According to my clock, less than two weeks left till Ironman Lake Placid. I was out running today in the heat, and for some reason I flashed back to run I was doing back in the winter. Sat on the trainer for two hours, got dressed up like I was going deep sea diving (including a Gore-Tex face mask to blog the below zero wind chill), and went out to run 8 miles. Also thought about my first ‘long brick’ of the year, where I biked around 80 miles and then ran 6. That was a rough one. Now, cruising through 8+ mile runs after ride of 100 miles. Quite the long road, but glad it is almost here.
I’ve always thought it is not about the race; it is about the training. Training demonstrates dedication, character, discipline, etc. I would like to say I have these qualities. Some days are better than others. But, overall I’m pleased with the training. Longest week was around 23 hours of training. Did that a few times. Plenty of long bikes, sore legs, early wake-up calls, lack of sleep, and general discomfort. Lots of hours on the bike riding in all kinds of weather.
For those not acquainted with an Ironman swim start, it goes someting like this:
Loads of fun. Last year the goal was to survive the swim, this year the goal will be to swim the swim. Major change in the equation only possible through the endless laps at 5:30am with the West Side SC. Thanks for the laughs.
On my increasing media saturation front, I got interviewed by the local town paper, the Stow Independent. The article is about the fundraising effort for Minuteman ARC. Had a very nice conversation with the reporter. As we chatted, it dawned on me how incredibly easy this all is. Not easy by itself, but easy in comparison. Recently, on a trisomy discussion list, a mother posted that her unborn child had been diagnosed with Trisomy 18 (or Edwards Syndrome). The nursery that they put together now may not be used. And if it is used, might have to move the stuffed animals over for an IV, or oxygen tank, or some other medical device that shouldn’t be in a nursery. But, throughout all this, they really just wanted to have some time with their child. Ended up that their child died before being born. After being delivered, they held him for a little while, and then had to let him go. That’s hard. That’s unbelievably hard. Riding your bike in the rain is a diversion from stuff that is hard. No complaining allowed.
Still time to donate to my cause supporting Minuteman ARC, at the following link. And hug your kids.
Finally, the last hard week of Ironman training. Doesn’t mean it is the last week, and tapers are for some reason very fickle things to get through healthy, but at least from here all the ‘hard work’ is in. The plan for this week is to get about 23 hours of training in. Body seems to hit a point where it has responded to the increasing workload, and the mind is getting numb to the fatigue. I guess that is the place you want to be.
The only other part is the near sense of panic that comes with the end of hard training. Always wonder if you did enough, if you could have done more volume, more quality, if a couple of missed workouts are going to make the difference. Can’t worry about that though, Did the best I could with the time I had. So, with that we’ll have to see where things go on race day, which is under a month away.
Big props to the West Side Swim Club crew that went to Middlebury and all set PRs. You can read the full story here. The comfort level that I now have in the water is all because of swimming with that group. It’s hard, it’s long, it can be miserable, but gliding through the water at a race is priceless.
Really cool new LiveStrong Nike ad. Whenever I don’t want to train or am feeling lazy, it is pretty humbling to think about those who are struggling because their children are being born with some kind of chromosomal condition. The kicker is that there is nothing you can do. There’s no ‘cure’. There’s no hope (at this point) of eradication of the ‘disease’ because it is not a disease. It often is the cosmic lottery. For Trisomy 13, the odds of having it are 1 in 10,000 to 1 in 16,000. A small percentage of those have mosaicism. Bingo. According to the death odds table, you have more chance of dying in an airplane accident or a flood than having a child with Trisomy 13 mosaicism. Thinking about those families who all they want is their baby to make it to term and be born alive so they can hold it for a few minutes (many children live longer than the odds say), having sore legs doesn’t seem so bad.
Big update is the joy of tapering, followed by the agony of racing. I was pretty fired up to do the Patriot Half Triathlon, which is a 1/2 Ironman distance race, only you can’t call it that because “Ironman” is trademarked, meaning that any reference to distance other than “Half Triathlon” risks legal action. It is a great race that keeps improving every year (third year in existence). I’ve done it every year, if you want to count last year’s aquabike (Swim – Bike). The organizers moved up the race from July 4th weekend to mid June, making it the perfect tune up for Ironman Lake Placid.
Long story short: I got a flat at mile 4 of the bike. Of course, this happened just after my friends in the Landry’s van rolled by me. I kept thinking “Do I have a flat? I hope I don’t have flat. I think I have a flat.” And the comments of “That sucks” as people rode by was a big confidence booster.
I remember a triathlon that was televised, where a French guy was leading, only to get a flat tire. He then cried (literally) to the camera: I got a flat. Kind of funny. It wasn’t that bad. Although it did bring to mind some wonderful flat tires in triathlon history, just this gem from Norman Stadler in the 2005 World Championships:
You gotta love the big German. Although, when I was trying to fix the thing I was tempted to do this:
But, since I don’t have the money for a new one or repairs, I resisted and just got back on the bike.
Overall, the race went well. A solid swim where I was 25th overall (big improvement); an even bike split for the two loops (sans the wheel change) and a 2:32 time (22.5 mph average); and the 6th fastest run split at 1:29 low. I was grinding all day, and ended up 18th overall, and 4th in my age group. The great thing about being fourth in your age group is that you don’t have to stay for the awards. Minus the bike incident, I would have probably been in 7th or 8th overall and 1st in my age group. Oh well. First flat in a triathlon for me (don’t ask about cyclocross malfunctions).
Previous week did the Ashland tri, in the rain, again. Another much improved swim, faster bike, and faster run than last year. Got me 8th overall and 1st in my age group. If you subtract the pros from QT2 that came out to entertain the wet masses, I was about 4th. All in all, great training for Lake Placid. Now three more weeks of large volume and tired days. But only three more weeks, and then onto the show.
It has been a while since I updated this, about 5 months to be exact. Hard to find time to put your thoughts and updates on a page when you spend your time chasing two girls under 4 years old. And now that Ironman training is in full swing again, it is even harder to find the time. But, the updates will begin again, and with more frequency, because I am doing Ironman Lake Placid to support an important organization, Minute Man ARC for Human Services. As many of my friends know, and probably many more don’t know, my daughter Hailey was born with a rare chromosomal condition called Trisomy 13 mosacism. Without going into the genetics (I got a C in high school biology), we are all supposed to have 46 chromosomes, with each set of 23 being an exactly duplicate of the other. When that doesn’t happen, things can go wrong. How wrong they go depends. Sometimes it can end in miscarriage. Other times babies can die shortly after being born. They can be plagued with a variety of congenital defects and developmental delays. Or the anomolies can be relatively unnoticeable. It all depends, and there can sometimes be no way of knowing what the impact is going to be.
We were lucky in that we found out relatively quickly that some of Hailey cells have an extra 13th chromosome. Since this was found through a blood draw, we don’t know if this is limited to her ‘blood line’, or extends to other parts of her body (I said this was complicated stuff). Anyway, the upshot is that because we found out right away, we were able to begin to receive services from a wonderful organization called Minute Man ARC, which provides a range of assistance to families and people that are in needed of extra help in learning and doing many of the things that most of us take for granted. Like most organizations that do good work, they are underfunded. So, I decided to take on IMLP one more time (I swear just one more time) to raise money for them.
So far, the training is going well. I hit about 23 hours of total training time last week, which breaks down to around 4 hours of swimming, 12 hours of biking, and 7 hours of running. This week will be a bit of a minor recovery and travel week, and then ramping things back up to 20+ hours again. The goal for time is to be last year’s 10:38. The more important goal is to raise money for Minute Man ARC. So, if you are so inclined, you can go to http://januscharitychallenge.kintera.org/lp09/garydavid and make a donation. The money you give will go a long way toward directly providing assistance to those who are very much in need.
4:38am. I am supposed to be going to the pool. But, instead I am going to be sitting here working on a paper that is due at the end of the month that hasn’t yet been started. Well, parts of it exist here and there, but no draft. I have a new course to prep for, a two day training to prepare for, some data that needs to be analyzed, and scads of other work-related stuff to do. Welcome to “time off” for me. Just ’cause I ain’t teaching doesn’t mean I ain’t working. Hard to explain to people what it is that ‘academics’ do.
End of cross season. Last race of the year I took third in another Cat 3/4 35+ race. Seems all I was good for this year was third. And that was after some faster guys upgraded. Didn’t have that extra step or two this year for some reason. Power was lacking to really put in hard efforts. I then did the 1/2/3 race for laughs on the same day. Thankfully, the 4 beer hand-ups saved the day because I was going backward fast. Two races in one day when it is 20F isn’t such a good idea. Just heard there is another race added for January. We’ll have to see. I am supposed to be out running at the moment, but the 2 feet of snow has kind of put a damper on that. Need to get back to the gym and the treadmill. Did get out and XC skate ski once. Awesome. Did about 90 minutes without falling on my arse. Yeah! Going out again today.
Coffee is done, so we’ll leave you with one of the most underrated acts of the 80s, Adam Ant.
Bay State 2008 – Sterling, MA. Great cross race as part of the New England Verge Series. Pretty cold morning, but sunny which meant the ground was frozen but would warm up. And, as it warmed up it would get sloppy. And as it got sloppy, things would get dicey. I was in the second race of the day – Cat 3/4 35+. I was figuring this would be my last race as a Cat 3, so I wanted to do something with my first row line up. I was able to put up some kind of fight, be with the lead group, be as high as second, then slip back to fifth. After separating out the 35+ from the 45+, I ended up third in my race (just behind teammate Rich Person). Good result, but should have/could have been better. Too many little mistakes that compiled to take time away that was vital. Plus, we lost a lap due to a bad injury at the start of the 55+ race just in front of us. Needed a couple of ambulances to clean up things. Luckily people kept all their pieces. So, on the plus side I got third, had a pretty decent start, and worked hard. On the negative side, made mistakes (again) that might have cost me some places.
The course was as expected, with some new twists and turns. Overall, Tom Stevens and Spin Arts/Gear Works do a bang-up job. Hard to complain too much when you have sunshine, cold temps, and about thirty or forty teammates racing throughout the day, with a lot of success. Many new triathletes join the party in the Cat 4 race. The women’s team continues to dominate in the 3/4 field. The Gougen family was in as usual. A good time was had by all (except the guy in the ambulance). Todd, Rob, and Mike all have great photo galleries of the race.
Now, onward and upward to the next race – NBX weekend in Rhode Island. I’m in for the 1/2/3 35+ and 2/3 races on Saturday and Sunday (respectively). No podiums here. These guys are lightening fast. I just want to have a good race and finish in a respectable position. It would be ideal to be in a position to score some Verge points in the 2/3 race, but that would require a lot. The legs are feeling okay, but it has been a long season of racing and training.
Also going to be in for Ice Weasels in Wrentham. New race and too close to pass up. Looking to do the 1/2/3 35+ race that is 1 hour long. Ouch. That’s going to leave a mark. Might do Natz Schmatz as well just for kicks. Been meaning to get down to Dayville to check that out. We’ll see what’s happening with the family and maybe make a game day decision. Soon enough, I’ll be running 20+ miles on Sunday mornings getting ready for Boston and Lake Placid. Today though, I slept in, had breakfast with the family, and put in new facets in the kitchen. I love days off.
Been hitting the pool a lot with the West Side Swim group. Always an adventure that most often simulates what it might be like in the early stages of drowning. Wikipedia says that 44% of drowning incidents are related to swimming. I can see that. Breathing every 5 or 7 strokes. No breathing in the ‘red zone’ (from flags to the wall and back for the uninitiated). Underwater flip turns (again no breathing in the red zone). No breathing from center of the pool to the wall. Or just plain no breathing. All great fun. Holding one’s breath is not a problem. But for some reason, immerse your face in water and try it, and the game changes. Something primal where your brain goes, “Hey dumba$$, get your head out of the water and breath.” To which you say, “No brain, we are not going to breath. We are going to not breath for LONGER!” In case people are in need of being revived, there is always the crack team of lifeguards ready to apply the newest methods is rescue (see right).
Easthampton Cross was an adventure. Technical course in below freezing conditions. Fun stuff given that it had an old school feel. Of course, not that I know what old school is given that I have only been doing this for about three years. But, this is what I imagine old school would be like if I myself was old school. I raced okay. Should have been a few spots up, but that’s alright. Got to work on some things I need work on, pushed myself to try things I wouldn’t normally (with the expected results), and had a good time. This is definitely a race to check out in the future. Too bad it is a bit of a trek to Western Mass.
This weekend is Sterling, which is a heck-of-a-time. But, not before the Stow Turkey Trot tomorrow, which should be mildly amusing given I haven’t been doing much running. Just going to go out and have some fun. I have decided to enjoy my downtime from running and not fret about it. Soon enough I’ll be doing tempo runs in pitch black and long runs in snow squals. All in good time. I’ll just enjoy cross season now that we are in our last month of it and get primed for the holidays when I can start to build that run base again, as well as continue my adventures in near death in the pool three times a week (hopefully to increase to four at some point).
Wife was not feeling good Saturday night, so plans for Lowell got pulled Sunday morning. Spent the day taking care of the kids and doing yard work. Very very sad. By the end of the day I started feeling punky, but kept my cookies. Skipped swimming Monday and back into the pool on Tuesday, a few pounds lighter from my involuntary fast.
Speaking of swimming, I have no idea if I am getting faster, but I am having a good time. Nothing like continuously holding your breath while your brain is screaming “BREATHE DAMN YOU!!!!” I have been put into enough uncomfortable situations in the water that tri starts are going to seem boring. Never know what Coach N8 is going to throw at you in the morning, and you definitely don’t want to be subjected to a disapproving look. It’s pretty funny to see a lot of middle age folk cowering in the pool. Ah, to be young again. Go West Side!!
Mission is now switched to Easthampton. I really didn’t want to drive across state again, but gotta do it. Two weeks in a row without a race is not an option. More good news: an academic paper got rejected for a conference in Paris, which means I can extend my cross race another week in December. Honestly, I’d rather race cross in the cold and snow than hang at a conference in Paris for a couple of days. Going to a conference in Paris is not the same as going to Paris. It is largely hanging around a hotel, and in this case a French hotel. I guess I am a little world weary and busy to be enticed by baguettes and berets. Cross racing more fun. If the conference was in Belgium, that would be another story altogether.
According to my clock, less than two weeks left till Ironman Lake Placid. I was out running today in the heat, and for some reason I flashed back to run I was doing back in the winter. Sat on the trainer for two hours, got dressed up like I was going deep sea diving (including a Gore-Tex face mask to blog the below zero wind chill), and went out to run 8 miles. Also thought about my first ‘long brick’ of the year, where I biked around 80 miles and then ran 6. That was a rough one. Now, cruising through 8+ mile runs after ride of 100 miles. Quite the long road, but glad it is almost here.
n” is trademarked, meaning that any reference to distance other than “Half Triathlon” risks legal action. It is a great race that keeps improving every year (third year in existence). I’ve done it every year, if you want to count last year’s aquabike (Swim – Bike). The organizers moved up the race from July 4th weekend to mid June, making it the perfect tune up for Ironman Lake Placid.
supposed to have 46 chromosomes, with each set of 23 being an exactly duplicate of the other. When that doesn’t happen, things can go wrong. How wrong they go depends. Sometimes it can end in miscarriage. Other times babies can die shortly after being born. They can be plagued with a variety of congenital defects and developmental delays. Or the anomolies can be relatively unnoticeable. It all depends, and there can sometimes be no way of knowing what the impact is going to be.
Wife was not feeling good Saturday night, so plans for Lowell got pulled Sunday morning. Spent the day taking care of the kids and doing yard work. Very very sad. By the end of the day I started feeling punky, but kept my cookies. Skipped swimming Monday and back into the pool on Tuesday, a few pounds lighter from my involuntary fast.
