Saturday, August 1, 2009

Our thoughts are with you

I am going to refrain from really getting into the details of the accident at the E.P. Tom Sawyer Traithlon for a few days discretion and all. I will vent latter.

If you know me very well warm and fuzzy is not how you would describe me(OK maybe fuzzy) but I would just like to remind everyone to keep the affected people in their thoughts and prayers. First and foremost the family of our brother athlete. Also keep in mind the staff at E.P. Tom Sawyer Park who will have to deal with the fallout of an accident they could not have prevented. Scratch that I should have said crime they could not have prevented. The driver of the car did not accidentally get shit faced and drive he committed a crime(a little venting). My thoughts also go out to all those athletes who witnessed the event or were exposed to the aftermath as they rode by. If there were a way I could take those images out of your heads I would.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Cardinal Harbour report

What a day. I think that overall everything went very well. I have heards some good comments. It was one of those days where I spent all my time putting out small fires and could not see much of the big picture. When there is a bike wreck or an aid staition is running low on cups or any of the other 100 of emergencies that comes up it sure seems like everything is falling apart for the entire race. I tell all new race directors it doesn't really matter how bad of an event you have as long as the athletes have a good one everything is great. I need to start listening to that myself.

First thanks to Preston Chiropractic, and Bluegrass Bicycles for their support. To Cardinal Harbour and all the other areas where the people put us with us for the event. To The Coast Guard, and Oldham County Fire and Rescue for keeping us above water. Oldham County EMS for treating our injured. Off Duty Police Services for protecting us on the roads. And of course all the great volunteers who give their time to help us out.

We could not have asked for a better day. High in the mid 70s and water temp of 77. Very little chance of ever getting that weather again for a race in mid July.

The swim went off like a charm. We had help from the Coast Guard, Oldham County Fire and Rescue, and a couple of residents from Cardinal Harbour as well as our normal crew.

The bike portion of the race saw some excitement. There were a couple of accidents and a few locals with attitudes. We also had a situation where the Henry County police who had promised to be at two turns did not show up and created a dangerous situation. Hats off to you guys for your caution in that area.

We had a volunteer who sent about 10 athletes down Goshen Lane on the way out. He called when he realized what he had done. I sent out another volunteer to stop them and he just drove right past. I was prepared to face the wrath of hell when those cyclist rolled back into Cardinal Harbour. Everyone seemed to understand the situation with the volunteer and had a great attitude about it. They were a great group of folks. I think it may have been a big help that Cynthia got to them before I did. She is so sweet it is much harder to get mad at her than me.

The run was flat and cool what more could you ask for? I know mile markers and better mowing of the last part. We will take care of that for next year. We had no problems out on the run, at least that I am aware of.

Max Longree, the winner of last years Ironman Louisville, won the triathlon. I did't get much of a chance to speak with him, but he seems like he would a hard guy not to like. I saw him about a quarter mile into the bike ride. He was in third place at the time and had a smile on his face like it was his first race. He comes rolling into T2 in second place with his hadlebars broken. He had ridden the last five miles like that including Goshen. (scares me with handlebars). He stayed calm and went on to win the race. Most of us would have been mad just because we were going to loose a little time.

It was a great day and we will try to make next year even better.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

More bike hate

Cynthia went out and marked the bike course for Cardinal Harbour last week. We went out today and someone had marked over all of our arrows with red paint. Never had that happen before. If someone had thought our arrows looked bad they would have used black or grey paint to look better. It was obviously done just to screw with you. This marking was done only on parts of the course in Oldham County. For those of you who read my blog about the guy in Oldham County last year that complained about the race I did not give all the details. This guy blammed cyclist for some reasonable things such as not supporting local stores, but wanting to use their bathrooms, not staying on the side of the road etc. Can't argue with those things. But he also stated that cyclist have no right to be on the road because we pay no taxes. A fact that easily enough proved to be wrong. Hell if I had to pay no taxes just because I rode a bike I would sell my car. Even better was his explanation of how cycling caused an increase in pollution because it made vehicles slow down and speed up. I think that concept will create enough laughter to negate my need to comment on it. This from a guy who has by his own admission raced cars and motorcycles in the past. Those things cause no pollution. I am sure that when he is pulling his horse trailer it is a zero emissions situation.

I just mention these things because in all the places I have been and all the races I have been involved in I have never ran into these kinds of attitudes. There is a lot of hate out there and it has to be focused on someone. Seems like the guys in spandex with shaved legs are an easy target.

These haters seem lost back in time somewhere. The sports we do are growning popularity every year. Take a look around the country and you will see that every growing community supports healthy lifestyles and activities like cycling. A local government would have to be self destructive to not see that and follow suit. Every community I know of around here is interested in growth so it is not an official problem we deal with. It is a problem with a lunatic fringe that thinks there way is the only way and needs someone to hate. I hearby volunteer to be the focus of their anger. I give enough people real reasons to be mad at me a few more who make shit up won't matter.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

It has been an eventful last few days. The most important thing that happened today is that Cardinal Harbour sold out. We reached out limit of 300 participants. There will be no race day registration.

Last Friday I went down the Game Farm to check out the trails for an upcoming run. It has been a long time since I have been that excited. The Game Farm is a wonderful place. If you have not been there make a point to see it. For those of you who do not even know what I am talking about the Game Farm is ran by Fish and Wildlife. It is on US 60 just west of Frankfort. There are a couple of lake and picnic shelters along with several picnic tables scattered around. The Salato Center is an educational center with many exhibits and educational programs about native wildlife and restoration projects. There is a small zoo with Bald eagles, bear, elk, bison, deer, wildcats, a drangonfly marsh, and living stream exhibit. In addition to all this there are several miles of trails to enjoy.

Now for my preaching. Everything I just described is funded by Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife. They are the department that is in charge of all conservation and restoration projects in the state. No money from the general fund goes to any of these projects they are funded only by the sale of hunting and fishing license and other fees paid by outdoorsmen in the state. The bottom line is no matter how much of an environmentalist you consider yourself unless you hunt, fish, or make a direct donation to Fish and Wildlife you do not contribute to the things in this state that you say you are for. Take a trip to the Game Farm and check it out and I am sure you will want to do more.

On to the next subject. Saturday Cynthia and I went to the New Talon Winery here in Shelbyville. It was a nice experience and well worth the trip have a tasting and sit out over the quarry and have a glass of wine.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Youth events and time trial

The third in our series of Time Trials is this weekend. Take your choice of 20 or 40K. Take a look at the website for more information.

The Kids 4 Kids Triathlon is happening on August 2 at E.P. "Tom" Sawyer Park. Train Smart will be holding a Youth Clinic on July 25, and 26. Info on both is here

If you have kids or have friends that have kids this is a great chance to get them started in the sport.

There is also a kids tri in the Hillcrest neighboorhood on August 29th.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Working Out Again

I started training again a couple of weeks ago. This past week has been great. You could not ask for better weather to train in at this time of year. The week before that sucked. When you haven't done anything in over a year other than gain 30lbs 90 degrees is not pleasant. The legs and cardiovascular system didn't seem too bad, but I was wilting after just a few miles of running.

Time is my biggest enemy in training. My biggest test will be in keeping my motivation up when I can't find time to train. I really don't much about the health benefits of what we do or any of the other socially acceptable reason people claim for doing endurance sports. I love the challenge and I love to compete. When I try to train and get busy with race stuff and can't train for days I loose all motivation, because I don't feel like I could compete.

Time will tell how things go. I will keep you posted.

Friday, July 3, 2009

Try Again

Here I go again trying the blogging thing. I always start out with the best intentions, and then get tied up in other things. If I can keep at it I should be able to keep you better informed of what is going on with upcoming races. I am also going to try to figure out the facebook and/or Twitter things. Who knows how that will work.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Florida

Well we are now in Florida for the Winning Time conference. The weather is great sunny and 75 degrees.

We had the first day of seminars today. Much of the talk dealt with the business end of things. How the company is doing both in the U.S. and worldwide. Things seem to be going well even with the current economy.

New products were introduced. There are updates to the passive system, which is what we use. These updates include plastic cases and newer technology. Really cool stuff.

Winning Time has also introduced and active system. The advantage of this type of system is that it can handle higher speeds and higher density at the finish line. This type of system would be much better suited for events such as bicycle races like crits where there is a large number of athletes crossing the finish line at the same time at high speed. This is difficult with a passive system.

Hopefully we will have the opportunity to try this system in the real world soon.

On Sunday we are supposed to learn some things about troubleshooting problems. We are also to learn some ways to get results done faster.

The trip has been educational not just a trip to the beach, but the trip to the beach has been very nice,

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Duty Calls

Winning Time Americas will be holding their annual conference this weekend. Winning Time is the manufacturer of the chip timing system used by Headfirst Performance Services.

What that means is that I will be forced to leave Kentucky and head to Fort Lauderdale in sunny Florida. It is a rough thing to be forced to do especially after spending the last few weeks waging an almost constant battle to stay warm. Including the time spent crawling around under the house to fix the water pipes that had burst. I am willing to suffer through the mid 70s weather in order to learn to provide you with better service.

I will post an update with any important info I am getting this weekend.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

A Whole New Gig

I started my life as a race director on accident. The Shelby County Triathlon was going to be canceled because no one was going to put it on, so I agreed to take it on. Then I started listening to you guys. If you wanted a trail run I did it. If you wanted longer triathlons we put one on. You asked for chip timing so we provided it. Every year we have had new challenges that have required us to learn new things and adapt to new situations.

It looks like this year's challenge is going to be bike races. The local bike club asked us to put on a race as part of the McDonald's Spring Classic Series. We had a meeting and I came out with a race as part of this series as well as the Kentucky State Time Trial.

Producing these races should be an adventure. There is much to learn. There is no doubt that we can produce a quality event. The issue is dealing with an entirely new governing body. USA Track and Field has all their rules, and so does USA Triathlon. USA Cycling has not only the similar rules, but other issues Headfirst has not had to deal with in the past such as categories. When I was just an athlete I never imagined the paperwork involved with producing a race.

Mark your calendars for the Shelby County Road Race on April 4, and the Kentucky state Time Trial Championships on June 14.

Friday, January 2, 2009

New Year

If anybody noticed Ihave not been very good at keeping up with. I will try to do better in 2009. Things are already well under way for the year. We were the race directors for this years Hangover Classic 10 miler. It is always a great run and this year was no exception. We had 623 runners and the weather was great for January 1.

There really is no off season for us and we have several events planned for the next few months. The first race of the Max Performance Triathlon Series is February 1. It is a 3K run/6 mile bike/400 yard swim. Yes, it is in reverse order. Even I would not send you outside wet when it is that cold. Max Performance Physical Therapy in Shelbyville is the sponsor for this series. They are great folks and do a great job. There are also a couple of training opportunities to get some help with your training. Nancy McElwain and the people at Train Smart have a training group for the Max Performance Races. Shelby County Parks are also offering a swim training clinic the week before each one of the races in the series.

Then on February 14 will be Louisville's Lovin The Hills, a 15 mile or 50K trail run at Jefferson Memorial Forest. For anyone who has never been out to Jefferson Memorial it is a beautiful place and the trails are great. Cynthia plans all of our trail races so be sure in addition to a great run there will be all kinds of great food and fun.

As plans come together I will keep you updated on the other races for the year.