Saturday, May 27, 2006

American Idols

I know what everyone mut be thinking...Taylor Hicks, superstar...the man everyone loves and admires. Ah no! You see, I'm a huge fan of the true American Idols and that would be those we celebrate Memorial Day for...our American Troops currently serving or deceased. It's kind of disappointing that so many people have this holiday weekend to take off school or work or whatever and go to the beach or throw a Sunday night party when I don't think people appreciate or even know why we celebrate this day as a National Holiday!? I think the greatest title anyone can ever bear for themselves is American Soldier...how cool would that be to be known as an American Soldier, I know I would take that title anyday over being known as Coach or Triathlete or whatever. I'm not really sure what inspired me to write this blog post but I just got major love for especially the oldies who served in some major old school warfare. I visited Gettysburg not long ago (it's only 45 minutes from my house) and the gruesomeness of those battles was amazing...and it was Civil War! But as crazy as that sounds today, that's what it took I guess to get us to where we are today to be able to do all the things that it seems everyone in other countries can't!?!?! OK, that's all I have to say about that....
Except when I was out for a ride yesterday, I battled through the longest workout of the season so far in the most humid day of the spring so far and I rode across the Mason-Dixon line. There's so much history out here it amazing! It sure makes for adventurous bike rides...but, I ended up going for the motherlode of training rides, 104 miles on the bike finished off with a 6 mile 'run' just to see how it would feel. My legs actually felt real good but my stomach was a little queezy from pushing so much fluid and salt due to the humidity. I think come race day I'll pack a few more PB &J's because I got pretty dang hungry too. I didn't have ANY cramps but man I got hungry! Any good tips?
And tomorrow should be a good day, a couple old pals and my bro are coming to town and we'll spend the day in DC checking out all the sight as I play tour guide...again. But DC sure is the place where you could a whole week and only see 1/10 of all there is to see...so maybe we'll explore a little and learn something else about our great country where we can pay our respects to those who have given us what we have...I'm just sayin'!!!!!!!!!!!

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Ay Carumba

Well hello! I was wondering if a date can be considered a blind date if you've actually talked to the person on the phone but still have yet to meet 'em? So I got this date this weekend and I'm actually pretty nervous, not because of what I've heard about her because it's all been good but she's a 29 year old never been married or had kids LAWYER!? What the hell? Do you think this means that she's smart because if she is I can't keep up because really, I'm not that smart of a guy...I've just been more lucky than smart. And also, for some reason, am I biased in my thinking that 20 something female lawyers are more than likely not alot of fun or willing to get in a little bit of 'good' trouble or are particularly attractive? I don't know, anyways, this is pretty weird and definitely unchartered territory for a guy with a PE degree that babysits grown up kids for a living every day!? I'll keep you all posted....yikes!
Also, I live about 2 miles from the Pimlico racetrack which for all you horse race fans was the site of this past weekends Preakness. I got in on a bet with my brothers picking the winner and I don't know horses so I just pick post position so I decided to go with post 6 horse...and wouldn't you know it, it was the favorite...Barbaro! I thought, oh ya, this is in the bag...bragging rights for a year. And out the gate they shot and not even 100 yards into it he breaks his leg! Now this is pretty huge news here in Baltimore, I mean, they almost had to kill the poor horse right there on the track. When they took the horse away to the Pennsylvania hospital the Horse ambulance drove RIGHT by my house...I'm not really sure if that's cool or not but interesting at least, and obviously I lost all bragging rights for the year.
Speaking of surgery, my momma got in and out of surgery like the champion she is and she was actually up walking the SAME DAY!!! She feels so much better already and I can totally tell her spirits and moral are WAY up and she's on her way back to exercise and hopefully her love of tennis and hiking...I told I'm gonna be her drill sargent to make sure she does her rehab right, just like how she always was on my butt to make sure I was in tip top shape if she was to LET me play football...that was why I trained like a maniac, so my mom would approve of another season...hahaha (for real)!
Well I couldn't help myself but I signed up for one more race before the big Kahuna June 25th. I figured it would be OK because it was 13 days before and it's an Olympic distance but it's called the Escape from Ft. Delaware Tri. They take us all on a couple of boats across a river to an old Fort protecting a harbor in the old wartime days and then we GET to swim back across the river to our transition area where the 26 mile bike and 6 mile run take place along the water. Whether it's the smart thing to do or not, I'm not sure (remember the PE major thing) but it sounds like alot of fun and I love to race so I thought, ahh, screw it, let's do it! So my last two races are June 10 in Delaware and June 25 in Coeur D'Alene. And to make Coeur D'Alene more fun, I rented a motorhome to take from Montana to Coeur D'Alene to spend the weekend in at the KOA as I prep for the race...nothing like combining camping with racing for some summertime fun! I wonder if blind date girl likes the same? hmmmm I'm guessing probably not....anybody want to place any bets?
And last thing, Memorial Weekend is coming up and since the death of Pat Tillman in Afghanistan a few years back, I've been wearing a bracelet that says "Never Forget #40". Hopefully everyone can give thanks to our service men and women this weekend for their sacrifice, especially Pat Tillman!
Big Purple Out!

Monday, May 08, 2006

The Swamps of Jersey...

Well I've been thinking about how I'm going to write this race report because it was a weekend to remember for many reasons...first of all, racing is completely and totally addicting and the race I competed in, the NJ Devilman 1/2 Ironman was a blast! However, I will NEVER enter this race again if they don't change the lake we swam in...Iron Benny, it makes swimming in Tempe Town Lake like swimming in a pool of Evian water. I was in wave 6 and as I saw the first 5 waves enter all I heard were moans and groans because the "water" was basically dirt, algae, twigs, mush, and mud...did I mention that before wave 4 went, two water snakes just happened to swim by! FOR. REAL. (that's for you Nytro) So at that point I knew I would set a personal best in the 1.2 mile swim for the pure fact I wanted out as soon as possible! So it went and went well, thanks Iron Benny for the cue on goggle strap under swim cap because I got the googles kicked off twice and punched off once but I persevered! And yes, I was out of the water in 37:41, a personal best. If swim conditions were better I think I would've even scored better but the dirt water drag kept this brother down! Seriously, that was nasty and I would discourage anyone form swimming in a NJ lake ever again! HaHa... After a 100 yard jog to T1 I was on the bike after a somewhat disappointing 4:15 transition (new wet suit I didn't get off as easily as planned, more body glide perhaps).
Speaking of conditions, the bike course was set up for speed with fairly flat conditions and a little but not a lot of wind. This is where it got interesting. The second I got on I was out...flying! The first 46 miles I averaged 22.5 MPH and then disaster kind of struck...I went over a TINY bump and I heard a rattle on my back tire, of course I thought I flatted so I got off, checked the tire and it was all good soooooo... confused, I got back on and started to go when not 3 seconds later it really rattled and something popped...not the tire, but a spoke on my rear wheel broke and popped off! Now, I really never knew what spokes actually are there for but I found out the importance of even one. I thought to myself, "OK, what does this mean"? So I said screw it, only 10 more miles but as I started to go, my back wheel shook farily viciously back and forth against my rear brake cage and so I thought it would help if I opened it up...not quite, it just shook worse. So I closed it back and grinded out the last 10 miles with my back tire gripping each side of my rear brakes. My MPH dropped to around 17 the last 10 miles and I finished the 56 miles in 2:40:28...and average of 21 MPH for the course. Which I was happy with but kind of bummed to see what kind of damage I could've done with a healthy bike...anyhow, I was on my way to a good race. (FYI = you can bike with a broken spoke, but don't expect to go far or for the ride to be smooth or safe. Drop your MPH and eliminate your aerobar position for stability purposes. Pray it doesn't happen at mile 46 in a 112 mile ride or IT. IS. OVER.)
As I got to T2, my legs felt great even after grinding through this mechanical problem. After a 3:06 transition (a little disappointing but I was intrigued by my bike problem so I checked it out longer than I should have), I was on the blacktop. I think in a Tri you can tell within the first 100 steps how you can expect to feel the rest of the way. I felt a good run coming...I started out at about a 7:45 pace and slowly faded as I made it through the fairly flat, somewhat hot, but beautiful countryside run. For the first time I thought to myself...whatever training I've been doing, I'm gonna keep on doing. Not one cramp the entire way (which, as Iron Benny knows, is almost impossible in my skinny legs), no aid station stops or walks and a consistent pace until the end. My run split was 1:45:08, or an 8:02 minute per mile average, by far the best 1/2 Ironman distance run ever. As I crossed the finish line, feeling like I could've attempted a Full Distance today, the clock read 5:10:36 and I thought no way, maybe that's the time of day or something. But it was real and I felt great...a little bit of a sore booty from a butt busting last 10 miles of biking, but it was a good day. It was a TOTALLY fun race, about 400 1/2 distance competitors and about 400 sprint distance competitors, it was sunny and hot, and again, a total blast. But you're always left to wonder, what if the lake was better, would I have swam faster? Or if I had a clean bike until the finish?????? Or, well, I don't know if I could've improved my run time except for more training and transition practice.
After an off day today, I'll be back in the pool tomorrow morning and getting back on it Wednesday, Thurs., Fri., etc., etc., etc.......Iron Benny, thanks for the advice on practicing nutrition habits during training and practice competition, it totally paid off with no hunger pangs or cramps the entire day...thanks dude!!!
And I called my Mom as soon as I was done and said thanks for being there!!! It was a solo journey physically this weekend but like I said in previous posts, my Momma was there! And I killed another Snickers on the way home! BP Out!

Friday, May 05, 2006

It's like butta!

My last two bike rides have been quite eventful on the crowded east coast roads...Monday I was on a steep downhill and somewhere along the way my left aerobar arm/pad popped off and was never found again. But that's OK because I was wearing 'em out and just got a new aerobar that's even sweeter...great excuse to get a new toy. But the other day I set a world record for a flat. I was .1 mile into my ride, 37 seconds and poof, there went the rear tube. It was actually funny and I was so close to departure point I walked back to the car to change it out because I had my mega pump in the car...so, what the heck. Has anyone ever beat 37 seconds for a flat? Speaking of biking, I love biking and the greatest ride I ever went on was in Glacier National Park, Montana. It was early July last year sometime after 4:30 pm because the road is closed to bicyclists between 11 am and 4:30 pm because of it's steepness, lack of a shoulder and traffic. Anyways, I parked at Avalanche Campground 16 miles from the Summit of Logans Pass and readied for the climb of all climbs. The road is also known as "The Road to the Sun" and it started out along a river for a fairly flat 4 miles and at mile 5 began the climb, a few switchbacks but really just a steady 12 mile climb at about 8-10%. But that's not what made the ride great - it was the fact that along the way I saw waterfalls, snow capped mountains, mountain goats (which freaked me out), hikers, no other bikers, INCREDIBLE mountain views, and funny looks on people faces definitely thinking, "what's wrong with that guy?" And what's crazy is the way up was WAY more fun than the way down. The way down was a suicide mission where if I was stupid or something mechanically happened, that would surely spell doom. I think the 16 miles up took 1:50 minutes and the way down took about 35 minutes. Anyways, I've always wanted to tell people about that ride and this is the first time I've done that. Biking to me is the greatest way ever invented to explore, and think about positive things, and it slows things down where you actually see and realize things you wouldn't if were driving or flying or whatever. Oh, I can't wait to do that again....if you ever get the chance, it's called "Road to the Sun" with a summit at Logans Pass in Glacier National Park, Montana.....I would love to hear about everyone else's favorite all time ride!!!!!!!!! Until Monday with a report on the NJ Devilman 1/2 Ironman, BigPurple Out!

Wednesday, May 03, 2006

Here's to You!

Not the beer kind, but I'll get to the true meaning of this post in a second. You see, I got 3 brothers and they kill me with their humor. So much so that I went for a 10 mile run yesterday and laughed to myself, and probably out loud for about 1/2 of it. People in cars must have thought "who's that crazy guy" going for a run and laughing. I'll get carple tunnel if I get into the hilarity of it but wow, what great guys and how lucky I am!
OK, so the other 1/2 of my run last night I was thinkin' about my momma. I'm a big fan of my mom. Anyways, as I was growing up she always provided us the opportunity to play outside and encouraged us to be active. She allowed us only 30 minutes of TV twice a week and disallowed MTV, Atari or Nintendo. And I didn't know any different so it was all good. My mom was the one who was so athletic that I always wanted to race and couldn't beat her in the 40-yard dash until I was 14. And when we drove home from anywhere as a family I challenged her to a race home from the end of the block while my dad & sister cheered for my mom and my bro's cheered for me. I really don't remember ever winning and of course she NEVER let me win. But on May 17 my mom is having a minimally invasive hip replacement for an ailing hip of over about 2 years. I wonder if racing me back then was a bad idea for her...she never let on though. And so as I was running I got to thinking that I'm dedicating my race this Sunday and of course the Big One this June in Coeur D'Alene to her. She has been to a few of my races and was there for my first one 4 summers back and was planning on coming to Coeur D'Alene. But now those plans are scrapped in favor of getting healthy. I can't wait to see her with a bounce in her step again and have her cross the finish line with me next summer at a race of her choice...after all, I blame her for me getting hooked on racing.
Oh ya, and I buzzed my head last night. Man, nothing neats a nice buzz cut for summertime!

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Find your mojo!

Draw your own conclusions but this is my favorite motivational page. The coolest part about it is that it hangs in the San Antonio Spurs locker room in 5 different languages, representing a language for each player....

"When nothing seems to help, I go and look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that blow that did it - but all that had gone before."

Now don't think I'm a Spurs fan, yep, still a big Jazz guy, but that's pretty tight. I think I'm on about blow 14 (1 blow per triathlon...with a 100 triathlon lifetime goal)....I got a long way to go! And if I could (see blog post #1), I would definitely put that onto one of my fortune cookies.

And I'm gathering my list for this Sunday, my second race of the season, first triathlon and I was putting together my check list and it goes somehting like this....can anyone think of anything else?
ID, USAT card, Wetsuit, racing suit, 2 pair of goggles, body glide, permanent marker, earplugs, bike, 3 spare tubes, mechanical tape, helmet, sunglasses, bike shoes, 3 pair of socks, race belt, sunblock, race packet, running shoes, 12 gels, 3 power bars, 4 single serving powerbar endurance drink mixes, 2 water bottles and lots and lots of willpower. Iron Benny, it's a Half-Iron, what else you got? It reminds me of when I was a little kid gong away to football camp, how fun does this get? This race will be blow #15 and the rock is just laughing at me, I'll get him though...And then Memorial Day will be my longest training day of the season and then taper for IM Coeu D'Alene begins.

"One of the rarest things a man ever does is the very best he can..."