A Bidding Frenzy!!!

Someone is going to be extremely lucky, very soon.

IronMan Training: Week 17

Weigh In: 155 - getting fat from all this tapering/bumming around

S - 6 - Ride 37 (1:55), Run 5.5 (37:38), gym x 6, PU75, 960

M - 7 - [Ride 23 (1:08), Run 4.25 (31:49)], gym x 5, PU25, 800

T - 8 - Swim 1600m (35:00), [Run 6 (42:16), Ride 31 (1:45)], gym x 6, PU75, 960

W - 9 - Swim 600m (20:00), Ride 8 (30:00), 320

TR - 10 - WISCO!

F - 11 - Swim 1.2 (40:00), Ride 10 (40:00)

S - 12 - Swim 1.2 (40:00), Run 1.5 (12:00)


Summary: 10:14
Swim: 3.75 miles; 2:15
Bike: 109 miles; 6:00
Run: 17.25 miles; 2:04
Gym: x 17, PU175, 3240

IronMan Training: Week 16

Weigh In: 150

S - 30 - Chitown Tri - [Swim 1500m (26:370), T1 (1:44). Bike 24.8 (1:04), T2 (3:28), Run 6.1 (38:23)] = 2:14
- Age Group: 3/157
- Overall: 30/4243

M - 31 - Ride 42 (2:12), gym x 2, PU25, 320

T - 1 - Swim 3822m (1:25), [Ride 30 (1:29), Run 5.5 (39:30)]

W - 2 - Swim 2667m (1:00), [Run 2.7(18:43), Ride 42 (2:13)]

TR - 3 -
F - 4 - Taper/Rest/Columbus
S - 5 -

Summary: 11:29
Swim: 5 miles; 2:52
Bike: 139 miles; 7:00
Run: 14.3 miles; 1:37
Gym: x2, PU25, 320

Chicago Triathlon

Chicago Triathlon

August 30, 2009

Robbie Guy and I traveled to the windy city this past weekend to dust off our racing shoes and join 4000+ other triathletes in the largest triathlon in the nation. The expo was very good, the course turned out to be great, and the whole thing was pretty well organized.

I wasn't aware that I was babysitting this weekend until I had the privilege of introducing our newest member, Robbie Guy Layman to our sponsor Wild Turkey on friday night during our stop at ND. To say the least, he felt the powers of Turkey! But, like a true Pants Off Racer, he took it in stride and killed the triathlon on sunday.

Course:

Swim: 26:37

.9 miles - Lake Michigan never felt so suffocating. It was a water start so we all started in the water next to eachother in waves of 100+. Robbie and I were in the 20-24 age group with 155 other dudes. The swim course was right along the waterfront in the yacht club area near Navy Pier. I had been swimming a lot lately, but not like this. I got about 100 yards into the swim and couldn’t even breath. I was sucking in water like no other, my extra medium wetsuit was suffocating me, and I couldn’t even swim. I felt like Pronk out there doing frog strokes for the first 10 minutes of the swim. After I managed to overcome the panic attack of not being able to breath, I finally got into a groove to finish up the swim. It was a pretty demoralizing start to a race, but my time wasn’t nearly as bad as I had thought – wetsuits make a big difference I guess.

T1: 1:44

450 yards - I was just happy to get out of the water at this point. T1 was a nice run along the way to get to our bikes. Nothing special really happened here.

Bike: 1:04:12; 23.6 mph

24.8 miles - The bike course was great. It was right on Lake Shore Drive and was a 2 loop course going north. Going out on Lake Shore was straight out into the wind – serious wind. But, of course, coming back the wind was right behind us. Going out at 20 mph and coming back at 28 mph is never a bad day. I was expecting a lot out of this race, but after a pitiful swim I was pretty discouraged about the whole thing. The bike felt pretty good though, I just cranked out as hard as I could the entire ride thinking about all the training I have done this summer. 25 miles doesn't seem like much when your training rides last for hours - it was by far the best biking i have ever done in a race.

T2: 3:28

Robbie Guy had been talking some serious smack about this race ever since we signed up. As i remember him saying, and I quote, "I'm definitely a better swimmer than you, a little faster on the bike that you, and probably better at the transitions. Plus, I ran a 40 minute 10k. So, bascially D.R., your not going to beat me unless i die on the run." Thanks to Robbie's encouragement and the Wild Turkey babysitting I had been doing all weekend, I was really pissed. I passed Robbie on the turn-around on the bike and knew he wasn't gonna catch me on the run. So, basically, when I saw Robbie in T2, i was a little surprised and knew I had to put in a good run to cap off my dominance of Robbie Guy.

Run: 38:23; 6:11 pace

6.1 miles - The run course looped around the waterfront near the Shed Aquarium and came back to finish a block or two away from the swim start. Going out on the water we had the wind at our backs, but I didn’t really realize how much wind until I turned around to have it in my face. I did great when the wind was helping me along, but couldn’t keep up my pace once I made the turn. Overall, it was a good strong run and I felt fresh. I should have pushed it a little harder, especially miles 4 & 5. Mile times: 5:54, 6:02, 6:03, 6:19, 6:21, 6:36, and finished the last in 1:07. I really wanted to hit 36 minutes but I'll take those times for today.

Overall: 2:14:25; 30th/4243

I was happy with how I finished. It was my first triathlon in almost a year and I’m glad I got back to racing before Wisconsin. I was surprised to find out that I placed 3^rd and Robbie 5^th in our age group. It’s amazing actually considering the swim.

Official Results:

Robbie Guy:

Distance	Intermediate
Clock Time	02:17:01
Overall Place	47 / 4243
Gender Place	47 / 2951
Division Place	5 / 157
Swim	00:25:02
Trans1	00:01:56
Bike	01:06:39
Trans2	00:02:41
Run	00:40:42
Swimrank	110
Bikerank	123
Mph	22.8
Runrank	60
Pace	00:06:33

Amato:

Distance	Intermediate
Clock Time	02:14:25
Overall Place	30 / 4243
Gender Place	30 / 2951
Division Place	3 / 157
Swim	00:26:37
Trans1	00:01:44
Bike	01:04:12
Trans2	00:03:28
Run	00:38:23
Swimrank	241
Bikerank	51
Mph	23.6
Runrank	23
Pace	00:06:11

IronMan Training: Week 15

Weigh In: 156

S - 23 - Four movies with Rohn and Kat

M - 24 - [Ride 112 (5:35), Run 1 (6:43)], gym x 4, PU50, 640

T - 25 - Swim 2000m (45:00), Run 6 (42:56), Ride 43 (2:21), gym x 2, PU25, 320

W - 26 - Swim 3200m (1:15), Ride 16 (45:00)

TR - 27 - Swim 2000m (45:00), Run 2.2 (14:22), Ride 19 (1:02), gym x 6, PU75, 960

F - 28 - Swim 3200m (1:15), Run 5 (41:00), gym x 4, PU50, 640

S - 29 - Chitown

Summary: 15:28
Swim: 6.5 miles; 4:00
Bike: 190 miles; 9:43
Run: 14.2 miles; 1:45
Gym: x 16, PU200, 2600

IronMan Training: Week 14

Weigh In: 152

S - 16 - Dublin Half-Marathon 1:21

M - 17 - Swim 1600m (35:00), Run 5 (37:30), Swim 2400m (55:00), Ride 11 (37:00), gym x 6, PU75, 960

T - 18 - [Run 12 (1:29), Ride 41 (2:10)], gym x 6, PU75, 960

W - 19 - Run 2.2 (14:56), Swim 200m (45:00), gym x 6, PU75, 960

TR - 20 - gym x 4, PU50, 640

F - 21 - Run 10.75 (1:17), Ride 45 (2:20), Swim 200m (45:00)

S - 22 - Ride 26 (1:21), PU25, 320

Summary: 14:27

Swim: 5 miles; 3:00

Bike: 123 miles; 6:27

Run: 43:05 miles; 5:00

Gym: x 22, PU300, 3840

Dublin Half Marathon

Dublin, OH Half Marathon

My race season has finally begun! After what seems like forever, I finally got to participate in an organized race, the half marathon in Dublin, Ohio with fellow POR team members, Rohn & Kat Amato, Sprout, Jeff McClellan, and the Florian twins. It was great to finally have a race to compete in, and it was even better since we had such a good cast with us. It was Kat and Sprout's first half marathon, and it only took a short dinner at Panera to convince cousin Jeff that he should join us the next morning. Overall, we could not have asked for a better weekend. Kat and Sprout both finished under 2 hours, Rohn's knee didn't hold him back, and I had my first career victory.

I came into this race hoping to qualify for the NYC marathon. It's different from Boston because you can qualify for the marathon with a half marathon time of 1:23. I thought it would be perfect timing to get out and race hard with the all the training rohn and I have been doing together. Haha - i still think its funny that I got first place, with a time of 1:21. I started in the front because I wanted to push the first coupe miles as hard as I could because I knew I could just suffer throug

h the remaining 10 miles or so. I led the first 3 minutes of the race, and thought "well, at least I can say I was winning for 3 minutes of the race." At that point, some giant of a man passed me and was well ahead of me the whole race. I could see him most of the time about 300-400 yards ahead of me because he was about 7 feet tall. I ran with some 40 year old stranger for the first 8 miles. He said he was pushing it hard the first 7-8 miles before he fell back to run the rest of the race with the friends he brought along. I think he really helped me out, keeping me up on my pace and just having the luxury of running with someone makes a big difference. With about 2 miles left in the race I still felt pretty good. Given, I didn't feel amazing the whole day. I had my biggest week of training this summer leading up to this race, so I was just concerned about getting the time I wanted. But, once I saw that there was an outside chance of placing first, I just kept thinking about all the training i have been doing this summer and wouldn't let myself coast into the finish. I finally passed the golly green giant around mile 12. I really didn't want him to put up a fight the last mile because I was dead at this point, so I just pushed it even harder when I got next to him hoping he would be discouraged. Thankfully, he didn't chase and I had a clear lead over him going into the finish. It was weird being in the front. It wasn't a large race, and there weren't too many serious runners in the field. but still, I was more than excited about winning a race and getting my time I was shooting for. It was a hot day in Columbus, and I think all the Spartan training has finally paid off!

POR vs. Food: The Thurmanator

Before the race sunday, I stopped by Matt Tober's place as he explained to me a lovely place called "Thurman's." Man vs. Food visited this burger joint for one of his shows. After he explained to me the challenge, 1.5 lbs of burger, .5 lbs of bacon and ham, all the toppings, and fries - I could barely even concentrate on the race. Lately, I have become an eating machine. Rohn kinda just sits around the house and watches me eat all the time. I think he just watches for entertainment because I just have been devouring all kinds of food. So, once this idea was put into my head, I knew it was going down.

After a hard fought race by team POR, we headed straight to Thurman's for our victory laps. It was a monstrous meal. Rohn and I were the only members to order the Thurman-ator, and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole darn thing. Rohn looked a little sick after he struggled through the last few bites, but it was as great an accomplishment as any that day.

IronMan Training: Week 13

Weigh In: 152

August:

S - 9 - Ride 59 (3:15), Run 12 (1:37), gym x 6, PU75, 960

M - 10 - Ride 30 (1:32), [Run 6 (42:46), Ride 30 (1:33)], Run 4.4 (29:25), gym x 3, PU75, 1100

T - 11 - Run 6 (44:48), [Ride 26 (1:21), Swim 3200m (1:15), Ride 23 (1:16)], PU25, 320

W - 12 - Swim 3200m (1:15), [Run 8.5 (1:00), Ride 93 (4:46)], gym x 4, PU50, 640

TR - 13 - Ride 42 (2:01)

F - 14 - Ride 44 (2:23), Swim 3200m (1:15), Run 2.2 (16:32), gym x 6, PU75, 960

S - 15 - Ride 60 (3:20)


Summary: 30:03!
Swim: 6 miles; 3:45
Bike: 407 miles; 21:27
Run: 39.1 miles; 4:51
Gym: x 22, PU300, 4120

IronMan Training: Week 12

Weigh In: 154

August:

S - 2 - Ride 57 (3:12), Run 10.75,

M - 3 - Swim 2000m (45:00), Run 4.25 (32:10), gym x 6, 320

T - 4 - Swim 2000m (45:00), [Run 4.19 (30:00), Swim 1600m (35:00)], [Run 7 (57:47), Open Water Swim ~ 1600m (35:00), Run 6.1 (50:49)], gym x 6, PU75, 960

W - 5 - Study

TR - 6 - [Run 5.5 (41:38), Swim 2000m (45:00)], Ride 23 (1:25), gym x 4, PU5o, 640

F - 7 - Sleep

S - 8 - Run 23 (3:10), gym x 2, PU25, 320

Summary: 16:19
Swim: 5.75 miles; 3:25
Bike: 80 miles; 4:37
Run: 60.8 miles; 8:17
Gym: x 16, PU150, 2220

IronMan Training: Week 11

Weigh In: 152! (gettin' small)

July:

S - 26 - Run 4.5 (36:37), 960

M - 27 - Swim 2000m (45:00), Ride 74 (4:00), Run 7 ( 46:52), gym x 2, PU25, 320

T - 28 - Swim 3200m (1:15), Run 12 (1:30), gym x 6, PU 75, 960

W - 29 - 320

TR - 30 - [Run 7 (51:050), Open Water Swim ~ 1600m (35:00), Run 7 (55:29)], gym x 1, PU50, 450

F - 31 - 100

S - 1 - Ride 100 (5:02), Run 6 (44:59)

• After a really slow, un-motivating week I reluctantly joined my 50 year-old friend (I think the average age of my friends has significantly increased this summer), Dave, on an organized century ride around Toledo. I think I ate 15 oatmeal raisin cookies. Either way, it completely got me out of my training rut. I felt great the whole time, and didn't let the old man dominate me like he did earlier in the summer. I'm finally realizing some substantial progress which it good. I've drop my weight too, which I can totally feel on the bike. After watching the tour de france the past couple days, and looking at these tiny stick figures on their bikes I now realize how much of a difference my weight makes when I'm on my bike. Hopefully I can continue this momentum into the next couple weeks before I start to taper.

Summary: 17:02
Swim: 4.5 miles; 2:35
Bike: 174 miles; 9:02
Run: 43.5 miles; 5:25
Gym: x 9, PU150, 3110

IronMan Training: Week 10

Weigh In: 154

S - Ride 71 (3:36), Run 8.5 (1:00), 100

M - Swim2000m (45:00), Ride 75 (3:55), Run 8 (1:03), gym x 4, PU50, 640

T - [Run 4.5 (32:00), Swim 1600m (35:00)], Run 3.6 (30:16), gym x 4, PU50, 640

W - Swim 2000m (45:00), [Run 4.5 (31:31), Swim 1600m (30:00)], [Ride 25 (1:12), Run 4.5 (33:50)], gym x 6, PU75, 960

TR - Swim 2000m (45:00), [Run 7 (51:43), Open Water Swim 1600m (35:00), Run 6.2 (47:59)], gym x 2, PU25, 640

F - Run 4.5 (34:15), Ride 35 (1:51), gym x 6, PU75, 960

S - Run 6 (46:29), Ride 20 (1:02), gym x 6, PU75, 960

Summary: 22:55
Swim: 6.5 miles; 3:55
Bike: 226 miles; 11:40
Run: 57.3 miles; 7:20
Gym: x 28, PU350, 4900

IronMan Training: Week 9

Weigh In: 155

S - Ride 45 (2:18), Run 4.5 (36:36), PU52, 520

M - Run 6 (42:17), Ride 20 (59:49), Swim 1600m (35:00), Run 4.5 (35:40), gym x 9, PU75, 960

T - Ride 75 (4:00), Run 2.2 (17:40), PU25, gym x 3, 670

W - Swim 1600m (35:00), Swim 1600m (35:00), LSD~15.25 (2:10), bi x 6, PU75, 960

TR - Swim 1600m (35:00), Ride 8 (28:00), gym x 6, PU75, 960

F - [Ride 31 (1:38), Run 4.5 (32:29)], Run 6 (51:51), gym x 6, PU75, 960

S - Ride 40 (2:07)

Summary: 18:15
Swim: 4 miles; 2:30
Bike: 219 miles; 10:00
Run: 43 miles; 5:45
Gym: x 30, PU377, 5030

IronMan Training: Week 8

Weigh In: 157

S - Ride 45 (2:16), Run 4 (28:15), gym x 6, PU75, 960

M - Ride 32 (1:48), Track 3.75 (30:00), Run 6 (48:24), gym x 6, PU75, 960

T - Run 4.5 (34:16), Run 4 (29:13), gym x 12, Ride 61 (3:14), PU75, 960

W - Swim 3200m (1:15), LSD ~ 14.25 (2:00), gym x 2, PU50, 640

TR - Swim 1600m (35:00), Run 6 (45:34)

F - Run 7 (53:07)

S - Study

Summary: 15:37
Swim: 3 miles; 1:50
Bike: 138 miles; 7:18
Run: 49.5 miles; 6:29
Gym: x 26, PU275, 3520

Holland Training Trip

Pronk came to town this week to finally get serious about training for this ironman we have in 2 months. I think it finally hit us that it is relatively soon. It was a good week of training, a lot different when you actually have someone next to you trying to do the same thing as you are.






Weigh In: 159

S - Run 8 (55:45), Ride 102 (4:38)

• The week started with an Amato family wedding in Chicago, always an interesting time when so many Amatos are in the same place. It was a lot of fun driving everyone around all weekend. On our way home, we stopped in ND for a nice trail run at St. Mary's and a heavy lunch at CJ's with Prof. Drevs. Once, we got to amish country Rohn and Kat dropped Pronk and I off so we could ride the rest of the way home. It ended up being 102 miles with plenty of wind in our favor.

M - Swim 3200m (1:15), Ride 22 (1:08), Run 7 (52:44), gym x 12, PU75, 960

• It was fun waking up at 4:20 in the morning time for our first swim of the week. Swimming in the dark is always my favorite. We pounded coffees the rest of the day, and then the rest of the week for that matter.

T - Ride 27 (1:33), Ride 24 (1:20), LSD ~ 13.5 (1:50), gym x 15, PU75, 960

• Pronk got to join Rohn and I on our weekly Long, Slow Distance run of the week at Oak Openings. Each week we run 10 more minutes and are up to 1:50 this week.
  

W - Swim 3200m (1:15), Speedwork: 6 Yasso 800s (2:52) - 4.75 miles (39:09), gym x 6, PU75, 960

• We tried out our first Yasso 800s workout today. Not fun at all, but I could definitely feel the effects of this track workout. Bart Yasso's theory of this workout is to run 10 x 800 with a 400 jog between and average your 800's time to simulate your marathon time.
  

TR - [Run 60 (~8), Ride 4:00 (81), Run 30 (~4)], 640

• Today was probably the most grueling workout i have ever done in my life. Thanks to Brandon del Campo, we tried one of his brick workouts he sent our way. We managed to finished it, and actually felt great on the last 30 minutes of the run. The bike was extremely long but it worked out great since Robbie joined us and we have a good line going the entire time.
  

F - Swim 3200m (1:15), Ride 16 (54:03)

• We couldn't really get ourselves to do a whole lot today, especially after 3 days of early morning swim workouts followed by breakfast dates each day. I did test out Pronk's new bike today, and its completely unfair. It is so light and quick that I finally realized why I was staring at Pronk's ass all week while we were riding.
  

S - Run 18 (2:37)

• Pronk and I drove north to Ann Arbor for the day and ended up at Sterling Lake State Park. We didn't really have anything specific planned until we arrived and they had a great 18 miles trail. Instead of riding today, we opted to run the trail instead. It was perfect though, a lot like oak openings with a lot more hills. Probably the breast part of the week was the 3 times I turned to look at Pat and he was doing ninja rolls in the dirt from tripping all over the place.
  

Summary: 25:42
Swim: 6 miles; 3:45
Bike: 272 miles; 13:30
Run: 63.25 (8:25)
Gym: x 33, PU225, 3520

IronMan Training: Week 6

Weigh In: 160

June:

21 - Ride 46 (2:26), Run 7 (48:51), gym x 6. PU 75, 960

22 - Swim 3200m (1:15), Ride 37 (2:06), Long Run ~12.5 (1:40), gym x 4. PU 50, 640

23 - Ride 31 (1:46)

24 - Swim 3200m (1:15), [Ride 41 (2:21), Run 6.5 (50:30)], gym x 6, PU 75, 960

25 - Run 1 (7:45)

26 - Chicago

27 - Run 4.5 (31:10)

Summary: 15:10

Swim: 4 miles; 2:30

Bike: 155 miles; 8:40

Run: 31.5 miles; 4:00

Gym: x 16; PU200, 2560

IronMan Training: Week 5

Weigh In: 160

June 14th Week:

S - Run 4.6 (33:45), Ride 45 (2:31), Gym x 15, PU75, 960

M - Swim 3200m (1:15), Ride 40 (2:14), Run 11.5 (1:30), Gym x 2

T - Ride 20 (1:11), [Ride 28 (1:32), Run 6 (43:02)], Gym x 3, PU75, 960

W - Ride 30 (1:43), Run 8.2 (1:12), Gym x 15, PU75, 960

TR - [Ride 18 (1:00), Run 4.2 (30:00)], Ride 12 (40:00), Open Water Swim ~ 3200m (60:00), Ride 11 (36:00), 320

F - [Ride 15 (44:17), Tempo Run 5.8 (43:58), Ride 8 (35:59)], Ride 7 (19:23), Open Water Swim ~ 1600m (30:00), Ride 7 (20:00), Run 3.6 (31:44), Gym x 2, PU75, 640

S - Ride 44 (2:30), Run 4.5 (34:41), Ride 28 (1:36), Run 4 (32:04)

Summary: 27:05
Swim: 5 miles; 2:45
Bike: 313 miles; 17:30
Run: 52.4 miles; 6:50
Gym: x 37; PU275; 3840

IronMan Training: Week 4

Weigh In: 163

June:

7 - Ride 62 (3:42), Run 6 (41:27), Gym x 15, PU75, 960

8 - Swim 3200m (1:15), Ride 21 (1:06), Long Run ~ 10.6 (1:20), Gym x 15, PU75, 960

9 - Ride 27 (1:31), Ride 30 (1:40), Run 4.6 (39:07), Gym x 6, PU75, 960

10 - Swimm 3200m (1:15), Bike 41 (2:15), Run 6 (45:11), Gym x 6, PU75, 960

11 - Ride 23 (1:25), Ride 23 (1:33), Open Water Swim ~ 3200m (1:00), Run 4.6 (36:39), Gym x 2, Pu25, 960

12 - Ride 19 (1:06), Tempo Run 7 (49:24), Ride 21 (1:10), Gym x 2, Pu25, 640

13 - Ride 77 (4:27), Gym x 2, Pu25, 320

Summary:
Swim: 6 miles; 3:30
Bike: 344 miles; 20:00
Run: 38.8 miles, 4:50
Gym: x48, PU375, 5760

IronMan Training: Week 3

Weigh In: 163

S - Ride 48 (2:42), Run 6 (46:12), bi x 3, tri x 3, PU75, 960

M - Run 4.6 (34:55), Ride 4 ( 14:53), bi x 2, tri x 2, PU5o, 640

T - Ride 41 (2:13), Long Run~9.3 (1:10), bi x 3, tri x 3, PU75, 960

W - Swim 3400m (1:15), Ride 25 (1:16), Run 3.6 (29:48), bi x 3, tri x 3, PU75, 960

TR - Run 6 ( 43:27), Ride 40 (2:22), Run 3.6 ( 29:39), bi x 3, tri x 3, PU75, 960

F - Swim 3200m (1:15), Ride 52 (2:52), Run 6.6 (49:54), bi x 2, tri x 2, PU50, 640

S - Ride 65 (3:25), Run 4.9 (39:43)

Summary: 23: 15
Swim: 4.125 miles; 2:30
Bike: 275 miles, 15:00
Run: 44.6 miles; 5:45

IronMan Training: Week 2

Weigh In: 167

May:

24 - Run 4.6 (33:42), Ride 51 (2:49), bi x 3, tri x 3, PU75, 960

25 - Swim 3200m (1:15), Long Run ~ 8 (60:00), Ride 23 (1:21), bi x 3, tri x 3, PU75, 960

26 - Run 4.6 (35:05), Ride 61 (3:21), Run 3.5 (30:20), bi x 3, tri x 3, PU75, 960

27 - Swim 3200m (1:15), Run 4.6 (35:41), Ride 22 (1:14), Run 3.6 (29:48), bi x 2, PU50, 640

28 - Ride 4 (15:00), 3 flat tires and a ho-ho, PU25, 320

29 - Swim 3200m (1:15), Run 6 (44:43), Ride 30 (1:49), Ride 45 (2:44), PU25, 320

30 - Ride 63 (3:48), Run 4.6, (36:25), Ride 20 (1:06), PU25, 320

Summary: 26:11

Swim - 6 miles; 3:45

Bike - 299 miles; 17:20

Run - 39.6 miles: 5:06

IronMan Training: Week 1

Weight In: 170

May:

17 - Graduation

18 - Run 4 (28:25), Ride 20 (1:09), Run 4.6 (37:41), bi x 3, tri x 3, PU75, 960

19 - Run 4 (29:40), Ride 25 (1:24), Run 4.6 (38:55), bi x 3, tri x 3, PU75, 960

20 - Swim 3200m (1:15), Ride 20 (1:09), Ride 28 (1:37), Run 3.6 (29:33), bi x 3, tri x 3, PU75, 960

21 - Run 4 ( 30:07), Ride 20 (1:13), bi x 3, tri x 3, PU75, 960

22 - Swim 3200m (1:15), Ride 40 (2:16), Run 4 (34:14), bi x 3, tri x 3, 960

23 - Ride 40 (2:11), Run 4 (30:46), bi x 3, tri x 3, PU75, 960

Summary: 17:50
Swim - 4 miles; 2:30
Bike - 193 miles; 11:00
Run - 32.6 miles; 4:20

Bookstore Basketball 2009

Its that time of year again at ND. Its time for spring break and the weathe starts getting bearable again. This year, my team is sponsored by our good friends at The Subway Alumni Show. It should be fun. So, stayed updated on our progess throughout the tournament.

5,000 Mile Photo Recap

Best Co-Pilot I know

Only in Cincinnati With Gym

Mr. Drew Updike

Doing the Doug Logsdon at The Dungeon

Our Mustaches Were Contagious

Kat Cold On Boat

Bringing Us Down The Home Stretch

2nd Graders

Surprising Miss Katie in the Goula

The Best Streetcar Ever

In-N-Out Trumps Sonic

Rohn Is Scared of Cattle

Kickoff 2009: Day 10

Our last day of road-tripping was short. We finally made it into our home land of Ohio. Natually, the weather was terrible and we couldn't even get the car up the drive way. We traveled over 5,000 miles and had one hell of a time. I think road-tripping has become one of my greatest abilities at this point - but you are only as good as your co-pilot. Hopefully, Rohn and I can continue this tradition into the next year.

Kickoff 2009: Day 9

Unfortunately, our trip was coming to an end. We had a long of driving left over the last two days but we still made our time worth it by stopping in Cincinnati to visit Gym Williams and Mogan David. We hit up a fun hockey games that had more fights than goals and feasted on $1 hot dogs. After we enjoyed many game of King's Corner with the guys.

Kickoff 2009: Day 9

After a short time in New Orleans, we surprised our sister and her 2nd graders in Pascagoula for some much needed exercise at recess. I don't remember recess being 2 hours long when I was that young. Again, the Goula treated us well and we met some great characters - John Lynn. After filling up with some po-boys and 40 ounces of Budweiser, we went on a nice boat ride with Joe "Bama Bangs" Williams. I love going to the Goula, and can't wait to return again over spring break.

Kickoff 2009: Day 8

Our triumphant return to New Orleans was everything we had imagined. We stayed with Fish, of course, and made sure to hit up all our favorite spots. We made it back to Camilia Grill to get some pecan pie, took the streetcar to Bourbon street, used the bathroom at The Dungeon (cherry bombs were delicious as well), went to an iMax movie, enjoyed some delicious Ruth Chris with Father Chambers (he baptized me), and celebrated the night watching Drew Updike the performer.

Kickoff 2009: Day 7

The morning after the game, we gather all the jim tressel sweater vest tshirts in AZ and headed south. Probably our most random fun-spot was our visit in El Paso as Sara-Ashley Hernandez's house. We made perfect time too - her mom was making tacos! We met the whole family and got a great tour of the place, they were great hosts. Against all wishes, we had to continue on to our next destination and face the great state of Texas through the night. Oh ya, we ate 14 of those delicious homemade tacos.The Tecas Backcountry was ridiculous! It was pitch-black, we went through security check-point (El Paso is basically Mexico), the speed limit was 80 mph, and there were flying deer all over the place. John and I were still a bit tramatized from our run in with the unlucky coyote we ran over, and I wasn't too sure that my car could suvive another hit. I don't think I blinked for two straight hours looking at dear and the blood stains all over the roads. Nonetheless, our road-tripping stamina was pretty impressive at this point and after 12 straight hours we finally cross the whole state of Texas. We celebrated with a trip to sonic (unfortunately, sonic does not compare to the In-n-Out we were use to).

Wild Cat

Kickoff 2009: Day 7

We packed up all our our sweater vest tshirts and we back on the road again - this time due east. We thought it would be a bright idea to drive straight across the entire state of Texas to visit our good friends in New Orleans and surprise Miss Katie's 2nd grade class in Pascagoula, MS. The most random fun spot of the trip for me was our pit stop in El Paso, TX. Here, we visited with Sash's family for a couple hours. We greatfully accepted some delicious, authentic Tacos - it was only fitting to eat tacos when you are visiting the Hernandez family (and El Paso is basically in Mexico). They were great hosts - feeding us 14 tacos and they loved our mustaches as well as Rohn's beautiful new Spaniard haircut. My mustache had even begun to curl at the sides by this point of the trip.

Kickoff 2009: Day 6

Today was the Fiesta Bowl between The University of Texas and The University of Ohio State. Although this was the only reason for us making this amazing roadtrip, it wasn't really our main priority. Regardless, it turned out to be a surprisingly great experience. We managed to scalp $20 tickets, which we a bargain in the very top row because we also got unlimited chips and salsa from the great people at Tostito's. We complemented our mustaches with our Jim Tressel T's for the fourth straight day.









We were pretty full from all the chips and salsa, but we could not pass up our second straight meal of In-In-Out burger.

Kickoff 2009: Day 3, 4, 5

Luckily we had 4 days to recooperate and rest in Scottsdale before we were on the move again. We stayed at the Sullivan Center's guest house - Rohn and I had our own pool, pool table, and some great beds to sleep in. Rohn was able to sell his shirts pretty easily, so our time was pretty stress-free in Scottsdale.

On our second day in the desert, we made our way to Humboldt, AS to go "Dude-Ranching" with our pal Buzz Fournier - a CCHS grad who moved our west to live his dream as a rancher. It was a lot of fun getting to tour his ranch in his pick-up truck feeding the herd and walking around the terrain. Dogs were chasing little kittens, fierce cattle were grazing, and other dude things surrounded us on this short trip.
On our way back to our temporary home, Rohn successfully killed a coyote in broad daylight by accelerating our car into the poor little guy. It was pretty amazing actually, I didnt even see the thing, I only heard the loud smash of my license plate and John wimpering. Rohn was pretty shook up after this experience, and I almost had to take our the pilot seat for the rest of the trip.

Kickoff 2009: Day 2

Today, the Smother Brothers and their mustaches made their way due west straight across the entire state of Kansas on their way to their next desination - Denver. The one great thing about this state is their amazing amount of museums. After nearly 20 wooden billboards advertising the "Worlds Largest Prairie Dog," we knew we had to stop. The anticipation and excitement was building with each mile, and we could not even imagine what kind of prairie dog would grow to be over 5 tons! Finally, we arrived. Unfortunately, our dreams were crushed. Apparently, the "World's Largest Prairie Dog" does not work on holidays - so we settled for a few pictures and some peeking over the tall fence. Eventually, we made our way to Denver in time to see the Rose Bowl with J. Lo and Lizzy. Once they fed us some KavSaa and made the first purchases of the trip, we decided we had had enough and venture onward to Scottsdale through the night.
The drive through the pitched-black desert was pretty entertaining. Along the way we picked up some postcards, sunglasses, and a couple new high speed records on our Garmin. We were pretty loopy by the time we made it to our beautiful home in the desert around 8 am the next day.