Rob's Endurance World

Interview w/ Self

2009-04-27T18:07:00.011-04:00

Rob: What's up with you man, its been a minute since you updated your blog.
Self: I don't know, its like I've been in some kinda 'net isoloation lately.

Rob: So what have you been up to?
Self: Bro, its been a lot of cycling lately. I did something really cool weekend before last. I did the Cycle North Carolina Spring Ride down at Washington, NC. I camped out and rode 3 days covering 255 miles.

Rob: That's some good mileage.
Self: It was a real nice experience, doing the tent camping, waking up riding, and just hanging out w/ some of the nicest folks around. Also I saw a lot of recumbents.

Rob: What were some of the highlignts?
Self: The campsite was right on the river which was inspiring. Then on day 2 we did 108 miles which included a ferry ride across the Pamlico River.

Rob: So what's up next for you?
Self: I've got the White Lake Sprint coming up this weekend, then the White Lake half Ironman distance race the weekend after that. I attempted to treat the CNC weekend like a training camp, so I got in a couple of brick runs and swam once. I feel like White Lake should go good if I stay disciplined and taper correctly.

Rob: I know you're a gear geek, any new goodies lately?
Self: I guess the one really cool thing I'm waiting for is a new TT helmet. I know I'll be posing, since I'm just an age-grouper, but I always wanted one of those serious TT helmets.

Rob: Thanks for your time.
Self: No problemas bro.

Some Quick Takes on Biking

2009-03-24T22:19:00.005-04:00

1. My bike ride tonight after work felt really good. I didn't push it, just logged about 1.5 hours and it felt like all stress, all worries, just went away. It felt so good.

2. I screwed up another carbon fork. The stem clamp left a gouge in the steerer. I torqued it to the correct amount. It was a Reynolds Pro Ouzo too. I already damaged my Profile Designs fork. I know I'm through w/ Deda Newton stems.

3. I got the hook up on a Thomson X2 stem for $50 off Craigslist. One good thing, I don't feel a sharp edge where the stem clamps to the steerer.

3. I raced the Azalea Festival Tri Saturday before last. The bike leg went good for me as I was 3rd out of 37 in my age-group.

4. I feel a lot faster when I run my disc wheel for tris.

5. Assos bibshorts are incredible. I really shouldn't have spent that much on cycling clothing but those FI.13 shorts are the real deal. I got in my first ride w/ them tonight.

6. I pimped my bike a little bit by replacing my bottom bracket to one w/ ceramic bearings.

7. I don't know how much it would help in training, but I think it'd be real cool to have a powermeter. I've been looking at the Quarq.

8. That's a bummer about LA crashing and winding up w/ a broken collarbone. That had to hurt like hell. I've had a few falls cycling and believe me it sucks.

9. I hope LA gets better in time for the TdF.

10. Speaking of pro riders, I've got a homeboy out of Compton, Rashaan Bahati that's doing big things on the Rock & Republic team. Well I'm not from Compton, I grew up in LA. What the heck, its close enough so Rashaan is my homie.

Peace,
Rob

Uncle Arthur - Enduranceman

2009-02-20T22:06:00.008-05:00

For some reason, I've been thinking about my uncle on my mom's side. Maybe its because today is my mother's birthday. Happy birthday Ma!

His name is Arthur Winston and lived to be 100 years old (3/26/1906-4/13/2006). Uncle Arthur worked for the bus company for 76 years. Now that's what I call endurance. My mother told me he only took one day off of work and that was to go to his wife's funeral.

Uncle Arthur has the MTA bus terminal on Van Ness named after him back in Los Angeles, "The Arthur Winston Terminal". Even President Clinton gave him an award for Employee of the Century.

Here's some verbal footage of him on NPR's, Storybook Griot. I chuckled at his derision mobile phones. He lived a good life and must of enjoyed his work to work that long.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14692230

Peace,
Rob

50K++

2009-02-17T19:24:00.014-05:00

Last Saturday I ran the Holiday Lake 50K++ race. You might be asking, why is there a '++' in the title of the post. The race director is Dr. David Horton and after talking to some friends and reading other blog reports for the Holiday Lake race, it seems that Dr. Horton is of some renown in ultramarathon circles, especially in the southeast. One of the unique features of a Dr. Horton race is that they are measured in "Horton Miles", which means that this race was a tad bit longer than a 50K, being it was 33.26 miles. He is an absolute blast in person. He's one highly energetic cat that seems to be in perpetual motion all the time. You can tell he is seriously passionate about his race directing.

The few days leading up to the race I was getting worried since the forecast was calling for a chance of freezing race/light snow. Then to add some more worry, I was planning to tent camp at the race site. But usually these things work themselves out and the weather turned out to be as good as you could get for a trail run. I think the starting temps were in the low 30's and at the finish, it was probably in the low 50's and clear skies. So it was great weather for running. The only thing though, it was right chilly in that tent overnight.

I had been doing some tempo runs in the last couple of weeks leading up to the race. My Tuesday night running group probably thought I was acting a fool or something, but I put in some good hard efforts for those last Tuesday night group runs. So at the start of the race I made the classic mistake and took off too hard. The course started out on roads for a little over a 1/2 mile and then you were funneled into a single-track section. Reading reports from previous races, I heard that this early section can leave you walking if you get stuck in the back, so I figured I had to be in the front half of the field so I won't get stuck in a single-track conga line.

So I'm going way too fast and I know this isn't sustainable, but I kept up the pace and rolled on. We ran into the first aid station and it was a blast, folks were cheering us on and I was feeling good. Remember I told you about Dr. Horton and his exuberance, well I'm coming through the aid station and since I was feeling alright I picked it up a little, feeling that energy from the aid station folks when all of a sudden, Dr. Horton comes up to me and yells, "you're the 2nd black man, 2nd black man". I got a laugh out of it and high-fived him as I ran past him.

The course is a circuitous out and back that was listed on the race flyer at 16.63 miles for the loop. I came into the turn-around at around 2:30 and I knew this was way too hard for me and shortly thereafter starting having a bit of a meltdown and lost some of the snap in my legs.

One thing I overheard another racer describing these things say was that you've got to manage the lows and highs of these races. That was true, because I was starting to fade fairly soon after the turnaround. I was getting pretty tired about 4 hours in and then to top it off, I guess I took on too much nutrition and I was getting the dreaded rock in my gut. I think around this time I started getting the chorus to Donnie McClurkin's, "We Fall Down" stuck in my head. Bro. Donnie helped me out; it helped me stop focusing so much on what was going wrong and instead got me to thinking about staying steady. Also one of my buddies told me sometimes in races he'll say "Lord, if you pick 'em up, I'll put'em down. That mantra along w/ Donnie's song helped me big time.

The last 10k of the race was me just trying to bring it in without walking too much. Early in the race, I was either running or doing a fast hike on the hills, however in those last miles, I was walking just about every incline. The good thing about this finish though is that the last third of a mile or so is downhill and I just let gravity bring me on in.

All in all I enjoyed myself in a weird endurance-high kind of way and felt real good about finishing. I ended up w/ a time of 5:31 which was almost an hour faster than the Carrboro 50K last month. I ended up at 101st place out of 248 finishers and 21st out of 50 in my age-group (M40-49).

I'm already thinking about another ultra. The main dude that got me thinking an ultra was even possible, Lloyd, did a race in Virginia called Bull Run Run that's in April. Come to think about it, trying to follow after Lloyd, I ended up signing up for my first Ironman too. He and Adrienne just had a new beautiful baby girl, and I'm sure they'll have their two daughters trail running in no time.

Then I know fellow bloggers Dr. Marc & Tanya will appreciate this, but one of the things that definitely helped me get through all of the long training runs was making regular visits to my chiro doc, Dr. Josh. I peaked at around 60 miles/week with a couple of weekends of doing long runs on Saturday and then following up another semi-long run on Sunday. All of those adjustments and gettting that treatment on the Traction Table helped me to hold up.

I'm really lucky that Lisa let's me indulge myself with some probably needless athletic purchases. Now some of y'all know I'm a gear geek. This race was no exception to that rule. I picked up a pair of these specialized trail racing shoes by La Sportiva, called Raceblades. I guess the unique thing about these shoes are that they have a low profile ride without having such a cushioned sole that is more common in trail shoes. Then I used these camo pattern gaiters. Those things worked out good and kept the trail debris out of my shoes. Then I used Inijini wool socks, coupled with Blistershield and liberal application of Bodyglide to my feet let me finish without any blisters, despite the fact we had 4 water crossings.

Well that's about all. I don't know what's next, but I kinda dig this ultra thing. One thing I'd like to do, maybe next year is Rim2Rim2Rim. That's where you start at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, run down in the canyon and up to the North Rim, turnaround and come back. I understand its around 42 miles and seems epic. Who knows maybe next year?

Peace,
Rob

Inauguration, Snow, and Tapering

2009-01-23T18:10:00.008-05:00

I made the trip up to DC to be a part of President Barack Obama's inauguration. It felt really good to be a part of the throngs of folks celebrating our new president. Even though it was cold and we were on our feet a long time, it felt like everybody was happy to be on the National Mall. I felt like I was a tiny part of history being there.

I left Durham at 2AM to attend the ceremonies and drove into a decent amount of falling snow. It got a bit scary, but I lowered my speed and drove conservatively. Fortunately I only had to spend about an hour in the snow, but believe me that was enough.

Speaking of snow, I'm always looking for good deals, so I was shopping at one of the local thrift stores - Rescued Treasures from the Durham Rescue Mission. A couple of years ago, I picked up a brand new pair of Yaktrax Pros, for something like 2 bucks. We hadn't had any decent snow since then so I was anxious to go for a run. Those things worked pretty good. They are fairly light and I felt sure-footed on the trail.

I got in a 4 hour run last Sat with some friends from our running club. My car read 11 degrees when I parked so it was really cold. Unbelievable, but there were, I think 6 of us that started and 3 did the whole 4 hours. I think this will be my longest run and now I think I'll start tapering for the Holiday Lake race. Normally I do a 3 week taper, but I feel kinda beat up, so I think I'll try out a 4 week taper. Hopefully I don't get too stale before the race.

That's about it for now. I think I'll get King and walk off some of my dinner.

A New Pair of Shoes

2009-01-13T06:16:00.004-05:00

So you remember during our hike in the the Pisgah National Forest Lisa took a little spill on a slippery rock and got a nice stinger. Being that I'm kind of a bargain-priced gear geek I relished the opportunity to research and order her some hiking boots. We ended up choosing a pair of Asolo Attivas. These Asolos were on the 2008 Backpacker Magazine's Gear Guide as best fit for women or something like that.

Last Sunday we went hiking at Little River Park. I think I was more anxious to see how the boots worked than Lisa was and of course King is always pumped to head out for a ride in the car and go for a jaunt. The Asolos worked great for traction and have a cool light green color they call "foilage", even a fellow hiker gave Lisa some props about her cool looking boots. The only downside is that they rubbed the skin on her ankles. Hopefully they'll break-in and become comfortable. She going to try a different pair of socks for our next hike.

It was a nice hike, we got in about 4.5 miles and had a good time. I wanted watch the Eagles-Giants game, but I'm glad we got out of the house and went for hike. The park was beautiful w/ part of the trail following the Little River. It was just a good opportunity to appreciate nature and enjoy each others company. When we got back to the start there was a family with a lab puppy so King was happy too since he got a chance to play w/ another dog.

Those Ultras are Hard

2009-01-04T06:21:00.009-05:00

I ran the Carrboro 50K yesterday and I've got a whole new level of respect and awe for ultra runners. That was one tough run. The Carrboro 50K is held in the spirit of Fat Ass events so there wasn't a registration, no bib number, and the aid station stuff was donations. Also the folks were super friendly.

So I pulled up to the start, thinking I'd get in a 4 hour training run and if things felt good keep going as long as I felt. The course was setup perfect for that strategy since it was a figure 8 w/ 2 big loops and the aid station at the intersection of the 8. This was also the location for the drop bags. It looked like there were about 30-40 runners milling around, there was food, coffee, and even a fire pit to keep us warm. I was nervous, but saw a couple of fellow Carolina Godiva running club members and that settle me a bit.

So off we went. I think it was about 35 degrees at the start, so it was a bit chilly but warmed up to the 50's later in the day. The course winds through Carolina Forest. The trails are basically small hills on single track with lots of roots, a bit mud and small rocks to trip you up. I saw a couple of folks around me go down, but they jumped back up quickly. I stumbled more times then I could count, but I think I was going so slow I was able to prevent falling.

I got through the first 2 loops and had around 20 miles in at 4 hours. I was taking it slow and steady, but man it was difficult to maintain even 12 min miles. I've got to lose some weight for sure, I felt it on those hills. But I digress. So after the 20 miles were up, I figure what the heck do another half of the "8" and see how I feel. The hosts at the aid stations were so cool, one lady even filled my water bottle for me. So I was topped off and decided to head back out. At this point it boiled down to just keep running, no matter how slow. We started at 9AM and it was getting close to 4PM when I was finishing. That was playing mind tricks on me, thinking I've been out running for most of the day.

I finally finished. There were 7 runners that did the whole enchilada and I came in next to last. Since I didn't see anybody else out on the trail, I was getting worried that the aid station was being left open just for me. I mean they'd been out there all day cheering for us and taking care of us, so I was feeling kinda guilty for being so slow.

According to my Garmin Forerunner 305 (thanks for the cool Christmas gift Lisa), it took me 6:21 to finish, that's 12:29 pacing. Its weird cause I actually ran the whole way, but it was slow going. I know this sounds like a little whining, but that single track, the roots and at least according to my Garmin, the total ascent of 12K feet, added up to some slow running.

All in all, it was a very cool experience. Running past 4 hours became almost trance-like. I felt like my breathing wasn't taxed much at all, and to some degree the pain in my legs and feet went to a semi-numbness. Then for maybe the last 2-3 miles a strange euphoria kicked in and I felt really good. After I finished, a nice lady served me up some Recoverite, a serving of some awesome vegetarian black bean chili at the finish, I was given a nice Nathan hand-held water bottle holder, and then to top it all off, Frankie Beverly and Maze was on the radio when I was leaving the parking lot.

My legs hurt, my feet hurt, I've got a blister on one of my toes, but I've gotta admit it feels real good that now I've completed an ultra.

Peace,
Rob

Looking Glass Trail

2008-12-30T07:00:00.006-05:00

Lisa and I went up to Asheville for a little getaway and had a nice time. Since we both had a couple of days off of work, we figured a short trip would be in order.

So since I was in Asheville, I couldn't resist getting in a short run on the Shut-In Ridge trail. The STR is near the Blue Ridge Parkway and is in a very pretty area. Lloyd and some of my other friends in our running club did a race there earlier this year and I wanted to see what it was like, so I thought I'd get in an hour run. That trail is one tough hombre. I only ran for a little less than 7 miles but my watch recorded 2700 ft of ascending. I can imagine how tough it would be to run the whole 18 miles of the race.

After cleaning up and getting something to eat, Lisa and I went up to the Pisgah National Forest and hiked the Looking Glass Trail. I found this trail based on some good online reviews, so we figured we'd try it out.

The hike was moderately hard, especially since it was soggy out and the footing was slippery. But despite the footing difficulty and strenuous ascending it was enjoyable and beautiful. We saw waterfalls and some gorgeous rock outcroppings. On the way up another hiker told us to be careful at the summit since it was windy and the rocks are slippery. We both knew to be careful since about a 3/4ths of a mile below the summit there is a flat rock outcrop that serves as a helipad.

Lisa and I both had a good time, though she did have one slip on a wet rock and got a little backside stinger. She was wearing some running shoes which didn't provide a whole lot of grip. I'm going to have to hook her up w/ some good trail shoes the next time we go hiking. Well that's about it. We had a nice trip.

A few short takes

2008-12-23T06:44:00.004-05:00

1) Even though we had a string of overcast rainy days lately, its been great running weather. Got in 60 miles last week. Though I think I'll back off this week and recover a bit.

2) It seems like a bunch of chiro docs are into endurance sports. I follow Dr. Marc & Tanya's blog and they do those epic ultras. Then my chiro, Dr. Josh, is a 2x ironman finisher and consistently places in the winter cyclocross series. To top it off his sis is a chiro too and she raced Ironman Florida.

3) Speaking of chiro visits, I almost fell asleep on the traction bed during yesterday's visit.

4) I've gotten 50 miles on the Go Lites, so far, A+ for traction, B- for fit. I got a small blister during my long run in Umstead Park.

5) Its gonna be cold today. Tonight's run will definitely be in pants.

6) Since we've got a shut down at work, I should take a short trip and explore some trails in the western part of NC. It would be nice for me and Lisa to get away.

7) I look at my bike everyday and miss riding. The only thing is that I'm too pooped to ride after the long runs, and during the week it gets dark very early.

8) Okay since I live so close to the American Tobacco Trail, I should break out the lights and do a night ride. Its only 6 miles, but at least I can do some spinning.

9) Me and my dog, King have one similarity, I feed him a bit more during the winter so he'll put on a little weight for insulation. I've also been feeding myself more lately, even w/ all the long slow runs, I've managed to add some lbs.

10) People should bring healthy treats to the office, maybe some fruit along w/ the cookies and cake.

Gear Review This Time

2008-12-13T18:22:00.007-05:00

During my run w/ the Umstead Park gang this morning I ran in some new trail shoes I just picked up, Versa Force by Go lite. I think Go Lite is better known for their hydration systems, backpacks, and things like that, however they have a line of trail shoes and since I'm a sucker for a bargain I picked up a pair. I got these for only $39, the retail was $130 so after thinking about it a few days I jumped on them. Go Lite has a number of trail running models, but the I believe their Versa Force is considered a lightweight trail race type shoe.

So the weird thing about these shoes is the outsole. From the pictures you can see its a pretty funky setup w/ the "spikes". I was worried about the stability while running, especially on technical single track, since the tread pattern is so unorthodox. It seemed like the ride would be less stable due to the lack of surface area that actually contacts the ground.

So on the run I wanted to get in 3 hours in order to stay on track for the Holiday Lake build. I know it isn't too smart to run for 3 hours in new shoes, but I was anxious to see how they felt and went for it anyway.

Overall I was pleased w/ the shoes. The traction was unbelievable, especially when going up steep pitches on the trail. Also there's a good toe bumper that came into use during the run, we ran mostly single track that has a lot of roots and small rocks that tend to trip me up. So it was good to have that front-end protection.

Remember the funky tread pattern, well that was also the biggest downside w/ these shoes, I seemed to stumble more then usual. Sometimes I tend to drag my feet when running for a long times and the tread catches roots super easy. Other than that, they felt pretty good.

I know Lloyd's gonna get a grin after reading this. Since I'm known to try all these different gear gizmos. Good luck in CO, we're gonna miss you here in the Bull City. Well that's all for now. We just had to take a 10% pay cut at work, so maybe my new gear adventures might have to be curtailed a bit.

Peace,

Rob

I Know, Another Book Review

2008-12-10T20:12:00.003-05:00

Okay, I'm still on the ultra geek tip. My inner ultra geekness just went up a notch since I finished Dean Karnazes book, "Ultramarathon Man, Confessions of an All Night Runner". My bud at work Bev (future ultra marathoner) hooked a brother up and bought me a copy of Dean's book. Thanks BB! Then to top it off, "Ultramarathon Man" is on my main man Lloyd's reading list. Lloyd completed the Great Eastern Endurance Run 100K, so he's got much cred when it comes to recommending anything related to ultras. So even before I opened up the first page I knew it was gonna be all good w/ this one.

I dug this book from the first page to the last page. I enjoyed the "50 Marathons" book too, but this book is even better. A lot better. Dean tells us how he got into this ultra thing and gives us insight of what its like to complete some grande epic ultra races.

To me the most dramatic race was his experience during the Western States 100. That was unreal. The other races were insane too, but for some reason I dug the WS 100 report the best. I guess it was the first race he chronicled in the book and it just grabbed me.

So if you want something good to read, get this one, you won't be disappointed.

Peace,

Rob

What Am I Getting Myself Into?

2008-12-04T14:25:00.005-05:00

Well I finally put my race application in the mail for my first ultramarathon, the Holiday Lake 50K ++. I'm not sure what the ++ is all about. I think I wasn't entirely sure if I wanted to do an ultra, but now that my application is in the mail, its time to start seriously start stacking up the training miles.

An ultramarathon is any distance that exceeds a marathon, 26.2 miles. The Holiday Lake race is 50 kilometers ~31 miles. This will be my first ultra. I'm a kinda wondering how this is going to work out, but that's the fun about it right? Seeing just how far you can go.

My bud Lloyd told me during the group run last Tues that it won't be bad at all, but man I don't know. That's a lot of miles on my feet running (probably a lot of walking too). Then also one of the bloggers I follow, Dr. Marc & Tanya do these things. I think I got geeked up hearing about the ultra experience and wanted to do one myself.

Now the question is should I run from home to the Thurs night group run or drive up there? Might as well get ready. I'll run from home.

Peace,
Rob

Book Review: Dean Karnazes - 50/50

2008-11-14T12:58:00.003-05:00

Since ironman is over and I've had some free time, I got around to finishing another good book. So its time for another book review. I just finished "50/50: Secrets I Learned Running 50 Marathons in 50 Days- and How You Too Can Achieve Super Endurance!" by Dean Karnazes w/ Matt Fitzgerald. One of my co-workers just ran his first marathon, the City of Oaks here in Raleigh, and he let me borrow it. This turned out to be a really good read. I had actually went saw the documentary earlier this year about the 50/50 challenge so I was eager to read the book.

For those who don't know about Dean Karnazes, he's maybe one of the most prolific ultra-marathon runners on the scene today. The 50/50 refers to Dean's attempt to run 50 consecutive marathons in 50 consecutive days. His book chronicles this journey. The writing flowed really good and it was a fast read. I won't give away the ending about whether he met the challenge or not.

One of the big things I came away with from this book was how down to earth and "normal" Dean is, although he does some totally incredible things in terms of running. He talks about his family just like any regular dad, but he also does these amazing 100+ mile running races. Also there are also a number of practical tips/suggestions that he drops along the way for training and racing ultras & marys (mary is running geek short hand for marathon).

All in all this was a good book. In fact I might have to go out and get my own copy to keep around the house. Hopefully it'll come out on paperback.

Peace,

Rob

But it was 78 degrees

2008-11-08T08:08:00.004-05:00

I was telling one of my buddies at work, we might not see another day like this until April. The high for the last 2 days was something like 76 and 78 degrees. I know I'm supposed to take 2 weeks and do nothing, but I couldn't resist.

I got in a couple of real easy rides last Thursday and Friday. The sky was so blue, the leaves are right around peak color, it even seemed like the drivers were friendly. I discovered something too. Slow easy rides are really nice. Gotta do that more often.

B2B = 35 Minute PR!

2008-11-04T07:55:00.003-05:00

The soreness in my legs is almost dissipated now from the Beach2Battleship race. I had a PR of 35 mins from last year's IM Wisconsin race! I guess its easy for me to recommend this race since it went so good for me, but if anyone is looking for an indy iron-distance event, B2B is a good one. But you'll have to sign-up quick. It sold out in something like 12 days for this year's event, and I suppose once the word gets out, the 2009 event may sell out even faster.

As you can tell I was all nervous before this race. My mentality was swinging from freaking out to being in some kinda nirvana-calm in the days leading up to the race start. I don't know why my state of mind this year was so much different than IMMoo from last year. Since the race was here in NC, there were some folks I knew racing. In fact, 3 folks from Campus Hills pool here in Durham were racing also. 2 of them were on my master's swim team.

I didn't sleep much the night before the race. Maybe I got 3-4 hours of on and off sleep. So I got up, tried not to make too much noise and wake up Lisa and started my nutrition. I thought about what Coach J said about upping his calories race morning at IMLou so I took ~ 1000 calories, consisting of 2 bottles of hi-protein Boost, a bagel w/ honey, 2 bowls of oatmeal w/ peanut butter, and orange juice. I was topped off good, did some stretching, grabbed my bags and headed to T1 where we boarded buses to the swim start.

One of the most fun parts of the race for me was the swim. The swim is a beach start that is held in the Atlantic Intercoastal Waterway at Wrightsville Beach with a date/start time that captured the peak flow for the incoming tide. The start coincides w/ the sunrise and the beauty of seeing the sky transition from orange to dark blue on the horizon almost takes your breath away. I did a really short dip in the water to get acclimated, then we headed into the start corral for a prayer prayer and the national anthem. To be honest, I don't even remember the start gun going off, but the next thing I knew I was in the washing machine of a ironman swim start. I swam 55:22 which is bananas. To put it in perspective, I swam a 1:18 at IM Wisconsin last year. It was like swimming in a river. The water was kinda cold at 68, but once you got going it wasn't too bad.

After a good T1 it was off on the bike leg. Let me back up one minute, here's a tip I used that helped; I left a pair of running shoes near the swim exit so I wouldn't have to run barefoot to T1. It was about a 300 yard run and that made it much more comfortable. I had a 6:32 transition and some people in my age-group were as high as 14 minutes. One other tip too. The air temps were in the 40's so it was cold once you got out of the water. I was talking w/ my buddy at the athlete's meeting on Friday and he told me about putting newspaper in your tri top for the bike to keep your torso warm. If you watch the Tour de France on some of the climbs you'll see riders stuff paper in their jerseys at the summit. This buffets the cold air on the descent from chilling them.

The bike went really good for me also. It was cold for the first half, but there was maybe only 1-2 mph winds so it was easy to control pacing. I went w/ my disc wheel and that works good in low wind conditions. I tried to keep my effort down a bit and keep my ego in check to not surge when someone would pass me. I kept up some ol' school tunes in my head, like "Funky Nassau" and Curtis Mayfield's "Move On Up" to stay motivated. Also I thought about my niece and her recovery/healing. I would tell myself be strong, be an inspiration for her. If I can do this race she can get well.

The bike course is pretty much pancake flat on country roads that were for the most part nice and smooth. Since there were only 500 participants I had long stretches of solitude where there were big gaps between riders. The thought crossed my mind that this is how ironman should be, just the athlete and the road, just putting out a strong effort. The big ironman races are one thing, but it was nice sometimes not seeing other riders for as far as you could see in front of you.

I felt pretty good and picked up the effort a bit in the second half after it warmed up. The newspaper in my tri top worked good. In fact I didn't throw it away until around mile 75. Another Coach J tip I used was to put 2 cans of flat Red Bull in my bike special needs bag and that gave me some good energy for the 2nd half of the bike. I ended up w/ a 5:40 bike split (19.8 mph).

Nothing special about T2. But here's another tip I used. I put BodyGlide, liberally on my toes when I changed socks in T2. I sometimes get blisters and this helped to alleviate that. I ended up w/ one small blister, but it didn't impact my performance.

The run was tough though. The course follows 2 loops of the Wilmington 1/2 marathon and there are 3 bridge crossings that took a bit out of me. I probably overcooked the bike a bit too and paid the price on the run. I ended up w/ a 4:25 marathon (10:07 pacing). Before the race one of my goals was to run the whole marathon, but it wasn't happening that day. Also I think I made a mistake of taking on too many calories on the bike and it was difficult to keep fluids down on the run. I would drink something, run a few yards and some of it was come back up. I think my stomach wasn't absorbing a much after the bike. I did feel better as the temps went down for the 2nd half of the run though and my stomach issues dissipated. I kept up a mantra on the run, "be a hero today". I got that from reading a section out of Dean Karnazes 50 marathons book.

All in all it was a very good race for me. I ended up finishing at 11:10! That was good for 6th out of 47 in my age-group (45-49). Earlier this season, I was somewhat worried, since I wasn't getting the results I was hoping for at races. I was doubting my fitness and struggled to find my confidence. My coach kept telling me, late season IMs are tricky since you don't want to peak too soon. It was tough to stick to his guidance, when my buddies were killing me on group rides during the summer and I was still in base training mode. But it worked out good since the race turned out so good, especially on the bike. I told Lisa to never let me sign up for another one of these things at the finish, but now a few days later who knows...

Now its time to chill, get a few things done around the house and think about next year. I may stick to some shorter stuff in terms of triathlon, but I do want to try an ultra-marathon next year.

One,
Rob

Feeling Better Now

2008-10-31T12:42:00.004-04:00

I just got back from my short SBR and having a good lunch, I feel much better now. Now I think I know why Coach J scheduled that workout. It was great for getting that anxiety off.

I grooved to Curtis Mayfields' "Move On Up" during my run. Oh man that song got me pumped. Curtis laid down a serious groove w/ that one. Kayne sampled it and had a hit w/ "Touch The Sky", but he couldn't touch the original.

One,
Rob

The Calm Before The Storm

2008-10-31T08:26:00.003-04:00

I got this from Ultrarunners MJ out in Cali, "calm before the storm". Coach J has me planned to do a really short SBR, just to loosen everything up, then I'll eat some good healthy food, stretch and rest. Try and reach a nice calm state.

But man I'm still feeling some anxiousness. I guess that's normal. Lisa will be coming in this evening so that'll be nice. My hotel has a small kitchen so we're planning to eat in the room. I'll cook up something simple and good and get to bed early.

One,
Rob

Okay I'm Nervous Now

2008-10-29T18:12:00.002-04:00

Last week one of my co-workers was asking me how I was feeling about the upcoming race. I told him I wasn't fired up like last year. I was just feeling kinda blah. But oh what a difference a week makes.

I'll be packing tonight and heading down to Wilmington in the morning. Now I'm feeling it. The engineer in me is in overdrive. I'm trying to dial in what I'll be wearing on the bike, what to wear on the run, hell I've even been checking the tidal tables to see how the current will be running.

I think I should chill, do some stretching and get a dinner and then get some rest.

Peace,
Rob

Bike Geekness

2008-10-26T08:52:00.004-04:00

Okay, I'm up and running my Garmin Edge 705. Here's a screen shot from my ride yesterday.

That bike toy is sweet. It was my 10th anniversary gift from Lisa and I'm having fun playing with it. I'm still learning all of the ins and outs of it though. The manual is something like 70 pages.

The one thing I've got to be careful of though is looking down to much at the data while I'm riding and not paying attention to the road.

4+2 = The Folks That Don't Walk

2008-10-13T09:21:00.005-04:00

Yes, hallelujah, its finally taper time. Man it feels good knowing the long stuff is in the books and now its time for my body to absorb the fitness I gained during the year. The one thing about a late year race, it really makes for a long season. But I feel good. Not to get the big head, but I think this Beach2Battleship iron distance race is gonna be a good one for me.

98.9, 120.1, 102.4, and 80.8. Each of the last 4 weekends had long rides + a brick run. That 120 though about did me in. The final race simulator was last Saturday where I got in the 80.8 mile ride and then did a 2 hour brick run for 13.4 miles. Last year when training for IMMoo, I was questioning my coach's sanity when he scheduled that 4+2 workout, but he told me that workout is the difference between those who walk the marathon and those who run it.

Its so good how working out can relieve stress. You know I had been down lately since that madness out in California w/ my relative. It was breaking my heart to call back and hear about the multiple surgeries and worrying about how the future. One thing about being on a good, hard group ride or run is that for those moments I can just zone out and concentrate only on trying to stay w/ the peloton or maintaining good running posture. Then when I finish I feel tired but its a good tired. Not the tired that comes from worry and fear, but the good kind of tired that comes from strong physical exertion.

So it was a good weekend. I got in the 4+2. I rode w/ a great bunch of folks, held close to 20 mph (19.7) on the bike and sustained 8:59 pacing on the run. I guess I still had to workout some more stress so Sunday I went out for 3 1/2 hours of easy riding. Then to put the icing on the cake, Lisa and I went on a nice long walk Sunday afternoon w/ our dog, King. It was so beautiful out, hardly a cloud in the sky and I felt peace.

One,

Rob

Enough Is Enough

2008-10-07T08:41:00.004-04:00

My heart has been heavy since last week. Someone very close to me in my family was the victim of a vicious attack that resulted in severe injuries. I got in my century ride + 3 mile brick run last Saturday. I must of been really angry since I did the brick run at a 7:47 pace. It was like I just wanted to run the bad feelings I was having out of my mental state, no matter how tired I was after 102 miles of cycling. After the workout, I rushed home then Lisa and I caught a flight back to California last weekend to visit and I really had to fight back sinking into a real state of sadness.

While I won't discuss the details, I will say this attack was so heinous and I worry about the recovery of my dear family member. They will have to not only recover physically, but emotionally, and mentally as well. Get well baby, we're all praying for you to have a speedy recovery. Also don't worry about being safe, justice will happen, and the authorities will have that person off of the streets soon.

This has also made me reflect on how violence is so often used even for the smallest of disagreements. I watch the news and it seems like there is too often the account of someone being murdered or harmed for really no apparent reason. It was really been reinforced in me that I must never give in to the urge to flip off a driver because I'm out on my bike and they pass too close or yell something stupid out of their car. There's no telling how that could end up.

Also I feel really bad that black on black crime is so rampant. C'mon people we got to get our shit together. This don't make no sense whatsoever. We can't continue to shoot each other, stab each other, rob each other, etc. I mean it doesn't make sense that my mother had to put bars on all her windows because some asshole broke in her house last year. She's 75 years old, you punk-ass criminal, she should be relaxing and enjoying time w/ her grandchildren. Now she's living behind bars in her own house and worried about one of her grandchildren fighting to get out of the hospital after being attacked.

Okay, I think I got some of this out of my system. I remember when I was young, I did dumbshit, but not trying kill another person. Too many people I knew, too many people I grew up with, too many of my relatives are no longer here behind some dumbshit violent act.

What happened to trying to be the best you could be. What happened to get your education, go to college, get a good job, get married and live a nice productive life. What happened to young people listening to and respecting their elders. What happened to wanting to look presentable when you went out, not having your fucking underwear showing cause you wear your pants down around your knees.

I'm just hurt. Hurt about the state of our society. Hurt how this bullshit thug mentality amongst our black youth is so prevasive. Hurt about how another human being could inflict so much pain on another human. Life is scared. Life is precious. Enough is enough. We are all God's children. Respect life.

One love,
Rob

B2B The Final Push Week 1

2008-09-29T12:02:00.004-04:00

I'm in the Final Push phase for my B2B race. Basically Coach J, http://johnhirsch.org/ sets up 3 hardcore long workouts that act as race simulators before the taper phase. I got the first one in the bag last Saturday. It was a 120 miler + 3 mile run. That 120 miler took a bite outta me. Sometimes I think I'm getting to old for this...

I hooked up w/ some friends and also some riders that I met for the first time. It was a somewhat hilly route where we started in Durham and rode up to Snow Camp. I was able to keep up w/ them for most of the ride, but the last 15 or so miles were downright painful. Everytime we came to even the smallest of hills, I just fell off the pack, and they would wait for me. That made me feel kinda weak, but there were some damn good riders in that group. There were 2 ladies in the group that qualified and did Kona year before last. They were all above my level, so even just staying in the draft line took hard efforts. It was good training though.

Also something weird happened too where my heartrate got a bit erratic on the harder climbs late in the ride. It was a bit freaky, maybe my electrolytes were off or something. I may go see my cardio doc if it happens again. I think I'll have to be more diligent on the Endurolyte capsules. Since it cooled off I haven't been taking them in the quantity like I used to, but I gotta remember you still lose electrolytes even when it cools down.

I swam yesterday afternoon, and I just couldn't get into a groove. I was probably just tired. I was doing some 100 repeats and I felt like the effort was there, but the times were slow, even for me slow. It seemed to take everything I had just to put in 2 consecutive 100's on 2 minute intervals.

Well that's about it. 1 Final Push workout is in the books. #2 is for this weekend, 100 miles + 7 mile run. I know inside that these workouts hurt, but I feel like if I can just hold on, I'll have a really good B2B race.

One,
Rob

Duke - The 92 Degree Report

2008-09-22T15:29:00.009-04:00

Sunday before last I did the Duke Liver Center Half out at Jordan Lake or maybe I should say the Duke Half did me. To get an idea of the conditions, I lifted this from the race website,

"Congratulations to everyone who toughed out the brutal conditions on a course that's difficult enough even under the best weather conditions"

Mother Nature wasn't quite ready to let go of summer and the forecast for the day was 94. We got lucky and the actual high was only 92, ha ha. Then to top add to it, the USAT official that measured the lake water temp came in w/ a reading of 79. 79 degrees is one, yes one degree above the limit for wearing wetsuits. I mean it seems like he could've dropped that thermometer just a little lower in the water and hooked us up w/ a 78 degree reading so we could wear our wetsuits. I can't control Mother Nature, but she sure could controlled me that day.

We had a deep water start for the swim, so I had to tread water for a minute but it wasn't too bad. But I have to admit I was ready for that horn to go off so I could use my energy for swimming and not for treading water. The horn went off and we were on our way. I didn't get much contact until some of the later waves started passing me a little past the half-way point. I ended up w/ a 46 minute swim, which was only 4 minutes slower than my White Lake Half swim where we got to wear wetsuits. It was good for 19th out of 24 in my age-group, so I have a little consolation that I didn't come in dead last.

Now on to the bike split. This is where I felt the best during the race. The bike course had a bunch of rollers with a few short climbs that kept it interesting. I spoke w/ my coach http://www.johnhi rsch.org/ the day before for some hot weather tips and he told me to really make sure I didn't get behind on my hydration, so I kept up w/ the fluids and I felt like I had a pretty decent bike split coming in at 2:54 (19.2 mph avg). I moved up 9 places in my age-group and had the 10th fastest bike split. I did make one big mistake on the bike though in taking in too much Hammer Perpeteum which has contains protein and it just never seemed to entirely empty from my gut.

Now on to the run. This is where the race got wicked, damn near evil. The course is pretty much all on trails in the park where you get a these fairly sustained climbs and they just hurt. Then you'd get a long downhill and you quads would hurt too. Remember about overdoing it w/ the Perpeteum, well my stomach just wouldn't empty and each time I drank something at the aid stations, some of it would come back up (hopefully you're not reading this during lunch). That's a lesson I won't ever forget. The same thing happened to me at IMAZ, you would've think I learned my lesson. When its hot and you're racing hard just stick to the sports drinks that don't contain protein. I don't think it slowed me up, but it just made the run more uncomfortable.

Like I said the run course was difficult and w/ the 90+ temps we were having and it basically just broke down to just shuffling from aid station to aid station. I did manage to run the whole course (except for walking the aid stations) and finished the half-marathon w/ a time of 2:06 (9:39 pace). I saw a bunch of folks walking and even one person was being loaded onto an ambulance. It was just sick hot out there.

I have to give props to Setup Events for doing an awesome job w/ the aid stations. They always had ice water, icy towels, sports drink, etc... It got crazy out there but the volunteers did a helluva job.

One of my goals for this race was to break into the top-10 for my age-group and I finished 9th which made me feel good. This is the highest I've ever placed in a half. I do gotta confess though there were only 24 in my category (M45-49) though. I ended up w/ an overall time of 5:51. All in all I felt good about the race, especially on the mental tip. I felt...courageous. I know it sounds corny, but it took some bravery to hold up through that race.

One,

Rob

WGW

2008-09-09T13:15:00.002-04:00

Okay I know I'm biased, but I've got the Worlds Greatest Wife. Yesterday was our 10 year anniversary and Lisa got me a Garmin 705. Yahoo!!! Man that was a very cool suprise. I won't go pick it up until next month since we get the 30% discount for being REI members, I can't wait.

I'm so ready to start checking out more of the backroads here in NC on my bike. I'm a lucky dude!

One,

Rob

In the Thick of Things

2008-08-27T08:16:00.007-04:00

"I'm winning... I can't lose... You can shoot me, but you can't kill me. What a day..."
-Alonzo in Training Day

Oh man, the training is getting real now. I've been putting in some serious hours lately. But damn, I sure am tired. Its getting tough to stay alert during the day at work and have some modicum of productivity.

Last week was my biggest training week so far this year. Here's the numbers:

Bike - 233.9 miles (13 hours 37 mins)
Run - 30.1 miles (4 hours 36 mins)
Swim - 11230.8 yards (4 hours 40 mins)
Total - 22 hours 53 mins

B2B is 9 weeks away, 6 weeks to the taper (but who's counting). I'm hoping... wait a minute, not hoping; I'm preparing myself for a strong race November 2nd. Coach J http://www.johnhirsch.org/ has got me in the serious Ironman build mode now. I mean last weekend was a 65 mile steady pace ride + 5 mile race pace brick run. Then to top it off he had do a 6 hour base pace ride the next day on Sunday. It was a tough weekend of training, but I feel like if I can hold up through these tough workouts, B2B should be one helluva race for me.

Okay, one funny thing, you know you're out riding in the country when you pass a street sign named Cletus Hall Rd.

One,

Rob

Another New Bike Contraption

2008-08-14T15:11:00.006-04:00

Okay, if you're a cyclist you can empathize with me when I say my ass is killing me. I'm riding a Fizik Arione on my tri bike and I couldn't take the numbness, saddle sores, chafing, etc... anymore. So I picked up this new saddle that is supposed to help in all these areas. Its known as the Adamo.

The Adamo looks completely different than a traditional bike saddle, since there isn't a nose to the saddle. Its kinda just lopped off. It looks kinda crazy, but that thing works. I installed it last night and did a little spinning on the trainer. Can you spell R-E-L-I-E-F?

Peace,
Rob

Gold Baby!

2008-08-11T05:29:00.008-04:00

I wanted to watch this race live, so bad, but after getting in a 5 hour ride, 30 min run, 30 min swim on Sunday, and then running some errands with Lisa, I couldn't stay awake. But I got up early this morning and watched it on the 'net and I had to fight back not yelling and waking up everybody. I saw the prelims during the afternoon, and did let out some yelling, but couldn't stay awake for the finals. The prelims were awesome w/ my homeboy Cullen Jones swimming the fastest leg, but the finals were completely bananas. The French were talking smack about how they were going to "smash" the US team...

The finals were on now. Oh man, WOW, the USA 4x100m relay finals were completely awesome. Gold! I was totally pulling for this team, especially since North Carolina was represented on the team by Cullen Jones, who swam the 3rd leg. I'm really proud of my homeboy. Okay, he's really from NYC, but since he graduated from NC State, I'm gonna claim him anyway. Much props to the whole team, especially, Jason Lezak. JL put in much work on that anchor leg. It was the fastest in history!

One,

Rob

The William Glover Tribute - from my Dad

2008-08-03T09:26:00.010-04:00

As you know from some of my previous posts, my Dad is one of my heroes. His good buddy William Glover (Mr. Glover is wearing the brown sweater) passed recently and the family requested that my Dad speak on his behalf. I called him the morning of the funeral to wish him well and then he read me the tribute he wrote to William. It was so good to me that I asked Dad to mail it to me so I can put it on my blog. It really gave me a good feeling to reflect on the friendship that he and Mr. Glover had. It also helped me to connect with how my Dad grew up and the good times they had. I think I would've enjoyed growing up in that time as much as my Dad did. Here's the tribute:

Will all the golfers please stand and pay a tribute to our buddy, William Glover. Thank you, you may be seated.

The definition of coordination, "to be harmonious, in dress, to be very cool."

Glover would look you up and down to see if you were dressed very cool... If not, he would let you know right away. So this morning I took extra pains to see that everything matched (Dad dons his white brim that coordinates with his suit and looks over to Mr. Glover). "OK Glover?"

I met William in the late 1930's. It was around Christmas time and if you were very lucky, you might get some skates. Well that particular Christmas, I lucked out and got some. I headed straight for the "smooth street", aka Ascot Ave. This was our skating rink. Well, I was skating along when some lanky dude bumped into me, knocking me down. It was William, and that was the beginning of a long enduring friendship lasting 70+ years.

Along the way, it was William and I becoming the official cheerleaders at Jefferson High School. I will never forget the annual Los Angeles City High School track meet championships held at the Coliseum. Me and Glover had the student body going wild with the ending signature mile race between our hero, Louis Beadle, and the two guys from Hollywood High School. I'll let Beadle fill you in... (it was a close race, but Mr. Beadle lost out at the finish to one of the Hollywood HS runners).

Following high school, Glover and I graduated to Matthews Pool Hall on Central Ave. and 48th street. One of our endeavors was to gather all of us guys outside around 3:30PM and watch the daily parade of the Jefferson High School honeys sashaying past us. Some of them went out of their way to join the parade.

Party time was Friday nights. It was the Alpha Bowl, La Vada downstairs, Elks Hall, YWCA, etc. Me and Glover would go to a particular grocery store in the neighborhood named Zaby's and inquire if Miss Virgina Dare and Mr. Dubonet (those are old school wines) would like to accompany us to a party. The answer was always yes.

Sundays were always great. Early horseback riding at the Flying Horse Stables, church, then the afternoons were at the Crystal Tea Room. Finally the Lincoln Theater after that.

Some of you might not know it, but William had a tremendous singing voice. So me and him started a quartet; Glover as lead, then me, Marcus and Bunyan Johnson as backups. We also had Charles Windsor, who couldn't sing a lick, so we made him our announcer. We won the amateur hour twice at the Lincoln Theater and sang at various churches and other affairs. Then holidays might find us all at The Valverde hamming it up. Life was very good.

Finally, William invited me to join in his golf endeavors which he loved so much. He would go to the golf course at 3:30 in the morning and up the call list which let our groups be the first to tee off. When it became too cold for him, I would substitute for him.

I know that William, his brother Alvin and Sylvester Bell teed it up this morning and he's saving a spot in his group for us all.

More Short Takes

2008-07-26T18:45:00.004-04:00

1) My coach, http://www.johnhirsch.org had an excellent post today about training and results. It has given me a better mindset for this triathlon thing. You know in the big scheme of things its not so much about the results but rather the process. Staying in the moment and appreciating just the fact that I get to do this stuff is gratifying in its own right.

2) I feels like my fitness is gaining some semblance of how I felt last year. I did a couple of local group rides recently (Firecracker 100K, Cup 'n Cone Tour) and spent a good bit of the rides w/ the lead peloton. Although I couldn't hold on for the finish, I felt good about hanging in there for the majority of the rides.

3) Lower your seat for back comfort. I dropped my sit a couple of 2cm and some of the lower back pain I had been having is gone. I rode a century today and my back felt great.

4) The best core exercise ever is lay on your back, elevate your knees (feet off the ground), hands over your ears, touch the opposite knee, alternating back and forth. I try to do sets of 50 and its very effective.

5) Develop a good strong, early, high elbow catch for better swimming. I had a really good lesson earlier this week from Marty Gaal, http://www.osbmultisport.com and came away w/ some good tips. Now if I can just develop the swim fitness to hold this stroke in the open water for 2.4 miles.

Check out the video:

One,

Rob

Tony Dungy - A Man Among Men

2008-07-16T12:14:00.003-04:00

I just finished reading Tony Dungy's autobiography, "Quiet Strength". My bud Ultra-Runner Lloyd had this book on his recommended reading list, so I knew I wanted to read it. The other day Lisa and I went by the library and Tony's book was in the stacks. I quickly grabbed it and checked it out.

This book was completely inspirational on so many fronts. But let me digress. The title of this post includes a saying my dad passed on to me. Every now and then, especially if I'm going through something difficult, my dad will extol me to be "A Man Among Men". He got the saying from his mom, my grandmother, who was an amazing woman in her own right. I mean she came up during the depression, and in spite of many hardships, acquired property, raised a strong family, mostly by herself as a single mom. She would give this advice to my dad, who is one of my heroes and he in turn gave it to me. I interpret it as standing strong in spite of whatever else is going on around you.

Tony Dungy is a man who has stood strong even through trials that would decimate many people. His book, while fascinating in its own right about his journey in the NFL and leading men to victory, it is also a story of leading his family, his community, and basically being an example of how the power of Jesus Christ can manifested in a person.

The book chronicles his highs, lows, joys, and pains. Obviously one of the highest points in his journey was winning the Super Bowl, but also the lowest point was the loss of his beloved son. All the while, Tony never lost his faith in God. His book provides so many lessons and examples of holding onto faith in Jesus Christ, especially when life brings incredible disasters. His book has had such a positive impact on me. I'm sure it has touched many others as well. I'm glad Lloyd recommended this one. I'm a better man for having read it.

One,

Rob

Triangulated

2008-07-14T19:38:00.008-04:00

Last Sunday I raced in the Triangle Triathlon. The TT is a Sprint tri (750m swim, 15 mile bike, 5K run). It was a local event here in Raleigh, so I finally didn't have to travel to a race which was very cool. Another good thing about it being local was I bumped into a bunch of friends and I picked up some good energy when somebody would call me out during the race.

You know this race was good in a lot of ways, except one. The Swim. Ugh, I've done this race back in '06 and swam a 15:50. This year I swam a 18:09. But I'm through whinning, the swim and race is in the books and I'm going to focus on the positives. But I will say this, my swim workouts are about to get real focused from now on.

My bike was really good. I held a 22.4 mile average on a course w/ rollers. It was a touch slower than '06, but I'm a couple of years older and I felt good so its all good. Also I felt good on the run, coming in at 21:29 for a 6:54 min/mile average. Again, it was a tad slower than '06, but again I felt good. I was able to run down some folks in my age-group and move up from 34th in my age-group after the swim to 12th out of 44.

As I was leaving the park, there was 61 years young lady who struck up a conversation w/ me about the race and she told about competing at the World Championships in Vancouver. I thought about her and looked up her results and saw that she finished in 1:25. I am so inspired by her. I did a 1:22 and I left it all out there on the course.

The race was hard, but all in all it was a blessing. I feel really grateful to be able to race in things like this and I hope for many more years of participating. Hopefully I can keep this thing going and hang around and be an inspiration just as I get inspired when I see others racing like that really fast 61 year young racer.

One,
Rob

Short Takes - The Southern Version

2008-07-09T13:45:00.006-04:00

Okay I totally ripped off this idea from my coach, http://www.johnhirsch.org/. Coach J did a recent posting called, "Short Takes", which I thought was pretty cool. I got in a 2:15 run this morning so I had a lot of time to think. So since there's nothing new under the sun, I thought I'd post my own version of "Short Takes".

1) I need to HTFU - Okay some of y'all know what that means. I feel like I've been whining a lot lately. My weight being up, my bike rides being slower, my race times being slow. Hey if I want to get faster, being in better race shape, I've got to put my mind to it and train my ass off. If I get the hours/miles/yards in, I'll get faster. No doubt about it.

2) I just figured it out on my long run this morning. The dopest, the best I-tune download I've got for getting through a hard section on my long run is Curtis Mayfield's, "Move On Up". Get the extended version. Man that came up on my Ipod at about mile 13 and my legs got a whole new life.

3) Triathletes, just athletes in general are good people. I've gotten so much encouragement, advice, help from others at races, it ain't even funny. Now if the rest of the world could just get with the program.

4) Don't keep charging forward when you're out on a training ride and get lost. It's much better to backtrack and reorient yourself. Last weekend, in fact on the 4th of July, I ended up on the 540 freeway off-ramp. That probably looked pretty strange to drivers that passed me. Then the same weekend I ended up on US70 near Brier Creek. For the locals, they know how insane the driving is on that road. I'm making a pitch to Lisa for that new Garmin 705. Just maybe...

5) Nutrition is obviously super important. I do really good for breakfast and lunch, but dinner gets me. Wait, let me more honest, its the deserts after dinner is what gets me. If I want to get faster, that late night sherbert, frozen yogurt, cookies, pound cake has got to be limited in a big way.

6) I got this Trigger Point Therapy http://www.tptherapy.com/ kit last year and it works pretty good. It loosens up the muscles good and restores some elasticity when I'm stiff.

7) Stretching is important for me. I tend to forget to stretch, but when I do, my workouts are so much better.

8) Its summer now and we're having those hot and humid days. Fluid management is critical. I've found out the hard way that staying on top of my water intake can make the difference between a quality workout and a sufferfest.

9) Speaking of heat and humidity. I wish I could find a good product that protects my car seats after working out. I picked up a seat cover from Pep Boys that works good for moderate sweating, but after a good run, I practically look like I stepped out of the shower and my car seat get wet.

10) Okay I know the pool is for everyone, but 84 degrees is just too hot for swimming. I think the water aerobics folks complain if its too cold, but goodness 84 just makes lap swimming so tough.

One,
Rob

BSG Results

2008-06-30T14:42:00.002-04:00

Ok the official results were just published. Ugh, a 7:33 finishing time. Thats 13.6 mph. Next year will be better. I still got in a great day of training that'll make me stronger for Beach 2 Battleship.

Peace,
Rob

That Shiggity Wasn't No Joke - BSG

2008-06-29T07:12:00.012-04:00

Huggy: "What's the deal pickles? Is everything kosher?"
Tom: "Everything is kosher."

- Huggy Lowdown & Tom Joyner on the Tom Joyner Morning Show

Huggy aka The Celebrity Snitch likes to use the word "shiggity" on the TJMS. The TJMS is a nationally syndicated radio show, that I love listening to in the mornings. Huggy is one of the frequent guests to the program. Obviously he can't say "shit" on the show, so he uses shiggity. I thought about Huggy yesterday during the Blood, Sweat, and Gears century ride (actually its a 103 miles). I tell you the truth. That shiggity was no joke. That ride broke me down. This is the 3rd year in a row, I've done this ride, and I was an hour slower than last year. The official results haven't been published yet, but I think I came in about 7 1/2 hours. Last year I came in at 6:24 and felt strong. I even did a 30 minute brick run after the ride last year.

I think the biggest thing that got me on this year's ride was that I just wasn't as fit as prior years. I was looking back over my workout logs and last year I had some big bike weeks in the weeks before BSG, while this year I've only done one century and that was pretty slow. That's why I thought about that line ala Huggy. You can't play around w/ BSG, "cus that shiggity ain't no joke". That ride is to be fully respected. You can't treat it like, "well it'll just be a good training session". You can't be half-stepping, no sir, not with BSG.

All in all, even though it was brutal, I'm still glad I did it. I went up the day before and stayed w/ a buddy of mine and his family at their vacation home in the Virgina mountains. He did the half-century version of the ride. Their vacation home is high up in the VA mountains just off the VA Creeper Trail. The Creeper Trail is a former railroad line that has been converted to a multi-use trail. The setting was amazing, there's beautiful creek that runs right behind the property, then there's a bridge to cross the creek and the Creeper Trail is just on the other side. Also he told me there's an access point to the Applachian Trail fairly close too.

Well we got the race site, got organized, and were ready for the start. Wait, let me digress. One of the local NBC Today Show anchors here, Donald Jones, is an avid cyclist. He's got a pretty cool blog, http://blogs.wncn.info/thedailydraft/ and I posted a comment earlier this week and he replied. So I bumped into him at packet pick-up and we chatted for a minute. He did the race last year and we finished pretty close to one another, with him coming in a 6:26. So I got him by 2 minutes. Then at the start, we were a couple of bikes over from one another, so I gave him one of those Obama fist bumps. Dude is a strong rider and early on one of the climbs, he was going strong and I couldn't hang on. I'm sure he beat his time from last year.

The ride for me can be best describe as 2 gears. I was in the 34x25 for a whole lot and I was in the 50x12 for a short while. BSG has over 13K of climbing so, I spent a lot of time grinding up the mountain roads. The most strenuous section is called Snake Mountain. The grade hits like 20% and its later in the ride around mile 65, so you're somewhat toasted at this point. The last two years, I was able to ride up this section, but this year, I had to dismount my bike and walk part of it. That was humbling. There were other walkers, but I really wanted to ride up that thing. Next year I betcha I'll be ready.

Next year will be different. I want to do this ride again, and train properly for it. A couple of things. Definitely more training miles. I need to be hitting some 200+ mile weeks like last year. I was getting ready for IMMoo last year, so I was really focused and had some good miles in my legs by the time BSG rolled around. Also, I will not be so heavy. I'm tipping the scales at 182 lbs and last year I got down to 175 for during my prep for IMMoo. Its not a lot of weight, but those extra lbs are absolutely murder for climbing. Every time I came to a climb, the lactic acid jumped up along with my HR and I was feeling the pain. I even got some cramps a few times later in the race which is indicative of being under trained.

All in all, it was a great experience. The downhills were fun, and the views were amazing. Even though I didn't do nearly as well as I would've liked. I feel blessed that I can even get out and participate in something like this. I had a spectacular homestay, ran into some of my buddies I train with, and I keep the rubber side down (that's cycling-speak for no crashes).

One,
Rob

Tri Latta - The MOP Report

2008-06-18T12:43:00.004-04:00

Okay here's another acronym for you, MOP (middle of the pack). I did the Tri Latta Sprint triathlon (750m swim, 17 mile bike, 5K run) last Saturday and finished 23/50 for my age-group. That is definitely MOP.

Me and Lisa headed down the night before and since we were so close to the Concord Mills shopping center, we went to one of Lisa's favorite stores, Off-5th. Off-5th is the outlet center for Saks 5th Ave, and Lisa typically finds some good deals there. Sometimes I have a hard time going shopping, but I gotta admit, my girl looks great when she's all hooked up real nice in her office attire.

Well we finally got in and got a good night's rest and headed over to the race site at 5AM. I got in a bike warm-up w/ a few fast spin-ups and then a run warm-up w/ a few bursts to get the blood flowing in my legs. I got a good sweat by this point. I wanted to swim a little, but they didn't have a convenient area for a swim warm-up.

This race was one of those 2 out of 3 deals. I'm stoked w/ my bike split (20.3 mph average) and my run split (7:07 mins/mile), but my swim was, I gotta admit, pathetic. I swam just a hair under 19 minutes which was a 2:17/100 yard pace. I was definitely BOP (back of the pack) for the swim. I must admit, I've been slacking on making the Master's workouts and the results are showing. Also I had some trepidation in pushing it hard on the swim, almost like I was scared to go hard. I think mentally I was worried too much about the water temperature, 89 degrees. But hey, everybody else had to swim in that same lake.

All in all its always a good day to be able to follow this crazy triathlon thing and race. I didn't get injured, Lisa found a couple of nice things at Off-5th, so life is good.

Peace,

Rob

Today's Forecast 103!

2008-06-08T11:36:00.004-04:00

Ugh, this morning I went for my long run at 6AM on the way back I was listening to the radio and the forecast for today is 103. That's nuts. Its early June. Here in NC its never this hot, anytime of the year. Obviously this breaks all kinds of historical records. Maybe Al Gore was right.

Yesterday I headed up to Wilkesboro and did this bike ride called RAW that was put on by the Brushy Mountain Cycling Club. RAW is an acronym for Ride Around Wilkesboro. I did the 75 mile option and is mostly in the mountains above Wilkesboro. The ride was really hard mainly due to the 4300 feet of climbing and the crazy high temperatures. The high in North Wilkesboro yesterday was 97 degrees.

The highlight of the ride was the 6 mile climb up Brushy Mountain. I was in my 34T chainring and 25T cog for most of the climb. There were a couple of rollers, but it was mostly up, up, and up. My computer was reading 6 mph. I was having some issues on the ride. I would get these stinging cramps in my hamstrings from time to time. I was taking 2 endurolytes per hour, but maybe I needed more. One thing, that climbing has reinforced the need for me to lose weight. Those extra pounds make climbing tough. I survived the climbs and got back in 4:26. Even though the conditions were bananas, the views were spectacular at the top of Brushy Mountain.

Well that's all for now. I plan to get some good use out of the new Nalgene (BPA-free) water bottle today, especially since me and Lisa have to run some errands today.

Peace,
Rob

Splashing Around

2008-06-06T14:36:00.008-04:00

I did this really cool swim-only race last Saturday called the "Low Country Splash" in Charleston, SC. The swim was the Ironman distance of 2.4 miles. The course was amazing to say the least. We started in the city of Mount Pleasant which is separated from Charleston by this huge suspension bridge called the Arthur Ravenel bridge. The finish is in Charleston Harbor at a marina that is adjacent to the USS Yorktown aircraft carrier that is permanently docked there as a floating museum.

The race is advertised as a fast swim due to the 1-2 mph current that is pushing you the entire way. The race is a deep water start about 200 yards from shore so you have to tread water for a little bit until the gun goes off. The current kept pushing everyone into the front. I had to use my arms to keep pushing myself back so that I didn't end up near the "fishes" at the start. I'm a so-so swimmer so I didn't want to be up there and clog things up w/ the strong swimmers.

The gun finally went off and were swimming. At first I had some trepidation about swimming in the open water like that, especially w/o a wetsuit. The water temperature was ~78 so a wetsuit would have been too warm. But quickly I got over the fears and was into my stroke. During the race it was incredible to swim under the AR bridge and then alongside the USS Yorktown. There was even a freighter going in the opposite direction about a half mile to our right. Swimming alongside these large objects got my heartrate for sure.

I ended up w/ a 53:04 swim which is crazy for an IM distance. This placed me 302/390 overall and 22/26 in my age-group. To put things in perspective my swim at IMWI last year was 1:18. I finished near the back of the pack, but I was happy w/ the results and would do this race again. That current was right on time. In fact for the B2B race its supposed to be a point-to-point swim w/ a pushing current. I'm looking forward to that one.

After the race, Lisa and I took a the Black History & Sea Islands Tour of Charleston from my man Al Miller http://www.sitesandinsightstours.com/Home/home.html. If you're in Charleston, you've got to sign up for that one. It seemed like Al knew everything about Charleston. We learned so much from that tour. Lately I've been reading a couple of books on black history and this brought a lot of that to life.

Well that all for now. I'm headed up to Wilkesboro tomorrow for the RAW ride (Ride Around Wilkesboro). Its billed as 4300 feet of climbing over 75 miles. The most scenic section is supposed to be the climb up Brushy Mountain. Should be interesting since we're in the middle of a heatwave. Today is 99.

One,
Rob

Another Book Review - Major

2008-06-03T09:08:00.012-04:00

My sister sent me a book that I definitely recommend titled, "Major" by Todd Balf. The subtitle is "A Black Athlete, A White Era, And The Fight To Be The World's Fastest Human Being". She was browsing around a bookstore and I think the cover of Major Taylor on his bike caught her eye, so she picked it up for me. That was a one very good read.

I had heard of Major Taylor, but didn't know many details about his life. I felt like the author, Todd Balf, did a really good job of telling the reader how Major Taylor became literally the fastest human being at a point in history. I won't spoil the outcome, but his story is epic.

Something else that struck me, was that Mr. Balf did an excellent job of, I think, of understanding the black experience. I just felt like he got it down pretty good without being condescending or making the reader feel like black folks at that time were helpless. Even though racism was extreme to say the least, Taylor's story is inspirational on how he overcame incredible odds. My dad has a saying that he'll drop on me from time to time, "Be A Man Among Men". Taylor was definitely a man that didn't let anything hold him back despite the madness he had to endure.

Another thing I dug about the book is Mr. Balf is a cyclist who has written for a number of publications including "Bicycling" magazine. He seemed to really get the details of what being a top bicycle racer was all about. For example, he was able to describe Taylor's training and racing tactics that show he knew what he was talking about. I don't think you'll be disappointed when you read this book.

One,

Rob

Pillar of Fire Book Review

2008-05-15T13:38:00.010-04:00

In a previous post, I'd written how I was reading "Pillar of Fire, America in the King Years 1963-65" by Taylor Branch. Well I finally finished it. Coach J had me take 2 weeks off and regroup after White Lake, so I've had some time to catch up on my reading. My "A" race, http://www.beach2battleship.com/ isn't until November so a mid-season break is in order. Like Wyclef says, "gone to November".

Back to the book review. I actually had purchased the book almost a year ago when I was visiting my Dad in Los Angeles. My Dad lives in an area of Los Angeles called Leimert Park. While I was out visiting him I heard some drumming in the distance and decided to go check it out. I walked the couple of blocks up to Leimert Park and come to find out on Sundays there's an impromptu group of drummers who come out and have what's known as an African Drum Circle.
There were about a dozen or so drummers putting in work and then ladies would enter the circle and dance to the rhythms. It was all very spontaneous and organic. This one older dreadlocked guy would start a beat and then the others would fall in. Then when the dancers would jump in, the effect was almost mesmerizing.

Anyway, there were a few vendors selling used books on the picnic tables and I picked up Pillar of Fire. I had read another of Branch's books on the King years, "Parting The Waters, America in the King Years 1954-63". Again purchased at a used book vendor. I enjoyed this book and learned so many things about the struggle for blacks to gain civil rights that I jumped on the Pillar of Fire. To top it off the price was right too.

Pillar of Fire picks up where Parting the Waters stopped. America is entering the thick of the Civil Rights struggle and Mr. Branch does an expert job in chronicling this history. I have to admit though, it was tough to read about the sheer terror that my forebearers went through just to do something as simple as register to vote. The terror wasn't just to black folks either, there were many white folk who bleed and died, because they joined the struggle alongside black folk to garner the right to vote.

The whole book was excellent and I feel a must have. The parts that stood out the most for me were the accounts of Freedom Summer, 1964 and the Nobel Prize won Dr. Martin Luther King. Oh man, I don't know how people endured what went on during that time. After reading the book, I have a renewed and profound respect for the people who fought the fight to make America a better place.

One love,
Rob

Acronyms

2008-05-09T18:41:00.014-04:00

At my job I work in the WLPRD (wafer level package research & development) department, we used to be known as APD (advanced package development). We were also known as the TDT (technology development team) and when the group was first formed we were known as TIT (technology integration team). I don' t think TIT sat to well w/ the ladies in our group LOL. Oh wait there's another one (laughing out loud).

Well engineers don't have the lock on acronyms, athletes also have a few of their own. There's PR (personal record), PB (personal best), and PW (personal worst). You might ask what does this have to do w/ triathlon racing. Well my race at the White Lake Half ended being a couple of acronyms for me (PW & PB).

First off the PW stuff. I finished w/ a time of 5:28. I did this race back in 2005 & 2006. In '05 my time was 5:26 & 5:18 in '06. So I was kinda down on myself for that reason. Sitting around and talking w/ friends after the race, everybody commented on how much harder it was this year compared to previous years. The biggest challenge was the wind on the bike and raising temps on the run. I'm not sure what the windspeed was this year, but it did a number on me.

So the swim was 2 mins worse than 2 years ago w/ a 42 min time. I think some of that was due to navigation issues. I really didn't sight enough and at least it felt like I was not following the buoy line well at all. My stroke felt good and my energy felt good, but the the results just weren't there.

This is where I felt like I had the biggest difficulties was on the bike. The wind that was kinda swirling, so I didn't really get that consistent push when coming out of a headwind. Also I felt like I didn't have that extra gear to throw down. In past WL's I always felt like I could drop it down a gear and push the pace hard, but this year it was like I just didn't want to feel the pain. I felt like I was riding fearfully. Whereas in the past, I raced more w/ abandoned. Its weird but I somewhat felt old. I'm in the 45-49 AG now, I don't know, just a feeling like I may be starting on that age-related performance slide. I ended up w/a 2:50 bike split (19.7 mph).

Now the run is where I felt like I shined. The temps started getting up there, probably in the low 80's and people were suffering big-time. I passed a whole bunch of people and felt really strong. I had that feeling like I could run really as hard as wanted, w/ no fear of blowing-up. The last 2 miles were hard as to be expected, but overall I felt proud of my run. Based on the results I passed 19 folks in my AG. I ended up w/ the 18th fastest split for my AG w/ a 1:52 split (8:34 pace).

Coach J http://www.johnhirsch.org/ stresses being efficient and quick in the transitions. The transitions went really good for me out there. I had the third fastest T1 in my AG and fourth fastest T2. I'm definitely happy about that.

Now the PB stuff. Since the wind was kicking up and the temps were rising, the whole field had it tough too. I had PB's for rankings both overall and in my age-group. I had a major increases in placing, coming in at 22/89 in my AG and 134/570 overall-males. The previous rankings were 42/93-AG, 192/466-overall in 2006 and 41/96-AG, 186/489-overall in 2005. Secretly, I was hoping to crack the top-10 for my AG, I didn't do that, but I did move up quite a bit compared to previous WL races.

All in all it was a good race and I felt blessed to be able to participate and race to what were my best abilities that day. Plus it was very cool that weekend since I camped w/ a bunch of good friends at WL and we all had fun.

Lastly, big ups to Coach J http://www.johnhirsch.org/ for placing 13th in the pro class at Ironman St. Croix and even bigger ups to his girl Mandy for winning her AG and earning that most coveted of Ironman possessions, an invitation to race this fall at the Ironman World Championships in Kona.

Peace,
Rob

Pump, Pump, Pump It Up

2008-05-01T06:19:00.003-04:00

"Don't wanna fight me bro,
I'm fast as lightning bro,
ya better use ya Nike's bro,"

T.I. -"What You Know"

I got "What You Know" in my Ipod and will have it playing on I-40 heading down to White Lake for the half this Saturday. This should be a fun trip, a bunch of folks I train w/ are all camping the night before and doing the race. I saw one of the guys last night at the open-water swim practice and he said there's over 20 folks camping.

Its kinda weird though, I'm not as fired up for this race as the HIM races I did last year. Maybe jamming some of that good 'ol hard-core hip hop at loud volumes on the road will pump me up. Here's a couple of pre-race songs on my Ipod that have the pump it up theme:

Snoop - "Pump Pump"
Joe Budden - "Pump it Up"

Then I'll punch up some Rick Ross - Hustlin' and if everything goes good during the race, I'll have to put on some of that Three Six Mafia - "Poppin My Colla" for some post-race jamming.

Alright I'm feeling more motivated already.

One,
Rob

Rob's Mini Camp

2008-04-13T18:45:00.004-04:00

This weekend a number of tri-friends that are doing the White Lake Half headed out out to Oriental, NC for the Spring Cycle North Carolina weekend. The spring CNC event rides on Fri, Sat, and Sun. It wasn't a good time for me to go, but I gotta admit I was kinda wishing I could've been there. So w/ that whirling around in my head, I wanted to maximize my training this weekend.

Coach J, http://johnhirsch.org/, had me doing the first of 3 race simulators this weekend w/ a 65 mile race pace ride + 5 mile run. Then Sunday was scheduled for 2:30 of running. After the run Sunday morning, I had my super-duper oatmeal (oatmeal+syrup+wheat germ+almond butter+a cut up banana), and a cup of coffee. One of my running friends told me that Carnation instant breakfast is a killer recovery drink, so I downed some of that too. Then to top it off I made a super-duper smoothie (a splash of coffee+1.5 tablespoons of instant coffee+wheat germ+milk+chocolate milk+ice). I was topped off good after that.

With all that caffeine running through my veins, I was sitting around getting fired up about IMAZ going on today. Then the weather was beautiful outside (I stopped and took a pic of the anglers at Jordan Lake), especially after the storm we had yesterday and I was getting more and more anxious to head out for a bit more. I told myself I was going to go out and do some easy spinning for about an hour and somehow it turned out to be a 50 miler. After that I had to get in a 3-fer, so I headed over to the pool for 1500 yds of swimming (mostly pulling).

That was the most working out during a weekend I've done in a long time. I took the pacing really easy today, and surprisingly I don't feel too bad. Now its time to go treat myself to some ice cream, umm.

One love,
Rob

Raleigh Rocks

2008-04-11T05:16:00.007-04:00

I did the Raleigh Rocks half-mary last weekend. It was a good race for me in that I set a PR for that distance w/ a time of 1:40:00. Sometimes these races boil down to seconds. One second faster, I would've broken 1:40, 19 seconds faster, I would took 3rd place in my age-group. I ended up 7th/43. To be honest though, I don't think I had 19 seconds faster in my legs. All in all I was happy w/ the results.

I gotta confess, I'm a gear junkie. I bought some Newton running shoes from a website called Slowtwitch that I frequent and wore them for the race. They're this bright neon yellow color which is kinda wild, but the technology of the shoes is supposed to promote forefoot striking. There's this pod on the outsole that is under the balls of your feet and the heel is a little lower. They felt good during the race. I think I'll use them for White Lake. Plus I got them for $35 (they were slightly used) so I like 'em even a little more since I'm a knucklehead for bargains.

Training is going good. I'm healed up pretty good from the crash, and I'm back swimming regularly.

I've been doing this tempo ride on Thursday's w/ a couple of friends. Its a husband and wife that are helluva athletes. I think she took 2nd in her AG at IMFL in '06 and raced Kona last year and her husband aways wins or places in his AG at the local races here. He's on a quest to try and qualify at IMFL later this year. I feel kinda bad since there is no way I can hang w/ them. The ride is about 28 miles and I'm okay for maybe the 1st third (this is where they're warming up) and then I'm dropped like a hot potato and going solo. They're really nice and wait for me at the intersections, but I hope I'm not hindering the workout for them. I think I need to recruit some more riders so there's a better chance for me to have someone to hang with.

My Dad is coming to visit next week. He turned 80 yesterday and we're going to play 3 days of golf. I haven't picked up a club in probably over 6 months, so this should be interesting. Man I hope I'm doing that good when I turn 80.

Then my niece was here visiting last week. She's interviewing for grad school here at NCCU for her MSW. I hope she gets in. My cousin went through the program and graduated last year and she had a blast there. They even sent her to Africa for a special project. I think she went to Ghana. I'm very proud of both of my girls.

Pray for Lisa. I'm a believer that prayer works. From my history to where I am today, it couldn't been nothing but God's blessings on me to get me here. I hope things turn around for her. She's having a bit of a hard time after her surgery last Feb. She's a trooper and I know she'll get through it. But you can't help but feel for your wife when she's hurting.

I've been coaching her and her girlfriend to do a 5K race. I even got them doing tempo runs at the track. Lisa is doing the Franklin 5000, which is here in the Chapel Hill/Carborro area. Its been tough for her to keep up the workouts, but I give her credit 'cause on the days she's feeling good she's out there putting in work at the track or doing the trails. You can probably tell I'm proud of her. I hope to put up a good race report for her after the event.

Well that's all for now. Like brother Bob Marley said, "One Love".

Rob

HCH+Crashing+Big Training

2008-03-24T18:50:00.014-04:00

What is HCH? HCH is the Carolina Godiva Track Club's last race of the winter series called, "Hard Climb Hill", that was held weekend before last. That race is the real deal. I don't know how much climbing or the grade of the hills, but I do know it lived up to its name. Its a 3, 7, or 10 mile trail run that is held in Duke Forest. The 10 miler counts for 2 races in the series and if you get in 5 races you get a nice CGTC tee-shirt. I had 3 races leading up to this, so I ended up doing the 10 miler w/ a 1:23:54 finishing time.

Now for crashing. I found the pavement during my tempo ride last Thursday. Good thing we were going uphill and weren't moving to fast. I got a little bit of road rash on my elbow, but my rig survived w/ only some scratches to my rear skewer and one of my pedals. I was tired and was trying to hang w/ the group when the rider in front of me dropped their chain, slowed up, and I let my front wheel touch their rear. Next thing I know, bam I'm on the ground. Oh well, its all part of the deal when your training hard.

Lastly, I got in some big-time training over the last week. We had Good Friday off from work so I got in a 2:30 run on some beautiful trails here at Umstead Park. Then Sat got up to a 70 degree high and I did a nice long slow distance ride for 81.9 miles. I guess you can say I got nuked during the ride since I rode out to the Shearon Harris power station. Kinda funny but its fairly popular destination for the locals to ride out too. I saw the AFLAC team out on a training ride, they looked pretty cool since they all had on their team kits.

Then to top it off, Lisa and I got up early and went to Easter Sunrise service at church, rushed home and we met up w/ the CGTC Sunday trail run for a 9 miler. After that I was whupped, but it was a good full block to kick-in my build for the White Lake 1/2 Ironman coming up in May.

Not much else going on. Oh I did get the new wheels I was wishing for. I ended up getting some Planet X carbon tubular wheels that are 50mm deep. Oh these are nice. And rolling tubbies is so much nicer than clinchers. I feel like my bike is no officially been "pimped".

Peace,

Rob

100/100 and other stuff

2008-03-10T13:09:00.004-04:00

100/100 stands for 100 runs in 100 days. The only rule is that you have to run at least 30 minutes. Well I finally got it done. It was soooo good yesterday to not run. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy running, but that was getting tough, more mentally than physically, the last few weeks.

I'm hoping that this 100/100 thing will help me w/ one of my B2B goals to run the whole marathon, no walking (well, I'll walk the aid stations). Also I think this gave me a really good run base. Last year, Coach J suggested signing up for a spring marathon. This would compel me to put in the miles and get a good winter run base. I ended up doing the Umstead Trail marathon. This year, I wasn't feeling a marathon, but this 100/100 served the bill to get on that run base.

Other stuff:
Not too much else going on. I did a really short sprint last Saturday, the Azalea Festival Sprint Triathlon in Wilmington. The swim was 300 yards, the bike 10 miles, and a 5K run. I ended up 11th/28 in my age-group. 5 minutes from a podium. That's a big time gap for a Sprint. I've got some work to do in losing weight, and putting in work on the bike, in order to get some improvement in standings.

We got a bonus at the gig, and I ordered some sweet wheels for my road bike. Those Reynolds wheels I have now are jinxed or something. No joke, its like every 5 rides something goes bad. Last week I road and a spoke twisted loose, then last Sunday I had a blowout. It was a sidewall flat so I had to throw out the tire.

What else, oh a couple of books I've been reading. Pillar of Fire by Taylor Branch. This guy has chronicled the Martin Luther King years and its really deep. Its amazing to read how people came together to end segregation. Its somewhat hard to read, but it really makes me appreciate how far this country has come, with Barak Obama seriously contending for the presidency. After I finish, I'll write a good review. I'm also reading a James Patterson - Women's Murder Club novel called 6th Target. I'm almost finished w/ that one. Its a fast easy read that I'm enjoying.

Well that's all for know.

Rob

The Coach J Chronicles

2008-03-05T15:01:00.006-05:00

I got it. Here it is folks, the interview w/ my coach John Hirsch, aka "Coach J", http://johnhirsch.org/. Dude is good folks, enjoy.

Rob: Coach J, thanks for taking on this interview. You're one interesting cat and the readers of my blog will get a kick out of learning more about you.

Rob: To start off, I know you're a pro triathlete, lawyer, coach, and former hard core rock singer. Are there some other kick-ass professions you've had?

Coach J: I have a Commercial Drivers License, so I can drive school buses. I am also good a minor-minor surgery, like splinter removal. I think I could make a nice living doing that but I think you need a degree or something. Oh, and I am an ok spoken word artist, but that doesn't pay the bills.

Rob: Dude I'm pumped you live in Harlem World. You ever bump into Rev Al? Me and Lisa went out there back in 2000 and there were these cats dressed in some biblical type stuff and preaching on one of the corners (I think it was 125th), are they still out there?

Coach J: To be fair I live on what should be 124ht, one block south of Harlem. It was Harlem then Columbia U and some real estate agents decided to rename these few blocks, so depending on when and who you ask it is or is not Harlem. I have worded with several reverends, mostly because they get involved when some one from their church gets arrested, but never meet Rev. Sharpton. I loved him in the debates when he ran for president. I think he said a lot of things that no one else said, mostly about the problems of the poor in this country, which I think both parties ignore. You got a party for the rich, and a party for the middle class, but no representation for the poor and working poor. Mr. Sharpton was great at pointing that out. Sadly, I think some of the message was lost on people who were to caught up on him and not what he was saying. Truth is truth, regardless of where it comes from.

Rob: Now what got you into triathlon? I think I remember from your blog that you were a collegiate soccer player, so I see where that competitive drive comes from. Did you do other competition sports coming up? Did your siblings compete too?

Coach J: I got into running and Mt bike racing too for x training for soccer and because I have always liked all kinds of sports. I also surfed and was very comfy in open water. I sucked at all those sports, but when you put them together it turns out I wasn't bad. There is a great local tri on Block Island where my folks live, and I think I took top 10 in my first race and loved it. Back then it was just adventures and challenges, mt bike racing, marathons, xterra, tris, whatever. I think I stuck with tri because I loved the training the most, and Ironman was the biggest of all adventures. My younger sister is a trip. We are super tight. She is the best athlete in the family. She was offered full rides to college and was all state in 4 sport. She is a GREAT personal trainer now and super fit. I want to get her into racing, well see, she got a nice road bike. Hopefully this year, if she does-- watch out.

Rob: What's a typical training week like for you? Could you answer this in a few ways; (1) When your training occurs during your lawyer work weeks, and (2) when you take some time off work and put in those epic blocks ala Strong Like Bull?, (3) recovery weeks.

Coach J: 1) When I am working it really depends on what time of the year it is, and what year it is. This winter was all about running, which was pretty easy to handle because it requires less time and less good weather. A typical weekday might be 2 hour run from 6-8. Breakfast/shower ride 35 minutes to work. Lunchtime: swim 1 hour. ride 30 minutes home. that's an easy 4 hour day to work in to my life. I even get time for TV.Weekends when I am working I tend to go long.Normally 6-7 hours on the bike with a transition run of 30-60 minutes each day.March will be different since I got my base work done and will be racing both running races and bikes a lot.When I am training full time it also depends on the time of year. Spain is bike heavy because its amazingly riding, and great weather which you can't get in the Northeast. A day in Spain goes like this, 8 am: run. 9 am: Mandy's super fab yoga and core class.10:30 ride 4-7 hours. 6 pm: swim (sometimes). That's how you hit 40 hours of training in a week. When I am gearing up for a race I ride less, run and swim more, and each day is different. There is a lot more hard and steady stuff so there is more recovery too. I got my training log posted on my site if peeps wanna see the details.Recovery weeks for me are near shutdowns. Right now I am doing my A.S.S. method. that's 16 days of training/5 recovery. Those 5 days are 1 day off, and 4 days of 60 min or less of training.

Rob: Okay I'm biased, but I think you've got this thing down for training and motivating athletes as a coach. Where did that capability come from? Is is something innate or is it something you had to develop?

Coach J: I think the training stuff comes from a lot of research and reading, and then trial and error. I give all my athletes unlimited access to me, and I want that from them. So each athlete I work with is a chance for me to learn and grow. firing off a plan to someone won't make you a better coach, it might put a dollar in your pocket, but that's it. Seeing how people respond, seeing what works and doesn't, that really key. Also I think I try to take into account the person, and their life. The plans are 100% custom, and a plan that doesn't fit the athlete's time isn't really useful.I use to think I was lacking in the motivation area as a coach. Its really hard to connect with people remotely, over email and the net. I try to overcome that with blogs, camps, and tons of emails, aim, and texts. I think my blog is honest and pretty particular, I think it screens people for me: if you read it and like it, you will work well with me. People get a chance to preview me before working with me and that's really good. So the athletes I work with and ones who are self selected to be good fits and be motivated by me as a coach. The other key thing is that I am in the dreams and goals business. When I started out, I did coaching for free. I still do it for cheap. I love it. I love seeing people set goals, ironmans, half ironmans, whatever, and work to get their. Its easy to be motivated for something so awesome as that. The athletes who I work with, don't need motivation, they have tons of it, I just remind them how amazing getting to that finish line will feel.I think some might be motivated by my blog a bit too. I share my training and racing online and they see that if you are willing to suffer you will go father and faster. Its a celebration of effort, and pain; for effort and pain's sake. I think their is a kind of madness to it, and you have to be kind of nuts to do what we do. Maybe people connect with that.The coolest thing is that now there is a CREW of peeps all pulling and motivating each other. I love that.They post on each others sites, email each other, many connected in Spain. Its great.

Rob: Back to the coaching thing, I imagine on one hand its gratifying to see your athletes have their dreams come true of finishing their first Ironman, also its gotta be really cool to coach experienced athlete to break-through performance. On the other hand I imagine there's some challenges out there for being a coach. What are some good and tough things about coaching?

Coach J: Being at a race with athletes is awesome. I was at Ironman LP and on course with a press pass with 6 athletes out there. I loved it. I got finish line passes and got to put a medal around a few of their necks. Hands down the super rewarding. Seeing you, Ken and Mandy take off monster chunks of time also really was great The hardest thing to do is to pull the plug on someone. To step in as the voice of reason and say, "you shouldn't do this." Lucky for me I haven't had to with an ironman, but I have had to with other races and you know the athlete wants to race, but they shouldn't. I hate giving good people bad news.Also, the tough thing about coaching, is that its all about the athlete. I am there 100% to support them, that's how the coach athlete relationship works in this sport (unlike team sports). As a pro, sometimes I want it to be all about me. Sometimes I want to focus on myself more. But my athletes need a coach in real time, so sometime when the black berry buzzes, I have to check myself and put them first.

Rob: Now about your racing. What Ironman have you got lined up for this season? How are you feeling about it at this point in the season?

Coach J: Its way to early, BUT I have had the best winter in a long time. First off my run focus was really good. Then I went to Spain and after 2, 10 day sessions of huge training I feel like I have never been so fit so early. Importantly for me I am thin. Weight and proper diet have been a problem for me. This off seasons I finally got a plan and started working with Jesse at http://www.qt2systems.com/ and he has changed my body and fueling. I am at last years race weight and BMI already and got tons of energy for my workouts. His changes in my diet have also increased my recovery. I think that's gonna really help me this year.That said its WAY to early know. I am doing the Kinetic Half. in VA on 4/19 then St. Croix in May. After that its a little break and some sprints, including the Ridgefield Tri and Lake Waramoug tri in CT, both are awesome races. Then Mountaineer Man in WVa and then RI 70.3 and finally Ironman Kentucky. I might change things and do IMLP but that I doubt it right now as i really wanna do all those halfs. Oh and I got to defend my title at the Block Island tri!

Rob: As a pro triathlete, what strategy do take to executing an Ironman race? Is it good hard as possible from the gun, or is it based on monitoring some external device like your HRM or powermeter?

Coach J: I don't race with a hrm because I think the numbers get less useful when racing. I don't use a power meter because i am too poor to have one. Iroman isn't one race really. Its several and my pacing differs along the way. The swim is all out for the first 10 minutes to try to make a good group. then its just getting to t1 using as little energy as possible to stay with the group you are in.I try to take the first 2 hours of the bike very easy. Like I am always going 2 levels below what I could do. By miles 80 this pays off and i start catching people. That's where the race begins if you ask me. the run is about pace for me. I know from my training what to shot for and my legs tell me if its gonna happen. I try to run even, which means the first half of the marathon is easy. Just ticking the miles away. If you are still moving steady for the last 10 miles you move up a lot. That said sometimes you just need to go for it, and take some risks and push. You never really know what will happen until you try.

Rob: Again on your racing. A big part of racing I imagine is mental. Do you use a mantra or something for keeping your energy levels up? What do you think about?

Coach J: I think about the race most of the time. Its a game in that sense. I get splits from Mandy and my dad and that helps me stay busy in my head. But its a long long long day so there is time to have your head go good or bad. To keep it good I think of how pretty the course is. How amazing even doing an ironman is. The go-to place for everyone is to imagine what it will be like to run down those last 100 yards and cross that finish line. How can you not keep going. Oh, and also double caffeine GUs help alot too! Often mental is physical ya know?A huge pick me up is to catch people. Its one of the rewards of proper pacing. Its so much easier emotionally to go from 20th to 15th then from 10th to 15th. When I am catching people on the run I say over and over "Let the bodies hit the floor." I got it from some alt rock song.Lastly I sing a lot on course; one is that it checks my breathing, which is great for judging effort, second is music really motivated me. I sing a lot of punk, hardcore, metal,hip hop, and chick rock.

Rob: J, I appreciate your time my brotha. Be strong this season and I hope you get a bunch of podiums. Peace.

Coach J: PEACE!

Rob, What's Up With You Lately?

2008-02-18T10:25:00.004-05:00

Man, its been a minute since I dropped a post. I think my inspirational flow has ebbed a bit. I always enjoy reading blogs where they interview somebody. I'd like to put an interview of my coach one of these days, http://www.johnhirsch.org/ but he's in Spain on an epic training camp so, y'all are left w/ me.

Rob: Dude what have you been up to lately?
me: I'm kinda in that mode where I'm not doing too much noteworthy, mainly just putting in base miles and trying to get in 10 hours/week of SBR. It feels a bit monotonous, but I know that easy, steady training now sets up things good for a strong summer, and hopefully a real good B2B race in November.

Rob: What's up that 100/100 thing you posted about awhile back?
me: I'm still holding up w/ that. I've gotta admit though that I've skipped a couple of days and had to do two-a-days to catch back up. In fact, right now I'm one run off, sitting at 79 runs in 80 days. I ran this morning before work, and plan to hook up w/ the Monday night Godiva group run to get back to 80/80. All this running has really got my mileage up. I've accumulated 457.6 miles since I started this 100/100 on Dec 1st. Only 20 days left, YES!!!

Rob: So what about the other 2 disciplines, Swimming and Biking
me: Well I've been slacking a bit in those areas. I'm lucky if I get in 2 swims/bikes a week. Though I'm planning to pick it up as soon as this run thing is done. I really like cycling and I'm thinking of putting in a good focus there. Not everyday, but it would be good to go 4 days a week.

Rob: Okay I know you've struggled w/ weight issues last season, what's up so far now that '08 is underway?
me: Oh man, I've fell of the wagon on this aspect. I totally gave in to my sweet tooth and have been consuming way too much ice cream, cookies, pound cake, you name it. I'm sitting at 181 lbs now and I'd really like to get to the low 170's. I feel like I can race good at that weight. Plus I enjoyed going up to the mountains last year for the century bike events. When I'm overweight, I really feel it climbing on the bike. I've just got to get over this mental hurdle, bear down, discipline myself and eat right. The lbs will drop like rock then.

Rob: Okay, I know its a jinx, but what are your goals for B2B?
me: You're right it is a jinx, but what the hell, here they are; (1) It would be real nice to go sub-11. (2) Run the whole marathon.

Rob: Tell me about training for '08.
me: My coach and I have some good stuff coming up. The early part of the season will be spent attempting to get faster. Some track work, some interval bike work, hill repeats, fun stuff. Those things hurt, but they pay off in the long run. Plus it feels so good to go on a group ride and hang w/ the pack up front and not get dropped. That right there is reward enough for hard training sessions.

I've also got it in my head that I'd like to post some new training highs this year, especially on the bike. I'm thinking like hitting a few 300 mile bike weeks, maybe even 350. I'd also like to go to one of those training camps. It'll have to be local, but there are a few up in the western mountains that would be awesome to attend. If that doesn't work out, I'm thinking of taking a week off work sometime this summer, and have a homemade camp. I won't get the camarderie/motivation/competition of fellow campers, but I can put up some sick miles/hours.

Rob: I know you're an equipment geek, what new toys have you've gotten lately, and what are you planning to pick up?
me: Okay here's my three new gizomos: (1) Renn Madiera disc, (2) Louis Garneau Prolouge aero helment, (3) Newton racing shoes. I guess I'm trying to buy some speed. After my wife reads this, my future toys might be limited.

There's no new toys I really want right now, well I would like to get a set of tubular wheels for my road bike. My wheels now seem only to last 5 rides before there back in the shop (spokes, loose hub). If you're a cyclist reading this, don't ever buy a pair of Reynolds Alta Race wheels. They have been a nightmare.

Rob: Thanks for your time bro.
me: Dude you're welcome.

Peace,
Rob

Aaaaagh, I Missed One

2008-01-20T09:25:00.000-05:00

Well I missed my everyday running goal. I think I was up to 49 days of continuous running. The layover in Japan was just too short. In fact after we got through customs they started boarding in ~15 minutes. I arrived in Singapore around 1:30AM and went out for an easy 3 miler at 2 in the morning. That was a trip since I ran into quite a few folks coming out of the clubs by the marina. The only bad thing is that clubbers smoke a lot and even though you're in the open I hated to smell it.

Then to make up for missing a day, I went running again at 9 in the morning, so I got in 2 runs today. I went out for a longish, ~20km, run in this really cool nature preserve called Macritchie Reservoir. I even ran into some monkeys a couple of times on the trail. But man it was hot and humid. I wasn't prepared for that since winter is seriously on back home. I did bring my water bottle. This helped a bunch because dehydration would have did me in. In fact I wish I had 2 water bottles. I sweated so much.

That's all for now.

Peace,

Rob

Keep Running

2008-01-17T09:32:00.000-05:00

"You can’t keep runnin’ in and out of my life" - Yearning for Your Loving, Gap Band

I've been a running fool lately. But I'm enjoying it. I'm still on the run everyday tip. At first when I started this back on Dec 1st, I gotta admit the first couple of weeks were tough. I remember during the first week I had a day trip to Atlanta for business and didn't get home until like 9PM. Even though it was only for 30 mins, that run was tough since I was so tired after being in meetings and taking plane rides. Now I'm about 47 days into this thing and I'm hitting a groove where I really look forward to the runs. Especially the long, slow, easy, trail variety runs.

Now on to my predicament. I'm traveling to Singapore for business and the air-time is like 24 hours, so running everyday is going to be interesting. I'm seriously thinking of taking some running gear in my carry-on bag and getting a 30 min run in the Narita Japan airport. My first choice will be to see if there is a treadmill in the airport lounge (I got the hook-up and get to travel business class, so this isn't too far fetched). If not I might be doing the terminal run. I'm so invested in running these days, I feel like I not only want to run everyday, but need to run everyday.

What else is new? I turned 45 yesterday. Man, that's solidly middle-aged. You know I don't feel 45 though. I guess its all this preparing for triathlons, it seems to make me feel younger than my chronological age. Sometimes in the mornings the walk downstairs to make coffee is a battle w/ aches and soreness, but that feels like a small price to pay to the good feelings I get after a workout. I feel blessed that God has given me the good fortune to have my body hold up. I know it sounds kinda crazy, but it feels like privlege or gift to be able to workout and race hard.

Also now that I'm 45, I'll be the baby in my AG category M45-49 for the upcoming triathlon season. If I can just get a bit of discipline and ween myself from unhealthly, late-night eating habits it should be a good season. I was doing good last summer during my prep for IMWI and got down to 176. Now I'm up to 183 and I feel heavy. I do pretty good eating during the day, but late night I get drowsy and give in to eating some high carb food for energy and end up falling asleep anyway. Gotta change this.

Also I had a doctor appointment and she put me on another hypertension med called Almopidine. I am somewhat of a new patient, since this was only my 2nd visit. It baffles me that I have high blood pressure w/ all the exercising I do. The doc said its just unlucky genetics. I guess she's right, since both my parents have hypertension. She did tell me that my heart is a little thick from this condition. Then she told me that I shouldn't workout until she gets me into the cardiologist. Well you can guess I'm ignoring that suggestion. I think I'd be mentally goofy if I didn't S/B/or R.

On to some happier news. I did the Little River Trail race last Sat. It was a 9 mile trail race that was 95% on single track. To me, the trail seemed fairly technical with the narrow trails, coupled w/ rocks and roots. The race is held mostly on a MTB trail and it was up and down, up and down. I initally was thinking to treat this as a training run, but something about races, I've got to get down and give it my all. I ended up w/a 1:14 time (8:13 pace). This was a 4 minute improvement from last year when I ran the same race. I guess this run frequency thing is building up my endurance. I finished 67th out of 289 and 13/41 for M40-44.

That's all for now.

Peace,

Rob

A December to Remember

2008-01-04T07:35:00.000-05:00

I often go and read the forum entries on Slowtwitch.com. Its by far the best triathlon related forum sit out there. But to be honest I probably spend too much time reading the threads. Anyhow, there was a thread that was started proposing 100 runs in 100 days (100/100). The premise is that one can increase run speed/endurance through run frequency, not necessarily doing sporadic long runs. This sounded intriguing to me so I made decision start out w/ a committment to run everyday in December. Oh, the only run for the 100/100 is that the runs have to be at least 30 mins in duration. The pace can be a slow as you wish. I'm going to try this again for Jan, and who knows I may even hit that 100/100.

Well Dec is in the books and I made it w/ everyday running. I do have to admit that there are quite a bit of 30 min runs in there. I didn't have any significant injuries. I did have some tenderness to my left knee in the third week, but that has pretty much subsided. I did get a big benefit of building to an ~40 mile weekly base. 40 miles used to be a peak week for me when I was in my marathon-a-year days. So to get in 40 miles regularly, is a big deal for me. Coach J said in one of his posts that a 40 mile base was a big milestone for him when he was a AGer. I'm going to try and follow this model, and hope for some good results this upcoming tri season.

A look back at 2007

'08 is underway. Looking back at 07, it was a good year for me w/ races. Most importantly, I didn't have any injuries during the year. I had my first full year w/ Coach J, and I reached some milestones that felt pretty good. Some of the highlights were:

1) The PB 11:45 at IM Wisconsion.
2) A 5:11 PB for HIM at Spirit of Racine. One of the highlights of this race was being 10th in my AG on the bike. This was a fairly big race too, with 129 athletes in the M 40-44 category.
3) A 2nd place in my age-group at the Carborro 10K w/ a 44:09.
4) A 3rd place in my age-group at the Lake Royale Sprint tri. This was my first time placing in a triathlon. It was a small field, but it still felt pretty good.

5) Doing the Escape from Alcatraz triathlon. Wow swimming 1.5 miles in SF bay, an absolutely incredible experience.

Now I'm looking forward to racing this year, and hopefully make even more improvements. My big race for this year is the Beach to Battleship iron-distance race on Nov 2. This should be a fun one, with a barge swim start, and flat bike. Plus since its local, I'll be able to see some friends I train with and the cost will be much lower.

Other races I'm planning for this year:

Azalea Festival Sprint 3/8

White Lake Half in May 5/3

Mountaineer Half in 6/29

Latta Plantation Sprint 6/14

Hopefully this'll be another good year. I move up to the M45-49 AG, so I'll be the baby again.

Happy New Year to Y'all!

Peace,

Rob

...LAUGHING ALL THE WAY

2007-12-21T17:44:00.000-05:00

5 Things About Myself

2007-12-07T16:50:00.000-05:00

Its Friday, work is winding down so how 'bout 5 things Rob:

1) I actually enjoyed swimming last night's 3K workout during master's practice. To top it off there were a bunch of drills. I took a week off after my November challenge of 75K yards (um-um later revised down to a much more realistic 50K). I ended up w/ 52K. I felt really good in the water. I'm still the slowest one there, but I'm optimistic for improvement.

2) My Dad is one of my heroes. Dude is pretty cool. He turns 80 this coming April, and isn't slowing down a bit. He golfs w/ his partners 2x/week and they get at it. He usually always scores in the mid 80's to mid 90's. Plus he's a helluva dresser. He'll pimp out a brim and a suit and show up real fly. Him and his girlfriend vacationed in Spain last Sept, and they went to Austrialia/New Zealand the year before. He's looking at going to Africa next year. Then he really has a good heart and cares for people. I hope I'm doing that good at 79.

3) As you can guess, I enjoy working out. Especially w/ a big goal like Ironman to motivate me. I've been running for a bunch of years. I was one of those one marathon a year types and then did smaller races throughout the year. I got into this triathlon Ironman thing a few years ago, and I'm feeling it. I've got to give a shout out to my kick-ass coach John Hirsch for helping get to an 11:45 IM Wisconsin (I'm still on a cloud about that race). Plus dude lives in Harlem World, so he gets extra props.

4) I'm one of those athletes that typically finishes in the top 25-30% of most of the races I enter. At IM Wisconsin I was 494/2209 (22%) overall and 81/346 (23%) in my age-group. Every now and then at a small race I'll place in my age-group. Its only happened a couple of times in a road race and once in a tri, but I'm hoping for a couple more this coming season. I move up to a new age-group, males 45-49 so the competition will hopefully be a little bit more on my level.

5) And the best for last, I'm married to a super support crew, Lisa. Much props to you. It really goes w/o saying, but I couldn't have done all this Ironman stuff w/o that support. This thing costs! Some of those funds I know that could've been used for us (another vacation, fixing the master bathroom, I could go on...) went to selfish tri stuff (my Calfee tri bike, my new DeSoto wetsuit, my Seven road bike - which got pimped out w/ new Dura Ace 10 spd components, my fixed gear conversion project, and so on...) to support this mid-life adventure I've been on.

Makes Me Wanna Holler

2007-12-03T10:58:00.000-05:00

"Make me wanna holler,
The way they do my life,
This ain't livin',
This ain't livin'

No, no baby, this ain't livin'

Inner City Blues (Makes Me Wanna Holler), Marvin Gaye

I don't know if its because its Monday, or just so much is going on in the news these days, or maybe I was thinking about Sean Taylor's death, but I was thinking about this song for a minute this morning. Bro. Marvin was so talented and insightful. This song of his was on my mind.

I swim at one of the local community centers here in Durham. The price is right, its only $2 for swimming, they have 8 lanes, and its convenient because its so close to home. I only have to drive, maybe 5 minutes to get there. The staff is real friendly. There's a bunch of programs for youth, seniors, and sometimes its fun to watch the fellas get down on the ball court. And to top it off the best master's swim team, Durham Area Master's Association (DAMA) has their practices there (I'm a member, so I'll confess I'm biased).

While 99.9% of the time its all good, there are some times when it "Makes Me Wanna Holler". A week ago, last Monday night to be exact, a gentleman was an armed robbery victim in the parking lot. This happened, like 5 minutes, before I was heading to the parking lot myself after swimming. Two punk-ass thugs stuck a pistol in his back and took his money.

Then about 2 weeks ago, one of the team members' had his locker broken into while he was swimming and another punk-ass went through the parking lot and stole his car. Again, makes me wanna holler.

I like the pool I go to. Its in a struggling community, but its a community where the folks care and take pride in their neighborhood. Its a place where seniors, youth, ballers and come and add to the quality of their life. They keep the prices more than reasonable, hell you can even use the weight-room for free. I think hoops is free too, and its a nice indoor court.

But, this predatory element of society is taking away the peace and joy that the place brings. I know when I was a kid, I did some stupid stuff, but to stick a pistol in somebody's back. Ah come on. I bet the dude didn't even have $20 in his wallet. Hell I rarely carry more than $20 myself.

I'm just thinking back to Jay Chapman, who I grew up with. Who lived around the corner. We used to ride our BMX bikes together, and play ball all-day long. Sometimes all the fellas in the neighborhood would go on long rides. I remember riding to the airport once, when we were kids and it was over 10 miles one way, on BMX bikes. A while back Jay was shot to death like 3 blocks from our neighborhood. I still don't even know why somebody killed him. I think it was over an argument.

Then I think about my cousin Nate, who did 9 years of a 12 year bid on a 2nd degree murder charge. Nate grew up in the projects and just fell out of the family. I used to go by and see him, infrequently, but he just got further and further out of the mainstream. The Grape Street Watts Crips, became his family. But where was GSWC when he got released? He ended up living w/ me and Lisa for a minute (which was not a smart thing to do, I must say). Sadly Nate died a couple years ago, from an overdose.

I know there's systemic things that hold back poor black people. I mean the days are pretty much over when you could come out of high school and get a good factory job. Those jobs are pretty much all dried up w/ outsourcing to China, India, and everywhere else. I know it can be discouraging, but black folk can't keep going around robbing and killing each other. I know its tough these days, but my moms grew up in a foster home, cause my grandmother couldn't afford to keep all her siblings. I definitely didn't grow up w/ a silver spoon in my mouth, but my parents stressed getting an education. My dad would buy extra math workbooks for me to complete on top of my regular homework. Summer school wasn't an option it was a requirement. We had to go to summer school.

I don't know the answers. Maybe its education, I don't know. I just know we need a change. A person should be able to go swimming or go to a karate class at the community center and not worry about having a pistol stuck in your face. I used to volunteer at the local jail here w/ my church on Saturday mornings. We'd talk w/ the inmates and have a little bible study. I haven't been in a long time. Honestly, I got sick of going and I'd much rather head out for a trail run w/ my friends or get in a group ride. I also used to mentor a couple of youth at my church that had a tough upbringing. I have to admit, I could of done a better job with that. I could've spent more time w/ them and try to show them the right way to navigate growing up. They moved back to California. Their dad was (maybe still is) in the penitentiary. I hope and pray the time I (Lisa helped too) did spend w/ them keeps them on a path for success.

I need to think about how I can give back. Sometimes I volunteer at our local races and that's all good, but I need to really think about how can I give back to my community. Maybe I can touch one young man and he may even turn out going to college, get into endurance athletics and becoming an Ironman some day.

Peace,
Rob

Having Fun

2007-11-18T12:42:00.000-05:00

This morning I did the "Misery Run". It was put on by the club I belong to, http://www.carolinagodiva.org/. It was advertised as:

Things you Need to Know about the Misery Run 2007
What: 5.75ish miles of grassy pastures, rooty, rocky and slippery when wet or muddy single track hiking type foot trails, itchy hay bales and cow pies. This is a time prediction race, you will predict your finishing time prior to the race, and then you will run and sweat.

And I've go to admit, it lived up to its billing. We had to run over haybales (its true about them being itchy) and through a mudhole 3x. Then to top it off the last mudhole had some dark gooey slime that I'm sure was filled w/ pathogens yet to be discovered by scientists.

All in all it was a lot of fun and I got a chance to hang out w/ the running buds. Who could ask for more. Gotta run, me and Lisa are going out for a nice long hike w/ King.

10 Things

2007-10-31T09:47:00.001-04:00

I was sitting around and thinking about what to post. So I thought I'd post a "10 things" list of stuff on my mind...

1) Swimming sure makes me ashy.
2) I'm going for the November fish challenge, 75,000 yards. Oh boy, I'm gonna get really ashy now.
3) Cold weather does not motivate to get on the bike.
4) But I really want to get out and sport my new Giordana thermal jacket.
5) Selling stuff on Ebay is cool, but its still a lot of work.
6) I'm glad I've settled down, and lost that "chip on the shoulder - something to prove" for my training.
7) Running on trails is fun, but looking down all the time gets to be mentally taxing.
8) I did a couple of hikes and I'd like to do more. My dog enjoys it.
9) Speaking of dogs, I have a Rottweiler named King that ways 126lbs. He looks scary, but he is really loving and fun.
10) When walking the dog, I've got to remember to bring a plastic bag. King seems to always do a #2 when we go for long walks/hikes.

Lake Royale Tri

2007-10-20T07:29:00.000-04:00

Last Saturday I did the Lake Royale Tri in Louisburg, NC. That was a nice little race (5oom swim, 15 mile bike, 5K run). There were less than 100 finishers, which in a way was a good thing. Sometimes the big races can get almost too crowded.

The race went really good for me, even though I was still getting over a cold. I finally got a podium finish for a triathlon by coming in 3rd place in my age-group. They even had a little awards ceremony setup w/ a staggered podium stand and everything. I wish I had a camera, who knows when that'll happen again. I ended up being 14th overall and there were 9 athletes in my category.

What else is going on? I've started running again, somewhat regularly. I did a couple of group runs last week and it felt good to hang out again. I think I'm pretty much over the post-IM funk. It helped to get around other folks working out. I even got in a Master's swim yesterday.

I had a consultation w/ Coach J and next season is one for speed. Uh-oh, there I've went and admitted it. But like the rest of us, there's a big desire to get faster. I imagine there'll quickly come a point where I'll just do this stuff for the health benefits, but I'm hoping to get a bit more speedy. I'll focus on some running in the winter, short-course tris in the spring, and some long stuff after that. My target race is the new Beach to Battleship iron-distance race in Wilmington, NC, Nov '08.

Well not much else going on. It feels good to be getting back to a normal state of mind. It was somewhat trippy for a while there right before and after IM Wisconsin. Now time to go out for a trail run!

Peace,
Rob

Time to Get Back on Track

2007-10-12T07:36:00.000-04:00

Its been a minute since I last posted. I took some time off after IMMoo and did unstructured workouts. I did get in a 10K race called the "Carrboro 10K". It was a pretty good race for me as I came in 2nd for my age-group. I ran a 44:09 which is a 7:06 pace. It was a small race, there were only 15 folks in my age-group, but getting to the podium felt good.

While the 10K race went good and I was absolutely stoked about my IMMoo race, I've been a kinda funk lately. I understand that many people good through a down time after IM. I was so focused during training and had this sense of being on an epic journey, that now its over I'm somewhat lost.

I've been just plodding along and putting on weight, ugh. I had got down to 176 during my training and this morning I weighed 184. Ouch! Okay now its time to get back in the game and get back to being active and eating healthily/sensibly. I'll let you know how it goes. That's all for now.

Peace,
Rob

Sub-12, My Ironman Wisconsin Report

2007-09-13T04:59:00.001-04:00

Today is Thursday after the IM, and I'm still feeling the good vibes from what was a great race for me. The soreness in my legs is dissipating, but my back is still pretty stiff. I've got an appointment w/ my Chiropractor today so I'm sure he'll crack me back together.

IM Wisconsin was the race of my dreams. I would fanatize about going faster than 12 hours, but really didn't think it was possible. Hey I'm a slightly overweight 44 year old w/ high blood pressure. Plus I knew how hard it was when last year at IM Arizona I went 12:53. I mean sub-12 is like an hour improvement.

If you've been reading my previous posts, you know that leading up to the race, my personal life was getting a bit out of control. Along the way, with the training, I developed into someone who had the zero patience for just about anything that didn't fit in my IM plans. I guess you could say I got pretty complusive w/ this thing. But its all good now.

Training for this race was definitely more intense than IMAZ. I had a full year w/ my coach, my main man John Hirsch http:\\www.johnhirsch.org, and he came up w/ some sick workouts. I think the hardest was a 4 hour hard ride + 2 hour brick run. To top it off the high was something like 95 that day. At the time, actually right up to the day before the workout, I was telling myself, "ain't no way I'm doing this". I figured I'd just get in a long ride w/ some friends and get in an easy 3 mile brick run. I messed up and asked my coach about me change of heart and dude talked me into sticking w/ his training plan for that day.

IM training is always difficult, but this year it was even more tough, because of all the hot temps we've been having. I remember seeing a news report that said this previous August was the warmest in NC recorded history. I didn't do as much running this year, and really focused on cycling. I even went as far as converting my old Tequilo into a fixed gear and mixed that in w/ my training. Going downhill on a fixie will really teach you to be a good spinner.

Coach J would often write in my training plan to find some hills. I looked up some reports on Motionbased.com for folks GPS downloads for the bike course and the elevation gain for IM Wisconsin is something like 7000 feet. So for many of my training rides I sought out steep, challenging hills and did repeats. For the locals, Lystra did it for me. Also Yates Store Rd. in Morrisville has this one short, but steep climb.

I also mixed in some bike events in order to mix up the training, but also to get that intensity in. I would always try to hang w/ the lead group of riders. Most often I got dropped, but I'd hang as long as possible. This took me into anerobic levels that I know I wouldn't have reached going solo. I just couldn't push myself that hard on solo rides. But I guess when a pack get going, that natural aggression comes up and everyone takes up a notch. Lastly, the other thing I did for my bike prep was to get in a couple of mountain rides (Blood, Sweat and Gears + The Big Walker Century). That BSG ride had over 13,000 feet of elevation gain. Now that was tough. Then my training plan called for a 3 mile brick run. Now I now why during IM, I never felt bad on the bike. I had good energy throughout.

A couple of more tidbits on training. To stay healthy, I saw a chiropractor once a month. Dr. Josh Stevens, http:\\www.stevenswellness.com is my Chiro and he's a multiple IM finisher. That helped a ton. He knows what its like to be on a bike for 6-7 hours and the right adjustment to keep my back and neck in line. That was definitely worthwile.

Also I bought the TP Therapy kit, http:\\www.tptherapy.com. The price is high ~$120, but hey we spend all that money on equipment, so comparatively it isn't too bad. TP stands for Trigger Point. They have a ball and a couple of rollers that I would use to massage my soleus and quads muscles primarily. There's more uses, but these two muscle groups seemed to need the most work for me. I was fairly diligent with the kit.

Now, on to the race...

I remember talking w/ friends who did Wisconsin in 2005 when they had 90+ temps and then last year when folks were getting hypothermia and thought this could be real interesting for 2007. I guess the weather odds were in our favor because the high was in the low 70's and we had an overcast for the run. It was a bit windy, but not too bad. To let you know how lucky we were blessed w/ good weather, is that on Monday the high was in the 50's and it rained all day.

THE SWIM

For the swim I thought to myself, even though I'm a mediocre swimmer line up on the buoy line a few rows behind the front swimmers and go for it. I figured if I started on the right and in the back I was going to get beat up anyway so I might as well line up w/ the fishes. I did encounter a bunch of contact, even at one point somebody grabbed my watch and the strap broke. I had just bought that thing at the Timex booth in the expo and wasn't about to lose it, somehow I grabbed it and stuffed down the collar of my wetsuit. I wasn't trying to lose that $130. Other than that, the swim went good for me and I ended up w/ a 1:18 time.

THE BIKE

My bike prep paid off because the bike went really good for me. I never felt like I was in trouble at any point. Not too sound cocky, but I felt like I could surge and pass riders pretty much whenever I felt like it. I had my motivationg going w/ "I can't be killed. I've got the heart of Kunte Kinte". I had to keep reminding myself to keep my pace in check, so I'll have something for the run.

There are a couple of significant climbs and the crowds were off the hook. It felt like I was riding in the TdF, because the crowds line both sides of the roads and create a narrow opening for the cyclists to go through. They wear all these crazy costumes, beat drums, ring cowbells just like at the tour and run alongside you as you ascend. It was definitely a rush. One other thing that helped on the bike was a tip I got from my coach and put 2 Red Bulls in my special needs water bottle. That stuff is the real deal and I had some good energy for the next 20 miles. During the bike I was thinking I could go sub 6 hours but I purposely dialed it back a little bit near the end to prepare for the run. I ended up w/ a 6:01 bike split.

THE RUN

At the start of the run, I felt surprisingly good unlike IMAZ where I couldn't even make to the first aid station w/o walking. A good part of the run goes through the UW campus and the crowds were awesome here too. I was suprised how well I was doing on the run. It almost felt like a training run, even though I had just did a 112 mile bike at a 18.6 mph pace. I was staying on my mantra about "I can't be killed, I've got the heart of Kunte Kinte".

I was able to get some good energy from them and stayed pretty much trouble free until about mile 18-19. At this point the wheels started coming off and I got into the run/walk mode. I tried to stay w/ my mantra, but my energy was fading fast. I just got real tired. I didn't have any bad cramps or stomach problems, I just got tired. Even though I was real tired when I hit mile 25, somehow a burst of energy appeared and I was able to come in somewhat strong and finished w/ a 4:12 marathon and an 11:45 IM.

Here's some tips that worked for me: (1) Red Bull halfway through the bike; (2) don't take too many calories during the bike - I avoided bloating this year; (3) its about the bike for training - my longest run was only 17 miles; (4) endurolytes - even on the run, I didn't have any muscle cramping issues nor stomach problems; (5) joined Durham Master's swimming - I know this contributed to a 6 minute improvement; (6) HTFU - if you frequent Slowtwitch.com you know what this means, (7) a good bike fitting - Victor (victor@bicyclelab.com) hooked me up nice.

If anyone is considering their first or next IM, I definitely recommend IM Wisconsin. The crowds are nothing short of amazing and the bike course went through some beautiful farming areas.

Oh one funny thing I almost forgot, at the awards ceremony the men's winner is from Germany and he struggled a bit w/ his english. During his speech he commented about the beauty of Madison, the people, and then he said in a strong German accent, "oh, yea, the bike, oh yea f**king hard". You should've seen Mike Reilly's face, everybody cracked up.

By the way, my Fleet Feet jersey is da bomb. When you wear that thing you're always going have people yelling "go Fleet Feet". Plus you see other athletes sporting FF jerseys from different parts of the country and you get some kind of connectedness. It was very cool.

I'm still wearing my IM bracelet. I think I'll wear it until it falls off.

Peace,
Rob

IMMoo Fo' Rizzle

2007-09-01T16:01:00.000-04:00

But that is not what gives me the heart of Kunte Kinte
I'm tryina give us "us free" like Cinque
I can't stop, that's why I'm hot
Determination, dedication, motivation
I'm talking to you, my many inspirations
When I say I can't, let you or self down
If I were of the highest cliff, on the highest riff
And you slipped off the side and clinched on to your life in my grip
I would never, ever let you down
-Kayne West "Never Let Me Down"

I was in the car listening to the "Democracy Now" radio program and they were broadcasting from New Orleans for the 2nd anniversary of Katrina. One of the interviewees was dropping some heavy philosophy, on how she and the others from NO are survivors. She broke it down about how they tried to kill them w/ the floods, but they persevered. They abandoned them and left them to die, but they survived. Many lost everything, but they still have life.

And then what really got me was that she related her strength and the strength of the others to the strength of my forefathers and foremothers who survived the Middle Passage holocaust. She talked about how the DNA in her is the same of these people, so the floods couldn't kill her and the rest of NO. Her blood is from the stock of ancestors of the historical survival test, these people who couldn't be killed.

That got me to thinking, like Kayne said, I've got "the heart of Kunte Kinte". My coach John Hirsch put me to the test this year. He helped me to believe that I could survive the workouts. I owe that brotha big gratitude. J, its on now, time to put it down w/ a vengeance.

I trained my ass off. I survived. The month of August was the hottest in the history. I survived. I did century rides in the mountains, not hills, but mountains of NC and Virginia. I survived. One of my bricks was a hard 4 hour ride w/ a 2 hour brick and the high that day was 95. I survived.

So when I wake up on 9/9, I will be ready. I will leave it all on the course. There will be no fear. I cannot be killed. I have the DNA of survivors from the Middle Passage. There will be no fear of the water. I will bike w/ a passion. I will run strong. I will finish. I will be an Ironman.

Peace,
Rob

Taper Week 1

2007-08-26T13:56:00.000-04:00

Ugh, I feel crappy, low energy. I got my last workout in this morning for the end of Week 1 taper. I thought I'd be bouncy and energetic now that the real long stuff is over, but it isn't the case. I sure hope I feel a lot better at the end of next week.

I got in a hard 64 mile bike ride w/ a short, easy run off Sat. The bike ride was a fundraiser for the MS150 group. I wanted to test my bike fitness, so early in the ride I went off the front a few times and gapped the group. It didn't last long, but I felt strong so I did some hard pulls. There was a bike racing team, Simple Green, doing most of the leading, and I felt confident I was hanging w/ them.

Things unraveled though around mile 45, there were a series of hills and I got dropped. I still finished w/ a 20.6 mph avg, which kept the second group from catching me, but I couldn't hang on w/ the lead group.

I'm still having this angst thing going on. I'm feel really impatient w/ people these days. I've got to chill. The week 2 taper workouts are only about 30% of my peak distances, so perhaps I'll get out of this funk I've been in. I don't feel too healthy being this way.

On a brighter note, big ups to my coach John Hirsch, whose racing IMLou today. I hope he grabs that Kona spot as a pro. Dude does some sick workouts and is inspirational w/ his regimen. Gotta run so I can see how he's doing on IM Live.

Peace,
Rob

Three Up, Three Down

2007-08-19T08:10:00.000-04:00

I finished the last of my Final Prep workouts yesterday. It was a 4 hour race simulation ride + 2 hour brick run. Man that was hard. I tried to talk my coach out of doing this workout and just subbing a 112 miler w/ 3 mile run-off. He was like I need this workout, to run the marathon and not walk.

I walked a bunch last year at IMAZ. In fact, during IMAZ, it seemed like as soon as I came out of T2, I couldn't run even to the first aid station w/o walking. I want IMMoo to be different. I'm coming off that bike and will be running.

The high yesterday was 90F and it took its toll on me. I tried to run the whole 2 hours, but I have to admit I stopped and walked for a little bit. My stomach wouldn't absorb a large gulp of water/sports drink and I walked so I could get some gastric emptying. I felt pretty good on the bike, even w/ this being the last of the 3 hard weeks.

Mentally, I should be relieved, but I feel an inner angst that I can't seem to get rid of. Its like I'm just angry so much. Its weird, cause I'll be nice and calm, peaceful and then any little nuisance sets me off into anger. I don't know if its the training or what, but I want my serenity back. I'm afraid I'm gonna end up divorced if I don't chill.

Well enough of that, that crap is depressing. On the other hand, its taper baby!!!! I am so relieved it finally here. IMMoo I'm ready. Now its time to let me body recover and heal up and get strong.

Peace,
Rob

Two Down, One To Go

2007-08-12T15:12:00.000-04:00

The 2nd week of the Final Prep phase is in the books. Yesterday I got in a 120 miler + 3 mile brick run. I rode 100 of it as part of the Carolina Tarwheels Bikefest.

I hung on w/ the lead group for about 40 miles and then at one of the water stops we got all separated. I ended up riding w/ the 2nd pack for most the remaining ride. Got in some good paceline work, which is triathlon specific since you can't draft, but it did serve good to force me to push my extertion in order to hang on.

The course had ~5K of climbing so it was a good test for the Wisconsin course since I think is is also about 5K of elevation.

Gotta hang in there for 1 more week then taper! Yes!

Peace,
Rob

One Down, Two to Go

2007-08-04T20:41:00.000-04:00

I'm in the final prep stage for IMMoo. This is where the knife is sharpened and getting the last long workouts happen. My coach, John Hirsch designed the last 3 long weeks as:

1) 100 miles + 7 mile brick
2) 120 miles + 3 mile brick
3) 4 hour ride + 2 hour brick

I got the first one done today. It was tough though, today the high was 92 and I felt it. I figured if I could do this one, it'll be a huge confidence boost for IM. Even though the heat got to me I felt good that I was able to ride the full hundred and then be able to run.

Man I want, not hope, I want a good strong Ironman race at Wisconsin.

Peace,
Rob

Racine is for Racers

2007-07-27T07:40:00.000-04:00

I got my last tune-up race in for IMMoo in Racine, WI last Sunday. The race was called the "Spirit of Racine Half". Here's some thoughts from the race:

1) Racine is a great town. The downtown area and the area near Lake Michigan were real nice. The locals really came out to cheer for the racers. Some people even ran their water sprinklers to cool down the racers. Very cool.

2) My swim did not go good (44 mins). This is the first race of the year where I didn't set a PR. My goggles kept leaking and I seemed to always be in traffic. My coach told me goggles are cheap and to get new ones often. That's true, because the goggles I wore were the same ones I used at IMAZ back in April of 2006. I've already thrown them away.

3) My bike split was off da chain (2:33). I ain't trying to brag, but I had the 10th fastest split in my age-group; and my age-group was pretty big w/ 122 athletes. I had held a average pace of 21.9 mph.

4) The race was crowded on the bike. I kept running into packs and did my best to avoid them, I even had to cross over the yellow line a few times to get around people. I started in a later wave start and it was just a bunch of people out on some narrow roads.

5) All in all, I feel good about this race. My coach and I talked about pulling the plug on the bike and going for it. I went really hard and based on my performance, I gained a bunch of confidence for a good bike split at IMMoo. I'm going to need it there because that course is hard. I still had some legs to finish w/ a 1:51 run (8:29 pace).

Well that's all for now.

Peace,
Rob

Back In The Mountains

2007-07-08T18:22:00.000-04:00

What a weekend for cycling. Yesterday I went up to Wytheville, VA and did the Big Walker Century Ride. That was tough, though not as hard as BSG. The ride was billed as 8000' of climbing. I struggled though, pretty much after the first 35 miles. There was this climb of something like 1K-1.2K feet. I was hanging w/ the pack until that climb. Suffice it to say I was dropped like a sack of potatoes. But it was beautiful up there. We climbed up this winding road w/ all these awesome trees. I finished w/ a time of 5:46. Which was middle of the pack.

Today I went out for a 4 hour ride and got in 70 miles. This was the biggest week I've ever had cycling. My total for the week was 259.6 miles. I don't feel too bad, though my energy is somewhat low right now.

I've got a really good feeling about my IMWI prep. I've put in some serious work, much more then I did for IMAZ. John Hirsch my coach really pushed me this year. I think its going to pay off. I'm about 2 months out, and I feel myself peaking. Especially my cycling.

Well thats all for now.

Peace,

Rob

Happy 4th of July

2007-07-04T17:46:00.000-04:00

Right now I'm just lounging, checking out some other blogs about IM training. SimplyStu has a good one. He's doing IMMoo also, so I've got to check in on him a bit more. I like the training tips and knowledge he has of the course.

Today was a good day for training. I got in a 2500 yd swim at 5:30AM, then did the Firecracker 100K bike ride. That ride was some fun. It was advertised as over 1000 riders and we had a beautiful NC summer day w/ low humidity. I started down the street from the start as too avoid getting stuck in the back and rode w/ the lead group the whole way. We averaged 23.8 mph. I didn't go to the front I just stayed in the pack. My fitness felt good in that I never felt like I was gonna blow up. I did this ride back in 2005 and it took me 3:26, this year it was 2:40. I do have to admit that I got lost in 2005 for a minute and didn't ride in a huge pack the whole way.

All of my bike training must be paying some dividends. I've gotten in 5 rides of 100+ miles, including a 120 miler last weekend. This Sat I'm heading back to the mountains to do the Big Walker Century in Whyteville, VA. Its billed as 8000' of climbing. I got get ready for IMMoo 'cause its a hilly course.

That's all for now. Big ups to my niece Lauren. Happy birthday girl. Your uncle loves ya!

Peace,
Rob

BSG - Again

2007-06-25T11:18:00.000-04:00

I did the Blood Sweat and Gears bike ride last Sat. Oh man was that hard. This is my 2nd year doing this ride and it was still as hard as last year. The ride is 102 miles and advertises 13,000 feet of climbing. Yes, 13,000 feet. The hardest section is called Snake Mountain, you basically grind up this gap until you get to this crazy section at the top of the climb where the grade is 18-20%.

I made it in one piece and improved from last years time. This year I did it in 6:24, last year it was 6:41. In terms of where I placed. This year I was 284 out of 633 riders and last year it was 369/672.

All in all is was a great day. That is truly God's country up there, so beautiful and green.

Peace,
Rob

I Escaped!

2007-06-09T21:50:00.000-04:00

I completed the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon last Sunday. That race was a blast. I mean it was fun, hard, but still a really fun race. The swim, bike, and run were unlike any race I've ever done. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I ended up w/ a 2:50 finishing time which was 393th out of about 1545 competitors. I was nervous about that swim, but it ended up being good for me at 37 minutes. There was even a celebrity racing, dude from "The Batchelor" reality show finished. My wife told me everybody went crazy when he came down the finishing chute.

Well here's some pics from the race. Now thats over, I'm going to get real focused on my IMWI training and start logging some SBR hours.

Peace,

Rob

Going Back To Cali

2007-05-17T20:57:00.001-04:00

That's the title from one of Biggie's joints. I'm heading out to LA first for a golf tournament w/ my Dad. Its an annual thing we do w/ his buddies. Its a bunch of fun and I'm looking forward to it. The only thing, I think I only played 1 round this year, so I don't think I'll do to good.

Also I'm doing the Escape the Alcatraz Triathlon after I visit LA. Lisa is flying into LA and then we'll drive up to San Franscisco. That's going to be a trip, swimming in SF bay. In a way it seems scary, but also it seems fun. I'll be looking up at the Golden Gate Bridge during the swim, wow.

Peace,

Rob

Long Time Since I Posted

2007-05-13T21:12:00.000-04:00

Its been a minute since I posted. Here's a few things I've done since my last update

1) I did the Kinetic Half Triathlon. I had a good time up there. The race was in this Virgina state park named Lake Anna, and I camped out the night before. That was actually pretty fun camping. The water was really cold for the swim. It was 53F. Burr. I did set a swim PR for myself, although they shortened the swim to 1500m instead of 1.2 miles. My swim time was 28:41. This turned out to be a 1:44/100 yd pace. That put me right in the middle of the pack for my age-group 17th/31. The bike went good too. I pushed myself and finished 20/31. And then on the run I really moved up and finished 11th in my age-group. I wound up w/ a 5:24 finishing time which was good for 14th.

There were a couple of cool things at the race, one of having the mayor of DC race. I beat him, he finishe w/ a 5:30. He was a good athlete though. And also there was a contingent of US Marines that were amputees. They did the race, some as a relay; I also think some of them completed the event solo. Those guys showed me a lot of heart that day.

2) I've been ramping my training miles/hours. My coach has got me on a bike focus and I got in a little of 200 miles this week. I'd like to hit 250 for a couple of weeks in my IM prep.

3) I converted my old tri bike into a single speed. That's been fun to ride. I've got it setup as a 42/16. You've got to be a bike geek to know what that means. I had a wheel built as a fixed, but haven't installed it yet.

Well that's all for now, plus I'm getting sleepy.

Peace,
Rob

Training Ramp

2007-04-02T20:25:00.000-04:00

I'm back into some serious bike mileage again. I got in a 4:20 ride last Sat and then a 3+ hour ride on Sun. My weekly mileage was at 176. That's like my peak during my IMAZ training ramp-up. If I can hold, and increase my weekly mileage to the 250 range, I think some good things are going to happen at IMWI.

Lately, I've been feeling really good. I did some fun stuff related to training like the Hyco Lake tri. I ended up next to last, but it was a lot of fun. About half of the folks were in an elite tri team. We had a killer cookout and I just soak in the good, positive vibes.

Also last Thursday, during my group run, Curt Clausen joined us. Curt is a former Olympian in the race-walker event. It was a trip because I was killing myself to hold a 7:50-8 min/mile pace and he was race-walking the same pace. That was something else.

Well not too much else going on. The pollen is fierce here in NC this time of year. A yellow dust covers everything.

Peace,
Rob

Back in the Saddle

2007-03-17T22:10:00.000-04:00

Its been a week since Umstead, and I felt my recovery went pretty good. I didn't do much in terms of working out. However I did get in a Bikram yoga session last Monday which I think aided my legs getting over the marathon.

I went on a 40 mile bike ride today. I felt good in spots and fatigued in other spots (mostly hills and headwinds). Man the wind was blowing today. But I shouldn't complain 'cause NY is about 8 hours north of here and they're having crazy ice storms. Today I don't think the high was much above 45.

Well that's all for now.

Peace,
Rob

Umstead Marathon - Recovery Time

2007-03-12T06:24:00.000-04:00

Wow, I finished the Umstead Trail Marathon. The official results aren't out yet, but my finishing time was around 3:58. That was a tough marathon. Umstead Park is a beautiful wooded area Raleigh, however there are hills, hills, and more hills.

The race was cool from the standpoint that there was a single track section for about 6 miles and the remaining 20 were on bridle trails. There is this one section of trail named Turkey Creek. Oh man, it was just up and down, nothing flat at all. This is where I saw a bunch of people walking.

I did meet some goals I had in the back of my mind for this race. One was to run the whole race. Next was to finish under 4 hours. I was able to do both which was a great feeling.

The whole vibe of the race was really a good experience. Since it was a local race, I knew a bunch of people and getting the shouts of encouragement were a huge boost of energy. This race while it was really tough, was in a strange way a joy to participate in. It just felt good.

Then to top things off the post race refreshments included Mexican food from Moe's. I tore up a couple of burros. Also the chiropractor I used to see during my training for IMAZ was there. He hooked me up w/ a post race neck and spine adjustment. I was able to stand up straight after that.

My legs are still somewhat sore. I bought 2 bags of ice on the way home from the race and took an ice bath. Whew, that water was cold! I could only last about 2-3 minutes at a time. I was so cold I was shivering. An ice bath is supposed to help your legs recover faster by reducing the swelling from all the micro-tears in your muscle fibers. I did better yesterday w/ another ice bath. I put on my wetsuit top and a beanie and lasted about 20 minutes. Much better. I'll probably take one more ice bath today as the recovery effect lessen over time.

Well that's it for now. I'll post some pics and the official results when they're available.

Peace,
Rob

Triathlon Superhero

2007-03-04T21:33:00.000-05:00

This is pretty cool. Marvel comics has a black superhero named "Triathlon". They even have him in a red, black, and green costume.

Training is going good. Eating habits are not. I seem to have lost the ability to control sweets and high carb foods. If I'm going to get into a good form for IMWI, I 've got to get a handle on this.

I'm currently tapering for the Umstead Trail Marathon this Saturday. I'd love to break 4 hours, but based on what I hear about the course it may be overly optimistic. There are some crazy hills in Umstead Park and the marathon course has just about all of them.

Well that's all for now.

Peace,
Rob

10 Thoughts

2007-02-28T05:31:00.000-05:00

1) Yoga is pretty cool. Me and Mrs. Rob's Endurance World have been going to Bikram Yoga for the last few weeks. Bikram is where the room is heated to 105 degreess and then you do the course. Man I sweat a lot, but feel so good afterwards.
2) My schedule is nuts lately. I've got to manage my time better in order to have more effective training and inner peace.
3) I'm happy winter is on the way out. Yesterday was 62, and it felt so good.
4) I joined a Master's Swim team. I'm in the slow lane but hopefully I'll improve and move up.
5) The Desoto T1 First Wave wetsuit is da bomb. I got one for my birthday and tried it out at the pool. My 100 times were 10 seconds faster.
6) I would like to break 12 hours at IM Wisconsin this year.
7) I just registered for Escape from Alcatraz triathlon. This should be a blast. I'm so looking forward to the swim in SF bay.
8) Next year I think I'll take a year off of IM racing.
9) I'm really glad Mrs. Rob's Endurance World is supportive of my quests. This stuff can get pretty expensive, but she lets me still participate.
10) Today is the first day of the rest of my life. I want to make the most out of it and live for having a fulfilling existence. Not only for myself, but to let God's light shine through me to others as well.

That's all for now.
Peace,
Rob

Geezer Pleezer

2007-02-13T08:03:00.000-05:00

Last Sunday I ran in the Geezer Pleezer 4 mile road race. It was hosted the running club I belong to, Carolina Godiva Track Club. It was cold, I think in the 30's, but fun to see friends and hang out.

A little about Geezer Pleezer. This race is a staggered start where you're given a starting time offset based on your age/gender. Since I'm 44, my offset was 1:45. I think the biggest offset was to a wonderful lady that is 71 years young , she got a 16 minute headstart.

I ran a 28 min finishing time (7 min/mile). I was happy about that, especially since the week before I ran the Uwharrie race. I ended up in 23rd place out of 50 runners. I'm inspired in that the lady I mentioned earlier finished in 16th place. She ran a 40:34. What a lady!

Uwharrie, Uwharrie, Uwharrie

2007-02-04T07:04:00.000-05:00

U-R-Wee, I think its pronounced that way. Well today is Sunday, the day after the Uwharrie Mountain Race. It was a 20 mile trail run that was really tough. My finishing time was 4:01:25. That put me in 61st place out of 115 males. That race took a bite out of me, and then just kept chewing me up. I was so glad to finish. Some people were doing the 40 mile version. I got big respect for those folks.

I guess if you're gonna do a trail race, this one had it all. The route was all single track. The trail was MUDDY, since there was a snow/rain storm that hit the area like 48 hours before the race. I bet there were at least 10 water crossings. The trail was rocky, and it was 21 degrees at the start.

All in all it was fun, on a sick level. But I made it. I got kinda demoralized a few times when I couldn't run the hills or some of the more technical portions of the trail. My legs wouldn't go, or I was mentally beatup by having to watch my footing.

One of the cool points of the race was when I was going up this insane hill, where everybody walked that was around me; I passed an Asian lady and she told me it was great to see another person of color. She passed on some positive vibrations to me, and hopefully I inspired her to push on as well.

I ran in a new pair of Montrail Hurricane Ridge XCR shoes. Those things held up pretty good. They're somewhat heavy, but the traction was good and most important, they provided great protection from landing on the rocks.

All in all I enjoyed myself. I got to hang w/ my friends in the running club I belong to, and I experienced one of the most beautiful trails I've ever been on. Now I'm gonna get an ice bath and hope that it shortens my recovery.

Peace,
Rob

It's My Birthday!

2007-01-16T07:47:00.000-05:00

Today is my birthday! I turned the big four-four today. As I move into the middle ages here are some random thoughts:

1) Life is good. Really good. God has given me all I need, and a whole bunch of my wants.
2) The companionship of my best friend, my wife Lisa is really important.
3) I am so fortunate to have my parents alive. My Dad, my Mom are such inspirations to me.
4) I hope I can be an inspiration to my family, my sister, my niece, my nephew.
5) Training, racing, working out help my health. Plus its fun!
6) One of these days, I hope to qualify for the Boston Marathon. It may take until I hit the 50+ age-group, but one of these days...
7) I really am enjoyng this trail running thing. The serenity, the connectedness w/ nature, camaraderie w/ fellow runners is so much more enhanced w/ trail running.
8) Today I will have an "attitude of gratitude".

A Whole Lot of Running

2007-01-01T09:53:00.000-05:00

Uwharrie Mountain Run 20 miler race prep:

I've been on a run focus lately. Its kinda fun, especially since my long runs have been at this really awesome park named Umstead. There are miles and miles of single track trails that I've been running w/ my club, Carolina Godiva. Sometimes on Sat mornings we get about 20-25 runners. Got in 50 miles last week. My long run was 3:10. I'm trying to get ready for the Uwharrie Mountain Run 20 miler in Feb. Here's the course profile:

Then here's a description from the race website:

TRAIL WARNINGS!Running the Uwharrie Trail is a true adventure that requires intense concentration. The national forest terrain is hilly and the trail is treacherous. Fallen leaves conceal rocks, roots, sticks, and holes. Expect to trip and fall at least once during the day. If you turn an ankle, keep moving. Dutchman's Creek flows along part of the trail and runners will enjoy numerous stream crossings, which may mean wet feet if you aren't careful. The creek water is not safe to drink.

The trail is well marked with white blazes painted on trees at frequent intervals. Two blazes indicate an approaching sharp turn. Disregard yellow and red blazes. IF YOU STOP SEEING WHITE BLAZES YOU ARE OFF THE TRAIL. Retrace your steps to the last white blaze then circle around until you find the trail. If you find yourself in a part of the forest posted with hunting signs YOU ARE OFF THE TRAIL. Don’t follow other runners into unblazed territory. Don’t become discouraged if you get lost. Even experienced trail runners occasionally lose their way.

Run at the Rock + Other Stuff

2006-12-12T12:27:00.000-05:00

I haven't checked in a while. Here's what I've been up to.

I did a 14 mile race weekend before last called Run at the Rock. It was a 14 mile trail run that was very challenging for me. We had a bunch of rain during the week leading up to the race and the mud was incredible. All in all though, I did have fun. I saw a bunch of friends from the running club and it was cool to soak in the good vibes. My time was 2:09 (9:16 pace) and I finished 74/169 overall and 13/21 in my age-group (males 40-44).

Also I did a ~4 hour hike last Saturday in the Uwharrie National Forest. I've got a 20 mile trail race coming up there on 2/3, so I thought it'd be good to get in some recon and hike at least a portion of the trail. It was really beautiful, though cold. It was 18 degrees for the low that morning. It did warm-up to the high 40's, low 50's by the time I finished though. Also the leaves were so dense on the trail that it was completely hidden in many spots. I'm sure glad they did a good job w/ marking the trees w/ blazes, otherwise I might still be out there.

I didn't see one person until I was almost finished w/ the hike. That's like 3.5 hours just by myself. I was a little nervous though, because hunting season is open and I could hear rounds going off in the distance. There's something really spiritual and exhilarating in the solidarity I experienced. I thought of so many things and felt a oneness w/ God and a new appreciation for my life.

Here's some pics on the trail I took w/ my cell phone camera.

Back in the Swing of Things

2006-11-22T11:14:00.000-05:00

Wow its been a long time since I've posted. Here's some updates:

1) Lisa and I's vacation to Milan and Paris was great. We saw and experienced so many things. Some of the highlights were:
a) The Louve
b) Versailles Palace (home of Louis XIV and Marie Antoinette)
c) Champs Elysees
d) Running in the 20Km des Paris race
e) Attending a symphony at Teatro alla Scala
f) Hearing great jazz in Europe, Kenny Garrett at the Blue Note - Milan and Branford Marsalis at La Cigale - Paris
g) Really good coffee in Milan (loved that espresso)

2) I'm back in the saddle for working out again. I've re-upped for another year w/ my Ironman coach John Hirsch. We're back in this thing to get ready for IM Wisconsin in Sept '07. I hope I can improve quite a bit and get down to a low 12 hour finishing time.

3) Trail racing. This winter I'm going take my first stab at trail racing. I've been doing some of my long runs on technical trails. Its kinda fun, but I've turned my ankles quite a bit.

4) Still trying to get some pounds down. I'm about 183 now and would like to get down to 175 fairly soon. Tri season will be starting back in a few months so I've got to get back in fighting shape.

5) Equipment note: I've finally found the right saddle for my road bike. The Selle SMP Evolution is great. Now my legs will give out before discomfort takes over. Its kinda expensive at $239, but I got a good deal in the clearance section at my LBS at $143.

Thats all for now.

European Holiday Coming Up

2006-10-08T19:15:00.000-04:00

Getting pretty pumped about heading to Europe for vacation. This will be the first time Lisa and I have ever been to Europe. We're going to Milan and Paris. Should be a sweet trip.

I'm taking my running and swim gear to try and keep up some fitness during the visit. It should be interesting to swim at one of the pools in Milan and Paris and swim laps w/ the locals.

Switching gears...
Had a good telecon w/ Coach J. We're gonna get back in the swing of things after I get back from Europe. I need it too. I still can't control my eating and hence my weight is staying up there.

This time of year is pretty cool to try new/fun things before getting back to SBR training. I'd like to start doing some hikes. Which would be very cool since Lisa could join me. Also I've cleaned up my old mountain bike and I plan to get back on that again.

That's all for now.

Biggie Rob

2006-09-16T13:37:00.000-04:00

Man, I'm putting on weight. I used to way 176 before IMAZ; this morning I got on the scale and weighed in a 185. I even did a fast-paced 6 mile walk w/ Lisa. We did have breakfast before I weighed in, but I feel really heavy. Being 5'9", 185 is too much. Now's time to get committed to eating sensibly and healthy. First order of business, eliminate late night ice cream.

That's all for now.

I'm In IMMoo 2007!

2006-09-12T17:17:00.000-04:00

I totally haven't posted in a minute. Well couple of big things in my life lately.

I had inguinal hernia surgery last Wed. Recovery is going good, w/ minimal pain. Saw the doc today for my first post-op visit, he said everything is going good and gave me the green light to start easing back into training.

Also I registered for IMMoo last Mon. The race is known as IMMoo due to the dairy farms on the course. I was lucky to get in since the race sold out in 1 hour. On a triathlon forum I frequent called Slowtwitch. com, many people complained about not being able to register. The ironic thing is I registered using a dial-up connection.

I'm looking forward to working w/ my coach John Hirsch again, and rock this IM thing one more time.

The only bummer is that the race falls on my 9th anniversay, 9/9. All these nines! Lisa's deportment has been kinda cool since I registered. Not only is she my wife, but my best friend too, so that bums me a bit. I love doing IM. It really makes me feel like I'm tackling life and pushing my limits. But I its not worth it for Lisa to feel bad. I've got some praying to do for guidance.

Well that's all for know. The game is back on.

Peace,
Rob

What's Going On?

2006-08-09T17:28:00.000-04:00

Bro. Marvin sang, "What's Going On?". I haven't posted in awhile and thought I'd put down what's going on w/ me.

1) I somehow have gotten a hernia. Tri season is done for '06. I'm kinda bummed, as I was really feeling my speed pick up after IMAZ. I was stuck on long and slow, but in the last 6 or so weeks my speed was getting good, now this. I guess I'm getting old.

2) I'll likely have the surgery after Lisa and I return from our European vacation. I'm kinda psyched about going, but there'a cloud over my head w/ this hernia deal. Oh well.

3) Chad, a kid I was helping out from church w/ speedwork at the track, met his goal of sub 12 mins for 2 miles at the varsity soccer team tryouts. I'm really proud of him.

4) Its been a hot summer. I'm sweating like crazy during w/o's.

5) I just feel kinda blase lately. I need to snap out of it.

Peace,
Rob

Just Checking In

2006-07-21T11:00:00.000-04:00

I haven't posted in awhile. I guess its because I haven't done any races for a couple of weeks. I'm starting to get the itch though for racing. There's a tri in Canton, NC in early Aug that I'm thinking about. Canton is in the western part of the state in the mountains and its really pretty up there. I'll think about it.

Since I'm not racing I'll give some shout outs to my peeps who are. My coach, John Hirsch is racing at Ironman Lake Placid. Dude has been doing some crazy training and is primed for grabbing one of those Kona Pro slots. I don't know how he does it since he's a lawyer AND pro triathlete.

Also a shout out to three guys from my tri team; the mightly Fleet Feet Racing will be rocking the team kit also at IMLP. My man Jay, Fernando, and Jeff. I know they'll be putting in work and coming up w/ excellent race results.

Then a shout out to two athletes I've been helping Charlotte and Chad. Charlotte has the heart of a champion and will show big improvements, and Chad is going out for the high school soccer team so we're building up his speed at the track. Big ups to C & C.

That's pretty much it. Not too much going on for me. I can't seem to discipline myself and get my weight back under 180 lbs. I was around 176 for IMAZ, this morning I was 182.5 on the scale. I've got to stop w/ the late night sherbert (Edy's Swiss Orange, umm).

Its been hot lately. We're rountinely having temps in the mid to upper 90's, especially the last two weeks. Hopefully it'll come down soon. It makes me think about Al Gore's movie, "An Inconvient Truth".

Lastly, the Tour de France has been da bomb! Floyd Landis' performance for stage 17th was epic! I couldn't stop watching and ended up being really late for work. I was at hope yelling and clapping at the TV while he was just blowing up the race.

That's all for know.

Peace,
Rob

Triangle Triathlon

2006-07-12T10:19:00.000-04:00

I did the Triangle Triathlon last Sun. It was a sprint race, 750m swim, 15 mile bike, and a 5K run. Overall I felt like it was a good race for me. Its kinda funny, but since I placed at the 4th of July race, I hung around thinking I may have placed for this one too. My ego got the best of me, 'cause my time of 1:19 placed me 24th out of 63 athletes in my age-group, which is very far from 1st through 3rd. The third place finisher had a time of 1:10. Oh well.

The swim was a big improvement for me. I swam a 15:50 which as a big improvement from last year when I did this same race in 21:35. The bike and run were really similar to last year w/ slight improvements. I had a 39:49 bike and 21:18 run. Last year my overall time was 1:26. I really need to lose some lbs, which will improve my run and bike results significantly, I think.

All in all it was a good race. Who knows, as I get older and hopefully more fit, and less heavy I may place at one of these thing.

Happy Fourth of July

2006-07-07T09:35:00.000-04:00

Oh man, I couldn't believe it. I ran a 4 mile race, "Four on the Fourth", here in Carborro and took second for my age-group. My time was 28:38, which was good for 56th overall (336 entered). I've never placed in a road race before. I felt pretty good for the race, but I didn't treat it as anything too special. Dang, I didn't hang around for the awards ceremony. I probably could've picked up a pair of socks or something.

Now if I can just lose 10 lbs. Who knows what is possible!

Next up is the Triangle Sprint Tri this Sunday.

Blood Sweat and Gears

2006-06-26T11:53:00.000-04:00

I love the name of this race, BSG. I did the BSG ride last Saturday. Oh that was a tough one. So many hills/mountains. It took place in the western part of the state in the mountain communities of Watuagua County. One of the big landmarks there is Applachian State University (the other ASU, since me and Lisa are totally partial to the real ASU - Arizona State).

We took off w/ the threat of scattered thunderstorms, but the good Lord was good to us and the rain held off until the event was over. There were 672 riders doing the full century (100 miles) and another 335 doing the 50 miler. The ride was billed as 13,000 feet of climbing and also as one of the spots Lance Armstrong used to train in. The race is so popular that it sold out.

At first I felt sluggish then about 10 miles into it I starting getting a little zip to my legs. It was probably that first early climb that woke me up. The initial climbs went good and I just soaked in the awesome scenery of the mountain ranges. Man its really pretty up in the western part of the state.

Throughout the ride I hung on w/ different groups of riders and also spent some considerable time solo. The most streneous part of the ride was a climb called "Snake Mountain". The grade was advertised as 18-20% in the steepest section. I did see a number of riders stop and walk their bikes up this section. I managed somehow to keep the cranks turning and made it to the top w/o stopping.

All in all it was a good day. I finished w/ a time of 6 hours 41 minutes. That put in 369th out of 672 riders for the 102 mile ride. I'm not sure if I'll do this again next year. My weight picked up a bit after IMAZ; I'm now at 182 lbs. Before IMAZ I got down to 176lbs. Although its not a lot of weight gain, I feel it, especially on hilly rides.

3 Mountain Madness

2006-06-18T10:06:00.000-04:00

June 3rd I did the 3 Mountain Madness bike ride up at Pilot Mountain, NC. That was one tough ride. I did the 75 mile version, however there was a 95 mile version as well. The ride consisted of 3 climbs interspersed w/ a bunch of rollers in between. The total elevation climbing was billed as 9280 feet.

The first climb was up Sauratown Mountain. The GPS topo map showed that this climb was ~1500 feet. I had a 12-27 cassette installed on my bike and I stayed in that 27 tooth cog for the complete climb. I had good energy and the weather was ideal so this climb went pretty good.

The 2nd climb was up to Hanging Rock park. This was the easiest of the climbs. I got through this one w/o much problems. It came up at about mile 30 and I was still feeling kinda fresh. I saw my buddy Dave passing me on the way up and he told me that the last climb was more difficult.

I hung on w/ a group of riders that I believe were from Greensboro. There was this one lady that was kinda funny. I had my Ofoto jersey on, and see would keep shouting out "Ofoto" when I'd push the pace a bit on the climbs. I got to the point of looking forward to her shouts and pulling that good energy from here enthusing.

The test. The Pilot Mountain climb. This climb was tough, tough, tough. It came up about mile 62. At this point I'm a bit spent and I still have this climb in front of me. Obviously I dropped down into the 27 and started spinning up the mountain. At first it was good, but quickly I started fading. About 3/4 of the way up, I was reaching the breaking point where I seriously considered stopping, the only problem was how would I start back? I eventually made it up to the top. It started getting pretty warm, so I unzipped my jersey for the climb. I felt like those guys on the Tour with there jerseys flying open for the climb.

All in all it was a great ride and day. I enjoyed myself and I'm looking for the next mountain adventure, "Blood, Sweat, and Gears" this Saturday in Valle Crusis, NC.

Golfer's Holiday

2006-05-31T09:21:00.000-04:00

"and pay Moody Jr. 85 cents"

I had a blast last week in Los Angeles playing golf w/ my Dad. His buddy Mr. Cunnigan puts on an annual golf tournament in conjunction w/ their family reunion. We had almost 30 golfers and it was a ton of fun.

My dad played all three rounds and did really well. I'm so proud of my Dad. He's 78 and plays 3 times a week. He plays a good round of golf is really healthy and a lot of fun to hang out with. I joke w/ him that he's going to shoot is age one of these days.

We had so much fun cracking jokes and eating good food at Hometown Buffet. (You got to be careful though at HTB, because that food can easily make you overdo it). My Dad is also really fortunate to have his golfing buddies. They have a special bond and all have fun together. I hope when I get up there in age, I'll have something like that to look forward to.

We played 3 days of golf and the last day was the best for me. There's a number of bets that go on. Greenies (getting on in regulation and making a par or better). Also there's a skins game that goes on. The greenies pay 10 cents and the skins pay 25 cents. I had 1 skin and 6 greenies.

The funniest part of the tournament is at the end of each round when we pay out the bets. Everybody jokes and has a good time. You feel like you've won a $1000 even when you get 25 cents.

All in all it was great fun. Oh I almost forgot. To let you know how much fun it is when the bets are paid, I almost missed my flight. I had a 3:10 flight and left the golf course at 2:25 into LAX. It was close but I made it.

15 Minutes per Mile

2006-05-14T19:25:00.000-04:00

15 mins/mile is the pace I tried to hold w/ my wife during a walking workout today. We went to Duke and did the Al Buehler trail. The AB trail is really beautiful. Its about 3 miles long and goes up and down, up and down, up.... As one can guess its one hilly course.

We finished in 43:03. She dropped me on the last hill. That was kinda humbling since I just did an IM. I've got a whole new level of respect for walking workouts. Since I'm on some down time from workouts, it has been great hanging out w/ the missus and participating w/ her excersing.

Peace, Rob

White Lake Half

2006-05-12T11:33:00.000-04:00

Did the White Lake Half last Sat. The race went pretty good. I improved my finishing time from last year's 5:26 to this year at 5:18. I feel really good about this considering I had just did IM Arizona ~1 month prior to WL.

I left the house about 3:45AM and drove to the race. Its about a 2 hour drive that wasn't bad at all. I was pumping the tunes and getting in the zone. One good thing about driving in the early morning is that there are hardly no commericials. I got 50 Cent, "Best Friend" stuck in my head.

The swim went really good. I sighted often and stay pretty much on course. One of our tri team coaches said that sighting is really important and man that was really true. I finished w/ a 40' swim. That was an improvement from last years 47'.

The bike was a blast. I had some good energy for the ride. I passed a bunch of people and stayed strong. The last 20 miles of the ride were into a headwind and also you had to ride over a bunch of road sealing. That part was tough. Those road seals definitely added some discomfort. Last years time was 2:43 and I improved this year w/ a ride of 2:40.

My run was slower than last year's 1:49. I ran a 1:52 this year. My coach told me the run is the last thing to recover after IM, so he wasn't too suprised I slowed down on the run. Overall I felt it was a good race. But now I'm taking some meaningful downtime. 2 weeks w/ no workouts and an additional two weeks w/ unstructured workouts. Nothing hard or long. Thats all for now.

More Random Thoughts

2006-04-25T14:48:00.000-04:00

I haven't posted in awhile. I thought I'd drop a few random thoughts out there:

1) Allergy season sucks in NC. My throat, skin, eyes, you name it has been itchy a lot lately. It should die down shortly though.

2) I'm really blessed w/ my job. I have a totally cool boss and the work isn't stressful. I do failure analysis, so I don't have to worry about meeting a bunch of quotas and things. I've really got it good.

3) I think I made a mistake signing up White Lake 1/2 Ironman. The race is only 4 weeks from IM Arizona. What was I thinking!

4) I go to a pretty cool church. I get a lot of gratitude for my life when I participate w/ the jail ministry. God has blessed me that I'm not behind bars. Who knows if my life went a little different, I could be in prison instead of doing triathlons.

5) I've got to get more rest. Stop drinking caffienated drinks in the evenings. Also I get the serious munchies at night. I'm afraid I'm going to put on a bunch of weight and lose the fitness I worked so hard for when training for IMAZ.

Thats all for know.

Peace,
Rob

Ironman Arizona Pics

2006-04-16T07:12:00.000-04:00

"You Are an Ironman"

2006-04-16T07:00:00.000-04:00

Wow its finally over. Here's the race report I wrote. I'll post a bunch of pic too in a separate post.

One of me and my wife’s favorite groups is Maze featuring Frankie Beverly. They’ve got a song called “Joy and Pain”. Joy and Pain is what this Ironman deal was really about for me. Here’s my race report, enjoy.

Coach J took me on this journey of becoming an Ironman. Some of those workouts seemed nuts (120 miles + run for 30 minutes). But in the end, he knew exactly what it takes to get through those 112 miles and still have legs to run a marathon. Bro, I couldn’t have done it w/o your guidance. Big ups to you Coach J.

It’s a good feeling to train for 7 months and then experience the joys and pains, highs and lows of doing this deal. Now I’ve joined the ranks of the folks that have finished an Ironman.

I chose IMAZ since I used to live in the Phoenix area for 10 years and my wife, Lisa was born and raised in Phoenix. It worked out good since I knew the course and it was easy to have friends and family come out for a cheering section. I did have to make some obligatory visits to friends and family before the race, but in retrospect it was a small price to pay in time/energy when I had a bunch of folks pumping me up during the race that gave me back so much more energy.

Pre race
One of the members, Bill from my tri team, Fleet Feet Carrboro also did the race and it was very cool to have him to hang out w/ for the pre-race stuff. One thing about this IM deal is that the race is just one part of the whole experience. There’s all kinds of stuff going on (IM village, registration, bag check, swim practice, pre-race dinner and on and on) so it was definitely good to hang out w/ Bill and meet his lovely wife Melissa while trying to navigate through all of the activities. Also I blew up his mobile a million times asking questions and wondering if I packed this bag and that bag w/ the right stuff.

One thing that also happened is I felt like I had one minor mishap after another leading up to race day. During the Thursday swim practice I stepped on some rocks going into the lake and bruised my heel to the extent that I had some small dark discoloration and could feel pain in the heel w/ each step for the remainder of the day. I also cut the skin underneath one of my toes during that episode. Then the next day, I do another pre-race swim w/ Bill and after that we go for the ART massages (Active Release Therapy) that were free at the IM village. This one dude that works on me asks me what is wrong, so I tell him there a little bit of soreness in my left shoulder. He gets to digging down in my shoulder muscle and doing all kinds of hard pressure applications and I’m feeling some sharp pains while he’s doing this, but I figure it’s cool my man knows what he’s doing. The next day (Friday) I can’t even turn the steering wheel on my car w/o having pains. Then to top it off, I bit my tongue good enough to cause some bleeding and swelling at the pre-race dinner. Luckily everything was minor and I felt fine on race morning.

I attended the Ironprayer service Friday before the pre-race dinner. Heather Gollnick was one of the speakers. She was pretty inspirational. I got to take a picture w/ her which was very cool. I also met a 68 year old lady named Elizabeth Johnson. Her IM story was chronicled in the book, “Becoming an Ironman”. She’s done like 20+ IM’s. What a lady!

Race morning I got up and had oatmeal w/ peanut butter, pecans, pancake syrup and a banana. I went cold turkey on coffee 2 weeks prior to the race (well I did cheat twice) and had a good cup of joe on the way to the race. I couldn’t find Bill, there were so many people, but I did find a couple of my best friends from when I lived in Phoenix 10 minutes before the start. It was so cool, the 3 of us said a prayer right there by the swim start and I then was really to jump in Tempe Town Lake.

The swim
Since it’s a deep water start I was worried about using up energy treading water before the start, but Bill gave me a good tip about leaning back and just bobbing. This worked out good and then the cannon went off for the start. Someone gave me a good blow to my lip just as we were starting but nothing too serious. There was some bumping, getting kicked, and getting grabbed a good bit for the first 10-20 minutes after that it settled down until we came to the turn buoy. The course is basically and out and back, so the one turn at the out portion got congested and the contact was on again. I estimated I would be really happy w/ a 1:30 swim and I ended up w/ a 1:24. I was really happy w/ that 1:24. One thing funny about the swim, this is where I had my greatest anxiety, but it turned out, by a whole lot to be the easiest part of the day.

The bike
Coach J and I talked about a bike plan for the race. My strategy was to break the race into 4 parts of about 30 miles each and stay in Zone 1 for the first part and then increasing my HR through the other parts. The strategy was pretty easy to implement since it was a 3 loop course. I did manage to keep my HR down pretty good for the first part. It was tough to watch other passing me, but I kept it easy. There was this one dude that was 75 and passed me early on. He called out my name (they put your name on your bib numbers) as he passed and I thought to myself, dang I can’t let a 75 year old man beat me on the bike. I finally caught him after a bit, and he told me, “hey Robert, I thought I dropped you”. I saw him again on the run and he gave me some positive vibrations. For the next two sections, I picked it up and started passing a good number of riders. That felt like the bomb. I was staying aero had good energy and rolling.

The course is a 3 loop deal where you come back to the crowds and you get the feeling like you’re a rock star or something w/ all the cheering. I would see my wife, Lisa and some of our friends and I definitely got a boost from them. Big ups to Lisa for spending so much time out in that 90 degree sun and cheering for me. She made a huge difference.

Everything went pretty good until about mile 90 when it was getting increasingly hot and windy. My plan was to go all liquids on the bike. I mixed up 2 bottles of Sustained Energy and chased it w/ water. I also used Endurolytes every hour or so. This was all good until I ran out of nutrition w/ about 10 miles to go on the bike. During training rides the last 10 miles usually isn’t too bad, but during the IM, I wanted to try and keep my HR up and finish the bike strong. I did knock down a couple of Gu’s during last part of the ride.

The last 10-15 miles was weird, because I couldn’t seem to get my HR up. I would try and pedal harder, but my legs weren’t having it. I did manage to finish w/ a 6:15 bike split. I was hoping to be over an 18 mph average, but I take that split anytime. Especially in those hot and windy conditions.

The run
I think it was like 90 degrees or something that day, maybe even a little hotter and I suffered big time for the marathon. I wanted to run at least to the aid stations, but for like the first 5-6 miles I had to run for 3-4 minutes then walk. I repeated this and was averaging a 12-13 min/mile paces. The sun and heat just beat up on me. My mind was playing tricks on me and giving me all kinds of weird thoughts like I could jump off this bridge into the lake, or having my wife pick me up and put a stop to this suffering.

I drank at every aid station, but it was weird, I kept spitting back up liquids. This happened for the whole run. I’d take a Gu, Coke, water, Gatorade or whatever and then spit up some of it for the first minute or two as I left the aid stations. Its like my stomach was rejecting fluids. I also felt pretty bloated which was also weird. Then I had the cotton-mouth big time. I just couldn’t generate any saliva. The last weird thing was my left arm started going numb during like the last 10k of the race. I was getting worried that I might be having some cardiac issues, especially since I take medication for hypertension and I’ve had some episodes of atrial fibrillation in the past.

The last 10 miles I really prayed to God for strength to be able to finish and got my pace down to 10-11 minute miles. I thought I’d never say I’d was happy to run sub 11 min miles, but believe me it felt real good when I looked at my watch at a milepost and it was under 11 minutes. I joked w/ my buddy after the race that I don’t think there’s too many atheists during the run on an Ironman. It was such an amazing feeling to be coming down that last half mile, hearing the crowds/music/the announcer. Then as I got closer to the finish, I could see the big jumbotron and knew I was about to become an Ironman.

Post race
I finished the marathon w/ a 4:59 time. Its weird to say, but that 4:59 felt more gratifying than a sub 4 hr standalone marathon. My total time was 12:53, which I feel real good about. Looking back over the results, the race started w/ 1943 athletes and 1724 finished. That’s like an 11% DNF rate.

A bunch of Lisa’s relatives and my best friend came out and met me at the finish. I was on a high and had a blast hanging out w/ them. Some of our relatives are struggling w/ overweight issues, so hopefully I was able to inspire them to take better care of themselves. I also went to Med tent and the doc told me that I likely had inflammation on the “funny bone” nerve in my elbow. This is somewhat common and is a result of positioning on the aerobars that caused the numbness in my arm..

I’m not sure if I’ll attempt one of these again. Bill is talking about IM CdA for ’07. By the time registration opens, maybe I’ll be fired up for another one.

For me it was a day of nervousness, fun, faith, more faith, joy, despair, strength, self-doubt, but mostly a day where I felt a deep sense of satisfaction knowing I set my sights on goal that was unbelievable a couple of years ago and wound up finishing an Ironman.

The Last Weekend

2006-04-02T19:09:00.000-04:00

The bib numbers are out. I'm number 634. The race will be tracked on http://www.ironmanlive.com. Wow its official now.

Its also all in the books now. All the training is done. This weekend I did my last long workouts. Now its just rest up and let the body recover from the training and feel fresh on race day. I feel some pre-race jitters, but I've got to just trust my training.

Here's my totals for 2006:

Taper Time

2006-03-26T14:24:00.000-05:00

Made it through all the base training and now I've arrived at the taper. My last long ride was 100 miles + 45 min run. I went out to Sanford. Now I get to taper. This is where the workouts all decrease in volume to let my body get rested up for the big day.

I went swimming this morning for 3500 yds. I still felt a little sluggish. I'm guessing thats coming from the effects of my long weeks before. I'm hoping that I'll get that "bouncy" feeling by later this week.

Not too much less going on. I'm trying to watch what I eat, so that I don't ballon up now that my training is decreasing. I'm making a conscious decision to minimize refined sugar. I was/am a sugar junkie, so this should help keep the calories down. Also I've decided to give up coffee for this last two weeks before IM. My coach tells me that when I have coffee the morning of the race it'll give me that good jolt.

Thats all for now.
Peace,
Rob

EIA

2006-03-22T16:11:00.000-05:00

What the heck is EIA? This stands for Exercise Induced Anaphylaxis. Its a condition where I get a severe allergy attacked only from running and typically only in the spring/summer months. Tuesday before last, I had an attack after running at Duke University. My eye started itching, and by the time I got home it was swelling up pretty bad. See the pics.

The allergist gave me a Rx for an EpiPen. I have an old one that I keep in the car. I hope to God I never have to use it. I guess if the allergy gets so bad that my airways start swelling up I could suffocate. I hope I'm not being stupid, but I never carry it on bike rides or runs. It just stays in my glove compartment.

I was just thinking about this.

Peace,
Rob

MAP Triathlon

2006-03-14T15:51:00.000-05:00

Well I got in my first race of the season, the MAP (Metrolina Aids Program) Tri. It was held down in Huntersville. The race went pretty good. I ended up 17th out of 42 in the my age-group. As always swimming was my weakest leg. Also I thought I'd do better on the bike and run, but my energy level was somewhat low. I think all of the IM training is really breaking me down, but I've got the taper coming up and it'll be all good. I can't wait.

But I digress, back to the MAP Tri. Its great to go out to the races and be part of my tri team, Fleet Feet Sports, Carborro. There just aren't too many black folks at these events and I can feel a little alienated. It helps a lot that I'm part of a team and when I show up, so I have folks to hang with and get that good encouragement. Don't get me wrong, the folks at the events I don't know also give off great vibes. I think its just my self-consciousness or something like that. Its almost like I feel out of place. I did see two other Black athletes. One guy and one girl. The brotha gave me a shout out when we passed each other on the course. Of course I gave him big ups too. That reminds me, during White Lake 1/2 IM last year, there were 3 Black athletes and one dude told me "represent" when we passed each other. I was feeling strong that race and he pumped me up even more. I passed off some good encouragement to him too.

It feels like this is turning into a race relations thread, but hey thats what I consider blogs for; an opportunity to record my thoughts. Since I'm on this race thing, I've got to admit that I'm also really blessed to live here in NC. This place feels really liberal in terms of race, even though its a strong red state. I mean the confederate flag is somewhat ubquituous, you can even order it on the license plates for your car. But I feel really accepted, w/ no "feelings" like I'm treated less than. Its my opinion that race relations are better here than in other places I've lived. Like in Phoenix when I lived there a policeman stopped me because he "claimed" people are pulling the registration stickers off of cars and putting them on their vehicles. What a fucking joke! That has got to be the lamest Driving While Black profiling stop excuse. I'd respect the officer if he just said I don't like how you look so I stopped you to run your license for warrants or something. Whats funny is that when I lived in Phoenix, I was a member of a predominately Black golf club and played in a group w/ the Phoenix Police Chief, Harold Hurtt. Hell we even rode in the same cart. Then I got another DWB stop in Beverly Hills. The cop asked me where I was going and basically what was I doing there. Both times I didn't get a ticket or nothing, they just wanted to check me out.

Now out here on the other hand, my first month in NC, Lisa and I were driving to the NC BBQ festival and I was speeding, pretty bad too. I got pulled over by a state police and all the southern law enforcement stereotypes ran through my head. I was even thinking I could turn up missing or something. We had a Mercedes at the time and it still had the CA plates. I probably looked a little thuggish w/ my baseball cap too. Hell I might've admitted to myself I fit the profile of an out of state drug runner. The officer stopped me and instructed me to get out of the car. Damn I was really scared then. He has me sit in the cruiser w/ him in the front seat and runs my license (I think this may be fairly standard procedure). He checked me out was real polite and give me a warning. Man that was pretty cool. Don't believe the hype about the dirty south down here, its an awesome place to live.

I am happy to say that for those two fucking incidents, I've got thousands and thousands of good relationships w/ white folks. My tri team is a good example. I'm the only Black person (I think I'm the only non-white too) and everyone treats me like a long-time friend w/o any condescending attitude. I mean if I can't keep up w/ a group ride training session, my ass gets dropped like anyone else. I can't say enough good things about them. Man I feel lucky to know these guys.

Okay I've really went down a different path than I intended let me wrap up. Here's some pics from the race and my results.

I did a 112 mile ride to the VA state line the next day. What a weekend!

Peace,
Rob