TeamBigWave

Out of the Darkness

2008-09-04T20:37:00.004-04:00

I got just two blocks away from the finish line. And now my legs are starting to shut down. The street is dark but I can hear the crowds roaring.

Unfortunately, I am fading and I am pretty sure that there are less than a few minutes to go before the whole course is shut down.

Out of the darkness, a volunter gets right up in my grill and says, "You have got to move--NOW". I told him that my legs would not work. He says I have four minutes to go and starts o bark out instructions, "Swing your hips----Breathe this way---Do not stop". Clearly this man is a trained professional.

He gets me through one block in a minute and a half.

Now I can see the arch that leads to the finish line. There are massive neon signs lit up. There are huge spotlights on the finish line. The clock is ticking. The crowd roar is huge. I can also hear a countdown going on and I know that they are counting down the closure of the course.

The volunter (Dark Angel) tells me that he is going to leave me at the arch and that I need to make it to the finish line. I pass the arch swining my hips and now the legs are locking up further. They are basically non functional and just 25 yards from the finish I am not sure I can stand up. I realize if I fall that crawling will actually take too long.

Out of knowwhere and with no active higher brain function, I let out a yell. An incredible hulk kind of yell. The kind of yell that is not pre planned and that has no other purpose than survival. This launches me across the finish line. For a second I am not sure that I crossed it but then another volunteer catches me. He is as happy as I am and wants to put me in a wheelchair--I refuse because I know that I will get up again if I sit down now. Out of the corner of me eye I see Lisa and Jody running towards me. I recognize them but cannot but the whole scene together-
I look at the guy and say, "Holy ------- ---t"

Next the aftermath

Run for the Roses

2008-09-04T06:21:00.003-04:00

I am actually suprised to make it off the bike. I am very happy to see Lisa and Christopher. So after 112 miles of torture its time to switch to the next part of the plan.

My main focus is on getting through the transition quickly. They send a volunteer to follow you through the whole process. Its in case you need something and also in case you fall over. I was scared to death to bend over and put on socks and shoes since I was convinced that a massive leg cramp was on its way. He was kind enough to oblige and had been doing it all day long.

My first thought was to figure out when the course was going to close. Because of the nature of the start, the course closure time was not fixed. I need to know the closure time to calculate a pace that I will need to finish. I settled on 12:30 am as a closing time so that meant about 15 minutes a mile and I will be able to finish.

I started out walking and had a smile on my face. The first two miles go out and back over a bridge to Indiana and are pretty hot. That part went well and I was able to see Lisa and Christopher twice. I set my watch and would check every mile. The plan was if I dropped below the pace or if my heart rate got too high, I would drop out of the race.

The next part heads through town and then out past Churchill Downs for 6 miles out and 6 miles back.

Trouble begins. My first problem is that I cannot run at all. My heart rate jumps so high and my leg begin to cramp every time I run. But I am keeping a pace just below 15/mile walking and so why ruin a good thing. Worse though, my practiced nutrition plan is not working. I cannot get any food down and so I am going to need a back up plan. In the first loop I settled on water along with PowerBar and pretzels.

The first loop is great, sort of. I talked with a church lady and liked her hat. I settled into a routine. I made it out and back and now had to head for the second loop. Things get rougher though----now its dark, the first loop takes you right next to the finish line and then turns you back (demoralizing)---did I mention it is dark and most of the people are now off the course so it is lonely.

Early on in the second loop I feel like there is a sliver in my shoe. I bend down and take it off but develop a huge cramp and now can barely stand up. So I am hopping around Louisville streets trying to work this out. A volunteer looks me in the eye and says, "Put that shoe on and start runnning." I do what I am told.

Along the walk out I met up with a guy named Kurt who is in the same shape that I am. He , however, can see so we can get the time and splits from his watch. I can do math so I calculate the splits. Now we have a little team. We also settle in to a strategy that has us eating one water, one coke and multiple pretzels at each stop. Believe it or not the volunteers are out in full force, the cops have the course fully controlled and there are still race fans.

Near the turn around we pick up a third guy who specializes in telling crazy stories and so now out team is complete. He also tells me that he trains only an hour on the bike and refuses to run. In addition they are making a documentary about this guy for reasons that were never clear.

Working together we are just barely on track but on track nonetheless. So we move forward, shoulder to shoulder, and the finish line is coming up. At Mile 25 my legs begin to seize--Oh, Oh.

I tell the other guys to go ahead. My right thigh is in fully shutdown. My left calve is out of power and now I am fading. I am kind of stiff leg but moving when I turn the corner with two blocks to go.

Next disaster strikes and a dark angel apears......

The Sun Shines Bright on My Old Kentucky Home

2008-09-03T20:39:00.002-04:00

things looked so promising after the swim. I headed off onto the bike and within 20 Miles I knew something was wrong. Work not hard yet but Heart Rate too high and too soon. The first 14 miles are about flat before heading into the rural areas. On my best day I can make it through this section in about 1:05. Today I go there in 1:20 and with a way greater effort.

I am a pretty negative person. So give me a bad situation and I can make it worse. The only thought in my head ,"I am not going to make it" , "How do I drop out?" and , of course, "Does this suit make me look fat?"

Things got worse and around mile 38 I started to write the speech I would give the kids--Sometimes you do not make but you still gotta try, it wasn't my day, the journey not the destination--I even visuilized what room I would do it in and where i would it them. This is not typically recomended as a winning attitude. Only one part of my mental strategy worked--here it is---I normally get one part of a really bad song in my head and then cannot get it out. For instance, a song like "Baby, One More Time." To defeat this, i made a CD pf a bunch of great songs. On race day the song in my head was "Jesus,etc" by Wilco--score one for me.

I saw the family twice as we passed through LaGrange. By the second loop the fear in their faces was obvious. Of course all of the other racers had gone through and now I was passing through town with tumbleweeds. Struggling and struggling.

I got to the last 33 miles which is a straight shot back to Louisville. Now the challeneges are multiplying--Heat rising, two stops have run out of water (and the Baptist churches running the spots are unable to summon miracles), riders are literally lying in ditches on both sides of the rode ( 9.5 % of folks would not finish the race).

I am planning what happens when I get plucked from the race since you have to be off the bike by a certain time or they pull you. A slightly strange thing then happened--I hit the easier part of the course and started to make a little time.

Now i am pedaling faster and trying to make some hay. I head back into to Louisville along the river. Now I am faced with the cruel reality that no force is going to pluck me from the race--They will let me continue--I hate a choice like this. Lisa and the kids are glad to see me and are now fully aware of the bad position we are in. Frankly, they are suprised I am not returning in a medical van

Run?????

The Swim Starts or "Fatman Begins"

2008-09-03T07:13:00.002-04:00

I got in the water just before 7:30 and early on knew that it was going to be a great swim. We start by going upstream for about a mile in this somewhat protected area. The water temp was 83 degrees , so no wetsuits. After three years of struggling with the swim, I could tell that I finally had this beast under control. It only took four years, daily practice and lessons from 5 different instructors, but hey. I made it up to the turnaround marker and then stopped for a few seconds. A number also stopped at that point and i think we were all somewhat shocked that we had mad it this far. So a tiny thirty second party was going on in the middle of the fourth busiest shipping channel in the US. I knew the current was great further out in the river so i tried to get in the middle. At a few points I developed cramps in my foot which were scary and at one point I started to cramp in my thigh--big scare. I was able to work things out and keep moving.

We had to get under two bridges to reach the finish. Even with the current, the bridges seemed to come slowly. I then had to angle for the finish line and account for the current. All of that went well and the whole family was there at the finish.

Off to a great start and ready for the bike.

This is Gonna be Great

2008-09-03T06:42:00.003-04:00

My race report begins on the Thursday before the race. I had booked a room at the Galt House which is right on the water. It is also where Hugh Hefner stays with his girlfriends for the Derby so it seemed good enough for me.

The issue is that I had forgotten what kind of room had been booked. Due to availability I could only get a suite. So I walked into the room and my first thought was, "Honey, pack up the kids. We're going on vacation." Let me back up. Training for IM is so time consuming that I felt guilty about all of the problems I caused for my family. You can only do early am workouts up to a point. Once you get out to 8-10 hour workouts you are pretty much useless to anyone. So my original plan was to have the family only see some of the bike on Sunday and then head home. But as soon as I saw the room and the excitement in Louisville, I knew they would have fun at the Galt House. Ok, so it was a huge boost to me as well.

We follow the motto, "Semper Gumby" (always flexible), so Gerri got on board and the next day I went back and got the whole crew and got them down for the race. But not before I registered and did the practice swim. The practice swim went great and I really knew that I was going to handle the river without problem. The only issue was that my heartrate felt a little high--omnious forshaddowing of trouble music begins to play.

So the crew came down and had fun generally exploring the giant sized hotel.

On race day we had a decision to make. Should I go to the swim start early or late. Due to a complicated quirk of this race, an early start would actually give me a little longer to finish the race but of course would make me more tired. We decided to go with a later start and more sleep. So I got up with what I thought was enough time, but when I got to transition it was clear that I was late. I then got sent in the wrong direction. The next thing I heard was, "Transition closes in 5 minutes."

Time to get to work. Pump the tires, get the food on the bike, arrange the gear--just done in time. Off for the mile walk to the swim start. When I got to the start, the line was huge but I was able to meet up with David and Jody and we settled in about 2/3 of the wy from the front.

Gross alert---My stomach got really active at that point so lets just say that having porta-johns nearby was a lucky thing. I believe the phrase is , "scared ----less."

The Race Report Starts

2008-09-03T06:32:00.002-04:00

Ironman was a tremendous experience. I thought I would give you a report in five sections: The three race phases plus reports on on pre and post race. Lots of fun stuff to talk about and too many funny stories to count

Ironman

2008-09-01T16:16:00.002-04:00

I am an Official Ironman. The rest of the story is beyond belief. So as soon as the enormous blisters on my feet abate and as soon as my legs begin to funstion again, then I will give you the full story.

I promise it will be worth the read.

Live From the Race Venue

2008-08-30T17:00:00.002-04:00

We are just fourteen hours before start time and things are heating up. I am not speaking figuratively. It is boiling hot down here. I was prepared for hot but give me a break.

I think I got dehydrated just walking the mile to the swim start. So tomarrow will belong to the following groups of people;

1)The Thin--Is this not always the case. If only I had known the eating right and being healthy could be an advantage.

2)The Hydrated--This one I can do. I have made huge mistakes in the past but now those mistakes come back to help me.

3)The Paced--Tomarrow is not a day to go fast. It is a day to survive. Frankly, that's where I live. every workout is survival for me. So I have a good feel for what I can do in these condtions.

A few other points:

1) I went to the swim start and it looks even more attractive. Secluded, narrow and less current than the main channel. After we hit the turn it is out into the main shipping channel for a big long float home.

2)All kidding aside, the heat could turn tomarrow into a bloodbath. i would suspect there will be a high number of non finishers.

3)Given the conditions I peg my chances of success tomarrow at 60-70%. Sorry I meant to say----IRONMAN or BUST

Its Fun Until Someone Puts and Eye Out

2008-08-30T07:12:00.002-04:00

I really want to finish the Ironman. Reasons:

1)The other day I was driving down to Louisville and i got passed by a car with a Tri bike on the back. The car was obviuosly heading to Lousiville for the race. I started to cry---just a little---because, well because I was doing the same thing. I used to go to events like this and thing the people in them were so cool and I could never do that etc. Now here I am doing it. But it only, really works if I finish the race. Its one thong to be a goofy,funny, slow last place finisher. It is another thing to be goofy, funny , slow and Not Finish---The punch line only works if I finish.

2)This is the three year aniversary of Lisa's transplant. There were four times during that period that I thought I had lost her. Others have not made it in a similar time frame. So this is a celebration not of the the impossible but of the difficult. But the celebration only,really works if I finish.

3)Training for this stuff is really a pain in the neck. If I fail to finish, I will feel compelled to come back and try again. I can avoid Ironman training next year only if I finish.

4)I have what most people would call a "big mouth". So lots of people know that I am doing this race. That means that I am going to be asked a thousand times, "did you finish?"--I can answer yes only if I finish.

5)I think chicks dig this sort of thing, but only if I finish

What a Scene

2008-08-29T22:02:00.002-04:00

I have been down in Louisville getting things set up. It is a crazy scene down there.

1)Got everything set up and then spent most of two days trying to make sure that I had not forgot something--huge anxiety

2)Had a bad meal at Champions bar--then I noticed the Ironman Champ leaving from the same place. So he eats the same crap I do.

3)The heat is up, up ,up. But no rain and little wind.

4)I got to do a practice swim in the river today. It went really well. Clearly my swimmong has improved a lot and if I execute, I should be ok for the first leg.

5)I have been keeping track and believe that there may be two guys fatter than me. So my only hope is to finish ahead of the really old guys.

6)The finish line is going to be super exciting with a real party like atmosphere.

7)Louisville is on fire with tons of people and a million things going on right now.

8)I am planning on bringing the whole crew down to Louisville tommarrow. I actually came home tonight. This turned out to be a good thing since I was getting a little buggy down in Louisville.

Payback

2008-08-28T10:50:00.002-04:00

Over the past five years we have been able to raise a lot of money through the genrosity of our donors. Also our TeamBigWave folks have gone out and really hit the pavement for our cause---Buddy, Sara, Carol, David, Greg, Brian, Gwen.

So each part of the Ironman gets a dedication. Of course if I collapse and give up during your segment you will be extra honored.

SWIM
Start-Chun
Leg 1-Kushner
Turn-Jody and David
Leg2-Gruber
Finish-Chung

BIKE
Miles
1-10-Valerie
11-20-Terri
21-30-Johanne Servedio
31-40-Rogers
41-50-Hurst
51-60-Al and Michele
61-70-The Carpenters
71-80-Inoglia
81-90-Spink
91-100-Maddock
101-110-Jeanette and Frank Servedio
Finish-Angie Eazzetta

RUN
Miles
1-Nelson and Carol
2-Gizzi
3-Bill and Margie Servedio
4-Marra
5-Gunza
6-O'Neill
7-Gee
8-Disipio
9-Rothaus
10-Bill and Ann
11-Boland
12-Avers/St. John Associates
13-TeamBigWave Team
Turn-Murtaugh Family
14-Szawaluk
15-Hammerman
16-Caples
17-Linda Reid Baker
19-Macks
20-Our past and Future donors
21-Lisa (First Treatment)
22-Christopher
23-Andrew
24-A special person
25-Adult Cancer Patients
26-Kid Cancer Patients
Finish--Family

Let's give it a whirl. Check out www.ironman.com or www.ironmanlive.com and use the athlete tracker to follow me on race day. Projected start 7 am, projected finish 12:30 AM

Heading Down to Louisville

2008-08-28T10:44:00.002-04:00

I am just now heading down to Louisville. Triathlon is a whole big production and Ironman is like the Oscars. I have gear for three sports plus special food and back gear and sunscreen and chamois creme (dont ask)

A few things:

1) I looked up the last finisher under 17 hours, a certain Mr. Seale. I can do all of his times. The question is , "Can I do them back to back to back in the hot sun"?

2)I generally pay no attention to the weather but at this point I check the forecast every hour. Good Stuff--no rain, low humidity, temps not around 100 Bad Stuff---Big Sun, Temps around 90====all in all a fair deal and I will take it. Water temp not known but we anticipate a NON wetsuit swim

3)Andrew took me out for a training run today with him on the bike. He thinks I can finish but if not we can come back and try another day

There is still time to donate--just email me at murtaught@yahoo.com

More Donors on Board

2008-08-26T21:53:00.002-04:00

I found the piece of paper that reminded me of a few more of our supporters and donors:

The Carpenters
The Spinks
Linda Baker

Also, since our blog fired back up The Szawaluks and Barbara Boland have pitched in with donations. If you are interested in being a donor send me an email at murtaught@yahoo.com

Join in and cure blood cancers--donate to Team in Training and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society

It seemed Like a Good Idea

2008-08-26T12:50:00.003-04:00

It seemed like a good idea at the time:

1)I will sign up for Ironman and during training correct my nutritional problems and race at a low weight. Wrong--Should have lost weight before. Now must pay the price

2)I will get my nails trimmed before the race so they do not dig into my toes. Wrong--I called a place that does salon work for men only. I figured they must get a lot of guys in there with the same problem. So I went for my pedicure. I really just wanted my nails trimmed. The whole concept of an endurance race seemed foreign to the girls (more about that later). So I ended up with a true pedicure and a little buffing on the nails. I had to tell them to not take off my callous--I need those little buggers come Sunday night. But wasn't it at least realxing, Tom? NO--for two reasons: 1)I am incapable of relaxing 2)You sit in a slightly elevated chair and the foot person (who is female and about twenty three) leans over in front of your feet and works on them (Please draw a diagram to get the correct angles). She is attired as many young women are. So now I have to figure out how not to look forward or down for 40 minutes lest I become, "The creepy old guy who does the weird races".

3)Hey, let's invade Iraq. They probably have WMD.

4)I will do an Ironman in Lousville not Florida. I mean, "how hilly could it be".

5)I will do an Ironman in Louisville and not Idaho. I mean, "how hot could it be".

Louisville Course Preview

2008-08-25T20:56:00.001-04:00

If you want to get a sense of the race, this link will take you to a series of 7-- ten minutes videos that preview the Ironman Course.

Not for the feint of heart

http://iamtri.com/video/video/listForContributor?screenName=2xjkvevcwid49

I Could not Sleep

2008-08-25T20:31:00.002-04:00

I could not sleep last night. Still jacked up from being on call which seems to be taking a bigger toll over time. So I was awake and running things through my mind.

1)I have to drink 250-300 calories each hour. I make drinks with 2 scoops of Infinit mix in 20 oz water. I will make the drinks as I go to get cold water. But how best to carry the mix?

2)I decided to get a pedicure. Will they clip my nails which is really all I want? Does it make sense to race 140.6 miles but not bend over and touch your toes with a clipper? Will this make me like Judy Garland ( more)--not that there is anything wrong with that?

3)How best to shuttle Lisa and the kids back and forth? A 17 hour race where you see your racer for a total of 130 seconds is a pretty bad deal.

4)Will my front tire hold air well? I have had some concerns.

5)Joe Biden had a Scranton tie in. That is probably a good thing.

6)What will be my motivation when things get tough. How come things seem tough even at mile one for me.

7)It will be kind of embarrassing if I fail to finish. I think to conversation goes like this: 1)If I finish---Wife to husband, "Well , I thought you said he was too fat to finish? And I hear he bought his wife dinner?" 2)If I fail to finish---Husband to wife, "I told you he was going to fail. He is such an idiot."

8)How cool will it be to finish? Will I be able to walk over and pick up my bike?

9)If I think of all the horrible things Lisa went through is that inspirational or cheesy?

10)Sleep would be a really good idea this week.

The Madness Must End

2008-08-24T21:22:00.002-04:00

I am coming down the homestretch. Only one week left to go. Very little to do now except to watch the weather ( Worst possibilities in order are 1)Rain --Cannot go fast on the downhills 2)Wind--Generally sucks the big wazoo 3)Heat--Expected but you never know.

Today was planned a three hour bike ride. At this point that qualifies as a spin around the block. But I have gotten a little sick and was also on call and so one thing led to another. So now three hour bike ride. But how to make up the training? How about three laps around the block with the kids on their bikes?--Seems like an equivalent effort to me.

At this point it is about execution and not more training.

Thanks to our 2008 donors (Still time to join)

2008-08-24T20:56:00.002-04:00

Over the past few years we have had the great fortune to raise a bunch of money for Leukemia and Lymphoma Society through Team in Training.

My goal in doing Ironman this year was to celebrate three year's since Lisa's transplant and to give an extra thanks to this year's donors. I still have to track down a few names but here is the "honor roll " for this year.

If you still want to donate, contact me at murtaught@yahoo.com and I will send you info.

V Duplain
The Craiges
The Chuns
The Kushners
The Youngs
The Hammermans
Chung/Miller
Terri Booth
Johanne Servedio
The Rogers
The Hursts
The Yuknus
The Grubers
The Caples
The Inoglias
J and F Servedio
A. Eazzetta
The Gizzis
W and M Servedio
The Rothhaus's
The Hubenys
The Marras
Helen Gunza
The O'Neills
The Gees
Disipio/MacDowell

Commencement

2008-08-24T20:45:00.002-04:00

Every year, somewhere in America (or as it is known in red states, 'merica), somebody, at a graduation, points out that commencement means both a beginning and an end. So therefore, go forth and do more stuff. I am , frankly, never impressed with this line of thinking. I keep waiting and hoping that someone is going to say, "That's it. You got it all straight. You are done, now go sit in a corner and read the New York Times".

Of course, this line of logic is crazy because it means that no one who works for the New York Times can ever be done. It is also crazy because we are never done.

With that in mind, I decided to do an Ironman one year ago. Thinking that it could be the culmination of an effort. As it stands now, it will really just be the beginning. But I am not sure what of--I am also not sure if you should end a sentence with a preposition.

The lesson seems to be that there is never an end. The more we seek an ending, the less likely we are to find it. Can you enjoy the ride? The ride seems to be all we have. Can you enjoy a 2.4 mile swim, followed by a 112 mile bike followed by a 26.2 mile run? You better because that is all you have.

Since it can get lonely out there, I may keep a few of you in mind

Some Kind of Hero

2008-08-20T21:52:00.002-04:00

I am not much of a champion. In fact my usual technique is to figure out what the bare minimum effort should be. I then give that minimum effort. Now to my credit, I take that excess energy that I saved and move onto the next thing. Quantity not Quality.

So with this in mind I looked up the last place finisher from my age group at Ironman Louisville last year. I can swim at least as fast as he did. I can do the first transition as fast as he did. I can bike as fast as he did. I can do the second transtion faster than he did. I could run as fast as he did---but its a little close. So here is my hero--the last place guy. If I am as good as him, I am an Ironman

Monkey see, Phelps do

2008-08-18T21:20:00.002-04:00

We have been watching tons of Olympics. On good old fashioned TV, without TiVO or other gadgets. In other words, TV the way God intended it.

Swimming has been the main feature. The underwater cameras have been great and especially for viewing swim technique.

A funny thing happened--I am swimming faster. My Sunday swim training was the fastest that I have ever done. All of this from sitting on the couch. Next week I am planning of watching a lot of track in the hopes that it wil make me fast and also a lot of "America's Top Model" in the hopes that it will make me thin

It could work--don;t laugh

Why are you Here?

2008-08-18T21:05:00.002-04:00

I was watching a video that gave tips on how to do an Ironman. One of the suggestions was that you need to have a reason. You need to have a reason for whne , not if, the going gets really tough. What is the one thing that has brought you to this place.

The same speaker said he writes, in marker, messages on his arms that help guide him through the race. So I was thinking that I did not have a single reason. My goals were fuzzy and maybe this is why I am not so talented at this.

I cam up with four things to write on my arm:

1)WWAD (What would Andrew Do?)

My son Andrew has such great focus and determination. Unfortunately, I have none of that. So when I really need to focus I think, "What Would Andrew Do"?

2)BDIM ("But Dad, they're not doing Ironman")

My son Christopher always knows the right thing to say. He knows how to help others. A couple of weeks ago we were watching a bike race. I was telling Christopher how amazing I thought the top racers were in this one hour race. And Christopher said to me, "But Dad, they're not doing Ironman". Point well taken

3)Survive

Lisa had to fight to survive and was able to do it. Kind of cheesy, but that's a motivation also

4)TM ya IM ("Tom Murtaugh, you are an Ironman")

Silly as it sounds, this is what i reallly want to hear. By tradition, the announcer calls out your name at the finish line with that line. I just want to hear it said

Crunch Time

2008-08-11T20:58:00.002-04:00

There are really only two things that I excel in related to triathlon. The first is carbo loading--enough said.

The second is the taper---What is the taper?

As you get close to an event , training is dramatically reduced in the hope that your fitness will show up and come along with fresh legs. the first time most triathletes have had fresh legs in about 9 months. So we are just about ready to hit the taper but not before a 13 hour week including a 6 hour bike session attacking the hills and a 2 hour run this weekend.

I could use a taper since this long training is gettint old. If I run a perfect race, I will just be able to finish under 17 hours. If I make any mistakes, no finish. If no finish, back to the drawing board for next year. I do not want to do that---so my crass motivation is to get out of this insane training,

Sunday I rode about 80 miles and then ran for an hour. As the bike nears its end fatigue is so enormous and nothing can make it stop.

Ya Want to know what its all about

2008-08-09T12:48:00.002-04:00

Do me a favor--Read this and try not to collaps in a heap

Hemingway said that, "Courage is Grace Under Pressure"--I have been trying to find out if I am courageous my whole life and I am still not sure.

Read this

http://www.aforster.net/benlp2008.htm

Progress

2008-08-09T12:16:00.002-04:00

Before i start--rigth now I am watching olympic cycling in High Def. Stunning. I finally broke down and bought a new TV. It only took four hours to get it up and running and it does require 25 hours/year of continuing education. But when it works----Nice!!!!

To back up, I have been discussing my shortcomings but all is not without hope.

For instance--Swimming

2004-First time in a pool land--Swam 37 yards and almost collapsed--Wife Getting chemotherapy
2005-First time in a lake---Swam 100 yards and almost died. Wife just finished a bone marrow transplant
Today--Swam multiple miles in the same lake as 2005 without getting tired or freaking out. Wife eating with boys at Panera

Progress

I Might not Make with You

2008-08-08T19:56:00.002-04:00

We had Chinese food tonight. My fortune, "Endurance and persistence will be rewarded".

But I have to think about Cardinal Harbour. What is Cardinal Harbour? Why only the most pitiful race peformance ever.

It took me forever just to finish last. This just a few weeks ago and on a course very similar to Ironmnan.

So what makes me think I can finish Ironman? Nothing logical that I can think of.

Educating Rita

2008-08-07T21:47:00.002-04:00

Your family suffers when you train for Ironman. Of course in my case, they kind of benefit when I am out of their hair for a long time.

The kids and even Lisa like to sit around and watch TV. Breakfast is around 10 am and very lesiurely. When I am around on the weekend there are forced marches, 7 am trips to Lowes ( for what I don't know) and 8:15 breakfast at the Echo. Let's just say that I am missed but not THAT much.

True enough but your family still has to put up with endless discussions related to triathlon. Have you ever discussed whether you should drink 22 oz of water every hour vs 16 oz of water with 20 oz of Infinit custom blended sports drink? That presumes that you have had a discussion about the appropriate sodium and potassium concentration in the Infinit sports. You have had that discussion, now haven't you?

So they do suffer in some ways. Case in point: Lisa had to watch to 2 hour dvd discussing race staregy with me last night. Afterwards we had to dissect each recomendation for another hour.

I know she must be worried because she actually pretended to be interested.

I Don't Want to go to Indiana

2008-08-06T21:12:00.002-04:00

Let us make some assumptions. #1--I do not drown in the swim #2--I am not swept into the mouth of the river #3--I am not run over by a barge #4-- I am not run over by a truck on the bike #5--I am able to complete a 2.4 mile swim and a 112 mile bike.

Assumptions out of the way. The final event is a marathon. We start by heading over a bridge into Indiana and then we run back into Kentucky. This constitutes the only hill in the running equation. Next we run down to the University of Louisville and go pass Churchill Downs. We go out and come back and then go out and come back again. Flat and the whole event is catered with pretzels, chicken soup and other things. The run is where things get really hard and where nothing but your mental attitude will carry you through.

The goal is to make it to the finish and hear your name announced as an Ironman.

If You Like Horses, You Will Like this Bike

2008-08-04T21:18:00.002-04:00

After the 2.4 mile swim, you head into the changing tent where they hand you your gear and you get ready for the bike.

David and I just rode this Sunday so it is fresh in my mind. I break the course into segments and try to deal with the length in that way.

Number One--The Road out of Louisville

This part winds along the river and I must say that this part of Louisville looks fabulous. There are large homes and boat docks along the river. The road eventually opens up and begins to climb out to the rural spots. The key here is not go too fast. It is early in the race and the course is easy---but if you go hard now, you will pay fo it later

Number Two--The Out and Back

After we get onto the rural roads we take this 10 mile detour down this heavily wooded area. There are very long climbs followed by large descents. The key here is to not push hard on the uphills but to ride as fast as you can tolerate on the downhills. I have found that 33 mph is about as fast as I can go before freaking out.

Number Three--The Connector

This is a short segment that gets us out to "the Loop". Not very long but it gives us a taste of what is to come

Number Four--The LaGrange Loop

This is a loop that we ride twice through horse country. On the map it looks easy but in reality it is impossible. Relentless up and down. This part also gets very hot and wind can even come into play. It is partly mental and partly physical. You need to ride smart here and keep focus. Of special note is the Marathon Station at one end of the loop that is packed with cyclists on the weekend. On the other end is the local store that starts firing up its smoker around 9 am--tempting and also asthma producing.

Number Five--The Connector

See above and do in reverse

Number Six--The Road Home

On the way back we bypass the out and back and head straight down route 42 into Louisville. All by itself it is not a bad ride but after 95 miles it is a little bit much to take. Also as you get close to the city the traffic picks up so maintaining peak mental focus is an issue

this weekend I had my best ride so far. I think because my HR was kept low and never broke beyond 149 and averaged in the 130 s. No matter how much you want to take off, you need to keep the effort slow and steady--140.2 miles is a long way to go

Let's Start with a Swim

2008-08-03T22:19:00.002-04:00

Today David and I went down and rode the entire 112 mile bike course. It was our best workout so far, but more about that later.

Ironman begins with a 2.4 mile swim. In terms of the whole event it is a somewhat trivial component. But the swim does two things. First , it sets the table for the rest of the event. The saying is that you cannot win a triathlon in the swim but you can lose one. You need to get off to a good start and use as LITTLE energy as possible. The second thing is that it makes for scary stories that we can tell people to make triathlon seem really freaky cool.

Back to the energy saving thing. The key is to move effeciently. Triathletes actually try to minimize their kick unlike pool swimmers to save legs for other things. In many races we use wetsuits but not at Louisville because the water will be warm. Wetsuits provide warmth but also make you float and go faster.

I viewed the Louisville swimm course today. It is daunting to look out into the massive OHIO and figure out how to swim that monster.

The first part is against the current and involves swimming around an island. I have read that sticking close to land can reduce the impact of the current and I plan to test this out. AFter you turn around the island, we head with the current down to the finish line on the great Lawn.

4 years ago I could not swim 37 yards. I now routinely swim 2 miles. That said this kind of open water swimming is another kettle of fish but hopefully not sharks.

My best time for a 1.2 mile swim in the Ohio has been around 52 minutes so anything under 1:40 FOR 2.4 MILES WILL BE GREAT. Pro swim times will be 55 minutes total and good amateurs are around 1:15. Large, Manatee like creatures will be ecstatic with 1:40 and will live with anything under 2:00. By the way, if you are not out of the water by 2:10 or so they pull you from the race.

Tomarrow , a little about the bike and a report on today's training session.

Back in the Saddle Again

2008-08-01T20:22:00.002-04:00

The old blog has been dull for a time. Not much to say but now I think is a good time to re-activate.

For all of our TeamBigWave donors we promised a few suprises this year. So here's one fer ya.

End of this month, I will be attempting the Ironman distance race at Louisville. Seemed like a good way to celebrate Lisa's successful treatment three years ago.

I have been in training for about 9 months now and I must say that I have left myself a little short. My hope was to have enough training to guarentee a slow time but a finish for sure. I left myself holding on for dear life and will need a near perfect race and a little luck to complete the race in around 17-18 hours.

To review: The swim is 2.4 miles in the Ohio River--I know --THE OHIO RIVER. Next we move onto a 112 mile bike. The course itself is beautiful but an absolute monster with several thousand feet of climbing. Finally a marathon through the streets of Louisville. Oh did I mention that UK and U Louisville decided to play a football game on the very same day and right on the course.

More about all of this over the next month.

The run down

2008-05-06T22:41:00.002-04:00

After a day off I am back in the saddle with an hour and a half ride on the bike trainer. The major fallout from the marathon---my quads do not work, essentially making it impossible to go down stairs or hills. Lots of elevators for me.

But before we move on, a little race recap.

Before the race, I broke the course up into a couple of areas. I called them:

1)Tour de Kentucky
2)Dahntown
3)The Hill
4)My Hood
5)Welcome to Mariemont
6)The Death Zone
7)The long stretch home

First, the Tour de Kentucky---The race starts almost in the dark. A an abandoned house fire on the course delayed our start by fifteen minutes. That explains why I kept hearing sirens all night long.

I started out with a plan to folllow a group planning to run the race in 5:30, a super slow time. I should digress and comment on Mike Tyson. A reporter once asked him how he was approaching an upcoming fight since the opponent "had a plan". Mike's comment was, "everybody has a plan until I land the first punch".

In those first few mile I felt horrible. Legs were dead and tight and I watched as the SLOWEST pace group in the race was out of sight in the first two miles. First punch--New Plan--run within your heart rate and maybe finish. Over the Ohio and through Kentucky before heading back over the river to Cincinnati. I must say that things looked pretty bleak , but lets see what can happen back in Ohio

Amazing

2008-05-04T19:30:00.002-04:00

I just had to relate this story.

During the marathon I was behind a guy who had on full firefighter gear including an oxygen tank. I first thought it was a fun stunt of sorts but soon realized that he was running with a crew. That crew was to honor the death of two firefighters who recently perished in a blaze.

Pretty amazing stuff. A little down the road I came upon the same guys who had stopped and were just getting finished doing something. That something involved attending to a guy who collapsed and had sudden death. He was revived and taken to the hospital. I am not making this stuff up. The firefighters finished their work and rejoined the race. I have no excuse for a slow time but I think these guys get a pass

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080504/NEWS01/80504008

I think I understand Rosie Ruiz just a little bit better

2008-05-04T15:07:00.001-04:00

Quick post to let you know that I finished the Flying Pig Marathon. Super slow but had a great time. Huge crowds--even in downtown Cincinnati.

More details later

I am not sure this was a good idea

2008-05-03T17:25:00.002-04:00

A week or so ago I promised a "nice story" but then diverted into my usual abyss. So now back to the nice story, sort of.

3 years ago, almost to the day, Lisa underwent her transplant. On one of the mornings when I was headed up to the hospital to see her i saw this line of people running up the hill. As I got closer I realized that it was Team in Training out for their final long, 20 mile , run leading up to the Flyng Pig marathon. I thought to myself, "if you people only knew how important this is to us". You are running for me and my family and especially my wife.

Fast forward 3 years and I am out on the very same run. Lisa is home in bed and the kids are watching TV and nobody is going to the doctor. A side note--the weather turned cold and windy on that training day and we had to send a few hypothemics to the hospital--but why ruin a heartwarming story?

Now I must admit that I performed poorly on that training day and I am not anticipating doing much better in the actual race tomarrow. I'm not sure if we have come a long way or if we have made little of a second chance. So the bottom line is to learn from tomarrow and then try to move on.

Thanks to all my friends

2008-04-30T20:18:00.002-04:00

I have a lot of people who help me. They never fail to bring me information that I need.

Oh one quick side point--swimming in open water is terrifying enough.

Back to my main point--So I was really happy when all of my friends, from far and wide, called to let me know that a triathlete had been eaten by a shark. You see I needed that bit of info to encourage me to get out fo the water faster.

With regard to Sunday's marathon, can you say, "LandSharK"

I cannot consider Boston my town anymore but Mary Davitt did work at the Union Oyster House once

2008-04-27T20:59:00.002-04:00

Back form Boston and it was a very repectable trip. I got in two long runs and was able to cover most of the city. In addition I walked all over the place. Boston is a great city for walking.

I was heading over the back side of government center when I passed the Union Oyster House and it hit me. Enough has changed for both me and Boston that I can no longer consider it "my town". I am just a tourist. The worst kind of tourist at that--one with stories of how it used to be.

Top Ten reasons why Boston is no longer "my town"

10) Boston College tuition announced in the Herald--$50,000--All that for the Irish and they will just waste it on drink
9)The elevated highway is gone--how did that happen?
8)Best Buy replaces Tower records at the top of Newbury Street
7)Pro Communism rallys at Harvard square have been replaced by anti communist but pro Tibet rallies. If you cannot count on Harvard Square to be pro communist, who can you count on?
6)I eat at John Harvard's brew pub but refer to it as 33 Dunster Street. Has not been 33 Dunster street since Reagan's first term
5)I take cabs and not the T
4)Bill Rodger's running store seems to be operated by a couple of shady Russian guys
3)I no longer wander around and wonder if I can ever get into Harvard. I do wonder if my kids could get into Kingsley Montessori school in Back Bay
2)I see the city at 4:30 am--Only now I an heading out for a two hour run instead of returning home from a night of drinking
1)The Friday's on Newbury street--the one with the all glass windows, the one next to the Exeter street theater where they do the Rocky Horror picture show--the one that we used to save cash for a whole semester so that we could go out to dinner there for just one night after finals--yea that Friday's is CLOSED

Oh and by the way, The "dirty water" from the Standell's song has been cleaned up--Wait a minute, that means we could have a triathlon there---Awwwwwww, Boston your my home

I love that dirty water----awwwww---Boston your my home

2008-04-25T16:40:00.002-04:00

First time blogging from an iPhone

Things not looking too great for the marathon. Multiple nights on call and a pretty bad infection have laid me low. I actually did the collapse in a heap thing last night. I am afraid this may be the last straw but we shall

Back in Boston for a meeting but current session a little dull

Should say that Terri Booth connected with TeamBigWave yesterday and a big thanks to her

Sort of sad and sort of good

2008-04-24T03:14:00.002-04:00

For the last two years I have competed in the all important St. Anthony's triathlon in Florida during the last week in April. 2 years ago was the famous "swim during the small craft advisory" where my watch was ripped from my wrist by the constant chop and waves. 1 year ago was my best and most complete race so far. But alas, this year there are bigger fish to fry and so no St. Anthony's this go around.

To the good however, I got an email donation from Buddy and Renea today. They must have found me in the blogosphere. It was B and R who came to Chicago for my first real race ever. Alledgedly they both brought dark suits in case of my untimely death. So lets see where this year takes us.

A Strange Sort of Logic

2008-04-23T21:34:00.002-04:00

A little over a week to go before the Flying Pig Marathon.

Normally I am pretty confident before these events. But when the actual event rolls around I find some way to perform badly. Never a DNF but always pathetic.

With the Flying Pig I am absolutely convinced that things are going to go poorly. Nothing about my training so far has been right.

So if positive attitude =Bad Race will negative attitude=great race. Sadly I believe not

It's Not About the Bike

2008-04-22T22:58:00.002-04:00

In a suprising move Lisa started reading Lance Armstrong's , "It's Not About the Bike". The story of his treatment for cancer and ultimate comeback. Sort of standard reading for the "inspirational cancer survivor /slash/ endurance athlete" crowd. An amazing story but not that kind of thing that Lisa usually goes for.

My current problem is that it is about the bike. So tonight I hit the trainer late at night for an hour and a half ride while Lisa finished our fundraising letters.

As I was saying

2008-04-21T21:13:00.002-04:00

I had a serious post planned that was heartwarming and sentimental. A nice way to restart the blog.
All of that went out th window with a knowing look from the guy swimming next to me. 5:55--kids lessons are almost up. 6:00 PM--time for the ladies water aerobics

The relative calm of the pool water turned into a scene from The Poseidon Adventure (the original with Shelley Winters, Gene Hackman and Carol Lynley==not the remake). The waves are so violent that I am knocked from my lane into the next guy's lane. But he understands, it is a force we cannot control.

Of course, the triathlete thinks , "Race conditions--Excellent !!!".

None of this will help me in the Flying Pig Marathon--more about that later

Turning the corner with a crooner

2008-01-03T20:49:00.000-05:00

Formal training began this week. A run and now a pool session tonight. Tomarrow on the bike and we have all three sports up and running.

All of this brings me to my son Andrew. Andrew has amazing focus and concentration. I have none of that. So I often play a game I call WWAD--What Would Andrew Do?. It helps get me motivated.

For all of his focus, though, Andrew is not much for the limelight. That is until Mr. Microphone mad an appearance. For Christmas Santa brought him a microphone on a stand that comes with three foot pedals. One of the pedals is a rim shoot for punch line purposes. So all of a sudden this quiet kids is going around the house and working the mike like Sammy Davis Jr (sans the glass eye).

If he can turn a show biz corner, should'nt I be able to turn the training corner? WWAD?

Kick Start

2007-12-21T19:37:00.000-05:00

Two things to kick start the season.

First I contacted our Team in Training coaches for the Flying Pig marathon. This creates a point of no return. Fully committed.

Secondly, we have a modest goal for this season--To cure all blood cancers. Seems like a reasonable objective for the spring and it leaves us the rest of the year to organize our Hummel collection. To cure cancer we'll need a little more---you know, for the effort. Gene Chung and Kim Miller are first out of the blocks with a HUGE donation. Now I really cannot turn back because they live on the marathon route and will surely know if I fail to come by.

Try to Remember the Kind of September....

2007-12-19T21:49:00.000-05:00

It is scary and at the same time great.

Let me back up first-- I am trying to remember what is what like to be in full force training. I have dropped my focus and need to get it back with the spring and summer racing season coming along.

So Lisa, accidentally, reminded me of how memory can drive our motivation. She told me that Christopher, the chatty one with the glasses, was wishing her a good Christmas this year. He told her that things had not always been easy for her and that at one time she was sick. He even mentioned that she had to go around the house with a giant IV bag. All of that is true but it happened 3 years ago, for a total of two days when he was only three. A powerful memory of a bad thing that gets turned into a good thing.

When Lisa got sick one of my goals was for the kids to understand that you can make a good thing out of a bad thing.

Back to the problem at hand, can I make a good thing out of the utter lackluster athletic performance of the last six months?

Now, What Was I Saying ?

2007-12-18T20:06:00.000-05:00

We went to see this guy in the red suit. It reminded me how out of shape I am.
So I talked to him about it and asked for new running shoes and a heart rate monitor.
First things first--our initial goal is the Flying Pig Marathon in May. So time to get cracking.

Want to come along??????

But First, Tri for Joe

2007-05-16T00:28:00.000-04:00

Two weeks after St. Anthony's and one week after the Flying Pig half marathon, I am back for serious training. My focus now will be to get ready for the half ironman in August.
But first we head down to Coney Island (the one in Cincinnati) for Tri for Joe. This race benefits the Down Syndrome society and last year had about 500 participants.
Lucinda, accross the street, is involved and tells me that 400 have signed up so far.
The race starts with a .4 miles swim in this giant pool. The water was just put in and is running around 60 degrees. So my big question is whether to wear a wetsuit or not

Pro--Warmer during the swim
Con--Takes time to get off after the swim

Time vs Comfort? which way to go?

This is what its all about

2007-05-07T22:23:00.000-04:00

I got asked to be on the board of The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society today. As you may know TeamInTraining is one of the major fundraising arms for the society.
This is a big deal to me since it represents the sum total of everything that we have ben working on for the last 44 years.
Oh, yea, by the way, these guys think there is a reasonable chance that we can substantially diminish mortality from these diseases in the not too distant future.
Do you think I can train during board meetings?

Half Marathon--Early prison release

2007-05-06T20:26:00.001-04:00

Today I headed out to do the Flying Pig Half Marathon. But before I tell you about the whole deal, we need to discuss early prison release.

After the race I took the two boys to see a Reds game. Basically that means half of an inning of baseball watching, 4 innings of food procurement and 3 innings of walking around. We went to the giant jungle jim that they have near right field. the kids had a great time. There was another father there with his kids and both of them were having a great time. On dad's ankle--a little house arrest transponder. Easily visible because his shorts only came down to his calves. Now, I am no fashion plate but with temps around 70 degrees I would think that full length bell bottoms would have been the way to go.

Oh, yea the race.

First I got 5 am messages from Sarah and Mary Ellen and a call the night before from David, still hot off last weeks 2nd place finish at St. Anthony's. But I woke up a little late and was kind of thinking about bagging it. I did, however, manage to drag myself out where I found a guy urinating on our front lawn. Probably, just a late night but I felt the need to hang around until he left--Headline--"Family kidnapped while father completes only part of a marathon".

Down to the start line and was sort of cold.

Tri vs Marathon

1)Marthon start is really more of a shuffle--Tri start is all out insanity

Off we go and after a while some space cleared and we headed over to Kentucky (No Queen) and then back into Cincy at about the 4 mile mark.

Worst prepared

1)The band consisting of 14-16 year old guys who were just setting up to play at mile three when I ran by. If I am running by there cannot be many people behind me

We headed back through Cincy and then up a giant hill that goes on for several miles before droping us off in Walnut Hills. Once there we headed back down the hill towards the finish line. On the way down we saw the very end of the back heading up the hill.

Elements in the back of a Marathon

1)Bus for stragglers
2)Ambulance
3)Port a Potty carrying truck
4)Tanker truck to suck stuff out of porta pottys

remind me not to get so slow that I am at the back of the pack

So we headed back down the hill and I was able to pick up a little steam. My goal was a 10 minute pace but I could only muster a 10:38 pace getting me back in 2:19 for 13.1 miles.

Right at the finish line, there was David. The boy could not resist and he even brought me a shirt---Now thats TeamBigWave

Not a bad outing--esp since the goal was just to get experience and to start getting ready for the August 19th--Great Buckeye Challenge--Half Iron Distance (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and 13.1 mile run)----At least there are no hills on the run

Juli Marshall--Hero

2007-05-06T20:17:00.000-04:00

At last week's St. Anthony's triathlon a 48 year old mother of four and TeamInTraining member , Juli Marshall-Illinois, was pulled from the water and put on life support.

She, sadly, passed away late last week.

I did not know her but I know that because of her efforts my wife is alive. This was at least her second TNT event and at this event a significant increase in research funding was announced. The money to finance such an effort does not grow on trees. It comes from people like Ms. Marshall who go out a make a real difference.

My sympathy goes out to her family. My gratitude goes out to Juli Marshall, hero.

Did I say 2:28? I meant 3:10:58

2007-04-30T20:30:00.000-04:00

Now for the big report on St. Anthony's Triathlon.

The race was great and the weather was near perfect. Not a repeat of last year's storm at sea. We raised over 2.1 million dollars at this event. Met a guy named Ed who had almost exactly the same story and dates as Lisa. Ed participated and finished the event. Just barely since he does not know how to swim.

Oh yea, David Young raced with TeamBigWave and finished SECOND in the TeamInTraining wave. A super fast swim. Esp for someone who is just learning to swim. An excellent bike. Quick feet on the run sealed the day and we have a podium finisher amongst us. More on David in a later report.

I ended up going 3:10:58 and was very happy to do it.

The swim was much different this year. Calm and flat. There are 4 orange bouys in each of the three legs. Normally, I start thinking about getting out of the race by the second bouy of the first leg. This time I did not start to think about quitting until the second bouy of the second leg. I ended up going 32:16. My dream goal was 30 and my real goal was 35. So I will take 32. Of course I did swim off course a fair amount so I know that things can get better.

Out of the swim and Lisa and Jody were there. Shocked to see me out so fast. Then a run through the mud into transition. I had trouble getting my wetsuit off and that added one minute to my transition but not horrible.

The bike was around 1:21 and off of my goal of 1:15. I was very happy with the consistency of my effort. But I struggled against the wind at times and had speed ranging from 14mph up to 23 mph. Let's just say that the headwind on the home stretch made me very happy to see the finish line.

At the end of the bike comes the dismount. So one foot stays clipped into a pedal and the other comes out and hits the ground. Then you swing the free leg over the bike and disengage the second pedal. As I went to lift the first leg over the bike, I realized that a MONSTER cramp was coming. Now the bike and I are faling in front of the crowd and race officials. Did I mention that it is against the rules for anyone to help you? So I have to drag the leg over and limp the bike and myself back using a pirate style, peg leg type of technique.

Ready for the run with the best of intentions to get in done in one hour. About 200 yards into this effort I realize that it is not going to happen. No gas for that kind of effort. But my coach was looking for an even effort both out and back. And I did at least pull that off. Coming down the line to the finish I was really struggling. I know they announced my name and I remember hearing it in my brain about 30 seconds after it entered my ears. I went right for the ice cold towels and Lisa helped me over to the tent. After about 30 minutes things were coming into focus. I fill you in later on some of the data but that's the report for now.

One more thing

That David is kinda fast, hey?

Dr. Freud says, "Triathlon"

2007-04-12T20:19:00.000-04:00

An article was posted on the Leukemia and Lymphoma website this week ( www.lls.com ) . Basically it says that depression is actually much higher in the spouses of transplant recipients than in the patients themselves.

That was not much of an issue for me because I basically come pre-depressed. I am sort of a half empty glass kind of guy. So when the hammer comes down I have nowhere to go since I am already lurking at the bottom.

Given this I suspect triathlon became my Prozac. It gave us a way to deflect the bad stuff and in a sense achieve the goal of turning a bad thing into a good thing.

That was all fine and good but now Lisa is better. As a sign that she is better, I did not purchase health related trip insurance for our upcoming trip. Now its tme to start racing not as a way to defeat a negative but rather as a way to create a positive.

2 weeks to St. Anthony's. What will I make of the chance?

Lucinda and Jan are TeamBigWave

2007-04-09T20:43:00.000-04:00

Lucinda is in training. My neighbor, Lucinda, helped organize last year's Tri For Joe. The season starting race is great beacuse it benefits the Down Syndrome Society , occurs near my house and the swim happen in a pool that is only 6 inches at its edge (an easy out).

Last year she did the stroller walk as well as helping to organize the kids race. This year--the plan is to RUN the 5 k. So she has been off and in training and Lisa tells me that that she looks ready.

Jan did the 10 K Heart Mini Marathon. Did I mention her back surgery? Did I mention the grade uphill on the way back to the finish line. Did I mention her donation to our St. Anthony's Team? True grit. Our kind of effort. Our kind of athlete.

And I'm complaining about a little swim? Ok , a little swim with sharks.

Art and Sports

2007-04-06T10:56:00.000-04:00

Art and sports are , at the same time, both the most absurd of pursuits and the greatest expression of our human nature. Why is that?

Why does American Idol (sorry Julie and THE ENTIRE REST OF THE WORLD) make me want to jump off a bridge while Lucinda Williams makes me want to keep on living?

Why does trash talking from a second rate player seem absurd, while Dick Hoyt pushing his son for 20 years in marathons and triathlons uplifts the soul.

A couple of thoughts:

1)To make art and to play sports we must have a need to express ourselves
2)We also need to have at least a little breathing room in our society. Look at Sarajevo in the 90s--hard to imagine hosting an Olympics under those conditions.
3)In almost all cases, it is necessary for others to be interested as well.

So Lance Armstrong becomes a saint of sorts because he raises the limit on what is possible. We may not all achieve what he has but the bar gets higher, the pie gets bigger and so my share of the pie grows too.

I thought about this yesterday when I read an article in the Wall Street Journal about our transforming view of living with cancer. You can check out this guy at:

http://paulsposse.com/default.aspx

Riding a bike with cancer is both the best and worst idea at the same time.

I also thought about this riding to work today. There is a church here where people climb these enourmously steep stairs on Good Friday. Does it make any sense that an entirely otherworldly concept like God, should be approached in a completely physical way, like defeating gravity. It makes no sense and it makes perfect sense.

For me, however, I have stopped contemplating the grand and am focusing on the here and now. To this end I set up an evalaution unit half way up the church stairs. So far I have 20 patients with chest pain and shortness of breath. The quation goes this way: Out of shape catholics + bad dietary habits + Weight Gain + Peer pressure and a fear of going to hell = Momma's New Shoes.

If you can't be an athlete, at least be an athletic supporter

2007-04-05T00:16:00.000-04:00

2 things that are great about sports:

1)You are responsible for your own performance

Rewind--I used to see plots against me everywhere. When things were not in my favor, I would see some master plan designed to work against me. That was one of the many reasons that Lisa's illness was so difficult. It threatened to reinforce the notion that some force was working against us. To a certain extent triathlon helped me avoid descending back into that pit.

I was thinking about this tonight because I had to schlepp out for a 10pm swim session. But I realized that come race day my effort will be my own. So there is no great plot against me even though a lot of things don't go my way.

2)You can lose yourself

Fastforward-I question everything. I have made a cottage industry of trying to annoy everyone. It works this way. I feel like I am constantly anxious and unsure. So naturally, I cannot stand it if someone lacks my anxiety and is confident in their opinions.

Each day I get a specific workout from my coach. It dawned on me tonight that I never even think about the workout. I merely goo out and complete the workout as prescribed. I have confidence that if I put my head down and follow the plan thongs will work out. For me that's progress.

And by the way

2007-04-01T22:30:00.000-04:00

To add the opposite of insult to injury. I was washing my bike at home and found a flat tire.

That's a flat tire at HOME and not on the trail. "Think I'll flip a coin. I'm a winner either way. Ohhhhh I feel lucky today".

I Feel Lucky

2007-04-01T21:47:00.000-04:00

This weekend I hit the sweet spot.

First I was interviewed by the fabulous Jen Murphy of the Wall Street Journal who wants to do a column about our TeamBigWave efforts. Hopefully, we will make into into print or whatever the online equivalent is.

This was to be a big weekend for biking and thunderstorms were planned for both days.

Saturday I went to Team in Training practice. Using my new aerobars I was able to get in a 25 mile bike and then a 6.2 mile run. We did this to remind ourselves that biking 25 miles and running 6.2 miles is really hard. So I did finish and then sat down in the parking lot. As an aside I should mention that I bring my own chair to practice so that I can sit next to by rear bumper and eat PowerBars after practice.

No sooner did I sit down when , "Raindrops keep falling on my head". Perfect we got one in. The only bad thing--I now need a nap.

Sunday I did the unthinkable. Slept until 9 am with Lisa running interference on the kids. I had a 3:30 bike plannned with a 7:15 start time. Instead we start at 10:30 with perfect weather and beautiful skies. Good luck continues.

Now over to Christopher's first soccer game. Yes, it starts for me now. Carrying on in the Murtaugh tradition he is the smallest guy out there. The score is NIL to NIL and they put my guy in goal. The other team scores a goal and we are down. Next shot on goal we corrects his technique and blocks the shot. Then with about one minute to go our team scores a goal and the game ends tied. Murtaughs off the hook. In the words of Mary Chapin Carpenter, "Ohhhh I feel lucky today".

Lance has the F1 project and I have Bob from Wheeliefun

2007-03-29T19:03:00.000-04:00

My goal is out there now and kind of hangs around my neck like a noose. This is my first go around with an actual goal. Come to think of it, I have made it through half of my life without a goal.
Our swimming goal is 35 mintues and I feel pretty good. The race is 1500 meters and I consistently swim 100 in around 2 minutes or less. Multiply that out and you get 30 minutes or so plus five minutes for fighting in the water, CPR, giving my insurance card to the rescue guy, running up the swim stairs and pulling off my wetsuit.
Perfect-35 minutes

But the bike is another story. I need to go 20 mph and in the past have only managed 19 mph. Does not sound like a big deal until you realize that resistance on the bike is a NON LINEAR function. So a small increase in speed or wind comes at a very high cost.

So I have two solutions for this problem. The first is that Nick and I have adjusted my weightlifting to increase muscle strength in the leg.

The second is my "Rosie Ruiz" strategy. I went to visit Bob, The TNT Coach, at Wheeliefun today. He outfitted me with a new saddle and funny handlebars that stick out in front of the bike called aerobars. It makes me more aerodynamic and takes the load off the front of my leg. Bob says its good for one mile per hour----19+1=Twenty MPH. 20 mph equal a bike time of 1:15. Now I just have to figure out how to run and transition.

Overpass

2007-03-28T12:27:00.000-04:00

In the words of Tennessee Williams, "Somtimes, there's God so quickly".

Today I was driving to work on one of those streets that is not quite a highway but still everybody drives about 65 mph when cruising along.
I was approaching an overpass that had a highway fence around it (The "no throw rocks on cars" kind of fence)along with a set of bars over the top. On one of those bars there was a guy, a tall guy, doing multiple pullups.
Show off or just making the best use of his time?

Last night I made the best use of my time by working out with Nick at Power 3 . We used to meet around 5:30 am or 6 and then one day it dawned on both us, "Could this be too early for human activity"? So we switched to night workouts in the weeks leading up to St. Anthony's to better accomplish run and bike training in the morning.
Nick is also training--for his vacation to Cabo! Who says kids don't have it tough these days--Training for vacation!--That is pressure.

Where's My Dog?

2007-03-27T22:05:00.000-04:00

I went out for a two hour run this morning. To get the time in I started at 5am which frankly is too early to start anything. Though, interestingly enough, not too late to finish something.
That aside I started my run at 5am and was suprised to find that it truly is a dog's world. Every other person had a dog with them. An then some folks came with multiple dogs. At one point I could not get past all the dogs on the block--not that I was unhappy with the excuse to rest.
Of course I am allergic to dogs.

Meet our best athlete and maybe throw him some love (and by "love" I mean Money)

2007-03-25T20:45:00.000-04:00

David Young is our latest athlete to join TeamBigWave. Here's the unusual part, "He is an actual athlete."
You may recall that he beat me last year at Tri For Joe without training, without custom biking shoes and while riding LISA's bike (you know Jessica Fletcher saddle).
David has been training like a maniac and I suspect we will see big things from him.

I have provided a link to his donation page on the right of the screen.

As per my unoffical routine, I will alternate years of begging for donations for myself. This is an OFF year so you are all safe from my requests. I will pay my own freight this year.

But how about David? Throw him some love and follow our exploits over the next few weeks.

2007-03-25T20:43:00.000-04:00

Goal, Eh, Goal, Eh Goal (Say it out loud like Telemundo)

2007-03-24T23:08:00.000-04:00

Let's get down to brass tacks. Tonight got in the famous on brick that consists of indoor biking and treadmill running--back and forth, back and forth (kind of like rinse, lather, repeat).

So what can we shoot for at St. Anthony's?

How about 2:48? Would be great since my best in the past has been around 3:21.

The swim: I can do 35 mintues which is still slow for a mile but improved for me. On a great day, 30 minutes

The Bike: If I push I can make 20 mph and finish in 1:15--A REACH BUT POSSIBLE.

The Run: 9 minute miles put me around 56 minutes and 10 minute mile sput me around 62 minutes. Can I lose more weight? If so the time will go down.

Transition:Better know as changing your shoes--can I get 4 minutes?

Ok so
swim-35 minutes
Bike-75 Minutes
Run- 58 Minutes
Trans-4 minutes

Equals 2:48 (what is actually equals 2:52?)
How do I get to 2:48?

MAGIC DUST in the Gatorade.

Progress

2007-03-24T00:04:00.000-04:00

Let's face it. Although the last two of triathlon training have been fun for us all, there has never really been a concern that I was any good at these events. The fun has come primarily from the survival aspect. Unusual for a sporting event but , then again, I am no ordinary sportsman.

Now that is not to diminish TeamBigWave accomplishments but my near drowning in Tampa Bay, my gasoline inhalation in Lake Michigan and of course the bilateral, monster leg cramps in Chicago were closer to "Jackass:The Movie" than Bud Greenspan's film of the 23rd Olympiad.

But a strange thing is going on. In the last few weeks I can feel myself getting control of some apsects of the sport. Tonight I went for an 11 pm swim session. Since I am on call I have a plastic bag technique to hold my pager and cellphone on the pool deck. Walter set me up for a 2 plus mile swim that included 20 intervals of 100 yards each. The goal is to try and go fast but then to hold this pace for each of the intervals. A funny thing happened--I was able to do it. I might be racing this year.

I Hate CATs and PETs

2007-03-23T19:39:00.000-04:00

So I had a conversation that went something like this (actually it went nothing like this but I thought it would make for a better story this way):

Ding-a-ling-a-ling (Not sure why I have a phone from 1942)

Wifey-"Hello "
Me-"It's me. What's up ?"
Wifey-"Nothing. Anthing going on with you? Anything to report?"
Me-"Nothing much. I am at work and blah blah blah blah, yadda yadda yadda punchline. Training tonight etc etc etc. Oh by the way you're tests came back and you do not have Lymphoma and you do not have to have another transplant and you do not have to put your life on hold and you can have fun at St. Anthony's race and you can plan our 20 th aniversary get away and you can take out a lease on a new car and generally go on with you life. So, What are we having for dinner?"
Wifey-"Great. The kids need a bath tonight."

I have this system worked out with the oncology nurse. When the tests are done I epage her a text message at 6 am the next day letting her know when and where the test was done and how she can reach me. So if she gets back to me real quickly I know things are totally normal and if it takes a little while there is probably an issue but it is unlikely ot be a big deal and , finally, if it takes along time and the doctor calls---trouble. This go around the calls came early.

TeamBigWave a useful distraction from fear

TeamBigWave

2007-03-21T23:39:00.000-04:00

I thought it would be nice to review how TeamBigWave got to this point. Frankly, blame it on Buddy.

3 years ago Lisa got sick and I thought it would be a great idea to join Team in Training and raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society while training for St. Anthony's Triathlon. Women, of course, recognize this as an example of guy logic. Guy logic goes like this:

1)My wife needs helps
2)I'll go ride a bike

Why be actually helpful, when I can be inspirational?

Along the way there was a detour when Lisa fell out of remission and had to undergo a stem cell transplant. So I left the St. Anthony's Team. Along came Buddy Hammerman who dusted off his bike and "took my place" by participating with Team in Training in the 100 mile America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride in Lake Tahoe. Later that year Lisa was better and I completed the Chicago triathlon with Lisa, Buddy , Renea, John and Julie in attendance. A great idea was born and we have spent the last three years informally supporting each other.

TeamBigWave Athletes
Buddy Hammerman-Cycling
Carol Craige-Half Marathon
Sarah Suraci-Half Marathon
Gwen Linthicum-Triathlete
Greg Clarke-Triathlete
David Young-Triathlete
Rob Rothaus-Cycling
Brian Carroll-Triathlete

Who's Next?

Payoff

2007-03-20T22:12:00.000-04:00

A lot of triathlon training is actually about what you do when you are not training. This weekend I really put out a large effort and pushed myself in terms of time pretty hard. Now, it was not necessarily easy and it did not feel great at the time.

Monday is my typical day off so Tuesday I was back at it with an hour and a half run followed by an hour of weights. Funny thing--I seemed to do better today.

High stress followed by rest equals better performance. Sounds like a good guide for life.

Big Secret

2007-03-19T21:48:00.000-04:00

Less than six weeks to go before the first big race of the season, St. Anthony's triathlon. Last year's story is well known by now with 6 foot swells in the ocean and my near demise by water. I was proud to compete and recover but just because you can make something out of trouble does not mean you should be proud of getting into trouble in the first place. So I have spent the past year correcting my faults:

1)More swim training with coach Barb
2)More weight lifting with Nick
3)Longer workouts directed by coach Bob and Walter DeNino
4)Setting the bar higher

So this year I have set my sights on a half ironman race, to set the bar even higher. My season will start with St. Anthony's ( 1 mile swim, 25 mile bike and 6 mile run) in April and end with The Buckeye Challenge in August ( 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and 13.1 mile run).

Yes, you heard it first here--A Half -Ironman. Better lose a few pounds.

Freezing! Rain! I'm Back

2007-03-18T21:26:00.000-04:00

Ok so the blog is back.

I stopped writing for a while since I had nothing to say. Then I stayed away too long because I was waiting to hit my groove.
Well this week I hit the training hard with a long run in the rain at night, a 2 and half hour bike and run in 20 degree weather and a monster 4 and a half hour bike and run today.
Now, things are cooking.

So in the next week you can look for posts on the following topics:
1)Preparation for St. Anthony's race with Team in Training in April
2)Introducing David Young who will race with me at St. Anthony's
3)Announcement of race schedule for this year
4)Big Secret stuff that only you will know

This Land is Your Land

2007-01-15T22:42:00.000-05:00

I am getting in a groove. Over the last couple of days I hit the folllowing workouts

1)5 am Hill run
2)Super strength workout
3)Hour and a half bike with follow up run
4) Mile and a half swim
5)Hour and a half bike while on call

In short I think we are off and running and with only about 14 weeks until St. Anthony's I need to be on the move.

But I really came to talk about , "This Land is Your Land". It's Lisa's birthday and I took her along with a couple of friends to see Lyle Lovett, John Hiatt, Joe Ely and Guy Clark (who just finished treatment for Lymphoma). Great, great show. They finished with the above mentioned song. The Woody Guhtrie classic meant as a response to the tin pan alley created and cynically manipulative , "God Bless America". Beautiful night and it made me think, We're in the "This Land is Your Land" camp.

What is TeamBigWave?

2007-01-12T21:05:00.000-05:00

Today I was asked a question by a lady named Alana. The question, "What is TeamBigWave" ?

Ok Good question.

Three years ago I was planning to do my first Tri race at St. Anthony's with Team in Training. Then Lisa got sick again and had to undergo a stem cell transplant. So I dropped out of the race.

Then a great thing happened. Buddy Hammerman offered to "take my place" and ride with TNT in the 100 mile America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride. And ride he did. The ride really impacted him and since that time he has been riding non stop including last years Lance Armstrong ride in Philly.

So I got the idea. If we could encourage other folks to do the same thing, lots of good stuff would happen. Even folks who did not race themselves might feel better hearing about our exploits---Oh yea, maybe they would kick in cash as well.

Our goals: 1)Encourage people to do Team in Training events. 2)Encourage people to do other charity endurance events 3)Create a positive vibe.

Right now we have five athletes heading to St. Anthony's and over the past few years we have raised around 45K. Not bad for a day at the office.

That's who we are. Are you one of us?

New Year's Day

2007-01-02T22:26:00.000-05:00

Here is a kick in the teeth. I went to bed at 10:30 on 12/31/06. No alcohol , light dinner and two Stewart's orange sodas. The goal was a great start to 2007 training. An early start to get ready for a great season.
So up at 5am and running.

Running dowstairs to hurl. A GI bug from the kid's party on Saturday? Undercooked meat from dinner on Friday?

A very weak start. What does the rest of the year hold?

Tubing

2006-12-29T09:27:00.000-05:00

We hit a patch of good luck in the middle of this too warm weather. The whole crew with Big Al and Pop went snow tubing. Now tubing is one fo the funnest things you can do. It is also kind of scary.
We hit the jackpot though:

1)New runs that are extra fast
2)Snow melted and the refroze--ice like extra fast
3)Our runs carried us to the bottom and then accross the rocks at the bottom and half way to the fence.

So we had the longest, fastest runs ever. "Chance favors the prepared mind".

Hell,through a child's eyes

2006-12-26T11:21:00.000-05:00

So I got a small vision of hell or as I like to think of it, my ultimate future.
I got up this AM a little later than usual and went for swim training. Now Holidays are a little wacky because I have to negotiate the master's swimmers (too fast for me), the family swim (too much pee for me) and , lastly, the water aerobics class.

The water aerobics presents several challenges. First they take up a bunch of lanes. Second the actually work out while wearing sunglasses and clutching Gucci bags. Third, there is always one wearing the swim cap with the floppy strands coming off the the skull (Ala Esther Williams). Finally, they often rotate in a circle and create massive, tsunami like waves that have been known to toss lap swimmers out of their lanes.

Now its great that they are out there and I, myself, can also be a horrifying site but this is more than a man can take...

So today as I was finishing my mile, the class began to set up.

As I glanced over to the bench, I saw a young boy who had been brought by his mother and was being made to watch and wait for the completion of the class. Is there anything a kid would want to do less? Then I realized, this is what hell might be like. In the words of Joseph Conrad, "The Horror. The Horror".

I think I will ride my bike tomarrow.

What Have I learned? Patience and Persistence

2006-12-24T06:34:00.000-05:00

We went to see Santa Saturday. Now we usually go down to Carew Tower to see Santa. This is as close to a tradition as my ADD mind can come to. Why Carew Tower?
1)It is downtown. We are downtown kind of people, so that makes this the "real Santa".
2)We go to lunch afterwards.
3)Carew Tower was the model for the Empire State Building, so we pretend we are in NYC.

Now, many of you also know that I have evolved over the years. I have moved from a kind of general belief that things will work out to a third reich kind of event planning. For instance, the man who once moved from Mass. to Pgh, into a fourth story apartment, with the idea that I would arrive and "hire" some kids from the local basketball court to move me in now, that very same man, loads the kid's gear in individualized baggies, complete with back up gloves, in order to hit the slopes exactly at the first lift for two hours of skiing, followed by premade, customized lunches at 11:30 and a trip home for nap at 1:15. You know, that guy.

The plan was ,Santa starts at 10 am according to researched website. We will arrive at 10:30, thereby showing how relaxed we are. Quick talk with Santa, of course, I had the kids practice ahead of time. Who will be in downtown Cincinnati on an early am? 10:55--we leave Santa and casually stroll around the ice rink. 11:25--arrive for our lunch reservation at Palomino and beat the crowd so that we are guaranteed a window seat.

So what did we find:

1)11:10 Santa arrives
2)Santa works with ONE (1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1)-twelve year old kid who sets up the picture, takes the pictures,prints the picture, sells the pictures and organizes the line. Kind of like a McDonalds with one employee for fries, shakes etc
3)People at the front of the line with vouchers that let them go to the head of the line because they got turned away last night
4)Line down the entire length of the hallway
5)Did I mention the kids?
6)Notice in the picture that red eye reduction only partially works for Sanata

But you know what, it was great.

1)Got to meet the guy in line behind us
2)Saw some kids get their picture taken
3)Chance for us to be together
4)Chance to teach the kids that you can't plan for everything and you need to be "Semper Gumby".
5)Got to do fun stuff like make a mad dash for a double potty break and still get back to the line before our turn.

I would not have been so patient in the past. I would not have been so persistent in the past. Traithlon requires both of these attributes and they just might help life a little.

Ok truth be told, we were still earlier than most folks and actually started near the front, As for the folks in the back of the line-- I understand many of them converted to Judaism and Islam after a fight broke out between two families that were contemplating conversion (?) to Buddhism.

Lisa is Outstanding in Her Field

2006-12-21T17:07:00.000-05:00

I feel my comedic talents are being underappreciated. Let me explain and you decide.

The other day I pulled off a joke. Lisa had a routine appointment at the doctor's office. She actually forgot her original appointment a week earlier which is a great sign--We now have the luxury of forgetting.

So she went to her new appointment. I was working nearby and decided to suprise her by being there--We now have the luxury of not needing me to translate medical talk. There is no need to translate, "You're fine! Get out of here".

So I showed up ahead of her and sat in the waiting room. She was a little late because she was sending me a paging voicemail from the parking lot (Remember she thinks I am somewhere else) with some additional Christmas suggestions.
So she walks in and signs in. Remember this is an oncology office with all kinds of oncology things around including the obligatory, "help complete a puzzle " table. So she turns around and the first thing she sees is me, listening to her voicemail and shaking my head, NO , in a modified cartoonish nature.

I thought this was brilliant but Lisa thought it was only moderately funny. My contention is that Lisa has grown too accustomed to my jokes and is now taking them for granted.

My case

1)Joke required set up and planning
2)Joke was a "sight gag"--generally recognized as one of the highest level of joke
3)Pulled off a joke in an oncologist's office without getting thrown out
4)Used Lisa's own action, the voicemail, as part of the punchline
5)Joke was a new variation on the classic , "husband turning down wife's request to spend more money" genre.

You be the judge.

Get up and running

2006-12-20T21:38:00.000-05:00

I am having trouble getting back up to blogging speed. For instance, it looks like it makes a difference if you put in www.teambigwave.blogspot.com vs http://teambigwave.blogspot.com.
Oh well I will get is all straightened out.
So I talked to my coach, Walter, this week. Wait let me back up. I actually have a zillion coaches. It takes a whole drama to get me going. For new readers it includes:

Walter-Tri Coach
Marcus-Nutrition
Barb-Swimming
Nick-Strength
Bob-Head TNT coach

Anyway (s), Walter is trying to get me back on track. Like always he has a plan and it actually involves me doing a little less racing than planned but more training and weight loss. I do well with coaches because I want to please them but I need to figure out how to motivate myself.

The Christmas Pageant Pain

2006-12-19T23:03:00.000-05:00

Since we were discussing pain, I thought I would go to the Christmas Pageant.
So Christopher and his kindergarten class had their Christmas Pageant today. A classic with all the great holiday trappings--kids mumbling into microphones, line cues from the teacher and wacky costumes. Well that's a little bit of an exageration.
Actually the play was amazing. The kids are really talented and have stage savy like little DeNiros. I was impressed.
But I was most impressed that we all made it there. Lisa, me, Andrew, Christopher --along with Gerry, Ginger and Chase. What pain did we all go through to arrive at this pageant? Lisa most obviously and the rest of us by extension. But it makes the situation more valuable and more real.
So our Team in Training season begins and our goal is to reduce pain. To raise money so that others will not suffer in the future and so that some will suffer less in the present. That's why the pain is good--it is a manifestation of our will to live and our will to do good.
Ok I like the pain. I'd prefer not to throw up but if I have to......
Stay tuned and we''ll keep you up to date. Oh and once I get back in the flow--the blog gets really funny and wacky.

Ad Altiora Natus

2006-12-18T23:37:00.000-05:00

Don't look now!

We're Back......
Time to kick off the 2007 season. We have a lot planned for this year. To start off, we have 5 people headed for St. Anthony's triathlon in April.

So tonight I was talking to Walter who helps me get ready for all of this. I have some big plans for 2007 and I will unveil thm soon. But for now, all I can think about is PAIN.

The pain helps me--the pain scares me. This season is going to be Mucho Grande.

The pain reminds me to do some things today to help myself tomarrow. I like the pain.

Remember, 500 years of peace and prosperity brought Switzerland the cuckoo clock. We need some kind of pressure to transform ourselves and to help others.

Teambigwave is off and running-come along

Sister Buder

2006-09-16T17:08:00.000-04:00

It's hard to pull off sweet, cute and worthwhile all in one article. But I think the link for the Sister Buder article caomes close. Give it a read. In the middle of the article it will ask you to sign up for the Gonzaga Bulletin--go ahead--it's cheap and easy.

By the way, this may mark the first time in history that the phrases , "nun", "on her way to mass" and "...vomiting by the side of the road" were all featured in one article.

I will say that I think her motiation for starting and mine were very similar. I am also glad to see that I have a 5 year head start on her. One negative---she has the omnipotent creator of the universe on her side and I........

I hate pets and cats

2006-09-13T19:47:00.000-04:00

I hate pets and cats. Always have but I do have a good reason. I am deathly allergic to animals and I tend to have problems around pets and cats. Problems like not breathing. Now some weeks I run into more pets and cats and those are bad weeks. They take my breath away and I dislike them. But I shoo them away and they sometimes listen. When they go away I feel better.

Now the last two weeks were a planned vacation from training. A good thing since the whole family is sick. Lisa and I worse than the kids. I mean, "this must be pneumonia" kind of sick. We are just coming around the corner now. We also have heard that blog reader, Jan, is busted up with back trouble--Ouch!!

So I just started to think about next season today. What should we do differently? How can we raise more money? Who will join us? You know, that kind of thing. My friend Ginger called tonight to get some advice. She has a friend with a little kid plus twins. They live in rural Kansas and the little kid was just diagnosed with Lymphoma. Now about next season--why do we race?

I need to get Psycho

2006-09-04T19:55:00.000-04:00

Season is over and it is now time to plan for next year. In the coming weeks I will review the accomplishments of our athletes and let you in on some plans for next year.

I do plan on developing a Psycho attitude. I recommend that you check the Team Psycho link on this page. While you are at Google, Karen Smyers and then ask yourself what you might be capable of (Also, never end a sentance with a preposition).

I piss in my wetsuit

2006-08-31T20:35:00.000-04:00

A lot of very nice people have said some very nice things to me lately. Things like, "I love your blog" , "Your blog made me cry" or "Your blog is so inspirtaional".

We cannot have this.

So may I remind you. Triathletes piss in their wetsuits. In fact they piss while biking and if necessary will piss while running. Do you think we are going to kill ourselves in training to cut 1 minute off our time and then give it all back because of bodily functions?

If you do not believe me ask Greg Clarke or Gwen Trusler.

"Can someone remove my thigh from my ear"?

2006-08-30T20:50:00.000-04:00

Let's have a crack at my race report.

Heading into the race I had a little tweak in my ankle but it seemed to calm down. Walter DeNino and I had planned to juice up my bike a little. We also planned to leave everything on the course.

Lisa and I drove up on Saturday. A little late but not too bad. We arrived and our room was not quite ready so we had to check out bags. Have you ever tried to check a bike at a bellstand? A little tip, however, and the bike gets stored in the break room

We had lunch planned with Tom Holly and his wife, Val. Lunch was to be at Cocco Pozzo fulfilling the carbohydrate criteria. Now these two are great and still look great whild celebrating their 20 th wedding aniversary at the Drake hotel. As an aside, this brought home that my 20th wedding aniversary will be next year. Good???

Anyway, they seem to be doing well and Val is considering a Danskin tri and Tom is dancing around a tri himself. Somebody push him and tell him to go for it. As a matter of fact, sign up with Chicago TNT for St. Anthony's next year and let's have a go at it.

After lunch we had to fly down to the expo and get body marked (so the coroner can identify you) and get race numbers etc. They were out of T shirts by the time we got there. I still was able to buy a bike workout video by a very enthusiastic coach to use during the long winter months. After that we headed back up to Spiaggia for our pre race dinner and then to bed.

4 am comes early but I achieve my major goal of not waking Lisa by pumping my tires in the hallway. I get to ride through Chicago with mostly triathletes on their way to transition. Bike set up goes well and I get spot near a tree with easy access from both entrances.

Lisa gets there just before the swim start and what a relief to have her there. The start is a deep water start which means that you have to tread water before taking off.

I felt pretty good and was moving along but got a mouthful of gasoline. This triggered a negative reaction in my head and I started to think, "Why am I here" and "I need to get out"? Shades of St. Anthony's. Now in the past I have thought about what Lisa went through and that has kept me going. But this time I really thought I should quit. Then I realized that the blog readers would make fun of me---"Nice wetsuit, manatee"!!! So I lumbered on and finished in a very slow time with Lisa walking along the shore.

Well that sucked but let's move on. I got through transition in 1/2 the time of last year and headed up Lake Shore Drive on my bike. It is two loops to the city limits and back. I really moved well and was able to keep a much better pace than in the past. I was passing people for the first time ever. So now I am happy but how hard can I push? I tried to keep my gears high and my heart rate down around 155 or so. But this is a big breakthrough.

As the bike ends I come to a hairpin turn down the exit ramp. I know about this and misjudge and almost go sliding. On to transition hoping for a fast time.

In transition I go to change my left shoe. Monster cramp--the kind where your leg bends towards your ear. So I running up and down the aisle trying to work it out. I finally solve that and change the other shoe--Wam!!! same thing. So much fo a fast transition.

Keep moving the legs-no cramps. I am taking baby steps down by the lake and head towards the museums. Lisa is there on the path to wish me luck.

On the run I see a guy wih one leg, a girl with one leg and a guy with no legs. Now you were complaining about what? Keep moving, keep moving.

Sometimes it is the little things that catch you. Near the swim I see a family all wearing blue tee shirts. On the back it says, "In honor of Alex". Without knowing, you know that this is a big day for them. You can imagine what they have been through without knowing what they have been through. You know it was painful and you hope there will be joy. But today a meaningless race is the most important thing in the world. For real.

Mile three is down near McCormick place. It is a lonely part of the run--far but not far enough. He cranks U2's "Beautiful Day" and I cry a little---"Whaaa Whaaaa I am overcome with emotions", "Whaaaa Whaaaa" Just shut up and run.

The end is near and Lisa is at the finish line. This is a big race and the finish line has a major league feel to it. I continue to raise my effort right up to the finish.

First stop--the big blowing fans with the mist---works great. Next stop Lisa. Then congrats to the Cincy Team in Training folks.

Better off than last year but still room for improvement. Time to rest for a while and then get ready for next year---first stop the pool.

Now I have some big plans for next year. Any suggestions......?

Greg Clarke is a Triathlete

2006-08-29T19:09:00.000-04:00

They threw everything at him and he still made it.

I got the call on Saturday night after arriving in Chicago. I was going to the market across from the Doubletree Hotel (near the Drake). I knew they would have Bannanas and some form of bread, my standard pre-race meal. The place is run by four Pakistani guys who always stand in the same order behind the counter.
So the phone rings and it is Greg. Now people sound strange to me when I am on a cell phone. They sound stranger still when we are both on cell phones. Taking that into account, I can say that Greg sounded like he was calling me from the afterlife. A kind of slow drawl that only comes from the near dead and stroke victims.
It turns out he had been sick and had not eaten since Wednesday. Now to make matters worse Greg had a late start time which usually means more heat and sun. He would not begin his swim until 9:13
I gave Lisa the "Oh, Oh--Houston, we have a problem look".
By the time I started the next day at 7:57 Greg was still not on site.

Sure enough, he made it to the start on time though. He sailed through a 41 minute swim. Very good. Then off on the bike. The course is flat but north to south wind had been picking up all day making it a slogfest on the part of the course that goes from Chicago near the Loop out to the city limit and back. This leg we do twice.
Greg tackled it though and then off on the run.
Here's where things turn interesting. It is really hard to run after biking. No--I know you believe that it is hard, but is is still harder than you think.

I was finished because I got an earlier start so I was able to sit with Lisa and wait for Greg near the finish. Lots of people in various states of exhaustion coming by. Finally we see Greg. Lisa and I are screaming and he goes right by without noticing us.---"Houston, we have a problem". Now how do I explain to Ohio Heart that I talked one of their partners into this.

So Lisa and I run up to the finish area. Partly, I wanted to see if he needed to go to the medical tent. There he is with his family taking pictures and laughing. He looks great. What kind of transformation took place at the finish line? Even later at the victory party, to celebrate the $550,000 raised at the event, he still looks great. What a machine.

An amazing display.

If you go to the Chicago Tri Link and follow to the athlete alert system you can actually see videos of both of us crossing the finish line.

Greg's page is still up for anyone who wants to check it out and make a donation.

So why would a guy race, while sick, through what is a pretty grueling distance? Answer---because he cares. Story----when I got home I checked my email and had a message from a triathlete friend. She congratulated me on finishing (Hard to keep secrets in the internet age) and then told me about a 25 year old, Iraq war veteran guy just diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

This is why we race!!!!!!!

Greg Clarke is a triathlete.

"Every Day is a Winding Road"

2006-08-24T21:31:00.000-04:00

So race week is upon us. I have tomarrow off to get set. I finished work and got home around 9PM. Just in time to see one of my favorite shows, "Insider Training" on FitTV. Ok so it is hosted by Gabby Reece. Tonight was a replay of their Triathlon episode. Great inspiration and even some info.

So a few things

1)I am one of these triathletes , like on the show. Not a good one but that may come,

2)I assume no one reads this. But I assumed wrong when three people asked me about how my foot was doing. The answer is much better, thank you. A quick call to Ellen Daly earlier in the week has carried the day

3)Click on the Tri Geek Kahuna link. Tonight's writing is great

4)Lunch for Sat is set with Tom Holly and Val at Cocco Pozzo in Chicago. They kicked in big time to Greg Clarke's fundraising.

5)I am already planning big things for next year.

Take a Load Off, Fanny

2006-08-23T07:01:00.000-04:00

I am beginning to feel The Weight, just a little. The other day I woke up and it hit. Lot's of stuff going on the past two years and it all started to get to me. So I went running on our new treadmill. A perfect metaphor, lots of action getting you nowhere.

The other day I was riding with the two kids which is painful for them, because they have to talk to me. So I said, "It makes me happy to ride with you two because I can tell jokes, make you laugh and that makes you happy". Christopher fires back, "You don't have to laugh to be happy. You can be happy doing other things". So I thought for a little time. I said, "What about when you bang yor head and it hurts. Are you still happy?" Without missing a beat he says, "Only one little part of you is sad. The whole rest of you stays happy". Now my goal over the last two years was to show the kids that when one bad thing happens, the rest of the world does not fall apart.

"....and, and you put the load right on me"

Countdown to Chicago

2006-08-20T20:34:00.000-04:00

One week to go. A tiny little twinge of discomfort in my left heel. Oh No!!!!
No workout today---must preserve foot. Do not let inflammation take hold

You make the call

2006-08-17T20:44:00.000-04:00

Earlier this week I went out for an early run. Well let me back up.
The night before the run we had Andrew's birthday party. A blowout by toddler standards. But I had to lay low. Nothing too exciting. That's what makes the run possible.

So out on the run I head. Rounding on Observatory I get passed by an Olympian, Julie Ishpording from an earlier Olympic Marathon team. Not bad company. A little further up the road a giant pack starts heading towards me. In the middle, Andy Chun training for the Columbus Marathon. Ok so he actually runs while I kind of...
We give each other a high five. Now you need to know that when the season started Andrew and Sunjoo were the first two people to send me a donation. Which marathoner was more impressive?

Greg Clarke--TeamBigWave Kind of guy

2006-08-16T12:02:00.000-04:00

Greg Clarke joins a long line of super great and super motivated people next week when he races with me at the Chicago Triathlon. A true TeamBigWave guy.

Greg has been training all summer and is ready to go.

On the right side of the screen I have included a link to his web page. There is a button to donate. Remember, even small amounts count and frankly mean the most to us. Ok big ones count too.

What I Think

2006-08-12T07:06:00.000-04:00

Lots of people ask me what I think about the Floyd Landis deal. Well I know what I think but have not been able to find words to express it. Fortunately someone did and I have added the link to the side column.
What I think is that I will not stop believing that good things can hapen. I will not stop believing that people can do great things. I will not stop believing that people can change in positive ways.
Now i need to go out and ride some big hills because a)I do not believe that good things happen by magic b)Andrew's birthday party is tonight and the house will be crazy today

I don't wash my calves

2006-08-09T22:33:00.001-04:00

We went to the Red's game tonight. So first about the game.

Christopher and I went down to see the Reds. Now they are doing well which is actually a big problem for me. I like baseball in any fashion and I like geting cheap tickets from scalpers. I take it as a source of fatherly pride that my children know how to scalp.

But the Reds are doing well and last night's game was sold out. No ticket at the window and few scalper tickets. We finally scored some outfield seats that were pretty good. Of course I am only going to sit in them for one minute as we parade for peanuts, sno cones etc. But I did my best. Kid finally gave out in the before ninth inning. So off we go. We get into our car and turn on the radio to hear the Red's winning home run go over the center field wall. Glad I bought those tickets. But that's not the important thing that happened.

When you do a triathlon, they mark your arms and legs with numbers and stuff. On your legs they mark "ITT" for international distance race and "44" for my age group. Now these markings come off slowly. Tonight a guy, "kid", asked me what these initial meant. So I explained and he seemed impressed. No Really. I told him, "Anyone, could do these races with a little training". He said, "Are you kidding? Look at the people in this line." I said nothing.

I don't wash my calves

2006-08-09T22:33:00.000-04:00

A bad day=water going down your back is better than water going down your throat or how to be the perfect husband

2006-08-08T20:44:00.000-04:00

I know. I know. No blogs for a while. So here goes a long one.

We finished out our trip to California with a few decent swims in the ocean and a great run around Pasadena. But even La La land must end at some time. So back home we went.

Sunday was the East Fork Tri. David Young was willing to go with me and step up to the Olympic Distance ( Mile swim, 25 mile bike, 6 mile run). I was to meet him aroun 6:30 at my house. I went outside and he suprised me by jumping from behind the car where he had been reading the paper. First heart rate acceleration.

Off we go. Now I know the directions the Irish way, "Well, you kind of go down by the big road and then when you see the old building, make a left but not too sharp. Well, you'll know where it is, everybody does"--That sort of thing--move by feel.
David also kind of knew the way but more through half baked verbal directions. The end result--we mixed the two styles to great failure.

A word here about, "the locals". Legend has it that locals know "the best place to eat", "the quickest routes" and "where to get the best deals". I have always contended that the locals are overrated. Sunday did not disappoint. We go into the UDF and ask for East Fork Lake. I emphasize here that East Fork Lake is a large body of water is the Middle of NOWHERE. First three people inside , "East Fork Lake??? (With requisite dumb look)". Not going too well. Outside, guys in trucks--hope springs eternal. The guys responds with overlapping irrational instructions, "Head down here two miles and turn right at the Asteroid, or was it left". No help. So we drive around until we find a guy who says, "Drive down 222 for three miles, turn left on 125 and thr lake is on the right". "Thanks", I say. Quick glance at the license plates--Pittsburgh, PA. I rest my case.

Now David is very fast. He barely trains and is way faster than me. He actually looks good doing this. So I am trying to talk him into Team in Training next year for Philly or St. Anthony's. He would love it. He would take off with coaching and the trip would be great. So he says to me, "If Jody (wife) wants to go I will do it". Newlyweds learn so fast. The Perfect Husband.

David had a great race and I think was impressed at how difficult it is to do this distance.

I swam ok but got a little off course. Out of the water and onto the bike. Did I mention that the bike starts up a big hill? Did I mention the law of gravity? I start up the hill and my chain jams. Now there is a moment when I know I am not going forward and it is only a matter of time before I go backward (remember the clippy bike shoes). Crash--down I go at the start. Big cut on the elbow. Start over and spend the first ten miles just trying to get a flow going. Then come the downhills. Not great because that means there will soon be uphills. A real slog back to transition. Off on the run and the temp is now up to 96 degrees. Two more degrees and we would have a boy band. By the way, the hill is still there and it is a double loop course so that means twice the fun. I find that drinking water is of little help but throwing over my back lets me run a half mile or so. I do this multiple times until I realize that my socks are wet and I now have blisters.

A couple of insults to injury:

1)As I am finishing the ambulance crew is leaving as if to say, "If he kicks now his life is not worth saving"

2)As I am finishing, the creepy guy with the ice cream truck is leaving

3)When I am heading up the hill for the second loop of the run one of the winners is calling to me. She is saying, "you forgot to turn in your timing chip". She thinks I am done. So I correct her and let her know that I am still racing. A look of shock and disbelief come over her. "Ohhhhh, you are stillllll racing". Not in a condescending way,but rather with the same tone she would use if she had just seen space alien. "The Horror, The Horror"

Well now onto Chicago at the end of the month---What awaits us on the hot apshalt?

Marlee Matlin,Floyd Landis, Lance Armstrong, Magic Johnson and Me

2006-07-24T22:36:00.000-04:00

Well I am out here in Pasadena and thinking this is great place to ride a bike. Well it would be if I had a bike and if it wasn't 104 degrees ---for real.

So tomarrow we head up to Santa Barbara for real California beach life. No one can say that I have failed to introduce my children to the essential issues in life.

While here I have been swimming at the Gerrish Swim Club where my nieces are racers. I am told this is home club for Marlee Matlin and my brother-in -law even has an alleged picture to prove it.

I have also been able to catch a little of the Tour de France on OLN since my sister has satellite TV. Back in Cincy, I have every channel but OLN since it is not on Time Warner cable. The Floyd Landis story continues to amaze me.

I am also working out at 24 Fitness/Magic Johnson Sport. I get in free with my Sportsmall card--cool. 24 Fitness is part owned by Lance Armstrong. Magic has put his stamp on a number of businesses targeted at disadvantaged communities.

I even got in a little stroll around Pasadena and went to the Apple store. I pulled up YouTube on a Mac and watched a little video of the famous Julie Moss Collapse at the Ironman--the scene where she crawls to a second place finish.

Ok--I know you are trying to figure out where I am going with all this.

Here it goes. This AM I was doing a tough workout of bike and then run at a pace faster then my typical fastest pace. Two giant pictures of Magic were looking down on me. One of the young basketball player and one of the older business man. And I thought, "push it, because you have no idea where it might lead you".

Did Julie Moss realize that crawling and finishing second would have a greater impact than winning?

Did Floyd think he would ride his bike from Eastern Pa to Paris? Did he think that losing the lead would allow him to show his true greatness?

Did a young, deaf Marlee Matlin know where her dreams would take her?

Did Lance Armstrong know that his recovery from cancer would be only the start of the story?

When Magic announced he was HIV positive, at a time when that was a true death sentence, did he know that he would live to see a generation who 1)Don't remember him as a basketball player 2)See him as a businessman trying to help challenged neighborhoods 3)Barely realize he is HIV positive?

Where are you going? Are you prepared? Are you working like the future is possible?
I'm thinking about it.

One Day

2006-07-21T22:27:00.000-04:00

We tend to think that life is long. We tend to think that we will be defined by the totality of our lives. But sometimes our whole lives can be defined by what we do on one day, in on instance.

Remember Rudy Guiliani? No not that Guiliani, but the original one. The one that was a complete knucklehead. But I don't remember that one. I remember the one who held the country together while George was flying all over creation.

Remember the story of Al Campanis? A long career, including participating in the arrival of Jackie Robinson. That career eclipsed by 10 minutes of stupid comments. Comments out of character with the rest of his life.

Which brings me to Floyd Landis. A great bike rider. On one day and with one fantastic performance he joined the highest of the high. He went from great to legendary.

Will yo be ready for your moment? Will you recognize that it is your moment? Are you prepared for your moment?

Hit the bike pretty hard today. 2 weeks to the East Fork Tri.

Stat Post--Amazing and Inspirational

2006-07-20T11:49:00.000-04:00

I saw something (sort a) amazing today and am placing my first ever Stat Post. I have a weird job this week covering a hospital and it means that there is a computer up and running on my desk. So I can track the Tour de France.

Now you may have read yesterday about how Floyd Landis lost his lead and then some. Essentially putting himself out fo the race.

Today, with a bad hip, the guy took off. In a sport based on teamwork and strategy he just gunned it as hard and as fast as humanly possible. It will not be the top of SportsCenter (that will likely be about a trial or a contract dispute), but this is what is great about sports. One person--counted out--injured--just giving it his all. This is what kids need to hear about sports.

I was following the race through written dispatches on the internet and it was as exciting as anything. The screen was blistering as he charged through mountains and down steep hills. He won the stage by a mile and is now just 30 seconds down. Saturday will likely decide the race.

But today is why we love sports. It's why some people with cancer think they will get better if a guy wins a bike race. It's why the MS Tour riders move with a special purpose. It's why I watched a middle aged lady fall to the ground about 100 yards from the finish of the Philly Tri and then watched her get up and struggle to the finish. She thinks its matters. Today was a great example of how we elevate the trivial and inconsequential.

A Few Random Thoughts

2006-07-17T21:19:00.000-04:00

Whenever a column writer lacks original ideas, they usually pull out the old, "A few thoughts" type of column. I hate those things. Better off to just leave the space blank.

And now, a few random thoughts:

1)Today I was geting my haircut and a lady was checking out. At the checkout, they tick off her services, "....haircut, nails, bikini wax....". And I think, "Maybe a little too much information".

2)My new Tri racing suit arrived today. Translated super tight Lycra on a big fat guy. Now my wife has to comment on the site of me in this get-up. "Fits good" she says. Could any woman be that blind? And then I realize I had to buy a new motor for the house airconditioning today ----97 degrees----It works this way----I buy new motor, she lies about my looks

3)I have decided to replace Pepsi with Diet Mountain Dew---Rad

Dream's Dashed

2006-07-13T12:55:00.000-04:00

Came back form my morning run and the the New York Times was there. Open up the paper and see a big article on coaching in the style section. Oh, Boy

Read---read ---read----NO Murtaugh.

I got cut!

Just as I was left out of Jason Miller's film adaptation of his Pulitzer Prize winning drama, That Champioship Season, so too were my hopes crushed today.

Now the only way I will get in the style section is if I marry a)An Heiress b)A poor but culturally significant person like a writer c)A gay guy with a house in the Hamptons-----So Many options

Bad Brain

2006-07-12T21:48:00.000-04:00

I was getting a swimming lesson tonight. As an aside Barb Uible, the swim coach, recently went on a bike tour of Ireland. Sounds like a good idea but it turned into a disaster. Wrong group to travel with, narrow roads, weak support etc.. All of this ended with her crashing and busting up multiple things including a broken hand. I still think you are better off crashing on a trip then seein Ireland from the back of a tour bus. But of course, my hand is not broken.

So she is trying to get me to swim better. The problem is I swim too stiff. I have no flow. My brain moves in fits and starts and inhibits a natural movement---Bad Brain. I need rhythm.. I need soul.

Tomarrow, we find out if I made it into the style section of the New York Times. Will my lifelong dreams be realized?