Team Timex Blog » AC Morgan

The on the road salesman life style is far from ideal for me

AC Morgan — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:53:57 +0000

I am lucky in that my professional responsibilities do not require me to travel a great deal. The idea of being on and off airplanes and spending the night in hotels is not for me. It is not what I was built for. I am a creature of habit. I get up at 4am get an hour workout in and then off to work. I log in 12 plus hours a day - a few dinners a week and that my normal work week. I am aware that my life style is not ideal to all. But its mine and I dig it. But as we all know life takes out of our comfort zones from time to time and the trick is to make the best out of it. The last week I was in SF for two nights and LA for 3. I experienced two great work outs in LA area that I thought I would share with you. The 1st one is well known and that is the Santa Monica stairs. They are great and the experience definitely makes one question why do I live anywhere but right here? The second experience is not as well known yet, but could be on its way. I went to Cross Fit Malibu. It took place in an old “army barracks” like structure. It was a class of 10 people of a variety of fitness levels - 40% were triathletes. We ran, pulled, jumped, dragged, and much much more. If you find yourself in Malibu - you got to check this out.

My final tri for the season

AC Morgan — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 22:53:42 +0000

Yesterday I competed in my home town sprint triathlon. It was a brisk 48 degrees out that morning. The water was warm, but outside was chilly. It is fun to compete in a local race where there is no pressure. You know that in 1:30 minutes the event will be over. Yet at the same time you do get the excitement of race morning. Going thru your check lists and getting mentally prepared. Race morning I decided to bag the wet suit. I knew it would be painful the morning of, but once hitting the water it would be the right decision. It would shorten my T1 time and get me out in front. My running has been poor recently and I am not a sprinter = so I needed any little extras I could get. Swim went very well. Go out of the water a sprinted to T1. I got out on the road in decent time. I tried to get a GU down and BLAHH - throw up! I could not get it to go down. I biked well - course was a bit sketchy in spots, but fun. I got into T2 and began to slow down. On my way out my right leg was numb. It too to mile two before I felt ok and had the sensation of both of my legs. Finished strong and had my entire family waiting for me at the finish line. All before 8:45am. Not a bad Saturday morning. My next event is Oct 18 a 3.5m swim in Westport CT. I will be sporting my wet suit for that event. :)

Long Island Sound Light House Swim Race

AC Morgan — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 22:19:32 +0000

For my entire life I have heard unconfirmed chatter regarding the “light house” swim race, but never has it been confirmed. Well last night I was eating dinner and at around 10pm I was informed the race was today. I was in! I got four other folks to join. Every swimmer had to arrange for a kayaker to follow them. At 1pm 48 of us jumped on two 24 foot boats and drove a mile out to the light house. The boats was so over loading I was waiting for it to flip - a bit scary. We jumped off and joined our kayakers. Someone yelled go and off we went. I felt like a teddy bear in a washing machine. It was rough. It was difficult to line up land so I had to utilize my kayaker - thanks Benno. I know have a better understanding why kayakas are mostly the color yellow and orange - easy to spot at sea. The waves were a solid one to two foot chop. Race went well and I ended up getting 3rd. One and two beat me by ~two minutes. I would like to win that one next summer - love to have goals. Great way to close out Summer.

Another dip into Lake Waccabuc

AC Morgan — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 15:40:37 +0000

I did it again. I am not sure what the attraction of this lake is for me, but its strong. maybe its the ideal of trespassing and breaking the law. The idea of pulling up to a location that you know nothing about and walking down a dirt path and walking into a body of water that is foreign. Not to mention there is not another human being in sight. The experience is awesome. One thing for sure its not the 30 minute drive to get there. But I awoke at 6am, after a failed attempt at camping with my 5 and 7 year old girls. I woke my neighbor and off we drove. Check out this google map. http://maps.google.com/maps?source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Lake&vps=1&jsv=174d&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=39.099308,64.863281&ie=UTF8&near=Waccabuc&split=1. We swam for roughly 1.5 hours this morning. I was sporting my new Aqua Sphere Kayenne goggles. They rocked! No leaks, no fogging, no issues. I am looking forward to the 1st snow fall to get a swim in!

Best swim of the Summer

AC Morgan — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 20:58:33 +0000

Its that time of the year in Long Island Sound - red stinging jelly fish! They are BIG this year. I have also noticed sea lice as well, an extra benefit. Someone suggested to me to swim in a near by lake. He provided me the name - Lake Waccabuc. He told me to park near the Church and follow a trail. I had no names of roads or cross streets or anything. After binged the location talked my neighbor into joining me. At 6 am this morning we left with not a lot of deals of what was waiting for us. We drove for 30 minutes and found a lake. We drove around until we found a church and parked in a no parking zone. We then proceeded to walk thru a field. Yes I too am guessing it was private property. We found this 1.5m long wide lake. It was gorgeous. I know its not wise to jump into a body of water with no knowledge, but we did. Iy was fantastic. From the water temperature to the rock face walls. It was a fantastic Sunday morning adventure. If ur in the neighborhood its a must swim!

It is starting to stay light out a little bit later

AC Morgan — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 02:53:50 +0000

While the amount of time I am spending working out has SLOWLY increased I have yet to get my bike off the trainer. I have now watched EVERY Kona Ironman that exists 3x plus times while biking. The old ones are classic - everything from the bikes to the hair styles. Hands down the best is the speedo with the mesh tank top - my favorite! I have incorporated yoga on Sunday afternoons into my workouts - mentally gets me prepared for the week ahead. I have also been using the treadmill much more than historically. The up-side is it keeps one honest and the down-side is it keeps one in touch with reality. I so am looking forward to an open water swim.

The First Big Run of 2009

AC Morgan — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 19:25:26 +0000

As the emails from the team arrive I realize that April 4th is not that far away. So this was going to be my 2nd significant run of the New Year. The 1st was a 9 mile run pushing my 4 year old daughter in a low end stroller down a highway in Key Largo. While I am confident the Surgeon General would not have recommended this activity it was a great father daughter event. Our finish line was a local dive biker bar. Gigi, my daughter, brought in the NY with a grill cheese and I went with a slice of Key Lime Pie and a Bud Light. No back to this mornings run. It was 6:30am when three friends and I met. It was 19 degrees and the game plan was 14 miles. It went by fairly well. The highlight was at mile 9 when I noticed something keep banging into my ear. It took me a while to realize that the sweat in my hair had frozen and formed iced dread locks. Classic! Our water bottles were frozen like a rock and the GU packets were like Play Doh. But a great way to get fired up for Ironman 70.3 California Ocean Side.

AC Morgan — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 07:45:36 +0000

Crossing the World’s Greatest Finish Line was so worth all the hours, training, and the past 12 months of dedication. Rewards in life are so much more appreciated when they are earned. In my opinion its the hard work and dedication of the participants in this event which make Kona’s finish line so special.

Oct 11th was a beautiful day. In fact it was the most sunny day of the 5 I had spend on the island. Arriving that morning at the peer was truly amazing. To be in the company of the best of the best in this sport was a gift to me. To have watched the 29 DVDs of the previous World Championships and to actually be there - amazing is the only word that keeps coming to mind. The amount of energy on that peer was crazy. Yet everyone was so polite and gracious to one another - not an ego fest in any way.

The swim start was bigger and more explosive then any of the videos I had ever seen. The best part was being in the water and looking back at the sea wall and seeing the thousands of fans waiting of the Title Wave of the start to begin. My swim went well - aside from wanting to punch out the individual that spent the morning touching my feet every 5 seconds as he/she got a free ride. The bike started equally as strong as I got settled into the ride. An hour or so into the ride we were all faced with the infamous Kona winds. Holy cow were they strong and taxing. The winds impacted my reserves a bit and decreased my ideal bike time, but if I am getting the opportunity to do Kona I want to experience all the island is known for.

Thank goodness for RC Cola because by the time I got to the 14th mile on the run I lived off soda and bites of bananas. The finish line was a dream come true for me. To have all those fans cheering me on and to give so many high fives - again amazing is the best word that comes to mind. This to only be topped off by my two daughters running up to me and giving me the best hugs and kisses a father has ever received.

I want to thank all my fellow Team Timex Members I met at this event. I gained many insightful points from you and I very much appreciate how welcoming you have been to me.

My Freshman Initiation …

AC Morgan — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 16:58:10 +0000

With eight days until the “big dance” I am getting ready! The physical training is done and if its not… there isn’t much I can do about it now. The mental and emotional preperation will begin once I arrive in Kona. I have been instructed to make peace with the island and its Gods. So between now and Sunday’s departure I need to get all my stuff packed. To start I created a “to bring list” per many people suggestions. With my list completed I have begun to pack. There is one story I would like to share - Picture me sitting in my living room with a jug of GU02 powder, a bag of Infinit powder, Endurox powder, and 30+ zip lock bags. At the end of this process I had bags of white powered spread out all over my dinning room table. A friend of my wife walked in the house looking for Mandi, my wife, and her mouth dropped open. I can only imagine what she was thinking. I felt like Vince in Entourage playing Pablo Escobar.

Only one swim left at the local YMCA (I hate that pool) and lots to pack = I have to sign off. I am so looking forward to my initiation swim out to the Hobbie Cat and getting a shot of expresso. More later …