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

I guess a medal will have to do it for me... 

Liz with her snazzy award. 

The Clot Buster Team after the race just chillin' 

It feels good to be the second lady across the line... Am I good or what!?!?! 

How do I look? Would you take notice of the socks... polka-dots everywhere... What else can I do to stand out? Any suggestions? 

This is the finish line that Liz crossed as the 2nd Femal Overall in the Dauthlon and I as the 1st in the Male 25-29 Age Group in the Triathlon. 

This is "The Menace". I love this thing I have to confess... always a joy to ride! 

The Clot Buster Team posing at the start of the race...behind us is the start of the swim...can you see the water? We had a fog delay...we could not spot the firt turn it was so thick. 

Starting with a BANG!!!

Well, the Clot Buster’s triathlon season started with a BANG!!! On Saturday.
I cannot believe what a great day both of us (Liz and I) had. I have to confess that I was very excited to the get the season on the way and I wanted to start making a statement. I’ve been preparing for a while now and I am very pleased on how things turned.
It was very exciting to have Liz out there competing in the duathlon sporting the Clot Buster colors herself. I think she needs a hat too, what do you think…?
Liz had a tremendous race. My Lovely wife, came in to the finish as the 8th person overall in the duathlon out of 35 competitors. She was the SECOND FEMALE overall. I could not believe it when I saw it posted… I was so happy for her! She got a snazzy award to go with her efforts… check it out…

For the Clot Buster as you can see from the title the race went really well. I’ve never placed so well in the overall classification. 8th place… are you kidding me!?!?!
I almost fell flat on the floor when Liz came running to tell me the results that she saw. First place in my age group was the icing on the cake… although I did not get a fancy award like Liz’s I got a snazzy medal.

Thank God I had a wetsuit for this race. The water was COLD! It was shocking how cold it was. I did not get to warm up before the start so I had to just jumping at the start and I have to confess that it caught me by surprise. Although I never found out the actual temperature I would imagine it was about 58 to 60 degrees. So, because it was cold it made me swim faster. I was the 5th fastest swim time covering the half mile triangle course in 13:53. The came the always challenging transition one where you try to wrestle off the wetsuit and attempt to do it as fast as possible. No matter how much I practice the and how much lubrication I rub on my legs the suit always gets stuck around my ankles. Anyway, after fighting for about 2 minutes finally I get on “The Menace” to turn the heat on.

Once on the road I tried to hammer down as much as I could. The race was my second time on the aero-bard this season so I need to get used to it some more. But I found my groove early just to be interrupt by the guy on his cell phone not aware that there was a race going on. This guy blocked several times slowing my progress and breaking the momentum I was carrying with me. It was frustrating because he was a nice wide car that would not let me sneak by him. Oh well, you have to deal with people like that sometimes. But all in all I was able to hammer down to a respectable average speed of 20.3MPH. Then came the run and with it I had to concentrate to keep a steady pace. I am improving on my brick workouts just so that I can get off the bike and get on the run faster than 7:30 minute miles. A 23:13 5K is not bad but there is plenty of room to improve upon… so all together I raced for 1:26.50 on this my first triathlon of the series in order to raise funds for NATT.
I just started to scrape away on my total of 255.5 Miles for NATT. 19.6 Miles down…239.5Miles to go!

How much money would you donate for every mile that I race…?

Thanks for reading.

The Clot Buster

Here we are...Ready to roll!

As I am waiting for the time to go by before I can go pickup the race packets, I thought I would update you with the latest news…
In case that you were concerned about my blisters that run on Wednesday was pretty painful but I managed to get through it without too much screaming. Luckily Liz did not go running with me that day. She would have hated every moment of my complaining and crying… I think that by now the blisters are pretty much pain free they just don’t look very attractive at all.
So, since I was able to clear that hurdle I am now concentrating on the list of things I need for tomorrow. Let’s see if the people reading can help and let me know if I am forgetting anything:
- Clot Buster Uniform (jersey, hat, and even socks!)
- Bike (bike shoes, helmet, pump)
- Liz’s Bike (shoes, helmet, gloves… YES! She is doing the duathlon tomorrow!)
- Wetsuit (cold H2O tomorrow)
- Running shoes
- Race Number
- Sunglasses, sunscreen
- Race number
- Water bottles, gels, and anything else to keep me going.
- Silky smooth legs.
- Change of clothes, towel

I think that is all I can think of for this race. I am sure I forgot something so if I don’t discover it by tomorrow morning I will have to improvise big time. It would not be first time believe me on that!

This should be an interesting race tomorrow. Two different transitions should make the logistical aspect of the race interesting. We will see how it turns out.

I think I am ready to finish thing. That is always the main objective. Anything else is just icing on the cake

Thanks for reading.

The Clot Buster

Wow! I almost forgot SWIM GOGGLES!!!

Rolling with the punches

Outside of training and racing triathlons I enjoy very much playing Football (the real deal where you actually kick the ball most of the game…). Specially, when the World Cup rolls around and “football fever” hits everyone in the world, including a few people here in the United States, believe it or not!
So, in order to give my body a break from the stress of training long miles I play in a coed soccer league every Sunday. It is competitive enough to have a good time and do something other than just swimming, biking, and running (please don’t get me wrong, I still love doing all three but all things are good in moderation).
This past Sunday I got the chance to play and after all the rain we have had lately I decided to break out my new cleats as the ground was soft and I wanted to have some traction while playing. Well, that was the big mistake of the day as the new cleats were a little stiffer than first anticipated and left both of my feet generously rewarded with an array of blisters.






It is now Wednesday and I am still hurting specially from the big one on my heel. The ones on my toes are not too bad but they don’t look very good at all. I was able to pull of a nice 31 Mile ride yesterday without too much discomfort. However, tonight we will see how the running shoes will fit with the new additions to my feet. The goal today is to be out there at least 20 minutes. Hopefully the pain will not be too bad. I do have to race on Saturday and put up a good show on the Clot Buster's debut in the triathlon scene this season. I will let you know how it goes.

Thanks for reading.

The Clot Buster

Clot Buster's Pledge Letter

Hello everyone,

This is copy of the pledge letter I am distributing as part of this fundraising effort. It looks a lot better on paper I have to let you know. If you like to be amazed by my creativity let me know if you are interested and I will be more than happy to send you a packet that includes the pledge letter, the official 2006 race calendar, a donation form, and of course the handsome envelope in which you can send me your contribution to NATT.

Thanks for reading,

The Clot Buster

“TRIATHLON MILES FOR AWARNESS ABOUT BLOOD CLOTS AND BLOOD CLOTTING DISORDERS”

From: Eager age-group triathlete (and donation seeker!) but better known as the “Clot Buster”!
June, July, August, September 2006
Columbus, OH

Watch the guy wearing the “Polka-Dot” racing outfit blow by the competition for over 255.5 miles of triathlon races throughout the summer.

Yes! During this summer the self-proclaimed “Clot Buster” triathlete plans to blaze racing courses across the Mid-Ohio region, South-west Michigan, and Morgantown, West Virginia. All of this with the aim to raise funds to support the National Alliance for Thrombosis and Thrombophilia – NATT.

How much do you know about blood clots and blood clotting disorders?
Have you ever heard about Thrombosis and/or Thrombophilia?
Would you be interested in learning more?

Well, today is your lucky day! NATT is here to help.
This non profit organization was born to educate and create awareness among the public and health care providers about the potential danger and treatment of blood clots and blood clotting disorders. NATT primarily operates through its website www.nattinfo.org but they also organize newsletters, education conferences/seminars, and on going Q/A sessions to provide an outlet in which information can be obtained.

But just like NATT is here to help they also NEED your help to continue flourishing in their quest to educate and create awareness. For that reason, this summer I will commit my triathlon season to raise greenbacks for this organization. All together between half-iron distance races and Olympic distance triathlons I will be racing a total of 255.5 Miles. Please find the attached racing schedule for more details.

Now days, what can you do with a nickel, a dime, or even a quarter? You could decide to use any one of them to match every mile that I plan to race this season which would translate into much needed funds for NATT. But since I am an engineer by profession allow me to do the math for you…
$$ Nickel per mile = $12.78
$$ Dime per mile = $25.55
$$ Quarter per mile = $63.88
$$ Double Quarter per mile = $127.75

Considering all of the options above, any alternative would surely fit your budget and consequently help a very worthy organization. But if you simply cannot make a donation this year, please use the enclosed envelope to send me a 1,000 word essay entitled “Why I can’t give to NATT knowing all the miles the ‘Clot Buster’ will be racing” along with your picture. The best essays will be posted on NATT’s website under the featured article “How to avoid tax breaks.”

Your donation will allow this organization to continue their efforts in making a positive change through education and awareness.

We look forward to your support. Follow the “Clot Buster” triathlete through his racing blog at
http://clot-buster-triathlete.blogspot.com/

Kindest Regards,


Roland Varga
The “Clot Buster”

Just Living the dream...!

What a sensational weekend we had here in Columbus.
The weather was great from Saturday to Sunday (My wife would really say that, I would say that the morning was somewhat cool but the rest of the day incredible. You know the warm blood running through my veins is speaking at this time…). It is amazing how much energized I feel when the sun is shinning out there. All I want to do is to be outside just enjoying it all.
Liz and I had great workout on Saturday that evolved in a “Monster Brick” right before the start of my season. I needed to do a bike to run intense transition to get back in the groove of triathlon. I can’t believe that my first official race of the “Clot Buster’s” season will be next Saturday. I can already tell that the good old wetsuit needs to come out to save the day as the water will be quite chilly at Buckeye Lake.
What do you think? Do I look fat in my wetsuit?

You have no idea how much I am looking forward to this first race. I can almost say that I am having butterflies in my stomach. I would like to get things started with a bang. The Clot Buster colors will be in display and I am very excited about that.
For now, I need to get my act together and get my bike outfitted for the season. First I need to find my aero-bars and then get them on. I hope that slowly I will get everything ironed out.


I will keep you posted on how the week is going. You know that I will be out there training as long as the sun is shinning…

Thanks for reading.

The Clot Buster

NATT's Columbus, OH Seminar - SOME MORE PHOTOS!

GREAT SUCCESS!!!

Not Running Yet...

It is been well over a week since the last time I attempted to do any running at all. I think that my legs are definitely appreciating the chance to get a break and recover from the effort of the last race. I've been doing a lot of swimming and some riding. Courtesy of the weather that keeps bringing rain day after day after day after day...definitely I am in need of some sunshine. Maybe if I am lucky we will get some dry weather coming up soon. There is a real chance that I make out running this afternoon. We will see how it goes. It will be a nice and easy run just trying to get the legs back in the fold after the well deserved break.

Seeing that picture I remember the pain on the final stretch of the race. Why do people have to speed up towards end? Does anyone cruise into the finish line any more? Wow, I sure make some funny looking faces while racing...


I was told that I needed to take off my "finish line" outfit for a better picture. I was just cold... can you blame me? I am from a Tropical Country. Warm blood runs in my veins.


Well, here you go... I am such a whimp compared to my Lovely Wife. She was just hanging out during that time while I was about to start running again to keep myself warm.
Wish me luck today so that I can survive my run. Who knows maybe it will be raining once again...that would be a bummer...!

Thanks for reading.

The Clot Buster