Pictures from the road

Sometimes lifes a beach!

I've been on holiday for the last few days catching up with my family and some old friends.
I haven't had access to the internet so I haven't been blogging or reading my favorite blogs. Today we are just sitting on the beach watching the kids play and I'm playing with the crackberry, so please forgive any typos.

Ride to work:

Rode into the office again today, this time I left from my house.
It was a real nice ride this morning, cool without much traffic.

My ride was just under 20 miles in and it took me 1:04 with a few traffic lights and 4-way stop signs. I expect it will take me a little longer on the way back with the extra climes and late day heat (90+).

Just an observation on my part, but I think motorists are slightly more aware of cyclists and can see the financial benefit of parking the car. During my ride in I felt that many motorists went out of their way to give me some extra room on the road. But WTF is it with big red pickup trucks, every time I have a close one on the road, it's some jackhole in a red pick up.

Anyway, I'm saving about 1.5-2 gallons of gas today, so if anyone needs it.

-Brian

UPDATE:
I had a good ride home.
It was hot and much of the first 6 miles is up hill, so my tongue was hanging out and I was panting like a dog.
I got back to the house and I could feel the heat in me and my skin felt the hot from the sun, it was awesome.

When I got home, my kids, some of their friends and their parents where home and they were all asking me questions about my ride and I could see they were impressed or they where thinking I was crazy, not sure which. I think I could see some pride in my kids eyes when their friends and parents were asking me questions about my ride, I mean come on, they know I'm a badass.

It was a good day.

New Blackberry

I finally broke down and got a new phone.
If your in the market check out Best Buy they have the Blackberry Curve 8310 with GPS on sale for$49.99.

I hope everyone had a good weekend racing and training.

-Brian
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Bike it to work day:

Well I finally did it, I rode my bike to the office.

What a nice way to start the day, the weather was great, sunny and 62 degrees.
I met up with a pal from the office and we rode in together, the route was calm traffic wise, it had some long grades and some nice hills to it.
We started from my friends house and rode down past farms and forest and we even got to ride over a covered wooden bridge.

I've showered up, had my large vat of coffee and now it's time to gloat about our epic ride. Well not so epic, but the office crew doesn't need to know that, hehe.

So today I'm saving 1 gallon of gas, that's $4 bucks in my pocket OPEC, take that!!!

Later today I hope to swimming at lunch, if I can get a ride I'll take it easy, I'm thinking a cool 1000m at a nice slow pace.

Then I'm riding back home, and then I got mow that damn lawn. :-D

Round trip on the bike should work out to 27 miles +/-.

I'm putting out the challenge to you guys, if you can, and if it's safe, then pick a day and ride it in.


Train smart, race strong,

Brian

P.S. the Celtics beat the Lakers and took the title!

Break time is over:

In my post Ironman 70.3 recovery (extended) period I've been a little lax in my training.

Those days are over and I'm back on the wagon!

My next 'A' race is less than a month away and I got to get going.

Next up is the Chattanooga Waterfront tri on July 13, so I started tuning up for it. I'm really excited about this one; from everything I read it's a really nice race.

I've been kind of winging it with my training schedule but tonight I'm going to get on paper my training plan from now to race day.

I would like to really start to work on my run, my gosh is it bad, I've been having some real issues with my lower legs this year and it's been hard on my psyche.

Some of the issues are related to my low thyroid levels, everything I read speaks about muscle weakness and cramping when you real low and I can attest to it.

I've been working with my doctor to get me dosage right but I'm still too low and I know it's been effecting me all year, so Friday I'm going in for blood work.

So back to my training plan:
Swim, I would like to get 2 or 3 per week.
Monday, 1200 meters of short drills x 50s.
Wednesday, 1500 of longer x100s or x150s drills.
Friday, 2000 or longer straight swim for endurance.

Bike, I would like to get in 3.
I am also going to plan at least 3 rides, still working on days and times.
Saturday, long ride 40 + miles, followed by a run off the bike of 30 + min.

Run, I'm thinking I will run 4 times per week.
I would like to 2 runs off the bike, one short 15 min and one longer 30 min.
Tuesday, I can run at lunch, 40-60 min.
Thursday, I can run at lunch, 40-60 min.
Saturday, run off the bike 30 + minutes.
Sunday, longer run 90 + minutes.

On top of all that we're on vacation for some time, and I'm going to have to borrow a bike while I'm on vacation.

We're going to be visiting family and friends, two of our friends are training for Ironman Lake Placid so I know I can get in some training action with them.

I just have to watch out for the "Screw it I'm on vacation" thoughts.

P.s. I swam today at lunch, 2100m in 42 and change, felt pretty good.

Train smart, race strong,

Brian

Not so Mock TRI.

Saturday was our Inaugural Phat B’s “Not so mock TRI” and I had a blast!
First, I have to say we had a great bunch of people come out to play, you guys were great.

An Athlete in Training... Chris (http://athleteintraining.blogspot.com/)
Kevin (http://triaflete.blogspot.com/)
Mary Ruth (http://snowgypsy.blogspot.com/)
Richard (http://beyond05.blogspot.com/)
Sam (http://slowsam.blogspot.com/)
Sarah (http://www.chasingiron.com/)
Wes and Dee Dee (http://www.codegeekstail.com/)

The Swim: We had 8 people doing the Inaugural event, which was really the perfect number because of the lanes in my neighborhood pool, any more I would have needed to set buoys and do laps. Anyway, we started the swim sometime around 10:00 and swam for 15 minutes; I think the swim went fine; the duration of the swim was perfect.
We all hopped out of the pool and walked back up to my house for a lazy T1. We decided that we should all stick together for the bike, at least the first loop. So we all got our bike stuff on, mounted up and headed out.

The bike: The route I mapped out is a relatively flat route with a few good hills mixed in, but nothing crazy. We had a couple of issues along the way, we had a chain bounce off and later we had a flat, and I actually did a small crash like thing. Ok, I admit it! I crashed, I jumped up and asked if any saw it and everyone said no (what pals), I was just about standing still and I was looking back to see where the group was and my wheel turned and I dumped. The bike didn’t get a scratch but I scuffed my arm and leg a little trying to catch the bike, I’d rather wreck myself then scratch the bike. A few times some of the faster riders would speed up and let it out a bit, but wait at the turns so everyone could regroup and keep together. For a group ride with riders of both sides of the spectrum I think everyone was having fun, after all this is a fun event and a fun sport.

We got back to the house for another lazy transition; I got a pitcher of Gatorade out and stated filling cups and bottles while everyone got their run stuff on. At this point a few peeps headed out for another loop.

The run: for me was a very flat 1 mile social event. My running has been miserable this season, I’ve been plagued with shin splits and I am just now starting to get over them. So I just wanted to run a short distance and take it easy. The short run also allowed me to be the first person back to the house so I could start playing host. We got back to the house got a drink and I stayed at the house while many of the others did more loops.

Post race: (my best discipline), we all got to sit back and have some snacks and drinks while we got to know each other better. We talked about which raced we had planned, which raced we had done. A bunch of us are going to race the Chattanooga Waterfront Tri next month so we talked about that a lot. I just had a great time, lots of laughter and smiles.

My next question is when can we do this again?

I think for the next event we might want to do an open water swim, so I was thinking maybe at one of the parks around Lake Lanier or Lake Altoona would make for a good starting point. I loved having it at my house, but I think we were at capacity on the pool swim, and OWS would be a better training session. I think we could have a post race BBQ and any non racing family member could spend some time at the lake.

Let’s pick a date and a place.

-Brian

Fat B & B Course Maps:

Ok, so here is the long awaited course maps.

Bike, we can do 1, 2 or more laps, it's got some rolling hills but nothing too hard.



We have some options for the Run :
My 1 mile run off the bike:


My flattish 5K option, mostly on sidewalks and very quite streets:


The 5 Miler that's full of hills:


So, check out the maps, you should know your route and if you can print them out.

Let me know if you have any questions or comments.

-Brian

Inaugural "Fat B(astards or itches)'s tri club" triathlon:

So it looks like we’re going to have a good bunch for the
Inaugural "Fat B(astards or itches)'s tri club" triathlon.

Wes and (I hope) Dee Dee
Sarah and her husband
Sam
Richard, his wife and Daughter
Kevin and his wife
And the mysterious “An Athlete In Training”
And myself
I hope I’m not forgetting anyone, but If I did let me know, everyone is welcome.

Everyone please make sure you know how to get to my house.
Email me, my address is in my profile, and I'll send you my address and phone numbers.
Let me know if you want to bring any food items, I'd hate it if you made the same thing as me and it was better than mine.

This is going to be a self supported race so pack a water bottle(s) for the bike and run.
I'll have some GU gels to share but I am sort supply on the water bottle thing.

Tonight I'm going to map out the bike and run, and I’ll post them up on my blog.
Swim: My neighborhood pool is a 4 lane no rope Jr Olympic pool and if we can start before 10:00 we should have it to ourselves. With the no rope layout if gives is 8 lanes if we stay on either side of the stripe so everyone should have plenty of room. in the event some other residents want to use the pool at the same time will have to circle swim. Either way it’s going to be fun. Almost forgot, I was thinking the swim should be like 15-20 minutes, but I’m open to suggestions.
Bike: I'm thinking the bike should be something like 15 - 20 miles of rolling hills, nothing too high, I don't want anyone to die, but I don’t want it to feel like your ridding on their trainer. It is also my plan to ride with everyone on the bike, I want to make sure everyone has a good day and no one gets lost or dropped.
Everyone has the option of ridding the loop more than once.
Run: I am going to have three options, a 1 mile flat run off the bike, a 5k flat mostly sidewalks out and back and a 5 mile hilly loop that will kick your butt.
My plan on the run is to run the 1 mile or maybe the 5k, I’m still nursing some weird shin splints and I want to be back before everyone else to I can play host.

Bring a towel because we can use the pool post race if you want.

Let me know if you questions or comments.

We need a logo, so if anyone can draw or has photo shop skills....

-Brian

Update, Mock TRI @ my house:

All,

I have been playing with the schedule and I have decided on Saturday June 14 at 09:30 am.

Judging by some of the responses it looks like we'll have a good mix of abilities, so I wanted to come up with routes and distances that can done with killing anyone, or that can be done as two loops for those of you that want a good arse kicking.

I still have no exact routes mapped, but here is what I'm thinking.

• Swim: We can swim (lap pool in my neighborhood) 15 minutes or more depending on everyone's mood.
  
• Bike: I am setting up a 15 mile ish rolling bike course that some can ride once or twice depending on their mood, and if you want to add some hills then I can oblige.
  
• Run: Again we have a few options, I have a nice flat 1 mile run off the bike, a flat 5k or a hilly 5 miler all depending upon your pain threshold.
  

My plan is to do a swim and bike and maybe the one mile run off the bike, this way I can get back in time to play host. For the bike and run I will have maps and I hope to paint a few arrows out on the turns, and so that everyone will be able to get in a good workout.

If needed we have a shower at the pool or you can shower at my house.

Post workout we can grill some meat and drink some beer and maybe hit the pool for the cool down.

 

So now it polling time, please post or email me what you're thinking.

I need to know if you coming so I can plan, so please don't be shy, let me know your plans.

Everyone is welcome!

-Brian

Chattanooga Waterfront Tri, I’m in:

Well it's a done deal; I'm going to race the Chattanooga Waterfront Tri July 13. The "Chatt" is an Olympic distance event (1.5k swim / 42k bike /10k run) and takes place in beautiful downtown Chattanooga. I got a good look at the area last year when I ran the Chickamauga Marathon and the bike looks like it could have some hills.

Other bloggers I know have signed up, let me know if I missed someone:

Wes
Kevin
Sarah

Below is the bike course:

Click here for the website.

Train smart, race strong,

-Brian

Georgia gets a Ironman 70.3 race:

The cat is out of the bag and Georgia is getting a Ironman 70.3 race in Augusta in September 2009.

Here is the official word:

June 2, 2008 -- Today, Ironman, in conjunction with Premier Event Management, announces a new Ironman 70.3 Event scheduled for 2009 in the southeastern United States. Ironman 70.3 Augusta will take place in the classic southern city of Augusta, Georgia on Sunday, September 27, 2009 with a field limit of 2,000 athletes.
Premier Event Management, producers of the several major triathlons across the United States including the Nautica New York City Triathlon, Ironman 70.3 Lake Stevens and the Ochsner Ironman 70.3 New Orleans, is excited to bring Ironman 70.3 to the city of Augusta. “The city of Augusta and its aggressive sports council has been simply fantastic to work with on the planning of this inaugural event,” said race director, Bill Burke of Premier Event Management.
Ironman 70.3 Augusta will offer athletes the unique opportunity to race in two states, as the cycling portion of this event will take athletes into the great state of South Carolina. Prior to the bike portion, athletes will swim a 1.2 mile point-to-point course in the Savannah River exiting at the Augusta Rowing Club Complex and the Augusta public boat launch. Athletes will then cycle a single-loop 56 mile bike course through the beautiful countryside of South Carolina before returning to the Georgia side of the Savannah River and the city of Augusta, Ga. Finally, athletes will run a two-loop course consisting of 13.1 miles, through the downtown community of Augusta finishing near the Augusta Marriott Hotel and Conference Center. Athletes will be vying for 50 age group slots to the Foster Grant Ironman World Championship 70.3 being held in Clearwater, Florida and a $25,000.00 professional prize purse.
To recognize the 4th of July, Premier Event Management is offering athletes a one-time discounted registration fee to the inaugural Ironman 70.3 Augusta. Register online anytime throughout the month of July at http://www.ironmanaugusta.com/ beginning at 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, July 1, 2008 until July 30, 2008 and receive a $10.00 discount on your 2009 Ironman 70.3 Augusta entry. Ironman 70.3 Augusta is limited to 2,000 athletes, so don’t be left out of this new event.
For further information on the inaugural Ironman 70.3 Augusta event or other events produced by Premier Event Management, check out http://www.pem-usa.com/ or call 866-454-6561. For more information on Ironman and the 70.3 Event Series, visit http://www.ironman.com/.
WWW.IRONMANAUGUSTA.COM