Obligatory Year In Review - Sorry!

  


As much as it pains me, since I typically make fun of all cliches, I am embarking on my very own faux pas and subjecting you to my end of the year review. Now that you have been warned, it is time to close link and run while you can. Or you can just sit back and listen to the cool tune by The Black Keys!

Training for the year went incredibly well and I remained injury free (relatively) for the first time in years. It is amazing to think that I covered more miles biking, running and swimming than I did driving in my car. The difference is well over 4000+ miles. Now I will say that I only have a commute to work of about 1 mile. And yes, I drive it everyday. In my opinion, for what it is worth, I workout enough to be lazy and drive to work.

Here are 2013 totals:

Bike - 255 rides/ 8320 miles/ 387.84 hours/ 21.45mph
Run - 178 runs/ 1180 miles/ 145.40 hours/ 7:23 per mile
Swim - 147 swims/ 138 miles/ 67.79 hours
Total - 560 workouts/ 9638 miles/ 601.03 hours

My race season did not get off to a great start with a DNF at Ironman 70.3 Eagleman. This was my first mechanical DNF as I broke 3 spokes on my rear wheel. The rest of season improved with each race:

Happy Valley YMCA Sprint Triathlon - 10th overall
Brigantine Island Sprint Triathlon - 5th Overall
Keystone Sprint Triathlon - 2nd Overall

Then finally at the Quakerman Olympic Plus Triathlon, I achieved something I had yet to achieve in my triathlon career.....an Overall Win!!! Who would have guessed that I would have to wait till I was 44 years old to get my first overall victory. As they say.....

Faster As A Master! (maybe a good t-shirt idea for us old folks!?!?!?!?)

I am not going to set any training goals for this year as a lot of will depend on my results at Ironman 70.3 Eagleman. Obviously, these numbers will increase if I qualify for Kona and the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii! Maybe I should say when I qualify......that's not too overconfident, is it? If I should only qualify for the Ironman 70.3 World Championships then there really be no need to increase the volume of training but focus on more quality especially in the pool and on the run. So I guess by not specifying actual training goals, yet, I have given myself more opportunities to blog and keep you informed of my happenings! I bet the leaves all of you just overjoyed....Ha ha!

People will often ask what am I on to complete my training?

What am I will I be on?

I will be on my bike 7-10 hours a week, in the pool 1.5-3 hours a week and on the roads running 2-3 hours a week in 2014......and of course caffeine,moose tracks and beer for recovery! 

 

Kona 2014!

(In case wondering, I will race for caffeine, ice cream or beer!)

KONA 1997

Time To Start Thinking About 2014 Goals (Maybe!)

" With the sun on my shoulder
  And the wind in my back
  I will never grow older
  At least not in my mind"

My Morning Jacket - Wonderful (The Way I feel)

A day late but not a dollar short! (At least I hope not!)

After a week of holiday travel that included 10+ hours and 600+ miles of driving. it is nice to be finally home sitting on the couch, drinking a coffee (beers later for sure) and typing away this latest post for my loyal readers (if you are out there)! Our travels included the usual two family travels between North and South Jersey. Of course, we had to travel with our bullies (pictured below), the two best bullies in the world. They are the best road trip buddies we could ask for! That picture of Lucy and Snowy was taking on our trip during Thanksgiving and was not posed as it happened 10 miles into our drive. Of course after all the travels and family fun, they are sleeping away and probably won't recover for 2-3 days!

Between the time in the car and hanging with the families, the holidays also lend to some training in some new scenery. Trust me when I say, that the roads of Central PA can get old and boring real quick! My three runs were on a nice trail system through some woods in Morristown, NJ. The trails have some nice rollers and many options so you could avoid just out and back running. If you don't have a Garmin, the trails are also marked with every tenth of a mile.  Now thankfully, it was not an extremely cold week so I was able to get three rides outside during the week. The indoor trainer was not going to fit in the car for this week but at the same time it was nice to be outdoors all week. As I mentioned last week, there was no swimming this week as no pools were available on our travels but the school pool opens back up on Thursday. 

Sometimes hard to believe that there are just two more days on the 2013 calendar. Like most triathletes, the past month I have been working on building my base in preparation for the 2014 race season. Unlike most triathletes though, I am very slow to set a race schedule. I have to be honest and admit that I only have one definite race on my calendar - Ironman 70.3 Eagleman. I have other races in my mind but my race schedule will depend on what happens at Eagleman. What some may view as cockiness, I am going into the race with idea of qualifying for Kona, pretty much throwing all my eggs in one basket! Yes, I know if things don't happen exactly as planned it may screw me out of other races as so many are already sold-out but I only know one way to go about things. I guess I have two days to think about a potential schedule and be ready to blog next week. What is the date of the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii?

Aside from racing, a very big goal is to put a concerted effort into to building my personal coaching business. With  a week till my track & field teams return, I have some time to focus on that goal and get things rolling. Runners, cyclist and triathletes, if you are reading this and in need of a coach, feel free to message me!(Shameless plus, but it is my blog!!!)

No new rules this week as all the travels have left my brain blank and I am still feeling some of the holiday spirit  and feeling inclined to be nice! I am sure this will pass pretty quickly...Ha ha ha!

New Training Totals
Week
Bike - 4 rides/ 138 miles/ 6.92 hours/ 20.0 mph
Run - 3 runs/ 25.75 miles/ 3.27 hours/ 7:37 per mile
Swim - 0 swims/ 0 miles/ 0 hours
Total - 7 workouts/ 163.75 miles/ 10.19 hours

2013
Bike - 253 rides/ 8252 miles/ 384.66 hours/ 21.4 mph
Run - 177 runs/ 1171.25 miles/ 144.29 hours/ 7:23 per mile
Swim - 147 swims/ 138 miles/ 67.79 hours
Total - 577 workouts/ 9561.25 miles/ 596.74 hours

Goals This Week
Bike - 4 rides/ 145-60 miles
Run - 3 runs/ 25-27 miles
Swim - 2 swims/ 2 miles
Total 11-12 hours

People will often ask what am I on to complete my training?

What am I will I be on?

I will be on my bike 7-10 hours a week, in the pool 1.5-3 hours a week and on the roads running 2-3 hours a week in 2014......and of course caffeine,moose tracks and beer for recovery! 

Kona 2014!

My Gift To Triathletes This Holiday

 



Christmas came early today!!!!

Last weekend, I was sitting on the couch watching 6 inches of snow fall in Central PA. And just a week later, I was able to get outside and ride the bike today. Now, I know these days to get outside, by my standards, are far and few between, so I had to take advantage. Now tomorrow is supposed to be warmer but it is also supposed to rain.....so getting outside tomorrow is about 50/50 right now.

Yesterday, I also completed my final session in the pool (unless a pool is open on our travels this week for the holidays) for 2013. The pool at school is officially closed and does not reopen until January 2nd. As much as it is my least favorite of the three disciplines, I hate the idea of not being in a pool for close to 2 weeks. I hope I don't forget how to swim during this time.

In the holiday spirit, here is my latest rule......

Rule #??? - Uphill Means Sit-Up 
This rule is a collaboration with a fellow triathlete (Chris Bailey) I train with as this boggles our minds at every race, or at least races with hills (not rollers, hills). Can someone tell me why, a good number of triathletes will insist on staying in their aerodynamic tuck up a hill while so many people pass them sitting up and spinning their pedals? How many people have to pass you before you realize you are doing it all wrong?  Yeah, you may catch back up to me by the next hill but after a few hills like this you will fall back and have no legs for the run. Trust me in this, there is no penalty for coming out of your tuck....just drafting!

As I know this bit of advice, may help some people beat me down the road, so I will consider this my Christmas gift to all!!!!

Happy Holidays!

New Training Totals
Week
Bike - 4 rides/ 149 miles/ 6.92 hours/ 21.5 mph
Run - 3 runs/ 26 miles/ 3.29 hours/ 7:35 per mile
Swim - 3 swims/ 3 miles/ 1.46 hours
Total - 10 workouts/ 178 miles/ 11.67 hours

2013
Bike - 249 rides/ 8114 miles/ 377.74 hours/ 21.5 mph
Run - 174 runs/ 1145.5 miles/ 141.02 hours/ 7:23 per mile
Swim - 147 swims/ 138 miles/ 67.79 hours
Total - 570 workouts/ 9739.5 miles/ 586.55 hours

Goals
Bike - 4-5 rides/ 145-165 miles
Run - 3-4 runs/ 25-30 miles
Swim - Not forget how to swim
Total -9-10 hours

People will often ask what am I on to complete my training?

What am I will I be on?

I will be on my bike 7-10 hours a week, in the pool 1.5-3 hours a week and on the roads running 2-3 hours a week in 2014......and of course caffeine,moose tracks and beer for recovery! 

Kona 2014!

Sometimes I Just Can't Help Myself (You Make It Too Easy)

  

"Sitting with the lights off
  Waiting for my brain to storm
  Trying to work things out"
It's Thunder & It's Lightning by We Were Promised Jetpacks

The above lyrics describe a little of the process that goes into writing this blog each week minus the sitting in the dark. Sitting in the dark would make it a little tough to type. But I do seem to take a while to gather my thoughts and the hardest part is finding the appropriate song. Actually finding the song is the longest part of this process. It has taken me over hour in the past to find a song and the right video version of that song. I am not sure if people actually listen to the music but I guess, aside from my rantings about the state of triathlons I am also trying to expose people to what I believe are some quality bands/musicians. Just doing my part to help all triathletes be a little cooler or as cool as one can be since we run around in spandex  a good part of the day.

After a week hiatus, I am returning to my countdown of my triathlon rules. I was in the middle of writing one rule when I just saw something on Facebook that I could not resist. Sometimes people just make this too easy............

Rule #?? - Posting Pictures Of Training On Indoor Trainer In Race Kit .....NOT COOL!
In my mind, it is already an unwritten rule that training in race kits is not cool and frowned upon but wearing race kit on your indoor trainer and then posting pictures on the internet.......Where do I start but that has to be one if the biggest faux pas a triathlete can make. I know this rule may rub people the wrong way.....but what the hell were you thinking? Do you think it makes people think you are working harder than anyone else because you have that cool kit on? Do you think it makes you look like a professional triathlete because you have race kit on? I will answer both questions for you........NO!!!! Stop It!!

New Training Totals (Not to make me look better but just to motivate me)
Week
Bike - 4 rides/ 148 miles/ 6.70 hours/ 22.1 mph
Run - 3 runs/ 26 miles/ 3.30 hours/ 7:37 per mile
Swim - 3 swims/ 3 miles/ 1.41 hours
Total - 10 workouts/ 177 miles/ 11.41 hours

2013
Bike - 245 rides/ 7965 miles/ 370.82 hours/ 21.5 mph
Run - 171 runs/ 1119.5 miles/ 137.72 hours/ 7:23 per mile
Swim - 144 swims/ 135 miles/ 66.33 hours
Total - 560 workouts/ 9219.5 miles/ 574.37 hours

Goals This Week
Bike - 4 rides/ 145-60 miles
Run - 3 runs/ 25-28 miles
Swim - 3 swims/ 3 miles
Total - 11-12 hours

People will often ask what am I on to complete my training?

What am I will I be on?

I will be on my bike 7-10 hours a week, in the pool 1.5-3 hours a week and on the roads running 2-3 hours a week in 2014......and of course caffeine,moose tracks and beer for recovery! 

Kona 2014!

What The World Needs Now Are Some True Words Of Wisdom

"I don’t know what the world may want,
 But a good stiff drink it surely don’t.
 So I think I’ll go and fix myself a tall one."

"Teen Angst" by Cracker

What to blog? What to blog? 

I am already a day late and mind is a blank. Oh the horrors! OK let's think about this....hmmmmmm?

The weather???? Three days ago I am on my bike in 50 degree weather at 7:00AM and then today we are getting the old snow & ice combo that is typical of the river valley here...... Oh wait, last week I promised I would not blog about how much winter sucks! So weather is out......

Training??? Still boring as I am building my base. There won't be anything exciting about training for a few months as long and slow is not exciting. ....so no on that one.........

My 2014 schedule??? Different from most other triathletes out there, not much there as only one definite race (Eagleman 70.3) thus far and a bunch of other possibilities. Not sure how others have so many aces scheduled especially given the cost of some of them......nothing to blog there..........

Another of my unofficial triathlete rules??? None this week as I have decided to only impart my wisdom when inspiration hits me..... Trust me, far from done though!!!!!!!!!

Alright now, why I am making this out like I am having a conversation with myself? I have only had one beer so pretty sure I am not drunk........

Maybe it is time to put it to you....what would you, my readers - if any exist, like to see me blog about in regards to endurance sports? Training, racing, entry fees, beer, coffee, food....you name it and I will try to keep it light and fun. Just trying to keep things real for all those who have gone a bit too far.....  

As with all blogs, here are my new training totals. I guess time for another beer! 

New Training Totals Week  
Bike - 4  rides/ 149 miles/ 6.80 hours/ 21.9 mph  
Run - 3 runs/ 25 miles/ 3.11 hours/ 7:28 per mile
Swim - 3 swims/ 2.5 miles/ 1.23 hours  
Total - 10 workouts/ 176.5 miles/ 11.15 hours

2013  
Bike - 241 rides/ 7817 miles/ 364.12 hours/ 21.5 mph  
Run - 168 run/ 1093.5 miles/ 134.42 hours/ 7:23 per mile  
Swim - 141 swims/ 132 miles/ 64.92hours  
Total - 550 workouts/ 9042.5 miles/ 563.46 hours

Goals This Week  
Bike - 4-5 rides/ 150-160 miles  
Run -3-4 runs/ 22-26 miles  
Swim - 3 swims/ 2-3 miles  
Total - 11-12 hours

People will often ask what am I on to complete my training?

What am I on?

I am on my bike 7-10 hours a week, in the pool 1.5-3 hours a week and on the roads running 2-3 hours a week in 2014......and of course caffeine,moose tracks and beer for recovery! 

Kona 2014!