Happy New Year's Eve!
I hope that everyone's 2009 was everything they hoped and more. Mine was and was not, for a variety of reasons. Thankfully there was much more good than bad, and that always leads to good things! I have been sitting here all day cleaning, watching football, playing the girlfriend's Wii, and thinking about 2009, and what 2010 might bring.
It's funny, I still get my weekly Site Meter updates, and I see that people do come by and visit, yet I have had nothing new to offer all of you. There was soo much that went on this year, that blogging (and at the end of the year triathlons) simply fell off the map. I put so much time, effort, money, etc, from June 22nd, 2008 - June 21st, 2009, that I got burned out. I did complete the Peachtree City Triathlon again... Kudos to Josh Nickell, he did great! I finished, which is all that really mattered. I planned to do one more race in Gainesville in September, but I injured my ankle about two days before the race. (Kudos to James!! Finished 2nd overall in Masters and 1st in his AG.)
I also miss all of you! Blogging, texting, chatting, participating in races with you, reading your blogs! There was a reason I got all of this started, and I hate to see all of it go to waste.
After that, I pretty much sat on my ass and gained weight (184lbs, about 20 above where I want my race weight to be and 14 from where I usually want to be), let the air slowly seep out of my bike tires, and I just checked the brake lines as of this post to make sure that they weren't rusted (my bike sits outside). Running shoes have been used a handful of times, thankfully all of those were runs. I did buy new speedos finally since my old ones were falling apart, however, the new ones have been used maybe three times. Not to mention that I just went from the 4th or 5th hardest age group to the 3rd, and it only gets worse until I am 50 yrs old!
So as I end this year and this decade, here are a few things that I would like to see (from a triathlon perspective) from 2010!
General Goals
1) Minimum of 5 Triathlons this year (1 half, 2 Olys, 2 Sprints)
2) Minimum of 1 Bike Race/Tour this year (at least a 50 miler)
3) Minimum of 6 Road Races this year (1 marathon, 1 half -mary, 2 10K's, and 2 5k's)
4) Get a team together formally in the Atlanta area, or bring everyone onto an existing team! (I have been talking about this for about 6 months now, and I know enough people to add a big chunk to an existing team, or completely start a new one with about 12 ppl minimum)
5)Blogging - More of it! I might even test some of these products that people are emailing me about, since they are going to send it to me for free, and I can test it for you guys! I will also figure out a way to UPGRADE my blog... I have fallen off the tech bandwagon in the past few years, but i think I can pick it back up!
6)Sign up for IMFL.... How will I do this??? You basically have to take vacation and volunteer! That and I don't want to have to go through the whole flying mess again.
7)Shoot for about 700 hours of actual training this year (does not include stretching/weights/cross training/yoga/etc) in primary activities.
More Specific Goals
1) Finish Marathon in sub 4 hrs (last marathon time was 4:20:18)
2) Finish Half Mary in sub 1 hrs 50 min (last half mary time was 1:53:18)
3) Finish Sprint Tri in sub 1 hr 15 min (PR: 1:16:49)
4) Finish Oly Tri in sub sub 2 hr 45 min (PR 2:56:05)
5) Finish Half Iron in sub 6 hrs (PR 7:25:55, did not train properly for race)
6) Finish 10K in sub 48 min (PR was around 48:46)
7) Finish 5K in sub 21 min (Dont remember what my best time ever was)
Races that I want to participate in/complete this year
Triathlons
1) Rev 3 Triathlon - Knoxville, TN (May 9, 2010) Oly
2) West Point Lake Triathlon - LaGrange, GA (June 13, 2010) Oly
3) Tri the Parks - Mistletoe State Park, Appling, GA (July 24th, 2010) Sprint
4) Peachtree City Sprint Triathlon (August 21st, 2010) Sprint
5) IM August 70.3 - Augusta, GA (September 26, 2010) Half - IM
Road Races
1) ING Georgia Half Marathon - Atlanta, GA (March 21, 2010) Half Mary
2) Sweetwater 420 Fest 5K - Atlanta, GA (April 17th, 2010) 5K
3) Peachtree Road Race - Atlanta, GA (July 4, 2010)
4) Atlanta's Finest 5K - Atlanta, GA (August 8, 2010) 5K
5) US 10K Classic - Smyrna, GA (September 6th, 2010) 10K
6) Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon - Chickamauga, GA (November 13, 2010) Marathon
Cycling Races/Tours
1) Jittery Joe's Fall Century Classic - Athens, GA (October, 2009) - Century Ride
I may have a few others that I slide in there (Christmas 5K race, a sprint tri in April, you know.... some extras), but I will let those be a suprise.
Well now I am off. Dinner calls, and then it is a party to ring in the New Year! I hope all of your are safe this evening! Happy New Year!
~Murtha...
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Friday, April 17, 2009
Gearing up for my 2nd stress test (hopefully doing better than the banks)!
Well actually my bank (Regions Bank) is posting a suprise profit for the 1st quarter! So I think they are handling the stress test well. Now sponsor me damnit!
So I have the ING Georgia Marathon in the books. 26.2 miles in 4 hours and 20 minutes (~9:55/mi).
I have been swimming most of my workouts at 2.4 miles, (around 85 laps in my gym pool). I just need the water to warm up a bit more so that I can get out in lake Allatoona and log some miles in the lake. I was out there last weekend for half an hour (I think the water temp was 50 degrees) and I did swallow half the lake... have to get back into the habit of watching out for wakes when boats pass by!
Now the bike.... the problem is that this is the area I am lagging in, and I will spend the most time during the race in this event (I am looking to do this in about 7 hours or less, trying to be conservative). Soooo....... to solve this problem I have entered into a century ride with a friend on May 3rd in North Alabama. I am kinda excited actually, except for the small mountain (i did not want to insult anyone who is in the area to call it a hill) that you have to climb both ways (it is an out and back course). Oh well.... Make the event harder than the Ironman so the IM is a breeze.
Still have my checklist to check off. My bonus is not going to be as big as I thought (I am disputing it because the numbers tell me that my branch knocked the numbers off the charts, and the incentive division says we lost money??? WTF?) so I am really going to have to hunker down to pay for all this in cash..... I also paid my taxes in cash this year too, which I think is better than putting it on a credit card, but you know... you pay for one thing, which stops you from paying for something else. Supply and demand... I need more supply of dollars!!!
Weather is going to be beautiful on Saturday, so I am going to try and get 5 plus hours in of riding tomorrow. Sun it might rain, but I can always run inside as well as swim. Hope all of you will have a great weekend!
Murtha...
So I have the ING Georgia Marathon in the books. 26.2 miles in 4 hours and 20 minutes (~9:55/mi).
I have been swimming most of my workouts at 2.4 miles, (around 85 laps in my gym pool). I just need the water to warm up a bit more so that I can get out in lake Allatoona and log some miles in the lake. I was out there last weekend for half an hour (I think the water temp was 50 degrees) and I did swallow half the lake... have to get back into the habit of watching out for wakes when boats pass by!
Now the bike.... the problem is that this is the area I am lagging in, and I will spend the most time during the race in this event (I am looking to do this in about 7 hours or less, trying to be conservative). Soooo....... to solve this problem I have entered into a century ride with a friend on May 3rd in North Alabama. I am kinda excited actually, except for the small mountain (i did not want to insult anyone who is in the area to call it a hill) that you have to climb both ways (it is an out and back course). Oh well.... Make the event harder than the Ironman so the IM is a breeze.
Still have my checklist to check off. My bonus is not going to be as big as I thought (I am disputing it because the numbers tell me that my branch knocked the numbers off the charts, and the incentive division says we lost money??? WTF?) so I am really going to have to hunker down to pay for all this in cash..... I also paid my taxes in cash this year too, which I think is better than putting it on a credit card, but you know... you pay for one thing, which stops you from paying for something else. Supply and demand... I need more supply of dollars!!!
Weather is going to be beautiful on Saturday, so I am going to try and get 5 plus hours in of riding tomorrow. Sun it might rain, but I can always run inside as well as swim. Hope all of you will have a great weekend!
Murtha...
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Tying it all together
Well, there are 70 some days and change left before the "big dance" (as I like to call it). Up to this point I have a couple things left to do on my checklist as far as logistics go (and a few are big ticket items).
Bike Box/Travel Case, basically money issue
Money for shipping the bike on the flight
Last night's hotel room in Spokane before I leave back to Atlanta
Rental car for last day in Spokane
(And then the miscellaneous items... food, lots of IM memoribilia and clothing, etc)
I have enough money to knock out items 2, 3, and 4. I am very happy that at this point the only thing I originally charged in this endavour (which I have since paid off) was my Ironman Entry fee.
BTW I did complete the ING Georgia Marathon on March 29th, 2009 (My father's birthday and my training partner James as well). I will probably post some kind of race report in the next few days, but it won't be too serious, as I will probably have to go back to the race map to evoke a few memories of the actual race. I have put every other race report on here, so why stop now???
A new blogger emailed me the other night and asked me to check out her site, and I was sooo excited! We all need to welcome her to the community!
Valerie Triathlon
Her first triathlon is in May. I love it when people find their way to the triathlon life. I almost kind of feel like a missionary sometimes. I have gotten a few friends into it, and even more just interested in the sport, if not to compete.
I am way behind on my bike miles, but James and I are focusing on the bike for the next month (beginning last week) culminating in what might end up being my first century ride the beginning of May. Here is the link for the Century ride, so if any of you in the southeast need to get one of these under your belt early in the season, and you have enough miles in, this might be a good choice for you. I need it, even if I am a bit behind on my mileage. I have now swam 2.4 miles multiple times (albeit in a pool), and I have officially run a marathon in with my long runs. Why not cap off training with a century ride?
Cheaha Challenge Century Ride
Next few weeks are going to be challenging at work (while affecting my training schedule), this week being the worst. Scott, one of my employees is going back to school, as he never finished his undergraduate degree. His last day was today. One of my other employees, is on vacation. Because of the position they are both in, it has and will put an enormous amount of stress on my training and work this week, and after next week, tail off just a bit until I can find someone to replace Scott. But we endure, which is what makes us great!
I hope all of your training efforts are going great... I need to catch up on your blogs as well. Keep it up!
Murtha...
Bike Box/Travel Case, basically money issue
Money for shipping the bike on the flight
Last night's hotel room in Spokane before I leave back to Atlanta
Rental car for last day in Spokane
(And then the miscellaneous items... food, lots of IM memoribilia and clothing, etc)
I have enough money to knock out items 2, 3, and 4. I am very happy that at this point the only thing I originally charged in this endavour (which I have since paid off) was my Ironman Entry fee.
BTW I did complete the ING Georgia Marathon on March 29th, 2009 (My father's birthday and my training partner James as well). I will probably post some kind of race report in the next few days, but it won't be too serious, as I will probably have to go back to the race map to evoke a few memories of the actual race. I have put every other race report on here, so why stop now???
A new blogger emailed me the other night and asked me to check out her site, and I was sooo excited! We all need to welcome her to the community!
Valerie Triathlon
Her first triathlon is in May. I love it when people find their way to the triathlon life. I almost kind of feel like a missionary sometimes. I have gotten a few friends into it, and even more just interested in the sport, if not to compete.
I am way behind on my bike miles, but James and I are focusing on the bike for the next month (beginning last week) culminating in what might end up being my first century ride the beginning of May. Here is the link for the Century ride, so if any of you in the southeast need to get one of these under your belt early in the season, and you have enough miles in, this might be a good choice for you. I need it, even if I am a bit behind on my mileage. I have now swam 2.4 miles multiple times (albeit in a pool), and I have officially run a marathon in with my long runs. Why not cap off training with a century ride?
Cheaha Challenge Century Ride
Next few weeks are going to be challenging at work (while affecting my training schedule), this week being the worst. Scott, one of my employees is going back to school, as he never finished his undergraduate degree. His last day was today. One of my other employees, is on vacation. Because of the position they are both in, it has and will put an enormous amount of stress on my training and work this week, and after next week, tail off just a bit until I can find someone to replace Scott. But we endure, which is what makes us great!
I hope all of your training efforts are going great... I need to catch up on your blogs as well. Keep it up!
Murtha...
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Trying something new...
How about bringing life back to your favorite sport?
How about reinvigorating your senses to what you enjoy?
How about just trying something different (and new)?
Wednesday was that day for me. Just as I tried sushi for the first time last year and LOVED it, this was to be the same experience, yet not so much food related (and sodium infused)!
Tuesday I worked both jobs, so I took the day off as my one day off for the week. Yesterday I had to help Patsy with car stuff right after work when I remembered that she had scheduled us to go to YOGA. So yes, I have been kind of apprehensive about going, and I have found some excuses for not going. But I also know that it is good for you. This particular firm, which I will post their link at the bottom and give them a shout out, Atlanta Hot Yoga, is awsome! It was bikram yoga I believe, and the session was 1.5 hours.
We got there and I got in the newbie line (which was only me) to get registered and get my name in the computer in case I sign up for any additional classes. After which I then went with Patsy into the Yoga room, which was 105 degrees with humidity. Kind of like Atlanta in August for those of you who get to visit us down there in the South.
Without delving into the details, THIS IS AWSOME!!! I had been walking like an old decrepit man for two days after my weekend workouts and Mon/Tuesday's workouts were suffering because of it. I felt like a new man afterwards. Went through about 40 oz of water as well during the class. I felt so good I went and did 7.5 miles right after work on the treadmill at the gym and kept the pace above 7.0 mph for most of the time.
Working both jobs tonight, but got the swim in. Starting tomorrow is double duty for the next three days, with respect to training, regardless of the weather. It is supposed to rain this weekend. But I can not stop training. If it rains at CDA I will have no choice. But then again, if I go out training in the "elements" it would not be the first time. : )
Flight is booked. Hotel from Jun 17th-20th in spokane is booked, and then Hotel on Sat and Sunday is booked (James booked it, I just have to pay him for his half). Just need hotel for one more day, a rental car for a day or two, and bike case. I am not sweating the small stuff, as my b day is coming up soon and I am asking for gift cards/certificates from
All 3 Sports (my favorite place!)
Unfortunately, I also have my tax bill to mail out by April 15th, and I have to pay for my car tags! Only in Georgia does it seem we pay this stupid ad valorem tax, and the $25 emission testing fee to boot! I mean my car just turned 4 (and under 70K miles) and I seriously doubt that it will fail the emissions test. Especially considering I had a 1988 buick skylark limited with 125K plus miles on it that passed emissions every year until it died.
The money thing will come. It better, or Uncle Visa will be helping me out!
That's all for now folks, I will keep you posted with more details later.
How about reinvigorating your senses to what you enjoy?
How about just trying something different (and new)?
Wednesday was that day for me. Just as I tried sushi for the first time last year and LOVED it, this was to be the same experience, yet not so much food related (and sodium infused)!
Tuesday I worked both jobs, so I took the day off as my one day off for the week. Yesterday I had to help Patsy with car stuff right after work when I remembered that she had scheduled us to go to YOGA. So yes, I have been kind of apprehensive about going, and I have found some excuses for not going. But I also know that it is good for you. This particular firm, which I will post their link at the bottom and give them a shout out, Atlanta Hot Yoga, is awsome! It was bikram yoga I believe, and the session was 1.5 hours.
We got there and I got in the newbie line (which was only me) to get registered and get my name in the computer in case I sign up for any additional classes. After which I then went with Patsy into the Yoga room, which was 105 degrees with humidity. Kind of like Atlanta in August for those of you who get to visit us down there in the South.
Without delving into the details, THIS IS AWSOME!!! I had been walking like an old decrepit man for two days after my weekend workouts and Mon/Tuesday's workouts were suffering because of it. I felt like a new man afterwards. Went through about 40 oz of water as well during the class. I felt so good I went and did 7.5 miles right after work on the treadmill at the gym and kept the pace above 7.0 mph for most of the time.
Working both jobs tonight, but got the swim in. Starting tomorrow is double duty for the next three days, with respect to training, regardless of the weather. It is supposed to rain this weekend. But I can not stop training. If it rains at CDA I will have no choice. But then again, if I go out training in the "elements" it would not be the first time. : )
Flight is booked. Hotel from Jun 17th-20th in spokane is booked, and then Hotel on Sat and Sunday is booked (James booked it, I just have to pay him for his half). Just need hotel for one more day, a rental car for a day or two, and bike case. I am not sweating the small stuff, as my b day is coming up soon and I am asking for gift cards/certificates from
All 3 Sports (my favorite place!)
Unfortunately, I also have my tax bill to mail out by April 15th, and I have to pay for my car tags! Only in Georgia does it seem we pay this stupid ad valorem tax, and the $25 emission testing fee to boot! I mean my car just turned 4 (and under 70K miles) and I seriously doubt that it will fail the emissions test. Especially considering I had a 1988 buick skylark limited with 125K plus miles on it that passed emissions every year until it died.
The money thing will come. It better, or Uncle Visa will be helping me out!
That's all for now folks, I will keep you posted with more details later.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Busy Weekend!
Hello Everyone,
Atlanta was beautiful this past weekend! Of course so did the rest of the population who has been hibernating in their homes all winter long. The only difference is that I was out there training when the weather was cold and miserable. Saturday I had to work, but I was quickly out the door and headed over to the Silver Comet Trail with James to ride. We cranked out about 52.5 miles in 3 hours 2 minutes. A bit faster than I wanted to go on Saturday, but nonetheless it was another workout in the books. I followed it up with a 5 mile run and then it was straight home for some partying.
One of my business customers at the bank is Wednesday Night Drinking Club, a social networking group. They were holding a St Patty's Day party on Saturday from 1:30p - 2:30a, pretty intense. Patsy and I showed up at around 9:30p and of course everyone was indisposed at that time, but we still had fun for the few friends which were still there (there were around 2,500 ppl there at one point). Green attire, of course : )
Sunday was car shopping day (not for me), and I was on my feet all day long. I also had a 16.5 mile run scheduled and was not looking forward to it, as I had pushed to hard on the bike the day before (James does that to me, but he is a much better athlete). The run sucked. However, I finished it late enough in the evening so that it was not too hot. Got a swim in as well.
Monday I decided it was too nice of a day to not be outside, so I did one of the Atlanta rides (in reverse), so that I would not be affected by rush hour traffic too bad. It worked out well and I got about 18 miles in probably an hour and fifteen minutes. I was not attempting to go too fast, I just was trying to keep my heart rate down and work the hills at the same time.
Today is a rest day, collect my thoughts and plan out the rest of the week. I have to work both jobs on Thursday, which will put a cramp in everything, but I have saturday and sunday off, so two full days of hitting the pavement. I just need to make sure I don't get too crazy on Friday night, as my friend Melissa is having her 25th birthday in Buckhead, and this group likes to party!
Oh and one more thing! I am going to miss my 10 year high school reunion this year (actually it will be my 11 year, but there were problems last year with booking the venue, so they just pushed it back to this summer)!!!!!
The reason being is that it is the day before IMCDA. Well, I tried to get them to change the date, and they won't. It's their loss I think.
Talk to you guys (and gals) soon.
Murtha...
Atlanta was beautiful this past weekend! Of course so did the rest of the population who has been hibernating in their homes all winter long. The only difference is that I was out there training when the weather was cold and miserable. Saturday I had to work, but I was quickly out the door and headed over to the Silver Comet Trail with James to ride. We cranked out about 52.5 miles in 3 hours 2 minutes. A bit faster than I wanted to go on Saturday, but nonetheless it was another workout in the books. I followed it up with a 5 mile run and then it was straight home for some partying.
One of my business customers at the bank is Wednesday Night Drinking Club, a social networking group. They were holding a St Patty's Day party on Saturday from 1:30p - 2:30a, pretty intense. Patsy and I showed up at around 9:30p and of course everyone was indisposed at that time, but we still had fun for the few friends which were still there (there were around 2,500 ppl there at one point). Green attire, of course : )
Sunday was car shopping day (not for me), and I was on my feet all day long. I also had a 16.5 mile run scheduled and was not looking forward to it, as I had pushed to hard on the bike the day before (James does that to me, but he is a much better athlete). The run sucked. However, I finished it late enough in the evening so that it was not too hot. Got a swim in as well.
Monday I decided it was too nice of a day to not be outside, so I did one of the Atlanta rides (in reverse), so that I would not be affected by rush hour traffic too bad. It worked out well and I got about 18 miles in probably an hour and fifteen minutes. I was not attempting to go too fast, I just was trying to keep my heart rate down and work the hills at the same time.
Today is a rest day, collect my thoughts and plan out the rest of the week. I have to work both jobs on Thursday, which will put a cramp in everything, but I have saturday and sunday off, so two full days of hitting the pavement. I just need to make sure I don't get too crazy on Friday night, as my friend Melissa is having her 25th birthday in Buckhead, and this group likes to party!
Oh and one more thing! I am going to miss my 10 year high school reunion this year (actually it will be my 11 year, but there were problems last year with booking the venue, so they just pushed it back to this summer)!!!!!
The reason being is that it is the day before IMCDA. Well, I tried to get them to change the date, and they won't. It's their loss I think.
Talk to you guys (and gals) soon.
Murtha...
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