Results and rants

The results are in and Velocity just killed it last weekend!!!

I am sure I will miss someone but I hope not to - but when I do – I apologize.

This is all YO MTV unplugged style again from 35K above the Gulf of Mexico flying back from Houston – more on this is a few.

Hello Angels – Hello Charlie!!!



First props go to the angels – JC, Joy and Kellie. Joy named them this and I love it…in the BFAS - JC 2nd Overall, Joy 1st in AG, Kellie 1st in AG – nice job angels!!!

Mayo Nation showed up in force with Steve, Tyler and Michael all having GREAT results – I am pretty sure that this is their 3rd race ever for all 3 – they all have speed and just wait until they have more experience!!!

Mixing it up for the Overall and the AG places were James Sweeney (2nd Overall), Billy Hart (2nd AG), Sean Crichton and Lyndon Box – Congrats guys.

Later on Saturday, JC and Joy both backed up their BFAS races in the Run for the pies 5K where JC went sub 18 for 2nd overall and Joy did great with a 20:35. Vann Simmons has been logging a LOT of miles training for IM Wisconsin and did a great job representing the VMS men – nice race Vann.

The shaved leg tough guys were in Ocala for the State Road Race and Curtis, Jeff and Karel all did great. Curtis took 2nd on Saturday and Karel was 9th on Sunday and Jeff 15th. Awesome results guys – enjoy the down time – you earned it.





Evan was the unlucky victim as they cancelled the Cat V race due to thunderstorms… look for him in the Jax Cycling Classic which is back on the schedule for Aug.

Coming next weekend – IM CDA – Brian Gilbert will be racing and he should have a great race – good luck Brian. Also, Shawn Burke from Washington will be racing – good luck Shawn.

Karel will solo up in Georgia racing in the Georgia Cup and I think Jim will be teaming it up for the Jax Tri Series – good luck.

I am sure that I missed someone – I hope not and if I did - it was NOT intentional.


Hello Houston – we have a problem – a 35,000 foot 4:30 rant :)

Freddie – this is mostly for you.

To say I have gotten to experience peaks and valley’s of traveling over the last 24 hours is an understatement.

I got to Houston in time to check in and watch the final 3 holes of the US open while finishing some emails. It was incredible sport!!! I love to watch Tiger. Definite Peak.



The room I had was fantastic – a Westin Workout room complete with weights, exercise ball, yoga mat and a – YES – a real spin bike – this place rocked.

It even had DVD’s and DVD player (not that kind- Hercules) – they were Yoga and cycling. I could not get over the attention to detail – they even had a Clorox wipes for Mr. Howard and Starbucks Coffee :) Peak!!!



I had a great workout – made a big puddle and created three new workouts aptly titled Trainer Pain I, II, III – all designed to push the mental threshold and they work - but more on this in another post.



I was in surgery all morning and the early afternoon with one of the best heart surgery teams in the US and probably the world, Texas Heart. They were using a device we created for closing the chest after the cut it (midline sternotomy).

www.rapidsternalclosure.com

Anyway – case went great…patient is doing great…HUGE PEAK!!! (This pays for my bikes:)

My plan was to be done by noon and hop on a direct flight at 2:15 – slight delays and this is not working out so well. Small Valley.

So – I miss my flight.

No other flights available with seats so I get on the standby list. I get the last seat on the plane (Peak) – get on the plane as the last passenger.

Now it gets good.

I get to my seat and someone is in it.

I ask her nicely what seat she has and she pretends she doesn’t know…

Then it gets really good.

She just tells me to take hers – the window seat – in the corner of the plane.

To avoid conflict – I do.

It is next to a VERY large shouldered guy who is trying as hard as possible to shrink himself as together we are ended up in the aisle…I later find out he plays for the Jags.

I then proceed to get told off by this same lady who happened to have plopped her butt in my seat as I apparently did not seem overly happy with her solution…

I listen to her tell me off – I say nothing.

She is still not happy so she packs up all of her stuff and says that she wants her seat back.

I try to say – it’s no problem but she makes me move…

The guy sitting next to me says, “Yo man – I would just move if I were you”

All of this and I am working on 4 hours sleep and I am pretty cranky.

Besides – I am just embarrassed that this is happening and I just decide to continue to say nothing to further this.

Now everyone is uncomfortable and the weather is closing in.

We sit on the ground for 2:20 minutes while we move only 50-100 yards and this lady’s 2 incredibly spoiled kids are creating more drama than a Springer show.

Blankets are flying…pillows are flying…pens are flying – there is screaming yelling and crying.

The lady in front of her kids actually stood up and said – “Lady Can you please control your kids.”

I, of course, love this as the true character of this pretentious spoiled SoCal mom with way too much money and meds is beginning to be seen by all around.

She may have had them fooled with her plastic smile – but not me…it is now my official mantra – Reality is Reality and screw them all if they don’t see it…I just saw it first :)

So Ms. Bad Overteased Eyebrow Barbie mom – we all now you meant to take my seat and had no intention of moving as you really wanted to be farther away from these BRATS!!!

We are finally up in the sky and my journey home is starting to become more real than surreal.

The flight attendant announces that they will be serving a small in flight snack – Turkey and Tuna sandwiches. I laugh as I have NOT eaten Tuna in like 20 years since I spent 3 days in the bathroom in Monterey CA after a bad fish lunch and I am in the last row – the last seat – right next to the bathroom…

What is left – you guessed it – Tuna surprise.



Life is about highs and lows and if yesterday and this morning where a highs – the homeostasis of my being is now complete as it just doesn’t get any better than this :)

I live by the half full glass mentality and also with the knowledge that it can’t get much worse…tomorrow has got to be better…

Brat #2 just spilled her soda – twice – I laugh my a$$ off and again am renewed :)

My low battery light just came on – I guess I will sit and listen to a chorus of are we there yet, are we there yet, are we (computer died – big time valley :)

(This is written today – the next morning but I am still laughing)

As I am walking down the terminal to get my car – I see the guy I originally sat next to (Jag’s player)…

I say “Hey man – sorry about that – I tried to stay seated but…”

He cuts me off…and starts to go off about the kids.

“That was the worst 4 hours of my life…I feel sick…I need a shower…those are the worst kids I have ever seen…and don’t you even smile at me…I should beat the crap out of you for moving…man…that was awful…If I had kids!!!”

He just shakes his head…I am still laughing…

How I spent my summer vacation…

Jakob Dylan ROCKS!!! His new CD “Seeing things” is EXACTLY what I wanted as a soundtrack to our trip and it was released on Tuesday – perfect timing. He has definitely found something within himself that is refreshingly fresh yet rooted in namesake’s confusing lyrics that make me want to be more creative. Hell – Bob is THE original poet - how can he not be good?

My 1st few weeks of the “off-season” have been fantastic…lots of surf and lots quality time with boyz.

Warmer water and good air temperatures along with the arrival of the southern hemi swells create the image of California that most people imagine and school kids draw on their notebooks. Long thick corduroy lines march up the coast from Baja causing a lot of “sick” days – we used to joke about it being the southern hemi flu :)

This is California surfing at its best!!!



In the afternoons when the wind turned on the surf – the boys turned to the San Diego version of a liquid ½ pipe – Wave House. If someone had proposed this business model in ANY business school – it would have gotten laughed at and shot down but in San Diego – this works and it ROCKS!!! Lifeguard chairs, cool tunes, hammocks and table service create the audience area for the “wave”…this just a cool place to hang.





Baja, Mexico was off the agenda this time due to the current border situation but maybe the will get their $%* together and it will be safe to travel there again. Apparently the Policia and organized crime have decided to target American’s traveling on the road from Tijuana to Rosarita and kidnapping and extortion are at ridiculous rates.

We decided to stay “local” in San Diego and that also allowed me a chance to get in a few VERY early morning rides on some old and new routes in and around town. It actually gets light enough to ride at like 5:15am so I rented a Cervelo Soloist from Nytro in Encinitas and it was actually a nice bike for a rental. The only problem is my Florida legs – their gearing choice and the La Jolla grades where not completely aligned.



I did a few repeats up Mount Solidad and I paid for it…



Riding and surfing are what I want to do - so for most of the week that is “off-season” training was but I did mix in a few runs (3) as per Alan’s advice…

My 1st run was a quick 6 mile trip around Coronado Island with my sister and the newest addition to the Velocity Team West. She is fantastic swimmer and runner and is working her way up to being a not so scared cyclist…she just purchased her 1st pair of “REAL” pedals and broke 24mph – this is a big deal for her.



She still refuses to “dress like Lance” for training and makes fun of me and anyone else who does not bike in oversized Nike Basketball shorts…I am still working on this one. She is training for 2 sprint races and has told me I am her coach – not that she really needs a coach for a sprint but apparently I am easily bribed…Chocolate Chip Toll House Brownie Squares – OMG – I could race Clydesdale.

My 2nd run was much different than anything I have done lately and I am really glad I had a chance to do it. I took the boys to the beach on our last day and the surf was “ok” but not great. Shane wanted to use my longboard as the waves where big but a little less push than usual and that was fine with me and I decided to run. No time goal – no distance – no GPS – no HR – no iPod – no nothing - just a nice run on a nice day on the road next to Swami’s. This is triathlons training ground and I have seen Faris, Michelle and a BUNCH of other people too fit to not be in the mix running the loop that is Encinitas to Solana Beach…I figured it must be a pretty good run and it was!!!

I had a chance to think back over the season and try and figure out what I did that worked and what I did that didn’t. I made a mental list of things that I NEEDED to make sure that I did this fall. I also had a chance to think through what I wanted to accomplish with the athletes I work with – how could I get them to their “next” level…how can I get them to break through? This run allowed me the chance to refocus my training and my goals for the rest of the season and look at what and how I wanted to help other people achieve their goals.

My 3rd run was a chance to catch up with a great friend and Velocity’s original client – Paul Cantin.



We have worked together for 14 years and he was my boss when I was REALLY NOT a good medical salesperson in California. In the beginning I was COMPLETELY convinced that I could sell our products from the scrub sink about 10 feet outside the operating room…for anyone who has ever been in or around the Operating Room – this is a ridiculous proposition and would be impossible but that is how much I did NOT want to go into the actual OR.

Paul, of course, was very understanding of my anxiety – he looked at me and said –

“Your job is in here – if you want your job – come in…”

Obviously I quickly got over my fear of stepping on the cord that kills the patient – I had bills to pay :) He has taught me more about my profession in medical devices and management than anyone else I have worked with and I was really lucky that he allowed me to “coach” him some 2+ years ago as my original lab rat when he decided to start racing triathlons.

His early feedback was always very positive and supportive, “you have no idea what your doing do you? You’re trying to kill me.”

The good news was that he made me back up my stupid ideas with a scientific reason and made me research new methods – basically he made me tell him why we were doing this training – he made me learn how to coach and in watching him progress - I also realized how much I enjoy it.

Anyway – we were in Palm Desert for his regions sales meeting and decided to meet at 5:45am for a run. The sun was just coming up over the mountains and the temperatures that would approach 110 were still a very reasonable 70 something.



We yip yapped (mostly me – I talk a lot) about what the next few race goals, schedules etc. Paul just did Alcatraz and also did IM Arizona in April and CDA last year and is completely capable of going 10 something – this is all in 2 years – the dude does the work.

The conversation turned to what we would be like to do for this year and next year but then we started talking about the impact on our racing and training on our kids and how we both tried to achieve balance by mixing in fun to the races we chose.

I told Paul a story about my dad Mike’s commitment to completing this 50 mile swim over the course of a summer and how I think somewhere in this I learned a lesson about commitment toward a BIG goal. His daily straight mile long swim workouts he would log seemed SO INCREDIBLY boring to me as a kid but he would mark the chart that hung by the pool office with his latest laps. This was all done on the “honor” system and I remember he would sometimes go twice a day to get in a little more to mileage to close the gap to the leader. I am not sure but I think he was the 1st finisher to 50 miles…

Paul and I both agreed and hoped that maybe some of our commitment to training and racing would someday influence our kids towards accomplishing their goals whether they are athletic, scholastic or artistic.

As anyone who races knows, it is hard to train – especially for an Ironman with family commitments. That being said - we both make it to 99% of our kids events and move our training around to make sure we can be there to watch them swim their 50 free even if that means riding the trainer at 4am for a 24 second race – it is worth it to us.



Maybe we would be better parents if we didn’t train – maybe we would be a little less tired – maybe we would have time to sit and talk about what we should have – would have or could have done…

But…

Maybe…just maybe…by doing it instead of just yapping - we will have taught them is something they will take foreword as a positive in their lives and hopefully teach to their children…

Thanks Mike for teaching me the 50 mile lesson – I hope that I have passed this lesson on to the boys…

On this eve of Father’s day – I am flying back to Florida with a sleeping “Sir Surf A lot” and his smiling brother – happy that I was able to spend the week hanging with them and getting a little more balance…I am very proud of them…



as I am sure Bob is proud of Jakob…


On up the Mountain – Jakob Dylan

You’re old enough to know well
The better things are all up hill
Bitter songs are never sung
In the highlands where you belong
In the smoke of cannons below
Men they bury each other in rows
People come people go
Work in numbers and leave alone
There’s a light making its way
On up the mountain night and day
You’ll get tired and you’ll get weak
But you won’t abandon your masterpiece
Off to sleep you’ll go
Through the halls and opened doors
Silver bells swinging low
Strung in branches of the unknown
Soon morning comes
To warm the world and wake you up
Night is gone awful fast
It ain’t wrong to be sad
There’s a light making its way
On up the mountain night and day
You’ll go down and you’ll go deep
But you won’t surrender your masterpiece
Here it comes and there it goes
The unbearable sound
Of the earth making men out of boys
First you learn then you’ll teach
About the bright light

Scomuffins

Tom Clancy probably sits along the banks of the Potomac gazing at the monuments as he conjures his next adventures for Jack Ryan.

Anne Rice can smell the hot oil and powdered sugar of the beignets as she pictures Armand's thirsty nocturnal wanderings.

Stephen king just goes back to the dark attic where his parents locked him to create the latest incarnation of – oh my god – who would do that characters. I don’t think I want to hang with him. Anyone who can think of gluing some to a wheelchair and then lighting them on fire prior to pushing them down a hill has issues.

What does any of this have to do with anything?

I get to write my blogs and your training plans in some pretty cool places.

On the front porch of a cool B and B in St. Pete, on the plane at 35K enroute to Chicago and now from a venue that I will probably NEVER be able to top.

I am in California at the California Plastic Surgery Conference, there are a few of these surgeons on this coast. Breast implants in California – really? They have those here? The meeting is held at the St. Regis Monarch Beach and this place is actually rated - 5 stars.



I have heard the expression before, 5 star resorts but I don’t think I ever really experienced it before. You check in and really – it is different. No one says no…they just fix things. It is incredible!!! The view, the room, the area and if I have to work - this is really where I want my office.



There is a surf break (Salt Creek) that is 1/2 mile away with some of the best performance conditions around...Shane, Josh and I scored some good ones (just overhead on the sets) yesterday before I had to work...this is Shane...



So – here I sit overlooking the Pacific Ocean drinking perfect coffee and chowing down on what I can only describe as a Scomuffin…yes – it is not a scone and it is not a muffin. Hell, it might be the best breakfast food ever created unless you include the Uglies on Cape Hatteras but those have the surgeon general’s warning on them.

These Scomuffins are small but incredibly dense – they kinda look like Plonks but they are chocolate and covered with sugar – really – I CELEBRATE the off season – I am already up to my off season weight and a few weeks laid up here with the Scomuffins and I could race Clydesdale.

Much like my waist size post Scomuffin - the Velocity crew is growing and we welcome a few new additions…

Joy Murphy, Lyndon Box, Paul Rudzitis (my 1st swim coach) and shaved legged tough guy turned tri-geek James Sweeney.

Joy is focused on IM Florida, Lyndon on Hawaii with a quick stop to pick up his slot in Louisville, Coach Paul is doing Miami man ½ in November and I will take anyone’s $ that he will be top 3 in the swim and Sween is got a race schedule through 2010 – I thought I was organized. No Freddy – the term is organized - NOT anal :)


Racing and Results:

For the shaved legged tough guys – the Lindner crew was ON FIRE last weekend in Georgia. The last person to roll so fast through Georgia was Sherman – ba dump chiiiiishhhhhhh….I’ll be here all week. As predicted, Jeff Kopp dominated the dojo in the TT and was 2nd overall.



Curtis led a 29 lap breakaway to finish 2nd in the circuit race leaving the boys in 1st and 3rd in the general classification.



This is HUGE!!!

This also means that anyone and everyone are gunning for you. Karel Sumbal, Adam Baskin (king of all bike fits) and young addition Cat III Cody Vance tried to block and control the race but the attacks were relentless. The entire field attacked the boys and over the course of 90 miles a breakaway stuck and Curtis and Jeff had to be content with their stage podiums and 2 spots in the top 15 in the GC.

To say the RR was hard is such an understatement – the files these guys produced are the hardest efforts of their year to date. Nice work!!!


The boys race this weekend in Stuart on Sunday and then in Ocala next weekend for the Florida State RR.

For more text check out http://www.abrt.blogspot.com/ and http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=231821283/a=49603030_49603030/t_=49603030 for pictures.

For the Tri geeks -

Double D Danny Domingo, James Sweeney and Joy Murphy raced in steaming conditions in Macon. Danny ended up 6th Overall and James 15th despite the heat. Joy hit a PR in finishing 21st overall with those conditions so look for great things from her in PCB in November.


That’s all for the racing and results for now – coming up…

Paul Cantin - Velocity Client #1 is jumping off the boat and swimming in from the Island in Alcatraz - good luck Paul - the sand ladder is fun :)

Beaches Fine Arts #2 next weekend.

The tri geeks join the shave legged tough guys for the State RR on Sunday in Ocala. UFC contender Shawn (Hercules), Clancy (I did some curls), Evan (FAST FAST FAST), Kerry (mate) and yours truly (only a slightly larger version :)) will be on the line without a swim or run result to hide behind – this should be fun :)

I’ll close with this…

Most people spend there days working to go on vacation. A better solution might be to work where most people go on vacation…I am going to try this for the next 10 days…I’ll let you know how feels. If my blog entries start to sound like Robin Leech, “I am yelling and I don’t know why”, I know I can go home to the “real” world without implants and change my perspective and probably my perception – but I am not going into the attic with Stephen.

Gotta run – there are taking away the Scomuffins :)

Kia Kaha

Swim Video's

The perfect swim stroke takes years to train...

Check out this link and you can see what it supposed to look like.

http://goswim.tv/entries/5235/go-swim-freestyle-with-kara-lynn-joyce.html

It's also never to early to start training - the future Phelps is in the house and he can talk smack - sorry Dude :)

How I almost started my off season 24 hours early...

I don’t think I have enough room in my free BlogSpot to list all the great results from this past weekend but I will try.

There were so many fantastic performances I don’t even know where to begin…

Let’s start with the two wheel crew and the State Crit Championships. Curtis, Jeff and Karel raced the Pro 1, 2 race on Sunday with a team of only 4 guys. Most of the other teams had a full squad. The decided to mark some key guys before the race and the tactic worked well. The Lindner guys came in 11th (Curtis), 17th (Jeff) and 21st (Karel). Curtis would have been a top 5 contender but narrowly escaped a bad scene when he had his wheel swept in the closing portion of the sprint. The next stop for those guys is the Georgia Cup race in 2 weeks. It is a TT, Crit and Road Race. Look for a top finish from Jeff Kopp in the TT – the dude has it dialed in. Curtis and Karel should do well in both the Crit and RR so it could be a good weekend for the shaved leg tough guys.

BFAS #1 was held on Saturday and the overall winner was none other than Olympic hopeful Sara McLarty. Men’s overall winner was Steve Petitt and 2nd place was James Sweeny (former king of the shaved leg tough guys turned tri geek (for now)). I think this is James 5th triathlon ever – damn dude that is some engine. Steve and James raced in different waves and times where actually a tie. The finish places came down to the 100th’s of a second to determine the overall male. An elite wave would have been a fantastic addition to this event as they would have been shoulder to shoulder on the run and in the chute. Maybe next race or next season – this has been needed for a while. Congrats to both Steve and Sween.

JC finished second overall female to Sara – come on JC – she is only a “hopeful” :) - GREAT RACE girl!!!

The rest of the Velocity crew, David Mariotti and Sean Crichton also had a great races (Sean was 2nd in his AG – dude – hello – what about your streak of 1st places – be careful it’s a slippery slope :)

Bringing the smoke in the relay division was Jim Wadsworth with a great bike split putting their team in the 1st place on the day – congrats Jim.


The rest of the VMS crew and friends of the crew headed to the land of mouse ears for a 70.3 weather extravaganza. It rained, it poured, it blew and it got HOT!!! The 70.3 in Disney is one of the most competitive fields in the country. The only tougher competition that I have seen is in the Oceanside 70.3 - 30 miles from where the sport of triathlon started – go figure.

The day started EARLY with the pros hitting the water at 6:20. We actually got to eat dinner the night before the race with Victor (no way I can spell this right) Zyemtsev – he is really cool.



He won CDA and Lake Placid and is very easy to talk with. Look for him to rule the course in CDA again this year – this guy is tough.



The rest of the 20+ waves of AG er’s would start in 3 minute intervals behind them. This swim is a flat water no wetsuit (2 minutes too long) course that really messes with the swimmer the later your wave. There is a HUGE advantage to going off early. I swam through 6 or 7 different colored caps by the end.

The bike is a single loop 56+ (almost 57 mile) course that has a lot of turn around points (5 - I think) and a nice technical section of wet Astroturf around a construction site – yikes. The weather on the bike was overcast and really dark to the west and by midpoint the rain came down hard. The winds were not nearly as bad as forecast and the temperatures were much cooler than expected.


Heading into the run, the rain stopped and the clouds held and weather was really ideal for Florida in May. It was only 80 and overcast. During the 1st loop of the run (for me) the clouds opened up again and DUMPED on us. It rained the mid afternoon summer rain for 5 minutes and it was done. 20-30 minutes later the same clouds were gone and when the sun came out it went from 80 and cloudy to 95 and OMG – is it HOT!!! The rain had made the humidity jump to what felt like 100% and it became instantly BRUTAL. I went from feeling awesome to I hope I finish in ½ mile. The later wave starts had it MUCH worse as they were in the sun for more than just 1 lap.

Enough about the weather – who rocked the house.

I am going to run out of room here …

Tony (I rule the bike) Maniatis – 4:45 and change with 13th in his AG – strong race and well balanced result.

Kerry Mowlam and I had a chance to run together for a little bit of my last lap (I was in an earlier wave) and he finished really strong with a 4:50 and change – great job.

Tyler (my 1st ½ Ironman and I am on a road bike) Vadeboncoeur went 4:59 and change – DUDE – you smoked it!!!

Saswata Roy MD – Doctor 32233 - (his initials are actually SRM-d) – hit a very nice PR with a 5:10 and change. I thought my bike was BLING – dude’s got some spinnerz :)

Kellie (don’t call me Midget) Smirnoff took 6th in her AG with an 11minute PR – Cheeka learned to swim :) and had the 2nd fastest run in her AG – good job Midget – Opps…:)

New addition to the VMS crew – Vann Simmons smoked the bike and struggled with the heat on the run to very respectable finish – Van scored a slot to Ironman Wisconsin – Congrats Vann – 6-7 hour bikes in the summer – yeah – pick me :)

The rest of the Mayo boys –Steve Goodfriend (5:38) and Mike Mohseni (5:46) - in under 6 hours – both 1st timers –– CONGRATS!!!

Freddy “bail money” Bailys (The bail money would be for me as I wanted to strangle the Carabba’s take out guy on Saturday) finished up his race on the hottest part of the day – great job Freddy.



His daughter Nikki took a page out of my son’s Shane’s playbook – nice one - thanks for the HI-5 at the end.





Kevin Ellis – 1st time finisher and never even got into transition before the race – that’s a new one for me. He actually had to pump up his tires in T1. You did it – nice.

Billy Hart and I talked at length about what it would take to get a slot for Clearwater and he went out to get it shooting for a sub 4:40 finish. A great swim and really solid bike set him up for run that would have put him in reach of that goal. Unfortunately - stomach issues killed that on the 2nd lap of the run and I have no doubt that Billy will get his 70.3 spot in Rhode Island.

In all it was a GREAT weekend of racing for everyone.

If I missed anyone – I apologize – I am doing this MTV style “unplugged” and from memory at 35,000 heading to Chicago.

Oh – yeah – I know you wanted to know :) - what about me…there is always a story and a little disclaimer – I never let the facts get in the way of a good story :)

Having done this race before and not really having a goal in mind other than trying to have a good run (1:29:59 or better – hey – aim high :)) – I was really relaxed and didn’t think I would have any problem sleeping race night (apparently – this is my curse). I didn’t medicate and I didn’t sleep. I told my son’s that I didn’t think I was going to race as I felt like KAKA after seeing the clock hit 2am and having to get up at 4am. I actually went and slept on the sidewalk at the hotel in front of the car park so Saswata, Anjna and the Midget would not forget me as I was sure if I stayed in my room I would go back to sleep.

At the start line - I really was DREADING the experience as endurance events to me are more mental and going into to it not enthusiastic makes my PE go sky high.





After waking up during the swim – my third time experiencing this – it sux – I found some good feet and cruised in. The bike was a suffer fest and I wanted it to just end. I was so happy to get to the run as I knew it would be over shortly. I am very happy to say that I told myself – HTFU – suck it up and do it or you will regret it for the next 6 weeks. I did – I finished and I am very happy to say this begins my “off-season”…

I wrote my coach an email yesterday with my race recap and my goals for the off –season – I’ll share then with you as we are starting to land…


Plan from here foreword:

1) FIRST - Play with the kids - as MUCH as possible!!! Balance has been suffering and needs to get fixed.

Then:

2) Get my desire to train revitalized by doing what I want versus having a schedule.

3) Bike as much as I can with the majority of it being in the areas I don't like to ride (220-240) :) - Maybe do Blood Sweat and Gears in late June.

4) Run as often as I can (3-4 a week) with at least 1 long run per week

5) Swim - NOT!!! Surfing instead :)

6) Strength and core - starting back next week - I really like this stuff.

7) Stand up paddling and kitesurfing - we also call this core :)



That’s all for this week…I am really glad my off season started at 11:29am on Sunday with someone giving me a medal and taking off my chip :)

Kia Kaha

Every once in a while I say something ...

...and I think – wow – that sounds smart…

Did I really say that?

Yesterday was one of those days…

I was running downtown with the midget and Saswata.

Saswata was telling me how I was not running fast on Sunday and I must have been tired and I getting worn down...maybe I went too hard on the bike etc…all of this opinion was offered because he was not only keeping up but was pushing the pace off the bike.

My response to him yesterday was really pretty simple but in my opinion it sounded smart…

"Dude - your harshing on my mellow - just shut up and run" :)

No seriously...I said...

You can’t judge your performance by the people around you – you have to have some measure to gauge if you are faster than normal that day or they are just slower…relative speed or PE compared to your training partners is just not accurate.

That day – he was just fast…

So – what does this have to do with anything?

I lived this same example again this morning.

I swam with Master’s group at the YMCA and Ryan (college swimmer – young guy - sorry – don’t know his last name) he and I split the fast lane. We did a set that was perfect for me and he was dreading it. He is a sprinter (I am not) and the set was 500, 400, 200, 400, 500 – not a sprinters set – hello mister old man slow twitch :)

Anyway, we stayed together on the 1st 500 and went close to normal pace. On the 400, he went out and I was left lagging. I pushed hard to keep up but he finished a ½ lap ahead of me and I was coming into the wall thinking – man – the sprinter just kicked my a$$ - that sux...but then I looked at the clock. My time was really good – ok - for an old man :)

My point – without the clock and a known distance – some basis for comparison – I would not have a reference to see if I was really slow or he was just really fast.

By the way - we still would not have made the HS Varsity team with our times but in old age – I was happy with it.

The 200 was next he did as IM and I can’t do IM for legal reasons…the last time I tried to do butterfly the lifeguards came out of their chairs and there was a lot of confusion. Needless to say I had to sign a waiver to never attempt that stroke again and I complied this morning :)

The back side of the set I used a speed suit to make sure it felt good for next weekend (Florida 70.3) and still fit from last year. Besides, I had talked earlier this week with Billy and he claimed to have gotten a 5 second + benefit from a speed suit and I basically called bull$h!t on him.

I knew the suit made a difference but no way was it 5 seconds per 100. I also figured it was also a way to minimize the ½ lap beating I just took from speedy :)

The results REALLY surprised me.

It was a FULL 5 seconds / 100 and that was at the end of the set. The difference in total time was 6%.




If you look at that for Olympic Distance that is 1:20 savings, for ½ IM it’s a 1:35 savings and a full distance 3:30 over no speed suit.

No wonder everyone is wearing these things :)

I am not sure which suits are faster – I only tried a SpeedZoot and it seems like there are more Blue Seventy’s around than any other - and to me - the Blue Seventy just looks better :)





These definitely make a difference.

There are a few articles on the web about the recent world records that have been smashed due to the new suits.

http://scienceofsport.blogspot.com/2008/04/swimming-update.html

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/04/11/lzr.record.breaking.ap/

It is amazing and there are more recent records (23 total):

SPEEDO LZR RACER WORLD RECORDS


16th Feb 08 200m Backstroke Kirsty Coventry (ZIM) 2.06.39
17th Feb 08 50m Freestyle Eamon Sullivan (AUS) 21.56
17th Feb 08 100m Backstroke Natalie Coughlin (USA) 59.21
7th Mar 08 50m Backstroke Hayley McGregory (USA) 28.00
18th Mar 08 Wm 4 x 100m Freestyle Netherlands 3.33.62
21st Mar 08 100m Freestyle Alain Bernard (FRA) 47.60
22nd Mar 08 400m Ind.Medley Stephanie Rice (AUS) 4.31.46
22nd Mar 08 50m Backstroke Emily Seebohm (AUS) 27.95
22nd Mar 08 100m Freestyle Alain Bernard (FRA) 47.50
23rd Mar 08 50m Backstroke Sophie Edington (AUS) 27.67
23rd Mar 08 50m Freestyle Alain Bernard (FRA) 21.50
24th Mar 08 50m Freestyle Marleen Veldhuis (NED) 24.09
25th Mar 08 200m Ind.Medley Stephanie Rice (AUS) 2.08.92



Before this gets too long – which it already has…here is a really cool video of Dara Torres



See 40 is the new 30 - and - yeah - she's hot :)



I’ll close with this…

I almost always try to train with people that are faster than me. I seek them out and I think they help me push myself to a level that is above where I would normally be.

In the pool, on the bike and on the run…

I even lifted all winter with soccer mom but she doesn’t even know it. (She squats 225 and I worked hard to be able to do keep up with her…yes…I know Francis…that is weak and I should be ashamed…)

I heard Dara say this in her interview, Chris Lieto talks about swimming with the HS speedsters and riding with the cyclists.

These training partners help to lift the bar…improve your overall performance...

it’s also important to realize that sometimes that bar needs to be measured :)

Either that...or just "Shut up and run" :)

So much to say – so little time :)

It’s not too often that I significantly overwhelm myself but the last 2 weeks seem to be a perfect example of how NOT to run your life. I keep added things to my plate until I am like the “large” man in Monte Python movie and the waiter says…”But sir…it’s a thin mint”.



Family, work, travel, training, racing, expo’s, email, bike fits, car dealers, blackberries that now only receive spam (you gotta love the IT department), work presentations and former cheerleaders turned customer service reps have led me to the point where I am JUST craving a night of zoning out in front of the TV – doing absolutely nothing. I have had a movie that I have wanted to watch for 2 weeks and can’t seem to find the time to do it - I know have Blockbuster's late fee policy tattooed on my forearm :)

But this - my BLOG ENTRY - this I something I really want to do - I WANTED to do last night – but I opted for much needed 6 hour of sleep as I was falling asleep typing.

Did I mention I am only doing 1 “real” coffee a day – no wonder I am not keeping up like I used to – Starbucks stock opened down 2 points this morning :)


Enough grumping – on with the show and WHAT A SHOW it was!!!


VMS is in DA HOUSE!!!!

The Patchouli boy Sean Crichton rocked the field in xTerra again as predicted – wins his AG and takes 5th in the overall. Also – as predicted, he took 4th in the MTB race the next day. He told me during the MTB race the lead pack kept together and they were calling him xTerra boy as they all could not believe he had raced the day before. 4th in the Overall on tired legs – dude – you’re fit!!!

The Lindner Capital Cyclists hit the start line at the Athens’s Twilight Crit Saturday night and judging by the files – OMG – that is NUTZ!!! The lowest speed I saw was 25mph and the most of it was at 32-35MPH. This is on a 1KM 4 corner course with over 100 guys. The power and speeds just to stay on are INSANE. 1000 watts in a corner per lap – I can hit 1000 once and then I hit the couch :) Congrats to Curtis, Jeff and Karel – you guys ROCK!!! Good luck with the rest of Speed week.


The tri geeks were in full on fantasy race mode this weekend at Saint Anthony’s Triathlon. First, the expo is a like a triathlon version of Target (my new favorite store) and you could check out all the latest go fast gear. If you didn’t want to spend money than you needed to leave your wallet at home – I did :).

There was come very cool new gear from Jaggad… www.jaggad.com – I have used their suits for a few years and they are great.

I also worked the RG Fizio booth with Steve Petitt and Billy Hart www.recovergear.com and we had some really good interest. Lots of AG er’s and also two more pros are “on-board”, Spencer Smith and Nina Kraft. We also just got some good press in the latest Triathlete Magazine (page 232 of June 2008 issue).



The RG booth was next to GenR8 - http://www.genr8speed.com/- and they had a lot of buzz – everyone was checking it out.

The pros in the transition area included Matt Reed (just qualified for the Olympic team), Greg Bennett (won 500K+ last year), Andy Potts (70.3 world champ), Faris Al Sultan (Ironman Hawaii Champ) and bunch more. It was cool to see so many big names in one place.

Mr. Vegas (Billy Hart) took my money in the tri-geek fantasy race – he had Matt Reed – I had Bennett - in my best Zoolander - Reed’s so hot right now :)





The race is a GREAT venue to go fast and test yourself a top notch field and we (VMS and friends) had some fantastic results. Billy, Steve, Susan W., Susan B, Aaron, Eric and the rest of the crew from JAX really stepped it up - lots of bling and PR’s.

Next up for the tri-geeks is the BFAS and Florida 70.3 in 3 weeks.

A couple of misc notes:

Check out Chris Lieto’s site and blog www.chrislieto.com and click the link for the Green Athlete – he is moving the sport in a great direction – Chris will be racing this weekend in Wildflower – predictions – he will dominate the dojo – 1st overall.

Hey Billy – where’s your wallet? :)

Check out Alan Couzen’s blog on Stotans http://alancouzens.blogspot.com/ - best reason I have read lately explaining why we do what we do.

And from my midget running coach without a license – best slam of the day:

Me: “My race was ok - I had trouble sleeping again the night before the race – I only got in two hours sleep.”

Midget: “Dude - I checked your splits and it looks like you took a nap on the bike - no wonder you felt good on the run”

Nice Friends!!!

Kia Kaha!!!