Mildly obsessive...

Race Reports...Two for One Special!!

2010-04-27T20:37:00.009-04:00

My blog updating has never been stellar or timely so racing back to back weekends has caught up to me!

Race 1: Paris Mountain Triathlon

This first ever event was billed as "not for the faint of heart!" The swim is tame enough, 500m in a pond, but the bike course has the climb up Paris Mountain at mile 11 and the run course runs up the back side of the mountain.

Swim: 6:26, 4th AG. Time Trial Start...the swim was over before I knew it. I had trouble seeing the final turn buoy but otherwise it was fine. I could have pushed it harder though.

Bike: 1:03:00, 5th AG. Rolling hills for 11 miles until the base of Paris. I was doing ok on the rollers, but right before the turn up the climb I rolled up on a pack of about four riders and realized I was all up in the draft zone with the marshall right behind me. So, I pushed hard and passed them. Didn't want to spike the HR before the climb, but couldn't afford the drafting penalty. The climb went well. I had a standard on the front and a 23 on the back. This was all I needed until the last 400m where it kicks up in grade. I was grunting to get over that hump. The decent was fast but uneventful.

Run: 35:39, 1st AG. This was the hardest run I've done. I was crusing at a 6:35 pace until mile 1.5 when you had to run up what felt like a wall...I dropped to a 9:40 pace and was working much harder than before. After the 1 mile climb you turned onto a trail and decended just as fast. Very technical and hard to keep a rhythm. I passed a lot of folks on the decent though.

Overall, I finished in 1:49:23, 2nd AG, 13th OA. Great event and a challenging course. Looking forward to tackle that one again next year!

Race 2: Langely Pond Sprint

First time racing here. I thought about doing the olympic race as a prep for next week's 70.3, but Coach said to do the sprint and recover quicker.

Swim: 750m, 13:42, 3rd AG. I felt great the whole swim. My sighting was nearly perfect and I felt like I pushed just enough throughout. I'm happy with the effort, but I know I can be a lot faster than this in the water. I'm waiting for these swim workouts to come together and drop my times.

Bike: 20k, 34:59, 3rd AG. I managed to push through the first half of gradual climbing and made good use of the Zipp 1080's I was running to get some overall speed back. I pushed harder than I usually do on the bike and my HR was up in the 170's most of the time. I was pleased with the 21.4mph pace that I had overall.

Run: 5k (3.36 on my Garmin), 20:51, 2nd AG. Good run for me. I increased the pace every mile and had a strong kick at the end. The course was definitely long, but that allowed me to catch two or three guys that I would not have on a true 5k!

Finished up with a 1:12:24, 3rd AG, 6th OA! I was stoked to break the top ten...but man it stinks to finish that high overall and only get 3rd in the group. I definitely improved my bike split though. I was only about 30 seconds off of the top guy in my AG on the bike. Great day of racing though!!!!

Downtown Cola Triathlon Report

2010-03-30T20:49:00.010-04:00

1st triathlon of the 2010 season! I was definitely excited to get another year underway. This year I have taken on the responsibility of the SC Coordinator for FCA Endurance, so there is a lot more to do other than just race. It's going to be fun and challenging.

After working packet pickup from 2-6pm I got the privilege of staying over at Nick Brunson's house in Lexington for the evening. I had a great time eating, playing with kids and the dog,

talking with Nick and Jennifer, and prepping for the race in Nick's garage. Thanks for a great time and a couch to crash on!!!

Nick and I got to the race site just before 7am to get the FCAe tent set up. Nick scared us both when he missed the last step down to the field and rolled his ankle. We both have the loose floppy ankles from earlier sports, so I knew exactly what he did. Thankfully, I loaded him up on ibuprofen and BioFreeze and he felt good enough to win the whole race! This guy has put in the work and it paid off at the finish line.

After the tent was up, I went about finding all the novice racers I could and checked on them for last minute questions and forgotten items. I loved this! I've done it some before with the folks right around my bike rack, but this was intentional and super cool! The best was helping out a lady that was a single-leg amputee who was "doing this for the experience!" Seeing her cross

the finish line was awesome.

Ok, the race...My thoughts going in: my swimming has been sporadic and terribly slow, biking has been off and on, but not terrible, and the run will be good but not my best. So I wanted to hold my spot on the swim and/or get on the feet of anyone who passes, work hard on the bike but don't blow up, and lay it out on the run.

Swim: 500m 9:10 including run to transition. I was 2nd in the AG...there are no swimmers in this AG!! I started by leaving my lane partner in the dust. I passed the two in front of my about 200m. I felt some tapping on my feet and the two behind me passed at about 300m. I held on to them as long as I could and ended up about 10m back by the end. I was ok with the effort.

T1: 2:10, TERRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!! Where to start? I was worried about the temps (~43F) and freezing on the bike. So I didn't swim in the tri top, which is so hard to get on wet, I put on arm warmers, and I put on socks. Note to self: "if you want to win your group, you can't be a puss."

Bike: ~9mi, 30:49, 5th AG. I definitely held back some. I still can't find the balance between hammering enough on the bike or saving some legs to run. My lack of bike fitness is a definite contributor to the la

ck of confidence and speed, obviously! Work to be done here too.

T2: 0:37, now that's how to transition. I even picked up Nick's aero helmet out of the middle of the aisle as I made my way in!

Run: ~2.95mi, 18:11, 1st AG. I felt good on the run, but not knowing the run course I took off pushing for what I thought was the end to find that I still had to run up some stairs, then a gradual hill, before circling back around to the finish. The too early of a kick cost me some time. The run is my strength and I want to continue to build on it and be one of the top runners in the race time and time again.

1:00:55, 2nd AG. I lost 1st by 2 seconds!! I only blame myself for several mistakes and the nap I took in T1, but I wish I would have saw my competitor. Being a Time Trial pool start, he was about 1 minute in front of me the whole race and I never saw him to go after him...live and learn!

SC Half Ironman Report

2009-10-09T21:35:00.012-04:00

First Half Ironman = 5:02:04

This was my scheduled "A" race for the year but following the epic groin pull in late July I was skeptical of my capability in pulling off a good showing. So going in my goals were: 1) Have fun 2) Finish 3) Definitely go under 5:15 4) Possibly go under 5:00.

I got down to Greenwood the day before to get my packet and camp out with the FCAe folks. I like being there the day before so I can get an extra hour or two of sleep. So after picking up the packet and setting up the tent The Dannelley's and I rode our bikes out on the run course to make sure everything was in order. Then we grabbed our wetsuits and went to the swim start. I swam out about 400m and swam back in. Everything seemed to be in good shape. After a great pasta, salad, and bread dinner we turned in. I slept pretty good. Got cold a couple of times, but nothing major. It was a little chilly in the morning...around 50 F. After slowly waking and eating a little, I got on the bike and rode to transition.

I elected to not really warm up and just let the swim be my warm up. I did the pre-race prayer, they played the national anthem and then the elites went into the water. I was in the 2nd wave. Somehow the under 39 men were given the pink pearlized swim caps!

Swim: 35:57, 6th AG

I haven't been in the pool much lately, so I just wanted to go out steady and build into a decent swim without wasting much energy. Pretty much went to plan. I thought I would be about 34 minutes, but honestly my sighting wasn't great so that definitely slowed me down. I did come out the water feeling great and fresh, so I guess mission accomplished there.

T2: 2:06

Took off the wetsuit. Dried off some. Put on jersey (I didn't swim in it because I wanted it dry, remember 50 F). Put on socks, shoes, sunglasses, helmet. I thought this would take about 2 minutes, turns out I was right.

Bike: 2:43:19, 20.7 mph, 8th AG

This segment brought to you by my sponsor Midway BBQ of Buffalo, SC!!!! Jay Allen let me ride his rocketship of a bike and it definitely made a difference. Technology made the flats feel like I was cheating!! I wasn't sure how fast I could do this, so I went by HR only. I knew I needed to hold back in the first 20 mi because all the climbs of consequence happened there. I did a good job of that. The next 36 mi were all about making up speed. My nutrition was a Powerade mix, PowerBar gels, and Endurolyte tablets. I set my watch to alarm every 15 min. I drank every time, took a gel every 45 min, took two tablets every hour. Everything must have worked because I felt great the whole time and ready to run.

T2: 0:53

I racked the bike, dropped the helmet, put on my shoes and FCAe hat, grabbed my number and gels and gone. I thought I'd be around 1 min...right again.

Run: 1:39:50, 5th AG, 7:37/mi avg

This two lap run course is rolling hills and a lot of exposure to the elements. The first lap felt great. I was going by HR again and maintaining about a 7:15 pace. The sun was still behind some clouds so it wasn't hot at all. I managed the hills and made sure I took fluids at every aid station. I was still having fun up to around mile 8. After that my lack of run base caught up to me. I kept my HR in check but I steadily slowed down to the end. I think the last mile was about 8:30. It was all worth it at the end. Julie and her mom brought Ian down in time to see me come into T2 and finish. Ian was near the bottom of the crappin hill that you have to run up to finish. He was cheering and I grabbed his hand. We ran up the hill together and crossed the finish line. It was the best race finish ever!!! The lady at the finish gave Ian my finishers medal and he wore it the rest of the day. Later he told me, "That lady gave me a medal for runnin!"

Greenville Triathlon Sprint Report

2009-08-19T21:36:00.010-04:00

This race was a mixed bag of feelings before and after. On the one hand, 7 weeks earlier I pulled my groin so bad that I thought I was done for the year...so just to be racing was a great high. On the other hand, I was "supposed" to be really starting to peak for the year by the end of this month and next and I wanted to kill this course. So I was both excited and disappointed all at once with the day.

I rolled out of bed at 5:00am and had everything ready to rock. Drank some coffee and Powerade and ate some oatmeal. I got to the race site about 5:45am. I got everything setup and had time to run just a bit and get in the pool and swim a little.

Swim: 400m pool swim (50m pool). I turned in a time that was about 10% faster than I thought I would go because the last two years I turned in actual times and had to pass multiple people before getting boxed in behind several folks by the end. This year was just about right. My lane partner and I finished together and we were passed by one person and passed one other. I was swimming blind because my right goggle was completely full of water from the start and the left one fogged up after about 200m. This caused me to slow some, but not too bad. 7:00 with a 50m run to the timing mat. 7th AG, 48th OA.

T1: My T1 is usually longer than T2 but this time, my helmet strap wouldn't stay buckled and I got held up too long. Time of 1:15...should be about 45-50sec.

Bike: 14.4mi bike course moderately hilly. I was really hoping to go about 22mph on the course. I started out pretty good and thought I might pull it off, but the two hilly sections sucked the wind out of me and I slowed way too much on the hills to keep the avg speed up. I made up some ground near the end of the ride and was able to go about 21mph for the course. My time was 41:03 for 6th AG, 51 OA.

T2: I was careful coming off the bike not to aggravate my groin and I jogged carefully through transition. My time was a little slow since I was taking it easy, but it wasn't terrible. 0:48.

Run: I had a great run here last year, but with the iffy groin and the fact that I had only run about 5 times in the last two months, I wasn't expecting any PRs. I used the first 0.5mi to try and get up to speed and see how my leg felt. The legs felt good, but the HR and lungs were not all there. Mile 1 was about 6:20. Mile 2 was not fun and I slowed to somewhere around 6:35. Mile 3 is always the fastest since I can taste the finish and really lay it all out. I think it was somewhere around 6:10ish. I ended up running a 19:19 that was 3rd AG, 16th OA.

I finished in 1:09:23 which was 5th in AG and 30th OA. That was 2 min faster than last year which was basically all on the bike. Again, I can't complain too much, but I think I could have been at least 1 minute faster on the run and maybe 2 minutes faster on the bike if not more. I guess that's what next year is for! I did have a great time after the race hanging out with the FCAe folks and catching up with some of them.

I'm Back!!!

2009-08-05T21:57:00.002-04:00

I'm finally back to some decent training from almost 6 weeks down with a nasty groin pull. On Saturday I rode about 27 miles at a decent effort. No real issues there. Sunday evening I did a 5K run in just under 23min. Both of these efforts were with significantly higher HR levels compared to before the injury, so I've definitely lost fitness!! UGH! Good swims Monday and this morning, with a 5 mile run on Tues. I'm going to try a brick tomorrow afternoon.

Overall, I'm happy where I'm at right now. Honestly, when I got hurt, I thought I might be done for the rest of the season. The rest and physical therapy was well executed and I was actually patient with the recovery. I'm going to race Greenville in two weeks and hopefully Tugaloo Olympic and the SC HIM. I know my speed will not be where I hoped to be at this point in the year, but at least I'll be out there!

Injury Update

2009-07-11T08:06:00.003-04:00

Yesterday I saw a Physical Therapist (PT) for the first time to evaluate and work on this groin injury. He said he can definitely tell there is swelling still in the area, nearly two weeks out. The treatment consisited of an evaluation then some light stretching (which at the beginning was not going to good). Then he had a massage therapist come in and that hurt but definitely helped. Then the PT came in with an ultrasound unit and some kind of topical creme. After 5 minutes with the ultrasound and the massage, I could tell a difference. The PT then repeated the stretching from before. I would say my range of motion was at least 40% improved! I was very surprised at the difference. After he was finished I asked if they had any stationary bikes because I wanted to ride for a few minutes and test it out. I went 10 minutes at a steady effort with no pain!!!! I have appointments for MWF of next week. I hope to really train some next week. No hard efforts, but I need to get moving some. I think that being ready for the Greenville race in August is a real possiblity.

Hy-Vee Triathlon

2009-07-07T21:57:00.003-04:00

I just got to watch the 2009 Hy-vee ITU triathlon on my TiVo yesterday. The ITU style is different from anything I have ever raced because the bike is draft-legal. In many ways I am not a huge fan of the format, but it does give an opportunity for some great finishes.

This year's elite men had a 6 man pack of some of the best runners in the sport coming in the last mile. It was a very technical approach in the last few hundred meters and Simon Whitfield pulled ahead just enough to take the $200,000 purse. Not a bad payday!

If you missed it, there is a highlight video on http://www.triathlon.org/

Warning...graphic image ahead!

2009-07-02T19:22:00.004-04:00

I'll make this a two part blog. Part 1: Peru Mission Trip

Last week was my 2nd trip to Peru in the last 5 years. Julie got to come as well which was awesome! (See pic below with our friend Lidman) We have been working with a people group decended from the Inca Indians in an area around Chupa, Peru (in the Puno region on Lake Arapa). They were basically considered an un-reached people group when we arrived. Today, there are at least four well-established home churches and we think around 300 believers. We had 14 people (6 from our church and 8 from New Life Baptist in Union, SC). This was a very big group for this kind of trip. There were only 5 of us on my first journey. Our purpose is simple: we tell people about Jesus and train up leaders in the local churches. No building churches, giving food or clothing...nothing that will cause a vacuum when we finally leave the area.

Our plan was to visit all the local churches in the Chupa area to encourage them and build up leaders. The travel itenerary is to fly to Lima, then to Juliaca, then drive to Chupa. We made it to within 30 minutes of Chupa and the town of Arapa decided we weren't going any further. They had set up a roadblock and "encouraged" us to turn around with rocks, 2x4's and fire. (There was talks of a transportation strikes nation-wide that fizzled out, but apparently they didn't get the message...or they were just bored). We agreed and headed back to Juliaca!

Long-story, short: we got connected with a local church in Juliaca that were already planning on working in Chupa! We spent a lot of time with the leaders in that church. Our pastor friend Julio taught them AWANA, we fellowshiped and worshiped with them, and we all came away very encouraged. The best thing is that this church is only 2 hours away from Chupa and can work very closely, whereas we only come four times a year. God's plan is always better than ours!

Part two: Triathlon training disaster and graphic image.

I know you can't resist looking for the graphic image! On the mission trip we were playing soccer with the locals in a plaza and I pulled my groin like nothing I've ever done before. I could not walk at all for about an hour and then I hobbled around doped up on 800mg of Ibuprofen at a time. It is pretty serious and still hurts to walk five days later. After two days a massive bruise showed up and moved down my leg. (see pic) I don't know how long this will put me down, but I'm not even considering doing anything until next week and then I'll take it day by day. The only up-side is that there is not another Setup Events race for me for 6 weeks. Maybe by then I can at least race. I might not train any between now and then though!!!

Tri The Midlands Race Report

2009-06-22T17:19:00.005-04:00

The 2009 Tri the Midlands was the 2nd Setup Events Race of the season for me. I really wanted to put together a solid all-around race and hoped to place in the AG. The forecast was very hot and humid and the weather cooperated with the computer models!! Luckily I finished fast enough to miss the super hot temps.

Swim: The swim is 500 m open water. The 34-under men usually go in the 2nd wave, but we went 3rd this time. It was a very large wave for a race this size too. I started far to the right and didn't encounter any arms and legs until the first turn buoy. I went real hard for the first 150 m and then settled into a pace I thought I could maintain. I had to stop after the second turn buoy and rinse the fog out of the goggles so I could see. I came out of the water in 8:56 for a 1:47/100 m pace. This is almost 20s per 100 m slower than I'm doing in the pool. I just can't seem to get the open swims to go as fast as in the pool. This was good enough for 43rd OA and 7th in AG.

T1: Got my helmet on and left the sunglasses because they were fogging up due to high humidity. I put on the race number belt so I wouldn't forget it again! Ran the bike out of the transition area, about 150 m long. I hopped on and got rolling. Time of 1:10.

Bike: For the 14 mi bike course I was wanting to go out at least 22mph for the course. I was riding a set of Zipp 404s that Jay Allen let me borrow. Thanks man!! I could definitely tell they made a difference in the flats. Once I got up to speed, it was much easier to maitain than my old wheelset. I was crusing in several sections at 27-28mph. Well, I was passed by 3 or 4 in the AG and maybe 1 or 2 others. I did do my share of passing, especially in the first half. In the end I was about 21.4mph for the course, but I had to back off a time or two because my hamstrings felt like they wanted to cramp. A little disappointed but still respectable time of 38:20 for 42nd OA and again 7th in AG.

T2: I threw the bike on the rack, dropped the helmet, put on the shoes

Run: This 5k course has 3 very challenging grades to take on. I knew the heat and hills would be a factor, but I wanted to definitely break 20 min on the run. I caught one in my AG in the first 1/4 mi, but was never able to catch any others. I did have a great effort in the last 1/2 mi where I went after two guys who I thought my be in the AG, but were not. The second of the two guys and I had a fun sprint finish and I left him reading the back of my jersey!! My time of 19:51 was good enough for 7th OA and 1st in AG.

I was happy with my OA time of 1:11:58. This put me 17th OA, but only 4th in AG. The AG was well represented in the top 20 finishers with 5 of us in the top 20 male finishers. Once again, I lost the race on the bike...dang it!!! I can't wait until these bike times come down more!

Clemson Sprint Triathlon Race Report

2009-05-20T19:02:00.010-04:00

The Clemson Sprint Tri was a bag of mixed feelings this year. I raced it on '08 and was really dissapointed with my results overall. Last year the swim was anaerobic, the bike was abysmal, and the run hurt bad...oh, and T1 got my wetsuit stuck and T2 had the insoles of my shoes all wadded up twice. This year I set out to improve in all disciplines, race much more in control, and I predicted a 1:07:00 finish time. Here's the rundown:

Swim: Started raining 5 minutes before the first wave. No problem, I'm going swimming! 750m in-water, wave start, 2nd wave. The elites went first, so there was no worrying about catching anyone. The horn went off and I went hard for about 100m before settling into a groove. I was sighting about every 12 strokes except when I got to the turn buoys where I was looking up about every 8 strokes. My sighting was good and I swam pretty straight throughout. I felt like I was right on pace until I exited the water and my watch said 13:00. What the crap happened there?!? I should have been around 11:30-12:00. Either I didn't push hard enough or the course was long. Here's a picture of me looking at my watch in disgust. The total swim time included a 0.2 mile up a hill to transition. 14:27, 7th AG, 60th OA.

T1: Got to my spot quickly. I had hung my yellow Fca-e t-shirt on the end of the rack so I could spot it easily. Wetsuit came off ok. I put on shoes and helmet, but left the sunglasses since it was still raining. Got out and on the bike ok, but not in the pedals fast enough. 1:18

Bike: 11 miles. Last year I averaged 18.9 mph on this course, which stunk!! I was looking for a dramatic improvement. I knew I was doing well because I was actually passing people. I was only passed by one or two from my wave and one or two 40-somethings who where hammering (I heard Jeff B's disk wheel roaring up on me from 50m back!). The course pretty much climbs for 9 miles and then descends for the last two. Nothing major just a lot of steady grades. I tried to keep my HR below 170bpm. I averaged 169 and maxed at 181. Once I got to the downhill I tried to get my speed up and coast in a few spots to lower my HR before T2. I also took in a gel in the last mile. Rain also stopped about midway, but never was a real factor. I was happy with my time of 31:21 for 46th OA, 5th in AG and 21.1 mph. But what a crappy place to set up for a photo. Right in a hard, fast turn. Couldn't they have picked a gentle downhill and got me looking super aero!?!? The look on my face said, "You're taking pictures here?"

T2: Racked bike, slid on shoes, dropped helmet, and off. Was I forgetting something? Oh well...0:34.

Run: This 5k course goes down a smooth hill for a mile, then up a rediculous grade for 100m to a flat dike turnaround and back from whence you came. Last year I charged up that hill and nearly died. This year I was more conservative on the way up and it helped a lot. I picked off two guys in my AG by the turn around and saw a pack of about 5-6 about 500m a head of me at the 2 mile mark. I closed the gap to about 100-150m but could not bring them back by the end. Frustruating because one of them ended up in my AG and beat me by 14 sec! Anyways, back to the T2 comment...as I made the last turn towards the finish I reached back to turn my bib number around and it wasn't there!! This is a 2 min penalty, yikes!! Ok, so the race at the end of last year I remembered not having my number in front at the finish, but I came through in a sprint to catch a few guys and blew through the chute so fast that I didn't get a penalty. So that was my plan, the only problem was I was all alone. Well I went in full sprint mode and crossed the line at a 4:45/mi pace and it worked again!! My unpentalized time was 18:53, 17th OA, 1st in AG.

Total time of 1:06:30 for 34/333 OA and 3rd in AG. Beat my prediction and last year's time by 6:09. So I was definitely pleased, but I was hoping for a better swim time and I felt like I left too much on the run. Not bad for a season opener though...

I'm Running Fast Daddy!!

2009-05-04T20:49:00.006-04:00

My two year old son's favorite thing is to "run fast Daddy!" Any chance he can get, he takes off in a dead sprint. Since his stride length is about 1.5 feet in length, his sprints usually don't last long, but he loves it.

I can remember having that same love for running. No agendas, time constraints, or even a destination. Just running.... My favorite running as a kid was through the woods behind my house (at least 50 acres) with my golden retriever. I would go at break neck speed from the porch to the first set of gulleys (maybe 400m). It was a good day when I beat the dog to the creek, but only happened when I caught her off-guard napping.

So to the point! The chiropractor asked me today what my goals were with training and racing. Of the cuff I gave some cliche answer about finding my potential, blah, blah, blah. The more I thought about it I realized why I do this. I'm searching to rediscover that feeling of running through the woods; when everything was right and it was effortless. Some days I find it, others not so much, but man when it happens in a race it is beautiful! I guess it comes around just often enough to keep me going some more. The other reason is because I can. Because God gave me the ability physically and mentally to do things "normal" people think are crazy or impossible. I don't take it for granted.

To my knowledge, not a believer, but still a great quote:

"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift." -Pre

Redneck Engineering for Triathlon

2009-04-19T14:10:00.005-04:00

If you know me, I can be pretty frugal (my wife calls it cheap!), but I have a hard time shelling out big money for things I think/know I can get for less or make up myself. You can take the boy out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boy. Anyway...I got a great race helmet from Julie that I really like, the Giro Advantage 2. I've done several training rides in it and it definitely makes a difference.

I really had eyes on the Spiuk helmet, but couldn't stomach the price tag. So I modified my Giro to get what I liked about the Spiuk (clean underside that goes along the back). I was inspired by T.J. Tollakson's homemade aero setup at NOLA 70.3. http://jayprasuhn.blogspot.com/2009/04/tj-tollaksons-new-race-setup-revealed.html

Notice the opening at the point on the end for any air that may make its way in there to escape.

Tools of the modifications: Duct tape, elec tape scissors, synthetic sponges

Now to give it some test rides!

Is My Watch Broken?

2009-04-06T20:06:00.006-04:00

Here's a crash course on my athletic background...played every team sport native in North America, culminating in 4 years of Div II soccer from '97-2000. That being said, I was/am more naturally a runner than anything else. I have the most background there. I know how hard I can go for how long, etc, etc.

This whole biking and swimming thing is new to me as of two years ago. The biking part I get: 1) Find a good bike that fits (done, see last post) 2) Get your butt on it and ride, often (still working up to that one!).

Swimming, though, I discovered is so incredibly technical. I was a lifeguard through high school and college. I thought could swim because I was awesome at "Shark" in the deep end! Wrong!!!! Once I started doing actual distance with a clock watching me, I realized how far I had to go. The last three months I've been working more on my swim technique and pushing myself to go harder and faster in the water. It must be working because today I had some crazy times compared to January. Either that, or my watch is slow today!

1/12/2009
150 100 50
2:18 1:34 0:41
2:24 1:37 0:41
2:25 1:37 0:42
2:28 1:36 0:44
2:28 1:37 0:44
2:24 1:36 0:42

4/6/2009
150 100 50
2:14 1:27 0:41
2:15 1:30 0:42
2:16 1:30 0:44
2:19 1:30 0:44
2:18 1:30 0:43
2:16 1:29 0:42

8 seconds off of the 150s and 7 seconds off of the 100s. That's crazy progress in a sport where progress is measured in tenths of seconds. I'm definitely excited to see the jump in speed. Now I need to learn to maintain it over 1500m and more. Now to get the bike speed up too!!

New Bike!

2009-03-31T21:05:00.007-04:00

Just picked up my new bike build from Go Tri Sports in Greenville today. It is a new-old-stock Guru Trilite frameset that I picked up on eBay. That means it was a frameset that was in a store that never sold, so they let it go for a steal! I took the components off my old frame and let the Go Tri Sports guys put the pieces back together.

On a side note...I drove to Greenville because I was looking for a bike store that treats you like a person and acts like you're the reason their doors are open and not like you are bothering them. I won't go any further by pointing fingers, but I had to drive 30 minutes to get that. Great bike/tri store, so I highly recommend them if you need any gear!

I love the paint scheme and look of the new frame. It is a more aero frame than the older version I was on and the geometry fits me better. Hal helped me get setup with a fitting, but we basically moved the seat up and tilted down slightly and that's it. It fit well from the start. I definitely ready to get on the road with it to see if there's a performance improvement over the old frame. Now I just need a nice set of carbon tubulars to race on and I'll be set!!!!!!!

Little River Bridge 8K Report

2009-03-29T22:05:00.004-04:00

Rain, rain, go away...

After rains all day long, the race started about 15 minutes late but the rain cleared soon after and made for good conditions except for a few large puddles that couldn't be avoided on the course.

This is the third year I've run this event and last year was the first race I ever placed in my AG (2nd). I really wanted to go under 32:00 this year. The course is pretty hilly and knowing where the hills are helped me pace and plan very well. The first 1.5mi is basically up a long grade. I held back as best I could and took the first mile in 6:32. By mile 2 the leaders were nearly out of my sight, but I could see two guys that I thought I could bring back. Mile 2 was 6:20. Mile 3 was 6:25 (caught the first guy) and mile 4 was 6:25 (guy two is about 100yds in front). The last mile goes down a long grade and flattens out with the finish by the river. I caught up with the other guy at the start of the flat. I made the mistake of starting my final kick too soon and he ultimately pulled away at the finish. Last mile was 5:58.

I ended up 8th OA and 1st in my AG. I was happy with the speed since I haven't been doing any significant speed work over the winter.

Ahh...progress.

2009-03-12T18:17:00.003-04:00

Alas, I see some positive results! This winter I have done a better job keeping up with my biking (sort of!) and swimming, while continuing the running base. Last two years I did a marathon and the biking and swimming got set aside for a few months. Well two months ago I hired a coach to help plan the training and keep things moving forward. Even with several rounds of colds/sinus infection in the last couple of months, I am seeing progress.

How do I know? Well, all of my run/bike workout efforts are heartrate based. So, if I'm doing the same courses in the same heartrate ranges with faster times, that equals improvement. Which I am starting to see. It's not a huge paradigm shift, but it is steady progress. If I can solidify my base some more, I know I'll have significant race improvement. See, I've survived athletically on my generally high pain tolerance and never say die attitude. It served me well through a collegiate soccer career (never was the most skilled, but definitely the most tenacious) and has showed to come in handy in endurance events as well. I think if I can get back the big base and the metal fortitude, I'll see the paradigm shift I'm looking for. Now to cut back the calories and loose 7-10lbs to get ready to race!

Here's to slow and steady producing fast and ready!

Zebras Do Exist 5k

2009-02-23T10:04:00.003-05:00

We're less than two months away from the 2nd annual Zebras Do Exist 5k Charity race that I direct. This event raises awareness of rare medical conditions ("Zebras") and raises money for the medical bills of Nick and Samantha Napier.

It should turn out to be an great event. This year we have chip timing, a certified course, and $1,000 in cash payouts to the top 5 men and women. All courtesy of the nation's largest triathlon production company: Setup Events!

Last year we had about 280 participants and with our sponsor's help raised $10,000 for the Napiers. Sounds like a great first year and a nice amount of money, but it barely scratched the surface of their needs. These two kids have had 5 brain and spinal surgeries that are "out of network", read: "insurance is not paying for it!"

If you're available to run/walk on April 18th in the Spartanburg, SC area then you need to go to www.zebrasdoexist.com and register. If you can't make it, but want to contribute, then you can securely donate to the cause on the same website with your debit or credit card. See you there!

What's goin on...

2009-02-21T16:32:00.001-05:00

Pretty much been putting in some base miles/meters in preparation for the upcoming race season, speaking of, it looks something like this:

3/28 Little River 8K
5/16 Clemson Sprint
6/7 Fest of Flowers Oly
6/27 Go Tri Sprint
8/16 Greenville Sprint
9/6 Hartsville Oly (this one's a maybe)
10/4 SC Half
10/17 Hickory Knob Oly

My swimming is getting better slowly and my bike is a little stronger too. Run is pretty consistent, but I'm not working hard to get faster there yet. I really need to get a bigger bike frame because I'm very closed up/cramped on the 51cm I'm currently on. I think getting the right fit would immediately give me a 5-10% power gain or more.

Green Valley 8k Report

2009-02-07T12:31:00.003-05:00

First time I have run this 8k race at Furman University. It was a fairly well done event. My only complaint would be the lack of aid on the course. One water station would have been nice. Pre-race, I picked up my number the race "jacket": this tyvek looking thing that I might do a boiler inspection in but not actually wear in public. I ran about 1.25 miles and stretched some. Then I went looking for the bathroom. I had my Garmin Forerunner on which doesn't show the time in training mode, so I let the race start sneak up on me. There were plenty others in the building, but they were running the 10miler that started 15 minutes after the 8k. When I exited the building, I had to sprint out about 200 yds to the start and the gun went off about 10 seconds after I arrived.

The first mile was faster than I wanted to go at 6:09, but it was pretty flat and it was the start. Mile two was closer to where I thought I would run at 6:32. I was feeling pretty good, but then mile three was mostly a slow uphill climb the entire way. I slowed down to 6:50, but I passed at least 10 people that mile. Around there I met up with Hal Outen, a local tri guy and we talked briefly and then kept each other working to the end. There were three guys within site of us and we both agreed to make sure we brought them back to us by the end. Mile four was 6:29 and mile five was 6:14. We caught the group in front on the last little hill before the flat mall finish. I pushed just barely ahead of the group with about 0.4 to go to see what the response would be. They all responded, but no aggressively. I let them all catch up, mostly just messing with their heads, and then at 0.25 to go I took off and put a big gap between them all. My last 300 ft (after the Garmin autolapped) was a 4:51 pace. HR was 197 bpm at the finish...yikes!

Total time was 32:32 and was good enough for a 2nd place in my new AG 30-34! I was pretty pleased with the outcome since I haven't been doing any real hard or fast running in the last few months.

Bummer...

2009-01-20T17:47:00.003-05:00

Sinus infection, full-blown. I've been so happy this winter to be sinus infection free...I have a history of chronic sinus problems, but my luck has finally run out. So between MLK holiday (pool closed) and sinus junk, I've been sessile for too long now. Wednesday is usually a rest or very light training day (other time committments with family and church typically supercede training), but I'm going to try and get a swim and a run or bike in to get moving again.

On the upside, I just got my cadence sensor and quick release mount for my Garmin Forerunner 305 today. I'm glad to get that setup on my bike so I can be all anal retentive with even more data! I also like the velcro wrist strap better than the factory rubber one, because the loose end never stayed in the holder and always got on my nerves flapping around. Furthermore...Coach has raised my saddle over 1" so far and I can definitely tell the difference in power. I'm riding the trainer on a higher resistance setting in higher gears than I ever have before. I would love to of had a watt meter to see the difference in output.

Thanks Coach...

2009-01-11T21:59:00.002-05:00

Since cycling may be my least favorite sport to train, I suffered through 90 min on the trainer today. I was instructed to keep it at 60% (136bpm), which I did fairly well. Mentally, I was definitely ready to quit at 45 min, but managed to hang on. I put in Ghostbusters DVD, which lasts almost exactly 90 min, so it was a big help. Honestly, without a coach to answer to, this workout would not have happened!!

Found a Coach!

2009-01-08T21:12:00.002-05:00

After much searching and deliberation, I finally found a Triathlon coach: Steve Pyle. He's a former pro cyclist and seeing as how that's my weakest link, I'm looking to make some huge gains there. Tomorrow is my first official coached workout session. I'm excited that someone else will be doing all the thinking/planning and that I can be held accountable for my training. To be honest, my training last year was less than adequate in several areas, but still managed to race well. I plan on really tearing up the courses this year. My "A" race will be the SC Half. I want to go in the low 5:XX's maybe even under 5 (stretch goal)!! I also want to qualify for Boston this winter. I'll post a tentative race calendar a little later.

What is RSS?

2008-12-13T08:20:00.003-05:00

Being the mildly technically, slightly geeky type, I was ashamed that I didn't really understand what RSS was. I was pretty sure I knew what it did, turns out I was right :), but I didn't know how to really access them once they were "feeding" to you. So after a quick Google search I am now fully informed and thought I would shorten the process for the other three people that read the blog!

3:44 of simple, but thorough explanation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0klgLsSxGsU

Hope you enjoy and add me to your new RSS reader soon!

Turkey Day 8k...well, almost

2008-11-27T09:23:00.004-05:00

Spartanburg Running Club puts on an 8k run each Thanksgiving morning. Will and I headed downtown to meet some other folks and go for a run. It's a pretty low key event. The only race entry is a canned good that goes to the local soup kitchen. Scott Wolfe and his boys showed up in some festive holiday hats.

It was butt freakin cold, but we had a good time. I told Will I'd run with him which I did for the first three miles. He was going good for him, averaging about 7:10 for the first 3 miles, but I could tell he was going to fade some more to the end. So, I decided to pick it up. I ran the next 1.5 mi at about 6:35. The course ended up short by a lot. It was 4.5 mi, my time was 31:25 for an average of 6:58/mi. I think I was 14th OA, but I didn't really have any goals other than to have fun.

After the run what else is there to do but visit the local refueling center:

Once home I did a sissy version of a Crossfit workout. 10 pushups, 1 situp, 9 pushups, 2 situps, etc to 1 pushup, 10 situps for time. My time was 5:23 and I was hurting!! I haven't done these in a while!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

2008-11-26T21:30:00.005-05:00

Hope everyone (read as: "the two people who actually read my blog!") has a great Thanksgiving Day tomorrow!!!!!!

I'm heading into downtown Sparkle City (Spartanburg) for the Turkey Day 8k at 7:30am. It's a cool "race." A canned good for the local homeless shelter is the entry fee. The course is through downtown areas and the top 60 finishers get a t-shirt!

Plus it's a good way to make yourself feel better about the copious amounts of food you're about to spend the rest of the day stuffing your face with!

Where to this Christmas?

2008-11-25T20:33:00.005-05:00

How about Kauai, HI!!

Julie and I are making our second trip to the islands of Hawaii the Sunday after Christmas. We went to Oahu and Maui for our honeymoon, nearly seven years ago. The plan was to go back around 10 years, but with the possibility of another munchin on the horizon, we figured it was now or wait another ten years. So, we're heading here:

We'll be on the island 7 days and 6 nights. I found a "cottage" near the beach for a good rate. I've stayed in hotels around here for more per night. Here's the view from the deck and the inside of the studio/loft style accomodations.

Tons of pictures and stories to follow! Aloha!!

Taxes/Economy Explained

2008-11-23T21:33:00.001-05:00

The simplest explaination of taxes I've ever seen:

Our Tax System Explained: Bar Stool EconomicsSuppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that's what they decided to do.The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. 'Since you are all such good customers,' he said, 'I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20.' Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?'They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.And so:

The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.'I only got a dollar out of the $20,'declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man,' but he got $10!''Yeah, that's right,' exclaimed the fifth man. 'I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than I got' 'That's true!!' shouted the seventh man. 'Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!''Wait a minute,' yelled the first four men in unison. 'We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!'The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill! And that, ladies and gentlemen, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

You have heard the old commercial "This is your brain on drugs." The last half, with out the rich guy "is our economy on Barack."

Btw, keep an eye on my Feed-jit tracker for a D.C. view following this post. I've seen it happen to some other folks who "commented" on the state of the union...don't think it was coincidence. Unless they have half a brain to block their view on the feed since I called them out ahead of time.

Off-Season??

2008-11-08T13:32:00.002-05:00

Ok, so admittedly I've been taking it pretty easy for the past 3-4 weeks since the triathlon season ended, but I think that's ok for a little break. I had a good season with a lot of improvements over last year. I know I'll be doing some road races of various distances from 5K to Half Marathon this winter. I'm going to take a winter off from the full marathon and try and keep up with my swimming and biking.

For next year, I have two questions of which the answers will shape my racing and planning:
1) Will I get picked to race for the SCTS team? A yes, will cover my race entries and require me to race out of the series in two large (600+) events.
2) Will I be able to upgrade my bike with a sponsorship? This is a mental and motivational upgrade as well as a mechanical boost.

I should know something on both in the next few weeks, so I'll sit down and plan '09 out after that. Btw, I'm not sitting on my butt completely...I knocked out 8 miles this morning in about an hour!

Ironman TV Coverage

2008-10-28T16:27:00.007-04:00

If you have cable TV, then the Versus channel is airing coverage of the major races in the Ford Ironman Series. Here are some dates and times:

Sunday, 11/2 – 3PM – Ford Ironman Arizona
Sunday, 11/9 – 3PM – Ford Ironman CD’A
Sunday, 11/16 – 3PM – Ford Ironman Lake Placid
Sunday, 11/23 – 3PM – Ford Ironman Louisville
Sunday, 11/30 – 3PM – Ford Ironman Wisconsin

All shows re-air the following day (Monday) at 5PM (ET). There are some other races also being shown in December, but I've seen conflicting dates and times on the web. Check local listings.

12/13 – 2:30 PM – Ford Ironman Kona on NBC

South Carolina Triathlon Series

2008-10-19T20:23:00.006-04:00

This is the second year of triathlon and racing in the SCTS. Last year I only did three races, which doesn't qualify you for any placement (minimum is 5). SCTS is an 11 race series and this year I competed in 8 of the races. The each race is scored with a mildly complicated formula that basically awards the top finisher a score of 1.00 and everyone else gets a score that is less than 1.00 based on their finishing times.

My goal at the beginning of the year was to race well, stay healthy and finish in the top 5 in my age group. Well, I did all of the above and finished 2nd in the 25-29 AG. See proof:

Apparently, they are mailing out the awards in the next few weeks. Plus I'll get some nice SCTS swag, including a custom embroidered fleece pullover. Not too bad for a sophomore season...

Hickory Knob Olympic

2008-10-16T20:24:00.005-04:00

Last race of season for me this past Saturday at Hickory Knob State Park. Julie, Will, and I went down on Friday for packet pickup. We camped out with the Douglasses and partook in the traditional pre-race pasta meal. There were about 9 of us (FCA-e) there and we had a great meal and fellowship before bed.

Julie and I helped with body marking before the race which was a lot of fun to talk with a bunch of athletes, especially the newbies.

The weather was perfect and I had an overall great race. The 1500m swim was a little choppy and you had to scale a small moutain to get to transition. My time was 31:33, 77 OA, 4 AG.

I was able to get the wetsuit off a little quicker than before and my T1 time was 1:27.

The bike course was 28 miles of constantly rolling hills. I felt pretty good throughout and finished up at 1:27:39 (19.4mph), 85 OA, 3 AG.

T2 went well. I didn't take time to put on socks...more on that later. Time of 0:43.

This was the best run I've had all year. The 10k course is a beast that is either up or down the whole way. I took advantage of the first mile that was down hill and went about 6:30. The next 2.5 were basically uphill with one big hill at mile 2 or so. About mile 4 I started to feel a nice blister coming up from the no socks and new shoes...not too smart! Remember the first mile that was downhill? Well it's also the last mile, but you guessed it, uphill! I had been keeping around a 7:00-7:15 mile split and was walking down runners the whole course. At the bottom of the last hill I saw a pack of about 10-12 runner ahead and told myself I would catch them. I hammered up the hill and sprinted through the finish, passing the lead guy in the pack literally one step from the finish line. It was totally the best finish ever! Just then I realized that my race number was in the back, which is a two minute penalty. Ultimately I wasn't pentalized...I guess I flew through the chute so fast they didn't have time to notice. My time was 41:57 (6:46 pace), 22 OA, 1 AG.

Total time of 2:43:17, 51 OA, 2 AG.

SC Half Ironman

2008-09-29T21:48:00.002-04:00

This is not how I envisioned my first half ironman...

Gameplan=go moderately conservative on the swim and bike. Split the half marathon up into approximately four 5k's. The first 5k is easy. The middle two build to a pace I feel I could maintain. The last one is either go as hard as I feel or cruise in at my current pace. Result should be around 5:15:00.

Acutal=good swim. Felt ok the whole way. No major problems, but did clear my goggles three times so I could sight. I came out of the water at 37:25, right on target! T1 was only 1:41 even with my wetsuit getting stuck on my left ankle. Bike started well. The first 15 or so miles are the largest hills. I cruised through them with no worries. First bottle hand off was good. Everything feels great, then "pop" Was that what I thought it was?? Maybe not. Mile 19...is the road uneven or something?? Then I look down and the front tire is nearly flat!! Crap!!! Ok, no problem. I have my patch kit and two CO2 cartridges. I make it up the next hill and repair the puncture. 10 minutes or so wasted. No big deal. Get going again. Catching a bunch of riders. Then in the right hand turn of mile 21...flat again! Stop and find the first "repair" didn't hold. Fix again. 15 minutes wasted again. Get going. Mile 25. Flat! That's it, no more CO2. Day is over.

So I was obviously disappointed, but it could be worse. While I sat on the side of the road for 45 minutes waiting to get picked up, I had some time for prospective. #1. God is still in control. Who knows other than Him why I was pulled, but I trust that it was exactly what I needed that day. #2. You never appreciate the mountain top without going through the valley. There will be another day to race and the end will be all the more sweet after experiencing this. #3. I am incredibly blessed to compete at all. I had a great swim and great start to the bike. This is just another learning experience. #4. If triathlon were for sissies, then everyone would be doing it!!!

I will be back!!!!

Hartsville Olympic Triathlon

2008-09-09T22:07:00.010-04:00

Another age group win. This was a race of highs and lows throughout. I had the best swim ever at this distance (1500m). I found a guy about 200m into the swim that passed me but was not flying, so I got on his feet and was able to draft him the entire rest of the swim. Thanks Dude!!! This helped in two ways: 1) You swim faster 2) He was sighting well, so I didn't have too. I just zoned out and watched for his feet. Time: 29:01, 22 OA.

T1: Uneventful but a little slow. Time of 1:07

The bike was a two loop course. I struggled through the first loop. It climbed up from the lake for about 5-6 miles and I couldn't get my heart rate down from the swim. There finally were a few good downhills and I got myself together. I definitely negative split the second loop by a long shot, and finished with a respectable 19.3mph average speed. Time: 1:23:26, 31 OA.

T2: Took time to put on socks, so slower than my sprint T2's. Time of 0:50

The run was hot and hilly. There was zero shade and it was all on asphalt roads. There was plenty of aid stations, so I kept the water in me and on me to stay hydrated and as cool as possilbe. I wanted to walk so bad several times, but just kept moving. My pace was well off my expected times, but I passed several good runners who were either walking or barely shuffling their feet. Time: 46:23, 10 OA.

Total Time: 2:40:44, 14 OA.

56 miles complete

2008-08-30T16:21:00.007-04:00

I made my longest ever ride this morning of 56 miles. That's the distance of the bike leg for the Half Ironman. All you real cyclists stop laughing...that's a long way for me! I averaged 18mph over a fairly hilly course (2423 ft of total climbing). I think the SC HIM course is a lot more flat, so I'd like to think I can average more like 19-20mph.

Here's my route:

Here's the SC HIM course:

Looks like the worse hills are in the first 12 miles of the HIM course and you get a nice last 6 miles downhill to get your legs ready to run. I was pretty worn out at the end. I hated to think I would have to get off and run 13.1 miles. I have four weeks until the SC HIM and I'll get two more long rides in before then.

C-L-E-M-S-O-N!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-08-30T11:24:00.005-04:00

Whose ready for some college football??

Fun With Photoshop...

2008-08-23T10:03:00.001-04:00

Greenville Sprint Tri

2008-08-19T21:10:00.011-04:00

Sunday was the second year I raced the sprint at Greenville. The day started out with some big question marks...it was pouring down some steady rain and lightning all around. I set up my transition area in the rain. I put my bag over both pairs of shoes to try and keep them from being completely water logged. They announced that if it was still lightning at 7:00 they would change to a duathlon and if it was still lightning at 7:20, they would cancel. Thankfully, the lightning stopped just before 7:00 and it was a go!

My only warmup consisted of about 100m of swimming and some stretching before things got underway. I don't think many folks got their usual warmups in since it was raining so hard.

Swim: second year in a row I turned in an actual realistic swim time and passed at least 5-6 swimmers before getting stuck behind a pack of three. Next year I'm turning in a time that's about 20s per 100m faster than actual. Time of 7:15 (including run to T1) 64th OA; 6th AG.

T1: I didn't like the fact that the racks are assigned the same as the swim start. This meant I had to get around several guys that were there sitting on the ground, stuff strung out all over. I actually had to pick my bike up over the heads of two guys sitting there putting on shoes to get out of the racks. Time of 1:04.

Bike: Was hoping for a good improvement over last year. I really thought I could get this done between 40-41 min. Felt good at the start and at the end, but jut couldn't keep it together in the middle section to really get the time I was looking for. Time of 43:19, 100th OA; 6th AG.

T2: Mediocre...should be about 0:35. Got to get more consistent here. Time of 0:56.

Run: My best 5k ever!!! I've been staring down breaking 20 minutes in the past 4 sprint races. First all, my Garmin couldn't get a satellite signal and I turned it off/on several times but nothing. So I said, "Screw it, just run hard chase down as many as you can!" Obviously it worked. Felt good the whole run and put in a great surge at the end to catch one guy (see big guy in bright tri suit!!)I had eyed a the start of the 2nd lap. Time of 18:54, 15th OA; 2nd AG.

Overall: 1:11:37, 51st OA, 4th AG.

Also, this was Julie's second triathlon. She did really great and I was proud of her race!!! Go to the family blog to read about her race, see pics, and times! http://www.jasonandjuliethomas.blogspot.com/

Humbling Speed Work

2008-08-12T20:18:00.002-04:00

Will and I went to the SCSDB track at 5:30am for our speed workout. There is a group from the Spartanburg Running Club that are out there every week. Some of the same ones are always there, and there's usually a new face every now and again.

Today Rob Wilder showed up to run. Rob is in his mid-40's and 12 years ago he qualified for the Olympic Marathon Trials. I don't think he was able to compete due to injury...but get the point that he's an excellent runner.

We did 5x800m intervals. One the first one, Rob was still warming up and I lead out with a 3:01. Rob joined us and lead from then on. My intervals (from memory) were then 2:49, 2:40, 2:38, 2:45. The thing is...I was dying by the third one and Rob just kept getting faster. I don't think he was really breathing hard either.

As much as it hurt...I hope he comes out every week!!

Motivation?

2008-08-07T20:12:00.006-04:00

I've hit one of those training lows the past few weeks. I'm sure everyone's experienced it from time to time. I think the lack of racing and some nagging lower leg problems (plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendonitis, other associated ankle pains) has taken the wind out of my sails a bit. However, today I read a great article today in the latest Runner's World on Ryan Hall and saw some video of him on YouTube that really picked me up. Definitely worth checking out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7iHQqbJm-U

I'm not sure that God created me to be a world class athlete like Ryan, but I know that he did give me the physical ability to do some great things and the mental fortitude to push through when others quit. I think of my friends Nick and Sami Napier, both have a genetic disorder that weakens their connective tissues and makes anything physical nearly impossible. All Nick wants to do is run!! They have inspired me so many times when I wanted to quit. I just want to run the race set before me, pushing on towards the prize that is Christ Jesus!

So I'm ready to go now. Just finished a great tempo run on the treadmill. It feels good to sweat and pour yourself out. Time to get focused and trained up for my first Half Ironman...and maybe one day, THE Ironman. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bh1yMnrby3w

Three podiums in a row!

2008-07-27T15:41:00.005-04:00

So Saturday July 19th, was the first annual Union YMCA Sprint Tri. This was Julie's first triathlon and I decided to race it too. It was quite short, 300yd swim, 14.5 mi bike, and 5k run. We both had good races and both won our age groups. I was so proud of her!! She had great swim and bike, and did well for her on the run. I saw her come in on the bike and she looked pretty fresh after a very hilly 14.5 miles. She finished at 1:43:36 I was pleased with my time of 1:10:38. That put me 7th overall. I had a good bike for me, but still 5-7 minutes behind the top couple of riders. My first transition was slow too because I tried to get my top on after the swim, to keep it out of the chlorine and it took forever because it was all bunched up under my arms.

Tri the Pee Dee

2008-07-15T22:30:00.005-04:00

First ever age-group win! A decent showing in all disciplines and some quick transitions helped me hold off the other age groupers to take first. Also, this should get me to second in the overall standings for the race series.

Swim: 700m. Started standing in the water about thigh deep. At the start I took about five or six hard steps then dolphin dived in to get going. My goggles were foggy and there was a low fog over the lake that made sighting very difficult. I even stopped once on the back leg to rinse out my goggles. I didn't push it as hard as I could but my time was decent. 13:35 OA: 40, AG: 1

T1: Tried a new tactic of stepping into my race number and having it on during the bike. This will work for a short race, but I think the number will get on my nerves too much on a longer bike. Time of 1:39 including about 250m run to transition.

Bike: Pancake flat and boring. I was dying for a hill to climb then fly down. I actually passed a few folks on the bike. One guy was in tennis shoes, so he doesn't count!! Time of 43:35 OA: 41, AG: 3

T2: Very good transition. Rack bike, take off helmet, put on shoes. Time of 0:35

Run: Only dissappointment of the day. I wanted to go under 20 minutes. Three lap course on uneven terrain. I went hard but came up just short of my goal. Time of 20:07 OA: 11, AG: 1

Total time of 1:19:28 OA: 20, AG: 1

My wife is a hottie!!

2008-07-08T21:38:00.003-04:00

Julie and I just went for her second open road bike ride. I took her on a 15.5 mi course that has some good hills between miles 4-9. She did awesome, riding at 17 mph with some good headwinds in sections also. She also did a quick 0.5 mi jog afterwards. Not to mention she's smokin hot!

Julie's First Ride

2008-07-03T21:09:00.000-04:00

So my wife is going to try a few short sprint tri's this year. The first one is in Union on July 19th. She's been working out hard for almost three months doing the P90X video series and she definitely has gotten a lot stronger in all muscle groups and very strong in the core. She has also been in the pool once or twice a week for about 2 months. I was impressed with her stroke. She had decent form from the start and swims fairly quickly. She also has done the spinning class at the gym a few times.

I worked on the loaner bike that I've been borrowing from a friend and passing around to different riders and got it ready for the road again. It's a decent bike with middle to lower end components and a steel frame, but definitely not a wind slicing rocket ship.

We headed out from our house and did an out and back 12 mile ride that is fairly flat with some rollers and a few gradual ascents over 1 mile long. She did well with shifting and keeping out of traffic and finished at a 16.5mph average speed. A great ride for her first outing.

I told Will that he was done as my riding partner because a found a much nicer view to draft behind!!

New Race Colors

2008-06-28T21:28:00.000-04:00

I'm excited that I just got my Team FCA-Endurance jersey in this week. I've been racing in a tri-suit or just bottoms and I've wanted a two piece outfit for a while. Since I've been getting more involved with FCA-E, I wanted to get the team's jersey to show off the colors and put another face to FCA-E in the local races. Be on the lookout!

Tri The Midlands Sprint

2008-06-21T20:56:00.000-04:00

Finally made a podium...3rd place in my age group. This was a first year event. I liked the bike course a lot, nice rollers throughout but nothing killer. The run was a very hilly out and back, mostly on a paved sidewalk trail in a development.

Swim: open water lake swim. Sighting was ok, got decent water throughout, but never got a strong stroke established. Place 68/240. Time of 11:06 (with a 250 yd run to transition)

T1: Pretty good transition. Long run to bike start. Had my shoes clipped in and got into them ok after hopping onto the bike. Time of 0:50

Bike: Nice course. Tried to ride fairly hard without killing my legs. Still got passed too much. I've got to ride more in training. Place 103/240. Time of 35:15

T2: Another good transition. Bike racked, shoes on, pick up number and I was out. My watch said 0:39...official time of 0:48

Run: Hilly. Most of the run was on a paved trail along the road that was about 4 feet wide. Since it was an out and back, there was not a lot of room to pass people. Pretty good showing overall. Place 23/240. Time of 20:36

Total time of 1:08:33 put me 52/240 overall men and 3/9 in my age group.

Festival of Flowers Olympic Tri

2008-06-10T14:23:00.000-04:00

I went into this race thinking about a B maybe C priority event. Mostly here to preview the course for the Half Ironman in Sept. No real pressure, just have a good race and see what happens. I was so glad to have spent the night camping out before the race with some FCA-Endurance folks because that put me 3 minutes (by bike) to the transition area from my bed. This sure beats driving for 1.5 hours before the event!

First off...this is a stacked field event because it is the SE Regional qualifier for the USAT National event. Secondly, the heat was unbelievable for this time of year. It was 77 at the start and 95 by the time I finished.

Swim: Ok...never found open water until the last 750m and had some sighting problems throughout. I probably swam about 1600m in all with the zig-zags I was making. Didn't push too hard since I had only logged one training swim at this distance this year. Time of 31:46

T1: Only real mistake of the day was here. I had forgot to load my gel packs up before the race start so I had to fish through my bag and grab two. Ran out of transition with shoes on. Again, two people blocked me getting onto the bike. Time of 1:05

Bike: Better than I had planned. I thought I might ride about 19-19.5 mph avg, but finished at 20.4 mph. I drank almost 40 oz of Gatorade on the bike in all, nearly double what I might otherwise, but did I mention the heat? Time of 1:10:01

T2: Nothing great, nothing really bad. Took time to slip on socks for the 10k. 5k run I'll go naked in the shoes, but I like the extra cushion for the longer run. Time of 0:51

Run: Hot, hot, hot, hot, hot....hot! Miserable is the word to describe miles 2-3 and 4-5 because it was in the blazing sun! I stopped and walked through every water station to drink a cup of water or Gatorade and to pour a cup of water on my head. I even stopped to stretch my quads at mile 4 station because they felt like they were going to cramp any second. Pace was a little slow, but under the conditions I wasn't dissappointed. Time of 44:34

Total time of 2:28:16 put me 6th out of 11 age groupers with only one local guy (age group) beating me and 64th out of 186 men overall.

Also, I beat my season goal of a sub 2.5 hour Olympic distance race!

Clemson Sprint Tri

2008-06-10T12:53:00.000-04:00

Rule #1: Thou shalt arrive at the race site at least 1.5 hours before the start.

Officially broke Rule #1 and waited in the packet pick up line for 40 minutes. My warm up included racking my bike and setting up transition, running 1000m to the truck for my sunglasses, and putting on my wetsuit. Let's just say this set the tone for the day.

Swim: Not bad overall. Sighting went fair and I had pretty clean water for most of the swim. Arms felt heavy by 600m, but I didn't really lose much pace. My first swim in the new wetsuit. Time of 14:56 (with a 1/4 mile run to the transition!)

T1: Terrible! couldn't get my left foot out of the suit. Horrible mount onto the bike. Three people stopped in front of me to get around. Time of 1:13 (I mentioned terrible, right?)

Bike: Rolling hills my rear end. This thing was hilly from start to finish. No warm up, plenty of hills, and my cyclometer sensor was out of line lead to a much slower than anticipated time of 34:52

T2: Didn't think it could get much worse than T1, but it did. Forgot to get my feet on the shoes before the dismount line so I had to run in with them on and get them off. Then my racing flat's paper thin insole totally folded up in my left shoe putting it on, so I had to take it off, fix it, and put it back on. Time of 1:02

Run: Legs felt ok off the bike considering I had done a total of zero bricks in training. Mile one felt good at about 6:30 pace until I hit the hill going up to the dike. That thing sucked the life out of me and took me the rest of mile two to recover. Finally got back up on the bridge and ground out a good last leg. Time of 20:34 (btw that's a new 5K PR...just happened to be in a Triathlon)

Overall time of 1:12:39 put me 6th out of 21 in my age group and 88th out of 320 men overall. I guess I'm ok with the result if you take into consideration that it was my first race of the year and I did so many things wrong!

Here goes...

2008-06-10T12:46:00.000-04:00

So Triathlon season is in full swing already. This is my second year of racing. My schedule for this year includes:

May 10th: Clemson Sprint Tri
June 8: Festival of Flowers Olympic Tri
June 21: Tri the Midlands Sprint Tri
July 12: Tri the Pee Dee Sprint Tri
July 19: Union YMCA Sprint Tri
Aug 17: Greenville Sprint Tri
Sept 7: Hartsville Olympic Tri
Sept 28: SC Half Ironman
Oct 11: Hickory Knob Olympic Tri

My goal is to train hard and smart, stay injury free, and place near the top five of my age group for the season.