a rambling rag -

No, not a new job.

Just a regime change at work. The beast is gone. It's a long time coming. Sales is a hard thing. The stars have to align, it seems, to make a good sale these days. Find the right RV. Get the right price. Hope the customer doesn't have a trade that they owe money on. Hope they have a good credit score. Scratch that - excellent credit score. Hope that the bank is feeling like lending that day. And then, after all that, hope the RV makes it though the shop and on to the delivery site with nothing broken and on time for the delivery. Oh, and through all that....hope the customer doesn't get cold feet or find a different RV somewhere else.

The mechanics of the sale are brutal sometimes. To have to then, on top of all that, deal with an absolute tyrant who is completely engaged in his own agenda which has nothing to do with selling coaches or helping a salesperson sell a coach - the process just became infinitely harder.

So he's gone now. Retired. Or so they say. Whatever, good riddance to the guy. Him and Michael Jackson. Good grief; as long as I'm ranting - this country sure has a short memory. Michael Jackson - they guy who held his baby over a balcony (for publicity - what an ass)? The guy who bribed some kids parents ($20,000,000...that's 20 million dollars, folks) to make that whole "molestation" thingy go away? The freak show guy who is absolutely unrecognizable if you took a picture of him a week ago and one 20 years ago and put them side by side? Yes. He could sing and dance, but there are kids and their parents in the neighborhood surrounding Never Never Land who are sleeping a lot easier tonight, now that he's gone.

So the new boss at work, in my opinion, is a good guy. I trust him. The very cool thing about him is that he's a student of leadership. He reads about management and leadership and sales - and constantly tries to improve himself and his understanding of how people tick. In the sales world - particularly the sales of cars and RVs, since that's all I know, management and leadership development is a rarity....at the peril of the salesperson.

Now if people would just get to buying again. Another rant: Biden. What an ass. I'm sorry, but to have him say that no one thought the economy was THAT bad and that no one could foresee the ill effects of throwing trillions at corporate America is just so asinine. Ok everyone, get in step here...and follow along...Obama is great, yea! He's the best, yea! No matter what, no matter how stupid or wrong, we'll all still love him in the morning, yea! There were plenty of people who thought is was the wrong idea - he just didn't listen. I saw a poll the other day - yes a lovely poll - less than 50% of Americans thought the country was heading in the right direction. Under 40% thought the economy was improving. Obama's approval rating, on the same page - over 60%. I just don't get it. Please, please, please - don't try to explain it to me either. Thanks.

Was it just me, or did anyone else read how the FBI interrogated Saddam Hussein before his neck stretching (just trying to be PC here), and it was revealed that he let on to having WMD's because he was afraid of Iran and needed them to believe he had them. Um. Hello! Everyone! Ok, I can see it coming - "that's just fabricated to make us (the people of the US) try and believe that we were justified into war with Iraq"... Yea, and N. Korea doesn't REALLY have nukes, or a viable long range missile, so we should ignore those little bastards, and we're never really gonna find Bin Laden so why keep messing around in Afghanistan... Taliban - Schmaliban?

I'm not in love with the guy - he's not my "personal hero", and I'm not awestruck with him like the insane 60% of Americans still hypnotized by Obama, but I'm convinced that the real history of Bush's administration is not yet fully written. He's taken it between the eyes...he's taking one for the team - until all the intelligence get cleared, if it ever does, he's the fall guy for the war, the economy, the unfavorable world view of Americans, the shortcomings of the city of New Orleans and the State of Louisiana, etc, etc. But just like that FBI report, things will eventually come out, and we won't be reading silly comments about Bush being the worst president in American history anymore.

I know, ya'll don't read my blog for my uneducated political ramblings-on. Sorry guys and gals.

I got a nice little sprint tri coming up on Sunday. The Morton Plant Mease Tri, here in Clearwater, FL. I'm sticking to my plan of starting out slow and finishing even slower. Hopefully I can stomach a beer or two this time around...

The draft

I did the unthinkable yesterday - I participated in a draft festivle. I met John and Mark out at Flatwoods after work and tried to hang. Really, I did!

But I couldn't; not without sucking on some back wheel. I feel so guilty!

Update

So what's going on with the biggun? I've actually been training a little. Averaging about 5 hrs a week or so. Next race coming up in 2.5 weeks - Morton Plant Meese Sprint Tri - I should do a bit better than the last one!

I've lost 7 lbs thus far on my way back down to 250. My goal for this race was to be at 275 - there's a chance I'll get there. The bike has been coming back fast, andy swimming feels good too. Carrying around all these lbs makes for some challenging runs, but even those are getting better.

I could have a pretty big bike event coming up in November - I'll write more as that firms up. The more, the merrier...

Mad Beach Tri Race Review

Good grief! What an eye opener. Well, first things first. This race is sponsored and run by the Mad Dog Tri Club - the largest Tri club in the world, so sayeth our lovely and talented race day color commenter.

Now really, do you need someone to fill in the time between 5:00am and 7:00am? I can just hear the Race Director talking to this woman, "so, I need you to talk, non-stop, for the entire race". And she did. At one point she actually used the words, "you know, what us ELITES do with our transition layout....blah blah blah" - oh, yes she did. Nope, not a Pro. An Elite. And now we know.

So other than that strange ringing in my ear and ensuing neck twitch, I got my crap laid out as usual without a hitch - like I've only done it dozens of times before, albeit minus elite status - and went off to check on my new-be compatriots. More or less, they/we got their act together and off we went to the swim start, a half-mile down the beach.

You know, when you walk it off, it sure seems like a long way. Is it bad when you are already breathing heavy just from walking to the swim start? Rhetorical question...

So my wave, the mighty 3rd wave of Clydesdales, kicks off, and within seconds I'm realizing that everyone else is running out to the water, and I'm casually walking. Excel Man says it best, "My race strategy is to start out slow and finish slower...". By the first turn buoy, I was pretty much all alone, except for annoying breast stroke guy swimming to my left. Every time I took a breath to the left, there he was, looking ahead, and I could see his chubby legs frog kicking out and brushing my arm from time to time. Sadly, he was swimming at my pace. If I picked up my pace. The great thing was that with him breast stroking, and doing a bang up job of sighting, I didn't have to. One of the straightest open water swims I ever did.

Finally completing the first straight 800 meters I'd swam since June '08 (yes, this is May 31'st), I run straight at my bike (why follow the lanes, my bike's like the only one still in there...) and in decent transition time, I'm turning my pedals. Slowly. I mean, crap! This is my shtick, right? Folks, it's all gone, I'm sorry to say. I worked it from seeing my first mile averaging around 15mph to finally finishing up at 19.3mph. Seriously. I know!

If you thought that was bad, it gets worse. I'm pretty sure I could have walked darn near as fast as I was shuffling along. It was a slug-fest, and I lost. Well, I didn't stop and "officially" walk. I continued on at what could sorta be construed as a run and without fanfare or major injury I crossed the finish line. Yay.

There was Beer. There was Pizza. There was an Expo with flashy, shiny things to buy. I felt sick after 1 Beer. I tried to feel better with a second beer, but I was having none of it. There was only one thing left to do. Leave. Excel Man and I hopped back in his car and went home. No pictures. At least none I want posted this time around.

Six weeks of training exist between now and Morton Plant Mease Triathlon on Sand Key here in Florida. It's a sprint, with 3 bridge climbs that are actually pretty major. The run is very sandy, making this race a good, tough test of character. I'm looking forward to it. I can safely lose about 12 lbs between now and then, maybe 15 if I push it. That would drop me down to... wait for it.... 275. And what did I race CdA at a year ago? 250. The race after that will be another sprint at Sand Key. I'm hoping to be able to fit into the awesome Sugoi tri gear I was graciously given to test and write about. I'll sure try it out again before Morton Plan Mease to see if it fits...but the prognosis doesn't look too good.

No Pics on this one...

Ug.

I tried on my new Sugoi Velocity Tri top this morning. The first thing I noticed was how cool the fabric felt in my hand before I slipped it on. I ogled the big rear pocket and ventilation panels sewn in to it.

Then, as I zipped it up I could tell, pretty quickly, that there was no way I was going out in public with it on until I lose at least 20 lbs.

For fear of ruining the shorts, I spared them the agony of trying them on. They look cool as hell, but Sugoi's largest size, the XL - well, it's just ain't XL enough for the M-dot Bigun.

Remember the scene from "A Christmas Story" - when the little guy had been bundled up and was on the ground and couldn't get up? That top was so tight, I felt the same way as I tried to get it back over my head. I almost had to call Di for help.

I really should have brought some of that awesome GU I got with the bundle of goodies on my bike ride this morning. I totally bonked having not eaten any breakfast before the 10am ride. It wasn't 8 miles in when I absolutely knew it was time to pack it up.

The Bigun did not have a great training/triathlon day.

Happy Memorial Day to all my brothers and sisters who have served and are serving this fine country of ours. Thanks to all of you!

Sugoi and me

I've got some cool stuff from "My" Sugoi Rep, Devon - you can see what I got to the right:

I'll be trying out his garb and the gu's over the next couple of weeks, and especially at my next tri, coming up in a week, and let you all know what I think.

What I really think.

I'm excited about it.

This past week was kinda crummy training wise. I'll try and make up for it tomorrow on my bike ride - and even try and get in a run afterward some time during the day. It rained and rained every day here, and not just a few drops here and there. Buckets. Lightning. Not good for outdoor training.

Tac's really been wanting some Sugoi stuff - too bad he doesn't blog anymore...

Training Cobwebs

Well, I waited about 11 months to get back in the pool, and of course, it shows. I went to the "Y" close to work, and was pleasantly surprised that the pool was refurbished while I was gone. All new surfaces along the bottom and sides. Brandon Family YMCA - kudos to ya!

But I got yelled at today for diving headfirst into my swim lane. "Soon there will be kids here in the summer, and if you do it, they all will think they can do it". Gotcha, lady. I didn't need the lecture, really - a simple don't dive in would have sufficed. I'd probably dove into that pool 40 times in the past...

I feel the swimming muscles coming back to life. Chest, biceps, lats, core... it's awesome. My crummy 600 yards and die wasn't awesome, but 2 days later getting in 800 yards in the same time was a boost to the swim spirit.

Guys and Gals - ya really don't want to take that much time off. Yes, life gets in the way. But more reality was that laziness and depression got in the way much, much more.

I've gotten word that there's a good chance I'll be testing some Sugoi products for review on my Blog and in our podcast. Tac didn't get the initial invite, because as we all know, Tac doesn't really blog. Yes, there is still the TacBoy and Bigun Podcast - it's just so hard to be funny when so much of your financial life swings in the balance. Things are looking up though, and it will be fun to get back into making our friends laugh with our auditory antics. Don't worry, folks, I'll try to avoid scaring the kids with any pictures of me in Sugoi trunks. Lets just say that I'm coming down off of my post-Ironman-post-market-depression-depression-eating-disorder-weight-gain high of 282 lbs (that's 32lbs over my IM weight...).

I'm racing in a couple of weeks. 15 days from now in fact. I'm of course way too heavy and way too undertrained for anything other than haveing some fun and getting it done. Having a race on the calandar makes the training real. I'm such a goal oriented person... for some reason I can't get myself out of bed just to run. I have to be training. There is a difference.

I've got a few newbee triathletes doing first tri's at this same race. Lee and Chris will be toeing the line for the first time at a tri - I'm trying to help them out as best I can - it's been so long since I've raced, I keep going back to their offices to give them another piece of advice that I all of a sudden remember. You know, like start your swim wave as close to the front and center of the pack as you can.

Yes, I'm still a bastard...

First Tri of the Year

Oh yea, I did it. Pulled the trigger. Perspective is a funny thing. After non-stop training for 3 years, the big "pull the trigger" event was IMCdA. After an 8 month layoff, the big deal is signing up for the local sprint. And being worried about it!

This is the banner sprint event in the Tampa area for the Triathlon Community. The Mad Beach Triathlon. This will be my 4th running of it. It all boils down to two words. Say it with me now.

Beer Tent.

Mojo

You know, it's getting to be about that time.

I've been spreading myself pretty thin lately. Working at the RV place full time, 7:30 - 6:00 nearly every day. Installing blinds. Finding "the" job. Even trying to also do Taxes for a while there. Putting energy into all these things.

Not being very successful at any of them.

So it's time to put some concentrated effort in. The blinds installing thing is done. Kaput. Finneeto. That got to be a $300 a week distraction that caused $1000 a week in stress. Maybe more. Some money, it turns out, is just not worth it.

I've spent hours - yes HOURS - every day for the past 4 months on Careerbuilder.com and TheLadders.com and Monster.com in search of that J.O.B. I've applied, applied and re-applied. All for nothing. I've got no interviews from all those hours in front of the computer, and I have to think that it too, was a distraction from things I should be doing. I still want to find "the JOB" - but I'm not sure that Carrerbuilder is the place to be looking. I'm sure its not.

May is "sell some RV's" month. I've been operating in crisis mode for months now. I'm no rookie salesperson. I know you can't sell effectively in crisis mode. So I'm putting all that other stuff aside and going to do one thing, one piece of work, well.

May is also "start looking good again" month. I've gained 30 lbs since June of last year. 30 lbs! I'm fat. I'm sick all the time. I'm sick of it. I've adjusted my days off schedule (day off - haven't had one in months!) to my old, healthy days of Tuesdays and Thursdays - facilitating a great bike workout week.

I need to join the YMCA again. ASAP - and get back into the pool a few times a week. I used to do it on my lunch break. Instead of just eating that Pizza or Cuban Sandwich.

Maybe if I can get to feeling good - or great - about myself again, that will translate into the other parts of my life. It's worked before - it worked when I first started training for triathlon, back when I was over 300 lbs, short of breath and tired all the time. We can't get back to that. I won't.

I know there are things out there that I've talked of doing or participating in - sales related, things friends have set up, things I'm trying to make fit or work out that really require some time and effort. Even something like the podcast. I'm sorry. I don't have the resources right now. I just need to get the "house" back in order. I need to get back to kicking ass instead of getting my ass kicked.

I'm preaching to the choir here, but training now is more important, with all this stress, than it ever was. The fitness, the energy, the self confidence - the STRESS RELIEF - Little helps me get there like hammering into the wind in a big gear with my head down and a line of scrawny roadies on my back tire.

The Bigun's gonna get his mojo back.