A half-hour of my life that I can not get back.

Yes, that's right I went up to Central for what was supposed to be a mandatory inservice and got stood up. Maybe it's because Iam the only person who doesn't use the crappy state issued email address we've been given, but I didn't even get a warning that this was cancelled. I was the only guard that showed up, and I stuck around for half and hour ( bs-ing with some chick (Kim)I met when I was on duty.) now normally sitting around for half an hour doesn't usually upset me ( afterall I do it for 6.5 hours at the bank and 3-4 hours at the pool and get paid for it.) But damn it this was valuable training time being eaten away. Pissed off as All hell I went to the weight room and cranked out a half hour of curls, leg press, extentions, over head presses, and other various crap in my bad ass Fordham swimming Tee and cargo shorts. ( before driving home and gorging on high fat, high sodium, high colesterol artery clogging finger foods ( it was movie night.)) Tomorrow I will punish my self for thoses mozzerella sticks, the pigs in a blanket and popcorn chicken. A 3000 yard pool workout, the second half of my little sis's football game ( she's a cheerleader) and then a quad killing painfull 50 mile hill climb in Washington is sounding in order. So all in all the rage of high fat snacking, inservices that I don't recieve cancelation notices for , and the fact that classes are eating into valuable ride time, will fuel me on my mission of fire. I cannot fail.
So until next time I remain the time strapped triathlete.
R.D.

Wake up, Workout, work, class, work repeat...

Well that's right for the last three days I've been juggling early mornings and late nights to accomodate my training. classes have been going well ( granted it's only the first week.) I got my lifeguarding job back so I will have some extra cash flow...plus and excuse to cram in late night swim workouts when it's completely dead. Tomorrow night I have a lifeguarding in-service..ie they want to make sure we can still do the backboarding and all the rescue shit, like the run in a skin fitting bathing suit and strike a dramatic pose to the sound of the Baywatch theme. Today I was a bum I slept in until 7:30am So now I have to cram in a nice easy 4 miler before taking off to class and work. And hopefully an empty swimming pool so I can cram in about 2000 yards. Yes my taper is semi started until I can adapt to my schedule which is becoming more full by the day. IM Kentucky is on the back burner until I get my student loan check....Wisconsin and Florida are looking more and more tempting.....Well daylight is burning rush hour traffic is backing up and my professor likes to start promptly at 6:45PM ....Time to hit the road so ...shit I can't steal Angry's phrase without paying royalties....well Holla at the comment board.
R.D.

School Daze......

Yep, that's right my ass is back in college at good ol' CCSU (Central Connecticut State University: ie UCONN's RedHaired step sister), where you start with a dream finish two semesters late. The day began with a 2000 yard pool workout at 6 am followed by work, then my plauges and people's class. And Yes discussing disease and its effects on society with Prof. Warren is fun especially over food....next class someone's bringing brownies....mmm...good... Computer Science was taught by a former programer who defected from Russia, really knows what he's doing ..but we the students don't ...It'll work out.... Discussed Beer Pong, Relationships, Make out sessions and global politics with Jean and Sarah, also the fact that I am completely insane signing up for an Ironman ( although they were both pretty impressed....are they girls that get it...Idon't know? Jean sort of does (ex-XC girl,) Sarah well she's ditched sports for tounge ring, a pack of camel lights, and beer pong glory....so I don't think she does.but she's still cute....) G-ma still in the hospital but the good news is it wasn't a stroke..( release sigh of relief...) but rather she was hypoxic ( layman's terms, years of cigarettes have taken their toll and her blood cells aren't getting enough O2 to her brain. So she can seem a little groggy , tired..un responsive.) Please if you are a smoker and you value your life please quit...ok that was my desperate appeal...but G-ma is starting to improve, no serious damage so once again ...big sigh of relief. My foot still torn up from Sat's "Zen Out " session . so I probably won't run tomorrow night...well maybe I will that's what blister block is for. Well training for IM NZ will be a little bit harder. Early morning swim/run /bike sessions are looking to be the order. My lifeguarding job won' t allow me much time in the pool or on the track after class, but if it's a slow night I could probably cram a couple hundred yards in. ( and hey the pay will help get my but on an air kiwi flight.) So all in all school and a study friendly training plan are starting to develop. Well I've got to get some sleep afterall it's a school night.
R.D.

Zen: the art of long Distance Running.

Well Today was bittersweet on many levels. Yesterday I got in a 25 mile ride, ( didn't do the full distance I wanted and took a few wrong turns but eh whatever.) I did it at a spin lovely, where the hell am I going, watching out for gravel and grooved pavement sort of pace. I actually did but into some grooved pavement once again DOT is on my hitlist. Today started off good, crawled out of bed went to early Mass, got home ate mowed the lawn, got set to go out for a run, when the phone rang. My grandmother ( my mother's mother not the one with Alzheimer's ) has had a stroke. My mother bolted to the hospital to make sure she was alright ( alright being a relative term.) I took my youngest sister to her girl scout function, got home got a call from my pops, told him we'd call him at work if we got any more info. on how the G-ma was doing. I decided to continue with my plan for a long run. My family's been under a lot of stress lately and this healthcare crisis was like launching gasoline on a raging inferno. I decided I needed to get away for a couple of hours and let my thoughts fly ( granted I'm always off doing something anyway), ( so I prepped for a longer run..I decided on a 15-20 miler instead of my usual 10-15 miler, because starting next week begins my pre-half iron, pre-IM New Zealand transition to full IM training taper.) So I took off from my house trusty fuel belt on my hips, and made my way to Rte. 322, then shot past the golf course down the back half on Southington Mountain and then down Marion Rd./Ave. I ran past the cemeteries and I-84 merges to the Plantsville Dunkin Donuts, used the washroom and topped off the water bottles, and took off on the reverse route back to Wolcott. When I got to Southington Mountain, I decided to be cliche and resurrect a commercial form a long since retired local attorney's office and run up the mountain. Let me tell you 1.25 miles at 10% gradient is enough climbing for a month. I ran down Meriden Rd. my feet now starting to blister from a combo of no socks, shoe stiches, and road sand. I went down past the resivior I normally run by on my 7 miler and ran out of water as I passed the police sation. I made the familiar turn on to Woodtick and then Wolf Hill Rd. and then onto Brooks Hill and Hillside. I darted across 69 and up Potoccous ring rd. then on to Lyman and then took the familar turn on to Chesnut. all in all it was somewhere between 18-20 miles and a total time of 3:08.49. on the grand scale it was my first long run since the Country Music Marathon. My legs held up pretty well, I need to remember to use socks for my long runs, and I somehow have the closing scene from Rocky II when the Italian Stallion lays the smack down on Apollo Creed stuck in my head. ( seriously if they play the fight celebration song from any of the Rocky movies when I cross the line in Taupo I'm going to start a psychic friends network.) All the way when I ran I caught flashbacks of the Marathon in Nashville, The going out too fast, the bands playing and giving encouragement, Feeling good for the first 18 miles then falling on my ass for the next 5 before getting a second wind. I kept remebering the mistakes and how on this training run I was trying to avoid them ( accept I didn't bring enough fluids, next time all four bottles are getting a top off at D&D.) I kept imagining the finish line in Taupo, of my goal of trying to finish before sunset, I kept getting images of the future and started to think about crap from work, my grandmother, financial crap...then I brought myself out of it. As I ran I focused on the portion of road I was currently on. I tried to push out any thoughts that could bring me down..future races...family issues...my foot blistering up and blood staining my shoe....it worked for the first 16 miles until I ran out of water, and my heel started to tear up. But for 16 miles I was in running nirvana, before going through the last 3 trying to manage pain and dehydration. So all in all my run ws the best part of the day. I got in some mental clarity, LD training, and Rocky fight montages...for the price of a little dehydration and some blood stains on my old New Balances. ( which hey I need new shoes anyway.) It was worth it.

R.D.