Farwell to the big blue ball

Farewell to the big blue ball
I have been with my big blue ball for 3 years. It is my weight room, dining room chair, guitar practice chair, and entertainment for my guests. It follows me through the house. It has been there for me.
I just realized that it will no longer hold lots of air.
It is time to replace my big blue ball.
Good bye Big Blue Ball.


Mountaineer goals
1. I need to streamline my travel. We are camping at IM. So these other races serve as travel practice. I have to get small.
2. Time to give the new Blue Seventy long sleeve wet suit a try.
3. I am going to try out my nutrition strategy.
4.Have fun
5.celebrate Nichole's birthday.

I am packed and ready to roll. I am starting to get excited about this race.

The Coventry Caribou closed down on Monday. We have no coffee shop in coventry since 1976.
Where will I read the paper? Where will I find a friendly face between workouts. Hopefully we will get a new cafe soon.

Good stuff at work
We are being taken care of. It is nice to feel valued. We take a lot of pride in the work we do.

Anyhow I will check back in Sunday or Monday....

Things that might have been

"A bad day is a day when you lie in bed and think of things that might have been"

-Paul Simon

I am sitting here in my living room. I am watching a PBS special concert for Paul Simon. The line I quote is from the song Slip Sliding Away.

I spent 12 years wondering what might have been. When I was 21 I said goodbye to the girl I loved most. She went her way and I went mine. Most days I thought of her. Most days I missed her. Most days I felt I had made a big mistake. I lived with regret. It was deep and it controlled me in many ways.

During 2003 We became reunited through the internet. It was magical. Fairytale stuff. I proposed She accepted, and we began planning.. We both had struggles with income and we were partying far to much. In many ways we had become very bad influences on each other.

She spent many days wondering what might have been and eventually returned to her former life to explore her past. This time she left me. I was lost.I had no idea what had just happened as she handed me the ring. Blamed me and left. I guess sometimes it is easier to leave when you can blame the other.

The summer of '04 I spent drinking, smoking, staying up late, drinking, and just trying to be with other people. She would return once in a while to make sure she still had me firmly wrapped around her finger.

I did not train for triathlon that summer. It was the furthest thing from my mind.

Come Thanksgiving I ran into her in a bar. Something clicked and I decided that this was not going to destroy me. I realized that this regret was foolish. I understood that this person was not worth doing this to myself.

I began working myself back into shape. I pulled the bike out of my folks basement. I started running again. I talked my friend Mickey into swimming....

HEEHEEHAHA..... Sorry, Grover and Elmo are singing Feeling Groovy.

I built a master plan that would wind up at Ironman Wisconsin in 'o7.
So far, my plan is only off by a continent.
Today I am looking forward. My backwards view was blue. No more regret No more what might have been. Today I move forward. Today I am a better person in so many ways. Today I am happy.

Something I love about this blog network is how so many of us are working toward goals and achieving them. Thank you all for sharing your story

Next up. The Med Express Mountaineer this coming Sunday.
I have been really enjoying Jodi's success this week as well as starting to put together travel plans for Wisco...opps, UK.
What I am trying to say, is that all I can think of is IRONMAN.
Right now however I have to get my mind on the race. It is a half IM distance race. I am a little worried that I am taking it to lightly. I am concerned that I am not respecting the distance.
I am following my taper plan. I am getting extra sleep. I am eating really well. But I am struggling with visualization. I am jumping straight to Sherborne Dorset in the UK. I am searching my mind for the 1/2 and I can't see it. All I see is IRONMAN. This Train is Bound for Glory.

The good news is that today I don't spend my days wondering what might have been. I am no longer Slip Sliding Away.....


Side note. Paul Simon is one of four American (folk) songwriters I pay tribute to in this post. Can you name the others?

Waiting for the high dive.

Remember when you were a kid and you stood in line to go off the high dive?. Do you remember how as each of your friends jumped successfully, your ability to back out became less and less of a reality?

Well, Jodi jumped today. 12:37. Awesome. Congrats Dr. IM Jodi

Just a year ago when we met, all I could talk about was my IM dream. She was looking toward her first sprint. She is now an Ironman and I am still waiting on the ladder behind Jen, Nathan, Tim and others that are now stepping out onto the board, poised for a dive into Lake Placid.

My workouts this weekend were based on race recovery and race prep. The big workout was a 4k swim. 1st time doing that. Not bad. The air was cool yesterday so the pool was sorta empty.
Later, I did a brick. Today I rode hills with Rob Reddy and the fellas going to IMLP. We rode the GCT area with some extra hills. In the PM I ran for an hour. I felt great.

I took another major step toward the UK this evening by purchasing my airline tickets....Gulp!
Airfare to the UK is expensive this year. After paying for environmental offset credits, the round trip will be $903.

Next weekend is the Mountaineer Half. I am going to take it somewhat easy this week. Which reminds me. I must go to bed.
G'night.

I have to admit

When I saw the results for my last race I was disappointed. I felt I had put in a good day and everything clicked as it was supposed to. I felt like I had raced well.

The results by the numbers were good. Swim PR, The bike was solid, and my run was strong. I felt like I was getting stronger as each discipline wore on.

Within my age group however I was no. 14 of 15 athletes. Where had I failed?. Why must I always be at the back of the pack? Has all of my hard work this winter just made me 14 instead of 15?

Well, Jen Collister reminded me how tough my AG was, and Bbop reminded me that this was just a prep race for IM.
These thoughts reminded me of my race mantra "Run your own race".
I feel better about the results now. I really did meet my own goals.
The only thing that lingers is a billion mosquito bites.
I itch.
But I will no longer bitch.
Thanks you.

Maumee Bay Race recap

Maumee Bay is Just east of Toledo, Ohio on Lake Erie. HFP produces the race as a part of their Wheelie Fun series. The race offers sprint and international distance triathlons and duathlons. I chose the International tri.

I began with my pack and bike on Coventry. I caught a bus down to the rapid station and headed downtown to meet up with Zac at Rocco's. We packed up the vanagon and headed west to Crocker park where we found Nichole. Along the way we passed my sister on the highway. We waved and yelled back and forth as she drove along with us for a bit.

Once we got to Toledo we got stuck watching 2 different trains pass. This made me late for packet pickup. Fortunately the HFP staff was cool about it. I got my stuff and we went to grab a campsite.
The park was sold out. So we headed down the road the a private camp ground. It was cheaper and the guy said "we got 80 acres, camp where you want"....Very cool. We set up camp and headed into Oak Harbor for groceries at the IGA.
As we headed out of town we were escorted by a local cop to the border.

Back at camp we chopped up the food and consumed it. Zac had lit some wood on fire, so we watched it burn. We also began slapping ourselves. We began to itch. We were being eaten alive by mosquito's. I eventually retreated to my tent. It was also full of mosquito's. I didn't sleep well as I figure I gave 3 quarts of blood to a population of bugs.

5:30 we awoke and headed for the race. I had 2 Lara bars, a banana, and some Gatorade. The van wasn't waking up so easily and gave us a little static along the way, but eventually delivered us to the transition area.

I got set up quickly, Took care of business(no problems this time), and hung out and chatted with the CTC folks.

The sprint waves went out first. I pulled on my wet suit and watched with Zac and Nichole till my wave came up. At 8:19 the horn sounded and we were off.
My strategy was to just get in the middle of it, relax, focus on mechanics and sight. I essentially did that. I was very comfortable and the swim was really effortless. My time was 30:58. Not fast, but it is an improvement. I feel good about it.
T1 was a mess. Not a lot of room to work with for the slow swimmers. I got my bike shoes, helmet, and sunglasses and got moving.
The Bike was flat, flat, flat. 24 miles of flat. I stayed aero and played leap frog much of the time with another rider. I ate some cliff blocks(really good), and finished off my aero bottle of gatorade. My time, 1:14.12 with a pace of 20.1 MPH.

T2 was Chaotic. No rack space and stuff everywhere.
I hit the run and felt fine. The temps were hot, the course was flat, and I just ran, reeling in the next runner 1 by 1. I had fun, finished the run in 53:30 with a pace of 8:38.
My total time was 2:41.39.
I am happy with the results. I am not as fast as I would like to be, but I have gotten faster. My endurace is very strong. I felt like I had run a sprint.
I had a good race and did what I needed to do.

Photo's from Maumee Bay

I am still waiting for the results. I will post a full report once they come in. Until then here are photo's of the race.

Camp Trifolk

Zac and Nicholle riding in the VW Van. Vincent Vanagon is what Zac calls it.

The Race

Nuclear fear humor
Zac quote "We need fresh water more than we need Nuclear energy".
What is the long term plan for these things?

Thank you Cavs

It was a fun ride.

Anyhow, I have a race Sunday. The Maumi Bay Olympic distance. I am really looking forward to to doing a triathlon. It seems like forever ago since I last did one.

I had a gig last night. It was very lightly attended. I had a lot of fun singing just the same.

Mom is doing well and comes home tomorrow.

The dating thing didn't workout. I will spare you the details. Mostly to protect some body else's privacy.

Training is moving along at a steady simple pace.

I have to go accept this now. The Drive, Shot, Fumble, Jose Mesa, and now the Sweep. Lebron is far from done. Many more parties in the finals to come.
'07 has been so bittersweet as a sports fan from NEOhio. 3 Championship games/series with the Buckeyes football, mens basketball, and the CAVS.
Go Tri-be.

"Sunday in June" ride report

Sunday in June is a bike tour that takes riders through Ohio's Amish country in Geauga county. The ride features distances of 25/50/62/100 miles. I chose the century distance.

My day began at 6am when Jodi picked me up. Jodi is great to ride to an event with. She is always calm, friendly, and punctual. I am always very grateful for her generosity and kindness. Tho I am sure I don't show it very well with my stoicism.
That said, Thank You Jodi, you are Awesome!.

Anyhow, we arrived in Burton at 6:45 and met with other CTC members including bloggers DaisyDuc and Craig. Next we descended on the Cleveland Touring Club(the other CTC) volunteers to register. We headed back to the cars to get our selves together. Jodi was doing the 62 mile route as she is tapering for Ironman Cda in 2 weeks. So I made plans with CTC member Adam for the ride home. At 7:30 we joined the front group and departed.

The group took off quickly and I decided that the pace was not mine. I found my pace and settled in. I was feeling a little bloated and found aero position to be uncomfortable. At mile 12 was an aid station for me to relieve my abdominal pressure....I missed the stop.

Shortly after the missed rest stop I hit a bump on a bridge. My bike started making some not so funny noise. I stopped peddling, watched the lead pack disappear, and did a quick inspection. The bike was fine, just a light adjustment and I was off. I was also alone.
Being alone was not what I wanted to do. The next 20 miles were spent alone anyhow.

The scenery was gorges. Rolling hills through Amish county. Wild flowers, tree lined fields, horses, blue skies, buggies and and many amish children enjoying the day watching the cyclist pass by the farm.

Eventually I was joined by another rider for a few miles. He pulled over for a pit stop and I continued on.....The wrong way.

The course was color coded with arrows panted on the road. I was following green. Green was gone. I backtracked, picked up the correct coarse and joined the second pack. Getting off course was a blessing. I was no longer alone.

The rest stop soon arrived and I headed for stress relief. Nothing was moving. Not cool. I was struggling to take in fluids because of this. Uhggg.
I gave up and moved along. The rest of the first 62 was fun despite my personal issues. I joined a group of other triathletes and the miles just slipped by.

At mile 62 we were back in Burton. I had some lemonade and pressed on.

From 62 through 82 I never saw another bike. I was out of sports drink and the entire stretch seemed up hill. At one point I crested a hill and felt like I could see the Atlantic. The view was incredible. I also was excited to finally be heading downhill. That lasted a 1/4 mile before turning right and heading up another hill. When the downhill finally arrived, the road was so bad that I wanted to go uphill again.

At mile 88, I arrived at the final aid station. I refilled my Gatorade, had some water mellon and finally rid myself of the internal issues....12 miles to go. I felt fine.

The next 12 miles were tough. Mostly uphill and very little shade....Seems like uphill was always in direct sunlight and downhill was always shady, making it difficult to see bumps, potholes and buggy grooves.

I passed a group of Amish kids being pulled by a pony. Just behind them was another kid riding a pony. I laughed.
I also saw a Buggy shop. I tried to Imagine a really aggressive buggy salesman pushing used buggys on the Yoders and the Millers.

At mile 100 I passed an athlete named Kurt. He was doing a brick run. He is also training for IM UK.

At mile 102.63 I finished my ride.

As I entered the building where lunch was being served I saw Adam and his friend Jack.
I asked, "How long have you been waiting?"
"Not long at all", they said. " You paced smart".
We ate pasta and salad and headed home.

The day was mentally demanding. Physically I felt like I had trained well for this distance. I did what I set out to do.
My first Century.

Big thanks to Jodi and Adam for the ride.

Today was a happy day in Cleveland.

If you are from Cleveland, I don't need to explain. If you are not from Northeast Ohio, let me just just say this was very special. Cleveland has a self confidence issue. Lebron James does not. Lebron James has given this city hope.

I worked last night after a nice brick. I made lots in tips, got cut during the game, grabbed a beer, and joined the crowd around the AJ Roccos wide screen.
At half time Kirk, Sandy, her brother, Nichole and I went over to Gateway Plaza(Between Jacobs field and The "Q" Arena). The scene was sureal. 50 thousand people watching giant TVs out doors. In Jacobs field The Indians played to 38K. Inside the "Q" 20k Roard as the CAVS out played the Detroit Pistons for the 4th game in a row and WON the Eastern Conferance. The arena and ballpark emptied. Cleveland had it's biggest party in my lifetime.
Nichole and I sat on the "F" and "I" from the "Who's on first?" Sculpture at The Jake. We ate Tabuli, pita and a bean and corn dish. We sat and watched the city go crazy. People are funny.

This morning brought the hangover. Everyone seemed a bit unrested. The sky was grey and the air was thick. Rain was off and on. Every one was happy. We had all shared a wonderful moment. We have all watched this kid grow up. We are all Witnesses.
This is fun. Go Cavs!

More Stuff
Performance Bike has opened a store near my home. I rode out today with a friend. I spent many of my tips on bike cleaning supplies, a couple pairs of shorts. and eight tubes.
The guy at the counter wondered why I needed so many tubes.
"Do you flat alot?" He said.
"No, I ride a lot." I responded.

Close encounters of the herd kind
I had a beautiful 90 minute run through the Shaker lakes area. at one point I came up on a fawn. She was eating ground cover and seemed very at ease with me. We were about 12 feet apart and she never ran. As I continued on she resumed her dinner.
Further down the trail I came upon a big buck. I was ready to go around him when I noticed a second buck in my path. Hair was standing up on the back of buck1. So I went a different route.
After I came out of the woods I ran for 30 more minutes in a lite rain.

Today was a special day here in Cleveland.