Christmas Wishlist

So children if you believe in Father Christmas, like your Uncle Billy does
please buy my festering turd of a record.- Billy Mack


Dear Jolly Old Fat Dude with a Wad of cash ( peferably on the board with Timex):

Alright I've been good for me and I have somethings I would like to see under the tree this year.

First, I've cashed in some frequent flier miles to go to Louisville for the Ironman KY this year but I still have to come up with the entry fee, so I'm hoping the income tax check comes in before the genral entry closes, so I'm asking for one of three things.
1. A lot of people are able to get their community fund slots for Ironman Canada leaving the entry pool smaller for KY.
2. A $500 winning lotto ticket so I can put my entry in early.
3. Timex to give me a nice sponsorship.

Secondly I've dropped the hints to my family that I'm going to need to do some work on the bike this spring. My chain and cassette are shot, so I've dropped hints to friends and relatives that "Hey did you know you can get a Shimano Ultegra Cassette for $50 on Nashbar.com?" "Hmmm nothing says Christmas like the humming of Bobby's bike trainer in the background."
"On the 12th day of Christmas my true love gave to me a SRAM RED drivetrain...."
ok I haven't been that bad but I have mentioned it alot.

My laptop is going on seven years old so I know one of my next purchases is going to be ditching the Dell for an HP with wifi.

While I'm on the wish list:

can I get six pack abs.....
A villa in Kona would also be nice...as well as a sub 3 hour marathon, a life time qualification to the big dance, and a permanent upgrade to first class on any flight...and oh yes world peace.

Ok I'll have more serious posts coming up Happy Holidays Everybody.
R.D.

Thinking about Ironman and other things

Well, my deepest apologies for not posting in a while. It's just been hard to post with the job, Christmas shopping, and the million other things in life that get in the way.
On the training front things are going well. I'm starting to get back into a routine. I'm averaging nearly 9-10k yards swimming per week. I'm trying to get back on to the trainer, likewise I'm running 2-3 times a week, although the sub freezing temperatures of the New England Winter have kept me limited so far. Wednesday I managed to do a pretty killer workout on the treadmill. It was 52 minutes long ( I was hoping for one hour but accidently hit the stop button.) I was doing it as an interval session. 4 minutes at 7.5mph or 8min/ mile pace followed by 4 minutes at 9.0 miles per hour of 6:40/mile pace. It felt good as it was the first speed work I had done since a 10k road race on Thanksgiving. Tomorrow I'm hoping to take advantage of warm temperatures to get a long run in, during a rain storm, because the temperatures are expected to go back into the frigid zone.

Throughout most of this year I have been thinking about the mindset and training I did when I was doing the Ironman in 2008 and 2009. Those years I trained like an animal through the cold, the darkness and the bad weather. I looked at my American Airlines frequent flier miles and I had a bunch I had to use up since my last trek to New Zealand. So I cashed them in for a one way flight to Louisville ( I will have to buy a return flight.) The goal is that I will hopefully have enough of my income tax check leftover and there will still be entry spots left over to get me into Ironman Kentucky. I've already been number crunching the flight would cost about $150, hotel and rental car would come to $606, I'm debating whether or not to use tri bike transport, but booked my flight out of LaGuardia on a larger plane in case I decide to hoof the bike with me. So my training will take an Ironman focus.

Likewise I've been trying to figure out what to do with myself. The Navy hasn't gotten back to me so I've started taking a look at what I want to do with my life. As much as I would like to go back to school part of me is wondering would it be worth the expense. A few people have told me to get into triathlon coaching. While part of me would be excited to do it, the other part of me is like am I skilled enough? Let's face it I train low tech, I race low tech, I'm not a pro, I've never won anything overall, I don't have degrees in biology, or exercise science. Part of me wonders am I qualified to be a coach? I mean people listen to me when I give little pieces of advice but would someone trust me if I'm asking for cash for it? Maybe I second guess myself too much, but despite my passion for the sport I just don't know if people would trust me to coach them without a pro card, or race win on my resume, but I haven't discounted it completely. For now I have holiday gifts to get and details to iron out, but more maybe coming on this coaching idea.

R.D.

Unleash the Cracken!

I don't know why that phrase was stuck in my head today as I ran 8 miles of the Middlebury Rev 3 Half Iron run loop, but it seemed to motivate me. For those of you who don't know about the Rev 3 course it's hilly. I figure that next year this is going to be my season opener as I didn't do any long distance races in 2010. Anyway I've been trying to train on the Rev loop whenever I have the chance. Today the weather was an absurdly warm for November 65F. My initial plan had been to run the full 13 miles but since I ran 8 miles yesterday and didn't really eat much today I bailed after 9 miles. The opening 3 miles are flat to down hill, and follow the bike loop for the Pat Griskus tris. At mile 4 or 5 the road goes from tar and chipseal to a weather beaten trail for about a mile to a mile and a half, likewise the trail rolls. There's a quick detour through a housing development to the turn around and then the loop continues around the backside of Lake Quassapaug. The changing leaves yet warm temperatures made it feel kind of surreal, that it was late November but it felt like spring again. It was good to run in short sleeves on a training run, granted since we got our first snowfall of the season on Monday I have a feeling winter is going to be pretty crazy, probably frigid one day then unseasonably warm the next.

But back to today's run. Today my focus was on just getting some miles and hill work in as I have two short road races. A five miler in Waterbury next Sunday, then the Manchester Road Race on Thanksgiving. I kept thinking ahead to next June, when I would be trying to attack on this leg of the race. I kept thinking about what some of my training partners had said during the summer. One comment was I'm one of the most underestimated local athletes. Let's face it at 175lbs. I'm not one of these skinny, anorexic, cyclist, marathoner types. I don't eat tofu, Ice cream is not the devil, and I'm pretty sure I eat enough red meat to be declared PETA's public enemy number 1. But where was I oh yes, I'm underestimated. Many a muscled bound athlete has looked at me at the start line and is like "No Prob I've got this pudgy kid beat I'll collect my medal, and probably have two beers and a few tofu burgers under my belt before this kid leaves T-2." Only to see me huff and puff by them on the run, or just not see me period until I'm going to the award stand...at least that's how it used to be. 2010 was the first time I felt vunerable. My training wasn't where it should have been. My mind wasn't with it and I was in a constant state of adjustment. So as I ran today I was trying to focus on staying positive, I was focusing on becoming stronger, I wanted to be that determined SOB that wasn't intimidated by distance, pain, or the fact the guys running against me had better muscle definition and six pack abs. Essentially I wanted to get back to the point where I would be able to take my run to a whole nother level. I guess the best motto for it would be "Unleash the Cracken." After all if the Cracken was a mythological beast that would bring about a difficult situations and shake the strongest of heroes to their core, then that's what I want my run leg to be. I want the uber cyclists looking back with dread. I want to be back at the point I was at Ironman New Zealand a few years ago, when I was passing more people on the run than I was being passed by. I want to know if I get beat that the people who beat me truly were the better athletes, so as I churned out the miles today I was thinking about how best to attack the hills. I was debating on how I should plan my runs, if I should start surging. I was trying to get back to a place where I was in 2007 when I was training for my first Ironman, I'm hoping 2011 will be the year I'll be able to get back to where I was in before I got tossed a life curveball.
Today's run was good my legs took a beating but they needed it, the soul needed it, the mind needed it. In general I needed the run because it's helping get back to where I belong. So this week I'll prep for my 5 miler, in another week I'll get a 4 mile road race and some turkey in my system and then the planing for 2011. Rev3's there and maybe a marathon before it, it's taken me a while to try to fight it but sport is my life and I need to take it back.

R.D.

I think the blogger police is coming...

to arrest me for blog negelect. I could give a long story on why my posts have been more sporadic and not as interesting as usual. One reason is my laptop has now become the family comunal internet connection which now means it is subject to the Almighty Family Internet Connection Curse. Apparently everytime one of my family's laptops becomes the primary log on the power cable, unable to deal with the browsing activity of 7 individuals inexplicably gives up the ghost. That's right the AFICC has claimed my computer as yet another vicitm, wear and tear and the fact that I have had it since 2003 finally took their toll on it. My power cord finally bit the dust so now it is sitting in the corner of the living room on top of the heap of my other relatives laptops wating for a new cord to arrive from Dell. So as I write this I'm logged in at my local library.

I have some other news some from the Navy. As I was waiting to hear from the board last month, I was counting down the days waiting to year my fate. As the calendar switched over from October to November and I still hadn't heard the go, no go, I called my recruiter. Apparently because I had smoked the reffer a little more than recomended in college I need a waiver. Yes kids take a lesson from Bob if you eventally want to serve your country or become a federal employee stay away from the mary jane. So I have to wait until I'm granted a waiver before the Navy will look at the package. Add to that some drama and change of commands, so it looks like my Navy package will be on hold for another few months.

On the training front things are moving along but not as quick as I would like. I did set up my bike trainer so I can start riding again and my pool yardage is increasing. I did have a couple of posts in the works about night running, and strategies to avoid the dreadmill, and not become road kill. Likewise I did have a whole post dedicated to the hopefully now deceased Ironman Ponzi Scheme...I mean rip off, I mean Peferred WTC membership...hopefully i'll be able to get some of these down but in the mean time to quote a memroable character from Monty Python....

I'm not dead yet.


R.D.

It's autumn in Connecticut

Which for Bobby means it's road race season. The run mileage has been increasing and my weekly mileage has gone up dramatically as I've gone from barely scraping out 20 miles per week to just over 30. Last week I only got a 10 miler in as I tried to add more yards in the pool. Today I decided to focus more on speed. I went down to the Cheshire rail trail and cranked out 5.6 miles on the flat and fast surface. In fact my last couple of runs have been on this rail trail as I could run after dark without having to worry about traffic, and if my reflective vest will keep me visible. So today since I know I have at least 2-3 road races on tap and they are more of the short distance variety I decided to really push speed over mileage. I managed to cover the 5.8 miles from the trail head to the Hamden border in 42:32. I began at a strong pace and in the middle sort of moderated especially at the cross walks. When I hit the Hamden border the sun was really beginning to set so I hustled the way back. My stride opened up and I really focused, getting my breathing back to race rate. I ended up slowing a little at the end as I tangoed with a cyclist. I stayed right and he zoomed around me like he was cutting off the trail then cut back on Cyclocross style came back on I cut left to give him room only to have him shout back " I'll go around on the right if you want me to." " Hey I didn't know where you were riding." " I didn't know where you were going either." he replied back. I made it back to my car and stretched. Tomorrow I'm hoping to get a longer run in as well as get back to the pool. I do have a trainer set up so this winter I'm going to train like I did the years I did Ironman New Zealand. I'm hoping to have a better 2011 than 2010 on many levels.

Likewise not to keep everything focused on training my friend Josie gave birth to her first child. Her daughter Amelia Kay was born at 1:30 this afternoon weighing in at 8lbs. 14 oz. At last check Mom and baby were doing fine.

A lot's happended since I've been away..

Well first off I'd like to say that my Kona Predictions were shot. Macca proved that he's not dead yet..and can still throw down a lava burning marathon. So to him congrats. He made it interesting with his big move on the bike to get just enough distance on Crowie to win the thing. The big battle will be next year to see if Ralert will break through to win or If Macca or Crowie will join Peter the great, The Grip and The Man as the only men with 3 or more titles. The men's race proved to be amazingly competitive, and the run splits seemed a lot faster than last year as Chris Lieto was only 4 minutes off his 2009 marathon time that got him a Gutsy second place, but this year couldn't keep him in the top-10. Likewise Andy Potts looked strong in the early going but faded as well as another prerace favorite Rasmus Henning.

Likewise an unfortunate case of food poisoning made the women's race a little more interesting as Chrissie Wellington sat out and Mirinda Cafrae was able to run herself to her first world championship. Dibens scraped a podium, but other favorites simmed to fizzle on the lava. Essential Kona proved that given the right circumstances everything you thought you knew and could predict can go right out the window.

But enough of my pro- punditing. On the personal front I sent in an application to the Timex Triathlon Team. I'm still waiting to hear back from the Navy but if I can't serve my country I might as well try my luck at getting on the most recognized tri team on the planet.
I've been increasing my running and swimming and will be starting spin classes to try to get myself ready for next season in what can best be described as an all out war on myself.

Indeed two nights ago while out on a routine 4 miler my body gave out about 2 miles in. I was going at a fairly good clip but all of a sudden got a light headed feeling, then a cold sweat, I managed to walk for a mile to get myself settled and managed to run the last mile or so home but it was frightening. It was if my body just said no mas. The next day I managed to run the same route with no issue, so it put me at ease. It's just scarry anytime your body just gives out on you for no apparent reason, granted I had been fighting off a little head cold.
The swimming is gradually getting longer this week I've gotten in a 3500 and a 3700yard workout in and I'll try for 4000 tomorrow as I'm trying to get and keep my weekly yardage at over 10k yards.

I could go more into depth on the home and personal life front, but right now things are really complex...also add in some unpopular policy changes at work and the stress factor goes up about 20 notches so for the time being I'll just keep quiet on them. Although having training as an outlet has helped me to keep what's left of my sanity.

Tonight was pretty productive in the weight room, I was able to increase both my squat and bench weights. My squat is still a measly 8 reps at 135lbs. but I've been trying to focus on form, before I build on weight. Likewise my bench is at 125lbs, for 6 reps. I've been working on my breathing and am now able to do more than 20 push ups at a time, and my sit ups are averaging about 3 sets of 30-50. So the strength is coming back I just need to keep working on it.

All in all there's a lot in the works and it's just taking one day at a time.
R.D.

Kona Predictions for 2010

Well I'm noticing a spike on my blog especially on last year's who will win Kona Post. This year I've been sort of out of the loop as I didn't race long course or spend hours looming over Slowtwitch and Xtri. I didn't really pay attention to Ironman results or spend hours tabulating and cheering and following some of the best athletes in world in their massive athletic endeavors. essentially my participation in tri has been pretty lackluster this season. Part of it is envy of the guys going out and living the dream, the other part has been I've just got bigger worries this season.

Still people are looking for Kona predictions so I guess I better not disappoint.

The men:

I'm going to err on the side of caution and state the obvious: Craig Alexander is the clear ,hands down favorite and Lord have mercy on anyone who thinks they can woop him. Crowie can run and unless your name is Alberto Contador or Andy Schleck, he will run you down no matter how good your bike split is. Lieto knows it, Sindbale knew it, and at Rev3 Matty Reed and Terenzo Bonzone learned it. Still since Mark Allen retired no man has won 3 in a row. Not Peter Reid, not Tim DeBoom, No body. Trends are made to be broken and Crowie will have a stellar field gunning for him but he has the skills to pull the hat trick.

Still as much Crowie is the favorite I like Terenzo Bonzone. Kid's been tearing it up on the 70.3 scene this year, and he had a pretty stellar run at Ironman New Zealand. Other guy to watch out for from the land of the Long White Cloud is Cameron Brown as much as Cam maybe over the hill he can still bring the heat if he wants to. Likewise Macca's struggled the last two years and this year he has been off the radar, still he has passion and you can bet he'll bring his A-game.

Sentimentally I'm hoping Chris Lieto can haul some ass and try to get the good ol' US and A back to the top step of the podium. Although the Andy Potts showed his balls at Ironman CDA and might be the best hope for the stars and stripes. Lieto is my go to guy. I fully expect him to go after Normann Stadler's bike record, and hopefully he'll have enough padding to get the job done.

Others to watch for:

Rutger Beke, this guy is a sleeper but he always performs well. He won Cozmuel last year and has one of the best run legs in the sport. If something happens to Crowie He can pick up the slack.

Eneko Llanos dude won Abu Dhabi, and is making an LD comeback, and speaking of comebacks what's the deal with Faris Al Sultan? Not to mention Henning who seems to be keeping the trend of Scandanvians who do obsurded well alive. Homeboy knows how to win in the heat, although this is only his second Kona race. I say in a couple of years he'll be the favorite although I still think he'll top 5.

I'm going to go out on a limb and here's my prediction for the men's top 10.

1. Craig Alexander

2. Rutger Beke

3. Chris Lieto

4. Andy Potts

5.Terenzo Bonzone

6.Rasmus Henning

7. Enenko Llanos

8. Macca

9. Faris Al Sultan

10. Michael Lovato

The Women: I guess the women's race should be classified as Chrissie Wellington versus the world. try as I might I just can not hate this chick. It's as if she's Paula Radcliff, with a splash of Alberto Contador, a smidge of Rebecca Adlington ( women's 400m free gold medal winner.) mixed with Mother Theresa. Seriously she'll stop in the middle of a race to help a group of orphans build a school still set a world record and then give half her prize cash to charity...seriously she's in the dictionary under the definition of Girl Scout. Everyone is throwing around comparisons to Paula Newby Fraser but PNF still had strong competition from Erin Baker, Karen Smyers and Natascha Badmann, Chrissie's in a league of her own.

So then the argument is who can give Wellington a run for her money.

Sam McGlone is coming back strong, Mirinda Cafree is fast and powerful. Then you've got women like Belinda Granger and Rebekah Keat who are proven and strong. Gina Crawford is quick, then throw in Canada's secret weapon Magali Tisseyre Bree Wee is always a sentimental favorite, seriously want to see the island explode watch a local girl win the Ironman. Lindsay Corburn is an animal, and just got her taste of the winner's circle. Then there are sleepers like Jo Lawn who's always solid, Van Vlerken , seriously the fight for second in the women's race is almost as competitive as the men's race, granted maybe someone will step up and come out of nowhere and challenge Queen Chrissie's dominance....

Women's Top 10 Predictions

1. Chrissie Wellington and she'll top 10 overall.

2. Yvonne VanVlerken

3.Magali Tisseyre

4. Sam Mc Glone

5. Belinda Granger

6. Lindsay Corburn

7. Rebekah Keat

8. Mirinda Cafrae

9. Gina Crawford

10.Bree Wee

I know I'm leaving out some big names, and likewise crazy stuff happens on the big island, but for the limited research I was able to do this year these are my Predictions. To everyone racing on the Big Island Good Luck this weekend.

R.D.