Another busy week almost in the books. I got back from visiting my favorite Aunt in Hobbs NM on Sunday. She has cancer. It was an emotional weekend. That entire weekend I didn't work any overtime. So I'm having to make up for it now. I've worked a 12 or a 16 hr shift everyday since my return. I plan on continuing working everyday until May 17th when I plan on driving to Lubbock TX to compete in the Buffman & Squeaky Olympic triathlon. That will be 17 days working in a row. Race then probably another couple weeks working in a row. I really need to win the Lottery. Anyhoo....
While surfing the web yesterday I found a new series called the Halfmax. It may not be all that new of a series, but it's new to me. It's a series of half Irons that are non-Ironman sanctioned events. That is good because I have a bone to pick with the Ironman & 70.3's. They don't have a Clydesdale or an Athena category in their Championship races. I.E. Kona 140.6 & the Clearwater 70.3. They've gotten numerous requests, but stead fast refuse to have championship slots given out to Clydesdales or Athena's at any of their numerous qualifying races. I think that is wrong & I support any series trying to compete with the Iron Sanctioned events. Anyway, back to my findings on the Halfmax. There are multiple Half irons throughout the country. If you qualify at one of these qualifying events then you can race at The National Halfmax Championships race in Boulder NV in Oct. I've decided that I'm going to attempt to qualify for the Halfmax National Championships. There are 2 ways to qualify.
1) To take the top 33 percent of your age group in any qualifying Halfmax race.
2) To finish any 70.3 distance (half iron) in a designated time. The times are different depending on your AG. 5 hours 5 minutes is the time I would need to qualify for my age group of 30-34. 5 hours 35 minutes for Clydesdales 39 & under.
My first attempt will be in March 2009 at the Lone Star Half Iron in Galveston TX. I chose this race because because it suits my strengths. I'm pretty fast on flat courses. To put it bluntly I suck at climbing. Its the whole power to weight ratio on the bike that makes me so dang slow on hills. The Lone Star Half Iron is a very fast & flat course from what I read. I should do very well at this race.
If by chance I don't qualify at the Lone Star Half my next attempt will be The Moose Man Half Iron in New Hampshire. I chose this race because my wife wants to go to New Hampshire for a vacation. Perfect. First 3 days I get ready & race. Next 4-7 days we vacation. Win win for my wife & I.
If I don't qualify for the Halfmax National Championships the 2nd time at The Moose Man Half Iron I'll do attempt #3 in Sept 2009 in Arora Co at The Harvest Moon Half Iron. If I do qualify at one of the 2 races earlier in the 09 season I won't do the Harvest Moon at all. I'll just put all my attention , focus & training to the October Halfmax National Championships in Boulder NV. Boulder NV was where I DNF'd the Silverman Iron distance in Nov of 2010. So qualifying for the Halfmax would be particularly sweet because on top of racing a National Championships race I'd also be able to take my revenge on that course. I did the Harvest Moon Long course in Sept of last year as a tune up race for the Silverman Iron distance. I came into that race overweight. On top of that I decided to race with only one water bottle cage on my bike to make my bike as light & aerodynamic as possible. HUGE mistake! When I picked up a bottle of Gatorade at an aid station I'd finish the bottle of fluid before I was half way to the next aid station. By the end of the 56 mile bike ride I was severely dehydrated. I finished the race in 6 hours & 25 minutes. Considering what a hilly race the Harvest Moon is & how dehydrated I was that wasn't a bad time. But I could of done SO much better. If I do this race in 09 I will do better. Much better. Revenge of the Former Clydesdale!!!
Yes. I realize how anal it seems to have my triathlon schedule planned out until October 2009. 17 months in advance. But since I'm giving you a glimpse of my madness I might as well share with you that I have my season planned out until May 2010. My next A race after the Halfmax National Championships is the Florida 70.3 May 2010. Yup, my tri schedule is planned out 2 years in advance. I know I know. Borderline psychotic. Welcome to my world.
Showing posts with label Harvest Moon long Course. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Harvest Moon long Course. Show all posts
May 09, 2008
September 14, 2007
The end of a crappy day
Today was one of those dreaded crappy days. When I was packing for my race I couldn't find allot of my race gear. I do allot of races every year, usually around 12-18. So I've mastered the art of packing for a race. It usually takes me about 45 minutes. Today I couldn't allot of my gear so it took me 3 hrs. 3 hrs of packing after having to cut my days sleep short in order to get all the things I had scheduled to get done today. So after I finish getting all my things ready to go I take my bike on one last short ride to make sure the race wheels I put on for my race are performing well, and the drive train is shifting well. Well, it wasn't shifting well at all. I couldn't get my rear derailleur to shift into my highest gear. I spent an hour and a half adjusting, riding a few feet to see if it's working, getting off again to adjust, riding long enough to see it's not. Etc, etc. Finally at 5pm I realize something is up, and I wasn't going to be able to fix it. The bike shop is 20 minutes away, and they close at 6. I can't have it fixed tomorrow because I leave for Co. at 6am! On top of that I was supposed to be in to work at 6pm. On the way to the bike shop I had to call in sick to work. So there I am using 12 hrs sick leave that I'll need soon because I just found out my favorite aunt has a rare form of cancer. Aunt Leah has been like a 2nd Mom to me. I used to spend my summers with her & her family. Those summers were especially wonderful for me because I was raised in an abusive household. Those summers were the only times growing up I really ever felt safe. Consequently she has a VERY special place in my heart. To make that an even more sensitive situation my Aunt Jackie died of cancer less than one year ago. My Grandmther is a wreck because her 2nd daughter is gotten cancer in so short of a time frame.
The way the state Penns pay system works is we get time and a half pay for overtime, but if we call in sick, however many hrs sick leave we use, that many hrs OT turns to straight time. So because I called in sick I have lost my family $96. That's allot when I am the sole provider for 2 adults, a toddler, and a new born.
When I get to the bike shop I run in with my bike and tell one of the salesmen that I'm about to have an emotional beak down, I have a race I'm leaving for tomorrow morning and my bikes not working. The salesman says he'll see if one of the bike tech's would be willing to stay late to fix it. The first 3 of the 4 say no. The fourth says ok. He fixes it perfectly. But while doing so he also adjusted the Aero bars and bull horns so my bike is in a better riding style. At first i freak out about this, but when he sets the bike up on an indoor trainer and says try it, I realize it was perfect! I'd never felt so good in my Aero's. But still, I know no one is EVER supposed to make adjustments to their bike before a big race. And the Clydesdale long course championships are 2 days away. Well, I can just be optimistic and hope it actually makes me faster, not hurt me.
Now to the good news. The guy at the bike shop saw how grateful I was, he worked on my bike for an hour, well past closing time. He said he knew what panic feels like when something like this comes up before a big race. He said he was glad to be able to help, and that he doesn't want to charge me anything at all, but his boss would have his tail. So he only charged my $12.50. I tried to give him a tip. But he steadfastly refused.
So then I get home, my wife is there waiting for me. I tell her I had to call in sick at work because of the situation with my bike. I'm ready for a butt chewing because I just lost us almost $100 when we really need it.... It never came. All she cared about was if I got the bike thing worked out. Dang it I have a great wife! The way she handled that situation seemed to lift so much offthe days stress of my shoulders. I don't know why I was expecting her to be upset. I've never really seen her get upset at me. All she ever does is give me her unconditional support. She is TRULY a gift from God!
Once I got home I was still stressed. I felt better because my wife was so understanding and supportive. But I was still stressed. When I get stressed I, like allot of people, turn to something that makes them feel better. For some it's alcohol, or drugs. For me it's food. I find comfort in food, not sure why, but that's what I have always turned to when I'm sad, stressed, overly tired, or even exceedingly happy. The more emotional I get, the more I'll eat, the more I eat the more guilty I feel because I don't like the way I look or feel. The worse I feel about having just over eaten, the more I eat to rid the feelings of guilt of over eating. I'm over weight, and a triathlete. Not 2 things that fit well together. But something great happened recently. A fellow triathlete who has been following my blog saw some of the signs of eating for comfort. Turns out he does too. He reached out to me and offered to be my sponsor. Basically that means he's been giving me some advise on how this food issue affects us, and ways of dealing with this. He also said in times of stress when I want to start binging on food, I could call him, no matter what time it is. So when I got home and went straight for the refrigerator, I stopped and decided I'd try calling him. We never talked about food during that conversation, we simply chatted casually. I brought up some of the crap that had happened with my bike that day and laughed it off like it wasn't a big deal. Never really brought up all the other stress of the day. We mostly talked about our triathlon goals, and how we were going to accomplish them. Again, we never talked about food, but by the time I got off the phone I was ready to eat a reasonable sized, healthy meal. I ate healthy, and in reasonable portions! I know it doesn't seem like that big of a deal. I didn't over eat on one meal. Big deal. But with me, one meal starts me feeling crappy because I realize I'm now one step farther away from my ultimate goal of looking like a triathlete, not just being one. So then I eat to make myself feel better. It's not uncommon for me to start an avalanche, that by the time I am able to stop it I have packed on 20+ lbs in a couple of weeks! No exaggeration at all. Over 20 lbs in less than two weeks... Happens to me all the time. But not this time, because of an outstanding person, my sponsor, who showed up in my life unexpectedly. The only people who read my blog are my triathlon team mates, and strangers. But while surfing this blog world I have seen how supportive everyone always is. So that's why I chose to share my weakness today. This is actually the first time I've let anyone know other than my wife, my sponsor, and couch-potatoe-to-ironman. Felt pretty dang liberating to stop hiding it.
Tonight was a real treat because I have been working nights for 2 months now, so I don't get to sleep at the same time as my wife. When I get home from work she's usually getting up to take care of our little ones. I usually am a very deep sleeper. But tonight I just laid there most of the night unable to sleep because I'm used to working at nights. I tried to be as still as possible so my wife could sleep well. Twice during the night I felt my wife lean over to me and kiss the back of my head. I would never of felt her kiss me on most nights because of how deeply I sleep. And I realized she wasn't doing it because she wanted to show me some attention, she thought I was asleep. She did it simply because we are in love, and she was grateful I was home for the night even if it did mean I was losing my family money.
Life can dang good sometimes you know?
The way the state Penns pay system works is we get time and a half pay for overtime, but if we call in sick, however many hrs sick leave we use, that many hrs OT turns to straight time. So because I called in sick I have lost my family $96. That's allot when I am the sole provider for 2 adults, a toddler, and a new born.
When I get to the bike shop I run in with my bike and tell one of the salesmen that I'm about to have an emotional beak down, I have a race I'm leaving for tomorrow morning and my bikes not working. The salesman says he'll see if one of the bike tech's would be willing to stay late to fix it. The first 3 of the 4 say no. The fourth says ok. He fixes it perfectly. But while doing so he also adjusted the Aero bars and bull horns so my bike is in a better riding style. At first i freak out about this, but when he sets the bike up on an indoor trainer and says try it, I realize it was perfect! I'd never felt so good in my Aero's. But still, I know no one is EVER supposed to make adjustments to their bike before a big race. And the Clydesdale long course championships are 2 days away. Well, I can just be optimistic and hope it actually makes me faster, not hurt me.
Now to the good news. The guy at the bike shop saw how grateful I was, he worked on my bike for an hour, well past closing time. He said he knew what panic feels like when something like this comes up before a big race. He said he was glad to be able to help, and that he doesn't want to charge me anything at all, but his boss would have his tail. So he only charged my $12.50. I tried to give him a tip. But he steadfastly refused.
So then I get home, my wife is there waiting for me. I tell her I had to call in sick at work because of the situation with my bike. I'm ready for a butt chewing because I just lost us almost $100 when we really need it.... It never came. All she cared about was if I got the bike thing worked out. Dang it I have a great wife! The way she handled that situation seemed to lift so much offthe days stress of my shoulders. I don't know why I was expecting her to be upset. I've never really seen her get upset at me. All she ever does is give me her unconditional support. She is TRULY a gift from God!
Once I got home I was still stressed. I felt better because my wife was so understanding and supportive. But I was still stressed. When I get stressed I, like allot of people, turn to something that makes them feel better. For some it's alcohol, or drugs. For me it's food. I find comfort in food, not sure why, but that's what I have always turned to when I'm sad, stressed, overly tired, or even exceedingly happy. The more emotional I get, the more I'll eat, the more I eat the more guilty I feel because I don't like the way I look or feel. The worse I feel about having just over eaten, the more I eat to rid the feelings of guilt of over eating. I'm over weight, and a triathlete. Not 2 things that fit well together. But something great happened recently. A fellow triathlete who has been following my blog saw some of the signs of eating for comfort. Turns out he does too. He reached out to me and offered to be my sponsor. Basically that means he's been giving me some advise on how this food issue affects us, and ways of dealing with this. He also said in times of stress when I want to start binging on food, I could call him, no matter what time it is. So when I got home and went straight for the refrigerator, I stopped and decided I'd try calling him. We never talked about food during that conversation, we simply chatted casually. I brought up some of the crap that had happened with my bike that day and laughed it off like it wasn't a big deal. Never really brought up all the other stress of the day. We mostly talked about our triathlon goals, and how we were going to accomplish them. Again, we never talked about food, but by the time I got off the phone I was ready to eat a reasonable sized, healthy meal. I ate healthy, and in reasonable portions! I know it doesn't seem like that big of a deal. I didn't over eat on one meal. Big deal. But with me, one meal starts me feeling crappy because I realize I'm now one step farther away from my ultimate goal of looking like a triathlete, not just being one. So then I eat to make myself feel better. It's not uncommon for me to start an avalanche, that by the time I am able to stop it I have packed on 20+ lbs in a couple of weeks! No exaggeration at all. Over 20 lbs in less than two weeks... Happens to me all the time. But not this time, because of an outstanding person, my sponsor, who showed up in my life unexpectedly. The only people who read my blog are my triathlon team mates, and strangers. But while surfing this blog world I have seen how supportive everyone always is. So that's why I chose to share my weakness today. This is actually the first time I've let anyone know other than my wife, my sponsor, and couch-potatoe-to-ironman. Felt pretty dang liberating to stop hiding it.
Tonight was a real treat because I have been working nights for 2 months now, so I don't get to sleep at the same time as my wife. When I get home from work she's usually getting up to take care of our little ones. I usually am a very deep sleeper. But tonight I just laid there most of the night unable to sleep because I'm used to working at nights. I tried to be as still as possible so my wife could sleep well. Twice during the night I felt my wife lean over to me and kiss the back of my head. I would never of felt her kiss me on most nights because of how deeply I sleep. And I realized she wasn't doing it because she wanted to show me some attention, she thought I was asleep. She did it simply because we are in love, and she was grateful I was home for the night even if it did mean I was losing my family money.
Life can dang good sometimes you know?
September 12, 2007
The Lovato's and race day strategy.
I decided since I'm going to be in Co this weekend I might as well try to see if I could get in contact with my idols: Michael and Amanda Lovato. I sent them an email asking if I could buy them some coffee. They said they'd be willing to meet me on Sat after Amanda picks up her race packet. Turns out she's doing Harvest Moon also. I'll post the picks. I'm pretty exited.
Speaking of Harvest Moon my coach sent me an email stating I should look at the Harvest Moon as a training day, not a race. Reason being is that this race is the first day of my next big build. Since I'm thinking this race doesn't really matter in the long run, I think I'm going to try and push myself harder, closer to the red line, than I would for an A race that's a 70.3. The positve of trying to push closer to the red line is that I could break my PR at that distance. That would be really something considering my 70.3 PR is at Clearwater. Clearwater is a totally flat course! The danger of pushing myself that hard will be bonking early. That would ruin my race. But again, it's a tune up race for the Silverman. So if it does get ruined I'm ok with that. It's worth the risk in my mind. I get my T-shirt regardless of if I PR or bonk. I am slightly worried about this weekends race though. My throat has been a little sore the last 2 days. And my left knee was hurting really badly earlier in the week. It is much better now, but it still hurts a bit when I run.
Peace!
Speaking of Harvest Moon my coach sent me an email stating I should look at the Harvest Moon as a training day, not a race. Reason being is that this race is the first day of my next big build. Since I'm thinking this race doesn't really matter in the long run, I think I'm going to try and push myself harder, closer to the red line, than I would for an A race that's a 70.3. The positve of trying to push closer to the red line is that I could break my PR at that distance. That would be really something considering my 70.3 PR is at Clearwater. Clearwater is a totally flat course! The danger of pushing myself that hard will be bonking early. That would ruin my race. But again, it's a tune up race for the Silverman. So if it does get ruined I'm ok with that. It's worth the risk in my mind. I get my T-shirt regardless of if I PR or bonk. I am slightly worried about this weekends race though. My throat has been a little sore the last 2 days. And my left knee was hurting really badly earlier in the week. It is much better now, but it still hurts a bit when I run.
Peace!
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