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lovinglunaxxtothemoonandback · 7 years ago

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We had a glorious (if but a little stressful and exhausting!!) trip to Florida. Easter morning we woke up at 6 and set up lunas trail of Easter eggs leading from her room to the trunk of the loaded car, where her easter basket was waiting for her. There were all fun things to do in the car! Thoughtful easter bunny! We told her we were going on vacation but didn't tell her where. The trip was pretty uneventful. We hit some traffic in Florida, we almost missed her reservation but luckily we made it. When we arrived at the bibbidi bobbidi boutique Luna still had no idea where we were. As we checked in we finally told her and she was stunned. All of the staff adored the surprise and couldn't stop talking about it. It was truly a magical experience, Luna was so awestruck. I cried like 50 times. Especially when she was all done and taking photos. We wanted to go grocery shopping that night but didn't realize everything would be closed for easter. The next morning we did our grocery shopping then left for universal. It was exhausting because Luna was so overwhelmed. She had never been to a theme park before and it was CROWDED. We made the most of it. I loved seeing Diagon alley for the first time. Taking the Hogwarts express was amazing. Luna really enjoyed it too, even if she was impressed with Harry Potter. Kory spoiled her rotten by buying her the $50 interactive wand and she had a lot more fun after that. She really really enjoyed Seuss landing. Overall it was a great first day. Tuesday was our first Disney day. We had to drive instead of taking the shuttle because we had an early reservation at be our guest. Traffic to park was atrocious and the lines for bag check were so long I was panicking. They said they would hold our reservation until 20 mins passed our time so I settled down, then realized once you got through bag checks you had to take transportation to the actual park (cue panic again...Kory was less than impressed with my reaction 😂). Once we got into magic kingdom Kory threw Luna up on his shoulders and we sprinted to the restaurant. Hot and sweaty we made it just in time! The restaurant was beautiful but I was unimpressed overall. You order and pay for your food before sitting, you collect your own drinks and they deliver your food to your table. This, considering our total bill was $74 FOR BREAKFAST, was unacceptable. The food was good but certainly not worth a $25 entree ticket price. I definitely wouldn't do it again. Though I did have the grey stuff and IT WAS delicious!!! We had a good day overall. Lunas behavior wasn't great but it was hot and she was overwhelmed. She had several time outs in the park. We met some characters, got on some rides but the wait times were insane. By the end of the day, we were really happy we had planned a day off the next day. Wednesday we slept in and hung out for a bit before going to our resorts pool. Luna was still a little timid with swimming but had a great time and didn't want to go back. We went back and she had quiet time and watched a movie after then we got ready to go back to Disney springs since all we did there was the boutique on Sunday. Lunas behavior was the worst yet while we were there and we wound up leaving in the middle of our trip. I sobbed when we got back in the car and I think it really hit her our serious we were about her behavior. We decided to try again and she was really good the second half. We had fun walking around. There was a dance party for the kids and we honestly had to drag Luna away from it. She loves to dance, just like her Grammy and mommy! Thursday it was back to the parks. We decided to do the shuttled to save $22 on parking OMG BIG MISTAKE. First of all, it was late. Also we didn't know the hotel outsourced the shuttle and it stopped at like 5 hotels (and lemme tell you, the got sketchier and sketchier each stop). We finally got to Disney, this time, Epcot. As soon as we got there we headed to Norway for Frozen since we didn't have a fast pass for the ride and the wait wasn't long. The wait itself was SO COOL so pretty and so much to look at! The ride was awesome, my favorite ride overall. Meeting Anna and Elsa was great, Luna was SO star stuck. The only character experiences I videoed the whole thing. After those things, her behavior started really going down hill. But because we shuttled, we were stuck for another 3 hours. It was pretty horrible. And I didn't get to meet belle, my favorite princess, and I was upset. Overall it was a fun day but with a lot of low points. Finally it was nearing 9 so we made our way out. Now here's the thing, our paper said pick up would be at 8 and 11 in magic kingdom BUT when our driver dropped us off he said Epcot, spot 49 at 9 and 10. We got there around 8:15 and waited. It was the only chilly night in Florida the whole week and Luna and I were freezing. The driver was late again and it was like 9:15. As we were getting on, he asked everyone was hotel. When I told him ours he said oh no I just came back from there, it's 8 or 11. I explained to him that that isn't was he said that morning AND I had specifically stopped to ask him after he said that(Kory thought I was being a worry wart) but he kept saying no I know what I said I know what I said and letting people on the bus. I started sobbing and looking at Kory like wth are we going to do? We can't sit out here another 2 hours until 11! He finally said something along the lines of I know what I said and my boss will chew me out but I'll bring you. We got on the bus and there was only one seat left so I sat with Luna in my lap and I was still crying and it was embarrassing but everyone was nice and asking if we were okay. They all remembered what he said and me clarifying so they were my witnesses. Then a fight nearly broke out on the bus (same family fighting with each other no less) and it was escalating really badly and the driver pulled over and threatened to call the cops. Luckily Luna was asleep or I would have flipped. And luckily we were only the second stop. Needless to say, we put to Luna to bed and drank heavily 😂 Obviously Friday we decided that wasn't worth the $22 for parking again and drove. We decided on magic kingdom again. We had good fast passes. And we caught the parade. It was soooooo hot out but it was fun. It was annoying when the wait for Cinderella said 20 mins and it was up being an HOUR AND 20 MINUTES. But whatever, made up for it when Ariel said 50 mins and it was only like 10. So inaccurate. Overall it was our best day in Disney and Luna's behavior was much much better. We stayed until just before the fireworks. We had planned on staying for them but Luna didn't do well with the few they went off throughout the day. This morning we just packed up and hit the road. Apparently, so did the rest of America. Traffic was tremendous on 95. Our original eta was 6:05 pm. It's now 8pm and we have another 37 miles to go. I'm soooooo ready to be home!! I only have a day tomorrow before back to work Monday and I feel like I could use another week off! It was a great trip. So many memories I'll forever cherish. Can't wait to make a photo book 😊😊

#mom blog #momblr #disney #disneyworld #univeralstudios

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t1dlikeme · 4 years ago

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Sofie's Story

“When you recognize that failing doesn’t make you a failure, you give yourself permission to try all sorts of things.” ~ Lauren Fleshman, is one of my favorite quotes, and something to remind myself in terms of diabetes management, training, and life!

Diagnosis

As a shy high school multi-sport athlete (track, soccer, and skiing) in Albuquerque, NM, I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at age 16. I went from 2nd in state in the 800 my Sophomore year, to struggling to staying awake in class as a 4.0 student and barely making it through practices and workouts. With no history or knowledge of T1D in my family, we didn’t recognize the symptoms—I had a head-to-toe rash after swimming in waterfalls in Hawaii (may have triggered it) followed by months of losing weight despite eating jars of peanut butter and food each week just to keep energy—which my doctor at first thought “she’s a growing athlete” but we got bloodwork anyways. A week later, after yet another frustrating track meet, I was in the hospital with a blood sugar of 586, and was pumped to finally figure it out (until about 3 hours later when I remember eating a pear and seeing my blood sugar skyrocket, I burst into tears realizing how much of a change it would be!)

Fast Forward…A Few Years

After basically wanting to forget about high school (hiding in the bathroom to take shots, self-conscious and developed anxiety about weight gain post-diagnosis and just wanting to fit in), I needed something different. Although being a perfectionist and being shy / hiding from others gave me time to master my A1C early, it wasn’t sustainable and I internalized it all—until I got to college. 2000 miles from home, I chose Marquette 1) for the biomedical engineering program, and 2) for receiving a D1 Soccer Scholarship as a goalkeeper, but what I didn’t realize, is it would teach me to open up about my diagnosis and become a better athlete and advocate. I confided in my athletic trainer, who helped me with check-ins during practice (which could sometimes go 1-2 hours over the scheduled time!), and realizing we needed about ½ cup of gatorade + water every hour, supplemented with pedialyte during preseason. It was nice having my trainer, since I could get around going straight to the coaches (at first I didn’t want it to be seen as a weakness!) and she could carry around my gear for me, if needed.

While goalkeeping allowed for easier access to management during games, practices, etc. I continued to find myself gravitating towards running, strength, and conditioning. My senior year, I began to go for runs while we were on away trips and started to become hooked—I found new ways to manage my BG’s and low intensity running basically was ‘insulin in my back pocket.! After finishing my collegiate soccer career, I joined the ‘Run with the President’ running group at Marquette with Dr. Michael Lovell (our MU President). It was around this time that another faculty member, John Klika, took me to coffee and was fascinated by my thesis research of designing a lifestyle computer algorithm and model to predict glucose and hormonal levels based on activity, stress, diet, etc. It turns out he was Type 1 himself—and a multi-ironman athlete.

With a newfound confidence and support group, I gradually built my mileage and learned so many things from John about management, who also joined the running group and convinced me to run my first half marathon. It went really well—until, the group said next step: “the marathon.” I was like absolutely no way, I came from sprints up and down the field and have Type 1 Diabetes—I'm not sure I’m ready for that! But, I’m not one to step down from the challenge, and I had the group helping me through the whole way. I remember my first 18-miler—5 miles from the end, I couldn’t run more than 5 steps as I couldn’t keep my blood sugar up, even with having the proper supplies, and I was just defeated. My body wasn’t used to this, having to rely primarily on glucose as fuel, instead of an intensity and fuel mix. But, I kept going—my track workouts got faster, and my next long run, 20 miles, no stopping! (It’s also important to note that I was also doing some triathlon training too, which helped keep a balance).

I was ready and excited. Dexcom in my shorts pocket, 3 gels and gummy bears (of course), and friends cheering every step of the way! It couldn’t have been more perfect—flat line BG’s, fuel every 45 min to steady, the adrenaline rush at the 22-mile mark (the furthest I’d ever run in my life!), all propelling me to a 3rd place finish in 2:52. That was one of the best beers, post-race, I’d ever had in my life. This finish created numerous opportunities for me, including becoming a founding member of Diabetes Sports Project, JDRF Keynote talks, and more training—I wanted to try and qualify for Olympic Marathon Trials (2:45). Unfortunately, along with these positives, came a very long string (~2-3 years) of off and on injuries—I walked 13 miles of the Boston Marathon in 2017 with a tibial stress fracture, the first of a few, and just could not catch a break. These times had a lot of lows, but taught me the resilience of having other outlets, support communities, and managing my diabetes without the ability to exercise all the time (I had started to rely on this as a form of natural ‘insulin’ all through college and into running).

Looking back, these years of ups-and-downs were crucial to my development of outreach and community, my career, and finding the right balance of strength and running to stay healthy (turns out, soccer weight training had a lot to do with my injury free 25 years of my life!). I like to call this time falling not failing, something my therapist came up with (yes, I was seeing one, for anxiety and some low grade depression, which is something I will talk about now, since I think it is incredibly important that if you have any of these feelings, especially as a T1D, you are not alone!). I took a job as a medical device engineer at Dexcom and moved to San Diego, CA, acting as a liaison between clinical, regulatory, quality, design and systems engineers, which was the perfect place for me as a T1D! I started the Dexcom Running Club, and from that, have some of the fondest memories. San Diego is also where I joined Prado Racing Team (PRT), and found my coach, Paul Wellman, who I still work with today. PRT helped me find the love of running again, and I PR’d in every distance while training with them, and having a lot of fun doing so!

My time in San Diego culminated with making an attempt at running an Olympic Trials qualifying time at CIM 2019, which I just missed in 2:49. It was such an incredible experience, however, even with missing my goal—3-minute PR, running with teammates, HEALTHY and injury-free for an entire training period, and friendships. I did have a diabetes learning experience, though, which I will take forward with future races—not all nuun is ‘carb-free’! It was on the course, and I assumed it was the zero-carbs flavor, so I took it at almost every aide station, causing me to sharply rise at about Mile 11 (especially coupled with adrenaline), which unfortunately caused some cramping around Mile 15 and slowed me off my 2:43 pace. Luckily, I was able to power through, and I will be more prepared next time.

Current:

I have recently moved back to Albuquerque, NM, where I grew up. After looking for an opportunity to grow my career and move into management, this was the right move for me, and is now allowing me to explore altitude training and new heights, literally and figuratively! My family is still here, and with COVID, it has been nice to be close (and living with my boyfriend, Steve). While I am not training for any races in particular, I’m making attempts at a sub 5:00 mile (currently at 5:05 at altitude) as a ‘mini’ goal, and just trying to enjoy the simplicities of running! I am getting back into the volunteering scene, particularly with my non-profit, Diabetes Sports Project, and of course, JDRF.

Some Tips, Tricks, and Life Lessons!

Always be prepared—gummy bears in my sports bra are my favorite! I’ve learned many lessons along the way, including one of my first solo long run experiences with a low blood sugar and having to ask gas stations for a Gatorade that I would come back and pay for later (not my finest moment, but turns out, people can be very helpful!). Always carry a card or cash and know your numbers. Plus, some great times of having snacks on hand: my running buddies favorite line is “Hey Sof! How’s your BG?” “Great!! Why?” “Can I have some of your snacks….).” They need it too, and are thankful for it when they bonk!

Train with people who know you at your best and at your worst, and your symptoms—those are the ones that can push you through tough workouts to the end when you don’t think you can run one more rep or mile, or can more importantly, tell you when you need a break and to take a step back. It’s often trial and error in knowing what intensities affect your blood sugar the most, but with a community, you can’t fail—you learn. As unpredictable as it is sometimes, Type 1 actually can give you an athletic edge. You have to know what your blood sugar is at all times, and how your body is feeling. No one else has to do that!

Sofie Schunk

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myrunreports · 4 years ago

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2020 American Heroes 100

I was pretty sure that the American Heroes 100 mile run would not happen this year. Back in May, the 49 yr old race director died from complications of back surgery. Most races have been cancelled this year due to COVID. There were no updates on the race webpage or FaceBook, so it seemed like it just wouldn’t happen. I kept looking for some kind of announcement either way and finally, a couple weeks ago, I learned that the race would go on after all. I had just finished the 4 month long virtual race across Tennessee – 1270 miles covered from May 4 to August 30. I waited a whole 24 hours after finishing that to sign up for American Heroes. The week before the race was kind of crazy. Wildfires nearby and on the west coast were causing terrible air quality. We had been having very high temperatures and then on Tuesday, a big cold front came in dropping temps by 50 some degrees and bringing snow and rain. The forecast showed a nice rebound by the Friday morning start. Five days before the race, I was working on making a flagstone patio. Moving the stones and 50 lb sacks of sand strained my back a little so I decided no more of that before the race.

Friday morning, I finished packing my gear and loaded up the van. Shah kinesio taped my low back in the same pattern as last year (partially for the low back strain I already had and preventive because I’ve had low back pain in other ultras). I often get a bad pain in the neck/shoulder area on the left side during long runs, so I also got a piece of kinesio tape on my neck hoping I could avoid that. Kinesio tape is magic for me! I did my usual foot taping and was ready to go by 8:30.

I got my camp all set up in the Roger’s Grove park in Longmont, picked up my race number, ankle bracelet (this race has both ankle bracelet chip and chip on the bib to make sure the chip reader doesn’t miss any laps) and shirt then had a bit of time before the start at 10:11. There are many different distances for this race, all with start times corresponding to events of 9/11. The 100 mile race has a 30 hour time limit, ending at 4:11 Saturday afternoon. The sky was overcast and temp was perfect for running, low 60’s at the start. Fifteen people entered this year but only six of us showed up.

At 10:11, we hit the trail. The course is 1.05 mile loops of mostly dirt, sand/gravel and a little bit of pavement. Pat was the first of many of my running buddies there to keep me company. She ran the first 16 miles with me. Not too long after she left, Shah showed up and he walked a lap with me. He also brought me a spicy chicken sandwich from Popeyes – I decided I would hold on to that for after the race. Spicy anything during a long run is not a good idea! When we finished that lap, Donna was at my camp. Her car was in the shop a couple blocks away getting new tires, so it was convenient (under the circumstances, though not that convenient overall for her!) to walk over to the park. We walked together for six laps. I was feeling fine, but getting some hot spots on my left foot despite all my preventive taping. I don’t typically have issues with my feet but have had this same problem the last two years at this race. On the off chance that it was my shoes or socks causing the problem, I changed both. The foot pain was annoying but tolerable. At 4:11, about 15 runners in the 24 hour race started so there were a few more runners on the course.

I normally don’t eat anything from the aid stations, just stick to my Hammer Nutrition fuels, but they had these delicious fig cookies and I thought it would be ok, so I ate a couple. Sometime late afternoon, I was a few tenths of a mile away from the bathroom (we get real indoor flush toilets at this race!) when I realized I needed to be there NOW. I almost made it. Luckily it was not a catastrophic event – could have been much worse! I think figs are just a bit too much fiber for me during a race. After that, I had what just felt like pressure in my low gut. Not awful nausea or cramping, but not quite right and it made it hard for me to take in calories. Sometime in late afternoon, a guy walking his dog asked me “is this the same race that was going on this morning?” Yep – it’ll still be going on tomorrow morning and afternoon too!

By evening, it was getting pretty cool out. I gradually added long sleeve shirt, light wind breaker, light gloves, down jacket, light beanie, warmer beanie and warmer gloves. Judy arrived a little after 8:00 with a Smashburger for me and she joined me for ?? miles. I was getting chilled and couldn’t really eat much and my stupid foot was still hurting. Around 10:00 I said I wanted to lie down for a few minutes. I crawled in my sleeping bag and warmed up while Judy patiently sat outside. My timer went off after 10 minutes and we got back to walking. I think she left around 11:00. At midnight, I decided I was ready for a nap so I set my timer for 30 minutes and crawled into my sleeping bag. It felt so good, I stayed there another 30 minutes. I went back out for another hour, then back to the tent at 1:00. I think the combination of my gut and my foot were wearing me down. I probably could have managed just one of those things. I kept setting my timer for 30 minutes and at some point, I did the math and decided I was not on track for a 100 mile finish. Once I made that decision, I figured I might as well enjoy the warm sleeping bag and get some rest. I checked on the toe that hurt so much but it just looked red and angry. Back out to run some more at 4:30. Cat arrived a little after 5:00. My gut was feeling much better by this time and my only real complaint was my foot.

I didn’t recognize any runners from the last 2 years, but I did see some people I had seen other places. The first place guy in the 100 mile race had a sign on him that said “Legally Blind”. I saw him and his pacer at Chase the Moon a couple months ago. Really nice guy – he somehow knew my name and would always say something nice as he lapped me (many times!) He apparently has enough vision to run alone sometimes. He had a pacer running ahead of him announcing obstacles and he wore a super bright headlamp. He was coming up behind Judy and me and we heard his pacer tell him to step up (dirt path met up with sidewalk) and then we heard an awful crash. He didn’t make that step up. It hardly seemed to faze him though. He just jumped right up and kept on running. I also recognized a runner I had seen at races in California. His nickname is “the running jester” and he’s easily recognizable by his clothes and jester’s hat. He was there for the 24 hour race. Saturday morning, I saw a woman I’ve visited with at several races around here so we chatted for a bit. One of the really nice things about a short loop course is that you get to see the same people many times and there’s a nice camaraderie to that. It’s especially nice to see how the fast people just keep on with such a steady pace.

As the morning went on, all the shorter distance races began and these annoyingly fresh-looking runners joined us on the course. Julie came and joined us for some miles later in the morning. Saturday was warming up a lot more than Friday. I was starting to think about when would be a good quitting point. Since I knew I wasn’t going to make 100, I should pick some meaningful distance. Cat was game for pretty much any distance (within reason, of course) and she planned on running marathon distance so I was thinking maybe 80 miles would be good. My toe was really throwing a tantrum though and I came up with a new goal: 78.6 miles. That’s 3 marathons distance and I could finish a couple laps sooner than 80.

I ran most of that last lap and finished with a sprint. The RD tried to convince me that I should go for another one but I was already mentally done. My final distance was 78.75 miles in 26:12, including 5 ½ hours of resting. My back and neck were never an issue thanks to the Kinesio tape. I’ve got a year to figure out how to protect that pinky toe so I can go the full distance next year. I think the problem is going in a circle, always turning to the right. I never have this problem in other races!

Sunday morning update: I feel fine this morning and the problem toe is just tender. When I drained that blister last night, the toenail was just kind of floating around on that loose blister skin. It will be interesting to see how that heals. I would be fine if the nail doesn’t come back after it inevitably falls off. I think I would be ok if that whole toe just fell off! My legs aren’t sore and I’m ready to meet up with Julie and Cat for a short easy run. Thanks to all the Allenspark Pack Runners who made my run so much more fun!

Click the “keep reading” to see an ugly blister

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goarticletec-blog · 6 years ago

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Leonard leads Raptors past new-look Sixers

New Post has been published on https://www.articletec.com/leonard-leads-raptors-past-new-look-sixers/

Leonard leads Raptors past new-look Sixers

In the dying minutes of Wednesday’s win, Kawhi Leonard hauled down a rebound and sprinted coast to coast, leaving the stunned Sixers in his wake as he threw down an emphatic dunk.

The highlight-reel play was the punctuation mark of a 36-point performance by Leonard, who virtually took over the game en route to a 113-102 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.

“It’s good, man, sometimes when you go to the rim, the seas part,” said Raptors coach Nick Nurse. “They did for him a couple for times.”

Jonas Valanciunas scored a season-high 26 points, while Serge Ibaka had 18 for the Raptors (21-5).

WATCH | Leonard leads Raptors over Sixers:

Toronto defeats Philadelphia 113-102, Kawhi Leonard team-high 36 points. 1:38

On a night Kyle Lowry and Danny Green combined for a woeful 2-for-13 from three-point range, Leonard made good on a season-high 5 of 6. He was one point shy of his career high in scoring as a Raptor, which came in the team’s overtime win against Golden State.

Does he rise to the occasion against the league’s best teams?

“I think, for him, it’s interest level,” Nurse said. “Like all of us, there’s bigger games than others, and he’s an immense talent, he really is. And when the stakes go up a little bit, he’s going to play his hand a little harder. I think the juice gets flowing, it gets him a little bouncier with his three-ball and a little quicker with the ball in transition.”

Jimmy Butler had 38 points to lead Philly (17-9), while JJ Redick added 25. Joel Embiid was held to just 10 points.

Raptors have Philly’s number

The Raptors roared past Philly 129-112 on Oct. 30 in Toronto, but less than two weeks later the Sixers upped the ante, acquiring Butler from Minnesota in a deal that drastically altered the Eastern Conference landscape.

Different team perhaps, but it was the same result for the Raptors, who beat Philly for the 13th consecutive time at home.

“It’s hard, I’m trying to figure it out, and my place too on the floor,” Embiid said on the difference between the two games. “I have got to do a better job, it’s on me.”

The Sixers led for most of the first half, largely because of the Raptors’ horrible 3-for-12 shooting from three-point range.

They finally found some energy in the third quarter and took a 78-77 lead into the fourth. A 9-0 run by the Raptors’ bench put Toronto up by nine points over its Eastern Conference rival, and when Valanciunas took a short pass from C.J. Miles and threw down a huge dunk, it put the Raptors up by 11 with 7:53 to play.

“It was our second unit,” Leonard said. “They made stops, got rebounds, went on the offensive end and made shots. They did a great job of doing that.”

The Raptors beat the Sixers 28-12 on fast break points, and their bench outscored Philadelphia’s 41-18.

‘Kyle Lowry is always mad at me,’ says Ujiri

Earlier in the day, social media was buzzing about ESPN’s interview with Kyle Lowry, who didn’t beat around the bush about the DeMar DeRozan trade and his relationship with team president Masai Ujiri.

“I felt betrayed because he felt betrayed because that’s my guy. That’s my best friend,” Lowry said.

When asked about Ujiri, he said “He’s the president of the basketball operation and that’s it. For me, I come here and do my job.”

Ujiri laughed off the comment in an afternoon interview saying “Kyle Lowry is always mad at me.”

ESPN is All-Access in Toronto today, which meant @Klow7 got VERY real on the new-look Raptors, the first time he spoke to Kawhi, how he found out DeMar had been traded in a 2:30am phone call and, well, you’re going to have to see his answer to the final question for yourself. pic.twitter.com/aXx9Cxt89S

—@Rachel__Nichols

The night, dubbed “Mandela 100,” celebrated Nelson Mandela, who would have turned 100 this year. Former Raptors all-star Chris Bosh, Blue Jays legend Joe Carter, and former Chelsea star Didier Drogba were in attendance as part of the festivities and received a loud ovation.

The Raptors, who were coming off a 106-103 loss to Denver, were once again plagued by poor shooting. Leonard connected on Toronto’s only three-pointer in the first quarter, and the Sixers took an early nine-point lead.

Toronto connected on just two of nine three-point attempts as the Raptors’ struggles continued into the second. A three-pointer by Leonard with 37 seconds left in the half capped a 13-0 run that gave Toronto a seven-point lead. The Raptors took a 53-49 advantage into the halftime break.

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mrmarioallman · 6 years ago

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Last Week’s Workouts

Last week’s workouts were all about recovery from the Seacoast Half Marathon. I don’t have any other races lined up (except for the family Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving) for the rest of the year so all my miles are now just for fun.

Monday

Rest day

Tuesday

Morning Flow Yoga at Bending Bodhi was just what I needed post race. My quads and hips were feeling a little stiff so thankfully Heather had us doing tons of lunges, wide legged forward folds, twists and an extraordinary pigeon pose that hit the spot.

Wednesday

30 minutes Elliptical with 60 sec sprints, 60 sec recovery x 10

10 minutes Stepmill

Strength training:

Bench press

Eccentric pull ups

Banded pull ups

TRX pull and reach

Single leg deadlift to bench step up

Thrusters

Rope pull with reverse lunge

Plank with KB pull thru

Side plank to single leg balance

Thursday

5.3 mile run, 8:49 avg pace

Today was the first day that I felt like running since the race. Three days off from running was plenty. It just so happened that it was also the coldest morning of the season so far, 17 degrees with a real feel of 13 thanks to the wind. I resisted the urge to wear every single top and settled on a long sleeve, a thicker half zip and a light shell. It’s always a shock to step out into the cold like that but I warmed up nicely.

Friday

Rest day

I was bummed that I missed out on a snowy run but I opted for extra sleep. There will be more snow days no doubt about it!

Saturday

3 mile run

Strength training:

Bosu lunges (front and reverse)

Bosu burpees

Side plank to single leg balance

Eccentric pull ups

Bosu balance exercises

Sunday

10.7 miles, 8:41 avg pace, 601 ft elevation gain

My original plan was to meet up with some friends for 8 or so miles. My friends were running 14 so I’d thought I’d tag along for a portion. A funny thing happened. Eight turned to almost 11. Whoops! I felt good, the conversation was good and the hills were plenty.

And then I had to get the whole group in on a runfie (first pic at the top) after they razzed me about my Instagram feed. Watch, now that they saw the behind the scenes, they’ll be posting their own runfies. Hahaha!

How was your week in workouts?

Linking up with Hoho and Wendy for the weekly workout wrap up.

The post Last Week’s Workouts appeared first on Happy Fit Mama.

from Happy Fit Mama https://ift.tt/2OONgcY

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meetmeonthecourse · 7 years ago

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Podcast Stunna

I found Eric Schwartz’s podcast while looking for tips, tricks, and suggestions for race day, equipment, training and nutrition. He interviews pro’s, ex-pro’s, amateurs, and those who work in the fitness/nutrition field. He explains “There is a genetic component to multisport success, and there’s an intelligence component. Your parents determined your genetic component but you determine your intelligence component. This podcast was created to help you with the intelligence part”

I reached out to him for some questions and feedback on my training. Consequently, he asked if I’d be open to do an interview and that he was looking to create something that would be useful for others in my situation preparing for a 1/2 IM. I sent him my list of questions and we walked through them on the podcast. Tonight, he sent me an email letting me know it was up. I haven’t listened to it yet, but for those of you who may want to--feel free to tune in here http://triathletetraining.com/ Below are my questions that I asked him and the information I sent him, if you’d like to read along.

Work Out Today

Bike 50 miles moderate + 10-minute transition run at race pace

Nutrition

Pre-ride Vega Bar

Ride nutrition- 3 Gu gels, 2 32oz water bottles w/ 1 tablet of nuun each (360mg sodium)

Breakfast- Paleo banana pancakes: 2 eggs, 1 banana mashed, cinnamon, topped with almond butter. (1) cup of coffee

Lunch- quinoa, chicken, peppers, spinach bowl

Snack- 2 hard-boiled eggs, 1 piece of ezekiel bread, two fresh tomatoes courtesy of Dr. Kessler

Dinner- 5oz chicken w/baked zucchini, tomatoes, some potato & (1) cinnamon tea w/ almond milk

PODCAST INFO/QUESTIONS

Race: Ironman 70.3 Atlantic City Date: 9/17Link:

http://delmosports.com/events/ironman-703-atlantic-city

HISTORY/ OVERVIEW

Current Training Schedule: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12LFdPG-7QfV96GCbEVceGMLa-K4kPEHYKIzsBO4EbJk/edit#gid=957907399

Training Plan came from here: http://www.triathlete.com/2010/09/training/super-simple-ironman-70-3-triathlon-training-plan_12364

Started training May 22nd

Farthest workout thus far: 56 miles biking and 3 miles running (this past Sunday)

Injury: Plantar Fasciitis in my right foot since Feb, developing patellar tendonosis in my left knee recently

PT since April once a week

QUESTIONS

What the right amount of nutrition, water, and sodium for each leg?

Thoughts on salt tablets?

Wetsuits- I'm a strong swimmer, do you think I need a wetsuit? Sometimes I feel like it holds me back but the buoyancy definitely helps so I'm torn on this subject.

When do most people hit their "wall."

I don't bike with groups usually. Any tips for riding with others?

This will be the first time I'm using sunblock. Is this important to watch?

Hat/no hat?

Any transition tips? Is it similar to Sprint and Olympic transitions?

I don't have a watch or bike meter. Thinking of getting Garmin 735xt. Is it worth it at this point?

Currently training on a 58 frame bike but should be on a 54. I will be on a 54 race day. Is it worth buying a bike?

Do you recommend getting massages regularly or how close to race can can I get massages?

How important is strength training. I try to do it once a week (PT 3 times a week) but it's hard to fit in with all the training

With my injury, I may not get up to 13.2 during training. Any tips for the run/my pace/etc?

Any tips on post-race to eat/do post-race to maximize my recovery?

What should I do after this?!

CURRENT RACE NUTRITION PLAN

Eat Vega Protein Bar, Banana, maybe some almond butter upon waking. Cup of coffee & water with Vega energizer

TBD may eat another bar and drink water with 1 nuun tablet

Swim-none

Water at transition

Bike: 5-6 gels (probably Stinger. Cliff will be on the race), carrying 2 32oz water bottles with 1 nuun tablet in each. Will need to take water provided on the ride

Run: 1-2 gels w/ water

RACE HISTORY

Jersey Girl Triathlon August 2016 (NJ)

o Distance .1704 mile swim | 11 mile bike | 3 mile run

o Finished 2nd overall

o Results 1:09:09 final time (splits not avail)

Born to Tri August 2016 (NJ)

o Distance .25 mile swim (I think) | 26 mile bike (I think) |

o Results: 06:23 swim | 49:48 bike | 23:27 run | 1:21:46 finish

o Finshed 1st in age group

Equinox Triathlon March 2016 (NY)

o Distance 500m Swim | 10.1 mile bike | 3.4 mile run

o Results: 0:08:13 | 0:23:00 | 0:22:59 - 0:54:12

o Invited out to Malbiu Triathlon as a result

Nautica Malibu Triathlon September 2016 (CA)

o Distance .5 mile swim | 18 mile bike | 4 mile run

o Results: 12:32 swim | 59:37 bike | 31:43 run

o Finished 4 out of 118 in my age group and 27/538 females (271/1577 overall)

United Airlines NYC Half 2015

o 1:43:15 (7:53 pace)

NYC Marathon 2014

o 4:03: 27 (9:18 pace)

Brooklyn Half 2014

o 1:49:27 (8:21 pace)

First Triathlon: Wyckoff Franklin Lakes 2014 (NJ)

o Distance: .5 mile swim | 17 mile Bike |5 mile run

o Swim Pace SwPlc T1 T1Plc Bike MPH BkPlc T2 T2Plc RunPace RnPlc Finish

o 16:06 1:50 130 | 2:54 269 | 58:07 17.6 319 | 2:36 389 | 40:14 8:03 177 |1:59:57

#triathlon #nutrition #trilife #fitspo #sports #703 #ironman703

0 notes

junker-town · 8 years ago

Text

Triple Crown 2017: Horse racing’s biggest achievement, explained

Or, why we still care so much about one of the rarest feats in sports.

For the longest time, we thought about the horse racing’s Triple Crown in terms of the impossible. During a 59-year span from 1919 to 1978, 11 horses were able to win the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes in the same year. That meant an average of once every five to six years, a Triple Crown title was earned.

And then came the drought after Affirmed last completed the feat in 1978. A decade. Two decades. Three decades. Anyone younger than their mid-40s or so in age had no real evidence the Triple Crown had ever been winnable except some fuzzy videos, likely from before when they were born.

And then in 2015, American Pharoah made the impossible possible. Horse racing didn’t hold the same place in American hearts by then as it once had. But still, it captured attention for at least a few minutes when Pharoah made his historic run at the Belmont. People tuned in to their televisions, streamed it online, and even watched it on the video boards of stadiums.

Finally. It can be done!

2016 reminded us why it took so long between achievements, when Nyquist, Exaggerator, and Creator split the three Triple Crown races. But now we turn our attention back as a fresh Triple Crown season begins. Can Pharoah’s half brother by the same father, Classic Empire, repeat? Will another horse, maybe McCraken, maybe Always Dreaming, maybe another we haven’t even thought of, make a run?

So far 35 horses have taken the first two jewels of the Triple Crown. Twenty-three failed to win the third one. However in 2017, we again went without a winner. Always Dreaming won the Kentucky Derby, but two weeks later could not duplicate the effort, as Cloud Computing took home the victory.

The potential that any year could be the year, that any horse could be the horse, is part of what makes this so fun. With that in mind, let’s answer all your burning questions.

What is the Triple Crown?

Those three are known as the jewels of the Triple Crown, and they are run on dates ranging from the first Saturday in May through early June. People who might not pay attention to horse racing the other 49 Saturdays of the year will tune in, throw a party and make their picks, whether they know anything about the horses or, more likely, not.

Why should we care?

It's a fair question to ask. Why do we even care about the Triple Crown? Horse racing is known as "the sport of kings." It's expensive to get into as an owner — one of the Belmont Stakes entrants is owned by the ruler of Dubai. It's expensive to attend the races. And if you're a gambler with a bad tip, it can be expensive to your wallet, too.

Horse racing might not have the widespread appeal it did in the 1930s — remember the movie Seabiscuit? — but the spectacle of seeing the Triple Crown won for the first time in nearly 40 years makes for pretty compelling drama. You might not have any connection to the sport, but you still want to see if it's finally going to be done. Plus, it's pretty fun to make your pick and see two minutes later whether you were right or not.

How many horses have won the Triple Crown?

Twelve. Sir Barton (1919), Gallant Fox (1930), Omaha (1935), War Admiral (1937), Whirlaway (1941), Count Fleet (1943), Assault (1946), Citation (1948), Secretariat (1973), Seattle Slew (1977), Affirmed (1978), and American Pharoah (2015).

How long have we tracked the Triple Crown?

The races have been around since the 1800s, but the term "Triple Crown" wasn't used widely before Charles Hatton of the Daily Racing Form began to use it regularly in the 1930s, although it had been around since 1923. And interestingly, the Preakness was actually held before the Kentucky Derby 11 times before 1931.

No trophy for the accomplishment existed before one was commissioned in 1950.

What races make up the Triple Crown?

The three jewels in the crown:

The 1-1/4-mile Kentucky Derby, which is run the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs in Louisville. Up to 20 horses (with four also-eligible alternates) can enter.

The 1-3/16-mile Preakness Stakes, which is run the third Saturday in May at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. Up to 14 horses (with two also-eligible) can enter.

The 1-1/2-mile Belmont Stakes, which is run the third Saturday after the Preakness at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y. Up to 16 horses can enter.

All three are listed as Grade 1 (the highest level) and are open only to 3-year-old horses.

How does a horse become Triple Crown eligible?

The Kentucky Derby is the key. Horses earn their way in through a series of races called "The Road to the Kentucky Derby." The goal is to get as many points as possible during their 2-year-old and 3-year-old races. For the 2015 Derby, there were 19 races offered in the Kentucky Derby Prep Season and another 16 in the Kentucky Derby Championship Season. The latter is the key one, with the most points available. Horses that gain entry to the Derby typically run in three to six races from the autumn through the spring before the Derby. The field that qualifies for the Kentucky Derby are then the Triple Crown-eligible horses and can enter any of the three races.

So why is the Triple Crown so hard to win?

Take your pick of theories here. It's probably a little bit of each of them:

Winning all three races requires running in all three races. This is not a common practice. After 20 horses entered the Kentucky Derby this year, only eight were in the Preakness and only eight will be in the Belmont. In 2015, American Pharoah was the only horse to enter all three. What that means is that most, if not all, horses competing against a horse trying to win the Triple Crown have fresher legs by the time they reach the Belmont.

With so much money, both in acquiring the horse and in breeding income after its racing career, being cautious is the name of the game. Why risk a horse breaking down with so much money invested in it? In 2012, I'll Have Another didn't compete after winning the first two jewels of the crown, due to injury.

The Belmont is a 1-1/2-mile track. That makes it the longest stakes race any of the horses will enter in North America. So not only is the horse that wins the first two jewels of the Triple Crown going on less rest, it's tasked with running in the longest race of its life to ultimately win the honor. And yes, that extra quarter mile does make a difference.

Horses aren't bred for the Belmont. The goal every year is to gain entry into the Kentucky Derby. So sprinting is more important to have in the bloodline than endurance. The 1-1/2-mile Belmont weeds out the horses with peak speed that is best for the shorter Derby or Preakness.

0 notes

tailwheelacademy · 8 years ago

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A New Beginning

My last multi-sport event was three years ago. On April 30, 2017, I returned to the Duathlon/Triathlon world with the Tri-Miami Sprint Duathlon. It was an excellent choice for my first non-virtual race of the year. Some mistakes were made, some things didn’t go as planned and I was certainly not nearly as in shape as I’d hoped. But I did get on the podium in my age group, missing first place by less than 1 minute 25 seconds… I beat 1st place on the bike and on transitions… but fell behind on the runs. Having had a head cold followed by a chest cold didn’t help, either.

Fitness Failure

The weak prior to the race I came down with a sore throat and then a chest cold. The night before the race I woke up at 2am with a coughing fit, and didn’t get back to sleep again before the race. Fortunately, home-made tea, epson salt baths, and being a bit stubborn got me through the week and to the start line. I don’t think it cost me first place, as my pace is nowhere near fast enough, but yesterday’s test ride on the Causeway where I over did it on the bike probably cost me a closer finish.

Nutrition Plan

Fifteen minutes before the start of the race, I ate a honey stinger gel. Then, in transition, since I didn’t drink enough water before the race, I not only ate a honey stinger waffle, but swigged down a lot of Nuun. After doing the first loop on the bike, I ate a few Honey Stinger gels, finished the Nuun in transition 2, and finished with water across the finish line. It worked well – I felt fast and I was able to push my heart rate 90%-95% for the entire race without cramps.

New Equipment on Race Day

The PowerTap P1s pedals continue to give problems with dropouts on the Fenix 5. Yes, I know you are supposed to use lithium – which I did the day prior and quickly found the included “blue” lithiums either died – or the pedal did. So I used alkaline as that’s what I had available. But my current pedal is the second one from PowerTap. Since many others (including Ray Maker) use these pedals a lot, I intend to keep using the pedal a while longer until I test them with the Energizer Lithium AAA’s I ordered off Amazon.

The Trek Speed Concept 7.5 was solid, smooth, fast, and felt very light. I’m not very aerodynamic but the bike certainly feels that way. I was 8th of 52 in the duathlon bike split – more a testament to the bike than my skills.

I still love my Timex Factory Team hat. In Florida, keeping the sweat out of your eyes and your head cool while being comfortable really matters. And the Wahoo Kickr, thanks to TFT, definitely helped in my bike time, too.

The Rudy Project sunglasses weren’t new, but never slipped off my nose – a reason I love them. And the “new” (to me) Rudy AirStorm bike helmet was quickly forgotten on the ride – a very, very good thing, as it was comfortable, cool, and light.

The Course

The race was a 1 mile run, 10 mile bike, and a 5km run (3.11 miles) on the Rickenbacker Causeway in Miami, Florida. It’s an area many triathletes train, and it begins and ends in an area that has plenty of parking (something rare in Miami) and is the perfect triathlon/duathlon area near a metropolitan area (the Miami Marine Stadium still isn’t being used but hopefully will be restored someday).

Race Results

2017 Mack Cycle Tri-Miami Sprint Duathlon Race Results for Chas Melichar Male 45-49 on 2017-04-30 Run T1 Bike T2 Run Total Time 9:20 1:27 32:26 1:32 29:56 1:14:41 Pace/Speed 9:20 18.5 9:39 Cat Place 2/3 1/3 1/3 1/3 2/3 2/3 Cat % 50 100 100 100 50 50 Sex Place 17/26 6/26 6/26 8/26 9/26 8/26 Sex % 36 80 80 72 68 72 OA Place 31/52 11/52 8/52 17/52 20/52 12/52 OA % 41 80 86 69 63 78

Click here for Full Results

Photos

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Pre-Race Prep

Looking Studly

Pedal Faster!

Got my Honey Stinger Socks over the pedals getting ready to dismount.

Faster! The cops!

Wow… TWO medals!

Podium Finish!

How do I take this off?

Ya baby, finish!

Race Review: Tri-Miami Sprint Duathlon A New Beginning My last multi-sport event was three years ago. On April 30, 2017, I returned to the Duathlon/Triathlon world with the Tri-Miami Sprint Duathlon.

#duathlon #hshive #teamnuun #timexfactoryteam #tri-miami

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jwong2000 · 8 years ago

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14.8 miles, 49:10 moving time

Unfortunately, I got out of work late and hit a lot of traffic on the way to Tour de Rock. I basically started 18 minutes after the rest of the guys. I pushed hard and had a pretty good ride once I got started. 1:07 official time for the tour, but actual moving time was 49:10.

Course Description:

This week, you’ll all be doing an individual time trial against the clock over a course of 14.83 miles. The course will be the time trial course used in 2014 & 2015 in the Tour of California – the Solvang time trial course.

As mentioned, it’s 14.83 miles long, with 929 feet of total elevation gain. Most of the grades are quite soft (1-2%), except for a few very punchy short, steep climbs which briefly touch very high percentages. Just a little something to soften up the legs, courtesy of Uncle Bill.

I’ve ridden the actual course, and the main challenge is to meter your effort properly so that you can finish strongly. You’ve got about 5-6 miles after you top out, and you want those miles to fly.

Bill’s Race Report – Group A

Well…..the Cannibals got cooked tonight.

Representing the Merchants were: Tyler; Peter; Bob & Trevor. The Cannibals presented only Scott; Kirk & Joe, with Allen being a last-minute scratch.

Apparently, word about the course had gotten out after last night, so there were no big surges off the front tonight. Everyone started out at a hard, but reasonable pace. Tyler gradually pulled a bit of a gap off the front, followed closely by Peter, with the others strung out fairly closely behind.

However, the first climb sorted some of that out, and by the bottom of the descent off that climb, all was strung out in the order Tyler, Peter, Trevor, Kirk, Scott and Bob. Joe was nowhere to be seen, and actually didn’t arrive and get started until about 18 minutes into the stage.

At the bottom of that first descent at about Mile 1.5, Bob passed Scott, and Kirk made it past Trevor about .3 later at Mile 1.8. Scott didn’t take well to the idea of being passed, cranked up the effort and caught Bob at Mile 2, hanging with him for a while, then moving by him at Mile 2.75. However, their pace in dicing with each other was enough to bring both of them up to, and past Trevor at Mile 3.

Meanwhile, at the front Tyler was gradually opening a lead on Peter, opening a gap of about 1,000 feet by Mile 4. Most of the riders were doing a very good job of holding their average watts through the first four miles, with only Scott and Trevor showing a bit of unsteadiness. Having said that by Mile 6 both of these riders had returned to form and were holding good steady averages.

Tyler held a fabulously high average wattage for this stage, holding about 325 all the way through. Peter managed to hold about 265, but even with his lighter weight, that just was not enough this day. By the time Mile 11 rolled around, the gap had grown to almost .5 mile.

Behind them, Kirk was holding a good average pace, while Bob was making an effort to reel in Scott. Scott responded well to this, increasing his effort and staying in front. At one point, Bob had closed the gap down to less than 200 feet, but Scott was able to dig deep, put in a hard pull, and opened the gap to Bob back up, meanwhile closing the gap to Kirk in the process. These three beat on each other all the way to the finish line, with the gaps wavering around a few hundred feet, but Kirk could not be caught and Scott was not to be denied. Joe, meanwhile, hung tough after his late start and put in a yeoman effort for his team.

At the finish, the final results were: Tyler 40:29; Peter 42:12; Kirk 46:08; Scott 46:33; Bob 46:52; Trevor 49:02 and Joe 1:07:34. Allen was assigned a penalty time of 54:02 as a no-show.

In the team results, the Merchants picked up roughly 35 minutes tonight, making up for the 10 minutes lost last night and cutting the over gap down to a manageable 14 minutes. The sprint and KOM points remained the same, as none were awarded this week. In the individual overall, the new leaderboard is:

Tyler

5:29:35

0:00:00

Peter

5:31:59

0:02:24

Kirk

5:51:42

0:22:07

Jeff

5:58:24

0:28:49

Scott

6:04:41

0:35:06

Gregg

6:04:50

0:35:15

Bob

6:09:14

0:39:39

Steve

6:15:37

0:46:02

Deanna

6:21:26

0:51:51

Bryan

6:21:26

0:51:51

Amy

6:22:14

0:52:39

Trevor

6:28:08

0:58:33

Joe

6:41:17

1:11:42

Rudy

6:44:30

1:14:55

Allen

6:50:31

1:20:56

Mike Bowdish

6:55:24

1:25:49

Sue

6:55:26

1:25:51

Tiffany

6:55:26

1:25:51

Phil

7:03:35

1:34:00

Mike Wade

7:07:18

1:37:43

Lynda

7:07:18

1:37:43

Next week – climbing! KOM points will be on offer, as will time bonuses. Who will come to the front in the high mountains?

Bill

Bill’s Race Report – Group B

Tonight’s ITT was set up to be a challenge, especially with riders accustomed to drafting all starting together. Starting for the Merchants tonight were Steve, Amy, Rudy & Phil; while the Cannibals presented Bryan, Gregg, Jeff & Deanna. Only two riders brought TT bikes, and none chose to use the aero option.

Even though drafting was turned off, all the riders started in a big rush, most of them substantially over their FTP. Bryan broke to the front immediately, followed by Jeff & Phil. However, as the fist 1/2 mile was an uphill grade, things started to string out after about a minute. Steve trailed by a bit, followed by Rudy, with Amy and Deanna bringing up the back. However, about a mile in, the riders hit the first leg-softener, a short, but very steep climb which really opened some gaps, and where Gregg was able to surge up into 3rd. On the descent off that climb, however, Steve’s superior weight paid some dividends, and he was able to reel Gregg back in, passing him and Jeff both. The big climb also lent some assistance to Amy and Deanna, with Amy passing Phil at about Mile 2.5 At about that same point, Jeff was able to make his way back past Steve.

By the time they hit Mile 4, only Amy, Gregg, Bryan and Deanna were maintaining power at or near their average, while the rest of the riders were starting to fade or yo-yo. Bryan was in the process of destroying the course, pounding hard (since he wasn’t able to use his small ring). So, he did all those steep climbs in the big ring.

At about Mile 4.2, Phil started to show some serious signs of trouble, with his wattage bouncing up and down. However, Steve seemed to just get stronger and stronger as the stage went on. At Mile 5, Jeff was showing signs of fading, and he was passed by Steve and Gregg together at about Mile 5.75. Rudy was also starting to fade, and so Amy was able to make her way by him at about Mile 5.5. Shortly after she passed, Rudy started to really struggle for a bit, and wasn’t able to regain any steady form for a while. While Rudy was struggling, Phil found a second wind, and was looking better for a few miles. However, he once again experienced a crisis of power on the way up to the top of the course, and eventually cracked there.

Since Steve was looking stronger and stronger, he was able to pull away from Gregg, starting at about Mile 7, and they both were slowly putting a bit of time into Jeff.

By this time, the order of things had pretty well sorted itself out, and it was just a matter of how much speed each rider could maintain over the tough middle section of the course. Once the top was reached, it then became a matter of seeing who had anything left with which to sting the downhills leading to the end of the course.

At the end, it was all Bryan in a time of 42:13. Next came Steve at 45:32, followed by Gregg at 46:30 and Jeff at 47:05. Then, Amy came across in 48:37, followed by Rudy at 49:22; Deanna at 52:41 and Phil at 54:58. The total time for the Merchants was 3:18:29 (no time bonuses tonight), while the Cannibals posted 3:08:29, gaining exactly 10 minutes on the Merchants.

Bryan was curious to see how his time would stack up against the riders tomorrow night. I guess we’ll see!

Bill

Tour de Rock Week 6 – Ind’l Time Trial. Solvang TT 14.8 miles, 49:10 moving time Unfortunately, I got out of work late and hit a lot of traffic on the way to Tour de Rock.

#computrainer #individual time trial #ITT #solvang #tour de rock

0 notes

junker-town · 8 years ago

Text

Triple Crown 2017: Horse racing’s biggest achievement, explained

Or, why we still care so much about one of the rarest feats in sports.

Finally. It can be done!

The potential that any year could be the year, that any horse could be the horse, is part of what makes this so fun.

This year, Always Dreaming will attempt to stamp his name in the history books as the third horse to complete the feat. He’ll have to win at the Preakness first. So far 35 horses have taken the first two jewels of the Triple Crown. Twenty-three failed to win the third one.

With that in mind, let’s answer all your burning questions.

What is the Triple Crown?

Why should we care?

How many horses have won the Triple Crown?

How long have we tracked the Triple Crown?

No trophy for the accomplishment existed before one was commissioned in 1950.

What races make up the Triple Crown?

The three jewels in the crown:

The 1-1/4-mile Kentucky Derby, which is run the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs in Louisville. Up to 20 horses (with four also-eligible alternates) can enter.

The 1-3/16-mile Preakness Stakes, which is run the third Saturday in May at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. Up to 14 horses (with two also-eligible) can enter.

The 1-1/2-mile Belmont Stakes, which is run the third Saturday after the Preakness at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y. Up to 16 horses can enter.

All three are listed as Grade 1 (the highest level) and are open only to 3-year-old horses.

How does a horse become Triple Crown eligible?

So why is the Triple Crown so hard to win?

Take your pick of theories here. It's probably a little bit of each of them:

0 notes

junker-town · 8 years ago

Text

Triple Crown 2017: Horse racing’s biggest achievement, explained

Or, why we still care so much about one of the rarest feats in sports.

For the longest time, we thought about the horse racing’s Triple Crown in terms of the impossible. During a 59 year span from 1919 to 1978, three horses were able to win the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes in the same year. That meant an average of once every five to six years, a Triple Crown title was earned.

Finally. It can be done!

2016 reminded us why it took so long between achievements, when Nyquist, Exaggerator, and Creator split the three Triple Crown races. But now we turn our attention back as a fresh Triple Crown season begins. Can Pharoah’s half-brother by the same father, Classic Empire, repeat? Will another horse, maybe McCraken, maybe Always Dreaming, maybe another we haven’t even thought of, make a run?

The potential that any year could be the year, that any horse could be the horse, is part of what makes this so fun.

What is the Triple Crown?

Thoroughbred horse racing is a sport that can be found in some form for 12 months of the year, with the reason for its existence to entice gamblers to put money on a horse. But three races pique the imagination more than most: the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes. Those three are known as the jewels of the Triple Crown, and they are run on dates ranging from the first Saturday in May through early June. People who might not pay attention to horse racing the other 49 Saturdays of the year will tune in, throw a party and make their picks, whether they know anything about the horses or, more likely, not.

Why should we care?

It's a fair question to ask. Why do we even care about the Triple Crown? Horse racing is known as "the sport of kings." It's expensive to get into as an owner -- one of the Belmont Stakes entrants is owned by the ruler of Dubai. It's expensive to attend the races. And if you're a gambler with a bad tip, it can be expensive to your wallet, too.

Yet every May, the Kentucky Derby is one of the most-watched sporting events of the year. And if the Derby winner wins the Preakness two weeks later, his name is one you hear again and again, in media and casual conversation both. Horse racing might not have the widespread appeal it did in the 1930s -- remember the movie Seabiscuit? -- but the spectacle of seeing the Triple Crown won for the first time in nearly 40 years makes for pretty compelling drama. You might not have any connection to the sport, but you still want to see if it's finally going to be done. Plus it's pretty fun to make your pick and see two minutes later whether you were right or not.

How many horses have won the Triple Crown?

How long have we tracked the Triple Crown?

The races have been around since the 1800s, but the term "Triple Crown" wasn't used widely before Charles Hatton of the Daily Racing Forum began to use it regularly in the 1930s, although it had been around since 1923. And interestingly, the Preakness was actually held before the Kentucky Derby 11 times before 1931.

No trophy for the accomplishment existed before one was commissioned in 1950.

What races make up the Triple Crown?

The three jewels in the crown:

The 1-1/4-mile Kentucky Derby, which is run the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs in Louisville. Up to 20 horses (with four also-eligible alternates) can enter.

The 1-3/16-mile Preakness Stakes, which is run the third Saturday in May at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. Up to 14 horses (with two also-eligible) can enter.

The 1-1/2-mile Belmont Stakes, which is run the third Saturday after the Preakness at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y. Up to 16 horses can enter.

All three are listed as Grade 1 (the highest level) and are open only to 3-year-old horses.

How does a horse become Triple Crown eligible?

The Kentucky Derby is the key. Horses earn their way in through a series of races called "The Road to the Kentucky Derby." The goal is to earn as many points as possible during their 2-year-old and 3-year-old races. For the 2015 Derby, there were 19 races offered in the Kentucky Derby Prep Season and another 16 in the Kentucky Derby Championship Season. The latter is the key one, with the most points available. Horses that gain entry to the Derby typically run in three to six races from the autumn through the spring before the Derby. The field that qualifies for the Kentucky Derby are then the Triple Crown-eligible horses and can enter any of the three races.

So why is the Triple Crown so hard to win?

Take your pick of theories here. It's probably a little bit of each of them:

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jwong2000 · 8 years ago

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30.9 miles, 1:45 racing time, 1,856 ft elevation.

The Queen Stage is the longest of the competition. Tonight was going to be a long one. The guys got there early and warmed up for at least 15 minutes. Then, off to the races. The race profile was from Bill’s Worlds Duathlon. Fortunately for us, we only did one loop of this 30.9 mile zinger. The course 3 main climbs. The 2nd is 3 miles long and varied in grade 6-9.9%. In other words it was a long and steep climb. From the start, it was fairly flat and fast. I stayed with the pack of for a few minutes then fell off. Tyler, Peter, Jeff, Scott, and Kirk soared off into the virtual horizon. Bob, Phil, and I stayed together for the first climb. Phil fell off, and Bob toyed with me for the 1st descent. As we climbed the big one, Bob surged several times. I matched for the first two times, then decided I needed to survive the long climb and let him go. It was a long ride for a Thursday night. Bob continued to pull away from me; I continued to pull away from Phil. Tyler, Peter, Scott, Jeff, and Kirk finished 20 minutes before me. There was a technical glitch when Tyler accidentally kicked a cable. I was thinking my calibration was off after that or I was just fading. My belly was feeling a little off all day and by the end, I was spent and my hands were shaking. Boy, I was glad that was done.

Bill’s Race Report – A Group

Well, it was close overall, with the Merchants losing a bit more time tonight. Riding for the Merchants were Tyler, Peter, Bob & Phil; the Cannibals were Scott, Jeff Ku, Kirk & Joe.

Similar to last night, nobody went out in a big storm, with the pack hanging together for the first few miles. There were some digs put in by Tyler & Peter mostly, although Scott went off the front briefly at Mile 4, but all was brought back together. And so it stayed until the first climb, at Mile 5.5. At that point Peter blasted off the front, opening a gap of about 500 feet to the chase group. In the process of trying to chase him, the chase group then broke up, with Phil coming off the back first, followed by Joe & Bob together. That left Kirk, Scott, Jeff & Tyler chasing, but nobody seemed to be able to bring Peter back.

And so it stayed for a while until Mile 6.7, at which point Tyler found himself alone on one side of the road and went for it. He put in a huge effort, holding between 400 & 500 watts for about a minute in order to bridge up to Peter. None of the others could match that pace, which left Scott, Jeff and Kirk, all teammates, together as a group, while Peter & Tyler settled down to the serious business of opening a gap.

And so it stayed over the first KOM, with the order at the top being Peter, Tyler and Scott. There was little change in position until everyone hit the big climb of the day. Once on the climb, at about Mile 12, Bob was finally able to shed Joe and move off on his own. Joe hung close behind for quite a while, closing down to as little as about 140 feet at about Mile 13, before Bob threw some fuel on the fire and pulled away.

In the first chase group, Kirk was starting to yo-yo off the back at about Mile 12.5 on this climb. At Mile 13, he dropped off, and Scott went back for him, bringing him back. That group was able to stay together over the top of the climb, and the results of the 2nd KOM was Peter, Tyler & Jeff.

Once over the top of the climb, all parties put the hammer down, and this finally proved a bit much for Kirk, and he pulled off his group at about Mile 16.3, telling them to go on without him.

And that was about the way it ended. Peter and Tyler worked very well together, both finishing in 1:25:45, with Tyler squeezing past Peter at the line. Jeff and Scott came in at 1:34:12, with Jeff nipping Scott by less that a foot. Kirk trailed in at 1:37:24 and Bob at 1:38:21. Joe finished in 1:45:38 and Phil at 2:05:16.

Total team time for the Merchants tonight was 6:34:37, while the Cannibals made it in 6:31:21. That leaves the Cannibals with a team total time about 39 minutes faster than the Merchants to date.

In the KOM points, the standings after the first climbs are:

Peter

Deanna

Tyler

Jeff

Gregg

Scott

Steve

In the overall individual competition, the leaderboard is:

Place

Name

Total Time

Gap

Tyler

4:49:06

0:00:00

Peter

4:49:47

0:00:41

Kirk

5:05:34

0:16:28

Jeff

5:11:19

0:22:13

Bob

5:17:22

0:28:16

Scott

5:18:08

0:29:02

Gregg

5:18:20

0:29:14

Deanna

5:28:45

0:39:39

Steve

5:30:05

0:40:59

Amy

5:33:37

0:44:31

Joe

5:33:43

0:44:37

Trevor

5:39:06

0:50:00

Bryan

5:39:13

0:50:07

Rudy

5:55:08

1:06:02

Allen

5:56:29

1:07:23

Mike Bowdish

6:01:22

1:12:16

Sue

6:01:24

1:12:18

Tiffany

6:01:24

1:12:18

Phil

6:08:37

1:19:31

Mike Wade

6:12:20

1:23:14

Lynda

6:12:20

1:23:14

Next week is the individual time trial. The course will be released after Sunday’s race. Good luck to all!

Bill

Bill’s Race Report – B Group

Tonight was a big night for the Cannibals, who ate up all the best times, leaving the Merchants gasping at the end of the caravan. Riding for the Cannibals tonight were: Deanna; Jeff; Gregg; and Sue. The Merchants were represented by Steve; Amy; Trevor & Rudy.

The start of the stage was somewhat easy, as befits a big stage. At Mile 1, there was a surge from Jeff which all but Sue were able to follow. After that, Jeff attacked again, just to soften folks up, which was followed a while later by an attack from Trevor. Steve was the next to take a surge off the front, but all these attacks were chased down, and the group came back together.

There was a bit of a surge coming on the the first climb, a Cat 3, and that surge dropped Trevor off the back. The rest of the group hung together as the climb progressed, although Rudy started to yo-yo off the back at about Mile 6.5.

At Mile 7, the big attack finally came, with Jeff exploding off the front, and only Deanna was able to follow. They worked until the gap was over 100 feet, then settled into tempo. At Mile 7.5, Steve & Gregg went off the front of the chase group, leaving Rudy and Amy behind. That’s the way things stayed for a while, with the first KOM results being Deana, then Jeff, then Steve edging out Gregg for the final points.

The first climb was followed by a moderate downhill before the big climb of the day. Once that climb got rolling, Rudy was no longer able to hold Amy’s wheel at Mile 11, and she went off after Steve & Gregg on her own. Jeff and Deanna worked together at the front, with Jeff pushing a good hard tempo for most of that tough climb. Gregg was able to push hard on this climb, and was able to gradually put 40 feet or more into Steve at about Mile 10.5, then hold him off his wheel. He was able to pull out about 100 feet, then Steve surged and caught back on at Mile 12.5. However, another surge from Gregg at Mile 13 finished that off, and by the top of the climb, he had pulled about 250 feet ahead. The climb was tough enough that the riders got well strung out before they got to the top. Results for the Cat 1 KOM were: Deanna; Jeff and Gregg.

At Mile 13.8, Rudy was caught by Trevor, and those two worked together until the end. Amy was by herself for the rest of the race, and had an off day. Her feeling was that she had a bad calibration, which may have been true.

On the descent from the Cat 1 climb, Steve used his superior friendship with gravity to pull back to Gregg, catching him at Mile 17.5. And that, folks, was about how it stayed until the end of this longish stage. Deanna crossed the line first at 1:33:50, followed by Jeff in the same time. Gregg surged by Steve in the sprint for the line with about 2/10ths to go, and held on for third in 1:39:14, with Steve’s time the same. Amy crossed in 1:47:18; followed by Trevor and Rudy together in 1:51:37. The final finisher was Sue in 1:55:52.

So – the total team time for the Cannibals tonight was 6:42:11, beating the Merchants by about 25 1/2 minutes. Can the Merchants claw some of this back tomorrow?

Bill

Tour de Rock Week 5 – Queen Stage – Powerman Zofinger 30.9 miles, 1:45 racing time, 1,856 ft elevation. The Queen Stage is the longest of the competition.

#climbing #computrainer #long ride #powerman zofinger #queen stage #tour de rock

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jwong2000 · 8 years ago

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Coming into the Team Time Trial, I was nervous about dragging my team down since I have been recovering from a deathly ill sickness all last week (chills, sweats, coughing, no sleep). Scott, Jeff, and Kirk were my teammates, and they’re all strong A Group riders. I’m primarily on Thursdays A Group due to scheduling conflicts, not due to speed. I gave it my best shot and we did pretty good staying together. The course was Wrentham Duathlon course, 10.7 miles, with a couple short but steep (7% spots). Our Cannibal team went first and the Merchants team went after us. I stuck around after our ride to see how we fared. It was really close on the overall time 1 1/2 minutes overall!

Bill’s Race – A Group

We had some good, hard and close racing this evening. In the end, one of the teams managed to eke out a advantage of about 1 1/2 minutes in TOTAL time for all four riders. It was that close.

Racing tonight for the Merchants were Bob, Peter, Tyler & Trevor, while the Cannibals presented Kirk, Jeff, Scott & Joe. The Cannibals were the first to go, and moved off at high speed, which they held throughout the stage. Their hero for the first half of the stage was Kirk, who did the lion’s share of the work and kept the pace high. Joe had been sick for the prior week coming into tonight, and his ability to perform was a bit of a question. However, he came to race and rode strong, never really being in any great danger of being dropped by his teammates. The Cannibals showed good form, keeping a good paceline and working together, cresting the top of the biggest climb in almost exactly 7 minutes. Over the back half of the course, Scott stared to come to the fore and put in some big pulls, as did Jeff. Their teamwork helped keep the team’s pace high, and they finished the stage faster than they started, negative splitting the course. The final times for all riders were: Kirk, Jeff & Scott at 27:50; and Joe at 27:51, for a team total of 1:51:21, and an average time per rider of 27:50.

Them it was the Merchant’s turn to go. They were just a bit disorganized at the start, and took about 1/2 mile to get their form and paceline sorted out. Once they got that figured out, they started to pick up speed. Their big star was Tyler, who was holding steady at over 300 watts, pulling the group along at a good pace. They worked out that Tyler would handle the flats and downhills, while Peter would pull up the climbs. He was able to put out almost as much power as Tyler for those climbs, but being many pounds lighter, he was the ideal choice to pull the group to the top, then let Tyler take back over. Bob hung strong with these guys, and Trevor put in a yeoman effort to hold pace with the little guys up the initial climbs, having to hold wattage in the high 300s to low 400s to manage it.

They too crested the top of the big climb at almost exactly 7 minutes, which apparently was something of a surprise. I guess they thought they were going to easily beat the Cannibal’s time, and to crest the climb in almost exactly the same time as the Cannibals was a call to arms. From there on in, it was pedal to the medal for them. Unfortunately, this higher pace proved troublesome for Trevor on the remaining climbs, and he got dropped at about Mile 5. He managed to get back on with an assist from his teammates, but then started to yo-yo off the back, finally being dropped for good at Mile 7.8. However, even though dropped, he kept his power up all the way to the end, working hard for his team.

In the end, the Merchants crossed the line as follows: Bob, Peter and Tyler all in 26:56; with Trevor coming in almost exactly two minutes later at 28:58. Total team time was 1:49:46, which was 1:35 faster than the Cannibals. Average time per rider was 27:27, 23 seconds faster than the Cannibals.

Sprint points remain unchanged from last week, and are as follows:

Tyler

Peter

Kirk

Bryan

Phil

Jeff

Bill

Rudy

Amy

Steve

In the individual competition, the leaderboard is as follows:

Place

Name

Total Time

Gap

Tyler

2:20:36

0:00:00

Peter

2:20:54

0:00:18

Kirk

2:21:33

0:00:57

Jeff

2:26:04

0:05:28

Joe

2:28:12

0:07:36

Bob

2:29:06

0:08:30

Gregg

2:29:44

0:09:08

Trevor

2:32:34

0:11:58

Bryan

2:36:43

0:16:07

Scott

2:37:13

0:16:37

Steve

2:37:48

0:17:12

Amy

2:37:49

0:17:13

Allen

2:42:58

0:22:22

Deanna

2:44:33

0:23:57

Phil

2:47:38

0:27:02

Rudy

2:47:48

0:27:12

Mike Bowdish

2:47:51

0:27:15

Sue

2:47:53

0:27:17

Tiffany

2:47:53

0:27:17

Mike Wade

2:51:21

0:30:45

Lynda

2:51:21

0:30:45

And, in the overall team competition, the Cannibal’s lead was cut from about 15 minutes to about 11 minutes this week, with the totals being:

Total Time to Date

1/6/2017

Merchants of Speed

19:23:43

Cannibals

19:12:42

So – very well done to all competitors this week! They all put in heroic efforts. Next week will be rollers, then things start to get serious with the Queen stage, an ITT, climbing stages and a mountaintop finish to follow. Let’s see if the Merchants can whittle that lead away some more.

Bill’s Report – B Group

This evening, the Merchants of Speed embodied thir name, and put the pedals to the metal. In this race, the Merchants were represented by Amy, Steve, Phil & Rudy, while the Cannibals presented Bryan, Gregg, Allen & Sue. The course was run as two separate races, and with the Cannibals winning the toss, they elected to go second.

The Merchants got off to a rough start, as Rudy was running a bit behind and got a bad calibration, which forced him to put in extra effort. Even so, the Merchants worked hard, went fast and kept a good tight formation for almost 2.5 miles. before Rudy finally succumbed to the effort and dropped off the back. The other three soldiered on without him, until Phil got dropped at the top of the climb at Mile 5, and could not catch back up to the flying Steve & Amy.

After that, their tactics were almost set, with Steve & Amy working together to the end. Eventually, Rudy recalibrated and put in a big effort to catch Phil at Mile 9, and Phil then pulled him to the finish.

The final times were: Amy & Steve 29:19; Rudy 31:45 and Phil 31:48 for a team total of 2:02:12, which worked out to an average of 30:33 per rider.

Next up were the Cannibals, and their tactic was to try to stay together as a team for as long as possible. They did this fairly well, but had to sacrifice some speed in the early part of the course to accomplish it. Finally, at about Mile 7, the decision was made to have Bryan & Gregg go for it, while Allen & Sue got dropped off. This formed two groups of two, who worked together until the finish. At the line, their times were: Bryan 30:06; Gregg 30:07; and Allen and Sue 32:27 each, for a total team time of 2:05:08, and an average per rider of 31:17.

So – the Merchants picked up almost three minutes tonight, cutting the Cannibals’ overall lead down to 12 1/2 minutes. Can they take more time tomorrow?

Tour De Rock – Team Time Trial TTT – Wrentham Duathlon Coming into the Team Time Trial, I was nervous about dragging my team down since I have been recovering from a deathly ill sickness all last week (chills, sweats, coughing, no sleep).

#computrainer #team time trial #tour de rock #TTT #wrentham duathlon

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