Steve's Road To Iron

Six Days

2009-01-05T11:12:00.002-05:00

Six days..... just over 156 hours.... Disney Marathon will begin. I will for the first time I will be at the starting line of a marathon that I've signed up for, paid for and trained for. I will for the first time see if I can push myself further than I ever have on my feet. 17 miler done..... 20 miler done... am I prepared!?! I'm still not sure. I've felt SO sluggish the last few runs I'm not sure that I'm ready. I have these doubts that I've somehow lost everything from the twenty mile run two weeks ago to today. I have had a reasonable time to taper. I should be completely healed as far a fatigue goes.... but am I ready. Well kids we will see. Till next time.

Thursday Night Twilight Trail Run

2008-08-18T21:18:00.008-04:00

So it's Thursday the 14th and I've had three days to recoup from the festivities on Sunday. Let's do a little recap Sunday night after passing out in the car on the way home from Mentor - we had just gotten on the highway (good think Bridge came to watch and cheer me on... I would have had to nap at the park and then drive home) I woke up as we exited the highway - about 35-40 minutes later. It was a nice nap. Bridge was stopping to get me some food. We got home we ate laid around watched TV and went to bed at 9pm.

Monday upon waking up I pulled myself out of bed and boy was that fun... all the cramping Sunday had put quite a hurtin on my legs. I was walking like Frankenstein all day. Bridge got me to try the stairs down to the basement... I was doubtful, however with the assistance of my upper body I was able to negotiate the stairs down and up again. By the afternoon I was walking better, but if I sat for more than 20 minutes I was back to starting point one. Icing my legs for the second day in a row was helpful.

Tuesday I was hobbling around better than Monday, but not "well" yet. After a rough day of work and sitting all day I went for a walk... thought it would be a good idea to stretch them out and work the soreness out.... since I was signed up for a race on Thursday. So I went for a walk around our block about 1.5 miles. It took me about an hour. THAT'S RIDICULOUS! But I did feel better after. So back to sleep... Icing once again.

Wednesday I took some time during the day and spun... put in about 20 miles.... it was good for my psyche. I was afraid I would be completely sore and unable to keep up on the ride on Saturday and Sunday (MS-150). I felt quite good and surprisingly without pain pushing the pedals. That made me feel good about the weekend and better about Thursday.

Thursday, rough day at work.... left late to meet bridge at the Twilight Trail Run because of a conference call that went late. Traffic happened to actually cooperate and I made it there with almost no issues and quickly as well. I arrived and met Bridget there - she was sitting on the ground stretching talking to a girl she knew form high school (first time I met her - Lindsey I think). She had already checked me in and picked up my packet. We pinned on our numbers... I paced around the field a while and she went for a warm up run with E-speed and Solar Squirrel, and Daisy Duc. When they came back we headed for the start. This may have been the strangest start to a race I have ever been part of. The women all started first...in waves based on age... and I assume there was some elaborate statistical analysis done to come up with these start groups and spread times... I assume this is the only way one could come up with this seemingly convoluted set up. Ok so here's how this works if I understand it right.... your time really doesn't matter. If you finish first you win. The age groups and spread times are meant to level the playing field. You can also register as a single person or as a team... male-male, female-female, or male-female. Winning as a team you take your finishing places and average them... and who ever is higher wins. Ok so your sitting there going..... seems pretty straight forward so far. Well the convoluted sounding section is the age groups and the start times... I'm going to try to find them and add them later to this blog... but some age groups got 1 minute head start some got 2 minutes. some categories were like 35 to 45 year olds and 14 to 18 year olds (or something like that). Like I said must have taken some very extensive statistical analysis feeding into some nonlinear second order differential equation. You'll see if I can find it.

Ok so the race... I'm in the last group (assumed to be the fastest group)... I was worried leading up to the start of the second to last heat... you see there's something else you can do in this race.... you can buy up one age group to put yourself into a better position to win... and I heard a bunch of guys my age buying up... so I was worried that I alone would be starting 16 minutes behind the first group... BUT I wasn't there were about .... 10-12 of us? So we started out across this big open field and had to run a Z shape to the opening in the trees where the Bridal trail was. We entered the trees... with yours truly in DEAD last. Legs were pretty heavy and I didn't warm up much at all... I was afraid that my legs being so tired already wouldn't make it through any extra miles. 5 miles was going to push me to my limit as it was. Once you entered the trees you had about 20 feet and then a creek crossing. There was a guy taking pictures and you can't puss out and run the rocks when there's a camera to capture the moment. So there was a little mostly flat run followed by a hill... and I would call this a heck of a hill. Quite the height gain... so I passed on guy just before the hill. I was following another up the hill. Just before Mile 1+ water stop I passed the second guy in my group. Feeling ok so far.... kind of surprised that my legs are feeling this good. I'm moving quite well... we pass mile 2 and there's a guy who keeps bouncing between walking and running quite a bit faster than I... and there are two guys that I'm keeping my eyes on trying to keep up with. so we running and running and running and running through the woods, and we come to this...hill.... now this hill is some of the steepest grade I've ever run... and certainly the most steep I've run on loose gravel. After making my way down we popped out by Squires Castle. As I run up to the water stop the woman tells me that I'm almost to mile 4.... my head starts to race... Mile 4! I haven't been out here long enough to be at mile 4.... have I? Did I just run right past the mile 3 marker with out seeing it? Oh well maybe she's wrong and just miss understood where we were.... we ran around the castle and I passed the my second woman of the race.... and as I headed to the trail again there it was mile 4 marker. I picked up the pace a bit to try to reel in the two guys in front of me... however I think that they had a similar game plan... once we hit mile 4 they sped up as well. As we headed down the last mile - they pulled away and I lost sight of them.... however, I was still feeling pretty good and moving well for me. I came across a road and recognized it as the entrance to the park were we started, which went I was really close... time to turn on the kick and push to the finish.... yeah ... so that's what should have happened... about 6 steps at a quicker pace and longer stride and my body revolted it said "Um... no, no thanks.... you're going back to this comfortable pace now or you're walking through the field"... so I slowed back down.... till I hit the opening heading back into the Z shape run back to the finish. I picked up the pace and finished as strong as my legs could pull off. I was hoping to break 60 minutes which was my last 5 mile trail race time..... as I got closer I could see the clock I could see the the time 1:04:something. I had two minutes to get to the finish and I would be right around 50 minutes... yeah that's right FIVE ZERO! Ten minutes faster than the last one! Sure hope I can keep that up for a while and get my times down.... but over all fantastic job based on my ability to walk on Monday and Tuesday. I felt good about this old man bouncing back so quickly.

Ok... so it's late and I need to sleep. So later kids!
see you on the roads.... I'll get you an update on MS-150 soon.

Sunday's Half Ironman.....

2008-08-12T19:36:00.036-04:00

Sunday Morning... The weather was less than for cooperative us the morning of the Half Ironman. The winds kicked up quite these wonderful waves causing the coast guard to strongly urge the race director to cancel the swim portion of the race... For me this was very disappointing. I was shooting for finishing the swim in about 20 minutes, giving me a nice start and should have given me a lead over at least a few people. The start would be delayed for 30 minutes while they prepared to start us with a run instead. However, running 1.25 does not help me either get ahead of the field or keep my legs fresh for the bike portion.....GRRRRRrrrrr. So with no swim do to danger we had a uneventful start right? Well that would not have made for a humorous story now would it? So. we are all lined up at make shift start which was an inflated arch....and with about 30 seconds to the start.... the arch began to deflate..... so this was a funny site.....look at our legs as the arch falls.... I guess when you're running a gas powered generator to inflate the arch you should be sure that there is enough gas in the generator to at least get you through the start. Unfortunately the racers commentary was not recorded, we were having very detailed discussions about not knowing removing the swim meant having a"Limbo" start. There was a woman standing next to me and as the height of the arch fell to just below the height of my head she turned and look over (she is about only up to my armpit in height) and says "well that's it for you...but I'm still getting through fine". After about 5 more minutes of playing around the start arch was re-inflated...most of us had already moved to the other side of the arch for the start, but there were a few stuck on the back side of the deflated arch... so we waited for it to completely re-inflate after some additional gas was put into the generator.

I completed the 1.25 mile run in 10:42. Transitioned out in 1:35.... I probably would have been out a bit quicker BUT I decided to try to change into Amie's stuff... which as you can tell from this picture.... would not have worked out so well....I mean seriously her stuff would have been falling off of me right?!? What on earth was I thinking. She has the same size shoes, and same size bike and I really do think she might have copied me when she bought the pink helmet... Ok so yeah there's no way any part of that was true, except I did run up to her bike and take my shoes off.... I missed my rack by one.... one rack too early.... so I got to run over to my bike in my socks. So I'm not disappointed in the 1:35 transition at all.... I guess I could have cut 30 seconds off if I had went straight to my bike and had a clean transition. Oh well. At least Amie didn't beat me for trying to steal her bike. Now that would have been a funny story for the paper... 33 year old man in stable condition after being beaten by 29 year old woman... the altercation began at the Greater Cleveland Triathlon where the man accidentally missed his bike rack by about 8 feet.... but as I said luckily that didn't happen... thanks Amie. So now were off and biking.... Amie and I exit the corral at just about the same time... and got some bad news about Janet... she blew a tire exiting the corral, how about tough start? Janet made a great come back as she flew through the bike.

You can see Amie in her pink helmet at the left of this picture and me in my bright yellow jersey off to the right.

It took me about 8 miles to get my legs into the ride, well leaving the park and hitting some head winds didn't help anything... but I barely broke 16 miles/hour for the first 8 miles or so... just after mile 10 there is a wonderful set of hills (the only real climbs on the course).... so after completing the climbs it was down hill almost all the way back to the start/turn around. I held over 20 miles/hour all the way back to the start (topping out at 38 miles/hour on one of the hills). I was finally feeling like all the hours I spent on the trainer at lunch almost everyday were paying off. I made the turn to head back out on to the course for the second long lap of the bike course and once again that head wind came on strong, however, with warm legs I held almost 18 miles/hr all the way back out to the hills. as I came upon the hill there were two women right behind me. we were up the straight part of the hill easily, then we were left with the winding portion, however, this time the one and only rain cloud had settled just over top of that hill... as I was standing to climb the hill the rain made the pavement slick and the tar patches even slicker... and well you might be able to guess what happened ..... I was pulling up with my left leg and pushing with everything I had with my right and the back tire hit one of those tar patches and shot out from underneath me and down I went. The woman right behind me fell trying to not run me over and the woman behind her fell trying to avoid the two of us.... after checking that we were all ok we walked up the hill.... this was not enjoyable for any of us either. Making it back to the start/turn around areas was as uneventful as the first loop. When we hit the turn around for loops 3 and 4 (much shorter loops, just around Heisley road) I was completing loop 3 when what I think was a wasp based on color and size decided that hitting my arm at over 20 mph was serious injustice.... and decided to sting me on the inside of my right thigh... right through my tri shorts. NICE! thanks! exactly what I needed. As I pulled into the transition and dismounted my bike I noticed my legs were a little crampy.... I completed the bike portion 56 miles in 3hours 9minutes and 52 seconds - (17.68 mph average) - not too shabby. I think I would like to hold closer to 19 next time so more saddle time I guess.

I left the transition to begin the run and something was wrong.... My quads started cramping at mile one. and when I say cramping I mean charlie horse every muscle in my quad completely balling up into a knot of pain and amazing amounts of discomfort. Bridget was very helpful running and walking with me to keep me company and keep my spirits high.... I was hoping to finish the 13.1 miles in 2:30... when the cramps started at mile one I gave up that hope and was shooting for ....... finishing.

The run was incredibly painful and had me questioning what went wrong the entire time I was out there. I stopped at one point to try to stretch my quads and as I stretched my left quad my left hamstring disappointed that I had been ignoring. It cramped up so tight that I was yelping and trying to stand and stretch it out now. Bridget was very concerned that asking if there was anything she could do, however, I do not think there was anymore she could do. She was already being so supportive helping me through the run that was just happy to have her with me.

I completed the run portion in 2 hours 49 minutes and 12 seconds.....for an over all time of 6:13:18. The question people have been asking is well what do you think your time would have been had conditions been ok for swimming... well I would say add no more than 10 minutes on to my time. I think that I would have crushed the 1 mile swim in no more than 20 minutes... why so confident? The two mile swim I did the other week with out a wet suit I finished in 49 minutes. I can swim MUCH faster with a wet suit and only swimming one mile I would not be holding back like I did during the 2 miles swim. I was trying to

swim "quickly" but not kill myself so.... there ya go. So I'm pleased with my time and very very very happy that I've completed this goal and it gives me an idea of where I am for the Ironman goal.. I still need to work on the running.

So some other thoughts on the race... IF you state the course will be open for 8 hours and you know for a fact that there are still people on the course...DO NOT PULL UP THE TIMING MATS AT 6 HOURS!!!!!! I'm a little disappointed in how they ran the event. The support personnel on the course were FANTASTIC, the volunteers on the course working the water stops and giving directions were wonderful. I do not think that we as athletes could have asked for more from the volunteers. I do expect more from the race director and those making the decisions. If the article in the paper was correct the decision to not swim was made at 6am, we should have started the run at the same time we were to start the swim not 40 minutes later. Maybe have a little more of an event after the event... so people stick around. I hear that Amie won an age group award... guess what when she finished (an hour before me) they had already done the awards ceremony.

Well that's all for now.. at this point I'll see you all as I hobble around trying to get my legs working again.

3 weeks out.....

2008-07-17T18:10:00.006-04:00

Three weeks out and feeling strong. August 10th I will be competing in my first half Ironman distance triathlon. The Greater Cleveland Tri will promise to be a trial of my physical and mental endurance. I hope the hours I've spent preparing will pay off in a sub 7 hour race. Typical weekly work outs for as of late....

4,000 Meters of swimming....
60-80 Miles on the ol'two wheeler.....
and as much running as my legs can handle... only about 8 - 10 miles a week...

I know I know... "10 miles a week you slacker!!!!" I agree completely, however, after the stress fractures I certainly do not want to go through that all over again. So I'm hoping that 8-10 miles of preparation per week will get me to the finish line in about 2:30... I completed the flying pig in about that. I'm hoping that the rest of athletic gains I've made will assist in getting me through the finish line. I'm considering competing in the open water meet on July 26th.... So that would be the last "training" before my taper.

Well That's about all I got right now....
Hope to see you out there!

Good Idea......Bad Idea

2008-07-15T09:34:00.006-04:00

Good Idea.... Use trail runs to add mileage to your weekly totals and while recovering from stress fractures! Less impact, typically a slower pace and some darn good scenery as well.

Bad Idea..... Your first trail run.... the Muddy paws 5 mile race.... Not that I do not intend on doing it again next year, but I think I probably should have started out with something a little ..... hmmm how should I say this.... EASIER.... That is one heck of a run. If I counted correctly 18 wonderful hills.... and rolling hills would be an understatement. The switch back stairs (if you can call them that) were my favorite... as you got close to the end of the leg of stairs this fleating hope of ..... oh good the stairs are over would flash across your mind, just before you comprehended that NOPE in fact there is yet another switch back.

A big thank you to Virtical Runner for putting on a wonderful race - a truely well run, marked and supported event. I am looking forward to next year.

This race got quite a turn out this year. the 2-mile race started first, people running with their pooches. Smallest dog I saw was a Schipperke, largest was a Great Dane... so quite a variance in dogs. It was nice to see so many people out running for the summit county humane society. Beautiful day... but a little hot. We were all sweating like crazy - there was one poor dog that was dehydrated prior to the finish, one of the runners and her husband left with the humane society representative to take care of the poor thing..... three bottles of water, a water bowl, and a large piece of cloth to create shade if necessary (from what I remember - I seem to recall a completely full camel back as well). They left in a hurry and unfortunately I can not say how the dog is, I didn't get an update.

So... how did I do? I completed the 5-mile loop in just under an hour. And I can honestly say that was the hardest 5-mile run I have ever completed. I can remember back to the first 5-mile run of my adult life... and it was no where near as difficult as this race. Everyone on the trails were friendly and courteous... You kind of need both of those when there are over a hundred people running on trails that vary in width from only abotu 1 to 5 feet wide. The trails are very technical and for those of you who are thinking about trial running, it's fun, but you have to be sure that you pick your feet up. I never thought I was taking for granted the fact that I didn't have to pay attention to EVERY step when I ran..... well kids. I now know that I most certainly was taking for granted the surfaces that I'm used to running on. When your in the woods with rocks, roots and debris on the trails you are trying to run on you fast learn that you need to know exactly where EVERY step is going to land... and how your are going to push off to give you a place for the next step. There were several areas while descending a hill where the roots were so bad, in my opinion, that you had to be thinking about 4 steps ahead or you would literally have to stop running and walk through the area. Again... it was fun, and I recommend it for anyone who needs a change of pace, but be sure that you know your limits and don't go too far your first time out, or it will be a long walk back once your legs are dead.

That's all for now..... see you on the trails.
Steve

Flying Pig Half Marathon

2008-05-29T15:50:00.005-04:00

My first half marathon back after 2 1/2 years of off of running.... with a lull in running as long as I've had I was unsure as to how I would do in the half marathon. I had some concern that half way through the race my shin would once again start hurting and I would have to stop running. There would be no larger deflation I could think of right now than a return of shin pain stopping me from running again. Not sure I would be able to handle another 2 1/2 year stoppage, luckily!!! We did not have such an issue. Bridge and I drove down on Friday night to visit our friends Dan and Claire who would be running the race with us. Dan, Claire, and Myself the half and Bridge the full.

Saturday we made the trip downtown to hit the expo... AND more importantly watch our niece run the 25 yard dash! She is soooo cute. she did excellent.. even though her mom and I had to run... literally run to the check in and packet pick up so we could get her there on time. So the run down to the start line went something like this.... I'm carrying the cutie pie, and her mom carrying a back pack.... and if you know her it's not a normal size pack is gynormous.... so Bets and I are huffing and puffing our way down there running as fast as possible with our respective weights.... hers flopping back and forth a bit on her back... and mine... cackling like a crazy person! It was hysterical. I was doing my best not to laugh at her because had I started laughing we would not have made it.

Sunday we got up very early and of course were running late getting out the door... we were there on time and got the girls into the corral at the 3:50 pace group... Claire was going to pace Bridge till the turn off. They were doing fantastic from what info I had.

So per doctors orders and the wife's angry looks (loving concern) and my own concerns for my legs I was dedicated to run two miles and then walk one and then run two etc, etc, etc. First Half marathon time 2:17 minutes... boy wouldn't that be nice... but not with this walking thing.... hopes? To finish in about 2:50 - 3:00. So we're running and walking, and running and walking, and running and walking.... I'm feeling surprisingly well for having a long run of only about 5 miles leading up to this race. My legs are light and springy and I'm actually climbing hills better than I ever have. Dan and I hit mile 9 where the Half and the Full split... knowing that Bridget's family and my mom had been there earlier watching as Bridge and Claire passed quite a bit earlier. I commented to Dan that I hope they left or else they wouldn't get to see Bridget later and I wanted her to have as much support as possible. As we passed mile 11 Dan and I ran into my mom. She was walking to the finish, hoping to see us. Bridget's parents had taken off trying to catch her out near mile 15-16.

Bridge has been working so hard and we all had some very high hopes as she passed the half way point which is the last update I received until she crossed the finish line.... she was on pace to finish in a 3:50.... Where does one get an update you ask? Well when family members are walking the course a head of you with a cell phone and are having the updates sent to them, they can update you. Very pleasant the text messages of progress! I think it's a wonderful thing - I thank whomever thought ...."ya know I get these text message thingies on my phone... and all of these runners are wearing chips... and we're recording the times... and ya know we could really automate sending these out to people who are cheering on these athletes so they know when to expect them and how quickly they need to move to the next place". We've tracked a few of our friends through Boston and other races to see if they are doing. It's nice to get updated. So in short thanks to my mom for walking from mile 9 to the finish so she could see Dan and I run and also update us on Bridget's progress.

I have to say that I was not disappointed in my completion time. I had A LOT of gas left in the tank when I rounded the corner for the last half a mile.... I did what every good friend would do when a buddy of yours was nice enough to run/walk a half marathon with you.... You take off running.... fast. Sorry Dan. I just wanted to finish as best I could.... I'm sure you'll destroy me next time like you did in Carlsbad.

Bib FName LName Age Sex ChipTime ClockTime Overall SexPl DivPl
17669 Steven Smith 33 M 2:32:19 2:35:04 4815 2289 163

2008-03-10T19:17:00.005-04:00

Hello cruel siren. I know it's been a while since I've been to see you, however I have been busy... what with the marriage and honeymoon and all.... but I did keep working on the other things in life... the other goals, the driving force to get up and move every morning. The nagging canary that's constantly chirping in my ear... "Oh Steve..... it's time to get to swim practice.... it's time to spin for 2 hours.... it's time to run as much as you think your legs can handle with out breaking again....

So as I said been back at it for a while now. back from the hiatus that is a honeymoon.

Swimming at least once a week... at least 3,000 yards, my shoulder is causing me some heart ache and worry... the shin was one thing, but the separated shoulder didn't cause me that much pain when I was really putting in the mileage.... so hopefully the muscles will get back on program and my shoulder will get stronger.

Biking... I've been spinning very consistently, at least 4 hours a week, holding 18 miles per hour on number 3 resistance. The other day I pulled for 2 hours straight and was feeling pretty good.... except for my butt.... still don't have my butt quite ready to handle the hours on that stupid seat.....

Running... been doing as much as I feel comfortable doing with the leg history that I've had.... Ran another 5k this last weekend, and I'm signed up for St. Malachi 5 mile run this Saturday which should be another good test for me and my legs. Hopefully I can recover from this damn snow storm by then... My back and legs are so incredibly sore it's not funny... too much lifting of frozen water.

Till later. Off to the gym. Must lift and do some carido today and get up and swim and cardio tomorrow.....

Hmmmm is it 10 degrees out or is it just me?

2008-01-25T16:54:00.000-05:00

So.... Thursday night I once again tried my hand at another brick workout. I really do enjoy these workouts. I only wish I could do them with ..... well a temperature above 10 degrees. You know, no matter how well you dress that first half mile is a true test of will. You step out that door, head towards the street, and start to think... "wow.... my face is freezing, glad I put some Vaseline on.....and my nose is burning with each breath.... maybe this isn't such a good idea." You move forward due to self motivation alone, you focus on that which you drives you, the thing you're striving for, your reason for running in the first place. you head out only because you feel you need to, you're the only who would truly know if you didn't pound the pavement today, no one would think you the weaker for not running in 10 degrees..... Seriously most people don't want to walk to their cars when it's that cold.

So you head out into the snow.... yes there is snow on the ground where we live... not much today, sidewalks covered in about and inch or two in places. Just enough snow to ruin your stride as you attempt to keep a good pace up hill. The bitter cold burns your lungs at first with each breath, any exposed skin burns as you trudge out into the night. We headed out clad in our reflective gear, glowing arm bands and head lamps. For a while I felt like a Clydesdale in one of those Budweiser commercials, with every breath a billowing cloud of steam left my mouth and was illuminated by the head lamp, temporarily limiting my vision to a bright white cloud of steam, as if running through a thick fog. We talked about if we were crazy, and if we were under dressed. I had some cold spots on my wrists where I only had two layers on. One thing you typically don't think about if your a "warm" climate runner, or a treadmill grinder is those darn shoes are not the best in the cold... lots and lots of cold comes in through the nice venting material that was designed to keep your feet from sweating too much when it's warm....

It was interesting.... about 9 miles on the bike and a 5 mile run afterwards. My only complaint is the snow on the sidewalks. With every step your feet tend to slip out from underneath you and as I said earlier the harder you push to run up a hill the more your feet slip, and the more steps you have to take... you can't just lengthen your stride, you have to shorten your stride and quicken your turnover to run faster you can move over the snow.... in theory.

Hope to see you all out snow shoeing with me soon!

Winter....

2008-01-22T13:48:00.000-05:00

Well,
I guess it's actually here, even though just the other day I was loving the spring like weather, we all knew it was coming. The white stuff... the sub zero weather..... the lovely days when the temperature doesn't rise above 8 degrees. I know that I need to really start "toughing it out" and do some runs on days when it's only 8-10 degrees out..... BUT as much of a die hard as I am I just can't bring myself to head out in those conditions. SO what's left for StevO? It all takes place indoors... me and my trainer are very good friends this time of year. Today... once again one hour spinning as intensly as possible. My legs are definately getting stronger, I can spin for an hour and still have plenty left in the tank for some more time..... now all I have to do is find more time. I want to be up to spinning for 2 to 3 hours straight by the end of winter. I'm also pushing up the resistance on the trainer as I go. I'm spinning for an hour on resistance level 3, (out of 5) I hope to be able to do the 2-3 hours on atleast level 3, 4 would be better, but 3 would be acceptable. I am doing lots of pure strenghtening exercises in an attempt to help with the power my legs have for the cycling. Lots of squats and lunges.... lots of work. Stronger legs will help all around. It's about 30 out today, so I think I'll go for an evening run with Bridge. Should be enjoyable.... cold, but enjoyable.

Winter? are you sure?

2008-01-11T12:45:00.000-05:00

Monday JANUARY 7th.... seems more like April or early May. So it was darn near 60 today, and guess what that means! BRICK WORKOUT! When it's this nice a day and you've been unable to enjoy running workouts for as long as I have you take advantage of every day you can.

As I've discussed earlier the doctors have given me a thumbs up to start running, and I'm trying to and be careful about it, to be sure NOT to destroy my legs again. With that said, today consisted of an 18 mile ride followed by a 5 mile run.

Due to the lack of running, I have to say that my cycling has improved dramatically. I can finish several hours of cycling, holding about 18 - 20 miles per hour and not be too fatigued in the ol'tree trunks. Finishing the ride this afternoon/evening I felt great heading out to the streets. Bridget came with me for the run today, which is always nice to have a running buddy. I feel bad for her since I used to be her running buddy... and now... well,I struggle to keep up. Bridge is running at a sub 8 minute per mile pace for 5 K's and longer... but I'm working on 9 minute per mile pace for 5 K's right now. We ran 5 miles at a 10 minute per mile pace which was very comfortable for me. I was not struggling/winded/or cramping at all. Last "brick" type workout I did was a triathlon and I was having some cramping issues during the end of the run, so it seems like if I keep myself under control as far as pace goes I can keep the legs moving.

Workout went very well. I am quite please and believe I will start to incorporate a brick once a week into my workout. I think this will be a very good step in the right direction, keep cycling and cross training and add a brick instead of just a run once per week. Maybe next week I'll run 6 miles instead of 5? We'll see. Not putting the distance in front of my leg's healing. I hope you are all well and I look forward to seeing you on the road!!

Keep moving Cleveland!

Christmas Morning

2008-01-02T11:00:00.000-05:00

The first annual Christmas morning fun run!!!! 3 miles of enjoyable Christmas morning running. and 4 people who at least enjoyed the hats as they drove by..... Bridge and I had a nice run Christmas morning. I look forward to many years of continued fun....

Chistmas Holidays.....

2008-01-02T10:37:00.000-05:00

As with every year the Chirstmas holidays brings us happyness and this year some very deep sadness. Kenny P was a good friend and we will all miss him. Kenny's struggles with Leukemia, and Graft Versus Host Disease has been a very motiviational for soooo many people it's hard to imagine a world without him. Kenny was a insparational to me in many ways, he came to work, which I found amazing with the way this disease ravaged his body. His outlook on life and the way he could keep positive with the daily struggles. Kenny made the best of every day, I envy his dedication to living life.... so many of use don't take advantage of every day. I've been trying to get back on the road to allow me to complete a marathon for the leukemia lymphoma Society for several years now. Doctor says it's ok to start running, slowly building up miles.... I was looking forward to finishing the race in "honor" of Kenny, and talking to him about the race. I will finish a race in Kenny's memory. I'm sure that he'll be there to help me along the way.

12/25/2007
Kenneth Pasko, 45 years, of Brecksville, OH, died Saturday December 22, 2007, in Flower Hospital Sylvania, OH. Ken received a stem cell transplant at the University Hospital in Cleveland and fought valiantly the disease called Graft vs. Host (GVHD) for over 6 years. His sister Konnie was the donor of the stem cells. Ken worked as an engineer at Johnson Controls in the Cleveland area. The son of Michael and Beverly (Vandemark) Pasko he was born August 17, 1962 in Toledo. He was a Michigan State University graduate obtaining a degree in Civil Engineering. Ken enjoyed his annual fishing trip to Chiblow Lake in Iron Bridge, Canada for the past 30+ summers fishing with Dick, Stanley, Jeff, Joe, Mike, Dan, Tom, Bill, Steve, and Grandpa's Pope and Al; he also took 2 vacations to Alaska with his Dad and spent about 25 days there enjoying the wilderness and sight of this wonderful state. Ken also enjoyed sports and followed the Cleveland Browns and Indians, Green Bay Packers, and Toledo Mud Hens. He was a member of the Professional Society "ASHRAE" in the Cleveland area. Ken is survived by his loving family; parents Mike and Beverly of Temperance; sisters Konnie (Mark) Tlasky of New Milford, CT and Kristina (Ned) Crystal of Smyrna, GA; nephews Ryan and Christopher Tlasky; best friend Rock; friends Allan, Ron, Jeff, and many others in the Bedford area; friends Ray, Jeremy, JP, Ron, Denny, Tim, Ed, Jeff, Gary, Tom, their families, and many others in the Cleveland area. Visitation will be Wednesday from 1 until 9 p.m. in the Bedford Funeral Chapel, 8300 Lewis Avenue Temperance, MI. The Funeral Mass will be Thursday at 11 a.m. in Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Catholic Church, Temperance where he will lie in state at 10 a.m., celebrated by the Pastor Rev. Fr. Daniel Nusbaum. Interment will be in the church cemetery. The family requests that in lieu of flowers a donation be made so that the family may distribute to the multitude of charities that Ken was involved with.

Hmmmmm Bachelor Party.... Not a good training weekend

2007-09-24T15:22:00.000-04:00

Well well well.... another beautiful weekend over.... and what's that? Oh no I didn't run.... or bike,....or swim..... nope... Bachelor party. That's right over indulgence of all kinds and exercise... well that topped out at swinging the golf clubs. Don't get me wrong by any means it was fun, but no exercise what so ever..... SO.... what does that mean for the woefully behind schedule Mr. Steve? Well it means he has to work A LOT HARDER..... I'm hoping to get an hour or two in on the bike this afternoon/evening before my flag football game... yeah that's right just back from not being allowed to run at all to pushing myself way to hard on the old dogs. so far so good, but still a bit tentative about what I do. I hope all is well with you all in cyberland and I'll be pushing out 5 or 6 miles this Wednesday I hope with my old training cronies from the Leukemia Lymphoma Society's Team in Training Program. Great group of people.

Summer.... Where does it go.....

2007-09-17T15:38:00.000-04:00

So many nice days.... so little time.

So this summer went well. I'm finally allowed to run again. YEAH!!!! How far? you ask? well.... Doctor says that I'm only allowed to run for 3 minutes and walk for 3 minutes for about 30 minutes a session....yeah. So that's great..... LOOK AT THOSE MILE RACK UP! This getting out to run for the first time in a long time is a very interesting experience. One might think, "well after a year and a half off your feet you're REALLY going to need to basically start over". Very true, and very false. My cardio has actually been ok, not out of breath.... I can't run as long, but my speed is ridiculous. I'm running 8:30 - 9:00 minute miles the whole time I'm running. When I dropped off the running due to the stress fractures I was only able to hold the 10:00min/mile. And I know what some of you are thinking.... Yeah that's great Steve you're only running for 3 minutes at a time... and only for 30 minutes.... I hope you can run that fast..... BUT..... as anyone who knows me would know..... I've never been very good at following Doctors orders. I did very well with NO running for 18 -24 months...I think that was very good of me. So I'm running/Walking more like 50 - 60 minutes an outing once to twice a week. I'm covering 5.5 - 6 miles per outing which I think is great. I'm very happy with my added speed, and current endurance. So back at it.

As for biking... well I've kept up with that very well. 100 -150 miles per week.... and holding a pretty good pace..... so now all I have to do is get my butt back in the pool for the up coming swim season and prep me for next summer's Triathlons.

As for physically,..... you might think with no swimming, and very little running that I would be packing on the pounds.... NO Lost 45. and working on getting rid of the rest.

I hope to see you all out there soon!!!!!

Monday Morning Swim.....(edited)

2007-02-12T08:37:00.000-05:00

Well lazy got up this morning for a nice swim. We did quite a bit this morning. Kind of well.... boring, but I guess it's yardage.

800 Yard Warm-Up. (150 free - 50 stroke)
200 Yard Kick
200 Yard Pull
50 Easy Free

(Ooooops.... Thanks JT... Overstating my workout)
3 x 300 Yard Sets
6 x 150 Yard Sets....

Like I said not too "exciting" but yardage none the less.

Not a bad morning - Tendinitis in my left elbow seems to have flared up and will be quite an interesting injury to work through since I can't just say well I'll spin up the running and let my arm heal, since I can't run yet..... GRrrrrrr

Yesterday's TNT Triathlon group swim practice was a nice day in the water but not the kind of yardage I need. We were trying to get a good view of our triathletes and see what we needed to fix on their strokes, to make them more efficient in the water. We have a VERY good base to work from with the group. I'm very excited about getting everyone in the water, They are going to be a very good group to work with through this whole process.

I hope you all are well and keeping warm in this lovely weather we have in Cleveland.

And Depression sets in……….

2007-02-07T10:06:00.000-05:00

Friday February 2nd

And Depression sets in……….

Ok so I think I’ve been VERY up beat and positive about this whole F-ing leg injury thing….. but I’m done with this crap. So it’s been a year since I’ve been able to run due to stress fractures in my tibia's. I think I talked about this a while ago…… One fracture in my left leg and 5 or 6 in my right…… so definitely a stride and gate issue of some sort. I’ve been looking forward to getting back out on the roads and building up some mileage again and the enjoyment of loosing myself in the run…. BUT not happening. So back to the doctor today…. had some X-Rays and a visit with my favorite doctor….. Nothing like the sports medicine / Orthopedic Doctor… who has the pleasure of telling me that I haven’t healed yet… and there fore… still no running. IT’S BEEN A YEAR!!!!!! since we found the fractures…. this is REALLY getting to me. There has been mention of dropping a rod in my leg, and in 6 weeks I’m going back to see her yet again and HOPING to see some improvement… Twelve weeks ago to 6 weeks ago we had a really nice large amount of healing… from 6 weeks to today…. nothing. GRRRRRR so back to the 6 weeks from now appointment… if there’s no major healing my appointment will not only be with my doctor but the surgeon who does the surgery of dropping a rod. How fun will that be? actually having to think about surgery AND the possibility of having a rod in my leg for the rest of my life since it can’t seem to heal itself. very disappointed.

So back to what I can do….swim and bike. and well…. I’ve been spending more time in the gym than in the pool. the bike on the trainer is great, but I REALLY need to get my arse back in the pool and back in the pool on a daily basis. sounds easy no? Well I have a new job that has me traveling some as well, so I need to really start to use the USMS for what I can, and find a local pool where every I happen to go. Ugh… So much for excuses…. I need to go to the gym. Later kids.

Keep your heads up….. I’m tryin.

JT's 3,000

2007-01-25T15:25:00.000-05:00

Friday January 19th

Made it to Practice today….. much to the chagrin of our good friend JT I think…. She had sent me a note the day before that I didn’t get until after practice. It was informing me that the deal is …… We’re doing a 500 Yd Warm-up and then a 3.000…. DEAL WITH IT! So not knowing that, I walked into practice with a nice outlook on the whole thing then as I was talking to JenC one of the guys we swim with comes over and asks… do you know what JT’s plans are for today? I said …. “do about a million yards.” To which he responded with a chuckle…. and “yeah she’s doing 500 yard warm-up and then a 3.000, is that cool with you?”, “I guess, she’s the one that’s training hard for the Ironman, I’m in, can’t guarantee I’ll finish, but I’ll do my best to not hold things up.” As he walked away there was some discussion between him and JT and BOOM… off they went. I talk to Jen for another minute informing her of the “new” workout to which she replied “I’m out” and then off I went…. chasing them for the next hour. My arms are starting to get a bit over worked I think. I definitely need to NOT lift arms the day before a swim workout, but I pulled my way through the soreness. When the pain got out of hand I would do Breast stroke for a while till I could get my get m arms under me again. Then off to chasing again. I think I did about 2,600 yards with them, good day for me… having been LAZY for so long…. to be able to suffer through that was a good.

Week of January 15th......so far.

2007-01-18T16:34:00.000-05:00

January 17, 2007

Week of January 15ht has been quite interesting… the true beginning of winter here in little ol’Cleveland. So the temperatures dropped and so has Steve’s ability to sleep. Sunday night I got to be at a reasonable time so as to get my butt out of bed on time to make it to Swim practice on Monday morning. My old man who happens to be staying with me for a while had quite the sleepless night… and therefore, seeing as how I’m a light sleeper… so did I. After waking up about 10 – 15 times over the course of the evening due to him moving around my house at who knows when AM in the morning, then my alarm went off. BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ I opened my eyes … barely and I tried to stand up and when I was wobbling and could barely keep my eyes open, I decided that I might want to sit back down… apparently 3 hours of “good” sleep doesn’t cut it anymore…. SOoooo no swimming for Steve on Monday.

Monday night…Did make it to the gym for some lifting….. so not a wasted day.

Wednesday….. very cold…. but I was able to pull myself up to get out of bed and drive downtown to swim practice. Walked my way up to the door…. LOCKED! there were a couple of other guys trying to get in the other door. They yelled down to me as I started to head their way… “locked up here too!” as I continued to move their way they started to bang on the door and one of the maintenance guys came over to open the door for us. Not very pleasant… it was COLD… I had to wrap my one hand in my dress shirt in hopes of avoiding frost bite…. when the temps are in the teens / upper single digits I need to remember to bring some gloves. COLD I SAY! So practice was nice… as with the last practice I made it to JT’s already in the water, I’m not sure what time she’s getting there but she was like 200-300 yards into her workout by the time I was jumping into the water. I guess I need to get up earlier. She makes me feel like I’m REALLY Lazy. So I’m getting ready to make my way to the water… and in come Jen. “Hi Jen” been a while since I’ve seen her. She was giving me crap via the blog as well about not partaking in practice. So that was a good work out. my bum shoulder was bothering me by the end… and I had to do the last 100 IM with free instead of fly. I felt like I was cheating myself over that. OH! So what’s the deal with everyone deciding I need to lead the lane most of the time again? I’m back for 3 practices this year and WELL out of shape to be leading a leaf across a pool let alone these peeps! I always feel “on the spot” when they say “you lead” I don’t think I’m back feeling good enough to be out front. I feel like I’m slowing everyone down. I guess it’s could be good…. force me to move as fast as possible and therefore getting me back as fast as possible, but boy don’t I feel like the spot light is on….. good practice though. very tiring.

Thursday….. Went bowling last night and did not get to bed as soon as I would have liked to. Felt pretty good in the morning though. I was thinking about getting up to spin this morning, but didn’t… as I lay there in bed, I was thinking… I should have just gotten up… I’m awake anyway…..

Monday Morning Swimming

2007-01-09T20:34:00.000-05:00

As Gene Autry would sing.... "BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN!!!!"

So.... off to swim practice I went on Monday morning after a long weekend of good hard lifting... shoulders were quite sore going IN to practice, so you can imagine what they felt like coming out. So there I was trying to shower and having quite the hard time lifting my arms above my shoulders... which intern makes washing my face, shoulders, hair, etc... quite unpleasant.

Luckily I was able to not only wash my hair and face but shave as well. Taking two months off from practice is a definite no no. I will not make that mistake again. I am resolved to make practice at least twice a week. Speaking of which I should get to sleep soon so that I can get up tomorrow and have a reasonable amount of sleep.... since I have to present a sales forecast for the next nine (9) months to some VP's of my company.

Rub a dub dub see you in the tub.
~Steve

Stanley the Sty....

2007-01-06T11:39:00.000-05:00

Stanley the sty has finally given me some reprieve from the "what happened to you ???", "is that a black eye??" comments... I actually after work last night found myself at the gym, (well done Steve... Friday night and you still got to the gym)....and after spending a half hour on the elliptical machine (still can't run.... really really really wanna run again) and lifted for a while.... I was in the locker room and pulled my goggles out of my bag... and then touched where Stanley had been living for the last few days.... Not swollen and didn't hurt toooooo bad... So I put the goggles on.... very acceptable amount of pain.... so off to the pool I went. had a nice swim... not too many yards my arms were already sore from lifting. BUT It would appear I have NO excuse to not make it to swim practice on Monday morning.... So there ya go... fish back in the water.

See you soon in the waves.....
~Steve

Back in the New York Groove

2007-01-02T22:28:00.000-05:00

Well not exactly the New Your Groove.... Since I haven't been to NY in quite some time. So yeah false advertising.... What are you going to do.... I'm trying to bring in more readers. Probably would have helped to not have kept blogging instead of ignoring my web based friends huh?

Ok so spinning in the aerobars with the video games has been starving off the effects of boredom. I've also been spending 30 minutes a day on the elliptical trainer and then another hour lifting every day while I can. I had hopes of making it to USMS tomorrow morning... BUT... and I know some of you are going to say... "that's right cry baby wipe your eyes... and SUCK IT UP!" I have sty in my eye right now and it is REALLY annoying to put the goggles on. So I may change my mind tomorrow morning when I wake up and actually go... but not really sure tonight.

I need to start hitting the water again VERY soon however, so I might just SUCK it up and go.... we'll see. why does training feel SOOOOOO hard when you've fallen off the horse for a while.???

Hopefully I'll push myself and actually get to the pool tomorrow. I hope to see you in the pool tomorrow.

Day Two Back on my Feet

2006-12-30T15:53:00.000-05:00

Second day back on my feet spent another half hour on the cross trainer machine and lifted... so far so good on the loading exercises with no pain in my legs yet. I have to be more careful I start to have any pain in my right shin. Doc says that if any pain starts or soreness lingers after my workouts I have to stop the exercises and go back to nada..... Doesn't sound like fun huh? I was having a conversation with Bridge about this the other day and she asked..."does it hurt not?"... I responded no... then she made a statement that rang pretty loudly with me..."well does it not hurt or do you feel no pain there at all?... because we know your ability to pay attention to your pain tolerance works really well". Yeah I guess when you get to the point of 5 fractures in the right leg and one in the left you might have an issue with paying attention to pain or discomfort a bit. So I'm going to be a bit more careful for a while. I'm heading downstairs as soon as I finish this and jumping on the bike.... so the new year is coming soon and I'm REALLY looking forward to it.

I hope to see you all out there and maybe in the water as well..... see you soon.

~Steve

Christmas.....

2006-12-28T15:22:00.000-05:00

So.... Lets see... been gone a very long time since I've been to visit my own page...

So. Here's what's been happening... just had my last visit with the doctor and been given the green light to try to "power" walk or use the elliptical machine. So I've been given the go a head for some "loading" exercises. I've been back to the gym playing with the elliptical machine and lifting so I'm having lots of fun.

On to the title.... This means presents... and I got good ones!

I got a magnetic resistance trainer for my bike and I've set up the game machine in front of it so I can play games to keep my mind off of the riding while I'm training... The magnetic trainer has five resistance levels and is fantastic!

I also got some more wicking shirts and cycling shorts... always a must. I'm set for winter training.

I've also once again signed up to be a mentor for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society's Team in Training. I was picked to mentor for the Philadelphia Triathlon, so I will get to actually train with my mentees this season. I'm setting up some group swims and come spring group rides with these charitable and gutsy folks. This should be a good group and lots of fun training to train with.

I hope to be up and running by February and look forward to a good year of Tri's!

I hope to see you all out there!

I'll be hitting the USMS practices again come January. Looking forward to that as well.

Later kiddos!

Wednesday Morning Swim......

2006-09-21T09:04:00.000-04:00

Wednesday September 20, 2006

5:00 am came very early this morning…. I pulled my self upright and swung my size 12’s over the edge of the bed. Reached to my right and grabbed the ever present glass of water from the side of my bed…. Thinking… “I knew I should have gone to bed earlier, My eyes are burning (symptom of not enough sleep and too much contact wearing), my shoulder is still sore from yesterday nights lifting extravaganza…(which crack head let me lift arms, shoulders, and back on a day before I swim), and I should probably open my eyes about now…“ all at the same time…. as I took a drink of the water. Finished the water and said to myself "You shouldn’t swim, your shoulder’s going to hurt really bad…. that’s it that’s the excuse you’ll use, your shoulder". I laid back down… 4 minutes later the alarm that I had snoozed went off again. I opened my eyes stood up and started to put my suits on in the dark. I grabbed my bag which I had already packed which had my shorts a pair of sweat pants and sweat shirt in it. I walked out to my dining room, on the cold hard wood floors, I shivered a bit as I put my pants and sweat shirt thinking "I should have closed the windows last night, it's starting to get cold out, Where are my flip flps?". It’s a little lighter in here than my room, the blinds let in a bit more light from the street lights out front and the neighbors outside lights that happened to be on at this time. I cut a bagel in half and put it in the toaster. I went back into my room and grabbed my other bag that was pre-packed with some of my clothes for work, shoes, and shaving kit, as well as my work clothes hanging on the door, my dress pants and dress shirt, just then my bagel popped up out of the toaster. I grabbed the light turkey out of the refrigerator and one slice of fat free cheddar cheese. I made a bagel sandwich and stuck it in the microwave for 20 seconds to melt the cheese (which I’m afraid might not actually be cheese). I went to the bathroom and brushed my teeth and put in my contacts…damn it that burns!... I hate putting these things in all the time. I need to get glasses again…. so I can wear them from time to time…. Ok. I grabed my bagel out of the nuker and grab my bags, my clothes, my bagel and my bottle of water which I poured last night and left on the counter so I would remember to take it today. I pulled up to Chester and parked the car. I got out fed the meter and as I started walking in…. JT’s smiling face was there to great me on the dark sidewalk ouside of the athletic building… and drop a sarcastic hello….and it went something like this…”I’m glad to see you…. I was getting ready to send you a nasty e-mail if you didn’t show up today”…. yeah so by now you've read between the lines…. yeah… I Fell off the wagon… haven’t been to swimming practice since last Wednesday. So after this mornings rise and shine thoughts, I’m feeling a bit hesitant about getting to the water. So we walk up the back door… the only way in now since the place has turned into fort knox. Into the Locker room and to change......

When I get back out from the locker room, JT’s talking to a guy that she knows from another swim place, and the coach is writing the workout on the board. Starts with a couple of hundred meters warm up, so we jump in and we’re off. The last part of the warm up was a kick set… well.. I’m not the fastest kicker, nor do I use flippers… so needless to say I was the last one in. Everyone was reading the workout and then talking as I came to the wall. And then it came… JT says… "We voted… You’re going first”. Why do they do this to me? My shoulder hurts from lifting I’ve not been to swimming in a week… Oh well, quite your bitching… put your goggles on lazy….then “we’re going to let you pick the start time though….”, “oh thanks” I say, and “we’re going on the top”. Being Stroke day at the US Master Swim Club Practice, I will have to do back stroke which has been hurting my shoulder a lot, since it puts me into a position that risks dislocating it again, I worry, we also do a lot butterfly. Butterfly for those of you who don’t swim or haven’t ever done butterfly it’s the perfect hybrid of a finesse stroke and POWER Stroke. You not only have to muscle yourself out of the water to breath, BUT to do that you need to get your body in the right position for when you kick, and if you don’t keep a “tempo” to your stroke you can’t continue to do butterfly for a very long distance. You can purely “muscle” your way through maybe 3 or 4 strokes of butterfly, but anything past that you need the tempo / finesse part otherwise you’re drinking A LOT of water. So that’s always fun on a tired body…. SO anyway… Practice ended up good. I pushed hard to keep ahead of everyone, and am still trying to figure out why they think I should lead the lane… but that’s a discussion for Friday I guess.

Keep yourself movin Cleveland
See you out there!

Good Week So Far!

2006-09-06T13:56:00.000-04:00

Tuesday Night Swim…..

Strange Green hue on the water today. VERY algae covered was the bay today, we swam anyway, ok sorry I’m going to stop the Iambic Pentameter …. Seriously sorry. I wasn’t trying it just started to come out…. We swam a mile again last night in Lake Erie out in Bay Village… The CTC Tuesday night swim is one of my favorite things every week. Today was a little thin there were only 4 of us there. JT and I had our usual into the sun swimming extravaganza… where I head toward shore and she heads towards Canada, however we think we’ve figured out a system…. she stays south when we head into the sun and then we just run into each other and then redirect for a while and then do it again …. And again ….. and again until we get across the bay… that way she doesn’t head to Canada and I don’t end up running ashore. Seems to work for us. We had a nice swim last night other than the green meanies on the surface. The waster was pretty flat and smooth for the most part. Not very clear at all, for “expert” swimmers like us that doesn’t matter!!! The water is starting to get a bit cool and soon I’ll have to either don a wetsuit or stop open swimming…. Stop open water swimming it is! maybe. we’ll see. I really hate those things…. ok ok… I know enough of the wet suit bashing…. but you don’t see anyone wearing one in the pool when you’re putting in the yardage during when you can’t swim outside… RIGHT?

Wednesday Morning with the USMS!!!!

Arrived a little early for the swim practice this morning at Cleveland State University where the USMS swims every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings, look for a “legal” parking spot where CSU won’t ticket me $30 for paying them to come use the pool. Found my way in, changed and headed out to the pool…. JT was already standing there marking our lane. It’s always nice to see a smiling face when you get somewhere for the first time. Her being there put me at ease that I wouldn’t be TOTALLY out of my league, because we’re about the same speed in the open water, BUT I haven’t done a 3,000 meter practice in probably 13 – 14 YEARS. I am just not doing that kind of distance when I swim alone. I stretched a bit and grabbed a pull buoy and kick board and look at the black board…….

300 FR Warm up
300 IM
200 FR Pull
200 Stroke Pull
2 x 100 Kick
5 x 100 IM
12 x 100
1st 50M Stroke, 50M FR
2nd 100M Stroke
3rd IM
8 x 50M Kick
Odds FR
Evens Stroke
300 Pull FR

Yeah roughest Workout I’ve had in at least 13 years. My head’s still swimming a bit… it’s not used to oxygen deprivation for an hour and half anymore…. most I’ve pushed it so far is about 45 minutes maybe an hour. So… Big question.. IS HE GOING BACK? HELL YES! I felt great afterwards today, even though I couldn’t pull myself out of the pool, …. Yeah I had to use the ladder… I know PATHETIC! But I finished the workout and I most certainly will be back…

Keep Kicking Cleveland, I’m looking forward to next practice!

Wednesday.....

2006-08-30T19:13:00.000-04:00

So... I guess I lied yesterday... I just couldn't pull myself to get out of bed... Just too damned early for me today. So I got up and went to the gym again. Lifted and swam again this morning. Nothing spectacular... just got up and moving that's what mattered. It's Wednesday and we know what that means... TNT training day.. The group I have is great they are very self motivated and training for the marathons are going VERY well. I get to go and sit and watch, and bring water and sports drinks for them. Need to be sure my peeps don't get dehydrated. Well that's it.

See you all tomorrow morning at the Gym for Lifting, Swimming, and Running in the water.

OK so I skip a few days of writing on this thingy....

2006-08-29T21:29:00.000-04:00

Tuesday August 29, 2006

Tuesday the 29th..... 5:40 am.... pull my butt out of bed spend about 10 minutes stretching... yeah why so late Steve? well unfortunately the gym doesn't open till 6. So I stretched at home for a while. Went to the gym, dropped my pool stuff off in the locker room... went upstairs to the gym. went to the stretching machine to work some muscles I can't do at home by myself. just as I start to get stretching the fire alarm goes off.... we spend the next 20 minutes outside waiting.... then I head back up to the gym... just as I get back to the same spot stretching... it goes off again... I thought I did something wrong.

Well after that fiasco I spent about 20-30 minutes lifting... some good upper body work. Arms and chest.... felt good ... a little rushed... but good.

After lifting I headed down to the pool with not enough time to both swim and "run" in the water so I was a toss up. .... run in the water wins... why? open water swim night tonight!!! FAVORITE NIGHT OF THE WEEK!!!! So spent the day at work... well went ok.. nothing spectacular. Then about 4:3o checked the CTC web site... Bacteria level 98%.... BAD... AND White caps at 200 yards... would have been a fun swim other than the bacteria... so No open water swim... so what is a guy to do?

Well hit the gym for a while.... Lifted back and legs.... then swam about 2500 yards... so Guess what ..... STILL GETTING MY BUTT UP FOR MASTER SWIM PRACTICE TOMORROW!!!!!... but what does he do in the mean time? make Chicken Kiev on the grill.... what? it's not supposed to be done on the grill? are you sure??? Well I did it.... WHY? well I'm cooking for my friends rehearsal diner Friday night and they want everything grilled... I just need to well "snooty" up the grilling that all... So a good day for me...

See you next to the grill!!!! or in the chlorine.... which ever comes first!!!

Guys Weekend.

2006-08-28T21:58:00.000-04:00

I need to get some guy friends who when the ever present "guys weekend" comes around it doesn't involve beer and seeing the wrong side of 5am.... followed by a 10:30am Tee Time which of course MUST involve take a guess!!!!

Nothing? You've got nothing?

Come one.. One syllable four little letters.... NO NOT a swear word. well maybe to some...

Ok one more hint... Homer's favorite is Duff....

THAT RIGHT! BEER.... again. I know what your saying... Steve! on 5 hours of sleep... OH NO NO NO!!!! Hit the pillow about 5:30 am. Was awakened prematurely by my cell phone... buddy's couch must not have been too comfortable....it was 6:48 am. "Steve I left my water belt in your car"

"ok... use mine"

"yours isn't here and I don't have time to go get it and still make the 16 mile run"

"what do you want me to do... it's like 6:30 am and I just got to bed at 5:30"

"could you bring it to me?"

"UUUUggggghhhhhhhhhhh..... ok..."(rubbing my eyes trying to find my eyeballs to put them in in the dark in my buddy's living room with 5 other people sleeping on the floor around me.)

So I drive from Lakewood to Breksville to drop off the water belt. (remember I've been asleep for a grand total of 1 hour 18 minutes) Drive back to my house, arrive about 7:30 am. I NEED to be up by 9:30 at the latest to make the tee time.... cuz it's back out past Lakewood, and I live near breksville. Ok so hit my bed about 10 minutes later 7:40ish. LIGHTS OUT! Phone makes noise...... eyes open... I'm not allowed to sleep am I??? It's a text message from my brother... who lives in China. So I text with him for a few minutes.... it's now 8:15.... eyes close again..... seems like 2.5 seconds later my alarm goes off......it's 9:15... I pull myself out of bed and stumble around my room finding my golf clothes.... clubs and shoes are in the car already... Ok this drive is GOING TO SUCK! so I drive out to Highland lakes Golf club for our 10:30 Tee time. Park my car about 10:10.. I'm the first one there. I make my way to the club house... [my mind pleads with all things holy.... If I can't sleep please let me hydrate.... YES YES YES!!! They do.]

Rest of the crazy's show up and we get in line to tee off.. the start is backed WAY up. We're like the 6th and 7th foursomes waiting... and this is when things get bad... we're a bit rowdy to begin with and I'm sure we did not help the concentration of all those as they tee off. I'm watching keeping my mouth shut as they step up one by one and tee off..... This guy with his Nike Shirt and OVERSIZED Diver (probably a $300- $400 club) steps up and puts his ball on his tee... Looks out at the fairway and takes one practice swing....steps up to the ball... looks again at the fairway visualizing his perfect drive no doubt.... draws his club back... swings through the ball... WHAT A HIT.... it went straight back through his legs and hit the tree about 12 feet behind him.... I can imagine that was not the perfect drive he was thinking of. One of his foursome throws a ball at him and says "HIT IT AGAIN"... the ritual begins again.... this time with a much better result... it got past the ladies tee and everything.... went OH... I'd say 220 yards...very impressive drive...if you're teeing off with a 3 Iron.... if that's how you play golf, DO NOT BUY A $400 DRIVER! YOU DON'T NEED IT.... YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO USE IT!!! SO DON'T!!! try learing how to hit regular clubs first so that when you move to a larger more powerful driver you can control it. So at that exact moment one of my 4-some comes up to me and says "I hate this" "What?" I reply. "I hate when you have an audience when I tee off... it makes me nervous", to which I respond in probably not as subtle of volume as I was hoping for "trust me dude you have NOTHING to worry about after that guys monster drive of 12 feet.... straight back!... actually I'll give you $20 if you can do that!!!!" there was multiple snickers and chuckles from people who were not in our 8-some... I hope someone in their party made a joke.... and I wasn't as loud as I think I was.....

I had a great round for me, for having slept for a total of about 3.5 hours. Nice and calm... first 12 holes went very well, par'd 4 holes. I kind of imploded on 13 and had a downward spiral from there... BUT NOT BEFORE the monster drive of monster drives that I've ever had... the guys with me were calculating the distance... they came up with somewhere between 330 and 340 yards.... THAT'S HUGE!!!! maybe I've figured out that driver! Just need some consistency.... so guess what that means... just like this tri stuff... practice. practice practice.!!!!!

See ya'll on the links...and try to get some sleep... I know I'm trying.

Wednesday Night Fundraiser for The Leukemia Lymphoma Society

2006-08-28T21:31:00.000-04:00

We had a fund-Raiser for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society Wednesday night at Panini's Gateway. They were very generous and I believe you should support business that support good causes and this IS a GREAT cause!!!

A couple of our good friends enjoying the music and each other's company during the fund-raiser.

Some of the MANY Turner Construction contingent who came to support the Fund-Raiser. We thank them VERY much for their support.

Last picture of the night (VERY early on by the way, I got busy behind the bar.) The BAND! We Thank Jugular Jack for playing the fund-raiser for us. They were GREAT!! Again we are very thankful for their support and donating their time and talent to us for a very successful night.

Keep Partying? Cleveland!!!! Hope to see you out there enjoying the wonderful night life Cleveland has to offer... just don't forget to hit the Pedals, Paths, or Paddles........ Pull buoys? Nose Plugs? Nothing good with swimming starts with a P).

Tuesday Night Swim.... to Canada

2006-08-28T14:28:00.000-04:00

Tuesday Night Open Water Swim……

Fairly nice evening for an open water swim. The lake was agreeing with us for the most part, some fairly mild waves. Water was a bit cooler today,… the “wet suit” wearing people are getting closer to the point where wearing them isn’t cheating…. HA HA… that was for you Texas since you said I didn’t make enough fun of you for wearing it today. Pretty soon I’ll have to stop swimming or buy one myself…. Damn the cold. The great equalizer…well sort of. I really thing those things are cheating unless you need them of course like escape from Lake Erie, and Escape from Alcatraz. Well someday Texas we can have a good race with out wet suits…. I look forward to that day!

Yeah so back to Tuesday. My friend D is preparing for the Olympic Length Lorain Triathlon this weekend and he has not yet done a mile in the water. He did today! We did four lengths of the bay today. D did well…. a little winded at the end but completed it for sure and will have enough gas left in the tank to ride and run this weekend. I’m sure that he’ll do great.

OK….again back to Tuesday….. There are A LOT of boats driving around like mad men. We had several pass while we were swimming, pretty close but nothing like the 2 or three boats and three or four jet ski’s that were WAY to close to shore while we were walking down the stairs. If you don’t understand why that’s an issue think about driving your car and looking at the horizon (as you do when you drive) and actually NEED to be looking for a head in the water swimming towards you that’s about……. well the size of a head in the water…. OH and a boat without bow planes will have the bow up quite high, so you visibility right in front of you will be diminished…..So we’re doing well. I feel particularly well today. Nice long strokes, strong and fluid. I’m moving through the water well and JT is there so I have someone to keep pace with, which is always nice. Someone to push you harder and make you swim faster…. SO… again thanks JT for pushing me. So speaking of JT. We were on bay crossing number three heading straight into the sun, which is ALWAYS fun, and if you ever read JT’s blog…. it’s her favorite thing to do. On the first pass into the sun JT was on the inside of me so that may have helped with the problem that occurred on this third pass. We started crossing the bay, moving quickly and it’s always fun to sight into the sun. I use an interesting technique, which is I find a the line in the first few strokes, and keep the sun in the same spot “underwater” only checking the actual “sighting” fairly rarely, because it takes so long for your eyes to adjust to the sun to be able to actually see the land to sight off. So I use the land to my left to know how far I am across the bay and use the sun in the water to keep straight…. Ok… so we’re moving along JT and I are out in front, Texas and D are not too far behind. I catch sight of JT ever six strokes as I breath to the right, looking out in the lake, and as we are moving across the bay …. She’s getting further and further away from me…. So I stop to do two or three strokes of breast stroke in an attempt to ascertain if I’m heading in to shore or she’s heading out… and she’s MOST DEFINITELY heading out. I proceed to keep an eye on her as we move along the bay hoping that she’s going to start heading back in soon. She doesn’t. I stop and start to do breast stroke to see how far out she is and if there are any of our excellent boater friends coming. She just keeps heading out… so I start to tread water and use my hands to whistle at her in hopes of her evaluating her distance from shore and turning back in. At this point Texas pulls up next to me and starts yelling her name. again to no avail. she’s really starting to get out there now. I resign myself to the position that I’m going to have to try to chase her down and grab her. So I take off, luckily when we do these distance swims NONE of us are sprinting, so I can make up some distance. I’m swimming hard, arm turn over is up, legs are going like mad (I usually use a drag kick for these long swims), head up in a typical sprinters stroke (good thing my body remembers how to do that I thought). I’m now heading out to sea as fast as I can go, sighting on JT to be sure I don’t over/under swim her line and miss her. I’m starting to get quite a bit out, and it runs through my head that, hey wait a minute…. Do I really want to get out that far? What if a boat comes by, then we’ll both get hit….. I’m still heading out. I take one last attempt at stopping and whistling at her, I’m bellowing out this high pitched screech that had the dogs on shore (now about 300 yards away) barking like mad. I see her look at my a couple of times breathing every two strokes to the left, and I start to wave towards shore. She turns back towards US waters. Texas and I believe she was making a run for the boarder! I’m not sure what kind of trouble she could possibly be in, but running to Canada was not the answer….. Of course someone brought it to my attention later that she might have just been heading to Put-In-Bay to start the weekend off a little early. But whatever the case, we all made the rest of the swim without being northward bound. Ended up with an excellent swim.

See you in the waves!

Since my last Blog...

2006-08-25T08:55:00.000-04:00

Ok... Since last Wednesday. Thursday lifted for about 35 - 45 minutes then Swam at the Rec for about a half hour straight... some where around 2000 - 2500 yards. Good workout. Cannot complain about how the swimming's been going at all. My stroke is long and strong, Breathing every three strokes currently, and soon I'm going to move to every four in the pool, and then you know where we go from there right? That's right! Every 5! I need to get the aerobic endurance back.... I can do that right? Get back to when I was 18? a 31 year old can get there ...... right? RIGHT!?!?!

Well as long as I can get close I'll take it be happy. I doubt I'll get back to 175 lbs and 10% body fat.... I just don't see it happening, I'd be happy if I could get back down to 200 lbs. That would be good... Of course I have quite a bit more "MEAT" on me than when I was 18. I wasn't "frail" or "Wiry" by any stretch of the imagination, but I didn't start to really retain any bulk muscle till I was in my 20's. I'm spending at least two days a week in the gym lifting to build some bulk/Endurance muscle. Say What Steve? Well I lift 90% of max as many times as I can, 20 - 25 reps for 3 - 4 sets. When I can easily do 25 reps for all sets, move up weight. About once a month I do "Bulk" work. Lifting 100% of max... and you'll find it interesting, building the repetitive "endurance" work will help with your "bulk" lean muscle mass. Ok. where was I Lean muscle mass...no no no... what've I've been up to.. that right.... I get so lost somedays?

Ok.. So then this weekend I headed to Indianapolis for my Grandmother's Funeral. It was a nice day and get to see some relatives that I haven't seen in quite a while. I'm hoping that my cousin and his fiancée are going to come up later this fall to see me. Don't see him much, and they've never been to Cleveland, I think it would be a good trip for them... and fun for all of us. by the way that drive is hell when you don't leave the house till about 8 pm... you don't get to Indy till about 1:30 in the morning. Drive home was nice. We stopped at all sorts of weird places... like some place that could have been called candle heaven.... very interesting...

Monday night I hit the gym again. Lifted for about 45 minutes. That "my muscles are completely dead" is such a good feeling isn't it? I love it... of course that the time to really push yourself, the time to get your body ready for those late race pushes. You know the time when you're whole body is starting to feel like it needs to slump over and you don't feel like you can even lift your body if you were to fall over... THAT'S when you need to push your self. So I do that to me via the weights and then move the pool for a nice swim... another 30 minute swim followed by 30 minutes of aqua jogging. I as still amazed with how much that can just tear you up... who would have thought running in the water would be that hard.!! well I guess someone since they have aqua jogging rehab programs and such. I was just a little late getting on the bus. I actually enjoy it so much that I think that not only during the rehab of my leg will I use it, but also during my training, to keep from injuring my leg in the future. I will train on land, don't get me wrong, but I think that I'm going to do a lot water training for my running, to keep from injuring my legs. Well I gotta run and... BOY oh BOY do I still have lots to say... I have to tell you about our Tuesday night Swim and our friend JT's attempted escape to Canada, and then the Fund-raiser on Wednesday night... etc etc etc.... BUT alas I must run... so I'll fill you in on that soon.. Why has it takes so long this time? well because I wrote all of this once and then crappola happened and I had nothing... so I get to write it twice. See you all soon!

Slacking again

2006-08-24T16:08:00.000-04:00

Been a very busy.... asd slacking on my Blogging. I'll be back later tonight... LOTS of fun things to yap about.... talk to you soon

Golf, Endorphin replacement for Running??!!?!?

2006-08-16T19:31:00.000-04:00

My latest Physical Fitness/ Natural High question:

Will golf make up the lost endorphin rush that I've been looking for since the stress fracture diagnosis????

SURVEY SAYS????
Yeah probably not. But it sure is fun. I'm enjoying golf so much right now I'm wondering why I had such a hard time with it as a child? Why would I get so mad and have such a problem with loosing???......

Oh yeah. I'm competitive.

It's very easy to deal with competitiveness on the golf course... have another beer. Does nothing for your game, but you sure as hell don't care as much. Not advocating drunken golf so don't start, but it sure does take that edge off and you can just enjoy the day, the beautiful scenery.... the sound of a well struck ball.... I need to spend more time on the links. Yeah that's easy to say.... when Steve? you're trying to ramp UP your workouts for the Triathlons NOT DOWN! Well... as luck would have it, work sometimes involves golf. So. I just got a new Driver from one of my co-workers, I need to spend some time with it. The shaft is a lot more flexible than the one I should be hitting.... SO... if you know anything about golf... my hand get way past the ball before the head strikes it. NOT the best place to be if trying to hit the ball straight. So I've moved the ball further back in my stance and I'm hitting it mostly straight.... and tomorrow I'm going to buy a new driver with a stiffer shaft. (YEAH I KNOW! SOUNDS DIRTY......SO WHAT!?!?!?).

I'm enjoying my resurgency in to golf, it's been a very good experience. I've not been playing at all for the last few years and now were near as much as I did as a child. Grandpa used to take me golfing all the time, that's back when he hit a hole in one while we were out. I was all of .... Oh 10 maybe 12? He used to hope I would loose the temper and overly aggressive alpha male about everything mentality... Took me a long time to cool down. Didn't really get a grip on any part of that till maybe 16 or 18. Didn't have it all wound up till my mid 20's.... Still have a bit too much competitor in me at times though..... thus the dislocated shoulder from flag football... I mean seriously who dislocates their shoulder while playing FLAG football??? Who dives for an extra point in a game your team is winning 42 to 7?!?! That might answer the question? THAT was fun... rehabing from a dislocated shoulder and trying to continue to train for my first triathlon. Running was shear agony, and swimming was out of the question for a while.... biking... well luckily the pain from resting my weight on the shoulder wasn't bad enough to stop me from riding.... after a few weeks of rest and pain killers.... followed by a few weeks of rehab..... dummy started biking and running again... I had my arm / shoulder ace bandaged to my body when I did my first 10K ever... The Cleveland Marathon/Half/10K last year....2005 that is... NOW THAT WAS FUN.... didn't have any real pain to speak of until about mile 5... last mile.2 was wowzers! FUN FUN FUN!...

Where was I going with this.??? OH GOLF as a replacement for the endorphin rush of running. Yeah..... NO! but a fun past time to take up if you have some time and a lot of patience. Helps to have a set of clubs too.... not necessary, but sure helps... could get expensive renting clubs every time.

Maybe I'll see ya on the links... I might be the one chucking my 7 Iron into the lake.... or more probably I'll be the one smiling and having a good time swinging away trying to keep it in the fairway. Doesn't seem like something to get angry about anymore.... it's something to enjoy. So get out there and enjoy IT... it's is summer after all... and it will only be this nice for so long. Who cares about reruns of American Idol anyway?!?! Get outside... Weather its on the roads riding with us or in the lake swimming with us, or on the path running with us.... or on the links golfing with me!!!! get out here! Enjoy!

Hope to see you all soon.... Maybe we should have a CTC Golf outing??? It would be fun!!!!

Later Kiddos!!!

Tuesday Night Swim

2006-08-16T07:09:00.000-04:00

Once again a beautiful night for an outdoor open water swim. The conditions... fairly calm, and mostly flat, however, it was definitely moving in one direction. The wind was coming North West to South East. It was definitly moving the water in that same direction, which gives way to some really fun swimming. When swimming with the wind you move smoothly and quickly, but when you are moving in the other direction, however, you might as well be a salmon, because that's what you feel like as you take stroke after stroke and breath looking at the same spot of land just to your south which appears to to stay exactly the same. We did make it across the bay three times yesterday, so it was a good workout.

We had a good group last night, seven of us I think... As always lots of wet suit wearer's.... (cheaters)..... just kidding. I like to give them a hard time about cheating. There is nothing wrong with using a wet suit. I'm a big proponent of pushing your swimming... and if you can do that without the wet suit you will be in better shape to compete in the wet suit.... well that's my logic... and my soap box. So I know, I know.... get down off it Steve. ; - }

I hope you are all well! I'm glad this cold is finally breaking... I was a little worried swimming in the wonderfully clean water of Lake Erie would not be of much assistance in keeping me healthy. I have to say that I feel better this morning than I have in days! So what's going on today? well I was lazy this morning and didn't get up to lift and swim..... SOOOoooo I have to take all day off .... why? becuase I have my standing weekly run with the Leukemia Lymphoma Society's Team in Training.... I'm mentoring a great group of people who are doing FANTASTIC on their training for a marathon or half marathon. Since I can't run I make sure they all stretch, and have enough water and Sports Drinks to be well hydrated and healthy... they had a nice 14 mile run last weekend, so I'm sure they'll be a little sore today, but we'll have a great run anyway.

Can't wait till the next good training day for me! and I hope to see you out there! It's been a GREAT year for training outside, so get outside and take advantage of it.!

Go to your Happy Place.... Happy Place....

2006-08-14T19:46:00.000-04:00

I would LOVE to go back... only got to spend a couple of fantastic weeks there.... but will love "family" time if my brother moves back.

happy places....

I would love to have been training when I was there .... in hind site that is.... not a lot of places better to spend your time "sight seeing" by foot....

Hi....hey.....Hello.....HELLO!!!!!!

2006-08-14T18:40:00.000-04:00

Hmmmm where to start on my rant.....

So I was once again recruited to be the Water/Gator Aid Mule for a long run. This time we're doing 14 miles... of course as you all should know by now... I'm not running, because of the stress fractures, ... so I'm riding along at a very nice slow leisurely pace so we could talk and I could not only tote the water but keep company as well.

Ok so Pet peeve Number 1 for Steve when he's on a wonderful public path... When I say hi, hey, hello, etc etc etc... YOU MIGHT WANT TO HAVE THE COMMON COURTESY TO REPLY!!!!... ok sorry got a little over worked there. So were moving along, BEAUTIFUL day... when I say beautiful I mean beautiful... mid 80's not a could in the sky... Perfectly blue fantastic.... a day anyone of us would have killed for... to be outside enjoying the sun and warm weather training... Running biking, anything. Outside and I know as much as the next triathlete that when your training and pushing it hard you might not want to be chatty with people you pass but I think we all "get it" and at the very least you can nod your head, wave your hand, say hey, hi, hello... or any one of 900,000 other ways of expressing "good to see you out". But what is it about the "others" on the path.... why are they so rude and so .... Depressing.

When your enjoying the path whether you are a triathlete or an "other" you should have the courtesy of saying hi to you fellow enjoyer's of the outside. When a beautiful day comes along and you are out enjoying the wonderful weather... should you or should you not naturally be in a good mood? I vote for good mood. if you are in a good mood then you should be cordial to your fellow travelers??? no? So WHAT is it that makes people NOT have a pleasant mood and want to enjoy the outside with fellow peeps? Seriously, what could make you not want to say hi to other people, especially when they say hi first? you don't have to even initiate when I'm on the path, because I say hello to everyone.... so there's no excuse. So if you see me on the path you had better get that hand ready, or those vocal cords warmed up... Because I am going to say Hi and I sure as hell want you to return the salutation.

NOW pet peeve number 2!!!! When passing...... when on a path... you really, really, really need to notify your fellow travelers that you are passing. So we're moving along and people don't spend the air to even say "Passing left" or something close to that. Now don't get me wrong not everyone is rude, there are those who know common courtesy and notify you that they are passing. Not only is this a courtesy, but for both parties involved it's a "safety" thing. If I don't know you're passing me and I move slightly to the left or swing my arm out too far, or any other number of different scenarios that could harm both you and I. I mean I'm not exactly the size of a truck, but if you hit me I'm sure that it won't be a good experience for either of us. If you hit me with your "land cruiser" of a bike I'm going to take the 80 - 20 spread that you hit the pavement, and if you are so rude as to not notify me that you're passing, then I won't feel sorry for you.

OH... well thanks for letting me rant about people and how they help to ruin my wonderful day. So anyway we had a nice 14 miles other than a few dozen people who don't like other people.... a few dozen like 4 or 5 dozen..... it was a fantastic day and nothing better than being in the great outdoors.

On an unpleasant note.... I was planning on helping out at the Greater Cleveland Triathlon on Sunday Morning.... even set the alarm for 4:10 am.... I unfortunately caught a summer flu this weekend and I spent all day Sunday sleeping

I Hope the conditions were great for everyone's race.

I'm meeting a friend and the CTC tomorrow night for a swim at the Bay. Dave is new to triathlons and very new to open water swims, so hopefully tomorrow won't be so choppy for the swim and we can get in a mile or two.

See you on the path! and try to say hello to me... it makes me feel like you don't like me when you can't even say hi.... and how could you not like me???? I mean seriously I'm the nicest guy I know! HA!!!! keep smiling Cleveland!

Waves Waves Waves.......

2006-08-08T22:23:00.000-04:00

Wish I had my camera today for to take some pics at the CTC open water swim at the Bay today. By the time the tree of us were finishing up I would say the swells were up to about 3 to 4 feet. I'm telling you! It sure made the swim lots of fun. Only got in a little over a half mile before we called it quits. I even gave up on the extra drag suit because I was worried about my own abilities in these waves. Crazy... didn't think that I would actually spend time in the waves when I was worried about my own abilities. Good work out though... had some fun experiences.

So I'm swimming along... towards the sun, which always make sighting fun!, and I'm trying to judge the size and ferocity of the waves based on how quickly and completely the sun that was visible to through the muck that was the water this evening would disappear into darkness. Fun trying to make those judgments while concentrating on my stroke and be sure to keep it long and powerful.

I always love this part too, when your swimming and you turn your head to breath and you still don't get to see anything because the wave crashes over your head and there is only the sight of running water and bubbles through your vision. It's that clip they use in the movies.... when they're showing someone drowning. You see the rushing water and the bubbles shoot across the screen and then the darkness of the water again.... yeah so that was a fun thought running through my head as I swam across the bay and back... Then I was thinking it's probably good that a couple of the people I know weren't in there swimming today... not any of the CTC members mind you, they all seem VERY competent and level headed. I know a few new swimmers who might have been a bit overwhelmed by the situation.... so it was good they weren't there. That could be very overwhelming for a not so experienced swimmer, so my advice to you if you are not experienced in the waves and rough water DO NOT enter the water when it's 3 to 4 foot swells to swim even a half mile, unless you're sure about how you will react.... I was really not sure how some of my friends would deal with the situation....So be careful when you enter the water!

Keep on Swimming Cleveland & I'll see you in the waves!

Missed'em again.....

2006-08-07T21:48:00.000-04:00

Once again tried to make the Monday night Brick at RR.... Missed by about 10 this time. Not quite a disheartening as missing them by about a minute or two.

Left work "on time" to make the ride... then the 176 - 90W interchange was all stopped up and there went my time buffer to make the Brick. I'm getting to the point where I may just head out by my house or try to set up a ride of my own with some friends.

My right knee was a bit off tonight hurt a little on the way back after about 15 miles. Only got about 20 miles in this evening, but I went pretty strong, so I'm not tooooo disappointed. I need to take the bike in for tune up, think it's about time to make sure everything is tight and running well. I need to start stretching out those rides to more like 30 or 40 miles. I need to push those out and start to pump up the speed.... I think I need to spend some time at the gym simply strengthening my legs with some Squats, Lunges, Extensions, Curls... Think those are on my acceptable workout routine with the stress fractures? I DON'T THINK SO!!!! I guess I won't be doing that for a couple of months... Not sure how to accomplish the strengthening I need to get faster with out the ability to build the stronger larger amounts of good ol'Lean Muscle Mass. Well I guess I'll need to find a way NO? Suggestions? Would love to hear'em!

Keep on pedaling Cleveland!

BACK AT IT..... Ughh.

2006-08-06T22:48:00.000-04:00

Always hard to come back when you've been off for a whole weekend because of a vacation.... we went to Chitown this weekend for a friends birthday and catch the Buffet concert. The concert was great. We had a fantastic time there .... once we got there... MY GOSH! The traffic was horrific it took forever to get there, and to get home! But... took a break from the gym, pool, and pedals... so now I have to pay the piper and get back in the saddle. Chicago was great and birthday wishes were passed around and a good time was had by all.... so Now I'm back to the gym in the morning to swim and lift and then biking in the evening... hopefully I can make the brick this week!!! I am always about 5 minutes late and those guys hit the pedals RIGHT ON TIME....so I end up riding by myself, but I'm still riding..... so That's what matters.

Ok so I'm thining about joining one of the masters swim clubs here in Cleveland.... I was talking with JT the other day about it.... I think I'll make her my personal Triathlon advisor. She has lots of good advice so far.

Well Off to bed. Gotta get up early tomorrow. Hope you all are well and everything is going fantastically and you are having a great summer training season!

Yeah so I'm not in bed yet obviously... I got the bone stimulator Thursday afternoon from the doctor. Finally that took long enough. I would have like to have been using it for several months now, since I have to use it for months before we even get close to letting me run again. I thought I knew what the idea was behind this thing but apparently I was mistaken. I was under the impression that it was a electro-shock therapy thingy mabober, but apparently in fact it is a electromagnetic field thingy ma-hickamadoogy. VERY technical terms I know! Especially for an Engineer.... Like a good geek I should do some more research on this device and see exactly what it is, and how it works.... I own little EMP generator for my leg... how cool is that!

Bone stimulator treatment number 3 went swimmingly as usual.... I REALLY hope this thing is working. I do NOT want to be under the knife having steel put in. Seriously now I'm gong to bed.

SLACKER!!!!

2006-08-03T09:20:00.000-04:00

Ok so I've been slacking on my posting.... So ... Sunday it was about 90 some degreed out... and we did the Sweet Corn Challenge - 50 Mile ride... I think they made this year harder than last year. Some of these hills were just dynamite! I had issues with one of them. Thinking I started to become dehydrated which didn't help.... Quad cramping and all that fun stuff.... It was a great day though. Sunny, beautiful scenery and everything. We had a great time, and as it looked so did everyone else. Ran into a few people I hadn't seen in years. That was nice. Always nice to catch up with people.... Especially if you've lost touch.

So... Um ok yeah so Monday I said well... Gotta get out there... 91 degrees or something close... went to meet the CTC Monday night Brick workout group and once again missed them by a couple of minutes.... like 4. Never caught up with them, but did see them on the road again... we passed near the turn around point.... Did a total of about 25 miles Monday night.... SWEAT LIKE A MULE..... This heat is amazing. I put down three bottles of water on that ride. Didn't even seem like there was salt in the water "running" off of me. I would guess that if you were behind me you would see a constant stream of water coming off the back of me.... felt good though.

Tuesday! Had another good swim with CTC in Bay. Didn't put in quite as much distance this week... actually felt quite sluggish and headed in a little early, but did get a decent workout in. I need to start getting up in the mornings.... hitting the gym. I'm a little worried that if I don't start lifting a little more I'm going to start using the muscle mass for fuel during all this cardio.... I also want to get back into the pool in the mornings... I need to start getting in like 8,000-10,000 yards a week.... boy oh boy.... lots of time. I need to start doing sprints... I just have not done enough speed work.

OK! so I was browsing around and ran into the blog of another CTC member... so now I feel like a pansy. She signed up for her first IRONMAN without ever completing an Olympic length tri.... I've done that... but don't have the gusto to sign up for a race... Now I'm not allowed to run.. but I need to sign up for one of these races about a year in advance... so I had better suck it up and pull the trigger!!!!

Ok... that's it for now...
Stay Cool!!!

First Night of Tri Club Swim Practice.

2006-07-25T22:10:00.000-04:00

OK.... So. First night at the swim practice in Bay Village. We did about 1.6 Miles in the "fresh" waters of Lake Erie. Felt GREAT! Good swim... good people. We had a really nice day, water was fairly smooth for Lake Erie. We had a really nice storm roll through about 4:30 - 5:30... Thunder, Lightning, Monsoonesk Rains... Fantastic... Thought it might be cancelled.... got there and was joined by 5 other die hards... the clouds subsided and we had we hit the water right on time... 6:30. Busted out the first 3/4 mile, almost effortlessly. We were just cruising through the mileage, Made the next pass across the beach and then P and I raced the next pass across the beach and we both decided that "NOW THAT is the way that these practices should GO!!!!" While we treaded water waiting for the rest of the group we chatted about proper strokes. N and I chatted about his stroke and what he could fix to speed up a bit. It's an unfortunate issue with most triatheletes... no one taught then how to truly swim. Most of us are lacking the knowledge that comes with years and years of organized swimming... The proper stroke Technique. It's very important for both efficiency and for speed. So P and I were giving N some pointers when we finished the swim. I think that with some very simple changes he can really get quite a bit faster and more efficient. So we have something to work on for the next couple of weeks..... So that's it for Today.... OH... and my recommendations are for anyone who is trying to speed up their swimming time... when you practice do it with drag.... it will improve your power. which is very important when your talking about open water swimming. I always wear my speedo and a pair of swimming trunks, and a shirt (spandex)... when I get a bit stronger I'll add some more drag.... when you take off the drag or put on your wet suit you will "FLY" through the water.... Stronger and with effortlessly.... think of it as if you were running all the time with one of those little chutes on that football running backs use to improve their speed.... Ok... Seriously Gotta go. Tators Kids.

Feelin'' the depression from lack of running......

2006-07-19T19:20:00.000-04:00

So... What is it about running that makes you feel that much better? Why does biking or swimming not fulfill my body and brain's need for endorphin release? I can swim... a mile or two and finish... be tired... a little Jello-eeee in the arms and just in general feel like I've gotten a good workout... but not that high that comes with running.???? I think it's partly to blame for my BLAHness right now. Doesn't help that I'm at this moment sitting at a park bench watching my mentees from the Leukemia Lymphoma Society's Team In Training run, and can't join them.... part of the whole mentor experience is to spend that time with them, training.... talking.... Putting their minds at ease that the Marathon they are training for isn't going to be that big of a rock to jump over....It'll be a challenge... no doubt..... but not the shear rock face and you're standing there with no equipment with which to climb that some people make it out to be. I'm a firm believer in you can do what ever you put your mind to..... you just have to give yourself up to it.... whatever "IT" is and give yourself to it completely.... now that may cause you some issues... like scheduling issues, and sometimes... sleeping issues... Socializing issues... but these are the things you agreed to give up when you agreed to "give yourself to IT". Now that sounds kinda dooms dayish... because I know plenty of people who have been more than successful in balancing their life and their "IT". You just need some very understanding people around you.... especially loved ones. I hope that you all do have those people around you and they are supportive to the point of fault. It's amazing how much the positive comments of a loved one can do for you.... or seeing their face as you push your way up a hill...feeling the burn in your legs and that little prick that lives in the back of your head.... just sits there telling you "just stop, seriously you don't need to be doing this.... listen you got up, you got here, you made it through most of this thing.... that's enough isn't it.... listen your legs hurt... your tired... you've swam, and biked, look just stop and walk..." and then you see somehow out of the sea of faces that one that you know... that person who's voice is carrying over everyone elses... they're here cheering for YOU.... and it's amazing your brain just slams that door... listen little gremlin guy... GO HOME!!!! and your legs feel lighter... and your cadence goes up a bit and you've got a little more spring in your step... and then it comes the thing that takes away the pain.... (NO NOT ADVIL).... then you smile, and as soon as those lips turn up your rain just injects this boost of endorphins into your body... you go numb to the pain, you stop struggling, and just run for the pleasure of it.... you can't believe you ever doubted yourself. You push yourself to the next familiar face, pushing harder than before and smiling bigger than before. Then it RRRRREEEEAAAAALLLLLYYY hits you .... that moment every everyone in the race is waiting for... if you've done one of these longer races you know what I'm talking about.... your exhausted, this RIGHT NOW... today your race is THE FARTHEST you've EVER gone...and there it is.... the finish. AND NOTHING feels like getting to that finish line and stepping across it and saying to yourself, I've done it.... I've beaten you. and then .... in a hour, or a day, sometimes a week.... you then decide it wasn't that bad.... and NOW I've got a GOAL!!!!! beat my last time! and so you start training again....and maybe it's that expectancy of that flood of emotions that gives you the high... maybe it's you're naturally on a level higher than normal, because ,you in the back of you mind, remember that moment.... well that's it for now kiddies. thanks for reading.

2006-07-17T21:33:00.000-04:00

Runs prior to the development of stress fractures..... Those were the days. Life was soooo nice back then.... But just think that this gives me time to concentrate on my swimming and biking.

Since the last posting I've been working WAY hard on my house.... We painted just about every room in the house and redecorated just about everything. I also poured about 3 yards of Concrete on my front porch to create a new topping. Had to build the form and mix two bags of concrete with a bonding agent and THEN the cement truck showed up.... It's was pretty cool actually. The truck mixed the cement right there... Not one of those big mixer trucks... Pretty sweet. The truck was split into two sections one for the rock and one for sand and a water reservoir. So it backed up to the porch and poured it into wheelbarrow and then I would dump it and then we had to level it and then bull float it, and then smooth it out and then brush it.... Then seal it. Looks really nice actually. THEN came the retaining wall / planter. I built a retaining wall with one of those retaining wall systems.... 82 pounds interlocking bricks.... WOWZERS! Lots of block moving... Then you have to fill the retaining wall / planter with 3 TONS of stone... Then yard after yard after yard of dirt to fill it with.... Now all I have to do is plant some stuff in there. Sooner or later. It looks good none the less.

Saturday we had a fundraiser in my back yard for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society.... We had a corn hole tournament. Went over very well. 16 teams and a very wonderful day for a double elimination tournament, some hotdogs, hamburgers, and roasted corn. Great day.... We made some very good money for the cause and everyone had fun. We'll do it again next year I think.... Maybe we'll do it again sooner.

Been great. Talk to ya all soon.

Bringing you up to date.......

2006-07-11T15:28:00.000-04:00

Hi All.... We're just getting started on this whole weird, exciting and contorted trip. For any of you who me or knew me in the past this is one of those HOLY COW!!! he's doing WHAT???? kind of things. A guy who went from 170 playing college water polo to almost 300 playing flip cup and beer pong... is going to swim 2.4 miles, followed by riding 112 miles, and finishing with a Marathon?... right I bet he can't even walk 26.2 miles.... Well that's the plan...

First Triathlon - Olympic Length - Cleveland Triathlon
July 17th 2005
1500 Meter Swim
28 Mile Bike
10K Run
3 hours 15 minutes.... spent 15 minutes in the transitions... HA!

First Half Marathon - Carlsbad Marathon and Half (CALI BABY!!!!)
January 15th 2006
13.1 Miles
2 Hours 17 Minutes

First signs of Stress Fractures...
Pain... well January 1st 2006
Diagnosed after months of pain....March 2006.

Currently July 11th 2006,.... Starting Bone Stimulator in about a week.
This lovely device will hopefully stimulate growth and repair of my right tibia.
I will be down from running for AT LEAST 3 months.... perhaps 6.
Still a better option than steel.
Sooooo I'm concentrating on what I'm allowed to do while I heal... Swim and Bike!

Obviously I need to get back running before I complete an IronMan Triathlon
Talk to you all soon....
Thanks for stopping by.!