The Bitch Stomper Rides Again!

That's right for the first time in nearly three weeks, I put the rubber to the asphalt. While the ride was nothing impressive, I did manage to get 34 miles ( a little more than 50k) in. The route was my usual circuit of Lake Waramaug with one loop of the pitted back half of the tri course thrown in for good measure ( note I only did one loop, most of the road had been dug up and might be better handled with a mountain bike.). I had debated doing my usual assent into the Depot from Woodbury, but the threat of rain ( which never came) hung in my head so I decided for easier loops of the fairly flat lake. So I just pulled up to the lake, got out the stomper and rode. A few other cyclist were out and enjoying the fine weather, which made tights, toe covers, and long sleeves unnecessary. It was 75 degrees ( tomorrow its supposed to be 55 so I'll most likely have a long sleeve jersey for my assent in to the Depot. Toe Covers and tights optional.) Not much happened other than the fact I was passed by a Clydesdale rider....this sort of hurt my ego...there was no way I was going to get beat by the big man...so it caused me to kick it up a notch....I will say this this dude's legs were all muscle and he held with me and repassed me with ease....seriously this guy was heavy but he was in shape, and he whooped my scrawny ass. So as a warning beware the Clydesdale....because big might also = big and powerful. My legs felt a little tight after the 48 hour sluggfest that was unleashed upon them. I was going to try to do a 7 mile run but after about 3 steps decided to give my legs a breather. As of right now my legs feel a little thrashed but it might be a sign that I need to fuel better and invest in another set of running trainers. Tomorrow debating between a ride/run brick or just a straight up ride or run. I need to start my first draft of my paper, and I'll most likely hit the pool/gym on Monday morning. So all in all, I'm starting to get back into training at fairly moderate volume...part of me wanted to ride longer, but my body was saying 35 miles was quite enough. So essentially I'm at build 1 phase for Eagleman, and with the type of mileage I know I can crankout on the bike I'm confident that I'll be able to scorch my bike splits at the griskus series, and my legs will be well prepared for the infamous triple play week in early July. Now its just a matter of sucking up and getting one day a week doing the Carmichael faster time trial video on the trainer, I know I have base, now I've got to condition my fast twitch fibers as well as hone my pedal stroke and climbing strategys...I want to fly this year.

R.D.

I just felt like run-ning...

Alright for the last two weeks everyone has heard me bitch and moan about my freaking History paper....(boo-hoo boo de f**kin hoo- I have to spend all Saturday in the libray....) well this week since I've handed in a sheet of about 90 percent of my sources and will be starting my first draft, I decided to award myself and get my self out of my fat and lazy funk I started doubles again and today did my first double since I graced the streets of Taupo. First on tap for tonight was a 7-8 mile run ( I going to guess 7.75 miles, aprox. 12.4 k). Well let's just say I left work in a callous " I don't give a flying f**k. I'm running." attitude. I came home threw on my running crap , said I'll be back to my sister who was just walking in the door from RI expecting a hug or something. I just sort of blew by her leaving her with this dazed look on her face...as I began my usual hell-ish circut of Wolcott. Everything went well for the first mile, until I had to cross Wolcott Rd. Then this teenage dousche bag shouted out the window " F**k you moron!" after I had crossed in front of him. Now if I had darted and he only was say 10 feet away, fine, that's justifiable, but moron in his mama's PT crusier was half way up the road...this was not helping my already pleasant disposition. I so wanted to flip him off....but sadly I think blunt skull had the weight advantage over me. Any way after I got off the main road and out of the way of any drag racing teen scum, things kind of calmed down. I went through my usual flat section, grinded out the up hills, let my mind wander a bit, first was to the fact that I might need new trainers, to my whole relationship or lack thereof situation, to my past failures and how immature high school girls really could be, to man I never really respected my track coach in high school, but he sure makes alot of sense now, to the fact of damn it I just want to do well at eagleman. I didn't pay attention to my watch, just the road. I ground up Beach Road, some teenie bopper, then some soccer mom honked because apparently half way into some one's lawn just isn't far enough to the shoulder...damn I hate New England drivers....I eventually got back home total time 1:06:08.

I went down to my room swapped a load of laundry, switched my away message, and grabbed my swim crap. Went to the Waterbury Y and got in about 3500 yards, a little shorter than I wanted but my shins were feeling the pressure from the run plus the flip turns. the main set was one from the only HEAT swim I made this season 10x200 on 3:00 work the odds to max speed, evens steady pace. My fastest was on 2:30 but I haven't been in the water since Monday, also my high carb/low exercise life style was taking its toll. I could barely see my ribs when I took my shirt off....it's definitely time to get back into shape....next week Chrissy's off so I have workout time open in the AM before work. whether I'll utilize it remains to be seen. I also need to start lifting and doing more core..I keep saying it but I just don't follow through, but I think it will help, if nothing else maybe I'll actually get cut an not be afraid to take my shirt off when I mow my lawn, or am walking around post race this summer.
So that was today...also check out Speed Racer's page as she christened her new Specialized piece of speedass the link to the bike pjorn is here. I am so proud..tear..sniff..Claire you picked a winner! Now you just need to write Team Quick Step and/ or Lotto and you might have a tour slot....

Well that was today....
R.D.

I need to get back to my high volume or. Dr. Rob and Mr. Bob-o

Well after analyzing and reflecting upon my last couple of posts, when my training mileage drops, I become a god- awful whiny bitch. It's sort of a Dr. Jekyl, Mr. Hyde thing, Dr. Rob would be the whinny little sensitive bitch and Bob-o well, the adrenaline pumped, slow teitch endurance sports junky with an obsurd VO2 Max. Maybe it's because my mind wanders, it might be because I'm not surging with adrenaline and endorphins which cause me this wonderful feeling of invincibility, Right now I'm stuck in whiner mode. I need to the up the distance before I start watching chick flicks with a pint of Chocolate ice cream ( sorry ladies no offense.) Ok time to get my self back to my no bull, F**k the world self.

Oh I'm afraid if this girl doesn't like me boo-hoo, poor me....Here's a can of Harden the F**K up Bob, go on a death ride this weekend. If she hates you . Fine Good! 50 miles in the saddle will make you forget all about what's her face.....besides true athletes are warrior monks, to quote my track coach " When you start training ditch the girlfriend, get off the computer and focus on your training." If she likes you well then you've got an excuse to head back to Taupo next year....

Oh crap this history paper's got my boxers in a bunch...toss on a 10 mile run you'll be too concerned about your calves to worry about Sir, what's his face and who what...well ok this you will still want to focus on.... after the 10 miler..... not the end of the world...

Oh woe as me most of my pay check is going to bills.....THIS IS NEW ? Are you paying? Yes. Is anything in threat of repo? No. Then Shut up pay the damn things and get on with your life...god!

ok now that I have man handled my whiny bitch side, on tap for tonight a 7 miler and a 4000 yard pool swim, hopefully that will help me callus back up , after all I've got races coming up and bitches to stomp.

Back in the Saddle Again.
R.D.

The die is cast........

Ok I emailed Mystery Girl, whom most of you already know is Catherine, if you didn't well it's out of the bag now. I told her that " I kinda liked her." whether or not I should invest in a nomex head sock, in case this blows up in my face, remains to be seen. If it works out awesome! If it doesn't then the guys in IT are going to be having a good laugh. But that's the news from lunch break.

Hopelessly smitten.
R.D.

Rest Day....gasp

Yes that's right despite swimming on Monday despite feeling like I was going to die, I decided to take tonight off from swimming. The bike might get thrown on the trainer or I might go up to the track for another run, but that seems unlikely. Why, well I was all gung-ho after class to go to the Y but after checking my email, emailing mystery girl, who I think Angry and Speedy know who she is, I've decided to skip. ( shit this guy really is off the deep end ) Alright the email isn't the only reason I decided to skip..I am still recovering from a head cold, that and I need to buy a new jammer, you know its bad when all your shit is see through. Tomorrow I have a killer set of doubles planned, a morning swim and a pre-class run. we'll see on the swim, but the run is definitely going on because I'm hoping to do the Nutmeg state Half Marathon at the end of the month. But the email played a big part. Which leads to this week's poll.
Mystery Girl hasn't responded to my last email, I sent her another one today ( damn 3 emails in 14 days that seems kind of stalker-esque, this all coming from a guy who if you recieve one email a year from you're lucky. ) I guess what I'm asking is do I tell her I think she's kind of cute, and I like her , ( Bob-o's code for damn it girl you're on my mind for most of the day, and I'm getting that whole can't eat, can't breathe can't sleep kind of feeling, well ok the can't breathe is the head cold..) Or do I just continue to play it cool say very little of how I feel, and continue the same semi senseless chit chat for a few more weeks.
Seriously its time like this I'm glad I don't have a lot of "disposable income" because I would probably do something stupidly and hopelessly romantic. Like pull the whole Colin Firth thing from "Love Actually" and fly to foregin land where Miss Mystery resides and senselessly spill my guts, most likely resulting in a "damn they gave you too much to drink on the flight." and of course a restraining order....let's face it to be liked by me is a curse, the best thing to do to my romantic ambitions is to crush them instantly.... ( ladies if I ever seem to be attracted to you 4 words to shoot me down..." I have a boy/girlfriend." unlike most single men I do have a code of ethics. ) oh why do I have to be such a political rebel/semi- sacreligious and not be the right mindset for the priesthood, why must I be attracted to pretty, smart, athletic girls with cycling knowlegde and well defined tour de france style posterior chain..... alright my self bashing segment over.... the pols are open cast your lots.

R.D.

Bob-o the swim coach....

Last night I filmed Bjoern's stoke and gave him some technique advice: the short of it is, I don't think I'll be beating him by the healthy margin I did last year. I did notice one thing as I filmed, he suffers the same stroke malady that plagued me for years: sliding the elbow through the water. Now luckily this is an easy fix, just do the one and a half cycle drill, or better put making your arm look like it's going into freeze frame mode right before it enters the water. His technique is improving and he is definitely in better shape than he was last year, So I'm confident sub-30 min half iron swims are in his future.

On the workout end of things I did 600 yards in the pool waiting for Bjoern , I did the whole analysis thing then threw on my running stuff and got a nice 4 miler in. ( I know the pool yardage was crap but I don't normally like to swim on Tuesday...I like to do the whole Mon. Wed. Fri. and occasional Sunday thing, plus I need more time running and on the bike...but rather than stand around looking like a tool I decided to do a few laps. ) The 4 miler was done in New Britain, at night, alone.... hopefully the CCSU T-shirt stood as a symbol of carries less than $5 after dark. I any case I stuck close to campus on the well-lit side walks, it was a good little two looper, some minor hill work, unfortunately not a lot of female posterior chain to gaze upon at 10:00PM.
So in essence that was Yesterday.

Upon reading the comments on my last post:

Why do people equate my crushing on Mystery girl with desire to have kids? Seriously I'm cool with not having kids for a while...besides I don't think I have the patience to rear children, I mean seriously In 50 years I don't want one of my brats sitting in therapy saying " It's all dad's fault that I'm a drug using punk rocker, because ,damn it, he was just too hard on me. " In either case I think my cycling escapades have rendered my childbearing capacities useless. Also Claire are you harboring a secret desire to be a godparent?

Angry : my Grandfather used that line on an Australian nurse once, I believe it ended with a slap accross the face.

Well that's all the crap I can post for now, unless anyone wants me to go on a rant about a lecture I saw on campus Yesterday on the Arab- Israeli conflict...let's just say this despite the lecturer's beliefs to the contrary a unified Israeli- Arab State is a "utopian idea at best."

R.D.

Reflections

To all my dear readers who have put up with my crap for the last 5 or 6 posts thank you and my sincerest apologies...



As everyone knows I'm in my last 3 semesters of college...and I am taking the last of the required course for my major.. unfortunately, I got a low grade on one quiz and it sort of put me in panic mode as I was emailing the stuff I needed to hand in yesterday, the thought hit me...I've survived 3 other semesters of college with a " I'll handle it before the deadline" attitude and it's worked so far, why am I getting so stressed out over this paper, I'll do it like all the others, just I'll be very careful on format ( Chicago style.) because I am taking a style course. I've also noticed I tend to not use the whole , outline then write, then critique, then write again method. This can explain why it takes me an entire day to type a ten page paper, but at the same time I find my writing style to be more shoot from the hip, the outline tends to upset my rhythm, and I only do one when it is required..so I've come up with the following conclusion, write my rough draft with my usual shoot from the hip style, and if it utterly sucks, then write with a more pompous outline adhering style....in essence I just want to pass this class so I can start on my thesis.



Another apology is for my cocky, attitude toward Tri, to quote Macca, " Anyone who's met me knows I'm the least cocky person in the world, I'm just passionate." I have put up a poll asking whether or not I should enter one of my tris this season in the open/elite catagory. Upon the poll results and comments,I have come to the realization, that yes I'm a good athlete, but I am the perverbal big fish in two small ponds. New England, which is not really known for its triathlon prowess ( Karen Smyers is the odd ball.), and the 20-24 age group, in which the attitude of most competitors is go out drinking the night before and haul ass the following morning to keep the beer weight off. In essence all I have to do is show up, show up sober, do some training, and I'm almost guaranteed a podium spot. New Zealand taught me that I'm fast but not really anything special especially because of a weak bike leg, but at the same time it also showed me with some more organized and thought out training I could fare pretty well. Sadly at this moment in time Training tends to be wedged between my two priorities, the job, and class, so I'm sort of on a play it by ear, hodge podge sort of schedule, in May that should change.



The third apology is I'm smitten over a girl that realistically I can't have, yet my reason cannot seem to get that through my emotions' thick skull to let go. It's not like I can say to said mystery girl " Hey I like you, want to go out for a drink Friday night." First off I don't know if she feels the same way about me as I feel about her and I dare not tell her how I feel because I don't want to seem like a weirdo, granted I do Ironman for fun, so I'm already a self confessed Weirdo. The second is it is no exaggeration to say that an ocean stands between us. I seriously wish I was as emotionally numb as I was a year ago. Damn you hormones! Damn you Emotions! ACK!



Ok I cleaned out the closet, I feel pretty good now.

There's a first time for everything.....

For the first time in my career, I used a sick day (gasp).....yes that's right It's the end of the world as we know it. I have troopered in to work and class with 100 degree fevers, coughing all over myself, and mucus running out my nose like a fountain. Burning the candle at both ends going to bed at 1am and waking up at 5am. I've shelped in on days many people would have been pondering hospital admission on. This time, it wasn't as extreme but I decided to take the day off from the bank and class, to get some rest, do some classwork ( and email it. email is my savior.....or to paraphrase Ben Franklin: Email is proof God loves us and wants us to be happy.)

I have discovered that the Victorian House wife was the equivalent to Today's paramedic, and that she was expected to do everything in the house...and in 3 petticoats and a corset, no less. Seriously these chicks were like F**king field medics " Quit moaning dear.I'll set your broken leg , right after I give Junior Opium for his toothache and put the roast in the oven." type of girls. Seriously these chicks must have been mentally and physically hard for all the crap they had to put up with....either that or they knew just how wonderful sedatives were.....reciepe for Turkey, 1 x 11lb.Turkey, 2 tsp. cloves, 1 bay leaf, 3oz. of opium, 4 oz. of Arsenic... roast until the arsenic is no longer detectable serves 3-8 ....hold the arsenic if you love them..... no wonder the life expectancy was 50........Kudos ladies, kudos.... ok I'll put the Robitussin down now.....


Tonight not much on tap, rest, more work, one of my friends wants me to flim his stroke, I might do it tonight otherwise there's always tomorrow. I might have to go to Yale in my quest for sources, maybe this will lead to one of those crazy, Bobby goes Ivy Leauge Posts. Two weeks until D-day when the first draft is due I'm hoping that I'll be able to Get it done quickly and painlessly. I know the point I want to make and now I just have to use a lot of quotes to back me up. Seriously as soon as I'm done with this paper I'm going to hit the road like it's never been hit before, and I will fly on my aluminum beast like I've never flown before....oh how I pine for the open road, and how I hate the colleague who gave me this dreaded upper respiratory bug. Oh Curses Upon You....(Cough Cough Cough!) I spit mucus in your genreal direction ( hawks a lugee Cough Cough , Sneeze, Cough!) Ok over dramatic Plauge upon who ever gave me this thing rant done. ( cough cough, sneeze.)
Alright, on that note I'm going to grab a cup of tea, leave the computer lab for my nice warm bed, and get some shut eye. Until next time.

The Hallucinating Historian
R.D.