Fear the Dino

Home

2011-08-23T21:33:00.000-07:00

I am home.

I am not sure how I feel, or how I am supposed to feel. In fact, I did not feel anything until I pulled into the driveway of my house. There were no emotions as I left my home in Boulder for the last time. There were no emotions as I watched the Rockies shrink and vanish in the rearview. No pain, no sadness, no joy; nothing. Maybe all my emotions were all played out, and I had moved on to simple acceptance. Boulder did not work out. I wanted it to. I wanted it bad. I wanted the mountains. I wanted the altitude. I wanted it. After a while, however, you have to be able to step back and acknowledge the fact that you are banging your head against wall, busting your ass hanging on, waiting for doors to open that simply are not going to. You have to realize that you are retreating into yourself. You have to realize that it is not a good sign when you would much rather talk to your loved ones on the cell phone than ride your bike. You have to realize that you are not happy.

Boulder is an elite place. It is not all tree-hugging, granola-eating hippies. There is a lot of money, a lot of talent, and an air of superiority. It will chew you up and spit you out if you do not have your shit together. I have never been the type to back down from a challenge, and I threw my hat in the ring. I went in with incredible focus, and I gave it a damn good shot. It did not work out.

I am back in Rochester now, and that is where I need to be right now. I have been living in a haze for months now. Some time with my loved ones should bring me back to reality, and to life. Some times you must take one step back to take two steps forward. To move on is to grow.

Change. It is what it is.

2011-07-30T18:44:00.000-07:00

I took a big risk when I moved to Boulder last autumn. I had no job, no friends, and no clue what was going to happen. Most people would not have done this. I had an idea and a dream of how I hoped it would work out. As we all know, however, sometimes things do not turn out how you had envisioned. Oftentimes this provides us with a learning experience. Oftentimes this learning experience is a valuable one. Oftentimes this learning experience hurts.

It has been made clear in the past that in order to thrive, I need to be around my loved ones. Last time I left home (early college), I struggled with being away from them. When I moved back to Rochester, I had the best two years of my life. Obviously, leaving home again to take this chance on Boulder was a prospect that I was excited about, but there was some apprehension there. I know that I have something special that not everybody has. My friends and family are the most supportive people in the world, and each and every success I have is because of them. I have a very defined sense of where home is. I have given it a year here in Boulder, and it has not become home. When I came out here I had an idea of what I hoped it would be like, and what I would accomplish. It has turned out differently than I had hoped.

I knew that I would face challenges while I was out here, and I have. I met every challenge and rose to every occasion. I grew a lot, and always rallied, no matter what the situation. However, for the most part, it has felt like a series of falling into holes and climbing out of them. There have not been too many true highlights. I have been surviving, rather than thriving. I have not been happy, and I cannot try to convince myself otherwise anymore.

I have made the decision to move back to Rochester. Back home. At this point in time, it is the best decision. I moved to Boulder for the training, but honestly I think I can train just as well, if not better, in Rochester. I know that winters are rough, but it is not anything I am not used to (I handled 23 of those winters). You have to be happy in order to progress with your training. I have my support system there, and great training partners that I trust through and through. As my Boulder roommate (who has been an awesome big brother figure to me this whole time) put it, "you do not become fast by living in Boulder, you become fast by working your ass off." At the moment, I honestly think that I can work harder in a situation where I am around my loved ones, where the support is tangible and accessible.

Boulder will always be here. It is indeed a beautiful place and a fantastic location in which to train. Dozens and dozens of elite athletes cannot be wrong. For now, though, at this point in time, it is not the right place. Perhaps in a couple years I may be able to return. For now, in terms of work, training, and general happiness (which should always be priority number one, along with health), I need to be in my city, with my friends and family. I gave this a real honest shot. I gave it a full year. Everyone I have talked to in the last 24 hours has stressed that I should not see this as failure, or capitulation. It is simply something that I tried and it did not work out. I do not see it as a failure, but I am extremely disappointed that my original vision did not become realized. It is over now. I roll on, like I always do. Onto the next chapter. A few weeks after I get home the leaves will be changing, and the fresh, cool air of autumn in Upstate New York will again fill my lungs as I run through the forest. Just like I did in High school. Just like I did in college.

Home.

Dealing with disappointment

2011-07-20T16:22:00.000-07:00

Two and a half weeks ago, I woke up and the first word I said (out loud) was "f*ck." I was three days removed from the most fun week I had experienced in quite a while: Dino camp with my buddy Dylan (a fit bloke). After this huge week of training (with an increase in volume AND intensity---->dangerous), my thoughts were "okay, if I just make sure I do not get sick, I am going to get a huge benefit and fitness boost." I took all the precautions, including eating clean (and a lot), sleeping, and taking it super easy. So when I woke up with a sore throat, I was exceptionally disappointed. Thinking it was just a cold, I put down some breakfast and headed off for work. As the shift went on, I felt undeniably increasingly ill. By the end of it, I was so feverish and had such bad chills that I drove home with the heat on in my car (and it was 90 degrees that day). I made it home and made it to the couch, and that was about all I could accomplish.

The next several days were a bit of a haze, but it did not involve eating or moving. Luckily, with the help of a great friend, visiting (luckily for me) parents, and some powerful western-medicine pharmaceutical products, I started to recover. However, after all was said and done, two weeks had passed without any training whatsoever. With the gradual and conservative approach that I will have to take while returning to training, this illness may have taken as much as 5-6 weeks away from me, when all is said and done. That, for all intents and purposes, is a season-killer.

So now what? Where to go from here? If you know me, you know the answer to that one. I am no stranger to getting my heart broken and losing a season. In the past it has typically been injuries that have derailed my racing. Most people would have thrown in the towel a long time ago, but where there is passion, there can be perseverance. Over the past year I have doubled my weekly running mileage, with only one minor setback (which was a good thing ironically due to the fact that it shed some light on the root cause of the numerous injuries). I never lost my love for the sport and my belief that I could get everything handled, and improve. The fire never went out. It is still burning now, despite this latest bump in the road. When things do not go well, you get them better, and you KEEP F*CKING GOING.

So we look toward next year now, with new lessons learned. After consulting with the V-Beast, and continuing to further my knowledge base, it seems that consistency is the be-all, end-all. Interruptions such as these are the greatest factors in undermining long-term development, much more so than training slightly fewer hours each week. That will be a goal of mine from here: stay healthier.

It is what it is. It will do me no good to lament the loss of what was shaping up to be a good year of racing. It was never really about this year, anyway. It was about one, two, seven etc. years from now. Everything I do now lays the foundation for my success down the road. I intend to get healthy, and start getting fit again. Then I intend to get fitter and fitter and fitter. There are few feelings that compare to that of being able to run across the line and raise your arms. I will get that again soon, I just need to wait a little longer than I would like.

I will leave you with this quotation from Teddy Roosevelt (who was, by all means, a real man). It may be my favorite.

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the
strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done
them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the
arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood;
who strives valiantly; who errs, and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat

Greeley Race Report

2011-06-19T10:03:00.000-07:00

This year has been a great departure from the past few years. The pattern I have become accustomed to is to race bikes nearly every weekend starting in March, and switch over to tris starting in May. However, this year found me racing for the first time on June 12th. Much of my reluctance to get out there and race resulted from a lack of confidence due to a lack of quality training. It has been a challenging year (if you have not read this, please do so) and training has not gone optimally. I decided I would look for a smaller race outside of Boulder to test my fitness in a lower pressure situation. I decided the Greeley Sprint Tri would fit the bill.

Going in, I knew this would hurt badly. The swim and bike were shorter than the standard sprint distance, and I figured I would be finishing in a little over 50 minutes. This meant I would be redlining the entire time. I was unsure how this would go, because my training has not really taken me to the higher levels of oxygen debt, and I did not know how good my lactate tolerance would be.

I got to the race venue without a hitch, and got to work setting everything up. Having been racing tris for five years now, everything on race day is second nature to me. I felt like garbage on my warm-up jog, which meant I was in store for a good race (typically the worse I feel warming up, the smoother I feel when the gun goes off). After some delays in the start, and after waiting for the junior and U23 races to go off, we lined up for our TT start (lake was too small to accommodate a mass start). The swim was honestly over before I realized I was swimming. 500 meters is wicked short for a swim. I was somewhat apprehensive about my ability to perform well in the swim, due to the fact that I have only been swimming 2-3 time per week on a good week since the winter time, without too much focused work. However, the swim is the discipline in which I have some "talent" or natural ability, stemming from the f

act that I swam competitively as a kid for a few years. My belief is that if you learn something as child, you never lose it, but if you try to pick it up as an adult, you will never feel natural. Who knows what might have happened if I had stuck with swimming, but I can say with fair confidence I would have gotten to compete at the Division 1 level, if I had chosen to do so. I also would probably have huge swimmer shoulders, which might be cool. It is a truly moot point now. In any case, I had a good swim.

The bike was also uber-short (10 miles). I was no

t a big fan of the course, either. It seemed like the race organizers said "okay, we have 5 miles worth of road, let's make a 10 mile course out of it. There were three of four traffic circle roundabouts, and too many corners and turn-arounds to count. Nothing scrubs speed like having to slow down to nearly a standstill to go around a tight corner with all sorts of sketchy riders around you (why did they send the men off by age, with the oldest guys going first?). In any case, I got through unscathed and managed a decent split despite the technical nature of the course. I benefitted greatly from using a HIGH CADENCE for the first time ever. My buddy Drew would have been so proud of me and my spinning. It was a very un-dino-ish ride.

Then it was time for the run. If you know anything about my history, it is pretty common for me to get into T2 with the lead, only to lose it on the run. For this reason, my sole focus this year has been on improving my run. I have gotten a lot of advice from Chuck, and have been gobbling up any and all books about run training. I have taken a focus

ed yet patient approach to running, and I was unsure just how the first race would go. Well, I came close to setting PR for the 5k, and had the fastest run split on the day. It was a pretty big confidence booster for me, and it indicated that I am on the right track. All I can say is watch out next year, because all my training is planned as part of a long-term approach.

I took the overall win by two minutes or so, which is a big chunk of time for a 50 minute race. Unfortunately, because it was a TT start, I had no idea of my placing when I got to the finish, although I knew I had done well, and suspected I had won. This is the second straight TT-style race that I have won. It is great to have won, but in this format of race, I have not been able to unleash the victory salute. Oh well.

It was certainly a good start to the season. I will not be doing too much racing this year, as I am still in dire straights financially, and would like to continue to focus on the process of training. Next race will be Boulder Peak in three weeks. The A-race this year will be Ironman 70.3 Lake Stevens on August 14th. I will be able to stay with my sister in Seattle, and spend some quality time with her. It will be great and I am looking forward to it.

Thank you for your continued support.

P.S.- Congratulations to my college buddy Erin Fortin on completing her first triathlon. She had a blast, and I was thankful to have someone to hang out with after the race.

Winning

2011-06-18T19:49:00.001-07:00

I am a sports fan, through and through. I grew up watching, appreciating, and participating in the classic American mainstream sports, i.e. football, basketball, baseball. Although my current athletic exploits are in much more fringe sports, I still love to watch the ESPN sports. I once had a conversation with someone who told me she watches games only for the games themselves, and despite regularly watching professional basketball, she really pays no attention to the personalities of the players. I have always viewed athletes in a larger context of who they are as people. I always took this into account when identifying athletes as heroes and role models. As far as I am concerned, there is more to being "great" than being skilled and talented.

This year was the first year I have watched the NBA finals seriously for many years (probably at least ten). For me, the NBA has lacked intrigue even since the end of the Jordan era (every single boy of my generation wanted to be Michael Jordan. Period.). To generalize, most NBA games in this day-and-age are a severely boring escapade in w

hich semi-motivated athletes play a slow-tempo, half-court isolation offense in which the highest paid star can take his defender one on one to the basket, score his 30 points, and make his several hundred thousand dollars for the night of work. Most players do not even act like they care at all until the last 5 minutes of the game. However, during the finals this year, I felt compelled by the competition, largely due to the extreme disparity in the nature and style of the two teams. The super-hyped, super-talented, super-cocky Heat against the super-refined, super-experienced, super-hungry Mavs. I pulled for the Mavs, the whole series, finding great satisfaction in their victory. Why would I pull for a team I have never had the remotest bit of interest in before? The polarizing figure of LeBron James completely turned me off, whereas I could not help but root for Dirk Nowitzki.

I would criticize LeBron James even if he and his team had w

on the NBA championship this year. Why? Because there is more to being great than simply winning. It is the way in which you win that makes you great. I have no problem with Lebron leaving Cleveland to sign with another team (after all, Cleveland is a city with nothing going for it... I have been there; it sucks). However, the whole Heat charade that went on with "The Decision," the ridiculous welcome party and the proclamation and guarantee of seven or more championships was the most ridiculous and classless display I have ever seen. Lesson learned: do not celebrate like you have won before you have even played a game. You may be asking at this point "hey, didn't Mav's player Jason Terry get an image of the NBA trophy tattooed on him BEFORE the season." Yes, but guess what? He won.

He and his team won by carrying themselves with class, playing as a team, and playing harder than their opponents in crunch time. Class shines through at the end of the game, and James was nowhere to be seen it such circumstances in this series, buried under the clutch play of Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, and Dirk Nowitzki.

Winning is important. Winning the right way is more important. A true champion carries himself with dignity and class. LeBron James does not know how to be a role model. He cannot talk to the media, does not know how to carry himself off the court. His ambiguous press-talk statements, his mocking of Dirk Nowitzki on camera, an

d his general air of "I do not care what anyone thinks" prevent him from being a likable character. It is one thing to have a carefree attitude, many have before (Shaq, Barkley, etc). However, in the case of LeBron, it is a facade. He is deeply sensitive and takes everything personally. He puts up a front of confidence, but I would suggest that it is his lack of confidence that got him mired in this mess in the first place. The more he denies it, the greater beating he will take from the media and his doubters.

The way you carry yourself, in and out of competition, is something that it entirely in your control. I would argue that it plays just as large a role in greatness as talent. Dirk Novitzki is great. Michael Jordan is great. Tom Brady, Derek Jeter, Chrissie Wellington, Chris McCormack, and Haile Gebrselassie are great. They are great champions. LeBron James is talented, but it not great (yet). He is not a great champion; he is not even a champion. Maybe he will be some day, if he puts his head down, humbles himself, and stops acting like everyone is his enemy. For his sake, I hope he wins someday. But I certainly hope he wins the right way. Good luck, LeBron.

Fear

2011-06-07T18:53:00.000-07:00

Something really struck a chord with me today when I read Gordo's blog last week. Gordo (father of a brand new baby boy!) is a great role model of mine, and someone who I hope to get to know better (he lives right down the road, but I have not really seen much of him since I arrived in Boulder. I frequently read his articles, and I would say he sometimes uses his writing as a form of self-examination, and a tool to make sense of and reflect on certain feelings, thoughts, and experiences. I like to use writing to achieve the same objective, but I rarely take the time to organize it in a coherent manner, and I share it even more infrequently. So then, why today? I have not blogged since January. Plus, it takes me a long time to write anything, due to my ADD (I wrote some beastly papers in college, and they took FOREVER. I was never a bang-out-a-paper-in-one-night type of guy). Well, apparently Gordo's self-examination, inspired by another's self-examination (upon reading Macca's new book), further inspired yet another self-examination, namely my own. It was Gordo's discussion of fear that set off the light bulb in my head. There is a lot that I am fearful of right now. Perhaps writing about my fears will illuminate them and maybe even help put me on the path toward squashing them.

Fear of being alone. I sit here, 12.5 months post University graduation, 1600 miles away, 5000 ft higher, a year older, and still feeling the more-common-than-you-might-think emptiness that follows college for a lot of kids. I definitely did not make this so easy on myself but taking off and moving to a place where I essentially knew nobody, had no job lined up, etc. I threw myself in the deep end and had no idea when I would reach the shore. I'm still floating here, but it's been wavy.

Why did I do this? It took a lot of courage to leave in the first place, considering the utter failure I experienced during the only other attempt at an extended departure from Rochester. My friends and family brought me back from the doldrums and made the last two years of college unforgettable and amazing. So obviously, packing up and leaving was going to be hard. I am and have always been fully aware of just how lucky I am to have such strong bonds with my loved ones, and I realize that this is not something everybody has. The attempt to build a support system here in Colorado is likely to take a while, and the fact that I am a very shy person does not help. There are certain situations that can bring out a very outgoing side of my personality, but the more time I spend alone, the more my shyness exhibits itself.

I moved to Colorado to pursue athletic dreams. Boulder has some of the best training opportunities in the USA. I could have chosen a number of other places, and to be honest the specific place was not the imperative deciding factor in leaving home. As far as I see it, in order to achieve or surpass my potential as an athlete, I need to be in an atmosphere where I can truly give 100% effort to chasing the dream. Part of that is avoiding temptations. Although I did a ton of racing and a lot of training in college, I did allow myself to have a "normal" college experience, complete with partying, etc. I wanted to leave that behind, and go somewhere that I could be free of such things. Even though I largely have freed myself of negative influences, I have also lost one of the most important contributing factors of my past successes: close proximity to a fully developed support system. Essentially, I've found very difficult to have my best friend, or my Dad be just the voice on the other side of the phone line. Sometimes you just need a hug. As I continue to drive forward, we will really get to see if I can do this without them. My flirtations with "depression" this year have not been due to some sort of mental illness or neuro-chemical imbalance. They've been because I miss the people I love.

Some of my closest friends are eyeing Boulder as a possible home for the next few years, and I really hope that they decide to come out. Chuckie and Ang will be back for the summer. A couple of buddies will be here to visit over the next couple of months. I do continue to meet people and make friends, but I have to realize it will take more than 9 months to develop what it took 10-20 years to build in NY. I think that things will continue to get better.

Fear of failure. Getting to the elite level is not an easy thing to do. Unless you're a mega-talent, it takes a lot of work to do. Everybody feels that they are not doing enough. I've focused on my run over the past few months, allowing my swimming to drop way off focus. Now the alarm bells are going off. It's difficult to maintain perspective. I am a working man (at a low paying job), and work is a stress. Too much stress and the body cannot grow. I had the pleasure of hearing Dr. Jack Daniels speak twice when I went to OTC camp back in high school, and both times he talked about happiness and a lack of stress being an essential part of training progression (he talks a little bit about it here, albeit indirectly). For now, the best thing I can do is focus on doing things to put myself in a position to achieve more quality training farther down the road (consistent running is the most important thing I can do). Really, patience is key. But as a twenty-something year old, patience is one of the most difficult virtues to exude. Things go wrong, and, as Chuck says, we have to be able to adapt and make the best out of the situation. I am trying to do that. One of my favorite university professors says of myself and my co-eds, "we are doomed to success." However, there is always fear of coming up short.

Fear of the unknown

I can use the sea-faring voyage for this one. I've set off on a ship, and I have an idea of where I want to go. I do not know what sort of storms I will encounter along the way, or if/when I reach my destination, it will be the one I had in mind. I guess we will see. Some career moves are in the works which I am excited about, but there is of course the fear that it will not be the right move, or that I may not achieve my desired amount of success. All I can do is keep moving forward, and working hard.

In an uncontrollable world, the only thing you can control is yourself. You choose how you present yourself to the world and respond to adversity and challenge. You cannot grab things by the scruff of the neck and make them work in your favor. However, if you make sure you do everything in your power to put yourself in a position where good things can happen for you. That is what I am trying to do.

For those of you who have helped me through thus far, thank you so much. I love you. Tomorrow is my birthday, and I am going to have a hard time being without you.

2010 Musical Review "Countdown"

2011-01-01T07:04:00.001-08:00

Well, I have not blogged in a really long time. That not due to lack of love for any of you, nor a lack of wanting to blog, but rather a lack of time to devote to such an activity. However, I will spare some time at the moment. Within the next couple days (I promise), I will deliver my year-in-review of 2010. However, we will begin with my year-in-review of this year's music. Every year, local radio stations always create some sort of "top 40 songs of the year" countdown that they play on New Years Day. This year, I decided to create a list of my own. Many of these songs conjure up memories of the past year. For those of you who don't know, my two favorite genres of music are metal/hardcore and dance pop. The songs on this list are largely a mix of those two types of songs. So, without further ado, these are the top 15-ish songs of my 2010 year (Dislaimer: Some of these may have been released in late 2009, but I heard them a lot in 2010 so it counts. Disclaimer II: If you do not like my music, I do not care. Don't waste your time reading this). These are NOT in any particular order, because that would take too much effort.

Ke$ha- Tik Tok: For all intents and purposes, this song sucks. But it's just so damn catchy. More importantly, it reminds me all the fun I had with my friends at school this year. We heard this one at all senior nights and social gatherings, and it will always remind me of Senior Year at UR.

DJ Khalid ft. Ludacris, Rick Ross, Snoop Dogg-All I do is win: One of my favorite songs of spring/summer. Reminds me of Senior Week, my first trip to Boulder, and cruising in the car cranking tunes with Markus.

The Black Eyed Peas-Rock that body: This single dropped right around the time the school year was winding down. It will forever remind me of how hard we tried to squeeze every last drop of fun out of the semester that we could.

Enrique Iglesias-I like it: Many of you know how much I love the MTV's masterpiece of a "reality show" Jersey Shore. It was just natural that I would love Enrique Iglesias' theme song for Season 2, and FIST PUMP every time I heard it. When I moved to Boulder I watched every Thursday Night, and was able to laugh with my friends (from afar) about the stupid things that happened on that week's episode. In a weird way, one the most ridiculously trashy (yet fantastically entertaining) things ever put on TV provided some comfort to me as I tried to adjust to my new life.

Jamie's Elsewhere- Giants among common men: I absolutely love bands to manage to combine metalcore with electro-pop/synth elements. A recent discovery of mine, I am digging the whole Jamie's Elsewhere album "They Said a Storm was coming." Good to listen to while running, lifting, or driving in the car.

I See Stars-What this means to me: I listened to the I See Stars album nonstop while driving to Ithaca to visit my buddy Markus in the Spring. An excellent contrast between the hard stuff and the clean stuff is what I really love. I listened to the album too much in a short period of time, and am now sick of. Additionally, they kind of sucked when I saw them play at Warped Tour. However, "What this means to me" remains one of my top songs of the year.

Eminem- Not Afraid/No Love/Almost Famous: For better or worse, there were several things that my generation grew up with. One such constant for us was music from Eminem. I had lost interest in him over the years as I grew weary of his played out "Slim Shady" bullshit, hoping that he would eventually make an album that was completely serious the whole way through (in the same vein as "Til I collapse, The Way I am, and others). That is exactly what he delivered in his 2010 album Recovery. Gone were the stupid accents, corny qausi-humorous pot-shots taken at pop stars, and general clownery. Rather, he took a no-nonsense approach and spoke about his rise from nearly reaching rock bottom because of drug addiction, tragedy, and self-perceived failure. These three songs contain some of his most driven verses on the album, and are the type of songs that I hope we hear from him more often in the future. We kids who listened to Eminem beginning in around 6th grade (yes, Mom and Dad, I listened to music with swearing in it... sorry... how much it corrupted me is debatable) have grown up, and it appears that Eminem has grown up with us.

Usher ft. Will.I.Am-OMG: Another song that dropped in the spring, and therefore was a fixture at our late-semester get-togethers (I realize this is becoming a repetitive explanation). The reason I like this one so much is because I think it was my buddy Trevor's favorite song. Seeing him get so stoked whenever it came on was hilarious, and therefore it reminds me of good times with my best friend.

Taio Cruz- Break Your Heart: One of the great features of our suite was the loud music always emanating from my roommate Mike's room. He played this song constantly for about a month in (you guessed it) the springtime. It's another fun song on the swan song soundtrack of college.

Flo Rida- Club Can't Handle Me: This is one of the catchiest songs of the year. Plus, it's off the Step Up 3D soundtrack. My roommate Steph and I went to see that when I went to visit her in TX. The movie sucked, but it was fun.

Ludacris- How Low: I honestly thought the chipmunk voice feature in rap songs was dead, until my buddy Shervy started playing this song nonstop. I continued to hear it nonstop during spring break and while cruising around with my buddy Drew at the Philly Phlyer collegiate bike race.

Abandon All Ships- Take One Last Breath: Double bass, heavy use of synth. Sounds amazing when you turn it up as loud as possible. Awesome.

A Day To Remember- Second Sucks/Sticks and Bricks/This is the house that doubt build: My favorite band dropped a new album in November. I was so amazingly stoked to listen to it. The CD is good, not great, but several songs stand out. Second Sucks is HARD, and provides a great response to critics that accuse the band of selling out, etc. Sticks and Bricks is in the same metal vein, but mixed with a clean chorus. This House is excellent lyrically, and shows off the more pop/rock side of ADTR. As far as I can see, they will never produce another album like "For Those who have Heart," but as long as they are making music, I will be happy.

Four Year Strong- Wasting Time/Find My Way Back/It must really suck to be Four Year Strong Right Now: Another one of my absolute favorite bands, they put out an awesome album in 2010. I got the privilege of seeing them live during the summer, where they rocked out and put on a great show with tons of energy. However, I also absolutely love their acoustic versions of their songs, which show off their true musical talent. I have been listening to the acoustic versions of Wasting Time and Find my way back nonstop these past few weeks. It Must Really Suck shows off their rock side.

Attack Attack- Smokahantas: Attack Attack came out with a new album on my birthday. The album is okay, despite a considerable departure from their previous album. The new lead vocalist (replacing Austin Carlile, who can scream his head off) is pretty "blah," but a couple songs are creative, such as this one, with a pretty sweet breakdown in the middle. The reason this song makes the list? I played it for one of my buddies while I was performing Designated Driver duties, and my drunk friend (who will remain nameless here) was rocking out SO HARD to this song. It was one of the funniest things I have ever seen. He reportedly woke up with more of a bangover than a hangover.

BoCo

2010-09-01T15:28:00.000-07:00

The other day I received a text from Drew-bear, saying "blog, damnit." So,
here we go. I've been in Boulder for about a week. I'm settling in, and have been busying myself by getting back into base training and nursing my Achilles back to health. I've mostly been riding in the hills, swimming, and hiking. On a recent hike, I figured I would bring my camera along and give you guys the opportunity to see what Boulder looks like from above. More updates to come. Enjoy.

Film Review: "Dolan's Cadillac"

2010-08-17T17:27:00.000-07:00

I could barely contain my excitement when I happened across a movie entitled "Dolan's Cadillac." All other priorities were relegated to ancillary responsibilities. A select group of courageous individuals braved the viewing session with me. Let's say up front that the movie sucked, but I loved it. My film review begins below.

The film is the cinematic adaptation of a short story penned by the famed author Stephen King. As I have found with the majority of other such King-inspired movies, this one is less than Oscar-worthy. I am nearly 100% sure it went straight to DVD, which is never good. The plot line is an incredibly simplistic, with no notable plot twists to speak of. Not to say it is predictable, but it is a basic revenge tale with little originality (so I suppose you could say it is predictable). The premise of the movie goes as such...

Recently-married teacher Elizabeth (Emmanuelle Vaugier) witnesses a multiple homicide committed by Sex-trafficking mafioso boss Jimmy Dolan (Christian Slater). While waiting to testify and send Dolan to prison, Elizabeth is murdered by the Boss's cronies. Her husband, played by Toby Mcguire-wannabe Wes Bentley, goes on a classic downward spiral, fueled by anger and desire for vengeance. Bentley does not quite accomplish the feat of conveying his emotions in a believable manner, giving a somewhat robotic performance not unlike Hayden Christianson in the most recent Star Wars movies (Episode 2 and 3). Slater, on the other hand, owns his role as the slimy crime lord.

The most exciting and most enjoyable scene of the movie occurs at about the midway point. A gang of Chinese mobsters try to whack Dolan by peppering his Custom Cadillac Escalade (the inspiration for the movie title) with machine-gun fire. However, the impenetrable fortress protects Dolan, allowing him to return fire, turning the tables on the bewildered thugs. While driving away from the scene, Dolan exclaims "Nobody shoots f***ing JD," a line which I loved.

The revenge plot created by Bentley's character, Robinson, is clever, and takes up the last 45 minutes so or the movie.

For all intents and purposes, the movie sucks. However, every time I heard the name Dolan uttered on screen, I let out a small cheer. If the movie were entitled anything but "Dolan's Cadillac," it would have been abysmal. However, due to the fact that the main character's name is Jimmy Dolan (my Dad's name), the movie's value increases significantly. Overall, I award "Dolan's Cadillac" with a rating of 5 out of 10. All this really means is that unless you know someone named Dolan (which if you are reading this you obviously do), or are under the influence of some sort of substance (which you should not be), then you should probably skip it.

You can basically watch the whole movie in this 3.5 minute "trailer:"

Bring me the Horizon

2010-08-02T18:01:00.000-07:00

No, this is not in reference to the hardcore band (pictured here). Rather, it is the cliche metaphor for the future, the next phase, tomorrow, etc. On August 22nd, I will be moving to Boulder, Colorado. People keep asking me, "what are you going to do there." Well, my answer is an honest one "I am going to live my life." I am going to have the time of my life. Why Boulder? That's an easy one. The terrain and community make it one of the best places not only in the country, but in fact, in the world, to pursue an active, outdoor life style. And that, my friend, is exactly what I want to pursue.

Who knows what will or will not happen out there, but the potential for achieving incredible happiness and purpose in life is endless in a place like Boulder. It is paradise. Swimming, biking, running, hiking are all absolutely incredible. Why else would so many world-class athletes train there? I will be an incredibly small fish in a gigantic pond (ocean?), not even a blip on the radar screen, but that is fine. Perhaps my training endeavors will allow me to achieve my dream, and wiggle my way into the neo-pro ranks. If this is to happen, living and training in Boulder will be a huge factor. But even if that does not happen for me, the process is what I truly enjoy. There is no feeling quite like the one that you get after a six hour bike ride, or a long run on the trails. It's pure bliss, pure happiness (when you get over the exhaustion and soreness). Where better to feel this happiness than Boulder?

Even in an injury-riddled racing season, filled with disappointing results, I cannot fathom the idea of giving up. So I'm going to Boulder. Why the hell not? I love Rochester, and I will miss it dearly. I will miss my friends so much. But it's time for an adventure. Let's go have some fun and chase some dreams. I can feel that thin mountain air already. I can see the mountains. Let's do it. Bring me the Horizon.

Blame it on the a-a-a-a-a-altitude:Boulder Sprint Triathlon Race Report

2010-06-23T14:57:00.000-07:00

My Dad and I arrived in Colorado on Thursday, June 17, with the goals of scouting the area, job hunting, and getting in a huge training week with our friends at Endurance Corner (Gordo Byrn and company). To kick off our big week, we decided to hop into the Boulder Sprint Tri (formerly 5430 Sprint) for a fun, quality workout. I will spoil the suspense and tell you up front that I did well, considering the conditions. I have lived the past 23 years at 465 ft above sea level. Boulder Reservoir just happens to sit at 5430 (hence the name of the triathlon--- 5430 Sprint Tri). So, needless to say, my body did not adapt to the altitude in the two days preceding the race. Additionally, my beautiful, super sleek, aero Tri-Bike, race wheels, and Rudy Project Aero Helmet did not make the trip out West. As a result, my bike time was considerably slower than it would have been, for the same effort. However, the goal of this session was not to set the world on fire, but rather experience the joy and (more so) the pain of racing.

The swim, which has recently emerged as a strength for me, went very well. I hopped onto the feet of a breakaway group of three in my wave, and came out feeling perfectly fine. The bike felt fine, but the flat, fast course had me lusting for an Aero-Rig, fully equipped with super-fast gear. All in all, not a bad ride. The run was surely a terrible experience. That was where I felt the altitude and the growing heat of the day. I just tried to keep the pace under control so I could breathe sufficiently in the thin air. Unfortunately, this controlled pace was way slower than my usual race speed, and even this pace was barely sustainable. I made it sure I made it to the finish successfully.

The overall result was not pretty, but considering I was racing against some very fast, experience, geared-up, and altitude acclimated Colorado natives, I was happy with it. I took away second place in my age group, as well.

Double-Duty Race Report: Bears and Rain

2010-06-22T17:52:00.002-07:00

As promised, I will work through some hardcore race reporting.

May 23: Black Bear Olympic Distance Triathlon, Lehighton, Pennsylvania
Team Dolan (a.k.a The Dolan Fedeartion) descended on a remote location in the Poconos region of Pennsylvania for our season opener. I was not sure how this race was going to go, in fact I was really not too stoked. My training leading up to the event had been a bit of a wash, having been disrupted by a nagging Achilles issue (injury), senior week (party), the consequences of senior week (fatigue, illness), graduation (whirlwind), and post-graduation depression. But, the race was going to start regardless of my fitness, so I had to proceed as normal.
It's always exciting when you go for your warm-up before the race, and you feel horrible. You can not breathe, your legs feel like they have inexplicably expanded by about 30 pounds (each), and you develop a great desire to wear arm-floaties, because you have totally forgotten how to swim.
Miraculously, when that gun goes off, this feeling almost always goes away. I hammered the swim with a pack of 5 or 6 gentlemen, and emerged from the water a full minute faster than I have ever covered the distance before. Sweet, right? Yes. Wicked fast T1 and onto the bike. Now, I know that I had been told that it would be a hilly bike ride. I was not lied to. This course was essentially all hills. I was unable to get into a rhythm, but I slogged my way up, and spun my way down. I rode a 1:09 split for 40k (last year I rode consistently in the 58-59 minute range on flat or rolling courses). But my strong swim-bike performance brought me second into T2, under a minute behind the leader (pleasant surprise). I grabbed the running shoes and took off like a shot. I felt great for the first few minutes, and kept telling myself that I could win this race. However, after a few minutes of this, my legs quit on me. The wheels fell off, as they say, and I had to drastically revise my goal from going for the win to simply getting to the finish line. 5th place overall. Slow run. Positive experience and good opener? Yes.

June 6- Pittsford Triathlon, Pittsford, NY
I approached this one as a glorified, heavily-caffeinated training day. Pittsford is a somewhat silly race, but it is close, and a good opportunity to get in a hard effort. The pool swim (300 yd) is a formality, and doesn't do much for me, but the bike (15ish miles) and run (somewhere between 5k and 3.5 miles) are nice. Anyhow, I arrived at the race site and it was teeming rain and under 60 degrees, so that was sweet. The cold, rainy conditions at Black Bear had apparently followed me North, and had deteriorated even more. As I emerged from the pool, and powered past everyone on the bike, the rain drove so hard that it stung my bare arms like you wouldn't believe. I made sure to finish the damn race as fast as possible. I took the win by seven minutes and quickly changed my clothes. First win of the season.

Much bigger things on the horizon. Stay tuned.

Explanations; recaps; shenanigans

2010-06-22T15:08:00.000-07:00

I guess it's time for my monthly blog post, eh? We have a lot to cover. First of all, let's discuss my racing thus far. I know that I professed to have a lot of race reports forthcoming, but not too many have appeared, based on my extensive tentative race schedule that I had planned for this year. Well, here we go...
My early season (March) cycling races consisted of a lot of pain, a lot of frigid temperatures, and no notable results. However, by the time March turned to April, I was starting to feel very strong. A successful debut in the Collegiate A-Division yielded a huge training benefit, and I approached the Tour of the Battenkill race (April 10) with great optimism. Unfortunately, on the first dirt descent (15 miles in), an (explitive) individual on my left drifted from the middle of the road right into me, leaving me with the not-so-enviable choice of going into the ditch on the side, or try to dodge him by going left. I tried the latter, but was unable to get my front wheel around his rear. Crashing is always interesting; it always happens in slow motion, and there's always a moment just before you hit the ground where you consciously say to yourself "oh shit." And then it's CRASH, BANG, BODIES EVERYWHERE! I came out mostly unscathed, with my bike intact, and a sore hand that managed to NOT break upon impact.

In light of this incident, I have decided to curtail the road racing for a little while. Crashing is a part of the sport; it happens to everyone. It is a risk we all take, and we are fully aware of. You cross your fingers, rub the buddha statue's belly, and make sacrifices to the spaghetti monster and hope it doesn't happen too often. But sometimes in spite of your appeals to Morgan Freeman (God), you end up lying in the road, hoping that you will be able to go straight home without stopping at the hospital first, explaining to a not-so-gentle nurse why you have a massive chunk of your hip missing.

Triathlon is my number one athletic priority. The biggest challenge for me has always been getting to the start-line healthy, and therefore I don't see road racing as a risk I can take right now. A broken collarbone in June or July will truly ruin a triathlon season if you live in the Northeast, and have a 3 month season. Bike racing is an incredible rush, crazy fun, terrifying, dangerous, and a great workout. For now, I'm on hiatus, though, and the Cat 2 upgrade will have to wait. I would have a long way to go anyway.

Thus, I am all-in for Tris this summer. Race reports for the first three races of the summer will follow soon.

Graduation

2010-05-15T12:42:00.001-07:00

Do all stories begin with the beginning and work their way to the end? The beginning and the end in this case are similar (sort of). The story begins and ends with a stoic smile; a conscious effort to remain steady, to walk into the unknown with courage and confidence. Eyes forward, keep moving. Walking into college; walking out. They feel very similar.

Tomorrow I will realize my dream of becoming a college graduate. I will walk across the stage, I will move my tassel from one side to the other, and thus join the ranks of the University of Rochester Alumni. The Dean has told us yesterday that "You will leave here as a better person," or something like that. I am not even going to call him out on the terrible cliché because sometimes an over-simplistic approach to truth-telling is the best idea. Maybe this exit shares some emotions with the last exit and subsequent entrance (i.e. high school), but emotions are where it ends. I am not the same person I was then. I am better.

This was not always easy. In fact, I came close to rock bottom. And it is with these statements that I had better return to the beginning. When I arrived at my first school, I had plenty of confidence. And why not? I had visited the school three times, stayed overnight, met lots of people, met the XC/Track coach multiple times, etc. It felt like the right place. But the lesson to take away from this is that you can never truly be sure about something like that. The fact of the matter is that it was not the right place. For the first time in my life I had trouble relating to the people. I developed little or no love for the school, for the area, and was quickly reduced to a machine, going through the motions of my life. Running, which had been my rock and my anchor, was removed from me by injuries, asthma attacks, and race performances that can be described as subpar at best. A stress fracture at the end of freshman year crushed me mentally and physically. I was not sad at all to leave for the summer after that year, and I should have paid more attention.

The endurance sports metaphor for life is one that I like to use. So much of endurance sport racing is simply dealing with and tuning out pain. It sucks to go bang out a set of repeat 800s on the track. FTP tests on the bike only work if you literally give it everything. Repeat 100s in the pool involve working as hard as you can, without being able to breathe. I can take pain, I can suck it up. And that is precisely what I tried to do at the beginning of sophomore year. But the first few weeks worked out similarly: asthma, injury, disappointment, homesickness, numbness. I was not happy. I needed out. The rest of the semester involved the same mindset: head down, eyes forward, get through it. However, this time there was light at the end of the tunnel: I would not be returning. I had gotten accepted to the University of Rochester as a transfer for spring semester '08. I was going home. I was not a broken man, but I was down. I had gone into college with a vision of the greatness that I would achieve. Sometimes things do not work out.

Although the administration made the transfer process an incredible headache, the issues were worked out. I arrived on campus at U of R, and I felt at home. My roommate was the most antisocial person I have ever met, but my best friend in the world was living in the building right next door. I cannot stress enough how easy it was to become integrated into his group of friends. This group of people has since evolved from being "Trevor's friends," to "my family." Within a matter of weeks, I was more comfortable, at ease, and happy than I was in a year and a half at school number one.

Although I decided to retire from NCAA running, I knew that I needed to be a part of a team. I met a nice kid named Drew Scoles, and another goofball named Owen Laurion, and soon after I was racing bikes with them. I would take this new-found bike fitness into the summer, and use it to throw down monster bike splits which carried me to the podium in every triathlon I raced that year. Sometimes surprises come along that remind you that persistence, creativity, and flexibility pay off.

The past two years (junior/senior years) I have been lucky to build upon the foundation I laid that first semester here. I moved into a 6-person suite with my buddies, and have continued riding bikes with those goofy bastards that we call the "YJs." When I was at my first school, I would talk to many of my peers from high school, and would be confused when they said "I love my school." Well, after spending five semesters at UR, I can truly say "I love my school." The vision I had of what would come to pass in college was drastically different from what actually transpired. But maybe that is okay. It worked out this way. We roll on, like we always do.

So now we have reached the end. They told me it would be the "best four years of my life." Was it? I have no idea. It started off pretty tough. But would I change it? Probably not. That is not an option anyway, so I have banished the thought from my mind. I never gave up. I went to a very low place, and I never once allowed myself to believe that I would not be able to keep going, to keep fighting, to see myself rally, and end up on top. I could have lost myself. But I did not. College is supposed to teach you things. Well, it sure as hell did that. It taught me the most important thing ever. Now it's over. I am truly sad to go.

The next phase of my life begins now. What does that entail. Well, I'm not 100% sure. But I will talk into it with my head high. I'm ready. I CAN.

Thank yous are in order here:
Thank you Mom and Dad. You were here every single step of the way. You are the best parents anybody could ever ask for. I would not have made it without you. I'm going to keep plugging away, guys. All I want to do is make you proud. I love you.

Thank you Terv, Brendy, Mikey-balls, Shervy, and Steph: The one thing I was looking for when I came to UR was some stability, because that was absolutely rocked when I was at the old school. You guys provided just that. Thank you for putting up with my antics and for all the indoor rides that stunk up the suite. Thank you for the clownery, the love, and the memories. You are my family. I love you all so much. You are the reason that this all worked out so wonderfully for me.

Thank you Drew, Owen, and Ronan: I needed to be part of a team, and you provided me with just that. I have had so much fun with you guys. Thank you for believing in me. I believe in you. Sting sting, attack attack! YJs forever. Also, thanks for the nickname. Always remember that the big ring is not just more teeth, it is a state of mind! Push that 11!

Everyone else: Obviously I can't name the names of everybody who has been there for me over the past few years. Don't be offended if you did not make it in. All of my Webster friends, my rocks, thank you for being here always. Thank you for everyone else who touched my life here at U of R. It has been beautiful.

NEVER. GIVE. UP. If you are not chasing your dreams, then what the hell is the point of being here?

I love you all.

-Jeffrey Dolan. May 15, 2010.

The unknown

2010-04-06T17:13:00.000-07:00

There is a reason I hate my light training days. I know that rest and recovery is one of the most important aspects of training. But even still, days off? I hate them with a passion. My off days or light days often leave me sitting around, checking facebook 25 times per hour, staring at my email screen hoping someone will send me something, and binging on chocolate (Easter candy abounds in our suite right now, and my stomach hurts). I know I should be doing homework. But then again, it's easy to say that I'll do it later. It is outlandishly boring for me to sit around. Sportscenter loops and repeats the same highlights every hour, and the only person I know who tweets every 5 minutes is my buddy Brendan Housler. I don't know if it's because of the lack of endorphins, or due to the fact that easy days usually find me tired and/or injured, but I find myself lost in my thoughts, and I cannot look at things like I can when I feel the positive energy that results from a day of hard training. Reflection is reflection, though, nonetheless, and is important. Today, as I sit here, I'm slightly injured (achilles issues-- wrong pedals? Too much float? Worn out cleats? Too much gear mashing? Too much bike mileage? Too much run mileage? Worn out running shoes? Saddle too high? I don't know, but it's frustrating), slightly tired, and reflecting on my current situation and near and long term future.

I have five and a half weeks until I graduate from University. How do I feel about this? Well, I am not really sure. When I set out on this journey four years ago, I had an idea of what would come to pass during my college career, and the fact of the matter is that very little of that vision has been realized. The way it ended up working out was different, yet it has been beautiful. It worked out this way for a reason, I suppose, and it's brought me to this place here. Once I got to U of R, things have been wonderful, and I am truly thankful for my time here. I'm happy where I am here, yet lately I've been feeling a bit stale. I can tell, deep down, that it is time to leave, to move on to something new. I love this place, but I am getting sick of it. I had this feeling four years ago as I was finishing up high school. I did move on to a new place after high school, to have new adventures, and it was an awful experience, so I'm apprehensive about doing that again. However, I know that it is time to try it again.

Everyone I talk to asks me the question about my plans for next year, etc. The fact of the matter is that I have no long term plans or goals, per say. I have no idea what I want to do for a career. All I know is that I want to pursue things I am passionate about. Many of you know that I want to be a professional triathlete. I know how hard this will be to achieve. The fact of the matter is that I am not fast. Chris McCormack? That guy is fast. These guys who are racing as juniors? They are fast. Lance Armstrong is fast. I am not a guy who raced fast when he was 16, I am not a freak of nature. For all intents and purposes, the Lance-types out there are freaks of nature. They are phenoms. They are the type that started racing, and immediately started kicking people's asses. Terenzo Bozzone broke the course record at Wildflower by 6 minutes at age 20. Indeed, I often do find myself wishing I had this level of talent. Maybe I don't, but that's not something I can change. Everything I have accomplished has been the result of a huge amount of hard work. I am a work-ethic athlete. I know that although most of the top athletes are these sorts of freakish athletes, hard work yields results. This is what I believe, and I believe that if I chase my dreams with enough persistence, I will be able to get there some day.

Even this is easier said than done, however. If you are not one of these top guys getting a lot of sponsor money, you have to train whilst working a job. This is not conducive to recovery, but it has to happen, regardless. In order to pull this off successfully, you have to be very smart about your training. A seasoned professional coach can help with this, but of course if you are barely staying afloat and keeping the lights on, it's tough to afford one of those. It's a tough situation to be in: triathlon is a sport where money can buy you speed; it can buy you coaching plans, it can buy you super-fast equipment; it can buy you entry fees into big races. It would be awesome if someone came out of the woodwork and said "hey, I'll coach you, don't worry about money," or "hey, ride this bike for me and go super-fast," but unfortunately that's not how things work.

It is my hope that if I put enough heart and effort into this dream of mine, I will be able to achieve my goals. I know they are lofty, but I truly believe I can do it. I have shown glimpses of potential. However, I have been injured so many times, it's been difficult to truly get anywhere. I have not given up yet, and I don't plan to. Most people would have thrown the towel in a long time ago. But not me. I still have my belief in myself, and my faith in persistence. I hold a fundamental belief that work ethic and persistence can lead to results. I will keep plugging away, making mistakes, learning from them, and rising again. The fact of the matter is that I am truly happy when I am working toward my goals. It gives me structure, balance, confidence, and a sense of purpose. It's my life.

I'm not 100% sure where I will end up next year. I am hoping to end up with some friends to help share the cost of living, and to have some workout buddies. There are many pros and cons to all the cities at which I am looking. Looking forward to the great unknown is a scary prospect. But that's what life is, right? A big unknown? I know it's easy to get down in the dumps when you are tired and your achilles hurts. But I realize that I just need to back off the training a little bit (it's okay because I had a huge week last week), maybe get some A.R.T., and I'll be back at it in no time, working toward the dream. Life is an adventure.

Bring it.

My first bike race

2010-03-04T17:14:00.000-08:00

In anticipation of the impending bike racing season, I figured I would share my story about my first ever bike race.

There is nothing pleasant about this moment. That infernal beeping noise wrenches me from my peaceful slumber. I can hear my three buddies unleashing various muffled curses as we struggle to gain full consciousness.
“I do not think it is natural for anybody to be up this early,” I say, half jokingly, half seriously. This draws a few snickers from the guys, who are still mostly preoccupied with their own internal battles, wrestling with the question of “why the hell do I have to get up at this ungodly hour?” It is still pitch black outside.
With a Herculean effort, I finally muster the strength to get spring into action. This is a big day, after all. It is my initiation day; my first bike race. I will be thrown right into it, with no clue what I am doing; baptized by fire.
As we exit the hotel, it becomes clear that “baptism by fire” is perhaps not the best expression to describe this situation. Scandinavian mythology describes hell as an oppressively cold place (as opposed to the more familiar ‘hot as hell’ sentiments we are used to hearing). Wheeling my bike to the car, I attempt to come to terms with what I am seeing. There is snow everywhere: on the ground, yes, but on the roads as well, and still falling from the sky. It is freezing cold, and an angry wind bites at my face. In short, Pittsburg, PA has been transformed into a scene from Norwegian hell.
The questions that had been circulating in my head begin to get louder, but one screams over all the others: “how the hell am I supposed to race my bike in the snow?” “Are we even going to have this race today?” Previously I had been apprehensive about the prospect of the competition, and learning an unfamiliar discipline on the fly. Now, I find myself even more terrified of the possibility of a crash on these treacherous roads. My teammates reassure me that “they will not have us race if it is unsafe,” quelling my anxieties (sort of).
Upon our arrival at the race site, we hear that the races have been delayed for a few hours, in hopes that the snow will melt. There might be no snow, but the roads still will be slick. This minor delay just gives me some more time to chew on my nervousness.
How did I get here? I had been a competitive runner for over five years, and had even run at the collegiate level for several seasons. I had experienced small degrees of success and improvement, but these were often few and far between, punctuated by frustrating injuries that inhibited the consistent training indispensible for true development. I had decided to dabble in bike racing as an outlet for my energies and my love for endurance sports. I had often turned to the bike for cross-training when rehabilitating running injuries, but I had never raced on the bike. Yet, here I am now, watching the snow melt, waiting to represent the University of Rochester Cycling Team in the men’s D race (for beginners).
I get a hold of myself as I begin warming up for my race. I pack on layer after layer of clothing, and I struggle mightily to pin my race numbers on my jacket (which will cause significant overheating later, not to mention the fact that it is probably the least aerodynamic garment ever designed). I grab my beautiful white bike (which will soon be covered in road spray and grime), and head toward the start line. I get some last-minute advice from my teammates: “Stay near the front, but not at the front.”
As the race starts, all of the advice goes out of the window. I immediately drop to the back of the pack (like an idiot). In a running race (what I was used to), it is best to start out at a controlled pace, and work your way up as the race goes along. I immediately learn cycling lesson number one: you have to go hard at the beginning, or you will be left behind.
As I struggle at the back of the pack, the course takes a right turn, and immediately shoots up a fantastically steep hill. Those in front take off, and, sure enough, I am left behind. I probably should have listened. Now I must enter damage-control mode. First step: get to the top of this hill. This is not exactly an easy task, due to the fact that I have no understanding of the gearing on my bike, and I am stuck in a gigantic gear. I grind my way upwards at a comically low cadence, barely staying upright on my bike, resembling some sort of Loony Toons character. Perhaps lesson one of cycling should be “understand how your bike works.” This sounds like a necessary pre-requisite to racing.
I ride the rest of the race alone. I am absolutely sure that I am in dead last (actually, I finished about mid-pack). It is a truly miserable experience. A cold rain begins to fall from dark clouds, soaking me as I attempt to haul my body over the climbs while badly overheating due to the exorbitant number of layers I have on. After what feels like all day (even though in reality it only lasted slightly over one hour), I cross the finish line feeling wet, tired, and shell-shocked.
I spend the next several hours waiting for my teammates to race in their respective races. I huddle in the car for warmth, my exercise-induced body heat having worn off. It may be the coldest I have ever been. Three layers of shirts, a sweatshirt, a winter coat, and a warm hat do nothing to quell the chattering of my teeth. This is not the sort of glamorous introduction to the sport of bike racing that I might have hoped for.
However, as I sit here, I am not thinking negatively. Perhaps it is due to my running background. I am used to taking on challenges, and pushing my body to extremes. Accomplishing goals and making improvements makes it all worth it in the end. As I reflect on the mistakes I made during the race, it builds up a great sensation inside of me. It is not one of embarrassment or anger, and I do not dwell on the failure. Rather, one question begins to permeate my consciousness: when is the next race? I am going to be a lot better next time out. I think this is the start of something great.

Stories

2010-03-04T17:07:00.000-08:00

Here is the story I promised you that I wrote about my buddy Michael and his musical endeavors. Enjoy...

Raucous background music emanates from the overhead speakers and permeates the airwaves as I navigate my way through the sea of people, hoping to find a spot near the stage. It is not exactly elevator music, but it certainly sets the mood. Other spectators meander here and there, most of them wearing black t-shirts graced with the name of their favorite band, and many of them sporting interesting tattoos or piercings; the unofficial uniform of the “alternative” crowd.
I settle in as the band takes the stage, launching into an aggressive, driven breakdown, setting the crowd of onlookers into whirlwind of motion. Some jump, some flail their fists, some push and shove; others nod their head. Feeding on this energy, the band’s vocalist enters from stage left, letting out a loud scream that excites the crowd even more. As the song continues, the singer alternates between piercing screams and melodic tones, a fascinating duality that keeps the listener guessing. As the band members drive on, banging their heads, and as the mosh pit grows, my eyes remain focused on the band’s bassist, a powerfully-built, light-skinned black guy. His name is Michael Harold. He is 19 years old, and from Webster, NY. Seeing him in the context is very strange for me.
“A couple of years ago he was just the quiet kid who wore shorts to school every single day,” says long-time friend Ryan Simpson, 21, also of Webster.
“Mike is really in a metal band? Wow, I would not have expected that,” says Trevor Miller, 22, a fellow Webster resident.
I will admit that when news first reached me of Michael’s participation in a metal band, I was surprised as well. Having run with him for two years of high school on the cross country and track teams, I got to know him quite well. Michael is one of the most easy-going, polite, gentle, and relaxed individuals I have ever met. As a result, it is almost ironic to see him drawn to a genre of music stereotypically associated with anger, hate, and violence.
He is quick to disassociate himself and his band from such negativity. He considers his band, called 31Goings, to be “driven by passion rather than anger.” He acknowledges that many individuals who are drawn to metal music have suffered pain in the past and use the music as an emotional outlet. “There are a lot of bands that sing about violence and bring in violent crowds. I’m not into the throwing and punching the air that triggers a social stigma against the genre, but I'm not against it. I have mixed emotions on it, but I also feel like it would be arrogant to have people moving to my music and then stand still on stage as though I am better than them in some way.”
Anger is not the driving force behind the sound of 31Goings. To risk sounding completely cliché, they do it for the love of music. As Michael puts it, “we are all classically trained and motivated by music for the sake of music and I think that gives us what is, in my opinion, a more original sound.”
How does one go from playing classical music to playing metal music? For Michael, it was a gradual process. He admits that “previously I was guilty of all the stereotyping that metal and screamo is stupid music being an orchestra member (a cellist).” However, after being introduced to his now-favorite musical genre, he gained an appreciation for the technical nature that characterizes many metal songs. He also enjoys the greater demands of playing with 31Goings over playing with an orchestra. As he puts it, “we are responsible to write the music, book and promote the shows, and then perform the music with constant motion and aggressive stage presence all the while not missing notes. Not to put anyone down, but I enjoy this challenge more than sitting among 50 people, sitting still, playing music that someone else wrote.” Although he does not play classical music too often anymore, he does gain inspiration from classical songs, and his classical training has better prepared him to tackle the complicated riffs demanded by the high-octane attack 31Goings delivers in every song.
As for the apparent mismatch between his personality and his favorite music, he does admit that it might surprise some people. However, he enjoys the incredible energy of the music he plays and listens to. Using a running metaphor to explain it to me, (a fellow runner), he likens it to the energy released during the final kick at the end of race. There is power in the music that has the ability to inspire, although some simply write it off as music for delinquents and social deviants. I assure you, Michael Harold, and most of those who listen to his band and other bands like it are far from these.
As I stand watching Michael rock out on the stage with his buddies, his fingers dancing across the strings, banging his head in unison with the other band members, I can not help but smile. He is not just some angry kid who wants to be in a band to express his inner anguish; he is simply a passionate, driven young man, inspired to create intricate, technical music, and share it with the world. The crowd moves, a churning sea of energy; the band drives on. I just watch my buddy. I am proud of him.

P.S.- The website for 31Goings is http://www.myspace.com/31Goings
Even if you do not like their style of music, please support them... they are chasing their dreams just like I am.

P.P.S- Mom and Dad: You will not like the music. :)

Updates

2010-02-04T13:40:00.000-08:00

Well, let's see. You've all waited with bated breath for the next blog post from Dolanosaurus. I'm sure you've been wondering what sorts of exciting endeavors I've been involved in as of late. Well, here's a general rule of thumb: if something really exciting happens to me, I will definitely be blogging about it. Right now, however, I shall hold by my current party line of "nothing ever happens on my block."

Well, actually what happened here was... I got sick this week. Quite sick... probably a bad virus or something (hoping to be better soon). It dropped me to about a 30% functioning level. I am up to about 70% now, so we're going in the right direction. I am still taking it easy to make sure I don't relapse, which means I'm on the shelf in terms of training for at least one or two more day. Now, most of you who know me realize that training is what I do for a hobby, and what I do for fun, and what I spend my time doing. So on easy days, I have a lot of time to sit around. That's very boring to me. Video games don't hold my attention. My homework is essentially all caught up on. I can only check facebook and email so many times. Anyhow... I remembered the blog.

Training was going well, until the illness. Should be back to it this weekend. One month until we start racing! My fitness at this point is decent... definitely way better than it was at this time last year. Nobody is ever sharp in March, for a reason. If I were feeling amazing and putting out gigantic numbers at this point I would be worried. With Giros and Collegiate races scheduled every weekend in March, the fitness always kicks up pretty quickly.

I'm feeling great in the pool. Running is going well... trying to build the mileage here. Still spending some time in the weight room (love the weight room because you actually see fast results).

Now, I will leave you with some random thoughts:
For my English class (Feature Writing), we had an assignment recently: Write a feature story (such as for a magazine) about a performer. I wrote mine about my buddy Michael Harold, a longtime teammate of mine on the XC and Track teams in high school who plays the bass in a band called 31Goings. I rarely like things that I write, but I'm pretty proud of this one. Perhaps I'll post it on the blog. Even if you do not like their style of music, please support them.

I heard rumors that Lady Gaga is actually incredibly talented and a fantastic musician besides being really strange. Here is a video of her before she got famous.. it's interesting. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNq1jSqakIQ&feature=related

I'm still coming to grips with the fact that "Jersey Shore" is over. I could be taking my sick time to catch up on missed episodes. But NO... it's over. Damn. I realize that this was the stupidest show ever. Offensive to many, mind-numbingly dumb, yet it was one of the most truly entertaining things I have ever seen. I have never experienced such an amazing level of absurdity. Wow. So good.

Madden '04 is the best game ever. Never gets old. Except, it is a little bit strange playing a game with Jerry Rice still in it, and where Drew Brees and Adrian Peterson suck. Anyhow, I picked up an old Gamecube copy for $.01. How about that?
That being said, as I already mentioned, video games cannot hold my attention for very long, so here I am blogging about nothing of consequence.

The most underrated song by Eminem is "Run Rabbit Run."

I will post again when I actually have something to say.

"Off-Season" Training

2010-01-04T08:34:00.000-08:00

I obtained a nice little video camera for Christmas. I'm going to use it to document my training and racing adventures over the season here.

Here is a video of my snowshoe session today, in tough conditions (subzero windchill). Enjoy!

2010 Race Schedule, Take 1

2009-12-28T17:19:00.000-08:00

It's here, guys... the preliminary 2010 race schedule, or, in other words, what my life will encompass starting in March.

Format: Date; Race Name, Race Type and division, Race location.
Key: ECCC- Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference race (representing U of R); USAC- USA Cycling race (Representing Minerva Design); USAT- USA Triathlon race

March 6,7: GVCC Spring Giros series #1. Cat A. Rochester, NY.
March 13,14: Giros weekend #2
March 20,21: Philly Phlyer. ECCC Cat A. Philadelphia, PA.
March 27, 28: Giros Weekend #4
April 3, 4: Bucknell Collegiate race. ECCC Cat A. Lewisburg, PA.
April 10: Tour of the Battenkill. USAC Cat. 3. Cambrige, NY.
April 18: GVCC Spring Classic: Bloomfield Road Race. USAC Cat 1/2/3. Bloomfield, NY.
April 24, 25: ECCC Championships. ECCC Cat A. Dartmouth, NH.
??May 2: Hollenbecks Road Race. USAC 123 or 3/4. Virgil, NY (near Cortland).
May 8: Bristol Road Race. USAC 3. Bristol, NY.
May 15/16: Graduate from the University of Rochester!!! (holy crap)
May 22, 23: Syracuse Stage Race. USAC Cat 3. Syracuse, NY.
May 29/30: Looking for a multisport race this weekend... Perhaps Fly By Night Duathlon in Watkins Glen?
June 6: NYS U25 Championships at Powder Mllls Park Road Race. USAC Cat 1/2/3. Pittsford, NY.
?? June 12: NYS RR champs at Wilmington-Whiteface Road Race. USAC Cat 3. Wilmington, NY.
?? June 13: NYS Crit Champs at Saranac Lake Crit. USAC cat 3. Saranac Lake, NY.
June 16-27: Team Dolan Colorado Training Camp.
July 4: Tri in the Buff Triathlon, USAT Olympic Distance, Buffalo, NY.
July 11: Ironman 70.3 Rhode Island, USAT Half Ironman, Providence, RI.
July 17: NYS TT Championships, USAC 1/2/3, Cambridge, NY.
July 25: Shoreline Triathlon, USAT Sprint Distance, Hamlin Beach, NY.
August 7: Fronhoffer Tool Triathlon, USAT Olympic Distance--- Elite Division, Cambridge, NY.

Late August: Find a job, move.

November 13: Ironman 70.3 World Championships, USAT Half Iron, Clearwater Florida ***If I qualify at Providence***

Any ideas for races on the weekends I do not have races listed? Let me know!
More posts will be on the way regarding seasonal strategies and goals, as well as some stories, updates, etc.

God bless, train hard.
-Dolanosaurus

Still here.

2009-12-20T19:43:00.000-08:00

Well, yes, it certainly appears that it's been five weeks or so since I last made a post on here. To be perfectly honest, not too much has happened during that time period. When the spring comes around, we are going to have race reports, race photos, and even videos. In the meantime, I just have to report about surviving the Rochester winter.

Another college semester has come and gone. As always, it has flown by. This fall had its ups and downs. Such is life. It is what we learn from these experiences that is truly important in life. It makes you grow up. We always have to keep moving forward. I'm growing up, and that is scary. I'm a second-semester senior now. It's so hard to believe that three and a half years have passed since I first started this journey. All I can say is wow...

Anyhow, training is going well. I've been doing some quality work on the trainer, swimming fairly well, doing some lifting, and struggling to recover from a little bout of shin splints. I'm really not enjoying the freezing cold and the snow. It is looking like I am probably going to be moving to California next year. I think some true year-round training will be amazing. However, I will definitely be making the most of what I have here in the meantime. Tomorrow I break out the snowshoes.

I promise I will re-dedicate myself to updating the blog here. I have some exciting new sponsors to tell you about, and some other announcements, and maybe even some other fun stories. Thanks for your support, as always. I love you guys. Happy holidays! Stay warm out there.

-Dolanosaurus

My trip to the weight room

2009-11-10T18:10:00.000-08:00

The past couple years I have made a proclamation that I would lift weights in the off season. However, after a few ridiculously painful, leg-crushing sessions which made it hard to walk (let alone run/bike, etc.), I lost interest. This year, I again vowed that 2009-10 would be the year when I would truly commit to the weights. And why shouldn't I pursue the lifting? First of all, my m.o. is that I get hurt running all the time. I think there's little doubt that there injuries have been related to muscle weaknesses and imbalances. Since I have to become a MUCH better runner, I am going to need to do a lot of running, put in the miles, and get in the key workouts. This is not feasible if you are injured, so I have to put in the work to help prevent these problems. Furthermore, although I am a strong TT man on the bike, I lose sprints to 115 pound women. I have no explosiveness in my legs. Talking to several people, I was informed that lifting can really help develop some fast-twitch, as well as help a lot with climbing and general power output. I know I'll never be a pure field sprinter (probably too scared to do that anyway), but I know it will help me. It is tough to find the time for lifting, especially with three other sports to devote time to, but this year I really will stick to it.

Anyway, the magic date to begin the lifts was November First, which was last week. Here is my account of the first trip to the weight room.

As I ascended the stairs to the weight room, all I could think was "okay, let's do this... JEFFREYYYYY DOLAN!!!!" (If you don't get that reference, that is totally okay). The mission: Get in, do some easy lifting, and get the hell out of that place. The weight room is a strange place... lots of metal; lots of huge people who like to grunt. It is not a place where skinny white boys like me really feel at home. I am surprisingly weak, and can lift next to no weight.

Anyhow, I gt in there, did some core work in the corner (skinny white boys can still get 6-packs!). Then it was time to work out the chicken-legs. As I sauntered over to the squat racks, I took a glance to my left, and marveled at the site of the enormous football player hang-cleaning with over twice the weight that I was planning on using for my squats. I was also impressed by the guy with no neck, he could easily crush my head with his hand. Good lord, these dudes made me feel inadequate. Oh well, I told myself I just had to get in and out. So I went through the workout, attempting to blend in and not draw attention to my lack of strength. I did not even allow myself to feel embarrassed by the girls who were squatting more than me (and these girls were not even on an athletic team!). I was pretty amused by the dude who spent more time looking at himself in the mirror than actually exercising, though. I also lucked out, because I finished my workout right when the girl's softball team walked in. Now there is a group that would make me look WEAK!

The workout itself went pretty smoothly. I used very light weights to get the muscles ready for the next however-many weeks of lifting. However, when I finished, I still felt like someone had slammed my legs with a sledgehammer. I slowly shuffled my way out of the weight room, stopping to get some Purell out of the GIGANTIC Purell dispenser (everything is bigger in the weight room!), and tried to walk down the stairs. This was pretty awful, mostly because I experienced a bi-lateral Quad cramp. In order to get out of the damn gym I had to resort to supporting myself with both hands on the railings, and keeping my legs locked, swinging from the hips. Essentially, I looked like a 90-year-old Frankenstein.

Do not even get me started on how my quads and ass felt when I woke up the next day.

I will be much stronger after a few months of this. I do not see how it could not help. Now that I have a full week of it under my belt, my legs are actually becoming accustomed to the lifting, and I have been able to resume my run and bike training without much of a problem. I am pretty optimistic about all of this...

Thoughts about Triathlon Coverage

2009-11-05T06:51:00.000-08:00

Shortly after Kona weekend, my Mom pointed out to me that there was absolutely zero coverage of the Ironman World Championships in the local Rochester newspaper: the Democrat and Chronicle. So I thought about this. Does it even matter?

Although some triathlon coverage would be great, I think most Triathletes (or at least me) do not think it is the worst thing that we are out of the spotlight of the main media. USAT currently boasts over 100,000 members, and I think all triathletes share a very special bond because of the knowledge that to understand this sport, you have to do it. People that do not race or have a family member that races are very likely to have a hard time understanding 2,000 folks clad in spandex with 5-figure-priced bikes and single digit body fat running around like they escaped from the psychiatric hospital. It's really a bizarre thing from the outside looking in, and I think we like it that way. One of the best things about the sport is simply that it is NOT a mainstream sport like football. Perhaps we wish we were all jacked 225 pound black guys who can run a 4.2 second 40-yard dash and can tackle a truck. But, we're not, so we've created a sport where we drag our gaunt, bony bodies as far and as fast as possible, and scrape the depths of our soul in attempt to find what we are truly capable of. It's something you really have to experience to understand, and although USAT is going great with membership, the vast majority of Americans want to sit on the couch and drink 15 beers as their favorite NFL team beats the hell out of the other team. And maybe we don't really care about these people, because they don't care about us. We have fantastic coverage of triathlon on our websites that are written for triathletes, by triathletes (slowtwitch, competitor, everymantri, etc.). Let the guys on ESPN talk 'til they're blue in the face about how to stop the wildcat offense on the football field... we will quietly continue to trek on, testing our limits, and experiencing the inspiration and power inherent in one of the world's purest sports. I'm not sure if it would really benefit anyone if the D&C tucked a hidden passage in the back of the sports section that alluded to some Australian guy winning some triathlon.

Hilarious

2009-10-19T13:44:00.000-07:00

Every now and then I cannot find any acquaintances in the dining hall to help give me moral support while I attempt to choke down the U of R food (I have lost 10 pounds since I got back to school). In cases such as these, I reach for the newspaper and read about that day's events. About once a week, however, I peruse the student-created "Campus Times." I am a huge fan of the campus times. I think the contributors and editors do a fantastic job. Many of the articles are written with a humorous tone, which I love. My favorite section of the paper is consistently the Security Update section. It basically details some of the issues that erupted that week, requiring attention from UR Security. Obviously sometimes things happen on any college campus that are incredibly serious in nature should not be joked about. However, the incidents mentioned in the Security Update are usually somewhat minor. The reason I like this so much is because they are presented in a totally hilarious style, and some of the events are ridiculous in and of themselves. The column is written by Jerome Nathaniel, a very cool, very smart dude who I have a class with.

When I was reading the issue of the paper from October 8th, I came across a section in the Security Update that made me laugh incredibly hard. It is undoubtedly the funniest, most bizarre, and thoroughly hilarious entry I have ever run across. Enjoy...

Elevator Enthusiast Gets Escorted Out of UHS
On Oct. 3, at 1:25 p.m., UR security responded to a report of a male photographing the elevators at the University Health Service building and riding the elevators up and down.
According to Daniel Lafferty (Head of UR security), officers located a male matching the description and walking rapidly down Library Road.
When the officers approached the suspect, he admitted to being in the UHS building. Lafferty said the suspect told the responding officers he had a "thing" for elevators and wanted to check out the new ones at UHS. He further insisted that his spouse was an employee of the University.
He was advised that his behavior was inappropriate and was warned and released.

Amazing

2009-10-12T12:34:00.000-07:00

Craig Alexander: Two-time Ironman World Champion. What an amazing performance on Saturday. Alexander came off the bike 12 minutes behind Chris Lieto, who absolutely shredded the bike leg. In the famously brutal Hawaiian heat and humidity, Alexander chipped away at the lead, stalking Lieto, pulling back half-minute chunks of time every mile. He had some trouble getting rid of the incredibly-talented Andreas Raelert of Germany, as the two ran stride-for-stride for quite a few miles. However, Crowie eventually was able to drop Raelert, and begin stalking his prey on his own. The pass occurred at around mile 21, as the tough-as-nails Lieto tried to keep pace, but simply could not. Alexander finished 2 minutes ahead of Lieto, in quiet disbelief that he was able to pull it off. He would later say that his main focus "was just to give a good title defense and put in a performance I could be proud of." Crowie, I think you can be pretty damn proud of yourself. You are a true champion.

The courage of Lieto was simply inspiring. To lead a race for that long and not win is heart-breaking, but he raced like you are supposed to: flat out until you have nothing left. He did not win, but he took a huge second-place result, and made Alexander dig incredibly deep into his soul to win. A true champion makes everybody else better. You did that, Chris.

Other notable performances: Raelert is a beast, and took 3rd in his Kona Debut... Chris McCormack fought leg cramps all day, had to walk some during the marathon, and still was able to regain his composure and running stride to finish an incredible 4th place... Rasmus Henning finished 5th... with a BROKEN HAND! Unbelievable. Andy Potts ran himself into 9th place with a 2:52 marathon, in a race dedicated to his recently deceased father-in-law. Great job Andy!

The Women's race was much much else involved. Chrissie Wellington gave us a lesson in how to go about demolishing a field. With a 20-minute gap over the second-place woman, and a new course record in hand, she crossed the line with her trademark smile, and did the Blazeman roll, to remind us that there are more important things that racing. Thank you, Chrissie.

Watching this race on the internet was absolutely surreal. It was the first time I have had the opportunity to watch it on anything else than the NBC 1-hour long show. In the 8 plus hour race, I watched most of it. I could not look away... the racing was so great. The best athletes in the world pouring out their souls in the Hawaiian heat, showing us what the human body and spirit are truly capable of. It makes me want to be better. It makes us all want to be better. Triathlon.

Photos taken from traithlon.competitor.com

Two Words: EPIC FAILURE

2009-10-09T11:54:00.001-07:00

Well, for my first non-triathlon-related blog post, I will at least keep it on the subject of sports. As most of you know, I am a baseball fan, and have been a die-hard New York Mets fan since birth (thanks, Grandpa Dolan). I would like to sum up the 2009 season for the Metropolitans. In short, no other season has done more to increase my apathy toward my beloved team, or to decrease my interest in baseball in general. But don't worry, I will stand by my boys 'til death.

A year of promise started well, with a new stadium and the promise of erasing last year's monumental collapse (a re-occurring theme with the metsies). The first hitter in the new park was Jody Gerut, of the San Diego Padres. He hit a home run. I would consider this to be the point at which the season went to hell. But, thanks so my friends at deadspin.com, I was able to find a couple of other key dates in this 2009 season, which is one we would like to forget as soon as possible.

April 12- Daniel Murphy drops a routine fly ball with Johan Santana on the mound and leads to a loss. This would be the first of many similar incidents (April 21, June 25, etc.).

May 13- Jose Reyes goes down with a calf injury. Season over for our most talented and electric player.

May 16- Carols Delgado's seasons descends down the tubes with a hip injury.

June 4- J.J. Putz, our lights-out set-up man wrecks his elbow. Done for the year.

June 12- Shoulder injury for starting pitcher John Maine. To make matters worse, with the Mets winning by one run in the 9th inning facing the Yankees, Luis Castillo drops a routine pop fly, allowing two runs to score.

June 22- Carlos Beltran hurts his knee. Misses half the season.

August 4- Luis Castillo sprains his ankle while walking down the steps of the dugout. WOW!

August 15- David Wright, who hit 10 home runs all year (after consistently hitting 30 for the past 3 years), gets hit in the head with a fastball, putting him on the DL.

August 25- Johan Santana's season ends with a trip to the surgeon for his pitching elbow. Great.

Final record: 70-92. 22 games out of first place. What a terrible year. I think some things need to change. I hear rumors of them changing their strength/conditioning program, and all I have to say is "I should hope so." Nobody hit home runs, and everybody got hurt. Great job.

Next year? Well, that's why we have sports, so we can always look to next year. Let's proceed with a sense of cautious optimism, shall we?

My Kona picks

2009-10-01T12:45:00.000-07:00

Alright, ladies and gentlemen. There are several very special days throughout the year. For many triathletes, these may include, but are not limited to, Christmas/other Religiously affiliated traditional holidays, New Years, Birthday, Anniversary for those of us who are married, and Ironman Hawaii Day! It's the most prestigious race in our beastly sport. The fields are always loaded, and the head, humidity, and wind make it such that if you win this race, you have literally persevered through hell and back. This year promises to be one of the most exciting races yet. Let us examine the contenders for the 2009 Ironman World Championship, happening on October 10th!

The Dudes
Craig Alexander (Aus)- Last year's champion. Extremely strong among all three disciplines, but especially beastly on the run. Has not raced an Ironman this season, but has dropped the hammer on a plethora of 70.3 events. Perhaps most impressive was closing a 1:45 gap in TWO MILES to Chris Lieto at Ironman Boise 70.3.

Chris McCormack (Aus)- One of the most brash, confident fighters ever to race triathlons. His resume at Kona contains a win (2007), but also some epic failures. Last year his dream of a repeat was crushed by a mechanical mishap. He has had a successful season, and you know that he has targeted Kona as the most important race of the year for him. Watch out for him.

Eneko Llanos (Esp)- A real beast, who oftentimes finishes second, as he did in Kona last year. If he can put it all together, he can challenge for the win.

Normann Stadler (Ger)- The past five years in Kona for the Normanator have been all of nothing. In 2004 and 2006 he used huge bike splits to power himself to the win. However, in '05, two flat tires crushed his hopes. In '07 he stalled at the half-way mark on the bike to puke his guts out. And last year, he cramped badly on the run, after making a ballsey move on the marathon. Can he return to fine form in '09? We shall see.

Other veterans- Cam Brown, Timo Bracht, Faris Al-Sultan, Ronnie Schildknect, Chris Lieto and Timmy DeBoom have all had fantastic races here in the past. Can they pull something special this year?

Dark Horses- Andreas Raelert, Rasmus Henning, Andy Potts, and Terenzo Bozzone have all had success on the short-course circuit, and they have awesome speed. They have the ability to shake things up on a good day. Henning and Potts have both recently suffered bike crashes, which is too bad, because they have the potential to really put the pressure on the pure distance guys.

My pick for the win: I think that this year is going to be one of the most epic ever. Macca is getting older now and is incredibly motivated to win one more time. Yet, it will be difficult to beat Alexander.

Without Torbjorn Sindballe in the race this year, look for Chris Lieto and Stadler to push the pace on the bike. Lieto has been training with Ryan Hall in Mammoth lakes, so can he put together a good marathon and steal the win? It will be very tough for him. Look for the super-runners to catch him and Stadler about halfway, and we will see a serious duel between Macca and Crowie that will come down to the wire. Macca would seem to be the biggest and most aggressive competitor, but Alexander's win at Boise showed us all that if he is anywhere near the win, he will absolutely bury himself for it. Look for Alexander to pull away late in the marathon, and take the 2009 World Championships.

The women
Chrissie Wellington will obliterate the field, again.

Mirinda Carfrae, Rebecca Keat, and Yvonne Van Vlerken are all really good.

Wellington cannot be touched.

Motivation? Yes.

2009-10-01T12:31:00.001-07:00

So, stay tuned for my Ironman World Championships predictions. In the meantime, let's remind ourselves what happened last year...

The Season-End Review

2009-09-25T11:19:00.000-07:00

The nature of athletics, and life in general, is that things do not always work out. Through failure, disappointment, and challenges, we rise. We learn lessons, we endure, we rise. Was the season a tough one for me? Yes. Did I learn from it? Did I make the most of it? Yes. Did I rise? Yes, and I will continue to. Let's review 2009.

Spring months: Unlike last spring, I am not slow on the bicycle. Giros, collegiate races, Battenkill, Bloomfield... all good results. I begin falling in love with the bike. Pretty amazing to be able to put in a ton of work and not always be hurt. Should I just be a cyclist? It would be a lot simpler to only have to worry about all these different sports. I'm out running and I feel that damn pain in my calf again. That's it, I'm done with running, it's broken my heart so many times. I win at Bristol. Hands stretched toward the sky in triumph. I think this is it.

May 17, 2009:
This year was supposed to be about triathlon. But I think I'm done with triathlon. I am signed to to race in Memphis (huge race, destination race, family plans involved), and I cannot bail on this. I'll just race it for fun. I'll hammer the bike, and cruise the run. No problem.

The day before the race I am at the race site previewing the swim and checking out all the festivities. I'm starting to get excited. I have forgotten how much I love triathlons. Race morning rolls around, I am stoked. I am representing the U of R in the collegiate race. Taking on athletes from huge schools (Arkansas, 'Bama, Purdue, etc.). They all have organized clubs, coaches, and teammates. I don't. It's just me. I hammer the swim, demolish the bike, and do my best on the run. 3rd place isn't bad, is it? 9 minutes off qualifying for a professional license. I can do this triathlon thing. I have to get way faster on the run, but it's doable. I love triathlon. I AM NOT DONE.

June: Empire Cycling Championships. I cannot sprint, so I get demolished by Brendan and Jack after dragging the field around, but beat everybody else. I'm a cat. 3 cyclist. I get word that a new team is forming, and that I'm invited to be on it. I go from racing alone to being a part of the nearly unbeatable Minerva Design Team. Am I lucky? Hell yeah I am. I worked hard for this.

July: Running is going amazing. I went for a 90 minute run today. The main focus of my year, the Timberman 70.3 Half Ironman in New Hampshire is 5 weeks away. Fitness is coming around. I am going to do amazing. OH WAIT, later that night I am at work and I break my toe. Next day I go to the doctors: no running for 6 weeks. No Timberman. This shit happens to me all the time.

August: I am the U23 New York Stat Time Trial Champion! Next year I go for the overall!

They will not let me transfer my entry fee from the Timberman. I have to go and do the Aquabike (swim, bike, stop). Swim goes well, bike goes great (24.2 mph avg for 56 miles). Add the times up and add a running time that I am capable of, and it puts me in the top 10 and qualifies me for the World Championships. I can do this... I just have to wait until next year.

September: Close out the season with a win. A sign of what could have been, but also what is yet to come. Racing me next year? Be afraid.

Lessons learned: I love triathlon. It has been my dream for years to be a professional triathlete. I am not going to give up that easily. I need to be careful with my fragile running legs, and do all I can to stay healthy, all the while killing myself in workouts to get FAST. I can do it.

I'm pretty fast on the bike. Bike racing is the best way to train on the bike. I will make some serious improvements this winter, and I will be ready to represent Minerva Design in the spring.

When things do not go your way, you get creative and you get stubborn. You keep going. You keep fighting. Here's to 2010.

Fear the Dino.

Dating a Triathlete

2009-09-23T09:41:00.001-07:00

I stumbled across this while doing my usual internet surfing thing. So no, I did not come up with this, but I thought it was quite amusing, and worth sharing.

Dating a triathlete...

"I am an outdoors type of person." Really means: I train in any type of weather. If it's raining, snowing, 90 degrees w/100 percent humidity, or winds gusting at 30 mph. I don't want to hear any complaints because I will still train in it and you're just a big wuss for complaining about it.

"I enjoy riding my bike." Really means: with or w/o aero bars, alone or in a peleton, I don't care. If you can't do a spur of the moment 30 miler then you're not my type. I will let you draft, but if you can't hang and I drop you - I will see you later. I am a capable mechanic, but don't expect me to change your flats or tune your bike. You need to learn that on your own.

"I enjoy jogging." Really means: Let's run hills until we puke. I have just as many shoes as you only mine are better because they are functional and all look the same.

"I enjoy dining out." Really means: I enjoy eating out, in or anywhere else I can find food. Don't be shy because with the amount of food I eat, you can have that main entree instead of a salad and you will still look as though you eat like a rabbit in comparison. Don't get your limbs too close though as I may take a bite out of you. Most importantly don't expect any taste off my plate unless you can bring omething to the party like more food. Eventually though if your not burning 4,000 calories a day your going to plump up and have a terrible complex due to watching me eat deserts and not gain any weight. Friends and family will eventually decide not to dine with us anymore due to my horrid table manners. Oh, and don't ask me any questions during breakfast, Mid Morning Lunch, Lunch, Afternoon lunch, dinner or Recovery Dinner as it does not lend to efficient food intake.

"I enjoy quiet walks on the beach." Really means: Walks on the beach warming up into an 8 mile run and then plunging myself in the ocean for a 2 miler. If you get in my way you're going to find out what mass start is and let me assure you that you don't want to find out.

"I find fulfillment in charitable work." Really means: If I am not racing, I am volunteering and I expect you to be there along side me as I stand out in 90 degree weather for 8 hours handing out sports drink to cyclists going 20 mph. Just stick the ol' arm out there and hope it doesn't get taken off.

"I enjoy sharing quiet moments together." Really means: It's taper time. Just back off because I am strategizing and in a pissy mood because I am worried about my "A" race and can't workout.

"I am an active person." Really means: Aside from my 40 hour job, and the 8 mandatory hours of sleep a night. 10 hours a week are devoted to me during the off-season and 20 during race season leaving us 4 hours. 2 of which are spent inhaling food and you not talking to me, so let's make the best of the 2 hours we will spend together on average each day. If you are a licensed message therapist or doctor this would make the most optimal use of our time together. Nutritionist is also acceptable, but I probably already know just as much as you.

"I enjoy road trips and leisurely drives." Really means: You have your choice of Wisconsin, Idaho, Florida, California, Arizona, and Canada, but don't expect to do much site seeing. If I get enough support from you we might be able to include Hawaii in there.

"I enjoy site seeing." Really means: Lets grab a mountain bike and get our HR's up to 90%. There's plenty of time to look around on the descent as trees and bushes whiz by you at 40 mph.

"I like stimulating conversation." Really means: while we are running, we can talk about food. Then we can talk about how we decided what to wear on this run based on the temperature at start time versus the temperature at the time we expect to finish, how horribly out of shape we are, how many miles we did last week, and how many we will do this week and next week. Then we can talk about food.

"I enjoy relaxing soaks in the tub." Really Means: I'm going to stop on the way home and buy two bags of ice, throw them in the tub with some water, and sit in this torture chamber for 30 minutes.

"I'm interested in photography" Really Means: My camera is permanently perched a tripod in front of my trainer. I obsess over taking photos of my bike position and analyzing them to get the perfect setup.

"I'm into in technology" Really Means: My HRM and bike computer are my best friends. Until you can give me some hard data that can improve my training, don't bother trying to buddy up to me. You could one day break into the top three if I find you as entertaining on long runs and rides as my mp3 player.

Original Source: http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=56596&start=1

Beginning with the end: Finger Lakes Triathlon Race Report

2009-09-21T13:29:00.001-07:00

For my inaugural blog post, I plan to give a detailed account of the last race of the season. It makes a lot of sense, doesn't it? Not to worry, I will make thrilling posts referring to past events somewhere down the line. Until then, let us concern ourselves with Sunday's event: the Finger Lakes Triathlon in Canandaigua, NY.

Pre-race
It was pretty painful when that damn alarm clock started unearthing that ungodly noise at 4:15. Let me tell you a little something about 4:15... nobody is supposed to be awake at 4:15. Maybe fishermen or milkmen. But in any case, it is just unpleasant. Darker than midnight outside, and cold as winter. I slipped into autopilot mode, snarfed down a couple bowls of Frosted Flakes (I LOVE those), and packed up the car with Dad. Before we left, I made sure to shoot some nose spray up my nose to clear the sinuses... I got sick this week along with at least half of my U of R Co-eds. However, I felt pretty good before the race (aside from not really being able to breathe through the nose).
It was pretty awesome when we were driving down there and it was 38 degrees. Luckily (thank God), it would warm up before the race, at least enough to not freeze.
Registration went smoothly. Warm-up went well. The sun finally decided to show its beautiful face. I felt confident, and was ready to rock. "They cannot beat you. You are going to obliterate the field."

The Swim
It was pretty sweet when they announced that our "swim warm up time" would be from 7:15 until 7:20. Are you kidding me? Anyway, it took me approximately 10 minutes to walk from transition to the swim start area, because there were about 12 million people trying to do the same thing. As a result, the swim warm-up did not happen. But hey, worse things have happened, so I did some arm circles and smiled. For some reason the young (under 24 year old) men were starting in the 4th wave, so we had to wait around for 12 minutes after wave one took off. By the time it was our turn, I was more than ready to get this damn thing going. I went out nice and easy as to not blow up (no warm-up, remember). I tried to keep it nice and smooth. When I got to the far buoy, I started catching those who started in previous waves. Luckily, and somewhat uncharacteristically, I did not have to clobber anyone too hard, and nobody hit me. Most people just seemed to be afraid of me, and got out of my way. That's how it should be, eh? I would be just fine if I never got kicked in the face during a swim again. Anyhow, I got out of the water with the day's 4th fastest swim time.

T1
Uneventful.

The Bike
Dino time!! A challenging yet not outlandish bike course allowed me to use my strength to shoot past those who started ahead of me. I hit the rhythm, and my legs felt pretty lively. I was the second person into T2. That is I passed everybody that started in the waves before me (except for one guy), who had a minimum of a 4 minute lead on me. 58:24 bike split. I love the bike.

T2
I had the fastest Transition 2 time! That's a first. I really made sure to take my time in the Transitions, based on the fact that I have not worked on them for a very very long time. Who would have thought it, eh?

The Run
Ah, the hard part! I was nervous about the run, considering that I have no run training in me. After the broken toe this summer, I was unable to run for 6 weeks, and that basically set me back to level one. For the past two or three weeks, I have been attempting to re-introduce my body to running, but the most I have been running is about 4 miles at a very slow pace. SO, having to run 10K as hard as possible, after a swim and bike, was not something that would come easily. All things considered, I felt pretty decent. I ran down the only individual who was in front me of, and just sort of cruised. Things got very tough after 5 miles, but I knew I just had to gut out one more. It was pretty apparent after about 5K that I was going to win, and I was getting chills just thinking about being able to cross the line with my arms in the air. 6:25 pace is not fast. Not fast at all, and it will not get the job done where I am going. But I'm happy with it, considering I have not been running.

The Win does not make up for the season that could have been, but it was a great way to close out the season. Next year I will be much faster, and I will be targeting some bigger races. More on that to come in future posts. I am outrageously sore right now, but after the inflammation dies down, it will be back to work. The 2010 season starts next week. Fear the Dinosaur.

FYI: The dude who sprints past me in the finish line video was in the sprint distance race. He did not care to let me have my moment. Oh well. And the last 5 seconds or so of the video are supposed to be me dancing, but for some reason you cannot see any movement. Do not be concerned.