So there you are, spent and without a drop of water or a spits worth of Gu.  No worries mate, you can always count on your tri-training brother/sister to come through in your time of despair. 
Today I was running 15 - starting and finishing at Running Sports - and my training mates were stopping at 10, so I planned ahead and stashed a bottle at the end of the 10 mile loop so I could just pick it up and keep on truckin.  To my surprise, I peeked in the bushes to grab my tasty treat and...huh?  No bottle.  Crap, this could jam me up and really make the last 5 a true suffer fest with the high humidity and the fact that the first 10 miles were done at an average pace of 7:30/mile.  I immediately had two offers from Alan Tanner and Bob Whitmore for a water bottle and salt pills to carry me through.

Now, part of this is because of the true spirit of support that exists among those who train, the second part is that no self respecting hard ass tri geek would ever want to see someone get out of a single mile of suffering due to such a silly thing like a flat tire, empty or lost water bottle or forgotten swim goggles. 
This is a universal law (#6 - Law of Compensation) even though I have not been anywhere else in the universe, I can imagine an astronaut saying "Wow, I would love to go out there with you guys on a tether and try to fix the spaceship but I forgot my dang screwdriver"   Oh hey man, use mine, I always bring an extra one just in case... (some wimpass like you tries to get out of  some stuff like this).  "Yea, thanks dude"

And triathletes never forget!  Always quick to pay back or pay it forward.  We can all recall an experience when someone helped us out in a pinch.  Most amazing, are guys like Bruce that will bring an empty $2 water bottle that he borrowed on every ride for two months until he sees you just to return it.
So remember when you see a brother or sister in need to pay it forward, there will come a day when your TriKarma will bring it back...See you on the road!

 
 

As July approaches, a sense of urgency to prepare for my Ironman training has finally arrived and man I was ready.  I was getting somewhat concerned about my relaxed attitude towards training.  Today, I feel energized and excited after months of "trying" to discipline myself to stay in reasonable shape. 
Saturday was a 13 mile run, LSD, right.  Starting off between blistering Bob Whitmore and the Israeli  Ironman (Shir) the pace quickly  established itself at 7:35 with  Tom Benz pushing on the way out.   After the turn it was time to stretch the legs as Bob and I pushed mile 8 at 6:46.  Pass the gatorade and the salt pills (pronounced "solt peels" by Shir).  After regrouping at mile 9, we decided to pick it up mile 10 before running easy the last 3.  Mile 10: 6:50, epic.

Three consecutive weekends of base building on the bike and run are beginning to pay dividends and I feel I will be able to handle the progression of the mileage.  The past two weekend trips to Jensen Beach over "middle bridge" at a steady cadence (90 rpm) and heart rate (120-130 bpm) are helping my endurance but my speed is still a little disappointing.  I will have to mix in speed with the endurance in all three disciplines.

Next weekend I will ride long on Friday and brick on Saturday.