ATTACK RHODE ISLAND! or Rhode Trip Part Deux.

" And in this Corner Caesar is pleased to bring you the Barbarian Horde!"- Gladiator

Alright John Hirsch and I have had a good natured war of words as he and his RI based crew prepare to defend their motherland from the hordes of other New Englanders, including HEAT's massive wrecking crew. For sure I know we have 6 takers:
Myself, Jamie, Bill and Tony, No bikeMike and Jim the defending champion of the men's 30+ left handed aqua bike, anyone else sporting flames or their HEAT T-shirts holla.

Ok all that aside I've booked a cheap hotel, so I will not be driving I-95 at all hours of the day and night. I'm hoping for a good result so I can justify my week long recovery, also I will have race reports a plenty looming over me. I'm not going elite and if I win I think I'm going to forgo Florida, ( knowing my luck it will be in the middle of mid-terms although anyone looking to sponsor a Bob vs. Jodi 70.3 War please leave a message along with a donation :) )Right now I just want to go out there and try to lower my times, if I podium great, if not I know it is a stacked field, although if I won my age group that would be some serious bragging rights. Park City looks like it will be a go so I will be racing at least once more this season, Hopefully I have most of what I need sorted out so I can do Nutmegman. But one step at a time this weekend I have a tour of the Ocean State, then some down time and back to training and school. Well time to go psyche up.

R.D.

Race Reports coming soon....

Next week you'd better have a jumbo mug of coffee ready as the Patriot Tri, Griskus Sprint and RI 70.3 race reports will be gracing the pages of Of Triathlons, God, and Random Crap.

Because of the busy race schedule I apologize that I haven't posted them sooner but it's hard trying to catch a break between work and traveling it's been nearly impossible to sit down and write. I did the Griskus sprint last night and finished in 1:08.16 4 min. faster than last year and good enough for 27th overall, the official race report will state where I finished in the age group.....let's just say I was happy with the result although I got beat by some dude from Hong Kong.

RI 70.3 is this weekend I'm opting not to stay in a hotel so I'm just going to drive down on Saturday and Sunday, figure $50 for gas is cheaper than $200 for a hotel. Although another part of me is saying just to scrap it, as some other expected and unexpected expenses are beginning to pop up.

As for the racing season after RI it is all based on Finances, if the money rolls around for Nutmegman great, if not I can live not doing it. Same with Park City and Niantic, I'd like to do them but they are a luxury at this point.

I figure the race reports will take up a lot of time during my rest week, I'm also going to continue looking for a part time job, to try to supplement my income, I've got bills to pay and future dreams I want to finance so this might be a wise decision, it always seems I run into a dilemma when I have money I never have time to do what I want and when I have the time I never seem to have the money. Well that's enough from me back to the grind.

R.D.

The bar has been raised again.

In the Bob/Bjoern battle to break the magical 4 hour mark the bar has once again been lowered. I did a 5:03 at the Second Annual Patriot Triathlon ( 1.2 mile swim 58 mile bike ( no that is not a misprint it is a longer than half iron race but not by much.) and 13.1 mile run. ) The run was a little slower than normal ( a 1:48 instead of my normal 1:45 ) because I tried to haul on the bike since I went in the elite wave. I did own the swim and can officially saw that I lead the race for about 25 yards. In other news it was a good day for Speedy Claire as she won her age group. But I'll have a full race report coming soon.

Oh yes John people are afraid to ride behind you wen you are talking to yourself and punching yourself in the head.

Chillin' in Beantown then rolling back to the C to the O double N
RD

Edit #1: Ok I accidently hit the wrong key I meant to put up "break 5 hours" but the 4 slipped out...maybe someday..if I'm on roids.

Edit # 2 Upon checking Cool Running I seem to have posted the fastest swim time of the day ( although there was some interference with the chip mats so some times weren't recorded) of 27:58 my bike split of 2:45.16 was good enough for 46th quick and my run a painful 1:47.03 was 74th quick for the day when all was said and done I was the 10th guy across the line and after the adjustments for the stagger start my time held up for 37th overall.

Getting set for Patriot. Bob-o Jodi Smack Talk Round 2.

Less than 48 hours left before the Patriot, it's almost sad when I think that my first blog post was approximately the same time last year, and sadly my writing style has seemed to become that of a whiny bitch in the 12 months since then....boo hoo life sucks get over it, granted I write those whiny bitch posts mainly because it is a sign of weakness to show my fear outwardly, I usually keep to myself, don't say shit if I have a mouthful of it, and you can tell I'm stressed when I suddenly start snapping really easily example.
co-worker: Bob would you like a cup of coffee?
Me: Did I ask for a cup of coffee?
Co-worker: No....
Me: Then there's your answer....

..irregardless enough of my being a whiny you know what....

The Patriot is coming up and Ken made some comment about Jodi beinng able to kick Angry's and my combined asses in a tri..first off Jodi would beat Angry because A.he's a runner he lifts and he runs she could beat his ass in the Ironman but she would be toast if she signed up for races in his domain, throwing angry in the ironman would be like throwing a kenyan marathoner in the Ironman, it's taking a runner out of its natural competitive enviroment. B. He's had it with all the slotwtich browsing cervelo fan boys and has entered a more friendly arena..after all you don't hear guys before a road race saying "you're not a real runner if you don't use Newtons/ Asics/ insert brand here.../ completed a marathon/ qualified for Boston/ held 4:44/mile pace in a heat wave in Arizona."

As for me I'm not conceding but it would be close in her only straight up half so far she had about the same bike split and a faster run split than I pulled at Eagleman. I have her on the swim but the rest is a toss up. Also the fact that several crisises and the fact my training has been shot to crap only adds to her advantages, add to that she has a coach compared to my poor self trained, entry level equipped ass and she might take the cake, but I have an edge in mental toughness, the shit I go through in a given week makes my races seem like field days, I have often wanted to say that I feel like the sport's cinderella man, my financials fell to shit I've been at the point I have wanted to give it all up, and the next race could be my last so I am a very, very dangerous person when that gun goes off, because I want to go out with a PR damn it!

Ok trash talk aside the Patriot is coming up on saturday there are only 7 open division men none of whom raced last year. I know that there are some age groupers in the field that could obliterate my ass, but I'm still racing open, why? there's cash for the open division, I would love to be in the running for an overall win but if I can beat 5 of the 6 other entries I can leave with a check, also with most of the top pros tapering for Providence next week this could be my only shot to make a go at the overall, it's a gamble but it could be worth it, that and only having 12 people in the first wave can give me a shot of pulling fastest swim split. Also I might not be racing again after this month so I want to try to get some good efforts in before devoting myself to more important and profitable endevours ( school, work, more work, overtime.)....don't worry I'll still train I don't want a tripple bi-pass at 40 so I've got to keep the weight off somehow....besides I've actually had a few good workouts in the last week and if I can get some of my crap together I might have a shot showing up to a couple more clam bakes this season. That and a friend of mine's training for an ironman and another for a goofy challenge or some crap like that, long run and ride buddy is at their service. But for right now I've got two halves and a sprint on the table and I've got to light them up, afterall it would suck if my last race this season wasn't a PR.

Confessions of a Dangerous Mind

Well my week leading up to Patriot has had some varied news from

Some good ( my Gramps lending me the money to drive up, only 7 guys in the elite wave and none of them from last year's race. )

To the so-so ( my creditors continuing to hound me for that damn stimulus check, seriously if it came in May like it was supposed to that would have saved me a lot of grief.)

To the Oh Shit ( Providence next week and I have to find a room for under $100 a night), to the reliving ( I'm not getting laid off !)

To the just plain why don't you just shoot me now how bout it ( they're talking that diesel might hit $6 a gallon and it could be one of the coldest winters on record, some of my friends have lost jobs, can't find jobs, I'd be really f**king screwed if I lost my job but I'm keeping my resume and the want ads within reach in case I do., to my sisters and my parents are at each other's throats, one of my sister's wanting to move out west with me , if I move out west if I can afford to, do my homework on rents, jobs, living conditions, taxes, laws, local customs, fiscal forecasting for the next 3 years, pay my debts down to a more sustainable level, finish college , find decent employment, needless to say this got into the you sound alot like mom and dad and if you put it off , you'll never leave, and the I can't wait until 2 years after college to do this I have to do it so I can go to grad school out there.)
so yeah there has been a lot on my mind.

One of my pipe dreams would be to move to the West Coast, somewhere where the definition of cold is 45 F, and snow is only something you see in Christmas movies. That's been one of the reasons cash and my hellish couple of months have had me so stressed out. Since my ancestors crossed down from Canada a majority of my family has settled and stayed in New England, part of me has always wanted to be different, in a family of Red Sox Fans I was the first Yankee fan, everyone likes chocolate ice cream, I like vanilla..etc....in essence I don't want to live like the rest of my ancestors settling in Connecticut, taking care of mom, dad, x number of kids, bitching about the snow in the winter, the heat in the summer, and how the State pension check seems to be coming slower every month, before croaking and being buried in the same cemetery as all the rest. But I'm also the planner, I have to make sure everything is set, I have contingencies and contingencies on my contingencies, one of those is realizing that I will be responsible for a hell of a lot more than I am now on my own and I would have to make sure that I make enough to support my bills plus this "little" tri habit that I've picked up along the way. I'm thinking that another couple of years of hard labor, smart job hunting or training and certifications would have me in a position that I might be able to make it. I'm seriously starting to look to teaching as a
serious option, but Connecticut's standards are so freaking high it would take me another four years of schooling and debt to be eligible to teach in the public high schools,and the pay in the private schools, well I'd be better off as a bank teller, hence one reason why I want to leave CT

So yeah that's what's been beating around my noggin for the past few weeks.

My mind is a scary place.
R.D.

Last hard day before Patriot

Well yesterday I was supposed to do a hard bike / run brick. Sadly my legs didn't handle the crash course in hill work as well as I would have liked. So I took the rest of the night off, good thing too because we had a huge thunderstorm roll through. So today I went long, since I'm staying at my grandfather's place to some severe water damage ( part of the reason my attitude been well not the greatest, I lost some mementos from my youth but it at least will give me an excuse to toss some of the things I could part with away.) my normal runs have had an extra 2 miles tacked on. My 4 miler to the high school became my 6 miler to the high school, my 8 mile hill workout became my 10 mile hill work out...etc. In any case I decided I needed at least one more long run before the Patriot so after Mass this morning I strapped on my sneakers and went for my cross town route. The run began as always with a new uphill section, then my harrowing crossing of the main road. I passed the town beach full to the brim, it was somewhat hot and humid, I need to improve in this type of weather so it helped. As I ran up toward the middle school I was thankful for the shade, Meriden rd. on the other side of town tends to have very little shade and I ended up using up one of my fuel belt bottles on this stretch. The third leg of the run took me down what I guess could be called the lack of Safety Section on route 322, cars own the road here, I have ridden this stretch on my bike been up against the guardrail and still gotten honked at to move over. Running it is no less perilous, granted it's a lot easier to go off road while running than it is on the Stomper. But irregardless, once you pass the golf course the terrain gets interesting and your legs may not forgive you. After about a mile of running on asphalt, gravel, uneven sholder, crushed rock and grass, a smooth even shoulder reappeared. I managed to catch a break from a guy on a harley at a four way stop and began my ascent to the center of town. The heat and humidity was sucking and as if the divine was reading my thoughts a quick torrential shower came down on me. The deluge and resulting sprinkles lasted about 15 min. as I made it through the center of town and past the high school. I managed my usual dart and bobb across Route 69 and then made my way up Beach rd. Through my old neighborhood and made it to my parent's place. I chilled there for a bit before had dinner with the whole fam and then made my way back home with gramps. The run took me 2:07.07 not record breaking but enough to boost my confidence a little. Most of my training this week will revlove around the pool, I might get a couple of rides and runs in but for the most part I need to get my swim in stomping shape. Upon looking at Claire's training logs, she should be blazing on the bike this weekend. Angry will be racing again this season, hopefully kikcing ass, and working soft tissue in the week following. So all in all I hoping to have a good weekend "up the pike" , I should be sorted out enough in August that I would be able to race Park City and hopefully Nutmegman, also within the next 2 weeks Alex will give me the go /no-go on buying the road bike, so all in all things are starting to look up a little bit.

R.D.

I see your challenge and I have three words

BRING IT BITCH!

Ok before I lose half my readership, or have people saying, damn it I like it better when he's sick and depressed, allow me to explain the title and the "colorful" saying above. This morning as I sat at my desk like a good little teller, hoping and praying the layoffs don't affect me, I checked an email from the race director of the Patriot Half. It went along the lines of you're currently listed in the open elite catagory, are you sure you don't want to age group it ( we give out nice stuff :) ) and if you are considering yourself elite then you should be able to finish this race in 5 hours or less. Well first thing that hit was the fear I have never broken 5 hours, I came painfully close at Eagleman 5:09, shit maybe I should bail to the AG.My training's been shot to shit, my psyche has been hit by the equivalent of 5 ten ton bricks, and I'm just in a really bad mood. Then I got to looking at the races results from last year the winner's time was in the 4:30's but last year also had a stellar pro field ( Holla John Hirsch!), I also realized that Eagleman was in brutal heat with little shade and that had the weather conditions been a few (20 degrees F) cooler I probably would have crushed the 5 hour barrier...ok I would have slid under the 5 hour barrier Indiana Jones Style, reaching over the timing mat for my visor at 4:59.59...but the wheels in my head got to turning and to try to pump my beleaugered ego back up I looked at the overall results to see where a low 5 hour time would get me. Well it would be in the mid 30's to low 40's overall, where I usuaally place, I looked at the lowest finishing elites from last year, one poor guy had a hell of a day, but a majority were top 50 most in the top 30, surrounded by a ton of age group studs. The bike course is 59 miles but it is similar terrain to Eagleman, a 2:40 or lower bike spilt could be a real possibility, the swim, I always do better surrounded by faster guys that and if there are only a handful of us then I won't get mauled a la Eagleman ( also I had 17th fastest swim split last year in a surfing wetsuit.) the run most elite guys are able to pull 1:20 and change, I've pulled a 1:37 after a 56 mile ride in a half marathon and most of the time average a 1:45, in essence If I want a check I have to Go Stadler Style, and bust my ass on the bike. Eagleman was the first time I used a surging strategey, that I tried to get aggressive on two wheels, instead of my usual sit in the bull horns, drink, eat and muddle through until thhe run. So my objective has been set I must break 5 hours at all costs.

On the training front, I managed to get a 3300 pool workout in on Friday, Today I kicked the crap out of my legs on a 100k ride through Middlebury- Woodbury- Washington, lets just say hills lots of hills. I averaged about 17.4mph sadly something's up with my rear deraileur, which is costing me two gears in the small ring at Patriot which is a big ring course this might not be a factor but if I want to be competitive at the Griskus I might need to have the handled....but I cross that bridge when I get there.

well that's it from da hood.

R.D.