It's getting to be that time again....

Well after doing a 12 mile run on Sunday, I noticed that my shoes were getting to the point that there going to need replacement. Likewise I've been reusing old tri shorts and bathing suits to the point of being see through, I'm desperately low on nutritional goods, my bike shorts are full of holes. Essentially it's time for some of the equipment purchases I've been desperately putting off.
The first thing on the priority scale is the running shoes and I'm left with a debate. For years I've been devoted to New Balance, they've been a good shoe for me. They have decent longevity, great support granted they never seem to have racing flats in my size anymore. So I'm left with a decision to I stick with the tried and true or do I experiment with something new for the up coming off season?
One part of me has heard wonderful things about Saucony, and I've been wanting to try them to see what all the hype is about. Their shoes are pretty equal to New Balance and they tend to carry flats in my size for competition. Another part of me knows Asics have great variety and an all, but you pay a premium for the name. I looked into K-swiss and the infamous Newton, but am really tossed up between New Balance and Saucony, essentially because I know I can get a good deal on them both at Sports Authority.

In second priority,I need nutrition because quite frankly I'm getting tired of dishing out $1-$2 for a bottle of gatorade every long ride or run. Also I need to stock up on power bars because lets face it a man can not live on gu alone.

Swim suits, I can get by for the next month or so,using last year's tri shorts, but I know I'm going to need those soon otherwise the lifeguards will be getting a bird's eye view of the Grand Canyon.

On the training front, I'm starting to tack together more long runs and rides but have pretty much resigned myself to the fact that this will be the first time since 2007 I will not have a long distance race on tap. Part of me really wants to do Mightyman Montauk, but I know there are bills that must be paid and other needs that have to be met before then. I might tow the line at something shorter and local but I've got to play it by ear. Likewise I've gotten some New riding partners in my friends Alexei, Max and Justin. Also speaking of training partners Josie's baby girl is due in late October so she may be back into training by December/ January.
My 12 mile run on Sunday went well despite the heat, as it has been downright hot in New England,almost 90F everyday. Part of me is wondering if I should do my infamous crash course in marathon training, and tow the line in Hartford again.

On the Navy front I'm scheduled to take my physical within the next two weeks and I want to retake my ASTB so I can become a pilot. Likewise it looks like my application may not be good to go until the October board,as more new paper work has been added to the fray. Part of me feels this is a good thing that it gives me more study time and the other part of me is like let me know if I made it already or if I should start searching for more options on the civillian side. Essentially what happens in 2011 is all based on if I'm an officer canidate or a call center agent looking for advancement.

My one hope for 2011 is that I will have more stability than 2010, hopefully a stable roof over my head, meaningful work, a solid training and racing schedule and a better outlook on life.

R.D.

Somebody Call the Psych Ward.....

Bobby's got some crazy ideas...

Well the last few weeks have been pretty crazy running around trying to get my Navy Application together, trying to get my training together,trying not to loose my mind with life issues. Essentially I feel like I'm still living in Limbo not knowing what's coming up. The next month leads to more waiting on my future as I wait for an answer from the Officer selection board. If they take me I'll have a solid job lined up for the next 4-10 years, granted it does have a hectic schedule, and I'll be living a semi-nomadic existence. If I'm not taken I've got to start start job hunting for something with a little bit higher pay or at least suplement it. Enter crazy idea #1.

After talking to one of my training partners, Alexei, a personal trainer at the Waterbury Y, he sort of planted the seed of becoming a coach for beginner triathletes. His arguement went along the lines of "Dude you've been doing this for years, you have a lot of knowledge to share, have you thought about coaching?" My counter was "but yeah dude # 1 I'm not USAT certified. #2 You've seen my training plans I race on the edge of my seat on a wing and a prayer, eating what ever is on sale at Stop and Shop. #3 I'm have absolutely no clue on how to get faster on the bike. My rides are mostly LD with some spurting TT work,and Spintervals in the winter. #4 I'm the most anti-tech guy on the planet I don't us a heart rate monitor or power tap, I train old school off of precieved exertion.
His counter was "Yeah but Rob, beginners don't care about a cert. ( and seriously get a couple of clients and you'll be able to pay for one.) Your crazy training system has worked for you so far, and being less tech is not necessarily bad for newbies. The average beginner triathlete is not going to be throwing around tons of cash on equipment, maybe a HR for $50-$100 but not anything too crazy." So I'm thinking about it. Not as a full time gig but as something to help offset my racing costs.

Crazy idea #2 One of my friends Dad works for a limo company and was rolling some big wig from Timex around and they got to talking about Ironman and somehow my name came up and before he knew it he got me a contact with Timex. The problem: when he got me the contact I was in no mood to discuss triathlon. We were losing our house, I was stuck in my teller job and I was quite seriously thinking of pawning my bike and calling it quits until I was in a better place. I thanked him for the phone number and it disappeared into the masses of paperwork and boxes that I was throwing my life into. This may now be the biggest regret of my life, as I have until October to apply for Team Timex, and if I don't get into the Navy I'm going to be looking for some sponsors. Timex is at the top of my list, but they only take the top 45 athletes in North America, and let's face it I'm good but not that good...granted I was the fastest dude under 25 from the Northern Hemisphere at 2009 Ironman New Zealand...

Crazy idea#3 / #4 Reading on some of the other blogs, and seeing some of my teamates train for Ironman, watching them travel and essentially live their lives to the fullest,it's made me reflect. I used to be them. I used to have dreams and goals. I used to have confidence. Lately I've felt like I've just been waiting for the next disaster. That essentially I've been plauged by Murphy's Law. I felt like I'm working my butt off just to get nowhwere. First I know I need to get my own place. Next I want to race Ironman again, and likewise I want to travel again. I talk to Steph and we talk about the plans of what we want to do places we want to go, and quite frankly I don't want that to be something that is said and not done. I was thinking of going to either Austrialia or New Zealand in 2012 or 2013. Figure it gives me time to get crap in order and save up. If it's Oz I wanted to do something Romantic like New Year's in Sydney. If it's NZ I want to race Ironman again, let's face it I guess I just like riding on the left side of the road and I've got a network down there. I have a feeling Steph and I are going to be long haul and quite frankly I'd like to do some of this traveling stuff done while we're still young, because we may not be able to do it again until we're retired...and from experience traveling is a lot easier the younger you are.

So those are the crazy ideas that have been batted around my head hopefully some of them will come to fruition.

R.D.

Park City Mossman Race Report

Well It's a well overdue but I was able to sit down and get my thoughts together and write a race report for the Park City Mossman. I will first start by apologizing if I sound a little sadsack, as I was about 10 minutes slower than last year. In some races 10 minutes ain't much but on a perfectly flat bike course it definitely is a big margin. Granted given my training and crazy life situation it wasn't too horrible.

We arrived in Bridgeport with my massive support crew of my sisters Melissa and Julia and My GF about 6:30AM. Unfortuately I overslept so I was not able to get my prerace coffee and Corn Muffin which may have made the difference on this day. I managed to get my packet and chip pretty quick and had to make my way over to Transition with only 15 minutes to prepare. It was then I noticed that my shorts felt a little funny I couldn't find the draw string and felt a tag against my hips..."Great I have my shorts on backward" I muttered to myself I did a quick towel change and tried to find space for my bike on a cramped bike rack. After squishing my gear into place I took a quick sip of gatorade and got my wetsuit half way up as I made my way over to race start. I managed to get it on and got some help from a fellow competitor on zipping up my Blue-Seventy Helix. I will say this about my helix it is a pain to clip together but once clipped it's very easy to zip down...likewise coat it with a fine layer of suit juice and it's a breeze to get off. But enough talking about my wetsuit, this year the Young guys were the first wave and joining us was CT triathlon legend Chris Thomas of Team Timex. I will say this about Chris he's very soft spoken and one hell of an athlete...if you don't believe me check the results from last year's timberman. He was 8th and I don't mean 8th in the 35-39 AG he was 8th overall.

The swim: 500 meter wade followed by a 1000 meter swim.

After the formality of the national anthem and having to be hand counted in a makeshift swim corral. The race got under way with the sound of a bull horn. As the rest of the field waded in the shallow water toward the first buoy, I decided I definitely swim faster than I run in Neoprene so I cut narrow and swam toward the buoy, by the time the rest of the field was swimming I must have been back in about 50th spot. I decided the cross leg was where I was going to make up ground. Since there were only 2 buoys on the long cross leg I sighted some of the kayaks and paddle boards, one of the guards pointed me back on course as I was cutting a little wide. I managed to pick off a couple of swimmers as I made it to the beach. I was expecting to be in 20th or further back but to my surprise as I ran on to the sand toward T-1 I heard one of the spotters calling out I was in 9th place. I managed to get my wetsuit off and leave into T-1 in 8th place picking up a spot with a quick transition.

Swim Split 20:22 17th fastest counting all waves 1st in my AG.

The Bike: Where is the Magic?

As I slipped my feet into my shoes I was desperately trying to get my speed up but I had really skipped on the bike training the week before the race. I managed to average 19mph on most sections of the course but I just felt like I couldn't get moving. I tried mashing power gears, I tried high cadence but my legs just could not get the Stomper to be up to speed. I manged to go by cheering section to complete the first loop and watched as the faster cyclist went by as I tried to find someway to pick it up. I managed to get passed by one guy in my age group and I tried to hold with him but was dropped after about 400 yards. I did pass one Heatster racing in a Newington Bike Jersey. "Hey you're Bobby Doogs ?" she said as I went by on her left. I nodded and I think I said something to her as I tried to get up to speed. I reached for a gel in my back pocket as I had nothing to eat. My pocket was empty "Shit I left it in transition." I said to myself. I decided to guzzle on Gatorade as it would be my only source of calories. I managed to pass some lap traffic on each loop but was passed by the faster cycling types and I just tried to suck it up for the last 3 loops of the bike. On the fourth loop I managed to get a good little race going with one guy in my age group. He didn't get out of sight and it helped me get my pace up a little. I hit T-2 and over shot my bike rack in my hurry to get out on the run. After re-racking the bike I managed to tear my race number as I turned my race belt around.

Bike Split 1:13:47 nearly 7 minutes and 2mph slower than last year.

The Run: I'm giving her all she's got Captain...

I hit the run at a good clip and felt that maybe I might be able to salvage a decent time but as I got to the first turnaround and took my split it wasn't looking pretty. One guy from my AG ran past like I was standing still. I ate the hammer gel I brought with me and it helped get a little perk in my step as I started the second loop. At about the 4 mile mark a 27 year old from the Yale tri team came along side I asked which loop he was on "my second he said nearly effortlessly." I tried to serge to keep him behind me. It wooked for about 100 yards and then he passed and was out of sight. I got to the turnaround and began the 1.5 mile straightaway back to the beach. About half a mile from the beach a guy from the Bethel Tri club got around me...I decided that I had to beat this guy to save my battered pride ( as I looked at my watch and saw that I was going to be lucky if I broke 45 minutes.) I tucked in behind him and then got along side him at the second aid station. We matched each other's pace as we started the last stretch to the finish with 200 meters left, I started sprinting for the line. I barely edged him out. I hit my watch and saw the split 44:45 one of my worst 10k s ever.

Run Split 44:44

Total Time 2:20:49 Nearly 11 minutes slower than last year.

10th place in my AG 64th overall.

While I was disppointed to say the least there were several things that were good. One was having the GF and my sisters down to cheer me on. The second was I had very quick transitions in relation to year's past. The third never underestimate the power of Java and a Corn muffin. And the Biggest thing I learned :ALWAYS BRING GU WITH YOU ON THE BIKE!

Well that's it for now I've got my Navy officer application submitted so I'm waiting on what the board says in September. If I'm go for flight school then I may not have another race this season. If I'm rejected then I'll be looking for a late season long course race to try to give me a springboard to 2011. Either way I'll feel the need...the need for speed.

Happy Training.

R.D.

Sorry I've been away

Well I've sort of been slacking off. I did the Park City Oly last weekend and I'll have a race report coming soon. Part of me was a little disappointed, as I was a little off from last year...well ok I was a lot off fromlast year. Part of me can blame it on some of the issues I've been through in the past year, but that's a cowards way out. The good thing was I did have a pretty hefty support crew just wish I put on a better show for them.

Along the lines of other issues I've been litterally paying the piper for some of my past endeavors/mistakes, part of me thinks I should have listened to reason or some of my more conservative minded friends but upon analysis even if I knew then what I know now I probably would have made some of the same mistakes, did some of the same stuff because such is life.

Essentially part of me is trying to recover from this recession which has sort have put me in a state of depression. Essentially I find myself second guessing myself alot, putting myself down alot, and pretty much going through life sort of zombified. Part of me feels that people who have any sort of belief in me are building up hopes that are just going to be crushed when I let them down as always. I know I shouldn't think that way but I seriously feel like I just can't get out of this sprial and the more I try to move ahead the further behind I fall. The more I hear the news, the collection calls and the tales of doom and gloom, the more riding my bike off a cliff seems like a good idea,but somehow I still find the guts to get my ass out of bed in the morning to face the day, battered, shaking and wondering how much longer I can take it.

The Navy officer gig is offering hope ( goes to the board this month.),but I'm trying to lay back up plans as well. I'm thinking about becoming a swim ref and my buddy Alex has been trying to talk me into tri coaching. While part of me is tempted by the coaching idea, I seriously wonder do I have what it takes to coach? I mean seriously I have the world's most hodge podge training plan. In fact my advice to my athletes would probably be "If I've done it don't do it." Granted the 90 day Ironman training plan might catch on.

The other thing I find myself working on is how to balance training and a relationship. Up until recently I've been a solo assasin and my weekends were devoted soley to the bike, my shoes and the road. Now I'm trying to balance life with a GF with my training blocks. It's an adjustment but I think I'll be able to give Steph and the Stomper quality time,without either getting jealous.

There's more going on here maybe I'll mention it in another post but for now I've got a race report to work on and a long day at the office ahead.

R.D.

Hardcore week.

Well the last few days have been busy. I spent the weekend with Steph up in Boston. I managed to eek in an 8 mile run on Sunday morning before taking my ASTB on Sunday. My scores weren't too bad but they weren't too competitive either. So it looks like I might not be ready for the September Aviation board like I was hoping. Either way I'm going to brush up on my physics and Avionics and hit the ASTB hard the next time I figure it took me two attempts on my SAT so now I know what I'm up against. For a first time I still managed to meet the minimums to get accepted for Aviation and was above the minimum score to go for my commission. Likewise my 2011 plans are now in limbo.

On the training front my buddy Justin has moved back to CT from Utah and we've started to do weekday rides, as I try to whip my weak leg back into shape. I've been developing new routes through Litchfield County, and actually got a 65 miler in last weekend. Yesterday Justin and I managed to crank out about 40 after I got 4000 yards in in the pool. I'm hoping to do the Park City Mossman, but I know spots are limited and the bills are due. Likewise Steph and I are planning a weekend in Maine the weekend of Pumpkinman, and I'm looking at making that my season ender for the tris this year. I had wanted to do Nats but I'v got bigger fish to fry. Today I managed to get in a 10 miler through Wolcott and Terryville. The run was rolling granted the way back home is a lot rougher than the way out. Likewise the heat and humidity made it a tough day out. I still managed to get it done in 1:37 , it feels good to get my longer runs back and depending how everything is going in October I might sign up for the Hartford Marathon, likewsie Steph may attempt the Manchester Road Race on Thanksgiving, but we'll talk more on that.

All in all things are moving forward I'm just hoping I'll just be able to blog more and have more interesting posts.

R.D.

The Teacher and the Student.

" There comes a day when the Student Surpasses the Teacher."
-Me to Alex on our draining ride this morning.

Well this morning my buddy Alex and I went for a quick 40k ride. He just bought himself a new full carbon Felt B-16 and today was it's christening. As we left our normal riding spot in Middlebury he managed to build about a 30 sec. lead on me. I still remember when he had bought my old road bike off me 2 years ago, and was hardly keeping up. Now he was riding like a master and leaving me in his wake. As we climbed up into Morris he would slow to let me catch up. His progress has been amazing. The kid's got a talent in cycling. I can't say that I've ever been a better athlete than him as he used to school me when we swam in high school, but he has developed greatly as a triathlete. he's gone from an also ran to a contender, and on today's ride he's proved how much his skills have developed. As we turned around from Morris there was a stretch that I was leading on a down hill, he proceeded to blow by me and open up a 30 sec. gap. While part of me was like "Holy shit yet another guy that bikes faster than me." another part was proud to see him develop a strong bike leg ( as his run leg is his weakness.) While he assured me that I have plenty of tricks in the bag ( a solid run leg.) I was going over strategy for our next race. We're both planning on doing the Park City Mossman in Bridgeport in August. The course is flat which fits my ride in the big ring riding style. I seriously believe Alex maybe top 5 or even podium material but he's going to have to throttle the bike for all it's worth.
Today's ride was an eye opener, but it was a little tough. It was 40k with plenty of climbing. Likewise the 90 degree heat and humidity didn't help, but that's what rides on Hot days are for. They acclimate you to the weather and force you to adapt to different conditions.

As for my training I'm trying to settle into a rythym I've got a longer ride and a run on tap for tomorrow. To everybody Rocking Lake Placid tomorrow good luck and kick ass.

R.D.

Making the Best of my Surroundings /TDF Smack.

Well, as mentioned or not in previous posts my family is crashing at the home of a family friend until September ( or we get our lives together whatever comes sooner.) As a result I've been having to go to map my run to try to adjust my mileage from my new start point. Also I have started riding from my home. Well ok I've just done 1 ride from the homestead to Thomaston ( about 3 towns over) but the point is I've started finding new routes, and the new routes are hilly. I'm not going to say they rank up there with Alpe Du Huez or the Tourmelet but they do work the legs. In fact in the 20 miler I did last week I did notice the significant drop in speed on the back end of the ride ( crawling up hill a 10mph or less instead of screaming down at 30 mph.) Likewise it did prove to be a good platform for a 10 mile run as there is an intersection at exactly the 5 mile mark. So while the situation may be less than ideal I am making out good in the training realm likewise the house is absolutely georgeous but it is a temporary stop over.

On the life in general side...I'm scheduled for my Aviation Service Test Battery ( ASTB to you military folks.) in the first week of August so I'm trying to give myself a crash course in high school math. The test will essentially determine if I can make it as an officer in the Navy or if I'll get the "thanks for playing " from my recruiter. Likewise my creditors have started coming after me in force which has been adding to the stress cycle. ( granted this is a mess of my own doing.) All and all things are moving forward just got to see where the path ends.

Likewise in the tour I could make comments on the whole Contador, Schleck thing. I feel for Schleck especailly because I would love to see him win this year's highly entertaining yet unpredictable Tour De France, but let's face it if someone dropped a chain in a tri, a training ride or anyother bike race, the odds of the whole field slowing down for him and waiting for him to catch up are about the odds of Lance Armstrong making up his 20 minute gap in tomorrow's stage. Likewise on Lance... I mean ok dude beat cancer and has been raising awareness, and he had a good break yesterday...but WTF? Where's the support been for Levi, I mean he is the highest ranked rider on Radio Shack, where has the support been especially on the mountain stages where he can get back sometime? Alright my comments on the workings of team Radio Shack over. My predictions for tomorrow's stage, Schleck and Voight go on a break at the 20km mark and try to pull Hinault. ( ie go out like their lives and GC positions have no meaning and just try to dominate.) to get time back on Contador, because essentially unless the Saxo bank docs really roid up Luxembourgs's national hero there's no way he'll touch Contador in the TT...but then again this year's been so odd ball that I might almost pick Dennis Menchov to go beserk and end up in yellow. It's going to be a good stage tomorrow so get the Tivo going.

R.D.