Tour of Litchfield Hills

What a great ride and an awesome cause. We completed the Tour of the Litchfield Hills on August 5, 2007. The same weekend as the Litchfield Jazz Festival. It truly is a nice time to be in Northwestern Connecticut. The Tour is a fund raising event and not a race. The money raised goes to The Center for Cancer Care Fund, Inc.

The tour takes riders from Torrington, Ct through Litchfield and up toward Kent, CT and back covering 75 miles and over 8,200 feet of climbing.

You can click here to visit a link to Motionbased.com and view all the metrics from my ride.

I have to admit I received some help climbing these beautiful hill from a petite young lady. I secretly wondered if she knew the attention she was getting from all the other male riders.

The Ride is very well supported with SAG rest stops about every 20 miles. My only complaint on the rest stops was warm water. ( I can't stand to drink warm sugery sports drinks. Something about the sticky sickly sweet taste.) The weather for the day was sunny and warm with some nice cooling breezes.

After the ride you will find a nice pasta meal and iced water and great companionship with other excited and tired riders.

Middlebury,CT Team Participates in Livestrong Challenge

Local Team Participates in Livestrong Challenge


MIDDLEBURY - The team of Richard Allan Marti, Jr., David Derosa, Glenn Saltzer and Zac Marti have joined the Lance Armstrong Foundation's (LAF) fight against cancer by participating in the 2007 Livestrong Challenge Austin.

Advertisement

"This year 1.3 million people will be diagnosed with cancer, adding their names to the 10 million currently living with this disease. Being part of the Livestrong Challenge is one small thing we can do to support this brave group." Mr. Marti said.

The challenge is a series of fundraising events in which participants can walk, run or ride to raise funds and support the LAF's mission to inspire and empower people affected by cancer.

This annual series will take place in Philadelphia, August 25 and 26; Portland, Ore., September 29 and 30; and Austin, Texas, October 12 to 14.

Mr. Marti hopes to raise $10,000. This year the team will ride more than 1,000 miles in preparation for the ride. Anyone who would like to join the Bici Blu team for training or the ride in Austin can contact Mr. Marti at RM@CM-InteriorDesign.com.

Funds raised through the challenge enable the LAF to continue helping people in the host cities and across the nation with the physical, emotional and practical challenges of cancer.

Since its inception in 1997, the LAF has awarded more than $7.6 million to further its mission and provide financial resources to cancer survivorship programs, research and organizations in Pennsylvania, Oregon and Texas. Those seeking information may visit livestrongchallenge. org.

Life Force Calendar

Western Connecticut Triathlon Training Group

I have been thinking about starting to develop some resources for Triathletes ( or Swimmers, Bikers and Runners) for some time. I have finally gotten around to accomplishing that.

I have started this blog and will shortly add a calendar with training times and places for others to use. I hope you feel free and include your own resources to share on this site and on the calendar. That way other people who would like to join in can do so.

I would like to also encourage people who concentrate on one or two sports to join us as well.
Aqua Bike and Duathons are becomming more popular. People with expertise in individual events can help the rest of us and so on. We can also help each other with cross training, recovery as well as other newer tools like dynamic warm ups, and Yoga works outs for stretching ( I can use that after yesterdays 102 mile century with Bike New York in Millerton.)

If anyone is interested in joining us, membership is free and open. All you need is a little desire to improve yourself and help others acheive their goals.

If interest, please reply here or drop me an email: RM@CM-InteriorDesign.com

Richard Allan Marti Jr.

Hudson Valley Rail Ride

The Hudson Valley Rail ride was held yesterday, July 29th 2007 starting from Millerton, NY. Sponsored by By Bike New York, the ride takes participant across course distances ranging from 22 miles to a full 100 miles ( I clocked it at 102 miles via my Garmin GPS) and travels from New York to Connecticut, up into Shefield Mass, through Copake Falls and Back to Millerton. It covers some very beautiful country side view. It also covers over 12,000 feet of climbing.

For more information you can visit the website: http://www.bikenewyork.org/rides/hvrr/index.html


I can't wait ot do it again next year (although my quads will probably take that long to recover.)

Open Water Swim Festival

For anyone interested in a day filled with fun and swimming, please consider the 1st annual Quassapaug Sailing Center Open Water Festival September 1st, 2007 ( with a rain date of September 2nd, 2007)

The Festival offers open water swims in Beautiful Lake Quassapaug in Middlebury CT.
The events will include a 3 mile, 1.5 mile and .5 mile distances or you can can complete them all for a total of 5 miles.

The entry form can be downloaded here: http://www.patgriskustri.com/QSC_OpenWaterReg.pdf

The entry fee is tax deductible and benefits the Quassapaug Sailing Center.

I hope to see you all there!

Richard Allan Marti Jr.

Product Reviews

We have been evaluating some additional New products and will report back as soon as the reviews are ready. Some of the new products include the Garmin Edge 205 and 305 GPS systems for cycling, Aqua Sphere's new Eagle swim goggles with corrective lenses for swimming as well as some pricier items like the New Specialized S-Works Rubaix with Dura Ace components. Stay tuned for the complete reviews.

If you have any other products you are looking for reviews on, please drop us a comment and let us know.

Griskus 2007 Personal notes.

21st Annual Griskus Triathlon

What an awesome experience! I completed my very first USAT sanctioned triathlon last night. With over 500 participants including 100 first timers and a LOT ov very fit people, I felt good that I placed in teh middle of the pack at 270.

With more preparation I feel like I could have done much better on the swim. The combination of swimming in open water and swimming with a new Aqua Sphere Swim Skin ( Both brand new experiences for me) left me feeling unprepared. I am also discounting the fact that I have not logged nearly enough yards to be ready. My Stroke felt fine but I tired very easily adn was winded. I attribute the feeling of being winded to 2 factors, undertraining and the constriction of the my chest by the swim skin. I did finish the race about where I thought I would, around 17-18 mins. I beleive with the right training I could shave almost 5 mins off the swim.

The First transition from the swim to the bike was pitiful. I was disoriented, wet and really unprepared to get out of the Swim Skin and into bike clothes.... I could streamline that by a lot.

The Bike was fairly strong. I was amazed at the speed of the other triathletes on the bike. Wow they were flying. I thought I was strong but I was passed many times. I think with better interval training and some training on the transition I could shave 5 mins off the bike.

The run was a complete shame. I felt like a a brick sliding down the road. It took me over 30 mins to complete 3.1 miles. I was passed by so many people it was scary. I could not move my legs. With better training I should be able to take off a good 10 mins.

Between the three events I should be able to shave a good 20 mins off my performance and get down to 1:10.00 or under. I think I do want to complete some olympic Tri's That will help my endurance over the whole course ( and should help my marathon time as well.)

The other factor I would like to consider is training with other triathletes and perhaps a coach. It would be good to learn from them.

The after dinner party was the bomb and the award ceremony was good motivation!


Richard Allan Marti Jr.

Aqua Sphere Swim Skin Review final

I completed the 21st annual Griskus Triathlon in my new Aqua Sphere Swim Skin. The Suit felt great and performed well with one exception, and that may have to do more with my body than the suit. My breathing felt very constricted. It was a concern as I approached my ventilitory threshold. Othere than that, a very enjoyable swim!

Aqua Sphere Swim Skin Product Review Continued

I Tried out my new Swim Skin in Lake Quassapaug Middlebury, CT last night. The weather was sunny, very warm and very humid. The water temperature was between 65 and 70 degrees. I was fortunate to have a friend allow me to use his home and dock to swim from. As I slipped out of my clothes and into my new swim skin, he watched and commented that on his wetsuit, "the zipper is in the back." You can only image my embarassment. I have been swimming my entire life and I did not know how to put on a wet suit. I calmly took it off and put it on in the correct orientation.

The Swim Skin was very felxible and surprising comfortable with the exception of the neck area. The Velcro seal around my throat was a little tighter than I would like. This is even more evident after swimming for 10 mins and approaching ventilitory threshold.... I felt like I could not breath. As I swam, the suit felt very comfortable. I was not to hot or to cool. My body temp felt just right.

After the swim, the suit was very easy to peel off. I am looking forward to using the Aqua Sphere swim skin in my first USAT Sanctioned Triathalon tonight.

Richard Allan Marti Jr.

Product Review- Aquashpere Swim Skin

I Just purchased my first wetsuit for my first USAT sanctioned Triathlon, The Griskus in Middlebury, CT. I thought I would let you know my experience with the suit.

After excitedly opening the package I decided to visually inspect the suit. It was smaller and lighter than I imagined. A plus considering the water temp is probably around 68 - 70 degrees and this is a sprint Tri ( only a half mile swim. ) I have to admid that I was a little disappointed with the quality of the stitching on the Swim Skin ( Fall/Sprint version for watertems between 60 and 70 degrees.) There were places where the thread for the stitching was weak. The other problem was in the collar area. The "Loop" part or the hook and loop fastener ( Otherwise known as velcro) had folded over was wall " Pulling" the fibers of the suit and the stitching. Very disappointing.

I called both the retailer, Great American Outfitters, and Aqua Sphere. The Customer service person at Great American Outfitters told me she did not know the proceedure about returning the suit but she would have someone call me back. Since the Triathlon is tomorrow and I just received the suit today, I guess I can applaud them for quick shipping. I did although pay for overnight service. I can not blame them for my tardiness in ordering the suit.

I did reach a woman named Lupe in customer service at Aqua Sphere. She assured me that they warantee their products for a full year. If there are any defects they will repair or replace the items they sell. Lupe also assured me that their warrantee policy was posted on their website,http://www.aquasphereswim.com/

I did visit their website and reviewed the warrantee information but the warantee read like it was for goggles and "accessories" only. I quess time will tell if they honor their verbal claims.

After going through all of this I was anxious to try the suit on. I have to warn you that I am of average height, but not of average build. I am 5-7 with rather short but very strong legs and a large chest and upper body. The suit went on hard as any wetsuit would It was very tight ( tighter than it should be in my chest and super tight around my neck.) I had expected that. It was also a little long in the legs. I also expected that. It was amazingly warm. At the time I tried it on the air temp here was in the 80's and it was fairly humid. I was not unimpressed with the fit considering it is a generic size. The freedom of movement was very nice.

I plan on testing this swim skin tonight at 6:00 PM in the actual lake that the triathlon is being held at. Ill report back later on my experience with this ultra light suit later.