Alright I'm serious this time
I'm thinking about taking 2010 off.
No Ironmans
No Halves
No Marathons
No road races
Not even a Sprint tri/ hugathon.
Now before I get the flood of stop bitching you didn't do THAT bad in Providnece, RI 70.3 has nothing to do with this decision...well maybe the financial part of it.
I've sat down and looked at the check book and the bills...I owe a lot of cash and don't have enough coming in....and even less if I keep tossing it around on a "lesiure sport." I need to go to work tackle my issues and then when I have them partially resolved can I come back to sport. Maybe the reason I'm stepping away is because I feel lke Icarus, I findout I could fly with these spiffy new wings got too close to the sun and have crash landed in the Agean. Now I have two options wash off my wing residue and swim back to dry land or sit here and drown.
I've already had people tell me I shouldn't give up competing that it will kill me and other such crap. The thing is I feel this is a sacrifice I have to make. If I give up something I love until I get my act together maybe that will motivate me to work harder to straighten things out. My attitude the last few races has been in burned out crispy mode, I have a lot if issues on my mind and if I can't focus 100% on my racing then it's not worth it. As Pre once stated "To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift." I have one race left this season an Oly so I'm not really going to have to devote alot of mileage to it. Maybe somewhere between here there and the 2010 season I'll rekindle my flame and this will be a post I'll look back on and be like "man I wrote that!" Maybe I will take 2010 off all I know is right now I seem to be swamped by a sea of troubles and I only have a tube of silly putty worth of solutions. So I need to refocus, on life in general and my racing is very low on that priority scale.
RD
Friday, July 17, 2009
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Rest Week and Regroup.
Alright earlier I had the I need to get a second job to save my financial life post. I deleted it just because it put too much of a negative twinge on things. I seriously do need to get a second gig ( I'm planning on staying at the bank for the time being as there is nothing that you can really do with a BA in History in this economy except maybe law school and even then unless you go to Harvard or Yale you really aren't guarenteed anything except a 7 figure student loan payment.)
So I'm looking at the battered retail sector to see if can find a part time gig to hold me through until I get over the "I should have majored in Accounting ,Engineering, or Medical Science Blues." and find that elusive job I can get with a History BA.
Part of my psyche is still reeling from the post tramatic shock of what this weekend cost me so if I'm a little on edge it's because I took a financial hit and am wondering if it was worth the effort and resources I put forward in Providence. I've decided a week of minimal training is in order to help my mind and body recharge, as well as to focus on the professional aspect of my life. I figure just do some work in the pool maybe break out the bike this weekend and then start ramping up for my last race of the summer in August. After that It's just going to be work, maybe look into getting my coaching cert, look at grad school, should I go for a Phd in History or settle for my masters in education...I don't know where to go from this point on but my racing is going to the back burner for a while.
RD
So I'm looking at the battered retail sector to see if can find a part time gig to hold me through until I get over the "I should have majored in Accounting ,Engineering, or Medical Science Blues." and find that elusive job I can get with a History BA.
Part of my psyche is still reeling from the post tramatic shock of what this weekend cost me so if I'm a little on edge it's because I took a financial hit and am wondering if it was worth the effort and resources I put forward in Providence. I've decided a week of minimal training is in order to help my mind and body recharge, as well as to focus on the professional aspect of my life. I figure just do some work in the pool maybe break out the bike this weekend and then start ramping up for my last race of the summer in August. After that It's just going to be work, maybe look into getting my coaching cert, look at grad school, should I go for a Phd in History or settle for my masters in education...I don't know where to go from this point on but my racing is going to the back burner for a while.
RD
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Providence 70.3 The Bloody, Gory, TMI edition
Ok most peope have read the last post and for the record I'm not too disappointed with my results from Providence but there are a few things I know I could have done better this time around... nutrition, line on the bike course, transition, not deciding to visit the "reading room" at mile 9 of the run. Also there are other things that are totally out of control...such hot fire superstuds showing up from the left coast and down yonder. But instead of focusing on what went wrong I'll probably focus on what went right. First off the bat Three Blazeman warriors came accross the line within in 5 minutes. Also on that note at there were at least 5 of us including the second place woman who did the log roll. Second except for a rather inopportune call of nature I was running on pace to set a PR in the Half Marathon...that is incuding the infamous College hill Climb and descent....if only I had eatten more solid food on the bike. Third accept for the Big Hill at about mile 45 I did all of the climbs in the big ring cranking out massive watts of Beefy New England power....now if I can just get this to translate into speed. Also I'm sort of sorting out the optimal way to fuel for 70.3 a man cannot compete on Gu alone..as it travels through you well like crap through a goose causing you to...well you get the picture...next year there will be some Gu chomps in the Bento Box as well. Without any further Ado the Race Report.
The Swim: Killer Waves Dude!
This could have dual meaning for this race. On the one hand it was a pretty chilly gray morning in Narragansett. The Ocean was frothy as a result of an over night storm system. At one point race control was offering a dualthlon as an option to the weaker swimmers. The other meaning for the killer waves is there were 15 swim waves. Us young guns under 25 went in the 15th wave about an hour behind the pros. We were lucky that the ocean had calmed down a little but it was still choppy. When the cannon went off I had chosen the inside line and watched as the faster pack of about 5 guys went by. By the 3rd Buoy I was in traffic from previous waves. The chop made it hard to sight as I had to stop twice to catch my bearings and also I ended up losing my swim cap about 25 meters from the end. All in all not a bad swim I did it in 27:04 maybe about 40 seconds slower than last year.
The Bike: What do I have to do to break 21 mph.
I hit transition a got my wetsuit stripped off back my swim gear bag and took off on the stomper. I ended up coming out neck and neck with friend Tony from HEAT. I decided my game plan was to keep him in sight for as long as possible. Sadly that lasted all of 5 miles. The ride was pretty uneventful. No one crashed infront of me this year...although I heard a couple of guys had gone down when I was in medical post race. I lost ground on the fast kids from my age group starting at about mile 15. 2 or three guys would get around I'd try to keep them insight or re pass for about a mile or two and then would get dropped like a bad habit. There were a few sections where the road was coned off really narrowly and I couldn't get around some slower cyclists, and found myself risking a drafting penalty, luckily these narrow section didn't last too long...but for some reason I just couldn't get my average speed over 20mph. The entrance into Providence was a little hairy with some tricky turns, rough pavement and railroad tracks...giving a new meaning to Rails to Trails. Sadly this also included another fairly long climb from the mall to the state capital which really hurt the average speed. I hit T-2 in 2:49:24 averaging 19.8mph nearly 5 minutes and 1 mph slower than last year.
The Run: Bust a Gut time.
I got out of T-2 in about 1:02. This year Transition was organized much better. I took off on the Run and Caught up to Gabe from HEAT we paced off one another until College Hill, a 7% grade Vertical wall, Gabe got around me and I managed to catch and re pass him on the plateau. Granted this means nothing as Gabe was on his second lap. I continued along at an insane pace trying to catch as many people with 20-24 on their calves. I managed to pick off about 10 of them and was making excellent progress until mile 8. About that time all the Gu and Fluids in my stomach started to make their presence known. I was left with a dilemma...sacrifice 5 minutes to use the bathroom at mile 9 or sacrifice 5 minutes fighting my body functions. I decided that The first option would lead to a more pleasant 4 miles and post race experience..and hence that was the one I chose. Granted it hurt when I entered the silver box knowing that about 10 of the people I had just passed were going to get back in front of me. After releasing some excess weight I took off like a bat out of Hell ,Hoping that I could eek out a sub 1:40 run split. I managed to pass a re pass some more runners as I tore down College hill for the second time. As I entered the finishing Chute one of the guys ahead of me dropped to do a Blazeman roll...I pushed a little harder to get sufficient distance on the guys behind me and then dropped to do mine. After I crossed and got my medal I met up with Bob and Mary Ann as yet another Blazeman warrior rolled across. 3 in a 5 minute interval...not a bad way to raise awareness.
My run split was a 1:43:06 nearly 5 minutes faster than last year. If I hadn't stopped to use the bathroom I'm pretty sure I would have matched my 1:37 from the Nutmeg State Half Marathon.
All in all it wasn't a bad day, 5:03:08 is respectable but there are still somethings I need to work on and iron out if I want to be a contender.
R.D.
The Swim: Killer Waves Dude!
This could have dual meaning for this race. On the one hand it was a pretty chilly gray morning in Narragansett. The Ocean was frothy as a result of an over night storm system. At one point race control was offering a dualthlon as an option to the weaker swimmers. The other meaning for the killer waves is there were 15 swim waves. Us young guns under 25 went in the 15th wave about an hour behind the pros. We were lucky that the ocean had calmed down a little but it was still choppy. When the cannon went off I had chosen the inside line and watched as the faster pack of about 5 guys went by. By the 3rd Buoy I was in traffic from previous waves. The chop made it hard to sight as I had to stop twice to catch my bearings and also I ended up losing my swim cap about 25 meters from the end. All in all not a bad swim I did it in 27:04 maybe about 40 seconds slower than last year.
The Bike: What do I have to do to break 21 mph.
I hit transition a got my wetsuit stripped off back my swim gear bag and took off on the stomper. I ended up coming out neck and neck with friend Tony from HEAT. I decided my game plan was to keep him in sight for as long as possible. Sadly that lasted all of 5 miles. The ride was pretty uneventful. No one crashed infront of me this year...although I heard a couple of guys had gone down when I was in medical post race. I lost ground on the fast kids from my age group starting at about mile 15. 2 or three guys would get around I'd try to keep them insight or re pass for about a mile or two and then would get dropped like a bad habit. There were a few sections where the road was coned off really narrowly and I couldn't get around some slower cyclists, and found myself risking a drafting penalty, luckily these narrow section didn't last too long...but for some reason I just couldn't get my average speed over 20mph. The entrance into Providence was a little hairy with some tricky turns, rough pavement and railroad tracks...giving a new meaning to Rails to Trails. Sadly this also included another fairly long climb from the mall to the state capital which really hurt the average speed. I hit T-2 in 2:49:24 averaging 19.8mph nearly 5 minutes and 1 mph slower than last year.
The Run: Bust a Gut time.
I got out of T-2 in about 1:02. This year Transition was organized much better. I took off on the Run and Caught up to Gabe from HEAT we paced off one another until College Hill, a 7% grade Vertical wall, Gabe got around me and I managed to catch and re pass him on the plateau. Granted this means nothing as Gabe was on his second lap. I continued along at an insane pace trying to catch as many people with 20-24 on their calves. I managed to pick off about 10 of them and was making excellent progress until mile 8. About that time all the Gu and Fluids in my stomach started to make their presence known. I was left with a dilemma...sacrifice 5 minutes to use the bathroom at mile 9 or sacrifice 5 minutes fighting my body functions. I decided that The first option would lead to a more pleasant 4 miles and post race experience..and hence that was the one I chose. Granted it hurt when I entered the silver box knowing that about 10 of the people I had just passed were going to get back in front of me. After releasing some excess weight I took off like a bat out of Hell ,Hoping that I could eek out a sub 1:40 run split. I managed to pass a re pass some more runners as I tore down College hill for the second time. As I entered the finishing Chute one of the guys ahead of me dropped to do a Blazeman roll...I pushed a little harder to get sufficient distance on the guys behind me and then dropped to do mine. After I crossed and got my medal I met up with Bob and Mary Ann as yet another Blazeman warrior rolled across. 3 in a 5 minute interval...not a bad way to raise awareness.
My run split was a 1:43:06 nearly 5 minutes faster than last year. If I hadn't stopped to use the bathroom I'm pretty sure I would have matched my 1:37 from the Nutmeg State Half Marathon.
All in all it wasn't a bad day, 5:03:08 is respectable but there are still somethings I need to work on and iron out if I want to be a contender.
R.D.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Providence 70.3 The quick and painless.
Well guys I finished in 5:03:08 good enough for 21st in my age group out of about 100 competitiors. I'll give all the details in a later post. Also to answer the burning question I'm not going to Kona in 2009. My heart sank at roll down when 3rd place turned down Clearwater and eagerly stood up to claim the last remaining Kona slot. Part of me is thinking this is a dream I'm going to put in moth balls for 2010. Focus more on my running and try to achieve the goal most New England sports nuts focus on : The BAA Boston Marathon. Granted part of that to me seems like a hollow challenge but it seems more straight forward put down a 3:10 marathon go to Boston. It's put up or shut up and all on the athlete's shoulders instead of on who shows up, who declines this that and the other thing, in essence it's less drama. Also it's less of a burden on the check book...early bird registration to a marathon is only $60 compared to $245 for a 70.3 or a $500 tab for an M-dot. Don't get me wrong I'm still going to do a few tris next season, but maybe a back to the minors approach is in order. Do a couple of independent halves ( Patriot, Nutmegman?, Firman?) A few sprints and a Oly...granted I tend to like the long haul better....essentially I don't know what 2010 holds and I still have a couple of races I need to take care of in 2009.
In essence I have no clue where to go from here...but I have 2 races and a couple of months to figure it out.
Alright that's it from me I've got to go stretch my aching quads.
R.D.
In essence I have no clue where to go from here...but I have 2 races and a couple of months to figure it out.
Alright that's it from me I've got to go stretch my aching quads.
R.D.
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