October 29th, 2007 by UncleTriSpoke
RS#6
Six days
Angry Chad is in full effect right now. The taper is not going well per Rucks. “Everything hurts, its been forever since I have ridden long, I feel generally tired,and I don’t have a hat for the race yet(what????)…” it goes on and on. From my experience 3 weeks ago when I felt the same way 6 days out , things are actually going quite well, but you cant tell someone in the middle of a taper that (ask Marshall about how many workouts I wanted to skip)
The Smackdown (RS#137) is definitely on. The 2 contenders each did a late season half ironman to test the fitness. Our boy did Atomicman( a hilly,tough race in harsh conditions) and the man with the bulls eye on his back did Steelhead 70.3( a less hilly course in more moderate temps in Michigan). Rucks did a 5:56:15 at IM goal race pace , the mystery Clydesdale 5:29 ( no way to know if this was 1/2 Im race pace or goal IM pace )
On the surface this looks like a big difference but I believe the 27 min can be accounted for when the hilly bike/run and extreme conditions of Atomic man are considered.
The swim: Rucks crushed the swim and has a distinct advantage in the aquatic venue.
The bike: Rucks was slower, but due mostly to the terrain of the bike course. I think we have a dead heat on the bike for the IM.
The run: here is where there is a chink in the armor. Part of the time difference here is course but Rucks will probably be looking over his shoulder for the duration of the run in PCB( and watching legs for race numbers)
To sum up Rucks comes out of the water with a 15 minute advantage and if all goes well minimizes deficits on the bike. It WILL come down to the run and the winner of this yearlong smack down will be determined by proper pacing and nutrition, specifically late in the race. This one will be a barnburner.
Tune in Saturday on IM live
Posted in Countdown | No Comments »
October 26th, 2007 by UncleTriSpoke
RS#9
Skinny Jeans
While we were in Hawaii, my wife and I did a bit of running around without the kids( good reason for taking the parents..” Dad I would really be honored if you could go see me do this race……” 
). One night we saw someone drinking an energy drink and my wife asks the lady
Bridget :”Where did you get that?”
Lady: “Oh you can get it at any convenience store or grocery on the Island”
Bridget : “Great, thanks we have a friend back home we need to get a case of it for”
Lady: “Glad I could help, Aloha”
Bridget: Thanks again HE will absolutely love it!!”
Lady: What!!!???”
I thought with all the vitamins and caffine it might pep Rucks up a little since the IM blues hava already set in, and I am having to hang out with Angry Chad more often now…..
Or at the very least it might help him get into those skinny jeans he has been shooting for
You know he has a pair somewhere………
Posted in Countdown | No Comments »
October 23rd, 2007 by UncleTriSpoke
RS#12
I just got the official word: The e-mail has been sent to Ironman North America to change our boy’s confirmed status in the race from agegroup to clydesdale. It looks like the smackdown is back on baby!!!!
He will be racing with a couple spare tires that will be bringing some Queen K Highway karma to the panhandle of Florida. He will also be channeling some Kona Karma through his HR monitor.
Cox, what you got??? besides an appointment with the medical tent and a 28 gauge needle…….
Posted in Countdown | No Comments »
October 22nd, 2007 by UncleTriSpoke
RS#13
Should be deep into a taper, and trying to get odds and ends taken care of……
Well the hay is in the barn now -or whatever the saying is that Gigantor is fond of- and Rucks and everyone should be thinking taper and rest right now. Nothing left to be done to gain any fitness between now and Nov3. There is however lots that could be done to hurt the fitness so lets see if he keeps his head on strait, I am personally hoping for an uneventful 13 days. We will have big problems if an RS come up in the next few days that starts with something like “ Let me tell you what not to do 2 weeks out from an IM“.
On a different note I just received a high level overview of a new restaurant downtown called Genghis Grill: Mongolian BBQ. During this review I was instructed on the best way to maximize ones total amount of food without springing the 12.99 for the all you can eat dinner. Lets just say it involved the mashing of lots of layers of beef and sausage together into a bowl(while the cook is distracted ) and then balancing vegetables on the top, and asking for 2 scoops of rice instead of the standard single, all while casually acting like you are on a diet.
So as they say: “Its all over but the crying”
And we all know about Rucks and tears……
Posted in Countdown | No Comments »
October 5th, 2007 by UncleTriSpoke
Random RS quote: “Dude , what the heck is a fartlek, do I even want to know?”
Posted in Countdown | No Comments »
October 3rd, 2007 by UncleTriSpoke
RS#32
An End In Sight
As we all know Rucks has been training and gearing up for IM FLA 07 since the day after Ben and I denied him his “final” backyard burger last year about this time(see RS#200). It has been a long year and honestly as I started to get to know Rucks I was quite concerned about his ability to 1) stay focused and consistent, 2) cut out the drama and get down to seriouse business. In short, it became aparent early on that Rucks was the local triathlon communities’ equivalent of Inspector Jacques Clouseau . He made the good decision to get a quailified coach and slowly started to cut out the nonsence and get some kinks worked out.
Now we are 32 days out and almost 60 LBS lighter. Rucks is loving the long training days and getting excited about the race. I walk up to his desk the other day and he has his training spreadsheet pulled up
Gibson: Hey man, you need to be done on 10-13 by 1300 so you can watch the Kona swim start
Rucks: No way dude , I wont be done by 1300 are you crazy? I am training for an Ironman too yah know, its not all about you!!
Gibson:Well thats 3 weeks out from your race how much can he have you doing that day?
Rucks:(matter of factly) Well lets see
At this point Rucks looks at the spreadsheet and it dawns on him that this Saturday 10-06 is his last BIG training day, and from there the volume decreases drastcally and the taper begins. A silence falls over him and his hands drop away from the keybooard.
Rucks: (in a low solemn tone) Its Over.
Gibson: what?
Rucks: (even lower) A whole year of my life….. its coming to and end… what am I going to do????
Gibson:”Dude are you crying again???!!!!”(See RS#144 and RS#68 )
I have heard of Post IM depression…… but PRE IM Taper depression???!! thats a new one to me
Only Rucks…
Posted in Countdown | No Comments »