Even though this is a remarkably ambitious goal, I signed up for Inside Out Sports’ Cast Iron Club. What can I say, I love online challenges. Mmmmm, metrics. Plus- free t-shirt!
Here’s the straight dope:
Cast Iron Club
Inside-Out Sports is proud to offer our “Cast Iron Club” for the second year. This club is for those of you who are hard headed and committed enough to swim, bike and run through the equivalent of 30 Ironmans in one year. Whether you are an experienced Ironman or a novice triathlete training for your first race, don’t stop now….if you keep reading and you will see how easy and rewarding this program can be.
The program is simple:
Register for the program at www.insideoutsports.com. Cost is only $7 and the deadline is April 31st. When you sign up, you will receive an Inside-Out Sports 28 oz water bottle.
Record your swim, bike, and run mileage and report it monthly using this form. We use the honor system so if you cheat, we leave your fate up to karma. For convenience, we offer a yard to miles calculator for swimming mileage.
At the end of the year (Dec. 31st 2008), if you reach the goal of:
72 miles of swimming
3360 miles of biking
786 miles of running
You will receive:
A Certificate of Achievement
A Tech Running Shirt commemorating your incredible achievement
Rights to brag to all your friends
If you think the goal mileage is out of reach, think again. If you swim 0.75 mile (or 1320 yards) two times per week, if you ride 35 miles two times per week, and run 5.5 miles 3 times per week, you will reach your 30 Ironman goal in 48 weeks, or 11 months.
We hope that you will see The Cast Iron Club as a fun way to keep you motivated and consistent throughout the year.
So based on my laziness in January, I have to accomplish the following per month to stay on plan:
7.2 miles of swimming.
289 miles of biking.
And 70.8 miles of running.
We’ll see how it goes.
If you want to play along:
http://www.insideoutsports.com/index.aspx?urlname=castironclub
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Rank and File
USAT rankings came out.
In order to be ranked, you have to participate in at least three triathlons in the year. Last year, I did exactly 3. One of which I won my age group by default. Somehow, I still managed to get ranked, woot!
http://www.usatrankings.com/Pages/MemberPages/RankingQuery.aspx
Order First Name Last Name Age Score Gender Grading
1 Iron Panda Old 41.86057 46.04663
In order to be ranked, you have to participate in at least three triathlons in the year. Last year, I did exactly 3. One of which I won my age group by default. Somehow, I still managed to get ranked, woot!
http://www.usatrankings.com/Pages/MemberPages/RankingQuery.aspx
Order First Name Last Name Age Score Gender Grading
1 Iron Panda Old 41.86057 46.04663
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Hearts Afire
This week is the Valentine’s Day rowing challenge. Since I tanked on the Winter Holiday challenge thanks to being sick twice, I’m starting again with this one.
The rules:
The goal is to row a total of 14,000 meters between 12:00 a.m. Monday, February 9th and midnight on Valentine's Day, Saturday, February 14, 2009.
This is an individual challenge. (You do not need to belong to a team to participate.)
Meters must be entered online.
Only indoor rower meters count (no water meters please).
Heading to the gym tonight to get started.
The rules:
The goal is to row a total of 14,000 meters between 12:00 a.m. Monday, February 9th and midnight on Valentine's Day, Saturday, February 14, 2009.
This is an individual challenge. (You do not need to belong to a team to participate.)
Meters must be entered online.
Only indoor rower meters count (no water meters please).
Heading to the gym tonight to get started.
USAT MF
This past weekend I ventured down to the USAT Mid Atlantic meeting in Richmond. Mainly to help the club out by providing an extra body for the club challenge, the club with the most people there wins cash. We won for the second most people there, and apparently donated the money to the Challenged Athletes Foundation. It’s a great cause, but if I had known we were going to do that I probably wouldn’t have gone.
There was supposed to be a silent auction for various race entries. However, in true USAT fashion, they waited until the last minute. I didn’t even know about it until I walked past the table and asked about it.
And the opening bids were all set for the price of the entry. FAIL again.
When you set up a silent auction, you set the opening bid for about half of what the item is worth. If you’ve done your homework, you’ve advertised what is being auctioned off so people are excited about the items and you start the auctions with competition for the items.
Most people already have planned their race schedules by now, and their budgets are set. This would have been a good idea to have online probably a month ago.
Anyway, the auction was supposed to support the CAF, so it’s doubly sad that it was handled so poorly, and I didn’t like feeling like the club donated our winnings to cover for the USAT’s F up.
Bob Babbitt, one of the original Ironmen gave a fantastic talk. It was all about the early days of Ironman where you had two days to complete the course, and he did it on a beater bike in a long sleeve cotton t-shirt. It was fascinating. Apparently, his support crew, which was legal in those days, brought him a Big Mac, fries, and coke to eat on the bike course. And he took a 45 minute nap during a massage in transition. He actually gained weight during the event from eating so much sweet bread. I love him. He was a great speaker, just told stories without pushing anything on us, if you get a chance to meet him or hear him speak, GO!
http://ironman.com/holdingcell/2003/july-2003/bob-babbitttriathlons-greatest-ambassadorironmans-spirited-soothsaye
Unfortunately, they ended his talk to let a guy try to pitch his mental coaching services to us. Mental coaching is the new Fauxhawk. Everyone is talking about it or trying to sell it to you, but there is very little accreditation or education supporting their advice. I cannot stand when people try to sell pop psychology bullshit. I tuned out and read my Self magazine in an effort to keep my mouth shut and not out this idiot.
Just a piece of advice: you probably wouldn’t hire a coach who hadn’t ever completed a triathlon himself, would you? Same goes for mental coaching. And this should be their primary business, not some side effort to soak money from patsies who don’t check credentials.
Later, we heard from the Duathlon Nationals guy. There will be a keg, and a club challenge, and amazing swag. The race is cheap too, only $35 so it’s looking pretty tempting. Did I mention no swimming?
In other news, don't stay at the Omni. The staff is impeccable. Amazing customer service. But they can't make up for the fact that the walls are paper thin, and the facilities have not been kept up. Bed was soft, noise incessant, toilet ran ... it made for a very cranky ride home the next day when neither one of us had slept more than a few hours. And we were both too tired to run the du course like we would have liked.
If you get a chance, eat at the Tobacco Company. Mashed potatoes where you could taste the heavy cream. Great martinis. Yummy tiramisu. And there's an atrium that runs up the center of all three floors. Awesome.
http://www.thetobaccocompany.com/
There was supposed to be a silent auction for various race entries. However, in true USAT fashion, they waited until the last minute. I didn’t even know about it until I walked past the table and asked about it.
And the opening bids were all set for the price of the entry. FAIL again.
When you set up a silent auction, you set the opening bid for about half of what the item is worth. If you’ve done your homework, you’ve advertised what is being auctioned off so people are excited about the items and you start the auctions with competition for the items.
Most people already have planned their race schedules by now, and their budgets are set. This would have been a good idea to have online probably a month ago.
Anyway, the auction was supposed to support the CAF, so it’s doubly sad that it was handled so poorly, and I didn’t like feeling like the club donated our winnings to cover for the USAT’s F up.
Bob Babbitt, one of the original Ironmen gave a fantastic talk. It was all about the early days of Ironman where you had two days to complete the course, and he did it on a beater bike in a long sleeve cotton t-shirt. It was fascinating. Apparently, his support crew, which was legal in those days, brought him a Big Mac, fries, and coke to eat on the bike course. And he took a 45 minute nap during a massage in transition. He actually gained weight during the event from eating so much sweet bread. I love him. He was a great speaker, just told stories without pushing anything on us, if you get a chance to meet him or hear him speak, GO!
http://ironman.com/holdingcell/2003/july-2003/bob-babbitttriathlons-greatest-ambassadorironmans-spirited-soothsaye
Unfortunately, they ended his talk to let a guy try to pitch his mental coaching services to us. Mental coaching is the new Fauxhawk. Everyone is talking about it or trying to sell it to you, but there is very little accreditation or education supporting their advice. I cannot stand when people try to sell pop psychology bullshit. I tuned out and read my Self magazine in an effort to keep my mouth shut and not out this idiot.
Just a piece of advice: you probably wouldn’t hire a coach who hadn’t ever completed a triathlon himself, would you? Same goes for mental coaching. And this should be their primary business, not some side effort to soak money from patsies who don’t check credentials.
Later, we heard from the Duathlon Nationals guy. There will be a keg, and a club challenge, and amazing swag. The race is cheap too, only $35 so it’s looking pretty tempting. Did I mention no swimming?
In other news, don't stay at the Omni. The staff is impeccable. Amazing customer service. But they can't make up for the fact that the walls are paper thin, and the facilities have not been kept up. Bed was soft, noise incessant, toilet ran ... it made for a very cranky ride home the next day when neither one of us had slept more than a few hours. And we were both too tired to run the du course like we would have liked.
If you get a chance, eat at the Tobacco Company. Mashed potatoes where you could taste the heavy cream. Great martinis. Yummy tiramisu. And there's an atrium that runs up the center of all three floors. Awesome.
http://www.thetobaccocompany.com/
PB&S
Sorry for not posting much lately. I was sick right before Thanksgiving. Sick over Christmas, in a minor car accident after New Year’s, and then sick again.
Coincidentally, there’s a warning out regarding peanut butter products. Just in case you’ve been living under a rock and missed it, here are the details:
http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/peanutbutterrecall/index.cfm#Snack%20Bar
Guess who ate a Kashi chewy peanut butter granola bar a week before they showed up on the list. And spent the next week being violently ill on and off. It was the same time frame the Norovirus was going around so they’re not 100% I had salmonella, but my symptoms lasted a long time and seemed more consistent with salmonella.
I am finally back to eating mass quantities of pizza, so everything is okay.
Coincidentally, there’s a warning out regarding peanut butter products. Just in case you’ve been living under a rock and missed it, here are the details:
http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/peanutbutterrecall/index.cfm#Snack%20Bar
Guess who ate a Kashi chewy peanut butter granola bar a week before they showed up on the list. And spent the next week being violently ill on and off. It was the same time frame the Norovirus was going around so they’re not 100% I had salmonella, but my symptoms lasted a long time and seemed more consistent with salmonella.
I am finally back to eating mass quantities of pizza, so everything is okay.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Body Movin
Saturday was the return of the 3 hour spin class. At least for me. People who didn't have evil colds over Thanksgiving and New Year's and get into car accidents started a few weeks ago.
The theme was body parts so there were a lot of songs with heart in them, Betty Davis Eyes, and You Were Always on My Mind (disco version). The only thing on my mind was my very, very sore saddle.
Meanwhile, the bike shop guy had given me a bottle of goop to try out. It come in a bottle that looks like a Fifth, and is curved to fit well in the back pocket of your jersey. It's supposed to shoot out one serving of this really liquid goo every time you squeeze it, sort of the bastard child of Gatorade and Gu. However, like a mule it got the worst of both parents. It was supposed to be orange flavored, but tasted more like orange peel. it was oddly bitter. It also leaked over EVERYTHING and is stickier than Superglue. I gave it to one of the guys in the class to try and he literally couldn't swallow it.
I dutifully called the bike shop to let them know how it went over and apparently there has been some similar feedback, great idea, but tastes like (insert body part here). I'll stick with Hammer gel and my Gelbot.
The theme was body parts so there were a lot of songs with heart in them, Betty Davis Eyes, and You Were Always on My Mind (disco version). The only thing on my mind was my very, very sore saddle.
Meanwhile, the bike shop guy had given me a bottle of goop to try out. It come in a bottle that looks like a Fifth, and is curved to fit well in the back pocket of your jersey. It's supposed to shoot out one serving of this really liquid goo every time you squeeze it, sort of the bastard child of Gatorade and Gu. However, like a mule it got the worst of both parents. It was supposed to be orange flavored, but tasted more like orange peel. it was oddly bitter. It also leaked over EVERYTHING and is stickier than Superglue. I gave it to one of the guys in the class to try and he literally couldn't swallow it.
I dutifully called the bike shop to let them know how it went over and apparently there has been some similar feedback, great idea, but tastes like (insert body part here). I'll stick with Hammer gel and my Gelbot.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Is this heaven? No, it's Maryland.
So, yeah. Sorry for not blogging. I have been sick and generally lame.
I swam for the first time in like 3 months so I could feel less guilty about not holding up my end of the National Club Challenge. I was lapped by the junior high school swim team.
I joined the mini gym across the street from my office. The treadmills have their own like 15" TV screens so I got to watch Sportscenter and CSI while I jogged on my lunch break. Unfortunately, there was an incident with a bottle of bath oil in my gym bag, so everything will smell like lavender for a while.
Anyways, a friend took me to the Gold's Gym in Bowie.
It. is. awesome.
They have a movie room where you can run, elliptical, or bike while you watch movies. I might never leave.
And they have bikes with like Bike-o-vision so as you pedal you get a bike's eye view.
And the machines all have places to plug headphones in so you can watch the Eagles game.
I'm moving in this weekend.
I swam for the first time in like 3 months so I could feel less guilty about not holding up my end of the National Club Challenge. I was lapped by the junior high school swim team.
I joined the mini gym across the street from my office. The treadmills have their own like 15" TV screens so I got to watch Sportscenter and CSI while I jogged on my lunch break. Unfortunately, there was an incident with a bottle of bath oil in my gym bag, so everything will smell like lavender for a while.
Anyways, a friend took me to the Gold's Gym in Bowie.
It. is. awesome.
They have a movie room where you can run, elliptical, or bike while you watch movies. I might never leave.
And they have bikes with like Bike-o-vision so as you pedal you get a bike's eye view.
And the machines all have places to plug headphones in so you can watch the Eagles game.
I'm moving in this weekend.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
