Running from Tigers, and Other Large Cats

Racing Sick

2011-07-21T10:46:00.000-04:00

So Saturday morning I woke up with a pretty decent sore throat. I had no other symptoms, but it was a pretty miserable feeling not being able to swallow even my own saliva. Laura and I spent the day down Plymouth at my families annual cookout, and to be honest, my throat didn't bother me too much (as I recall) throughout the day. But later that night, when we went home, I had a real tough time. I packed for my race the next morning, and just tried to relax a bit.

I signed up for this race because I hadn't raced since the beginning of June, and I wasn't signed up for another race until halfway through August, and I was itching for competition. My previous races were both of the 70.3 distance, and I felt like I needed to get my fast twitch muscles moving in the right direction. Being down in Plymouth on Saturday, I thought it would be a good idea to look for a race down in the area Sunday, so we could spend the night and do the race real quick. The Falmouth Sprint looked like a good option, but when I went to sign up, it was already sold out. Bummer! So basically the only option I had was the Mass State Triathlon all the way out in Winchendon. Not the ideal place travel wise, but doable from our apartment in Waltham (about an hour drive).

I didn't sleep more than 30 minutes at any interval that night. I don't know if it were nerves, or if I was really starting to develop an illness, but I tossed and turned all through the night that night, and it really made for an uncomfortable morning before the race. I wasn't 100%, but I felt like I could fight through it, as it was only a sprint distance, and I had my base way beyond what this race would need.

The race started out great. I swam with the front of my wave for awhile, finishing several minutes faster than I told Laura to expect, and way faster than I had ever swam before. The bike started out great for me, I was passing people the first few miles, while getting passed by no one, and I felt like I was getting all loose and rhythmic. The middle section had a mile long climb, which was difficult, but I just took it all in stride, didn't kill myself, didn't dilly-dally. Then the run came, and my not-at-100% really started coming home. I cruised out of transition, passing 3 people rather quickly, and then my lungs started tightening up, and not allowing me to take deep breathes without some needle-like sensations. I pushed through it, it was only a 5k, but I did run quite a bit slower than I expected to. After the race, I felt okay.

Later that day, we were relaxing with friends, and I felt like I was getting worse and worse every passing minute. My nose was getting more and more congested. The lungs felt like there were filled with nails, and the cough. Miserable.

The next morning, I woke up, and I got no breaks. I felt 10x worse than I did when I went to bed (even though I took NyQuil), and I had to call into work. My body started aching, and I just laid on the couch all day, too weak to even reach for the remote. It was very odd. But I think racing at that stage was the main reason. I think my body was fighting whatever was trying to hack into my immune system, and then all of a sudden I was forcing it to help me recover from a race. It was defenseless. Luckily, most of the big symptoms passed fairly quickly; the body aches, the weakness, the dizziness. I am still stuck with a small couch, and a very congested nose, but I am still trooping on, and will give a shot at a 5-mile road race tonight. Bad idea?

For anyone thinking about racing while sick, I ask, is it worth it? You will most likely get a little worse, and you probably won't have the race you expect. Some races just aren't worth it. I think this one was one of those races for me...

My First Accident

2011-07-08T12:12:00.000-04:00

This past weekend I was spending some quality time relaxing down the Cape, and thought I would go out for a nice long ride on the Cape Cod Rail Trail. The Trail runs from Dennis up to Wellfleet or out to Chatham. I chose to do the Dennis to Wellfleet route, as this is a bit longer ride, and I wanted to get about 3 hours in. The route is great, nice and flat. The only quips I have is at all the street crossings are stop signs, so it's difficult to get into a great rhythm a lot of the time.

I decided to leave a bit early in the morning to avoid all the family traffic that would be on the trail, so I started at 6:30am. I made it out to Wellfleet (approx. 26 miles into the ride) by 7:50am, ate some food, and headed back. The ride was great. There wasn't much traffic, I was cruising along, enjoy the morning sun. When I was about 2 miles from the end of the trail, WHAM, my great morning came a screeching halt.

The families started inhabiting the trail in bunches, making my ride more difficult to maneuver. I had just crossed an intersection, and so I was out of my saddle, sprinting a bit to pick up speed, when a little tike swerved in front of me from the other side of the trail on his tricycle. In instinctively swerved further outside the trail, where I naturally lost control of my bike. My front wheel slid on some sand, and while I was wobbling, I hit a brick that was so conveniently placed alongside the trail. Front roll, crash, front rolls, crash, side roll, etc.

Next thing I knew, I was on the ground, checking for injuries, but only found a little bit of blood coming out of the edge of my fingernail. So I tried to get up and ride away, slightly embarrassed. Didn't happen. I was too shaken up, and it was only due to adrenaline that I was able to stand up at that instant because I fell right over. Looking back down at my hand, which hurt the most, and blood is coming down more, out of more places now too. I sat there for a bit, trying to calm myself down and not faint, and with the help of some other riders that stopped to help me (seems to be a trend for me...), I called Laura to come pick me up.

I didn't go directly to the hospital, even though I felt pretty sore, because I wanted to rest a bit and analyze the extent of my injuries. After some rest, and a clean-up of my hand, my injuries are as follows.

Scratched up left hand, with the ring finger being the worst off, with several layers torn off.
Swollen right knee, which has subsided at this time.
Bruised left quad.
Tender left ribs.
Abrasions on my left elbow.

Nothing too serious, I was lucky! Life goes on, and I will take out of this to watch out for kids on tricycles!

Patriot Half Race Report

2011-06-23T16:54:00.268-04:00

A week late, and a dollar short, story of my life. Good thing this is only my blog, and good thing I only have 8 followers, or people would be irritated. Without further ado.

Freetown, MA, 06/18/2011

Approaching my second half-ironman of the year, I was a lot more calm this time than I was for Oceanside, and I think it was mainly due to the confidence I had building up to this race. I knew I could handle the distance, I did it a month and a half earlier, on a smaller training volume. The Patriot course, in comparison to Oceanside, is 2-dimensional. It is almost as flat as a 56 mile bike and 13.1 mile run could be. In contrast, Oceanside had a few really challenging hills that would give any ski resort a run for their money. My training had picked up, too. I'm not saying that I trained anywhere near where I "should have", but to me I was feeling good about it. In my third year of racing, I still enjoy more just swimming, biking, and running without worrying about the super-quality-hard workouts that would help me race as fast as I can. So that is where I was heading into Patriot.

Because this race was local, I was able to spend the night at my parents, in the house I grew up in and was comfortable in. So much nicer waking up in a bed that use to be yours, from an alarm clock that always reminded me of what I thought the devil would sound like. Which reminds me, I need to get a new alarm clock in case I ever sleep over there for a race again! The day before, I went for a quick ride on my whip, around the same roads that I ran on all my track days, and I felt great. My legs were spinning smooth and they felt minty fresh. I had all afternoon to pack up my race kit, and attach all my nutrition on my bike (not that I know anything about nutrition for a half-ironman). After getting everything ready, and laying out my uniform for the next day, setting all necessary alarms, I was able to relax on the couch, and then I started getting a little nervous.

The transition area opened up at 5:00am for the 7:00am start time of the race, and because I had checked-in the day before, I thought if I had left my house at 5:15am I would be there with plenty of time, and would be fairly close to the race site. There were 2 parking lots for the race, which was for racers, volunteers, and spectators. My assumption failed, only because everyone else had the same idea, and the close parking lot was completely full by the time I got there, and the 2nd lot was filling up quite fast. Luckily, we got there early enough that I didn't have to sweat worrying about finding a transition spot and having enough time to shake out the nerves. Walking over to transition with all your gear is like the quiet before the storm. It's almost like the air is getting sucked out of your lungs, and as it is happening, all the outside noise is grower fainter and fainter. And then all of a sudden, BAM! You turn the corner and it's like you walked into Mardi Gras (not really) and people are partying like it's 1999. The music was loud, the DJ was obnoxious, people were running around everywhere. The scene before a race is always exciting, and when I'm racing I never look around to appreciate what I am involved in. There are always the people walking around with the volunteer shirts on, and being all hyped up like they were at a college orientation. There's the kids dragging their feet behind their parents bikes, wondering why they had to miss Saturday morning cartoons. And obviously there are those that are chewing down their final bite of their banana, squishing that last bit of energy GU into the gullets, and squirting a mouthful of water to wash it all down, before they head over to the lines at the port-o-potties. What a circus.

15 minutes before race start, my wet suit is on, my transition area is all set up, and I start taking a few large breathes to ease my nerves and get into my racing zone. The race director (RD) corrals all the racers towards the swim start at this point, and the National Anthem is played. I've done so many races in the last 2+ years, and still the time when the RD starts counting down for the start of my wave, I get just as nervous as I did on that first race. 10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1...GO!

My swim training took a bit of a hit between Oceanside and now at Patriot, but I still felt I could handle the swim and finish in a decent time for myself. I had swam 44ish minutes at Oceanside, but most of that I blame on the conditions of the Pacific Ocean, so I felt that <40 minutes was within reach for me. The swim was rectangular in shape, with the start going straight out in Long Pond a good ways, turning left at the last buoy, swimming parallel to the shore for a bit, and then turning left again to swim straight all the way back to the beach (not at the same location as the start of the swim). I felt great on my swim out, and really got into a rhythm that made me think I would be able to swim far under the 44ish mins I did at Oceanside. I took turns between all my zig-zagging to swim off the heels of faster swimmers, to give me a chance to draft for a bit and save some energy. By the time I reached the first turn buoy, I looked back and realized that I was really far out. I could barely make out the location of the inflatable archway we were to run under when we got out of the water, let alone that there were people watching us all swim on the shore. It started to make me a little nervous, not because I was afraid of being that far out in the open water, but because I was starting to second guess my speed, and was worrying that I wasn't going to make it in a time I would be comfortable with. It's really difficult to guess how long you've been swimming for, and it always feels a lot longer than it actually is, but nonetheless, I was a bit on edge. After making the turn at the final turn buoy, and during my swim back to shore, I started getting tired in my arms, and could tell I was slowing down. But every time I looked up to site and make sure I was heading in the right direction, the shore was getting closer and closer. Every time it got a bit closer, it gave me more confidence to just keep my head down, and continue stroking and breathing, until I heard the music playing... I got really excited, pushed a bit harder until I could see the bottom of the pond, and I threw my legs down... sand. I knew I walked the rest of the way to the waters edge, and from video my brother took, it was an even slower walk than it felt like (I tell myself not to walk every race, but I never can seem to break the habit), but I looked down at my watch, and the time said 39:xx. Yes! I was so excited that I was under 40 minutes at this point. And although I didn't finish my walk and run across the timing mat before the 40 minute mark, I was pleased that I had cut about 4 mins off my swim time from Oceanside over the same distance. Onto the bike.

Before I go on, I forgot to mention that I was bib #25, which was ironic because I am also 25 years old. So during the pre-race body marking, I had a good chuckle when the volunteer asked me if I were pulling his leg when I kept repeating "25" for everything. Not so funny? I know, but I thought it was interesting. Anyway, because of this nice low number (I don't know how I got it), I was able to get one of the prime transition spots. When we got out of the water, and ran into transition, bib numbers 1-24 were the first bike rack on the left, while numbers 25-50 were on the first bike rack on the right. And each rack was specifically labeled for your race number, so I had the first spot on the right into transition, perfect! I didn't have to run very far in my wet suit before I was at my spot, and changing into my bike gear. Not the fastest transition on the day, but I knew I was about to be on my bike for several hours.

The bike course was a 28 mile loop, that we completed twice for a total of 56 miles. I ride a lot in the area when I am at my parents house, and because of it, I have ridden a lot of the roads before, and knew the area well. I knew there was 1 real big hill, but I also knew that the course took us around it, so it was going to be pretty flat. The first few miles were spent drinking some gatorade, and spinning my legs on a lower gear to try and shake out my swimming legs before I got into a more controlled aero rhythm. I biked the same distance in 3 hrs and 16 minutes at Oceanside, but I knew that the monster hills there slowed me down a lot. At Oceanside, I was at 1 hr and 30 minutes for the first 28 miles. I really wanted to break 3 hrs, and I thought,

"If I could do 1 hr and 30 minutes for the first half at Oceanside, I can do the same thing here, and then push through the flats to repeat it again for 3 hrs here."

I felt smooth, I felt strong, I felt comfortable and relaxed, and by the time I was coming through for the end of my first lap, I felt fast. 1 hr and 20 mins later, I was done with my first 28 miles, and I was 10 mins ahead of schedule. I knew that I wouldn't be able to keep that pace up for another 28 miles, but the course was pretty flat, so I felt confident that I could keep up a decent pace enough to break 3 hrs. I only needed to be within 20 mins of my first laps time to do it. The second lap I focused a bit more on eating, because I didn't do it much on the first lap. My gatorade was gone, I had finished another bottle of water, and was able to complete a bottle exchange for another water, so my fluid intake was about where it should be, I think. Pretzels were my food of choice for this leg, because I would need salt from all I was sweating out. I had about a small zip-lock baggie full of pretzels, and 1.5 energy GUs (the other half fell when I hit a manhole cover). Not enough food, I would be told, but it is what it is, and I'll figure it out someday. Coming back from my second lap, I saw my Mom, Laura and Kevin waiting by the fence near my transition spot, and they looked a bit shocked to be seeing me. I can't blame them, because when I looked down at my watch, it said 2 hrs and 50 mins, 10 mins faster than I wanted, and 26 mins faster than Oceanside! I don't think they were expecting me to kill it. They should have known.

Killed that bike leg! Not many bikes on the racks = many people still biking.

The moment my legs hit the ground was the moment I wanted to quit. 13.1 miles is scary, but throughout the 1.2 mile swim and 56 mile bike, you don't really think about it. It's an after thought. It's a "I'll worry about that when it comes" kind of thing. Well, now it's time. My legs are hurting big time from pushing those pedals so hard, and my sides are aching bad. Mom didn't like my "I guess we'll see" response to her "How are you feeling?" question, but at that point, I wasn't too worried about pleasing her, I was just trying to focus my mind on getting my sneakers on, and away from the total body pain I was experiencing. Sorry Mom.

Leaving transition I felt like I couldn't make it. I ran to the street, made my way past all the spectators cheering, sported a few "C'mon, only 13 miles to go!" Yeah, super easy, right? Then I started walking, legs didn't like me, and they were not afraid to let me know. Somehow I was able to focus a bit longer, I realized that if I ran the 2 hr half-marathon that I was hoping to do, I would be in the 5 hr and 40 minute range for the race, which is way under the 6 hr goal I had set for myself. It gave me a few extra breaths in my lungs to realize that I had a 20 minute cushion, and that I had already done better than I had expected at both the other legs. Miles 1-2 I was hurting, but I was doing good, 9:00min/mile pace. Miles 3-4, hurting a bit more, still doing okay, 10:00min/mile pace. Wasn't looking good, I just needed to keep up that 10 minute pace for 9 more miles... Then my lack of nutrition on the bike started hitting me. I got light-headed real quick, and I started heating up bad. I drank some coke at the next water station, and it seemed to help. (The sun was completely out at this point, and it was beating down with some real heat. There was little shade on the course). The next 9 miles looked like this: Jog, walk, jog, walk, stop and stretch, jog, walk, drink, etc. Not a fun way to do the majority of a half-marathon. During the later stages of the race, things seemed to get worse for me. I felt dehydrated, I felt really hungry, and at one point, I was wobbling so bad that another racer stopped me for a minute and helped me lean against a tree. She gave me a GU, told me to take my hat off to let some heat out, and drink some water and rest at the next water station. That angel saved my life that day. Well, at least helped me finish my race, but I am extremely grateful for her help and for the GU. It really did help pick me up. They say that when adrenaline takes over, you don't realize how bad you really are, and I guess I was at that point where I didn't know. I was in a trance, I didn't think the run would ever end. Mile 8 done. Mile 9 done. Mile 10 done. And I realized I wouldn't be breaking 6 hrs unless I started running 5 min miles. No problem, at this point, I didn't care where I finished, I just wanted to run across that line. I love that feeling. The change from racing to surviving. It's the digging deep for myself and mine own accomplishments that keeps me coming back for more. I don't think I'll ever stop. And I didn't. I passed the Mile 11 marker, and I picked up my pace. I was so close. And although I stopped to walk during the last 2 miles, they were for far less time and at far fewer frequencies than throughout the run. Mile 12 done. Music is playing over the loud-speaker, and I pick up my pace.

Crossing that line at this point is so emotional. The moment I cross the line and realize I am done, is the moment my body wakes up and then realizes it has nothing left. I collapse in a chair, and medics throw a bunch of cold clothes on my back, neck, and head. It feels great, but it hurts. I can feel the build-up of pain, joy, and relief creeping up on me, and by the time I go sit with my family, it all comes out. I cried. It's happened to me before when I've gone beyond how far my body wanted to go, and it's great. It was the best tears I ever shed. I scared the little boy sitting across the table from me, but I didn't care. I wanted to cry it all out. I loved every minute of the day. From putting my sunglasses into my helmet before the race, to drying my feet off and struggling with my socks, to trying to focus on anything that isn't blurry after the race, and trying to put something in my stomache without throwing up.

I would not give up any second of this race for anything, and I cannot wait for my next half.

Sidewalks

2011-05-16T11:43:00.001-04:00

I hate them. Most of the time, they are way more trouble than running in the street. They are frequently uneven, with bumps, and dips, and are way more unkept than the streets they run along. I have to constantly run onto the street or onto someones yard to avoid mailboxes, telephone poles, trash barrels, over-hanging branches, recycling bins, or cars that people think they can just park across the entire sidewalk. I enjoy kicking tires of said cars as I run by (I'm very mean, I know). Beyond all of this, the worst part about sidewalks, in my opinion, is the slopes down and up where the sidewalks meet the driveways. They are not too steep, but over the course of a long run, all those step-ups and step-downs really take a toll on my legs. I prefer to run my miles on the street (if I am not running on a trail somewhere) along the side of the sidewalks, unless the sidewalks are very wide and are noticeably "good."

So as a warning, if you park your car across a sidewalk or driveway along my running route, forcing a handicapped person to go into the street to go around your car, I WILL kick your tires. So there!

Hill Climbs are Death

2011-05-05T10:52:00.000-04:00

If anyone ever wonders how they can become a better cyclist, I would suggest doing hill climbs at a minimum. The strain you put on your legs, and the amount of work you make your heart do, does wonders with your strength and conditioning on bike. As long as you give your body a chance to recover.

This season, I am trying to incorporate more hill workouts into both my cycling and my running training. Last year, after doing a few hill workouts, I noticed a considerable difference in the rest of my training with leg strength. Going to blue hills reservation is going to be a regular event for me this spring/summer, and hopefully with a group of people; it always makes it more difficult to quit with more people. The loop around the "mountain" is approximately 7.5 miles, while the access road up the "mountain" is approximately 0.9 miles. Typically we start out the workout with 2-loops around the mountain, for a 15 miles warm-up. Then we hit the access road with blazes. I go hard up the access road, and then cruise back down (wearing my brakes out the entire time). Two weeks ago, we completed 3 intervals up-and-down the access road, and we were close to spent. This past week, we completed 4 intervals. The goal is to increase the intervals by 1 each week, until we cannot feel our legs anymore. I can already feel improvements in my cycling in only 2 weeks of this. Last week I went out for a 20 mile tempo ride, and I felt so much faster than I had previously, and it was so much easier.

Below is not any recent data, because I broke my garmin, but you can get a glimpse of what it's like.

Do not try this workout unless you are ready for the following:

Blood. Sweat. Tears. Torture. Pain. Strain. Infliction. Hurt. Fuss. Wound. Ail.

California Love

2011-04-26T16:31:00.001-04:00

Now that my race report is out of my head and into my blog, I can concentrate my brain on the rest of the trip to California. In as detailed a report as my memory can muster, I will try to bring you as close to our trip as possible.

I can't believe it's been 3 weeks since we got back from California, and I haven't even posted a blog about it yet! Let me rewind.

Way back last May (2010), one of my friends from college and his girlfriend moved out to San Diego, and it was at their going away party that we promised them we would come out and visit. I mean, who wouldn't make that promise? Southern California? Sign me up. This past fall, I decided to go through on that promise. Now, the way I went about following up that promise isn't a normal way of following up, but it's how I've visited Craig in Colorado, and now Dave and Nikki in California. I looked for a triathlon that would be near their place, in the time frame I was looking at, signed up for it, and then boom, I'm forced to buy place tickets! In this case, it was the Rohto Ironman 70.3 California!

Wednesday, March 30, our flight out of Boston is at 8:00am, so we were up and out of the house (spent the night at my parents so they could drive/pick us up and watch our dog) early enough to be at the airport around 6:30am. This was like my 20th time on a plane, our 2nd time flying together, but either of our 1st time with the new security features of the TSA. We chose to fly on Virgin America this trip, because I was flying out there this time with my bike, rather than renting one when I got out there (I hurt my back last time I did that), and after some researching, I found that Virgin America had the cheapest bike fees around. It was only $50 to check my bike! It was my first time flying Virgin also, and it was pretty cool. I am typically favorable to JetBlue only, as they have some of the best features I've flown with, but Virgin was pretty close! They had personal TVs on the backs of each chair, where you could watch TV, movies, listen to the radio, or play video games. For some reason or another, I had the worst luck with this, though. My TV kept freezing and I couldn't do anything! Luckily I brought along my new Kindle that Laura got me for my birthday, and my PSP. Before landing in San Diego, we had a lay-over in San Francisco, for 3 hours!! That's okay, they had a bar. After a few Long Islands, and then finally taking off again, we finally landed in San Diego around 5:00pm PST (8:00pm EST); 12 hours of traveling!! After getting picked up at the airport, and getting settled into their place, we chatted around their dining area to catch up and drink some beers.

Thursday, March 31, we had plans to head to the most famous part of San Diego, the San Diego Zoo. Dave and Nikki were still planning on working that day, so we worked it out with them that they would carpool for the day, and let us use one of their cars to get around. This worked out great, because I guess it was a bit of a ways too far to get a taxi, and it also allowed me to get up to Oceanside to register for my race on Saturday without taking out time hanging out with them. The zoo itself was amazing, purely incredible. It's everything that is said about it. Laura and I got there about 9:30 in the morning, and we were able to park within a couple hundred yards of the entrance. It was a perfect day weather-wise, 70s, nice breeze, perfect. The zoo had everything both of us wanted to see (lions for her, tigers for me). We stayed until about 2:30, and we didn't stay a tremendous amount of time at each exhibit, just walked around at a nice steady pace enjoying everything, and we still didn't see the whole zoo! It was huge. I highly recommend making this a must-see stop if you are ever in the San Diego area. After leaving the zoo, we went up to Oceanside to check out the race location area, walk around the expo a bit, and then register and pick up my race packet. It was the most organized registration I have ever experienced. Later that day, we met back up with Dave and Nikki, and spent the night grilling dinner at their apartment, and just enjoying the rest of the night.

Friday, April 1, Dave was planning on working a half-day from home, and then taking Laura and I out for a tour of the area. The whole time we were driving around, I felt like I was in a movie. Everything was so perfectly groomed, with palm trees lining almost every street, I thought every street was Beverly Hills! Our first stop was out to this place we call "Seals Beach", and it this cool little beach/cove area that was roped off because there were a ton of seals and sea lions and a bunch of their puppies lounging on the sand. It was incredible. We had lunch at RT Longboards (Boston-based pub) which was fun, because it was the Red Sox opening day and there were people all around wearing Sox gear. After lunch, we headed around to a few other site-seeing places before meeting back up with Nikki after she got out of work. We had plans to stay at her friends house for Friday and Saturday night, so we packed up to head over there. Nikki has recently been employed as an Executive Assistant, and it was at her employers house that we stayed. The house was incredible, it was mansion-esque! Everything you could imagine having in a house, this house had: a sensored gate at the driveway, beautiful landscape, 2 islands in the kitchen, 2 fridges/2 freezers/2dish washers all looked like cabinets, a living room with a grand piano, a full bathroom in every room with trees in the showers, 2 full bathrooms in the master, a really nice pool with a waterfall, 3 outside grilles (all remote controlled), a huge gas fireplace, a guest house, endless places to sit, orange/lemon/avocado trees, a tennis court, not to mention the 6 car garage was filled with a porche, a mercedes benz, an old cadillac, a range rover, and a bright red ferarri... This family was living the life! So jealous. And that is where we stayed for Friday and Saturday night.

Saturday, April 2, was the day of my race, which you can check out here Rohto Ironman 70.3 California. After the race, I was super tired, and super hungry, but I couldn't eat. I tried eating a chimichanga, but it wouldn't go down. So we went back to the house and I napped for a good 2.5 hours. Our friends wanted to go out to some bars that night, and because I felt bad that I took up so much time of the day doing my race, I tried my hardest to be a trooper and rally.

Sunday, April 3, was my birthday (happy birthday?). The race was my birthday present to myself, ha-ha. All of us planned on heading to Temecula, which I guess is the Napa Valley of Southern California, for some wine tasting and winery touring. The wineries were all one after another, and it was really cool just looking around and seeing endless grape vines in any direction you looked. We stopped at the first place and had some lunch in the restaurant, and each of us got a flight of wines to try. After that, we drove down the street to Calloway, where we took a tour of the facility (it was huge, so many barrels!), and then had another tasting; we got complimentary wine glasses with this one. Later that day, we drove down to Coronado, walked around the pier for awhile, checked out the Dr. Seuss museum, and then headed to another place for dinner. At this point, I was still not able to eat too much, and I couldn't even finish my beer. My stomach was just not feeling anything yet. I ordered lobster mac 'n cheese, and was so disappointed that I couldn't eat it that night. But I packaged it up and had it for lunch the next day. It was just another great night hanging out together, and that's all I could've asked for on my birthday.

Monday, April 4, was our last full day in San Diego. Dave and Nikki hadn't planned on taking the day off, which was fine, because I was still fairly drained at this point. They left us one of their cars again, and we just relaxed. We took our time getting going, then drove around for awhile enjoying the beautiful weather, before heading back for the last night in. This was the slowest moving day of the trip, but it was much needed at this point. Neither of us wanted to come back from California, needing a vacation.

We flew out early the next morning, said our good byes, and then just enjoyed the memories of the trip the whole flight back to Boston.

F1 Boston

2011-04-19T11:34:00.003-04:00

Last night my lovely girlfriend surprised me by meeting me at work, and taking me out on a date to F1 Boston! She's the best!

The facility is great, and the experience was amazing! They offer the best kart racing I have ever experienced, much unlike the go-kart racing at a local carnival. We reached speeds over 30 mph, and with more skill, I'm sure we could have gone even faster. They provide you with a safety video, and safety equipment (jumpsuit, helmet, and neck guard) and it all makes you feel like you are racing a real race. At the end they print off a performance sheet of each person. I can't wait to go again! By the way, I kicked Laura's butt :)

Laura's F1 Boston Results

My F1 Boston Results

Rohto Ironman 70.3 California Race Report

2011-04-08T18:48:00.310-04:00

Rohto Ironman 70.3 California
Oceanside, CA, 4/2/2011

HERE WE GO!!! My first 70.3 finally came and went with success, meaning I finished.

The night before the race, I was hanging out with my friends that we were staying with in San Diego, and some of their friends. We all shared dinner that night (some delicious raviolis), and then hung around a campfire that night, drinking (water for me) and playing games. It was a little uncomfortable for me, because in my head I was juggling trying to go to bed early and get the rest I would need for the race the next morning, and hanging out with these people who were so gracious to us in letting us stay with them. But I was able to get to bed by 10pm. Hardly early enough, but earlier than my body is use to, so it's okay? In my mind, yes.

Waking up at 4:30am the next morning, I thought, would be a piece of cake. My thought was that because we were only out there for a few days, that our body clocks would still be set for EST. So waking up at 4:30am PST (7:30am EST) would be alright. It turned out, that waking up at 4:30am PST felt like waking up at 4:30am EST; miserable! Between 4:30 and 5:00am, we (Laura and I), got dressed, packed a few things into Dave's car, and prepared a small breakfast of bananas and oranges. Of which I could not eat. I know I 100% should eat food before a race, but my stomach doesn't agree with that. But I had a plan, and we left the house at 5:00am.

Transition opened up at 4:45am and closed at 6:30am. Because we had gone to Oceanside a few days before to check-in, I was fairly confident that by leaving at 5:00am, we would be able to get to the site location with plenty of time to set-up my transition area, have a small breakfast, and warm-up a bit for the race. We got to one of the parking lots in plenty of time, 5:40-5:45am, unpacked all my gear, and started walking down to the transition area. There was a shuttle bus running people back and forth to transition, and we contemplated having Laura take the shuttle, and I could ride my bike down, but we decided to make the walk. One, because we didn't think it was that far away and two, we saw several other athletes already walking down, so we thought we still had plenty of time. The walk ended up being quite a distance, and took us a lot longer than we anticipated. Once we got down to the transition entrance, there were volunteers separating the athletes from the spectators, because only athletes are allowed in transition. At this point, I told Laura to wait right there, that I was going to go set-up my transition area and then head back out to grab my breakfast and warm-up. I get to my transition spot, drop my things off, went over to the body-markers, then started laying out my things when I hear a megaphone inside transition, "Everyone start heading down to the wave corrals, the transition is closing." I started freaking out. I hadn't eaten breakfast, I hadn't warmed up in the least bit, and I hadn't been able to see Laura since I came into transition. She was probably just as freaked. I squeezed a GU into my mouth to at least have something in me before the start of the race.

The race itself, so far, was very organized. By far the most organized race I have done. The check-in itself, which usually takes 30 seconds of me going up to a fold-up table and telling a person there my name and them giving me a packet with my race number, took 15 minutes of an organized walk-through of an auditorium picking up things from different tables. Heading to the swim, I just follow the flow of wet suit cladded people, and then I hear a gun shot. My throat dropped, because I knew that was the start of the elites wave, and I knew that my wave started 19 minutes after theirs, and it hit me that this was it. I head through the corrals or colored swim caps, towards the group of purple, which signified my wave. I was wave #7 out of 16 or 17. All the corrals were along the edge of the water, so we could all see the action that was playing out at the start of the swim. In an attempt to calm my nerves, I didn't watch the swimmers at all, I just looked around at the spectators and the volunteers and thought about what it would be like to be watching this right now or working it. It worked for awhile until they called my swim wave, and we started heading down to the water. You can see I was getting pretty nervous in the video below (I was rubbing my eyelids). So we walk down the boat ramp, dive into the water, and swim the 25 yards across the bay to the start buoys.

I was afraid the water would be way too chilly, because they said it was going to be 55-60°F, but it actually wasn't bad at all. I wore 2 swim caps, my purple one for the race, and another one underneath it. I wasn't uncomfortable at all with the water temperature, and felt like I would be okay swimming the 1.2 miles. The swim was an in-water start, meaning we had to tread water for the few minutes until our gun went off. It sounds tiring, but between the buoyancy of the wet suits, and the extra density of salt water, I just bobbed in the water like one of the buoys! My main thought going into the swim, was to start real slowwww. Because this was my first 70.3, and longest straight swim to date, I didn't know how it would affect me later on in the race. So I planned on swimming a lot slower than I could, and saving my energy for the bike and the run. Swimming started out great, the bay was real calm, and there were no turns in the first few minutes which usually causes clusters. I started in the back of my wave, took off like a turtle at the start of the gun, and just rhythm-ed my way along the buoys. I was very surprised to pass people in the wave before me in the first few minutes, and I just felt bad for them because I knew they were in for a much longer day than I was. The water in the bay was very calm, it was great. Then came the turn buoy that meant I would be swimming out of the bay and straight out into the ocean. The sea swells came rolling in, I started getting pretty sea sick, and all I could see when I was siting was buoy after buoy after buoy with no end in site. My thoughts in the next few moments were:

"Oh man this is awful, I feel like I'm going to throw up that GU."

"I guess throwing up in the ocean would be okay, it would all get washed off me pretty quick."

"Ew, then some poor guy behind me will be swimming through my puke."

"I wonder if I have ever swam through someone else's puke?"

"Probably, just keep swimming."

After making all the necessary turns, coming back into the bay was great. I could hear the loudspeaker, I could see the boat ramp, and I knew I was almost done. Getting out of the water was another new thing for me, because there was a line of people in wet suits who started grabbing at me as I was running up the ramp! I was so confused at what was going on, until I realized that my wet suit was starting to come off. They were pulling down the zipper of our wet suits, and helping us take them off, it was cool, but I didn't need the help. I took off my goggles, put it in my swim caps, and was about to take off my sleeve of my wet suit (leaving my goggles and swim cap in the sleeve) when I noticed my goggles weren't in my cap anymore. I had dropped them in the water coming up the ramp. Looking around for them real quick was useless. The water was waist-high coming up the ramp where I dropped them, and the water was dark, and there were people rushing up the ramp. It was like looking for an acorn amongst a stampede of rubber wildebeests. So I gave up and ran into transition. Swim time for the 1.2 miles = 44:01.

Transition 1 started with a run up the entire side of transition. There were about almost 3,000 athletes, so it was a fairly long run. With that many people in the race, it was very important for me (in the little time I had before the race), to find something I could site with coming into transition to tell me where my stuff was. If I have more time before a race, I typically will simulate the run out of the water into transition, and count my steps until my row. I didn't have that luxury today, but I was able to notice that my stuff was parked right next to one of those big traveling dumpsters, perfect! So I find the dumpster, take off my wet suit, put on my socks (not getting blisters on this long of a race!), grab some food to put in my pockets (doing this all in no absolute rush either), and start heading out of transition with my bike.

I was especially excited about this bike leg because I had bought my first tri bike a few months before (see picture below). I hadn't been able to ride it much, mostly because the weather in New England in the winter makes it fairly difficult to do fun training. (See Off-season Training in New England). I was excited to see what I could do. The first half of the race went great. I was following my nutrition plan of having a GU every 30 minutes, drinking a few sips of gatorade frequently, and eating pretzels/saltines (bad idea on the saltines) every 20 minutes. I was cruising along, not worrying about people that are flying by me, and just concentrating on my cadence. I started out real slow the first few miles, which typically happens to me. Probably because I have trouble getting rid of the sea legs. But then once I got a few miles out, I was able to get into a good rhythm and was right around averaging 20mph for the first 25 miles. My goal for the ride was to break 3 hrs, and at the 28 mile mark, I was at 1 hr and 24 mins, right on mark. Almost immediately after checking that time, I look up (and up and up and up) and see this monster of a hill (mountain!). It was still a good distance away, but I could see large groups of people all together. You usually don't see large groups of people together in a race like this, unless they are cheating and drafting off each other, or they are going super slow because of a steep incline. Getting to the start of that climb was like hitting a brick wall. The gradient increased almost immediately, and it was a struggle for a few seconds until I was able to get my gears all the way down. I just put my head down, and cranked away up the climb. I feel I am a pretty decent climber if I want to be, so although it wasn't the most difficult part of the race for me, it's still less fun than cruising downhill or over flat roads. There were many people who were off their bikes, walking them up, and even several that ended up going so slow that they just tipped over on their bikes. I'm not sure how long it took my to climb, but it was around 7-8 mins I think, and was way less than a mile climb. It seems short, but it sure didn't feel like it! The next 20ish miles had several more of these steep climbs, and also had a major headwind that we had to deal with. It was so strong, that on some of the downhill decents, I felt like I had to pedal or I would be pushed back up! The whole second half of the ride was very difficult for me. I wasn't struggling per say, but my time wasn't what I was expecting. After that half-way point, I felt like my legs couldn't produce the kind of power they were producing in the first 28 miles. The ride was through commercial areas for the first and last few miles, but was mostly through different areas of Camp Pendleton Marine Base. It was very cool because there were a lot of marines out on the course cheering us all on; there were some that were blocking the road and directing traffic for us; and there were others that were doing drills and different exercises in the fields as we passed. Bike time for the 56 miles = 3:16:44.

Coming off the bike, I was feeling tired, but not drained, and I felt confident of completing this race. The transition was easy, but I knew I was going to be awhile on the run, so I took my time again. Found the dumpster, changed my shoes, threw out my trash from the bike, and then headed out for the final leg.

The start of the run was really cool for me. As I left the transition, the announcer was getting all excited, and I could see Mirinda Carfrae coming down the road in the opposite direction. Mirinda is a pro who ended up winning the women's race, and I was able to see her finish the run with several girls right behind her. She was flying! The announcer was saying how she was 4.5 minutes back at the start of the run, and how she was still 30 seconds behind 1st place with 1 mile to go, and obviously she crushed that last mile to win by 10 seconds. That excitement was a huge boost, and helped me shake out my biking legs, until the end of the first mile...

The sign for mile 1 came up, and then that signaled my legs to die. I had run the Hyannis Half-Marathon a few weeks prior, and knew how difficult it was going to be for me to run this distance after enduring everything else before. But I didn't fly out all that way, spend all that money for nothing. I just focused all my thoughts on the small picture. I looked at buildings coming up, or looked at people playing volleyball on the beach, or ran towards overhead lights. Anything small to get me over this distance would be great. The run was an out-and-back half-marathon along the Oceanside beach for awhile, and then taking a few turns to run up and down a residential street. They said the run was "flat" and for the most part it was. There was just a few gradual hills that seemed like huge steep mountains with how my legs felt. I walked at every water station, drinking water or coke, eating an orange slice, and putting a wet sponge on the back of my neck to cool me off. I walked up these gradual hills. I ran what I could in between. Mile after mile came and went, I made the turnaround and knew I was going to be slower than I wanted, but at this point, I was very proud of myself for my mental state. Although I was walking, it was more so that I would be able to finish at the finish line rather than at a medical tent than being mentally weak. I felt strong mentally, and I was happy for that.

Turning that last corner, coming down the road with all the screaming people (and cowbells), and running through that finishing chute was amazing, and I couldn't help but think about doing the next one. Even though I was on the ground right after, trying to shove a cookie down my throat so I wouldn't pass out. I couldn't talk for a few minutes, and I felt like I was going to collapse if I didn't find a seat somewhere, but I held onto that finishing medal with great pride. Run time for the 13.1 miles = 2:32:41.

Overall, it was a great experience for me. Now many days later, I feel like so much stronger than I did before the race. I feel like any distance under 70.3 will be a breeze, and that's a great feeling. I learned that I really need to get to races earlier, so I have plenty of time to warm-up and get ready, and not have to worry about anything; I learned that I need to run A LOT MORE than I am doing now; and I learned that I need to learn about riding into the wind (if that is possible). After it is all said and done, I would definitely do this race again, if it were all free for me next time.

Swim: 1.2 miles, 44:01, 2:17 min/100yd avg

T1: 4:20

Bike: 56 miles, 3:16:44, 17.1 mph avg

T2: 3:20

Run: 13.1 miles, 2:32:41, 11:40 min/mile avg

Total: 70.3 miles, 6:41:06

Multisport Expo

2011-04-06T21:53:00.082-04:00

MIT Campus, Cambridge, MA, 3/19/2011

One of the most exciting things for any triathlete is spending money. We spend money on all the best gear; we spend money on all the best supplements; we spend money on all the best trainings/coaches; and we think it all actually makes a difference. The place where this can all happen at the same location was at the Multisport Expo at MIT.

Here, athletes were able to enjoy walking around to all the different vendor booths (and there were a lot!). There were a ton of booths that were selling products, from gear to drinks to clothing to whatever you could need in the multisport world, and almost all of them at really reduced pricing. Many booths were giving away samples of their products, which was really cool. The first 1,000 people to register for the expo got a "swag bag" for you to carry around and put flyers, or different samples into. But there was no list of people registered, so if you just said that you were in the first 1,000 to register, then you got one, ha-ha. There was also a lot of groups and organizations that had information on events they were putting on later this year, either for charities or other causes, and gave people the opportunity to sign up for those if they wanted to.

Another cool thing they did this year was put on a team challenge. It consisted of a 5km run on the track/campus of MIT, a 10km indoor time trial (ITT) on computrainers, and a 1600m-relay swim in the MIT pool. Teams could register 4-12 people for the challenge, but could only have 4 people do each event (the same 4 people can do each event). In the run, the times of all 4 members of the team are added up, with the lowest combined time being the winner. The same was for the ITT. While for the swim, each person swam 400m. The run was 2 laps around the MIT track, then 2 laps around campus, and then finished with another 2 laps around the track. The ride on the computrainers was my first time on one, and it was tough! The computrainers simulate an actual ride, increasing the resistance on the bike when we were going uphill. Although, it was sort of unrealistic because you had to pedal going downhill. There was no coasting! MIT has the NICEST pool I have ever swam in. The pool was so clean, I couldn't taste an ounce of chlorine or any other chemicals while I was swimming. I felt like I could've drank the water if I wanted to. It was also the perfect temperature for swimming in. It was chilly, but not cold enough to shiver. I wanted to swim all day long.

Overall, it was a great day, one that I am looking forward to repeating next time the expo is in town. It was a great event for all athletes. I recommend going to this event to anyone that does or is interested in anything multisport: triathlon, duathlon, aquathon, running, cycling, swimming, walking, whatever. There was something for everyone (almost everyone).

Off-season Training in New England

2011-04-06T21:52:00.002-04:00

Since I decided to step up my game, and race the Ironman 70.3 California, I really tried to stay focused with the training. My last race was on Halloween 2010, and I took a few weeks off from the sport before picking up my training again. Again, I chose not to invest in a coach mainly because they cost a lot of money, and to me personally, some days I prefer to just do my own thing and have fun doing what I want to do, and I wouldn't get out of a coach what I should, and I would be wasting their time.

December came, and I really started picking up my training; mostly in swimming and running. Once the new year rolled around, I really stepped up my biking game. The off-season training mostly consisted of 3 workouts a week, per sport. Mondays and Wednesdays consisted of a swim workout at my local Y; Tuesdays included an interval bike workout on the trainer followed by a tempo run either outside or on the treadmill if it were too bad outside (and a lot of times it was); Thursdays were my tempo rides on the trainer; Fridays I went on the treadmill again for a nice hard interval run and an easy ride on my trainer if time allowed; Saturdays mornings I woke up early to swim at the Y, then came back to put a really long movie in the DVD player and rode on my trainer for several hours; and Sundays were spent endlessly trotting on the treadmill for my long runs. Pool, trainer, treadmill, pool, treadmill, trainer, treadmill, pool, treadmill, trainer, poooool, treadmillllllll, trainerrrrrrrrrrrrrr. What an endless amount of boredom there is training in the winter in New England! I drew the picture below out of frustration of this boredom.

I really don't think I will race again as early as April 2, because I can't stand training to that intensity indoors. Maybe I should move somewhere warm?

Loveland Lake to Lake Race Report

2011-04-06T21:38:00.010-04:00

Loveland Lake to Lake Triathlon

Loveland, CO, 6/26/2010

Pre-race: I was worried about making this race on time, and because of it, I hardly got any sleep the night before. Craig and I were camped about 30-40 mins away from the race site, on top of a mountain with little reception. I think I checked and rechecked whether my phone alarm worked with no reception at least 10 times before I went to bed. We got up early, I forget what time now, and packed up real quick. It didn't take too long, because we didn't set-up an extensive camp. On the way Craig needed to stop at Starbucks. Stopping on my way to a race is not something I am usually keen on doing, but this guy got up super early on a non-work day to take me to my race and then spend hours standing around waiting for me, so of course I was okay with it! When we got to the race site, at Loveland High School, there was a giant line around the building. Time crept away, and it was soon to be race start time, and I was no where close to being ready. What made me feel better, though, was that I was in line with everyone else in the race, so I knew they wouldn't start the race until this line died down, whatever it was for. By the time I got to the front of the line, I realized it was the line into transition, where they had 1 person checking your bike out, and body-marking you. HUGE race organization fail! You need to split that job up, and have several people doing each. Once I get into transition, I realize the lack of organization didn't stop at the entrance. The bike racks were not numbered at all, and it was a free-for-all on finding a spot for your bike. This was the first race I had done that didn't have race-number specified bike racks. Oh well, found a spot and set-up my gear and headed down to the lake.

Swim (1.5 km): Craig and I swam a bit in the lake the day before the race, after I checked in. The beach is nice, but it was kind of crowded, so we walked to the far end of the beach, and it was real mucky! Gunk mixed with gunk, over mud, was all we could walk on. "Good thing the swim tomorrow starts/ends on the beach!" was all I could think.The water was nice, a little warmer than is ideal for swimming in a race, but good enough anyways. For me, this swim was very important, because it was my second Olympic distance swim after my disaster swim. My first try at this distance was at the Age Group Nationals the previous year, and I was totally unprepared for it. With my poor swimming skills, and the fact that the gates on an upstream dam were released before the race, I had no chance and finished that swim in almost an hour and a half, but that's another story! So this race I was hoping to get this sour taste out of my mouth, and gain some swimming momentum. The first buoy was about 50 yards from the beach, and so I decided I would take this start to get into a rhythm and just swam nice and slow to find it. Once I got around the buoy, I maintained my rhythm and just picked up my pace a little bit. The swim went great, I was able to maintain my rhythm the entire time, stroke-stroke-breathe-stroke-stroke-breathe, and I didn't stop the entire time. The only time I lifted my head out of the water, was to site and make sure I was going in the right direction. This gave me huge confidence, and also made me feel stronger going into the next leg of the race. Getting out of the water, there was at least a 1/4 mile run from the beach to the transition area, and this added time was included in my swim time.

Swim Result - 33:44 (2:03 min/100 yards), 382nd overall

Transition 1: My transitioning seems to be getting more consistent, and I didn't have any trouble switching between my wet suit and my biking shoes. Although, I hardly burned a blazing trail.

T1 Result - 1:52

Bike (30 miles): Leaving the transition area and heading out on my bike, I was completely expecting on having an awful bike ride. I hadn't tried riding at elevation before, and the race was a couple thousand feet above sea level, so I was thinking that this was going to really affect my race. That coupled with the race distance (the longest I've raced to date), I wasn't expecting much. The first 10 miles were mostly through neighborhoods, which made it difficult because of the constant turning from street to street. I couldn't get into any great spinning rhythm. Then the Rocky Mountains showed up. Huge massive mountains! For climbing sections of the race, I just dropped my gears down real low, and focused on just spinning my legs until I was at the top of the climb, not worrying about other people. To date, my fastest mile ever biked included the decent of one of these climbs, at 1:52 for the mile (31.9 mph average), I was flying! The bike leg finished with a long straight section of rollers, which I was able to keep a really good pace at. People were cranking on this part, flying down the rollers and powering up the other end, so I just kept pace. This is what really helped me pick up lost time on the first part of the leg.

Bike Result - 1:33:29 (19.3 mph average), 338th overall

Transition 2: With the confidence gained from my swim, and the confidence I gained on the last section of the bike, I was feeling excellent going into transition. There were so many volunteers and spectators surrounding the transition, that my adrenaline starting pumping so hard, and I bolted out like a rocket...

T2 Result - 1:32

Run (10 km): ...bad idea. As soon as I left the safety blanket of cheers from the crowds of spectators and volunteers, my spirits died, along with my lungs. At this point, the elevation was taking a noticeable toll on my running, and I knew I was in for a long one. Since graduating college, I haven't been as good a runner as I once was, and the longer the distance, the worse I get. A 10k run for me, was very difficult at this point, and I walked far more than I would have liked. The run was an out-and-back, taking the competitors around Loveland Lake. The last half-mile before the turn-around was great, because it was along a very nice path along the lakes edge, and it gave great views of the lake and the mountains in the backdrop. On the way back to the finish, I ran with another guy that seemed to be having as much a hard time as me. We chit-chatted about how much we were hurting, how we hated ourselves for doing the race, and for doing triathlons. Then the most amazing music came upon our ears, the finish line music! I love hearing the DJ at the finish, because it always gives me a new sense of confidence. So I pushed myself hard to the finish, and sighed a relief when I crossed the line.

Run Result - 1:01:47 (9:53 min/mile pace), 518th overall

Post-race: After crossing the line, leaning on the edge of the fence for a moment, grabbing a water, I found Craig waiting nearby. I was half-expecting him to have a bored expression on his face, but he seemed rather excited, and told me that he actually enjoyed being at the race and watching. I might have converted another person to the triathlon lifestyle after all! We chilled out on the grass for a bit longer, watched a little bit of the awards, then headed inside to grab a bite to eat. FREE FOOD! The best part of doing a race. Food this time was breakfast foods that you could make into a burrito: eggs, potatoes, bacon, sausage, peppers, etc. It was pretty delicious, and I think Craig even went up for seconds. It wouldn't surprise me.

Final Result - 3:12:25, 16th in my age group, 407th overall (56th percentile)

Overall, I was super excited about my time, but knew I would be able to improve all my legs at future races. My swimming confidence gained was tremendous, and I felt really good about how I was able to have the bike leg that I had.

Colorado Came A Calling

2010-08-12T22:47:00.006-04:00

Well June and July came and disappeared for me in a blink of an eye. For me, that's not a bad thing, except that I haven't updated this since May. That just means that I have so much to update now in August. I can't just list everything either, because everything I've done since May has been worth writing a whole post about.

June 23: I boarded Airtran Airways for the oxygen-deprived Colorado Rocky Mountains. My good friend from College, Craig Daigle, moved out there early 2009 to get a taste of skiing that beautiful powdered snow. As you can see, he got hooked. Got a job at the same company as me and just enjoys the Colorado lifestyle to the fullest. He has been asking me to come visit him since he moved out there, and I have always had the intentions to, but never pulled the trigger. So I bit the bullet, and signed up for the Loveland Lake to Lake Olympic Triathlon (update coming later) just 50 miles north of where he lives, just so that I would feel committed to planning the trip.

June 24: My first full day in Colorado with Craig, and we had a blast! He cooked me some eggs in the morning, and then we loaded into his Jeep Wrangler and sought out the sites of Colorado. He showed me around Boulder, took me to Starbucks (which they have everywhere out there; it's their Dunkin Donuts), and then met up with one of his rock-climbing friends to do some outdoor rock-climbing in Boulder Creek. The place we decided to climb was about 30 minutes through the creek, and I did not hate a single second of the drive. The drive was on a 2-lane road, with a beautiful flowing, windy river running on one side, and an extremely fun looking (for a joy ride) dirt path for casual mountain bikers and joggers. On the far sides of the river and the path were just cliffs of pure bliss for climbing. When we arrived at the spot we were going to park and hike to the climbing location, we got out, started grabbing or things, then Craig and his friend look at each other: "Did you bring rope?" "No, I thought you did." Needless to say, none of us were going to start climbing without any rope! Back down Boulder Creek. But at least the view was amazing! We went to a climbing store on the way back down to boulder, and Craig grabbed a bunch of climbing gear (including rope!). We ended up climbing at this other location closer to where we now where, of which the name is escaping me, and it was amazing. My first time outdoor rock-climbing and it was better than I imagined. The only "downfall" happened during our hike off-road to the climbing location. We had to hike up this hill that was probably only 30 feet high, and at the top I was completely (and I mean completely) winded. I was huffing and puffing and I thought "I am in pretty good shape, I'm doing an Olympic triathlon here in a few days, am I in trouble?!" At the time we were climbing, and the angle of the cliff, the sun was just in view when you approached the top, so the higher you climbed, the brighter it got, and so it was like climbing up to Heaven. After finishing up a few climbs, Craig and I headed to Golden to take a "short" tour of the Coors Brewing Factory. The "short" tour consisted of us cutting the whole tour, and going straight for the bar on site! They gave you a wrist band with 3 holes on it that represented how many free beers you got. We could try any of the beers Coors Brewing Factory brews, and it was delicious! We would wait in line, grab a beer, and go straight for the line again. By the time we were done with our beers, we would be at the front of the line again, genius! After leaving the factory, we stopped over at Clear Creek to cool off a bit. We stripped down to our (Mom close your eyes) underwear, and just jumped in the creek. The water was absolutely freezing because it was coming down from the Rocky Mountains and the melting snow, but it was quite refreshing as it was so hot out. Later that night we went to the Colorado Rockies game, and they just happened to be playing the Boston Red Sox!! I was so excited when I found this out that I had to buy the tickets and incorporate this into our schedules for the trip. Our seats were the 2nd row FROM the top, which was fine for the view, but terrible for climbing all those stairs at elevation! By the time we got to our seats, which were a good 15 rows above the "purple seats" (signifying a mile above sea-level), I was gassed and had to take a few moments to breathe before starting on my beer (Another one? Yes, of course.). The game was incredible, back-and-forth, extra-innings, 3-home runs from Dustin Pedroia, and the Sox pulled off the win. I brought them some luck, because they had lost the first 2 games in the series.

June 25: This day wasn't as high-intensity "lets do everything" as the day before, but it was a good day for us to enjoy Colorado again and just spend some time together. We drove to Denver to pick up my bike because I decided to rent instead of paying to ship my bike both ways. There was a charity bike race the same day as my race, and so they didn't have any bikes available in my size, and I had to get a bike 1 size to big. I thought this would be okay, and that I was just racing for the experience anyways. We headed up to Loveland to check out the area and check-in for the race. The drive up was amazing, again. The highway was completely straight, but everything on the left hand side of the highway was mountainous and just a beautiful view of the Rocky Mountains. Everything along the left hand side was just gorgeous valleys and beautiful land. Skipping ahead to after Loveland, we headed towards the Rocky Mountains towards Estes Park to find our digs for the night. We decided to camp in Estes Park for the night, and it was a great idea. We found this great road off through the mountains, took us 45 minutes to drive up to our location, and then we set-up camp, ate dinner, and then decided to take the Jeep off for some night-off-roading.

June 26: Loveland Lake to Lake Triathlon - Updates Later. After the race, we headed back towards Denver to drop off the bike, and headed back to the Rocky Mountains, met up with another one of his friends for some serious off-roading (don't worry Mike, you don't have to do anything, I know you are tired from your race, just sit and relax, ha!) and then camping at 14,000 feet elevation. Our off-roading took us through some of the most difficult terrain I have ever seen, and their Jeeps handled it like champs! At one point, snow was blocking our path, and we had to find another way around! Unreal for there to be that much snow in June.

June 27: So tired from the previous few days, I obviously had to get up early enough for us to make our appointment on this day, white water rafting in the Rockies! I'm down. Now, I've been white water rafting several times, but they have all been in Maine, in the wide river of the Kennebec. And although the Kennebec sports a cool Class 5 rapid, I had little knowledge for what was coming at me today. The river we rafter on this day was very narrow, very shallow in some spots, and very windy which meant that it was a technical river to navigate, and those rafts are hard to navigate! As a bonus for visiting, Craig and all his friends let me ride in front (or they knew what was coming). Every dip, every turn, every rapid hit me straight in the face with a rush of cold water. I was slipping and sliding up to the front, back to my position, up to the front, and several times I thought I would just slide right off the front. Then it happened. We hit this gnarly rapid and the raft dipped and then shot straight up and launched me far out of the raft. Luckily, I knew how to get back to the raft and knew to use my paddle to help the others help me back in. I was back in the raft in a short time.

Hitting the rapids like we own the place.

Me after getting tossed from the raft (and the guide!), you can see my face in the water.

June 28: Back to the bay state, and a week spent on the beaches of West Dennis with the Forrest family. A much needed vacation from my vacation!

Max Performance Season Opener Race Report

2010-05-10T23:27:00.003-04:00

So I know I haven't updated this in awhile, but this past weekend was my first triathlon of the season so it is now time to update with a race review. But first, I will be updating on some training races I did throughout the spring since my last update. It's been really difficult to keep up with this blog during the training season because it is so boring at times, not for me, but for writing a blog. How many different ways can you describe a training ride/run/swim that I do mostly solo. Anyways, since my last update in February, I competed in a few races to prepare me for the triathlon season.

Knights of Columbus 5-miler
Raynham, MA, 3/14

This race was during one of those rain streaks that blanketed Massachusetts causing endless basement flooding and transportation via boats favorable to cars. Luckily, most road races are "rain or shine" and this one was no exception. Because it was my first race of the year, and because of the weather, I wasn't expecting too much.

Results - 40:36 (8:07 min/mile pace), 10th in my age group, 65th overall

Coyle Cassidy Scholarship 5-miler
Taunton, MA, 3/28

Having one 5-miler under my belt two weeks earlier, and not having to deal with a down-pour of rain as I did then, I felt much better for this race. This was another local race, and I was excited to get another race in my legs. Starting out strong, I eclipsed the first mile in 7:50, running stride for stride with my 12 year-old brother. I felt really good going into the next mile, I decided to run with him as a pacer to try to get him a PR. His previous PR was 41:15. At the end of the race, we were both able to cross the line together, getting him his new PR.

Results - 40:49 (8:09 min/mile pace), 9th in my age group, 48th overall

Merrimack River Trail Race 10-miler
Andover, MA, 4/10

A week after turning 24, I was geared up for this race. It was going to be the longest race I have ever competed in (as a road run only), and it was going to be a cross-country race which are always fun. This race was once again after one of the rainy weeks we experienced here in the north east, so the course was very muddy. I ended up running off course at one point, which added 8 minutes to my time, and completely covered in cuts and mud. But I can't wait to do it again!

Results - 1:39:49 (9:58 min/mile pace), 66th in my age group, 158th overall

A Cure is Coming 5k
Lexington, MA, 5/1

At this point in the season, my first triathlon is a week away, and all I've done is log longer distance races. I wanted to run a 5k as a speed workout as a last minute prep for my triathlons. Granted, I am no longer 140 pounds and running 18:00 5ks like I was in high school, but I am getting better than last year, I feel. The weather was perfect, sunny, warm and breezy (but not windy). And on the morning of the surprise 50th for my Aunt Karen, I recorded my best 5k in quite some time, so training is a success so far.

Results - 22:55 (7:22 min/mile pace), 3rd in my age group, 31st overall.

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Max Performance Season Opener Sprint Triathlon
Hopkinton, MA, 5/9

Prelude: Last year, this race was very difficult for me. I trained for it, but not as much as I probably should have. I was expecting my natural athleticism to carry me through it no problems, but I realized I am not the same guy I was were I could get up and run for 10 hours no problem. Come race time, a small wind started picking up and eventually led them to altering the length of the swim course because one of the turn buoys blew away. I finished the (slightly shortened) 1/4 mile swim, 15 mile bike, 5k run in time of 1:35:38 (57th percentile overall). Not bad for hardly training at all. Oh, and I was Bib #1 for my first triathlon!

Pre-race: The Saturday before the race (5/8), felt very eerie. It was very dark and cloudy, but the water at the race site was very calm and still. There was no wind, no freezing temperatures, just a nice cool day. Something that would be very manageable to race in. Come race morning, I get up at 5:00am to pack my car, eat some breakfast and head to the race. The outside temperature is 39°F! I get to the Hopkinton State Park around 6:30, get my race number marked on my body, prep my transition area, and start to warm up. Oh yeah, I didn't wear any pants either! It is windy, freezing, and I am very worried about how this is going to turn out. Getting near race time, and the wind really didn't pick up, just stayed a consistent strong breeze at this point.

Swim (1/4 mile): By 7:40am, most of the competitors have made it down to the water to start warming, hoping to get this race over with as fast as possible. It is still a dreadful 40°F at this point. However, the water was at a very deal-able 62°F! Hardly a comfortable temperature to swim in, but quite a break from the air temperature. It felt so warming to dive in and warm up to escape it. Getting out of the water after warming up my swimming muscles was another story; even colder than I remember! This year, being my second year doing triathlons, I am racing as an age grouper (male 20-24) rather than a newbie. This means I am in the first wave of the race. After all has warmed up, the race officials corral all of the waves together, send the first wave in the water to get ready for the start of the race. The wind picks up dramatically, blowing the turn buoys away and causing the race director to alter the length of the course (see prelude). Who can complain about a shortened swim, though! The gun sounds, and the 2010 race season has begun! I'm swimming like I've been training for this moment all winter/spring, and I'm enjoying reaching the halfway point at the turn-around buoy near the front of the pack; then it happened. Mother Nature all of a sudden decides that this is not what she wants, and unleashes a windy beast upon us. Wave after wave pounds over my head, and I can't breathe on either side of my body because they were just coming from everywhere. I am swimming now with my head out of the water, using so much more energy than I did in the first half of the swim. I hear the RD over the load-speaker giving instructions to the remaining waves, but I can't make it out. Two other waves get released while I'm on this dreadful swim back to the shore, and I realize I am going really slow. I am not alone though, because I see so many other of the same swim caps all around me. After taking 2-3 minutes to reach the half-way point of the swim, on a pace faster than any that I've done before, I end up swimming 11 minutes on the second half, doubling my swim time from last year. Things only got worse for the rest of the field, though, and the RD decided to cancel the swim for the last three waves. I found out later, after the race was over, that one of the rescue boats capsized and sunk because of the extreme conditions, other rescue kayaks were blown far away from the field of swimmers, and they needed outside assistance to help other swimmers. The race made headlines on channel 5 news: Chaos at Local Pond.

Swim Result - 14:01 (3:11 min/100 yards), 168th overall

Transition 1: Getting out the water was so difficult for me, not being a strong swimmer like many others, I was completely drained for this point. But I figured I was going to push through it, and I could rest when I was finished. I ran as fast as I could in a wet suit to the transition area, pulled it off, put on my biking gear and was out on my bike in the fastest time I ever did.

T1 Result - 1:26

Bike (10 miles): Knowing quite well that I was low on energy at this point, I decided to take the first few minutes in a recovery zone, trying to get my legs nice and warmed up before I start cranking away the miles. Many people passed me, but I knew I would catch most of them, and I did. About a mile later, I was cruising past people, many that had passed me within the first few minutes, but many more that had been ahead of me since the swim. I felt good, but not too comfortable. It was still freezing, the wind was pushing me all over the place, and my feet (which I didn't completely dry) were starting to go numb on me. The few hills I knew about, combined with the high-intensity wind, gave me a run for my money, and I couldn't pick up my pace any. It was not a good feeling, considering I felt I was miles ahead of last year on the bike, but I did my best in the conditions that were presented to me, and just tried to get to the run as fast as possible.

Bike Result - 36:09 (16.6 mph average), 98th overall

Transition 2: Just like in transition 1, I did my best to not let the easier parts, give me any more additional time. Finishing the bike leg, I sprinted into transition, removed my biking gear, threw on my running shoes, and was out on the run course on another transition PR.

T2 Result - 1:05

Run (5k): Thinking back to my race the week previous, I tried my hardest to push the pace from the start. But when the first thing you encounter out of transition is an endless sloping hill, it's pretty difficult! Not to mention I am running on little energy at this point. I knew this course pretty well from the year before, and I knew there was a very decent downhill right after this initial climb. I thought I would tough it out, stick on someones heals to pace me up the hill, and then coast down the downhill, recovering any bit I can going into mile 2. This worked for the most part, until I ran into mile 2 where I escaped the protection of the trees, into an open parking lot, and the relentlessness of Mother Nature. A pure nasty headwind hit me and the several people around me at this moment, and pushed us backwards for a short second. From this point, until almost mile 3, was completely troubled by this wind. We ended up running across this jeti, right next to the swim location, and it was very difficult dealing with the heavy winds. But I heard the music blaring at the finish line, and I decided I was done dealing with the wind, so I picked it up and pushed myself to finish.

Run Result - 26:04 (8:23 min/mile pace), 130th overall

Post-race: I made a vow with myself that I would never let myself have a DNF (did not finish) next to my name unless I was pulled off the course against my own will. My pride could not deal with that, and that usually gets me through the very difficult times and conditions. When things get too difficult for me, and I realize I can't make a run at the leader board, I just make sure I finish the race the best I can. The after race festivities looked like a lot of fun, but unfortunately the wind did not let up, it was freezing, and I just wanted to warm up. I grabbed my free lunch (which was a delicious BBQ!) and peaced to take a nap and wrap myself in blankets.

Final Result - 1:18:43, 10th in my age group, 109th overall (51st percentile)

Overall, I am extremely glad I got to swim because I got that experience under my belt. Now I know I can handle that situation again, and it should make me even stronger in training going forward.

When In Home

2010-01-31T22:36:00.001-05:00

One of the great benefits my employer gives its employees is the 980 schedule. This means that we are scheduled to work 9 hours, 4 days a week (Monday-Thursday), and 8 hours, every other Friday. It's such a great benefit. I really enjoy having 3-day weekends for half the year. It's a great aid not only for the ability to relax, but I am also able to get in longer work-outs that I normally wouldn't be able to fit into my schedule during the week. I am able to spread out my errands that I have to complete on the weekends over three days, and still have time on that Friday to do something for me. This past Friday was an especially productive one for me. I was able to catch up on LOST before the final season premiere on February 2nd (I had 3 episodes left to watch); organize piles of old mail and bills; clean my car (the inside); and get a long brick workout in.

My brick workout started on the bike, with a 5-minute warm-up in a low-gear set. The workout was suppose to simulate riding hills (as it was fairly cold out and didn't want to ride outside) so I rode up and down my small gear set, riding on a certain gear for 2 minutes before switching up or down to the next one. I started on the lowest gear, worked my way up to the highest gear on my smallest gear-set, and then back down again. Did this over and over again until my 45 minutes were up. Final vitals for the workout:

Total time: 0:45:13
Average heart rate: 167 bbm
Maximum heart rate: 188 bbm
Calories burned: 623 kcal

One of the best parts of having an indoor trainer, is that I can ride all day long indoors, while it's absolutely freezing outside. I love getting up sometimes in the morning before work, and riding for an hour and then heading to work. On a long workout (1:30+ hrs), I just pop in a movie, or check on the On Demand section and watch a movie while working out. Last time I watched Jurassic Park; such a good movie. I set up my bike on it's trainer right in front of the T.V. and just zone out. Or I could ride easy during a show or when the movie is on, but then when a commercial comes on, I crank up my cadence and push it as hard as I can until the show/movie comes back on. Here is what my set-up looks like:

After pumping my legs through a nice indoor hill workout, it was over to the gym for my other half of the brick workout. I could not run outside, because it was hardly 10°F and with the brutal wind, I did not feel like suffering that much on my day off. I went over the the gym that my apartment complex has for all of its tenants, and ran on the treadmill. I started the workout with a 5-minute warm-up again, because my muscles all tightened up from the walk over to the gym (although I ran) because it was so cold out. I then ran for an hour, trying to stay within heart rate zones 1 and 2 while amping up the speed on the treadmill to a near sprint for 20-30 seconds, 4-5 times.This was a relatively easy workout, being that zones 1 and 2 are considered the recovery and aerobic zones. I finished the work-out with the following vitals:

Total time: 0:59:42
Average heart rate: 169 bbm
Maximum heart rate: 185 bbm
Calories burned: 836 kcal
Total calories burned (01/29/10): 1,459 kcal

At this point in my day, I felt really good. The last three episodes of LOST were phenomenal, the work-outs were exhilarating and left me feeling very good and motivated. I get back to my apartment, and all those feelings went away. I went to take a shower, and the water was freezing! So I had to deal with my sweat from the gym freezing on my way to my apartment, and then had to take a cold shower; brr! For the rest of the day, our building was out of hot water and heat in the building for some reason. Luckily, they fixed those problems before too long, and we got hot water/heat again before the night was over.

I finished my night off, watching the 103rd running of the Milrose Games, and catching Bernard Lagat claim his 8th win in the Wanamaker Mile in a time of 3:56! Then watched the Winter X-Games and Shaun White in the super pipe prelims was crazy!

If I can finish this post off with a video I watched, posted on twitter by @TrekBikes as a motivator for anyone. It's a video on Levi Leipheimer, a professional cyclist who is one of my favorites:

Motivation

Nutrition Part 2: The Paleo Diet

2010-01-22T07:33:00.001-05:00

1. The Paleo Diet: Developed by Dr. Cordain, is based on the early nutrition of the caveman during the Paleolithic times. Paleolithic peoples only ate what they could hunt or gather; fruits, vegetables, and lean meats. These foods all fall under the optimal food category, according to Dr. Cordain. Dairy, grains, and legumes are considered non-optimal foods and should not be eaten.

2. The Diet for Serious Athletes: The Paleo Diet for athletes is designed to: quicken recovery, lead to optimum health and performance, and prevent muscle catabolism. The Paleo Diet's five stages of eating for the serious athlete include

Stage 1: Eating before exercise
Stage 2: Eating during exercise
Stage 3: Eating immediately after exercise
Stage 4: Eating for extended recovery
Stage 5: Eating for long-term recovery

3. Benefits:

Increases intake of branched chain amino acids
Decreases omega 6: omega 3 ratio
Lowers body acidity
High in trace nutrients

Check out The Training Bible & The Paleo Diet for more information.

Nutrition Part 1: Fuel for Triathletes

2010-01-17T23:01:00.001-05:00

First off, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and welcome back!

The Bay State Team has been a great resource for me in my short triathlon career. Not only do I get to socialize and train with a group of people that all share the same interests, but we also have sponsors and meetings where we have speakers that discuss different triathlon topics with all of us. At the January meeting we just had, we had one of our sponsors and team dietitian discuss with us Fuel for Triathletes. She discussed with us the proper foods to eat and to avoid, as well as the proper amounts, for endurance athletes.

We were told that the main sources of energy for athletes is in protein, carbohydrates and fat.

Protein: The daily recommendation is 1.2 to 1.7 g/kg body weight (the lower end of the range is appropriate for endurance athletes; the higher end for strength and power athletes at the early stages of training). Multiply recommended intake in grams by 4 to calculate energy intake from protein (there are 4 kcal per gram of protein).

Examples of proteins are animals: fish, shellfish, chicken, turkey, eggs, lean pork, lean ham, buffalo and lean red meat; plants: natural peanut butter, nuts-almonds, walnuts, pecans, cashews, pistachios-soy, beans, lentils, hummus, tofu, and seeds; dairy: lowfat milk, cottage cheese, string cheese, yogurt, greek yogurt.

You need protein for muscle growth and to repair muscle damage after exercise.
You also need protein to make red blood cells, which move oxygen to muscles, and white blood cells, which help fight infection.
Your body uses protein to make hormones and enzymes, which help regulate metabolism.

They are many more key points about protein, but I will not be including them in this post. If you would like to learn more, leave me a comment, or wait until I post later about it again.

Carbohydrates: The daily recommendation is 5 to 10 g/kg body weight (the lower end of the range is appropriate for off-season and recreational athletes; the higher end for athletes who train for several hours a day and for ultraendurance athletes). Multiply recommended intake is grams by 4 to calculate energy intake from carbohydrate (there are 4 kcal per gram of carbohydrate).

Examples of carbohydrates are grains: whole grains are good source of fiber and can decrease your risk for heart disease and help you lose weight; fruits and veggies: good for decreasing risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer and help you lose weight; milk and yogurt: helps you build healthy and strong bones and teeth.

Carbohydrates are the best fuel for working muscles.
Plan to include carbohydrates in all your meals and snacks.

Fat: The daily recommendation is ≥ 1 g/kg body weight. Multiply recommended intake in grams by 9 to calculate energy intake from fat (there are 9 kcal per gram of fat).

However, there are "good" fats and "bad" fats. Examples of "good" fats include: olive or canola oil, nuts, olives, avocado, peanut butter.

You need fat for energy.
Fat also helps your body to use some vitamins as well as plant chemicals known as "phytochemicals."
Fat helps move substances in and out of cells, and it helps keep your brain and nervous system healthy.

Now that you have a brief synopsis of the main sources of energy needed by endurance athletes, there are other sources of intake that is essential.

Vitamins and Minerals: Vitamins and minerals do not give you more energy, but they help to unlock the energy stored in food so your body can use it as fuel. Your body needs calcium, magnesium, fluoride, and vitamin D to keep bones strong.

Fluids: Fluids are essential for everyday use for everybody, not just athletes. But here are a few guidelines about fluids for athletes:

Drink at least 16 oz of water or other fluid 2 hours before an event.
Top off drinking 8-16 oz of water 15 minutes before an event.
Drink 5-10 oz every 15-20 min of exercise.
Use a sport beverage if exercising longer than 60 min.
Avoid caffeinated beverages.
Avoid carbonated beverages.
Drink as much as possible within 15 minutes of the end of an event or training.
Continue to drink to replace fluids lost through sweat plus more.
Rule of thumb - one "gulp" equals one ounce.

Nicole Cormier is a registered dietitian and founder of Delicious Living Nutrition. DLN is a nutrition consulting company that comes into your home for nutrition counseling. They offer a variety of services catered to improving your quality of life and creating balance. You can check out her website for information about services, resources and contact info at Delicious Living Nutrition.

Thanksgiving Thankfuls

2009-11-27T11:10:00.000-05:00

It seems like a popular topic in a lot of blogs is making a list of things you are thankful for during this holiday season, as it is the season of giving thanks. I put together my own list, of 100 things I am thankful for (in not particular order):

My family [always and forever].
Having a coffee maker with an auto-timer--mmmmmm.
A warm rain during a jog.
DVR.
A nice pair of new socks.
My health and general ability to heal from injuries quickly.
Pain killers, as an aid to that ability.
Whoever decided to put applies in pie.
Traffic....going the other direction on the highway.
Having a girlfriend that accepts my humor and banter.
My blackberry.
Facebooks ignore feature.
Mountain Dew.
Everyday I have the opportunity to learn something new.
Bourgeois freshman year, second floor.
My Specialized road bike.
Deciding to get a king size comforter for my queen size bed.
My parents giving me the opportunity to get a college education.
Google and all its features.
The Bay State Triathlon Team.
Laura and her birthday planning expertise.
Sushi!
That everyone hates stores decorating for Christmas before Halloween.
Grampy Grunt, NYE '07.
Having a liquor store within walking distance of my apartment.
My families summer cookouts down in Plymouth.
The success of major league sports in New England.
Yahoo odd news.
The nuclear power industry for supplying me with a job.
GU.
Lawn seats at the Comcast Center.
Not having to commute to Boston for work.
Pirates Cove mini-golf--Hyannis, MA.
The Office.
www.hulu.com
To be able to share valuable experiences/lessons with my brothers.
Having friends that enjoy doing the same thing as me.
Tide to Go stain remover (Laura is thankful, too).
Memories of high school sports.
Netflix.
Gravity--making shoveling my driveway so much easier growing up.
A tall beer in a frosty mug.
When I break 100 over 18 holes.
The TD Bank Garden is located a a T station.
Standard transmission.
Champagne powder.
Stretch limos filled with friends.
Hiking through the Appalachians.
Having every other Friday off.
Fenway Pahk.
Living in the same building as the cafeteria for two years in college.
The Game Show Network.
The first run on a newly-waxed snowboard, after a night of snowing.
24-hour Wal-Mart.
Root beer floats.
The Red Sox winning the World Series in '07, otherwise getting hit with a billy club was for nothing.
The man that paid for my toll-far that one time.
A full can of Brisk in the summer.
Having quick reflexes and agility.
Mechanical pencils.
Google maps on my phone.
Oreos and milk.
Wicker furniture at a Cape house.
Cape Cod.
Being able to learn things quickly.
My HDTV.
Indoor plumbing.
President Bush no longer being in office.
Being able to increase my 401K.
Avoiding the movie theaters when Twilight premiered.
Having a strong work ethic.
All the different flavors of tea.
Having no known allergies.
High speed internet.
Not being related to Paris Hilton.
That I don't have hours of homework to do anymore.
Online banking and bill pay.
Having more than one beverage to choose from in my fridge.
Spare time.
My hats.
Knowing how to drive.
I ran a sub-5:00 mile before I got to old.
Being able to hold my alcohol.
Washing my car on a spring Sunday afternoon.
Sticking my face in a warm pile of laundry; or just putting on clothes from the just-washed laundry.
Having a girlfriend that understands my obsession with multi-sports.
Experiencing the clear blue waters of the Caribbean.
Getting an email that isn't spam or work-related.
Taking my shoes off after a full day on my feet.
Competition.
Bare-feet in the sand.
A fresh haircut.
My tent and -40°F sleeping bag.
Microfleece.
Getting packages in the mail.
The Olympics and World Cup.
Sweats on the weekend.
Central air during sweltering summer days.
Camping: fires, smores, stories, stars, ...
Pick-up games with friends.

Lactic Threshold

2009-11-20T10:26:00.001-05:00

This past week started my first full week of base-training. Basically in the months of the off-season, as a triathlete, you want to build a good aerobic base of long, slow mileage in order to prepare for the hard training season in the spring. I spent the week either biking on a stationary bike, running at a slow pace, or doing strength training exercises. I have yet to get a membership at a pool (the pool I want to get a membership at is very slow in getting back to me, and they are never around when I have time), so that is why I haven't been swimming this week either.

Last season, I did little to no strength training along with my swim/bike/run training, so this is something that just adds to the mix. So far my strength training has been pretty fun, I was really into going to the gym in high school and the first few years in college, so it is something that is of interest to me. My strength training going something like this:

Warm-up (1 set of each): 20 jumping jacks, 20 squats, 8 squat thrusts
Group 1 (3 sets of each): 20 push-ups, 20 high knees, 20 dumbbell rows
Group 2 (3 sets of each): 20 squats, 20 shoulder presses, 20 mountain climbers
Group 3 (3sets of each): 20 crunches, 20 hyper-back extensions, 10 squat thrusts
Group 4 (3sets of each): 25 v-sits, 25 calf extensions, 5 pull-ups

A lot of it is basic strength exercises, using my own body weight. But that is because as an endurance athlete, you don't want to be huge. I just am focused on getting lean and having a strong core.

On top of the start of this new strength training, I am also going to be training the next few months using heart rate zones to build me training efficiency. Last night I took an anaerobic threshold (lactic threshold) test that is going to help me determine those zones in my training at this point. The lactate threshold is a useful measure for deciding exercise intensity for training and racing in endurance sports, and can be increased greatly with training. The anaerobic threshold is considered to be somewhere between 90% and 95% of your maximum heart rate and interval training takes advantage of the body being able to temporarily exceed the lactate threshold, and then recover (reduce blood-lactate) while operating below the threshold and while still doing physical activity. The test consisted of warming up on my bike trainer for 20 minutes, and then spending the next 30 minutes at a "race pace" level, trying to maintain the highest heart rate I could for the 30 minutes (of which I used the last 20 to measure my heart rate). I barely made it before collapsing. I also have never sweat so much in my life, and even soaked through the two sheets I laid underneath my trainer. I ended up with an average heart rate of 185 bbm.

I am really enjoying this sport so far, I don't know if I have said that before. It gives me the opportunity to try to be an expert in 4 different sports (swimming, biking, running, strength training), which helps me stay in the best shape that I can. It gives me something to look forward to everyday because I always have a different work-out every day, and it's never boring because I am not practicing the same sport everyday. That's it for now, I will update what the results of my lactic threshold test mean for the rest of my training season.

Just Du It

2009-11-13T20:08:00.001-05:00

During the month of October, while the leaves started changing colors and the temperature started to get colder, I decided that I wasn't done with multi-sports for the year. I was already signed up as a relay for the Wrentham Duathlon with my brother, but I also wanted to warm up for that one and race in one as an individual entry.

Scituate Duathlon
Run 2-miles: 16:20
Transition 1: 1:06
Bike 11-miles: 35:01
Transition 2: 1:34
Run 2.8-miles: 25:36
Total: 1:19:34

Up to this point, I had competed in four triathlons, so I was familiar with multi-sports, but I had yet to compete in the run-bike-run of a duathlon. Not to mention I hadn't trained much since Nationals at the end of August. Scituate was a beautiful area, the race location was directly on the ocean. On top of being out of shape, there was a storm that was coming in that created huge waves that barreled over the sides of bridges/streets that we had to run on. It was very cold, but very rewarding. It was a great experience, and for those of you that don't like to swim but would like to participate in a fun race, a duathlon is perfect for you. Most multi-sport races have lots of beginners who are just looking for a rush of adrenaline and to put a notch on their belt. I highly recommend trying a duathlon at some point in your life.

Wrentham Halloween Duathlon

Run 3-miles: 23:07

Transition 1: 0:39

Bike 11-miles: 33:47

Transition 2: 0:45

Run 2-miles: 15:08

Total: 1:13:29

Now this race was a lot of fun. My brother, Kevin, has been interested in the races I've been doing, and up to this point he has run a 5k and a 5-miler road race with me. We decided to double-team this duathlon, and we joined as a relay team; he did the running, me the biking. It was a great way to end the season. I had asked a few friends to come along and make their own relay team, so it was just a really fun race overall. Kevin, who is 11 years old, did a phenomenal job running as was able to come in shortly behind my friend. The fun part of this race was that it was the Halloween Duathlon, so there was a lot of people dressed up in Halloween costumes. The best one of the day was definitely the gingerbread man:

After the race was over, we mingled with our family (my Mom, Dad, Aunt, and Nana) and waited around for the awards. Up until this point, I had never come close to placing, but we thought we did fairly well this time around. We ended up getting 2nd place in the all-male relay division! The excitement on my brothers face was priceless, and I was very excited as well. I had my best bike split of the year, and my brother was hooked on duathlons. He now wants to do this race by himself next April.

It was so awesome having our families there for support. My family has been to every single one of my races, and I know a lot of my success has been because they have been there. I just want to let everyone know how important support is for someone you love. Knowing that I have the support from the people I love to train and race gives me the motivation to continue when things are hard and when I'm hurting all over. So remember, if you love someone, to give them as much support as you would love to get back from them.

Welcome to Fall, Now I Got to Catch Up

2009-11-08T18:54:00.000-05:00

So the fall season is quite upon us, and it's been awhile since I have updated, but I have had a lot on my plate recently and I was on my training break. I don't want to update everything, because that would take quite a long post to describe everything with the attention that they all deserve. I will however, leave bullets for myself, and possibly update these at a later date. In the past month or so, I have:

Moved into my new apartment in Waltham with my girlfriend, Laura;
Competed in a two duathlons (one as a single entrant, and one as a relay with my youngest brother).

I know it doesn't seem like a lot, so where has all my time gone? But those of you who have moved out, or lived on your own, know how much time/effort/energy it takes to live on your own. We (Laura and I) spent a good amount of time packing, shopping, spending time with our families, and then unpacking, organizing, inviting friends and family over as we were excited to show them all our new place. We moved in on Halloween, and now, November 8, we are all organized, unpacked, and running the ship more smoothly. We recently had a housewarming party with a few of our friends, and it went really well.

During the last few weeks of the triathlon season, I competed in two duathlons. Of which, I will post later, as I have pictures and would just like to give the attention of these events their due and own post. Since then, I have taken my triathlon training at a slow pace, and have even taken two weeks off to recuperate before I begin my 2010 triathlon training season training.

This past year, I pretty much was experiencing the triathlon lifestyle on my own, trying to see if this was something I would like to continue. I signed up for races, which forced me to train, but it was all on my own, as a training free-for-all. I had no idea what I was doing, but made sure that I got in the pool a few times a week, ran a few miles a few days a week, ditto for the bike. After the season, I realized that I love everything there is about triathlons: the training, racing, and general lifestyle that I have to embody just appeals to everything I want right now. I love having to follow a better nutrition plan, training my butt off, and just the motivation and energy I have after being in shape for so long.

So this year, I decided to get a coach to help me organize my work-outs and help me get faster. As a member of the Bay State Triathlon Team this past year, I was able to meet a lot of people highly dedicated in the sport, and one of them has offered to help coach me and be my mentor for the 2010 season. Erik Wells is a very motivated man, and recently qualified to race a pro this year. I have full confidence that he will be able to help me get where I want to get to in my triathlon career.

This morning started my 2010 season, I signed up for my first race for next year. I have a friend over in Colorado, and he has been bugging me to visit since he moved out there last winter. So I decided to kill two birds with one stone, and find a race near him. I found one, and signed up for it this morning. The race is called the Loveland Lake to Lake Triathlon and it is an olympic distance triathlon (1.5km swim, 30 mile bike, 10km run). Colorado is a beautiful area, I cannot wait to visit my friend and race there. This is going to be a race of focus for me with my training.

So, this is my update so far, but I plan on updating on a more frequent basis on my training, races, and life.

The Start of Something New

2009-10-15T18:37:00.001-04:00

Well, I did it, I succumbed to the blogging phenomenon and created my own account. I have always been weary about this, and I never thought I would see this day (even though I had a LJ account back in the day). My job requires me to do a lot of critical thinking, and a lot of sitting down in front of a computer, which then results in me looking for other things to stimulate my mind every once in awhile. I love my job, don't get me wrong, it just helps me appreciate having a life and looking forward to things. So here we are.

A little about myself: I am a young professional, graduating from Umass-Lowell with my bachelors degree in mechanical engineering in 2008. I spent the summer and winter before graduation interning at The Shaw Group as a nuclear systems intern, and was asked to stay as a full-time employee. I have spent the last year and a half with them, developing my nuclear system skills. Outside of that, I started training for triathlons as a way to exercise and to have something to do when I left work. I competed in 4 triathlons and 2 duathlons this past summer, one being the Sprint National Championship in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, which I qualified for in my second race. Overall, triathlons, the training and racing, has been a great experience for me, and will continue to be. I am currently living with my parents, but in 2 weeks will be moving into an apartment with my girlfriend of 2 years, Laura, in Waltham. More on this later.

This blog is not going to be about any specific subjects, but an array of subjects that may or may not interest you. I plan on discussing my job in a way so that you may understand and appreciate nuclear energy more; my experiences in life that I have had, and continue to have, in case you would like to have similar experiences; and I also plan on discussing my progress and training through my newest hobby, triathlons. I am very much into social networking sites (facebook, dmi, twitter) and am excited to be able to use more than 140 characters!

BTW, you can follow me on twitter @iamchampy.