Nutmegman Half-Ironman, Part II

Any questions about what this bike course would be like were answered in the first mile. The climb out of the park was just that. A climb. As Mandy had warned, there was a downhill and a sharp turn. Then you started climbing again.

Or rather, I started climbing again. Since this is my only actual skill on a bicycle, this is a good thing. The bad thing was that the cable for my rear derailleur is so badly stretched out that there's just no way that I can get into the low gear, or get into it without risking throwing the chain. So I put it in 21 and started climbing. I wanted to save big ring 23 for the really bad climbs and also while I've never snapped a chain- I'm no Eric Hodska- I have blown up more than one rear derailleur on a training ride.

I was breathing hard. While I'd had a great swim for me, I was still tired, and not only that, my left ear was plugged shut and no amount of banging on my helmet could fix it. It would stay plugged for about 25 miles, kind of affecting my balance.

Margit's lead was not insurmountable. I caught her about 7 or 8 miles in. On one hand it always makes me feel good to catch her because she's such an awesome swimmer and no slouch on the bike. But at the same time, I feel bad. That's probably not a big lift for her for me to pass her.

I ate some blocks, drank some Gatorade and worked my way by people, then got out to 188. I started what is really a kind of stair-step set of climbs, up, up, and up. This was some hard work, with no access to the small front ring. And I have an oversized big ring.

I saw the first cyclist, the race leader, headed downhill, in the aero blazing along as I climbed at 10 mph. Then I saw another. I started counting. At eight, I stopped counted and I made a decision. I decided that I really would be patient today, that I would keep it in my head that this bike loop would have to be ridden three times and I didn't need to get where I wanted to be- top 3- on the first lap. Or the second.

Still, I was moving up pretty well, and then I hit that damn hill Mandy said was a 2-6 minute climb. I went to big ring 23 and stood halfway up and stamped up the hill using my Thomas Voekler impression- yes, it's ugly. I passed a CT Heat athlete and he said 'That's not fair.' He caught me again on the next downhill and I let him get 5 bike lengths and then got back to work. He was a little heavier than me, so he had good momentum on the downhills but never really opened a gap. There were four or five people in a clump at the end of the 188 section and I set my sights on them.

We turned onto Hull Hill's road. He started making his passes as did I, but the gap between us vanished and I decided I was going to have to pick it up a notch and get out in front, which I did.

The first loop of a multi-loop course is the best one in some ways because you know what you are doing. Once you get on that second loop, things start to get a little confusing. After this group that I'd passed, the number of people in front of me was small enough that there was no regular pattern of catch and pass.

There was also no chance to establish a smooth rhythm on the course. It continued to either go uphill or downhill, and not little gradient changes either.

The second loop of the course cut out the climb out of the park, and actually basically began with some nice downhill, but twisty so you had to be reasonably careful- followed by a 90 degree left-hand turn and you guessed it, more climbing. This climbing was a fairly short section followed by one of the more twisty downhills. On this second loop, I noticed that when we descended, everyone was looking back a lot. Worried about the people coming up behind them ? I guess it might have been about safety...

Although there wasn't a ton of people in the race you never really felt alone and you never went that long without seeing your fellow athletes. I went by one who I'd been closing on- he'd parked the bike and ducked (just barely) off the road to urinate. I'd found a flat/downhill section on the first loop to do that while riding. I never saw him again.

Back out on 188, I was starting to tire of the big-ring climbs...

As I went up the last climb going out, I passed the one of the top two women. I needed a second to collect myself and she decided to pass me back, which really annoyed me. Mostly because I knew once we finished peaking, that I was going to be going by her again on the downhill in about ten seconds, and I would have to do it with auto traffic on my back- there were two cars halfway up the hill and closing fast. With cars and bikes on the other side of the road, there was a potential for the pass to be dicey, but at the speed I'd be going it would be pass or crash (or brake).

That's exactly what happened. I blew by her on the downhill just as a car went by, but oh well, that's what you get for trying to manage everything in your head instead of just going with the flow of the moment.

I hit the turn-around and had already dropped her. I got halfway up that big climb again and decided I had to try and get into the small ring. My legs weren't burning or anything. I just was not climbing efficiently. I eased the lever down, gave a gentle down stroke with my left foot and it went into the small ring.

I got to the top of the hill and considered just leaving it there in the small ring, but of course that was a ridiculous idea. I had to go back to the big ring, and then was able to get back to the small ring on the next hill. After that, I stayed in the big ring until the third loop.

I felt like I was starting to get some rhythm as I hit Hull's Hill road again. My speed was still averaging below 20 MPH I think, but then again, I'll never know....

I started the third loop chasing a guy that was about 200 yards ahead of me. I knew now anyone I caught I was going to have to put time into because I was starting to overtake people that might be competitive on the run. However, I was also lapping people (that had started late in the second lap) and that always makes for a confusing journey. I did get past him finally and we both passed a third person- I had to work on the downhills because he was definitely riding aggressively on Bower and Oneill. I turned back onto 188 and started climbing. When I got to the first real hill, I popped my chain into the small ring, excited about having the option.

It came off instead of shifting down. I tried reseating it by shifting up but it wasn't having it so I hoped off. I got passed by the guy I'd just passed. He asked if I needed help, I said no and grabbed the chain with my right hand and reseated it on the big ring. Normally I try to use a finger, but in a race- my whole hand was covered in grease, which I wiped on my shorts.

I passed the guy again on the next hill and built a small lead into the turn-around. Taller, leaner, he looked like he'd give me a run for my money on the downhills- I mean, he looked like a cyclist/triathlete after all. So I decided that I had to get into the small ring on the biggest hill- halfway up I did, and it was the last hill I climbed in the small ring in the race. Then I really absolutely bombed down all those hills on 188 like someone was chasing me to do violence.

After I turned onto Hull Hill that last time, I ate some food, drank some gatorade and what do you know ? I caught some people. I thought maybe they were second lap people, so after I got a small gap, I got up as much momentum as I could and peed. I immediately got passed back. One of the guys, in yellow, had a 41 on his calf. We started climbing the last hill before Maple Tree Round and something big and black went by me just as I was about to pass this guy.

I looked down. My brand new computer was gone. I looked at that 41 and decided to keep climbing. Turned out he was on his third lap.

I never really gapped the guy and as we got onto Georges he was pushing me. The road down was rough and there was that sharp turn, so I let him by and concentrated on staying back and giving him room.

He beat me into transition, and I beat him out.

Next: The run

Nutmegman Half-Ironman, Part I

Sometimes, an A race sneaks up behind you and hits you over the head when you aren't expecting it.

Once again, I want to preface this by saying that this race was really well run. I've been to races 10 time this size that were half as well run. The venue was very well thought out- parking was close to transition, there was a real bathroom, the whole area showed a lot of forethought in the setup. While the crowd that showed up to race was game, I hope that next year there's a bigger turn-out.

I got almost no sleep the night before the race. Could have been anywhere between 15 minutes and two hours, but it was pretty weak. I was dreaming at five am when Margit woke me up- that I was in NYC trying to find someone without a cell phone. This dream, by the way, sucks.

I got up and immediately nearly choked to death on a whole wheat mini-bagel. I didn't know they made whole wheat mini bagels, and I had even less of an idea how freaking dry they are, or how bad an idea it might be to try and gaffle one down after being awake for thirty seconds. I sent one of my host's bananas after down after it and started thinking about how that all would taste coming back at me in the water.

Still, it was great of Helena and Chuck to host us and it's pretty rude for me to complain about their food- but completely right to point out my own stupidity.

The pre-race was pretty laid back. The mist was laying pretty hard on the water and when Mandy announced the half-hour delay there was no bitching and moaning from the assembled athletes. That was good, because as much as a shortened swim is usually good for me, that would have sucked for the race. Margit and I spent some time talking to John about how they'd had to pull the weeds from the first 100 yards of the swim.

Then, it was time to start. That was pretty laid back. The men started off, and we had a fairly good sight line to the first green bouys. There was some jostling early but I just put my head down. So many races the swim starts and there are bodies everywhere and I feel like if I put my head down, someone will kick me, there's no water to catch, and all that. So I put my head down, I started swimming, and wow, that works. You can catch water even when everyone around you is beating the hell out of it. I know anyone who is a swimmer already knows that.

Once we got to the inner markers, it was a little crazy out to the outer markers. There was a boat with police rack lights on it and you couldn't even see that at first. I could also smell the bacteria in the lake- by 9 that night my nose was running faster than I had.

At the turn, I was farther over to the right than anyone around me and one of my competitors yelled 'Hey Buddy, over here.'

Thanks- I had just caught sight of the buoy and the encouragement was welcome.

There were two buoys at the far end of the course and yes, the women who started two minutes behind me where already swimming over me.

I swam back in with a lot more confidence and did my best to get in line with other swimmers and not be so far off to the right it was crazy, with mixed results. I finally climbed out of the water, ran along the beach, and then jumped back in.

Second loop, same as the first. I really felt like I had a good swim, although I have a feeling the course was short. I'd be amazed if I could swim a 1:07:58 in an IRonman, but I'll take a sub-34 half-iron swim, that's for sure.

Transition was slow. Too slow. I decided on a cycling jersey, but putting an unzipped jersey on in transition is not as easy as in my closet. I tried gloves but gave that up as too complicated, then stuffed each pocket of the jersey with one type of item- blocks, gels, and endurolytes. The whole time, John Hirsch, doing great work as MC, was telling me about how big and getting bigger Margit's lead was, suggesting at one point it might be insurmountable.

Nutmegman Half-Ironman

I'll write my race report tomorrow, because I have a day off, but I wanted to get a few thoughts down, because wow, I had a decent race- and some fun.

This was a great race. Mandy did an awesome job of setting up a fair, challenging, well-marked course that was well supplied, well-staffed. The swag was the best I've seen in years. And John- anyone who plays not one but 10 NIN songs on request is a man among men. Awesome.

Backstory- Last year I finished third at what was at the time Connecticut's other half-ironman, Extrememan in Madison. This was a disappointment. With only 75 people in the race, I finished 3rd because I couldn't keep track of where I was on the race, and when, thinking I was fourth of fifth and started to melt down on the run, I didn't fight it. I was in second at the time and closing on a win.

Fast forward a year- Extrememan didn't survive, and Nutmegman was moved to a new, closer venue very close to some great babysitting- Margit's friend Helena. So we both signed up. And as I wrote yesterday, my goal was just to have a solid race and undo the damage I'd done last week at Hammerfest. I just wanted to have some fun on what I was sure would be a challenging course, be solid, swim well. This sport is hard work, but on a good day it's tremendously rewarding and a lot of fun.

Then I get my race number. 4. Bret Favre's number. I admit it. I felt a little pressure there. And I slept like it.

New race goal- sleep like I sleep before IMLP 2006 (7 hours straight through). Not 2 hours. Maybe 3. Felt like 0.

And the end result. As John pointed out as I was finishing, they called it right. I finished 4th. I earned the number, maybe even deserved the number. And hey, a number is just that. Meaningless. It's how you race. Today's was good.

Number 4 ?

I'm doing a half-ironman in the morning, and the plan was to use it as a warm-up for Florida, which means concentrating on mechanics and form and just having a solid, but not spectacular race, not worrying about my age group or anything else.

That plan goes like this:

Swim: Concentrate on taking a longer, slower pull. That means being less tired because I'll be reducing my turnover. The goal for Florida is to swim faster, but in the short-term this strategy will probably slow me down.

Bike: Knees into the top-tube, high cadence, steady effort.

Run: Have the last mile within 15 seconds of the first mile. That means running more like it's an Ironman than a half-ironman.

In short- the goal was to race this race like it was an Ironman and use that experience for a springboard. Then I showed up at packet pick-up and the number I got ?

4...

Regardless of how I do I want to thank Mandy for getting Margit and I set and I'll thank John ahead of time for being there to pump us up and cheer us on...

ps- still have the same goal. an A race is an A race.

Hard Easy Run

Today was one of those days I don't usually have.

I had two runs today- 45 minutes at lunch and an hour after work. I had a great run at lunch- very motivated, everything felt good, the music was sweet. It was a great break in another long day.

Then I came home. I stopped at the grocers and again at the Buds. I grabbed a Heath bar and gaffled it down before my run and that was probably a bad move.

I was on the road as quickly as you can be when you are feeding four cats every day. The run started off slow. The first seven and a half minutes took eight minutes, or rather, it took eight minutes to get where I wanted to be at 7:30. It was a nice late afternoon run, it was sunny, just barely warm enough. But I didn't really feel that good. I felt like I had little or no energy, like I was struggling to keep my pace.

I ran out through the marsh on the nature trail and the first half of the run just never clicked. This was the second late-afternoon run in the last month that felt this way- not my A game, that's for sure. But then I hit the turn-around, and things started to click. I no longer felt all wrong- whatever that means- I started getting my stride, the music sounded better.

Moral of the story: Don't snarf down a candy bar and go running for an hour....

Mouse Update

The same mouse somehow got into the house- apparently when I went out for my ride yesterday. No question this was the same one. My cat Tremmy caught it and then I released it to the wild....

Hammerfest Triathlon

This race is best seen in the bookends.

One bookend- my wife is primarily responsible for setting up the registration materials for the race, assigning numbers and waves, and so on. She went to drop off the registration packs at the race venue at around 10:30 PM the night before the race. She comes back at 11:10 PM- and tells me there's a mouse in her car (it had been living in a friend's shop vacuum used to blow up the buoys). Guess who was on mouse patrol.

Other bookend- Sunday afternoon, after a few hours to recover and a big (for me) lunch, I did my 90 minute run, to try and salvage the day. About 45 minutes in Depeche Mode's Precious was up on the iPod, and that run, in searing sun and heat that brought a thick haze to the shoreline, got good really quick.

http://www.plattsys.com/results/res2008/hammer.htm

I had to wait for Ian to wake up, then get him dressed and ready to go to the race. So I got there a little late, there was no one to watch him as I searched for a rack or racked my stuff. By the time I got in the rough water, it was 7:20, 10 minutes before race-time.

I was not ready to swim in the chop. I needed a good 10-15 minute warmup, and that didn't happen. That's my fault- as a result, I had a slow swim. That's all there is to it- it was slow.

I came out of the water right behind Steve Surprise, who started 3 minutes after me. We had roughly even transitions. I rode him down somewhere around the hill by Tom Girard's house. I then worked my way up on the first loop, then the chaos began. The second loop is full of first-loopers from other waves. Usually, you still pick up plenty of people in the second loop from your wave, but two athletes I know suggested that maybe the large group of people from my wave in front of me were taking advantage of one another's pace. Who knows ? I did not catch enough people on the bike.

I had a good run. I took out about 15 people, but that only worked me up to twentieth place. I ran by Joe Whalen, and he encouraged me to get my ass in gear and catch the people in front of me, some of whom I did.

Bottom line- I raced poorly. It felt like my second race of the season. It looked like the second race of my season.

I had a good run in the afternoon. That made me feel a lot better. Sunday is a half-ironman, and there, I have to race well.

Madison Triathlon- er, Duathlon

It's been a long week since the race, but I thought I should get a few thoughts down about the race. The Madison race is one of three multi-sport races that I'm involved in- I set up the bike course for Brian's Beachside Boogie and just got back from packet-stuffing for Hammerfest, where I'll be setting up transition with some other people Saturday.

When we set up the Madison transition Saturday there was a lot of talk about what to do if we had miserable weather, which was the forecast, and we decided that we do a short (1.1/1.2 mile) run out behind the parking area if the swim was cancelled due to the rough weather.

On race day, I didn't get there until 6AM, so I missed the period of time where the water was rough and the decision to cancel the swim.

I spent that hour chalk-spraying the first and last quarters of the run (the rest was on a field), trying to get cars moved, and finally, doing the bike safety talk a few minutes before the race.

Once the race started, I headed out on the course with my mountain bike-it was raining lightly as I hit the first volunteer areas- some of them were still waiting in their cars and I was yelling 'they're coming'. The first men from the elite wave overtook me in about ten minutes and from that point I kind of rode back and forth on the course, stopping to help a few people who had issues, talking to volunteers and doing some very minimal repositioning (they mostly know what they are doing after so many years), and pretty soon, it was pouring rain, Lake Placid style. That only lasted a few moments.

I came in right at the back of the pack and cleared the way through the runners for the last woman, then went out to the first turn on the run course and helped out there.

I have to say that the athletes were very understanding about the format change and also very good-natured about the rain, the humidity (100% at least) and the whole day went really well.

The guy that should get a special pat on the back is Steve Surprise. With the race director out of town, the Jaycees leaned on Steve for advice and he did a great job tying a lot of things together. Way to go, Steve

New Haven Road Race 2008- Part II

So we turned onto Long Wharf. There was some wind, and it's a long stretch so you can see a lot of people. I worked on taking each pass slowly, and this was an area where there was plenty of opportunity to move up. I saw someone I know pretty well slip into a porta-potty- felt bad for him. You have to go bad when you stop during a 20K and it cost him.

Eric just kept up the pace. It was hard to tell which one of us was exactly setting the pace and I don't think either of us was entirely. We were both just running. I tried to give him a little extra room in the turns because when your quad is hurting, changing direction is tough.

The attrition started to become more visible. We went by people who were walking, stopping at the aid stations. Once in a while, someone tried to run with us as went by. I told Eric he should go if he was ready, but he stayed with me and we just kept moving up.

That was pretty much it until we went into the park. A woman went by us and that was what Eric needed to shake out the discomfort in his leg. By the time we'd finished climbing the hill and going down the other side to where the bagpipes were, he had a good 15 seconds on me. As I went over the bridge, I saw George Buchanan in the distance.

EH caught him, and they both took off- so much for catching up to George and getting a super-fast finish.

To be honest, the last two miles I felt like I was not really at that next level. However, in the last .4 miles, it all came together. I passed about half a dozen people including one of the elite runners right on the line.

Then it was beer and hanging out with friends, and all in all, a good day. I managed to trim 30 seconds off last year's time, down some serious Red Hook, and then mow the lawn...

New Haven Road Race 2008- Part I

It's a strange thing, this road race.

The 20k is one of the races I've run just about every year since I started running again. In fact, I just looked up the results and was surprised to find that this was my tenth straight year running. It was also my third slowest time, but in a pattern that's more positive, it was another race that I ran faster than the previous two years.

My plan was simple this year. Don't run crazy the first 10K, then try and work my way back into the race in the back half. I wasn't really sure where I was at- I'd swum in the Sound the day before and for the first time this year I'd gotten really stuffed up.

The race is hard in that there are so many talented runners there. I start in row 2B/3A, which is pretty close to the front. I always see a lot of people I know there. I ended starting right next to Pat Dennen, who is getting married- congratulations, Pat. Also right near me were Eric and George Buchanan. Eric was planning to try and run sixes and I joked with him about that, because he always says that.

We'd agreed to bring in Ryan Shea's dad to talk before the race start, and John Courtmanche was up there to introduce him even though John himself was running the 20k. Let me stop and say that until I joined the board of the road race, I had no idea what all needs to be done to get this race off the ground, and no one does more important work than John, our board president and a great guy. I've never seen him go five minutes without smiling.

The race started and it was a big jostle-fest. I started running at what I hoped was my pace and the hoards went around me. I didn't worry about it. At about the half-mile mark, Eric went by and I saw him wedge his way past the people in front of me- it's extremely crowded and he managed to move up pretty deftly. I stayed relaxed, tried to ignore the stuffiness in my head and just run, and not panic or get aggravated as people went by. I saw a few people I knew- Rob Barker, Frank Tirorello, Chris Dickerson.

We took the turn onto the first hill and I really tried to keep it smooth and easy. That hill, near Southern, is way too early to push on. I took water, drank some, poured some on me, and watched the people in front of me. Running away from me. I tried to lock in on the people around me and found someone that was running a good pace and just tried, again, for the umpteenth time already, to relax.

Then after three miles, I got passed by a pair of guys I know. They are both good runners in their 50s. However, they are they are also runners that, if I run anywhere between 6:10 and 6:20, I should go over the line in front of. I surged. It was the only time in race I did that. It didn't work. I did get ahead, but i was pushing too hard, and I started to think about it as I headed along that downhill part of route 10 prior to the route 34 intersection. I was running in the 6:10-6:15 per mile area, which was my goal. So why did I care if someone I felt I might have a fair chance of beating was passing me between mile 3-4 ?

I decided to let him go. That put him, the other runner he was with, and Zofia W. in front of me. I told myself that New Haven is a war of attrition and you just have to be patient.

Then next thing I knew, I was on route 10 past 34 and suddenly, I saw a runner walking back towards us on the sidewalk. I thought I recognised the general build and the sunglasses, and as I got closer I realised it was Eric- it looked like his thigh was hurting. I asked if he was all right or if I could do something and he said no, keep going. I might not mind seeing other runners come back to me as the race progresses, but I certainly don't want to see anyone hurt, much less a friend. But Eric's made of tougher stuff...

Next thing I knew, he was running alongside me. I asked him what was wrong, and as we headed into the hill, I tried to make sure we stayed moderate. I also dropped my Gu and had to go back for it, but was able to do that without losing any time. From this point to the 10 mile, I would be moving up and passing people, except for about two people. Although Eric's thigh was bothering him, we were working hard enough to pass the people in front of us. We went under 95 and sure enough, the same people that were running away from me before were now coming back. I downed a Gu and we started passing- Zofia, these other two guys, and we just kept moving up, slowly, but surely. There was nothing dramatic about it, just a nice steady rhythm of passing, dropping, passing, dropping.

We went through 10K at about 38:44...

Crazy Days

I almost got completely crushed by a car that was turning into the Branford Intermediate School the other day. I was going down the hill at a reasonable clip, and this woman was turning. She didn't have her signal on, but I could tell by the kern of the car that she was turning. It was a big old Impala or something and I saw tombstones as I realised that she was not in fact, as I'd expected, actually going to slow down and let me- as I had the right of way- go through.

I got lucky. I accelerated out of fear, and she stopped, right when I could feel the hit from her engine blowing out through the grill on my leg.

Sweet.

I almost let it go, but then I felt compelled to go back. I had a question.

She opened the door- that big long door on those huge old american-made cars- apparently the window wasn't working.

"What we you thinking ?" I asked. I wasn't angry when I said it. I just wanted to know what switch had been turned off instead of on or on instead of off in her brain.

She looked back over her shoulder like she was looking for an excuse and said "The sun was in my eyes, I couldn't see you."

I didn't argue with her, although I knew I'd been in the shade at the time and the sun was behind the trees at the entrance. I just said "Then you need to go buy a pair of sunglasses, ma'am." She was probably a little younger than I am, but I didn't care. I thought she deserved at least a little dig.

I got on the bike and finished the ride because I only had 50 minutes and it was time to haul ass.

I wasn't mad. I was just wanted to know why. And I got an answer...

NBC Commentary- Usian Bolt or Kenenisa Bekele

NBC again highlighted Usian Bolt as perhaps the most electrifying star of this Summer Olympics, or some hyperbole like that.

I'm certainly not going to question the appeal of the Jamaican sprinter or the absolutely amazing quality of his record times. What he did, and how he did it, certainly is a shot in the arm for a sport full of posing, doping, and just plan bad acting people- and I'm a dues-paying USATF member and administrator and that's my opinion of the sport. He is young, flashy, fun, and really freaking fast.

But lost in the enormousness of what he did is the fact that Kenenisa Bekele won his own double. And it wasn't the 100 and 200 meters either. Granted, Lightning Bolt had to run in more qualifiers, but Bekele won the 10,000 meter and then came back and won the 5000 meter. Not only that, but he set the olympic record at both distances and was dominating in both races.

If you've run 5K and 10K road races you sort of have an idea what we're talking about here but to really appreciate it you have to have contested these distances on a track. these are two grueling middle-distance races that are just mind-blowingly difficult to contest on an oval. And unlike short track races like the 100, you have way more than 8 guys and everyone is on top of each other. These are tough races.

Bekele isn't the first to dual medal at both distances. And he's not a 6'5" flashing sprint. he's a 5'4", 123 pound Ethiopian who earned gold-silver in the same double in 2004. And while he didn't have to run a lot of qualifiers he did have to run a 13:40 5K semifinal to qualify for the finals. That's a 13:40 5K. Then he won the 5K by running 12:57.

Electrifying ? No. They cut away to women's high jump during the 5000. But did he dominate that race ? You bet he did. And his double. Quite a feat, done before or not.

I'm not saying Bolt isn't amazing. But I think it's too bad the quiet Ethiopian isn't getting a little more due...

Back in the Saddle

Because I trained through Lake Placid for Block Island, I started my two weeks of downtime late. Since a 2 hour ride six days after LP, I haven't been on the bike more than about 90 minutes.

I had a 30 minutes- 3 hour - 30 minute brick Saturday. I headed out after the first run with two bottles of gatorade, 4 packs of cliff shot blocks, and a plan. 40 minutes before the first blocks, which would put me at 1:10 into the workout. That was a bad plan but I had only limited food. So was two bottles of gatorade, but that's all I can carry and I hate to stop during my ride.

It was a hard day. Weird win, a much longer workout I was stepping up to, and I kept thinking about the kitten I had to leave behind at the hospital Friday night, turned over to Project Purr because I simply couldn't afford the care for it, which will be provided.

Still, the ride had its moments. I rode well most of the ride, despite my morning fuel being an apple, half a grapefruit, a banana and some coffee and the ride part of the workout starting at noon. On the way back from Madison, about 2:15 into the ride, I found myself riding next to a car with Massachusetts plates, still with no computer- I haven't had one since the ironman, where it shorted out. I looked over and happened to make eye contact with the woman in the passenger seat. She smiled and I asked how fast we were going. She looked at the speedometer and said 32. That was sweet. It was a pretty flat section and I was taking advantage of drafting a line of cars, but still...

I felt like the ride was pretty good, but the last half hour I started to lag. I'd wanted water for the last hour of the ride but just wasn't willing to stop in Hammonassett. I started out on the run and to be honest, I felt like I hadn't done a four hour workout in- well, since the Ironman. I really was not, in my opinion, running all that well.

And about half-way through, I realised something. I put a lot of pressure on myself during the run ofd these long races, especially the Ironman. And I am capable of running a good leg in long races. But the pressure I put on myself doesn't help. I thought about it as I ran into the wind along the water.

There is a difference between feeling bad and running poorly. You can't feel good in an ironman, late in the run. People like me- we're amateurs. Can we have a great race ? Sure. Is it going to feel good ? No. It's not.

I ran up onto my porch at the end of the run, stopped my watch.

The time of my second run was within 10 seconds of the time of the first run. Had it felt slow ? You bet. Did I feel like I was struggling the first half- hell, the first two-thirds ? You bet.

Did I run any slower ? No.

Lesson learned. After all this time.

Women's Olympic Volleyball

I have to say that I'm kind of surprised that they would play the gold medal match in that heavy rain. I mean, my own beach volleyball experience is pretty limited, but clearly heavy rain has an effect on the game, given that a wet volleyball is a way different thing than a dry volleyball.

I guess that it makes sense that beach volleyball is a rain or shine game and certainly NBC was counting on this as their primary item in the late evening category- it sure beats more diving, sorry diving folks, but enough is enough, not that we haven't had enough volleyball as well, but at least with volleyball i know what I'm looking at.

The two-person game is really an interesting dynamic- one that I prefer to what indoor or traditional volleyball has become. Back when we played volleyball in high school and college, you played through a six-person rotation, everyone got to set and spike, and you only went out if your team had seven or more players. Today's game, with its middle-hitters and other specialists, just isn't for me. Then again, I think if you can't play 3-4 downs you shouldn't be on the football field- where do the specialists end and the tub-o-lards that can't last three down without hitting the oxygen begin ?

In the end, I thought the gold medal match was pretty exciting, because it was close, because it featured the Americans versus the Chinese, which amped up the rivalry a notch given the medal count so far, and because the games were close. Take away the faked injury time-out in the second set and the whole match was fun to watch, quick paced and a good advert for the sport.

Women's Olympic Marathon

I really have to say that I was impressed by Constantina Tomescu-Dita's win in the women's marathon. In part because the early decisive move is one that should have failed, especially considering the source. This wasn't the world champion breaking free from the crowd after that seemingly slow start, but a woman who had faded badly 4 years earlier.

It's also encouraging- when you're 43, to have a 38 year old take a gold medal- the oldest olympic marathoner to win gold ever.

Regardless of the fact that NBC seems to have drunk the kool-aid on the air-quality issue and shown a willingness to blame everything but pollution for the hazy air, the winning time was a little slow for such a flat course, however, that could at least partially be explained by the seemingly-tactical nature of the opening third of the marathon, where no one seemed willing to take the race out.

I actually liked the coverage- all things considered I felt like I got a good feel for how the race progressed and that sprint for the silver was a nice reward for sticking with it and probably meant more to the TV viewers who saw the race unfold then the people in the stadium.

Force 5 Team Race

For the second year, Force 5 held its own team race on Sunday right here in Branford. The idea came from Steve Surprise and Scott Casper, and they both deserve huge credit for putting this event on.

It's a handicapped start race, which last year meant that I started last. This year I started second to last. Unlike last year, the swim was actually close to half a mile.

There's something interesting about standing on the beach and starting by yourself. Watching over a dozen other people head out in twos and threes and fours and knowing you are starting alone, in fact you are starting alone and Henry Brown will be three minutes behind you.

I hadn't been in the water in 11 days, and although my warmup went well, it showed. I swam so hard that by the time I'd swum 200 meters, I was struggling to breath and had to keep my head up a bit. It was tough going to the halfway point and I caught sight of Henry heading out as I was going back, which is odd, because normally in a race I don't see anything. I did my best on the swim, but it's really tough to stay calm when you start 13 minutes or so behind some of the other people on the road, and you have to swim half a mile before you can start making up time, and you have 8 miles on the bike and a 2 mile run in which to do it.

Ouch. On one hand it's a compliment to be respected by your teammates. On the other hand, it's weird to have a goal of not finishing last. It was a good 100 meter run to the transition. At my bike I looked down the hill to see Henry on the verge of exiting the water. I didn't look again- I just put my socks and shoes on (no sense wrecking my feet on a friendly) and headed out on the bike.

I knew I wasn't beating Henry, but I knew I really wasn't going to beat Henry if he started the run ahead of me.

We had our adventures- the boat being backed into the driveway for example. I know the Hammerfest course backwards and forwards, so that gave me the barest advantage. I attacked the hills, the flats, and the downhills. And as Michael D'Addetta, who saw what he called 'the pass' said, there wasn't really anything I could do but get passed.

Henry was a gentleman and let me hang back around 50 meters, and he paid me the honour of a lock back at the first turn he didn't need to take, then dropped a very impressive hammer on me.

Hey, I didn't finish last, and I had fun.

Clinton Bluefish 5k

After taking almost two weeks off, with no real workouts over half an hour, it was interesting to step back into the swing of things the hardest way possible- a 5k.

The Clinton Bluefish 5k has become a traditional part (read, two years running) of our eight-person fantasy football draft. Last year we had five GMs run. It was only three this year, but that's still not bad.

I wasn't really sure I was ready to run a 5K after not having run more than half an hour since Sea Legs and only having two decent training runs since the Ironman. I was also concerned everything I'd worked to get to a point of feeling better would go to pieces with one race. Still, I thought I could probably go out and run a smart, controlled race and do OK, if not great.

We got there after an absolutely psychotic bus ride (no onsite parking) and it was late- and then my Active.com pre-registration had disappeared mysteriously. Oh well.

I got registered, ran about a mile or so warm-up with Charlie Hornak, and headed back to the start line. There was a short delay for registration, so I did some strides and waited for Ken Platt to move us up to the start line.

The race always seems to draw a big high school crowd, which I try my best to be aware of, but still, it's hard being the old man on the starting line and getting swamped by literally twenty people. Did I say swamped ? I meant elbowed... that's right, elbowed. the high school kid that elbowed me didn't really seem to know what he'd done, and I did my best to let it go. I had to tell myself to just stay in my rhythm and things would work themselves out eventually, to not get involved in trying to move up but rather let people come back to me.

The race starts on a very slight uphill then turns right onto a little more of an uphill. At this point, I was a little worried. Here I was, the old man at 43, running with a bunch of high school kids in around 12th place, breathing harder and louder than anyone else. I hadn't worked hard in two weeks. Moments like this, when you wonder if you really have it, can't last long.

I saw a small bump, a slightly larger rise, and went for it. Just like that I'd gone around a pack of about eight athletes and surged into fourth. I pulled up with the guys in second and third and pushed them a little, but they responded as we turned towards a downhill section.

Despite briefly challenging these two, it became clear that fourth was the best I should be hoping for. Then one of the guys I'd passed, a twenty-something on his way to winning his age group, went by my at a mile and a half and I knew I was going to be fighting for fifth, given his even cadence. Still, I hung on as best I could and went through 2 miles at around 11:32, which suggested to me that I was on 17:45-17:50 pace.

The last mile and change was not easy, but it wasn't unbearably hard either. I held my position as best I could, and came in at 17:50.

It's interesting. After struggling for four years to break 18:00 in a 5K, which is not a distance I'm trained for in any way, I've done it twice in a row six weeks apart. Now 17:50 is hard to get excited about when guys my age like Chris Chisholm can beat that by two minutes without breaking a sweat, but still, I'll definitely take it, and any other sub-18 5Ks that want to come my way.

IM Florida, time to get ready...

Downtime, NIN, and Whoops

I've been in a two week (or almost two week) downtime, which is why there's been no blog posts. It's an interesting time to shut down- middle of the summer, the Olympics going on, lots of races. I've read a number of other blogs of people who are all jazzed up because of the Olympics, nailing their workouts, and so on. It's the height of summer, after all, regardless of the temperature and the rain.

But that's no big. I need the rest. Even if I didn't agree with my coach that you need downtime after an ironman, and I do, I have a few areas in my legs that needed some time off.

But sometimes your music can undermine your best intentions. I started out of my driveway and the song that came on was Nine Inch Nails Head Like a Hole. When it comes to music, Nine Inch Nails has a special place in all my playlists. And Pretty Hate Machine ? It's the album that made me realise what I wanted music to be like. And Head Like a Hole ? the best song from the album.

This is what I get coming out of the driveway when I'm trying to ride easy ? When I'd spent all day- a very hard day- at work, waiting, just waiting for the ride ?

No fair !

But I had a great ride. Too bad that I got started so late that my wife missed Force 5's Wednesday Night ride....oops- and sorry.

Pfizer Triathlon

Margit won a race !

For once, the rain held off until after the awards. I will say this about the race- the director cancelled the awards when the thunder started and I think that after the Block Island race, this was refreshing.

Margit was one of the first swimmers out of the water- it was a .5 mile, two lap swim. That's right, two quarter-mile laps. But hey, it worked.

She had a great transition and a good bike ride. There was one woman on a team that had what appeared to be the second fastest ride in the race, but I heard she was a semi-pro biker- she certainly looked it.

Then Margit had a seriously good run- and is once again psyched to train and race after her post-IMLP downtime.

Not the greatest race report but I was chasing Ian around the whole time...

Sea Legs Shuffle

Sea Legs is an interesting race for me. Four times it's been either the first or second race since Ironman Lake Placid, including this year. And once upon a time, I won the race. Also, the race was one of the Force 5 Sports races before Dave died. So the race brings up a lot of different memories...

My calves having gotten shredded in LP, my strategy running this 10 miler just two weeks later was to be careful. That didn't stop me from starting on the starting line, nor from running a 5:50 opening mile despite that one short hill on the bridge. It's an interesting race, in that it is basically three courses- flat opening three miles, 4 miles of serious rollers, and three more flat miles (with that one hill about half a mile from the finish). You absolutely cannot lay down in the first mile because you'll be out of the race promptly.

I was surprised that I was running well.

The one real run I'd done, seven days after the ironman, had been 90 minutes of very painful running. You know how they talk about microtears in your muscles. On that run, I could feel them, and my legs hurt in a way that made me think I should stop, but I was running 7:50 miles so I'd stayed with it.

I was not surprised that Chris Chisholm, Jim Zoldy, and Chris Schulten passed me. I settled in and tried to limit the damage as I started slipping back in the numbers, and held pretty well through three miles.

Just before three miles, Frank Tiroletto and Shannon McHale went by me.

After watching the Tour, maybe my brain is a little warped. But I knew that Frank running with Shannon was bad, as Frank is in my age group and a guy I need to beat. So on the next hill I attacked, hoping to peel Frank off Shannon. Instead, I peeled Shannon off Frank and he went. I could have stayed with him in the short-term, but I wanted to run my own race, so I let him carry the pace and he separated. I explained to Shannon that I had nothing in my legs and if she wanted to run with someone, it should be FRank, not me. She wasted no time.

The next four plus miles were interesting, but not much to blog about. We went up hills. We went down hills. They added about 100-200 metres. After six miles, I got passed by Bill Thramann, who did his best to encourage me by telling me I was on 6:10 mile pace.

After seven miles, as the course basically flattened out again and I started picking up the effort. By eight miles, I was reeling people in again and I was told later by one of the people behind me that I really took off at eight miles.

I'm not exactly sure what I did where but I ran the last three miles in 17:42. And after giving up all that space because I was trying to be conservative and not hurt those calves, I closed to within about 2 seconds with 150 yards left.

Only to have someone yell 'Go, alan,'. That was what Frank needed. I was runny so hard I was practically wheezing and he didn't know I was there- until he got the heads up. Once he crossed the line I coasted in, so close...

Frank ran a great race, and I ran too conservatively. But I'll take a top-25 finish in a state championship, and a good 6:08 pace for 10 miles.

Oh well. Two weeks easy now, then time to get ready for the next big thing.

Sometimes there's Only the Journey

Yesterday, we packed up the car and headed to Block Island for the aptly named Block Island Triathlon.

There will be no race report.

We took the high speed ferry over. Note: if you are not sure whether to take the high-speed ferry, try it. We definitely think it's worth the extra cost. By 11:40 when we got there, it was sunny, but hazy, and very hot and humid. The sky was already a little bit iffy, but it was decent walking around weather. We headed around behind the main street to a nice restaurant with an open patio, but we sat under the closed part because we didn't want Ian to get sunburned-my son, not Ian Ray, who was planning to race.

I ran across the street after we ordered to get some syn lube and spray on sunscreen for Ian, then sat down and at about half my lunch. it was around 12:30, three hours to race time and in that uncomfortable zone for eating. When we were done eating we went back to the BI Sports Shop- they had some cool board shorts I was not quite willing to pay for because I didn't get any secondary approval on them). One of the other racers from CT said 'We're going to get some rain today' and I must have made a pretty dour face because he clapped me on the back and said 'It'll be all right.'

These were not prophetic words.

By the time we started walking down to the race area, it was bleak- dark clouds, but not too low, and no thunder. We ran into Jay's wife Deb on the side of the road and she and Margit were talking. I was shielding Ian, who was in front of me in a stroller. I did eventually start to get a little anxious about getting down to the start area because traditionally the transition area is about 1/3 the size it ought to be, which is a flaw in the area, not the design of the race. However, when I got there they'd used orange plastic snow fence to block out the area and they weren't going to let us in until 2 PM. I lubed the bike, tested it, did a really short run, and then registration opened. That went well, I saw John Hirsch, Peter Daly, and a few others, including Ken Platt, who was doing the timing.

I did a second run and headed for the beach. Ian and Margit were there playing in the water. I took some pictures and then got into my wetsuit and started my swim warm-up. As came out I saw- trouble. Big grey nasty trouble. Low hanging clouds headed right at us. I was talking with a pair of islands who had 'never seen clouds like that'. I asked them if they ever got up to the mountains and they said 'no.' To me, the clouds were bad but not 'really bad'. They were just low. It was the clouds coming in over the large Inn to the south.

It started to rain and while we were debating pulling the umbrella and taking it back and then I did one of those stupid things that demonstrate both my agility and my ability to disconnect my brain from my my body.

One of these umbrellas was headed straight for the water- the wind had wicked up something fierce and caught it. These are big umbrellas with long sturdy poles and a thick canvas top. It was going end over end. I ran at an angle towards the water because I did not want to be speared and managed to get to it umbrella end forward and catch it. It was pushing me backwards, but fortunately I got an assist and someone came over and folded it down because I had nowhere to go.

Things got worse right up until race time. Then came the thunder and the lightening.

I went right to John Hirsch because a) he's about the most experienced person I knew there, b) he's got more Block Island cred than anyone else who was race (sorry other guys from the BI Sports Shop), and c) he's a smart guy. I looked at him and said 'He can't have the race like this'. John, who always smiles, smiled. 'I'm not his lawyer.' 'But it's crazy to start the race in the lightening.' 'Yes, it is.' 'So are you going to race if he does ?' 'Yes.'

That's the triathlete spirit. And that's what the race director Robbie was counting on. We were going to go. Thunder and lightening not withstanding...

The lifeguards had other ideas. They paddled their smart asses out of the water and forced the issue.

We ended up waiting an hour, during which it alternately poured and spritzed and finally we got the word we were going to try again at 4:30. By then the crowd had dwindled and we were looking at a single wave. I was talking to lifeguards as we headed down the beach and suggested they not even bother to get into the water. They paddled out and thirty seconds later some of the sickest lightening I'd ever seen struck in the air about two miles south.

That was it. the lifeguards came out, and the race was called.

I think given the tough logistic of the race and no hope of a reschedule, Robbie was in a tough spot so I'm not going to evaluate what he did. All I'll say is that Margit and Ian were troopers.

And when we got settled on the high-speed ferry ? The sun came out.

That's okay. We ended up at the Charlestown Seafood Festival ? Ever been to a Seafood festival ? Neither had I...

Colbert Report Craziness- X-Files Reference

While highlighting the danger of pool parasites that have their origins in human and animal feces, Colbert asked the obvious question- who is pooping in our pools ?

His answer: the Poopacabra.

Now, I happen to think this is a clear and unmistakable reference to the chupacabra, which, I really believe most Americans had never heard of before the X-Files episode 'El Mundo Gira' from the fourth season...

Ironman Lake Placid- Part V

This of course is the part of the race report I'd just as soon never write. It doesn't do to have a blog and only write about the things you want, though.

I wanted to finish off the race with a 1:45 second half of the marathon. After feeling so horrible going up the big hill, I was amazed at how good I felt coming back down. From miles 14-17, I felt good. I kept turning it over. I made it to the entrance to the out and back and I was still running pretty well. If I had been drinking soda, who knows ? I did take some bananas, some water, some gatorade. But I look back and I know I needed more. The Cliff Shot Bloks were in my Elite singlet. I didn't think I could eat any more.

I was too worried about my gimpy legs, not worried enough about my nutrition. Even when I'd been running well, my head had started to swim. In fact, I was seeing an optical illusion that was making me worry I was hallucinating. When I looked over at the double yellow line, to the right I was seeing a third line, a dark, translucent blue line like an energy beam from some sci-fi show. I looked over and thought 'I can't possibly be seeing that.' Except I was. This went on for a while.

Finally, I slowed to a walk to go through the feed station around 18 miles. I don't know what my heart rate was because the battery on the chest strap died the day before we left for LP. I worked to get it down and then Jeff Molson went by my, cruising along. Like a man caught after a long breakaway, I tried to re-integrate myself to the flow, but he went by. It was enough to get me running again. I made the turn of the out and back, and started back, running, but slower. I wanted the hit a porta-potty but someone from the other side of the road beat me to it so I stood behind it to pee, then started running again.

I lost track of mile 21, but somehow, I made it to mile 22, and I was somewhere around 10 hours. I'd taken it easy up the big hill after the out and back. My head was really swimming now, but I knew I'd get there and that was a good thing. I slowly ran mile 23, losing time, losing hope. This is my greatest regret. If I had held on better in 23, I would not started walking in 24. Miles 24-25 I had to walk, or I thought I did. I went by Steve and Chuck on the out of that shorter out-and-back and I was now a good 15 minutes behind schedule.

Then I hit the cone, and started running again immediately, slowly and painfully at first, but then suddenly I was passing people again, going downhill. I got to the oval and passed several more people, including two after the final turn, where I found a little bit of steam.

And then I was done, 16 minutes late and very frustrated, yet also satisfied with my second fastest time on the course. Can you be frustrated and satisfied at the same time ? That's for another post.

Ironman Lake Placid- Part IV

The run. Never easy in the ironman.

I came in off the bike. There was someone to take it right away as soon as I dismounted, which was nice. I kept my helmet with me and tried to run, but I couldn't. Still, I was upright. That's better than Florida, where my right knee buckled and I collapsed as my bike was wheeled out from under me. Also, my right ankle, which usually aches for the first five minutes after I get off the bike, didn't. But I couldn't. I stumbled to the porta-potty, peed, and then headed for my bags, which I once again self serviced to save time.

In the tent, I was quick, even though I was changing from the cycling jersey, which chafes my neck when I run, to the Elite singlet. I wanted to give Dave some props out there. I shoved a clif block in each pocket and started running. But I was hurting. See the picture below.



I told myself that with the conditions of my calves, I should focus on running the first half of the marathon and then re-evaluate my condition. Finishing was never a question, and I'd come out onto the run course at around 7 hours, so I knew I was still in contention to qualify and even crack the top ten in my age group based on historical data- but only if I could run. And I didn't think I could.

The beauty of the Lake Placid course is that downhill start to the run- much of the first four miles is either downhill or slants down. However, when both your calves are in danger of a race-ending cramp, downhill is bad. You have to baby the downhills. Still, I started out really well. That short-stride ironman run is really well-suited to cramp-ready legs. I started passing people and set a nice solid pace. When I passed the fairgrounds and went into the steep downhill on the bridge, I really backed off.

I have to admit that as much as I love the Lake Placid race, I hate the 'out-and-back' at at the bottom of the hill and my biggest regret is not running the marathon course this June (or ever), outside the race. It's just 2.5 miles or so each way, but it just goes on and on and on. And it's not flat. Sometimes it's downhill, sometimes it's up hill, and either way, you get the opposite later.

I think what makes the section daunting is that it is comparatively flat to the rest of the run course. Coming onto it off the downhill is kind of a, well, a downer. I remember taking my first banana part in this section. I was hoping the potassium would help fend off cramps. I also took some electrolytes, although many of the 'pills' had turned to power.. I climbed the biggest hill in this section, a hump really, still running well- I did stop to use the porta-potty at some point.

Then it happened. That damn out and back. So far out. Finally I made it to that damn far-off cone, but I was already beat up mentally. I felt like I was struggling to maintain my pace and as each mile ticked off, I was calculating where I want to be at the half-marathon point- somewhere around 8:45. I was not really keeping track of how fast each mile was, that gets in your head.

I finally made it back to the Ironman inspiration station. I got the generic 1232- alan macdougall- 'You're a winner' message. I saw Margit going out shortly after that- she looked like she was running well and I guess I looked better than I had, so we slapped hands and then I worked as best I could to the end of the out and back.

I took it really easy up that long hill, then worked harder on flatter section. I started feeling better as I went by the fairgrounds, and basically just ran solid to that great big uphill into town. I did not walk the uphill. As I turned the corner at the Mobil station I heard Eric and someone else and felt like I was doing OK. I finally climbed up onto the second out and back and I was hurting. The turn-around on this second out and back is also WAY out there, at the same place the bikes come out onto the road. Any out and back gets magnified in distance at a time like this. I saw Steve and Chuck and just pushed to get there.

And then I turned at the cone and suddenly I was running downhill again and I felt better. I soon saw the first woman mountain bike and the race winner for the women coming up the out-and-back as I was going down. I found another gear. I did not want to be lapped by the winning woman.

Before I knew it, I had indeed run half the marathon, and I was even on pace. But there was another 13+ miles left....

X-Files Movie

All I'm going to say for now, is that I saw it and it felt like slipping on an old shoe for two hours. I liked it it. But I have a feeling the pace is going to prove far too leisurely for many movie-goers

Ironman Lake Placid- Part III

I should probably take a step back here as I head into the second loop of the bike (is writing this easier than riding was ? Hmm....) and talk about some of the nuts and bolts of what I was doing.

I bought some lemon-lime endurance gatorade power mix a week before the race on amazon.com and had two bottles mixed to start the race with. That way I could start taking nutrition on the course and except for switching to orange (which I find provides less gastric comfort), there would be no change. I was drinking about one bottle every 40 minutes and eating Cliff Bloks- one bag per half hour. Each hour, I took some endurolytes and race caps. At two hours, I ate as many Nacho Cheese Combos as I could get down- the oddity of eating a dry food (out of a baggy) on a wet day was not lost on me.

Or my mouth.

I read a lot of people use advil or other pain killers when they race (and train). That's not my style.

So I headed back out on the second loop. I'd cut through a lot of the slower cyclists who share my lack of swimming skills. The second loops is always different because of this. There's more competition and unfortunately, more drafting as well. I've always felt that LP is not a drafter's course, but well, any course offers drafting opportunities.

I did not attack the big long hill that starts just after the run out and back.

I did attack on the downhill. I had one guy in front of me that I was not going to pass, so I settled in 5 bike lengths behind him, waiting until that first section 'flattens' out and then attacked and passed him.



The second long section of downhills was just like the first. I was going by people, fighting to see through the rain and moving right on those few cases where I got passed (three more riders passed me). I went by the sign that clocks your speed at the end of the downhills and remembered Coach Troy talking about people getting pulled over for speeding. Not today.

I took the turn with more authority but then my groin started to hurt. I continued to crank out the cadence and I finally decided that the pain was from needing to urinate. This time I didn't wait until Upper Jay. It was in this section that I started to notice that I was no longer attacking (and in a few cases being counter-attacked) by single cyclists. I was attacking groups of 3-4 riders.

I hate this. You are working alone, you pass them, they work together to pass you back.

It is what it is. I was peeing without stopping, and this is huge for me and proves the need to practice this on your long rider. Is it gross that I'm blogging about urinating ? Sure. Is urinating at 15-20 mph better than hopping off an urinating at 0 MPH. You bet !

I rode the hill up to Jay nice and steady, turned onto 86 to Wilmington and went small gear. Dave Greenfield talked me out of repeating 2006's race where I rode a 23-11 gearset. I was on 25-12 and was riding well. However, I got passed by one rider, which because I have issues with being passed, especially on hills, upset me a little. Sure, there are tons of riders that can roast me, but that doesn't mean I like being passed. However, about 3/4 of the way up the hill, I passed him back. This would be a repeating theme. The guy is younger, maybe 30-34. His name has faded from my memory already and I have no doubt in a few years that he'll be kicking my ass all the way up the hill. But at the time my thought- and my advice to him is this- you have to climb all the way up the hill.

Maybe in my old age I'm just a smarter climber.

the packs were starting to form, but I just kept to my own pace. I was able to get to the out on the out and back, take a few riders before the big downhill again and felt like I was doing well. Then a pack went by. I told myself to let it go and stood up and peed and ate.

I jockeyed with this group to the turn in the out and back, dropping when passed, then picking them off in threes and fours when the hills separated them. I kind of lost my temper at the turn-around and bombed down the hill and that was a little dangerous. I think, with 4 IMLPs under my belt, just based on number of ambulances seen, that the section from the turn-around to the big uphill on the out-and-back is the most dangerous on the course. There is no side to the road and you have bikes filling both lanes. I made one pass just inside the yellow line where my handlebar came within 4 inches of a handlbar going in the other direction. I could smell the other rider.

That was the kind of ride I was having. I didn't panic, I just kept going.

The group passed me again when I was peeing, all in a row, and this time, I lost my temper. We were in a flat area. I finished peeing, then accelerated and passed all of them at about 30mph. But it hurt, and I cursed myself after I did it because it was a stupid waste of effort.

At the feed station I asked if the volunteer that had gotten hit was all right, and was told yes. That was good, if true.

I approached the last stage of the ride the same way. attacked the little downhill- thought about A & W strip clams fondly, then climbed. For the first time, I heard the motorcycle of the official. Like all riders who hope they are honest and rule-abiding, that noise makes you nervous. It makes me less nervous on the hills because I will be passing people, not because I'm a great rider, but because I'm 5'4" and 135 pounds. Hills vs. me is a good match-up.

More on that later.

As I crowned the worst hill on the course, the one just before the high falls gorge, I saw fog setting in. Fog. I've ridden through this pass in fog before and let me tell you, that's a ride that sucks.

The fog was not as bad as I'd feared, but the wind was up and the pass was- hard. I rode the pass area conservatively.

Out of the pass, the motorcycle came back. I was ahead of the scrum of riders that were working together, but the front three picked me off. I dropped back. I had to tap the breaks to get four lengths back. This frustrates me. Pass me or don't but get it done. Tapping my breaks got my passed by three more, and then three more. They clumped together. I sat up. The motorcycle was between us. I put my right hand up as the referee looked back at me, imploring him to do something. This, above all things, frustrates me. When the rider who drops pleads with the official to enforce the rules, when there is a clump in front of you, make the call.

Didn't happen. I would go by the penalty tent and it was empty.

It is what it is.

By Big Cherry, I'd passed all but one of them.

The bears were again not that hard. I switched to the small gears halfway up Big Bear, kept passing people until the turn onto Mirror Lake Drive, and then shut it down a little. I rode easy into town, but then picked it up at the turn by the lake because what else can you do when the crowd is cheering.

I asked if anyone knew who had gotten stage win but no one answered. I took the turn wide into the barriers by the Olympic Center- how often do you get to ride like you're under the flame rouge in the Tour. And then I was off my bike and limping towards a porta-potty...

IM Lake Placid

Between race reports, here are the pix I have so far:

IMLP ASI Race photos

Lake Placid- Part II

It took a while to get my transition bag. Because I'm not a good swimmer, lots of people are coming all at once when I get in, and I decided to self-serve the bag rather than wait.

I went to the end of a row- there was a guy on the last chair so I just dropped my gear on the floor and changed quickly. I strapped a My Athlete device on, but it had gotten wet in the battery casing because I had unpacked the bag before the race and it never registered. My bad- sorry John. I was out of the tent quickly and self-served my bike as well. As usual, I ran up the wrong side of the aisle and had to limbo under the rack, awesome with two shredded calves.

Then I started run, passing the crowd that was walking to the exit without getting in anyone's way. I ran over the mat and past the people who insist on mounting right over the mat. I got to the turn, went wide, and mounted in clear space and then started out easy. They put hay bales at the bottom of that first hill for a reason.

Then I started picking it up, drinking Gatorade, and eating Cliff Bloks. I remembered something Coach Troy says on the DVD about seeing people hammering the course in the first ten miles and never recovering and I took that to heart. At the same time, my plan was to ride the course the same way as last time- a 2:40 and a 2:50- a 20 mph average. That means no slacking.



I didn't slack. I also didn't blow myself up. I was worried. About my throbbing calves, about negotiating downhills when I couldn't dare to tense my leg muscles, about the driving rain. I climbed the first real long hill and came to the conclusion that as long as I didn't point my toes down I'd not cramp up again. I passed a lot of people heading for the downhills including a few I knew. The rain was hard, persistent, and I couldn't wear my glasses.

I got to the hills and reminded myself what Eric always says, which is that I could handle it. I started down and the rain pelted my eyes so badly I was worried I'd lose a contact. So I started dipping my head down, letting my helmet the brunt right before I wanted to get a good view, then looking up quickly and making my evaluations before the rain hammered my eyes half-shut. I screamed by people- it was amazing. Heavier larger bikers went off my back. Yeah, I got passed by three people, but I passed dozens glued to the white line while I was out near the yellow.

Good stuff. I had to pee, really pee, but there was no trying that until after I hooked the left into Keene. Again, this is an area Coach Troy talks about on the DVD. Easy to average 25-26 miles an hour here, but not smart. I rode the section steady, but couldn't find the place to pee. I tossed a bootle but took nothing, ate again, got some electrolytes and just spun. After I turned at Upper Jay, then I peed. I got passed by a few people, but by the feed zone, I'd passed them back.

There was no wind. I climbed up that last hill into Jay in the big ring, wanting desperately to hit the big hill at the turn onto 86(?). I took that turn (there's still some sand there) easy and then started up the hill, still in the big ring. I passed Margit, who was having a very good race. I climbed a little more and shifted to the small ring, then passed Mary Eggert, who I said hey to, not that she knows me. Her husband always kicks my ass when I race in Rochester...

I really had a very uneventful ride down from the crest of that hill to the out-and-back except for one woman that was blocking the outside of the lane and going 25 when I needed to be going 30. I just kept saying on the left and holding my distance until she moved. As I passed her she seemed really annoyed, but oh well, I didn't force the issue by forcing by her out of the way, I just kept chattering at her until she did the right thing.

The climb into Wilmington allowed me to move up a little more. I peed again on the downhill to the out-and-back, took the turn easy, and then attacked a little bit. there was a bunch in front of me and I wanted some separation before hitting that big downhill. I got it, felt comfortable as I rocketed down it, passing one guy, and being passed by one guy that I re-passed on the uphill on the other side.

I worked steady to the turn-around, picking it up a little after the lumber mill, and worked hard to the turn. I grannied the turn and got it from the crowd for that, so I hammered the downhill after the turn. I could see the faces of people I'd passed not that long before and I saw surprise that I was attacking the downhill hard. I kept that up all the way to the big hill, now an uphill, and worked that hard to. When I reached the top, I rested a little, rolling into the back part, which is a downhill.

Then I saw what for me looked the worst part of the race. At the feed zone leading out of the out-and-back two riders were headed for the end of the feed zone. The one in front correctly picked the very last volunteer to grab a water from. The other athlete picked the second to last volunteer, but he did not slow down, he did not keep his non-pickup hand on his break, and he was cut off by the other rider. Unable to slow down, instead of bailing on the zone and going left, he simply plowed into the volunteer. I heard the f-word.

My job was to keep going. I slowed into the turn, relaxed on the downhill, but after I made the turn, I picked it up, really working the downhill. this carried me part of the way into what I think is inarguably the hardest climb, up by Whiteface Ski Resort or whatever it is. Finally, for the first time, I saw the officials. They seemed unconcerned about the drafting. I put that out of my head and passed, passed, and passed. I kept climbing, now in the small ring 23, one pass after another.

I finally made the top, turned the corner into the High Falls Gorge area where they have that observation area. There was no wind.

Think about this- no wind in the gorge. Rain or no rain this was random chance all in my favour. I didn't have to kill myself in this section and so I didn't. I kept the pace steady, average about 18-19 mph all the way to the Cherries, bursting on the downhills and staying in the zone on the up rollers.

The Cherries were easy work.

So were the Bears. I stayed big ring about 2/3 of the way up Papa Bear, hit the turn and then stayed in the small ring until after I'd climbed that last little hill.

I took the turn onto Mirror Lake Drive easy, and kept it steady until I was up by the Olympic Center. Then it was back out for the second loop...

Ironman Lake Placid- Part I

It wasn't raining at 4:30 AM when I got up. This is kind of funny, because it was one of the few times in the day I'd be able to say that.

I ate a banana and started the coffee, then went and ran for 10 minutes. I ran down to where they body mark and they were just setting up the step stools for people to stand on, but were not ready to mark. I ran back to the room and waited for everyone else to get going.

We headed down to get marked and make the final adjustments in our swim to bike and bike to run bags. I'd packed everything in the bags in bags, because I'd been pretty sure it would be raining in the morning. When it wasn't, I removed all the inner bags to save time. In the end this wasn't a bad move per se. My gear would have been soaked after about 1 minute anyway, so the fact that I got this wrong was pretty much meaningless. I took the bags, which included a pristine apple bag, back to the room, grabbed my wetsuit and headed down to the start.

There was a long line at the porta-potties, so I finally just headed down the water and got in. I spent the pre-race floating on my back, talking to Margit, and staying afloat. I started middle-right, five or six rows deep. That's an aggressive start for me, but i decided a year or so ago that I need to start close to the line and try and survive because at the end, I might be competitive in my age-group.



The Ironman swim is never easy (well Arizona was easy, but that's the only one), and Lake Placid is hard, but I got off to my best IM start ever. I was swimming with my head down early and often. I was also trying to work my way to the inside, but slowly. My feeling is that in a counter-clockwise swim, the people on your left are on the inside and therefore have a right to their water, just as you have a right to the water you are in compared to those people on your right.

Those people on the outside ? Some of them think an over-your-back diagonal towards a buoy is the way to go. Oh well, there are no damn rules in the swim, and if I want to stop getting beaten up by people who can't swim but can flail and kick, I need to swim faster.

I still had a decent swim out to the turn-around. I got hammered in the turn-around, which is also usual. Then coming around, I had someone really trying to ride me inside. I put my foot on his hip to get a little nudge before he could hit me again. My right calf locked up, then cramped. This was like 2003 all over again. The cramp stole my breath and I did three lifeguard strokes. I dismissed the idea of stopping and started a regular swim stroke again but I knew I was in trouble. I swam steady to the end of the lap, but I couldn't really put my legs into it, so my right hip started to get sore- I was still rolling at the hip, but without any help from my legs.

I limped out of the water. I had trouble making it from the exit back to the entry, and I started swimming while most people were still walking.

The swim after that was uneventful. I came out of the water after one lap in 38 minutes, I think. I got on the line pretty good and swam to the turn-around, then got pushed wide again. I fought to get inside and did this time and avoid more pummeling. I was doing really well, keeping my head down, not looking up. But then I got close to shore and was a little wide right, so I lifted my head straight up to sight the finish of the swim, which was about 100 yards away.

My left calf exploded. Cramp is too mild a word. There was a lump I could feel in the calf, like baseball-sized. I gasped, really hurting now, but this time I didn't even pause. I just kept swimming. I had to get out of the water, and somehow I did. I could barely stand, but I found Eric, who stripped my suit and I started getting out of the area, stumbling, then limping, then running past people. Cramps or no cramps, I knew I could ride. I'd done this before. But would I run ?

Finally Back

We had some crazy internet access in Lake Placid, and most of it was bad. I should have blogged from my iPhone, but there was so much else to do.

I'll start decompressing my race- since most of my experience was limited to that- tomorrow.

Dave Greenfield- you rock ! Thanks for bring my bike back from the brink...

Morning of...

Not much sleep last night...but oh well.

Day before the Day

It's 16:30 and I'm sitting on the private beach that comes free with our room and what do you know- four bars on the MacBook Air!

I think Margit is ready to have a great race, I mean a kick-ass awesome race, and that's what it's important. I also want to shout out here to Kramer- I hope the race is really an enjoyable experience and if you see him out there, make some noise. There's a lot of people here we know, there always is, but that's one more thing that makes this just the most awesome race venue- for us at least.

I have so many things to say and no time to say them, but I mostly want to thank Eric for keeping Margit and I on course, my son Ian for dealing so well with two parents that train long hours, Steve for everything Steve does, Helena and Chuck for making the last few days a lot- a LOT- less stressful, and especially Jason for having my back at work. And Michael for making us dinner once a week. That's huge.

I have no idea what the day will bring, and to be honest, I'm not worried...

Downhill Practice

We had our downhill practice today- we park in one of the pullouts and ride down while a few support vehicles follow us down. We're going fast enough that we're not really holding up traffic- and the second time, there was emergency road construction part way down.

Back in June, when I road the course on a Sunday afternoon by myself, I had a pretty miserable pair of downhill runs. Coming on the tail of being off the bike twice, I'd really been unhappy with where I was in that regard and I have to be honest. I was not looking forward to the downhill practice today. My coach Eric: http://www.hodska.com always says that the course intimidates people when it shouldn't, and I agree with that, but at the same time, when the roads are open, the downhill is tough.

However, after doing two downhill practice runs today, any questions I have- and there shouldn't have been any- were answered. I'm looking forward to getting to Keene the second time.

It's always interesting doing the downhills. There's always at least two guys plus EH that beat me down the hill, and they averaged about 4MPH faster than I did, but if I average in the mid thirties in that section, I'll be happy enough. No, I'll be thrilled.

We had two absolutely wicked thunderstorms, both with hail, but each time, it cleared up nicely. I got a peek at the athlete's village today and they certainly improved the merchandise tent... other than that it's all about staying calm and relaxed...

It's been slow blogging because of our spotty internet access, but I'll add something tomorrow.

CSC Shows Their Stripes

I thought CSC showed their hand appropriately today. With a rest stage on offer tomorrow, CSC finally attacked. The analysts were starting to ask questions. Given CSCs top-notch performance in the team standings, there was a question of whether they needed to go on the offensive with individual riders, as well as the eternal question- can CSC be more than a great team and put riders on the podium.

Of course, in true CSC fashion, the brass ring remained so slightly out of reach. Two Saunier Duval riders stole Frank Schlenk's glory for the stage win, and simple random chance left Schleck 1 second out of yellow. One second out of yellow going into a rest day.

Of course, neither Schleck is the CG threat, but CSC-Saxo in yellow is the only thing that could have improved today's stage.

iPhone 2.0- A Much Better iPhone

I was hoping to get my hands on a new iPhone this weekend but workouts come first and although I was in an Apple Store yesterday, the new 3G iPhone was not.

No big. I'd had the opportunity to use the iPhone 2.0 software for some time and things like enterprise support (read Microsoft Exchange email support, whoopie) have been nice. However, the big hope had been that the App Store would fulfill its promise. That button did very little until Thursday, and what it is doing is just awesome.

That is, if you've installed the 2.0 software, gone to the App Store, and have yet to find any apps worth installing on your phone, you're either a) a VERY casual computer user, b) not looking hard enough, or c) a great big curmudgeon.

And that's fine. Do you need to install apps on your iPhone ? Of course not. Everyone expected I was one of those people who would either jailbreak my phone or be down in my cups over the lack of available apps. I wasn't. I bought my iPhone to be an iPhone- that is a phone, email, and internet.

However, now that I have aim, twitteriffic, remore, and other applications on my phone, it's a better device. I've spent more time using my iPhone as an in-car iPod since the software came out, but I'm warming up to the new potential of an already great device.

Something New- A Swim Meet

For my first time in a 50 meter outdoor pool, I decided to go the extra distance and compete in my first ever swim meet, a dual masters meet between Hopkins and East Lyme.

My plan was to swim one event, the 50 free- no turns or anything, and a distance I could just put my head down and go. The plan was set wrong by having only 4 men show up to swim for East Lyme. So I found myself in the meet's first event, the 200 IM, swimming the anchor leg (freestyle). Then the 50 was shortly after that, and I swam a 43.3- just under double the US men's record at the distance. And they say it's all about the suit...

I tried jumping in from the deck. I imitated the posture of the other athletes- the swimmers- however, when I hit the water I did not move forward. I think I lost about 5 seconds right there (and I spent the rest of the meet practising this skill during breaks).

My third event was the 100 free. With my open turn and my complete loss of oxygen at 75 yards, I clocked in at a frightening 1:39.

Undaunted, I anchored our 200 free relay. Fortunately, we were already toast when I hit the water.

I could just cross 'swim meet' off my list of things to do, but hey, maybe I'll learn to swim and actually be something other than comedic relief.....

The Tour

Well, I've added the Tour widget to my blog, which is free advertising for Versus, but that's OK. They need the help.

Personally, I think that this year's Tour is pretty damn exciting. I sort of feel the way I did when I first started watching the Tour. New teams, new riders. Don't get me wrong. I'm not going to be happy to see CSC get out, but hopefully my favourite team will stay together with their new sponsors. Some people I've talked to have said they think it's just not exciting anymore.

I think some people just can't get up for the Tour now that Lance is gone, and others have bought into the idea that cycling is somehow tainted in a way that other sports aren't- I was reading former football player Mike Golic talking about how the Tour is off-the-radar because of its lack of credibility. Interesting. Football has a pretty good drug testing program, but let's face it, drink driving is getting more players suspended these days than failed drug tests and the league just isn't getting it done regarding HGH.

American sports writers are especially quick to bash the sport. I think despite the Lance Armstrong era american sports writers see cycling in general as European and the Tour as even worse, French. It's hard to believe how despised the country that was vital to the securing of our independence, a country that gave us the Statue of Liberty, is these days. But really, it's more than that, it's just that the sport is based in Europe, in my opinion, that makes sports writers seem to love to bash it.

Am I underplaying the doping problem cycling has had, and may still have ? Not really. Bad is bad and the problem was bad. But let's compare. Floyd Landis wins the Tour, but tests positive for testosterone. Result ? Banned for two years, victory stripped, team he rode for disbands.

Then there's America's Pasttime. Barry Bonds is approaching the sacred cow of baseball records- a sport that is defined by its statistics- and what does the MLB do ? Turns a blind eye. Yes, Bonds never failed a drug test, but that's because baseball had no effective testing and no effective punishment. Remember when a failed drug test was a 15 day suspension ? And how many have there been. Obviously baseball felt something was wrong with Bond's actions because they refused to honour the moment when he set the record. But they let him set it...

I think this year's tour is off to an exciting start because so far, nothing predictable has occurred. If the rest of the peleton can keep Robbie out of the winner's circle and CSC can take a shot at the team title, I will be happy...

TDF

Updates

The Mundane vs. The Big Race

While mowing the lawn Sunday afternoon I was struck by how, as a complete and hopeless amateur, those of us staring down an Ironman in the near future still have to go at our day to day life as though it's every bit as important as a day spent swimming, biking and running.

The lawn, of course, doesn't cut itself. And I can either cut it when it needs to be cut, or I can regret being a lazy bones and waiting. So as I cut it, I thought about comparing the two events:

Cost of entry:
IM- 475.00
ML- one beer (strictly enforced)

Beer on course:
IM- prohibited
ML- required

Cost of Equipment:
IM- 3000 (bike, shoes and helmet, wetsuit and googles, running shoes)
ML- 139.00 (mower)

Shortest Completion of event
IM- 10h 25m (twice)
ML- 0h 58m

Longest Completion of Event
IM- 11h 25m (includes walking 8 miles of marathon)
ML- 2h 15 (includes mower dying, going and buying and then assembling new mower and finishing)

Encouragement from fellow athletes
IM- Yes
ML- Front-yard only, and only when near road

Percent chance to run out of gas
IM- 50%
LM- 90%

Crowd cheering when finishing
IM- Yes
ML- Front yard only

Name Loudly (mis) Pronounced at Finish
IM- Hell yeah
ML- Hell no

Medal for finishing
IM- Yes
ML- Wife frequently responds to me finishing with 'Yeah, so you mowed the lawn. Do you want a medal ?'

Overall- The ironman wins, but mowing the lawn is sure less costly.

Independence Day 5000

I took a break from my Ironman taper to run the Independence Day 5000 in Milford, only because it's a USATF-CT championship. I went to the race with Henry Brown, who is over from the UK to visit. He was kind enough to drag my sorry behind around for about two hours on the bike yesterday and also head to the 5K today.

I wasn't expecting much- after a brisk ride and run yesterday I was pretty sure it would be a slow go and and the 15 minute warm-up I took with Henry and Charlie Hornak did nothing but reinforce that idea. Although my knee and achilles felt pretty good, I seemed to be a little sluggish through the first mile and an half of the warm-up. However, I often feel that way when I first get to a race, and I've learned some good strides can set things right to some extent.

I did my strides for about 10 minutes, and remembered back to a year ago. At that time, my right knee had been really sore. I couldn't do a knee bend, and this race had been a challenge to get the knee loosened up to run. Things are much better these days. Ice seems to help a lot.

The massive flood of race day registrations- some 400- left the data input team scrambling and it was announced that the race would start ten minutes late. That was frustrating, but expected (see last year's blog post). It's just too much for two people with laptops to handle. Still, it's always hard to be warmed up and ready to go and then have to reboot.

I waited for about ten minutes, talking to Charlie and Henry, then decided to start doing more strides.

The race started twenty minutes late, but no complaints here, and everyone seemed pretty relaxed about it. The race starts on an uphill, winding a little bit into a 70 degree right hand turn. As happened last year, the field surged ahead quickly, with the middle sagging backwards as the edges pushed forward.

Generally, I've gotten really good at being patient. But I've been doing mostly longer races and duathlons. You can't be as sedate running a 5K as you would be in a shorter race, or at least I can't. Other guys with more speed can, but I have to have a decent first mile if I want to have a decent 5k. So I started to work my way around people. We turned out onto the main road and I was alongside the leading woman and we took the left up the hill. I got caught a short there but negotiated the sewer grate.

Going up the hill, I passed George Buchanan. I was keeping my eyes on Henry's back, trying not to let him get too far away. Passing George gave me some confidence and worried me at the same time, but I figured I would press my advantage if I was running well. We all crested the hill and I really worked the downhill, which basically lasts a little past the 1 mile mark, which I hit at 5:25 or so. Then it's another uphill. I passed more people and kept pushing. During warm-up I'd seen that Marty had marked the 1.5 mile spot, so I decided to push until I got there, then moderate my effort going up the hill, which I did.

We turned the corner and I was back and with one of the Hitek open guys. I also knew that George was on me and I was hoping he was going to be going through soon. The course is pretty much downhill after that last climb and I decided to try and push the downhill as much as possible.

The last mile is basically three stretches, two of them long and fairly straight, then a wind into the parking lot. I kept wondering where George was. It turned out that he was nursing a sore hamstring and was running 'just hard enough' to beat another team's top Grandmaster- which he did. He went by at around 2.6 and dropped a 13 second hammer on me.

I hit the 3 mile mark at 16:40, rejected the notion of sprinting for a sub-17, and ran 5:33 pace for the last 1/10th of a mile. That's fine because I ran 5:34 average for the whole race. Henry cracked 17 with a 16:58.

I haven't run a 5K within 30 seconds of this in the last four years, as far as I can tell. I'm psyched- I think if I taper well now, I might just do okay in Lake Placid.

Taper Time

I'm officially in my taper zone for Lake Placid. It's early, too. As of June 30th, with the race still three weeks away, I found myself officially winding my training down...

..with a hilly ride of about 1:45. A seemingly minor detour (closing just about 1/4 mile of road on 146) forced me to ride all over the place, before coming home and calling the Branford Police. Someone had thrown a bottle at me and I might have let it go, but another car followed the first one, got a license plate number and then brought it back to me, so I felt obiliged.

By the time I was done mowing my lawn, the police had dealt with the situation- apparently the teen's grandmother was driving the car, and he's on probation, so...

I really hesitated to make that call, but with someone else bring the number back to me, I felt compelled. I also had more than an hour to think about it while I was riding, and the bottom line is that's the sort of thing that could cause a rider to swerve and possibly go off the road. It didn't phase me, but there's a difference between when you are just being a jerk and littering and when you are throwing a bottle at someone and then yelling at them.

I have to say this is one thing that after years of running and riding, I still don't get. What is the jollies that people get from harassing people while they are working out is beyond me. Eric wrote about it on his blog and the truth is for the most part, it's just funny. 90% of it is harmless and inane. But the other ten percent ? This bottle-throwing incident, the time a guy chased after me with a tire iron, and the guy who threatened to shoot me in the back.

Yes, shoot me. In the back.

It's taper time. I had a swim lesson yesterday, and today I went to the pool and practiced. I swam 25 yards. Stopped. Thought about what my coach was telling me, and tried doing it. Swam 25 more. Stopped again. In 25s and 50s, just trying to get it right...

Taper time. Just please, no more tire irons, no more guns, no more bottles...