New Year's Resolutions

Okay, so it's late April and I'm writing a post about New Year's Resolutions. You'll have to pretend it's January and it's 70 degrees out (at least, THIS winter...) I had two resolutions this year, both of which are centered around some "life changing" events.

1. My father has high cholesterol. My mother has high cholesterol. Therefore, I have high cholesterol. My doctor confirmed this during my yearly medical check-up. The numbers aren't so bad, 208 total cholesterol: something like 130 LDL, 60 HDL, and some other DL's thrown in there for good measure. It's not as though I was eating Big Mac's and Bloom'n Onions every night. Quite the opposite. I thought I ate healthy and took my diet seriously, trying to cook as many meals as I could, and staying away from fried foods when I do go out to dinner. But, apparently that wasn't good enough. I met with a Nutritionist and she recommended some minor changes that I'm hoping will make a big change in my Cholesterol Numbers. I won't go into my diet in this post. I'll save some of my more memorable meals for another post.

2. After spending 4 years here in Providence, I realized that I don't know sh*t about this city and state. I had heard about the great bars, phenomenal restaurants, and beautiful beaches and parks. Apparently, I hadn't been to any of them. My new subscription to Rhode Island Monthly Magazine confirmed this fact when they listed the 41 "must see" things in Rhode Island. I don't think I had done more than 5. So, I decided to do something new every week. What is "new", you ask? Well, that can vary. Maybe I'll check out a new restaurant, or I'll grab a beer at a different bar this week. Hell, I might even take a new backroad to work this week. I'm defining "new" as something different, something I've never done before. This includes biking or running a new route, eating something outside my comfort level, or even sampling a new beer. I'm excited about the opportunities in front of me, as there's a whole new state that I get to check out. (Yes, it's the smallest damn state, but it's all new to me...)

I hope you enjoy my new adventures here in Rhode Island. I'll try to update this as I check off some items from my Rhode Island "bucket list." Happy reading.

Wooden Anniversary

5 Years
60 Months
1461 Days
157,784,630 Heartbeats

My Pacer is officially 5 years old. God how time has flied! My pacer continues to be completely transparent in my life. I don't feel it while sleeping on my left shoulder. I don't notice it bouncing while running or cycling. I sometimes forget that I can't walk through metal detectors. Every checkup has been a non-issue, and my Cardiologist is fully supportive of my athletic endeavors.

When I was waiting in the ER for the surgery to start, I was approached by the Pacemaker Rep who asked me what style of pacemaker I wanted. Did I want the smaller device with the smaller (re: shorter life) battery? Or did I want the larger device with the longer life battery? I simply asked, "how much larger, and how much longer?"
"~20%, and 12 years vs 7."
That was a no brainer... I took the larger pacer with the longer battery life. After my first 5 years, I still have an expected battery life of >7 years, and possibly closer to 9 or 10 years. I'm not paced very often, but it is a 24/7 operation, class III (life saving) medical device, that requires constant monitoring of its sensors and recalculating of its algorithms. I'm very happy with my decision, and the resulting life of the device...

In the past 5 years I've accomplished more athletically than I did prior to my implant:
I completed my first Marathon.
I completed my first Triathlon.
I raced internationally in the World Duathlon Championship.
I won my first race, any race, of any distance!
I set PR's in the 10k and 1/2 Marathon.

I continue to challenge myself and push harder to achieve goals and to meet expectations. I never dreamed of doing some of the things that I'm doing today. Life is still a journey, and I continue to enjoy the ride. Here's to another amazing 5 years, and beyond!

BEN

Arthurs Seat 1, Ben 0

Much like David versus Goliath, today's race was all about the athletes versus Arthur's Seat. Personally, I wasn't racing against anyone but myself... that was until Arthur decided to throw us all a curve ball, or shall I say, 2100ft of climbing...

The race was full of previous World Champions, Ironmen and women, para-triathletes, and grandmothers that would put most of us to shame. But it was the intense and unrelenting climbing that would be our worst competitor. We all did 5 biking laps around the famous Arthur's Seat, with each 5mile lap containing approximately 450 vertical feet of climbing. It was grueling, it was challenging, and it was constant. There just wasn't any break from the elevation changes, and any chance to make up time on the downhills was thwarted by the tight and narrow roads around the park. Surprisingly, I was able to hit over 40mph on the downhills, but we all had to quickly brake into the corners before going headfirst in the Hay Bails. (Yes, they had hay bails setup for us...) After 3 loops of this I was ready for T2, but the climbing just kept coming. Other athletes mentioned that the course was about 10 minutes slower than your "normal" Worlds course. Based on my bike split, I would have said it was about 20 minutes slower. Here, begrudgingly, are my splits (from a very groggy memory...)

10k ~ 39:52
41.8k ~ 1:26
5k ~ 26:00
Total ~ 2:32

I know it seems almost impossible to actually "run" a 26 minute 5k. But, I didn't really run much of it. I had every possible body cramp I have ever experience. First my left quad tightened, then my left hamstring. Once those subsided, my right leg decided to join the party and cramp up as well. This time, my hamstring turned into a nice tight tennis ball, and left me unable to run for a good 2 minutes. I walked, Frankenstein-like, with a straight leg and a bellowing "errr!" Surprisingly, I wasn't the only one with cramping problems, as everyone I talked to was having the same issue. In fact, I've never seen that many people walking before. Certainly not at this level of competition...

Overall, my race was not one for the record books. In fact, I'd like to strike it completely from the record. But, I'm very happy the training I did for this race, the fact that I actually qualified for it, and all the people I've met from it. This experience has been unmatched by any sporting I've ever done. And last but not least I'd like to thank my lovely girlfriend Karen! She stood out there cheering her heart out and clanging that cow-bell! I hope she continues to support this silly racing habit of mine, and I hope someday to support her's as well. :)

The Race is over, and the rest of Scotland awaits. My first pint is right around the corner, and I can't wait to dive in. Thanks again, for everyone's support. Hope to see you all when we get back!

Ben

Edinburgh, UK

Edin-BURG, Edin-BORO, how the hell do you pronounce it? Either way, that's where I'm heading! This visit to Scotland will complete my "Island Trifecta" as I've already been to England and Ireland. This time, I'm bringing along my bike, and this trip isn't all about sight-seeing.

This Saturday, I'm competing in the Duathlon World Championships against the best Duathletes in the "World." We'll be racing 55-kilometers up, down, and around King Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh, which breaks down into a 10k run, 40k bike, and a 5k run. I'll be representing the USofA as one of the ten, 30-34 year old men, and our heat starts at 12:45 local time (5hrs ahead of you New Englander's).

The weather looks quite favorable for this race; overcast skies and a very low chance of rain. My training has been the best ever, and my bike is ready to rock and roll! I'm going to try to post results here by the end of the day on Saturday. So, please check back at the end of the weekend. For more information, and possible "official" results, check out the race website.

http://www.edinburghduathlon2010.com/

Thanks for all the support!

Ben

Picture Pages

I haven't updated this blog in a long, long time. I think we've lost a Planet AND gained an Element since my last post. Oh well, I've been busy. While looking through some old posts, I've noticed that there is quite a bit of text, but not so many pictures. Everyone else has pictures (of their dogs, their kids, their vacations), and I just seem to talk... I'll try to find some pictures of people I don't know, pets I don't like, and vacations I never went on. Maybe then I'll get a few more subscribers. :)

Ben

Kid n’Play

On Wednesday nights, a group of us get together for a weekly run around the Boulevard on the East Side of Providence. We're a mix of former Div I and Div III athletes, as well as a few "weekend warriors" thrown in between. Some of us run 25 miles a week, others are well into 70 and 80 miles a week as they ramp up for marathons and even ultra marathons. I think the youngest in the group is around 27 years old, the oldest is in his late 40's, but we all seem to run around the same pace and enjoy the conversation over our 7 mile loop.

Last week we were talking about our training regimens, and how some of us are doing speed workouts while others are just running distance. We were comparing these workouts to what we did in college, and how fast we used to run them. We compared the benefits of repeat quarter miles versus tempo runs at race pace, and heart rate-based versus time-based recoveries. I mentioned that it's been about 10 years since I used any of this knowledge "in practice." That's when the old jokes started coming around, and we all made comments about how good we "used to be." I joked about the fact that I was a faster runner in middle school than I am right now, but I then realized that it's 100% true. (5:09 mile at age13, slower than 5:09 at age 32...)

Back at that age, running was easy, fun, and just come naturally. I didn't think about what pace to run at, how far to go, or what to eat before I stepped foot on the track. It wasn't a mental exercise for me, it wasn't something I planned my day around. It was just fun. We'd scamper around the track, play tag as we sprinted back and forth around the ball fields, and goofed around more than we trained. I don't remember having to match my pairs of socks, or to rotate my shoes when they started to get old. I just ran, and it was fun.

20 years later, running is still "fun" for me. It keeps me in shape, it helps me relax, and it allows me to eat as much food as I want ('cause I LOVE food.) I've also picked up cycling along the way, as I want to be able to train for many more years to come. But, while it's fun, it doesn't bring with it that same care-free attitude. I don't have to free-flowing form or that effortless glide. A 5 mile run feels just as laboring as a 12 mile run. What used to be a sense of "play" for me, is now "work." I have fun doing it, but it's certainly not easy.

As I say that, I'd like to tell you about my bike ride this afternoon. I rode with a couple guys I train with on those Wednesday night runs. The three of us are all quick on the bike, and can churn some pretty big gears. With the sun setting (it's the Autumn now, sniff...) we tore off to a local park called Lincoln Woods, which boasts a twisty, hilly 2.5 mile loop. I've done a few runs at this park, and always wished that I had my bike with me. But, until tonight, I never had the change to actually do a loop on two wheels. The loop itself is open to walkers, cyclists, and unfortunately, cars. But, they (the cars) are few and far between, and it's a one-way loop, minimizing the confusion on the road. Along the 2.5 mile loop one can find 40mph downhills, decreasing radius hairpin corners, and an uphill "corkscrew" that leaves your quads screaming for oxygen. If you time your efforts right, you can probably average close to 30 mph for the loop! After an "easy" warm-up lap, we decided to do a hard effort around the next loop, and launched ourselves into a quick pace line. With the darkness setting in I couldn't read my speedometer, nor did I get a chance to record a split for the loop. But man were we flying! We were tucking in around the corners and nailing the apexes, trying to extract the maximum amount of speed from each corner. By the time we hit the uphill corkscrew, my legs were screaming! A quick little crest of that hill and back down we went, full blast towards the end of the loop. We hit the line and all slumped over our handlebars, gasping for air. It was painful, it was tiring, and my legs are complete mush now, 5 hrs later. But, there's something about that speed, that wind trying to rip the sleeves off your shirt and the glasses off your head. It's a blast, it's an adrenaline rush that I no longer get when I'm running, and it's a hell of a lot of fun! While we rode back, I continued to suck in air and tried to catch my breath. However, that huge grin on my face made it hard to do so. I had found that free-flowing form, that effortless glide. It was fun, and I can't wait until it's time to play again.

Be that kid and find the play in your life, and always remember to have fun.

Ben

Mayday, we're going down...

So,I wrote this email to a friend of mine, and pasted it into this lovely blog format. She likes to argue politics, so I threw her a bone on this one. I won't post her reply, or the quick post-banter we had, but you'll get the point of where I'm coming from.
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We're both financially responsible. We own (or owned) our own homes, which we could afford. We both have steady jobs and have worked hard and gained the education required to maintain these jobs. With these jobs, we have steady incomes. Our spending is within control, our expenses predictable, and we probably save money on a monthly basis. While we're not filthy rich and rolling in the dough, we both make enough money to survive and live by our means. We're what you might call, successful in life.

Over the past few days, the financial world has been turned upside down. Major companies are going bankrupt, and others are being bought out for pennies on the dollar. The Government now wants to step forward and put "Billions" of dollars into the market in order to solve this financial crisis, mostly caused by the housing industry. (Editors note: that number is now approximately $700 Billion, and I write this with my inverted pinky finger extended against the edge of my mouth...) The financial crisis that came about because people without jobs, people without any control on their expenses, people without common sense, spent more money than they had. They put their finances and trust into a sleazy mortgage broker, who was probably selling used cars the week prior, and now has them living in a home they can't afford.

The Gov't money for this bailout, is supposedly coming from Taxpayer dollars. The tax payers who have jobs, who work for a living, and presumably, have control over their expenses. Successful people who are paying taxes, that's who. That means, both YOU and I are paying for this Gov't bailout of the financial industry. YOU and I, who are comfortable in our lifestyle, and who have made all the correct decisions to be able to weather a crisis like this, are now being relied upon to pay for the damage made by people who can't afford their lifestyle. On my own I can donate to relief funds, I can pledge to telethons, I can support my local charities. But I have no say when it comes to the taxes I'm required to pay, and where the Gov't wants to spend my taxes. How the fuck does this make sense?

Financially Frustrated in Providence,

BEN