I have said this before in earlier post about how I finally decided to start my triathlon training this year. If you haven't had a chance to read my post about my decision to start this journey to what I hope will be 140.6, for 10 years I would always watch NBC's coverage of the Kona World Championships. Every year while I was watching all those amazing people suffer and conquer the course I would say to myself, "I am going to start training for that this year" but didn't. So for whatever reason I had this year, whether it was being 40, the great support I have at home that I didn't have the years before or it was time to just do it; I have started this year. And after 3 months of training, it has become part of my DNA.
I have always wanted to be huge too. It is two conflicting goals that I have had in my life. I am 5"8" and have always wanted to be the size of Jay Cutler, Phil Heath or even the GOAT Arnold. I always thought 250 lbs was the weight I wanted to be. I knew what it would take it go from the 165 lb person I was to 250 and I don't mean the weights, food or the time in the gym. I knew it would take chemical enhancement and I was okay with that (or so I thought). About 3 years ago I decided that it was time. So I started the daily routine of eating every 2 hours 7 days a week. Going to the gym and doing absolutely no cardio cause now I am "bulking" LOL. Also went online and got the closes thing to pure chemical enhancements. Now with having those in my system I had to worry about my liver, blood pressure and testosterone production shut down. Oh the things that you have to do to reach your goals in this sport. When I started I weighed 175 and in 6 months I jumped to 210. I was definitely bigger. People that hadn't seen my in years, didn't even recognize me and where amazed. But how healthy was I? After walking up stairs, I was short of breath. My face was always a shade red from the elevated blood pressure. All I thought about was lifting and eating. My Twitter feed was nothing but full of bodybuilders and supplement companies. I snored louder. I just felt like total crap the whole time. Then came the stomach issue. I had to have my Nissin redone because not only had the one I had 12 years ago come undone but my stomach had twisted and was now above my diaphragm and under my lungs. The doctor that did the endoscopy said that people that had the same issues that I had, when they had to go to the emergency room they didn't make it cause the twist in the stomach had constricted the stomach to where no blood was getting to the rest of the stomach. So obviously the gym was put on hold for awhile. And the weight that I had put on started to drop off quickly. I had another habit that was terrible for me. I would kill my lungs at least 15 to 20 times a day and had the most important person in my life (other than my kids) asking me to stop but it is more addictive than heroin. So here comes November 2013. Again on NBC the Kona World Championship is on the TV. And again like the last 10 years there I am on the couch saying to myself "2014 I am going to do Kona in 2 years." Jump ahead to April 2014 and the click.
I don't know where it came from and I don't know why it happened. But I began my training. I stopped killing my lungs cold turkey. I mentally associated that after I worked out even one puff would completely destroy everything I just did in the gym. 4 months later and still not even 1 puff and don't even crave one either. So my journey began. I cleared out a lot of the bodybuilding Twitter feed, I canceled all the email list I was on regarding bodybuilding and replaced all of that with Triathlon athletes, companies and associations. I would find a great group of people that were all doing triathlons not to win but for themselves. The majority of professionals actually interact with their fans on Twitter and Social media. Companies would also interact with their customers. This was all knew to me. Now I am not saying in the bodybuilding world the companies and athletes don't, just that to me more of the pros in the triathlon world would interact with their fans. I would listen to races from all over the world, watch old races on YouTube, read everything I can about what is going on in the triathlon world. I would find a couple of people that would be inspirational to me by following their journey as they trained and competed in triathlons. It was great to see how supportive people in this world is to be so supportive of each other and cheer people that they haven't ever met before.
The training has taken off for me. If I miss a workout just cause of life, I can tell it changes how I feel. I feel like I am going backwards if I miss the workout. I feel amazing after a workout and I have struggles during the workout. I decided to take my workouts to a higher level. Heart Rate training using the MAF training way. Thanks to the innovative and amazing company of Mio Global, I started using their Mio Link. This strapless heart rate monitor was amazing. The Link goes on you wrist like a watch. So there would be no chaffing or uncomfortable chest strap to have to deal with. Being able to see which training zone you are in by a flashing light that corresponds to the heart rate zone you set by their Mio Go App is easy and very convenient. This one thing has taken my training to a level where I believe I will be able to do a full Ironman in 2 years time. So I thank them every chance I get and here I am doing it again. Thank you Mio Global for creating such an amazing helpful product. #TrainWithHeart is their slogan and it is fitting on many different levels.
Triathlon is now part of me and my world. Everyday I think about my training, how the last workout went and how the next one will be. I like, share, + and retweet on a daily basis companies that I support and follow and that have supported me and helped me. Like SOS Rehydrate, Swiftwick Socks, Mio Global, Skratch Labs, Align Footwear and SLSTri just to mention a few.
SOS Rehydrate has really helped me with my hydration during training and just support and motivation. Getting dehydrated is a thing of the past for me thanks to their great product. I will be doing a detailed review of their product in the near future. Also I will be doing a review of Swiftwick Socks and Align Footwear as well.
So I end this humbly and honestly to the people that take time out of their day to read my blogs,to say THANK YOU! I am no English professor, journalist, grammar expert or professional writer. I share this blog with whoever reads this to motivate, help or just entertainment you during your day. It takes putting your ego aside and bringing to the front any insecurities that one might have when they decide to do a blog. So again I can not express enough how appreciative I am of everyone of the hundreds and hundreds of people out that support each other in this Triathlon world.
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Monday, July 28, 2014
Lionheart IndyCar Series: The Indianapolis "The Half Quart" 250 Race Recap
Coming off of my iRacing Indy 500, gave me plenty of time to no how the car would handle on the track, what type of gas mileage I would get and real good data that I feel like will make a difference. We were going to use the exact same setup that I used in the Indy 500 for our Fixed Setup so I already had 4 hours and 500+ miles on it. This will be a perfect time to use the mistakes I had in the Indy 500 race to my advantage. Oh but 2 cars before the race on Wednesday, iRacing releases the new build with the Official fixed setups and that is what we will use as we are a fixed series. So time to start all over LOL. Now from what I have heard that the official setup is almost just like the one we were going to use that we all worked on and built from CCM. So I still had hope.
Race day was here. I knew that it would be about 2 hours of racing, so I was prepared with my water, already ate (cause it starts at 11:50pm my time) and restroom break. Qualifying went okay not great. Started in 12th. Now in the Indy 500, I didn't get a chance to qualify so they started me in 14th which I then decided to start from the pits cause I didn't know anyone that I was racing with. This is where this great league comes into play. I felt very comfortable driving against the drivers in the top split, so I was very comfortable to be starting in 12th and on the track. Great start worked my way up 1 spot to 11th then the first caution came out which with a couple of drivers pitted put me into 9th. Just to give you an idea what great racers we had, in a 250 miles 100 lap race, we had only 2 cautions in a normal race in iRacing that would not have happened. Just lets you know the class of drivers that are racing in the top split of the league. So again not to do a lap by lap detail of my race (that will come later). I had it set up to pit twice to make it with just enough gas to finish according to Dashmeter Pro. Now speaking of Dashmeter Pro, if the race you are going to do is a rolling start put in 1 lap more than what is scheduled LOL. As an example this race was 100 laps with one pace lap so actually 101. So if you enter 100 laps, Dashmeter Pro will calculate your remaining fuel and fuel needed to finish based on just the 100 laps not including the pace lap. Why am I making a point about this CAUSE I RAN OUT OF GAS ON THE BACK STRAIGHTWAY!! Now when you are going 226 mph it allows you the ability to coast a mile to the finish line. However being mindful of me slowly down and having to coast to the finish line, I dropped down to the access road at turn 3. The downside is you can't take the access road at 225 mph so I had to slow down, so I had to use my brakes which slowed down my coasting ability. When did I realize this? When I got in between turn 3 and turn 4 and thought to myself I might not make it to the finish. I could feel myself starting t raise up out of the seat and kind of scoot my chair forward thinking that would help. As soon as my nose touched the start finsh line the car shut off, I just made it and stayed on the lead lap LOL.
Again another great race, ran with the professionalism and sportsmanship of the Lionheart Racing Series league. If you get a chance, please look us up on iRacing, on our website at http://www.lionheartracingseries.com/ and now on our YouTube channel at Lionheart Racing Series YouTube .
Race day was here. I knew that it would be about 2 hours of racing, so I was prepared with my water, already ate (cause it starts at 11:50pm my time) and restroom break. Qualifying went okay not great. Started in 12th. Now in the Indy 500, I didn't get a chance to qualify so they started me in 14th which I then decided to start from the pits cause I didn't know anyone that I was racing with. This is where this great league comes into play. I felt very comfortable driving against the drivers in the top split, so I was very comfortable to be starting in 12th and on the track. Great start worked my way up 1 spot to 11th then the first caution came out which with a couple of drivers pitted put me into 9th. Just to give you an idea what great racers we had, in a 250 miles 100 lap race, we had only 2 cautions in a normal race in iRacing that would not have happened. Just lets you know the class of drivers that are racing in the top split of the league. So again not to do a lap by lap detail of my race (that will come later). I had it set up to pit twice to make it with just enough gas to finish according to Dashmeter Pro. Now speaking of Dashmeter Pro, if the race you are going to do is a rolling start put in 1 lap more than what is scheduled LOL. As an example this race was 100 laps with one pace lap so actually 101. So if you enter 100 laps, Dashmeter Pro will calculate your remaining fuel and fuel needed to finish based on just the 100 laps not including the pace lap. Why am I making a point about this CAUSE I RAN OUT OF GAS ON THE BACK STRAIGHTWAY!! Now when you are going 226 mph it allows you the ability to coast a mile to the finish line. However being mindful of me slowly down and having to coast to the finish line, I dropped down to the access road at turn 3. The downside is you can't take the access road at 225 mph so I had to slow down, so I had to use my brakes which slowed down my coasting ability. When did I realize this? When I got in between turn 3 and turn 4 and thought to myself I might not make it to the finish. I could feel myself starting t raise up out of the seat and kind of scoot my chair forward thinking that would help. As soon as my nose touched the start finsh line the car shut off, I just made it and stayed on the lead lap LOL.
Again another great race, ran with the professionalism and sportsmanship of the Lionheart Racing Series league. If you get a chance, please look us up on iRacing, on our website at http://www.lionheartracingseries.com/ and now on our YouTube channel at Lionheart Racing Series YouTube .
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Training without Ego: One of the hardest thing leaving that at home/MAF Training
Ego: the thing talking in your ear telling you to go faster, to not let the person next to you do more than you, even though you are in pain to keep going. Wait that is all? You can't go farther? You just need to quit!
Now there is a difference between pushing yourself and letting your ego take over. In pushing yourself, you say to yourself "you can do one more rep or one more set." You push yourself by doing more than you did the time before. Letting your Ego take over is worrying what people think about what you are doing in the gym. As an example, the person beside you is running at a faster pace and you increase your pace to match theirs even though it might be double what you are use to doing. When you have a very good training program in place but go above and beyond it just cause you are worrying about what people think about you while you are training or working out.
Now when you have your ego in your ear and let it take over but you stick to your training program, it will start to make you feel like you are not doing enough, you are failing or not going to succeed in your goals. And that is where I am in my running training. My cycling is going great. I am increasing my cadence, distance and effort all the while staying in my Green Zone. So I can tell that I am growing, getting better and my endurance is improving. However my running (if you can call it that) to me feels like it is never growing, never progressing and the discouragement is growing. I have been increasing my mileage according to the "rule" of 10% each week. I have been getting off the bike, doing abs and then hitting the run straight away. I can set it to a pace that allows me to run about .2 to .3 miles then I go over my Green Zone and have to start walking for .1 to .2 miles then I can run for about .15 and the cycle starts over. I get on the treadmill to run not to walk and run. This is the MAF training is though. You use the 180 formula to determine your Aerobic Zone and train in it. However you HAVE to check your ego at the door. MAF is the best way to increase your endurance and build a base but it is also the slowest way to do it so that you prevent injuries. Last nights training was a high of the fastest I have done on the bike in mph and a low with still having to walk. And it isn't cause I feel like I have to walk like I can't finish the workout but because I go outside of my Green Zone on my Mio Link. I just want to run the whole time but I have committed to this type of training and if it works for Mark Allen for his triathlon training then it has a good history of working.\
So we must just come to the door of the gym and look your EGO in the face and like you would talk to your dog just say, STAY!!
Now there is a difference between pushing yourself and letting your ego take over. In pushing yourself, you say to yourself "you can do one more rep or one more set." You push yourself by doing more than you did the time before. Letting your Ego take over is worrying what people think about what you are doing in the gym. As an example, the person beside you is running at a faster pace and you increase your pace to match theirs even though it might be double what you are use to doing. When you have a very good training program in place but go above and beyond it just cause you are worrying about what people think about you while you are training or working out.
Now when you have your ego in your ear and let it take over but you stick to your training program, it will start to make you feel like you are not doing enough, you are failing or not going to succeed in your goals. And that is where I am in my running training. My cycling is going great. I am increasing my cadence, distance and effort all the while staying in my Green Zone. So I can tell that I am growing, getting better and my endurance is improving. However my running (if you can call it that) to me feels like it is never growing, never progressing and the discouragement is growing. I have been increasing my mileage according to the "rule" of 10% each week. I have been getting off the bike, doing abs and then hitting the run straight away. I can set it to a pace that allows me to run about .2 to .3 miles then I go over my Green Zone and have to start walking for .1 to .2 miles then I can run for about .15 and the cycle starts over. I get on the treadmill to run not to walk and run. This is the MAF training is though. You use the 180 formula to determine your Aerobic Zone and train in it. However you HAVE to check your ego at the door. MAF is the best way to increase your endurance and build a base but it is also the slowest way to do it so that you prevent injuries. Last nights training was a high of the fastest I have done on the bike in mph and a low with still having to walk. And it isn't cause I feel like I have to walk like I can't finish the workout but because I go outside of my Green Zone on my Mio Link. I just want to run the whole time but I have committed to this type of training and if it works for Mark Allen for his triathlon training then it has a good history of working.\
So we must just come to the door of the gym and look your EGO in the face and like you would talk to your dog just say, STAY!!
Monday, July 21, 2014
My iRacing Indy 500 or as I call it my pit strategy failure again LOL
If you have been reading my post for a little bit, you would have remembered me talking about how iRacing back in May tried to have the Indy 500 and Coca Cola 600 at the same time. Well the Indy 500 servers crashed and they canceled both Friday and Saturday races but kept the Coca Cola 600 going on Saturday. For whatever reason no one knows. So they rescheduled the Indy 500 for this past weekend. Now luckily this week's race in the Lionheart IndyCar Series , is at Indy so we had practice and a practice race first on Thursday of last week. Chris Miller shared his setup which along with Anthony Lurcock. They were 2 completely different setups but felt almost exactly the same. However for the iRacing Indy 500, I decided to use Chris's setup since that is looking to be the one we will be using for the race this Wednesday.
I did a couple of fuel runs to see about distance and tire wear so that I could get the data that I could use to come up with what I thought was a good strategy for the race. However after Chicago, I thought to myself "Self, you can do better this time". Why do I lie to myself like that LOL. So I go ahead make sure I have Chris's setup loaded and ready to go. Get another fuel run in before the start of the race. Then formulate a plan: I will break this into 8 25 laps stops getting tires each time cause I get 28 laps on a full tank, and after a full run I have about 75% tires left on the right side. So that is the plan, it will be about 4 laps under a caution to equal saving 1 full laps of racing. Okay keep all that straight in my head while racing 30+ drivers and surviving.
So time for the race. My teammate and me both signed on at the same time, and it said he was 3 minutes ahead on the list compared to my time. Once I told him that we both thought the same thing " this is exactly what happened last time when it crashed". So as his timer went to 0, I waited for him to say "it has crashed". So when he keyed in on TeamSpeak, he said "we are in the same split. I am 8th and you are 14th" I was excited but still waiting to join the race. So as the time ticked down, I crossed my fingers and..........got IN!!
Alright here we go, I have my water, been to the bathroom and I am ready to go. While practicing and seeing people wreck on just getting on to the track, I started saying to myself " I am starting in the mid of the pack. Should I start from the pit?". Let me tell you it may sound like this is an easy decision but it is not. Your ego is in such full force that it tells you that you can make it around any wreck, it won't happen to you, etc. So it was time to grid and it literally came down to the final 30 second till grid before I decided to start from the pits. And boy was it a good idea!!
The race starts, the marshals let us out of the pits and it wasn't even 5 laps and the first wreck has happened. And guess where the wreck happened at???? That is right, right around where I would have started if I had not started from the grid. So +1 to me for my strategy. After another 2 wrecks, which one was my teammate cause of the strong areo push it started to spread out and go green flag runs. So I am not going to go over a 200 lap race lap by lap but just give some oversight to want happened. I started pitting every 24 laps, 16 gallons (cause you can not fill up with half gallons) and 4 tires. All of the pits from about lap 40 till the end were green flag so I would go down 2 laps and get them back when the leaders pitted. And it started to look like I would be able to fight for a top 3 if not possiblily a win with this strategy. Now 1 problem that I have with other strategies in anything I do I get set on 1 thing of the strategy and don't think about everything. And this time was no different. Around the 3 final pit stops, I started to realize that the leader was going a couple more laps longer than he was before. So I started to change my last couple of pits strategy. Do I take on 16 gallons and tires, then a 15 lap run instead of 24 then take a full tank and run it out or do I split the last 43 laps into just 1 stop? So what did I decide to do? Instead of 24 laps then 15 laps then 24 laps, I decided to do 24 laps twice then a splash at the end for the last 9 laps. For almost an hour all I was focused on was the fuel. So every pit was fuel and tires, fuel and tires etc. So the final pit comes and I hit the button on my wheel that I have binded to change the fuel from 16 gallons to 10 gallons. Come to a stop perfectly in goes the gas but why isn't my tires being put on. Fuel is done still no tires, what is going on, check tire page on F3...NO CHECK MARKS! WHAT THE CRAP HAPPENED!! Okay hit button again to check the tires to change, alright tires are going on.....DANG IT THAT MEANS FUEL IS GOING ON. So I leave the pits 2 laps down and a full tank and actually made 2 pits stops instead of one. I would get 1 lap back but not both laps. The leader who had been saving fuel for almost 70 laps if not more. Ran out of fuel with half a lap left, he lost the lead and I caught him on the front stretch. 1 lap down and finished 5th all because I didn't focus on all parts of the pit stop and just fuel. Plus another thing that everyone should do it PRACTICE PITTING. I would slow down too much the first couple of pits that would make me lose more time than I should have.
So to sum up. Practice pit stops in practice sessions, make sure to think about all aspects of the pit stop. My tires could have made it the last 9 laps but cause every stop was fuel and tires when my tires didn't go on it threw me off. Be adaptable during the race and save fuel when you can. My butt was numb, brake foot was hurting cause it feel weird for me to race with my left foot on the ground instead of in a normal position in case I have to brake and my left wrist was shot from all the left turns. I am proud of how I finished and for racing the whole race minus a lap. I can't wait for the Indy race this Wednesday but I am so excited that season 3 starts next week and I will be back to racing with Jon in the DW12 both road and oval.
I did a couple of fuel runs to see about distance and tire wear so that I could get the data that I could use to come up with what I thought was a good strategy for the race. However after Chicago, I thought to myself "Self, you can do better this time". Why do I lie to myself like that LOL. So I go ahead make sure I have Chris's setup loaded and ready to go. Get another fuel run in before the start of the race. Then formulate a plan: I will break this into 8 25 laps stops getting tires each time cause I get 28 laps on a full tank, and after a full run I have about 75% tires left on the right side. So that is the plan, it will be about 4 laps under a caution to equal saving 1 full laps of racing. Okay keep all that straight in my head while racing 30+ drivers and surviving.
So time for the race. My teammate and me both signed on at the same time, and it said he was 3 minutes ahead on the list compared to my time. Once I told him that we both thought the same thing " this is exactly what happened last time when it crashed". So as his timer went to 0, I waited for him to say "it has crashed". So when he keyed in on TeamSpeak, he said "we are in the same split. I am 8th and you are 14th" I was excited but still waiting to join the race. So as the time ticked down, I crossed my fingers and..........got IN!!
Alright here we go, I have my water, been to the bathroom and I am ready to go. While practicing and seeing people wreck on just getting on to the track, I started saying to myself " I am starting in the mid of the pack. Should I start from the pit?". Let me tell you it may sound like this is an easy decision but it is not. Your ego is in such full force that it tells you that you can make it around any wreck, it won't happen to you, etc. So it was time to grid and it literally came down to the final 30 second till grid before I decided to start from the pits. And boy was it a good idea!!
The race starts, the marshals let us out of the pits and it wasn't even 5 laps and the first wreck has happened. And guess where the wreck happened at???? That is right, right around where I would have started if I had not started from the grid. So +1 to me for my strategy. After another 2 wrecks, which one was my teammate cause of the strong areo push it started to spread out and go green flag runs. So I am not going to go over a 200 lap race lap by lap but just give some oversight to want happened. I started pitting every 24 laps, 16 gallons (cause you can not fill up with half gallons) and 4 tires. All of the pits from about lap 40 till the end were green flag so I would go down 2 laps and get them back when the leaders pitted. And it started to look like I would be able to fight for a top 3 if not possiblily a win with this strategy. Now 1 problem that I have with other strategies in anything I do I get set on 1 thing of the strategy and don't think about everything. And this time was no different. Around the 3 final pit stops, I started to realize that the leader was going a couple more laps longer than he was before. So I started to change my last couple of pits strategy. Do I take on 16 gallons and tires, then a 15 lap run instead of 24 then take a full tank and run it out or do I split the last 43 laps into just 1 stop? So what did I decide to do? Instead of 24 laps then 15 laps then 24 laps, I decided to do 24 laps twice then a splash at the end for the last 9 laps. For almost an hour all I was focused on was the fuel. So every pit was fuel and tires, fuel and tires etc. So the final pit comes and I hit the button on my wheel that I have binded to change the fuel from 16 gallons to 10 gallons. Come to a stop perfectly in goes the gas but why isn't my tires being put on. Fuel is done still no tires, what is going on, check tire page on F3...NO CHECK MARKS! WHAT THE CRAP HAPPENED!! Okay hit button again to check the tires to change, alright tires are going on.....DANG IT THAT MEANS FUEL IS GOING ON. So I leave the pits 2 laps down and a full tank and actually made 2 pits stops instead of one. I would get 1 lap back but not both laps. The leader who had been saving fuel for almost 70 laps if not more. Ran out of fuel with half a lap left, he lost the lead and I caught him on the front stretch. 1 lap down and finished 5th all because I didn't focus on all parts of the pit stop and just fuel. Plus another thing that everyone should do it PRACTICE PITTING. I would slow down too much the first couple of pits that would make me lose more time than I should have.
So to sum up. Practice pit stops in practice sessions, make sure to think about all aspects of the pit stop. My tires could have made it the last 9 laps but cause every stop was fuel and tires when my tires didn't go on it threw me off. Be adaptable during the race and save fuel when you can. My butt was numb, brake foot was hurting cause it feel weird for me to race with my left foot on the ground instead of in a normal position in case I have to brake and my left wrist was shot from all the left turns. I am proud of how I finished and for racing the whole race minus a lap. I can't wait for the Indy race this Wednesday but I am so excited that season 3 starts next week and I will be back to racing with Jon in the DW12 both road and oval.
Friday, July 18, 2014
700 views this time in 3 WEEKS!!! I am beyond humbled and touched!!!
I am amazed and so humbled by this. I hit 700 views in a month. This time not even my second full month of having this blog, I already hit that number and it is still climbing. THANK YOU SO MUCH EVERYONE! Whether if you looked once or everyday, I am speechless. I am preparing some things that will take this blog to another level. Please stay tuned for more and more things to come.
Tonight is the rescheduled iRacing Indy 500 at 8pm EST. I will be running that tonight plus getting a ton of League of Legends in this weekend. I offered to give any little bit of help that I can to Joe Hassert in Spec Barber Ford at Brands Hatch to help him win his division. So that is Saturday night. Plus I have my kids this week so there will be Call of Duty Ghost and Black Ops 2. Also for their birthday this year, I reactivated the World of Warcraft account so they will be doing that I am sure. Plus my longest ride to date and run on Saturday morning. So lots of things to post about this weekend and will try to post during the weekend to keep everyone up to date.
THANK YOU AGAIN SO MUCH AND STAY TUNED FOR A TON MORE TO COME!!
Tonight is the rescheduled iRacing Indy 500 at 8pm EST. I will be running that tonight plus getting a ton of League of Legends in this weekend. I offered to give any little bit of help that I can to Joe Hassert in Spec Barber Ford at Brands Hatch to help him win his division. So that is Saturday night. Plus I have my kids this week so there will be Call of Duty Ghost and Black Ops 2. Also for their birthday this year, I reactivated the World of Warcraft account so they will be doing that I am sure. Plus my longest ride to date and run on Saturday morning. So lots of things to post about this weekend and will try to post during the weekend to keep everyone up to date.
THANK YOU AGAIN SO MUCH AND STAY TUNED FOR A TON MORE TO COME!!
Thursday, July 17, 2014
Lionheart IndyCar Series: Chicagoland "Deep Dish" 150 Race Recap
I added the Deep Dish part LOL!
Waking up in the motor-home to the sounds of 700 HP beasts chasing each other around a 1.5 mile track, saying to myself "I love the smell of Ethanol in the morning!! That smell, you know that E85 smell. Smelled like 1st place." Well that is what happened in my head at least when I sat down and got ready to warm-up for the race LOL. Tuesday night, I got into the practice server to get a good fuel run in order to come up with a good strategy and more than likely different that what every other person would have. I did a full tank run which let me know that the right side tires really took a beating and when they finally dropped off, they dropped off quick. So I came up with almost the same strategy that I had for Miami, which I did not post a blog about (and for that League Members I AM SORRY!!). That strategy was for this race 34 laps pit add fuel to give me just 13 gallons and 4 tires, 13 gallons would give me about 34 laps. So I was looking for a 2 stop race each time going into the pits with about .4 gallons left. Now the strategy was a gamble and that would be what I would have to do cause I didn't have the speed like I had at Michigan and Homestead. During practice myself, Anthony Lurcock and C.C.M (Chris Miller) were doing practice qualifying runs. Now definitely not to brag, but if my memory is correct I qualified ahead of C.C.M for the first 2 races. I knew from Official Series races that he was a great qualifier, so I thought I would be at least close to his Q time. Not even close. The best I could do in practice runs was .8 away. So I knew I had to come up with a strategy that would hopefully let me pit early enough so that "when" a caution comes out I could be lucky enough to be on 1 or 2 lap tires with the fuel I need. However the downside to not practicing on Monday or with a lot of people in the servers, no pack running. So with the help of Anthony Lurcock just telling me it has aero push behind another car and it can push you to the wall, I knew I would have to either lift at turn in or pop out some of the car to catch air, like in NASCAR when they are pushing the car in front of them and have to get air on the radiator.
Sitting in the car, at pit exit, I had my pitting strategy that me and my engineers came up with (okay okay the voices in my head told me it would work with cautions LOL). Qualifying was about to begin. Starting with this race, in order to over come the issues with so many people filling up one room and having to build quickly another room, the admin came up with what I think is a great idea. We would have a Top Split room and a Bottom Split room. The basis of which came down to the top 20 in points would be Top Split and the rest would be Bottom Split with the exception of a Last Chance Qualifier race that took place on Tuesday night where the top 5 would move up to the Top Split. So I had run a 24.690 in Tuesday's practice session, I said to myself "you can good enough, smart enough and you can do better slacker!" LOL. Anyway practice Q and real Q has always been different, 24.729 put me starting 12th. I was where I had never been before starting outside the top 6. So then the aero push popped up in my head. How bad was it? When did it start and when did it end? Is it faster to lift get down then wide open? Or is it better to pop out and get air on the front to bring it down? Yep my friends this is what practice is for!!
Starting 12th mid pack, I already set tires to be replaced and put in my 13 gallons already to be put in. Settling your button to these settings makes it so much easier. Push one button and BAM 4 tires and 13 gallons. Now if you get caught up in the racing and don't stay up to date with what is going on you will pit and start putting in 13 gallons ON TOP OF WHAT IS ALREADY IN THERE! I learned that last race so as we started I would remove 1 gallon at a time to do the math. Now if you remember what I said earlier, the strategy , to me, would work IF there were cautions. Yep you guessed....NOT A SINGLE ONE!!! Which made for some great quick racing but messed my plan all up. After just a couple of laps I saw someone go mow the front straight grass and I thought to myself, nice caution. NOPE!! So then I heard Joe Hassert say "I tapped the wall" again I thought, nice caution. NOPE!! So first stop was going to be at lap 34 under green. By the set rules, I would pull off on the back straight go on the apron of turn 3 to get to the pit. Now pitting has always been something I need work on, cause every time I have needed to pit there has been cautions. Again never ASS-U-ME there will be cautions LOL. And don't DON'T NEVER pull off half way down the back straight and slow to almost pit speed by the middle of 3, stupid move Jeremy. I had to speed up to get in the pits. However when I pitted I had 13 gallons still in the tank, so I unchecked the gas button and just took tires. In and out in no time, back up to speed and out on the track. Now like last recap I will not go lap by lap, but I will say my strategy gave me false hope. About 10 to 14 laps later all the other racers that didn't pit with me or Joe (again for the wall touch), started to pit. When I came out I was 23 2 laps down. Once the other racers pitted I was 12 on the lead lap. So I had only 16 or so laps on my tires and had burned by then over 6 gallons of the 13 I had left. Tires were fresh and I was lite, which mean I was running down people. I just kept saying to myself come on I need a caution, but that last just a couple of laps cause as I got close to having to pit again if one came out then everyone would be the same. So in the pits I go again, 12 gallons to equal a little over 13 total 4 tires and 2 laps down. I had only about 22 laps to go, now time to power it down and watch the other racers start pitting. While I was waiting for the pits to start me and Dennis had some great racing. He was a lap ahead of me but I knew I was faster just cause of newer tires. It took me about 4 laps or so to finally get around him. I mean I tried high runs, low runs, over/unders, under/overs. And finally an over/under out of 2 and staying low got me around him in 3. That is what is so good about this League and the Top Split. I was not worried about racing Dennis so hard. So on to waiting to see the leaders start pitting. Each lap as it got closer I said come on start saying "pitting in". Come on let get started, Come on pit. START PITTING DANG YOU GUYS. Nope it never happened. They went to fuel conservation mode and made it on 1 stop. If the race was about 2 laps longer it would have been an amazing strategy. Finished 17th 2 laps down. 2 laps down is exactly how many laps I went down by pitting. What a great race and NO CAUTIONS WHAT SO EVER!!!
What to take away from this race. THE ADMIN DID IT!! All bugs were worked out, the rooms worked great and it was great fun exciting racing. AND I KEPT MY SPOT IN THE TOP SPLIT FOR AT LEAST ONE MORE WEEK. Next up for me is the Indy 500 Friday night with my Teammate Jon Carrigan then get ready for Monday and Tuesday practice for Indy 250 with the Lionheart IndyCar Series on Wednesday night!!!
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE TOP THREE IN THE TOP SPLIT:
1. RICHARD BEHR
2. ANTHONY LURCOCK
3. JEFF YORK
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE TOP THREE IN THE BOTTOM SPLIT:
1.ZACHARY TRULL
2. BRIAN SULLIVAN
3. JORGE ANZALDO
GREAT RACE AND JOB GUYS!!!
Waking up in the motor-home to the sounds of 700 HP beasts chasing each other around a 1.5 mile track, saying to myself "I love the smell of Ethanol in the morning!! That smell, you know that E85 smell. Smelled like 1st place." Well that is what happened in my head at least when I sat down and got ready to warm-up for the race LOL. Tuesday night, I got into the practice server to get a good fuel run in order to come up with a good strategy and more than likely different that what every other person would have. I did a full tank run which let me know that the right side tires really took a beating and when they finally dropped off, they dropped off quick. So I came up with almost the same strategy that I had for Miami, which I did not post a blog about (and for that League Members I AM SORRY!!). That strategy was for this race 34 laps pit add fuel to give me just 13 gallons and 4 tires, 13 gallons would give me about 34 laps. So I was looking for a 2 stop race each time going into the pits with about .4 gallons left. Now the strategy was a gamble and that would be what I would have to do cause I didn't have the speed like I had at Michigan and Homestead. During practice myself, Anthony Lurcock and C.C.M (Chris Miller) were doing practice qualifying runs. Now definitely not to brag, but if my memory is correct I qualified ahead of C.C.M for the first 2 races. I knew from Official Series races that he was a great qualifier, so I thought I would be at least close to his Q time. Not even close. The best I could do in practice runs was .8 away. So I knew I had to come up with a strategy that would hopefully let me pit early enough so that "when" a caution comes out I could be lucky enough to be on 1 or 2 lap tires with the fuel I need. However the downside to not practicing on Monday or with a lot of people in the servers, no pack running. So with the help of Anthony Lurcock just telling me it has aero push behind another car and it can push you to the wall, I knew I would have to either lift at turn in or pop out some of the car to catch air, like in NASCAR when they are pushing the car in front of them and have to get air on the radiator.
Sitting in the car, at pit exit, I had my pitting strategy that me and my engineers came up with (okay okay the voices in my head told me it would work with cautions LOL). Qualifying was about to begin. Starting with this race, in order to over come the issues with so many people filling up one room and having to build quickly another room, the admin came up with what I think is a great idea. We would have a Top Split room and a Bottom Split room. The basis of which came down to the top 20 in points would be Top Split and the rest would be Bottom Split with the exception of a Last Chance Qualifier race that took place on Tuesday night where the top 5 would move up to the Top Split. So I had run a 24.690 in Tuesday's practice session, I said to myself "you can good enough, smart enough and you can do better slacker!" LOL. Anyway practice Q and real Q has always been different, 24.729 put me starting 12th. I was where I had never been before starting outside the top 6. So then the aero push popped up in my head. How bad was it? When did it start and when did it end? Is it faster to lift get down then wide open? Or is it better to pop out and get air on the front to bring it down? Yep my friends this is what practice is for!!
Starting 12th mid pack, I already set tires to be replaced and put in my 13 gallons already to be put in. Settling your button to these settings makes it so much easier. Push one button and BAM 4 tires and 13 gallons. Now if you get caught up in the racing and don't stay up to date with what is going on you will pit and start putting in 13 gallons ON TOP OF WHAT IS ALREADY IN THERE! I learned that last race so as we started I would remove 1 gallon at a time to do the math. Now if you remember what I said earlier, the strategy , to me, would work IF there were cautions. Yep you guessed....NOT A SINGLE ONE!!! Which made for some great quick racing but messed my plan all up. After just a couple of laps I saw someone go mow the front straight grass and I thought to myself, nice caution. NOPE!! So then I heard Joe Hassert say "I tapped the wall" again I thought, nice caution. NOPE!! So first stop was going to be at lap 34 under green. By the set rules, I would pull off on the back straight go on the apron of turn 3 to get to the pit. Now pitting has always been something I need work on, cause every time I have needed to pit there has been cautions. Again never ASS-U-ME there will be cautions LOL. And don't DON'T NEVER pull off half way down the back straight and slow to almost pit speed by the middle of 3, stupid move Jeremy. I had to speed up to get in the pits. However when I pitted I had 13 gallons still in the tank, so I unchecked the gas button and just took tires. In and out in no time, back up to speed and out on the track. Now like last recap I will not go lap by lap, but I will say my strategy gave me false hope. About 10 to 14 laps later all the other racers that didn't pit with me or Joe (again for the wall touch), started to pit. When I came out I was 23 2 laps down. Once the other racers pitted I was 12 on the lead lap. So I had only 16 or so laps on my tires and had burned by then over 6 gallons of the 13 I had left. Tires were fresh and I was lite, which mean I was running down people. I just kept saying to myself come on I need a caution, but that last just a couple of laps cause as I got close to having to pit again if one came out then everyone would be the same. So in the pits I go again, 12 gallons to equal a little over 13 total 4 tires and 2 laps down. I had only about 22 laps to go, now time to power it down and watch the other racers start pitting. While I was waiting for the pits to start me and Dennis had some great racing. He was a lap ahead of me but I knew I was faster just cause of newer tires. It took me about 4 laps or so to finally get around him. I mean I tried high runs, low runs, over/unders, under/overs. And finally an over/under out of 2 and staying low got me around him in 3. That is what is so good about this League and the Top Split. I was not worried about racing Dennis so hard. So on to waiting to see the leaders start pitting. Each lap as it got closer I said come on start saying "pitting in". Come on let get started, Come on pit. START PITTING DANG YOU GUYS. Nope it never happened. They went to fuel conservation mode and made it on 1 stop. If the race was about 2 laps longer it would have been an amazing strategy. Finished 17th 2 laps down. 2 laps down is exactly how many laps I went down by pitting. What a great race and NO CAUTIONS WHAT SO EVER!!!
What to take away from this race. THE ADMIN DID IT!! All bugs were worked out, the rooms worked great and it was great fun exciting racing. AND I KEPT MY SPOT IN THE TOP SPLIT FOR AT LEAST ONE MORE WEEK. Next up for me is the Indy 500 Friday night with my Teammate Jon Carrigan then get ready for Monday and Tuesday practice for Indy 250 with the Lionheart IndyCar Series on Wednesday night!!!
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE TOP THREE IN THE TOP SPLIT:
1. RICHARD BEHR
2. ANTHONY LURCOCK
3. JEFF YORK
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE TOP THREE IN THE BOTTOM SPLIT:
1.ZACHARY TRULL
2. BRIAN SULLIVAN
3. JORGE ANZALDO
GREAT RACE AND JOB GUYS!!!
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
Lance Armstrong: To look up to and feel betrayed by the same person at the same time
I will never forget the day I sat on my couch watching Lance Armstrong's interview with Oprah. I felt like he reached through the screen and punched me in the gut. I actually felt nauseous watching him tell the world that he did lie to us. That all of those wins were aided by performance enhancing drugs. Even now as I type this I can not type "all those wins were because of PEDs". Most people can and do say that. Look at the last Tour he did, he finished in the 20s clean. How could it not have been the PEDs? For 7 years starting in July and going until about March, I would defend a man I never met, never spoke to on the phone, never even got within a 1000 miles of. To see an American not only win the Tour de France but dominate it the way he did or dominate any European sport was everything to me. I would defend him by saying, his heart was bigger, his VO2 Max was more than anyone else, he kept his strength and endurance but lost the weight with chemo so he was more efficient. I used anything and everything I heard or read to defend the man that I looked up to, that was an inspiration to many many people around the whole world. So as I sat last night and saw that The Armstrong Lie was on TV, I had many mixed emotions. I saw that it has been on demand for a couple of weeks and I knew I wanted to see it, but couldn't bring myself to watch it. To me if I didn't see it and hear him talk about using, it never happened still. If you don't talk about it, it never happens right? But I decided to watch it and started in about the middle of it. The emotion of betrayal hit me again over and over and still so very strong that it surprised me. Why after all this time does this man have this impact on me. I tried to explain how I could look on 1 person with such hurt and admiration at the same time. The only thing that I can say to explain how I can is, when you take the side, defend, yell for, scream for something or someone for that many years and that many months each of those years you become emotionally invested and attached.
I don't know why I decided to write this. To put down how I feel now so long after the truth came out. Maybe it will make me see how ridiculous I am being holding on to my believe in him, what type of person he is. But even as I type this I have to stop myself from deleting the bad things I am saying. But the same time, I wish I could walk up to him and punch him in the stomach as say "that is what it feels like, that is what you did to this fan, this defender of you, this supporter." Maybe it is the far distance off chance that he will see it and just see that there are still people out there that wants to see him succeed and compete and prove but they are also at the same time feels like they were personally hurt and affected by his lies.
That is all just a inside to me and my thoughts.
I don't know why I decided to write this. To put down how I feel now so long after the truth came out. Maybe it will make me see how ridiculous I am being holding on to my believe in him, what type of person he is. But even as I type this I have to stop myself from deleting the bad things I am saying. But the same time, I wish I could walk up to him and punch him in the stomach as say "that is what it feels like, that is what you did to this fan, this defender of you, this supporter." Maybe it is the far distance off chance that he will see it and just see that there are still people out there that wants to see him succeed and compete and prove but they are also at the same time feels like they were personally hurt and affected by his lies.
That is all just a inside to me and my thoughts.
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
League of Legends: it a heck of a drug!/LOLesports.com
I think this should just be the start of every post I do about League. Cause that is the only way I can describe the hold this games get over you if you are a competitive person and always strive to be in the top tier of everything you do. I have had some really good runs with both Ryze and Kayle. Now I have been concentrating more on Ryze just cause you see more Kayle bans than you do Ryze. However you are starting to see Ryze bans on the LOL pro level but hat is more for a certain player on the opposite team that plays Ryze and plays him well ie VoyBoy, Balls, and Pobelter. Also again after hours and hours of YouTube videos and watching competition play on LOLesports.com, I have been able to increase my play drastically. Now again as I have said many times before, Yes it is still CO-op vs AI. But it is up to you to play the game the way you want to do better. Most people play AI to either get their First Win of the Day bonus or to just go HAM and feel better about their play. I however have been playing it with the way that I plan on playing in PvP. Yes I know the bots don't ward and they will not play the way a human will, however they will react to your movement faster than any human and also it really is for me to tune movements. Plus and this has helped my hugely has been that since I stream my matches on Twitch.tv, I go back and look at how I did whether it was a win or lost and see mistakes that I made and take notes. One of the biggest mistake that I did was to click Attack click move instead of right click chasing a enemy champion toward their tower. As soon as I get past the minions then press Attack Click Move, I would spin around and attack the closest minion instead of continuing to run after the champion that always needed just one more hit to kill it. Plus I found many other things that I needed to work on, so before logging in and starting to game, I go over the 2 sided piece of paper where I wrote down everything that I needed to improve on so that it is in my head. Another thing that I saw a lot of the pros do is, hang around in the lane building up gold instead of running back every time you got enough to buy what you needed to start a recipe for an item. What I use to do is, if I was building lets say Guardian Angel, as soon as I got enough money to buy just 1 piece of the recipe I would run back without any regard to what was going on in my lane. Now I stay in till I push up to their first tower or kill the bot in lane or I die, then get what I need and more. Now this works best for early game, but mid to late game I will go back earlier time cause what you build later in the match the items that make up what you are trying to build has more of an impact on your strength in the match. There are a ton of other things that I did wrong that I am currently working on and I think I will post a blog as what I have learned so far and what I have done to help me with advancing my skill (but I am no way ready or the best at all)
So because of my hectic stressful last week getting ready for the Miami Homestead 150 race with Lionheart Indycar series and getting ready for the ATC 40k Tournament, I didn't get hardly any play in. However the last game I played I went 6/0/9 on bot. I had read or saw a video about how with this game being so muscle memory and tactical, that you should really try not to go more than a full day between playing. So I was a little worried that it had been days since I got on last, when I got on last night. In a video that I watch regarding CDR (cooldown reduction), I found out that you can only have a CDR of 40% and I wondered how much I was using. So we I go to the Rift with just my Masteries, I am at 5% CDR. So I added to my item set last night to bring in more CDR and added The Spirit of the Ancient Golem and Ionian Boots of Lucidity. So game 1, I get an invite from a friend of mine to get in a game. And the weirdest thing happens, I can see the Platform but no one else, no gold..nothing. So I tried everything I could think of till I finally had to exit game then reconnect. And it worked, however everyone was at least level 8, while I was level 1. So this was going to be fun. But I slowly and cautiously I fought my way up to level 13 before we got the Nexus. One thing that I had to work on what my Last Hit timing, and let me tell you by joining the game finally so many levels down compared to everyone else, you make sure you get every last hit you can so you can level up quickly. I think I finished 2/3/9 the first game and the 3 deaths came from just being at a 7 level deficit starting out. Then the second match I did to me real well. That is the match I went 8/0/6 mid against Annie. I stayed in lane, farmed like crazy, poked and harassed, waited to get multiple items instead of running all the time, constantly moved instead of just attacking standing in one place. I also did another item build order which included Spirit Visage and Spirit of the Ancient Golem as the new adds to my list. Now I know it is bots, but I was the first to level 18 had 13.5k gold (which is the highest I have ever gotten) finished with 179 minion kills and I was taking damage and the HP was barely if at all moving. So even if it was bots, I know that my play is getting better just by I increased all of these stats. 179 minions and the 13.5k Gold means my late hit has improved. The more Gold means building better items quicker which means dealing our damage and taking damage. After watching Scarra play Ryze, I paid very close attention to his ability order which I tried to copy. I just need to focus on knowing by feel when the cooldown is over.
PLEASE CHECK OUT AND FOLLOW MY TWITCH.TV/BCUTLER2003. Just stop in see what is going on. I will be setting up more about it here in the future including overlays,voice and graphics.
Thank you again for taking the time out of your day and reading this.
So because of my hectic stressful last week getting ready for the Miami Homestead 150 race with Lionheart Indycar series and getting ready for the ATC 40k Tournament, I didn't get hardly any play in. However the last game I played I went 6/0/9 on bot. I had read or saw a video about how with this game being so muscle memory and tactical, that you should really try not to go more than a full day between playing. So I was a little worried that it had been days since I got on last, when I got on last night. In a video that I watch regarding CDR (cooldown reduction), I found out that you can only have a CDR of 40% and I wondered how much I was using. So we I go to the Rift with just my Masteries, I am at 5% CDR. So I added to my item set last night to bring in more CDR and added The Spirit of the Ancient Golem and Ionian Boots of Lucidity. So game 1, I get an invite from a friend of mine to get in a game. And the weirdest thing happens, I can see the Platform but no one else, no gold..nothing. So I tried everything I could think of till I finally had to exit game then reconnect. And it worked, however everyone was at least level 8, while I was level 1. So this was going to be fun. But I slowly and cautiously I fought my way up to level 13 before we got the Nexus. One thing that I had to work on what my Last Hit timing, and let me tell you by joining the game finally so many levels down compared to everyone else, you make sure you get every last hit you can so you can level up quickly. I think I finished 2/3/9 the first game and the 3 deaths came from just being at a 7 level deficit starting out. Then the second match I did to me real well. That is the match I went 8/0/6 mid against Annie. I stayed in lane, farmed like crazy, poked and harassed, waited to get multiple items instead of running all the time, constantly moved instead of just attacking standing in one place. I also did another item build order which included Spirit Visage and Spirit of the Ancient Golem as the new adds to my list. Now I know it is bots, but I was the first to level 18 had 13.5k gold (which is the highest I have ever gotten) finished with 179 minion kills and I was taking damage and the HP was barely if at all moving. So even if it was bots, I know that my play is getting better just by I increased all of these stats. 179 minions and the 13.5k Gold means my late hit has improved. The more Gold means building better items quicker which means dealing our damage and taking damage. After watching Scarra play Ryze, I paid very close attention to his ability order which I tried to copy. I just need to focus on knowing by feel when the cooldown is over.
PLEASE CHECK OUT AND FOLLOW MY TWITCH.TV/BCUTLER2003. Just stop in see what is going on. I will be setting up more about it here in the future including overlays,voice and graphics.
Thank you again for taking the time out of your day and reading this.
Back in the saddle after a week of rest from Training/MAF Training
How does the saying go? You never know what you have till it is gone. Or in this case, till you take a break from it. I was still so very tired from this past weekend. On the way home from work, I was actually worried about falling asleep driving. Now before when I was lifting for pure size, if I took anytime off and was real tired I would just convince myself that I could wait till the next to get the workout in. Well we know how that usually goes, tomorrow comes and you talk yourself into going the next day and so on and so forth till it has been 3 weeks and you just say screw it I will start back up next month. Now I know not everyone is like that and couldn't imagine even saying that. However those people wouldn't have put themselves in the situation to be able to just skip a few days. But this time every day that I took off, I felt like I was letting myself down, losing my endurance, etc. But after I went in the gym for my first workout on Monday and looked down at my MIO Link and saw that I was already in the Green Zone even before getting started I knew it would just get worst LOL.
Oh Lifecycle GX and Treadmill, how I have missed you!! It felt so great to sit on that saddle, put my feet in, 5 minute warm-up, increase the resistance to a level higher than I have been and just pedal. Now I have yet to hit mid way in the resistance yet, but I am starting to get in the more difficult area for sure. So I planned on increasing the resistance and handling a lower cadence while my legs adjust to the increased work. It was great!! Sitting in the saddle after a 5 minute warm-up, then just pedalling along. About 30 minutes into the 50 minute ride, I could tell that the new resistance setting was pushing my legs to places they have never been before. And that new feeling felt so amazing. Got down with the ride and jumped on Abs. Now I have changed up one exercise from Abs and that is the corkscrew. The twisting was just hurting my lower back, so I added a alternating V-Sit twist. Which has worked just as good if not better. After burning Abs later then it was on to the run.
I have explained and gone over MAF training many times in my blog posts. And I have been doing it for a couple of months now, however even though I am increasing my mileage by 10% each week, the walk run part is getting a little old but that is the way to do it. I have to build up my endurance base injury free and this method is the best way to do it, but that little (or in some people) big monster called EGO starts to try and take over. So when I get on the treadmill and see people running and I am going from a run to a walk every .1 to .2 miles it can be discouraging. I think to myself "I am never going to be able to get to a point where I can run for a whole 5k without walking". But I also say to myself, this people right here running on the treadmill didn't just get done riding on a bike then going straight to a run. So that eases the EGO pain. And I continue along, cause the first time I bike for say 20 miles then run non stop for 5k will be the greatest day and such a accomplishment for me.
Stay tuned for more post and I promise at least 1 a day from now on even if it is just a thought or idea I have. Please if you enjoy these subscribe to this blog. Also I would love to hear from everyone any kind of criticism. Thank you for taking the time to read this as always.
Oh Lifecycle GX and Treadmill, how I have missed you!! It felt so great to sit on that saddle, put my feet in, 5 minute warm-up, increase the resistance to a level higher than I have been and just pedal. Now I have yet to hit mid way in the resistance yet, but I am starting to get in the more difficult area for sure. So I planned on increasing the resistance and handling a lower cadence while my legs adjust to the increased work. It was great!! Sitting in the saddle after a 5 minute warm-up, then just pedalling along. About 30 minutes into the 50 minute ride, I could tell that the new resistance setting was pushing my legs to places they have never been before. And that new feeling felt so amazing. Got down with the ride and jumped on Abs. Now I have changed up one exercise from Abs and that is the corkscrew. The twisting was just hurting my lower back, so I added a alternating V-Sit twist. Which has worked just as good if not better. After burning Abs later then it was on to the run.
I have explained and gone over MAF training many times in my blog posts. And I have been doing it for a couple of months now, however even though I am increasing my mileage by 10% each week, the walk run part is getting a little old but that is the way to do it. I have to build up my endurance base injury free and this method is the best way to do it, but that little (or in some people) big monster called EGO starts to try and take over. So when I get on the treadmill and see people running and I am going from a run to a walk every .1 to .2 miles it can be discouraging. I think to myself "I am never going to be able to get to a point where I can run for a whole 5k without walking". But I also say to myself, this people right here running on the treadmill didn't just get done riding on a bike then going straight to a run. So that eases the EGO pain. And I continue along, cause the first time I bike for say 20 miles then run non stop for 5k will be the greatest day and such a accomplishment for me.
Stay tuned for more post and I promise at least 1 a day from now on even if it is just a thought or idea I have. Please if you enjoy these subscribe to this blog. Also I would love to hear from everyone any kind of criticism. Thank you for taking the time to read this as always.
Monday, July 14, 2014
My slackness last week blogging was EPIC but to me understandable.
So last week was what I would call a huge stressful week to where I had to prioritize certain things in order to accomplish what was first, second and third in my life. I was planning on taking a week break from training every 3 months so to give my body a chance to fully recuperate and rebuild. Last week I got to the gym on Monday had a 5 minute warmup as usual on the bike then did 60 minutes on the light green to green zone cause I did really push it last week. I thought to myself that I would take it easy and just concentrate on time in the seat not pushing the cadence at all. So 60 minutes at 80 rpm was to me a good idea. The only thing that I noticed was as soon as I got to the gym my heart rate was elevate and already pushing mid to upper blue zone or Zone 1. Now the week of stress had started for me the night before. I had started to practice for the iRacing Indy 500 that they rescheduled for this weekend. So me and my teammate Jon had put up a practice server to go ahead and get a fill for the up coming track. Get some telemetry data so that Jon can work up a good but quick setup for us during the race. We had a 2 hour practice session that I feel let us gather some great data and I am excited to see what the setup guru Jon has come up with.
I realized with practice, race on Wednesday plus getting ready for the ATC Tounament that was in Tennesse this past weekend that I was going to have to just go ahead and use the rest of the week to take a break and give my "body" a rest from trainning. And that was the hardest thing for me to do was not to train for the rest of the week. I was surprised how hard that was for me to handle. Which is an amazing thing to feel! It made me realize what a huge infrluence training has taken over in my life. How missing one day has such an impact over my mood and just my well being. So I would be missing 2 workouts. Now cause of the workout on Monday and how my pulse was already so elevated before even getting started I know it was the best decision to make for this week. And I was right.
Tuesday night I got in a practice race, practice then another practice race for the iRacing Lionheart Series Miami Homestead 150. The practice went as well as I could hope for it to. When I jumped on to what I thought was going to be a practice session, however the practice session and qualify was already over. When I joined in it was grid time for the practice session ROTFL. So I will recap what happened with that and the race on the next blog. Which I know is very late but again I had to prioritize this past week. And Wednesday was the race, so far this whole week up to Wednesday I was getting in bed at 2. So again I was happy in a way that I did take the whole rest of the week off from training.
Thursday night was what I call, Painting night with League of Legends chromecast to the big TV. 16 men to paint and get ready for a 2 day tournament to Tennesse. The second largest one in the US. So 4 hours of LOL playing on the tv and 16 men completely done later and 2:30 am getting to bed. Friday night headed out to Tennesse. 48 painful, brutal and unhappy hours later and I got back home last night so very happy to be back in my bed.
Well that is it for right now. Please be on the look out for a recap of the Miami Homestead 150, thoughts on LOL, and training this week. Thank you again for taking the time out of your bust day and reading this blog. Can never say enough how grateful I am that you do.
Tuesday night I got in a practice race, practice then another practice race for the iRacing Lionheart Series Miami Homestead 150. The practice went as well as I could hope for it to. When I jumped on to what I thought was going to be a practice session, however the practice session and qualify was already over. When I joined in it was grid time for the practice session ROTFL. So I will recap what happened with that and the race on the next blog. Which I know is very late but again I had to prioritize this past week. And Wednesday was the race, so far this whole week up to Wednesday I was getting in bed at 2. So again I was happy in a way that I did take the whole rest of the week off from training.
Thursday night was what I call, Painting night with League of Legends chromecast to the big TV. 16 men to paint and get ready for a 2 day tournament to Tennesse. The second largest one in the US. So 4 hours of LOL playing on the tv and 16 men completely done later and 2:30 am getting to bed. Friday night headed out to Tennesse. 48 painful, brutal and unhappy hours later and I got back home last night so very happy to be back in my bed.
Well that is it for right now. Please be on the look out for a recap of the Miami Homestead 150, thoughts on LOL, and training this week. Thank you again for taking the time out of your bust day and reading this blog. Can never say enough how grateful I am that you do.
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
Does Compression Sleeves work? That is the question.
I have been seeing many of the professionals wear them during races, I have wondered if they actually work. I use to run cross country in high school and I did a lot of running at The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina. So I have always had bad shin splints while running. So after doing some Googleing, I came across many people saying that they have helped them but there isn't real scientific information about it. And in my research I came across the company SLS3 (http://www.slstri.com). I got a pair of FXC Compression Sleeves in Lime Green to match my Lime Green New Balance Shoes. When I got them in the mail and opened them up I thought to myself "Man those are too small to fit on my shins" LOL.
Once I put them on, I realized why they were so small. They stretched out to fit my whole shin and were very snug. I had only been triathlon training for about a month so, being sore and having shin splints were a very common issue I was having the day after my workout. So I thought this will be a good chance to see if these work. So when I got these in the mail, it was also my long ride and run of the week. Perfect opportunity to test these out. I really really pushed hard that workout to make sure to test them out. After an hour and half ride then a 30 minute run, I was done for the day. I do have to say it was one of my most enjoyable runs that I have had in a long time. It was until about 25 minutes into the run that I realized.....NO SHIN SPLINTS!!! I almost tripped on the treadmill when I realized that. But I didn't get to excited cause it was just one workout so we will have to see.
The next day I woke up and was prepared that as soon as I put my feet on the ground that I would feel the great feeling of sore calves and quads from the workout. I put my feet on the ground and nothing at all. Got up and walked around and could not believe it, not one bit of soreness at all. Plus my legs felt like they did get a workout the day before but they felt like I could go again for another round that day.
That has been a month ago. The workouts have gotten only harder and harder, longer and longer! And absolutely not another case of shin splints, which I could scream from the top of a mountain about. Plus the recovery time is so quick now, I now realize when I watch the pros wear them I understand why!! One thing that I am going to want to try is a Compression Sock, due to my Plantars Fasciitis. So the question that people ask......Do Compression Sleeves work???? In my opinion, YES!! I WON'T TRAIN OR RACE WITHOUT THEM! 
Once I put them on, I realized why they were so small. They stretched out to fit my whole shin and were very snug. I had only been triathlon training for about a month so, being sore and having shin splints were a very common issue I was having the day after my workout. So I thought this will be a good chance to see if these work. So when I got these in the mail, it was also my long ride and run of the week. Perfect opportunity to test these out. I really really pushed hard that workout to make sure to test them out. After an hour and half ride then a 30 minute run, I was done for the day. I do have to say it was one of my most enjoyable runs that I have had in a long time. It was until about 25 minutes into the run that I realized.....NO SHIN SPLINTS!!! I almost tripped on the treadmill when I realized that. But I didn't get to excited cause it was just one workout so we will have to see.
The next day I woke up and was prepared that as soon as I put my feet on the ground that I would feel the great feeling of sore calves and quads from the workout. I put my feet on the ground and nothing at all. Got up and walked around and could not believe it, not one bit of soreness at all. Plus my legs felt like they did get a workout the day before but they felt like I could go again for another round that day.
That has been a month ago. The workouts have gotten only harder and harder, longer and longer! And absolutely not another case of shin splints, which I could scream from the top of a mountain about. Plus the recovery time is so quick now, I now realize when I watch the pros wear them I understand why!! One thing that I am going to want to try is a Compression Sock, due to my Plantars Fasciitis. So the question that people ask......Do Compression Sleeves work???? In my opinion, YES!! I WON'T TRAIN OR RACE WITHOUT THEM!
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
League of Legends: First experience of AFKers and first loss!
Help me! Help me! It is always on my mind the more and more I get into it! Now to the subject of the title. So if you read my last post regarding LOL, you would know that I am playing CO-OP vs AI Beginner till I reach level 10 then going to Intermediate till level 15 from then it will be PVP to level 30 then Ranked from there on out. Now with everything I do when it comes to getting better by learning, I take every scenario as if it is the real thing. So before I get people saying to me I am spending too much time in AI battles, I am looking at these as ways that I can approve. And I have heard the horror stories of people playing in PVP games or Ranked games and there teammates either sitting at platform or just disconnecting. I never thought I would experience both of these things in a Bot match. Oh how wrong was I! I have been streaming every game that I can (if it doesn't mess up like it did last night for 1 game). And here is the recording address http://www.twitch.tv/bcutler2003/b/545522459. Please if you want to look at it and see what happened feel free to do it. Plus if you have any advice, also let me know. I have started writing down what happens in the game and I just went back and looked at a Kayle match and a Ryze Match of mine and took notes of what I did wrong. The most common thing which I knew as soon as I did it in the match what I did wrong. Is when chasing down a champion that I can take out with one more hit, DO NOT HIT ATTACK CLICK MOVE!!! 5 times in 2 games, I hit that button (which I have as A) and my champion turned around from from the champion and attacked a minion instead. 5 Fricking Times!! There was more than half of a page each side of notes so I have lots to work on. As in this game, we had 1 guy that kept disconnecting and another 2 that just did nothing at all until half way in. I had to run sacrifice on our base once they got into to it. Why would people do that in a Bot game? It makes no sense to me to go through the process of picking a champion and waiting for it to load just to not play. My 7 winning streak broken cause of nothing that I could do myself. I am not going to give up and surrender just do what I can. So needless to say from that game I took away don't give up. I have absolutely embraced this game and hope to make it to Challenger Tier. And for the first time I had 3 players honor me and 2 added to my friend list. So I am growing. Yes I know that I should probably be in PVP right away but this is how I am doing it. If you want please follow me on twitch.tv @ www.twitch.tv/bcutler2003.
Monday, July 7, 2014
League of Legends: You Addictive SOB!!!
So I suggest that on the League of Legends website there should be a disclaimer;"This game is addictive and it will consume your every waking hour!" ROTFL! When you take a game that incorporates a steep learning curve with a game that can be played a million different ways and you want to be very good at it, it consumes every minute of the day. At least for me it does. This is a game that is so much fun but also so easy to make mistakes. I would ask anyone playing the game if they feel like they have learned everything that can be learned. To me, I feel like there is no way to learn everything there is to learn because the items that can be built and the spells that can be used and the combination of these plus the number of different champions, throw in with that playing solo with a group of people the game joined you with or getting to a point where you start playing with friends and then team tactics come into play. You can tell how complex the game is just by the long run on sentence I just typed ROTFL. When I started playing I had no idea how to play the champion that I picked Ryze. I would go down a lane, run into the minions, skip over them and try and kill the other champion from the other team. Oh wait the other champion is running away chase after them, killed by turret. Okay the turrets will kill you quickly, so back in the lane, chase down the champion, oh he is running at the turret, stop and kill some of the minions just for fun. Oh wait I just leveled up by killing the minions. Okay so I will just kill the minions. Wait a minute how come my teammate is leveling up and getting gold by hitting the same minions I am attacking. Etc., Etc., Etc., ROTHFL. So I could write a novel as to all the things I learned in just my first game or so I thought. So as my typical way of learning games rather it be how I improved my COD: Ghost, Black Ops 2 or Titanfall game, I go to good old reliable YouTube. So have you ever typed in League of Legends on Youtube?? 1,400,000 videos that have League of Legends in the tag words. So where to begin? I found LOLesports.com on Twitter. So like I did with Ghost and watching the pros on MLG or Twitch (in the case of Evil Geniuses), I watch almost every game that was going on in the EU League Championship Series and the NA League Championship Series (LCS for short). As first it was like the commentators were speaking a different language and when all of the champions got into a huge fight I had no idea who was were and what was going on. But I saw how they started out the game at least. I saw what the minions were actually there for. I saw how they "farmed" then made a "poke attack" or "ganked" the other team. So I was starting to get an idea of how the dynamics of the game is played. I started to understand what the Dragon was for and the Baron was for. Then I found www.mobafire.com and subscribed to the websites. Found a Ryze build and a Kayle build. These were the two champions that I decided to use. The funny thing was I had Ryze for the whole first week I started playing. And the whole time he had an exclamation mark on his icon which I had no idea what that was for. So last night I wanted to play Ryze instead of Kayle (which has a mark on his icon now), but he was gone!! So the first game I played with someone that picked him so I thought that was it. Then the next game he was still gone. I had no idea that I had to buy him and that the mark meant he was free ROTFL. So I got him and built him up using a guide from www.mobafire.com. I also have a Kayle build up that I got from that website as well. Now the question is which item to build first. That is what I am dealing with right now. So I am using a notebook to keep track with my KDA, what my item build order is, what mistakes I do or what I do that works. And it is so fricking addictive. I am now thinking about what items to build and in what order. I don't know the exact recipes of the items that I decide to use so my item set is huge ROTHFL. I like the builds I have right now. I am either going even with a huge assist or I am going positive so I feel like I am progressing in the game. From reading I am staying in the CO-OP vs AI beginner till about level 10 then doing CO-OP vs AI till level 15 on Intermediate. I want to have all of the Summoner spells available to me before I go into PVP then on to ranked games after hitting level 30 of course. I am so competitive that I hope I will be finding people to play with on a regular basis to form a team and rank up. You can check out my Twitch feed at www.twitch.tv/bcutler2003 to see my climb up the levels into PVP and then Ranked.
See you on the LOL Addictive Anonymous ROTFL Rift!!
See you on the LOL Addictive Anonymous ROTFL Rift!!
Saturday's Workout: I could have run all day with my MIO Link flashing Green!/MAF Training
If you have been following along for the past month, my last workout of the week is my long ride. So this workout was a 5 minute warm-up with an 85 minute ride. Now this whole past week I have been pushing around 90 rpm the whole ride instead of the normal 80 rpm. So I not only increased the time in the saddle but also the cadence as well. Which has been an interesting push of the legs. On this ride I made sure to hold 90 to 95 rpm for at least half of this workout just because it was going to be a long ride and a seat time building workout (hope that makes sense LOL). It was a very good ride. Legs felt great the whole time. Got what I call micro cramps at the last 5 minutes which is later than normal so I can tell me legs are getting stronger and having more endurance. Also the numb and pressure pain in the buttocks region lol didn't come on till about 10 minutes left of the ride. So the last minutes of my ride are the push through the pain part of every ride. I have pushed through and overcame the pain by adjusting my seating and mentally pushing through the pain. It is the little victories that keep me going and feeling accomplished on top of the time in the seat and distance in that time. One definite way that I know I am increasing my endurance and stamina, is the MIO Link stayed blue to light green the whole ride. Which means I have more intensity at a lower heart rate which is progress.
Now on to the run. I have been doing since I got my MIO Link, MAF training. If you haven't read my previous post, MAF training is using your heart rate as a way to make sure you stay in your Aerobic Zone (or Green Zone) to train your body to use your stored fat as energy and it is also the best way to train with the least chance of injury. So even though my rides have been increasing and I feel like I am making huge progress, on the run I feel like it is my weakness right now. Now I do know that I am following all the "rules" for increasing distance and also using MAF training, that it will be a slower progress than just going all out. So I have been not increasing the distance more than 10% a week and making sure to stay in the Green Zone (or maybe a little above for a short time LOL) it is a check the ego at the door way of training. So during the run (I still call it a run even though it is a run/walk right now), I got to get up to running speed three times during the run, but here was the best part. After my 90 minute total ride, my legs felt amazing and once I hit the distance I have limited myself to to stay within the 10% rule, I could have doubled that distance it felt like. And the thing is I don't know why or can't pinpoint something that I did different to make them feel like that except I did this workout on a Saturday at 10 am rather than my usual Friday at 6:30 pm. So could it be my legs were more fresh rather than tired from a day of work?
Well there will be a couple more posts coming today. Had a very active weekend of interest for the blog. Stay tuned for more. And as always Thank you for taking the time out of your day and reading this blog. I really appreciate it beyond words.
Now on to the run. I have been doing since I got my MIO Link, MAF training. If you haven't read my previous post, MAF training is using your heart rate as a way to make sure you stay in your Aerobic Zone (or Green Zone) to train your body to use your stored fat as energy and it is also the best way to train with the least chance of injury. So even though my rides have been increasing and I feel like I am making huge progress, on the run I feel like it is my weakness right now. Now I do know that I am following all the "rules" for increasing distance and also using MAF training, that it will be a slower progress than just going all out. So I have been not increasing the distance more than 10% a week and making sure to stay in the Green Zone (or maybe a little above for a short time LOL) it is a check the ego at the door way of training. So during the run (I still call it a run even though it is a run/walk right now), I got to get up to running speed three times during the run, but here was the best part. After my 90 minute total ride, my legs felt amazing and once I hit the distance I have limited myself to to stay within the 10% rule, I could have doubled that distance it felt like. And the thing is I don't know why or can't pinpoint something that I did different to make them feel like that except I did this workout on a Saturday at 10 am rather than my usual Friday at 6:30 pm. So could it be my legs were more fresh rather than tired from a day of work?
Well there will be a couple more posts coming today. Had a very active weekend of interest for the blog. Stay tuned for more. And as always Thank you for taking the time out of your day and reading this blog. I really appreciate it beyond words.
Thursday, July 3, 2014
What I learn from the MIO Link in TRI Training!/Shout out to single training parents!!
So this week has been the first week of having my boys for summer and using my MIO Link. So why do I bring that up you ask? Well let me tell you LOL. This week I got my boys for the 1 of my 4 weeks during the summer. So my typical day now is getting up earlier than normal, making sure they get up, eat breakfast, get dressed, brush teeth, drive them to my folks house (who they stay with while I am at work), drive to work, get down with work, go pick them up, get the back home, cook dinner, feed them, go to the gym, get back, get them in the shower, snack, in bed then get me in bed then repeat LOL. And yes I know that is what the majority of parents, mothers or single mother do on a regular basis if they are working out and handling a family. And it isn't that it is too much for me or that I resent it at all. What I found out I would have never known if I haven't had been using the MIO Link. Now let me explain.
My normal workout all last week was, green zone on the Link on bike, abs and green zone on run. The green zone being determined using the MAF training formula. All week last week it was like this. So I get my boys Friday night after my long ride and run. Have them over the weekend, which means late nights staying up with them and not the best sleep. Come Sunday night to bed early and get up early. Now because I am getting up earlier and do all the things to get them ready in the morning and getting me ready, I don't check my heart rate first thing when I wake up. I had been doing that and getting between 57 and 61. 57 usually the day of my next workout and 61 on the days right after my workout. So this week I am going at it not knowing where I stand. Also with having the boys, I decide that my legs could use a 3 day rest rather than a 2 day rest. So workout on Tuesday instead of Monday. I get in to the gym. Like I have said before same workout from week 4 of Month 2 but increase time in seat by 5 minutes and increase run by 10%. So that means a 45 minute ride after a 5 minute warm-up. On these "shorter" rides I try and stay at 90 rpm the whole ride. Now I want to say again doing this on the Spin Lifecycle GX is different than if I was doing it out on a road bike on the road, cause the Lifecycle DOES NOT have a coast gear. So it is pedaling the whole time at 90 rpm. I don't know who that works out between being able to coast and not being able to. In my mind I am doing a time trial in a race cause they hardly ever stop pedalling. So I get into the groove and see the wonder green light flashing on my MIO Link the whole 45 minutes, I felt great, legs where good, bottom getting more and more use to the seat in saddle. Absolutely perfect. Then on to the abs. Now if you have seen the picture in the post were I showed you my ab exercises you will remember seeing the Corkscrew. Now one thing about this is it can be hard on your back from the lifting and twisting at the same time . I had been doing 23 reps for all of my abs exercises up to that point. So I get to the Corkscrew and I hit 15 and it is like someone is sitting on the bottom of my feet. I can not do hardly any more. I don't understand this at the time. Can 1 exact day put me that far back and have I lost that much in one day extra. Now I know from bodybuilding that this isn't possible. So I split it up into 2 sets of 15. Every other ab exercise no problem what so ever. So on to the run.
This is were if I didn't have the MIO Link I would have had no idea what my body was doing. The last workout on Friday I got to be able to up the pace for a bit and still keep it in the green zone. So I set the speed to what I did on Friday and got started. About 5 minutes into the run, I caught out of the corner of my eye what I thought was red flashing instead of green . So I looked down and that was right FLASHING LIGHT RED! I just thought to myself, there is no way. this is the exact same pace as I did Friday after a ride that was double the time that I just did. Now it was at a slower pace than what I did today but that shouldn't make a huge difference. So quieted my breathing till it went back to green which only took a half a minute. But 15 seconds later there it was again RED RED RED. So I slowed it down and stayed green the rest of the way. However instead of completely enjoying the rest of the run, all I was doing was thinking about "What is going on here" What has changed from last week to this week. My kids!! Now I am not saying Kids will slow down your progress LOL, but what I am saying is that the new added stress of daily chores taking care of them has increase my stress level and has hindered my ability to recover as well as when they aren't with me. Now I would take having this time with me over them not having me for sure. But getting to the title, my run felt the exact same as it did on Friday to me. But if I didn't have my MIO Link I would have never know that I went out of my Aerobic zone and into my Anaerobic Zone. The whole goal of the Aerobic(Green Zone) is to train the body to use fat first before using stored energy. So the whole time I am in the Green Zone I think to myself "Burn Fat Burn Fat show me that 6 pack" LOL. So thank you MIO Link and MAF training to allow me to take my training to another level of knowledge and being able to listen to my body!
So with that I salute the training parents, single parents who have to do their daily chores of child raising, work and still train and recover. HUGE HATS OFF TO YOU!!!
My normal workout all last week was, green zone on the Link on bike, abs and green zone on run. The green zone being determined using the MAF training formula. All week last week it was like this. So I get my boys Friday night after my long ride and run. Have them over the weekend, which means late nights staying up with them and not the best sleep. Come Sunday night to bed early and get up early. Now because I am getting up earlier and do all the things to get them ready in the morning and getting me ready, I don't check my heart rate first thing when I wake up. I had been doing that and getting between 57 and 61. 57 usually the day of my next workout and 61 on the days right after my workout. So this week I am going at it not knowing where I stand. Also with having the boys, I decide that my legs could use a 3 day rest rather than a 2 day rest. So workout on Tuesday instead of Monday. I get in to the gym. Like I have said before same workout from week 4 of Month 2 but increase time in seat by 5 minutes and increase run by 10%. So that means a 45 minute ride after a 5 minute warm-up. On these "shorter" rides I try and stay at 90 rpm the whole ride. Now I want to say again doing this on the Spin Lifecycle GX is different than if I was doing it out on a road bike on the road, cause the Lifecycle DOES NOT have a coast gear. So it is pedaling the whole time at 90 rpm. I don't know who that works out between being able to coast and not being able to. In my mind I am doing a time trial in a race cause they hardly ever stop pedalling. So I get into the groove and see the wonder green light flashing on my MIO Link the whole 45 minutes, I felt great, legs where good, bottom getting more and more use to the seat in saddle. Absolutely perfect. Then on to the abs. Now if you have seen the picture in the post were I showed you my ab exercises you will remember seeing the Corkscrew. Now one thing about this is it can be hard on your back from the lifting and twisting at the same time . I had been doing 23 reps for all of my abs exercises up to that point. So I get to the Corkscrew and I hit 15 and it is like someone is sitting on the bottom of my feet. I can not do hardly any more. I don't understand this at the time. Can 1 exact day put me that far back and have I lost that much in one day extra. Now I know from bodybuilding that this isn't possible. So I split it up into 2 sets of 15. Every other ab exercise no problem what so ever. So on to the run.
This is were if I didn't have the MIO Link I would have had no idea what my body was doing. The last workout on Friday I got to be able to up the pace for a bit and still keep it in the green zone. So I set the speed to what I did on Friday and got started. About 5 minutes into the run, I caught out of the corner of my eye what I thought was red flashing instead of green . So I looked down and that was right FLASHING LIGHT RED! I just thought to myself, there is no way. this is the exact same pace as I did Friday after a ride that was double the time that I just did. Now it was at a slower pace than what I did today but that shouldn't make a huge difference. So quieted my breathing till it went back to green which only took a half a minute. But 15 seconds later there it was again RED RED RED. So I slowed it down and stayed green the rest of the way. However instead of completely enjoying the rest of the run, all I was doing was thinking about "What is going on here" What has changed from last week to this week. My kids!! Now I am not saying Kids will slow down your progress LOL, but what I am saying is that the new added stress of daily chores taking care of them has increase my stress level and has hindered my ability to recover as well as when they aren't with me. Now I would take having this time with me over them not having me for sure. But getting to the title, my run felt the exact same as it did on Friday to me. But if I didn't have my MIO Link I would have never know that I went out of my Aerobic zone and into my Anaerobic Zone. The whole goal of the Aerobic(Green Zone) is to train the body to use fat first before using stored energy. So the whole time I am in the Green Zone I think to myself "Burn Fat Burn Fat show me that 6 pack" LOL. So thank you MIO Link and MAF training to allow me to take my training to another level of knowledge and being able to listen to my body!
So with that I salute the training parents, single parents who have to do their daily chores of child raising, work and still train and recover. HUGE HATS OFF TO YOU!!!
iRacing Lionheart Series: Michigan Season Opener Recap.
Before I get started into the practice, qualifying and racing; I just wanted to say THANK YOU TO ALL THE ADMIN FOR PUTTING THIS SERIES TOGETHER!!! So after hundreds of practice laps, fuel mileage runs and spending most of yesterday at work going over the perfect pit strategy I was ready. I got in to the practice server with only 6 minutes after it opened to make sure there was no way I was not going to get a spot. I saw some of the normal names that I have been practicing with over the past week. John D, CCM, Dennis N, Jorge, Joe, Zach, however I saw a ton of names that I have never seen in a practice server. And quickly I realized they had no idea what the racing line was here at Michigan and with this setup. This was going to be interesting race to say the least LOL. So there was so many racers from the league that 2 qualifying servers had to be setup.
Now like I have said before, this is a new car in a new league. And with any new undertaking there is going to be little hiccups the first couple of races. And there where a couple of small ones that happened, however the Admins where all over it and came up with a solution very fast given the problem that so many people had wanted to race the series that 2 qualifying sessions had to be created. That lead to some people being able to get into the qualifying session and some not. And like some of the other practice races we had my Arch-nemesis John Downing took the pole from me on the last lap beating my time by .012!!! However due to the issues the Admin had to enforce the dual session reset. So we had to redo Qualifying all over again. So I would get my chance to try and find .02 seconds to take the pole. However like the last double header race with a Qualifying session before each race my second Qualifying session was slower than the first one. "Dang it" I yelled LOL. My second Q time was .04 slower than my first which put me starting in 6th. John "Arch-nemesis" Downing's time was almost the same time he ran in the first qualifying session. So the task of setting the grid fell on to Joe Hasserts shoulders. Which I didn't envy that at all for him. So in order to accommodate over 43 racers racing this first race of the season, 2 race session were put up.
Now I am not going to give a turn by turn account of what happen, but I will cover the race from my standpoint with my views and opinions as always, I will cover what I consider the highlights of the race to me. Now you will have to realize that this race got done around 2:00 am for me and I had to be up at 6ish so some parts are a blur still to me LOL. Starting 6th, got a real good start got to the bottom as soon as possible cause that is the racing line at Michigan in this car with this setup, however I could see that the 4 cars out of 5 cars in front of me didn't run any or many practice laps with us cause the were taking a high line on the back straightway not hugging the inside line the whole way around. The only person that was trying to get the low line going was John who had done as many if not more practice laps than me. Even if the draft was up high, you would still hold your place staying low. 3 laps in first caution. The person who caused it never before seen their name in a practice session. I am just going to go ahead and cover this. Almost every wreck that happened was from someone who I had never seen in a practice session. Now I could have just overlooked them but I feel comfortable saying that right now. Again this is with about 3 hours of sleep LOL. The first 2 cautions were within the first 7 laps. Just people racing too hard for this early in the race however I say it is lack of practice in our practice servers and races. Now in real iRacing, all the races have double file restarts with lapped cars in the back. Like I have covered before, this series have single file restarts with lapped cars where they are in the line. Now haven been a lapped car 1 lap down during a race, I have been all for this. However there was a hand full of racers that as soon as they saw this they started complaining which showed a couple of things: 1. they didn't do any practice races with us and didn't read all the rules of the series. After the second caution I had made it to 3rd and the first 2 cars came in to pit so I had the lead!! I was excited I knew I had a chance at winning going into the race. Now here is where an issue I have with myself in certain situations. I knew from my calculations that I would have 2 full fuel stops with a 6.5 gallon stop near the end, that was also if we went green the whole way which I knew wasn't going to happen. So I just knew if I could get to 12 laps or more into the race, I would pit which would cover the splash pit at the end early. 3rd caution comes out I am in the lead then the issue comes out. In my head all I thought about was the fuel strategy in my head. So here I am in the lead EARLY in the race and I pit. Hindsight is a BITCH!! What a mistake. But that is racing and once you turn down for the pits you might as well go ahead and follow the plan. So new tires and topped off, it just became 1 more stop race for me. So back out in 10th ready to go. Now here is where I flip on the lead lap position. Being fast enough to lead and knowing that I can get back to the lead having a car start in front of us 4 laps down already hugging what is the racing line there and being involved in the first 2 wrecks, they should get out of the way of the pack 5th thru 11th racing to catch the lead pack. But no unfortunately this person didn't want to do that so after they slid up coming out of 4 there is the wreck that caught me up. So gutted in that. This also brings up a small over look in building the race servers so quickly. How could someone that was involved in 2 wrecks still be able to race at those speeds with only 1 fast reset. I found out afterward that the resets were set to unlimited. So again a small oversight that we learn from and move on. So that person wouldn't even have been racing if it was set to 1 fast reset but got to move on learn and get better. So that was about it for my race expect having a great race with Jorge Anzaldo for 14th and 15th position at the last 5 laps. Which he came out on top, DANG YOU JORGE! LOL.
So in conclusion to me, it was a very successful first race for a new series in a new not really completely finished car. The admin team did a great job handling the issues that came up as fast as they could. I really liked it how they kept us up to date with what was going on. You are always going to have people that are use to a certain type of settings in races ie single file vs double file restarts, that they aren't going to like it cause they aren't use to it. If you would have done practice races with us, you would have know about the way it was setup. I think it was an amazing turn out. Now we will see how many people show up for next weeks race. You will lose some people just from them not liking something about the series cause they can't adapt to things that they are not use to racing with or rules they aren't use to. So the ones that really believe in what the series is and the people showing up, helping out and really supporting the series will be there next week. And to that I say 'I LOOK FORWARD TO RACING WITH YOU NEXT WEEK!"
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE TOP THREE IN RACE 1 ROOM 1:
1. #31 Michael Chin
2. #22 Marc Melcher
3. #14 Sam Bonsett
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE TOP THREE IN RACE 1 ROOM 2 (MY ROOM):
1. #14 Danno Brookins
2. #18 Kouichi Kitamura
3. #19 Jeff York
Now like I have said before, this is a new car in a new league. And with any new undertaking there is going to be little hiccups the first couple of races. And there where a couple of small ones that happened, however the Admins where all over it and came up with a solution very fast given the problem that so many people had wanted to race the series that 2 qualifying sessions had to be created. That lead to some people being able to get into the qualifying session and some not. And like some of the other practice races we had my Arch-nemesis John Downing took the pole from me on the last lap beating my time by .012!!! However due to the issues the Admin had to enforce the dual session reset. So we had to redo Qualifying all over again. So I would get my chance to try and find .02 seconds to take the pole. However like the last double header race with a Qualifying session before each race my second Qualifying session was slower than the first one. "Dang it" I yelled LOL. My second Q time was .04 slower than my first which put me starting in 6th. John "Arch-nemesis" Downing's time was almost the same time he ran in the first qualifying session. So the task of setting the grid fell on to Joe Hasserts shoulders. Which I didn't envy that at all for him. So in order to accommodate over 43 racers racing this first race of the season, 2 race session were put up.
Now I am not going to give a turn by turn account of what happen, but I will cover the race from my standpoint with my views and opinions as always, I will cover what I consider the highlights of the race to me. Now you will have to realize that this race got done around 2:00 am for me and I had to be up at 6ish so some parts are a blur still to me LOL. Starting 6th, got a real good start got to the bottom as soon as possible cause that is the racing line at Michigan in this car with this setup, however I could see that the 4 cars out of 5 cars in front of me didn't run any or many practice laps with us cause the were taking a high line on the back straightway not hugging the inside line the whole way around. The only person that was trying to get the low line going was John who had done as many if not more practice laps than me. Even if the draft was up high, you would still hold your place staying low. 3 laps in first caution. The person who caused it never before seen their name in a practice session. I am just going to go ahead and cover this. Almost every wreck that happened was from someone who I had never seen in a practice session. Now I could have just overlooked them but I feel comfortable saying that right now. Again this is with about 3 hours of sleep LOL. The first 2 cautions were within the first 7 laps. Just people racing too hard for this early in the race however I say it is lack of practice in our practice servers and races. Now in real iRacing, all the races have double file restarts with lapped cars in the back. Like I have covered before, this series have single file restarts with lapped cars where they are in the line. Now haven been a lapped car 1 lap down during a race, I have been all for this. However there was a hand full of racers that as soon as they saw this they started complaining which showed a couple of things: 1. they didn't do any practice races with us and didn't read all the rules of the series. After the second caution I had made it to 3rd and the first 2 cars came in to pit so I had the lead!! I was excited I knew I had a chance at winning going into the race. Now here is where an issue I have with myself in certain situations. I knew from my calculations that I would have 2 full fuel stops with a 6.5 gallon stop near the end, that was also if we went green the whole way which I knew wasn't going to happen. So I just knew if I could get to 12 laps or more into the race, I would pit which would cover the splash pit at the end early. 3rd caution comes out I am in the lead then the issue comes out. In my head all I thought about was the fuel strategy in my head. So here I am in the lead EARLY in the race and I pit. Hindsight is a BITCH!! What a mistake. But that is racing and once you turn down for the pits you might as well go ahead and follow the plan. So new tires and topped off, it just became 1 more stop race for me. So back out in 10th ready to go. Now here is where I flip on the lead lap position. Being fast enough to lead and knowing that I can get back to the lead having a car start in front of us 4 laps down already hugging what is the racing line there and being involved in the first 2 wrecks, they should get out of the way of the pack 5th thru 11th racing to catch the lead pack. But no unfortunately this person didn't want to do that so after they slid up coming out of 4 there is the wreck that caught me up. So gutted in that. This also brings up a small over look in building the race servers so quickly. How could someone that was involved in 2 wrecks still be able to race at those speeds with only 1 fast reset. I found out afterward that the resets were set to unlimited. So again a small oversight that we learn from and move on. So that person wouldn't even have been racing if it was set to 1 fast reset but got to move on learn and get better. So that was about it for my race expect having a great race with Jorge Anzaldo for 14th and 15th position at the last 5 laps. Which he came out on top, DANG YOU JORGE! LOL.
So in conclusion to me, it was a very successful first race for a new series in a new not really completely finished car. The admin team did a great job handling the issues that came up as fast as they could. I really liked it how they kept us up to date with what was going on. You are always going to have people that are use to a certain type of settings in races ie single file vs double file restarts, that they aren't going to like it cause they aren't use to it. If you would have done practice races with us, you would have know about the way it was setup. I think it was an amazing turn out. Now we will see how many people show up for next weeks race. You will lose some people just from them not liking something about the series cause they can't adapt to things that they are not use to racing with or rules they aren't use to. So the ones that really believe in what the series is and the people showing up, helping out and really supporting the series will be there next week. And to that I say 'I LOOK FORWARD TO RACING WITH YOU NEXT WEEK!"
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE TOP THREE IN RACE 1 ROOM 1:
1. #31 Michael Chin
2. #22 Marc Melcher
3. #14 Sam Bonsett
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE TOP THREE IN RACE 1 ROOM 2 (MY ROOM):
1. #14 Danno Brookins
2. #18 Kouichi Kitamura
3. #19 Jeff York
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
iRacing Lionheart Series: Finally a win/ Honoring Dan Wheldon
If you have been keeping up with my previous post, you know that the DW12 has come out for iRacing. They released it just before the real Indy 500 for their iRacing Indy 500 that was cancelled and rescheduled for July 17th and 18th. So when Jon Carrigan and I saw the DW12, we knew that was what we were going to race next season. They would have official setups for both oval and road. So I thought to myself, it would be great to get extra seat time in it in a league. That is where I came across the iRacing Lionheart Series. So not only were they running the DW12 for 16 weeks with 12 oval and 4 road, but they were also honoring the man who helped develop this car for the safety of his fellow drivers who tragically lost his life doing what he loved in October 2011. That right there was all it took for me to join up.
From what his best friends in the racing community have said and of course from his sister Holly and wife Susie Wheldon, Dan was a great father, husband, friend and of course driver. His lost is still felt in the Indy community to this day. And if you look at it, if it wasn't for Dan's work on the DW12 (which stands for Dan Wheldon), Dario Franchitti's accident last year at Houston could have been a lot worst. Over the past 2 years, every accident that someone has been in and walked away from in the DW12 is cause of Dan's work on the car and what I like to think him watching over the ones he loved, his racer friends. So Dan, thank you for your work and dedication to keeping your buds safe! Keep watching over Sebastian as he is racing and following in your footsteps. I know that Susie, Holly and the whole Wheldon family are very proud of both Sebastian and Oliver. Look for a link on our Facebook website very soon to The Dan Wheldon Family Trust Fund. https://www.facebook.com/lionheartseries Also wanted to include Dennis Nicoll's car that he will be running in tribute to Dan Wheldon.
Okay now back to my first WIN! I jumped into the practice session with about 9 minutes to go. I didn't go in with any expectations what so ever. I was just hoping to be able to finish this race with no accident at all LOL. Practice was over and Qualifying go started. I did something that I heard from John Downing, which he said he ran 3 laps on the high side then the last lap down low. I did it different though, I ran 2 laps up high and 2 down low. After my 3rd lap, I was sitting on the pole. I had my eye glued to the Standings black box and I held pole until turn 1 on lap 4 LOL. Jorge Anzaldo was ahead of me by .03 of a second. By the time it registered I was already on the back straightway +.3 off my already pole time, so I knew I would not have the pole but hoped I could hold second. Which I did!! Every race so far I have been qualifying in the top 5 or 6 to the best of my memory. Sitting outside lane on the grid, I started thinking how to handle this. I am a very forgiving and cautious driver, I just thought I need to get behind Jorge as soon as I could so that I would not give up 2nd. Waiting for the pace laps, Jorge just disappeared. I late hear him say he lost power and got disconnected. So the 3rd place driver pulled up and took over 1st place. Sticking to the same strategy with what I was going to do with Jorge, I go behind him and just held there till I could make a move on him. After a couple of laps the spot opened up and I was in first. I held first for about 14 laps, hugging the bottom line like an AirTitan LOL They were starting to shuffle around behind me and another racers replaced second right behind me. As soon as he got behind me I thought to myself, he is very close.....didn't even get the thought out of my head when I see my nose angle to the left and toward the back straightway inside wall I was heading. Car Contact 4/17. I remembered what I had read a while ago. You will steer where your eyes look. So I started looking at the grass at turn 3 at 200 mph. I barely touched the inside wall at around 190 and the next thing I knew my steering wheel was at 45 degrees to go straight. Time to think now and test out the car. Can I keep the car straight on the track and take turns, YES but cautiously. Okay am I still on the lead lap? Yes but for how long. So driving with the wheel at 45 degrees I wanted to stay on the lead lap hoping for a caution. I stayed out like this for I don't know how many laps. I heard someone say "it is nerve wrecking at 230" I looked down and saw I was doing no more than 220. Then in the relative box I saw the red names of the leaders creeping down on me. 30 secs down to 12 seconds, I thought to myself I am going to have to pit under green and go a lap down. Maybe if I do it on this lap, I can get the lap back when the leaders pit. "Caution is out"!!! I have never been so excited to see a yellow flag in my life LOL. Into the pits, I knew according to Dashmeter Pro I needed 7 gallons to finish. In the pits, 7 gallons, no tires and the reset and away I was in 10th. Now in previous races I have gotten into accident, been a couple of laps down and went from 12th to fighting with the leaders to get my lap back, so I knew it could be done. Head down, green flag and it was go time. 10th to 7th in 2 laps. Got behind a driver who didn't like being on the bottom at all, so as soon as he had a chance he jumped up to the top line and that put me in 5th. I knew that you could pick up the draft of the car in front a good distance away (not saying how far out cause it is an ancient Chinese secret LOL. So my eyes where glued on the 2 inside red lights on the rpm. As soon as they flashed red, I was into 6th. Slowly I was running down 4th when another caution came out. This was great going to have 10 laps to go at the green. Plenty of fuel. Left front tire had some good wear on it but I knew that it could last only 10 laps. Green flag waves in the air 10 lap shootout begins. Oh leader at the time had to go cause of stuff he had to do, so I went from 5th to 4th before the green flag. So 4th to 3rd, 3rd to 2nd. Just hugging that bottom line waiting for any kind of bobble. Tried to make a couple of passes coming out of 4 and 2. But it is so hard to pass on the outside, then the planets aligned and as I was making another try coming out of turn 2, the leader made a slight mistake. So I am in the middle of a three wide and make it stick to take the lead. 3 laps to go and sweetest words I have heard all day. 'CAUTION IS OUT!! Not the way anyone wants to finish but I will take it! I knew with my qualifying times that I have had I have a car that can finish in the top 3 at least but this just gives me more confidence for Wednesday's series opener.
Can't say enough about how much fun this has been just getting ready for Wednesday's opener. The quality of racers that were in the league member only first race was outstanding which I had hoped it would be. After about 15 laps people were already talking if the race could go green the whole way. Such a night and day between open practice servers and league only server. I can't wait to get started with the season and racing with such a great group of guys. Again thank you to the Admin who are working their butts off getting this ready.
Come and check us out live on Zach Trull's Twitch channel www.twitch.tv/zachttrull23 tomorrow to see live streaming and commentary of the race.
From what his best friends in the racing community have said and of course from his sister Holly and wife Susie Wheldon, Dan was a great father, husband, friend and of course driver. His lost is still felt in the Indy community to this day. And if you look at it, if it wasn't for Dan's work on the DW12 (which stands for Dan Wheldon), Dario Franchitti's accident last year at Houston could have been a lot worst. Over the past 2 years, every accident that someone has been in and walked away from in the DW12 is cause of Dan's work on the car and what I like to think him watching over the ones he loved, his racer friends. So Dan, thank you for your work and dedication to keeping your buds safe! Keep watching over Sebastian as he is racing and following in your footsteps. I know that Susie, Holly and the whole Wheldon family are very proud of both Sebastian and Oliver. Look for a link on our Facebook website very soon to The Dan Wheldon Family Trust Fund. https://www.facebook.com/lionheartseries Also wanted to include Dennis Nicoll's car that he will be running in tribute to Dan Wheldon.
Okay now back to my first WIN! I jumped into the practice session with about 9 minutes to go. I didn't go in with any expectations what so ever. I was just hoping to be able to finish this race with no accident at all LOL. Practice was over and Qualifying go started. I did something that I heard from John Downing, which he said he ran 3 laps on the high side then the last lap down low. I did it different though, I ran 2 laps up high and 2 down low. After my 3rd lap, I was sitting on the pole. I had my eye glued to the Standings black box and I held pole until turn 1 on lap 4 LOL. Jorge Anzaldo was ahead of me by .03 of a second. By the time it registered I was already on the back straightway +.3 off my already pole time, so I knew I would not have the pole but hoped I could hold second. Which I did!! Every race so far I have been qualifying in the top 5 or 6 to the best of my memory. Sitting outside lane on the grid, I started thinking how to handle this. I am a very forgiving and cautious driver, I just thought I need to get behind Jorge as soon as I could so that I would not give up 2nd. Waiting for the pace laps, Jorge just disappeared. I late hear him say he lost power and got disconnected. So the 3rd place driver pulled up and took over 1st place. Sticking to the same strategy with what I was going to do with Jorge, I go behind him and just held there till I could make a move on him. After a couple of laps the spot opened up and I was in first. I held first for about 14 laps, hugging the bottom line like an AirTitan LOL They were starting to shuffle around behind me and another racers replaced second right behind me. As soon as he got behind me I thought to myself, he is very close.....didn't even get the thought out of my head when I see my nose angle to the left and toward the back straightway inside wall I was heading. Car Contact 4/17. I remembered what I had read a while ago. You will steer where your eyes look. So I started looking at the grass at turn 3 at 200 mph. I barely touched the inside wall at around 190 and the next thing I knew my steering wheel was at 45 degrees to go straight. Time to think now and test out the car. Can I keep the car straight on the track and take turns, YES but cautiously. Okay am I still on the lead lap? Yes but for how long. So driving with the wheel at 45 degrees I wanted to stay on the lead lap hoping for a caution. I stayed out like this for I don't know how many laps. I heard someone say "it is nerve wrecking at 230" I looked down and saw I was doing no more than 220. Then in the relative box I saw the red names of the leaders creeping down on me. 30 secs down to 12 seconds, I thought to myself I am going to have to pit under green and go a lap down. Maybe if I do it on this lap, I can get the lap back when the leaders pit. "Caution is out"!!! I have never been so excited to see a yellow flag in my life LOL. Into the pits, I knew according to Dashmeter Pro I needed 7 gallons to finish. In the pits, 7 gallons, no tires and the reset and away I was in 10th. Now in previous races I have gotten into accident, been a couple of laps down and went from 12th to fighting with the leaders to get my lap back, so I knew it could be done. Head down, green flag and it was go time. 10th to 7th in 2 laps. Got behind a driver who didn't like being on the bottom at all, so as soon as he had a chance he jumped up to the top line and that put me in 5th. I knew that you could pick up the draft of the car in front a good distance away (not saying how far out cause it is an ancient Chinese secret LOL. So my eyes where glued on the 2 inside red lights on the rpm. As soon as they flashed red, I was into 6th. Slowly I was running down 4th when another caution came out. This was great going to have 10 laps to go at the green. Plenty of fuel. Left front tire had some good wear on it but I knew that it could last only 10 laps. Green flag waves in the air 10 lap shootout begins. Oh leader at the time had to go cause of stuff he had to do, so I went from 5th to 4th before the green flag. So 4th to 3rd, 3rd to 2nd. Just hugging that bottom line waiting for any kind of bobble. Tried to make a couple of passes coming out of 4 and 2. But it is so hard to pass on the outside, then the planets aligned and as I was making another try coming out of turn 2, the leader made a slight mistake. So I am in the middle of a three wide and make it stick to take the lead. 3 laps to go and sweetest words I have heard all day. 'CAUTION IS OUT!! Not the way anyone wants to finish but I will take it! I knew with my qualifying times that I have had I have a car that can finish in the top 3 at least but this just gives me more confidence for Wednesday's series opener.
Can't say enough about how much fun this has been just getting ready for Wednesday's opener. The quality of racers that were in the league member only first race was outstanding which I had hoped it would be. After about 15 laps people were already talking if the race could go green the whole way. Such a night and day between open practice servers and league only server. I can't wait to get started with the season and racing with such a great group of guys. Again thank you to the Admin who are working their butts off getting this ready.
Come and check us out live on Zach Trull's Twitch channel www.twitch.tv/zachttrull23 tomorrow to see live streaming and commentary of the race.
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