" I think the reason is she [Natasha Badmann] focuses within, we're all looking back wondering where she is like "Where's Natasha?" "Where's Natasha?" and she just going on her way."
-Jo Lawn on Badmann's Ironman success.
Well if you follow the other blog my training for the Ironman is progressing. I'm about the same on the swimming, I'm a little ahead on the cycling game from last year, and a little behind on the running. I have 3 weeks until I fly out so I have time to build to one last long run, granted it's going to be a more conservative load, but I'm confident I'll survive the race. I've looked at the entry list there are 3 other guys representing the stars and stripes and 28 of us young studs throwing down. Last year there were 43. I know two of these guys beat me last year everyone else is an x-factor.
But every race is an X-factor, training goes right or wrong, people who do this on a whim go out and shock the world, that kid who consistently gets a mud hole stomped into them suddenly gets sweet revenge, you flat, you cramp up, you get a tail wind, you get a refreshing downpour on the run...you could run all the variables through your head but it makes no matter worrying before hand. You take it as it comes, you focus within, you look at realistically what can I do now? You react to changes, you adapt, improvise, and hopefully overcome.
Pre race you sit there you talk about qualifying slots, you dream while you train, while you rehab, while you number crunch, while everyone around you calls you an "idiot" and you start second guessing then dismiss it. You go into the zone, into the basement, into that spot you feel invincible.
Pain is suddenly for other people, doubt is suddenly for other people, the bills, worries, papers, deadlines, meetings, are for another time, you train and get them out of your system, you'll handle them as they come. Just like the rain, just like wind, the snow, the cold, the heat, the sun.
You stop griping and start working the only thing certain in your mind that you are going to go from A-B. It might be a nice straight line a path of no resistance...it might curve like a serpent like Alpe Du Huez, up hill down hill, treacherous and demanding, trying body, mind and soul like nothing else.
You look at what you ache for, what you want so badly you would give anything for, it is what drives you to run outdoors when others are content to sit around in their warm dry homes, it is what drives you to ride your bike when everyone else is thinking a movie might be nice, it is what gets you in the pool after a full day of work, classes and life's problems, when others would head home crack open a beer and pass out infront of the tube, it is what gets you through all the training, all the days at work, all the times people stare at you like a six headed goat, the times when you just want to pack it all in and say in one resounding voice " I quit Life!" It's what helps you hang on.
And then race day comes, all the training, all the sacrifice, all the kind words, all the vulgar ones that fuel your resolve, the scrimping, saving, selling your soul, comes to fruition, the normal fears enter your head..."why did I sign up for this again?" the distance becomes real, the butterflies knot up in your throat and gut as you nervously head to the portolet 2, 3, 4 times just to make sure your bladder is empty... then you get into the water you take a few warm up strokes and get into you groove. You tell yourself it's just another race like any other , you take a deep breath and wait for the cannon and suddenly you know: You are ready....
Showing posts with label Ironman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ironman. Show all posts
Monday, February 9, 2009
Saturday, January 3, 2009
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.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
You're Nuts!
" We do not do these things not because they are easy, we do these things becasue they are hard..."
-JFK
Well last year as I sat here prepping for Ironman New Zealand I kept getting a constant reminder of my mental health.
" You're training for an Ironman, do you know what that'll do to your knees? You're nuts!"
" You're training for an Ironman in the dead of winter...you're nuts!"
" You're going to New Zealand in the worst economic situation since the Great Depression? You're nuts!"
" You think you'll qualify for Kona? Damn you're nuts boy-o!"
" You want to go back? You're not nuts you're f**king insane dude!"
Last year I did not let these thoughts deter me. The last year has been rough with life just wailing on me, part of it was my over ambition, some of it was unforeseen circumstances, most of it was how I reacted to shit. Funny it seems that when I race 95% of the time, if something happens I just roll with it, but life throws me a curve ball, and I let it bug me. I stress, I worry, I fret and go into panic mode and then a few hours/days/ weeks down the line take a deep breath and deal with it, kicking myself for being such a dumbass. Mayb I need to view life like I view my races, somedays you're the first one out of the drink, others you hit the wrong part of the beach, some days you are crusing at 30 mph effortlessly with a tail wind, and others you are stuck on a 20% grade crawling at 2 mph, You pull a marathon PR or are crawling over the line in a 5k. Last Year I didn't let life get me down, this year I did. I think my goal is to make next year alot more like last year and a hell of a lot less like this year. to keep a positive attitude to do what I need to do and most of what I want to do. To not worry about what other people think, afterall at the end of the day I'm the one who has to live with myself.
So I have made the decision Ironman New Zealand is where I'm heading, once again training through the cold( well I've still been swimming a running semi religiously but I need to get on the bike again.), once again with people screaming its suicide in my ear. I figure I like the race despite the logistical nightmare getting to it, it's worth it. The Kiwis are chill, the atmosphere is laid back, and except for some bad drivers it's a pretty fun race. As some of my teamamtes and family members put it "New Zealand is on everyone's top ten list and you might as well do it while you're young, single, and free.*" Most people tell me it's irrational, it defies logic, but then again doesn't voluntarily paying money and signing up to race 140.6 miles (226.2 km) seem a tiny bit irrational, figure if I'm going to do it I might as well go for the illogical trifecta.
Whether or not I'll race a lot of my local events remains to be seen, although I have 2 on the shortlist, one because I've done it every year it's been in existence and the other because it is my hometown sprint, but even then the local I want to race is only $50. I made a few mistakes last year in entering a lot of big name races, this year New Zealand is the biggie, unless I qualify for Kona. ( Dear Bree Wee, young broke age group seeking homestay, knows how to cook, clean, do windows.), regardless I'm going back.
Now all that leaves is training, having done this whole shabang last year, I know the best winter training spots around. My masters team is in full swing, and I can eek out an hour or two to run pretty easily. So I'm going back to Taupo and hopefully, I get that magic ticket punched to the Big Island.
Life is short, Race hard.
R.D.
-JFK
Well last year as I sat here prepping for Ironman New Zealand I kept getting a constant reminder of my mental health.
" You're training for an Ironman, do you know what that'll do to your knees? You're nuts!"
" You're training for an Ironman in the dead of winter...you're nuts!"
" You're going to New Zealand in the worst economic situation since the Great Depression? You're nuts!"
" You think you'll qualify for Kona? Damn you're nuts boy-o!"
" You want to go back? You're not nuts you're f**king insane dude!"
Last year I did not let these thoughts deter me. The last year has been rough with life just wailing on me, part of it was my over ambition, some of it was unforeseen circumstances, most of it was how I reacted to shit. Funny it seems that when I race 95% of the time, if something happens I just roll with it, but life throws me a curve ball, and I let it bug me. I stress, I worry, I fret and go into panic mode and then a few hours/days/ weeks down the line take a deep breath and deal with it, kicking myself for being such a dumbass. Mayb I need to view life like I view my races, somedays you're the first one out of the drink, others you hit the wrong part of the beach, some days you are crusing at 30 mph effortlessly with a tail wind, and others you are stuck on a 20% grade crawling at 2 mph, You pull a marathon PR or are crawling over the line in a 5k. Last Year I didn't let life get me down, this year I did. I think my goal is to make next year alot more like last year and a hell of a lot less like this year. to keep a positive attitude to do what I need to do and most of what I want to do. To not worry about what other people think, afterall at the end of the day I'm the one who has to live with myself.
So I have made the decision Ironman New Zealand is where I'm heading, once again training through the cold( well I've still been swimming a running semi religiously but I need to get on the bike again.), once again with people screaming its suicide in my ear. I figure I like the race despite the logistical nightmare getting to it, it's worth it. The Kiwis are chill, the atmosphere is laid back, and except for some bad drivers it's a pretty fun race. As some of my teamamtes and family members put it "New Zealand is on everyone's top ten list and you might as well do it while you're young, single, and free.*" Most people tell me it's irrational, it defies logic, but then again doesn't voluntarily paying money and signing up to race 140.6 miles (226.2 km) seem a tiny bit irrational, figure if I'm going to do it I might as well go for the illogical trifecta.
Whether or not I'll race a lot of my local events remains to be seen, although I have 2 on the shortlist, one because I've done it every year it's been in existence and the other because it is my hometown sprint, but even then the local I want to race is only $50. I made a few mistakes last year in entering a lot of big name races, this year New Zealand is the biggie, unless I qualify for Kona. ( Dear Bree Wee, young broke age group seeking homestay, knows how to cook, clean, do windows.), regardless I'm going back.
Now all that leaves is training, having done this whole shabang last year, I know the best winter training spots around. My masters team is in full swing, and I can eek out an hour or two to run pretty easily. So I'm going back to Taupo and hopefully, I get that magic ticket punched to the Big Island.
Life is short, Race hard.
R.D.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Finally it all sinks in....
"It was a few hours later I was at home having a shower when it hit me, you really did that." - Faris Al-Sultan on winning the 2005 Ironman World Championship.
As seen by some of my blog posts my life hasn't really been on the up swing in a while. It's only recently that the fact that I've done an Ironman, I've PR-ed in marathons, I've done more in a year than most people do in a life time has finally hit me. The last 8 months have been difficult as my dad lost his job, I was flooded out of my house, suffered fiscal hard ship and recently I had trouble getting my butt to write papers. Tonight I could add another blow to that pile of disappointments, a realtionship that wasn't...maybe we are better off as just friends,maybe it's karma getting back at me,or maybe it's the hand of fate twisting me in a new dircetion. I think back to that rainy day back in March in Taupo. by all accounts there is no way in hell I should have finished as well as I did. It was raining, it was windy, and I was bonking hardcore on the bike. I didn't manage a single Century in training, most of my riding was around a flat sheltered lake in Northwestern CT,yet I managed to finish in a modest 6:18 on that leg. I went out in the run in shoes I had bought at a local shop 4 days...yes that's right 4 days before the Ironman. I ran in them twice, and they were shredding the skin off my heels like a cheese grater, by all accounts I should have been hobbling to medical with my head in my hands begging the tri gods for mercy...instead I ran a marathon PR ...yes a PR (granted my first marathon was a suffer fest.) by 6minutes,and finsihed in under 11:30. Maybe it was because I surrounded myself with the right people, listened to the right stuff,drew inspiration on why I wanted to do Ironman, why I needed to do Ironman. Seriously there is no way in hell I should have gone to Taupo last year. My parents were in a rough patch, I got the money to pay my airfare at the absolute last second, my training was haphazzard at best, but for some reason I made it. I did it on a wing and a prayer. For the first time in my life I believed that I could do anything, it was as if failure didn't apply to me,that the unconfident kid that boarded a plane at JFK had suddenly become something more. That all those "you're nuts" "wouldn't you rather do a sprint race?" "You'll never..."comments didn't exist. For the past 8 months that feeling has been buried by debt, deadlines, family issues, personal issues, fear and doubt. It's time to dig through the ashes and pull out those feelings again, that I can do anything attitude again...to suit up in that lycra armor and show myself that I am worth it again.That I can do it again. That the world can do what it did March 1, 2008 at 6:13 PM That it can kiss my hairy red ass because I am an Ironman! And God damn it I'm going to do it again! So all those to all those so called experts who are saying I can't I've got two words: WATCH ME!
R.D.
As seen by some of my blog posts my life hasn't really been on the up swing in a while. It's only recently that the fact that I've done an Ironman, I've PR-ed in marathons, I've done more in a year than most people do in a life time has finally hit me. The last 8 months have been difficult as my dad lost his job, I was flooded out of my house, suffered fiscal hard ship and recently I had trouble getting my butt to write papers. Tonight I could add another blow to that pile of disappointments, a realtionship that wasn't...maybe we are better off as just friends,maybe it's karma getting back at me,or maybe it's the hand of fate twisting me in a new dircetion. I think back to that rainy day back in March in Taupo. by all accounts there is no way in hell I should have finished as well as I did. It was raining, it was windy, and I was bonking hardcore on the bike. I didn't manage a single Century in training, most of my riding was around a flat sheltered lake in Northwestern CT,yet I managed to finish in a modest 6:18 on that leg. I went out in the run in shoes I had bought at a local shop 4 days...yes that's right 4 days before the Ironman. I ran in them twice, and they were shredding the skin off my heels like a cheese grater, by all accounts I should have been hobbling to medical with my head in my hands begging the tri gods for mercy...instead I ran a marathon PR ...yes a PR (granted my first marathon was a suffer fest.) by 6minutes,and finsihed in under 11:30. Maybe it was because I surrounded myself with the right people, listened to the right stuff,drew inspiration on why I wanted to do Ironman, why I needed to do Ironman. Seriously there is no way in hell I should have gone to Taupo last year. My parents were in a rough patch, I got the money to pay my airfare at the absolute last second, my training was haphazzard at best, but for some reason I made it. I did it on a wing and a prayer. For the first time in my life I believed that I could do anything, it was as if failure didn't apply to me,that the unconfident kid that boarded a plane at JFK had suddenly become something more. That all those "you're nuts" "wouldn't you rather do a sprint race?" "You'll never..."comments didn't exist. For the past 8 months that feeling has been buried by debt, deadlines, family issues, personal issues, fear and doubt. It's time to dig through the ashes and pull out those feelings again, that I can do anything attitude again...to suit up in that lycra armor and show myself that I am worth it again.That I can do it again. That the world can do what it did March 1, 2008 at 6:13 PM That it can kiss my hairy red ass because I am an Ironman! And God damn it I'm going to do it again! So all those to all those so called experts who are saying I can't I've got two words: WATCH ME!
R.D.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
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