T-minus 6 Days Until Liftoff

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!

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

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. 

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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.