What can i say...I was drawn to triathlon for a reason. I don't like to "be still". Never have and I don't see myself ever becoming complacent with being a couch potato. My parents had a term for me when i was younger and I am sure it still applies. I am and forever will be a Wiggle Worm. Haha, they tell me that I used to go to bed at one end of the bed and then somehow I would end up completely turned around come the morning. I don't know how to explain it but I am guessing that the triathlon training is one Contributing factor to why I don't toss and turn like that anymore. So the reason I say this is because when I wrote this last night I was just about to begin yoga, which is taught by Coach Mary at Breath in Pittsford. As this is a nice little recovery week for me the yoga was something that I figured I could fit in to stretch out the body, mainly the legs as those seem to be quite the point of focus for me lately. I feel like the luckiest kid in the world now that my work hours have become somewhat normalized and I am beginning to get out when most other people are. I am now having time to see friends, go to dinner, go to yoga, read books/magazines. I mean when it's busy in the fall/winter I literally eat, sleep, train, work and repeat. As long as I get to train I am a happy boy but it's just a whole other ballgame when i feel good about life, and this comes from having a bit more balance. Being able to spend time with friends and just hang...it's very nice, and it's been refreshing. Rejuvenation is another word that comes to mind. I amm now in a rejuvenation phase where I will try to harness the drive and the determination I will need to tackle LP in July. I don't really like to talk about races, or my training, or times out loud to people. I am kind of superstitious and I don't ever wanna be that guy who brags about himself or is constantly talking about himself because that is just not cool, plus I am not even close to being at a level where me bragging about my times, etc would be justified. That can be saved for later when and if I ever toe the line with mr lieto or mr potts. (alright I just woke up from that dream).
So, this post started on Thursday night and now its Friday morning, just to let you know. I am now at my place of peace, the 12 corners starbucks here in Brighton. I really do cherish the mornings I have here because they don't happen as often as I would like. I actually woke up around 6am this morning and being that I had no training on tap I could have stayed in bed and lounged. But instead I decided to get on up, take a shower, and head to the 'bucks. I grabbed a banana, and a scoop of protein for breakfast on my way out so I am no taking those down with my free venti that i got with my birthday postcard sent to me from Starbucks. I absolutey love being able to hang out here, peck away at my iPad and write blog posts like this, and see friends that I have seemed to have lost touch with over the past few months. It's funny because subconsciously I was hoping that I would see my friend Josh at Starbucks because I wanted to ask him if he wanted to ride tomorrow morning before he had to go to work. Since I left my iphone on my bed today I knew I wouldn't be able to receive his call on my personal cell so I was like well maybe he will show up...sure enough he did. I swear the last like 4 times I've come here I have run into him. And these have all beenn at really random times like 7am, 9am, 8:30am...great minds think alike, and drink coffee at the same times....what can I say? But that's what I do indeed love about living in Rochester, it's not always the most pleasant of places to live but it is indeed my home. Over the past year the amount of friends I have had has grown by well I'll say 95%. My cousin now lives here but Ive known him since well i was born, so that doesn't count. When I think back to where I was last year at this time my mental well being and physical for that after was not even in he same zip code. I'll address the physical state of being first since I can do that quickly, the mental state and the friendship factor will be considerably longer to discuss. But for now in terms of where I was physically, I'll just say that I had switched from being a "bodybuilding weight lifting nut" to a cross-fit nut. I guess as I look back at this it can be seen that it was kind of the natural progression that led me to where I am today because cross fit was about functional fitness. It wasn't about benching 215 of curling 45's, it was about going balls out for 25 minutes doing pushups, pull ups, sit-ups, then running a 5k. It was unlike anything I had done before. But I totally dug it. Well needless to say about 1 year ago I ran my first 5k. It was e Daniels 5k out in Webster, my cousin persuaded me to go since I had basically been a shut in for the previous year while I had been studying for the CPA exams. Up until then a 5k had really been the longest distance I had ever actuall run at one time. I was by no means un-fit, I just well had no reason to run any longer. My normal loop around mmy apartment area was about 3miles and I would usually run it at about the same pace every time i did it, which wasn't much. I would sometimes run for a week and then stop for a month, I basically did it just to get "cut up" as the weightlifters would say. I never actually was cut up...but I tried, haha many people can attest to the weirdness that came along with my weightlifting obsession..I was nuts. Why? Because like everything in my life, when i get focused on something I am going to do everything to achive and/or get what I want. This is also known as OCD, Haha. But anyway that's that. Getting back to the running story, I did my first 5K on a cold windy and snowy April day. It was really nasty, I don't remember the time, but I can tell you with certainty that I did not break any land speed records. However, since most 20-24 yr olds were nursing hangovers or something I took first in my AG and got a trophy. In my very first race I received a gosh darn trophy! I was hooked, I swore I was going to race every weekend. Well that didn't happen...initially. It always takes something else to get you going. This is where my new circle of friends comes in. I will now introduce you to Joe Crispino. I did not really know Joe last year at this time. We had however crossed paths at the gym, World Gym that is. If anyone with ties to world gym can get me a new membership let me know. I made a mistake going to midtown last year, I miss you guys...sorry! So yeah I had seen Joe at the gym, he was the (I'll say older because just about all my friends are older than me, but he's not that old) "older" guy in the weight class I was in lifting more than me, I was more flexible though, and he was the older guy kicking butt on the spin machine during the classes I took. I would try to match his intensity but I wasn't even close. I think it was during one of these classes that our instructor Corrie, who I have lost touch with over the last year too (but we emailed this week, hopefully I'll get to chat with her soon and catch up for lost time), well at one point Corrie mentions during a 1.5 hour spin class (FYI, for a kid who had never spun before and had no bike experience...this was an Eternity!) that she had trained some guys to do ironman races and that they had done some spin sessions of 3-4 hours straight. I thought this was absurd, and that the guys that could do this were both mentally insane and the coolest most bad%^* dudes in the whole world. Needless to say that when I look back at that at think about the fact that I did a 4.5 indoor trainer ride just 1 month ago in my apartment with no fan and no one to talk to...well it just blows my mind how far i've come. It's also funny to me that I have never really thought about this stuff until now, but it's neat to reflect. Alright back to Mr Crispino, well we ended uo chatting a few times and the convo led to bikes, he suggested I get one and I made a mental pact with myself that if I could make it through the whole winter, going to spin class every week that I would "earn" the opportunity to drop some money on a real road bike. I kept waking up at 6am to go to spin class(I thought this was insanely early then....in retrospect 6am doesn't hold a candle to 4am). In the end I bought my first bike, a trek 2.3 from a bike shop that was not Towpath. Sorryv Scott, I didn't know you yet. This could be another post and will most likely be another one...soley about Scott Likely and the overwhelming help, assistance, and friendship that both he and his shop workers at Towpath have given me. If by some miracle I can ever get sponsored to do the sport I love, Towpath bike will always have a spot on my jersey, or bike, or helmet, or all three. I hate talking about myself that way because it's a pipe dream of mine but what the heck, what's wrong with talking about your goals! Visualize and believe that they are obtainable and they will be. If you don't believe in yourself that you've given yourself no chance right from the get go. I'm not going to do that. I'm betting on myself to come through, to beat the odds, to take the win, place, and show. I can do it! And so can you! (man I do go on tangents sometimes, sorry bout that). Well yeah i got my first bike and started messing around on it. After a couple weeks of learning how ti ride on the road I put the clip less pedals on (which you clip into...why their called clip less is beyond me..anyone care to explain please comment below) and well all I will say is this, it was love at first pedal. I couldn't believe the difference being clipped in made. It was like going from driving a 1990 civic with 250k miles on it to a brand new Ferrari. I was in love..I instantly knew I wanted to be a bike rider. Well as the spring went on it became near the end of May, Joe and I had now forged a bit of a friendship and he had been urging me to do a local duathlon, (the spring classic, see my google doc's result page for how I did..it was pretty) I finally caved in and said what the heck it will be a good break from studying for the CPA test. (at that pot I had 3 parts passed, and only 1 remained. I ended up passing it by the smallest margin,and well that was great. I attribute my passing of the exam to the duathlon, it gave me a break and a chance to see the endurance/athletic community that rochester had. There was no way I wanted to spend another summer studying indoors all day. I wanted to ride bikes and run...and well passing those exams is what let me do it and is what allowed me to begin doing triathlon...my love..my purpose in life right now. Haha that might be a bit dramatic but in reality I live for this stuff triathlon has given me friends, given me self confidence, given me a good mind set. It's been the best thing to ever happen to me i think. But you can ask my parents about that. I'm guessing they'd agree). Well back to the first race, whew...it was a 2 mile run, 10 mile bike, 1 mile run, 10 mile bike, 2 mile run. These distances 20 miles on the bike and 5 miles running were the longest I had ever done. It was certainly an experience. At the end of the run I literally almost had to walk up a hill because for the first time ever my legs were Shot! But at the same time it was the best feeling ever. I had such an amazing time running and biking around. I began to meet these people that I was totally amazed by. I wanted to hang out with them and do the things they were doing because they were the same things I was beginning to see I had a passion for. None of the people I had previously come into contact with before were like that. I think that's why the people you surround yourself with, the people in your circle, your community are probably the most important thing in a persons life. They are what keep a person happy and motivated. Being self motivated is a key to success but having others around you to push you, to congratulate you, to be your friend...well that's just worth it's weight in gold.
Unfortunetly is 8am now and I have to get to work. This is going to be a long post but one that is really self-fulfilling. Thinking back about what has happened to me in the last year is in a way a cleansing practice for me. A way to take inventory of just how lucky I am. I will continue this later on today.
Until then...have a great day everyone. I look forward to hearing your comments and let me know what else I can add to make my posts even better. Emails are always welcome during the day. They may work go by quicker, haha.
Out for now. -MjC
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Awesome New Gear on the Market
K-Swiss K-Ruuz - En Route to me
Mellow Johnnys Tour de Gila Retro Tee - En Route to Me & Josh
K-Swiss Blade-Light Race - Scheduled to be released on June 16th
Speed Concept - Rumored to be released to the public at the end of May or Early June...I'll keep ya'll posted
Mellow Johnnys Tour de Gila Retro Tee - En Route to Me & Josh
K-Swiss Blade-Light Race - Scheduled to be released on June 16th
Speed Concept - Rumored to be released to the public at the end of May or Early June...I'll keep ya'll posted
Day 3 of The Recovery Week
The good thing about having Monday be my travel day is that it is already Wednesday or "hump" day as the some call it...or if you read Chuckie V's blog you know that he calls it "Big Wednesday" as explained in one of his recent postings. This will be the longest period of "inactivity" that I have ever had in my triathlon journey, which is about to celebrate its one year anniversary at the end of next month. There have been times when a nagging ankle or sore knee have dialed back some training but to flat out take all the training away and just chill, this is the first time. Up until now its been very welcome due to the hectic nature of traveling and "re-acclimating" to the regular working life that I have. It's all been rolling together since I started my journey back to Rochester at 5:30am on Monday morning in Galveston and then arrived at my apartment here in Upstate, NY around 1am on Tuesday morning. After some unpacking and general unwinding I finally hit the sheets around 2am. It was a short night since I had to stop off at Wegmans and buy some food before I headed into the office. While at the office I was pleased that I was not being pulled in 20 different directions. This allowed me to catch up on a lot of Misc. items that had to be attended to since before leaving for the vacation I had just wrapped up my "Double Busy-Season" of Audit and Tax work, which ended on Tax Day (That's April 15th for you people who have been living under a rock, or who are like Wesley Snipes and are a part of the "anti-tax" movement. Check out this NY Times article for some color on this subject)
Well, I wrote the above stuff at home this morning before I headed to work. Right now I am just about done with my work day and I am going to head to the chiropractor for some therapy on the legs. Mainly to make sure that my Achilles get's the proper attention that it needs so that it doesn't decide to go and snap or something on me, which would basically put the kaput on all things relevant to triathlon. AND I DO NOT WANT THAT! So I am heading over there for a 5pm appointment. It's nice to have a little downtime at work because it has given me the chance to catch up on things like going to the Dentist, going to the Chiropractor, actually making it to the Dry Cleaners before they close, being able to go to Starbucks in the morning and not be in a super rush to get in and out. This last point was validated by the fact that after my dentist appointment I decided go and get my nice new teeth all dirty by heading directly to Starbucks. While at Starbucks I got to see my good buddy Josh who just so happened to be getting his morning cup of happiness as well. Josh had big news to tell me..what was the news? Oh just that he was finally getting a TT bike. He may say that he is doing this so that he can race some TT's or do a triathlon...but deep down he knows that he just wants to spend some QT time with Turbo Curbo on the roads, LOL...but it will be nice to add another triathlon training partner for the bike leg. I really do hope that we are able to get some rides in together, Josh has been riding a bike longer than I have probably been alive. He was actually one of the first people I rode with. He took me around the Bristol Hills for my first ride around that area, and even was nice enough to tell me to attack a certain hill called Bopple..if you don't know about Bopple just google it or something and you will see that it is no joke. It's steep and it has a fake flat area where it makes you think that the climb is over but then it turns another corner and it goes into its steepest grade incline. I am dead serious when I say that during the Highlander Bike Tour last September some young gun stud flew by me at the beginning of the climb. I am by no means a climber such as the likes of Lance, but let me tell you that I was pushing up the hill at a good rate and I didn't really think that this kid who flew by me would keep it up..well he made it up the first section but then when it turned towards the final climb...let's just say that his speed dropped to 0.0 and well he dropped to...along with his bike. It wasn't pretty but he got back on the saddle and made it up, which was respectable.
I had some different thoughts about where this post was going but seeing as it is 10:30 at night now as I am about to wrap it up I am not about to think about more things to say since I am tired. I will mention that I had an enjoyable visit to the chiropractor as well as an enjoyable evening hanging out with my friend Josh. We stopped off at Towpath to see Scott, had dinner at Aladdin's and watched Race Across the Sky at his place. It was a great evening, and one that I would not usually have since I would usually go to bed really early. So there you have it a good thing to come about from recovery week!
Night all!
-Matt
Well, I wrote the above stuff at home this morning before I headed to work. Right now I am just about done with my work day and I am going to head to the chiropractor for some therapy on the legs. Mainly to make sure that my Achilles get's the proper attention that it needs so that it doesn't decide to go and snap or something on me, which would basically put the kaput on all things relevant to triathlon. AND I DO NOT WANT THAT! So I am heading over there for a 5pm appointment. It's nice to have a little downtime at work because it has given me the chance to catch up on things like going to the Dentist, going to the Chiropractor, actually making it to the Dry Cleaners before they close, being able to go to Starbucks in the morning and not be in a super rush to get in and out. This last point was validated by the fact that after my dentist appointment I decided go and get my nice new teeth all dirty by heading directly to Starbucks. While at Starbucks I got to see my good buddy Josh who just so happened to be getting his morning cup of happiness as well. Josh had big news to tell me..what was the news? Oh just that he was finally getting a TT bike. He may say that he is doing this so that he can race some TT's or do a triathlon...but deep down he knows that he just wants to spend some QT time with Turbo Curbo on the roads, LOL...but it will be nice to add another triathlon training partner for the bike leg. I really do hope that we are able to get some rides in together, Josh has been riding a bike longer than I have probably been alive. He was actually one of the first people I rode with. He took me around the Bristol Hills for my first ride around that area, and even was nice enough to tell me to attack a certain hill called Bopple..if you don't know about Bopple just google it or something and you will see that it is no joke. It's steep and it has a fake flat area where it makes you think that the climb is over but then it turns another corner and it goes into its steepest grade incline. I am dead serious when I say that during the Highlander Bike Tour last September some young gun stud flew by me at the beginning of the climb. I am by no means a climber such as the likes of Lance, but let me tell you that I was pushing up the hill at a good rate and I didn't really think that this kid who flew by me would keep it up..well he made it up the first section but then when it turned towards the final climb...let's just say that his speed dropped to 0.0 and well he dropped to...along with his bike. It wasn't pretty but he got back on the saddle and made it up, which was respectable.
I had some different thoughts about where this post was going but seeing as it is 10:30 at night now as I am about to wrap it up I am not about to think about more things to say since I am tired. I will mention that I had an enjoyable visit to the chiropractor as well as an enjoyable evening hanging out with my friend Josh. We stopped off at Towpath to see Scott, had dinner at Aladdin's and watched Race Across the Sky at his place. It was a great evening, and one that I would not usually have since I would usually go to bed really early. So there you have it a good thing to come about from recovery week!
Night all!
-Matt
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Zen and The Art of Triathlon...and much more.
I am not quite sure when I discovered Zen and The Art of Triathlon but if I had to guess I would say it would be sometime last Fall. If you are one of the unfortunate individuals who does not know what Zen and the Art of Triathlon is, let me explain. Zen and The Art of Triathlon is well many things...., but mainly for simplicities sake ill just say that it's a super awesome, totally kick butt podcast that I found on iTunes. Of course Brett (yeah first name basis here, I can say that now since I met him in person, but more on that later). Zen and The Art of Triathlon is a great podcast that covers many facets of triathlon and life. Brett is constantly putting out fresh new material with insights on healthy eating and living, zen lifestyles, and most importantly triathlon guidance. This podcast single handedly got me through many a long car ride this winter when I was having to commute all over NY State for different audit engagements.
So over the past few months I have been listening to all the podcasts and really digging all the material he talks about. From green smoothies, to riding on rollers, to mountain biking with his son Kai who he attaches to the back and goes mach 5 (btw, wicked cool name for your kiddo), I bet he's going to be a monster triathlete someday soon.
Well about a month ago, give or take a few days, I was listening to Zen and The Art and I heard that Brett "@ZenTriathlon"' was going to be doing the 1/2 Ironman in Galveston. Well I thought, geez...I'm going to be doing that too! How freaking cool. I literally pulled over to the side of the road and wrote an email to the address on his website www.zentriathlon.com . Well sure enough he got back to me that very day. I was pretty impressed since I didn't think he'd actually respond to me. I mean I was just some weirdo from upstate ny that said he was coming down to Texas to run a race. Anyway, we had a couple emails back and forth and yada yada. Fast forward to last Sunday. Since I am 23 I was in a pretty early swim wave, I finished before most people since I started earlier. This gave me the chance to watch a lot of people come down the chute and finish. There's nothing like seeing people finish an ironman distance event. It's very inspiring.
Well, while i was watching people finish I just so happened to see a tall guy finish that I thought I had seen before. Well sure enough it was ZenTri. I couldn't just let him pass on by without saying hi so I got up the nerve and shouted "hey, ZenTri"...or something along those lines. Haha he must have been like...who the heck? But after that I introduced myself and we had a great chat. I even was able to get snag a pic -->
So yeah, I just wanted to share that experience because triathlon is so totally awesome. I mean I was able to discover a really cool podcast that I've thoroughly, and then somehow manage to meet the creator at a real live race! Triathlon...it just doesn't get any better. Yeeeewhooooo!
Thanks ZenTri! I look forward to listening to each and every podcast you put out and all the best in your Triathlon Training this year and beyond!
-MjC
So over the past few months I have been listening to all the podcasts and really digging all the material he talks about. From green smoothies, to riding on rollers, to mountain biking with his son Kai who he attaches to the back and goes mach 5 (btw, wicked cool name for your kiddo), I bet he's going to be a monster triathlete someday soon.
Well about a month ago, give or take a few days, I was listening to Zen and The Art and I heard that Brett "@ZenTriathlon"' was going to be doing the 1/2 Ironman in Galveston. Well I thought, geez...I'm going to be doing that too! How freaking cool. I literally pulled over to the side of the road and wrote an email to the address on his website www.zentriathlon.com . Well sure enough he got back to me that very day. I was pretty impressed since I didn't think he'd actually respond to me. I mean I was just some weirdo from upstate ny that said he was coming down to Texas to run a race. Anyway, we had a couple emails back and forth and yada yada. Fast forward to last Sunday. Since I am 23 I was in a pretty early swim wave, I finished before most people since I started earlier. This gave me the chance to watch a lot of people come down the chute and finish. There's nothing like seeing people finish an ironman distance event. It's very inspiring.
Well, while i was watching people finish I just so happened to see a tall guy finish that I thought I had seen before. Well sure enough it was ZenTri. I couldn't just let him pass on by without saying hi so I got up the nerve and shouted "hey, ZenTri"...or something along those lines. Haha he must have been like...who the heck? But after that I introduced myself and we had a great chat. I even was able to get snag a pic -->
So yeah, I just wanted to share that experience because triathlon is so totally awesome. I mean I was able to discover a really cool podcast that I've thoroughly, and then somehow manage to meet the creator at a real live race! Triathlon...it just doesn't get any better. Yeeeewhooooo!
Thanks ZenTri! I look forward to listening to each and every podcast you put out and all the best in your Triathlon Training this year and beyond!
-MjC
Monday, April 26, 2010
Weekend of Racing Fun in Galveston, Texas
18-24 Age Groupers
The kid that won, his name was "Timo" totally killed it, something like a 2:19 bike and 1:19 run..that's one heck of a split. Congrats man!...not that he will probably ever see this blog. I must mention that he was from Finland and that the 3rd place finisher in this group was from Canada....so 2nd American??? Hahaha
The Pro's enjoying their moment in the sun. They are fast...and they know it!
Above are two random pictures that I thought were cool enough to put in the post but I didn't exactly know where to fit them in. The first pic is of my bike shoes. I threw some tape on them a put a few reminders on their for me to look at when I was mashing the pedals. The second is a shot of my arm, pre-race. In case I forgot or wasn't thinking I jotted down my nutrition schedule. Some people have times set but I'd prolly not here it or feel the vibration, so Sharpie it was! It worked well..in fact as I update this blog on Tuesday at the office, its still there. And so is my race bracelet. I know its cheesy but I just wanted to leave it on for a couple days, purely for my own pleasure since its hidden under my long sleeve dress shirt...ewwww, I would so rather be in a t-shirt or tri top under 80 degree heat.
And so it begins....without further ado, my race/vaca report (I hope I can meet all your expectations and high hopes for a good read) :)
Some people have the ability to remember each and every aspect of their race, where they took their 5th gel, or where they had their 1st bottle of sports drink done. I really didn't take to many notes during the race. I basically tried to eat and drink at the times i came up with before the race started. These times were sharpied on my arm so if you would like to do the calcukations and see where i was on the course where i had my second gel and second salt tablet, let me know and i can stop over and you can read my forearm, hehe. In all seriousness thoughh i did write my goals, and plans on my arms, bib number, and bike shoes. Just a way for me to remind myself of the stuff that i really already know but then again who knows where my mind could wander while on that bike :)
I will of course look at all my numbers and reflect on them in my own personal way, I briefly looked at the results on the ironman website and had fun comparing them with other peoples, like lietos bike split to mine, or o'connells run split compared to mine...check em out those guys can haul some serious butt. Ive got Mary for my analysis and she is quite simply awesome and put together a race plan that was pretty much spot on i almost had my goal times that i told her about the night before but my execution on the run was a little suspect, the darn first mile felt so easy, like my legs were hardly moving and i ran way to fast, after that i drew it back and held steady until the end of lap 3. At the end of lap 3 was where the real work began. However, I will leave the actual true number crunching to my coach when she has time to look, she is very busy and doesn't need to focus on my junk when their are others in need, plus she needs some time to rest! I was amazed at all the work she was doing before the race. Lots of plans to get out as it was a super busy weekend for her coachees. I dunno how she does it. To all the train this athletes, I will say this. We have a Super dedicated coach who cares about each and every athlete and takes each athletes races and training personally. And oh by the way she's a triathlete too, who is coached by the one she calls "The Wizard." I snuck a peak at her iPhone when he called, it definitely came up as "The Wizard". So take this comment with a grain of salt but I just want to say, if she's a little late in getting you your training plan or something like that, cut her a little slack. She is doing a million things every day. She needs to zone out and get off the grid sometimes too. But rest assure she'll have your race plan ready before game day comes. She's even more on top of that then "the wizard" who left her hanging a little longer than maybe was expected. Haha.....
Getting back on track. I'm not going to analyze my transitions or my ag placings and all that. If you need specific detail I think you can check ironman.com for full results. I really wanted to just reflect on the experience I had and what I myself was able to learn and take away. I'm being selfish...hehe.
So here it goes. Leading up to race day I didn't sleep all that well. I was in bed by 7:30 the two nights before and stayed in bed until the morning, with the occasional visits to the potty for a tinkle, however I just wasn't sleeping the whole time through. I was having intermittent sleeping sessions, kind of like interval training, if I may throw in the obligatory triathlon comparison. I'd lay around, thoughts racing in my mind and then all the sudden I would have a dream, which i believe occurs in deep sleep (REM sleep I believe)..so somehow I was getting some deep sleep..but then I would end up waking up again this seemed to repeat itself. So whatever..as all triathletes do I live for the sport so it makes sense that I sleep in the same manner that a triathlete trains, ha. Anyway, On the night before the race I had the best pre race dinner ever, cooked by none other than fellow teammate and tri studdette Kim Hase. Instead of going out to a restaurant for heavy pasta with weird sauce and weird people (Don, his family, kim, and Mary can all attest that the waiter at Marios (Texan Italian) was a little weird, I mean blue cheese on pizza is very Normal! And just because we didn't finish our plate of 10 pound ziti doesn't mean that we thought it tasted like dog food. It was actually pretty good but after eating a plate full of spaghetti and meatballs there just isn't much room for anything else. I could go on about this subject and the issue we americans seems to have with "cleaning our plates" especially when those plates are like those at the Cheesecake factory. But I will save that rant for another time) so yeah Kim cooked up some tasty chicken and ziti with Red sauce. She claims to be a sub par cook but I'll tell you this, anyone that can operate a stove is a certified gourmet chef in my book, Kim you can cook for me anytime. And from what I hear Jake can throw the pots and pans around too. He will have to be our personal cook when we are training in lake placid.
Jake, Kim and I at a "Tequila Bar"...I had half an Amstel Light, hit my quota for the year.
Inserted at approximately 12:30PM Saturday 4/26/2010:
Let me take a quick detour to explain what just happened to me. As I was pleasantly writing this post, thoroughly enjoying and minding my own business I was rudely interrupted by a jet blue email telling me that my 3pm flight to NYC had already been cancelled due to impending weather related issues. Mind you that this was at 9am. So they left me with 2 choices, 1. Find another way home and they would refund me my $125 dollars, before all the taxes I paid of course or spend the night in Houston ON MY OWN FREAKIN DIME! So after frantic scrambling I ended up with a flight that gets me to Albany (4hrs from Rochester) at 645pm. ( scratch that, 5:50PM edit - the flight to Albany was delayed until 5 so ill be getting in around 8'ish now). I was scheduled to get in at 12 midnight with jet blue. So after the drive and dinner..since southwest does not provide much food I will essentially get home at the same time (fingers crossed). At least I have an amazing mom and dad who are willing, at the drop of a hat to come pick me up 4hrs away. So after a $475 ticket, jet blue only reimbursed me for $125 dollars, (including a $50 bike fee for being inch over the 61 inch BS rule or whatever, it was only 44 lbs with all my stuff but they still stuck me with the extra fee). So none the less if all goes well I will get to have a nice 4 hr ride with the parents, I say this without sarcasm because I rally do enjoy their company. This will provide me with loads of time to fill them in on the awesome trip I had. So as I write this I am without wifi, being that I am several thousands of feet above the ground. Without further ado, I am now done ranting about the inconvenient flight changing that transpired. In the end if my bike makes it in tact (fingers crossed since I did all the packing) and I make it to Albany via Orlando by 645 (edit 8'ish) I will only be out about $350....so hey, it's only money and I would have had to pay for a hotel and use another vacation day for work otherwise, and I want all the vacation days I can get for this summer. And the fact of the matter is that this trip and this experience was priceless, I will always remember my first Ironman experience, thank you Mary, thank you Don, and thank you Kim, and I must add that a special shout out goes to Don's family who was my own personal support team. Coming out of the water during the swim I was not expecting anyone to be cheering for me let alone know my name and be expecting me. But low and behold I pop out of the water, happy as can be that I stayed afloat and that the bike was about to began, and there they are, his wife and two daughters cheeing on little old me, I became even happier :). Thanks guys! Don if you happen upon this post please let them know that they were awesome and their support meant a lot. The brooding about the flight stuff is over, back to the original purpose of the blog, snd positive turbo thoughts about my first 70.3 experience.
Before the rant i was explaining that Kim had made Mary and I some wonderful chicken and ziti for our "last supper" (Hmm..I like that term "Last Supper" as opposed to the pre-race meal, it gives it a little finality and meaning, it's the last meal in preparation before full on battle, wooooohoooo, I shall now call all pre-race meals "Last Suppers" and so it began....) hid last supper was of course the sole reason I was able to complete the race :)
So after dinner Mary and I headed back to the hotel and hit the sack. After my on and off sleeping I was up at 3:45 and had my pre race foods ( wanna know what they are? Just ask :), then as we were heading to the race we happened upon a middle aged man who was displaying his smoothly shaven legs in a very provocative manner. I told mary to contain her excitement but she could not help herself and decided to pick up this spandex wearing, no hair in legs (or head) :) stranger. It turns out it was just our teammate Don. We still decided to give him a ride to the race.
Well we got their and got set up and I even had the pleasure of using the portapotties provided by the wonderful race support. Enough said about that. But i will embarrass Don, that is if he even can get embarrassed, i don't think triathletes think twice about A. Being naked in public, or B. Discussing their digestive system and bowl movements without thinking twice be it a conversation at dinner or a training session...but here it is...it's my understanding that Don did not have to utilize the facilities in the same manner as myself. I learned this from his family who told me, well let's just say no one wanted to sleep in his bed the night before, I leave it at that, Ha!
So this is where it gets good' scratch that...it was already good, this is where it gets even I won't say better because that's not fair, I'll just say "cooler" for me personally. In transition the first thing i see is the speed concept ( this is a bike but in order to give it it's due I will refer to it just as "the speed concept", in my head there's no reason to explain that it's a bike that has the properties of a small cruise missile. But I guess I just did explain that it's a bike..whatever...any who, Chris Lieto was in the house! And then It happened, I saw him..the man had arrived. I was only about 40 bike slots away from him in transition, that was so cool. Only in the sport of triathlon can an avg Joe like me compete side by side with the top players in the game, and chris is a top player considering he finished the Kona ironman championships in oh yeah...2nd place! Yesterday he did not win but was bested by only torrenzo bezzone who put together a demonically fast bike and run combo, and another american, O'Connell, who ran an out of this world 1:07 run leg...let me just say that a 1:07 for 13.1 miles is NUtS! So impressive, and I was able see these guys running...and biking for that matter this was because the bike course was an out and back and the run was a 4 loop course that had like 20-odd turns and some total 180's Included. (Needless to say the feet paid the price in this race since I wore no socks with my new kswiss's, that had only about 10 miles on them. Maybe not the smartest decision but it was the one I made and I'm sticking with it. I think for the sprint and Olympic races I am going to do this summer I will get some k-ruz (lieto rocks them in 70.3's and below) however I liked the cushioning for the longer distances, over 6 miles.
As far as the actual race I will say this. I had such an amazing time. Their were so many spectators on both the bike and the run. They really made it a fun event. Seeing lieto and potts and the rest of the pros on the bike and run was just so special to me. In terms of my race it began by me cutting my foot open on an oyster (not near the swim start) as i was relieving myself of some fluids before I headed to the dock where the swim would begin. I didn't notice that my foot was dyed red until I got to the end of the dock where we all jumped in the water. I looked down and was like...hmm that's weird, It didn't hurt there or when I was in the salt water. So that was a good thing and I figured the salt water would be a good cleanser. I think my fellow age groupers either became scared of me or thought I was mentally insane when I rubbed the blood from my finger which had touched the toe on my arm while proclaiming that I was now ready to do battle since I had marked myself with my own war paint. Luckily during the race I did not attract any sharks, nor did I go face first into any jellyfish. (it's funny because as I write this the thought of a shark smelling blood or however they do that never crossed my mind, even though I had been informed of their presence at the bottom of the harbor). So the swim felt long and that was confirmed by the overall times of all the competitors. Out of the whole day I can honestly day that I was most pleased with my swim, I came into the race unsure as to where I would stand after that part. It turns out that the time I have spent in the pool paid off and got me out of the water in a respectable position (still loads of room for improvement). My time was like 39 something. Indeed it was longer than anticipated, yet it was still on target since I pretty much guaging off of Mary who is an Awesome swimmer. I figured I'd be around 5-6 minutes behind her and my guess was pretty close, so I was very pleased to find this all out after the race.
The bike was cool. A pure out and back that was more or less flat the whole way, mary and I both confirmed that we used only 2 gears during the whole ride. Their were lots of spectators on the course and they really got into it when I would come by them and start screaming and then flip em the Texas "horns" sign..that was really cool. And their were tons of aid stations. I ran out of water twice and both times I was greeted with an aid station within a couple miles. This leads me to a funny part of the bike..and well the run. Let's just say I had a lot of water on the bike. I drained my 40oz speedfill tank that was full from the beginning and then proceeded to down like 4 bottles, maybe 5 (but they may have not all been drank to their entirety) of the snapple looking plastic water bottles. Plus my 6scoops of gatorade endurance in a 21oz bottle mix. Very concentrated and very good. Nutrition as a whole was great, however I am interested in finding out more about Base nutrition which is lieto's brain child. It's not a crazy overhaul or anything but it could be worth giving a shot before placid gets here. So back to my story, I had to pee for like 30 miles but since their was no stopping of the legs on the flat course I just couldn't as they say "break the seal" and as every triathlete in a real race will attest to, you just let it fly on race day, so stopping was not an option. And to you people that wet themselves during training, ummm...I'm not with you on that one, I think that's weird. Just pull over, stop the gamin/sunnto/polar and find a nice spot on the side of the road or at a nice starbucks/gas station. In the words of Job from the stellar tv show that was cancelled after 3 short seasons, Arrested Development..."I mean COME ON!" haha..,I digress, ....where was I? Oh yeah the good part, I made it back to transition and jumped into my shoes and even remembered to take my helmet off, and yes I wore it the right way, not backwards like some have done in the past. After about a mile into the run the flood gates open and the seal was broken. This was the first time I have done such a deed. It was like niagara falls was occurring below the belt.... for about 2 miles, it felt great! And I kept a sub 7 pace at the same time..booyah! One other thing about the run, it just about right on target with the plan Mary and I concocted., ultimately I was over by about a minute, and missed my execution early on in the race..no biggy in the grand scheme of things, and it leaves room for a ton of improvement as I learned A LOT about myself on the run. I can't wait to tackle that again distance in Syracuse this September. Oh yeah the run provided me with a stellar blood blister on my right foot (since you are all anxiously awaiting a photo, I will please you by posting it when i arrive home tomorrow).
After the race is where the fireworks began. I got into some regular clothes and made my way back to the run segment to see Don and Mary run. Unfortunately I did not see Kim running but when I was talking with chris (lieto that is) he did mention that he had seen Kim and that he had cheered enough for the both of us. Oh yeah did I mention that I got to meet Chris Lieto! I could not believe it. He is basically my role model, scratch that, idol in the sport of triathlon. I dig his style and his amazing abilities. He was just standing around with his Dad and some friends before the awards and after assurance from Mary that it was cool to talk to him, I was building the courage up but her gentle prodding helped me move the process along, I went up to him and introduced myself, seeing if he wouldn't mind taking a picture with me. The equivalent of most people meeting and getting a picture with say lebron, Kobe, pujols, obama, the pope....you get the picture. Not only was he more than happy to pose with me while Mary snapped the photo, he ended up chatting with Mary and I for like 5 minutes. We talked about the course, how the bike was deceptively difficult since it's very flat, which means that their are no turns to give your legs a break, no downhills to coast, and no uphills to get out of your saddle. And he even asked us about our own races...very cool. Such a treat to meet him. And I must say that the day was cemented as one to remember for the ages when I had the chance to casually chat with a swimmer who Is probably the fastest pro, and I might even put him up a against flipper, or a human with a evinrude 9.9 outboard...yep Andy Potts. He was chilling before the awards too, and I was curious to hear how he felt about the swim. I got my nerve up and went over, introduced myself and asked him what he thought. He validated Mary and my own thoughts that the course was a bit slow as he would usually swim this distance in get this...21-22 minutes. He was around 25 min yesterday. Still lighting quick when you think about the waves and the fact that the pros couldn't wear wetsuits. Andy to spoke with me for a good bit of time. We talked about how he got started in the sport and some other things....he was so cool. He even had overheard my race results from my talking with Mary or something and asked me about them, a nice personal touch. It's really great to see that the sport I have failed in love with has such great ambassadors. They could have been to busy to spend time chatting with a crazy kid like me, but the fact is that they were just as nice as could be, that's why this sport is so great. I hope it can stay like this for as long as possible.
So yeah that was my day. I got to race an event that was top notch, along top some of the best pros who were going after a $75k prize purse, and along side my fellow train this teammates who I saw on both the bike and run and even was able to give them a yell. I saw Don finish his run and was really glad to give him a high five after going through the chute but I must apologize to Mary because I did not get to see her come down the chute as planned. I didn't know where she was time wise and plain ole missed her, but I found her when she was picking up her bike...so it was all good. Next time!
We ended the day by eating volcano sundaes at the rainforest cafe and hanging with Kim and Jake at a "local watering hole". We were back to the hotel around 9:30 and I managed to cram my bike in my bag and get to bed by 11. I slept like a baby until about 545 when Mary and I got ready to hit the road and begin our journey back to Rochester. Since as some of you know Mary and I flew into different airports (we thought we were going to the same one, only to find out that we we not after she had landed at George Bush airport and could not locate jet blue airlines) luckily Houston-hobby was on the way to Galveston so it wasn't a big deal. Mary dropped me off early and she headed to the other side of Houston, navigating through the rush hour traffic. I was in pleasant spirits while i was writing my blog with my legs up after a nice breakfast of chicken and salad. I even saw don and his family pass by. Then my flight got changed...that story was above. If you have read this novel I just wrote, congratulations...you are among the few and the proud. And have most likely successfully passed the high school English regents.
All the best
- MjC
Sunday, April 25, 2010
An Awesome Day
It really was an awesome day. Playing the ocean and biking&running in the sun. I have so much to tell you all but it's late. I had to pack the bike up and everything so now that that's done in hitting the sack. Tomorrow is a full day if travel as I head back to the real world.
This trip has been amazing, such a great vacation. And having the chance compete side by side with the sports best athletes was truly an honor. I can't wait to share some of the stories with you. Once I get back to my computer at home on Tuesday I will post some amazing pictures I have. But tomorrow I will have time to post some good thoughts on the weekend since I will have some quality airport chilling time which if fun, lots of people watching :)
This trip has been amazing, such a great vacation. And having the chance compete side by side with the sports best athletes was truly an honor. I can't wait to share some of the stories with you. Once I get back to my computer at home on Tuesday I will post some amazing pictures I have. But tomorrow I will have time to post some good thoughts on the weekend since I will have some quality airport chilling time which if fun, lots of people watching :)
Race day
It's 4 am and I am stuffing down my last meal of human food. 1 banana, a scoop of way, jar of applesauce( you figure that one out) coffee, granola bar, and sports drink. If you consider that human food. After this it's triathlete food, powerbar, power gels, salt tabs and Gatorade.
I'm not really super nervous yet. It hasn't quite hit me. I'm sure it will when I get to the race site and see all the people. Everyone just looks so sarn legit around here. But like Mary and my friend mike have told me. Just stick to the plan. I've got a good plan from a great coach and I know that barring injury or crash that I can nail it. And I know that I can have a really fun time while doing that. I've got a new visor for the , race with a lime green logo to match my bike...good karma! And my race loan is literally written on my left arm, my bikes shoes, andy bib number. If nothing else these are a constant reminder that pace is king in 70.3 and up racing. My first attempt at this distance was the mussel man and that well was less than spectacular. 9min miles on the run will not happen again!
Alright gotta finish bfast and get dressed.
Thank you to everyone for all your support! It really means the world to me. I can't wait to cross that finish line and make you all proud...and then cheer in my teammates Don, Kim, and Mary. Then it's off to the rain forest cafe for dessert. And supposedly if I am coherent enough they might buy me a margarita...lol don't tell the parents. Shhhh :)
Thanks everyone. See you at the finish line. I am bib #67, go to athlete tracker at www.ironman.com to follow the race and watch the finish.
I'm not really super nervous yet. It hasn't quite hit me. I'm sure it will when I get to the race site and see all the people. Everyone just looks so sarn legit around here. But like Mary and my friend mike have told me. Just stick to the plan. I've got a good plan from a great coach and I know that barring injury or crash that I can nail it. And I know that I can have a really fun time while doing that. I've got a new visor for the , race with a lime green logo to match my bike...good karma! And my race loan is literally written on my left arm, my bikes shoes, andy bib number. If nothing else these are a constant reminder that pace is king in 70.3 and up racing. My first attempt at this distance was the mussel man and that well was less than spectacular. 9min miles on the run will not happen again!
Alright gotta finish bfast and get dressed.
Thank you to everyone for all your support! It really means the world to me. I can't wait to cross that finish line and make you all proud...and then cheer in my teammates Don, Kim, and Mary. Then it's off to the rain forest cafe for dessert. And supposedly if I am coherent enough they might buy me a margarita...lol don't tell the parents. Shhhh :)
Thanks everyone. See you at the finish line. I am bib #67, go to athlete tracker at www.ironman.com to follow the race and watch the finish.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Friday in Galveston
It's so absolutely relaxing right now. I amm sitting out on the balcony area of the hotel we are staying at. It's not the ritz but it's good enough. Triathletes are starting to roll in now so the atmosphere is def starting to take on a full fledged triathlete aura. There is definitely something to be said about the general mood that triathletes bring to the table. Health living with outdoor fun in the sun. I mean on my opinion you just cant beat the kind of day I'm having today. I woke up at around 7am, I was able to sleep in this late without any late night eakeups since i took down to anvil pm's before bed. After easing a little on the iPad I nodded and slept like a baby. I love that feeling when your reading a book and you get so tired that you can't focus on the words anymore...then you just click the lights off and go strait to bed and when you wake up it's the morning and you had a great whole nights sleep. That doesn't happen to me to much since my mind seems to always be racing. I was talking about this with Mary and she was saying how she can just turn off her brain and the world around her. She attributed much of it to yoga, meaning I need more yoga!:) but def I will be working to shut off my brain and hue world around me when it's the right time.
So anyway we got up and headed to star bucks. Prolly my fav thing in the world is to just wake up and stroll to the coffee shop and just chill. I'm not kidding, if I can have the lifestyle where I do that every morning and then go train..OMG would i be in heaven. So we chatted and had our coffee, then we headed to the IHOP to begin phase 1 of the carbo load. We both had 2 pancakes, scrambled eggs, and some bacon. Plus I had more coffee..hehe. After breakfast we headed back to the hotel and started to assemble our bikes. Mary had her bike put together and each to go before I even had the protecting foam off. Seriously I'm not kidding, it was dang impressive. Well needless to say my bike needed some work, the rear derailliuer had to be taken off when we packed it and I didn't want to screw anything up for the race so we decided to just take it to the expo and have the bike guys give it a look over. For 35 bucks they put it together and inspected the brakes, gears, etc...well worth it in my mind. Then we hit the roads for a 45 min bike and 25 min run.
Gotta jet now though..heading to dinner for an Italian feast...later!
So anyway we got up and headed to star bucks. Prolly my fav thing in the world is to just wake up and stroll to the coffee shop and just chill. I'm not kidding, if I can have the lifestyle where I do that every morning and then go train..OMG would i be in heaven. So we chatted and had our coffee, then we headed to the IHOP to begin phase 1 of the carbo load. We both had 2 pancakes, scrambled eggs, and some bacon. Plus I had more coffee..hehe. After breakfast we headed back to the hotel and started to assemble our bikes. Mary had her bike put together and each to go before I even had the protecting foam off. Seriously I'm not kidding, it was dang impressive. Well needless to say my bike needed some work, the rear derailliuer had to be taken off when we packed it and I didn't want to screw anything up for the race so we decided to just take it to the expo and have the bike guys give it a look over. For 35 bucks they put it together and inspected the brakes, gears, etc...well worth it in my mind. Then we hit the roads for a 45 min bike and 25 min run.
Gotta jet now though..heading to dinner for an Italian feast...later!
Random thoughts from yesterday that didn't get posted
I don't know where this fits in here but something that came to my mind was how I was going to put my bike back together when I get to the hotel. I am not really worried about this since I have 3 days to do it and my trusty sidekick/coach/friend Mary will be right next door to help me. She's probably tore down and put back together more times than I have ever...week I don't even have anything to compare it to..let's just say that I think she's done it a lot. But I was thinking...my derailliuer is off, so are my handlebars, seat post and pedals. The pedals and seat post won't be an issue but the derailliuer and handlebars...well they are a whole different ball game. As you can tell by my spelling I truly a cycling newbie, I don't know how to spell derailliuer, in fact I thin vie spelled it differently each time in this post, I have no idea if the U belongs there or not. And if I somehow said the name right you would still be able to tell that I am a raw newbie based on the fact that I am usually found wearing a full out Mellow Johnnys mathching kit..prolly a huge no no in the cycling world, with lance oakleys, lance helmet, the same bike as lance..yada yada..I mean you might as well to try to be like the best! And that's what Lance is..he's the man on the bike, I want to be like him. Obviously I want to become all that Matt Curbeau can become but I need to start somewhere. Another person who I consider a role model/hero/person I am obsessed with...Chris Lieto. He started this triathlon game in his elder 20's and has achieved a 2nd place finish at the world championships among other various wins around the world. He makes his living in a sport that I have grown to absolutely love in the past year. It is my ultimate dream to make a living in this sport. I truly believe in doing something you love and the ability to do that bring happiness. That's what I want and that's what I will get. I know it! So if chris leito can mark it happen, why can't I? And win lose or draw you know there's going to be s ton of fun along the way. Oh yeah...chris lieto is going to be racing this weekend in Galveston. He and the rest of the pros will literally be starting 10 minutes before me! This means that unless he flats out within the first 10 miles of the bike and has to spend more than 10 minutes changing his tire that I will never actually see him after the race begins. But I am hoping he will be there on Saturday and be giving a talk or something, or just otherwise hanging out around the race site since there are two races, and Olympic and Sprint that are taking place that day. But either way it's going to be absolutely awesome to be amongst he top triathletes in the world..something will have to rub off.
I've also been thinking about the whole triathlon community thing. My coach Mary talks about the many people she has met during her time around this sport. She is on many athletes blog rolls, usually listed as miss sunshine, a testament to her positive and upbeat attitude that is always accompanied by a smile. There I'd certainly a lot I have to learn from this woman. I look forward to looking back on this race in november and seeing where I am at. If all goes well and my body holds up I will be racing my final 2010 race in november down in Florida. That is a long way away but it is something that is in my distant future. It is a blurry image that I do not yet want to focus on. Chris lieto said something very enlightening during an interview he gave recently. It was something along the lines of focusing on the present. When your swimming focus on swimming and do it to the max, when your on the bike give it your all, and when your finishing on the run make sure to devote your full attention to every stride you take. Turn a 26.2 marathon into a series of 5ks or 26 individual miles. Try to really nail each and every mile. I think personally (and this is strictly hypothetical since the longest race I have done to date was a half marathon) that if we are to focus on the finish line to soon we become wrapped up in results and times. I know that as athletes we all have goals and as triathletes we all have goal times. These are good to have because they can help provided motivation and drive. But at the sometime if we get caught up on hitting certain times in order to finish at xxx time we may just psych ourselves out if we miss or come up short. Maybe it's true and maybe it's not but I think that if you focus on each stride and making that the best one you can do that the times and finish's will come. I rally do not know what to expect for this race. The last time I raced a 1/2 ironman it was last july, just two months after my "racing career" had begun with the mendon ponchos duathlon here I believe I was chicked by many a woman. Well the race was a blast but it was seriously painful. It was the first time I had raced any of those distances. I had done about three bikerides over 50 miles, and had done one 5k and an Olympic triathlon. Needless to say I blew up on the run and finished around a 9 min mile pace. I will never forget the feeling of the last two miles when I just couldn't make my engine go any faster. I was on a flat section that ran along the lake and I could see the finish that was 2 miles ahead. It was brutal to be so close and to not have anything in the tank. I think of this experience and wonder what I'll feel like this time. Will I have the legs to hold sub 7 min miles on the run? Will I be able to swim in a respectable time that gets me out of the water in a position to post a sub 5 finish. I don't calculate my finish inescapable based on "tests" like many people do because I think that it's a whole different ball game on race day. Tests are good to see if your fitness is in check, but there are so any factors..wind, hydration, how your feeling, temperature, etc. All these things are from an outsider looking in right now but soon I I'll have more insight. I hope that I can finish strong in this race. My main goal is to be able to run at a good clip after getting off the bike. I am going to drill that into my head. Bike for show and run for dough. That's what is all about.
I'm out.
I've also been thinking about the whole triathlon community thing. My coach Mary talks about the many people she has met during her time around this sport. She is on many athletes blog rolls, usually listed as miss sunshine, a testament to her positive and upbeat attitude that is always accompanied by a smile. There I'd certainly a lot I have to learn from this woman. I look forward to looking back on this race in november and seeing where I am at. If all goes well and my body holds up I will be racing my final 2010 race in november down in Florida. That is a long way away but it is something that is in my distant future. It is a blurry image that I do not yet want to focus on. Chris lieto said something very enlightening during an interview he gave recently. It was something along the lines of focusing on the present. When your swimming focus on swimming and do it to the max, when your on the bike give it your all, and when your finishing on the run make sure to devote your full attention to every stride you take. Turn a 26.2 marathon into a series of 5ks or 26 individual miles. Try to really nail each and every mile. I think personally (and this is strictly hypothetical since the longest race I have done to date was a half marathon) that if we are to focus on the finish line to soon we become wrapped up in results and times. I know that as athletes we all have goals and as triathletes we all have goal times. These are good to have because they can help provided motivation and drive. But at the sometime if we get caught up on hitting certain times in order to finish at xxx time we may just psych ourselves out if we miss or come up short. Maybe it's true and maybe it's not but I think that if you focus on each stride and making that the best one you can do that the times and finish's will come. I rally do not know what to expect for this race. The last time I raced a 1/2 ironman it was last july, just two months after my "racing career" had begun with the mendon ponchos duathlon here I believe I was chicked by many a woman. Well the race was a blast but it was seriously painful. It was the first time I had raced any of those distances. I had done about three bikerides over 50 miles, and had done one 5k and an Olympic triathlon. Needless to say I blew up on the run and finished around a 9 min mile pace. I will never forget the feeling of the last two miles when I just couldn't make my engine go any faster. I was on a flat section that ran along the lake and I could see the finish that was 2 miles ahead. It was brutal to be so close and to not have anything in the tank. I think of this experience and wonder what I'll feel like this time. Will I have the legs to hold sub 7 min miles on the run? Will I be able to swim in a respectable time that gets me out of the water in a position to post a sub 5 finish. I don't calculate my finish inescapable based on "tests" like many people do because I think that it's a whole different ball game on race day. Tests are good to see if your fitness is in check, but there are so any factors..wind, hydration, how your feeling, temperature, etc. All these things are from an outsider looking in right now but soon I I'll have more insight. I hope that I can finish strong in this race. My main goal is to be able to run at a good clip after getting off the bike. I am going to drill that into my head. Bike for show and run for dough. That's what is all about.
I'm out.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
En route
Dudes and dudettes,
I dunno what's going on but vie tried to post 2 more updates and both times when save the post it has failed to go through and I have lost all my thoughts. Since my thoughts are random and sporadic this means that I have forgotten many of the things that I have posted. However just like the old over review thing we all used to do in English class, or were supposed to do I know have the chance to try and remember what I wrote and condense it into a form that does not include fluff because frankly I don't feel like retyping the whole dang thing. Luckily the iPad is reeky easy ti type on so it's not that big of a deal. When I say easy I mean it to. Obviously there is a learning curve but I am becoming really proficient. I am trying with two hands and all my fingers just like a regular keyboard. It corrects some of words but many times it's because I spelled it wrong to begin with. Haha.
I think that the gist of my prior posts related to the fact that I was enjoying my time here at the JFK jet blue terminal 5. It's rally really nice. Clean, good stores to get healthy food although the prices are expensive so other than the 2 yogurts I bought (Greek yogurt of course) I have stuck to the food I packed prior to my journey which consisted if a homemade nut mix from the bulk nuts section of the pittsford wegmans, some honey nut and chocolate cheerios (i love cereal and try not to indulge to much but they are just a nice tasty snack, it's hen I get a gallon of milk and a box in front of me when the trouble begins. It's like it's not humanly possible for me to out the milk back until it and the cereal are gone. I mean I'm talking about pee wee Herman style cereal eating with the big big bowl and the huge spoon. Lol..peewee. What classic movies..what classic kids shows. I remember both vividly and I even had one the chairs "chairy" as a piece of furniture hen I was a kid. I must say that they were very creative when they named the chair "chairy". I mean seriously is that the best they could come up with? And is it just me or was their some weird guy in PeeWee's play house that was dressed like a king and gave advice to pee wee? If anyone can give me some info about this dude I will award you 500 turbo points which can be accumulated and cashed in for future prizes and goodies to be distributed by me. Or you can cash it in for a keuka lake bumper sticker that my dad and I made ( we have a trademarked company btw...its called RJ MJ enterprises. For those of you who are a bit slow...or who are not quite awake when reading this or who have started to nod off while reading this due to becoming bored with my stories..I can't blame you...it stands for my dad and i's initials. ( grammar question? Can you use the form of I as " i's" that just can't be grammatically correct.) but whatever. Where was I. Oh yeah...our company is going to be huge..just u wait! But seriously, if you can tell me more about the "king" without me having to google him I will award you 500 turbo points (TP's..not to be confused with the great software tool of Training Peaks..that was a shameless plug for them to sponsor me) or you can choose one of my rocking cool Keuka Lake stickers. Just email me your address at Matthew.curbeau@gmail.com. Or if you just want one contact me and we can set it up. So getting back to where I was before that peewee segment.
In my earlier post that didn't go through I was talking about how the Leadville 100 race is truly an amazing event. To all the competitors who have had the opportunity to toe the starting line of that event, I salute you. After watching "race across the sky" on my iPad in the airport (it was great on the iPad, I had burnt the DVD to my computer, after purchasing it online of course so that I could watch it on my trip. It was definitely worth the 30 bucks. I am going to have a great time rewatching that with my interested friends. i.e. Scott Likly, mike norton, Josh Gonsenhauser. Set the mandates guys, it's a must see, even if you've already seen iT. Personally I think wr should have a showing at the Towpath bike shop. We could bring dishes to pass and have a grand old time. Then we could go out and do some night riding or something on the mtn bikes.it'd be sweet.
Well the jist of my rambles was that I consider the Leadville 100 to now me a lifetime goal of mine, it is if you will something that has been added to my bucket list. I don't actually have a bucket list yet but when i create one it I'll surely be on their. Hmm..I think I'll create one during this trip, maybe while chilling on the beach, that'd be nice. Ok I'll finish this later the plane is boarding. Here's a tip that I learned while traveling a ton in Europe. No matter where you sit on the plane always wait until everyone ekes boards the plane, I mean why stand in a cramped line for like 20 minutes when you could easily sit outside in the concourse all spread out and still get on the plane in plenty of time with no hassle. Why hurry up to get stuck standing in a cramped place...be smart people!! Same goes for the way out of the plane. I find it funny when everyone races to get up when the plane comes to a halt even after the attendants have told them to sit tight until the door is opened. I advise you to all just sit and let everyone pass. Enjoy your seat and then get your bags and everything when their is nobody around to deck with your carryon bag. The plane isn't going to turn around and take off or anything. I promise you won't get locked in either. I write this as i sit on the floor typing away with no intention of getting up in the near future. However there are prolly well it looks like the whole passenger list standing up and going nowhere. Weird. Ok until next time. Peace!
I dunno what's going on but vie tried to post 2 more updates and both times when save the post it has failed to go through and I have lost all my thoughts. Since my thoughts are random and sporadic this means that I have forgotten many of the things that I have posted. However just like the old over review thing we all used to do in English class, or were supposed to do I know have the chance to try and remember what I wrote and condense it into a form that does not include fluff because frankly I don't feel like retyping the whole dang thing. Luckily the iPad is reeky easy ti type on so it's not that big of a deal. When I say easy I mean it to. Obviously there is a learning curve but I am becoming really proficient. I am trying with two hands and all my fingers just like a regular keyboard. It corrects some of words but many times it's because I spelled it wrong to begin with. Haha.
I think that the gist of my prior posts related to the fact that I was enjoying my time here at the JFK jet blue terminal 5. It's rally really nice. Clean, good stores to get healthy food although the prices are expensive so other than the 2 yogurts I bought (Greek yogurt of course) I have stuck to the food I packed prior to my journey which consisted if a homemade nut mix from the bulk nuts section of the pittsford wegmans, some honey nut and chocolate cheerios (i love cereal and try not to indulge to much but they are just a nice tasty snack, it's hen I get a gallon of milk and a box in front of me when the trouble begins. It's like it's not humanly possible for me to out the milk back until it and the cereal are gone. I mean I'm talking about pee wee Herman style cereal eating with the big big bowl and the huge spoon. Lol..peewee. What classic movies..what classic kids shows. I remember both vividly and I even had one the chairs "chairy" as a piece of furniture hen I was a kid. I must say that they were very creative when they named the chair "chairy". I mean seriously is that the best they could come up with? And is it just me or was their some weird guy in PeeWee's play house that was dressed like a king and gave advice to pee wee? If anyone can give me some info about this dude I will award you 500 turbo points which can be accumulated and cashed in for future prizes and goodies to be distributed by me. Or you can cash it in for a keuka lake bumper sticker that my dad and I made ( we have a trademarked company btw...its called RJ MJ enterprises. For those of you who are a bit slow...or who are not quite awake when reading this or who have started to nod off while reading this due to becoming bored with my stories..I can't blame you...it stands for my dad and i's initials. ( grammar question? Can you use the form of I as " i's" that just can't be grammatically correct.) but whatever. Where was I. Oh yeah...our company is going to be huge..just u wait! But seriously, if you can tell me more about the "king" without me having to google him I will award you 500 turbo points (TP's..not to be confused with the great software tool of Training Peaks..that was a shameless plug for them to sponsor me) or you can choose one of my rocking cool Keuka Lake stickers. Just email me your address at Matthew.curbeau@gmail.com. Or if you just want one contact me and we can set it up. So getting back to where I was before that peewee segment.
In my earlier post that didn't go through I was talking about how the Leadville 100 race is truly an amazing event. To all the competitors who have had the opportunity to toe the starting line of that event, I salute you. After watching "race across the sky" on my iPad in the airport (it was great on the iPad, I had burnt the DVD to my computer, after purchasing it online of course so that I could watch it on my trip. It was definitely worth the 30 bucks. I am going to have a great time rewatching that with my interested friends. i.e. Scott Likly, mike norton, Josh Gonsenhauser. Set the mandates guys, it's a must see, even if you've already seen iT. Personally I think wr should have a showing at the Towpath bike shop. We could bring dishes to pass and have a grand old time. Then we could go out and do some night riding or something on the mtn bikes.it'd be sweet.
Well the jist of my rambles was that I consider the Leadville 100 to now me a lifetime goal of mine, it is if you will something that has been added to my bucket list. I don't actually have a bucket list yet but when i create one it I'll surely be on their. Hmm..I think I'll create one during this trip, maybe while chilling on the beach, that'd be nice. Ok I'll finish this later the plane is boarding. Here's a tip that I learned while traveling a ton in Europe. No matter where you sit on the plane always wait until everyone ekes boards the plane, I mean why stand in a cramped line for like 20 minutes when you could easily sit outside in the concourse all spread out and still get on the plane in plenty of time with no hassle. Why hurry up to get stuck standing in a cramped place...be smart people!! Same goes for the way out of the plane. I find it funny when everyone races to get up when the plane comes to a halt even after the attendants have told them to sit tight until the door is opened. I advise you to all just sit and let everyone pass. Enjoy your seat and then get your bags and everything when their is nobody around to deck with your carryon bag. The plane isn't going to turn around and take off or anything. I promise you won't get locked in either. I write this as i sit on the floor typing away with no intention of getting up in the near future. However there are prolly well it looks like the whole passenger list standing up and going nowhere. Weird. Ok until next time. Peace!
Travel Day
Today begins my latest adventure which if everything goes well will bring me across the finish line of a half ironman on Sunday morning. I am currently en route to Galveston texas via Jet Blue. I have a 3hr layover at JFK where I'll be watching "race across the sky", the mtn biking movie about the Leadville mtn bike race in which my man Lance Armstrong won this year. I have had this movie in my possession for over a week now but I have been saving it ti watch for this trip. Believe me...I am certainly an instant gratification type of guy and it's been killing me to hold off and not watch it. So I am going to really enjoy watching that during the layover. It will make the time fly by.
Here's the game plan. I am going to try and keep a running blog about my trip. I will try and post at every chance I have to keep everyone updated as to my status. So here it goes:
5am - I am all checked in at the airport and sitting at the gate waiting for pre-boarding. Jet Blue only got me for 50 bucks for my bike. Not bad considering some of the other charges I have heard about with other airlines. One good thing to note is that the lady that checked me in for Jet Blue did check to see if it was a certain time of year where they ship bikes for free due to "big races". I am guessing their are certain key ones on their schedule. She mentioned that they do this to promote "healthy living" and all that. Well they should do it 365 days of the year shouldn't they if they are really committed to a healthy lifestyle. But oh well 50 bucks each way isn't bad, and I didn't get stopped going through security which is always nice considering I haven't shaved in a few days.
Alright then, I am going to enjoy my iPad with the free wireless, my xl black coffee from dunkin, and my mixed nuts in a ziplock that I created at the wegmans bulk food section...mmm...mmm good.
10am - JFK airport
Hmm I thought I had posted earlier for the second time but I guess it didn't go through. Anyways, I just finished watching "race across the sky". It was an awesome documentary of the Leadville 100 Mtn bike race. Really inspiring. I hope that someday I get the chance to take a crack and finishing that race in 12 hour and earning the coveted Leadville 100 belt buckle. The course that they ride starts out at 10,000 ft plus and climbs to over 12,500 ft. Total elevation is like over 14,000 ft. Absolutely absurd. The leaders finish this thing in around 6.5 to 7 hours. Unreal! Definitely a lifetime goal to put on the bucket list.
Well hopefully the plane will be boarding in about a half an hour and I will soon be on my way to Texas! The forecast is calling for some rain and t-storms over the next few days but as if now Sunday is looking clear with a temperature that may creep towards 80. Let's hope the weatherman is close in his forecast. But either way I am gonna be as happy as can be in the rain, sleet, snow, hurricane, whatever...bring it on! Just don't let the lightning strike me down.
Random thought just popped into my brain. What is it? Well I'm thinking about when inhale to put my bike back together. I hope that I can get the handle bars, derailliuer or however you spell that, I honestly have no clue and i still don't think I say it right. This is a clear sign that I am an extreme newbie to the sportnof cycling. If you could not already tell by my matching kits that are usually strAight from mellow johnnys so that i can look like lance as much as possible. I mean hey, you gotta have someone to look up to! This can also be said for chris lieto, #2 finisher at the ironman world championships in kona and #1 American, I can be seen wearing the same cycling shoes and helmet as him. He's inspiring. He started in the triathlon game late in his 20's and took off immediately. His is s force to be reckon with and with s background in water
8am - I made it to JFK. I must say that I am always impressed with the Jet Blue terminal here. It is really really nice. Clean, lots of good food choices, free wifi...only thing was that two yogurts and a coffee was like 10 bucks. It's good Greek yogurt though so it's definitely worth it :). I told this to my team in an email and I will say it again here. If you want want to have an easy conversation starter while traveling just hook your aero helmet to your backpack. Normally I wouldn't broadcast so blatantly that I am 1. Traveling with a bike and 2. A nut job triathlete in search of warm weather and a good race but I lacked the room to pack it elsewhere. But I may keep traveling like this in the future even when I am without my bike. Wait..that will probably never happen again, my bike is going with me everywhere! But any who I've had some nice conversations with people about cycling and swimming.
On another note, as I was flying to JFK from ROC we flew right over Keuka Lake and my hometown of Penn Yan. It was the first time I've ever seen the lake and my home with that much clarity. It was awesome!
Well time to start watching "race across the sky". A review of this will be forthcoming. Until then I am going to continue to sip on dunkin coffee and eat my yogurt.
Here's the game plan. I am going to try and keep a running blog about my trip. I will try and post at every chance I have to keep everyone updated as to my status. So here it goes:
5am - I am all checked in at the airport and sitting at the gate waiting for pre-boarding. Jet Blue only got me for 50 bucks for my bike. Not bad considering some of the other charges I have heard about with other airlines. One good thing to note is that the lady that checked me in for Jet Blue did check to see if it was a certain time of year where they ship bikes for free due to "big races". I am guessing their are certain key ones on their schedule. She mentioned that they do this to promote "healthy living" and all that. Well they should do it 365 days of the year shouldn't they if they are really committed to a healthy lifestyle. But oh well 50 bucks each way isn't bad, and I didn't get stopped going through security which is always nice considering I haven't shaved in a few days.
Alright then, I am going to enjoy my iPad with the free wireless, my xl black coffee from dunkin, and my mixed nuts in a ziplock that I created at the wegmans bulk food section...mmm...mmm good.
10am - JFK airport
Hmm I thought I had posted earlier for the second time but I guess it didn't go through. Anyways, I just finished watching "race across the sky". It was an awesome documentary of the Leadville 100 Mtn bike race. Really inspiring. I hope that someday I get the chance to take a crack and finishing that race in 12 hour and earning the coveted Leadville 100 belt buckle. The course that they ride starts out at 10,000 ft plus and climbs to over 12,500 ft. Total elevation is like over 14,000 ft. Absolutely absurd. The leaders finish this thing in around 6.5 to 7 hours. Unreal! Definitely a lifetime goal to put on the bucket list.
Well hopefully the plane will be boarding in about a half an hour and I will soon be on my way to Texas! The forecast is calling for some rain and t-storms over the next few days but as if now Sunday is looking clear with a temperature that may creep towards 80. Let's hope the weatherman is close in his forecast. But either way I am gonna be as happy as can be in the rain, sleet, snow, hurricane, whatever...bring it on! Just don't let the lightning strike me down.
Random thought just popped into my brain. What is it? Well I'm thinking about when inhale to put my bike back together. I hope that I can get the handle bars, derailliuer or however you spell that, I honestly have no clue and i still don't think I say it right. This is a clear sign that I am an extreme newbie to the sportnof cycling. If you could not already tell by my matching kits that are usually strAight from mellow johnnys so that i can look like lance as much as possible. I mean hey, you gotta have someone to look up to! This can also be said for chris lieto, #2 finisher at the ironman world championships in kona and #1 American, I can be seen wearing the same cycling shoes and helmet as him. He's inspiring. He started in the triathlon game late in his 20's and took off immediately. His is s force to be reckon with and with s background in water
8am - I made it to JFK. I must say that I am always impressed with the Jet Blue terminal here. It is really really nice. Clean, lots of good food choices, free wifi...only thing was that two yogurts and a coffee was like 10 bucks. It's good Greek yogurt though so it's definitely worth it :). I told this to my team in an email and I will say it again here. If you want want to have an easy conversation starter while traveling just hook your aero helmet to your backpack. Normally I wouldn't broadcast so blatantly that I am 1. Traveling with a bike and 2. A nut job triathlete in search of warm weather and a good race but I lacked the room to pack it elsewhere. But I may keep traveling like this in the future even when I am without my bike. Wait..that will probably never happen again, my bike is going with me everywhere! But any who I've had some nice conversations with people about cycling and swimming.
On another note, as I was flying to JFK from ROC we flew right over Keuka Lake and my hometown of Penn Yan. It was the first time I've ever seen the lake and my home with that much clarity. It was awesome!
Well time to start watching "race across the sky". A review of this will be forthcoming. Until then I am going to continue to sip on dunkin coffee and eat my yogurt.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Let's Get This Party Started!
Gooooooooood morning everyone!
I am in the best "place" I have been in a really long time. It's a Wednesday morning and I am sitting in Starbucks, sipping on coffee and typing away on my iPad creating my blog post for the day. I have seriously missed having the time to devote to my blog over the past few months. Keeping a blog about what I am doing is something that really helps keep me in check and analyze what's going on in my life. It's really a good tool to reflect on the days past and the days to come.
So as I sit here at the 12 corners Starbucks I am just as happy as can be. I've seen 3 people I have not seen since about the first of the year. 2 of these people are ones that I have run and biked with in the past and I have missed the time to chat with them. With that said it was super nice to catch up with them, even if it was for only a couple minutes. (quick side note: the iPad is really easy to type with). Gettting back on track, being able to write a blog, see friends, think about my upcoming weekend...is just absolutey the best therapy in the world. I've been stressed out out from work over the past few months and it's really took it's tool on my "mental state". This little vacation that includes the opportunity to race in a super cool place that I have never been before is really the best medicine for me. I am going to love every last minute. Rain or shine I am going to have a BIG smile on my face! Along those lines I must say that I am truly a lucky boy to be going to my first big triathlon of my first real triathlon season. Why am I lucky? Good question. It just so happens that I have many answers for you.
1. My awesome coach and friend Mary Eggers (ironmomma.com) is coming too! What better way to start your triathlon career than going to your first race with your coach. It's really going to be great to have someone to talk to and get guidance from as race day approaches. I have so many things like bike set up, nutrition, when to sleep, etc that I need to get locked down and figured out that it will be super awesome to be able to just knock on a nearby hotel room door and ask a seasoned veteran. Maybe I can even pass off some of my own nervousness that I I'll get to her, I mean she won't have any so I'm sure she could take on a little. It might even help her with her pre-race ummm bathroom activities. Who needs applesauce when you have nerves? LoL applesauce is awesome, seriously get some natural applesauce and use before race day and you will see...
2. My fellow teammates Don and Kim are racing down too! We will have the full on team atmosphere as we gather for breakfasts on the days leading up to the race. I can't wait to be immersed in 24 hrs of triathlon for the next 5 1/2 days, its going to be fantastic. Currently Don has set up show in Texas since he swindled his family into taking their "Spring Break" to a place that just so happened to be having a 1/2 Ironman race that same weekend..Smart family man! So he has been down their enjoying the weather and preparing. Tomorrow I get to join him and his sweet bike that he showed to all of us once he got it put back together.
Well its about 11am right now and I'm back at my apartment eating my much delayed breakfast. The plan for the rest of the day is to hit up fleet feet and spend my 15 dollar gift certificate, ride my bike down to the bike shop (just an easy ride today, nothing crazy), do some shopping at Wegmans for some last minutes necessities, finish my packing and apartment cleaning, visiting Kenny the magic man for one last chiropractic therapy session, probably wegman's for a salmon dinner (I go to Wegman's way to much, I hope they will give me a job someday!), then chilling and relaxing while reading a book on my iPad before I hit the sack for a few hours. I'll begin my journey to Galveston tomorrow around 4am. The parents are dropping me off at the airport and I head to JFK at 6am, then onto Houston where I am slated to arrive around 2. Hopefully all goes well and Mary will be waiting for me with her rental car that she can get because she's old enough :) Then were off to the beach to play for the weekend! But I'll be posting a lot down there about my adventures in bike set up, race prep, etc. etc.
I am in the best "place" I have been in a really long time. It's a Wednesday morning and I am sitting in Starbucks, sipping on coffee and typing away on my iPad creating my blog post for the day. I have seriously missed having the time to devote to my blog over the past few months. Keeping a blog about what I am doing is something that really helps keep me in check and analyze what's going on in my life. It's really a good tool to reflect on the days past and the days to come.
So as I sit here at the 12 corners Starbucks I am just as happy as can be. I've seen 3 people I have not seen since about the first of the year. 2 of these people are ones that I have run and biked with in the past and I have missed the time to chat with them. With that said it was super nice to catch up with them, even if it was for only a couple minutes. (quick side note: the iPad is really easy to type with). Gettting back on track, being able to write a blog, see friends, think about my upcoming weekend...is just absolutey the best therapy in the world. I've been stressed out out from work over the past few months and it's really took it's tool on my "mental state". This little vacation that includes the opportunity to race in a super cool place that I have never been before is really the best medicine for me. I am going to love every last minute. Rain or shine I am going to have a BIG smile on my face! Along those lines I must say that I am truly a lucky boy to be going to my first big triathlon of my first real triathlon season. Why am I lucky? Good question. It just so happens that I have many answers for you.
1. My awesome coach and friend Mary Eggers (ironmomma.com) is coming too! What better way to start your triathlon career than going to your first race with your coach. It's really going to be great to have someone to talk to and get guidance from as race day approaches. I have so many things like bike set up, nutrition, when to sleep, etc that I need to get locked down and figured out that it will be super awesome to be able to just knock on a nearby hotel room door and ask a seasoned veteran. Maybe I can even pass off some of my own nervousness that I I'll get to her, I mean she won't have any so I'm sure she could take on a little. It might even help her with her pre-race ummm bathroom activities. Who needs applesauce when you have nerves? LoL applesauce is awesome, seriously get some natural applesauce and use before race day and you will see...
2. My fellow teammates Don and Kim are racing down too! We will have the full on team atmosphere as we gather for breakfasts on the days leading up to the race. I can't wait to be immersed in 24 hrs of triathlon for the next 5 1/2 days, its going to be fantastic. Currently Don has set up show in Texas since he swindled his family into taking their "Spring Break" to a place that just so happened to be having a 1/2 Ironman race that same weekend..Smart family man! So he has been down their enjoying the weather and preparing. Tomorrow I get to join him and his sweet bike that he showed to all of us once he got it put back together.
Well its about 11am right now and I'm back at my apartment eating my much delayed breakfast. The plan for the rest of the day is to hit up fleet feet and spend my 15 dollar gift certificate, ride my bike down to the bike shop (just an easy ride today, nothing crazy), do some shopping at Wegmans for some last minutes necessities, finish my packing and apartment cleaning, visiting Kenny the magic man for one last chiropractic therapy session, probably wegman's for a salmon dinner (I go to Wegman's way to much, I hope they will give me a job someday!), then chilling and relaxing while reading a book on my iPad before I hit the sack for a few hours. I'll begin my journey to Galveston tomorrow around 4am. The parents are dropping me off at the airport and I head to JFK at 6am, then onto Houston where I am slated to arrive around 2. Hopefully all goes well and Mary will be waiting for me with her rental car that she can get because she's old enough :) Then were off to the beach to play for the weekend! But I'll be posting a lot down there about my adventures in bike set up, race prep, etc. etc.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Let the countdown begin
1 week from today I will be racing in Galveston, Texas. I've been waiting for this trip for quite some time and can't believe that it's almost here. In all honesty I am ecstatic about the fact that I am finally going to get some time away from work, and away from upstate new York. I was born with a travelers itch,, given to me by my mother and I have not been able to scratch that it since last March when I was in Hawaii. Kona to be precise. Hawaii was such a great time as I was able to spend it with all my family...sisters nephews, parents, brother in law, etc..plus I would have to say that the fact that we stayed in Kona is the very reason why I started up in this crazy world of triathlon. When i saw guys at the hotel rolling in their pimped out tri bikes to their rooms I just thought about how absolutey baller they were. These dudes were gonna go ride these rocket ships at speeds and for distances that I thought was only possible in a car...with some tyoe of engine in it. I never would have believed you if you said that in one year "matt you'll be able to ride a bike for 3 hours strait". I find that really funny now because just yesterday when I was riding with my friend Mike (cusetri.blogspot.com) we were saying how a 3 hr ride seems so short now. That the first 1.5 hours is like a warmup and the bang the whole 3 hours comes and and goes. Mind you we were chatting about this as we maintained an easy 20mph in the rain and wind. And to analyze that last sentence I want to stress the fact that it was a. Raining the whole ride b. Windy as all get out c. 6:45 am d. We were going "easy" at 20mph. If you told me that I would be doing any of these a year ago I would have laughed in your face and took off for the weight room or something.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
New day, new opportunities
I’m not going to lie, its been a rough couple of weeks between work, some injuries that required recovery, and a couple other things that have occurred. Sure, when things go wrong they can really go wrong but what are you going to do? What’s done is done and all that you can do is move on and try to do the best you can in the future. Whether that means being better about recovery after a lone training ride/run, improving on a task at work, or being more careful going about your daily activities in life. I can’t tell you how much I can beat myself up about stuff that has happened. This really does me no good, it just keeps me up at night and makes the next day tougher because I am tired and still dealing with things that are in the past. What’s done is done, I haven’t hurt anyone, i haven’t committed a crime...i get so worked up about many things and I just don’t need to be. Life is weird, life is tough...let’s just move on with it.
With that said, I had a great training "evening" last night. Since I didn't get back to Penn Yan until around 3:45, I set out on my bike for a 3hr ride around 4pm. I had a good two hours and 15 minutes in my zone 2 heart rate. This took me to Hammondsport going through the Branchport way. Obviously if your not from around the area these town names mean nothing to you and sound extremely strange, in fact I am guessing that you think I am making them up. However, they do exist and I did in fact ride my bike through them. I was in at about exactly the 1 hour mark. I turned around and then made my way back the same way I came. On the way back I took the turn coming out of Branchport onto part of the Keuka Lake Triathlon course. The part with the hill if you have raced there before. If not I will briefly explain that this part of the course takes your from about lake level 720ft to 1450ft at the top of the bluff. It's not a dead uphill climb but it is a gradual grind and can really tax the legs. Even when I was in the ea Hammondsport siest gear spinning at 85-90rpm's I was still pushing out over 300 watts a lot of the time..which for me is quite a substantial amount. Anywho, I made it to the turnaround point at the top of the bluff at about the 2 hour mark or thereabout..maybe it was more like 2:10. This left me with about 50 minutes and a LONG downhill section which is sweet..however I had 45 minutes of zone 3 hr biking left to do as well. Let me tell you something, and I am sure that if you are a cyclist you understand that when you are going downhill and your hardest gear becomes very easy...meaning like 100rpm easy...it becomes hard to push the same amount of watts as on a flat or keep your heart rate at a certain level, this meant that I had to put in a very good effort to keep my heart rate in my zone 3 or tempo zone. I am pleased to say that for the most part my HR was in zone 3 for the entire 45 minutes. I polished the downhill off in in no time and even hit about 41 mph on the way down. It's not a extremely steep hill but its very long and gradual so I think that speed is pretty respectable. The only bad part was that I was back in town with about 20 minutes to go...I started to circle the town taking corners and really trying to hammer the pedals on the way out of the turns to crank up the wattage. If anything it helped worked on some technical aspects of handling a tri bike. Then I mashed it on a straight away as I headed home to the Curbeau Realty office where I reside when I am in Penn Yan..here's a plug. Feel free to stop by the friendly curbeau realty offices whenever you are in town, you can talk shop with me about triathlon and/or talk shop with my mom about buying a house on the lake or in the beautiful finger lake town of PENN YAN. haha seriously though..buy from Curbeau Realty, my mom knows her stuff! After the bike ride I transitioned into my running gear (probably the longest transition ever since I took of my cycling bibs and put on my running shorts) and nailed my 30 minutes at a 7 minute pace. I even got to see my cousin TWICE as he as driving through town and when he was back at his house..I made my way through town as passed by his house on purpose to see if I could catch him. I didn't exactly catch him but he did comment on how fast I made it through town and to the other side..which was nice of him.
As for today, I woke up early had some coffee and went to Church with the family. After some much needed churchly atmosphere and enlightenment I feel good about the days ahead. Good things will happen, I just have to let them. :)
I had a nice easy 1 hr ride outside followed by a 1.5hr run. The ride was nice...very windy but nice. And the run was well...it was kinda brutal. I haven't run over 45 minutes in like 2 weeks due to injury and it definitely showed. After the biking and running yesterday the run today was kinda tough. I held like 7:30 miles but it wasn't as easy as normal and the achilles did give me some static. Its sore but I am icing and taking care of the little guy since it's so important. Hopefully a full day off tomorrow of everything will do it some good.
Gotta eat some lunch while its hot...my mom's yelling at me to eat..haha I love her.
Talk to you later folks..time to relax and recover.
And remember..life is crazy. Its not always nice and it makes the tough times really tough but when we work through the accidents and the detours and the injuries and the setbacks it only makes the achievements and the successes all the more worthwhile and fulfilling. The bad can get worse and the good can get great, the good can become bad and the bad can become good. Life has its peaks and valleys. I am trying to find the good in both the highs and lows because in both their is always a take-away, something worthwhile to learn. It's tough and I am sure you all can attest to that but if we don't try to improve ourselves in these situations then we will never grow. And growing makes us better more knowledgeable people. Growing will allow me to be fast triathlete. If only I could grow in height..I turn 24 in May...maybe I still have a growth spurt left..I'm not giving up hope until at least my 26th b-day.
With that said, I had a great training "evening" last night. Since I didn't get back to Penn Yan until around 3:45, I set out on my bike for a 3hr ride around 4pm. I had a good two hours and 15 minutes in my zone 2 heart rate. This took me to Hammondsport going through the Branchport way. Obviously if your not from around the area these town names mean nothing to you and sound extremely strange, in fact I am guessing that you think I am making them up. However, they do exist and I did in fact ride my bike through them. I was in at about exactly the 1 hour mark. I turned around and then made my way back the same way I came. On the way back I took the turn coming out of Branchport onto part of the Keuka Lake Triathlon course. The part with the hill if you have raced there before. If not I will briefly explain that this part of the course takes your from about lake level 720ft to 1450ft at the top of the bluff. It's not a dead uphill climb but it is a gradual grind and can really tax the legs. Even when I was in the ea Hammondsport siest gear spinning at 85-90rpm's I was still pushing out over 300 watts a lot of the time..which for me is quite a substantial amount. Anywho, I made it to the turnaround point at the top of the bluff at about the 2 hour mark or thereabout..maybe it was more like 2:10. This left me with about 50 minutes and a LONG downhill section which is sweet..however I had 45 minutes of zone 3 hr biking left to do as well. Let me tell you something, and I am sure that if you are a cyclist you understand that when you are going downhill and your hardest gear becomes very easy...meaning like 100rpm easy...it becomes hard to push the same amount of watts as on a flat or keep your heart rate at a certain level, this meant that I had to put in a very good effort to keep my heart rate in my zone 3 or tempo zone. I am pleased to say that for the most part my HR was in zone 3 for the entire 45 minutes. I polished the downhill off in in no time and even hit about 41 mph on the way down. It's not a extremely steep hill but its very long and gradual so I think that speed is pretty respectable. The only bad part was that I was back in town with about 20 minutes to go...I started to circle the town taking corners and really trying to hammer the pedals on the way out of the turns to crank up the wattage. If anything it helped worked on some technical aspects of handling a tri bike. Then I mashed it on a straight away as I headed home to the Curbeau Realty office where I reside when I am in Penn Yan..here's a plug. Feel free to stop by the friendly curbeau realty offices whenever you are in town, you can talk shop with me about triathlon and/or talk shop with my mom about buying a house on the lake or in the beautiful finger lake town of PENN YAN. haha seriously though..buy from Curbeau Realty, my mom knows her stuff! After the bike ride I transitioned into my running gear (probably the longest transition ever since I took of my cycling bibs and put on my running shorts) and nailed my 30 minutes at a 7 minute pace. I even got to see my cousin TWICE as he as driving through town and when he was back at his house..I made my way through town as passed by his house on purpose to see if I could catch him. I didn't exactly catch him but he did comment on how fast I made it through town and to the other side..which was nice of him.
As for today, I woke up early had some coffee and went to Church with the family. After some much needed churchly atmosphere and enlightenment I feel good about the days ahead. Good things will happen, I just have to let them. :)
I had a nice easy 1 hr ride outside followed by a 1.5hr run. The ride was nice...very windy but nice. And the run was well...it was kinda brutal. I haven't run over 45 minutes in like 2 weeks due to injury and it definitely showed. After the biking and running yesterday the run today was kinda tough. I held like 7:30 miles but it wasn't as easy as normal and the achilles did give me some static. Its sore but I am icing and taking care of the little guy since it's so important. Hopefully a full day off tomorrow of everything will do it some good.
Gotta eat some lunch while its hot...my mom's yelling at me to eat..haha I love her.
Talk to you later folks..time to relax and recover.
And remember..life is crazy. Its not always nice and it makes the tough times really tough but when we work through the accidents and the detours and the injuries and the setbacks it only makes the achievements and the successes all the more worthwhile and fulfilling. The bad can get worse and the good can get great, the good can become bad and the bad can become good. Life has its peaks and valleys. I am trying to find the good in both the highs and lows because in both their is always a take-away, something worthwhile to learn. It's tough and I am sure you all can attest to that but if we don't try to improve ourselves in these situations then we will never grow. And growing makes us better more knowledgeable people. Growing will allow me to be fast triathlete. If only I could grow in height..I turn 24 in May...maybe I still have a growth spurt left..I'm not giving up hope until at least my 26th b-day.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
First post on the iPad!
Good morning everyone! Happy Easter Sunday!
I am coming to you all from my iPad as I sip coffee and eat a power bar before heading out for a ride around keuka lake. This iPad toy is pretty amazing. I mean to sit down and read the paper and check your email and blog on the same machine that fits comfortably on the breakfast table is awesome!
Well thats it for now. I'm gonna finish my snack and hit the road on the tri bike! A guest appearance on my next blogcast is expected later this afternoon. Hopefully my 4yr old nephew Billy shipman will make his trinity tri podcast debut. Should be interesting!
Catch ya later folks.
-Turbo
I am coming to you all from my iPad as I sip coffee and eat a power bar before heading out for a ride around keuka lake. This iPad toy is pretty amazing. I mean to sit down and read the paper and check your email and blog on the same machine that fits comfortably on the breakfast table is awesome!
Well thats it for now. I'm gonna finish my snack and hit the road on the tri bike! A guest appearance on my next blogcast is expected later this afternoon. Hopefully my 4yr old nephew Billy shipman will make his trinity tri podcast debut. Should be interesting!
Catch ya later folks.
-Turbo
Friday, April 2, 2010
Good Friday Podcast! Check it out!
Morning peeps! Hope all is well on this good Friday, check out the new podcast for today at --> http://web.me.com/mattcurbeau
Also, here's a something I created in Google Doc's for the vast majority of the races that I have done. Some are missing but will be added shortly.
https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B4olK4dIn-DHYTk2NTYwMTktMzliMS00NDhkLWE3NjktODIyNjRiNTliMzA2&hl=en
Also, here's a something I created in Google Doc's for the vast majority of the races that I have done. Some are missing but will be added shortly.
https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B4olK4dIn-DHYTk2NTYwMTktMzliMS00NDhkLWE3NjktODIyNjRiNTliMzA2&hl=en
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Plugging Along
I'm here...trying to recover my broken body. I ran a 15K race on Sunday which was very hilly. I maintained my desired pace but my left leg definitely paid the price. Rest and recovery were certainly in order...ended up being a good thing. Taking Mon-Wed off was the longest stretch of off days I have had since after the Musselman in July. I've started to see a Chiropractor who is doing some ART, a little massage therapy, icing/heating, and throwing some special tape on my leg...seems to be going well.
I was back in the pool today for a nice 30 min easy swim. The swim went good, a great way to start off the day and I even was able to swim next to my coach who showed up just as I dipped my feet into the pool..btw my legs were still all taped up with this special blue tape the doc gave me. This is the stuff that you have probably seen on the hot volleyball players in the Olympics, all over their shoulders and stuff. Its supposed to be waterproof so you can shower, swim, exercise...basically do whatever in it. However if you have hair on your legs it does not work to well...sooo that means its about time for the leg shaving event. Maybe tonight...maybe tomorrow...only time will tell!
After the pool I had enough time to get out for an hour ride on the bike before work. (I was at the pool at 5:15 and on the bike at 6:45) The ride was great...so nice to be out in the fresh air with the sun shining! I spun on down to Bushnell's Basin and back and it took me right on about 1 hr and 2 mins. I took it real nice and easy with a cadence in the high 90's most of the time. The best part was that I didn't feel any pain during the ride or after in the lower leg/knee region..hopefully the cleat adjustment to allow my foot to have a little more float will be just the thing to get me back on track for Texas...25 days until Race Day...nervous??Yeah since the day I signed up..haha Can't wait though, it's going to rock!
Back to tax returns for now. Glad I took the time to get this out to everyone..just been tough lately to find time.
I was back in the pool today for a nice 30 min easy swim. The swim went good, a great way to start off the day and I even was able to swim next to my coach who showed up just as I dipped my feet into the pool..btw my legs were still all taped up with this special blue tape the doc gave me. This is the stuff that you have probably seen on the hot volleyball players in the Olympics, all over their shoulders and stuff. Its supposed to be waterproof so you can shower, swim, exercise...basically do whatever in it. However if you have hair on your legs it does not work to well...sooo that means its about time for the leg shaving event. Maybe tonight...maybe tomorrow...only time will tell!
After the pool I had enough time to get out for an hour ride on the bike before work. (I was at the pool at 5:15 and on the bike at 6:45) The ride was great...so nice to be out in the fresh air with the sun shining! I spun on down to Bushnell's Basin and back and it took me right on about 1 hr and 2 mins. I took it real nice and easy with a cadence in the high 90's most of the time. The best part was that I didn't feel any pain during the ride or after in the lower leg/knee region..hopefully the cleat adjustment to allow my foot to have a little more float will be just the thing to get me back on track for Texas...25 days until Race Day...nervous??Yeah since the day I signed up..haha Can't wait though, it's going to rock!
Back to tax returns for now. Glad I took the time to get this out to everyone..just been tough lately to find time.
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