96 and 66

Once in a while you get one of those perfect weekends. This was one of those.

It started Friday night. I took it easy heading across the street to the beer garden to take in a little baseball.....beer.....marathon talk. I ran into an old friend and swapped race stories till she had to head home and get to sleep for The Akron Marathon relay. I stuck around and watched the tribe give CC Sabathia win 19.

Saturday I rode my bike down to Whiskey Island for the CTC fall picnic. The weather was perfect on the lakefront as we sat around sharing more race stories.

I then headed through Ohio City to meet up with Nichole. Zac was working the pre Genesis concert, so we went to Rocco's and had more beers and a cheese free pizza. I sat around complaining that Peter Gabriel wasn't gonna sing, while Nichole wondered out loud why so many wanted to see the other Phil(as opposed to Phil Lesh of the GD).

As Rocco's filled( or should I say Phil'ed) we decided to head to Coventry to take in some coffee, play guitar for a bit, and yack on about our upcoming Columbus Marathon. At about 11 Zac called to let us know the aging art rock fans were tired and going home. He was free to leave. Nichole left to get him and they headed home.

I kicked back and watched Lebron host SNL. He did a good job, even if he is a Yankee fan.

Sunday I headed out for my coffee and paper. The weather once again was the perfect fall day. The neighbor hood was crawling with Brown's fans. At 1PM I headed home, tuned in and sat in awe as our new Browns put a lickn" on our old team. Vengeance isn't my thing, but it tastes better than the bitterness old Art Modell left here in Cleveland.

Following the upset of the Ravens, I filled my Fuel belt and headed out for an amazing 2.5 hour run. I went through the cemetery, University circle, I ran/crawled, trails through the Doan Brook area and around Shaker lakes. I felt really good and am really looking forward to Columbus.

After the run I had a Strawberry/Banana/Hemp smoothy. I ordered Thai. I Checked the Tribe score, and watched the Steelers get beat! The Indians won and finish the '07 regular season tied for best in baseball with Manny's Red Sox. October starts Thursday at the Jake against the Yanks.

As a sports fan in Cleveland, '07 has been surreal. OSU football and basketball finals. Cavs NBA finals, Tribe October baseball, and .......oh yeah......IRONMAN!!!!IRONMAN!!!!IRONMAN!!!!

Thanks for being apart of my perfect fall weekend in Cleveland, Ohio.

Toyota Challenge at Deer Creek Race Recap

This story begins friday morning while at work.
Ray the building manager pokes his head into Rocco's to let Zac know his car is leaking transmission fluid. The car was now grounded for the weekend and Deer creek was a uneasy maybe. I got home and threw an SOS to the CTC. Good news. JenC answered the call and offered me a ride down. I secured a campsite online and met Jen Saturday at the Caribou.

The ride was good, however I am terrible with directions. At least I am terrible at communicating them. We never got lost or missed a stop, but I was often late with the facts.
We arrived in Grove City at Jens Hotel in the early after noon and met up with Sam, Joe, and Paula before heading to the packet pickup.

After checking in and getting our race essentials, We drove the bike course. We took two cars and Jen suggested Paula act as the navigator. I rode along with Joe and Sam and got to talk Ironman with them. They will be heading to Lake Placid next July and completed their first half distance yesterday.

The course was a little different than advertised and offered no shade or protection from the wind. The back section had a few climbs. Some of the roads were less than smooth. Flat and fast was a relative description.

After the course drive I was dropped off at my camp and the others went back to Grove city. I set up my tent and rode to the park lodge for dinner. The restaurant was great. The waitress got really excited about my diet request and said that the cook loves creating vegan meals. Unfortunatly I wasn't after creative, just simple. I had pasta and marinara with a side salad and rolls. The photo at the top of the post was shot from my table. I sat and gazed at the lake for while. the waves and ripples were quite trippy.

Following dinner I went back to camp, talked to Nichole on the phone, checked the tribe score, read and went to bed. The sleep was mostly fine sans my neighbors partying till 3am.

Race morning I woke at 6am. I rode to transition and was greeted by a sea of red.

Joe, Sam, Ryan, Jen

The Cleveland Triathlon Club was in full force. The weather was a little cool and it looked to be a great morning for Triathlon. With my preface rituals all taken care of I headed for the beach. My wave was one of the last. We went off around 8:50 or so.

When the horn blew I hit my watch and began swimming the two loop course. I immediately had to secure my watchband and just kicked as I dealt with that. I fell back and got tossled a bit. by the first turn I was back with the mass of swimmers. It was a chaotic swim that was rougher than the Ironman swim. Full contact was on. I was punched clawed, kicked, pulled, and elbowed. I swallowed a bit of water and swam into a few bouys and rope. Aside from that, it was a good swim with an unofficial PR of 35 minutes. I spent the other 4 minutes wrestling my way out of my wet suit on the grass before entering transition.

In T1 I couldn't find my bike. My rack had a card that said "Y". On the other side it said"J". I searched for Y and got freaked out thinking my bike had been pulled from Transition. I eventually found my gear and quickly got on the road.

The bike course was 3 loops. I pushed hard through the hole 56 mile only letting up to eat or take salt. The hills, wind, road surface, and heat were all strong factors. We had 6 turn arounds forcing near complete stops. My time was 3:04. I was disappointed, but knew I could still go sub 6 hrs with a 2:10 run.

My transition was smooth,except for forgeting my visor. After 20 steps, the sun reminded me to get my visor. I took in some gatorade, hit the loo and began running. By mile one I was at 9:25 and feeling comfortable. I settled in.
after leaving the park the run course went over the Deer Creek Dam. The view was awesome. The wind was gone. The sun was hot, and the course had no shade. my plan was to maintain my pace from aid staion to aid station. The tempurature hit 91. We were roasting. I was going strong through 11 miles and following my plan perfectly. The problem was that I could not pee, and was taking in a lot of fluid. A began to feel sick, and backed off quickly. The last thing I wanted was to vomit in this heat. I was close to the finish and on pace to break 6 hrs if I continued running. The decision to slow was tough, but ultimately my life means more than a PR. Aftter walking the better part of mile 12, I jogged easy most of the final mile and picked it up with a few hundred yards to go to protect my position of 98th place from a pursuant runner.
Finish time 6:11. No PR, but not bad in the heat.

Victory was mine, I was not the last double digit finisher. I tried to shake his hand, but no. 99 would have none of it. I spent 30 minutes looking at food in recovery while trying not to puke. I couldn't eat, so I sipped some Pepsi and cleaned up my gear.

Paula drove me back to camp where we got showered and I packed my camp up and waited for Jen who was still cheering on Sam and Joe.

Jen and I drove back to Cleveland and talk about all kinds of stuff. She has a great sense of humor and a fantastic collection of metalica and Abba. I had fun.

Final thoughts
I pushed myself every inch of this race. The conditions were downright dangerous. MY time goal was sub 6. My real goal was max effort. I did that. I have to expect IMKY to be as hot if not hotter. What I received at deer creek was what I needed. It was a very tough race. I feel successful.
I missed Zac and Nichole, but having so many club members down for the race really made me feel at home. CTC is an incredible club with great people. I am lucky to have such a good tri club in my town.
Thanks to the Collisters. Matt was the Lone spectator on the course, and Jen made the hole experience a reality by providing me with a ride.

I am going to rest for a couple days. I hurt and am tired. I left myself out there.

Next up, The Columbus Marathon.

My '07 Triathlon season has come to a close

Very tough day. I am exhausted. I will give a full recap later.
06:11:42
Thanks Jen for the ride. The travel was the highlight.

Last race of the season

Headed down to the old Pineman, now called the Toyota challenge. JennC is picking me up near the freeway and I am camping alone at the state park.
Zacs car broke yesterday and the bus is not ready. I will miss them (Zac, Nichole, and Max).
See ya Sunday.

Ironman UK Critique

I am guessing registration for Ironman UK will open soon. This is a review of the course, race management, and host town of Sherborn. If you are thinking of doing this race, hopefully I can provide some objective insights to help you with your decision.

First off, let me make it clear that my only other Ironman experience was for IM Austria in '99.

Travel-This was a very simple trip. The town of sherborn is about a 100 miles from London. If you rent a car, Stonehenge is halfway. Stop there. It is freakin' stonehenge.

Lodging- Sherborne does not have many hotels. There are a few options for bedding. Camping, home stay, and dorm style.

We chose to camp. I dug it. Being a former scout, and an old dead head, the open field full of tents was very comfortable. Clean bathrooms and private showers were on site with hot water. If you are not a tent camper, you can rent a trailer that will be on site when you arrive.

The homestay program has athletes staying in the homes of Sherborne residents. I heard good things about this option. In its fourth year, the hosts have come to understand the needs of IM competitors.

The dorms sounded bad. curtains separate competitors. No Privacy.
But then, it is not camping.

Race management-The IMUK crew was great. Very organized and attentive. Laura, the same women that checked me in, also put the medal on me at the finish. The race had a more organic personal feel. Very little was overlooked.

The volunteers were incredible.

My two complaints. 1- No cookies, pretzels and chips on the run as promised. 2- pre race meeting included a few surprises with only 3 hrs till transition closed. To avoid a DQ, 1200 athletes descended on the Expo for bottle cages and reflective strips. I, thanks to Zac and Nichole had scouted out a bike shop in town. Just the same, to much stress to close to race time.

The course- The swim is two laps in a narrow lake. Sighting is simple. Just swim.

The bike course is hilly. Downhills are short and quick. Uphills are long. This is not a fast course. It is incredibly scenic.

The run course is also very hilly. It is a mixed surface course. The scenery is great except for the two loop mid hill section.

The finish is at the Castle. Very cool.

The town of Sherborne and Dorsette county- Pubs, Abbys, amazing countryside and Indian food. The town is small and very friendly. Take a half day in Cerne Abbas and see the Giant and abby.

The English people were very welcoming and all share a great sense of humor.

Summery- Sherborne and the IMUK crew host a really nice event The weather was often less than ideal, yet we never seemed to be bothered by it. The lodging is unique, and the race is a bit more intimate than I remember Austria being. The course is challenging.

This was a fun event and was very affordable.

I am glad I went. I highly recommend it.

I am thinking IM Japan in '09....Hmmmmm

Unmotivated

Before you slap me, please remember that these things are relative.

Twenty five days since IM and 10 days till the half at Deer creek. I did a solid brick Saturday, ran 2hrs Sunday. My pool workouts have been short but strong.

Returning to the indoor pool, I am swimming with swimmers I haven't been with since early June. My progress on the swim is evident while swimming with a couple of swimmers that I used to pace with. I am excited to continue to grow as a swimmer in the coming year.

I have been pushing the big ring on the bike lately. For IM I went conservative during the bike. I rarely went big unless I was going downhill. A big goal for Kentucky is to work harder on the bike. One great thing about choosing IM so close to home, is that I can ride the course in advance, or at the very least drive it a few times.

As a runner, I have used a three day on, one day off routine for years. I really like that schedule as a runner. However, I am no longer a traditional runner at this point in my time as an athlete. I am an Ironman distance triathlete. This means that recovery is a must. The other disciplines are of equal importance. Every week now includes two days in a row away from running. The three day has been cut to two days in a row followed by one or two rest days.

I feel that I am now truly thinking as a triathlete. My training goals are focused on Ironman. I want to go Sub 1:15 on the swim, sub 6:30 on the bike, and sub 5 on the run next year at Louisville. with my T1 and T2 being 12 minutes I have left 3 minutes to finish sub 13. I believe these goals are within reach and will make me focus on improving.

During my UK training, I gave endurance work all of my focus with the exception of swim tech drills. For KY I will focus on strength and speed while maintaining a steady flow of long sessions.

Next week at deer creek, My "A" goal is to go sub 6. If for any reason I struggle trying maintain that pace, I will let go of any expectations, back off and enjoy the final triathlon of one great season. Finishing is important, as it may be the long session prior to Columbus.

Well, I guess I have lots of motivation...........Never mind.

Commitment

10 years ago, I was seriously considering a spring marathon(my first). I knew that I would have to find cross training alternatives to my running and add some weight training. I started looking for a gym to join and stopped at a Bally's for some info. The minute I walked into the place I had 3 muscle heads putting the hard sell on me. They were demanding that I take a 3 year membership.

I am an Aquarius. I squirmed, became aloof, and started heading for the door.

"What do you have against commitment?" Shouted the drill Sargent/sales rep with the Joe Piscapo neck.

"I just ended a 3 year relationship with my girlfriend, I am not ready for this!" I replied.

The Bally's rep paused and said "Oh."

I left.

I ended up joining the YMCA at the end of my street an eventually became engaged to the program director.

IRONYMAN

Today I spent following 2 1st Ironman races. I read a recap of a 1st ultra marathon and a 1st Century. It was clear to me that the four athletes I was following had all made huge commitments to themselves. They have based much of their lifestyle on the commitment they have made to reach their goals. You can not start one of these events, without investing a great amount of time and energy toward these goals.

This morning while stretching the legs out on the towpath for 2 hrs, Dane was comparing her marathon with her bar exams. She said, The big difference is that the process is more important than the result in the marathon. The bar is all about the results."

As mostly recreational athletes, we are afforded this option of just enjoying the process of reaching our goals. We can explore the joy of success and suffer personal defeat with wonder, always knowing that we are learning something knew. No matter what the result of a single race might be, we have gained more than we ever imagined while training for the event. We win before the starting bell is ever rung.

We do not need to win on Sunday to preserve our careers. We just need to make a commitment to start.

Congrats Jack, V3Jen, Matt, and Jayme. Your commitment continues to inspires me.

Ragweed

Yes my eyes are extremely bloodshot from this weed. I am sneezing, I have a runny nose, My eyes itch, I get headaches, I struggle to sleep. allergy season hits me hard.

Last year at this time, we were camping on lake Erie awaiting the Great Lake Escape(GLE) Triathlon. The rag weed was horrible and I never slept the night before the race.

GLE, like the other escape style races had a ferry boat start. Our race became a duathlon due to bad lake conditions. Bummer, I still would like to do this race with the ferry start.

During the race, I was very excited about IM MOO. IM started an hr after our race began. My big plan was to register the following morning. Every time I ran by Jodi, I would get big eyes and say something like "they are swimming in Lake Monona". As our race went on, we began a back and forth play by play of the race in Mad Town.

After the GLE, I fell asleep and Zac toted my slumbering sweaty self back to Coventry.

I had asked for the following day off from work, so I could register for the race.
I was ready. I had raised my entry fee with a gig at roccos the week before. Jodi, Jenn C, Brian, (all bloggers) and others contributed to my fund raising goal. Nichole made Gift baskets that were raffled off. I sang and gave away CDs.

Monday after Moo, I sat with a cup of coffee where I sit now . When the reg. site opened I got on very quickly. I filled every thing out and hit enter......I waited 20 minutes.




Errors.... please correct and resubmit.
OK, ENTER...........


"Registration for Ironman Wisconsin 2007 is no longer available".

My heart dropped...

My journey had stopped before it began.

This was my last major obstacle on my way to Ironman. The lesson: pause, regroup, adapt, move on.

Last year my goal was to do the distance. My theme was the GD lyric "Show me something built to last, or someone built to tri". I created a motivational image for my desktop to remind myself of what I was doing. My goal was to build the endurance for Ironman. I know now that I can cover the distance.

Anyhow, due the crazy demand for Ironman entry, I registered for IMKY before I had a chance to digest what I had just done in the UK. I knew that I had a blast. I love the life style. I like the distance.

But what business do I have in Louisville?

That question made me come up with a goal and a theme for this race. I want to improve on what I have become. I once again looked to Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter for a little direction. "Won't you tri just a little bit harder?, won't you try just a little bit more?" from the Dead tune The Wheel.So my plan is simple:
Little bit harder, just a little bit more,
A little bit further/(faster) than you gone before.

I will start just as soon as my hay fever subsides....sniffle, snifle.!

Dane County

War protest in London

I played at the Peace Show yesterday. The gig went well, the day was beautiful, the crowd was huge.
The event is held every year on labor day. Oddly it began in 2001. We were basically living at peace back then. A week later our world changed.
The show has shown many faces over the past years. Compassion, outrage, frustration, hope have all been moods of the anti war/peace community as exhibited at the Peace Show.

Yesterday seemed to have a lot of energy. I think people feel a troop reduction is near, as is an administrative change.

Of the many groups present, I found myself drawn toward the Animal rights and cycling groups more so than the efforts to end the war. I think I see peacemaking as a personal thing that happens with the choices I make in my own life.

_____________________________

I have gotten back to a regular training schedule. I feel good. Nothing long yet. I think I may do a 13 miler with Dane.

______________________________

Speaking of Dane, good luck to those of you headed to Dane County, Wisconsin. I will be following races of my CTC friend Jack Carney (78) and blogger IM Able (53). Part of me will be wondering "What if?" because my plan "A" was IMMoo. I didn't have a "B" plan at that time. My music career began 20 years ago on State Street. Becoming an Ironman there seemed like such a fun plan.

Well, you know how the story played out. I wouldn't have changed a thing. My experience was amazing. It will forever be one of my favorite memories......Oh yeah, and I am an IRONMAN.

Overpriced official finish photo

Hee Hee Hee....I will cut that out in a few weeks. Still can't wipe the smile off my face.

The best way to watch a race is from the course.

Nichole and Zac have come to a lot of my races the past couple of years. I can't begin to tell you what this has meant to me. From Maumee Bay to the UK, they have become some seasoned tri spectators.

We always make the trips into little vacations, generally choosing to camp near the race site. We all have a lot of fun, and good memories are born.

Something funny happens while watching an Ironman. Often friends and family are on the course for15 or more hours while waiting for a handful of sightings from the athlete they have come to watch. The anticipation and worry becomes enormous. I remember going through this in Austria while waiting for Jen. It is really very exciting watching your Ironman coming down the chute and witnessing the finish.

I can't imagine very many people seeing the IM finish, and not wondering what is possible. I know that it planted a deep seed in my mind. If you don't want to be an Ironman, then DO NOT go to Madison (Have a great race Jack, bib #78)next Sunday.

Anyhow, since returning from the UK, Nichole has been doing a little Swim/Bike/ and Run. Last night she called and asked if I wanted to go running today.......She also mentioned that she was registered for the Columbus Half Marathon.

Go Nichole!

We ran today for an hour at Rocky River. She did great.
She is going to enjoy the Race in Columbus from the best vantage point of all.
From the course.

More UK photos

Kurt took some great photos. He really captured IMUK week well. Click here for his photos


Here are more of mine.Ironage Ironman

Gardens, Gardens, Gardens...



Peace encampment in Parliament square

Shakespeare's Globe