Nutrition delivery!

Well just in time I received my shipment of Carbo Pro and Accelerade. I was just plain out of nutrition for the coming Tupper Lake half. I have never used carbo Pro before but many of the IM folks I know seem to live by it during their long races so I decided its a tested formula.

Today I used it for the first time. It passed my own test, I did not vomit. I realize these are pretty low standards for nutrition. Can you imagine this as a restaurant review " well the ambiance was romantic, the food delicious and more importantly the clientèle appeared not to be vomiting"

But the truth is stomachs act pretty weird during these endurance events and sometimes taking in too much of anything can result .... well... in Vomit. In fact last years Tupper lake race with my teammates was a veritable Vomitorium on wheels, so to speak. One of the dangers of sharing a house with a bunch of athletes is that race morning is like a chem lab in the kitchen with dozens of different powders and formulas flying around. You can almost see a cloud of energy powder forming above everyones heads.

Anyhow, a number of folks decided to try each others formulas ( Golden rule- try nothing new on race day). Well a few ended up swimming through their vomit, others pulled over to vomit on the bike, and some just well chose not to Vomit from their mouths but instead Vomited from the other end ;)

If you don't believe me here is my Race report that I had posted on the race with purpose site last year:

Great race everyone!

Despite a number of obstacles such as multiple cases of Vomit in just
about every leg of the race, Leg cramps, stomach cramps, trips into the
woods, over-hydration and under-hydration... we all managed to finish
the race.

It was lots of fun, and Congrats to all.

So as you can imagine I was happy to see that it seems I was able to handle the Carbo Pro pretty well.

Now the lemonade flavored Accelerade--Yuck! But it will have to do for now.

Simba Swims!

Well that Simba swims is not really news, she loves the water. But today we had a great training session, she actually swam WITH me. I took her up to White Pond, which is the local Open Water hot spot. And slapped a leash on her, I bought a 9 ft one thinking it would give me room to wrap it around me and still have about 5-6 feet of space. The rules for teh Doggie Du are that the dog needs to be tethered to the human during the swim with no less than a 4 ft leash. The problem with a 4 ft leash is it does not give allot of space to kick without kicking the dog. So I went with a longer leash.

At first she resisted. She enjoys swimming but only when she is chasing a ball or something. There needs to be a reason. But in this case I just had to drag her out. Mind you she had a life vest on, so she was safe if she got tired. Anyhow after about a minute of trying to swim back to shore she just gave up and started to swim right after me. If I turned left, she came along without me having to drag her. It was sweet! There was something pretty awesome seeing her swimming next to me.

Great stuff to end a tough day.

Peaks and Valleys

They say life is just full of peaks and valleys. I hope so, because the way this week is going, I am going to be due a great day at the Tupper Lake half!

Week 2 of 100 pushup challenge

Yesterday I was at an auction to support a charity called Out of the Pits which is an organization that rescues pitbulls and educates the public about the many misconceptions about this breed that was once the sweetheart of the American public. We were there because my wife donated some of her jewelry t help with the fundraising.

Anyhow this was happening the day that me and Simba showed up on teh frontpage of teh paper, so that was the talk amongst the dog people.

SO many conversations eventually led to my triathlon goals. I lost count at the number of people that gave me that "you are a freak" look when I told them about my Ironman goals. I am pretty sure I am not the only one i the world to have to explain, why the hell I want to put myself through this, but it is kind of funny. Especially the looks that couples give each other sometimes when I am telling them I like it, its like a quick glance to each other as they say "of coouuuurse you do, it must be sooo rewarding" but teh glance says "this guy is off his rocker".

Anyhow to continue my freakdom I am on week 2 of the 100 pushup challenge. Still pretty easy.

Front Page!!

Me and Simba made the front page of the Journal News!

Here is a link, unfortunately, the website does not have the action shot of me and Simba running.

Doggy Duathlon not just a walk in the park

Mike Dougherty
The Journal News

Javier Gomez already knows he can't possibly keep up with the competition.

And that fur will be flying.

Gomez is anchoring the leash for his four-legged running companion - Simba, a chow/border collie mix - as both train for the first Doggy Duathlon World Championship, to be run in conjunction with the New York City Triathlon on July 20. They hope to go stroke for stroke and stride for stride with 25 other entrants.

"I've done a number of triathlons and my wife is very supportive, but triathlons were kind of like my thing," said Gomez, a Somers resident who works as an IT audit manager. "Simba runs with me all the time, so I thought it would be cool to do a race with her. All of a sudden, this is a big deal. Everybody in the family knows about the race. It's a big to-do."

Vincent Morrow knows the feeling.

Nobody made much of a fuss when the Bedford resident entered past competitions. But the level of interest went up the moment he was accepted to race with Z, a confident vizsla who's on the Doggy Duathlon Web site sporting a finisher's medal from a past New York City Triathlon.

"There will be 10 to 15 people we know down there for the race," said Morrow, a fund wholesaler at Federated Investors who's never enjoyed that kind of support. "It makes you realize the dog has a good life."

Maybe some compassionate soul will throw a biscuit to the upright competitors.

But there's no reason to beg.

Triathlon organizers attempt to add something unique to the race each year, so they came up with what they affectionately call the "Doggy Du."

"New Yorkers are passionate about dogs and plants," race director John Korrs said. "Plants can't run, so I asked if dogs can swim. We had to bag the cycling because we couldn't figure out how to keep the dogs on a bike."

It's going to be tough enough keeping them on track with so many fire hydrants to visit.

Getting the dogs into the Hudson for the 1,500-meter swim could be the biggest challenge. It's not like they are unaccustomed to the water, but the addition of race conditions and river currents makes this a completely new experience.

"Simba is used to chasing a ball into the water," Gomez said. "One day I put on my wetsuit and jumped in with her, and she was like, 'What the hell are you doing?' I still have to work out the details of how I'm going to swim with a leash."

How about the doggy paddle?

Morrow is hoping to find a set of stairs to ease Z into the competition.

"He's not a jumper," he said. "We haven't done any lake training yet. When it's hot out, he walks over to the pool and goes for a nice swim. He goes in circles, gets out, shakes off, then lies on the patio and suns himself.

"We should all come back as our dogs."

Each dog is getting a custom-made life vest. And the current will help them get down the river between 99th and 72nd streets in a relatively short period of time.

"I don't think anyone enjoys the concept of jumping into the Hudson," Morrow said.

There is a transition area where the competitors finish the swim, complete with orange fire hydrants in case nature calls. Water bowls with be at the ready along the course. Each dog also will undergo a series of veterinary checks during the race to ensure the safety of the animals.

It seems nobody really cares if the humans are running around with their tongues dragging.

Once the running shoes are laced up and the physical is complete, the competitors will head up 72nd Street and into Central Park where they'll complete a 10-kilometer run. It shouldn't be a big deal for either dog.

"We run three times a week," Gomez said. "Simba trained with me for a marathon I did early on, and can run up to 20 miles. Then she wants to play fetch, which is what kills me. I'm ready for a nap and she brings me the ball."

But he always plays along.

"Simba is a daddy's girl," Gomez's wife, Retno, said. "She can't wait for Javier to get home. And keeping her entertained is a job and a half."

It's no different for Z, who runs frequently with Morrow.

"There's been a little grief from the college friends I usually run with," he said. "Not too much. They all know the dog is probably a better athlete than the rest of us. My wife, Erin, did the San Diego Marathon a couple weeks ago, and she'll do Westchester's triathlon at the end of the summer. So between the two of us, he gets plenty of running in."

Nobody knows whether it's going to be a competitive race.

"We told all of the owners they're just going along for the ride so the dog doesn't get lost," Korrs said. "It's all in fun."

Still, there's always the potential for a quick race in the park.

"Normally, she runs on my left side the whole time," Gomez said. "But if there's a squirrel up front, she'll be dragging me along."

A good-looking Doberman might have the opposite effect.

Since the owners are both competitive triathletes, it won't be easy to coast across the finish line if there are dogs to pass with a trophy on the line.

"We'll see," Morrow said. "I just don't want to embarrass my dog. If he decides he wants to run faster, he can pull me along. If he decides he's all right watching the others in front of him, that's fine, too."