Man I hate when it gets cold. I know that's a relative term considering that I live in El Paso, but it still sucks going to swim when it's dark and cold outside. It just doesn't compute for me. I detest biking indoors and now daylight savings time kicks in tomorrow which might as well mean "no daylight time." I remember back in college that I thought the Monday after daylight savings time should be a holiday just so we could celebrate the extra sleep.
I also got sick for the first time in over two years and was OUT for 2 weeks. This month marks 2 years that I've been training and I thought at some point you got to the point where training becomes second nature but it's still a chore for me. A chore that too easily slips to the back burner when one isn't competing and the winter blues set in. This is problematic considering that I signed up for the Flying Horse half marathon here in El Paso and the Vegas half in December.
I did manage to drag my sorry butt out of bed yesterday and ran 7 miles and felt surprisingly good considering I've ran maybe 4 times since the Elephantman. I ran into Brian Carter at the Walk a Mile in Her Shoes charity event and was grousing about my lack of motivation. He kindly invited me to ride with him and Mike Baker. I was a little intimidated because Bryan is a stud triathlete and Mike is a legend. Showed up this morning and off we went! I found out that Mike has done 40 Iron distance races including 8 at Kona - freaking 40! Great guys and we knocked out 50 miles the last hour or so with a 50 mph wind.
I feel good about my fitness level surviving my dip in enthusiasm and am back on track!
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Elephant Man Butt Whupping
Did my first Olympic distance triathlon in EB last Sunday. Just writing about it now because haven't had time and I needed the time to gain perspective on the race. The race was a 1 mile swim, 27 mile bike, and 6 mile run. My thinking was to be under 3 hours based on my performances in sprints this year. A confluence of events caused me to rethink my strategy race morning. First, I already had enough points in the SW Challenge Series so, unless I got first place in my division, it wouldn't effect my point standings if I came in 2nd or last in my division. Second, I looked around at the start and holy cow there were some studs there! There were teams from Univ of Arizona, the Black Dog Tri team, and overall some big dudes that looked like former Navy Seals that all had their game faces on. Having no particular ego-induced delusions about my own athletic prowess, I meekly asked Coach Gretchen at the transition area, "Uh Coach, would you be pissed if I just 'experienced' this race?" For those of you who don't do these masochistic events on a regular basis, when you don't have a good race you just say "I wasn't racing that event, I was just using it as training." Works like a charm. Gretchen told me this is your first Oly, this is a very, very difficult race, it's the last race of the season - just have fun! Well, that's why she's a good coach, so that's what I set out to do.
I repeated my prerace approach from Socorro and rode my bike from the hotel to the transition area. If you have the chance to do this, I highly recommend it as your family doesn't have to get up at dawn, you bypass all the traffic and hiking to transition area, and you get a little warm up/equipment check for free. Besides that, you look cool riding to your race with your tri gear on your back (at least I think so). Had a large contingent of local tri geeks in attendance. Training partners Brooks Vandivort and Art Sanchez were carrying the big stick and doing the 70.3 (both 1sts for them, which leads me to question their sanity because this race will definitely not be my first 70.3). Cody H. did the 70.3 as well and is a stud of all studs for doing so (he knows why). Gretchen, Jason M., Greg G., Juan E., Lowry B., Dr. Mark and a host of others were doing the Oly.
As stated, the swim was 1 mile in open water although all agreed it looked a lot longer than a mile. My number one goal for the swim was to survive as the longest open water swim I had done was 500 yards in a pond at Dexter that's maybe 5 feet deep and that took me 12 minutes. I was less than enthused about swimming a mile where I could never touch the bottom. I've been working hard on my swimming though so I figured 35-45 minutes would be acceptable. The water was 78 degrees and no wake, no wind at all so perfect conditions. I wore a sleeveless wetsuit for the first time because I feel too constrained in the full. I kept up with the pack for the first 100 meters or so and then settled into a quasi rhythm interrupted by frequent sight checks. I can't swim a straight line to save my life but managed not to take too many detours. I stopped one time early on b/c my wetsuit strap kept wrapping around my right arm and was driving me batty (note to tri newbies - make sure your strap is tucked in). Overall, I kept a very steady pace but slow and managed to come out of the water in one piece in 45 minutes.
I repeated my prerace approach from Socorro and rode my bike from the hotel to the transition area. If you have the chance to do this, I highly recommend it as your family doesn't have to get up at dawn, you bypass all the traffic and hiking to transition area, and you get a little warm up/equipment check for free. Besides that, you look cool riding to your race with your tri gear on your back (at least I think so). Had a large contingent of local tri geeks in attendance. Training partners Brooks Vandivort and Art Sanchez were carrying the big stick and doing the 70.3 (both 1sts for them, which leads me to question their sanity because this race will definitely not be my first 70.3). Cody H. did the 70.3 as well and is a stud of all studs for doing so (he knows why). Gretchen, Jason M., Greg G., Juan E., Lowry B., Dr. Mark and a host of others were doing the Oly.
As stated, the swim was 1 mile in open water although all agreed it looked a lot longer than a mile. My number one goal for the swim was to survive as the longest open water swim I had done was 500 yards in a pond at Dexter that's maybe 5 feet deep and that took me 12 minutes. I was less than enthused about swimming a mile where I could never touch the bottom. I've been working hard on my swimming though so I figured 35-45 minutes would be acceptable. The water was 78 degrees and no wake, no wind at all so perfect conditions. I wore a sleeveless wetsuit for the first time because I feel too constrained in the full. I kept up with the pack for the first 100 meters or so and then settled into a quasi rhythm interrupted by frequent sight checks. I can't swim a straight line to save my life but managed not to take too many detours. I stopped one time early on b/c my wetsuit strap kept wrapping around my right arm and was driving me batty (note to tri newbies - make sure your strap is tucked in). Overall, I kept a very steady pace but slow and managed to come out of the water in one piece in 45 minutes.
I really don't think there's any way to mimic open water swimming in a pool. You just have to swim in big bodies of water which we are unfortunately lacking in El Paso. I suggest all local triathletes pool our money (pun intended, ha ha) and get us a nice man-make lake in which we can train. We could call it Lake Proud in honor of uber athlete Diana Proud who just passed from ALS. Diana Proud local legend
Food for thought.
Food for thought.
This race has by far the longest transition of any race I've entered. Turns out when you have a triathlon with an open water swim, and the body of water is at a record low level, you have to go a long way to get to the parking lot that is serving as a transition area. And you have to go up a big ass hill, barefoot, in the sand. At least I had a cheerleader in my corner.
This particular 8 year old cheerleader had just completed his race the day before with his old man running up the hill beside him yelling encouragement including that he was being passed by certain other 8 year olds. So he dutifully told me, "Dad, he's passing you!" at about this point. You can see the burst of speed I put on while telling him there's a long way to go.
Thanks to my beautiful wife for taking the photos and also encouraging me all the way.
My calves cramped up when I sat down to have my wetsuit stripped but it stopped when I stood up. Got on my bike knowing that sub 3 hours was probably out of the picture due to my swim and decided to push hard but not kill myself and enjoy the experience.
Even with that, I managed to pass 30 people on the bike (yes, I counted). The bike course has an elevation change of over 1000 feet because there are some good climbs in and out of some canyons. I had no problems on the bike despite the rough road surface and felt pretty good coming back into transition and my bike split was 1:33.
On to the run. For perspective, Clay Mosley won the 70.3 in a time of 4:44. I heard him say afterward that the run course was the hardest he had ever been on. It was brutal. No flat terrain, up and down winding hills, no shade, no relief. I took my time like I've never done before, walked most of the uphills and finished the run in 1:06 for a total time of 3:30.
Do I regret not pushing myself more and putting up a more respectable time? Absolutely not. I enjoyed the experience and for a first time oly distance on such a hard course, I'm happy with it. I even managed to have some encouraging words for other athletes and a smile on my face for parts of the race.
The race itself was well-organized with tons of helpful volunteers. The race director? Not such a nice lady but I'm kind of spoiled by race director extraordinaire Gabby Gallegos who always had a smile on her face even though there were over 500 athletes at the Eagle in the Sun asking lots of questions. I think Kori just wants everybody to show up, race, and keep their mouth shuts. I was very leery of her going in due to some comments she made after the Dam It man Triathlon but kept a open mind. I know now how she earned her reputation as she was very terse and dismissive when I tried to ask a couple of questions. That being said, the race was organized and executed beautifully so personal dislike for her communication skills aside, I give the race a thumbs up.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Holloman Raptor Duathlon
I know I've always had trouble in the past locating registration forms for the races held at Holloman AFB so when I located the form, I decided to post just in case anybody else has issues tracking it down. Here's the link: http://www.hollomanfss.com/FitnessNSports/Forms/Triathlon2011.pdf
It's a 5K, 30K bike, and 700 meter swim and it's called the "Raptor" for cyring out loud! How can you resist? See you there!
It's a 5K, 30K bike, and 700 meter swim and it's called the "Raptor" for cyring out loud! How can you resist? See you there!
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Yucca Triathlon, Weekend training
Did the Yucca Triathlon at White Sands Missile Range on Saturday. I really, really thought about not going to this one. I am tired. Just got a huge influx of cases from a big shot television advertising lawyer from out of town who decided he didn't want to handle his El Paso cases. Have a trial starting on Tuesday. Worked what seemed like 80 hours this week and I left all I had on the table at Eagle in the Sun. But come 9 the night before, I dutifully started putting my stuff together by shaming myself by asking what would Cody or Gretchen do? They'd compete and so I did. Not to mention this event was carbon made as a good training event for the upcoming Elephant Man as it was advertised as an 8K run, 45K bike, and 400 meter swim. Close to olympic distance and would be the longest distance tri I've done so far.
If you haven't done a triathlon at WSMR, I highly advise it. The base is never crowded, it's only a hour drive from the west side of El Paso, and they have good volunteers and are well organized. The schwag? Not so good but who couldn't use another cotton race t-shirt right?
Got up at 4 to get ready and make the drive and was searching the base for the staging area by 5:30. When in doubt, just follow the other guys with tri bikes and they'll get you there. There was noise about cancelling the race because only 30 people had signed up but they got enough late registrants to yield about 51 racers so we were on. Race was a reverse distance course. Run was basically a 4.25 loop on streets and I felt good and managed to negative split the miles and came in just under 34 minutes. I needed to put time on my Clydesdale competitor John G. because I knew he'd be coming for me hard on the bike. The slightly longer run gave me an opportunity to get ahead of him but the longer bike to come would give him a greater opportunity to catch me and pass me before we got to the swim. We're about equal in the water, so I didn't want him passing me on the bike.
One of the good things about a non-USAT sanctioned race held on a military base is they are not sticklers for the rules. Case in point - no mount/dismount line. You could run up to your bike, get your shoes on, mount and cycle right out of the transition area. You could also do the same coming in off the bike which I took full advantage of and made for some lightning fast transition times.
The bike route was out the base down a long a gradual hill and then a small loop off the main road on a pea gravel road that shook the crap out of everybody. You were on that road for about 12-13 miles and felt it later in the day. No volunteers at the turn points anywhere so you just had to follow the crowd and keep an eye out for markers. One guy missed the turn barrel and ended up doing the bike portion backwards but got it done. After getting off the gravel road, you were back on the main road going back up that long gradual hill which strangely wasn't so gradual anymore.
I thought I was flying down the hill and keeping the distance between me and John but at the 14 mile turnaround, he was right freaking behind me! He looked beat though but I knew that didn't mean anything when it came to John. I figured I could hold him off to maybe 20 miles and then he'd pass me but I kept going as fast as I could go. Shockingly, he never caught me on the bike and into the pool. I was Cadillac'ing the swim because there was nobody in front of me I could catch and nobody trying to catch me. Swim was up and back in 25 meter pool for 8 lanes. I was looking for John and saw him coming up the first lane when I entered the 3rd. The rest of the swim was something like swim, swim, swim, look for John, swim, swim, swim, look for John, repeat. Finished in 1:54 and took 1st in the old fat guy division!
Then I looked at the Gretchen torture, er, training calendar for tomorrow hoping for the always appreciated but rare "off day."
Nope - I quote "This is a critical workout for Elephant Butte." 26 mile ride followed by 6 mile run. Gulp. I was tired but, again, dragged my sorry butt out of bed and joined the group for the ride. Kept up just fine until I got to 13 miles then turned around and headed back on my own. Grabbed my running shoes and my running buddy "Bo the wonder dog" and off.
6 miles was 2 miles to get legs under me, 2 mile at Yucca tempo (8/mile) and then last 2 doing 30/30s. I forgot to take my "sports legs" power pills this morning and my legs started to cramp something fierce while doing the tempo miles. I managed to keep up the tempo but I could feel that if I tensed up my quads at all, they were going to lock up. I had never felt that while running before. After the workout? Lotsa times. Never during. Note to self - load up the sports legs pills before any 2 hour or longer workout!
If you haven't done a triathlon at WSMR, I highly advise it. The base is never crowded, it's only a hour drive from the west side of El Paso, and they have good volunteers and are well organized. The schwag? Not so good but who couldn't use another cotton race t-shirt right?
Got up at 4 to get ready and make the drive and was searching the base for the staging area by 5:30. When in doubt, just follow the other guys with tri bikes and they'll get you there. There was noise about cancelling the race because only 30 people had signed up but they got enough late registrants to yield about 51 racers so we were on. Race was a reverse distance course. Run was basically a 4.25 loop on streets and I felt good and managed to negative split the miles and came in just under 34 minutes. I needed to put time on my Clydesdale competitor John G. because I knew he'd be coming for me hard on the bike. The slightly longer run gave me an opportunity to get ahead of him but the longer bike to come would give him a greater opportunity to catch me and pass me before we got to the swim. We're about equal in the water, so I didn't want him passing me on the bike.
One of the good things about a non-USAT sanctioned race held on a military base is they are not sticklers for the rules. Case in point - no mount/dismount line. You could run up to your bike, get your shoes on, mount and cycle right out of the transition area. You could also do the same coming in off the bike which I took full advantage of and made for some lightning fast transition times.
The bike route was out the base down a long a gradual hill and then a small loop off the main road on a pea gravel road that shook the crap out of everybody. You were on that road for about 12-13 miles and felt it later in the day. No volunteers at the turn points anywhere so you just had to follow the crowd and keep an eye out for markers. One guy missed the turn barrel and ended up doing the bike portion backwards but got it done. After getting off the gravel road, you were back on the main road going back up that long gradual hill which strangely wasn't so gradual anymore.
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| Obligatory Cheesy Medal Shot |
Then I looked at the Gretchen torture, er, training calendar for tomorrow hoping for the always appreciated but rare "off day."
 |
| Bo the wonder dog |
6 miles was 2 miles to get legs under me, 2 mile at Yucca tempo (8/mile) and then last 2 doing 30/30s. I forgot to take my "sports legs" power pills this morning and my legs started to cramp something fierce while doing the tempo miles. I managed to keep up the tempo but I could feel that if I tensed up my quads at all, they were going to lock up. I had never felt that while running before. After the workout? Lotsa times. Never during. Note to self - load up the sports legs pills before any 2 hour or longer workout!
Monday, September 5, 2011
Eagle in the Sun 2011 Race Report
The race report for the race I've been shooting for all year! So the goal in my head was to significantly redeem myself from last year's piss poor effort. I wanted to do well last year but laid an egg with no excuse other than psyching myself out. My times last year were 400 meter swim 10:52, 20K bike 39:35 and 5K run 29:37. The first two times include transitions as they didn't break that out from the splits last year. The bike wasn't bad for my conditioning level last year but I had swam closer to 9 minutes and had run a 5K in 22 minutes not long before the tri, so I was disappointed. Due to that, and that I know a lot of the entrants, and that its my hometown, I felt like all my training this year and the good results I had earlier in the year would be a waste if I didn't do as well as I wanted in this race. Enough melodramatic head drama Rob! On to the race report.
I had mucho trepidation going in because Gabriella enlarged the number of entrants to 550 - that's a lot of people for a sprint, especially with a staggered swim start. I was actually surprised at how well it went. Everything was very smooth. Fellow Gretchen acolyte/trainee Art Sanchez and I rode out together and got there right at 5:30 for the 7:30 beginning of swim starts. They had volunteers checking helmets and bikes for race numbers, bar inserts, etc. My word of advice to newbies - get there freaking early because Art and I snagged perfect spots for our bikes and got set up and ready to go before the multitudes hit. Saw Gretchen for a brief second and she was focused like a laser. Saw Bobby, John Gardea, Trey Hancock and lots of fellow "veterans" from last year's race. I can never get over what a great group of people triathletes are.
We all lined up and swim started rather smoothly. Just met fellow blogger Juan E. at Socorro Chile Harvest Tri and now he's stalking me! Actually might have something to do with the fact that he was number 190 and I was 188 and we have similar abilities and were within sight of each other all day. My swim was solid although I got a little discombobulated right off the bat when I jumped in the pool. We jumped in on the deep end and I can never quite position myself right - do I jump in headfirst, sit on the edge and slide in, or hop in? I've never committed to anyone one approach and invariably flop in as an adrenaline-ridden contorted mess. One of the results of the uncoordinated water entry is water in the goggles and water up the nose. I ignored the suffocating feeling and continued swimming but for some reason I never felt like I was breathing properly. I freaked out my wife a little bit because my unease finally got to be too much and I stopped in the middle of the 4th or 5th lane for just a second and stood up to clear my head. Hadn't done that in a while. After that, I was cool and finished in 8:55.
Got on my bike super fast and was gone quickly. I was very excited about the bike because of my new toy for the back wheel. That's a Zipp 9 Disk baby! I've always hesitated to buy stuff like that because I don't want to be the jackass with all the fancy toys that puts his nose in the air (hate that guy). But a little discussion I had with fellow clysdesdale Jason McClure included the advise "don't be ashamed to pay for speed." Took his advise and got this baby and LOVE it! Improved my bike split from last year by 6 minutes to 33:18 for the flat out-and-back 20k. I was hoping to be at 35 or under but when I made the turn and started back I really picked up the speed and ended up with an average speed of 22.5 mph.
I passed a jillion people on the bike and only got passed by one - Mr. Escobar. Worked out well because we took turns passing each other (draft legally, mind you) for the entire 20K. I was happy with my flying dismount as I finally figured out how to get my feet out of my shoes while riding. The only problem with the bike route is you have a lot of little twists and turns as you're coming in the last little bit which kills your speed but maybe that's the idea?
Had a really fast T2 of 45 seconds thanks to the aforementioned dismounting trick and off on the run. Here's the only part that didn't go to plan. In my restless nights leading up to the race, I imagined a "perfect" race of 8:30-9 on the swim, 35 on the bike with 1-2 minutes for transitions so I'd be on the run by 45 minutes and lay down a 23-24 minute 5K so my "perfect" time would be 1:08 or so. I figured I needed that time to win the Clydesdale division - that is until I saw the Clydes signed up for this race included David Fairbanks. Haven't heard much from Mr. Fairbanks this year but last year he won Clyde every time he entered, and was usually in top 3 overall. His best time for a distance like this is in the one hour even range so I knew I had no shot of winning the division. (Gonna stop the digressions - I swear!)
Started the run feeling good but didn't have my usual level of speed. I did the 5K at Socorro in 24 flat so I figured I'd top that but it wasn't to be. Ended up at 25:19 with some thanks to Art and Gretchen who saw me finishing up and ran with me a bit to keep the pace up. Thanks guys!
Overall time of 1:09:24 and 2nd in Clydesdales Master Division of 23. As a side note, there were 28 under 40 Clydesdales and 1st place in their group would've been in 5th in the "old" clydes. So take that whipper snappers! My good friend John Gardea told me in the transition area that this race was "just for fun" but he still almost beat me even with a slow T2 because of trouble with his knee brace. That just makes me shake my head because there is no way John should be as fast as he is with a bad knee and weighing 400 pounds not that long ago. He just amazes me.
So for those of you keeping track at home, I improved my time from last year by 11 minutes and went from 79th overall to 30th. I'm happy with that and now just got to figure out the pacing on the bike so I don't lose strength on the run.
On a related note, do you think this photo means Nora's ready to start swimming and become a triathlete? I think so!
Next race will be the Elephant Man Olympic triathlon (my first non-sprint distance). I signed up for the Yucca triathlon this coming Saturday but it's probably going to get cancelled for non-participation. Wish me luck for the 1 mile swim at Elephant Butte!
I had mucho trepidation going in because Gabriella enlarged the number of entrants to 550 - that's a lot of people for a sprint, especially with a staggered swim start. I was actually surprised at how well it went. Everything was very smooth. Fellow Gretchen acolyte/trainee Art Sanchez and I rode out together and got there right at 5:30 for the 7:30 beginning of swim starts. They had volunteers checking helmets and bikes for race numbers, bar inserts, etc. My word of advice to newbies - get there freaking early because Art and I snagged perfect spots for our bikes and got set up and ready to go before the multitudes hit. Saw Gretchen for a brief second and she was focused like a laser. Saw Bobby, John Gardea, Trey Hancock and lots of fellow "veterans" from last year's race. I can never get over what a great group of people triathletes are.
We all lined up and swim started rather smoothly. Just met fellow blogger Juan E. at Socorro Chile Harvest Tri and now he's stalking me! Actually might have something to do with the fact that he was number 190 and I was 188 and we have similar abilities and were within sight of each other all day. My swim was solid although I got a little discombobulated right off the bat when I jumped in the pool. We jumped in on the deep end and I can never quite position myself right - do I jump in headfirst, sit on the edge and slide in, or hop in? I've never committed to anyone one approach and invariably flop in as an adrenaline-ridden contorted mess. One of the results of the uncoordinated water entry is water in the goggles and water up the nose. I ignored the suffocating feeling and continued swimming but for some reason I never felt like I was breathing properly. I freaked out my wife a little bit because my unease finally got to be too much and I stopped in the middle of the 4th or 5th lane for just a second and stood up to clear my head. Hadn't done that in a while. After that, I was cool and finished in 8:55.
Got on my bike super fast and was gone quickly. I was very excited about the bike because of my new toy for the back wheel. That's a Zipp 9 Disk baby! I've always hesitated to buy stuff like that because I don't want to be the jackass with all the fancy toys that puts his nose in the air (hate that guy). But a little discussion I had with fellow clysdesdale Jason McClure included the advise "don't be ashamed to pay for speed." Took his advise and got this baby and LOVE it! Improved my bike split from last year by 6 minutes to 33:18 for the flat out-and-back 20k. I was hoping to be at 35 or under but when I made the turn and started back I really picked up the speed and ended up with an average speed of 22.5 mph. I passed a jillion people on the bike and only got passed by one - Mr. Escobar. Worked out well because we took turns passing each other (draft legally, mind you) for the entire 20K. I was happy with my flying dismount as I finally figured out how to get my feet out of my shoes while riding. The only problem with the bike route is you have a lot of little twists and turns as you're coming in the last little bit which kills your speed but maybe that's the idea?
Had a really fast T2 of 45 seconds thanks to the aforementioned dismounting trick and off on the run. Here's the only part that didn't go to plan. In my restless nights leading up to the race, I imagined a "perfect" race of 8:30-9 on the swim, 35 on the bike with 1-2 minutes for transitions so I'd be on the run by 45 minutes and lay down a 23-24 minute 5K so my "perfect" time would be 1:08 or so. I figured I needed that time to win the Clydesdale division - that is until I saw the Clydes signed up for this race included David Fairbanks. Haven't heard much from Mr. Fairbanks this year but last year he won Clyde every time he entered, and was usually in top 3 overall. His best time for a distance like this is in the one hour even range so I knew I had no shot of winning the division. (Gonna stop the digressions - I swear!)
 |
| Me and John waiting for results |
Overall time of 1:09:24 and 2nd in Clydesdales Master Division of 23. As a side note, there were 28 under 40 Clydesdales and 1st place in their group would've been in 5th in the "old" clydes. So take that whipper snappers! My good friend John Gardea told me in the transition area that this race was "just for fun" but he still almost beat me even with a slow T2 because of trouble with his knee brace. That just makes me shake my head because there is no way John should be as fast as he is with a bad knee and weighing 400 pounds not that long ago. He just amazes me.
So for those of you keeping track at home, I improved my time from last year by 11 minutes and went from 79th overall to 30th. I'm happy with that and now just got to figure out the pacing on the bike so I don't lose strength on the run.
On a related note, do you think this photo means Nora's ready to start swimming and become a triathlete? I think so!Next race will be the Elephant Man Olympic triathlon (my first non-sprint distance). I signed up for the Yucca triathlon this coming Saturday but it's probably going to get cancelled for non-participation. Wish me luck for the 1 mile swim at Elephant Butte!
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Countdown to Eagle in the Sun
I don't know why but the Eagle in the Sun triathlon next Sunday has taken up an inordinate amount of my mental focus all year. Maybe its because I laid an egg last year en route to a miserable finish and need to redeem myself. It's a great race with over 450 competitors, flat as a pancake, and well-organized. I personally know a large percentage of the athletes, El Paso being such a small big town. I put a lot of pressure on myself to do well in this race and last year was the first year it was held and I cracked. I had only been training about 10 months when I raced it and the swim completely freaked me out. I had only swam (swum?) in a 50 meter pool one time before and didn't cope so well. The swim was simple -8 laps in a 50 meter lane for 400 meters, 8 lanes in the pool so no up and back in the same lane. Like I said, I freaked and about half way down the first lap, I popped up gasping, out of air, and stood up. I recovered okay but still took me 10:52 including the swim to bike transition, which was just awful. By comparison, I just did the same swim at Soccoro in 8:40. The swim threw me off for the rest of the race and I took 39:35, again including transition, to do the 20K bike, and 29:37 for the 5K (no transition excuse this time) for a total time of 1:20:04.
I was an age grouper last year and came in firmly in the middle of the pack. Hanging on my refrigerator for the last couple of months is a piece of paper with those times written out along with the winner's time for the Clydes last year - Mr. Jason McClure in 1:10:56.
This year I fully intend to redeem myself. My training has been really good the last month. In the last 7 days, I've covered 143 miles in about 11 hours of training. I've picked up my swimming volume quite a bit and my runs off the bike have been crisp. My goal will be 8:30 or under for the 400 meters, 35 or under for the 20K, and 23 for the 5K. Put that together with good transitions and I'm shooting for under 1:10, hopefully 1:08.
I was an age grouper last year and came in firmly in the middle of the pack. Hanging on my refrigerator for the last couple of months is a piece of paper with those times written out along with the winner's time for the Clydes last year - Mr. Jason McClure in 1:10:56.
This year I fully intend to redeem myself. My training has been really good the last month. In the last 7 days, I've covered 143 miles in about 11 hours of training. I've picked up my swimming volume quite a bit and my runs off the bike have been crisp. My goal will be 8:30 or under for the 400 meters, 35 or under for the 20K, and 23 for the 5K. Put that together with good transitions and I'm shooting for under 1:10, hopefully 1:08.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Southwest Challenge Series
Guys that have been doing triathlons a LOT longer than me came up with an idea to keep track of results for a series of triathlons in the surrounding areas. They dubbed it the southwest challenge series and currently this year, there were approximately 35 races ranging as far north and east as Amarillo and Lubbock and west to places like Roswell, Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Farmington. Whoever took up this task of keeping track of the results of all these races and the athletes is to be commended. I can't quite figure it out but I know it's been around quite a while and they do a wonderful job.
And what do they get out of it? Well, that's a head scratcher. As far as I can tell, they get nada from anybody for going to all that troubleand they give out pretty nifty awards to the series winners at the end of the year. Like monogrammed fleece vests - cool, huh? The only thing I've seen similar in concept (at least as far as funding goes) is AA. I've been sober for almost 8 years and went to lots of meetings. I could never figure out how they kept the lights on when nobody pays any dues or membership fees. But they do and it's an incredible program helping to keep people sober for over 70 years. I'm not comparing AA to a tri challenge series in effect on world peace and families, but it is cool how selfless people believe strongly in something and sacrifice to share their love of sport with others. We that follow the Series thank you for sharing with us.
Im in the old big boy division, otherwise known as Masters Clydesdale. I just started tri's last year and didn't race Clydesdale because of ego and because I wasn't sure if I would stay above 200 all year. Well, this year I competed in Clydesdale and have stayed about 203-207 all year. I had pretty much given up on winning my category because John Gardea was a machine and seemingly did every flipping race for the first 6 months! After the Milkman Tri on June 4, he had done 9 races with 5 1sts and 4 2nds. I thought I stood no shot catching him. In the Series, you get 10 points for 1st, 9 for second, etc., etc. By the time we did Ruidoso the following week John had 74 points and I had 55 points Having done 6 races - no shot right?
Well, John did a couple more tri's after Ruidoso but then stopped because he was doing a half Iron in Boulder. He also sustained a knee injury (although he was able to gut out the half Iron with it). I've done 4 more races since then and the point standings now are dead even with 78 point each! We've both got 6 firsts and 2 seconds for our best 8 races. Technically, John has a quarter point lead on me because he's done 11 races and I've done 10 and you get a quarter point for each race past 8.
I've still got the Eagle in the Sun on sept 4, Yucca tri on sept 10, and Elephant Man on sept 25. John will be doing two of those with me and it sounds like an exciting finish in the fat boy division! I'm just glad I'm still in it because John is one heck of a competitor.
And what do they get out of it? Well, that's a head scratcher. As far as I can tell, they get nada from anybody for going to all that trouble
Im in the old big boy division, otherwise known as Masters Clydesdale. I just started tri's last year and didn't race Clydesdale because of ego and because I wasn't sure if I would stay above 200 all year. Well, this year I competed in Clydesdale and have stayed about 203-207 all year. I had pretty much given up on winning my category because John Gardea was a machine and seemingly did every flipping race for the first 6 months! After the Milkman Tri on June 4, he had done 9 races with 5 1sts and 4 2nds. I thought I stood no shot catching him. In the Series, you get 10 points for 1st, 9 for second, etc., etc. By the time we did Ruidoso the following week John had 74 points and I had 55 points Having done 6 races - no shot right?
Well, John did a couple more tri's after Ruidoso but then stopped because he was doing a half Iron in Boulder. He also sustained a knee injury (although he was able to gut out the half Iron with it). I've done 4 more races since then and the point standings now are dead even with 78 point each! We've both got 6 firsts and 2 seconds for our best 8 races. Technically, John has a quarter point lead on me because he's done 11 races and I've done 10 and you get a quarter point for each race past 8.
I've still got the Eagle in the Sun on sept 4, Yucca tri on sept 10, and Elephant Man on sept 25. John will be doing two of those with me and it sounds like an exciting finish in the fat boy division! I'm just glad I'm still in it because John is one heck of a competitor.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Elephant Butte Tri Clinic
My coach set up a triathlon clinic to prepare for the upcoming Elephant Man Triathlon on September 25. She had a good turnout with 8 of us there including Brooks, Art, and Laura. Several newcomers as well which is always good to see. There will be an Olympic (1 mile swim, 26 mile bike, and 10K run) and Half Iron (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and 13.1 mile run). I've done 10 sprints this year and have the Eagle in the Sun coming up on September 4 and I was honestly thinking about not doing the Elephant Man because the idea of swimming a mile freaks me out a little. I've done 99% of my swimming in a 25 yard pool with workouts going up to 2000 yards. A mile is 1750 yards so I know I can swim the distance but swimming that straight in a lake is a lot different from swimming in a pool 25 yards, pushing off a wall and doing it again, all with the safety that you just can stand up anytime you have a problem. Not so much in a freaking lake.
I went to Gretchen's clinic because I need the open water training and I never miss the chance to participate in a clinic since there are so few in this area. Gretchen put on a great clinic. We swam for about a mile and I surprised myself and swam really well. No problems with my fitness at all. Swimming a straight line? - whole 'nother story. Not good AT all. Gotta work on my sighting because I suck at it. Can't swim a straight line to save my life. Irritatingly, there's no black line on the lake bed, not that you could see it if there was.
The bike route is a 26 mile loop described by Gretchen as gentle rolling hills followed by 2 steep hills and then a long descending ride back. My idea of "gentle rolling" dramatically differs from Gretchen's but they weren't all that bad. Pretty rough roads all the way but no dramatic pot holes that I discovered (although I did discover several dead animals). The two steep hills were as advertised and are rumored to bring bikers to walking the hill with their bikes. It's about 16 miles on the winding roads and "gentle rolling" hills and you end up back at I-25 and then back on a small highway that leads back to Elephant Butte. Screaming fast ride back topped off by a nice scenic view of the lake as you come back. Very, very careful on the way back down to the transition area as it STEEPLY descends into the boat ramp area.
We finished with a brief run to experience the beginning of the run. It's through the sand up some small hills and then one steep little hill til you are at the road that goes over the dam.
After today, I'm definitely doing the Olympic distance! This will be a tough course made even more difficult by the fact that this race doesn't start until 8 a.m. (the real studs doing the 1/2 Iron start at 7). That means if the swim takes me approximately 30 minutes and the ride 1:15-1:30, I won't get to the run until almost 10 a.m. If you read my blog at all, you'll know that me, heat and running don't get along so well. I will do it though.
I cramped up something fierce after I cooled down but one of the guys helped me out with a banana and some CR333. This guy, who I just met today, is named Bates Gaddy and is 30. He decided he wanted to do a triathlon and started training this year and has already done 3 half Irons and just did Vineman Full Iron 2 weeks ago! Freaking crazy! I'm not even thinking half iron til next year and MAYBE a full Iron the year after that. Hats off to Bates.
I went to Gretchen's clinic because I need the open water training and I never miss the chance to participate in a clinic since there are so few in this area. Gretchen put on a great clinic. We swam for about a mile and I surprised myself and swam really well. No problems with my fitness at all. Swimming a straight line? - whole 'nother story. Not good AT all. Gotta work on my sighting because I suck at it. Can't swim a straight line to save my life. Irritatingly, there's no black line on the lake bed, not that you could see it if there was.
The bike route is a 26 mile loop described by Gretchen as gentle rolling hills followed by 2 steep hills and then a long descending ride back. My idea of "gentle rolling" dramatically differs from Gretchen's but they weren't all that bad. Pretty rough roads all the way but no dramatic pot holes that I discovered (although I did discover several dead animals). The two steep hills were as advertised and are rumored to bring bikers to walking the hill with their bikes. It's about 16 miles on the winding roads and "gentle rolling" hills and you end up back at I-25 and then back on a small highway that leads back to Elephant Butte. Screaming fast ride back topped off by a nice scenic view of the lake as you come back. Very, very careful on the way back down to the transition area as it STEEPLY descends into the boat ramp area.
We finished with a brief run to experience the beginning of the run. It's through the sand up some small hills and then one steep little hill til you are at the road that goes over the dam.
After today, I'm definitely doing the Olympic distance! This will be a tough course made even more difficult by the fact that this race doesn't start until 8 a.m. (the real studs doing the 1/2 Iron start at 7). That means if the swim takes me approximately 30 minutes and the ride 1:15-1:30, I won't get to the run until almost 10 a.m. If you read my blog at all, you'll know that me, heat and running don't get along so well. I will do it though.
I cramped up something fierce after I cooled down but one of the guys helped me out with a banana and some CR333. This guy, who I just met today, is named Bates Gaddy and is 30. He decided he wanted to do a triathlon and started training this year and has already done 3 half Irons and just did Vineman Full Iron 2 weeks ago! Freaking crazy! I'm not even thinking half iron til next year and MAYBE a full Iron the year after that. Hats off to Bates.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Odessa Tumbleweed Triathlon
Day 2 in the Midland/Odessa triathlon saga. First to transition area again. Getting to be a bad habit. This triathlon was held on the UT Permian Basin campus. Was setting up my bike when Bobby and Brooks showed up and sat up right next to me. Great guys and Bobby is a consummate professional who stirs my feelings of inadequacy as I watch him "warm up" at a pace I can only dream of. Brooks is always a very positive influence and all around great guy who is humbly lightning fast.
I was surprised to find that I wasn't that sore despite having done the tri the day before in the heat in Midland. My back was spasming a little in the morning so was a little concerned about that. Warmed up a with a little jog and back spasms went away. Swim start was a cluster mess but there was only 70 or so athletes in a 50 meter pool so it all worked out. Felt better on the swim today and came in for the 400 meters in 8:52. Went out on the bike and felt good there. Was looking for Jason McClure who had beat me by 2 1/2 minutes the day before. Somehow he must've started the swim behind me because I didn't see him until I made the turn on the bike and he was trailing me by 1/4-1/2 mile. Started cranking as if John Gardea was chasing me. Finished the 20K in 36:21 for a 21.2 mph average (yeah boy!) and hit the ground running.
5K is a flat out and back. Felt much better on the run than yesterday because it wasn't a million degrees and had mile splits of 8:30, 8:38 and 8:02. Saw Jason just after turnaround point again on run but had no idea how much after me he had started his swim. He told me I was looking good on the run which just goes to show what a class act he is and triathletes in general. I finished the run and then started my watch again to see how far he was behind me. I finished in 1:13:37 and Jason in 1:16:34, so 1st place in Clydesdale!
All in all, very well run triathlon other than the sloppy swim start. Bobby had a little bit of misfortune in that there were some speed bumps as you exited the campus. Bobby was looking down at his computer and didn't see the speed bump and had a minor wreck. He was still fast enough even with a wreck to come in 2nd overall in 57:16, only :37 seconds from winning. Some kind of stud.
My man Brooks was 9th overall in 1:05:09 and came in 2nd in his age group. Ashley Petry and her dad Darrel Petry were also there and did awesome.
Bob Carlson said I probably owed by 4 minute improvement in one day in my 5K time to something called race effect. I don't know what it was but I like it!
I was surprised to find that I wasn't that sore despite having done the tri the day before in the heat in Midland. My back was spasming a little in the morning so was a little concerned about that. Warmed up a with a little jog and back spasms went away. Swim start was a cluster mess but there was only 70 or so athletes in a 50 meter pool so it all worked out. Felt better on the swim today and came in for the 400 meters in 8:52. Went out on the bike and felt good there. Was looking for Jason McClure who had beat me by 2 1/2 minutes the day before. Somehow he must've started the swim behind me because I didn't see him until I made the turn on the bike and he was trailing me by 1/4-1/2 mile. Started cranking as if John Gardea was chasing me. Finished the 20K in 36:21 for a 21.2 mph average (yeah boy!) and hit the ground running.
5K is a flat out and back. Felt much better on the run than yesterday because it wasn't a million degrees and had mile splits of 8:30, 8:38 and 8:02. Saw Jason just after turnaround point again on run but had no idea how much after me he had started his swim. He told me I was looking good on the run which just goes to show what a class act he is and triathletes in general. I finished the run and then started my watch again to see how far he was behind me. I finished in 1:13:37 and Jason in 1:16:34, so 1st place in Clydesdale!
All in all, very well run triathlon other than the sloppy swim start. Bobby had a little bit of misfortune in that there were some speed bumps as you exited the campus. Bobby was looking down at his computer and didn't see the speed bump and had a minor wreck. He was still fast enough even with a wreck to come in 2nd overall in 57:16, only :37 seconds from winning. Some kind of stud.
My man Brooks was 9th overall in 1:05:09 and came in 2nd in his age group. Ashley Petry and her dad Darrel Petry were also there and did awesome.
Bob Carlson said I probably owed by 4 minute improvement in one day in my 5K time to something called race effect. I don't know what it was but I like it!
Midland/Odessa Weekend of Triathlons
Signed up for the Midland Tall City Triathlon on Saturday July 29 and Odessa Tumbleweed Triathlon on July 30. Midland was 500 yard swim, 20K bike, and 5K run - Odessa the same except 400 meter swim. Both races were put on by the respective YMCAs in each city and I give them credit for putting them on BUT neither were exactly setting the world on fire with organizational skills although Odessa was run better IMHO. Stayed in Midland for both and since Nora didn't go with me, I was equally looking forward to the races and reading Jim Butcher's new volume in the Dresden files "Ghost Story" in my down time between races. If you haven't read any of these books, I highly recommend. They're not geeky sci fi treatises but wry entertaining wizardy geeky sci fi. Back to the races.
First one to transition at Midland which was in a alley next to the "COM." I had no idea what the "COM" was but every time I asked somebody in Midland, where's the race or where's the transition area, the inevitable response was, oh, you know, at the "COM." This even though I prefaced my question every time with "I'm from El Paso, where's the race and, no, I don't know where the 'COM' is." Anyway I found the COM and got set up by 6 for a 7 race start and then found out the seeded swim start was done by race numbers and I was close to last. I didn't swim until 8 freaking 45 which meant I didn't get to my run til approximately 9:33. The run was around a park for 3 laps with zero shade and flat out died on the run. Rocked the bike. 500 yard swim was 10:29, 20K bike 37:04 (21 mph), and 5K was a miserable 30:20. Well-attended race with over 170 racers and great volunteers to assist.
I'm basing all this on my watch because I still can't find the results posted anywhere online. I got 2nd in Clydesdale to Jason McClure who beat me by 3 minutes. Drove the 15 minutes over to Odessa to pick up my race packet. The race director there was pulling his hair out because the online registrations didn't go through right. Back to hotel to put my legs and dive into Ghost Story.
First one to transition at Midland which was in a alley next to the "COM." I had no idea what the "COM" was but every time I asked somebody in Midland, where's the race or where's the transition area, the inevitable response was, oh, you know, at the "COM." This even though I prefaced my question every time with "I'm from El Paso, where's the race and, no, I don't know where the 'COM' is." Anyway I found the COM and got set up by 6 for a 7 race start and then found out the seeded swim start was done by race numbers and I was close to last. I didn't swim until 8 freaking 45 which meant I didn't get to my run til approximately 9:33. The run was around a park for 3 laps with zero shade and flat out died on the run. Rocked the bike. 500 yard swim was 10:29, 20K bike 37:04 (21 mph), and 5K was a miserable 30:20. Well-attended race with over 170 racers and great volunteers to assist.
I'm basing all this on my watch because I still can't find the results posted anywhere online. I got 2nd in Clydesdale to Jason McClure who beat me by 3 minutes. Drove the 15 minutes over to Odessa to pick up my race packet. The race director there was pulling his hair out because the online registrations didn't go through right. Back to hotel to put my legs and dive into Ghost Story.
Socorro Chile Harvest Tri
A road weary race report. I've done 3 triathlons in 7 days traveling to Midland, then Odessa, back to El Paso and then back out to Socorro, New Mexico (not counting a 4 hour drive to Sierra Vista, Arizona for a deposition and return trip same day). I'm starting with the latest triathlon first as far as race-reporting goes as its the freshest in my mind. The race in Socorro had approximately 300 people signed up but according to the final results 254 finished. Still a large field compared to most tri's.
I've driven through Socorro many, many times on I-25 on the way to/from Albuquerque and the only thing I knew about the town was fast food and convenience stores. This race wasn't on my "to do" list for that very reason. I was wrong. The further you get into Socorro nearer the mountain and the New Mexico Institute of Technology campus, the prettier it gets. Nora, Cannon, Sarah and I got in on Friday afternoon for the youth triathlon on Friday night on the NMIT campus.
If you've got kids, this youth tri was one of the best run I've ever seen. They had actual chip timing, body marking, transition areas set up professionally, a swim start - basically everything that made my little 8 year old triathlete feel like the real deal. Trying to run a youth triathlon is like trying to herd ritalin-dosed cats and these people pulled it off in spades. I think my little man is hooked and he came in 2nd in his age group!
Back to the Holiday Inn Express which was only half-mile from the transition area for my triathlon. Dinner with the family at Socorro Springs Restaurant. Very nice place to eat in what is a fast food town. Again, color me surprised ( can you say small town prejudgment anybody?). We had a double bed room and believe it or not I slept better that night than I had before any of my previous races even though Nora and I are used to a Cali King bed and two less kids in the room when we go to sleep.
Up early and Holiday Inn Express was kind enough to open the breakfast area to conform to ungodly triathlete hours. Rode my bike with my backpack the whole half mile to transition area and set up. Again, the sponsors/organizers of this triathlon know their stuff. Everything went off swimmingly, pun intended. I would invite the organizers of the Midland and Odessa Triathlons to observe how a triathlon should be run.
400 meter swim start started exactly at 7 with last swimmer #254 in water by 7:53. Awesome job especially compared to Midland which had 100 less racers and I didn't get in the water til 8:45 (grumble, grumble). The transition area was set up a little weird because you exited the bike and run from the same end. Usually you exit the bike on one end of transition and come back in the same end. The way this was set up, nobody got an advantage wherever their bike was racked because one way or another, you were going to have a long run with your bike.
I felt excellent on the swim. I've been working hard with Gretchen and Bob Carlson on my swimming and although I'm still slow by the fast guy standards, I've noticed I'm not pausing and catching my breath or using little tricks like, "oh no, my goggles are leaking, I'd better stop on the wall here and adjust for a second or 10." Feel much more stamina, just gotta start getting some speed. 400 meter clock time was 8:43 and off to bike.
Bike was up long gradual hill with several turns through the scenic NMIT campus and golf course. Anybody that reads this blog knows that turns and I don't exactly get along (I have the scars to prove it wrecking in 3 different races this year alone with various level of mayhem ensuing). I took the turns easy and saw my main competition in the fat boy division Jason McClure at various intervals. He was flying! Jason beat me in Midland by 2 1/2 minutes and I beat him by 3:00 in Odessa so this was our rubber match. I feel honored just typing that because I didn't think once I saw that Jason was riding Clydesdale again I had any shot of beating him. Finished the bike in 37 and some change with 20.3 mph average which is good for me with hills and as many turns as there were. Quick transition and into the 5K.
Day started out overcast and it was still coolish on the run so I felt good. Actually felt better on the run than I've felt in a long time. Wanted to run first mile in under 8 and did that (7:57), picked up the pace on the 2nd mile to 7:52 and really let it go in last mile for 7:28 and kept the hammer down for last bit. Nora said I looked like an actual runner as I came to the finish line! I knew I had to bust it on the run because Jason is a beast on the bike and faster than me on the swim so I figured I needed to put pretty serious time in on him on the run. For reference, my 5K time in Midland was 30:20 and in Odessa 26:01 - and in Socorro? - a blistering 24 flat, for an overall time of 1:13. My time in Odessa was 1:13:37 on a flat course and Jason was 1:16:34 so I figured I had him beat. Wrong! He didn't play fair and busted ass on the run to a 27 minute 5K and really kicked my butt on the bike by averaging 22.5 mph with hills to a 1:11 finish. So second in Clydesdale to me and kudos to Jason for winning the rubber match.
On a final note, we got to stop at Owl Bar and Cafe in San Antonio, NM for green chile cheeseburgers for everybody except Nora (doesn't eat red meat). If you've never been, I can highly recommend it, the Holiday Inn Express, Socorro Springs Restaurant, and all events for the Socorro Chile Harvest Tri.
I've driven through Socorro many, many times on I-25 on the way to/from Albuquerque and the only thing I knew about the town was fast food and convenience stores. This race wasn't on my "to do" list for that very reason. I was wrong. The further you get into Socorro nearer the mountain and the New Mexico Institute of Technology campus, the prettier it gets. Nora, Cannon, Sarah and I got in on Friday afternoon for the youth triathlon on Friday night on the NMIT campus.
If you've got kids, this youth tri was one of the best run I've ever seen. They had actual chip timing, body marking, transition areas set up professionally, a swim start - basically everything that made my little 8 year old triathlete feel like the real deal. Trying to run a youth triathlon is like trying to herd ritalin-dosed cats and these people pulled it off in spades. I think my little man is hooked and he came in 2nd in his age group!
Back to the Holiday Inn Express which was only half-mile from the transition area for my triathlon. Dinner with the family at Socorro Springs Restaurant. Very nice place to eat in what is a fast food town. Again, color me surprised ( can you say small town prejudgment anybody?). We had a double bed room and believe it or not I slept better that night than I had before any of my previous races even though Nora and I are used to a Cali King bed and two less kids in the room when we go to sleep.
Up early and Holiday Inn Express was kind enough to open the breakfast area to conform to ungodly triathlete hours. Rode my bike with my backpack the whole half mile to transition area and set up. Again, the sponsors/organizers of this triathlon know their stuff. Everything went off swimmingly, pun intended. I would invite the organizers of the Midland and Odessa Triathlons to observe how a triathlon should be run.
400 meter swim start started exactly at 7 with last swimmer #254 in water by 7:53. Awesome job especially compared to Midland which had 100 less racers and I didn't get in the water til 8:45 (grumble, grumble). The transition area was set up a little weird because you exited the bike and run from the same end. Usually you exit the bike on one end of transition and come back in the same end. The way this was set up, nobody got an advantage wherever their bike was racked because one way or another, you were going to have a long run with your bike.
I felt excellent on the swim. I've been working hard with Gretchen and Bob Carlson on my swimming and although I'm still slow by the fast guy standards, I've noticed I'm not pausing and catching my breath or using little tricks like, "oh no, my goggles are leaking, I'd better stop on the wall here and adjust for a second or 10." Feel much more stamina, just gotta start getting some speed. 400 meter clock time was 8:43 and off to bike.
Bike was up long gradual hill with several turns through the scenic NMIT campus and golf course. Anybody that reads this blog knows that turns and I don't exactly get along (I have the scars to prove it wrecking in 3 different races this year alone with various level of mayhem ensuing). I took the turns easy and saw my main competition in the fat boy division Jason McClure at various intervals. He was flying! Jason beat me in Midland by 2 1/2 minutes and I beat him by 3:00 in Odessa so this was our rubber match. I feel honored just typing that because I didn't think once I saw that Jason was riding Clydesdale again I had any shot of beating him. Finished the bike in 37 and some change with 20.3 mph average which is good for me with hills and as many turns as there were. Quick transition and into the 5K.
Day started out overcast and it was still coolish on the run so I felt good. Actually felt better on the run than I've felt in a long time. Wanted to run first mile in under 8 and did that (7:57), picked up the pace on the 2nd mile to 7:52 and really let it go in last mile for 7:28 and kept the hammer down for last bit. Nora said I looked like an actual runner as I came to the finish line! I knew I had to bust it on the run because Jason is a beast on the bike and faster than me on the swim so I figured I needed to put pretty serious time in on him on the run. For reference, my 5K time in Midland was 30:20 and in Odessa 26:01 - and in Socorro? - a blistering 24 flat, for an overall time of 1:13. My time in Odessa was 1:13:37 on a flat course and Jason was 1:16:34 so I figured I had him beat. Wrong! He didn't play fair and busted ass on the run to a 27 minute 5K and really kicked my butt on the bike by averaging 22.5 mph with hills to a 1:11 finish. So second in Clydesdale to me and kudos to Jason for winning the rubber match.
On a final note, we got to stop at Owl Bar and Cafe in San Antonio, NM for green chile cheeseburgers for everybody except Nora (doesn't eat red meat). If you've never been, I can highly recommend it, the Holiday Inn Express, Socorro Springs Restaurant, and all events for the Socorro Chile Harvest Tri.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Chick Fil A Sprint triathlon race report
So this Friday I'm driving the 7 hours to Amarillo so I can do the aforementioned tri. Had my kids the night before and I have a 2 day trial starting on Monday so i was a little in a hurry to get going. I felt a little guilty taking off to go do a triathlon when I'm picking a jury on Monday but I worked hard all week getting my case and client together so what the heck right?! HOLY CRAP is that a long drive! Especially by yourself. Especially when you get a speeding ticket in a one building town with decreasing speed limit signs every 50 feet called Elida (warning - if you are anywhere near this town, there WILL be a sawed off little redneck in a 1990 vintage pickup waiting to light you up - I saw him twice). The drive gets even longer when you realize ,oh, about 6 hours into this 7 hour drive that you forgot to bring anything to wear to race in. Oops. If Amarillo didn't have some kind of sporting goods store open late, I was screwed or would have to race naked and nobody would want to see that.
So I get to packet pickup a whole 5 minutes before they shut down and luckily the pickup is at a sporting goods store that actually sells tri gear! Solved that problem. New problem - race starts at 7:00 a.m. Which is good because it's cooler, but bad because it's 7 central time and el paso is mountain. Transition opened at 5 (4), which means I need to get up at 4:30 (3:30) after driving 7 hours. I really enjoyed the race but I'll never do it again unless I go up at least a day earlier. I was exhausted.
That being said, what an excellent race! 1st class all the way. I got lots of emails before the race began, everything was organized well, precious little bad to say about it.
As far as the race itself, Swim was 10 minutes. 400 meter seeded swim start. Not too much mosh pit. Gotta work on my swimming. I was 2 minutes slower than just about everybody in big boy bracket. Bike avg speed was 20.1 and I had fastest bike split of clydes. Big wind for 3 mile so happy about the bike. Got off bike and right calf cramped up hard. Run was 24 mins. 2.9 miles. Flat, flat course all around.
Felt better on the swim than I ever have. Didn't stop once, stayed consistent. Didn't stop at the wall and let people go past me which is first time that happened. Just slow. Gotta figure out how to pace myself faster without blowing up on the swim.
Ended up 2nd in Clydesdale category again finishing behind a 31 year old "kid" that looked undersized to me.
I wish they would bring a scale to the starts of these events. I've done 8 this year and nobody's been weighed ever. Let's keep everybody honest out there!
Next race isn't til July 9 which is good since I've done 3 races in a row. If I make it through this trial, I'll try to write about something other than boring race reports.
So I get to packet pickup a whole 5 minutes before they shut down and luckily the pickup is at a sporting goods store that actually sells tri gear! Solved that problem. New problem - race starts at 7:00 a.m. Which is good because it's cooler, but bad because it's 7 central time and el paso is mountain. Transition opened at 5 (4), which means I need to get up at 4:30 (3:30) after driving 7 hours. I really enjoyed the race but I'll never do it again unless I go up at least a day earlier. I was exhausted.
That being said, what an excellent race! 1st class all the way. I got lots of emails before the race began, everything was organized well, precious little bad to say about it.
As far as the race itself, Swim was 10 minutes. 400 meter seeded swim start. Not too much mosh pit. Gotta work on my swimming. I was 2 minutes slower than just about everybody in big boy bracket. Bike avg speed was 20.1 and I had fastest bike split of clydes. Big wind for 3 mile so happy about the bike. Got off bike and right calf cramped up hard. Run was 24 mins. 2.9 miles. Flat, flat course all around.
Felt better on the swim than I ever have. Didn't stop once, stayed consistent. Didn't stop at the wall and let people go past me which is first time that happened. Just slow. Gotta figure out how to pace myself faster without blowing up on the swim.
I wish they would bring a scale to the starts of these events. I've done 8 this year and nobody's been weighed ever. Let's keep everybody honest out there!
Next race isn't til July 9 which is good since I've done 3 races in a row. If I make it through this trial, I'll try to write about something other than boring race reports.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Ruidoso Sprint
Great trip to Ruidoso! I redeemed myself from Dexter, all our good friends from the world of triathlon were there, and my kids got to participate and rocked the kids triathlon! Here's my two budding triathletes.
Cannon's 7 and Sarah's 10 and they're already better swimmers than I am. Ruidoso was a hard course for a kids tri (it killed me) and they rocked it! Couldn't be prouder.
Nora and I and the kids spent the night at the host hotel the Holiday Inn Express. Sarah wanted to know if they had a train there (I think she equates Ruidoso with snow, Polar Express the movie, you can see her logic, right?). Took this pic and couldn't resist posting as well. I know there's some kind of law that nobody ever thinks your kids are as cute as you think they are, but my blog, my kids, my posts.
Anyway, the race weather was perfect. No wind, no clouds, moderate temps. I don't think there's a flat area anywhere in the village of Ruidoso. The only thing flat about the course was the swimming pool. I did the same race last year and apparently I have a very selective memory. Bobby Gonzalez, Gretchen McElroy and Brooks Vandivort are all much better triathletes than me but were all asking me how the run route was. Due to my selective memory and fact that I had averaged an 8:30 pace last year, I told them it wasn't bad at all. I was wrong.
They reversed the route this year to make it USAT compliant and twisted the end of the run around and it was tough, very tough. It was basically a trail run on a trail on which most people wouldn't even think of trying to run. I was satisfied with my effort though and due to the fact that they started us Clydesdales with the ladies, I was able to judge pretty well where I was. I tried to keep Gretchen in sight for as long as I could and after that I got passed by only 2 Clydes.
Smoked transition to my bike and hit the road. Nora said I looked like a completely different athlete from last year at this event - maybe because this year I didn't clip into my pedals at the start of the bike and immediately fall over! One lady did (sorry ma'am, I was there, know how it feels). Flying down the hill towards the road that runs to Inn of the Mountain Gods. Long, steady hill climb for 2-3 miles past the lake by the Inn and then the turnaround. I was looking for my main man John Gardea because I knew I was ahead of him but didn't know by how far.
I saw John hauling butt about 1-2 minutes after I made the turn. By this time I was going back down that long, long hill with the wind at my back and was flying. I was going so fast that when I hit a little pothole, my brand new aero bottle went flying (again!). For those of you keeping track, that's two races in two weeks and two aero bottles lost. Expensive hobby.
Anyway, I kept going as hard as I could. There were two Clydes in front of me that I knew and i passed one on the long climb heading back into the transition area. He was walking his bike up the hill. As far as I knew, there was only one clyde in front of me. I knew I probably couldn't catch him since my swim sucks but I figured I could stay ahead of John b/c his swim isn't any better than mine. I figured 2nd place would be awesome because they give out actual carved bears to the winners in the groups.
I got in the pool after a long ass run from the transition area to the pool across a side hill parking lot and street and across what can only be described as dorm-room carpet scraps laid end-to-end and into the pool. The pool swim requires you to swim up and down each lane 4 times, get out of the pool and be magic markered by a lady standing there, and then back into the pool for a repeat of the same. Then you take your happy self out of the pool and run across the aformentioned carpet samples to the finish line.
I was about 2 laps in when I saw John come in. I managed to keep those two lanes in between us the whole way and ran to the finish. I was happy with my effort and waited for the results. After a while, I found out that I got 3rd in the Clydesdales. I knew about the one guy that was ahead of me but had no idea who else it could be because only two guys passed me during the run and I caught one of them. Nobody and I mean nobody at all passed me on the bike so I was perplexed. But I was happy because I figured, I'm top 3, I get a cool bear!
Wrong! Epic fail on the race's part. Apparently, the race decided that since they were giving out such cool finisher prizes, they would only give them to the top 2, instead of normal top 3. That means yours truly got a nice pat on the back from his friends and no stinking bear. To top that off, Gretchen and Bobby rocked the course and up until the moment they called out awards (and even a little after in Gretchen's case) they didn't even show that either Bobby or Gretchen had even finished the race.
Oh, and I finally saw the guy that finished first in Clydesdale in 1:07. Looked about 19 and Nora said (and I agree) no way is that kid over 200 pounds. So for the record, those are Nora's sour grapes and not mine (but again I agree with her, as a good husband should). 2nd place was 1:17 and I was 1:20. 3rd out of 15 Clydes. I'm happy with that.
All in all a good race, a great weekend with my wife and kids and life is good. Bonus is that it should have been good training for my 3rd race in a row this weekend, the Chick-Fil-A tri in scenic Amarillo. I'm actually looking forward to this one as I've gotten emails this week from the run coordinator, the swim coordinator, the bike coordinator, and even the transition coordinator (didn't even know there was such a thing) telling me in exquisite detail everything about their respective realms. They must put on one hell of a show. I'll let you know.
Cannon's 7 and Sarah's 10 and they're already better swimmers than I am. Ruidoso was a hard course for a kids tri (it killed me) and they rocked it! Couldn't be prouder.
Nora and I and the kids spent the night at the host hotel the Holiday Inn Express. Sarah wanted to know if they had a train there (I think she equates Ruidoso with snow, Polar Express the movie, you can see her logic, right?). Took this pic and couldn't resist posting as well. I know there's some kind of law that nobody ever thinks your kids are as cute as you think they are, but my blog, my kids, my posts.
Anyway, the race weather was perfect. No wind, no clouds, moderate temps. I don't think there's a flat area anywhere in the village of Ruidoso. The only thing flat about the course was the swimming pool. I did the same race last year and apparently I have a very selective memory. Bobby Gonzalez, Gretchen McElroy and Brooks Vandivort are all much better triathletes than me but were all asking me how the run route was. Due to my selective memory and fact that I had averaged an 8:30 pace last year, I told them it wasn't bad at all. I was wrong.
They reversed the route this year to make it USAT compliant and twisted the end of the run around and it was tough, very tough. It was basically a trail run on a trail on which most people wouldn't even think of trying to run. I was satisfied with my effort though and due to the fact that they started us Clydesdales with the ladies, I was able to judge pretty well where I was. I tried to keep Gretchen in sight for as long as I could and after that I got passed by only 2 Clydes.
Smoked transition to my bike and hit the road. Nora said I looked like a completely different athlete from last year at this event - maybe because this year I didn't clip into my pedals at the start of the bike and immediately fall over! One lady did (sorry ma'am, I was there, know how it feels). Flying down the hill towards the road that runs to Inn of the Mountain Gods. Long, steady hill climb for 2-3 miles past the lake by the Inn and then the turnaround. I was looking for my main man John Gardea because I knew I was ahead of him but didn't know by how far.
I saw John hauling butt about 1-2 minutes after I made the turn. By this time I was going back down that long, long hill with the wind at my back and was flying. I was going so fast that when I hit a little pothole, my brand new aero bottle went flying (again!). For those of you keeping track, that's two races in two weeks and two aero bottles lost. Expensive hobby.
Anyway, I kept going as hard as I could. There were two Clydes in front of me that I knew and i passed one on the long climb heading back into the transition area. He was walking his bike up the hill. As far as I knew, there was only one clyde in front of me. I knew I probably couldn't catch him since my swim sucks but I figured I could stay ahead of John b/c his swim isn't any better than mine. I figured 2nd place would be awesome because they give out actual carved bears to the winners in the groups.
I got in the pool after a long ass run from the transition area to the pool across a side hill parking lot and street and across what can only be described as dorm-room carpet scraps laid end-to-end and into the pool. The pool swim requires you to swim up and down each lane 4 times, get out of the pool and be magic markered by a lady standing there, and then back into the pool for a repeat of the same. Then you take your happy self out of the pool and run across the aformentioned carpet samples to the finish line.
I was about 2 laps in when I saw John come in. I managed to keep those two lanes in between us the whole way and ran to the finish. I was happy with my effort and waited for the results. After a while, I found out that I got 3rd in the Clydesdales. I knew about the one guy that was ahead of me but had no idea who else it could be because only two guys passed me during the run and I caught one of them. Nobody and I mean nobody at all passed me on the bike so I was perplexed. But I was happy because I figured, I'm top 3, I get a cool bear!
Wrong! Epic fail on the race's part. Apparently, the race decided that since they were giving out such cool finisher prizes, they would only give them to the top 2, instead of normal top 3. That means yours truly got a nice pat on the back from his friends and no stinking bear. To top that off, Gretchen and Bobby rocked the course and up until the moment they called out awards (and even a little after in Gretchen's case) they didn't even show that either Bobby or Gretchen had even finished the race.
Oh, and I finally saw the guy that finished first in Clydesdale in 1:07. Looked about 19 and Nora said (and I agree) no way is that kid over 200 pounds. So for the record, those are Nora's sour grapes and not mine (but again I agree with her, as a good husband should). 2nd place was 1:17 and I was 1:20. 3rd out of 15 Clydes. I'm happy with that.
All in all a good race, a great weekend with my wife and kids and life is good. Bonus is that it should have been good training for my 3rd race in a row this weekend, the Chick-Fil-A tri in scenic Amarillo. I'm actually looking forward to this one as I've gotten emails this week from the run coordinator, the swim coordinator, the bike coordinator, and even the transition coordinator (didn't even know there was such a thing) telling me in exquisite detail everything about their respective realms. They must put on one hell of a show. I'll let you know.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Milkman Triathlon 2011 - A humbling experience
Well run tri with wave start by age group. Arrived early on Friday before race and so Gretchen, Bobby and I drove the bike route to get a feel for it. The road felt rough sitting in a brand new Yukon so I knew it was going to be rattly.
I did the Milkman last year and it was the hottest most miserable race in which I've competed. My time last year was 1:33 which for a 500 meter swim, 12.4 mile bike, and 5K run is pretty slow for me. I went to bed about 10 but couldn't get to sleep until about 1 a.m. so had lots of time to formulate how well I was going to do the next day. I told the race director at packet pick up that 1:15 was my goal. Sounded reasonable when I was standing between two legends - my coach and Bobby Gonzalez. While I was trying to go to sleep, I thought I could do the 500 meters in about 10 minutes, bike less than 40 (only have to average 20 mph to do that), and counting quick transitions I could run the 5K in under 25 minutes and be golden. All those times are slow compared to my training. I just did a 550 yard swim time trial in 9:57 and my fastest 5K time is a little less than 21. All these thoughts were racing in my tired head at the glamorous and luxurious Fairfield Inn in scenic Roswell (gotta love Marriott Rewards Points!)
Got up at 5:30 on race morning and this time didn't stop at a gas station to get a honey bun for breakfast (did that last year - one of my many excuses for the 1:33). My beautiful wife actually packed me breakfast stuff so I had a banana and some almond butter and a lara bar. Good to go!
Got sat up and my friend John Gardea was there and we wished each other luck, knowing that we had been chasing each other in 4 or 5 prior races. A lot of people were vacillating between wearing a wet suit or not. I had already made up my mind that I was going to wear mine even though the only one I have is full suit. The people that were wearing suits had on sleeveless. Water was 67 degrees and clear.
I started with my wave and felt much better than I did last year when I was uncomfortable and freaking about swimming "that far" in a lake. Came out of the water in 12:00. Oops, a little behind schedule but I figured I can make that up on the bike.
This is where it started to fall apart. I came out of the water before my good friend/competition John but I COULD NOT get the damn wetsuit off my feet! I know, I know, everybody said that would be a problem and I did practice taking the wet suit off. Unfortunately, I just don't think you can simulate trying to get a wet suit off after swimming 500 meters being pushed around, digging seaweed off your face, and the general free for all that is the swim start of a triathlon. I was so slow in transition, that John beat me out and was gone on the bike.
Felt good going out and was averaging well over 20 mph until I started climbing a hill that went up down and up for about 2 1/2 miles. I didn't even remember any hill climbing in last year's race but apparently I just blocked that out b/c they were definitely there and killed my speed to the 12-14 mph department. Gretchen started 5 minutes after me and passed me on the bike with first 4 miles. Also, the damn road was so bumpy, my fancy aero bottle bounced out from between my aero bars. Thankfully they were handing out actual waters bottles that were blessedly cold at the half way turnaround on the bike.
I was trying to get John in my sights and saw him coming back when i was 1/2 mile from turnaround. Bobby passed me about 2 miles into the return trip. I thought if I can just get close enough to John that I could see him starting his run when I'm coming in off the bike, I'd be able to catch him on the run. He's a beast on the bike but I'm a lot faster than him on the run so I figured I could catch him if I saw him. The ride back was hot and into a headwind. Unfortunately for all my "catch John Gardea plans," I wrecked - again. Turning last corner to go back into the park area and all of sudden it was like my wheels were on ice and they just slid right from underneath me! I landed by sliding on my left side. Here's some photos
I'm proud to say I didn't stay down very long. I didn't even give the two guys that were standing at that particular corner to get to me. I just jumped back on my bike (no obvious damage this time), and kept going - and promptly fell at the next corner too. No new injuries that time but by this point, I was afraid to look. I just got back into transition area and put on my running shoes.
At least I thought they were running shoes, but apparently some jerk replaced my shoes with concrete replicas because I could not manager any better than 9:30 pace. I don't know why, but the Dexter Milkman just kicks my ass for some reason. My two worst performances last year was this race and the Eagle in the Sun and the only things those have in common is a swim start.
I faded worse in the last part of the run but managed to finish the run despite the blood, sweat and tears. Finished in 1:27 so that's 6 minutes better than last year but no where near what I thought I could do. Bad news John came in around 1:17 and kicked everybody's butt in the Clydesdale division, 7 minutes ahead of closest competitor. I was 4th out of 5. Sucky, sucky, sucky. I have Ruidoso this weekend and Amarillo weekend after that so I need to get over my pity party pretty pronto. I've trained well since I got over the double pneumonia but I don't think my fitness is near where it was. I'm going have to race my way back into shape!
the rest of my crew did aweome. Both Bobby and Gretchen were second overall and 1st in their age group. Brooks was top 15 in 2nd in his age group. I need some of their star power to start rubbing off on me!
I did the Milkman last year and it was the hottest most miserable race in which I've competed. My time last year was 1:33 which for a 500 meter swim, 12.4 mile bike, and 5K run is pretty slow for me. I went to bed about 10 but couldn't get to sleep until about 1 a.m. so had lots of time to formulate how well I was going to do the next day. I told the race director at packet pick up that 1:15 was my goal. Sounded reasonable when I was standing between two legends - my coach and Bobby Gonzalez. While I was trying to go to sleep, I thought I could do the 500 meters in about 10 minutes, bike less than 40 (only have to average 20 mph to do that), and counting quick transitions I could run the 5K in under 25 minutes and be golden. All those times are slow compared to my training. I just did a 550 yard swim time trial in 9:57 and my fastest 5K time is a little less than 21. All these thoughts were racing in my tired head at the glamorous and luxurious Fairfield Inn in scenic Roswell (gotta love Marriott Rewards Points!)
Got up at 5:30 on race morning and this time didn't stop at a gas station to get a honey bun for breakfast (did that last year - one of my many excuses for the 1:33). My beautiful wife actually packed me breakfast stuff so I had a banana and some almond butter and a lara bar. Good to go!
Got sat up and my friend John Gardea was there and we wished each other luck, knowing that we had been chasing each other in 4 or 5 prior races. A lot of people were vacillating between wearing a wet suit or not. I had already made up my mind that I was going to wear mine even though the only one I have is full suit. The people that were wearing suits had on sleeveless. Water was 67 degrees and clear.
I started with my wave and felt much better than I did last year when I was uncomfortable and freaking about swimming "that far" in a lake. Came out of the water in 12:00. Oops, a little behind schedule but I figured I can make that up on the bike.
This is where it started to fall apart. I came out of the water before my good friend/competition John but I COULD NOT get the damn wetsuit off my feet! I know, I know, everybody said that would be a problem and I did practice taking the wet suit off. Unfortunately, I just don't think you can simulate trying to get a wet suit off after swimming 500 meters being pushed around, digging seaweed off your face, and the general free for all that is the swim start of a triathlon. I was so slow in transition, that John beat me out and was gone on the bike.
Felt good going out and was averaging well over 20 mph until I started climbing a hill that went up down and up for about 2 1/2 miles. I didn't even remember any hill climbing in last year's race but apparently I just blocked that out b/c they were definitely there and killed my speed to the 12-14 mph department. Gretchen started 5 minutes after me and passed me on the bike with first 4 miles. Also, the damn road was so bumpy, my fancy aero bottle bounced out from between my aero bars. Thankfully they were handing out actual waters bottles that were blessedly cold at the half way turnaround on the bike.
I was trying to get John in my sights and saw him coming back when i was 1/2 mile from turnaround. Bobby passed me about 2 miles into the return trip. I thought if I can just get close enough to John that I could see him starting his run when I'm coming in off the bike, I'd be able to catch him on the run. He's a beast on the bike but I'm a lot faster than him on the run so I figured I could catch him if I saw him. The ride back was hot and into a headwind. Unfortunately for all my "catch John Gardea plans," I wrecked - again. Turning last corner to go back into the park area and all of sudden it was like my wheels were on ice and they just slid right from underneath me! I landed by sliding on my left side. Here's some photos
At least I thought they were running shoes, but apparently some jerk replaced my shoes with concrete replicas because I could not manager any better than 9:30 pace. I don't know why, but the Dexter Milkman just kicks my ass for some reason. My two worst performances last year was this race and the Eagle in the Sun and the only things those have in common is a swim start.
I faded worse in the last part of the run but managed to finish the run despite the blood, sweat and tears. Finished in 1:27 so that's 6 minutes better than last year but no where near what I thought I could do. Bad news John came in around 1:17 and kicked everybody's butt in the Clydesdale division, 7 minutes ahead of closest competitor. I was 4th out of 5. Sucky, sucky, sucky. I have Ruidoso this weekend and Amarillo weekend after that so I need to get over my pity party pretty pronto. I've trained well since I got over the double pneumonia but I don't think my fitness is near where it was. I'm going have to race my way back into shape!
the rest of my crew did aweome. Both Bobby and Gretchen were second overall and 1st in their age group. Brooks was top 15 in 2nd in his age group. I need some of their star power to start rubbing off on me!
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Sickness and Future Plans
Just when I think no one's reading my musings, several people asked me where's my race report on the Dog House Sprint. Well, no race report because I didn't go. I call it the curse of saying "I never get sick." Took my assistants to lunch for administrative assistant's day and commented to one of my girls who gets sick a lot that exercise has helped me stay healthy. Famous last words being "I've never gotten sick since I started training for triathlons." 3 days later I sneezed and my wife, who is closely attuned to my every mannerism, said "are you getting sick?" I never get congested or need to use tissue. Suddenly I did.
Long story short, got double pneumonia and didn't train for week and a half. Started to feel better on May 14 and ran a little bit but didn't think I would be anywhere close to ready to go for an open water swim in 54 degree water so cancelled. Bummer. I learned from my friends Cody, John and Brooks that the weather was windy and cold in Lubbock so it's probably good I skipped it. Although I also found out there were no other Clydesdales entered into the Sprint and I would've taken first place just by showing up and finishing, but oh well.
I was still feeling bad enough that I skipped the Braden Aboud 5K on Sunday even though my wife and 2 of my kids did it. It is one of my favorite races and the race that I broke through on last year and set a major PR. I still felt sick enough that I didn't even resent or feel bad seeing all the happy racers around me. My hot ass wife even set a new PR of her own breaking 30 minutes for the first time! My 7 year old son and 10 year old daughter did awesome as well.
Next up for me will be the Milkman Triathlon in Dexter, NM on June 4, followed by the Ruidoso Tri on June 11, and then Chick-Fil-A tri in Amarillo on June 18. Back to back to back. I should be in shape again by then. My overriding goal is to do well in the El Paso Tri in September. I put in a poor effort last year and want to redeem myself.
My run has held up well. I biked this morning and felt good. So hopefully, I didn't lose too much fitness. We'll see come June 4.
Long story short, got double pneumonia and didn't train for week and a half. Started to feel better on May 14 and ran a little bit but didn't think I would be anywhere close to ready to go for an open water swim in 54 degree water so cancelled. Bummer. I learned from my friends Cody, John and Brooks that the weather was windy and cold in Lubbock so it's probably good I skipped it. Although I also found out there were no other Clydesdales entered into the Sprint and I would've taken first place just by showing up and finishing, but oh well.
I was still feeling bad enough that I skipped the Braden Aboud 5K on Sunday even though my wife and 2 of my kids did it. It is one of my favorite races and the race that I broke through on last year and set a major PR. I still felt sick enough that I didn't even resent or feel bad seeing all the happy racers around me. My hot ass wife even set a new PR of her own breaking 30 minutes for the first time! My 7 year old son and 10 year old daughter did awesome as well.
Next up for me will be the Milkman Triathlon in Dexter, NM on June 4, followed by the Ruidoso Tri on June 11, and then Chick-Fil-A tri in Amarillo on June 18. Back to back to back. I should be in shape again by then. My overriding goal is to do well in the El Paso Tri in September. I put in a poor effort last year and want to redeem myself.
My run has held up well. I biked this morning and felt good. So hopefully, I didn't lose too much fitness. We'll see come June 4.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Holloman Duathlon
The race gets a negative for hassle with registration. As the name suggests, held on Holloman AFB. The registration form was harder to find than the Loch Ness monster. I think these military installations stage these races as activities for the good men and women of their respective military services. My guess is that if you serve at HAFB registration would be simple but for those of us who track down these events, they are less than inviting. I only found the registration after triathlete extraordinaire Cody Hansen posted it on his blog. Multiple voice messages and emails to the RD went unanswered. When we showed up, at least 10 people were there who had registered, some of which even had fax confirmations, and were rebuffed with "sorry, you're not on the list." I think everybody that wanted to race got to race, but still you don't want to drive hundreds of miles at the ass crack of dawn only to be told "you're not on the list." Boo for registration.
That being said, the race itself was excellent. No swim which made me happy. I would promise to quit griping about the swim portion of these triathlons, but hey, it's my blog and I'll complain all I want. Stupid swim (grumble). The parking lot was muy intimidating. Only about 50 people there for event but no newbies to be seen - only little skinny athletic looking-bastards.
Run and bike were flat, flat, flat. Road was 85% smooth and the bumpy part wasn't that bad. Car pooled with world's nicest guy John Gardea. We left my house at 5 a.m. and arrived plenty early. Started out strong on the race and clocked 6:56 for first mile. Felt some hunger pangs right from the start so should've ate a little more. Went out with the pack of the pack with the fast guys and hung on til turn around. Time started to slip away and 2nd mile was 7:35. 3rd mile was tough and couldn't seem to step on the accelerator. Watched the fast guys (fast to me) slip away and struggled to 8:15 3rd mile. (Excuse alert!). Sick this week for first time in a long time and took it easy for 3 days to recover. Don't know if I had trained through it if that would've made a difference but I suspect it would - and I know Gretchen would say it would, so there's that.
Pretty quick transition for me at :55 seconds. Out on bike maintaining 20-22 pretty evenly. Got passed by one guy and I passed 3 on the way out. Bike was an out and back which I love because you get a good idea of where everybody is at the turnaround. I put 3 minutes on my erstwhile nemesis/good friend John Gardea and I was pushing hard on the bike for the first half so I figured I wouldn't see him for 3-4 minutes after the turnaround - wrong! Much to my surprise and chagrin, I saw John not 100-200 meters after the turn. Crap! I really, really pushed coming back in because I expected to see John whiz past me any second. I pushed so hard I passed another 4 people coming back in including super stud Cody Hansen with a little less than a mile to go. Cody looked like he was struggling a bit but, like the true competitor he is, he didn't take me passing him so well and immediately passed me back. The bike ends with a sharp right turn back into the transition area and after the nasty fall I took at MVT, I babied that last turn but sprinted to the finish after that with a bad case of John Gardea-itis. I finished ahead of John by 1:09.
Bike time was 52:23 for 18.8 miles average speed 21.6. The proof - http://connect.garmin.com/activity/79915393. John's bike split including transition was 51:25 so he made up 2 minutes on me on the bike which I barely held with my 3 minutes on him on the run. He told me afterwards that he was really busting it trying to catch me the whole way in so I'm extremely satisfied with my effort!
Got 1st place in Clydesdale with John a close second. The next Clyde was over 17 minutes behind me so I guess you could say John and I were in a class of our own in the fat boy division.
My boy Brooks Vandivort killed it and came in 3rd overall in a very, very fast field. Very impressive Brooks!
I've got no chance of catching John in the Southwest Challenge Series. Head to head, we're 2 and 2. I might could catch him if we did the same number of races the rest of the year but he has a head start b/c he did the Polar Bear and Jingle Bell Tris in December and took 1st in both so has a 20 point head start on me. Gretchen is telling me I need to be an age-grouper next year so I might not get me a fancy jacket for this year (award to the season winner). We'll see.
Next race is the Dog House Sprint in Lubbock on May 15th. My precious daughter's 9 year old birthday party is that day so I won't be leaving El Paso til late but race doesn't start until 9:50 so I should be able to get some rest. I'd give up the rest, however, to start a little earlier b/c it's going to be flipping hot! Swim is in Buffalo Springs Lake which means open water which means gulp! Funny thing is I went to law school for 3 years in Lubbock and never even knew they had a lake - guess I'm going to find out now. I'll post the race report to reflect on the carnage.
That being said, the race itself was excellent. No swim which made me happy. I would promise to quit griping about the swim portion of these triathlons, but hey, it's my blog and I'll complain all I want. Stupid swim (grumble). The parking lot was muy intimidating. Only about 50 people there for event but no newbies to be seen - only little skinny athletic looking-bastards.
Run and bike were flat, flat, flat. Road was 85% smooth and the bumpy part wasn't that bad. Car pooled with world's nicest guy John Gardea. We left my house at 5 a.m. and arrived plenty early. Started out strong on the race and clocked 6:56 for first mile. Felt some hunger pangs right from the start so should've ate a little more. Went out with the pack of the pack with the fast guys and hung on til turn around. Time started to slip away and 2nd mile was 7:35. 3rd mile was tough and couldn't seem to step on the accelerator. Watched the fast guys (fast to me) slip away and struggled to 8:15 3rd mile. (Excuse alert!). Sick this week for first time in a long time and took it easy for 3 days to recover. Don't know if I had trained through it if that would've made a difference but I suspect it would - and I know Gretchen would say it would, so there's that.
Pretty quick transition for me at :55 seconds. Out on bike maintaining 20-22 pretty evenly. Got passed by one guy and I passed 3 on the way out. Bike was an out and back which I love because you get a good idea of where everybody is at the turnaround. I put 3 minutes on my erstwhile nemesis/good friend John Gardea and I was pushing hard on the bike for the first half so I figured I wouldn't see him for 3-4 minutes after the turnaround - wrong! Much to my surprise and chagrin, I saw John not 100-200 meters after the turn. Crap! I really, really pushed coming back in because I expected to see John whiz past me any second. I pushed so hard I passed another 4 people coming back in including super stud Cody Hansen with a little less than a mile to go. Cody looked like he was struggling a bit but, like the true competitor he is, he didn't take me passing him so well and immediately passed me back. The bike ends with a sharp right turn back into the transition area and after the nasty fall I took at MVT, I babied that last turn but sprinted to the finish after that with a bad case of John Gardea-itis. I finished ahead of John by 1:09.
Bike time was 52:23 for 18.8 miles average speed 21.6. The proof - http://connect.garmin.com/activity/79915393. John's bike split including transition was 51:25 so he made up 2 minutes on me on the bike which I barely held with my 3 minutes on him on the run. He told me afterwards that he was really busting it trying to catch me the whole way in so I'm extremely satisfied with my effort!
Got 1st place in Clydesdale with John a close second. The next Clyde was over 17 minutes behind me so I guess you could say John and I were in a class of our own in the fat boy division.
My boy Brooks Vandivort killed it and came in 3rd overall in a very, very fast field. Very impressive Brooks!
I've got no chance of catching John in the Southwest Challenge Series. Head to head, we're 2 and 2. I might could catch him if we did the same number of races the rest of the year but he has a head start b/c he did the Polar Bear and Jingle Bell Tris in December and took 1st in both so has a 20 point head start on me. Gretchen is telling me I need to be an age-grouper next year so I might not get me a fancy jacket for this year (award to the season winner). We'll see.
Next race is the Dog House Sprint in Lubbock on May 15th. My precious daughter's 9 year old birthday party is that day so I won't be leaving El Paso til late but race doesn't start until 9:50 so I should be able to get some rest. I'd give up the rest, however, to start a little earlier b/c it's going to be flipping hot! Swim is in Buffalo Springs Lake which means open water which means gulp! Funny thing is I went to law school for 3 years in Lubbock and never even knew they had a lake - guess I'm going to find out now. I'll post the race report to reflect on the carnage.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Biking with the Big Boys
I've been doing rides in the Upper Valley of El Paso for about a year and a half now. There is this super fast group made up of extremely athletic people that just look fast standing still - you know the people I'm talking about. They just LOOK like triathletes. People like Bobby Gonzalez, Gretchen McElroy, Brent Crowley, etc. I've seen them in the parking lot but never got a good look at them on the bike b/c they'd just zoom by me. Well today my schedule called for me to ride the EP TriClub group ride that leaves at 8. The only guys there were guys that are even newer than me. We took off and were piddling along at 16-17 mph when we came up on this big group and, Gulp!, it was the fast guys. Included in the group were the aforementioned three godawful fast people, one of which is my coach. Gretchen said "Come on Rob" and so I did. In my mind, I was set up to ride maybe an hour and a half and go about 25 miles or so. I had no idea how far they were going but Gretchen said so off I went.
As a little background as mentioned in my last post, I crashed hard at the Mesilla Valley Triathlon, beat myself up pretty good, and sucked ass on the swim. My worst performance in the pool ever. So needless to say (although I just did anyway), my confidence wasn't that high.
I was tooling along with the group and we were going a pedestrian 20 mph or so and then we turned onto Highway 28 and whoom! Off we went. Turns out we were riding to La Mesa, home of the famous Chope's, some 21 miles from where we started. Much to my surprise and amazement, I hung on the fast people all the way out! In the last 3-4 miles, all that was left were me, Bobby, Gretchen and 2-3 others out of 15-20 that started. Way cool. We hit 29 mph and averaged 24 mph for that stretch. I had no idea I could do that. I had never hung with those guys for more than 1-2 miles at most. They probably viewed it as a normal training but it was monumental to me.
We hung out in La Mesa for maybe 5 minutes and then started heading back. I thought maybe I'll stick with them 5 miles or so and then I'll crack. Nope. Hung out with them to Gadsden and then started to crack - couldn't hang on the wheel and watched them recede into the distance. Then a truck with its hazards on came around me. It was a support truck for 3-4 kids that had latched onto the fast group on the way back. I found that if I got right behind that truck, I could hold 27-28 mph relatively easily. Within 3 miles, I caught up to the fast group again! I stuck with them all the way back after that and felt very proud when I pulled back into the starting point with the fast group. I stayed with them all the way!
Big day for yours truly. Just had to write about it. Next up is the Holloman Duathlon which is a 5K run and 30K bike. No swim! Yay! I have no idea how flat or hilly the course is since the good folks at Holloman are a reclusive bunch that post absolutely nothing about the race and apparently don't care if anybody registers or not judging by the difficulty I had trying to register for said race. I'll let you know how it goes since I need to redeem myself from the Mesilla Valley Triathlon.
As a little background as mentioned in my last post, I crashed hard at the Mesilla Valley Triathlon, beat myself up pretty good, and sucked ass on the swim. My worst performance in the pool ever. So needless to say (although I just did anyway), my confidence wasn't that high.
I was tooling along with the group and we were going a pedestrian 20 mph or so and then we turned onto Highway 28 and whoom! Off we went. Turns out we were riding to La Mesa, home of the famous Chope's, some 21 miles from where we started. Much to my surprise and amazement, I hung on the fast people all the way out! In the last 3-4 miles, all that was left were me, Bobby, Gretchen and 2-3 others out of 15-20 that started. Way cool. We hit 29 mph and averaged 24 mph for that stretch. I had no idea I could do that. I had never hung with those guys for more than 1-2 miles at most. They probably viewed it as a normal training but it was monumental to me.
We hung out in La Mesa for maybe 5 minutes and then started heading back. I thought maybe I'll stick with them 5 miles or so and then I'll crack. Nope. Hung out with them to Gadsden and then started to crack - couldn't hang on the wheel and watched them recede into the distance. Then a truck with its hazards on came around me. It was a support truck for 3-4 kids that had latched onto the fast group on the way back. I found that if I got right behind that truck, I could hold 27-28 mph relatively easily. Within 3 miles, I caught up to the fast group again! I stuck with them all the way back after that and felt very proud when I pulled back into the starting point with the fast group. I stayed with them all the way!
Big day for yours truly. Just had to write about it. Next up is the Holloman Duathlon which is a 5K run and 30K bike. No swim! Yay! I have no idea how flat or hilly the course is since the good folks at Holloman are a reclusive bunch that post absolutely nothing about the race and apparently don't care if anybody registers or not judging by the difficulty I had trying to register for said race. I'll let you know how it goes since I need to redeem myself from the Mesilla Valley Triathlon.
Monday, April 4, 2011
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
The good - aced the Sully Sprint Triathlon. Improved my time my 15 minutes from last year on exact same course for a 1:18. Won Clydesdale division comfortably and can genuinely say I pushed myself just right and was clicking. Everything was great. One word of advice - we stayed at the Maverick Inn which advertises itself as funky chic and charges $110 a night for a queen bed and room that would be $40 if it wasn't "funky chic." The room was ok, the people were nice and it's just across the street from Sul Ross. The problem was the flipping traffic and the damned Cousin Vinnie trains coming thru. I'm a very sound sleeper usually - got none at the Maverick Inn, just sayin'.
The Bad? The Mesiila Valley Triathlon raced yesterday. I'm a long way from getting cocky but I was getting a little more comfortable. Good crowd with about 200 people and pretty well organized. Lots of friends there. Cody showed up to race and pick up his award for the Southwest Challenge Series. The first person I ran into was John Gardea. John is my main competition in these contests in the big boy division. John passed me at the last in the President's Day and I bested him at the Sully Super Sprint. I use John as motivation to train and race harder but it's getting difficult because he's just about the nicest guy you'll ever meet.
The run was solid pacing off Cody. We traded places a few times but he was always there just behind me. I know this because you can hear him yelling to encourage lots of people. Another helluva nice guy. For guys that train as hard and invest so much time in personal improvement, triathletes are surprisingly a rather non-egotistical bunch. On to the bike where THE BAD comes in. Cody beat me out of transition (gotta work on that, the list is long), and then Scott Darling passed me too - that pissed me off and I went after him. So I'm hauling ass, down a hill, see Scott make a corner to the left ahead of me - doesn't look that bad. I hit that corner about 20 miles per hour and almost had it but caught the soft dirt and BAM! Down I went skidding across the pavement. My left hand had a hole in it the size of a quarter, scrapes lots of places, my only water bottle flew 20 feet away, twisted up my handlebars and my chain got all wedged into places it shouldn't have. I got up and a kid that was standing there helped me put my pieces back together. Took me at least 3-4 minutes to get the chain back on, etc.
I was hot, angry at myself, hurting and watching people zoom by me. I felt like the guy that's passing everybody on the freeway and then gets pulled over and has to watch helplessly as all those people he passed earlier go smirkingly by as the cop writes the ticket. I got back on and did my best. I was busting hard and felt like I passed 50 people on the rest of the bike but it was probably more like 20. Limped into transition but managed :42 seconds which is good for me. And then THE UGLY.
The swim was 500 meters in an outdoor 50 meter pool. I jumped in, took 2 strokes and had to stop because I couldn't breath. Goggles kept filling up with water. [insert your excuse here]. It was bad. All those people I passed on the bike seemingly passed my slow ass in the pool. I normally can swim 500 in 10 minutes with a medium to fast effort. Took me over 14 flipping minutes. I was embarrassed because Gretchen was there, my wife, my kids and my parents. It was not good.
Learning lessons - slow down for corners, I'm not in as good shape as I thought I was, don't get cocky, work on swimming, work on transitions, and try to smile more. Oh well, I'll get them next time.
The Bad? The Mesiila Valley Triathlon raced yesterday. I'm a long way from getting cocky but I was getting a little more comfortable. Good crowd with about 200 people and pretty well organized. Lots of friends there. Cody showed up to race and pick up his award for the Southwest Challenge Series. The first person I ran into was John Gardea. John is my main competition in these contests in the big boy division. John passed me at the last in the President's Day and I bested him at the Sully Super Sprint. I use John as motivation to train and race harder but it's getting difficult because he's just about the nicest guy you'll ever meet.
The run was solid pacing off Cody. We traded places a few times but he was always there just behind me. I know this because you can hear him yelling to encourage lots of people. Another helluva nice guy. For guys that train as hard and invest so much time in personal improvement, triathletes are surprisingly a rather non-egotistical bunch. On to the bike where THE BAD comes in. Cody beat me out of transition (gotta work on that, the list is long), and then Scott Darling passed me too - that pissed me off and I went after him. So I'm hauling ass, down a hill, see Scott make a corner to the left ahead of me - doesn't look that bad. I hit that corner about 20 miles per hour and almost had it but caught the soft dirt and BAM! Down I went skidding across the pavement. My left hand had a hole in it the size of a quarter, scrapes lots of places, my only water bottle flew 20 feet away, twisted up my handlebars and my chain got all wedged into places it shouldn't have. I got up and a kid that was standing there helped me put my pieces back together. Took me at least 3-4 minutes to get the chain back on, etc.
I was hot, angry at myself, hurting and watching people zoom by me. I felt like the guy that's passing everybody on the freeway and then gets pulled over and has to watch helplessly as all those people he passed earlier go smirkingly by as the cop writes the ticket. I got back on and did my best. I was busting hard and felt like I passed 50 people on the rest of the bike but it was probably more like 20. Limped into transition but managed :42 seconds which is good for me. And then THE UGLY.
The swim was 500 meters in an outdoor 50 meter pool. I jumped in, took 2 strokes and had to stop because I couldn't breath. Goggles kept filling up with water. [insert your excuse here]. It was bad. All those people I passed on the bike seemingly passed my slow ass in the pool. I normally can swim 500 in 10 minutes with a medium to fast effort. Took me over 14 flipping minutes. I was embarrassed because Gretchen was there, my wife, my kids and my parents. It was not good.
Learning lessons - slow down for corners, I'm not in as good shape as I thought I was, don't get cocky, work on swimming, work on transitions, and try to smile more. Oh well, I'll get them next time.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Gadsden 5K report and upcoming race musings
Can you tell I'm at home watching NCAA b'ball? 3 posts in one day when I haven't posted in over a month. My wife says I'm incapable of doing just one thing at a time and I'm beginning to believe her. The reason I started posting again is because I got a message from my brother Craig that humbled me. I had no idea anyone was reading my blog except for my wife, who is contractually obligated to be excited about just anything I do. Apparently Craig has been reading my blog and it inspired him to start a diet and exercise regimen. Craig is a big dude who has had major knee problems. It makes me feel really good that my little journey/midlife crisis has positively affected others, especially my "baby" brother. Craig if you're reading this, I love you and couldn't be more proud that you're taking control of your life. Keep it up! Don't overdo it, don't get discouraged, and just take it slow. Exercise has to be part of your life just like sleeping, eating, and working or it will go to the wayside.
I did the 2nd Annual for the Love of Books 5K at Gadsden Middle School on March 12. This was a special treat for me because it's exactly 14 miles from my house on backroads and didn't start until 9 so I met Gretchen at 8 and we rode out there, did the race, hopped back on our bikes and rode back. Felt very triathlete-like riding up to the race, finishing, and then riding away. Downside was Gretchen was there and since she wasn't running the race, she came up with the idea of pacing me on her bike. Whoops.
First mile was 6:37, 2nd 7:05, last 7:23 - overall time 21:09 - new PR baby! She wanted me to "kick" last half mile to keep up with this little old dude and I really, really wanted to "kick." Didn't happen. That little old dude beat me by :24 seconds and that little old dude was only 48. So I got 2nd in my age group, 7th overall. My time would've won my age group in Austin by a full minute but in the racing El Paso corridor, not so much. Good training day altogether but I've got to figure out if I'm pushing myself hard enough. I think that I am but I guess you never know until somebody has to leave on a stretcher.
Next race is the Sully Super Sprint Triathlon in Alpine at Sul Ross University. I did it last year and it was my first official triathlon. I did it in 1:33 last year and hope to improve that by 9-10 minutes. I'll let you know.
I did the 2nd Annual for the Love of Books 5K at Gadsden Middle School on March 12. This was a special treat for me because it's exactly 14 miles from my house on backroads and didn't start until 9 so I met Gretchen at 8 and we rode out there, did the race, hopped back on our bikes and rode back. Felt very triathlete-like riding up to the race, finishing, and then riding away. Downside was Gretchen was there and since she wasn't running the race, she came up with the idea of pacing me on her bike. Whoops.
First mile was 6:37, 2nd 7:05, last 7:23 - overall time 21:09 - new PR baby! She wanted me to "kick" last half mile to keep up with this little old dude and I really, really wanted to "kick." Didn't happen. That little old dude beat me by :24 seconds and that little old dude was only 48. So I got 2nd in my age group, 7th overall. My time would've won my age group in Austin by a full minute but in the racing El Paso corridor, not so much. Good training day altogether but I've got to figure out if I'm pushing myself hard enough. I think that I am but I guess you never know until somebody has to leave on a stretcher.
Next race is the Sully Super Sprint Triathlon in Alpine at Sul Ross University. I did it last year and it was my first official triathlon. I did it in 1:33 last year and hope to improve that by 9-10 minutes. I'll let you know.
Austin Livestrong 5K Report
I completed the President's Day Duathlon on February 19th, took a quick shower and hauled ass for the airport to fly to Austin. Nora and our good friends Craig and Colleen Marusich and Courtney Rios were already in Austin to do the half marathon on February 20th. I entered the 5K as a "recovery run." Us big time triathlete-like fellows apparently do "recovery runs" after busting our collective butts in races. I thought you were just supposed to assume the position and sit on your happy tail but Gretchen (my trainer) thinks otherwise.
Got into Austin about 4 p.m. and we had some good Italian, walked around a bit and went to bed early. Got up at the ass crack (thank you time difference) and staggered down to the Capitol. They staggered the start so Craig and I got to see Nora, Colleen and Courtney off and then I started my race. The plan was to "run easy." Apparently I don't know how to do that when there's 1100 hundred people around me. I held steady about a 7 to 7:30 mile and ended up in 23:47. Pretty good for having done a duathlon the day before.
Craig and I waited for the girls to show up and show up they did. All 3 ladies including my beautiful wife set PRs on a very difficult course. The guy who won the marathon repeated from last year but was 9 minutes slower if that tells you anything. We all went back to the hotel to clean up and I decided to check the results. Imagine my surprise when I found out I finished 3rd in my age group among 33 guys! I was shocked. Slowest time that I ever won a medal for but hardware is hardware baby! Cool medal too.
Got into Austin about 4 p.m. and we had some good Italian, walked around a bit and went to bed early. Got up at the ass crack (thank you time difference) and staggered down to the Capitol. They staggered the start so Craig and I got to see Nora, Colleen and Courtney off and then I started my race. The plan was to "run easy." Apparently I don't know how to do that when there's 1100 hundred people around me. I held steady about a 7 to 7:30 mile and ended up in 23:47. Pretty good for having done a duathlon the day before.
Craig and I waited for the girls to show up and show up they did. All 3 ladies including my beautiful wife set PRs on a very difficult course. The guy who won the marathon repeated from last year but was 9 minutes slower if that tells you anything. We all went back to the hotel to clean up and I decided to check the results. Imagine my surprise when I found out I finished 3rd in my age group among 33 guys! I was shocked. Slowest time that I ever won a medal for but hardware is hardware baby! Cool medal too.
President's Day Duathlon Race Report
Holy crap it's been a while since I wrote. I've been training well. Some missed workouts here and there but largely I've been training consistently. People keep telling me that I need to eat a hamburger or something because I'm getting too skinny but my weight is staying the same. Right about 202. I would actually like to be about 190 but then I couldn't compete as a Clydesdale. More on why that's where I need to be later.
First race of the year was a duathlon at White Sands Missile Range. Important race for me because its the exact same race that was my introduction to multisport exactly a year ago. 5K trail run up and down a little and then what was supposed to be a 18 mile bike. Did really well on the 5K with a time of 23:22 and was 3-4 minutes ahead of fellow big guys. More than a minute ahead of my time from last year. Gotta work on transition as I always seem to hesitate to catch my breath a second or two (in my head) and ends up being a minute or so in transition which isn't necessary when all I have to do is change shoes and put on a helmet. My bike time was 52:27 and an average of 20.5 mph. Improved my time from last years same event by over 8 minutes! That's the good news.
The bad news? I wanted to win the Clydesdale division. The head stud was Cody Hanson who rocked last year in the Southwest Challenge Series and was coming in overall in top 5 at lot of events. He kind of lost his enthusiasm for the sport and showed up to this race but out of shape so I never saw him and he ended up finishing about 3 minutes behind. My other competition - John Gardea. John is an inspirational story - used to weigh close to 400 pounds and now is about 210. He had already won Clydesdale division in two prior events that I didn't race. I was 3 or 4 minutes ahead of him on the run and never saw him. I was only about a mile and a half from the finish on the bike, I was hurting but going along good. I shit you not, just as I thought, "I'm ahead of the other Clydes as long as John or Cody doesn't catch up," freaking John passed me flying. *&$!#!!!. I immediately tried to give chase but ended up finishing 20 seconds behind him. Dambit! Completely pissed me off and made me not so happy even though I beat my last years time by over 8 minutes.
My trainer says I need an aero helmet and a new wheel set for my bike. I ride on basically bullet proof Armadillo tires because I hate getting flats. They are great for training, not so great for racing apparently b/c they're heavy. Didn't realize that. The helmet is one of those dorky looking things that you make fun of when you see spandex-wearing 120 pounds guys go flying past you. I guess we'll see how it looks on a 200 pound guy next race. I've always hesitated to buy the fancy looking stuff b/c I didn't want to be "that guy" who shows up with all the gee whiz technology and gets dusted by a dude on a Schwinn wearing cargo shorts. I think I'm safe from that guy now so I'll put my big toe in the fancy waters.
I ended up 2nd in Clydesdale, 22nd overall out of 67 individuals. Had I competed in my age group, I would've been 4th and out of the hardware. I didn't compete as a Clydesdale last year because I didn't know if I would stay above 200 for an entire year of training. Now I know I will, and I'll keep trying to beat the big boys!
First race of the year was a duathlon at White Sands Missile Range. Important race for me because its the exact same race that was my introduction to multisport exactly a year ago. 5K trail run up and down a little and then what was supposed to be a 18 mile bike. Did really well on the 5K with a time of 23:22 and was 3-4 minutes ahead of fellow big guys. More than a minute ahead of my time from last year. Gotta work on transition as I always seem to hesitate to catch my breath a second or two (in my head) and ends up being a minute or so in transition which isn't necessary when all I have to do is change shoes and put on a helmet. My bike time was 52:27 and an average of 20.5 mph. Improved my time from last years same event by over 8 minutes! That's the good news.
The bad news? I wanted to win the Clydesdale division. The head stud was Cody Hanson who rocked last year in the Southwest Challenge Series and was coming in overall in top 5 at lot of events. He kind of lost his enthusiasm for the sport and showed up to this race but out of shape so I never saw him and he ended up finishing about 3 minutes behind. My other competition - John Gardea. John is an inspirational story - used to weigh close to 400 pounds and now is about 210. He had already won Clydesdale division in two prior events that I didn't race. I was 3 or 4 minutes ahead of him on the run and never saw him. I was only about a mile and a half from the finish on the bike, I was hurting but going along good. I shit you not, just as I thought, "I'm ahead of the other Clydes as long as John or Cody doesn't catch up," freaking John passed me flying. *&$!#!!!. I immediately tried to give chase but ended up finishing 20 seconds behind him. Dambit! Completely pissed me off and made me not so happy even though I beat my last years time by over 8 minutes.
My trainer says I need an aero helmet and a new wheel set for my bike. I ride on basically bullet proof Armadillo tires because I hate getting flats. They are great for training, not so great for racing apparently b/c they're heavy. Didn't realize that. The helmet is one of those dorky looking things that you make fun of when you see spandex-wearing 120 pounds guys go flying past you. I guess we'll see how it looks on a 200 pound guy next race. I've always hesitated to buy the fancy looking stuff b/c I didn't want to be "that guy" who shows up with all the gee whiz technology and gets dusted by a dude on a Schwinn wearing cargo shorts. I think I'm safe from that guy now so I'll put my big toe in the fancy waters.
I ended up 2nd in Clydesdale, 22nd overall out of 67 individuals. Had I competed in my age group, I would've been 4th and out of the hardware. I didn't compete as a Clydesdale last year because I didn't know if I would stay above 200 for an entire year of training. Now I know I will, and I'll keep trying to beat the big boys!
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
New trainer, new attitude
So I had been training for about a year with Felix Hinojosa, well-known and respected local coach. He started me out and I liked the way he brought me along - pushed enough to make progress, but not so hard that I got discouraged and crapped out. Had some complaints because it seemed like I dropped off his radar at times and that I very rarely got any one-on-me attention.
So I was in an airport in Albuquerque and ran into a lawyer whose wife is local triathlete legend Gretchen McElroy. He told me she was getting into the training business. I thought I'd see what a new coach might be like so we went to lunch. She agreed to look at my weekly workout schedule from Felix and give me some feedback. She also asked what my weakest sport was - no question, I freaking hate swimming!
Got Gretchen's feedback on my sked. The feedback was I'm a big ole tampon and not working nearly hard enough. Gretchen says she wants "quality not quantity" and proceeded to jack up my "quality" to unheard of levels. My quality swims with Felix? 1000 yards of drills twice a week. My first week of quality swims with Gretchen? Swim 5 times a freaking week for a total of 6300 (!) yards. Things changed.
I'm guardedly optimistic on the one-on-me front, because she's been out with me on the bike three times and once on the swim in the last 3 weeks of training. Swim doesn't count b/c I just ran into her at the pool but while there did a lot of good. She made 3 small changes and dropped my 100 yard time by 15 seconds. Unheard of! Mind you, this was on the first day. So I'm a little stoked!
Then came the hard part - how do I tell Felix? I kid you not when I say that I was scared. When you invest that much time in someone, in each other, it's almost like breaking up with a girlfriend. I even went so far as to ask the advice of others, which is pretty rare for me in itself in all my pig-headed stubbornness. Eventually I chickened out and sent a text. The response? Congratulations! Almost like I had graduated. Very cool.
So I was in an airport in Albuquerque and ran into a lawyer whose wife is local triathlete legend Gretchen McElroy. He told me she was getting into the training business. I thought I'd see what a new coach might be like so we went to lunch. She agreed to look at my weekly workout schedule from Felix and give me some feedback. She also asked what my weakest sport was - no question, I freaking hate swimming!
Got Gretchen's feedback on my sked. The feedback was I'm a big ole tampon and not working nearly hard enough. Gretchen says she wants "quality not quantity" and proceeded to jack up my "quality" to unheard of levels. My quality swims with Felix? 1000 yards of drills twice a week. My first week of quality swims with Gretchen? Swim 5 times a freaking week for a total of 6300 (!) yards. Things changed.
I'm guardedly optimistic on the one-on-me front, because she's been out with me on the bike three times and once on the swim in the last 3 weeks of training. Swim doesn't count b/c I just ran into her at the pool but while there did a lot of good. She made 3 small changes and dropped my 100 yard time by 15 seconds. Unheard of! Mind you, this was on the first day. So I'm a little stoked!
Then came the hard part - how do I tell Felix? I kid you not when I say that I was scared. When you invest that much time in someone, in each other, it's almost like breaking up with a girlfriend. I even went so far as to ask the advice of others, which is pretty rare for me in itself in all my pig-headed stubbornness. Eventually I chickened out and sent a text. The response? Congratulations! Almost like I had graduated. Very cool.
Official snazzy triathlon bike
I finally convinced myself to invest in a time trial bike. For those of you who aren't tri nerds, a time trial bike has different geometric angles that allow the rider to get more aerodynamic by getting more vertical over the handlebars (or cockpit and aerobars, in tri-nerd speak). When I first started training for tri's I immediately bought a Cannondale Synapse, 59 cm, carbon fiber bike. This was the first bike I tried. I got it on the advice of Rob who owns Crazy Cat Cyclery here in El Paso, a personal friend and extremely nice guy who is fair and honest in all his dealings (a pleasant surprise in what is increasingly a business owner friendly climate). It was the only bike I tried out and I think Rob got it for me because I'm 6' 2" and over 200 pounds, and most of the road bikes seem to be designed for little skinny dudes, and this was the one that fit me. I looked online for used bikes and every single one listed for guys was 56 centimeters. So I rode the Synapse and loved it.
When I went to triathlons, I would see guys riding the TT bikes and feel pangs of jealousy as they dusted my big ass. I told myself, however, that I never wanted to be the guy that shows up on a fancy TT bike and proceed to get dusted by guys on lesser equipment. I didn't want to be the "all hat, no cattle" guy. Hate that guy. So I made a deal with myself that if I could average 20 miles per hour for a solid hour, I would consider myself "worthy" of a TT bike. I got there in September 2009.
Here's the proof. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/50146507?sms_ss=blogger&at_xt=4d49a3505ab3dfc1%2C0. Yes, I'm that kind of guy.
Here it is. 4 months later I finally pulled the trigger. I'm glad I waited and not so glad either. I'm about 2 miles per hour faster on this bike at the same relative effort. Very impressed with the bike and don't feel like a big hat at all.
When I went to triathlons, I would see guys riding the TT bikes and feel pangs of jealousy as they dusted my big ass. I told myself, however, that I never wanted to be the guy that shows up on a fancy TT bike and proceed to get dusted by guys on lesser equipment. I didn't want to be the "all hat, no cattle" guy. Hate that guy. So I made a deal with myself that if I could average 20 miles per hour for a solid hour, I would consider myself "worthy" of a TT bike. I got there in September 2009.
Here's the proof. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/50146507?sms_ss=blogger&at_xt=4d49a3505ab3dfc1%2C0. Yes, I'm that kind of guy.
 |
| Cannondale Slice TT Bike - 60 CM |
I even got one of those fancy bottles that sits between the aero bars and has a long straw so you don't even have to slow down to get a drink - just tilt your head down a bit. I know, I know, it's a sick, obsessive hobby.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Inspiration, Injuries and Training
I recently met with a new trainer that is bar none one of the more accomplished triathletes in the area. She's awesome. She asked me why I started doing triathlons. Good question. I was originally 270 pounds and lost a bunch of weight on the Atkins diet and quitting drinking. Lost 40 pounds and then started doing cross fit workouts at EFS here in El Paso. Got down to about 215 but no matter how much I worked out or ate like a caveman, couldn't get down to 200 which was my goal. Graduated law school weighing 190 but I figured 200 was an obtainable goal. I had pretty much resigned myself to staying above that 215 pound threshold, convincing myself that was just what I was supposed to weigh now that I'm over 40.
I started running to train for the El Paso Marathon in March 2010. I had trained for marathons before but always got hurt (self-trained, too much, too soon, etc., etc.) Started running with a local guy named Greg Brickey who was teaching the Galloway method which is basically jogging interspersed with walk breaks. Did really well with that method and didn't get hurt. I wanted to stay with training that would prevent injury but also wanted to lose that last 15 pounds. Enter Triathlon Rob.
Signed up with Felix Hinojosa and the Human Performance Center. As intimidating as it sounds, HPC was basically a bunch of weekend warriors like myself training for different sports disciplines. Felix gave me a schedule that introduced me to swimming and biking. I had never biked or swam in any kind of coordinated fashion before. In 60 days, the stubborn 15 pounds were gone. At my first duathlon (bike and run), I surprised myself and hung with a lot of guys. Even came in 3rd in my age group. Granted, there were only 5 guys in my age group but I'll take a medal anyway I can get it. I've never medalled since because (1) I'm not that fast (yet) and (2) the other triathlons that I signed up for I went to because they were in cool places like Albuquerque, Ruidoso, and scenic Dexter, New Mexico. Unfortunately for me and my medal aspirations, lots of other way more experienced and talented triathletes showed up at those races - so no medals for triathlete Rob. Also, I signed up for all those triathlons as an age-grouper instead of a Clydesdale due to nothing more than vanity. I didn't want to compete with the 200 pound plus guys, I wanted to compete with the little skinny fast guys. Learned my lesson and this year I'm competing as a Clydesdale.
That, in summation, is the history of my foray into the world of triathlon. I wish I had more zen-like aspirations to wow people when they ask me that question but apparently I'm just not that deep a person. I just wanted to lose those last 15. I guess there must be some deeper goal I have in mind for still subjecting myself to 8 or 9 hours of working out per week now that I've lost those recalcitrant 15 but I guess I'll be able to post on that later once I've figured it out.
I started running to train for the El Paso Marathon in March 2010. I had trained for marathons before but always got hurt (self-trained, too much, too soon, etc., etc.) Started running with a local guy named Greg Brickey who was teaching the Galloway method which is basically jogging interspersed with walk breaks. Did really well with that method and didn't get hurt. I wanted to stay with training that would prevent injury but also wanted to lose that last 15 pounds. Enter Triathlon Rob.
Signed up with Felix Hinojosa and the Human Performance Center. As intimidating as it sounds, HPC was basically a bunch of weekend warriors like myself training for different sports disciplines. Felix gave me a schedule that introduced me to swimming and biking. I had never biked or swam in any kind of coordinated fashion before. In 60 days, the stubborn 15 pounds were gone. At my first duathlon (bike and run), I surprised myself and hung with a lot of guys. Even came in 3rd in my age group. Granted, there were only 5 guys in my age group but I'll take a medal anyway I can get it. I've never medalled since because (1) I'm not that fast (yet) and (2) the other triathlons that I signed up for I went to because they were in cool places like Albuquerque, Ruidoso, and scenic Dexter, New Mexico. Unfortunately for me and my medal aspirations, lots of other way more experienced and talented triathletes showed up at those races - so no medals for triathlete Rob. Also, I signed up for all those triathlons as an age-grouper instead of a Clydesdale due to nothing more than vanity. I didn't want to compete with the 200 pound plus guys, I wanted to compete with the little skinny fast guys. Learned my lesson and this year I'm competing as a Clydesdale.
That, in summation, is the history of my foray into the world of triathlon. I wish I had more zen-like aspirations to wow people when they ask me that question but apparently I'm just not that deep a person. I just wanted to lose those last 15. I guess there must be some deeper goal I have in mind for still subjecting myself to 8 or 9 hours of working out per week now that I've lost those recalcitrant 15 but I guess I'll be able to post on that later once I've figured it out.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
1st Post
Long time lurker decided to start his own blog chronicling life and times of an attorney/wanna be triathlete. I enjoy reading others blogs that are similarly situated to me and somewhat egotistically thought others might garner a little insight from my own life experiences. So what do I bring to the table?
I've been a lawyer since 1994 even though I'm "only"41, soon to be 42. I've handled a LOT of car accidents in that time, more than 10,000. So I guess you could say, there isn't a lot of unexplored territory in the frontier that is my plaintiff's personal injury practice in Texas and New Mexico. To keep myself sane and entertained, I started training for sprint triathlons about a year ago. In my first year, I completed 7 tris, at lots of exotic climates like Dexter, NM, and Levelland, TX. I dragged my new wife and "old" kids, ages 11, 9, & 7 with me to these lovely scenic locations and to their credit they never complained once.
All in all, I'm a lucky guy in that my practice does well, I get to spend a lot of time training and trying to get some semblance of a physical fitness base, and I have an incredible family that loves me and wants only the best for me. Like I said, a lucky guy.
My earnest intent in this blog is to comment, reflect, and otherwise pontificate on the ups and downs I encounter in trying to get to finish an Ironman Triathlon (that's a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and then run a marathon - all in the same day - I know, it's sick). I plan to document how I'm doing while also trying not to lose control of what has been a very successful practice. Hopefully I don't run it into the ground while doing the same to myself.
Perhaps people will learn something about the lovely southwest United States, the quality of the triathlons in this area, and the foolishness of chasing the previously wasted athletic talents of youth.
I've been a lawyer since 1994 even though I'm "only"41, soon to be 42. I've handled a LOT of car accidents in that time, more than 10,000. So I guess you could say, there isn't a lot of unexplored territory in the frontier that is my plaintiff's personal injury practice in Texas and New Mexico. To keep myself sane and entertained, I started training for sprint triathlons about a year ago. In my first year, I completed 7 tris, at lots of exotic climates like Dexter, NM, and Levelland, TX. I dragged my new wife and "old" kids, ages 11, 9, & 7 with me to these lovely scenic locations and to their credit they never complained once.
All in all, I'm a lucky guy in that my practice does well, I get to spend a lot of time training and trying to get some semblance of a physical fitness base, and I have an incredible family that loves me and wants only the best for me. Like I said, a lucky guy.
My earnest intent in this blog is to comment, reflect, and otherwise pontificate on the ups and downs I encounter in trying to get to finish an Ironman Triathlon (that's a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and then run a marathon - all in the same day - I know, it's sick). I plan to document how I'm doing while also trying not to lose control of what has been a very successful practice. Hopefully I don't run it into the ground while doing the same to myself.
Perhaps people will learn something about the lovely southwest United States, the quality of the triathlons in this area, and the foolishness of chasing the previously wasted athletic talents of youth.
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