male teachers going to prison. Her defense was that " Bieber was the aggressor". So the fuck what, your 19, its against the law, your friggin screwed.

2. Why didn't you address it earlier ( if this were true). Why not go to the family in private, discuss with them the issues, I believe there is a way to test paternity while baby is in utero. Then possibly ( again if this is true) she wouldn't be convicted of statutory rape and things could be handled privately.

This is all just bizarre to me, everybody is up in arms in the media about this, can't believe that this could be true, why would this girl lie, " he's promoting youth and a proper up bringing", etc..... He's a friggin kid, he's a boy and if he had a chance to get laid and was ready what normal teenage boy ( typical) wouldn't do it. That being said, friggin stupid that he didn't wear a condom, stupid on his part and stupid on his bodyguards part ( again, if this is true)


Ok, enough of my stupid, crazy entertainment crap, back to doing 4 th load of laundry.

A whole new low, Kim Kardashian

Ok, Ok, this isn't my typical blog but I was so pissed off about this freaking information I needed to say my two cents, even though my two cents aren't worth anything.

First of all, I do like some reality TV but I don't like it as much as I did when the REal World started back about 20 years ago. Today, I think reality TV has just gone too far, the actors/actresses or contestants go to extremes to get TV coverage to get paid, etc... and we the American people continue to watch with then puts money in their pockets. I mention this with regards to a few shows out there, ( Jersey Shore, All of the Housewive shows-sorry people but this stuff is just bad, Tila Tequila, the Bachelor/bachelorette, Rock of Love , 19 and counting, Kate + 8, etc... Need I go on). One of the worst ones is 16 and pregnant.

Television producers wouldn't be putting out more reality shows if there wasn't money in it, and with the economy tanking and jobs at a minimum ( unless you go to North Dakota I hear where the oil is just flowing and 18,000 jobs are just waiting), people want to make fast money. I mean seriously, Pauly D from the Jersey Shore makes over $30,000 dollars to DJ at a club, Snooki gets more money to speak at a college graduation then Elizabeth Dole or Condeleza Rice, seriously, this is just sickening me.

Anyhoo, I will admit to watching some of these shows over the years, besides survivor I am not and have not ever been an avid watcher or any other real reality show since year 2 of the REal World. That being said, I had a soft spot for Kim Kardashian and I actually thought that after watching a few shows over the last 1 1/2 years she was nice, worked hard but otherwise nice. She isn't my favorite sister ( I like Khloe personally) but even Kim's spoiled like behavior and Diva ask needs she certainly didn't piss me off.

Now, what I will tell you is that I also too thought this romance was a bit awkward between her and Kris Humphries, it was so fast, so quick and where the hell did he really come from? Do you think that E Entertainment went searching for a mate for her? Do you think the guy from the Knicks was asked and he refused so they went to the Nets? Wouldn't this be absolutely crazy if this is actually true. Did Kris Kardashian put this into action, did everyone know including friends and family about the false wedding? Do you think people signed a confidentiality agreement before the wedding as to not disclose the true nature of the wedding? All the news coming out is saying that they never loved each other, they did this to promote their new reality series, Kim and Kourtney take NY. The other funky thing that has been flying on the internet is that Kris Humphreys wasn't liked by the public and TV didn't like him so Kris Kardashian fired him and so they just got rid of him, wrote him out of the reality series. Is this true? I'm not sure but with the NBA lockout I am sure the amount of money this bench warmer made during the 8+ months he has been with her and from the wedding he is set for quite sometime.


Now let me tell you one more thing about why I am so disgusted and why I chose to write about this stupid topic, I watched the first part of the wedding on E while riding my bike on my trainer ( see I did write about my workouts) and there was one scene that Kim Kardashian was with Bruce and she was crying while holding one of her dads shirts and she said that she was going to cut a piece from his shirt and put it in her dress and then she cried and was all emotional and then she brought Kris Humphreys to his grave, etc..... This was really touching and if this is all false which I believe it is I think it was an all time low, it just never should of gone that way.

I hope that reality TV takes a big hit from this and that people take notice that they are tired of being duped and don't want to see this shit anymore. No more Kardashians since we know what we see is mostly not true, no more bachelor or bachelorette-because they never get married anyway ( well 99% don't) and who wants to really see one girl kiss all those guys or a guy kiss all those girls unless its in an adult film) I mean its disgusting and stupid. I won't even walk down the Jersey Shore track, I mean watching the domestic abuse that occurred last year was so upsetting and that they continued to video it and nothing happened and no-one did anything about it,the alcoholism, the possible unprotected sex- this is crazy shit and kids are watching this and and saying, " I can make money doing this too".

Just one more reality show that is absolutely disgusting is " 16 and pregnant" Do you see all the girls in People magazine making money off of this, boob jobs, plastic surgery, more babies,drugs, etc... You think teenage girls around the country see easy money by just getting pregnant- NOT THE RIGHT MESSAGE TO BE SENDING THSE DAYS.

Anyhoo, I can tell you this, I will not watch E entertainment anymore, I'm bitter at Ryan Seacrest for producing the show and besides Survivor I will not watch any reality TV. I am mad and I hope something happens to the Kardashians, there has to be some consequence, some apology to the TV viewers for duping them to just make money, I don't know. Hopefully canceling of the show will send the right message.


Just my two cents... Whats yours.