Positive news:

My professors are cool with me going to NZ so I just have to hand in a few things early. Also my thesis professor is a former triathlete..added bonus.

The ankle the swelling is almost un-noticable...still going to hold off on doing any crazy long runs I'll re-assess this weekend, maybe attempt an easy 4 miler on flat ground...otherwise next Wednesday night I'm back in black. Rehab is working.

Class canceled for the day...woohoo trainer session, and getting some other things done.

Seriously thinking I should buy a lotto ticket now because things are looking good.

Supposed to be warm Sunday well warm as a realative term 35F (2C)...it's above freezing I'll take it.

Quantas running an airfare deal.. $1150 round trip. Hopefully I'll get either my student loan in or that winning lotto ticket so I can pay for it...added bonus American Advantagemiles (one world partner so I rack up miles on Quantas.).... about 16,000 of them....hmm first class to Kona if I'm able to pull a PR out of my ass....

My head seems to be finally back in the game.

Pool at CCSU opens next week bring on the late night swim sessions.

Things are starting to fall into place.

I can't run for at least a week

Well I went to my ortho and recieved a diagnosis of Tendonosis (micro tears.) the result a reccomended rest of 4 weeks without running...barebones minimum 2 weeks off start running when the swelling goes down on your Achilles,unless you want a rupture. There are 4 options of what I can do:

1. Ignore the Doc run on my leg and have a 50/50 shot of a marathon PR or a season ending tendon rupture. I'm Crazy not stupid the idea of a tear is enough to scare me straight.

2. Scrap Ironman New Zealand beat my head against the wall for wasting $400, enter Providence 70.3 and take my rage out on the Half Ironman speedsters in July...be afraid be very very afraid. I really don't want to eat $400 bucks.

3. Sit here and mope about how I can't run for two weeks..oh woe as me..eat fattening foods and generally make a mess of myself. Tempting but what gets done that way?

4. Take the two weeks I can't run and focus more on swimming and cycling. See this unplanned rest as mandatory cycling focus, use the orthodics in my bike shoes build mileage and hence improve my weakest event. Get my swimming from top 60 to flirting with course record status. Go to Taupo pilage the field on the swim and bike and hold on Normann Stadler style on the run. We have a winner!

Ok so I'm not a huge fan of the Norminator but I guess if I want to have a positive outlook on not being able to work my usual second strength, I need to work my weakness if I want a shot of a Kona slot or finishing in Daylight. My swim is stellar, my cycling is improving and now my marathon which is normally a no brainer is now a question mark. All I can do is swim and spin and hopefully in two weeks begin to build my run mileage back up.

Thankfully this weekend it's supposed to be cold, but no snow so hopefully it will be an ideal weekend to ride, On tap for tonight masters maybe an hour or two on the trainer. Now that I know what I've hurt and to what extent I know what I have clearance to train it's time to put in more of the work..hopefully weather and classes will co-operate.

R.D.

What the Hell's my excuse.....

As noted in some of my earlier posts 2008 was a hell of a year and 2009 has tossed a few little "issues" my way, hopefully they'll be easy to resolve, go to see an orthopedic doc on Wed. so I'm confident I'll be given the it's just a strain , rest, Ice and buy a new damn set of running shoes script.

Any way back in November as I was sitting around debating which Ironman I was going to do and then debating doing none, as I looked at the check book, I was greeted by the 2005 Ironman highlight show on the TV. For those of you who don't know me that well last year I raced as a member of Team Blazeman, because I was inspired by Jon Blais's courage or racing the 2005 Ironman with ALS more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease or in the Commonwealth as Motor Neuron. Seeing the Blazeman's Ironman again reminded me of one of the major reasons I do this sport: Because I Can. While I watched Jon battle the tough Kona course with Paul Sherwin's and Al Trautwig's commentary and remember that the cruel disease that took his life in 2007, I began to think of people in my own life who have defeated the odds. One of them was one of my high school swim teammates. In our junior year she was diagnoised with a brain tumor. She underwent surgery in which everything that could go wrong did go wrong...essentially a surgery that was supposed to be a quick easy removal left her partially paralyzed. The thing was that despite this she still graduated high school, and went to college...and swam for a season. Her attitude was "I'm in a wheel chair tough shit. I'm still smart, I can still swim, I'm still me." The other was a person I had the privilegde of racing against twice in two of the toughest races in the Northeast. The guy is a member of a rival tri club, but still is equally inspiring. He had both of his legs amputated in high school, ending his football and track career, but from the ashes of these shattered dreams he picked himself up and started swimming and racing with a handcycle. I saw him perform the swim portion of a sprint race two years ago and last year, after working with a wheelchair marathoner, tackled the Griskus Olympic and Providence 70.3. the Griskus I didn't see much of him until after the race, but at Providence watching him gut up college hill in the racing chair earned my respect, especially since he had to do it twice, and he was passing some of the people walking up it. So as I sat there reflecting on this and watching others fufill their dreams I sat there and thought to myself "What the Hell is my excuse for not going back to New Zealand?" Bills, it's only money...doubt..I've done it before I know I can do it again and faster. What people will think? Since when did I ever care what people thought of me.

It's selfish...ok..maybe it is but it's my life....

Regardless once this little injury gets taken care of I know who I'm towing the line for in Taupo on March 7...it's not just for the people who can't get out there and do it. It's for the people who are told they can't and respond by saying , " Watch me!"

R.D.

My Ankle Hurts..Tough Shit!

Alright from the post on my other blog...I'm official for better or for worse committed to Ironman New Zealand. The other thing is my Achilles Tendon has been inflamed since my 15 mile run 2 weeks ago...I've decided to ease off the trainer for the weekend as well as stop all running until Monday...part of me is in panic mode because I need to get saddle and road time in because I need to be able to throw down in 5 weeks...the other part of me realizes I need to take care of this tendon, because if it tears or ruptures there goes the season and possibly running for good. I had been icing and trigger pointing it and last night decided to tape the sucker hoping compression could do it some good. While I was a little tight after I took the tape off this morning it seems to have helped part of me wants to hop on the trainer and crank out 3 hours but I know I need to wait until this thing fully heals, that there is no pressure or pain, which could be a few days, until then I'll work what I can in the weight room and pool... I need to train smart not hard, I need to not eat the paste, sniff the glue, drink the kool aid.. RICE the leg until Saturday and reassess the situation...if it doesn't hurt go for my standard run or a ride, if it still hurts, check again Monday. So that has been nagging on my mind as well as the fact that classes start Tuesday, which means back to the schedule juggle, late night or early morning training sessions and hectic weekends...bring it on.

2008 a look back

Well 2008 was a hell of a year for a lot of good and bad reasons I'll start with the bad first because I figure ending with good news will lead to a more postive up beat attitude.

The bad:
I lost my digital camera in September.
Fell behind on the bills
Dad Lost his job...Fell even more behind on the bills.
Got flooded out of my parent's place when our sump pump malfunctioned, Causing me to move into my Grandfather's house mid summer.
Sold my road bike to race.
Didn't qualify for Kona
Didn't qualify for Clearwater
First DNF due to a bad deraileur cable.
My heart just wasn't into school work this semester.
Fell for a girl I don't think I can have.
Really thought about giving up sports for the first time in my life.
Realized how above my means I was really living.
Entered a race against the advice of friends and now feel like it might be a mistake.

The good:
PRed Twice in the Half Ironman Distance,including a hilly Providence70.3 course.

Averaged above 20mph on the bike for over 50 miles for the first time in my career.

Missed a Kona slot by 70 seconds. at Eagleman.

Met Bob and Mary Ann Blais ( Jon Blais's parents check out War on ALS.) twice this season... Their son's courage helped me get through some of the tougher times this racing season and helped get me out the door to train on days when all I wanted to do was feel sorry for myself.

Raced as an elite for the first time and as a bonus was the fastest out of the Water at the Patriot Triathlon this July.

3 races ( a 72.3 ,a sprint, and a 70.3) in 8 days and I managed PR's at all 3.

I left the country for the first time in 21 years.

I finished my first Ironman.

I finished my first Ironman in a Foreign country.

I realized how many people actually give a damn about me.

I realized DNFing isn't the end of the world..granted it still sucks.

Foundout I was physically and mentally tougher than I thought.

PRed in the Marathon twice.

Lost all the money I brought with me to a casino and didn't have a panic attack, granted I was a little intoxicated at the time.

Foundout I've got friends so crazy they make me look sane.

Realized that I am the only person that can truly control my life.

That I'm ALMOST ready ( still need to get that degree and some cash) to live on my own and this time unlike last time I won't screw up as bad because I have a little more faith in myself.

Not everything wrong in my life is anyone else's fault, granted it's not all my fault either.

I cannot be anyone else's parent..well you know unless they're my offspring, and tell them how to run their life, at the same time I can't help support anyone else unless I can support myself.

That somehow some way I will get myself out of the rut it I just stay patient and work at it.

R.D.

140.6 is the Easy Part: Part II The costs and the benefits.

Well for anyone who hasn't been following this blog or the my other one I'm in debt, like 90% of the US population. My family's in kind of a tough spot which has led to some tensions between my parents and myself and the fact that I have fallen behind on some stuff..granted I'll be able to catch up with the income tax check. But irregardless this summer was pretty bad, and I've resolved to get myself into a better position. As I was going through fiscal hell and now as I sit here looking at my bills, projected income, and race expenses, I felt it necessary to rehash why I want to spend the money to go half way around the world and race against some of the World's best athletes.

The Place: New Zealand is probably one of my favorite places on earth. It reminds me of Connecticut with better weather with people who are a hell of alot less up tight...hell even the road work signs say thank you. The long stretch of Broadlands road on the Taupo Course reminds me alot of my training route through Woodbury and Washington ( Granted a little less hilly.) The way the entire town got behind the event save for a few reckless drivers, was amazing. And unlike alot of the American Races where everything is about having the decked out Cervelo and the Zipp wheel set and the be all and end all coaching plan...the Aussies and Kiwis I bumped into were serious competitors but it was more as Charisa put it "about the journey that the destination."

Last year as part of the race's adopt an Ironman Program the Taupo Times picked me out of the draw so I had a conceige in Jude ( far right) personal check in volunteer ..well ok I just happended to check in at the right timeand she helped me in Gerri ( center.) And a press entourage.

The People: I've already hit on the Aussies and Kiwi's "no worries" attitude and sadly I wish it was something I had more of. I also met some people from across

the US at this shin dig that had similar attitudes it was just an experience that put me in contact with so many different cultures and lifestyles it reminded me of one of the reasons I love the sport so much.

Catherine is the Brunette on the far left, the guy on the End is Simon the local sports reporter sadly he moved to Australia if you're out there dude shoot me an email.

There is one person imparticular I'm hoping to see...my friend Catherine, she is just an amazing person, funny,pretty smart, sporty, amazing smile, stunning photographer ...she asked me once about nutrition before a race to which my reply was "well I have some gu taped to the bike some shot blocks in my pocket and if all else fails a bottle of coke and Snickers waiting for me in my special needs bag." I'm not a health food nut, hell I was one of those kids who ate Jello out of the box in age group swim meets. So I always would get a kick when she'd say " I don't know how to cook for an athlete." But on her photography last year she was working for the town paper so she and Simon the Sports reporter were my press entourage for the week. Sadly the paper made some personnel changes Cat's still in NZ and is working out of New Plymouth and Simon is somewhere in Australia, she's confirmed she'll be at the race so I'm really looking forward to seeing her and catching up. The race photos in this post were snapped by her and Simon at last year's Ironman New Zealand the two on the run were snapped 10k from the finish as Catherine leaned backward out of the passenger side window to get the shot. Not an easy task to do but it made for some great shots.

This photo is my personal favorite...mainly because it's not always easy to smile 20 miles into a marathon.

I could go into strategic planning and all that crap of "hey if I qualify for Kona...I'd have X months to train,and save up..." but in reality there was not any logical sense for me to enter Ironman New Zealand. Logic and rationality would have told me to do something closer like Louisville or Placid, or Arizona, something easier like Florida. Something late in the year, cheap to get to, and hopefully loaded with the 30 and older crowd. Sometime emotions just trumps the mind. Will I be able to afford to go back every year? I don't know, realistically I'm doing it this year on a wing and a prayer. I didn't use Ken Glah's service to cut costs ( although if you can afford to do a race with his group highly recommend it,in fact his mechanics for Ironman New Zealand were riots.) As I felt in the summer of 2007 money is only money, I can always make more.

At the end of the day when they're laying me into a 6ft.box am I'm going to be sitting there thinking I should have hoarded more, I should have worked more, I should have fired my damn stock broker in the recession, or that I should have lived more, I should have traveled more, I should have laughed more, I should have loved more...don't get me wrong I need to pay bills and establish myself and I will but am I living to work or am I working to live. What's the sense of life if you can't do at least some of what you want to do.

I think I answered that question.

R.D.