Need a little Inspiration for your New Year's Resolutions?

I couldn't resist. When Carl came home with a secretive brown paper bag containing a little gift from a fellow race-lover and emerged a few minutes later wearing THIS (thanks Tim!), I had to grab a picture...and share it with all of you.

Carl has recently begun his training for the upcoming half-ironman race. This involves swimming 1.2 miles, followed by a 56-mile bike ride, followed by a 13-mile run. Any race where the goal is to finish in 8 hours is NOT a race for me, but Carl is anxiously engaged in training by biking around our block for hours at a time. He even made the brave/CRAZY attempt at swim training a week or two ago and jumped into our apartment's NON-heated pool long enough to realize it was crazy and then jump right out. Needless to say, the swim training is out for now. All the same, we're proud of his ambition and look forward to the first ever 2009 Gaufin Invitational Half-Ironman Triathlon. More details to follow for any of you out there who'd like the join. Carl's most anticipated aspect? The t-shirt he'll get on race day.