The Fixe July 31, 2006
Posted by anton in : Training , add a comment
Last weekend was spent at my Brother-in -laws and sisters cottage on Gwynns Island. Even though it was a road trip that involved the usual eating and imbibing (as well as birthday cake) it is a great place to get in some miles.
Gwynn is flat. Like, table top flat. Good and bad. Good because…no rests. Bad because…no rests.
Ran some good miles on Saturday morning in the building heat and disappearing shade.
The real fun of the weekend was taking one of the old fixe bikes out for a spin several times on the whole island.
Now this is not a fresh out of a bike shop fixe. Far from Chi-chi. Actually a Western Flyer “High boy”
(upright) with a 52×17 gear ratio! Circa 1968?
It was a blast…only rode for an hour, with 2×2 repeats. By the end I was dripping,slobbering,dessicated and happy.
Just floating with my training right now…
Starting to crank it up for Marine Corps and then the JFK 50 miler,So mostly I’m running now with some long bikes so I’ll have legs for the fall century season…just looked at Trifind.com looking for some low key races for fall.
Made the “Big decision” over the weekend however. I am going to train harder for next years IMLP than I have before and try and go as fast as I can on race day. That’s not my style, but I’m hoping to prove that the “laid back” can be fast.
Off to the Gym…
Numbers July 27, 2006
Posted by anton in : Ironman , add a commentIt really is all about numbers and …I hate that. I am NOT a numbers guy. I am such a non-numbers type that in the next months you will probably read one of my rants against Heart Rate Monitors (HRMs),GPS and the like. Joys of the “New Math” I suppose. While I hate to mess with them I do like to look at them,especially when It’s about a goal I have.
According to The folks at Ironman (WTC) at this last weeks Ironman Lake Placid, 2,402 people registered. I had to go dig around on race day and then at the results to get some numbers that show how devilishly hard an IM can be.
2,160 people finished. there were 120 DNFs (Did not finish) *Note: Until my family gets up to speed,I may have to explain some stuff that is obvious to those of us who have raced for years.
Probably the most telling number is the number of NO-Shows.
No-Shows are the folks that signed up and didn’t even make it to the start line.
Injury,pain,death,fear,bad hair, whatever…They just didn’t make it to Mirror Lake.
242. Take that with the DNFs and you get 362. Roughly 15% of the people that signed up for IMLP….didn’t make it.
Worth the risk…certainly better odds than say… getting married!
It just points out that despite what you read or what your coach tells you or what you feel inside, Ironman is not a “lock.”
It’s The Razor’s Edge.
Swam yesterday…first time in weeks. Felt all akimbo and nothing flowed. It will come back.
Of all the things I have to do to get to Ironman next year, getting a hold on my swimming is THE thing.
I also invite you to click the tab to the right “Training Log” to see what I’ve been up to.
The Razor’s Edge July 26, 2006
Posted by anton in : Ironman , 1 comment so farZippy the Pin Head says that blogging is just “Ego Blather”
A recent article in the WP said something about Bloggers as “Super narcissists of the look-at-me generation.”
Or maybe they are just folks who are trying to stay in touch with family and this is a way to do it.
Monday, I signed up for Ironman Lake Placid. It will be my third. While I am not the kind of person who blows my own horn, members of my family always seem to have questions about what I do when it comes to endurance sports. I decided to give them a place to check it out for themselves.
All psyched up about the sign up I went for a run and promtly twisted my ankle. (Oh,I finished my run.) Not a good start. The real action doesn’t start for another few months when the training cycle kicks in but until then, I’ll fill in whoever is interested on whatever goes on.
Oh, about The Razor’s Edge….It comes from the Upanishads,a hindu religious text. ” The road to salvation is as narrow and treacherous as the razor’s edge.” That’s Endurance Sports…the smallest thing can ruin weeks of training and smash desire.The smallest thing can send you to heights of personal joy and fullfillment you didn’t think were possible.
Just getting to the start line in Lake Placid a year from now…THAT is the real struggle.