Tri-Guy-Jt. aka Jay Z

Greetings from the Hinterlands. Rap artists are social commentators. Some vulgar. Many not. Rap Artists keep the beat and proclaim verse about many things. Would JayZ rap about triathlon training??? Probably not. He's got Beyonce for goodness sakes.

So, I decided to pick up the slack. Don't thank me. Just imagine Jay Z or 50 Cent doing the verse.. Hey, it could be worse.

No Lie, I Tri

written by TriGuyJt

Good week in the gym and out,
a big reason to shout.
5 hours of heart rate sustaining,
triathlon specific training,
lifting weights, straining,
not once complaining,
Skipping rope, treadmill jogging
writing down miles and logging,
more items of which I'll be blogging
spilling my guts, bareing my soul,
my body a furnace, stoke it with coal.
Thinking of that day that will soon come
The day I will race, I will beat my own drum
Pump up my chest, ready my grit.
never ever stop fighting, there aint no quit.
But through the strong workouts, the sweat hitting the floor
the body craves goodies, Come on, give me more.

Hey,theres a donut, I'll take 2, make that 3".
my body won't listen to my shrieking plea.

No Lie, I Tri, I'll say no to the snacking,

I just need my bloggers backing!!!

Whattya think guys?? Platinum???? Guys?? Hello...

Out of the Box List

The Bride Jane and I were cruising on a dream vacation in 06 to celebrate 30 years of wedded bliss. Two college sweethearts that met on a blind date. We were on a 15 day cruise to such ports as Barcelona, Florence, Naples, Venice, Rome, Athens, Mykonos, Istanbul and several other places. It was an intoxicating thrill each and every day. Intoxicating because of the sensory overload due to seeing so many incredible sites....historical and biblical. It was the trip of a lifetime.

One day we were lounging by the pool on the cruise ship.

Bride Jane

"We should both make our own Out of the Box list". She blurted out.

Dense Husband

"Huhhh" I cleverly shot back.

Very Clever Bride Jane

"Yeah. Things we always wanted to do but are afraid to even think about doing"

So we did. The rule for me was I could not just name all these endurance things I have wanted to do. I will provided the "Endurance list" later, but she was serious in wanting us to think "out of the box".

Fast Forward to late 07 and early 08 and Jack and Morgan and the movie "The Bucket List".

Two guys trying to experience things..outrageous things before they "Kick the Bucket".

I will only divulge one thing from the Brides list because she would kill me if I spilled the beans. One thing was to learn to dance all those hot dance techniques we saw on "Dancing with the Stars" So that was on her list and also on mine.

Here are a few "Non Endurance Sports" items on my list.

1. Smoke a Cuban cigar in Havana

2. Ride a train through the Canadian Rockies.

3. Speak Spanish fluently. (smart, as I interview many Latin American ballplayers)

4.. Run with the Bulls in Pamplona

5.. Read all of Shakespeares works

6. See the village where my Grampa came from in Slovenia

There are many more on the list. I admit I have a huge part of me that wants to explore as much of the world as possible. I love to read about all cultures, and religions. My love all things about the globe was spawned when I was little. I was always reading. Somewhat shy. Much apart from the guy who makes his living talking to people on the boob tube. But, if I could make a living writing about world travels like Colin Thubron, I would. In a heartbeat.

http://www.amazon.com/

Colin might be the best adventure writer on the planet. Read the book "Shadow of the Silk Road" and you'll be transfixed. He journeys the greatest land route on earth, the Silk Road. Out of the heart of China,,westward to Kurdish Turkey. 7,000 miles in 8 months. It was a veritable "Tour De Chance". Sidestepping government goons and showing the real people of the various countries . Its not just the adventure. Its his prose. He turns a phrase like I turn an ankle.

In some ways, those of us who compete in demanding sports like triathlon, cycling, running, swimming are world travelers. But the world we travel is ourselves. We explore the depths of desire to win. We climb mountains of emotions. We hop a train on the express to endorphins and we never, just never are satisfied that we have totally tapped the reservoir of our beings.

Ahh, but that Endurance List???.. I will write down my alltime #1 and in succeeding posts, I will reveal more.

1. Race the Ironman at the Mecca. (Kona) 3 Ironmans in non-dot-m races might be one thing, but getting to Hawaii would be the ultimate. Can anyone rig the lottery so I can get in???

Whats your Bucket List??? eundurance or otherwise??

frigid football loyal friends

Hi There. Some Housekeeping first. (livestrong.org)
Its great that Lance is running the Boston Marathon. He did 2:47 at new york. What do you think he can do at Boston...and for a man who conquered the huge mountains in the Tour, I would think Heartbreak Hill would not be that much of a problem for the 7 time Tour de France winner. I still would love to see him attack the Ironman. How fast would he cover the 112 mile bike portion???


Training

Snowy end to a great training week. 4 hours 30 minutes total from bike, run, elliptical, rope skipping, and my latest method of madness, rowing. Even though I notched my two upper body workouts, but missed a leg workout, I think it was a great week. My food consumption needs close monitoring.

Frigid Football, Loyal Friend

I write this while the AFC and NFC Title games are being played in cold, cold enviroments. In the 20's in New England and about zero in Green Bay. Kudos to the Einstein who thought it would be good to play a night game at Lambeau Field. Gheeesh. Speaking of Einstein. I so quickly left my car coming into the station today at 2:30 pm, that 4 hours later, I realized I had left it running in 14 degree weather. It was purring like a kitten. Toasty warm. It least I didn't lock it. What a goober!!!

As I watch Brett Favre and company, I flash back to my days with Casey Coleman. We were colleagues at Fox 8 for 17 years. Casey possessed a wit sharper than a drawer of knives. He spoke of a thermos. "It keeps, hot things hot, and it keeps cold things cold.......How does it know?".

Casey came from a legendary family of sportscasting. New Englanders who read this might remember Ken Coleman, the longtime voice of the Boston Red Sox. Casey chose his dads profession. My dad has been a insurance man. I chose something else. I believe I would have been swallowed by his shadow. Casey blossomed in his dads business, but he paid a price. Casey became an alcoholic. It wasn't until about 9 years ago that he climbed out of the bottle.
But on this Sunday, I think of Casey because of all those cold Browns games we covered.

This photo is of us doing a pregame show before the Browns met the Broncos in the playoffs in the 80's in Denver. Casey is on the left, I am on the right. It was the "Fumble" game. Browns fans don't need a reminder of what happened. We used to stand on a railing that was on the top of the Old Cleveland Browns Stadium. We were up so high and the railing hovered just over the field. We felt on top of the world all those Sundays, including the very frigid ones.

Back then, we could anticipate where every play was going. We had a birds eye view. Just yards below the heavens. Those were great times, second guessing the playcalls, cracking jokes.

Casey was a very loyal guy. Back when Bill Belichick was a rookie Browns coach, most everyone in town hated the guy. He was dour. Joyless at times. He ran everyones favorite q.b. Bernie Kosar out of town. Casey believed Bill would become a great coach. He was often a lone voice, touting Belichick's skills. Time proved Casey right. Its too bad Belichick would prove him right, but from another city,..Boston, not Cleveland.

This photo was taken, not long before Thanksgiving, 2006. A week after this was taken, Casey was dead of pancreatic cancer. He had fought it 15 months. He was Ali to cancers Frazier. He left an incredible legacy. Caseys fund at Recovery Resources helps those with addictions and mental illness receive treatment, they otherwise could not afford.
On his way to becoming sober and a lifesaver to many, Casey gave his life to the Lord. Touchdowns and Home Runs meant little to him. The only dunk that mattered was in the waters of Salvation.
When all was said and done...when, I, a humble friend, addressed the mourners at his funeral, I wondered out loud how Casey was enjoying the Heavenly Broadcast booth. And how he must have loved doing the play by play, while his dad was stuck doing the sideline reporting.

I think of Casey all the time. In the past 15 months, things that have happened in Cleveland Sports have made me wonder. Those midges that swarmed Joba Chamberlain of the Yankees during the playoffs. Did Casey have something to do with those?? Or the crazy bounce on the Phil Dawson field goal against Baltimore.
Casey used to kid me all the time about my triathlon training and racing. He thought I was nuts. I often think that myself. But through the myriad of life's experiences we have, our friends help shape us. They help guide us through the maze of life. Casey guides me, in some ways, from the grave.
Hey Case..should they have run the ball THAT play????

Moving on Up

Hi. I thought about George and Weezie when I figured out what my first event of 08 would be. You remember the Jeffersons?? How the couple was "moving on up" to that deluxe apartment in the sky. Well, I plan on "moving on up" in early February.

The event is "Tackle the Tower". It consists of either fun "walk" or "run" up one of Clevelands bigger buildings, the Galleria at Erieview. Theres 37 flights of steps. Not killer. But I'm sure I will be huffing. However, some of my firefighting friends will be competing in some kind of department against department race, and they will be wearing thier firefighting gear. I will have it easy. Plus, the event benefits Ronald McDonald House. Its a win, win.

So, there you have it. Event number one. Thanks for the suggestions on what I should do to celebrate my 55th this summer. I am batting around in my brain some scenarios but nothing is definite. Not sure if any Starbucks will be involved. We will see. I will let you know that, plus what else is on the schedule. Ohh yeah. 4 weeks now. No coffee.

Right now, I am settling more and more on a training routine, which consists of 2 upper body workouts, 1 leg workout....one Pilates class courtesy of my bride, the lovely and talented Jane. Add to that a flat time each week that includes any running, biking ,rope skipping, stairclimbing and swimming. This week, its 4 hours. Into the 4 hours, I have one tempo-interval workout but most sessions have a heart rate zone in mind. Ideally, by late April, I will be at 10 hours each week. I want quality, not quantity. I will have 2 Half Irons, but no Full Iron. My weakness is biking. I aim to better that.

These books are where my truths and perhaps my workout lies live. I have been writing my workouts down for many years. But I have to admit, sometimes I am less than candid with myself. I gloss over workout imperfections. I am reminded of the line from A Few Good Men.

"You can't handle the truth". I varnish, and polish the truth at times and not putting down exactly what I have done or intend to do has hurt my racing. So, whenever I think I am straying, I think of how Jack screamed at Tom Cruise and I straighten out.

So, my hope for you is that you remain truthful on what you are doing to improve your racing. If you slip, admitting it won't kill you. In fact, it will help to make you better.

Happy training.

BREAKING NEWS

Cleveland, Ohio (A.P.)


The world is a bit puzzled lately, witness Matt Dillon's face. Why oh why is triguyjt so slow in announcing his racing schedule for 2008.

Seems the wily veteran triathlete is hitting a milestone this year and he wants an event to commemorate the occasion. Trouble is...the confused, fuddling, fifty-something--er can't decide how to celebrate the date, June 17th.

Thats when he hits the "speed limit birthday". The double nickel. the Big Five-Five. 55 year ago, he got his first spanking at Euclid General Hospital. Ten pounds. Thats alot of baby.

He's open to anything. At first, he thought he could break the day down thus. 5 mile swim. 30 mile bike. 20 mile run. The run would be on a trail he loves..North Chagrin. The swim would be in beautiful, non toxic...earthquake suseptible Lake Erie. The Bike??? Uhh most likely around North Chagrin. But actually there is no known agenda at this time.

Since he has sworn off coffee but is not quite ready to be called JTea, he thought he could run past 55 different Starbucks locations, maybe run inside and collect a bag of ground beans. Then, at the end of the event, he'd look like a sherpa at base camp in the Himalayas.

His Bride is a Pilates Instructor. He thought of doing 55 straight hours of Pilates class but the Bride would have none of that. So he is asking, once again for bloggers to bail him out.

Whatever he comes up with, he doesn't want to muck up some of the events he has tentatively planned to race. Such as the Mountaineer Half Iron, and the Great Cleveland Half Iron.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. J.T. will have a committee of 3 career advisors helping him make up his mind. Said advisers are shown below at work.

Meanwhile, he reports his training is going well, cept for his right hammy, which sounds like the AFLAC Duck every time he stretches, and an aching heel that requires an orthotic made out of recycled T.V. Guides.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
APTV 01-09-08 2036EST

NICE PANTS!!!
Hi There, its me. Now, just because I jumped in frigid Lake Erie Jan 1st (see post January 1st) doesn't mean I love to frolic in the frigid climes. So thats why this story about Josh Brown of the Seahawks caught my eye. (link) He will taunt Green Bay's Lambeau Field by wearing heated pants this weekend. I'm sure all you Upper Midwest guys think he's just the biggest wuss around. I hope his batteries don't freeze up. Won't Packer fans give him grief?? "Hey Josh, is that a battery in your pocket or are you just happy to see me"? I mean, this is like going out to start the car 20 minutes before you drive to work in winter.
Happy Training.

Beans, Beans, Nothing But Beans

My Dearest Blogging Buddies.

My nearly 3 week rejection of coffee and most all things caffeine has caused some negative feedback from the blogosphere. Many people have emailed me and asked that since its been a while without caffeine, my dreams have gotten boring. Seems many liked the fact that my caffeine deprivation tactic the first week had my brain working overtime, thinking of wild and incredible scenarios. It was a dream smorgasboard. Some found it humorous.

I told you about Juan Valdez, Mrs. Folger and my Bride and the coffee beans. On top of that, there were the Amish men rebuilding my roof and the Bob Vila imposter. Ohh, did I forget the therapy with Dr. Phil??
But since that week, the dreams have gone underground, become muzak to my psyche. They are, dear bloggers very mundane dreams. I hit the rack, snore like a 747 and simply wake up. NOTHING happens. Not even, Bill Gates wearing a tutu, while downloading the latest Windows Vista.

I will say this, the snoozing J.T. dreams may have gone south, but the AWAKE J.T. has become more crazy.
Here are just a few of the things I have done since I caused the behemoth coffee company to become Sleepless in Seattle.

*I jumped in the Lake, with only my heavily clothed bride to save me. (see previous post). That was stupid.
*I taught a goat sign language.
*I was the warm up act for Hannah Montana.
*I finished research into how Crabs feel about all the Imitation Crab Meat on the market.
*I climbed Mount Everest while wearing flip flops.
*I learned to fly a helicopter...during my lunch break.
*I signed up to train Macca.
*I dunked on LeBron James.
Fairly wild stuff. Meanwhile, the siren song of the coffee beans has been doing a dastardly thing. Its taunting me. Teasing me about the wonderful taste of the beans roasted, and brewed. I am resisting with herculean effort. But ohhh...those beans are flirters. They are tenacious. I fear if I give in, then, my life will be once again out of control.
So, dear bloggers...I desperately need help. Help me!!!
P.S. On another note...The 2008 Race schedule is close to being finalized. I'll keep you Perking...I mean...posted.

Frigid Fools Solo Polar Plunge

New Years Day. Normal enough. I woke up. Had breakfast. No hangover to deal with. I don't drink. I took my Brides noon Pilates class. What better way to ring in the New Year?? Ohh, I know a better way!!! Jump in an Angry, Frigid Lake Erie.. Yep. Thats what I did.

Check out said Angry Lake. Snow was falling. Very gray and very bleak. Why did I do a solo plunge??? The Cleveland Triathlon Clubs dunk in the Lake was at the same time as my Brides Pilates Class. Since I have yet to perfect the art of being in two places at the same time, and frankly I wanted to support her as she begins a new venture, I had to drag the Bride to the Lake to chronicle the dubious dunking after the Pilates class.

Like the swim trunks. I could have worn a wild bright tropical suit, this blue one or a speedo. J.T. in a speedo is not a pretty sight. Stripped off the sweatsuit and shoes and wasted no time at all. Waves were crashing. Wind was fierce. Heard Gordon Lightfoots song about the Edmund Fitzgerald as the wind and the cold taunted me.

The Bride was all bundled up and a good sport. She fired away with the Canon. I got knocked down and dunked by the waves and all the rocks that made footing treacherous

You have no idea how fast I was running in this shot. Wow. Every fiber of my body was saying "THIS IS BEING ALIVE". The Bride thought' THIS IS BEING STUPID".She just smirked and questioned my sanity. The Bride also made the suggestion of the year. "why not bring your thick bathrobe, you know, like the Russians"?. Like the Russians???? Ohh yeah. Then I kept thinking of Yeltsin or Putin or Gorbachev, all sipping Vodka and sneering as me.

Yeltsin, Putin and Gorbachev

"You are soft American.Water is not cold. You ever been to Siberia"?

Whewww!!! Just being able to throw on the bathrobe, throw on shoes ,snap the final photo and hightail it back home was all I could take... Hey, and to my CTC friends, many of whom I have never had the chance to meet, hope your Plunge was awesome!!!!!! I was with you in spirit and in goosebumps.