Kona Report - Day 3

Race week should be relaxing, right? Staying off your feet, easy training, out of the sun, time to nap... I don't know what's going on here but thus far it's been anything but. I'm all registered though and as tempted as I was to represent Uzbekistan for the race, the IM organization corrected my citizenship status. So besides a few more minor obligations, I'm chilling out until Saturday morning.

What was relaxing initially today was my 6:30am 30 minute run from the hotel down into the pit and back. My legs felt good, and the sun wasn't full ablaze yet, so I was moving nicely. Supposedly the trade winds will be back this weekend, and I welcome them, because even the islanders here are complaining about the heat and humidity.

Working the Myathlete tent at the expo has been fun. It gives my mind a break from thinking about the race, and I get to talk to all the intense athletes, and more importantly, their families. The Myathlete device is small now - about the size of a 9 volt battery, yet the biggest "worry" from the athletes is the size and weight of it. I feel like asking them point blank; "Listen, are you gonna win the race? Are you even going to win your age group? Because if this isn't even a possibility, do you really think the small bit of added weight is going to matter?".

Speaking of weight, I was weighed in at registration and I'm over 9 lbs lighter than I was when I raced here in 2006. That was probably the last time I was on a scale.

Right after registering, I went for an easy 25 minute swim in the ocean. It was about 10am and the hoards were gone and it was really peaceful. Clay T. was telling me how swimming here freaks him out because the visibility is so good and it makes him nervous seeing everything below. I guess he prefers swimming in the six inch visibility of LI sound. I found a nice rhythm as the rolling gentle waves moved me around, making this swim relaxing to me.

Thinking about it now, the two times I was able to relax today was while training. I need to remember this on race day when I get into battle mode and where I can easily overwork it. My best results typically come when I can relax during a race.

Maybe I'm having a hard time relaxing not so much because of a busy schedule but more so from a bit of race nerves. I still have some slight congestion and as much as I try to convince myself that it doesn't matter, the fact is that I know that to do this race well, you need to be 100%. I go in and out of the race nerves throughout the day. One moment, I'm overly analyzing how I feel, the next I'm focused on how beautiful some parts of this island are. Even Alii drive which has become quite "commercial" - it runs right along the ocean, with the waves rolling in, and the black lava and white sand shining through the crystal clear water. Standing on Alii drive, you have the choice to focus on an outdated hotel or junky strip mall across the street or you can focus on the beauty of the ocean. Funny, that's the answer right there with my own race day nerves and over analyzing my cold. It's all about perspective. And as i tell my son, having some pre-game nerves shows that it means something to you. In fact, the day I am not a bit nervous before a big race is the day I hang it up. For awhile anyways.

Just finished a great sushi dinner and a large Asahi beer. Life is good.

Cheers,

EH

Kona Report - Day 2

Apologies for not getting this up sooner. The hotel Internet was on the fritz last night. I'll get two posted today to catch up.

Tuesday before IM is always a busy day for me. It's my last day of getting in a few longer sessions - long during a taper, yet short in relation to IM training.



The day began w/ a 45 minute swim at the pier. The water was calm today weather wise, yet turning w/ the energy of hundreds of triathletes. I'm standing here in the above picture looking serious post swim w/ my boy "hot shorts".



While making my way to Lavajava for breakfast, I ran into a bunch of CT friends randomly, including the twins John Wilson and Oakes Ames, Jason Weisberg, Mitch West, Scott Harrison, and Chuck Sperrazza. After shooting the shit briefly, I had to get jet in pursuit of some food before heading up to Hapuna to ride to Hawi w/ Mike Kane.

Kailua was overcast this morning, however, further up the Kona coast at Hapuna Beach, the sun was out in full force and it was hot! The plan was to ride out 1 hr 5 min then turn for a 2 hr total ride. I climbed easily towards Hawi at 19 to 20 mph thinking about the strangeness occurring. That strangeness was the fact that there was no wind! This is typically the windiest part of the course. Anyone that was there checking out Hawi got a false perception of what it's typically like. I for one know that the wind will be there race day and you know what, I kind of welcome it, because without the wind, it was sweltering. The humidity on the Kona coast is just brutal. You get used to walking around all swampy. I have to say that my biggest concern on race day is how I'll handle the heat and humidity this year. We had such a mild summer in CT and I do feel less acclimated than I typically would while out here. I felt strong on the ride however, and kept the pace comfortable with a few sections at IM pace. Towards the end of the 2 hr ride, I could feel the heat getting to me a bit. Staying on top of my hydration replacement on race day is going to be crucial.



I was riding with a local yesterday. Well, he was a young guy who moved to the Island from Montana three years ago after college because he fell in love with the island. He was racing and commented on how boring the course is. I told him that yes, it can be boring, however, i love looking off towards the ocean. I replied how he's jaded now and takes this for granted because he experiences it every single day. Many in life dream of moving to their favorite destination. It's interesting how quickly the image of their nirvana changes once they experience it regularly.



A short 20 minute transition run (my run legs felt great!) and I was done with my training for the day. I walked down to Hapuna Beach and floated around for awhile. I've never seen the water as clear as it was today at the beach, and it felt great just to relax for a bit.


As I rode today, I was thinking about "suffering" and how the key on any given race day is to work on mastering the art of suffering. More on this later.

The IM parade was last night and since they currently have me representing Uzbekistan in the official Hawaii IM information for this years race, I thought I'd march, however, promised Brennan I'd help out at the MyAthlete tent since the expo began right after the parade. I worked the expo for about three hours before joining Mitch West for dinner. It was a busy Tuesday. I hope that Wed, Thu and Fri are more relaxing, yet somehow, I doubt it.

Cheers,

EH

Kona Report - travel day(s)

Hawaii from the east coast is a long, long trip, but as I remind my wife, we are traveling to Hawaii, not Nebraska (no offense Nebraska, it's just not Hawaii).

Sunday began by loading up the car, including the family and heading out at 9am to JFK airport. Lisa and the kids were kind enough to drop me off and thankfully there was no traffic on this Sunday morning. Kate was hugging me so tight and had big crocodile tears flowing from her huge brown eyes making leaving for Hawaii almost seem wrong. I'm not good at the "out of site, out of mind" thing and pictured her along with Ryan who was welled up but trying not to show it for the better part of the day and night.

I used mileage to upgrade Lisa and I and was able to skip the long, long check in line, and even schmoozed the cute girl at ticketing to let my bike box packed to the gils and well over 50 lbs to travel for free. So far in this long day, so good.

My first flight to LA was uneventful. I watched a few movies including The Hangover in which the woman sitting next to me laughed hard at me laughing hard at the movie. The band camp girl from American Pie who's on that sitcom w/ Doogie Howser sat in front of me.

I had a brief 1 hr layover in LA, then on to Honolulu next. Again, uneventful besides sitting next to Gammy in row 1b who along with the trigeeks had on her compression socks even though she wasn't racing (one guy on the plane looked like he was dressed to race already! I guess you never know when the cannon may fire...) and who sucked down coffee the whole flight making her getting up to pee every 10 minutes, meaning consequently I'd have to get up and let her out every ten minutes. She was actually very sweet though and surprisingly, we talked quite a bit.

I cant sleep on planes. I don't really sleep well in general, so on a plane - forget it. I stepped off the plane in Honolulu at 8:30 Hawaii time or 2:30am et. My flight to Kona was delayed! These island hopper flights are always delayed because they basically have one plane per island that runs back and forth and gets backed up. I wandered around the airport looking for some edible food which is challenging, especially on a Sunday night when most things were closed.

I finally arrived in Kona at 10:30pm Hawaii time (4:30am et), and waited at baggage claim. And waited. And waited. Turns out that they held 80 bags and 26 bikes in Honolulu because of weight distribution on the plane. My bags wouldn't be there until the morning.

Picked up my rental car and checked in to the hotel at 11:20pm (5:20am et) w/ no bags and tried to get some sleep. Was up talking to Lisa at 2:30 am here, drifted back off around 4am, and awoke again at 6:30am. Anyway, it was a long trip, but as i told Brennan, "shit happens". And I'm in Hawaii.

I headed over to the airport after hitting Lavajava for some breakfast and my luggage was there. On the drive back, I stopped at the Pier and swam for 30 minutes.

This is when this trip to Hawaii really begins for me. Swimming at the pier in the amazing salt water with 100+ft visibility and fish swimming everywhere is therapeutic. It relaxes me and is one of my absolute favorite things to do. Amazing that all it takes is this first, easy swim to make me forget quickly about all the travel bs from the night/day before.

Now I just need to clear this cold out of me and all will be good.

OK, kind of a boring post, but I am on probably 4 hrs of broken sleep and promised to post daily, so I'll make a better effort tomorrow. I'm sure the next 24 hrs will be eventful.

Cheers,

EH

My Hell Yeah Hawaii Kit

www.hellyeahthreads.com

Hawaii Picks

Here's mine:

1. Craig Alexander - going out on a limb! I just cant see anyone matching his run.
2. Chris McCormick - will try to run with Alexander until the energy lab.
3. Eneko Llanos - this guy will either win it or be third. If he gets a gap on the bike...
4. Chris Lieto - he'll come off the bike with a huge lead but get run down.
5. Andy Potts - climbing the ladder

For the women, it's the Chrissie show. All the websites and rags keep trying to make a race out of it with the other women who are all fine athletes, but let's face it, she's in her own league.

School's In Session

My kids are back at school, meaning they are bringing home germs in abundance again. Both of them had the sniffles and coughs this past weekend, then Lisa began with the congestion, then yours truly. Extra forced rest during my taper with yesterday and today fully off from any training. I'm remaining calm though. I had an excellent build for this race and I'm not going to let a cold derail me. I'll get this out of my system this week - better getting this this week than next week. Time to pound some Nyquil.

Cheers,

EH

todays challenge

We live in a society that is more or less self absorbed. Our main concern is us of course, and in athletics as well as real life, we are typically focused on what we are doing and trying to do it well.

I have a pt client and friend who I have been working with first thing in the morning for a bunch of years now. I love the passion that he exudes – it’s contagious. Here’s a guy who loves movies so much that he will see three to four a week sometimes. But it’s the way he describes his passions that really captures me. He’s been playing a lot of squash lately, and he works with these three British instructors. They mentioned to him that they’d prefer working with an adult like him rather than the teens they often instruct. He asked me why this was the case and I told him that he subconsciously makes those around him better through his own actions. When he describes squash to me, his eyes become huge, he grabs the sides of his head and his face lights up as he proclaims how much he loves it. He mentioned how he always compliments the pros when they hit a great shot – this is a key point.

Another one of my long time pt clients and friend makes me want to be a better trainer. This 71 year old is so energetic and positive and appreciates any creativity I add to his regimen. I certainly don’t need any accolades however his excitement and responsiveness make me want to be better.

Recently, my son had a wiffle ball tournament for his birthday party. I was the designated pitcher and as such got an earful of fourth grade trash talking. On one of the teams was a kid who was striking out often and it got to the point that when he got up, his own team began taunting him with “don’t strike out again!” or “Can we have a designated hitter in his spot?” I paused the game and explained to these kids how these comments affected everyone, trying to get them to see things from the other kid’s shoes.

Speaking of my son, between his games and him watching the European leagues on cable, I’ve been getting an overload of soccer. I was watching a high school game recently between two very good teams. Although there was plenty of communication amongst the players, I rarely see the type of communication that ignites passion and makes those around them want to be a better player.

That’s the point of this article. Each day, every moment that we are around others, we have an opportunity to make those around us better. Next time you are out for a run with your training partner, compliment them, not patronizingly but sincerely. Tell them “man, you are really running well!” or “your form looks relaxed and strong.” I guarantee that this persons running form and pace will instantly get that much better. If you are a leader on a team, imagine how the team will react just by you energetically singling out specific good plays and complimenting that person. Again, the idea is to do so to make those around you better. Coming off a recent training camp, I was able to put the small group through one of the more challenging four day training blocks yet since putting on these camps, mostly due to creating an energy amongst this group that made them want to excel.

Make everyone around you better. A rare few do it subconsciously, yet we can all do it with a bit of thought and thoughtfulness.

Cheers,

EH

Maturing?

Running through the trails today on a crisp 9 miler, it came to me quite clearly why I feel rejuvenated in my quest towards Hawaii this year. Sure, I took some down time, but the real reason has to do with plain and simple maturity. God, I hate to admit it, but I think I might just be maturing.

When I first raced the Hawaii IM as a "kid" in 96', it really threw me. Not only physically, but I wasn't expecting to experience what I did experience. After coaching hundreds threw IM's, it's quite clear that this emotional suprise is a regular for first timers. Coming off of this high, we can easily go through some post IM depression. Sounds silly but there has been university studies on this, showing that it's a very common occurrence. Instead of dealing with the PIMD, I quickly committed to qualifying to go back in 97'. Same for 98', 99', ... You get the picture. In the 90's, I had way less priorities, so in addition to trying to hang onto this "experience", I was also trashing myself in training, learning first hand what to do and more importantly, what not to do, in pursuit of fast times.

As much as I respect this race, what made my six trips proceeding 96' was the fact that Lisa and I had an amazing time and we learned a lot about the amazing island. I guess that as much as I loved this race, I loved the island and the trip there with my wife that much more. I still never regretted the race - keep in mind that I said I loved the race. However, it was a love hate relationship for sure. I mean, this is a brutal race.

Back to the present, I no longer feel a "need" to get back there. I don't feel as though I'm trying to recapture something that defines me, like a high school hero 40 lbs overweight and 10 years out of school still reliving his glory years, or like a bride in a bad marriage still watching her wedding day video. I never let the IM define me - it was something I enjoyed and loved yet wasn't something that made me me. I am fired up that I'm going back to the Big Island, and energized at the thought of toeing the line once again. But it no longer feels like I'm doing it to relive something. Rather, it feels like I am going back there just to challenge myself and do something that I love. I don't know. Maybe I'm not maturing at all and I'm not making any sense. All that I know is that it feels different this year, I don't feel "obligated", and it feels right!

Again, we'll see how it pans out on October 10th.

Update To Kona Build

Yeah, I've been awfully neglectful here. Had a few people calling me out, so i guess there are some that read the jibberish. My apologies. It's been purely out of lack of time and not laziness.

I can't believe I'm 2 1/2 weeks out from Hawaii! Man the time went quick. I can honestly say that I had a great build for Kona, and more importantly, I feel good now. I didn't quite get in the volume I used to for this race, however I did get in the key sessions, and more importantly, they all went very well. We'll see how this turns out on October 10th.

So I just want to jot down a few key notes on this specific Hawaii build so that I don't forget them; Got the annual Vermont ride in with some good friends. Kept it comfortable and easy on the way up and still cruised along at a solid pace in the 90 degree heat and very high humidity and managed to run well off the bike up in Brattleboro. The ride home was interesting, to say the least, since I came down with a fever and stomach flu that many had at a get-together the night before heading up - I didn't eat or drink anything for nearly four hours of riding in the hot summer weather. Thankfully, this bug was a short lived one. I did some solid long runs w/ Chris T. including a quick 22 miler. Kenny O. kept me company on many of my long rides, and on labor day, when I was initially down because I was missing the 20K in New Haven to get in the priority of a long ride, this ride and brick run turned out to be one of my best bricks to date. I did some great open water swimming with Denny and have a new appreciation for the Sound. I just finished up my Fall CT camp where on Saturday, in beautiful cool weather, I took the smaller, adventurous group on probably the most challenging camp ride to date! Then yesterday we shot two more dvds up at The Bar.

There were many more highlights, but the bottom line is that I really enjoyed the process this time around due to taking some time off, paying more attention to my recovery, choosing new and adventurous courses, and who knows why else?

I have lots of thoughts to jot down - hopefully sooner rather than later. Spending a good deal of time training alone with nothing but your thoughts can create some interesting ideas. Either interesting or bizarre, none the less, I need to jot them down soon.

Cheers,

EH

salt water swimming and bored with my ipod

My 6am client was away today, so I met my good friend Denny White at Penfield Beach in Fairfield to get in a nice open water, salt water swim. The Sound actually seemed clean! I wore my new Nineteen sleeveless wetsuit which was soooo nice - I don't think I kicked at all with the lower body buoyancy this wetsuit offers. We dove in around 6:05 and the sun wasn't up yet. The salt water tasted great and reminded me that in four weeks I'll be tasting this again in the Pacific. The water was like glass this morning and I felt smooth in it. I breath to my right - this is how I learned to swim, so as I headed out, I was breathing to the east. Very soon, the sun began popping up over the sound - it was a bright orange and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Man, what a great way to start the day. No jelly fish except for the smaller ones that don't sting.

I'm getting a bit bored with my ipod. I am asking for some comments here. What are you listening too? Some good stuff that has kept me rolling:

"Ain't no rest for the wicked" by Cage the Elephant - I like these guys. Not the same old bs you typically hear these days.

Anything by Lupe Fiasco - this guy is really good. You need to like rap a bit but open your mind.

"Tear You Apart" by She Wants Revenge - OK, disturbing lyrics, but the song makes you want to shift up a gear or three. Reminds of NIN.

So I need some more ideas. Again, I listen to anything, so please respond.

Cheers,

EH

Summer's Over

The summer is over, kids are back at school, everyones home from vacation, soccer weekends are starting up, and the cool weather is here, at least in the early mornings. Bring back that heat and humidity!

I have blogged very sparsely this summer, but will be more diligent now, especially since Hawaii is just five weeks away and I use this blog as a personal journal of my process.

I'm very pleased with where I am at in regards to peaking for Hawaii. I like to break down my self analysis into three major groups: A) physically - I feel solid during all my training sessions at the moment, getting the work done but also much more cognisant of my recovery and keeping the pace "right" according to IM training. I'm not getting in the volume I once did. My time and priorities now don't allow for it. But the key sessions are there and they feel right. B) nutrition - I'm 80/20 here. Eating the healthy stuff but also getting in my fair share of ice cream, beer and wine. My appetite is huge right now! C) mentally - I'm still very motivated and enjoying the process.

Ken asked me on one of our rides if I could distinguish between my IM races. I told him I remember clearly different key things from each one that I have done. I also told him how the last three that I did, I remember during my training thinking about treading water at the pier, waiting the 15 minutes for the gun to sound and for the day to begin and actually dreading that moment. Dreading wading there, getting kicked and thrashed by all the other nervous athletes jockeying for their key starting position, anticipating the long day and pain that lay ahead. This year in my build, I actually am excited about the thought of being there.

The best thing though is to have a clear and precise goal, and to have something I'm aiming towards. I have been placing myself on a schedule and it feels great to follow an organized plan that's taking me somewhere.

I did have to make a big decision about this weekend though which hurts, but it's the right thing. I will be at a soccer tournament that my son is in all day on Saturday and Sunday. I will wake up early and get my long run in on Saturday morning, however, I am going to miss the New Haven 20K Road Race on Monday - my first miss there in a very long time. I need to get in a long brick and Monday is the only day I can, so sadly, I'll be absent at the race.

Other sad news is that I have lost three more ipods this past week. Please, I'll be ok. I know, this is major. The problems we must face here in the US! I think that Apple sets these things up so that they die after one year of use. My waterproof one just made a popping sound and hasn't worked since, my other shuffle, i learned once again, is not sweat proof, and my Touch will only stay in the horizontal screen.

Cheers,

EH

hellyeahthreads.com

Annmarie Magliocco and Chris Oosterhout have started a very cool little business – check it out at www.hellyeahthreads.com.

Cheers,
EH

www.hodska.com

Kona - the build is on!

It's really been a great summer. I mean, it is what you make it - do you sulk about things and dwell or do you think about being progressive? And even though my Red Sox got their asses handed to them by the overweight, out of shape, fat ass Yankees, I know that there are still six games left against them and the Sox are 8-4 vs them this year. Again, focus on the positive. The only thing that sucks more than watching your team lose is watching your sons team lose.

I thought I'd post a very self-centered post and update on my Hawaii training. I went to Marthas Vineyard with the family for a week and figured I would take this as an off week and begin my Hawaii build when I returned. We had a great family vacation - and the bonus was that I did a fair amount of training. From 9am to noon each day, there was a "kids club" where we stayed - college kids that were camp counselors who organized fun activities for the kids. My kids loved it and so they participated in it each morning. Lisa would go out and exercise with her friend Jen, which left me to go exploring on my bike. In two days, I knew every road on the island. I did eat and drink a bit too much, but no worries.

Upon returning, I began my "real" build. I left at 5:15am on a long ride around Warmaug last Saturday. I met Kenny along the way who kept me company for it. Not only did I feel great, but I really enjoyed the ride. I finished up at 10am with the whole day ahead of me. The next day, I ran 2 hrs 15 minutes and again, felt strong and enjoyed the long run. My motivation is high and after racing IM's since 96' give or take a few years, this is a nicely accepted feeling. I've learned not to question it, although I feel that taking some down time, not over-racing, and getting beat at RI are the keys as to why I'm enjoying the process.

I've been deeply analyzing my previous Hawaii builds and had a discussion with Big Rocks today about this. As a coach, I often advocate "do as I say" rather than as I do. However, It's time finally for me to begin listening to my own advice. I've been laughing this off for years which is pathetic. The fact that I don't get much sleep and have limited time to train doesn't change anything. In fact, that's the situation of most of my athletes. I really feel that I have stood at the starting line in Hawaii a bit cooked, from a combination of training a bit to hard (not to much, but to hard), and not getting enough recovery/rest. Something I strive to avoid in the athletes I coach. It's not an arrogance that makes me think I'm different but rather an insecurity thinking about my goal for the race and the minimal amount of weekly time I'm able to train. So this build for Hawaii, I am going to really be cognoscente in sticking to the heart rate and power guidelines that I assign myself. I have found throughout the years of training that I respond better to lower intensity, B zone efforts anyways. I have been blessed with some natural power and speed and when I work this in training which is always fun, I wind up a bit cooked on race day.

The key point though with this post is that I'm on track, the hot and humid weather is here, and I'm lovin' every minute of it!

Cheers,

EH

hedging

This summer has been busy. I like that. I am uncomfortable when I'm not busy. The past few weeks have been particularly hectic, with IMLP followed up by a family vacation to Marthas Vineyard.

I went up to Lake Placid the Wednesday before the race, to meet with my athletes, help out some sponsors, and to kick off some of my own training towards Hawaii. I thought that this would be a good opportunity to get in some solid training on my own before heading away for a week with the family. I train alone maybe 95% of the time, however, up in Lake Placid it's just the opposite, as I'm usually there for my training camp or the race and training with others. This trip, I made no real commitments to train with others and have finally, after 20 years, realized that I prefer training alone. I enjoy the company of others, but I also like to escape with my ipod and just go at my pace, be it slow or fast, without feeling bad about slowing someone down or dropping someone.


Thursday in LP, I did a big training day including a swim in mirror lake, a 4 hr ride, and a 1 hr run. So it's no surprise that I awoke Friday a bit tired and sleepy. I rolled out of LP and down rt. 86 around 6:45am, yawning and hedging. Hedging is something that Jeff and I have discussed quite a bit and basically, it's making excuses. I talked at dinner the night before about how maybe I'd ride up Whiteface in the morning, and now, as I rolled down towards the climb early in the morning, I was rationalizing why I didn't need to climb it. "it could rain - it always rains on this climb and I've done the wet, cold, hypothermic thing before and don't need to do it again" was what went through my mind first. "you had a solid training day yesterday and could probably use the recovery of an easier day today" was next up. "you got off to a later start and need to be off the mountain by 8:30am which will be cutting it to close. Plus, you have downhill practice with your athletes at 10am and you'll be climbing rt 73 pre-downhill practice which is tough" was another hedge floating through my noggin. "Hawaii is still a good ways off", "You've done this climb a bunch already", "you're not dressed properly for the weather up top", and then finally as I approached the left turn off 86 signifying the start of the climb, "just ride up to the tollbooth (3 miles of the 8) and make the right turn off there" was the hedge I had settled on. So I turned on my ipod with a playlist I made specifically for this day of riding, and began climbing. As I climbed the initial 3 miles, I continued to hedge with things like "you are making the right call, your legs are a bit tired today", "you still have a big day planned for tomorrow, so riding just to the tollbooth and is clearly the right thing", "look at that cloud circling the peak like a donut - man, you know it's going to be wet and cold up there!". And then, as I approached the right hand turn just before the toll booth that takes you off the Whiteface climb, I instead just kept climbing. I settled into a rhythm and just blanked out my mind. I didn't hedge anymore. In fact, I didn't even think much. I looked off the mountain at the scenery and just pedaled.


It was quiet and peaceful, yet errie since there was absolutely no one on the road. I climbed well and tried to stay as relaxed as possible as I pushed. At the 6 mile mark, I began climbing through the donut cloud circumferencing the peak. At the 7 mile mark, I popped out of the cloud and the sun was out. I was actually above the cloud and still ascending and it was amazing. I had the views of the cloud directly below me and past the cloud, it was sunny and beautiful and the views were the best I have ever witnessed up on Whiteface. I hit the top in 56 minutes from the start of the climb, drenched in sweat from the humid conditions, slightly chilled from the drop in temperature at this elevation, and smiling ear to ear. I remember clear as day now, two weeks later, pausing there for a moment and feeling at peace - not because of the views or the fact that I just rode up Whiteface, but because there was no more hedging going on. It was now 8:20am, and they want you off the mountain on bike, past the toll booth, by 8:30am, so I began my descent. At 8:30am on the nose, I slipped under the toll booth. Funny, writing this now, I feel like a tool for all the hedging that I was doing prior to my ascent.

Two days later I watched the race and thought about my ride up Whiteface as I watched many athletes, some of those I coach included, struggle with the Ironman. One of my athletes (he's cool with me mentioning this) was so nervous that for the two weeks prior to the IM, he was only sleeping maybe two to three hours each evening. The first couple of days he fell short on sleep because of nerves, I discussed with him his "race". I mentioned how he's not a pro, feeding his family based on his result. How his family would love him just the same, regardless of how he did, and reminded him of his training and of some key sessions that he had done. It doesn't matter what someone else tells you though, unless you yourself believe it. He continued to not sleep from the nervousness of race day approaching. I then told him he needed sleep so to try taking something to assist, like Tylenol PM. This didn't work for him. Finally, I met with him two days out and he just looked exhausted, yet I told him he'd be fine and to go do what he trained to do. He was worked up enough already and the writing was on the wall. He had a difficult time elevating his heart rate into his aerobic racing zone, and dropped out in the run. He questioned me as to why he couldn't elevate his heart rate. I explained that he was simply exhausted - that during his taper, when he was to rest and absorb, he was doing the opposite. He began the race in an exhausted state. It's something we all can learn from, myself included. He couldn't stop the hedging and it got the best of him on race day. His hindsight perspective is interesting and very well adjusted.

Straz was telling me about a race report he read from an LP athlete who made it through 70 miles of the ride and dropped out due to "severe dehydration, internal bleeding, and bleeding from his eyes"!!! I've got to call bs on this one. Unless you haven't trained for an IM, how do you get to the 70 mile point of the bike in this condition? The point being that many of the physical conditions we experience in IM are a result of our brain.

So what's the lesson here? You can reiterate positive affirmations but if your conscience doesn't buy it, they won't help. One of my athletes once mentioned, "when I look in the mirror, I don't see an athlete having a strong day" even though he trained amazingly well. Basically, your gut needs to buy what your mind is selling. I tend to remind myself in the days/weeks leading up to a race to keep it simple. It's really just swim, bike, run. Pretty simple activities. Don't over think it and make it more than it needs to be or should be. Yes, finishing an IM is a huge deal and can even be life changing to many. That doesn't change the fact that it's as simple as moving from point A, the swim start, to point B, the run end. I guess that the focus during race week should be to remind ourselves of all the days, weeks, months of training that we put into getting us ready for just one day. After all, it's the cumulative effect of all this training that sets us up to accomplish what we want to do realistically on race day. Maybe realistically is the key word here? With the proper, positive mindset, and the proper pacing, IM race day should become a celebratory finale of our training cycle. Maybe proper pacing is the key words here? I certainly have fallen victim to doing the opposite. It's a very fine line, because you never want to finish feeling like you could have gone a lot faster, right?

Cheers,

EH

Guest Blogger - Big Rocks on RI 70.3

RI 70.3 from Big Rocks

Ironman races can bring out the best in people. We arrive at Roger Williams State Park for the swim just before 5:00 am. The sky is just beginning to lighten and the wind is really whipping. I remember as I got out of the car that if the wind was that strong here in the parking lot I wonder what the water was like. As I walked toward the beach I could see the white caps on top of four foot swells and thought that it was going to be an interesting start of the day.Spectating an Ironman event be it a full or 70.3 is a test of patience. A quality that those who know me say I sorely lack. There is always a lot of nervous energy before the race and today was no exception. Since there was a storm the night before that moved the swim buoys the race start was delayed 15 to 20 minutes while they were repositioned. So, in addition to normal race jitters, people had rough water, plus a delay and if you were unlucky enough to be seeded in the 12th swim wave, nerves were being pushed to limits. The race officials decided that since the rough water conditions were not going to change they offered an out for anyone not wanting to do the swim. If you opted out of the swim you could race a duathlon that would not count in the final standings. To the credit of the 1200+ racers there, only about 2 or 3 people elected not to swim. Maybe, they were the smart ones. I don’t know how the officials decide on the swim waves. I know you want to get the old people (slow swimmers) in the early waves so they don’t hold up the race, but deciding to seed the 18-24 year old men in the very last heat was just plain cruel. These young studs were raring to go and had to wait almost an hour to start their day. Puzzling.Surprisingly, given the rough water conditions the swim seemed to go smoothly (no pun intended). The many swim waves created a lot of open space so it appeared that untypical of an Ironman race, you had a lot of open space to swim. The waves also favorably played out during the bike portion of the race since there appeared to be less drafting and pack riding which has become the standard for most races these days, unfortunately.After Eric’s wave entered to water, Gus and I positioned ourselves near the roped off section where the swimmers exited the water. Our job for the swim was to determine how far behind Bruce Gennari, Eric would be after the swim. Given that Bruce can beat most pros at Hawaii the question was how big a hole would Eric have to dig out of after the swim. If you have ever watched hundreds of swimmers all dressed the same exiting the water you know how confusing it can get. I estimated that Bruce would be finished with the swim in 22 minutes (he did 21 so I did not see him come out of the water). The good news was that Eric had an excellent swim. The bad news was that he was almost 6 minutes behind Bruce. Six minutes in a 70.3 is a huge amount of time to make up against a top all-around competitor like Bruce.Usually, I like to hop in the car and follow the riders along the bike course but the layout of the route in RI made it difficult. The first part of the bike where the riders exited the transition was closed off to traffic. Plus if you were exiting the parking lot in a car you had to drive in an opposite direction to the bike course. Since Gus and I did not have a good map of the course, plus it was almost an hour ride by car back to the run transition in Providence we decided to head back to the transition area and catch up with Eric there.
Gus had his mountain bike with him and decided to follow the runners out on the course. Since the run was a double loop through the city it was great to keep track of the runners on the course. I waited at the bike to run transition and when I saw Bruce G. rack his bike and head out on the run I started my watch. Several minutes later Eric came in and as he exited to the run course I looked at my watch and yelled out 4 minutes. The good news is Eric had picked up two minutes on Bruce during the bike. The bad news is that he was still behind by 4 minutes. The Providence run course is probably the best place to spectate a run since the double loop goes through the city in such a way that once you figured out the short cuts you could spot your runner six or eight times during the run. Up to this point the weather was very favorable with a cloud cover. As the run started the sun broke through and it became hot and humid. I positioned myself at the bottom of the long downhill and when Bruce went by I started my timer. As Eric approached I could not believe it. He closed to within 2 minutes 20 seconds with one loop of the run to go. I decided to stay where I was and wait for both Bruce and Eric to come back from the turn-around before calling out the next time differential.The time difference between Bruce and Eric was approximately the same 2 minutes 20 seconds and both of them had that locked-in look that neither was going to give an inch. Now, I have to confess something here. I actually lied to my son! When Eric came by I yelled out “2 minutes 15 seconds”. I didn’t even know it was coming out. I felt I needed to dangle a carrot out there to keep Eric moving. As he went by it seemed to be working because appeared to pick up the pace. It was getting exciting.I ran toward the finish and positioned myself near the chute, and then realized that the race finishes by the runners turning the corner and running about ¼ mile uphill to the finish. I decided that if I could get down to the corner and if Eric was close enough to Bruce he would have a final ¼ mile to catch him.I saw Bruce coming toward me and he was looking behind him for Eric quite a bit. As he started up the final hill he kept looking behind him. I thought that too bad Eric couldn’t close the gap when all of a sudden here comes Eric like a bat out of hell within less than a minute behind Bruce. So the three of us are running up the hill and that is the way we finished. Bruce then Eric about 40 seconds behind then me telling Eric too bad the run didn’t go another mile because as Bruce knew, Eric was going to catch him.You know, I got so caught up in the race within the race that I lost focus of many of the other people out there which was fine since the Bruce/Eric duel in RI was a blast to watch. When I spectate an Ironman race I need to get involved. By that I mean that unlike some people who plant themselves in one spot and stay there drinking beer the whole day, I have to move around. I usually pick out a couple of racers to follow and find myself getting so caught up in the action and emotion of the race and the athletes that I don’t even realize where the time goes. This sport can be appreciated on so many levels and if you find yourself spectating instead of racing get involved. You will enjoy it a lot more.

RI 70.3 part two

I think that one race spot many triathletes ignore are transitions. It’s important to have a plan and practice this plan before you race. I lost a race once in transitions. If your transitions in a ½ IM are more than two minutes, you are doing something wrong. The same if they are more than three minutes in an IM. I decided to put my shoes on in transition since I didn’t get a chance to check out the bike course. Actually, I was lazy and didn’t take the time to check out the bike course. As I always say as a coach, do as I say, not as I do. I hopped on my Cannondale and weaved quickly around the many triathletes that think they know how to mount their bikes with their shoes attached to the pedals but actually have no clue here. I got down into my aero bars, locked into my power meter, and got to it. The bike is where I have the most confidence, and I was excited to be not only in this leg, but back in a race. The first ten miles were flat and very fast with a slight tailwind. I remember thinking that I was going to be around 2 hrs for the bike because the whole bike course has to be flat, there aren’t any hills in RI. Man, was I wrong. Ten miles in, you head more inland and the rollers start. Nothing bad – in fact, I stayed aero and in the big ring throughout the whole ride. But they never let up. You were constantly going up or down. I like this type of course a lot! Starting in one of the last waves, my age group had a lot of traffic out there. Weaving through all the riders slows things a bit, but it’s equal for my true competitors which are the ones in my age division. I did not see a lot of drafting which was refreshing. My legs felt good and I focused on finding a rhythm. I think this is really important and often ignored when racing. The easier and quicker you can find a rhythm, the more relaxed you will become, allowing your physiology to do its thing.

Around 25 miles in, I got complacent. This is where the lack of racing the past two years affected me. I locked into a pace that was a bit too comfortable for a ½ IM. I stayed at this effort for way too long, and it’s easy to reevaluate now but the truth is, I stayed there thinking that if I upped it a bit more, I might blow my run. After taking last year off from racing, I was guessing again where I should be – something that’s easy to figure out from racing four or five times in a season. My wattage dropped by about 20 watts on average and I stayed here until the 40 mile mark. I then snapped out of it – it was as though someone slapped me in the face as I thought “this is a ½ IM idiot, not a full IM!” I brought the watts back up and stayed here until the last six miles of the race. The first 50 miles of this course were just great. Scenic, nice roads, rolling hills, - just great. The last six suck. As you get into Providence, the roads are all broken up and there were lots of turns. If anyone does this race next year, plan on riding a bit harder the first 50, knowing that you will have to ease up on the last six.

My plan for the ride was to hold 315 watts on the flats and stay below 400 watts on the hills. I finished with a normalized power of 327 watts, good for 2 hrs 19 minutes for the 56 miles.

All that I had to do in T2 after racking my bike was remove my helmet and slip on my running shoes and I was gone. As I ran out of T2, my dad was yelled out “four minutes!” I knew that this was how far behind Bruce I was. I had only made up two minutes which for a second bummed out, and then I shouted back to Big Rocks “I’m going to get him!” My legs felt ok, but my breathing was excessive for the first ¾ of a mile, almost as though I was hyperventilating. I slowed, trying to gain control, knowing that I was going to hit the big hill very soon. This hill is long and steep, and you have to do it twice. I kept my stride shortened on the hill and tried to stay relaxed and not feel too much “burn” in the legs. Cresting the top, you have a slight downhill and roll through an aid station where I grabbed some sponges, than some water, then some coke. The first three miles, I was stuck in the same conservative wussy mode that I got caught up in during the middle of the bike. Again, I was over thinking it, telling myself to relax too much because I was concerned about blowing up. Then again, again, at the three mile mark, I felt the imaginative slap and thought “this is a race damn it!” I saw Gus who was on his mountain bike and asked him to get some splits on my competitors. About four miles in, my legs felt good, my breathing was controlled, and I was running. I was pissed with myself at this time for being “lazy” in the first three miles, but then reminded myself that I couldn’t change what’s done and the race is still going. There is a lot of self talk during a race – at least for me. The run was two out and back loops, and I was looking for Bruce on the other side of the road returning. You’d think at 6’3” he’d be easy to spot, but I couldn’t see him anywhere.

Around the five mile mark, I remember catching a team psycho member with a 60 on his calf (His age group left in the third wave). About 20 meters in front of him there was a guy with a 61 on his calf. I said to the team psycho guy “you’re running well, pace off of that guy” pointing to his competition just ahead. He replied “I’m gonna pass that fucker!” I laughed and moved on. My quads didn’t feel that bad on the downhill back and I thought that I didn’t work it enough. About a ½ mile from the end of loop one, I saw my dad again and he yelled “2 minutes 20 seconds!” I was closing in, yet I still couldn’t see him coming back the other way? I hit the turn and began loop two and Big Rocks yelled “2 minutes 15 seconds”. He later told me that during this mile, from mile 6 to mile 7, I actually didn’t make up any time on Bruce, yet he wanted to keep me positive. Good stuff!

The hill was crowded now with athletes on their first loop. I’d guess maybe 80% of the field walked up this hill. I continued on hitting every other aid station with water and coke, and using wet sponges to douse myself with at every aid station. Around mile 10, I upped the pace thinking that there was only a 5K left, most of it downhill, and don’t leave anything on the course. Two pros locked on my heels as I passed them and stayed there for a mile before I know longer heard the slapping of their soggy shoes. I smiled, tasting a small bit of pride here. Its fun and funny thinking back about the small little defeats and victories we go through during a race. At the 11 mile mark, Gus told me Bruce was 90 seconds ahead. I pushed a bit harder. As I ran up the hill in the last mile to the state capital building, I finally got a glance of Bruce, less than a minute ahead. He turned around immediately after crossing the finish line and gave me the man hug as I crossed. He told me that he was hiding behind all the other athletes on the course when he was near the turnarounds so that I wouldn’t see him – a really smart strategy. Big Rocks was there and said “if you had one more mile…” I cut him off saying “yeah, but it’s a 13.1 mile run, not a 14.1 mile run.” Bruce deserved this win – he raced great. I was proud of my race with the exception of the middle portion of the bike and the first three miles of the run. I did however negative split my run in a big way.

I was nervous before the race and that’s a good thing. That tells me that racing still means something to me. That I still desire the competition. I don’t take for granted how fortunate I am to have found this passion, or the fact that I have a bit of ability. It felt great to be back on a starting line.

And I’m going back to Kona.

For those considering this race for next year, I'd highly recommend it! I thought it was a great, honest course, and extremely well organized.

After getting my Kona slot, we blew out of Providence skipping the awards to get a jump on the traffic. On Tuesday, I was working on my computer and the ups truck delivered a package which my son intercepted. He opened it up and was showing his friend Will the trophy I had won. I eavesdropped on them, proudly listening to Ryan brag about my race day to his friend. Will said with enthusiasm to Ryan, “Wow! He’s really fast!... Especially for an old guy!”

Cheers,

EH

My RI race, part 1 (not that I want to drag this out...)

...but it was getting lengthy and I'm done for the day.

Triathlon is pretty simple. The gun goes off, you swim, change quickly, bike, change quickly, then run. I don’t know what it is about this simplistic sport that draws me in so much. I’ve pondered this over and over, searching, and maybe even creating some reason. The bottom line is that I love it, simple as that, simple as the sport is. Maybe I’m just simple?

The skinny: I had a big breakfast. I swam 27 something, biked 2:19 something, ran 1:26 something for a 4:16 w/ transitions. I drank my calories on the bike and used water and coke on the run. I loved the course. The race was very well organized. I didn’t think there were any hills in Rhode Island. My Nineteen wetsuit felt great, My Cannondale Slice was amazing, I saw really well through my Oakleys, and the hammer nutrition products were just right. After a year off, it was great to be back on the starting line. I’m going back to race Kona.

If you don’t want to hear any of my personal emotions on this day, then you can stop reading now. Once again, this blog is my personal journal and I want to mark down some things to remember this day.

The last time I raced was Clearwater in 2007. I did the Lake Warmaug sprint and the NYC marathon in 2008 – both great and different races, but they were more spontaneous fun than setting a goal, training specifically, going through the process. I enjoy the process of training towards a goal. So as I drove up to Rhode Island Saturday morning, Big Rocks riding shotgun, I thought about the fact that I’ve had a lot of downtime. I wondered if I had lost that edge.

One thing I knew is that I was going up to this race for a reason – to get a Kona slot. I last raced in Hawaii in 2006. In 2007, I went out to the race to work it for MyAthlete. I remember standing on Palani Hill as the athletes ran by, thinking “man, am I glad I’m not racing this year!” I went back out last year to work it once again for MyAthlete, and standing on Palani Hill, watching the athletes run by, I thought “fuck, I wish I was racing!”. I had the itch again, but also new my priorities in life are way different now. The thing is, I also feel I could race well on limited training. I wouldn’t want to go there if I couldn’t race it. I have no desire to do an Ironman just to cross the finish line. That’s a great goal for your first IM. So I sat down with Lisa and asked what she thought about going back to Hawaii in 2009 if I qualified. I still recall her response clearly of “you better qualify bitch!”.

This Spring has been very busy. I have the tendency to burn the candle a bit too often and found myself run down and sick through a good portion of June. My training for RI wasn’t optimal by any means, yet I still had the sense that I could put it together, and I had confidence in getting a Kona slot. Not cockiness, but confidence. I think that if your goal is to get a slot for Hawaii, you have to show up at the qualifier confident that the slot is yours, and yours to lose. If you go there thinking “I hope I get a slot” then you don’t stand a good chance. Just my opinion, but hope doesn’t show signs of confidence. “Hope” is what you do when something is out of your control.

OK, back to the race. My manager (my dad) and I had a nice day on Saturday. We got up to Providence early, got all the registration and pre race BS done, had some good meals, … Not much relaxing time and it seemed like we walked a ton, but it’s a gift to have the opportunity as an adult to do things like this with your father and I don’t take it for granted. I ran into Bruce Gennari from Nashville in front of our hotel. Bruce is an amazing athlete, a hell of a nice guy, and who I thought would be my biggest competition in my age group on Sunday. Bruce is an amazing swimmer. He’s been first out of the water in Kona overall before in 46 minutes and he can ride and run as well. In fact, he’s been the overall national triathlon champ before. Bruce and I have been racing each other for a long time now. Having a competitor like this certainly brings out the best in you, and our race on Sunday wouldn’t disappoint.

Sunday wake up call was at 3:15am. We had to be in Narraganset for bike check in before 5am. Gus came up to spectate and joined us for the trip to the swim start. It was great having him here as well. It’s always cool to have good energy around pre race. Gus has a little race coming up in two weeks that he’s primed for and I think that being up at this race may give him the extra bit of motivation he needs to have that exceptional day. I ran into a bunch of familiar faces at the swim start including some of my athletes. The wind was really blowing and the water was extremely choppy, leaving most that I ran into very nervous. Most except for Bruce G. who was hoping for tough swim conditions so he could capitalize even more on his strength.

My age group was the 12th wave, going off 50 minutes after the mail pro’s begun. Not the best situation but what are you gonna do? I lined up direct center in the front of my wave start right next to Bruce. The swells looked huge! A friend in my wave spotted me and asked what I’m doing here racing. I asked what he meant? He said “I thought you weren’t racing much nowadays?” I replied “they got some Hawaii slots at this race and I’m getting the itch again.” Bruce mentioned that he wasn’t going for a slot, but I still was racing for first regardless. Then, quickly, the gun fired and we charged into the surf. I ran in through some breaks and watched as most to my sides hit it and began stroking. I continued to take a few dolphin dives since it was shallow and gained a body length on everyone. It was short lived though as Bruce came by. I thought “get on his toes and hold for as long as possible” which lasted for all of five seconds – and that’s being generous. Soon, very soon, he disappeared into the huge surf. I was still all alone out there. No contact from other competitors which is always nice. The ocean was rough though – maybe the roughest open water race swim I’ve ever been in. You’d be sitting high on top of a wave, and then drop deep into the swell before crashing into the next wave. This lasted the whole way out. There was another swimmer swimming parallel to me on the way out. I put in some stronger efforts and he stayed right next to me. I could see I wasn’t going to pull ahead, so instead, I actually dropped back behind him. The pace felt easy although each time I tried to break around him, it felt tough. So I stayed relaxed and let him set the pace. Coming back into shore, if you timed it right, you would get a nice push form the incoming rollers. The rhythm of these rollers was not consistent however. Anyways. After getting tossed around and drinking a lot of salt water, I ended up on shore in 27 minutes. Not bad considering I swam eight times since last October. But pathetic considering Bruce put 6 minutes into me in the swim. Six freakin minutes!!! He had the fastest swim of the day swimming 21 minutes!!! I had my work cut out for me for the next two legs…

mission accomplished

I'm goin back to Kona!

Sport and Rec

Sport, and the recreation that we pursue, be it as children or adults, is a great indicator towards our true personality. Some things can certainly change throughout time, as some stay the same. For example, I hate to lose, always have. I didn't grow until I was a freshman in college and was insecure. Combine that with a late start into athletics and I thought I was always a below average athlete. Once I grew and became smarter and realized that I had some ability, my insecurities disappeared and my confidence grew. Sport taught me how to get along with others. How to adjust and adapt socially. It taught me discipline and how to set and achieve goals. I have learned so much threw sport and recreation that have molded the person I am today. But if you want an accelerated course in learning a person, whether they are timid or bold, adventurous or safe, fun or boring, honest or bullshitters, spend a day training with them. It's something more business people and people getting involved in relationships should do.

Cheers,

EH

Busy times...

Or just not in the blogging mood. Actually a combination of the two. It was a beautiful weekend, I'm feeling healthy, the Tour has begun, ... Life is good.

A bit late now for the remaining LP recap. Let's just say that the camp was challenging, hard, and fun. We rode a lot, we ran a lot, we swam a lot, and we laughed a lot. All the things that a camp should be.

I need to get back on track with this stupid blog this week. because it's been a great personal journal for me and I should be recording some of the stuff that's been taking place as of late.

LP Camp Review - part 1

I really don't know what the term "feeling content" means. I often wish I could feel content about situations and things, but it's tough for me to do. And because I have a hard time feeling content, I also need to learn that this isn't the same for everyone else, and that as a coach, I need to not impose my perspectives on others. Yet at the same time, I can't think of one time that I have pushed someone too far at a camp, to the point where they didn't benefit physically or mentally from it - more so mentally. Some of those who have attended may argue this, but I stand by this statement. After all, aren't we pursuing this whole triath-o-lon thingy looking for self discovery? If we aren't continually searching for more in ourselves, then why are we doing this? And here I go again forcing my viewpoint. Maybe we can "just" participate because we like being active and enjoy being outside? I have to think that this is just a way of justifying, again, giving my viewpoint, but hey, this is my blog. The bottom line though is that I push everyone hard at camp and I do so because I'd like those who attend to come away maybe learning something new about themselves and because I want them to experience something that they may not necessarily experience had they just decided to do their own personal training camp. I feel I was successful in this with those who attended the LP camp 09'.

I arrived early on Tuesday and already described my Tuesday adventure in a previous post. The camp didn't begin until Wednesday evening, so on Wednesday morning, Jeff and I headed back to the base of Whiteface, this time, taking the trail, determined to run to the top. Well, we made it, but saying we ran would be embellishing a bit. The trail was so steep and technical that running wasn't really an option for 2/3rds of it. Yet our heart rates were still up near threshold the whole time. We made it to the peak in just under 2 hrs for 5.6 miles! And the rangers at the top were blown away by this time, pointing out that it's typically an all day occasion for most "hikers". It was a beautiful day, sunny and in the 70's which is odd for the Seattlesque spring we have had. The views from the top of Whiteface were amazing, and after a few ooohs and ahhs, we hitched a ride back down the mountain. After breakfast, we headed out on our bikes for a 3 hr ride. I wanted to check out some new roads that I'd use with the campers on Friday. Jeff nicknamed this section of road "The Land Of The Lost". Lot's of climbing on this ride and it felt comforting to be back on my bike up in LP. Comforting, yet not content. The campers arrived Wednesday afternoon which meant the pre-camp debriefing, an easy social run and then dinner.

Thursday, we awoke to rain drops, however the forecast looked drier in the morning than in the afternoon so I switched the days agenda and we saddled up and headed out for a loop of the LP course. It sprinkled on us for maybe the first 45 minutes and then it was relatively dry the rest of the time. Oh yeah, I was cramming though for swimming, so Jeff and I headed over to mirror lake to get in a swim before the ride. We stopped along certain points of the bike course so I could break down each section and discuss how to ride and race this course. Doug Bell was concerned for the weather and came out in a full gortex, 1980's Frank Shorter looking running suit. I told him it looked as though he was wearing a has mat suit, yet it did earn him the mvp for the day. Some lunch and then we headed over to Mount Marcy for some trail running. I sent over Angela with a group 20 minutes prior to my group - the idea was to get us all to the amazing lookout on this particular trail around the same time. I warned everyone to take some shoes and clothes they didn't mind getting muddy. As I took my group into the trail, about 10 minutes in, Ange's group was coming back. "it's washed out - the trail is washed out." She said. "Look, were all muddy." Someone else said. They looked pretty clean to me considering the trail I knew ahead and the amount of rain we had this spring. They were heading out to run the dirt road. I told them my group was going onward, not giving my group much of an option. We ran single file and soon encountered the swamp which was certainly wet, yet fun. We were running in knee deep mud, slipping and sliding all over, jumping over and through puddles, losing shoes in the mud, a few face plants,... Basically, acting like kids. And it was a blast! Not only were there no complaints, but my group thrived on it. Once out of the swamp, you begin climbing right away, and climbing, and climbing. I was off the front a bit and heard some rustling in the woods to my left and caught something coming at me out of my peripheral vision. I stopped startled to face head on a hawk. It swooped right past me as I yelled at it, then it landed and was hissing at me. I never took my eyes off it yet began moving up the trail, and it took off.

I love taking first timers to the lookout on this particular trail. It's simply stunning, looking over the high peak mountains. You can even see the town of Lake Placid off in the distance and the omnipresent ski jumps popping up out of the woods. We hung out for a bit before the slippery, quick descent. From the trails we headed straight to mirror lake to get in a swim - my second of the day (did you hear that Gus?).

Dinner at Nicolas was a fun time to retell the days stories, laugh a lot, and have a few Lake Placid Brewery beers. A salad and the #5 pizza is tough to beat here. Then our nightly visit to Ben and Jerry's (I highly recommend the triple caramel chunk), and you'd call that a great day.

brief update on LP camp 09'

Sorry I haven't posted each day here at camp. I guess I should be apologizing to myself since I try to write this blog as though I'm keeping a journal for me.

It's been an amazing camp - especially the Friday ride which I found this year, which is top secret, and which all the campers here who have attended some of my other camps claimed as one of, if not, the best ride route they have done.

For all the nasty weather forecasts and predictions, we escaped relatively dry every day! In fact, yesterday (Saturday) was probably the best conditions I've ever witnessed here; overcast and high 60's with no wind. It would have been a record setting day had the race been yesterday.

I will do a more detailed write up, later today or this coming week, on each day and the campers who were once again a lot of fun.

As it turns out, I am dealing with a head cold/virus. It seems that the allergies, combined with my own ignorance of ignoring the need for sleep due to lifes demands has weakened my immunity. It's forced some interesting decisions, at least to me, with my race schedule. Right now, I need to rest up and heal and let my immune system regain it's strength.

More later...

Deliverance

Was taking pictures on the way up here today to do a "guess where i am" but the camera died. I'm back in Lake Placid - I don't need to once again describe how great it is up here and to be back up here. Let's just say that if you aren't here, well, that's a shame.

Jeff met me up here today, a day before camp starts. Our plan was to run up Whiteface. We have ridden up it a few times, and were anxious to tackle the 8+ mile climb by foot. We started the run in sunny 70's weather around 2pm. You start right at it on this sucker, just climbing right from the get go. The pace was comfortable and we were clicking away the miles, solving the worlds problems. Around the 3 mile mark, you encounter the toll booth. There is only one road that climbs up Whiteface and between the hours of 8:30 and 4:30, while cars are allowed up, cyclists and runners aren't allowed on the road. The toll booth kid seemed a bit stoned so Jeff and I persuaded him to let us keep going. About 4.5 miles up the climb, a pick-up pulls over right in front of us and two bearded, wild eyed guys jumped out. One had a shot gun and the other a billy club (why is it called a billy club???). As the guy with the shotgun held me at gun point, the other overall wearing, billy club wielding redneck threw Molson into the back of the pick-up. I heard a lot of squealing and couldn't spot the billy club for a bit... OK, truth be told, (because I know that if there are a few of you out there reading this, you were buying it) The guys did hop out and yelled at us like we were high school kids telling us that we were breaking the law and ordered us to get into the pick-up, where they drove us back down to the toll booth and let us out to run back down the mountain. We did however find a trail that goes to the top of Whiteface and tomorrow morning, we will be there, reaching the peak by foot.

We drove back to LP and stopped at Mirror Lake for a swim. I actually swam! The water was beautiful, and warm, easily in the upper 60's which with a full wetsuit made it more than comfortable. I swam a loop of the IM course and felt pretty good. Maybe all that Vasa trainer training actually worked?. I swam with the new MyAthlete waterproof "Shadow" gps tracking device. I'll post a link tomorrow since I'll be training with the shadow all week at camp. It tracked me swimming in mirror lake with no issues!

The last two weeks have been stressful and tiresome weeks for me. My training hasn't been great at all during these two weeks and I even had some freak virus over the weekend, so to say that it feels great to be here is a serious understatement.

Cheers,

EH

Rev 3

Earlier this year I thought about racing the Rev 3, however, the timeliness of it with my work schedule and the race I want to key in on didn't fit. Then, Cannondale, and Matt Cappiello in particular, asked if I'd be interested in doing the race as a team. Matt would do the swim, Curt Davis, an ex-pro cyclist, engineer for Cannondale, and all around nice guy, would do the ride. I'd be the runner. "Why not?" I told Cappy, and we were signed up. I never really took the race seriously. I've never done a team tri before, and to be honest, I kind of snoottily thought of the team race as a cop out to doing the whole thing. I get the fact that some can't swim, or can't ride, or can't run, but for those that could, why not do all three? However, I knew the full race would leave me flat for my key race and thought this would be a fun way to get in a hard 1/2 marathon run.

There was no taper. In fact, I was on my bike at 4:30am on Saturday morning getting in a hard brick. Again, this was because I was downplaying the whole team thing. Well, I show up at the race this morning and see that there are quite a few teams and quite a few teams taking this very seriously. I thought "Oh shit, maybe I should have taken this a bit more seriously!" Yes, that's exactly what I thought.

The organization of the race was great. They did put on a top notch race. My concern for the race is that first, there were only 700 athletes signed up (including pros) and this was a very expensive race to put on, and second, there weren't many spectators there considering the hype behind the race. The gps tracking company that is a direct competitor with MyAthlete and that hyped the shit out of live tracking for every athlete at this race was basically non-existent. There were a few athletes wearing their clunky devices and they didn't even work. They are brilliant with their marketing though.

The thing about doing the run in a relay is that there is a lot of waiting. I sat around in the sun and actually met a lot of nice people. Quite a few who actually read this blog?! (And I though that Baker and Big Rocks were the only two who read this crap) I was anxious to get running, and knew that I'd have to run hard if I wanted to win the relay division. Greg Pelican had a stellar team including a fast swimmer and a 2:30 marathoner. There was another team who had a female swimmer that came out well under 25 minutes and their cyclist was a pro as well. This team put over 15 minutes into us by the end of the ride, and Cappy and Curt did great, which is a testament to how fast they were moving. Curt built a four minute lead on Greg by the end of the ride, so I left in second place, chasing a ghost and running scared.

My goal was to knock off six minute pace, and the first two miles were downhill so I clicked off 5:45's. You start the run of the relay after sitting around waiting and there is no one around you and you have to start out at an aggressive pace. I significantly underestimated the intensity of this and was awakening to this in the first few miles. I'm having my worst allergy season to date and following the thursday friday rain, my allergies were kicking in strong, and my breathing was compromised. I'm not making excuses here, but rather just stating the facts. At the four mile mark, you begin climbing for the next two miles and half way through, I had a full blown asthma attack. I was gasping for breath and forced to walk for a bit until my breathing settled down, my lungs relaxed, and I gained control. I haven't had too many of these and I have to say that it's a scary and uncontrollable feeling. I began running again at a more relaxed and controlled effort but it still didn't feel great. I plugged along and finally around the seven mile mark, I felt like I could run. In fact, the last five miles were my best. It felt good to finish strong, however, I was bummed about the early miles, especially since I've been training well and running well. I held off Greg's runner and after finishing, realized that the lead relay finished less than a minute in front of me! The course is tough and windy so you can't see who is in front of you. Of course I'm kicking myself with the "if only's" now. The lesson today that being part of a relay can be a serious bitch, with the waiting around and starting with no-one in sight. Honestly, I would have rather raced the whole thing. I don't think my time would have been much different. In know way am I trying to say that the relay is harder than doing the whole thing. Racing the whole race is definitely harder. However, I think my underestimation combined with allergies made today a more challenging endeavor than I would have imagined.

Some side notes - the course is a son of a bitch and is great! This is one tough course. I spoke quite a bit with Luke Bell who dnf'd after snapping his front derailleur five miles into the ride. He's one hell of a nice guy and very down to earth. Matt Reed and Miranda Carfee are studs.

I had quite a few athletes who raced today and raced really well. I think Straz took second in his age group, Gus placed third in his age group and had a great day. Annmarie placed fourth and had an equally great day. These two are keying in on IMLP and I hardly tapered them for this race! Megan, Mandy, Jeff B., Greg P., Jim H., and Tim S. all did really well. They all finished strongly. Chris T. who I've been running with a bunch (or who's been kicking my ass) raced like a pro today. He won the overall amateur race and was only a few minutes off the top pro run splits. Congrats to them and all who finished, and thanks to my team mates for actually a fun day!

Cheers,

EH

random jibberish once again

• If you live in CT and didn't get a chance to get outside and ride, run, or do something this weekend, then that's a shame.
  
• The past three Saturdays, I've been starting my rides at 5am due to busy family commitments taking place throughout the rest of the day. It's tough getting up early, even though I'm up at 4:30am mon through fri, but I am actually really enjoying these rides. They have been hard efforts, with a good portion of them at LT. But the roads are empty and the surroundings are peaceful. It's my time - my sanctuary, and I finish at 8am just when most are waking up.
  
• Lisa and I had a fourteenth wedding anniversary last week. We went out to a great restaurant (Union League Cafe) in New Haven. Of all the anniversary cards out there, we both got each other the same exact one. During our conversations, her 40th birthday which is a few years away came up, and how I have to plan something way out there considering the trip she gave me. I mentioned how "it's going to be a great trip". She was very curious as to "where" I had planned, but it doesn't matter. I asked her to name one bad trip we've been on and she couldn't think of any. The bottom line is that when you find the right person, it doesn't matter where you go.


• Back to the early morning ride - I'm at my daughters 8:30am soccer game and the parents sitting around us are bitching about the early 8:30am game. There something very empowering, and yet peaceful, knowing that you already got in a three hour ride before most were even awake. It just makes the rest of the day that much better, and as you sit there half dazed, listening to many complain about things, it makes the tedious task of viewing u6 soccer that much more tolerable.
  
• My athletes are continuing to kick ass. Peggy C. won her age group at Ridgefield tri today and Matt C. and Matt W. came in 6th and 8th overall, respectively.
  
• It's amazing just exactly how much the weather effects the moods of most.


• This is definitely the worst allergy spring season to date!
  
• After a very busy day, it's hard to beat sushi and a few glasses of good wine.

Cheers,

EH

Guest Blogger David Uri: Remembering Steve Larsen

Below is an email I received from my friend David Uri:

Dear Friends,

I hope this note finds you and your family well. As some of you may be aware, Steve Larsen, one of the most accomplished cyclists and triathletes, tragically died May 19, 2009, at the young age of 39. While the exact cause of death is not yet known, he was in the midst of doing what he loved most, running with a group of athletes. Steve leaves behind his wife Carrie of 16 years and five children – Amalia (13), Massimo (11), Gunnar (4) and twins Marco and Mateo (2). Steve was extremely well respected in the business and athletic communities, and was seemingly able to balance his family, professional and athletic commitments with amazing skill and dedication. Most of all he was a devoted father of five young children. If you are unfamiliar with Steve’s biography take a moment to check out www.rememberstevelarsen.com. I am sure you would agree that someone with his talent, on many levels, is a rare find today.
I have followed Steve’s athletic career for many years and only recently came to know him on a personal level when I moved to Bend, Oregon a few years ago. Steve and I worked on a few business opportunities together and shortly after I arrived in Bend, Steve and his family moved across the street from us.
With the tragic death of Steve, our entire community is mourning his loss. As a father of three young children, I cannot even imagine how difficult it must be for the Larsen Family at this moment. Just imagine you or your spouse vanishing and the enormous void that would be left behind. What do you tell your young children and just imagine how devastating it would be to them. Their tragedy is so “close to home” that I felt compelled to reach out to my network of friends, as well as the broader athletic community, to ask you to join me in supporting Steve’s family.
A few days before Steve’s passing, I was discussing with him an upcoming race that I was contemplating – a 100k ultramarathon. Steve gave me encouragement to participate in the race and with that I entered the event literally the day before he passed away. In recognition of Steve and to support his family, I have set out to raise $100,000 for the Larsens. While this is no way will ease their suffering, it will give the family some financial breathing room for the long road ahead of them.
It is in this spirit of helping those in need, that I personally ask each of you join me in this helping this wonderful cause. Specifically,
Please give generously and help support the Larsen family during their time of need. Checks can made out to the Steve Larsen Memorial Fund and be sent to Umpqua Bank, 390 SW Century Drive, Suite 100, Bend, OR, 97702 or you can donate directly at www.rememberstevelarsen.com. All funds received will be directed to the Larsen Family. If you are so inclined, take a moment to write a short note to the Larsen Family with support and encouragement.
Without any delay, forward this email to 10 friends or colleagues. This is an opportunity to get many people in your community involved. In fact, I am hopeful that some of you will take it upon yourself to lead such a fundraising effort yourself and further expand the reach.
Like you, I typically don’t look forward to receiving monetary requests or chain letters, but this is simply one cause that cannot go overlooked. It is times like this that we need to do the right thing and support someone who offered a tremendous amount to others. Steve was the type of person who always had encouraging words for people and his life should be an example followed by others. Please “pay it forward” and assist this most deserving family during this time of need.
Thank you for your time and I am hopeful you will be supportive.
Best Regards,
David Uri

Tragic News About Steve Larsen

Two days ago, while doing a track workout in his hometown of Bend, Oregon, Steve Larsen, professional cyclist, triathlete, business owner, and father of five, collapsed and died from a heart attack.

I now know what the term flabbergasted actually means. Same with dumbfounded. I really still can't grasp this.

I have been lucky enough to have met and talked with Steve on a few occasions. He came across immediately as a sincere, intelligent, honest guy. On all occasions, he looked me in the eye and actually seemed interested in our conversations. As an athlete, I really admired how he raced. He changed the dynamics of triathlon, taking control of the race on the bike and working his ass off to put time on his fleet footed opponents. He first raced as a professional cyclist, and was part of the motorola professional team. He set the course record at IMLP in 2001 which I was lucky enough to be a spectator at.

I am really saddened by this tragic news, and at the same time, can't help but be narcissistic and equate it to myself. I use to think that if I were to suffer from a heart attack, it would have happened already - based on what I put myself through. I'm irresponsible in regards to my regularly getting physical exams. In fact, I don't even have a general health care practitioner (a doctor). I can't recall the last time I had a physical. Having a family, I have no excuse not to. It's not about me anymore. I have to believe that Steve had some underlying issue. Or maybe I'm just justifying my own lameness. Just because I exercise a lot and eat fairly well doesn't mean I'm out of the woodwork in terms of life threatening illness.

Back to Steve - he appeared to be a very grounded guy who led by example and lived more in his short 39 years than many do in twice this time. I can't help but think about Steve's wife and kids. I have certainly spent the last couple of nights hugging my family a bit more.

I planned on finishing my blog about the CT camp final day, but it seems a bit mundane right now.

One m'fer of a ride!

Yesterdays route was one of the toughest ones I've had at any camp thus far. It was a five hour trek that included multiple tough climbs including Geer Mtn and Carter Hill. The first three hours went nnicely and the group rode well, especially considering what they had done the previous day. We stopped in Kent for some red-eyes and muffins and I sent half the group with Baker on a still challenging, yet easier and more direct route back to Lakeville. The other half came with me up Carter Hill. Carter Hill has three steep parts to it with gradients over 20%. What goes up must come down though and we had a ripper of a descent where I hit 54 mph. As tired as the group was getting, we still managed to motor past another group of cyclists at the four hour 40 minute mark of our ride.

The ride was followed by a one hour brick run, then more stretching and soaking the legs in the lake. Short post today - need to do a long run in a few minutes! More later.

Cheers,

EH

tri state tour - day dos

Cyclists and triathletes love numbers. How many miles/kilometers did I ride today? What was my average speed? Where's my heart rate at? How many rpm's am I pedaling? What wattage am I riding at up this climb? The problem with numbers is that A.) they may not reflect what actually took place during the ride (power would however, but not everyone uses a powermeter), and 2.) if you spend all your time looking at and analyzing numbers during a ride, you may miss out on a spectacular experience.

Yesterday started with an almost perfect ride. I'd say perfect, but is their such a thing? If there is, than this ride is it. The air temperature was perfect in the mid 70's. The sun was out. There was a light breeze. We rolled along beautiful country side for the first 75 minutes, where we then regrouped and did the 8 mile time trial. I sent each camper off one at a time, one minute a part. The course is marked each mile and is a straight shot along route 63 with little traffic, nice rollers, and no intersections to worry about. Greg Pelican was the second to last to go, and then one minute later, I headed out. There's nothing to like about a time trial if you do it right. It should just hurt like hell. If you are very fit, it should hurt like hell - you are just going faster. I was impressed by the effort put out by all. In particular, Annmarie posted the fastest woman's time to date on this course. I did look at my power quite a bit during this ride, managing the ride and gathering some data.

We then rolled onwards around twin lakes and then up 41 into Massachusetts. The scenery was really amazing today. We made the left in Egermount and began the five mile climb up over Mt. Everett, and down the descent on the back side into NY, before stopping and having lunch at Bash Bish Falls. Bash Bish Falls is a place that never gets old, and each time there I see something different. Soon, it was back on the bikes and on the rail trail pass that follows route 22 south towards Millerton, NY, then back into CT. Some numbers; We began riding at 8:30am and got off our bikes back at The Interlaken at 3pm. What the numbers don't show are the fact that this was Sue's longest ride ever, or the huge hawks we saw, or the turkey vulture hovering over Annmarie, ... What they do show is that this ride had it all - long stretches of rollers, long climbs, steep climbs, great descents, a time trial, lots of quality. This was just an amazing day and if you love to ride your bike, well, as I said, it doesn't get much better.

We headed out for a brick run in the trails around secret lake, and then walked down to the lake behind Hotchkiss Boarding School and soaked our legs in the cold water. Then, I did some assisted stretching with each camper. The day wasn't done yet though! We headed over to Hotchkiss to swim in their $25 million pool. I kept the swim session on the easy side to let the athletes loosen up. I did some stroke work with each of them and then, the training day was done. Another great meal - I had a nice NY strip steak, and the full day was done. Not bad at all!

CT Camp Day 1

Welcome to Fight Club. The first rule of Fight Club is: you do not talk about Fight Club.

Oh, wrong camp.

The first rule at all my camps is: no whining.

Not that I'm a hard ass or some tough guy. I just explain that whining gets you no where. When you are out on a ride and it raining and cold and you are miserable, the person next to you is miserable as well. There's no need to voice how miserable you are. My buddy Farber, The Mexican, knows this rule well. He never bitches. We have ridden in some nasty awful conditions and we just get quiet and ride. Because, when it comes right down to it, what are your options?

This camp started with a ride. As we stood in the parking area, discussing the details of the ride, it began to piss on us. This didn't stop through the whole ride. The group didn't bitch at all. Well, Annmarie did for a bit, but I cut her slack because she's honest and her Italian emotion is hard to keep bottled up. Plus, she's tough as nails and I didnt want her to beat the crap out of me.

Even with the rain, the ride was still beautiful. We did a few long gradual climbs and then I had the group do some hill repeats up Music Mountain road. I planted a water bottle and they had to do three repeats to the water bottle up the road, the first at a higher cadence seated, the second at a low cadence seated, and the third standing the whole time. I then moved the bottle back further and had them repeat this sequence of three. Finally, they did it once more with the bottle even further up the road. We ended up riding three hours total.

After a hot shower and some homemade warm chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies, we did the short drive over to the parking area for the Appalachian Trail and headed up. The trail from where we ran winds up hill for over 30 minutes and you reach a peak on a ridge that looks out over Connecticut, New York and Massachusetts. It's an amazing lookout and an amazing run.

The day finished with a nice dinner, a glass or two of wine, and a solid, fun day one. Sue got the mvp award for the day. This is her first camp, and she has yet to even do a triathlon! She was smiling most of the day, albeit nervous, and she performed unbelievably well. I could tell she will fit in great and her first tri is going to be a breeze. She's due to post something on my homepage now.

Until later...

Cheers,

EH

prelude to CT camp

After a one year hiatus, I'm back up in Lakeville, CT for my ninth CT Camp. I came up today, a day early, a bit unmotivated yet with work to do before the camp begins tomorrow. I had a small turnout for this camp, with five cancellations in the last two weeks. On top of the fact that this camp will be a net loss business wise, I have a ton of things going on at home with kids activities, pt clients, ... So, my motivation was a bit lackluster to say the least.

Driving up, it was a perfect weather day and I didn't back up my car with my two expensive bikes on it into anything, so as Bill Murray would say, "at least I got that going for me". I met Jeff Molson up here today who was going to get in some training while I rode and marked some of the courses. Soon into our ride, I began to relax. The weather certainly was perfect today, but more importantly it not only felt great to be back up here, it felt right. This is hard to explain unless you have been here and trained up here. We talked about certain memories over the years on specific roads and it was just a great f'n ride. We then did a nice trail run and followed that up with a great dinner of seared tuna chased with a few local pale ales. I have other camps in more exotic places, but, and again, if you have been here, you'd understand and agree, this camp is the best one out there. Yes, it's better than Tucson, and yes, it's better than LP. Those are both great camps, but this one has everything, and it's as scenic if not more, and definitely more challenging than the other two.

I still remember the first year that Gus E. was considering coming to this camp. His dilemma which he voiced to me was "it's a bit expensive and it's just in CT." When he witnessed first hand what he received, - well, Gus has been back every year since. One year, he would'nt leave - we all left on the last day and he hung around! Hopefully, in the future, some more will take advantage of this experience. And if they don't, it's their loss. Bottom line is that it didn't take long today for me to get charged up for this camp. Also, it didn't take long for this place to de-stress me, and make me realize how cool my life is.

The campers have some serious fun in store, and I'll keep reporting on it here.

Cheers,

EH

Early May Report Card

My first "A" race is in early July, so right now is a great time to do a self analysis of where I'm at and what I need to do to get the results I'm looking for. I suggest that anyone who may be reading this do the same for your own records and awareness - and if you use a coach, share it with them as well. It helps the coach in seeing if they are on the same page as the athlete they are working with. Here's my self-report card:

Swimming D- I haven't been in the water. At all. Although I'm at a point where I'm ready to count the 25 yds I may swim during a swim lesson I'm giving. I'd give myself an F, however, I have been doing my vasa trainer workout religiously a few times each week. Mark my words; I'm in the pool Monday.

Cycling A- My cycling is really strong right now, but more importantly, I feel smooth and efficient, connected with my pedal stroke. I often advise my athletes to focus more on pushing forward and pulling back in their pedal stroke, as though cross country skiing, rather than pumping up and down. But the best analogy I can think of is for those who have baked. When you are stirring a mixture and as it thickens, you can feel the resistance or pressure around the whole stirring stroke. You don't stir clockwise getting resistance on the spatula for the first 2/3rds of the rotation, then feel nothing for the remainder of the circle. When you are feeling your cycling form, you'll get this. Anyways, my wattage for my training rides is up there and my FT is close to where it was at it's peak the past few years. I still have room to improve and my volume has been low, but I'm on the right track. One reason is that I'm finally getting a little wiser and heading my own advice, taking rest days when I need them, not just when scheduled.

Running B- I've been doing well with my base here, getting in consistency. I love running trails and I can get to comfortable in just running, rather than doing some specific work. I need more work at threshold or even slightly above. I started that this week though, heading to the track yesterday to run with Chris Thomas. Once I get through allergy season which is hitting me hard at the moment, I should come around quickly. It feels as though I'm running at altitude the past week with everything blooming.

Sleep D I'm still working on this one. the 4:30 wake up Mon through Fri never gets any easier and getting to bed by 9pm is a challenge in itself.

Nutrition B I'm about 75% here, close to the 80/20 rule I preach, but a bit off where I want to be. Planning is the key, and laying off that extra glass of wine or beer or licorice now and again. I am perplexed though how at my camps, athletes will skip on a glass of wine yet they will have a soda. Listen, I certainly get it if they have an alcohol issue. If they don't have alcohol issues or concerns and think that soda is healthier choice though, they are quite mistaken.

Speaking of camps, my CT Camp is next week beginning either Thursday or Friday depending on which day the attendee signed up to begin. I have a small group so there will be lots of personal attention. We are getting all the rain out of the way this week so it should be great next week. If anyone is still interested in attending, contact me soon. It's a great way to learn a bit more about what you may be capable of.

Cheers,

EH