The apartment has become a vast wasteland. Parts of three different bikes, bike tools, tape measures, dirty paper towels, and an array of tools that should never be used on bikes lay scattered from one end of the kitchen to the dining room to the family room. Anna has long ago decided she has mono or strep throat and retired to bed taking the smarter of the two dogs with her. Bailey, who stuck around for moral support, is running out of clear spots to lay. I am covered in grease in areas I did not know grease could reach, and none of my three bikes are operable.
Yes, I have been playing bike mechanic.
Normally, I am half way decent with a wrench in my hand. But lately, I have become an expert in exercises of futility. The only thing I have successfully worked on lately is my patience.
Many months ago I acquired a pretty decent mountain bike for an incredibly low price from a Trustfundarian college kid who decided he would rather buy an entire new bike then replace his stolen wheels and rear derailleur. It has taken me until this week to acquire the few parts necessary to rebuild the bike because I refuse to spend anything more than pennies on the dollar. In my excitement to get the bike running, I forgot to adjust the chain length before snapping the chain together, which means that it pretty much will not shift gears. Being the cheapskate that I am, I didn't want to use a chain breaker and buy a new master link, so I asked around for two days until the guys at theproscloset.com let me use a master link tool today. I busted out the tools tonight and went to work attempting to fix the chain and immediately ran the chain on the wrong side of the chain guide on the rear derailleur. Of course I didn't notice this until after I had reconnected the chain. So now the bike pretty much won't move.
On to project number two!
A few days ago I bought a new bike, a 2003 Specialized S-Works E5 Road Bike. In typical Hunter fashion, buying as cheap as possible, this deal did not include wheels. So I set off to stripping the pedals, saddle, wheels, and cadence sensor off my tri bike to move to the new bike. I set everything up, fixed the brakes, and started toying with the front derailleur. After way more time than should ever be spend on a FD, I decided to fix the shifting in the rear. I couldn't figure out why it kept over shifting into the spokes and then I realized that I had a 10 speed cassette on these wheels and this was a 9 speed bike. This was not going to work no matter how much frustrated tinkering I put into it. I am going to blame these simple mistakes on restlessness from sitting on the couch for 2 weeks, not being able to train because of the flu and then an upper respiratory infection.
But being the typical first born, I cannot simply wrap up shop following a bunch of failures and then peacefully head off to bed. So I fixed the kitchen sink.
AND I'M OUT!
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Keep Your Head Up
Most of the time while I am running, I find myself staring straight down at the path in front of me. This habit is borne out of two parts: 1. from running the downtown Mobile sidewalks where the roots of oak and magnolia trees have left the path looking like the streets of San Francisco in the aftermath of the 1989 earthquake. And, 2. from my former hatred of running. I would constantly look down so that I wasn't thinking about how far I had run or how far I still had to run.
Often times in life I find myself with my head down. I dream big and sometimes when those plans and dreams do not work out, I find myself quite discouraged. This move to Boulder hasn't been quite what we thought it would be. It has taken a year longer to get settled in than we thought it would and many of the plans that we had for moving up here have not materialized yet for several different reasons.
We have some big things going on at work right now which means in a three week span, I am going to end up working 200+ hours. This coincides exactly with when I really wanted to step up my training and push into the coming season. We have seen some very cold weather here with the temperatures holding in single digits for a while. That is a major problem when it comes to training because I hate both the treadmill and the trainer.
These factors combined with several other would make it very easy to give in to Albert, my pizza, beer, and ice cream loving stomach, and sit on the couch watching football. But instead I have decided to keep my head up. I have worked out a training schedule around my massive work hours and I simply get in as many of the workouts as possible. If I have to miss something, it's ok. I know that I still got some training in and I am going in to tomorrow better than I was today. Thanks to some great cold weather cycling gear from family for Christmas, I have learned to LOVE riding in the cold. I have enjoyed riding and running in temperatures I never would have imagined training in previously and have only had to succumb to one trainer and treadmill session.
I took off on my run this morning tired from the days before and hungry from a lack of breakfast options in the pantry. I did not really feel like running, but I plugged on anyway. The first half of the run was a mental struggle but as I hit the turn around point in the Boulder Reservoir I picked my head up and looked around at my scenery. I was running on a ridge past an open field of prairie dogs on one side and on the other side was a snow covered lake with a beautiful view of the snow dusted mountains in the background. Just then a pair of bald eagles flew directly over my head coming from the mountains. They were so close I could hear their wings swooshing in the wind. As they passed me they split heading in opposite directions across the field of prairie dogs. They circled the field and then flew back over my head as they crossed paths again heading towards the mountains. It was so awesome I stopped in my tracks and watched them fly around and off while chills ran down my entire body.
The beauty out there is incredible, but you will never see it with your head down.
Washington Square in downtown Mobile by Green Iris. Read her blog at http://southernsmorgasbord.blogspot.com
Often times in life I find myself with my head down. I dream big and sometimes when those plans and dreams do not work out, I find myself quite discouraged. This move to Boulder hasn't been quite what we thought it would be. It has taken a year longer to get settled in than we thought it would and many of the plans that we had for moving up here have not materialized yet for several different reasons.
We have some big things going on at work right now which means in a three week span, I am going to end up working 200+ hours. This coincides exactly with when I really wanted to step up my training and push into the coming season. We have seen some very cold weather here with the temperatures holding in single digits for a while. That is a major problem when it comes to training because I hate both the treadmill and the trainer.
These factors combined with several other would make it very easy to give in to Albert, my pizza, beer, and ice cream loving stomach, and sit on the couch watching football. But instead I have decided to keep my head up. I have worked out a training schedule around my massive work hours and I simply get in as many of the workouts as possible. If I have to miss something, it's ok. I know that I still got some training in and I am going in to tomorrow better than I was today. Thanks to some great cold weather cycling gear from family for Christmas, I have learned to LOVE riding in the cold. I have enjoyed riding and running in temperatures I never would have imagined training in previously and have only had to succumb to one trainer and treadmill session.
I took off on my run this morning tired from the days before and hungry from a lack of breakfast options in the pantry. I did not really feel like running, but I plugged on anyway. The first half of the run was a mental struggle but as I hit the turn around point in the Boulder Reservoir I picked my head up and looked around at my scenery. I was running on a ridge past an open field of prairie dogs on one side and on the other side was a snow covered lake with a beautiful view of the snow dusted mountains in the background. Just then a pair of bald eagles flew directly over my head coming from the mountains. They were so close I could hear their wings swooshing in the wind. As they passed me they split heading in opposite directions across the field of prairie dogs. They circled the field and then flew back over my head as they crossed paths again heading towards the mountains. It was so awesome I stopped in my tracks and watched them fly around and off while chills ran down my entire body.
The beauty out there is incredible, but you will never see it with your head down.
The flatirons from the Boulder Reservoir. Photo courtesy of David Mendosa. View his other photography at http://www.mendosa.com
Sunday, October 14, 2012
The season in review
Well, this hasn't quite been the year I was hoping for. I can't say that I thought uprooting my new family and moving to a new part of the country would be easy, but I didn't think it would be this difficult. After 7 months up in Boulder I feel like we are finally hitting our stride here and settling in. More than anything it seems the move and the attempt to find two sufficiently paying jobs has taken a toll on the piggy bank. We've managed to sit fairly comfortably, but there hasn't been any extra money for racing. So instead of the 6-9 races a year that I'm used to, I was only able to compete in Kansas 70.3. A race in which I did not quite hit my expectations...
However, things could have been much worse. Although the lack of racing meant it was harder than normal to keep my focus in training, I was able to continue training pretty much unobstructed in paradise under the tutelage of Cameron Widoff. That's not too bad at all! I feel like I gained a great deal of strength this year, however without racing, I haven't had much concrete evidence of this. But I am ready to begin my build for a big year next year.
I have taken a few weeks to unwind and refocus and tomorrow I start the long build for next year's tri season. I'm going to make a few changes to help keep the focus for the coming season.
1. I am going to focus more on my run this coming season. As part of that, I have set a series of time goals and run races that I plan on doing over the winter.
2. I am going to be on a cycling team with some friend next year. As of now we are called Tidewater Textiles Racing. Even if they are not tris, the competition and racing throughout the year will help me keep my eyes on the goal.
3. I am going to select a race season that I can actually... race. And then I am going to make sure I pay for the races and travel ahead of time so that there are no excuses to not race.
The overall goal is still to become a professional triathlete. Now, it is time to eliminate all of the distractions.
It's hamma time.
However, things could have been much worse. Although the lack of racing meant it was harder than normal to keep my focus in training, I was able to continue training pretty much unobstructed in paradise under the tutelage of Cameron Widoff. That's not too bad at all! I feel like I gained a great deal of strength this year, however without racing, I haven't had much concrete evidence of this. But I am ready to begin my build for a big year next year.
I have taken a few weeks to unwind and refocus and tomorrow I start the long build for next year's tri season. I'm going to make a few changes to help keep the focus for the coming season.
1. I am going to focus more on my run this coming season. As part of that, I have set a series of time goals and run races that I plan on doing over the winter.
2. I am going to be on a cycling team with some friend next year. As of now we are called Tidewater Textiles Racing. Even if they are not tris, the competition and racing throughout the year will help me keep my eyes on the goal.
3. I am going to select a race season that I can actually... race. And then I am going to make sure I pay for the races and travel ahead of time so that there are no excuses to not race.
The overall goal is still to become a professional triathlete. Now, it is time to eliminate all of the distractions.
It's hamma time.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Thoughts while riding
The following are thoughts that I had while out riding over the last week and a half:
Long rides in the middle of a weekday cannot be beat. This is why we moved up here. This is why I quit my 8-5 job. This is why I now work at a Bar-b-que restaurant: so I can ride my bike when and where I want to. So I can train, and it doesn't have to be worked into a commute through the ghetto in order to get my mileage in. I love it.
Bike lanes are awesome! In the past, I have heard of these mythical sections of the road where you can ride your bike without blowing out tires or having cyclist try to kill you, throw things at you, cuss at you or wish that you had never been born. It turns out that they do actually exist in Colorado, and some of them are as wide as the lanes for the cars!
Prairie dogs are crazy looking little creatures. I saw hundreds of these little guys today! They were running all over the place and I was so close to some of them that I almost ran one over (on accident of course). It looked like a hundred little Ollies running around.
The wildlife is much different here. It is still really winter here, so I imagine I will see more and more creatures out, but instead of the only wildlife I see being road kill raccoons and possums and hookers, I saw longhorn cattle, horses, crazy birds and tons of black tail prairie dogs (ok, maybe the cattle and horses weren't wild, but they were cool to see).
The inverse law of cycling gains to cordiality: If you pass a fat slow guy on a bike, he will always wave back to you. In fact it is likely that he will wave to you before you wave to him. However, if you pass a fit or fast guy on a bike, he will almost certainly not wave back. The opposite is in fact true of women. If you pass a fat slow woman, she will not wave to you. But if you pass a fit or fast woman, she will almost certainly wave back and will often wave first. Note: as I typed this, I realized that I am by definition of this law, a fat slow guy.
The ocean and beach are awesome, but there is something special about the mountains. If you are one block away from the ocean, you might as well be 100 miles, but you can see the mountains (and ride into pot holes while staring at them) from miles and miles away. They look just as awesome from up close or far away.
I am way out of shape right now. I am pretty sure this doesn't need to be explained.
I am really bad about matching my kit - therefore I could never be a roadie. On today's ride (3/5) I am wearing Louis Garneau shoes, with Shimano cleats, Specialized socks, Cannondale shorts, Pearl Izumi base layer, Primal Wear jersey, Giro helmet, Garmin watch, Louis Garneau jacket and, Cannondale gloves. 10 items, 8 brands. Also my wheels are different brands, and my drive train is made up of too many different groupos to count. Matt Cusack is puking as he reads this.
Moe's Southwest Grill is way better than Chipotle. I spent $12.22 today on a burrito, chips and a drink at chipotle. That same meal would have been $8 and change at Moe's. If Chipotle is 50% more expensive, it should be either A) 50% more food, B) 50% tastier, C) 50% better for me, or D) a combination of A, B, and C that adds up to 50%. It is none of those.
Eating that much Chipotle and then trying to ride again was not a good idea. Yeah, that food refused to digest. I had to pedal home with a food baby.
What in the world is a conch shell doing next to a creek in Colorado?? Today while walking home (refer to this post: http://hunterleerobinson.blogspot.com/2012/03/all-in-days-work.html) I found a conch shell laying on the side of the path next to a stream. All I can imagine is that this must have been one very lost hermit crab.
Long rides in the middle of a weekday cannot be beat. This is why we moved up here. This is why I quit my 8-5 job. This is why I now work at a Bar-b-que restaurant: so I can ride my bike when and where I want to. So I can train, and it doesn't have to be worked into a commute through the ghetto in order to get my mileage in. I love it.
Bike lanes are awesome! In the past, I have heard of these mythical sections of the road where you can ride your bike without blowing out tires or having cyclist try to kill you, throw things at you, cuss at you or wish that you had never been born. It turns out that they do actually exist in Colorado, and some of them are as wide as the lanes for the cars!
Prairie dogs are crazy looking little creatures. I saw hundreds of these little guys today! They were running all over the place and I was so close to some of them that I almost ran one over (on accident of course). It looked like a hundred little Ollies running around.
The wildlife is much different here. It is still really winter here, so I imagine I will see more and more creatures out, but instead of the only wildlife I see being road kill raccoons and possums and hookers, I saw longhorn cattle, horses, crazy birds and tons of black tail prairie dogs (ok, maybe the cattle and horses weren't wild, but they were cool to see).
The inverse law of cycling gains to cordiality: If you pass a fat slow guy on a bike, he will always wave back to you. In fact it is likely that he will wave to you before you wave to him. However, if you pass a fit or fast guy on a bike, he will almost certainly not wave back. The opposite is in fact true of women. If you pass a fat slow woman, she will not wave to you. But if you pass a fit or fast woman, she will almost certainly wave back and will often wave first. Note: as I typed this, I realized that I am by definition of this law, a fat slow guy.
The ocean and beach are awesome, but there is something special about the mountains. If you are one block away from the ocean, you might as well be 100 miles, but you can see the mountains (and ride into pot holes while staring at them) from miles and miles away. They look just as awesome from up close or far away.
I am way out of shape right now. I am pretty sure this doesn't need to be explained.
I am really bad about matching my kit - therefore I could never be a roadie. On today's ride (3/5) I am wearing Louis Garneau shoes, with Shimano cleats, Specialized socks, Cannondale shorts, Pearl Izumi base layer, Primal Wear jersey, Giro helmet, Garmin watch, Louis Garneau jacket and, Cannondale gloves. 10 items, 8 brands. Also my wheels are different brands, and my drive train is made up of too many different groupos to count. Matt Cusack is puking as he reads this.
Moe's Southwest Grill is way better than Chipotle. I spent $12.22 today on a burrito, chips and a drink at chipotle. That same meal would have been $8 and change at Moe's. If Chipotle is 50% more expensive, it should be either A) 50% more food, B) 50% tastier, C) 50% better for me, or D) a combination of A, B, and C that adds up to 50%. It is none of those.
Eating that much Chipotle and then trying to ride again was not a good idea. Yeah, that food refused to digest. I had to pedal home with a food baby.
What in the world is a conch shell doing next to a creek in Colorado?? Today while walking home (refer to this post: http://hunterleerobinson.blogspot.com/2012/03/all-in-days-work.html) I found a conch shell laying on the side of the path next to a stream. All I can imagine is that this must have been one very lost hermit crab.
Monday, March 5, 2012
All In a Days Work
Today was certainly an interesting training day. Since November, I do not think I have had one ride outside. All of my rides have either been on the trainer or on a spin bike. Yes, I have been going through addict type withdrawals: headaches, twitching, convulsing, the junkie itch. But, all was cured today!
The weather today in Boulder was supposed to be 65 degrees (!!!). Finally some weather that I know how to tolerate! But, we moved into our apartment just a couple of days ago and I still don't know where anything is (on Sunday, I couldn't find the bag that had all of my clean boxers in them, so I ended up wearing tri shorts under my church pants!). So, I decided I was just going to ride to the bike shop, top my tires off and go. Enter Problem #1: both of my tires were completely flat. Ok, so now I have to find my pump, but when I found it (Problem #2), the nozzle was broken. I then decided to drive to the bike shop to get a new pump but (Problem #3), Anna had already left for the grocery store in the truck. Normally I could call her and get a ride but (Problem #4), I smashed my phone and had no way to get a hold of her. I checked the bus schedule, but it was going to be a while before the bus I needed came through. I then grabbed Anna's mountain bike but (Problem #5), the wheels on that bike were flat as well. So what's next? Her new road bike she got for Christmas. I found a couple of wheels that would hold air and took off for the bike shop! I am 6' tall. Anna is 5'1". This was the closest I have been to riding a BMX bike since I was 12! I received plenty of crazy stares riding a tiny pink and teal bike through town, I made it! I bought a much needed new pump, a couple of spare tubes, Co2 cartridges and tire levers and headed home to grab my bike and set out on my ride.
Once I got going, the ride. was. awesome! The weather was perfect. the roads were perfect. Drivers didn't try to kill me. I rode all over the place for 3 hours and 15 minutes and was doing my best to limp back home, when bam! "What was that? Why is my cadence so high? Why am I slowing down?" Yeah (Problem #6), I popped my chain. At this point (Problem #7), I have no idea where I am. I only know that my apartment is somewhere southwest of where I am. I always carry a power link and chain tool with me, but (Problem #8), I thought that I would be fine until I found my other bike stuff. I guess I was wrong on that account.
Normally in this situation, I would call Anna, but please refer back to Problem #4. So I started walking. After an hour of walking, I found my way back into Boulder then I stumbled upon a bike shop that I did not know existed. Score! I ducked in, bought a power link for my chain and borrowed their chain tool and I was back rolling again! I ended up making it home just as it was getting dark.
Despite the craziness, this was one of the most enjoyable solo rides I have ever had. This place is great! I can't wait to do it again tomorrow!
The weather today in Boulder was supposed to be 65 degrees (!!!). Finally some weather that I know how to tolerate! But, we moved into our apartment just a couple of days ago and I still don't know where anything is (on Sunday, I couldn't find the bag that had all of my clean boxers in them, so I ended up wearing tri shorts under my church pants!). So, I decided I was just going to ride to the bike shop, top my tires off and go. Enter Problem #1: both of my tires were completely flat. Ok, so now I have to find my pump, but when I found it (Problem #2), the nozzle was broken. I then decided to drive to the bike shop to get a new pump but (Problem #3), Anna had already left for the grocery store in the truck. Normally I could call her and get a ride but (Problem #4), I smashed my phone and had no way to get a hold of her. I checked the bus schedule, but it was going to be a while before the bus I needed came through. I then grabbed Anna's mountain bike but (Problem #5), the wheels on that bike were flat as well. So what's next? Her new road bike she got for Christmas. I found a couple of wheels that would hold air and took off for the bike shop! I am 6' tall. Anna is 5'1". This was the closest I have been to riding a BMX bike since I was 12! I received plenty of crazy stares riding a tiny pink and teal bike through town, I made it! I bought a much needed new pump, a couple of spare tubes, Co2 cartridges and tire levers and headed home to grab my bike and set out on my ride.
Once I got going, the ride. was. awesome! The weather was perfect. the roads were perfect. Drivers didn't try to kill me. I rode all over the place for 3 hours and 15 minutes and was doing my best to limp back home, when bam! "What was that? Why is my cadence so high? Why am I slowing down?" Yeah (Problem #6), I popped my chain. At this point (Problem #7), I have no idea where I am. I only know that my apartment is somewhere southwest of where I am. I always carry a power link and chain tool with me, but (Problem #8), I thought that I would be fine until I found my other bike stuff. I guess I was wrong on that account.
Normally in this situation, I would call Anna, but please refer back to Problem #4. So I started walking. After an hour of walking, I found my way back into Boulder then I stumbled upon a bike shop that I did not know existed. Score! I ducked in, bought a power link for my chain and borrowed their chain tool and I was back rolling again! I ended up making it home just as it was getting dark.
Despite the craziness, this was one of the most enjoyable solo rides I have ever had. This place is great! I can't wait to do it again tomorrow!
Saturday, January 28, 2012
A Proper Sendoff
I admit, since I shared with ya'll the news of the move, my blog, twitter and facebook updates have left much to be desired. But now that it is 2:40 in the morning and I have been cursed with a sudden bout of energy over the last hour and a half, I guess now is as good a time as any to update!
We have known for a while that we were moving, but because of the whole need for employment, we could not tell that many people. After you have decided to leave your job, it is becomes extremely hard to perform a job that you really do not enjoy. But let me tell you, after you turn in your two weeks notice, it get's even harder to motivate yourself to do the work! But in those two weeks I had a ton of work to do cleaning up loose ends and getting ready to hand my duties off to others. I'm sure I didn't accomplish as much as they wanted, buy hey, I didn't do too bad! My last day of work was the 13th and let me tell you, after 3 and a half years of employment there, that was a happy day. Gregg even managed to send me off with a pizza lunch!
However, the fact that I was done officially working did not mean that it was time for us to party. That night we headed off to a local family's house to baby sit/house sit for their 3 kids while they went on a (really long) cruise. We baby sat from the 13th to the 20th and while the kids were great for the most part, I can say with complete certainty that I am nowhere near ready to have kids! I'm not sure I could handle a 10 year old girl running around the house much longer than a week. I grew up with all boys and Anna insist that I never learned to play with girls. She's probably right...
Well we finished baby sitting on the 20th and were supposed to head out of town on the 27th, so it was time to get busy! The plan was to get a camper shell for my truck and load everything we own into the back of my pick up truck, put the bikes on top of the camper, stuff the dogs into the cab with us and take off! Now that is a great plan if you own a truck like this. When you own a truck like this, it means you have to get rid of a LOT of stuff. It also means that with two crazy dogs, it is guaranteed to be an interesting trip! We had already sold most everything in a garage sale at a friends house so we just had to get rid of some odds and ends stuff. But I listed everything else worth selling on Craigslist, including Anna's car and our bed. I also sold a bunch of triathlon stuff I wasn't using any more and hopefully I can convince Anna to let me put that money back into a (desperately) needed bike!
The packing process continued on until a giant monkey wrench was thrown into the plans this Monday. I'm finally getting tired again, so I will tell you about that tomorrow.
We have known for a while that we were moving, but because of the whole need for employment, we could not tell that many people. After you have decided to leave your job, it is becomes extremely hard to perform a job that you really do not enjoy. But let me tell you, after you turn in your two weeks notice, it get's even harder to motivate yourself to do the work! But in those two weeks I had a ton of work to do cleaning up loose ends and getting ready to hand my duties off to others. I'm sure I didn't accomplish as much as they wanted, buy hey, I didn't do too bad! My last day of work was the 13th and let me tell you, after 3 and a half years of employment there, that was a happy day. Gregg even managed to send me off with a pizza lunch!
However, the fact that I was done officially working did not mean that it was time for us to party. That night we headed off to a local family's house to baby sit/house sit for their 3 kids while they went on a (really long) cruise. We baby sat from the 13th to the 20th and while the kids were great for the most part, I can say with complete certainty that I am nowhere near ready to have kids! I'm not sure I could handle a 10 year old girl running around the house much longer than a week. I grew up with all boys and Anna insist that I never learned to play with girls. She's probably right...
Well we finished baby sitting on the 20th and were supposed to head out of town on the 27th, so it was time to get busy! The plan was to get a camper shell for my truck and load everything we own into the back of my pick up truck, put the bikes on top of the camper, stuff the dogs into the cab with us and take off! Now that is a great plan if you own a truck like this. When you own a truck like this, it means you have to get rid of a LOT of stuff. It also means that with two crazy dogs, it is guaranteed to be an interesting trip! We had already sold most everything in a garage sale at a friends house so we just had to get rid of some odds and ends stuff. But I listed everything else worth selling on Craigslist, including Anna's car and our bed. I also sold a bunch of triathlon stuff I wasn't using any more and hopefully I can convince Anna to let me put that money back into a (desperately) needed bike!
Needy dog 1: Bailey
Needy dog 2: Ollie
The packing process continued on until a giant monkey wrench was thrown into the plans this Monday. I'm finally getting tired again, so I will tell you about that tomorrow.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
A bit late, but BIG NEWS!
Disclaimer: There is a giant crack running through the middle of my computer screen which makes typing and proofreading very difficult. So if you see anything goofy, either ignore it or send me a message. I'll fix it when I get to a better computer and can proof this post!
Disclaimer 2: Grammar mistakes will not be corrected as I probably won't recognize them as mistakes. If the nerd is reading, she will help me out.
As you are all aware, I have been slacking in the blog department. I promised a blog about some big news 2 days ago and failed to deliver. But as you are about to see, life has been exceptionally crazy lately. Anyway, let's get rolling!
Big news #1
Big news #1 isn't exactly a secret, many of you already know this, but for 2012, I will be sponsored by Endurance Junkie! Endurance Junkie is a high quality triathlon and cycling apparel company out of Belgium. This is a real sponsorship, and when I say real sponsorship, I mean Peter from Endurance Junkie is actually going to help me out! It has been very cool to see the level of support that I already have from this company.
This (official) announcement comes at a great time as I just last night received my race suit for the year! By the way, it's pretty cool getting a package from Europe.
As you can see, this baby is pretty stylish
Not a bad looking door either....
I would post a picture with me rocking this super comfortable suit, but Anna has already ditched off to bed.
And when I say "super comfortable suit," I'm not kidding. This thing is DEFINITELY the most comfortable piece of cycling or tri clothing I have ever put on. I would call this the triathlon equivalent to baseball's Manny pants. In other words, this joker is comfortable enough to wear as pajamas!
Big news #2
Let's go ahead and throw it out there: Anna and I are moving to Boulder, Colorado!!!!
That's right, we are packing up and heading west! Yes, I know big news, big change (sorry to the few of you that already knew this). I know this brings up even more questions, so let's see if I can cover most of them here:
Why go?
Anna and I just got married back in September and both of our families live here. As much as we love them, this really makes it hard to break away and develop our own life together. Moving will be good for us. Plus, there will never be a better time to get out and explore. This decision won't ever get any easier. We will be back to Alabama/Florida area once we are ready to have kiddos, but for now, it's time to go play!
When?
Anna and I have been planning on moving away from southern Alabama for a while but haven't been able to say much because I needed to keep my job. Well, I put in my two weeks notice on Tuesday so now our news is out in the open and we are headed out quick! We will be leaving the week of January 23rd.
How are you getting there?
We are packing up the dogs and bikes in my truck and heading out on a massive road trip! We are selling Anna's car, so I have been busy cleaning up 10 years ((she has driven the same care since she was 16!) of coffee and make up spills and trying to get little bruiser ready to sell. On top of that, we are having a garage sale on Saturday and selling EVERYTHING that is not absolutely essential (these two reasons on top of still working and training is why I have been struggling to get this blog out). That means we are pretty much selling everything but clothes, bikes and kitchen stuff. It will be tough but I'm sure Anna won't mind decorating from scratch.
So if anybody has any road trip stops we should make between the Gulf Coast and Boulder, let us know! We are open to driving pretty much anywhere, especially if you have some kind of ridiculous tourist attraction.
Why Boulder?
We have seriously mulled over the possibility of several different cities. First of all there was Bend, OR but for no particular reason, that never really panned out and neither one of us felt right about the move there. Then we decided on Phoenix. One of my teammates from last year just moved out there and it looked like he could help us find jobs pretty quickly. But then neither one of us could fall in love with moving to the desert. I am sure it is great in it's own way, but I like grass.
So then we thought about Boulder. Another teammate of mine lives out there and when I asked her about it, she had a billion great things to say about the town. Then we started seriously thinking about it and I fell in love with the idea for two main reasons: 1. The summer after my junior year of college, I signed a contract to play for the Cheyenne Grizzlies in the Colorado Mountain League. In these college leagues you pretty much live and play ball like a minor leaguer. It would have been heaven for me. But I ended up tearing my ACL, MCL and Meniscus during the school season. All of a sudden it didn't make so much sense to go. The coach offered me the chance to still go out with the team and workout as I could and help with the catchers, but I turned it down. This is the only regret I really have in life. So, that dream to head out west has burned deep down inside of me sense then. Here's my chance to go! And 2. Boulder is pretty much the North American triathlon headquarters. If you look at all of the pros that live and train there at some point throughout the year, it is pretty much ridiculous. If we were going to move away from our families, I wanted it to be to a place where I could really give myself every opportunity possible to succeed at triathlon. I have some lofty goals and why not get to chasing them? After all, there's nothing like laying it all on the line.
What will you do when you get there?
In short, we are going to play. I have had a pretty good job the last 3 and a half years, but I have decided I'm not cut out for the whole 8-5 office job. So I will be looking for a job, more than likely in a restaurant, bartending or waiting. That way if I want to take a 4 hour bike ride on Tuesday, I can. And if we want to take 6 days to drive to the Grand Canyon or go snowboarding, we can do so without worrying about vacation days. I just have to say "hey Carl, mind covering my shift for me?" I mean, after all, if we are moving to training paradise to allow myself every opportunity to go as far as possible in this sport, I don't want to have an inflexible job standing in the way.
Ok, I'm getting tired and every though there is a ton more to this, you're probably about tired of reading, so hit me up on twitter if you have more questions.
Oh, and how cool is this label on my new trisuit?
Disclaimer 2: Grammar mistakes will not be corrected as I probably won't recognize them as mistakes. If the nerd is reading, she will help me out.
As you are all aware, I have been slacking in the blog department. I promised a blog about some big news 2 days ago and failed to deliver. But as you are about to see, life has been exceptionally crazy lately. Anyway, let's get rolling!
Big news #1
Big news #1 isn't exactly a secret, many of you already know this, but for 2012, I will be sponsored by Endurance Junkie! Endurance Junkie is a high quality triathlon and cycling apparel company out of Belgium. This is a real sponsorship, and when I say real sponsorship, I mean Peter from Endurance Junkie is actually going to help me out! It has been very cool to see the level of support that I already have from this company.
This (official) announcement comes at a great time as I just last night received my race suit for the year! By the way, it's pretty cool getting a package from Europe.
As you can see, this baby is pretty stylish
Not a bad looking door either....
I would post a picture with me rocking this super comfortable suit, but Anna has already ditched off to bed.
And when I say "super comfortable suit," I'm not kidding. This thing is DEFINITELY the most comfortable piece of cycling or tri clothing I have ever put on. I would call this the triathlon equivalent to baseball's Manny pants. In other words, this joker is comfortable enough to wear as pajamas!
Big news #2
Let's go ahead and throw it out there: Anna and I are moving to Boulder, Colorado!!!!
That's right, we are packing up and heading west! Yes, I know big news, big change (sorry to the few of you that already knew this). I know this brings up even more questions, so let's see if I can cover most of them here:
Why go?
Anna and I just got married back in September and both of our families live here. As much as we love them, this really makes it hard to break away and develop our own life together. Moving will be good for us. Plus, there will never be a better time to get out and explore. This decision won't ever get any easier. We will be back to Alabama/Florida area once we are ready to have kiddos, but for now, it's time to go play!
When?
Anna and I have been planning on moving away from southern Alabama for a while but haven't been able to say much because I needed to keep my job. Well, I put in my two weeks notice on Tuesday so now our news is out in the open and we are headed out quick! We will be leaving the week of January 23rd.
How are you getting there?
We are packing up the dogs and bikes in my truck and heading out on a massive road trip! We are selling Anna's car, so I have been busy cleaning up 10 years ((she has driven the same care since she was 16!) of coffee and make up spills and trying to get little bruiser ready to sell. On top of that, we are having a garage sale on Saturday and selling EVERYTHING that is not absolutely essential (these two reasons on top of still working and training is why I have been struggling to get this blog out). That means we are pretty much selling everything but clothes, bikes and kitchen stuff. It will be tough but I'm sure Anna won't mind decorating from scratch.
So if anybody has any road trip stops we should make between the Gulf Coast and Boulder, let us know! We are open to driving pretty much anywhere, especially if you have some kind of ridiculous tourist attraction.
Why Boulder?
We have seriously mulled over the possibility of several different cities. First of all there was Bend, OR but for no particular reason, that never really panned out and neither one of us felt right about the move there. Then we decided on Phoenix. One of my teammates from last year just moved out there and it looked like he could help us find jobs pretty quickly. But then neither one of us could fall in love with moving to the desert. I am sure it is great in it's own way, but I like grass.
So then we thought about Boulder. Another teammate of mine lives out there and when I asked her about it, she had a billion great things to say about the town. Then we started seriously thinking about it and I fell in love with the idea for two main reasons: 1. The summer after my junior year of college, I signed a contract to play for the Cheyenne Grizzlies in the Colorado Mountain League. In these college leagues you pretty much live and play ball like a minor leaguer. It would have been heaven for me. But I ended up tearing my ACL, MCL and Meniscus during the school season. All of a sudden it didn't make so much sense to go. The coach offered me the chance to still go out with the team and workout as I could and help with the catchers, but I turned it down. This is the only regret I really have in life. So, that dream to head out west has burned deep down inside of me sense then. Here's my chance to go! And 2. Boulder is pretty much the North American triathlon headquarters. If you look at all of the pros that live and train there at some point throughout the year, it is pretty much ridiculous. If we were going to move away from our families, I wanted it to be to a place where I could really give myself every opportunity possible to succeed at triathlon. I have some lofty goals and why not get to chasing them? After all, there's nothing like laying it all on the line.
What will you do when you get there?
In short, we are going to play. I have had a pretty good job the last 3 and a half years, but I have decided I'm not cut out for the whole 8-5 office job. So I will be looking for a job, more than likely in a restaurant, bartending or waiting. That way if I want to take a 4 hour bike ride on Tuesday, I can. And if we want to take 6 days to drive to the Grand Canyon or go snowboarding, we can do so without worrying about vacation days. I just have to say "hey Carl, mind covering my shift for me?" I mean, after all, if we are moving to training paradise to allow myself every opportunity to go as far as possible in this sport, I don't want to have an inflexible job standing in the way.
Ok, I'm getting tired and every though there is a ton more to this, you're probably about tired of reading, so hit me up on twitter if you have more questions.
Oh, and how cool is this label on my new trisuit?
Friday, December 16, 2011
To Infinity and Beyond!
I think a big part of getting anywhere in life is to have goals. Without goals, where are you heading? I am big on lists, so it just seems natural to make a list of goals, right? Recently I was cleaning out some paperwork and found a list of goals dated 8/5/10, so roughly 16 months ago. Of those 20 goals, I have not achieved any of them. I am making progress towards all of them, but I have not actually completed any of them. Maybe putting all of these out there for the masses to view will help with some motivation to cross some of these off of the list!
1. Weight sub 170 (well, I made this one briefly)
2. Run a sub 1:45 1/2 marathon
3. Run a sub 1:30 1/2 marathon
4. Run a sub 4 marathon
5. Run a sub 3:30 marathon
6. Run a sub 3 marathon
7. Run a sub 5 70.3
8. Run a sub 4:40 70.3
9. Run a sub 4:30 70.3
10. Average 24+ mph in a 70.3
11. Run a sub 45 10k
12. Run a sub 40 10k
13. Run a sub 20 5k
14. Run a sub 19 5k
15. Run a sub 18 5k
16. Run a sub 6 min mile
17. Run a sub 5:30 min mile
18. Run a sub 5 min mile
19. Sub 32 min 1/2 iron swim (I didn't have any swim goals on the original list. I just added all of these)
20. Sub 30 min 1/2 iron swim
21. Sub 28 min 1/2 iron swim
22. Sub 1:05 ironman swim
23. Sub 1 hour ironman swim
24. Sub 55 min ironman swim
25. Sub 11 hour ironman
26. Sub 10 hour ironman
27. Sub 9 hour ironman
28. Win a race over all
29. Go pro in triathlon
Well, there you go. There are some fairly easy goals on there and there are some extremely lofty goals on there. It's time to make these dreams a reality.
1. Weight sub 170 (well, I made this one briefly)
2. Run a sub 1:45 1/2 marathon
3. Run a sub 1:30 1/2 marathon
4. Run a sub 4 marathon
5. Run a sub 3:30 marathon
6. Run a sub 3 marathon
7. Run a sub 5 70.3
8. Run a sub 4:40 70.3
9. Run a sub 4:30 70.3
10. Average 24+ mph in a 70.3
11. Run a sub 45 10k
12. Run a sub 40 10k
13. Run a sub 20 5k
14. Run a sub 19 5k
15. Run a sub 18 5k
16. Run a sub 6 min mile
17. Run a sub 5:30 min mile
18. Run a sub 5 min mile
19. Sub 32 min 1/2 iron swim (I didn't have any swim goals on the original list. I just added all of these)
20. Sub 30 min 1/2 iron swim
21. Sub 28 min 1/2 iron swim
22. Sub 1:05 ironman swim
23. Sub 1 hour ironman swim
24. Sub 55 min ironman swim
25. Sub 11 hour ironman
26. Sub 10 hour ironman
27. Sub 9 hour ironman
28. Win a race over all
29. Go pro in triathlon
Well, there you go. There are some fairly easy goals on there and there are some extremely lofty goals on there. It's time to make these dreams a reality.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
How far are you going to swim??
Earlier this year I began following Hillary Biscay's blog. It's a good read and she always posts plenty of pictures (but it is BRIGHT pink which makes it very difficult to pretend to be working when you are caught goofing off). It wasn't long after I started following that I read about Linsey Corbin's 10,000 yard birthday celebration swim. My first thought was "that’s stupid." My second thought was "I want to do it!"
The past two weeks have been my offseason and they have been glorious. I have done nothing but eat and drink and sit on my butt. Instead of morning swims, I have been sleeping in. Instead of taking lunch runs, I have been taking lunch naps. Instead of afternoon workouts, I have been drinking and then passing out early. Like I said, it has been glorious. But it doesn’t take long for me to get bored of this type of activity, or non-activity. So I decided that the Saturday after Thanksgiving would be a perfect time to do my 100x100 swim and to kick off the 2012 training season all in one fell swoop.
I thought this would be a good opportunity for a group swim and tried to enlist some friends and the local tri-club. Come swim time, not one person showed up. So I was off for a solo swim!
Since the longest I have ever swum was 6,000 yards, I wanted to pace myself. My goal was to try to keep my splits consistent between 1:32 and 1:35. For the most part I stayed right on track. I grouped the 100’s into sets of 10 to help break things up. After each of the first 10 100’s, I took a 5 second break. After each of the second 10, I took a 10 second break, then back to 5, back to 10, and so on. After each 10 100’s I would take a two minute break to catch my breath and stretch out whatever was getting tight.
I thought since I had not swam anything at all in the last two weeks that it would probably take 1500-2000 yards to find my stroke again and really settle in. Well after 4000 yards, I still couldn’t remember how to swim. So I did 1000 with a pull buoy. Nope, still can’t swim. I was hitting my times for the most part, but man was it a struggle fest! So I did another 1000 focusing on my stroke. Nothing. Alright let’s do a 1000 kick. "I’ve swam 7000 yards now, surely I have to be making progress." Nope, still can’t swim. So after another 1000 working on my stroke I went back to the pull buoy. On the last length of this set, at yard 8,975, something clicked! "That’s what I have been doing wrong!" After seeing my times slip to 1:36, 1:37, 1:38 as I got more and more tired, I finally figured it out!
I set to work on my last 10 100’s and busted out a 1:28. "That felt good, but take this one easy. You still have 900 to go." 1:28! "Slow down man." 1:28! "Same time?" 1:28! "Ok, screw it. Let’s go." 1:28, 1:29, 1:28, 1:24, 1:21, 1:17!
All in all my first 100x100 swim was a complete success, even if I was unable to lift my arms for the next 48 hours.
All in all my first 100x100 swim was a complete success, even if I was unable to lift my arms for the next 48 hours.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Miami Man Half Iron Race Report Part Deux!!
Ok, I know I'm late again. If you haven't seen part 1, you can view it here, otherwise, here's part two of the report:
Race morning the alarm went off at 4:20. I ate my PB&J sandwich and drank a little mountain dew (the kind with real sugar!) and took a quick shower. We were checked out and in the car by 4:40! I love races with bike check in the day before, because race morning there is very little to do, just get my nutriton for the day set up, eat PB&J number 2 and stretch. Except even with the very little to do, I still forgot my endurolytes. So after a mad dash sprint back to the car, then back to the transition area, then to throw my wetsuit on and sprint to the start line, I was nice and warmed up and ready to go!
Swim
32:58 - 1:34/100yard - 6th in AG
This is the first time I have ever felt like I was racing in the water. I lined up with the front of our wave and when the gun went off I dove in and took off sprinting. I was determined to make it on the feet of someone fast when we made the first turn. Unfortunately, I still haven't figured out how to swim really hard AND swim straight. Instead I swim way to the left. So my little detour kept me from getting right on the feet I wanted to be on, but I still felt like I was in good position. I managed to stay in a little pack for the first couple hundred yards but after rounding the 2nd turn buoy, there was nothing left of the pack. So off on my own I went!
This swim was in a spring fed lake, so it was crystal clear. I could see the rock formations on the bottom of the lake nearly the entire swim. This was a very nice change of pace from the nasty lake and bay swims I have grown acustomed to where you can't even see as far as your elbow when you are swimming.
I finished my first lap and jumped out of the water to round the timing mat. As I did so, I heard my cheering section scream that I was in 6th place. As I hopped back in the water, I could see the next guy in my AG about 25 yards ahead of me. No matter how hard I swam, he always seemed to be that same 25 yards right in front of me and we finished the second lap in the same position.
I didn't quite make my goal of swimming a 31:xx but I have to say that I am still very happy with this swim. I have a lot to work on, but just 6 months after swimming a 1:20:31 at Ironman I will call this an improvement. Of course all of the extra speed could be attributed to this swim cap:
T1 - 1:57
Bike
2:30:50 - 22.3mph - 4th in AG
The bike was tough. Much tougher than I thought that it would be. The course was flat as a pancake, but the wind was howling! And my bike is not quite an aero bike. If you missed part one of my race report than you might not be aware of the fact that I am riding an ancient race bike, known as The Mummy.
Well, I did manage to alter The Mummy a little bit from the picture and add race wheels and aero bars to it. But despite the changes, the components are still 26 years old. And it didn't take long before that proved to be a problem. I wasn't even out of the park that this race is staged in before my rear deraileur decided to throw my chain. Fortunately though, riding this bike has made me quite proficient at working on a drive train. So I was off the bike, fixed the chain, and was back riding again in just a minute or two. Now, time to get to work!
During Ironman Texas, I don't think I consumed near enough electrolytes or calories on the bike, so I wanted to make sure I did not repeat that mistake here. I started with two bottles of gatorade diluted with half water and made sure that I drank a minimum of every 15 minutes. I took a hammer gel every 30 minutes as well as 1 or 2 endurolytes (depending on how I was feeling) every 30 minutes. I staggered the gels and the endurolytes so that I didn't have to take both at the same time.
I wasn't on the bike long before a group of 3 guys, including 2 guys in my age group, riding in a peloton came past me. I let them go and decided to stick to my heart rate, but after the initial pass, they didn't seem to be putting any additional time on me. Then the more I watched them draft, the more mad it made me. So I put a charge in and passed them and then put some space between us. We ended up battling back and forth for most of the day. Although one of them was not quite staying out of the draft zone and the other one was no more than half a bike length behind the person in front of him at all times, it was fun to actually race against them and to know where I placed in the race at pretty much all times.
I started out feeling great on the bike, but as time progressed, the wind picked up big time and my heart rate began to drop. I thought my inability to hold my heart rate was just the headwind, but after the race I started thinking about things and realised that the change in bike position the week of the race probably had a good deal to do with my heart rate. Moving my position on the bike from more of a touring position, as the bike was designed, to an aero position moved a lot of the load from my hamstrings to my quads. This just sucked my legs dry.
In the end, one of the guys I was battling with rode off, I dropped the other and then passed another guy to move up to 4th in my AG coming off of the bike.
T2 - 1:14
Run
2:08:47 - 9:49 min/mile - 10th in AG
Yeah, the run was carnage. My quads were cramping within the first half mile. It didn't matter how much fluid or endurolytes I sucked down, there was no saving them. My heart rate stayed about where I wanted it, but I couldn't get my legs to move any faster. I would push harder and harder and my heart rate would shoot higher and higher, and then when I got to the next mile marker I would find that I was not actually running any faster at all. That's not fun. I walked through the aid stations and "ran" all the rest of the time. But that "run" kept getting slower as the day went on.
As I stumbled through the run I began to calculate my times and negotiate with myself: "ok, keep pushing here. If you can hold this pace, you can still break 5:05." "Ok, keep pushing here. If you can hold this pace, you can still break 5:10..." In the end I had to run a 30 minute 5k to break 5:15. I pushed as hard as I could, but once again no matter how much I pushed the hurt, my legs weren't moving any faster. At one point in the last mile it felt like I kicked a towel or blanket or something and looked down to see what my leg was caught in. There was nothing there. "Ok, so now my legs are shutting down. Let's not pull a Chris Legh here at the end of the race..." So now I'm pushing as hard as I can and praying my body does not shut down in a collapse fit for Hollywood. Fun stuff.
I dropped 6 places on the run and finished in 5:15:48. I'm not exactly proud of that finish or that time, but I am proud of how hard I pushed. That was the most I have ever hurt in a race and the hardest I have ever pushed.
Now to find a bike...
Race morning the alarm went off at 4:20. I ate my PB&J sandwich and drank a little mountain dew (the kind with real sugar!) and took a quick shower. We were checked out and in the car by 4:40! I love races with bike check in the day before, because race morning there is very little to do, just get my nutriton for the day set up, eat PB&J number 2 and stretch. Except even with the very little to do, I still forgot my endurolytes. So after a mad dash sprint back to the car, then back to the transition area, then to throw my wetsuit on and sprint to the start line, I was nice and warmed up and ready to go!
Swim
32:58 - 1:34/100yard - 6th in AG
This is the first time I have ever felt like I was racing in the water. I lined up with the front of our wave and when the gun went off I dove in and took off sprinting. I was determined to make it on the feet of someone fast when we made the first turn. Unfortunately, I still haven't figured out how to swim really hard AND swim straight. Instead I swim way to the left. So my little detour kept me from getting right on the feet I wanted to be on, but I still felt like I was in good position. I managed to stay in a little pack for the first couple hundred yards but after rounding the 2nd turn buoy, there was nothing left of the pack. So off on my own I went!
This swim was in a spring fed lake, so it was crystal clear. I could see the rock formations on the bottom of the lake nearly the entire swim. This was a very nice change of pace from the nasty lake and bay swims I have grown acustomed to where you can't even see as far as your elbow when you are swimming.
I finished my first lap and jumped out of the water to round the timing mat. As I did so, I heard my cheering section scream that I was in 6th place. As I hopped back in the water, I could see the next guy in my AG about 25 yards ahead of me. No matter how hard I swam, he always seemed to be that same 25 yards right in front of me and we finished the second lap in the same position.
I didn't quite make my goal of swimming a 31:xx but I have to say that I am still very happy with this swim. I have a lot to work on, but just 6 months after swimming a 1:20:31 at Ironman I will call this an improvement. Of course all of the extra speed could be attributed to this swim cap:
T1 - 1:57
Bike
2:30:50 - 22.3mph - 4th in AG
The bike was tough. Much tougher than I thought that it would be. The course was flat as a pancake, but the wind was howling! And my bike is not quite an aero bike. If you missed part one of my race report than you might not be aware of the fact that I am riding an ancient race bike, known as The Mummy.
Well, I did manage to alter The Mummy a little bit from the picture and add race wheels and aero bars to it. But despite the changes, the components are still 26 years old. And it didn't take long before that proved to be a problem. I wasn't even out of the park that this race is staged in before my rear deraileur decided to throw my chain. Fortunately though, riding this bike has made me quite proficient at working on a drive train. So I was off the bike, fixed the chain, and was back riding again in just a minute or two. Now, time to get to work!
During Ironman Texas, I don't think I consumed near enough electrolytes or calories on the bike, so I wanted to make sure I did not repeat that mistake here. I started with two bottles of gatorade diluted with half water and made sure that I drank a minimum of every 15 minutes. I took a hammer gel every 30 minutes as well as 1 or 2 endurolytes (depending on how I was feeling) every 30 minutes. I staggered the gels and the endurolytes so that I didn't have to take both at the same time.
I wasn't on the bike long before a group of 3 guys, including 2 guys in my age group, riding in a peloton came past me. I let them go and decided to stick to my heart rate, but after the initial pass, they didn't seem to be putting any additional time on me. Then the more I watched them draft, the more mad it made me. So I put a charge in and passed them and then put some space between us. We ended up battling back and forth for most of the day. Although one of them was not quite staying out of the draft zone and the other one was no more than half a bike length behind the person in front of him at all times, it was fun to actually race against them and to know where I placed in the race at pretty much all times.
I started out feeling great on the bike, but as time progressed, the wind picked up big time and my heart rate began to drop. I thought my inability to hold my heart rate was just the headwind, but after the race I started thinking about things and realised that the change in bike position the week of the race probably had a good deal to do with my heart rate. Moving my position on the bike from more of a touring position, as the bike was designed, to an aero position moved a lot of the load from my hamstrings to my quads. This just sucked my legs dry.
In the end, one of the guys I was battling with rode off, I dropped the other and then passed another guy to move up to 4th in my AG coming off of the bike.
T2 - 1:14
Run
2:08:47 - 9:49 min/mile - 10th in AG
Yeah, the run was carnage. My quads were cramping within the first half mile. It didn't matter how much fluid or endurolytes I sucked down, there was no saving them. My heart rate stayed about where I wanted it, but I couldn't get my legs to move any faster. I would push harder and harder and my heart rate would shoot higher and higher, and then when I got to the next mile marker I would find that I was not actually running any faster at all. That's not fun. I walked through the aid stations and "ran" all the rest of the time. But that "run" kept getting slower as the day went on.
Sucking down some warm Mountain Dew in a desperate attempt to keep moving.
As I stumbled through the run I began to calculate my times and negotiate with myself: "ok, keep pushing here. If you can hold this pace, you can still break 5:05." "Ok, keep pushing here. If you can hold this pace, you can still break 5:10..." In the end I had to run a 30 minute 5k to break 5:15. I pushed as hard as I could, but once again no matter how much I pushed the hurt, my legs weren't moving any faster. At one point in the last mile it felt like I kicked a towel or blanket or something and looked down to see what my leg was caught in. There was nothing there. "Ok, so now my legs are shutting down. Let's not pull a Chris Legh here at the end of the race..." So now I'm pushing as hard as I can and praying my body does not shut down in a collapse fit for Hollywood. Fun stuff.
I dropped 6 places on the run and finished in 5:15:48. I'm not exactly proud of that finish or that time, but I am proud of how hard I pushed. That was the most I have ever hurt in a race and the hardest I have ever pushed.
Now to find a bike...
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Miami Man Race Report Part 1
As soon as a race is over (sometimes before it is over), I begin to start writing the race report in my head. Unfortunately, it rarely makes it to paper (or computer screen). So I have decided to turn over a new leaf and write the race report only 3 days later! The race was on Sunday, so I decided we would drive down to Orlando Friday night and meet up with my dad who has been working there and living out of a hotel. We were going to just share a hotel room with him that night and then get up early Saturday to go down to the expo and check in for the race. My little brother, Payton (freshman in high school), decided he wanted to go with us, so I would have a total of 3 fans at a race 600 miles away. Pretty cool!
The brave-traveling-fan-brother
Prerace
I decided back over the summer that I wanted to do the Miami Man half iron. It looked like a pretty cool race with a 2 lap swim in a crystal clear lake, flat bike course through the Miami countryside (yeah, who knew that existed?) and a two loop run through the zoo!!! But, I was saving for a wedding and honeymoon and wrote this race off. Then out of the blue one day, Anna surprised me by paying my way! Of course, at that point I was training and racing on this:
Well through a mishap involving a derailleur stuck in my rear wheel and a derailleur hanger that did not want to do it’s job and bend/break, I now have a cracked carbon frame and a 1985 Raleigh Olympian known as The Mummy to train and race on:
To make a long story short, I was holding out hope until the very last minute that I would have another bike to race come the Miami Man. It didn’t happen. So the Monday before the race, I swapped out the cockpit on The Mummy and put the base and aero bars from the Slice on it. I have to give a huge thanks to Joseph at Pro Cycle and Tri who helped me get the bike in as close to a raceable condition as possible! But, I was only able to get one short ride in on the bike with the new set up, but thought "oh, well. I am flexible and this shouldn’t bother me too much. Besides, it will be faster." Well, it was faster, and I was able to hold the TT position just fine for the 56 miles. But, after 6 months of training exclusively on a road bike (that is more of a touring position, I have been told), I did not think about the devastating affect this would have on my qauds. More on this later…
I have been battling a virus and a head cold for the last couple of weeks, but I think that may have been a bit of a blessing in disguise. It may have taken a bit out of me on race day, but the week leading up to the race, it made me get plenty of sleep. I was in bed no later than 9:00 every night and even made it to sleep before 7:00 twice in the week leading up to the race. There is nothing like an 11 hour night of sleep!
Now on this race, logistics was my next obstacle. Miami is 12 hours from Mobile, AL and I had already used all of my vacation days on our honeymoon in September. All of the bosses knew I was going to Miami for a race, so I couldn’t try to use a sick day either.Well, my boss then stepped up in a big way and told me to go ahead and take the afternoon off on Friday so I can get a head start on the road. So we pulled Payton out of school early and headed to get the rental car. After a debaucle that only I could cause, Payton, Anna and I were all finally on the road, but still an easy 4 hours earlier than we would have been without my boss letting me off early.
Then, on the way down, my dad called me with some good news and some bad news. The bad news was that he had been completely unable to find a pair of cheap hotel rooms anywhere close to the race for Saturday night. The good news was that when his boss heard this, he went ahead and booked two hotel rooms for us at the Hampton Inn, and on top of that, he booked an extra room so Anna and I could have our own room Friday night! That was a major relief and a HUGE help on this trip!
Saturday, Anna and I got up at 5 and headed down to Miami. We made it there just minutes after the expo opened up and completed check in and bike check in in record time. We met up with Bill and Anne, the president of our tri club, the GCAT’s, and his wife, who were both racing and rode the course together. We ate Itallian for lunch and Cuban food for dinner packed my bag for the morning and made it to bed by 8:30. I was out like a rock only minutes later.
Tomorrow: Part II – The most I have ever hurt in a race.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Help a brother out
My little brother, Nolan, graduated from high school this past year. Instead of taking the traditional route of heading to college to party, he has decided to take some time for mission work. Immediately after graduating, Nolan moved in with me to work two jobs to earn money for this trip. He also spent all free time he had writing letters asking for support. He earned and raised a ton of money, but he is still short. He is heading to the middle east, to the country of Oman for 3 months and he needs some more help to get there. This is the letter he sent out the other day.
Family
,
In only seven weeks I will be headed to the Middle East, God has called me to go into the nations of Oman and the United Arab Emirates. My journey started this March while on a mission trip to Guatemala. From there I knew I would be doing a Discipleship Training School (DTS), a Youth With A Mission (YWAM) program, instead of attending college this year. It’s a six month school containing three months of training followed by three months of outreach, designed to equip young people then send them to the world.
I am currently halfway through my DTS and God has already done miraculous things I never could have imagined, including three healings earlier this week. Among many things I have learned how to hear God’s voice, Do what he has told me, and live in freedom with Christ. When I leave I will put all of this into practice, ministering firsthand to the Muslim people.
Before I can go I need your help. About $5,000 is still left to be raised for my outreach to the Middle East. Within the next six days $1,500 is needed so that flight tickets can be purchased. I ask that you will please partner with me in prayer, and, if you are led, with my remaining finances as well. If you wish to see God’s light shone to the dark places of this world please pray, and if God leads you to, please financially contribute.
How to Contribute
1. Visit https://apply.uofn.edu/OnlineAppDocs/OnlinePayment.cfm
2. Insert My Information
If you can give anything, even $5, please help him out. His information is as follows:
Last name: Robinson
First name: Michael (he goes by his middle name, Nolan)
Students email address: nolan.robinson@gmail.com
Students birth date: Februarty 22, 1993
School seminar name: DTS - Fire and Fragrance Bilingual
Starting month and year: September, 2011
Thanks a lot for helping him out!
Family
,
In only seven weeks I will be headed to the Middle East, God has called me to go into the nations of Oman and the United Arab Emirates. My journey started this March while on a mission trip to Guatemala. From there I knew I would be doing a Discipleship Training School (DTS), a Youth With A Mission (YWAM) program, instead of attending college this year. It’s a six month school containing three months of training followed by three months of outreach, designed to equip young people then send them to the world.
I am currently halfway through my DTS and God has already done miraculous things I never could have imagined, including three healings earlier this week. Among many things I have learned how to hear God’s voice, Do what he has told me, and live in freedom with Christ. When I leave I will put all of this into practice, ministering firsthand to the Muslim people.
Before I can go I need your help. About $5,000 is still left to be raised for my outreach to the Middle East. Within the next six days $1,500 is needed so that flight tickets can be purchased. I ask that you will please partner with me in prayer, and, if you are led, with my remaining finances as well. If you wish to see God’s light shone to the dark places of this world please pray, and if God leads you to, please financially contribute.
How to Contribute
1. Visit https://apply.uofn.edu/OnlineAppDocs/OnlinePayment.cfm
2. Insert My Information
If you can give anything, even $5, please help him out. His information is as follows:
Last name: Robinson
First name: Michael (he goes by his middle name, Nolan)
Students email address: nolan.robinson@gmail.com
Students birth date: Februarty 22, 1993
School seminar name: DTS - Fire and Fragrance Bilingual
Starting month and year: September, 2011
Thanks a lot for helping him out!
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Yeah, this is going to be embarrassing
Yesterday I applied for a sponsorship that I would LOVE to get. But, I realize I am not near as fast as most of the people that have submitted their applications. BUT, speed isn't everything! At one point, the would be sponsor said to send in pictures, videos, whatever we thought would help our case. Well, I couldn't figure out how to send videos through his website and I didn't want to just tag him to Facebook posts, so I thought "why not write a blog and then everyone can share in the fun (read humiliation [wait til you see me dance in the video...])!" <.... that's a lot of punctuation right there!
Well, here are some highlights from my, so far, short triathlon career.
We have a short series of pictures from 2010 Heart of Dixie Triathlon. Here you see me before the race happy and ready to roll!
Fast forward about an hour to the swim start. Let's do it!
Coming out of the water I feel great! Lake swims are awesome!
Next, I hammered through the bike. Please not the photo has been greatly distorted by the incredible speed that I was traveling at.
Then, I ran it on in! Note the sheer joy on my face, no cramping at all in this race! That is definitely not a look of pain, nope!
This year before Ironman Texas, I decided to let Eneko Llanos borrow all of my mojo. He won.
I did not. But I finished my first Ironman! Here I am running down the finishers chute!
Let's fast forward to September 9th, 2011. Maybe my favorite day ever? Here I am right before the start of the Brett Robinson Coastal Tri Sprint Distance. I was definitely up to something when this picture was taken...
After the race, third overall (!), I had to put on my best Bo Jackson pose with my bike, The Mummy (that thing is older than me!)
Then it was time to head off for the fun stuff!
Yep, podium in the morning then marry that pretty little thing in the afternoon! It was a good day!
Well, the sound isn't working (I'll try to get that fixed) but here you go!
Well, Mr. Potential Sponsor, I've made my pitch, and have been making it for a couple of months. I hope I fit what you are looking for! And everyone else, well, someone teach me how to dance...
Sunday, October 9, 2011
How to swim faster in open water
As triathletes, we are all looking for ways to decrease are race times. The swim is a section that many triathletes spend far too little time on. Well, I have devised a system to improve your swim times without putting in any additional practice. I practiced this method just this past Friday.
1. Find an open body of water to swim in.
2. Make sure that the water is murky and has low visibility.
3. While swimming, accidentally kick a fish.
*This next step is the key!
4. Let your mind wander. Begin to think about all of the things that fish might have actually been, such as an alligator, a large sting ray, an even larger sting ray (!), an alligator big enough to eat that sting ray... and you at the same time, a bull shark that wandered into the bay, a Russian spy diver, a dead pirate that was forced to walk the plank (in 4 feet of water no less), a baracuda, wait... baracudas swim in packs! It was probably 1 of 1000 baracudas!
5. You will automatically begin to swim faster.
Well, that's your tri tip for the day! Enjoy!
1. Find an open body of water to swim in.
2. Make sure that the water is murky and has low visibility.
3. While swimming, accidentally kick a fish.
*This next step is the key!
4. Let your mind wander. Begin to think about all of the things that fish might have actually been, such as an alligator, a large sting ray, an even larger sting ray (!), an alligator big enough to eat that sting ray... and you at the same time, a bull shark that wandered into the bay, a Russian spy diver, a dead pirate that was forced to walk the plank (in 4 feet of water no less), a baracuda, wait... baracudas swim in packs! It was probably 1 of 1000 baracudas!
5. You will automatically begin to swim faster.
Well, that's your tri tip for the day! Enjoy!
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Back at it
It has been a while since I have really kept up with this blog (well, have I ever really kept up with it?). But now that I am back from the honeymoon and have the wedding done I have just a little bit more freetime on my hands! So now, I can actually get some stuff out to ya'll in the next few weeks!
A couple of other notes:
My Hooker Counter had been up for only about 2 weeks when the fine city of Prichard decided to round them all up. So the counter has been stuck at 7 for while, but there were 2 back out today! Hopefully there will be more fun to come.
My weight had been doing good. Albert was dwindling, but during the honeymoon, I managed to gain 11 pounds in 11 days (don't act like you're not impressed). So now it is really time to get serious about this whole weight thing. Only 48 more days until the Miami Man half!
Ok, bedtime!
A couple of other notes:
My Hooker Counter had been up for only about 2 weeks when the fine city of Prichard decided to round them all up. So the counter has been stuck at 7 for while, but there were 2 back out today! Hopefully there will be more fun to come.
My weight had been doing good. Albert was dwindling, but during the honeymoon, I managed to gain 11 pounds in 11 days (don't act like you're not impressed). So now it is really time to get serious about this whole weight thing. Only 48 more days until the Miami Man half!
Ok, bedtime!
Friday, July 22, 2011
All that Prichard has to offer
I have heard many people in the Mobile, Alabama area talk bad about the city of Prichard, which is located just north of Mobile. But many of the negatives I have heard about this city are just simply untrue. I work in Chickasaw and every time I go to or leave work, I have the pleasure of driving through Prichard. So why does Prichard get a bad reputation around the Mobile area? Well, yes, it is true that corruption in the government has sapped the city fund dry and they no longer pay out pensions and sometimes can't pay the police or fire fighters (wait, do they have fire fighters?). But is that really such a big price to pay when you have the pleasure of driving past more abandoned buildings then operable ones?? I don't think so. Plus, where else can you say that the favorite restaurant in town had the ceiling fall in and then had the building condemned? R.I.P. Tice Cream. One cool thing about working in Chickasaw is that we are a part of the Prichard water system, which means it comes out of the faucet looking like tea. You just have to add sugar, and instant sweet tea! Then who can forget the two Country Bears homes on the main drag. That's right, these old style shacks are lacking running water and electrity and you can watch as the crackhead residents scavenge the streets for wood to burn. Don't forget that most of the neighborhoods are project housing. That means that the sidewalks running through them actually make for really good lunch runs. But be careful of the occasional hypodermic needle that is laying on the sidewalk, excellent agility training!
But, I have to say, my favorite part of Prichard is the hookers. Yes, now that the police are not always getting paid, they don't seem to mind the hookers running the street. So you can spot this odd form of wildlife near where the Tice Cream used to stand. It is usually the same two or three, but sometimes you see a new one. The new ones are sometimes hard to distinguish from normal crackheads. Yesterday, I actually saw one wearing a livestrong bracelet. That's right, a crackhead, possibly even a hooker, standing on the corner with a livestrong bracelet to complete the outfit. Ahhhh, crazy characters! So to celebrate these denizens of the dark (well, not just the dark in Prichard), I have now added a Hooker Tracker to my side bar! Yep, you can now count hookers along with me every day of the week! Enjoy!
But, I have to say, my favorite part of Prichard is the hookers. Yes, now that the police are not always getting paid, they don't seem to mind the hookers running the street. So you can spot this odd form of wildlife near where the Tice Cream used to stand. It is usually the same two or three, but sometimes you see a new one. The new ones are sometimes hard to distinguish from normal crackheads. Yesterday, I actually saw one wearing a livestrong bracelet. That's right, a crackhead, possibly even a hooker, standing on the corner with a livestrong bracelet to complete the outfit. Ahhhh, crazy characters! So to celebrate these denizens of the dark (well, not just the dark in Prichard), I have now added a Hooker Tracker to my side bar! Yep, you can now count hookers along with me every day of the week! Enjoy!
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
One tubby, tubby, tubby!
I have never been a skinny person. I am the oldest of 5 and the only one that is not a stick. I'm also the fastest eater out of all of us. I think I learned early on that if I was not the first one done eating, I didn't get seconds! When I was little (like 5) my mom told me that I should play soccer because when I run around so much, I'm not as fat. And then on my first day at a new school she told me I should suck my stomach in when I walked around so I didn't look so chubby and the kids wouldn't make fun of me. I think I actually managed to hold my breath that entire day at school.
Well, with my frame size, genetics and eating capabilities, gaining weight has never been a problem for me. I used to spend ALL of my spare time either on the baseball field or lifting weights, so I got pretty big while playing through college. I was a catcher, and at 6' tall, I topped out at 225 and found my best playing weight to be 212-216. When I graduated college and was no longer playing at an extremely competitive level, I switched to something else that I could excel at. Drinking. I was damn good at it but found that my playing weight rose a little bit with this new sport...
It wasn't long before I had grown bored with this new challenge and moved on to triathlon. I never raced as a clydesdale (200+) although, for my first few races, I definitely could have. My first real year in triathlon, I took off training like a mad man and my weight plummeted. I bottomed out at 168 and was lighter than my brother for the first time ever! Over the offseason however my weight rose again and I have been struggling to get down to the 169-172 range, where I feel most comfortable racing. But now, my stomach, which I have named Albert, must die. If I am going to step my racing up, I need to not be carrying around all of this extra weight. So I'm going to list my weight on the sidebar every day so that Matt and Marcia and anybody else that might happen to read this blog can give me grief. Maybe this will be the last bit of motivation I need to get to the weight I should have been at in March.
Well, with my frame size, genetics and eating capabilities, gaining weight has never been a problem for me. I used to spend ALL of my spare time either on the baseball field or lifting weights, so I got pretty big while playing through college. I was a catcher, and at 6' tall, I topped out at 225 and found my best playing weight to be 212-216. When I graduated college and was no longer playing at an extremely competitive level, I switched to something else that I could excel at. Drinking. I was damn good at it but found that my playing weight rose a little bit with this new sport...
It wasn't long before I had grown bored with this new challenge and moved on to triathlon. I never raced as a clydesdale (200+) although, for my first few races, I definitely could have. My first real year in triathlon, I took off training like a mad man and my weight plummeted. I bottomed out at 168 and was lighter than my brother for the first time ever! Over the offseason however my weight rose again and I have been struggling to get down to the 169-172 range, where I feel most comfortable racing. But now, my stomach, which I have named Albert, must die. If I am going to step my racing up, I need to not be carrying around all of this extra weight. So I'm going to list my weight on the sidebar every day so that Matt and Marcia and anybody else that might happen to read this blog can give me grief. Maybe this will be the last bit of motivation I need to get to the weight I should have been at in March.
Monday, July 18, 2011
How bad can you be??
Well, when it comes to blogging, the answer is pretty bad. With the triathlon team that I am on, good ol' Gear and Training, I am supposed to be posting race reports after each race. Yeah, that hasn't happened. I think I'm three races behind. We'll call that a no bueno!
So, I am going to get back on this thing and just pretend that somebody reads what I write here! Also, I think I need to change up the design and add some stuff, but I'm not quite sure how to do all of that, so if anyone (actually reads this and) has any ideas or suggestions, than message me!
Also, I want to keep a running total of 2 or 3 different numbers on the side bar, any idea how to do that?
So, I am going to get back on this thing and just pretend that somebody reads what I write here! Also, I think I need to change up the design and add some stuff, but I'm not quite sure how to do all of that, so if anyone (actually reads this and) has any ideas or suggestions, than message me!
Also, I want to keep a running total of 2 or 3 different numbers on the side bar, any idea how to do that?
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
How about a contest?
Everybody likes free stuff, right? Well, how about this: the person that comes the closest to guessing my finishing time at Ironman Texas on Saturday, wins an Ironman Texas t-shirt!
Just post your guess at my finishing time as a comment along with your t-shirt size. Closest guess wins!
Contest ends when I hit the water on Saturday.
Hint: read my previous post for goal times and check out other race results here: http://www.athlinks.com/myResultsAdv.aspx?rid=78667688
Just post your guess at my finishing time as a comment along with your t-shirt size. Closest guess wins!
Contest ends when I hit the water on Saturday.
Hint: read my previous post for goal times and check out other race results here: http://www.athlinks.com/myResultsAdv.aspx?rid=78667688
But, I will be an Ironman
It has been nearly 10 months since I signed up for the first ever Ironman Texas. I cannot say that I have stayed absolutely focused this entire time, but I can say that I have worked my butt off. For those of you that don’t know (assuming that more than one person reads this thing), an Ironman is a triathlon consisting of a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike and a 26.2 mile run, all back to back to back. In training for my first Ironman, I have learned a lot of lessons. Here are just a couple:
- Lose the weight before you get to the hard training! I have found that it is just about impossible to properly fuel your body for the next workout while trying to lose weight. So I had to make a choice, lose the rest of the weight I wanted to lose, or stay strong and get in all of my training. In the end, I went with the latter. As my old boss used to say "Fat is strong, my friend. Fat is strong."
- Have a plan and stick to it! I had found a 20 week Ironman training plan and was determined to rip through it. But once I started the first week, I realized that I was WAY beyond where this plan was starting me in my training. So I started to add workouts, and change workouts, and leave certain workouts completely out. By week 2, the plan was about one third my own creation, and two thirds original plan. By week 3 the plan was about two thirds my own creation, and one third original plan (do you see where this is going?). And by week 4, the plan was completely thrown out. That went well for a few weeks until I started to second guess my planning and changing things up like crazy, then it just became "eh, I’ll do this today." Probably not the best way to train for a race of this distance. In the end, I would probably be stronger if I had stuck with the original plan even though it started so slow.
My original time goal for this race was 10:59:59. We will now call that my best case scenario race. It is still possible, but it will take a perfect race. My B goal is 11:29:59 and my C goal is 11:59:59. Really, if I can finish the swim in 1:10 (this will be my first mass start, which means I will be starting at the same time as the other 2750 competitors… in what looks like a very small lake… This might slow me down), finish the bike with a 20mph average, and finish the marathon in under 5 hours, I will be happy.
As a comparison, the winning pro at an Ironman will finish anywhere between 8:00 and 8:40 depending on the conditions and difficulty of the course. Some pros could still be finishing as far back as 10:20. A time of 9:30-10:15 could qualify me for the World Championships in Kona, HI. The median finisher at Ironman Florida last year finished in 12:41:21. And people will be finishing all the way up until the 17 hour cut off time. So even my C goal won’t be a horrible time.
No matter what happens with this race, I can say that I would never have been able to make it this far without the help of my family and friends and especially Anna (everything else aside, how many times has she brought me my spare key when I lost my truck key on a long run or ride??). So thank you everybody for your help and support.
Well, as they say, the hay is in the barn. Come Saturday, it is time to burn that sucker down!
EDIT TO ORIGINAL POST:
If anyone wants to follow my race on Saturday, you can go to http://ironmanlive.com/ then scroll down and click on "Ironman Texas" then click "Tracking" then enter in my bib number 861 to see what I have completed as the day progresses. Gregg Johnson (my boss) is bib number 2421 and Gus Fontenot (another guy from Mobile) is 2120.
Also, I may not be able to finish my race, because some crazy guy is predicting that the world will end at 5:00 pm central time on Saturday. That would be a 10 hour finish for me, I don't know if I can run that fast!
EDIT TO ORIGINAL POST:
If anyone wants to follow my race on Saturday, you can go to http://ironmanlive.com/ then scroll down and click on "Ironman Texas" then click "Tracking" then enter in my bib number 861 to see what I have completed as the day progresses. Gregg Johnson (my boss) is bib number 2421 and Gus Fontenot (another guy from Mobile) is 2120.
Also, I may not be able to finish my race, because some crazy guy is predicting that the world will end at 5:00 pm central time on Saturday. That would be a 10 hour finish for me, I don't know if I can run that fast!
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