NATT’s Fall Newsletter – Featuring Athletes and Blood Clots PART 1

Please take some time and check this out.

Newsletters like this one that let people share their story and also educate about blood clots and blood clotting disorders are the reason why I race and try to raise funds for NATT. Seeing the newsletter coming together, seminars being organized, educational brochuers being produced just drives me even more to get the Clot Buster colors out there and spread the word.

What do you think? Please don't fear I will be posting the rest of the pages soon. I just wanted to peek your interest.

Thanks for reading,

The Clot Buster

Lucky Tuesday…

If you live out here, within the confines of the Ohio Valley, you should be experiencing some of the mildest weather you can expect for this time of the year around these parts. So, without a question you MUST put everything a side and put your best foot forward in order to get out there. Definitely this will be the last time I get the chance to ride outside this year, so there I was rushing home from work trying to take advantage of the mild weather and the 55 or so minutes of day light I had left of the day.

Much to my surprise I got home and I was out riding within 11 minutes to be precise. I could not believe it! I even had my headlight (with batteries and everything packed) as I would need it if I went beyond the 45 minutes of daylight that were left at this point.

It was sensational to be out there riding. I was heading for the Olentangy River Trail because of the short nature of the ride. Everything was going well until I reached the first bridge out on the trail… it was blocked off due to construction. Can you believe my luck? Where do I go now? I thought for a second or two and I decided to climb down around the bridge on to the creek bed and get across that way. I had to move fast to attempt to beat the nightfall that was fast approaching. Shouldering my commuter bike I plunged down got over a few rocks and escaped with only some mud caked to my shoes. No trouble. Let’s keep at it.

As soon as I start the next section of the paved trail I remember that there is a second bridge coming up that is bigger and 99% of the time the creek is full feeding the Olentangy. I was hoping that the bridge repairs were not going to be simultaneous on these bridges… but not such luck today. I am all for keeping up the maintenance of the trail but not during the “Indian Summer” we are experiencing these days… the nerve of the Worthington Park Service. Their timing is a little off but then again how can I complain. So, I decided to give this creek crossing a try. I saw some rocks that would allow safe passage in the water so I went for it. Shouldering the yellow one once more I got down and just about when I thought I was across stepping off the last rock my foot slips and there I go with my foot in the frigid water… sweet! I was already almost half way out on my 15 mile ride so I was not going to turn around. Luckily I knew of a different way back that would avoid this creek crossing business.

Back on the yellow one I was hammering to keep my foot warm as the temperature continued to drop. I got to the half point mark and without any trouble I made it to the fork in the road that would leaved me home without have to do the creek crossing. I jumped over a couple of sidewalks and just when I thought I was safe to hammer home the last 3 miles I heard the sound of spokes breaking when I jumped off the sidewalk onto the road.

What are the chances of that happening but it did. With the back wheel wobbling away I made it home in the darkness of the late afternoon right around 5:45PM thanks in part of packing my headlight with its batteries. More than once I thought I was taking the headlamp with me just for a spin because the batteries I left home.

So, all things considered I am very lucky to have had the chance to be out there riding away. I would not change anything about it I have to confess.

Thanks for reading,

The Clot Buster

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hard to believe that we are already here when it seems like not too long ago I was still finishing up my racing to raise funds for NATT. The down time from racing has been very good. Finally, we were able to get all of our leaves picked up and bagged away… that was some serious work. I have to confess that I enjoyed it a great deal. Just something about being outside enjoying the fall air and the many different colors the trees can produce. After many different attempts I think we finally got our techniques down on how we will approach the leaf pick up next year. It was a learning process that is for sure. We just had to stick to it and get it done.




Mrs. Clot Buster and I are heading to Cincinnati for Thanksgiving. Always a very enjoyable time to join my extended family and share some quality time with them before, during, and after dinner.

Of course, before we indulge in the traditional turkey dinner we have to burn the appropriate amount of calories so that we can enjoy the thanksgiving dinner guilt free… so Mrs. Clot Buster and I will be waking up early on Thursday morning and make our way to downtown Cincinnati, specifically to Paul Brown Stadium, and take part in the 97th Annual Thanksgiving Day Race – 10K. We have done this race for about 8 years now. Thanksgiving does not even feel the same without the run before hand (we even had the chance to participate in a Thanksgiving Day race in San Francisco last year while we are out there on vacation). So, there will be a Clot Buster sighting tomorrow in downtown Cincinnati. I’ve been running here and there attempting to keep a level base fitness but I have no idea on how the legs will respond to the pounding. Over the years, I’ve had some interesting times. I am always thrilled if I break 43 minutes but I would love to shoot for under 42. I just have to think about that additional piece of pumpkin or apple pie I will have after dinner…!

Whatever you do this holiday I hope you get to enjoy yourself.

Have a Great Thanksgiving!

Thanks for reading,

The Clot Buster

 

Pirates of the Ohio Valley…

Halloween came and went. We carved out pumpkins, gave out about 20 lbs worth of candy, watched scary movies, drank cider, and raked leaves… wait, did we miss something we must do during the Halloween…?

Yes! Of course we also had the chance to dress up and have our creative juices flow to prepare the best pirate customs we could make with what we had available… This year we had the chance to attend a pretty sweet Halloween party with a pirate theme. The host went to town to decorate his barn and make it look very original with sails, cargo nets, and of course a plank. It was a blast to see all the people dressed up in their customs. Some people out there have a tremendous imagination I have to confess…

But don’t be out there thinking now that I am out there just partying away… Here in November I will have my yearly showdown in the city of Cincinnati at the biggest Thanksgiving Day race that I have ever been a part of. The 10K course always proves to be a challenge for me and every year I try to put the hammer down and see if I can improve on my times. Stay tuned to see what happens this year. This weekend I had the chance to go for a nice long 50+ minute run to keep the legs aware that one more time this year the Clot Buster colors will be out full force.

At this point I continue to debate about my racing next season. Not sure yet about what I would like to do. I may try to increase the racing mileage to see if it’s possible to get more donations for NATT. Soon enough, I will be able to define everything and we can go from there.

I probably don’t say it enough, but a HUGE THANK YOU to all of you out there you read my ramblings and have donated to help NATT in it’s mission. We are making tremendous strides in creating awareness and educating people about blood clots and blood clotting disorders.

Thanks for reading,

The Clot Buster

 

How sore can you become?

That is the question I am asking myself these days. Last Sunday, I got the chance to play my first indoor “football” games of the year and if you consider the way I’ve been feeling you would think that I am nothing more than a couch potato. Everything is sore, even my eyelids are sore for some reason…

It is been while since the last time I played and although I did not play bad my body sure was not ready to leave the “two dimensional” world of swimming, biking, and running. It is amazing to realize how many other muscles groups I can exercise during a “football” match. Definitely during the game you have to move from side to side, change directions suddenly, change speeds suddenly, and even fall to the ground when needed. All of these contributes to movements that are multi dimensional compared to triathlon racing.

Can you believe that I am sore between my toes? I did not know that I could feel soreness there. Thankfully this should be the last of it because with games every weekend my muscles will be able to remember that for a while now I will be moving in all sorts of directions chasing a ball around the carpeted indoor facility.

One of my games this weekend was early on Sunday morning and much to my surprise the indoor facility was packed with people already playing. I could not believe it when I pulled in into the parking lot. Although some of the people I saw looked like they were still a sleep it was very good to see people out there early starting off their Sunday with some competition. Luckily for my opponents at that time in the morning there is generally no need to get into their heads as with the sleepy eyes they are sporting no trash talking would penetrate at all…

I believe that raking leaves should be an Olympic sport if curling can be one. I’ve lost count of all the bags we have filled up but I think we are on pace for some sort of world record…!

Thanks for reading,

The Clot Buster

Ahhhh, aren't we cute?

Skills

Look at Mrs. Clot Buster do the Limbo...!!! I did not even know she could go that low. I guess that all the Pilates and Yoga help with the flexibilty.

Check out all the people admiring her skills... I could never do that.

So, there is your Friday "Moment of Zen"

Have a great weekend!

Thanks for Reading,

The Clot Buster

 

Cooling Off...

This weather is not helping much in terms of setting the stage and provide the additional motivation to get out and workout. This is the time of the year when I find it increasingly difficult to stay in track. Thankfully, I don’t have many races coming up that would require me to put away some workouts in the “fitness bank.” Especially with the time change the day light is almost gone by the time you get home and with the sun setting there goes my motivation as well… usually not with a beautiful display of colors like the sunset but with a shrug of shoulders and PTI recorded on the DVR. Of course that is not the case all the time because most days I do crave some physical activity outside of just sitting at my desk at work.

Although at times I don’t enjoy the cold as much, I have to confess that I am a VERY BIG fan of fall. Every year, I am amazed at the colors some of the trees can produce. You can’t even begin to describe the different yellows, reds, and oranges that you can see on some of the leaves. At times the colors can just take your breath away. I don’t think that we could ever mix enough of our artificial colors to produce some of those colors you can see in nature.

I am beginning to ponder the different races I would like to do next season. As far as I can tell only one race seems to be set in stone… The Greater Cleveland Triathlon in August. This will be a half-iron distance race so I will need to arrange some of my other races accordingly. I guess that at this point I need to define how many miles the Clot Buster needs to race to peak people’s interest and continue to develop the “racing triathlon miles against blood clots” program. How many miles should attempt to race? 255.5 miles again? How about more? Less but with longer races?

Stay tuned to see what I can come up with. In the mean time I better get back to my rake and leaf raking process I started some time ago. After filling up several bags I had to come inside and take a break. I never knew that raking would be such a workout. After 11 years in this country this is the first time I had to rake leaves in the fall. At first I thought it would be a boring project but so far I’ve enjoyed it a great deal. My body definitely appreciates the change from the normal swimming, biking, and running. Speaking of change I am looking forward to start playing soccer this weekend. I hope that I still remember how to kick the ball. It is been a while since the last time I played earlier this spring.

Thanks for reading,

The Clot Buster