I’ve been mulling this decision over in my head for the last few weeks. Maybe it’s the peer pressure of wanting to be just like the rest of you anonymous goofs out there, or it could be that I do become something outside of myself when I lace up for a race. Whatever the reason, I have decided to say good-bye to “Matt” and put him back in his place. From now on I will do my posts under the tag “Bullet.” I believe the moniker more aptly defines me as a triathlete rather than this Matt who so nicely blends in with society.
I’d like to give you a little comparison of Bullet and Matt so you can see why. Matt goes to work from 8-5, wears pressed shirts, and smiles when passing coworkers in the hall. Bullet gets up at 5 am to go work out, wears Pearl Izumi tri shorts, and smiles when passing the competition in a race. Matt shaves his face and keeps himself groomed. Bullet shaves his legs and grooms his bike. Matt is pleased at the end of the day if profits are up and customers are happy. Bullet is pleased at the end of the day if his times have dropped and the competition is crying. As you can see these two cannot co-exist on the same blog. Just like George Costanza flipping out over the mixing of Independent George and Relationship George, it’s time we separated the two. “A George divided against itself, Cannot Stand! “
So don’t be weirded out if you see the new name making comments on your posts. I’ll leave the big butt naked statue of Vulcan as my pic to help you make the connection. Matt still may show up from time to time as a guest to post on matters of faith or when something gets in his crawl about social justice or general bad behavior from the public.
But for the most part, this blog is about the pursuit of that finish line and will attempt to stay on that subject.
Thanks for reading and to all, Bullet sends tailwinds.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Saturday, February 23, 2008
First Real Brick of 2008
My Bro Daniel, who needs a Tri nickname by the way, met me this morning just outside the Tiny Kingdom for a little early morning brickwork. The past two days have been just miserably rainy, and today was supposed to be dry and partly cloudy. Well, they got the cloudy part of that right. It was more along the lines of partly dry and cloudy. Oh, and it was freaking cold. The temperature when the Red Dragon rolled away from mi casa was a balmy 35 degrees. When I pulled into the parking lot, there were no lie, 10 or so other bikers and a larger number of runners getting ready to head out. It was a beautiful sight to see. It's so cool to see a community so into the sport.
Like a real man, Daniel was standing there helmet on without any leggings on. Looking around the parking lot you could see everyone bundled up like snowmen, but not Daniel. He's much tougher than I. At least he had on a thick pair of "hair pants" to help break the wind. Both of us had recognized that neither one of us were in shape enough to kill it on this ride so for the most part we took it easy and just got used to suffering again. So much of endurance has to do with being able to shut your mind off and suffer long enough to make it over a climb. And suffer we would. Both of our odometers are on the blink so there were no records kept of average speed which is probably a good thing.
There's nothing like being back on the bike again. The exhilaration of cresting a hill or spinning through neighborhoods really gets my blood going. I'm really looking forward to the time changing and the after work rides that provide challenging speeds and great camaraderie.
After the 30 mile loop, we had probably the slowest T time ever, but we put on some dry clothes for a 7 mile run. Both of our feet were frozen from the ride so it took a bit of jog hobbling before the feet felt normal again. I was really happy with the way my legs responded to the brick. They felt strong and didn't feel too awkward like they usually do for that first brick of the year. All in all, it was a great morning. Tonight, I'm celebrating with some boys in a little beer tasting event. We're all chipping in some new and different beers for everyone to try out. I'll give a good report if any of them tickle my fancy.
Tail winds....
Like a real man, Daniel was standing there helmet on without any leggings on. Looking around the parking lot you could see everyone bundled up like snowmen, but not Daniel. He's much tougher than I. At least he had on a thick pair of "hair pants" to help break the wind. Both of us had recognized that neither one of us were in shape enough to kill it on this ride so for the most part we took it easy and just got used to suffering again. So much of endurance has to do with being able to shut your mind off and suffer long enough to make it over a climb. And suffer we would. Both of our odometers are on the blink so there were no records kept of average speed which is probably a good thing.
There's nothing like being back on the bike again. The exhilaration of cresting a hill or spinning through neighborhoods really gets my blood going. I'm really looking forward to the time changing and the after work rides that provide challenging speeds and great camaraderie.
After the 30 mile loop, we had probably the slowest T time ever, but we put on some dry clothes for a 7 mile run. Both of our feet were frozen from the ride so it took a bit of jog hobbling before the feet felt normal again. I was really happy with the way my legs responded to the brick. They felt strong and didn't feel too awkward like they usually do for that first brick of the year. All in all, it was a great morning. Tonight, I'm celebrating with some boys in a little beer tasting event. We're all chipping in some new and different beers for everyone to try out. I'll give a good report if any of them tickle my fancy.
Tail winds....
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Best News of 2008 Yet
Almost 2 years ago now, a good friend of mine decided to take control of his health and weight. "GJ" is about my age. At the time, he weighed in around 220 on a 5'9" frame. Growing up he always struggled with his weight. This left him feeling more like a wallflower than a player in the game. Knowing GJ has been one of the greatest pleasures in life. He is and always will be like a brother to me. He can be very animated and headstrong when he's passionate about something. This has lead to many successes in life, but also some very hilarious moments when he gets upset enough to write a scathing letter to ABC for interupting "The Mole" with Presidential election updates.
Back to the story.... so 2 years ago, GJ decided to start a work out program. He started with simply running on the weekends with the goal of completing his first 5K in the future. GJ completed his first 5K in 33 minutes. He set small goals including small rewards for reaching those goals. Slowly but surely his weight started dropping. In his next 5K he dropped 2 minutes off his time and kept getting closer to his goal of getting under 200 lbs. About the time that he hit that goal he hired a training to help him work on building muscle to replace the fat. Being a fan that prides himself in his style, GJ found himself having to treat himself to a new set of suits for work. He donated the others of course knowing that he'd never be big enough to wear them again.
GJ and I have met once a week for a chance to talk about God and faith as well as keep tabs on each others lives. It seemed each week he was coming in giving me a new weight goal that he'd hit. 190 was surpassed. 180 came and GJ was sure that he'd hit what would be his lowest point. The new trainer had him doing hill repeats and weights like a mad man. The weight was falling off him so quick and his body was actually showing some signs of a muscular build! He kept up with his running with a goal to get under 30 minutes. This past fall he finished in 27 and some change. GJ kept working and is now sitting at a svelt 165. Two weeks ago, GJ set out to hit a new PR on a 5k and tore off a 24:45! I was there to see him cross the finish line and was so proud to see him sprinting at the end to finish strong.
Now for the good part. While over coffee, GJ and I have discussed my training for triathlons over the last 4 years. So I felt like this was the oppropriate time and place for me to pitch my idea to him for competing in his first tri. He thought the idea was absurd at first. You could tell that he still saw himself as the 220 lb wallflower, but the more and more that I reminded him of what he'd already accomplished he became a little more confident and gave me a promise to think about it. The next day GJ confirmed via the almighty text message that he was on board and would compete in his first tri this June. Words can't say how excited I am for him. He's going to do a race that I normally do, but I have decided to drop it and instead run support for him and cheer him on. GJ has worked so hard to get to where he is today, and I am so happy to announce to the triathlon world that we have a new athlete amoung us. I can't wait until race day!
Back to the story.... so 2 years ago, GJ decided to start a work out program. He started with simply running on the weekends with the goal of completing his first 5K in the future. GJ completed his first 5K in 33 minutes. He set small goals including small rewards for reaching those goals. Slowly but surely his weight started dropping. In his next 5K he dropped 2 minutes off his time and kept getting closer to his goal of getting under 200 lbs. About the time that he hit that goal he hired a training to help him work on building muscle to replace the fat. Being a fan that prides himself in his style, GJ found himself having to treat himself to a new set of suits for work. He donated the others of course knowing that he'd never be big enough to wear them again.
GJ and I have met once a week for a chance to talk about God and faith as well as keep tabs on each others lives. It seemed each week he was coming in giving me a new weight goal that he'd hit. 190 was surpassed. 180 came and GJ was sure that he'd hit what would be his lowest point. The new trainer had him doing hill repeats and weights like a mad man. The weight was falling off him so quick and his body was actually showing some signs of a muscular build! He kept up with his running with a goal to get under 30 minutes. This past fall he finished in 27 and some change. GJ kept working and is now sitting at a svelt 165. Two weeks ago, GJ set out to hit a new PR on a 5k and tore off a 24:45! I was there to see him cross the finish line and was so proud to see him sprinting at the end to finish strong.
Now for the good part. While over coffee, GJ and I have discussed my training for triathlons over the last 4 years. So I felt like this was the oppropriate time and place for me to pitch my idea to him for competing in his first tri. He thought the idea was absurd at first. You could tell that he still saw himself as the 220 lb wallflower, but the more and more that I reminded him of what he'd already accomplished he became a little more confident and gave me a promise to think about it. The next day GJ confirmed via the almighty text message that he was on board and would compete in his first tri this June. Words can't say how excited I am for him. He's going to do a race that I normally do, but I have decided to drop it and instead run support for him and cheer him on. GJ has worked so hard to get to where he is today, and I am so happy to announce to the triathlon world that we have a new athlete amoung us. I can't wait until race day!
Monday, February 18, 2008
The Forge
This week, more than ever, I feel like I'm starting to put the pieces together for a strong season. Slowing but surely, I'm begining to chip away at the dross that this winter's off-season has left me with and create what I hope to be a finely tuned machine. While I'm still struggling to show any kind of speed in any of the 3 sports, I feel like the steps I'm taking are in the right direction. Overall I plan to go in with a stronger core and legs. If I learned anything while training for the marathon, it was the need to take better care of my body. That includes stretching, nutrition, and rest. I was telling a friend just yesterday that while training, I never experienced so many aches and pains in training for a Half Iron as I did training for a marathon. Considering the Half Iron takes me 2 hours longer to complete, that seems a bit off, but running can be really tough on the entire body.
This week, I'm going to be working on putting a little more speed into my game. My legs are too accustomed to running at a Mary pace, so things are going to have to change. This can only mean it's time for the dreaded hill repeats and sprint sessions. Neither of which I'm very fond of. Luckily, I live in a town full of great medium sized hills not too far from the house. The bad news is there are too many houses along the route which may lead to a few spectators seeing me lose my lunch after a few sprints. Lance Armstrong is notorious for being able to keep a stoic face on the toughest of climbs therefore not allowing his competition to tell whether or not he's struggling. I haven't quite developed that ability. My pain is usually clearly marked on my face with bright lights and neon arrows pointing at the tears and drool pouring down my chin.
No races are on the calendar just yet, just possibilities. So stayed tuned as the season unfolds.
Tail winds!
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Swimming and an Award to Give Out
There’s definitely more spring in my step this week than in weeks past. Not that I’ve ever been a “the glass is half empty” kind of guy, but this week I can definitely tell that my mood has changed for the better. I can only attribute this to finally being able to focus on triathlons and training for the upcoming season.
In my last post, I discussed my shameful experience on the bike where I realized just how far I’ve dropped off since last season. So now let’s talk about the first leg of the sport. I’m talking about none other than my arch nemesis from last year, swimming. Maybe it was the long lay off or maybe it is that my interests have changed, but for whatever reason the hate that I felt toward knocking out the laps has been cast aside with yesterday’s news. Back are the feelings of true love come anew. Well, let’s not go that far. I still suck at it so we’re not all that cool with each other right now. Anyway, Monday morning I joined in with a Master’s class over at the Y at 5:30 in a.m. The workout of the day included a 300 warm up, 3 sets of 75 yards with a kick board, pyramid sets of 175, 250, 325, 400, then back down again, and finally 4 sets of 50 yard sprints. Yikes. This was way more yards than I was planning on doing, but oh, what a great work out! I can’t say that I ever really got after it like this on my own. I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to join this group for every work out, but finding a group like this would be a great benefit to my swimming.
Today, I was back in the pool for a little lunch time dip. I decided that today I would work on form. I keep reading that swim speed is 80% form and 20% strength and endurance. Form is definitely my biggest weakness right now and the area that could stand the most development. My head continues to stay too high in the water causing my legs to sink too deep. And as for my legs, my kicking blows chunks too. I can’t say that I exactly perfected my form today, but strides were taken. I even found time to work on the elusive flip turn that could very well elevate me out of the “noob” status in the pool.
As for the Award, Blink has been awarded the Endurance Performance of the Week Award(hence forth known as the E-POWA) for his outstanding showing at the Rocky Raccoon 50 miler in Texas this past weekend. Blink set a new record for his age group finishing 5th over all and finishing in 7:23:06. That's not 5th over all out of 25, that's 5th overall out of 142. The dude's a stud and an endurance inspiration to us all. Check out his race report. It's well worth reading. Great job Blink, and for your efforts I'm shipping you my Mercedes Marathon T from this weekend's race. I can't seem to allow myself to wear it since I didn't race.
In my last post, I discussed my shameful experience on the bike where I realized just how far I’ve dropped off since last season. So now let’s talk about the first leg of the sport. I’m talking about none other than my arch nemesis from last year, swimming. Maybe it was the long lay off or maybe it is that my interests have changed, but for whatever reason the hate that I felt toward knocking out the laps has been cast aside with yesterday’s news. Back are the feelings of true love come anew. Well, let’s not go that far. I still suck at it so we’re not all that cool with each other right now. Anyway, Monday morning I joined in with a Master’s class over at the Y at 5:30 in a.m. The workout of the day included a 300 warm up, 3 sets of 75 yards with a kick board, pyramid sets of 175, 250, 325, 400, then back down again, and finally 4 sets of 50 yard sprints. Yikes. This was way more yards than I was planning on doing, but oh, what a great work out! I can’t say that I ever really got after it like this on my own. I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to join this group for every work out, but finding a group like this would be a great benefit to my swimming.
Today, I was back in the pool for a little lunch time dip. I decided that today I would work on form. I keep reading that swim speed is 80% form and 20% strength and endurance. Form is definitely my biggest weakness right now and the area that could stand the most development. My head continues to stay too high in the water causing my legs to sink too deep. And as for my legs, my kicking blows chunks too. I can’t say that I exactly perfected my form today, but strides were taken. I even found time to work on the elusive flip turn that could very well elevate me out of the “noob” status in the pool.
As for the Award, Blink has been awarded the Endurance Performance of the Week Award(hence forth known as the E-POWA) for his outstanding showing at the Rocky Raccoon 50 miler in Texas this past weekend. Blink set a new record for his age group finishing 5th over all and finishing in 7:23:06. That's not 5th over all out of 25, that's 5th overall out of 142. The dude's a stud and an endurance inspiration to us all. Check out his race report. It's well worth reading. Great job Blink, and for your efforts I'm shipping you my Mercedes Marathon T from this weekend's race. I can't seem to allow myself to wear it since I didn't race.
That's all for now. Train hard, eat right.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
The Race That Wasn't
Well, this past weekend was the Mercedes Marathon in B'ham. It would have been my first Mary, but due to a small family emergency I was unable to make it to the starting line. Instead, we spent the morning at the hospital seeing a family member. Big picture-everyone is ok, well, and good, and that's all that matters. Family is so much more important than any race so there was really no decision to be made at all regarding the race. On another good note, I didn't have to suffer for 3 plus hours. Woo hoo!
So where does that leave me now? Oh snap, right where I want to be. I'm so ready to become a Triathlete again. Training for the Mary was fun, but I just love the thrill of doing all three sports. So we're back to talking about triathlon stuff again.
So on that note, I did make it out mid day on Sunday for a ride. I needed to burn all these carbs I stored up for the race. It'd be a shame to let all that pure energy go to waste! The ride was the normal Tuesday night loop around town. It was absolutely gorgeous out with sunny skies and temps in the low to mid 60's. Where'd that come from? As for the ride, I'll revert back to my numerous excuses for a poor preformance such as a brake pad was rubbing, I had a head wind the whole time, or I had two flat tires. Whatever the reason, I sucked it up. The hills that I used to sprint to the top of left me sucking air and slobbering on myself. What happened to the cyclist from last year? Oh, he's hiding behind the extra sausage balls at Christmas and the late night runs to TCBY. (God bless TCBY) Yeah, so I've got my work cut out for me. It wouldn't be fun if it was easy right?
So this morning, I spent a little time in the weight room doing some cycling specific leg work outs that I've collected from my stack of endurance sport magazines. It wasn't pretty, but I'm on track.
And as for swimming? That was yesterday, but I'll save that for another post.
Tail winds!
So where does that leave me now? Oh snap, right where I want to be. I'm so ready to become a Triathlete again. Training for the Mary was fun, but I just love the thrill of doing all three sports. So we're back to talking about triathlon stuff again.
So on that note, I did make it out mid day on Sunday for a ride. I needed to burn all these carbs I stored up for the race. It'd be a shame to let all that pure energy go to waste! The ride was the normal Tuesday night loop around town. It was absolutely gorgeous out with sunny skies and temps in the low to mid 60's. Where'd that come from? As for the ride, I'll revert back to my numerous excuses for a poor preformance such as a brake pad was rubbing, I had a head wind the whole time, or I had two flat tires. Whatever the reason, I sucked it up. The hills that I used to sprint to the top of left me sucking air and slobbering on myself. What happened to the cyclist from last year? Oh, he's hiding behind the extra sausage balls at Christmas and the late night runs to TCBY. (God bless TCBY) Yeah, so I've got my work cut out for me. It wouldn't be fun if it was easy right?
So this morning, I spent a little time in the weight room doing some cycling specific leg work outs that I've collected from my stack of endurance sport magazines. It wasn't pretty, but I'm on track.
And as for swimming? That was yesterday, but I'll save that for another post.
Tail winds!
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Ash Wednesday
Today is Ash Wednesday so I'll take this chance to tell about my first experience with the religious holiday. It's one story, I'll never live down.
I grew up in small town Alabama where you were either a Baptist or a Methodist. The only diversity found in our town was between the Ford enthusiasts and the Chevy enthusiasts. There was no in between. As for me, I was too involved in baseball to care. So needless to say when I moved to Birmingham for college, the extent of my sheltered life was revealed on a daily basis.
I started working the front desk at the local YMCA during the school year to earn some extra money. One day in particular, a lady came in to the Y, and I greeted her while wearing my awful hot pick YMCA issued polo shirt. I noticed that she had some kind of smudge on her forehead. Knowing she was going into the locker room and not wanting to embarrass her, I didn't mention the smudge. I figured she would see it once she looked in the mirror. Ten minutes later another person came in with a smudge on their forehead. Again, I didn't mention it, but I was like "what the heck?" I thought something must be hanging down from the ceiling hitting people in the forehead! We've gotta put a stop to it! So I proceeded to tell the Y manager and all those around what I had discovered and my fears for others coming through the door.
I will tell you that my co-workers were kind in informing me of Ash Wednesday and the simple crosses Catholics and others wore to commemorate the day. It's a cool rite, and I think of this story on this day every year. If nothing else, it reminds me that I still don't know it all.
I grew up in small town Alabama where you were either a Baptist or a Methodist. The only diversity found in our town was between the Ford enthusiasts and the Chevy enthusiasts. There was no in between. As for me, I was too involved in baseball to care. So needless to say when I moved to Birmingham for college, the extent of my sheltered life was revealed on a daily basis.
I started working the front desk at the local YMCA during the school year to earn some extra money. One day in particular, a lady came in to the Y, and I greeted her while wearing my awful hot pick YMCA issued polo shirt. I noticed that she had some kind of smudge on her forehead. Knowing she was going into the locker room and not wanting to embarrass her, I didn't mention the smudge. I figured she would see it once she looked in the mirror. Ten minutes later another person came in with a smudge on their forehead. Again, I didn't mention it, but I was like "what the heck?" I thought something must be hanging down from the ceiling hitting people in the forehead! We've gotta put a stop to it! So I proceeded to tell the Y manager and all those around what I had discovered and my fears for others coming through the door.
I will tell you that my co-workers were kind in informing me of Ash Wednesday and the simple crosses Catholics and others wore to commemorate the day. It's a cool rite, and I think of this story on this day every year. If nothing else, it reminds me that I still don't know it all.
Monday, February 04, 2008
Open Letter to the &*%$ Who Brought Cake to the Office
Dear Insensitive Bastard who Brought Cake to the Office:
You're probably feeling pretty smug right now. Sitting there in your cubbie thinking you're the toast of the town. You think you've done your good deed for the day. For whatever reason, you stepped it up this weekend and decided to make a double chocolate cake to the office for everyone to enjoy. You insensitive piece of garbage. What were you thinking? Don't you know this is RACE week?? Don't you know that chocolate cake is not found anywhere on this week's diet plan? As a reknowned connoisseur of fine chocolate cakes and fine eats, I take high offense to your blatant disregard for my cravings and desires. I liken you to the types of individuals who sip margaritas while spectating an AA meeting. You probably would fit right in with those smug tanned triathletes living in San Diego as they talk about their chilly training rides in the 50's. Brrrrrrrrr! You'd probably find it easy to get along with the Paris Hilton's of the world, "Oh, damn, my diamond studded shoes are too tight." Get a grip Betty Crocker!
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