It's still all about the bike. Our dear friend Bolder said it a long time ago, and it holds true today. Folks, you HAVE to be able to bike, my triathlon brothers and sisters. If you can't hardly swim, you can breast stroke, back stroke and side stroke your way through just about any distance swim. If you can't run, you can walk. But you have to be able to bike, no if's and's or butt's.
Regardless, I'm training guilt-free for the Bike Across Florida, and if I get some running and swimming in, well, that's a bonus. I have been getting some swims in. Do you realize how much fun it is going to the pool for a 20 - 30 min swim??? 1000 meters (yawn) and you're done. Read, "sprint triathlon, baby". 'Cause really, what's worse than staring down the lane looking at a 3k or a 4k swim session? Root canal?
Today was the long bike day. Funny how plans get thrown out the window - even training plans I make myself! Today was supposed to be an easy 50 to 60 mile bike ride. 78 miles later, there was nothing easy about the day. Oh sure, you can scroll back to the days of yore, when the M-Dot Bigun would laugh at a 78 miles. Today, I missed those days.
You know what's cool though? I'm training with 4 other guys now for this long bike, and we do these rides together, full on draft. That's right, I said it - FULL ON DRAFT is in effect. You'd think it would be easier, but two flats and a dozen or two pulls at the front at a pace I assure you would not be my long-ride pace, and the group ride thingy takes on a whole new meaning. Marc-y Like-y.
Now if I could just get one of the guys, Markel, to quit taking the gosh-darn pictures! Kriminy! I know I'm fat now. I know, I know! Then he posts my fat pictures on facebook. I hate him. 280 lbs does not look good on me, no matter what angle he shoots from. It looks even worse in spandex. Don't even ask...
Sunday, August 09, 2009
Monday, August 03, 2009
A good week...
I had forgotten what it's like to be so tired, physically, that you can't keep your eyes open. Shuttling around like a zombie, ravenous but still too queasy to really eat. Conscious of the diet, drinking water but wanting a coke, or a beer.
Feels good.
I went out with my Lazydays bike team for a 53 miler in the hills of San Antonio. This was not my first time venturing into these parts... I'd ridden once out here for the Hilly Hundred two years ago (it was mercifully the 100k ride) and then I came out with some billy goats to ride one Sunday about a year ago, hammered up one of these hills (I was in Iron Shape then) and blew a spoke on the 2nd or 3rd really steep hill. Had to limp about 20 miles back with a wobbly rear tire. That was a scary ride.
So five of us set out for a Sunday morning jaunt, wheels up at 7am. The meet-up is 40 miles from my home (the things you do to find hills in Florida), so I almost drove farther than the ride was long. It looks pretty certain that the five person "team" for the Bike Across Florida will be myself, Lee, Markle, John and Mark.
We launched out without a hitch, but shortly into the ride, I downshifted into my small chainring for the first little climb and "snap"; the front derailleur cable breaks. Fortunately, the front derailleur's spring pulls the chain to the smaller ring without the cable tension, or else I'm telling you, I would have been walking up a few of those steep hills!
John flatted. Lee flatted. Lee ejected his water bottles twice out of his X-Lab. We stopped for water at mile 36. They stopped - and waited for me. I had just enough time to run in the store, buy up some Gatorade, fill my bottles and hop back on for the last 17 miles. Seemed like a lot of rigor morale for an hour of riding, but at that point, I was really sucking down the fluids. It was after 9am, and it was hot in the Florida sun (and it was longer than an hour...).
We climbed about 3,700 feet in 52 miles. Took us about 3:25 - yea, I was the anchor. I weighed in at 280 when I got home. Dropping at least 20 by the Bike Across Florida is a must. Two weeks into this train-up, I'm confident things will improve. As hard as that ride was, it was an awe full lot of fun. Hearing my back spokes ping and groan with each climb was cool. I was kinda scared to stand up in the pedals; that little bit extra force with the added weight might have been too much for those skinny strands of aluminum to bear!
Feels good.
I went out with my Lazydays bike team for a 53 miler in the hills of San Antonio. This was not my first time venturing into these parts... I'd ridden once out here for the Hilly Hundred two years ago (it was mercifully the 100k ride) and then I came out with some billy goats to ride one Sunday about a year ago, hammered up one of these hills (I was in Iron Shape then) and blew a spoke on the 2nd or 3rd really steep hill. Had to limp about 20 miles back with a wobbly rear tire. That was a scary ride.
So five of us set out for a Sunday morning jaunt, wheels up at 7am. The meet-up is 40 miles from my home (the things you do to find hills in Florida), so I almost drove farther than the ride was long. It looks pretty certain that the five person "team" for the Bike Across Florida will be myself, Lee, Markle, John and Mark.
We launched out without a hitch, but shortly into the ride, I downshifted into my small chainring for the first little climb and "snap"; the front derailleur cable breaks. Fortunately, the front derailleur's spring pulls the chain to the smaller ring without the cable tension, or else I'm telling you, I would have been walking up a few of those steep hills!
John flatted. Lee flatted. Lee ejected his water bottles twice out of his X-Lab. We stopped for water at mile 36. They stopped - and waited for me. I had just enough time to run in the store, buy up some Gatorade, fill my bottles and hop back on for the last 17 miles. Seemed like a lot of rigor morale for an hour of riding, but at that point, I was really sucking down the fluids. It was after 9am, and it was hot in the Florida sun (and it was longer than an hour...).
We climbed about 3,700 feet in 52 miles. Took us about 3:25 - yea, I was the anchor. I weighed in at 280 when I got home. Dropping at least 20 by the Bike Across Florida is a must. Two weeks into this train-up, I'm confident things will improve. As hard as that ride was, it was an awe full lot of fun. Hearing my back spokes ping and groan with each climb was cool. I was kinda scared to stand up in the pedals; that little bit extra force with the added weight might have been too much for those skinny strands of aluminum to bear!
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Bike Across Florida 09
This week starts the official (well, my official) 16-week train-up for the Bike Across Florida 2009, forever more referred to as BAF. Think of it as a 16-week bike focus. This does a couple of things for me:
1) Gives me a big event to look forward to and train for - a goal.
2) Allows me to lose weight with physical activity that won't hurt me due to the added weight I put on (what a vicious cycle that is!), like running.
3) Puts another cool feather in my physical achievement cap.
4) Acts as a springboard event for a potential Ironman in '10 !!!!
It's difficult to nail down, but it looks like this is an 11 hr event, max, that is a 171 miles long. Last years' event was 165 miles on a Garmin downloaded to Motionpeaks. So I'd say its a good possibility that the distance is accurate. At one point it was advertised as a 155 mile event. Any way you slice it, it will be a long day in the saddle.
So the intial plan will include a hotel stay on the East Coast, an early wake up call, an all day ride to the Gulf, and an almost 2 hr drive home from Crystal River. So far, a good group of fellows from Lazydays, my workplace, have agreed to train for this bad boy. John, our CEO, is built like Lance Armstrong and is a strong rider already. Mark (with a "k") is our Inventory Manager and will be strong in the flats as he's a hoss, like me. Markle is the young guy, and is really strong on the bike. New to cycling, the distance will be his challenge - managing fluids, calories - stuff like that. Marc - me - the Bigun - well, I've got some challenges myself, but it was my big mouth that suggested this whole thing to begin with!
Some wild-cards will include Chris and Lee - more salesmen at Lazydays who are kinda-sorta "in". They are hooked on Tri's but realize the added commitment to training for a big event like this and may not be able to put the time in. I'm not sure if my buddy
Greg will step up, although he's expressed interest. I think I want him to do it more than he does. Tom did his first triathlon 2 weeks ago, and while I'm sure he'll be enthused, I'm not sure he'll have the distance in his legs. It would be cool if he does though! Jason just bought a bike and may give it a go, and Don, well, he seems to just keep on coming up with excuses but still wants to be kept in the loop. You all know that guy, right?
So we have 4 "highly probables" and another 6 that might jump in there. Mark has already volunteered his wife to drive the Suburban as a SAG vehicle, and while it's not required, it will be nice - and save us all the trip back over to the east coast. We might even get some spectators to see us finish...
Of course, any one else wanting to jump in is welcome, and I know sometimes these kinds of events are avoided 'cause you don't know anyone. If you ever had an inkling, you are welcome in our small pace-line.
1) Gives me a big event to look forward to and train for - a goal.
2) Allows me to lose weight with physical activity that won't hurt me due to the added weight I put on (what a vicious cycle that is!), like running.
3) Puts another cool feather in my physical achievement cap.
4) Acts as a springboard event for a potential Ironman in '10 !!!!
It's difficult to nail down, but it looks like this is an 11 hr event, max, that is a 171 miles long. Last years' event was 165 miles on a Garmin downloaded to Motionpeaks. So I'd say its a good possibility that the distance is accurate. At one point it was advertised as a 155 mile event. Any way you slice it, it will be a long day in the saddle.
So the intial plan will include a hotel stay on the East Coast, an early wake up call, an all day ride to the Gulf, and an almost 2 hr drive home from Crystal River. So far, a good group of fellows from Lazydays, my workplace, have agreed to train for this bad boy. John, our CEO, is built like Lance Armstrong and is a strong rider already. Mark (with a "k") is our Inventory Manager and will be strong in the flats as he's a hoss, like me. Markle is the young guy, and is really strong on the bike. New to cycling, the distance will be his challenge - managing fluids, calories - stuff like that. Marc - me - the Bigun - well, I've got some challenges myself, but it was my big mouth that suggested this whole thing to begin with!
Some wild-cards will include Chris and Lee - more salesmen at Lazydays who are kinda-sorta "in". They are hooked on Tri's but realize the added commitment to training for a big event like this and may not be able to put the time in. I'm not sure if my buddy
Greg will step up, although he's expressed interest. I think I want him to do it more than he does. Tom did his first triathlon 2 weeks ago, and while I'm sure he'll be enthused, I'm not sure he'll have the distance in his legs. It would be cool if he does though! Jason just bought a bike and may give it a go, and Don, well, he seems to just keep on coming up with excuses but still wants to be kept in the loop. You all know that guy, right?So we have 4 "highly probables" and another 6 that might jump in there. Mark has already volunteered his wife to drive the Suburban as a SAG vehicle, and while it's not required, it will be nice - and save us all the trip back over to the east coast. We might even get some spectators to see us finish...
Of course, any one else wanting to jump in is welcome, and I know sometimes these kinds of events are avoided 'cause you don't know anyone. If you ever had an inkling, you are welcome in our small pace-line.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Terrorists amongst us
Ok, this isn't a Tri-post. And, it's not a rant! Just a FYI to anyone still hanging on to my blog - my good friend of 25 years (Roger Carstens) actually has his own TV show! It's on network TV, no less - NBC - and it's on tonight - Monday. It's called "The Wanted" and it's about accused terrorist living safely in countries who don't care to prosecute them. I'm sure I butchered the description, but it promices to be exciting, factual and a bit controvercial, as these sort of programs tend to be.
I'm not sure of the political swing - here is a writeup from the media:
http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/television/reviews/view.bg?articleid=1185891
I'm excited, obviously, for my buddy, doing great things and being successful. Please watch the show if you're not out training tonight. And by all means, let me know what you think!
I'm not sure of the political swing - here is a writeup from the media:
http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/television/reviews/view.bg?articleid=1185891
I'm excited, obviously, for my buddy, doing great things and being successful. Please watch the show if you're not out training tonight. And by all means, let me know what you think!
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Morton Plant Meese
Just a little update for YOU, the reader - this Morton Plant Meese is quite possibly the hardest sprint Tri I've ever done. Partially because I'm so far out of shape and mostly because of the extra 40 I have around my waist. This race takes the bike up 3 gnarly bridges in the Clearwater area - you know those climbers you see on the Tour De France? Yea, I'm not looking like any of them. Well, maybe two of them.
So I made the mistake of looking at the last time I did this race. The course was identical, and I'll bet it was just as hot in '07 as it was this year.
Swim: 12:03 vs 14:02 this year. Two minutes over 600 yards is 20 seconds per hundred. Yuck.
Bike: 37:04 vs 43:42 this year. That's 20.24 mph vs. 17.15 mph. Losing 3mph is pretty huge on a 12.5 mile course.
Run: 27:46 vs 39:41 this year. Add 12 minutes to 3.1 miles - oh yea, that's like 4 min per mile! I think I just threw up in my mouth a little. I walked the first .6 mile of this course - I was really feeling sick when I got off the bike. That Steak the night before was not a great idea, as great as it tasted.
So when you look at it that way, why, there's a ton of room for improvement. Next Tri on the schedule is the Sand Key Tri - the bike is a bit shorter, but still has the bridge work. Run is in the same place. It's about 8 weeks out- so I have 2 good training cycles to improve for it.
The guys at work here are starting to really enjoy doing these races as well. I think we'll have me and 4 others from work here participating in Sand Key. Makes it fun, although I haven't been real sociable after the past two races. When you are out of shape, even these sprints smoke you good for the rest of the day.
Maybe by Sand Key I'll be able to get into my XL Sugoi shorts and top that I got to test out. I hope so... I feel kinda bad, and I see them still sitting there with the tags on, calling me - "Bigun.....Bigun.... lose weight!!!!"
So I made the mistake of looking at the last time I did this race. The course was identical, and I'll bet it was just as hot in '07 as it was this year.
Swim: 12:03 vs 14:02 this year. Two minutes over 600 yards is 20 seconds per hundred. Yuck.
Bike: 37:04 vs 43:42 this year. That's 20.24 mph vs. 17.15 mph. Losing 3mph is pretty huge on a 12.5 mile course.
Run: 27:46 vs 39:41 this year. Add 12 minutes to 3.1 miles - oh yea, that's like 4 min per mile! I think I just threw up in my mouth a little. I walked the first .6 mile of this course - I was really feeling sick when I got off the bike. That Steak the night before was not a great idea, as great as it tasted.
So when you look at it that way, why, there's a ton of room for improvement. Next Tri on the schedule is the Sand Key Tri - the bike is a bit shorter, but still has the bridge work. Run is in the same place. It's about 8 weeks out- so I have 2 good training cycles to improve for it.
The guys at work here are starting to really enjoy doing these races as well. I think we'll have me and 4 others from work here participating in Sand Key. Makes it fun, although I haven't been real sociable after the past two races. When you are out of shape, even these sprints smoke you good for the rest of the day.
Maybe by Sand Key I'll be able to get into my XL Sugoi shorts and top that I got to test out. I hope so... I feel kinda bad, and I see them still sitting there with the tags on, calling me - "Bigun.....Bigun.... lose weight!!!!"
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
a rambling rag -
No, not a new job.
Just a regime change at work. The beast is gone. It's a long time coming. Sales is a hard thing. The stars have to align, it seems, to make a good sale these days. Find the right RV. Get the right price. Hope the customer doesn't have a trade that they owe money on. Hope they have a good credit score. Scratch that - excellent credit score. Hope that the bank is feeling like lending that day. And then, after all that, hope the RV makes it though the shop and on to the delivery site with nothing broken and on time for the delivery. Oh, and through all that....hope the customer doesn't get cold feet or find a different RV somewhere else.
The mechanics of the sale are brutal sometimes. To have to then, on top of all that, deal with an absolute tyrant who is completely engaged in his own agenda which has nothing to do with selling coaches or helping a salesperson sell a coach - the process just became infinitely harder.
So he's gone now. Retired. Or so they say. Whatever, good riddance to the guy. Him and Michael Jackson. Good grief; as long as I'm ranting - this country sure has a short memory. Michael Jackson - they guy who held his baby over a balcony (for publicity - what an ass)? The guy who bribed some kids parents ($20,000,000...that's 20 million dollars, folks) to make that whole "molestation" thingy go away? The freak show guy who is absolutely unrecognizable if you took a picture of him a week ago and one 20 years ago and put them side by side? Yes. He could sing and dance, but there are kids and their parents in the neighborhood surrounding Never Never Land who are sleeping a lot easier tonight, now that he's gone.
So the new boss at work, in my opinion, is a good guy. I trust him. The very cool thing about him is that he's a student of leadership. He reads about management and leadership and sales - and constantly tries to improve himself and his understanding of how people tick. In the sales world - particularly the sales of cars and RVs, since that's all I know, management and leadership development is a rarity....at the peril of the salesperson.
Now if people would just get to buying again. Another rant: Biden. What an ass. I'm sorry, but to have him say that no one thought the economy was THAT bad and that no one could foresee the ill effects of throwing trillions at corporate America is just so asinine. Ok everyone, get in step here...and follow along...Obama is great, yea! He's the best, yea! No matter what, no matter how stupid or wrong, we'll all still love him in the morning, yea! There were plenty of people who thought is was the wrong idea - he just didn't listen. I saw a poll the other day - yes a lovely poll - less than 50% of Americans thought the country was heading in the right direction. Under 40% thought the economy was improving. Obama's approval rating, on the same page - over 60%. I just don't get it. Please, please, please - don't try to explain it to me either. Thanks.
Was it just me, or did anyone else read how the FBI interrogated Saddam Hussein before his neck stretching (just trying to be PC here), and it was revealed that he let on to having WMD's because he was afraid of Iran and needed them to believe he had them. Um. Hello! Everyone! Ok, I can see it coming - "that's just fabricated to make us (the people of the US) try and believe that we were justified into war with Iraq"... Yea, and N. Korea doesn't REALLY have nukes, or a viable long range missile, so we should ignore those little bastards, and we're never really gonna find Bin Laden so why keep messing around in Afghanistan... Taliban - Schmaliban?
I'm not in love with the guy - he's not my "personal hero", and I'm not awestruck with him like the insane 60% of Americans still hypnotized by Obama, but I'm convinced that the real history of Bush's administration is not yet fully written. He's taken it between the eyes...he's taking one for the team - until all the intelligence get cleared, if it ever does, he's the fall guy for the war, the economy, the unfavorable world view of Americans, the shortcomings of the city of New Orleans and the State of Louisiana, etc, etc. But just like that FBI report, things will eventually come out, and we won't be reading silly comments about Bush being the worst president in American history anymore.
I know, ya'll don't read my blog for my uneducated political ramblings-on. Sorry guys and gals.
I got a nice little sprint tri coming up on Sunday. The Morton Plant Mease Tri, here in Clearwater, FL. I'm sticking to my plan of starting out slow and finishing even slower. Hopefully I can stomach a beer or two this time around...
Just a regime change at work. The beast is gone. It's a long time coming. Sales is a hard thing. The stars have to align, it seems, to make a good sale these days. Find the right RV. Get the right price. Hope the customer doesn't have a trade that they owe money on. Hope they have a good credit score. Scratch that - excellent credit score. Hope that the bank is feeling like lending that day. And then, after all that, hope the RV makes it though the shop and on to the delivery site with nothing broken and on time for the delivery. Oh, and through all that....hope the customer doesn't get cold feet or find a different RV somewhere else.
The mechanics of the sale are brutal sometimes. To have to then, on top of all that, deal with an absolute tyrant who is completely engaged in his own agenda which has nothing to do with selling coaches or helping a salesperson sell a coach - the process just became infinitely harder.
So he's gone now. Retired. Or so they say. Whatever, good riddance to the guy. Him and Michael Jackson. Good grief; as long as I'm ranting - this country sure has a short memory. Michael Jackson - they guy who held his baby over a balcony (for publicity - what an ass)? The guy who bribed some kids parents ($20,000,000...that's 20 million dollars, folks) to make that whole "molestation" thingy go away? The freak show guy who is absolutely unrecognizable if you took a picture of him a week ago and one 20 years ago and put them side by side? Yes. He could sing and dance, but there are kids and their parents in the neighborhood surrounding Never Never Land who are sleeping a lot easier tonight, now that he's gone.
So the new boss at work, in my opinion, is a good guy. I trust him. The very cool thing about him is that he's a student of leadership. He reads about management and leadership and sales - and constantly tries to improve himself and his understanding of how people tick. In the sales world - particularly the sales of cars and RVs, since that's all I know, management and leadership development is a rarity....at the peril of the salesperson.
Now if people would just get to buying again. Another rant: Biden. What an ass. I'm sorry, but to have him say that no one thought the economy was THAT bad and that no one could foresee the ill effects of throwing trillions at corporate America is just so asinine. Ok everyone, get in step here...and follow along...Obama is great, yea! He's the best, yea! No matter what, no matter how stupid or wrong, we'll all still love him in the morning, yea! There were plenty of people who thought is was the wrong idea - he just didn't listen. I saw a poll the other day - yes a lovely poll - less than 50% of Americans thought the country was heading in the right direction. Under 40% thought the economy was improving. Obama's approval rating, on the same page - over 60%. I just don't get it. Please, please, please - don't try to explain it to me either. Thanks.
Was it just me, or did anyone else read how the FBI interrogated Saddam Hussein before his neck stretching (just trying to be PC here), and it was revealed that he let on to having WMD's because he was afraid of Iran and needed them to believe he had them. Um. Hello! Everyone! Ok, I can see it coming - "that's just fabricated to make us (the people of the US) try and believe that we were justified into war with Iraq"... Yea, and N. Korea doesn't REALLY have nukes, or a viable long range missile, so we should ignore those little bastards, and we're never really gonna find Bin Laden so why keep messing around in Afghanistan... Taliban - Schmaliban?
I'm not in love with the guy - he's not my "personal hero", and I'm not awestruck with him like the insane 60% of Americans still hypnotized by Obama, but I'm convinced that the real history of Bush's administration is not yet fully written. He's taken it between the eyes...he's taking one for the team - until all the intelligence get cleared, if it ever does, he's the fall guy for the war, the economy, the unfavorable world view of Americans, the shortcomings of the city of New Orleans and the State of Louisiana, etc, etc. But just like that FBI report, things will eventually come out, and we won't be reading silly comments about Bush being the worst president in American history anymore.
I know, ya'll don't read my blog for my uneducated political ramblings-on. Sorry guys and gals.
I got a nice little sprint tri coming up on Sunday. The Morton Plant Mease Tri, here in Clearwater, FL. I'm sticking to my plan of starting out slow and finishing even slower. Hopefully I can stomach a beer or two this time around...
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
The draft
I did the unthinkable yesterday - I participated in a draft festivle. I met John and Mark out at Flatwoods after work and tried to hang. Really, I did!
But I couldn't; not without sucking on some back wheel. I feel so guilty!
But I couldn't; not without sucking on some back wheel. I feel so guilty!
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Update
So what's going on with the biggun? I've actually been training a little. Averaging about 5 hrs a week or so. Next race coming up in 2.5 weeks - Morton Plant Meese Sprint Tri - I should do a bit better than the last one!
I've lost 7 lbs thus far on my way back down to 250. My goal for this race was to be at 275 - there's a chance I'll get there. The bike has been coming back fast, andy swimming feels good too. Carrying around all these lbs makes for some challenging runs, but even those are getting better.
I could have a pretty big bike event coming up in November - I'll write more as that firms up. The more, the merrier...
I've lost 7 lbs thus far on my way back down to 250. My goal for this race was to be at 275 - there's a chance I'll get there. The bike has been coming back fast, andy swimming feels good too. Carrying around all these lbs makes for some challenging runs, but even those are getting better.
I could have a pretty big bike event coming up in November - I'll write more as that firms up. The more, the merrier...
Monday, June 01, 2009
Mad Beach Tri Race Review
Good grief! What an eye opener. Well, first things first. This race is sponsored and run by the Mad Dog Tri Club - the largest Tri club in the world, so sayeth our lovely and talented race day color commenter.
Now really, do you need someone to fill in the time between 5:00am and 7:00am? I can just hear the Race Director talking to this woman, "so, I need you to talk, non-stop, for the entire race". And she did. At one point she actually used the words, "you know, what us ELITES do with our transition layout....blah blah blah" - oh, yes she did. Nope, not a Pro. An Elite. And now we know.
So other than that strange ringing in my ear and ensuing neck twitch, I got my crap laid out as usual without a hitch - like I've only done it dozens of times before, albeit minus elite status - and went off to check on my new-be compatriots. More or less, they/we got their act together and off we went to the swim start, a half-mile down the beach.
You know, when you walk it off, it sure seems like a long way. Is it bad when you are already breathing heavy just from walking to the swim start? Rhetorical question...
So my wave, the mighty 3rd wave of Clydesdales, kicks off, and within seconds I'm realizing that everyone else is running out to the water, and I'm casually walking. Excel Man says it best, "My race strategy is to start out slow and finish slower...". By the first turn buoy, I was pretty much all alone, except for annoying breast stroke guy swimming to my left. Every time I took a breath to the left, there he was, looking ahead, and I could see his chubby legs frog kicking out and brushing my arm from time to time. Sadly, he was swimming at my pace. If I picked up my pace. The great thing was that with him breast stroking, and doing a bang up job of sighting, I didn't have to. One of the straightest open water swims I ever did.
Finally completing the first straight 800 meters I'd swam since June '08 (yes, this is May 31'st), I run straight at my bike (why follow the lanes, my bike's like the only one still in there...) and in decent transition time, I'm turning my pedals. Slowly. I mean, crap! This is my shtick, right? Folks, it's all gone, I'm sorry to say. I worked it from seeing my first mile averaging around 15mph to finally finishing up at 19.3mph. Seriously. I know!
If you thought that was bad, it gets worse. I'm pretty sure I could have walked darn near as fast as I was shuffling along. It was a slug-fest, and I lost. Well, I didn't stop and "officially" walk. I continued on at what could sorta be construed as a run and without fanfare or major injury I crossed the finish line. Yay.
There was Beer. There was Pizza. There was an Expo with flashy, shiny things to buy. I felt sick after 1 Beer. I tried to feel better with a second beer, but I was having none of it. There was only one thing left to do. Leave. Excel Man and I hopped back in his car and went home. No pictures. At least none I want posted this time around.
Six weeks of training exist between now and Morton Plant Mease Triathlon on Sand Key here in Florida. It's a sprint, with 3 bridge climbs that are actually pretty major. The run is very sandy, making this race a good, tough test of character. I'm looking forward to it. I can safely lose about 12 lbs between now and then, maybe 15 if I push it. That would drop me down to... wait for it.... 275. And what did I race CdA at a year ago? 250. The race after that will be another sprint at Sand Key. I'm hoping to be able to fit into the awesome Sugoi tri gear I was graciously given to test and write about. I'll sure try it out again before Morton Plan Mease to see if it fits...but the prognosis doesn't look too good.
Now really, do you need someone to fill in the time between 5:00am and 7:00am? I can just hear the Race Director talking to this woman, "so, I need you to talk, non-stop, for the entire race". And she did. At one point she actually used the words, "you know, what us ELITES do with our transition layout....blah blah blah" - oh, yes she did. Nope, not a Pro. An Elite. And now we know.
So other than that strange ringing in my ear and ensuing neck twitch, I got my crap laid out as usual without a hitch - like I've only done it dozens of times before, albeit minus elite status - and went off to check on my new-be compatriots. More or less, they/we got their act together and off we went to the swim start, a half-mile down the beach.
You know, when you walk it off, it sure seems like a long way. Is it bad when you are already breathing heavy just from walking to the swim start? Rhetorical question...
So my wave, the mighty 3rd wave of Clydesdales, kicks off, and within seconds I'm realizing that everyone else is running out to the water, and I'm casually walking. Excel Man says it best, "My race strategy is to start out slow and finish slower...". By the first turn buoy, I was pretty much all alone, except for annoying breast stroke guy swimming to my left. Every time I took a breath to the left, there he was, looking ahead, and I could see his chubby legs frog kicking out and brushing my arm from time to time. Sadly, he was swimming at my pace. If I picked up my pace. The great thing was that with him breast stroking, and doing a bang up job of sighting, I didn't have to. One of the straightest open water swims I ever did.
Finally completing the first straight 800 meters I'd swam since June '08 (yes, this is May 31'st), I run straight at my bike (why follow the lanes, my bike's like the only one still in there...) and in decent transition time, I'm turning my pedals. Slowly. I mean, crap! This is my shtick, right? Folks, it's all gone, I'm sorry to say. I worked it from seeing my first mile averaging around 15mph to finally finishing up at 19.3mph. Seriously. I know!
If you thought that was bad, it gets worse. I'm pretty sure I could have walked darn near as fast as I was shuffling along. It was a slug-fest, and I lost. Well, I didn't stop and "officially" walk. I continued on at what could sorta be construed as a run and without fanfare or major injury I crossed the finish line. Yay.
There was Beer. There was Pizza. There was an Expo with flashy, shiny things to buy. I felt sick after 1 Beer. I tried to feel better with a second beer, but I was having none of it. There was only one thing left to do. Leave. Excel Man and I hopped back in his car and went home. No pictures. At least none I want posted this time around.
Six weeks of training exist between now and Morton Plant Mease Triathlon on Sand Key here in Florida. It's a sprint, with 3 bridge climbs that are actually pretty major. The run is very sandy, making this race a good, tough test of character. I'm looking forward to it. I can safely lose about 12 lbs between now and then, maybe 15 if I push it. That would drop me down to... wait for it.... 275. And what did I race CdA at a year ago? 250. The race after that will be another sprint at Sand Key. I'm hoping to be able to fit into the awesome Sugoi tri gear I was graciously given to test and write about. I'll sure try it out again before Morton Plan Mease to see if it fits...but the prognosis doesn't look too good.
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