Greetings from Mont Tremblant.... Got in this afternoon.. checked into the room... 1hr run out and back on the beginning of the course.... its raining now and have some thunder boomers coming thru but I think the weather is supposed to be good for the rest of the week.... headed out for groceries http://connect.garmin.com/activity/358492610#
Ran 3.3 miles in Copenhagen this morning and right now I am on the train to Kalmar with 4 other Americans who got on the train from the airport. Plan to build my bike this afternoon and go for a ride.
More stuff from IMLP 2012 but this one is both funny and a little stupid in a serious way.
As my goals were slipping away I had a chance at 13 hours but I just couldn't get myself going any faster than a walk or shuffle. It was now getting onto mile 18 in the marathon and I finally felt like I had to go to the bathroom again (for only the third time in the race). I went into a port-a-john at the next aid station and I heard this woman outside calling out "Catch him! Catch him! Make sure you get him." I figured she was talking about some other poor bastard staggering in but when I opened the door I saw two volunteers standing right there staring at me like something out of a comic Mafia movie. "What? Me?" It took a little convincing but they let me continue.
@All .... Be glad your not racing today.... its cold, windy , on and off rain , the water is rough with white caps..... Went for a 10min swim anyway , at least water temps are still comfortable.... Hope to get out on the bike a bit later when warmer and dryer.... Highs today are supposed to be low 60's but the forecast is very nice for raceday currently showing low of 55 and high of 76 with light winds..... doesnt get much better than that!
Bring warm clothes for walking around up here in the mornings and evenings. Whew! This NJ summer has made a wuss out of me. That and being at race weight will do that to ya.
On the way up here my wife and I got a phone call that still has us rattled. When Kira's father was gravely ill after a stroke a family he was friends with in Chicagoland spent many hours supporting him and my wife and her brother over the 2+ years before he died. We found out today that Danny (the husband) died at age 49 of a heart attack. He was a volunteer fireman and was hoping for a chance to transition onto the town's paid FD crew. To keep fit he was working out and running, etc. He died of a heart attack while out jogging. The autopsy found significant blockages in 3 different coronary arteries and Danny & his wife had no idea this was the case until the day he died.
With that in mind, here's another little vignette (See that? I'm up in QC so I'm using a French word.) from last year:
When I got back towards town on the first run loop, Kira had worked her way up the course to meet me and I just broke down and cried right there and for some reason she encouraged me to go on. What? For the past 9 months she'd been expressing doubts about this whole thing and now while I was thinking it would be better to just lay down and die right there she was saying "No, Honey, I want to see you do more of this to yourself." Okay, she didn't say that but I didn't expect her to support the decision to move on. -------------------- Here's how I ended my race report from IMLP 2012 ---------------------
In these events, there's pretty much an unalloyed and overwhelming message of "GO! GO! GO!" "Ignore the pain." "Shut up, legs." "You can do it." And so on, but as I watched the parade of folks into the medical tent and the thankfully slower flow of racers taken out on stretchers I couldn't help wondering if I would have been better off if I'd heard (and listened to) a person or two say "Be smart. Pay attention to your body and live to fight another day." In the end of all this I know I overcame a lot of adversity to complete something I never thought I could do but I also feel like I used up a couple lives out there. In fact, after this training cycle and race I might even be running a deficit in that department.
Peter- I am so sorry to hear about the death of such a good friend to your family. Wow- that's crazy young and just so sad.
I'm here! And yeah, um, I did NOT pack enough warm stuff. Flip Flops really are not gonna make it! I may be doing some shopping for warmer cloths but the tax, holy crap! Maybe I'll just wear my PJs around town instead.
I'll be heading over to the swim this morning as well- at a leisurely pace with friends. My gear bag (with the wetsuit) doesn't arrive until 1pm so I'll be swimming sans wettie (see-0 I can do a little french too!)
My cell number is 781-424-7808. I posted some pics on the GroupMe app to show ehre to go for the swim practice. I totally missed and spent 20 minutes trying to find it this morning. I missed out on seeing Tim. Bummer.
@Nemo: you could wear PJs on the bike and stay warm too. Barbara and I walked about 5 miles this morning on he Tremblant trails, past the swim start and it felt pretty warm. Not sure biking wet in 50' is going to feel good though.
Hey All... I gave up on the Group Me thing after a few IM's where I was getting all that data and texts , couldnt figure out how to only get it in one place... I was getting duplicate everything in the App and my text's..... So I opted out of the GroupMe.... Would be nice if stuff still got thrown up here.....
Heather and I plan to attend the EN lunch on Sat @ 11:30..... and also the get together Monday AM..... But the Saturday night dinner is a NO GO!
Went for a swim and a run this am... with a couple course observations...
The swim... was a 1.4 mile out and back ... averaged 1:28per 100yd on the out and total average for the swim was 1:33 so the return trip was a lot slower at 1:38 to bring my average all the way to 1:33....NO it wasnt me .. effort was the same and the water was calm... they say no current but just my lake at home one way is always faster... kinda useless info since no one checks there splits and it really doesnt matter.
The run was on the flat , gravel out and back section , it was fairly cool and slightly windy , but it was downright hot on that gravel trail in the sun with the trees blocking the wind.... The run could very well be hot on Sunday.....
Tim- I'm up for meeting folks Sat lunch as well. We said Spag Co, right? That's about the only thing I have on my "to do" for Saturday.
Swam this morning as well. My observation was there is no way that water is 74! Definitely a little more chilly than that. I swam without a wetsuit (had not arrived from TriBike Transport yet) and was OK but I will be wearing one on race day. Just need to decide between long sleeve or sleeveless.
Did the practice swim this morning. It has cooled down overnight here in Kalmar and the water was 64. Pretty cool. Tomorrow is the day of jitters then I can get this thing going!
Okay. I just went to recon the road to Lac Superio Superier Sup... Big Lake and yup, there are these winding little hills that are just the wrong type for me. Sweet. It will still be fun though. Coach says I need to stay at 200 watts on these? No way. Even at a very slow cadence in the 34x28 I was getting over 300 watts and still going really slow, as in 5 mph. I'm just going to have to be patient.
On the downhills between the ascending parts it is so tempting to ramp it up and get enough speed to cruise right up the next rise but to do that I found myself going too hard on the power. Dang it, but I'll tell you this it sure was fun coming back down.
Hoping to go to register soon. Anyone want to meet for a swim tomorrow?
I'll try to meet you there. I'll be the one in the black wetsuit. Actually, I'll wear my red Mapso jacket and a blue winter cap. 40's overnight... Let's do what we can to all meet up there.
Peter- I did a recon ride up the road to Lac Superior as well this afternoon. I was frankly relieved it wasn't THAT bad. Sure, second time around it's gonna suck, and when you turn around at the top it's NOT "all downhill from here". But it's doable. Peter- I can NOT get up those hills without blowing through my watts. The best thing you can do is just try to keep it as low as you can and minimize the damage. And having the discipline to stay at/below your watts the rest of the time (like down the hills and back up the lower spots) will help tremendously.
@Nemo!! I hear ya on the food. Casey's wasn't bad tonight. Spinach & artichoke dip and the calamari appetizers were nice. Salmon salad was good. Trying so hard to be good with all the recreational food stores around is almost as hard as staying at my target watts.
Spag & Co? That's the place right near the registration place?
Aprés le vélo réparation, ne futzez pas avec les dérailleurs!! That's a word of warning to myself. Carry on.
Another IMLP story. Here I was finishing the dang thing and thinking I was going to have a pretty fun line to lay on the volunteer who is there to catch me... Turns out I was merely the straight man:
About ten feet after the finish line I get grabbed by 2 volunteers and they keep me from collapsing. I knew that I should go to the medical tent so I tell them that right away and when they asked me how I felt I told them "I'll never play the bag pipes again." And one of the better moments of the day came when one of them fired right back with "So, is that what they're calling it these days?"
Any non racers up for a ride tomorrow AM? Say 8am to 10:30am? Ross's????
Swam a mile this am.... water felt quite a bit colder today than yesterday.... Planned Short bike and run with Heather this am and then meeting an old EN member Chris Martin this afternoon to ride the Lac Superior section.
Comments
As my goals were slipping away I had a chance at 13 hours but I just couldn't get myself going any faster than a walk or shuffle. It was now getting onto mile 18 in the marathon and I finally felt like I had to go to the bathroom again (for only the third time in the race). I went into a port-a-john at the next aid station and I heard this woman outside calling out "Catch him! Catch him! Make sure you get him." I figured she was talking about some other poor bastard staggering in but when I opened the door I saw two volunteers standing right there staring at me like something out of a comic Mafia movie. "What? Me?" It took a little convincing but they let me continue.
@Peter.... good stories!!!
@All .... Be glad your not racing today.... its cold, windy , on and off rain , the water is rough with white caps..... Went for a 10min swim anyway , at least water temps are still comfortable.... Hope to get out on the bike a bit later when warmer and dryer.... Highs today are supposed to be low 60's but the forecast is very nice for raceday currently showing low of 55 and high of 76 with light winds..... doesnt get much better than that!
http://members.endurancenation.us/Forums/tabid/57/aft/12910/Default.aspx
On the way up here my wife and I got a phone call that still has us rattled. When Kira's father was gravely ill after a stroke a family he was friends with in Chicagoland spent many hours supporting him and my wife and her brother over the 2+ years before he died. We found out today that Danny (the husband) died at age 49 of a heart attack. He was a volunteer fireman and was hoping for a chance to transition onto the town's paid FD crew. To keep fit he was working out and running, etc. He died of a heart attack while out jogging. The autopsy found significant blockages in 3 different coronary arteries and Danny & his wife had no idea this was the case until the day he died.
With that in mind, here's another little vignette (See that? I'm up in QC so I'm using a French word.) from last year:
When I got back towards town on the first run loop, Kira had worked her way up the course to meet me and I just broke down and cried right there and for some reason she encouraged me to go on. What? For the past 9 months she'd been expressing doubts about this whole thing and now while I was thinking it would be better to just lay down and die right there she was saying "No, Honey, I want to see you do more of this to yourself." Okay, she didn't say that but I didn't expect her to support the decision to move on.
-------------------- Here's how I ended my race report from IMLP 2012 ---------------------
In these events, there's pretty much an unalloyed and overwhelming message of "GO! GO! GO!" "Ignore the pain." "Shut up, legs." "You can do it." And so on, but as I watched the parade of folks into the medical tent and the thankfully slower flow of racers taken out on stretchers I couldn't help wondering if I would have been better off if I'd heard (and listened to) a person or two say "Be smart. Pay attention to your body and live to fight another day." In the end of all this I know I overcame a lot of adversity to complete something I never thought I could do but I also feel like I used up a couple lives out there. In fact, after this training cycle and race I might even be running a deficit in that department.
I'm here! And yeah, um, I did NOT pack enough warm stuff. Flip Flops really are not gonna make it! I may be doing some shopping for warmer cloths but the tax, holy crap! Maybe I'll just wear my PJs around town instead.
I'll be heading over to the swim this morning as well- at a leisurely pace with friends. My gear bag (with the wetsuit) doesn't arrive until 1pm so I'll be swimming sans wettie (see-0 I can do a little french too!)
Wait! How did I become a veteran member already?
Anyone doing dinner tonight?
Heather and I plan to attend the EN lunch on Sat @ 11:30..... and also the get together Monday AM..... But the Saturday night dinner is a NO GO!
Went for a swim and a run this am... with a couple course observations...
The swim... was a 1.4 mile out and back ... averaged 1:28per 100yd on the out and total average for the swim was 1:33 so the return trip was a lot slower at 1:38 to bring my average all the way to 1:33....NO it wasnt me .. effort was the same and the water was calm... they say no current but just my lake at home one way is always faster... kinda useless info since no one checks there splits and it really doesnt matter.
The run was on the flat , gravel out and back section , it was fairly cool and slightly windy , but it was downright hot on that gravel trail in the sun with the trees blocking the wind.... The run could very well be hot on Sunday.....
Swam this morning as well. My observation was there is no way that water is 74! Definitely a little more chilly than that. I swam without a wetsuit (had not arrived from TriBike Transport yet) and was OK but I will be wearing one on race day. Just need to decide between long sleeve or sleeveless.
Hoping to get out to ride this afternoon.
On the downhills between the ascending parts it is so tempting to ramp it up and get enough speed to cruise right up the next rise but to do that I found myself going too hard on the power. Dang it, but I'll tell you this it sure was fun coming back down.
Hoping to go to register soon. Anyone want to meet for a swim tomorrow?
I need a 2nd job to pay for the food bills.
Spag & Co? That's the place right near the registration place?
Another IMLP story. Here I was finishing the dang thing and thinking I was going to have a pretty fun line to lay on the volunteer who is there to catch me... Turns out I was merely the straight man:
About ten feet after the finish line I get grabbed by 2 volunteers and they keep me from collapsing. I knew that I should go to the medical tent so I tell them that right away and when they asked me how I felt I told them "I'll never play the bag pipes again." And one of the better moments of the day came when one of them fired right back with "So, is that what they're calling it these days?"
Swam a mile this am.... water felt quite a bit colder today than yesterday.... Planned Short bike and run with Heather this am and then meeting an old EN member Chris Martin this afternoon to ride the Lac Superior section.