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.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
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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