The Exorcism of Bobby D.....

Alright my last few posts have been way too negative ...( I'm finding out the hard way that you sholud never post frustrated from the office especially not during an audit. That will suck the happiness out of even the most sunny personality.) I also guess that posting 1 post or in this case 2 posts in a day is proof of a complete lack of social life...(what the hell happended to me I used to be cool.) So now I must exorcise the whiny depressed bastard out of me again. My method..well the Church uses prayers in Latin, funny hats, incense and holy water, and if all else fails inviting the demon in and jumping down a steep flight of stairs....personally, I don't want to go the Father Karas Route....besides I don't feel like having to clean green puke off my walls at some ungodly hour of the night. I have decided the only way to rid my self of the whiny bitch is my invoking the true sprit of the Bitch Stomper. If the weather is good on Saturday I'm planning on a ride of 75 to 100 miles. I don't know when I'm leaving, don't know when I'll be back..just going out and riding where the road takes me...which is usually out to the lake, or Cheshire...or nowhere special. No worry's on gas prices as cookies, Gu and shot bloks tend to be a little cheaper than $4.00 a gallon.I've got two spare tubes, 2 CO2 cartridges, and the wonderful multi tool. I might drive to a strategic location, I might just leave from home, all in all it doesn't matter, I need some seat time to clear my head..and a Saturday morning free from the rat race sounds good to me.
The more I sit at home and stew,worry, and debate, the lower I'm going to get, at least on the road I can let my mind wander a little bit, and worry more about the semi coming up behind me instead of senseless shit I can't change.

Let the exorcism begin.

What's in a name.....

Well I could post about how I skipped class yesterday to do some much needed research, get in a much needed run ...and oh yes take a desperately needed nap...5 hour nights just ain't cutting it anymore...case in point I slept through my alarm twice this morning...my own fault for being up late, being non productive but still.



Anyhoo that is not what this post is about. Rather after a brief discussion with Ken at the Nutmeg State Half about the Jodi/Bob throw down ( sadly I can't make it to Steelhead, but if we both qualify for Clearwater your ass is mine Jodi! ( Howard Dean Yell here!)) Ken has already placed his bet on the side of the good Doctor. " no offense Bob but I think Jodi and Mike Honcho will school you and the Bitch Stomper." Said the Cookie Monster. Well from this smack came the idea of what to name your bike. Is there an interesting story behind it?



I'll divulge mine:

Last summer or "DebtFest 2007" I decided to throw down on a tri bike. Afterall I was flying Halfway around the World for an Ironman and I wanted to haul serious ass, and sadly I don't think my 23lb. Sora equipped road Bike ( Trusty Enrico, or my sister's lover, she chose the name becuase she was the one crammed up against it when we traveled the state to my various races. )My local bike shop really didn't offer much in the way of financing and sadly I had to defect to the other area shops. First I checked at Newington Cycle, they're a co-sponsor to the CCSU tri club, I know Jeff who is almost as trustworthy as Al ( lets face it Al and Blair have taught me everything I know about bike set ups, tuning, repair, how to patch a freaking flat.) Jeff is my tour BS kind of guy...and these guys carried trek and lemond as well as the Trek card. sadly the Trek bikes I had fallen in love with were all out of stock, and the Lemond in my price range wasn't looking too appealing. I saw an add for the Biker's Edge in Bristol spitting distance from my homestead and they carried Specialized, Trek and C-dizzle ( I didn't know where Central Wheel was at the time and I didn't want to traverse the State more than I had too. ) Needless to say that's where I found it, a $2000 piece of aluminum speedass. a 54cm Specialized Transition comp in Chrome Black Metalic. It had a 105 Crank, front deraileur, and Calipers..which hey it's an upgrade and a half from Sora...and the vernerable Ultegra 10 speed, rear cassette and rear deraileur......I was in love. I was fitted nearly match perfect to the damn thing. ( If anyone does go to the Biker's Edge, Ed or Bob will take care of you, and there was this one mechanic who was pretty cool, some of the young guys come accross as used car salesman.) needless to say I threw down $1600 on it, along with $200 for a bike rackthat sees more use in the Summer on shorter trips like pan New England ( as much as I want to use the rack on my Maryland Adventure I'm afraid of NY and PA traffic crushing my beloved steed.) and about $1k in shoes pedals and other accessories. When I finally got home with my new baby, I found my self thinking WWARD? ( What Would Angry Runner Do.) what would he say about this slammin' new set of wheels. Only one phrase came to mind " You could stomp some serious bitches on that bike." Thus it came to Pass that my Specialized Transition Comp became know Hence forth as The Bitch Stomper..and since that day in August it has left a path of death in destruction in the 20-24 age group that has been unparamounted.... well alright I won my age group twice and finished 20th in my Age Group and in the top 400 at Ironman New Zealand...but this summer muhahahah! Now if only I could get an extra Cassette, and maybe upgrade to full Ultegra, maybe some Zipp 1080's...alright I'll stop dreaming over componets and future up grades.


Oh yes and Consider yourself tagged..to write on your own bike naming experience ...or lack there of.

Back to the grind.
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.

For some odd reason I just cannot get this freaking long ride in.

Well Today was supposed to be devoted to distance a day of just me, The Bitch Stomper and the road around Lake Waramaug. I left early and got to the lake early, only to hear from a group of runners that the shoulder was a little slick. I decided to go and grab more Gatorade and this turned into a nice 20 min. adventure down Route 109 into New Milford. I got back to the lake and started riding at 10am I figured I should be able to get a nice 5 hours in the saddle...right? Wrong. About 15 miles in I get a text and a voicemail...." Hey Bob are you still on for the Boar's Head Festival tonight." oh shit that was this weekend I thought to myself. It is just my luck that I would volunteer to help at my Chuch's largest fundraiser and it would be held on the warmest Sunday in 3 months. I managed to eek out another 15 miles before going home showering and heading to the Shrine. Now the role I was playing in this little end of Christmas music/arts extravaganza was a pope bearer. Pretty much I carry some dude in a pope costume around.

Pretty much in a fashion similar to this. ( Ain't being Catholic great.) It was neat and the guy we had playing the Il Papa was pretty light . If fact it just might become a New Exercise routine: 10 x Standing Pope lifts. ... So it turned out to be a good night. Granted I still need to get a ride in. I decided that if I am scheduled off on Saturday I'm taking the day off, no covering at the last second, no being the good employee, I need to get this ride in before my class imposed taper. My foot is down and any one that has a problem with that can take it up with the Pope.....ok so he wasn't the real Pope but I'm getting this ride in. And I'm serious about it.

Pax

R.D.

New England Winter and 12 page term Paper...I Am BOB ALMIGHTY AND THY WILL WILL BE DONE

Okay I have officially given the finger to mother nature...it is supposed to ice, snow, freeze and be just plain miserable for the rest of the week. But I will have a lovely strech early Sunday morning to crankout a 15 miler..( I'll most likely blow off Mass, but may the good Lord forgive me and give those poor starving kids in Somolia something to eat.) Last night I had to skip masters due to an" Alberta Clipper" that made roads in my part of the state down right impassable, or was it those kids in their Imprezas that think that because they got 4 wheel drive they can do 70 mph on ice.

The above photo is a common sight in Wolcott in the winter. Any hoo I decided to stay home and pop in my new Spinervals 2 hour aerobic DVD....I was in the blue zone the entire time yet I was still sweating like a sumo wrestler in a sauna... granted my bike is set up right infront of my heater.....so yes I have kona-esque conditions to train in....a cool breeze and people handing out water bottles, and coasting will make IM New Zealand seem like a heaven...until I do something stupid like go anaerobic at the 50 mile mark....or get fed up with going nowhere on the trainer. Today I woked and froze my tail off. My printer on the drive through will not operate after prolonged periods in the cold so the heater at my window was permenately affixed on the printer as my co-workers and I froze ( I tried moving the heater at one point but the damn printer froze after about 3 minutes...so the machine won out over homeostasis) I got to the local Y and did a 3100 yard work out my first pool time since Tuesday.

Now part of me feels like I'm undertrained...I've never done a century ride yet I'm trying to race one and throw a marathon ontop of it. I've done long runs so I know I can handle the run, I was practically born in the pool so the swim will be the fun part...despite the greco-roman wrestling at the start....start wide cut in...my mantra to avoid elbows to the face. But the bike the "easy" part is what's giving me anxiety...over and over I've read the articles about guys who've gone into Ironman's completely read to rumble yet have suffered on the ride and had been shot to hell on the run. The fact that I have had to rely on the trainer for the last two weeks, and will most likely rely on it for this week are running through my mind along with the words of Roch and Paul , and Cycling Guru from the Y....you cannot not expect to tackle the Ironman bike doing all of your long rides on a trainer...yet for me this seems to be grim reality as mother nature bitch slaps my training program, Yes I do need to get on the road when and where it's possible ( hoping for a January Heatwave..I don't need 70's like last year but a couple of ice/snow free weeks with some 45-55 degree days would be ideal... I only need 3 Sat/Sun. 1 for the long ride 2 for the long bricks.)but the constant spinning on the trainer should help my legs get used to 5 hours of suffering in the saddle...the words of Jeff, the Newington Bike Shop's, multi Iron Finisher when I told him my longest ride so far was only about 70 miles , were encouraging..." You'll be fine...you may not win it but you should finish." Well the finish was never in doubt...barring injury....but it's just I don't want to be a back of the packer...I have a medal streak going that I'd like to uphold...also I would love a non-lotto Kona slot to add to my wall of achievements...but I still have a shot at Eagleman...but that will be a day of untold pain/pushing to the absolute limit/ and going anaeorbic until the latic acid fills my eye balls and gushes out my ears... and that might not get me a slot with some of the speed demons that show up....to anyone at the office don't expect me on on June 9....the Ironman in NZ seems a little more realistic but my main worry is the bike...I know I will come out in the mix on the swim...I could have a good shot in the run ( granted they've got some sub 3:30 runners in my group...my goal of a 3:45-4:00 marathon might not be enough.) but it is that 5 to 6 hours of mystery on The Bitch Stomper that has me leary....will I come off "fresh" and ready for action...or will I be getting passed by power walkers....will my training be enough to meet the cutoff....will my body be ready for road vibration... all the ifs....it's like I'm standing at the swim start and looking into the ocean and I don't have a clue which way the current is flowing...the only thing I am sure of is the Start Saturday March 1, 2008 7AM ....and I have until 12:00AM Sunday March 2 to get it done.

Rocky IV Trainner workout.

Okay I have fallen into the cliche of Cold Weather Training Montages inspired by the classic movie Rocky IV, In the last two weeks I have been forced to run in sub-freezing temperatures, cycle in the same conditions ( and have finally resigned myself to the fact 2 to 3 hour trainner sessions will be the norm.) Luckily my local pools are indoor and heated, other wise I would be pulling the Parka to Jammer to Parka deck change, which is never fun. Well anyway, the "seasonable" weather has shown up Snow flurries and light sleet yesterday, more sleet, rain, freezing rain, this morning so the roads are dangerous enough in my ironclad subaru let alone on a tri bike with slick tires. Yesterday I cranked out a 90 min. trainner session on TBS to the movie Rocky 4 ironically enough. I really pushed in the trainning montage in which Apollo's Creed's trainer starts shouting, "There is no pain" and Rocky claws his way up an ice covered mountain after ditching his KGB escort, now seriously what does clawing up an ice covered peak have to do with boxing?( about as much as a boxing moive has to do with the Ironman. could be a witty retort.) Needless to say this session with a ready to go out and kick the world's ass kind of feeling. Went and grabbed dinner than decided hell, I'll try to put in another 2 hours, well I got 30 min. into the Motorcycle Diaries before my legs screamed "No mas." so in total I managed about 2 hours on the trainer, which according to Triathlete Magazine's all knowing gurus Paul and Roch equates to a 4 hour ride.( due to constant spinning and no coasting on down hills or flats.) As mentioned before the falling ice made geting a run in impossible, I might squeeze in some running time this afternoon before Class but we'll see ( it all depends on how good the walk ways are.) otherwise some pool time on a dead night seems a better alternative. The forecast for the rest of the week shows mostly cold and clear, with a chance of snow on Wed. and possibly Sunday into Monday. So I might not be a slave to the treadmill and trainer after all. We'll see.

The Count of Monte Fisto, the Master of Disaster, 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.

Freezing my Beans off....

Ever notice how biking conditions in New England go from this
To this in about 2 weeks.

Well that's the phrase that best explains how I spent my weekend. Friday, after much drama at the Bank, the cops showed up and long story short left us a man down, I went to masters and actually got in a well deserved 4000 yard work out in the confines of the heated pool....that would be the warmest I'd be all weekend. On Saturday after 3 hours at the ball and chain...which helps me pay for the sport I love so dearly...I threw down $60 at the bike rack on sexy new tights and toe covers...then it was off to Woodbury for what was supposed to be a 50 miler.....key word supposed to be. After taking my chances with a foilage covered "s" curve I decided to skip going down the "steep hill" on the Griskus Olympic course and shot out on to Route 6 via Cat Swamp , ( same amount of desecnding but broken into 3 small hills instead of the drop off the face of the earth. After climbing up Route 132 in to Bethlehem..(see my Mother of all Bricks post for route description). I was hit with a savage cross wind as I descended toward Weekeepeemee rd. Now I have a habit with coasting with my left knee elevated so the wind blowing my to the left made feel like I was going to go down hard, seeing gravel on weekeepeemee rd. didn't ease my mind so I made the semi-executive descion to keep on Route 132.....Enter drop off the face of the earth hill here...

I descended at about 30mph unclipping my right shoe and sticking my foot out when I thought I was going to go knee against asphalt....I had a small burner after it which I breezed up and the I was met with....the Wall.....

Instead of manning up and climbing it I dismounted had a normann stadler moment in my mind....the walked back to weekeepeemee being passed by a dude on a trek . When I got to weekeepeemee I decided to walk the bike down it was then I discovered the gavel was washed to the sides, but the influx of volunteer firefighters crusing out to the main road...and the uncertainty of the cross winds..made me decided to walk the bike another half mile until I reached asphalt....needless to say I was ticked I climbed up to Flanders road and descended back to route 6 ( by passing the climb past the abbey and condemning another hot young thing to the convent....I mean allowing a young lady to enter religious life without my interference...) I climbed up cat swamp and finshed the remaing portion of the Griskus bike loop. I got back to the car after a 26 mile bike/1 mile walk. and did I loop of the run course. Not a bad day...but pretty pathetic for Ironman trainning.

Today I decided on doing loops of Lake Waramaug. Now I figured it was safe no traffic..brutal crosswinds, yet flat terrain...I figured I'd do about 8 to 10 loops figuring it was sheltered...well I got 2.5 done before the wind got the better of my feet . I did three loops and packed it in....I almost ran but the setting sun, freezing feet and the gathering of park rangers ready to ticket my car if I kept it after the 4:30PM close time derailed that plan. So with that being said it looks like I've got a lot of long trainer sessions and purchases of wool socks ahead. Which leaves me with a brillant new event idea:

The Lake Waramaug Freeze Your tail off 100.

15 loops of the lake, with the state park as the start /finish...it has ample facilities ( out houses, parking so you can store excess food, water bottles, foot warmers, ) Come on I know someone out there's carzy enough to do this thing with me....well maybe not....Well now I've got to rest up and tabulate how much more debt I can rack up buying the equipment to train for this Ironman.

The Icy Ironman

R.D.

Night Ride.....kind sorta

well for the first time since friday, I manned up and decided to ride The Bitch Stomper on its true domain: The open road. Braving Temps hovering in the low 40's high 30's I walked out layered well on my upper half ( Wool beanie, those stretchy running gloves, base layer tank top, dri release t- shirt, Holy Cross track long sleeve, Louis Garneau long sleeve jersey ( reflective yellow)) but was wearing only bike shorts and two pairs of socks covering the lower half, the logic was the constant climbing of the hills in the burbs would warm my legs. I managed to eek in 12 miles before it got too dark for me to be seen by speeding rush hour traffic, yet surprisingly most motorists gave me room (You guys who gave me room rock!) I descended down Lyman road at the wuss-esque 24 miles per hour ( stupid potholes.) climbed into Waterbury and road past Montoe Park then on to North main, past the Russian Orthodox Church and began the big climb back into Wolcott, as I approached the top I ran my hand over my head and felt only the soft wool of the beanie....I had done the first and most dangerous six miles of my ride sans helmet, two thoughts ran through my head as I pedaled back home to grab my blue plastic second skull, the first : I was bad ass like those guys who did the tour in the 80's . Nothing like descending the Calibier with your mullet blowing wildly knowing one wrong move and it's be au revior, Bernard* ( shameless reference to the 5 time tour champ.) the second was the primal fear of if I got hit I would be an instant organ donor. (I told my parents if I ever crashed hard and they were picking up grey matter off the road, then you might as well give my organs away because I most likely won't recover from that.) Any way I made it home got the helmet and desecnded the other side of Lyman rd. to Route 69 for my second 6. As I crossed 69 during a luck lull in the traffic, I made my way toward Scovil's dam. The cross wind kicked up and unlike in other rides where I slowed my pace , I kicked it up a knotch, with a "bring it bitch" attitude. I got around the lake then started the big climbs up Boundline rd. ( those of you wondering why I was able to climb geer mountain with out dismounting this climb is why.) The hill starts gradual with one quick burner then a nice false flat and a major burner that curves to the top. Well I kicked it into "lance armstrong mode" spinning as much as the gears would allow to the top, occasionally getting out of the saddle to push. I rode past the cemetery , high school and library descending down route 322 past Pat's IGA. I climbed up Beach Rd. a long gradual climb past the nursing home and then took it through my "old hood" before riding home. 12 miles wasn't bad for about 45 minutes. my legs held up well but my feet were blocks of ice so a set of toe covers is a purchase coming in the near future. All in all it wa a good day of training i went to class but the run never matetrialized although my bio professor and I talked for about 50 min. on training, treatment for shin splints, and other running topics so I guess that counts right. Well back to Work,
The Tell-Tale Teller
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.

Enough about baseball..my Ironman training so far....

Well my last few posts have dealt mostly with the New York Yankees post Season performance (or lack there of) so I guess now I should deal with my own post season evaluations. As many of you know I am training for Ironman New Zealand ( the financial implications are difficult to explain but hopefully I will pull this off...I'm filing my taxes at midnight Jan.1 so I can get my refund quickly to pay for this bitch...) So far the training has been not as intense as I would have hoped for, granted I'm only two weeks in . In the past week my runs have consisted of a 4 miler last Tue. on Central's rock hard knee killing indoor track, a 6 miler on the pitted back roads of my home town last Thursday, and a 12 miler on the same roads on Saturday Tomorrow Afternoon I'm hoping to cram in a 6 miler before class.. My pool performances have ranged from the grand total of 8, 200 yards I did last week ( 2000 on Mon., 3000 on Tues. and 3200 on Friday) this week I'm on pace to crack 10,000 ( I did 3200 yesterday, will do about 3500 tonight, and hopefully another 3000 tomorrow morning plus my Friday 3000 + master's workout) Yet the finding time to get in the necessary bike distances is tough. Last week I managed to get in a 50 miler on Sat. This week I only eked out a 25 mile ride on Sunday night and nearly killed myself on the trainer ( stupid uneven floor surface) causing me to feel shaky at best on it ( so much for my idea of watching the playoffs while riding to better fitness, granted now that the Yankees are done there is little point for me to watch accept that Colorado might Win the World Series which would be sweet for them, so the Ironman/TDF highlight dvd's will be getting much use.) Indeed I want to get as much time on the Bitch Stomper as possible. I know my reliable road bike ( Enrico) can handle any terrain and high cross winds but I really need to get used to how TBS ( The Bitch Stomper) will handle on varied terrain, and variable weather, also the fact I have to get used to clipping and unclipping into my Look pedals ( which I am very comfortable clipping in but bailing out is still a chore.) the unseasonably warm weather seems to be at an end which means the window for me to get in real long rides and not trainer simulations is closing rapidly by the day, ( and sadly my town is mostly hills that are not plowed exceptionally well and I do not find the idea of riding on a icy and steep descent while dodging speeding traffic fun. So on tap for the week are a lot of swim and run work outs ( which I can easily fit into my packed schedule) and trainer sessions in my room ( which has a steadier floor surface than my living room) and Hopefully long out door rides on Saturday and Sunday. At the End of the Month I have a week of vacation, so if the weather co-operates with me I will be able to have a real hammerfest bike focus week. (I will be stringing 25 mile daily rides together with a 75-100 mile ride and 10 mile run brick that Saturday. )All in all I'm hoping to at least have the base for the Ironman by Jan. and hopefully mother nature will bless Connecticut with a warm apocalyptic style global warming , winter ( you know the kind you can wear shorts on Christmas kind of Winter) So I will have the ability to still get in long rides on roads that are not covered in icy, snow, rock salt, sand, calcium brine, or some sick combination of all of them.
Well that's all I've got for now...If any one has any winter biking tips please post them on the comment board...any help I can get in this department is appreciated.
R.D.

Nutmeg State Half Iron Recap.

Well it was a long hard day at the office Sunday., but I survived. My legs are in somewhat good shape, but my lower back feels like Muhammad Ali has been throwing punches on my synoptic nerve. Here's how it all went down.




Pre race: 3 hours of sleep is not recommended

After a late night on Saturday ( took Bjoern up to preview the course, the pre race meeting the Olive Garden carb binge followed by the oh shit I haven't packed any of my crap for the race tomorrow so I was up until 1 in the morning getting my shit together mad dash.) I woke up promptly at 4:30 then rolled over until 4:45....I got up shaved my face ( those of you who saw the bike course post know why and I would need all the speed possible ), showered and put on a mix of body glide and degree. Woke up Chrissy, Then packed a cooler full of water, snapple, beer ( for the post race HEAT gathering, sadly after this one no one was in the mood for a brew so I wasted $1.25 on ice and cooler space for nothing...although the Miller Lite was nice and cold when I woke up from my post race hibernation last night.) We made our usual cumby's dunkin donuts run. ( for ice, Gatorade ( I wasn't taking any chances at this one) coca-cola ( for Chris while spectating and for my stomach after this shin-dig), coffee, a bagel ( I wasn't chancing it with laxatives...I mean Clif Bars.) and then it was off to Waramaug ..about a hour later than I wanted . We we arrived we were directed to park at the the same random field as we were for the Nutmeg State Sprint except this time we could ride down route 45. I looked at my watch it was 6:30 and the swim started at 7am. I grabbed my crap...pumped up my tires and descended down route 45 helmetless with no regard for my life..( Christina said she was tired and was going to try to nap..can't blame her I was running on 3 hours sleep. ) I made it down to transition found Bjoern ( who decided he was going to go sans wet suit on this one..he hates the long sleeves, says it puts pressure on his shoulder...to each his own.) I found my slot on the rack ( grateful they had given out packets the night before. ) Hastily set up transition and ran to body marking my wet suit flung over my shoulders and swim gear in hand...it was 6:50. I got into body marking and luckily it was a short line. I was marked up and pulled on my wetsuit at water's edge. It was 6:58 and I threw on my cap and goggles as Mandy's voice came over the loudspeaker that they were delaying the start. ( apparently they had a storm the night before and it blew several of the buoys off course.) Relieved I walked into the water and did a quick warm up. I found Bjoern and directed him over to far end of the swim start ( start wide cut in.) He took up his position at about mid pack and I lined up at the front with Max and the elites. John Hirsch ( the MC) got on the mic. " Are you guys ready to take on the toughest Tri Course in New England!" After a somewhat subdued Yeah! from most of us. They started blaring disturbed's "get down with the sickness" as we began the count down to wave1's ( the Men's wave women, relay, and aquabike were wave 2) start.







The Swim: "Glare shouldn't be a problem."



10..9...8...7...6...5..4..3..2..1..the air horn sounded and we were off into the water. Since we started in the lake in an area that was about waist deep I didn't really have to run much. I dove in and began to charge toward the inside. It was quite a psyche up when we swam past the first buoy and I only saw two white caps ( age groupers Max and and some other dude.) and 3 red ( elites) in front of me. I held on to the leaders as we swam past the next three orange buoys and made the right turn at the first green one. that's when the glare kicked up. As soon as I passed the buoy I found my self staring directly into the sun. I swam about 10 more strokes blind before asking the dude in the kayak were the next buoy was He pointed me toward the orange turn buoy at which I turned left and tried to sight the green return buoys back to the beach. I got the first one no problem and then found my self again staring directly into the sun. I saw a white swim cap about 200 meter ahead and followed it. passing three more green buoys before I could hear John's voice on the loud speaker and see nothing but trees, lake and blinding white light. I decide to aim for the sun and go until I hit land ..or drowned one of the two..apparently god must have been reading my thoughts a a cloud suddenly blocked the sun and I had a clear view of the beach...I started running toward the shore hearing John blast into the microphone...something about "He's doing Ironman New Zealand in March...He's a force to be reckoned ..." I started to stagger toward the wrong side of the beach When John blared " No Dude this way"and " Max is only about 2 minutes ahead." motioning toward my left. I ran up the stairs through the start/finish timing mat my wetsuit half off and just pulling off my cap and goggles. Total Swim time: 25:43 not my greatest performance but pretty damn good. 5th fastest swim split of the day.


T1:Spooty computer!


I pulled my wetsuit off crammed two Gu's into my rear pocket and threw on the helmet and sunglasses. I ran the bike out stopping at the edge of transition to reset my bike computer. After getting passed by one guy from Tri Fitness as I struggled to slip my feet into my shoes as I mounted the Bitch Stomper it was off for 56 miles of "bliss". total T1:2:59





The Bike: Race or Death March?


From the day after my practice ride until the moment I hit T2 my strategies for the bike were the following


1) SURVIVE!


2) Go out conservative save the legs for the run


3) Do not dismount and walk your bike up the hill unless absolutely necessary.


4) Hydrate! Hydrate! HYDRATE!


The climb up 45 wasn't too bad. I coasted down the descent on College farms road. and took on the monster on Angvine Rd. ( getting passed by one guy on a road bike. and whispering to myself "is this all you got you bitch!") I descended down Town Hill Rd. Hitting the brakes only when approaching turns yet I was still caught and passed by three guys, one dude on a guru and two cervelo punks. The two Cervelo dudes nearly missed the turn on to Cemetery rd. and then they over shot the turn on to Rt. 45 at the Warren town Green, yet the turned at the stop light allowing them to coast down a small hill in a pace line as I hammered it out on the flatter race route. watching helplessly as they stormed passed. When we turned on to Melius Rd. It became quite apparent I was in too high of a gear and yet another cyclist stormed past. I managed to eek out of this section on giving up 3 spots before the descent back onto Route 45 ( and the HEAT chick With the cowbell directing traffic.)When we got onto brick School Rd. I hit my favorite part of the course and was subsequently able to pass two riders on the rolling terrain, yet the fact that time trial bikes are not made for climbing and my inability to choose the right gear coming off of a fast descent on to a semi steep hill , made my repasses short lived. After dilly-dialling on this lovely rolling portion of the course it was on to Rt. 341. Two Mount Southington-esque climbs were wedged between two flat some what down hill sections. I tried to get aero on the flats but a nasty little crosswind kept forcing me back into the bullhorns to control the wily Bitch Stomper. Also after being passed by 3 guys on the first of the 341 climbs I had a Near Death Experience (NDE) In the form of a Honda Accord hooking a U- turn..She saw the first three cyclists didn't she know there were more behind....oh well...to make a long story short I descended down the little descent ( the one right after the steep grade sign...) with reckless abandon ( only going into the bullhorns when I felt the wind pushing me toward the Yellow Line. ) The frightening descent was not so bad when I took it at speed. Although I had to brake for the sharp left hander at the bottom..the more frightening thing was I had to feather the brakes through out the curve ( which I was taking at 30 mph.) making me feel rather unsteady on the bike. I was passed by three more people and then caught by a group of 3 shoreline sharks as we hit the flat /false flat section up to camp flat rd. After a short bout of minor climbs and descents we made the sharp left onto Geer Mtn. Now the first Part of Geer Mtn. ain't bad. It's fairly flat and passes a small pond a nice house with a white picket fence and duck crossing sign...when we looked ahead and saw the trees rising we knew what was in store..." well this is it." we said to one another as we attacked the first climb. The guys from Shoreline sprinted ahead getting out of the saddle and powering up the smaller of the Geer Mtn. Climbs. I held back getting up only when necessary then sitting right back down to conserve energy for the big one. We turned the corner and hit a small flat section before making the turn on to the climb. Again the Sharks attacked I stayed in the saddle until half way up and then made the turn onto where the rest of the climb showed its ugly head. Out of the saddle and pushing the lowest gear I made systematic spurts riding out of the saddle and pushing and then when near the top sitting back down then getting back out of the saddle to make a final push up the steepest part of the grade. I watched as the over anxious sharks dismounted and walked their bikes up . One guy struggle to clip back in cussing out his pedals. My lead over the 3 sharks was short lived as they flew by on the descent and then the subsequent little burners after ward...my legs weren't shot but my back was feeling the Heat of a lot of out of the saddle efforts. We passed Ken's aid station as we made the set up descent/minor climb toward Anderson. My bottles were only half empty so I didn't take on new ones. on Anderson I pushed into the highest gears and let the bike coast down the first hill On the big hill I started to feather the brakes as I made the sharp right then left. On the third hill I feathered to set up for the inside line on the sharp Upper Kent Hollow turn. Again I was passed by 2 or three riders. On upper Kent Hollow the hills hit hard and often and culminated with a nasty little burner to get back onto Rte.341...then it was time to do it again, but thankfully the race directors cut the descent on 341 and another shot on Geer Mtn. out of the second loop. For this my legs were grateful. As we approached Warren for the Second loop i noticed I was too close to the guy in front of my so I had to drop back as we approached a group of spectators including the head referee on one of the several little climbs on 341. We approached warren Town Center and took a left at the stop light down a slight little hill and then the quick sudden little up hill on Melius Rd. Sadly I had kept my bike in my high gear and and I watched helplessly as two more competitors went flying by. I finally got to a portion of the road where I could down shift and tried to take off in pursuit of the spots I had lost. Yet sadly the soul was strong but the soles were weak...two more guys got me on the up hill I was plummeting down the overall like a stone..... I regained some hope as I got around two guys on the Flat Rocks to 45 descent. Yet I was re passed once again on Brick School ( Shout out to HEAT chick with Cow Bell best traffic director all day.) As we got to 341 and then the short little climb to South Rd. The cross winds were reeking hell on my descent ( robbing me of speed ) and forced me to ascend with very little momentum. I saw one of the dudes in front and dis mount to pee on a short fast down hill section after a tight left turn. Then watched him going flying past about a mile down the road. We approached Ken's Aid station for the second time. I ditched my Empty Gatorade Bottle and hit the brakes to slow down to grab a new one. The bike got side ways sending me into the bullhorns and past the first 3 volunteers but quick thinking by the last volunteerr with Gatorade, a shaky hand off and securing of the bottle of electrolytes, and a quick shout to Ken, " is it in the cage?" Ken replied "you got it Bob, Watch out for the left hander." I descended down the hill and through the tight little hair pin. I turned left on to Anderson and was feathering the brakes allowing two more guys by and one old dude ( injury to pride) on a Cervelo ( insult to injury) by,as I woed up for the " if you don't brake you will find yourself going over a guardrail at 50 mph and on a gunnery ride to the hospital" left hander. As me and the old evil bike riding dude approached the tight left on the Upper Kent Hollow we were greeted by a lack of volunteers at the intersection and an E-class and a quattro making their way up the hill. as soon as the German steel rumbled past. I made my only successful repass of the bike leg, out breaking old cervelo guy and hammering away on the relatively flat part of the road. When I got to the burner I saw the two other guys, serpenting their way up zig-zaging up the hill to try to keep some momentum. I kick the bitch stomper into the lowest gear...gritted my teeth and felt my back and quads scream out in pain as I slowly ascended the beast. When I got to the top exhausted and hypoxic I muttered under my breath...."Upper Kent Hollow you have been bitch stomped." Getting back onto 341 was no piece of cake, the little rollers continued to sap much needed energy and the cross winds on the unlettered sections of road made getting aero a death wish. When i reached Warren town Center I kicked into the highest gear and descended down to the Cornfield full aero and with no regard for my life, at the Corn Field I took the hill I descended earlier in the morning and attacked it Pedaling full bore full areo in high gear, braking only for the turn back toward the beach club. I slid out of my shoes as I slowed for the turn and rode the last 10 feet to the dismount line both bare feet on one pedal....sexiest dismount of my life I hopped off the bike and hobbled into transition Total Bike time: 3:35.30 ( my time for the Patriot half was 3:02 for 60 miles on a flat course so yes the elevation gain of nearly 6600 feet ( or so according to Max's sexy equipment) did take its toll.)

T2: OW My BACK!

I placed my bike back on the rack and took off the helmet. My lower back was killing me . I tried to reach down for an extra Gu and I thought I would rip something. I bent back wards trying to stretch out from being hunched over the bull horns for nearly 4 hours. I managed to pick up my shoes and put them on while standing , followed by my visor and I strapped on ( man that sounds dirty..) my race belt as I shuffled out of T2 after 2:38 of pain.

Run: My Name is Macca Bitches!/ or The go HEAT Run!

As I hobbled out of T2 my mind was sending messages to my legs to "stop this madness!" Me never being one to interpret my body's signals to preserve itself or listen to conventional wisdom Continued out on course at a slower than normal pace approaching the first aid station just before the first mile marker in about 8:00. I saw Max fly by in pursuit of the race leader and shouted out a little encouragement as I began to settle into my " not exactly full blown sprint, yet not really loafing it either." pace. on the run they had us do this weird " lollipop" or loop of a Cull Du sac they would have us do it twice a lap so on the first loop through I grabbed a Gatorade endurance at the first aid station. on the lollipop.( ironically 200 feet from the first but we had to make the turn.) It was powdery but my body needed electrolytes I hadn't gotten to drink from the bottle Ken gave me on the bike. We made the approach out to the turn around and I began to reel in a couple of guys. One of the shore line guys was cramping at the turn around. I gave him some encouragement. He replied " I'm not giving up but there's a good chance I'll drop dead." My reply was " Well then I'm going to have to pick up your corpse and carry it with me." Man isn't it amazing what endorphins can do. As I made my way back to the lollipop I saw Mike heading toward the turn around. We mutually greeted eachother with a high five and a "Go HEAT!" I went through the lollipop grabbing another gatorade and two waters ( one which found itself being doused over My head. ) I ran back out to finish my loop of the "lollipop" and again greeted Mike, the Miro who was closing in on him fast. As I made my way back toward the Transition turn around I saw Sean and he too was met with the same encouragement. I made my way back to the first aid station begining my second loop I grabbed a water and a rasberry hammer gel ( yes I had my Gu but the Rasberry Hammer Gel has never given me ills on a long run. ). I once again saw Max and shouted out to him I was met with a" go Rob! " as I began my next to last tour of the lollipop. As I ran out othe turn /aid station section I grabbed a handful of pretzels and more water, surprised by yhte fact that I did not have to pee. As I chugged down the cup of Water I had nightmares of collasping at the line Julie Moss / Chris Leigh style. As I ran back down on to North Shore rd. I watched as the battle between Mike and Miro heat up ( no pun intended) I ran down to the turn around taking more Water and Gatorade passing the increasing lap traffic as I did. As I made the turn around i saw Bjoern running in full long sleeves and long pants.( he explained later that his tri suit leggings were cutting off circulation...any one looking for a Christmas gift for Bjoern Size Large Louis Garineau Tri Shorts.) ..I shouted out some encouragement to him As I ran past. As I made my way back toward the lollipop I notcied on guy rolling up the pant on his tri suit and ..um..er...well relieving him self along the road...I have to admit despite it's ..well ...exhibitionist approach it does beat wetting the chamois of your tri shorts. Another guy stopped and started to relieve his bladder into the lake. I ran past Mike again and gave him some encouragement as I entered the lollipop. I took water and gatorade from both stations this was the last fuel stop. I pushed out on to the flat section and began final approach back to the finish line slightly kicking up my pace. And older guy I had been sort of battling with the entire way managed to get around me at the last aid station as we both went through taking on nothing. I stared to lose the old Dude as Sean came past. " half mile to go man! "" he shouted out as he went past. I kicked up a little more but the gatorade and water started to slosh in my stomach. I looked back there was no body my age that was really close. I kicked up to a comfortable-uncomfortable pace. I made the turn in as Michelle ( a member of Cen Tri and Bjoern's "American Mom" ) Jim and Karen cheered me in. Christina was sitting on the wall at the other side of Transition and cheered as I ran past. I made a dart for the finish line and crossed it pumping my fist in the air for the last 150 meters. I didn't care where I finished at that moment, I didn't care about time I survived. and I was going to get my Gatorade, finisher's towel ...and complementary Massage for my aching back. I heard Karen call out " Rob Good Job you broke six hours!"All In all heres's the tail of the tape for this section. Run Split: 1:52:53 44th fastest of the day Ovearll time 5:59.43 broke the six hour barrier with 17 seconds to spare.
Post Race: The Short Version.
I went back toward the finish to wait for Bjoern but as I tried to strech I realized I needed something to loosen up my back. I went over to Michelle who congratulated me and gave me back my street shoes ( I had handed them to her in Transition before the start because Chrissy was still up at the car. ) I told Chrissy I was getting a rub down. She replied she was heading back to the car. I could get into other post race details, but for length's sake and the fact that it has taken me 3 nights to get this down I won't. Short version is I won my age group Bjoern was second ( 40 min. back running in cold weather gear to boot.) and some kid from south Boston snatched up the final podium slot. So all in all it was a good day. A nice long finish to a nice long season. i don't know what's instore for me next. I decided to take a rest week ( maybe getting a couple hundred yards in the pool here or there). I have a lot of reflection to do and a lot of Prep work as well Ironman New Zealand is only 5 months away.. and the winter is closing in. The one final up note I finally made good on my promise to win my age group at an endure it multisport event. Ken I'm buying this jersey from you because I've been unbeatable with it. That's all for now.
The Hypoxic/Endorphine high/ writing this blog two days late triathlete.
R.D.

Enrico Rides Again! and the week or so in review....

That's right it's been a while but I've been busy ( classes, working, lifeguarding, selling some of my possessions/soul to help my sister get to college, cramming in time to train. I feel flabby I've only run once this week. and I will get in a 7 miler tomorrow to get prepped for Hammerfest and little race coming up in a week. Sunday was a good day as I blew the dust off of trusty Enrico and went on a 6 town 60 mile tour of New Haven and Hartford County.

Yes for those of you who don't know Enrico is my sisters' pet name for my road bike. I am currently in the process of debating whether or not reliable Enrico ( with it's road gearing and granny gear goodness) to power my way through a New England Pyrenees senario or if I should suffer the climbs on The Bitch Stomper to gain speed and braking confidence on the flats and suicidal decents. It's such a tough call. For my long ride on Sunday I took out old Enrico and decended down to route 69 ( using a sucidal hill that I crawled down because cars F**king fly up and down it and I don't want to be a road pizza 2 miles in.) After crossing and turning on to 322 climbing "the Hill" near Pat's IGA I was treated to car infested rolling pavement until the usual fork in the road ( where I always go left ) and decended past the golf course into Southington. If I had gone right I would be treated to a 70-80 mph descent down the 10% gradient Southington mountain... trying to stop....not my idea of fun.....any way when I reached the bottom of 322 I took a right on to Marion Rd. I followed Marion Rd. Past Ansico Farms..over a hairy stech of grooved asphalt..across route 70. Then onto Route 70 then onto route 10 staying far to the right to avoid traffic and onto 42 to Lock 12 park and the canal trail. I followed the bike trail all the way to Hamden then back to its start point in Cheshire ( about 18-20 miles) I back roaded it to route 70 before crossing back onto Marion Rd. and then when I reached 322 I crossed and followed the other half of Marion rd. into Southington. I stopped at the Dunkin Donuts on route 10 to umm well..drain mass quantities of electrolyte replacement beverage. before backtracking to the bike trail which took me to downtown Southington. I rode through down town and stopped at the CVS on route 10 for much needed H20 and Gatorade. I followed Route 10 through Plantsville back to Marion Road. I did my second fly by of the three colonial era cemeteries then got to the base of the mountain. With my legs screaming for mercy, my brain trying to get in desperately needed salt, and my ego saying "Bring it On Bitch!" I climbed the 1.25 mile 10% grade monster averaging between 6.5 and 7 mph ( what hill's my bitch? ). I rode down Meriden road through the whole confusing three towns at once section ( officially putting me in Cheshire, Waterbury and Wolcott at the same time for 2 seconds) I then turned right onto Todd Rd. ( and officially back into Wolcott) and rode through it's nice somewhat pitted rollers, finishing off with a lovely 40-45mph descent. I turned on to Wood tick road and rode past rode up boundline again getting on to route 322 before getting onto 69 and doing a lap of my old hood and riding the last quarter mile home. All in all it was about 60 miles. in 5 hours average speed was about 16.5 mph not an earth shattering record breaking pace but it wasn't supposed to be. I capped my Sunday off with a 3100 yard pool work out up at Central. Monday was a some what rest day...went to class ,lifeguarded. got in about 1000 yards in the pool trying to pace Bjoern. Tuesday I got up early and got in a 4 mile run, followed by work, class, a 3500 pool workout and collasping until 8 am this morning. Today had plans for a 6 miler between work and class but a mad scramble to help my sister get fundage for college took precsdence ( how do you measure true love your brother will cancel his work out, max out his cards, sell his old books, and offer to pawn his high school ring for you. Along with your parents and other siblings doing the same...and when we find that mortgage broker who's been jerking us around for 6 months....well...alright it's not his fault our other lender is being a dick ..it's complicated and neither here nor there.) Tonight finds me letting off good karma and bad steam into the blogosphere.I've got 12 computer science questions plus 6 hours of sleep to get in so I can cram in my 7 miler tomorrow before work, school, and flirting with the sexy chicks from my guard chair. Leave the Love, or hate, or apathy, or utter randomness. Also Please Donate to the War on ALS! Even though it might sound completely insensitive we really need to Bitch Stomp this disease!

R.D.

Stay Back Or I'll shoot you all like dogs.....

Well I was trying to get a picture to illistrate this fact ( and quote blantantly stolen from the 1997 movie Titanic ...the one where the second officer is threatening a group of guys trying to swarm a lifeboat and he pulls out a .45 magnum ( ok it was a .38 but it would have been cool if he went dirty harry) in fact there where only three good things about that movie 1. historical accuracy with the crew, sets, sinking sequence ( love story was a utter and completely cliche lie) 2. special effects 3. Kate Winslet's umm...well....nice drawing...) So I will illistrate the fact of what my day ( at least from 10-2. Another branch needed help and plane tickets to New Zealand don't pay for themseleves.) will look like with this other semi-violent crowded picture:

Hurry he's got cash! It alway seems like Saturday on the labor day weekend is the busiest. It's the last chance to "CASH MY BONUS CHECK!" for most people. ( the fine folks at Webster financial to avoid our own employees from partaking in this crisis, pay us next week.) I'm predicting that by noon I'll be handing out singles and fives which means ladies I'm sorry but when you go to pay for lunch it's going to be good old Abe and G-money Washington, which sadly leads to that "is she a waitress, bar tender, or a stripper?" look. So in advance If you get a stack of singles and not the one crispy benjamin you were looking for, I'm sorry but we're tossing out everything in the aresnal to keep the mob at bay. After work (if I survive....) I have a long ride/run on tap. The Hill-ilz-ils for the Nutmeg State Half are calling for a bitch stomping. The last two days nothing much has gone down: Thursday got in a swim ( 3000 yards ) Friday I got in 3200 yds in the morning, sandwhiched in work and then got a 7 miler in afterward. IM KY still in the air, my sisters want me to do it..Angry is giving me words of caution....I'm waiting till pay day to continue this debate.

Post the Hate! or Love? or just plain apathy.

R.D.

More training , Cervelo is evil smack talk and CenTri madness...

Well Monday was my lazy day. After a long day at the office, the bike shop ( getting the Bitch Stomper taken care of after it's ass-kicking, bitch stomping, hot fire debut) I went for an easy 1250 yard swim. Yesterday was a little more of a return to normalcy as 4 mile run and a 3500 yd pool workout, got me feeling a little more like the hot fire stud I am ( whoa shit I'm sounding conceited). Today a 20 miler is on tap with a run or a pool workout being debated. Bjoern emailed me last night saying he needs my John Hancock to get more funding for the club...only problem he's in New York until Tues. and when he wants me to meet him on Tuesday I will be in the middle of cashing checks for the lunch rush. ( sometimes I miss having the life of a "normal" college student..no wait.. I actually have some money....scrap that last thought...) Sometimes I wonder why I got involved with my school tri club...( because you want CCSU to kick UCONN's ass at something..like collegiate Nats...also increase the pool of future HEATsters....damn it ken get out of my head...chicks cycling in bathing suits...ok I can think of the reasons I signed up happy now.) So now we will be involved in this whole awkward club officer mailing triangle in which he'll overnight me the forms, I'll have Jane ( our cute little VP) pick them up from me to have our advisor sign so they can be turned in....man getting an extra $5k is a hassle.

Also I will take this moment to reveal a true enemy of diversity and freedom in the Triathlon world..a dreaded, evil, marketing giant that is trying to get the tri world dominated by "the man" and evil corporation so diabolical so evil, so sickeningly despicable it can only be known by one name.....

that's right Cervelo is fast becoming the enemy of triathletes looking to express themselves. Each year more and more or these two wheeled Nazi bikes show up in Kona and on the local circuts. What can be done to avoid the eventual tri world domination that the sick corporate types at Cervelo are planning.. boycott the beasts. Stay true to bikes that are catered to your individual style. Break out a felt, a krestel, a guru, a litespeed, or someother obsure brand. Go throw down on an Elite , a scott, a giant or a Kuota. But if your going to sell out go with a tri specific company like Qroo. Or companies that have had kick ass time trial performances in Le tour like Trek ( shout out to Lance, Geroge, Levi, y Contador!), Giant, Bianchi (Jan Ulrich), BMC ( the tetosterone brothers Floyd Landis and Alexandre Vinnokourov) or throw down on good old American bikes like Specialized ( made in Tawain) or Cannondale ( built by the best illegal craftsmen in Bethel CT) Ok now that I have caused a few laughs, a few cuss outs and now have a pack of Cervelo riders planning on how to take my ass out at the Nutmeg State Half Iron I'm going to get in my training ride before a pack of angry P2 carbons decide to chase me through Woodbury.

R.D.

Brigdeport thou hast been Bitched Stomped!!!!

Yep that's right despite having too much electrolyte drink on the bike, swallowing about two gallons of sea water water on the swim, cramping like nobody's business on the run, and missing my podium due to GI distress, I manage to persevere and Bitch Stomp the rest of my age group, (winning by a hard fought 20 seconds.) Here's how it went down: ( note I have no clue who team mossman is using for results so I'll have splits posted later in the week....month....year....whenever I can find them.....)

The Swim: Two loops of Salty Goodness.
The more I do these Salt Water Tris, the more I'm finding a love hate relationship developing
Love: Waves and current can give me a favorable time boost if the conditions are right.
Love: Some of my Fastest Splits Have been in Salt Water
Love: Cool ocean Temperatures make my wetzoot nice and comfortable allowing optimum performance.
Hate: Salty Water Taste ( oh how I pine for West Hill Lake.....Friday night.), Jelly Fish and the stings thereof, low tide messing with my swim exit, did I mention the dehydrating pure salt taste of Long Island Sound?, Having to soak all my tri gear in fresh Water to get rid of Ocean Residue.
Well all my gripes aside the swim was actually pretty enjoyable today. As I started wide and cut my way in toward the first bouy. Once again I had managed to get toward the front, yet now I found my self in a 5 person wrestling match as we fought for the same water. I decided to get on the feet of the fastest guy and followed his line to the next four bouys. By the turn at the beach It was a four man breakaway. I talked to the leader ( some German/Dutch/Danish Dude From NYC who said his sole goal was to win the swim. As we Started our in the Water Jog around the bouy. It was at this point I decided that my wetzoot was not made for running and as soon as I found waist deep water I started to swim for the first bouy. It was about this time No Wet Suit Guy ( I'm not sure if there's a relation to No Wet Suit Girl...don't think so but it proves that there are more people than Claire that go sans Neoprene.) darted around me and the race leader and quickly got a 25 yard lead. I passed the dude from NYC as we turned at the first bouy and made chase after No Wet suit Guy. It was about this time that we caught the slow pack form the third and second waves ( Angry and I had left in the first because hey we're young and studly like that.) When we got to the Beach No Wet Suit Guy was 10 yards ahead and I was being chased by a National Team Memember.... as I entered T-1 in second place.
T-1: I think all distances should have wet suit strippers.
The National team memember passed me as I struggled to get my feet out of the wetsuit. I put on my helmet and sunglasses & shoelessly ran out the Bitch Stomper. As I got to the mount line I realized I should never use elasttics to keep my shoes upright again and lost two spots and a precious three seconds as I unhooked my shoes from my water bottles rode on them barefoot for a quarter mile before slipping in like a pro.
The Bike: Go Bitch Stomper! Go Bitch Stomper! Go Bitch Stomper Go! or less HEED is more .
The bike for this thing was flat as a panacake, the only work was the head wind on the front half. I was passed by about ten people through out the course of the 5 loops of the bike. Now Today I broke one of the Ten Commandments of triathlon and the Tri Gods Pimped smacked me across the face deservingly. Last night I decided to take Hammer Nutrition.com's advice and put two scoops of HEED in my aero drink instead of my usual one....the results were disasterous....my electrolyte mix was too damn sweet and I would lose more precious milli-seconds grabbing my water bottles...I also sacrificed one bottle to dillute the sickly sweet mess in my aero drink...the bottom line I took in too much fluid and I knew I was going to be a suffering bastard on the run...so in hind sight follow tri commandment Number 3 " Do not change your previously established routines on race day." One each of the loops as I passed the far turn around I would ride by Angry Runner who was maybe half to quarter of a lap behind and each loop he would say something different.
Loop 1: "Bitch Stomper!"
Loop2: "I'm going to pyramid like we'd dicussed"
Loop3: "Why Haven't you lapped me already?"
Loop4: "The guy infront of you doesn't deserve that aero helmet."..or some thing to that affect....I really don't know I was in the zone
Loop5: Too busy trying to chase down 40 something who passed me on a road bike. granted he was a lap behind.
Some equipment failure did befall the bitch stomper on her madein voyage. At the far turn we were greeted by the roughest strech of Pavement in Fairfield County, the bolt holding my seat to the post shook loose. Also my computer shit the bed as I tried to reset it after my warm up ride, hence I have no clue how fast I was going...all I know is my sister got mostly shots of my back of my (borrowed) HEAT jersey as I rode by which is what my competition was seeing all day. As I came in off the last hairpin I decided that it was a logical execution of opportunity to do my sexy shoeless dismount...which went off almost flawless, ( I scraped my foot a little on my dismount.)
T-2 I feel like I'm going to puke ...damn it I'm not going to puke on an Olympic Tri.
My stomach was cramping and unsettled as I slipped on my running shoes and threw on my Timex Visor. I took off out of transition behind a guy from Team Runner's Edge as we chased down a memeber of the dreaded Cycle Center Squad. At the Half-mile mark I got around the Runner's Edge guy but could only hold him for 400 meters before he re passed me at the turn around and he and the Cycle Center Runner began to pull away, from my semi-hydrated yet, GI distressed self. I passed Angry as he made his way up to the turn around I shouted to him. " Get Pissed off!" He shouted back " You got another guy from Heat up in about 4th palce reel him in. " the sad thing is I do know the other HEATster that was man handling me ( met him at Central during masters...(sigh I miss it already.) his bike split is freaking phenominal) but I can't remember his name ( I do know he is one of the IM USA wrecking crew.) I saw another memember of team Blazeman (War on ALS) ( Nick) as he ran by I shouted out a "Go Warrior!" To him and it helpped perk him up a he suffered through the run ( coming off of the Lake Placid, Timberman Combo as I would find out when we talked post race.). As I passed the turn around ( and took in more water, hey I needed it it was freaking humid GI distress or not.) was met by some encouragement from some fellow HEATsters as I heard 3 or 4 shouts of Go HEAT! and I gave a shout of the same phrase to my teamate that was manhandling the competiton and any other Heatster that was wearing the gear. As I ran to the second turn around still feeling the cramps I saw on guy fom my age group on his first lap cramping and doing the run/walk of doom. ( I went through that at mile 23 on my marathon.) I gave hima pat on the back and " Come on man you got this." as I ran past. I took two waters at the turn aid station as my mouth felt like sandpaper, my body felt like it was overheating, and my stomach was chiming in with " You asshole I can't take anymore fluid." I watch disheartened as an XC stud from Marist Clad in his full running gear flew Past me and some of the older guys I was struggling with. . I ran by Angry and after a high five and a "pick them off one at a time" I surged. I passed three guys before my stomach brought me back to reality with a " if you keep this shit up I'm going to puke. " Once again I shouted a "Go Warrior !"to Nick as he plowed on his way to the turn around. Again I surged and again I was bitch smacked by my aching stomach. I passed the final aid staiton and began my 400 meter approach through a tunnel of people.Shouts of "You got this! Go Heat! Almost there! " echoed accross the road. I saw the finish line clock 2:17.59 I crossed hand pointed skyward because I knew there were some people on the other side that were keeping me going. ( you know God, dead Realtives, the Blazeman, Angry's mom with a quiver of wooden spoons.) 2:18 was my finish time. I grabbed a sobe life water and a wet rag which quickly feel to the sand. I slowly sipped the life water but it did nothing for the cramps as My cheering section ( Christina and Julia) made our way toward the the finish line to watch for Angry. I saw another Heatster finish, then I was doubled over with cramps, I would straighten up watch 2..3...5..guy finish then again collaspe with cramps...watched angry come in locked in a battle with an old Guy shouted at him to push! he edged him out on the Line. Nick the Balzeman Warrior was a few seconds behind and ran accross the line. No log roll...as he put it as we BSed after the race..."If I rolled I don't think I'd be able to get up." Bsed with Nick Then BSed with Angry. collasped on a towel in transition as Angry packed his shit. "Dude you are really fucked up aren't you?" " GI distress...too much HEED!" man this is a complete turn around normally he's the one suffering GI failure . I went to pack my crap. Collasped on my towel with cramps...to some it would look like I was a Muslim at prayer as I knelt on on my Transition mat trying to compress the pain out of my mid section. After dropping my gear to the car I ran to the bath room. Sat down and well...you get the picture...go to get toliet paper. there is none. Hear angry calling for me..Call out to him to get me some napkins from the snack bar. He comes back with them for me just as they announce I've won my age group. I finish my business and dash for the podium I'm too late for the pic but I get my goodie bag. Go back and finish business. Grap a thing of Pretzels and Angry and I bs through the giveaways. the Cramps start to subside but are still there...go to med tent ( ie an Ambulance with two EMT) ask for tums or rolaids don't have any. Go back to the car drive home. un pack my crap, before doing 2 of the 4 s's and heading to lunch. Come home collaspe on the couch for 3 hours. Write on the blog about my exploits and then take out trash. All in all it's been a Hell of a day.
R.D.

The Night Before Park City

That's right tomorrow is my last intermediate distance tri of the 2007 season. It also marks christening day for the Bitch Stomper ( May God bless her, her rider and the numerous bitches it shall stomp.) Tomorrow also marks the first "real" test of endurance for Angry Runner. It's his longest tri and it will be his trial run before Eagleman...To Angry unlike Waramaug this course is flat, like Florida Flat, like miles and miles of corn rows and ten feet of snow midwest flat, serious the worst climb is the speed bump in the parking lot you drive over to get to the race.

Unfortunately our favorite girl who does not wear neoprene is back in Europe ( enjoying better mass transit, health care, currency, but drivers who are complete and utter psycopaths flooring it in their smart cars, and thick clouds of Spanish air pollution) and therefore she will not be competing with Angry and I in our International distance escapade. But the good news is I do have some pictures to imortalize her brief yet successful New England Tri Tour:

Yes Claire I think that Guy looks like Hannibal Lector as well. In fact he was in the Litchfield Starbucks ordering a Chanti Latte and I was quickly forced to use one of Cranky's clever alaises ("Gen. Peter Pace your mocha frappe is ready.")

Well I need to get some sleep....there are age groups to win, times to beat, and bitches to stomp in the morining. Also to those of you that have donated to the War on ALS and Angry's Crusade to Bitch Stomp Luekemia, Thank you. And for those of you considering to Donate, your contributions are much appreciated even if it is as small as 1 Transyvainan dracma, or 1 Monzambique Dollar, it does make a difference..( ok I will end my shameless charity plug...in two months you might see me on TV doing an add for ALS or Save the Children followed by an add for the IDT technical institue where you could earn your high school diploma or get your degree in business management or accounting...Sally Struthers eat your heart out. but seriously please donate...it doesn't have to be a huge donation, it could be as little as a buck but think of it this way it could be the buck that buys the burger for some researcher having lunch with another researcher when they both by random chance come up with a cure for a terrible disease, because they compared notes during their lunch break.) Ok enough with the salesman stuff I need sleep. Until the Post Race.

R.D.

I have traveresed the State twice in the last 48 hours and all I got was a swim cap that won't open and a Terramuggus T-shirt.

Well as seen by the last post's date I've been too busy to blog so i'm going to do a quick half assed wrap up of the last 72 hours.

Wed. Worked until 4:30Pm told Bev, the branch's assistant manager that I'm fundraising for ALS. She's like cool, will they pay your travel
Me: no but the money I'm raising for goes to research.
Get out of work Pack Enrico into the car along with my swim gear. Haul out to Cheshire and Crank out 21 miles on the bike paths. It was a little damp but not too slick. No one was really out so I was able to get aero and stay aero for most of the ride. Cranked it out in 1:09 at an average speed of 18.6 mph.
Went to the Waterbury Y got in a decent swim work out (3300 yds. main set was 10x 100 on 1:25 I was holding 1:18 on most of them.)
Got home collasped sleep came and morning folowed the second day....

Thurs. No real work out. ( Slept through my alarm. cussed to self went back to sleep until 8am woke up with a holy shit I've got to be at work in half an hour.)
Worked
got out a 6:30 hauled out to Terramuggus to watch some of my college team homies race. Got there at 7:45 just as the last of them finished. Stuck around for the give aways BSing with Anthony got a t-shirt, bike polish and a swim cap. BS ed with 2006 IM Female Age Group World Champion Donna Kay Ness. She's not going to Kona this year (achilles is acting up) BSed with Cristiano ( Not doing IM Flordia in 07 looking to do IM NZ in 09 ...Guys we may need a HEAT Tent and Beer Shipped to Taupo). Anthony won gift cert. to loco perro...go get tacos shoot the shit for an hour. I drive 66 back to 691 and 322 home ( I hate that freaking richtey old brigde in Portland). Collaspe..sleep came and morning followed the third day....

Friday:
Sleep through alarm again...cuss to self...deja vu... Go to Work ..Bev asks me to sign signature card....she opened a savings account for my travel expenses and ALS donations...say she's taking a collection for me ( thanks Bev)... work with a positive attitude all day...market manager comes in I tell him about my ALS fundraiser..says company can't really help and he can't really solicit. Gives me 20 bucks..I donate via debit card.. give him reciept. (Thanks Ken).
Get out of work early. Go home get swim gear. Drive out to West hill lake to meet, Ken, Vin, Ray, Jim, and Doug for an open Water swim. Forgot to bring a wet suit , so did Ken, the water was cold. Going out to the island ( about a mile away) it was like the Patriot Half the waves were choppy and pushing you back. I decide to sight off of Vin because he knew where he was going Ken flew by both of us. We got to the island Ken is freaking shivering sitting on one of the rocks ( damn 5% total body fat.) We wait for Jim, Ray, and Doug to come in. After about five minutes we decide to head back. ( to spare Ken a fatal bout of hypothermia.) Start heading back. We make a bearing on the boat launch sign at the other end of the lake. I started off good keeping up with Ken and Vin. but I kept having a hard time trying to sight, my freaking hair is too long and my bangs kept covering my goggles...time for a hair cut. ( that swim cap I got from Terramuggus was defective it's welded shut.) I dedcided to keep sighting the boat launch sign. As we got closer to the boat launch the waves that were slowing us down on the way out were pushing us in. At one point you could almost body surf on the waves ( to paraphrase Ken.) Not a bad little work out. Hang out with the guys for a couple minutes. Jim and Vin start drooling over Desiree Ficker, Jim talks about Karen Smyers and despite the fact she's in her late 40's battled cancer, had three kids, and has been messed up in more wrecks than any woman on the planet she's still hot and has " an ass that you could shoot a bullet at and it'll still bounce off." Ken and I talk about entering Madison as a Relay, (Ken =swim Me=bike ( en el trepidor de puntas...en ingles On The Bitch Stomper) Runner =TBA Cristiano, Angry, trainer, somebody? shit I'm going to be doing a dualthon. ) We're going to see if Cristiano wants in as the runner, other wise we must courrpt Skywalker to the dark side....I mean get Angry Runner to join HEAT either that or I will MAN UP and do the bike and run leg. Ken tries talking me into doing HammerFest and the Vilette 5k on the SAMEDAY.( Jedi mind trick) the jury's still out on wether or not I'm doing Hammerfest...I probably will if I have the funds.But in either case I will be racing somewhere in CT on September 16,2007. Tomorrow after work I'll get my cleats put on my racing shoes and will practce my sexy mount and dismount in Cheshire...( Angry you down for a mid- afternoon lesiurely ride.). In the mean time I'm tired . I'm going to try to get some sleep... but before I go I will launch another appeal to donate to the two worthy causes posted at this blog. Please Donate. Help Angry, myself and our respected charities Bitch Stomp these terrible diseases. Ok that was my desperate Appeal for the week.
R.D.

This week is turning into run focus

Well after gutting out roughly 13 miles tonight ( in 2:01.20 roughly 9:25 /per mile pace..thanks to the pace calculator @ trizilla.com), I was too shot to get in what is a desperately needed swim work out...(always tomorrow morning). So far I've managed to swim 3800 yds and ran 13 miles this week so that whole idea of taper is out the window. ( Training for IM New Zealand began as soon as I crossed the finish line in New Hartford). Hopefully this weather will get its ass in gear and I'll be able to ride tomorrow. The picture below is me on trusty Enrico.

( if it's wet those bike trails are looking tempting and trusty Enrico ( my sister's nickname for my road bike.) will be getting action. The Michelin's at least have treads, and I don't want to wreck the tri bike on the eve of its first race...if it dries up however... I will be practicing my sexy shoeless mount and dismount.)Yes this is yet another shameless plug for a picture of The Bitch Stomper. ( I paid $1600 for it so I will be showing it off until I upgrade in 2 years or get sponsored by specialized and get the Mc Cormack Special.) Yes I know you're jealous of this sexy piece of aluminum. Anyway that was what happened on this cold dreary day . I would also like to rant at this moment about Clif bars. Are CliffBars a natural laxative?

Seriously, every time I go for a run after eating one of these things, after 6 miles my bowels are like "too much fiber need to shit." Which is sad because I actually like the taste of the bars #1, and now it leaves me reeling for what type of solid food I should bring with me on the IM bike...looks like Bonita Bananas

will once again prove to be the food of choice for this IM New Zealand Athlete ( hence allowing them to cash in on the sponsorship deal.) Although Larabars

have a great taste and seem not to have a disastrous side effects with my gastric systems. But anyway today was a pretty fruitfull three town tour. I began my run from my home in Wolcott and darted down lyman road and potoccous ring rd. and across 69. I ran past scovil's dam then up Todd rd. Darted across CT 322 (Meriden rd. and ran down pierpont rd. I ran down Waterbury's east Main st. into Cheshire. ( Angry drove by in his Corolla as he was driving back from Hartford. He honked and started shouting as he crusied past at 45 mph.) Then up Byam rd. back through Waterbury and into Wolcott. Instead of killing my shins on the pitted back half of CT 322 I decided to run the way I came and darted down Todd road. As I approached the Wolcott Ambulance Barn I decided that I was not going to be able to keep that Clif Bar under wraps. After BS with the Paramedic ( who was one of my Pop's co workers) I used the facilities and took off to finish my run feeling about 10lbs. (I'm telling you those Clif bars sit like a rock.) lighter. Instead of going all the way back up Wolcott Rd. I decide not to turn onto Brooks hill Rd. and instead went down Munson and then up Kroger Crossing 69 onto the upper half of Potoccous Ring, and then followed Lyman and Chestnut back home. All in all it was and interesting and hard run. My legs will probably thank me for this abuse tomorrow but as they say no pain no gain.

R.D.

The Bitch Stomper Handling Trials.

Well on Saturday, dry conditions and cool temperatures made it conducive for me to official baptize The Bitch Stomper into my unique riding style ( ie aggressively attack everything but a 10% gradient down hill). I took my lovely aluminum "Trepidor de Puntas" ( Claire can you double check mi espanol) up to Lake Waramaug and ran it through three laps of the sprint course to get a feel for it. I will say that I learned several things in my test ride at waramaug and my Sunday twice around the blocker.

1) I am more comfortable breaking with bullhorn bars than I am with my road hoods.
2) I need to get better at shifting on climbs ( on those two bitch hills at Waramaug I nearly fell over on my first lap because it was in too high a gear.)
3) Bring on the Gale force winds at Eagleman and Kona I CAN BITCH STOMP THEM! ( During my lovely tour de lake I was nearly blown across the yellow line twice by 30+ mph wind gusts. I was never in jeopardy of being blown off the bike, but those damn cross winds kill your momentum.)
4) the thing turns on a dime very responsive.
5) I need to get used to unclipping my road shoes although I was clipping and unclipping like an expert today.
6) I need to learn how to clip my tri shoes so they're on the pedals and I can mount and dismount like a pro at Park City this weekend.
7) Michelin Ironman Pros ....nuff said.
8) New bike gear bag that will attach to my aero seat post.( my current saddle bag's post mount isn't large enough to fit around my new flat aero post and I had to use elastics to strap it in place this week end. )
9) I need to stay aero on anything that's not a hairpin turn, suicide decent..well screw the last one...or a climb.
10). HED H3's and an aero helmet?
11) Even if it cuts into the sexy aero tuck...hydrate...hydrate...hydrate!!!
Well after about 26 miles on the bike ( I know it's a short one but my mileage will be spiking after this weekend as I get into Half IM and IM mode) I went for a ten mile run, with my new fuel belt. I chugged around the Waramaug Bike loop and back down to where I parked my car in New Preston ( because there is no way in Hell I was paying 7 bucks to park at the State Park.) After 3 hours of biking and running bliss ( 1:33 on the bike and 1:29.5 on the run) My legs felt a little tight but they still seem ready to crank out a Half IM. I went and visited my Pops up in Winsted ( he was working the bitch double shift) So I brought him coffee and we watched the Firemen's carnival fireworks from the Health Center. Today was a lazy day. I went to church, cooked a cardiac nightmare breakfast ( bacon and eggs), and got in about 3 miles on the bike just for shits and giggles (I rolled through the burbs in my cycling shoes and cargo shorts, and got stares from all the middle school aged guys with their BMX toys, they were amazed any one could climb this one bitch hill by my house with out dismounting, their jaws dropped when they saw I never even got out of the saddle. BOO YAH!) So yeah Saturday I had a good hard workout and Today I sat on my ass and got fat. Tomorrow I will purge my high cholesterol treats from today out of my system with an ass kicking morning swim and a 6 mile run. Until then Happy Training!
R.D.