The Reaction

Last Saturday I made a trek up to New York City with Silvia to visit SBR Multisports and make my long awaited wetsuit purchase. I settled on SBR as my shop for my wetsuit for two reasons. First being I heard that with a purchase of a wetsuit they allow you to try the wetsuit on and test drive it in their very own Endless Pool. This alone had me sold on SBR. But my second reason really drove the nail into the coffin. Shortly before I was about to head to NYC, Josh hooked me up with a 15% off coupon for my SBR shopping spree. Endless Pool Test Drive + 15% off wetsuit = NO BRAINER!

Before I got to the store I decided that I wanted an entry level wetsuit. The $600 suits have some pretty sweet bells and whistles...but I'm just not at the point in my multisport career where I even have the desire to shell out this kind of loot for a wetsuit. With that said, all I wanted was an entry level suit from a reputable wetsuit company. I wittled my options down to either the Orca Evo or the Blue Seventy Reaction based on the sizing charts that I researched online from a variety of wetsuit companies.

The Orca Evo was the first of the two suits I tried on. It really fit like a glove. Very comfortable, in a "I can't believe I actually managed to squeeze into this wetsuit" sort of way. Before trying on the Evo I noticed there were already holes in the wetsuit. Obviously I wasn't taking this one home with me given its condition. I asked the fella who was helping me if they had another Evo in my size. He headed to the back room and came out a few minutes later to let me know that the suit with holes in it already was the only Orca Evo left in my size. Bummer! Said fella then goes off to speak to one of his colleagues. He comes back a few minutes later to tell me he'd sell the suit to me for an additional 10% discount. Are you serious? I come to Manhattan to buy a new wetsuit...no way I'm gonna leave NYC with a suit covered in holes!

Next suit to try on was the Blue Seventy Reaction. I was really pleased that the suit I was given to try on was fresh out of a box. No holes! I actually found the construction of the Blue Seventy wetsuit to be generally superior than the construction of the Evo. Just my gut feeling...nothing else to really base this perception on. The Reaction luckily fit me very well. I was psyched to say the least. I was ready for my Endless Pool test drive.

The Endless Pool was awesome. Someday I would really love to have one of these in my house. What a luxury that would be! There were even mirrors on the bottom of the pool for you to examine your stroke while you swam. Very very cool! After 2 minutes in the Endless Pool, said fella stopped the water flow. I looked up to see what was going on. He said the boss demanded that I put a cap on. Although I didn't think my inch worth of hair would clog any drains...I was happy to comply with the request...rules are rules, I suppose. After putting the cap on, one more minute goes by and said fella stops the water flow again. I looked up to see what he wanted now. I was starting to get the feeling that I was more of a pain to the sales associate rather than a valued customer. He proceeds to tell me that my time was up after 3 minutes. I thought this was incredibly lame. If I had known that my time in the pool would be this short, I wouldn't have bothered at all. I was hoping for at least a 15 minute test drive. At this point I already knew the wetsuit fit well and I wasn't in the mood to throw a hissy fit in an Endless Pool. Just not my style. After toweling off I paid for my wetsuit at the sweet discounted price and also purchased some new accessories, including a seat-mounted bottle rack and a few CO2 cartridges.

At the end of the day I am incredibly pleased with my purchase, especially considering the price. I have to say that I was underwhelmed with the SBR staff. From the second I stepped into the store, it felt as though you weren't worthy of much attention if you weren't buying a Cervelo. A bit frustrating considering I travelled to NYC from the Philly burbs for this experience. With that said, it was still a wonderful day in NYC with Silvia. I bought the wetsuit I wanted and to top things off after my wetsuit purchase we had a feast at an unbelievable Korean BBQ restaurant in Manhattan's K-Town district. A really great day I will not soon forget.

Thanks very much for reading.

Blazeman

It was only my last post in which I stated how fortunate I am to be on this Ironman journey. In logging onto my computer this morning to stop by my daily tri blog reads, I read in Josh's blog that John "Blazeman" Blais succumbed to his battle with ALS on May 27, 2007. John touched millions of lives throughout the past few years as he finished the Kona Ironman in 2005 after having been diagnosed with ALS. Last year his body forced him to watch in Kona from a wheelchair. His mission of educating the world about ALS will not soon be forgotten. Whether you are swimming, biking or running today...please think of Blazeman, if only for one moment.

Blazeman's website currently has the following quote on the front page:
"He Leaves The World A Better Place Because He Was A Part Of It..."

I could not have said it any better.

Between the (Lane) Lines

Last night was another classic long swim for me in the Philly burbs. 4000 yards deposited into the Bank of Jeremy and Ironman.

2X2000 yards on 30 minute intervals.

First 2000 in 29:00
Second 2000 in 28:50

I'm not the biggest poster of individual workouts...but my ego forces me to post my long swims sometimes. Maybe because it's the only one of the three disciplines where a reader might stop by, take a look, and think that I'm not crappy at something!

All kidding aside, this makes me think about the abilities that I have and don't have in sport and life in general. You might look at my swims and think that I am a talented swimmer. Truth be told, I've never thought of myself as a very good swimmer. I was a walk-on Division I swimmer in college. Most folks wouldn't know the difference between the talent level of a walk-on Division I swimmer and a scholarship Division I swimmer. I do. Most people wouldn't know the difference between the talent level between a scholarship Division I swimmer and a Senior National qualifier. I do. The differences are light years apart. I know a number of swimmers who can do 2000 repeats in under 20 minutes. These people are very good swimmers. I am not that good...probably average at best relative to others who've done it for as long as I have.

Perceptions on ability are all in the eye of the beholder. What you might be impressed by doesn't impress me much. Same holds true for vice versa scenarios. I absolutely love reading blogs of terrific cyclists or runners who write about terribly slow workouts with averages like 20mph or 7:00 miles, respectively. I love talking to my former college roomie who I've mentioned in prior posts. The guy is a ridiculous athlete by my perception. Sub-9:50 in Kona. Sub-2:50 marathoner. He thinks of himself as an average athlete. Most if not all of you would think he's an incredible talent. He doesn't. Because he knows that people run sub-2:10 in Boston and men like Faris and Normann exist in Kona.

As I continue on this Ironman journey my body, mind and perceptions continue to change. It's a wonderful ride to be on. I am a very fortunate man. Thank you for being a part of this ride.

Bonkers

What a week! As Ironman Lake Placid draws closer and closer, my total time spent in the pool, on my bike, and pounding the pavement continues to climb higher. Last week I topped out at 15+ hours of swim, bike and run training. Maybe a recovery week for some of you Ironman studs...but for me - these are big hours.

This weekend was particularly solid in the training department. I woke up at the butt crack of dawn on Saturday to ride 50 and run 4. The ride was great. Very few people on the trail allowed me to just crank and not have to worry too much about navigating. It was, however, a tad bit chilly at the start and my feet were basically numb for the entire ride. Not a big deal when you're riding...but when you get off your bike to run...now that's a different story! It took about a mile to feel my feet again during my brick run...which was a pretty strange sensation. All in all it was a great session. I averaged 17.5 mph for my ride and averaged 8:12 per mile for my run. All done by about 10am. Just in time to go to the Radnor Hunt, which is a fancy shmancy steeplechase horse race that serves as the third leg of the steeplechase triple crown. Who even knew there was a steeplechase triple crown? In full disclosure, I've never ridden a horse. Don't know much about horses. And probably won't know much about horses in the future. I attended the race as a guest of Silvia, who was invited as part of her law firm, which had a private tent with a fancy shmancy all day buffet. And what triathlete turns down an all day buffet following a 3.5-hour brick? Not this triathlete. All in all, it was good fun and I look forward to going again next year.

Yesterday was another big training day for moi. I rode in the annual Bonkers 65 bike ride, which is put on by the Delaware Valley Bike Club and came recommended by IM Able. Overall, it was a very challenging and technical ride. After the ride I counted how many unique cues there were on the cue sheet...89! I felt as if I was either going up a hill, going down a hill, turning left, turning right or reading my cue sheet for THE ENTIRE RIDE! It was much more mentally taxing than I envisioned it would be. The ride itself was absolutely magnificent, if you exclude the constant need to find your way. The roads for the most part were lightly travelled with the exception of a few miles of small highway riding. By my estimate, the longest cue without getting to your next cue was about 3.5 miles. Needless to say - this was not exactly a time trial ride. Soon after realizing this fact I turned this ride into just an enjoyable day in the burbs without worrying much about average speed and things like that. I think I averaged about 14.5 mph, which to my credit included time wasted at intersections and things like that. The hands down best part of the ride was the food stations! Honestly, I thought I was at a gourmet bakery and not a bike ride food station. Four words - COOKIES AND CREAM BREAD! This alone was worth the $25 entry fee. After about 4:25 in the saddle, I finished my ride and headed home for a 7.25 mile hill run. The run was pretty uneventful but confirmed that my legs are toast following a long hilly ride. Quite a bit of work left to do before IMLP! Rumor has it that there are a few hills on the Ironman Lake Placid course?!

Thanks again for reading!

Homeboy's Got Speed

Belated congrats to my college roommate, Mirek, who crushed Wildflower Long Course this year and finished 29th overall.

How would you like to have this endurance sports resume?

IM CDA 2006 - sub 10:00
Kona 2006 - sub 9:50
2006 and 2007 Wildflower Long Course - sub 4:50 and top 30 finisher both times
2006 Big Kahuna 1/2 Iron Triathlon - sub 4:25 and top 5 finisher
2007 Boston Marathon - sub 3:00

Unbelievable. Simply unbelievable!

My Leaky Pipes

Hey...get your mind out of the gutter! Or maybe I should get my mind out of the gutter for thinking you'd have yours in the gutter after reading my post's title. Enough gutter talk.

Last week started off really well. Blasting through a 2 hour bike ride on my normal day off and a 5000 yard swim the next day. It had me feeling very fortunate just to be able to be living a healthy lifestyle. Wednesday and Thursday I had back to back hill runs planned. 6 miles and 8 miles respectively. Like I said in my last post, I'm done effing around. Well my knees were toast come Thursday evening, which served as a good reminder that I am still human, still flawed and not yet an Ironman. Rest, elevation and ice was the prescription. No worries though. The running hills were already calling my name again starting yesterday.

I was supposed to meet up with one of the most blogtastic folks in all of tri-blogging land, IM Able, on Saturday to ride an organized 76 miler not far from my crib in the Philly burbs. As luck would have it, when I went down to my basement on Friday night to work on my bike I found my water heater leaking all over the floor and essentially dead. Not cool! Sadly, this derailed my Saturday plans as I was supposed to have a plumber come out to my house and fix said water heater.

Flash to Saturday...I wait and wait and wait for said plumber. He ended up cancelling for Saturday. Again...not cool. We had to re-schedule for Tuesday. So my planned 76 miler was a bust, but I still managed to put in 6.5 hours of riding over the weekend regardless. 13 hours total training for the week. Would have been longer if the knees were up for a long run...but no sense in risking injury this late in the game just so I can say I went 15 hours this week instead of 13.

Yesterday said plumber was supposed to show up between 8 and 12 to finally fix my damn water heater. He ends up showing at 1:45pm and doesn't finish until 5pm. I wish I had the latitude to just show up whenever the hell I wanted and blow through 4-hour windows. As if the 4-hour window isn't wide enough! So much for service these days. Anyhow...long story short...I have hot water again. It's all good.

Thanks very much for reading.

Seesaw or Snowball?

Over the course of this journey of Ironman I find myself constantly reflecting on where I've been and where I'm about to go. My date with Lake Placid is less than 11 weeks away. Holy @!%#...Lake Placid is less than 11 weeks away?!

My first big test of my fitness is less than 3 weeks away up in the hills of the Poconos at the Black Bear Half Ironman. Urgency is really starting to smack me in the face as I draw closer to Black Bear and especially Ironman Lake Placid.

Last week was cranking along well. But the funny thing with going long in tri-training is that your whole week has to be a masterpiece. Not just part of the week. The whole damn week you have to fire on all cylinders or else your base can suffer. I missed one workout last week. Unfortunately it was mon piece de resistance...the long ride. Funny how missing the long ride turns your 15 hour plan into a 9 hour clunker. Enter the seesaw.

From week to week I feel one of two ways. I am either a seesaw or a snowball. The seesaw is a ride full of its ups and its downs. One moment you're high. The next you're low. Although being high occasionally isn't a bad thing, it's still not fun to be low. While many of you seasoned triathletes doing Ironman having a very complex training regimen filled with words like Build, Speedwork and Threshold, my Ironman training is really at its most basic level just one big base build with recovery time built in when I need to recover. Lots of long steady workouts aimed at training my body to function for up to 17 hours on July 22. With less than 11 weeks left until Lake Placid, I have to say...I'm done with this seesaw nonsense. Enter the snowball.

I love the idea of a snowball atop a mountain. As it rolls downward it grows larger and larger, gaining momentum the entire way. Before you know it, the snowball turns itself into a massive avalanche. As I read other tri-blogs, all I see is the snowball. As I scroll through my daily reads, I love seeing the progress that others continue to make as they move forward towards their goals.

This week has been a good turnaround from a disappointing missed workout last weekend. Instead of my standard Monday day of rest, I rode for 2 hours. Instead of an average day in the pool yesterday, I banged out 5000 yards. 5X1000 on 16 minutes (14:25, 14:03, 14:00, 13:54, 13:45).

Needless to say, I'm done effing around. Black Bear in less than 3 weeks. Ironman Lake Placid in less than 11.

From now until July 22, I am the snowball.

Feelin' Flat

Last week had me feelin' a bit flat. Not emotionally. Not bodily. But rather my rear wheel on my long ride last Saturday.

Last week was another decent week of training. It only ended up being 13 hours and change. It was planned to be 15 hours and change, but my bike's mechanical issues hampered my ability to hit the road with my bike on Sunday.

There were some definite highlights* for sure.

* 12 mile run last Thursday.

* 4500 yard swim last Friday.

* 75 mile bike ride on Saturday.

Like I said...all around good stuff.

My Saturday ride was particularly good. Working my way up to 75 miles outdoors feels good. I probably should be hitting the century mark on my long rides by now and hope to be there soon enough. My ride last Saturday spanned 4 hours 20 minutes and 26 seconds (17.3 mph). In the final 60 seconds, as luck would have it...I flatted! Who the hell flats at the end of a 75 mile ride when their car is in sight? This guy does. Rather than pulling over to the side of the road with 1 minute left in the ride, I just rode the rim to my car. I know I know...not good to do...but when it's only for 1 minute and you've already put in 74 miles and change, you can count on me not pulling over and prolonging the session any more. Believe it or not, this is my bike's first flat since I got it in December of 2005! Rest assured, the flat's fixed and I'm happy to be back in business on the bike. My nutrition was pretty spot on during the ride as well. For 4 hours I managed to put 1440 calories in my body, which works out to be 360 calories an hour. Not bad. It was pretty simple actually. One Uncrustable (210 calories) and one 24-ounce bottle (150 calories) of Gatorade per hour for the first four hours. I am convinced that the creator of Uncrustables is a triathlete. There are beyond delicious. I highly recommend them for training or any other gluttonous endeavor. In the final 20 minutes of the ride I took in no nutrition...just coasted to my car and flatted!

Hopefully this weekend proves to be another solid couple of days for training.

Thanks very much for reading.