I'm back. with a recap and a cheddarwurst

There won't be any nice pictures or smooth, flowing order.  If you want that, and I suggest that you do, please visit this blog... http://swimbikeruneatrepeat.blogspot.com/

So, for the long awaited update regarding the Boji Tri Team report, here we go:

Me:  As the self-identified most important person on the Boji Tri Team (I won via vote, low turnout gave me a majority 1-0 decision), I'll update myself first.  I'm getting married to the author of the aformentioned blog in a little less than two weeks.  We've also signed up, along with Boji Hawk and Nacho Libre for Ironman Arizona.  That's in November.  Haven't finalized the race schedule yet, but it will include the Okoboji Triathlon (obviously) and the Emmetsburg tri.  There'll also be two half's thrown in there somewhere.

My training has been going pretty decent.  I've forgotten what the pool's looked like, but that's ok, not worried on that end.  The running has been going pretty well, biking a little better than average and the weight's actually on the downward spiral, thanks to Dana's cooking.  I think I raced last year at about 190-195 or so.  Now I'm closer to 180.  I also just shaved, so who knows, I may be 153 right now.  Still not in speedo shape...yet. 

As for my races, I've only done the Emmetsburg St. Paddy's half marathon.  I ended up averaging about 8 minutes a mile.  I'll take if for an early season race.  I'd like to run my half tri run's at a similar pace.  I'd also like to eat ice cream for breakfast every day, so we'll see.

Dana's training has been going awesome.  She's making huge strides and hitting the majority of her workouts.  All 3 sports are coming along nicely.  She's always been a solid runner, but the speed work's been good, which I don't think she's done as much of in the past.  Her swimming is going great, really impressed with the progression...though I'd like to be able to join her to see what the pool is like.  We got her a new tri bike over christmas, and she's getting used to the aerobars.  I remember the first time I used aerobars...it was in a race.  I went down for 3.7 seconds and decided the hell with it and sat right back up.  I'm excited to see her race results.  Unfortunately, she's been stuck with wedding shower duties during the two half marathons that could have been on the calendar.

Dogman (I forgot most people's names already, since it's been so long) recently did the Lincoln Marathon with a sub-3 finish on a hot and humid day.  I've got a couple pieces of advice (coming from someone who is far behind his running abilities, so who am I to judge, but I digress).  First, the night before the race, I'd recommend not eating 7 pounds of cheese and meat lasagna.  Those stomach cramps you had...that food doesn't go well with humid running.  Secondly, I'm starting to become a believer in doing the long runs at a minute+ slower pace than race pace.  For instance, it'd be interesting to see you do your long runs around 8 minutes a mile instead of 7. 

Hammerhead is expecting the newest addition to the team any day now, so he's taking the year off from Ironman racing (said like we do these that often).   Word is he's become a hippie and is riding a fixie everywhere.

Bojihawk has a half tri coming up in a few weeks.  I'm expecting that he'll do pretty well and the bike will be dominated.

Nacho libre is the wildcard.  He keeps dissing me from going to Jethro's.  I'd like to go please.  Not sure how his workouts have been going. 

As for burrito and the accelerade warrior, they've both confirmed to an anonymous source that they'll be on the beach ready to start the boji tri.  I'm excited!  dsm911 keeps telling me he needs to get in shape and that he's gained too much weight.  That's blasphemous...he doesn't eat any of the cookies in the office and his weight gain has been .07 pounds.

I don't have enough insight into any of the ladies on the team, to see how their training is going.  And, I'll end this with a list of awesome events that have happened to my Ironman training this year:

1.  When I bought my house, it came with a washer and dryer that is 18 billion years old.  I recently took a pair of running shorts out of the dryer for an hour and a half run.  It was really hot out.  45 minutes in, I started to feel some chaffing (sp?) and looked down.  I guess the washer never washed enough to get the soap out.  I had soapy bubbles coming out of my shorts from the detergent.  It hurt, I was pissed and had to walk back.  Scale of 1-10 with 10 being road rage, we'll go a solid 17.  I now have a new washer and dryer.  Numerous f words said in mind.

2.  My first long ride outside, I planned on about 3 hours.  It was really hot and I ran out of water about 40 minutes from the car.  Dana also was feeling not awesome.  As soon as I was done, I went to the nearest McDonald's and got the largest coke possible and drank it in three minutes.  I then went home and laid on the couch.  slamming that much soda was a bad idea.

3.  Dana and I went to the local high school track to do a speed workout for the first time last week.  There was a non-school affiliated (I think) track practice going on with junior high/elementary school kids and what looked like akin to bball aau coaches doing workout.  The kids, some of whom looked like they were 5 had track spikes on.  Running around the track with these kids doing workouts did not help the ego.  Mud pie ice cream made me feel better later.

That's it for now.  I'll try to update a little more (which wouldn't take much).  Possibly tonight, since it's Monday wine bottle night at the household.

2012

Well, I officially stunk for blogging in 2011. I had one post...though I'm pretty sure it was rad. In any event, 2012 starts today and for those Mayan conspirators, ends around Dec. 21st. In other news, I'm rougly the one billionth person to reference the Mayan calendar today. In even other news, I managed to get decisively better looking while gaining a few pounds of holiday beer in my belly. Throw in some candy/desserts, etc. as well.

For the Boji Tri Team, this year might be the best ever. We've lost a little focus the past year. Well, I did anyways. Hammerhead and his wife are going to welcome the newest addition, a little girl sometime in May. She will surplant the current newest addition, DSM911 and his wife's sweet Baby Ray. My much better half and I will get married in May and then take a week off to an undisclosed location (hint, not Curlew).

For Tri news, four of us have signed up for Ironman Arizona. Boji Hawk, Nacho Libre, (Lovely lady who needs a new blog name) and myself. For the guys, it will be Ironman #2. The first for the future Mrs. I've told myself I will start some sort of exercise tomorrow. How many times have I said that? I'm guessing 1,984.5

For the past Ironman, I had a coach, who I thought did a fantastic job. Now, I'm leaning towards going at it alone. This could be awesome or bad. I'm going to try a little less time consuming workouts and substitute some higher threshold work. I'm also going to try and run a little more, since that's my weakness. I think it may help if I can get down from my current 195+ pounds to about 178. That would be nice. I'll also try and blog a little more and put some more pictures up. I really, really need and I'm sure the audience wants, some more speedo pics. I mean, who doesn't. And with that, here's two a good 2012.

Hiatus

Well, I figured since it's been roughly forever since I've blogged (Cubs still haven't won a world series, though Hawkeye basketball has me more excited than ever) that I'd give an update. It is almost Summer (though pretty much raining daily).

I'm slowly starting to get back into shape. I've only swum once since August, but I'm not terribly concerned about that. I figure a few hard sessions in the pool should get me back to a respectable point.

With regard to biking and running, I had started to get some form back, but then pretty much demolished my ankle playing basketball, so was out of commission completely in February and most of March. I've been running with dsm911 about once a week and doing some running on my own. I haven't been out on the bike as much as I would like.

My last two runs have been pretty good though. Dsm911 and I went for a 3 miler before basketball last Thursday and went 8:30; 8:08 and I believe 7:20 for the 3 miles. Then, on Sunday I went for a 9.5 mile run and averaged 8:05 per mile. I started to get a little labored for the last mile or so, but overall it was a good run. I think I've discovered the secret. Go to Nut Pob for thai food the night before and then have a couple drinks at Kung Fu Tap & Taco.

Hammerhead and I went on a ride the other day. We were planning on going for an hour, but he decided he needed an aero helmet, so we went to the bike shop. By this point, I was getting hungry, so we rode for 40 minutes and then went and ate wings and burgers.

As far as the race schedule goes, I am going to do the following for sure:

1. Emmetsburg
2. Okoboji
3. Point to Point Swim

Other possibilities are:
1. Hyvee
2. Big Creek
3. Cornman
4. Pigman
5. Bluff Creek

The last one, Bluff Creek is May 22. If I do this, I might want to head to the pool at least once.

Season wrap up,aka...work, beer, and general awesomeness do not equal good triathlon races

Well, it's been roughly forever since I've written on this thing. Partly because I forgot a little about it, mostly though, because I had nothing really exciting to post about as far as stellar race results...cause I really didn't have any. That being said, I guess some of the races have a little entertainment value.

Before I dive into a short recap, I'm currently out of shape and overweight, at least in the sense of where I've been previously. I'm currently hovering around the 200 pound mark. Yikes. I bet my bro (who's currently below 150...though I'm taller...and about ready to race for a 2:55 marathon at Chicago) that I'd be 180 by xmas. If I'm not, I'm giving him $3 for every pound above. He's not betting against me or anything, it's just some motivation for me. But I digress.

1. O'Round the Loch Run. My time this year was around 20 minutes slower than the year before. We had a ridiculous head wind and for the first time in my life, I honestly thought I was going to have major damage to (insert name for my anatomy). It was unbelievably cold. I seriously hated every moment of this race. dsm911 warmed up in the kaybo sp???. I thought about it, but there was one, and I didn't want to be in the same place rubbing shoulder's with him and warming our... up. Also, I really wanted to be done.

2. Dam to Dam. I should note, that after Ironman Cozumel, I didn't really train, at all. I kind of just showed up to run a couple of races, which happened to be half marathon's. Stupid. My achilles still hurts and I think it's from doing these two races early on, with no training. I've never had any stomach issues racing...until this. Hammerhead and I were jogging this race, when I had to stop and walk, or else... There were no restrooms anywhere, and every step seemed like a gamble. Finally, I found one a little ways away, and did what I had to do. Exciting stuff, but whatever. My time was also awful for this.

3. Emmetsburg Sprint Tri. This was the first tri of the season. I took my bike to transition, flat tire. Pumped it up...leak. New tire...blew that one while pumping it up. Race is starting in like 2 minutes. Get tire fixed, run to swim start. The swim and bike actually went really well. I came into T-2 in first place and then had the longest 5k of my life. I went from the lead to losing about 6 minutes on the leaders. I ran with these guys last year...this year...not. at. all.

4. Okoboji Tri. I was about 18 minutes slower this year than last year. I was probably 18 pounds heavier as well. Coincidence? To summarize this race. Swim was awful, never got into a rhythm. Bike, threw up in my mouth. Run. See Emmetsburg tri run. Last year, I ran 6:53/mile. This year, it was about 8:43. Good news, I know I can get back there, possibly even better.

5. Point to Point Swim. I was really looking forward to this one. But, the weather wasn't going to allow it. So, dsm911 and I swam the first annual (yes, we'll do this every year...along with Pt 2 Pt), dock to dock swim. It was approximately 1.5 miles.

6. Pigman Tri Relay. I did the swim, 1.2 miles. I pretty much couldn't see anything due to the fog. There was a delay, and I still couldn't see anything until halfway through the swim. I ended up being directed back on course by a boat. I actually thought I was swiming well, and then saw my time. It was around 38 minutes or something. I swam 1 hour at Cozumel. Hammerhead was true to his name and hammering the bike...until some lady who couldn't handle her bike made him crash. He rode 28 miles with skinned hands, legs and a missing lens in his shades, of which he didn't know. Dogman then ran a fast half.

Those were basically my races. I'm vowing to get back into the shape I was in last year. I'm shooting for a great Okoboji, that'll be my key. Also, I'd like to take the top spot at Emmetsburg and not have my junk almost fall off at the O'Round the Loch Run.

Finally, I'll post more on the blog, since I've been very lame previously.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to the cyclist that absolutely destroyed me on our workout last Sunday...Hammerhead. He turns 31 this year and is only getting faster. After our workout, he also managed to eat 4 brats (I think). Unfortunately, there was no banana split for us this time.

Actually got some decent workouts done this week (yes, it's only Thursday). Tuesday, I did an hour of fairly hard riding...though last year at this time, my pace wouldn't have felt that hard, but I'm not in very good shape right now. I followed that ride with a one mile run. The run was slow and painful. Yesterday, I swam over lunch. 200 warm-up, then did 5 x 100; 2 x 200 and 1 x 100.

The first 100 was at 1:20 and I think the rest were around 1:27. 15 seconds rest each. The 200's came in at 3:00, with about 45 seconds rest in between. Slowly coming back. I also ran about 4 miles, but my garmin battery died, so I have no idea what the pace was. Thought about getting up early to workout, but was really tired. Going out to lunch for Hammerhead's bday, then I'm balling tonight.

Sunday night at the office

Yep, the title's true. Nothing like Sunday night at the office! At least there's Pandora and the Zach Brown Band station. Decent weekend of working out. Ok, not really that great. Grand plans to get a solid run in finally on Saturday. Nope, didn't happen. But, Hammerhead, Nacho Libre and I did manage to get in a 28 mile ride this morning. The average pace was fairly slow, but we had some killer sprints, especially up some hills. Early verdict. I've got a long way to go. Hammerhead...is in good shape on the bike right now. The dude can ride. Nacho Libre can also ride, though I did manage to catch up and get him on a couple of the hills. He dominated me the rest of the way. Right now, my speed/stamina isn't there yet...and I don't think it should be. I've been on the bike a total of 3 times since Cozumel in November. Not good. At. All. This was my longest ride.

On an actually good note, Dogman had a long run yesterday, 18 miles. I got back right when he finished and checked out his pace on his watch. 6:55 per mile average. Solid split for 18 miles. He's gonna rock it this year I think.

This afternoon, I did manage to make it over to the ICubs game and the one and only dsm911 sang the 7th inning stretch. Yep, there's video. Check back (not sure if I'll post the video, cause my terrible voice is sort of loud on it), but I'll start blogging more now that the season is starting to gear up. I've got a long ways to go, but my bigger races aren't till July, so I'm down with that.

@%#@)*)_(*$*#&_@_(*$)(*

Yep, it's Sunday and I'm getting ready to dominate a brief. At least the weather's kind of crappy, so it doesn't make me feel that bad about being stuck at the office. I like top 10 lists. Here's one. There's no rhyme or reason to any of it.

10. I'm seriously out of shape...for me. I've put on way too many pounds and been eating like crap. It's about speedo season :) and I need to get in shape, lose the pounds and become sort of fast again. I went to the store and bought good food, that's step 1. The bike's put together...another step in the right direction.

9. Arizona...seriously. Not to get too political, because this isn't the time/place for it, but I think the law you just passed is incredibly ridiculous. Please get a clue (this is my own opinion and not the opinion of the Boji Tri Team).

8. I'm currently drinking a big gulp. The stuff in number 10 is referencing tomorrow. Drink on Big Gulp, drink on.

7. Dogman ran sub 6's for his 8k. This was solid.

6. dsm911 is on the missing person's list I think. I would like him to at least come back and play Thursday night basketball...and do some swimming with me in the mornings.

5. Burrito and I went to Peggy's tent party last night. Nothing like $5 beers.

4. I've got a feeling Hammerhead is gonna do some dominating this year. He's been in the pool quite a bit. I need that extra time prior to getting on the bike.

3. Pandora is great. I mean the free music thing, not the Avatar land, or whatever it's called.

2. I think the Emmetsburg tri may be my first tri of the year. It's the end of June. I was going to do one in May, but I'm so out of shape right now. I guess sometimes the best way to get back into shape is race though...we'll see.

1. The following people are awesome. Kevin Durant, Flea, Andre Dawson, Richard Dawson, The Warrior, Pat Green and Ignatius J. Reilly.