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.

Sorry if I've been away....

Sorry for not blogging much this weekend nothing really happened on the training front and Saturday and Sunday I spent in a cloud of smoke ie doing the altar boy ( one of the kids didn't show up to mass so I got to play with fire and incense Saturday night....and to answer the burning question I did not set my church on fire.)- Eucharistic minister thing for Easter. I could go on a reflective tangent about suffering, pain and redemption, the amazing JC workout plan but I think I covered the full spread last year to read those posts click here and here. My blog is going to be pretty dead over the next couple of weeks as I finish my thesis and other papers so if I go two weeks with out a post ( highly unlikely but still it could happen) I'm not dead although I'll probably be wishing I was as I get the last 40+ pages of my undergraduate college writing career in....and Colombia's coffee futures start growing at an exponential rate. ( note to self Caffeine detox after this semester.)

Yesterday I managed to gather all the sources for one of my papers and it's going to be a good one...religion, politics, genocide...
The thesis well it's dragging out but I'll Get R Done.

Thats it for me.
R.D.

The zone...

It seems that in the last few days I have entered the zone. Whether it was the fact that 90% of my stuff was running late, the semester's drawing to a close, or I just want to get shit done so I can start training again...everything has come together. Papers that it took me eons to start and research were completed in what seemed like effortless hours...whether the grades reflect this or not remains to be seen,but shit is getting done, hopefully I'll be able to exorcise the dust off my chain ring this weekend.

R.D.

I' m Entered!

Well I'm entered in to my 2009 Ironman, I'll give you 3 guesses but you only need one to figure out where I'm going.

* Blocks Ears waits for all the collective ARE YOU INSANE! shout to subside.

Alright I'll agree it's a nuts proposition, but then again isn't the ironman a nuts proposition. Afterall who in their right mind would pay money to swim, bike, run and suffer?

My justification is I can do it for the same price if not cheaper than an American Ironman ( exchange rate baby!). Ok yes Airfare is a bitch ( $1200 via Air New Zealand .com), but hotel for the week was only $400, ( Louisville was going to cost me at least that, granted airfare was non existent , my sisters wanted to road trip to it.) I decided not to book with Ken Glah this year, ( his service is good but I'm on a budget, if I make Kona ( he might be getting a call, although I'm going to see his price on air fare, you know just to see if it's lower and it might be wise to lock in.) So the hotel taken care of, the race taken care of, and the airfare soon to be resolved, that just leaves one thing: training.

Now I'm not as weak as I was on the bike last year, granted I still need to learn how to "let it fly" so I can save precious minutes on the longest leg of the race. Also with my paper writing palooza, I've lost some valuable road time. Winter break is around the corner so I'll have a month of hard core yardage and mileage ahead of me. My trainer is set up, I know the cheapest place in town for toe warmers, my running shoes should survive until spring, otherwise I'll be doing some shopping in NZ ( seriously my flats would have been $119 in the US I got them for $89 in Taupo.) Alright all that shit aside I've got papers to finish and a training plan to contemplate.

Off his rocker.

R.D.

I'm not dead...

I'm just in the midst of finals. Seriously I never want to type another paper again after I finish this semester...oh wait I have a thesis due before I graduate...damn it all to Hell.

To paraphrase Ben Franklin, "Coffee is proof God loves us and wants us to be happy."

The suspense of which Ironman to pick will also come to it's conclusion this Thursday when I fork over my entry fee lets just say I'm fully braced for the Litany of "You're Nuts" ( I guess I am what I eat.), "You're Crazy", "You're Muy Loco", " Bobby I'm getting you a straight jacket for Christmas this year." Sadly this rules out a blogger reunion beating up Mickey... so to those of you rocking Disney I salute you.

Mother Nature is not helping my training plan at the moment but at least I have the trainer and a massive dvd collection. Anyone with any Tour de France tapes, or dvd's that's not using them feel free to send them my way,I will also take spinervals dvds. I have 6 months of base work going for me..well at least on the run and the swim...so I will devote more time on the stomper, with the Jeff Goldblum mantra of "Must go faster, must go faster..." playing in my head...hmmm spinning to Jurassic Park...might be motivating. Also I'll be riding up at Quassy and Waramaug when ever the weather/ road conditions permit...ahh I can feel my toes going numb already...anyone else want in?

Running in the cold, already know how to do that thank you very much, along as it isn't icy it's all good. Also my tolerance for Cold has built up on the running side it used to be if it was below 20F (-6C)I'd call it a day, now if it's in single digits 9F(-12C) I might debate the treadmill. Cycling I'm still gonna stay at the 30F mark, figure riding in anything colder than that is begging for trouble.

Well that's it for me I still have to crank out some goodness and insert some notes.

Java Jiving

R.D.

Operation Juan Valdez...and other ramblings.

Well I managed to get extensions for most of my papers so tonight and Friday I will be glued to the computer writing on Piracy, Ethnicity, Israelis and Palestinians destroying one another for land rights, and the global capitalist agenda...I mean religious issues. (sigh I always find someway to do something involving the Middle East.) so tonight begins Operation Juan Valdez or I'm not sleeping until I finish at least one of my papers. I figure sitting in the library or student center with out my Internet cable will allow me to avoid "distractions" and Get R Done...oh crap I quoting Larry the Cable guy get me more red bull.

Other Ramblings

Team Zoot Gu is disbanding, so next year I will be racing unsponsored, figure I'll load up on my GU2O now, that and I won't feel like a douchebag wearing my HEAT livery ( which is Garineau.) Also 2009 for me is going to be a hectic year, with graduation, getting a real job, traveling to 2 races ( granted they will be a little more spread out than last year.) I figure I'll probably be racing a little less but more spread out than last season. Nothing was worse than the Amotivational Syndrome I suffered from mid-July to August, no races on the calendar just mounds of training for Nutmegman, which turned out to be all for nought. I figure if I sign up for one race a month ( June, July and August) in April I'll have at least 3 races on the calendar and motivation to train, and if I run into lack of fundage like last season I know I'm in to my big three well 4 ( I always do one Sprint in July.).

I'll be announcing which Ironman/ Ironmans I will be gracing with my Lycra clad arse in 09, just before Christmas, hopefully after pillaging the Mohegans, with Angry's Crap table probability skillz that kill, afterall nothing would be better than walking away with more money than I brought with me. But I will be doing an Ironman in 2009, even if it isn't an M-dot, or it's just me swimming at Waramaug, riding through Litchfield County, and running a personal marathon on my own. Who knows maybe I'll up the distance and make Connecticut a mecca for the >140.6 mi (226.2km ) crowd...who knows maybe I'll spawn my own crazy distance between Ironman and Ultraman...The Almightyman*? I could just see it now 3.1 mile (5k) swim 200 mile (320km) bike and a 36 mile (60k) run and a 24 hour time limit..yeah that would be hardcore...until I get sued for somebody actually attempting this distance, and dying/crippling themself.**
Also last night I got back in the pool for the first time in a week. I felt so fat and lazy that I need a 3000yd. exorcism of Turkey day left overs. I just have to survive a few more papers and I'm free to train again.

Alright that's enough out of me for the moment.

I need creamer with a back up of donuts
R.D.

*The Almightyman Triathlon title is considered my intellectual property...anytheft thereof will result in me calling you a cheap, un creative ( explative.)!
** I will not be held responsible for some out of shape moron going off and trying to attempt this distance, with out undergoing a proper training and hydration and Nutrition plan/ psychological and medical assesments before hand. Endurance athletics don't kill, stupidity does.

When we last left our hero....

Alright I'm not a hero but I am the protagonist of this blog, and things are getting busy and confusing in the World of Bob-o, also my sincerest apologies for the Howard Dean style rant at the end of my last post, but read this post from Speed Racer's Blog and you'll understand, I have a very similar sentiment, I hate it when other people tell me what I should do... unless I ask for advice but that's a rant for my other blog.

Getting Busy: This weekends my plans for long rides were dashed by a midterm and rolling back and forth to Newport. On the plus side I was able to get a nice 10 mile run in on Sunday. The semester is drawing to a close which means I need to get off my ass and do more research..also I have to draw and quarter...I mean corner my advisor so I can get my busy course load ready for next semester, and hopefully last semester at the Harvard of Centrally located State Universities in Connecticut. My sister wants me to haul up to Newport for her concert Next Weekend which I will most likely do , but I still want to ride on Saturday maybe even Sunday because the weather is supposed to be in the mid-50's after this week's Arctic chill. I miss you summer...are any girls in Australia/ New Zealand/ any where South of the Equator yet North of Antarctica looking for a room mate or a short term relationship..like an October to May fling...or a boarder? Catherine, Simon I'm jealous. Also add to this Entry fees are due for IM New Zealand and IM Arizona and a little holiday that rhymes with "sickness" is around the corner. So yeah things are going into over drive.

Confusing:

Dear producers of AXE Shaving cream/ TAG body spray:
You know all your ads where you insinuate that your fine products will make you attractive to the opposite sex. They do.
R.D.
This letter sent from the top of a palm tree where I've been cornered by a mass of frenzied women.

Alright it's not that bad but I'm am in a predicament that is kind of unusual for me. Usually I am what Angry would call the Beta male. I'm not overly agressive competing to attract a mate and produce offspring. In fact I really don't want to have kids, so I'm fully content to let my bloodline die with me. Selfish yes, but trust me somepeople have what it takes to be a parent and I don't.
So now having 4 women interested in me is an odd predicament. Normally I get attracted to a girl, hit on her, go on a few dates, feel awkward, realize it's not going to go anywhere focus on the more pressing things in life. Now it's the opposite the girls are attracted to me and I don't want to be a dousche bag, playa, baller, pimp, what ever the terms the Alpha males use. Weird for a guy who's idea of fun is inflicting mass quantities of pain on himself or takes rejection somewhat well he can't dish it out. Add to this some of Melissa's Salve friends are hitting on me, this is becoming more confusing than I ever wanted it to be...Part of me wants to go with that suppressed inner Alpha male, wants to sell, sell, sell, live it up use up my carnal inclinations. Sow my wild oats..etc. My Beta male self image, doesn't really want to hurt anybody, why do I have a conscience and morals! Damn you oh Catholic upbringing! I guess the sad thing is at the end of the day is I can't hit and quit..unless of course she 's the one quitting me then it's all good. Damn this is bad I'm quoting Hitch. Now I NEED to DO SOMETHING MANLY! How ever this situation works out is how it's going to workout, I've got more pressing issues on my plate, like training for an Ironman, getting through and planning my next semester, focusing my mind on life after college, debt reduction, wealth building, in essence my whole life post CCSU. This brings up a whole new set of confusing possibilities, but in essence, I feel I'm not in the right state of mind, or mode of existence to begin a relationship, especially when there is a lot more on the priority scale. Alright that done.

Well that's all from me, I'll start posting some more sport related posts again this week, I just had a lot to get out of my head, especially since it's going to be filled with more paper and midterm related crap. Ahh Academia how I will miss thee...Not!

The Cassanova of the Campus
R.D.

Die Evil Paper!

Yes today is the day my Victorian England paper is due. It is completely different from my first draft, it has kept me up nights and I am still not done. I am six pages out but luckily she's accepting it via email until the wee-hours ( granted I'm out of work early so I should have it to her by 6:30PM, God Bless you internet.) I write this post on 4 hours of sleep after a night of borrowing computers, watching my beloved dell, bite the dust at a crucial moment yet again...once I send that email, I am using $1.00 of my university subsidized print credit to print myself a copy that will be destroyed using various means to rid my self of access frustration...burning, using as toliet paper, tearing into millions of pieces have all been thought up...while some of the research and topics were interesting, if I have to read one more article on how opium could cure simple aches and pains I might be "chasing the dragon" to ease my torment. This paper kept me in most of the weekend.. I vowed I would not be a last minute Charlie, yet here I am again, printing typing the final pages hours before the deadline...oh curse you good weather, oh curse you mother's day, oh curse you University administration who makes me perform this torture......alright I just collasped there for a second...the only things holding me together are the necktie and several cups of coffee I've been consuming at a rapid rate...alright it's almost over take courage man....six pages of bullshit, just make sure I get my sources in. I'm in the juicy part so I should be able to crank it out rather quickly....all I know when this paper is finally finished a 300 lbs. Gorillia will have been lifted off my shoulders, then I can get back to normalcy. Oh shit I'm writing like a Victorian....this just won't do, not at all.

Alright I'm getting back to work....if they findout you can get cancer from a computer screen in 50 years I fully plan on suing, Dell and HP.

The Tired Typer.
R.D.

Paper writing weekend.....Planning for 09 already.

Well this is it game time,D-Day, Armageddon, the end of my junior year of college...hopefully only 2 more semester away from that piece of valuable paper. I was intially planning to swim or run, but have decided that I would devote my time to blogging before lifeguarding for an hour, then cranking out some Latin American Cultures goodness... ( the interesting paper also because we have to peer review it...so one of my classmates and I will be throughly researching each other's works. ..pretty much this looks good, this sounds awkward, what's the point, so that's why they call it the necktie...the BS do you think this paper will impress the good doctor. ) The Victorian England paper...well I'll be doing that tomorrow night, Saturday night and a good chunk of Sunday. I know what I want to say, I've got most of my sources, I just have to get it done Write first footnote later....If it sucks it sucks if it's good it's good, that's been my mantra all along and I'm not going to let..the pressure of this paper defines your academic career wreck my groove.

Saturday: I think Speedy Claire wanted to ride, I'm down for anything in the afternoon as my coporate masters have impressed my for another Saturday of servitude.

Sunday: It's Mothers day, and I haven't gotten anything ....shit.... well I find something nice somewhere.

Next week my Economic Stimulus check should be arriving in the mail...which means a couple of credit card payments go out and an entry fee to one race in the Southern Pacific will be going out.

I've already started the number crunching:
Race Entry: $500
Airfare on American Airlines/Quantas $2050.00 ( United/Air New Zealand is $200 more.)
Same Hotel as Last Year for two weeks $2100.00

I'm looking at about $5k..less if I rack up some more frequent flier miles (although I might just use those to up grade to business) if I do the two week thing, maybe I'll just stay for 10 days and save a little on the hotel, but I would like to actually be able to see a little bit more of New Zealand, Post Ironman this time around...also going home actually being able to move my legs without pain. and packing without a hangover from the awards party...always a plus. Also anyone interested in coming down with me we get a discounted rate if it's a double...did I mention cute Kiwi and Aussie chicks with well defined posterior chain..... Ladies ,Guys with ripped chests and cute accents.....and it's about 60 -70 degrees in early March......
Yes sadly this is the kind of thing that helps me get through those long hours at the office, realizing what I'm working for.....One day I will be in a profession where I earn more than $2ok a year and it will be glorious.... and I will be able to do this kind of thing with out having to crunch numbers and strategically plan and it will be glorious.

So that's all that's going on in the dangerous mind of Bob-o also be sure to read my last post. My speed session has my legs feeling tight but the times were worth it.

Well that's all for me.....now it's time to write about the Political interference of Liberation theologians with the Juntas in Guatemala and El Salvador....I mean Communists posing as Priests trying to destroy democracy.

R.D.

Weekly long ride.

Well I'm still kicking myself from my long ride...for some odd reason I still have this primal fear of taking sharp curves on descents and it's pissing me off. Today I did the opening of the Griskus Olympic Route including that "drop off the face of the Earth" Right hander...again I slowed way up for it, and again I kicked myself as I descended down the rest of the hill at mach 1. The same thing happended at my "favorite" curve on Route 109 in Washington. I don't know why but I always feel like I'm going to overshoot the curve and end up on some guy's front lawn of in the path of a mack truck or something. I think I'm going to have to go to Spain and ride with either John and Mandy or Claire's "Soggy Homos" in order to learn how to descend like Lance. Anyway all my yellow bellying it on sharp curves aside, I know I need to invest in a 12-27 cassette for the Griskus Olympic, that and I need to start doing some shorter weekday rides..preferably on steep inclines....oh I can't wait until classes end. The first half of today's ride went well and except for some miscues at dangerous intersections ( ie me unclipping and struggling to clip back in.) and my pedal cleat popping out at one inopertune moment it was a good day. On the back half of my route I think I soft pedaled a little too much but after 48 miles in the saddle I think I can cut myself some lee way. I rode up to the lake which had been taken over by the prep school crew teams. I was also wiser on hydration bringing my aero drink and a third waterbottle with me. No dehydrating headaches this time..but that pit stop at the lake definiately added to my ride time. The second half was all down hill until Route 6. I now know why most cyclists refer to it as " Suicide 6" Varying inclines, nearly immpossible to pick the right gear, cars speeding by at 70mph ( 110km I think?) in essence a death wish. Then the climb back to the Griskus course in which I think I really soft pedaled it. Then the back 4 miles of the Griskus course including that damn smiley faced hill. I didn't attack it today, my legs were spent from out of the saddle work in Washington. I heard Eagleman is flat as a pancake with severe winds well I did about 55 miles ( roughly 90k) in 3:27 @ an average speed of 15.7 mph ( I'm thinking a little over 20km) with a headwind on my opening climbs. So I'm not sure if I'll be a dominant force on the bike but I think I'll be able to break 3 hrs. ...I want to add some more cycling just to improve a little more.

Well I've got some more of a paper to crankout....but before I go Bree Wee finshed 3rd for the pro chicks at St. Croix, Mandy's going to Kona and John was 13th for the pro men. Ken well, lets just say John's got a picture of him doing what most of us would do in St. Croix.

Well like I said back to the books....uses for leeches...yummy!

The pyschopath in a pink bike jersey that keeps swerving all over CT 47.
R.D.

Merry Brickmas....

Well Today's brick was cut short from my ambitious 4 hour trainer 2 hour tread mill affair to a modest 3 hour trainer 1 hour treadmill affair.

The trainer ride: I started off clad in my HEAT gear....(figure hey, might get used to the stuff I'll be wearing on race day. ) I only stopped twice, once to change movies the other to relieve myself. I'll tell you this the Star Wars trilogy is not the best thing to watch while trying to do this kind of thing...the whistling of the gears blocks out some of the best lines....The 2006 Ironman Highlight show however....muy bien....next time I'll try it with Schindler's List and see how it goes....knowing I have my inspirational movies on the back burner...if it gets too depressing. I killed the ride after obi-wan got his ass kicked by Vader in episode 4 because it was at the roughly 3 hour mark (seeing that I added time for the stops.)....all in all here are the stats

trainer time: 3 hours

movies watched: IM Hawaii 2006 dvd (90mins.) Star Wars ( roughly 90mins. of 123 min. movie)

Waterbottles killed:4

Scenes I can quote word for word in the movie: 45 out of 50.....that's no moon it's a space station....

Surprising new energy food: Saltine crackers....carbs, salt, no sweetingly sick after taste...keep em coming.

The Run: After a quick change of shoes and setting up the treadmill I cranked out 60min at 7 mph..( started at 6 cranked it to 8 for the last minute to get 7 miles in then warmed down) So I got in slightly over 7 miles...I'm not sure if like .008 counts as over but I'll take it. I came up with the strategy break the long boring tedious time into five minute intervals. The first five minutes good...the second 5 ok....third five....maybe I should cut down to 30min.....fourth five tell sister sitting on couch not to let me quit......fifth five 25 min. already....sixith five Somebody play me some bon jovi.....seventh five, please don't let me quit....eighth five, 20 min ain't nothing......ninth five...15 min and man why does these guys on Suburban Crimes keep mentioning the local diner..stupid hicks......tenth five 10 more minutes. why are you taunting me with that bowl of stew...... eleventh five....five minutes to go......pick it up.....sixty minutes grab dinner, a water and a Sam Adams Winter Lager....then realize holy shit I've got a 10 page paper on Arab Israeli crap due tomorrow.....shit shit shit.....

Well that's where I stand right now...my legs feel pretty good... I just need to start my paper so at about 8:30 I will sit down and let the bullshit hit the page. Tomorrow I start selling books back..have my bio exam and that take home final to hand in....Tues. or Thurs. I have my infamous computer science final....may God have mercy on my pathetic soul. ..then I'm free to become Rocky Balboa.....devoting all my free time to training like a beast.

So Merry Brickmas to all and to all a good night.

R.D.

Ironman Update:

Days Until Ironman New Zealand: 77

4000+ Yard Swims completed : 6 ( these were interval workouts not straight swims however.)

10-15 mile Runs completed: At least 6

15-20 mile runs completed : 1 (22 miles)

25-50 mile rides done: 8

50+ mile rides done: 1 (65 miles)

100+mile rides done: 0

2+hour love fests on the trainer: 3

Last Long Brick : October 07 40 mile bike 8 mile run.

Money Raised for War on ALS: $ 503 USD

Exams Left: 2

Term Papers left : 1

Alright that was a quick breakdown by the numbers. Today I got in about an 8-10 mile run ( I haven't mapped it yet but I did it in 1:29). Last night I finished my Anthropology paper...so I won't fail...hopefully....maybe...possibly...

Last night Steph Karas the resident dominatrix of the Waterbury YMCA Masters program gave me a rather impressive 3500 yard workout. ( Main set 5x200 on 2:45 try to descend if you can muhahahahaha!). Tomorrow I have on tap the mother of all indoor bricks...a 4 hour spin session and 2 hour treadmill quad buster...start praying for my mortal soul.

This week sort of sucked for training due to weather and school work but the semester is ending and despite bitter New England cold the rest of the week looks nice and clear after our little nor'easter comes through tomorrow, but these nut cases at the weather channel change their story evey five minutes.

Like I said not too much here except for the little training update....

Also tax season is approaching and what better gift to yourself than a nice deduction by donating to the war on ALS or going over to Claire's site and donating to the battle against AIDS. Because just think about this for every dollar spent researching ALS $400 are spent researching male pattern baldness.....Also for the cost of the Iraq war the US government could subsidize and effective global response to the AIDS pandemic.....like I said just think about those stats for a second...does it piss you off......if it does then do something about it...if it doesn't well I hope those hair plugs can survive the mortar attack in Falujah*.

Like I said enough with my charity pleading I've got some Christmas shopping to do plus I have to stock up for tomorrow's sweaty onslaught.

R.D.

* this comment was meant to prove a point about the fickleness of government spending in this country. If are balding, a veteran, or a balding veteran , these comments were not meant to offend you. I actively support our troops and believe it is a valuable waste of military resources to keep pouring money into Iraq when the real threat to our country is watching cable in Tora Bora.But if you are an Iraq veteran I thank you for your service for answering a call your country never should have made. Like wise if you are balding I have no problem with you throwing cash down on propecia of rogain, but it is kind of montonous if more research dollars go to treating baldness than go to ALS research or Alzheimer's research. You will have a full head of hair but god forbid you get one of these disorders you won't remeber what it's good for, or be able to lift your hair brush to keep it styled.....ok I think I covered my ass.

R.D.

The Man's got me down.....

Yep, the MAN has struck again and has wrecked my training plans plus given me a little more added stress at this already lovely time of year.



First, anthropology project due Tuesday. I've done research and will be able to crank out the project and paper, its just time consuming....hours spent at computer = hours not spent on the road...ugggg!



Second, Mid-East History Take Home Final due on the 16th: Pretty much a long winded rant on Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the Arab Israeli Conflict.....this could be fun but could also make me a target on several hit lists.



Third, Got in trouble for doing laps while lifeguarding . There was no one in the pool and the other guards and I have this "unspoken agreement" that we will cover for one another if anyone wants to do laps when there is no one in the pool but I can see from my boss's point of view too liability, liability, LIABILITY



Fourth, A lot of Christmas Shopping to do and not enough dinero to get it done. I've got 9 family members + 3 co workers + 2 chicks I guard with + 1 Hot Young thing + 3 brothers from other mothers + 1 femme sans neoprene....so I have roughly 20 people to shop for...if You don't get gifts until Jan 7 bear with me.



Fifth, It's supposed to be one of the best Saturdays in the last 3 weeks and I have to spend it typing instead of riding....or do I...... if you see me at WalMart grabbing a 24 case of RED BULL you know I will be pulling an all-nighter after getting in a brick of gloriousness.



Sixith, I am seriously falling for Hot young Thing, a 20 year old Cross Country goddess/competitive cyclist. as Ken would say, she's "a girl that gets it." The only thing is I want to play this on the down low because I don't want to screw this up and have what has happened with 4 of the last 6 girls: I've crashed, burned, and barely been identified through dna and dental records. 2 of the last 6 girlfriends I was able to keep up descent friendships but the other 4 ....it was ugly and I don't want that....I don't like walking into a room and making everyone in it feel uncomfortable...one of the reasons I normally stay as isolated as possible, also part of it is guilty Catholic boy syndrome; whether I was at fault or not I believe I'm always the one at fault...and therefore must suffer the consequences, and the fact that I can get too emotionally attached over a short period of time...so I try to keep how I feel on the down low, although alot of time hormone and emotion takes over and I come on too strong....oh crap I just showed emotion , time to run 20 miles without water and a 50 pound weight on my back to prove I'm still callus...then retire to my room for the rest of the year....coming out only for food, work, class, and training.....just kidding on that last part...but I don't want to screw things up, granted I probably just did bearing my soul on an internet blog......( pounds head against wall)



So yes that is what has been going on in the life of this overtaxed Ironman to be. Yesterday I got in a 7 miler, first time I ran since Monday and it felt good. Also you know you're hardcore if you can run in 20 degree weather in shorts, a long sleeve shirt, and gloves...yes I did that yesterday and did not get pneumonia so I AM BADASS!



For those of you that read my last post and my rant on the slow pace of ALS research, AIDS research and my frustration with the American Medical Research System..it was just a rant based on the early stages of my research for said anthropology project, and not a fully conclusive study...although I still am frustrated by the slow moving pace of research and drug/insurance company agendas playing a major role in health care....rant over.



Well those are my ramblings for the day.....



The Triathlete of the Tundra

R.D.

Let the Floggin' contiune until morale improves.......

If any phrase describes Ironman training this is it. This week I have the lovely chore of tying paper writing and training. So far this week I've gotten in a 2 hour trainer session a 3 mile run ( after an ice storm mind you.) and 1000 yards pool time ( for the 15 min. it was slow last night.) Tonight I have at least 3000 yards on tap. Tomorrow, with no foreseeable ice, sleet or white stuff on the Doppler, I might get in an eight mile prework run (possibly 12 if I can drag myself out of bed at 5am.) Tomorrow afternoon has a possible post work swim on the agenda ( 3000 yards.) Thursday, has the same ( 8 mile run or hour trainer ride, and an afternoon swim. ) Friday I have Masters, and my lovely trainer, Saturday, the long run or long brick ( either a 60 mile ride/16mile run or a 2 hour trainer/15 mile treadmill Odyssey. or just a straight up 16 miler . Sunday begins the new week with the hope of some warmer weather and some more cycling damn it. I would love to ride but it will most likely end up as swimming and the trainer, so I guess the next 2 to 4 weeks will be Run/ Swim phase with periods of Special High Intensity Training (SHIT) on the trainer, and the occasional long ride/brick if the weather warms up enough to allow it. I have now come to the rational conclusion that I am most certainly in the wrong climate, and I should move to an area with weather that is more suitable to my activities/personality upon graduation....Kona,HI ....ahh I can dream as I look at real estate listings that show I can buy a condo on the big island for what it would cost me to buy a farm in Southbury, yet on the island I am not hit with as high of a property tax, but the mortgage and insurance plus cost of living would probably kick my ass. on the plus side though I could most likely ditch the car and ride my bike everywhere, although this means taking my life into my hands as most of the island is the ghetto, the work of us rich New England Whiteys that came over took over pineapple plantations, overthrew a sovereign monarch, an pretty much turned an island paradise into a commercial venture...man I hate it when we do that.....my rant on how Europeans/ Americans of European Descent have gone off and wrecked nation states and entire cultures ( the Inca, the Aztecs, The Filipinos, the Hawaiians, the Bannana Republics we set up in Central America, then overthrow when they start favoring their own interests rather than those of American tycoons....I mean...their people....is now over. But no a warmer climate is hopefully in the future for this New Englander....and a violent overthrow of the current leadership is not in my plans. but no Hawaii with all of its possible ghettoness, looks lovely, California ( all the warmth, Ghetto and added bonus of earthquakes) is another place I'd long to hang my hat for a while, or the Arizona Desert ( warmth, drive 2 hours north I've got cold and snow, drive 2 hours back to Pheonix, I've got warm and dry.) might be alternatives to continued life in the Tundra that is Connecticut. (Despite the fact my parents say I'd miss having the cold weather....seriously if it didn't snow another flake up here I wouldn't cry...well ok I MIGHT MISS IT, just a little at Christmas, but I can't take 4 months of the crap.) Well those are my rants and ramblings for the evening. I've got some research todo and a practice to crank out.

The California Dreamer
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.

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.

The week so far......

That's right it's been my vacation week /was supposed to be a hard core training week/paper-writng palooza. Mon. I handed in my 12 pages of "grade A American Bullshit" for my Modern mid-East course ( Saddam was almost as fucked up as the current government.) My cholera paper will ne the focus of my life this Friday, Saturday and sunday with ample training time being factored in around it. Tuesday I managed get in a 7-8 mile run in an hour and a lesisurely 2000 yard swim. Yesterday I spent most of the day working the CCSU tri club's bake sale and tracking down advisors. I managed to get in a noon time swim of about 3,000 hard fought yards, got my advising pin and raised $105 in cookie cash ( just enough to pay for some of the club's new equipment.) Today so far I have been a lazy bum. i took my sister to school at 7 and then retired to the confines of my nice warm bed until noon...( hey I was up until 3am on Mon. night making cookies give me a break.) Today marks my next to last day of vacation before I make my triumphant return to the rat race on Monday and continue the difficult balance of Work, training, school, and sleep until Winter break at the end of December. On the plus side this week has yielded a couple of good things. 1) I managed to get myself a box of gu and a nice fleece long sleeve jersey so I can actually ride out doors ...and not have to rely solely on the trainner for simulations. 2)My Antropology professor is not as demanding as my History prof. and our class meeting at Tony's pizza resturant stimulated both mind and gut.
3) My history professor is a fassinating character who lived the life of a semi-secret agent in the 80's conducting correspondence between the State department and the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) but the amount of work he assigns still sucks! So all in all it's been a good week not as productive as I would like but hey time to crash is equally important. Today hold for me another run/ maybe a ride or trainer session. push ups, situps and crunches, checking how much pay I have left before bills completely devour it, and oh yes class and flirting with my co -worker....I mean lifeguarding. So today may not be extremely fruitfull but it will be productive enough. Friday I'll run or ride with Masters and paper writng taking care of the evening. Saturday I'm hoping to get a long ride in maybe some pool time, we'll see. and sunday depends on the weather on whether or not I will do a ride run brick/ or a pool long run combo and as always working will be done on the paper.

My Red Sox fan family members ( cue dad and grandpa chiming in so how about dem Yankees)/friends/co-workers have been un-merciful to me this week ( I think I really need to go out and buy a Boston still sucks shirt.) but that's ok the Sox won a lot at the begining of last century too....I 'm just waiting until the next up coming Yankee dynasties of the 2020's afterall history has a habit of repeating itself...and also if all the fair weather fans defect to fenway, that means more leg room at the stadium for me. ...which hey, I'm not complaining..

R.D.