!...Race Schedule Change...!

Dear Readers,

Due to some conflicts in July the Clot Buster will be making an adjustment on his race schedule for the season.

Instead of participating in the Buckeye Lake Triathlon on 7/16/2006, I am making arrangements to take the starting line at the Caesar Creek Triathlon in Waynesville, OH on 7/09/2006.

Fortunately this will not have any effect on my goal for the season so I am still on track to complete my 255.5Miles of racing for NATT.

The recovery after last weekend’s race is going well. For the past 3 days I have done nothing other than allow my body to rest and get back to feel normal before I start training again. I think that taking these last three days off from any meaningful physical activity is the best thing I could have done. Today I will ease back into things and tomorrow we will back in business.

Thanks for reading.

The Clot Buster

MedExpress Mountaineer Triathlon 1 :: Clot Buster 0

In honor of the ongoing World Cup, I wanted to post the final score from the Clot Buster’s race on Sunday. There were no yellow or red cards on this game just a hard fought battle from the start line all the way to the finish line.
The swim started off really well. It was one of my best swims ever in a triathlon. I surprised myself on how fast I was able to get through the 1.2 Mile course. I posted a time of 33:31.49 which includes a run over a steep hill from the water to the transition area. This swim time was good enough to be the third fastest in my age group and 18th fastest overall.
Unfortunately, after that came the bike and run portion of the race in which my performance was less than stellar. This is where I learned that the city of Morgantown is really beautiful if you come as tourist. The landscape is really amazing when you are watching from a car… let me tell you that on the bike the hills are not all that fun at all. Wow, the bike course had one hill that I could never be prepared for. It was long, steep, long, steep, long, steep... I became very good friends with that hill over our 2 encounters during the race. Here in Columbus, OH we don’t have hills like that and no amount of hill repeat workouts would prepare me to how hard that hill was. So, factoring in the rain, the wet roads, my conservative approach on the down hills, and cramping legs my time of 3:04.36 over 56 Miles at an average of 18.2 mph is not that bad.

But the story does not end there, after the bike came the run and I have to tell you that as soon as I started running I could feel that this was going to be a long half marathon. I think that the bike took the better part of me and left me completely empty for the run. I ran the first 5 miles to the best of my abilities but after that I was reduced to a 5 minute walk, 5 minute jog the rest of the way. I never felt like that before. My legs could not go anymore not matter what I did. I think I was at my limit during the run. I struggled big time all of the 13.1 miles for a total time on the run of 2:40.39 and a total time for the race of 6:24.39.
I had big hopes to finish this race somewhere around the 5:15.00 mark but as you can see I was well off the mark. I am proud about being able to finish the race. I would never be able to describe accurately what I was going through during the 70.3Miles that I raced on Sunday. But no matter what I kept going even when I thought that I could not do it anymore. Just like I have written many times before, the goal is to cross the finish the line and anything else is just bonus.

However, this year there is one more goal and that is to spread the word about NATT and of course get some green backs for this superb organization. I am very excited to let you know that the “Clot Buster” outfit caught the eye of one participant at the race on Sunday (this person kicked my butt when I found her finishing time…) who emailed me today after remembering the jersey. I look forward to write her back to see if she can give me some pointers on how to race half-iron distance races… but most importantly to see if she was able to find NATT’s website.
So, 89.7 Miles down… 165.8 Miles to go!!! How much are you willing to donate for the miles I have covered and I have left to go? If you can please consider helping NATT…!

Thanks for reading,

The Clot Buster 

70.3 Miles = 1st Half Iron Distance Triathlon of the Clot Buster's Season

Yes, Ladies and Gentlemen,

The time is finally here. Early on the morning of Sunday June 25th, I will be preparing to line up at the start of the MedExpress Mountaineer Triathlon Half Iron Distance Race. I have a duanting task ahead of me that day but one that I am very eager to take on.

I am very excited about participating in this race. The Clot Buster's colors will be flying high spreading the word about blood clots and blood clotting disorders. Every person that I blow by should be able to notice the polka dots and of course NATT's logo and website information. I just hope that while I pass them they don't think that the guy in the funny outfit is an illusion of their suffering minds.

The goal as always is to finish the race. Anything else is a bonus. This will be a great test to see how my training has prepared my body for the challenge.

So, on Sunday morning think about polka dots and send some positive thoughts my way. It is going to be a great time and I can't wait to share my experience with you all.

I don't want to get ahead of myself but after Sunday my quest will have 89.7 Miles covered! 165.8 Miles to go! If you have the opportunity to donate to NATT please consider doing so. They need it to continue helping others who need to know more about blod clots and blood clotting disorders.

Thanks for reading,

The Clot Buster 

Cheryl and her ride across America!

Dear Friends,

Please keep my friend Cheryl and her husband Tom on your thoughts as she is making her way across this great land of ours for the next 35 days. She is truly a remarkable story and I wish her nothing but the greatest success in this journey.

I am looking forward to the opportunity to get to meet this great women once she makes it to Ohio later on in July. If you have the opportunity please go to her site and read about her. Blood clots can't stop her... they can't even slow her down.

http://www.nwclotbusters.org/


You know, I think I recoginze those jerseys from some place... Where did I see them last...!?!?

Cheryl and Tom RIDE ON!!! I look forward to reading about the journey.

BEST OF LUCK!!!

Thanks for Reading,

The Clot Buster 

Loveland's Amazing Race

TEAM GUANABANA - Almost home, come on let's finish strong!

TEAM GUANABANA - The sweet reward!

TEAM GUANABANA - The sweet rewards go both ways!

 

Loveland's Amazing Race

TEAM GUANABANA - Final station going through the obstacles.

 

LOveland's Amazing Race

TEAM GUANABANA - "Ah, Push it...!"

TEAM GUANABANA - "Push it real good!"

TEAM GUANABANA - That is not the Clot Buster but I wanted to show how it look when Liz was handling the hose and I was at the other end. It was refreshing!

 

Loveland's Amazing Race

TEAM GUANABANA - The Clot Buster in action choosing climbing over the mental challenge.
TEAM GUANABANA - I rather be kayaking...I like more than the canoe.

Loveland's Amazing Race

TEAM GUANABANA - Flipping the tire. Make sure you always wear a helmet when doing this. Safety First!

 

Loveland's Amazing Race

TEAM GUANABANA @ the Start - We are ready to roll!

 

Buckets of Fun in Loveland, OH

Loveland’s Amazing Race was a real treat for Liz and I this past Saturday. She and I took part on this event that was very unique on its format. Before I say anything else I can assure you that we had BLAST!!!

It is safe to say that nobody knew what to expect before the race got underway. All we knew was the location of the Start/Finish line and the bike corral. We had no idea about the challenges that were waiting for us ahead.

But soon after 12:39PM we started to find out… after a quick run to the bike corral we rode about 2 or 2.5 miles to the Loveland High School where we encountered the start of the stations…
Station #1: Flipping a semi-truck tire end to end for 40 yards out and back – Back breaking to get things started.
Station #2: Bike handling skills (kicking a soccer ball while riding and aiming it to a goal; throw bean bag into bucket while moving; winding course through traffic cones; maintain balance on plank) – Kicking the ball riding is much harder than what you think!
Station #3: Lego house building – Liz nailed the roof, I completed the rest…team work in action.
Station #4: Run two laps around a parked car – We are not sure what was that all about… later on we found out that in the car’s trunk there were a set of envelopes with challenges in them and whoever drew before us drew for us to run around the car… don’t ask don’t tell…
Station #5: Choice between Rock Climbing and Mental Challenge – Can you guess which one we did?
Station #6: Fence building – That was an unexpected challenge. Lucky for us we got to see some people struggle with it so we got through it quick.
Station #7: Canoeing – Nothing to it…Liz has the guns and got us through it no problem.
Station #8: Paintball Target Range – Liz is a sensational sharpshooter, she got us out of there in no time with some accurate hits. I could barely catch my breath…
Station #9: Fire Department Water Challenge – My personal favorite, while Liz controlled the water hose I had to try and attempt to catch water in a small bucket and transport it to a bigger bucket until it was full. That was a ton of fun just standing in the water arch getting soaked to the bone…but on a hot day like that there was nothing better!
Station #10: Pitcher filling blindfolded – Thanks to Liz’s guidance I was able to gather all glasses and fill up the pitcher all while not being able to see a thing…
Station #11: Grocery cart challenge – At the Kroger parking lot Liz and I had to use all of out strength and coordination to get the carts through this figure eight field. I have a new appreciation for the people hauling the long line of grocery carts out there.
Station #12: 100 pennies – Can you estimate 100 pennies from a jar during the heat of competition… well we couldn’t…our estimate was way to high so we had to serve a 2 minute penalty in the sin bin.
Station #13: Dunk Tank – After a long run up the hill we arrived to the dunk tank station. Liz sat on the plank and I attempted to aim for the target. I missed all my tries so Liz thought she was off the hook…not so fast my friend! One of the volunteers was there ready to make her fall in the water… I was surprised and I am sure she was too!
Station #14: Bowling Challenge – Being soaking wet we made our way to the bowling alley to attempt our luck at a strike, or spare, or two nines… after slipping and falling Liz had the steady hand to get us two nice throws and I finished them up.
Station #15: Mental Challenge – I could barely tie my shoes do you think we could solve some math problems…? I think we copied the result from someone else doing it next to us…shhhh! Don’t tell anyone!
Station #16: Pizza Delivery – Have you ever seen motorized coolers…? Some how we had to ride these things around this course. Surprisingly enough they were fast, I could not believe it.
Station #17: Curves – We had to go through and use every single machine in the joint while collecting a set of letter to spell out a secret word. The ladies at curves had some serious enthusiasm. Great to see!
Station #18: Washers – After another long run we made it to the washers station. Each of had to put the washer in the box. We got through this with flying colors. Did not spend much time there at all.
Station #19: Move a Mountain – We had to move 300 lbs. worth of weights from one end of the parking lot to the next. Between the two of us it was not trouble. I am telling you my wife was some guns!
Station #20: Three legged challenge – Finally the last station! We had to go through a set of challenges and race to the finish line. The coordination factor at this point was a the biggest challenge but we got through it somehow.

TEAM GUANABANA completed the course in 1:48:00 good enough for 3rd place amongst all coed teams. If I remember correctly there were over 130 teams in the competition so Liz and I are more than pleased with out performance. It was a really good time. I would recommend this race to anyone willing to try something different and unique. For a first time event the organization was right on and I am sure a lot of people had a great time.

Thanks for reading.

The “Amazing” Clot Buster

Change is always good...

Ever since the Amazing Race TV show aired for the first time a couple of years ago my wife and I have wished could participate and travel around the world like the teams in the race do. Liz and I have been fortunate to travel to many places around the world during our short lives but the truth is that there is so much more to see and experience. After watching some of the places the participants get to visit we can’t help to wish that someday the restriction imposed on me will allow me to sign up and hopefully be chosen to participate. But, if that does not work then Liz and I will just have to save up and make our own Amazing Race of sorts.

But this weekend we are making our first attempt to make ourselves ready when our time comes. Liz and I will be participating in Loveland’s Amazing Race to be held on Saturday. The organizers of the race are former winners of the Amazing Race Family Edition and natives of Cincinnati, OH. The description of the race sounds like a ton of fun and an excellent way to spend a lovely mid-June Saturday afternoon. As far as I know most of the challenges are being kept a secret from the participants so we don’t have any idea about what we are going to be doing. For that reason is really hard to come up with a game plan. But one thing is for sure, Liz and I will be throwing down the hammer to best that we can to see how we finish. Of course, getting to the finish line in one piece is always the goal. Anything after that is just icing on the cake!

Checkout the races’ site at the following link:
http://www.historicloveland.com/lovelandsamazingrace.html

I am looking forward to taking part on this race. It is a great opportunity to do something different and take my mind away from the upcoming challenge next weekend in West Virginia. The Clot Buster is almost ready to take on the hills… next week I will be just taking it easy to allow my body the best possible preparation before the event.

Stay tuned for a full report from the Amazing Race. Cross your fingers for us because if Liz has to do a hand-eye coordination challenge we will need all the positive energy we can get from all of you out there…!

Thanks for reading.

The Clot Buster

Clot Buster's Jerseys NOW AVAILABLE!!!

Dear Friend or Reader of the Clot Buster Blog,

I am pleased to announce that the snazzy Clot Buster Jersey is now available for you to have. All the proceeds from this sale will be provided to NATT so that they can continue the great work that they do in educating about blood clots and blood clotting disorders.

Check out the sensational design below…

The jerseys are running at $75.00, which will include the shipping. But if you feel like you can give more please do. The money from your “purchase” will be given to NATT as a donation on your name.

You will almost look as good as the Clot Buster while out the riding but in the end you will be helping a very worthy organization that needs your support.

If you are interested on a jersey please contact me at polka40@hotmail.com or irvarga@aep.com to place an order. The sizes run from Small to XL. Make sure you get yours before they are all gone!!!

Thanks for reading,

The Clot Buster

USA! USA! USA!

The time is finally here for the US team to make their debut in the greatest show on earth. Today at 11:55AM the American National team will be stepping on the field to start their journey in this World Cup.

I have football coming out of my ears. Since Friday, I have watched every single match and I loved every minute of it. Because we had some rain around here on Saturday morning I did my workouts inside. One hour and a half on the trainer watching the England vs. Paraguay game…that is the longest I have ever been on the trainer at one time. I don’t know how I did it. Probably because I was so shocked to see England play so poorly. They won with an own-goal (which by the way is a first in World Cup history). My admiration goes to the Trinidad and Tobago team this weekend. They put up a show against Sweden even with a man down… which I thought was the biggest officiating flaw of the tournament. I am glad to see that they pulled off a draw against Sweden. I got the chance to watch the game while running on a treadmill at the gym. This is the first time in a long time, say about 4 months, that I ran on the treadmill. It was a nice change of pace but 7.5 Miles is a long time to run on a machine. I was glad to be done when I did.

So, as you can see I am merging the World Cup watching with my long workout. I just need to find a long enough extension cord and I will be able to watch some more of the games from my beloved hammock… now that would be sweet!

This week I am hoping to complete a few more intense and long workouts before I start to taper down for the MedExpress Mountaineer Triathlon in Morgantown, WV. 70.3 Miles of racing are awaiting for me in the hills of WV. I almost dropped my jaw when I saw the profile of the bike and run portions. I am trying to do as many hill-repeats as I can just to be a little prepared to what is coming in 2 weeks time. This is very exciting. I am looking forward to the challenge!

Thanks for reading!

The Clot Buster

Every World Cup the designs of the mascots and posters are very creative and eye catching. This time around is not exeption. I like the deisgn a lot.  

This is the coveted throphy for which the National Teams of every country are battling this month. Is this a thing of beauty or what? 

GOOOOOOAAAAAAL!!!

Although, I need to be concentrating on my training for the upcoming MedExpress Mountaineer Triathlon in Morgantown, WV, I will have a difficult time breaking away from my TV and the magic of the WORLD CUP in Germany!
Yes, Ladies and Gentlemen the World Cup is back and I am looking forward to watch and soak in as much as I can of the FOOTBALL matches to be on TV this month.

At this point I need to ask a question that is really bugging me for a long time…How in the world “American Football” got his name? If you think about it, the ball is kicked during this sport less than 1% of the time. How could this name ever come about when all is going on is the passing (done with hands), the rushing (done with hands with running), the catching (done with hands with some running), the pushing in shoving (also done with hands with some leg and feet for leverage) but the skills of the feet are an infinitesimal part of the sport? Interestingly enough over the 11+ years I lived here, no one can really provide me with an answer that would make any logical sense. But, I don’t care about how it is in reality as long as you are reading this blog you know that FOOTBALL will be referring to that sport in which 99.5% of the time the feet is the leading character and that sport the entire world will be focusing on this month.

It is hard to tell who will be winner. As long as the ball is round and the 90 minutes are running anything can happen. The famous/prestigious countries with many cups under their belt can fall and those countries with lesser tradition can rise and make history that much more interesting. I’ve been very fortunate to watch many world cups and all of them have left some incredible memory that I will always cherish as a fan of this sport. There is beauty in seeing teams put the ball on goal but there is also beauty in defending and watching teams perform on the biggest stage there is.

I can’t wait to watch the re-play of the first game of this World Cup in which 6 goals were scored…! Wow, if this is how we are starting then I am ready to watch.

Please, don’t worry the workouts will continue and I am very much in tune with what is coming for me at the end of June. I will be swimming tonight and tomorrow I am planning a monster brick where I will ride anywhere between 35 to 45 miles and right after run for a minimum of 6 miles but ideally shooting for 8. This weekend is about the last chance I get to put down some long hours of training since the weekend of June 16th the Clot Buster and Lady Clot Buster will be taking part in the Loveland’s Amazing Race (http://www.historicloveland.com/lovelandsamazingrace.html). If you know us, you know we are HUGE fans of the Amazing Race TV show and if wasn’t because of my foreign status we would have participated in one of the races by now. I just hope that they keep it up for at least 2 more years so that I can become a citizen and apply to participate. If you know about the show, do you think Liz and I could go all the way? I know the answer but do you…?
So, since next weekend I will be busy this weekend is my chance to put down the hammer and go the distance.

I am rooting for the US to get through their difficult group. They need to play out of their minds to move on. But all of my life I’ve liked Holland they did not qualify for the last world cup so they have something to prove to their country and their fans let’s see if they can pull it off. As long as Brazil does not win I will be happy…

Thanks for reading.

The Clot Buster

Spreading the word...!

This week I had the opportunity to start distributing the flyer I made (and published on this blog a few days ago) to the entire building here where I work. On every coffee break room bulletin board my co-workers should be able to find a “polka-dot pouch” with flyers to take. It is a gamble but I hope people will take the time to read the information on the flyer and hopefully pay a visit to NATT’s website and also this blog to see what we are all about.
But I am not only limiting this effort to my work place. The recreation center where I swim and workout also has the flyers on display. Along with that I am planning a couple more distribution alternatives that I need to keep under wraps until I finalize talks with the people involved.

The bottom line is that the more people I get to reach the more chances my mission will have to find potential donors but above all to draw them towards NATT’s resources. If I can get people to visit the NATT website from reading my flyer I will consider this effort a success without a question. I know for sure that people interested on blood clots and blood clotting disorders will find NATT’s website as the ideal place to find all the information that they need and then some.

Speaking of spreading the word please take a look at the following link…

http://www.nwclotbusters.org/

This link my friend’s is a MUST. Cheryl is a remarkable woman about to go on a challenge that not many people can comprehend. She is an inspiration to all who has/is suffering from blood clots and blood clotting disorders.

Cheryl,
The Clot Buster is with you all the way! I look forward to the opportunity to see you when you come through Ohio. I will try my best to keep up with and you group when you guys come through Northern Ohio blazing away.

Ride on my friend!!!

Thanks for reading.

The Clot Buster

It is wet here... is it wet there...?

Right now I wish it was sunny like in this picture...

I understand that every spring here in Columbus, OH at the time of the Memorial Golf Tournament we get at least 2 days of nothing but rain. After two springs in this area that first statement holds true.

Slowly I am starting to get back into the swing of things preparing for the next challenge on the Clot Buster’s calendar. With one race already under my belt I am focusing on the hardest triathlon course I have ever faced (stay tuned for a posting describing the upcoming course profile, you will not believe it!). I am not even sure how should I prepare when around here there are not many hills that I could use to train. But please, don’t fear because I always come up with a plan…

Outside of the regular schedule of working, training, and being a husband I am trying to produce all the flyers I am hoping to distribute as part of this fundraising effort. Slowly but surely I am moving forward and I am hoping that this weekend I can have the first phase of flyers ready to be posted and distributed here at work and at the gym. I have to always remember to keep it nice and steady and in due time I should be able to get everything done. I will keep you posted on how things are progressing…

If you need a reminder this is how your contribution could break out depending on what you would donate for every one of the 255.5 miles that I will be racing:

$$ Nickel per mile = $12.78
$$ Dime per mile = $25.55
$$ Quarter per mile = $63.88
$$ Double Quarter per mile = $127.75

Thank you for reading.

The Clot Buster