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Springing

Im not sure where spring gets its name, "spring of the year," when plants "spring up". one etymologist says it comes from the spring- as in the source of a flowing river or brook. so as the snow melts the rivers begin to flow because of the spring or spring the season i guess. either way this mythical thing is occurring or springing right now.

as triathletes we notice it first. we are egging to get out of the house and go for a ride. when we do so, we suffer at first. there will probably even be a ride where we regret going on, or a ride that we are all layered and suited up for, and we end up sweating our ass off on the trainer, because we dont want to brave the elements. but then something amazing happens.

we go for our ride, reluctant, and almost ready for the pain on our face cheeks, and its not there. you feel warm, you end up zipping your jacket down and letting some air flow. and consciously the most magical part happens - the smells defrost into the air after a winter of holding back. you can smell restaurants cooking bread down the road, gas at the gas pumps, salt air off the ocean, seaweed in the marsh, even manure on the farms smell good. the air is alive again and it is intoxicating.

so as i sit here at the computer, i can hear the birds chirping, i know spring is still springing, and soon enough all of my senses will tell me when it has sprung.

out the door.

Sweet Colorado Pics

Here are some pics from my recent trip out to Colorado. It was a lot of fun, and some tough training in the thin air.

Entering the Rockies..


Grand Junction, CO on the way to the Better 1/2 in Gateway, CO.


The Palisade in Gateway Canyon, Gatway, CO


My recovery drink...after 15miles at altitude.


A must do in CO: the Colorado National Monument in Grand Junction. We did a lil run at 6600 feet, at times you felt like you were on Mars bc of the plant life, but it was outstanding.


I felt like I was living in an LGB train set.


Long ride through Co Springs, Manitou, and Garden of the Gods.


Some more Garden of the Gods, and that is Pikes Peak in the background, measuring inat 14,000 and change feet. (Although, i do not think, that is what Starbuck's was inspired by for their new house blend)


The 9x2min hill repeats executed at 5500ft were totally inspired by Maqua from Last of the Mohicans, except he was running up a Mountain.


That is snow in my pants, I can assure you nothing else was working after this run.


I'm pretty sure these native Boulder cows could have ridden my bike faster that day.


All the pain was worth it for Margaritas and queso at Juanita's in Boulder.

St. Patrick's Day

Well this was the view from down the street at Good Harbor Beach, after I rode my bike yesterday. I woke up at 4am to get in my trainer ride, so I could continue on with St Patrick's Day! I know its crazy, but I am 100% Irish.

My mother and I ventured down to NYC to watch the parade from the steps of St. Patrick's Cathedral, the grand stand of the parade. My Mom's cousin's husband is NYPD, and in charge of security, so we got to enjoy the parade from the best seats in the house. It was a beautiful day, sunny and clear. A beautiful parade as well, bagpipes and green everywhere. My real camera's battery is dead, so no cool pictures. Waking up at 4am was definitely worth it.

It was great to see my relatives, and watch a parade that truly celebrates Irish heritage(the parade is older than the USA). the 10 hours in the car, and stiff legs today were small beans compared to an incredible day.

Espresso driven

I got this nasty cold and all I want to do is sleep. So my workouts today are driven by pure caffeine. Like this 4 shot Americano from lone gull.
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Funny Triathlon Video/Song

Pretty Ridiculous, but i think its marvelous. This band is from Finland? who would have thought. very random.

The 5 question game...

I am still not sure why I agreed to this, but here are the 5 questions Kim gave me... here it goes...


1.) How did you get started with triathlons?
A friend asked me to do one with her, so i agreed to the 2002 Monster Challenge(Boston Triathlon), and was totally hooked. I never looked back.

2.) What was your favorite race?
I love Buffalo Springs 70.3, loved the Boston Tri while it was still around, but really anything the Jordans' put on at Endorfun is the best, (Mooseman, Timberman, Lonhorn, and Lonestar).

3.) What do you like to do on non-training days? Guilty pleasures?
Non-training days. I did just take a little break for the first time in a few years, but i don't get many of those. I love playing with my yellow lab jasper, and enjoying a good beer with friends and family.

4.) Goals for 2009? Triathlon/personal/whatever!
Get into Grad school, start. Have a successful season, have no regrets, and achieve what all that i am able to. "Kick ass!"

5.) Have you ever thought of being a tri-coach?
Yes. Hopefully one day, that will happen.

That was fun.


To play along:
1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me."
2. I will respond by giving you five questions. (I get to pick the questions.)
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview others in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

This aint Texas

FEB 28. Gloucester, MA. cold and windy, but i really enjoyed getting out on the road today.

can not wait until summer.

FWE

FWE: Finished With Engines. This is a legal nautical term used by the Captain of a ship to communicate with the Engine Room that the vessel has arrived, we are done maneuvering, and you can secure the engine.

Shortly after I wrote my last blog, TGFT, I had a bit of a panic attack. I had a lot of stuff going on in my personal life, still no job, and I just needed to take off. So, that's what I did. I graduated from Massachusetts Maritime Academy, before entering the USCG, with a degree in Marine Transportation and a license to drive ships. So I spent a lot of my college years cruising around on the high seas learning how to navigate, operate, yada yada, ships. The MMA ship was leaving for its Winter Cruise, and they needed an extra Mate, I was there the next day. (See Below)



It offered me a few things. A chance to make a few bucks, escape from some problems( in so, dealing with them), rest my knee, skip this vicious winter in the Caribe, and finally most importantly get a clear head and re prioritize. With the US economy fuzzy these days, job opportunities are not everywhere. For about 3-4 weeks of the voyage, I was planning on taking a year off from racing and shipping out to make some money. I was nursing a knee injury, and even threw out my back so i was pretty messed up, and just thought to myself maybe i need to just focus on reducing my debt for a year and come back to tri next year. it was a very weird feeling. i was a content with that idea.

if you know me, i hate content, or anything if "it works". i want amazing, i want excitement.

a month to the day from leaving the dock, i couldn't take it anymore. i needed to train. i thought about my friends going to races, and not having a character with a line in that chapter of the book. i was craving long sweaty days on a bike, and endorphin filled afternoons spent pounding away repeats at the track. i missed leaving the poolhouse, and feeling the air run through my lungs like they had never been there before. you know that feeling on the trainer during intervals, towards the end where you feel like you are going to black out, but you don't, and the first thing that comes to your mind is: you did it! or the horrible butterflies you get when the alarm sounds at 0430 on race day, and you get out of bed and every muscle feels tight and under prepared, but when the gun goes off they act as rubber bands fresh out of the bag. this is not a sport, or a competition, and definitely not a hobby. it is truly a lifestyle, and it is my lifestyle.

money is necessary, but i don't feel as though i should sell out to society's spineless demands and expectations, by shipping out, and in doing so sacrifice the one thing i love and have a passion for.

bottom line, im gonna make "it work", but its gonna be amazing.

i am FWE.

TGFT

Thank God For Triathlon.

not trying to be dramatic, thats really all i want to say. if it wasn't for this sport, and training as much as i do, i'm not sure i could deal with this world.

p.s. = if there was no q or r, a part of the alphabet would look like that.

Beginning

2009 Begins. More to Follow....

70.3 World Championships - Clearwater - Flat

after spending much of the 2008 season chasing down a slot for the world championships, i am left very disappointed. ill get to my personal misfortune in a minute. i am disappointed in the sport. what is supposed to be the ultimate test between the top athletes in the 70.3 distance turned into a total sham and became nothing more than a bike shop group ride with a transition run. everyone knows its a draft fest, and some age groups had a fairer race then others. for instance the 18-24 age group for both men and women was absolutely ridiculous and i dont blame the athletes as much as the race organizers. because of the flat narrow course, it is virtually impossible to avoid drafting in some of the swim waves, and if you actually want to compete you have to draft because everyone else is and they are not going to be penalized. its a joke. i really hope ironman thinks about the sport not money when they decide where to put the world championships in 2011.

i was feeling pretty damn good on saturday morning, as i came out of the water sub 26, crossing the mat in 26:04. those damn swim classes at nssc really helped. i will say that was the most violent swim start i have ever endured, the fighting lasted for about 700 meters!

after a relatively quick transition and struggling to mount my bike, i slowly got into the groove. about 5 miles in i really started to feel good. at about mile 20, the course became real narrow and populated. over the next 40k it was getting dangerous. i was literally yelling at people. i started yelling at them for blatantly sitting on my wheel, then i began to mad because it as downright dangerous. i broke from one pack, and a heavier guy came off my wheel looked at me and said, "ill ride shotgun!" i couldn't believe it.

the only way to get ahead of some of these peletons was to ride the shoulder and go for it. which i did. unfortunately the last time i did, i struck one of those reflectors from the side, and almost went down. the pack of thirty couldn't of cared less as they continued to cruise on. after regaining my balance i got back in the drops, and went after them again, but this time, i couldn't catch them. i was thinking, "damn, they are moving". as i got slower and slower, i realized there was a problem. i had a flat tire at mile 37.

i ended up walking my bike for a few minutes until i got to an intersection and found a cop. he radioed someone, and 28 minutes later i was back on my bike headed to t2. as i sat on the side of the road, i noticed one thing in particular, no one was not drafting! i cruised in debating whether or not to even finish. i was so pissed off, i needed to run.

i ran a relatively relaxed 1:24, finding it hard to dig deep because of the flat, crossed the line in 4:41 and i am left waiting for 2009 to begin. i am not finished with that race, and will not be until my next one. i had too much in my legs, my heart, and my gut. i have never once eaten food from the race after a half ironman, becaus ei am usually so sick. i was eating pizza within 15 minutes.

learning is such a huge par of this sport. i have learned more about triathlon this season then the 5 before it combined. consistency, quality, and bringing a flat kit are a few of my lessons. but, the great part is that it will all begin soon enough and redemption is sometimes more fun then getting it right the first time.

i am not sure if i ever want to return to clearwater, because the times are so insane due to drafting, but there will be 2009, 2010, and beyond. there will be plenty of races where i will continue to leave it all out there, and puke my way to the awards, but i will never forget what its like to finish the world championships with so much left in the tank and a 28 minute handicap.

congrats to kelly and her new PR! 42 SECONDS from breaking the 5 hour barrier ! 2009 for that too. it was still a blast to chill on the beach, get a sunburn, and eat some grouper tacos again.

a huge thanks to janda for his support all year, and especially for being there saturday. i could see him and michelle from a mile away because of that damn green shirt. next year...

70.3 worlds tommorow

Bed time in Clearwater. Tommorow is the day!

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Gloucester

So, in the past few months a lot has changed. Some would say my whole life has changed, but it has not. I left a career as an officer in the USCG, left where I had lived and trained for 3+ years (Houston, TX) and ended up back home in Gloucester, MA with no job. all with a smile.

When i left the uscg, the following is what i was berated with:

what's your plan?
do you have a plan?
do you have a job lined up?
how do you feel about being unemployed during a recession?
why are you giving up such a great career?
what about health care?

and a lot more of why? how? and when i answered, a lot of.. what?

the truth is it doesn't matter why, because if it truly did, i would never have wanted to leave. if you can follow the last sentence you get where im going without actually going there.

and as for how?
in my opinion life is not supposed to be cookie cutter and something un-original, or at all a string of experiences that we are all supposed to go through to get to the same finish, or a career of playing the game in order to achieve the vast summit of retirement. life is different for everybody. whether that is fair or not, is not up to me. some people will trot happily through their existence never questioning why or how, but always doing what they are supposed to, maybe or maybe not with a smile.

I thought we were all supposed to attempt the apparent impossible... happiness. maybe they are, maybe they are not. for me, i am still searching.

but as far as being unemployed in a recession, i am pretty happy. i am not too nervous, and when i find what i am looking for i will know.



Being home in Gloucester is truly a gift. I am with my family, and that matters (despite what the uscg thinks). being able to grab a cup of lone gull coffee and take a walk with jasper through stage fort park (above-top) during a november sunset would make anyone smile.

Back to the Pool

I was involved with a Master's team down in Texas last spring, and it was good in the sense that it got me to swim. But, it was a lot of junk, 25s and 50s. with no real coaching.

This past summer i came home and spent about 5 weeks executing mostly long great open water swimming. which really helped me in cancun, and got me back feeling confident about my swim fitness.

if there is one thing lacking about my triathlon training it is entirely my fault. it is my disdain for getting into a pool alone to do a workout.

solution: back in Gloucester, MA and swimming with my high school US Swim Team North Shore Swim Club. I swam with Dan and Tony throughout high school and was a decent swimmer. The thought of returning brought nostalgic smiles to my face, and a familiar group of water-phobic butterflies in my belly. i knew it was going to hurt. i also knew it would work.

i have been hitting north shore for about two weeks consistently now, and i am excited for the swim in clearwater. it has been hard, quality, and do-able. there has been no junk.

finding something that works for you in this sport is huge. this will work for me, and i am excited about it, yes when i hear dan spout, "Main Set" I get nervous, but i know it is worth it and i can handle it.

CANCUN 70.3

It has taken me some time to post this blog, partly because i should not really have been in Mexico. Either way, I got down to the windy, humid world of Cancun and Quintana Roo, Mexico. By the by, Quintana Roo was the first "Triathlon bike" ever made.

I prepared for the race by getting in a lil' 15 min shake out run the day before the race. I have never sweat so much in 15 minutes in my life! That place is hot as hell. Coming from the not so cold state of Texas i knew i could handle it, but i needed electrolytes. Unfortunately, Mexico is not the haven for race day supplies, and i had to be creative, because i forgot my endurolytes. so the night before the race i ended up creating my very own cancun survival package, which included table salt and tic tac cartridges. i filled four empty tic tac boxes with salt and went on my merry way. p.s. - this works, but salt hurts your teeth if you might have a cavity. oww!

ten minutes before i was supposed to be at the beach, my front wheel went flat and my zipp extension fell inside the rim! i remained calm, but i could have broken things. a very nice mexican man helped me fix it, and also knocked my bike over on its side. either way, scratch or not, i had air in my tires.

the swim was a no wetsuit ridiculously choppy two loop course. got her done in 28 min, and was fine with that. it was gonna be windy. the bike was a two loop windy draft fest, but i tried to focus on my salt tic tac things in preparation for the run.

there is maybe 20 feet of shade on that run course. hot as hell. but i do love the little water bags they had. i continued to eat the salt, and just try not to pay attention to the heat. i thought i was in the lead of my age group, so i kept it kind of easy in efforts not to blow up. there was only a few people and some pros ahead of me, because i was the second wave. "one foot in front of the next" if they did not have rest areas every 1km! i would not have made it. this gringo would have combusted. at 10.5 miles i ran into a dude in my age group. i have come all this way, and finally i need to race! damn, i was tired!

so, i passed him, and he passed me. and it was on. i decided to run my own race and see what i had left. i ended up passing him, and he stayed on my heels. at 12.5 i made my move. skipped the last aid station(risky) and took off. at the turnaround for the second loop, i ran over the mat and it made that beepie noise. and 30 seconds later i heard the beep again. he was gone, and i cruised on for the W.

After finishing i went to the medical tent and got poked three times by mexican needles and finally they found a vein. i checked, they were new needles each time! creepy.

i was toast. truly toast. i puked in the hotel lobby 7 hours later on my way to the awards ceremony. in one of those flower pot things!

haha. i was really happy with my efforts. it was a greuling day, and i def killed some margaritas the following day before flying back.

i met chris leigh, and michellie jones. both of whom are amazingly down to earth and cool cats.

would i do it again? only if there was a 100% chance of rain!

Done Deal

I am officially out of the USCG. The past few months have been pretty stressful, and have not been updating much at all. Either way, the news for now is I am Clearwater bound and officially seperated from the USCG.

Amen

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On the road again

Texas check
Louisiana check
Mississippi check
Alabama check
Georgia check
Up next :
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Timberman or bust

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