Treadmill Rants

I did a thirty minute hill workout on the Treadmill Tuesday and the following rants came to mind (which I've lazily copied from my Twitter feed) ...

#1- #espn I've seen the same Julius Peppers highlight package at least 100 times. I'm having sack flashbacks 24-7...

#2- #espn The first fifty times you told us that the Chargers cut LT it was a newsflash. Now it's more like a newsrash...
9:44 PM Feb 23rd via Tweetie

#3- #lafitness no one wants to watch soap operas at lunch
9:45 PM Feb 23rd via Tweetie

#4- #CNN 'Broken Government' ? That's it, inflame rather than inform...
9:46 PM Feb 23rd via Tweetie

#5- college and pro ball sports athletes. Less chest-thumping, less parading. More effort.
9:47 PM Feb 23rd via Tweetie

Seriously. If I paraded around like that at the end of a 5K, JB would tell me not to come to any more of his races...
9:48 PM Feb 23rd via Tweetie

#6 Spandex- use it wisely. A LOT more wisely...
9:49 PM Feb 23rd via Tweetie

#7- Holy sh!t. I just got hot sauce and vinegar in my eye. Rant over.
9:49 PM Feb 23rd via Tweetie
Delete

2010 Time Trial #1

Did my first self-imposed time trial of the year.

6.66 miles.

On my mountain bike.

It felt good to get out there, and just hammer away for 20 minutes or so. It was a viscously windy day, so I was averaging 20+ when the wind was at my back and 16 into the wind. I'd forgotten how hard it is to ride the bike going all out for that long and on top of it, I think Margit may have moved my seat down, making the ride even more challenging.

I rode around the Hammerfest course and then over to Zanes, dropped my bike for a tune-up and ran easy back home (going the short way). It was a nice 45 minute add-on to my early morning run and I'm looking forward to doing it again after the bike is tuned-up.

After all, Brian's is a month away...

Snow Day ?

For most people, a snow day is supposed to be like a vacation day. For me, not so much. We opened late at ten am today, and I think I probably had a day a lot like many of my co-workers and friends.

There was a lot of driving, a lot of shoveling, a lot of updating the website at work and sending out text messages, reorganizing schedules...It was not an easy relaxing day, and not just because my phone rings at 5:15 am and I'm the one that has to updates websites and send out text messages to let people know there's a delay.

Nevertheless, I did get to spend an hour sledding with my son and he clearly enjoyed it- that alone made the 90 minutes of shoveling worth the effort.

Did you get to enjoy the day ?

Sweetheart 4 Miler

Another cold day race. As I warmed up I debated stripping off the tights but decided against it. It was pretty cold and raw, after all, and I still was pretty lightly dressed. Then I saw Charlie Hornak in shorts and thought to myself 'Oh man, I'm a wuss.'

Before the race I was joking with Charlie and Tim Cote that we were the only three that actually wanted to race. No one else was actually at the starting line except us. Then suddenly, at the last possible moment, out came the horde. I've never understood this. If it's cold out, you'd better get outside and acclimate...

Pretty soon everyone was organized and off we went. I picked on Rob Baker right away, he was off to the right, and lined-up on him. There were five or six guys really in front of us as we started out, plus a few kids everyone knew wouldn't last.

The race starts out on a downhill, and it's a steady, fast downhill, not steep, but you are running fast. I could tell I was in for a long four miles of battling with people. I was just trying to hold my own as we hit the turn and then really went downhill. It was quickly clear that four or five of the guys were just going to run away and there was nothing to do about it. Then we hit the first uphill and I settled in and tried to run at 90%. Keep climbing, but pushing hills early is a surefire way to lose whatever place you should be able to hold.

At the top of the hill you hook and left and it's flat and this part of the course is kind of like a flat section in the Winter Wonderland race. It doesn't last though and you're climbing again, a shorter but steep climb. Tim, Rob and I had settled in to running together and there was some give and take between us with no one really getting an edge. At the top of the climb it's a right and then it's flat again.

I was having trouble keeping contact here and everyone was taking short pulls off the front. Rob and Tim almost collided at one point and then I saw the water table up ahead. I wanted to get in front of them and do the same thing I'd done last year, which was grab the water and dump it over my head to be intimidating.

I know. Silly.

I couldn't get out of third position. I still took the water and dumped it over my head. It's what I do.

I wasn't done yet.

We were still jockeying and then we took one more turn and we were finally back on a downhill, and it's a doozy. We took turns leading down the hills and were a tight pack as we turned left and ran through a flat section. We were tight, there was some very minimal arm bumps with apologies (mine, I believe), and we took the final turn that takes you to the biggest hill.

It's actually downhill first before the big uphill and both Tim and Rob pushed it here.

I was waiting for the hill and went into it behind both of them. I climbed as hard and as fast as I could, but I still felt like I was almost walking towards the top (I wasn't). We came over the top and I tried and tried to push as we went into the downhill.

I still felt like I could catch them as we bottomed out, took the last right onto the main road, and ran as hard as we could. But it was a mistake to ever let the two of them get a gap. Working off each other while I worked alone 4 seconds became 6, then 8, then 10.

I ran a decent race, I challenged tactically and repeatedly, but I just didn't have the speed or the endurance to take either of them. I felt like Rob ran a real solid and steady race, and Tim is looking like he's going to have a great triathlon season.

I was disappointed that I didn't run faster (24:46 or so) or place higher (9th). But I did win my age group and Margit and I won our combined age group and were a top 5 couple.

Not too bad.

But I have a lot of work to do.

The Refugee 5K Run

Sometimes I go into a race I've never done before with no idea what I have coming, and Run for Refuges would be a great example of this.

5ks in February are not exactly my specialty. I don't think I raced in February last year.

Dick Korby and i went to the race together, getting there early enough to run the entire course for a warm-up. This was a great idea. It was also, if my concentration on spinning and light running lately can be discounted, the reason I didn't run a faster race.

Did I mention how fraking cold it was ? It was so cold (about 23 degrees) that after the race the race director told me that since it was under 25 degrees at race time I should have worn tights. Since this was John Bysiewicz (JB), I think he must know what the hell he's talking about. More on that later.

So Dick and I headed out and ran the course as a warm-up. Because we started at almost ten after nine, I was a little worried about getting the entire course in. This concern only intensified when we actually started climbing up in East Rock. Unlike Dick, I'd never run here and had not consulted the race course map. So I was surprised by how far up we ran, especially how far we ran after taking the right hand turn.

Just when I was ready to turn around and head back we actually made it to the turn-around. I got a feel for the run back- except for one short uphill section and a flat last tenth of a mile, it would be a downhill run.

I headed back, Dick and I separating and I started to think about whether to ditch the tights and lightweight cycling jacket. I wanted to be tough, but I didn't want to be so cold that it hurt my performance.

I went ahead and dressed down to bike shorts, a bike jersey and arm-warmers and I lined-up.

Then we were off. There were a lot of kids at the front, and I mean a lot of kids. Too many kids. It was pretty hard determining who all was legit and who was ready to quit, so I just started running. My goal was not to overcook the climb, based on my first run up. It was clear two of the guys were well off the front and there was five or six of us in the b mix, with another 2-3 more hangers on. We were trying to follow decent lines up the hill.

I found myself up against the side of the road, near the guardrail, and the same guy that elbowed me at Winter Wonderland made a move to pass me. He cut it too tight, cutting me off and kicking me in the knee on his back stroke.

As he pulled away I snapped 'You just have to make contact every race' but I'm sure he didn't hear me.

There was a surprising amount of back and forth as we climbed and looking back, I know that I was going too slow and saving too much.

We hit the turn-around and I felt like that was when the race was starting, for me at least. I can run downhill pretty well for a guy as short as I am because I'm willing to open up my stride. I ran by one of the guys that I'd been back and forth with and he complimented me on my pace. That was huge- it really gave me a boost at a point that I was starting to struggle. I opened it up even more, and settled in. I wasn't moving up or moving down.

I also wasn't breaking 18 minutes.

There wasn't a lot of action in that last mile. We were spread out and we stayed spread out and then it was over.

I think going out and running the course ahead of time was great, but I think I took the wrong lesson away, which was to take it easy on the way up. I left too much in the tank.

Lesson learned.

But hey- look at those feet.

Running 5Ks

Running 5ks is not easy.

It makes me wonder exactly why I want to run another one. As of tomorrow, I'll have raced 5 times since Ironman Arizona, a 4 mile cross country race, a 5 miler, and 3 5ks.

5ks are kind of like doing time trial workouts on the trainer, or well, anything I do in the pool, which is to say that when I finish one, I'm pretty well done. So it might be better to say that what I'm really looking forward to is tomorrow's 5K being over with, at which time I can concentrate on getting ready for our annual Super Bowl party.

Super Bowl Prediction

Just to get it down on the blog here:

Colts 31, Saints 13

Thinking- the Colts have shown that their offense is resilient. Look at the Jets game or going back at a little farther, the Texans game. The Colts might not put the ball in the end zone in the first drive or two, but the offense will get on track. I also think that the Saints can be run on and the Colts will look to use the run to move the ball and reduce the pressure on the passing game.

On the other hand, the Saints have a true rhythm offense, and teams have show the Colts what the blueprint for disrupting that offense is. I think the Colts defense has been underrated all season and has what it takes to take the Saints out of their game.

Winter Wonderland 5 Miler

I was not really ready to run a five mile road race on Sunday. But I wanted to anyway.

I was feeling the edges of a cold coming on or maybe I'd just had a little too much beer the night before. Still, my usual Sunday running partner was out of town and I'd talked Dick Korby into going with me. I'd made some effort to get ready- although I haven't been running much. On FRiday I went to the gym and did some intervals, some hill repeats and some sprints on the treadmill.

It was cold on Sunday morning, but I still wanted to run in bike shorts and a race singlet. Unfortunately I could only find one glove, which was kind of a bummer. With the long cold spell we'd had, my hands had gotten chapped and cracked and were just starting to recover. Oh well.

Although I didn't feel that great all morning, after running a mile warm-up and doing a bunch of strides, I felt like I was ready to go. I actually felt pretty good, although I knew it wasn't really likely that I was going to be able to run strong for 5 miles, given it was going to be my longest race since the ironman.

The race starts out on the far side of the school and you run downhill for quite a way. In fact, almost the first mile is downhill, with a couple of turns.

The race quickly split into a lead group of three, and two chase groups of three that were closer to each other than the lead group was. I was trying to stay with two other masters runners, Enaldo Oliviera and another guy whose name I don't know Some high school or college kids and a 30 something were also all in the mix.

The first mile of a five miler is tough because you're probably running at a 5K intensity. It's just how it is. It was obvious that the lead pack was gone and they weren't coming back.

I was hanging tough, but I knew that the cold- and I haven't run outside much lately- and the fact that there had to be some uphills eventually- would start to eat in to how hard I could run.

We went through a mile at about 5:40, winding through a neighbourhood. After a mile, we hit the first real uphill and there was some back and forth here as the stronger hill runners, like me, ran a little stronger, just as we'd struggled on the downhills comparatively.

My goal in the middle three miles was to run steady and I mean really run steady. No surges, no racing other people, just a steady middle three miles. There was going to be some uphill and some downhill, that much I knew, and I wanted to really work on being smart.

Oh well.

I ended up getting tangled up in a group of three with two thirty-somethings who seemed to have exactly the opposite plan. They kept surging- one would go, the other would follow. Then both would come back to me on a slight uphill grade. Then it would flatten out and they would surge again. I was trying to stay in my own zone and run solid, but one of the pair brushed elbows with me. I let it go the first time, the second time, with no sorry, no acknowledgement at all, I'd had enough. I kind of feel like in a road race, in the middle of a road race where there are two other guys anywhere near you, the amount of contact should be zero, and if it's not, you just need to make the slightest acknowledgement- just say 'sorry.'

I sprinted past the guy going into a turn, careful to get a full length in front before cutting him off. He got the message and passed wide around me.

The two guys started to pull away on a downhill. It would have ben easy to let them go but I made a decision to leave my comfort zone and stay with them. It worked. We hit the 4 mile mark and then an uphill and actually pulled ahead-

Briefly.

Then they surged again, for the fifth or sixth time and try as I might as we turned back onto the road the race started on, I lost ground. I was spent, running hard, but not as hard as they were. My strategy of consistency might have been better but my talent wasn't.

I still ran hard, running downhill, and then I could tell, as we turned into the Platt Tech entrance road, someone was bearing down on me. I had to sprint, but I held onto 9th, onto 3rd in my age group. The two thirty-somethings had beaten me by at least 10 seconds.

It was a hard run. Maybe a little bit of a wake-up call. But then again, for a cold day in January while I'm just building my base ?

It was fine. Absolutely fine.

Polar Plunge 2010

I just wanted to thank everyone who donated- your contributions added 610.00 to our overall total and Eric was very psyched at your generosity !

There's video- and yes, I dove underwater this year. A good clean dive. See the video here

Cleanse Day 14

This is it- the last day- hell, the last hour.

I did not want to do the cleanse. Let's be honest, I never want to do the cleanse, but this year I really didn't want to do it. More than ever. It wasn't just that I'd done it quite a few times already, it was just that, well, I don't like it.

Now that it's almost over, I'm really glad that I did it. Of course, with the entire cleanse in the rear-view mirror it's easy to look back and say hey, I'm glad I did this thing that really kind of sucked while I was doing it but now I feel like I accomplished something.

But that's the way it goes. And that's okay- it's over. It's time to go back to my normal routine, with a little better nutrition this year.

I want to race better this year. I can eat a little better and I can definitely sleep more. These things will help.

Thanks, Eric.

ps I'm sure next year, it will be more of the same. I'll be hating the cleanse until about the 23rd hour of the 14th day...

Cleanse Day 13

Just one more day- one more day....

It's a little hard to focus on your own suffering- if suffering is the right word, and I'm pretty sure it's not, when the mess in Haiti is in front of you.

If you haven't texted on of the numbers taking donations yet, then it's time that you did. Such as Text 'HAITI' to 90999.

Nevertheless, I am going to be damn glad when the cleanse is over this year. I'm looking forward to midnight and yes, I'm staying up and having a beer.

Then I'll have a few more at Bar after diving into the Sound Saturday.

Just one more day...

Cleanse Day 12

Well, here we are, twelve days in.

I was listening to NPR- one report says that 2/3 of Americans are either overweight or obese.

Holy crap !

This 'diet' isn't about losing weight. It's about setting goals, re-invigorating your discipline, and re-focusing on your 2010 goals. It isn't a diet at all, it's an exercise.

I keep trying to remind myself that when I just really, really, really want a beer, or like today, when I had a morning meeting and someone brought Munchkins- that's just a little cruel, by the way- that two weeks is nothing.

I can't imagine what this would be like if it really was about losing weight. I have the luxury of doing this cleanse when I'm a few pounds overweight (normal for me in the winter) and at a fairly high exercise level. The concept of starting something like this on day zero, need to lose weight, needing to drastically increase my activity level, perhaps doing it because my doctor had told me it was time to make a change or else.

Makes me feel lucky. Very lucky.

2010 Polar Plunge

Once again it's that time of year where Eric asks me to jump in some freezing cold water to raise money for a worthy cause and challenges everyone to collect as much as they can in donations.

I'm going to go a step further this time and ask you all to consider also making a donation effort to relief funds for Haiti at the same time you commit to making a small donation to this cause. There are many great charities that are collecting.

If you would like to support my plunge effort you can donate on Eric's site through PayPal or send Eric a check as detailed below. Please email me to let me know what you're donating so I have a running total- and THANKS !

Without further cajoling, I'll let you read on. You can also catch this on: http://www.hodska.com/polar10.htm and note- as a bonus, I'll post pictures Margit takes of me doing the deed (which I hate, I hate cold water) on my blog (here).

2010 Polar Plunge (Eric's words from here on out)

This year we will be raising funds for Trumbull resident Alex Convertito. On September 6th, 2009, Alex, a member of the Trumbull community, was critically injured in a two car motor vehicle accident on rt. 8. He was ejected from his vehicle and as a result received severe spinal injuries. Alex, 22, has undergone substantial surgeries to stabilize his spine and restore movement and feeling to his lower extremities. For Alex and his family, the road to recovery is a long one paved with extensive rehabilitation. He is about to once again undergo another spinal stabilization surgery. As you can imagine, the costs of this keep building and insurance only covers so much. It would be very cool if we could help offset some of this debt.

The deal is we meet at Southport Beach (directions below) at 12:45pm on January 16th and take a dip in The Sound at around 1pm. If you are taking The Plunge, your goal is to try and raise $100 to donate to the cause we select. The past few years, we have sent a local child battling cystic fibrosis and hefty medical bills to Disney, we assisted two autistic children in seeing one of the top specialists around, we helped pay the costs of a young boys medical bills from his fight against Kawasakis Disease, we also gave some financial aid to a woman cyclist who was struck by a hit and run car, and in the very first Plunge, we sent close to $50,000 to the American Red Cross to aid those in the Tsunami. Let's keep this great thing rolling. In these tough economic times, it's important to still support a worthwhile cause. And at the very least, whether Plunging or not, you will have a laugh. If we raise over $5000 I will do something stupid again. One year I wore a speedo which in January in icy cold water can be quite embarrasing. This year, I will be the first one in and the last one out - if we raise more than $5000.

So here’s the deal:

Meet at 12:45pm on Saturday, January 16th at Southport Beach (directions below).

Alex’s father’s employer, Fletcher Thompson, Inc. has compassionately established a 501c3 account in Alex’s name. Any contributions donated to this fund will be tax deductable and go directly to offset the cost of Alex’s medical expenses and equipment.

Contributions can be made payable to:
Fletcher Thompson Health and Family Services
Memo on check: For Alex Convertito

You can also donate through the Paypal link on my site http://www.hodska.com/paypal.html – if you do this, please note “Alex Convertito Donation” in the subject or notes. www.hodska.com/paypal.html

If you don’t plan on Plunging, come out anyways to support us fools that are and have a laugh!

I'll bring the coffee and hot chocolate. I hope you can make it!

Cheers,
EH

Cleanse Day 11

Today wasn't really an easy day.

I think a lot of people settle into the cleanse, and after a few days, it's just a part of the routine, like strength training or your triathlon workouts.

I am not one of those people (you may have figured that out by now).

I've been breaking it down into smaller goals sets- halfway, last day with a long run, last weekend day. Today just didn't have anything special to it. I had a typical day at work, then drove to day care only to find out he had a rough day at daycare today, so by the time I got home, it was a little late, I was a little disappointed, and dinner was still an hour and a half away.

However, we went out for Hibatchi, we do that once every cleanse and just eat the things that are on the diet, and it was great. Not only that but my son couldn't get enough of the chefs antics.

It was a good time. Two more days like this one, then it's day 14 and at midnight on Friday- it's all over.

Cleanse Day 10

Nothing to see here.

Seriously, a pretty average day on the cleanse. A big nod to @poycc for making a cleanse-friendly meal for the three people on the cleanse at dinner tonight.

Good company, good food and Top Gear.

That's a nice way to end a day on the cleanse- certainly more enjoyable then returning to the pool, which seemed to have gotten a mega-dose of chlorine...

Cleanse Day 9

I feel like I'm learning more from the cleanse this year then in previous years. Or at least I'm trying different things- like decaf coffee in the evening after I've drunk all my water.

Today was a real hump day for the cleanse, the last weekend day. I always feel like the weekdays are easier, and the longer weekend workouts make the cleanse a little more of a nutritional challenge, because they are the only days you might not really get everything you need.

I was going to do a challenging 90-minute spin today- Time Trialpalooza- followed by a 40 run. I didn't want to use a Hammer-Gel again today, but because I started at 9:20 I figured I would try something new, that I've never done during a workout. I'd try eating a yogurt during my workout.

The workout is four reps- 20 minutes at 40K time trial, pace, followed by 15, followed by 10, followed by 5. You start out at 95 RPM and work your way down to 80 RPM for the last five minute set, so your effort and heart rate go up, although you're doing your best to stay at about 10 beats above threshold.

I wanted to make the yogurt last, to hold off until after the 15 minute rep. But I thought about it- after the last two days, I thought getting through more than half the spin before eating was exactly the sort of boneheaded thinking that gets me into trouble in shorter races where I'm 'going too hard' to stop and eat. I mean, in an ironman, or even a half, you can bonk and still recover (been there, done that this year at both distances). In a sprint, which is about the same length of time you're looking at with a 40K time trial, your race is done when you bonk.

So I sucked down the yogurt before the second interval, and had a great workout. I was really steady for the first three reps, and then I actually was able to pick it up for the final rep and have my best one last.

My 35 minute run was SLOW, but overall, another good day on the cleanse.

I also decided I'm going to try to add two things to my nutrition package- high fiber oatmeal in the morning, and 1-2 a week, whole wheat pasta for lunch.

After the cleanse.

Cleanse Day 8

I knew this was going to be one of the more interesting days for the cleanse this year. I had to swap my bike and run because of some family events and the 90 minute run is potentially the hardest workout on the cleanse because it's the one where you dig deeper into your reserves- although we'll see as I have a 90-minute spin/40 minute run tomorrow- than just about anything during the two weeks.

Eric's discussed using any sports nutrition during the cleanse and generally the answer is no, but with a long enough one, some small amount may be acceptable.

I'd carried a raspberry Hammer-Gel on my long run last week and as it was the first day of the cleanse it was unneeded.

Today was different. Fifteen minutes into the run, with my water freezing, I was really lagging. I was running with @poycc and I would say I just didn't feel good. After have great workouts on Wednesday and Thursday, I was really struggling.

I went ahead and ate the Hammer-Gel. I was thinking it might just be psychological, that I didn't need it. I think if I had gotten an immediate pick-up it would have been, and I'd have felt like I was cheating. But it took at least five minutes before I did start to feel the pick-up and then I had a very good run and felt strong at the end.

Then we did a couple of great family things that Ian really enjoyed- I might not have enjoyed being at Disney on Ice instead of watching playoff football, but I got a great, cleanse friendly meal afterwards.

Just 6 more days- and the low moment was on the run today and it was easy to work through. I'll be glad when it's over but I'll take a good day like this one...

Cleanse Day 7

My son Ian had dental surgery this morning, so the cleanse really took a back seat to this surgery. The surgery was planned and was routine, so once he was under anesthesia with no problems, it was pretty smooth sailing. Margit and I did bring our yogurt and our water to the hospital and were pretty much able to stay on track- by getting up early and wolfing down fruit at 5:30 AM.

The surgery went well, Ian recovered quickly and we had a mostly relaxing afternoon at home.

I even got to spin, although again, I did feel pretty logy during the spin.

Still, it didn't really matter.

Any day you walk into and out of the hospital with your son and everything goes well, that's a good day.

Cleanse or no cleanse.

Cleanse Day 6

The cleanse diet has its ups and downs.

This time of year is pretty stressful at work and one of the projects that I'd been working on just wasn't where I wanted to be and I had a deadline that was causing incredible stress.

As I mentioned yesterday, I do think the cleanse does kind of clear you thinking up a little bit- you're just a little more focused. I'd gotten up today, gotten in a good, high intensity spin and Eric's strength training. It was the first hard spin during the cleanse where I didn't feel completely drained when I got done.

Then I went into work, found the right solution to keep this project moving forward.

A good day.

Cleanse Day5

Another day on the cleanse.

Some of my co-workers were wondering why it is that 'someone like me' would be doing the cleanse. I'm really the one person in the department that is really active and everyone sees me eating fruit, salad and pretty much the same food every day. Add that to the fact that I show almost no interest in going out for lunch- the type of going out for lunch that involves fast food anyway. Mix in that I don't eat meat and people really kind of find it odd that I do something like this.

I, on the other hand, see my eating habits as only slightly above average. Yes, I eat a decent amount of fruit and definitely get my veggies and lean protein, but it's not like I'd ever say, grab an apple out of the refrigerator as a snack. I might eat one at 10 AM because I think I should, but at 3PM on a Sunday when I'm watching the game it's going to be beer, crackers and cheese or some chips...

Deep down, I know if I ate better and slept better, I'd be a better athlete. I'd probably feel sharper most of the time too.

The cleanse is a good reminder of that. And my eating habits have improved as a result of it.

Cleanse Day 4

I'll keep this one short.

Today was the easiest day so far.

I started the day with a good workout at 5:30 in the morning, was done drinking my water at 8:30 PM, and therefore, it was a good cleanse day.

I had a nice big salad for lunch and we had a real good swordfish for dinner.

'nuff said.

Two Suggestions to Fix the End of the NFL Season

Despite the Wes Welker injury and the belief that it will end any speculation about the NFL cleaning up the mess the end of this season became, the league does need to address what has become an embarrassment as the last few weeks of the season become a second exhibition season for the leagues elite. And we all know that a crappy field is the main reason Welker's season ended early.

I'm not going to rehash the opinion of the 'experts' who believe the NFL has no right to involve itself in personnel matters.

What I am going to do is say that as a customer, I'm not satisfied with the product and I've started turning off the TV- and I'm not the only one. As long as advertising revenue continues to be important to the league, people turning the TV off in the last few weeks of the season is an issue. I don't really buy when Roger Goodell talks about the 'integrity of the game.' When you have owners like Daniel Snyder and Al Davis as owners, the integrity of the game is already at great, unaddressable risk.

Rather than argue the plusses and minuses of playing your starters through a sixteen games season I'd like to offer two alternatives that might just give teams an incentive to play out the season and change the discussion:

1) Reverse the value of wins and losses for the draft after Week 12. That's right, from Week 13-17 make a win equivalent to what a loss was through the first 13 weeks. That team that goes 16-0 ? They'd effectively be 11-5 and likely in the mix for a better draft pick. It would also prevent bottom feeders from dumpster diving- were the Rams trying to win Sunday ? Nah. That's not enough of an incentive ? Based the draft on the adjusted standings after Week 17. Unfair ? The bottom half of the first round of the draft is crap-shoot anyway...Why 5 weeks ? The incentive needs to be enough to encourage teams to reach for 16-0 and 11-5 is a better break point than 12-4

2) Hold back 10% of the revenue sharing fees. Divide that total by the number of games played in the last four weeks, and distribute it based on wins. To make this work, you'd have to base revenue projections and sharing and the salary cap on the first 90% of profit. Distribute that last 10% percent to owners and players the same way that you would the other 90%- except teams would get a double share for each win, and no share for each loss. 10% is the equivalent of 3.2 teams revenue, which ought to be enough to make the organizations want the payout- 4 wins would would equal a 110% share at the current distributions. That's millions at stake.

These are just one fans ideas, but if I can come up with something...

Cleanse Day 3

Easier day today.

Got up and did the Spinervals Recharge video at 6AM. Felt pretty drained, but definitely not as bad as Sunday.

Planned to have salad with seafood on top for lunch today- this was a big treat, a nice spicy seafood to go with the salad. I'll go back to the pasta tomorrow probably.

Then we had dinner at @poycc's- Michael always makes a good dinner- vegetarian chili, which was awesome.

Drinking the water was also not as hard today. It's still early- day three- but the routine is a little more familiar now and hopefully before I know it, it will be a week from Saturday and I'll be staying up until midnight so I can have a beer to celebrate the end of the cleanse.

Frosty 5k

The first of the year has also become a traditional day for me to race.

Last year I ran the Frosty 5K in Guilford on a miserably cold day, after taking a couple of weeks off.

This year I ran the Frosty 5K on a much nicer day- high 30s and humid. I was coming off having rested since basically Christopher Martins. Eric had told me to take some down time and I'd limited myself to a light spin every day except for a once a week long run with Michael D'Addetta and Dropping the Hammer with Margit (Spinervals) the day after Christmas.

I felt pretty much like I usually do on January 1st- overweight, vaguely out of shape. However, instead of a mild hangover, I'd not slept the night before. We had guests over for New Years Eve and I'd made some evil coffee that was about 150% normal strength. I'd drank two cups and I slept less than an hour total.

Because it was warmer I was determined to wear just bike shorts and a singlet, plus gloves and a winter hat. Maybe it was just because I'd shaved my arms and legs for the first time in three weeks, and that made me feel, and it's very silly, like an athlete again.

I ran half a mile and then did a bunch of strides. because of the lack of sleep I wasn't expecting my A effort. Between last year's race winner, the high school kids, and John Tolbert, I was hoping just to run fast enough to not look like a complete idiot wearing a tri-kit to run a 5K on January 1st. I can tell you I was the only one out there.

The race is flat. THere's one bridge over the train tracks that you have to cross, and that's the only hill on the course, although it's a decent one and you have to climb it both ways.

We started on verbal commands and headed for the first intersection, running down the back side of the green and hanging a right, then a left and down towards the wharf.

Like most 5ks, initially, there were an awful lot of people around me, but the crowd thinned out pretty quickly. I found myself in 9th place, right behind John Tolbert. I kind of expected that he'd run away from me.

That didn't happen. We went down the road, up and over the bridge and towards the turn around at the wharf. He and I were right at 5:40 or something at a mile, and pretty soon after we hit the turn. JT took the turn easy and so did I. Neither of us was taking a spill early in the race.

We were right on each other through 2 miles at 11:38 or whatever, and then finally, JT started to pull away by the fair grounds, a little at first but enough to get separation.

Still, staying with him for two miles was a surprise for me. I reached a little out of my comfort zone to stay with him as long as I did, but the reward was catching a couple of people and having an outside shot at breaking 18:00 for the second straight race.

That didn't happen. I saw when I turned the corner and was back at the green that I was at 17:40 with about a tenth of a mile to go and I dug a little, but I neither caught JT, who beat me by seven seconds, or broke 18:00- I ran an 18:10.

But for a January 1st race, on little training and no sleep- I'll definitely take it.

The Cleanse, Day 2

This hopefully will be the roughest day of the cleanse.

As Eric says, you'r getting plenty of energy to make it through your workouts. And he's right. I'd avoided the mistake of the last two years, gulping down extra coffee on Day 1 and then getting no sleep that night.

Instead I overslept until 7:45 this morning, which is unheard of. I then gutted through aero-base builder spin that left me feeling totally drained.

Then came what's become a ritual for me in Week 17. Long story short- except for one game, everyone I was rooting for to win lost.

On the plus side, I did help paint the bathroom, but I was grumpy and irritated all day. No fun for anyone- sorry about that.

It all gets easier though...

Cleanse Day 1

Coach Eric sent out the email letting us know that we'd be starting the Cleanse on January 2nd.

I don't enjoy the cleanse. I've done it a number of times but it's just never been something I can say that I like doing. It's just something I sort of have to do.

That said, the only real challenge day 1 is drinking 100 ounces of water. I drink a lot of water, compared to most people, but in an average day I probably only drink about 50 ounces.

It always seems to get cold right around the start of the cleanse (probably because it's January 2nd), so drinking all that water also makes it difficult to control your body temperature. Unless you like being cold.

Still, Day One is one of the easier days. And it's over. On to day two.

Ironman- Catch it on TV All Day, January 1st

Tune in on January 1, as Universal Sports dedicates the entire day to the Ford Ironman World Championship from Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, including the 2009 event aired recently on NBC.

Below is the Universal Sports schedule for January 1st, 2010, in Eastern Standard Time.

Ford Ironman World Championship from Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

10:00 AM - 11:30 AM - 2001
11:30 AM - 1:00 PM - 2002
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM - 2004
3:00 PM - 4:00 PM - 2005
4:00 PM - 6:00 PM - 2006
6:00 PM - 7:30 PM - 2007
7:30 PM - 9:00 PM - 2008
9:00 PM - 9:03 PM - Countdown to Vancouver News Update
9:03 PM - 10:30 PM - 2009
10:30 PM - 12:00 AM - 2001
12:00 AM - 12:03 AM - Countdown to Vancouver News Update
12:03 AM - 1:30 AM - 2009
1:30 AM - 3:00 AM - 2008
3:00 AM - 4:00 AM - 2005

Photos From My Arizona Trip

I never really posted the links from my Arizona Trip. I did get some great photos in the Grand Canyon and Sedona.

Check the pictures out Grand Canyon and Sedona

Looking back on 2009

I thought I'd post a random list of things I'll remember from 2009:

1. Visiting the Grand Canyon and Sedona with my family
2. Changing my son's daycare and the positive effect that change has had on him
3. Ironman Arizona
4. Winning Brian's Beachside Boogie
5. Dave from Elite Bicycles turning my cracked frame into a new bike
6. Coach Eric's December Strength Challenge
7. Winning my fantasy football league
8. Watching my son mature and develop his own quirky personality
9. Firmman Half-Ironman
10. Sunday runs with Michael, Saturday rides with Force Five Sports

Happy New Year

I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy 2010 and thank all of you out there who helped make 2009 a year to remember. I know that it was a challenging year for a lot of people and I'm thankful to be surrounded by a group of friends that are positive, cheerful and engaging, both in and out of sports.

I hope 2010 brings you all that you are hoping for.

Happy Holidays Everyone

Daniel Snyder- Out Al Davising Al Davis

After watching last night's horrific 'game', one thing became clear to me.

Daniel Snyder is doing with the Redskins what Al Davis did with the Raiders. I'm not the first blogger this year to compare Snyder to Davis, and I certainly won't be the last.

It's even a little ironic that the Raiders have gone 3-2 in their last five games while the Redskins are 1-4. If the Raiders aren't careful they'll 'fall' out of the top ten- for the 2010 draft. Amazingly Tom Cable has breathed some life into the team, or they are simply responding to basic football instincts- to make plays and win games. Not sure.

Going into last night's game the Skins had managed to go 4-9 while only being outscored by a mere 17 points (compared to the Raiders, whose net differential at 4-9 last week was -161).

I think that Mike Tirico, Jon Gruden, and Ron Jaworski were as shocked as I was by the debacle. The Redskins had lost to the Eagles and then Saints by just 3 points each and then had throttled the Raiders. Despite the fact that Jim Zorn was clearly a dead-man walking the team had played well. So last night was an eye-opener.

This was an affront to the very concept of professional football, from Jason Campbell as helpless rag-doll to the Pop-Warner fake field goal that ended the first half in the exact opposite of a mercy-killing. The Giants scored so many ways and times I started having flashbacks to the Simms-Taylor era.

The story here isn't the players, or the lame-duck coach- OK, maybe that fake field goal was really his call, but after having someone else call all your offensive plays, maybe Jim felt he had to do something- anything- to get control over the Titanic that was sinking on its home field.

This is about Daniel Snyder, who is out Al Davising Davis.

It was Synder that brought in Zorn to call the offensive plays for the Redskins. Zorn, in fact, came in before the head coach. It was that ass-backwards decision to hire assistants that probably made every sane head coach candidate back away from the Redskins job, leaving it open for Zorn.

I admire the hell out of Jim Zorn. I remember when he played for those early (horrible) Seattle Seahwaks teams, how he and Largent and the rest fought and scrapped. Zorn is clearly a nice guy. I think he's a football smart guy. I also think he's not ready to have been a head coach, and sadly, his coaching career is probably ruined now by Snyder's treatment of the whole situation. And that's what really kills me about Snyder- in his petulant arrogance, he's taken a guy that paid his dues to the NFL and the sport by enduring- by really standing tall- for years as a symbol of hope for an expansion team- and emasculated him.

What Snyder did is classic Davis. First, you hire a guy to coach the team that hasn't even been an assistant coach. Then, when the results are as expected (not that great), you cut his legs out from under him by bringing in Sherm Lewis to call the offensive plays (except inside two minutes and some other conditions). In other words, you make it so the coach you initially hired to call plays on offense is powerless to run the offense. You're hoping the guy you gave the fat, long-term contract to will quit so you don't have to pay him the balance of his contract.

That's the sort dick move a manager at the fast-food restaurant pulls on a hated employee, switching them from days to opening and closing hoping they'll quit and not draw unemployment.

It's hard to know exactly how much of this is Snyder's fault and how much of it falls at the feet of Vinny Cerrato, who appeared to want a weak-willed coach during his tenure.

Then again, Snyder appeared to want a weak-willed GM, so maybe the end run around all this is to hire Mike Shanahan.

Problem is, Shanahan's already worked for Al Davis once, and we all know how that worked out. He might hesitate to do it a second time...

The real shame in all this is how Jim Zorn has been treated. Zorn clearly doesn't deserve this.

And neither do we. Last night's game was so bad- and I like the Giants- that it really was a historic low moment on MNF.

Any chance we can fire the owner ???

Christopher Martins 5k

The last race of the season.

So many races this year. Well, not really that many- things have changed for me and I don't race like I used to. Nowhere near as many, but then again, it would take almost 50 5Ks to equal the output of a single day's distance in the Ironman. Still, my first race was January 1st and here I was, trying to get up for one more race in mid-December.

The course was new. And as I would find out during the race, I didn't understand in the least the map that explained the course. I looked at it three times and it didn't help.

Worst though, was the bitter cold.

I stripped down to my bike jersey and shorts, arm warmers. The only concessions to the cold were the goretex gloves and the winter hat with the little tassel.

It was cold enough that when I started running faster, I started getting colder.

I warmed up with Charlie Hornak and we noticed the top woman was looking ready to race- Erin from Trumbull. We were wondering if we had what it would take to outrun her- she looked a lot more ready than either of us.

The starting line was packed. It's funny how when you're right on the start line at a mass start of the Ironman swim you think there's too many people, it's not fair.

And yet, I'll line up, on the line, or as it was this day, in the second row, and think nothing of it. There's no fear. I belong on the line and that's not arrogant. It's a numbers thing. There's probably 40 people on the line, and if I'm in the second row, that's means there are people in front of me that maybe shouldn't be.

We started out and I could tell we were going to start out easy right away. The top guys like Oscar and Bart from Athlete's Foot (second and third overall) were off the front, but there was a nice pack of people in sight. The race starts with a long run up some street, a long, flat run, always either into or out of the wind.

About a third of a mile in, I was thinking that lead woman was nowhere near me. She wasn't in front of me. I looked over my left shoulder. Not there. I relaxed fractionally. If it's a little misogynistic, forgive me. Intellectually, I appreciate, understand, and quite frankly am impressed as all hell by the fact that there are so many women who can leave me in the dust. At the same time, I have no desire to go out and be beaten- in a running race- by women. I'm old. It's a shortcoming.

I looked over my right shoulder.

She was about six inches from me, half a step back.

The race started to thin out after that.

Somewhere past half a mile, I was in a group of four people. One guy was leading the pack and I wanted to move into the second slot and establish my position well before the first turn. I'm pretty scrupulous about moving in and I'm sure I had room. I'm giving the guy behind me the benefit of the doubt that he must have thought I didn't.

He put his hand on the middle of my back. All five fingers. I could feel each one on my back.

He pushed.

I was so shocked that for about 3 seconds I had no reaction.

Then I said about what you'd expect if you know me. Then I went back to running.

We took the turn, still in a group. The next turn is almost immediate and sends you back down the way you came, maybe one block over. We hit the mile mark- which was long- and were at like 5:50. The youngest guy in our group immediately broke ranks, disappointed I guess in the 'slow' mile.

Then it was a lot of back and forth. All four of us tried to assert ourselves, none successfully.

After that, the turns started. I was lost pretty quickly, and confused. The map's course was in my head, but we were making turns that didn't track with what I thought I knew. Then at about 1.75 miles we hit a tight turn and there was a lot of ice around the turn, so I had to hop the ice, extending my right leg out long and bound up high. I hit the ground hard and I swear it took something out of me energy wise. That exertion was just enough...

We keep jockeying.

At one-point the back-pusher managed to elbow me as well, not hard, but I mean, it was two miles into the race. There was a grand total of one person next to me.

Oh well.

And then, we were running back towards the starting line, in the opposite direction, going to cross the line.

I saw a photographer on the side of the road and the back-pusher (again, I'm sure he felt like he had to push me in the back for his own safety- or something) was in front of me. I surged to get in front of him for the pictures. I might not beat him to the line, but I would beat him to the pictures, if I could.

And then it was the final run to the finish.

I had two guys in front of me, including the guy who pushed me and I knew- knew- he was in my age group.

I tried. I gave it everything. But two days of easy workouts and an Ironman three weeks earlier were just too much.

I got beat by four seconds, I finished 4th in my age group.

I'd run 17:54 and finished 18th overall. It was my first time in the top 20 since 2005. I should not have been unhappy with that.

I was 4th in my age group by 4 seconds and I let a guy who pushed me beat me.

Of course I was unhappy.

Then I downed a very good beer, ran a warm down with Charlie Hornak and Dick Korby. And had a second beer.

And then, I wasn't so unhappy anymore...

See y'all next year at the races.

Jon Gruden

Monday Night Football has certainly improved- in the booth at least- this year. Of course, it wouldn't be hard to surpass Tony Kornheiser.

I assumed Kornheiser had been shown the exit as a result of his lackluster performance. This is because as much as I love the game of football, I apparently lack the interest to read a few articles about the staff in the booth on MNF. I had no idea that Joe Theismann had been forced out of the booth (certainly he was far better) or that he and Kornheiser were Washington area-rivals.

What I do know is that I was sitting watching Monday Night Football and I was actually thinking about how Gruden was doing a good job when he trucked out one of the most irritating phrases/concepts in the game.

"He may be the best in game..."

If you took every guy that any commentator nominated as 'best in the game' or 'best at his position' or as being a guy that 'nobody does it better than', and put them all on one team, the rest of the NFL teams would be scouring community colleges to find enough talent to field teams. Can't you just say the guy is 'good' at something ?

But just when I was ready to toss Gruden on the MNF trash heap along with Kornheiser and Dennis Miller (funny, yes, ready for MNF, not really), he continued.

He was talking about Charles Woodson and they went straight to a video of the 'Tuck Rule' game's tuck rule moment.

A few notes here:

One, Charles Woodson has forced 4 fumbles this year. It's the second time in his career he's done that. He's also intercepted 7 passes, one off the league lead of 8.

Two, anyone who knows me probably is aware that I still wake up in the middle of night bathed in cold sweat screaming at an imaginary TV that "it's a #$%^ing fumble."

Three, Gruden had not spoken once about the Tuck Rule all season to his booth mates, but he had the class to go right to the clip and deal with it- one of the most contentious moments in his coaching career. But also one that illustrates his point.

Because the 'tuck' was a fumble, and it was Woodson who forced it, as he's forced many fumbles over the years.

Gruden is a keeper, MNF.

The one that got away- Cow Chip

Six days after Ironman Arizona I found myself standing on the starting line of the Cow Chip Cross Country race in Trumbull.

Having won the race last year, I felt that I should go back and try to defend my win.

I was not 100%. I'd limped around Arizona for two days before I felt ready to even put 20 minutes of running in on Wednesday. I'd spun an hour on Friday and I was psyched for this, but I was also not really fully healed or ready.

When I went to sign up they told me they were expecting me to be there, but they'd put aside #1 for me, so I handed over my check (which Marty later ripped up) and pinned the number to my shirt- I'd forgotten my race belt.

My warm-up was limited to run out to the starting line and doing a few sprints. I ran into Charlie Hornak and we talked a little about the Branford Thanksgiving race. He'd had a decent race but was talking about building his speed. It seemed like we were out there early even though it was only about 10 of, then suddenly the mass of runners that had been avoiding the cold in the school cafeteria came out, followed by Marty on his bike.

Marty acknowledged a number of runners that were there- past winners and so on- and then we were off.

I didn't take the lead early. I'd spotted a couple of kids/guys I thought might be a threat. I picked my line to the goal post (the race starts on the football field, just like my old high school days), got there and I was quickly in third. The course takes a right, then a left and by the time we got to the backstop, I knew I had to pull in front and take control of the race.

Which I did.

I felt- good isn't the right word. I was running strong, but not really fast or anything. I was chasing Marty but then we went into the woods and I was leading a few people. The front pack had already thinned out and I felt good. I always feel good running through the woods. I feel like if I'm in front in the woods, you're really going to have to work to take that away from me.

We broke out of the woods. Marty's women's cross country team was supposed to marshall the course. Only two showed up. I came out at a point where you go right early in the race, and go left late in the race.

I didn't know which way to go.

Who's fault is that ?

Mine. It's my responsibility to know the course.

Bang, I was in third.

I settled in a second time. We broke out of the woods and I was third behind a guy I thought I could take late in the race and a guy I wasn't sure about. We went around the front of the school, by the barn, into a short section of woods and back around again. I could not eliminate the distance and get back in front.

We wrapped around the middle of the course and headed towards the stream/wall. the two guys in front of me went around it. I went around it. We were all within a few seconds of each other. As we went up a short hill, two of us made our move. The guy in second moved up to first and I moved up to second.

We went under a pavilion of some sort and then we were headed back towards the woods. My goal was to stay close and make a move in the last 750 yards.

This was the wrong strategy. I didn't lose any ground in the woods, but I also didn't gain any, and after we broke out the backside of the woods, I did try to pick it up.

But in the end, it was too little too late.

When the winner crossed the line, I shut it down and lost another 3-4 seconds, but my calf was hurting.

I had not done my job. I could have, in my opinion, but I didn't.

I warmed down with Charlie and an Australian guy who was also a previous race winner, then I hopped in the car right away and drove home so Margit would have some time to do some things.

This one had gotten away.

Ironman Arizona-Highs and Lows

Lows:
Lying in a pool of my own sweat, wide awake, seven hours before race time
Treading cold water for 10 minutes waiting for the race to start
That crippling cramp in my right calf during the swim
That second cramp
Getting out of the water and not being able to sit down to take off my wetsuit
The hypothermia that lead to a 7:20 T1
Mile 20 on the bike, when my right nostril was so plugged I thought there was a Clif Shot Rok wedged in it
Mile 40 on the bike, when an ill-advised shorts adjustment made it feel like someone had stuck my junk in a blender and hit puree
Mile 80-100 on the bike, where there was a lot of drafting
Mile 2 on the run, which was an ill-advised 7:15
Having to stop and pee on the run
Knowing I was way over 10:30

Highs:
Surviving the cramps
Exiting the water
Running past people trying to mount their bikes 1 inch over the mount line.
Getting on my bike
Seeing my family at the turn around
Easy peeing on the bike
Going 38 mph for a while on the bike
Drawing a drafting penalty on a competitor after getting props from the official
Getting off the bike
Running the first two miles in 14:45
Passing the point where I cracked and walked in 2007, not once, not twice, but three times
Running the entire marathon
Sprinting to beat two guys at the finish
Finishing
Steve having a great race
Talking with Kurt Eggers after the race

and
The Grand Canyon trip the day after
Sedona

Ironman Arizona-The Run

I came in off the bike and grabbed my bag from transition. Once again, there was no thought of going into the tent. I changed quickly into my running shoes and visor- I decided on the free Tribike Transport visor because it matched my kit, and hey, it was free. If I needed to toss it, I would toss it.

I did stop to try and use the port-potty. I peed a little, but mostly wasted 45 seconds.

Then I ran out and asked which direction was out.

'Through the tent.'

It was my only time all day in the tent.

I ran through quickly, located the sunscreen people and said 'Face, back of neck, arms, legs. And hands.' I'd had the exchange planned while I was still on the bike. After the sun poisoning that I'd gotten in my first race here, I'd sprayed sunscreen all over myself before the swim, and knew I'd need more on the run, as almost my entire run would be under the desert sun.

I'd put my watch on for the run and started it as I went under the arch at about 6:38:30.

I saw Steve almost immediately and began working to real him in. I got to the mile mark and he was close, but problematically, I'd run a 7:30.

Way too fast.

I went through the first water stop. I needed endurolytes and had just taken a GU. A volunteer actually followed me into the aid station, asking what I wanted, which I can't tell you how much I appreciated, as I'd later get stiffed at three different aid stations. I told him I needed water and got it, downed the endurolytes and kept running.

I caught Steve on the bridge and asked if he minded if I ran with him for a while. He said no, but we were running at different paces, and although I wanted to slow down and work my way into the marathon, I just couldn't do it.

I ran the second mile in about 7:15.

Huh ?

Yeah.

I did slow it down after that, although mile 3 is a downhill mile. If you've never seen the course, it's kind of amazing. They've managed to pack an entire marathon into a course that only covers a few miles of roads. You run out, over the river, er lake, um why can't we just call it a canal ? then back over the water again, through transition, down to the next bridge, over that, run a loop that takes you to both the biggest hill and the biggest downhill on the course, back over the second bridge, and back past transition.

Three bridges and you run on both sides of the water. The biggest negative about the run is that too much of it is on concrete.

Over the third bridge on the way out, I saw Eric and he told me I looked solid, or something like that. I waved, slightly.

The real test for me was at about 4 miles. Over the second bridge, on the way out, was where I'd cracked last time I did the race, where I'd ducked into the porta-potty and tried to go, then come out and walked.

There was an amazing amount of shame in that for me. I never really got it, to the point where I had to go back and do the race again primarily because it had beaten me once and I couldn't accept that.

I ate a GU as I ran by the potties, grabbed a water and downed some endurolytes and I never slowed down. Was I a little afraid of the aid station ? Yeah, I was. The knowledge I'd cracked there-

And then it was just another spot on the run and I was past it.

I took it easy up the hill. Then, because of my leg, I took it easy on the downhill.

As I was coming back to the bridge the lead male's entourage was catching up to us. It's kind of tight on the path and I was yelling at people to get out of the way of the motorcycle. 'Come on, it's the lead male. He's already won Canada. Get out of the way.' The truth is that a motorcycle probably shouldn't be on the run course when the run course is a pedestrian path, but that's how it goes. I think he was double-lapping me.

That's DOUBLE-lapping me. Ouch. Humble much ?

I made it back into transition. I was low on GU- only had three, and I took one at the loop marker and then it was out again towards the arts center. I was running OK, but not great. I was really happy to be on the second loop.

It was cool at the long fountain by the art center, and then I was working my way up through people. Even though wasn't running especially well, I was passing people. I got down close to the hotel we were staying at and back to the aid station with the uber-helpful guy. He again escorted me in to the area where I got the water I wanted so I could down more electrolytes and it was back on the bridge again, one of the bigger 'uphills' on the course. By now I was running with certain goals in mind.

Then at about 10 miles the 5th place woman passed me. I know because she was escorted by a mountain bike. When you're the 5th woman, there's no motorcycle and camera, I guess. She passed me, but then she didn't gap me. I was actually getting annoyed. I was still trying to keep my effort steady, and didn't I have to be running harder to not be getting dropped by a pro woman (who had just lapped me) ? Yeah, it's a weird sport. Then, I realised what he problem was as she ducked into a porta-potty. I never saw her again- and I unlapped myself !

Does the Ironman have a scrap of mercy ? No. While the 5th place woman was in the crapper, she became the 6th place woman as the former 6th place woman went by me.

She did drop me.

Eric likes to break the marathon into ten miles, ten miles and then 10K, and I think that's very useful. I have some benchmarks I work with as well- 13 miles, and for no real reason, 22 miles.

I saw Ian and Margit again on the run and think it might have been when I exchanged a high five with Ian. That was somewhere close to twelve miles.

I first took cola right before that, because I was out of GUs. The soda picked me up and then upset my stomach. The upset didn't last as long as the pick-me-up, so I went with it.

It was a big relief to hit the back half of the run course, if there is such a thing on a three loop course. I saw Eric again and he was- as always- nothing but positive energy. Shortly after I saw him I was again headed to that area I'd walked at in 2007 and-

I was worried. I was hurting a lot more than on the first lap. Screw it. I went through with no difficulty and now I'd heaped dirt on this area that had beaten me in 2007. Of course, that uphill graded area of the course hadn't beaten me. I'd beaten myself- that and the sun poisoning and the desalination. Not this time. I ran through the aid station, took some more cola, and then I was easing my way up the big hill for the second time.

I wasn't feeling that great though.

I had to pee, but after I went down the biggest downhill on the run course, there was nowhere for it.

I was having a harder and harder time running. So I found a large utility pole- some monstrous grey metal thing, ducked 'behind' it, bent at the knees, and peed. If this is too gross for you, so be it. I didn't pull down my shorts. I just peed.

And then I started running again.

I felt a lot better. I went through the Inspiration Station and it didn't pick me up like it had the first time 'We love You'. Isn't that sweet. I was going to fast to see my message come up. After that I just concentrated on getting through the second loop and out onto the third loop.

I was so psyched to be on that third loop. About a mile in, getting close to the aid station, I found myself running with a guy and a woman that were talking to each other. They were on their second loop and I was on my third and yet I was having trouble passing them at first. Then I basically got tired of listening to them talk and passed them. I got more great service in the aid station, and was back out on the bridge- that bridge I'd be going over the last time.

The third loop of a three-loop ironman is a thing unto itself. It's liberating in that the end of the day is coming for you and yet, there is still a lot of work to do. I got stiffed at the last aid station before 22 miles, but when I got there, to 22, I really felt like I'd done my job, and put myself in a position to have a chance to-

Do what ?

When I'd left transition at the start of the run I'd set a goal- break 10:40. Not a lofty goal, but I just needed to run a solid 3:40 on one good leg to do that.

With four miles left, I needed to run about 8:00s.

I kept pushing through and ticking off the miles, but by the time I got to 25 miles, the numbers on the watch weren't adding up. I was not going to make the 10:40 mark.

Of course, as deadlines go, this wasn't killer. It wasn't the difference between qualifying or not qualifying, or between getting a medal or crossing the line with the lights out.

I had three people in my sites as we wended through the parking lot. Because Ian had run the kids mile run the day before, I knew what the finish line was set up like. I passed two of the three people I was trying to run down before I reached the final turn into the straight away. Then I had a dilemma.

The guy in blue and yellow I was trying to pass didn't want to be passed. He picked it up in a big way and went by him under the Ford black inflatable. There was no strategy. I just ran as hard as I could, and then it was over.

I had beaten him to the line, and while he tried to recover, I got my picture taken.

But I was whooped...

Ironman Arizona-The Bike

I have never been so glad to be on my bike. Just surviving the swim seemed like a journey worth the trip.

When I signed up for the race last year, I thought that the winds would be less of an issue in November than April on the bike and that was not exactly correct. It was obvious right away that the wind was going to be a factor all day, although not as bad as April 2007. Having dealt with it before, I felt prepared. It was going to make the ride challenging both physically and psychologically, because no matter what direction it took, it would be in my face for a long way. I'm a fan of getting punished on the way out and enjoying the tailwind on the way back, so that was my hope.

I got my wish. As we worked through the early set of turns that take you out to the reservation, it was clear the wind would be in my face on the way to the turn around.

Eric had said to give our stomach 15 minutes before starting to eat, so I sipped at my Gatorade and took some Endurolytes. My legs were basically stumps. I couldn't feel my feet, my achilles tendons had no flexion, and my calf was still pretty sore. Of course, the cure for the calf was drop my heel and extend my pedal stroke to stretch out the calf muscle, except that I couldn't drop my heel...

My race almost ended around the time I first went to eat. As I passed one athlete, he decided it was time for a bathroom break- on the other side of the road. He started cutting across the road as I was finishing my pass and he nearly t-boned my back wheel. I was not happy.

I was relying mostly on Clif Rocks for solid food. In hindsight, a 50/50 mix of Rocks and Blocks would have been a better choice. The second banana I'd eaten that morning was also waffling between the good idea and bad idea columns. I think it's safe to say that two bananas and a Red Bull are probably not a perfect choice.

Once we started heading out to the reservation my early speed started to bleed away. Turning the pedals is an amazingly mechanical process. I was sore and a little discouraged, but I'd still managed over 20 mph out to Beeline Highway. That average started to head south as we turned into the wind. I looked down and saw I was going 14-15 mph per hour at some points, but I wasn't worried. I knew that I had what I wanted. Into the wind on the false flat out- it's pretty much a steady slight uphill grade out to Shea Road (the turn around).

The drafting wasn't too bad on this first loop.

I had to pee for the first time on the way out, probably 15 miles into the bike. The last time I'd done the race I'd gotten severely dehydrated (my pee started burning during the bike and continues to feel like fire for three days after the race). I could tell I was much better hydrated. I took turns with gatorade and water bottles all through the bike. The funny thing about peeing on the bike this time was that it felt hot coming out and on my leg, then cold as it got down to my left foot- which didn't actually need any more wet and cold.

I saw Steve Surprise coming back from the turn around, and he had maybe seven minutes on me. He was berating a group of people I was passing from across the road for drafting. I laughed and tried my best to do some math. I didn't think I could make that up in a single loop, but it did invigorate me a little bit. I worked through the turn, starting now to dump water on my head and chest (but careful to keep it away from my feet) to keep my core body temperature from elevating.

I was eating every half an hour. My nose was also running and I was frequently blowing it- the sinus infection was making its presence felt.

As soon as we'd crested the hill at the turn around, the effect of the tailwind and the downhill combined. I hit 36 miles per hour- this is supposed to be a flat course, right ? Let me tell you I've never hit 36 mph in two races at Ironman Florida. This is not that flat a course.

The ride back was fast until we got off the reservation. Once you made the right at the gas station things slowed down a bit as you were riding into the cross-wind.

My feet were starting to wake up but my right side was sore because I was using my hip to do the work that my leg was supposed to be using. There was already salt on my legs- I was taking endurolytes every half an hour as well. I just kept grinding out the first lap and before I knew it, I was looping back out.

I saw Ian and Margit as I headed back out on the second loop. They were cheering me on, but I knew Margit could do the math and would know I was not in a great position at this point.

Eric really pushed the idea in the pre-race meeting of not pushing too hard on the bike. 'You should feel a little bit guilty', Eric said. 'Like it's a training ride.' I tried my best to stick within that, while also working on moving up.

That's the hardest part of the bike for me- moving up. I'm dead serious about not drafting. Because I come out of the water so far in arrears, I am faced with the frequent need to pass people. That requires a little more work in some cases than I'd like to do. Over 112 miles, there's a lot of situation where I have to get out of my rhythm to stay within the rules.

It was also clear on the second loop that continuing to eat was going to be a challenge. I had the bike computer as my only clock to keep track of the thirty minute intervals. I was basically keeping a package of something open at all times and eating one at a time (block or rock). That was helping quite a bit, but I realised I was drinking a lot of water- almost as much water as gatorade. You go with what you can stomach. I noticed my speed dropping to around 18 mph going out on that second loop- the wind was still in our face and I was trying to just stay aero. My feet and legs were warming up and I was getting some heel drop extension.

I knew my leg would hurt on the run...

The bike computer has some kind of issue with the right control button- likely gatorade has been spilled on it. The button sticks sometimes, including during the race. The computer started switching- at random intervals- from one function to the next. Sometimes it was cadence. Then trip distance. Then speed and average speed. Speed and max speed. Cadence usually came up when I was going uphill into the wind...

Steve maintained most of his lead over me during the second loop- he went by me going back from the out and back after losing only about a minute. I got to the turn, babied my way around the cone, and picked out 'tall guy' for my water. As in 'You, the tall guy' and a point. I like to identify the volunteer early- I've seen too many feed zone crashes...

I hauled some ass on the second loop back as the wind was at my back again. I missed one bottle exchange and I was still struggling to eat everything, but getting it down, along with endurolytes.

I was still sore. My hip was complaining about the extra work I was giving it because of my right calf and then my groin was starting to hurt as well.

I could tell on the ride back into Tempe though, that the wind was shifting. This was bad news. I had an idea that it would be at our back on the way out on the third loop, which was not a good thing. I'd done this last time in Arizona- fought the wind coming back on that third loop and gotten off the bike fried.

The ride back in was uneventful. I was still moving up but of course, not passing as many people and there was some jockeying- I'd pass someone who'd pass me back or visa versa, and I was starting to get close to some packs.

I went around the loop back in Tempe and was out for the third loop. I was almost glad I didn't see Ian and Margit again. It can be very emotional, seeing your family like that, especially when you're maybe letting them down. I needed to concentrate, find my centre and get something done out there.

I almost didn't finish the race and concentration was what saved me.

I was early on in the third loop when I took a right hand turn. I was aggressive in the turns all day because I was seeing a lot of grandma riding in the turns. I went wide, then settled in. The guy in front of me was going maybe two miles an hour slower and I was just thinking of starting my pass when-

He stopped. There were five porta-potties on the side of the road and the guy decided to just, well, stop. In the fraking road. Not pull off, not give a hand signal. Just stop.

You reaction time ? You've spent an hour and twenty minutes in 61 degree water. You've been riding about four hours and ten minutes. You were up with a fever the night before.

You swerve.

Somehow I made the move I needed to make.

Later, as I was peeing (#4), a guy came up to me and said 'That was a sweet move back at the bathroom. I closed my eyes.' He was sure we were abut to have a three bike (or more) pile-up.

The third loop was the one where I did have an issue with groups drafting. Once on the way out and twice more on the way back I would find myself dropping to let an entire drafting group go by and then accelerating to around 28 mph to pass the whole group. I never hit thirty on any of these accelerations- I didn't have that left in me.

I'd gone through the turn around far enough behind Steve that I knew I wasn't catching him. And as I'd expected, the wind was in my face on the way back- no 30 mph speeds, more like high 20s. After the second acceleration and before the third I caught the eye of one of the officials and he gave me a nod and a smile.

An idea formed.

The next time the pack attacked me, I went with a quick counter and went much harder than the other two. I splintered the group, drew a few people in and next thing I knew, the motorcycle pulled up and the guy behind me was headed for the penalty tent

Sweet justice !

I rode back into Tempe somewhat exhilarated, but my right calf was still sore and I knew one thing.

It was going to be a long run.

Ironman Arizona-Pre Race and the Swim

I'm a big proponent of a good night's sleep the night before the Ironman.

I am not a big proponent of lying in a pool of my own sweat, nose running, unable to sleep for two hours.

After swimming in Tempe Town Lake Thursday and Friday I'd noticed some nasal congestion, but mostly when I got up. It was serious enough that I was considering skipping the Saturday swim. But the need to get that open water feel and also weather the cold one more time trumped worries about the bacteria in the lake.

Unable to sleep, sweating, nose plugged
I would have liked to had that decision back.

I did get about three hours of solid sleep.

I was up by 4:45 am. I ran for ten minutes with Steve Surprise, ate breakfast- two bananas and some coffee, plus a few handfuls of Fruit Loops, then Steve and I took the shuttle from the hotel to the race. It was dark and a lot colder than when I did the race in April.

Steve and I stayed together for a while, then he went his way and I went to the bathroom. This gave me a chance to catch up on some decent music, read a few tweets, and an article about Apple bringing flash to the iPhone, get body marked. Then it was back to the bathroom, with time to drink a Red Bull, down a Gu, and get my wetsuit on.

Being on the small side it's easy for me to worm my way through a crowd, squeeze under railings, and get to the water. But when I got to the canal wall, my desire to get in the water was minimal. They were encouraging us to do just that, jump in, get it over with, as we'd have to do it anyway. But I knew every minute in the water would only make the swim harder.

Finally, I jumped in around 6:50, and started swimming to the start. The water was every bit as cold as I'd remembered and my hands and feet immediately started to suffer. I tried getting up on the wall of the canal but that didn't help.

Eric had told us to get to the middle if possible, but I couldn't. I was on the outside with no way in because we were all treading water and even out near the wall, just a few rows back from the buoy, I was having trouble finding somewhere to tread water where no one would kick me.

I don't get it. Why do people in the water think it's okay to kick you. Sure, everyone is trying to do the same thing, but I wasn't kicking anyone...

That's just how it is. Finally, the mayor of Tempe gave a few inspirational words- the guy is part comedian, part motivational speaker. Then we had the national anthem.

Then the cannon went off.

All the people still standing on the wall jumped in and we all started swimming.

At first, it was not bad. I was finding water with my numbing hands and feet. For the the first three minutes I was swimming mostly head down, not having too much trouble.

Then it got to be too tight, too close. I was unable to keep my head down without risking being constantly kicked. As soon as I get my head up like that, my breathing goes south and I start hyperventilating, which makes it impossible for me to get my head down, which...

Eric Hodska, my coach, had said if you were having trouble to just go stand on the wall.

This saved my race. I swam over to the wall. I climbed up on it, adjusted my googles and walked a little bit. Hey, it's a race. Keep moving forward, right ?

About fifteen seconds later, I jumped back in. I had clear water. I started to swim and had no problems until the turn-around.

Meanwhile, my feet were getting really numb. My calves were twinging because my achilles tendons were completely contracted. I was worried. I worked my ankles and toes as much as possible but I knew my calves were in danger of massive cramps..

Because of the shape of the course and the fact that I was on the outside of the pack, some buoys were close and some were far away. I kept trying to work inside but the same two or three guys kept getting in my way or hitting me every time I tried to make a move.

The swim out to the far buoy in a one loop swim is forever.

Finally, I got there. People were cheering when they hit the turn around. This really pissed me off. Stop cheering and keep swimming. The people who swim at my ability in the Ironman seem to always slow down and gather themselves at the buoy, which makes this the most dangerous part of the course and also pisses me off. Why can't they just keep swimming. The increased congestion leads to a lot of unnecessary contact and-

Sure enough, I got knocked around and my right calf cramped. It exploded in pain. I kept swimming. What else could I do.

It was a terrible cramp, lasting about three minutes. Then finally it eased. An unbelievable sense of calm like I have never felt in an ironman swim came over me when the cramp eased. I have literally never been so at ease during a swim.

Then the calf cramped again.

I also felt a series of twinges in the left calf. I fought to stay clear of anyone and it passed.

The swim back was a confusing mix. I was just yards away from some buoys, I was at fifty yards away from others. There were people everywhere, although I seemed to be keeping pace with a group.

We finally went under the bridges and then around the last buoy.

The swim in from the last buoy was epic- long, difficult, confusing. I seemed to be on everyone's right.

Then suddenly I was on the stairs, hauling myself out. I could not walk, I could only limp. I had to take my wetsuit off standing up. The volunteers didn't like this but if I'd laid down and they'd pulled on the leg of my wetsuit the calf would have erupted.

I stumbled on wet feet to the bike to run bags. No one could find mine so I did it myself, then I changed outside the tent where it was light and I could see what I was doing. I slipped my cycling jersey (the pockets loaded with food and electrolytes) on, put on my helmet and sunglasses but forgot my gloves.

I was angry and upset and wasn't sure if I wanted to scream or cry. Another 1:20 + swim. Frozen feet. A seriously injured leg. I'd been here before.

I found the will to run to my bike, then run out of transition with it. While people started trying to mount their bikes standing still, on an uphill, an inch over the mount line, I ran. And ran. More than 100 yards, out onto the street. Then I mounted near the turn and started pedaling. Neither foot was clipped in but I didn't care.

I was on my way.

Behind where I needed to be. Sore. Cold.

And my nose was running...

None of that mattered now. Now I could ride.

Ironman Arizona-FIrst Thoughts

It's been a long two days since the race. Usually I'm on the blog right away, doing my best to get everything recorded before it all fades from memory.

Then again, I'm not usually driving to the Grand Canyon less than 24 hours after I finish an Ironman, so you'll have to forgive me if it takes a few days to get through the race report.

First and foremost- this was not the race I wanted to have. When I left the bike to run transition at 6:58, I knew it was over. The real time that I wanted to beat would not be beaten on this day. I adjusted my goals on the fly, but that 10:40 was not the time I was looking for when I lined up, or rather when I jumped into Tempe Town Lake and started to suffer.

Second- this race was HARD. The cold water, the crowded course, the wind on the bike. It was not an easy day until I got to the run, and by then I was spent.

Third- I really did have a good season this year. If you can have a good season without acing your A race, or if you can go and have some great time with your family before and after the race without throwing out a total dud on race day and be overall happy, then I'm glad I came out here and I look forward to doing it again.

More later, and thanks to everyone who sent emails and tweets and good wishes my way.

Hope I didn't let y'all down...

Last thoughts

Time to hit the hay- well, in half an hour or so.

I'm not nervous and I'm not quite resigned either. I tend to go into a race with a pretty low-key attitude and I'd just like to be able to get out there and well, basically, have the swim over with. Once that's out of the way, I'll be happy. There's a liberation for me when I get on my bike and the fun begins.

I hope everyone else I know here has a great race.

No matter what happens, I'm sure I'll have something to write about on my blog tomorrow...

How cold is too cold, or Tempe Town Lake equals Brrr....

I look back now on my last ride in Connecticut, a three hour misery-fest in 50 degrees and rain and suddenly, it seems like great training for the Ironman Arizona...

...swim.

Yes, that's right. With the water now officially at 63- and I'm betting on 62 on race day, there's no question the water is cold. And it's not a cold, but just a little for the first five minutes. It's just plain clod. And that's something as an athlete that you have to be willing to deal with on race day.

The water is not going to magically get warmer. Your hands and feet are going to get cold. Two swim caps might be a good idea. But you can't get in and try to take it easy either. It's not like a training ride on the bike where it's cold so you keep the pace mellow. You have to go as hard as you can and keep your head down.

That's the one thing I'm really going to have to work on- keeping my head down. With the cold, my calves will want to cramp, but with the muscles tight, lifting my head up and arching my back is the best way to make that happen. No, it's all about keeping my head down, staying focused on moving buoy to buoy and not letting the fact that the water is cold and murky make me unhappy.

It's not the swim I'd like to have.

But it is the swim I'm going to have. So I'll take it, and like every Ironman one of the happiest moments will be when I get out of the water and the swim is over...

Happy Birthday Steve !

We celebrated Steve's birthday at Benihana's last night.

Arizona in November

At 7 AM this morning, two days before race day, the temperature is 48 degrees.

By any standard, this is cold for the start of the race. Add that the temperature of the water is only 64 degrees and you start to wonder what your thinking was that you were going to be racing in the heat.

I don't like cold water. I did Muskoka one year- June in Ontario. The stated water temperature was 54 degrees and this was, if canadians are capable of such things, a lie. I was disoriented when I exited the water.

This is nowhere near that bad, but swimming without a wetsuit yesterday, I wasn't too happy.

Of course, the truth is there will be 'heat', which is to say that it will get up into the mid-to-upper seventies during the bike and the run. And with the stronger sun here, it will get hot. I certainly was sweating in the middle of the day while I was standing around waiting for my bike, which TriBike Transport did a great job getting here.

Overall the village was very well organized and if everyone had not wanted to check in at the athlete registration at 10AM yesterday, which is no fault of the venue, things would have been perfect.

But the four hours I spent at the village waiting for one thing or another did make it clear- it will be hot. Just not in the water or at the beginning of the bike...

PS- the race does not climb that hill. It's just a cool hill. Maybe I'd place better if we did climb it.

The Last Ride

My bike was shipped off to Arizona Tuesday, but I still had one long ride left. A three hour jaunt in low B today on my other T-Class.

I was not especially looking forward to it, both because of how great my own bike felt last weekend and because I'd started to think the soreness in my ankles/feet came from the fact that at its lowest my seatpost was still too high on the T-Class and I've been too lazy to saw the post. Add to that the forecast- mid-50s and raining and there was quite a bit of thought of spinning inside.

But I looked at the forecast and it was mid-fifties, with around a 50/50 chance of rain. I stepped outside and it was not really that bad. It had hardly rained at all since I'd gotten up, just sprinkles really.

I decided I would bundle up and give it a go. Deep down I knew that an outdoor ride and run was probably the way to go. Let's face it. I'm not just willing to spin- I enjoy it. Popping in a Spinervals versus riding in the rain for three hours ? It's a no brainer. Sweating in the basement or suffering in crap weather ?

So I did the thing that wasn't easy because I knew that was the whole point. After this, it will be a long stretch of weeks before I willfully go out and ride in the rain again, since my next race after Arizona is Lake Placid. Next Sunday won't be easy. Or if it is, it will be a waste of my time.

I didn't have any solid food, so I swung by Soundrunner, but it was a few past nine so they weren't open. I went back by my house and I'd already done 10 minutes of my ride. I headed out the usual way. The wind was blowing in my face and although the sun was peaking through the clouds it was raining. I gave up the thought of making it all the way to Old Saybrook.

Good thing.

I went through Stoney Creek and hit a place where the road was flooded. But it was only about 6 inches deep. The bottom of my feet got wet. I evaluated how they felt, decided that it was warm enough that I could take being wet, and went on.

The next washout was at least calf high- on the bike. I rode through it anyway.

I turned around at the third washout.

If I'd had any sense I might have headed back home.

Instead, I rode back to Stony Creek and then hooked a right and headed for Route 1 and started to wonder if I could get to Guilford in an hour.

At 57 minutes, I was on the town green. I was wet, but my feet were holding up. I was starting to lose the feeling my right hand because I had no bike glove on (only could find one), but other than that I was fine. I was thinking about how I'd made the right choice.

Then it really started to rain, get dark, and the wind blow. I found myself turning my face out of the steady hard pelting rain.

I decided to go to Hammonassett, do the Meigs Point loop and come back home.

It got darker. It got colder.

I was damned if I wasn't, on my last training ride, going to make it to Meigs Point. I love time trialing in the park.

Somehow, I made it all the way to the Point in half an hour, about the normal time- only to find there was even a part of the park road that was flooded. And then I made it around the tear drop and what do you know- the wind was howling in my face, I had another 90 minutes to ride.

And now my feet were getting cold. I hit the red light leaving the park to turn left, so I decided to practice one of those Ironman skills you don't get to use every day. My tights constrained the flow nicely and my left foot really warmed up quite a bit while I waited for the light to change. The heat was almost too much of a shock..

I did a good job picking what to wear- the technical top under my cycling jersey and lightweight tights were keeping my core and legs cold.. My one hand was getting pretty numb. The other one, not so bad.

I worked hard when I could and worked steady the rest of the time. I tried not to think about how unlike Arizona this ride was. I tried to ignore how the drivers that were out were even less intent than usual in giving me space or even seeing me. I rode back up on Route 1 to avoid the flooded areas and with an extra part of a Hammerfest loop I managed two hours and fifty minutes of solid riding.

Sure, I had to take a five minute shower (and watch red welt form all over my arms, hands, feet and legs) to warm up before running- yes, on the treadmill- for 25 minutes.

Was it worth it ?

Definitely. A little last minute adversity just before a big race is just the thing to serve as a reminder...