Time for a Change.

So I think I have basically abandoned this blog since my last post was 2009 I think but I was thinking last night about changing things up.  Now I think I will use this space to chronicle and document some of the funnier things I see in my life in IT.  Without further ado here goes.

So today I was working on installing a new tape drive into our HP tape library.  The Part is a refurb and came direct from HP with ZERO installation instructions.  In contrast my mom got Kaiya a princess crown shaped sandwich cutter which had literally 3 steps worth of instructions on how to use.  I find both of these examples quite pathetic.  One that HP would not include anything at all (oh and there website is the suck) and Two that anyone needs 3 steps of instructions on how to use a sandwich cutter is equally pathetic.

Cheers!

Coffman YMCA Triathlon

Ok so here is a quick race report for my Peeps!

I felt really good at this race and like I really did as good as I could seeing as I had been sick the two weeks prior and really trained very very little.  SO on to the Race Report.

Race was this past saturday 5/9/09 and the weahter was pretty nice.  Low 60's and overcast in the morning but then the clouds cleared out and the sun came out and it got a LOT nicer. 

Swim - 300m's in a pool  - Time 00:6:21

The Swim was HILLARIOUS!  It was so crowded that you could barely move and it was the most relaxed and easy swim I have ever had.  Barely had to try to at all since the current from the previous 150+ swimmers had the water moving pretty nicely on its own.  I just kinda jumped in for the ride.  My right goggle filled with water a couple of times but I was able to stand up and walk a bit 2x's and adjust till they were right.  Yes it was that crowded that in the shallow end you could walk and not impede anyone.  LOL!  The other funny thing that happened half way through the swim was I saw a timing chip floating towards me so I did the respectable thing and grabbed it and then when I got to the end of that lap tossed it on the pool deck.  I just saved someone $30-50 in lost timing chip fees! Finished the swim and like I said.  I was not even winded.  Didnt feel like I had even swum at all.  Next year im going to seed myself much higher so that I can get pulled along faster and maybe get a swim PR!

T1 - 00:01:11

T1 was pretty uneventfull.  Still getting used to my new shoes and I would like to be able to leave them on the bike as that would crush my T1 time but i have not gotten to really practice that so not going to try it in a race.  

Bike - 11 miles - 00:33:41 - 19.6mph avg!!!

The bike felt really good.  I went out strong as I noticed we had a tail wind to start which would mean a head wind on the way back.  SO I took advantage of that.  My Computer has been giving me issues lately and decided it just didnt want to work on race day.  I smacked it around, pushed buttons, even removed it and reseated it but nope would not pick up speed.  (however when I got home and took my bike off the rack and wheeled it into the garage guess what started working??? GRRRRR)  so I thinks its new computer time.  NEway.  The other issue I had was my anti splash thingy in my profile aero drink bottle has died as its gotten really moldy and so I threw it away.  WOW does that really limit the splashing.  I think I lost half the water out of my bottle by it splashing on me so that was kinda annoying.  All in all it was a really good ride.  I only got passed by two people and did a LOT of passing.  One thing I love about racing is how its the one time you have the road to yourself.  I loved blowing through some major intersections with cars being stopped by police and just tearing through them!  I felt wicked fast on the bike and it was a lot of fun!

T2 - 00:00:47

I am typically able to produce what I consider to be lightning fast T2 times and this was no exception.  In and out in a jiffy with no issues.  I do not think I could have done it much faster!

Run - 00:26:18 - 8:29 pace

The run.  Sigh...this has been my achilles so far this season and I know why.  I have not done any brick workouts and hopefully I can start getting out to ceasars soon to work on that.  I just dont have any legs when I get to the run and both my last three races have resulted in an upset stomach once I started running so I need to work out that issue.  Other than that the course was pretty cool.  Out and back loop through settlers walk sub division so we were on the road and it was pretty much closed off to us.  There were a couple of pretty good hills that I was NOT expecting but I managed.  I was making good use of my watch and my goal was sub 01:10:00 and with one mile down I had 20 minutes left till the hour 10  mark so I felt like I just needed to keep a good pace and push as hard as I could but felt like my goal was definitly within reach.  As I came up the last hill and was about 500 yards from the finish chute I finally saw my girls!  (they got there about 15 min earlier as Kaiya decided to sleep in LOL)  Its always such a huge boost emotionally to see them and was a great way to finish!  

Final recap and numbers:

Total time 

01:08:18  w00t w00t made my goal!!!!!!!!  That time gave me a place of 11 out of 26 for my Age Group and 53 out of 231 overall so not too shabby.  SO im really happy with how I did and feel like it was a really good race for me considering the cold and all.  

Cheers mates!

Bikes I lust for!

Ok so as promised here are the bikes currently on Sparky's drool worthy "fo sur ain neva gonna happen!" Dream list
Here we have the BMC Time machine.  Leading the charge in the OH MY GOSH YOU SPENT HOW MUCH ON A BICYCLE category these are just beautifull pieces of Art.  Totally custom hand made to your measurments and hurting your wallet in the neighborhood of $20k+ the time machine is about as extravagent as you can get.  However for me I could never own this bike as I feel like if you are going to own a bike that is nicer and cost more than virtually every pro rider out there you need to have the legs to back it up and I just dont have those.  
Cervelo P3  -- The big brother to the P2c in my last post and still quite affordable (all things considered).  You can build up one of these for less than 5 grand and you would be riding a bike that most of the pros would be happy with.  Considered by many to be the second fastes bike around (behind its newer sibling the P4) this little cherry can be guaranteed an appearance at virtually any race in the World.  So what do I like?  The design works.  Its proven and the guys at cervelo dont believe in marking up their product outrageously so its still approachable by many of the masses.  
Look 596 -- This bike is another in the Art category to me.  I just love the design of the frame and the "broken" top tube.  Integrated bayonet fork and stem round out the sexy on this bute.  This is just a sheer head turner but again if your gonna ride a look 596 you gotta have some legs.  Big time!
Guru Crono -- I have loved the concept of this bike for a loooong time.  Guru is a great custom frame maker and for around $8-10k (depending on the parts group) you can get one of the few fully custom made aero carbon frames available.  What is also cool to me is the way guru goes the extra mile in the finishing touches.  Lets face it you can have the most amazing and aero bike in the world but if its ugly it loses a lot.  Case in point for me the Cervelo P4 and why that didnt make my list!  Your options for paint and sticker are virtually limitless with the crono and I just really love the way its put together.  
Argon 18 E-114 -- Ok last but certainly not least.  If I could pick from anything on the list it would proably be this bike.  I think the price tag comes in the $4-6k range depending on parts and I just think the look of this bike is AMAZING.  

Well I hope you all enjoyed that.  

Cheers!

bikes I swoon for!

Ok so first off I want to say that I do love my bike ALOT!  Its comfy and its fast but unfortunately it lacks a little bit of sexy which I know should not matter but oh my gosh it does sooo much.  My issue with my bike is that well.  Its not very pretty.  ITs a softride but not the pretty softrides with the single beam.  Mine is a softride lite and here is a stock pic of it.  Plus mine is showing its age.  Its probably close to 8 years old and since the company is out of business when the beam fails (which it will) im outta luck.  And knowing me its going to break during a race.  On top of that its not very stiff in the bottom bracket and this is the worst climbing bike I have ever owned.  Good thing I live in flat Ohio!

So it just kinda looks like a franken bike to me.  Tubes everywhere and not very fluid.  I guess what im saying is the bike doesnt really "look fast"  

Ok enough of that onto the wish list.  Please note that all of these bikes are in the category of what I would consider to be realistic options for bikes.  They are all considered to be just a smidge above "entry-level pricing"  SO nothing on here is top of the line.  

SO first up we have the Quintana Roo Seduza! 

Ok things I love aobut this bike.  I love the color scheme and graphics.  QR changed up their decals a year or so ago and I love the new look.  QR has a solid geometry built around the needs of a triathlete and well yeah I just love everything about the bike.  Even the stock wheels which would make great aero training wheels.  Oh and did I mention its CARBON!!!!

Next up Cervelo P2c:

Ok what else can I say but this -- Chrissie Wellington has won Kona twice on this exact same rig!  thats a pretty big statement.  This bike just oozes all kinds of sexy.  It's one of the few bikes that can claim to be built from the wind tunnel and it shows.  Everything about the bike is designed around it being as fast as possible.  The current paint / colour scheme is not my favorite but the component selection and build of the bike leaves absolutely nothing to be desired.  Only drawback is the size that I should be on would not fit my current race wheels.  BOO!  That and the fact that like everyone in creation seems to ride cervelo makes it look a bit like your just a follower of a current trend.  

Next up Cannondale Slice Hi-Mod 5:

This is Cannondale's entry level spec Tri-bike.  What I like about it is that the only thing that is entry level about it is the parts kit and thats still a pretty good parts kit.  The frame is the same frame that (we all assume) Chrissie Wellington will be riding to her 3rd Kona Victory this year.  I have always been a fan of Cannondale and purposely picked shops to work out that sold cannondale in hopes that I could eventually buy one.  I have owned two cannondales in my life and both have met with very sad demises of which was not Cannondales fault.  In general I love Cannondale as a company and love the way they build stuff.  I would really be open to giving this bike a chance and you do not see many of them around thats for sure!

Lastly the Argon18 E-112:

Ok from a looks standpoint this is my favorite bike of the bunch.  I LOVE Argon18 and the bikes they make and think this is just all kinds of pretty.  This is the most expensive of the bunch that I have shared today and that does not include the sweet zipps that are in the pic.  This bike wins major style points and the relative obscurity of the brand helps make it stand out in the crowd and I know if I owned this bike I would turn a lot of heads.  Those heads would more than likely be passing me but hey they would still be thinking "why did I get a cervelo when I could have gotten that!"  

SO maybe in a few years I will make the upgrade or perhaps my bike will break and then I will be "forced" to buy a new ride.  

Tune in again soon for my next post "Outrageously Priced Bikes I LUST for!"

cheers!

Its spring which means race time!

SO here I am at the finish of the Miami U. Tri!



It was a good season opener in that I realize some things I need to work on.  My goal this year is speed, which means most of my workouts have been very different from the past.  Since I have such limited time for training and I get plenty of recovery time im just trying to attack every workout that I can and go as hard as I can.  SO heres my wee race report:

Got to Miami at 6am on the dot.  Breezed through registration and got my transition area set up.  It was pretty cold - about 32 at the time and I was wondering if this race was such a good idea.  I had been suffering from some Stomach issues for the past week and almost scrubbed the race but could not bear the thought of wasting the money on the entry fee so I went.  They had a bit of a snafu over the timing chips so I had to wait till I basically started the swim to get my chip.  not real happy about that one.  SO anyway I did some warm ups in the pool and that helped with some nerve issues then I just kinda chilled out for awhile.  I brought my mp3 player and had queued up some good tunes and just really relaxed and watched the shuffle around me.  Im really happy with my pre-race routine.  Felt great.  

Swim: The pool at miami is AWESOME but we do not get along.  I dont know why but I hate swimming in that pool.  Like years past I seated myself way in the back knowing that I would rather be passing than being passed.  Also the tail end of the swim is ALWAYS less congested so less bottlenecks to slow you down.  I felt like I was flying through the swim.  Very calm and very relaxed and just kept picking off people left and right.  For the most part everyone was hugging the lane on the right so I just stayed left and more or less had open water the whole time!  Got out of the pool and checked my watch 8:13 - slow by many standards but a PR for me by over a minute in that pool.  Guess my swimming has been helping!

T1 - ungh one of the things I hate about the miami race is how cold it ALWAYS is.  I had decided via my primary sponsors recomendation to wear my long sleeve top that I bought from finishing IMFL.  Its a great top very warm and very comfortable.  However I really struggled getting it on and gave up a TON of time in T1 b/c of it.  

Bike: I ran out of T1 and hopped on the bike and started to crank away.  B/c of where I was sitting in the swim I was again picking off people left and right.  Mostly mtn bikes and older road bikes so I knew this was mostly the first timer crowd.  I felt pretty good through most of the bike but did notice some cramping in my calves which I attribute to the cold weather.  I hate cold weather.  About two weeks ago I got a new pair of Tri-specific bike shoes.  They are Pearls and I really like them but I need to practice getting out of them more.  It took me way to long to get my feet out SO thats something I need to work on and get faster with.  

T2 came into t2 and hopped off the bike and well first time ever but I lost a shoe!  so I had to run back and grab that.  DOH!  into transition I racked my bike - off with my helmet then on with the runners....I said on with the runners....what the!!!! I put like TONS of body glide all around the opening of these fricking things.....why wont my foot go in.....man my feet are numb....oh come on why wont my foot go in my shoe.....finally.  In short not the best t2 for me.

Run: ungh got out on the run and was feeling the affects of the cold even more.  Calves were really cramping and my stomach issues from the week prior started to hit.  I just kept thinking "Man am I happy this is only 3 miles."  Ran easy for the first mile and then on mile 2 I started to try to pick up the pace.  Just focused on whoever was in front of me and tried to pick them off.  I think I probably negative split each mile in the run but it was still really slow.  

Finish!!!!  w00t w00t I finished in a time of 1:21:?? This was a bit outside of my sub 1:10 goal but im thinking that is perhaps unrealistic.  Next years goal is 1:15.  SO anyway I was 192 out of 652 people who signed up.  Not to shabby for the season opener.

SO what else is new.  Well im racing again in about 1.5 weeks and again Im really excited about that.  Its a local race for me (like 5 minutes away!) and it will be warm!!!  so excited.  SO look back for a race update then.  

Oh and coming soon will be my post about bikes I swoon for! 

Cheers!

Race Schedule and some other things

Thats right Im making the jump back into Ironman racing but with a twist. Due to the amount of time it took to do a full ironman and the general lack of a race within close proximity I have decided (with my primary sponsors consent!) to sign up for Ironman Steelhead 70.3. For those of you not so in the know the 70.3 is a clever way of saying "half Ironman" since a full is 140.6 miles. It will be in Michigan on August 1st and hopefully Rich and Becki will be able to come watch me as well! In fact anyone who wants to come cheer me on and see what all this fuss is about just let me know. I would love to have the support!

Hopefully with the distance being shorter it will be a lot easier to accomodate the training required while still attempting to be competitive. My training for IMFL was really focused around being able to go at a comfortable pace for a very very long time. Comfortable in many ways translates to slow. For the Half im going to focus this year on speed. I WANT to get faster. My swim is picking up and in many ways im not so worried about it. The swim for steelhead is in lake michigan with the current and is wetsuit legal. Knowing what I know now about drafting on the swim, how much faster I swim with a wetsuit, annnnnd that I will be swiming with a current makes me think im going to be puting up my fastest swim time of my life! The bike. My initial goal is to be able to do the bike in under 3 hours. Its only 56 miles so if I can maintain something in the low 20's then I will be golden. But wait theres more! The run. This is my biggest worry. How to still have speed for the run. I cant go so hard on the bike that im toast for the run. I want to post a 2 hour half marathon, which means i would be booking it pretty fast. We shall see. Whats likely 45 min swim. 3.5 hour bike 3 hour run. That would put me around 7 hours. I want to go under 6 and would prefer under 5:30. So thats that!

What else -- Oh yeah other races
I might possibly do the miami U tri although I hate how cold it is at that race. Its really just a smidge to early in the year to be racing outside. I have always been cold when I do that race and I really like that race but just dont know. Still on the fence with this one but I better make up my mind as its in about a month

Springboro Y Tri -- w00t w00t so excited for this race as I feel like its in my backyard and will not require me to get up at some awful hour and drag my butt to a race. Thats in may and im really excited for that.

Wright Pat Tuesday duathlon series -- This one is a bit on the fence. I have only been able to work it out to race this once in the past 2 years due to schedule conflicts. There are like 5 or 6 races in the series and I hope to be able to do at least a couple of them.

Wheelie Fun Race Series -- I just found out last night that Bob is trying to put on a little wed. night race series over at ceasars and im so geeked about that! I hope to be able to do whatever he has planned.

So after a bit of a sabatical last year it looks like this year is really shaping up to be a good year of racing for me. Im most excited about the tues / wed night club races. If I can make those work I could race 5-8 times without it really costing much and just for fun which is what its all really about anyway.

Other than that things are going ok. I was sick last week for a couple of days and Lisa has been sick since Sunday so its been a weird week. Work is work and I keep trudging along. But I feel like I have a lot to look forward too with the summer approaching.

Oh before I forget in exactly 1.5 weeks Lisa, Kaiya and me leave for ORLANDO baby!!!! Yes a much needed week of R&R is coming!

Cheers!

sup??

SO yes my blogging has been sporadic at best of late and well yeah sorry I guess! SO here is a wee update on whats going on with me. (yes of course my patented bulleted list is to follow!)

Work - All things considered not bad. I have a job and it pays well and I have no real fear of losing my job despite the fact that the national economy is in the toilet. For that I am thankful. I have several HUGE projects I am working on and of course they all have converged at once! Yippee!

Home - My parents are visiting from scotland this week so that is always fun. Lisa and Kaiya are amazing and thanks to some available Baby sitting I think Lisa and I are going on a date tonight! First one in months!

Fitness - I am on the cheerios lower your cholesterol diet and have been so for about 2 months. I think its working well and I am down 10lbs!!! w00t w00t I need to reschedule my cholesterol screening and pray for some good results! I am teaching twice a week at the Y (cycling and boot camp) and LOVING it. I also think that I will be doing a half iron man this year as my big race. There is one up in Michigan called steel head and I think thats the race for me. I have 7 months till the race which should be plenty of time to really get ready for it so im starting to get excited.

Gaming - Playing fable 2. dont like it much - sticking with it to see if it gets better. wishing upon a star it gets better. Its really fable 1 save two things. Now you have a dog and you can also be a girl. Other than that it feels IDENTICAL. Something that is so far missing from the game - ARMOR???? seriously how can you have an action adventure game were your romping through the hills fighting hordes of badies in nothing but hotpants and a vest???

Life in general - I hate this time of year in Ohio with the cold and the snow and the below zero temps so if anyone wants to give me a job in hawaii or some place warmer I wouldnt mind! All things considered though im doing ok so far this winter. Jan. is almost over and that mostly leaves feb before things start warming up a bit.

Well thats all for now.

cheers!