9 mile run of death and other training tales.

Well this week I've been able to get three back to back days of training so I'm starting to re-establish a pattern. Monday I went for a 9.45 mile run Tuesday some lifting and the sufferfest bike intervals and yesterday my first swim since Saturday, while it's not the ideal plan, I am coming back from a crash and burn week and some harder early season trianing than I've done in the past two years.

On Monday my 9 miler could be know as a run of death for two reasons, hills and traffic. Adjusting to life back in Waterbury has been a little bit of a change because for the past 5 years I've had established running routes out in Wolcott, 2 days a week do the 8 mile loop, on the long days I had a 12, 15, and 20+ mile loop set up. At my new place one of my dabblings has been to try to set up new routes that aren't going to get me killed by traffic or lead me into "da hood". While Bunker Hill is not "Da Hood" it does have traffic, dogs, uneven sidewalks, pot holes and some areas of questionable character. Likewise it has Hills and I don't mean the gentle rolling type. While Bunker Hill Ave. is a long gradual climb some of the surrounding side streets can have some nasty little or in some cases big climbs.

On Monday my goal was to run from my house to Holy Cross High School and run part of one of my old High School training loops before looping back home. Only problem with this was I would have to cross West Main Street/ Chase Parkway in Waterbury, which is a busy drag as it connects the West Side with Downtown and there are three highway exits within 2 miles of each other on this stretch. I started my run down Bunker Hill Ave which was pretty tame, there are plenty of sidewalks and crosswalks, as long as you paid attention to traffic you were fine. I cut up a Deleware Ave and another side road which took me up a pretty nasty hill, and left debating if leaving the fuel belt at home was a wise idea. i cut down a few more side streets and got a nice down hill run to West Main Street and as I saw the packs of cars lining up at one of the exits. Running at rush hour wasn't my most brilliant idea.

But being the type of adapter I am I decided I would run down Chase Parkway past the last I-84 exit, then shoot down Straits Turnpike into Watertown and go up the backside of Bunker Hill into Waterbury. The only problem Straits Turnpike is a major State Road, and after I had risked life and limb in a narrow shoulder on Chase Parkway, the one on Straits Turnpike wasn't much bigger. For a good two mile stretch I had cars whizzing by at 60mph ( afterall we all know that the speed limit of 45mph is the minimum right? yes I'm guilty of this too.) less than a foot away from me. I traversed the boondock section of Straits turnpike I kept trying to tell myself good things about this section is it was realatively flat and it was a residential as the minivans sored past, followed by a BMW, followed by some kid in a rice burner trying to set a state speed record. There were some moments my thoughts flashed back to one of my training partners, I'll just call him B. B had been a pretty decent runners in the 70's and 80's One night after a swim session I noticed and odd scar on his leg and the fact that he sort of limped. when I asked him about it he was like "yeah about ten- fifteen years ago a car hit me from behind when I was out on a training run, completely shattered my leg they had to put a steel rod in and when they went to remove it they would have had to rebrake the bone that grew around it so they just left it in." It was a sobering thought that wasn't helping as I was running with traffic, knowing at any moment I could be subject to "death by Honda" I mean come on if you have to die on a run it should be something bad ass like "I finished the Boston Marathon at 90 then had the BIG ONE" or "I ran out of fluids at Badwater" not "yeah some teeny bopper was looking for her Ke$hia CD and plowed her civic into me."

After about a couple of miles it turned into a commercial drag with Car Delaerships on either side, a few shopping plazas and sidewalks. Except for dodging the stop and shop rush, things went smoother from here, until I turned the corner to go up the Hill. The backside of Bunker Hill is a nice little climb and from Straits Turnpike to the Waterbury City line it's covered by sidewalk then back to dodging traffic for half a mile, then the nice little right hand turn at Our Lady of Loretto Church, and up the hill back home. seeing the outline of the hill was kinda intimidating but once you strat grinding it out it's not so bad. From here the run uneventful except for the fact I was thirsty as hell. Next time I do anything close to 10 miles I'm brinign the fuel belt. I managed to churn up the climbs at a pretty good rate, and finished my run in about 1:22. I don't think I'll be doing this loop again but it wasn't too bad of a workout.

The last two days I was indoors for bike training and the swim so I'm hoping to get out for my first outdoor ride today, at the very least I'll be running. Well that's it from me I'm burning daylight.

Happy Training

R.D.

The New Shoes

Yep I went out and bought myself a pair of New Balance 769's by mistake they were marked as $59.99 and as a result got them $30 cheaper than retail. To celebrate and vent off some life frustrations I went for a 9 miler to break them in. Yesterday was the infamous grad party..mainly my source of stress, I had mentioned it in passing to some of my friends none showed up granted I really haven't graduated...as I still wait for one grade so I can get my diploma. My sisters' friends showed and they had a good time so I guess it was worth the money I had to shell out for it. So no training went down. Today I got a call from Tony and so hauled out to Southington for an 11+ mile tempo run. We finished in 1:27. It was a good hard run that my legs sorely needed.The 769's worked like a charm as they felt like pillows on my feet. My base is strong from all the swimming and cycling so my cardio was fine, but the legs have needed more mileage. Tony and I have similar running pace but different strengths he tends to come on strong at the end and has a developed kick. I tend to go out like a house on fire to try to build a lead because I have absolutely no sprint speed. So the whole 11 miles we took turns pacing when I felt good I pace ahead and build a small lead, then when he felt good he'd come along side. And in the final sprint he kicked ahead. Tempo running with a training partner is defintley better than running alone as you tend to push harder when someone else is going hard with you. Today was a true test of my pacing and I feel confident going into to Patriot and Providence, that I can hold in the mid-7:00's.

Feelin' Fast
R.D.

20 miles in 2 days...now if I could just turn that into 20 pages...

Well ok it's probably closer to 18.
This Saturday was supposed to be devoted to my thesis...I was supposed to be a good little scholastic and chain myself to my desk...I...took a nap and went running...then went to my sister's play and then out for dinner...by the time I got back nothing got done.

Sunday...this was it I actually got some work...like a page and a half done...then the phone rang...my buddy Tony was looking for a running partner for a 5-10 mile run. I figure what could an hour or two hurt...it wasn't like I was going for a 4 hour bike tour of Litchfield County. Well Tony and I went out for a loop of Southington holding 7:24/mile pace....for 9 miles...needless to say when I got home the compression socks went on and I curled up on the couch and fell asleep...sat at the computer from 9PM on and I just couldn't focus.

A lot has hit me in the past week so I'm just trying to carry on and get through...hopefully tonight will yield some better paper writing. It's just I've had a lot to think about regarding my future. I think the other issue with my paper is I know what I want to write and who to quote, it's just the tedium of writing it. I'm hoping that by writing first and citing later it won't come back to haunt me, knowing my luck I'd forget to cite one sentence and all of a sudden be caught in the mother of all academic dishonesty crimes.

Well that's it for me...back to the grind.
R.D.

Ironman New Zealand Update: My leg survived 18 miles bring on that marathon!

Well today I decided to take advantage of good weather and decide to put a little "insurance policy" in my legs. Stupid, too type A what ever I needed to know how my freshly healed Achilles would handle 15+ miles. I needed to know if I could run that marathon in Taupo or resign myself to walking with a glow stick. So I decided to loop it from home. the first sign of any discomfort on the 2nd loop and I could bail. Loop 1 went well. The pace was easy kept hydrated, and listend to the body. The hips were a little tight and all the pressure seemed to be in the front of my legs instead of the back. The second loop was slower and I decided to bail on to an easier loop( my legs were feeling tight and let's face it 18 miles two weeks out was risky enough.) I managed to complete the run in 2:41.29 or at roughly 8:51 mile pace, roughly the same pace as my marathon from last year. I stretched and iced, and took precautionary anti inflamatories. The ankle is feeling pretty good although after the Ironman I'm not running for a month, figure that will give it plenty of rest to before I tackle the summer season. I'll spend time in the weight room and on the bike post Ironman, getting myself into better shape. But that's for another time.
Right now I've gotten that pesky long run out of the way and now I can taper with piece of mind.

Feeling good.
R.D.

Ironman New Zealand Update: 9 days until I fly out.

And I still have a lot of training on tap. The weather sucked yesterday and I slept through my alarm so I didn't run. Today I'm thinking about foregoing my swim session to get some miles in on pavement, and the trainer. Saturday I have either a long run or a long brick on tap. Sunday depending on the weather will be my last long ride, then next week turns into swim /run focus maybe a Tuesday or Wednesday pre-bike pack trainer session. I'm hoping to get at least a 15-18 mile run in before the Ironman...I'm hoping it's not over doing it as I've only been at about 10 miles since the injury. Tonight will be about 6 miles maybe more if I feel like it...although one part of me is thinking the track or treadmill might be a smarter option...but I hate the treadmill for long distance. Saturday is going to be my long run...go until I feel confident. Figure a 40-50 mile ride at the lake and a 15 mile run....but it depends on time. Sunday a long ride hopefully 6 hours on the road or a 6 hour trainer if the road sucks. Then clean the Stomper and get it ready to pack. Next week they're talking rain/ snow and 40F highs Just scoped out the forecast for Taupo, rain this weekend then 70's and sunny...perfect racing weather.




For the first time in a while I'm actually feeling excited to race.


I went down to the Bike Rack in Waterbury yesterday, and Al fixed my bike. My brake cable was shot so we changed it out along with the rear deraileur cable and made some adjustments to the front deraileur. He spouted a litnany of explictives and how internal cable routing has him to the point of commiting cycling ki supu: Riding a fixed gear down hill on to a highway at rush hour.( I know I spelled ki supu wrong and now some samauri warrior is going to make me perform it to save the honor of my grammar school teachers.) Regardless the Stomper is in tip top shape and should fly in NZ.



As seen by the pictures in my previous post I got a haircut, personally I think I went a little too short on this go round but maybe it will aid in aerodynamics.
Now I've just got to start packing....

R.D.

Common sights on a Thursday after dark in New Britian

Freshman sneaking booze into Caroll Hall.
Drug deal going down on Stanley Street.
Freshman girls trying to remember the names on their fake ID's.
Guys jumping mountain bikes off stairs.
Ultimate Frisbie vs. Soccer for the quad.
100 guys following 2 girls in to Elmers.
My scrawny ass running loops of the campus.

That's right tonight I managed to get a nice 10k in. I stuck to the boring yet safe and well lit route around campus, as my training partner is off in Vienna ....damn it Bjoern, I need someone to run with on Tues and Thurs nights. Sorry for the negative puke in the last two posts but it's been a rough week, and 6.1 miles of therapy were just what the doctor ordered. Tomorrow not much on tap as my Grandpa heads up to the mothership ( Canada). So I officially have the house to myself, no wild keggers please. Comtemplating signing up for the HOTford marathon on October 11, figure I need to measure myself up to Speedy, Cranky and possibly the juggernaunt known as the Angry One. Next week I have my final race of the 2008 Triathlon season, after that I need to think out and methodically plan 2009.

R.D.

Slyvain Chavanel Finally wins!, welcome to the blogroll, and professional development

Ok I had to get that out of my system. I've been following TDF since I was in middle school and to see this guy finally win was a joy. I remember a brave breakaway he led in 2003 in which he was caught at the bottom of a major climb by Lance Armstrong after leading one of the Alpine Stages from the opening km's (crap I'm turning into Phil Ligget), every stage this year he has been in a break and to see him finally win and his emotional reaction reminded me of all that is good in sport.

Ok random TDF moment over. Also Iron-Matron has been added to my blog roll, there are some others who have commented that I need to add so if it takes me a while I apologize. Also I put in an App with The Hartford or as Angry Runner will call them " The unholy Horde of Southington." Enemies of freedom, a road bump in his corporation's bid for world domination. Don't know what will come from it, but I figure if I want to improve my station in life/ finance I need to take action, and the worst case senario is they will say no, so nothing to lose. Went on a ten mile trail run with Justin, turned out pretty well although this guy can smoke my ass, seriously, he's well on the right track to qualifying for Boston. I was a bit humid, the fuel belt made an appearance, but it was a good session...not better than sex...but good. Speaking of which there were two girls sunning themseleves on the beach and I gave a cat call to which I was given an unamuzed look from under a pair of sunglasses. Irregardless, that's enough out of me

R.D.

Last hard day before Patriot

Well yesterday I was supposed to do a hard bike / run brick. Sadly my legs didn't handle the crash course in hill work as well as I would have liked. So I took the rest of the night off, good thing too because we had a huge thunderstorm roll through. So today I went long, since I'm staying at my grandfather's place to some severe water damage ( part of the reason my attitude been well not the greatest, I lost some mementos from my youth but it at least will give me an excuse to toss some of the things I could part with away.) my normal runs have had an extra 2 miles tacked on. My 4 miler to the high school became my 6 miler to the high school, my 8 mile hill workout became my 10 mile hill work out...etc. In any case I decided I needed at least one more long run before the Patriot so after Mass this morning I strapped on my sneakers and went for my cross town route. The run began as always with a new uphill section, then my harrowing crossing of the main road. I passed the town beach full to the brim, it was somewhat hot and humid, I need to improve in this type of weather so it helped. As I ran up toward the middle school I was thankful for the shade, Meriden rd. on the other side of town tends to have very little shade and I ended up using up one of my fuel belt bottles on this stretch. The third leg of the run took me down what I guess could be called the lack of Safety Section on route 322, cars own the road here, I have ridden this stretch on my bike been up against the guardrail and still gotten honked at to move over. Running it is no less perilous, granted it's a lot easier to go off road while running than it is on the Stomper. But irregardless, once you pass the golf course the terrain gets interesting and your legs may not forgive you. After about a mile of running on asphalt, gravel, uneven sholder, crushed rock and grass, a smooth even shoulder reappeared. I managed to catch a break from a guy on a harley at a four way stop and began my ascent to the center of town. The heat and humidity was sucking and as if the divine was reading my thoughts a quick torrential shower came down on me. The deluge and resulting sprinkles lasted about 15 min. as I made it through the center of town and past the high school. I managed my usual dart and bobb across Route 69 and then made my way up Beach rd. Through my old neighborhood and made it to my parent's place. I chilled there for a bit before had dinner with the whole fam and then made my way back home with gramps. The run took me 2:07.07 not record breaking but enough to boost my confidence a little. Most of my training this week will revlove around the pool, I might get a couple of rides and runs in but for the most part I need to get my swim in stomping shape. Upon looking at Claire's training logs, she should be blazing on the bike this weekend. Angry will be racing again this season, hopefully kikcing ass, and working soft tissue in the week following. So all in all I hoping to have a good weekend "up the pike" , I should be sorted out enough in August that I would be able to race Park City and hopefully Nutmegman, also within the next 2 weeks Alex will give me the go /no-go on buying the road bike, so all in all things are starting to look up a little bit.

R.D.

Hot and humid run.

Well I just finished a 15 mile run from my Grandpa's place accross town and back. I figure If I'm doing Eagleman I might as well get one last long run in. Since the course is expected to be flat I thought I would work some hills just for good measure. The weather was hot and humid, definitely good practice since they expect it to be 83 and humid next Sunday in Maryland. Didn't really get to bike today, but it's still early yet. So far this week I've managed a total of 5000 yds in the pool, got this run in and an 8.5 miler Thursday night in Cheshire. Tomorrow I plan on at least getting 60 on the bike, I might go for 20 tonight, we'll see how the weather is. Bjoern is racing Switzerland 70.3 tomorrow his blog is here, he feels fast and the course isn't as brutal as he anticipated so hopefully he'll secure himself a Clearwater slot. Right now I'm drenched in sweat and drinking like it's going out of style, so the fuel belt might be making and appearance next weekend, it did today and it helpped, other wise I would be sitting on the side of the road crawling toward the nearest house desperately drinking from the garden hose. There was a slight breeze at some points but for the most part it was like running in a steam room. Shade helpped ut not much and you know it's bad when I'm praying for traffic to get a slight breeze. Well that's all for now.

The Sweaty Soujourner
R.D.

Back in Black....

Well not really...I cringe at my credit card bills when they arrive...but for the most part I am now free to train like a rabid animal. I do have 2 pages of Anthropology to type, but I have recieved nothing back from my professor so I will double check the email address and make sure I sending to the right person. Tonight I only got 1500 yards in at the pool, I'm tired, trying to de stress, and spent most of the time BS-ing with Stef. Tomorrow depending on the weather I have a long ass ride/run combo of death on tap. Sunday...depending on my cash flow, I will go train with HEAT. I'm discovering that me being isolated is not a good thing and usually leads to crazy thoughts, like quitting Tri....taking on 3 jobs....buying 3 AK-47's and a month's worth of ammo and flying to Afgahnistan to track down Bin Laden for the $12 million Bounty...hey he's the real danger to our country....a guy without a country and nothing to lose...alright I'll stop my Bush Whacking now...

Like I said isolation isn't good for me. So yes tomorrow I have a lovely ride planned, followed by a long run. The stimulus check I'm desperately waiting for will come on July 11....( mumbles to self...shakes fist.) so any major race planning or gear purchase will come along then.....oh aero helmet I can taste thee.....well I'll just borrow Bjoern's for Eagleman.....if he's back in time.
Eagleman is my pace setter for the year...although I'm debating forking over $30 for a spare cassette for the Griskus....that won't happen until after Eagleman and I know the full extent of the financial hit...of gas, $250 for hotel, and possibly a $250 entry to Clearwater.....if I qualify for Kona, I might be begging Bree Wee for a homestay....I'll sleep in the garage, and I cook, do dishes and windows, diapers...not so much. So yes tomorrow, I have to register my car, then ride, run, pick up a winning lottery ticket, and type two pages of grade A Anthropological BS. So that's it for me tonight. Also head on over to speedracer's site and wish her a happy birthday, and donate to her AIDS Lifecycle page. Also in about 7 hours she will be kicking serious ass in her sexy new wetsuit....

Well I've got an ungodly load of distance tomorrow.
R.D.

12 miles......

Today the weather regally sucked. I was going to get my Lance Armstrong on and tackle the Hills of Wolcott, Terryville, Thomaston and Litchfield, but opted instead for a long run, so as to save the Bitch Stomper potential road damage.
As I ran my usual cross town loop, I decided to experiment with orange GU2O. It surprisingly wasn't bad although my mom commented that it looked like "rusty well water." My run was 12 miles of basically hill work. Claire once asked me on a training ride how I did it on the run. How can a guy whom my track coach stated " had no natural ability" ( let's face it my parents were 2 pack a day smokers before I was a twinkle in my father's eye. So yes I would huff and puff even on my training runs desperately trying to keep pace.)crank out sub 2 hour half marathons and a sub 4 hour marathon in the Ironman. We talked about hill repeats and no lie when I started I used to run up and down the steepest hill in my general area 10 times frightening the Hell out of my neighbors. As I became a distance whore I had to find a way to combine hills along with high volume training...I discovered one of the only good things about living in the rough rocky area that is New England, there are no shortages of hills. So my long runs have also become my hill work...and are actually, at least for me, a better simulation of climbing than hill repeats. Afterall anyone can tackle hills knowing they've got their car parked next to the track/ball field but to run 20 miles and know you've got a mountain between you and home and it makes the experience of knowing you've got a hill at mile 25 of the marathon more realistic...I could go on about this for eons but I'll save it for another post.

On my 12 miler today, thoughts of Ken Glah and his epic Ironman Marathons of the early 90's popped into my head. Now some crazy shit started going through my head as I was racing, at just how remarkable some of those races were. I mean guys like Glah, Scott Tinley, Paul Kiru, Scott Molina....these guys were running on coca-cola, gatorade and half a banana, also their sun glasses could serve as a wind shield for a compact car. The other thing that popped into my head was his nickname.." The Beast From the East" sadly in this sport not too many of us from the East Coast really go far..Glah, Karen Smyers, maybe a few others Jordan Rapp, Some of us defect to the better weather and training culture of the West Coast...but again back to Glah, when he started in the 80's he would do IM New Zealand and he would train for it in PA, which meant he was training in a New England/ Mid-Atlantic Winter, before fancy things such as computrainers and spintervals ( granted life got easier when he married an Aussie and his in-laws moved to NZ and he could spend two months on the island preparing.) But anyway, I started thinking, if he started similar to me, just a guy going out there and cranking this shit out, could I be following in famous footsteps? Alright maybe that's dellusional grandeur, I haven't run anything near a 2:40 marathon, my cycling.....well...it's improving...and my swim forget it, I've left half the field in the last zip code...and I'm usually in no man's land waiting to get caught by the faster cyclists, who should just be tearing out of T-1 as I approach the 2 mile mark.....hubris aside...that was what was running through my head as I set down the miles. Does a stressed out , heavily indebted, no talent bum like me stand a shot of going pro? I have often been told I'm a better triathlete than I was a one sport athlete...I was an ok swimmer, an ok runner, and competent cyclist. The thing was I had a knack at being consistent ( granted my bike really needs improvement). I guess at the end of the day...it doesn't matter...the sport for me holds sort of a freedom, that for a few hours I can escape the office, the classes, the being a good wage slave/ son/ studying machine. That for at least a few miles, the man I am and the man I want to be meet up. Alright this is getting way to stream of conciousness on me.

I got the run in 1:50 not too bad, granted I want to get my mileage back up...I want to have Ironman style base and speed for my "Hell Week" in the beginning of July...because if I'm not going to Kona, I want a slot at Clearwater and damn it if I am going to either I would really like some of the prize money from the Patriot, to offset my travel, or a nice set of areo wheels.

The next " Beast From the East" ?
R.D.

Did I mention that I REALLY hate winter!!!

What was supposed to be Bob-o's mini tour de Connecticut Weekend , turned into a Saturday long Run and a bored to tears 90 min. Trainer session. Why? Mother Nature took a look at the calendar and decided to drop some of the white stuff.

Snowy Saturday!
Saturday wasn't too bad snow was stiking to the grass surfaces but the asphalt was more or less just wet. so I decided to get my last long run before the IM in. ( I would have gotten onto the bike except there were some sulshy spots, especially at the bottom of hills.) I did two of my 8 mile loops. with a 2 min. bathroom break in between. The 16 mile oddessey took about 2:35, not my fastest effort but with soaking wet and freezing cold feet I'll take it. I figured the loop would help me prepare for the two loop marathon, afterall nothing is worse than running to the top of murderous hill and then coming to the realization you have to do it twice. I figured I'd run my usual deadly back half up Boundline Rd. ( I had orginally thought of running into Southington but decided not to risk life and limb on 322.) I finished my run with the most poetic stream of explatives as I ended up running through a slushy puddle infront of my drive way, pushing my already cold feet closer to frostbite. But 16 miles in a snow storm isn't bad. After my post run shower I went a got a hair cut for the first time in 4 months, I never knew how much I tookfor granted not having to pull my bangs out of my face to see.

Sunday Sweaty Sunday!
I woke up late on Sunday Morning, only to look out the window and see snow blowing around. After mumbling " I f**king Hate winter !" under my breath, I ate a "not heathly for you" breakfast. Only to look out and see the weather was clearing....now came the decision: To ride or to Trainer? In a very insurance type way I weighed the options:
Ride outside:
Pros
Won't sweat like a Turkish Weightlifter in the middle of summer.
Will actually have a change of scenery.
Get to work on handling skills.
Cons:
Narrow, and slick roadways
Killer Cross winds
I'll Freeze my ass off.
Having way the options in a calculated risk managerment style I decided that it would be a reasonable execution of opportunity to use the trainer that I had at my disposal.
So I popped in the coming of age early 80's film "Breaking Away" featuring a Young Daniel Stern amd Dennis Quaid. also the fact that it has Dennis Christopher playing a wise cracking "wantabe Italian" Cyclist. So I sprinted during most of the bike race scenes getting in a nice
3x30 min. in the big ring rear ring 15 with 5 min. Small Rig rear ring 15 recovery.
I decided that 90 min., 3 water bottles, and the fact my cycling jersey was drenched in at least a gallon of sweat, that I wasn't going to go any futher. ( Using the Paul and Roch Method the distance you do on the trainer is double what you do on the road. So by their "fuzzy math" my 90 min. trainer ride equates to 3 hours on road. )
I came up showered and got ready to go to a Late Mass, ( having slept through the regualr one I go to.) Only to find a mini blizzard was going on outside....I called Angry to speak of this development interupting him on his date with a potential "baby mama"...I mean... having dinner with a friend, to whom he was "faking an engagement" to get her into the CT Bridal Expo. Seriously I think I'm going to have to try that. My plans of "refreshing my sprit." thwarted I gave The Bitch Stomper a good scrubbing, removing sand, salt and sweat accumilated by a month's worth of cold weather rides and trainer workouts. I plan on going to the hobby shop and getting some dry transfer decals for my bike, otherwise I'll be reduced to dollar store stickers, for my fundraising promise.

Well that's all for the weekend up date.

The Terror of the Tundra
R.D.

I miss running......

This morning I had the great idea of going for a 5AM run and I would have done one too..except for my good friend the snooze button. 5 turned to 5:30 to 6 to 6:30 to 6:45 and by that time it was just crawl out of bed and drive my sister to school before going to the office. So sadly my New Balance 720's are collecting a fine layer of dust. Last night my crappy mood/ trying to rebuild my immune system resulted in me by- passing my trainer work out. So tonight I have class and a Cen-Tri meeting ( in which I will get Bjorn's bike case and a lovely $250 from the school for food and travel expenses for New Zealand. So I won't be living off ramen pre- Ironman. ) after that masters and a nice 5 mile jog in the well lit parts of my sub-urban hood. ( man that little headlamp is paying off, thank you for the gift card Simona.) Tomorrow I'm not due into the office until 11:00AM so a morning run, in daylight by god, is an actual possibility. Friday the apocolyptic weather mongers are predicting the mother of all snow storms as they always do and like always we will most likely end up with a flurry. So I might be reduced to just a trainer/ treadmill session other wise ...no wait they just changed it to Monday....gotta love that kind of accuracy. Saturday I will hopefully have decent road conditions to get in a nice 50-100 miles on the bike...or I will have gas cash for a trip up to the lake. Sunday I figure a nice town ride and a run brick is in order. So that's the game plan as of now, as always its a "read and react" winter training plan . so yes my mood is starting to improve a little bit. My loan gets disburst tomorrow so I can pay down one of my annoying credit cards so I can buy gas, books, and oh yeah a nice plane ticket to New Zealand. My lifeguarding W-2 should be in any day now which means I can fire up ye old turbo tax or call up my brother's godfather, file for 2 to the 007 and get a hefty refund direct deposit, which will then pay down a credit card and Bob-o's magical mystery tour. (That $600 "economy booster" is going directly into a high yield savings if there still such a thing as a high yield savings in mid-May.) so things are coming together.....I just wish they'd move a little faster.

Trying to rebound Ray Allen Style
R.D.

Ok I know I'm going to get shit about that ending

108 miles in a weekend and Angry's marathon

Ok so I didn't get a full century ride in...but I came close..72 miles before darkness forced me to get of the bike last night.
Saturday:
I managed to eek out a nice 30 mile "hill" workout descending into Southington and earning the ire of local motorists. Now its not my fault there's no shoulder on route 322 and I have to ride hugging the white line and I have to swerve for sand piles and storm drains , but the teen bopper in their impreza can storm troop over all that crap without spilling a drop of their mocha latte. But except for the one pissed off dude in the subaru laying on the horn at me most people gave me room, and it was a fairly good ride. Sadly I did not take TBS up Southington Mountain, the thing has a 12,23 rear cassette and from expereince those extra two teeth on the big rear ring make a lot of difference, no I will save that excursion for the spring when I am a little more comfortable with my climbing progress, ie I can descend without fear that the infamous sandpile of doom is waiting at the bottom of the hill. But the golf course climb was no cake walk either, granted it was more of short steep rollers with some false flat but it'll still burn the quads.

Sunday:
I went to mass and then it was off to the Lake to ride with a couple of guys from the Y. As I stopped in Thomaston for gas and a quick cup of Joe. I got a text from Angry:

"Bob-o I'm leaving this distance shit to you."

I called him up to try to get a race report. Some things I was able to decipher from our brief conversation:

1. If the race started @ 7:00AM he beat P Diddy because I received his Text @ 11:16
2. He beat runner girl making the two people who voted for him very proud. ( He was receiving texts from the Canadian Super Studlet and she was at about mile 20 or 21 when we talked. But it also depends on which corral she was in I'll check official results for details on this.)
3.It was humid as hell, I don't mean Connecticut in July Humid I mean Nashville marathon Humid, The Great Chicago Deathmarch...I mean the 07 Chicago marathon humid, Kona lava fields humid: His exact words "I was pulling what you did in Nashville and downed a couple of salt packets."
4. He is pretty certain he's sticking to half marathons and less.

After leaving Dunkin Donuts in Thomaston it was up to the lake, for a 9-12 lap love fest.
Now one of the guys I was riding with had been giving me the whole " You really don't think you'll finish in 6 hours, because that's averaging close to 20mph, and you haven't done a full century yet." After two loops of the lake he changed his tune ...I had dropped him at mile 6 and he stuck back to ride with the other guy in our group so I was in no man's land once again, for a couple of loops when I reconnected with Century rider, a we rode for a bit until his chain popped. I managed to get nine loops of the 7.75 mile lake for about 72 miles so all in all it was a good day in the saddle. I averaged about 17.5 mph, in the 4:02 ride, including three stops one to put on gloves, one to use the bathroom( no "letting it fly" during the winter.) and one to turn on my flasher and put on a headlamp. I also decided to get in a loop of the lake on foot. Now it's weird running with a headlamp but its definitely better than when I tried to run in the pitch black street lamp to street lamp. I managed to get the most dangerous section of my loop ( the run along CT 45) out before the sun set I stopped at the State Park to relieve my bladder ( once again no using the super absorbent chamois in winter.) I managed to get the run in including restroom stop in about 1:12. My legs were a little tight when I got up this morning but other than that I fine from my bike focus weekend. This week will be devoted to running ( since mother nature just had to remind us it's winter and dump a couple inches of the white stuff.) and as alway swimming. The weekend will hopefully yield another long brick , with the added chance for a ride ( weather permitting) on Monday. Well that's all I can write for now.

The basher of the Brick.
R.D.

The Thaw: or I will be a running machine for the next three days

Yep, that's right the long awaited January Thaw had made its presence felt . Today it hit 60 and I celebrated by sitting at my desk. I did get in a nice 7-8 miler after work, in the dark in SHORTS for the first time in almost a month. Tomorrow I'll probably crank out another nice 7-10 miler before work, with the possibility of a trainer session or a quick set of hill repeats. ( I don't like riding in the dark.) I went to masters cranked out a 4500 yard workout. Part of me still feels under trained for this Ironman but I'm channeling the spirit of fellow HEATster Raphael on this one: if he could do Lake Placid in under 12 hours with no long runs, one long ride and a killer swim background...I know I should be able to do the same...with the long runs, and long swims but no real long ride as of yet....Saturday or Sunday I'm cranking out 5 hours I have to ,just to get the long brick thing in. Also temps for the weekend don't look to bad, seasonable , 30's - high 40's ....although another week of this warm stuff would be nice.
Angry and Leena tackle the Disney Marathon this weekend. My first Marathon was a 3:56 on the semi rolling Nashville Country Music Course...Angry's rolling in the Florida flatlands so I'm pretty confident he'll surpass my mark. Well that's it for me Karas kicked my ass again tonight so I'm hitting the sack.

The creature of the Night
R.D.

I think I could call this a rest week...kinda...sorta....

So far my workout stats this week have benn well unimpressive. Here's the run down.

Sunday: 22 mile run ( See Death March Post.)

Monday: worked and guraded let my aching hip recover.

Tuesday: Swam 4000 yards ( main set 4x500 on 7:00) I kept making it with like 5 seconds rest so I felt badass, despite my lack of pool time.

Wednesday: Worked, Ran 5 miles in 40:35, went to class, had dinner with a hot young lass...yea I said that.....

Today: had planned on getting a trainer workout or early morning run in. Snooze button wrecked that. Classes and work aren't leaving time for anything else..so Today might become rest day part duex....maybe I might be able to sneak in a 4 miler or some pool time, we'll see.

Friday: Definitely getting on the trainer for at least an hour and a half. Masters Swimming: So at least 3000 yards of pool time.

Saturday: Ride and run...hopefully a 50/16 brick....but we'll see. I'll be up at the lake. So hopefully it will be more than 50 but like I said it depends on day light and cold....I might take a heater break in the middle. But I need the run.

Sunday: A swim workout either before or after Mass. A run if the weathermen in New Englan keep following their current track....predicting the end of the world and we get squat..which always makes me happy. (They're talking snow, ice, sleet, the coming of the Apocalypse, dogs and cats living together as one..... so the outdoor rides will probably be at an end, but hopefully not.)

Monday: Their talking the mother of all Ice storms, I may blow off class if it isn't cancelled, and just park on the trainer....but hopefully we'll get nothing and I'll get in an early morning trainer session .

So that's the wrap up and preview. In all this I still have to eek out Christmas Shopping (ugg! shiver!) read up on the Middle East, amd get a Prjoect ready to go for Anthropology.

The Smasher of the Snowmen
R.D.

The Death March: Or The infamous 20 miler.

For those of you who already read Angry's Post we did a 20 mile run along the relatively flat Farmington River Canal in Cheshire, For those of you that don't , well the cat's out of the bag now. Yes we did 20 miles of "joy"if you're idea of joy is running the last 4 miles feeling like your hip joint is about to break in two, and you've got a nail hole in your foot that feels like it getting larger with each step...alright it wasn't that bad, but I did feel considerably tight afterward and the Turkey Day foot injury was making its presence known as it slowly heals and re calluses. Here's the break down:

Pre Run: Call Angry Tell him I'm running late. Buy Parents scripts, A Hershey Bar and 32 oz Gatorade, drop scripts at home drive out to Cheshire. Consume Hershey bar and about 20 oz of said beverage en route. Call Angry ask him where the Hell he is. Look across parking lot see the Under Armor Clad Warrior on Cell phone.

First 5k.
Take off from park to the end of the Cheshire trail about 1.6 miles away then run back to the park to continue.Start out running at comfortable pace Angry's holding up. Talk Random Nonsense, How the Office was on of Comedy's greatest gift to man kind. Firing up the overworked and under appreciated proletarians of the financial world, how I do not want to remain a low level corporate under ling for the rest of my life, scoping out the young chicks in tight yoga pants. Angry pulls a nutrition tip from Jodi ( Reese's pieces.) Crank out first 5k in just over 26 min. Kinda slow for me but hey We've got 18 more miles to go.

The first split.
Start to Pull ahead of Angry. He goes down the Left fork of the trail toward this rebuilt canal lock thingy. I go down the right with a nice view of some dude's back yard. Cute 20 something year old college student on a pimped out road bike rides past. Smiles......look back and oh good lord she was cute. Meet up with Angry when the trail re-merges, run at same pace tell him about HCC (Hot Cycle Chick). Keep running talk random nonsense ( Something about a Free Tibet jersey or the Dali Lama is my Homeboy Sweatband at IM China.). HCC rides past Angry Sprints I try to sprint. Catch up. Enter the zone, suddenly I'm 400 meters ahead. At stop turn around and double back....leave no man behind. Head down trail in to Hamden several breaks. Finally hit the long ass stretch. Now I don't know why but somehow I'm able to retreat into my head and think of totally random songs and crap, to keep myself from getting bored out of my mind. ( like one of my post about one of my 12 milers stated, on a long run my mind is a scary place.) Unfortunately or maybe fortunately this a skill Angry has confessed he has not learned yet....yet being the key word. maybe its the fact I'm one of five kids and I'm used to heading into my own little world when shit stresses me out or becomes monotonous as all hell. Maybe it is the optimistic hope of a tortured person that the pain and torture they are feeling will somehow end. I don't know and I don't care because when I'm in Bobby's World it makes the long run a little more barable. We reached the turn around in Hamden I doubled back the 400 meters to angry and we began the run back. As we started at the same pace he commented " On that long stretch I honestly felt like shooting myself." I could actually agree with him. It was on the same stretch in April as I trained for the Country Music Marathon, I would have sold my soul for some cortisone for my aching knee joint. Or a bottle of water on the return run. ( this was in the PFB period ( pre-fuel belt)...which I bought in August because I was tired of feeling like I was going to pass out from dehydration on my 8 milers.) I told him to try to zone out and let the randomness fly as I began to settle back into my rhythm. The gap between the future Ironman and the Angry Runner once again began to widen.

Now I know How Floyd Landis Feels:
As I ran back toward Cheshire I kept trying to look for mile markers and familar land mark. 5.0 miles 7 miles until the end. That pain in the ass little climb 6 miles to go. People's Bank and the intersection of doom. 4.5 miles to go. A Group of guys rode past, two of the guys looked like Vin and Dean from HEAT, but I digress. My hip was now starting to feel pressure form a long day in the saddle combined with a long day pounding pavement. I tried to numb it out but as I continued to plod along the dull pain in my pelvis grew more intense with each passing mile. To make matters worse the wound on my right foot began to feel like it was ripping open with each foot strike. I looked back for Angry he was nowhere in sight. " I should Double back." I thought to my self."If you do you won't be able to drive." My hip, foot and now Achilles chimed in. I ran past the last set of port o lets before the park. Only 4 miles to go. Maybe I should stop to pee I thought to myself...then the Falshbacks of Nashville came back. Each bathroom break was pure Hell on my joints, each stop took more out of my battered body on that hot April Day. I kept. Going. " I'll double back for Angry on my cool down." As I crossed into Cheshire all I could think of was finishing this run. I tried to add up the distance in my head....21.5 miles + 2x 400 double backs = roughly 22 miles. I looked at my watch. Just over 3 hours. I was on pace to run a sub 4 hour marathon. I almost thought about tacking on the extra 4 miles, then my hip reminded of its inflammed state, also the fact that I was out of the Fruit Punch flavored drink of the gods, Gatorade, presuaded me from not risking futher injury upon myself. I drated back into the parking lot. 3:11.33 was my time for 22 miles. 8:42 min/miles 3:47 marathon pace. I began to walk to cool down drinking the ater that was left on my fuel belt. Walked back to the trail waiting for Angry to appear....one minute went by....then another....and another....after about five minutes he came into sight...he was walking....." My hips are killing me." he stated..." Same Here." I replied...."I'm going to have to name my Post My hips don't lie and throw up the Shakira video." he said with a grin. Angry's time for 21 miles. 3:18.19 9:26 min/mile 4:07 Marathon pace. Not bad for a first 20+ mile run. ( My first attempt at this I did about 3:20, this one was my third 20+ miler. Well technically 4th. April Trainer, The CMM, The summer Zen run, and this one.) Well that was it. It wasn't pretty, but it got done. Today I rested my legs and my bank clients reminded me why I hate Christmas so very much. Now I've got to formulate how to get my shopping, training, and take home finals crammed into my tight budget for time and money. Well that's it for tonight...I'm going to collaspe.

The Exhausted Extremist
R.D.
P.S. Free Tibet!!!!

Ironman Training Status Report:

Well despite bitter cold temperatures, days that seem way to short, and professors that want my ass chained to a desk, my training for IM New Zealand is progressing. Wednesday I did 3.7 miles on the treadmill ( stupid fog) and a 3500 yard pool workout. Yesterday, lack of sleep and fundage prompted me to sit out of the Commodore Hull 5k although it might be on the short list for 2008. After sharing some of the bird and the fixings with the fam I went out on a 7.75-8 mile loop of my half of Wolcott. The weather was excellent, the low sixties with tad bit of overcast weather moving in. I was able to get by with shorts and short sleeves and at one point was almost kicking my self for leaving the fuel belt at home. All in all I got the run in 1:02. After puncturing a dime sized hole in my foot helping with clean up. I gobbed the mess with bastracin and bandaged it up to gut out an hour training ride to the tune of the 2006 Ironman Hawaii highlight show and the 1970's cycling/ coming of age epic Breaking Away. Seriously If I start shaving my legs or doing my training rides to Italian Arias blame it on this movie. This morning I slept in avoiding the carnage that is BLACK FRIDAY (shiver...) and went to work. After a stress filled first 4 hours I had lunch and returned to the office where it was pretty dead until close. I then came home changed into my workout gear and threw on my little reflective vest thingamabob. Now Yesterday it was in the sixties and fairly pleasant. Today the bottom had dropped out on the temperature. At the time I left my house it was a balmy 28 F. So doing this 8 mile beast I was decked out in the full Rocky get up. Windpants, gloves , Beanie, two pairs of socks, sweat shirt, base layer..you get the drift. I managed to eek out the same route as Yesterday in 1:07 five minutes slower but it was freaking cold. Also running past the town cemetery at night is an eerie propositon ( granted I do have two relatives buried there. Rest in Pieces Uncle Jer and Aunt Martha.) For the most part the darkness wasn't an issue. I ran past the lakes where the moon reflected off the water giving a sort of blue light effect...It was almost...dare I say quite peaceful. I got home changed into my swim shit and went to the Y where I slacked off. I only got in 3000 yards but it was a semi-speed workout. I did the main set at a fairly hard pace. So all in all things are progressing. Tomorrow I head out to Woodbury for what should hopefully be at least a 50 mile ride...hopefully more...( I'm buying foot warmers for this shit so it better be.) Sunday I'm hoping to get in a short ride and a 20 mile run, before starting back to ye olde grind on Monday. Well that's all I can bring myself to tonight. Peace.
The Terror of the Tundra
R.D.

My 100th Post of 2007 : I'M GOING TO TAUPO BITCHES!!!

Yep that's right, one of my creditors made the mistake of increasing my line...( which means more for me to pay back but hey what's money if you can't spend it on what you need and what you enjoy.) So after a quick phone call to Ken Glah and the Crew and Endurance Sports Travel I have procured a lakeview studio at the Tui Oaks Motor Inn, and transport for me and The Bitch Stomper from Auckland to Taupo for under $1300. Below are pictures of my digs for that week: unfortunately Angry it's not the Marriot or the Hilton

(note to the folks at those companies try building a Residence Inn or Fairfield Suites in the vincity. It will be a gold mine.)

EST's not booking flights until Late Janurary so that is the only missing link but it will be paid for. So yes my crazy, half frozen New England ass will be gracing the start line at IM New Zealand.( Which will start another debate on whether or not I should shave down for this sucker...but I digress.) Ok good news over...more good news I can now turn my training from possibly doing and Ironman in March to DEFINATELY doing an Ironman in March. Yes now gone are the days of the half-assed 25 mile rides that were supposed to be fifty milers, the 45 min. trainer sessions which were intended to be an hour, the 12 mile runs....well ok maybe not the 12 mile runs...theasy 3000 yard swims 3 times a week. As of 5 am this morning Build Phase#1 got going which means the next 14 days are going to be loaded with distance, one race, and early
mornings.
Monday: yielded my normal "short" distance a 7-8 miler through the burbs.

Tuesday: I got in 4200 yds. in the pool. My freestyle stroke felt a little slow but and increase in work outs will help that.

This morning I got to the Y at 5:45am and crammed in a 3000 yard practice before work. Again my freestyle felt a little slow so Tommorrow I will probably work it a little more. After work I got in a 12 mile run on the almost pitch black roads of Wolcott. My first 7 weren't bad as the sun was just starting to set and I was on roads that actually had street lamps. The "back 4" down Route 322 were dimly lit, along with a pitted shoulder and drivers hugging the white line as if they were in Some race to see who could get to Southington first. After dodging cars and nearly twisting my ankle twice on the pitted shoulder I decided this route is not a good one to do during the evening hours, or at least not without a headlamp. The last mile to two miles back home weren't bad at all ...except for trying to cross route 69 as rush hour traffic was streaming in from the DirtyWater ( Waterbury) from the south and the Little New Britain ( Bristol) from the North. All in all I got it in 1:45 so my goal of doing a 4:00 marathon or better seems to be in reach, as long as I can get my long runs and bricks in over the next three months. So on tap: tomorrow an early morning 3000-4000 yard swim work out followed by work, getting booties and wool socks to protect my footsies on my 60-70 miler this week end, maybe a 6 miler around campus, class and lifegurading. Friday an early morning trainer workout 45 min. to an hour, followed by work, and a 3000-4500 yard workout at Waterbury Masters ( note to Angry: Steph Karas is running it and we do have easier workouts, also she can help straighten out your stroke to prevent that nagging shoulder injury.)
Sat. Work then a 60 mile ride ( most likely at Waramaug of from Woodbury to Waramaug.) followed by a moderate warm up run.
Sunday: Speed Work! the Chichetti 5 miler brought to you by Wesson oil: Home of the crazy conveience store manager that made my summer of 05 a layer of hell! (pay back's a bitch!..oops well if it wasn't for my crummy stint there I wouldn't have try to find anyhting better than my gig at the video game store so in essence it helpped me believe in myself...ok pulling good from a bad situation moment over.) followed by some love time in the pool or a shorter ride maybe 25 miles in Woodbury or on the Cheshire trail, or if the weather sucks a trainer ride post race infront of my blasting heater. All in all the hardcore training period has begun.

The self -torturing triathlete
R.D.

I Think I'm losing it.

Yes that's right I only rested for one week and have slowly stated getting my self back into bitch stomping shape but yet I feel completely out of shape...not just the awkward in a speedo brief out of shape....not the "I'm jealous about the six pack abs the guy I just schooled has "out of shape...I mean the Chris Farley sitting on the couch watching baseball with chips and a six pack/John Belushi Breakfast of Champions out of shape. Maybe it's my training mentality of "of you aren't running x miles a week, biking x days a week and swim x^100yards a practice at least y days a week you will suddenly turn into a slow, wheezing out of shape sumo wrestler overnight, combined with stress at work , school, home, trying to get my travel to NZ finalized and paid for, I've gone from feeling like a blood thirsty animal at Park City, to a slightly less ferocious beast at the Nutmeg Half, to the slow fat kid getting dropped by 40 year olds on a group ride

(this photo is of me Freshman year at Fordham killing my lungs and liver simultaneously ...I have since stop puffing on the Cancer sticks but I think the damage has been done so if I'm looking for a transplant in about 60 years you can wave this picture in my face and tell me to piss off.)

Well Today I have a nice 10 miler on hand to try to get my legs back into diesel ass- kicking hot fire shape, and maybe a 10 to 20 mile ride on tap ...I'll see how the run goes and what errands I get into. Expect another post on how the run went and/or ride and possibly a meditative and inspirational wrap up of the 2007 tri season and well as a preview of the Magical Mystery Tour for 08.

Sunday night/Monday's post expect one of two things either a cuss fest on how much I hate the Cleveland Indians and hope they get sued by some tribe out west and are forced to change their name to the Cleveland Native Americans,yet despite all this I hope they kick Boston's ass. or a Boo-yah we ain't dead post glorifying the Managerial Skillz that Killz of Joe Torre.

Well gotta run.

R.D.