tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73777271799177992522024-02-19T00:54:57.271-05:00My Thoughts, Expressions, and OpinionsThe future is no place for your better daysSkip Kuneckihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01547103842815902424noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377727179917799252.post-49522416194199340732012-10-20T19:23:00.000-04:002012-10-20T19:23:25.071-04:00The Comeback Race Now I know all 5 blog readers have probably been wondering what the hell I have been doing with my time over the past 4-5 months, so allow me to present you with this:
Tomorrow marks the day where I finally toe the starting line again. The last time I had pre-race nerves, the excitement of competing, mentally going through my race plans, crunching numbers, and watching all of my hard work come full circle on race morning was the Boston Marathon back in April. Needless to say a lot has been going on in my life since then, both in sport and out of sport. Let’s start with in sport, seeing how this blog is usually focused on my lack luster training/racing. The lead up to the Boston marathon training was on point. My long runs were held between 6:50-7:25 pace, my weekly mileage was right on target based on the 3:1 standpoint, and I was eager to race. A week before Boston, I had been diagnosed with strep throat and everything came crashing down. I was flat race morning, it was hot, I could barely my 4 mile run two days before the race, however I was happy to of qualified; therefore I would run. I finished with an upsetting 3:20, when I truly believed I was in sub-3 shape. A series of misfortunes led me to a race that left me hurting for weeks.
Once the recovery that followed the Boston Marathon subsided, I felt no need to hop into triathlons. I was eager to enjoy life. I had put so much into my training the years prior, sure I was somewhat successful, won a few races, became an “Ironman”, made some great memories, but I knew what kind of hours I put in in order to achieve those goals, and I wasn’t ready to put that kind of effort into my training this summer. I had a different goal = exercise without a schedule/plan, enjoy life, and find a job. I am happy to say, sitting on my couch in Bradford Vermont three months later I did all three of those things. Instead of working my ass of swim, biking, and running, I put that effort into finding a teaching job. I had a new love, and a new dream and I wanted to chase it. I always secretly wanted to try life on my own(pre-Catie era), in a different area, explore a new setting, culture, community. Now some of you are saying, “How the heck does the culture in Vermont vary that much from New York?” I can’t do it justice explaining it, so I would have to offer up the advice to come here and check it out. You’ll see what I am saying. People in Vermont would give you the shirt right off their back, in the middle of winter, if it meant they would freeze, and you could go along on your merry way. Generosity in Vermont is something people don’t think about, they just do it. So in retrospect to my life now, I love my job, I love teaching physical education, I do miss home, friends, family, and Catie.
Now back to the reason I write this blog, my mediocre racing/training. So as I was saying after Boston the spark wasn’t there. I was suffering from a calf strain and running no longer became an option. Walking was a chore, biking was bearable, but running was out of the question, and it is hard to swim when you don’t have time nor a pool that is open when you’re free. So I decided to become one of those weekend warriors. I would ride on the weekends, lift during the week and just watched what I consumed. I didn’t gain weight; I didn’t lose weight, and by no means was I fit. After a month of this nonsense, schooling ended and I went home for the summer. I decided to get back into slowly, so I offered to teach a few spinning classes, rode my bike 4-5 times a week and began running again. After running for a week or two I was doomed by a high ankle sprain due to trampoline antics. Let me tell you, if you have kids, never let them go on those madhouses. Nothing good ever comes with those stupid death traps. After free falling 10 feet in the air and landing right on my ankle I found myself in a room at immediate care. With my ankle 3-4x’s the normal size I knew this couldn’t end up well. The days following my ankle turned into a replica of Barney’s ankle; massive in size and purple. The doctor told me I couldn’t exercise at all for 2-3 weeks, and run for 3-4 months. I was going to go insane, so I started teaching spin classes a week later, found the beauty of the elliptical, and when I could fit my cycling shoes on my foot I went for a ride. I had no time goals, no regiment to steer my training, just me and my own day to day aspirations. I enjoyed not having to wake up at 4:30am to go for a dip in UB’s pool, I enjoyed not having to worry about how I would fit my 4 hours of training in before and after my 8 hour work day, or how I could squeeze out of the bar by 10:30 without having a lick of alcohol. I lived that life the past 2-4 years and I was over it this time around. Between the injuries and the “not-caring” I didn’t compete in one running race, one triathlon, or one scheduled workout the entire summer. I enjoyed my time, I enjoyed seeing my friends, I enjoyed not having to worry about crunching power numbers.
Now that summer has past, the notion to do nothing has settled. After being semi-forced into this race by a coworker, I am proud to announce that tomorrow I will be racing my first race since April. The Chad Half Marathon in Hanover, New Hampshire will be my “comeback” race. No I am not Lance Armstrong, there is no 2.0, or doping scandal for that matter (though I still fully back him due to his contributions to cancer research through the LiveSTRONG charity) I am a 22 year old man trying to get back to that form I once knew. I haven’t trained overly hard for this race as I wasn’t supposed to start running until the end of September, but I do go into tomorrow’s race with pure excitement. I will not win, I will not even come in the top 100, I may not even break 2 hours, hell they may have to roll me to the finish line, but I do know I will have fun doing it. The rush of racing will be back tomorrow. I will line up with a smile on my face, and I will finish with a smile on my face. I am there to have fun, not race. I am hoping this sparks my interest in racing/training again. If it does great, if not I will continue to ride, run and swim but just not as dedicated. There is more than life to triathlon, and after three years I finally figured out what those things were. We all go through the lows and the highs, but it is about finding a balance between a hobby and life. Triathlon is not my life anymore nor will it ever be again. I will continue to push myself everyday, but maybe in will be in the realm of teaching and not in the pool. Maybe I will strive to become a better boyfriend and not a better form runner. Perhaps I will dedicate more time to cleaning my house, rather than cleaning my bike. Everyone has a goal and a dream, whether it be crossing the line first, or being the best friend, sister, brother, coworker, mom, dad, teacher possible. Chase your dream(s), because remember:
“Don’t lose the dreams inside your head
They’ll only be there til you’re dead
Dream”
- Dave Matthews
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So if your uncertain, sign up for a race, train, give it a whirl, if the bug bites you go for it; If not keep fit, exercise and enjoy the ride!
Skip Kuneckihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01547103842815902424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377727179917799252.post-79342963520831381992012-04-17T20:33:00.000-04:002012-04-17T20:34:35.128-04:00The Boston MarathonIt all started at 5:15am when the alarm went off. I knew I was in for a tough, yet fun day running through the streets of Boston and its surrounding suburbs. After a cup of coffee and a bite to eat, I was headed for the subway to catch the shuttle bus to the starting line. Luckily for me at 5:40am, the streets are pretty quiet and the only other people really walking around were fellow marathoners. Once I got on the subway, hundreds of runners were all headed the same direction, so I just followed along. When we finally got off the subway and into the streets of Boston, it was a sight to take in; Thousands of runners waiting patiently in line to catch the buses to the Hopkinton. I quickly sparked a conversation with a guy who was running the Boston Marathon barefoot. He was an interesting character who was very full of life and doing it all to raise money for kids without shoes in Africa. I later saw him barely upright with his feet looking in rough shape around mile 23. I hope he did what he set out to do.<br /><br /> After waiting for about 20 minutes I caught a bus to the start, where athlete’s village awaited me. I sat next to a very eccentric gentleman who loved the whole Boston experience, and offered me tons of advice for my first Boston Marathon (this was his 8th). He easily told me his own race plan about five times, going mile by mile, and eventually I just wanted off that bus. Once we pulled into Athlete’s Village it was a sea of runners walking and laying around Hopkinton school grounds. There were people every which way you look and it was a sight I’ll always remember. People brought everything plus the kitchen sink to pass the time and make sure they were comfortable waiting around until the start. Unfortunately with such a big race there is a lot of waiting time before the gun actually goes off. For me it was a 2.5 hour wait so I decided to take off my coat and make a little place for me to lay and take a load off until the race began. Athlete’s Village makes you feel very at home because they offer you bagels, bananas, Powerbars, coffee, Gatorade, sunscreen, Body Glide, yoga mats to sleep on, and anything else you could possibly need to stay calm and comfortable before the 26.2 mile trek to Boston. Once 9am came around they started shuttling people off to the start. I got up and made the .75 mile walk to the starting line. <br /><br /> Once the volunteers shuttled us off into the starting gates they made note that it was already 80 degrees at 9:45am! It was hotter than hot and we hadn’t even stepped a foot onto the official Boston marathon course. The race announcer offered warning after warning, telling us to slow down, walk, drinks lots of water and if you didn’t feel good to drop out. Also for the first time in 10 years, the race director made an announcement stating the same thing. Take your time; it is no longer a race but an experience. I decided the night before after receiving email after email warning us about the weather and having strep throat a mere 5 days before the race, that I would take my time, enjoy the race, and just have a good time on the course. Once the gun finally went off at 10am the “race” started. <br /><br /> Seeing the thousands of spectators within the first mile, I knew right away this race was going to be like no other. The streets were lined with kids, parents, college students, and family members of those running. Kids were sticking out their hands in hopes of a high five, people were offering water, oranges, and signs flooded the streets. Once mile 2 came around the heat was already starting to take its toll on me and the other runners. People had already slowed their pace and some even started to walk up some of the hills. I couldn’t believe it at first, but those runners were probably smart to do so. Chugging through the first 5k in 20:XX I was happy where my pace was. I was shooting for an overall time of 3:15-3:30 due to the heat so I was a bit ahead of schedule at this point, but I knew the first 5k was the easiest section of the whole course, so I wanted to bank a little time. By the time I got to mile five I was hot, sweaty and in need of water. I started grabbing 2-3 cups per station and began dumping them all over myself. My shirt was drenched with water and it was completely necessary because by the time I got to the next water station my shirt had dried. That’s how hot it was out there. The one thing that got me through the miles was the fans and the little kids looking to rack up as many high fives as possible. The people crowding the streets helped so much handing out their own water and cut up oranges. This race hosts such a history and to see a town/city embrace it as well as Boston does was an honor to be a part of. Once I hit the 10k mark I was really starting to overheat and I needed to slow my pace a few seconds per mile if I wanted to finish upright. At this point people were walking all the hills and taking in everything the crowd had to offer. I decided to pop a gel in and get some energy in me. That gel allowed me to float the next two miles and once the nine mile mark hit I was feeling the best I probably had all day. My legs were finally under me and I was ready to finally start my race, but the weather wasn’t going to allow me run a fast race. I just kept a 7-7:20 min/per mile pace and moved on forward. By this time the streets where lined with people two to three deep. They were cheering as loud as they possibly could and boy were they helping out. I said after the race was over that if this was any other race I wouldn’t have finished because I took so much from the crowd and the energy they were giving the runners kept everyone going. After I hit the 12th mile, the Wellesley college girls were out in full force. The Wellseley girls are a historic part of this course, and everyone always talks about how these girls were crazy and always looking to “kiss” a runner. Going through Wellesley College was an amazing feeling and mile 12-13 was non-existent in my eyes. <br /><br /> Once I hit the half way point I did a quick look down at my watched and saw 1:32:32, 8 minutes slower than I had originally anticipated. At this point of the race I was actually happy with that split given the conditions. I made it a goal to take the rest of this race mile by mile and not to look too far ahead. The next few miles were a blur of water, ice, popsicles, oranges, and Gatorade. I took everything in and was just trying to make it to the next mile. I could feel my sickness starting to take its toll because breathing was now becoming a labor of love. Once I got to mile 19, if it weren’t for the massive crowds lining the streets I probably would have pulled out. I felt like death and my legs were completely finished. I had 7 miles to go and I knew it was going to be a rough run to the finish. When I saw the 20 mile marker I was ecstatic that I had made it this far in the heat, and was hoping the next 10k wasn’t going to be a walk fest. By this time people were walking left and right, and it honestly looked like an Ironman marathon. People were barely shuffling their feet and you could tell the heat was hurting everyone out. I told myself that I would walk up Heartbreak hill just to catch a little break, but I was half way up it before I even knew I was running it. I heard someone say we were on Heartbreak Hill and to take it all in! Once I found out I was half way up the historic hill, I made it a goal to get up the hill, running, not walking. Around mile 23 I spotted Boston College and those kids pushed me through 23 onto 24. I slapped hands with the over excited college kids, many of which were drunk at this point. It gave me goose bumps to have them cheering you on like some kind of rock star, but unfortunately that quickly wore off because come mile 24.5 came I had moved to a walk. My thighs and calves were burning so bad it felt like knives were being stabbed into my thighs with each step I took. The hills had defeated me for the time being. I had to walk. There was no way I could continue on running. I ran/walk the next .7 miles and once I got onto Boylston Street the crowd was electric. Thousands upon thousands of people, 5 deep were cheering the runners on. I ran down Boylston hoping my legs wouldn’t give out as I would have taken a mean spill in front of thousands. I wanted to just stop for a moment in time, take a mental picture of that final stretch and forever keep in the memory bank. I have dreamt of this moment since I started running 2 miles a day six years ago. I was full of emotion, but at this point I wanted out of the heat and off of my legs. So I ran as fast as I could (which was probably a fast walk) down the street and once I got to the finish line I raised my hands in victory and gave that infamous silent fist pump.<br /><br /> I walked through the finisher’s area collecting the food, drinks and medal which I rightfully earned. After that I meet up with my parents and Catie and we headed back to the hotel via subway. Overall the Boston Marathon had to of been my favorite race in a long time. The people were unreal, the crowd support was second to none, and just being there, engulfed in the history was an experience I’ll never forget. I hope one day everyone gets the honor and opportunity to run the Boston Marathon as it is an experience nobody could ever forget. From start to finish the crowd will make you feel like the most important person in the world, and that YOU are the day’s hero. I will be forever grateful for running the hottest Boston Marathon in its 116 year history. For now it’s time to eat that Easter candy that’s been gazing me in the eyes for the past week. Cheers to all and just remember that if you say “I wish I could do that” remember where I came from 6 years ago, and rethink what’s possible. Anything is achievable you just need to put your mind to it.Skip Kuneckihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01547103842815902424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377727179917799252.post-40885857865961008882011-09-21T20:00:00.002-04:002011-09-21T20:03:15.188-04:00Muskoka 70.3<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5OF5IE977537SVSH-Jdoq3Ub1uz1uc9u-FrVVNwNIS4Or6oTPxDPOTckh_yrUZ2TU9A83gp-bwKgZURvralhyZ4jcm4GbyZI7y2Cx0NwdUX8mTA7DQWj6s2bFIpS-hBflKqZI2De2vjs/s1600/IMG_4795.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5OF5IE977537SVSH-Jdoq3Ub1uz1uc9u-FrVVNwNIS4Or6oTPxDPOTckh_yrUZ2TU9A83gp-bwKgZURvralhyZ4jcm4GbyZI7y2Cx0NwdUX8mTA7DQWj6s2bFIpS-hBflKqZI2De2vjs/s320/IMG_4795.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5654967758870863890" /></a><br /> So I fully understand this race write-up is extremely late, but I figured better late than never right? First off I must mention a few names because without them this race wouldn’t have been possible. Mostly Kevin and Pat from Tri-Spot. A week before the race, my rear race wheel went haywire and it was unusable for Muskoka. This was the first panic attack I had pre race. I contacted Kevin and he told me not to worry he will lend me a disc to use for the race. Phew problem #1 solved, now on to problem #2. I had no wheel to train on so I sent out a message to all Rochester triathletes in hope of finding a wheel I could train on for the next two to three weeks. Low and behold the nicest guy of them all, Travis, sends me a text message saying he has one I can borrow for the time being. This guy is a class act, and probably the most amusing person to watch at a race. Problem #2 solved, now onto the next. On the Monday before the race I had a scheduled 90 minute ride to carry-out. Unfortunately it rained that day, but I decided to brave the weather and go out for my planned ride. I took the corners slowly and rode within the weather conditions. As I was finishing up my ride, I was making the final turn into my apartment complex and BAM! to the ground I went. My back tire spun out and I found myself lying on the ground with road rash on my hip, knee, and lower leg. I laid there for a minute and thought “Really? A week away and I crash my bike?” I looked at my hip and knee and noticed it was swollen so I hobbled home, showered and laid a bag of Broccoli on it. I decided to play it smart and take the next day off because I could barely walk without it being in too much pain. On Wednesday I opted to swim and ride for an hour. I could barely push of the wall without my knee hurting, and luckily for me the riding was too bad. I knew at this point I couldn’t run, so I waited until Friday to see what I could do. I ran 4 miles on Friday and it was brutal. I hobbled four miles on the treadmill, got off and iced the heck out of my knee. I didn’t want to think about it anymore so I just said “Do what you can on Sunday.” <br /><br /> When I went to go pick up my wheel from Tri Spot, Pat told me my bike was a bit out of whack from the crash. He then worked on it for an hour before handing it over(Thanks again!). My mom, dad, Catie and myself left for Muskoka on Friday and if anyone has ever been in Canada, you know how much the traffic sucks over there. “Rush hour” is every hour up north, and to get anywhere it takes double the time it should. Finally around 6p.m. we arrived in Muskoka. After checking in at the hotel, and picking up my athlete packet it was off to dinner. Saturday consisted of rest, ice, and tons of food. I am pretty sure I ate everything in sight on Saturday from muffins, to bagels, to pasta. It was a glorious feast, and come Saturday night I was ready to race.<br /><br /> Luckily for me after starting pretty much every race this year in the last wave, Muskoka was kind to me and allowed for the young guns to head out with the male pro’s. Unfortunately I cannot hang with the big boys for the 1.2 mile swim, so I was alone for the entire swim. The swim course is a funky looking rectangle, with the swim ending right near the 18th hole on the golf course. My sighting was pretty on point until I was coming into the bay (finish area). I was swimming and spotting every sixth stroke and with my goggles starting to fog it became harder to see. As I was swimming into the finishing area, a kayaker told me to head over to my left. I thought I was doing pretty well, but she told me I was off course. I then spotted the lead female pro, which started six minutes back, so I got a draft from her and swam straight to the finish in a time of 33:45. For me that time isn’t too bad, but I was hoping for 32ish minutes. Once I exited the swim it was a 300 meter run literally uphill to the transition area. At this point my heart rate was through the roof so I decided to ease into the bike. I grabbed my shoes, bike, strapped on the helmet and set out for the 58.5 mile ride (yes, the course is 4km long). <br /><br /> The Ironamn Muskoka 70.3 bike course is like no other. It is constant climbing up and down for the entire 94km. This bike course will make a man (or woman) out of you if you haven’t put in the proper training. Seeing how the biggest hill near Wheatfield is about 1 mile long, the only way to hill train was to ride up and down that stupid hill for an hour straight. I became great friends with that Route 93 hill over the summer months, and I still struggled with this ride. Riding a disc wheel for the first time ever was quite exciting, though I as nervous on the downhill segments, because I was topping out at 55mph. It was wicked scary. The ride was steady and I felt pretty good throughout the whole thing. I knew the two kids in my age group who were the top contenders were not out of reach when it came to the bike, so I knew I had to ride hard in order to catch them. No surprise but they were out of the water before me by about two minutes so this ride was my chance to catch them. I passed a kid in my age group within the first few miles, and played the cat and mouse game with another kid for about 5 miles before I took the lead. I was in fourth place at about 60km into the bike. At this point Amanda Lovato passed me and she was cooking! Around 65km I saw a kid in my age group who was struggling on the climbs, so I decided to play it cool on the downhill, gain some energy and burn him on the next ascent. About 3km later I caught him and I was now riding in third. I believe at this point of the race I was unofficially 13th overall (other age groupers were riding faster than me, but technically “behind me”.) I had two more boys to catch but just didn’t have the legs to do so. By the 80km my knee was starting to get stiff and it was time to get off of the bike and stretch it out. The final 10km is brutal. There are some of the steepest climbs I have ever been on. I heard one competitor say one of the hills was a 21% grade! That’s crazy by any standards. Once I arrived back in T2 I was pissed at my overall time. 3:27:xx. (2:50 bike split) I needed to run a sub 1:30 on a hard course, with a bum knee, in order to beat my 2009 time. I was starting to punch the numbers and realize this was going to be a difficult task. I ran out of T2 in 36 seconds, right next to the 3rd overall female. I ran about the same pace as her for the first 4km and decided to pass her and try to keep her behind me for the entire run. <br /> <br /> Going into this run my goal was to finish this race with nothing left in the tank. As I started to make up ground on those who passed me on the bike, I decided to shut my thoughts about my knee out and just go for it. I was running strong up the hills, and taking it safe on the down hills. I passed the three 25-29Agers who had passed me on the bike. As we were heading back into town I volunteer told me I was “flying to the finish”. Believe it or not I felt the same way. I was light on my feet and ticking away the kilometers one at a time. This lasted for about 6km and then I hit the wall HARD. Around `14km there was a person laying on the side of the course with a volunteer hovering over him. He did not look good at all, and seemed to have been done for the day. I noticed he was in my age group and felt horribly that he had to end his day prematurely. With that racer out of the race, I know knew I was in second place, but was unsure on how far back I was on the 1st place guy. Around 18km I meet up with the lead 25-29Ag and we ran together for the next 3km. Around mile 12 I hit a wall and hit it hard. The final mile is literally all up hill and I knew I was hurting and hurting bad. I decided to pop in a GU for the final mile and hope it would get me to the finish, and fast. Luckily the caffeine worked and I ran strong to a 4:56 finish. Good enough for a 27th overall and I was the 15th amateur. After the race my parents, Catie and I sat around in anticipation hoping a slot would fall my way. Unfortunately the first place 18-24 took the Vegas spot so I came home disappointed and let down as I did not accomplish my ultimate goal. <br /><br /> Now that my 2011 season is pretty much finished, it's time to relax, run a bit, ride a bit, and swim a bit, and eat a ton. My goal is to get back into the swing of things by mid-october because I have one goal and one goal and that is to FINALLY Qualify for Ironman 70.3 World Championships. I’ll be back next year and ready to finally earn that coveted spot! <br /><br /> A quick thanks to Tri-Spot, Brooks for their awesome running shoes, Kevin and Pat, Caite for putting up with my antics, and most of all my parents. They make everything possible, traveling costs, hotel, and most of all SUPPORT.<br />Cheers to a great 2011 season, time to get fat and start marathon training for BOSTON!Skip Kuneckihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01547103842815902424noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377727179917799252.post-38599309914778197682011-07-13T21:11:00.001-04:002011-07-13T21:11:55.639-04:00Amica Ironman 70.3 Rhode IslandProvidence, Rhode Island. Nestled between the ocean, Massachusetts and Connecticut, its known for its patriotism, huge mansions and seafood. Although I didn’t get to experience all of these novelties, I did get to enjoy 70.3 miles of water, hills, and pavement. My 2011 schedule had a big focus on this race in hopes of having a fast race, and possible qualification to the World Championships. I didn’t know too much about the overall competition, but I did know there was a pretty deep field in my age group. There were some names that stood out in my age group, and I knew I would have to have a flawless race to beat them; needless to say it didn’t happen. <br /> <br /> Arriving mid-Friday day, my parents, Catie and myself, checked into to our hotel, then headed over to Ironman village at the convention center. Right then and there was when it became surreal. Competing in a race of this magnitude always gets the juices flowing, and excitement takes over the body. I was excited to be there, and more excited to race. I had put in a lot of training and preparation for this particular race and I hoped to receive the results I was looking for. Although this last month of training has been less than spectacular, I thought I had built a solid base over the winter months. A lot of long, boring trainer rides, along with some long boring treadmill runs, and finally countless laps in Brockport’s disgusting pool. Friday night consisted of driving, and eating. We walked around the Newport area and this particular area flaunted its patriotism with multiple flags hanging from every household, red, white and blue painted road, and a July fourth parade. As Saturday came, it was more driving around to the swim start to drop off the bike and run gear, along with attending the athlete meeting. At this meeting I found out that the water would be over eighty degrees and that meant all wetsuits would be banned. I let out a silent (or not so silent) “SHIT!”. If you do not know the gains of utilizing a wetsuit during a swim, take it from a nonswimmer; it works wonders! The buoyancy it gives the body makes it seem like you are coasting on top of the water. It almost is comparable to gliding on ice. It is a huge gain when they are allowed and a huge loss when they are banned. After hearing this news I knew there was nothing I could do in my power, unless I had 5 tons of ice I could drop in Olney pond to cool it down overnight. That night Catie and I walked around Providence and Federall Hill. We hit up the largest mall I’ve ever seen (not by my choice) and took in the sounds and the sights. It was early to bed that night as Sunday would be an early one.<br /><br /> Sunday morning came, and it was an early 3:30 wakeup call as this race started at 6 am. My first thought was, some party goers will be just crawling into their beds right now. This was too early even for me, but the alarm went off and the room got up, no questions asked. Catherine, my rents, and I loaded into the car and drove off to the Amica Headquarters where we would then catch a shuttle bus to Lincoln Woods state park. Once we arrived I had a whole twenty minutes to get my transition area settled and get on to the starting line. Unfortunately my wave was the last wave so I had a lot of standing around to do before the race. The pro field began at 6 and I went off at 7:10, and waiting that hour made the nerves rise more and more. I was restless to start my day. Being a non-wetsuit swim I was unsure of how fast or slow my time was going to be, so I said “less than 37 minutes and I’d be content.” Once our wave was corralled the gun went off and the boys hit the water. I lined myself up right with the turn buoy that way my sighting would come easy. As soon as I hit that first turn buoy I was absolutely blinded by the sun. I couldn’t see a damn thing and I knew I was going to steer off course. I tried to stay with the lead pack of swimmers for as long as I could but they dropped me within the first ten minutes. I was lost, way lost, and I was hoping that I could stay close to the course. After finally hitting the second turn buoy I had gone a bit off course and needed to make up some time on the back stretch. Settling and being able to see are both wonderful things when it comes to performing an open water swim. I spotted the exit and headed straight for it. I came out in 36:XX so I was content with that. Knowing if I could see and if I could wear a wetsuit I would have been better off, and believe it or not I was 20th out of the water in my age group of 60+ so that’s not too shabby.<br /><br /><br /> Once out of the water I hit T1 and got out there as fast as I could. I hadn’t ridden this bike course before, but reading online forums of people who had, I knew I was in for a bumpy ride. The first 30-40 miles were rolling hills, a constant up and down. The hills were relentless and when the final ten miles came, it was the worst roads I had ever been on. Picture downtown Niagara Falls, you know the one’s with the pot holes you can take a bath in when it rains? Yeah, it was that bad. Between bumps which protruded about six inches in the middle of the road, and the pot holes which could have been meteorite sightings, I was slower than slow the last ten miles. I don’t think I was in aero position the entire time, and I was grasping the bars so tight I thought I was going to snap them in half. Luckily for me I am as strong as a newborn so my handlebars lived to ride another day. Overall my bike split was borderline embarrassing. I couldn’t believe how slow I rode. I can blame the roads all I want (which I still know if it weren’t for those last ten miles I could have taken off at least 2-5 minutes) my split was bad. 2:42:XX averaging 20.7 mph. I wanted to be in the 21.7-22.1 range and I was nowhere near that. I guess I know what desperately needs work.<br /><br /> Coming into T2 I knew I would need a killer run to revive this race. Up until this point my race was sinking fast. I wanted to break 4:45 and I would need a 1:23 half marathon to do so. On a course like this, that was impossible for me. The first couple of miles were long, never-ending hills which took the wind right out of my sails. It was hot, like 90 degrees hot. At every aid station it was grab as much as I could and cool myself down with mode; sponges, water, I am pretty sure I ever doused myself in Ironman Perform. That was a sticky situation. Once I came to the first turnaround, I knew I would be running downhill and needed to make up some time so I took the hills and ran with them (literally). I finally settled in between miles 4-7 and then, being a two-loop course I would be welcomed with that same two mile hill as the first loop. I ran the hill faster the second time around and was ready to get my butt to the finish line. By this time the sun was high-noon, and you could tell because there were hundreds of athletes walking by now. Everyone looked like they had just seen the devil and wanted out. I kept moving past the fellow athletes and before I knew it, there was only two miles left to go. I saw a kid in my age group who seemed to be struggling a bit so I made it a goal to pass him before the finish line. With about a mile and a half to go, I went for it and ran past him. I congratulated him on a solid race, as he did back to me. With the last 200-400 meters being straight uphill I was relieved to see Catie, my mom and dad, waiting for me in that sun. They looked as tired as I was. I always say spectating is just as hard as racing. They have to worry, track, and stand countless hours while we prance around in spandex and look like cavemen or women taking in GU”s, bars, and hydration. I ran the 13.1 miles in 1:2828 which for this course I would consider pretty good. I finished the race in 4:50:51, 89th overall and 7th in my age group. I cannot lie to myself and say I had a “good race”, because I didn’t. My swim was slow, and my bike was despicable. There is work that needs to be done, but for now I have decided to take a complete week off, recharge the batteries and get ready for the second half of the season. I have a few more triathlons to go, and possibly a half marathon and a marathon. We shall see where the wind takes me over the next few months. I know I will be racing the Wilson Wet and Wild triathlon, along with the Ironman Muskoka 70.3 in hopes of qualifying for the Ironman 70.3 World Championships. For now, its time to hit the pool and grind the gears because Muskoka is-a-calling.Skip Kuneckihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01547103842815902424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377727179917799252.post-56649438863215058942011-06-13T17:47:00.002-04:002011-06-13T17:48:49.916-04:00Keuka Lake Race Report.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvcaIq2piHNwU7vvGvaQYGAoVUDsPzewVUcjzuuH49x2m7QfpykTv4uxQR1lCucb6tOezqqYLCFqcLP-p_Srlypsfix5yu3YkwWGm1meD6hu6cLWuxtakmYmtKB0nZ8xenFNWVtifR7Cg/s1600/KT12.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvcaIq2piHNwU7vvGvaQYGAoVUDsPzewVUcjzuuH49x2m7QfpykTv4uxQR1lCucb6tOezqqYLCFqcLP-p_Srlypsfix5yu3YkwWGm1meD6hu6cLWuxtakmYmtKB0nZ8xenFNWVtifR7Cg/s320/KT12.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617824620461966786" /></a><br /> The trainer is collecting dust, the cold gear is shelved away, and the legs are shaved. That can only mean one thing; the triathlon season is officially here! After months of winter weather, and countless hours of indoor training, the sun is out, and the temperatures are finally over 60 degrees(well today a least). The Keuka Lake Triathlon was the first race of my tri season and I came into this race with both excitement and anticipation. Early season triathlons are a great way to assess your winter training along with an evaluation of what kind of form you’re in. Even though I have been racing for 4 years, I have yet to do an Olympic distance triathlon. I’ve done numerous sprints, three Ironman 70.3’s and an Ironman, but I was still an Olympic tri virgin. I knew from the get go this distance wouldn’t favor me because it has a fairly long swim compared to the bike and run portion, and as everyone knows swimming is not my strong suit. I am a good runner and an average cyclist. Therefore my expectations for this race were slightly on edge. I set out the simple goal of a sub 2:20 race. My goal for the swim was not to drown (sub 30 min), my goal for the bike was sub 1:10 (taking the slight difficulty of the course into consideration) and a sub 40minute run.<br /> Saturday afternoon began our commute towards the Penn Yan area. Mike was my co-pilot for the ride, and decided to take on the journey this weekend with me. I explained to him that our accommodations would be about as nice as our hostel in San Francisco, but being the trooper and good friend he is, he wanted to tag along. After driving for two hours we hit our first detour, and we were directed through the dirt roads of Amish country. For the final twenty minutes it was nothing but farm land, horse dung, and carriages. Once we finally arrived to our Keuka Lake College we hit up the registration tent, checked into our dorm room, and headed on out for some Holly’s Red Rooster. After dinner we meet up with Pete Cerny, Joe Meyer and Joe and we began playing extreme Bocce. What is extreme Bocce one may ask? Extreme Bocce is no holds bar, anything goes, through the bushes, brush, against the concrete walls, down a ravine and up a hill. After two hours of game play, team Joe2 won. Playing Bocce the day before a race may have been the most fun and relaxing thing ever. I have a feeling this will become a Keuka Lake tradition.<br /> Race morning began at 5:13 a.m. After my coffee pot decided to throw up all over the room I managed to mustard up half a cup, and washed it down with a bagel and peanut butter. After Mike complained for the next half hour about how early it is and blah blah blah, we headed down to transition area to set up and get ready for the race. Leading up to this race I had yet to swim in open water, wear my wetsuit, or swim a continuous mile. As I was running through my equipment my front bike wheel was rubbing the break pad so I decided to detach my front break and ride with just the back one. (I wouldn’t advise anyone to do that!) The water was a brisk 63 degrees so I opted to get in the water 15 minutes before the race and frolic around to get the body used to the water temperature. It was cold, but not unbearable. Once my wave was in the corral, the siren blew, and the race was underway. I started in the second row in hopes of getting a good line to the first buoy and possibly draft off of a faster swimmer. Unfortunately for me neither of these two things happened. I swam at what I thought was a decent pace. I wanted to finish between 25 minutes-29 minutes and I did that. 26:59, which is not good, not great, probably less than average. The good thing was I felt good, and I was ready to bike.<br /> Throughout T1 I felt like the world had slowed down. It truly felt like I was in T1 for over ten minutes, and the first thing I said to Mike after the race was “MY first transition took forever.” Well after the results were posted I guess I didn’t do half bad because I had one of the faster T1 times at 1:04. Onto the bike, the newly paved 54 was glorious. It was smooth and pot hole free, just what a cyclist dreams of. The course isn’t the toughest course, but it isn’t the easiest either. It has some steady rollers and to reward your efforts it presents some fast down hills. On that first turn around I was really wishing I had those front breaks because I rolled about an extra ten yards past the turnaround point because I couldn’t slow down. I am pretty sure one of the volunteers said “Where is that kid going?” I felt pretty dumb at that moment but quickly kicked the tempo up for the mile climb back into town. Once we got to the back half of the course it was a gradual uphill climb and it was just constant grinding. I was playing a cat and mouse game with a few riders so that up(ed) the tempo quite a bit. Once we made the final turn around one of the riders took off and there was no way I was catching him so I settled down and drove the pace home. Once in T2 I got in and got out in 32 seconds, which was good enough for 1st overall. Hey transitions just may be my thing. <br /> The run started off extremely ugly and I completely blew my pacing plan within the first mile. Ticking off a 5:42 first mile I knew I would be in a world of hurt, and that I was. I was dying by mile 2 and I thought a sub 40 10k was out of the question. I took in a GU and felt much better so I decided to pick the pace back up. Mile(s) 3 and 4 came easily then around mile 4.5 the leg cramps took their toll and although I wanted to stop and stretch it out, I knew that was not a pliable option so I ran through some of the worst cramps I’ve ever had. I was super bloated and not very happy. I did what I could for the last 1.5 miles and was happy to see that finish line. I came in with the fourth fastest run in 38:XX. I finished with a time of 2:16:59 and I was happy to finish 14th overall, and taking the AG crown was a nice perk also. I now know I need to perform a better nutrition plan and maybe I can eliminate those cramps, and even have a quicker run split. <br /><br />If I had to give myself a grade for this race it would be as follows:<br />Swim: C<br />T1: B+<br />Bike: B<br />T2: A+<br />Run: A<br />Overall: B+<br /><br /> Needless to say I need to continue to work on my swim, and get out on mike bike more. Now it’s time to really put in the hours for Ironman Rhode Island 70.3 which is only 4 weeks away! Let’s get out there and train ya’ll!Skip Kuneckihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01547103842815902424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377727179917799252.post-72006781495568637272011-04-02T11:01:00.003-04:002011-04-03T08:54:36.381-04:00Two blogs in seven days is unheard of for me. I don't do many things that are "blog worthy", but I feel like writing up what went down Friday morning. Friday's, up until last week have been dedicated to teaching youngins' the benefits of physical activity, locomotor skills, and developing them as movers and learners. Those who actually read my last blog, know last Friday was a day from hell as Catie and I sat in a car for hours on end in search of our hotel. However, this Friday brought something a little bit different. For those who don't know me I am a morning person. For those who know my mom, can tell you I probably get this trait from her. She has been granted the name Jane from Tarzan by our family. She has more energy/ stregnth than anyone I know. So I can thank her for making me a morning person. Meaning I somewhat enjoy waking up at before the sun rises for the simple fact that I can knock out a workout or two before most people wake up. Nobody bothers me, the gyms aren't crowded, I can get a lane to myself in the pool, and I don't feel like I am being selfish training at this hour. Another huge reason the mornings are so beneficial is because I don't go through the day thinking "Man I still have to run, or bike or swim." I dislike having things dwell over my head all day, and prefer to relax come night time. So for those who say they never have any time to exercise, that is a faulty excuse. Set that alarm clock, make a commitment, get up and workout!<br /><br /> Onward with the purpose of this post. Yesterday was a scheduled swim of 30 minutes (easy recovery) and hour bike (4x10 intervals) and a run of 40-60 minutes depending on how I felt. Thursday night I told Catie I think I am going to combine my workout tomorrow and do an Olympic triathlon(not official). By no means was this the right way to train and I do not recommend it to many, but I wanted to get the feel of transitioning and running off of the bike. I woke up Friday morning at 5:45 and had little desire to achieve the thought that ran through my head the night before. I drove to the pool and hopped into the freezing cold pool. I did a 300yd warm up then decided to do a mile TT. After the mile TT I wen on to do some easier drills and a nice little cool down which put me at 2600yds for the day. I hopped out of the pool and put on my bike shorts. I drove back home, grabbed my bottles out of the fridge and starred at my bike. Should I ride or should I just eat breakfast? I rode. I rode 25 miles in 1:09 (while watching DMB live in Atlanta, great addition to any ride). After the ride I got off my bike, through on some clothes and ran out the door. Here is a hint for any aspiring triathlete: ALWAYS put "normal" running clothes on before you run outside or else you will get some strange looks when running through the streets in spandex. Trust me I made that rookie mistake when I first started out and I will never do that again. Back to the run... I wanted to see where I was when it came to running off the bike. I opted to run the first 5k at race pace then do a recovery 5k to cap off the workout. I pushed the fist 5k and believe it or not I felt pretty good. The second 5k however was not to my liking. I forgot to take in calories on the bike, and barely drank anything. I ticked odd the first 5k in 18:10 (which I was okay with) and the remaining 5k was 22 minutes almost even. I wasn't too bent out of shape over the second 5k time, considering I had no true nutrition in me, nor was anyone chasing me trying to beat me to the line. Once I got back to my apartment I crashed on the couch, looked at the clock and noticed it was only 9:50! I did a whole day's workout before 10am. That was a victory in and of its self.<br /><br /> Sometimes, in my opinion, you have to step outside of that constructed box of training, go out on a limb and do something to let your mind have some fun. Forget the number crunching, forget the watch, the heart rate monitor and just enjoy being a triathlete. I hope everyone who reads this, all 2 or 3 of you finds something that keeps/gets you motivated no matter what your niche may be and just have fun with it. Nothing is impossible if you just tri.<br /><br />Weeks Total:<br />Swim- 2:40<br />Bike- 10:10<br />Run- 4:11<br />Strength- 20 minutes!<br /><br />For a total of ......17 hours and 21 minutesSkip Kuneckihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01547103842815902424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377727179917799252.post-56359415176695270072011-03-27T08:38:00.004-04:002011-03-27T10:47:59.004-04:00The Adventure's of Pittsburgh RacingI wish I could have been Charlie Sheen this weekend for the simple fact that he has been "Winning" for about a month now. In fact he has been doing so much winning, I blame my "losing" on him. After racing the Flower City Half Marathon last year, which I came up 11 seconds short of qualifying for the NYC Marathon, I felt that it was time to take another crack at it. I chose Just a Short Run located right outside of Pittsburgh for the simple fact that it seemed relatively flat, and I had never been to the Steel City. So Catherine and I packed our bags and headed out around noon on Friday. Google Maps said it would take 4.5 hours. I didn't think that was too bad, and the ride would go relatively quick. The drive to Pittsburgh was peaceful as there were not too many cops or cars on the road, but once we got to the Pittsburgh area, this trip made a turn for the worst.<br /><br />I booked a hotel located 30 minutes from the race site, and 5 minutes away from Pittsburgh. We arrived to the Pittsburgh area right as traffic was starting to pick up. We hit the suburbs and began looking for Exit 2, which would eventually lead us to our hotel. Well (un)luckily for us there was no such thing as an Exit 2 in Pittsburgh. Okay time to get of the highway and go ask for directions. We stooped at a Pep Boys in hopes they could lead us to our final destination. I asked the clerk how to get to the Quality Inn in Monroeville. He told me how to get to Monroeville, but was unsure of where the Quality Inn was exactly. The sales rep told us we would be facing some heavy traffic as we had to go through two tunnels which lead into and out of the city. After driving 4.5 hours the last thing we wanted to do was sit in our car in dead beat traffic. After we got the directions we were on our way; Sort of. We were stuck in traffic, not moving, not even a tiny roll. After getting through the first tunnel, which took us about 30-45 minutes we still had tunnel #2 to go. AT this point I was a little uneasy and ready to lay down and relax. We were FAR from doing that. As it took another 30-45 minutes to get through The Squirrel Tunnel we were finally on our way to our hotel, or so we thought (again). Once we arrived to Monroeville our directions at this point were completely useless and we had no idea where to go. We drove around in rush hour traffic until I finally decided to pull over and ask someone where the Quality Inn Hotel was. I walked into the gas station to ask the clerk if she knew the location of the Quality Inn. She had no idea where that was or if it even existed, so she asked her co-workers. Not one person had any idea where this hotel was. I turned to the line behind me of about 10 people and not one person knew where this hotel was. At this point I was ready to sleep in my car and just call it a day. I turned to Catie and said not one person knew where this place was! How can a whole city not know where this hotel was? Catie and I then decided to get some dinner and try to figure this all out. Dinner was probably the highlight of this day. As we ate dinner we got on our phones and tried to make some phone calls. After numerous attempts calling our parents, and local hotels, we found out that Hotels.com had the wrong address to our hotel and that it was actually located in Green Tree which was before the city! This meant we had to go back through both tunnels, drive through Pittsburgh and finally to Green Tree. After doing those tunnels once I was ready to cancel and book a hotel in Monroeville and call it quits. We hoped the tunnels going the other way wouldn't be too bad and that we would take our chances. At this point I had steam coming out of my ears and my stress level was out of this world. I felt horrible for Catie because she did not say a word and showed no frustration. On the other hand, I think I dropped more F Bombs in one hour than I have in my entire life. Once we ventured back through Pittsburgh, we FINALLY made it to the QUALITY SUITES in GREEN TREE, PA. Got that Hotels.com? Not Monroeville. Thanks a bunch. After driving for a total of 7 hours, we had made it to the registration desk of Quality Suites. We checked in, got our room keys, and drove to our room. The great part about it was our "room" was a mini apartment. It was equipped with a full kitchen, breakfast bar, desk, living room, queen bed, and a bathroom. It was huge it was just too bad we only spent 9 hours in the room.<br /><br />I set my alarm for 5:30 am for a 8:30 am race start. It was a good thing we left early because, race morning was every bit as stressful as the day before. We packed our bags, loaded the car, checked-out and we were on our way. Well, once again thanks to a non existent exit we were lost again. We got to the general area of the race and had to stop and ask for directions because once again ours were useless. The nice thing was the first two people had no idea where this park was. Cool. Losing again. Thanks Charlie. On our third attempt, and after a hour of driving, an old man lead us to the correct spot. We arrived at North Park with exactly an hour until the gun went off. We still had to take a shuttle to the start, get my race packet and change. No biggie Ill be ready. Luckily the shuttle was on time, the registration was quick and I was changed with 30 minutes left to warm up in the 20 degree heat. That was a joke....it was freezing. I did not have the proper equipment so I ran in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, and I was probably the most under dressed out of the 2,200 participants. Besides the man in spandex shorts and nothing else. I lined up near the front and the race began.<br /><br />The first mile was completely uphill and on a fairly steep slope. Not cool. By mile one I was ready to be done and head back to the start. I was cold, out of breath, and my heart rate was probably over 200. I was hoping there would be a nice, prolonged downhill to negate that killer uphill. Luckily for me, and the 2,200 other runners there was a nice steep downhill which cranked on my shins and quads. SO the first two miles I felt like I just ran 5 miles at 5:30/MILE pace. I needed to settle down and grab a hold of the race. I needed to run a 1:23 to qualify and before ever coming to Pittsburgh I thought it was doable, but after everything that happened that morning, and the day before I would be happy to finish under 1:30. I did not feel like running, I was so stressed out, and Catie was freezing waiting for me at the finish line. I ran the first 5 miles in 33 minutes and felt like I just ran a marathon. What the heck was going on with me? My legs were freezing, tight, and not able to go any faster. I decided to really push the next 5k and hope that I could make up some time, and get this race back on track. I ticked away 3 miles in 18 or so minutes and headed back out for the second loop of the course. 8 miles in 52 minutes. I was alright with that but come to realize that running the next 5.1 miles in 30 minutes and 59 seconds would be a miracle. This course wasn't the flattest thing in the world, so I pushed right from the start. I ran the first mile of the second loop (9th mile) in 6:10, the second mile((10th mile) in 6:11 then hit a trouble spot and slowed to a 6:20 pace for the 11th mile. At this point my battleship was sunk and I knew I wasn't going to qualify. I ran as fast as I could for integrity reasons and finished 23rd overall, 1st in my age group in 1:24:40. On any other given day I would be extremely upset with this time. It wasn't what I came here to do, but given the situations that lead up to this race, the temperature, and lack of clothing, I was OKAY with a 1:24. My goal for a Half Ironman run split for the 2011 is a 1:24 so I am happy with where I am at. I know that I run faster off the bike, and I would much prefer to run 13.1 miles off of a 56 mile bike than a stand alone half-marathon. <br /><br />Catie and I didn't stick around for the awards as both of us were freezing and everything was outside. We hopped on the shuttle bus and arrived at our car shortly after. I changed out of my race clothes and put on some dry, clean, warm, threads. The race was over now it was time to venture into Steeler Country. We arrived only 20 minutes later (and for once DID NOT GET LOST!) We strolled around the Strip District, went to Wholey's Fish Market, City Market, a street fair, and sat down at Pirmanti's Brother's to enjoy Pittsburghs finest sandwhich. We rode the Duquesne Incline, and walked past Heinz field and PNC Park. Sat down in Market Square, and saw the Theatre District. After walking for five or six hours we were both beat, and decided to pack it up and head home. <br /><br />By no means was this trip flawless. We got lost numerous times, it was beyond cold, we slept a total of five hours, but not once did we argue or yell at one another. Sure I didn't reach my main goal (qualify for NYC), but for better or worse this trip was a trip of a lifetime. We got to spend time together outside of Brockport, we got to see Pittsburgh, we ate wine and beer jelly (which is absolutely AMAZING) I got her to walk through a fish market, we rode the Duequesne Incline, and saw a view of Pittsburgh most people don't get to see. Overall this trip although stressful, crazy, and tiresome, was an absolute pleasure thanks to Catie.<br /><br />Let the high volume training......BEGIN!Skip Kuneckihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01547103842815902424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377727179917799252.post-35358049175960352342010-09-20T21:25:00.002-04:002010-09-20T21:26:49.382-04:00Syracuse 70.3<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNBsLqLD7rEw7HQ_hei3q6P1kOGXmvbtBfpjllCQ943X_5zpTDdhyphenhyphenK-Ht_hVM1WjS8KH4170e0QmYllNfJBmMepT2R1ncovVmBL0gs9GrOcqJft6mpqFH7mhsxtt9M80J-z9JwSDl9_4Y/s1600/042.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNBsLqLD7rEw7HQ_hei3q6P1kOGXmvbtBfpjllCQ943X_5zpTDdhyphenhyphenK-Ht_hVM1WjS8KH4170e0QmYllNfJBmMepT2R1ncovVmBL0gs9GrOcqJft6mpqFH7mhsxtt9M80J-z9JwSDl9_4Y/s320/042.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519172131961501458" /></a><br /> Its official the last triathlon of the 2010 season is over and I will kindly say that I went out with a bang. Now I don’t want to sound cocky or big headed because by no means am I or ever will I be, but I had one hell of a race from start to finish. I am not sure if the triathlon gods were looking after me or what, but I raced what seemed to be a flawless 70.3 miles. <br /> Coming into Syracuse I was growing with excitement and knowing that this being the last race of the season I wanted to come back to Brockport knowing I left every ounce of energy out on that course. Plan and simple regardless of my training volume (or lack thereof at times) I wanted to be content with my effort. I watched Alistair Brownlee (21 year old I.T.U triathlete) on T.V about a month ago and at the finished he completely collapsed from exhaustion. That rang in the back of my head for the entire month and that’s exactly how I wanted to race. I wanted to collapse at the finish line and I basically did just that. The outskirts of Syracuse don’t offer much so Friday night was spent with Catherine eating and walking around the huge Carousel mall. Saturday was family filled and race preparation. It was nice having the family there again because for some reason knowing that they made the trip always makes me want to race faster. I feel as if they put forth all the time and energy to come watch I shouldn’t let them down. So we hung out, moseyed around the mall then went out to eat before bed.<br /> Sunday came with rain clouds and cool weather, much of which was expected. Right before I went off for the swim start my family and Catie’s family all meet up, and I bid my farewell. The swim start wasn’t very chaotic, but the water was FREEZING! Sixty-two degrees is not warm even with a wetsuit on, so after hyperventilating for about the first five minutes of the swim I settled in and did what I needed to do in order to have the fastest swim time possible. I stayed to the inside, and hugged the buoys and believe it or not everybody else was off a little ways so I was on my own. I didn’t have anyone to draft off of so it was just me and my swimming ability which everyone knows by now is pathetic. After making the first turn I was feeling pretty good, but did the one thing I was really trying not to and that was to steer off course. I was following what I thought was one of the buoys but unfortunately for me the wave ahead of me all had orange swim caps which was the same color as the buoys so I started to follow them. Needless to say they weren’t swimming in the right direction so once I figured that out I got back on track and exited the water in 33:18 which was my fastest time of that distance. Upon exiting the water I saw my family and Catie cheering as I ran up to transition one. I got my wetsuit stripped by some volunteers and grabbed my bike gear and off I went for a very cold 56 miles on the bike.<br /> By this time I was telling myself throwing away a personal best swim time would be a shame so I motored on with the bike. There were some pretty steep climbs in the first 15 miles so I just swung it into a spinning gear and cruised on up those suckers and made my way to the flat land. I decided to break the bike into eleven, five mile sections and keep track of my splits that way. I had no idea how this course looked or felt so it was all a mystery to me. Plus when you add in the fog which made it impossible to see twenty feet ahead of you this course really became the unknown. Being one of the later swim waves I was passing a lot of people within the first ten miles, and started to make up time once I hit the twenty mile marker. I was okay with doing 1:05 for the first twenty miles because based on the elevation charts the hardest part of the course was behind me. I started to pick it up and got into a rhythm. Once I was got going on the flat roads the miles began to tick away faster than I anticipated. I did the next 5 miles in 11:30 and that to me was a red light. I was riding way too fast, or at least I thought I was. I decided that I felt better than normal so I figured I’d push the envelope a bit the next twenty miles and sure enough I finished 40 miles in 1:57. This was when the thoughts of me riding to hard would destroy my run, but once again I opted to ride as hard as I possibly could and would deal with the run when it came. I was halted by the burning desire to take a pee so I pulled over, dropped trow, and let loose. I may have lost a minute but damn did that feel good. I am pretty sure I had goose bumps running up and down my legs. Ahhh man that was a relief. Okay back to the race after finishing nature’s call, I had around 11 miles to go on the bike leg and wanted to push it as fast as I possibly could to try to ride under sub 2:35. I was close, very close but I would have to ride a ridiculously fast 6 miles back home. There was a small little hill and as I was spinning up the incline I looked over and saw my family and although I don’t even think I said hi because I was in utter shock they made it out to the bike course I was extremely happy to see them. I apologize family. That right there made me ride the last 5 miles in under 11 minutes. Into T2 I was and the goal was to be in and out under 90 seconds. <br /> Starting the run my legs needed a little time to get rolling. As I approached the first mile I looked down at my watched and ran it in 5:55 and told myself to back off a bit or else I would pay for it around mile ten. As I kept running I noticed that my mile times were all around 6:25 and I wasn’t feeling too bad and at that moment I decided fuck it this was the perfect race to let loose and just let my body do the talking. I felt good, I was ready to run 13.1 and I was going to get from point A to point B as fast as I physically could. Around mile 4 I caught up to a guy who was flying and we chatted a bit and he told me he just got back from the Duathlon World Championships in Sweeden so I figured I would try to hold his pace. We ran about the next three-four miles playing cat and mouse with one another. I ran ahead then he caught me and so on. Once mile seven came around only 44 minutes had added onto my time and I started to feel pretty shitty, but as soon as I began to fall into a hole a spectator yelled out “Great pace, you look the best that I’ve seen so far!” and I thought to myself “Well lady I feel like shit, but if you insist” so I surged on and passed Mr. Duathlete and held that lead for the rest of the race. At every water station I was in “I want everything you have mode” so I drank Gatorade, water and took in Gu every three miles. Around mile ten I spotted another kid in my age group and made it my responsibility to pass him as he was hurting bad and I could tell that. I decided to slow for a few seconds right behind him, gain a little energy and then sprint by him. That way he probably thought I was feeling really good and running really fast when in actuality I wanted to lie on the sidewalk and eat a dozen donuts. I ran past him, and by this time the ten mile marker appeared and I looked down at my watched and thought to myself okay two 6:40 miles and you will break 4:40. By mile eleven I wanted to be done. I ran faster than I thought I ever could up to this point and slowing down seemed like a great option. People always tell me to enjoy the scenery when racing, and take it all in, but seeing how we were running through downtown Syracuse it was quite sketchy. So I decided that I would run faster for my personal safety. I didn’t want to get sniped down 2 miles from the finish. (Just kidding Syracuse is a nice city). Around mile twelve I noticed there was a youngster off on the sidewalk barely walking and I checked out his calf and it read “20”. Ah sweet victory that kid is in my age group so once again I did the whole wait for a few seconds save a little energy and then jet pass him. This time the “jet” was more like a slow jog, but you get the picture. I started thinking man I must be doing pretty well in my age group. Eh not so much. I finished seventh out of 80. Mile thirteen came and I could hear the music playing, the crowd cheering, and the inner harbor was in sight. I started to get goose bumps and took it all in. I started looking through the crowd in hopes to spot my mom, dad, cousins, aunts, girlfriend, but I think I missed everyone but Frankie and Ashley. As I approached the finish line I check my watch 4:38 so I decided what the hell mid as well pump the fist and give a little shout out to Master J (the big guy upstairs). <br /> This race was hands down the best race I have ever had in my entire life. From start to finish I felt like I was made of iron or something crazy like that. I was so ecstatic that I finally showed not only myself but my family what kind of race I could have if things go my way. I was there for them. Also at home was my Granny who is not doing all that well and at 102 she is still fighting with whatever energy she has left and I figured if she is still chugging away why can’t I? I ended a season on a personal record for the distance I went a happy but sore guy. This year has hosted the craziest season ever. I trained my ass off since January. I rode like Lance, I ran like Meb, and swam like a brick. I became an Ironman, I won my first duathlon, I finished 4th overall at a highly competitive triathlon, and had the best race of my life yesterday. Overall I couldn’t have asked for a better season. Although it was myself who put in all the hard work, it was my parents, Aunts, Uncles, cousins, and more over Catie who have been absolutely beyond amazing. Never in a million years would I have imagined a girlfriend put up with my prancing around in spandex for hours on end, waking up before the sun, and throwing away Saturdays so I could ride my bike for six hours. My parents have been so incredibly supportive and I consider myself the luckiest son in the world. So I thank you everyone for the kind words of encouragement. Cheers to 2010.Skip Kuneckihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01547103842815902424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377727179917799252.post-43962607048729647062010-07-29T10:06:00.002-04:002010-07-29T10:10:20.190-04:00Ironman Lake Placid<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRhlNCC9lhBPHLVcW8tT-SwR8rTaPLUSjt5J0S2nJesljjwja8gqFpL_-kq9r7OWr3QKA-zD0wOCNJLhbRHv8U0h2dNykEsMHP8nu6hJAMjpn465tSsDTRttR2fE79U3cMWvMrE2VD_pk/s1600/119.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRhlNCC9lhBPHLVcW8tT-SwR8rTaPLUSjt5J0S2nJesljjwja8gqFpL_-kq9r7OWr3QKA-zD0wOCNJLhbRHv8U0h2dNykEsMHP8nu6hJAMjpn465tSsDTRttR2fE79U3cMWvMrE2VD_pk/s320/119.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499330223844200338" /></a><br /> When the going gets tough do you quit or do you give every last ounce of energy you have? This past Sunday I was forced to answer this question in one of the worst ways describable. For the past eight months I have one goal in mind and that was to cross the finish line of Ironman Lake Placid before midnight; meaning I would be officially an Ironman. Well as the months ticked away, I wanted to entertain new goals along the way. Arriving in Lake Placid on Thursday I had the hopes of finishing, and finishing with a decent time across the official race clock. Although I didn’t tell many people I was hoping for a sub 12:30 finish, but deep down inside I wanted to go sub-12. I personally thought that if I had a scotch free race day, and everything clicked sub 12 hours wouldn’t be too farfetched. I had soon come to realize that this goal was unattainable. <br /> If you have never been to Lake Placid during Ironman you are missing out completely. The energy and the vibe that is bouncing around between athletes is incomparable compared to any other event. The mix between nervous energy and excitement makes for those not even participating waiting for that canon to go off race morning. Waltzing around days before the race only made me more excited, and eager for the race to begin. After meeting up with my entire family/support crew for dinner on Friday it was off to the Athlete’s Meeting, where all 2,900 athletes would listen patiently as each course director would explain how things would work Sunday. Though I should have been listening, the only thing I could think about is “How the hell are all of these people going to fit in that little lake?” <br /> As Saturday morning rolled around it was nerves, nerves, nerves. I was stepping into the unknown and eagerly waiting for the day to begin. I couldn’t stop thinking “I knew I should have done this, or could have done that, there was nothing I could do at this point except to race my race.” I did what I thought I needed to do in order to do well at this distance, and now it was just time to execute to the best of my abilities. After dropping of my bags and bike to the Olympic oval, Saturday was nothing but waiting, and mentally preparing for what was about to come. As I knew I wouldn’t get much sleep the night before I opted to take a nap and just watch T.V by my lonesome. The only thing I really wanted to do was have a quiet night with Catherine, eat, and sleep. <br /> Waking up Sunday morning was like Christmas in July. There was no other way to describe it, but sheer excitement and nerves running through my body. I was shaking and could barely stomach a bagel. From what at first seemed like nerves not allowing for me to eat, soon made me realize later that day, and even into Monday morning that maybe the way my stomach was acting was more than nerves. Once Catie, my mother and father headed out to the transition area around 4:45am, I approached my bike and noticed my front wheel wasn’t holding air. I went to go pump it up and the valve shot off like a bottle rocket into the air. The race had even started I had already gotten my first flat tire. No need to freak out, luckily for me there was mechanic tent there, and they even used one of their own tubes. Flat fixed, no harm no foul. Race morning seemed to be a blur of fast pasted, nervous, type-A, triathletes. I decided to just lay low and stay calm. No need to get caught up in all the hype. I figured there was no need to be pacing back and forth thinking about the next 17 hours and how the hell I would tackle the distance. Once the clock struck 6:25 I kissed my mother and Catie good-bye, said bye to my dad, Staci, Mike, and Emily, then headed over to the swim carrel. Once I was in the carrel I waited patiently with the other 2,900 other future Ironmen and once we were allowed to siphon into the water the true fun began. I swam over to the far side in hopes of finding my own area where I would be safe from flailing arms and elbows, but I soon realized everyone else in the race had the same idea. I soon noticed that there were more people around me than I anticipated. Once the canon went off at 7a.m. the fun began. Kicking, punching, goggles getting knocked off, it was everything I expected and more. An Ironman mass start is one of the gnarliest things I have ever been a part of. I just kept saying to myself not to freak out, relax, and take the pace that’s around me. Well the pace that was around me was slower than slow, but there was no way I could get out. It was a ball of swimmers and lucky for me I was in the middle. The first lap I felt like I didn’t even need to swim, I just needed to fight for my space. It was more self-defense than swimming. After coming out of the first lap I read the time and it read 44:XX. “Holy shit you have to be kidding me!” I knew if I didn’t pick it up my swim time was going to be uglier than I originally thought. The new goal for the second loop was to swim, and swim fast. I found a guy I could draft off of so I sat in his slipstream and let him do the work. This lap once again felt effortless, but felt a lot faster than the first lap. I figured if I had a good second lap I would come out around 1:20 which would be alright in my book. Well as I approached the swim exit I stood up glanced at the clock and saw 1:10:22! At first I had to do a double take because I thought I was seeing things, and then it hit me. I did a 26 minute second lap. Now for those who know me, know I can’t swim to save my life, so this was unheard of for me. Stoked with my time I got my wetsuit stripped by a kind volunteer and headed down to transition where I had my first sighting of my support crew.<br /> After heading into the transition tent I noticed it was overly crowded so I did my thing, and got the heck out of there. Packed the nutrition, lathered on the sunscreen, and took off. Simple, easy, and stress free. The cool thing about Ironman is you literally do nothing; the volunteers do everything for you transition wise. They make your day as stress free as possible once you get into transition. After running down the center aisle, I nice lady was waiting with a smile on her face to hand me my bike. I said a quick “Thank You” and she said “You’re welcome, now go have fun.” Fun? Well I guess I will try. The firs loop of the bike was pretty uneventful. A little rain a little downhill a little uphill and before I knew it the first 56 miles were over and done with. <br /> After coming back into town there were thousands of screaming fans and this gave me a little extra boost to recharge the batteries for the next lap, but once the uphill’s towards Keene started I didn’t feel too hot. I started having trouble stomaching my nutrition. A single bite of my Clif bar took almost 5 minutes to chew and it seemed almost impossible to swallow. This was the second sign of what was about to come. Around mile 60 of the bike I just focused on one hill at a time, and looked forward to the 9k descent into Keene. After getting through Keene, and traveling into Jay and Upper Jay I was still having trouble stomaching whole food. I started to troubleshoot and opted to do what I could with GU and Powerbar Perform. I knew once the right turn into Wilmington arrives I would be in for an uphill battle; literally. The climbs into Wilmington started to take their toll and the stomach was starting to toss and turn. I was trying to get any food possible into my stomach and knowing if I couldn’t take in anything I would be paying for it the last thirteen miles on the bike. Once I made it to Wilmington the slow gentle climb began back into town and at this point I had about 13 miles to go and my clock said 5:05 on the bike. I knew I could go sub-6 on a good day, but this day was far from good, so I took what the course gave me and tackled it one mile at a time. Around mile 100 I hit the dreaded wall, and bonked hard. I knew this time would come sooner or later, and lucky for me it came at one of the worst times. From here on out it was damage control mode and I wanted to just make it to town without losing too much time. Once I knew I was at mile 108 I knew there were some flat sections so I was relieved that there was only Mama Bear, Baby Bear and Papa Bear to go. The crowd on Papa Bear will get you up that hill every time so spinning up that hill felt effortless and finally I made it back into town with a bike split of 6:09, not ideal, but I did what I could given my body wasn’t feeling too hot.<br /> I was very relieved to get off my rig and onto my feet. Transition was a quick change of the shoes and an onward march to tackle the final 26.2 miles. Coming out of transition my stomach was in knots. I knew from the beginning this was not going to be pretty. I started off running the first four miles and right away the unpleasant feelings started. At first I thought it was just cramps so I was alright with having to walk it out during mile five, and take in some sodium. Then I realize it was something far beyond sodium deficiency. I tried to eat some pretzels, but I couldn’t even swallow them, so I started throwing pretzels in water and drink it as pretzel soup. This immediately backfired as it was the first of eighteen bathroom visits. I found the nearest port-o-potty and let it fly. At this point I knew this was going to be a very long marathon, but I was determined to finish. The next four aid stations seemed to be the same. I eat, I go number two. After finding a spot in the woods about twice per mile, and my stomach in more pain then I have ever felt in my life I wanted to quit. I really thought this was going to be impossible. Walking at this point was sending my stomach for a loop. I just remembered Joe Meyer telling me that leg camps you can run through, stomach cramps are nothing to toy with. They will give you a one way ticket to the hospital and I wasn’t there NOT to finish.<br /> As I hit mile 8 I had walked about the past four miles, and with the combination of a very slow walk, and consistent bathroom breaks I was at about 18-20 minutes a mile. Now I’m not sure many people can even walk that slowly, but this pace was about the brink. Throughout my years of racing I have felt great, good, perfect, and bad. The feeling I had miles 7-13 is indescribable. I felt like someone was twisting my insides and repeatedly punching them. I stood in the woods wondering if it was even possible to walk the marathon. At this time the race I wasn’t thinking about anything else besides my family. They were probably wondering where the hell I was so I decided to chug along. I walked, and walked, and walked. Sawing those miles tick away was about as painful as it comes. Once I got back into town everyone was cheering, screaming my name, and telling me to run and I just wanted to hide in a corner. There was just no way possible I could run, and I felt like the biggest let down ever. Once I saw my family and friends I just wanted to cry. I felt like the biggest bum ever and hoped they wouldn’t even see me. I told them what was going on and that I had to walk or I wouldn’t finish. My dad told me “Just walk we have all night.” And my Uncle Frank told me “Skip do what you have to do we will be here for you.” That right there made me not want to quit. I had twenty people who came to watch and support me and I wouldn’t be just letting down myself, I would be letting my family down. Once I got back out of town I caught up to another guy from Buffalo and we walked the next 8 miles together talking about everything that was going on. The out and back was slow and the sun began to set and I just kept saying “Keep going, one step in front of another, you will be an Ironman.” After I noticed at mile 13 every time I put something in my stomach in came out seconds later the other end I decided to just drink water and not eat another thing. At this point I had taken in zero calories and hadn’t stomached anything. I had no energy what so ever. Something so simple as walking now became a chore. Then something hit. I was sick of walking and as I approached the end of the out and back at mile 21 I decided to give running a shot. My stomach was far from perfect, but I wanted to get off my feet, and be with my family. I ran back into town, and noticed that my mom, sister, dad, Andrew, Catie, Mike, Staci, Emily, and Uncle Frank were all running to find me to make sure I was alright, and I was so relieved to see them. My mom was balling her eyes out and I started to get a tad emotional. I had about a 5k left and they ran with me for about 200m. I told them go to the finish line I’ll be there in about 20ish minutes. I ran back into town with a crowd a little smaller than the first loop, but low and behold my other family was still waiting for me at the exact same spot as the first loop. I passed a cheering family and said “See you at the line.” Running up Mirror Lake Dr. was unreal. All the training I had put in was finally put into perspective. I did a flashback of the whole day in my mind and it was probably the best feeling of my life once I was on my way into the Olympic oval. My entire support crew was waiting for me and as I rounded that final corner I gave my dad a high five and heard the greatest six words of my entire lifeas I crossed that line; “Skip Kunecki, You are an Ironman!” I crossed the line at 13:32:11 and was greeted at the finish line by an amazing volunteer. I walked through the chute, gathered my finisher gear, and skipped the med tent. Although I probably should have gone I just wanted to see my family, girlfriend and friends. I was greeted with tears and hugs by everyone. Everyone made me feel like I just had the race of my life, when literally it was a race from hell. We all hung out and shared hugs and pictures. I was so relieved to finally be off my feet and be in their presence. I had finished an Ironman. Something nobody can ever take away with me, and something four hours ago deemed impossible.<br /> The next few days after I realized that it was more than nutrition issues. We narrowed it down to a stomach bug or food poisoning, and although I didn’t have the race I wanted too, I accomplished what I had set out to do. I wanted to leave Wheatfield a triathlete and come home an Ironman, and I did just that. There were times were I didn’t think the next mile sign would ever come, and there were times were I didn’t think the next step was possible, but just remember nothing is impossible. Ironman Lake Placid 2010 will be a day I NEVER forget, but it does leave me wondering; “How well can I do if things do go my way?” Needless to say I will be back in Lake Placid in 2012.<br /> <br />Thank You: Mom, Dad, Megan, Catie, ANdrew, Mike, EMily, Staci, Nani, Frankie, Uncle Frank, Mike, AUnt Kathy, AUnt Lori, Uncle Lyle, Nick, Ashley, Jessica, Pete Cerny, Joe, Kevin, and Tri-SpotSkip Kuneckihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01547103842815902424noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377727179917799252.post-39756605452554063842010-07-01T11:10:00.002-04:002010-07-01T11:13:18.000-04:00When the Going Gets Tough.... Keep GoingBlue skies, mountains every which way, a bustling town, and a place that will always put a smile on my face, we were finally there; Lake Placid. Driving through Main Street with Mirror Lake on your left and the Olympic center on your right, this place never seems to get old. It is a place where miracles have been made, dreams have been crushed, and thousands of men and women have been granted the title “Ironman”. <br /> The purpose of this trip was simple; Train as much and as hard as possible. Minus the sleeping and driving that had to take place in order to make this trip possible I was left with thirty-eight possible hours to train on the actual Ironman course. After setting up camp at the traditional Whispering Pines Campground we headed straight to Mirror Lake to get a swim in. Well when I say “we” I mean Mike and myself, though I would be the only one swimming. The beach seemed to be over crowded with tourists and Mirror Lake itself was like New York City, but instead of taxi’s driving up and down the streets, there were kayakers paddling like children hyped up on caffeine. The course was loosely marked with buoys so I had an idea of where to go and when to start and stop. I started where I thought I would start race morning and that was in back and off to the side. I set sail stroke after stroke, and I finally found a rhythm. I knew I had about three hours until it got dark so I figured I may have to push myself a little in order to finish the 2.4 miles before the sun set. (Kidding) I would love to tell you how long it took me, but I know if people actually read this thing they may laugh at the snails’ pace at which I moved at. Once I completed the two loops I was greeted by some fellow triathletes/teammates who were also there busting there asses for the next 48 hours. We took a little time to talk one another, but soon after I was out on my bike for a thirty mile spin. The main purpose of the small bike ride was to see how I would feel after the 2.4 mile swim, and to loosen up my legs for tomorrow’s 112 mile trek around the surrounding towns. <br /> First day=done. It was now time to shoot the shit with Mike and find something to eat and fuel up for tomorrow’s long ride. We walked, and walked, and walked and found not a single restaurant under $15 per plate. So we opted to hit up Subway and go for the $5 footlong. We were on a pretty tight budget this trip so money was a limiter. Lucky for us after we ate dinner it was 8:30 which meant, back to our 5 star tent and lay our head on a rock hard ground, and try to get some shut eye. After taking Mike down in rummy we decided to wake up and six in the morning, that way I could set sail by 7-7:30. Sounded like a great idea the night before, but when those alarms went off the next day it sounded like torture.<br /> Once I got my butt in gear I laid everything out for the ride and tried to organize what I would need for the day and at what time. 6 packets of GU, 2 Clif Bars, Pretzels, 2 Bottles of Ironman Perform, 1 bottle of Gatorade, and 2 bottles of water. The one thing that was absent was Mountain Dew which I later regret not having. After drinking my coffee it was time to rock and roll. First six miles of this bike are up and down it felt like a rollercoaster. I’m talking constant climbing then descending. There were some decent little climbs that made the legs a little tight so I decided just to spin up these little diddy’s at a slower pace. After all I did have 106 miles to go. After the first ten miles my average speed was a whooping 16.9 miles per hour! Not knowing this course I figure I was going to be in for the worse ride of my life. The next miles came easy, very easy. It was approaching the Keene descent and I was ticking of 29mph which seemed effortless, but I did have a 20mph tailwind which was brilliant. After about 5ish miles the scariest part of the bike course came about. For all those adrenaline junkies who love flying down this hill, I envy you. I was simply scared shitless. It had to have been the steepest, toughest descend ever. I was griping so tight on my handlebars I thought I was going to snap them in half. I was clutching onto my brakes and I was going still 42mph. Holy hell never again. After finally making it into Keene, I quickly thanked my lucky stars and made my first wrong “turn”. I kept going straight when I was suppose to turn left, but I only went about 4 miles roundtrip out of the way. No biggie Ill just cut short the out and back. After getting back on track I was off to Upper Jay, and once again the tailwind became my friend, and I was hitting 27mph on flat land. This section of the course felt extremely fast and is going to be a huge help for keeping a decent average speed throughout the ride. Once I did the out and back to Ausable Forks, I saw a sign which read “Lake Placid 17.” Score! Only seventeen more miles and I’m done with the first lap and my average speed is slightly over 21mph. I’m kicking ass right now, or so I thought. The last 17 miles of this course simply suck. They can break you down and strip you to the core. The climbing is brutal, and the tailwind that I loved oh so much before was now 20mph in my face. Joy. Let this go by extremely fast. Needless to say the next 17 miles took me slightly over an hour. Spinning up Mama Bear and Papa Bear I finally saw the end was near, well for the first loop at least. Once I made the left back into town I stopped quickly to see an eagerly waiting Mike, filled up my bottles, got some nutrition and with a quick goodbye I was off for lap number two. <br /> This lap for some reason felt a lot more relaxed. I knew the course, I knew where to turn, I knew what was next, I knew where to push and where to hold back on. Overall I was ready to go for round two. The once blue skies now turned grey and the wind seemed to be picking up even more! The flags were whipping around the flag poles, the trees were swaying and my speed seemed to be borderline fast. At this point of time I knew it wasn’t the engine it was the wind so I decided to push it a little, knowing this wind was going to be the devil once I make the turn into Willmington. Second lap was pretty uneventful up until the last seventeen miles. Once again the wind was howling and the grey skies were now drizzling rain. Once I finally made it into Willmingotn, I was just hoping to make it back to Placid in one piece. The drizzle now turned into a straight downpour and I was 10 miles out and miserable. I had 102 miles under my belt and only ten more grueling miles to go. I started to get extremely cold and the “F” bombs were flowing like the Niagara River. My first true question of “Why the hell am I doing this?” happened. At this point my legs felt like a tractor trailer ran over them. About eight miles out I caught up to an older couple stranded on mountain bikes. I said, “This is miserable eh?” and the older man said “No way this is a blast.” I was saying to myself “How the hell could be going up this hills in the freezing rain be a blast?” This is fricking stupid, give me a bed and a beer and life would be so much better. Then I stopped for a second and though :This is a blast.” This is what I love to do. I love riding my bike. I love challenging my body. I love climbing hills. I love the sport of triathlon, and all of a sudden when I thought I had nothing left in the tank I got a second wind. I decided to quit complaining and ride. I quickly pushed up the last two hills and was rounding the corner to of then be greeted by Mama bear and Papa Bear once again. I took them slow and just kept pushing knowing that it would be only a matter of minutes before I was back into town. Freezing, cold and tired there was no transition run in my future. Off to the showers and it would then be time to eat.<br /> The schedule for the rest of the day was to hang out with Mike and just enjoy what the town had to offer. We walked around the town for as long as the weather would allow us to. Once again the weather man was way off, as the 70 degrees and sunny, turned into 60 degrees and rain. Awesome! No hotel room, no shelter we were up the creek without a paddle. We ran to our car and weathered the storm (no pun intended). Once the rain seemed to have stop, the sun came out and it was a brilliant day at last. We chilled out, people watched, ate some food and before we knew it, bed time was quickly approaching. One more day. One more training session and it would be time to head home.<br /> Mike and I decided to sleep in a little today and woke up to a 7am alarm, hoping to start the run by 8am. What I had planned was pretty vague, but bare minimum I wanted to run 13.1 miles. After getting in the coffee I started at the Olympic oval and headed out onto the run course. Before I knew it I was running 7:15 miles and soon realized that if I continued this pace I would make it about five miles so I slowed it down to 7:45-8minutes per mile. I figured after yesterdays ride I would be dead tired, but soon enough I noticed the first hour was gone. I felt pretty good, and thought I could go for about twenty miles with not gut wrenching pain. Turning back onto Route 73 I hit a wall and I hit it hard. Only 1:10 into my run and it was like night and day from two miles that had just passed. I knew Mike was waiting for me back into town so I kept the legs moving and kept thinking about how this same scenario would come about in about three weeks. Would I want to stop and walk during Ironman this early into the run? Negative, if I walk this early I would get way to use to walking, so I pushed up the hill back into town. This was one of many times were I pictured the course lined with screaming “fans” and I got goose bumps all throughout my body. As I did the out and back on Mirror Lake Dr. I gave a shout out to Mike and decided to do another six miles on the course. Even though I wasn’t in the best form running those last three miles or so I couldn’t stop thinking about how in three weeks I will be here doing the real thing. Two thousand plus people and I will be trudging along the course all with one goal in mind. To get to that line and to get there as fast as you possibly can.<br /> I learned a lot these past two days. Sure I learned more than how tough the course is or when to push and when not to push, but the big thing I learned was to never give up even when the going gets tough. I have put in countless hours of training to get to the point where I am right now. Even though it hasn’t always been easy, I wouldn’t trade the past eight months for anything. It has been a journey that I honestly may never experience again in my life. I’m not saying I’ll never do an Ironman again, I can promise that in 2011 “Ironman __________” will not appear on my race schedule. I know one thing for sure is I could not have done this without the support of my parents, friends and Catherine. I can’t wait until I get to share this race with them July 25th. I hope once I cross that finish line it will be a minor payment of all the hell I have put them through for the past eight months. In the end I cannot wait until I step foot in Mirror Lake race morning. It is going to be an experience I’ll never forget.Skip Kuneckihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01547103842815902424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377727179917799252.post-25645892830968282152010-04-10T14:53:00.004-04:002010-04-11T09:35:16.336-04:00Why I am doing an IronmanAnswering the question "Why are you doing an Ironman?" has been asked frequently throughout the past six months. Up to today I have always given the answer it's just something I want to do before I croak. I put it on my bucket list and I figured 2010 was my year to tackle the 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and a marathon to top it off. I wasn't waiting any longer. I had made up my mind last July to sign up and I was sticking to my decision no matter what.<br /> Two days ago I went out to dinner with Mike and Sean, something we hadn't done in ages. When Sean asked "What do you do while you ride your bike for that long?" I simply said "Ponder my thoughts." I literally think about everything and anything. You name it I have probably thought about from now until when I first started training for my first triathlon. If I have nothing else to think about, I let my mind wander elsewhere. Maybe that's why I got hit by a dog last week; I just wasn't paying attention. Doubt it. I hate that damn dog. Sorry, back to the topic of discussion. <br />I woke up bright and early Saturday morning just like every other Saturday morning to get in my long ride. I had 80-85 miles planned for the day followed by a 5k run. I prepped the new rig with water bottles, food, and a credit card, got bundled up with layers upon layers of clothing. I set out to ride, made it about 2 miles and realized there is no way I would be able to do this. I couldn't feel my face within ten minutes of the ride and decided to move this ordeal inside on the trainer. This was the last thing I wanted to do today. So I set up fort and set sail for the next four hours. I tweeted, checked facebook, texted Mike and Catherine, listened to tunes, watched the 2009 Ironman World Championships, and thought about the question of "WHY am I doing Ironmn?". <br />At first I just figured it was the natural progression of any triathlete; Sprint Half, Ironman(never did and Olympic). I felt I was physically and mentally ready to train and prepare for the 140.6 slogfest in Lake Placid. I then started to think about everything that is going into the race. My family, friends, girlfriend, past teachers, present teachers, the sponsors who have trusted me to do race and do well throughout the 2010 season, and ten thousand of people who I have never meet in my life are all coming to watch. The sacrifices in which they make day in and day out to let me train, the money my parents have invested in the accommodations for the days before and after the race. The travel cost and flexibility of everyone working the race into their schedules. I am not doing this race for me; I'm doing this race for everyone who has supported me for the past three years. I then started to think about what it has taken me to get where I am. <br /> I was in my junior year of high school when it all began. Needless to say I was never the most fit kid in my class. Sure I played sports, and was always active, but when you have a mom like mine there is no chance of going to bed hungry. Eating cookie after cookie, I became quite the heffer. After sitting around the campfire one fall night my dad's friend, Henry, was talking about all the marathons he had ran over the past years. I sat there thinking "Ha yeah 26.2...of running!?!?! not happening" Until that one day after the last day of soccer I just kept running, no not like Forest Gump, but I ran everyday for the next year. It may have only been 2-3 miles, but sure enough it was a start. Now to this day everyone thinks I started losing weight for a specific girl, but I can assure you it was not the reason for the change. Believe it or not it was one random day when I was watching the movie Gease when I realized it was time to get my fat ass in shape. I worked hard on eating the right things, exercised daily and the pounds began to wear away. After six months had passed I lost seventy pounds and was the lightest I had been in probabaly ten years. Now I was also one of those "funny fat kids", so I was determined to be the same person as I was before. I had no desire to change who I was on the inside. I still had a desire to be the "funny skinny kid." To the best of my knowledge I think I am still the same person I was all of five years ago.<br /><br />I sit here typing this five years later and realized that to me, finishing the Ironman will be more than crossing a line in the road, it will be the final straw to show I have made a complete 360 degree turn with my lifestyle. From not being able to run two consecutive miles, to being able to swim, biking and running 140.6 would be the ultimate cherry on top of the sundae(and everyone knows I LOVE ice cream). I am going to line up July 25th in Mirror Lake with one goal in mind. To get to the finish line not only for myself, but for everyone who has been there for me each and every day. Sure I am the one who logs all the miles in the pool or on the road, but it's those who give the motivation to me when I just feel like laying on the couch doing nothing. Those who tell me I'm "good" when I know I am far from it. I may be the one doing the race, and the bib may say my name, but I every step I take on July 25th is for my support system. Without them I wouldnt be nearly as far along in triathlon as I am today.Skip Kuneckihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01547103842815902424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377727179917799252.post-50656660598459747272010-02-17T13:20:00.000-05:002010-02-17T13:21:28.757-05:00Ironman Lake Placid 2010 GoalsIronman Lake Placid 2010 Goals<br />Family & Friends<br />Maintain a healthy relationship with girlfriend (If I have one)<br />Make family time at least twice a week<br />Help out Mom, Dad, Sister and grandparents when asked too<br />Hang out with friends at least twice a week<br />Attempt to stay out late once a week with friends<br />Don’t talk about Ironman/training unless asked about it<br /><br />School<br />Finish ALL work on time and make sure it’s well done<br />Do work any chance possible even if it’s due down the road<br />Main focus is still school; get good grades<br />Study just as hard as I would train<br />Go out and enjoy being a college student once or twice a month<br />Converse with roommates daily<br />Take 15-45 minute naps daily<br />Life<br />Work 25-35 hours a week<br />Get a good night’s rest at least 4 days a week<br />Plan big training days around family/friend special events<br />Focus on doing the most possible in the least amount of time<br />EAT HEALTHY!<br /><br /><br /><br />Ironman Lake Placid 2010 Training<br />What to focus on:<br />• Improve swim time/stroke (UB Masters Swim)<br />• Swim with Brockport swimmers while at school (Cailey)<br />• Possibly take a swim class here at Brockport<br />• Stay consistent on bike training. (4-5 days a week)<br />• Hit 3-4 high mileage weeks prior to taper<br />• Hill train 2 times a week (2-4hrs long minimum)<br />• Hit three 100 mile rides and two 110-125<br />• Work on nutrition on the longer rides<br />• Have 3-4 long runs 19-22 miles<br />• Have a big run mileage week 4 weeks out from race<br />• Hill/Interval train once a week<br />• Work on nutrition while on long runs<br />• Run with Aaron Foote or Cerny whenever possible<br />• Make at least one trip to train at Lake Placid<br />Ironman Goals:<br />• FINISH<br />• Go easy on the first 10 minutes of the swim; don’t freak out.<br />• Be confident in the training I’ve put in up until the race<br />• Enjoy the day<br />• Focus, don’t dwell over the things you cannot control (i.e. weather)<br />• Thank Family Members and friends who have sacrificed just as much as I have<br />• Thank VolunteersSkip Kuneckihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01547103842815902424noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377727179917799252.post-70184049127214995182010-02-08T20:16:00.004-05:002010-02-09T14:43:35.372-05:00Back At ItEarly morning's, unlimited food, and countless hours of sweating, smelling, and repeating. If you're thinking about an early rendezvous with your significant other, I'm sorry to say; you're wrong. Instead of burning calories rough housing with your women, it's training for Ironman Lake Placid and I'm back at it harder than ever. The daunting thought of swimming 2.4 miles, cycling 112, and running a full marathon rings through my head daily if not hourly. Sure some people don't support the idea, but the people that mean the most to me, back me 100% and to have that support is unbelievable. There is also a new support crew out there with Catherine Horan. Everyone I have talked to they state having a girlfriend (or wife) and training for an Ironman can be one of the toughest things someone can do. Yet I am bound to make it work, and she lets me train whenever I want and does support me, well at least I think so. Hey, she hasn't dumped me yet so I must be doing something right.<br /> Recently my (entire) family just rented out a seven bedroom, three floor mansion in Lake Placid and will be there for Ironman weekend routing and cheering me on for the entire "race". There has also been talk about my friends coming to support me that weekend which will probably make me the athlete whose cheering section is the loudest and biggest. Out of all of the chaos I think not wasting my energy picking on Mike will be the hardest. Though he may enjoy the time off, he is completely mistaking if he thinks he's going to get away scotch free that weekend. I always have energy to rattle the cage with you boy. So building up to the race, I know that there are people back home routing for me day in and day out. To me, this is all the motivation I need to get up and swim bike run everyday. <br /><br /> Since the beginning of 2010 a lot of things have been happening to lead up to where we are today. Landing a few sponsorships for the 2010 Triathlon season, I have something more to race for other than myself. Something is telling me this is where I should insert a plug for my sponsors. Tri Spot, triathlete or not, go there it will blow your mind. This store is like no other in the Northeast and the employee's there and top notch. They will help you with any questions you may contain and point you into the right direction. Now that I have committed to the team, it's easy to say I am probably the least experienced and "weakest" on the male side of things. The males on this team are all Ironman vets and have shown to be the best at every race they have entered. Needless to say I have a lot of work to do. I better stop drinking beer on the weekends...that may be tough. How else am I suppose to see Gwii without his shirt on, or break Sean's limited edition Coke glass? For all of those ladies that do care, Gwii does in fact have a full head of hair...on his chest. (Dont kill me Gwiisome chicks dig the chest hair). <br /><br /> Onward march to Brockport and it's doings. Typical sights and sounds here at the port. I'm pretty sure we are the only school the celebrates national squrriel day. That's our claim to fame, having massive amounts of squrriels roaming our campus, oh and having the highest STD rate. There is faulty data though from other schools so it is not a distiguished difference between schools. Other than that it's the same old school with the same old weekend parties in which the cops will bust in the matter of minutes. So on that note, stay well, be safe and enjoy yourself.Skip Kuneckihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01547103842815902424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377727179917799252.post-27824656354340778432009-11-25T14:25:00.005-05:002009-11-25T14:52:56.075-05:00The 2009 Season in a Nutshell<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvvbas5fmfqe3B94f6vRaj9LGXq5mJ1y8PkkCXHMr_myCk_5LNHpztIUbIchzIlfYeopyAZfbgnw5Z2phyQy0OsnhZIPnEW9d_iRdYi9qd_Vqx_g-0mmn1fjlzH57KDQENBrGtFu-bBbo/s1600/wilson.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvvbas5fmfqe3B94f6vRaj9LGXq5mJ1y8PkkCXHMr_myCk_5LNHpztIUbIchzIlfYeopyAZfbgnw5Z2phyQy0OsnhZIPnEW9d_iRdYi9qd_Vqx_g-0mmn1fjlzH57KDQENBrGtFu-bBbo/s320/wilson.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408129725554010354" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKUBdNaYKB8jLc5l4SmZVU9qCUZaohR3nJnbe693jXANM2cK-vzVG4yQqhqXQ8Pq_OUm4mtmScosR3GNL8i3i9fRuasGYAcdbctQTSIEGcAFAzinild7cC6j-xgRkLD4dciRgoiOKk72Y/s1600/koka+run.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKUBdNaYKB8jLc5l4SmZVU9qCUZaohR3nJnbe693jXANM2cK-vzVG4yQqhqXQ8Pq_OUm4mtmScosR3GNL8i3i9fRuasGYAcdbctQTSIEGcAFAzinild7cC6j-xgRkLD4dciRgoiOKk72Y/s320/koka+run.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408129714069590802" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6BMWjLczGoVMTl2WVB68P2x83ZLGBrBtC6UQolULCMI3EAIL1eiDjCy174HlutG9KYxLajE0XlgCXR85b2ePom2Zij-i4dBGQ3A9vvqBVN-5iOZPIRJ3wjrq8E2yPUkuLFUDkuaa5v_0/s1600/10989.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 212px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6BMWjLczGoVMTl2WVB68P2x83ZLGBrBtC6UQolULCMI3EAIL1eiDjCy174HlutG9KYxLajE0XlgCXR85b2ePom2Zij-i4dBGQ3A9vvqBVN-5iOZPIRJ3wjrq8E2yPUkuLFUDkuaa5v_0/s320/10989.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408129711885266338" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ-eHLKQQ1dULv1WPx6lkMPRVK1M1koWsU8p1EGGKj-oetEdTDj90AQkWoFBP_iHGjSz8y7xXM-Q1S4JX5aH2npxhIoLnrVEY2kHAyB8hZc33JKtynn_AEOgMqqIk0IxTMG_bWajAlipo/s1600/TurkeyTrotLogo2008.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 196px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ-eHLKQQ1dULv1WPx6lkMPRVK1M1koWsU8p1EGGKj-oetEdTDj90AQkWoFBP_iHGjSz8y7xXM-Q1S4JX5aH2npxhIoLnrVEY2kHAyB8hZc33JKtynn_AEOgMqqIk0IxTMG_bWajAlipo/s320/TurkeyTrotLogo2008.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408125310956163042" /></a><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.Skip Kuneckihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01547103842815902424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377727179917799252.post-61536208925651016792009-11-10T20:44:00.002-05:002009-11-10T20:57:10.655-05:00Decisions DecisionsWell 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. <br /><br />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. <br /><br />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.<br /><br />Cheers and all the bestSkip Kuneckihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01547103842815902424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377727179917799252.post-3169927487338415952009-09-01T23:09:00.004-04:002009-09-02T07:52:55.576-04:00Hey The Moon is Chasing MeTuesdays. 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.<br />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 <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">wasn't</span> really dreading this bad boy. So the time came and passed and next was a 45 minute swim in the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Brockport</span> Aquatics center (aka the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">shittiest</span> 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 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Biomechanics</span> 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.<br />After I made the mile trek back o my humble abode I <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">collapsed</span>. 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.<br />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 <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">feasible</span>. 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 <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">cool down</span>. So I began. First mile I clocked at a decent 7:06 mile. I'll take it for my first mile with no <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">warm up</span>. 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, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">youtube</span> 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 <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">urge</span> to drop a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">deuce</span>. <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">I'm</span> 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.Skip Kuneckihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01547103842815902424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377727179917799252.post-13470418877388370852009-08-28T10:40:00.002-04:002009-08-28T11:03:42.644-04:00Tri Season is Wrapping Up<span style="color:#ff0000;">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 6<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">th</span> came, my mom, aunt, and myself set off the the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">pristine</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Keuka</span> 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 8<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">th</span> overall I considered the race a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">success</span>. </span><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;"> As the months keep rolling away and the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Achilles</span> 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 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">UB</span> masters swim was extremely <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">beneficial</span>. Anyone that knows me, can easily tell you I suck at swimming. Always did and <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">probably</span> 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 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Muskoka</span>. 70.3 miles is a tough, but good race to compete in. As I <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">enter</span> 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.</span><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;"> Now that the hard part is done, its time to relax chill and gear up for September 13<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">th</span>. Where some of the finest <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Ironmen</span> 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</span><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;"></span>Skip Kuneckihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01547103842815902424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377727179917799252.post-88029980664252114082009-08-21T01:21:00.002-04:002009-08-21T01:28:46.195-04:00Funny the Way It IsBy 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.Skip Kuneckihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01547103842815902424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377727179917799252.post-51136777251907381612009-08-19T07:54:00.004-04:002009-08-19T08:19:21.814-04:00Food For Thought and The Ideas for the Future<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0edTGoTJtRJ1bHoRfqejXrgoN1x_OyE0U_x_FaQhMqqsK_8RdcoDn0pGpgfaYaxvYqDfVYMTsZBncOScikW8lly0q7UTTc5svMaqfvsio8pqjVkRJk2F4qS8ZjKDzp-bUA7-lNoS-LCI/s1600-h/800px-SF_Haight_Ashbury_1_CA.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371648050186748162" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 190px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0edTGoTJtRJ1bHoRfqejXrgoN1x_OyE0U_x_FaQhMqqsK_8RdcoDn0pGpgfaYaxvYqDfVYMTsZBncOScikW8lly0q7UTTc5svMaqfvsio8pqjVkRJk2F4qS8ZjKDzp-bUA7-lNoS-LCI/s320/800px-SF_Haight_Ashbury_1_CA.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div>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</div>Skip Kuneckihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01547103842815902424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377727179917799252.post-22540687091899443872009-08-18T08:17:00.000-04:002009-08-18T08:55:08.896-04:00Starting it Off SimpleSo I figured with school beginning and the departure to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Brockport</span></span> 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.<br />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 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Artpark</span></span> 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 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Brockport</span></span>. My second home, my second family and the kids I love all reside there. I can't wait to see <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">TK</span></span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Gwii</span></span>, 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 <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">roommates</span> 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 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Brockport</span></span> 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 <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">neighbors</span> will make my world go round for the ten months lease.<br />So as the final week living in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Wheatfield</span></span> fades, I can safely say I am going to miss all <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">ya'll</span></span>. Its been an interesting and fun summer. I <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">wish</span> 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.Skip Kuneckihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01547103842815902424noreply@blogger.com0