Patriots Half training

I am officially signed up for the Patriots Half on September 11 up in Williamsburg, VA, giving me 6 weeks to get into shape. The past few weeks have been up and down depending on time and travel. I will go into triathlon geek mode for a second here and discuss the plan.

The plan is to train a lot. I like to keep things simple. :)

This week 8/2:
Bike 8 hours
run 4 hours
swim 3 hours
Lake Logan international distance triathlon on Saturday as part of the above.
total 15 hours

Next week 8/9:
bike 10 hours
run 4 hours
swim 3 hours
total 17 hours

week of 8.16:
bike 10 hours
run 5 hours
swim 3 hours
total 18 hours

week of 8.23:
bike 12 hours
run 5 hours
swim 2 hours
total 19 hours

week of 8.29:
bike 7 hours
run 5 hours
swim 3 hours
includes a weekend at the beach (ocean swimming)
total 15 hours

week of 9.6
rest week.

I have put kung fu on hold until the season is over, too exhausted after those classes and time is at a premium right now.

My goal is to get into the 4:30 range, which should be doable. Anything faster is a bonus.

After Patriots half I will coast through USAT Nationals on September 26. After nationals I am hanging the bike up for the season and switching into running mode, unless I get inspired to do a late season triathlon somewhere.

Big Deuce recap

The past couple of weeks have been really choc full for me. Lots of driving, working, meeting athletes for training sessions, and so on. Last week I averaged 6 hours of sleep from Monday until Saturday night which is not enough for me over that many days. I turn into a shell-shocked bleary-eyed version of myself which will stare at you blankly and mumble things like, "Huh?"

Despite that, the swim races went well. I am really happy to be part of bringing some new events to town. Swimming has been an important part of my life for most of it, and I'm glad to share this passion with everyone.

We had almost 200 people swim on Saturday morning. The course started with a beach start, then 150 yards out, then north for 600 yards, across for 100, then south for 600. The 1 milers turned the initial buoy to finish while the 2 milers did a 180 and headed back onto the course.

I was on my surf racing paddleboard to lifeguard and watch for any swimmers in distress. We only had one real issue - a talented local triathlete cramped up badly on the 2nd lap and I was able to get to him in just a few seconds. He was OK but his legs were both cramping, making swimming impossible.

The swims are getting some both talented and new swimmers into the open water swimming world, which is the mission.

Thanks to all the volunteers, guards, and rescue personnel who helped out.

This weekend we are off to Ocean Isle with a few of our friends for a beach weekend, which I am looking forward to. I will have to work but I can do that sitting on the deck.

busy week

I was going to write a longer post but realized it is all babble about regular life trivia that you would not care about. Been a busy week.

Looking forward to hosting the Big Deuce and Little Uno swimming races tomorrow morning.

NYC-NJ

Your attitude, not your aptitude, determines your altitude.

We were leaving New York City, and Bri turned to me and said "Everyone was so friendly! I don't know why people think New Yorkers have a bad attitude."

After our visit to New Jersey: "People here are nice!"

See, the secret here is that Bri is a nice person, and when you are nice to people, they tend to be nice back. Not all of them, not all the time, but kindness procreates kindness, and this sort of positive vibe is self-perpetuating.

If you go into NYC and give someone a bad attitude, they will be very quick to tell you to &%(%$ and $#&*(%. But they'll turn to the next person and maybe be nice if that person has no f-ing problem, you know?

There are legitimately bad people that none of us can save, but my experience is that non-criminals (that is most of you!) tend to be decent people who will treat you well if you reciprocate.

The visit to the Jersey Shore was fun as always, caught up with a bunch of old friends and had a good time.

I am back to the grind, Big Deuce is this weekend and I have a bunch of other duties. It is much better to be in-demand and busy than out of work and idle though.

Also, my phone died while on vacation, so I bought one of these new Android super phones. It has assumed my identity and transferred all my funds to a numbered account in Switzerland. It is like having a portable TV in your pocket. Technology is amazing. We are moving at the speed of light.

Erie Canal day 6 - actually NYC

Today we woke up in Rome, NY. We had parked our car here on Saturday night prior to the tour. The original plan was to park in Canjoharie (the end of day 6) but I couldn't find a good parking spot. Anyway, day 6 ride would have been 62 miles, but instead Bri and I went for a short run in a local park, then jumped in the car and drove 4 hours to Manhattan. We rode 250 miles on mountain bikes in 5 days, which is enough for us.

Tonight we toured around NYC a bit. Here are the pictures. Tomorrow we're off to Ocean City, NJ for a couple days on the Jersey Shore.

Erie Canal day 5

Another 50 miles from Syracuse to Rome. A mix of trails and road. The canal in this area is not a transport canal, more of a cultural relic and small tourist attraction. Big carp all throughout.

Tomorrow we're going to roll out with the group then come back to our hotel, shower up, then drive down to NYC. No plans other than a run in Central Park. Lame, right?

From the brewery last night:



Rolling out of Syracuse:



Where they drydocked the canal boats for repairs:



Getting near our hotel, checking maps:



We have not run much at all this week, and don't care.

Erie Canal day 4

Seneca Falls to Syracuse. 40 miles and there was a 50 meter pool at the finish site. Very refreshing.

Bri pointing at a map we found:



Me pointing at something:



Bri has fun:



New York's only working aquaduct:



After 4 days, things are getting ripe at camp. This is why we're staying in a hotel.



Our hotel tonight is in Armory Square, downtown Syracuse. What a pleasant surprise to discover that the Empire Brewing Company (microbrewery) is less than a block away.

Tomorrow we'll start with a short run then 50 miles into Rome.