T minus 6 Days: back on the Bike

I back after it today, on Monday of Memorial Day weekend. It a beautiful sunny day, which was exciting after so many cold, rainy days to conclude my time at West Point.  As you can tell, I did not post yesterday, Sunday, because i literally slept all day.  I went to bed at Midnight and did not move until 1630 the next day! I ate a bowl of cereal or three, then proceeded to fall asleep again until close to 2100!  When i did wake up and have some dinner.  At least i did accomplish my primary objective of using Sunday to recover!

With that being said, i was ready to workout again on Monday.  I hooked up all the gear i expected to carry on the trip, and i did find that it was a pretty heavy load, at least compared to my normally light racing bike setup.

The Garmin Edge 705 that Ian O'Brien is letting me borrow is so helpful!  I mapped out a 75 mi route weaving through backroads in the Adirondack mountains to test the legs to eventually meet my family at Moreau Lake state park, and the garmin alerted me the moment i went off course, missed a turn, etc and calculated all the info i'd ever want to know on my trip.  The elevation and gradient were particuarly interesting because those are two data points I normally do not have access to.

Resulting from the ride, I defnitely need to continue to build my core strength as I head into this trip.  My core is really the piece that allows me to hold my form together as the miels beginto pile up.  I did an extra 6 mile run last night, doing grass loops near the Shen schools, stopping every mile to knock out 100 reps of some core exercise and 30 pushups before running again.  Like usual, My left hip needs extra attention this week as a build into the trip, and my Left knee actually has also flared up a bit to the point where the inside was hurting on some of the climbs at the end of the ride yesterday, but i know Dr. Gulyas will help me get this issue under control, along with extra rest and active stretching/ strengthening this week and i'll be more than ready to go come monday 3 June.

On the plus side, my gear did not shift at all during my ride, and i am confident that i will be able to carry all the gear i need for the trip without affecting my normal cycling form.

Tomorrow I will map out a few more of the legs, get in contact with a few RWB members assisting me with the trip, find a real mount for my garmin bike, and jump in blue Sky's tuesday night group ride to really test the legs.. I might even get an evening transition run through SPAC in if time permits!

T minus 8 days: Graduation Day

Way too much excitement to capture in words today, so I'll try to start organizing my daily thoughts more efficiently so that come June 3rd, I'm able to get my main points out with concision each evening, even after big mileage days. Here goes:

Start location: Grant barracks, West Point, NY
Notable stops:
- michie stadium for commencement
-Dean's house for pinning-on ceremony
-Memory Lane with family
End location: 17 Greenlea drive, clifton Park, NY. Home!
(By car today)
Mileage: 130 mi (driving)
Heart Rate: elevated all day, spiked at times
Fatigue level (0-10): 8.5... Completely spent!

3 beat things:
-walking across the stage
-spending the day with so many significant ppl in my life
-pinning on.. And getting home!

3 worst things:
-sleeping a total of less than 2 hours, being woken up at 3am
-being yelled at by TAC nco for not having room cleared by 4am
-the total energy spent shivering by the corps of cadets/ me today!

3 notable facts:
-my roommate Chris Nguyen is the class Goat! You survived buddy!
-final out processing took much less time than expected!
-my rear rack arrived at home today.. It's on the bike & will be tinkered with tomorrow, pictures to follow!

Song of the day: 22 by Taylor swift, accompanied by Will Mars and 2LT Trainor on the drive home

Shout out of the day: Army Distance stud Mark Castelli- he ran an 8:56 3k steeple last night at NCAA regionals in North Carolina, drive thru the night, and still graduated with us this weekend! Way to represent Menk!!!

Today's diet:
-Greek frozen yogurt on waffles for breakfast in the mess hall! (Thank you Dan Kennedy for the FroYo grab, a little healthier than HagganDaas ice cream!)
-tuna wraps for lunch AT&T aunt and uncle's house/ our grad party
-pork, ziti & mashed potatoes catered for dinner!
-sleepytime tea in the hottub at home before bed + one bowl of cereal for desert

Priorities of work tomorrow:
-active recovery
-sleep
-bike setup tinkering
-easy spin w/ gear attached
-easy run barefoot w/ extra stetching
-type up thank you letter that is currently hand-written
-route planning for days 1-3 using garmin software to upload to edge
-write-out a to-do list for this week!

Goodnight for now! Can't wait to hate bits of graduation day festivities as memories resurface over the course of this journey. Tomorrow real preparations begin for the trip!

T minus 9 days: Grad Parade, packing, & Banquet

Pictures of Grad week activities are sure to follow on this blog, but for now I'll just add a few thoughts about my final day as a cadet:

-the feeling just before parading out of the Sally ports towards an enormous crowd is actually quite similar to the type of butterflies that arrive without fail at the starting line of a big race.
-with that in mind, it is important to remember that this whole culminating celebration is really just signifying our arrival at the starting line: Yes, now we can enter the Real Army as junior officers.
-My teammates are awesome. Can't stop saying this enough. The West Point Tri team is a special group, filled with awesome cadets, that really have made this 47 month experience remarkable. I'll explain more about them/ my experiences with the tri team throughout my journey
-being able to share the evening Beanquet with Granny Mulholland, my mother's mom, as well as my parents, was a rare opportunity. Granny has lived with us in our home since moving back to the U.S. from Northern Ireland, and she's really been the definition of genuine, old-fashioned dedication to hard work. Biking 130 miles a day on this trip will pale in comparison to one day of Granny's work schedule, so thank you Granny for keeping it simple and always showing me what right looks like.
-My roommates at West Point have come in all shapes and sizes, literally. Whether I was bunked up with Offensive Lineman Frank Allen, or jamming out to Jake Owen with Chris Nguyen, I'm certainly looking forward to having "my own place" out at Fort Leonardwood this summer, but learning to adapt to & work with each roommate has been valuable for sure. With that being said, I don't think I'll miss too many aspects of living in the Barracks.

In terms of the trip, I did make some progress in my planning today, despite the day's busy schedule:
-Coach Ian O'brien lent me his Garmin Edge 705 for the trip, which should allow me to more accurately log
My mileage and navigate during my trip, thanks Ian!
-Zack Woods, a yearling at West Point, did confirm that he can offer me a place to stay in Key Largo, so I won't have to force-ride my way from Miami to Key West
-SFC Jay Blass, one of my former military science instructor, is helping my coordinate a place to stay in Key West. As a special forces Combat Diver, SFC Blass obviously trained at Key West's Navy base, where CDQC is held, and therefore knows members if the dive community down there, so I look forward to potentially not having to go through the hassle of Checkininto Navy Lodging, etc upon arriving in Key West!
Actually took a full day of no running, biking or swimming today.. Not really by choice, but still, I haven't had many days like this, so it's worth noting. I will include some of my workouts next week as I continue to build into the big mileage to come of this trip.

Looking ahead, I owe this blog:
-An updated timeline with where/ whom I've locked in to stay with
-Pictures of my bike fully set up
-detailed routes mapped & uploaded to Garmin Connect.
-Immediate feelings/ reactions to GRADUATING TOMORROW!!!

Goodnight,
CDT [for the last time] Brian Trainor

T-10 days: Grad Week & Trip Planning!

Canada Lake last weekend Wearing the Eagle with my Bike

 Okay, so now that classes, term end exams and the majority of my necessary tasks for graduating have come and gone, I finally have some time to really get this blog going in preparation for my trip.  Honestly, the trip is really falling into place nicely.  Here are a few Key Updates:

-I will leave Clifton Park, NY on Monday 3 June.  this gives me a full week at home to rest up, continue training and make additional preparations for the trip. That, and of course spend some quality time with my family.. I will be away from them for 3 weeks on this trip! 
-I plan to arrive in Key West on 20 June.  So if you live between Albany and Key West on the east Coast, keep an eye out for me on the road during this timeframe
-I will but up an updated list of my day-to-day destinations tomorrow
-MAJ Nemec and MAJ Erwin are currently on the offensive, sending out info about my trip to RWB members all down the East Coast, and so far everyone I've been put in contact with has been so inviting and helpful.  this really gets me excited to get going!
-TRIP THEME SONG:  Cruise (remix) by Florida-Georgia Line w/ Nelly!
-Currenly planning on taking my 2 rest days in Fairfax Station, VA with Dylan Morgan & his family and Daytona Beach, FL with Mr. Webster and his family.  These are subject to change only if weather or some other factor takes me off the current timeline
-Working on compiling a list of East Coast Bike Stores along my route in case of a mechanical issue.  If you know of any good stores let em know!  I am looking mainly for stores between my destinations, because most people i am staying with will know their given area, but having options between destinations could prove useful.
-I just got my bike back from TOGA BIKES after a final tune-up from their unbelievable crew of bike enthusiasts down there.  Tony fitted my speedplay cleats, Wendy worked his magic to fix my front derailleur, Charlie helped me pick out a new Specialized helmet on sale for the trip, and Dave is actually doing a ride from NY to Atlanta this summer, so we talked at length about our upcoming adventures. TOGA NYACK is by far the most friendly, helpful bike shop i have ever worked with.. I'm going to miss them!
-I Ordered a Topeak rear-rack and bag to clip on above my rear wheel to my seatpost.  I will post pictures in a few days once it arrives and i get it on my bike, but this should allow me to effectively carry my minimal gear without changing my cycling form or unnecessarily weighing me down
-I will post some of my workouts leading into this trip, but so far i have consistently been getting in solid workouts on the bike and running to prepare for the big mileage ahead.  I plan a few harder rides around home next week to test the legs, gear, etc, so stay tuned for updates!
-GRADUATION IS ON SATURDAY! 25 May is certainly still my focus right now, but simultaneously working towards this trip has been a great distraction

One of the main motivating factors for this trip is to jump start my involvement with Team RWB, an awesome group supporting Veterans through Endurance sports.  MAJ Lou Nemec and MAJ Mike Erwin of West Point's Behavioral Sciences & Leadership department are men that I look up to in terms of their ability to inspire others to dream big, help others and stay optimistic at all time.  They also pointed me to Alex Lintott's trip last summer across the nation, in which we averaged 120 miles per day on his journey while raising money and awareness for veterans.  Here is his blog that i hope to emulate on my trip:

 http://c2cteamrwb.blogspot.com/

Raising awareness for Team RWB will be my pimrary extrinsic reason for this trip, meaning I am not setting out with the intent to raise money or sollicit donations for the group.  While I would love to do this, I really do not want to have my mind on money during the trip.  This will also allow me to better connect with those i meet through open conversations, so when they do ask "What's that Eagle on your cycling kit represent?"  I can proudly talk about the work of MAJ Nemec, MAJ Erwin and the rest of the RWB team that I hope to become part of this summer.

I will put up a page for each leg of my journey, with maps, plans for stops/ stays, and other info pertinent to that given day prior to my journey.  I will update this blog each night with total mileage, pictures and a few thoughts about my riding that day.

I hope to stay with friends, members of Local RWB chapters, West Point grads/ parents or, if necessary, Air B&B housing along the route, so if you live between NY and Key West and will be home in June let me know!

I am also in the process of reaching out to the East Coast Greenway, the trail/ map system extending from Main to Florida to best plan my route and hopefully raise awareness for their goal of actually connecting all the major cities on the Coast via paved bike trails!  I really find this initiative worthwhile, so hopefully this organization can help me navigate in and around all of the major cities