Training Day

Saturday at 3pm
Refreshed after the long training day.


8 Hours Earlier
7am at Lock 29 in the Cuyahoga Valley. Sleepy, but ready for the 6.5 mile run. My winter training is slowly warming up. Thumbs up for the brisk morning weather.


VR Training Run
40 runners of different levels, but all with fresh goals for the new year. VR Training is a running group for anyone that wants to accomplish the goal of finishing half marathons, marathons, or ultra marathons. This morning we ran 6.5 miles to and around Kendell Lake. Pleasant running route. I really like how the guys mix the routes. Passion for running really shows. There were 4 coaches with each leading there own group. For some reason this morning I was more motivated than other days and ran just behind the A' group. Enjoyed my conversations with a couple friendly runners I ran with for 45 minutes. Positive chit chat is always fun. I've never been around Kendell Lake and will have to do again sometime. Looking forward to my first transition of the training day.

Transition 1:
1 hour with 30 minutes at Rico Latte enjoying a medium size coffee and egg sandwich.


Excel in Cycling
Pete has big plans for us today. Excel in Cycling indoor program is 2 hrs of very vigorous cycling on your own bike, mounted on a wind, mag or fluid trainer with a substantial focus on: form, cadence, force and technique. The Excel In Cycling workouts are intended for people who want to become more proficient cyclists - whether recreational or competitive. Pete Gladden the excellent endurance coach had a nice and hard training ride in store for 40 of us this morning at 10am. Today's ride consisted with 30 minutes of warming up and 2 hours and 15 minutes of the killer program. During all the indoor rides Pete projects from his PowerBook professional level cycling races onto a huge screen with rocking good soundtrack. During the last 45 minutes of the training ride the front wheel of our bikes is on a elevated wood block and on projected screen in sync is mountain course of race. My CycleOps Fluid 2 proves once again to be a wise investment. Completely exhausted after the terrific ride.

Transition 2:
2 hours with 15 minutes having a long hot shower.

Weight Training
Rested a bit and then capped the training day off with an hour of core weight training at the gym. For my rewards the rest of the day was sunny.

Great New Years Eve Run - Race Report

5k Race - Stow Munroe Falls High School
Stow, Ohio

Looking forward to this race. Gets my new year off to fast start. For the past year I've been really into the technical part of sports nutrition. Bought some sports nutrition books and after much research a high end scale that measures body mass. Scale is useful because it's super accurate with weight and pretty consistent measuring stuff like body fat. My brother gave me a Xmas present of Chris Carmichael's Food for Fitness book. Solid read so far. Chris Carmichael has been Lance Armstrong's coach for more than a decade and I can see why.

Last year when I raced this course my weight was 165 and finishing time was 23:54. This year my weight was 150 and finish time 21:53. Stoked I knocked off more than 2 minutes! Think I could dial in a sub 20 minute time next year around. Looking into doing some speed work in the next quarter through run training groups.

Arrived at the race 45 minutes before start. Chit chatted with multisport buddies and running folks I know. 4pm start is cool because I'm warmed up already. Race temp was 37 degrees which is normal for this time of year. Roads were clear of snow and ice with overcast skies. 600 runners ready to go. Felt good at start through first 5 minutes. Forgot about the hills. Lost a little time going up hill. Cruised back down the hills and regained position. Great that on course racers and spectators cheered me on. That really keeps myself motivated during parts of course that are difficult. With a mile to go I felt strong and lots of reserves in the tank. Hauled myself to the finish line of cheering supporters.

After my race I cheered the finishers coming in. That's a lot of fun. Takes about 5 minutes to regain my senses after the race. One of the best features of the race is the chicken soup they handout inside the high school - yummy goodness. Enjoyed food and friendly conversation post race.

Dave Chappelle Breaks Endurance Record

Dave Chappelle has broken his own Laugh Factory endurance record. The 34-year-old comedian topped his record of six hours and seven minutes, set in mid-April, by taking to the stage Sunday and telling jokes for six hours and 12 minutes.

Xtremely funny comedian! I almost fell off my cycle trainer watching him one time on Comedy Central. With the type of winter weather in Northern Ohio these days it's always great to have a gut busting laugh.

2007 New York City Marathon

Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx and Manhattan
New York, New York

NYC this weekend was a lot of fun seeing and hanging with all my cousins. Traveled to Long Island for Aunt and Uncles 50th Wedding Anniversary and Family Reunion. Awesome times! My 2 cousins and I took the Long Island Railroad into Manhattan to watch the NYC Marathon. Walked from 34th street through Times Square to Central Park South. Couple hours watching the race.


Central Park South
Time-Warner Center in the distance. Scenic spot for us to view the marathon. Half mile from the finish line.


Dathan Ritzenhein, Second Place Finisher, U.S. Olympic Time Trials
Dathan and fellow athlete happened to be watching race next to us. Dathan was talking to people advising when race leaders would be approaching. Very friendly guys telling us the leaders were coming.


Top Women 2007
1. Paula Radcliffe (GBR) 2:23:09 - Left Runner
2. Gete Wami (ETH) 2:23:32 - Right Runner


Top Men 2007
1. Martin Lel (KEN) 2:09:04 - Right Runner
2. Abderrahim Goumri (MAR) 2:09:16 - Left Runner


Lance Armstrong (USA) 2:46:43
Lance ran a consistent, progressively faster 2007 New York City Marathon, finishing in a time of 2:46:43. His time beat his 2006 time of 2:59:36.


Brian, Myself and Scott
Cousins and I enjoying sunny day in Manhattan.

Portage Lakes Triathlon - Race Report

Portage Lakes Triathlon - Portage Lakes State Park
Akron, Ohio

Rolled out of bed at 6am. Breakfast of "Organic" Frosted Mini-Wheat's cereal and orange juice. My race started at 8:30am. That was cool, but so was the weather at 38 degree's. Took 25 minutes to reach Portage Lakes course. Lucky I got close parking place to transition area. Unloaded my bike and tri gear quickly. Zoot tri backpack was super smart purchase 5 months ago. Really helps me stay organized on race mornings when I'm half asleep. Chit chatted with my training and racing buddies on course. We all commented how it was freaking cold weather. By race start time temperature was 43 degree's. I put my wetsuit on which felt nice and toasty. Feet were really frozen. Water was warmest thing on the course. When I got in the water my feet warmed up. This was my coldest tri to date in 6 years of racing.

[International Distance Race - All 2 laps]

Swim - 1,500 Meters (00:37:54)
Key component of my race strategy was to go all out for swim course. Worked very hard since May on swimming. Swimming has never come naturally to my mind and body. Huge progress though with stroke and endurance. Much room for growth still. Ready to go. Start of race I couldn't breath right. I wasn't loose and relaxed at all. Should have warmed up. Next cold race I will. There was this plant life just beneath surface of water. Only way I can describe it was similar to being caught in a fishnet. After 5 minutes my swimming and breathing was in synch. My race time after 1st lap was 18 minutes. I thought either swimming extremely fast or course is slightly shorter than 1,500 meters. Turns out was combination of both. Near end of the swim I felt strong. Swimming last year was exhausted before I jumped on bike. End result for 1,500 meters - new PR for swim by 15 minutes.

Bike - 23 Miles (01:20:42)
Removing the long sleeve wetsuit is very slow process. T1 needs practicing for next year! Bike course is a mix of flats, slight hills and couple steep ones. I was trying to go fast on bike since I didn't want to sprint the 10K run. Drank bottle of orange flavored Gatorade Endurance and ate a blueberry Cliff bar. Took 2 Hammer Endurolytes too. Saw the "free range" chicken sign - means end of bike course is near. Side note: I've biked by that area 3 occasions and have never seen chickens roaming the fields.

Run - 10K (00:50:34)
Time to suck it up or whimper like the caged chickens. I need sub 3 hour race to close out the fun filled tri season. Knew I had to hustle. Felt solid first 4 miles, but wasn't burning up the run course. With 2 miles to go was concerned sub 3 hour wasn't going to happen - like my sub 6 at the Greater Cleveland Triathlon Half Ironman. Last mile I sprinted and hauled to finish line - 2007 triathlon season over at 02:58:29 hours!

Burton Custom X Snowboard

Chill is in the air. Snowboarding season is right around the corner. Time to start thinking about purchasing a weapon of choice for the slopes. Burton Custom X Snowboard is it.

Description:
Burton's Custom X Snowboard has all the characteristics of the all-popular Custom with plenty of added performance. With nearly three decades of building experience and new technology, Burton gave the Custom X a precise feel for the sickest terrain. Truly an all-mountain board, the Custom X benefits from a proven Dragonfly wood core, Vaporskin Topsheet, Pro-Tip, and Sintered WFO base. These enhancements reduce the overall weight and hop-up the speed and handling for taking on the steepness gnar or biggest booters. With a directional shape that rules any terrain, this customized Custom excels everywhere from steep lines to huge kickers.

Greater Cleveland Triathlon 70.3 - Race Report

Half Ironman Triathlon - Mentor Headlands State Park
Mentor, Ohio

Pre-Race Evening Highlights:
After an easy day with no training I prepared a quick dinner. Dinner was Trader Joes potato onion pierogies with stir fry vegetables and salsa verte. To get pumped up and relaxed I went to see the summer action popcorn movie Bourne Ultimatum - big thumbs up. Time now to do everything so I can just roll out of bed and go to race. Checked bike: oiled gears, inflated tires and reset cycle computer. Packed all my gear into the Zoot tri bag. Ground fresh beans and added water for coffee in the morning. Set table for super early breakfast. In bed at 11pm.

The Race Day:
Woke up from clock radio at 4am. Slipped on the 2XU triathlon suit. Starting to get excited. Loaded triathlon gear into car. Turned on coffee. Breakfast of Natures Path Optimum Power Cereal with sliced banana and orange juice. Brewed coffee, poured in travel mug and drove to Mentor at 4:45am. I arrived at the Mentor Headlands transition area at 6am. Felt pretty relaxed and found my transition area rack. I knew the walk from transition area to my swim start was 20 minutes and meant there was no time to waste. Put on Orca Sonar wetsuit up to waist and got walking briskly.
(Swim 1.2 Mile)
Water was calm and amazingly perfect. No mystery junk floating around. Is this really Lake Erie? Clear blue skies. I arrived at swim start with 5 minutes to spare. Saw friendly faces from the Cleveland Triathlon Club (CTC) just starting in wave before me. In what seemed liked a very quick minute our wave was going and we're all running and diving into Lake Erie. Ripple free swim made it easy to sight the distance markers. Best swim I had in a triathlon race. First time I've participated in point to point course layout and liked it a lot. Thought about the Bourne Ultimatum movie during time in water. Fired up when spectators yelled my name running from beach to transition area. Felt energetic after 1.2 mile swim.
(Bike 56 Miles)
The bike course is scenic and fast. 2 big laps and 2 small laps at end. Felt pretty good throughout bike course. Enjoyed so much the support from CTC members both cheering and handing out nutritional supplies. The guy on the monster hill with the cool music blasting from SUV kept my motivation high and jazzed. Top speed of 40 mph was clocked on cycle computer going down that steep hill near the golf course. It was at this point I was having fantasies of sub 6 hour race time. Nutrition: 3 bottles of Gatorade Endurance, 3 Cliff bars, 2 gels and 6 Hammer Endurolytes.
(Run 13.1 Miles)
Fast running at first. After quarter mile the thighs were burning like hell and in a world of hurt. Then the Gatorade and Cliff bars consumed during bike were slushing around my stomach. I knew the run would be tough, but was more painful than expected. Bummer because run is my strongest event and I need to make up time from the swim. Jogged the straight aways and walked up the hills is what I ended up doing for 9 last miles of race. Consumed water on every other aid station. Ran strong and felt healthy for last mile of race. Happy to see family and friends at finish line. 06:37:29 was my race time. Nutrition 8 cups of water, 1 gel and 4 Hammer Endurolytes.

Post Race Reflection:
Last leap upward in course distance was the Chicago Triathlon - International back in 1994. My goal for this Half Ironman distance race was to have fun and finish strong in a sub 6 to 6:45 hour time frame. Now with that goal accomplished I'd like to finish a Half Ironman distance race with a sub 6 time. By vastly improving my swimming speed and increasing running distances this can be accomplished.

Greater Cleveland Triathlon - Environmental Graphics:
For the Greater Cleveland Triathlon I developed with race director a flexible and modular course way finding program. Velcro mounted color coded arrows on safety yellow corrugated plastic sheet with contrasting black lettering. Each primary color was a different triathlon course. Racers stayed on course and were able to focus energies on the competition. Other environmental graphics were developed and deployed in the field on race day, such as color coded course maps and body marking charts.


• Free Standing - A Frame Version


• Wire Standing - H Frame Version