The Return of Caption Kick-Ass

Captain Kick-Ass was a fellow partier from my college days. Come to think about he could have been a figment of my imagination (college was that rough on me!). Nevertheless, as I recall, Captain Kick-Ass was 6’3”, 250lbs. He had a shaved head with a full goatee. He probably grew up on a farm, bailed hay for fun and swallowed his chew spit. He had a terrible temper and always had beer on his breath. He was loud, obnoxious and if he wanted to, he could flat out beat the snot out of anyone he chose.

Now, flash-forward 6 years, post graduation.  I’m out training with one of my good college buddies who used to treat his body as poorly as I did.

1.21 Gigawatts!

Functional Threshold Power (FTP) – average power during your highest possible effort in a 60-minute race.  Your FTP is used to gauge proper race intensity so you can still run well off the bike.

I created a firestorm of debate on slowtwitch.com last spring by starting the post “25% Increase in FTP!” . While the debate went round and round, I will offer up the following...

Top Shelf Triathlon!?!?!

“Whoa, now wait a minute!  Top Shelf Triathlon!  Who does this guy think he is!  Oh great, just what we need, another pretentious, self-absorbed, egotistical triathlete blogging on and on about himself.” 

Before you judge, let me explain.

How We Did IT - '09 vs '11

Note to self: delete cookies after web search

While there is a direct correlation with the number of Ironman summer’s I’ve had and the number of times my wife and I have conceived a child, that’s not the “it” I’m talking about.  Perhaps another day.  The “it” that I’m referring to is how I qualified for Kona in 2009.

While there are a lot of things that actually go into it, much more than what can be covered in one blog post...here's a summary of my training volumes.

Three's Company

My wife and I are expecting our 3^rd child.  He or she will be here in April!

 “Jack, are you nuts!” - RF

Never trust a guy that drinks Bud 'Heavy' in the off-season!

 “He no nuts, he crazy” – Short Round

Massive Fall Out

Not the first thing that comes to mind when you hear Detroit!

Little did I know when I moved to Metro Detroit 10 years ago, there would be such an abundance of mountain biking trails.  Like many other big cities full of concrete, they (we) take our Green Spaces very seriously!

The Massive Fall Out is an annual fall group ride (MTBs) usually consisting of about 100+ riders.  It's very casual, free event  and a great way to get outside and spend the day.  The description of the ride is about 60 miles through 5 different county parks and state recreation areas.  Paved, Dirt, Double Track, Single Track.

The Off Season

Get In My Belly

The off season has been underway now since IMLP.  I typically use the time to unwind and do nothing.  Here’s an example of what “nothing” is to me.

As with many dedicated athletes, loosening the reins on the diet usually comes first.  Unrestricted eating sounds much too humane.  Imagine if Jim Henson wasn’t quite feeling the Cookie Monster that day and instead went with Brownie Monster, Nacho Nightmare or the Pizza Marauder …you can see where this is going (and why I’m not a creator)!