Help a sister out.

Well upon looking at Speedy Claire's blog as she preps for the Boston Santa Speedo Run. Well the thing is the race is a charity run which has left her scrambling for funds at the last second. She only needs to raise $250 USD and right now she is at $184 USD. $5 bucks from 15 people gets her there, alright I know $5 bucks is a lot in today's economy, especially this close to Christmas but think of it this way it's two cups of coffee from the office coffee pot instead of Dunkin Donuts ( or other national or international coffee chain.), it's taking a sandwhich or cup of instant ramen in Monday instead of buying a pizza slice, to help needy kids out.

Edit: Claire made her goal!

For more info check out her blog and to donate click here

RD.

The zone...

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

R.D.

I' m Entered!

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

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

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

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

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

Off his rocker.

R.D.

I'm not dead...

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

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

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

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

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

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

Java Jiving

R.D.

Hotel room for my Ironman is coming together...

Well I was able to book a decent priced hotel room for my race...formal announcement coming later in the week.

Operation Juan Valdez...and other ramblings.

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

Other Ramblings

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

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

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

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

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

Dear Academia...

You regally suck! You're a high matinence ,needy and whiny bitch. I'm done with you!.....
so I assume we'll be meeting again at 5:15PM and you'll want a paper right?
-Bobby

My Professors' effort to make the workload light at the end of the semester resulted in everything being due after Thanksgiving, not a problem for a "normal" college student, but I'm not a "normal" college student. Combined late nights training and gathering resources have left me mentally and physically and mentally exhausted...not to mention a little thing known as a day job. I committed the eleventh deadly sin and rested on my vacation, hoping to crank out most of my work on Sunday, that got dampended when I drove my sister back to Newport and arrived home beat from the drive. So last night I was up until 2am Cranking out 60-75% of a 12 page paper due this afternoon, I'll most likely be up to that hour again tonight cranking out an 8 pager due yesterday... in essence Juan Valdez is going to be my homeboy until I can actually earn a goodnight's sleep which will most likely be around Christmas. I don't know why but I've just been exhausted and being behind on classwork hasn't made life easier, I haven't trained in almost a week, and nothing has really gotten done I just read a few books and formulated arguements I've got about 6-7 pages of pure BS written....I just feel overhelmed just like I have the rest of this year. I'm beat ,I'm exhausted, I'm handing in my resignation to life, if anyone needs me I'll be curled up in a recliner trying to get some REM sleep, for the next half an hour.
Coffee has been my substitute for sleep. It's so bad I can now tell the subtle differences between, Green Mountain Coffee,Maxwell House, Folgers', Cumberland Farms slect Blend, Dunkin Donuts Regular, and Starbucks dark roast. Red Bull now actually slows my heart rate, and my pillow is covered by a fine layer of dust even though I just took a 2 hour nap, or at least I think I did...

I think I can taste a hint of Maple Syrup in the Green Mountain Vermont Country Blend.
R.D.