So now I've been around this thing 29 times.
Dr. J picked me up & took me out for a whatever-I-wanted to do night. That ended up being sushi and Green Goblin(green tea & ginseng) martinis at Origami, and then Wine & dessert a half block down the street from the flat.
We had more wine on the roof before calling it a night.
I was more than satisfied.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Monday, June 23, 2008
Perfect Fit
It fits like a glove.
Well, I might be about to Darwin myself, but there's nothing like surfing the net in the middle of nowhere.
And I mean NOWHERE.
This weekend I spent about 14 hours driving to & from a wedding. I'll say that it was worth the drive--skinny dipping & late night drinking antics & whatnot, but the drive would've been way worse if I didn't have my new little toy.
And just so you know--There's a reason they call 'em Crackberries -- this thing is F*cking incredible. 10 email accounts, text messages, google maps, a camera, and the internet delivered to me, anywhere?
Me encanta.
Rest in Peace, George
Today, one of my heroes, George Carlin, died.
George, thank you so much for opening my mind, helping me understand the world, and making me laugh. You've shaped who I am, and I am infinitely grateful.
You will be dearly missed, and never forgotten.
George, thank you so much for opening my mind, helping me understand the world, and making me laugh. You've shaped who I am, and I am infinitely grateful.
You will be dearly missed, and never forgotten.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Half Time Wreck to Half Iron
So I went out on Thursday to meet up with some friends for Hunk's mini-bachelor party. I ran into the group full swing at Billy's and later we all headed over to the Half Time Rec. We all ended up splitting pitchers, and it started to get late -- but nothing a little Red Bull Vodka can't handle, right?
Anyways, everyone was kicking off around 1:15am, and the idea of getting White Castle was introduced to the group. It did indeed seem like a good idea. 15 minutes later, I'm driving home with 4 sliders and a sack of deepfried onion peely things. To stem your fear, I was perfectly fine to drive--I seem to be pretty good at taking alcohol in moderation when I have to get myself home....but I was hungry.
I got home and wolfed down the food, and finally hit the deck at around 2:45am.
Around 5:30am on Friday my first alarm clock went off, and I decided that I wanted to die. My stomach distended with undigested disgustingness on top of a headache and sleep deprivation is not my idea of a livable condition.
I walked to the bathroom and puked.
Then I took an extra half hour getting ready for work. The day was horrendous. I only wanted it to end, and I had like 30 things to do after work--I got home finally around 7pm & had time for a half hour nap. Fortunately, the last thing was to enjoy a traditional pre-race meal of bruschetta, since I was racing the Liberty Half Iron Triathlon the next morning.
I made it to bed at 10:30p, and was at Baker park by 6:30am.
-----------------------------------
The Race
Swim. 31:41 I found another swimmer to draft off early, and although he tried to shake me a couple times, I held for a good 2/3 of the swim course--and was able to avoid some amount of zigzagging.
T1 1:56. A little below par for the course, but I decided due to the short runout to a tight turn & big hill that I would just put my shoes on in transition rather than have to put my shoes on while on the bike.
Bike: 21.3mph avg.
I'd ridden the course a couple times, and went out knowing that I had to take the bike leg with some amount of ease--I haven't had a computer on my bike since my Garmin decided to play in traffic, and just relied on my gut and my HRM. The course was challenging and last 6 miles would be painful, and I needed to run 13 miles afterwards. The road out to Hamel gave a slight tailwind, so I gave a solid effort when I had the wind advantage.
My CX & MTB'er readers would have gotten a fuzzy warm feeling to see how I handled the loose gravel road construction at the turn to Hunter. I figured it would be finished by raceday, but it was worse! Anways, I rode through on both laps barely dusting the brakes and dodged all the Zipp-clad folks precariously rolling through at 4mph. Ha! I never knew my rock garden skillz would help in a tri....
I dropped my chain on a steep hill--user error :oops: . I lost about 30 seconds for a foolishly timed shift. Yes -- Even DA isn't idiot-proof.
By the second lap, my back was pretty sore--not enough time on my TT bike apparently. I'll also be using different Tri shorts for anything longer than an olympic. The chamois on the team LG shorts has no utility...It doesn't provide any padding...something my clydesdale-calibur heinie desperately needs.
T2: 1:31 Not bad considering I forgot to put out my salt tabs, and I had to dig through my bag to get them.
Run: 8:27/mile, 1:50.35 I was passed by about 5 people in the first mile of the run -- my legs didn't want to do anything more than a half-assed scamper. But once I got the gummy out of my legs, I picked a pace and held it. I used all the aid stations, but I only completely stopped at a couple to slam down 3-4 cups of HEED & water in rapid succession. I tried a coke at the last aid station -- banking on a boost of caffiene, but it just made me nauseous. I crossed under CR19 and up the last incline, and I didn't break stride--one little goal I had for the run.
Over the run leg, I was passed by tons of runners, but I did reel a few back, and in the last mile, I was passed. I heard another guy coming in behind me, and ran down the wildly steep woodchip trail in pursuit of the guy who had passed me. When I saw the finishline, I gave a 100% effort and passed him in the chute, and held off my pursuer.
Finish: 5:03:40
Overall 46/255
Agegroup 6/17
Perspective: In my 25-29 agegroup, there were 17 competitors. Next year, I'll move up to the 30-34AG which had 37 competitors. The 35-39AG had 46.
I'm surprised by how well the race went for me. Despite yammering to everyone about how I haven't been meeting my training volumes, prolific wine and martini consumption & late nights out with my super-awesome girlfriend, I handily knocked down my season goal time (5:10) for a half ironman distance race. This is a vast improvement over my Pigman Half last year (5:27)
Anyways, everyone was kicking off around 1:15am, and the idea of getting White Castle was introduced to the group. It did indeed seem like a good idea. 15 minutes later, I'm driving home with 4 sliders and a sack of deepfried onion peely things. To stem your fear, I was perfectly fine to drive--I seem to be pretty good at taking alcohol in moderation when I have to get myself home....but I was hungry.
I got home and wolfed down the food, and finally hit the deck at around 2:45am.
Around 5:30am on Friday my first alarm clock went off, and I decided that I wanted to die. My stomach distended with undigested disgustingness on top of a headache and sleep deprivation is not my idea of a livable condition.
I walked to the bathroom and puked.
Then I took an extra half hour getting ready for work. The day was horrendous. I only wanted it to end, and I had like 30 things to do after work--I got home finally around 7pm & had time for a half hour nap. Fortunately, the last thing was to enjoy a traditional pre-race meal of bruschetta, since I was racing the Liberty Half Iron Triathlon the next morning.
I made it to bed at 10:30p, and was at Baker park by 6:30am.
-----------------------------------
The Race
Swim. 31:41 I found another swimmer to draft off early, and although he tried to shake me a couple times, I held for a good 2/3 of the swim course--and was able to avoid some amount of zigzagging.
T1 1:56. A little below par for the course, but I decided due to the short runout to a tight turn & big hill that I would just put my shoes on in transition rather than have to put my shoes on while on the bike.
Bike: 21.3mph avg.
I'd ridden the course a couple times, and went out knowing that I had to take the bike leg with some amount of ease--I haven't had a computer on my bike since my Garmin decided to play in traffic, and just relied on my gut and my HRM. The course was challenging and last 6 miles would be painful, and I needed to run 13 miles afterwards. The road out to Hamel gave a slight tailwind, so I gave a solid effort when I had the wind advantage.
My CX & MTB'er readers would have gotten a fuzzy warm feeling to see how I handled the loose gravel road construction at the turn to Hunter. I figured it would be finished by raceday, but it was worse! Anways, I rode through on both laps barely dusting the brakes and dodged all the Zipp-clad folks precariously rolling through at 4mph. Ha! I never knew my rock garden skillz would help in a tri....
I dropped my chain on a steep hill--user error :oops: . I lost about 30 seconds for a foolishly timed shift. Yes -- Even DA isn't idiot-proof.
By the second lap, my back was pretty sore--not enough time on my TT bike apparently. I'll also be using different Tri shorts for anything longer than an olympic. The chamois on the team LG shorts has no utility...It doesn't provide any padding...something my clydesdale-calibur heinie desperately needs.
T2: 1:31 Not bad considering I forgot to put out my salt tabs, and I had to dig through my bag to get them.
Run: 8:27/mile, 1:50.35 I was passed by about 5 people in the first mile of the run -- my legs didn't want to do anything more than a half-assed scamper. But once I got the gummy out of my legs, I picked a pace and held it. I used all the aid stations, but I only completely stopped at a couple to slam down 3-4 cups of HEED & water in rapid succession. I tried a coke at the last aid station -- banking on a boost of caffiene, but it just made me nauseous. I crossed under CR19 and up the last incline, and I didn't break stride--one little goal I had for the run.
Over the run leg, I was passed by tons of runners, but I did reel a few back, and in the last mile, I was passed. I heard another guy coming in behind me, and ran down the wildly steep woodchip trail in pursuit of the guy who had passed me. When I saw the finishline, I gave a 100% effort and passed him in the chute, and held off my pursuer.
Finish: 5:03:40
Overall 46/255
Agegroup 6/17
Perspective: In my 25-29 agegroup, there were 17 competitors. Next year, I'll move up to the 30-34AG which had 37 competitors. The 35-39AG had 46.
I'm surprised by how well the race went for me. Despite yammering to everyone about how I haven't been meeting my training volumes, prolific wine and martini consumption & late nights out with my super-awesome girlfriend, I handily knocked down my season goal time (5:10) for a half ironman distance race. This is a vast improvement over my Pigman Half last year (5:27)
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Bismarck Tri Race Report.
I just finished my first race of the season.
It was a pretty small race since there's next to no tri scene in ND, but there was some pretty good competition available since the olympic distance was ND's best of the US qualifier. There were 11 olympic entrants and around 35 sprint entrants.
65F at the start. Partly cloudy with small sprinkly rain cells. Pretty bright when the sun was on you.
Swim.
course. The swim was in a marina off the Missouri River, which is damn cold runoff from MT's Rockies. I was surprised the water was 63 degrees.
I took my second swim ever in my new wetsuit, and it paid off, despite my incessant zigzagging on the course. I was shoulder to shoulder on the last 50meters with the woman who got the women's BOUS title later on. I completely forgot bodyglide, but I had no chafing from my '08 QR hydrofull.
~23 minutes for the 1.5km. 1:09min/100 according to the printout.
T1. Fast! I was second onto the bike course. ~30 seconds
Bike.
course: The oly bike was an out & back, and was half along the river flats, and half extending up into the Buttes lining the river. Decent road surface for the most part. Great ND scenery!
On the way out, I was flying--but the top woman screamed past me in a matter of minutes. I don't know how fast I was going since I don't have a computer on my Cervelo right now, but I was spinning out on my 53x11 going down some of the hills. I was met with 12-19mph headwinds at the turnaround, and saw about 4 cyclists within about 1/2 mile. It seemed like there was more uphill on the way back and that coupled with the wind was murder. I ended up gapping the other cyclists. 21.5 mph ave(I think)
T2. I struggled with my socks, so I was a little below par. ~1 minute
Run.
course:Flat as a pancake around the marina. Lots of big houses under construction. Should be really scenic in years to come.
I was hoping for a better time than I got since I've been doing more running than in the past, but I'm going to blame my time on a lack of training in the last few weeks coupled by a simultaneous abundance of red wine. The first mile was tough as usual, and I felt slow until I passed the second aid station, at which point 2 guys passed me. After I passed the turnaround, I pushed my pace after getting passed by a 3rd guy. There was alot of people cheering at the finish.
7:37min/mile. (the guy who won did 5:48/mile)
Finish
6/11 overall
2:23:??
1st in the 19-29 age group-- I got a coffee mug and a pair of socks!
Malfunctions:
My neck was shellacked with 50SPF, but I got cooked anyways. I thought my dork helmet might help prevent that, but I guess not.
Wardrobe. Despite fitting properly, my jersey's zipper compressed down under my wetsuit, and left a nice sore in the middle of my chest. I was also "adjusting" some "essential equipment" since my tri shorts aren't so comfortable, and I think I gave a cyclist going the opposite direction a "nice" view.
I hit one spot of roadpatch that must've been warmed pretty well, and my clydesdale heinie pushed the rear wheel into the tar. My frame cutout & rear brake are covered in tar. Looks great on a white bike. Or not. :(
It was a pretty small race since there's next to no tri scene in ND, but there was some pretty good competition available since the olympic distance was ND's best of the US qualifier. There were 11 olympic entrants and around 35 sprint entrants.
65F at the start. Partly cloudy with small sprinkly rain cells. Pretty bright when the sun was on you.
Swim.
course. The swim was in a marina off the Missouri River, which is damn cold runoff from MT's Rockies. I was surprised the water was 63 degrees.
I took my second swim ever in my new wetsuit, and it paid off, despite my incessant zigzagging on the course. I was shoulder to shoulder on the last 50meters with the woman who got the women's BOUS title later on. I completely forgot bodyglide, but I had no chafing from my '08 QR hydrofull.
~23 minutes for the 1.5km. 1:09min/100 according to the printout.
T1. Fast! I was second onto the bike course. ~30 seconds
Bike.
course: The oly bike was an out & back, and was half along the river flats, and half extending up into the Buttes lining the river. Decent road surface for the most part. Great ND scenery!
On the way out, I was flying--but the top woman screamed past me in a matter of minutes. I don't know how fast I was going since I don't have a computer on my Cervelo right now, but I was spinning out on my 53x11 going down some of the hills. I was met with 12-19mph headwinds at the turnaround, and saw about 4 cyclists within about 1/2 mile. It seemed like there was more uphill on the way back and that coupled with the wind was murder. I ended up gapping the other cyclists. 21.5 mph ave(I think)
T2. I struggled with my socks, so I was a little below par. ~1 minute
Run.
course:Flat as a pancake around the marina. Lots of big houses under construction. Should be really scenic in years to come.
I was hoping for a better time than I got since I've been doing more running than in the past, but I'm going to blame my time on a lack of training in the last few weeks coupled by a simultaneous abundance of red wine. The first mile was tough as usual, and I felt slow until I passed the second aid station, at which point 2 guys passed me. After I passed the turnaround, I pushed my pace after getting passed by a 3rd guy. There was alot of people cheering at the finish.
7:37min/mile. (the guy who won did 5:48/mile)
Finish
6/11 overall
2:23:??
1st in the 19-29 age group-- I got a coffee mug and a pair of socks!
Malfunctions:
My neck was shellacked with 50SPF, but I got cooked anyways. I thought my dork helmet might help prevent that, but I guess not.
Wardrobe. Despite fitting properly, my jersey's zipper compressed down under my wetsuit, and left a nice sore in the middle of my chest. I was also "adjusting" some "essential equipment" since my tri shorts aren't so comfortable, and I think I gave a cyclist going the opposite direction a "nice" view.
I hit one spot of roadpatch that must've been warmed pretty well, and my clydesdale heinie pushed the rear wheel into the tar. My frame cutout & rear brake are covered in tar. Looks great on a white bike. Or not. :(
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