"that's why you see me walking round like nothings bothering me even though half you people got a fucking problem with me."- Eminem from "Till I Collapse"
In 2001 Peter Reid was sitting on his duff growing a beer gut after falling from the pinnacle of the sport. His former coach tossed him a tri mag with a training plan for completing your first Ironman highlighted , essentially stating don't let your melt down in Kona be the way you went out. Get back to what the sport is supposed to be: fun and a personal challenge. In October 2002 he finished second in Kona and a year later won his third and last Ironman World Championship.
On a more minor league scale ( I am nowhere near the league of Peter the Great) this year I was thinking of skimping on some races, just going through the motions of keeping in shape and getting some fitness back, until I bumped into one of the younger athletes from the club: My friend Chris Rinaldi. Chris and a mutual friend John Corbo remind me a lot of the way I used to be. Fire breathing warriors out there having fun and pushing themselves to the limit. The word can't doesn't exist for them. Sure there are going to be bad days but you just take them for what they are and keep going. As I shot the shit with Chris as he was finishing up a treadmill session it was amazing to see how he's progressed. 2 years ago I bumped into him and Corbo on a training ride and Alexei and I were giving them tips on training and riding. Now they're kicking ass and taking names dominating the 20-24 age group. As I talked to Chris I asked him about his goals for the season. He rattled them off: make nats, have fun doing it. We talked about finding sponsors and how he and John have racked up quite the group of backers and followers. We talked of races where the courses were fast, the podium spots obtainable and the post race beer plentiful. It helped me get back some prospective.
Louisville had been painful in more ways than just physical. I had gone in broke, and mentally out of it as my grandfather had died the week before I was due to fly out. My grandfather was one of the guys who didn't look at me like I was crazy when I said I was going to New Zealand for a second time in 2009 . Likewise he had shown up to every track meet in High School, rain, wind, snow, cold it didn't matter, he was there. When I went into Louisville I had spent most of the money I had tucked away for the race on getting my sister to the funeral from Rhode Island, as well as picking a set of new clothes for the funeral, and eating out because my heart just wasn't up to cooking , or essentially doing anything. Add to it one of my friends I was supposed to meet down there had been dragged on a last minute trip to Chattanooga and then a hurricane kept my friend Adam from being able to fly out it just added to the dark cloud over my head. My mind hadn't been fully in it Louisville, yet I still finished but I didn't have anything left to give for the rest of the season.
After talking to Chris and seeing his passion it's reignited my flame. My training has been harder and more consistent, and I've felt better doing it. I'm actually looking forward to the season I'm going to race a little more locally and put my Kona dream on the back burner for the season, I'm going to focus on going hard and building up my street credit. In 07 and 08 I raced like a rock star, and I want that feeling back. In 07 I wasn't worried about placing and in 08 I knew I was capable and 09 well 09 was still an ok year but it was an introduction to the real world. 10 and 11 I let the real world kick my ass, that ends in 2012. Do I think I'm going to pull a Peter Reid and win Kona in 2013...well stranger things have happened but winning in the 25-29 age group would be equally gratifying.
Showing posts with label Life in General. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Life in General. Show all posts
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Monday, January 2, 2012
He's back
Well, the last time I posted on my blog was back in August after my sort of anti-climatic race at Ironman Louisville. Essentially I went into the race feeling mentally and emotionally beat. My grandfather had passed two weeks before it and essentially all the stress of the last few years had sort of reached a breaking point. Since my hayday of blogging back in the 08 and 09 tri seasons, my posts have been fewer, mechanical, and have had sort of a negative twinge. So I could do a quick recap of what's happened in the from 2009 until now:
I've been left homeless three times.
Gotten myself into a committed relationship with a great girl.
Tried to get into a US Navy officer program.
Left the nest and gotten into a room to rent/house stay situation.
One my biggest motivators has passed on.
I've become a "coach" for some of the swimmers of my local Y's tri club.
I've become a board member of said tri club.
Suddenly found myself on the outside trying to get back into the insider tri scene.
The past few years have been hectic as I have a real 9-5er which sadly is not paying near what I thought it was going to be, so I'm finding myself debating what the next career plan should be. Likewise since I do have a lady in my life the next part of the plan is where am I heading. I know in the past I've thought about moving out west or out of the US, but when you bring someone into share your life sometimes there needs to be compromise, and you aren't able to drift as easily. Likewise on the career front I'm torn between what I should do. Do I continue in banking? Do I take a gamble on education? Do I go into sports medicine like I batted around a few years ago? I'm 26 I'm not getting any younger and when I'm looking to the future I know I don't want to be in Connecticut working an entry level job , being first responder to every family crisis that comes along, not that I hate my family but for the last few years it's just been sort of surviving crisis to crisis and it's just getting old. Likewise my racing has suffered because despite the fact that I did a 70.3 and a full Ironman last year, my training has sort of been going through the motions and not really pushing myself like I used to do. I mean in early 2011 I was really training hard and starting to get my groove back but as time has been going by I've found myself lacking for energy, skipping workouts and just sort of muddling through as I've been letting life get the better of me. I'm hoping 2012 will be a step back toward 2008 and 2009 where I was training well and was looking at the future with an sense of hopeful optimism instead of the fear and dread which have marked the last few years. So hopefully I'll have some more blog posts this year and I'll be able to get my lazy ass back into shape so I can compete for a Kona slot in 2013 and beyond. So a fresh slate has been made and a new beginning has dawned. Fuck the Mayans! Let kick this pig! Because the only Apocalypse that's occurring this year is the restructuring of the 25-29 Age group with my name moving back to the top of the list.
So Game on 2012.
R.D.
I've been left homeless three times.
Gotten myself into a committed relationship with a great girl.
Tried to get into a US Navy officer program.
Left the nest and gotten into a room to rent/house stay situation.
One my biggest motivators has passed on.
I've become a "coach" for some of the swimmers of my local Y's tri club.
I've become a board member of said tri club.
Suddenly found myself on the outside trying to get back into the insider tri scene.
The past few years have been hectic as I have a real 9-5er which sadly is not paying near what I thought it was going to be, so I'm finding myself debating what the next career plan should be. Likewise since I do have a lady in my life the next part of the plan is where am I heading. I know in the past I've thought about moving out west or out of the US, but when you bring someone into share your life sometimes there needs to be compromise, and you aren't able to drift as easily. Likewise on the career front I'm torn between what I should do. Do I continue in banking? Do I take a gamble on education? Do I go into sports medicine like I batted around a few years ago? I'm 26 I'm not getting any younger and when I'm looking to the future I know I don't want to be in Connecticut working an entry level job , being first responder to every family crisis that comes along, not that I hate my family but for the last few years it's just been sort of surviving crisis to crisis and it's just getting old. Likewise my racing has suffered because despite the fact that I did a 70.3 and a full Ironman last year, my training has sort of been going through the motions and not really pushing myself like I used to do. I mean in early 2011 I was really training hard and starting to get my groove back but as time has been going by I've found myself lacking for energy, skipping workouts and just sort of muddling through as I've been letting life get the better of me. I'm hoping 2012 will be a step back toward 2008 and 2009 where I was training well and was looking at the future with an sense of hopeful optimism instead of the fear and dread which have marked the last few years. So hopefully I'll have some more blog posts this year and I'll be able to get my lazy ass back into shape so I can compete for a Kona slot in 2013 and beyond. So a fresh slate has been made and a new beginning has dawned. Fuck the Mayans! Let kick this pig! Because the only Apocalypse that's occurring this year is the restructuring of the 25-29 Age group with my name moving back to the top of the list.
So Game on 2012.
R.D.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Wow, it's been nearly, two months since I last posted
Well it's been a while since my last post, but a lot's been going on since. I've been left homeless, found a place and went off on my own, winter ended, I've begun sort of volunteer coaching, celebrated the longest relationship of my adult life, and oh yes winter came back just so we wouldn't miss it. That's the cliff notes version.
Below is sort of the bloody gory yarn:
First on the being left homeless. Shortly after my last post when I tossed the DMV a pretty hefty wad of cash to re-register my Subaru, I headed up to visit my girlfriend. On my way out the door my mom got a call from the friend's who's house we were renting/ house sitting, while they were selling their other one. Apparently they sold faster than expected so instead of waiting until May 1 we had to be out March 1. Well through out the coming week that date got pushed back and we had to be out the second week of March. Well this left us in a bind. My parents hadn't started looking for places and my security deposit money for my own place was now being spent by the governor of Connecticut, so essentially the shit hit the fan. To add insult to injury my dad got pulled over for driving unregistered, uninsured and on an expired license. My parents solution was to borrow my car and put me in a pretty sweet rental. I'm not going to bitch about driving a rental and that little red ford focus drove well and had decent mileage, but part of me feels that some of that money would have been better spent re-registering their cars but anyhoo enough about that.
After a hasty regroup in a motel that looked like something out of a 1970's horror or porno flick.
Seriously this place had Formica and red vinyl couches. Before we moved in I told them about that this was my last move with the family. I starting browsing Craigslist hard core and found a few decent places in Waterbury and the surrounding area. There was one up in the Bunker Hill section that was going for about $500 a month. It was on the high end of my budget but the owner got back to me really quick. I went up and took a look at the place, really nice house in a really good section. The one downfall utilities weren't included but they would come to about an extra $100 a month. $600 was the max I could afford and Looking at the other adds anything that came remotely close was charging weekly and was in "da hood". i took a few days to think it over another plus was he wasn't charging security and the dude was pretty freaking cool so after three days I called him back.I pretty much told my parents I was moving out on my own. While the reaction was expected. One parent was like it's about damn time and if you need anything let us know, the other was like how could you be so selfish we need you right now, and if you comeback we're going to charge you rent. I could understand their feelings of I was abandoning them in their time of need but the other part of me was screaming that I could not support a family of 7 on my meager salary. I had gone broke nearly 3 years ago bailing them out ( granted I was also doing a heavy race schedule as well so there was column A and Column B contributing to the breaking of the bank.) Another fear was that if my parents put me on a lease with them and if they couldn't pay I'd be saddled with a rent anyway, and if I was going to rent then I was going to rent something I could afford. Plus I'm 25 it was about time I left home. Essentially I needed to be in an environment that I was in control of, granted I certainly would have liked to do it under better circumstances but sometimes Life has to give a good swift kick in the ass, so this was my swift kick in the ass. I moved in that Sunday and life has been pretty good granted I do have to adjust to living on a more limited budget, but overall I feel I'm going to make it.
Likewise the weather in New England has been a roller coaster. We've thawed out a bit and those mounds of snow from "snowmagedon" and the "storm of the century" and "snowpocoyspe now." finally melted off. I've actually started running outdoors again granted we did get a dusting on Wednesday night and it's been a little chilly but I'm running outdoors again damn it and yes Claire the shorts are back. I'm beginning to create new running loops in my new neighborhood. I've also started running swim sessions for the Waterbury YMCA tri club. ( still haven't joined yet but they are throwing out some nice goodies like Timex Watches.) I have a hard core group of 5-10 swimmers every Wednesday and Friday and they vary in ability from just did total immersion to I was a high school swim champ. It's been good to pass some of my knowledge along and some people have actually started asking me to analyze other parts of their training as well, so a USAT cert maybe in my future.
Sorry about the lack of positing but it's been a crazy time. Hopefully there will be more promising post in the future. Until then it looks like it is going to be a very very good Spring.
Thawed and Recharged
R.D.
Below is sort of the bloody gory yarn:
First on the being left homeless. Shortly after my last post when I tossed the DMV a pretty hefty wad of cash to re-register my Subaru, I headed up to visit my girlfriend. On my way out the door my mom got a call from the friend's who's house we were renting/ house sitting, while they were selling their other one. Apparently they sold faster than expected so instead of waiting until May 1 we had to be out March 1. Well through out the coming week that date got pushed back and we had to be out the second week of March. Well this left us in a bind. My parents hadn't started looking for places and my security deposit money for my own place was now being spent by the governor of Connecticut, so essentially the shit hit the fan. To add insult to injury my dad got pulled over for driving unregistered, uninsured and on an expired license. My parents solution was to borrow my car and put me in a pretty sweet rental. I'm not going to bitch about driving a rental and that little red ford focus drove well and had decent mileage, but part of me feels that some of that money would have been better spent re-registering their cars but anyhoo enough about that.
After a hasty regroup in a motel that looked like something out of a 1970's horror or porno flick.
Seriously this place had Formica and red vinyl couches. Before we moved in I told them about that this was my last move with the family. I starting browsing Craigslist hard core and found a few decent places in Waterbury and the surrounding area. There was one up in the Bunker Hill section that was going for about $500 a month. It was on the high end of my budget but the owner got back to me really quick. I went up and took a look at the place, really nice house in a really good section. The one downfall utilities weren't included but they would come to about an extra $100 a month. $600 was the max I could afford and Looking at the other adds anything that came remotely close was charging weekly and was in "da hood". i took a few days to think it over another plus was he wasn't charging security and the dude was pretty freaking cool so after three days I called him back.I pretty much told my parents I was moving out on my own. While the reaction was expected. One parent was like it's about damn time and if you need anything let us know, the other was like how could you be so selfish we need you right now, and if you comeback we're going to charge you rent. I could understand their feelings of I was abandoning them in their time of need but the other part of me was screaming that I could not support a family of 7 on my meager salary. I had gone broke nearly 3 years ago bailing them out ( granted I was also doing a heavy race schedule as well so there was column A and Column B contributing to the breaking of the bank.) Another fear was that if my parents put me on a lease with them and if they couldn't pay I'd be saddled with a rent anyway, and if I was going to rent then I was going to rent something I could afford. Plus I'm 25 it was about time I left home. Essentially I needed to be in an environment that I was in control of, granted I certainly would have liked to do it under better circumstances but sometimes Life has to give a good swift kick in the ass, so this was my swift kick in the ass. I moved in that Sunday and life has been pretty good granted I do have to adjust to living on a more limited budget, but overall I feel I'm going to make it.
Likewise the weather in New England has been a roller coaster. We've thawed out a bit and those mounds of snow from "snowmagedon" and the "storm of the century" and "snowpocoyspe now." finally melted off. I've actually started running outdoors again granted we did get a dusting on Wednesday night and it's been a little chilly but I'm running outdoors again damn it and yes Claire the shorts are back. I'm beginning to create new running loops in my new neighborhood. I've also started running swim sessions for the Waterbury YMCA tri club. ( still haven't joined yet but they are throwing out some nice goodies like Timex Watches.) I have a hard core group of 5-10 swimmers every Wednesday and Friday and they vary in ability from just did total immersion to I was a high school swim champ. It's been good to pass some of my knowledge along and some people have actually started asking me to analyze other parts of their training as well, so a USAT cert maybe in my future.
Sorry about the lack of positing but it's been a crazy time. Hopefully there will be more promising post in the future. Until then it looks like it is going to be a very very good Spring.
Thawed and Recharged
R.D.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Chills and DMV
Well it's been a rough two days on the training front. Yesterday the treadmills at the Y were packed so I ran 4 miles on the microscopic 1/24th of a mile track. I had hoped to get a swim in early in the afternoon but went to visit Josie and got some quality time in with an old friend and met her four month old, Amelia. o I was going to swim that nigh but for some strange reason I had a strange case of the chills. Not the normal its cold on the pool deck chills, but the I'm coming down with a cold shivering like a malaria patient through 3 layers of blankets kind of chills. I coached a couple of the Waterbury Y tri club swimmers and then went home and bundled up under the covers to sweat out the bug. To put how bad this shivering fit was I was sweating buckets and was curled up under two heavy blankets but I was still freezing. This went on for most of the night until I got up for work this morning.
Today I packed my gym bag just in case I was feeling better but I sort of knew my chances of hitting the gym were slim. They became even slimmer, when I saw the Connecticut State Police Crusier in my rear view. My registration had expired and I was going to head down to the DMV on Saturday to renew it. Well long story short the Trooper was pretty cool and just gave me a ticket, but I decided to head down to the DMV to at least get a temp registration until I could re-up my emmissions.
I will say this the CT DMV is a pit of despair!!! And my quest to gain new registration for my little Subaru could parallel Dante's Inferno. The long story short I'm going to need to call out to work to get documents proving I paid my taxes from town hall and then get a temp plate go through emmissions, then go back get my "real plates" and head up to see Steph on Saturday.
So hopefully tomorrow will be more productive, I'll reup my registration and hopefully I'll kick this cold or at least be able to train through it.
R.D.
Today I packed my gym bag just in case I was feeling better but I sort of knew my chances of hitting the gym were slim. They became even slimmer, when I saw the Connecticut State Police Crusier in my rear view. My registration had expired and I was going to head down to the DMV on Saturday to renew it. Well long story short the Trooper was pretty cool and just gave me a ticket, but I decided to head down to the DMV to at least get a temp registration until I could re-up my emmissions.
I will say this the CT DMV is a pit of despair!!! And my quest to gain new registration for my little Subaru could parallel Dante's Inferno. The long story short I'm going to need to call out to work to get documents proving I paid my taxes from town hall and then get a temp plate go through emmissions, then go back get my "real plates" and head up to see Steph on Saturday.
So hopefully tomorrow will be more productive, I'll reup my registration and hopefully I'll kick this cold or at least be able to train through it.
R.D.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
The Rut.
Well every winter we all hit it. That week or so where the training goes to hell in a hand bag, as the weather is bad or other obligations get in the way. This year I've hit the rut early with Christmas and a massive blizzard shutting down my Workouts and then New Years then this week a head cold and car troubles tonight kept me from the pool. So I haven't worked out in a week which has me feeling a little worried and a little down. I need to get my bike to the shop and replace rear cassette and chain so I can ride my trainer when all else fails. Essentially I have racing goals that I need to take care of this season and I want to be in better shape than I was last season. This week I was hoping to come out of the gate like a raging bull but I came down with a head cold which kept me laid up yesterday. Then today as I was making my way to the Y my car suddenly lost power on the highway and began making a loud clanking sound. In my head I ran through the check list of what could have let go. It wasn't a tire or anything in the suspension because it wouldn't effect the engine A belt? No The car sounded like it was misfiring but I just replaced the plugs and wires in the summer. I crept into a rest stop and called for my dad to come take a look at the car with me. I figured worst case I could use the roadside assistance plan I have through my wireless plan to get a tow. Upon opening the hood I noticed nothing was wrong with the belt. I turned the car on again and heard a misfire. My dad came down and noticed the spark inlet in the side of the block and the plug hanging by a wire. Apparently it had blown clean out of the block. After a trip to Auto Zone and then a trip back home for tools. We replaced the plug and wire, but not in enough time to get to the gym. But the most important thing my car is operational, and thankfully my dad was able to help me get it back up and running. Tomorrow I will have to set time in the morning to try to do doubles.
My run sessions haven't been as long as I've wanted but I have been getting some quality speed work on the treadmill and I have been using the spin bikes at the Y to try to get my cycling strength and cadence up. They are talking more snow this weekend, but I'm hoping that it won't be as heavy as the foot that received two weeks ago, so hopefully the shoulders of the road will be clear enough to run on.
On the professional side I'm seriously looking at coaching. I was talking to one of my friend Alex who is a trainer at the Waterbury Y and one of the head honchos of the Y tri club. I ran the idea of tri coaching past him and he told my to get in touch with the head of the tri club to see if they would give me a shot. Part of me is scarred in that I'm a low tech, hodge podge rag tag triathlete that won't be taken seriously. I have decent results but let's face it I'm not Mark Allen or Dave Scott. I never won a race overall, and haven't won my age group in a race in nearly four years. I don't use a heart rate monitor myself, I eat what ever nutrition I can find on the sale rack essentially I'm not sure if my Clyde Crashcup school of training will work for everybody. I know the basics, I know how to coach swimmers and runners, I'm learning more on training in cycling. I've done two ironmans, three stand alone marathons, seven half ironmans 4 of those in under 5:05. According to some people I have something to offer, I'm just hoping my results have been by doing something right on the training front and not from being a freak. So I'll run it by the Y honchos either this or next week, figure the worst that anyone can say to me is no.
Well that's all from me
Happy Training.
R.D.
My run sessions haven't been as long as I've wanted but I have been getting some quality speed work on the treadmill and I have been using the spin bikes at the Y to try to get my cycling strength and cadence up. They are talking more snow this weekend, but I'm hoping that it won't be as heavy as the foot that received two weeks ago, so hopefully the shoulders of the road will be clear enough to run on.
On the professional side I'm seriously looking at coaching. I was talking to one of my friend Alex who is a trainer at the Waterbury Y and one of the head honchos of the Y tri club. I ran the idea of tri coaching past him and he told my to get in touch with the head of the tri club to see if they would give me a shot. Part of me is scarred in that I'm a low tech, hodge podge rag tag triathlete that won't be taken seriously. I have decent results but let's face it I'm not Mark Allen or Dave Scott. I never won a race overall, and haven't won my age group in a race in nearly four years. I don't use a heart rate monitor myself, I eat what ever nutrition I can find on the sale rack essentially I'm not sure if my Clyde Crashcup school of training will work for everybody. I know the basics, I know how to coach swimmers and runners, I'm learning more on training in cycling. I've done two ironmans, three stand alone marathons, seven half ironmans 4 of those in under 5:05. According to some people I have something to offer, I'm just hoping my results have been by doing something right on the training front and not from being a freak. So I'll run it by the Y honchos either this or next week, figure the worst that anyone can say to me is no.
Well that's all from me
Happy Training.
R.D.
Monday, November 8, 2010
I think the blogger police is coming...
to arrest me for blog negelect. I could give a long story on why my posts have been more sporadic and not as interesting as usual. One reason is my laptop has now become the family comunal internet connection which now means it is subject to the Almighty Family Internet Connection Curse. Apparently everytime one of my family's laptops becomes the primary log on the power cable, unable to deal with the browsing activity of 7 individuals inexplicably gives up the ghost. That's right the AFICC has claimed my computer as yet another vicitm, wear and tear and the fact that I have had it since 2003 finally took their toll on it. My power cord finally bit the dust so now it is sitting in the corner of the living room on top of the heap of my other relatives laptops wating for a new cord to arrive from Dell. So as I write this I'm logged in at my local library.
I have some other news some from the Navy. As I was waiting to hear from the board last month, I was counting down the days waiting to year my fate. As the calendar switched over from October to November and I still hadn't heard the go, no go, I called my recruiter. Apparently because I had smoked the reffer a little more than recomended in college I need a waiver. Yes kids take a lesson from Bob if you eventally want to serve your country or become a federal employee stay away from the mary jane. So I have to wait until I'm granted a waiver before the Navy will look at the package. Add to that some drama and change of commands, so it looks like my Navy package will be on hold for another few months.
On the training front things are moving along but not as quick as I would like. I did set up my bike trainer so I can start riding again and my pool yardage is increasing. I did have a couple of posts in the works about night running, and strategies to avoid the dreadmill, and not become road kill. Likewise I did have a whole post dedicated to the hopefully now deceased Ironman Ponzi Scheme...I mean rip off, I mean Peferred WTC membership...hopefully i'll be able to get some of these down but in the mean time to quote a memroable character from Monty Python....
I'm not dead yet.
R.D.
I have some other news some from the Navy. As I was waiting to hear from the board last month, I was counting down the days waiting to year my fate. As the calendar switched over from October to November and I still hadn't heard the go, no go, I called my recruiter. Apparently because I had smoked the reffer a little more than recomended in college I need a waiver. Yes kids take a lesson from Bob if you eventally want to serve your country or become a federal employee stay away from the mary jane. So I have to wait until I'm granted a waiver before the Navy will look at the package. Add to that some drama and change of commands, so it looks like my Navy package will be on hold for another few months.
On the training front things are moving along but not as quick as I would like. I did set up my bike trainer so I can start riding again and my pool yardage is increasing. I did have a couple of posts in the works about night running, and strategies to avoid the dreadmill, and not become road kill. Likewise I did have a whole post dedicated to the hopefully now deceased Ironman Ponzi Scheme...I mean rip off, I mean Peferred WTC membership...hopefully i'll be able to get some of these down but in the mean time to quote a memroable character from Monty Python....
I'm not dead yet.
R.D.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
A lot's happended since I've been away..
Well first off I'd like to say that my Kona Predictions were shot. Macca proved that he's not dead yet..and can still throw down a lava burning marathon. So to him congrats. He made it interesting with his big move on the bike to get just enough distance on Crowie to win the thing. The big battle will be next year to see if Ralert will break through to win or If Macca or Crowie will join Peter the great, The Grip and The Man as the only men with 3 or more titles. The men's race proved to be amazingly competitive, and the run splits seemed a lot faster than last year as Chris Lieto was only 4 minutes off his 2009 marathon time that got him a Gutsy second place, but this year couldn't keep him in the top-10. Likewise Andy Potts looked strong in the early going but faded as well as another prerace favorite Rasmus Henning.
Likewise an unfortunate case of food poisoning made the women's race a little more interesting as Chrissie Wellington sat out and Mirinda Cafrae was able to run herself to her first world championship. Dibens scraped a podium, but other favorites simmed to fizzle on the lava. Essential Kona proved that given the right circumstances everything you thought you knew and could predict can go right out the window.
But enough of my pro- punditing. On the personal front I sent in an application to the Timex Triathlon Team. I'm still waiting to hear back from the Navy but if I can't serve my country I might as well try my luck at getting on the most recognized tri team on the planet.
I've been increasing my running and swimming and will be starting spin classes to try to get myself ready for next season in what can best be described as an all out war on myself.
Indeed two nights ago while out on a routine 4 miler my body gave out about 2 miles in. I was going at a fairly good clip but all of a sudden got a light headed feeling, then a cold sweat, I managed to walk for a mile to get myself settled and managed to run the last mile or so home but it was frightening. It was if my body just said no mas. The next day I managed to run the same route with no issue, so it put me at ease. It's just scarry anytime your body just gives out on you for no apparent reason, granted I had been fighting off a little head cold.
The swimming is gradually getting longer this week I've gotten in a 3500 and a 3700yard workout in and I'll try for 4000 tomorrow as I'm trying to get and keep my weekly yardage at over 10k yards.
I could go more into depth on the home and personal life front, but right now things are really complex...also add in some unpopular policy changes at work and the stress factor goes up about 20 notches so for the time being I'll just keep quiet on them. Although having training as an outlet has helped me to keep what's left of my sanity.
Tonight was pretty productive in the weight room, I was able to increase both my squat and bench weights. My squat is still a measly 8 reps at 135lbs. but I've been trying to focus on form, before I build on weight. Likewise my bench is at 125lbs, for 6 reps. I've been working on my breathing and am now able to do more than 20 push ups at a time, and my sit ups are averaging about 3 sets of 30-50. So the strength is coming back I just need to keep working on it.
All in all there's a lot in the works and it's just taking one day at a time.
R.D.
Likewise an unfortunate case of food poisoning made the women's race a little more interesting as Chrissie Wellington sat out and Mirinda Cafrae was able to run herself to her first world championship. Dibens scraped a podium, but other favorites simmed to fizzle on the lava. Essential Kona proved that given the right circumstances everything you thought you knew and could predict can go right out the window.
But enough of my pro- punditing. On the personal front I sent in an application to the Timex Triathlon Team. I'm still waiting to hear back from the Navy but if I can't serve my country I might as well try my luck at getting on the most recognized tri team on the planet.
I've been increasing my running and swimming and will be starting spin classes to try to get myself ready for next season in what can best be described as an all out war on myself.
Indeed two nights ago while out on a routine 4 miler my body gave out about 2 miles in. I was going at a fairly good clip but all of a sudden got a light headed feeling, then a cold sweat, I managed to walk for a mile to get myself settled and managed to run the last mile or so home but it was frightening. It was if my body just said no mas. The next day I managed to run the same route with no issue, so it put me at ease. It's just scarry anytime your body just gives out on you for no apparent reason, granted I had been fighting off a little head cold.
The swimming is gradually getting longer this week I've gotten in a 3500 and a 3700yard workout in and I'll try for 4000 tomorrow as I'm trying to get and keep my weekly yardage at over 10k yards.
I could go more into depth on the home and personal life front, but right now things are really complex...also add in some unpopular policy changes at work and the stress factor goes up about 20 notches so for the time being I'll just keep quiet on them. Although having training as an outlet has helped me to keep what's left of my sanity.
Tonight was pretty productive in the weight room, I was able to increase both my squat and bench weights. My squat is still a measly 8 reps at 135lbs. but I've been trying to focus on form, before I build on weight. Likewise my bench is at 125lbs, for 6 reps. I've been working on my breathing and am now able to do more than 20 push ups at a time, and my sit ups are averaging about 3 sets of 30-50. So the strength is coming back I just need to keep working on it.
All in all there's a lot in the works and it's just taking one day at a time.
R.D.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Getting back into gear
You have three options: Lead, Follow or Get out of the way.
Well this week I've been trying to get back into shape. I managed to get a 5 mile run 3500 yard swim, in on Wednesday and my run mileage is up at 18 miles for the week. Not much done in the way of cycling but I don't have any major races coming up until next year.
I had my Navy Physical, good news I'm healthy bad news I need a letter from a therapist I saw twice when I was in High School in order to get cleared. Essentially the Navy wants to make sure I'm not crazy, or I won't snap easily. Called the Therapist, she destroyed her records of my visits about 5 years ago so I need her to write a letter saying "yeah I saw Rob, essentially he was feeling a little socially awkward like any teenager and just needed to talk out some issues. I didn't put him on meds or anything so he's about as sane as the other applicants." Hopefully that'll be good enough to get me cleared. Also studying up for my ASTB round two. Reading up on my aviation knowledge and getting my math skills back up to par.
Tonight I flaked on my swim, but I decided to get my lift on. Seriously I've lost some muscle. I could barely bench 110 lbs. I managed to get up 4 reps then a set of 3 reps, I bumped down to 95 lbs. and easily pounded out 6 reps. I managed to get some decent reps out squatting 110lbs. ( 3 sets of 10). Also did some lat pulls, bicep hammer curls ( yes I know the muscle is the size of a baseball but it needs some strengthening so I can crank out some pull-ups.) Inclined Pec flys, and some leg extentions. Also managed 30 push ups and 120 sit-ups and crunches. Essentially I want to plan out my workouts. Next week is sort of a burnout, as I'll be on vacation in Maine with Steph for a few days. I do plan on getting some runs in but not much is going to happen on the training front. Next week I want to start planning my workouts so I'm hoping to set up at least 2 days of lifting, 3 swims, 3 runs and 3 rides. Essentially I'm going back into Ironman training mode because I need the fitness back.
Likewise I hope everyone sees the new link. My friend and High School Track teammate Chris is getting himself ready for 2011 Long Beach Marathon. It looks like it's going to be an interesting journey as this guy is a speedster.
Well that's all from me, I've got a drive up to York Beach awaiting me.
R.D.
Well this week I've been trying to get back into shape. I managed to get a 5 mile run 3500 yard swim, in on Wednesday and my run mileage is up at 18 miles for the week. Not much done in the way of cycling but I don't have any major races coming up until next year.
I had my Navy Physical, good news I'm healthy bad news I need a letter from a therapist I saw twice when I was in High School in order to get cleared. Essentially the Navy wants to make sure I'm not crazy, or I won't snap easily. Called the Therapist, she destroyed her records of my visits about 5 years ago so I need her to write a letter saying "yeah I saw Rob, essentially he was feeling a little socially awkward like any teenager and just needed to talk out some issues. I didn't put him on meds or anything so he's about as sane as the other applicants." Hopefully that'll be good enough to get me cleared. Also studying up for my ASTB round two. Reading up on my aviation knowledge and getting my math skills back up to par.
Tonight I flaked on my swim, but I decided to get my lift on. Seriously I've lost some muscle. I could barely bench 110 lbs. I managed to get up 4 reps then a set of 3 reps, I bumped down to 95 lbs. and easily pounded out 6 reps. I managed to get some decent reps out squatting 110lbs. ( 3 sets of 10). Also did some lat pulls, bicep hammer curls ( yes I know the muscle is the size of a baseball but it needs some strengthening so I can crank out some pull-ups.) Inclined Pec flys, and some leg extentions. Also managed 30 push ups and 120 sit-ups and crunches. Essentially I want to plan out my workouts. Next week is sort of a burnout, as I'll be on vacation in Maine with Steph for a few days. I do plan on getting some runs in but not much is going to happen on the training front. Next week I want to start planning my workouts so I'm hoping to set up at least 2 days of lifting, 3 swims, 3 runs and 3 rides. Essentially I'm going back into Ironman training mode because I need the fitness back.
Likewise I hope everyone sees the new link. My friend and High School Track teammate Chris is getting himself ready for 2011 Long Beach Marathon. It looks like it's going to be an interesting journey as this guy is a speedster.
Well that's all from me, I've got a drive up to York Beach awaiting me.
R.D.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
It's getting to be that time again....
Well after doing a 12 mile run on Sunday, I noticed that my shoes were getting to the point that there going to need replacement. Likewise I've been reusing old tri shorts and bathing suits to the point of being see through, I'm desperately low on nutritional goods, my bike shorts are full of holes. Essentially it's time for some of the equipment purchases I've been desperately putting off.
The first thing on the priority scale is the running shoes and I'm left with a debate. For years I've been devoted to New Balance, they've been a good shoe for me. They have decent longevity, great support granted they never seem to have racing flats in my size anymore. So I'm left with a decision to I stick with the tried and true or do I experiment with something new for the up coming off season?
One part of me has heard wonderful things about Saucony, and I've been wanting to try them to see what all the hype is about. Their shoes are pretty equal to New Balance and they tend to carry flats in my size for competition. Another part of me knows Asics have great variety and an all, but you pay a premium for the name. I looked into K-swiss and the infamous Newton, but am really tossed up between New Balance and Saucony, essentially because I know I can get a good deal on them both at Sports Authority.
In second priority,I need nutrition because quite frankly I'm getting tired of dishing out $1-$2 for a bottle of gatorade every long ride or run. Also I need to stock up on power bars because lets face it a man can not live on gu alone.
Swim suits, I can get by for the next month or so,using last year's tri shorts, but I know I'm going to need those soon otherwise the lifeguards will be getting a bird's eye view of the Grand Canyon.
On the training front, I'm starting to tack together more long runs and rides but have pretty much resigned myself to the fact that this will be the first time since 2007 I will not have a long distance race on tap. Part of me really wants to do Mightyman Montauk, but I know there are bills that must be paid and other needs that have to be met before then. I might tow the line at something shorter and local but I've got to play it by ear. Likewise I've gotten some New riding partners in my friends Alexei, Max and Justin. Also speaking of training partners Josie's baby girl is due in late October so she may be back into training by December/ January.
My 12 mile run on Sunday went well despite the heat, as it has been downright hot in New England,almost 90F everyday. Part of me is wondering if I should do my infamous crash course in marathon training, and tow the line in Hartford again.
On the Navy front I'm scheduled to take my physical within the next two weeks and I want to retake my ASTB so I can become a pilot. Likewise it looks like my application may not be good to go until the October board,as more new paper work has been added to the fray. Part of me feels this is a good thing that it gives me more study time and the other part of me is like let me know if I made it already or if I should start searching for more options on the civillian side. Essentially what happens in 2011 is all based on if I'm an officer canidate or a call center agent looking for advancement.
My one hope for 2011 is that I will have more stability than 2010, hopefully a stable roof over my head, meaningful work, a solid training and racing schedule and a better outlook on life.
R.D.
The first thing on the priority scale is the running shoes and I'm left with a debate. For years I've been devoted to New Balance, they've been a good shoe for me. They have decent longevity, great support granted they never seem to have racing flats in my size anymore. So I'm left with a decision to I stick with the tried and true or do I experiment with something new for the up coming off season?
One part of me has heard wonderful things about Saucony, and I've been wanting to try them to see what all the hype is about. Their shoes are pretty equal to New Balance and they tend to carry flats in my size for competition. Another part of me knows Asics have great variety and an all, but you pay a premium for the name. I looked into K-swiss and the infamous Newton, but am really tossed up between New Balance and Saucony, essentially because I know I can get a good deal on them both at Sports Authority.
In second priority,I need nutrition because quite frankly I'm getting tired of dishing out $1-$2 for a bottle of gatorade every long ride or run. Also I need to stock up on power bars because lets face it a man can not live on gu alone.
Swim suits, I can get by for the next month or so,using last year's tri shorts, but I know I'm going to need those soon otherwise the lifeguards will be getting a bird's eye view of the Grand Canyon.
On the training front, I'm starting to tack together more long runs and rides but have pretty much resigned myself to the fact that this will be the first time since 2007 I will not have a long distance race on tap. Part of me really wants to do Mightyman Montauk, but I know there are bills that must be paid and other needs that have to be met before then. I might tow the line at something shorter and local but I've got to play it by ear. Likewise I've gotten some New riding partners in my friends Alexei, Max and Justin. Also speaking of training partners Josie's baby girl is due in late October so she may be back into training by December/ January.
My 12 mile run on Sunday went well despite the heat, as it has been downright hot in New England,almost 90F everyday. Part of me is wondering if I should do my infamous crash course in marathon training, and tow the line in Hartford again.
On the Navy front I'm scheduled to take my physical within the next two weeks and I want to retake my ASTB so I can become a pilot. Likewise it looks like my application may not be good to go until the October board,as more new paper work has been added to the fray. Part of me feels this is a good thing that it gives me more study time and the other part of me is like let me know if I made it already or if I should start searching for more options on the civillian side. Essentially what happens in 2011 is all based on if I'm an officer canidate or a call center agent looking for advancement.
My one hope for 2011 is that I will have more stability than 2010, hopefully a stable roof over my head, meaningful work, a solid training and racing schedule and a better outlook on life.
R.D.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Somebody Call the Psych Ward.....
Bobby's got some crazy ideas...
Well the last few weeks have been pretty crazy running around trying to get my Navy Application together, trying to get my training together,trying not to loose my mind with life issues. Essentially I feel like I'm still living in Limbo not knowing what's coming up. The next month leads to more waiting on my future as I wait for an answer from the Officer selection board. If they take me I'll have a solid job lined up for the next 4-10 years, granted it does have a hectic schedule, and I'll be living a semi-nomadic existence. If I'm not taken I've got to start start job hunting for something with a little bit higher pay or at least suplement it. Enter crazy idea #1.
After talking to one of my training partners, Alexei, a personal trainer at the Waterbury Y, he sort of planted the seed of becoming a coach for beginner triathletes. His arguement went along the lines of "Dude you've been doing this for years, you have a lot of knowledge to share, have you thought about coaching?" My counter was "but yeah dude # 1 I'm not USAT certified. #2 You've seen my training plans I race on the edge of my seat on a wing and a prayer, eating what ever is on sale at Stop and Shop. #3 I'm have absolutely no clue on how to get faster on the bike. My rides are mostly LD with some spurting TT work,and Spintervals in the winter. #4 I'm the most anti-tech guy on the planet I don't us a heart rate monitor or power tap, I train old school off of precieved exertion.
His counter was "Yeah but Rob, beginners don't care about a cert. ( and seriously get a couple of clients and you'll be able to pay for one.) Your crazy training system has worked for you so far, and being less tech is not necessarily bad for newbies. The average beginner triathlete is not going to be throwing around tons of cash on equipment, maybe a HR for $50-$100 but not anything too crazy." So I'm thinking about it. Not as a full time gig but as something to help offset my racing costs.
Crazy idea #2 One of my friends Dad works for a limo company and was rolling some big wig from Timex around and they got to talking about Ironman and somehow my name came up and before he knew it he got me a contact with Timex. The problem: when he got me the contact I was in no mood to discuss triathlon. We were losing our house, I was stuck in my teller job and I was quite seriously thinking of pawning my bike and calling it quits until I was in a better place. I thanked him for the phone number and it disappeared into the masses of paperwork and boxes that I was throwing my life into. This may now be the biggest regret of my life, as I have until October to apply for Team Timex, and if I don't get into the Navy I'm going to be looking for some sponsors. Timex is at the top of my list, but they only take the top 45 athletes in North America, and let's face it I'm good but not that good...granted I was the fastest dude under 25 from the Northern Hemisphere at 2009 Ironman New Zealand...
Crazy idea#3 / #4 Reading on some of the other blogs, and seeing some of my teamates train for Ironman, watching them travel and essentially live their lives to the fullest,it's made me reflect. I used to be them. I used to have dreams and goals. I used to have confidence. Lately I've felt like I've just been waiting for the next disaster. That essentially I've been plauged by Murphy's Law. I felt like I'm working my butt off just to get nowhwere. First I know I need to get my own place. Next I want to race Ironman again, and likewise I want to travel again. I talk to Steph and we talk about the plans of what we want to do places we want to go, and quite frankly I don't want that to be something that is said and not done. I was thinking of going to either Austrialia or New Zealand in 2012 or 2013. Figure it gives me time to get crap in order and save up. If it's Oz I wanted to do something Romantic like New Year's in Sydney. If it's NZ I want to race Ironman again, let's face it I guess I just like riding on the left side of the road and I've got a network down there. I have a feeling Steph and I are going to be long haul and quite frankly I'd like to do some of this traveling stuff done while we're still young, because we may not be able to do it again until we're retired...and from experience traveling is a lot easier the younger you are.
So those are the crazy ideas that have been batted around my head hopefully some of them will come to fruition.
R.D.
Well the last few weeks have been pretty crazy running around trying to get my Navy Application together, trying to get my training together,trying not to loose my mind with life issues. Essentially I feel like I'm still living in Limbo not knowing what's coming up. The next month leads to more waiting on my future as I wait for an answer from the Officer selection board. If they take me I'll have a solid job lined up for the next 4-10 years, granted it does have a hectic schedule, and I'll be living a semi-nomadic existence. If I'm not taken I've got to start start job hunting for something with a little bit higher pay or at least suplement it. Enter crazy idea #1.
After talking to one of my training partners, Alexei, a personal trainer at the Waterbury Y, he sort of planted the seed of becoming a coach for beginner triathletes. His arguement went along the lines of "Dude you've been doing this for years, you have a lot of knowledge to share, have you thought about coaching?" My counter was "but yeah dude # 1 I'm not USAT certified. #2 You've seen my training plans I race on the edge of my seat on a wing and a prayer, eating what ever is on sale at Stop and Shop. #3 I'm have absolutely no clue on how to get faster on the bike. My rides are mostly LD with some spurting TT work,and Spintervals in the winter. #4 I'm the most anti-tech guy on the planet I don't us a heart rate monitor or power tap, I train old school off of precieved exertion.
His counter was "Yeah but Rob, beginners don't care about a cert. ( and seriously get a couple of clients and you'll be able to pay for one.) Your crazy training system has worked for you so far, and being less tech is not necessarily bad for newbies. The average beginner triathlete is not going to be throwing around tons of cash on equipment, maybe a HR for $50-$100 but not anything too crazy." So I'm thinking about it. Not as a full time gig but as something to help offset my racing costs.
Crazy idea #2 One of my friends Dad works for a limo company and was rolling some big wig from Timex around and they got to talking about Ironman and somehow my name came up and before he knew it he got me a contact with Timex. The problem: when he got me the contact I was in no mood to discuss triathlon. We were losing our house, I was stuck in my teller job and I was quite seriously thinking of pawning my bike and calling it quits until I was in a better place. I thanked him for the phone number and it disappeared into the masses of paperwork and boxes that I was throwing my life into. This may now be the biggest regret of my life, as I have until October to apply for Team Timex, and if I don't get into the Navy I'm going to be looking for some sponsors. Timex is at the top of my list, but they only take the top 45 athletes in North America, and let's face it I'm good but not that good...granted I was the fastest dude under 25 from the Northern Hemisphere at 2009 Ironman New Zealand...
Crazy idea#3 / #4 Reading on some of the other blogs, and seeing some of my teamates train for Ironman, watching them travel and essentially live their lives to the fullest,it's made me reflect. I used to be them. I used to have dreams and goals. I used to have confidence. Lately I've felt like I've just been waiting for the next disaster. That essentially I've been plauged by Murphy's Law. I felt like I'm working my butt off just to get nowhwere. First I know I need to get my own place. Next I want to race Ironman again, and likewise I want to travel again. I talk to Steph and we talk about the plans of what we want to do places we want to go, and quite frankly I don't want that to be something that is said and not done. I was thinking of going to either Austrialia or New Zealand in 2012 or 2013. Figure it gives me time to get crap in order and save up. If it's Oz I wanted to do something Romantic like New Year's in Sydney. If it's NZ I want to race Ironman again, let's face it I guess I just like riding on the left side of the road and I've got a network down there. I have a feeling Steph and I are going to be long haul and quite frankly I'd like to do some of this traveling stuff done while we're still young, because we may not be able to do it again until we're retired...and from experience traveling is a lot easier the younger you are.
So those are the crazy ideas that have been batted around my head hopefully some of them will come to fruition.
R.D.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Sorry I've been away
Well I've sort of been slacking off. I did the Park City Oly last weekend and I'll have a race report coming soon. Part of me was a little disappointed, as I was a little off from last year...well ok I was a lot off fromlast year. Part of me can blame it on some of the issues I've been through in the past year, but that's a cowards way out. The good thing was I did have a pretty hefty support crew just wish I put on a better show for them.
Along the lines of other issues I've been litterally paying the piper for some of my past endeavors/mistakes, part of me thinks I should have listened to reason or some of my more conservative minded friends but upon analysis even if I knew then what I know now I probably would have made some of the same mistakes, did some of the same stuff because such is life.
Essentially part of me is trying to recover from this recession which has sort have put me in a state of depression. Essentially I find myself second guessing myself alot, putting myself down alot, and pretty much going through life sort of zombified. Part of me feels that people who have any sort of belief in me are building up hopes that are just going to be crushed when I let them down as always. I know I shouldn't think that way but I seriously feel like I just can't get out of this sprial and the more I try to move ahead the further behind I fall. The more I hear the news, the collection calls and the tales of doom and gloom, the more riding my bike off a cliff seems like a good idea,but somehow I still find the guts to get my ass out of bed in the morning to face the day, battered, shaking and wondering how much longer I can take it.
The Navy officer gig is offering hope ( goes to the board this month.),but I'm trying to lay back up plans as well. I'm thinking about becoming a swim ref and my buddy Alex has been trying to talk me into tri coaching. While part of me is tempted by the coaching idea, I seriously wonder do I have what it takes to coach? I mean seriously I have the world's most hodge podge training plan. In fact my advice to my athletes would probably be "If I've done it don't do it." Granted the 90 day Ironman training plan might catch on.
The other thing I find myself working on is how to balance training and a relationship. Up until recently I've been a solo assasin and my weekends were devoted soley to the bike, my shoes and the road. Now I'm trying to balance life with a GF with my training blocks. It's an adjustment but I think I'll be able to give Steph and the Stomper quality time,without either getting jealous.
There's more going on here maybe I'll mention it in another post but for now I've got a race report to work on and a long day at the office ahead.
R.D.
Along the lines of other issues I've been litterally paying the piper for some of my past endeavors/mistakes, part of me thinks I should have listened to reason or some of my more conservative minded friends but upon analysis even if I knew then what I know now I probably would have made some of the same mistakes, did some of the same stuff because such is life.
Essentially part of me is trying to recover from this recession which has sort have put me in a state of depression. Essentially I find myself second guessing myself alot, putting myself down alot, and pretty much going through life sort of zombified. Part of me feels that people who have any sort of belief in me are building up hopes that are just going to be crushed when I let them down as always. I know I shouldn't think that way but I seriously feel like I just can't get out of this sprial and the more I try to move ahead the further behind I fall. The more I hear the news, the collection calls and the tales of doom and gloom, the more riding my bike off a cliff seems like a good idea,but somehow I still find the guts to get my ass out of bed in the morning to face the day, battered, shaking and wondering how much longer I can take it.
The Navy officer gig is offering hope ( goes to the board this month.),but I'm trying to lay back up plans as well. I'm thinking about becoming a swim ref and my buddy Alex has been trying to talk me into tri coaching. While part of me is tempted by the coaching idea, I seriously wonder do I have what it takes to coach? I mean seriously I have the world's most hodge podge training plan. In fact my advice to my athletes would probably be "If I've done it don't do it." Granted the 90 day Ironman training plan might catch on.
The other thing I find myself working on is how to balance training and a relationship. Up until recently I've been a solo assasin and my weekends were devoted soley to the bike, my shoes and the road. Now I'm trying to balance life with a GF with my training blocks. It's an adjustment but I think I'll be able to give Steph and the Stomper quality time,without either getting jealous.
There's more going on here maybe I'll mention it in another post but for now I've got a race report to work on and a long day at the office ahead.
R.D.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Hardcore week.
Well the last few days have been busy. I spent the weekend with Steph up in Boston. I managed to eek in an 8 mile run on Sunday morning before taking my ASTB on Sunday. My scores weren't too bad but they weren't too competitive either. So it looks like I might not be ready for the September Aviation board like I was hoping. Either way I'm going to brush up on my physics and Avionics and hit the ASTB hard the next time I figure it took me two attempts on my SAT so now I know what I'm up against. For a first time I still managed to meet the minimums to get accepted for Aviation and was above the minimum score to go for my commission. Likewise my 2011 plans are now in limbo.
On the training front my buddy Justin has moved back to CT from Utah and we've started to do weekday rides, as I try to whip my weak leg back into shape. I've been developing new routes through Litchfield County, and actually got a 65 miler in last weekend. Yesterday Justin and I managed to crank out about 40 after I got 4000 yards in in the pool. I'm hoping to do the Park City Mossman, but I know spots are limited and the bills are due. Likewise Steph and I are planning a weekend in Maine the weekend of Pumpkinman, and I'm looking at making that my season ender for the tris this year. I had wanted to do Nats but I'v got bigger fish to fry. Today I managed to get in a 10 miler through Wolcott and Terryville. The run was rolling granted the way back home is a lot rougher than the way out. Likewise the heat and humidity made it a tough day out. I still managed to get it done in 1:37 , it feels good to get my longer runs back and depending how everything is going in October I might sign up for the Hartford Marathon, likewsie Steph may attempt the Manchester Road Race on Thanksgiving, but we'll talk more on that.
All in all things are moving forward I'm just hoping I'll just be able to blog more and have more interesting posts.
R.D.
On the training front my buddy Justin has moved back to CT from Utah and we've started to do weekday rides, as I try to whip my weak leg back into shape. I've been developing new routes through Litchfield County, and actually got a 65 miler in last weekend. Yesterday Justin and I managed to crank out about 40 after I got 4000 yards in in the pool. I'm hoping to do the Park City Mossman, but I know spots are limited and the bills are due. Likewise Steph and I are planning a weekend in Maine the weekend of Pumpkinman, and I'm looking at making that my season ender for the tris this year. I had wanted to do Nats but I'v got bigger fish to fry. Today I managed to get in a 10 miler through Wolcott and Terryville. The run was rolling granted the way back home is a lot rougher than the way out. Likewise the heat and humidity made it a tough day out. I still managed to get it done in 1:37 , it feels good to get my longer runs back and depending how everything is going in October I might sign up for the Hartford Marathon, likewsie Steph may attempt the Manchester Road Race on Thanksgiving, but we'll talk more on that.
All in all things are moving forward I'm just hoping I'll just be able to blog more and have more interesting posts.
R.D.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Making the Best of my Surroundings /TDF Smack.
Well, as mentioned or not in previous posts my family is crashing at the home of a family friend until September ( or we get our lives together whatever comes sooner.) As a result I've been having to go to map my run to try to adjust my mileage from my new start point. Also I have started riding from my home. Well ok I've just done 1 ride from the homestead to Thomaston ( about 3 towns over) but the point is I've started finding new routes, and the new routes are hilly. I'm not going to say they rank up there with Alpe Du Huez or the Tourmelet but they do work the legs. In fact in the 20 miler I did last week I did notice the significant drop in speed on the back end of the ride ( crawling up hill a 10mph or less instead of screaming down at 30 mph.) Likewise it did prove to be a good platform for a 10 mile run as there is an intersection at exactly the 5 mile mark. So while the situation may be less than ideal I am making out good in the training realm likewise the house is absolutely georgeous but it is a temporary stop over.
On the life in general side...I'm scheduled for my Aviation Service Test Battery ( ASTB to you military folks.) in the first week of August so I'm trying to give myself a crash course in high school math. The test will essentially determine if I can make it as an officer in the Navy or if I'll get the "thanks for playing " from my recruiter. Likewise my creditors have started coming after me in force which has been adding to the stress cycle. ( granted this is a mess of my own doing.) All and all things are moving forward just got to see where the path ends.
Likewise in the tour I could make comments on the whole Contador, Schleck thing. I feel for Schleck especailly because I would love to see him win this year's highly entertaining yet unpredictable Tour De France, but let's face it if someone dropped a chain in a tri, a training ride or anyother bike race, the odds of the whole field slowing down for him and waiting for him to catch up are about the odds of Lance Armstrong making up his 20 minute gap in tomorrow's stage. Likewise on Lance... I mean ok dude beat cancer and has been raising awareness, and he had a good break yesterday...but WTF? Where's the support been for Levi, I mean he is the highest ranked rider on Radio Shack, where has the support been especially on the mountain stages where he can get back sometime? Alright my comments on the workings of team Radio Shack over. My predictions for tomorrow's stage, Schleck and Voight go on a break at the 20km mark and try to pull Hinault. ( ie go out like their lives and GC positions have no meaning and just try to dominate.) to get time back on Contador, because essentially unless the Saxo bank docs really roid up Luxembourgs's national hero there's no way he'll touch Contador in the TT...but then again this year's been so odd ball that I might almost pick Dennis Menchov to go beserk and end up in yellow. It's going to be a good stage tomorrow so get the Tivo going.
R.D.
On the life in general side...I'm scheduled for my Aviation Service Test Battery ( ASTB to you military folks.) in the first week of August so I'm trying to give myself a crash course in high school math. The test will essentially determine if I can make it as an officer in the Navy or if I'll get the "thanks for playing " from my recruiter. Likewise my creditors have started coming after me in force which has been adding to the stress cycle. ( granted this is a mess of my own doing.) All and all things are moving forward just got to see where the path ends.
Likewise in the tour I could make comments on the whole Contador, Schleck thing. I feel for Schleck especailly because I would love to see him win this year's highly entertaining yet unpredictable Tour De France, but let's face it if someone dropped a chain in a tri, a training ride or anyother bike race, the odds of the whole field slowing down for him and waiting for him to catch up are about the odds of Lance Armstrong making up his 20 minute gap in tomorrow's stage. Likewise on Lance... I mean ok dude beat cancer and has been raising awareness, and he had a good break yesterday...but WTF? Where's the support been for Levi, I mean he is the highest ranked rider on Radio Shack, where has the support been especially on the mountain stages where he can get back sometime? Alright my comments on the workings of team Radio Shack over. My predictions for tomorrow's stage, Schleck and Voight go on a break at the 20km mark and try to pull Hinault. ( ie go out like their lives and GC positions have no meaning and just try to dominate.) to get time back on Contador, because essentially unless the Saxo bank docs really roid up Luxembourgs's national hero there's no way he'll touch Contador in the TT...but then again this year's been so odd ball that I might almost pick Dennis Menchov to go beserk and end up in yellow. It's going to be a good stage tomorrow so get the Tivo going.
R.D.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Getting back into gear.
Well as I write this Steph has come down to Connecticut for the 3 day weekend. My training has finally started to get back on track granted today was sort of a lazy day, but I have a long brick on tap tomorrow. This week I was able to get two swims in, a run and a 30 mile bike with 3 mile run brick. The 30 mile bike went well as I refamilarized myself with the Griskus Sprint bike course. This Wednesday night I'll be towing the line at the Griskus for the 7th time (5th in a row.) My 30 miler consisted of a lot of big gear work trying to increase my overall power. I found that climbing with a bigger gear in training has really helped my climbing in races. I'm not competing for the polka dot jersey in le tour, I was able to keep some tabs on the competition in the Griskus Oly. As for my season after the Griskus Sprint I'm hoping to get some more races in. I'm thinking of volunteering at Mossman to get half off my entry into Park City. Likewise I'm debating a late season Iron or Half Ironman. For the Ironman I'm tossed up between Firm-man Narragansett, Pumpkinman in Maine, or the Vermont Journey. Vermont Journey is the cheapest, but charges for spectators. Pumpkinman has a nice course and is more spectator friendly but has a slightly higher cost. Narragansett, well I learned with the Providence 70.3 that Rhode Island isn't flat.
Depending on how my Navy boards go in September, I may be heading off to training at the end of that month. If so it would put the cabosh on Ironman, as I have been batting around the idea of entering Great Floridian. Like I said it's just an idea at this point,but I want to try to get the miles up there so I would survive it. If anything it would get me in decent shape for a September half. So the training mileage will be getting upped So the challenge lays in the distance and I've got to start reaching toward it. I've done Ironman on 4 months training before and I know I could do it again. So here it goes.I'll either be towing the line in Clearmont, Narragansett, or else where but I'll be in good shape to do it.
Happy training everyone.
R.D.
Depending on how my Navy boards go in September, I may be heading off to training at the end of that month. If so it would put the cabosh on Ironman, as I have been batting around the idea of entering Great Floridian. Like I said it's just an idea at this point,but I want to try to get the miles up there so I would survive it. If anything it would get me in decent shape for a September half. So the training mileage will be getting upped So the challenge lays in the distance and I've got to start reaching toward it. I've done Ironman on 4 months training before and I know I could do it again. So here it goes.I'll either be towing the line in Clearmont, Narragansett, or else where but I'll be in good shape to do it.
Happy training everyone.
R.D.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
I'm shipping up to Boston... ( and other tales)
well ok Holliston for the weekend. I'm up in Holliston, MA visiting my girl friend and getting some racing in. Tomorrow I'm doing the Holliston Lions Sprint tri tomorrow. For a sprint the distances are a little longer than most. 1/2 mile swim, 15 miles on the bike and a 5 mile run. The course for the bike and run is the same. Runners turn left out of T-2 for one loop Bikes turn right out of T-1 for three or vice versa on the direction. I went down to the race site with Steph today to swim the course and ride a loop of the bike. The bike loop is decivingly tough for a short distance. It's fairly flat but it has some little hills to make it interesting. Likewise the swim course has some major weedage, but having the GF support me in her hometown race is a nice bonus. My training this week had been a little off a 7 miler and a 10 miler, and about 8k in the pool. I did a 20 miler on the bike before I had to send it to the shop for a new deraileur housing. ( I had the cable changed last week but we didn't touch the housing and on my 20 miler on Wednesday I noticed some wires mixing with my shifter cable on my shifter lever. )Needless to say my mechaninc made quick work of it on Friday morning.
This week after this race I've got to get some hard core mileage in. I'm not signed up for anything particularly long, but I would like to do a half or a full Ironman to close the season. Next week Steph's coming to CT and I don't want to make her a "triathlon Widow" So I may attempt to do some longer rides during the week or on Saturday after work. The longest ride I've done so far this year is a 75 miler at Calhoun so I want to get a century in by late August.
On the Navy thing. I spoke to my recruiter I've got to sign some papers and take my physical and tests, and then submit my application for OCS. Hopefully I'll have a good package and I'll be wintering in Newport, RI. Otherwise I'll be playing the wait game.
Life seems to be moving at a rapid pace and I'm just trying to keep up with it right now. As I'm trying to catch up on bills, find a place for the fall,( the place I was looking at I'm not going to be able to come up with the security in time.) and juggle the job, training, and a relationship.
Well all that said and done I'd better get back to the GF and get some shut eye. It's going to be an early morning tomorrow.
R.D.
This week after this race I've got to get some hard core mileage in. I'm not signed up for anything particularly long, but I would like to do a half or a full Ironman to close the season. Next week Steph's coming to CT and I don't want to make her a "triathlon Widow" So I may attempt to do some longer rides during the week or on Saturday after work. The longest ride I've done so far this year is a 75 miler at Calhoun so I want to get a century in by late August.
On the Navy thing. I spoke to my recruiter I've got to sign some papers and take my physical and tests, and then submit my application for OCS. Hopefully I'll have a good package and I'll be wintering in Newport, RI. Otherwise I'll be playing the wait game.
Life seems to be moving at a rapid pace and I'm just trying to keep up with it right now. As I'm trying to catch up on bills, find a place for the fall,( the place I was looking at I'm not going to be able to come up with the security in time.) and juggle the job, training, and a relationship.
Well all that said and done I'd better get back to the GF and get some shut eye. It's going to be an early morning tomorrow.
R.D.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Homelessness, Stress, and I want to compete damn it....
Well the past three weeks have been an emotional roller coaster to say the least, I've been thrown through the ringer and on top of it all I just want to sign up for a couple races and get some primal rage out of the system.
Three weeks ago my parents lost their house. A friend of the family offered us a place to crash while he vacations on the coast for the summer so that was an exceptional act of kindness on the part of him and his family. I'm still planning on moving out but to know I've got a semi stable roof over my head while I scrounge together a security deposit is a good thing. I've had some anger and resentment building and it was approaching a head but thankfully I didn't do anything too rash.
Josie got married last weekend and found out she is expecting a baby girl.
After Josie's wedding my car's battery died so I was left car less and homeless in the same week. Without the car ( which was storing my bike) there was no way I was going to get to the pool or go for rides so my training nosed dived as did my endorphins leading to a massive break down on Tuesday night.
I spent some time with the GF but I had a mini melt down mid-week. Seriously this girl should be up for the medal of honor for having to deal with my crap. essentially my breakdown was I felt unworthy of her. The breakdown went along the lines of she comes from a decent fairly stable family. She has worries that would be considered more or less normal. She cute, she's smart, she's emotionally stable what does she want with a freak like me that's homeless, car less and living off the stop and shop 2 for $0.89 Ramen Special, when she could have a strong, stable, financially secure gentleman ( read : Angry Runner.) that could buy her anything her heart desires annd give her the time attention and stability every girl should have. So essentially I just sort of broke down because I felt like she could do better than me. Which led to a whole long tearful conversation which I will not discuss here but essentially that girl is a keeper.
My plans to keep my perfect steak alive at the Patriot Tri came to a violent end as I looked at the bank account this morning and there was no way I was going to swing the $200 entry fee. I still have meek hope for the Griskus Olympic but I've got to see what hits the account overnight. Despite all the crap that has happened to me in the last 3 weeks I still want to race. I'm a triathlete it's what I do. It's in my blood. For too long I've sat round as a whiny bitch I've got nothing left to lose so I should go out and make my competition pay for my pain and pay dearly.
People have always marveled that I can take the beating of half and full ironman's pretty well, essentially it's because the physical doesn't hurt as much as the mental. I mean you run a marathon your legs cramp tough shit. I'd rather run 3 marathons back to back than to try to keep the stoic face and try to keep it together on the outside like I've had for the last couple of months. People speak of mental toughness, I'll be the first to say I'm not mentally tough I just know I've got to get up in the morning and go to work, and try to do something. I sulk, I bitch but I got to keep moving though I feel like I can't. There were days still are days I look at my situation and feel hopeless, but I still get up and still keep doing what I have to do, because nothing is going to change if I sit on my butt crying and watching CSI dvds all week.
So I really want to compete this year...maybe because it's an escape of the torture daily life has become or maybe it's my way of "sticking it to the man" I've got talent and somedays it feels good to know you just laid the smack on the guy with a $10k P-4, a $200/month training plan, personal massuse, thearpist for his cat, and the executive challenge grab bag hanging from his handle bars. It makes the ramen taste a little better and go down a little smoother on Monday afternoon.
R.D.
Three weeks ago my parents lost their house. A friend of the family offered us a place to crash while he vacations on the coast for the summer so that was an exceptional act of kindness on the part of him and his family. I'm still planning on moving out but to know I've got a semi stable roof over my head while I scrounge together a security deposit is a good thing. I've had some anger and resentment building and it was approaching a head but thankfully I didn't do anything too rash.
Josie got married last weekend and found out she is expecting a baby girl.
After Josie's wedding my car's battery died so I was left car less and homeless in the same week. Without the car ( which was storing my bike) there was no way I was going to get to the pool or go for rides so my training nosed dived as did my endorphins leading to a massive break down on Tuesday night.
I spent some time with the GF but I had a mini melt down mid-week. Seriously this girl should be up for the medal of honor for having to deal with my crap. essentially my breakdown was I felt unworthy of her. The breakdown went along the lines of she comes from a decent fairly stable family. She has worries that would be considered more or less normal. She cute, she's smart, she's emotionally stable what does she want with a freak like me that's homeless, car less and living off the stop and shop 2 for $0.89 Ramen Special, when she could have a strong, stable, financially secure gentleman ( read : Angry Runner.) that could buy her anything her heart desires annd give her the time attention and stability every girl should have. So essentially I just sort of broke down because I felt like she could do better than me. Which led to a whole long tearful conversation which I will not discuss here but essentially that girl is a keeper.
My plans to keep my perfect steak alive at the Patriot Tri came to a violent end as I looked at the bank account this morning and there was no way I was going to swing the $200 entry fee. I still have meek hope for the Griskus Olympic but I've got to see what hits the account overnight. Despite all the crap that has happened to me in the last 3 weeks I still want to race. I'm a triathlete it's what I do. It's in my blood. For too long I've sat round as a whiny bitch I've got nothing left to lose so I should go out and make my competition pay for my pain and pay dearly.
People have always marveled that I can take the beating of half and full ironman's pretty well, essentially it's because the physical doesn't hurt as much as the mental. I mean you run a marathon your legs cramp tough shit. I'd rather run 3 marathons back to back than to try to keep the stoic face and try to keep it together on the outside like I've had for the last couple of months. People speak of mental toughness, I'll be the first to say I'm not mentally tough I just know I've got to get up in the morning and go to work, and try to do something. I sulk, I bitch but I got to keep moving though I feel like I can't. There were days still are days I look at my situation and feel hopeless, but I still get up and still keep doing what I have to do, because nothing is going to change if I sit on my butt crying and watching CSI dvds all week.
So I really want to compete this year...maybe because it's an escape of the torture daily life has become or maybe it's my way of "sticking it to the man" I've got talent and somedays it feels good to know you just laid the smack on the guy with a $10k P-4, a $200/month training plan, personal massuse, thearpist for his cat, and the executive challenge grab bag hanging from his handle bars. It makes the ramen taste a little better and go down a little smoother on Monday afternoon.
R.D.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Moving Out
"It seems such a waste of time, if that's what it's all about, Good Luck Moving up cause I'm moving out!"- Billy Joel.
Sorry for the delay in posts but life has been kind of hectic. My family is in the middle of losing our home and he have been for the past several months. Right now it's getting down to crunch time and I have some major stuff to mull over. As my parents are desperately searching for a place as a result of the poor economy I too am finding myself in the market for a place. Part of me is like maybe I should stay with them until I figure out my Navy hitch, the other part is like Dude you're 25 put on the big boy pants find your own place, you've got your own messes to deal with and if you stay with Mom and Dad you're going to be dealing with their crisis as well as your own. I don't mean to seem like I'm bad mouthing them but I've got scant resources that can barely support myself let alone 5 other people. My mess with my parents is complicated they really are sweet caring people but some of the things that have happened over the past 4 years have sort of soured the relationship a tad. They took me in through my college years and while I may gripe about this that and the other thing they did keep a roof over my head until I got my degree. Part of me wishes I could help them more but I just don't have the resources at this time. Likewise some of my prior aid and personal poor choices ( some high rolling when I couldn't afford it) have left me in my own jam that I'm slowly clawing my way out of. Essentially why it may not seem the wisest move to go tack on more bills to my already straining paycheck, piece of mind maybe worth the extra cash. The piece of mind of knowing that I am responsible for my own destiny, and not "along for the ride." I've made my mistakes and this might be another one but I can't keep living the same old slag anymore. So for the first time since 2005 I'm thinking of going out on my own for success or for failure I have to try. I have several doubts and several fears but the life I have been living for the past two years hasn't been mine. I've found myself regressing into a pit of fear and doubt I thought I had cast behind me years ago. I've found myself becoming a person I don't want to be not because of my parents but because of the constant stress of being helpless to help them, helpless to change them, helpless to prevent the mess we're now in. Essentially I can only offer so much and while they to have helped me in my life I feel that there have been times they have not helped themselves. I don't want to cast blame on them I don't understand all the crap they've been through, I don't know how difficult it is to raise children work a job you are good at but hate, then get crapped on by your employer and let go after 23 years. Maybe I've been too hard on them but to sit for two years and not try to find anything seems hard for me to swallow. Like I said I haven't been in the house day in day out I don't know their struggles I don't know what's been going on behind the scenes so how can I possibly judge. But when I keep hearing the same old song and dance and nothing ever changes how can I keep faith. When I came back from my first attempt at college in 2005 with my tail between my legs I was given the ultimatum you have 1 month to get a job. I took on a crappy gig at a convenience store while I searched for something better and in the month I worked at that place I realized I was better than the crappy hard work, long hours, lowing paying gig I was in. I got a chip on my shoulder and got myself the hell out of there and into a stable better paying position with the bank. Now I'm finding my self with my pre- 2005 attitude feeling hopeless that I somehow deserve this bad crap , that people's faith in me is misguided that I'll be nothing more than what I am, a broken down, somewhat smart, struggling bum. That I didn't help enough that I still need to help more, that I didn't give absolutely everything, that how dare I do this to them in their hour of need. Doubt has tried to consume me But I can't let that happen. I've got to move on. I've got to move up, I've got to move out. I have done what I can do and now I've got to start on my own path. because the longer I stay in the present situation the more stuck I will become. So I'm taking the deep breath, opening the door and starting down the road...the first step is always the hardest.
R.D.
Sorry for the delay in posts but life has been kind of hectic. My family is in the middle of losing our home and he have been for the past several months. Right now it's getting down to crunch time and I have some major stuff to mull over. As my parents are desperately searching for a place as a result of the poor economy I too am finding myself in the market for a place. Part of me is like maybe I should stay with them until I figure out my Navy hitch, the other part is like Dude you're 25 put on the big boy pants find your own place, you've got your own messes to deal with and if you stay with Mom and Dad you're going to be dealing with their crisis as well as your own. I don't mean to seem like I'm bad mouthing them but I've got scant resources that can barely support myself let alone 5 other people. My mess with my parents is complicated they really are sweet caring people but some of the things that have happened over the past 4 years have sort of soured the relationship a tad. They took me in through my college years and while I may gripe about this that and the other thing they did keep a roof over my head until I got my degree. Part of me wishes I could help them more but I just don't have the resources at this time. Likewise some of my prior aid and personal poor choices ( some high rolling when I couldn't afford it) have left me in my own jam that I'm slowly clawing my way out of. Essentially why it may not seem the wisest move to go tack on more bills to my already straining paycheck, piece of mind maybe worth the extra cash. The piece of mind of knowing that I am responsible for my own destiny, and not "along for the ride." I've made my mistakes and this might be another one but I can't keep living the same old slag anymore. So for the first time since 2005 I'm thinking of going out on my own for success or for failure I have to try. I have several doubts and several fears but the life I have been living for the past two years hasn't been mine. I've found myself regressing into a pit of fear and doubt I thought I had cast behind me years ago. I've found myself becoming a person I don't want to be not because of my parents but because of the constant stress of being helpless to help them, helpless to change them, helpless to prevent the mess we're now in. Essentially I can only offer so much and while they to have helped me in my life I feel that there have been times they have not helped themselves. I don't want to cast blame on them I don't understand all the crap they've been through, I don't know how difficult it is to raise children work a job you are good at but hate, then get crapped on by your employer and let go after 23 years. Maybe I've been too hard on them but to sit for two years and not try to find anything seems hard for me to swallow. Like I said I haven't been in the house day in day out I don't know their struggles I don't know what's been going on behind the scenes so how can I possibly judge. But when I keep hearing the same old song and dance and nothing ever changes how can I keep faith. When I came back from my first attempt at college in 2005 with my tail between my legs I was given the ultimatum you have 1 month to get a job. I took on a crappy gig at a convenience store while I searched for something better and in the month I worked at that place I realized I was better than the crappy hard work, long hours, lowing paying gig I was in. I got a chip on my shoulder and got myself the hell out of there and into a stable better paying position with the bank. Now I'm finding my self with my pre- 2005 attitude feeling hopeless that I somehow deserve this bad crap , that people's faith in me is misguided that I'll be nothing more than what I am, a broken down, somewhat smart, struggling bum. That I didn't help enough that I still need to help more, that I didn't give absolutely everything, that how dare I do this to them in their hour of need. Doubt has tried to consume me But I can't let that happen. I've got to move on. I've got to move up, I've got to move out. I have done what I can do and now I've got to start on my own path. because the longer I stay in the present situation the more stuck I will become. So I'm taking the deep breath, opening the door and starting down the road...the first step is always the hardest.
R.D.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Welcome to training camp./ How you know the Girlfriend's a keeper.
Well back in March as I was training for my current position I was informed I had a week of carry over vacation time that I had to use up so I decided to use it this week for a min-"get my butt back into half Iron shape training camp." So the next seven day will be full of hard core mileage as well as doing some of the nagging little things that I haven't been able to do over the last few weeks. Yesterday the camp kicked off with a 55 mile training ride. I was hoping to get a 7 mile brick run in with it, but I learned the hard way a man can not subsist on toast and power bars alone. Today I have a nice little late afternoon half mary run planned and then tomorrow a swim before driving out to RI to visit my sisters. The last two weeks my hectic work schedule hasd thrown a wrench in my training plans, as has the fact that I've started dating again. ( I can just hear one of my old coach's words ringing in my ears... "girlfriends are run killers.") I will say this this girl is a keeper. She lives in Massachusetts just outside of Hopkington and when I went up to visit got the grand tour of the BAA Starting line...one year I'll qualify for that damn thing...she seems not to mind my jokes on shaving legs, nor the fact that I spend more time in a pool on a bicycle, or running than what would be considered healthy by most sane people. The only draw back why does she have to be a Red Sox fan! In any case all is well on that front, now I've just got to get my training in gear so I'll be ready for my first half of the season.
Tally Ho!
R.D.
Tally Ho!
R.D.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Racing like it's supposed to be...
Well as I was doing my 7 mile run this weekend I sort of had an epiphany of how I'm going to treat the 2010 racing season...and that is exactly like the 2007 racing season.
Just racing for the hell of it.
No worrying about Kona, no trying to attract sponsors, no whining about how I don't have the shiniest bike, or the best equipment, or coaching. I'm going to try to put off OCS until September so I can enjoy one last summer of racing like a champ before doing the pilot thing.
I'm going to drink gas station gatorade, I'm going to wolf down frozen snickers bars.
I'm not going to bitch about being 70 sec. away from a Kona slot a million years ( well ok it feels like it.) ago. Essentially I'm going every race this season to the point they've got to haul my busted broken down arse out on a stretcher. I want to go out with a bang and since I know I'm going to have to devote sometime to lifting I want to use it in my racing before I have to use it to survive the DI. So 2010 is going to be the year of working like a dog, beating my guts out and having fun with it like I used to. Because with the line of work I'm looking to go into there might not be a next season. So in the words of a famous warrior poet "I'm going to live in the moment ." because that's all I've got.
Living for the fight.
R.D.
Just racing for the hell of it.
No worrying about Kona, no trying to attract sponsors, no whining about how I don't have the shiniest bike, or the best equipment, or coaching. I'm going to try to put off OCS until September so I can enjoy one last summer of racing like a champ before doing the pilot thing.
I'm going to drink gas station gatorade, I'm going to wolf down frozen snickers bars.
I'm not going to bitch about being 70 sec. away from a Kona slot a million years ( well ok it feels like it.) ago. Essentially I'm going every race this season to the point they've got to haul my busted broken down arse out on a stretcher. I want to go out with a bang and since I know I'm going to have to devote sometime to lifting I want to use it in my racing before I have to use it to survive the DI. So 2010 is going to be the year of working like a dog, beating my guts out and having fun with it like I used to. Because with the line of work I'm looking to go into there might not be a next season. So in the words of a famous warrior poet "I'm going to live in the moment ." because that's all I've got.
Living for the fight.
R.D.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Did I Mention I'm not liking this no internet thing...oh yeah I've got a Half Marathon tomorrow...
WARNING RANT !please scroll down if you want to get to the good stuff.
Well I finally broke down and went to the library to put up some blog posts. I know what most people are going to say "Bob it's 2010, you have a lap top there's no excuse you shouldn't have access to the net." Well sadly my computer is a circa 2003 Dell that was around at the time Dell's were still good and a wireless card was one of those fancy add on thingies. Considering that most cheap lap tops have a wireless card I probably should invest but right now I've got bigger things to worry about (like the car payment, cellphone, gas, insurance,taking a chunk out of my hugundo debt, race entries) The pay raise kicks in next check so I won't be struggling as bad and maybe by mid April I'll have my race plans figured out and if I'm lucky throwdown for a $300 best buy special just so I can get some writing and finish up my Navy App. OK all that out of the way....
Here's the good stuff.
Well way back in February I signed up for the Shoreline Sharks (FREE) Half Marathon. Well I've only managed about 2 to 3 weeks of hodge podge training so I'm hoping my legs will hold up. I've done a couple of long runs over the last two weeks and did a 4 and 5 miler back to back on Thursday and last night. The weather's actually been good for the past week and I'm hoping it holds so I can get my self ready for my somewhat limited racing schedule this season. I'm feeling confident that I can break the 1:30 barrier tomorrow but if not I know it will be close. After this little half mary I've got one race as a certain on the calendar The Patriot Half ( yeah I guess since WTC started branding every thing as 70.3 they can call them halves again.) I'm going to try my hand in the elite corral again because my swimming is at the point I think I'll be able to lead out of the water , my running is coming back nicely, and I just need to work the bike the rest of the spring. I'm up in the air about Rev3 part of me wants to do it because it's the home town race and since I'm going to be OCS bound in July or August, (hence graduating in November) there's no real point to try to qualify for Kona or Clearwater this year. The other thing is do I really want to spend $250 on a race entry? The Griskus Sprint I'm not going to be able to make a decision on until May because that's when I'll know if and when I'm shipping out. If I'm not out until August I might sign up for it, if I'm out in July then it's a no go. I want to get back into Ironman but I won't know when I'll be able to. The coming months hold all the keys to my professional and athletic future. Also on the training for the first time since 2006 I'll be training solo. Bjoern is down in NYC and Josie's pregnant ( which sucks for her Ironman Lake Placid plans for 2010 but hey there's always 2011 and they always say mothers are the firecest competitors.
So that's all that's going down here.
Running toward the future.
R.D.
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