I'm a dork

I was never "cool" in high school or college, and frankly I'm still not. Sometimes I try to act cool, and hopefully some people occasionally mistake me for cool when they see me in one of my finer moments. But last night, no one would have mistaken me for cool as a I did a little dance in my room.

See, I got to Myrtle Beach after a long delay in Charlotte, and found out my room is AWESOME! In fact, the entire hotel, the Dunes Village Resort, is awesome. When I found out I was going to be stuck in Charlotte and not going to make it to the hotel before the restaurants closed, I called ahead to place an order for delivery to my room. The folks at the front desk inadvertently transfered me to the wrong number (twice), so when I got there, no food. 

To make up for it, they had a gift certificate to a local late night pizza place that delivers to the hotel on the bed waiting for me. So Laurel (Rachelle's sister and my tour guide for the week) and I ordered and ate The Best Pizza Ever. Extra cheese and 4 kinds of meats, including filet mignon, delivered at 1 AM made one very hungry guy very happy. 

You never know what you're going to get in a room, and when it says King Bed Studio, I expected very small with a decent window view of the water. Instead, a room about half 1/3rd the size of Rach and I's apartment with fold out couch, 2 TV's, and a full kitchen was waiting for me when I got here. Talk about a nice way to relax before my race.

This morning I got up and put the bike together, went over to the race site when packet pick-up opened and got all my stuff. There's some great swag (including a shirt that actually fits!) I'll get pictures of for the race recap on Monday. Plus, I got to meet Wendy Peel, the USAT Club Coordinator. I've spoken to her on the phone, and she's super nice so it was great to finally meet her. 

I just got back from my shakedown ride to check out the bike, and I'm gonna take a quick swim before Laurel gets out of class, and then go be a tourist for the rest of the day. Tomorrow is gonna be a couple hours of fun and suffering to put a cap on the season.

packed and preped... and shocked

Well, the bike is boxed up and ready, and I'm just one load of laundry from being packed and ready for my trip to Club Nationals. It's been an exciting year, and I'm ending it with one last race that I never thought I'd be doing. I'm participating in a National Championship. Plus I get to do it while representing more than myself. I get to do it on behalf of my teammates of Wheelworks Multisport.

The funny thing is, I'm actually pretty nervous. I'm doing a triathlon far away from home, I don't have Rach by my side, and some of the stuff I'll need, I have to buy when I get there because of air travel rules against Gu and CO2 canisters. Plus, It's a course I've never seen, and I'll be relying on my sister-in-law for a lot. Not that she isn't super reliable, but I just feel bad for asking so much, so she's definitely getting fed on Saturday after the race.

What matters though is I get one last race in, and for a distance this short, I'll get to go all out. Nothing left behind, every last bit of effort given. And it's going to be SO much fun. It's just the right amount of suffering for a trip like this. And then I get to relax and have fun. I have a great hotel room, a great locale with nice weather predicted, and even fairly short flights.

On another topic, just a few hours ago it was announced that Alberto Contador tested positive for Clenbuterol during the Tour de France. He claims it had to have come from food contamination. Clenbuterol is used outside the US to help provide a larger lean meat yield in some farm animals. One would think it's possible he's telling the truth, and the levels of his positive test haven't been released yet. But it certainly doesn't look good, and with the history of doping in the sport, and the recent admissions by Floyd Landis, it's hard to think anything other than the worst.

It doesn't get easier, but it does get faster

As I approach the last race of my second triathlon season it occurred to me how much faster I've gotten over these past couple of years. It's sometimes hard to see it in the race results, mostly because sprint distance race aren't all the same size, so comparisons are hard to make. The stamina increase is obvious, simply by the fact that I finished Timberman. But the speed isn't always as clearly defined.

Last night, Rach and I went for a run as part of week 4 of my couch to 5k training. It has me doing a lot more running than I'm used to out of each workout, and it's a struggle. When I run, I get up near my body's "red line" really fast still. It just simply hasn't gotten easier to run, at least from a perceived effort way of measuring. And yet, when I run, I'm going farther, faster. It's like I still get exhausted just as fast, but I'm getting more out of the time I'm actually running. 

The problem I've always had with running is that I've never particularly enjoyed it. My very active mind has trouble finding peace while I'm doing it, and I almost always feel like theres something more interesting I could be doing. The logical part of me knows that I need it for training, for exercise, and just for my health, but that part is the quietest voice when I'm trying to decide whether or not to get off the couch. It's why I've been on week 4 of the Couch to 5k for the better part of 2 weeks. 

We ran after dark last night, and in our neck of the woods, a woman doesn't run alone after dark, so Rach ran with me at my pace. Plus with her injury, she shouldn't be running full speed yet anyways. And while I didn't really notice at first, Rach mentioned that I was running faster than I used to. At one point early in the season she ran with me, and said "You could probably walk faster than you're running right now." It stung a little bit, but it's true. I'm a pretty fast walker and was a terribly slow runner. I'm still not fast, but I'm shooting for a 3 mile PR during the last leg of Club Nationals this weekend. 

My current best 5k time is a bit over 39 minutes on two very flat courses last season. One of them, America's Hometown Thanksgiving 5k, I believe was measured short, and was not chip timed. Even with the run coming after the swin and bike, I'm still shooting for a time under 39:00, as this course is purported to be quite flat.

Notes:

- Tonight is my last bike ride to train for the race before I box it up to take on the plane. Hopefully that operation goes well and the bike arrives fully functional on the other end of the flights to SC, and arrives on time with me. Last thing I want is to pay $100 to ship the bike only to have it either fail to arrive, or fail to arrive on time. 

- Finally swimming today. Last night it simply didn't work for my schedule. Thankfully this is a short swim, and maybe even ahead of the bike the easiest part of my training to pick back up.

Hub on Wheels, TD Bank Mayor's Cup and a new sponsor

Last summer and fall in Boston were particularly rainy seasons, unusual in both frequency and volume of rain. I remember it well because starting with the day we moved in to our first apartment here, it seemed to rain in Boston on every day we did anything significant. We move in; it rains. We explore town; it rains. My first triathlon and road races in Boston? Yep, it rains.

Last year, on this same weekend I did my first tri out here, and it was pouring at 7 AM, and was still raining at 8 as the cyclists road by on Storrow Drive. I remember taking Rachelle to work before I drove out to Nantasket Beach for the Fantastic Nantasket Sprint Triathlon, and watching the rain slowly dissipate into a sprinkle just as I arrived. The rain picked up again later in the evening and I woke from my nap to the sound of rain on the window. We then journeyed down to watch the professional cyclists ride in the first race I'd ever seen in person.

Flash forward a year to yesterday, and you get a much different picture. A bright sunny morning greeted the riders of Hub on Wheels yesterday as we milled around the "Boloco Block Party" prior to the start of the ride. Wheelworks was supplying race support, and I had a mechanic give my bike a once over as I talked to Gary, our team liaison, about racing and the clubs upcoming "Tri Night". Several of our team members arranged to meet up and start the race together, and before I knew it we were in the starting chute ready to leave.

Riding bikes is almost always more fun to do with someone else than it is to do it alone. Having several teammates around to start the ride made it all the more enjoyable as we took off from downtown and up along the river on Storrow. The reason I say "to start the ride" is apparently, they're all a LOT faster than I am, at least over longer distances. We started riding at about 19 MPH and my poor legs were able to keep that pace up for just about 5 miles before I started getting dropped. Clearly, I haven't been riding enough since Timberman, because I should have been able to hang with them at least until we got off Storrow. 

Once I got dropped, my plans changed. I had been waffling a bit about doing the 50 mile ride anyways, but feeling that my legs didn't have it to stick with the gang for the long ride, I decided I'd do the 30 mile middle distance ride. And because I was now not beholden to keeping with a group, I could stop at the apartment to get my cell phone, which I had forgotten at home. Being that the apartment is basically right off Storrow, I simply took the exit I normally take when I'm driving home from work, grabbed my phone, and got back on by riding back up the off ramp. Convenient, eh?

The couple minute break to grab my phone seemed to give my legs the time they needed to adjust to a harder day in the saddle, and by the time I had finished with Storrow, I knew I was going to be able to finish the 30 mile ride. I started feeling stronger as I got through the first 15 miles, only to encounter hills as we made our way to, and through, a cemetery. If ever there was a metaphor for feeling "dead" after a climb, this was it.

Thankfully the well apportioned rest areas made recovery quick and easy. Generally the ride was uneventful, other than a near miss by a "handicapped" driver in a high-end SUV who in no way was paying attention to what was going on around her. The only handicap I could see was potentially blindness as she almost hit me pulling out of her driveway. And I'm not an easy target to miss.

I've been most of the places the 30 mile route took me, but some of them I haven't been to in a while, and it was nice to see areas like Pleasure Bay and the harbor walk on a sunny day day in early fall. There were sections I wish I'd made more effort to pay attention to, but I was focused on being safe and really just getting a good ride in. Some of the areas that I hadn't ridden before, like Dorchester, I probably wouldn't ride again due to the condition of some of the roads.

When I got back, I changed, had a burrito and a well earned beer, and waited for Rach to finish working. She got down to government center just as the women's race was starting. After a quick bite and the beer I lured her out of the warm house with, we watched most of the women's criterium. With Rach joining the BU Cycling Club for the year, she'll likely be riding in at least 1 criterium sometime this spring, and I wanted her to get a glimpse of what she'd be doing. It's a fun kind of race to watch, as the riders hustle for the line in order to pick up lap-ending cash prizes.

Here's where I get to today's big news. I've been looking for sponsorships for next years racing season as many of my sponsorships for this season are ending shortly. I've got some folks already lined up for next year due to existing deals, and I've had some renewals as well. I'm also really excited to announce that Mountain Khakis has come on as a sponsor for the 2011 season. What I didn't know when I signed on with them is that one of their racers, Adam Myerson, is from right here in Boston. He, along with 4 of his teammates competed in the Men's race yesterday, and did pretty well. I was able to get a picture with Adam and his teammate Eric Shildge prior to the men's race.

Quiz: Which one is NOT a professional cyclist?

That's Adam on the right and Eric on the left. Both of the guys were super nice, and it turns out Eric and Rach have a mutual friend-of-a-friend. As part of the sponsorship, Mountain Khakis was kind enough to let me pick out a few products, gratis, from there web store, and send them to me. They arrived this week, and being the giant dork I am, they're the clothes I changed into after the hub ride. What's funny is that I honestly had no idea that Team Mountain Khakis was participating in the race, as they did not attend last years event. Another lucky "Forrest Gump moment", as Chuck would say. Team MK wound up having a pretty good race, and four of the 5 guys from the team, including both Adam and Eric, placed in the money. I don't know if they won any of the mid-race primes, but I wouldn't be surprised. 

In all, it was a really nice weekend.

Notes: 

- The stuff Mountain Khakis sent me was the first product I've received absolutely free since I started getting sponsorships, so I guess I'm slowly moving up in the world of sponsored amateur athletes. I guess that means effort and a good attitude, and not just results, pay. Now it's time to start putting results in there too. 

- I'm always easily inspired, so imagine how inspired I was after a day of riding and racing! I'm chomping at the bit for this weekends Club Nationals, and I can't wait to get some more training in before the race. 

- A lone member of the Trek-Livestrong U23 team owned by Lance Armstrong participated in yesterdays race. Without a team to help him, he was still able to finish second, and bring home some decent money for 90 minutes work. It just shows that there are lots of different levels of talent in cycling, and the truly elite can stand out even without a team behind them.

- I got in a pretty solid run on Saturday. I really think I have a chance at a PR for the sprint distance, even if I can't hang a 20 MPH average on the bike portion.

- I'll finish today's post with a couple more pictures from yesterday:

Gary Wood and friend getting a better vantage point for the race

Team Mountain Khakis rider David Gutterplan warming up

Sometimes you get inspiration EXACTLY where you expect

Last night was one of our Wheelworks Multisport team socials. We met up for drinks and appetizers at one of the places near downtown. It seems to be a central point for our rather spread out group, though frankly I could do without meeting places that have $12 parking as the only viable option. Rach got all dolled up and went out with the girls from work instead so it was just me.

There are a lot of positive things to take from a being part of a triathlon club or team. Sponsorships, discounts, training plans, and learning from the experience of others who have done more than you all rank real high on that list. But above all that is simply the camaraderie and inspiration that comes from hanging out with the people who have shared interests with you. Plus, socializing coincides better with drinking beer than racing does. Well, at least it's not common to drink beer during the race. I had 2 Sam Adams Octoberfest last night, and boy did it remind me of why I do all the working out. So I can occasionally enjoy a couple of beers mostly guilt free.

I did Timberman at approximately 315 lbs. It's been a month now since Timberman, and I'm only 7 pounds more than race weight which I'm fairly happy with considering how little motivation I had in the weeks following the race. But in talking to one of my teammates yesterday, I was reminded of just how far I have to go. The man who was standing in front of me, the guy with probably 10% body fat, was once a 300 lb guy who had a heart attack at 28 years of age and is now an Ironman Lake Placid finisher.

It reminded me of several things:

• That I'm really lucky my poor life choices around food and exercise from my early-mid 20's didn't come back to bite me harder than it has. My worst health problems were slightly elevated blood pressure during my divorce and of course the fact that I was fat. None of my medical tests other than BMI or body fat % come back with a bad result.
• It's a long way from 388 to 323, but it's even longer from 323 to 220. I have to duplicate the progress I've made, and then go another 50% past that to get to my ultimate goal.
• I've been able to accomplish a lot without having lost all of the weight that I will. 32 road races including 2 half-marathons and 7 triathlons including a half-Ironman. Oh, and a mountain bike race, too. All that while I was a 300+ pound individual. Imagine what I'll be able to accomplish as a 200+ pound individual!
• That this fall and winter will perhaps be the most important time ever for my weight loss as I will have lots of opportunity for success in improving my fitness and decreasing my weight. I have a strong support system (my wife and my team). I have nearly unlimited access to a gym (FitRec) or outdoor exercise (the Esplanade). And I don't have anything other than work and the gaming site as time eaters. Plus, Rach is gone every other weekend from now until March, so I'll have plenty of time to do the work.

On top of all that, I'm re-joining Weight Watchers @ work today. They finally set up a group here at work, and our organizational meeting is today. I'm not officially starting until tomorrow, because we're having a work potluck, and I want to enjoy it. Weekly weigh ins with a group helps me to remember that each food decision is an important one, but that one bad decision doesn't need to ruin my whole day. 

Plus, I'm competitive. I want to lose the most each week at group. No matter who nice I am or congratulatory I am of others who are successful, I want to be the leader. I love getting the little 5 pound stickers each time I cross one of those milestones. Weight Watchers uses a goal system and they usually set your original goal at 10%. That would put me at losing 32 pounds, or right around the 290 mark. That's near my goal of 287 by 1/1, so it seems like I'm going to be in a good place to accomplish it.

This weekend I'll also be riding in Hub on Wheels, which is a city-wide ride starting at 8 AM on Sunday downtown. They have 10, 30, and 50 mile rides around the city. It's the same day at Nantasket beach, the first triathlon I did when we moved out here last year. Unfortunately, Rach has to work on Sunday now, but several of the Wheelworks folks will be riding Hub as well, so I'll hopefully get to spend a little time with them. Sunday afternoon there is a professional criterium that Rach will join me in watching after she finishes working. 

It's looking to be a really fun weekend.