7 miles to sanity.....

Well more of like 7.5-8 miles but irregardless. As hinted by my last few posts, I have lived to do 3 things, eat food in mass quantities, study and work, somewhere in there I managed to eek out some pool time. Today, I managed to accomplish a little, I got my paper topic formula thingy done, filed for financial aid, passed out for an hour because I have been running on little sleep. It was after my hour of nap time that I decided I needed to run damn it. Now normally, this would result in me throwing on long sleeves and shorts and going for a quick 4 miler then back to the grind, but I decided to commit academic blasphemy and devote an hour to getting back some clarity. 60 min. of not reading on how Victorian Men were bi-polar, Mr. Liston treated surgery like it was playtime with power tools, or what my hope learning credits were for 2007.

In essence 60 min to let my mind wander while I dodged traffic.

I threw on long pants and went on my 7.5 -8 mile loop of the Wolcott Rd. Side of Wolcott. Now for those unfamilar with this route, it begins flat with me running down the main road, then down some rink-a-dink side street, then past Scovil's damn then up Boundline road which is rolling. It starts out flat and ends with a Tour de France esque climb to the Center of town, then back on to some smaller rollers past the high school, a semi- flat to down hill back to Route 69 then back the way I came with some nice rollers before a slight false flat down hill to the homestead.

Now this has been the longest run I have done since a little race about a month ago, so when I started I was a little nerveous , but the thought of having to chain myself to the computer on a beautiful day , drove me forward, I wanted to enjoy an hour of decent weather. So I took off on my route, zoning into my usual wandering, ramblings and day dreams. One of them being the typical being the favorite in Hawaii and having a minute lead in the last 2 miles of the marathon with Macca, Cam Brown, and Craig Alexander all chasing me down, that is a fantasy that reocurrs often, maybe one day it will come to fruition. Anyhoo, after purging this daydream out of my system, my thoughts turned back to classwork, how would I formulize my paper, the fact if I had to read another article on amputation I might as well just send my 3 shillings to Dr. John T. Ripper 34 Miller's Court Whitechapel, London for my portable surgical kit, complete with Liston Knife, bone saw, and Opium. ( for those of you who don't get this joke, watch the movie From Hell, or think of some event in 1888 London and it will come to you.)Any way after I got my Kona fantasy and sick jokes of how I could have fun with Victorian Medicine, I just began to appreciate the sheer joy of being out an running again. My New Balance 720s were feeling negelcted just being used for daily walks or household errands, so getting back on the road was a welcome release. Also my knees weren't as tight as they were on my IM+14 day 4 miler, so the 7 miles actually felt good. I noticed the Robins coming back, nearly had a Pheasant give me a heart attack, and just relished the fact that it was 5:30PM and I was not racing the setting sun. I was also surprised that despite my hiatus I still had about the same speed and base strength. I managed to get the run in in a not too shabby 1:03 so it was right on par with my normal training run. So all in all it was a pretty good day.

So there it was in essence I got some of what I needed to done, and took some time to clear my burdened head, all in all I'm feeling decent, not as good as I did post Ironman, but better than I did Monday Afternoon.

Hopefully switching to the B train

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.

Finally getting back into shape.

Yeah that's right I'm starting to make dents in my IM NZ training plan. I went for a 45 mile ride on Sunday in a section of the State where the cars are worth more than my life...and I'm not lying on that. ex. Mercedes E class cost $51,000 USD Bob-o's life insurance policy $22,000 USD. Seriously if I get taken out by a Porsche my insurance will barley cover removing the dent made from the impact that sent me on my "final flight". But aside from having to dodge the odd sports car and speeding gas guzzler. The ride from Woodbury to Lake Waramaug was pretty scenic and enjoyable. Surprisingly though it consisted of up hills both ways....next time I should just bite the bullet and ride back the way I came....I had to dismount for one descent ( due to a sharp ass left hand turn onto CT 199 and the fact that like in Wolcott the fine people of Washington Depot...(not Washington CT you guys rock!)..like to drive like Andretti and take that sharp little left hander without signaling) so in order to avoid and untimley death and my surviors being sued by some big shot attorney for damages done to an E-class I decided to coward out and walk doen the remaining portion of the hill....this would turn into a two mile oddesey of me clip-clopping in bike shoes due to the fact that at the bottom of said hill is the begining of a two mile assent and if I tried to re-mount I would most likely fall side ways into the path of an oncoming E-class. After that it was pretty smooth sailing.. alot of climbs and a semi frightening descent back into Woodbury ( being as I am still getting used to the Bitch Stomper I was unclipped and occassionally stuck my leg out to strech and give my self added stability).
Now on Sunday we ran out of diesel and since Mr. Mortgage Broker still hasn't come through and I am paying down the balance on my card for helpping with Melissa's tutition..I can not afford to get fuel oil so I now have pressure to get up early and hit the Y..If I don't I will smell like ass and in business that's not good....so Yesterday I got in a 2000 yard swim, this morning I decided to run through the west side after dropping my sister off, I parked at Holy Cross and went on one of my old high school training routes. I have to tell you when I was running for the track team our Highland ave. loop seemed like the closing miles of the Kona Marathon...one last uphill after an eternity of work and I was lucky to finish it in 40 min. Today I did it in 30 min. not bad for almost 4 miles. Now I don't know why but whenever I run lately I have Ludacris's " Move Bitch" stuck in my head..lucklily I don't sing out loud especially when I'm running in the Dirty Water other wise I'd be making the 5 o'clock news for a different reason than I like... So after my run through da" West Side!" it was to the Y to shower and I managed to get out with enough time to spare to actually get coffee and breakfast...que Dunkin Donuts commercial ..now... well I've got to get back to work... the IT department is watching...
R.D.

Zen: the art of long Distance Running.

Well Today was bittersweet on many levels. Yesterday I got in a 25 mile ride, ( didn't do the full distance I wanted and took a few wrong turns but eh whatever.) I did it at a spin lovely, where the hell am I going, watching out for gravel and grooved pavement sort of pace. I actually did but into some grooved pavement once again DOT is on my hitlist. Today started off good, crawled out of bed went to early Mass, got home ate mowed the lawn, got set to go out for a run, when the phone rang. My grandmother ( my mother's mother not the one with Alzheimer's ) has had a stroke. My mother bolted to the hospital to make sure she was alright ( alright being a relative term.) I took my youngest sister to her girl scout function, got home got a call from my pops, told him we'd call him at work if we got any more info. on how the G-ma was doing. I decided to continue with my plan for a long run. My family's been under a lot of stress lately and this healthcare crisis was like launching gasoline on a raging inferno. I decided I needed to get away for a couple of hours and let my thoughts fly ( granted I'm always off doing something anyway), ( so I prepped for a longer run..I decided on a 15-20 miler instead of my usual 10-15 miler, because starting next week begins my pre-half iron, pre-IM New Zealand transition to full IM training taper.) So I took off from my house trusty fuel belt on my hips, and made my way to Rte. 322, then shot past the golf course down the back half on Southington Mountain and then down Marion Rd./Ave. I ran past the cemeteries and I-84 merges to the Plantsville Dunkin Donuts, used the washroom and topped off the water bottles, and took off on the reverse route back to Wolcott. When I got to Southington Mountain, I decided to be cliche and resurrect a commercial form a long since retired local attorney's office and run up the mountain. Let me tell you 1.25 miles at 10% gradient is enough climbing for a month. I ran down Meriden Rd. my feet now starting to blister from a combo of no socks, shoe stiches, and road sand. I went down past the resivior I normally run by on my 7 miler and ran out of water as I passed the police sation. I made the familiar turn on to Woodtick and then Wolf Hill Rd. and then onto Brooks Hill and Hillside. I darted across 69 and up Potoccous ring rd. then on to Lyman and then took the familar turn on to Chesnut. all in all it was somewhere between 18-20 miles and a total time of 3:08.49. on the grand scale it was my first long run since the Country Music Marathon. My legs held up pretty well, I need to remember to use socks for my long runs, and I somehow have the closing scene from Rocky II when the Italian Stallion lays the smack down on Apollo Creed stuck in my head. ( seriously if they play the fight celebration song from any of the Rocky movies when I cross the line in Taupo I'm going to start a psychic friends network.) All the way when I ran I caught flashbacks of the Marathon in Nashville, The going out too fast, the bands playing and giving encouragement, Feeling good for the first 18 miles then falling on my ass for the next 5 before getting a second wind. I kept remebering the mistakes and how on this training run I was trying to avoid them ( accept I didn't bring enough fluids, next time all four bottles are getting a top off at D&D.) I kept imagining the finish line in Taupo, of my goal of trying to finish before sunset, I kept getting images of the future and started to think about crap from work, my grandmother, financial crap...then I brought myself out of it. As I ran I focused on the portion of road I was currently on. I tried to push out any thoughts that could bring me down..future races...family issues...my foot blistering up and blood staining my shoe....it worked for the first 16 miles until I ran out of water, and my heel started to tear up. But for 16 miles I was in running nirvana, before going through the last 3 trying to manage pain and dehydration. So all in all my run ws the best part of the day. I got in some mental clarity, LD training, and Rocky fight montages...for the price of a little dehydration and some blood stains on my old New Balances. ( which hey I need new shoes anyway.) It was worth it.

R.D.