Monthly Archives: April 2008

Conversation without comment

Posted on April 29, 2008 by | 1 Comment

Dad: I am amazed that you had so little actual trouble, I know that you had struggle with the bike, but really 11+ hours is incredible in that heat
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What are you afraid of?

Posted on April 29, 2008 by | Leave a comment

The question above, when asked by me of others, has led to nothing but trouble and heartache. I ask it when I believe I know the answer, or when I know the answer I wish were what the other person believed, but the outcome, invariably for me at least, is negative. Given the recent events of less than 3 weeks ago, it’s time to answer the question for myself. What am I afraid of?

Short term:
I’m afraid I’ll get fat and lazy again without another big race on the menu. Right now, aside from two olympic distance races and either an epic bike ride through the National Parks of southern Utah or a third olympic, I’ve got nothing to train for. I’ve enjoyed being lazy for the past two weeks, but I feel that it’s time to move on and get back to what I’ve been doing for the last year: doing cool shit with my fitness and pushing my body.

Long term:
I’m afraid I’ll forget the feeling of finishing, of pride, of accomplishment. Of Happiness. Those who were there saw it. I’ve never been so happy in my whole life, at least, never so happy as a result of something I had worked for or done. Never so proud of myself either. I finished. I said I would do something, started the process, and finished it. I’m slightly afraid that the sometimes, or oftentimes, dreariness of daily life (work, I’m looking at you), will continue, not to flatten my spirit, but to drown the memory of my accomplishment and happiness. I’ll always have the memory of finishing, but I’m afraid that it just won’t be as powerful.

Not:
I’m not afraid, anymore at least, of being alone. I may not like it, but I am not scared by the possibility of being alone for a significant portion of time. If this process taught me anything, it’s that I have a great group of family and friends, but even more so, I can find cool shit to do. I can find other stuff to do as well (I did yoga once, and while I liked it, well, I’m not sure it was for me). I’m not sure how much of that would have been possible with a significant other in the picture (mainly because there wasn’t one to find out if it was possible), and while I figure most of it is possible, I know I can do it without a significant other. It may get lonely, but then, you can be lonely with people too.

I’m sure there’s a lot more I’m afraid of, but in light of this process, these are the significant things that come to mind.

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This is my arm

Posted on April 20, 2008 by | 1 Comment

I'm a bleeder
I kinda look like a redneck here, huh?

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What next?!

Posted on April 17, 2008 by | Leave a comment

So, I’ve nailed the Ironman. Well, not so much nailed so much as finished and beat my goal. So what’s next? That’s what I’m struggling with now.

I’ve got a couple of Olympic distance races, an epic ride through Utah, and maybe a couple of Half Ironman races. But having the Ironman gone and over with, I need something to focus on.

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Race Report

Posted on April 15, 2008 by | 5 Comments

So I’ve already posted an update from IMAZ before the race, so I’ll skip that and get right to race night/race day. My sister, whom I was sharing a hotel room with, was flying in the night before the race, and I was trying to fall asleep before she got in. I may have dozed off, but woke up as she entered at like 11:20PM. Slept fitfully for the next few hours until I woke up at 4 to get ready for the race.

My dad drove me over to the course at 5 AM. He went back to the hotel at my request (I get really cranky when I’m trying to get ready and feeling a bit stressed, but looking back, next time I’d have the whole family there, if for nothing else than to take pictures ).

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Posted in jvance, Race Report

Bloggity blog blog

Posted on April 11, 2008 by | 1 Comment

Ah… I may never leave Arizona. That’s right, I’m here, the weather is beautiful, the scenery is incredible, and I’m pretty much raring to go. But before I do, I figured I’d update everyone on how I got here, and review the things I’ve seen so far:

1. Flights to AZ: Thanks god for over-the-ear headphones. I have sennheiser 550s (or something similar). They can be quite loud, when needed. On a plane, especially towards the rear, it helps to muffle the sound of the engine. Also, helps to muffle the sound of the ugly baby behind me crying the entire flight. To be honest, it didn’t bother me all that much. I felt horrible for the parents, as I can’t imagine how self-conscious they must have felt. Hilarious note: the bags of peanuts that Southwest hands out? They’re processed in a plant that may process peanuts or other nuts. Look, I know peanut allergies suck, but if you need a warning on a bag… of peanuts, maybe well… yeah. Flights were a bit bumpy, but otherwise uneventful.
3.5 stars

2. Dollar: My mom hooked up a good deal for me on my rental car, and the deal got even sweeter. Turns out Dollar’s idea of a full sized car is a chrysler pacifica. That’s a minivan/crossover type thing, and for my purposes, perfect. It fits the bike in teh back, which is pretty much all I care about. Issues I have with it. Blinker signals? Not loud enough. Radio? It’s got Sirius, which is awesome, but you really have to look down to change the station, etc. The steering is far too smooth/loose. But overall, a pleasure to drive, and absolutely silent.
4 stars

3. The Ford IM Whatever the hell you call it with all the tents: Meh. Look, I just spent a bunch on Goldilocks last year, and I’m not about to buy a Guru or Cervelo yet (you may sense a bit of buyer’s remorse re: Goldilocks, but that’s because I wish I had taken more time and known more about what I wanted/needed). But I can understand why they are there, as this is, after all, a great chance for them to showcase their gear. Did get to talk to the guy from Infinit. Their product is great, and gets like a 5.5 out of 5 in my book. He was really nice, and totally threw me off, somehow, by asking where I was from. Got Goldilocks from Tribike Transport, registered (easy process), and picked up some IMAZ gear (totally jinxed myself methinks). I guess the reason the festival or whatever seemed so meh was just that there weren’t a ton of people there. I’m sure it’ll be more crowded tomorrow.
4 Stars

4. AZ weather: Perfect. It may be hot, but it’s a dry heat. No complaints from me at all.
5 stars

5. Dinner with Endurance Nation: Great. Got to meet other racers who I knew only from posts on the forum, as well as Rich Strauss. I was the youngest EN member there by a bit, I think, but it was still quite cool. I’ve learned a lot from EN so far, but tonight just reinforced how much knowledge there is to be tapped from those guys.

Drove the bike course today. Doesn’t seem too bad, with only one 2.5 mile hill (3x of course) right before the turn around. Also took a 20 minute jog. Plan on swimming some tomorrow morning, and taking Goldilocks out for a spin to make sure everything still works.

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Posted in jvance