Jim here. Nothing all that new going on. But maybe I can keep Mary at bay by posting some of the nothingness that I take shit for not posting.
Well, that may be short-selling it. Matt and I started taking a P90X class at the gym twice a week. It is helping us to meet housewives and sweat liquor out of our pores. Other than the class, we are still keeping our usual routine at the gym, although we really need to start hitting the pool more often (primarily so that I can tell Adam to go fuck himself).
I recently got an Ipod for the sole purpose of setting it up with the Nike+ system. Kind of like an speedometer/odometer on your car, it tells you how fast and how far you have run. You install this sensor on your shoe and then like magic (or like physics or something) you have a voice in your ear telling you your pace and your milage. I don't know how it works, it's not a pedometer and I think that gnomes might have been involved in it's creation. Anyone that can explain it to my satisfaction gets a Team Bad Ass prize.
There are a ton of options that I have yet to play around with, but it lets you program a Power Song that will play if you drop below your pace. Mine is currently set to "Through the Fire and the Flames" by DragonForce. Tried it out today with a 45 minute run at the gym, it required virtually no setup and it seems to be very accurate.
Maybe I can retire the old mp3 player. Hey, Matt, you're getting a present! Seriously, the guy still has a Sony Walkman that plays cassette tapes. He runs around with giant earphones listening to a worn out J. Geils Band tape. Makes us look bad.
On another note, other people need to stay the fuck out of the gym. Lately, the gym has been busier than fire-eater with a paper asshole. Every jerkoff with a New Year's resolution has now become an impediment to me fulfilling my goals.
Oh, you want to ride the exercise bike? Too bad, some fatass in poorly-fitting stretchpants is already sitting on it, barely pedaling and reading Redbook.
You want to log some laps on the track? You had best be prepared to swerve in between the Holsteins and Heifers that don't understand that their near-Volkswagon size creates an obstacle akin to a rhinosaurus on the expressway.
And who the fuck takes the elevator and then gets on the step-machine?
I am strongly considering investing in an Old Country Buffet franchise and setting up shop in the parking lot just to alleviate the crowd in the gym. A more cost-effective solution might be a series of signs that read "Free Ham for Fatties" and have an arrow that points away from the gym entrance. Anyway, food for thought (get it?).
Oh, TBA merchandise is in the works. There is talk of a calendar, though I may just repackage an English Sheepdog calendar and tell people it's Matt. The similarities are frightening. Stay tuned for details.
Jim out!
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Team Bad Ass needs your help
In an attempt to enhance our already badass image, TBA is looking into making t-shirts and hats. That way, even those that do not follow our blog can know how awesome we are. The only problem is that we cannot agree on a motto. Below are the options, let us know what you think.
1. “Trample the weak. Hurdle the dead.”
2. “That which does not kill you, makes you stronger.”
3. “Pain is weakness leaving the body”
4. “No retreat, no surrender.”
5. “Nut up or shut up.”
6. “We are the people our parents warned us about.”
I’d say that we welcome your submissions, but after seeing some of the inane and downright retarded comments that get posted, that really isn’t the case.
1. “Trample the weak. Hurdle the dead.”
2. “That which does not kill you, makes you stronger.”
3. “Pain is weakness leaving the body”
4. “No retreat, no surrender.”
5. “Nut up or shut up.”
6. “We are the people our parents warned us about.”
I’d say that we welcome your submissions, but after seeing some of the inane and downright retarded comments that get posted, that really isn’t the case.
Monday, January 11, 2010
2010 Race Schedule - For Real This Time!!!
Hello loyal readers! Hope the holiday season treated you well.
And a special hello to the disloyal assholes that like to send hate mail and leave negative comments. Hope you die in a fire!
Matt and I got together after our inaugural P90X class this morning and hammered out a race plan for 2010. It is a bold and challenging schedule that would impress even the most sinewy of athletes. And if it doesn’t, go to hell and then co-author your own blog with Hitler and Ted Kennedy. Better yet, set up a Twitter account so you can tweet updates to all of your faggot-ass friends.
Anyway, Matt and I met at TBA Headquarters (over Eggs Benedict and a club sandwich, respectively) and narrowed an almost endless list of marathons, triathlons, adventure races, and keggers to come up with our 2010 schedule. We decided on fifteen events which I will detail below.
The whole idea of Team Bad Ass was to train for a large event by competing in smaller ones, and I am confident that our schedule does that. We are going to start the season with primarily run-based events, then transition (no pun intended) into cycling and multisport events as we get further into the summer.
Team Bad Ass is currently waitlisted for the Hustle up the Hancock, a 94-flight stair climb up to the top of the John Hancock Building in Chicago. I don’t know when they will notify us, but I am not too hopeful. I guess we can just keep the hundred bucks and climb the stairs in my building nineteen times.
Our first race will be the Town Crier 10K in Saugatuck, Michigan. Matt and I competed in the Run Thru the Rapids 10K last October and we think the 10K distance will be a great start to our run season. Plus Matt can do some antiquing while we’re there.
A week after the Saugatuck 10K we’re going to up the ante with the Strider’s 10-miler in Grandville, Michigan. Last year we followed up the 10K with a half-marathon. We thought worked well, so we’re going to do it again.
Our first multisport event is the Steelcase Duathlon (run 5k, bike 30k, run 5k). The duathlon format is a new thing for us, but anything that keeps me out of the water is perfectly acceptable.
The Fifth-Third Riverbank Run will represent our longest distance race to date. At 25K (roughly 15.5 miles), we will once again be upping the ante, hoping to get one step closer to marathon distance. Also it’s right here in Grand Rapids, so it should be easy to get to. Plus they’re probably going to close down all the streets anyway, so what else would we be doing.
The Rockford Marathon is the early jewel of our race season. The 26.2 mile race is held in Rockford, Illinois and will probably be the most challenging thing I have will have accomplished thus far in my life. I can’t speak for Matt, he’s still bragging about beating a 6-year-old at “Don’t Break the Ice”. When the ice has broken, and the old man has fallen, the game is done…
TBA’s first triathlon will be the Seahorse Triathlon in Kalamazoo. It is a sprint distance race (500m swim, 20k bike, 5k run) that we picked to get us back into the swing of things. We’re both looking to best our already amazing time records we set in Traverse City last year.
We plan on starting off June with the 100 Grand Century, a 105 mile bike ride in Grand Rapids. We (read, Matt) copped out of the century ride last October and we ended up riding a “metric century” or 62 miles instead. This year we will ride the full hundred even if I have to keep a tazer with me on the bike to “encourage” Matt to keep pedaling.
Our second Tri will be the Bostwick Lake Triathlon in Rockford, Michigan. Like the Seahorse Tri in Kzoo, it is also a sprint distance race. The ranks of Team Bad Ass will likely swell during this race as numerous would-be triathletes have expressed interest in racing with us. So with that in mind there may be many cameo appearances on the team roster that day.
While I’m on the subject, if you would like to join the members of Team Bad Ass for an event, there are costs and requirements. For other guys, do know that you will be buying the post-race liquor and lap-dances. Ladies, you must be “smart” and have flexible morals.
This season, TBA will also be competing an event that actually requires a team! Muddy Buddy is a nationwide series of races where two-man teams alternate between running and mountain-biking through a six-mile obstacle course. The race ends with a long crawl through a mud pit. Muddy Buddy is probably the event that Matt and I are most looking forward to.
Our third triathlon will be the Lighthouse Triathlon in Ludington, Michigan. Also a sprint-distance race, the swim portion of the tri takes place in Lake Michigan which should be pretty cool. Plus there is a lighthouse. Apparently.
The Barefoot Triathlon in Traverse City will be TBA first Olympic distance race (1.5k swim, 26 mile bike, 6.2 mile run). We did the sprint distance last year, so this year we are going to kick it up a notch. The swim takes place in the Traverse Bay and this year we will likely not be able to touch the bottom which likely means that I have to learn how to swim.
We have a second century ride planned for late September. We’ll turn Matt into a cyclist yet! The Apple Cider Century starts in Three Oaks, Michigan and weaves 100 miles through rural roads in southern Michigan and northern Indiana. It’s too bad the route includes Indiana, which is arguably the worst state in the Union. No scratch that, there is no argument. Indiana sucks more balls than Elton John. I’d rather visit Pyongyang.
Run Thru the Rapids, is a 10K race along the Grand River though downtown Grand Rapids. With this race being so close, it would be ridiculous not to do it. We both hope to beat our times from last year, and after a race season as stacked as this one, we had better shave some serious time.
The Grand Rapids Marathon is a week after the Rapids 10K. It was between the Chicago Marathon and this one. We chose Grand Rapids so as to avoid having to drive anywhere. I can’t imagine wanting to drive anywhere after finishing a 26.2 mile run, especially a 3-hour drive that includes a stretch of the State of Indiana, which if you were reading carefully is the worst state in the Union. We ought to sell it to the Indians, maybe get back that case of firewater and chest full of glass beads that we paid for Manhattan. Plus with all the diseases already there, it’s likely impervious to smallpox. Too soon?
The pièce de résistance of our 2010 race season is the Battleship Triathlon in Wilmington, North Carolina. The race is a half-iron distance event (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run). This is the big one, well at least for us.
There will no doubt be minor alterations – Matt gets moody and I am well known for making wild, arbitrary decisions – but for the most part we are both excited about all of the events. There are also a couple of events that have not released dates just yet. Namely the Mitchell Run and the Millennium Triathlon.
Anyway, that’s the plan. All told it should total 3.2 miles of swimming, 556 miles of cycling, and 131 miles of running.
Let us know what you think so that I can mock you unmercifully in my next posting. Those leaving negative comments are required to leave a home address and times that you will be available for a severe ass-beating.
For those that really care or would like to join us, you can find the calendar below:
Sunday, Feb 28 – Hustle up the Hancock
Sunday, April 11 – Town Crier 10K
Saturday, April 17 – Strider’s 10-miler
Sunday, April 25 – Steelcase Duathlon
Saturday, May 8 – Riverbank Run 25K
Sunday, May 16 – Rockford Marathon
Sunday, May 30 – Seahorse Triathlon
Saturday, June 5 – 100 Grand Century
Sunday, July 4 – Bostwick Lake Triathlon
Sunday, August 1 – Muddy Buddy
Sunday, August 22 – Lighthouse Triathlon
Sunday, September 5 – Barefoot Triathlon
Sunday, September 26 – Apple Cider Century
Saturday, October 9 – Run Thru the Rapids
Sunday, October 17 – Grand Rapids Marathon
Saturday, Nov 13 – Battleship Triathlon 70.3
And a special hello to the disloyal assholes that like to send hate mail and leave negative comments. Hope you die in a fire!
Matt and I got together after our inaugural P90X class this morning and hammered out a race plan for 2010. It is a bold and challenging schedule that would impress even the most sinewy of athletes. And if it doesn’t, go to hell and then co-author your own blog with Hitler and Ted Kennedy. Better yet, set up a Twitter account so you can tweet updates to all of your faggot-ass friends.
Anyway, Matt and I met at TBA Headquarters (over Eggs Benedict and a club sandwich, respectively) and narrowed an almost endless list of marathons, triathlons, adventure races, and keggers to come up with our 2010 schedule. We decided on fifteen events which I will detail below.
The whole idea of Team Bad Ass was to train for a large event by competing in smaller ones, and I am confident that our schedule does that. We are going to start the season with primarily run-based events, then transition (no pun intended) into cycling and multisport events as we get further into the summer.
Team Bad Ass is currently waitlisted for the Hustle up the Hancock, a 94-flight stair climb up to the top of the John Hancock Building in Chicago. I don’t know when they will notify us, but I am not too hopeful. I guess we can just keep the hundred bucks and climb the stairs in my building nineteen times.
Our first race will be the Town Crier 10K in Saugatuck, Michigan. Matt and I competed in the Run Thru the Rapids 10K last October and we think the 10K distance will be a great start to our run season. Plus Matt can do some antiquing while we’re there.
A week after the Saugatuck 10K we’re going to up the ante with the Strider’s 10-miler in Grandville, Michigan. Last year we followed up the 10K with a half-marathon. We thought worked well, so we’re going to do it again.
Our first multisport event is the Steelcase Duathlon (run 5k, bike 30k, run 5k). The duathlon format is a new thing for us, but anything that keeps me out of the water is perfectly acceptable.
The Fifth-Third Riverbank Run will represent our longest distance race to date. At 25K (roughly 15.5 miles), we will once again be upping the ante, hoping to get one step closer to marathon distance. Also it’s right here in Grand Rapids, so it should be easy to get to. Plus they’re probably going to close down all the streets anyway, so what else would we be doing.
The Rockford Marathon is the early jewel of our race season. The 26.2 mile race is held in Rockford, Illinois and will probably be the most challenging thing I have will have accomplished thus far in my life. I can’t speak for Matt, he’s still bragging about beating a 6-year-old at “Don’t Break the Ice”. When the ice has broken, and the old man has fallen, the game is done…
TBA’s first triathlon will be the Seahorse Triathlon in Kalamazoo. It is a sprint distance race (500m swim, 20k bike, 5k run) that we picked to get us back into the swing of things. We’re both looking to best our already amazing time records we set in Traverse City last year.
We plan on starting off June with the 100 Grand Century, a 105 mile bike ride in Grand Rapids. We (read, Matt) copped out of the century ride last October and we ended up riding a “metric century” or 62 miles instead. This year we will ride the full hundred even if I have to keep a tazer with me on the bike to “encourage” Matt to keep pedaling.
Our second Tri will be the Bostwick Lake Triathlon in Rockford, Michigan. Like the Seahorse Tri in Kzoo, it is also a sprint distance race. The ranks of Team Bad Ass will likely swell during this race as numerous would-be triathletes have expressed interest in racing with us. So with that in mind there may be many cameo appearances on the team roster that day.
While I’m on the subject, if you would like to join the members of Team Bad Ass for an event, there are costs and requirements. For other guys, do know that you will be buying the post-race liquor and lap-dances. Ladies, you must be “smart” and have flexible morals.
This season, TBA will also be competing an event that actually requires a team! Muddy Buddy is a nationwide series of races where two-man teams alternate between running and mountain-biking through a six-mile obstacle course. The race ends with a long crawl through a mud pit. Muddy Buddy is probably the event that Matt and I are most looking forward to.
Our third triathlon will be the Lighthouse Triathlon in Ludington, Michigan. Also a sprint-distance race, the swim portion of the tri takes place in Lake Michigan which should be pretty cool. Plus there is a lighthouse. Apparently.
The Barefoot Triathlon in Traverse City will be TBA first Olympic distance race (1.5k swim, 26 mile bike, 6.2 mile run). We did the sprint distance last year, so this year we are going to kick it up a notch. The swim takes place in the Traverse Bay and this year we will likely not be able to touch the bottom which likely means that I have to learn how to swim.
We have a second century ride planned for late September. We’ll turn Matt into a cyclist yet! The Apple Cider Century starts in Three Oaks, Michigan and weaves 100 miles through rural roads in southern Michigan and northern Indiana. It’s too bad the route includes Indiana, which is arguably the worst state in the Union. No scratch that, there is no argument. Indiana sucks more balls than Elton John. I’d rather visit Pyongyang.
Run Thru the Rapids, is a 10K race along the Grand River though downtown Grand Rapids. With this race being so close, it would be ridiculous not to do it. We both hope to beat our times from last year, and after a race season as stacked as this one, we had better shave some serious time.
The Grand Rapids Marathon is a week after the Rapids 10K. It was between the Chicago Marathon and this one. We chose Grand Rapids so as to avoid having to drive anywhere. I can’t imagine wanting to drive anywhere after finishing a 26.2 mile run, especially a 3-hour drive that includes a stretch of the State of Indiana, which if you were reading carefully is the worst state in the Union. We ought to sell it to the Indians, maybe get back that case of firewater and chest full of glass beads that we paid for Manhattan. Plus with all the diseases already there, it’s likely impervious to smallpox. Too soon?
The pièce de résistance of our 2010 race season is the Battleship Triathlon in Wilmington, North Carolina. The race is a half-iron distance event (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run). This is the big one, well at least for us.
There will no doubt be minor alterations – Matt gets moody and I am well known for making wild, arbitrary decisions – but for the most part we are both excited about all of the events. There are also a couple of events that have not released dates just yet. Namely the Mitchell Run and the Millennium Triathlon.
Anyway, that’s the plan. All told it should total 3.2 miles of swimming, 556 miles of cycling, and 131 miles of running.
Let us know what you think so that I can mock you unmercifully in my next posting. Those leaving negative comments are required to leave a home address and times that you will be available for a severe ass-beating.
For those that really care or would like to join us, you can find the calendar below:
Sunday, Feb 28 – Hustle up the Hancock
Sunday, April 11 – Town Crier 10K
Saturday, April 17 – Strider’s 10-miler
Sunday, April 25 – Steelcase Duathlon
Saturday, May 8 – Riverbank Run 25K
Sunday, May 16 – Rockford Marathon
Sunday, May 30 – Seahorse Triathlon
Saturday, June 5 – 100 Grand Century
Sunday, July 4 – Bostwick Lake Triathlon
Sunday, August 1 – Muddy Buddy
Sunday, August 22 – Lighthouse Triathlon
Sunday, September 5 – Barefoot Triathlon
Sunday, September 26 – Apple Cider Century
Saturday, October 9 – Run Thru the Rapids
Sunday, October 17 – Grand Rapids Marathon
Saturday, Nov 13 – Battleship Triathlon 70.3
Thursday, December 10, 2009
TBA Welcomes New Member
Jim here again. Matt and I would like to announce that Derek Wheeler has survived the arduous new member approval process. We welcome him as the newest addition to Team Bad Ass. The application/approval process is quite rigorous and is not recommended for the faint of heart or anyone who doesn’t appreciate rampant vulgarity and unabashed ball-busting.
TBA's 2010 Schedule
Okay, so the heading is a lie, we have not yet finalized a schedule, but we do have a tenative schedule for the spring. Once all of the race dates have been finalized, Team Bad Ass will call a meeting, imbibe copious amounts of bourbon, and argue until either a schedule is produced or a fistfight ensues. That’s how we do shit.
In related news, Team Bad Ass has selected its first Ironman race. Well technically it’s not owned by the World Triathlon Corporation, so they can’t call it “Ironman”. Anyway, Wilmington, North Carolina is the site of the Beach 2 Battleship Triathlon, which offers a full-Iron distance race (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.2 mile run) and a half-Iron distance race (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and 13.1 mile run). It’s not until November 2010, but it is in a warmer climate, its right by the ocean, and there is a fucking battleship involved! But perhaps the best part is the race's proximity to Matt's sister and nephew with whom Jim cannot wait to watch cartoons.
Anyway, Matt wants to do the half-iron and Jim wants to do the full one (if you haven’t figured it out yet Jim is all man, and doesn’t fuck around). This difference of opinion will likely be settled at a Team Bad Ass meeting, if not by argument, then by a fistfight. Jim has the weight and reach advantages, he is also a mean bastard with a dirty left hook and a wild right haymaker.
Regardless of whether or not Jim lets Matt get his way, our general plan (training for a large event by competing in smaller events) will not change. Reasonable minds might differ about the effectiveness of our plan, but we never once claimed to be reasonable people. Sure we could do a more traditional style of training, but our main goal when we started this thing was to have fun with it and not take it so seriously that it controls our lives.
When picking out races, the idea was to build some running endurance and maybe do some speed-work in the early part of the spring with a race every couple weeks or so. So with that in mind we picked out a series of races with increasing distances. Starting with a 5K in March and building up to the Bayshore Marathon in Traverse City at the end of May.
So our tentative spring schedule looks like this:
Saturday, March 6 – Black River Rat Race 5K, Holland
Saturday, March 27 – Ridge Run 15K, Kent City
Sunday, April 11 – Town Crier 5K and 10K, Saugatuck
Saturday, April 17 – Strider’s Classic 10-mile, Grandville
Saturday, May 8 – Riverbank Run 25K, Grand Rapids
Saturday, May 29 – Bayshore Marathon, Traverse City
Hope to see you out there. Unless you are a douchebag. In that case just stay home and play with your cats. Nobody likes you and you’ll probably die cold and alone.
Oh, I almost forgot, Samoans are not welcome either.
They know why.
In related news, Team Bad Ass has selected its first Ironman race. Well technically it’s not owned by the World Triathlon Corporation, so they can’t call it “Ironman”. Anyway, Wilmington, North Carolina is the site of the Beach 2 Battleship Triathlon, which offers a full-Iron distance race (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.2 mile run) and a half-Iron distance race (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and 13.1 mile run). It’s not until November 2010, but it is in a warmer climate, its right by the ocean, and there is a fucking battleship involved! But perhaps the best part is the race's proximity to Matt's sister and nephew with whom Jim cannot wait to watch cartoons.
Anyway, Matt wants to do the half-iron and Jim wants to do the full one (if you haven’t figured it out yet Jim is all man, and doesn’t fuck around). This difference of opinion will likely be settled at a Team Bad Ass meeting, if not by argument, then by a fistfight. Jim has the weight and reach advantages, he is also a mean bastard with a dirty left hook and a wild right haymaker.
Regardless of whether or not Jim lets Matt get his way, our general plan (training for a large event by competing in smaller events) will not change. Reasonable minds might differ about the effectiveness of our plan, but we never once claimed to be reasonable people. Sure we could do a more traditional style of training, but our main goal when we started this thing was to have fun with it and not take it so seriously that it controls our lives.
When picking out races, the idea was to build some running endurance and maybe do some speed-work in the early part of the spring with a race every couple weeks or so. So with that in mind we picked out a series of races with increasing distances. Starting with a 5K in March and building up to the Bayshore Marathon in Traverse City at the end of May.
So our tentative spring schedule looks like this:
Saturday, March 6 – Black River Rat Race 5K, Holland
Saturday, March 27 – Ridge Run 15K, Kent City
Sunday, April 11 – Town Crier 5K and 10K, Saugatuck
Saturday, April 17 – Strider’s Classic 10-mile, Grandville
Saturday, May 8 – Riverbank Run 25K, Grand Rapids
Saturday, May 29 – Bayshore Marathon, Traverse City
Hope to see you out there. Unless you are a douchebag. In that case just stay home and play with your cats. Nobody likes you and you’ll probably die cold and alone.
Oh, I almost forgot, Samoans are not welcome either.
They know why.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Training
Sorry to break up the timeline, but I intended this blog to be more than just a recap of our races, I wanted to document the process of getting into Ironman shape. And the event write-ups (while a major part of this thing) are not all there is to it. So in addition to the race reports, I will interject training updates along with my own hastily-crafted, disjointed, and often vulgar commentary.
So anyway, lately Matt and I have been hitting the gym harder than a whore caught stealing from her pimp. In months past, our general gym program was to show up, run a few laps, and then do a few sets of legs, chest, or arms. Occasionally we'd hit the pool. The plan was decent, I suppose, and I am probably in better shape now than I ever have been. But our current system was not going to get us where we needed to go.
Our new plan is to switch between strength and cardio days, not to say that we won't have hybrid days, but only one will be the focus. We also have to get in the pool more often, even though I hate it more than I hate Michael Moore. Fuck that fat, self-righteous prick-bastard.
We finally got the heart-rate monitors working this week. Until now, we were working solely on distance, now we run by time and heart rate. Plus we get to use cool gadgets. Let's face it; we're both really just twelve year olds with cooler toys.
We also started a supplement regimen to make sure that we're getting the most out of our workouts. Maybe next year we'll start taking roids.
All that remains now is for us to figure out how to work spin classes and some other programs into our routine. With any hope, we'll emerge in the spring with me being able to swim and Matt being able to ride a bike. But then I remember the expression "Hope in one hand and shit it the other...See which one fills up faster."
Maybe I can even take the training wheels off of Matt's bike. Who knows?
Baby steps.
So anyway, lately Matt and I have been hitting the gym harder than a whore caught stealing from her pimp. In months past, our general gym program was to show up, run a few laps, and then do a few sets of legs, chest, or arms. Occasionally we'd hit the pool. The plan was decent, I suppose, and I am probably in better shape now than I ever have been. But our current system was not going to get us where we needed to go.
Our new plan is to switch between strength and cardio days, not to say that we won't have hybrid days, but only one will be the focus. We also have to get in the pool more often, even though I hate it more than I hate Michael Moore. Fuck that fat, self-righteous prick-bastard.
We finally got the heart-rate monitors working this week. Until now, we were working solely on distance, now we run by time and heart rate. Plus we get to use cool gadgets. Let's face it; we're both really just twelve year olds with cooler toys.
We also started a supplement regimen to make sure that we're getting the most out of our workouts. Maybe next year we'll start taking roids.
All that remains now is for us to figure out how to work spin classes and some other programs into our routine. With any hope, we'll emerge in the spring with me being able to swim and Matt being able to ride a bike. But then I remember the expression "Hope in one hand and shit it the other...See which one fills up faster."
Maybe I can even take the training wheels off of Matt's bike. Who knows?
Baby steps.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Barefoot Triathlon, Epilogue
This race was fantastic. We ran it hard and both of us exceeded even our wildest expectations for how it would turn out. However – hindsight being 20/20 – there were definitely mistakes made that affected performance.
My decision to hold back on the bike was one such mistake. Even though it allowed me to best my stand-alone 5K time (decent considering it came at the end of the tri). I think I could have shaved more time by hammering on the bike than I did by saving energy for the run. It was clearly a tactical error but perhaps also a lesson about changing strategy on the fly.
My transitions also need work. People who competed in wetsuits had superior T1 times even though they have to go through the additional step of taking off a soaked wetsuit. As for my T2 time, I think that by switching from clipless pedals and bike shoes to toe-clips and straps, I can shave about a minute off of my time by not having to change shoes. The shoes/clipless pedals might provide an advantage in longer races, but I think the transition time benefit in sprint distance races is more substantial.
Team Bad Ass will run this race again. This time with the goal of beating 1:30:00 and winning our age group.
My decision to hold back on the bike was one such mistake. Even though it allowed me to best my stand-alone 5K time (decent considering it came at the end of the tri). I think I could have shaved more time by hammering on the bike than I did by saving energy for the run. It was clearly a tactical error but perhaps also a lesson about changing strategy on the fly.
My transitions also need work. People who competed in wetsuits had superior T1 times even though they have to go through the additional step of taking off a soaked wetsuit. As for my T2 time, I think that by switching from clipless pedals and bike shoes to toe-clips and straps, I can shave about a minute off of my time by not having to change shoes. The shoes/clipless pedals might provide an advantage in longer races, but I think the transition time benefit in sprint distance races is more substantial.
Team Bad Ass will run this race again. This time with the goal of beating 1:30:00 and winning our age group.
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