Shamrock 5 Miler (Madison)

Finally, my 3rd race of the season.

I have to say, I really wasn't looking forward to this. When you race as seldom as I have this year, the idea of stepping out and running a 5 mile road race on a Sunday morning when I should probably have been running for two hours. After all, I have a marathon to run in June.

I got there with my son Ian in tow, and I'd managed to convince him to actually run the kid's race. That was great. Ian has been all over the map about fun runs and probably the best part of the whole experience to hear him still saying later that day that he a) wanted to run more fun runs, and b) it would make him in better shape. Getting him ready and signed in and handing him off cut my warmup down, however, it was worth it to have him out there (out in the back, to be honest) and running- and enjoying it.

I got my warm-up in and then I was standing at the line talking to Maureen Terwilliger and Martha Merz. Yes, the Martha that was in DC is now back in CT. We were all downplaying how well we were or weren't going to run.

Ken PLatt came up to me before the race and asked me if I was planning to swing my number round from back to front. If you know me, you know this is a pet peeve. One of the reasons that I hate the B tag is that it is supposed to be worn on the chest in fromt of the body. When are the people who make these things realise that a good portion of us would be caught dead before we'd drive four pins through a singlet we've paid more for than we pay for our clothing. (Disclosure: I spent more on training gear last year than actual clothing. I know. Lame, right ?)

I did indeed swing my race belt round to the front.

And then we were off.

As I get- more experienced (read older)- I get more frustrated with young kids that bolt out at the start of a race. I know, it's youthful exuberance. It's also silly. I can see it in a 5K, but we're talking about a 5 mile road race. I expect a little discretion but of course that never happens. The kids go nuts and you are left trying to figure out which ones are bat-shit crazy and which one or two are going to eat your lunch and make you look like the aging man you really are.

I know every inch of the course. There's one short loop on the way out that isn't part of most of our rides or the Madison Triathlon, but not much.

It was clear from the get go that two of the guys were simply going to crush me. Somehow I managed to move up from 15th to 3rd- briefly- at about half a mile. But I could hear two guys behind me and as I made a left hand turn about a mile in they were pretty much on top of me....

Given the shape I was in at the time, I knew better than to try and get into a back and forth 20% into a race. I let them go and concentrated on what Eric says 'My job is to do my job.'

Maureen was close behind me, but she wasn't really pushing, which was good. We got out along the sea wall and of course it was cold and the wind was blowing in, but not that hard. The run out to end of the loop was pretty uneventful. We down two blocks and then cut back in, dropping back down on the road that we had been going out on (think a lollipop with a little candy top) and that's when things got really interesting.

The people coming out were all over the road, and I had tow guys and Maureen close behind. Now this is the same road along the seawall in Madison I ride on all the time and I know every twist and turn of it, but we were running against the meat of the pack, who were about 1/4 to 1/2 a mile behind us.

Me being me, I went on the offensive, basically picking my line and challenging anyone who really wanted to dance to not move. Everyone moved. I worked us all the way over to the right on the tangent, and then as we headed to that small bridge over the fen, which is a nice wide arc, I decided to switch the side of the road. It was the right time to make the move, and we easily negotiated the traffic.

One guy who had been pushing me from behind was right on top of me now and I went to the middle of the road because it was safer, if not the best tangent. At one point a car got on the course but he wisely stopped so we could get by and then I got passed for the last time in the race.

I was sure another guy and Maureen were going to pass me as we made the left-hand turn, but they didn't, and now I was starting to feel the effect of racing something longer than a 5k, especially after riding nearly 3 hours the day before.

We made the right and the next left and that's the home stretch- we were headed home now, running past the golf course, and all I could do was run my ass off with two people bearing down on me the whole time. I just wasn't going to give any ground though and I ended up beating the guy behind me, and winning my age group, by 3 seconds, and Maureen came in a few seconds after that.

I was glad to win my age group and finish 5th or whatever. But the funny thing is, the warm-down after the race was really better than the race itself. Running a 5 mile road race is not going to help me reach my goals. I went back out with Martha and took her through the Madison Triathlon 5k run. We ran it pretty hard and doing that after a short break was even better than the post-race beer. It made me feel like I hadn't, I don't know, wasted a Sunday run with a short race.

That's pretty out of the box thinking for me...

Shamrock 'n Roll 5k

Sometimes in the early season I'll come up on a race that I just dread the thought of. My plan this winter was do at least three races before Shamrock- New Year's Day, Sweetheart, another 5K and then this one.

That didn't happen. I hadn't raced since New Year's Day. I almost posted here the day before the race, but I didn't want to. It would have been negative, about how I was overweight, how I hadn't been running and was going to have a slow race. What would be the point ? To set low expectations that I'd probably then meet.

Sounds like a dumb idea.

I did show up on Sunday morning at the race with a friend, Michael D'Addetta, determined to treat the race like any other, specifically like I was going to be able to go out and have a decent performance, even though I didn't believe it, not one bit.

I did a run out and up Prospect but no one was warming up there. I had not checked the website to see if they had changed the course again this year. They had. I won't complain. Last year I went into this race feeling much like I did this morning, and about 3/4 of a mile into the race I was in so much distress from going hard that I felt like I feel when I start to struggle in the water, and that never happens running. I wasn't just out of my comfort zone. I was out of the zone where I can deal with the stress of race.

So I came back, hit the head again, and then headed for the starting line. The one thing that is a pain in the ass about this race is the starting line. You walk there from Toads and the walk to the line is also the first oh 300 meters or so of the race. So as you are trying to do your strides, the masses are streaming towards the line.

The funny thing is, while this is a pain in the ass, I actually like it, because I pick my lines (and they may not be straight) and I run those lines. I've yet to run into anyone, but it certainly gets your adrenaline up.

Finally it got so congested that there was just no point to it. This race always starts a few minutes late, but finally 1900 of us were ready to go. It was very tight on the line.

Then we were off and I was racing again.

I expected it to go badly, for the stress of race pace to crush me in its unyielding fist. But it didn't. We hooked the first left and there was George Buchanan and a few other guys in front of me. I was back and forth with the ironman guy that looks like Sean Penn. I kind of locked in on him and hung with and suddenly we were running by the museum and we were at a mile. I ran that first mile in about 5:40.

It was strange. I was in control. I knew if wanted to avoid a complete meltdown, I had to control my pace and run 3 steady miles or as close as possible, given that the third mile of a 5K after a long layoff will always be a challenge.

We hit the halfway point and then started back towards the finish and I knew I was slowly loosing ground to people behind me- but slowly. I was still running with good form, there was some serious downhill coming (the race this year brining you in on much of the last mile of the New Haven Road Race course. I was slowly being passed by people, and Sean Penn had pulled away, but I was holding on and not only that, I was clearly in position to run under 18:30 when I was expecting to run over 19:00.

I was in a mix of four guys and I was probably 3rd of the four. What I had no idea about was that Charlie Hornak was right behind me and if it had been 3.4 miles, he might just have caught me.

In the end, I was thrilled. Not about running an 18:28. For me an 18:28 kinda of sucks on a flat course.

No, I was thrilled about the way I felt.

But what really made me happy was this. I drank my free Red Hook, then the free Red Hook that Michael got (he was driving), and then my Recoverite. Michael gave me a ride home and I got there and found myself locked out. So what did I do ? I ran another 45 minutes- ran hard. I didn't even feel the beer. I had a great run, and ever since, I've felt like I was ready to go. The race I thought would crush my confidence instead stoked me for the season. I can't wait now....

Beers on Tap: Super Bowl Party

One or more bottles of each will be on tap for our Super Bowl Party:

Lake Placid Ubu Ale
Saranac Irish Stout
Palm Belgian Ale
Bad Elf
Very Bad Elf
Insanely Bad Elf
Brew Dog's Bashah
Harviestoun's Old Engine Oil
Harviestoun's Old Dubh
Harpoon Catamount Maple Wheat
Heavy Seas Below Deck
*Heavy Seas Holy Sheet
Allagash Black
Duvel Special Edition Tripel Hop
Espresso Oak Aged Yeti
Bel Haven Wee Heavy
Sinebrychoff Porter
Avery's Samael's

and coutesry of @poycc
Samuel Smith Imperial Stout
Guiness Extra Stout

*not really as I'll probably drink this tonight

2011 Polar Plunge

Once again it's that time of year where Eric asks me to jump in some freezing cold water to raise money for a worth cause and challenges everyone to collect as much as they can in donations. If you would like to support my plunge effort you can donate on Eric's site through PayPal or send Eric a check as detailed below. Please email me to let me know what you're donating so I have a running total- and THANKS !

Without further cajoling, I'll let you read on. You can also catch this on: http://www.hodska.com/plunge11.htm and note- as a bonus, I'll post pictures Margit takes of me doing the deed (which I hate, I hate cold water) on my blog (http://rochpunk.blogspot.com).

Hi All,

It’s, once again, that time of year. No, it’s not the holiday season I’m talking about. It’s that time of year when I attempt to recruit a number of you to join me in January in jumping into Long Island Sound. “Why would you do something that stupid?” you may ask if you have never done this. If you have, you are probably thinking right now “I was dreading this letter!” Let’s start with a brief history of the event. In 2005 when the Tsunami hit the south pacific, I thought that we could use the Plunge as a way to raise charitable funds for the American Red Cross, which we did quite well. In fact, that year, we organized simultaneous Plunges in Cleveland, New Mexico, and California. In 2006, we continued this terrific annual event, but decided to make it beneficial to someone closer to home. I wanted those that donated to see directly where their generous funds were going. We raised money for a young boy battling cystic fibrosis. The funds we raised helped offset some of his extensive hospital bills and paid for a well needed vacation to Disney. How cool is that! In 2007, we continued the trend of helping children directly in need by donating funds to a family with overwhelming hospital bills due to testing and procedures with their two autistic kids. The money this time paid for the kids to attend a leading autism medical specialist in Boston, one that their insurance wouldn’t pick up. In 2008, the plunge was in honor of Jacob Rainey, a young boy from Stratford, CT battling Kawasaki’s disease. Anyone that attended the plunge that year saw first hand from Jacob and his mother Kathleen how this simple event had so positively affected their lives. In 2009, we raised funds for a family from Farmington whose mother was hit by a drunk driver while riding her bike and has been left a quadriplegic. Last year, the benefit of the Plunge was a young man from Trumbull who was also struck by a drunk driver and left with insurmountable medical bills.

This year, we will be raising funds and awareness for Help Our Military Heroes (HOMH) www.helpourmilitaryheroes.org, a charity set up by my good friend Laurie Hollander who has sons in the military. The funds will benefit disabled veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, many of whom have lost limbs, by purchasing vans and vehicles for these disabled veterans and have them adapted to each soldiers needs. According to Laurie, "Vans cost from $15,000 to $35,000 each which is an incredibly imposing sum of money for many vets. We make sure all the money raised makes it to the vets." I feel this is an extremely important cause this year (they all have been) as we can easily forget that we still have young soldiers over in the Middle East fighting a war for us daily. This is something that is to easy to lose track of, especially as we deal with domestic issues now like the recession – BUT, it’s important that we don’t forget this and that we do our part to support our soldiers. In fact, Laurie said that if we raise over $4000 from the Plunge, she will go in sans swim suit! OK, maybe she didn’t say this but I feel $4000 is a solid goal anyways.

I realize it’s a pain in the ass to raise charitable funds, so at the very least, we are still raising awareness to this cause just by participating or coming out to watch. The goal is still to try and raise a minimum of $100 each. In the four years that we have done the Plunge, we have raised over $64,000, thanks to all of you who have contributed and/or participated. One of my favorite things about the Plunge is the way that it makes those attending smile – even those of us that are stupid enough to Plunge.

If you plunged last year, you need to come back out this year as you were jipped. Last year was close to 50 degrees and sunny out. You want the real deal – the single digit, snow on the ground, wind whipping New England winter weather!

Here is the official information on the upcoming Plunge for:

When: Saturday, January 15, 2011
Where: Southport Beach on Pequot/Beachside Avenue (Exit 18 or 19 off i95)

Even if you are not plunging, please come down, support the event and watch us plunge, even if it’s only me.

Please e-mail me at ehods@earthlink.net if you are planning on being there so I have an idea of a head count.

Each plunger should make an effort to raise $100 to be donated to “Help Our Military Heroes”. You can send checks to me, bring them with you to the plunge, or donate through paypal at www.hodska.com . If you donate through paypal, please send me an email informing me of this, and note it in your paypal donation so that I can then keep track of each individual donation. Email Eric if you want details on sending him a check!

Morning Spin: Nickelback Shuffle

About once every two months I get caught in a situation where it's late- close to 6AM- I need to start my workout and my Apple TV is not connected to my media server (a mac pro).

That's what happened today, so rather than waste time fixing the problem, I just did a simple, but hard, workout.

I set iTunes to shuffle my collect of Nickelback songs and started up my spin. here's what I did:

1 song warm-up in small ring 15
shift up to big ring 23
1 song per gear, starting with 23, shifting down to a harder gear 7 times (8 songs total) at race pace tempo
then shift back up 23 and sprint for one song
shift back to small ring 15 for 1 song cool down

This whole workout is under 45 minutes and really makes you work while taking you through all your gears. It doesn't have to be Nickelback, but you should do a random mix. It's nice as you go from gear to gear to have that variability of 3:30-5:00 per gear. Each time you do this, it will be different and I think that was the point this morning, to get something different.

Hartford Marathon- Praying to the Plastic Gods

It's a lot easier writing up these blog posts when you have a good race, but hey, if you are going to blog your racings it really isn't fair to just blog the good ones, is it ?

Racing for the six straight weekend, I really had five good weeks. Even Firmman, where the time was a little slow, the overall result- second in my age group- was not bad.

I got up to Hartford almost 90 minutes before the marathon yesterday. It was a perfect day- the air was already warming up from what had been (for this year anyway) a cold night. I didn't want it to be cold- I'm not particularly subject to the cold anyway and I'm not one of those people you're going to see with a plastic bag and gloves when it's in the 50s (or ever. The day you see me with a plastic bag covering my torso at a road race, kick me in the knee and shove me off into the grass. If I try to get back up, kick me again...)

I was able to get about 6 rows deep from the start. For those of you who don't know the (latest) new course, it now starts up in the same area as the 5K and you blast down a hill. While this certainly is a fast way to start (and creates a course that probably has a very slight net downhill, might not be the start that everyone wants. I was back and forth early with Maureen Terwilliger, a great runner and a teammate of mine from Hitek. We went through the first mile under 6:40- a little too fast for me.

This would start a pattern. I ran the first 5 miles in the 6:40-6:45 range, which was a little too fast for me.

I was back and forth with a tall guy at this point in the race and a few times I settled in behind him and let him break the wind, but I don't really like running that was. At three miles a guy tried to pass me on the right just as we were about to make a right hand turn. I squeezed him off- the first of several times. I think I'm been doing triathlon too long because I cannot tolerate someone trying to squeeze by on the right hand side at a curb (or kerb).

I took a cliff shot at 4 miles and kept sipping at my heed. I recently got a container of Strawberry Heed and after doing two races with it I can say that the flavour or something simply doesn't mix with Cliff Shots or Gu. More on that later. At Mile 21 or so...

The miles ticked off pretty quickly. Five, six. I was back and forth with a tall guy at this point in the race and a few times I settled in behind him and let him break the wind, but I don't really like running that was. So I pulled even with him now and then and finally I dropped him.

Around mile 8, after going back over the overpass and heading out towards the out and back, I told Maureen that I was going to drop off a little bit. The pace was too fast. the conservative thing to do would have been to go out running 6:50s and then hold them.

Instead I ran a bunch of 6:40s and then had to take it down a notch.

My other long running races have been successful because I held back until late.

By mile 9, I could tell I was going to really be cutting it close on the three hours. The math isn't that hard to do. It's the same as the Ironman. The math becomes a sort of hostile entity when you aren't going fast enough, but you have to put it out of your mind because otherwise you have 'the thought'.

I only had 'the thought' once during the run. Around mile 11 I thought to myself 'Why did I want to do this?'

This is the killer question. Get this in your head and you might as well go home and stick pins in your feet. Why am I out here, why did I want to do this, etc...

In my defence, I did not spend a month or two training for the race. I did not, to be fair, train for the race at all. I had run 90 minutes outside of races only once in the preceding six weeks and that was the day before the New Haven Road Race 20K.

I had literally signed up for the race the day before. I mean, who does that ? This was a marathon after all, not a 5K or something. So I had to bin the thought a lot more forcefully than usual, because I didn't have the usual 'I've spent months getting ready for this, this is my big day, etc' to call on.

Fortunately, a fellow triathlete came up along side me and asked me which raced I'd done this year. I told him Lake Placid and then he told me that he was doing it in 2011 and that he really needed to work on it because the bike was his week leg. I gave him some advice based on what he said his weaknesses on the bike. We ran together for about a mile and then I let him go. I was definitely struggling as I went through miles 11 and 12. I took my Cliff Shot at 12 miles and ran through to 13 right on 7:00, which was a bit slow. But the miles were still going by.

However, I was not feeling good, and I knew why. It was ironic because I'd just read the article in ESPN magazine about intestinal distress. The brain does not want the body to stop at moments like this, but the body functions less and less efficiently the long you go without relief. And the brain can be a powerful thing- the inclination to never stop is so strong. It's a race. The idea that you'll spend race time sitting in a porta-potty praying to the plastic gods while people are burying you is so poisonous that.

I ran like this, debating it for about 40 minutes, then finally after downing my 16 mile Gu, I pulled into a porta-potty. It took me twenty seconds, and let me tell you, it was worth every second. I'll spare you the gory details.

After that I ran well. Yes, a lot of people had passed me but I quickly started reeling people in and I had three really good miles after that.There's no question that the plastic gods answered the prayer my bowels prayed that morning.

Mile 20 was the deciding mile of the race. I was starting to slow, but ironically, I was still passing people. As the wreckage accumulated around me- one guy running the wrong way with a number on, another woman sitting on the side of the road, her boyfriend urging her to get back up- I just kept that forward progress up.

I'd decided the day before that mile 20 would be a fuel-optional nutrition point. I wasn't sure I could take five gels- that's pretty aggressive. But it seemed like all my fuel stores were either exhausted or just off-line. I needed the calories, so I opened the gel and squeezed it all into my mouth. I immediately gagged. However, like I've done in numerous races, like I will never do again, I swallowed the gel. I am a stubborn human being.

I'd forced myself to go the bathroom. Good move. I forced myself to eat.

Bad move.

I continues to blunder forward. I was running pretty crappy, but I was still amazingly passing people, and I was basically not being passed. I couldn't believe it. I started thinking about visiting the loo a second time, but that well was dry. That wasn't the problem. I kept moving. I kept running. I-

I got two steps away from vomiting, and that's when I stopped running and started walking. Look, I never want to walk. Ever. Never. It cuts me to the bone just to admit that I walked. But if I hadn't stopped to walk I would have almost immediately stopped to vomit, and that would have ended my race.

I walked about 400 meters. People encouraged me by name to get moving again. Lee Bradley ran by me going the other way. Jamie went by me. I started running again before the on-ramp- or off-ramp, it's some kind of frakking ramp. I wasn't running hard and got passed by some more people and dropped by others, but as I ran back into the city and towards Bushnell Park I started passing people again.

I finished in a 3:07 something. As always when I'm embarrassed, I have not looked at the results. So yeah, I'm embarrassed at not breaking three hours, for walking a quarter of a mile.

I also recognise that I ran a 3:07 with no training at all, raced six straight weeks ending with this marathon, and hey, I got a big ass medal and a decent shirt. And I didn't have to wear socks thanks to my Zoots.

Verdict: It could have been worse.

When the Season Ends

Every year I reach a point at the end of the season where it hits me. I'm not going to win a race this year...

I'll be in the middle of some workout one day and it will just come to me. I'm not exactly an epic planner- I sort of just plod along through the season, especially after my a-race is gone- so it's not about knowing that I'm planning to do races I can't win (besides Christopher Martins of course), but rather just a sort of intuition. That was last Saturday. I went riding with two of my Force 5 teammates and the weather had just turned colder. I had an OK ride, but not great and as always happens when the temperature first takes a 15-20 degree drop, I felt winded at the top of the biggest climbs.

But it was on the brick run afterwards that I had the thought. I was running easy, either because I was half-planning to race the next day or because I just didn't have much- I'd gone hard when I was sick earlier in the week, an unusual cold. But as I was running down along the water backwards on the Branford Road Race course I thought about how I just wasn't going to win any races this year. I'd come short at Brian's and really not even had any races that I'd had much of a shot at- I'd hardly raced before Placid and after Placid I'd run three USATF championship races- one a National Championship- and done three triathlons.

I'm not sure what I expect anyway. i'm 45 years old. Why am I even thinking about winning races at this age ? And what difference does it make. Maybe I'll never win another race...

Sunday I had two options, running 75 minutes at 0700h or waiting and running a 3.5 mile 'trail' race at 10AM.

I got up a little after 6, read my email, looked at the weather, played some games and decided that the race was better option. But I wanted to be good and warmed up, and Margit was going to meet me at the race about half an hour before the start so it wasn't going to happen before the race, not with day of registration and so on. So Itried something I had never done before.

I did Spinervals, Aero Base Builder III, an hour long aerobic-effort spin session from 0715-0815. I got a good spin in- my muscles were warm and loose, and I finished the workout ready to go.

I got to the race about half an hour before the start, registered, exchanged Ian, and started warming up.

Because of the spin I was in good shape. I just needed to do strides. I walked my stuff down to Steve Surprise's house and started doing strides. This gave me a chance to evaluate the other people that were there. While it wasn't a deep crowd- just about 150 people, there were two guys I were pretty sure I didn't have to worry about because I would have no chance of beating them, younger guys, taller, leaner, the right type of equipment. That took a little bit of the edge off.

The race started though, and it didn't go the way I thought. Right off the bat, I got an idea exactly how the race was going to be. There was one guy ahead of me- grey-haired, probably around 50, and me.

I settled in behind him as we ran away from Tommy Sullivan's and towards the park.

I didn't want to take the lead early, so as we followed the police car into the Supply Pond, I hung right on him. It was a good pace, I was running hard but I felt like there was room for more.

Then we turned off the road to the left, running across the field that leads to the trails just inside the Supply Pond. For some reason the other runner took the left hand side of the field which I didn't understand because the righthand side was the shorter path. I decided it was time to make my move.

I went by the guy guy on his right and burst into the trail in the woods.

I run well on trails, especially trails like the ones in the Supply Pond that are not technical. After attending Eric Hodska's Lake Placid Camp in June and picking my way over rocks, stumps, and running in stream beds, the flat lazy trails in the Supply Pond are not a challenge. I opened up my stride and started running with as much authority as I could, because that's all that trail running really is. It's running confidently.

I established my lead right away and put the hammer down. Now that I was out in front, just a day off knowing- knowing- I wasn't going to win any races this year, I knew there was only one approach that I could take, and that was to take the lead and run with it.

At about a mile, I got some bad directions and started down the wrong path. The volunteer blocking the path I was supposed to take seemed a little bit offended that I went the wrong way, but it was no harm no foul and I was able to get back on course without giving the lead up. After that I was on trails I know pretty well and I expanded my lead steadily. I never looked back, never listened for the other runners, but I could tell I was comfortably off the front. I still ran as though the rest of the field was bearing down on me though.

I made the two mile mark up a hill and started back towards the way we'd come in. I was feeling good, running hard in in control of the race. Then on the way back out a rotund runner who a late mid packer still only at about a mile said 'You're going the wrong way'. While it was true that I was going the opposite direction of the way the people headed out were going, the course is an out and back, and therefore I was not going the 'wrong way', I was just a lot faster than this guy. Still, having never done the race, I stopped, panicked.

That lasted about one second. Then my brain caught up. Was I running the wrong way ? Probably not. If I was, could I fix it by turning around ? No. I started running again, harder to make up the lost time and also because I was a little mad.

As I wound my way back I knew I'd made the right choice. I broke out of the woods back into the field. There was a van waiting for the first runner- me- and I followed it back onto the tarmac.

I went through 3 miles in 18:07. I then hit the 5K mark and from that point it was uphill. I moderated my effort until I could see the finish line and then I went for it.

I won the race by 25 seconds.

I got a nice trophy and a big shoutout is owed to @soundrunner as they provided a 100.00 gift certificate.

The lesson I learned is you can't make assumptions about the direction of your season until December 31st.

To re-inforce that, I decided to run the Hartford Marathon. Today- just 24 hours before the race.

Time to get some sleep. i have a marathon in the morning....

Last Big Workout

In about 45 minutes we start our last bug workout, two loops of the bike course followed by a short run on the course.

Today's swim is already over. When was the last time I swam at 6 AM ? At Yale probably six years ago.

Bike Loop- Day 1

Just some quick notes on the bike loop we did:

Horrible speed wobble at one point on the first of the two steepest descents. We actually stopped to check our bikes. Each of us thought it was just us. We all thought we were going to crash !

Eric says I am still pushing the hills too hard, like I think I have something to prove and it hurts my running.

Morning Trail Run

Just wanted to post a brief note that our hour forty-five minute trail run totally kicked ass this morning.

We went way off road through the bog and climbed up to a spectacular lookout. It was a blast and Eric did a great job keeping us all together the whole time.

Tri-Camp Day Zero

After a four and a half hour drive, I got to Lake Placid about 10 minutes before the start of the optional swim that opened this year's camp.

I was not 100% sure I should get in- the thought of a major bacteriological sinus infection interrupting my enjoyment of camp wasn't high on my to do list, but after all, I'd driven up here for camp, to get in as much training as possible.

After swimming 1.2 miles, I was energized. It felt great. I just jumped in the lake and swam and except for when we stopped to talk at the turn around and I had to tread water, it wasn't that hard.

Dinner at Nicoloas on Main was great- I got to catch up with Big Rocks, who I haven't seen in a long time.

Now though, I'm looking at a two hour run on three or four hours sleep- yes, the sinus infection rolled in like an Adirondack thunderstorm. Hopefully, the run will clear my head.

Otherwise that loop of the bike course is going to be rough...

Zanes !

We all have our bike shops, but I have to throw it out there for Zanes.

I noticed that there was a hairline crack in the upper screw hole of my stem last Saturday. Being an idiot, I looked at it carefully and decided that yes, I could ride on that. And I did, making it through two and half hours that turned the crack from a hairline to a lightning crack.

I took the bike into Zanes on Sunday and left it. Now I have an oddball Easton stem on the bike, so I wasn't expecting much. It's also worth noting this is a bike that I didn't buy from them, but rather from Elite. So they have no investment in it at all, although they frequently make me feel like they've made an investment in me.

Why ?

I went in Thursday and picked up the bike and they'd replaced the Easton stem with a close to perfect Bontrager stem, lined everything up just so, and even retrieved the old stem (with the Ironman Arizona) sticker on it.

The cost ? Nothing. Nada. Not a penny. Even if the part was just lying in drawer on the bench, it takes a while to remove a stem, replace it, and make sure everything is just so.

I rode the bike hard Friday- two hours at time trial pace- and never once thought about the new stem or my position on the bike despite being aero about 1:50 of the 2:00.

This is why you love your local bike shop. Admit it, you do. Because they take care of you. They treat you like an asset instead of a commodity. Because the guys there ride too and they get it...

Zoot Ultra Tempo 3.0 Review

First, let me tell you what I think the perfect training running shoe is.

The perfect shoe will be: lightweight, responsive, with a relatively soft mid-sole. The perfect shoe will also allow me to run without socks.

The Zoot Tempo promises sock free running, however, I've been burned on this before and I have the blood stained shoes in my closet to prove it. They are also light weight- very light-weight for trainers.

And at north of one hundred dollars, with discount, they aren't the sort of shoe you buy on a whim and wear a few times before deciding that they don't really fit your needs. Not that Soundrunner wouldn't have accommodated me if I were really unhappy with them.

So, despite having bought them because of the good experiences I had with the TT, I was skeptical that I'd really be satisfied with these shoes.

Admission: I am in love with my running shoes.

I've done half a dozen runs in these shoes now. Except for the day it was 45 degrees out, all have been without socks, including a 75 minute trail run with Eric Hodska.

There are two factors I consider when evaluating a shoe- do they perform well, and am I comfortable in them. On both counts the Tempo has exceeded my expectations. This shoe is insanely responsive for a trainer, and stunningly comfortable. They truly do offer sock-free running, and that is giant bonus I can't oversell. At the same time, you feel like you are flying when you are running in them, and I've noticed the pace of my training runs has improved since I started wearing them.

Of course, as a light-weight trainer, the shoe is most definitely not for everyone. But if it is, I highly recommend getting to your local Zoot distributor- Soundrunner in Branford is one- and at least trying this shoe on. If you are a triathlete, you will not regret giving this shoe a stroll around the block.

My new team sweatshirt

Today's Spin

Here's another spin that I created on the fly because my Apple TV decided it no longer wanted to talk to my Mac Mini where all my Spinerval sessions are stored.

This is an aerobic or high aerobic workout. It assumes you have ten gears. If you have 9, do two the first rep in each set for two minutes instead of one. If you have an 8-speed, then do the first two reps for two minutes instead of one.

I have 650 wheels and a 54 inch front ring. I also have my trainer tension higher than the tension I face on the road, so understand your cadence might be different. Finally, the middle rep is supposed to be the hardest, bring the majority of the third rep back down even if it seems too easy because when you get to the last couple of gears, you will work hard.

10 minute warm-up in small ring 15

1st set
1 minute big-ring 23 cadence 100
1 minute big-ring 21 cadence 95
1 minute big-ring 19 cadence 90
1 minute big-ring 18 cadence 85
1 minute big-ring 17 cadence 80
1 minute big-ring 15 cadence 75
1 minute big-ring 14 cadence 70
1 minute big-ring 13 cadence 67
1 minute big-ring 12 cadence 63
1 minute easy spin small ring 15

2nd set
1 minute big-ring 23 cadence 105
1 minute big-ring 21 cadence 100
1 minute big-ring 19 cadence 95
1 minute big-ring 18 cadence 90
1 minute big-ring 17 cadence 85
1 minute big-ring 15 cadence 80
1 minute big-ring 14 cadence 75
1 minute big-ring 13 cadence 72
1 minute big-ring 12 cadence 68
1 minute easy spin small ring 15

3rd set
1 minute big-ring 23 cadence 100
1 minute big-ring 21 cadence 95
1 minute big-ring 19 cadence 90
1 minute big-ring 18 cadence 85
1 minute big-ring 17 cadence 80
1 minute big-ring 15 cadence 75
1 minute big-ring 14 cadence 72
1 minute big-ring 13 cadence 69
1 minute big-ring 12 cadence 66
1 minute easy spin small ring 15

5 minute cool down

Morning Spin from Coach Eric

Today's workout

10 minute warm up
2 X 3:30 High C 54/17 with 30 seconds rest
2 X 3:30 High C 54/19 with 30 seconds rest
2 X 3:30 High C 54/21 with 30 seconds rest
2 X 3:30 High C 54/23 with 30 seconds rest
2 X 3:30 High C 54/12 with 30 seconds rest

5 minutes cool down

Phrases I thought about during the workout (you may recognize the source): 'Anyone can suffer for another two and half minutes', 'this rep can make or break your workout', and 'have some pride'

Volume

This weekend marked a return to some decent volume- 3 hour ride, 20 minute run Saturday (brick), then a two hour run Sunday morning with a one-hour spin in the afternoon.

I'd been racing- duathlons and road races- and even though the road race was a half-marathon, I know how the game goes. If you don't get in some two hour runs and some longer rides you might just as well as the people at the Ironman to change your first name to 'Toast' and wear that out on the course, especially in Lake Placid, where a lack of preparation is akin to an invitation to pain and suffering.

While volume isn't precisely fun, it can be fairly enjoyable, if it's done right. Which hopefully it was. I certainly felt like the ride, for a group ride, was actually some pretty good training as we had a good ten people in the ground.

I did a good portion of my long run with @poycc and a good bit with Steve Surprise and that's the nice thing about having teammates- you get to share your long runs, and to be honest, I can ride alone for five hours and enjoy it more than running alone for two.

Great weather never hurts, and we had that, but the big thing is that feeling that, with the Ironman now insight, that the hard work is starting. And that I'm OK with it and ready for it.

The next six to eight weeks is going to make or break my race.

That doesn't make me nervous. Not anymore.

The Long Run

I'm taking a week off and skipping a duathlon I'd really like to do- Greenwich- to get in a long run.

It wasn't any easy decision, but my coach asked me if I was racing this weekend, and after racing two of the last three (Danbury Half Marathon three Sundays ago, a 90 minute run two Sundays ago and duathlon last Sunday, it was a no brainer that I needed to get in a long run.

When I emailed him my response, his reply was one word 'Agreed.'

That's all I need to know.

I'll be running two hours Sunday- say hi if you see me...

Frank Deford- A Rebuttal

Frank Deford- who is a fantastic and venerated sportswriter- recently returned to a topic that the Ben Roethlisberger debacle provided an opening for- that athletes should not be role models.

While I respect Deford immensely, I could not disagree with him more in his conclusion.

I think it's fairly simply really. Athletes- professional athletes- are paid millions of dollars to be in the public eye, to be the face of multi-million dollar partners in a multi-million dollar enterprise. It's not about being role models to children, although there's no reason they shouldn't be that as well.

They are being paid a large sum of money for the privilege of being professional athletes. It's not unreasonable to expect them to behave.

The idea that they should be given a pass because they are 'only athletes' just doesn't hold water. Now, if they'd like to play for free, then I think we could be a little less demanding that they, say, not the same laws we are not allowed to break without consequence.

iPad- More New Apps

A few days later, I added these three, all of which I recommend:

1 Toy Story Read-Along, v1.0.1, Seller: Disney Publishing Worldwide Applications (4+)
2 Star Walk for iPad - interactive astronomy guide, v4.1, Seller: Vito Technology Inc. (4+)
3 The Guardian Eyewitness, v1.0, Seller: Guardian News & Media Ltd (12+)