The 2009 Season in a Nutshell

With tomorrow being the last scheduled race on my calender, the 2009 season is all but over. The YMCA Turkey Trot has been the perfect way to round off my season for the past four years. With crazy costumes, fast runners, and the best after party the Turkey Trot should be on every one's calender come November.

As for the rest of the 2009 season it has held some of the most memorable races and biggest hurdles to overcome. Mid-December I felt an agonizing pain in my heel and thought nothing of it. As I continued to run the pain became so unbearable I was forced to go to the doctor to get it checked out. Sure enough, before the season even started I was told not to run for the next 4-5 months. When I heard the verdict I partically wanted to hide in a closet and never come out. Everyone that knows me will tell you if I don't run it's bad news. Running is my life and alwasy will be, but Achilles tendinitis can develop into one of the most painful injuries if it is not properly taken care of. After knowing the situation I meet with the one guy who has always guided me in this sport; Pete Cerny. He told me to do what I can, let my tendon heal and get back to the sport as soon as you can. Don't change your race schedule, don't change your race strategy, and never change your mindset about the sport. Be tough and you will get through this with a positive outcome. Sitting there barely able to walk at the time, I figured he had one too many brews before the chat. Saying "How the hell can anything positive come of this? I cant FU**ing run for 5 months!" Sure enough...I was proven wrong.

As the racing season began I had only been running for about two months, and my swimming was struggling as usual. Coming into Keuka I had no idea what intensity I was able to race at, I just wanted to give it my all and whatever happened happened. As the season progressed I began amping up both the training intensity and volume. Training with some of the best triathletes in WNY allowed for me to build confidence and tweek some strategies about racing. After all said in done, the 2009 season came out to be my finest season to date. With two overall victories a stellar time at Muskoka 70.3 and winning my age group in every race, but two I am taking away nothing but positive thoughts about 2010. With the next few weeks designated to rest and recovery, I will then be focusing all of my energy on Ironman Lake Placid. 2.4 mile swim 112 bike and a 26.2 awaits for me in July and I am excited to see what new obstacles will approach me come January.

Decisions Decisions

Well folks another semester is winding down and its right about that time were you meet with your advisors who then direct you which way to go for the next semester. Some students have their schedules pratically picked out for them due to avalibility, while others are hung on whether or not they want to wake up at 9:30 or 1:15. As for me, Im hung on what the hell I want to do with the rest of my life. Don't get me wrong I absolutely love what I do right now, but after college where do I go? What do I want to do? WIll I be happy with a typical job? I have some major thinking to do and a very minimal window of time.

I started off thinking that directly after college I would apply for a cardiac rehabilitation job in a hospital. I love helping people, I love meeting new people, and most of all I love seeing one partake in exercise that will eventually aid them into a healthy lifestyle in which they once lived. After a few months have rolled by, I am deciding whether or not I should stick to my guns or add a Techer Certification to my degree. This would add a minimum of a year to my college life. After all I do love college, but another year at least...it's tough to swallow right now. I have talked to some wise friends and everyone has told me to do what you feel like you will enjoy the most. A year or two of extra college classes will pay off in the long run.

So when it boils down I have roughly 4 days to make a decision that may ultimately affect the rest of my life. Time to goto the drawing board and figure out which direction I am going to take. I wish everyone the best of luck on making their life decisions and always go with you feel will make you happy in the end. If the major you are partaking in right now isn't appealing, change now or you will be in a world of hurt the rest of your life.

Cheers and all the best

Hey The Moon is Chasing Me

Tuesdays. ugh Clearly the longest day of the working week. I decided not to wake up early this morning due to the fact that I had a bummer day ahead of me, and that I did. Class basically all day with like 4 hours of breaks scattered through a 13 hour time allocation. So like I said, I decided to sleep in today so I set the Timex watch for 7:05; solid Ill be up after the sun rises for once. I woke up starving! I downed a massive bowl of Special K and some yogurt. Next came the huge mug of coffee. Typical start to everyday living and so far so good.
First off was the three hour Lab Techniques class. Firstly let me say I have some gnarly classes with some of the most down to earth professors ever. Hell one is a cyclists. The man has to be pretty sweet right? This class was and is a huge of subject of interest to me, so I wasn't really dreading this bad boy. So the time came and passed and next was a 45 minute swim in the Brockport Aquatics center (aka the shittiest pool in Rochester). I felt great! I don't know if it was that gel I downed 15 minutes before I began swimming, or the fact that maybe I was actually getting faster. For now Ill say it was the gel.. Come race day, I hope to say it was the faster answer. After swimming I had Biomechanics with the man the myth the legend, Dr. Williams. Cool dude, but wicked tough course. I know if there is any one course to pinpoint this semester and put forth a little more effort it was surely going to be this one.
After I made the mile trek back o my humble abode I collapsed. Dead tired, no energy and starving. I still had a schedules 30 mile to complete and right now it sounded like doing a long ride of 100 miles...just not happening. I laid on the couch and withing 5 minutes I went away from the world for a hour or so. I woke up and was starving! I made three humongous chocolate chip pancakes and put peanut butter all over them. I am telling from human to human, best invention ever. They were gnarly. After eating those bad boys i twas off to class.
After class I decide not to let my laziness get the best of my so I decide to do something I RARELY do, and that is to work out after sundown. I am all about banging out he workouts before noon if possible. Today it wasn't feasible. I decide to head out onto the track around 9:00 at night. Just me the cool air and another mate running up and down the stadium stairs. I decide a 4 mile tempo run with negative splits sounded like a pretty legit workout with a mile cool down. So I began. First mile I clocked at a decent 7:06 mile. I'll take it for my first mile with no warm up. So then I started to push the pace a little and got a good reaction. Mile #2, 6:35, not bad, but I can do better. SO then I started to just relax and let the air take my feet. I relaxed looked up at the moon and thought to myself "Hey the moon is chasing me." Wherever I go the moon is looking at me. Then, of course, I thought of the Dave Matthew song "You Never Know." Good tune, if you haven't heard it, youtube it. The mile flew by, completely with no effort. 6:15 sweet. I still felt really calm and relaxed and I was barely breathing heavy. One more mile and its time to relax. Mile #4 came with even more ease. I was warmed up, my legs felt good and the moonlight was still guiding me. Just me and Mr. Moon. As the last lap quickly approached I felt a sudden urge to drop a deuce. I'm sorry but its the truth. So I ran faster to finish. 5:59! DONE! I finished off with an easy mile on the track and just thought about how fun and awesome my race is going to be in week and a half. I have put a ton of training in for this race and I am hoping that it will pay off in the end.

Tri Season is Wrapping Up

Early mornings, long rides, and three a days have been my life for the past eight months. This being my most successful season, I must say it has been a wicked ride. Sidelined to run for the first three months, I figured I would do what I could finish middle of the pack and move on to the next year. As May rolled around I started running 4-5 miles with little pain, but knowing my first triathlon was a few weeks away I figured Id be screwed. When the weekend of June 6th came, my mom, aunt, and myself set off the the pristine Keuka Lake. I was registered for the Sprint triathlon. Hoping to perform pretty well, I geared up for the early morning Sunday showdown. Coming in a surprising 8th overall I considered the race a success.
As the months keep rolling away and the Achilles getting stronger I then began to ramp up the training. I started to put 15 hour weeks in and my legs started to take a toll. I felt stronger then ever though and joining the UB masters swim was extremely beneficial. Anyone that knows me, can easily tell you I suck at swimming. Always did and probably always will. I started to tie the three sports together by balancing out the training load per each sport. Racing a few races throughout the summer my eyes were set on Muskoka. 70.3 miles is a tough, but good race to compete in. As I enter my final weekend of longer rides and runs, I feel like I am in the best shape I have ever been in. Running and riding faster than ever, and even my swim stroke has approved.
Now that the hard part is done, its time to relax chill and gear up for September 13th. Where some of the finest Ironmen and women will enter the arena and swim bike and run to their fullest potential. Its going to be a bittersweet day and I am planning on enjoying ever minute of it. So for now, train smart, be good and enjoy your life. Cheers

Funny the Way It Is

By no means is this going to be a grammatically correct blog, just because the things that have lead up to this blog. Strongbow. Canada brew, good brew. Its funny how I was passed out at 8 laying on my bed not wanting to move and now here we are at 1am or something like that, listening to dave and just shooting the shit. I had a good night tonight. Meet some good people, talked a good talk with Mike and now here I am. Its Funny seeing people. Its funny watching people, and its funny thinking about people. 2 days here in wheatfield, Ill miss it for sure, the people, places and things but there is some green grass waiting 60 miles down on route 31. Im okay with not being a collar popping, sweet talker, pretty boy. Topic of discussion tonight between Mike and I. Being one of a kind not spiking your hair or wearing a belt buckle the size of Uranus, pun inttended, and just being a royal douche to people isnt cool kiddies. Im not saying im cool, im kinda lame, but at least when I sleep at night I know im not trying to portray a different me. So wake up smiling, be yourself and remember always enjoy the day. Cheers mates.

Food For Thought and The Ideas for the Future

Lazy. Straight up Lazy. I woke up this morning with no desire to workout, and the thought of just sitting on my couch all day is sitting heavy right now. Save by The Bell on the goof box, Pink Floyd playing and some sun peeking through its another typical morning. Typical, a word Im getting sick of. Its like my weeks are being played on a record, same song different day and no variation anywhere in the near future. I can honestly say Im not the king of wild and crazy dreams, but there are some things I would love to do before I start my life. No I don't want to climb Mt. Everest (even though that'd be gnarly), but rather just go out and see the world and not care so much what shirt Im wearing or if I have a minor case of B.O, due to a lack of showering facilities. This past year an idea brewed between a friend of mine and myself about going backpacking in Europe. I can honestly say I am going to put this on top of my list of things to do in the next two years. As everyone knows Europe is not a cheap country, and I'm alright with taking out a loan to travel across the pond, and see all the diverse people and their cultures. The one thing that stops me is, no not money, but training. On any given day I'm up before 7:30, and three times a week my watch reads 5a.m. just to go wet at the UB pool. I can honestly say I love what I do, and I would miss it dearly, but I think within the next two years I am going to put it on hold. With Ironman Lake Placid next year I will be training my ass off just to get to the promise land in a respectable time. After Ironman who knows? Maybe it will be time for me to take a summer off and do something different with my life. You only live once right? Soooo, I wish I could grow a sack, put down my life for a few months and do what I want to do! Europe 2011 here we come. San Fran we will be seeing you too, so get the airplanes reeving and the hippies on Haight and Ashburry dancing because we will be there before you know it. If you have any desire to do something out of the norm, just do it. Cheers mates

Starting it Off Simple

So I figured with school beginning and the departure to Brockport vastly approaching it would be cool to try something new. After just purchasing a laptop three days ago, I want to put it to good use.
The end of summer is all but a week away. It has been one hell of a summer from start to finish, and these past three months have melted away. Even though there were a few things I would have liked to do, I can settle for what I've done. Seeing three Dave shows, all of which I remember despite having one to many sodas, crystal beach, trips to Toronto and the infamous Lake Placid trip. Along with going to Artpark to see a few shows, racing and training triathlons (one of which I won), and just plain old hanging out with everyone its been good. As the end of August approaches, it is time to shift gears towards Brockport. My second home, my second family and the kids I love all reside there. I can't wait to see TK, Gwii, Andrew, and many many others. Over the past two years I have meet some amazing people there. Last year, honestly, had to have been one of the best years of my life, living across the hall from six of the craziest girls ever, along with living with five of the best roommates a lad could ask for. I can only imagine what is in store for this year. This is going to be the first year living of campus, and I am 100% looking forward to it. Living in the Brockport Crossings should be a hell of an adventure. Like I have been saying all summer, I hope there are some good looking females to my right and some hardcore Dave fans to my left. Good neighbors will make my world go round for the ten months lease.
So as the final week living in Wheatfield fades, I can safely say I am going to miss all ya'll. Its been an interesting and fun summer. I wish you all the best and just remember to enjoy yourselves the next few months. Study hard, smile and stay well. Thanks for a good time this summer. Cheers mates.