Thursday, June 18, 2009

1 day out.

Well in about 12 hours or so I begin my odyssey to Massachusetts, to begin my 2009 tri season. Money's a little tight from some unplanned expenses so that has me a little on edge, and racing wise I'm hoping my run training's been good enough. I've been averaging between 16-24 miles per week for the last three weeks I even ran a 5k in my racing flats last night to see how they felt. I've got to load them with baby powder because I need to save time where ever I can on Saturday because I want to Podium in the elite division and fully finish in the top 20. A tall order when I look at my competition. Tonight has just been a chill out night. No training eat some carbs, watch some ITU highlights, listen to some angry stuff on the i--pod. Tomorrow I'll shave and then make the long drive out. Part of me is really hoping for a good result, but worst case scenario it will be a good training day for Providence. I already have my plan in place. Go for bragging rights on the swim. Stay strong on the bike, and run like a man possessed. Part of me is thinking of taking the first 7 miles more conservative than normal but I know I have a hard time kicking it up the second half of races. The tempo runs with Tony have helped because on Sunday I was going at 1:45 half marathon pace for 11 miles. The nerves have hit but right now I have more important shit to be nerveous about. This is supposed to fun. This is why I punch a clock for 6-8 hours a day, to pay to do this. The past week my mind's been in a really dark place, part of me was really considering just loafing this season and calling it quits until today at work.

One of my co-workers asked me if I got paid to do this. I sort of laughed annd explained at most races I compete as an amateur so there's usually no dinero in it for me. One of my other co-workers chimed in "So why you do it?"
"Because I enjoy it."
Her response "How do you enjoy it if it doesn't make you money?"

For a second I had to think...I ended up pulling one of Macca's interviews out of my memory banks. He talked about younger pros just being in it for the pay check and for him how it's the win he cared about the checks are a bonus. I guess that's where I'm at. I sit around money all day, I worry about money all day, I deal with people that worry about money all day. For me sport is a welcome break. It's something I do for the pure fight. It's something I have to work at. And while on Saturday I'll be racing in the elite division the rest of my racing season I'll be going for nothing more than bragging rights, maybe another Timex watch, a couple of Free water bottles and hopefully the honor to throw down some coin and race on the Big Island.
To be cliche I'll quote Bon Jovi: "You live for the fight when it's all that you got."

R.D.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Patriot Triathlon Scouting Report...

Well I just went through the Elite Men's division of the 2009 Patriot Triathlon in East Freetown, MA. Those who don't know they offer an open division ,usually to try to attract local pros, and wannabes like me, who maybe if the planets cosmical align in the right position and everything goes right might bring home a check.

Well as went through the list of guys in the Elite division I saw two familiar faces:

Ray Botelho who won the elite division last year and John Hirsch, the national Champion of the People's Republic of Block Island, and 10th at Ironman Louisville last year.

Now I knew I was going to lose to Ray but still had a remote shot at the remaining check, with John in the field it looks like I'm racing for the paper weight for third. Part of me has thought about emailing the race director and going back to the age group ranks, but I seriously hate having to swim around guys from the previous waves,Plus my age group goes last wave so there are tons of people all over the place and the sun is usually pretty high in the sky on the run. Besides Patriot is a race that I do to push myself, and see where I stack up with New England's best. Plus with Providence being A+++ priority I don't mind having a 58 mile tempo ride with little to no traffic. But enough on me here's how I think this thing is going to go down.



John, Ray and I are all within about a minute of each other on the swim. My plan is to go hard and see if I can't throw down the day's fastest swim for the second year in a row.



The bike is where John and Ray go bye-bye and battle for glory.



I only know the times of one other dude in the division, Craig Sheckler, everyone else is unknown quantity, but Craig threw down a 4:49 here last year and looks to be at my goal pace on the bike and run. So if I can stay in front of him on the bike or at the very least hold on to him I will definitely bust the 5 hour barrier and hopefully hit my goal of 4:45.



My strategy this year is different than last year. While I fully plan on throttling the swim, I'm going to break my bike leg into quarters, go hard the first half of the two loops and tone down the second halves to try to keep my legs somewhat fresh for the run. Figure I average about a 2:40 so if I can go between 2:35 and 2:45 I'll be happy.

The tempo work with Tony has me confident that I can break 1:40 on the run. But I know I usually end up going about 1:45. This year I need to hammer the run. Hopefully they'll have flat cola at the aid stations although last year they didn't bring it out until late in the race, and needless to say I was suffering through the run.I can't explain it but for some odd reason Coke works for me.

All these plans look well and defined on paper but once you actually get into the race it's amazing how it doesn't stick to a script. A key competitior getting a flat here...a bad night of sleep there, a missed water bottle, the leader deciding to hammer fest the bike and the rest of us driniking the "kool aid" and trying to gun after him. I guess that's why we run the race...nothing is certain until we cross that finish line.

Trying to get pumped.
R.D.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

The New Shoes

Yep I went out and bought myself a pair of New Balance 769's by mistake they were marked as $59.99 and as a result got them $30 cheaper than retail. To celebrate and vent off some life frustrations I went for a 9 miler to break them in. Yesterday was the infamous grad party..mainly my source of stress, I had mentioned it in passing to some of my friends none showed up granted I really haven't graduated...as I still wait for one grade so I can get my diploma. My sisters' friends showed and they had a good time so I guess it was worth the money I had to shell out for it. So no training went down. Today I got a call from Tony and so hauled out to Southington for an 11+ mile tempo run. We finished in 1:27. It was a good hard run that my legs sorely needed.The 769's worked like a charm as they felt like pillows on my feet. My base is strong from all the swimming and cycling so my cardio was fine, but the legs have needed more mileage. Tony and I have similar running pace but different strengths he tends to come on strong at the end and has a developed kick. I tend to go out like a house on fire to try to build a lead because I have absolutely no sprint speed. So the whole 11 miles we took turns pacing when I felt good I pace ahead and build a small lead, then when he felt good he'd come along side. And in the final sprint he kicked ahead. Tempo running with a training partner is defintley better than running alone as you tend to push harder when someone else is going hard with you. Today was a true test of my pacing and I feel confident going into to Patriot and Providence, that I can hold in the mid-7:00's.

Feelin' Fast
R.D.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

And so another pair of running shoes bites the dust....

" Without you I'd be lost...well no actually I'd make a new clone, but there would be a 10 minute period where I'd be completely inconsolable" - Dr. Evil.

Well my New balance 768's that I bought last September have finally shifted off this mortal coil. As I ran in them last night I could feel a slight jarring in my heel and ankle and I knew that the Coushining had given up the ghost. That my 8 miler last night was their last hurrah. So today, payday, while I should use some of this money toward other things...I will be spending roughly $80 at either Sports Authority or Dicks getting myself a pair of NB 749's. I figure $80 now is better than $280 to the Ortho and 4 weeks of no running later. I'm debating on how to best dispose of my 768's...should I do what I traditionally do toss them in the grabage can. Or should I give them a more honorable disposal... cremate them, then scatter their ashes on my 13 mile loop. There were comfortable, supportive, and will be sorely missed.
Requiese in Pace

R.D.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Rev 3 Race Report

Well ok technically it's a volunteer report as I decided to toss my scant resources toward Providence 70.3 and my crazy dream of a Kona slot. I will say this it's wired wearing the other T-shirt, but at the same time it's kinda relaxing. I mean not having to sit there and think about decents, gearing, wear on the running shoes, am I trained enough, what do I eat tonight so I preform at my best? For once it felt good to show up with a Great one from Dunkin Donuts and two chocolate Donuts and not feel like a hypocrite.

On Saturday I showed up early in the AM and Bsed with Bob and Mary Ann Blais at the War on ALS booth. I met up with Robin the volunteer coordinator and got my T-shirt then headed over to transition. My first task of the day was going around with Cinda ( who was Belinda Granger's homestay ironically enough.) and stapling race numbers on the transition racks. As I went through I say some familiar names including some of my buddies from HEAT ( Tony, Dave, Slowpoke, Gabe, Raf, etc.) and then out of the Blue on one rack Claire Badass Mofo. Well this necessitated a quick phone call with a stupid voicemail message along the lines of "I didn't know you were racing this bitch." or something stupid like that. The last few months I've been in work, class, train, classwork, repeat mode so my people skills are well...sort of non-existent. I also bumped into Bree Wee.

Well after stapling 700+ race numbers to the transition "boxes" I moved over to check in. I essentially became a transition escort. I would help guys find their transition spots answer basic questions such as "where is the bike out?" "How much space do we have for gear?" Claire came in asking questions for the Aqua bike that apparently none of us knew. I sent her to race info hoping they were better prepared than we were...unfortunately as I would later find out trying to find info for the Aqua bike would require consulting a Buddhist holy person on the top of a snow covered mountain.

I worked Transition until 1:30 and then ran into town for a bite to eat and met up with Josie for our afternoon ride. We made it out to Waramaug and after one loop of the lake decided to bypass the Bethlehem section of the loop. Again she throttled me as she averaged over 17 mph and my dead ass pedaled in a good 5-10 minutes behind. I covered our 50 miler averaging about 16.7 mph I need to find my form on the bike and fast. Granted I think I might need to be refit as there were some sections where she was able to stay perfectly areo and I was either in the bull horns or out of the saddle not so much for power but to relieve pressure on my lower back. Regardless, this week there will be more time spent on the bike.

I got back to the park at about 6:00, and hopped in the endless pool demo to wash some of the salt and road grime off, so I wouldn't be scarring the late check- ins away with the rank of aroma of eau-de 80km ride. I went back to transition and helped check in the last minute stragglers. After that it was off to the Volunteer dinner/ meeting. I figured out where in Litchfield I was supposed to direct traffic and what time I needed to be at the park to help with body marking.

Sunday
I showed up at the park at about 5:30 to help with body marking. Things went pretty smoothly. I marked up a couple of my teamamtes,Tony, Karen, a few of the locals I know and the youngest competitor in the race a 14 year old racing with her dad. I listened to one of the women getting marked up by the guy next to me. Then came the Question, "Rob, umm this chick's got a low number and she wants her age on her calf." I looked over and saw the tell tale bikini top, it was Bree. "She's a pro." I said to the dude, Bree looked up..." Can't I just compete with the age groupers?" She said with a smile. Sadly I had to be the big mean scary race number Nazi. "Sorry Bree you're a pro it'd be unfair." Claire came over sporting her Aquaphor gear...part of me is think I should have applied/signed up... as it looked pimp.

As I started to see the people shuffle to the water in their wetsuits part of me was regretting not racing..or at least I was until I drove to my spot on the bike course. As I rolled over some of the hills I realized how much of a bear this thing was and despite my hill training there is no way I would have been ready to go as fast as I would like to this weekend.
I arrived at my road block which split a rather large farm completely in half and set up the "Road Closed "sign with the Litchfield Cops and got the warning that these things very rarely work. Well that theory was tested early ( read my other post for this) when some bimbo in a Saab made the comment she couldn't get around on the otherside to get home, since she lived on the road I let her through. I would let 4 cars through not including the farm dumptruck and a couple of state police crusiers and oh yes a rather rude woman in a white ford F-150 with a horse trailer. More on that later. I got up to my post at about 7:30 and waited for the leaders to come through...they were expected at about 8:15...that came and went...then 8:30...then at 8:45 the sate police entourage came through. A cruiser, two motorcyles followed by...Matty Reed...and the TV crew... I was a bit shocked what happended to Luke Bell... about two minutes back Richie Cunningham blew through followed by a pack of three pros....I sat there and wonder where Luke Bell was he was the favorite to win this thing. Then the pro women came through first I couldn't make out the leader but I could see Joanna Zieger in 2nd. Then Natascha Badmann rolled through and shouted "thanks" you could tell it was a rough course as she was only half smiling...

Then came the pack...Jo Lawn , Belinda Granger, Mirinda Cafree going 3 wide traffic be damned. Some dude in a subaru cut right as I had to direct some of the fastest age group men around the stalled car. Then Bree came through and about 5 minutes behind her came the age group packs, and stragling pros...still no Luke Bell...so assumed he DNFed. Gabe rolled through then Tony, Karen, Claire, Dave, other Dave, and so it went on for about 3 hours. As the packs went through there would be little breaks...one rider slowly chugging along, and then no one for about 5 minutes then 5 or 6 together...then no one then another lone rider...then no one...and then the mechanic's truck..."You've got one more about 5 minutes back."
Then 10 minutes later..." #7XX is the last one she's about 15 minutes back..." 15 minutes later she rolled through and my duites were done. I drove back to the park and met up with some of the HEATers found out Erica had been hit by a car at mile 1 of the run as somebody blew through the massive local/ state Police road block seriously there must have been at least 10 cops and five crusiers. Tony had come in in the 5:25 range..not a bad day...a good tune up for Louisville. Natascha was sitting with some of my teamates discussing shoulder rehab. Bree made the comment she was going to hit some rides as she had a knot in her stomach and hoped it would lossen it up. Found Claire and met Grease Monkey...and her dog Kona...no the name does not refer to a certian town on a certain volcanic island which hosts a certain sporting event in mid October, which would drive this particular gathering of masochists buck wild.

So that was REV 3 watching all those athletes was good motivationto get me back into my training. Monday I did an Olympic Distance brick, yesterday I swam about 3300 yards and tonight I've got a run and swim on tap. Hopefully Patriot will be a good kick start to my summer season.

So to all those who Reved or are Reving up I salute you.

R.D.

* sorry I will add the pics later, it's just I can't up load them at work.

Monday, June 8, 2009

What is the "Road Closed" of which you speak?

Ok disclaimer, part of the reason for my semi-bitter title to this post is a few incidents took place during REV 3 with traffic control a couple at my road block and one incident with one of my teammates on the run. Apparently "road closed" is a concept they didn't teach in driver's ed. Now most of the guys I let through on my end were working at the farm right on the intersection..how ever I had a couple of people trying to shortcut to the White Memorial Nature Preserve, as evidenced by the ticked off look on their faces when they came back. I had only let 4 cars up when a state trooper pulled up and was like "dude unless they work for the farm don't let them through because we got the road sealed at the other end. " Not even two minutes after he left I had some chick in a white truck with a horse trailer nearly plow through after I explained in very calm rational terms that the road was closed. and she in a very "how dare you tone" explained she needed to meet someone and couldn't go around because the "god damned state police" had the road blocked on the other end and proceeded to gun it cyclists be damned. Thankfully most of the other motorists weren't as..um bitchy...then again most of them were driving with kayaks on the roof and while a little upset that they had to drive the extra 3-5 miles to the Preserve's main entrance they seemed pretty chill after all if you roll with a kayak on your roof you sort of get this whole extreme sport thing.

The second incident occurred as one of my teammates was run over at mile one on the run. An elderly driver ran the police road block and hit her breaking 3 bones in her foot.

Seriously is there something in the water in Connecticut that makes us think those road closed signs are for everybody else, I mean ok Speed limit is a polite suggestion you know as long as you're within 40mph, but there are somethings that are written in stone, like red lights...oh wait I've blown 1 or 2 in my life, police road blocks...umm..well it wasn't clearly marked thankufully once I started seeing the carnage of a major accident the cops turned me around and parked their cruiser broadside...crap I'm one of those lousy CT drivers...well I guess addmission is the first step in the road to recovery....It's going to be a long journey....

Ok Rev3 report or Bob meets Bree and Grease Monkey and pics coming soon.

R.D.

Friday, June 5, 2009

Swimming laps with Pros.

Ok so it was only one pro. I was doing a 3500yard swim workout at the Waterbury Y when I noticed some Chick with a Team Powerbar Cap stretching out by the bleachers. Since the Age group team was taking up 4 lanes and lane 6 had been conquered by the Aquarobics crew I figured I'd split a lane. Nothing sucks worse than having a great workout planned and not having a lane. So as I began my kick set I'll called over that I was willing to split. Now I figured maybe she was some elite Age Grouper, maybe She hoped in an did the introduction thing " I'm Bob Almighty*" I stated " Belinda Granger"..she said back. Belinda Granger...The Belinda Granger...The winner of Hawaii 70.3 last weekend....I was a little star struck for the rest of my sets. I'm sharing a lane with Belinda Granger...it took awhile for the shock to subside even after the practice...it's just something I'm not used to. I did want to pick her brain a little thankfully I'm a notoriosly slow changer so she was able to slip out rather quickly, and unaccosted.

If Cam Brown or Bree Wee show up to the HEAT swim tonight...someone may just have to use that defibulator on me.

Almost Kinda Sorta a bigshot
R.D.

* ok I used my real name.