Race inventory for 2010

All in all, a very successful year. No injuries, only a little over-training (which passed quickly), and a heck of a good time! Now to prepare for 2011...yikes.

Race	Time	When	Where
Rock and Roll San Antonio Half Marathon	2:21:42	Nov 14	TX
Monumental Half Marathon	2:20:25	Nov 6	Indianapolis
Kansas City Half Marathon	2:20:25	Oct 16	MO
Eagle Creek Trail Half Marathon	2:58:39	Oct 3	Indianapolis
Powerman Sprint Duathlon (5k run, 20k bike, 5k run)	1:57:00	Oct 2	Muncie IN
Crossroads of America (10 miles)	1:45:56	Sep 26	Indianapolis
TNT Revenge Trail Run (5k)	34:02	Sep 21	Indianapolis
US Air Force Half Marathon	2:17:27	Sep 18	Wright-Patterson AFB, Dayton OH
Austin Triathlon (1.5k swim, 40k bike, 10k run)	3:33:10	Sep 6	TX
Special Olympics Runway Run (7.27k)	45:51	Aug 28	Indianapolis
TNT Revenge Trail Run (5k)	33:01	Aug 24	Indianapolis
Amazing Adventure Sprint (6.5 miles)	~3 hours	Aug 22	Indianapolis
Town Trek (~6 miles)	~3 hours	Aug 21	Indianapolis
Eagle Creek Sprint Tri (500yd swim, 10 mile bike, 3 mile run)	1:28:56	Aug 21	Indianapolis
Muncie Multisport Triathlon (1.5k swim, 40k bike, 10k run)	3:32:23	Aug 14	IN
Steelhead 70.3 Triathlon (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run)	7:14:36	Jul 31	St. Joseph MI
Amazing Adventure Sprint	~3.5 hours	July 18	Carmel IN
Eagle Creek Sprint Tri (500yd swim, 10 mile bike, 3 mile run)	1:28:57	Jul 17	Indianapolis
Freedom 5000 (5k)	~48 min	Jul 4	Austin TX
Mudathlon (~4 miles)	1:13:52	Jun 26	Indianapolis
Warrior Dash Mud Run (~3 miles)	48:15	Jun 20	Joliet IL
Eagle Creek Sprint Tri (500yd swim, 10 mile bike, 3 mile run)	1:30:44	Jun 19	Indianapolis
Hawthorne Half Day Relay (40.3 miles)	11:38	Jun 12	Terre Haute IN
Outrun the Sun (10k)	52:27	Jun 5	Lawrence IN
Terre Haute Tri (800m swim, 40K bike, 8K run)	2:43:05	May 22	IN
500 Festival Mini Marathon	2:13:42	May 8	Indianapolis
Lonestar 70.3 Triathlon (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run)	7:20:22	Apr 25	Galveston TX
Sam Costa Half Marathon	2:22:03	Mar 27	Carmel IN
Bop to the Top Stair Climb, Triple Step (36 floors, 3X)	28:34	Jan 23	Indianapolis

A short missive for Thanksgiving

Ah, Thanksgiving. That time of year where many of us take stock of our lives. This year is no different.

As I begin my annual taking-of-stock, it feels a bit strange this year. There is a slight undercurrent of sadness mixed with gratitude and genuine contentment. I have been blessed with so many things:

• Though we lost Jim, a.k.a. Santa, a little over a week ago, I feel profoundly grateful that I got to know him. He will always be associated with boisterous laughter, sarcastic dry wit, and a tremendous enjoyment of life. Thanks, Jim, you have left a wonderful legacy.
• I've had another divine year with my soulmate.
• I still have my loving family, and enjoy their company.
• I am truly blessed with good health. This year I completed 7 half-marathons, one ultra, two half-iron triathlons, 6 sprint/olympic distance triathlons, a duathlon, and 13 other miscellaneous runs/stair climbs/mud crawls. Not bad for this 49-year-old body.
• My circle of friends continues to grow. Friends are what make life worth living.
• I still enjoy what I do to pay the rent.

Have I forgotten anything? Probably. The list is too long to remember it all. How blessed is that?

Notes on running and grieving

Away from home, visiting elderly parents.

Saturday morning. Planning on sleeping late.

6:21 a.m. Phone notifies of incoming text. Flooded with sense of dread and knowing what it will say.

Reach for phone. Simple message: "the wait is over".

Great sadness, mixed with a tinge of relief. Brain tries to comprehend implications. Never see smile again. Never hear booming laugh again. Can it be true?

Gratitude for end of suffering doesn't quite make up for sense of loss, not yet. Give it a few days.

Next day, 4:30 a.m. Alarm goes off. Get up, eat, dress, haul stuff down to the car. Find parking area for shuttle bus.

Get to race start. Join crowd of 27,000 other people in various stages of awakeness. Wish for coffee but know it would be a very bad idea right now.

Not so sad today, but not mentally ready for 13.1 miles. Oh well. Already paid for it, am here, and know it will get better once going.

People-watch for an hour before starting. Speculate who will beat who to the finish line. Slowly shuffle to start line with starting wave.

Cross timing mat at start and quietly navigate around slower people. Feel heart rate climb and spirits follow. Cross the 5K mat, wondering where the first three miles went. Pass five mile sign and feel great. Don't remember yesterday's loss until mile eight or so. Mentally register it, and keep moving.

Enjoy capacity to sweat a lot. Ignore aching knees. Don't think about tender feet. Acknowledge that perhaps the orthotics are toast. Breathe. Note steady heart rate.

Pass someone using a walker. Someone else with a walking cast. Another with "Weight loss so far: 125 pounds" on the back of her shirt.

Add yesterday's loss to the list of Why and be grateful for having a choice. Dedicate today's happy physical existence to those who don't.

Breathe. In. Out. Fast. Slow.

Sprint to finish. Enjoy mourning in public with thousands of other people with thousands of stories. Alone but not alone.

Happy I have the opportunity to remember who Jim was.

Thank you, Jim.

Lost treasure

Ah, memories. Found this treasure in the email archives from a class last spring. Thank gawd for chat.

We tried. We really did. Made it 1.5 hours (class was 3 hours), then the torture became unbearable. Researchers should not even try to teach.
------------------------------------------------
C:
endless yammering
yet nothing is being said
alcohol daydreams

M:
Ice cold meat locker
More inaudible rubbish
Ice cream save me now

C:
oh screw the ice cream
this calls for serious booze
vodka gimlet please

why such a cold room
freeze students to submission
no attention span

M:
Hard core prescriptions
Alcohol and cigarettes
No Intervention

C:
cookie in pocket
an unexpected surprise
eat now or later?

M:
WTF is this?
He keeps saying "binary"
The point evades me.

C:
oh there is no point
existential head banging
keep thumping noise down

M:
Eat out of boredom
Eat to avoid this lecture
Eat it this instant.

C:
too old for boozing
thought my drinking days were done
must reconsider

Ironman's Sad Loss of Integrity (Part #3)

Sigh. Ironman, oh Ironman. What's happened to your logic? You withdraw a blatantly flawed program and bluntly state that you were wrong, but stick to the derailed logic that prompted the firestorm in the first place.

Thanks for at least paying enough attention to respond quickly and kill a tragically stupid idea.

http://ironman.com/mediacenter/pressreleases/ironman-access#axzz13gVMhFYm

Ironman's Sad Loss of Integrity (Part #2)

A few months ago, WTC (World Triathlon Corporation) bought the Muncie Endurathon, a half-iron distance race that has been around for over 30 years. They then proceeded to extort a 60-day blackout from the city. This effectively cancelled several local races (which were shorter and not a threat for business). It also raised the registration fee by a good $100 or so.

After reading the article below, I wrote a letter to the Ironman folks. One local event organizer fought the 60-day ban, but there were many other events that were affected as well, including some raising money for charity.

Delaware County Commissioners want to blackout dates around Ironman Triathlon
Star Press - Muncie, Ind.
Author: KEITH ROYSDON
Date: Sep 22, 2010

MUNCIE -- Weeks before it was publicly announced that the Muncie Endurathon had been purchased by an international Ironman triathlon group, the Delaware County commissioners promised they would implement a 60-day blackout of competing events on roads near Prairie Creek Reservoir, site of the race.

But word of the blackout surfaced only this week, and the news has left the man behind another local triathlon group, Muncie Multi-Sport, wondering what the blackout means to his annual slate of five races.

Steve Tomboni asked the Delaware County commissioners this week why they promised a blackout on other "road events in and around the Prairie Creek Reservoir area" for 30 days before and 30 days after upcoming Ironman 70.3 Muncie events staged by World Triathlon Corporation.

Since the 2011 Ironman Muncie 70.3 race is set for July 9, a 30-day, before-and-after blackout would overlap with one of Tomboni's events -- one set for June 1-- by a single day.

"Why 60 days?" Tomboni asked in Monday's commissioners meeting.

"It's not 60 days," Commissioners President Todd Donati said. "It's 30 days prior and 30 days after."

The blackout also came up during Tuesday evening's meeting of the Muncie parks board, which heard a request from Ironman attorney Jan Abbs that the park board enact a similar 60-day blackout on use of the city park at Prairie Creek Reservoir for events similar to the Ironman race.

The parks board ultimately tabled the blackout request until its next monthly meeting after board member Mary Beth Lambert asked Tomboni if the 60-day blackout would cause problems for his Muncie Multi-Sport events. Tomboni said the blackout was "problematic" in scheduling multi-sport events.

"It seems a little overkill to ask for 60 days on the only lake in the county," Tomboni said.

The commissioners made the promise in a July 21 letter to Jon Moll, another DeFur Voran attorney representing Ironman Muncie 70.3. The announcement that Ironman had purchased Muncie Endurathon was made Sept. 9.

At Tuesday's parks board meeting, Mayor Sharon McShurley said the "end goal" was to enable successful events at Prairie Creek.

Donati argued on Monday that the blackout would actually benefit Tomboni's events since they wouldn't be in direct competition with the larger Ironman race for runners, volunteers and vendors.

"They're making a mountain out of a mole hill," Donati said about Tomboni's concerns. "He has five events, they have one. We all have to get along."

Tomboni is a former Muncie Endurathon race director who left the local race and this year founded his own group, Muncie Multi-Sport, and his own series of five races.

Tomboni's races are for the most part duathlons, which combine running and biking, as opposed to triathlons like the former Endurathon and the upcoming Ironman Muncie 70.3, which add swimming to the mix. The last scheduled Muncie Multi-Sport event this year is Oct. 2.

Response to the first year of Muncie Multi-Sport's events has been good, Tomboni said, with 400 participating in the most recent race and 2,700 T-shirts ordered for athletes and volunteers for the summer-long series.

Tomboni said he didn't know what was behind the commissioners' promise -- which was signed by Donati and fellow Commissioner Larry Bledsoe but not Commissioner Don Dunnuck -- but noted that the Muncie parks board, not the commissioners, controls the city park at Prairie Creek.

The commissioners' letter specifically conveys their promise to "not allow permits for road events," however.

In an interview after Tuesday's parks board meeting, Bledsoe told The Star Press he allowed his signature stamp to be used on the letter promising the blackout after being assured the blackout would not interfere with Tomboni's events.

I ignored Donati's flawed logic and stunning lack of math skills and wrote a letter to the Ironman folks.

-----Original Message-----
From: Carla Happel [mailto:cghappel@yahoo.com]
Sent: Thursday, September 23, 2010 12:56 PM
To: Jessica Weidensall; Catie Case
Cc: cghappel@yahoo.com
Subject: Ironman 70.3 Muncie

I'm writing you because I couldn't find any other appropriate contacts on the ironmanusa.com website. Please feel free to forward to the appropriate individuals.

I find the following very concerning:

http://www.thestarpress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=20109220312

Does Ironman demand 60-days of inactivity at all of their other race sites? Why? How on earth is a local sprint tri a competitor? I am a triathlete, and have done a couple of IM 70.3s, and am registered for a full IM next year. In no way does the availability of other local events influence my decision to register for an IM race!

I am terribly disappointed in the Ironman organization over this, and appalled at the arrogance shown here by such a move. Why are you trying to put local organizers out of business by closing their venues for two months, in the middle of race season, no less????

I'm sad to say that if this proves to be typical Ironman behavior, I will look elsewhere for half and full-iron distance races in the future. Next year's IM Louisville will be my last Ironman event.

Please reconsider what you are doing to the local economies, particularly of Muncie.

Thank you.

Carla Happel
USAT #233308

I got two replies later that same day.

Reply #1:

RE: Ironman 70.3 Muncie
Thursday, September 23, 2010 6:55 PM
From: "Jessica Weidensall" <jessica@ironman.com>
Add sender to Contacts
To: "Carla Happel" <cghappel@yahoo.com>
Cc: "Catie Case" <catie@ironman.com>

Hi Carla,

Thank you for your interest in Ironman 70.3 Muncie and for your feedback. To address your question, Ironman has varying levels of restrictive clauses in regard to its host venues. Each race is handled differently based on the nature of the venue, history of the event, needs of the community, event location, historical events in the area, etc. These are in place for a number of reasons, which I have outlined below.

1. To ensure a successful event. We have made an investment in the event and the community and are ensuring our ability to acquire permits, recruit volunteers and secure local sponsors and media. In this case, there is an event organizer who would like to plan a Half-Ironman distance event (same distance) less than 30 days before Ironman 70.3 Muncie. In Muncie, anyone can put on anything at any time outside of 30 days before and 30 days after the event. Muncie has a great history with triathlon (largely based on the reputation of the event we acquired) and we take our efforts to protect that history and event very seriously.

2. To protect the interests of the community and the residents. One of our goals is to protect the residents who live and work along our event courses. Back-to-back events scheduled each weekend would inconvenience residents.

3. To ensure quality of the events. Often times residents do not demarcate between events and look at Ironman as representing all triathlons in a region. If, as often is the case, an event company comes in and puts on a poor event with negative repercussions in the community whether through traffic problems, issues with payment to suppliers, or worst case a serious injury, it impacts all events in that market. Also note that an Ironman event in a region generates millions of dollars in economic impact to a community, not to mention thousands of dollars for various non-profits in an area. Our goal is to ensure that there is a long-term benefit for the community.

In the end I hope you will reconsider competing in Ironman events in the future, as we appreciate your participation. Restrictive clauses and contracts are in place to protect all parties in the event communities and in the end to enhance the overall athlete experience.

I hope that helps clarify some items for you.

Best,

Jessica

Reply #2:

From: "Tom Ziebart" <tom@ironman.com>
Add sender to Contacts
To: "cghappel@yahoo.com" <cghappel@yahoo.com>, "brian@pacelinepromotions.com", "Jessica Weidensall" <jessica@ironman.com>, "Ryan Tolle"
Cc: "Shane Facteau" <shane@ironman.com>

Carla –

Thank you for your e-mail. My name is Tom Ziebart and I work for Ironman. My title is Operations Manager and I over see a number of Ironman races. We are very excited about the new Ironman 70.3 Muncie. The Muncie race has been around forever (I did the race back in 1984 when I lived in Michigan) and is one of the most respected long course triathlons in the United States. We hope to continue to improve the race and look forward to working with the local organizations that have supported this event for over 25 years. Please see below as I have answered your questions and concerns.

-----Original Message-----

From: Carla Happel [mailto:cghappel@yahoo.com]
Sent: Thursday, September 23, 2010 12:56 PM
To: Jessica Weidensall; Catie Case
Cc: cghappel@yahoo.com
Subject: Ironman 70.3 Muncie

I'm writing you because I couldn't find any other appropriate contacts on the ironmanusa.com website. Please feel free to forward to the appropriate individuals.

I find the following very concerning:

http://www.thestarpress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=20109220312

Does Ironman demand 60-days of inactivity at all of their other race sites?

In some cases when we purchase an event we do work with the local government to secure a date and site that cannot be used for 30 days before or after our events. This does not happen at every site, but it does take place for good reasons.

Why?

We do this for a number of reasons.

#1 - Use of the site and roads for a triathlon puts a burden on the park and roads around the park. Parks are used by everyone during the summer and if an event is held each weekend at that park, then the community is not able to use the park. Same with the roads around the park. If an event takes place each weekend and the roads are closed the people living on these roads are not able to travel on them during the weekend. We want to make sure that the community is not overburdened by events each weekend.

#2 - Events also put a burden on the Police, Fire Rescue, Lifeguards and EMS. Having an event each weekend would mean that each of these groups would be working each weekend.

#3 - Other Events - this might seem to hurt other events, but we have seen the opposite happen at other sites. Events that take place 6-8 weeks before our events have seen tremendous increases in their participation because of Ironman. A good example of this is the Tupper Lake Triathlon in New York. It takes place in June about 6 weeks before Ironman Lake Placid. Before IMLP took place, the Tupper Lake Triathlon had about 200 participants. Now the race has over 1,000 as athletes use the event to get ready for IMLP. The opposite is true when an event takes place less than 30 days before our events. Those events tend to get less participants as athletes choose to do the IM race and not the local event just before the IM race.

How on earth is a local sprint tri a competitor?

We do not consider any event a competitor. We know how difficult it is to produce an event and we try to work with all of the local groups to make sure everyone has safe and successful events.

I am a triathlete, and have done a couple of IM 70.3s, and am registered for a full IM next year. In no way does the availability of other local events influence my decision to register for an IM race!

Glad to hear that you have done some of our races. I hope that you have had a good experience at these events.

I am terribly disappointed in the Ironman organization over this, and appalled at the arrogance shown here by such a move. Why are you trying to put local organizers out of business by closing their venues for two months, in the middle of race season, no less????

I hope that my answers to your first questions have changed your feeling toward the IM organization. We are not trying to put local organizers out of business. We are working with local organizations to make sure that this site is not overused. We are also working with them to support many local charities and non-profit groups.

I'm sad to say that if this proves to be typical Ironman behavior, I will look elsewhere for half and full-iron distance races in the future. Next year's IM Louisville will be my last Ironman event.

Good Luck with your training for IM Louisville. It is a wonderful race and I'm sure that you will enjoy the event. Please feel free to contact me with any other questions or concerns.

Please reconsider what you are doing to the local economies, particularly of Muncie.

Carla Happel
USAT #233308

Thomas A. Ziebart
Ironman

tom@ironman.com
407-765-9608 -cell
352-324-3715 - fax
1006 Hamlin Ave
Howey in the Hills, Florida 34737

In all fairness to Ironman, I've heard that this situation was resolved somehow, but have no idea what that resolution might be. I have not been able to find any news articles about it.

Next: Ironman's Sad Loss of Integrity (Part #3)

Ironman's Sad Loss of Integrity (Part #1)

This is a summary of the last two days of foolishness over at Ironman. I'm not really commenting here, as it is so stunning that I need some time to pull myself together and write something coherent. Opinions to come.

To the uninitiated: "Ironman" is a trademark, a brand. WTC (World Triathlon Corporation) bought Ironman some time last year. Since then there has been a distinct trend to extort as much money as possible out of participants.

October 27, 2010, the marketing geniuses at World Triathlon Corporation announced the following program.

Ironman Access: New Athlete Membership Program

WTC Introduces New Athlete Membership Program

Published Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Today World Triathlon Corporation (WTC) launches an exclusive athlete membership program called Ironman Access. In addition to other member benefits, the program will offer advance registration for Ironman events worldwide before entries open to the general public. Membership into Ironman Access is on a first-come, first-served basis and will close once it reaches capacity.

Advance race registration for Ironman Access members will open one week prior to the event’s general entry registration date. Athletes are required to pay the general entry fee to the selected event.

Members may choose to register early for one or more of the following 2011 and 2012 Ironman races:

2011 Ironman Florida
2011 Ironman Arizona
2011 Ironman Cozumel
2011 Ironman Western Australia
2012 Ironman New Zealand
2012 Ironman South Africa
2012 Ironman Australi
2012 Ironman St. George
2012 Ironman Lanzarote
2012 Ironman Texas
2012 Ironman China
2012 Ironman Brazi
2012 Ironman France
2012 Ironman Coeur d’Alene
2012 Ironman Austria
2012 Ironman Switzerland
2012 Ironman European Championship
2012 Ironman Lake Placid
2012 Ironman UK
2012 Ironman Regensburg
2012 Ironman Canada
2012 Ironman Louisville
2012 Ironman Wisconsin
2012 Ironman Wales

In addition to exclusive, advance registration, Ironman Access will offer perks including an official membership ID card; a second chance in the Ironman Lottery Program*; two VIP passes per registered event; a one-year subscription to LAVA Magazine; discounts on Ironman partner products at shopironman.com and at Ironman’s on-site event retail stores; and a 2010 Ford Ironman World Championship NBC broadcast DVD. Membership benefits are valid for one year starting from activation date. In order to take advantage of early event registration, membership must be current. The annual membership fee is $1,000 USD.

*With purchase of a general lottery entry.

Needless to say, this has set off a major sh*tstorm on Facebook and tri discussion boards. WTC has taken a real beating since the announcement, yet didn't feel compelled to respond until the next day.

What follows is the series of FB postings by Ironman. The arrogance is truly impressive.

UPDATE #1: After reading your comments on FB, we realize there is confusion regarding the Ironman Access program. Ironman strives to improve the entry process for our events, many selling out a year in advance with on-site registration. This program resolves two prevalent issues. (Stand by for additional posts)

UPDATE #2: 1) Currently, to guarantee entry to a number of our events, athletes travel to the event location one year in advance and wait in line to register for the following year. For athletes who are taking a weekend of their time, paying for their travel, hotel, airfare, etc., this program is an alternative. (More to follow)

UPDATE #3: 2) Most importantly, Ironman has a significant number of athletes who register for multiple events with the intention of racing only one of them. Once they successfully register for their "first choice" event, these athletes do not attend the other events in which they have registered, thereby reducing opportunities for other athletes. (Next post to follow)

UPDATE #4: Ironman Access enables athletes to compete in the event they want + eliminates their need to register for multiple events. As a result, more slots will be available for general registration across the entire series. (Final update to follow)

In closing, Ironman Access is a limited program, which will increase the overall number of general registration slots and provide an alternative to those who do not want to stand in line and take two trips to an event location to race once.

Oh I see. We're all confused.

Coming soon: Ironman's Sad Loss of Integrity (Part #2)

A not-so-politically-correct conversation

Names have been changed to protect the guilty.

Shakeology: Good workout drink!

Have been drinking this for about 6 weeks now. Pretty good stuff! There's more info here, and also some good general browsing.

http://teambeachbody.com/exitcomfortzone

New Software for Doctoral Students

A classmate and I were discussing the truly horrifyingly bad writing style of Academia, and came up with a new software app. Now all we need are developers who work for free. It would have a limited market since most people in graduate school actually buy into the obfuscation; it's only for the rare few that resolve to keep their grip on reality and not to drink the Koolaid.

Any bored developers out there?

From our chat session:

"Are you the square peg in a round hole?"
"The realist trying to get an advanced education?"
"Incapable of spewing random bullshit for the sake of spewing random bullshit?"
"Let us do the spewage for you!"
"Just write your coherent clear paper...run it through the Obfuscator 2000...and sit back."
"Your clear, concise, and relevant paper will be returned to you in seconds..."
"completely obfuscated and unintelligible to all but 6 people on Earth."
"And BONUS"
"The Obfuscator 2000 doesn't just remove any relevancy from your paper..."
"It bloats it up, too!"
"Two pages quickly becomes 15"
"thus satisfying any irrelevant requirements for quantity over quality."

Some running wisdom that applies to life

Found this in an active.com post about running faster, but it applies to other aspects of life as well.

4. Run as fast as you want to, not as fast as you think you can.

Who's imposing your limits? Sometimes it's you, says Elizabeth Waterstraat, coach and founder of Multisport Mastery (multisportmastery.com) in Chicago. "Especially when athletes train heavily with technology, they can become wrapped up and limited by where the numbers should be, rather than where they could be." Unplug the technology now and then, she says, "and tune into how running fast feels in your legs, what it sounds like in your breathing, and what it speaks in your head. If you look down at your device and see you're approaching 5K pace, you might begin to fear that you will blow up or not be able to hold it. But you just might be breaking through in that workout. Save the evaluation for later. Don't let your fears and worries limit how much you are willing to give."

Learn how to define what's truly hard for yourself. "Many athletes look to coaches or formulas to tell them what hard is by heart rate, pace, or percentage of VO2max. Hard is hard. You run hard. Until you connect to that, you will not run as fast as you want to; you'll run as fast as someone tells you to go."

Then, listen to what you're saying. "You may be focusing on the negative (I am so slow) rather than the positive (I am getting stronger; this is a solid starting point). Running fast is so much about managing the physical pain; there is no hiding behind equipment (bicycle) or conditions (waves); it's usually just you and the pavement. Your legs must be strong, but your head must be stronger," Waterstraat says.

"To know your limits, you have to be willing to test them," she says. "The best athletes take logical risks in training so they know how far they can go in racing." Don't be surprised if it's farther than you thought.

From:
http://www.active.com/triathlon/Articles/4-New-Rules-to-Run-Smart.htm?cmp=282&memberid=57260571&lyrisid=21006122&page=2

Yikes! What have I done?

It's official. Better get busy.

Volunteering at Ironman Louisville 2010

This past weekend two of us volunteered to help out at Ironman Louisville. As expected, it was an inspiring experience. Athletes ranged from superhuman professionals to mere mortals. All were fun to watch.

We worked a five-hour shift in the transition area, outside of the changing tents, and saw people returning from the bike. As each athlete returned, they went into one of the two changing tents, did their thing, and took off for the run. Our job was to offer sunscreen as they exited the tents. Sheets of plastic were spread out on tables, lots of sunscreen was poured out onto the plastic, and we covered our gloved palms in the stuff. As athletes exited, they were offered a generous slather of sunscreen, usually with 2 or 3 volunteers per athlete.

The professionals were on a mission and didn't have time for such nonsense, but we got much more busy as the age-groupers came in. As most of the slatherers were female, the men had a good time with it. Some just stood there moaning and asking if they had to go do the run. One guy came staggering out of the tent, stretching, blinking, and yawning like he had just awakened. He was hilarious.

Watching the professionals come in filled all of us with awe. These people  were running into transition as if they had just begun their morning jog; you never would have guessed they had just climbed off 112 miles' worth of bike. Transition took them all of a minute, and they left for the run as easily as they came in. The man that won, Paul Ambrose, did the entire 140.6 miles in 8:20. Damn. It takes me 7 hours to do half that distance!

By the time our shift was over, the heat was in full force. It peaked in the mid-nineties, with relatively high humidity. There was a steady stream of people coming in from the bike and calling it a day. They just couldn't handle the heat. The medical tent was also quite busy, with occasional trips to the hospital and constantly full cots.

Around 14 hours into the race (9pm), we wandered over to the finish line and watched for a while. Folks coming in looked pretty darned good, all looked happy to finish, and most didn't seem to be suffering too terribly. We hung out for a while, left for dinner, and came back at 11 to watch the last "official" hour of the race. (Participants have 17 hours to finish; after that, no medal, no official time.) That hour went by FAST. The crowd was fantastic, making all kinds of noise and cheering everyone who came along. The announcer did a great job of acknowledging everyone by name, and saying, "John Doe, you are an Ironman!" as they crossed the finish.

Again, the vast majority of people looked pretty darned good! It was impressive how many were able to sprint it in. There were a few "Ironman shuffles", which is just sad. All stooped over, unable to move their feet at more than a shuffle, but finishing the race anyway. It got very stressful as 17:00:00 edged nearer and nearer, and people were coming in but moving slower and slower. Some, sadly, didn't make the cutoff. It was heartbreaking to see people working SO hard to cover that last 50 yards, and just unable to do it fast enough. One poor guy had a leg/butt cheek that was totally cramped up on him, and he was stiff-legging it as fast as he could, but he didn't make it. We concluded it might just be less heartbreaking to be pulled off the course early, like after the bike cutoff, than to get that close and watch the clock ticking away your deadline. Aaaargh.

The run course has a very cruel twist: around the halfway mark, it comes within a block of the finish. The first time through you have to watch people finishing, then make a hard right away from it, out for another 12-13 miles. Here is where we found a guy hugging a mailbox, trying to get his body under control. I walked up to him and said, "You've got this," and he said, "No, I still have 13 to go. I'm pulling out." This was with 2.5 hours left. Apparently he was so seized up that he didn't think he could even shuffle that last half-marathon. Poor bastard was near tears, he was so frustrated.

By 17:05:00, the timing mats had been taken up and the finish line was being dismantled. We roamed the area a bit, helped pick up some trash, then headed back to the hotel, one block before the finish area. By now it was around 20-25 minutes after the cutoff. In front of the hotel, we noticed a woman standing in the road who looked like she was still waiting for someone. We had just stepped into the lobby when a commotion started outside, so we went back out to see. An older woman (over 60), was shuffling by, finishing the race no matter what. She was bent over and couldn't pick up her feet, but by God she was doing the distance. Damn. Those of us who were still outside cheered her on, but this was not who the spectator was waiting for. By now, the finish arch/timer was gone, the area was dark and quiet, medical people were gone, and street crews were dismantling the chute. We don't know how long people continued to straggle in. They didn't get medals or official times, but they're still Ironmen.

Some finish line pics are posted here...at the back of the album.
http://indyhappel.myphotoalbum.com/view_album.php?set_albumName=album10

What a difference two decades make!

Back in 1990 when I was commuting from Chicago to St. Joseph, MI to play in the Southwest Michigan Symphony, if you had suggested I would come to St. Joe to do a half-iron triathlon, I probably would have suggested you put down the crack pipe. After I stopped laughing.

Fast forward to 2010. I was one of 48 Team in Training members from MI, IL, and IN. Our group was a wonderful mixture of old and young, newbies and veterans. Our common thread was that we had each raised several thousand dollars for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and had dedicated our races to honored heroes. My race was in honor of my brother-in-law Jim, who is currently fighting not one, but several types of lymphoma.

Race Day, July 31, 2010

You want us all in the hotel lobby WHEN? Really? Groan. 4am finds lots of groggy-eyed and nervous TNT members picking at breakfast and doing a lot of general fidgeting. We carpooled to the beach, and set up our transition area. It was nice not to have to deal with getting the bike there, since we had racked them the previous day. Most of us were completely set up before 5am, when the rain started. We found a pavillion to sit under and watch the lightning, and hoped the announcer was correct that the weather would skirt us to the north.

The Swim

By 6:30 it was time to get the wet suit on and walk to the swim start. The swim had two starting points, depending on the current that day. Either way, it was a 1.2 mile walk down the beach, with hordes of other participants and very slow-moving spectators. What should have taken about 20 minutes took around 40. The race organizers did a very poor job of informing us exactly WHERE the swim gear check was, and many of us had bags with sandals and other miscellany, since we weren't allowed back into transition after 6:30. I jogged the last quarter-mile and got there just as my swim wave was going onto the beach. Where's the gear check? Just up there, about 150 yards away up the sand dune and out of sight. Oh now that's really convenient. Luckily there were some TNT supporters standing nearby, and I just gave the bag to them and asked them to check it when they could. Sheesh.

Unbelievably, Lake Michigan was a balmy 76 degrees. Wow that was nice. It was easy to sight, as the buoys simply followed the coastline back to transition. Keep the beach to your right and let 'er rip! Haha, yeah, like I'm a fast swimmer. However, the current was extremely helpful and I surprised our coach Sean when I showed up at transition about 10 minutes sooner than expected. 46 minutes! Best swim ever.

Transition was a very long slog through loose sand, back up to the bikes. I jogged some of it, but took my time. Got to the bike and washed the sand off my feet. Considered firing up the hibachi to dry out the socks, but wrung them out instead. At least the bike shoes have drainage holes.

The Bike

After a 5-minute T1 (transition 1), I left on the bike. Had the ride of my life, despite discovering that the tune-up instead had totally jacked up my gearing. Sometimes it would shift up, often not quite all the way down, and forget changing to the big ring in front. Had to slam the gears around to get them to shift, and did the entire distance (on rolling hills) using the smaller ring. However, I felt great and had a terrific ride. My biggest concern was that I would drop the chain, or worse yet, break it from having to slam it around so much. I passed five or six people with flats, and hoped that wouldn't happen either. Finally, at 54 miles and 3:07, my back tire blew. I sped up, and probably made it a few hundred more yards before it was completely flat.

Theoretically, I know how to change a tire. I actually have done it once. Was it worth the time? No. Was it worth trying to at least jam a CO2 cartridge in it and see if it would hold maybe another half mile? Sure. Was I successful? No. Don't know if it was user error (most likely), destroyed valve, or what, but it didn't work. So I walked it in, and had an extra-long T2. Got a lot of encouragement from spectators coming down the chute, and quite a few offers of help from other racers, which was nice.

Note to self: Stop being such a girl and learn how to quickly change a bike tire.

The Run/Trudge

I don't recommend walking two miles in bike shoes. It's hell on the shins. It felt heavenly to put on my (now almost dry) running shoes and start to jog a little. I felt ok on the run, but definitely did not eat enough on the bike and simply ran out of fuel. I had already taken several gels, and had eaten half a PowerBar and banana, and consumed all of my protien/carb drink on the bike, but it wasn't enough. I couldn't run far at a time, so alternated very short walk breaks with marginally longer running stints. The aid stations and volunteers were wonderful, with bananas, gels, water, Gatorade, and cups of ice, so I just kept trying to eat something. It helped, but the damage was done. I had to walk quite a bit, but was able to finish in a respectable (for me) 2:38. Many thanks to our coach Sean who found me at mile 10, let me whine a little bit, then encouraged me.

The Joys of Perimenopause

TMI warning: If you are not the least interested in the adventures of being a perimenopausal woman, you may want to skip this section.  Consider yourself warned.

Mother Nature decided why have one period this month when I can have two? The rude surprise began at 9am Friday morning. Perfect. I was lucky it was not the full-blown chronic fatigue of July Period #1, but still... Got through the swim and bike feeling great, then around mile 3 of the run my back just started killing me. Men, if you want to experience the joys of racing with your period, have your running partner smack you in the back with a 2x4, behind your kidneys. Then run. Every time the pain starts to subside even a little, have your partner smack you again. Keep running. Do this for five miles. Do it until you think you're gonna puke. Then stop with the smacking and enjoy the rest of the run. Prostate exam or racing with periods? Hmmm. Not sure which is more joyous.

The Finish

Sucked it up and jogged it in, even though it darned near killed me! Official time was 7:14:36, but I still consider it my PR. I lost 30 minutes walking the bike in, so probably would have had a time closer to 6:50 without the flat. Under 7 hours, in any case. So I'll take it.

I'll also take the quick recovery. No aches and pains to speak of. Neck is slightly stiff from being aero on the bike, which was also a milestone for me. I was down in the aero bars more than ever before, for the entire 54 miles, only coming up for aid stations and sharp course turns. Thank you Nebo Ridge for an outstanding bike fitting! Sunday was a wonderful massage at Massage Envy, and this morning a much-needed adjustment from my chiro Dr. Drew. Between that and coffee, life is good!

Team Indiana at 4 a.m.!

First Ultra, on a Trail

Well, I have survived my first ultra, the Hawthorn Half-Day Relay. It was on a 5k trail loop, and the objective was to see how many times you could complete a loop in 12 hours. I managed to eek out 13 loops in 11.5 hours, before the feet insisted I stop. That was good enough for second place in the Masters female category, so I got to take home a cute little trophy. Not bad for a first attempt!

The race was in Terre Haute, about an hour southwest of Indianapolis, in a very nice park (with plumbing!). There were 15-16 relay teams of six runners, a few teams of two runners, and about 80 crazy people like me who were doing the whole thing alone, including some racewalkers. At the beginning/end of the 5k loop they had us all set up in a field, so it was easy to stop and grab something, sit down a bit, whatever.

We started at 7am, thankful that the pouring rain had stopped an hour earlier. The first part of the course had a mudpit section that you had to dance around (or risk losing a shoe), but thankfully that was the only messy part. The first mile went around a small lake that was full of geese, ducks, turtles, and very loud croaking toads. An heron took off from the shore, but that was the only one I saw. The large goose family was very entertaining...about 15 children following one parent into the water, with the other parent bringing up the rear.

The humidity was 99%, and the high got up to 95, so the heat index was somewhere over 100. I've never had my shorts completely soaked and dripping water when it wasn't raining. They finally dried out around 5pm. The glasses quit fogging up sometime around noon, I think. Everyone was suffering, and we all slowed down as the day wore on. The relay teams held up pretty well -- their runners were getting some decent rest in between loops, so a lot of them were able to keep flat-out running for the full 12 hours. Very impressive.

Nutrition
Given the heat, my biggest concern was electrolytes. The race organizers provided wonderfully cold water and nicely diluted Gatorade, so I filled up my water bottle with both before starting each loop. They also had a nice variety of munchies, with bowls of nuts, dried cranberries, bananas, gummy bears, etc. I tried to grab something every time I passed through. I had a cooler of munchies too, and grabbed stuff out of there pretty regularly. I started the day with two packets of instant oatmeal with raisins and dried cranberries, and that held for two loops. Food for the rest of the day included a peanut bar, two Zone bars, peanut butter on a small slice of bread, and a protein shake, in addition to the several bananas and mass quantities of water/Gatorade.

Strategy
I tried to do two loops at a time without really stopping. I'd take a few minutes to drink more cold liquids, fill the bottle, grab a banana, and go. After every two, I took more time. Stopped by my cooler, sat down, hit the restroom, laid down on a bench, whatever. After six laps I changed my shoes. After 10 laps I changed my socks. Not that it helped much. The dogs were screaming pretty loudly for the last two loops. It hurt just as much to jog as it did to walk, so it was a bummer when the knees finally told me I was done jogging after mile 37. The last loop was a pitiful stagger, as each step was at a unique angle, so there was no finding a comfortable way to plant the foot. Blisters were minimal so all is well.

Recovery
Thankfully, minimal. Sunday was a wonderful massage over at Massage Envy (love those people!) and lots of sitting around with the feet up. Monday was a half-hour training session Monday morning, followed by a stop at the chiro's office. Am walking normally and feeling great, but no jogging/running until the sprint tri Saturday.

If you're considering trying an ultra, this is the way to do it. The only pressure is on yourself, you can rest whenever you want, and it's a very laid-back environment.

Gotta love it!

Stunningly helpful spellcheck from Adobe

Using InDesign...

Heck of a fallback when you don’t know a word, isn’t it? Here’s my guess:

It’s 4am.

You’re the programmer responsible for building the spellcheck database. Deadline is this morning at 8am. Because you’ve spent the last three months developing your Grand Theft Auto skills, there’s a assload of words missing.

Writing code to handle unknown terms is not an option: you’ve run out of time. You’re jacked up on Mountain Dew and Skittles, and feeling the greasy pepperoni pizza starting to work its way downward. You must come up with a solution. Now.

Simplest solution is just to pick a default suggestion.

Hmmmm.

Where’s the dictionary? You know, the paper kind that Luddites use? Let’s just drop it on the floor, see where it opens, and randomly jab our finger at a word. That’ll be the default.

My second half-ironman

This was step 1 of the Grand Plan.

The plan? Ironman Louisville 2011, on my 50th birthday.

Part of the Grand Plan is to do two 70.3 races this year. A Half-Ironman consists of a 1.2-mile swim, a 56-mile bike, and a 13.1-mile run. This was the first of the two. The second is the Steelhead 70.3 in Michigan at the end of July, which I am doing with Team in Training.

While I would have loved to finish in 7 hours, my goal was really to relax, enjoy the experience, and see where I stood in my training. In addition, I only had one day to adjust to being out of the car after an 1100-mile ride. This was my first tri of the race season, so there was no good reason to risk blowing up and paying for it the rest of the summer.

Once again, two very special people were there to support me, Paula and Shirley. Shirley drove down from Houston and was my unofficial photographer. Paula was my co-driver from Indianapolis, and we actually managed to enjoy the ride. (She laughed at the "Arkadelphia" sign for some strange reason.)

At the pre-race meeting Saturday afternoon, we learned that the morning's sprint and olympic distance tris had cancelled the swim due to high winds. Even though we were swimming in a harbor, apparently the winds were so stiff that the water was unsafe. I really hoped that wouldn't happen Sunday...then it wouldn't be a tri, would it?

Checked in the bike and found that I had a very nice spot in transition: right at the end of a row, equidistant from both the bike in/out and run out, very easy to find.

The alarm went off at 5 a.m. Ate instant oatmeal and a banana, and drank a Costco-brand slim-fast. I briefly wondered what I had gotten myself into (once again) and how it would go, despite visualizing a strong happy finish.

The Swim

Turned out the weather was perfect. There was the usual coastal wind, but otherwise the water was fine. The temperature was 72.7...wear the wetsuit or not? I went the lemming route, and chose to wear the sleeveless suit. Turned out to be perfect. I was in Wave 12, with all the other women 45 and up. One woman confessed that she had never done a tri, and had only done pool swims, clear evidence that she was certifiable. I just listened as another woman tried to give her swim advice. Oy. I don't know if she finished or not, but I wouldn't want to be introduced to open-water swimming in a 1.2 mile race.

Water had some swells, but nothing too bad. Typical chop. Typical thrashing and whacking and kicking from other swimmers. The woman that grabbed my ankle several times was annoying, once I realised she wasn't in trouble, just obnoxious.

T1

Took a few seconds to get used to being vertical again. Was a little lightheaded upon standing, but managed to keep moving forward. And this race had wetsuit strippers. Cool! Sure made getting that darned thing off a lot easier. Just unzip, pull it down to your waist, flop on the ground, and let them do the rest. Sweet!

The Bike

Ah, the coastal winds. Because my swim didn't even start until an hour after the pros/elites, and my swim was slow (57 minutes), the leaders were at the bike turnaround while I was in T1. We could hear the announcers talking about how the leaders now had a tailwind. Oh good! We actually get a tailwind? Awesome. Something to look forward to.

The ride was fine, but my crotch gave out long before the legs. There were four aid stations, and I stopped and stood up at each one. I'm a total slug on the bike, and don't train nearly as much as I should (this is not a good thing). This race was my third ride of the season, and I had a painful reminder of why I need to spend more time in the saddle. Ouch!

The third aid station was a stark reminder of how badly a day can go wrong. I was standing, taking some water and chatting with a volunteer, when a young lady came through. She was going very slowly, reaching out to grab a bottle of water. Next thing I knew her bike was sliding out from under her, and she was on the ground. I fully expected to see her trying to sit up, but it was much worse. She was lying face down, hands down by her sides, very still. There was an ambulance at each station, so paramedics were there before I could even get going again.

I left with an awful feeling in the pit of my stomach, somewhat shaken. I never did see her move at all. It looked like she hadn't even tried to stop her fall. Not good. I was finally getting back in the rythm around mile 32 when I saw the life flight chopper coming. A few miles later it passed me again, on the way to the hospital. Damn. Her race ended in the worst possible way.

Mile 55. Still looking for that effing tailwind. Westerly crosswinds never did let up, ever. I think I had maybe a quarter mile of relief, somewhere in the last 3 miles. Actually got up to 20mph with no effort...a sharp contrast to the average of 15mph. Ugh.

T2

The winds were particularly brutal for mile 56. I was very happy to ride up to the dismount line and get off the bike. Took my time in transition, sucked down a warm gel and some warmer Gatorade, and headed out for the run. Or rather, the trudge.

The Run

Surprisingly enough, the run didn't feel too bad. I was tired, but nothing hurt, and when I was actually able to try to run, it wasn't too pitiful. The run consisted of four loops, which did get a bit tiresome, and the entire run was on concrete, the worst possible surface. It was especially cruel when the course went right by the water park (Schlitterbahn), and you could not only see the rides (and cooling water), but could also hear the screams of people that were much more comfortable.

But there were more than enough water stops, complete with gels and sponges soaked in ice water. Those are heaven on a warm day. Since I'm so slow on the bike, my run started in the heat of the day, around 12:30. I think it was only 82 or something and blissfully humidity-free, but I'm not used to that yet, so it felt pretty hot.

Finally got through loop 4, and was able to head straight to the finish line. There was a 53-year-old ahead of me though. Oh hell no. I sprinted to the finish and was able to pass her. Ha! Take that!

Collected my hug from Paula, then wandered over to the food tent. Not like I could eat anything for a while; the food was for later. Found a grassy shady place to sit down, and took off the shoes. Bliss. Paula and Shirley returned with very comfortable flip flops, we checked the time, and headed over to the paddle boat for a cruise. The race was at Moody Gardens, and the previous day we bought tickets that included a boat ride in the harbor. What the heck, there's beer on the boat, it was a beautiful day, I felt great, and Shirley and Paula HAD to be bored from standing around for over 7 hours.

Overall, the race was a raging success. While there were a few "what the hell am I doing" moments, there was no suckage. I got tired on the run (lesson: eat ALL of the solid food you took with you on the bike!), but it wasn't painful or awful. I left gas in the tank at each phase. This was an assessment race, so I took it easy and focused on form. Felt really good at the finish and had absolutely no soreness later. Am extremely pleased that, though slow, I am now much more consistent with my times: I don't really slow down during the course of the race. Had a wonderful visit with my parents the next day in Austin, and headed back to Indianapolis Tuesday.

Most importantly: the volunteers were not only plentiful and helpful, they were very pleasant. It was wonderful to see so many smiling faces throughout the course!

Pictures can be found here.

Times

Total 7:20:22
Swim 57:56
T1 5:37
Bike 3:37:24
(splits 1:50:15/1:47:12)
T2 3:07
Run 2:36:18
(splits 4 loops 38:58/38:44/39:47/39:39)

Creative aircraft maintenance

Why is it always such fun to fly out of Houston? Why is a two-hour flight NEVER two hours?

After getting up at 5:40am to catch a 7:30 flight back from Houston, I arrived at my gate to hear that the cockpit crew was there, but we were waiting on the flight attendant to arrive on another flight. Of course, that flight was 30 minutes late. 45 minutes later she shows up, and then they announce that there is no captain. Not sure what happened to the original one, but they found Doogie Howser in the lounge and dragged him to our gate. Two hours later, we departed.

After settling into my seat, I notice a very, um, interesting "repair", shown below. Is this a fine example of Express Jet's high maintenance standards? Resolution is poor, but if you look closely you can see the mysterious brown spots on the ceiling. It's not clear what the used napkin/whatever is supposed to accomplish.

The fun continued with a non-flushing lav that was vaguely reminiscent of Trans Air Congo. UGH.

Got back, and waited forever for my gate-checked luggage. By the time I got my bag at the gate, the stray unclaimed checked luggage was floating around the baggage claim area.

I didn't photograph the window frame that was pulling away from the fuselage.

A little piece of history

Sandblasters circa 1995 or so. My brother is the bass player.

Spinning = suckage

No further comment needed.

Trainer beatings week of Feb 23

Both workouts use the Kinesis wall for a few things. What's a Kinesis wall? Go here to find out.

Thursday: Fun with ankle weights. Wear 5 lb ankle weights for entire workout.

• squat 5x, swivel to side lunge and dip 5x, back to center 5x, other side 5x, center, side, other side, center
• hopscotch through ladder to end, come back with lateral jump two forward, one back. Repeat.
• knee high jog to end of room
• cable standing chest press 15x
• plank with feet on shorter stool, rock forward and back on toes 50x
  
  
• stand facing Kinesis wall, grab cable that sticks out along floor, step back while pulling cable back to lateral pull. 15x each side

--- repeat all ---

Tuesday: Lots and lots of sweat

• suicide drill, 3x. [Sprint to first point, touch ground, turn around and come back, run to next point (further away), touch ground, turn around and come back, run to farthest point, touch ground, turn around and come back.]
• facing Kinesis wall, squat then stand up while doing flye, 20x
• step-up, bicep curl to shoulder press, step-down, 20x on 1' stool
• facing away from Kinesis wall, step-out to reverse flye, 1 minute
• plank with feet on step, step feet down and back up while in plank, 1 minute
• pistol -- wall sits with exercise ball, 3sec in sitting position, 19x, sit 10sec on 20th time.

Repeat all, then...

• standing tri rope extension, facing away from machine, 20x

Today's beating

I knew when I saw the evil twinkle in my trainer's eye this morning that it was going to be a tough 30 minutes.

• Suicide drill, 3x
• Kinesis wall, squat to flye, 20x
• Step-up, bicep curl to shoulder press, step-down, 20x on 1' stool
• Kinesis wall, step-out to reverse flye, 1 minute
• Plank with feet on step, step feet down and back up while in plank, 1 minute
• Pistol -- wall sits, 3sec in sitting position, 19x, sit 10sec on 20th.

--- repeat all ---

• tri rope extension, facing away from machine, 20x

And now for something completely different

There are some new gems on the Stoopid News page. Enjoy!

I suggest coffee first

This morning's workout. If I hadn't already had coffee, this would have shoved me into being awake pretty quickly.

• lunge to knee raise, 20x each side
• ladder on floor:
• pop squats
• jumping jack back (legs only)
• pop squats
• tri dips, 20x
• plank slide to hurdles
• hop over hurdles
• pushups, 20x
• bicep curls with resistance band, 20x

Repeat as many times as possible. Did 4x in 30 min.

Update on my personal Honored Hero

Dismayed to learn that Jim's chemo only hit some of the tumors. Others are still there, and there's two new spots on his scan. He's beginning the especially toxic phase of chemo now, and looks like he's going to be very sick for the next few months. Discouraging.

Still sore from the PREVIOUS workout

Thursday a.m. training...try to ignore the soreness in the right extender from the LAST beat-up session. Today's 30-minutes of torture included:

• Squat with medicine ball (one with handles) in one hand, do shoulder press as you stand up. 20x each side
• Jump up and down on Reebok bench (on high step setting) 25x
• Chest flyes on pec-dec 15x
• Bicep 21s (10 each second time)
• Pullups 15x
• Ham curls on ball 20x
• While still on floor from ham curls, do tri extensions with barbell 15x

Repeat all.

Thoroughly enjoyed the TNT group swim after work. Mix of drills, distance, and speed. Felt great and we all had a good time.

A good endurance workout

Here is another gem from my sadistic trainer. This workout really hits the quads and hip extenders, adductors, and abductors. Because all of it is done in 30 minutes, there is no time for rest. My legs/hips were toast.

• incline pushups on Reebok bench 20x
• plank raise one leg 30s then other leg 30s
• incline pushups on bench 20x
  
• plank side leg raises 30s each side
• mountain climber 1 minute
• burpee to frog hop to end of room and back.

Repeat all.

Snowstorm didn't stop TNT group swim

We had our first group swim Saturday, and the snow didn't keep people away. About 25 people showed up, and we got to know each other a little better. Each of us swam a length while the two coaches watched and took notes, then we learned some new drills. Looks like everyone knows how to swim at least a little -- sometimes there are people who are starting from scratch. Was surprised to find out that between the two tri teams (Elkhart and Steelhead) there are 49 participants. That's an impressive number! After our workout, I detoured through Holliday Park to admire the snowfall, and it was gorgeous! Between the fresh sticky snow in the trees and the bright blue sky, it was a beautiful day.

Carrie's killer gimp workout

I'm currently sidelined from running/jumping for at least another couple of weeks, but that hasn't mattered much to my trainer. She continues to come up with sadistic workouts. This one was a prime example of her capacity to torture. I hope I remember this one correctly. It was quite traumatizing.

-------------------

Wear 5lb ankle weights for entire workout.

• pop squats 45 seconds
• alt lunge to crane 15x each side
  
  
• pushups 20x
• centipede: stand up-bend over-walk hands out to pushup. down to end of room and back
• crab walk down room and back (sit on floor, push up on hands and feet, and go)
  
  
• plank drag feet behind to end of room and back
  
• bear walk down to end of room (hands on floor in front of you)
  
• frog-hop back

First Team Meeting with Team in Training

We had our first team meeting last night, and it looks like a great group of people.There were at least two cancer survivors, and several parents of sick kids. One of our coaches (Dea) is the mother of one of our honored heroes, Lauryn. When "victims" feel compelled to raise money for an organization as a thank you, that says a lot. I'm really looking forward to getting to know these folks.

Team in Training

I've done it again, and signed up for an event with Team in Training. The Indiana chapter has really got it together and offers an awful lot, both to participants and leukemia patients, so I decided to bite the bullet and do the begging again.

Please go to the link below and do what you can. And of course, please feel free to distribute far and wide!

http://pages.teamintraining.org/in/Steelhd10/chappelppy

The event this year is a 70.3 (half-iron) in Michigan, in late July. Ironically enough, it's where several of us used to drive regularly to play in the symphony. This will be a slightly different perspective (ha!). Am also training for an earlier 70.3 in late April, down in Galveston. All of this is part of the grand plan to do a full Iron on my 50th birthday next year.

As always, my sincerest thanks for your help!

Disconnect from reality?

There's something disturbing about the pairing of photo/headline here...

My trainer's killer endurance workout

I have a kick-ass trainer -- she kicks my ass all over the place twice a week. Today's pleasure was a most effective endurance workout. She calls this her "chutes and ladders" workout...but it's nothing like the kids' game!

The basic sequence is this (there are drawings below):

• backwards lunge to knee raise, 20x each side
• pop squats through ladder, step in-out-in-out on the way back, pop squats through ladder again
  
• sprint to end of room
• feet on Reebok slippers (or anything that you can slide across the floor), get in push-up position, walk on hands 2/3 way down room to short hurdles (dragging feet behind you)
• jump over hurdles (7 of them)
• 15 pushups

Repeat 5x in 30 minutes.

Lunge to knee lift

Hop squats through ladder

Walking plank

Hurdles

Doctoral Mailbox

Makes me want to run right out and start on that Ph.D.!

Perspective on feeling "full"

During this past season of excess otherwise known as the holidays, I have done my share of over-eating. After one particularly enthusiastic round of Tex-Mex, I was whining to a friend about how stuffed I felt, to the point of uncomfortable. Her response took me by surprise: "Oh, I used to feel that way all the time!"

Wow. This is from a friend who has totally overhauled her eating and lifestyle habits, and is well down the long road to serious weight loss.

As someone who has never had a weight issue, I needed clarification. Were you mistaking this for a normal satiated feeling? Did you forget how uncomfortable it was, or simply get used to it? When did you realize this was not normal? Here's what I got back:

OK...we fat people get into a "habit" of eating so much that I think we just adjust to that feeling and unless we have that super-full feeling we don't think we are satiated. So I guess we mistake that "less than stuffed " feeling for "I must be hungry again".

The emotional part of eating is all about feeling satisfied and unfortunately the more we stuff ourselves the more we seem to want in order to feel full, ie., satisfied. It is one of those never-ending cycles for many people.

So the increasing sizes of clothes or being unable to move as much just doesn't become as important as feeling satisfied. Very many times the "satisfied" or stuffed feeling is equated with happiness...unfortunately.

For me, a herniated disk (twice) had a bit to do with me paying attention after I realized I caused this myself. But I didn't truly change me enough. I still didn't care enough about myself to do anything about it.

The truth is that I didn't do anything until a good friend that I cared for came into my life that really enjoyed physical exercise, sports , competitions, just being fit and LIVING LIFE believed in me enough and showed me that I too could have those things.

Seeing her enjoy races and seeing the other large and out-of-shape people using the event as a means to become more fit was quite an eye-opener for me. I never would have thought that I could have these things like the other "fit" people I used to see.

The biggest thing for me was realizing that I could use races or events as a means to get into shape, and that was much better than waiting for the weight loss to happen first.

Lose the small pup tents!

This is what happens when you wear super-large shirts to the gym...your friends crawl right up in there with you.

This is a good friend of mine, S, who insists on adding 20 pounds to her appearance by wearing a small pup tent while exercising. I think she's cured now.

Healthy weight loss cutting into his profits?

Doctor urges an end to fitness myth

BOCA RATON, Fla. (UPI) -- Constantly linking exercise with weight loss may cause more people to fail at reaching their goals, a bariatric physician suggests.

Dr. Sasson Moulavi says exercise is ideal for maintaining weight once goals are met but is usually counterproductive in trying to lose weight.

"I've seen far better results from patients that strictly follow a lifestyle program than those that work to incorporate exercise into their weight loss regime," Sass says in a statement.
"When you exercise, your body certainly burns calories, but it also creates hunger and compensates with food, which is counterproductive."

When people exercise, they burn calories and feel justified in eating a little more here and there, which can sabotage their efforts because many eat more calories than they burned, Moulavi says.

For example, a study published last year in the International Journal of Obesity, found during the 18-month study of 538 students "when the kids start to exercise, they end up eating more -- an average of 100 calories more than they had just burned," Moulavi says.

Moulavi recommends eating healthy, nutritious foods, getting the weight off and then focusing on an exercise routine to keep it off.

Copyright 2010 by United Press International