Paul Asay

My first shot at goals for 2010: Jan 29th, ICTN Triathlon Camp, Tucson, AZ May 9th, Rev 3 Triathlon, Knoxville, TN May 22nd, Terre Haute Triathlon, (as race director) June 13th, Hoosier Man Triathlon, Bloomington, IN July 17th, Rain Ride, (Ride Across Indiana) August 22nd, Race the Lake 90 Mile Road Race, Fond Du Lac, WI September 19th, Ironman Branson, Branson MO November 13th, Ironman 70.3 World Championships, Clearwater, FL (if I qualify) otherwise Ironman 70.3 Miami (October 30th) We will see how this goes ...

Several years ago when our pastor first came to our church he mentioned in a sermon about “thinking medium”. The concept was not to think of yourself more highly than you should, nor too low either. He summarized that in the term “think medium”. From then on I have thought about that a lot, and tend to agree with it more and more. Actually I find great comfort in the concept. I have some gifts and some accomplishments, but all in all, not that much. I also know for a fact that in many cases I am a miserable lot. Well today I’m home sick which thankfully doesn’t happen very often, and I happened to listen to Chip Ingram on the radio this morning. I ended up checking out his website http://www.livingontheedge.org and also listened to his talk on R12. Low and behold, it basically validates the “think medium” concept in Romans 12:3-8. Nice to know the concept has real depth to it. While thinking about goals for 2010, which I do a lot these days, I remind myself that the journey ...

Recently I had a talk with a friend and professional triathlete Daniel Bretscher about helping me with my swim. He mentioned the first step might be to video tape my swim so he could take a look at it. From there maybe some individual lessons would be in order. He then mentioned someone else he was working with did this with a fairly inexpensive and waterproof video camera, specifically the Sanyo Xacti VPC-E2 model. With $165 and a week’s wait from Amazon.com my shiny new camera arrived in the mail. On a Monday morning at the Student Rec Center I met Joe for a swim workout with the camera. After a brief warm up I videotaped him for a few minutes, then he did the same for me. I thought I was swimming fairly smooth, but I know my swim technique was not particularly good, but I thought it wasn’t that bad. I didn’t really do any lap swimming until I was 30 so no real swimming background to go from. I have to admit when I did swim in high school gym class I was terrible. Well I re...

Saw the headline today on the BBC that taking low dose aspirin is only good for those who have had heart attacks or stroke. Doesn’t seem to work as a preventative and might cause gastrointestinal bleeds. Guess I’ll ditch taking low dose aspirin, and stick with just the multi-vitamin and some anti-oxidants. At the end of the article http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8338763.stm it says "The best way to reduce your risk of developing this disease is to avoid smoking, eat a diet low in saturated fat and rich in fruit and vegetables and take regular physical activity." While contemplating this on my drive out to Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, enjoying the sunshine and fall leaves, it just goes to show, life is not Rocket Science. So here are my top 10 ideas on how to enjoy the non Rocket Science life: 1. Have some faith that God exists and wants good things for you when all is said and done 2. Take a walk in the park on regular occasions no matter the weather and enjoy t...

08:02 Movie night tonight, Race Across the Sky #

Deuces Wild Duathlon think I've done six you would think by now I would have my fix yet one more chance to go out and do my tricks last race of the year to get my kicks Jack and Joel came as a team Craig was there with his carbon fiber gleam Brent on a team with a black machine Adam and Andreas showed looking fast and lean started with the run just like I was leaving the hood running fast like we stole something but just cause we could at the turn around I could see where I stood Stan an Craig breathing down my neck I knew they would on to the bike and time to throw it down like a get away car I got out of town then Stan passed and put me one down what's up with that dog who said you could come around at the turn around now 10 more miles watch for my brothers and check'n out their style they are my friends but now it's a trail stay back from me now if just for awhile back in the park and on the last run watch Adam motor past for the win Andreas gets second too fast for ...

Ironman is enticing and must be treated carefully Too much too soon will leave you walking humbly I witnessed its power and its complexity Much yet to learn plenty left to see Came to Augusta with high hopes and expectancy How would I fair for 70.3 From the registration to the expo many athletes just like me All wondering how strong they would be Race day arrived I looked over the swim Looks to be straight with current as my friend Stayed in the car until it was time to go Slide into the wetsuit and head for the show Surrounded by 50 years olds waiting expectantly Then in the Savannah River we are set free Got a slow start then picked up speed Swim straight Paul that is just what you need Swim exit came soon and I was ready for the bike Wetsuit was ripped and I found my ride Bright red with Zipp wheels it had some pride Now if its rider can hit his stride Tail wind at the start it felt really good Put it in the left lane and continue to pass For 56 miles I take no prisoner but will it ...

Lake Lemon triathlon was this past Saturday. My good friend Greg Lucas who put on the Terre Haute Triathlon for years had his son Brandon serving as the race director. With that in mind I was the #2 person to sign-up and got to wear that number during the race. Kind of cool, but guess my number next year will be more like #15, but more on that to come. It started for me on Friday morning when I made the trip over with Greg to help setup the course. I took care of the swim course and helped out with the transition area. Set the swim during the mid day, and used yellow buoys on the turns. A yellow buoy on the last turn worked out to be a bad decision. As the sun came up at the end of the long straight race morning it made seeing a yellow buoy really difficult. Live and learn, won’t do that again. Seemed just fine when I swam the course Friday afternoon … Race morning I drove over with Mike Calawerts my Spinning class instructor and friend. Greg had a separate bike rack just for...

90 or 9 doesn't matter if the weather is fine You will see us running rain or shine With Jeff and Joe I'll be in tow Not as fast as we used to be, but we’re not slow We may be 50 but we’re pretty fit Have no time to lie around and sit Ice and snow, yeah we will go The postman has nothing on us Whatever the days brings we don't make a fuss Got miles to run and laps to swim Some say we’re rather thin That's because we are lean and mean and ready to win Triathlons and marathons we have done our share 5k’s and 10k's with energy to spare Don't look twice or we will be gone Running fast and running long Across trails, lakes and streams All sorts of places in between There we run and swim and ride Evening or morning, low or high tide Some say we will slow down or even quit But we don't even think of it For God has been good to us He has given us the strength Someday our time will come Up in heaven we may still run Across the clouds up in the sky For even then we wi...

RAIN was not something I was planning on this year, but when Chris Hancock of the ISU Foundation ask me if I wanted to ride with the group from ISU I said yes. Have to admit I was later rethinking that decision knowing what a hard effort it is to ride 160 miles straight. Even the last week I was thinking hard about it. However, come the morning of July 18th I showed up at ISU to join in the group of around 60 brave souls. We had a group picture taken about 6:20 am which included Dr Dan Bradley the University President and his wife. How many university presidents would take part in a ride like this, probably just the 1. We actually added 7 miles by riding from ISU to the state line for the start. I took it really easy and was trying to keep the positive thoughts flowing. I jumped into the line of 1,200 other cyclist near the front and waited the 10 minutes for the ride to start. The weather called for tail wind and near record low temps for July so God was especially good to us....

This is the first week that the new Student Recreation Center opened at ISU. It is just behind the library where I work and I park not 100 feet from the door. It has already started to change the way I approach the day for my triathlon training. For instance today I made it in at 7:15 am, hit the pool for an easy 1200 yards before work and an extra 5 minutes in the hot tub for a nice back massage. Got a nice hot shower and headed out at 7:57 am and made it to work on time at 8:00 am. The only thing that could have made the morning better was champagne and chocolate covered strawberries as I headed out the door. What a great start to the day. I was thinking about taking the day off since tomorrow is the Ride Across Indiana, one long 162 mile ride. However, the water just looked to good to pass up so a nice easy swim was just the ticket. Earlier in the week I met Ryan at the pool for a 6:30 am swim. With the awesome glass exterior just behind the pool we watched the day get ligh...

For the family vacation we did a fairly typical thing of going to Orlando Florida area for a week. We were staying at the Summer Bay Resort fairly close to Disney World. Brought my TT Bike since my road bike was in the shop. Not really any place to ride much at the resort I came across some promotional material about Central Florida. It mentioned several cycling trails the longest being the Van Fleet trail of 30 miles. Turns out in was easy to find just 15 miles or so away. The trail is very well marked just off of I-4 west of Orlando in Polk City. Easy to find a place to park, and took off on a Friday morning. This is by far the longest ride I have done without a single bend in the road. It could have been laid out with a laser beam. It is also perfectly flat and only a few county roads to cross here and there. I rode 20 miles before getting a bit hot and decided to turn around and head back. Each mile is mark so not having a cycle computer was no problem. Since I had so l...

Saturday June 6th was the first Hoosierman Triathlon, in Bloomington and my first tri of the year. Had some friends racing as well so it was good to have the company. I met John Sheldon as I walked my bike into the transition area and parked next to him near the swim exit. We were both in the last wave to start so I told John to swim straight so I could draft in behind him. I was sort of kidding at the time, but sure enough I ended up on his heals during most of the swim and let him guide the way. The swim was around 500 meters in Lake Monroe and very comfortable in a wetsuit (69 degrees). At the swim exit I even had to ask John to help with the wetsuit zipper. Maybe I should have tipped him as my person assistant :-) The first transition went really smooth and I was out on the bike and up the first major climb of the day pretty quick. It was a tough, but expected considering this is Bloomington. Most of the bike ride I felt really good and had the hammer down all the way. On...

Made it about 4 miles toward work early this morning when my right pedal on my time trial race bike was getting really weird all of the sudden. I thought my cleat on the shoe was loose, so I made the turn toward my in-laws house to see if they had the tool to tighten the bolts. Well, I didn't make it too much further when it got nearly unrideable. I had to climb a good hill with one leg, and then at the top the whole pedal came off the crankset. Turned out the threads on the crankset where stripped out. Made the last couple of blocks turning with one leg only and holding the other leg out with the pedal attached to my shoe and nothing else. So I ring the doorbell at my in-laws home and thankfully my mother in-law Judy answered. Really good for me, bad for her. Turns out her alarm clock didn't go off and she was supposed to be at work by the time I showed up. A quick call to my wife and help was on the way. She drove me home so that I could shower and drive in to work. ...

This was my 7th year as Race Director of the Terre Haute Triathlon, and maybe one of the most rewarding. Every year I get to meet and spend time with some of the most positive and uplifting folks on planet Earth. Between the triathletes themselves, the volunteers, the pros and the families who come to support them, this is one of the best places to be in Indiana on race day. If I had to write a list of the top ten reasons I put myself through this it would be something like the following: 1. Triathletes are some of the most positive and encouraging people you can find to befriend and spend time with. 2. The spirit of volunteerism is off the charts and it is a wonder to work together with these folks. 3. Getting to spend quality time with Jamie Whitmore, Courtney Cardenas and Daniel Bretscher whom we helped sponsor this year. Each was gracious and added immensely to the race this year. 4. Watching Mike Smith 48, from Brownsburg, Indiana race so well and finish second in a super comp...

While the tri season is still 6 weeks away, I finally sent my entry form in for two races. The key one being Ironman Augusta in late September. Amazing how much more real it seems after you paid your money and sealed the envelope. 6 months away, and considering the task it seems kind of short. More motivation for that second workout of the day for sure. I printed off the bike elevation map for the race and hung it up in my office for even more motivation. Always difficult to train for long climbs when you live in a mostly flat state. Also signed up for another race in September, Lake Lemon tri which is new. Brandon Lucas is the race director and I'm friends with his dad Greg. Sounds like a fairly tough sprint. Hopefully a good final tune-up for Augusta. Got a good ride in on Saturday up in Parke County which is my favorite route. Sunday it was raining cats and dogs, but I got myself out in it anyway for 5 mile or so run. Nothing like a hard run in a cold rain to remembe...

So yesterday I had my first bike fit followed up a fitness test by Ryan Oiler of Forward Motion Athletics. The fit itself takes a bit of time to measure leg length discrepancies hip angles, flexibility and a host of other tests that play out later as you actually get on your bike. Come to find out I have a longer femur on my right side, but a lower hip on the left. The outcome of which is my legs end up the same length. Considering the amount of abuse I have put my body through and the 7 broken bones it is no wonder it is a bit off here and there. The second part of the fit Ryan made a couple of big changes to the way my cleats are aligned on my cycling shoes. This was to set the angles correct with some shims as well as moving the cleats forward directly over where I should be producing the most power. The third part involved setting the saddle height correctly considering my hip angles and leg length. The end result was moving my saddle up a couple of centimeters. The combin...

In March, long before the first race of the year it is easy to set some crazy goal and think you have some hope of making it. So my crazy goal for 2009 is the have the fastest big split in my age group at each of the races I have planned. Man needs something to keep the blood churning when it is still cold and a actually race is still months off. In that regard, I hope to improve both my time-trial position and my specific training on the bike to be more time-trial focused. Of course that means more long interval training of the uncomfortable sort. As they say, pain is just weakness leaving the body. Or something like that :-)

Training for the 1/2 marathon coming up in May, I had a repeat of the dreaded Soleus muscle attack. I've had this happen a few times in the last 4 years or so. Sometimes out of the blue, and sometimes I feel it coming on by stiff calf muscles. This time it was totally out of the blue. Likely the really cold day (about 10 degrees) and maybe some dehydration contributed to the injury. Of course I was 1 1/2 miles from the car when it happened which resulted in a cold walk back. For now I've taken off 2 weeks of running and using some deep tissue massage to hopefully repair it quickly. It feels fine now, and in a few days I'll start running very moderately again. I guess the good news is my swim is getting a lot more attention. If you have seen me swim, you know that is a good thing. Besides, the water jet in the pool makes for a nice soleus massage. Was really looking forward to running with the training group for the 1/2 marathon. That is the worst part of it for ...