Spirit of Morgantown Results
I have no reason to believe I should ever swim again. Bad, bad, BAD!
Monday, June 30, 2008
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Spirit of Morgantown
Those playing at home, I don't have the exact times but essentially:
Matt 2:52
Craig 3:15
Shawn 3:23
Matt & Shawn had good swims, I did not. All three of us were happy with our bikes. I will go out on the limb and say we were all not overly joyed with our Run, of course Shawn's wasn't bad compared to the Moose. The 6th street hill was killer. We did not see anyone run from top to bottom including ourselves. Once we get more details we will let you know.
Good news for Shawn and Craig. Shawn 2nd in Clydesdale XL3 category, Craig 3rd in the XL2 category. Matt with the best performance did not walk a way with a plaque but he has the "Venerable Companions, Exemplary Campaign" blog bragging rights.
Matt 2:52
Craig 3:15
Shawn 3:23
Matt & Shawn had good swims, I did not. All three of us were happy with our bikes. I will go out on the limb and say we were all not overly joyed with our Run, of course Shawn's wasn't bad compared to the Moose. The 6th street hill was killer. We did not see anyone run from top to bottom including ourselves. Once we get more details we will let you know.
Good news for Shawn and Craig. Shawn 2nd in Clydesdale XL3 category, Craig 3rd in the XL2 category. Matt with the best performance did not walk a way with a plaque but he has the "Venerable Companions, Exemplary Campaign" blog bragging rights.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Off Topic once again: Back to 1986-1988
I was thinking of Shawn's Shirts from high school. "Vashions" I believe they were.
And the club was "SLOTHS"?
The only slogan I seem to remember is "Laziness Breeds Success". Is that right?
There were others no? I seem to remember some teachers were rather upset by them. I don't remember who or why.
Cue up the Flashback music!! Help me remember this stuff!
And the club was "SLOTHS"?
The only slogan I seem to remember is "Laziness Breeds Success". Is that right?
There were others no? I seem to remember some teachers were rather upset by them. I don't remember who or why.
Cue up the Flashback music!! Help me remember this stuff!
Humidity :(
It is getting humid. I ran last night. Mostly easy run, but I was sweating. Looks like today is going to be humid again. T-storms all weekend. Hopefully not Sunday Morn. Looks like 80's by the time the race is finished. A little rain on the run would be nice, but I am not hoping for any because I don't want any on the bike.
I am getting PUMPED! Joel next door is doing the Olympic. He just wants to finish he told me. He is a decent swimmer. He runs a lot but he has an injury so he is going to keep that at 10min/mile. He hopes for under 3:30, I think he has that. Swimming in the river has got me excited. It went well and I am excited because I think the water temp is perfect for the position impaired that need the wetsuit.
Can't wait to see Ya' all. After the tri, we can get in a game of Bocce at our picnic. I will put the set in the car.
Girl at Levi's baseball tournament who works for the main sponsor told me 700 signed up between the two levels of races. This is the most they have had. So, it might be a little tighter than I have seen it in the past. Not sure of the breakdown.
The good news is there will be plenty of people to pass because you are on the course with the Half Iron who started before you.
I am getting PUMPED! Joel next door is doing the Olympic. He just wants to finish he told me. He is a decent swimmer. He runs a lot but he has an injury so he is going to keep that at 10min/mile. He hopes for under 3:30, I think he has that. Swimming in the river has got me excited. It went well and I am excited because I think the water temp is perfect for the position impaired that need the wetsuit.
Can't wait to see Ya' all. After the tri, we can get in a game of Bocce at our picnic. I will put the set in the car.
Girl at Levi's baseball tournament who works for the main sponsor told me 700 signed up between the two levels of races. This is the most they have had. So, it might be a little tighter than I have seen it in the past. Not sure of the breakdown.
The good news is there will be plenty of people to pass because you are on the course with the Half Iron who started before you.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Spreadsheet Volume 2
I skipped June. It's almost over. I'm sure Shawn will be disappointed. It was a good month for him.
I sent invites to the new form. Let me know if you have trouble getting there.
If you go to the old link. Then choose "Docs Home" up in the top right corner, it should take you to a list of all our documents. You should be able to see the old and new there.
Hope that's all there is to it. Time to start filling this one up!
I sent invites to the new form. Let me know if you have trouble getting there.
If you go to the old link. Then choose "Docs Home" up in the top right corner, it should take you to a list of all our documents. You should be able to see the old and new there.
Hope that's all there is to it. Time to start filling this one up!
No Toxins, Maybe Catfish . .
I made the Wednesday swim in the Mon River. I showed up three cars in the lot near the WVU crew dock (not the dock we will use in the tri). I walked down to the dock and all I saw was three pairs of flip flops. I walked back to the lot and three more cars, and a bike pulled in. Two girls, a guy and myself swam at 6pm. Plus one of the girls brought a friend who kayaked for safety.
As we got ready to jump in the owners of the flip flops came swimming back in, they were the 5 pm group. We jumped in. I will let you know it will be nicer not to touch the bottom in the triathlon, Yuck. We swam from the dock to the bridge. Everyone just kept going. I was the second to the bridge. It was about 600m to the bridge. Another person told me this. The girls turned around. The other guy said, you up for 10 more minutes up the river. I said sure. I realized at this point he had been warming up a little for the first segment. He got a head of me and stayed ahead until we hit 10 minutes then he waited for me. We floated and talked a couple minutes.
Then he said this is the fun part. He had noticed they had opened another part of the lock and the water was flowing harder down river, I didn't mention we had been swimming up river against a current. It had taken us about 30 minutes to swim this far (900 m or so). We started out. His position must be way better than mine. With the current to our back he was flying. I think he could have gotten back in less than 15 mins, but he waited a couple times for me and we got back in less than 20 mins. It was nice. I think we did about 1800m in 45 to 50 mins. probably closer to 50.
River was clean. It looked greener, which is better than the recent brown. The others swimming were very happy with the conditions and the two girls in our group didn't even wear their wet suits. The kayak guy came back to us once the girls got out and made sure we got back Ok. It was nice working out with others. I should do this more often.
Oh yea, the water seems clean, I am not suffering any side effects this morning, but they warned me against Catfish attacks. This sounded more like a Big Foot citing, but you can never tell???? (insert theme from X-files here).
As we got ready to jump in the owners of the flip flops came swimming back in, they were the 5 pm group. We jumped in. I will let you know it will be nicer not to touch the bottom in the triathlon, Yuck. We swam from the dock to the bridge. Everyone just kept going. I was the second to the bridge. It was about 600m to the bridge. Another person told me this. The girls turned around. The other guy said, you up for 10 more minutes up the river. I said sure. I realized at this point he had been warming up a little for the first segment. He got a head of me and stayed ahead until we hit 10 minutes then he waited for me. We floated and talked a couple minutes.
Then he said this is the fun part. He had noticed they had opened another part of the lock and the water was flowing harder down river, I didn't mention we had been swimming up river against a current. It had taken us about 30 minutes to swim this far (900 m or so). We started out. His position must be way better than mine. With the current to our back he was flying. I think he could have gotten back in less than 15 mins, but he waited a couple times for me and we got back in less than 20 mins. It was nice. I think we did about 1800m in 45 to 50 mins. probably closer to 50.
River was clean. It looked greener, which is better than the recent brown. The others swimming were very happy with the conditions and the two girls in our group didn't even wear their wet suits. The kayak guy came back to us once the girls got out and made sure we got back Ok. It was nice working out with others. I should do this more often.
Oh yea, the water seems clean, I am not suffering any side effects this morning, but they warned me against Catfish attacks. This sounded more like a Big Foot citing, but you can never tell???? (insert theme from X-files here).
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
It's too quiet....
Leading into a race weekend, it's too quiet here. I'm starting to think Shawn must be following Craig's lead of "Secret Training". :-)
I don't want to jinx myself, but I don't plan on going to a chiropractor this week. Maybe I that's breaking part of my pre-race routine? I guess I will find out.
I ran 4 miles last night and felt pretty good about it. The lower humidity probably had something to do with the comfort level of the run. Tonight is masters swimming, I just need to make sure I don't cramp up. Sadly I can feel the effects of those leg cramps for about 3 days.
Genine and I will drive to Morgantown on Saturday morning and plan on being there early afternoon.
I'm getting excited. This being Craig's "hometown" race, I feel that he's going to have the advantage going into this one. Then of course Shawn has now figured out all his problems and has been a workout machine the last week or so.
So our challenge is this: All three of us improve all 3 splits compared to our Mooseman Results. (wish me luck on my run split).
Wahoo!
I don't want to jinx myself, but I don't plan on going to a chiropractor this week. Maybe I that's breaking part of my pre-race routine? I guess I will find out.
I ran 4 miles last night and felt pretty good about it. The lower humidity probably had something to do with the comfort level of the run. Tonight is masters swimming, I just need to make sure I don't cramp up. Sadly I can feel the effects of those leg cramps for about 3 days.
Genine and I will drive to Morgantown on Saturday morning and plan on being there early afternoon.
I'm getting excited. This being Craig's "hometown" race, I feel that he's going to have the advantage going into this one. Then of course Shawn has now figured out all his problems and has been a workout machine the last week or so.
So our challenge is this: All three of us improve all 3 splits compared to our Mooseman Results. (wish me luck on my run split).
Wahoo!
Monday, June 23, 2008
Maiden Voyage
After waiting all day yesterday and running out of daylight to ride, Matt & I loaded up our bikes after work today to go for a quick ride. I was so anxious to try out my new wheels! We did our familiar 12 mile loop starting from the Y in Bridgewater. It was so much fun to ride! I felt like all of my effort was actually propelling me forward (and so quickly & smoothly) vs. my hybrid where I felt like I was pedaling my legs off trying to keep up with Matt. Getting accustomed to the new shifters should come easily with a bit more practice... again they move so easily vs. my old bike. The ride was very comfortable, although my hands will have to get "broken in" to the new positions on the handlebars, but nothing crazy. I'm not sure what any of my speeds were since we have not moved my bike computer to the new bike yet, but I felt like I was going fast! We'll see once all the devices are attached. I can't wait to go out riding again after work this week. It's like having a new toy!
Since we were parked at the Y, Matt wanted to go swimming after riding. I don't know what possessed me, but I agreed to go with him. We were only there for about 30mins. I have to say I didn't hate it, but I'm not quite ready for the pressure of classes yet. I may start going with Matt in the evenings to open swim once or twice a week....maybe. (No promises, Esther.)
Since we were parked at the Y, Matt wanted to go swimming after riding. I don't know what possessed me, but I agreed to go with him. We were only there for about 30mins. I have to say I didn't hate it, but I'm not quite ready for the pressure of classes yet. I may start going with Matt in the evenings to open swim once or twice a week....maybe. (No promises, Esther.)
What's the plan?
Well, if anyone is wondering where we are...
June 28-30 Morgantown, WV Spirit of Morgantown
July 3-6 Warren, PA 20 year HS Reunion and a firecracker 10K?
July 12-21 Bristol, NH "Vacation / Mooseman training camp, ha ha"
July 27 Photographer for NJ State Tri. I'm trying to borrow a 2nd camera for the day, so Genine and I can both be shooting.
August 1-10 or 11 Warren PA Kinzua Country Tango / Wedding / Dad's Ankle Surgery
August 16th South Jersey for College Friends BBQ
August 17th North East Tri?
Aug 22-24 Back to Morgantown, WV for the Sprint. We will see if we are still up to more travelling.
Aug 30-Sept 1 Labor Day weekend. I believe we will be home. I think Genine has to work Monday tho'
After that I think our events will be close to home.
June 28-30 Morgantown, WV Spirit of Morgantown
July 3-6 Warren, PA 20 year HS Reunion and a firecracker 10K?
July 12-21 Bristol, NH "Vacation / Mooseman training camp, ha ha"
July 27 Photographer for NJ State Tri. I'm trying to borrow a 2nd camera for the day, so Genine and I can both be shooting.
August 1-10 or 11 Warren PA Kinzua Country Tango / Wedding / Dad's Ankle Surgery
August 16th South Jersey for College Friends BBQ
August 17th North East Tri?
Aug 22-24 Back to Morgantown, WV for the Sprint. We will see if we are still up to more travelling.
Aug 30-Sept 1 Labor Day weekend. I believe we will be home. I think Genine has to work Monday tho'
After that I think our events will be close to home.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
ignore the jellyfish
Congrats Genine, your new bike looks awfully spiffy! Enjoy the roads, speed racer!
Well as you know, the ladies and I are continuing our quest for fitness this weekend, in Staten Island doing the sprint tri FLAT as a PANCAKE as a relay. Yeap, compared to you manly men, it's no Newfoundland (kudos to you!) but rather a little race that includes a quarter mile swim, a three mile run and a 12 mile bike ride.
Is that laughter I hear? Don't be so quick to judge, my fellow Moosemen. I went yesterday to Staten Island to literally test the waters. I dragged my poor mom with me just in case there were no lifeguards and help was needed.
To my surprise, the beach was lovely. It's a bus ride from the ferry terminal. Who knew? Nice and new underdeveloped boardwalk with only one restaurant and one Ben and Jerry's stand. Nice sand, not too many rocks at the shore line, not too many bathers (maybe because they thought the water was still a little cold - bathwater compared to Mooseman) and there were lifeguards.
So I put on my wetsuit and goggles. Everyone stared but hey, it's New York and their stares didn't last long.
And decided to swim a few laps in the open water.
hmm.
Not what I expected. No matter how hard I swam, I did not move. I think I heard the lifeguard laughing at me. I'm not sure. The smallish waves (small!) kept on pushing me back and made it incredibly difficult to get air (salt water is nasty). I was a little fat hamster in a wheel. Pushing pushing and not going anywhere. I tried my old standby breast stroke because I was getting tired very quickly. It was like treading water. Moving nowhere fast.
I was able to do about 50m and had to stop of sheer exhaustion. Kept trying and kept trying, probably ended up swimming only 200m in about 30 minutes. I got out and slept on the sand like a beached whale. The sun felt good on my shoulders. My mother said nothing except "you're doing this next Saturday?" when I nodded, she quietly nodded in return. Hmm.
I recommend trying an open water swim in the ocean if you haven't. It really put things in perspective. What a workout! Ooph.
Well as you know, the ladies and I are continuing our quest for fitness this weekend, in Staten Island doing the sprint tri FLAT as a PANCAKE as a relay. Yeap, compared to you manly men, it's no Newfoundland (kudos to you!) but rather a little race that includes a quarter mile swim, a three mile run and a 12 mile bike ride.
Is that laughter I hear? Don't be so quick to judge, my fellow Moosemen. I went yesterday to Staten Island to literally test the waters. I dragged my poor mom with me just in case there were no lifeguards and help was needed.
To my surprise, the beach was lovely. It's a bus ride from the ferry terminal. Who knew? Nice and new underdeveloped boardwalk with only one restaurant and one Ben and Jerry's stand. Nice sand, not too many rocks at the shore line, not too many bathers (maybe because they thought the water was still a little cold - bathwater compared to Mooseman) and there were lifeguards.
So I put on my wetsuit and goggles. Everyone stared but hey, it's New York and their stares didn't last long.
And decided to swim a few laps in the open water.
hmm.
Not what I expected. No matter how hard I swam, I did not move. I think I heard the lifeguard laughing at me. I'm not sure. The smallish waves (small!) kept on pushing me back and made it incredibly difficult to get air (salt water is nasty). I was a little fat hamster in a wheel. Pushing pushing and not going anywhere. I tried my old standby breast stroke because I was getting tired very quickly. It was like treading water. Moving nowhere fast.
I was able to do about 50m and had to stop of sheer exhaustion. Kept trying and kept trying, probably ended up swimming only 200m in about 30 minutes. I got out and slept on the sand like a beached whale. The sun felt good on my shoulders. My mother said nothing except "you're doing this next Saturday?" when I nodded, she quietly nodded in return. Hmm.
I recommend trying an open water swim in the ocean if you haven't. It really put things in perspective. What a workout! Ooph.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
New Gear for Genine
Well Genine posted that she wanted a faster bike. I couldn't pass that up. It would be great for her to have a bike so she can keep up with the rest of us on our road bikes.
She tried some Specialized bikes and some Treks the other weekend. The Trek '08 Pilot 2.3 WSD was the winner last weekend but the price tag was $1700 I think. So I spent some time looking for Closeouts online and found a shop in Broomall PA that had a few bikes for her to try out.
Trek '06 Pilot 2.1 WSD 51cm (Womens Specific Design). I thought this was very likely to be what she would feel the most comfortable with seeing that she liked the WSD last weekend. Problem was the "Flight Deck" (brake/shifter levers). They were less than Shimano 105 quality. I think think they were Shimano ST-R700 STI. She was on a trainer spinning on this bike and having a heck of a time switching between the 3 front chain rings. I really thought the sales guy would have taken the bike back to the mechanics and have them tune it up for her because it was obvious we were unimpressed with what we were seeing. Instead he setup the other bike we were interested in. Which was $50 cheaper.
Trek '06 2100 50cm Triple. The specs on these links are never quite right. This bike had the 105 Flight Deck, 105 Front Derailleur, and Ultegra rear Derailleur. It's also a 9 speed. Oh and the carbon is OCLV which many prefer over the newer TCT.
The shifting on this bike was very good. So I knew Genine would say this was better but I wanted to make sure that the fit was right, shifting issues can be fixed. The WSD bike has a few key differences. Narrower handlebars, shorter reach to the handlebars, easier reach to the shifters... She didn't find any of those things an issue with this "Mens" bike. Which is cool because she was in a more aero position on this model compared to the other. Also the big ring is a 52 instead of a 50. I think she will be able to power the 52.
So she took it out in the lot for a test ride. Then ended up going down the road into the neighborhood for some hills. She did have bike shoes which were compatible with the pedals they had. She came back and said all was good.
So last thing to do was to ask them how to make the price better that it currently is. You always have to ask for a better deal. Just think to yourself, it never hurts to ask. I was willing to work a few different ways. Cash or Check because they lose a small % on credit card transactions. Because I out of state, maybe they could save me tax if they listed it as a shipment out of state?
Well they kept it all very legit and offered me a discount which overall cut the price about $120 from what I expected to pay. (it never hurts to ask).
So we celebrated at one of my favorite Chinese restaurants "Peking" at the Granite Shopping mall on Route 1 in Media PA. (Thanks to Scott and Kryste for brining this place into our life).
Here is Genine with her new ride!
She tried some Specialized bikes and some Treks the other weekend. The Trek '08 Pilot 2.3 WSD was the winner last weekend but the price tag was $1700 I think. So I spent some time looking for Closeouts online and found a shop in Broomall PA that had a few bikes for her to try out.
Trek '06 Pilot 2.1 WSD 51cm (Womens Specific Design). I thought this was very likely to be what she would feel the most comfortable with seeing that she liked the WSD last weekend. Problem was the "Flight Deck" (brake/shifter levers). They were less than Shimano 105 quality. I think think they were Shimano ST-R700 STI. She was on a trainer spinning on this bike and having a heck of a time switching between the 3 front chain rings. I really thought the sales guy would have taken the bike back to the mechanics and have them tune it up for her because it was obvious we were unimpressed with what we were seeing. Instead he setup the other bike we were interested in. Which was $50 cheaper.
Trek '06 2100 50cm Triple. The specs on these links are never quite right. This bike had the 105 Flight Deck, 105 Front Derailleur, and Ultegra rear Derailleur. It's also a 9 speed. Oh and the carbon is OCLV which many prefer over the newer TCT.
The shifting on this bike was very good. So I knew Genine would say this was better but I wanted to make sure that the fit was right, shifting issues can be fixed. The WSD bike has a few key differences. Narrower handlebars, shorter reach to the handlebars, easier reach to the shifters... She didn't find any of those things an issue with this "Mens" bike. Which is cool because she was in a more aero position on this model compared to the other. Also the big ring is a 52 instead of a 50. I think she will be able to power the 52.
So she took it out in the lot for a test ride. Then ended up going down the road into the neighborhood for some hills. She did have bike shoes which were compatible with the pedals they had. She came back and said all was good.
So last thing to do was to ask them how to make the price better that it currently is. You always have to ask for a better deal. Just think to yourself, it never hurts to ask. I was willing to work a few different ways. Cash or Check because they lose a small % on credit card transactions. Because I out of state, maybe they could save me tax if they listed it as a shipment out of state?
Well they kept it all very legit and offered me a discount which overall cut the price about $120 from what I expected to pay. (it never hurts to ask).
So we celebrated at one of my favorite Chinese restaurants "Peking" at the Granite Shopping mall on Route 1 in Media PA. (Thanks to Scott and Kryste for brining this place into our life).
Here is Genine with her new ride!
Goals, Anyone?
Alright, Matt threw out the gauntlet. He made his goals public. Is anyone else human enough to do that?
Where's our spreadsheet? I need to add stuff!
I went on a 51-mile bike ride today. We didn't go all out, but it was a steady pace, averaged about 25 km/h (15.5 mph), with a stiff headwind for about 15 miles. Sunny as all get-out, with not a cloud to be seen, and hot. Given that we stopped once for a bathroom break and had several stop signs and map checks, I think our average would have been faster than my Mooseman pace without even pushing the envelope. Guess what? I felt great afterwards. Easily could've done another 25 miles, the only downside being I was out of water. Once again, I forgot to take my handlebar bottle. Of course there weren't any hand-ups either, as there would be in a race. This tells me that I can do the half-iron bike right now. I checked the results from Newfoundland last year, and even that pace wouldn't put me at the bottom, and of course if I get to the point where I can run 13 miles, I expect I will be biking faster than 27 km/h. Presumably, if I can run 13 miles, I will also be able to run them faster than I currently run my miles. I am truly not concerned about the 1.2 mile swim despite what happened at the Moose. I intend to make sure that's evident next weekend. No more screw-ups. I'm fairly certain I can do a respectable middle of the pack Half-iron swim too. It all hinges on the run. Can I lose enough weight and get enough road time in to be able to handle running for that long, and can I handle the overall duration of exertion, when I am constantly pressed for time?
I'm not even considering the potential value of a new bike in this calculation. One that is made from something other than steel and has more than 6 fixed cogs on the back wheel. A wheel that is also made of steel.
Matt, I'll tell you what. I am going to try to make it to Newfoundland with you. That is an awesome goal. You are a man among men, but I would like to be one of the men you are among. I'll be behind you, I grant, but we can hang out at the end. I'd love to go up there too. Never been. Maybe a two-week Maine-Newfoundland vacation next summer.
There are a lot of variables that could influence this decision between now and then, (dissertations, possibly?) but I think I have it in me. As you know, I am durable. It's not the duration that causes my troubles. It's the speed. But that can be influenced as well. I will do my best to make it happen. I want to be there.
Where's our spreadsheet? I need to add stuff!
I went on a 51-mile bike ride today. We didn't go all out, but it was a steady pace, averaged about 25 km/h (15.5 mph), with a stiff headwind for about 15 miles. Sunny as all get-out, with not a cloud to be seen, and hot. Given that we stopped once for a bathroom break and had several stop signs and map checks, I think our average would have been faster than my Mooseman pace without even pushing the envelope. Guess what? I felt great afterwards. Easily could've done another 25 miles, the only downside being I was out of water. Once again, I forgot to take my handlebar bottle. Of course there weren't any hand-ups either, as there would be in a race. This tells me that I can do the half-iron bike right now. I checked the results from Newfoundland last year, and even that pace wouldn't put me at the bottom, and of course if I get to the point where I can run 13 miles, I expect I will be biking faster than 27 km/h. Presumably, if I can run 13 miles, I will also be able to run them faster than I currently run my miles. I am truly not concerned about the 1.2 mile swim despite what happened at the Moose. I intend to make sure that's evident next weekend. No more screw-ups. I'm fairly certain I can do a respectable middle of the pack Half-iron swim too. It all hinges on the run. Can I lose enough weight and get enough road time in to be able to handle running for that long, and can I handle the overall duration of exertion, when I am constantly pressed for time?
I'm not even considering the potential value of a new bike in this calculation. One that is made from something other than steel and has more than 6 fixed cogs on the back wheel. A wheel that is also made of steel.
Matt, I'll tell you what. I am going to try to make it to Newfoundland with you. That is an awesome goal. You are a man among men, but I would like to be one of the men you are among. I'll be behind you, I grant, but we can hang out at the end. I'd love to go up there too. Never been. Maybe a two-week Maine-Newfoundland vacation next summer.
There are a lot of variables that could influence this decision between now and then, (dissertations, possibly?) but I think I have it in me. As you know, I am durable. It's not the duration that causes my troubles. It's the speed. But that can be influenced as well. I will do my best to make it happen. I want to be there.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Feeling like a slacker
I knew the Mooseman and the Leukemia fundraiser were a driving force in my training but I'm not sure I realized how much.
I do think my "injury" is limiting my ability to improve in the short term. Which I say I'm fine with, but it's removing some of the excitement going into the next couple races. I feel that I'm trying to find the path which will let me make it through without causing any further damage.
So my short term goal is to survive the races and heal.
Scotty and Eric are thinking, "I saw this coming". I have a tendency to put a ton of effort into something, making sure I cover all the details giving it everything I've got. Then boom, I'm on to something else.
I don't think I'm onto something else. I think I'm lacking long term goals. My short term goal kind of stinks. So I think it's important that I put my long term goals out there. This is what I'm thinking:
Boston Marathon as Nathan's Runner for Dana Farber April 2009: I haven't told many people about this, I guess now I have.
IronMan 70.3 Newfoundland July 2009: Genine and I have wanted to travel that area for many years now. This would be the perfect excuse to go up there.
Those are the two big events at the moment. There are many smaller goals as well
Adding weight training to help prevent injury
20mph + on the bike
< 8 min/mile 10k's
And a list of stuff for the pool:
Kick, Kick, Kick.
Butterfly and the ability to do the other strokes properly.
And of course the Tri-Parties. The Bike and BBQ needs to be repeated sometime this summer.
Well now that that's out there, it's supposed to create a feeling of accountability for me.
I expect Genine will have a new road bike this weekend. That will add some pressure as well :-)
I do think my "injury" is limiting my ability to improve in the short term. Which I say I'm fine with, but it's removing some of the excitement going into the next couple races. I feel that I'm trying to find the path which will let me make it through without causing any further damage.
So my short term goal is to survive the races and heal.
Scotty and Eric are thinking, "I saw this coming". I have a tendency to put a ton of effort into something, making sure I cover all the details giving it everything I've got. Then boom, I'm on to something else.
I don't think I'm onto something else. I think I'm lacking long term goals. My short term goal kind of stinks. So I think it's important that I put my long term goals out there. This is what I'm thinking:
Boston Marathon as Nathan's Runner for Dana Farber April 2009: I haven't told many people about this, I guess now I have.
IronMan 70.3 Newfoundland July 2009: Genine and I have wanted to travel that area for many years now. This would be the perfect excuse to go up there.
Those are the two big events at the moment. There are many smaller goals as well
Adding weight training to help prevent injury
20mph + on the bike
< 8 min/mile 10k's
And a list of stuff for the pool:
Kick, Kick, Kick.
Butterfly and the ability to do the other strokes properly.
And of course the Tri-Parties. The Bike and BBQ needs to be repeated sometime this summer.
Well now that that's out there, it's supposed to create a feeling of accountability for me.
I expect Genine will have a new road bike this weekend. That will add some pressure as well :-)
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Over $18,000 Raised for Dr Guinan's Research
Just thought I'd post the latest numbers. It's a feel good thing. :-)
The fund is open until July 25th if people ask if they can still contribute.
I'll also be emailing you guys lists of the donors. I'm going to need some help with mailing addresses for those I don't know. I'd like to send them a thank you card.
The fund is open until July 25th if people ask if they can still contribute.
I'll also be emailing you guys lists of the donors. I'm going to need some help with mailing addresses for those I don't know. I'd like to send them a thank you card.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Looks like we spent some Money
I checked the registration for the Spirit of Morgantown. MC, SJV, and CC all signed up. I am not competing with any of you. MC - Age Grouper, SJV - XL3 and CC- Xl2.
I also saw that my neighbor Joel Smith is signed up.
I typed in Warren, PA into the search for athletes and a Patricia Gabreski showed up. Anyone know her. Near 50 yrs old.
No other State College or Somerville residents. I am the only one from Fairview because the neighbor is in Core, WV even though we are only across the street two doors down. US Postal Service ends at my mail box from Fairview.
I am getting tingly all over again, either excitement or flashbacks from Newfoundland Freezer box.
Last year they had about 180 Oly, and over 300 Half. So, the race is not as big as the Moose, even one day, but I think you will find it nice. A lot different setting. Should be a ton of people cheering on the course for the run.
Final note, Matt you are now 16:03 on the + side of me as a Rival. AthLinks told me this. So you crushed your 5 minute goal. I will do my best to hold the margin, but I sense it will increase.
I also saw that my neighbor Joel Smith is signed up.
I typed in Warren, PA into the search for athletes and a Patricia Gabreski showed up. Anyone know her. Near 50 yrs old.
No other State College or Somerville residents. I am the only one from Fairview because the neighbor is in Core, WV even though we are only across the street two doors down. US Postal Service ends at my mail box from Fairview.
I am getting tingly all over again, either excitement or flashbacks from Newfoundland Freezer box.
Last year they had about 180 Oly, and over 300 Half. So, the race is not as big as the Moose, even one day, but I think you will find it nice. A lot different setting. Should be a ton of people cheering on the course for the run.
Final note, Matt you are now 16:03 on the + side of me as a Rival. AthLinks told me this. So you crushed your 5 minute goal. I will do my best to hold the margin, but I sense it will increase.
How does it stay up?
So after reading Shawn's post on his most enviable epiphany I decided I should share with you the epiphany I had yesterday as I returned (3rd time) to the Waterpolo workout/practice they hold in my local pool.
And my epiphany was this: the size of a man's speedo is inversely proportional to his prowess in Waterpolo.
I have never seen bathing suits that small. In addition to their diminutive size, they are labeled in the back with the letters: I (insert here the image of a little yellow waterpolo ball) NY.
But I 'm not fooled by the friendly slogan written across their butts. These guys are tough in the water. And although their practices are open to the public and they greet the out-of-shape new comers with warm smiles, those smiles are not the "welcome! Come play with us!" smiles that one would think. Oh no. They are "It was nice meeting you. You're going to die. " smiles.
Oh and I had another epiphany: it is a good idea to close your mouth and not breathe in as you sink in the water after attempting to throw the ball at the goalie while another player swims at lighting speed towards you.
On a good note, their warm-up workout is getting more doable, so I see improvement. Perhaps there is something to this Heart Rate thing...I do feel it rising mid-workout. Now all I need to work on is balancing that stupid ball with my small hand while floating in the water.
Needless to say, every bone in my body aches today but it's all in the quest for fitness...right? With the Flat as a pancake sprint around the corner I don't want a repeat of the Mooseman swim. NO BREASTSTROKE!!! That's my goal this time.
See you in the water,
Ruth
And my epiphany was this: the size of a man's speedo is inversely proportional to his prowess in Waterpolo.
I have never seen bathing suits that small. In addition to their diminutive size, they are labeled in the back with the letters: I (insert here the image of a little yellow waterpolo ball) NY.
But I 'm not fooled by the friendly slogan written across their butts. These guys are tough in the water. And although their practices are open to the public and they greet the out-of-shape new comers with warm smiles, those smiles are not the "welcome! Come play with us!" smiles that one would think. Oh no. They are "It was nice meeting you. You're going to die. " smiles.
Oh and I had another epiphany: it is a good idea to close your mouth and not breathe in as you sink in the water after attempting to throw the ball at the goalie while another player swims at lighting speed towards you.
On a good note, their warm-up workout is getting more doable, so I see improvement. Perhaps there is something to this Heart Rate thing...I do feel it rising mid-workout. Now all I need to work on is balancing that stupid ball with my small hand while floating in the water.
Needless to say, every bone in my body aches today but it's all in the quest for fitness...right? With the Flat as a pancake sprint around the corner I don't want a repeat of the Mooseman swim. NO BREASTSTROKE!!! That's my goal this time.
See you in the water,
Ruth
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Google Training Spreadsheet
So we've filled up our spreadsheet and can't add anything. Craig mentioned this a few weeks ago but I haven't had time to check it out.
I just exported everything as an Excel Doc and Saved it so we can laugh about it when we are sitting in an old folks home somewhere listening to Bruce Springsteen's "Glory Days".
I personally thought it was very helpful. I knew you guys would be looking at it so I made sure I kept at it.
Should we keep this going? Should we delete everything but the template and create a new month? Or do you want to have the last 3-6 months saved?
Should we add weight to the spreadsheet? A bit of extra pressure not to undo the last 18 months.
Just thinking out loud here. Let me know what you guys think.
I just exported everything as an Excel Doc and Saved it so we can laugh about it when we are sitting in an old folks home somewhere listening to Bruce Springsteen's "Glory Days".
I personally thought it was very helpful. I knew you guys would be looking at it so I made sure I kept at it.
Should we keep this going? Should we delete everything but the template and create a new month? Or do you want to have the last 3-6 months saved?
Should we add weight to the spreadsheet? A bit of extra pressure not to undo the last 18 months.
Just thinking out loud here. Let me know what you guys think.
Spirit Morgantown
Spirit of Morgantown Maps
Shows map of bike, swim, transitions and run. There is a hill in the run. It is on Grant st, I think. Most of the run is on the rails to trails but it veers into town and going up Grant St is steep. Actually the roads in town are a little up and down, but with the rail trail overall should be pretty flat.
Bike has the profile shown. Two nice hills, but mostly steady, not awfully steep.
Swim is your typical rectangular buoy swim. They stop the water between the locks, so it is more like swimming in a lake than a river.
Shows map of bike, swim, transitions and run. There is a hill in the run. It is on Grant st, I think. Most of the run is on the rails to trails but it veers into town and going up Grant St is steep. Actually the roads in town are a little up and down, but with the rail trail overall should be pretty flat.
Bike has the profile shown. Two nice hills, but mostly steady, not awfully steep.
Swim is your typical rectangular buoy swim. They stop the water between the locks, so it is more like swimming in a lake than a river.
Time to talk Tango
July 5th is the cutoff date for the cheap registration and our sponsor would like to register us for the cheaper price. I'm fairly certain we could submit as a relay team and adjust people on that team as we go. Should I just give them a team of Craig and myself?
If we have multiple teams. We need multiple support teams and canoes. How are we set for this?
Do we have access to a massage therapist for me after the half marathon? Is that legal? Ha ha.
Genine is also interested in racing. Mostly she would like to bike but she is hoping to improve her running as well. Some of our friends here are considering joining her but we don't have any commitments from them yet. If you know of anyone that might want to join with Genine, let us know.
I'll leave it up to Craig to go through our individual stats and review last year's results to see if any combination of our abilities puts us on the podium.
If we have multiple teams. We need multiple support teams and canoes. How are we set for this?
Do we have access to a massage therapist for me after the half marathon? Is that legal? Ha ha.
Genine is also interested in racing. Mostly she would like to bike but she is hoping to improve her running as well. Some of our friends here are considering joining her but we don't have any commitments from them yet. If you know of anyone that might want to join with Genine, let us know.
I'll leave it up to Craig to go through our individual stats and review last year's results to see if any combination of our abilities puts us on the podium.
Another Nephew
Eric's wife Tammy delivered Evan Thomas last night about 7PM. All are doing well.
I figure it's unlikely that Eric will have time to post about it so I figured I would.
Hope I didn't steal his thunder.
I figure it's unlikely that Eric will have time to post about it so I figured I would.
Hope I didn't steal his thunder.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Ready for more?
I want a new bike.
Okay, on the one hand, I am not good enough to deserve a good bike, but when I test drive them, it sure feels like I could become a better biker in one day. I discovered one problem on my bike that I must fix before the next race. I can't shift from my largest front ring to my second ring no matter what I do, until I go down to the granny gear, then back up to the middle ring. I have to say...that is not desirable at those moments when I need to be on the middle ring. I'm going to try to fix that, but the front dérailleur is already at its inner limit on the big ring, rubbing when I have the chain on the 12 in back. Oh, well...some experimentation is in order. It's either that or a new Trek Madone. Let's see. Free fix by monkeying around with the cable? Or 4000 dollars? But the money saves me several pounds too. So I can eat Genine's ziti before the race and not worry about it weighing me down.
I've also been ruminating on my swim. I think I just need to go out slower. Don't kick. Just cruise. I think I went way too fast at the start and that kicked everything into high gear. I don't want that. I'm a low HR guy. I have very long arms that should be able to power me to a speedy swim if I just keep in under control. I tried to go to the pool tonight but there was lightning, so I had to run instead. That went surprisingly well, though, so maybe things are looking up. I guess all I need to aim for in the next race is coming in higher than the 85th percentile. That is to say higher than the bottom 15%. Can I do it?
Okay, on the one hand, I am not good enough to deserve a good bike, but when I test drive them, it sure feels like I could become a better biker in one day. I discovered one problem on my bike that I must fix before the next race. I can't shift from my largest front ring to my second ring no matter what I do, until I go down to the granny gear, then back up to the middle ring. I have to say...that is not desirable at those moments when I need to be on the middle ring. I'm going to try to fix that, but the front dérailleur is already at its inner limit on the big ring, rubbing when I have the chain on the 12 in back. Oh, well...some experimentation is in order. It's either that or a new Trek Madone. Let's see. Free fix by monkeying around with the cable? Or 4000 dollars? But the money saves me several pounds too. So I can eat Genine's ziti before the race and not worry about it weighing me down.
I've also been ruminating on my swim. I think I just need to go out slower. Don't kick. Just cruise. I think I went way too fast at the start and that kicked everything into high gear. I don't want that. I'm a low HR guy. I have very long arms that should be able to power me to a speedy swim if I just keep in under control. I tried to go to the pool tonight but there was lightning, so I had to run instead. That went surprisingly well, though, so maybe things are looking up. I guess all I need to aim for in the next race is coming in higher than the 85th percentile. That is to say higher than the bottom 15%. Can I do it?
Broken Silence - Craig's Race Report
Untypical of me to be so quiet, but the vacation in Maine for the last week led to no Internet access or limited enough that it was a challenge to get it and I had to make the choice over a couple work items or reading the blog, sorry I did the work. We got back Saturday. Sunday I was so busy with the kids and church and working out that I didn't get to this until now.
Pre-Race items:
Saw a moose. Saw it about 15 miles out of Bristol on the way in the day before the race. Very cool, kids loved it, I loved it.
Checked into our cottage on the lake, not bad accommodation's, but I do not recommend at least not as the first renters of the season. A little damp and we had to turn on the heat, to warm up and dry things out.
Then met up with the crew at the registration. No one else mentioned this, but I was a little nervous about the transition "pool" area. Rain had left giant puddles all over the place. Matt assured me they would have it mopped up before race time and to their credit it looked great on race morning.
Dinner was awesome up at the farm, more than enough food. Thanks to Genine and Matt and Eric for everything.
Things were exciting the morning of the race. Hurry up get there early to wait. I felt like I was in the army. Then wait a little more. Then regret turning down banana Offered to me by C5 team. Then have to use the facilities just as wave one was starting which led me to run back to the water. Uggh! Amazing how clear it was by 10 am with Sooo Much fog at 7:30 am.
SWIM: Can you say hypothermia? It was cold. We started off. I started in the same heat with Matt and Shawn. Matt moved forward and Shawn was next to me. Go! Shawn took off, the churn was not as bad as I had expected, I didn't have to drown anyone to keep my position. Shawn pulled out in front of me. I saw him occasionally at first. My arms hurt, than my face hurt and at the second buoy a kayaker was yelling at me to get around the buoy, I wasn't tracking very well. I did a little breast stroke and got back to free style. My breathing was Ok, but I found it difficult to track and kept getting off-line a little. So, when this would happen I would do about 30 secs. to a min breast stroke and start again. Around the last buoy I was with a guy in my group that was going my speed so I laid in behind him and kept pace with him, trying not to touch his feet. Went good until the last 150 m or so when I lost him and realized he had led us a little off course. I had taken a real wide left hand turn around the last buoy. My friend swam straight back to the group. I picked the swim exit point and tried to swim a straight line.
T1: In the water I felt fine, out of the water I felt like I had brain freeze. I wobbled good trying to get my wetsuit down. I tried to sprint and wobbled almost falling to the left. Shawn's transition was right near mine. Convinced he was ahead of me I looked over for his bike, it was gone, so I said "I got to catch Shawn" and bolted out of the transition. Tried to use my jump on the bike with the peddles attached to the shoes routine. Painful, not physically, but mentally I was unable to look down and keep balance so after about three attempts, I rip the shoes off the bike put them on my feet and clipped in.
Bike: Felt awful for the first four miles. Very slow trying to make my head and stomach feel better. About a mile from Devil's Hill, felt better. So I went strong even went strong up Devil's Hill, Passing lots of folks. Got to the top, a poor guy on the side of the road with his seat all the way down to the frame. Asking "Allen Key, anyone Allen Key", I pull over, pull one foot off the pedal and say "I got it but if you want it quick you better come get it" He opens my seat bag and pulls out my allen key set. Fixes his seat hands me the Allen set and says "You will be repaid for doing this". (So, I have that to look forward too). Started on my way again. Felt great on the east side of the lake. Was able to pound out some fast miles. Close to Bristol I bang down the gel goop Matt gave me. Wow, that is a lot of goop, but I ate it all trying to assure I didn't bonk. After, Bristol I struggled. Long steady uphill. Tons of bikers, tons of cars, people yelling, I now realize mentally I was not focused. That came to an end when I took a turn off this road, slightly steeper uphill, took a drink, didn't get bottle in the cage right, reached down to fix it went onto the shoulder, went to down shift to get going. Too much sand, back wheel spun. Too late couldn't get feet out, fell over. Luckily no one directly behind me. Got up, this shocked me out of my mental stooper. Nothing like a little road rash to wake you up. Rest of bike uneventful, road solid into Wellington State Park.
T2: Also, uneventful but a little long. I changed shirts. Thought I would be too hot wearing two shirts and wanted to wear the Dana-Farber singlet on the run. Took huge drink out of my bottle. Realized I hadn't drank enough during bike. Realized also that I never passed Shawn and that his bike was not in its slot, hoped he had not taken an ambulance ride anywhere, but figured I had made a mistake earlier
Run: Felt awful at first, but realized I was stronger than the people around me so I choose to focus on the closes person in front of me and hunt them down. Started working well. On the hills this was my only focus. A problem I started to have was overheating. I should have grabbed Gatorade, in hindsight, but I was totally focused on water. Two cups, one to drink, the other poured over my head. It would have been better to put down some Gatorade and give my stomach something to work on. I saw Matt about two miles on the run out. I was suffering on a hill and losing my focus. He Hooted and Hollered when he saw me, I know I didn't give him a great greeting, but it lifted my spirits and I was determined not to slow on the hills. Passed Adam coming towards me on the way back, then Shawn (glad he was upright), missed Gabe somewhere, and finally saw Alexa towards the end of my run. It was amazing how hot it was at the end of the run compared to the start of swim. Even more amazing how cold it had been the day before.
As they would say in Maine, "It was Wicked Awesome", to have that type of support and camaraderie at a race like this. I was happy with my results. I had dreams of a greater day, at the end of the day I did what I could. I will change things for the next one, I will prepare myself differently mentally, but the effort was given and the results were made. I am proud of Matt. He was Wicked Fast, as I have heard before in other events it appeared he had the strength of more than one person, I know it had to be true. Proud of Shawn, Wicked effort for the limited time he has had. C5er's. What a Wicked challenge for them. I don't know if any of them had ever done any race even close to this before. And the Killer "B's". They could have been Wicked Scary if Genine had been on skinny tires, because they all put in a huge effort. Gabe, don't know you too well, but you were "Wicked Great" in your first Tri. Nice to see Eric and Ryan. It was nice to meet Heather, Esther, Adam, Gabe, Lidia, Alexa, and Ruth. Keep Tri'ing.
Swim: 22:29 566th
Bike: 1:34:38 441
Run: 54:29 393
Overall: 2:56:21 425
284th Male
19/32 Clydesdale
Pre-Race items:
Saw a moose. Saw it about 15 miles out of Bristol on the way in the day before the race. Very cool, kids loved it, I loved it.
Checked into our cottage on the lake, not bad accommodation's, but I do not recommend at least not as the first renters of the season. A little damp and we had to turn on the heat, to warm up and dry things out.
Then met up with the crew at the registration. No one else mentioned this, but I was a little nervous about the transition "pool" area. Rain had left giant puddles all over the place. Matt assured me they would have it mopped up before race time and to their credit it looked great on race morning.
Dinner was awesome up at the farm, more than enough food. Thanks to Genine and Matt and Eric for everything.
Things were exciting the morning of the race. Hurry up get there early to wait. I felt like I was in the army. Then wait a little more. Then regret turning down banana Offered to me by C5 team. Then have to use the facilities just as wave one was starting which led me to run back to the water. Uggh! Amazing how clear it was by 10 am with Sooo Much fog at 7:30 am.
SWIM: Can you say hypothermia? It was cold. We started off. I started in the same heat with Matt and Shawn. Matt moved forward and Shawn was next to me. Go! Shawn took off, the churn was not as bad as I had expected, I didn't have to drown anyone to keep my position. Shawn pulled out in front of me. I saw him occasionally at first. My arms hurt, than my face hurt and at the second buoy a kayaker was yelling at me to get around the buoy, I wasn't tracking very well. I did a little breast stroke and got back to free style. My breathing was Ok, but I found it difficult to track and kept getting off-line a little. So, when this would happen I would do about 30 secs. to a min breast stroke and start again. Around the last buoy I was with a guy in my group that was going my speed so I laid in behind him and kept pace with him, trying not to touch his feet. Went good until the last 150 m or so when I lost him and realized he had led us a little off course. I had taken a real wide left hand turn around the last buoy. My friend swam straight back to the group. I picked the swim exit point and tried to swim a straight line.
T1: In the water I felt fine, out of the water I felt like I had brain freeze. I wobbled good trying to get my wetsuit down. I tried to sprint and wobbled almost falling to the left. Shawn's transition was right near mine. Convinced he was ahead of me I looked over for his bike, it was gone, so I said "I got to catch Shawn" and bolted out of the transition. Tried to use my jump on the bike with the peddles attached to the shoes routine. Painful, not physically, but mentally I was unable to look down and keep balance so after about three attempts, I rip the shoes off the bike put them on my feet and clipped in.
Bike: Felt awful for the first four miles. Very slow trying to make my head and stomach feel better. About a mile from Devil's Hill, felt better. So I went strong even went strong up Devil's Hill, Passing lots of folks. Got to the top, a poor guy on the side of the road with his seat all the way down to the frame. Asking "Allen Key, anyone Allen Key", I pull over, pull one foot off the pedal and say "I got it but if you want it quick you better come get it" He opens my seat bag and pulls out my allen key set. Fixes his seat hands me the Allen set and says "You will be repaid for doing this". (So, I have that to look forward too). Started on my way again. Felt great on the east side of the lake. Was able to pound out some fast miles. Close to Bristol I bang down the gel goop Matt gave me. Wow, that is a lot of goop, but I ate it all trying to assure I didn't bonk. After, Bristol I struggled. Long steady uphill. Tons of bikers, tons of cars, people yelling, I now realize mentally I was not focused. That came to an end when I took a turn off this road, slightly steeper uphill, took a drink, didn't get bottle in the cage right, reached down to fix it went onto the shoulder, went to down shift to get going. Too much sand, back wheel spun. Too late couldn't get feet out, fell over. Luckily no one directly behind me. Got up, this shocked me out of my mental stooper. Nothing like a little road rash to wake you up. Rest of bike uneventful, road solid into Wellington State Park.
T2: Also, uneventful but a little long. I changed shirts. Thought I would be too hot wearing two shirts and wanted to wear the Dana-Farber singlet on the run. Took huge drink out of my bottle. Realized I hadn't drank enough during bike. Realized also that I never passed Shawn and that his bike was not in its slot, hoped he had not taken an ambulance ride anywhere, but figured I had made a mistake earlier
Run: Felt awful at first, but realized I was stronger than the people around me so I choose to focus on the closes person in front of me and hunt them down. Started working well. On the hills this was my only focus. A problem I started to have was overheating. I should have grabbed Gatorade, in hindsight, but I was totally focused on water. Two cups, one to drink, the other poured over my head. It would have been better to put down some Gatorade and give my stomach something to work on. I saw Matt about two miles on the run out. I was suffering on a hill and losing my focus. He Hooted and Hollered when he saw me, I know I didn't give him a great greeting, but it lifted my spirits and I was determined not to slow on the hills. Passed Adam coming towards me on the way back, then Shawn (glad he was upright), missed Gabe somewhere, and finally saw Alexa towards the end of my run. It was amazing how hot it was at the end of the run compared to the start of swim. Even more amazing how cold it had been the day before.
As they would say in Maine, "It was Wicked Awesome", to have that type of support and camaraderie at a race like this. I was happy with my results. I had dreams of a greater day, at the end of the day I did what I could. I will change things for the next one, I will prepare myself differently mentally, but the effort was given and the results were made. I am proud of Matt. He was Wicked Fast, as I have heard before in other events it appeared he had the strength of more than one person, I know it had to be true. Proud of Shawn, Wicked effort for the limited time he has had. C5er's. What a Wicked challenge for them. I don't know if any of them had ever done any race even close to this before. And the Killer "B's". They could have been Wicked Scary if Genine had been on skinny tires, because they all put in a huge effort. Gabe, don't know you too well, but you were "Wicked Great" in your first Tri. Nice to see Eric and Ryan. It was nice to meet Heather, Esther, Adam, Gabe, Lidia, Alexa, and Ruth. Keep Tri'ing.
Swim: 22:29 566th
Bike: 1:34:38 441
Run: 54:29 393
Overall: 2:56:21 425
284th Male
19/32 Clydesdale
Finally caught up with me
Sunday:
9AM Swim for an hour or so.
3PM 25 mile bike ride.
7:30 PM Zonked out for about 11 hours. LOL.
I knew I was needing to catch up on my sleep and I thought I had been doing a decent job of that. I guess I wasn't.
So I missed my Monday AM swim class because of sleeping 11 hours. The funny thing is, I still fell asleep on the train on the way to work.
I felt as if maybe I gave myself a bit of "roofer head" by being out in the heat yesterday. Roofer Head is a term we used in Drum Corps. Everyone had to have a hat of some sort so they didn't bake their brain. As we were out in the sun the entire day everyday.
So I was wondering if anyone else uses the term roofer head, I googled it and here was the result.
Spirits of Ammonia and Coke
How's that for a random way to start your Monday?
9AM Swim for an hour or so.
3PM 25 mile bike ride.
7:30 PM Zonked out for about 11 hours. LOL.
I knew I was needing to catch up on my sleep and I thought I had been doing a decent job of that. I guess I wasn't.
So I missed my Monday AM swim class because of sleeping 11 hours. The funny thing is, I still fell asleep on the train on the way to work.
I felt as if maybe I gave myself a bit of "roofer head" by being out in the heat yesterday. Roofer Head is a term we used in Drum Corps. Everyone had to have a hat of some sort so they didn't bake their brain. As we were out in the sun the entire day everyday.
So I was wondering if anyone else uses the term roofer head, I googled it and here was the result.
Spirits of Ammonia and Coke
How's that for a random way to start your Monday?
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Spirit of Morgantown Bike Map
This looks to be the bike course.
The run appears to be the rail trail that we biked for the sprint last August. No hills to worry about if I remember correctly.
On their map, the swim finish appears to be quite a distance from where our bikes will be. Yet in their description they say transition is only 20m away.
I'm still recovering from the Mooseman but I'm looking forward to another shot at an olympic distance race. Hopefully we get the entire distance this time.
Looking at my watch downloads I noticed that my bike distance was off by over 2 miles. I guess I had my tire size set wrong, I'm not sure where the number that was in there came from. The good news is the correct setting should produce faster speeds :-).
The run appears to be the rail trail that we biked for the sprint last August. No hills to worry about if I remember correctly.
On their map, the swim finish appears to be quite a distance from where our bikes will be. Yet in their description they say transition is only 20m away.
I'm still recovering from the Mooseman but I'm looking forward to another shot at an olympic distance race. Hopefully we get the entire distance this time.
Looking at my watch downloads I noticed that my bike distance was off by over 2 miles. I guess I had my tire size set wrong, I'm not sure where the number that was in there came from. The good news is the correct setting should produce faster speeds :-).
Friday, June 13, 2008
Mooseman Pro Pictures
Did Craig Save this guy?
Found this blog. I think Craig and he have met :-)
I believe we need to design a "good Samaritan" race pack for Craig. This way the next time he is approaching someone who hasn't prepared, he can just toss them this "GS Pack" to them rather than stopping. It could have his race number on the pack so they can return it to him after the race.
I'm guessing if it's a female racer, he's still going to feel badly for not stopping tho'. ;-)
I believe we need to design a "good Samaritan" race pack for Craig. This way the next time he is approaching someone who hasn't prepared, he can just toss them this "GS Pack" to them rather than stopping. It could have his race number on the pack so they can return it to him after the race.
I'm guessing if it's a female racer, he's still going to feel badly for not stopping tho'. ;-)
Mooseman Graphs. That 196 HR was real!
I know Craig enjoys seeing these. I finally had time to download the race from my watch.
Sadly, I kicked the power sensor early in the race. So I don't have power or cadence graphs, no big deal.
HR in Red
Speed in Blue
Altitude the shaded area
I didn't type in my bike HR zones. The colors are my Run Zones.
Bike Graph: Click on the picture for a larger view
I had been curious about the 196 max HR all week. Well it was at the very end of the run as I ran to the finish line. I guess an adrenaline spike as I was thrilled to have finished.
Run Graph: Click on the picture for a larger view
The question for Dr. Jim is this: Is that a realistic max? Am I using zones which are low?
Should I go to your lab for testing in August :-). I'm going to be home the entire week between the Tango and the Wedding the following week. (Still not sure I need to know my "real" body fat percentage tho, we can skip that one)
Sadly, I kicked the power sensor early in the race. So I don't have power or cadence graphs, no big deal.
HR in Red
Speed in Blue
Altitude the shaded area
I didn't type in my bike HR zones. The colors are my Run Zones.
Bike Graph: Click on the picture for a larger view
I had been curious about the 196 max HR all week. Well it was at the very end of the run as I ran to the finish line. I guess an adrenaline spike as I was thrilled to have finished.
Run Graph: Click on the picture for a larger view
The question for Dr. Jim is this: Is that a realistic max? Am I using zones which are low?
Should I go to your lab for testing in August :-). I'm going to be home the entire week between the Tango and the Wedding the following week. (Still not sure I need to know my "real" body fat percentage tho, we can skip that one)
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Non-Race Photo
Armando found a picture of me taken by the photographer covering the Black Bear race the other weekend. For $20 I can have that shot made into a key chain....
If I had a key chain maybe I'd still have the key to the Jetta. I haven't seen my key to the car since Friday night after packet pickup. I drove the car back from packet pickup, I have no idea what happened to it after that tho'. VW Switchblade key if you happen across it.
Thanks
If I had a key chain maybe I'd still have the key to the Jetta. I haven't seen my key to the car since Friday night after packet pickup. I drove the car back from packet pickup, I have no idea what happened to it after that tho'. VW Switchblade key if you happen across it.
Thanks
Monday, June 9, 2008
Mooseman Photos on Flickr
We just posted up our shots along with some from Heather and Lidia's cameras. Enjoy!!
Mooseman Triathlon 08 pictures
Mooseman Triathlon 08 Slideshow
Mooseman Triathlon 08 pictures
Mooseman Triathlon 08 Slideshow
Ruth's Race report
I have to say that I had a blast. So much so, that the ladies and I have signed up for a sprint tri (flat as a pancake in Long island) at the end of June!
I must admit I was very anxious about the race. I knew I could finish a mile in a pool but in a lake? Would there be fish/creepy crawlers in there? What if I fell so far behind that the volunteers thought the race was over and abandoned me? What if I had a cramp? Where would I hold on to? I kept reminding myself that there were tons of spectators and someone was bound to be looking out...I knew Lidia and Alexa would be waiting so that was reassuring. I knew that after a few hours they'd come looking for me, though I'd be sleeping with the fishes by then.
So all these thoughts were going through my head the night before. I didn't sleep a wink, though the cottage we rented was very cozy. I especially liked the fireplace. Note to self, rent the place again.
Morning of the race.
We get up at the crack of dawn (*$%# ) I had a PBJ sandwich as Matt recommended. Good idea. We're all packed in the Honda element (5 of us, it seats 4) we put some music to pump us up, though no one is saying anything. We're all thinking about the race (or perhaps thinking "I have to make sure to get the front seat on the drive home") The line of cars is outrageous and we have to park in Massachusetts. But that's OK. The walk will be a good warm-up.
We get to the park, we register. We get our goodie bags. Nice shirts -- though they have the wrong sizes for Lidia and Alexa :( We get written all over our bodies with sharpies by volunteers. Our team number is 5526 so we have the number 526 on our hands, legs, arms (though I told them I was wearing a wetsuit so they only marked my hand and my swimming cap which was yellow- high visibility! can only be good)
We head to the transition area. I was impressed by the organization. Everything was labeled clearly. We went to our row and saw Esther! Team Bloomingdale's transition slot was next to ours.
I remembered to bring a towel for the feet. So putting on the wetsuit on the moist floor was not too unpleasant. I saw that Gabe had brought a yoga mat. Smart move. Luckily Alexa was there to help me zip up (it's hard!)
I'm very nervous since I don't know where I'm going so I head to the start area for the swim. It's a nice little walk to the start but I decide to get in the water right away to get a feel for it. Everyone was doing the same, and everyone was thinking the same (*&%#! this water is ^%&*ing! cold) My worst fear had come to pass. My hands were frozen (but not my feet-- I brought booties!) The skin of my face hurt as I went in the water (good for the complexion-- I keep thinking to myself-- trying to find a positive to this)
I saw Gabe in the water and tried to form a sentence as my teeth chattered, and then we separated (I'm sure he tried hard to figure out what I was saying) so I was by myself among all these people in colorful caps.
I looked to the lake. It was foggy. You could barely see the first buoy and we had to swim to a not visible third one! I don't know about this, I thought... A few people commiserated about the coldness and the lack of visibility. The race was being postponed. They were going to wait and see if the fog would lift. People started chatting as we waited. Some people had come from very far away to be at NH. I thought that was very cool indeed.
And then I saw these two tall men wearing identical wetsuits (color coordinated with their swim caps which were neon green---now that's planning!) and knew right away that they were Shawn and Craig. Although I had never met them formally, I felt that I knew a little bit about them from hearing all the stories Matt had told through the years and from the blog. It was so nice to finally met them and specially under these fun circumstances.
They pointed to Matt and the rest of the group so I got out of the water and we hung out for a bit, Heather took some very nice group pictures as we waited anxiously for word of the start. Heather also had a piece of a PBJ sandwich which she offered to me and I gladly took.
Finally they decided to shorten the swim so we could see where we were going I guess (frankly, I think it was so THEY could see where the swimmers were! For which I am very grateful)
I didn't know where to stand in my wave. I asked Esther and she had a definite plan. I knew she would be one of the leaders of the pack so I knew the shore would be last I saw of her! I was clueless as to where I should place myself so I just stood as people placed themselves around me. I moved to the back row and tried to visualize a pleasant swim, I went to my happy place...ah the Caribbean... warm crystal clear water...warm warm... when all of the sudden I heard people yelling "GO GO GO GO!" so off I went!
I don't recall a bell, I just heard people yelling... interesting and very exciting. My heart was racing (for about 2 seconds).
It has always taken me about 200-300 m to warm up so my plan was to breaststroke till the first buoy since I didn't know the new length for this race (it turned out to be .6 of a mile what ever that might mean) and as I did that, I saw everyone in my group pass me. That was OK. I was grateful to have people leading me to where I needed to go. I just followed the bobbing heads, hands and feet ahead of me and hoped someone knew where they were going. I saw a man pull up to canoe and rest for a bit. I wished him well, later on the results board, I saw that everyone on my wave finished so he must have been able to recoup.
I have to say this was probably the weirdest experience I've ever had. I tried to do freestyle and caught up with some of my wave and was swimming among them. We looked like a school of fish. I saw hands and feet and colorful yellow heads. Sleek bodies in quiet motion. I wish I could have videotaped the athletes underwater. It was really a beautiful sight.
People kept touching my feet (I guess they couldn't see the booties) and I got kicked in the face as I was coming up for air (good thing the water tasted good) so I went back to breast stroke to get my bearings and get the water out of my lungs! LOL I still couldn't warm up.
In the pool, after the initial warm up, I always feel myself kick into second gear. I kept waiting for that moment. Nope. It wasn't coming. I reached the first buoy and we had to turn. Bottleneck! But everyone was very polite and like fish, somehow managed to squeeze by. After the turn I decided to try freestyle again and for some strange reason looked at the bottom. Nada. Darkness. I was in deep water. All I saw was dark brown. Yes. The theme for Jaws came to mind. Remember, there are no sharks or jellyfish in lakes, ooph.
I had veered way to the right-- all the way from the left and saw that a canoe was approaching to guide me. Defeated, I went back to BS again. Which was fine. I was enjoying the swim, the sights, the people on the boats cheering "Come on!" "Good Job" "you're doing great!" I was moved. I know they shouted all these cheers to everyone but it was really nice to hear. I probably would have felt a tear roll down my cheek if it wasn't already wet or frozen.
We were now swimming the wide part of the leg. We were supposed to swim to a boat, and then to a buoy. I could not see a boat so I followed the now distant bobbing yellow heads . I started seeing people in red caps (grrrr) oh well. I knew this was going to happen. It was cool. I was enjoying this. I was loosing sight of the last yellow cap but since I was not alone (the red caps were now surrounding me) I knew i'd be fine.
I don't remember passing a boat, I remember passing canoes when all of the sudden I saw a buoy! Wow. It went quicker than I thought! Ok now I really should do freestyle. I could see the beach. I heard people clamoring. I tried FS but I couldn't catch my breath. I wasn't tired. My heart wasn't pounding..it just wasn't working! So I kept doing BS with five FS and then back to BS. That seemed to work fine. My arms and legs were feeling good. And before I knew it I reached the beach.
I gotta say I was a little disoriented coming out. I've never gotten out of the pool quickly after a workout. I usually linger on the wall and do leg lifts...It was weird, to come out of the water and scramble to find the transition pit. I didn't know where to find the girls but suddenly I heard Lidia and Alexa calling me! They were jumping up and down excitedly and I found their energy contagious. Lidia went on to do her amazing leg on the bike (even with a mishap she did great) and Alexa went on to do her great run.
So yeah, I finished! I accomplished my initial goal. I did not drown nor did I cause harm to anyone (however I did bang heads with Lidia during transition as we both bent down to remove my timing chip but she wore a helmet so not too much damage was done there...of course I could not remember my phone number today so I don't know...)
So yeah, it was lots of fun. I'd do it all over again in a minute (or 30+)
I want to thank Matt for inspiring us to do this. Everyday at work he would talk of his workouts, his training with so much enthusiasm that one day we simply decided to join in the fun! And I want to congratulate all the athletes on their personal victories. I thank you for including me on this journey and hope it is the first of many. See you in the water!
I must admit I was very anxious about the race. I knew I could finish a mile in a pool but in a lake? Would there be fish/creepy crawlers in there? What if I fell so far behind that the volunteers thought the race was over and abandoned me? What if I had a cramp? Where would I hold on to? I kept reminding myself that there were tons of spectators and someone was bound to be looking out...I knew Lidia and Alexa would be waiting so that was reassuring. I knew that after a few hours they'd come looking for me, though I'd be sleeping with the fishes by then.
So all these thoughts were going through my head the night before. I didn't sleep a wink, though the cottage we rented was very cozy. I especially liked the fireplace. Note to self, rent the place again.
Morning of the race.
We get up at the crack of dawn (*$%# ) I had a PBJ sandwich as Matt recommended. Good idea. We're all packed in the Honda element (5 of us, it seats 4) we put some music to pump us up, though no one is saying anything. We're all thinking about the race (or perhaps thinking "I have to make sure to get the front seat on the drive home") The line of cars is outrageous and we have to park in Massachusetts. But that's OK. The walk will be a good warm-up.
We get to the park, we register. We get our goodie bags. Nice shirts -- though they have the wrong sizes for Lidia and Alexa :( We get written all over our bodies with sharpies by volunteers. Our team number is 5526 so we have the number 526 on our hands, legs, arms (though I told them I was wearing a wetsuit so they only marked my hand and my swimming cap which was yellow- high visibility! can only be good)
We head to the transition area. I was impressed by the organization. Everything was labeled clearly. We went to our row and saw Esther! Team Bloomingdale's transition slot was next to ours.
I remembered to bring a towel for the feet. So putting on the wetsuit on the moist floor was not too unpleasant. I saw that Gabe had brought a yoga mat. Smart move. Luckily Alexa was there to help me zip up (it's hard!)
I'm very nervous since I don't know where I'm going so I head to the start area for the swim. It's a nice little walk to the start but I decide to get in the water right away to get a feel for it. Everyone was doing the same, and everyone was thinking the same (*&%#! this water is ^%&*ing! cold) My worst fear had come to pass. My hands were frozen (but not my feet-- I brought booties!) The skin of my face hurt as I went in the water (good for the complexion-- I keep thinking to myself-- trying to find a positive to this)
I saw Gabe in the water and tried to form a sentence as my teeth chattered, and then we separated (I'm sure he tried hard to figure out what I was saying) so I was by myself among all these people in colorful caps.
I looked to the lake. It was foggy. You could barely see the first buoy and we had to swim to a not visible third one! I don't know about this, I thought... A few people commiserated about the coldness and the lack of visibility. The race was being postponed. They were going to wait and see if the fog would lift. People started chatting as we waited. Some people had come from very far away to be at NH. I thought that was very cool indeed.
And then I saw these two tall men wearing identical wetsuits (color coordinated with their swim caps which were neon green---now that's planning!) and knew right away that they were Shawn and Craig. Although I had never met them formally, I felt that I knew a little bit about them from hearing all the stories Matt had told through the years and from the blog. It was so nice to finally met them and specially under these fun circumstances.
They pointed to Matt and the rest of the group so I got out of the water and we hung out for a bit, Heather took some very nice group pictures as we waited anxiously for word of the start. Heather also had a piece of a PBJ sandwich which she offered to me and I gladly took.
Finally they decided to shorten the swim so we could see where we were going I guess (frankly, I think it was so THEY could see where the swimmers were! For which I am very grateful)
I didn't know where to stand in my wave. I asked Esther and she had a definite plan. I knew she would be one of the leaders of the pack so I knew the shore would be last I saw of her! I was clueless as to where I should place myself so I just stood as people placed themselves around me. I moved to the back row and tried to visualize a pleasant swim, I went to my happy place...ah the Caribbean... warm crystal clear water...warm warm... when all of the sudden I heard people yelling "GO GO GO GO!" so off I went!
I don't recall a bell, I just heard people yelling... interesting and very exciting. My heart was racing (for about 2 seconds).
It has always taken me about 200-300 m to warm up so my plan was to breaststroke till the first buoy since I didn't know the new length for this race (it turned out to be .6 of a mile what ever that might mean) and as I did that, I saw everyone in my group pass me. That was OK. I was grateful to have people leading me to where I needed to go. I just followed the bobbing heads, hands and feet ahead of me and hoped someone knew where they were going. I saw a man pull up to canoe and rest for a bit. I wished him well, later on the results board, I saw that everyone on my wave finished so he must have been able to recoup.
I have to say this was probably the weirdest experience I've ever had. I tried to do freestyle and caught up with some of my wave and was swimming among them. We looked like a school of fish. I saw hands and feet and colorful yellow heads. Sleek bodies in quiet motion. I wish I could have videotaped the athletes underwater. It was really a beautiful sight.
People kept touching my feet (I guess they couldn't see the booties) and I got kicked in the face as I was coming up for air (good thing the water tasted good) so I went back to breast stroke to get my bearings and get the water out of my lungs! LOL I still couldn't warm up.
In the pool, after the initial warm up, I always feel myself kick into second gear. I kept waiting for that moment. Nope. It wasn't coming. I reached the first buoy and we had to turn. Bottleneck! But everyone was very polite and like fish, somehow managed to squeeze by. After the turn I decided to try freestyle again and for some strange reason looked at the bottom. Nada. Darkness. I was in deep water. All I saw was dark brown. Yes. The theme for Jaws came to mind. Remember, there are no sharks or jellyfish in lakes, ooph.
I had veered way to the right-- all the way from the left and saw that a canoe was approaching to guide me. Defeated, I went back to BS again. Which was fine. I was enjoying the swim, the sights, the people on the boats cheering "Come on!" "Good Job" "you're doing great!" I was moved. I know they shouted all these cheers to everyone but it was really nice to hear. I probably would have felt a tear roll down my cheek if it wasn't already wet or frozen.
We were now swimming the wide part of the leg. We were supposed to swim to a boat, and then to a buoy. I could not see a boat so I followed the now distant bobbing yellow heads . I started seeing people in red caps (grrrr) oh well. I knew this was going to happen. It was cool. I was enjoying this. I was loosing sight of the last yellow cap but since I was not alone (the red caps were now surrounding me) I knew i'd be fine.
I don't remember passing a boat, I remember passing canoes when all of the sudden I saw a buoy! Wow. It went quicker than I thought! Ok now I really should do freestyle. I could see the beach. I heard people clamoring. I tried FS but I couldn't catch my breath. I wasn't tired. My heart wasn't pounding..it just wasn't working! So I kept doing BS with five FS and then back to BS. That seemed to work fine. My arms and legs were feeling good. And before I knew it I reached the beach.
I gotta say I was a little disoriented coming out. I've never gotten out of the pool quickly after a workout. I usually linger on the wall and do leg lifts...It was weird, to come out of the water and scramble to find the transition pit. I didn't know where to find the girls but suddenly I heard Lidia and Alexa calling me! They were jumping up and down excitedly and I found their energy contagious. Lidia went on to do her amazing leg on the bike (even with a mishap she did great) and Alexa went on to do her great run.
So yeah, I finished! I accomplished my initial goal. I did not drown nor did I cause harm to anyone (however I did bang heads with Lidia during transition as we both bent down to remove my timing chip but she wore a helmet so not too much damage was done there...of course I could not remember my phone number today so I don't know...)
So yeah, it was lots of fun. I'd do it all over again in a minute (or 30+)
I want to thank Matt for inspiring us to do this. Everyday at work he would talk of his workouts, his training with so much enthusiasm that one day we simply decided to join in the fun! And I want to congratulate all the athletes on their personal victories. I thank you for including me on this journey and hope it is the first of many. See you in the water!
Shawn's Race Report
Mooseman 2008
The portents of things to come started early.
On the Wednesday before the race, in an effort to prevent chest-hair ripping from band-aid removal, we decided to Nair my chest. To make a long story short, let’s just say I won’t be doing that again. I had Naired my back for last year’s Tango, and it was fine. Something different happened this time. I felt like I put battery acid on my chest, and when I tried to wash it off, the water felt like napalm. I awoke the next day with second-degree burns from armpit to armpit, neck to gut. I packed some lotion in the hopes of calming that down.
We left after school on Thursday, heading for the Super 8 motel in Danbury CT. All went smoothly. Our new navigation system rocked. That night, when looking for my lotion, I couldn’t find it anywhere. Where is it? I packed it in the same bag as my water bottles and vitamins. Hmm, come to think of it, I haven’t seen those either. I dig through the entire car, and that bag isn’t in there. My special handlebar water bottle and my two new regular bottles are not here! Great. I made that Urge bottle so I wouldn’t have to monkey around with grabbing a bottle on the road. Oh well, nothing I can do about that now. Maybe I can buy one tomorrow. I sleep fitfully, thinking thoughts of dehydration and burning chest hair. Chalk up one night of too little sleep.
We awake and drive to New Hampshire the next day. We stopped at Wal-Mart to look for water bottles, but they had only one option that came with a cage and it wasn’t really a good bottle anyway, so we passed. I bought some “soothing aloe relief” lotion. All goes well the rest of the way up and Matt and Genine are waiting for us at the house. We go down to the course and register and meet Craig and family, then we drive the bike course. I am distressed at the number of sizable hills. It’s not going to kill me, but it will not facilitate a fast time for a man of my gravitational gifts. Time to go carbo-load. Our dinner is excellent and we chat and prepare our stuff as the night winds down. I put on some lotion and find it neither “soothing” nor do I get “relief.” In fact it feels like more napalm. Wash it off. I don’t go to sleep early enough.
I’m not a morning person. So getting up at 4:45 AM on race day may not have been the best idea for me, but we had to get there early to get everything set up, as it was a 7:30 start. Or so they told us.
Setting up the transition goes well. This is my first time ever. I feel like I have a ton of stuff and the guys around me are going to complain, so I keep trying to shrink the size of my empire. I notice that I have a very tall bike, and a very cheap and dorky helmet. These are both things that I’d like to replace, but the helmet is a lot easier to fix. Gotta get myself a cool Giro or something. Craig and I decide to hit the Porta-John before we hit the lake, but the lines for them are about 30 people long, so we head for the flush toilets about a quarter mile away. On the way back, we encounter the ultimate Clydesdale warming up with a jog. This guy had to be 4 to 6 inches taller than me (I am 6’5”), and he wasn’t terribly skinny, though I’d say considerably skinnier than me. We said “Hi” and I told him it’s nice to meet someone like him occasionally because it never hurts to feel dainty. He laughed and we left him behind. The next time I saw him, we was running toward me on the run, about two miles ahead of me. We make it to the pre-race meeting, and put on our wetsuits. Some guy noticed my nipple band-aids and swore at himself for forgetting his. We head over to the start area and I eat a Clif Bar, and about 15 minutes before the start I down a Powergel with 2X caffeine.
Then we don’t start. I need to warm up again. I need to pee again. I don’t want to go anywhere because we can’t hear much if we’re not in the right place, and they are threatening to start at any time. An hour later, they suddenly (at least to us, it seemed like this) decided to start with a shorter swim. I am kinda bummed, because I am expecting the swim to be a good event for me. First wave lines up and off they go. We are in the second wave. I am next to Craig in the center rear of the pack. I am expecting to take it easy and try to stay on course, pulling smoothly. Boom, we’re off. About 100 yards in, I start to have breathing difficulty, like serious hyperventilating. I suck in water. I start coughing. My heart is racing. I am thinking “What the heck is happening?” I am not panicking. I am totally comfortable in the water. It feels like I am having a drug overdose, or a vitamin overdose. Could it be the Powergel? I don’t think so, because I normally drink way more caffeine than that in the morning. What the heck? I roll over, and start backstroking, trying to catch my breath. I keep moving, looking up, breathing very rapidly, thinking over and over, “I wonder why this happening?” I came up with many variables that could have played a part, but it didn’t really matter at that point. I had to calm that heart down. Upon reflection, I now think it was a combination of lack of sleep, jumping in freezing water and the sudden exertion from a relatively somnambulant state. I think my body (independently minded, as usual) thought “There is no reason my occupant would be doing this unless he is being chased by a dragon and is about to die.” Subsequently, it pumped a bunch of fight-or-flight chemicals into my bloodstream that put me into some kind of hyperactive stupor. Had I needed to climb a tree, I probably would have been at the top in three seconds, but unfortunately, I needed to breath rhythmically, and it wasn’t happening. This set the stage for a pretty unsatisfying race, but I plugged on. I wasn’t going to let anything stop me from finishing this thing I had trained 18 months to complete. My backstroke actually worked out pretty well. I tracked nicely, and only once had to make any significant correction. As I heard the voices of the announcer, I flipped back over to the crawl, looking for the ground so I could stand again. I saw it and sped forward. Get my feet, and wobble toward the shore. I am so dizzy, I literally stop on the sand, cracking up at how lucky I am to be alive. I stumble toward a tree and catch my balance again. Go to the wetsuit strippers and off it comes. I don’t want to stand up again. But I must! I have to catch Craig! Is he out of the water yet? Goodness, I hope so, but let’s go see. I get to the rack, and his bike is gone, as are almost all the others in my wave. Not too surprising. I decide to just take it easy in the transition and do it right. I am not thinking clearly and don’t want to forget anything. My heart is still racing and I don’t want to be biking while dizzy. So I methodically put my bike shoes on, glasses, helmet, etc, and start jogging my bike toward to mounting zone.
The bike was good. This is my element. I was purposely taking it easy so my heart would come back to normal. I was still having breathing issues, something like an asthma attack with high heart rate, but it was less dangerous now, as drowning was no longer a possibility. We got a bit of downhill coming toward the base of Devil’s Hill, and I passed a few people, as I usually do when gravity is on my side. The hill was actually less bad than I expected, and I didn’t have to walk up it, which some people were doing. Not much happened for quite a while, other than pedaling. Some girls passed me on the hill, but I was actually passing people going up, which was quite exciting for a 250-pound guy. Made it to the top, and started to try to pick up speed. Somewhere in that long straight-away, going slowly up a slight incline, I went for my water bottle, (because I didn’t have my Urge bottle!) and this action caused me to lean slightly and I drove into the sand, then couldn’t get my wheel back on the road and crash, I went down. Thank goodness no one was passing, because I was like a tree tipping over, and I made a sizable obstacle in the road. I unclipped and was back in less than 30 seconds and got rolling again. No one else seemed to be affected, although because it was a long straight section of road, I was hearing about it as people passed me for five minutes. “Are you okay, buddy?,” “You alright, Dude?” Yes, thanks for reminding me. I used to have a shelf full of BMX trophies, and I can’t ride a freaking bike in the sand. People did seem to be generally friendly throughout. There were a couple of people I kept trading positions with, and there was one woman who was going almost exactly the same speed as me the entire time, but 25 yards ahead. I couldn't catch her! I think maybe about Bristol I was getting more like myself, and things started to pick up. Of course there is a long slow climb here, so I couldn’t really pick much up, but I was getting passed much less often now. I even passed a few more people. We finally made it to the top of the hills about two-thirds in, and I realize I haven't put my glasses on yet. They are hanging around my neck. Very aerodynamic. I put them on. I come up behind Genine on her hybrid. Keep in mind their swimmer started two waves behind us, and I was only catching up most of the way through the bike course. This shows either how good they were doing, or how terrible my swim was. Probably some combination of those. I think Genine will rock if she gets a nice bike. I wouldn’t have caught her had she been on a road bike. But Lo! This was the start of a glorious section of riding that included much declining topography, and I started flying. That was so great. I passed girls with solid wheels and all the expensive stuff on. I blew by people at the fire station at about 45 mph. I finally passed the woman I had been chasing the whole race. I hammered on all the way to the end, and thought about how nice it would have been to have been able to ride like that from the start.
Run transition was speedy, but as I’m heading out, I have to pee really badly. I had only consumed half of one water bottle as it turned out, (I think I was afraid to try again) yet still it was a pressing need, so I stopped in the porta-potty. My T2 was 3:03. I think I would have been under 2 minutes if I hadn’t stopped, but I didn’t want to run for an hour feeling like that, and I wasn’t willing to soil my pantaloons to save the minute. What was it going to gain me, 3 places in the rankings?
The run was uneventful. Adam, from Team Bloomingdales caught me within seconds of getting on the road. That meant Genine wasn’t far behind me. That’s cool. She must have dug in at the end too. Matt comes racing by in the opposite direction at about mile 1, meaning he’s 4 miles ahead of me. Dang, that's like 40 minutes ahead. He must've been flying! Craig comes by a little before mile 2, meaning he’s about 2 and a half miles ahead of me. The giant guy was a little after mile 2. I waved. I stopped at several of the water stations and walked while I drank. It’s hard to drink much while running. I walked up some of the steeper hills. I was basically toast. My body assumed the dragon hadn’t eaten me, so why would I still be running? I finished with an 11 min/mile pace in 1:08. I was hoping for 10 min/mile average, but given the situation, I was happy I was able to run at all. I beat the next Clyde by 12 seconds, so it’s a good thing I made a show of it at the end. I ran the last half-mile and was thrilled to make it to the finish!
615th place out of 730 starters, 716 finishers with a time of 3:22:33.
675th in the swim (Ugh!)
552nd on the bike (Better)
645th in the run (I beat 71 people!)
I was 367th out of 408 men.
I had completed my first tri, an Olympic at that. Sure, my performance wasn’t what I was hoping, but I completed a 3+ hour athletic endeavor and felt pretty good afterwards. We have another one in three weeks, so I think I can do much better next time. If I conquer this swimming problem, I think everything else will improve automatically. Can’t wait to try! I promise the next race report will include much lower numbers.
I must add that this weekend was made all the better by the fun companions, the delectable food, gracious lodging, beautiful surroundings, and excellent event organization. It wouldn’t have been possible for us without the wonderful Bed and Breakfast at the old farmstead. Of course Genine single-handedly tried to ruin my weight-loss plan, but who’s complaining? Matt and Genine are among the best people ever! Thank you guys so much!
The portents of things to come started early.
On the Wednesday before the race, in an effort to prevent chest-hair ripping from band-aid removal, we decided to Nair my chest. To make a long story short, let’s just say I won’t be doing that again. I had Naired my back for last year’s Tango, and it was fine. Something different happened this time. I felt like I put battery acid on my chest, and when I tried to wash it off, the water felt like napalm. I awoke the next day with second-degree burns from armpit to armpit, neck to gut. I packed some lotion in the hopes of calming that down.
We left after school on Thursday, heading for the Super 8 motel in Danbury CT. All went smoothly. Our new navigation system rocked. That night, when looking for my lotion, I couldn’t find it anywhere. Where is it? I packed it in the same bag as my water bottles and vitamins. Hmm, come to think of it, I haven’t seen those either. I dig through the entire car, and that bag isn’t in there. My special handlebar water bottle and my two new regular bottles are not here! Great. I made that Urge bottle so I wouldn’t have to monkey around with grabbing a bottle on the road. Oh well, nothing I can do about that now. Maybe I can buy one tomorrow. I sleep fitfully, thinking thoughts of dehydration and burning chest hair. Chalk up one night of too little sleep.
We awake and drive to New Hampshire the next day. We stopped at Wal-Mart to look for water bottles, but they had only one option that came with a cage and it wasn’t really a good bottle anyway, so we passed. I bought some “soothing aloe relief” lotion. All goes well the rest of the way up and Matt and Genine are waiting for us at the house. We go down to the course and register and meet Craig and family, then we drive the bike course. I am distressed at the number of sizable hills. It’s not going to kill me, but it will not facilitate a fast time for a man of my gravitational gifts. Time to go carbo-load. Our dinner is excellent and we chat and prepare our stuff as the night winds down. I put on some lotion and find it neither “soothing” nor do I get “relief.” In fact it feels like more napalm. Wash it off. I don’t go to sleep early enough.
I’m not a morning person. So getting up at 4:45 AM on race day may not have been the best idea for me, but we had to get there early to get everything set up, as it was a 7:30 start. Or so they told us.
Setting up the transition goes well. This is my first time ever. I feel like I have a ton of stuff and the guys around me are going to complain, so I keep trying to shrink the size of my empire. I notice that I have a very tall bike, and a very cheap and dorky helmet. These are both things that I’d like to replace, but the helmet is a lot easier to fix. Gotta get myself a cool Giro or something. Craig and I decide to hit the Porta-John before we hit the lake, but the lines for them are about 30 people long, so we head for the flush toilets about a quarter mile away. On the way back, we encounter the ultimate Clydesdale warming up with a jog. This guy had to be 4 to 6 inches taller than me (I am 6’5”), and he wasn’t terribly skinny, though I’d say considerably skinnier than me. We said “Hi” and I told him it’s nice to meet someone like him occasionally because it never hurts to feel dainty. He laughed and we left him behind. The next time I saw him, we was running toward me on the run, about two miles ahead of me. We make it to the pre-race meeting, and put on our wetsuits. Some guy noticed my nipple band-aids and swore at himself for forgetting his. We head over to the start area and I eat a Clif Bar, and about 15 minutes before the start I down a Powergel with 2X caffeine.
Then we don’t start. I need to warm up again. I need to pee again. I don’t want to go anywhere because we can’t hear much if we’re not in the right place, and they are threatening to start at any time. An hour later, they suddenly (at least to us, it seemed like this) decided to start with a shorter swim. I am kinda bummed, because I am expecting the swim to be a good event for me. First wave lines up and off they go. We are in the second wave. I am next to Craig in the center rear of the pack. I am expecting to take it easy and try to stay on course, pulling smoothly. Boom, we’re off. About 100 yards in, I start to have breathing difficulty, like serious hyperventilating. I suck in water. I start coughing. My heart is racing. I am thinking “What the heck is happening?” I am not panicking. I am totally comfortable in the water. It feels like I am having a drug overdose, or a vitamin overdose. Could it be the Powergel? I don’t think so, because I normally drink way more caffeine than that in the morning. What the heck? I roll over, and start backstroking, trying to catch my breath. I keep moving, looking up, breathing very rapidly, thinking over and over, “I wonder why this happening?” I came up with many variables that could have played a part, but it didn’t really matter at that point. I had to calm that heart down. Upon reflection, I now think it was a combination of lack of sleep, jumping in freezing water and the sudden exertion from a relatively somnambulant state. I think my body (independently minded, as usual) thought “There is no reason my occupant would be doing this unless he is being chased by a dragon and is about to die.” Subsequently, it pumped a bunch of fight-or-flight chemicals into my bloodstream that put me into some kind of hyperactive stupor. Had I needed to climb a tree, I probably would have been at the top in three seconds, but unfortunately, I needed to breath rhythmically, and it wasn’t happening. This set the stage for a pretty unsatisfying race, but I plugged on. I wasn’t going to let anything stop me from finishing this thing I had trained 18 months to complete. My backstroke actually worked out pretty well. I tracked nicely, and only once had to make any significant correction. As I heard the voices of the announcer, I flipped back over to the crawl, looking for the ground so I could stand again. I saw it and sped forward. Get my feet, and wobble toward the shore. I am so dizzy, I literally stop on the sand, cracking up at how lucky I am to be alive. I stumble toward a tree and catch my balance again. Go to the wetsuit strippers and off it comes. I don’t want to stand up again. But I must! I have to catch Craig! Is he out of the water yet? Goodness, I hope so, but let’s go see. I get to the rack, and his bike is gone, as are almost all the others in my wave. Not too surprising. I decide to just take it easy in the transition and do it right. I am not thinking clearly and don’t want to forget anything. My heart is still racing and I don’t want to be biking while dizzy. So I methodically put my bike shoes on, glasses, helmet, etc, and start jogging my bike toward to mounting zone.
The bike was good. This is my element. I was purposely taking it easy so my heart would come back to normal. I was still having breathing issues, something like an asthma attack with high heart rate, but it was less dangerous now, as drowning was no longer a possibility. We got a bit of downhill coming toward the base of Devil’s Hill, and I passed a few people, as I usually do when gravity is on my side. The hill was actually less bad than I expected, and I didn’t have to walk up it, which some people were doing. Not much happened for quite a while, other than pedaling. Some girls passed me on the hill, but I was actually passing people going up, which was quite exciting for a 250-pound guy. Made it to the top, and started to try to pick up speed. Somewhere in that long straight-away, going slowly up a slight incline, I went for my water bottle, (because I didn’t have my Urge bottle!) and this action caused me to lean slightly and I drove into the sand, then couldn’t get my wheel back on the road and crash, I went down. Thank goodness no one was passing, because I was like a tree tipping over, and I made a sizable obstacle in the road. I unclipped and was back in less than 30 seconds and got rolling again. No one else seemed to be affected, although because it was a long straight section of road, I was hearing about it as people passed me for five minutes. “Are you okay, buddy?,” “You alright, Dude?” Yes, thanks for reminding me. I used to have a shelf full of BMX trophies, and I can’t ride a freaking bike in the sand. People did seem to be generally friendly throughout. There were a couple of people I kept trading positions with, and there was one woman who was going almost exactly the same speed as me the entire time, but 25 yards ahead. I couldn't catch her! I think maybe about Bristol I was getting more like myself, and things started to pick up. Of course there is a long slow climb here, so I couldn’t really pick much up, but I was getting passed much less often now. I even passed a few more people. We finally made it to the top of the hills about two-thirds in, and I realize I haven't put my glasses on yet. They are hanging around my neck. Very aerodynamic. I put them on. I come up behind Genine on her hybrid. Keep in mind their swimmer started two waves behind us, and I was only catching up most of the way through the bike course. This shows either how good they were doing, or how terrible my swim was. Probably some combination of those. I think Genine will rock if she gets a nice bike. I wouldn’t have caught her had she been on a road bike. But Lo! This was the start of a glorious section of riding that included much declining topography, and I started flying. That was so great. I passed girls with solid wheels and all the expensive stuff on. I blew by people at the fire station at about 45 mph. I finally passed the woman I had been chasing the whole race. I hammered on all the way to the end, and thought about how nice it would have been to have been able to ride like that from the start.
Run transition was speedy, but as I’m heading out, I have to pee really badly. I had only consumed half of one water bottle as it turned out, (I think I was afraid to try again) yet still it was a pressing need, so I stopped in the porta-potty. My T2 was 3:03. I think I would have been under 2 minutes if I hadn’t stopped, but I didn’t want to run for an hour feeling like that, and I wasn’t willing to soil my pantaloons to save the minute. What was it going to gain me, 3 places in the rankings?
The run was uneventful. Adam, from Team Bloomingdales caught me within seconds of getting on the road. That meant Genine wasn’t far behind me. That’s cool. She must have dug in at the end too. Matt comes racing by in the opposite direction at about mile 1, meaning he’s 4 miles ahead of me. Dang, that's like 40 minutes ahead. He must've been flying! Craig comes by a little before mile 2, meaning he’s about 2 and a half miles ahead of me. The giant guy was a little after mile 2. I waved. I stopped at several of the water stations and walked while I drank. It’s hard to drink much while running. I walked up some of the steeper hills. I was basically toast. My body assumed the dragon hadn’t eaten me, so why would I still be running? I finished with an 11 min/mile pace in 1:08. I was hoping for 10 min/mile average, but given the situation, I was happy I was able to run at all. I beat the next Clyde by 12 seconds, so it’s a good thing I made a show of it at the end. I ran the last half-mile and was thrilled to make it to the finish!
615th place out of 730 starters, 716 finishers with a time of 3:22:33.
675th in the swim (Ugh!)
552nd on the bike (Better)
645th in the run (I beat 71 people!)
I was 367th out of 408 men.
I had completed my first tri, an Olympic at that. Sure, my performance wasn’t what I was hoping, but I completed a 3+ hour athletic endeavor and felt pretty good afterwards. We have another one in three weeks, so I think I can do much better next time. If I conquer this swimming problem, I think everything else will improve automatically. Can’t wait to try! I promise the next race report will include much lower numbers.
I must add that this weekend was made all the better by the fun companions, the delectable food, gracious lodging, beautiful surroundings, and excellent event organization. It wouldn’t have been possible for us without the wonderful Bed and Breakfast at the old farmstead. Of course Genine single-handedly tried to ruin my weight-loss plan, but who’s complaining? Matt and Genine are among the best people ever! Thank you guys so much!
Sunday, June 8, 2008
From the heart....Genine's Race Report
Since the inception of this blog, I think I have only posted once on it - even though I am a regular reader. However, after this weekend I feel I need to say a few things to everyone.
First: Even though the words do not seem to be worthy of the commitment and passion exemplified by all 10 of the athletes racing with us yesterday (and the families and friends who came to lend their support), I must say "THANK YOU"!!! From the bottom of my heart, my most sincere gratitude goes out to you. You are all truly AMAZING! Matt and I are so blessed to have you in our lives. It was both an honor and a pleasure to host all of you up at "the farm" (our NH house). Did everyone get enough to eat? :-) I know that Matt's mom was smiling down at the house full of laughter and good friends.
Second: We still have donations coming in on the fundraiser page! It looks like we will be able to break $16,000...all of which will go directly to Dr.Guinan's research. How cool is that? Again, thank you to all who helped in the campaigning efforts. Knowing that the money is going to help Nathan's wish of helping kids with cancer come true, makes all of the pain from yesterday worth it.
Third: Now for a recap of my first time race experience! After arriving early, Team Bloomies (listed as The Killer B's in the results postings) set up "our" transition area. We took a quick walk around the race site so I can show Esther and Adam the in/out and the relay "exchange pen" for our time chip hand-off between each leg. Then we head to the beach to show Esther the swim course, or so we thought. The fog was so thick that you could not see more than a few feet off the beach. Yikes! Well, as Matt posted, the swim start was delayed and the course re-routed/shortened due to the foggy conditions. At that point we didn't have a good idea by how much though. Adam and I waited on the beach by the swim start to to cheer on Esther and our other racers as they began their swim. We then began our walk back to transition at the other end of the beach so I could get my bike shoes on, helmet, etc to be ready to meet Esther in the exchange pen. About half way down the beach, I began to hear the first wave of swimmers being announced as they came out of the water. Wow, that was alot faster than I thought! I better get a move on it. I get to the entrance of transition that was open prior to the race to find it now closed! Where to go?? I quickly walk to the end by the swim entrance to find out from a race volunteer that I have to go all the way to the opposite side to get in by the bike in/out!! Holy crap!! I run through the crowd gathered to watch the swimmers coming in to the other end. Only to find the first bikers heading out so I have to wait to cross the path to get in to transition. What if Esther finishes before I get there??? Finally there is a break, so I dart across the bike path and sprint into transition waving the number on my hand to the race volunteer yelling at me, "Hey, wait!! Are you an athlete??" I strip my long pants off, put on my bike shoes and run to the relay pen (cheering for Matt as I hear his name announced coming out of the water!), Ok, I am here and ready! Until I soon realize that I forgot to put on my helmet! I run back to my spot grab my helmet and run back to the pen. Within a minute or 2, Esther come out of the water, I put on the time chip, get my bike and begin my leg of the race! My HR is racing...starting out in the 180's which is extremely high for me. (It never really did calm down to my norm). I began to remind myself to relax. After about the first mile, I thought I should have the GU that Matt taped to my bike for me, since I gave him the one I had planned on having prior to my bike due to the hour delay in the swim start. This is the first time I have ever experienced GU. What a perfect time to start, right? All I can say is...yuck! But it seemed to prove to be helpful. I focused on staying to the right and out of everyone's way, as I was convinced that I was going to cause someone on a "fast bike" to crash if I got in the way! Although, I have to say that I held my own on my trusty hybrid! :-) There was a group of 3 guys that I seemed to pass on the uphills and then have them pass me on the downhills thru the last half of the course. As I was chugging by the one guy on an uphill, he shouts out, "You're kicking butt on that bike!" I replied, "Thanks! I'm doing the best I can with what I got!" Several other people cheering along the course also shouted words of encouragement related to my bike! Very funny! Shawn passed me at one point (about 2/3 of the way thru). It was nice to see a familiar face! I was able to hang behind him for a mile or 2 until we hit some rolling hills and he was off like a shot!
Aside from some minor toe cramping and pain in my right groin/hamstring, I felt really good out there. When my mind would start to wander, I would start to think of my inten-sati training and recite some of the affirmations. "Negative thoughts STOP right now - I move with ease- I am strong NOW! - I am confident NOW!" As silly as it may sound, it actually helped to focus me back to the moment. And whenever I felt tired going up a hill or the when the pain started, I thought of the battles that Nathan, Judy and Dan fought and I kept moving forward with conviction. I came into the finish feeling tired, but pumped up as I met Adam in the exchange pen to start him on his run. Team Bloomies finished 18 out 26 relay teams with a time of 2:56:32. My bike was 1:47:14 (15.2mph).
All in all, this weekend, and the journey leading up to it, has been a life changing experience for me. So many thoughts and emotions. Not the least of which is...I want a faster bike!! :-)
First: Even though the words do not seem to be worthy of the commitment and passion exemplified by all 10 of the athletes racing with us yesterday (and the families and friends who came to lend their support), I must say "THANK YOU"!!! From the bottom of my heart, my most sincere gratitude goes out to you. You are all truly AMAZING! Matt and I are so blessed to have you in our lives. It was both an honor and a pleasure to host all of you up at "the farm" (our NH house). Did everyone get enough to eat? :-) I know that Matt's mom was smiling down at the house full of laughter and good friends.
Second: We still have donations coming in on the fundraiser page! It looks like we will be able to break $16,000...all of which will go directly to Dr.Guinan's research. How cool is that? Again, thank you to all who helped in the campaigning efforts. Knowing that the money is going to help Nathan's wish of helping kids with cancer come true, makes all of the pain from yesterday worth it.
Third: Now for a recap of my first time race experience! After arriving early, Team Bloomies (listed as The Killer B's in the results postings) set up "our" transition area. We took a quick walk around the race site so I can show Esther and Adam the in/out and the relay "exchange pen" for our time chip hand-off between each leg. Then we head to the beach to show Esther the swim course, or so we thought. The fog was so thick that you could not see more than a few feet off the beach. Yikes! Well, as Matt posted, the swim start was delayed and the course re-routed/shortened due to the foggy conditions. At that point we didn't have a good idea by how much though. Adam and I waited on the beach by the swim start to to cheer on Esther and our other racers as they began their swim. We then began our walk back to transition at the other end of the beach so I could get my bike shoes on, helmet, etc to be ready to meet Esther in the exchange pen. About half way down the beach, I began to hear the first wave of swimmers being announced as they came out of the water. Wow, that was alot faster than I thought! I better get a move on it. I get to the entrance of transition that was open prior to the race to find it now closed! Where to go?? I quickly walk to the end by the swim entrance to find out from a race volunteer that I have to go all the way to the opposite side to get in by the bike in/out!! Holy crap!! I run through the crowd gathered to watch the swimmers coming in to the other end. Only to find the first bikers heading out so I have to wait to cross the path to get in to transition. What if Esther finishes before I get there??? Finally there is a break, so I dart across the bike path and sprint into transition waving the number on my hand to the race volunteer yelling at me, "Hey, wait!! Are you an athlete??" I strip my long pants off, put on my bike shoes and run to the relay pen (cheering for Matt as I hear his name announced coming out of the water!), Ok, I am here and ready! Until I soon realize that I forgot to put on my helmet! I run back to my spot grab my helmet and run back to the pen. Within a minute or 2, Esther come out of the water, I put on the time chip, get my bike and begin my leg of the race! My HR is racing...starting out in the 180's which is extremely high for me. (It never really did calm down to my norm). I began to remind myself to relax. After about the first mile, I thought I should have the GU that Matt taped to my bike for me, since I gave him the one I had planned on having prior to my bike due to the hour delay in the swim start. This is the first time I have ever experienced GU. What a perfect time to start, right? All I can say is...yuck! But it seemed to prove to be helpful. I focused on staying to the right and out of everyone's way, as I was convinced that I was going to cause someone on a "fast bike" to crash if I got in the way! Although, I have to say that I held my own on my trusty hybrid! :-) There was a group of 3 guys that I seemed to pass on the uphills and then have them pass me on the downhills thru the last half of the course. As I was chugging by the one guy on an uphill, he shouts out, "You're kicking butt on that bike!" I replied, "Thanks! I'm doing the best I can with what I got!" Several other people cheering along the course also shouted words of encouragement related to my bike! Very funny! Shawn passed me at one point (about 2/3 of the way thru). It was nice to see a familiar face! I was able to hang behind him for a mile or 2 until we hit some rolling hills and he was off like a shot!
Aside from some minor toe cramping and pain in my right groin/hamstring, I felt really good out there. When my mind would start to wander, I would start to think of my inten-sati training and recite some of the affirmations. "Negative thoughts STOP right now - I move with ease- I am strong NOW! - I am confident NOW!" As silly as it may sound, it actually helped to focus me back to the moment. And whenever I felt tired going up a hill or the when the pain started, I thought of the battles that Nathan, Judy and Dan fought and I kept moving forward with conviction. I came into the finish feeling tired, but pumped up as I met Adam in the exchange pen to start him on his run. Team Bloomies finished 18 out 26 relay teams with a time of 2:56:32. My bike was 1:47:14 (15.2mph).
All in all, this weekend, and the journey leading up to it, has been a life changing experience for me. So many thoughts and emotions. Not the least of which is...I want a faster bike!! :-)
Matt's Mooseman Race Report
I have so much I'd like to document here. I'll try to stick to my race day here and include the other stuff in another post.
Friday afternoon/evening: Mid 60s and rain all day. Vashaw's arrive (Shawn, Amy, Fiona). Cerra's are staying at a cottage down on the lake. (Craig, Tamara, Madeline, Levi and Eleanor).
We met the Cerra's down at Newfound to do packet pickup. Genine had to wait until the next morning because her entire team had to be present and show ID.
We also picked up Gabe's (Alexa's Brother) wetsuit from the rental company for him, he would be arriving after registration close for the night.
I also bought some tinted goggles for Esther as the sun can make for tough sighting.
After perusing the tents quickly. Shawn, Craig, Amy and I drove the bike course so that Craig and Shawn could do some visualizing. Shawn drove much of the course in aero position on his steering wheel.
Then it was time to get back to the house for the dinner Genine had prepared.
We got back to find that Esther had arrived. Eric and Ryan (Eric's son) picked up Esther from airport and brought her up to the farm.
Adam Malkin (Genine's co-worker and runner for her relay) arrived a bit later because of traffic but there was a ton of food. Summer Spaghetti, Squash Casserole, Grilled Chicken, Chocolate Cake (my birthday is the 11th, we celebrated early).
Anyhow, it was a full house, 14 people. Very fun, that's what this place is all about.
We got a phone call from Team C5 + Heather and Gabe. They made it to the Carb Load dinner hosted by Mooseman. I was glad to know they were "in town".
We didn't do a good job of getting to sleep early I think it was a bit after 11 before I was asleep.
Saturday: 4:30 Wake up. I had packed the car other than having the bikes on. So I did that first thing. The Decaf Coffee was brewing and I had my PB&J breakfast and Green Machine Juice to wash down the Electrolyte Capsule and Allergy Medicine.
We left to the race at just about 5:30 the parking lot will fill fast and we have enough stuff that we'd prefer not to walk. Oddly enough the Cerra's arrived exactly at the same time so Craig, Shawn and I were parked side by side. Very convenient.
Walk down to transition to setup. This turned out to be the only weak spot in the Mooseman experience not that it was a big deal. We had to be marked before entering transition. I'm not sure what kind of markers they were, but the numbers were unreadable before the swim start.
Team C5 showed a bit later and the pictures could begin. Heather was going to use our camera for the day. I brought a bunch of extra stuff with me for them just in case, as they are first timers. I gave Gabe and Lidia GU to tape onto their bike and Gabe needed Body Glide. I'm always amazed at how fast pre-race time flies.
Finally it was time to walk to the far end of the beach for the Swim Start. Well Esther wasn't going to need the tinted lenses, we stood around for over a half an hour waiting for the fog to clear enough to see from one buoy to the next. Many photo opportunities as a result.
Finally they decided we would swim a modified course. We'd swim to the 2nd buoy, then turn left and swim towards a fire boat?? Not sure what boat they were talking about, you couldn't see it from shore. Then to a buoy and back to shore at the far end of the beach. We don't know how far it's going to be. I don't have many gears swimming anyhow so it's not like it should change my efforts in terms of pacing. Esther is only doing the swim leg and is racing to beat me. So I have to drop the hammer on the swim.
I line up at the front and to the right. When I'm pulling hard I track to the left, I thought it should be a good plan. Water temperature is 58-60 degrees. I go out hard for a couple minutes. My face is freezing!!! I figure it will pass, from becoming numb or from my rising temperature.
As I'm sighting, I start to look for someone I might be able to gun for and draft off of. Unfortunately, I end up in a pod of 3 of evenly matched and I'm in the center. At the 2nd buoy turn I see where everyone is headed but I don't know what Boat it is we are supposed to be swimming towards. So I am truly just following the pack. (good thing I'm not the best swimmer and leading, ha ha). I am still in this pod of swimmers, I decide to see if I can just draft off one of them for a bit, rather than swimming beside him. For some reason when I do this he starts to add breast stroke as his sighting method. Maybe he's tiring out? OK, that plan isn't going to work for me. I try to finally just leave this guy behind. I now see the buoy we are headed for so I keep digging. Because I track left, I take the turn at the buoy too close and I'm in the churn again getting smacked around. Next thing I know I'm back in the center of a 3 person pod and I think it's the same guy to my right. UGH!! Well I can see the finish at the beach, so I turn it on and go more strokes between sighting. Still tracking left badly, I have to correct every time.
I reach the beach, I work on finding my balance. I'm already on dry land before I have the top of my wetsuit off. Not a big deal, better than falling over. Swim 17:04 for .6 miles. Not sure if that's real miles or swimmer miles. I came out of the swim thinking I could have done better because of feeling trapped in, but my results seem to be in line with reality.
161/730 overall in the swim.
(Esther beat me by 12 seconds.... Grrrr)
T1: 2:03, I felt this transition went smoothly enough. Maybe I'll have to learn how to run barefoot and put my feet in my shoes on the bike to save time. Although I am suspect of how my balance would be doing this if I had only been out of the water for a minute.
Bike Map: I had my polar watch for HR, I find the information helpful. I don't have the IR adaptor to download my exact stats but I can adjust them later. If anyone is curious about what I think my bike zones to be. Check out this post.
Starting the bike HR is at 177. Ugh! My running max is 188. So this is very high. I know the bike course well so I think I can manage to bring it down. My thoughts start to think about miles 5-7 starting off with Devil's Hill. I know I can catch my breath leading into it once I make the turn in Hebron. I'll be curious to see my HR graph to see how much of a "break" I really gave myself.
As I was approaching Devil's Hill you could see the bikers packing up, climbing/grinding up the hill. Instead of thinking "Oh man, here it is!" I was actually thinking, "Oh man, that would be a great photo!"
On the 2nd climb in that section, I started to get a look at the bike numbers of the people around me. 212 was the easiest for me to remember because it's NYC's area code. Once I was on 3A and going downhill. It was time for a GU and gatorade. I've been concerned with bonking on the final third of the bike leg. So I took 3 gels with me and two bottles.
Miles 7-13 were enlightening. I was managing to overtake people on the downhills. Hold my own on the flats, but I was giving back my gains on the climbs. I became very familiar with 3 other bikers. 212 being one of them. I was also realizing how close my calves were to cramping. They were very tight. I'm guessing because I probably climbed those hills much faster than I normally would... or the cold water? Who knows..
Miles 13-15.5 I just hammered my way into Bristol. It's the easiest section of the course as long as traffic isn't a factor (which it wasn't). I was really feeling good about my race so far and I started to think about the last 18 months of training for this. . How when I was just starting to run, when I'd want to quit, I'd think of Dan, Mom and Nathan and finish the workout. Well now I also started to think about the fact there were 10 of us racing today, Friends new and old....I have to admit I was fighting back tears. It was a good thing tho'.
Miles 15.5-19. Gu time again. It's not terribly hot. I don't feel that I'm losing fluids but this is the last section that it's going to be simple to take in fluids in terms of the road conditions and being far enough away from the run. As people pass, I am reminded once again, that my climbing is costing me time.
Miles 19-24. Some good rollers in through this section. There were 3 or 4 of us that were loosely grouped. I feel like I've been with them since Devil's Hill. Every climb they were ahead. I could take them on the downhills. Well I was behind them on the downhill from 21.5-22.5 and sadly was unwilling to cross the double line to pass. I ended up being on my brakes a large portion of that distance. Ah well.
Fortunately the hill/turn at 23.25 was well staffed, you pick up a ton of speed in a hurry, you want to know they have "traffic" under control there.
Mile 24-Finish. I know there is one small bump of a hill from here to the beach. I hop up out of the saddle, yell to the other guys "There's only one bump between us and the beach! Hammer It Home!" I'll be curious to see what I managed for my speed through this section, I felt that I was pouring it on in aero position because I was so thrilled to have survived the bike!! It could be that I was only flying emotionally.
As I passed the view of Cardigan, I didn't look, but I could hear my mom saying "you can see the fire tower today" :-).
Up over the bump, hammer to the fishing bridge, hop out of saddle to stretch it out a few times. Switch to a higher cadence from the bridge to the park. Walk it into transition.... I've definitely gotta learn to leave the shoes on the bike.
Time 1:24:09, 19.4mph over 27.5 miles (new PR for average speed at any distance).
Avg HR 171, Max 186.
One last comment about the bike course. 5 signs before every turn!! That's how you mark a course!!!
208/730 overall bike
T2: 1:53. The C5 Crew was cheering me as I was putting my socks on for the run. Unfortunately, I also had to get my watch off the bike which probably took :30. Maija is probably reading this saying "Are you kidding me?!!? GO!!!!!!!" :-)
At dinner that night, the C5ers said the same to me. I think it was "Dude, some people did the bike/run transition in like 30 seconds, you've gotta move it!"
The Run: 10K. This is going to be interesting. I've only run about 8 miles since May 3rd. I actually emailed Esther asking if she would be willing to be my runner this weekend. (She was already there to be the swimmer for my wife's relay team). You can read about my last minute knee adjustment here. Anyhow, what has been my strongest event for the last 2 races has become a bit of question mark for today.
I was feeling pretty good starting out, it starts out nice and flat so I knew I'd have time to get my running legs going. Not far into the run I see someone familiar running towards me. It was Esther, after finishing her swim went out running. She spots me and begins to cheer "Go Matt!"
I think after that there was the pro photographer in the middle of the road. I knew I wanted a picture of myself running with the "hands as moose antlers" as this is something, Nathan and I used to do. I believe I got my picture. (The other was a shark fin on top of your head while swimming, I couldn't expect the photographer to get that shot tho' :-) )
Well when I hit the first hill just past the first mile I guess, my left quad cramps up on me. I have to slow to a walk. Then try to run again. Still unhappy. I stop completely. Flex my leg as hard as I can, putting all my weight on my left. Then start running again. What do you know, it worked!
Back on the move, I didn't lose much time there. Unfortunately I know there are more hills to come. Well when I hit the first big hill, they had a stereo system jamming a U2 Song. I don't typically run with music. Well I rallied with this song. People were on the return loop running towards me. I started clapping to the beat hands up over my head, grinding it up the hill. I think it might have helped them too, they were no longer grimacing, they were smiling/laughing at me.
Finally approaching the turn around. Which is down a steep hill towards the lake. A ton of people were just ahead of me on their way back up. So when I got to the water station/turn around most of the volunteers/kids were filling up cups and not ready to hand anything over. I yell out to them to get their attention "Do we swim back to the beach from here!?!?". They hand me a couple cups of water and I'm 5K from finishing.
But first, back up this hill. At the top of the hill were a couple guys playing hand drums. Once again, clapping to the beat, rallying up the hill.
I honestly don't know if I've passed anyone during the run so far, I may only be losing positions along the way but I know I'm giving it everything I've got as my HR monitor has been showing me 180+ nearly the entire run.
At about mile 4-4.5 I spot one of our "Team Jerseys" Craig is running up the hill at me. I give him a shout on the way by. I keep wanting to up the pace but it's just not there. I spot Gabe and cheer him on as he goes by. Then I spot Shawn, WAHOO!!!
I kept looking at my watch to see how much further I had to go, and I kept trying to speed it up. As I was approaching the turn off the road into the park and into the finish line. Everyone starts yelling nice hat! Awsome hat! I knew the guy with the moosehead for a hat was approaching. Once again, I try not to let anyone pass me, too bad, I'm already in top gear. Ah well I'm into the corral psyched to be finishing, they are announcing my name, crowd cheering, awesome, I left it all out there, it was a great race.
10K 51:15 8:16 pace.
Avg HR 180, Max ??? I'll have to graph it. it's saying 196 which I believe is impossible.
293/730 overall run
2:36:23 total time.
218/730 overall
163/418 Male Competitors
38/68 Age Group
Individual results
Relay Team Results
Mooseman Pictures
Friday afternoon/evening: Mid 60s and rain all day. Vashaw's arrive (Shawn, Amy, Fiona). Cerra's are staying at a cottage down on the lake. (Craig, Tamara, Madeline, Levi and Eleanor).
We met the Cerra's down at Newfound to do packet pickup. Genine had to wait until the next morning because her entire team had to be present and show ID.
We also picked up Gabe's (Alexa's Brother) wetsuit from the rental company for him, he would be arriving after registration close for the night.
I also bought some tinted goggles for Esther as the sun can make for tough sighting.
After perusing the tents quickly. Shawn, Craig, Amy and I drove the bike course so that Craig and Shawn could do some visualizing. Shawn drove much of the course in aero position on his steering wheel.
Then it was time to get back to the house for the dinner Genine had prepared.
We got back to find that Esther had arrived. Eric and Ryan (Eric's son) picked up Esther from airport and brought her up to the farm.
Adam Malkin (Genine's co-worker and runner for her relay) arrived a bit later because of traffic but there was a ton of food. Summer Spaghetti, Squash Casserole, Grilled Chicken, Chocolate Cake (my birthday is the 11th, we celebrated early).
Anyhow, it was a full house, 14 people. Very fun, that's what this place is all about.
We got a phone call from Team C5 + Heather and Gabe. They made it to the Carb Load dinner hosted by Mooseman. I was glad to know they were "in town".
We didn't do a good job of getting to sleep early I think it was a bit after 11 before I was asleep.
Saturday: 4:30 Wake up. I had packed the car other than having the bikes on. So I did that first thing. The Decaf Coffee was brewing and I had my PB&J breakfast and Green Machine Juice to wash down the Electrolyte Capsule and Allergy Medicine.
We left to the race at just about 5:30 the parking lot will fill fast and we have enough stuff that we'd prefer not to walk. Oddly enough the Cerra's arrived exactly at the same time so Craig, Shawn and I were parked side by side. Very convenient.
Walk down to transition to setup. This turned out to be the only weak spot in the Mooseman experience not that it was a big deal. We had to be marked before entering transition. I'm not sure what kind of markers they were, but the numbers were unreadable before the swim start.
Team C5 showed a bit later and the pictures could begin. Heather was going to use our camera for the day. I brought a bunch of extra stuff with me for them just in case, as they are first timers. I gave Gabe and Lidia GU to tape onto their bike and Gabe needed Body Glide. I'm always amazed at how fast pre-race time flies.
Finally it was time to walk to the far end of the beach for the Swim Start. Well Esther wasn't going to need the tinted lenses, we stood around for over a half an hour waiting for the fog to clear enough to see from one buoy to the next. Many photo opportunities as a result.
Finally they decided we would swim a modified course. We'd swim to the 2nd buoy, then turn left and swim towards a fire boat?? Not sure what boat they were talking about, you couldn't see it from shore. Then to a buoy and back to shore at the far end of the beach. We don't know how far it's going to be. I don't have many gears swimming anyhow so it's not like it should change my efforts in terms of pacing. Esther is only doing the swim leg and is racing to beat me. So I have to drop the hammer on the swim.
I line up at the front and to the right. When I'm pulling hard I track to the left, I thought it should be a good plan. Water temperature is 58-60 degrees. I go out hard for a couple minutes. My face is freezing!!! I figure it will pass, from becoming numb or from my rising temperature.
As I'm sighting, I start to look for someone I might be able to gun for and draft off of. Unfortunately, I end up in a pod of 3 of evenly matched and I'm in the center. At the 2nd buoy turn I see where everyone is headed but I don't know what Boat it is we are supposed to be swimming towards. So I am truly just following the pack. (good thing I'm not the best swimmer and leading, ha ha). I am still in this pod of swimmers, I decide to see if I can just draft off one of them for a bit, rather than swimming beside him. For some reason when I do this he starts to add breast stroke as his sighting method. Maybe he's tiring out? OK, that plan isn't going to work for me. I try to finally just leave this guy behind. I now see the buoy we are headed for so I keep digging. Because I track left, I take the turn at the buoy too close and I'm in the churn again getting smacked around. Next thing I know I'm back in the center of a 3 person pod and I think it's the same guy to my right. UGH!! Well I can see the finish at the beach, so I turn it on and go more strokes between sighting. Still tracking left badly, I have to correct every time.
I reach the beach, I work on finding my balance. I'm already on dry land before I have the top of my wetsuit off. Not a big deal, better than falling over. Swim 17:04 for .6 miles. Not sure if that's real miles or swimmer miles. I came out of the swim thinking I could have done better because of feeling trapped in, but my results seem to be in line with reality.
161/730 overall in the swim.
(Esther beat me by 12 seconds.... Grrrr)
T1: 2:03, I felt this transition went smoothly enough. Maybe I'll have to learn how to run barefoot and put my feet in my shoes on the bike to save time. Although I am suspect of how my balance would be doing this if I had only been out of the water for a minute.
Bike Map: I had my polar watch for HR, I find the information helpful. I don't have the IR adaptor to download my exact stats but I can adjust them later. If anyone is curious about what I think my bike zones to be. Check out this post.
Starting the bike HR is at 177. Ugh! My running max is 188. So this is very high. I know the bike course well so I think I can manage to bring it down. My thoughts start to think about miles 5-7 starting off with Devil's Hill. I know I can catch my breath leading into it once I make the turn in Hebron. I'll be curious to see my HR graph to see how much of a "break" I really gave myself.
As I was approaching Devil's Hill you could see the bikers packing up, climbing/grinding up the hill. Instead of thinking "Oh man, here it is!" I was actually thinking, "Oh man, that would be a great photo!"
On the 2nd climb in that section, I started to get a look at the bike numbers of the people around me. 212 was the easiest for me to remember because it's NYC's area code. Once I was on 3A and going downhill. It was time for a GU and gatorade. I've been concerned with bonking on the final third of the bike leg. So I took 3 gels with me and two bottles.
Miles 7-13 were enlightening. I was managing to overtake people on the downhills. Hold my own on the flats, but I was giving back my gains on the climbs. I became very familiar with 3 other bikers. 212 being one of them. I was also realizing how close my calves were to cramping. They were very tight. I'm guessing because I probably climbed those hills much faster than I normally would... or the cold water? Who knows..
Miles 13-15.5 I just hammered my way into Bristol. It's the easiest section of the course as long as traffic isn't a factor (which it wasn't). I was really feeling good about my race so far and I started to think about the last 18 months of training for this. . How when I was just starting to run, when I'd want to quit, I'd think of Dan, Mom and Nathan and finish the workout. Well now I also started to think about the fact there were 10 of us racing today, Friends new and old....I have to admit I was fighting back tears. It was a good thing tho'.
Miles 15.5-19. Gu time again. It's not terribly hot. I don't feel that I'm losing fluids but this is the last section that it's going to be simple to take in fluids in terms of the road conditions and being far enough away from the run. As people pass, I am reminded once again, that my climbing is costing me time.
Miles 19-24. Some good rollers in through this section. There were 3 or 4 of us that were loosely grouped. I feel like I've been with them since Devil's Hill. Every climb they were ahead. I could take them on the downhills. Well I was behind them on the downhill from 21.5-22.5 and sadly was unwilling to cross the double line to pass. I ended up being on my brakes a large portion of that distance. Ah well.
Fortunately the hill/turn at 23.25 was well staffed, you pick up a ton of speed in a hurry, you want to know they have "traffic" under control there.
Mile 24-Finish. I know there is one small bump of a hill from here to the beach. I hop up out of the saddle, yell to the other guys "There's only one bump between us and the beach! Hammer It Home!" I'll be curious to see what I managed for my speed through this section, I felt that I was pouring it on in aero position because I was so thrilled to have survived the bike!! It could be that I was only flying emotionally.
As I passed the view of Cardigan, I didn't look, but I could hear my mom saying "you can see the fire tower today" :-).
Up over the bump, hammer to the fishing bridge, hop out of saddle to stretch it out a few times. Switch to a higher cadence from the bridge to the park. Walk it into transition.... I've definitely gotta learn to leave the shoes on the bike.
Time 1:24:09, 19.4mph over 27.5 miles (new PR for average speed at any distance).
Avg HR 171, Max 186.
One last comment about the bike course. 5 signs before every turn!! That's how you mark a course!!!
208/730 overall bike
T2: 1:53. The C5 Crew was cheering me as I was putting my socks on for the run. Unfortunately, I also had to get my watch off the bike which probably took :30. Maija is probably reading this saying "Are you kidding me?!!? GO!!!!!!!" :-)
At dinner that night, the C5ers said the same to me. I think it was "Dude, some people did the bike/run transition in like 30 seconds, you've gotta move it!"
The Run: 10K. This is going to be interesting. I've only run about 8 miles since May 3rd. I actually emailed Esther asking if she would be willing to be my runner this weekend. (She was already there to be the swimmer for my wife's relay team). You can read about my last minute knee adjustment here. Anyhow, what has been my strongest event for the last 2 races has become a bit of question mark for today.
I was feeling pretty good starting out, it starts out nice and flat so I knew I'd have time to get my running legs going. Not far into the run I see someone familiar running towards me. It was Esther, after finishing her swim went out running. She spots me and begins to cheer "Go Matt!"
I think after that there was the pro photographer in the middle of the road. I knew I wanted a picture of myself running with the "hands as moose antlers" as this is something, Nathan and I used to do. I believe I got my picture. (The other was a shark fin on top of your head while swimming, I couldn't expect the photographer to get that shot tho' :-) )
Well when I hit the first hill just past the first mile I guess, my left quad cramps up on me. I have to slow to a walk. Then try to run again. Still unhappy. I stop completely. Flex my leg as hard as I can, putting all my weight on my left. Then start running again. What do you know, it worked!
Back on the move, I didn't lose much time there. Unfortunately I know there are more hills to come. Well when I hit the first big hill, they had a stereo system jamming a U2 Song. I don't typically run with music. Well I rallied with this song. People were on the return loop running towards me. I started clapping to the beat hands up over my head, grinding it up the hill. I think it might have helped them too, they were no longer grimacing, they were smiling/laughing at me.
Finally approaching the turn around. Which is down a steep hill towards the lake. A ton of people were just ahead of me on their way back up. So when I got to the water station/turn around most of the volunteers/kids were filling up cups and not ready to hand anything over. I yell out to them to get their attention "Do we swim back to the beach from here!?!?". They hand me a couple cups of water and I'm 5K from finishing.
But first, back up this hill. At the top of the hill were a couple guys playing hand drums. Once again, clapping to the beat, rallying up the hill.
I honestly don't know if I've passed anyone during the run so far, I may only be losing positions along the way but I know I'm giving it everything I've got as my HR monitor has been showing me 180+ nearly the entire run.
At about mile 4-4.5 I spot one of our "Team Jerseys" Craig is running up the hill at me. I give him a shout on the way by. I keep wanting to up the pace but it's just not there. I spot Gabe and cheer him on as he goes by. Then I spot Shawn, WAHOO!!!
I kept looking at my watch to see how much further I had to go, and I kept trying to speed it up. As I was approaching the turn off the road into the park and into the finish line. Everyone starts yelling nice hat! Awsome hat! I knew the guy with the moosehead for a hat was approaching. Once again, I try not to let anyone pass me, too bad, I'm already in top gear. Ah well I'm into the corral psyched to be finishing, they are announcing my name, crowd cheering, awesome, I left it all out there, it was a great race.
10K 51:15 8:16 pace.
Avg HR 180, Max ??? I'll have to graph it. it's saying 196 which I believe is impossible.
293/730 overall run
2:36:23 total time.
218/730 overall
163/418 Male Competitors
38/68 Age Group
Individual results
Relay Team Results
Mooseman Pictures
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Mooseman Results
Mooseman Results
218th Matt 2:36:23
424 Craig 2:56:21
615 Shawn 3:22:33
Relay Results
The Swim start was delayed over 30 min because of fog. Then the altered the swim to only be .6 mile swim. So I still haven't done a full Olympic.
I am very pleased with how it all went down. Both the relay teams did great. I'm hoping they will post their own race report. I'll post more later.
218th Matt 2:36:23
424 Craig 2:56:21
615 Shawn 3:22:33
Relay Results
The Swim start was delayed over 30 min because of fog. Then the altered the swim to only be .6 mile swim. So I still haven't done a full Olympic.
I am very pleased with how it all went down. Both the relay teams did great. I'm hoping they will post their own race report. I'll post more later.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Carb Loading? You Bet!
Genine has been making up some good eats for the party this weekend. For those that can't be here, I thought I'd share.
mmmmmmmmmm
Edit: These are the actual cookies. Not a stock photo. :-)
mmmmmmmmmm
Edit: These are the actual cookies. Not a stock photo. :-)
Genine's Tattoo
Genine wanted to do something special for race day. One of her co-workers designed this tattoo for her. It incorporates N for Nathan, J for Judy and D for Dan into the design.
Props to Becky Gruen for the design and inking.
Welcome to the Gun Show!
Yes it's just temporary ink. :-)
Props to Becky Gruen for the design and inking.
Welcome to the Gun Show!
Yes it's just temporary ink. :-)
Is Craig making fun of me?
Here I am, reading our blog, and I see Craig exclaim that I need well-wishes.
I have one bad day, and you are all worried that I am not going to make it?
Think again, my friend. In fact, you better be prepared to chase me down in the run, because I am going to leave you so far in the dust on the bike that you will have to run 8-minute miles the whole way to catch up!
I may be done swimming before you get your bike put back together. Make sure that gooseneck is on tight.
Okay, I'm kidding, but I think I'll be fine. I have remedied all my ills, and experimented with everything I could (except anti-fog spray...still need to try something there.) However, I should say I am only partially kidding. I AM going to kick your butt on the bike. But I fully expect you to pass me in the run. And...I might not kick your butt on the bike. But I'm going to try. I am throwing down the guantlet. You better beat me. You are much younger and lighter than me, so you have no excuses!
I swam and ran today, and everything went wonderfully, so don't worry about me. I will finish. I weighed in at the official Y scale at 249 today, so I am truly under my goal, which has sped me up in the run. I may surprise everyone. Most of all, myself.
I have one bad day, and you are all worried that I am not going to make it?
Think again, my friend. In fact, you better be prepared to chase me down in the run, because I am going to leave you so far in the dust on the bike that you will have to run 8-minute miles the whole way to catch up!
I may be done swimming before you get your bike put back together. Make sure that gooseneck is on tight.
Okay, I'm kidding, but I think I'll be fine. I have remedied all my ills, and experimented with everything I could (except anti-fog spray...still need to try something there.) However, I should say I am only partially kidding. I AM going to kick your butt on the bike. But I fully expect you to pass me in the run. And...I might not kick your butt on the bike. But I'm going to try. I am throwing down the guantlet. You better beat me. You are much younger and lighter than me, so you have no excuses!
I swam and ran today, and everything went wonderfully, so don't worry about me. I will finish. I weighed in at the official Y scale at 249 today, so I am truly under my goal, which has sped me up in the run. I may surprise everyone. Most of all, myself.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Fundraiser Goal
I don't think the last batch of checks is going to hit the website until after the race.
So I figured I'd let everyone know that the total is now over $15,000, it just has to be processed.
I'm very happy with how it all worked out. I have a ton of thank you letters to write :-)
So I'm typing this from my brother's house in Merrimack, NH. We stopped here on the way up to "The Farm". Tammy just gave us a copy of a book published by Dana Farber called Faces of Hope. There are a couple pages in it telling Nathan's Story. What a well timed release. We will have it with us this weekend so everyone can check it out.
And here is a teaser for you. We will be posting a picture of Genine's tattoo soon.
So I figured I'd let everyone know that the total is now over $15,000, it just has to be processed.
I'm very happy with how it all worked out. I have a ton of thank you letters to write :-)
So I'm typing this from my brother's house in Merrimack, NH. We stopped here on the way up to "The Farm". Tammy just gave us a copy of a book published by Dana Farber called Faces of Hope. There are a couple pages in it telling Nathan's Story. What a well timed release. We will have it with us this weekend so everyone can check it out.
And here is a teaser for you. We will be posting a picture of Genine's tattoo soon.
My Bike is in Pieces
I disassembled it last night. Don't worry, this was intentional. I only have a hitch bike rack and this makes it difficult to get into the back of the van. So, I had toyed with buying a roof rack, but ultimately it is exposed to weather and peoples fancies wherever I go.
So, I borrowed a cartop carrier. The bike fits with the wheels, handle bars and pedals off. I can also fit other Tri gear around it. So, it is a win-win situation, except for the fact that I have to reassemble. The assembly is just two quick connects, pedal wrench, and an allen wrench for the handle bars. Done.
I will do this Friday as soon as I get the cottage.
Rain, Rain go away. We have be pounded. Flooding in areas just south of here today. The floods don't last long thought. Just long enough to wash the garbage out of the Hollers and float a couple trailers down the creek. I was suppose to bike last night, but didn't to avoid any injury to myself or the bike.
Looking to swim tonight after Levi's ball game (if they have it) Taper, Taper, Taper. Short workouts.
Look forward to seeing you all at the Moose, spending time with old friends, and making new ones.
So, I borrowed a cartop carrier. The bike fits with the wheels, handle bars and pedals off. I can also fit other Tri gear around it. So, it is a win-win situation, except for the fact that I have to reassemble. The assembly is just two quick connects, pedal wrench, and an allen wrench for the handle bars. Done.
I will do this Friday as soon as I get the cottage.
Rain, Rain go away. We have be pounded. Flooding in areas just south of here today. The floods don't last long thought. Just long enough to wash the garbage out of the Hollers and float a couple trailers down the creek. I was suppose to bike last night, but didn't to avoid any injury to myself or the bike.
Looking to swim tonight after Levi's ball game (if they have it) Taper, Taper, Taper. Short workouts.
Look forward to seeing you all at the Moose, spending time with old friends, and making new ones.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
New Chiropractor
Now that my hip flexor and IT Band seem to be doing better, I guess I had to move on to the next thing. Ever since the Brooklyn Half Marathon, my left knee has had some tracking issues. Probably because it's been compensating for all the other injuries. Well it was bothering me enough today that I decided I needed to get something done to it. My normal chiropractor is not in this week, so I gave a guy in the city a try.
I went in, explained what I had gone through the last month and told him about my race this weekend. I wanted an opinion about whether I would set myself back by running this weekend.
So he went through a bunch of stuff trying to find out if what I was saying about it not being painful was true. I passed that test. He could feel that it was tracking poorly though. It's easy to feel that, all the connecting stuff on the outside of my left knee just roll over each other oddly.
So he hooks my knee up to some sort of electro-stim, that's always somewhat funky. This one was very odd because it was contracting such large muscles. Then he came back in and kind of "hammered" the knee around, constantly checking the tracking by bending my knee.
Then he moved on to more typical chiropractor work, my hips and lower back issues. I have finally found someone else that can successfully adjust my lower back (at least this time). All his adjustments were very gentle actually, I was impressed with how successful he was able to do this with such little force.
I hop up off the table. Test the knee flex. It feels great! Of course I know it will very likely move back away from this adjustment, it's been in the wrong place for a month after all.
I'm very pleased, I had started my day thinking I might have to skip the run this weekend. He feels that I can run on it safely as well.
Of course now I'm wishing I had seen this guy earlier, but how would I know to do that? I'm just feeling better about having an answer for this knee issue.
My terrible training month of May is behind me. Let's see if I can crank it back up for the Mooseman and go in strong to the Morgantown race!
I went in, explained what I had gone through the last month and told him about my race this weekend. I wanted an opinion about whether I would set myself back by running this weekend.
So he went through a bunch of stuff trying to find out if what I was saying about it not being painful was true. I passed that test. He could feel that it was tracking poorly though. It's easy to feel that, all the connecting stuff on the outside of my left knee just roll over each other oddly.
So he hooks my knee up to some sort of electro-stim, that's always somewhat funky. This one was very odd because it was contracting such large muscles. Then he came back in and kind of "hammered" the knee around, constantly checking the tracking by bending my knee.
Then he moved on to more typical chiropractor work, my hips and lower back issues. I have finally found someone else that can successfully adjust my lower back (at least this time). All his adjustments were very gentle actually, I was impressed with how successful he was able to do this with such little force.
I hop up off the table. Test the knee flex. It feels great! Of course I know it will very likely move back away from this adjustment, it's been in the wrong place for a month after all.
I'm very pleased, I had started my day thinking I might have to skip the run this weekend. He feels that I can run on it safely as well.
Of course now I'm wishing I had seen this guy earlier, but how would I know to do that? I'm just feeling better about having an answer for this knee issue.
My terrible training month of May is behind me. Let's see if I can crank it back up for the Mooseman and go in strong to the Morgantown race!
Monday, June 2, 2008
A Variety of Problems Solved
I set out today to remedy all the things I discovered to be lacking yesterday. First, the sippy cup. I found during my ride that I have trouble drinking enough before I have to shift because it's so dang hilly around here, and I don't like having something in my hand while biking in general, other than the handlebars. Clearly, I need a front-loaded straw-delivered water bottle. I don't want to buy a 30-dollar sippy cup, so I have created my own. Craig, you would be proud. It was absolutely free. I took an old "Urge" container from Uni-mart, 32 oz, and shoved it between the aeros. It fits tightly, somewhat crushed in there. I then rubber-banded it to the bars so it doesn't go anywhere. I bought a second cheapo bottle cage for the down-tube, and got a free water bottle thrown in with it from the generous fellas at The Bicycle Shop. Okay, so now I have a 16 oz, a 20 oz, and a 32 oz jug on my bike. Since the 32-ouncer is squashed, it will be somewhat less than 32. Chalk up three pounds of fluid when fully loaded. Since I lost 5 pounds yesterday on the bike, I guess this has to be acceptable.
Next, my shorts situation. Riding in the jammers wasn't fun. So today I tried wearing the jammers first, then a pair of old compression shorts on top of those. Bingo. That gives a little extra padding (about as much as those tri-chamois), and it also allows a little slippage between fabrics. Much better. Felt great, although my quads were weak from yesterday.
The age-old issue, nipple-chafing. I had some bad ones on the run, which I assume started on the bike. I was wearing my race shirt, so that's no good. I have solved this, by shaving some chest hair and buying those tattoo band-aids that don't come off in water. Without my shirt on, it kind of looks like an angry face on my torso, with band-aid eyes, belly-button mouth, and angry chest-hair eyebrows. I am thinking I should just go with it and paint a face on there for the race. Where would I find waterproof body paint?
I didn't mention this previously, but I got a bug in my eye yesterday, and it sucked. I couldn't get it out, and it was burning and preventing it from remaining open. Then another one got stuck in my other eyelash. (Lots of bugs in the woods around here). I was blinking and shaking my head trying to prevent it from getting to the eyeball, which I successfully did, but this experience gave me food for thought. So I bought a pair of shooting glasses today with the yellow lenses that make everything look so pretty, and a Chums glasses-strap to hold them onto my head. Fortunately, I had received a Dick's gift card for my birthday, so those were free too!
Time to test everything. I start riding. Glasses are sweet. No more crying at high speeds. Shorts are great. I've completely forgotten about the nipple problem, because I can't feel a thing. I go to take a sip from my sippy cup...I can't reach the straw! Plus it was splashing out of the air vent. Finished my 8-mile ride and went back to the lab. Straw is longer now, and the splashing problem has been addressed by a non-aerodynamic splash-dampening riser rod. Works like a charm.
I think I'm ready now. If only I could run.
Next, my shorts situation. Riding in the jammers wasn't fun. So today I tried wearing the jammers first, then a pair of old compression shorts on top of those. Bingo. That gives a little extra padding (about as much as those tri-chamois), and it also allows a little slippage between fabrics. Much better. Felt great, although my quads were weak from yesterday.
The age-old issue, nipple-chafing. I had some bad ones on the run, which I assume started on the bike. I was wearing my race shirt, so that's no good. I have solved this, by shaving some chest hair and buying those tattoo band-aids that don't come off in water. Without my shirt on, it kind of looks like an angry face on my torso, with band-aid eyes, belly-button mouth, and angry chest-hair eyebrows. I am thinking I should just go with it and paint a face on there for the race. Where would I find waterproof body paint?
I didn't mention this previously, but I got a bug in my eye yesterday, and it sucked. I couldn't get it out, and it was burning and preventing it from remaining open. Then another one got stuck in my other eyelash. (Lots of bugs in the woods around here). I was blinking and shaking my head trying to prevent it from getting to the eyeball, which I successfully did, but this experience gave me food for thought. So I bought a pair of shooting glasses today with the yellow lenses that make everything look so pretty, and a Chums glasses-strap to hold them onto my head. Fortunately, I had received a Dick's gift card for my birthday, so those were free too!
Time to test everything. I start riding. Glasses are sweet. No more crying at high speeds. Shorts are great. I've completely forgotten about the nipple problem, because I can't feel a thing. I go to take a sip from my sippy cup...I can't reach the straw! Plus it was splashing out of the air vent. Finished my 8-mile ride and went back to the lab. Straw is longer now, and the splashing problem has been addressed by a non-aerodynamic splash-dampening riser rod. Works like a charm.
I think I'm ready now. If only I could run.
Black Bear Triathlon 2008 Photos
Black Bear 2008 Photoset
Black Bear 2008 Slideshow
Random shots of people we don't know competing at Black Bear
Black Bear 2008 Slideshow
Random shots of people we don't know competing at Black Bear
Weekend Update
Genine and I went up to the Poconos to be the "staff" photographers for our friends racing at the Black Bear Triathlon this weekend. Pictures will be posted later tonight.
We got there Saturday morning and I got some wetsuit swimming in with everyone else. Water temp was cold but with the wetsuit, not an issue at all.
Later Saturday, Genine and I rode our bikes for about an hour.
Early Wakeup Sunday, there is a lineup of vehicles trying to enter the park. We were there plenty early but if I were racing, I would probably make a note to be earlier for next year.
I believe we took over 450 pictures, oddly enough 225 of them were people we knew. The other half were test shots of people we don't know. I'll probably post those up to the flickr site as well, if people happen to find the site, they might find one of them.
I also was able to get another swim in at the lake. This was during the half marathon portion of the Half Iron. We had some time so Esther and I put in some laps at the beach.
Back to the end of the course for pictures at the end of the race.
Genine was upset about missed opportunities for pictures. I feel like we learned a bunch about the camera and also how we could work an event like this with more success in the future. It was a good weekend.
The drive home was interesting. A motorcycle crashed almost directly in front of Esther and Armando, the motorcyclist was going to pass the next car ahead on the right. But then that car was also moving to that same lane. So the guy is on the road and tumbling at 50-70 miles an hour. My stomach turned because I figured he was done, his helmet even flew off. We pulled off to the side of the road just behind him and unbelievably, he's up and dragging his bike off the road. I found his helmet 5 or so feet up a hill on the side of the road. Pretty good scar on the one side of the helmet. He was very upset, he kept saying I just bought this bike! That and, that guy cut me off! I just told him to relax and make sure he gets himself checked at a hospital. He's gotta be hurting worse than the guys that finished the half iron. Once his adrenaline wears off he had to be bummin.
About an hour later, we see on the other side of the interstate, an enclosed trailer completely in flames. Probably mowers and gasoline in the back, something like that. Other than that it was a very easy drive home. ha ha.
I went to masters swimming this AM and had one of the better technique days I've had in awhile. Chaz still had me beat the whole hour but I left the swim pleased to be holding better form. Not to mention, my leg was being co-operative. I'll test the run again tonight.
I'm tapered, not in my best form of the year, all I'm looking for this week is some confidence and comfortable running. Then bring on the Moose!
We got there Saturday morning and I got some wetsuit swimming in with everyone else. Water temp was cold but with the wetsuit, not an issue at all.
Later Saturday, Genine and I rode our bikes for about an hour.
Early Wakeup Sunday, there is a lineup of vehicles trying to enter the park. We were there plenty early but if I were racing, I would probably make a note to be earlier for next year.
I believe we took over 450 pictures, oddly enough 225 of them were people we knew. The other half were test shots of people we don't know. I'll probably post those up to the flickr site as well, if people happen to find the site, they might find one of them.
I also was able to get another swim in at the lake. This was during the half marathon portion of the Half Iron. We had some time so Esther and I put in some laps at the beach.
Back to the end of the course for pictures at the end of the race.
Genine was upset about missed opportunities for pictures. I feel like we learned a bunch about the camera and also how we could work an event like this with more success in the future. It was a good weekend.
The drive home was interesting. A motorcycle crashed almost directly in front of Esther and Armando, the motorcyclist was going to pass the next car ahead on the right. But then that car was also moving to that same lane. So the guy is on the road and tumbling at 50-70 miles an hour. My stomach turned because I figured he was done, his helmet even flew off. We pulled off to the side of the road just behind him and unbelievably, he's up and dragging his bike off the road. I found his helmet 5 or so feet up a hill on the side of the road. Pretty good scar on the one side of the helmet. He was very upset, he kept saying I just bought this bike! That and, that guy cut me off! I just told him to relax and make sure he gets himself checked at a hospital. He's gotta be hurting worse than the guys that finished the half iron. Once his adrenaline wears off he had to be bummin.
About an hour later, we see on the other side of the interstate, an enclosed trailer completely in flames. Probably mowers and gasoline in the back, something like that. Other than that it was a very easy drive home. ha ha.
I went to masters swimming this AM and had one of the better technique days I've had in awhile. Chaz still had me beat the whole hour but I left the swim pleased to be holding better form. Not to mention, my leg was being co-operative. I'll test the run again tonight.
I'm tapered, not in my best form of the year, all I'm looking for this week is some confidence and comfortable running. Then bring on the Moose!
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