Have you read my latest blag post?

It’s a maxim as well worn as the caffeine-stained mugs, heavily scrawled-upon diary pages, and scratched mouse pads that adorn the offices of newspapers and magazines around the world: journalists, they say, live a rich man’s life on a poor man’s wage.

That’s certainly been true for me; it’s a profession that I love – the opportunity for creativity, the amazing interviewees, even the coffee and pizza fuelled thrill of hitting a midnight deadline – but it’s also incredibly hard work. Luckily, once in a while, there are some very special rewards that help to balance the 50 hour weeks and working weekends and holidays.

Over the years, these have probably added up to thousands of pounds’ worth of hotel rooms, meals and press trips. Then there are the freebies that get sent to the office.

Although I’ve done things that I’d never be able to afford in real life, the greatest privilege of my chosen profession has been when I’ve had the opportunity to do things that money can’t buy. Being drivenaround the Ascari racetrack in southern Spain in a Koenigsegg CCX (that’s thecar that The Stig couldn’t control in Top Gear) by Christian von Koenigsegg, for example. Or watching the majority of a Man Utd v Arsenal match sat chatting on the phone to Rod Stewart (knows his football, does Rod).

Recently, the PR team at Abu Dhabi InternationalTriathlon invited me to take part in that event – something I was more than happy and willing to do. There’ll be other members of the media taking part too – most doing the relay or the sprint race, but a couple of brave souls also tackling the ‘short course’ like me. At Abu Dhabi, ‘short’ is a somewhat misleading term: 1500m swim/100km bike/10km run (the long course is double, making the bike section notably longer than an Ironman).

In order to get us all ready for the event, the organisers have given us access to key figures involved and this is where, once again, I find I’m pinching myself. A few weeks ago, just four of us were put through our paces by UK pro triathlete and highly-rated coach Richard Allen. On Tuesday night, another group of us were given access to ex Ironman World Champ and captain of Abu Dhabi Tri Team Faris Al-Sultan, and the Abu Dhabi Tri Team manager (and ex pro triathlete) Dr Werner Leitner.

Of course, most of these sessions were pitched at beginners – and what an amazing opportunity that is, like having Nick Faldo and Sergio Garcia give you your first golf lesson – but I still picked up a few more advanced tips here and there on subjects like nutrition, warming-up, deep stretching and riding into the wind. I’ve been told I have quite a short stride length when I run – when I should really be using my height to my advantage – and Werner kindly showed me a few drills to incorporate into my runs to help improve that stride length and kick.

What I realised most of all, however, is that, while I still tend to think of myself as a relative newbie to triathlon and a bit of a pretender, that doesn’t wash anymore. I’ve been doing this a few years now, albeit maybe only a year with any degree of regularity and seriousness, but I know the vast majority of what there is to know; transitions are no longer mysterious zones of nerves and intimidation for me; I may get nutrition right or wrong on any given day, but I know what I’m aiming for; I hear and use words like ‘brick’, ‘drafting’ and ‘midfoot strike’; I’ve done small early season races in the UK with swims in a pool, and huge international races overseas. I may not be an experienced old-timer, but I’m a triathlete for sure.­ Going back to the parlance of my industry, I’m no longer “just blagging it”. That’s kind of cool.

The flip side of that is that these mini media camps reminded me of the nerves, horror and excitement that this mysterious sport of triathlon once brought. I heard the questions I’d once asked and felt the feelings I’d once felt, as these media newbies started their training or began stepping it up... it’s such a joyful feeling of achievement and one that I plan to never lose.

With that in mind, this weekend I’ll be part of the Nike-sponsored media team that’ll tackle the 72km (as a relay) Wadi Bih run through the mountains and gorges of Musandam. We’re not contenders; in fact, we’ll all just be happy to finish, and we’re going to have a great time doing it. Coz that’s what it’s all about. 

That and blagging free Nike swag, of course (I’m still a journalist, after all)!

Race Report: Skins Tri Series race 2

So, as I explained in my last dispatch from behind the front lines of triathlon blogging, February is all about lots of racing and it all kicked off this weekend with race 2 of the Skins Triathlon Series in Al Mamzar Park, which is right down near the Dubai-Sharjah border. It was my first Olympic distance race in a year.

Early morning in Mamzar

Now, I could point out a few shortcomings of this race here and there, but I’d like to instead say that it was generally well run and the organisation has definitely improved several-fold over a similar race (same location and organiser) I took part in 14 months ago. So credit where credit is due. As athletes, we often point out what didn’t work (one section was long/short, the roads weren’t completely closed off to cars, they only had water at the aid station etc etc) but it’s important that we remember just how difficult any race is to put on – multiply that by three and you get a idea of how hard it is to get a triathlon logistically spot on. And without the efforts of these race organisers, we’re just a bunch of people who train a lot. I make a point of thanking all marshals and volunteers out on course whenever I race but, I decided while out on the bike in this race, from now on I’m going to make sure I thank the organisers too. So... cheers Super Sports Dubai.

The beach and the briefing

So, I could give you a full report on exactly how my race went. A blow-by-blow account of every last metre. But it wasn’t such a big one and who really cares about every thought that crossed my mind? So, here’s what’s important:

Getting zipped into my Blue Seventy Helix by my dad

SWIM: A bit short (1370m), four laps that made for lots of swimming over people, I swam well and felt strong, out in 18:20 in 1^st place. Good time tho no better than I expected.

T1: Fine.

Coming out of T1

BIKE: Bike was flat and fast though also very, very windy. Averaged 38kph which is pretty darn good for me. Came off in 1:02:50 – my previous best Oly distance bike had been around 1:07. Was now down to 2^nd but knew I was going to set a really good time if I could hold a run together.

Motoring past like a steam train (in my mind at least)

On my way to bike split PB

T2: Good.

RUN: Previous best Oly run off the bike was around 47:00. I knew I’m now running much better so had decided beforehand to hold 4:30s. I quickly lost position down to 4^th (but 3^rd in 19-39 AG as I knew that Stefan, who passed me for third, was in the 40-49 AG). I didn’t panic and reminded myself that I was there for the time. Also, as it was a low priority race for me, I didn’t want to go all-in and get injured or limit training. So, held the 4:30s and then gave it a bit more in last 2.5k. Run 42:00.

End of the road... mercifully!

RESULT: Held 4^th overall and 3^rd in AG. Final time officially given as 2:02:50 but I have to confess that I clocked it as 2:05:00! Either way, extremely happy.

This race represented my first ever triathlon podium (obviously had lots as a swimmer). More significantly, however, it was a MAHOOOSIVE PB over this distance and a big, big, big improvement in both my bike and my run. Remember when Jim Robinson from Neighbours popped up in The West Wing and 24...seriously, that kind of improvement! Plus, I know that, were this a bigger race, I probably had a little more to give in all three disciplines.

My first ever tri podium - rubbish medal, nice feeling!

This might have just been a small, local race but its significance was greater than that to me. It shows me that I’m on the right track and that all this training is paying off. In training, I’m surrounded by top-notch bikers and some superb runners and it’s easy to feel a little despondent and sluggish when measuring yourself against them. Running, in particular, is a continuous frustration for me – but this shows that I am getting there, that one day I might be able to run well enough to back up my already very strong swim and my improving bike ride.

One day... that’s what grips you about triathlon.

The podium – that was a nice ego stroke. The fact my folks were visiting and there to see it made it especially nice. But I’d take knocking off another couple of minutes over another podium any day. Position in the field is about everybody else, time is about yourself. And, at the end of the day, whether a field is 100 people strong in a local race or 3,000 strong in a big Ironman, there’s only one person out there whose race you can get even close to controlling.

It's all getting a little racey...

Chuffin' Nora. You wait for a race for two months then a whole cheaply-printed, bound-to-fall-apart goodie bag full of them comes along at once. No matter. Unlike Mel Gibson, Republicans and you're average Daily Mail reader, I'm a fan of all races; a chock-a-block schedule positively bursting at the seams with competition and dripping in race juice can only be a good thing.

Especially as I've not raced since the Creek Striders Half at the beginning of December. On one hand, I'm interested to see if January's BIG mileage month will reflect on speed and fitness. At the same time, I feel like all those base kilometres are probably in need of some higher intensity efforts on top of them, and where better to push hard than in a race?

So, what's on the schedule? Why, thank you for asking, allow me to explain:

First up is the Skins Al Mamzar triathlon on 3 Feb. This is an event I wouldn't usually do because it's been of a questionable quality in the past, but I haven't raced an Olympic distance tri for a year and just fancy it. Previously, as I said, the organisational element wasn't A1 but there was another race in this series a couple of months ago and everyone who raced reported that it had improved considerably. The only problem being swim times that suggested a swim course that was at least 3-400m short. I reckon I could look at a body of water and guess a 1,500m swim more accurately that that so, in these days of Garmins and Google Earth, this sort of error margin is really pretty unacceptable (listening Ironman UK?). It looks like that hss been sorted for this race but, worst case scenario, it's a good hit-out and my bike and run times will be directly comparable with last year's race.

The good thing about a course that's well short and a bit of a draft-fest? Guaranteed PB! Even if it is one I'll never come close to again.

Anyway, one week later is the Wadi Bih run. This is one of those super-cool little events that a few pissed-up mentalists started a couple of decades ago and has taken off. Like techno and Flight of the Conchords, or Wales.

Basically, teams of five tackle the 72k course that runs through the famous Wadi Bih (a wadi is a dried-up river bed here in Middle Earth). You take it in turns to jump out of your support vehicle and take your leg of the relay – some sections are 5k long, others are 2k straight uphill. It's basically all good fun and, although there are a few teams who take it seriously and try to win, they are - and I'm going to be very careful not to generalise here - usually a bunch of charmless knobs. It's one of the few events I've not raced here so I was happy as a tornado in a trailer park to be asked to form part of one of Nike's media teams. I'm sure there'll be more about this event in future blogs.

So, we jump to 17 March and the RAK Half Marathon. Not much to report about this quite yet but I'll be looking to break 1:30 for the first time there. The last race of February will be the Aerofit Sprint Tri – one of our regular series of sprint triathlons. Again, it'll be interesting to see if all this hard training is turning my muscles into hardcore turbo triathlon speed machines or just squelchy pain sponges. One good thing about having a regular series, like the Aerofit, is that I know exactly how I do there – what position I'll finish and who'll overtake me where. It's a little depressing when I write it out like that, but that helps me to gauge if/where improvements have been made relative to other racers.

Finally, it's the first of my three big races for the year ahead – Abu Dhabi International Triathlon. Last year's race was top-notch, even if it was hotter and windier than storm season in Hell (Hell as in that place really far down South – where the boy Satan lives – not the towns in Michigan, Norway, The Cayman Islands, tho they could be quite hot and windy too for all I know. Actually, I'm pretty sure the one in Norway won't be that hot.).

Again, this is very much a race against myself. I'm doing what ADIT calls the 'short' race: 1,500m swim (an actual 1,500m too!), a whopping 100km bike and a 10km run. Last year's race was the first time (or maybe second?) I'd ever ridden 100km, I got hydration and nutrition all wrong and the conditions multiplied that. So, unsurprisingly, I bonked big time on the run. I'd like to put that right this year and knock a whopping big chunk of time off too – that'd show me that I'm on course for IM Austria (check out the fancy new website for that event, by the way!).

And there you have it... I'll leave it at that for now as my intention is to post far more often now. I'll try to get something up here to irritate/educate/frustrate every couple of days at least, so I don't want to shoot my load straight off the bat, to awkwardly mix some rather odd analogies.

Take care kids, and happy racing, training or whatever it is you do to avoid having to watch X Factor with t'other half. 

The one where Matt rehashes a load of YouTube clips...

You know when American sitcoms need to buy some time so that their highly-paid team of writers can go off on a ‘team-building and brain-storming retreat’ in Hawaii or Aspen, they always have an episode in which two or three characters find themselves is some ridiculously contrived (stuck in a lift, locked in a cupboard, stranded on a ski lift...) situation. This’ll happen right off the bat and then, just a few minutes in, one of the characters will turn around and say something like: “Hey, well at least it’s not as bad as that time when...”

Cue a giant groan from viewers, a wipe of the brow and snap-shut of the suitcase from the writers, and a chi-ching sound ringing in the ears of the TV station... it’s a lame-ass excuse to just show clips from previous episodes.

Well, I’m afraid to report, that’s kind of what this blog post is. Except I’m bogged down with work and not going to Aspen or Hawaii, and I’m not highly-paid. But I am a writer!

In fact, this particular malignant little wart on the nose of blogland is even worse – I’m just going to pass other people’s work off as my own! Sure most of you have seen these before but, even so, they’re worth rewatching. If you haven’t seen them, prepare for an immersive and yet bizarrely accurate swan dive into the weird, obsessive compulsive mind of the triathlete. We only laugh because they’re true!

One for the newbies...

The magical stat wizard who lives inside my computer (who some folk in the know refer to as Google Analytics) tells me that a surprising number of you – another demonstration, if any were needed, that people would rather look at anything online than do their actual jobs – read this blog. Mr Analytics can also tell me where you are when you read this blog (seriously, 17 of you in Chile!). What Goog-me-old-mucker doesn’t tell me, however, is why.

For a lot of you, the reasons are obvious:

• You’re related to me
• You went to school/uni with me and like to read this blog to remind yourself how much better your life has turned out than mine
• You did a search for ‘shaved legs, lycra, rubber and helmet’ and are now very, very disappointed

But a decent proportion of you, it would seem, are either athletes or triathletes, with a fair whack based here in ye olde Middle East too! But where do you lie on the TRiOMETRE? Are you seasoned pros laughing at my pansy-ass hill climbing skills or are you tri virgins (uh oh, going to disappoint a few more searchers with that one!) looking for tips and advice you can use to nail your own first race?

Given that, during my first sprint tri in the UK, my stem came lose leading to my base bar slipping all over the shop and rendering my bike almost unrideable and resulting in me doing the second lap of the bike course simultaneously pedalling, holding an Allen key tight to keep the bars upright, and steering with the stem itself...you’d be forgiven for thinking that I’m hardly a font of all triathlon knowledge.

But, you’d be wrong. Coz I’m a triathlete. So I think I know it all! Easy week you say, coach? Yeah sure! In risk of an overuse injury am I doctor? Increase the mileage! Not in Ironman shape? Pah, sub 10!

Bizarrely though, I know some folk who actually think they know better than me:

This here hirsute young chap is Faris Al-Sultan. He’s the current European Ironman Champ and won the World Ironman Championship in Kona, Hawaii, in 2005. Yeah, he’s pretty good. He’s also the captain of Team Abu Dhabi so I caught up with him to have a chat about the upcoming Abu Dhabi International Triathlon which will take place on 3 March. What should newbies or those erring on the inexperienced side do to prepare, I asked Faris?

“Practise a variety of swim drills regularly to highlight weaknesses and have a swim stroke technician analyse your technique. Also it’s important to train in choppy seas to practise drafting behind a partner– all the while getting used to wearing the wetsuit and race goggles needed for the race.”

Got it? Good. I’ve actually ridden in a large group ride with Faris before and in the final sprint, I put my head down, shrunk into a tight wind-defying aero tuck and started powering out the sort of wattage usually only seen from steam locomotives. Faris passed me, sat bolt upright, juggling and whistling the German national anthem. To be fair, he later admitted he was in the top gear of his unicycle. So, he’s not bad on a bike.

“When it comes to cycling, train in groups to work on race techniques such as going round a corner fast and climbing inclines efficiently. Make sure you practise these both seated and out of the saddle.”

Some people, I point out, don’t have the hours and hours that pros have to dedicate to endless biking sessions. This is my best shot at a ‘get a real job, punk!’ type slur, but Faris takes in on his bearded chin and carries on...

“If you only have a short period of time, attempt very hard and fast intervals on a home trainer which is a great way to build power. Remember to have your bike setup analysed to make sure you are maximising comfort and aerodynamics.”

Damn it, he’s good!

So, I move on to the UAE-based adventurer Adrian Hayes, who’ll also be taking part in Abu Dhabi International Triathlon. Adrian is a world record-breaking polar explorer who has summited Mount Everest, walked all the way to both Poles and recently followed in the footsteps of Wilfred Thesiger by crossing the Empty Quarter desert. Yeah well, wotevs, I climbed Kilimanjaro for Gulf4Good, I point out. I know, I was with you, counters Adrian. I’ve done an Ironman, I fight back. I’ve done one faster, he retorts.   

Alright champ, tell the newbies what they want to know:

“Climbing hills is a good speed, strength and technique workout. Even if you are training for long distance, leg speed is very important and will help you run much more efficiently. Also do faster interval workouts in your race day shoes to promote good technique and to ensure you’re comfortable in them.”

It’s last chance saloon for my tri ego. Next up, certified physiotherapist Katherina Ringer, a key adviser for Abu Dhabi International Triathlon. See... physiotherapist...not even a triathlete! I am going to put her in her place, I am going to astound her with my triathlon knowledge, shock and awe, I think, shock and awe...

Me: Hi pretty lady.

KR: Er, hi. I’m the Abu Dhabi Tri Team physiotherapist.

Me: He he he, you’ve got lovely skin.

KR: Right, so, training and body conditioning should be personalised to the athlete’s fitness and experience levels.

Me: Mmmmm.

KR: Consistency over several months is much more important than doing a lot in one week.

Me: (uhoh, she knows what she’s talking about!)

KR: So, make sure you combine three training intensities – long easy workouts, tempo race pace sessions, and high intensity speed technique workouts.

Joking aside, this is all top advice from people who actually know what they’re talking about. Take it on board, apply it in training, and you’ll fly through your first races feeling great and finishing strong. Then, before you know it, you’ll no longer be a newbie, and you’ll get to think you know better than everyone else too!

There's still time to enter ADIT and see how you get on against Faris, Adrian or, well, me: http://www.abudhabitriathlon.com/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/AbuDhabiTri  

                       

Did you hear the one about the uninjured triathlete..?

There's a common saying that states something like there are two types of runners: those who have an injury, and those who are coming back from an injury. It's a simplification, of course, but it's pretty damn accurate all the same.

As triathletes, we like to think of ourselves as being above that – after all, we 'cross-train', we have the muscular non weight-bearing benefits of also swimming and cycling, right? Yet, visit any triathlon club in the world and you'll likely find that 90% of members are currently injured, trying to balance an injury with training or have just come back from time off with an injury. Except me...or so I thought. I'm bulletproof. Not in a cool Batfink way, but in a 'haha sport, you can't injure me' kinda way!

I broke loads of bones playing football growing up, but that's bones, right, not muscular. I even broke my neck in a swimming accident as a nipper but that was contact (namely, head making fairly rapid contact with the bottom of a pool), not a tendon strain. Sure, I get sore after big bouts of training, marathons and Ironman, but I recover. I decided that all that swimming (remember: non weight-bearing, not that my head and neck could tell the difference when they had that run-in with the tiles), football (not American football, or Aussie rules all you Yanks and Home & Away-makers out there, but actual football where you kick a ball with, y'know, your foot), rugby and tennis had given me an all-round athleticism that'd carry me through any event and see me walk from a World War 1 battlefield with a couple of scratches and throbbing headache.

Till Monday night.

My programme had me riding for 2:20 which I managed fine (thanks for the company Mr Le Pelley – excellent, as ever) in pretty blustery conditions. After quickly throwing my bike into the car (read: stopping, taking a giant leak, having a little chat with a few folks, putting the bike in the car, changing clothes, putting my trainers on, having another pee) I ran out of the car park ready for the scheduled 9k brick run holding 4:30s, which I'd managed the previous two weeks. The first 4k were fine but over the next kilometre, the lower part of my right leg got tighter and tighter till I could hardly run. After 5k, I stopped and stretched it out but it was no good, so I did the sensible thing and jogged slowly back to the car – not easy when it's the first session I've had to cut short since I joined T2A.

Having not had a tri-related injury before, and weirdly priding myself on that (hey, it's my thing), I worried about it all night. I stretched before bed and when I got up. I decided that the cold (yep, even in Dubai...) could have been responsible. I knew I'd been putting in some serious kilometres this month too, maybe it was a pure overuse strain... I'd have to see.

Luckily, I felt no ill effects yesterday. I took the morning off and ran 7k in the evening, 6k at a steady 4:30 pace. I could tell where the stiffness and soreness had been but it was fine. I was bulletproof again! (I realise that having put all these thoughts into words, I'm tempting an almighty karmic bitch slap of epic proportions to come and snap my achiles clean in two or push me off my bike at 50kph, but...)

POWEEE! Who's the monkey now?

But the experience did make me think about some things. I heard someone say that triathlon is not something you do, a triathlete is something you are; while cheesy enough to make vomit-inducing bumper sticker, there's something in this. I realised that I've been doing the kilometres and training hard, sure, but don't always look after myself in the way I should. And, if I want to stay (relatively) uninjured, I have to start. That means more stretching; an occasional ice bath (i.e. when a long weekend finishes with a 26k run); sports massages; wearing the compression stuff (both for training and recovery) that I once swore by; looking after my nutrition both during and immediately after long sessions; taking a rest day and not using it to catch up on other sessions I had to miss due to work.

While I don't prescribe to the idea that being a triathlete has to inform and shape every fibre of my being, I know that consistency is the key to improvement and meeting my objectives in the sport, and the key to consistency is remaining uninjured. 

Plus, given the way I sulk when inflicted with even the lightest dose of the deadly man flu, I'm not sure how I'd cope with a real in jury!

Man Flu: tragically misunderstood

Big fat blow-out and a spot of catch up

Another month has passed and another disappointing lack of blogging from a young Mr Warnock. But new year, new leaf. And I feel the creative juices, not to mention motivation, welling up inside me once again. But before I go about entertaining you like a monkey in a waistcoat playing the cymbals, making you laugh more than a fat woman falling of a swing, and educating you more enjoyably than a school with Stephen Fry as the headmaster (how cool would that be?), I figure we’ve some catching up to do, you and me.

Firstly the Creek Striders Half Marathon that I spoke about last time. In short, what an event. The course looped up and around the creekside roads of Dubai, up and over some of Dubai’s iconic bridges, and sections of the course actually went through the souks in Bur Dubai – best road race I’ve ever done (admittedly, that’s not many). It was also a great atmosphere with a huge fry-up breakfast afterwards. In terms of performance, I did 1:33 – a 3 minute PB ona  far harder course than the PB was set on. Given that I’d not done much long running at all, I was pretty happy with that. In February, I’ll be racing the RAK HalfMarathon – the flat and fast race in which I set my previous PB and, as my current programme does feature a weekly long run (26kms), I’m gunning to go sub 1:30 for the first time there.

Xmas and New Year were both perfectly pleasant but, to be honest, having returned to the UK for my nan’s funeral just a week before, I wasn’t feeling too festive. I missed my family a lot and couldn’t stop thinking how tough it must have been for my mum and dad. This translated into a lack of motivation on the training front too – I missed more sessions at the end of December than I think I’ve missed all year, but I wasn’t too fussed. Did manage an Xmas morning sea swim with some of the T2A gang, which was a highlight.

Just after Christmas, my friend Janey (actually an ex but we’ve stayed quite close) came to visit on her way back from Thailand, and we had a really nice time – with a few other friends joining for a couple of days too. I took a few days off work, took all four days off training, ate too much, drank every night and it was lovely. I was sad to see them go as it’d been such a welcome break and diversion, but I dropped them at the airport at 5am on Friday morning and went straight to join in with the Dubai Roadsters 120k-er – and absolutely loved every kilometre of it. The motivation came flooding back – it’s a ride I’ve not done for quite a while and I was amazed at how much easier I found the pace, how I could join in all the sprints, and how easily I could motor up the few little climbs that used to leave me trailing far behind. Progress is the greatest form of motivation, when you can see it that clearly. The highlight of that ride was joining the ‘fast group’ for the last 45kms and averaging in excess of 40kph (assisted by a large peloton and tailwind, but still...) and being led out by former Ironman World Champion Faris Al Sultan who is sponsored by Abu Dhabi and does quite a bit of his winter training here in the UAE. Mercifully, he actually wore full shorts and a long-sleeved bike jersey...

He'd have been cold wearing this...

Since then, I’ve not really looked back. Coach sent me my Jan schedule through and it’s by far the biggest I’ve ever done – way more kms than I was doing in peak Ironman training even (tho more favourable conditions than Dubai in August help with that) and it’s just what I needed. It’s basically a base training month with very little intensity, but I’m loving getting all these kilometres in my legs, especially on the bike which I have a bit of a like-hatehatehate relationship with at times. 

I think the other reason for the motivation racing back faster than a drunk to last orders is that a few big races are now in sight – before, they were very much on the horizon but I’m almost able to start counting the weeks down now. That helps a lot.

Other than all the training, life is generally consisting of a monumental SHITLOAD (sorry ma, but it really is a shitload!) of work as we race to get products out for the end of the financial year. In the office for 56 hours last week; in the pool, on the bike and on the road for another 20...doesn’t leave much time for much else, tho I don’t mind that so much right now.

So, there we go, you’re all up-to-date, au courant, al dia, with what’s going on here. Hasta pronto, amigos.