Trinity Triathlon

New Blog - I'M MOVING

2010-12-11T14:31:00.003-05:00

I am moving my blog over to Wordpress.com

Here is the new link -> The Chronicles of Turbeau Curbeau...thats the title until I can think of something else..if their is anything else. Any suggestions for a new blog title are very welcome. Leave the names in the comments section. I will give you credit if I choose your suggestion!

NEW BLOG --> http://turbeaucurbeau.wordpress.com/

2010-12-09T08:12:00.001-05:00

“Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect. It means that you've decided to look beyond the imperfections.”

Don't Worry, Be Happy

2010-12-08T07:55:00.002-05:00

Happiness is a choice, and today I choose to be happy no matter what happens. One cannot control the external factors in life so today I say that everyone should just be happy no matter what the situation. I think everyone needs to be reminded of this now and then, I know I do.

A Saturday Morning Quickie

2010-12-04T07:39:00.002-05:00

Tight on time at the moment. Trying to get a ride in this morning before I pack up and head to Syracuse to catch the basketball game tonight!

In the mean time here is the final picture of me and my Mustache. Taken on Wednesday of this week. Thank you to my family members who donated money and helped give me the motivation to keep that beautiful thing on my face all month. And thank you to the many admiring comments I received all month long. I was very close to keeping it forever.....well not really

Enjoy!

Turbeau Goes to Portland

2010-11-28T14:30:00.005-05:00

Unfortunately all good things must come to an end. As I sit here flying 20,000 or however many feet we are up I am beginning to feel reality set in once again. I have been lucky enough to come out to Portland and visit a part of my family who I rarely get to see. The trip kind of popped up out of nowhere. I always knew I wanted to come spend time with my brother and his family but its always so hard to actually put the trip together...figuring out schedules, taking time off, managing training, etc etc. Anyways, back in early October I made up my mind that I wanted to come out and Thanksgiving was going to be the ideal time as it afforded me time off from work without using my vacation hours and it was during the offseason from triathlon training, although I did get some pretty serious runs in out here, but more on that later. So anyways, with the help of my mom we pieced together a flight out here and that was that. It's a fair amount of travel to get to Portland but it's worth every second. So with that introduction let me get started on describing what it is I've been doing out here this weekend.

Well as I wrote about in my last blog; for the Thanksgiving holiday I came out west to Portland, Oregon to be with my brother Jon, sister in law Meredith ("Mere"), nephew Winslow ("wins" or the "deeder" or something along those lines, niece Elle (aka "mudgy snigler" or the "mudge", and the wonder-dog Sugarfoot. On Friday as I wrote about in my last post I got to go running with Mere, ate donuts at the Voodoo donut shop (definitely the creepiest, dirtiest donut shop in the country...and they are making money like gangbusters!!..and they are cash only, someone from the IRS should stop by, I'm just sayin..),

...then after that my brothers friend Erin took me to the Nike Employee store where everything was 50% off! Two pairs of shoes were quickly purchased, pretty much solely because they were so freaking cheap, and the were the latest versions, it wasn't like they were the defective outlet store ones...they even had the latest Air Jordan XIII release for just $85, if your a sneaker head like me you now that deals like that just don't happen...ever! So that was basically like taking a kid into a candy store or an alcoholic to the Budweiser brewing facility. My head was spinning..awesome stuff!!

After we got back from the Nike store we gathered back at my bros house and had dinner with Erin and Chris who are my brothers friends who live just up the street. They have a couple little guys just about the same age as Wins and Mudgy so it works out real well for them in terms of babysitting and all that. And I believe if I am correct, my brother used to Nanny for Wins and there son Leo for a brief time when they were little guys before he started Med school.

So they came over, Wins and Leo had some epic Clone Wars reenactment battles and I was able to pick the brain of Chris (Erin's husband) who has THE DREAM JOB, as he is a Product Designer in the running footwear department for Nike (he helped design the Nike Free's that are currently on my feet as I type), he's also the President of the Bowerman Athletic Club too (check the website out!)..and oh by the way he is a former 4:08 mile who ran at Oxford university...you know that really old historic place over in Engalnd..yep that one! So he is a legit Oxford Blue. It was great to talk everything running with him, we even you tubed some classic running races and he gave me the scoop on all of them. Since I had just finished Sir Roger Bannisters book on the flight out here I was able to talk about the 4 minute mile and actually know more than it was really fast and an amazing accomplishment. All in all it was super cool to chat with someone who shares the same passion for running and athletics in general...and I mean he has the sweetest job ever getting to deal with elite athletes on a personal level by developing sneakers for them and ensuring that they can do what they do at the highest level possible. maybe he will be able to pull some strings for me over at Nike...can you imagine!!! Portland, Oregon with my brother and fam, with Nike, among the beautiful pacific northwest...ahh it would be a dream come true.

So that was Friday in a nut shell. A fantastically amazing day that had to come to an end.

Saturday began with a pleasant walk down into the little village where my brother lives. They have a starbucks, some shops, and some restaurants..a very cute and cozy downtown all in all. Instead of going to the giant coffee store that is Starbucks we opted to pay a visit to the Grand Central cafe where we got caffeinated and chatted for a while as we ate out muffins and pastries, a very pleasant time was had for all.

After the morning walk and coffee I got ready to go for a run with Erin..and let me tell you Erin is legit. She might play it off that she's just a casual runner blah blah but the woman can hammer. I was going into the run with no agenda, my official 2011 training season starts tomorrow so this still just for pure pleasure with no data watching. Well let me tell you, Erin had me gasping for air. We went out to big beautiful park called "Forest Park" where it looked like I was in some remote rain forest...the first thought that came to my mind was FERN GULLY. It was BEAUTIFUL! Gorgeous trail paths with wooden hand rails, lots of happy hikers, jobbers, families walking together and some serious elevation! Going up the muddy trails, along switchbacks, climbing and climbing had my legs absolutely shelled by the time we made it to the top of the hill...all while Erin was happily bounding up ahead of me. But it was totally worth it, such a cool place that had an awesome view of Portland at the top. I could really get used to running these trails and running with Erin and her husband who could whip me into shape. Its always good to train with people who can absolutely take you to the pain cave post haste. After our epic trail adventure Erin was kind enough to take me over to the Nike Campus for a little self guided tour. What a place! Soccer field, tracks, volleyball courts, tennis courts, basketball, courts, indoor pools, etc etc..it is basically the epitome of what I crave, love, desire, want, live, breathe, etc..the list could go on and on. All the building there are named after Nike athletes, there is the mia hamm building, Tiger Woods building, Michael Jordan, Jerry Rice, Bo Jackson, and many more like the Lance Armstrong building which as one that I got to go inside and see. What an amazing facility! A full gym, spin room, locker room, huge pool...and I've got to tell you about the pool because it is truly unique, even my swim snob buddy Mary Eggers would drool over this thing. It's an ozone pool that uses absolute no chlorine, there are no chemicals in this thing. Its pure and I hear it is absolutely amazing, maybe next time I am here I will get a swim workout in it. So after the LA building tour we strolled around rest of the campus, taking in the sights like the man made lake thing they have going on, among other things. Then on the way out I saw what was probably the coolest thing on the complex...a full size track that is located smack dab in a wooded forest area. The infield is all trees so your basically running on a world class surface in and out of the forest...it just looks so awesome, I've got to imagine running mile repeats on that thing wouldn't be so bad at all.

PS: Erin, my legs are still sore :)

After the Nike visit Erin dropped me off back at my bros house. Once there I was able to see my brothers friend Skippy and his family who were down spending the weekend. You see Skippy and I go way back, to a time when he and my brother made a cross country trip to Penn Yan in a van that had a Hawk painted on the side of it...don't ask...if you want more details on it I can give you Mere's email and she can tell you all about it! So anyways they came back east one summer a long long time ago...maybe 12 years ago and the most memorable part of the whole trip was that Skippy ended up buying an old Mazda truck that belonged to my brother in laws mom. So we have some history.

Plug for Skippy...go to his facebook page and "Like" it!! and visit his website Aaron Barna Photography

I know none of my friends and people that read this live on the West Coast..but hey, you never know!

Later in the afternoon we made our way to the neighborhood community center for some fun in the pool with the kiddos. What a neat neat place! Tons of water toys and fountains and geysers for the little dudes and me, and a huge water slide that is fun fun fun. Wins and I went down...uber fast, it was cool. Which at the center I even had the chance to get some laps in...all was right in the world. After the pool we went back to the house for a big feast of steak and all kinds of vegetables. It was delicious. Then we hung out for the rest of the night. Another great day of vacation. Couldn't have asked for a better one.

And so here I am. Flying high in the sky trying to get in grips with the fact that I am returning back to Rochester, back to work...I've got a lot of stuff to do over the next few weeks in terms of work. Nothing major like tax busy season deadlines but just a lot of random projects that I don't really know to much about. I feel very overwhelmed by them so I am trying not to think about them as their is nothing i can do about it until 8:30 tomorrow morning. There is no reason to let it disrupt my personal time...my vacation time...my family time. So there it is folks. I had an awesome awesome time out here. Although I was here for but a few short hours I totally dug the vibe I got. Being able to be a part of my brothers family who I do not get to see often is special for me. They have two absolutely amazing children and I treasure the time I get to spend with them. Seriously, just look at the pictures of these two coconuts. They are adorable. Mudgy could literally get away with anything just by saying "I sorry...Me no mean to"..how can you get mad at that! Along with the little peanuts being able to spend time with my older brother and his wife is priceless. Growing up across the country from them and being 12 years younger has not allowed me to really interact with them much. Before this trip the last time I had spent time with them was 2006 when I went out to the Snake River and helped my brother finishing building a house...yes I helped actually build something of substance, to this day it amazes me. Well anyway i feel like I really got to know my sister in law Mere this trip, i had a blast hanging out and getting to know more about her. I'm really blessed to have such a cool family that is spread out all over the world...it just stokes the fire in my belly. The fire to do big things.

So thank you Jon, Mere, Wins, Mudge, and Sugarfoot...along with Everyone else I met out here in Portland. I had a blast hanging out with you all, and I hope to see you all again sometime soon. Hopefully it won't be another 4 years until i come back out west!!

Turbeau's in the Wild West

2010-11-27T01:21:00.002-05:00

Greeting All!

I hope you've awoken from your coma induced slumber by now, and if you were out bargain hunting this morning on Black Friday I hope your coupon induced craze paid off.

Today was a stellar day out here in Portland. No, the sun was not shining and it was not 80 degrees outside. BUT it was Portland and Portland is where my big bro and his family live. So all was well in Turbeau's world today. I got in yesterday evening around 5:30 ish and was greeted by my brother and nephew Winslows who came and got me at the airport. We quickly got back to his house and met up with his wife Meredith and some friends of theirs who were over for dinner...and dinner was just what I needed after a long day of flying with minimal legit meals. Just a couple apples and a granola bar with some nuts were about the only things I had...so taking down some turkey, sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts, creamed onions (better than they sound), pumpkin pie made with agave (no sugar), etc..it was good stuff and there were leftovers so the meals we had today were equally delicious. After dinner we mellowed out and all hit they hay pretty quickly, especially me. This morning my sister-in-law Meredith and I went to one of her favorite places to run which is an old fire road called the leif erikson trail. Its a really nice trail that climbs up the side of hill. It doesn't go straight up the hill or anything...instead it meanders back and forth in a long switchback format. It made for a really nice run. I was a bit outside my zones because of the elevation but I wasn't to concerned...it just felt good to be outside moving around. And for the first time since Nov 6th I started to feel like an athlete again.

When the running was done we headed back to the homestead, had some lunch, and chilled for a little while before we headed for the main adventure of the day which was a visit to the world famous Voodoo Donut shop. This place is for the lack of better words NUTS. Get this, the donuts come in a "box" which is "pink" and has the words "all the best things come in a pink box" get it??? get it?? your sick! hahaha

Anyways, this Voodoo donuts place is a freaking gold mine. They only except cash which means you know they are making out like gangbusters. I asked the lady working the counter how many donuts she thought she sold per day and she was thinking around 2K or so..thats a lot of donuts!! I mean the line was out the doors at 3:00 pm and my bro said it was like this pretty much every time they had ever been there. I ended up having one of their signature Bacon Maple Donuts..yep BACON! DELICIOUS BACON right on top of some maple glaze. It was pretty tasty I must say. They also had all other kinds of donuts, Marshall Matters (named after Rapper Eminem) which had M&M's on it, a Captain Crunch donut, a bubble gum donuts with an actual piece of bubble gum in it, and some other really really awesome concoctions. I will post up some pictures tomorrow when I pull them off my computer. You will all be impressed.

To cap off the day my brothers nice friends were kind enough to take me up to the Nike Employee store. My brothers friend Chris who has a couple kids the same ages as my brothers works at Nike as a product developer for Footwear and he is the President of the Bowerman Athletic Club...he's kind of a big deal! Anywho because he is who he is I was able to go inside the Nike store with a guest pass and get the chance to pick up some nike goods for 50% off! And this store had it all..all the newest releases, everything a normal Niketown would have..so basically I had my pick of the cream of the crop at half off. Naturally I picked up a couple pairs of shoes (Nikes Frees - Livestrong Edition and some Lunar Elite's)..sidenote: My brothers friend help create the Nike Free so if your wearing them right now..thank him!

Well its getting to be bed time and I have another full day of playing around here in Portland!

Talk to you all later.

-Turbeau

yikes...

2010-11-22T05:19:00.003-05:00

You know your are a baller when you:

1. Finish an Ironman
2. Finish an Ironman in first place in AG
3. Finish an Ironman in first place of your gender...as a pro
4. Finish an Ironman only 30 minutes behind the overall male finisher...when you are a girl

Chrissie Wellington is fast...scary fast.

Last day of the Offseason, my last hurrah with pretzel m&m's

2010-11-21T07:12:00.003-05:00

Good morning all. Today is the last official day of my offseason. The 2011 will begin tomorrow. It will begin very slowly, but at least it will be beginning. What does this mean? Well first off it means that its about 7am right now, I am eating pretzel m&m's and drinking coffee, and about to go paddle around on Keuka Lake in a kayak. The lake is like glass and the sun is just coming up. It looks to be a glorious morning. Maybe I will even be back in time to catch a walk with my mom. These types of days are few and far between so I need to take advantage of them while I can. Another thing about today is that its 7am. I've been up since about 5:30, for some reason my normal sleeping habits kick back into effect as soon as I have caught up on my lost sleep. Meaning that once I've made up for whatever sleep deficit that comes about from racing and traveling I return to my normal sleep pattern which is waking up between 4:30 - 5:00 each morning. It's not such a bad things because I really cherish the morning horus. They are my hours, most other people are still asleep so between 4:30-8:30 every morning I can do whatever I want without worrying about not being available. That sense of freedom is nice ecspecially when in the winter months work can become demanding and the hours last long into the evening. I at least always have a few sacred hours in the morning to myself..to my sport!

That's all I have for the moment. Its now 7:15 and I am going to head out onto the lake for a little while. I might be back on here later if an inspiring thought so chooses to cross my mind today.

The Holiday Season is upon us all

2010-11-20T06:40:00.007-05:00

Happy Movember 20th everyone!

The mustache is alive and well..and Starbucks is now in full-fledged holiday mode, which is very comforting to me. If the weather must turn cold and the snow must fly then at least for 1.5 months out of the year I can drift into a warm and cozy holiday time of the year where people are cheery (most of the time) stores are decorated nicely, and where friends and family are a frequent sight. This year in particular I have a lot to be thankful for. Lately I have found myself a bit down and out about certain things, I succumbed to thinking that "I have it bad". Well, the fact of the matter is that I don't have it bad at all. Instead of wishing I had something else I need to be grateful for what I have right now. We are all on some kind of path and you just need to stay the course. Nothing ever worth having or attaining came easy, nor should it. I know that but I haven't been living it lately. So what can I do about this? Well I can reflect on all the awesomeness that is around me.

Top 10 Things that Turbeau is Thankful For:

10. The new Starbucks Holiday Mug. This is now the 4th of my collection. I can officially say that I have been addicted to coffee for over 4 years now. I owe it all to my time in London where I discovered the wonders that a hot coffee, iPod, and the London tube had to offered. I spent many a time walking to the station with my coffee, sitting on the train with my coffee, and even sitting in the many Starbucks that London has to offer. Then back here in the homeland coffee took a new meaning when I began to study each morning here at my favorite Starbucks in the world, the 12 Corners. I could honestly write a whole blog about how awesome this store is. Its funny to think about how many barista's I have been through here. All very nice people who seem to always remember me when I come in the store. They have all moved on to bigger and better things and for that I am very happy.

9. My new Asics trainers. (Gel Noosa Tri 6) Check out these fly babies.

Yeah, they are pretty loud. But what else would Turbeau wear? I haven't actually run in these yet since I've been on a bit of a break from exercise lately...but I have been wearing them around to the coffee shop, to the diner, etc...and I have had numerous compliments from strangers and family who are all raving about how cool they are. Then they see the actual designs on the shoe and absolutely love the kangaroo's riding bikes. You see, this Noosa tri sneaker is not a new one. It is in its 6th edition now, but previously to this one it was only sold in Australia and some other European markets, the USofA has missed out on the colorfol joy that the Gel Noosa trainer brings. Noosa in particular refers to a spot in Australia where a triathlon which has over 8,000 participants takes place each year. YES 8,000! Can you imagine that swim start if it was a mass start??

8. Coffee in general. I just wanted to express my thanks to the lovely coffee bean which produces the wonderful drink which greats me most every morning. Coffee, you do many things for me and for that I am grateful.

7. My mustache. A one month a year oddity, it warms both the soul and the upper lip at the same time. You might miss it on my face if your more than 10 feet away but rest assure that its there and its taking on a life of its own. Never be bashful about a mustache. Remember, cowboys in the old west sported them so it MUST BE COOL!

6. The Harry Potter Books. They are each equally wonderful masterpieces of literature which take me to a happy place each time I read them. I must not tell lies that they are probably my favorite books of all time, and thats just that. And part 1 of the 7th movie was very good. I pretty much like every movie I see, I mean they are all entertaining..even the bad ones. However, a great movie in my opinion is one where in the middle or towards the end of it in the theater I think to myself....geez I wonder how long I've been in here, I really hope the movie isn't almost over. Those are the movies, the ones that end to soon..the ones you want to keep going. Last nights movie for me was one of those. I wanted to go grab another bag of popcorn and watch Part 2..IMMEDIATELY! But alas, I must wait many months in order for Warner Brothers to milk us greedy consumers. And I must not leave out that Ms. Alexa Harding accompanied me to the movie last night. I must say that as much as a fan of HP as I am...I a pail in comparison to her. Just ask to see her wrist some time. Line, Circle, Triangle..I will leave it at that.

1-5 to come later.

It Finally Happened

2010-11-19T07:06:00.003-05:00

I've caught a cold and the first snow has stuck to the cars outside. I could feel the familiar scratch in my throat yesterday morning, the scratch that tells me that its going to be hard to swallow for a little while, you know the one where your head becomes heavy, your neck hurts and all you want to do its sleep all day. Anyway, I fought long and hard yesterday to keep the sickness at bay, yet all the water, oranges, airborne, and purell couldn't repair the damage that had done. Luckily my mom and dad came up last night and were able to get me some medicine to combat whatever I have..be it a nasty cold, or strep throat. None the less I took a huge swig of nyquil last night and I woke up just a few minutes ago..I got a great full nights sleep because of the quil..good stuff! So I am a little happy today that I don't feel as awful as I thought I was going to be feel and that I am not contagious which means I don't have to sit in bed all day, even though a nice long nap all day does sound appealing. Tonight is a night where I actually want to be able to go out and do something. It's my last weekend of my true offseason and its the night of the Harry Potter opening. Officially the movie released this morning at 12am, I would usually have been there for the midnight showing but alas I did not grace the Pittsford cinema with my appearance this morning. So now as I struggle to wake up I am left to think about the day ahead. I've got to get through the next ~11 hours and life will then be good. I will get to start the weekend off by reading some Harry Potter, then going to the movie, then going to bed and sleeping until whenever I feel like it. I will sleep long and hard with the aid of nyquil. This weekend is going to be all about sleeping. I have a big week next week and I want to get back to full strength! What's my big week entail of you ask? Well, I would be more than happy to let you all know.
1. The 2011 season will officially kick off. Some easy efforts will begin and the weight room might even make an appearance.
2. Only 3 days of work
3. I am going to Portland, Oregon on Thurday morning to spend the weekend with my brothers family!!

The Atomic Bomb Eating Challenge

2010-11-17T06:50:00.005-05:00

In the beginning we were full of hopes and dreams of accomplishing the feat and getting our names put up on the marquee..in the lights...but we were mistaken for the burger was LARGE..larger than we ever though possible....

I was going to do a nice little write up about this but my friend and fellow Eating Challange Contestant Travis Earley has beat me to the punch. Please refer to his blog --> Travis's Blog for the full details of the event along with many pictures that were taken by Travis's sister who was there for moral support.

I will just say that Travis's bro-in-law Dave was killing this challenge for about the first 20 minutes until he hit the infamous WALL, something like the wall that many people hit at mile 20 of the marathon. Dave ended up conceeding defeat to the burger challenge but only because the win was no longer in sight. I respect his decision as he has a wife and children, however as I do not I tried to bravely go where no man has gone before...beyond the 30 minute time limit. This picture says it all....

I was defeated...beaten down by the Atomic Bomb Challenge. I have always said I love eating challenges, but after attempting this I think it will be a long long time before I ever do something like this again..if ever. Although the Ben and Jerry's Vermonster does hold a special place in my heart due to my affinity for ice cream. However, that might be a team challenge..just for fun..someday..maybe...prolly not..ugh..I'm still a little full.

Quick Summary of what's to come...

2010-11-15T08:38:00.007-05:00

Big things in store for the next blog:

1. The atomic eating challenge at Stick Lips BBQ -5 pounds of food in 30 minutes, can it be done? UPDATE: It's official, this challenge is being undertaken at 6:15 tonight at Sticky Lips BBQ! Lets get it on!

2. Movember continues. Newest donor is none other than my aunt and uncle, they saw me at church this weekend and must have been super impressed with my mustache...I can't blame them, it is a masterpiece in the making.

3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part I) comes out this week.
PS..Hermoine is HOTT!

4. I feel fat and lazy

5. I have a serious case of the Mondays

6. I began the cleaning process of my apartment this weekend. It is beginning to look quite nice. This week and next weekend I have the task of organizing my clothing and getting rid of the stuff I don't need. Does anyone know of people who might like my slightly used clothing? It's all good stuff and I'd rather donate to somewhere else other than the clothing drop behind Barnes and Noble. I also must force myself to clean the bathroom..this is the hard part because it will be a big task, but I will get it done.

That's it for now. Gotta get some work done.

-Matt

Back to Reality

2010-11-10T10:45:00.011-05:00

From Yesterday 11/10/10

Usually the first day back to work is a complete drag. The weather always seems to be gloomy on these days. However, this morning was different. The sun was out and shining bright and I was able to stop off at Starbucks for a quick cup of coffee on my way in. Maybe it was the holiday feel that Starbucks is putting out these days...but I just like it. The weather is getting colder out and its always nice to come into a warm coffee shop where people are smiling and the numerous conversations all blend into a constant hum..it makes me feel comfortable. Over the next couple of weeks I plan on hanging out at my favorite Starbucks before work, that is once I have caught up on my sleep. I have always enjoyed the vibe that I get from the shop in the early morning when the same familiar faces are always around. Even though I haven't been a regular morning coffee visitor in about 2 years I still see the same faces that greeted me on so many occasions when I was in the minds of studying for college finals and then for the CPA exam. I am really going to enjoy taking some time to relax, sip coffee, chat with people, and play on my computer. Mostly writing blog posts and looking at tri stuff that I don't really need but is still totally cool.

Today - 11/11/10

Remember everyone. It's Movember all month long. In support of prostate cancer I have donated my face. The mustache is still growing strong and seems to give me the old western look. I'm thinking along the lines of Doc Holliday or one of those guys.

Click here to go to my MoSpace where you can donate as little or as much as you would like.

I still am not sleeping in real late but some of that can be attributed to the fact that I went to bed at 7:45 last night. I went and had a massage after work, ate a couple bowls of cereal, and then decided that I really had nothing else to do but go to bed...and I wasn't about to start cleaning my apartment at that late hour. I think the actual reason why I have been able to go to bed so soon is that for some reason my computer won't hook up to the wireless internet connection in my apartment complex. My computer has no problems getting on the wifi anywhere else..JUST MY APARTMENT WHERE I LIVE. But I really do think its a blessing in disguise because the internet is what always keeps me up to late after work. I don't need to be surfing the web then..so in a way my malfunctioning technology is making me a better person. Plus I really do love coming to Starbucks early in the morning like today and just hanging..sipping coffee, posting a blog and chatting with the nice people. And hold the phone! As I am writing this post my good buddy Mike Mundy just showed up, ordered his coffee and oatmeal and began informing the whole store that I just finished the Ironman, hahah!!! Mike is a good dude who was introduced to me last year by my friend Josh. Mike has been running his butt off over the past year and is in really good shape...just look at what he is doing next weekend --> Tough Mudder This is a race that is not timed..its just go out and have at it with all your friends..the theme is teamwork where everyone helps each other but goes at it hard at the same time. It really seems like a fun day, if my body wasn't shut down at the moment that would be the exact kind of endurance thing I would be into. So long as I didn't hurt myself when running through the burning rings of fire..Yes! they have burning rings of fire, its crazy!

In other news I kicked off the post season this week by beginning to read a non-running or triathlon related book. Instead of my usual genre choice I have reverted to my scholastic love of history by picking up a new novel about George Washington, our countries first president...not the peanut dude. In case you were confused. Deep down I am a history nut, I loved the subject in school and was in fact Social Studies student of the year in 7th Grade when I was in Mrs. Mueller's History class. Everyone said she as a tough mean teacher but I thought she was a peach! Hahaha..we would write in our journals, we visited the Genesee Country Valley Musuem. The place was great! I would go there again in a second! If I remember correctly at the time we went it was in late May or early June and it was a magnificent day. In fact I think it was this day when me and my ex-girlfriend at the time, Allison Wager reconnected. And later the next fall (8th grade year) we got back together...it was around Modified Football Season, I must have impressed her with my wide receiver and kicking skills on the gridiron! :) Funny the things you remember. In fact I remember that the day we went on that field trip in 7th grade that she had just broken her ankle during a softball game and she had to walk around on crutches the whole day, and she was wearing a yellow coat..yes, it was yellow with a navy blue stripe. How about that for memory. It should also be stated that this was probably my last "courtship" as I have technically not had a "girlfriend" since...maybe I should go back to the Historical community and see if I have any more luck..maybe their will be a young history teacher who is searching a lover of history like myself! But that might be a long shot and many parents who are chaperoning the field trips might think it weird that a random 24 year old is wandering the Genesee Country Valley Museum during a school week..idk...

IMFL 2010 - In The Books

2010-11-08T08:50:00.004-05:00

Thank you :
First off I want to say thank you to everyone who wished me well before this race, everyone who kept track of me when I was racing around Panama City Beach, and everyone who has sent me congratulatory messages. I really really appreciate every single one of them and I hope I have been able to respond to each one of them....I think I have but if I missed you I do apologize...and in such a case please inform me so that I can make up for this atrocity :)

Without the support of my friends and family throughout this past year (my first full year of triathlon) I would not be where I am today...and where I am today is a good place. I am working at a new office where the people are friendly, they seem to really want me to learn and want me to be a part of their growing business, and they also seem to "get" my triathlon addiction, although to them its just my hobby...little do they know that I spend just about every waking moment of my non-work day in triathlon mode, whether that be eating right (most of the time), hanging at the bike shop making sure my bike is ready to roll), training!, driving to places to train, driving to places to race, getting enough sleep to recover properly, heading to the gym, yoga to stretch, etc.. etc... the list could go on and on.

When I sit back and think about what I have done, what I have seen, where I have been, and who I have met throughout this past year it really is quite amazing. I think that my good friend Mike Corona said it best in his most recent blog This kind of thing is what really matters when it comes down to it. It's about enjoying the sport and enjoying it good company. Mike and I spent many a early morning in conditions that would make southerners turn pale in the face and scare them into the fetal position. We even crashed together one morning...I mean really crashed hard!!! but through all the crappy mornings and the brief pain it only made us stronger triathletes and more importantly stronger triathletes. One year ago I didn't know Mike and today I consider him one of my closest friends.

I also wanted to add one final thought about the overall triathlon community. I refer to this a lot..about how great it is blah blah blah..but once again I was amazed by it down here at IMFL. I know that a lot of people get pissed off at the WTC for what they do and most recently for what they tried to do. I personally have no basis to be angry with them since I haven't been around that long. I have a bit of a personality trait that doesn't care what was in the past so in terms of the WTC I never experienced what IM races were like pre 2010. Frankly I don't care..All I know is that it costs a lot to put on a race of IM magnitude and that to have everything done for me and have all the race set up for me is great. I have enjoyed every single one of my IM events this summer. I did 4 M dot races (2 70.3's and 2 Full's) and sure their might be some things I would like to see changed but on the whole they were run extremely smooth. For me the 300 or 600 dollar registration fee is a small price to pay for the amount of training, sacrifice, and dedication that goes into IM training. Sure I would love it to be less expensive, especially since I don't make a ton of money right now. But I am not going to complain and make a scene like some people do. It really irks me when I see some of the comments on ST about this. Some comments are justified and some are not..and I've got to imagine that some of them are being written by people who make over $100k per year, to them unless they are struggling to support a family of 5 I have no remorse because I know a lot of people who make less and are still paying their dues. But enough about that, I am jaded by my youth, so take my thoughts for what they are worth (not much).

What I was trying to get to in the above paragraph is that I had a really wonderful time here in Panama City getting to know some more QT2 athletes like Charlie and Andy. Andy in particular is a bit older than me and was not at the Vermont camp so i didn't get a chance to meet him this summer. However, I saw him multiple times on the course and cheered for him as he went flying by me on the bike as well as on the run loops. He was hauling! It was exciting to see him trucking along, and exciting for me to see someone else racing that I knew. Then at 2011 registration I met a guy named Jason who lives in Florida and who was signing up for this first Ironman. We got along just like old friends talking about this years race, next years race, his own tri club, etc..It's always great to meet people who are excited about the sport and into the same thing as you. I look forward to seeing him next year as he nails this race!

IMFL 2010 Race Report (or something like that)

It was cold! I was freezing before the swim start. Up until Mary and I hit the beach I was nice and warm in my cozy 3 layers of clothing as I checked my gear bags and pumped my tires. The special needs bags were dropped off (and never touched..so someone got a nice powerbar, pair of newton socks, and powergel courtesy of Turbeau Curbeau, athelete #190...I hope you enjoy them!), then we prepared to head to the beach by getting on our wetsuits. This is where I got the coldness set in..40 degree temps with a sleeveless wetsuit is not all that pleasant. I ended up making the executive decision to ditch my hoody and sweats and just wear my wetsuit, $6 dollar Walmart slippers, nike winter cap, $2 dollar Walmart mittens, and nike long sleeve shirt to the swim start. Sounds like I would still be warm right? WRONG! I was still freaking cold and I had to pee like crazy...the bathroom lines, although the smallest of all IM events because of the proximity to the host hotel, were still extremely long and I wasn't about to stand in line for 20 minutes just to go #1..something I would soon be doing in my pants all day long anyways. So as Mary and I were standing on the beach, a few yards from the swim start I decided to warm myself off by taking a leak...it must be absolutely fascinating for a non-racer (spectator) to just see a grown man peeing himself with a big old smile on his face..or at least I think it would be fascinating to watch..but then again I am kind of weird. After I relieved myself we walked through the swim start to engage the timing chip, once through that we had the whole shore to our disposal. I proceeded to jump around for the next 5 minutes attempting to warm my body up...it didn't work all that well. Then the worst part. I had to ditch my hat, my shirt, my gloves, and lastly my slippers...it was now go time! As I made my way to the front line, a little to the right of the first buoy (banking on the current taking me to the left the whole time) Mary and I happened upon Adam a QT2 athlete who was starting his first ironman, its always nice to see a familiar face when you are surrounded by 2,500 other people. At 7AM the cannon blew and we were off. The water brought a welcome warmth to my body as it was significantly warmer than the air. The swim was taken in 4 segments, the first segment was the swim out to the first buoy. It was a fight against the current which was pulling left and their were some pretty decent waves as well. It made for a fun battle and really didn't allow for any time to think about your stroke. It was just swim swim swim and try and not get nailed by a competitor. As weird as some people may think..especially those who have done IMLP, I took more hits here than in Placid, probably because of the waves and current. After the first buoy (which I dove under and around) it was a short straight line towards the way back to shore...this was quick because the waves were going that exact direction...then after the turn it was just swim as hard as you can back to shore. This part was aided by the current and waves and they were flowing in the general direction of land. It was also on this segment of the first loop where the back of my wetsuit broke. The zipper was toast and I could feel some nice cool water on my skin, but most of all I could feel the top of it rubbing against my next (I have a nice little spot on my neck which resembles that of a HICKY right now..to bad its not a HICKY, hmm..I might just tell people it is so maybe the ladies think I have some game. Yes, that is what I will do. Anyways, the benefit of the buoyancy from the wetsuit outweighed the other option of stripping after the first loop. I ran out of the water, onto the beach, grabbed a swig of water, looked at my watch..smiled, and the proceeded to face plant into the sand as another dude forced me into a little sand wall that had been created by the tide..no worries though I bounced up quickly and made it look as smooth as possible..you know like I meant to do it..haha! After that I did about 50 dolphin dives to get out to deep enough water where I could begin to get some benefit by actually swimming. The rest of the swim was just the same as the first loop..my wetsuit was bugging me but that was the only negative. Other than that I really enjoyed seeing some sea life on the ocean floor in the shallow waters...whats the use of swimming in the ocean if you don't take some time to enjoy the scenery! (I saw 3 horseshoe crabs in case you were wondering). During the swim I thought to myself, hmm...I am pretty warm I don't think I will need an extra layer on the bike..I am soooo GLAD I did not go with this notion.

T1-Bike

The wetsuit was stripped off and I headed to the indoor transition, my bag was given right to me and the nice transition people, good bless them, just dumped it in front of me and were at my service...literally doing everything I asked except appealing the cream to my private area. (I don't know why by the term grundle seems applicable here..haha that sounds funny when I say it...grundle..just say it and you will laugh. I don't even know if this term is horrendously offense or not..if it is I apologize) The bike was freaking freezing for about the first 2 hours and then didn't get much warmer than mildly comfortable. It was also pretty windy. No excuses though, a tail wind for the final 11 miles or so pushed the mph average up so I was happy for that. The bike was overall uneventful. The turn around out and back half way was super bumpy for about 5-6 miles..like really bumpy, every 2 seconds it was another bump, I wouldn't say the road was super bad but its just that after 50+ miles in the saddle already a few hundred thumps just isn't the most fun thing to have. But overall nothing horrible...I did almost see one guy yard sale when his front tire caught in a rut, but somehow he managed to steady his steed and keep riding..I didn't see to many of the bike peletons that I heard about from others, yes a couple passed me but not that many. At one point Andy Salmon (QT2 athlete) rolled by me around mile 15 or so..he was in the zone, I wanted to follow but I knew such a move was not in my cards and would ultimately leave me crying on the side of the road somewhere in the fetal position. Once I hit mile 80 it was go time though. I bumped the watts up ~10 and was trying to make up some time that the cold and wind may have taken away from me. Let me state that I wasn't being superman by any means but I was riding at a little higher tempo. I got to see my mom outside our hotel on the way back as well as Curt and Luc Eggers..always great to see familiar faces when racing. I was feeling really good, really high spirits.

T2-Run

I got off the bike and tip toed to T2. I am not an accomplished dismounter of the bike with no cleats yet, this is something I will work on next year. Trying this for the first time in and IM event is not the correct place and would probably have left me with some open wounds and a mangled bike. T2 went pretty good overall, the volunteers were again like little angels sent from heaven. The only dump move I made was forgetting to take off the Mellow Johnys Bike jersey I wore because of the cold (thankfully I packed this! The arm warmers would not have been enough. Next year I will be packing a really good base layer to put on over my tri top after the swim to help warm me back up and keep the core temp up, I think the cold might have dropped my heart rate on the bike to a lower than normal level..but whatever I will look at that later..REMEMBER NO EXCUSES ON RACE DAY..IT IS WHAT IT IS...SUCK IT UP AND DEAL) So after I remembered this I took it off and chucked it at a nice little girl who was like "WTF is this idiot doing" I told her my number was #190 and thanked her. Truthfully I didn't expect to see the jersey ever again, nor would I have cared...but the little angel stuck it in my bag and it was there for me when I picked it up. The first mile was good, 7:20, exactly as planned..then the next mile sucked. I just couldn't keep the pace. I ended up pulling over and taking a leak while I walked..gross right? Not really when you think about the dude that pooped himself..I didn't see this but it was all over ST that some guy had done some work in his white pants and was leaving behind a nasty smell as he ran his marathon...After that the next ~5 miles were good, or something like that. Clipping off ~7:30's and feeling the way I thought I should feel based on training, etc. This didn't last long though, for some reason the giddy up wasn't their, I suppose the wind on the bike took more out of me than I thought..maybe? None the less I kept eating, kept drinking and made my way around the first loop and into the second, thinking back I really am angry I couldn't get myself to push to another level, this is something I need to work on going forward..yes I was hurting but everyone else was too. I knew this! and I knew this going into the race but still there are times when you think..damn I didn't execute as planned. I had kept this mindset for the majority of the day but at the end of the run when I think about I let it slip. When I check my watch with 6 miles to go I knew that sub 10 was pretty much out the window unless I decided to morph into Ryan Hall for 10 minutes and make up 2 miles. So the last 6 miles I am angry at myself because I didn't floor it. I didn't make myself go beyond the wall, I ran hard the last mile but the damage was already done..the damage was done at mile 10 when the legs weren't firing at sub 7 pace. So be it! It's over now, and I have gained valuable knowledge about myself and where I need to place focus on..both mentally and physically. As I entered the finishing shoot I had the whole thing to myself as I was in no-mans land for the last 1.5 miles. I saw my mom and dad, high fived my dad, and crossed the finish line smiling....little did I know that I was smiling for the camera as it was being streamed over the internet. Glad I wasn't being grumpy or obscene. HAHA. I put my arm around the nice lady that gave me my medal, thanked her, collected my t-shirt and hat and made my way to the food tent for a cold coke and banana. I felt pretty good all things considered. What does this mean? I didn't go hard enough, I want to cross the line in a haze where they have to cart me off to the med tent..haha (I bet coaches love to hear that right?) Anyways, I found my parents again, gave them a hug and proceeded to get my dry clothes bag since I was already getting cold from no longer running.

And that was that. I got my bike and took it to the Ironman bike store (best $175 dollars I ever spent, they took my box and built my bike on Thursday, had it built and tuned in 3 hours, picked up and test rode it, raced on it, and then gave it back to them after I finished and they proceeded to re-box it for me all I have to do it take it to the airport and check it in...it was great!!!) picked up my Transition bag (aka T-bags, hehe). I then caught up with the Eggers and found Mary after she finished.

PS: I went to McDonalds for breakfast today and on my coffee cup they had the monopoly peel off sticker game, and I won! I won a free small fry. Looks like I know where lunch is going to be today!!! Then I am thinking maybe another meatball sub from subway for dinner..I've really developed a craving for those, haha! I am going to enjoy some tasty foods for a couple more days and then once I get back on the wagon I am going to stay their! I've got a lot of work to in 2011 but I've got everything in place to get me where I need to be. One year from now I will be back here in Panama City recovering from IM #3. I can't wait to look back and see what 2011 was like.

Scarf time -

2010-11-06T21:36:00.001-04:00

MEATBALL SUB WITH PROVOLONE AND LARGE WENDY'S FRY!

The Tortoise and the Hare

2010-11-05T13:36:00.002-04:00

A hare one day made himself merry over the slow pace of the tortoise, vainly boasting of his own great speed in running.

The tortoise smiled at the hare and replied, "Let us try a race. We shall run from here to the pond and the fox out yonder shall be the judge."

The hare agreed and away they started together. True to his boasting the hare was out of sight in a moment.

The tortoise jogged along with a slow, steady pace, straight towards end of the course. Full of sport, the hare first outran the tortoise, then intentionally fell behind chuckling at the tortoise all the while.

Having come nearly to the goal, the hare began to nibble at the young plants. After a while, the day being warm, he lay down for a nap, saying: "The tortoise is behind me now. If he should go by, I can easily enough catch up."

When the hare awoke, the tortoise was not in sight. Running as fast as he could, the hare found the fox congratulating the tortoise at the finish line.

I always liked Turtles, ever since the days of TMNT on Saturday morning cartoons and my 2 pet turtles as a kid.

Don't lose sight of the goal, don't stop until the work is done. DO YOUR JOB!

Greetings from the Pan-Handle

2010-11-05T11:37:00.002-04:00

Hi everybody!

Just in case your were wondering....the mustache is in full effect and seems to be growing just fine. If you look close enough at my face now you can actually tell that something is there...something strangely red colored, but its there. (My mom has red hair and strangely the only signs of her genetics that shows on me is in my beard...weird!)

So Panama City Beach is pretty legit. Its offseason here so all the cool shops and stuff are closed, and so is the dune buggy track, but that also means that everything is pretty wide open. Meaning all the restaurants are crowded, the beach is all MINE!, the ocean is all mine!, the rooms are $50 bucks a night...the rooms are $50 bucks a night...did I tell you how much my room was? Haha, it just makes it a ton more affordable than say IMLP. Its at the end of the season which is perfect for me since the summer and fall are the best times for me in terms of having time off from work. So yeah I am really liking it here..who knows maybe I will sign up on Sunday, we will just have to see!

I also have an amazing view of the ocean right from my 7th floor room, it really is quite nice and provides an amazing venue for watching sunsets. I think the best part of this whole trip is the vacation time I am going to have on Sunday and Monday...all day to just CHILL, sit on the beach and soak up the sun...with the real world as far out of my mind as possible!

Well, thats a little taste of what its like here. I had a HUGE breakfast and the waffle house, have been munching on pretzels and stuff this morning, am going to have subway for lunch, and then a light dinner around 3-4ish. In between lunch and dinner I will drop my bike off at transition. Then after dinner it's back to the hotel to plant myself in my bed, watch Toy Story 3, catch a nap, wait for the arrival of my parents, and then sleep as much as possible before a 3:30am wake up call.

Tomorrow is race day..I get to race on FLAT LAND all day..and race with a whole bunch of my friends who are down here. It's amazing that you can be so far from home yet know so many people, that's the beauty of this sport!

It's going to be a great day!!!

-Turbeau

It's Still Growing

2010-11-03T08:29:00.004-04:00

Movember, Day 3. The mustache is now taking shape and looking forward to the warm sun and sandy beaches that Panama City Beach will bring.

Remember, here is where you can donate to my face! My MoSpace, Donate Here

An updated picture will be posted as soon as I get out of work tonight!

Movember Day 2

2010-11-02T08:03:00.005-04:00

In case you forgot here is my MoSpace where you can donated money to the fight against Prostate cancer and check in on my mustache and how it is taking shape on my face. --> http://us.movember.com/mospace/855948/

Here it is after 1 day..pretty snazy huh?

After one day the total amount donated is a whopping $75 dollars thanks to my Sister and Parents, now that the family has kicked it off let see who else wants to join in. Every dollar contributed goes to a truly worthy cause and gives me more and more motivation to make this mustache spectacular on behalf of everyone!

If you have any styling suggestions please do comment.

Bonus Turbeau points if you can guess where this photo was taken?

Happy Movember Everyone!

2010-11-01T08:56:00.002-04:00

I've donated my face to Movember and the fight against cancer, pls give so it may grow: http://us.movember.com/mospace/855948/

Keep the donations coming and the stache will stay, no matter how funny I look!

Here is a blast from the past. A blog I posted just about 1 year ago :

As the month of November begins, let us take a moment to reflect on the beauty that is "Movember." I am extremely jealous of the people who can observe Movember. I did not take the opportunity in college to do this and I seriously regret it. If you are not familiar with Movember let me clue you in on what its all about. First of all check out the main Movember website http://ex.movember.com/. Basically Movember is a month to grow out a mustache and raise money for charity. How cool is that. I would be looked down upon at my job if I decided to do this at my level..I could probably get away with it since its for charity and everything but I just don't want to deal with the comments and everything from co-workers, it would be REALLY annoying..so I will hold off for now..but one of these years I am going to begin the tradition of Movember and rock my mustache for charity with some serious pride and who knows the mustache might just remain on me for good...I mean just look at some of the best mustache's their have ever been...these guys really knew how to rock them with style! As a note I must say that by no means am I advocating what these men did in their lives (i.e. Adolf) I am purely displaying various men who wore mustache's and wore them quite well...whether they looked hideous or extremely manly.

In no particular order..feel free to comment on their overall ranking or included ones that I missed because there are a ton and I just don't have the time to think of all of them:

1. Steve Prefontaine - It's been said that Pre's Mustache had aerodynamic qualities that allowed him to run at the speed he did. His stache also made a great place to hide a little snack so during his run he wouldn't even have to reach into his pocket for nutrition. Pre was certainly ahead of his time in many many ways!

2. Mark Spitz

3. Michael Phelps

4. Rollie Fingers - What can you say? Rollie's mustache is a piece of artwork. How intimidating of a pitched must he have been..I mean to stroll out to the mound, knowing you were rocking the coolest facial hair in the stadium..HUGE confidence booster IMO.

5. Tom Sellek - Can't knock it...

6. Hitler -Bad dude with a weird stache. He rocked it with confidence....even though he had issues.

7. Matthew McConaughey - Umm...McConaughey, he's buddies with Lance so that makes him cool in my book, even though he has a tendancy to not on t-shirts and never leave the beach...wait a minute, thats freaking awesome. And he lives out of a airstream trailer! I take back anything bad I ever said, the dudes living an awesome life and making big bucks doing it...im jealous! He should grow this stache back!

8. The Beetles - The Beetles were gods. Still today they take on the giant that is Apple, still demonstrating that they have the type of mojo that comes along with sporting a mustache.

9. Ron Burgandy - Burgandy had to be in here...how could you leave him out? A man that can tell a whole city to 4 letter word itself should definitely be wearing a mustache.

10. Mel Gibson - No Mel!! Absolutely NOT!

New Additions: Thanks to CJ

Bert Reynolds:

The Hulkster aka Thunderlips if your familiar with Rocky III, which I just happened to watch yesterday.

It's A me...Mario!

Happy Movember Everyone!

2010-11-01T08:56:00.000-04:00

T-minus 6 Days Until Liftoff

2010-10-31T12:51:00.006-04:00

Ironman Florida is right around the corner. Next week at this time I will be laid out on the sandy beaches of Panama City with a bag full of pretzel m&m's. The race is next Saturday and I can honestly say that I am starting to get very excited. Over the past year many hours have been logged in preparation, and I wouldn't trade those hours for anything in the world. Sure many of those hours hurt (physically and mentally) but they were hours spent doing something that I am so totally and fully obsessed with. It would probably take me a long time to reflect on the countless memories made over the past year so I will just mention those that immediately come to mind. Things like going over to Corona's house last November for the first time and riding my bike on the trainer for three hours (my longest trainer ride ever), spending the early hours of the holidays on my bike or running before the rest of the family got up to celebrate Christmas and Thanksgiving, hitting the roads in the dark desolate months of January and February for an early morning run..through the snow and frigid temperatures, waving to my brother and law as he snow blew the driveway as I was circling the neighborhood with frozen fuel belt bottles in tow, waking up at 3am to start a 6 hour bike ride with Corona,

yardsaling across train tracks with Corona at hour 5 of a 6 hour ride,

swimming alone in Mirror Lake in the beginning of June and thinking about halfway through the swim that this is kind of eery..and wondering if their were any big lake monsters beneath me, the early morning spent at countless Starbucks..the calm before the storm, my morning coffee which always puts me in a good mood regardless of the situation, the train this camp when I finally ran 3 miles off the bike 4 weeks out from LP, the QT2 came in Vermont where I began to see what an absolute machine they were...It was here that I met some really really awesome people that allowed me to enter their circle without the slightest hesitation..and I must say that not only were these people super nice they are all also super FAST! I am really excited and honored that I am going to have the chance to work with and be a part of the 2011 QT2 team..2010 was awesome and 2011 is going to keep the good times rolling by taking me to new places...I vividly remember showing up at the Vermont camp really knowing only one person (Pat) who hadn't yet arrived..so me being me I was anxious to do something and meet people. So of course when Tim Snow asked if anyone wanted to head out for a ride I was on my bike and down the road before he could clip in. I have to really thank Tim for not dropping me like a bad habit on that 2 hour ride because I think I still would be lost and looking for my way home today if I had not been able to keep him in sight. In the end the ride was so totally worth it, it rained a little bit and took me on some really beautiful roads, then just as we were approaching the road on the way back to the house a BIG double rainbow appeared behind us. Luckily Tim was looking back to make sure I hadn't died or anything and he saw it and pointed it out to me..it was really cool, maybe a sign of good things to come for us all in the future!

Hey, you have to be optimistic right? Then their was IMLP of course..a totally amazing experience, looking out from the swim start at the thousands of spectators brought only the though of "I'm in a little fishbowl" to my mind. Coming into town for the first time on my bike brings chills to my body just thinking about the vibe that I got from it all..people always told me it was like you were on the tour de france and they weren't lying..it was electric. And then of course crossing the finish line, knowing that I know had 140.6 miles on my legs and that I could take on anything. It was pretty cool. There were also countless rides with Don and Chris my Rochester riding buddies. Don in particular has been so so nice to me, allowing me to invade his home on countless early mornings. He lives in such a great spot that allows us to quickly get on the country roads and make a quick transition into running around the beautiful Mendon Ponds. There was the race down in Texas last April where I got to experience the Ironman atmosphere for the first time, meet Chris Lieto in person!

and even collect some hardware at my first M dot event!!! I couldn't have asked for a better first experience..I was spoiled. There was also the time I ran the Mini-mussel sprint triathlon in only a speedo..yes I saw in a speedo, road a bike in my speedo, and ran in my speedo..it was definitely a strange sight to see. However this mini-mussel might have been the most fun I ever had on the run because I came off the bike right with the second place guy in my AG. As I caught up with him leaving T2 he ran with me for about a half a mile, during this time we had caught up to the first place guy at the time who had laid down a pretty stellar swim, so then it was just me and him..and the half mile point he began to fade and I never looked back (literally I was superstitious) I even remember seeing Pat Wheeler on the run course and could see the shock in his eyes when he and his wife laid eyes on a pasty white kid wearing only a speedo racing down the lakeshore towards the finish line..it was quite the sight to see. And now here in the lead up to IMFL I have had a couple huge training days in the cold windy northern weather. Riding for hours at a time and then jumping off the bike to run faster than I ever have before.

The big dance is coming soon...very soon...I need to get some good sleep this week and eat good food and not worry about anything else. At this point I have done all I can and it doesn't matter "what I didn't do" because the end result is that I am very close to making it to the start line and that's what matters. I can't wait to put my toes into the gulf of mexico and churn up the water with reckless disregard, I want to go fast but I want to be consistent..I want a great day but I don't want to crap the bed, I want to make people proud and validate my training hours...but I know that's not the correct thinking because basing a whole year of training, friendships and adventures on one single day..on 10+ hours is not fair to me or the people around me. Win, lose of DNF I am going to give it my all, hold nothing back, and hope for the best. Regardless of the outcome I am going to have an absolute blast racing with my friends in Florida next weekend.

ITS GOING TO BE A HECK OF A DAY!

-Turbeau

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 is coming soon!

2010-10-30T18:23:00.002-04:00

I scarred myself just like Harry in preparation for this latest release...

naw just kidding I got this scar earlier this year when I was changing my pedals for the first time and decided to punch my front rings

Full speed ahead

2010-10-30T14:02:00.000-04:00

I don't run to win races or prove my fitness, I run because I can. It's a privilege to be able to move my body in such a manner. I run and bike and swim because for me their is no better satisfaction than that which is born from ones own accomplishments. The energy generated from self improvement cannot be replicated. This stuff might not be for everyone and that I understand...but the lesson is universal. Whatever inspires you should be taken on at full speed, hold nothing back and attack it with everything you have. No regrets, no excuses...it is what it is and be thankful that at least your in the mix.

2010-10-28T13:22:00.001-04:00

If it comes easy, if it doesn't require extraordinary effort, you're not pushing hard enough; it's supposed to hurt like hell. ~Dean K.

This, That, and everything in between

2010-10-20T12:52:00.003-04:00

Just finished lunch here at work and had a few free minutes so I figured I would at least try to get something up here on the blog. I've realized that writing things for my blog really relaxes me and just genuinely makes me feel good. With that said I have not been posting much lately and I can definitely tell that I have lost a piece of me that I really quite enjoy. This is not to say that things haven't been going well in my life lately, because frankly they have been going pretty good.

Training in preparation for Ironman Florida was rocking and rolling up until this past Sunday when my body told me that I had used it to the max and that it was time to start recovering..time to ditch the fatigue. Prior to Sunday I have been very very happy with the way my training has gone. Unlike the leadup to Lake Placid I am currently running pain free and have been doing so since late June. Instead of my long run of 8 miles before Placid I have had multiple weeks where my run mileage is up in the 30's. No its not the huge number that some athletes put up, but I am not a season veteran with marathon hardened legs. I am still in my rookie year and have only one marathon to my credit. However, the legs have been feeling pretty good. I partially attribute that to some of the trail running that I did in Aug/Sept. Every Wednesday night in Aug and Sept I ran with some friends out in Mendon Ponds, where the trails are beautiful and the terrain is hilly. Putting on 12-13 miles on a Wednesday evening after having swam for an hour in the morning is a good day's training for someone like me who has to sit at a desk from 8:30-5:30. So with several of those weeks plus last months trainin which included some 5-6 hour rides with hard running right off the bike I feel like I am in as good a place as I can be at the moment. More speed and endurance will come as the years tick by but for now I am happy with the improvement and gains that I have achieved this year. Whether I have a good or bad day down in Florida it really doesn't matter. I am not going to let one day tarnish the past year. I have made to many friends and begun to many relationships for one bad day to cast a gloomy cloud over the whole thing. With that said...I am 100% confident that Nov 6th is going to be a great day. I am going to be racing in warm weather (a welcome change from the fall weather that is coming in the Northeast), I will be playing in the great wide ocean (no crazy mass start with 3000 people on top of each other), racing with friends, ang GOING FAST. I am going to stick to my plan BUT I am going to race...I am going to race IMFL and give it my best and see what happens. If I come up short..well at least I know that I pushed it to the red-line. I felt that I left a lot on the table in LP because of the circumstances. I raced smart in LP and came out on the other side smiling and injury free. But FL is the season ender..I want a fun race but I also want to know that it was my best effort at the level I am currently at. I can't wait to tackle this one!

Hmmm..what else has been going on?

I did a little 10 mile race on Saturday and had an extremely good time. Ran the race with negative split miles the whole way (or just about). Started out around 6:45'ish for the first 6 and then dropped it a bit at the end...ya know just for fun. This race wasn't about red-lining and taking home the championship. It was about making sure I could hit my paces and feel that they were easily obtainable...mission accomplished.

I also had my first real track workout last week. It was on Thursday morning in the wee hours of the morning. Me, myself, and I made our way to the Brighton highschool track before dawn and began to circle the rubber path. I had 5 by 1 mile repeats. I have never had the chance to do this workout and I must say I really enjoyed it. In one hour I ran about 9 miles or so and 5 of those miles were fast! They were fast but they weren't throw up fast, which is a good thing. Throw up fast will come..and most likely come when I have some training partners to push me. But they were fast enough for me to feel really good about where my fitness is..and doing them solo in the darkness and being done before 7am..well it just really makes you feel like you accomplished something. I highly reccommend this workout to all people..you don't have to be a triathlete to go out and run!

One other thing thats on my mind...my long lost London friends have begun to reunite. Thanks to the great CJ McCarthy from Boston, an email thread has been created and many memories from 5 years ago have been ressurected. Yes folks, it is almost the 5 year anniversary of when your's truly graced Great Britain with his presence. Many great moments occured during my time in the Queens country. Laughs, falls, cries, more laughs, beers, kavanaughs, bouncers, creepy british dudes, etc etc...I could really go on and on about this all. In fact I should try to recreate my London nights in new posts. I saw in my friends emails that some had kept a London journal. Unforuntely I did not keep such a thing..I was to busy being the freaking man. Anyway, maybe I can try to write some posts as if they were from the great year of 2006..back when it was cool to be a Mess of a College kid, roaming the streets of London and having an absolute ball....

AHHH memories!

and yeah..I used to be a good time (Believe it or not) I think my Mom has stopped following my blog so I will put this pic up for old times sake. If your reading this Mom..well I guess its to late..hahaha

Kona RaceWeekend

2010-10-08T05:41:00.002-04:00

This is Triathlon's biggest weekend of the year. Kona is packed with fit triathletes who are chomping at the bit to hear that cannon blast on Saturday morning. Last year was the first time that I was really excited for this race. Previously I had never followed it and had only seen maybe bits and pieces of it on NBC's broadcast..but that is basically a guess because I couldn't even tell you if I had or not with 100% certainty. This year is totally different on many levels. Besides the fact that I have begun to race these types of races and these distances I have also made many friends actually have the opportunity to race in Kona on Saturday. These guys and girls are all phenomenal triathletes and just really great people overall. I have been lucky to become friends with them over the past year.

So Good Luck Everyone!

Triathletes and Social Networking via the Internet

2010-10-03T18:20:00.002-04:00

If you haven't been living off the grid for the past few years you are well aware of the Social Networks that have been created for the Internet. Such networks that have taken off are Facebook, Twitter and for the sake of triathlon I will throw in here Slowtwitch. For the normal citizen these networks provide a platform to post pictures, random comments, connect long lost friends, and much much more. However, I have concluded that social networking via the Internet is rampant in the triathlon community. How so? Well let me just say this. A dedicated triathlete (one competing in many sprint and olympic distances races per year or ones training for 70.3's and fulls) basically trains their butt of year round with the exception of a few well planned rest periods. However, for the majority of their year they train 6-7 days a week and anywhere from 5-25 hours for amatuers, and up to..Idk..I'll just throw a guess out their 30-40 hours for pros, could be less could be more depending on who you choose. Anyways, I believe that social networking on the internet is the sole connection that many triathletes have to their friends. Instead of triathletes going out to the bars or to restaurants or to movies they go with their friends and ride bikes, swim, or run for extended periods of time. But think about this, how much do you really talk to your buddies during training? If you answer this with "Ahh quite often when were riding long we have nice chats" THEN YOU ARE NOT TRAINING HARD ENOUGH BUDDY! Ha..just kidding. Easy rides where the riders can hold a conversation are great but frankly they are few and far between. In the water? Not a chance, who is going to stop at the middle of a lake and start chatting. Running?...same thing as biking, don't chit chat unless its a recovery run or else you need to speed up slacker. So this brings me to my main point. Without social networks on the internet triathletes would be hopelessly out of touch with their friends, family, and the rest of the world. Thankfully, when the long training is done for the day we can put on our compression socks in the safety of our homes where no one can see us being DB's, throw on some ice, put our feet up and start blogging away, or tweeting, or posting on facebook. I blatantly use all these forms of networking and I can honestly say I couldn't be happier. I enjoy telling people unimportant things that I am doing like...going to get dinner, or shaving my legs while listening to ABBA gold, or changing my rear tire naked..I mean who doesn't want to know these things?

So to facebook and twitter, and ST, and even back in the day AOL IM..I salute you for corrupting our society including myself. You let me know that someone sharted themselves on a training ride, or that someone is getting married, or that someone is now "Single". These things do mean a lot to me. When someone has a funny moment that is captured on camera I damn well want to see it immediately. Thankfully you all allow for this to come true.

It it wasn't for all these wonderful networks, we would all be holed up little triathlete hermits who spend a ton of time together but have no actual dialogue.

With that said...I'm now going to get dinner...at chipotle I think, your jealous I know it!

Triathlon for Dummies

2010-09-26T20:17:00.002-04:00

The question that most every triathlete, and even more so every Ironman get is "Why do you do it?" Honestly, any person who has accomplished a feat such as the Ironman could list a thousand reasons WHY. I think the fact of the matter is that triathlon presents the opportunity for someone to really define themselves. In each respective professional sport the top athletes are usually the ones that were naturally blessed with their abilities. Yes, hard work and determination in about 90% of the cases take these athletes to the next level, however the fact remains that most top pro's were born with some uncanny ability to hit a 95mph fastball, hit a 380 yard drive (straight), run a 4.25 40 (in football cleats), sink an NBA range 3 pointer (in game situations at 45%), drive a car at 200mph around an oval track (and not crash). But I don't know, these sports just seem like they are now at a level where some sort of natural gift has to be bestowed upon you in order to succeed. I know I am exaggerating but the point I am trying to make is that triathlon in my case, and in probably many many others has allowed me to conjure up something inside myself that I knew was there but never really dug into. Sure there were indicators that something along the lines of endurance athletics might be a good fit for me. Like the fact that I always liked the sports and athletic activities that just wore on. The thing that appealed to me about these was the fact that many people would just quit and give up. But anyway, I am kind of getting off track of answering the WHY.

To make an explanation that could fill a novel short I will say that triathlon engages strikes the right cords in my brain. The feeling that I have after I blitz my legs on my bike and finish it off with a run is fantastic. Yeah, it can hurt like hell but the self satisfaction that I feel is like none other. I never ever have felt that sort of satisfaction before I started doing endurance type stuff. I loved football, basketball, and baseball growing up but I never got the chills that I get from finishing a workout. Yes, I said a workout. It can be the most sissy recovery workout in the world but I still get a kick out of it. And the tougher the days are the more I get out of them.

Ok, I finally remembered what engaged this blog idea in my head. It was this...I swim, bike, and run more miles that most people cover on a summer vacation because I truly enjoy building the engine that is my body. I am 5'8'' and around 150 pounds and the only thing that matters in triathlon is how long it takes me (in my case I will use the IM standards) to cover 70.3 or 140.6 miles. I do not need a stomach that looks like it was sculpted out of marble in ancient greece. I don't need to be 6 feet tall. I do not need to be able to run a 4 minute mile or a 2:15 marathon, or bike like Lance Armstrong (although it would help), or swim like Michael Phelps. I just need to do all those things to the best of my ability because truly this sport is as individual as it gets. Sure you can train with people, and the fact that the triathlon community is so great is def a reason why I love this sport...but the fact is, when you want to get work done YOU DO IT ON YOUR WON. Only you can make yourself push harder when you don't feel like it or when you don't think you can because your darn legs feel like they are going to fall off. In the lead up to IM events there is a damn fine line between overdoing and undergoing. If you go either way you can come up short of your expectations. So yeah, I love this sport because it gives me the power. Only I....Only me can make myself get up and go swim/bike/or run. In more short relationship with Ironman I can tell that it rewards those who put in the time. Any avg joe can kick out a decent sprint or Oly race, and I am not knocking them because these races in themselves pose different challenges. They are speed based. They require a certain balls to the wall attitude if I may say so myself. So I guess what I meant by my prior comment that anyone can do them is that anyone can really jump into one of these races and finish in a respectable time and finish looking "good". I don't think that can be said about IM distances. They require a willingness to truly suffer. Suffer not from redlining but suffer because you've just been out in the sun for to dang long, or suffer because your mind is just not their, suffer from the 25 hr week you put in. I just absolutely love that I am in total control of my destiny and come race day no one else is there to coax you through it. When the cannon blasts its you and the course. The training has been completed by then. The only question that remains is "Was it enough? To much?" and the sole indicator of that is what the TIMEX reads when you Mike Riley calls your name.

I guess if you don't get jazzed up about a 5-6 hr bike ride in crappy conditions in the middle of March then maybe this sport isn't for you. But the fact that I love doing this and the fact that I have some amazing friendships because they like doing that to is something unique. I understand that some people like success in the form of promotions at work or other forms but for this guy I get SO much out of seeing what I can do. And to test myself I do it swimming, biking and running. It's not for everyone, and for those that its not for, well I suggest you do some local sprint tri's...you'll get some great exercise :) But for those people who live and breath triathlon..those people that have made it their lifestyle..I will say that I GET YOU! I understand why. It is something that no job can give. It's something that no motivation speech can provide. If their was only some way I could bottle up the feeling I get from this I could sell it and be a MILLIONAIRE..or just use it when I am feeling down, either way.

Welp, I am going to go back to what I was doing when this blog idea came to me....which was lying in my bed trying to fall asleep. Personally I struggle getting to sleep after a big training day. Logically you would think that a bunch of exercise at high intensity would create an intense desire for the body to just go BLAH..and fall asleep but for me I can't shut it down without a fight. But I going to keep battling and at least get my feet up. 5:45 is going to come early tomorrow morning. But the fact that I am getting up to go hang out with a bunch of nutters like myself at the pool makes it oh so much easier.

Kim Ammon, this is a test to see if you read my blog. You better be there in the morning! Travis Earley, I am also testing you. Are you planning on running this week on Wed. I know your beginning the Chi town marry lead up so I just wanted to check. Please submit responses in the comments section of this blog post. :) Otherwise I will just email you later this week, hahaha.

Until next time my friends.

-Turbo

M&M's

2010-09-25T19:52:00.002-04:00

My lack of having anything good to write about is really bugging me. Right now when I think about something to write about all that comes to mind is that I have found a new addiction...Pretzel M&M's. I have been listening to the Jay and Silent Bob get old podcast lately and Kevin Smith keeps talking about how he just houses like bags and bags of these things. Since he is an overweight gentleman this makes sense. However his persistent chatter about these delightful candies have created a subconscious need for myself to enjoy them as well, I hope that the M&M (Mars Corp) people are paying him handsomely. So anywho...pretzel M&M's and some greek yogurt..it really doesn't get much better than that.

Normality Returns?

2010-09-24T10:04:00.002-04:00

A lot has been going on lately. The busy summer season esentially ended with the Cuse 70.3 this past weekend. Since then I have regained some semblance of normality. This week has esentially been a reintroduction into the ironman training load. Normally I might take the whole week off to rest and recover but instead I only took Monday off and jumped right back into training on Tuesday. To my surprise things are going quite well and the body feels just fine. Let's hope that I can keep this up over the next 5 weeks as the lead up to IMFL gains speed.

I don't have much time right now so I can't say all the things I want to say but this weekend I should have some time. I've been very negligent in my blogging over the past couple of months but as with most people its because I've simply been bouncing around from here and there..and a good deal of recovery was sprinkled in and at that point I didn't really feel like mentally exerting myself.

Anyways, I will get back on track. I hope that my followers will continue to keep tabs on me as I make my way towards IMFL. This race is becoming very significant to me and I really can't wait to tackle the beast. All the support that my friends, family, and followers give me is really awesome and I appreciate every single bit. Logging the training hours and staying focused is always helped when people are keeping and eye on you and checking up. It gives me something to think about...I want to make you all proud.

Dear Trek & KSWISS

2010-09-22T21:28:00.002-04:00

Hi Trek and KSWISS,

I just wanted to throw out a random thought to both of you. I really enjoy both of your companies products. In fact I probably spent over 3/4 of my annual salary on just products from you guys. I'm just saying that I think I would be a good ambassador of your product. I will be at IMFL in November and will gladly wear/ride anything that you would be willing to provide me...and even if you don't I will still be wearing and riding your products. But it would be pretty sweet to have you guys on my side.

So let me know, I'll be here in Upstate New York just chilling and getting ready for FL.

Thanks!

-Turbo

2010-09-15T23:34:00.002-04:00

“You cannot propel yourself forward by patting yourself on the back.”

"Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated failures. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent" Calvin Coolidge

"Cassidy early on understood that a true runner ran even when he didn't
feel like it, and raced when he was supposed to, without excuses and
with nothing held back. He ran to win , would die in the process if
necessary, and was unimpressed by those who disavowed such a base
motivation. You are not allowed to renounce that you have never possessed, he
thought." (Quenton Cassidy - 'Once a Runner')

No Shortcuts

2010-09-05T09:39:00.006-04:00

...when the lights are bright and you've finally made it up the hill. River road is but a distant though...you did't cut any corners, you made your way over 140 miles and you know get to cross the line in front of the cheering masses. Enjoy it because you earned it.

Maybe it was the generation I grew up in, but I remember when I was in school (Middle, High and College) I was always hesitant to take on the really challenging classes or projects. I don't know why this was, maybe "fear of the unknown" or fear of the work that it would entail based purely off of what someone else had said or experienced. The funny thing is that when I look back at this I also can tell you that in every situation I ever put myself into I succeeded. I vividly remember my 7th grade Social Studies class. Before the beginning of the year when I had not yet met the teacher, everyone who had been taught by her before said "good luck" because she was supposedly tough. The same can be said about a teacher in high school that I had. Well the moral of the story is that in both cases I went on to having wonderful experiences with these teachers. In fact in both cases I ended up winning a scholastic award at the end of the year for "student of the year" in their respective classes. (History, and Psychology). Weird huh? I guess the lesson I should have taken from this a long time ago was to never put to much stock into what someone else says. Every person has their own experiences and their own likes/dislikes. Just because it didn't work out for them doesn't mean it won't work out for you. Because I mean in both cases with these teachers it was seriously like, "Oh you have her for History...ut oh, that's going to be a rough year"...and in both cases I did extremely well and had a great year. I think that a lot of people including myself take comfort in going into something with your guns loaded, knowing that you are going to be able to accomplish something. But where is the fun in that? If you know that you are going to be able to do something before you even do it then where is the challenge? In my personal life I think I fell into the comfort zone much to often when I was in school. At the time it made sense to me. I had a high GPA in both high school and college, grades weren't an issue...but at the same time I was playing a lot of sports and thus in order from overloading my system I usually opted to just take the easy way out and do the mandatory courses...you know nothing crazy like molecular biology...in order to keep my life in balance and make sure I could get all my work done and still for example play college baseball which is extremely time consuming, even at the D3 level. (As a side note I must say that I regret straying away from my love of History. I loved history in school and I think I would have made a darn good History teacher or archeologist, or something along those lines. But I fell into the trap of "Teachers don't make that much, etc etc"...but the fact is that I could care less known..back then I didn't feel this way, but now...well I guess its like they say "If we only knew then what we know now") Anyway, here I am on my journey. Regardless of where I have been this is where I am now and I can only blaze new path's from here.

"Be comfortable in a state of discomfort"

So what I am getting at is that all to often people want to be comfortable, myself included. I think that people want a certain level of "I know I can do that" before they start something. I know in my professional career I feel this all the time. When I get asked to take on a project that I have no clue about it gives me a really rotten feeling. I hate not knowing how to accomplish something right at the moment. But it is these instances where exponential growth can be achieved. I am trying hard in my own life to realize this "in the moment". If I can consciously realize that these instances of insecurity are really opportunities from growth, then I can take them on with an open mind and a real eagerness to succeed. This scenario is really one of the crutches I live with. However, I know that it is a shortcoming and it is one that I hope to correct. In regardless to the sport of triathlon, which is why you all are reading my blog right? I think this scenario hits home in quite a large way. The sport of triathlon and in particular the longer events 1/2 and full ironman events require and extreme amount of dedication. This dedication allows for athletes to train for months and months for 1 special day. During all this training their are frequently days when the training just seems hard. Going into a long ride you know that you are going to suffer. But the thing is..."who care's if you don't exactly hit your goal wattage or your goal time" in the end its just another training day and you are going to be better for just going out. I feel like I myself psych myself out a lot. I will go into a workout thinking about how hard it is going to be to do something and it takes me a while...maybe even until after the workout to realize how much I gained from it...even if I didn't hit my goals. And I think this relates to another post I wrote a long time ago when I said that it really doesn't matter if you hit your training or racing goals every time. I say this because I feel that if every time you meet or exceed your goals then you are not setting the bar high enough. You really do have to fail at something before you know how good or how far you truly can go. So that's the trick for me...making myself believe that each time I swim, bike, or run that I am bettering myself even if it doesn't go as planned.

What kind of spurred me on to this post was not taking any shortcuts in life. Taking the easy way out is exactly as it sounds..its easy. Its the sissy's way of going through life. You might not ever fail but you also will never truly succeed. This goes hand in hand with when someone will tell you (a triathlete) that they (a civilian) could never do an ironman, let alone a half ironman. Well to them I say (and this probably goes against many coaching philosophies)...just sign up for one. Sign up for one that it at least a half to full year in the future. This will provide you with the carrot to chase. All you have to do then is train..and push yourself to places that are uncomfortable. There is

Triathlete and the sport of triathlon is about being comfortable in a state of discomfort. If one can be happy when they are in pain than they have a significantly greater chance of performing better than the pure bred athlete who winces at discomfort or adversity. If you give me that choice of taking an athlete who can run a stand alone 16 min 5k, 58 minute 40k TT, or 21 minute 1 mile OW swim but who hates digging deep or the athlete who is much slower (not much but more avg 20 min 5k, 1:10 40k and 26 min mile) in all three but has a true passion for just being out in the sport, I would say that when race day comes at the Ironman distance that when all things considered the avg athlete probably has a better chance of succeeding then the faster athlete. I truly believe this because in Ironman racing, perfect race days are few and far between. Not counting the personal battles with GI, nutrition, injuries, etc one of the main tenants to triathletes not hitting their goals or not finishing is the weather...the course conditions. Like for example, people on Slowtwitch will frequently ask "what is the fastest IM course in the US". Many will quickly respond with Florida...and then as they get to the harder ones they will mention IMLP and IMSG...that kind of thing. But really when you think about it time is all relative. And this is precisely why qualifying for Kona is a one day thing. In order to qualify for Kona you can't just go to a race and hit a time and then go to Kona. Its not like the Boston marathon where you just have to meet a time requirement. And this to me is the beauty of triathlon. Success is derived from being able to deal with whatever is thrown at you. Its not just about being able to swim, bike, and run. Its about being able to play mind games with yourself and not let the games over take you. Its about tricking your mind and body into doing something that it hasn't done. Each person lives in a state of homeostasis and in that state everything is peachy. The biggest hurdle that I foresee for myself is changing my homeostasis. If I can change my comfort level to one that tolerates more pain that I have become faster without even running a 5k faster. Why? Well if I can mentally deal with things going wrong I am going to be able to prevent a lapse in concentration. When the stud runner falls of the wagon at mile 18-24 and their min/mil goes in the crapper, the slower and much steadier athlete who is following their plan and knows their limits could possibly catch the much faster runner...even if that faster runner throws down a 7 min mile pace between 24-26.2. At that point the damage has been done, when concentration lapses problems can arise. So idk if that makes much sense, I was kind of jumping around. But I think that the MAIN THEME here is that being comfortable in a state of discomfort is one of the main tenants of success. Through this the relative "comfort level" increases, and on race day you want to predominantly be "comfortable" and only want to enter the realm of discomfort when the race is nearing its end. So to make a long-winded confusing post much more simplistic I will end with saying that their are no shortcuts in life. In order to succeed at work you need to be willing to take on tasks that make you feel stressed. If you can deal with the stress and fight through it you will improve yourself and your bosses will take notice and subsequently you will succeed in that line of work. Likewise in triathlon if you can deal with failing to meet goals, having off-races, getting out to train even when you know that pain will be coming..in the end you are going to be a better athlete and a better person. Just don't play games with yourself. Don't trick yourself into thinking you are faster than you really are. If you are constantly missing your targets this to can become a source of problems. Be optimistically realistic, if that makes sense. Set goals that are big, yet not to big. If you say you want to have a sub 11 ironman when you know physically that your best individual time trials set you up for a 12 hour day...well maybe you need to re-evaluate for the time being. I am not saying that down the road you won't be sub 11 or even sub 10 but for the time being I think that being realistic on race day is going to keep you on the level. You are going to be able to race your race and race within yourself. Thus, come time to cross the line you will be happy and not disappointed. Then when you go into your next training block you can go in with a positive attitude instead of one that is consumed with revenge. Because in the end you can only race as fast as your body will take you. Even the world champ Craig Alexander says that yes he has won 2 world championships in a row but that he can be faster. In essence he is saying that on the days when he won he essentially just beat the field. He may or may have not hit his potential but on that day he crossed the line first...thus he still has a drive for improvement. He still believes that he is faster..and when you are as fast as he is already you definitely cannot take shortcuts! Just think about how many races he has done. Imagine having raced as much as he has and then setting a PR! Now that would be one to celebrate. So train hard and train smart and really take stock of your situation. I have found that the road to improving in this sport (even in my short time) is pretty darn tough. But when the training pays off come race day the benefits that are reaped are truly astounding. There really is no better feeling than the one you can get when you cross the finish line knowing that it all paid off.

You get out what you put in.

2010-09-04T08:02:00.002-04:00

How's training going? Are you keeping up with your workouts, eating right, getting enough sleep? I guess we will all know come race day whether you've been a good tri guy/gal.

Your not getting rid of me that easily

2010-08-29T08:42:00.004-04:00

Written on Sunday morning of this past weekend but delayed finishing it until Wednesday morning....my bad

It's been a while since I wrote down something on here. But here I am, eating fig newtons, drinking coffee and getting ready to go on a nice run. All the while I am looking out from my parents porch at the beautiful lake that is Keuka.

Things have been going reasonable well lately, which is nice. Work is busy but not overwhelming. I usually have a full days worth of projects or tasks so that keeps the day moving along. I have also began to get back to the heavier training hours. Nothing quite over 12 hours per week yet but they are slowly creeping back up again. Yesterday brought the first 3 hour ride I have seen since IMLP. I headed out with Don, Chris, and K as we circled Honeoye Lake. A couple tempo intervals of 20 minutes were thrown in their as well. It ended up being a beautiful morning ride. The only kind of bad news on the biking forefront is that my nice Aeolus wheels are in the shop because they need some new spokes. This is a bummer because my powermeter is installed in that wheelset, which means that I am unable to train with power for a while. This is not a big deal at all but its just something that bugs me. For now I will just go by feel during my tempo intervals and such....and hopefully in a few days I will have a power meter solution. I am most likely going to sell my powertap unit, have the aeolus's built back to their original state, and aquire a Quarq power meter that will reside in the crank of my bike. Their is also news on the sale of my previous Trek TTX tri bike as someone is looking at it and may be interested in being its new owner. I am not trying to make a huge sum of money off this I am just trying to find it a nice home in the area. I really don't want to have to deal with shipping it to all ends of the states. With that said if anyone reading this is interested in the bike or know someone that is interested please let me know. Turbo could use some cash flow to allow for these power meter transactions that are amiss.

Well those were a few scattered thoughts that crossed my mind as I began the post. Now lets try to get some form of semblance with this entry. I will start out by making a list of the key things that are up in the life of Turbo Curbeau:
1. Training volume is increasing, things are starting to feel good
2. I have begun to add a weekly trail run into my plan. This is good, I will talk more about this over the next few weeks. I really get a kick out of trail running. It kicks my butt and I get to run with faster people which is exactly what I need!
3. A new eating plan has been established for Turbo and he's doing a pretty good job sticking to the plan.
4. Chasing Legends, the movie about team HTC and the 2009 Tour de France played in Pittsford this past week and Turbo along with some TT peeps and other various endurance athletes from Rochester go out to see it.
5. My family from Japan arrived in the states and are spending the weekend in Penn Yan.

In more detail:
1. Like I said in the first part of the post. The training volume is increasing and I am liking this. However, I am being more conscious of my energy levels and resting when I need to instead od pushing through it and ending up injured or something. When you think about it a workout is as good as you make it. If you slack off and have a poor workout that will reflect in the next workout and the next race. Subsequently by training when you are unable to give it your best effort becomes detrimental to your overall plan. When tiredness strikes maybe the best training plan is to have no traning planned..think about that one. To get faster maybe one needs to slow down, instead of increasing maybe decreasing the hours is what is required, the old one step forward two steps back saying. So with that said I am really trying to make every workout count at this point. I still have plenty of time to buld my endurance base back up to LP level so I am not worried about packing on tremendous hours, If I train less but with more intensity..all the better. I am young and have a lot in front of me and the only thing that can stop my progression is injury...Mary and I have a big day planned for November 6th! ...and I just found out that IMFL is on a Saturday and I am staying until Thursday which means I am going to have Sunday and Monday to relax on the beach and chill before I have to fly home!!! SWWEEET!

2. Trail running is my new little secret. Travis has led me to the trails of Mendon Ponds and I must say that they sure kick my butt. I really do enjoy the trails, they provide such a different workout than running on roads yields. The legs are usually shelled about 10 minutes into the run but I think I am going to be 100 times better for it come the next two races which end with very flat run courses. and...I can't not say how awesome it is to run with people who are MUCH better runners than you. You only get better by training up! EASY DAYS EASY...but the HARD DAYS ARE HARD...(Today, which is Wednesday is a hard day. I have a big pool workout that I will be heading to shortly along with trail running tonight. It's my mid week build day. Then its a slow taper to Saturday. :)

3. Turbo is eating better...weigh's more...but is eating better, now all thats left is to see what kind of performance follows.

4. Chasing Legends is a great documentary about the 2009 Tour with team HTC. The only bad news on this front is that Towpath already sold out of DVD's so I have been forced to wait until they restock, hopefully soon!

5. The family from Japan is in with their 3 kids. On Sunday afternoon just about my whole family was at my parents new cottage. 23 people were there! Including a TON of little kids under the age of 9. Chaos!! haha, but very fun to see everyone. My super sister-in-law Sakiko (former World Class Biathlete from Japan) even gave me a massage and acupuncture session after my long run. Boy if I could get that after every big workout, that'd be soooo cool! I have some pictures of when the needles were in my legs so when I get them back I will post them up here.

Hittin' the Trails

2010-08-19T12:20:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was my biggest training day yet since Placid. I hit the pool at Midtown around 6am and got about 3000 yards in. Ultra Adam and Coach Mary showed up about a 1/4 of the way through my workout. Having them in the next lane made the swim go by nice and quickly. I think of all the sports that swimming is the one where I really really like having people around. Their doesn't have to be any conversation at all over an hours time but its just the fact that they keep going and that keeps you going which makes it so much better than swimming repetative laps alone. Idk if that came out real confusing or not but the point is...that it was nice to have some company. The rest of the day went pretty much as usual. Headed back to the apartment and put on my Work "Kit" (Shirt, Tie, Slacks, Shoes..etc..), went to Wegmans, spent to much on food for the day their (I ended up going back at night for a salad...I hate my myself for living so close to so many Wegmans), did work all day, and then at 5:30 I raced to Mendon Ponds to meet Wonderboy Travis Earley for a little 10k through the Mendon Pond trails. This was really my first time every truly trail running. I have done the Mendon Duathlon Loop a few times but that crosses some roads and its not all that trail running'ish. So it was nice of Travis and his running buddies to let me tag along. I had a blast running up and down the hills. The pace was more or less conversational but towards the end the combination of my legs being drilled from the hills and the pace picking up a tad..I was getting pretty winded. I really hadn't felt that "worked" in a while during a training run. I have to say that trail running is quite literally a breath of fresh air. Getting out into the woods truly has a calming affect over me.

I also would like to add that the swimming and running yesterday definitely took a bit out of me as my 1hr bike ride today had my legs feeling shelled. Looks like things are beginning to get serious again.

How to Sabotage your Race Day

2010-08-16T05:38:00.009-04:00

This just popped into my head and I wanted to put it in my blog for all of you to digest. The following things are overrated in my opinion:
-Working in an Office that is not in your living room
-Shaving
-Putting on dress clothes with a tie
Why? Because I am lazy and I would much rather mosy on over to my desk next to my lazy boy recliner, with a three day beard and in my nice sweat pants and t-shirt. It would just take all the hassle out of the getting dressed and driving through commuter traffic thing. Plus I wouldn't have to mess with tying a tie..that literally takes me 10 minutes and I have to put it on my training peaks schedule because it is so time consuming...Good grief! hahahaha

This weekend I had the opportunity to race in beautiful Cazenovia, NY. I had not planned to do this race, nor race this soon after IMLP. (Mistake #1). The race was on a Sunday so I took the chance to make a weekend out of the deal and headed to Syracuse really really early to ride the 70.3 course with Don, Chris, and Ken. (Mistake #2) Not a mistake to ride with these dudes but a mistake to go out and ride my longest ride post IMLP (53 miles) with a lot of hills, the day before a race (even if it was just a sprint) but the race was a training race and I am getting back into training mode so I knew what I was getting into..I just didn't really expect my legs to feel that sore. After the ride I had a few hours to kill as I was going to be heading to Mr. Cusetri himself's house for the night, but I wasn't heading there until around 5PM and our ride ended at like 11AM...you do the math. And mistake #3 was that during all of Saturday I didn't really get any rest. I am not capable of taking naps. I just can't do them. I try and try and try but I simply cannot take a nap during the middle of the day. Even if I was up the entire 2 days previous if it is 2pm on a Saturday and I have nothing to do but sit and rest..I still can't nap. It's werid. But anyways, what this means is that I was up all day until like 10:30 or something after getting up at 4am in the morning and going to bed at 11pm the night before. Thus I had a lack of sleep. And finally mistake #4 was that as I sat waiting for the swim start I just had a bad feeling in my body. I was just not with it. Usually I am Mr Energy but I simply was flat. Usually all these indicators would have told me that maybe this wasn't going to be my day and I should resort to my original plan which was to watch the race. But no I was there to get some work in and get some work in I did! After my worst swim ever which had me hyperventalating, throwing my arms around like they were rocks (yes, literally my arms wouldn't move), and had episodes of stopping and bobbing in the water wondering what the heck was going on...I finally made it back to the beach after what seemed to be a few hours. I was exhausted, something was off, I didn't even high five my dad when I ran to transition, he was like 5 feet to my right at one point but that was just to far to move in the state I was in. I tried to get going on the bike right out of transition but it was uphill and not conducive to a good bike start when your all messed up after a swim. So after a really nice volunteer offered to push me I gave her a mumble and was like i'll take care of it..stupid move, I spent the next 20 seconds going back and forth on the dang hill trying hopelessly to clip my right cleat into the pedal. Normally this is the sort of thing I do without looking at my feet but on Sunday I had no coorindation going. None the less I continued on my adventure. The bike was nasty. Very hilly and very very windy with a couple decents that ended with turns which I heard caused many a triathlete to almost lose it into the field that was beyond the curve. I limped in off the bike and did what I could on the run. It was officially the weirdest day of triathlon I have ever had. I do not write this for sympathy, I simply write this because I want to acknowledge the fact that yes the Ironman does take a lot out of you whether you know it. Did I shock my body when I sprinted at the start of the swim. Sure...that'd be my guess. Did my body do the smart thing and shut down? Yes, I believe I did. Did my head agree with the bodies decision? Absolutely not. So sure Ironman you put a scare into me and taught me a lesson but I gained a mental edge on you today! I will adhere to your recovery protocol and respect your challenges...but be warned. I am coming for round 2 as a stronger triathlete...mentally and physically!

But their is a silver lining in this all. Even on the rough days when you set your PW's (Personal Worst's) you can still really learn something about yourself and really get some great mental training out of the situation. Yes, I had a terrible swim. I had to stop and collect myself and then make the choice to keep going. Sure it wasn't going to be at my normal pace but I made the choice to get back to the beach and take it from there. After slogging through a very short swim I was able to take my time in T1 and get on the bike. Once on the bike with high gusty winds I faced more challenges. Like what the heck am I doing out here. None the less the day went on, I got off my bike, was able to run a few people down, and ended up 10th overall. So ya cry me a river right? I am whining and complaining about finishing 10th, but that's just how it is now. At a smaller local race like this I as well as my teammates have certain expectations. We train our butts of for a reason and on race day we like to execute. Unfortunately you can execute everything perfect all the time.

Here I am on my way to beat down Corona with my STICK. This is my way of thanking him for getting me to come to this race :)

Yey, a downhill finally!

Come on Turbo you can do it...it took me about 5 tries to clip in.

ouch, that hurt!

The first real weekend back at it....All3Sports and Kswiss chatter PLUS White Hot! & an elephant???

2010-08-14T11:35:00.014-04:00

Here I am once again in Syracuse, beginning the first build stage as I gear up for Ironman Florida in November. But not to get to ahead of myself I have come to Syracuse to do some recon on the Cuse 70.3 bike course. But first I have a couple things I need to get down and put in the blog because they are at the forefront of my brain at the moment.

1. All3Sports - You guys are awesome! I recently purchased a pair of the Bont Sub 9 triathlon cycling shoes. I was beyond excited to receive these this week. I had been kind of reluctant to purchase more bike shoes because over the past few months I purchased not 1 new pair but 3. 1 pair was a Shimano set that just didn't work for triathlon. At about hour 3 my feet would begin to absolutely scream with pain. There was something that really put pressure on the top of my foot. I thought it might just be a break in period thing but I wore them for three 6+ hour rides and they just weren't cutting it. Thus I have been left with semi-worn shoes I won't use. They are for sale if you would like them. They are the 2009 Boa style cycling shoes in size 44 (us10). Anyways, after I used those I realized that I should just stick with what I had been using, which were DMT Radials. (Just like the one's Lieto rocks) All I needed was to just get a different size since it seems my foot has begun to flatten out or something over the past year. Also my feet have been constantly a little swollen these past few months just due to the injury I suffered..so anyways I just needed a different size to make myself feel better. I ended up getting another pair of white DMT radials, and at this point I should have been good to go but leave it to the internet to show me a pair of GREEN DMT radials (the exact pair I wear) that could only be purchased in Europe of GB. Soooo me being me I just had to have these to match my Train This gear and my bike..it took me literally 5 minutes via a google search to find a bike store in Virginia that had received a shipment of these green DMT's back in May. I took a shot and called them to see if they had any in the size I was looking for. It turns out they did and next thing I know I am throwing down my card to order them. They arrived and I quickly put them to use. I even wore them at IMLP. I love these guys. So now I have a pair of white DMT's that are basically on ice. I wore them once but other than that they have just been sitting comfortably. This brings me to buying the Bont's. Being a tri-aholic, I love everything triathlon and a good marketing campaign will have me buying a product in no time. Just look at what Trek did to me! So anyway I ordered these guys up and went to my new friend Jim Cornell's house. This guys is a serious engineer and former world class speed skater. He has been using Bont equipment for a long time and he even has his own homemade compression machine that helps you fit your shoes to an unprecedented level. So we began the heating and molding process but to our disappointment when we went to screw in the cleats the screws just wouldn't thread. It appears that the piece that anchors the screw on the bottom of the cleat was spinning along with the screw (it should not). We tried a couple things to fix them but nothing seemed to work. I ended up going on my way, a little disappointed by not overly. I knew I still had my DMT's. Finally, I called All3Sports today and talked to a wonderful woman who was really nice about the whole thing. I told her I am not usually a fussy customer who returns everything but she said that it was no problem and that I should be concerned about this because I paid over $300 for a pair of shoes...so in short she was completely understanding. She even said that she would send me a return label on Monday when their UPS system is up and running. So now I don't have to pay for return shipping. The end game is that I am going to get store credit because for now I am just going to stick with my DMT's. They are nice and I like them and I have other things I "need" for my triathlon lifestyle. I guess this was a good reminder that I didn't really need new shoes. Someday I might give the Bont's another chance but for now I am holding true to my DMT Radials...that is until Lieto goes with someone else, then i might consider a change :) haha. So in summary THANK YOU ALL3SPORTS you guys are awesome and you will continue to have my business! I hope that others that read my blog will also give them a shot. :)

2. I must say that WHITE HOT as they call him has been chosen by KWSISS to be a sponsored athlete. All I can say is that he deserve's it. The man works his butt off! He has gone from a crazy first IM in Florida a couple years ago where his run took longer than his bike to a 2x Kona qualifer who is this year looking to stand atop his AG podium. My bet is that he fullfills his goal. The guy is the real deal. He is a 6'5'' 200 something pound monster who crushes the bike, has a very solid run, and who is now getting serious about the swim. Professional athlete's WATCH OUT. WHITE HOT is coming and he is going to be ready to to rock! SOOOOOO i say this because I am very very jealous of him now. Jealous of his triathlon accomplishments but also jealous because he has a KSWISS sponsorship now! KSWISS and Trek are pretty much my idols in the triathlon world in terms of retailers right now. In fact I have sent my resume to both of them just to see if I'd get any responses to work in their Finance department, or even their on the road marketing team. Yes to very different fields but If I must tell the truth, my love is in advertising, marketing, and selling. I love to create and interact with people. And more importantly I love to talk about the things that are near and dear to me. The things that I have a passion for...like triathlon. Thus, I love Kswiss. I run in their K-Ruuz for OLY and sprint distances and I just purchased their blade light run's (which came yesterday). The blade lights really look promising as they are light, sturdy, and have excellent drainage (something that comes in handy when you are dumping waters all over yourself and peeing in your pants as well...ewww gross! But if you are fast enough you can earn the right to pee yourself...or if your just that tough! Haha)
Well then, congrats White Hot! If you someday feel the need to be nice to a fellow triathlete named Turbo and hook him up with some gear, well I would be forever grateful :)

Now that I have updated you on the two things that were on my mind when I began this post (Subsequent things have filled my small brain), lets get to the details of the day that has been. Even though it is 12:30 I have been up since 4:15 so I have had a full day already and will be in search of a nap shortly.

To start off I must say that the Cuse 70.3 course is quite interesting. You end up spinning for a good hour at the beginning since their are just so many hills. Kinda cool really, it should really make for a fun race next month. The hills should really have a Darwinistic effect of "natural selection" during this race since even though the hills may not effect the hammerhead because its only 56 miles, it will certainly come back to bite them on the run. I truly feel that this is the case even though its only 13.1 miles compared too 26.2. Even with the run being a 1/2 marathon that is essentially a net downhill I have to imagine that hitting the hills on the bike course early will end up using a lot more energy than many will think. It's just that they are so darn consistent. I honestly think that the first hour of this course is like ascending to the top of the LP keene decent about twice over with no downhills. With that said I look forward to the challenge. I look forward to figuring out a good plan that will allow me to be as fast as possible on the bike and also allow me to rip off a good run showing. I hope to be able to ride this course again before the race in November. I'm going to get surgical with this! BUT more important the Cuse 70.3 bike course has quite the scenery. With rolling hills, corn that is 8 foot tall, roadkill, run-down houses, lakes....and ELEPHANTS! Yes, you read that last line correctly, I said that I saw an elephant on my bike ride today in Central New York. This was no ordinary elephant either. It was a great Syracusian humpback white tusk'd Elephant. I have never seen one of these in the wild, in fact I thought that they had been extinct since the ice age. However, to my great surprise Chris, Don, Ken and I happened upon one of these magnificent creatures today. As soon as I saw the beast I knew I had to get a closer look. This was just one opportunity that doesn't come along to much. So here is how I approached the big guy...
I made my way across the great plains (a 3 mile run in bike shoes) remembering to adhere to proper elephant approaching protocol in order to ensure that my safety would not be compromised.

And here I am speaking with Jennifer. Yes, the great beast was but a 20 something year old girl. She was as nice as could be, even offering me some of her drinking water that she was slurping up in the field. I declined as I had just drank from my waterbottle but none the less it was a kind gesture from Jenny.

Jennifer explained to me that she was a great supporter of athletics even though she was not able to participate. You see Jenny was raised by humans. Jenny had come to America by boat when she was only but a young girl. When she arrived she was shocked to learn that the whole Dumbo story was made up. This was a huge let down for Jenny as she had really been hoping to meet up with Dumbo find the eternal happiness that she had heard America would bring. After a few years of wondering the Western states of Washington, Montana, and Utah (Utah didn't go to well for Jenny, the whole Mormon this was just to weird for her)...anyways she ended up taking up residence at the age of 12 in Boulder, Colorado. It was here that Jennifer first witnessed humans doing something so extraordinary that even she, a great big elephant, was truly impressed. What she had seen was tiny humans doing extraordinary feats in pools, on bikes, and on the snowy trails. Yes, you guessed it, Jennifer had encountered her first triathletes. With great wonder and awe Jennifer began to research the sport at the local Boulder library. Since she was so large the nice librarian made extra large copies of the books that she wanted to read. It was quite nice. Jennifer and the librarian ended up spending a lot of time together as Jennifer read every piece of literature ever published about Triathlon. So as the years went by Jennifer began attending many M DOT sponsored events, becoming somewhat of an icon. You haven't heard of her? It's probably because Jennifer likes to keep a low profile. That is why she has rarely ever been seen in person, and this is why Don, Chris, Ken and I were so lucky to see her. And I was even luckier to be able to have a chat with her. Anyways, Jennifer went on to explain that she had been in Lake Placid watching the IM last month and she had heard about another race in September that was in the nearby city of Syracuse. Thus, she made her way down to the area which explains why were had the chance to meet her. We chatted some more about the latest tri gear, and the upcoming world championships in Kona. After about 15 minutes we said goodbye and went out separate ways. She promised that she would be watching the race in September but one truly knows if she will or not. She is a deceptive creature who really has never settled down for long. Either way I will be thinking about her when I ride that course on Sept 19th, and it is my hope that I also see her down in Florida this November. Rumor has it she likes the beaches! I did get her email address so I will be able to try and see if she will write me back. If I hear from her again I will be sure to let you all know.

Welp that was the highlight of the bike ride today. I am now at Wegmans eating a nice 6 dollar meal consisting of 1 chicken breast with 2 sides of broccoli..what a steal. I will now continue to roam the internet and read my triathlon literature.

Here's your sign...How you know that Triathlon is your life.

2010-08-13T05:00:00.001-04:00

1. You wake up earlier than farmers.
2. You've exercised more from 4am-6am on Monday than most people will the during the entire week.
3. You don't have cable but you can quote any line from any television show that has ever aired thanks to box set dvd collections.
4. During the winter months a bike hooked up to a trainer is considered part of your living room furniture collection.
5. You color coordination of cycling kits has spilled over into your everyday work apparel. Co-workers are starting to talk based on your lime green and livestrong yellow dress pants you keep wearing on casual friday.
6. You no longer own any designer sunglasses. When the sun is out you are rocking Oakley M Frames, Radar's, or Jawbones regardless of the occasion.
7. Your diet is well for the lack of better words...weird. You basically consider gel's as their own food group.
8. Your the exception if at least 3 bikes are not currently residing in your house/garage.
9. You've read more blogs in the past week than you have books in your entire life.
10. You can include the words "butt cream" in a sentence at any time in any situation without snickering.
11. You have a better relationship with your online friends than any real ones that you may still have.
12. Peeing yourself?...not an issue.
13. You've conversed more with ST'ers today than you have your wife/children/parents...like 10x more.
14. You've sold all your furniture, tv's, and gaming systems in your apartment to pay for more bikes.
15. Your garage has never housed your car.
16. Next year's family vacation always depends on whether your qualified for Kona or not.
17. You worry more about your bike fit more than your retirement plan.
18. You have at least 10 pairs of running shoes at various levels of wear strewn across your house at all times.
19. Your have more bikes than you do pieces of furniture in your living room.
20. You pack the same amount of stuff for a two day weekend trips as you do for a 2 week vacation.
21. Some weekends you will eat more Powerbar supplements than you will actual real food.
22. You compulsively buy Triathlete magazine when in Barnes and Noble regardless of if any of the articles interest you.
23. Your car is most likely a full of empty water bottles, random wrappers, and an immense load of bicycle junk at all times.
24. You have either slept or napped in your car for more than 1 hour on numerous occasions.
25. You attend more summer "camps" now than you did when you were a teenager.
26. Shaving your legs is fun...for both men and women.
27. Men shave their legs predominately because they look so awesome, and make their finely sculpted calves really POP. Although the will tell you it is to protect from road rash and that it feels so darn cool in the water (which are all reasonable answers)
28. You frequently drive 45 minutes to the lake to get in a 30 minute swim.
29. If a dunkin donuts is not open at 5am you will burst into a fit of rage.
30. You've had more meaningful conversations with your internet tri friends about bowl movements and urination than you have had meaningful conversations about your children with your spouse in the past month.
31. Work is purely a means to pay for new running shoes, tires, wheels, and bikes.

Please do feel free to contribute to the list as this will continue on and on.

Ironman Lifestyle and the Eternal Flame

2010-08-12T04:27:00.005-04:00

THE ETERNAL FLAME

Corona, Me, Mary & Ken

So, you've signed up to do an Ironman. Do you think you are Iron enough? 140.6 miles is not that bad, you are an athelete...right? Wrong! God given natural ability to excel at certain things are given to the lucky few. Look at Tiger in his prime (just don't look at him in his current state) and Michael Jordan. Both ended up being great at their respective sports of choice. One was a natural born athlete who was gifted the ability to hit a golfball with the accuracy and strength reminiscent of Robin of Locksley. The other became arguably the greatest basketball player to ever step on the court, but you could say that this players talent did not come so easy at the beginning. My point that is in both cases Tiger and Michael became the predominant athletes in their chosen sport. Tiger started with some gifts and natural abilities that were unlike those before him. Tiger was taking down skilled professionals at a ridiculous age. Just look at those videos of him playing golf with his father when he was about 4 years old. He hits the ball, and scores better than I ever will. Michael started basketball by being immediately cut from his high school basketball team. Mind you his team might have been pretty talented but still, he was CUT. He was not good enough to play high school basketball. Well this lit a fire in Michael and the rest is as they say "History". In both cases each athlete achieved other worldly success and this success was achieved because they wanted it! Both athletes were willing to work harder than the rest. But why were they able to put in the training hours, swing the clubs 1000 more times, shoot the ball 1000 more times? I have to believe it is because they had a fire in their belly that could not be extinguished. It was more than a spark that just lights up real bright and burns out, it was an everlasting flame like the one that burns at President Kennedy's grave. It will always be with them, just look at Jordan. He can't put together a good basketball team to save his life, why? I think because he believes he can still hand them all an ass whooping and that is a bit of an ego trip when your scouting for talent...but that's just me. Anyways, each of these athletes had and have the personality traits that allowed them to become great at their chosen profession. One had natural talent, one did not. Both ended up on the Mt. Rushmore of their respective sports.

Corona - AKA Cusetri

Why do I make this comparison? I make it because when you think about this, it relates really well to the triathlon lifestyle, and in particular the Ironman events (70.3 and 140.6). In each events naturally gifted athletes and "grinders" for the lack of a better word participate together, virtually at the same level. Endurance becomes the great divider. Endurance? Yes, Endurance! Endurance because it not only comes into play during the race but it comes into play each and every day the athlete wakes up. In the sense that a half or full ironman takes endurance is easy to see. An athlete can be awesome at an individual event (ie swimming, biking, or running) but the winner is the one that can be the most consistent. The athlete that can not slow down the most is the one that will come in first. Thus, the great equalizer to pure-bred talent becomes who can go the longest without breaking down, who can take on the most pain and flush it away, who can keep one foot in front of the other, who's using their head? Endurance also comes into play EVERY SINGLE DAY, not just race day. I would wager to bet that an elite cross country champ in College who only trains when he feels like it, or rely's solely on his past abilities would get dusted by the AG'er who dropped 80 lbs in his mid-thirties and has been bitten by the triathlon bug that all he does is eat, sleep, and drink triathlon. I'd take the AG'er anyday! Why? Because he has that eternal flame now. It may have taken him a while to figure out "what the heartburn was" (silly analogy I know, but I thought it was good) but now he realizes that all along he was made for this sport. That's the beauty of triathlon. It's not about how good you were, how tall you are, how small you are, how much you weigh (just look at White Hot), or what you have done in the past (again look at White Hot, he got chicked by my Coach and everyone else in the known world at his first IM...and umm yeah he has gone on to qualify twice in the 2 subsequent years and throw down bike splits that would make Craig Alexander and most of the other pro's drool). ENDURANCE is sooo freaking key. Endurance is about waking up before work to get your training in. It's about being internally motivated to WANT TO get up at 4:30 AM on a cold wintery day in January while living in upstate NY. You know that you won't be riding outside, and you know that its going to be a long 3 hour ride on the trainer...along...with no music or tv...BUT YOU DO IT BECAUSE you are driven by yourself. For whatever reason it is what makes you happy. Many a 12-15 hour Ironman will be happy going through the motions during these days. They will fool themselves by slogging through a crappy workout, or even just skipping a few. But the one's that go into the 11'2, the 10's, the 8's...they are the one's that wake up with a gosh darn smile on their face chomping at the bit to get started. Without a thought to the insanity, they will get up at 3:30AM to go on a 6 hour ride just to make it home so that they can be with their family. And they do it because they need to suppress that eternal flame that is burning so steadily within them. Triathletes are like crack addict's...they are always finding ways to get their fix.

So...I ask again, Are you Iron enough? Are you willing to wake up to early to do a workout that seems to be to much? Are you willing to suck it up and change how you eat? Are you willing to go to bed early instead of watching tv? Are you willing to give up some nightlife for extra sleep? Will your social circle clash with your triathlon circle? Do you have to many external factors in your life? I say this because getting into the Ironman lifestyle is not a decision that can be taken lightly. I did...however, I am 24 yrs old with no responsibilities. And even so I have faced many a challenge this past year. Many times I thought "how the hell can I get everything in"..."am I really going to be ready"..."damn I hate being injured"...being injured was the WORST...definitely the worst! Luckily for me (as with some other good people I have come across this past year) I/We have this eternal flame. I enjoy early mornings and getting the work in. I don't do it because I have to...I do it because if I didn't do it I would lose my freaking mind. Jordan Rapp, and my friend Kim Ammon said it best to succeed in longevity and basically to succeed in general in the sport of triathlon a really good mindset is; "I Race to Train". Just think about that one. Think about all the friendships that you have developed through triathlon, even through online forums (ie slowtwitch). Its incredible when I think about how my life has changed over the past year. ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE. I have gone from nagging my current coach via email to take me on to one of her clients who she will be racing with at IMFL. It will be my 2nd and her 6th (I believe). And just think..last year I had only done the Musselman and Keuka triathlons at this point. What a difference a year can make! But I say that with a word of caution. Be careful what you wish for! If your not dead set on triathlon I highly advise you to take stock in what you are willing to sacrifice. Are you shooting for a sub 12 hour time? Are you being realistic with your expectations? I have read a lot about being realistic with your expectations in magazines/books and the general consensus, which I agree with , is that you need to be realistic. If you are realistic than you will never suffer the extreme lows of missing your goal by a mile, or exceeding your goal by 50%. Instead you will steadily improve and soon enough you'll be on the podium..ITS ENDURANCE PEOPLE! Never get to high, never get to low...the energy spent at each is to great and could be better used in your middle ground.

Did I scare you? I know I scared myself. I realize that I am still a fresh triathlete with big eyes towards the sport. I get giddy when pro athletes are around me. I get giddy when I go to a race..I get giddy when I go to train, I can't sleep the night before a long workout because I am so excited, I get giddy when writing blogs like this at 4:30am because its like adding kerosene to my eternal flame...I've found something that I love so darn much that its just incredible. My mom and dad of course understood this the second I started but where you can really start to see my dedication and love take hold is when I talk to my cousins, and aunts, and uncles, and brothers and sisters..and they are all starting to talk tri with me. They who have never been interested in the sport are starting to follow me and that I take as an extreme compliment because it shows that I have stuck with something long enough to gain their respect. I think that they have begun to respect my determination and my drive...and most importantly my love for the sport(s). Now all I have to do is keep this up for another 50-60 years and I might have a a Kona shot :)

So please don't hate on my if i have angered you with this post. I only want to advise the people that "want in" that the Ironman is a big big challenge. Sure it can look easy on race day..or it may not (haha) but the fact is..the people that succeed are the ones that bust it every day. They bust it by taking the EASY DAYS EASY and the hard days hard. They bust it by keeping their endurance up..sure they might have to miss a workout because of family, sickness, pool's closed, work..but their consistency is paramount. No matter what they will keep coming back undeterred.

Jim Cornell and Mary Eggers (Jim is scoping LP out for next year!)

Thus, I challenge you all to make me believe your an Ironman. Shove it in my face that you have the guts to do it! To train, to sacrifice, to have an immense amount of fun along the way. 8 months ago Mike, Don, Chris, Ken, Mary, Kim, Travis, Jochen, Matt K (I've actually got a special blog about you in the near future, you've got a special place in my career), and sooo many more...you all probably thought I was a complete idiot (you probably still do) but I hope that over the past 8-10 months you've seen that regardless of my newbie-ness that I am here to stay. I love this stuff and I want to keep doing it over and over again. I'm the real deal in the sense that triathlon isn't just something I am willy nilly doing. Even if I came into it willy nilly. I have completed an Ironman so I can say that I have seen the outer lining of what the sport demands. I say the outer lining because I believe I am only touching the surface of what is to come. Just like the rest of you I want more and I believe that I have the determination and willpower to keep going. The best part of this is that you all (those I listed and the many more like Joe, Josh, Mike N., Scott L., Jay, etc...) are now on my side. You guys provide me with so much damn motivation its crazy. I look forward to training and talking with you all so much. I'm invested in this sport and with no regrets. I can't wait to train more, race more, and meet new people like Jim Cornell who is going to help me mold my new bike shoes with his high tech shoe molding air sucking machine made for speed skates..don't ask...its legit....and he's legit too! A professional level speed skater who does triathlon. He is fast! Unfortunately I have yet to see his blaze in a race because he had an unfortunate training accident this spring. However, I have fortunately come into his acquaintance and will not hopefully have the chance to train with him. Only way to get better is to train with the BETTER! :) So its stuff like that which keep me rolling along. It's the fact that I got up at 4:15 today to drink coffee and think about if I had anything good to write about. I have missed writing a good long blog post because to me it is a detox. It's a cleansing..it gets things off my mind and lets me relax..it also helps me get ready to train, which by the way I need to do RIGHT NOW. I have a big 30 min core and 30 min swim this morning..haha...BIG! I'm def itching to get back to the longer stuff but I know that all in good time. I've come to a point where I know rest and recovery is paramount. That's why I am going to bed at about 7 every night I can, that's why I am fighting extremely hard to get my eating under control. I have miles to put on these legs, pounds to drop, endurance to gain, friendships to gain/strengthen, blogs to post, learning to be achieved and work, time to shed off my race times.....I've got all of these things....I've got a couple months to put them together for a great end of the season....THEN I have a lifetime to keep at them. I am not just in it for the short term. Whether you like me or not, whether you think I am obnoxious, boring, someone who talks to much without backing it up...I am here to prove you wrong. But if your on my side...WELL JUST CONSIDER ME YOUR NEW (or old) BEST FRIEND!

OFF TO THE GYM AND POOL! It's looking like a great day is in store.

It's 4:30 AM again...

2010-08-10T04:31:00.004-04:00

Hello old friend. I haven't seen you in a while. I've been sleeping in until 5am lately as my schedule has allowed for this lapse of early rising. Way back when last fall 4:30 AM became my sweet spot. It was the time when I would wake up ready to conquer the world. That pretty much held true all the way through until the busy season ended this past April 15th. Well since then things have changed, thats the nature of the accounting field. Luckily I have found a place now that allows for even more normality during the off season. A standard work week that allows me to be able to dictate my life is an extremely welcome addition to my life. The busy season is well busy and the long hours and lessened sleep will come, but for now I am enjoying knowing ill be out of work by 4:30 or 5:30, and sleeping by 6:30, haha, but seriously I do go to bed that early :)

So, what is it that I do at 4:30? Really getting up at 4:30 just allows me time to just think. I am able to get my coffee, have a bit of breakfast, and just think about the day ahead and what I've got to accomplish. My mind tends to be much much clearer at this earlier hour. Plus no one else in their right mind is up so NO ONE can bug you about anything. A lot of times work and family and friends can all pose situations during the day that just arise out of nowhere and change your plans completely. Now don't get me wrong that is now a bad thing, especially if it is something family or friend related, but for someone like me who likes to stick to a plan when things don't go as scheduled it can throw me into a tizzy. The beauty about early rising is that its free time. Between 4:30 and 8:30 in the morning no one from work is going to call me and ask about a project, my parents are most likely still sleeping or just waking up, and my friends are most definitely sleeping...so basically I am off duty and responsibility free, JUST THE WAY I LIKE IT. So that's kind of why I like this early morning time. I can just be..If I owned my own business I truly believe this is when I would do the majority of my work, I just really work better at this time. It's to bad I can't swing my hours so that I work from 4:30-8:30, then train until noon, then go back and work until 4:30...now that would be sweet! Maybe someday, I just have to work on coming up with the invention of idea of a life. If you have any tips or suggestions on that let me know!

Well because I can't stay on topic to save my life, here is a fun triathlon fact to make your Tuesday go a little better:
(I found this out while reading a new book that I picked up at Barnes and Noble called "17 Hours to Glory - Extraordinary Stories from the Heart of Triathlon" this book details 17 athletes and their journies within the sport of triathlon. It includes the like of Julie Moss to the present day unbeatable Chrissie Wellington.)

Fun fact #1 - In 1900, thanks to the British we all have to run 1.2 more miles during the marathon because they wanted the Olympic marathon that year to start at Buckingham Palace in order for the Queen to be the official race started. Since then the established marathon distance has been 26.2 miles instead of the original 25 miles that Pheideppides ran in 490 B.C. to announce the Greek Army's victory over the Persians. (As a side note Pheideppides died shortly after he finished the 25 miles, like literally, he hit mile 25, announced the Greeks kicked the Persians butt's and then proceeded to go off to the heavens). Thus, all you triathletes who are at mile 25 - 26.2 you can attribute your suffering, your tired legs, your pee stained shorts, your whatever to Queen Victoria -->
She really looks like she was interested in a bunch of men running a long race...geez...

What a bizzare Sunday

2010-08-09T05:29:00.003-04:00

When I was writing my blog yesterday I didn't really expect to have as weird of a Sunday as I did. Right from the start the day just felt a bit different. I was kind of sluggish getting on my bike to start my 45/45 brick but not sluggish because I was tired (I wasn't, I had plenty of rest) but sluggish because I had the intentions of cleaning up my apartment and things like that. Things that I have neglected to do even though I have had ample time to do them lately. I did manage to get some dishes clean, and clear the kitchen counter up...however the dirty dishes have magically appeared again this morning. I think some little dirty dish fairy comes into my apartment and puts them their, along with stealing all my forks (I only have 1 fork left..i used to have like 6 ...at least!) Well I cleaned the kitchen and began to sort through the living room (aka the dirty clothing hamper on the floor and basic storage for all my stuff from my June-July travels, including Lake Placid). Little by little I have been picking the floor up and sorting through the clothing, bike stuff, run stuff, smelly/moldy clothing..and its looking better but I didn't finish the job. I ended up doing something else, and I can't really remember what it was. I think I just decided that it was time to go ride my bike and off I went. So I headed out for my nice 45/45 brick workout, which I was very excited for as it afforded me the first time to get a workout over an hour in. Something that regardless of the effort/intensity of the workout that I had really been looking forward to. I just wanted to get some time in...time to clear my mind and provide some therapy. If nothing else riding my bike or running for a decent amount of time lets me relax...something I have been having a hard time doing lately. Like always it was relaxing, I even had the chance to chat with another cyclist who was heading from downtown Rochester out to Bristol to meet some of his buddies and ride...I was secretly jealous of his cycling plans for the day as well as the quark power meter he was rocking. We ended up conversing for a little while as we headed out of Pittsford. He eventually went his way (aka took off like a bolt of lightning up a hill) and I continued on my solo journey back to my apartment where I would head to my garage (aka T2) and throw my running shoes on.

I'm not to sure where I left off but last time I was writing was at about 5;30am this morning before I headed to the pool...and boy am I glad I got my swim in this morning because it has been a wet and stormy afternoon for sure. It's now about 7pm and I am in a very good place. After work I headed to Towpath to see some friends and drop off a book for Mike who works at Towpath and is currently residing in the hospital after a very bad bike crash. I wish him the best and hope that he has a very speedy recovery! Because I mean I am bound to break something on my bike and he will have to fix it!

I think I was talking earlier about what happened on Sunday and I'll pick up once I returned home from my bike ride. After I got back on threw on the trusty newtwons (actually they are a new pair and look really nice and white..and pee free...won't be that way for to much longer) but the none the less my shoes and I took off on a data free endurance effort run. I didn't go slow and I didn't go fast. I went about medium and that was just fine with me. I had a nice stroll around Cobbs Hill and even had all of Park Ave to myself since it was the weekend of the Park Ave fest and all the streets were blocked off so no cars could go up or down. It was really nice to be able to run down the middle of the road all the way to alexander and say hi to all the people who were setting up their stands for the final day of the fest. I saw my barber and various other people I knew..its was pleasant.

Well after my workouts and everything I got cleaned up and had the intention of cleaning my apartment. However, that intention soon departed and was replaced by me just reading slowtwitch.com posts or something, i don't really know but the next thing I knew it was time to get going to the IRONMAN party at the Kellman's (which by the way was great). So on the way to my car I hear this woman screaming and yelling, and what seems to be like almost crying. I was completely caught off guard to see that a older handicapped woman had fallen on the ground a couple apartment complex's down. She was lying on her back kind of rolling around with her walker about 10 feet in front of her below the curbing. ..it was bizarre! So anyways, as soon as this scene registered in my brain I ran over to her and got to the bottom of the situation. It so happens that she had lost her balance trying to get to her car when she was trying to navigate the curbing. So she basically fell backwards, onto her back..and couldn't get up! She had fallen and couldn't get up. I felt soooo bad for this woman, I really didn't know what to do in terms of making sure she was alright. I mean I got her back up on her feet and helped her put everything in her car and all that. I made sure she was alright, asked her if she hit her head or anything. She seemed to be alright and I swear she even said that "whenever I fall I can't get up on my own"...like it had happened before! oooo i felt bad, but I did all I could for the time being and her car is back at the apartment complex tonight so I've got to believe she's alright. But ive definitely got my eye out for her now.

So that was really why my Sunday was so bizzare. I mean it was kind of like a laddie daddie type day where I was just floating along not really adding much to society. I mean I wasn't being productive with my blogging, or my apartment cleaning, and my training was basically to just get the blood flowing, and then all the sudden I helped a woman who had fallen and couldn't get up. Maybe this if anything will get me rocking and rolling again, shake the cob webs out of my brain if you know what I mean.

I've got more on my mind but its getting late and I have a huge salad in front of me that would make any healthy rabbit froth at the mouth. I promise to get a nice little post off tomorrow morning before I meander over towards Mendon Ponds to spend the early morning hours with my good buddy Donald.

B-rick

2010-08-08T05:57:00.005-04:00

Bike

Run
It's Sunday morning at 5:54AM and I am up at my desk having my cup of coffee from my rocking cool keurig single cup coffee maker and pondering life's un-answerable questions. Where else would you expect me at this hour? I mean I am probably the only 20 something year old person in Rochester who has been in bed at 6pm the last two nights (FYI: It's the Park Ave fest which is basically a weekend long party in the Park Ave district of Rochester where beer pong and open containers are the norm). Anyway, I seemed to have some sort of cold coming on last Thursday and the best way to combat a cold/sickness is to drink drink drink (water that is) and sleep sleep sleep. I have done both and I feel pretty good right now. It's not like I would have been out partying anyways. So the past two nights have left me with a lot of time to sleep which is good, I will happily put those hours in my sleep bank as come winter time I will be begging for them back.

Well I guess since its about 6AM on a Sunday when I don't really have to be up at 6am..and the fact that I am...this means that I am back to my usual schedule. Back to where the work gets done. It's so much easier to think and accomplish things (for me) in the morning hours when the sun is still working its way into the sky. It's funny that only about 1 month ago I would be meeting friends down at Kershaw Park for morning swims during the week and we would be jumping in the water at 5:30am and the sun would already be rising and it would be light enough to safely start swimming. Now as I look out from my desk chair into the great outdoors it is only just beginning to get light outside. Funny how things change so quickly. My knee jerk emotional reaction to this is sadness. I love the late spring and summer time. It's a time when work isn't bananas, people are usually in great moods, people are OUTDOORS, the lake is in full use, you can walk outside in a t-shirt and shorts at 5am and not be frigid...idk its just pleasant. But I really can't complain to much as I still have a very very substantial triathlon season ahead of me over the next few months. The next few races will quickly get me to Thanksgiving time and from then on the holidays are in full effect which makes time fly. Then all the sudden the first of the year will be here and it will be time once again to hit training hard! As the busy season of the tax professional will take up most of my time during mid January through April 15th I will once again embark on the dark period of my year where I eat, train, work, sleep and repeat...and thats pretty much all I do. The weekends will bring Saturday work hours which mean 4am wake up calls for indoor training rides. I just hope that I have some comrades that want to join me so we can set up shop together and make 5am indoor rides less awful. But enough of this dreary talk about the winter. The fact of the matter is that right now I have the Syracuse 70.3 IM as well as Ironman Florida in sight. Even though these races seemed so far off when I signed up for them, they have certainly crept up on me quickly. The fact that I signed up for two 1/2's and two full's in 1 year was once an obstacle that I thought might be to much in my first year. I won't lie that their was a period where I was like WTF have I got myself into. I am by no means out of the woods yet, my primary goal of every race is to come out of it happy, healthy, and stronger. So far things have gone pretty well. Even though I had some set backs in May-June I think that I am in a good place now. I truly believe that my initial injuries and setbacks this year were due to my "new-ness" to this sport. Without a cycling or running background I essentially went from 0-60 (if I can use an automobile analogy) in less than 8 months. I wouldn't have it any other way..that's just how I work. But it did bring some issues up, hopefully one's that are now behind me. So with a decent effort at IMLP I am very excited to have a second shot at both the 70.3 and 140.6 distance this year. I am extremely hopeful that with a solid mindset and a good plan from my coach that I will meet my expectations at these races. I guess personally I would have to say that the 70.3 is not the highest on my list and I will use it for more of a training race to see where I am at in a month from now. But I would be lying if I said that I wasn't going to be fully motivated for it. I mean I know a TON of people that are going to be there and it's just going to be a really fun event. So with that said I won't be super caught up with what times I throw down...i am just going to be there to have fun...well I guess that's how I approach every race but it just feels better to spell it out, haha! I guess the same goes for IMFL but honestly deep down I wanna have a good race down their. I have to imagine that I am going to have a blast down their with Mary as we both are out to conquer Panama City...regardless of what happens I will cross the line with a smile. But I am sure I will talk more about IMFL in the coming months as it will be on my mind quite frequently.

Well for the rest of the day the plan is to Bike and Run as pictured above. 45 minutes of each..back to back..also known as a "B-Rick" workout, some breakfast, maybe cleaning my apartment but most likely taking a nap or watching a movie, then going over to Kamp Kellman's for a little post Ironman party with the team....and that will be that...catch you later.

Trying to find my mojo again...

2010-08-07T05:14:00.004-04:00

Well its good to to see that some people are still checking in on me, even though they are all my tri friends. Where are you my other followers?

Oh well, its their loss and to you my loyal blog checkers...its most certainly your gain.

I must say that I can't really blame the other people, I mean I haven't really been writing anything noteworthy lately. For some reasons things have been going really really fast. All May was trying to bike as many miles as possible...with an achilles injury. I literally lived out of my car going back and forth between Syracuse, Penn Yan, and Rochester. Then came June, the achilles thing was still an issue, I switched jobs, took a couple weeks vacation (to fit more training in) during this vacation period I went to Lake Placid for two weekend camps and also went to Vermont for another weekend camp. That pretty much took care of June. At the beginning of July I was able to resume a bit of short running in prep for IMLP which seemed like it was very far away as it was the end of July. However, all of July seemed like to be a HUGE taper down to the race so I was constantly trying to fit in some other things non-training related with a bit more free time. That coupled with the Musselman weekend in Geneva made Race week in Placid come QUICK! Then all of the sudden the race is over and I am back to work...I am now two weeks back to work and starting to really take on some real tax returns and real tax projects. Training is slowly beginning to resume and I am slowly beginning to regain some normality that I had back from Oct-April. (If you can call my life normal) I guess the only hiccup is that I got some kind of virus or something on Thursday which led to the onset of a sore throat. I can usually tell when I just have a cold or whether I am getting something more. This felt like it was going to be a full blown sore throat thing, so I grabbed my emergency antibiotics and began the routine of taking them for 5 days (I usually do this between 1-2x per year as I tend to get sick in the summer/fall change period as well as in the spring or summer...) and these med's always clear stuff up before they become to big of a problem. The antibiotics coupled with a low key day on Friday which included a bed time of...get this, 5:30PM has me feeling a bit better. It's now almost 5:30am (so i ended up getting about 11 hours of sleep if you figure the amount of time I was up at night peeing because of the enormous amounts of water I have been flushing through my system. I'm drinking my coffee and even eating a nice bowl of grape nuts and banana mixed with protein powder.

Moving on..I must say that I am pretty excited for today. Today is what I consider my first day in the IMFL build. I will also be racing the Syracuse 70.3 in September (and I am super excited about this race don't get me wrong) but that race will be more of a fitness indicator than anything else.....i think? I'll be racing hard that day but the main thing is that I come out of the race strong and healthy and focused on heading to Florida in November. And as today is the reintroduction of some solid training what better way to kick it off than heading out to Don Ehinger's place in Mendon Ponds to meet up with Don and Chris for a nice bike ride! I'll be on my road bike, the bike of choice for the time being. It's a nice change to hop off the tri bike and enjoy some of the splendor's that my madone has to offer. You know, one of the best things about these easier types of rides is that it really gives you a chance to just sit back and enjoy riding bikes. Chit chatting with your buddies and rolling over the beautiful land that is around Rochester is really a special thing. So there you have it, I am beginning my next block of 2010. I am fat and happy. Which means I am not race ready...but that will come, like they say you can't be at Race Weight all the time.

hello?

2010-08-05T12:21:00.001-04:00

anyone still reading this?

Goodbyes and New Beginnings

2010-08-01T22:28:00.004-04:00

Goodbye full blown recovery, snickers bars, excessive greek yogurt, to much granola, ice cream and even that piece of carrot cake I snuck in last night, goodbye excess....

HELLO NEW IRONMAN TRAINING BLOCK...FALL 2010 IS GOING TO GET SERIOUS! No amount of oil is going to stop me from swimming in the gulf come this November. IMFL, Hurricane Turbo is coming....watch out!

The Day Before IMLP 2010, Baldy and Clumsy, and Graduation!

2010-08-01T07:22:00.000-04:00

Warning: This blog has not been reviewed for gramarical errors or mental lapses, or scattered brain syndrom, read it and take from it what you can...I'm going to watch some tv now.

As I was lying in my bed at the Golden Arrow Hotel in Lake Placid on the day before the race I had written down some thoughts that I had intended on putting up on my blog. Unfortunately my iPad along with my iPhone both lost their charge very early on last week and I therefore did not have any access to the internet and could not put up and blog posts, or answer any phone calls, or respond to texts, or talk to people who were in Lake Placid. Leave it to me to completely forget my chargers when going on vacation. It wasn't to much of a big deal since I needed to get as much rest as possible but I would have liked to get some good posts up along with some other things that required the use of a computer (iPad) or phone.

With that said I am going to post what I wrote in my journal (word-for-word). I will say that I wrote down these thoughts on the Saturday before the race and have not changed them since. They especially go out to Don and Chris, two great guys who have shown me a lot of kindness, and in the spirit of the smurfing that I attempted to do but was sidetracked due to technological lapses, I will officially name Don Ehinger "Baldy Smurf" and Chris Leonardi "Clumsy Smurf". Don is admittedly the baldest member of Team Train This and frequently perpetuates the situation by spending countless hours shaving or "bic'ing" his head until is has a shine that would rival that of my 7th grade science teachers...and for those of you who knew Mr. Larock you know what I am talking about! As for Mr. Leonardi, Clumsy Smurf just really seems to suit him well based on the mental lapses that have seemed to pop up during his Ironman stretch run. Chris will admittedly say that "Ironman ate his brain" and one only has to look at a few prime examples of his recent on-goings to see this. Take for example the day he went into work carrying his transition bag instead of his briefcase..(I don't think your body glide and powergels are going to solve any insurance claims), or the time when he forgot to put his van in park and witnessed a "ghost-driven" van rolling down the driveway. Needless to say his wife was on the floor rolling...I can only imagine what was going through Chris's head, then again it was probably nothing seeing how Ironman had eaten it all away, Well, I can only hope that now that the race is over that your brain will be able to re-grow.

And so onto what I had written down last Saturday...

7/24/10
Well today is the "mandatory get off your feet and rest day". I have heard that their was one such triathlete who spent a whopping 28 whole minutes on his feet before an Ironman race. Now I am not sure I will even come close to this number seeing how I have already been on my feet for at least 20 minutes to go the bathroom, and get coffee at Starbucks, but I just thought I would throuw that little tidbit of knowledge out their because its simply amazing. And even if you do not come close to this number the mere fact that you (in my case me) are thinking about it, you are bound to think about how much time your actually on your feet and will hopefully take the necessary precautions to get off them and rest up for your challenge on the following day.

Moving along, I must say that usually on vacations and training weekends where I am sort of off the grid I find it really easy to relax and focus on writing down my thoughts and writing about the world and whats going on around me. However, I have not been able to catch the writing bug yet. I think it all correlates with the amount of free time I have or the amount of free time I make for myself and thus far I have had lots to occupy myself. Each day I have had some sort of task to accomplish and I guess this has not enabled me to truly "un-plug" (even though I have been electronically unplugged since Wednesday as I forgot to bring my iPad and iPhone charger). With that said I've got to believe that today will be a good day for relaxing and for writing some thoughts down. My parents will soon be arriving and even though some stress will be brought with them (anyone who knows my dad a.k.a. Dicky C knows that he is a walking talking ball of stress) but I usually egg him on so I probably perpetuate the situation more than I should, but what can I say. I grew up predominently as an only-child (my siblings were many years older than me) so it was my dad who I joked with, played with, fought with, made fun of...he takes it well (sort of, haha...but in his old age he gets funnier by the moment with his "tendencies" so he really makes for an easy target to crack jokes about). I love you dad, even if I do poke fun..its because I love you :) and since my dad will be arriving shortly he will make a welcome addition to the "hole up in your hotel room with the shades drawn and the tv on crew" since that is what I am doing today and that is what he does on every family vacation. My mom will take care of walking around LP and seeing the sights, you can count on that.

Well just because I am sitting in my hotel bed and looking at random things I might as well give you a little caption of what it looks like without the visual aid of photography...(as I wrote this I was beginning to grab my iPhone which had about 1/2 a % charge to take a picture of the room, and guess what..as soon as I snapped the picture the phone went dark again...fiugures!)So as I sit here I am now completely and utterly unplugged from the world around me, as I should be the day before my first Ironman. So as I was beginning to explain....my current room situation is me sitting on my bed, a dead iPhone to my left and a garmin 310xt to my right, which will soon be adjusted so that the data fields read what I want them to on race day, then it will go back to being plugged into the charge so it will rest up and be fully charged and ready to go tomorrow morning, just like me ehh? wow..that's a great thought..how about a slogan for all triathlete's..when in doubt just ask yourself "what would your Garmin do?" (WWYGD) I know what mine would do! The day before a big event it would shut down and charge up. It would never leave the table that its resting on and it would be ready to go in the morning. Or just think WWYGD if it was tired or overworked (i.e. overtrained, battery dead)..it would just shut down, in fact Garmins have such great will power that they ALWAYS stick to their plan and adhere to protocol. Even if your 5.5 hrs into a 6 hr bike ride if it feels tired (battery low..nearing dead) it will just calmly call it a day and shut down. Maybe these Garmin things know something we triathletes don't!

Changing gears..something just popped into my head. It's probably the most noteworthy thing that has popped into my head in a long time and I guess because I really haven't had the time to stop and think about my thoughts that this is the reason why I have not taken the time to write them down. I mean ever since May 2nd I've admittedly been frazzeled. Back then I was fresh off my first IM 70.3 where I was able to hit all my goals within a few minutes. The 70.3 down in Texas was amazing not only because I was able to race down their but it was also just a sweet vacation. I was able to experience everything with my coach Mary who went down to race as well. She stayed at the same hotel I was at so it was super nice to have someone so close to keep tabs on me and make sure I was doing the right things before the race...like registering...and resting...and eating...etc..(FLORIDA WILL BE EVEN BETTER!) But I also met some new people like Don Ehinger and his family as well as Kim Hase and her boyfriend Jake. These people are teammates of mine who Mary coach's. Before the trip to Galveston I really didn't know who they were. But we ended up becoming fast friends...I kind of new Don and I would get along when at 4:30am on race morning he was outside his hotel lifting up his tri shorts with his hitchhikers thumb out as Mary and I pulled up to get him. Needless to say if he had on a speedo he would have been able to take shotgun from me...he'll learn next time (supposedly he has a BORAT type speedo/thong thingy..I don't even know what to call that thing but its nuts and if he ever shows up to some place I am at wearing that and only that..I might just not stop laughing for a good hour)..Well needless to say since the 70.3 my legs gave me huge issues and I ended up not being able to run for all of May and mostly all of June..it sucked but I got through it. But enough of that, the point that popped into my head when I was thinking about what has gone on since the 70.3 in Texas is that Don and I have become really good friends, and through Don I really got to know his partner in crime and fellow Train This teammate Chris Leonardi. All three of us even ended up going on a 6 hour bike ride together in late May. I just can't say how cool the sport of triathlon is in regards to these types of things. I probably would have never met theses guys had I not started doing what I am doing. They are older than me and have families so they respectfully have different lifestyles...well sorta different..after training and working they still have family type obligations and such...so really they have it a lot tougher than I do in respect to finding time for rest and recovery. I don't know how they do it because being a single dude with no real responsibilities I find it ridiculously hard to fit everything in. So kudos to them..i don't know how they do it. ...moving along, I must say that I really get a kick out of Don and Chris (Baldy and Clumsy Smurf). I guess we as humans just get along with different people for different reasons, its built into our DNA or something, but for whatever reason i really enjoy these guys and we seem to always have a good time when were together training, eating, shooting the obligatory "sh*&". So I just wanted to take the time and tell everyone how awesome these two guys are. I really can't thank them enough for all the generosity that they have shown me over the past few months and during our Training Camp and IMLP weekends. In specific I will list just a few things:
Don,
Thanks for riding with me in the early am before the sun has risen and chatting with me on google when we both weren't able to focus on anything work-related.
Don & Chris,
Thank you both for letting me crash in your extravagant honeymoon suite at the Alpine Aire during training camp.

Thank you both for having me over to your Lake Placid villa in the woods as well as dealing with my pre-race lunacy. Those dinners were really amazing and I had a blast hanging out with you guys, Corona, and Ken before the weekend really got rolling.

And lastly thanks for being great friends and treating me like one of your family members. You've both let me dine with your family on multiple occasions with your wives and your children and I cannot say how nice it is to be included. (Even though they might look at me strangely and think I am a bit "out there"..rightfully so) But really, you guys have a great support team and regardless of what they say or how they act you know that they were just as nervous and you were (maybe more) while you were out their racing on Sunday. When I had initially jotted down these notes I wrote that the family members probably have it more rough than we as athletes do. As athletes our minds pretty much go into survival mode as soon as then cannon goes off. ...back to the present time...I would have to say that as soon as the cannon goes off and you start swinging your arms to move yourself in the water you check into survival mode and start reacting and racing, gone are the butterflies, gone are the pre-race jitters..its time to crank out a good swim and get moving on the bike, I mean once your out their on the bike for 4+ hours a 1hr swim kind of becomes an after thought. I mean does a 1:05 or 1:10 really matter? So when we are out their just having a blast racing around to crowds numbering in the thousands are family and loved ones are sitting their wondering how we are doing, wondering if we crashed?..if we bonked?...if were just not doing well period...they are the ones that have to wait 3+hours just to see us for 10 seconds on the bike. They are close enough to touch us but can only shout at us while we give them a nod or a raised arm. Anyway, I know that they were out their cheering for you guys and everyone as I can distinctly remember them cheering for me on multiple occasions.

In summary, this post was direct towards you boys..Baldy and Clumsy...THANK YOU!

and since this post is coming about a week after the race I will add a short note. Congratulations to you two dudes, and the rest of the Train-This IMLP crew..and to the numerous other people I knew racing in IMLP from QT2 and elsewhere. It was an absolute blast racing in LP and seeing everyone on course. No matter where it was on course it was always special to be able to see someone you knew getting after it...no caffeine boost in the world can get your legs moving faster than seeing a familiar face. I will add that we are all FINISHER's now. We've got 1 or in some peoples' case many in the books. For I think all of the TT'ers we now have a marathon in our legs, for some its an IM marathon now..and for other its plain and simple a marathon. Either way you look at it last Sunday was like a graduation day for us TT'ers. I think we have pretty much all been on-board and prepping for this race in particular since about last October. In reality the only thing that matters is that we all finished this race happy and healthy. Just like the CPA or the bar exam, it really doesn't matter what grade (time) you got, its just the fact that you can say you passed (you finished). Now that we all have the experience its time to get down to business and GET SMARTER, GET HEALTHIER...AND GET FASTER!

And as my final "point" I personally feel that I can now call myself a triathlete. I can now make statements like "We triathletes are...blah blah"..you know things like that. Why? I think because I've now done this sport for about a year and I've completed an IM so I feel I am now justified in calling myself a triathlete. I'm not just a dude that jumps into a few races every summer without really dedicating themselves..but I'm a triathlete to the core. I can make broad ranging statements about the triathlon community because I am one of them. But maybe that's just me. I am not saying that you have to do an IM to be a triathlete but for me personally I know feel like I've crossed a little milestone. ONTO THE NEXT CHALLENGE!

IMLP 2010 Race Report

2010-07-28T15:39:00.009-04:00

The picture above says it all...it was a blast!

...and yeah I went back to the expo tent on Monday and picked up that finishers jacket that I drooled over the previous year when I had just signed up for IMLP 2010

What a day....What a week....What a year! Yes folks IMLP is finally here!

2010-07-22T15:30:00.002-04:00

Phew...what a couple days it has been. I am now laying in my hotel bed with some ice on the leg and just relaxing. The past couple of days have been jam packed with triathlon goodness. Now as I lay here i finally have a few seconds to catch up on my blog. But not to worry everyone, since I am planning to spend about 30 minutes on my feet on Saturday I will have plenty of time to catch up on long overdue blog posts, SMURFINGS, phone calls to friends and family. It is going to be a great day of relaxation and catching up. So there is your warning everyone, be on the look out for a call from Turbo Curbeau :)

So lets get down to what I have been up to these past couple of days. The madness all began on Tuesday after work as I headed to Geneva to meet my mom and pick up my specially made "Lake Placid Pants" from none other than the best pants makers (among other things now) my friends at Bonobos..go to their site at www.bonobos.com. They are awesome dudes who make a great product! For Lake Placid they hooked me up with their Limited Edition "Spangled Banners' which are navy blue and have stars all over them. I mean what better pants to wear at Ironman USA! I can't think of any other clothing line that I would rather be representing. Now we just need to get them to make nice tri kit for me :) haha So while I was in Geneva I stopped at the Geneva Cycle Center and said hi to my friends Jim nd Chad, great guys! And by mentioning bike stores I must add that my good friend Scott Likly and his crew at Towpath bike in Pittsford really are the best people in the world and they have got me all set up on my Speed Concept. I really do appreciate all their assistance and well wishes. In fact Scott just called me and wished me good luck...and to that point I must add that a good friend of mine, CJ, who I went to school in London also gave me a ring. With our busy lives it is hard to connect with him and my old friends but it sure was nice to catch up with him and hear how he's doing. he informed me that he will be running in the marine core marathon this fall in DC. Way to go CJ, and his wonderful girlfriend Nora will be doing it with him as well. I will certainly look forward to seeing them race down their as well as hear about all their training that they will be putting in. I'll keep my eye on them :) So yeah, after I was in Geneva I continued on to Syracuse where I met up with Cusetri a.k.a. Mike Corona and I spent the night at his place so we could get a good early start on our vacation to Lake Placid. After some morning coffee and a wonderful eggs a'la Corona (soooo good!) we both got in the trusty subaru and headed towards the great wilderness paradise that is Lake Placid, NY. We arrived mid afternoon, got situated in the hotel, ate food with Don and Chris, and then immediately headed towards the lake for a nice 30 minute swim that we all had planned. Well let me just tell you that the weather was ummm...so so at best. Their were dark clouds looming and some thunder in the distance. None the less we five brave souls (Don, Chris, Ken, Mike and I) began our swim. Chris was the only smart one who turned around and headed back to shore after about five minutes of swimming. Why was he the smart one? Well because the rest of us decided to keep swimming and we swam right into a "Micro burst" as they call them. Mirror Lake (usually the calmest most serene place in the world) had whitecaps on it...whitecaps I tell you! It was so windy that even swimming at a hard pace it felt like we were getting pushed backwards. In all honesty we didn't really know how bad it was because we were in the middle of the lake but when we got back to shore Chris was just thankful we were alive. He informed us that the wind and rain was absolutely roaring and that everything on the beach was blowing around everything...I can attest to this since I found my goggle case which had my car keys and hotels keys in it to weight it down like 40 feet from where I had initially left them. But i guess as they say alls well that ends well and...what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger....but next time we might hold off on our swim if the weather looks like it did..After that near death experience we all showered up and stuff and then met up at Chris and Don's cabin in the woods that they rented. Awesome place, team Train This is actually all gathering their tonight for some KanJam, Team Bonding, Food Eating fun..it should be a great night. As for today Mike, Ken, Don, Chris and I all got a bike run brick in...very short of course, early this morning and then did the registration thing. This has made for kind of a long day on our feet...at least for me. I ended up going back down to the expo for a short while to talk to the SRAM reps who offered to look over my bike and make sure the gears and shifting were all 100% I met Ben and Paul from SRAM and really had a good talk with them. (Don't worry Mary I won't be spending every waking second at the expo this week...in fact I was pretty disappointed in their selection of apparel..at least in Galveston they had sweatpants and polo's and other goodies with the actual name of the race on them...here all the stuff is pure M dot with no reference to the race location, but I ended up getting some water bottles and a collectors mug that said lake placid so its not all bad, at least I saved some money.....for now) But where was i..YEAH I had a good chat with the SRAM guys and ended up with a new sponsorship with them....well not really, but they did give me some rub on tattoo's, stickers, and wristbands which I informed them that I will gladly rock all over the place. oh yah,I just remembered one of the coolest parts of the day, as I was registering in the lake placid high school I had multiple admirerers of my star bangled bonobos pants. A couple who even insisted on having a photo op with me. Sure they were high school age but they were still diggin Turbo..to bad I can't turn back the clock and be 18 again...oh well...the moral of the story is that the pants rock and people recognize this!

That's it for now, I have much more to share but I am now off to the team party for the remainder of the night. I will be coming to you live brining happiness and joy tomorrow morning from the Starbucks downtown here in LakePlacid. If your in the area stop by at 6am..I'll be there...I love the early morning in Placid, but i am guessing that as I am among my kin here in Triathlon heaven that I will be joined by many others just like me who are plagued with the same sickness. And here is official notice that Mrs. Mary Eggers will be taking on Jesse and Pat from QT2 in a morning (8am) swim challenge. The loser buys beer. I will be the official referee/timer/line judge/everything so you can count on a fair and honest race. Needless to say I am very excited about this.

Well until tomorrow morning this is Turbo and i'm out!

Race Week - Day 2

2010-07-20T04:37:00.004-04:00

Day 2 of IMLP is beginning early for me. Its a little after 4:30 AM for me and I am up and ready to go. I went to bed around 9:30 last night so I got a pretty decent nights rest. However, this will surely be my last early morning before the big day on Sunday. I have a lot of things to get done today but after that I am going on total rest and recovery mode. But before tonight comes I have to get my training in (a 1hr brick with 30 min run and 30 min bike, very slight tempo pickups thrown in the mix, go to work, drive to geneva to meet my mom, continue on to Syracuse to meet up with Corona. Once I get to Syracuse my vacation will be in full swing and I will be able to breathe a sigh of relief. I'll be able to let it soak all in. I am really looking forward to just hanging out with great friends in a beautiful place. It just so happens that a big race that we all have been training for all year is going to happen at the same time, what a coincidence! Ahh to just think what tomorrow and the rest of the week is going to feel like. Corona is going to be riding up with me to Placid tomorrow so I will have a buddy to talk to on the drive up. Usually its just me and my iPhone as I listen to whatever podcast I have decided to download, but human interaction will be a very welcome change. Once we make it up to Placid tomorrow will be able to beat the Ironman crowd and get settled in about day before the true craziness begins.

Ironman Race Week Day 1

2010-07-19T06:31:00.008-04:00

First off I just want to apologize for not posting yesterday. I had every intention of getting a good blog out there and continuing my smurfing but the day was just weird and I didn't get to it...however I shall make up for that today. I have started to write this morning before I head into work and I will wrap it up during my lunch hour because that's how much you all mean to me :)

Yesterday was quite a strange day for me. With no real training on tap I didn't really have a plan for what I was going to do. Since I had gone to bed quite early on Saturday because I was pretty tired I ended up awake around 7:30 on Sunday morning. I made some coffee and settled in to watch some of the Tour de France. I'll admit that it was nice to just wake up and lounge around but I don't know if I was ready for a nice day of laziness, I just felt "off" all day. I tried to go to Midtown and do some stretching and core work just to get the blood flowing but I was more tired than anything which is weird since I have gotten the most sleep I have had since probably the week after I got back from Texas in April. I found this to also be strange because last week I actually felt really good. Previous to last week I was really beaten down and tired from my last big build during the months of may and june. I thought everything had been all good last week but this weekend hit me hard. Maybe it was the bike and run on Saturday that zapped my energy a bit. It was pretty hot and humid out there...so who knows. The bottom line is that I was a big pile of tired yesterday. I sat around, napped, cleaned the apt a little, began to pack my things, and got really mad at my bike because it is not shifting smoothly. I tried to see if I could fix the problem but that was no going to happen, if anything I have just made it about 100 times worse. So this means I will be going to the bike shop immediately after work to have my shifting looked at it. Hopefully they can get it all dialed in a few minutes so I can go for a nice 30 min spin to loosen the legs and loosen the new chain that's on the bike. T-minus 6 days to get everything in working order...I can't believe the big day has come so soon.

Oh man, here I am at work, literally begging for work. I just need something that will keep my mind off of the race. Once 5:00PM tomorrow comes I am all Ironman all week but until then I really need to give myself a break and just freaking chill. Being that I have a very OCD personality the fact that my bike's shifting if "off" is really freaking me out right now. All I can think about is getting my darn bike to the bike shop so it can be made right. I discovered the shifting issue last night when I was peddling on it while sitting on the trainer just for fun. I had a new chain installed this weekend and I wanted to at least turn the gears a little to break it in. Well it is good I was smart about this and did not have the chain installed like on Friday afternoon before the race. I had this all planned in advance since I knew I would have some short bike rides this week..short yes but long enough to break in the chain and make sure everything was running smoothly. Well luckily this happened early in the week so it should just be an easy fix for Mike at Towpath. I must admit that I did try to adjust a couple screws myself and things just got worse because of that so I just decided to give up and let the professionals fix it. So after a restless night and a morning where literally all I can think about is getting my bike to the shop I am happy that in about 4 hours the bike will be in the hands of people who know what they are doing. I just have to now contain myself until 11am when I will call Mike and let him know that I will be swinging by around lunch time....then I have to wait another hour until I can take the bike down to the shop...and then I will have to wait another approx 4 hours until I can go back down to the shop and pick up the bike and then actually go for an easy 30 minute spin which kicks off my full on taper week! How exciting. Wow I literally am all over the place this morning...I can't wait until tomorrow at like 5:30PM when I am sitting in my car driving towards lake placid (which includes a rest stop at Cusetri's on Tuesday night. Corona will be riding shotgun with me up to Placid on Wednesday morning since my hotel stay begins Wednesday and his begins Thursday. According to Corona his wonderful wife Jen gave him the "OK" to ride up with me..which is cool..we will probably go buck wild in lake placid on Wednesday night. You know the typical out all night drink-a-thon that most triathletes do during race week). Seriously I need something to take my mind off of my bike...I guess I will just continue my smurfing of the team :)

The Smurfing of Team Train-This Day 2

Mike Corona - Brainy Smurf with a bit of Chef Smurf thrown in the mix.

When thinking about what smurf would best suit Mr. Corona I could not settle on just one. Mike is just to dynamic of a character...soooo I am settled upon smurfing Mike as both Brainy and Chef Smurf. I could probably fit a few more in here but that would make this blog more like a novel than a short story. Getting on with it...

Mike, as does Brainy Smurf fancies himself as the most intelligent Smurf/Train-This teammate and the resident expert on everything. Unlike Brainy who is pretty much dead-wrong on every subject he professes to be an expert on, Mike usually has some worthwhile knowledge to add to the conversation. For the sake comparing our team to the Smurfs I will use myself as an example in this situation and continue the bromance that everyone has so alluded to. In the cartoon Brainy's best friend is Clumsy. Here's a litte background on Clumsy, Clumsy Smurf is a somewhat dimwitted but amiable Smurf. His best friend is Brainy. He is distinguished by his baggy clothing, which adds to his clumsy appearance (his clothing is normal in the comics). He is known for his hobby of collecting rocks. With that said I will say that like Clumsy I tend to write emails and such to the Train-This group that may have a bit of light-hearted humor. I rarely have anything of weight to add to a real conversation about power meters, the best food to eat, which race wheels are the fastest, how to change a flat..etc..I just don't have that much technical knowledge to offer up but I am usually good for a laugh..Mike however will gladly engage in a deep and meaningful conversation about the roll of a 11-23 cassette versus an 11-27 cassette. This type of banter precludes Mike from picking up many young females at bars (Jen is happy about that) but it does help people like ME understand and figure out what I need to have a better ride in Placid, and for that I am extremely thankful. I will also use the Brainy/Clumsy comparison to discuss Mike's "planning" nature. Mike is a financial planner..that's what he does...he plans. This translates to Mike having every bike route planned out in advance via MapQuest, something that I myself have yet to use. If it was left up to me I would be wandering around on my bike somewhere in Central NY still..however Mike always had our long-ride routes planned out in advance and he would even provide me with copies of the directions. What a guy! So that's why I smurf mike as Brainy Smurf. Mike loves the numbers..he even showed me the WKO program that he uses to track his training, it had about as many lines on the screen as Scarface did on his desk right before the final shootout. (For those non-movie buffs I will just say that this means that their was a TON OF lines!) I still don't know to much about what he showed me but the jist of it was that it could track all this data and tell you whether you were race ready. In Mike's case it told him that he was race ready and that he is going to throw down a 9:30 at Lake Placid :)

I must also make a brief comment about Mike's similarities to Chef Smurf. I have had the opportunity to dine at Mike's house on a few occasions and I will just say that the dude can cook. He has made me chicken dinner, huge salads, etc.. and they have all been phenomenal...gourmet quality for sure. For someone like myself who has yet to use their stove in their apartment that they have been in for over 2 years and who lives by frying eggs and using the microwave...ITS AWESOME!
He is Papa Smurf's apprentice and assistant, and he often thinks that makes him the de facto second-in-command. He can be distinguished from the others by the large glasses he wears. The Smurfs most often respond to his self-rightous preaching by tossing him out of the village. His best friend is Clumsy. In the comics during the Olympic games, he called himself Schtroumpf arbitre (referee) and handed out yellow cards to everyone.

Ken Koppenhaver -

What else can you say about Ken. The dude can freaking swim! He can swim faster with one arm and no kicking than I can at an all out sprint pace using both arms and kicking like a mad man. He probably swims about 2000 more yards during pool workouts than I do. I sometimes will just be gliding along in my lane and peer over into the far left lane (where the fast people are) and see them just effortlessly cruising along. I tend to not look for to long since it makes me very jealous. But he does put the work in so kudos to him. I may not have been able to make it to very many Master's practices this winter due to work but when I did make it Ken was ALWAYS there. I tend to think that he just sleeps in the MCC mens locker room and whenever someone goes to swim in the pool he just gets up and joins them..there is really no other explanation. I would wager that if there was a waterproof computer that he would strap on some scuba gear and just work at the bottom of a pool or lake. I think he's just more comfortable when he is submerged. So with that said I am currently concocting some sort of apparatus that will allow me to hold onto his legs for at least the first loop of the IMLP swim. I haven't quite figured out how I am going to do this but rest assure I will come up with something before Sunday morning, otherwise Ken could be 1/2 way through the first loop before I drag my but around the mirror lake swim course two times.

A Smurfing Affair - Day 1 (Alexa and Turbo)

2010-07-17T18:52:00.008-04:00

And so it begins. It is as close to being officially race week as it gets without being race week. Tomorrow will be the Sunday before Ironman Lake Placid. What does that mean? It means that race days is a scant 6 whole days away. That's two full work days of work, 1 day of travel to plaid with Cusetri, 1 day to welcome friends to placid and enjoy a team party/dinner, 1 day to register, go to athlete meetings, buy stuff at the expo and eat carbs, 1 day to lay in bed, stay cool, keep the feet up, continue to eat carbs, and finally 1 day to have the best day of 2010...just playing the water, spinning on the bike, and running a cushy 26.2 miles to top it all off..this will be done with about 3000 friends, and more importantly with my awesome team by my side. For the most part I did not know anyone on my team at this time last year. I honestly think I knew one person (Joe Crispino). I had completed 3 triathlons (Keuka, Quakerman, and Musselman) and was just getting my feet wet, and oh yeah I had no clue what a training plan or a tri bike looked like. Oh what a difference a year can make. Their has been ups and downs, a TON of new friendships, injuries, triumphs, let-downs, horrible jobs, NEW & EXCITING JOBS..it just goes to show you that with each new day a new opportunity is born. Each time I get on the bike, go out to run, or jump in the lake is a chance for me to enjoy the sport of triathlon, get better at it, and usually have a fun day with my friends. And with that I will segway into what I had intended this post to be about...my team...who are my friends. One of the...wait I must re-state that...THE BEST thing about this sport is the community...the people that are involved. I will gladly train with someone any day of the week rather than go vision questing along. Going Solo does have its merits since on race day your out there on your own, no chatting to a buddy when your in tempo..yet your not really solo, usually there is between 500-3000 other people out hammering beside you. So yeah, this sport I am into is great and the people around me are as well. So without further ado I bring you the 2010 Train This Smurfing. Which Smurf are you?

To follow along please continue to check my blog as well as checking my Coach (Mary Eggers) blog @ www.ironmomma.com

First up is Alexa Harding "Just Keep Swimming"

I am confident that the smurf that best suits Ms. Harding is none other than Sassette Smurfling. Sassette Smurfling is a little freckled redhead girl with pigtails, and pink overalls. She calls Papa Smurf "Pappy" and Grandpa Smurf "Grandpy". Alexa like Sassette exudes an attitude that of a tomboy in that she loves to do all the things that the Smurf boys (Train This boys..or Kim Hase) do (i.e. cuss like a sailor, talk about obscene and/or inappropriate situations/topics, exchange stories of bowl movements as if it was a normal type of conversation that two elderly women would have at coffee hour just after church ended, as well as kicking numerous mens butts on the bike...and the run for that matter. However, just like Sassette who has a girly side as well (she likes dressing up and playing with her doll Smurfy Lou), Alexa enjoys throwing on her snuggie and having some snuggle time with both her cat and sleeping partners (3 stuffed horses...that's all I will say on that subject).
Like Sassette, some that do not know Alexa might consider her a bit blunt...similarly, Sassette actually got her name when Hefty pointed out how "Sassy" she was and than Painter called her a "Sassette". The Smurflings had a hard time warming up to her, but they have now found her to be like a sister. Smurfette and Papa Smurf treat her like a sister/daughter too. I think this fits in quite well with Ms. Harding as she has settled in quite nicely with the Train This crew, and who fosters either a Mother/Daughter or Older Sister/Younger Sister relationship (I just can't decide which I think it depends on the day) with Coach Mary. And so there you have it. Smurfing #1 is complete. I hope you all enjoyed that little tid-bit and I hope I did not make a new enemy or as they call them in the smurf world "villain". :)

Next up..ME..aka TURBO CURBEAU. I take on this nickname with great pleasure since it was not one that was created by myself. Yes, growing up the nickname of Turbo had been tossed around by my childhood schoolmates however it never stuck, it was more of an insult or joke than anything else considering that in my younger years I wasn't quite "Turbo". However, I do believe that in the recent past I have leaned out a bit and with the onset of this triathlon thing my "turbo-ness" has increased. I know only have to continue to become faster in the sport of triathlon to maintain this nickname. This is a challenge that I most certainly will enjoy. Anywho..I am not positive on who I would give the naming rights too..maybe Scott Likly over at Towpath who seemed to call me that from day one and who now has a signed bike shoe in his shop by none other than Turbo Curbeau (Me). Its funny...its a persona...its becoming bigger than myself..hahah..

With that little intro I must go about the task of naming myself. I would rather have someone else do this but since I have chosen to take on the dutiful task of smurfing my fellow teammates I will smurf myself as well. My knee jerk reaction is to just name myself Baby Smurf.
I say this because it is simply the most logical choice. I am the baby of the team and exude many newbie qualities. However, you could also call me Finance Smurf, who is a relatively unknown smurf from the Smurf comics who is known for introducing the currency to his peers, after being fascinated by its use in the human world. It was abandoned after a while since using currency created poverty and corruption among them. Alas these would be to easy...after much thought I have settled on smurfing myself as Vanity Smurf. Vanity Smurf is the epitome of a Narcissist. He has a flower in his hat, and he often holds a hand mirror, staring into his own reflection, which he kisses often. In the Hanna-Barbera cartoon, Vanity speaks in an effeminate voice.
I'll admit it, I enjoy being the life of the party. I get a kick out of a being a bit different from the usual. I enjoy racing the occasional triathlon in nothing but my speedo...i mean who wouldn't want to show off the banana hammock? Is staring at yourself in the mirror while sitting on your bike in a speedo and aero helmet weird?.....(that's for you to decide) If I had to mock myself I would go right after the fact that for a color blind dude most every piece of triathlon/biking apparel has some sort of matching scheme. I mean my bike is green, my tri kit is green, my oakleys were customized to be green, my most recent pair of cycling shoes were special ordered from a store in Virginia BECAUSE THEY WERE GREEN. See a theme here people? oh yeah..staring at myself in the mirror while blowing kisses is pretty much the standard saturday night event before I head off to bed at 8pm so I am well rested for my long ride Sundays with Cusetri. Just ask him...he'll probably agree with me on this. None the less I enjoy rocking the flamboyant apparel, I enjoy going a little bit beyond the realm of "normal"...and just all your Lake Placid people wait..I have some killer new pants on the way JUST FOR LAKE PLACID (Ironman USA)...your gonna love em! So with that I am very pleased with the smurfing of myself. And just like Vanity if you or a friend sports a dude decked out in all green on a green bike with a flower stuck in his Aero Helmet...well you know who it will be...it will be your old pal TURBO CURBEAU! Just make sure to give him a nod as you pass...and if you are the type of person who is mean or is an "unhappy triathlete" and passes me on the bike...well you can count on me remembering you and when I jog on by you at the ski jumps you will have ample time to think about just how great I match!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA SMURFING IS THE MOST FUNNEST THING IN THE WORLD!

We all have to PEE PEE

2010-07-15T14:30:00.005-04:00

I have an eye for the weird, the strange, and the unique things that go on in everyday life. Today for instance it was brought to my attention that their are many ways for a man to urinate. And by this I mean their are many ways that a man completes this task. I will start by listing out the recent "stances" I have seen in action.

1. 1 arm/elbow lean (completely exhausted looking)
2. Hands on hip stance of defiance over the urinal
3. The Standard two down below guiding the squirt gun
4. Pants dropped to the floor little kid look..or old man
5. Dude struggling to get his wanker out of boxer briefs or tighty whiteys
etc..etc...

Probably my favorite "urinal stance" is the one arm/elbow lean. It is one that I myself have not yet achieved but believe me their is still time. I will give you a hint, its the one that old men use when they are at a urinal. Yep, its the one elbow or hand against the bathroom wall (why they would put their exposed flesh or clean linen on a bathroom wall is beyond me), head is either hanging down without any muscle tension or the forehead is actually plastered against the wall..anything to take the strain off of actually fighting gravity and keeping it upright. I guess thats what happens when you age, you fight gravity more and more, old people seem to fall down stairs and in general just fall for no reason a lot more than say younger more spry individuals. Also their privates I think fight gravity a lot more than a teenager..but that's getting off track. Back to what I was saying, the one arm against the wall, head dropped, forehead against wall urinal stand is absolutely LAUGH OUT LOUD funny...i mean seriously do you think you don't look like a complete weirdo? But this does raise the question of, Are these men really that tired of life? Is life beating them down so much that they are just so freaking relieved to have a moment to take a pee pee...I mean I don't feel like peeing really takes a lot out of you in an energy sense. I say this because it literally looks like these guys just completed a 70.3 or Ironman distance race...OR is it because they are old and they have urinary track issues and its literally like they are pissing fire...or they have an STD that they got from the swinging era of the 1960's-1980's? If their are wearing an old SanFran Giants hat (forwards) then its probably a good guess..that or the ass-less chaps they may or may not have on. I just dunno but its seriously funny!

My new thing

2010-07-15T12:40:00.002-04:00

I'm liking my new job a lot right now! Even though I will get more work put on my plate and the actual "work" will get tougher its just the overall atmosphere at the place that is just so refreshing. The people are great...I have my very own desk with a dual monitor computer set up that would make the most tech-savy nerd jealous. I reside on the tax side of the office which is very peaceful yet occasional outburst from my fellow co-workers do occur from time to time. One person is currently battling Mono so he has become the "whipping boy" of late. Personally I have not made fun of him for this AT ALL! I do not want to take any chances on upsetting karma and coming down with some sickness just days before IMLP. Thus I sit here drinking plenty of fluids and making sure my immune system is stocked..(yes, I did by Flinstone Immune Booster chewable vitamins last night, and yes the cashier asked me if they were for me or my child...yeah..i just nodded and walked the other way).

So here I am now, its lunch time. Thats something that used to not be in my vocabulary. At my old job no one ever "took" lunch. Most of my lunch's at the office consisted of me sitting in front of my computer either surfing the net or doing work...yeah, not so cool. Anywho, today I had the pleasure of eating my lunch in the break room with 6 other people! 6 of them, can you believe that! It was nice, and now since I technically still have some free time I am posting my blog. I will now have the chance to post my blogs at times other than between 4-5am, how wondeful.

So there it is..my new thing. I am off to check some email and get back to work now. Then its TO THE MALL this evening. My wonderful parents will be joining me there and I believe we shall be dining at the fine establishment of The Bonefish Grill.

Until next time,

Turbo is out!

Time to get on the wagon...

2010-07-14T05:31:00.004-04:00

My posting has been sparse lately, most likely correlating to how I have been feeling. (i.e. when I feel good, am well rested, etc.. I post a lot, when I am tired, cranky, scatter brained I do not post a lot). Along the same lines of Cusetri I can honestly say that during last week the training efforts that I have put in throughout 2010 so far really caught up to me. All throughout May I was a mess, my body was hurt and all I wanted to do was push through it and get better without sacrificing much needed volume. Well I did...I biked my butt off. I couldn't run so I didn't even try. In reality I probably should have taken time off from the bike but so be it. I may have made the recovery to running longer but any way you look at it I am here now and NOW I can run again. My legs and calves are sore, they feel like they felt when I began really running for the first time last fall. I guess thats what happens when you essentially take a month and a half off from any type of real running. None the less the run volume has increased and today will be another 1 hour run with some tempo in it (I ran for an hour yesterday too!). As long as the legs and everything are good to go after today I really won't have to worry about any tough run efforts up until race day in Placid...so fingers crossed people! But like I was saying last week was really rough on me. I ended up skipping a 2:30 bike that was scheduled last Wednesday because I was just too tired, too out of it, too swollen in the feet area...I am not sure why my feet decided to basically swell up but I think it was some sort of combination of dehydration, insane heat that occurred last week, and insane humidity. It basically happened last Tuesday night when after a long holiday weekend with some good training I went out to do a run at night..in the humidity...after having swam for an hours in the AM...and not being properly hydrated....none the less Wed morning I was a mess and I just couldn't do it. I pulled the plug on the workout and began trying to feel better for the weekend race in Geneva. I can honestly say that I felt "off" all the way until the swim start of the Sprint triathlon I did on Saturday morning. Something was just out of balance in my body. I wasn't "normal".

Anywho, I'm on my lunch break at the moment...enjoying a wonderful salad. I bought a can of garbanzo beans and dumped them on the salad today..wonderful addition! I also must confess that I cracked open a can of garbanzo's last night at like 11pm and ate the whole dang thing..those little guys are goood! Better than a late night snack of cookies and ice cream I guess.

The run this morning went really really well. I had an hour planned with the last 20 minutes being in my tempo zone. This is going to be my last run at "tempo" effort so I was hopeful that I would be able to cruise at this pace without any problems. To my suprise I was able to hit my goals and have a good last 20 minutes, it was actually really good in the sense that my pace was already quick at zone 2..so going into zone 3 brought my pace down below my half ironman pace of like 6:50-7:10. I'm pleased with that for today...but the run this morning is only half of my trianing plan today. Since I had both a 1hr run and 1hr bike scheduled I had to choose 1 to do in the morning and 1 at night because I needed to be in work by 7:30 today, but at least I will be out around 4:30-5:00 tonight which will make it easier to get the ride in and get to bed early enough that my 5:30am swim at Kershaw Park won't hurt to bad. And with that I will put out an open invitation to anyone who is man enough to get up early and swim that you make your way down to Canandaigua Lake with us and hit the water for a nice swim at 5:30 tomorrow morning. Are you Iron enough for that????

So that's it folks. Im at my new job and really liking it so far. The people seem to be awesome folks and genuinely concerned about making me feel comfortable and teaching me everything I need to know to suceed. They are focused on helping me find my way in the working world and they want to see me on a path where I will grow and develop my career. I look forward to what the future has to offer. And with that I will leave you all for today. I am going to finish this nice salad, do some more tax work, and then ride my bike tonight.

Until next time,

-Turbo

Early Mornings

2010-07-07T04:17:00.003-04:00

It's almost 4:30am..ive been up since 3:00 doing various things on the computer like paying all the bills that are essential in life and filling out forms for the new job, etc etc..but the main reason why I am up this early is because I am going out or a 2 and a 1/2 hour bike ride this morning before work. The plan is to ride this morning and then immediately go to sleep after I get out of work around 5 o'clock this afternoon. Let's hope everything goes to plan!

Fashion Statement

2010-07-06T22:27:00.002-04:00

On my way to work today I saw an overweight man riding a bike wearing only a helmet, bike shoes, and bib shorts. No jersey or anything, just bib shorts...nuff said.

A Quickie

2010-07-05T21:36:00.002-04:00

It's getting late (9:30) and I need to get to bed so I can wake up and be swimming by 5:30 tomorrow morning...so here's a little quickie.

Today was a weird day, idk how to explain it but I just felt like I was in a fog. I had a rough day on Sunday training-wise and I think that had something to do with it. Plus I just felt weird on my bike and couldn't quite explain it...I think my aero bars have shifted or something, I just don't feel the same way on the bike as I did before. Anyways, I will sort that out. It's probably me just being tired or something, but I will try and get it looked at it soon if it's still bugging me. That does remind me that I need to swing by Towpath Bike tomorrow and make sure my chain is all squared away, my ride was shifting a little rough for a bit today and I am not quite sure why. Maybe the deraiuller has shifted or something...thats another thing to get worked out this week. So other than me not being as comfortable on the bike as I would have liked the day was just weird because I felt like I had a million things to do when in reality I didn't. I lounged around this morning and watched the tour de france, which was quite interesting with all the crashes that occurred today. So I enjoyed that and then eventually rode my bike and stuff. I even helped my mom clean up the office a little bit, I had to pitch in and help around the house in some way! Then around 5:30 my wonderful mother and I headed to the lake where she jumped in the kayak and rowed beside me as I enjoyed a very pleasant 30 minute swim along the beautiful Keuka Lake Shorline. This was then followed by a wonderful dinner at The Keuka Restaurant in blossoming downtown Penn Yan.

I also want to add that I have revamped my nutritional plan as it has been quite atrocious of late. I spent some time today playing with excel (no joke) and putting together my meal plans for recovery days, AM Workout days, PM workouts days, Long Workout Days, Race Days, etc...this really helps me as I can see what I have laid out in front of me. If I do not do this I am a mess...and that's exactly what has happened lately. But now as we are just about 3 weeks out from IMLP I need to tighten this ship up and get reading to rock and roll. I have made it through day one eating as I should, yeah sure I had an extra dessert snack tonight (1 cup greek nf yogurt, 1 tbsp dark choc chips, 1 tbsp peanut butter chips) so I had two tonight instead of 1..but I did lack some calories this morning as I was consumed with the tour and didn't eat anything before I rode...so I think I made up for it. But anyways I didn't gorge on anything or eat something really really bad that will make my stomach hurt when I swim tomorrow morning so I am happy. I write this here because it gives me good motivation to stick to the plan. And stick to the plan I will!

Gotta get that shut eye..first day of work at the new job tomorrow! Nervous?..yes, a bit. Excited?...yes, very! I hope that my new adventure in the big world of being a grown up turns out to be an exciting and rewarding one. I'm sure it will as I will give it my all...night!

Yesterday & Today

2010-07-03T08:26:00.001-04:00

Well I've been here at kershaw park for a little over an hour. I usually do not procrastinate around my workouts but I do not have to go into work today and it's just so darn beautiful, plus I keep talking to people I know that are coming out of the water after their one swims. However my good buddy chris leonardi aka Craig alexander just showed up so I will finally get in the water when he does. At the moment he has jetted over for his usual cup of starbucks rocky fuel. Thus, I am sitting in my wonderful outback typing on my iPad (Notes app) since I don't have a wifi connection. But I will transfer this note to my blog later today..it's a nice process and typing on the iPad is really pretty easy. Well there he comes, starbucks coffee in hand...looks like it's time to get motivated. I'll be back in an hour or so...

Back in business. Its about 11am now, I'm back in PY reading the new new lance Armstrong book titled "Tour de Lance"; about his comeback and everything last year. Good read, well anything about LA is a good read so you can't really go wrong...

Chris and I hammered put a nice 60 minute swim this morning at kershaw and then capped the morning off with a nice visit to Starbucks. Conversation of lake placid and future triathlon events ensued. After that i headed back to the homeland that is Penn Yan and it is here now that I am lying down and reading "Tour de Lance". I am trying to catch a little nap before I get some lunch but we will see...I usually have a hard time napping when the sun is up, but I will try! Other than that i have nothing else really planned for today. Even though I do nit have a bike workout I think I am going to clean the bike up, make some minor adjustments and then go for an easy spin or something. I can't just sit still all day.

The previous stuff was From yesterday. It is now Saturday, which is also the start of the epic tour de France! Lance vs contador!! So I am off to get s little swim and run in before it starts at 11:30. Catch y'all later.

Time to relax and soak it all in - QT2 Camp Weekend!

2010-06-28T14:56:00.004-04:00

It's absolutely pouring outside right now (good thing I have the day off from training) and with the rain soaking the ground right now it just made me think about how my body also soaking in all of the training that I have put it through over the past few weeks. I have been lucky enough to have the last three weeks almost completely off from work as I am currently transitioning companies. So with all this time off I have been able to go to Lake Placid for not one but TWO training weekends with my Train This teammates as well as another training weekend in Ludlow Vermont with the QT2 triathlon team. All in all with the addition of the Keuka Triathlon at the beginning of the month, I can say that with absolute certainty June has been the best month of 2010..maybe the best month over the past two years. If it wasn't for the first 15 days of April it might pose a threat to June....but nah..June takes the cake so far. But you know what the best thing is? It's that July will be upon us in only a few short days and July means Ironman #1...what will it bring? I am not sure what will happen yet. Am I a bit nervous? Sure..it's my first Ironman distance race ever, 140.6 miles is a long way, but I have the training, the base, the team, the friends, the coach....in short I have a full support team.

Sooooo....moving on. As I sit here watching and listening to the rain pour down I must say that being able to just sit down and type on my computer is quite relaxing. Since last Thursday I have been going strong and the storm that is my life has finally settled. It ended today with a good session at the Chiropractors where a lot of work (and progress!) was done on my legs which have more knots in them then a 4yr olds shoe lace. That was at 10am..(I "slept in" until 7:30 and then dabbled on my computer checking emails and such for a little while before making a nice berry smoothie for breakfast), after the therapy I headed over to Geneva with my bike to have the guys at the shop take a look at her and make sure everything was in tip top condition being that it has been through a lot over the past few weeks. Placid and Vermont back to back has put a substantial amount of miles on it..along with a substantial amount of rain being dumped on it. Anywho, after I had the biked checked out I headed back to Penn Yan to chill out, so right now its about 3pm and I am hanging...finally just relaxing and letting the body heal, but I am hungry so I am going to grab some food real quick and then get back to this post..

Alright I'm back now. While I was grabbing a bite to eat I remembered about a book that I just purchased on my iPad today, and I wanted to share it with you all since its a very funny, light, and quick read. The book is an autobiography by Steve Martin and its called "Born Standing Up", highly entertaining and one that I highly recommend.

Now that I have caught you all up to speed with what my Monday has been like I'll try to summarize the awesome experience that I had this weekend in Vermont with the QT2 Triathlon team.

On Thursday I started the day off early by leaving for Ludlow, VT around 8:30AM. I arrived in town around 2'ish and grabbed some food. I then proceeded to drive aimlessly around Ludlow looking for the address of the place where I was staying, eventually I found it and around 4 some QT2'ers arrived and the training weekend began. Tim and Cait Snow arrived first, since they were headed out for a bike ride before the rest of the team arrived I jumped at the chance to get a ride in as well and I headed out with Tim on what became about a 2 hour ride, filled with downhills, uphills, rain and rainbows. It was a good ride and a good way to start the weekend. Later that night when the rest of the QT2'ers showed up we all ate Subway and got ready for the training ahead.

Friday brought an easy 2 hour bike ride to begin the day, a nice and easy swim in a nearby lake, and then everyone had their "long run". The best part of this day other than the bike being just a nice easy cruise was that I was actually able to run...and run for a whole hour!

Saturday was jam packed with Triathlon awesomeness. To start the day off with a bang we all traveled to a nearby lake which was located in a state park. Luckily Jesse from QT2 "knows people" and the park was opened early especially for us. Once everyone was properly warmed up we all aligned at a particular buoy and started our 1 mile swim time trial in a mass start format. The best part of this was that we had two wonderful helpers, Mikaela and Chrissie (Jesse's wife) in paddle boats who gave us markers to shoot for. Soooo the course was two loops, I started out hard and knew when I saw Cait snow still by my side that their was no way I would hold this longer than the 50 yards we had just gone, hahaha...i settled into a nice pace which was significantly behind the lead group, although I hung on for the entire time in my own group that was in the "in-between" from the lead group and the larger chase group..i even was able to "drag" a good guy named Ted the whole time as he drafted of me the whole way and then proceeded to drop me with 100 yards left..kudos to him for being smart :) I ended up swimming a 23:57 for the 1 mile distance which made me extremely happy and the tone for the rest of the day/weekend. After the swim we all headed back to town to get ready for our long rides and T runs. Since I decided to take a leak right as everyone took off I spend the first 30 minutes chasing the lead group to catch up with them...why I did this I am not quite sure because I basically ride by myself on long rides anyways. But none the less I wanted to start out with the rest of the pack. I ended up riding with Pat Wheeler (a really good guy, a year older than me who is an outstanding triathlete who has qualified for Kona already this year at St. George and who also won the 18-24AG @ Lake Placid last year with a time of 9:45...that's smoking fast! And he is only getting better. Pat is not only an amazing triathlete but he is a QT2 tri coach who really knows his stuff, I bugged him all weekend by picking his brain but I can honestly say that I learned a ton from him and maybe someday I will be able to join him in Hawaii at race with him there!). Since Pat had a shorter ride in tap for the day he turned around at about the 2:30 mark and i continued on. My ride lasted almost 7 hours and took me through some really nice places like Killington Mt. and even a climb in a really beautiful forest area. Pro triathlete and Ironman Lake Placid Champion Cait Snow was riding up ahead of me (which I must say was freaking cool as hell) so I would periodically see her ahead of me on the long straight aways or something where I could see for miles ahead...haha, none the less it was good motivation. I rode solo for the majority of the ride, which is what I like..makes the ride tougher and builds some mental strength. Don't get me wrong I love the social nature of cycling but when its time to put in the work I like to be solitary as on race day drafting is not allowed and no one will be shooting the s*^& during the race. So to wrap this day up I made it back to Ludlow and ended my ride at about 6hrs and 50 minutes. I jumped into my transition run and hammered out 3 miles. The best part of the whole thing was that my leg that has been bothering me held up the whole time (this after a 1 hr run the previous day) and it was good to go the next day...which brings me to the next day, SUnday!

Sunday I was up early again to have my coffee and eat my breakfast. Around 7:30 I had the chance to get an amazing massage on my legs from a group in Boston that is associated with the QT2 Team. It really is pretty awesome when you can just train all weekend, hang with awesome people, put a ton of miles on your bike and legs, and then just grab a massage and do it all over again. So yeah, I had a nice massage on Sunday morning and then got ready to head out with the crew for a recovery ride that just so happened to have a 6.3mile uphill time trial sandwiched into it. I can honestly say that as Pat and I made our way out to the TT course together, the 1 hr easy ride alone was pretty taxing on our tired legs and a time trial up a hill really didn't seem all that appealing. But I mean when you have 20 other people getting ready to hammer up the hill along side you it makes it a heck of a lot easier to get motivated. We ended up drawing numbers and heading off up the hill TT style, 30 seconds apart. I was 4th to go and finished with a respectable 25:11 effort. The funny thing is that I didn't use my garmin for this since I didn't have my power meter or my cadence sensor hooked up to my road bike..so I had no clue how much farther the course was when I was riding. I say that this is funny because I truly thought I had another mile left when I finished the TT...if I had known that I would have spent myself a bit more at the end..but it really doesn't matter. I still taxed my body in a good way and got one hell of a workout...no complaints here, I had an absolute blast. I think the best part of the TT was about 1/2 way when Jesse passed me like a bolt of lighting...and he started 3 places back of me, which is 1min and 30 seconds behind me. However, I kept Jesse in my sights for the rest of the climb which made me feel good, I think he served as sort of a carrot for me to chase. I wish I had started behind him, oh well...next time I'll be stronger :) It was all in good fun though, and just like the rest of the weekend I had an absolute blast. After the TT we all headed back to town and most all jumped into a short transition run to end the day. I was able to run for almost an hour and was extremely excited that my body held up! After that the group met up for one last time before everyone headed home. We all voted for the "most outstanding camper" and Tim Tappley, who is an absolute monster rightfully was voted as the champ. I mean I voted for him so he better have won! The guy absolutely crushed the swim TT with a 21 minute performance (which I was told a huge performance from just 2-3 years prior when the swim was really his weakness). Tim also smoked everyone in the bike TT with a 22:05 performance, winning by over a minute against the rest of us! What is exceptionally impressive about the fact that he had a great TT effort is that he rode for 7 hours plus with Tim Snow the day before. They were so far ahead of me that I literally never saw them...what studs! Hope I can ride with them someday...and not slow them down. I just wanted to add that Tim Tapply is a really great guy who answered many many questions that I had. I picked his brain relentlessly and he was more than happy to humor me. This camp was not only great for the training but great because of all the people I got to meet like Tim....and all the others who I won't name for fear that'd I'd leave them out.

Swim TT Results
Bike TT Results

So in summary I just wanted to thank Jesse and his QT2 team for having me up to Vermont with them. I had an absolute blast and learned a ton. I feel ready for Lake Placid and I can't wait to see all my new QT2 friends up there during race week....and of course on the course during race day! It's going to be one heck of week and one amazing day on July 25th. BRING IT ON!

-Turbo

Big Day Ahead

2010-06-26T05:32:00.002-04:00

Here I am, its around 5:30am up here in VT at the QT2 camp and I am already nursing my second cup of coffee. Unlike the usual mornings where I am sitting alone in my apartment or something I am currently joined by a super nice QT2 fellow named Ted. Ted and I are both early risers so its nice to have someone up and about in the early hours. Coach Eggers is an early riser as well so when we were in Placid last weekend that was also nice since she'd already be out on the porch chipping away at her computer when I got up. Eventually we'd make our way down to the local starbucks at 6am where we would help open up the store and buy 2 giant coffees.

I just posted this on twitter but I think I kind of came up with my motto for waking up early most every day, and it is:
"I wake up early almost every day purely to enjoy my cup or cups of coffee in the peace and serenity of the wee hours as well as to drink my coffee at my own leisure without the stress of being behind schedule"

On the agenda today is a timed 1 mile swim. This should be interesting as I have never really swam any type of distance in a timed fashion other than the beginning leg of a triathlon. I'll admit that I am a bit nervous as I don't want to really stink at it but my swim has definitely improved over the last year so all I can do is go out there and go as hard as I can for 1 mile and see where I am at. From there all I have to do is improve...that's the easy part right!

After the swim everyone will be heading back into town (the lake is about 5 miles out of town at a State Park) and getting ready to head out on their bikes for their "long ride". I love that term...the "long ride", triathletes will seldomly actually say the hours that will be ridden during their "long ride" and usually its not because they are embarrassed by the brief nature of it. If it was only a 2-3 hour ride it would be deemed a "recovery ride", for most people a 2-3 hour ride would be well...LONG...however most triathletes will simply say they have a long ride on tap and then hop on the bike for between 6-7 hours. I think triathletes in general learned a long time ago that instead of answering the millions of questions about their sanity, etc when they say their riding their bike for 6-7 hours straight they just say "Yeah, I've got a Long Ride today" and just leave it at that. This leaves the questioning person guessing as to what exactly they mean and usually further Q&A is avoided, thus allowing the triathlete to go on their way and get their ride in before either:
A. The rain front comes in,
B. Your kid's graduation ceremony wraps up or
C. Your wife leaves the restaurant where you were supposed to have your anniversary dinner...but I've got to say that most triathletes should be aware that missing an anniversary dinner or forgetting this could have great repercussions as such a mistake like this could hinder the purchase of a new tri bike or race wheelset for a good 2-3 years, I would advise that all athletes schedule a mandatory rest day on their anniversary and other super huge important days just to be on the safe side.

Alas, I make these comments without being married, without a girlfriend, without children, but I do follow the weather...but what I mean is I make this comments purely with the intention of trying to be humorous...I am not quite sure if I am, but hey at least I am trying.

Hmm..where was I. So yeah, a long bike ride is on tap for this afternoon...by long I am referring to about 6-7 hours on the bike with a 30 minute transition run after. The weather report looks a bit sketchy as the rain seems to be coming in around 10-11am..just about when we will all begin our rides, should be interesting. However, I am forever an optimist and I have the high hopes that the rain will not come and that we shall all complete our long rides on dry roads and with dry clothes :) None the less I just hope that everyone keeps two wheels firmly planted on the ground and no major spills occur...that's the worst!

For now I must go...I have to get my body awake and my things together. It's a big day, in fact its one of my last big training days before Lake Placid which is a month away, sounds silly but as we are 4 weeks out this means taper time is getting close. Plus in two weeks I will be racing a sprint triathlon so that weekend is already taken up thus leaving 3 weekends of training and 2 of those will be filled with mandatory rest....Oh boy, the big day is fast approaching.

The Calm Before the Storm

2010-06-25T05:59:00.004-04:00

I will probably use this blog post title more than once over the next 4 weeks. I think it to be quite relevant in the broad scheme of things to come in near future for my triathlete friends as well as myself. We've all put in an enormous amount of time and effort into our training over the past 10-12 months. It's literally been a whole year in the making. Well that's just for me since this is my first, so I guess you could say that for many people its been multiple years in the making. But just think about where we all were about a year ago. For me personally I was about to do my second triathlon ever, a sprint tri in Buffalo called the Quakerman. Although it is but a small race in the grand scheme of things I think I placed third in my AG and they gave me a trophy. Well slap me on the butt and call me silly but when I get something along the lines of a trophy or a plaque, no matter if I was an overall winner or just a participant, I am going to be the happiest boy in town. So I think it was also around this time where I got up the nerve and got one of the last spots in the Musselman 1/2 Ironman race in Geneva. I literally had no idea what I was doing at the time but I knew that anything with the word Ironman in it (relating to Triathlon, and well cartoons for that matter) WAS FREAKING COOL AS ALL GET OUT! So I just jumped in the race and figured I'd give it my best shot. The race was a lot of firsts for me, the first time I swam the 1/2 distance, biked the bike distance at a high intensity level (previously my longest rides consisted of two practice runs of the route the two weekends before the race with my good buddy Joe Crispino who got me hooked in this whole endurance sports game, Thanks for making me broke Joe :) haha..wouldn't trade it for anything). So yeah to make a long race recap story short I'll just say that it hurt. I thought all was going well until about mile 8 or 9 on the 1/2 marathon. I had never run this long in my life and never run this long on a run that had so many darn hills. The last 3 miles or so are on a pancake flat section that runs along the edge of the lake and well I felt like I was running in molasses, I just could not move the legs. I was alone and contemplated walking for a bit, but I knew if I completely stopped the legs I would never get them moving again. Alas I made it to the finish line, collected my sweet finishers medal (a small chain ring..very cool idea!) and then proceeded to have some of the worst pains in my legs I have ever felt, I also had a ton of salt residue on my body, something that I had never experienced before in my life and something that I have since not experienced again, hopefully I won't either as I know that this is something that I can control by monitoring my salt intake and utilizing salt tabs on long race days. There ya go, my first try at a real big triathlon..a total time of 5:28 with a run pace of over 9 minutes...YUCK! Thankfully I found Mary Eggers who helped me figure some things out over the winter and in a matter of a few months I put up a 4:45 down in Galveston, Texas this past April. I truly hope that I am only scratching the surface here and can really improve on my performance in Texas, I KNOW I CAN! The thing is..I really went all in to the Ironman game and signed up for not 1 but 2 ironman distance races this year (Placid and Florida). Probably a stupid beginners move but hey if you wanna qualify and then race in Kona you have to do 2 Ironman distances in one year anyways so I mean why not start practicing now so I can nail it in the future, haha! But anyways I am going to see how everything turns out this year. I have been battling some injuries over the past few months and I just want to be healthy going into Placid in 4 weeks, thats the main goal. Then I will go on a 2 week mandatory rest and assess my situation. I may not even race again until the end of September when the 1/2 Ironman in Syracuse, NY takes place. This year is all about testing the waters and seeing what its all about. As of now I think that I am going to totally focus on the 70.3 (1/2 Ironman) distances next year and really try to improve upon my speed. Maybe I will even head to Oceanside or Eagleman and try to claim a spot for Kona in the 70.3 distance...you never know right? Everyone's gotta have dreams and aspirations! But this will all be throught about after Placid, after I take my body through the hurtlocker, hahahaah!

On we go...

Yes, today is truly one of those "Calm before the Storm days". I am up here in Ludlow, VT with the QT2 triathlon team. These guys seem to have an amazing system going. Obviously my own coach Mary Eggers is a firm believer and you can tell that just by what she says like in her blog or whatnot. But everyone that I have met up here that is a member of the team is fully on-board with the "protocol" its very cool to see. So the place that they have put me up in is one of two townhouses that the team has rented out this weekend. Its sooooo cool! It's just a huge townhouse place with tons of furnished rooms, multiple kitchens and bathroom, tv's, wireless internet, etc...etc...I think it is mainly set up for huge parties to come up here and stay in the winter while they are here to ski at the nearby ski resort. Ludlow, VT as you would probably guess is definitely a ski town and I can only imagine that being here during the winter would be killer as it is a totally small, quaint little town that probably knows how to have a ton of fun.

I got in here yesterday afternoon, had some lunch and drove around the area to get a lay of the land. After getting lost and finding my way back again I lounged in my car and waited for the "Bostonians" as the whole team is from the Boston area, to arrive. Tim and Cait Snow both who are both professional triathletes and both QT2 coaches arrived first. I had never met them before but they were totally cool and introduced themselves to me as well as invited me to come along on a bike ride with them as they were gonna head out for a couple hours before the rest of the crew got in. Well I am never going to turn down going for a bike ride, let alone turn down an offer to head out with someone with as much experience and pedigree as Tim Snow. So out we went, Cait (who is preparing once again to win Placid, oh yeah..did I mention she has freaking won the whole darn race! Yeah..that's badass!..she just got a new bike so she is out to kill it this year!) turned and went a different direction than Tim and I. I stayed with Tim and we headed out for what would be about a 2 hour ride. I must say that it is exceptionally beautiful up here in VT. Lots of streams, hills, rocks, Mountains, etc...For the first hour we were pretty much going at a really good clip since it was downhill and with the wind. Although it started raining a bunch at various times during the ride it really wasn't that bad, kinda of cooled things off and also produced this magnificent piece of scenery that I captured with my water logged iPhone, thankfully it still worked then and is still working now :) But check this out...

Tim and I searched for the pot o gold at the end of the rainbow but alas we could not find the end..sneaky rainbow! I blame the Lucky Charms guy for messing with us. However, Ken a Train This teammate gave me a tip about where the pot o gold was, he said that it was at the finish line of IMLP..so now I have some motivation (not that I didn't have any before, haha) and I am definitely going to go as fast as possible so nobody gets to that gold before me!

Well I could go on and on but I need to get ready for the day, 1 cup of coffee down, time to finish breakfast and get the bike ready for a nice Friday morning ride with the new crew. I am really looking forward to learning a TON this weekend, its going to be so much fun!

On tap for the day is I think 2-3 hours on the bike, a swim time trial (ut oh!) and then a run. Details to come later.

Have a great day everyone!

-Turbo

Travel Day

2010-06-24T07:39:00.003-04:00

Today is a very exciting day! I am headed to Ludlow, Vermont for a weekend of Triathlon fun with the QT2 Triathlon team. I was lucky enough to have one of their stud triathlete/coach contact me as see if I wanted to join them for the camp. They had a couple slots open after all their team members signed up so they were looking for some other people to fill the slots. Well I was more than happy to jump on board, I mean who wouldn't want to hang out and train for triathlon all weekend with dedicated triathletes! And these people with QT2 are legit! Their will probably be top pro's in attendance, The "Wizard" aka Jesse, aka Mary Eggers coach will be there, and oh yeah the kid that contacted me who is just 1 year older than me has already qualified for Kona this year at the tough St. George IM back in May. And oh by the way he took 1st in the 18-24yr old AG at Lake Placid last year and went to Kona. So he knows what it takes. You should check him out, he will probably be a big name pro in the near future, hears his blog --> Pat Wheeler's Blog. With that said I must say that I really cannot wait to pick Pat's brain about anything and everything triathlon and in particular how he approached the Lake Placid Ironman as he obviously dominated it last year. Plus I will get to be coached and get to pick the brains of some top triathletes all weekend long...ITS GONNA BE AMAZING!

Tuesday Snoozeday

2010-06-22T18:38:00.003-04:00

I am now officially unemployed until July 6th when my new position at Dejoy, Knauf, and Blood begins. I have spent the last two years with PwC and have had many many experiences in the big corporate world of public accounting. The big accounting firms truly do have a lot to offer when it comes to starting people off on their career paths and for that I am extremely grateful to have had the chance to begin my own career with them. With that said, I am also extremely excited to begin the next chapter of my professional career which will begin to focus more on personal taxation. I am looking forward to really learning and getting to know the ins and out of this area and I hope I can really use it for some good!

So that's my work related post...now onto the exciting life of an unemployed 24 year old triathlete who is resting up for fun filled weekend of swimming, biking and running with the QT2 Triathlon Team in Ludlow, Vermont. I am currently residing in the metropolis of Penn Yan, NY and in more specific, lying in bed at the Turbo Curbeau headquarters (aka Curbeau Realty Office - second floor - parents temperpedic bed..the best is like sitting on a cloud send down from heaven). Anywho, yesterday was a bit busy and had me on my feet all day as I was a spotter at a Charity Golf Event. I was on the morning crew so I had to be at the club around 6am, which meant waking up at around 5am..which normally wouldn't have been so bad except for the fact that I had just returned home from Placid at around 9pm or so..then unpacked and such and finally got to bed around 11pm. This was also after a super fantastic weekend of training so I was pretty tired. None the less I continued on and after I turned in all my computer stuff and everything at work I stopped by the bike shop and proceeded to hang out there until they closed up shop around 8pm. They hooked my bike up with a new cassette that will allow me to spin up those Lake Placid hills with a bit more ease and thus give me a little more spring in my step when I crush the marathon. I ended up hitting Wegmans on the way home for some dinner and made it into Penn Yan around 10pm...in bed around 11:30. Sooo what I am getting at is that I need sleep and so I slept till 7:30 and then had some therapy on the leg and such and came right back to the office and have since been just resting and relaxing. I normally cannot take a nap on days when I am just doing nothing but today I was so tired that I snuck in a 2 and 1/2 hour nap. Usually just the laying down with my feet up is the only thing I can do..and thats good, but to actually get a nap in, well that's just icing on the cake. And in conclusion I am thankful that my nice coach Mary gave me both Yesterday and today completely off from training. Both my body and mind needed it!

Tomorrow I have a little open water swimming on tap, and the big question is when and where? I am hoping that some people will be swimming at Kershaw Park tomorrow but I am not sure yet..time will tell. If not I am lucky to have a little lake called Keuka Lake in my backyard here in Penn Yan, so I really can't lose.

Since I'll actually be out of the house and stuff tomorrow and moving around I will be motivated to post a better blogging than this but for now I am still tired and I am going to continue to watch tv and be lazy. I don't know when I will get this chance again...Smoke em if you got em right?

-Turbo

Status Update

2010-06-13T09:38:00.003-04:00

Well its Sunday morning here in Lake Placid. I am now firmly planted in the Main Street Starbucks awaiting to hear back from Corona who is out on his long run. We met up around 6 this morning, drank some coffee, and hopped on our bikes for a little 1 hr recovery ride. Recovery was the key word. We circled Mirror Lake a bunch of times and tooled around through town watching all the Marathon people get geared up to run. The atmosphere definitely picked up the last two days as the marathoners and other training triathletes appeared. It gave me a glimpse of what race week will be like in July. I can only imagine that the energy in this little town is going to be spiked! I am going to drink up every second of it and even bottle some of it up for during that last 11 miles on the bike, and of course that little thing called a marathon.

I must confess that although this weekend in Placid was absolute bliss that I am a bit disappointed in my performance. I felt good on Friday as I tackled a 2hr bike ride which was about 40 something miles with hills over the last section of the Ironman bike loop as well as swimming 3.6 miles. However, the cumulative training that I've put in caught up with me during the long ride on Saturday. I made it through the first loop without any issues other than the fact that it was raining the whole time and pretty darn cold on those descents. However, the whole second loop was a struggle to hold a decent pace. I was definitely working hard! None the less I made it back and attempted a run off the bike. I was extremely pleased to be able to hit the roads and run for about 3 miles without any pain. I got some food, rested up and swam another loop of the lake course in the evening...and that was that. A good hard training day that got the best of me. The fact that I could run off the bike really made me happy, however this morning after I got off the recovery ride I tried to go on a 40 minute run and my leg just wasn't having it. The Achilles/calve thing tightened up and told me that it just didn't want to do any work today. I listened to my body and called the run off..which leads me to now. As I said in the beginning I am in Starbucks waiting for Corona to get back from his long 2:30 run (man I wish I could be out there too...although that's really long I probably wouldn't last, haha) So yeah I'm having a nice coffee to warm me up before we will both jump in the lake for one last time this weekend before heading home.

Paradise Revisited

2010-06-11T07:06:00.004-04:00

I've now made the trek to Lake Placid 5 times in the last year. Well I guess you could say 6 since I did come up here with my parents when I was a wee child. Back then I skied with my Mom on Whiteface, watched the Harlem Globetrotters play basketball, and skated on the Olympic Rink. I must have been about 10 or 11 years old but I can honestly say that I loved it here in Lake Placid. In fact, I loved it pretty much everyone my parents have taken me. If I can take a bit of a detour from my Lake Placid inspired post I want to say thanks to my parents. I want to thank them for all the long-weekend trips that we took back in the day. The trips to Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut, etc. Yes, I have been blessed to have traveled predominantly with my mom literally all over the world. Growing up with older siblings and relatives that spread out all over the globe from Colorado to Japan to Australia gave me the chance to see the world at a very young age. Let's face it, I was spoiled rotten. By the age of 12 I had been to more distant places that most people had been in their whole lives. That's just the way it went. I did not grow up with a brother or sister who lived with me and I grew up living in the upstairs of a real estate office...thus my childhood was a bit different than most. But I wouldn't trade it for the world. I had so many unique experiences, I mean just think...I was best friends with the kid whose parents ran the go-kart track right down the road from my parents office/my home, I was babysat (aka roller bladed with) by a kid named Cable Doyle. If your from Penn Yan and know who that is you will get a kick out of that. So yeah I can remember going Horseback riding with my mom in New Hampshire, going to the big LLBean store in Freeport Main, riding the Cog railway, skiing Whiteface Mountain..and the list goes on. Nowadays I do more traveling on my own since I am now a very old 24 years old but looking ahead I can't wait to have my parents join me up here in Lake Placid during Ironman Lake Placid race week. I have never experienced the race week up here but from what I hear its absolutely electric, and thats good to hear because I really light up from the people around me. I am like a sponge when it comes to that type of atmosphere, I can literally suck in the energy from all those around me and store it right in my body...and you know I will surely need it during those last 11 miles on the bike and pretty much for the entire 26.2 of the Marathon! Alright I'll get back to my original post now.

What I began writing about today was in retrospect to all the trips that I have made to Lake Placid over the past year. I guess this whole journey all began almost 1 year ago (the day after IMLP 2009). It was July 2009 and I had just began my triathlon career. I was digging it and drinking it all in. I had just finished my first 1/2 distance at the local Musselman Tri in Geneva, NY..which was tough! Anyway, the Lake Placid Ironman was in the back of my mind and it was kind of like a joke when I thought about actually doing it, but if you know me when I get something in my mind and I really want it or and intrigued by it...its just going bug the hell out of me until I scratch that itch..be it bikes, cars, shoes...whatever. So anyway last July I was out in Denver during the IMLP race weekend. I was there for the wedding of a family friend. Denver is way cool by the way, the rents and I caught a Rockies game, enjoyed downtown Denver, and were able to be present at an absolutely gorgeous wedding. Well the whole time I kept thinking that on Monday, the day after we would get back (the wedding was on Saturday and we were flying back Sunday, scheduled to touch down in Rochester at 10:30PM). Well...leave it to me to just bug the hell out of myself until I just did it. I knew that if you were at Lake Placid the day after the race you could get in line and sign up for the race next year after all the volunteers had their chance. Leave it to wacky triathletes to wait in a 7 hour line to sign up for an event that takes place the following year..and here is the kickers..we are gladly willing to plop down almost $600 dollars for race entry and then go to the local hotel and get a hotel for a mandatory 5 day stay in which the bill is well over $1k...and were are grinning from ear to ear the whole dang time! I LOVE IT, haha. Thankfully my father needs to be properly situated when staying at hotels (aka he needs a comfy hotel bed, a clean room/bathroom, good tv with cable which includes the Golf Channel and Speed Network, etc..)so naturally my mom and I searched out for one of the better hotels in Placid, and I think we found one in the Golden Arrow. The place is pretty swank and is located right on the LP Main Street..right across the road from where Cusetri is staying..which is cool. And btw, Cusetri just confirmed that he got the ok from Ms. Cusetri to travel with TurboCurbeau up to Lake Placid a day early (the wed before, since his hotel reservation doesn't start until thurs). This is cool because the drive to LP can be boring and it will be nice to have a co-pilot. Plus, I am going to need someone to keep me occupied leading up to the race..I mean other than watching the tour de france what the hell am I going to do with myself as I won't be able to go for 3 hr bike rides...So anyway, I got off the plane in Rochester around 10:30PM and hightailed it through the night to Lake Placid. I arrived somewhere around 4:30am and proceeded to sit in line until 12:30pm when at that time I was able to sign up for the race..and are you ready for the kick in the pants. A number of my friends were able to sign up on the internet just a couple hours later from the comfort of their homes. Usually their are only a few slots left that go to the internet, so its your best bet to register in person...well I guess not this year as they registered from home...and me I was in Lake Placid, sleep deprived but still smiling from ear to ear. I was not mad, it was just another journey in the life that is Turbo. So that was definitely an adventure, and a fun one at that. It seemed so long ago that I signed up for this race and now here we are, my friends (teammates)and about 2500 other people..just 5 weeks out from the race. Personally I've been dealing with some injuries that have hindered my running..but whatever will just see what everything is like on race day and go from there..either way I am going to have one hell of day on July 25th..I am going to be able to race with almost 3,000 people and most importantly with my fellow Train This teammates. We have all been through a great year of training together and its going to be special to see all of them on the course going after it!..and just imagine what the finish line is going to be like...the truth is I can't imagine, I am just going to soak it all in and just be in the moment...its going to be absolutely amazing!

So that was my first trip back to LP. Since then I have been up here with my friend Joe Crispino. We came up last August after we had both signed up for the race. He took me on the bike course, 2 loops, and as this was my first time doing that distance..I was rocked after it...my legs felt like they wanted to just fall off...but it was a good pain, that's for sure. Then in October I was able to have one of those long weekends with my parents (the ones we had when I was in school) up here as they came up and spent a few days in the great outdoors while I rode my bike and ran around up here in Lake Placid, that was cool! Then fast forward to Spring 2010, last weekend I was up here with my buddy Mike "Cusetri" Corona. We had a great time getting some training in, even if I about bonked off my bike while Cusetri proceeded to crush everything in sight. Oh well, I think I was just tired..I can't wait to tackle some awesome training this weekend, Ive rested up this week with minimal training and I feel that I am primed for some great training. Sidenote: Corona and his brother are racing a sprint tri this weekend and it is Corona's brothers first one ever! I wish him all the best and I hope he kicks butt! Then this weekend I am back up here in this paradise that is Lake Placid. I will be meeting up with a ton of fellow teammates from the Train This tri team that is coached by Mary Eggers. It is going to be hell of weekend. There is going to be a ton of energy from all the people..and you know what that means...it means that all the energy is going to be soaked up by me and utilized on the course...I love this stuff! Already two teammates have arrived. The original Bromantic partners (Chris and Don) arrived at about midnight to the palatial Alpine Air Motel. They had been very generous and allowed me to stay in their room last night so I was nestled in the corner of the room sleeping when they arrived. We greeted each other and then proceeded to pass back out till morning. And here I am, its about 7:20am and Im getting my coffee and breakfast in before I hit Mirror Lake for an easy morning swim to get the blood flowing. After that I believe Chris, Don, and I are going to relax by watching the USA in the FIFA world cup..honestly I am not that interested in the soccer game but it will be nice to just hang with the boys...to not have any other responsibilities other than to rest up for all the training that we will be doing this weekend. Plus I am going to work on getting my bike all set up for the weekend...yeah...I LOVE THIS STUFF!

So that's it for now folks, I am going to finish my coffee and take a dip in the lake and then chill...until 3pm when its time for 2hr bike and another 1 hr swim, followed by some serious carb loading for dinner..

btw, I just saw a guy with (no joke) a mullet, a truker hat, a mustache, cut off jean shorts (cut by himself), high white tube socks, and some old black shoes..this is all from one person...HALARIOUS!

-Explain different trips
-Explain Newton Falls Detour
-All the people on their bikes that I saw this morning alone.

Luckiest Man on the Planet

2010-06-11T06:18:00.005-04:00

-Mirror Lake, Lake Placid - Here's the starting line where over 2,500 people will be waiting to unleash hell on the IMLP 2010 Course. It's going to be a hell of a day and I can't wait to share it will my family, my teammates, and about 2,500 of my newest freinds!

It is so hard for me to relax and just let go. Being the type of person I am, my mind is constantly working, constantly thinking about something, while this is a good thing it is also a huge crutch as I have a hard time just de-compressing and "letting go". I tend to over-think and make certain things harder than the should be. So that is a little background, a little reasoning as to why its hard for me to fall asleep most nights, why its hard to really zone in and focus on something when my full interests remain un-engaged. Mind you, if something has my full attention, like triathlon I'll be so focused on it that I won't think about anything else, which makes other things in everyday life become harder to really remain on the forefront of my importance scale.

Now that I think about it, I really must say that I am just a very OCD type person who gets locked into whatever takes my interest. I am not one to spread my dedication, my efforts, my persistence over many facets or to many projects. I tend to be singularly focused on ONE item, on ONE plan. Yes, their are pluses and minuses to this. In terms of sport and of course triathlon in particular, I believe it to be a good thing for me as it allows for dedication and focus while training at a high volume. On the other hand, in the work world it makes it very hard to remain super focused and dedicated to the job when all interest is lost. When certain things about a job make it un-appealing this makes it harder to stay driven. It's just one of those things.... I guess when I want something, I WANT IT..and I am going to find anyway I can obtain it. I think as a boss in the job world and as a coach in the athletic world that this statement is the MOST IMPORTANT ONE AND THE MOST APPLICABLE TOWARDS ACHIEVING SUCCESS in their respective field. Just think, if you are a Boss in the Corporate world and you can make each and every employee of your company want to achieve greatness, have every employee want to do their part so that the overall company succeeds...well right their is a recipe for immense prosperity and not to mention a great work environment. When everyone on a team, being athletic or work is on the same page and working towards the same goal you then have all the pieces to the pie. The employee that wants to learn and wants to do better will ALWAYS yield the greatest benefits, even more so than the higher qualified, Harvard Business School Graduate who has 10 amazing recommendations from former presidents, Fortune 500 CEO's, etc...Because when push comes to shove the person that wants to be doing the job they are doing will always put forth the best effort. And to tie this in with athletics and triathlon in particular is as easy as just realizing that the best athletes, the ones that achieve the most success, be it personal achievement or overall podium placements are the ones that are internally driven and motivated to get up at 4am and hop in that icey cold lake...or drive in the pitch black to the local Y pool and get an hour of swimming in before a 45 min run..all before they get dressed up and head to their "second-life" aka their job. These people are the ones that love the sport, love the life, and love the feeling it brings them. These are the people that will succeed, I have no doubt about that. I am not to sure where I was going with these thoughts but before I move onto other things that are rambling away in my head I will try to summarize what I was thinking. For me personally my goal is to obtain in my personal, work, and athletic life the type of drive and determination that I feel when I am racing or training. The high that I feel when I am swimming, biking, or running. Heck, even the high that I get when I finish a long work project. (Yes, even dating back to high-school and college I have felt a certain "high" when a long paper, or long accounting problem was solved). I am lucky because my new job will be providing me the opportunity to work on the things that I am interested in. The work is going to give me the chance to tackle problem, but problems that have answers..so all I have to do is think and search for the answers. I like that! I am very very excited to take on these tasks and prove to not only my co-workers but to myself that I am capable and I am an important beneficial asset. And one cannot forget about the personal aspect. In my life athletic and personal pretty much go hand in hand. Always has and always will be in my opinion. I do not mean to get mushy on all of you but I really can't stress how amazing the past year has been for me in this regards. Before I started this Triathlon business last June I was a different person, I was beat down from studying for tests and didn't really have to many friends surrounding me in Rochester (Thank God for my family as they have and always will be their for me). But ever since I began integrating myself into the multisport community I have had nothing but happiness and have made some amazing friendships. To many to detail in words. But since I am currently in Lake Placid about to being some IM specific training I just wanted to mention a couple people in particular that have become real friends of mine.

My coach Mary, hired as my coach. I did not previously know her but she came highly recommended. I can honestly say that this was a very good decision. She has been an extremely awesome coach for a beginner like me. She has integrated me into the world of Ironman Training and has my best interest in mind when making my training plans. She knows that I am young..and eager and that sometimes I needed to be restrained from over taxing myself. So in terms of coaching, I wouldn't want it any other way. The future is not yet written and every person is different, so I can't say what will happen next but in the Zen world its all about the "NOW" and right now I have the RIGHT coach for ME...and that's important. If you can't trust in your coach and the plan they have for you then you are not playing will a full deck. But hey that's just the coaching side of it, Mary has always become a real friend of mine. I mean she had to deal with me all week when we were in Texas, haha. I may not have known all the songs she was singing on the radio...haha. So thanks Mary.

And to continue the Bromance that my team keeps eluding to. I must say that Cusetri and his whole family have really taken me under their wing over these past few months. They have been generous enough on multiple occasions to just allow me to sleep over at their place and feed me too! It was just the natural thing to do...it just fit. It's been really cool to be able to become friends with Mike since we train really well together, I think that's hard to find. Two people, cyclists in particular are really hard to match, its not everyday that two cyclist can just meet up and be even matched right from the get-go. Yet as I say this I must confess that Mike blistered the bike portion of the last race down in Keuka Lake..averaging something like 23mph on a HILLY course..so I've got some work to do to get even with him..but hey once I heal up I think I can still shuffle the feet a little quicker..for now, so that may be my only saving grace, haha. Just kidding man...well kinda I have to have something to catch up to you when you drop the hammer on the bike. But seriously, Mike, his wife Jen, his kids Cameron, Carson, and Ashton, and even his newly-met brother Joe have all just been super cool. I always had to intrude on their lives when I come to their house (usually on a Friday night before our long Saturday ride that usually begins before college kids have come home from the bars). But they always make me feel welcome and I can honestly tell or at least I think I can tell that they genuinely enjoy having me come over. I know that I eat up their food and mess up their sheets but I guess keeping Mike company on a 6hr ride departing at 4am lets Jen feel better about his safety...yet that thought has to be taken with a grain of salt since we both had our first crash together during a 6hr ride last month..ha! So yeah, I could go on and on but I'll just say that I am thankful for this friendship...this "bromance" as my teammates call it. It's just really nice to have a good training buddy to keep you motivated to keep you on your toes, and to keep you getting faster. With that said...Mikey's coming up with his family to Lake Placid today! Mike and Jen are going to be getting some good training in and I am going to be able to tag along with Mike and hammer out some good IMLP specific training. Swimming in Mirror Lake, Biking the course, and possibly a little running on the course..while dodging the Lake Placid Marathon athletes that are up here this weekend. Maybe I will just pretend to be in the marathon and do one-loop as everyone else is on their second loop..I'd still probably get 4th or something :)

Yep, I wouldn't want it any other way. Its 7AM, I'm at the Lake Placid Starbucks on Main Street and I am BLOGGING AWAY! Its just great...if I can borrow from the award winning movie Happy Gilmore, it's my "Happy Place". It's the spot where my mind becomes clear and I can really visualize my goals and think about what I need to do to accomplish them. I have lofty goals and plans in mind and I WILL achieve them..I have the amazing support of my family!..my friends!..and myself. Not only will my external support system always be their for me but my internal support system WILL stay strong, because when push comes to shove I know I will have to dig deep..an to really tie it all in together what will allow me to dig deep internally and obtain the necessary motivation to keep the feet moving is thinking about all the external support that I have from my family and friends. I think Craig Alexander mentioned this in a recent Triathlete magazine, he said that when he really needs to dig deep he thinks about all the people that believe in him, all the people that have put their trust in his abilities and he really starts to do it for them...yet at the same time he's doing it for himself..he's just using his external support system as a tool for mustering up the internal motivation to keep his own feet moving. We are all humans and we all need support!

I had meant to write some more about my Lake Placid thoughts but I will leave those for another post. I will say that as I sit here about to hop in Mirror Lake to stretch out the swimming arms and legs before Cusetri arrives, I must say that I am ecstatic to begin what will be 3 weeks of Triathlon Training Bliss. Two weekends in Lake Placid and one weekend in Vermont. It's going to be a heck of a month and I can't wait to tackle it all. I just ask for the power that be to keep my freinds, family, teammates, and myself all happy and healthy so we can reach our full potential, because in the end isn't that what its all about? Realizing one's full potential. I think so...

Alright...time to get wet...YESYESYES!

Just your typical Awesome Day

2010-06-08T07:49:00.005-04:00

I must admit that I am a bit lost as to what I want to write about today. When I have free time as I do now I like to come up with a theme for my blog and try to speak to that. Alas, nothing is really setting off the imaginary light bulb in my head. I shall instead describe what I have done and what I will be doing today and just go from there. I'm sure something good will come of that.

Well then, I woke up around 7:30 this morning, I had the intention of sleeping in really late but as usual I was awake and restless in my bed by 7am. I made my way over to the Midtown Athletic Club this morning to get some coffee and play on my computer. I don't normally just come over here to enjoy the club and the people but I think I might start to in the future...at least I would start getting my money's worth. It's pretty chill here in the morning, there is fresh coffee ready to be drank,there's lots of activity going on but its still nice and quite up by the cafe section. For some reason I have always found comfort when I am amongst the masses. I like being around a lot of people and a lot of activity while still being able to keep to myself...just comforting. It's also nice that while I have been sitting here I have had two really nice people that I casually know come right up to me and have a nice conversation. You've always gotta be networking right? As they say its not what you know, it's who you know. Haha..but really its been nice to just have some nice conversation with people and catch up with what they have been doing. So that's what I have been doing this morning. Enjoying people, enjoying the morning, and drinking my coffee. As for the rest of the day I think I am going to go back to the apartment and grab some breakfast and maybe watch some Hulu of a movie even...Then once I am all revved up and ready to go I am going to attack my triathlon training of a 1hr bike with some tempo efforts.

Update, its almost 10AM. I have had my coffee and ate my breakfast which consisted of 1 cup egg whites, 1/2 avacado (mmm mmm good), and a gala apple (Organic from Wegmans of course..only the best, I mean you woudn't put low test fuel in a ferrari would you?)
I write about what I am eating in the attempt to keep myself honest. I know that some people would yell at me and tell me that I am light enough but call it manorexia or whatever, I want to be about 3-5 pounds lighter. I look at this picture -->
See that tub around the belly button area...that's gotta go. That's like 2 minutes faster I can go on the run. Hopefully the ramped up training volume over the next few weeks will take care of this.

Well for now I am going to ponder about my bike ride today and see if I can't stop procrastinating and just get on the bike. It's definitely not that I don't want to ride, I DO I DO, its just that I actually have some free time today and the hardest part is deciding when GO TIME is...haha I'd expect that before noon I'll be hammering away :)

The Curious Case of June 6th and The Keuka Lake Triathlon

2010-06-06T15:10:00.003-04:00

It's June 6th, it's my Dad's birthday. Although not what I had hoped for, today was the culmination of a really great weekend. Why was it a great weekend? Let me just make a quick list since that's how I sort these things out best.

1. It was my dad's birthday, although I had to come back to Rochester after the race because I had left my work computer in Rochester and had to make sure I located it before my brain would stop wondering where i had left it, I think he had a good day watching the triathlon in the morning. I felt bad that I had to take off back to Rochester instead of spending the rest of the day and night at home but things happen and he understands. I'll be home again soon enough and make it up to him by getting a round of golf in. Back in the good ole days I'd be the one begging to go play golf but now its just so hard to find the time necessary to get a round of golf in with all the training I am into..not a bad thing, just different.

2. I had the opportunity to introduce Cusetri and his family to my parents as they were in town for the Keuka Triathlon. We all got together on the night before the race and went to one of the best place's on the lake, The Switz for dinner. Many of my friends work at the Switz so it was fun to be there among good people, in fact one of my good friends Megan was our waitress and took awesome care of all 13 of us!

3. I got to meetCusetri brother Joe. He's following in his brothers footsteps and getting into the triathlon game. But this weekend since his brother and step-sister were both racing he drew babysitting duty and took care of the three boys..I am still not sure who had the harder day..Cusetri and his wife as they swam, biked, and ran or brother Joe who ran all around with the three boys (2 of whom were dressed in full batman outfits). HA.. I was glad to meet Joe though, he was a funny dude and hopefully I will get to see him at some Triathlon's in the future and maybe we will work in collaboration to start our own online triathlon match making service.

4. It poured all Sunday morning before the race and was horrible after the race but during it the Sun came out and it was pretty much perfect.

5. I improved my swim time from last year. Good thing.

6. I flatted about 5 miles from the end of the bike or so and had to coast in on a flat rear tire. It got to a point about 1/2 a mile away where carbon touched the pavement so at that point I jumped off and carried the thing in barefoot. I got some good cheering out of that..I guess it made up for all the time lost, oh well no harm done to body or bike so all is good!

7. Achilles started to get sore at the beginning of the run so I held back and cruised through the 6.2 miles. I had the great opportunity to catch up with Cusetri and cross the finish line at the same time he did...although he started the race 5 minutes after the race..so yeah Cusetri-1, TurboCurbo-0. So be it, we both lived to see another race and to train another day. And if I had not flatted we wouldn't have finished at the same time, which was way cool. So I think all in all it was a pretty awesome race. A good day for training and racing fun!

8. The Achilles seems to be in good shape a day after the race. I am probably most happy about this since I desperately want to get back to 100%.

9. On Sunday night my mom told me that she had found a place for me to stay at Placid this weekend.

10. Oh yeah, in regards to #9. I am beginning my month of triathlon training camps by going to Placid on Thursday. I will be staying at the Art Devlin's Olympic Motor in on Main Street and training with the one and only Cusetri. Boy he sure makes it in my blog a lot....and the Bromance continues...as the Bostonians say, "It's going to be a wicked awesome weekend" with lots of biking and swimming, and maybe a touch of running for me:) I absolutely love, LOVE, being in Lake Placid. It's just the coolest most relaxing place. I can't wait to just wake up, go to starbucks, drink coffee, write a blog, and ramp up for the day ahead. Oh yeah its gonna be awesome! Some serious MOJO building will be accomplished.

11. This upcoming weekend is just the beginning. This weekend is placid with Cusetri, next weekend is Placid again with my fellow Train-This teammates, and the weekend after that I am heading to Ludlow, VT for a training camp (Placid Specific) hosted by QT2, which is the team that my Coach Mary Eggers is on.

12. It's Monday at 5PM, I got a swim in this morning, had some therapy on the ankle, ate a nice $6 meal at wegmans for lunch, obtained new tires for my bike and placed them on the wheels so I am ready to get back in the saddle tomorrow, and I will be heading to Yoga in about 2 hours...Life is Good.

T3D

2010-06-05T15:05:00.002-04:00

Its Saturday afternoon, I have a race tomorrow and like always I can just sit and nap. I have some innate ability to resist being tired when I need to just chill out. I guess i have just way to much energy pent up from not being able to run and everything this past month. I guess that means that I am ready to race and ready to tackle my biggest training month ever this month!

Ready to roll!

Total train this domination tomorrow people. T3D

Let's the Games Begin!

2010-06-05T06:24:00.002-04:00

So here's the program people. There has been a good deal of "things" going on in my life over the past month. It seems like as soon as may came around my body decided to go bezerk and work took an interesting turn. As far as my body, my right lower leg has been giving me a good deal of pain and stress as the healing process is slow. I haven't been able to run and that alone gets at me. I see people everyday cut jogging and that alone makes me jealous of them, but all has not been lost as I have been able to stay on my bike with relatively no pain. The necessary healing is truly s process and one that I hope will be over shortly and after that I will be very cautious as to take extrememky good care of my achilles area so that something like this doesn't happen again.

But enough about this. You might be wondering what the heck is going on with my life lately. I had a post the other day that eluded to a "Big Day" I was having. Well if you have all been even mildly following my blog this past year you will know that work hasn't always been peachy. There were times I wanted to crack but nonetheless I perservered and got though it. So as of yesterday I have made a job change and I will be moving to another firm within the Rochester area staring on July 6th. This new job is a fresh start for me, it offers an opportunity to work withing the personal tax line of work, which is what interests me. The learning and growth opportunities are their and I am eager to see where it takes me! Along with the good news on the work front I can say that over the next month the triathlon scene will be booming for me as well. I am racing this weekend back home on Keuka Lake, then over the next three weeks I am planning on being in lake placid twice and Vermont for one weekend. All these trips will be triathlon based as they are all going to be all-inclusive triathlon training camps! I am very lucky to have friends who are going to placid, a team that's going to placid, and lucky enough also to have been asked to go to Vermont with another team at their lake placid based training camp.

It's going to be an exciting month! I look forward to getting healthy and getting strong and really starting to zone in on the lake placid race that is ahead. It's going to be fun and i cant wait to share my journey.

Open water swimming - 3 Loops Before 630am :)

2010-06-04T04:56:00.004-04:00

I'm an early riser. I was up at 4am today to get down to canandaigua lake for a morning group swim at kershaw park. In reality I woke up around 1am to eat some food and I never really got back to sleep after that. I mostly laid in my bed in the most uncomfortable positions that I could come up with, I was not trying to do so it just seemed every pillow position was the wrong one..until about 315 am when i finally caught some good shuteye...then all of the sudden it was 4am And time to get up, what gives!

Anyways, I am now down at Tim hortons by canandaigua lake. It's 5am now. This is actually my second stop at a Tim hortons this morning. I actually stopped at the victor location to get my coffee so I could get that slowing through my system ASAP. So now I am just using their wireless Internet and bot buying anything. But i bought coffee and a muffin at the other spot this morning so i feel that my usage of their Internet Is justified. But I tell ya, I've got a confession go make. Idk what it is but sometimes the carb monster gets me and this morning was one of those times. When I got up at 1am and I was hungry I didn't turn to a glass of water or something to curb the feeling i instead made a bowl of instant oatmeal I had laying to around, the cinnamon roll kind...it just looked so tasty and put a scoop of protein in their as well and went to town on it, then I had a powerbar..oatmeal raisin style. It was just to tasty in my mind to not finish eating...then at tim hortons at like 415am I had a whole grain blueberry muffin with my coffee...what gives! Oh well, I guess its just a little head start to my mini carb load for the race this weekend. It's just an olympic distance so no need to go all out with the carbs but I will definitely top the tank off with a nice diner style breakfast tomorrow. As some of my teammates have mentioned they are gathering to eat at IHOP tomorrow morning, I was going to head basic home tonight but I may hold off and go to IHoP but I may also go home and have my big breakfast at a local breakfast place called the Wagner. It's a hometown restaurant that specializes in bfast. I've had many a good meal their with my buddies... But who knows where I will be tomorrow morning, only time will tell.

Well I wrote the above section before I swam this morning as I was sitting inside Tim Hortons, waiting for nature to take its course (don't you love how candid I am). So after getting to the lake and meeting up with some fellow teammates (Coach Mary was a little tardy, in fact I didn't even get to talk to her as I jumped in the water before she was in and when I came out everyone was gone!) Yeah so I swam 3 loops down at Kershaw this morning, I think most people only did 1 loop so I was on my own little vision quest, I intended on only doing 2 loops but after two loops I figured I'd just cool down and do maybe a 1/4 loop or something, well one thing led to another and I just felt very peaceful in the smooth as glass water so I kept chugging along. I did however get to see Mr. Eddie Fat Tire as I was exiting the water and he was entering. It appears he was a bit of a late riser as well..good to see him out there getting after it though! I also saw a fellow whom I had previously met a couple weeks ago while on a bike ride in the Bristol area. I think his first name is Peter...Peter W. I think, I apologize for not knowing exactly but I am kind of bad with names, some things stick in my head and some don't, please don't take offense. But yeah, he is getting ready to head out west and do the Coeur d'Alene Ironman so he's getting ramped up for the big boy this month. He seemed like a pretty good dude, I wish him luck at the race...judging by his nice Felt TT bike he looks like he knows what he is doing so I can tell he will smoke the course :)

It's a Big Day Today

2010-06-03T09:40:00.003-04:00

I've got some things going on today that could lead to some good times in the future. I am hopeful that all will go well and I know that if I am just myself things will fall in place. Life is to short to not be happy and today I am in search of a happiness.

I will of course let everyone know in due course whats going on but for now out of superstition I am going to keep my mouth shut. As my loyal followers please do not worry, what I am speaking about is good,whatever the outcome may be. On the other hand though any good CHI you could send my way for the recovery of my Achilles would be very very welcome!

It feels like a lifetime since I have been able to train "normally". It seems that every since the end of March I have been dealing with something. April was a month to heal up fast in prep for Texas, that went pretty well, I was able to race pain free and I thought I was on track to ramp up training come May. However that plan was derailed by a leg/Achilles area injury that has been hanging around since about May 2nd. I think I said yesterday that I rode about 1,000 miles last month and rain 6.5 miles (all on May 2nd), truly a milestone and probably the reason why this week I have been in a bit of a fog, today is the first day I feel "back to normal"...I ended up taking yesterday off completely. I just needed a break, I went to bed at 7pm and woke up at 7am feeling refreshed. I also went and saw Kenny the magic man (aka my Chiropractor) who did some work on my leg and informed me that I shouldn't have waited so long to come and see him. But to my defense I had been in his office about a week and a half before. I didn't want to overdo my visits to him so I wanted to take some time off and see how my healing process would go. Well it seemed to be going quite well, I mean I was maintaining good biking volume with minimal pain and my recovery was becoming much quicker in the leg area. I really do feel that my biking is going to be benefited by the specialization in that area over the past month, but I can't help wondering if not biking at all would have been better. Obviously a doctor is going to say, Yes you should have just stopped completely for a month, but I am an athlete that has a delicate mind/well-being and If I had to stop everything for a month I think the damage to my psyche could have been even worse. But either way, the past is behind me. I know and trying to get race ready by Sunday. If I am not good to go I will pull the plug, I've got to much invested into this Ironman business to screw it up with an Olympic distance race, even though it is a hometown race. If it wasn't in my hometown I prolly would have pulled the plug already but I am going to give it my best. I have already sacrificed running in the Corporate Challenge 3.5 run tonight, that wasn't hard though. Running with almost 9k people isn't exactly a pleasure. I will still go and hang out with co-workers but I will be wearing my train-this apparel (Jacket and sweats..you know it) cheering on my friends as I see them pass. It's funny because I think this is the first race I will actually attend where I am not running (even if its just a 3.5 running race). It's kind of like those recovery bike rides where you get to enjoy the great outdoors and aren't driven by your garmin and what numbers you need to hit. Those rides with friends are just plain fun and its important to keep a good mix of that, at least for me it is. Sundays have kind of become that for me. I try to meet up with old and new friends and incorporate my training in with them. When that sort of thing works out its great, like last Sunday when I rode with my friend Jay. We may not be biking at the same level due to training and such but I was able to incorporate a ride of over 1.5hrs with him without sacrificing a darn thing. If you cannot get out and enjoy people and enjoy being on a bike than you need to change something because a breakdown is just bound to happen. I suffered a minor collapse yesterday when I pulled the plug on a 30 minute swim, I mean in reality I had about 1 hr's worth of biking, a 30 min swim, and a 30 min run on tap for yesterday and today. Doing these workouts would not help me become faster or make me any more ready for the race on Sunday...so I'm trying to play it smart and just chill..just relax and not worry about missing a planned workout. Rest and recovery is just to paramount to the grand scheme. If I can't race in Placid it would be pretty darn disappointing.

I had more written in here but it seems my computer did not save these thoughts. Therefore, I am just going to post what I have right now.

It's a process

2010-06-02T10:18:00.002-04:00

I woke up this morning at 5am with the intention of heading to the pool and getting a "Swim Test" in. 300 yard warmup followed by two all out 400's for time, with a little rest in between. When I got up I threw down some good (a banana with a scoop of protein and some honey and choc syrup for flavor..along with the coffee). But after eating and drinking the coffee I still just wasn't feeling it so I headed back to my bed and slept until 8am. Oh well, sometimes your body just needs some rest. Luckily the weather seems to be great today and I am planning on heading to the pool after work tonight. Sometimes my PM workouts aren't all that great since sitting in an office just zaps my energy but either way at least I will get to splash around in the pool. Plus a teammate of mine is going to be there tonight as well and she said that she would time my swim tests, hopefully this will motivate me to swim really fast!

As for yesterday I also got some good training in at night. I slept back in PY on Monday night since it was going to be rainy in both PY and Rochester, so an AM bike ride was not in the cards for me. Thus I was able to spend some more time with the parents at home and sleep in a comfortable setting...good for the mind! The weather was on my side and turned beautiful during the day, drying the roads and everything. So after work I headed out to Mendon Ponds Park as to avoid dealing with traffic on my way out of the city. I rode my bike for an hour with some tempo intervals..the speed and power was there but the legs were feeling heavy, I think they are still recovering from the previous weekend and weekends before that...May was a big month. I put in just about 1k of miles on the bike...that was cool. But I really wish I had been able to run! I am dying to get back to that. Which brings me to my next point, I was able to run for 25 minutes last night. It wasn't fast but it was relatively pain free. The Achilles still felt very tight compared to the left one but the pain wasn't so intense that it prevented me from running, in fact their were points where I didn't feel as if anything was different, but the downhills brought back some of the soreness. Other than losing my car opener thingy-ma-bob it was a good night. (I ended up finding the damn remote after about 30 minutes of retracing my steps..not cool! All I wanted to do was stretch after the run and get off my feet, but instead I had to walk all over to find the darn thing. And yes it ended up being only about 200 yards from my car...I walked about a mile in total looking for it..oh well!) I woke up this morning and the leg was feeling alright, not 100% yet but its definitely recovering much faster. Hopefully over the next few days I will see some more improvement. I'm still really hoping to put in a good effort down at Keuka this weekend.

Memorial Day Weekend

2010-06-01T10:36:00.006-04:00

New Lance vs. Vintage Lance

How cool is that picture! There is just so much to say about this picture, I guess the old saying of "A picture holds a thousands words" holds true. I will begin by saying that I was so pumped to see my good friend Jay cycling on down the road towards my parents office. He was meeting me there and we would be taking a loop of the Lake Keuka Triathlon course, a little catching-up time coupled with some reconnaissance work for the following weekend. Well as he pulled into the parking lot at my parents office I was elated to see that he was rocking the old school Team Postal Service Kit! As luck would have it I myself was sporting the new RadioShack Team Kit that I had received for my birthday. (Such nice parents I have) I was a full on billboard for a newbie-cyclist. I mean just look at that picture, I've got the hat, the jersey, the bibs, the armwarmers, the socks(not shown in picture), and I am even wearing my Livestrong Giro Helmet that I have...the only thing I am missing are my Oakley Livestrong Jawbones (which were taking the weekend off back at my apartment). TO FUNNY! But I have truly fallen in love with cycling and everything about it so for all you haters out there...DEAL WITH IT! You can mock me all you want, You can make fun of my white tights! (Mary) but I will chuckle inside my head when all 148lbs of me charges ahead of you on an uphill. (I won't go there about downhills descents, or pancake flat stretches...my weight advantage goes on out the door their)...but hey like they say "If you look good, you play good". I firmly believe that athletics and Triathlon in specific is heavily weighted towards mental toughness as opposed to full on god given ability and this is increased as the length of the races increase. Sure you can run a 30 minute 10k, or bike a 5hr 112 miles, or swim 2.4 miles in 50 minutes...but can you can you do all of them on the same day, one after another? It's a different ballgame Since I have never run a marathon nor run a marathon after swimming 2.4 and biking 112, the words I say here are spoken from someone speaking about the unknown. I've got to imagine that during the marathon leg of an ironman, even for the pro's, that there is a good portion of the run where you are dealing with your inner demons. Dealing with pains that may be creeping up in your legs, or the sun that's pounding down on your bare shoulders, or the pain on the outside of your left foot from the pressure you've placed on it during the bike along with the blister that has formed on the first loop of the course. From the bits and pieces of stories I have heard, its the bike that counts, its about pacing the bike and getting to the marathon with gas in the tank. It's about jumping off the bike and sticking to a plan for 20 miles, find your comfort zone and bear hug that darn pace...don't let anyone get in your way, don't let any doubts invade your brain. With this said I must say that as of June 1, 2010 I am a tad nervous A. About the swim at LP since its a mass cluster start that really scares me..I need to be nearish the front at the start (obviously Im not a fish in the water...yet! but I feel I can perform at a decent level) so I want to be in the mix, I want to fight my way to a good line and somehow locate that darn white line on the second loop. I'm going to latch on to the draft of a faster swimmer and let them drag me...along with the other 2k people that, will be swimming, hopefully a nice current will be created!

Geez...I got way off topic. Back to talking about my good friend Jay. Aside from wearing a Lance Armstrong Postal Service Kit, there are just so many things to say about this guy. Jay was not only my Freshman and JV basketball coach (Back when I was a stud b ball player because I had not been dwarfed by everyone else when they got taller and stronger and more skillful, but I could shoot..just ask Jay, he can confirm that I indeed dropped 37 points against Sodus when I was a freshman) Jay also was the person who first got me into the sport of triathlon. Way back when I was still in high school. He ran the Keuka Lake Tri for a couple years and it was then when I did a couple sprint triathlons. Due to baseball and college and other things I never got into the sport back then but it was at least an introduction. I had an awesome time doing them and thinking back I wish I had just thrown myself right into the sport..but their were other things going on in my life back then. Besides the fact that riding my bike for over an hour seemed like an eternity. It's funny that as I circled the Keuka Lake Olympic course (Twice)on Sunday I thought about how when I began to ride a bike only a year ago that riding the sprint course, a distance of about half of the Olympic..It felt sooo long. But now riding for 3 hours is just well...normal. I love that! So thanks Jay, thanks for introducing me to this wonderful sport. Sorry I skipped out for a few years, but I am back and I am here for GOOD!

In case your interested...

2010-05-30T14:03:00.003-04:00

Well then, its Sunday afternoon and I am coming to you live from good ole Penn Yan. I scooted back home yesterday afternoon from Syracuse after the long bike day was completed. Which brings me to the first item on the agenda, what I did on Friday and Saturday.

I think I wrote about how I was going out to dinner with the family on Friday night for me birthday, so basically that's what we did. My sister picked out the restaurant "The Copper Top", which was the same place that we went for her birthday. It was great. I had avacado rolls, huge bowl of pasta, and a big APPLE PIE dessert dish. All their desserts are made fresh to order so it was exceptionally awesome. And on that note I must note that I also had a small ice cream cone (2 scoops of vanilla with chocolate sprinkles in a sugar cone) yeah it's a plain jane no frills order but its my favorite (my mom's to). I also like stuff with peanut butter in it but I really wasn't in the mood for a huge sundae, not enough room in the stomach. Maybe I'll get another ice cream cone tonight! Heck, its a vacation weekend...let's live it up people!

After dinner with the family they all headed back to Penn Yan for the weekend. As this left me homeless in Syracuse I called up Cusetri and invited myself over for the night. He obliged and I showed up around 7pm. From about 7-930 we spent some male bonding time watching his buddy work on his bike. It was like when normal guys chill in the garage, work on the car, drink beer, etc...cept we were working on a vehicle with 2 wheels and no engine, and their was no beer involved as we would be getting up early to ride bikes and well that mix of alcohol and no sleep with a 6 hr ride in front of us..well that just wouldn't be smart. Plus 2 people (myself and Mike's mechanic/bike guru/cyclist friend)haven't had a beer in like 2 years. Myself being the 2 year and Mike's friend being the one who has never had alcohol in his life. Which is kind of funny because if you met him you would think he's either a bit loopy from booze/narcotics, however he has never had either of these enter his body. Funny guy though! Very entertaining and extremely good with bikes. These people are essential in life when you are someone like myself who cannot hit a nail with a hammer into a piece of wood without either breaking my own hand or completely screwing up the project from the get go...I was not gifted any handy man talents from my father, although my grandpa was handy it somehow skipped my dad completely dissappeared from the curbeau bloodline with the birth of myself.

Well, after the bike was put together and in good shape, Cusetri and I headed for the sheets. Cusetri into his bedroom and I into his 4 year olds bedroom (Is he 4? I can't remember the age so I am just making it up right now). Before you make a joke about this I am informing you that I was in his 4yr olds bed because CuseTri's son sleeps with his brother in bunk beds in another room,thus the kid's bedroom becomes the guest bedroom. It's a nice bed, I had a good nights sleep. Shortly after closing my eyes I awoke at 3am to eat "First Breakfast" also known as the pre-long workout or pre-race meal which consists of:
1.Applesauce (The natural kind, chunky style, about a whole jar of it)
2.A Powerbar (Peanutbutter flavor)
3.Banana (Dole - Organic)
4.Protein (Muscle Milk Pre-Made Shake)

After checking twitter and eating first breakfast..i have issues with twitter...it's my crack, very addictive, I headed back to sleep until about 445. When I got up at 445 I headed to the kitchen to start drinking coffee, eat another powerbar, and get myself in order for the morning's festivities. Mr. Cusetri joined me at about 5am. He greeted me while I sat in my usual spot at his counter. We were both in a very good mood as we were going to be biking for 6hrs in exceptionally nice weather (bib shorts and a jersey) something that was totally awesome considering the other days that we have biked together have consisted of cold, rain, darkness, flats, and one crash. This day however brought none of those, which was nice in a things went the way they should kind of way.

As for the ride...we did about 2.15 loops of a course that Mike scouted out. I attempted to sabotage his best laid plans in terms of routing by taking a wrong turn during a tempo section of the bike however he shepherded me back to our chosen course and we carried on. I must say that I really enjoyed the training plan for the workout. Contrary to my free nature no directions needed mentality I do like a plan. If I did not have plans made for me during bike rides I would never make it 6 hours with any sort of consistent power. I would shoot my bullets way to early and enter the hurtlocker about 4 hours to early. With that said our plan for the day was a 60 minute warmup endurance session followed by 5 intervals of 20 minutes at tempo pace (our zone 3 power)for me that's like a little over 200 watts or thereabouts depending on the terrain and such, for Mike its about 500 watts (WHAT AN ANIMAL :)!!!) hahaha..I don't think its quite that high but its definitely a bit higher than mine as he's a little bigger than me and my pipsqueak build. Like I said, I really liked the workout and was pretty much able to hold a good tempo power through each interval including the last 20 minute block in which I briefly entered the hurtlocker..not for very long maybe a minute tops, but their were definitely a couple moments where I was digging. It's been fun to see how over the last 3 weeks I have gone from never going over 4 hours on the bike to being able to hammer a tempo pace at hour 5:20 of a 6 hour ride, that makes me happy.

UPDATED 3:45PM 5/30/2010
How could I forget the DATA! Mike and I had a pretty good training day If I must say so. I'm usually not one to pass out stats but we knocked out over 120 miles in 6 hours...RARRRR! The "CC" (Corona and Curbeau) Peleton was in full effect. I also must add that Mike supplied me with my nutrition for the day, 8 powergels and 2 powerbars. I had packed my nutrition when I left my apartment but somewhere along the way I misplaced this bag...but Mike came to the rescue when he let me go grocery shopping in his Powerbar sponsored pantry, no joke the man has the goods! This reminds me of something that is actually nutrition related to training.

ACTUAL TRAINING DISCUSSION ON NUTRITION not just my mindless rambling.
Since I was not going to be running off the bike and I had run out of Gu's at the 5 hr mark I decided that I was just going to knock out the last tempo and endurance (1hr) on some gatorade and water. I did this on purpose COACH! Even if you wouldn't recommend this I wanted to see if their would be any repercussions for this lack of nutrition so late in the ride. Well the tempo interval (5:00-5:20) went good. I took my last gel at 5:00 so I was fueled up by that. Previously I took my second to last gel at 4:00. It was at the 4hr gel mark that I realized I had only 2 gels left, 1 at the 4hr mark and 1 for the remainder. I had misjudged my intake by 1 gel because I usually eat half a powerbar 30 minutes into the ride, yesterday I did not. Anywho I decided to hold off until the 5hr mark to take the last gel down and then just go on some gatorade and water for the rest with no gel at 5:30. I thought I was going to make it when at 5:30 I still felt alright. However whether it was due to the fact that I was almost done or that my legs finally we fried, I can honestly say that the last 15 minutes were a bit of a struggle. So in conclusion I would have to say that not taking this gel in at 5:30 did indeed have a direct effect on my performance over the last half an hour. I would have never done this if I was running off the bike so I guess by not doing that it was a good learning experience to never think you can get away with skipping a planned nutrition because maybe your sick of the gel or something. Just take the nutrition and get it down (as long as it wants to go down and your not getting sicker because of it...).

We cruised on home, I stretched and began to ice and shower and all that while Mike hit the roads for a 30 minute transition run. I still am not running (going on almost a month off) which stinks but the rest is necessary, I am recovering a lower leg injury and although the biking doesn't really aggravate the injury it still puts stress on it and the additional stress and pain from trying to run is just not needed. I am hopeful and optimistic that I will be able to resume running this Tuesday and race on Saturday, however if its just not in the cards then I will just swim and bike at the Keuka Tri and then cheer on my teammates as they finish the race..so its a win-win situation either way.

I'll end this post with a couple items of note:
1. Big Things are coming
2. The next post will include a cool picture of a former train this athlete and myself. Can you guess who it is?? It's a cool picture because were both wearing kits that Lance wore..on two different teams. For bonus points can you guess which kit I am wearing and which kit my friend is wearing. Your choices are:
a.Postal Service
b.Radioshack
c.Discovery
d.Motorola
e.Astana

Birthday Boy

2010-05-28T09:58:00.004-04:00

It's my birthday today, I am 24 years old today...I can hardly believe it! This morning has to rank right up there with the best birthday morning ever as I took to the roads with my good buddy Josh for a 2 hour ride before he had to go into work. I however am fortunate in the fact that I was able to take yesterday and today off from work. This has afforded me a great 5 day break from work since Monday is a firm wide Holiday in observance of Memorial Day.

As for the rest of the day...I must say that I am have a pretty nice day lined up. The biking is now behind me, i know this is very sad but their are still many things ahead. After a nice breakfast at a local restaurant called the Char Broil (spinach and feta omelet with dry wheat toasts, very tasty) I set up camp at the 12 corners Starbucks (that's where I am at the moment). AS for the rest of the day I am planning on doing some pool running at Midtown Athletic Club at 11 and then packing up the super clean and detailed Subaru Outback (Thanks to Josh and his handyman HECTOR! The wagon is absolutely spotless...inside and out!)and setting off for Syracuse where I am going to meet up with my Mom, Dad, Sister, Brother in Law, and two nephews. We are all going to a really awesome restaurant called the Copper Top. We went their for my sister's birthday as well and I must say that I am very pleased my sister yet again made reservations there for a birthday celebration! The place is sweet, the food is delicious and the portions are huge. Just the way we Americans like it! I would have to say that the Copper Top is like a hometown Cheesecake Factory. It's more of a mom and pops place with better food and the same amount of choices, not saying that I dislike the Cheesecake factory or anything (I love the place)but this down home restaurant is just a little more "homey". Then after dinner I will most likely relax in my brother-in-laws home theater in the basement (looks like something from MTV's Cribs, not kidding..its amazing! I had the chance to ride my indoor trainer in their this winter and it was phenomenal). I will most likely fall asleep soon after entering the home theater and thus missing out on any movie that is playing, oh well...I will need the sleep because at 5AM tomorrow morning I am meeting up with none other than mr. CUSETRI himself as we are departing on a 6hr ride that will include multiple tempo efforts. I am looking forward to this as my body seems to be on the mend and I feel stronger each day, lets hope things continue this way!

I've got more things to write about but I just got word that the Midtown Pool is already open, so I am going to finish the days workouts and keeping rolling along.

Thank you to everyone who has wished me a happy birthday. There are so many media outlets like facebook, twitter, email, etc...that It would be impossible for me to individually thank each and everyone but I just want you all to know that it means a lot to me that you've remembered me on this day.

So thanks everybody! Have a great Friday and enjoy the holiday weekend ahead. I know I will! Family, Friends, Biking, Swimming, Blogging, Eating at cool restaurants...it doesn't get much better!

-TURBO CURBEAU...OUT!

Another Week in the Books

2010-05-24T04:49:00.006-04:00

The heart of the triathlon season is fast approaching and the training that I've been logging in the past couple of weeks is reflective of the events that are on tap for the summer. During the winter my base training hours were usually around 12 hours on average. This would usually extend me quite a bit for a couple reasons.
1. When working a lot of hours sleep is hard to come by and since sleep is absolutely essential for recovery, you simply cannot perform at the same level when you are deprived. I would be getting up at 4:30am after going to bed no earlier than 11pm..it was just a vicious cycle. I'd make up some sleep here and their but it was never consistent and I think I was constantly training at some sort of deficit. If any good can be taken from this I would have to say that it kept me mentally strong. Keeping yourself motivated to get up at 4:00AM on a Saturday morning (when the rest of the world is most likely catching some extra zz's since its the weekend) because I have a 4 hour ride planned (on an indoor trainer) and I have to be back to work at about 8:30 to work another 8 hour day, many times this would be followed by the same thing on Sunday (swap the bike for a long run). It was just kinda brutal but that training in the morning before going back to work is what makes me happy. I always had a choice to skip it and sleep but there's just something inside of me that wanted to get up and get moving. You will never hear me complain about a workout I have to do or how early I have to get up because I CHOOSE to do this stuff, I choose to do it because I love it, I choose to drag my ass up Bopple hill for the second straight week after 3 hours on the bikes and over 400 miles on the legs over the past 8 days. I love it!! Absolutely love it, so if you EVER hear me complaining you have permission to smack me over the head. Except you Cusetri, if you smack me over the head their going to be hell to pay...or at least a sucker punch from me which will then be followed by me running away...im still faster on 2 feet even if you can hand it to me on the bike. But me running away from you is very unlikely at the present moment so you're safe for a while, but give me another week or so and watch out! Speaking of running, Cusetri and I are going to absolutely blister the Keuka run course. It's going to be something like this --> Superhuman Triathlon Finish
Isn't that finish AMAZING!

and my other reason..
2. All this training was new to me. A 3 hour ride on the bike was EPIC. Thus the training hours were less than they are now for that reason alone. For comparison's sake I will say that over the past two weekends I've churned out two 6 hour rides, one 7.5 hour ride, and one 3 hour ride. That's some serious miles in my book. The legs began to feel it yesterday during my 3 hour group ride in Bristol but they held up.

So what about my week?
Well it just kind of flowed together nicely. It was one of the first weeks where the weather was good and I was able to get out of work before 6. This meant that the beginning of some double session training days started. I was totally not ready for this. Getting up early means that I am able to pump out my workouts bright and early but that also means that at 5:30 I am pretty much done for the day. It was a good thing that I was out with some friends during the evening bike rides because I was usually shot at this point (and they can attest, a bit out of it mentally) and they would kindly wait for me to catch up to them at stop signs..I was draggin' some butt! But it was still nice to get out there and stretch the legs, and enjoy the weather...you just can't pass that up. The rest of the week went pretty smoothly, got some good training in, made it to master's swim practice on Friday and so on...

Other than getting some good training in last week I was very pleased to be able to watch some professional cycling that took place in California. The tour of cali was moved to May this year (from Feb in prior years) which made the weather more agreeable for the riders. Personally watching cycling on TV is really cool to me because I now and doing what they do, I watch their tactics, their pedal strokes, all that jazz..I was literally on the edge of my seat last night as Levi tried to crack Michael Rogers on the last climb of the stage. It was the final stage and Levi trailed Rogers in the GC by 25 seconds, he tried his best but Rogers (without any help from his teammates)stuck with Levi and Zabrinksi and maintained his lead. If you can't tell already by the wording that I just used (ie. Levi, GC, pedal stroke, etc..) I have begun to obtain a cyclist's vocabulary, and I actually understand what I am talking about. Anyways, it was really cool to watch the multiple attacks up that last climb, each time a rider would try to make a break the small group of 3 riders would work to reel him in..it was really something! Makes me want to try and hop in a local race one of these days. The Tour of Cali also had a really cool Stage 7 that was held right in downtown LA. It was a time trial that wound through the streets of downtown Los Angeles. Somehow the city was able to close off about 10 miles of road for the cyclists to use during the middle of the day, quite an achievement if you ask me. Personally, the coolest part of this day was that the Tour of Cali invited a bunch of Amateur's to take part in the time trial as well as some top professional triathletes (Lieto!, Macca, and Ms. Wellington) Each of these athletes did really well in their own respect, Macca ripped off a 46 min TT, only about 3 minutes off some of the top pro's, Wellington was I think around 50, and Lieto was smoking the course before he flatted about a mile into the second loop..oh well! He was still looking good in his smoking hot Trek Speed Concept.

Tour of Cali Time Trial Results from Competitor.com

Here is a link to the slowtwitch forum that talks about the new speed concept. The forum has a lot of pictures and info about the bike. Take a look, the bike looks super cool. Hey Trek, wanna sponsor me! I'll ride the heck out of the machine for you :) --> Speed Concept Forum

On another note, I must say that I am indeed a bit sad that Lost has come to an end. I have not seen the last episode yet as it was on from 9:00-11:30pm last night. I needed to hit the sack and get my rest so I could make it to master's swim practice at 5:45. Luckily it appears that Hulu has it up on their website already, so I will be able to catch up on it tonight! Sweet! I don't really have much of an idea of how they heck the writes are going to wrap this saga up but it will definitely be interesting to see what they come up with. A lot of people on my tri team have written emails about the last episode since they stayed up and watched it. From the titles of their emails it appears that they enjoyed the final episode. However it goes, it will at least be entertaining.

My mind if kind of blank right now so I am going to wrap up this post right now. If something sparks my imagination I will post an update, you never know what's going to pop into this brain of mine!

Until then....

-Turbo Curbo OUT!

What do College Kids and Triathletes have in common?

2010-05-22T04:19:00.004-04:00

They are both at Tim Hortons at 4am on a Saturday morning.

I woke up at 3am today to get my pre-long ride meal (aka) pre race meal of a powerbar, protein shake, banana, and applesauce. After washing that down with some water and a spot of coffee I gathered up my goodies for the day and packed my car. I then headed towards Tim Hortons for a real cup of Joe to get me all amped up for the day. It's going to be a real fun day today, I have 6 hours of endurance based cycling planned today and I will be riding with 2 guys that our on my team. Although I know both guys (don and chris) I haven't had he opportunity to train with them yet so 6 hours of bonding should do us good. It's really great to get to know all my teammates in training situations. It makes for an enjoyable experience and it's going to mean that were all going to be good buddies when we head to our camp in Lake Placid next month, now that's going to be a hell of a time! I've booked. My time off from work and I absolutely can't wait fir 3 full days of complete triathlon immersion. It's not like I'm not already immersed in it but just the fact that it will literally be all that I am doing, with no other responsibilities will be fantastic!

Well then, time go get headed off to Mendon Ponds to find Don's house. Going to be great today.

By the way, if anyone wants to consider sponsoring me and helping me buy a new speed concept just let me know, they release today :). I'll tattoo whatever you want on my body, wherever u want as long as it can be hidden by work clothes. Hahaha....

Ushering in a New Day

2010-05-21T04:44:00.003-04:00

Ahh..can you hear that? I sure can, its the sounds of birds chirping and grass growing. The moon is still up in the sky but the temperature is mild and welcoming. Its comfortable outside in sandals, shorts, and a hoody...very comfortable. I love this type of weather! I have heard that tomorrow is going to be not so nice which bums me out a little since all week it has been so nice but on the day when I am going to be on my bike for 6 plus hours its going to rain cats and dogs. But such is life, its been absolutely magnificent all week and I have been able to enjoy the evenings outside with my friends. Mornings are still my time to work hard but with the work load lessening and the longer daylight hours I am very much enjoying the double sessions I have getting in, even if they are just short recovery based workouts...their all beneficial in their own way!

On tap for today is Masters Swimming, then work, followed by a 45 min spin this evening to keep the legs moving. Then its time to relax and rest up for tomorrows long ride. The long ride is going to be a bit different than the past 2 weeks because their is no tempo power efforts included. This is kind of a nice break. The whole ride is going to be endurance based (my zone 2) this ride will probably be similar to the effort that I will be expending at Lake Placid. Obviously the course will be different, weather will be different, I will be different..there are certainly many variable but overall it will be enjoyable to set out at a nice pace and keep it the whole way. Since Cusetri is on a recovery week he does not have the long bike this weekend. As such I will not be able to ride with my usual buddy. This has left me in a bit of a quandary. I am toying with the possibility of trying to gather various people and meet them along the way but that is tough logistically and tough since it relies on people to be where they say they are going to be. Therefore, it looks like I am going to be going on my own little Vision Quest. (Ever seen the movie? Its a good one...if your a crazy weight sucking wrestler, i.e. Brendan Hamm). I am going to set out on my own journey of spiritual enlightenment..who knows where I will end up. I have not really thought about where I am going to ride to, but thats typical. The most likley case is that I am going to get up early and start heading out of the apartment complex, when I get to the main road I will then make the decision...stuff like this is best left to destiny. I mean I've got 6 hours, I can pretty much get lost, change a flat (or two), recharge my iPhone with the Sun, have lunch at a diner, and still make it home before noon.

One thing I am kind of bummed about is not being able to be at the Mendon Ponds Duathlon. On a personal level I really wanted to race this event. It was my first multi-sport event that I ever did. Being my first event I had a less than stellar performance and I was really looking forward to tearing the course a new one. But as fate would have it my legs aren't ready. I am trying very hard to rehab my Achilles area, its getting there, but not ready for running yet. It's been almost a month since I have really been able to run and its starting to get at me a little bit. I am going to be smart and not attempt to run until its ready because there is so much ahead of me. I mean this is my first real season in the sport, I don't want to go and hurt myself and set up chronic injuries over the next 25 years, that would stink! So I will rest it. Luckily the biking and swimming do not really effect the area. Thus the biking volume has increased and so has the swimming, not a bad thing at all! The run will still be there, I have a long way to go in terms of the running but I have also come a long way since last September. I won't lose what I gained this winter and in that respect I am confident I am going to jump of the bike and hammer the marathon. But lets not get ahead of ourselves here, LP is in July, Keuka Lake is in a about 2 weeks (June 6th). Hopefully if I can get back to full strength within the next week to week and a half I will be able to race this guy and see what I've got. I haven't been able to incorporate speed work into my training yet but that shouldn't matter to much. The rest of June can be devoted to that!

Well I'm in the Office now. It's about 9am and I have already had the pleasure of getting about an hour and a half of training in at the pool this morning. With a little more free time in my schedule these days its an absolute pleasure to be able to get to my Master's swim class. The atmosphere at the practices is so great, everyone's happy, everyone's friendly, everyone is there to swim! Swimming with people around you just makes all the difference in the world. I get to see fellow teammates, I get to see Coach Laurie, I get to see Bruce (a.k.a) Michael Phelps. It's really a good time. So with that behind me I am certainly in good mood, plus the weather out is absolutely phenomenal.

Late Night with Turbo

2010-05-20T22:33:00.002-04:00

Its late..really late..10:30PM. I am going to be getting up at 5AM so I need to get into my bed very soon or else their will be some serious morning issues I'll have to deal with. But I miss writing my blogs, I've just been busy the last few days with this that and the other. And on top of that the weather has decided to be nice again so that means that all the sudden I'm doing double sessions of training from out of nowhere. The mornings are still the times when I get the real work done..the swims...the high intensity bike intervals...no running yet because of the Achilles thing. I am watching this like a hawk, I haven't run more than 10 minutes since race day down in Galveston which was almost a month ago. Am I worried? Nah, the running will come back and I will have it locked down for Placid. Pace the bike, Pace 20 miles, and rip a smashing 10k to wrap up a beautiful day in the Adirondacks.

One great thing about today was that our Train This Uniform order arrived. Very cool stuff indeed! Probably the coolest piece of gear is the Jacket..the jacket is stellar and its very sad that only 4 ppl got the jacket during the first order..now that everyone has seen the jacket everyone wants one, deep down they know that they only want it because Turbo has it...lol...speaking in third person is truly a wonderful thing, it reminds me of that one episode of Seinfeld. You know the one I am talking about right? No not the one with the big rubber ball of oil (that was a good one though)