We basically went over race goals, both time and placement and he thought the idea of me concentrating on shorter distance races was a good idea. In my coaching package, I get to train in thier cycling training center which consists of being set up on a trainer  to do various types of 1 hour intense workouts. During these workouts, I’ll have my power wattage, heart rate, speed, cadence, etc all measured for every workout. I will do this twice a week with other people next to me which I hope will involve some racing!

The road to Kona probably looks something like this

He also thinks I should race some of the local time trials in Philadelphia on the weekends. This would be a new experience for me as I’ve never raced in that format before. I will get my workouts either daily or weekly. I forgot. Either way, he knows where I want to go, how ambitious I am, but he doesn’t want me to aim too high this year, but to just “improve.”

We spoke about what races I planned to do for 2010. Besides the Death Valley Marathon in February, and the Philly Triathlon in late June, I haven’t signed up for anything. I would like to do a Olympic triathlon per month, and maybe do three half-irons over the course of the year. I WOULD HAVE liked to culminate my season by doing 70.3 Miami but I found out last night it’s already sold out 10 months prior to the race! My family has never seen me race, and since they live in West Palm Beach, I’ll try to look for other races in the area. My main thing is limiting how much I want to pay for expensive races this year. Ironman UK was insanely expensive with flights, hotels, rent-a-car, and so forth. I would like to do a official 70.3 this year, but it’s not that imperative to me.

When it came to higher intensity workouts, the polar  foot-pod just wasn’t accurate. The main problem with Polar’s inertia based technology is  it calibrates based on  pace which you originally calibrate it. In other words, I walked around the track 4 times to calibrate it, but when I run with it, the accuracy is off because the stride difference between each step is so much larger (see River Run Race report). Add the fact that my heart rate strap stopped working, I just felt it was time for a change. Now, I don’t want to trash the company (not like my opinion matters anyway); the 625x lasted me 4 years without a problem. But being that I’m OCD on accuracy of distance and time, I felt the GPS unit was best. But which unit?

Polar 625x - Thanks for the memories

I had been researching the Garmin 305 forerunner for some time; listening to advice on various websites. I wasn’t sure if I’d go with the 310x or the 305 at first. The 310x is a machine in and of itself. You can even swim with it and track distances — while in the water (which is pretty darn cool). But do I really need all that? Triathletes in general are over compulsive in their gizmos and their data collection, but I’ve gotten to the point where I know what I want and what I need (see previous post on that too).

The main issue between the 310x and 305 was the battery life, and price. The 310x has a battery life of 20 hours or so. The 305 has a battery life of 10 hours. That’s not even enough to get you through an Ironman! At least not now yet. The 310x went for $369 while the 305 went for $150. Additionally, considering I will only be doing nothing longer than half IM this year, I felt that when I do get back to IM distance, I’ll have a Power Tap by that time; so I decided on the 305.  When I go get back to full IM racing, the strategy will be:  no watch on the swim, Power tap computer on the bike, and use the Garmin on the run. While I’d like to have an over all clock, I’m not really that worried about it.

Garmin 305 Forerunner - I think this is the start of a beautiful relationship

Yes, with the Polar, I never had to worry about battery life, but I think the trade off for proper distance recording, pacing, etc., is well worth it.

I walked into work this morning and I saw the 2 boxes of Dunkin Donuts sitting by the water cooler. “Oh no you didn’t!”  “Damn you!” I took a deep breath and just kept walking. Upon going back to the kitchen to fill up my water bottle, people were conversing around the area eating donuts celebrating the Phillies entering going back to the World Series. All types of flavors were on display: Boston Creme, Chocolate glazed, Old Fashioned, Chocolate Covered…the whole gambit.

“Ken, don’t you want one?”

“No thank you”

A silent gasp ensued.

See, I have a reputation of having a large appitite, mostly earned during my Ironman training.

“Are youuuuu sure?”

“Yea…I’m sure”

Walking away was probably the hardest thing.  I felt like I missed out on something.  There will be a few more attempts to get me off the wagon: Halloween being the closest. And if the Phillies actually WIN the World Series, I know I’ll definitely have to be on my A-game.  Since I’ve added the weight tab to this blog, I’ve been really anal about what I eat. Eating when not hungry or bored is simply not an option anymore.

is pretty much pointless. I said this blog will be much more about than just about triathlon, but about my life in general. And one aspect of that life is my attempt to find a worthy partner.This summer was very successful on the triathlon front, but not so much on the dating front.The major hindrance is “free” time. A typical situation goes like this:

Me: Hey would you like to go out some time?

Girl: Sure that would be great. how about happy hour tomorrow after work?

Me: Ooohhhh, yeaaa, that’s not good. I have major swim set I have to do after work. Since I’m not the greatest swimmer, I’ll probably done around 8ish.

Girl: Oh….um, ok. Are you free for any happy hour during week?

Me: Um, no not really. I train every day after work.

Girl: Oh….I see.

So here is the pivotal question: Should I give up training session to go out on a date?

Is it even possible to even get to know a girl while training is your number one priority? The first question when I get about this dilemma is “Why not date a triathlete”? That’s a good question. Tried that twice this summer. However I believe there is a danger when one attempts this. I went out with two Tri-Girls  girls this summer (both very beautiful by the way).

The first date with Tri-Girl 1 was lets-meet-at-a-typical-bar. I already digged her because it was later in the evening because she had to train too! Not even having to explain that made me like her before I even met her. Very nice girl. We hung out a few times. We even did a training ride with one of her friends at her 1/2 IM bike course she was attempting later that summer which turned into a brick training section. I thought things were going well, but I never really heard from her after I came back from England. She didn’t even want to see my IMUK medal. Odd.

Tri-Girl 2 was great as well. Probably one of the best smiles I’ve seen in long time. I’m a sucker for big facial features: eyes, high cheeks bones, big teeth, etc. We hung out a few times, and even did some lifting at our local gym. I really wanted to go for a run with her as that she is wicked fast. I saw her after England where I broke out the medal. She digged it. I know she did. I mean, who doesn’t dig an Ironman right? Then, it just faded.

The future of dating

I think the lesson I learned with the two Tri-Girls is that even if you have a common passion/hobby, there has to be “ritual”. Meaning, there has to be an official date. I think the problem with these ladies was that I didn’t “go for it”. It was just turned into two people who liked a certain thing. No courtship whatsoever. Thus, I blame myself. I believe their might have been a window of opportunity particularly with one of them, but once that window closes…it doesn’t open again. Ever. You’re lucky just to be in the “Let’s just be friend” zone. And no one likes that. I guess it’s probably better than the the girl I thought I could see myself with ditch me for a guy at an event that I HOSTED. I pick em classy don’t I? I’m sure the reasons behind the one of  Tri-girls not eventually us becoming an item is combination many things which I’m sure I’m at fault for some; or maybe it’s that timeless thing we can’t seem to describe…some call it “chemistry”.

So I ask the question again: Should I give up training time to go out on a date? Especially during the week? I’m 30, rather decent looking, in shape, and I think I have a pretty good handle on the human experience. But anyone who lives or has lived in Philadelphia will tell you; it’s a pretty difficult city to date in. If you didn’t go to school or here, or weren’t born here, you are pretty much on your own when it comes to meeting people.

In 2007, Travel & Leisure magazine and CNN Headline News found Philadelphia to be among the least stylish, least active, least friendly and least worldly, according to the “America’s Favorite Cities”.  About 60,000 people responded to the online survey which ranked 25 cities in categories including shopping, food, culture, and cityscape. For unattractiveness, Philadelphia just beat out Washington DC and Dallas/Fort Worth for the bottom spot. And again in 2009, Travel and Leisure magazine ranked Philadelphia LAST for the most unattractive city in America. You can find the poll here.

I’d be lying if I said training on your own doesn’t get lonely at times. Hopefully joining a tri-club will help that. Thus, after a disappointing summer of dating, I’m not doing taking time off to train for a date. Why give up a lifting session or an interval workout on someone you haven’t met yet? I look at all these amazing athletes, and now I understand why their wives and children hug them at finish line after a victory. Chris McCormick wants to quit soon, and Craig Alexander says he’s only going to do it for a few more years. Why? Both cite to spend more time with their families. I can only imagine that a key reason why these men won Ironman Championships is because they had great family support.

I guess after so many disappointing dates and false hopes, I’m done with all the online dating world as well. I think what hooks people into these things is the possibility of hope.  The scary thing about these sites is that I’ve seen people become addicted. No longer are people actually venturing outside to meet people– they stay in front of their glow box. It’s been my experience that because of our instant gratification culture, movies, and maybe my particular generation, we expect love to happen instantly with no work required. On top of that, it seems like because of all the technology, people are always looking for “the next best thing” as I like to put it. Do we as people ever ride anything out anymore to see what happens; or do we abandon ship at the realization the person across the table from us might have a slight personality flaw? How do we become content with something? Is technology keeping us apart more than bringing us together?

We’re over. You lied to me. Or maybe I lied to myself. Regardless, I think our relationship is over.

We first met at the corner, as I was looking for a light snack to quell my Ironman training hungers. I’d have you with a bottled Ice Coffee (Mocha). I must admit, you were really good when warmed up in the microwave.

But alas, you were fake. At least Ice Coffee (Mocha) has it’s nutritional value typed onto the bottle (180 calories).  Not sure what I was thinking, but I thought you were around the same calorie content. Maybe I should have listened to what my mother taught me: “All that glitters is not gold”. And now I must tell everyone what you are really made of

Your ex,

We are sooo not together anymore

Ken

1 sliceCalories: 430

Total fat: 22g

Carbs: 52g

Protein:6g

Want: to feel a need or a desire for; wish for

Every time I enter a bike store or one of these expos at races I ask myself on single in question, “Is there anything I NEED here?” Do I really need that Giro helmet? I understand it’s on sale, but do I really need it?

Triathetes have the natural want to have the lightest this, the lightest that; myself included. As I’m gearing up for Ironman UK, I have a need vs. want list that I’m trying to stay true to. I would love to have a pair of Zipp clinchers, which I’m sure, would help me greatly for the winds that they are projecting for the race…but I don’t need it. I do however; need a hydro tail to carry two extra water bottles.

Need vs. Want

As I read the listen to the news everyday, I hear the same thing over and over again: too many Americans who spent too much and couldn’t afford their payments. Now they are losing their homes and credit cards companies are hiking up their rates. I know there was predatory lending going on, but still, if you make 40k a year, but spend 60k a year a year, then that’s just bad money management.

I currently need a new car…badly. My 1989 Pontiac Grand Prix is on its last leg. I grew up in that car. Lots of memories. As of today, it has 304,128 miles on it. Two months ago, a cylinder broke. So I technically have a V5 now instead of a V6. Ha! I’m thinking about getting an intermediate SUV, like a Toyota Rav4, Kia Sportage, of Chevy Equinox. I know there are great deals out there. But do I NEED a car? Better yet, can I AFFORD a new car? I could join Philly Car Share (a local car sharing company). If I can’t afford a pair of HED-3 wheels, how can I buy a new car?

I could never understand people with the mentality of, “Oh, it’s ok to spoil yourself every now and then!” Spoil is a very subjective word. Buying a desert after a dinner is one way of spoiling.Charging thousands of dollars on a shopping spree is another. I know this maybe preaching to the choir, but as we dig out of the economic mess we are currently in, I hope more people are asking themselves, “Do I need this, or do I just want it”? There is nothing with wanting something, but I don’t believe people are taking it to the next level and asking if they can afford it. I don’t think people have a yearly budget or 3 year budget plan. I work in HR, and I speak to many financial advisors on a regular basis. They tell me about 90 percent of the time, the reason he has to tell people they have to work till they are 75 is because of too much credit card debt. School loans aren’t a problem, neither is a mortgage. Credit cards over and over again, destroy the nest egg.

I know that I will be in a technological disadvantage by not having this and that, but like many people who don’t put themselves over their head, I’ll work on making more money to buy these things rather than charging it to my credit card and paying for it (and the interest) down the road. I am not going to try and “keep up with the Jones’” triathlon style. Yea, I feel a little inferior when the guy next to me is pumping up his Hed-3’s while I pump up my Tiagra wheels, but that’s something I’ll have within time.

I believe in the instant gratification culture we live in, we need to take hold as to what’s important. Priorities need to be made, and honored. If the majority of people do this, put away their credit cards, I think we’ll be a lot better off.