I have never been so excited

About SOCKS! Last week me and Phil went for a ride in the morning and though mostly we were fine. Our feet felt pretty chilly. Well right after that ride Phil sent me a link for "Battery powered heated sox" from Dicks sports. They finally arrived, just in time for our upcoming 7AM ride. Which is just early enough to not even be close to the days high of 40.

Warm footsies!

The swim stroke

Last Friday I was at the pool for one of my sessions. Each of the lanes had only one person so it was a pretty good time to be there. Enough people for a slight distraction, yet not so many people that they would disturb me. Anyhow, on the lane to my right, there was a woman who “looked” like she was an experienced swimmer. She had the racing suit, head cap, goggles. She looked the part. But then during my breaks between sets I noticed she had horrible form. She had short strokes, which even to me looked inefficient, and then she did this weird thing with her left arm every fourth or fifth stroke. It seemed her arm would shoot almost straight up and seemed to do like a salute with her elbow up in the air, then she would resume the stroke. She did this wicked fast, so that at first I couldn’t tell what it was. No matter what it was…it was poor form. And offensive to my sharply trained eye ;)

With all of that effort she was making you would think she was going fast, but at one point I was taking a 20 second breather when she came by the wall and started out. She was halfway down the lane when I started off. I got to the wall first. That’s how much energy this woman was wasting. Clearly this was a person that could really benefit from lengthening her stroke, and getting rid of the patriotic salute during the swim.

Although the swim is not my favorite event, I do seem to feel a lot better at it, and more comfortable. I also know not to salute while I’m swimming. So I guess I have learned something afterall.

Workout: Run

On the plan, 1 hour HR range 12-140 with 165 on Hills

Actual
Time 58:38
Distance 6.01 mi
Max HR 175 Ave HR 148
Ave Pace 9:46 Max 7:49
Calories burned 626

Overall a good run, I had to restrain myself from running faster. I was really feeling good, like "Rockie" backround music good. Don't ask me why. Simba wasa running with me and as usual she was running well. The idea is not only to train her but to tire her out. I get home thinking OK that will get her nice and relaxed. Then I just decided to tease her a bit and Boom! She starts charging around the house in her Puppy crazies! This went on for like 2 minutes with her racing around baiting me to chase her barking at the cats and generally trying to get anyone to chase her. Clearly this is an endurance running dog. And me I was pooped.

Lots of happenings

Well I have been pretty busy with lots of stuff going on. So much so that I have not been able to update my blog here. Fortunately I have a break from painting the bookcase in my study. I am between coats so while the paint dries I will write.

About my training, I have had to cancel my plans for the March 15 marathon. I have a scheduled business trip the week leading up to that weekend and it would just be too hectic flying in and then taking off for Virginia for the race. In fact I have business trips around the other viable Marathons around that time so I have decided I will do a self supported marathon on my own. Its not really critical for my training since the IM is 8 months away. But right now I am on a swim/run focus and I would like to know that I have the distance conquered before the weather gets warmer and the focus turns to cycling.

So I am shooting to do a self supported marathon at the end of March.

On other fronts I have spoken with Adam and have offerred to help him and Race with Purpose put together a beginners Tri program that will be geared to doing a Sprint Triathlon early June. Race to be determined. Adam is still working out the details regarding facilities with the JCC that we trains and does some training for them there.

I am excited about this since I have found that lately I do have a leaning to really enjoying showing others what I know. Its also nice to be doing something to help out the world a little bit. Maybe that means I am leaning towards being a coach one day. Lets see what happens.

On another front, I started a Tri meetup group in Westchester. You know all of those annoying emails that you get if you ever even once peeked into Meetup.com? The ones that say there is a meetup starting nearby, that turns out to be like 65 miles away? Well I also get the ones that say "there are 247 people like you who are interested in a Triathlon meetup, why not start one?" well I decide to take them up on it and see if there really are 247 people interested.

So far no, but there has been activity. To be honest it was quite exciting to see all of thes e people sign up and to see responses. Me and Phil had planned to do this ride from Somers so we just invited others along. Turnout is low for this first one, being mostly that its February and I gave like 2 days notice :) But I will plan other gatherings further out and hopefully there will be more activity in those.

Anyhow time for a second coat of paint.

Cheers

Workout today: Run

Ran 12.2 miles
Time: 1:58:57
MaxHR 181
Ave 149
Ave Pace 9:54/mile
Calories 1263

This was my first long run after my foot problems. originally I had 18 miles on my plan but after speaking with my coach we decided I shouldn't jump right into18 after 3 weeks without a long run and an injury. My foot feels great so thats real good news.

Workouts for Jan 23-25

I have been super busy lately and have not been able to update my workouts. So here they are from Wendsday to today:

Wendsday 1/23

Indoor trainer 1hour ( workout done along with Coach Carmichael and his Time Trial video)
Ave HR 139
Max HR 179

Thursday 1/24

During Lunch -
treadmill run for 45:29 minutes
distance - 4.76 miles
Max HR 172
Ave HR 145
Ave pace 9.34/mile

inserted 4 hills for 5 minutes each

Evening-

Swim workout - Speed
Time 60 minutes

WU 300 SW, 200K, 100 SW, 12 x 25 Mod
3x (300 Mod, 2x75 FAST)
200 ( 50 SW, 100 K, 50 SW)

Total 2500 Meters

Friday 1/25

swim workout Endurance-
Time 70 Minutes

WU 200 SW, 2x200(50SW, 100K,50SW)
400, 300,200,100 Mod
300,200,100 N/S
200 FAST
100 FAST
500 Mod

Total Meters 3000

Rankings

So the much awaited USAT rankings have come out!

Wahoo...

I have been waiting on pins and needles for this info to come out. Really.

So the results you are probably wondering, no doubt tingling with the suspense.

I am 3350 out of 7192 in my age group nationally. Now the absolute Middle is 3596. SOoooooo..

I have proven yet again that I am a true MOP-L-FOP (Middle Of Packer that is Leaning to a Front of Packer)

I knew it!!

But lets look at this in more detail, the equation for coming up with that mystical figure at the end of the ranking ( in my case 69.7 something or other) is what my "score is"according to USAT:

"What is the equation?
The “par” time is calculated by taking the pacesetter’s finish time in the race multiplied by the pacesetter’s ranking and then divided by 100. We then drop the top and bottom 20% in order to create the most accurate “par” time as possible. Now that the par time has been calculated, it can be used to calculate a ranking for every participant. This is done by taking the “par” time in minutes divided by the member’s finishing time and then multiplied by 100 to calculate the athlete’s event ranking."

Well I don't know about you, but that sure cleared up alot for me! You may be wondering "who is this extremely important "Pacesetter"?

"All USAT members that received a ranking for the '06 season will be used as pacesetters in '07."

Well what do you know? I was a pacesetter!!

Anyhow, somehow using this they come up with a score and there you have it. But still I think they need to add a handicap to make it really fair.

For example: adding a point for every pound more than the average that your bike weighs ( For me that would be like 5 points right away!)

Then add the derivative of the additional air-drag that is caused by all of the unshaven hairs on my legs vs those athletes who have the benefit of shaved legs. Take this number and divide by 21 because thats the legal drinking age. Based on my calculations this would give me a score of 83.367. This would give me a national ranking of 367 which is clearly a FRONT of Packer!!

And so, until the USAT sees the folly of their ways and accepts my new and much improved (and just as understandable scoring methodology, it seems I will remain a firm Middle of Packer :)

Day off

Well its a day off from both work ( Thank you MLK) and training. So I find myself in an odd situation, Retno is in school this evening and Wel lI really have nothing to do. There is plenty of home remodel work to do bt we finished out project for this weekend.

So with all of this free time I have done what can only be expected, I have been watching hours of blood and guts fighting. Starting at 8PM with "American Gladiator" and topping the evening with prime "Best UFC Fights of 2007", Just saw Gabriel Gonzaga demolish KroKop, and Rampage Jackson just stunned Chuck Liddel.

Good stuff

Speaking of Chuck, here he is falling asleep during an interview where he is promoting the movie 300. I think he missed his Coffee :)

Indoor ride

Today had a planned ride with Phil. I oiginally hada 2 hour base ride but Phil had 4 hours so I figured I could add a few hours easy. Anyhow after a single step outside it was obvious that it was a windchill of like instant frost so we decided to do this indoor at Phils place.

We started with the Chris Carmichael Time Trial. It was pretty good and the intervals they were doing were pretty good, a nice warmup.

After that we saw "What it takes", and then some cycling race video's

A Long ride, indoor training can be so hard both mentally and physically. But ist good to have good company when doing it. Makes the epic ride go faster.

Her eare the stats

Time 4 Hours
Max HR 184
Ave 136
Calories burned 2186

Workout today

I had an hour of running on the plan because its suppossed to be a recovery week. But since I have been "Recovering for the past two weeks due to a foot injury I decided to add 20 minutes more to it. This was done on a treadmill.

Time1:23
distance 7.27 mi
Max HR 177
ave 136

My max was high briefly when I added some elevation to the treadmill.

How to Ice your foot

This is how I ice my foot per instructions from my doctor and coach. It is to help reduce inflamation while I heal from a foot injury.

Do this after every run and in th evening before going to bed. between this and some anti-inflamatory, it helps in the healing process of an injured foot.

1) First Get a Bucket


2) Get some Ice

3) Put the Ice In the Bucket with some cold water. Enough to cover your foot.

4) Take shoes off and get your foot ready


5) Prepare yourself mentally for the immediate shock that you will have putting your foot into ice cold water


6) In whatever way you can force yourself to do it, stick your foot in the water. Make sure the whole foot is covered. If you are going to go through the pain you might as well get the full benefit.


6) Keep your foot in for15-20 minutes, take out for 10 minutes to recover and just when you feel comfy. Do it again.

Evening run

Got home at about 7:45 PM and I had a 1 hour run on the plan. Bythe time I chenged and took care of the dogs I woul dnot have enough time to make it to Simba all ready the gym and run on the treadmill for an hour. SOooo decided to do the run outside. I got myself ready with my Polar HR monitor, New Balance 857's ( for extra stability) and Polar foot pod and the appropriate Amphipod Reflector vest for safety. Not to be left behind in the sporting goods department, Simba was sporting her new "Fuelbelt reflective running harness" with flashing light. Thats us below I took the picture with low light to see how reflective we really were.


As you can see we blended in well with the lit up neghborhood houses during Christmas :)

The run itself was as follows:

Time: 59:10
Distance: 5.78 mi
Max HR181
Ave HR 153
av pace 10:14 min/mile

Workout today

Planned - Indoor bike 60 min Hr range between 120-140

Actual 60 minutes Max HR 154, ave 135

Watched first half of "Canstantine" Left off with one of his his buddies turned into a fly nest. Yuck

Workout today Swim

Planned to do a 3000 + meter workout, but just as I was arriving to teh gym Retno called me to tell me she was not feeling well and was going to be coming home early. Since I pick her up at the station I was going to need to keep the workout shorter than I wanted.

So I kept it to an hour,

Actual:
WU 300 SW, 200 K, 100 SW, 200K
2x250 ( 100 mod, 50 Fast, 100 Mod)
4x150 ( 50 Mod, 50 fast, 50 Mod)
2x100 ( 25 mod, 50 fast, 25 mod) this was suppossed to be a 4x100 but I ran out of time.

So a total 2100 meters

2.4 Miles....No pain

Well after a week and a half I ran my first easy steps today with Simba. I didn't want to push it too much. No pain! Which is great news. I guess the daily Ice Bucket and Aleve have really worked. This week I will slowly work back up doing my runs on a treadmill, and hopefully be back on plan in a week or two.

Today's training

Bike 2 hours base between 120-140

Actual 2 hours on indoor trainer, ave HR 128 Max 156

Watched Pirate of the Caribbean

Healing

Ok well today is a better day than yesterday. This cold/bug/ flu thim-of-a-jig seems to be passing and today my head was clear, though I still had a cough. But MUCHO better.

Also I went to "Sports Doc" to see what the deal is with my left foot. It has actually healed somewhat since I stopped running on it for a few days, so when he was probing around pushing and poking at it, there was not much soreness left. he said that pretty much rules out tendinitis or a fracture. he did take Xrays to be certain and the Xrays showed no breaks of any kind.

he believes I suffered inflammation in the joints of my foot because I am basically flat footed.....errrr.... I pronate to use the technical lingo.

He is of the opinion that adventures like I had here probably served as a starting point to aggravating my foot that is already poorly supported. Not having properly recovered from that adventure I just continued to make it worse as I ran, until the foot was inflamed.

His advise was to give the foot some rest, then resume training, but on a flat soft surface either a dirt road ( not trail since bumps, branches, crevices could aggravate the foot) or treadmill. For at least a week or two. Also take an anti-inflammatory like Aleve, and Ice it.

My coach suggested an Ice bath for the foot. A bucket full of ice and water. Sounds gruesome but if in the long run it helps then so be it.

If the problem persists I may have to try Orthotics.

Article - So what equiptment does a person REALLY need to start in triathlon

By Javier Gomez


Lately I have seen lots talk in the various triathlon discussion forums about “How to start in triathlon”, “What type of bike should a person get”, “Do I really need a coach?” etc. It seems the sport is growing but folks are getting confusing messages about what they really need to get started. So I decide to help to try and clarify the situation.

I am writing this as a person who has graduated into the intermediate triathlete world after having completed two half-ironman races, three Olympic distance races, and 4 sprint races, Nine races in total. I am NOT an expert, but I have done enough that I now have been able to distinguish between the message that we get from advertising, and what we really need complete a triathlon.

Now to answer the question what do you need to start in triathlon, first you need to determine what type of triathlete you really are or want to be. The age-group triathlete ( amateur) can divided broadly into two types of athlete: non-competitive and competitive. This is rally determined by what your goals are for doing a triathlon. Are you doing this for the fun of it? To get in shape? For the adventure? Then you probably fall into the non-competitive type. If you are doing triathlon for all of the above but also are a very competitive personality, who likes to see yourself on the podium often then, you are “competitive”. The division is far more grey than that, but you know what your ultimate goals are and should be able distinguish this.

Almost all of the equipment you see advertised in triathlon related magazines is really aimed for the competitive type. To get ahead in racing, the equipment you use really does make a difference. Two athletes of same skill level and abilities, using the same equipment will have the similar results. However, give one better equipment and that one will do better. Therefore, if you are a non-competitive type you could pretty much ignore most of the advertising. So what do you really need? I will go down through the different skills involved in triathlon and list out what I feel you need to start.

The Swim

This is the part of the race that most folks find the hardest, not because it is so much more physically difficult, but because it is the most unnatural for us as land dwelling animals. It also happens to be the most dangerous part due to the very real possibility of drowning. So what do we all really need here, we need to know how to swim. If you do not know how to swim, obviously go get lessons. Aside from that you will need access to a pool or open water ( Lake, river, ocean etc). The benefit of a pool is that it is measured and you can do workouts based on distance. Also its far more accessible than open water and available year round. It is nice to have a pool of at least 25 meters or yards, if a pool with lap lanes that length is not available then 15 or 20 meters is acceptable but you will find your workout pretty tedious going back and forth that much.

Equipment you will need:
-a good pair of goggles,
-bathing suit.
-Wetsuit ( not required but it helps in dealing with the cold water, its up to you, it also helps with buoyancy thus making the swim a little easier)

If you are non-competitive then that’s pretty much all you need for the swim.

To be more competitive, you will want to get equipment to help you get more out of your swim workouts such as a
“Pull Buoy”,
kick board,
paddles ( you wear these on your hands to add resistance).

You will also want to get a Triathlon specific pants that have a thin padding so that you can hop right on your bike right after the swim. It saves the time from changing to cycling clothes.

The Bike

For the non-competitive type you can use just about ANY bike you want, however it is advisable that you try and get a bike that will suit you for the distance you are riding, as such I feel that as a minimum a fitness bike, which is a road bike frame but uses a cross bar instead of that curved handle bar generally seen on a road bike. Mountain bikes can also work if you switch out the tires to smooth type of tire made for riding on roads( that is unless you are doing a Xterra race which is done using a mountain bike).
Mountain biking aside, you may none the less want to invest in a road bike, which is the more efficient types of bikes for road racing. An entry level road bike can be obtain for a few hundred dollars.

Due to the investment required for bikes this is a good time to figure out what your future needs may be. If you have never ridden a bike and do not know if you like it, you may want to borrow a bike from a friend and try it out first. If you are not so hot on the subject then by all means go with the least expensive option. However, if you do like it and see yourself doing this quite a lot you may want to invest a little more here because the price of bikes really does make a difference in the equipment. You may think you are saving money by starting out with a low end bike, but could easily find yourself unhappy with the decision within a few months ( I know this first-hand). For a few hundred dollars more you could greatly improve your bike selection.

If you are the competitive type, you will want to get as light a bike as you could afford (usually made from carbon fiber) and or a bike with a tri specific geometry. This type of bike is designed to put the rider in a more aerodynamic position and to also benefit the riders legs a bit so they are not so fatigued when starting the run. These bikes can run from a bit over a thousand dollars all the way up to the price of an entry level car.

As for the pedals on your bike, there are three types: Basic Pedals, Cages( or clips), and clipless. The basic pedal is the type we are all familiar with, a platform that you push down on with your foot. It works, but is not very efficient. The next two types are more efficient for riding, the cages( or clip) are your basic pedal with a cage like structure that allows you to slip your foot in and keeps it from sliding forward off the pedal. This allows you to put more force on the pedal without fear of your foot sliding off. You can also put force on the pedal through more of the pedal cycle than a normal basic pedal allows.

Finally the clip-less, this is far and away the most efficient type of pedal. Efficiency translates to speed. Its called clip-less because it does not have a Cage or clip on top of the pedal. I feel the name is a bit misleading since in fact you “clip in” to a clip-less pedal. Anyhow it is the most efficient pedal since it allows you to use your energy and force on the whole complete cycle of the pedal stroke.

If you want to be competitive, you will need to have a clip-less pedal. It feels a bit scary at first, since you feel trapped in the event you are falling. But a few tries (and a few embarrassing falls) and you will quickly learn how to easily unclip quickly when needed.

When getting clip-less pedals you will also need bike shoes that have a harder sole to help in putting pressure while pedaling. They also have the mount points for the clips you will be using.

Other notes on cycling make sure your bike is the correct size for you, if it isn’t, you could end up wasting energy having to use more force while pedaling. You could also injure yourself. A good bike fitting is always recommended no matter what your objectives are for cycling.

Running

Competitive or non-competitive alike, go to a running shoe store and get a real running shoes. There is a tendency to think that the running shoes you find in a discount store are good enough. They are for a very casual runner. But the training for a triathlon is more demanding and a good running shoe will help prevent injuries in the future. When I first started I went the cost saving way, buying shoes at the local department store. They said they were running shoes but they were not the type I needed. Within a month I had knee pain and problems with my feet. After taking a break to let me injuries subside I went to a running shoe store, the salesman did a gait analysis and told me a tend to “pronate”( flattening out of the arch) my feet when running. He recommended a shoe that offers more stability than a normal shoe. I bought them and no longer had these types of problems.


The above is pretty much what the basic needs are for a new triathlete. Beyond this there are items like heart rate monitors which are very useful for helping gauge the effort levels being used in training.

As for the training itself, there a plenty of good references out there for beginners. Many of these books also have pre-built training plans that a new athlete could use and modify for their own needs. Books I myself have used and can recommend are “The Triathlete's Training Bible” by Joel Friel, and “Triathlete Magazine's Complete Triathlon Book” by Matt Fitzgerald. These books offer all the advice and information a new triathlete will need to plan their training. The "Triathlete Magazine's Essential Week-by-Week Training Guide" by Fitgerald provides detailed training plans for all distance triathlons from Sprint to Ironman distance. The plans are divide up by your goals for each race and for the amount of training time you have available.

Finally, if you are not one to go it alone, there are many coaches available that could help you put together a plan and show you the ropes. Also look and see if there are any tri-clubs in your area. Sometimes the best way to learn is from the experience of others. It also help to make the challenge feel a little less ...well....challenging when you share the adventures with others.

Happy Training

Sick as a Dog

Well it got me. The bug that was going around the office for the past few weeks has finally arrived. I guess training wise its as good a time as any since I am resting due to my tendonitis. Speaking of that I have an appointment with a local Sports doc. Dr Charles Brown, thats right...Charlie Brown. I swear If I see anyone walking around with a security blanket when I walk in there... I'm walking out!

Extensor Tendonitis - Its back

Just a few days ago I started to feel the dull ache along the top of my foot again. The doorbell announcing my old arch enemy Extensor tendonitis. Below is a link describing my last encounter:

http://www.operationironman.com/2007/08/extensor-tendonitis.html

However, what I didn't post as a followup was that it did plague me sufficiently that eventually I gave up the season and rested. It eventually went away with Ice and rest. However that was the end of the season and I was not all that enthusiastic about racing anymore. SO it was not a big sacrifise, in fact it was a great excuse. However things are different now.

The good thing is its still super early in the training with 5 1/2 months to go for Tupper and almost 9 months for IM Wisconsin.

So I am going to take some more agressive action. Last time I went to a doc who ruled out a broken foot. But did little else for me. This time I am searching out a podiatrist or sports med specialist to see what I can do to prevent this in the future.

In the meantime I will focus on Swimming and Cycling along with some hideous sound aqua jogging ( I don't know if I can bring myself to doing this !)

Will keep you posted.

Swim workout

Today I had a 60 minute swim workout on plan.

Actual: 65 minutes, 3000 meters
WU 6x75
2 x 200
1x100 Mod
2x300
1x100
2x400
1x100

6x75 C/D

It was a good workout and nice to get 3000 in. But I really felt like I was fading on my second 300, I can tell because my flip turn starts to look light a right angle turn.

Then I started to employ my "push through" strategy of focusing on a small item. For me it was to focus on doing my flip turn nicely. Once I started to get that right and miraculously I got a second wind. I started to feel real good, felt like a shark coming out of the turn, imaging myself as a streak of power with the push off flowing smoothly into the stroke. Somehow this brought me back.

Then a new swimmer hopped in next to me and made me feel like a sea turtle. This guy so effortlessly just floated past me on every lap. I decided to look at his form underwater and he looked like an instructional video. straight as an arrow, just slipping through the water.

Seeing him just made me conscious of my own form. I am curious how I would look. Maybe I should consider getting a video analysis done. Something to think about.

Cold day

This morning i got up a little early because I knew Simba was going to need some exersise before I left for work. My Wife needed to study and Simba tends to require alot of attention if she is not tired. A tired dog is a happy dog, as they say.

Well Let me tellyou I was all prepped and ready to go until I opened the door. I believe the official temp was around 10 but it felt like -10. I was running in my tried and tested outfit arrangement of underlayer and a second layer, gloves and a hat. I find with this up until now I start out a bit cool but within 10 minutes I am warm, and within 40 sweating.

Not today

In all honesty I felt like I was running in flimsy underwear. I had to keep the run short, only 2 miles. It was just tooo cold. Oh and Simba, she could care less about the temp, she loves the cold. She was sort of like, whats Up? Thats it?

What a biatch!!

Swim workout

Had a planned 30-60 minute swim workout today. Or actually this was originally planned for teusday but I switched them.

What I ended up doing was only 30 minutes. It was a tight day but I did want to make sure to get something in. I did 1200 meters. I forgot my workout book so I just did 100 WU, 400,300,200,100,100 CD.

New Years run

Ok I had a swim workout on the plan but I have too much to do so I swapped my 1 hour run from Thurs to today, will do the swim on Thurs.

So Planned workout: I had 45-60 minutes, base run target HR 120-140

Actual: 62 minutes, 6.1 miles, ave HR 154! Max 184!! ( Hills killed my HR average)

Simba ran with me and was great as usual.

Happy New Years!

Well we are off to a brand spanking new 2008! 07 was a decent year lots of changes for me at home, work and activity wise. Life has definitly been busy, I would write more about it but I don't have the time.

HA! I crack myself up !

Anyways, To reminisce in '07 I got a promotion at work, which turned out to be a sneaky way to get me to travel more ;)

At the start of 07, I had to deal with Condo living when there was a psychotic neighbor that was OCD and would harass us about the dogs going to the bathroom on the grass, despite the fact that it was within the condo rules to do so. This was the final straw and drove us to get a house ( with 1 Acre !! YAY!)

Which also meant more debt ( Boooo!)

Athletics wise I had a very good year. I met my targets for both the NYC tri and for the Tupper Lake half Ironman ( 5:45:00 goal) beat both by a few minutes. However this left me with some unfinished business. I met my goal for Tupper, but I know I could have CRUSHED it, if it were not for getting cramps during the run. I will face off with Tupper again in 08 and remedy that!

Finally, found a way to incorporate my training with another great interest of mine, my dogs! I just love dogs, always have. In 07 I managed to register for the inaugural Doggie Duathlon world Championships to be held in NYC in July ( combine my multisport and dog interests in one!, you can't beat that!)

Now for 08

Well its going to be a banner year I think. For work , well I don't want anymore :)

But for racing I have signed up and am training for the BIG show, Ironman Wisconsin in September. For this Puppy I got myself a real life Tri Coach who also happens to be a kick ass Pro! Lookout! I have also teamed up with the spectacular RACE WITH PURPOSE to not only kill in the IM race ( hopefully not kill myself) but to also kick Childhood Obesity's ASS!!!

Also as stated above, I plan on taking Tupper Lake by storm and crushing the course. I am talking UFC like demolition!!, taking the course , throwing a headlock and waling it into submission!! I'm gonna pulverize it! Crush it like a .... Well you get the picture :)

Finally, the IAMS WORLD DOGGIE DUATHLON Championships!!, we are talking world DOMINATION!! ** Need I say more?

Stay tuned, Alot to happen this year. BTW Talking about Doggie Du's and stuff, I have received alot of inquiries about this from folks. There really is a need for more activities like this. This is something that I hope does take off. Why should folks not be able to enjoy training and racing and doing with their dogs. There are sooo many dog sports out there yet so few of them for athletic minded folks. I am sure there are some out there but its not so easy to find.

Anyhow Have a great New years folks! I think I need to go and decaffeinate a bit lol


** The field in the Doggie Du is truly competitive and the likelyhood of actually winning is slim, but since its MY blog, who cares about reality, the truth can wait for AFTER the race :)