Crash and Burn 100k: Or a Tale of Two Crashes

Well Yesterday I pre rode my normal 100k loop through Bethlehem and Morris, just to see what I was in for. Well, for all the talk of climate change and mountains collapsing that wasn't the case out here. I managed to average 16.8mph yesterday before heading home and working a little on my paper, the sad thing is I really didn't eat alot that would prove to be the key today.

Crash # 1 Welcome to Bonksville Population Bob.

I met up with Bjoern and Josie at 11:00am and we started out on our 62 mile odyssey. The first 5 miles were mostly down hill but as we started to climb, something didn't feel quite right...Bjoern got around which was normal I held pace with Josie for about a mile and then got dropped....I sipped some more sports drink hoping it was only electrolytes, I had a small headache and was fighting hard to to keep the other two riders in sight. As we hit Nettlehollow Rd. it became apparent that I had no gas in the tank, my lack of eating any substantial meals in the past 48 hours ( I ate but little things, like cereal, some bananas, pop corn...all simple carbs.) definitely wrecked havoc on my body. We arrived at Lake Waramaug to find out that today was the day of the annual 50k/100k running festival so as we looped around we keeping left to allow the ultra runner types to battle through the 90F heat. We got to the State Park and I immediately raided my Bento Box 3 of the 4 power bars I brought with me were wolfed down in seconds along with a bottle of sports drink .

After getting our bearings set we decided to Press On I gave Bjoern and Josie the Warning that despite the food was helping that I was still going to be about 5 minutes back. And so we did our second loop of the lake and made our way out to the hills. As expected it didn't take long for me to go "off the back " and Bjoern and Josie to go out of sight. I sat in my own level of Dantes Inferno, literally the Heat was opressive, especially considering early this week I was walking around in long pants and a hoodie. Needless to Say Bjoern and Josie were holding good pace. They waited for me at the top of CT 61. After a quick regroup...and the comments "those hills are no joke." We began the descent back.

Crash# 2 Josie joins the "club."

This morning Josie made the comment that she had never been in a crash, well sadly that changed today, as we made our way down 61, she and Bjoern hit a small pot hole, Bjoern stood up right and I saw Josie eat pavement, luckily the car between us slowed to stop and help. Thankfully Josie was just a little cut up ( I'm always afraid that when anyone goes down they break something.) and bent the rear wheel of her P2C, the driver called for the Volunteer firefighters to take a look at her, figure clean out her scrapes a little better. Now I was figuring that just a small fly car would come out with a medic with a first aid kit...nope we got a whole 10 man rescue crew, an ambulance, rescue unit, and one volly who happended to be listening to his scanner. So after the whole shabang the good samaritan motorist drove Josie back to her car as Bjoern and I pressed on. I could go into the bloody gory details but I got smoked...

For me it was probably one of my worst days in the saddle in a long time, I just had nothing, but at least I learned one thing, you can't go 60 miles with nothing in the tank.

Counting his calories

R.D.

Am I what I eat?

Upon several emails to Catherine she has often joked she doesn't know how to cook for an athlete, and has made references to me having some sort of "mystical athlete's diet" while it is true a couple days before a race I tend to go lighter on the fried foods, and I try to get some fresh fruits and vegetables in the diet regularly, I eat like the average 23 year old. I still eat chips, ice cream, drink coca cola like it's going out of style. I eat white bread,granted I am sort of going over to whole wheat, white pasta, and processed sauce. My mornings are usually started by a bowl of somewhat healthy cereal ( as my Grandpa is a diabetic so no Lucky Charms for him.) Dunkin Donuts coffee is my down fall, occasionally I celebrate with 1 or 2 bottles of Sam Adams ( except for the post Ironman Pub crawl I haven't really hit the bar since Sophomore year of college, too much liquor makes me act like a moron.) I eat at Wendy's at least once every two weeks. My friend Adam and I are hot wing connoisseurs. Don't get me started on pizza,Chinese food, barbecue, cheesecake, and other shit that will probably lead to an early end, heart disease or diabetes. In essence if it's in my fridge I eat it, with the exception of Mayo . For some odd reason I hate the stuff. Maybe it's the texture, maybe the smell, maybe it's the fact that it can clog my arteries in .05 sec. whatever the reason I don't really like it and my little brother is the same way.

ok so what was I writing about again, oh yes an athlete's diet...the way I see it right now I eat more with my check book than with my race plan or a food pyramid in mind. I still try to get carbs in before a big race, still like the fruits and veggies, still consume mass quantities of protein after workouts, and on some of my long training rides have snacked on Snicker's minis. I know what you're going to say, candy while working out, As your collective eyes roll back in horror,allow me to explain the method to the madness:
Snickers contain, caramel, peanuts, nougat, and chocolate.
The caramel,nougat and chocolate contain simple carbs for quick short fuel.
The peanuts and I think nougat have protein
Chocolate has caffeine for a short pick me up, hey it's probably a little safer than red bull.
also you can chew it so when you've consumed gu number 1000 in the course of your ironman, long ride, ultra marathon,it offers your taste buds, mouth and stomach a bit of a break.

Regardless, maybe this whole eat what ever's available, will fill me up, meet my nurtitional needs and not break the bank attitude is hurting my performance, if it is than I would be amazed to see how fast I can go on a "right diet" but as of right now that 5 boxes of pasta for $3 special at Stop and Shop is a good deal and providing me with what I need.

The guy behind Phelp's in the buffet line
R.D.

Nobody's Perfect......and training update.

Alright Yes the Giants won the super bowl ( making my week 2 wish come true, " I'll be happy if the only game they win all year is against the Patriots." and fufilling a "deathbed" promise, that the Giants would win another Superbowl in my life time. They had won in 1987, and 1991 but I was a little too young to understand.) Only thing I was unhappy about was Eli getting the MVP it belonged to the defense, the defense carried the team, and Brady had higherQB rating and NO INT's last night....but regardless the Giants won and I am happy....football rant done!

Saturday proved to be fruitless, I only got in about 10 miles on the bike after traversing the State like a mad man.

Sunday....well I got miles in and tried a nutrtional strategy. I intially was going to park in Woodbury and ride up to the lake, but decided to preview my route up, sure enough at the bottom of KettleHollow road there a sand pit, but as I drove a half mile up the road into Washington I noticed the roads were clear ( they use brine instead of sand.) I parked at this litte park at Bee Brook and rode the 4 miles to the lake. I did one regular loop of the lake and on my second loop decided to add in the "lollipop" on Arrowhead Ln. adding an extra mile. On my third loop I did the Sprint tri bike Course, now this was a bad idea. The climbs by the golf club and Farmhouse were bad as usual but the whole flat back section was torn to pieces. Whole sections of road just vanished ( apparently from where they did some mid-winter utility work.) and what pavement there was was covered in a broken asphlat, gravel, sand mix, needless to say I was happy to see the patch of chipseal they put down last summer. so that ended my third loop. I started to ride back to my car and decided Hell I have a good hour of daylight left, and I descedned down CT 109 and KettleHollow rd. into Woodbury. I turned around in the sandpit and then ascended back to Washington Depot and my nicewarm car. I didn't get the 70 miles I was hoping for but 50 is good enough. Also my nutrition plan is a little flawed, I set my watch to go off every 15 min. so I know to take a drink, and every third alarm to eat. Well this is good for a smooth flat road going a constant speed, sadly Connecticut doesn't believe in smooth, flat roads. Around the lake the plan worked pretty well , say for dodging potholes on the backhalf of the sprint course, or fighting the crosswinds on route 45. Climbing on 109 or dodging potholes on the descent down KettleHollow rd. @ 30mph you really can't take your hands off the bars.( and I didn't set up my aero drink, so I was relying completely on bottles.), but it served its purpose which was reminding me to eat and drink.
Sadly there was no running this weekend, but I plan on a nice pre work jog tomorrow, and a night run through da hood with Bjoern on Wednesday. If the weather decides to stay fairly mild I will attempt another long ride/brick on Saturday or Sunday to beat the snot out of my legs one last time before taper. The only thing I worry about is the bike split. I haven't gotten more than a 75 mile ride in so I'm hoping what I learned on that 75 miler / 7 mile brick will be enough. I think Next year I'm going to do Arizona, Cote D' Arlene, or Louisville, something in the summer so I have more time for long rides, although if I like it down there this might become a yearly tradition.
Well that's all I can post for now.

The Guy wearing a vintage Phil Sims Jersey at his desk.
R.D.

Back to the Grind......

Well starting next Tuesday, I'm officially Chained to my computer desk once again...that's right this aspiring triathlete/corporate minion is going back to school. also I should start life guarding again although I'm considering leaving that gig. For me the extra money is great, but I don't know if its worth the lost training time, the aggravation of driving home at midnight, the minuscule pay, and the fact that these guys want me to put my "real job " on hold to attend their training sessions, sadly I don't have the lifestyle of the average college student so I might leave to open the position for someone who has the time and needs the money a little more than I do. (prehaps I can write that off as a charitable contribution.) ..ok work rant over....

Last night Stef, kicked my ass with the swim workout of doom. The warm up was easy but the main set was ..well....the main set. Here's the torture:
3x200
1 hard on 2:50
2 Easy on 3:00
3 Sprint on 2:45

2X400 on 6:00
1 Easy
2 Sprint

1x600 Build on 9:00

4x100 1&4easy on 1:30 2&3 Hard on 1:25

200 Hard to Easy on 2:45

100 Sprint

As stated earlier if I'm not in the top 100 on the swim I am going to be really freaking ticked off. ( unless of course 99 guys and gals (hopefully more gals) from the Austrialian , US and NZ National Swim teams show up.)

This week they are forecasting temps in the "hunt Mastadon" Range but then again these guys hardly ever predict anything right. But this week will be devoted to run focus, Tomorrow I get out early so I will try to get a nice 15 miler in , followed by an 8 miler on Friday, and hopefully a long brick on Saturday if there is no snow, either that or I will brave the brick on Sunday if the temperatures are warmer than the apocolyptic seceond ice age predictions that are floating around ( 10 degrees as a high with a low of -5) afterall watching the Giants pull the "miracle on frozen turf" will be much sweeter after a hard day in the saddle. Also another added factor will be trying to avoid the "plauge" or "cholera like bug"which is running through my house, I've been trying to stay well rested, taking naps coming home from the office, eating my fruits, boiling my water, in general trying to keep my immunity up.

The Medical Machine
R.D.

What do I have to do to get 100 miles in.

Yesterday's long ride was productive but I'm not sure if it was productive enough. I got in 8 loops of the lake (65 miles), before having to "use the facilities" numb feet, imending darkness, and a rip roaring headache forced me to stop. I got in a good 4 hours in the saddle..so if I can maintain a 16-17 mph pace i'm looking at a 6:30 bike split. On my 5th loop I managed to meet up with Greg, a local cyclists/cycling coach logging 50 miles on his cross bike. Shot the shit told him I was doing an Ironman..asked who I was working with...Told him I was self coached at the moment but I'll probably work with John Hirsch once I have the dinero and get a little more serious...when I don't have this whole school thing going on. Definately talked up John and told me to invest in a power tap when I have the greenbacks. I found out that having a single large back pocket is not as good as having the standard three. Now with the three pockets you can seperate one pocket for powerbars, one pocket for gels, one pocket for EPO syringes, last will and testament, 9mm if riding through the North End of Hartford. Also winter gloves make picking up gel packs near impossible. Also cold weather tends to freeze already rock hard powerbars but irregardless I managed to get adaquate fuel, although this cold weather riding screws with hydration, you need it but you don't feel like you need to drink...it's just a mess. I figure when I get to NZ I'll plan on going through at least 1 gatorade every hour and a bottle of water every 10 miles....pretty much I'll set a base hydration plan and adjust according to the weather. Fuel wise I plan on going through at least 4 gels and 2 powerbars on the bike, which seems about average figure a gel at the 13 and 25 mile mark a bar at the 45 mile and 60 mile mark then gels at the 75 and 90 mile marks. Once again these are base estimates and will be adjusted with hunger and the amount of fluid taken in. I want to be well fueled but I don't want a 15-20 min. T2 time from "quality reading time". Anyhow the loops were uneventful. I spent a good deal of time in the aerobars, but only managed to average 16 mph, which is what I'll probably average in Taupo maybe I might be a little faster due to some "net"downhills but all in all I plan for a comfortable ride and a Macca-esque suffer fest on the run. This weekend looks to be clear and above freezing so I'll probably be back at the lake looking for more punishment....I hope to get all these long rides out of my system before Classes resume late this month. Afterall I won't beable to justfy spending 6 hours on a bike when I've got a 20 page paper on Yasir Arfat's hemroids looming over me. So that's how I spent my weekend on tap for today is a quick trip to the waterbury Y for 3000 yards in the pool before they close for the holiday, maybe a run it's still above freezing otherwise I'll ring in the New year with a trainer ride and year in review blog post before champange and finger foods.

The Lord of the Lake
R.D.

This week is turning into run focus

Well after gutting out roughly 13 miles tonight ( in 2:01.20 roughly 9:25 /per mile pace..thanks to the pace calculator @ trizilla.com), I was too shot to get in what is a desperately needed swim work out...(always tomorrow morning). So far I've managed to swim 3800 yds and ran 13 miles this week so that whole idea of taper is out the window. ( Training for IM New Zealand began as soon as I crossed the finish line in New Hartford). Hopefully this weather will get its ass in gear and I'll be able to ride tomorrow. The picture below is me on trusty Enrico.

( if it's wet those bike trails are looking tempting and trusty Enrico ( my sister's nickname for my road bike.) will be getting action. The Michelin's at least have treads, and I don't want to wreck the tri bike on the eve of its first race...if it dries up however... I will be practicing my sexy shoeless mount and dismount.)Yes this is yet another shameless plug for a picture of The Bitch Stomper. ( I paid $1600 for it so I will be showing it off until I upgrade in 2 years or get sponsored by specialized and get the Mc Cormack Special.) Yes I know you're jealous of this sexy piece of aluminum. Anyway that was what happened on this cold dreary day . I would also like to rant at this moment about Clif bars. Are CliffBars a natural laxative?

Seriously, every time I go for a run after eating one of these things, after 6 miles my bowels are like "too much fiber need to shit." Which is sad because I actually like the taste of the bars #1, and now it leaves me reeling for what type of solid food I should bring with me on the IM bike...looks like Bonita Bananas

will once again prove to be the food of choice for this IM New Zealand Athlete ( hence allowing them to cash in on the sponsorship deal.) Although Larabars

have a great taste and seem not to have a disastrous side effects with my gastric systems. But anyway today was a pretty fruitfull three town tour. I began my run from my home in Wolcott and darted down lyman road and potoccous ring rd. and across 69. I ran past scovil's dam then up Todd rd. Darted across CT 322 (Meriden rd. and ran down pierpont rd. I ran down Waterbury's east Main st. into Cheshire. ( Angry drove by in his Corolla as he was driving back from Hartford. He honked and started shouting as he crusied past at 45 mph.) Then up Byam rd. back through Waterbury and into Wolcott. Instead of killing my shins on the pitted back half of CT 322 I decided to run the way I came and darted down Todd road. As I approached the Wolcott Ambulance Barn I decided that I was not going to be able to keep that Clif Bar under wraps. After BS with the Paramedic ( who was one of my Pop's co workers) I used the facilities and took off to finish my run feeling about 10lbs. (I'm telling you those Clif bars sit like a rock.) lighter. Instead of going all the way back up Wolcott Rd. I decide not to turn onto Brooks hill Rd. and instead went down Munson and then up Kroger Crossing 69 onto the upper half of Potoccous Ring, and then followed Lyman and Chestnut back home. All in all it was and interesting and hard run. My legs will probably thank me for this abuse tomorrow but as they say no pain no gain.

R.D.