The last of the "lazy Saturdays."/ Unleashing what's in my head.

Well my two week off season of day dreaming and cookie munching has come to its premature end, I have decided that several boxes of thin mints in the course of a week , with only 2 swim workouts to keep off weight will result in an exponetially large Bob, hence a larger mass to pull through the water, pedal on the bike, and strain my legs running. ( Damn you girl scouts and your crack laced cookies.) I figure since Claire wants to ride next weekend I'll be down for it. My bike split needs work and a long session on the Bitch Stomper would be just what the doctor ordered after I finish the shit load of class work my professors have levied upon me. So if your down for a Saturday Afternoon Session I'd be cool with that.

I have spent most of the day ridding myself of the last of the jet lag, and finding myself with another sort of hangover, this one freaking girl that I cannot get out of my head.....if I still feel this way in 6 months I will tell said girl how I feel but until then I will try to hide my feelings. Angry stopped by the homestead we shot the shit for a while. He knows the identity of mystery girl, my plans to upgrade the Stomper and the limbo I'm stuck in over the Disney Marathon ( Most likely a no but I'll show up for IM bike training and moral support (hopefully I'll be able to volunteer as one of those course marshall bikes and get an old school blogger pace train going.)). Also this July I might be making a road trip to Lake Placid, NY to volunteer for the Ironman and achieve the self serving purpose of registering for the 2009 edition of Ironman USA.( any blogers hoping for slots into this event are encouraged to come up with me as it sell out in 5 min over the net.) While it's still early to discuss 2009 I have my prelim calendar set up

Mar. 7 Ironman New Zealand
June: Eagleman, Griskus Olympic, Waramaug,
July : Patriot or RI? Griskus sprint, Lake Placid
Aug. Niantic, Park City
Sept. Hammerfest, Nutmeg Half
Oct. Kona ( God willing.)

This summer I plan on going for my certifications to sell stock and insurance and hope to move from the Bank's teller line to the investment rep's cubicle, either that or have the abilities to earn major commission.( I figure next year I might take some finance courses as fillers between my history and gen eds., but the bank sponsored courses should tell me the basic in' s and out's of investment products. I can read the stock market ( Buy in big petroleum huge profit margins!) and understand mutual funds, but I need some fine tuning.) In any case I hoping to net more income to try to and finance my racing ambitions.

Also in the deep anals of my mind is a desire to go pro, I know I am at least 2 to 3 years of hardcore training away from even considering an elite licence (an 11 hour Ironman is fast but I KNOW I can go faster if I can train better, and push harder ( exampled by the fact I was able to walk with minimal stiffness afterward.)) I would love to be in a postition to be paid to train but I know for as fast as I am there are just as many people who can fly by me like I'm standing still. I figure when I'm 25 if I have qualified for Kona and placed high in my age group ( 3rd or higher) then I will consider going pro. New Zealand was an eye opening experience for me I did an 11:13 on min. bike training and no true speed work. This summer will be " The Summer of the Stomper" or mostly comitted to improving my bike split. 06 was about getting back in the water and into shape, 07 was about increasing distance and intensity on the run. This year will be getting more quality on the bike and 09 will hopefully be the year I put it all together and manage to qualify for my goal races ( Kona, LD Nats.) I know I can do Irons and half Irons now I want to win one.

Alright so I've gotten a little carried away , but if you don't dream big what's the point of dreaming.

Well now I've got to grab some grub, the Wood n' tap is calling my name.

The guy with his head in the clouds.
R.D.

Zoot vs. New Balance debate

Ok time to get back from being the stressed out college kid/arm chair theologian to the tri geek I am. As everyone knows I am sort of sponsored by Zoot and GU for the 2008 tri season ( which unfortunately means I will not be able to run in my HEAT livery (it's from Garnieau which would be breach of sponsor ship.) this season, unless Zoot doesn't ship the team uniform I will not be the familar "flame guy" at most of my races this season. sniff, sniff.) While I can attest to the quality of Zoot's wetzoots, and a few of their other products, the foot wear is an issue. I have used New Balance since I was a junior in high school. I know the products inside and out and their racing and training shoes have gotten me through 400 meter sprints to full marathons and every race in between. So when Zoot came out with their racing line I'm a little skeptical, the shoe is in its first year of production, it's been tested by pros with feet of steel, and although they look like they have an ultra high quality race flat, the lack of a true training line frightens me. Also the price tag make me a little afraid to take the risk on them, ( You spend $50-$80 on a trainer and if it sucks it hurts the checkbook but not as bad as $120.) I think I'm going to hold off on trying the Zoot ultras ( unless of course I get them for free) until I hear some more feedback on them and Zoot develops a heavier weight training line. Afterall a solid trainer usually results in a solid race comp. Although some of the features of the ultra series impress me:

Built in speed laces: so you don't have to fork over $7 for Yanks and then spend an hour unlacing and relacing your new shoes. ( I did this in NZ and it broke my heart watching daylight slip away as I struggled with the damn things.)

Seamless interior: Having torn my feet open due to interior stitches going barefoot this is a good move forward.

Hopefully there will be more good feedback after the 08 season and I might throw down for a pair but as for now I'm sticking with the good old relaible "N"'

The guy with more shoes than Roslinda Marcos
R.D.

Spring Break/ Holy Week/ summer bookings

Sadly there will be no debauchery on Spring Break for me, for those in the Western Sects of Christianity ( ie Catholics, Anglicans, Baptists, Lutherans, in general the Catholic Church and the Protestant offshoots. The Eastern Orthodox don't celebrate the end of Lent for another month.) Sunday marks the begining of Holy Week (Palm/Passion Sunday) which means from Thursday - Sunday the Shrine of St. Anne will become my second home for the weekend.

Thursday night we have the Mass of the Lord's Supper so pretty much we comemorate the first time the Apostles recieved Holy Communion, as well as the whole happenings of the Last night JC was "alive". Pretty much it's mass as usual accept for a lot of incense, washing 12 high level parish member feet, benediction, and stripping the altar bare.

Friday they do a Good Friday Service but I'm still at work like a good capitalist. Pretty much this is one of two days a year Fasting is highly encouraged due to the fact a pretty peaceful guy died a most violent and painful death.

Saturday: the Easter Vigil This is probably my favorite mass of the year for 3 reasons
1. Lots of music.
2. Everbody gets to play with fire.
3. It fufills my obligation for Easter Sunday so I don't have to cram in to a pew on Sunday with everybody who's like " Holy Shit it's Easter, time to go to church for the year." (technically up until 1904 this was the only Sunday Catholics were required to go to mass. If you went every week and feast day it was icing on the cake, granted that all changed with Pius X.)

This one tends to be a long one, all the adults who weren't baptized, communicated ( I know pulling out $2 words) , comfirmed as kids, or are just entering the faith recieve their sacraments

There are a lot or readings, we enter the church its dark with only the pascal candle lit then everyone gets a lit candle and finally once the priest does his whole opening we turn the lights up in the joint, a truly amazing experience. Also the opening and closing prayers are sung, depending on the priest and the deacon, this could be a good or tramuatizing experience.

Sunday: All hands on deck!
Easter Sunday tends to be one of the busiest Sundays in the liturgical year, apparently even in our secular material culture we still equate Easter with religion, although some people use this as a time to show one up man ship on how much they spent on Easter clothes. Hint: You can tell the people who go to mass fairly reguarly from those who goes once a year, those of us that go fairly reguarly aren't as decked up, the yearly's have the huge hats, bright new dresses/ suits, decked out to the 9's (my philosophy hey God saw me naked, and a bright shade of purple the day I was born it can't get worse than that. Easter and Christmas I might throw on a nice sweater or polo.)
Anyhoo it won't matter because all servers and EM's are on staff because if its packed we're going to need everybody. So if anyone goes to St. Anne's onThursday, Saturday or Sunday I'll be the rather tall fellow in red, with a white frilly thing, playing with incense.

Ok now that I have gone on about theology and ritual way too much I'm going to go get intouch with my secular self.

I booked my Hotel for Eagleman and took Angry's advice (You can't go wrong with marriott.) I'm looking into Hotels for the Patriot and Providence. ( just because I'm bringin' my entourage and I don't want to eat Claire out of house and home.)

Also I got an email back from Catherine and she is now finding herself in the market for a new road bike ( let the bike pjorn start flowing.) for a couple of long rides in Nov. and Feb. Possibly an Ironman in March? Time will tell. Also perliminary investigation of my poll sense most of my readers seem to think I will not be able to limit my spending to a $150 crank set, sadly I am starting to agree with them , and have not gone along with it as of yet. Aero wheels are tempting, dura ace is screaming, carbon fiber.....ok Bob cold shower you'll buy a full carbon Stomper when you graduate and get a real job.....or you stomp the field at Eagleman and get sponsored by Specialized ( maybe possibly, hopefully, I start riding again in t-minus 9 days.) But as of now I am not throwing down on a new bike, although an ultegra crank and aero wheels are tempting.....it will only happen if I get my debt to income ratio back to a semi-comfortable level.

Also to answer a comment made on if I'll be doing a North American Ironman in 09 I'm debating doing Placid or Louisville but I definitely plan on going back to Taupo. (saving as I speak) (I'll most likely end up doing Placid, but Louisville might suit my cycling style a little better, also cost Placid I can shoot up for a weekend and drive home, unlike Louisville where I'm looking at a week and airfare. If I qualify for Kona or have a shot to qualify then cost will win out.) There might be a possibility of 3 IM's for Bob-o in 09 but the economy/ Job promotion or upgrade/ income to debt ratio are the deciding factors in that one.
Well that's my daily rant.

The long winded one.
R.D.

I've been tagged..

after reading Rocketpant's blog I read the last caption "You have been tagged." Dang I thought I was gong to get away with this one. sneaky scorpion woman!...ok here are the 7 random facts.

1. For a good 4 year period I actually debated becoming a Catholic Priest. Why? Maybe it was the spirituality, maybe it was the fact I could never seem to make my relationships work out, maybe it was because hey, they'll pay for my degree, or the fact that I think that we have too few priest who emphasize on God as being a loving, caring, compassionate being, rather than a stern, abortion hating, pre marital condemning sex, gay bashing judge who will kick your ass for the smallest sin, and thought maybe I should get in with this new group of Hippie Clergy bring about a warmer friendlier version of Catholicism. In any case I didn't go through with it, the politics of the church turned me off ( won't get into my opinions on married priests, female clergy, stem cell research, gay rights) and the fact of hey, I would at least like to be open the possibility of marriage, as well as my rebellious nature sort of made me decide that this truly isn't the lifestyle for me. ( and yes despite some of my differences on the church's views on public policy I still am a practicing Catholic.)

2. I am absolutely scared to death of heights but I enjoyed rock climbing and repelling. Sadly I haven't been in years but I had nothing but good experiences doing it.Maybe it's that whole, you're being supported by some guy on the ground with a rope so you won't plummet to your death thing, getting to the top of the climbing wall is always an enjoyable experience.

3. I actually learned a little bit of Latin ( I can read it and recite some prayers in it, but I'm sort of a novice with it so don't ask me to start deciphering the captions on the back of Canadian and British coins or T-shirts at a moment's notice. Although on the Canadian coins apparently they thank God that Lizzie II is queen.)

4.I used to like Nascar before it became the WWE on Wheels, now its all sports car racing baby.

5.In case you didn't read my blog around Christmas I'm a history major so occasionally I will pull out some random obscure fact and post it on the blog. Ex. Did you know one Pope put out a hit on Lorenzo Di Medici? Then excommunicated Di Medici for surviving the botched assassination attempt. I know all sorts of tidbits like this, yet I refuse to become a teacher. ( private schools pay peanuts ( about the same as being a bank teller yet they offer more circulum freedom.) The public schools want you to be an education major, have a masters in education and cram kids for standardized tests, note to the Department of Education in the real world you don't always have 5 options, seperate answer sheets, and a no.2 pencil handy.)

6. I refuse to wear Nike Sneakers under any circumstances. ( 1. I don't agree with their sweatshop labor policies. ( for the swim suit and tank top I bought 2 years ago I humbly apologize) 2. Their trail runners completely screwed up my shins.)

7. Growing up Angry Runner was my next door neighbor, for about 4 years, then he moved about 8 blocks down.

Well those are 7 semi-politically charged facts about moi,
if you haven't been tagged Consider you self tagged....Right...about
NOW!

The Photo Gallery: Kiwi Style

Ok this is truly the last IMNZ post for 2008 the photo wrap up. Photos are courtesy of Justin (Go Navy.), USC Jonathan, Catherine, Simon and ASI photo.

Didymo Dave, myself and USC Jonathan. ( we all had to have our wetsuits disinfected because North American Algae tends to thrive down there.)
The Bitch Stomper in Ironman Trim. Below are the bike gods, Dan Evans and the fellow with the aerodynamic hair cut is Blair Cox.



Mickey, Paul, and Patti. Mickey @ 71 years young was the oldest female starter.

USC Jonathan Pre Race
The HEAT Haka!
Ok the pic to show Mom.The Swim Start
Off to T-1
On to the bike course.

Loop 1

Ok keep it steady 40 k more to go.
I think I was on a sugar high on this one.

F**king Wind and spray! Or the I'm not going to touch a cup of Flat Pepsi ever again, or at least not until my next Ironman photo.I feel pretty good.The I think I'm going to PR or holy S**t is she leaning out of the car to get this shot smile.1k to go PR in sight.
The Blazeman Log Roll for ALS ( Motor Neuron) Awareness.

Despite the rain the Party Continues.



Taupo's finest.
The left section of the grandstand: Warning 2 drink minimum.
Luke Bell and Yours truly.
The last finisher

Back in the fast lane......

Well last night was the first day back to training since , well one small race in the Southern Hemisphere. I got in a nice 3000 yard workout from Stef "dominmatrix of the lane lines" Karas Splitting the lane with Cervelo chick (seriously this girl is going to be ITU champion in 2012, she's heading off to college in Cali to train. Plus when you're 17 and beating some of the regional elites in the sprints its a good sign.) It wasn't too hard of a night, granted doing it on only 3 hours sleep took its toll. the main set
3x100 on 1:30
200 kick
3x100 on 1:25
200 pull
3x100 on 1:25
200 kick
3x100 on 1:20

I managed to hold between 1:15 and 1:20 on all of them.
Last night I passed out at 11:00 woke up and went to bed at 11:30 woke up at 3:00 then was back to bed at 4:00 then up for the day at 7:00 altogether it it was the most normal my sleep pattern has been since I got back. I sent a couple of my New Zealand contacts emails, I thinked I talked poor Simon's ear off whan I was down there ( Sadly I tend to talk too much when I'm nervous. Normally I'm usually pretty quiet and try to keep to myself, because I know if I start talking I won't shut up. So Simon I apologize.)
Well not much is new here, classwork is piled up and now I have to get it done. I've got a book review and outline due on the 24th, a midterm due on the 25th, another book review on the 26th and a 12 page research paper to start from said outline. So in essence, my spring break won't really be much of a break, it'll be more of a ok I'm going to spend the time I normally spend in class doing work. I just got back from vacation and already I'm burned out with school work. So all in all I am truly back to the grind.

Would you like your burned out academic in orginal recipe or extra crispy.
R.D.

Term papers drive me crazy.

Well next week is spring break and I will be spending it putting in long hours at the office and long hours in the library, that's right I've got term paper research on Victorian Medicine and outline to do, as well as a 10-12 page mid-term on the Arab- Israeli conflict, hence this is helped exacerbate the sleeplessness, feeling stressed out, wanting to crawl into a dark corner alone surrounded by books or a lightning fast Internet connection. The joys of college life, as mentioned earlier I should have most of the crap for my major done with by December, leaving me on course to graduate in May 09, and finally leave with that piece of sheepskin that says I am qualified to make more than $20k a year. Ok college stress rant over. Tonight I got a nice hour long swim planned, followed by long hours looking up the big names of 1840's-1890's British Medicine, Chadwick, Snow, Lister, etc..and how medicine evolved from "Throw two leeches on your arm and call me in the morning." To "take a hit of opium and call me in the morning." Somebody get the Maxwell House and keep it coming. My eariler post was a irrational rambling on mainly being stressed out by all this crap ontop of kind of crushing on someone, that has worked itself out in a rather conservative fashion: keep the status quo, and the fact I probably had only 3 hours sleep last night...I think that covers my ass for any crazy things I might post or mention. Well that's all I have time for right now...I've got to go fight traffic back into the dirty water.

The Java Junkie
R.D.

I think I think too much......

Well tomorrow I begin to train again, well at least in the pool. A lot has been on my mind since I got back, one of the most telling is my inability to maintain relationships, and my fear of starting any. Let's face it I haven't had a true "girlfriend" in almost 3 years...part of the reason is I usually come on too strong or I don't come on at all because I think I come on too strong, it just seems with me there is no happy medium. Either the poor girl gets ignored or freaked out, in any case I crash and burn, and end up becoming like a monk, isolated showing no emotions and hiding myself in work and training, until my guard gets let down enough for me to try again. Maybe it stems back to my inabilty to read body language in High School and the embarassing and painful episodes that that led to, maybe hey I'm just one of those guys that's meant to be alone, but in any case if I ever have feelings for anybody it is like I've been thrown into the tortures of Spanish Inquisition. I'm afraid to speak because it might damn me and I'm afraid to keep silent because I might let "the one" slip away. In either case it leads to an emotional roller coaster, leaving me constantly second guessing myself, and afraid to talk. Part of me is bursting at the seams to tell this one person how I feel but at the same time the other part of me is desperately afraid of freaking her out and losing a pretty cool friend....it's a goddamn Catch 22. So how do I play it cool when the person has given me the whole, can't sleep, can't eat, I can barely get my mind off them thing . Goddamn it, this is a cruel joke! ( note to self next year for Lent giving up saying Goddamn it! Goddamn it!) I'm better now but I have absolutely no clue how to go, hopefully she has a boyfriend and my sense of ethics will keep me from looking like a smitten fool ( although this post is making me look like a smitten fool.) Maybe she's gay and that will save me some embarassment, but I don't want to tell her how I feel and end up broken and beaten at the side of the road. ( granted it would give me some motivation for the weight room and a new name sake for the next in the stomper series. ( my 2010 graduation present to myself.)) In either case I don't feel there is anyway for me to win. (Sort of like going into T-2 10 min. down at a sprint race.)

On a completely different note blogger has been giving me guff on loading my photos so the IMNZ Alblum will be a work in progress, any one interested on viewing some of Catherine's and Jonathan's photography can read my race report at the CT HEAT forum.

Well I'm going to go splash some cold water on my face and try to get some sleep, I'm going to try not to think about said person, just because if I do I will probably go insane, granted I'm probably insane already, and this post has probably shot down about all my chances, but I can't keep my doubts bottled up.

Kick it up a notch Torqumada!
R.D.