State of the athlete address...

Well all in all things are more mixed up and confusing than the couple of times I tried reading Kant. My passions are pulling me one way, my reason another and my checkbook is a least letting me keep things well...in check. I have up a poll on whether or not I should enter the Hartford Marathon. Enter the Bob-o head games now:



Reasons ( Rational) Not to enter:



1. Your run training has sucked over the last month.



2. You have at least one $400 race entry coming up in a month.



3. Schoolwork...papers and research don't do themselves.



4. Work...I always seem to get put on that weekend for some odd reason.



5. Do I really want to miss watching the Kona webcast from my nice warm living room?


Reasons ( Passionate) To enter:



1. Avenge my DNF!!!!



2. Cranky and Speedy take Connecticut.



3. Home Marathon



4.Did I mention the DNF?



5. HEAT discount



6.That DNF is fueling a need to regain my manly worth by doing something crazy..and unlike Angry I have not been lifting enough to pull a VW Bus full of Buddhist monks with my hips....maybe next year.


So will I be doing Hartford..I wouldn't hold my breath on it but if I get the morning off from work anything can happen.


IM New Zealand: No comments, I'll make a formal announcement at a later date. ( ie end of October.)

Arizona...as long as I can get to a computer when entries open..it's going to happen...even if it's a show up on Friday...race on Sunday...skip town on Monday deal...I feel comfortable doing this for races were airfare is cheaper than the entry fee, and I don't have to worry about what fruits or vegetables I bring with me. But if ( and a big if because I'm not know for my prowess in the heat.) I qualify for Kona then it allows for me to either by-pass going to the Southern Hemisphere ( unless I want to and have it financially) in 2010 or throwing myself into a race where the climb categories are going into "TDF" range.

Rest of the 09 season....only 2 sacred cows Patriot and the Griskus Sprint...everything or anything else is subject to change, financial situation, acts of God, planetary alignment...dogs and cats ...living together as one...etc..

I got an 8.5 miler in today and felt pretty good, although the long nights and early mornings via school work are taking a toll .Well that's it from my whiny ass.

Sticking the coffee in his veins

R.D.

Soy EL PRESIDENTE!

or for those of you who no habla espanol..

I AM THE PRESIDENT....

of CenTri..or the CCSU tri club. With Bjoern in Austria, I have siezed power and massive responsibility. Which now means I have to hand in all sorts of paper work set up a meeting time and place....prospective athlete questionaires...practice sessions, what to spend the budget on....nationals..are we sending a team this year to shit talk Yale.....in essence I have the authority to try to implement some positive changes into the club structure.

1. monthly meetings, last year we had a couple of info sessions and a few seminars, but after and between these sessions club interest sort of died...with monthly meetings we can address what's working and what's not, keep tabs on members, organize and reorganize practice routines...

2. get on campus workout group leaders or *gasp* hire/train a team coach...that way we have set work out routines and solid group training.

3. encourage racing...we won't get recognition or growth if we aren't competing. Also at least one race a season where a majority of members are racing ( hammerfest, or madison might be good they're usually in September and would make for a good mixer after the summer season plus they would show what a race entails to new members.

4. USAT membership.

5. Fundraising ,sponsorship, begging ( what ever we can get, we'll take cash, discounts, free equipment, free food, whatever we can get.)Hell I''ll race in NZ again if it'll get us some good press.

Bjoern did a hell of a job as President now it needs to go to the next level if the club is going to last longer then our tenure at CCSU.

The commander in lycra
RD

DNF Not the way I would have liked to finshed the season.

" A $2 part can end your race." Derek Bell on mechanical failure in the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona Auto race

Well Today was Nutmegman my last tri for the 2008 season sadly it seems all the negative energy from the economy, my grandmother's passing, family and fiscal situation all decided to clog themselevs in my front deraileur. But before I get to that, there was a high note on the day I was second out of the water, and the volunteers were excellent but it seems from the second I hit T-1 things weren't going right. First I had a problem un zipping my wetsuit and getting out on to the bike. I was in second then dropped to third about 3 miles into the ride. then as we hit one steep little burner, my front derailleur just wouldn't kick from the big ring to the small ring, when I finally summited the thing the gear finally shifted over. Maybe I overloaded so I decided I would short shift, just to make sure I had enough time to kick it over. ( also I haven't really ridden in 2 weeks so I had no idea what was going on with the blasted thing.) I ended up stopping after pedaling but experiencing more than normal resistance on a flat section, there was no frame rub, the brakes weren't locked so maybe it was my head playing tricks on me. I was in 5th at this point. We hit the turn around and after losing some spots on the descent I short shifted only to hear the sound on my chain hitting the frame as I was beginning to climb. I stopped muttered a few explatives,almost thought of tossing the bike over the guardrail Normann Stadler style. Then walked the bike to a flat area, fixed the chain and started again, by this time I was in god knows where place. I figure that my problems were over, tried to calm myself, saying "Bobby Cowboy the Fuck up and finish this thing!" I caught back up to one of my team mates from HEAT Gary G. but he soon ditched me on the crazy fast part of the course. I managed to retake some of the spots I lost but as I started up another climb, I tried to short shift, the chain didn't kick, I unclipped because other wise I would have face planted, I walked the bike up the hill to the aid station and politely asked where the mechnaic was, the voulunteers told me my safest bet was to ride to transition as the SAG car was still a long way back. I rode to the start point of the second loop, my bike now finally in the small ring, I informed the State Trooper that I was heading back to transition and I rode the way back. I got there and found out the mechanic was gone I thought about just ponying up in the small ring but took off my timing chip and dropped out, instead, I needed all my gears on this course and also maybe dropping out from a $20 mechanical problem was saving me from a 40+mph bike wreck and time in the ICU. It just sucks that my season had to end on such a low note. On a high note Gary and at least 3 of my fellow HEATsters topped 10ed.

As for now I don't know what awaits me other than school and work, maybe I'll just take a few months off and focus on those aspects of my life for a while, maybe I'll enter the Hartford Marathon, or re-sign up for Masters, all I know for certain is the stomper has a date with Al later this week.

Bumed out big time
R.D.

I now have a reason to put this race on the schedule next year...it owes me a big one.