IronLuke's Blog

Road To Recovery

2012-01-13T13:59:00.002-06:00

As sit I and write this post I am a little over 6 weeks from the throat and nose surgery that was supposed to correct several things and make me feel a whole lot better. I am just now starting to feel better after several set backs during my recovery. I am not sure if the surgery did what it was supposed to and because of that I have not been optimistic about my upcoming training and race schedule. With all that said I have a lot of work to do.

While I've been recovering I completely lost control of what it means to be an endurance athlete. I have developed a lot of bad habits, mainly from not being able to train. I've put on a considerable amount of weight, which is not good considering I was already way off my race weight. I also developed some even crappier eating habits and I just got real lazy. It has just been in the last week that I feel like I am getting my mojo back and I'm finally starting to get some consistency back.

As for upcoming events I am signed up for the Texas Independence Bike Tour at the end of January and a 5 mile run in February. As I start to get my endurance back I'll sign up for more, but I'm taking it slow for now.

I want to thank all of you who sent me messages after my surgery. That really meant a lot to me. The surgery and the weeks after the surgery were much tougher than I thought they would be and there were times where I wasn't sure if I would ever be able to the endurance events that I love. I still have some recovering to do but I am committed to getting on the race course soon.

Bye for now!

Big News

2011-11-10T15:25:00.003-06:00

Before the big news a quick update. It has been a little over a month since my last post. Since then my "health" issues have continued to burden me. My training has been inconsistent due to the health problems. I missed the 5150 race, where I had a free entry and Oilman due to my inability to train. With that said I think there is light at the end of the tunnel. With any luck I should be back to a "normal" schedule by mid December. I do plan to get back to some light to moderate training in the meantime. My body will dictate what I can and can not do.

So for the big news. I am currently signed up for 3 big races in 2012. First up will be Ironman 70.3 Texas in April followed by Ironman Texas in May and Ironman 70.3 Vineman in July. Of these race I have only done Ironman Texas. I am looking forward to doing my 3rd Ironman and being 100% healthly for it. I have coached the IM 70.3 Texas race for the last 3 years and I am really looking forward to getting to actually race there. Lastly, I am super excited about the IM 70.3 Vineman race in Napa, CA. I have wanted to do this race for a long time. With any luck there will be wine on the route. At any rate these are 3 quality races and I am really looking forward to all of them.

As for the remainder of 2012 I will have plenty of events to do. I have several things in mind but I am still in planning process. I will let everyone know as I finalize the 2012 schedule. I hope all is well with everyone and I'll see you at the start line.

Bye for now!

Susan G. Komen 5K

2011-10-02T15:37:00.002-05:00

Before I get into my update on the Susan G. Komen 5K, I want to provide a small training update.

Training has been up and down. In the last 2 weeks I have done my longest brick and my longest swim since IMTX. Other than that training has been inconsistent. I have been working an extreme amount of hours and days the last two weeks and I have had 2 more allergic reactions where some part of my face swells up. (Don't laugh) The medication that I take for these reactions makes me very sleepy and gives me some pretty bad headaches. This typically derails my training for a few days, today being no exception. I am going to try and regroup with a brick after work tomorrow before departing for 3 days in Beaumont. I am hoping I can have a allergic reaction free week so I get my consistency back.

As for the Susan G. Komen 5K I had a very slow run. This was my 1st 5K and I finished in 26'56". I wasn't going for time so I didn't really care what the time was. There is one thing to running only a 5K, you are done early. This was very nice compared to the long running and triathlon events I typically do. Overall the event was nice and will probably do the event again.

I still haven't made any decisions on my next few events. I really want that consistency with my health and training before I pay for anymore events. I see my allergist later this week so hopefully she can give me another treatment that will help me. I hope to have something posted in the next couple weeks on what is next for me.

Have a good week.

Bye for now!

I'm Back

2011-09-17T15:16:00.003-05:00

Hello All,

I have not updated by Blog since February 1, 2011. Wow, I can't believe it's been that long! Since I last updated everyone I completed 6 triathlons including my 2nd Ironman. Needless to say my Ironman did not go as planned due to a number of injuries and lack of proper training. This was also compounded by being way off my race weight. Since my Ironman my neck, back and shoulder have healed up and I have started training again. I spent most of the summer in the weight room with my son and I have started my running and cycling regiment over the last few weeks. The one odd thing that I have been dealing with over the last 6 weeks is this mystery illness that has been making different parts of parts of my face swell up. One of my doctors feels its related to a bacteria named H-Pylori but the medication has not seemed to helped. It hasn't slowed me down too much but it does force me to alter my training calendar from time to time. I'm hoping to get to the bottom of the illness soon.

As I look at the remainder of 2011 I have a few events I am signed up for. I have the Susan Komen 5k on October 1st, The Oilman 1/2 Ironman on November 6th and the BCS Marathon on December 11th. I don't feel pressure to do these events but I really want to. My main focus is to get 100% healthy, get back to race weight and re-install a consistent training system. If I am not ready I will not race. I have done too many races in the last few years when I am not ready and it has added to a lot of frustration in my life. Going forward I am not sure what events I am going to do. I have a lot events I would like to do but I really need to make sure I get the items I mentioned earlier in place. I will do a better job updating everyone going forward. I was very frustrated earlier in the year and I just felt like I would be filling this Blog with negativity. I hope everyone is doing well and I will update everyone again very soon.

Bye for now.

2011 to Date

2011-02-01T17:37:00.002-06:00

January was a busy month as I completed several endurance events. I did the Goofy Challenge on the 8th and 9th where I had a personal best marathon, I rode the Frost Bike 50 which was 56 miles but who is counting on the 23rd and on the 30th I achieved another PR at the Houston Marathon. I am not going to provide a detailed race report but I will say all of the events went well overall and I had a lot of fun. As for the IronMan training, things are going well and I am definitely on track for May. I have several more events between now and May 21st starting with the Mardi Gras Marathon in Galveston on February 20th. I am not sure how much I will be updating the blog until the big race so be patient with me. You can always follow me on Twitter @IronManLuke where I will try to give updates on my training progress. I'll see you on the road.

Bye for now!

IronMan Cozumel 2009 and 2010

2010-11-30T09:13:00.005-06:00

Last weekend was the one year anniversary of my first IronMan. It was in Cozumel and it was one of the most exciting things I have ever been a part of. As I was getting updates on Lauren, Laura and Johnny who were doing the 2nd annual event I couldn't help but be a little jealous. It was such an accomplishment for me to finish that race and I really wanted to be there racing it again. I first want to say that I am very proud of Lauren and Laura for finishing their 1st IronMan event. They have both been good friends to me and I'm really excited for them. As for Johnny, he had a tough day having to stop racing due to an illness. I know this sucks for him but anyone who knows Johnny, knows he will be back stronger than ever.

I just wanted put a few thoughts down regarding the event. I really loved this event and I hope to do it again in the future. As for me, the training is moving along well. I am very excited for 2011 and what the new race season will bring.

Later Dudes!

Turkey Trot 2010

2010-11-29T12:51:00.002-06:00

On Thanksgiving I did my first Turkey Trot. I did this run in Dallas and it was a lot of fun. The run consisted of 2 distances a 5k and a 8 mile run. I chose the 8 mile run. Here are the run details:

When I woke up to head to downtown Dallas I was not sure what to wear for the run. It wasn't super cold but it was supposed to get colder as morning went on. I decided to bring warm and cool weather gear and I would decide before the race started. When we arrived downtown my decision on what to wear was not any easier so I ended up in shorts and a running jacket. This ended up being a good decision. It was windy and cold and I felt just right with what I wore.

The start line was a little bit of a mess. There were non-timed runners mixed with the timed runners and knew I did not want run through the people that were not going for time. Norma and I started making our way through the crowd and eventually made it towards the front of the pack. As we waited for the race to start we saw that we were standing next to a kid in a Gumby suit that was stretching and was looking to run a fast race. I thought to myself just don't let Gumby beat you. As the race got underway Gumby took off and I thought so much for not letting Gumby beat you. I just hope he was only running the 5k.

As the run started I was a little sore and the wind and cold were getting to me. I felt like I was running in place but I had a decent pace going. As I reached mile 1 I was looking forward to a an aid station because I needed some fluids. Unfortunately there was no aid station in sight. I kept going as I felt pretty good overall and I knew I could go another mile. At mile 2 there was an aid station but there was only water and I was hoping for some Gatorade. Nevertheless, I motored on keeping a decent pace. I wasn't sure if I could maintain my pace without the Gatorade but I was determined. As the turnoff for the 5k approached I thought about cutting my run short but thought better of it and kept on. As I reached the halfway point of the run there was a boy, probably 8 or 9, who asked me what run route we were on. I told him that we are on the 8 mile route. He threw his hands up in the air in disgust. It seems he missed the turn for the 5k and he really was not prepared for the 8 mile run. Two men running near me told the boy he was their hero and that he could run with them. They took off and I never saw them again. I'm glad I don't get bothered by little kids kicking my but in these events anymore. As I made my way to the aid stations at mile 4 and 6 I was disappointed to find they were stocked with only water. I knew this was as good as its going to get. I was regretting not buying some Gatorade prior to the run but I knew I would make it. The last few miles were tough because a couple of overpasses that I was not prepared for but I held it together. Overall, I felt pretty good for the event and the final for the 8 miles was 1:07:23. Not too bad for my 1st road race since the 2009 Houston Half Marathon.

After the race I finally found some Gatorade. I refueled and headed back onto the course to find Norma. I found her about a mile from the finish and she was moving well. I ran the last of the race with her and this allowed me clock in 10 miles for the day. I had a great time and I thought this was a good event that I would definitely do this race again in the future.

After not doing any cycling or running events in 2010 I found a way to do one of each in a 5 day period. Not too bad.

Bye for now!

Red White and Bike

2010-11-27T17:13:00.003-06:00

Last Sunday I did the Red, White and Bike in Hockley. It was my first organized bike ride in over a year. This was a ride that benefited the children of Purple Heart recipients. The proceeds provide bicycles to these children. As for the ride it was a tough one. The route was hilly and it was a very windy one. I rode the 40 mile route with my tri team and I had a great time. I didn't ride for speed (at least for the most part) I just rode to get the miles in. One a great note due to the the tri team having 20 riders we were able to have a bike dedicated to a child in the team's name. I want to thank Lori Ivanoff for organizing everyone to do this event. This is a great cause and it was a lot of fun!

Sorry for the short post. Pictures will follow.

Bye for now!

http://www.redwhiteandbike.org/

2010 Trail Run to Benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society

2010-11-08T09:31:00.002-06:00

On Sunday November 7, 2010 I ran the 2010 Trail Run to Benefit Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. This was a fund-raiser for those of us running in one of the TNT events in January. It was 3.85 mile trail run through the Memorial Park Mountain Bike Trails. I have never done trail running but I had a blast. It was tough running and I was very sore after but I definitely want to try my hand at a trail run in the future. Here are the run details:

We started the run near the Picnic Loop and made our way to the Mountain Bike Trail. After a brief run through the trail we exited along Memorial Blvd and then we had to complete an obstacle. It was easy, just a quick run across some 2 X 4's. At this time I was in 5th place and I was feeling good. We then re-entered the trail and weaved through the woods. It was fun but not the fastest running. After about 2.9 miles of tough running we exited the trails and we had another obstacle. This time we had to run through tires and then crawl through some tubing. This was little tougher because the tubing moved as you crawled through it. After making it through I made it to the aid station where one of the runners ahead of me dropped out. This put me in 4th. We then ran back onto the trails near the baseball fields for the last portion of the race. The trails were basically the same and we exited close to the bridge that crosses Memorial. This is where the 3rd and final obstacle was. For this challenge we had to Army crawl under a tarp and then run through some more tires and then it was a straight shot back to the finish line. At this point I was tied for 3rd. As we made it towards the finish I turned up the speed and finished 3rd overall. This was obviously a very small event with a little over 30 runners. With that said I was still excited to finish 3rd overall. It was my 1st podium finish ever. After the run, I put in another 7 miles of running. It was slow and I was hurting but I needed the miles.

The training is still going well and I hope to get a few more runs and rides in this week. I feel like I am getting closer to being ready for the Goofy Challenge and the Houston Marathon. I'm looking forward to both.

Bye for now!

The Triathlon Season is Over

2010-11-03T08:22:00.002-05:00

I know I haven't put a post up in a while due to nothing really to report. I have made a tough decision to end my triathlon season at 6 races. I had planned to do Iron Star on November 7th but I think my time would be better spent on a fund-raiser that I have going on that morning and I'm just not sure what I would get out of this race. I know I could complete it but I definitely don't feel like I normally do going into a race of this distance. When I do long course racing I need to be in top shape physically and mentally and I definitely don't feel that way now. With all that said 6 triathlons is a good number. It is the earliest I have ended my multi-sport season since 2005 but I stuck to something I promised myself, take it easy in 2010. I have done no running events and no cycling events to date and my triathlons consisted of 3 Sprints and 3 Olympics. All in all not a bad triathlon season.

So what's next? I do have two big running events in January. I have the Goofy Challenge (please donate to my fund-raising) and I have the Houston Marathon. I also have the big race of 2011, IronMan Texas in May. That is the big focus for now. I know I will be back at it with a number of long course races in addition to IMTX in 2011.

Lastly, I am saying that I'm not feeling up to doing a half-ironman but I have been training. My running is going very well and the cycling and swimming is not too bad. It just doesn't feel right at this time. I will be updating my blog a little more frequently with my training updates and you never know I might sneak in a running or cycling event before the end of the year.

Bye for now!

Training and Other Notes

2010-09-25T16:10:00.004-05:00

I have not had much going on since Clear Lake at the end of August. I've been training a lot and my endurance level seems to finally be getting back to normal but that's about it. Now, I just need to get race weight. I am not signed up for anymore races this year but I am sure I will do at least one more. As of today I am still considering Longhorn 70.3, Firethorne Sprint and Iron Star Half-Iron. Iron Star is the only one that I am pretty sure I will do. Its a cheap race for a Half-Iron and I like the event. I'll figure it out soon.

As for my coaching duties, I am very encouraged about my team. We are only 2 official practices in but they look good so far. We have a short brick coming up next Saturday and I am excited to see what the team can do. This should be a good event for those doing Firethorne next month.

Bye for now!

Bridgeland Triathlon and Clear Lake International Triathlon

2010-09-08T20:46:00.001-05:00

Well its been a little over a month since my last post and I have completed 2 more triathlons during that time bringing my 2010 total to 6. They haven't been my best performances but I finished and that is what counts. Here is a brief recap of both races.

On August 8th I did the Bridgeland Triathlon in Cypress. It was a Sprint Race (50n0 meter swim, 14 mile bike and a 3.5 mile run). For the most part the race was uneventful. I was in the second wave and I started off well. About 250 meters into the swim I swallowed a nasty mouthful of water and I actually had to come to a complete stop until I could get all the water I swallowed out of my system. After a few minutes of not moving I finished my swim and moved on to the bike. The bike was very flat and very fast and I averaged over 22 mph on the ride. The run was the same, flat and fast and I averaged 8:20 per mile. Not my fastest run time for a Sprint but it will do. My finishing time was 1:24:16. Overall a good race and I'm sure I'll race it again.

My second race of August was in Clear Lake on the 28th. This is the 3rd time I have done this race and its one of my favorite events. I started in the last wave for the Olympic which is rare for me but what can you do. I felt really good during the swim despite my slow swim time. I'm not sure what happened but again I felt good in the water. The bike course was mostly flat with the exception of the Kemah Bridge which I struggled getting over because my legs were dead. There was some headwind but it didn't effect me too much. My bike time for the 40 k ride was 1:11:13 which was 20.94 mph. Last year I averaged 22.9 mph but I was also in the middle of my Ironman training and I was much better prepared. The run was the same course, flat and fast. I finished my run in 53:55 which was an 8:40 pace. Not as fast as last year but not too bad. My finishing time was 2:49:15 which is about 10 minutes slower than last year. The good news is that it was my 3rd fastest at the Olympic distance.

My training is going well but I am not signed up for anything else this year. I'm not sure what is next but I'll keep everyone posted.

Bye for now!

Memorial Herman Ironman 70.3 Texas

2010-07-31T22:02:00.002-05:00

Today was the unofficial start to the TNT Memorial Herman Ironman 70.3 training season. We had a short practice this morning (1 mile timed run) followed by a shoe clinic at Finish Strong Sports. So far it looks like we have 25 people and hopefully a few more. I am very excited with my new group and I know we will have a great season. We will have one more unofficial practice and a few clinics before we get started with the tough work at the end of September. In the meantime I will put my coaching duties aside and will train with Memorial marathon group to get ready for the Goofy Challenge in January.

I also signed up for the Clearlake International Triathlon this week. I went ahead and signed up for the Olympic distance because my training is going well. So, I will race twice in the month of August. Beyond that I have a few races in mind but nothing concrete at this point. I hope to have some definite answers over the next few weeks. For now I am planning to focus on my training.

Bye for now!

Training Update

2010-07-23T10:27:00.003-05:00

Well, my training has not gone as planned. I am recovering from a back and neck injury. I injured my self about a month ago and I am just starting to get to where I feel like I can train as normal. My main issue is my neck but its slowly getting better. I am hoping to ramp up my mileage over the next month and get back into a routine.

As for racing, I have done nothing since the Silverlake Triathlon in mid May and I still have a few weeks before the Bridgeland Triathlon on August 8th. Even though my training has been light I feel I can do this Sprint race with little difficulty. I do also plan to race at the Clearlake International Triathlon at the end of August. I have done this race twice and I really enjoy it. I am trying to decide on the Sprint or the Olympic. My body says do the Sprint but my brain says do the Olympic. I'll make a decision in the next day or so.

Bye for now!

Exciting News

2010-06-28T11:49:00.004-05:00

I wanted to let everyone know that I have signed up for 2 exciting events in 2011. For my 1st event I have signed up to do another fund-raising event for Team in Training. I will be raising $4500 for Disney Marathon's Goofy Challenge on January 8th and 9th. This consists of a Half-Marathon on Day 1 and a full Marathon on Day 2. I am also planning to run the 5k January 7th. This should be a very exciting event and I am looking forward to participating with TNT again. Please help me raise me by making a tax deductible donation to fight blood cancers. You can use the link on my page to donate.

For my 2nd event I will be competing in IronMan Texas. This event will be on May 21, 2011 right here in The Woodlands. This will be my 2nd IronMan and I am very excited that I will be doing the event here in Texas.

Please check back for updates on my training and fund-raising efforts.

Bye for now!

Silverlake Triathlon Part 4

2010-06-02T16:08:00.002-05:00

Before I give a recap on Silverlake I wanted to add something to my last post. At Gateway I had the pleasure of meeting Andy Potts and Matty Reed. They were competing in a relay for charity and they stuck around for a meet and greet with the athletes and fans. It was a super cool experience and I was able to get my picture with them.

As for Silverlake this was my 4th time racing there. I have done this race more than any other and its one of my favorite events. Its a short Sprint race but always well done and they added a finishers medal for 2010.

The swim course was the same and it happened to be wetsuit legal. The swim was nothing exciting and I finished in 9'52" which was my second fastest at this race. I was little tired coming out of the water but overall I felt good. The bike course was new for 2010. It was still flat and fast but with less turns which made it even faster. Because of this I had my fastest bike time of 28'09" which was 21.3 mph. By the time I made it into T2 I was starting to loose energy. The beginning of my run was good but I started to fade quickly. If not for a slower run I might have set a PR for this course. My run time was 23'50" which was a 7'57" pace and my second slowest time at this race. Overall my time was 1:05:31 which was 3rd fastest for this event. All of my times are relatively close in time so I was satisfied with the day.

As for my next race I have 2 in mind but I have signed up for neither. I am looking at the Sylvan Beach Triathlon and Buffalo Springs Lake Triathlon. I am not sure if I will do one, both or neither race. I will let you know.

Bye for now!

Gateway to the Bay and Lone Star Triathlons

2010-05-15T20:09:00.003-05:00

I know these race reports are way over due but I wanted to give an update prior to the Silverlake Triathlon tomorrow.

On April 10 and 11th I did my first back to back triathlons. April 10th was the Sprint (500 meter swim, 12.5 mile bike and 5 K run). On April 11th was the Olympic (1500 meter swim, 24.9 mile bike and 10 K run). The Sprint race was a non event with the exception of the swim which was very choppy and a bad cold that I was nursing. It wasn't my best swim but I was happy considering the choppy conditions. The bike was a one loop course the started with Kemah bridge. It was tough making it over both sides with little momentum but that was the toughest part. The rest was flat and fast and I averaged a little under 20 mph for the bike. Not my fastest but not bad considering my training. On a side note I received my first penalty ever for passing in a no pass zone. The run was flat and went through the Kemah Boardwalk area. Overall it was a good race and I finished in 1:21:59 without the penalty.

The Olympic was a little more challenging. The swim started with being taken a mile off shore on a boat dropped off to swim back. The water was not as choppy as the day before but it was still challenging. You would think this would be easy? Just swim in a straight line and make it to shore. The problem is it is a long shore and you have to exit in a specific place. To make matters worse there were only 3 marker buoys. I rely heavily on these buoys to guide me because I have poor vision and I have a difficult time swimming in a straight line without them. Needless to say it was by far my worst Olympic distance swim ever. After I exited the water and got on my bike I felt better. The bike course was the same but it was 2 laps. Overall, I has happy with my bike but again not my fastest. The run course was different than the day before but it was still flat. Unfortunately, my bad cold and the long swim took my energy away and it just was not my day. I finished with my 2nd slowest Olympic ever. My two Olympic races this year have been very slow but I have several upcoming opportunities to improve.

Lastly, I wanted to provide a brief note about the Lone Star Triathlon. I coached 18 people to compete in the Olympic Triathlon and 4 people in the Half-Ironman Triathlon. They all did a great job and I was proud of them all. I hope they all enjoyed the event and I hope they all return for a future event with Team N' Training.

Tomorrow May 16th I am racing in the Silverlake Triathlon for the 4th time. I have not done any other race more than 2 times. It is one of my favorite races and I am hoping the weather cooperates. I'll let you know how it goes.

Bye for now!

Champions Triathlon

2010-04-02T18:14:00.004-05:00

Last Saturday I did my first Triathlon of 2010 by completing the Olympic distance at the Champions Triathlon in Austin. This also marked my 25th triathlon since becoming a triathlete in 2005. I am very proud of this milestone and I look forward to many more races. Now for the race report:Saturday morning I woke up around 6 am to get ready and eat some breakfast in the hotel. I had a waffle and some orange juice that did not settle well with me and would prove troublesome during the race. As we drove to the race my stomach was upset and I thought it was just nerves but the feeling wouldn't go away. I was determined to race anyway. After body marking, bike racking and transition set-up it was down to the swim start.As I waited for the race to start I felt like throwing up and I tried to hold it in. Unfortunately as soon as I entered the water for the start I started to hurl. I felt awful but I started the race anyway. The water was not too cold but it was very choppy. This was not helping my stomach and I had to keep stopping to let my stomach settle. After one of my longest Olympic swim times ever I made it to T1 and set off for a slightly longer than normal bike course. A typical Olympic distance triathlon is a little under 25 miles. This event had the bike at a little over 26 miles.
As I started the bike I was happy to have a tailwind to give me a little time to get settled. The tailwind didn't last long and it was hills and headwind for a little over half the loop. The bike course was two 13.1 mile loops so I knew I would have to deal with all the challenges twice. It took about 11 miles but I started to feel a little better. My legs were hurting but I pressed on. The bike kicked my butt however I was able to average 18.4 mph on the bike. Not too bad considering my lack of training time leading up to the race. After a challenging ride I headed to transition to prepare for the 10k run.
The run started off OK but my energy was fading. The run consisted of 2 loops around Lake Pflugerville. It was flat but not as fast I would have liked. After my 1st loop I was starting to get sick to my stomach again and I had to walk for the first time at a race of this distance. I was disappointed but I had to walk or bad things were going to happen. After all was said and done I finished in 3:05:29. This was my slowest Olympic but I was just happy to finish.
One other race note. Several members of my Lone Star team did the event as well. Lori, Jessica and Norma competed in the Sprint race and Mindi competed in the Olympic. Norma and Jessica finished top 6 in their age groups and Lori earned a podium spot finishing 2nd in her age group. Mindi in her first ever triathlon finished 6th in her age group. They all did a great job and I am proud of them all.
For my next races I am competing in the Gateway to the Bay Triathlon in Kemah on April 10th and 11th. I am racing the Sprint and the Olympic distances and I suspect I will have a much better outing. I have never done back to back races before so I am not sure how it will go but I am excited about the challenge.

Lastly, I received some great news last week. I gained a sponsorship from PowerBar and I am now a member of PowerBar Team Elite. I am very excited and honored to be a member of this team. I will have more details to come on this sponsorship in the weeks to come.

Bye for now!

Lone Star Triathlon Team and Other Notes

2010-02-15T20:55:00.003-06:00

We are about 2 1/2 months away from the Lone Star Triathlon and this season has been filled with lots of ups and downs. Let me start by saying that I love this team but we have had a number of obstacles that have prevented this team from clicking. The main obstacle has been the weather. The weather this year has been rough. The rain, snow and the cold has prevented many of the team from coming out to practice on a regular basis. As a coach these practices are important because it is my only opportunity to help each athlete. I am hoping the weather starts cooperating because I know with a little help we can have a well oiled machine with this group. Fortunately we have time to get people ready for this event. I'm confident that it will get better.

I know I said I would not sign up for anything until March 1st but I had an opportunity to participate in the Texas Independence Relay and this was such a unique opportunity so I didn't want to pass it up. This is a relay run from Gonzales to the San Jacinto Monument. The run is a total of 203.2 miles. I am not sure about my portion of the relay but it looks like I will run 4 legs. I feel I will be up for the challenge.

A few weeks ago I received the Garmin 310XT for my birthday and I love it! Thanks Norma! It has really helped me with my training and if I get lost the GPS will lead me back to where I started. I look forward to using it at the T.I.R.

Lastly, I still have not made concrete decisions about the triathlon schedule for 2010 but I have a few races in mind. One race that I will not do is Ironman Louisville. It looks like it is sold out and only has Ironman Foundation spots available. I will probably list a tentative race schedule in a few weeks. I will let you all know.

Bye for now.

Rebuilding a Triathlete

2010-01-24T14:50:00.002-06:00

I made a decision this week to start over from a training aspect. Now I realize that I am not really starting over as I have kept a base level of training from IM Cozumel but I needed a way to get myself motivated. I decided to start with short runs, rides and swims with my primary focus on my strength training. This has worked very well. For the first time in months I don't feel like I am forcing myself to train. In the last week I was able to get 3 runs, 2 swims and 2 bike rides in addition to 4 strength training sessions. I also did my first Yoga session on Friday. Yoga is very tough but I want to become more flexible so I plan to keep this as a part of my training. I'll keep everyone updated on my progress.

I have also been watching what I eat. I really want to get my weight and body fat % to my 2007 and 2008 levels. I have lost 4 pounds this week and I am confident that I can myself to the right weight and body fat levels over the next few months.

Bye for now.

2009 and Beyond

2010-01-19T17:53:00.003-06:00

Well, I had a very productive 2009. I completed 1 half marathon, 1 full marathon, 4 bike rides ranging from 30 miles to 101 miles and 9 triathlons. Of the 9 triathlons I completed 2 Sprints, 4 Olympics, 2 Half-Ironman events and I finished the year with my first Ironman in November. I spent 500 hours training in 2009. I ran 772 miles, cycled 2325 miles and I swam 62 miles. I also completed 97 strength training sessions. As I sit and look at what I did in 2009 I am amazed that I survived it. When I started competing in endurance events I never thought I would do this much.

So what's next? I am still not 100% sure but I have a few things in mind. I was supposed to run the Houston Marathon last Sunday but I was not feeling well on race day and I decided not to run. I am looking for a marathon to make up for Houston in the next couple months. As far as triathlon is concerned I am sticking to the plan of not signing up for anything until March. I have not done much as far as training goes since IM Cozumel and I want to give myself time to get back into shape before I sign up for anything. I will keep you all updated with what I decide.

Bye for now

I am IronMan

2009-12-09T16:06:00.008-06:00

Well I am finally writing my race report. Sorry it has taken so long but I wanted to digest the experience before writing. Here we go:

We arrived in Cancun early Thursday afternoon and I was hoping to get to Cozumel in time to watch the Cowboys game. Unfortunately getting to Cancun was the easiest part of the trip. After our fun getting through customs we bought bus tickets to take us to the ferry that would take us to Cozumel. The lucky thing was the fact that we were the first stop. Along with me there were two other athletes with bikes that were getting on the bus and not too many other people. I thought to myself this won't be too bad. After a few minutes on the bus we pulled up to stop #2 that had a bunch of people with bikes. People were freaking out that their bikes and luggage wouldn't make it on the same bus and it was a big mess that was adding time to the hour that we already waited. Finally, after what seemed like forever the bus was heading to the ferry. Once we made it Playa Del Carmen we bought ferry tickets and were close to heading to Cozumel. The ferry was another nightmare. There were so many people and bike boxes. It took forever to get everyone loaded up. During our wait the weather starting turning worse and it got very windy. Once the ferry took off I knew we were in for a bumpy ride. The ferry was swaying all over the water and the 2 restrooms were filled with sea sick people. Unfortunately there were a number of bike boxes that were not very lucky as there were people vomiting all over them. It was so fun. I thought "I am going to be swimming in this water on Sunday?" This is fucking great! When we finally made to Cozumel the representative, Pedro, from the villa met us and we took a cab to our home for the next 7 days. The trip was rough and I missed the Cowboys game but the villa was awesome and it made up for all we went through to get there. After dinner it was off to bed and up early for what I thought would be a training swim.

Friday morning came quick and it was very windy outside so I decided not to head to the park for a practice swim. I decided to stay in, eat breakfast and put my bike together. After some trouble getting the saddle on I took the bike out for a ride and then it was off to packet pick-up. The packet pick-up was pretty easy and expo didn't have much but we picked a few things. During the expo we ran into Liz and John and we sat with them during the info meeting and then it was home for dinner and rest.

Saturday we woke up early and headed to the park for a practice swim. The weather was great and the water was perfect. You could see all the way to the bottom and it was smooth as glass. No choppy waves to fight. After the swim it was back to the villa for more rest and eating. Later that afternoon I rode my bike down to the start, racked my bike and my race bags. Then it was back home to eat and rest. I went to bed relatively early to get a little sleep before the big day.

3 am came early on Sunday. I was very nervous as I woke up. I get nervous before every race but this was different. This would take everything in me to finish. I got ready quick but I wasn't feeling that well. My nerves were preventing me from eating all that I needed. I just felt like I was going to hurl. I was thinking about my training and was it enough? I had a lot of doubts as I sat at the breakfast table. The cab driver came around 5am and we were off to the race start.

As I got to transition I was still nervous but settling down. I put air in my tires and walked around waiting for the race to start. Around 6:30 I made my way to the ramp that would lead me into the water and beginning of a journey that I would remember forever.

As I watched the professionals start I knew I would be okay and made my way into the water with John. The water was warm and there were no choppy waves. It was perfect. Before I knew it we were off. I felt good despite my shoulder. It was very crowded at first. I have never done a race with a mass start. About 300 meters in I was kicked in the face and my goggles popped off. It took several minutes to get them back on correctly. After about 20 minutes in the water the crowd spread out and we made the 1st of two turns. After the turn the swim was great. The current was behind us and I was swimming at decent pace. During this part of the swim there were a number of scuba divers in the water taking pictures and waving at the athletes. Before I knew it we were at the turnaround to make it to the dock. I looked at my watch and it showed 59 minutes. Many Ironman athletes would be disappointed but I was happy. I was where I wanted to be and felt like I could break 90 minutes which was my goal. As I swam into the dock we were against the current and it was slow but I was still moving well. As I exited the water I looked at my watch and it was at 1:29 and I was very happy as ran to the changing tent.

The changing tent was a new thing for me. I am used to having everything in transition. Two transition spots make that impossible. In the changing tent you see some unique things that I will not mention on this post. I will just say dudes are pretty disgusting and you can just use your imagination. After I put my helmet, shoes and glasses on it was off to my bike. Early on the bike I felt really good. I was averaging 22 to 23 mph and I was cruising. When I reached the other side of the island the wind picked up and I slowed way down. After the first loop (40 miles) I felt good except for a health issue I will mention later. As I reached the halfway point of the second loop I was getting very tired. The wind was really getting to me and I was fading. The one neat thing was spotting Norma and her parents towards the end of the loop with the cool signs she made. I needed that pick me up. The third loop was not much better but I knew I was going to make it. During the third loop I also getting angry. There were a lot of people drafting! I just hate when people don't follow the rules! As I reached the end of the last loop I realized it was the least of my worries. I rode an extra 1.7 miles because of course changes and I had 26.2 miles to run. But as I said, I knew I would make it.

When I reached T2 I handed my bike over to the volunteer and I went into the changing tent. The 2nd changing tent was even more disgusting. Someone sprayed so much sunscreen you could not even breath. Even more disgusting were the pot-o-cans. The athletes shit all over each of the cans and it was hard not to vomit. It was so disgusting. After pulling myself together I ran out of the tent and I spotted Norms. I was dragging and hurting but I started running. About 4 miles in I caught Liz and she was hurting bad as well. I talked with her for a moment and pressed on. The health issue that I had was causing me problems. I had a recurrence of a UTI that I had back in March. Needless to say I did not want to run. I kept going the best I could. At the end of loop 1 I spotted John and he looked fresh. I kept my run/walk through most of the second loop where I saw Norma. She had a margarita for me but I unfortunately couldn't drink it because I still had 8 miles to go. I was hurting and dragging but I pressed on. I have never hurt so much. I saw Liz at one point and she look tired and like she wanted to cry. I felt the same way. Norma walked with me for a little bit after I made the 2nd turnaround and then I told her I had to run. It was rough but I kept moving. As I reached mile 25 I started to pick up the pace. I knew I was going to cross the finish line running. When I saw the mile 26 marker I started sprinting. There were so many people cheering that I just had to. As I crossed the finish line I was filled with so much joy. I had done it! I am an IronMan! I saw Norma and I started crying. I was hurting so bad but was so happy. The final time was 13:25:03. It's right where I planned to be.

As I finish this post I have a few final comments. First, the people of Cozumel were awesome. The lined the streets during the bike and run portions of the race cheering all the way. When I was really down the spectators would yell "si se puede". (You can do it!). I really needed it. They were great and they made the race so enjoyable. I had a great time during my remaining days in Cozumel and I look forward to my next race in Cozumel.

Second, I have a number of people I want to thank. Sorry this is my Academy Award speech. I want to thank the folks at Bike Barn in The Village for my bike. I love that bike. She is the greatest. (Yes, my bike is a she, get over it!) I want to thank Johnny Zepeda at Tri on the Run and Raymond Cooper at Finish Strong for all they have done. They supply me with everything from shoes to bike tubes. They have been very supportive of me and TNT. Thanks for everything. I want to thank all my friends who have been so encouraging over the past year. It is so comforting to have the support of those close to you. I want to thank Jay Branson for loaning me the bike box. It worked great, thanks. I want thank John Vigil for doing the Rage Triathlon with me and for racing with me in Cozumel. You are a great friend. Coach Liz, what can I say? I have said this before but you have done so much for me that I can't even put it into words. I know you have heard this so many times but I would not be here if it wasn't for you. You are so awesome and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all you have done for me.

Third, I want to thank my family for their patience, understanding and love. I sacrificed a lot to do this race and I appreciate their understanding in this journey. Thank you so much. I love you!

Lastly, I want to thank Norma. She sacrificed a lot over the past year. She drove SAG on all my long rides and runs and was photographer on the 9 triathlons I did this year. She never complained even when she sacrificed her own training. She just wanted me to do well and have a good race. She also organized all the travel for this race. Lord knows I couldn't do it. I am forever in your debt. I love you and thank you for everything you do and for taking care of me.

Well that's it. I have the Houston Marathon in January and then it's a little time off. I'm not sure what is next but I will make some decisions in the next couple months. I hope everyone has a great Christmas and I will update you soon.

Later Dudes!
(pictures will be posted tomorrow)

Runners are the New Cyclists

2009-11-23T07:08:00.002-06:00

As I sit to write this post I am less than a week away from Ironman Cozumel and the anxiety of this big event is starting to hit me. I can't wait to get this race over with. My shoulder is still sore but I think I will be okay on race day even though I don't expect a fast swim time. Yesterday I did a 32 mile bike in the morning and then a 9 mile run in the evening. I know it was more than I should have done but it made me feel better. I did not swim over the weekend in order to give my shoulder extra time to rest. I do plan on swimming after work this afternoon.

When I started this whole endurance sport thing one thing was apparent to me early on. I thought runners were a respectful but intense group and I thought the triathletes were an easy going group that just wanted to see how far they could push themselves. Cyclists on the other hand have typically been very arrogant in my opinion. (Sorry to lump all cyclists together) I have seen so many cyclists who feel they are so much better than runners and triathletes. They think they are better than you because they have a $5000 bike who make a lot of money and that gives them an excuse to be a bunch of jerks. For example, I did a century ride earlier this year where a group oh U of H cyclists were riding 5 wide and nearly running cyclists going the other direction off the road. My favorite is the group of cyclists who get red with anger if a person on a tri bike comes within a mile of their draft line but would gladly draft of a person on a tri bike. I think you get the point. The last few times I have been running at Memorial Park I have noticed a growing trend. Runners are becoming jerks as well. I notice a lot of runners who run on the wrong side of the trail and then look at you as if you are the crazy person. My favorite is the group of runners who run anywhere from 3 to 5 people wide and will just not move in to let you get by. It doesn't matter if you are running towards them or trying to pass them. Last night as I was running there was a group of 3 runners moving towards me and they would not move over. One of the runners actually hit me and didn't even stop, slow down or apologize. I was as far to the right as I could be on the running loop and this guy still hit me. I have always seen people like this at the park but it seems there are more and more each time I go. I hope any runner that reads this thinks about the rules and general courtesy the next time they go running.

Sorry to ramble. I think this race is affecting my already angry mood. I'll be providing more frequent updates as I get closer to race day.

Later Dudes.

T-minus 8 Days

2009-11-20T18:28:00.002-06:00

I am 8 days from Ironman Cozumel and I'm getting excited and nervous. I took 3 days off from training and it seems to have to done me some good. I just finished a slow 10 mile bike ride and a 3 mile run at Memorial Park. It's the first time I have been pain free in my back, hip and legs in weeks. It felt great. Unfortunately my shoulder is still bothering me. I am going to try and get a swim in tomorrow and then another short training on Sunday. The shoulder is not going to keep me from racing but I know it will slow me down in the water. At this point I just want to make it out of the water and onto my bike. I'm sure I'll be fine.

On another note I am starting my 3 season as a Triathlon Coach for Team in Training. I am looking forward to getting started again and I know it will be a fun season. We have 37 participants and I know we will get them all to race day!

Bye for now.

Iron Star Triathlon

2009-11-16T11:36:00.002-06:00

Last Sunday I did the Iron Star Half-Ironman Triathlon in Conroe as a final tune-up prior to IM Cozumel. Overall it was a good race and I had a time 5:47:36. Not too bad considering the injuries I am dealing with.

I'm not going to bore you to death with same old race report so here is the condensed version. The swim was slow for me due to a shoulder injury that I am still nursing. It was very painful and it was difficult to swim. The bike course was challenging. There were a lot of hills and the headwind made it tough to keep top speed. I finished with an average of 19.8 mph on the bike. Not bad considering the back, hip and knee issues I have. Lastly, the run was pretty tough. My legs did not want cooperate. They pain was worse than anything that I could have imagined. I somehow made it through and only missed my PR by 6 minutes.

I feel ready for IM Cozumel despite my numerous injuries. My back feels a little better but my hip, knee and shoulder are still hurting very bad. My run last night was painful and slow but I made it. My shoulder has prevented me from swimming much since the race but I should be okay. I'm starting my taper and I am looking forward to this race being over.

Later Dudes

Reports of My Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

2009-10-25T17:30:00.002-05:00

I have not felt much like writing lately. I have been very busy at work and of course with the training. I will be brief with this posting as well.

As I write this IM Cozumel is 34 days away and I do feel ready for the most part. My last triathlon was 2 weeks ago in Dallas and it was a very tough event. I won't go through all my normal race reporting but I will say it was very rainy and cold and I did not have my best day. The one neat thing about the even t was the fact that it was part of the Toyota Cup series and there were a lot of pros there.

This weekend was very productive from the training perspective. Saturday I put down an 86 mile ride on my bike followed by an 1800 meter open water swim at Twin Lakes. It was not my fastest ride but it was great to get out on a beautiful day. The swim was good as well. I have not put much open water time lately and so it was a much needed training. Earlier today I did the Houston Half Marathon and I set a PR with a time of 1:46:00. I felt good despite a little pain in my left Achilles tendon. This is the same injury I have been dealing with most of the year. The pain comes and goes but I seem to able to deal with it. After the race I was able to get back on the course and run 4 more miles with Norma as she finished her race.

The one disappointing thing about today was the fact that I did not do Longhorn. It is a race I love and one I have done the last two years. It was my first Half-Ironman and it is very special to me. I felt that I needed a longer training than Longhorn could give me and I wanted to save my money with IM Cozumel coming up. I do plan on racing Ironstar in a few weeks for my last tune-up.

I'll be providing more updates with the big race coming soon.

Prairieman Triathlon

2009-09-20T08:36:00.004-05:00

Last Sunday was supposed to be my 2 Half-Iron of 2009. Due to the rain in Dallas that I decided to drop out of the race. I didn't feel it would be safe and I just felt it would be too much to risk with IM Cozumel coming up and with my other races this year. I was surprised that Jack Weiss kept the race going. He had to shorten the bike course because of the conditions and there was a lot of road construction to deal with. I hated to miss out on the race but I think it was the right thing to do. I did however get a 13 mile run in after we got back home.

The rest of the week sucked for training. I had a long week at work that included a day trip to Madisonville and a trip San Antonio for 2 days. This really didn't help. To make matters worse I have been fighting some stomach bug for the last few days. I did get a short swim in on Friday and a 10 mile run on Saturday but I seem to be paying for that now. If I feel up to it I am going to ride the spinning bike later today. I don't want to be too far away from the bathroom.

Yes, I am Crazy

2009-09-05T15:50:00.002-05:00

This past week has been pretty light with the exception of swimming. I have been careful not to over do it. My training plan has spots where I pull back the mileage to allow my body to heal. With that said I have slow ride of 30 -40 miles followed by a short run and swim on Monday. I want to make sure I'm feeling good for Prairieman on the September 13th.

On the injury front my back is feeling much better but I still have a sore left calf. It only seems to affect me on my runs and its really more of an annoyance than anything else.

Lastly, As far the race schedule goes I am adding one more race to the schedule. I have decided to do the Las Vegas Triathlon September 27th. There are 3 distances at this event but I will be doing the Half-Iron. This will be cutting it close on recovery but I feel I need this for my IM Cozumel training. When I saw Ryan Taylor today I told him that I was going all in on the events and I want to see how far I can push my body. This may not be the most sane thinking but its what I want. I'll keep you posted. Hopefully I live through this.

Clear Lake International Triathlon and Other Training Notes

2009-08-31T19:49:00.008-05:00

Saturday August 22nd I did my 2nd Olympic Triathlon of 2009. This was a pretty flat and fast race and I had a good day.

Norms and I just got to the race site right before transition closed. It was tough to get parked and we had to rush to get set up. As I made my way to the swim start I was still nervous but I knew I would be OK. When I was entering the water I kicked a rock with my left foot which put a small cut on my big toe but it didn't hurt too bad. A few minutes later I hit my left elbow on a rock which did hurt. As the swim started another racer grabbed my left leg and pulled my timing chip off. I put it back on but it fell off again which pissed me off. It was not the start that I was looking for. I ultimately swam with chip in my left hand which didn't help my already slow swimming. Despite swimming with the chip in my hand I had an OK swim time of 34:43. I'm sure I would have done much better if I had not had the chip in my hand.

As I got on my bike I felt pretty good. I got on the bike course only to find my computer not working. I didn't let it bother me but I would like to have had it. There was one big hill at the beginning of the ride but it was primarily flat. The ride was good until the Olympic riders merged with the Sprint group and then it got a little crowded. All in all it was a good bike course and I had great time of1:07:28 which was 22.1 mph average.

As I left transition on the run I was feeling good but I didn't know how I would finish. The temperature was starting to rise and as I reached mile 2 I was fading. I kept pressing and as I made the turnaround at mile 3 I saw Audree and I thought it was just a matter of time until she caught me. I kept going and and as I hit mile 4 I realized I was going to have a decent time. I knew that if I could pick up the pace I might actually set a PR. I was running the last 2 miles as fast as I could. I had nothing left but I pressed on. As I came down the home stretch I knew it was going to be close. My run time was 52:40 and I left it all on the course.

The final tally was 2:38:57 which was 43 seconds slower than my PR. That was tough to swallow but I'm still very happy with my time. I was looking to PR so it all worked out well.

Overall, my training is going well. I had a long run on Saturday and long ride on Sunday. I do have a couple of nagging injuries. I have a very sore calf and I have sore back but it has not stopped me from training. I feel like I'm on track for Cozumel.

My next race is the Prairieman Half Ironman in Dallas on September 13th. I may have an announcement on another race I might do in September. I will let you all know soon.

Sorry for the brief update but I have been super busy at work and I have not had much time to update this Blog. As a matter of fact I have to hurry because I have to go back to work. Later!

2009-08-12T15:59:00.002-05:00

Training is still going well. I had a good weekend of training last weekend and I plan on getting in a long brick in this weekend. I am a little concerned about the next couple of weeks. I have a very tough work schedule that starts with a trip to Austin on Sunday and 2 weeks of meetings. In addition I have an Olympic Triathlon on the 22nd in Houston and a Half-Marathon in Dallas on the 23rd. I know it will be tough but I think I should be able to make it. Unfortunately this is real life when training for an Ironman.

TriWaco

2009-07-30T08:56:00.005-05:00

On July 26th I participated in the 1st annual TriWaco. This was my 20th triathlon and my 5th of 2009. This is a race that featured both an Olympic and a Sprint distance. I signed up for the Olympic as I was needing the longer distance work. As I traveled to Waco on Saturday the 25th I was still feeling a little tired from my century ride from the weekend before but I felt like I was going to have a good race. The event location and hotel were great. We stayed at the host hotel which was the Waco Hilton. This worked out great as the transition area was right outside the hotel lobby doors. After packet pick-up which was also at the hotel I got a look at the swim course along with locating my spot in transition. Later in the evening we ate Deep Dish Pizza at a local Italian restaurant. It was really good although I wouldn't say it was good as that place in Chicago that I have eaten at a few times.

Race day was a little different than usual. I didn't need to wake up quite as early as I normally do for a race due to the fact that the race was so close. This was good because I had a difficult time falling asleep. The air conditioner in the room was noisy and it kept the room very cold. I couldn't seem to get the temperature right. When I woke up I had an upset stomach. I think it was the nerves and the food from the night before causing it. After changing and gathering my things I headed down to the transition area to get set up. As I walking through transition I located Geoff and Sarah who were also doing the race. (Geoff the Olympic and Sarah the Sprint) After chatting for a minute I went to set up my area. As I arrived to my rack I noticed that the one spot left was next to a guy who looked like he was moving in. He had so much stuff. I can not believe an Official didn't make him fix it. As I getting my bike into place he asked me if I needed him to move his stuff over. I said YES!!! Unfortunately, he didn't move anything. I think this might have been his first race. After I set up my transition area I try to eat a little and then I headed down to the swim start for the longest pre-race meeting ever.

After the meeting the race director shuffled the first wave (my wave) into the water for the start. I was still a little nervous but it goes away as soon as we get started. After the gun went off I started swimming and I felt good. As I went through the water I knew I wasn't going fast but I felt good. As I finishing up my swim I merged with a group of the Sprinters. It wasn't too bad but it did get crowded. As exited the water I was very disappointed to see my swim time was 43 minutes. This was my slowest Olympic swim yet. I have documented my swim troubles this year on every race update I have done but this very disappointing. I have spent so much time working on my swimming and I felt so good during this swim so I'm not sure what I did wrong. I really need to make time for Emmitt's class.

Once I got into transition I knew I had a lot of time to make up. As I got the bike course I still felt good. The first part of the bike I was averaging 22 or 23 mph. After a few miles however, the wind shifted and the hills kicked in. There was a point on the bike that I was probably averaging 17 mph and I was getting frustrated. As we made the turnaround I got a little tailwind and the hills were behind us and I was moving well again. I started averaging 24 to 25 mph and I was making up time. As I headed back into transition I still felt good but I knew I had a tough run ahead. My bike time was pretty good at 1:11:28 for an average of 21.2 mph. I think this might be my best bike time for an Olympic.

Now for the run. It started off pretty flat and fast and I still felt good. Early in the run I saw a 59 year old man pass me like I was standing still but I didn't care. The first couple miles of the run was relatively flat but the worst still to come. The hills at the middle of the run reminded me of the Longhorn Triathlon. I tried to run the hills fast but I couldn't. As I rounded mile 5 of the run I could hear Alex, Jessica and Norma yelling go LUKE! I think they could be heard back in Houston. As headed up the path that lead to finish line I tired but I knew I had decent race. My run time was OK with a time of 54:02.

My overall time was 2:53:59. It wasn't my fastest time but I think it is my second fastest for this distance. Geoff and Sarah both did great. They each placed second in their age group. Congrats to each of them. Overall it was a good race. Jack Weiss always puts on a good event. I would recommend this race to anyone.

The day after the race I got a head cold. I think the air conditioner in the hotel room might have caused this. I took Monday and Tuesday off as I recovered and as we traveled to Dallas and I got a short run in on Wednesday. I plan to get a long run and short ride in this weekend. Things are coming together.

Next up is the Clearlake International Triathlon in August. I'm looking forward to this event. It will be Tri #6 for the season.

Later Dudes!

Katy Flatlands

2009-07-23T16:01:00.003-05:00

Last Sunday I did another first. I completed my first Century Ride during the Katy Flatlands. I have done a bunch of rides between 50 and 75 miles and my furthest ride last year of 83 miles but I have never made it over the 100 mile mark.

Sunday was supposed to be a little cooler and there was a 60% chance of rain. I was looking forward to a cooler ride but I had a feeling it was not going to happen. I left for the ride around 6am and it seems that was a little too late. Because of the amount of riders I didn't get on my bike until 7:30 because we couldn't get parked. At the beginning of the ride I got into it with a volunteer and a Ride Marshall. Because it was hard to get parked I and a number of other riders were not able to get started with the riders going 100 miles. The Marshall and the volunteer said we would have to wait until all of the 40 mile riders left before they would let us go. I made a stink about it and they eventually let us go before the 40 mile group.
As for the ride itself it wasn't too bad. There were only a few idiots on the ride and I didn't have any trouble with traffic. I had a decent ride time of 5:07 for 101.1 miles. The first 60 miles were much better for me. It was much cooler and I was averaging a little over 20 mph. The last 40 was tough. It was hot and the wind was picking up. Not to mention I was getting tired. The best part of the ride was having my personal S.A.G. for the ride. It was nice having Norma help me through the ride. It made doing the 100 miles much easier. I'm not sure if I will do this ride next year but I do recommend it.

Next up is the Waco Tri on Sunday. I'm looking forward to it but I am still a little tired from the ride. It will be my first Olympic of 2009.

Later

Kiwanis Kids Triathlon

2009-07-12T10:49:00.005-05:00

Saturday was my time volunteering at a triathlon. I know what you are thinking, for someone who has done as many triathlons, bike rides and running events as i have he must have volunteered at least a few times. Well, I haven't sorry. But I decided to make up for lost time and man the bike turn around at the Kiwanis Kids Triathlon. I will say it would have been nice to be in the transition or run areas to see more of the run and finish line action but watching the bike turn around was pretty neat. The bike course was on Jones Rd and was out and back totaling a mile. The smaller kids 7-9 did one loop and the older kids 10-12 did 2 loops for 2 miles. The turnaround was funny because we had to slow kids down to make a sharp u-turn and many just couldn't. A number of kids ate it on the curb but they always jumped right up and kept going. If it would have been me that fell I'm sure that my attitude would not been so good. The bike portion went pretty fast and once we picked up all the cones off Jones Rd the race was over.

There were two kids I was pulling for during the race. First, was Joe a 10 year old first timer and the nephew of Sarah. This kid was flying on his Mongoose BMX and I think he had a blast.We have good pictures of him on the bike and one of him kissing his guns while on the swing set. He finished 3rd in his age group. And then there was Steven, Coach Liz's kid. This was not his first rodeo and he looked real strong on the bike. He actually had time to wave at me before he made his first turn around. I could tell on his second loop that he wanted to go faster but he couldn't due to the no passing rule. I'm not sure where Steven finished because I had to leave and they were still sorting through the awards. I'm sure he was close to the top of his age group.

It was a hot day but a fun one. It was neat watching all the little kids racing. They are pretty competitive and I'm sure they will beating me in a race sometime in the near future. I can't wait for next years race.

Feeling Much Better

2009-07-06T15:30:00.003-05:00

I was off work last week and I was able to get in some good training. All told I put in 110 miles on the bike, 26 miles of running and 2100 meters in the pool. I was also able to lift weights 3 times. I originally planned to swim a bit more but it didn't fit into my plan the way I wanted it to. I'm going to dial back the distance this week to let my body recover from last week and then I will ramp it back up. I'm trying to be very careful about over training. I think that is was set me back in May and June.

I am still planning to do the Waco Triathlon at the end of the month and I will be riding the Katy Flatland on the 19th. I'm not sure what distance I will do but I would like to do the Century Ride. I'll see how I am feeling as date draws closer and make a decision at that time on the distance.

Ouch!!

2009-06-25T07:04:00.002-05:00

I just wanted to provide a brief update on my training. I have not been able to do much work over the last week or so due to the fall I had at the Sylvan Beach Triathlon. My back, neck and hip are still very sore. This is preventing me from getting in the miles that I need to get ready for IM Cozumel. I went to the Chiropractor yesterday for an adjustment and I am hoping that it will allow me to get some training in this weekend. I plan to get a 40-50 mile ride on Saturday and 9 -10 mile run on Sunday if my aches and pains go away.

Sylvan Beach Triathlon

2009-06-16T15:19:00.004-05:00

Sunday I did my second tri in two weeks. The Sylvan Beach Tri was a new race and it was a distance that I have not done before. It was 1K swim, 30K bike and an 8K run. It's not quite an Olympic but longer than a Sprint. This was a good race with one exception. Prior to the race I walked down to swim start with Norma and as were going down the ramp she slipped and I tried to catch her and then I slipped. As I pulled myself together I slipped again. When I slipped I hurt my back, shoulder and head. I'm still feeling the effects today. Next time I fall like that I should probably Walk Away and live to race another day.

As for the race itself I felt it was pretty well run. This was the first race that I have done that had a salt water swim so that was interesting. The water was warm but very choppy. To make matters worse my shoulder was very sore and I was having difficulty making it through the water. After a long swim I made it to shore and I hit the bike course. The course was relatively flat and I averaged 21 mph. The run was also flat but the temperature started to rise so I wanted to hurry so I pressed just a little. The final total was 2:03:49. I'm not sure if that was a good time but I felt pretty good about the race overall.

I am still feeling a little run down but I think I am coming through this funk I am in. I am still planning the Waco Triathlon next month and I feel like I have a better idea on how to better train leading up IM Cozumel.

Tejas Triathlon

2009-06-10T14:19:00.004-05:00

Sunday I did the Tejas Triathlon in Sugar Land. This was just a sprint tri but it wore me the heck out. For whatever reason I was just not feeling it on Sunday. I had a time of 1:14:48 for a 600 yd swim, 11 mile bike and a 3 mile run. Just so I remain consistent I had another poor swim. My time was 15:15 for 600 yards :(. I think the swim might have been a little longer but I just couldn't get it going in the water. I also lost my timing chip about 5 seconds into the swim. I'm glad they float. Norma had it waiting for me at the swim exit. My bike time was good at a little over 30 minutes and I averaged around 23 mph on the bike. The run was mostly flat but by the time I got there I had nothing left. I think I've been training and working a little too much and it caught up to me on Sunday. The last couple days have me feeling Trashed and Scattered but I need to pull it together for the Sylvan Beach Tri this Sunday.

On another note, I had originally planned to do the Buffalo Springs 70.3 at the end of the month. After a lot of thought I have decided to pass on this event. I have not registered yet but there are still spots available if I change my mind. I know I could do this event today if need be but I want to make sure that I would do well. I'm not sure if that would be the case if I went there. It is a huge expense to sign up for the race, go to Lubbock and put myself in a hotel if you are not sure. I may change my mind but for now I plan to skip this race. After Sylvan Beach my plan is to do the Waco Olympic Tri in July but I will just play it by ear for now.

Later

The Silverlake Triathlon

2009-05-24T12:48:00.003-05:00

Last Sunday I did the Silverlake Triathlon in Pearland. Overall, the race was uneventful. This was the third time I have done this race and out of all the races I have done I have done this one more than any other. Out of my three races here it was my second fastest. It was my fastest run but it was my slowest bike and slowest swim. My bike was only 4 seconds slower than my fastest time but it was still my slowest. My swim however was 1'15" slower than last year and it was my second race in a row with a poor swim time. Part of the issue at this race was that I had a guy behind me that kept grabbing my leg. I kicked him once but I couldn't shake him. I still felt that I should have had a better swim time due to the amount of time I have spent in the pool this year. I really need to get down to The Heart of the Matter with my swimming. It has always been my weakest part of triathlon but I made it less of a liability in 2008. The good news is that I have plenty of time to work on it prior to IM Cozumel.

Later

Nerd Alert, Nerd Alert

2009-05-11T18:16:00.004-05:00

In the first of a couple non triathlon related posts I wanted to give a review of Wolverine and Star Trek. I'll be brief as to not give too much away.

Wolverine was a good movie but there was some cheesy points in the movie. First, the good stuff. The movie did a good job at explaining how Wolverine came to be and how he got his claws, etc.... The new characters that were introduced were cool. I particularly liked Deadpool and Gambit. I would have like to have seen Gambit in the first 3 X-Men movies.The scenes where Wolverine and Sabertooth were fighting back to back were lame but overall I thought the movie was good and I do recommend that you see it. For fans of comics I hope they keep making lots of these Superhero movies.

Star Trek was freaking awesome. I am a huge fan of Star Trek. I have seen all the movies more times than I can count. I've seen every episode of all the different Star Trek shows with the exception of DS9. I thought the story, the special effects and the casting were great. The movie portrayed the characters much differently than they have been done in the past. Karl Urban who plays McCoy sounded just like DeForrest Kelly and he even made a lot if the same facial expressions. Chris Pine who played Kirk was great and did not try to imitate William Shatner which was probably good. Zachary Quinto who plays Spock looked just like Nimoy and the cast brought an interesting take to Star Trek. This was a great story and I highly recommend this movie even if you were not a fan of the original series.

Bellville

2009-05-11T18:13:00.001-05:00

Saturday I rode 70 miles out in Bellville with the TNT Cycle Team. They needed a a coach to fill in so I volunteered. I needed the miles so I ventured out. The first half of the ride was pretty easy but as we turned back the heat and the wind picked up. To make matters worse the hills were brutal. The team did well with the exception of rider who was having trouble with the heat. It was great to get out a get a long ride in.

As for the rest of my training everything seems to be going pretty well. I've kept the miles at a moderate level the last couple of weeks with the exception of the last ride. I have a couple of Sprints coming up and then I start to ramp up the mileage for my upcoming races leading up to IM Cozumel.

The Rage Triathlon

2009-04-22T13:32:00.002-05:00

Last Saturday I competed in the Rage 1/2 Ironman in Las Vegas. This race was toughest freaking race ever. I am fairly certain that I will not do this race again. It was tough and very poorly run and it just frustrated me beyond belief.

I arrived in Vegas on Wednesday morning with my bike in tow going through the Airport and The Palazzo in a suit. It got a lot of reaction from my co-workers. I think many of them thought it was funny that I would come to Vegas to do a triathlon when you had an opportunity to eat and drink as much as you want. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were filled with meetings so I was having a tough time resting. I didn't even get a chance to test my bike after I put it back together. On Friday, I ducked out a little early to go pick up my packet with Norma and Vigil. After we left packet pick-up we headed over to the race course to take a look at what we were up against. I have to say this did not get me excited. All I saw were mountains and hills. This made me a little nervous because I have done very little hill work. We park down near transition and walk up to the lake. The swim buoys were already out so we could see the swim course. It was hard to tell how cold the water was but the sign on the Ranger booth said 59 degrees when we arrived. This is much colder than I was hoping for. After we checked out the water we drove the bike course. Holy Shit!!! It was climb after climb. It just seemed unfair. I knew I would make it but my main concern was being able to run after. After we drove the course it was back into to town for some burgers and some shut eye.

Saturday 3am came early. I got up and ate my Capn' Crunch as I do before every race. I was real nervous and I was having a difficult time eating. After I ate I packed up and headed down to the car. It was funny going through the casino at 4am with my bike watching all the drunk chicks with no shoes on stagger along with a drink in their hand. Those who could remember probably thought I was strange. I mean how could someone go to Sin City and not be out all night partying. Anyway we packed up and headed out to Lake Mead. When we got there it was really cold out and I wasn't dressed for it. I set up my transition area and then sat in the car to stay warm. Around 5:50 am I put on my wetsuit and two swim caps and headed down to the chilly water. I think the water at this point was 58 according to another athlete so I was freaking a little bit. Once in the water I think my heart stopped. It felt like I was going to die. It was cold! I tried to do a little warm-up swim but it was tough. I stood in the back of the rest of the racers waiting for 6:10 am and the start of the race. The horn went off right time and we were off. I swam with my head out of the water for a few meters before putting my face down. It felt like pins and needles in my face. It was still a little dark out and I was having a difficult time seeing so my sighting left something to be desired. I kept swinging out far to the right on several parts of the swim and I was getting frustrated. The swim was already listed 1.60 miles so adding extra distance was not helpful. As I made the final turn towards the swim exit I ran into the first wave of the Sprint Group. Those idiots were all over the place. They kept grabbing my legs and I think I kicked one. As I was fighting the crowd I started to get cramps in both of my calves I was already having trouble with dry climate and I didn't need this. As I exited the swim I ran to my bike gathered myself and then the real fun began. Right as you exit transition you have a climb on the bike. I put my chain on the small ring and started make the climb out to the main road. I had to get off my saddle and when I did the chain stated jumping and slipping. It wouldn't stay in gear. I was pissed because I didn't test my bike and now I was paying for it. This is a rookie mistake not something a coach should do. I got to the top of the hill and the main road and started down. My bike was OK but the chain would still slip when I was climbing. It was just one climb and another and another. It was brutal. I didn't know if I would make it. I would be going 4 mph on one side of a hill and 40 mph on the other side. As I was riding along I noticed there were no timing mats along the way. This comes into play later on. So I'm chugging along its tough but I'm surviving and at mile 45 or so there is a kid near a Ranger station taking down numbers. This is how they got around the timing mats. The problem was they did this in a stupid place. As we were riding back there is a place at mile 50 where you can cut across the street and take 6 miles off the bike which a lot of people were doing. Fucking cheaters. I continued on up to top of the toughest hill with my quads cramping and burning and turned around at mile 53 to head back into transition. 3:03 for the bike. Not bad considering the course. One other note on the bike. I never let one person pass me. I was pretty happy about that. I took the longest T2 time ever at over 4 minutes. I was hurting and needed a minute before I ran 13 miles. I got out on the run feeling OK but tired. The run was a combination of trails and asphalt. Right before I hit mile 1 I got a bad cramp in my left hamstring. I thought great first the calves, then quads and the the hamstrings. I thought this is Bullshit! I tried to stretch it out but couldn't. I said the hell with it and ran anyway. I needed to finish this race and I wasn't letting anything stop me. The first 3 miles weren't too bad but right at mile 3 you could see what was ahead. You had to run up a hill which at this point looked like the side of a mountain. Actually I think was the side of a mountain. This part of the run was tough. The incline was brutal and the road was covered with big rocks. I motored up but was fading fast. As I ran to the turnaround it stayed flat for the most part. Along the run course there were several tunnels where builders of Hoover Dam would transport their materials through as they were building the Dam. This was great because it gave you some relief from the heat. This also where I saw runners ahead of me who I passed on the bike earlier. I was very frustrated by this. I just hate cheaters. Right before the turnaround you had to run down two long hills. One you were at the bottom you did a U-Turn and then it was back up the hills. I had to walk part of these hills I just had no strength left. I continued on just trying to finish. I knew I was close when I saw that very rocky hill I climbed earlier. It was down the hill and the rest I knew would be flat. As I rounded the final corner of the race the announcer gave me a shout out and then I ran as fast I could to the finish line. At the finish I got my medal which was much different than some of the other finishers. It was apparently a previous years medal. So the Sprint, Olympic and the cheaters received nice new medals and a lot of the 1/2 Iron finishers received old medals. To make matters worse they closed the massage tent down right after I finished. If I had a dog it probably would be run over. I came out a little Broken, Beat and Scarred but I finished. I won't do this race again but it was good training for IM Cozumel.

This week I'm back at it but doing light work. I need to work on a few things before Buffalo Springs in June. Next up however is the Silverlake Sprint in Pearland. This won't be nearly as difficult as Rage.

I want to thank Vigil for driving us around. It was a big help. I couldn't have done it without you. Thanks!

Later Dudes!

Katy Ram Challenge

2009-04-13T08:05:00.002-05:00

This past Saturday I rode the Katy Ram Challenge. I didn't see any Ram's but there was plenty of challenge. The course was flat for the most part but the headwind was awful. I don't like headwind but it is even worse when its on the back half of the ride. I started the ride with Sklyer, Nikki, Jonathan, Brad and Norma. Skyler and Nikki dropped back early due to a problem that Skyler was having with his bike. The rest of us stayed together until the first rest stop. Brad, Jonathan and I motored through and were riding between 26-28 mph with that tailwind. We stopped at the second rest stop where we ran into Tom. After the brief rest Brad peeled off to do the 46 mile route and Jonathan and I kept going on the 62/74 mile route. When we reached the split for the 74 route we realized that it would be best to ride 62 miles. The crosswind was picking up and we knew we still had to face the headwind on the way back. Around mile 45 I started to fade. I was having a difficult time keeping up with Jonathan. We stopped at the last rest stop where we fueled up for the final 11 miles. It was 11 of the toughest miles I have rode. We were pedaling around 17 mph but it felt like we weren't even moving. Finally after almost 3 hours of riding we were near the finish. The total time of 3:02 for an official distance of 60.8 miles. My legs were dead but it was what I needed.

I capped my weekend with a 6 mile run on Sunday morning at Memorial. I was still tired from the ride the day before but it ended up being a good run. I'm not sure if I am ready for my race on Saturday but I guess I am as ready as I am going to get. I have a few short and light workouts this week but I am tapering. We will see how it goes.

The Lone Star Triathlon

2009-04-08T08:29:00.002-05:00

This past weekend was the Lone Star Triathlon and it was an exciting weekend. 8 months of training came down to a tough race on Saturday.

We arrived in Galveston Saturday morning and after getting settled I went out on a short run on the actual race course to get myself more familiar with the route. It was hot and humid and the course was fast with lots if turns. After my run I gathered the team together for the safety meeting and then it was off to the swim start for a short swim. The water temperature seemed good and I think everyone felt better about the first leg of the race. After everyone was out of the water we headed back to the hotel for a short nap and then we met for the pasta party. The team looked great in their running shirts and it really showed our team unity. The pasta party started off with comments from the head of the South Texas TNT chapter and then I addressed the group. I was asked to speak about the race course, rules and what to be ready for. After my speech Johnny Romano's mother Julie spoke to the group about her experience with TNT and about our team's inspiration Johnny. I don't think their was a dry eye in the house. It was a touching story and we could not have asked for a better honored teammate in Johnny. When the pasta party adjourned we had a brief team meeting with some final instructions and some recognition. Norma made a really neat poster for each member of the team and the team bought me a super cool bike helmet. It is the same helmet that Lance Armstrong wears and I can not wait to wear it. Thanks for the gift team! After the meeting it was off to bed for some shut eye.

3:45 am on Sunday came quickly. I was tired and a little anxious for the team. We all met in the lobby and we headed down to transition for body marking and so everyone could set-up their transition area. Our team did not start until about 8:30 so when they finished setting up they headed back to the hotel for some rest. Everyone looked nervous as they headed down to the swim start and while they were waiting for their wave to get in the water. The race got a little behind but when it got started everyone looked good and I headed over to the swim out to watch everyone run into transition. Everyone looked good coming out of the water. There were a few surprises about swim times. Most of the team finished the swim faster than I anticipated and that was great. Coach Liz was out on the bike course at the turn around to keep an eye on the team for me so I could watch everyone leave onto the bike course. (Thanks Liz!) After the last swimmer was on the bike I went to grab my bike and headed onto the bike course. I rode out to the last bike aid station to watch the riders. I was there for about 30 minutes before I saw my first athlete. Jonathan flew by with his head down and I figured that I should head back because I knew a few more of the team would be coming by soon. I took a side road back to Moody Gardens and as I was riding the wind, which was already bad, really picked up. This worried me because quite a bit of my team had wave starts towards the end and I knew they would be riding through it. When I got to Moody Gardens I started getting updates from Liz. She said she saw everyone and had to help Nikki change a flat tire. Unfortunately Nikki got a another flat and crashed coming into transition. (She had a rough day). Heather was the last of my team to make it in off the bike. She was not feeling well but she wanted to keep going. I told her talk walk for a while and try to take in more fluids. I felt bad for her but I knew she would make it. I talked to most everyone when the entered the run course and they were hurting but moving. As everyone was running I moved all over the race course to keep an eye on everyone and cheer them on. They were all tired and dehydrated but they weren't going to quit. I had the opportunity to run in with a few of the team trying to keep them motivated to finish and that was a great experience for me. I am proud of each and every member of this team. They all finished the race and they all raised thousands of dollars for cancer research. It is a great accomplishment.

This post doesn't include everything that happened race day. There was so much going on its hard to write it all down. It was so enjoyable talking to families of the team and hearing how proud they were. I enjoyed talking with my tri friends and I was just happy to be part of the experience. It was nice seeing people who early season I had my doubts about finish and finish strong. It great to see those people who wanted to quit the team and those who wanted to do the shorter tri tough it out and finish. It was inspiring to see people like Norma who couldn't even swim two years ago finish her first half-ironman. I'm super proud of her! This was one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life and I look forward to next season. For now I'm focusing on my family and my race schedule. Good luck to all of my team in whatever comes your way. I know you will all do well. Bye for now and I will see you on the race course.

Bluebonnet Express, the Lone Star Team and my Vegas Trip

2009-04-02T11:34:00.005-05:00

Sunday I rode the Bluebonnet Express. It was a pretty good ride overall but I didn't see too many Bluebonnets. Unfortunately, I just was not feeling it on Sunday and I cut my ride short. I only put in around 36 miles but it was still good training. I did follow that up with a 6 mile run at Memorial dodging all the people at the park who were there for the Art Festival. I will have to be creative on my training this weekend but I think I have a good plan.

Yesterday marked the final practice for the Lone Star Team. It is a bittersweet moment for me. One on side I will be glad to get some time back for myself but I have to say it will be tough to say goodbye because I have become very fond of them. I know a number of them want to keep training together and I really hope that we do. They are great bunch of people and I know they will all do great on Sunday. I will update everyone sometime on Sunday or Monday with a race report.

Last but certainly not least. I have two weeks until my first triathlon of the season. I am a little nervous because this race is going to be tough. The elevation gains on the bike and on the run look brutal and I am just hoping I have the legs for it. The other part that is going to be tough is that it is in Vegas. There are lots of bad influences in Vegas and most include my co-workers. I hope I didn't bite off more than I could chew with this one.

The Tour de Houston, Galveston and other fun stuff

2009-03-24T13:33:00.014-05:00

I am really doing a crummy job updating this Blog lately. Sorry dudes!

First things first. It has been about a week and a half since I last visited the doctor. Everything seems to be O.K. I am feeling good and I am getting back into a nice routine with my workouts. Two weekends ago I ran 12 miles and followed that with a 43 mile ride in Galveston. (The headwind was brutal) I did a fairly long brick last Thursday and all seems back to normal. (Finally). I am happy to be getting back on track.

Last Sunday I rode the Tour de Houston. As some of you may remember I started this event last year but had to pull out 2 miles into the ride due to that bad crash Norma had on her bike which landed her in the hospital for 3 days. So as you can imagine I was a little anxious about this year's ride. The ride started around 7:20 and I was in the second wave to get started and everything was going good. It was a little cold but I knew it would soon be plenty warm. It didn't take long to start getting a little worried about this ride. There were around 5000 riders and the roads were a mess. Lots of pot holes and cracks made it very tough to stay in an aero position but I did my best. At mile 8 I hit a bump in the road very hard and I lost one of my water bottles.(My Longhorn 70.3 bottle =/). I was surprised I did not blow out a tire but I also knew it was only a matter of time before I got a flat. So true to form at mile 10 my back wheel went flat. I got the tire off and tube changed pretty quick but as I was inflating my tire my inflator broke. I wasn't sure what to do. A Ride Marshall helped me out and I was soon back on the road. I was making good time despite the road conditions and the amount of riders and I felt good on the bike.
There were a few spots where traffic control should have been better, specifically anywhere the Mobility Response Team was, but overall it was a decent ride and I finished the 70 mile route in 3:26:00, pretty good considering I have done very little long riding this year. After I finished the ride I ran a little under 6 miles and I'm feeling a whole lot better about my training.

The Lone Star half-iron team did its last long ride prior to race day. I took the team down to Galveston so they could ride the race route. The wind was not as bad as the day that I rode out there but it was still pretty rough. The team did well despite the fact that we had 5 flat tires on the route. The team has just three total practices prior to race day and I think people are tired. Attendance at practice has been down the last two weeks and I know many of them are anxious to get the race over with. I feel pretty good about everyone and their training and I am confident that they will all do well.

Take a Hike Ike

2009-03-09T11:21:00.007-05:00

I am very behind on my updates so I cramming a lot into this entry. Sorry.

Last week most of the Lone Star Half-Iron team participated in the Take a Hike Ike Duathlon at Lake Houston. The race was supposed to be a triathlon but was changed to a duathlon because of the choppy conditions in the water. I think this worked out well because it was freezing and very windy out.

The race started out as a mass start and everything went well at the start. The first leg was a 5K run. Around 15 or 16 minutes into the race the first runners were making their way into transition. Jonathan was our first runner in followed closely by Jacob and Tom. Everyone looked real strong coming into T1. The one odd thing was all the trouble people had coming out of T1. People were falling, some wanted to mount their bike in transition but most had mounted their bike before the red line out of T1. The Lone Star team did a pretty good job with this but we have room for improvement.
The real fun however came when the riders came in from the 10.8 mile bike and were getting ready to begin the second 5K run. I have never seen so many people take off out of transition with their helmet still on. It was hilarious. It wasn't just new triathletes it was experienced ones as well. Runners were just throwing helmets all over the ground it was quite a sight. The second run portion went well and the team looked really good. I am very proud of each of them.

Here is the final tally for the Lone Star Half-Iron team. We had five people place in the top three. They were rewarded with a nice plaque. We also had another four people finish in 4th place. So it was great day for our team and they all did well. I can't wait to see them race on April 5th. I know they will all do well.

Okay now for the not so fun stuff. Two weeks ago I went to the doctor for a problem that I had going to the restroom. The doctor prescribed a powerful anti-biotic because she felt like I had a viral infection that was embedded in my Prostate. She also felt like it could be something more serious but I won't comment on that until I go back this week for further tests. The anti-biotic she gave me made me feel pretty crummy. I petty much felt like I was going to hurl 24/7 but it seemed to be curing my ailment so I toughed it out. So I'm feeling better in that department and then about a week ago I start developing flu like symptoms. Now how that happens when I'm on anti-biotics is a mystery to me. As the week went on I kept feeling worse. So on Wednesday night I went to the Urgent Care to see what is going inside my body. The doctor told me I did not have the flu but I had another viral infection but this was in my throat. He prescribed another anti-biotic and at this point I felt like I was going to die. I go through the rest of the week feeling pretty crappy but Saturday night I finally got a decent nights sleep and Sunday I started feeling better. I'm up and at my normal routine this morning despite feeling tired and still a little congested but I'm sure I will live. I have now missed 9 days of training the most in years and I'm looking forward to getting back after it. I'll cross my fingers on my physical and my tests this week.

2009-02-23T10:37:00.003-06:00

My training is going Okay. I put in quite a bit of time in the water last week due to the various different injuries I have. I did however put in 2 short runs and a short bike ride. The runs were not too painful and the ride was good. The best part of last week was the swimming. I did two open water swims and in total put in almost 3000 meters. The water has been real cold but it has been great to get back in the open water.

Yesterday despite a very upset stomach I put in a 7 mile run at Memorial. It was the first pain free run I've had in weeks. My knee, hip and ankle feel much better and I think dialing back the mileage really helped. I'm hoping to start slowly increasing the mileage this week so I can stay on track.

Later

2009-02-12T09:22:00.004-06:00

I have been pretty banged up the last couple of weeks and it is really affecting my sleep and my training. I have several nagging and a few painful injuries. First of all my lower back is in a lot of pain and my right hip keeps shifting and is causing me some knee pain. Also, my left ankle and Achilles tendon are very tender and lastly I am going in for an X-ray on Friday to see if I have a stress fracture in my right shin. Oh, and I have had a headache for about a week. Sound fun, right? So due to all of these injuries I have decided not to run the Cowtown Marathon and focus on my Half Ironman races for the time being. The swimming and biking do not seem to aggravate these injuries and I have enough of a running base that I should be ready for my first race in April.

One final update. My diet is back on schedule. I've lost about 8 pounds which puts me at 175 and heading in the right direction. I would like to get down to 170 by the end of the month and I really feel on track to hit my mark. I would like to be at my normal race weight of 165 by the end of March and 160 by the time hit I Cozumel in November. 160 had been a tough weight for me to hit. I have reached it a couple times over the last couple of years but I have not been able to maintain it. My fear is that I would have to take off a lot of muscle to reach that weight and that is not how I want to get there. I'll work on the details of the diet, perhaps with a Nutritionist, to get this all worked out.

The Gym

2009-02-04T14:32:00.002-06:00

I haven't been to the gym to lift in over a week. I was supposed to go last Friday but I didn't make it. So last night I reverted back to the days when I primarily weight lifted and I hit the gym late in the evening. I must say things have changed a bit since my days of working out at 10 pm. Now, I like to throw around the "F" word as much as the next guy but even I was starting to feel uncomfortable. There were dudes having conversations from one end of the gym to the other saying "F" this and "F" that. It was strange.

The other thing that was funny about going so late to the gym was the way people were dressed. I like sunglasses as much as the next guy but in the gym at night. Whatever? The workout gear people wore was inappropriate and I must say the whole thing was just bizarre. I'm going to try and avoid the late night gym workouts from now on.

Frost Bike 50

2009-01-30T12:24:00.002-06:00

Last Sunday I did the Frost Bike 50 that started up at Cy-Fair College. I did this ride last year but I only did the 45 mile route. This year I did the 55 mile route (actually came in at 52 miles). It was cold but it wasn't as bad as last year. The temperature never cracked 50 but it was good riding weather. The ride was pretty uneventful but it's one that I enjoy. After the ride I did a short run. I really need to start some bricks. I have not done one in a few months and my legs reminded me of it. I still feel pretty good about my training and things are all coming back together.

This week I have not done as much work due to work, my birthday and just being tired. Since Sunday I have done one short swim and I did an 11 mile run yesterday. Today I plan to swim and lift weights and then I plan on riding with the team tomorrow. The plan is 56 miles. Sunday I want to get in a long run but I'll see how I'm feeling.

The Houston Marathon

2009-01-20T08:53:00.003-06:00

Sunday I ran the Houston Marathon. I finally had some good luck at this event. Before I get into the details of the race I want to thank my family for coming out and watching me run. Thank you Alex, Jessica and Mary. It meant a lot to have you out there.

Now for the race. I woke up a little before 4am and I started fueling up for the race. Shortly after I woke up I stepped awkwardly on my left foot and my ankle and my Achilles tendon became very sore and I of course was very worried. This soreness would present some problems during the race.

We arrived to the race around 5:45am and as usual I was nervous. I was stretching inside the convention center and I just couldn't get my ankle feeling right. Around 6:45 am I headed out to the start line where I ran into Skyler who was running his first marathon. A little after 7am we were off. Initially Skyler pulled ahead of me and about a mile in he slowed because he felt his pace was a little too quick.

My ankle and Achilles were sore throughout the race but the pain was manageable initially. Skyler kept running at a good pace and were on target through 9 miles. At mile 11 which was around Rice University we ran into Dave Vega and he ran with us for a little bit. Skyler and I kept trucking along and at the halfway point we pacing at a time of 4:15:00. This was right where I wanted to be.

As we continued on from miles 13 to 20 the pain kept increasing but we seemed to be keeping our pace. My Achilles at this point felt like it was going to snap but I wanted to keep going. I knew I was going to make it when I reached Woodway because I knew that it was a straight shot to the finish line. As Skyler and I reached Memorial Park which was around mile 20 the pain really became intense and I really wanted to stop and walk. Thank God Skyler was there because I probably would have. This is also the point where the runners start to fall apart.

During the run up Memorial and through the park there were bodies everywhere. The heat was starting to increase and I know the pain was unbearable for most of the runners. As we continued up Memorial I pointed up the road to the Michelob Ultra stand I could not wait to get there. I downed a beer and it was the greatest beer I think I have ever had. Skyler and I motored on and we ran into Liz who gave us some Motrin that would have to get us through the race. I asked her why we did these things? She reminded that I am an Ironman. I accepted it and moved on. A few minutes later Skyler asked me the same question and my answer was because we are stupid.(sorry I was hurting) We kept moving along through mile 22, 23 and 24 walking for a minute here and there. We saw Dave again around mile 24 along with Heather and the rest of Skyler's family. At mile 25 we were walking and we ran into Nikki and Jonathan who ran the Half Marathon. At this point we started running again and Jonathan ran the rest of the way with us. We really picked up the pace at this point and the pain was excruciating. Skyler pulled ahead of me as we sprinted in to the finish.

My time was 4:24:59 which was around 3 minutes better than my previous PR. I am very happy that ankle held up and that I was finally able to have a good day at this event. I also want to thank Skyler for running with me. I don't think I would have done as well without him there.

As proud as I am of my own achievement I want to say that I am even more proud of all of the athletes that I coach that finished the event. With that said I want to give credit to Liz for getting most of these athletes started with endurance events but I had the honor of taking them to the next level. Nikki Vardeman just completed her second half marathon since joining the Lone Star Team and Skyler Moss just completed his first marathon. The Vellecas finished their first half marathon and even though they trained with the marathon team and our team I am sure our multi-sport training helped. Nikki Frank and Ashley Hester set PR's and Crystal had a great day as well. A week ago Lori Ivanoff finished her first half marathon and it was her longest run to date. And of course it was Norma's first half-marathon and I am very proud of her and this great accomplishment. I know she had a few injuries and she was still able to make it to the finish line. Congratulations to all who finished the event.

This is the first event of my 2009 schedule. I have a busy year and I am hoping that my body will hold up. Sunday I am riding the Frost Bike 50 so hopefully it will be another productive day.

Oh my here we go!

2009-01-16T13:33:00.002-06:00

So I am just a couple of days from the Houston Marathon and the start of my 2009 season. I feel like I am ready for the race but I wish my weight was a little lower. I'm still struggling with my holiday weight but I know I will be able to take it off over the next couple months. I am looking forward to the race on Sunday for a few reasons. The main reason is that I have not had much luck at the Houston Marathon and I want to turn it around. In 2007, Houston was my very first marathon and it was a disaster due to improper training, improper diet and the wrong shoes. In 2008 I had to drop to the half-marathon and ended up walking most of that due to a severe hip and calf injury. I have a sore back but I have been running with it for the past few weeks and it hasn't slowed me too much. With all that said I am hoping to at least match my time in San Antonio and come out injury free.

I'll will send my race report and hopefully a few pictures by Monday.

Later Dudes!

Rage 2009

2009-01-08T12:37:00.002-06:00

No this is not another post about my anger management issues. This is going to be my first 1/2 Ironman of 2009. This is a race in Las Vegas in April. I am going to Vegas for a meeting and there happens to be a 1/2 Ironman the day after our meeting ends and I thought it would be a great start to my triathlon season. I am not sure if I will get a tune up race prior to Rage 2009 but I am sure I will be OK. This works out well in my training for my IM Cozumel race and it should force me to get my act together.

On another note my daughter informed me recently that she is ready to tackle triathlons. I've asked twice if she is serious and I will probably ask her one more time before I start training her. I think it would be awesome if she gets involved in the sport and it be great to able to spend more time with her. I am also hoping that my son will want to join us as well. So needless to say I am pretty excited about the prospect of the three crossing the finish line at the same race. Hopefully they won't beat me by too much.

The Holidays

2008-12-29T09:11:00.002-06:00

I've never been a big fan of the holidays. I seem to eat and drink way too much, put on too much weight and I just get lazy. Well I definitely am meeting two of the three screens. I have been eating and drinking too much and I am getting fat. The one good thing that is that I have still been training. The Houston Marathon is a little less than three weeks away so I just couldn't sit on the couch. My hope is to be a few pounds lighter for the race but I know I will not be at my normal race weight.

This week I plan to start riding and swimming more and basically settling back into my normal routine. In addition to the marathon I have my first ride of the season at the end of January. I have a pretty aggressive 2009 season planned and I need to get going now so I don't fall behind.

Dave Scott and Chicago

2008-12-11T15:10:00.003-06:00

Well it seems I have time for two posts in one week. WOW!

Last Friday I traveled with Jay to California to go through the TNT Triathlon Tier 1 certification with Dave Scott. The actual certification was on Saturday and Sunday and it was packed with a lot of information. At one point I thought my head might explode. On Saturday we talked about expectations of a coach, running position and bike fitting. I particularly got a lot out of the running portion of the clinic. It was nice to have someone give you feedback on your running style and to give feedback as well. I think it should help me with my own participants. During the run portion of the clinic we actually got to run with Dave Scott and that was very cool as well. On Sunday the fun really got going. We started off with a little dip in the outdoor pool. It was heated but still cold. We swam around 2000 meters and it really helped my own technique and it gave me some things that I have already brought back to my team. After the swim clinic we went through nutrition in detail. Every endurance athlete knows how important nutrition is and I definitely picked up some information that will be useful. After lunch we did a strength training clinic that kicked my ass. Anyone who knows me knows I love to lift weights and I think I am pretty strong. We weren't even using weights and it really wore me out. I guess I have more work to do. At the end of the clinic I received my certificate took a picture with Dave and Jay and we headed to the airport only to find out that our flight back was delayed by an hour. But wait it only gets better.

Due to my crazy schedule I had another trip planned right after my trip to the Bay Area. I arrived in Houston around 1:30 am and got home around 2:30 only to have enough time to shower sleep for an hour and head back to the airport so I could catch a 7 am flight to Chicago. Needless to say I was dead. I managed to get myself to Chicago O.K. but around 4 pm my very exciting meeting almost put me to sleep. After my meeting it was off to dinner and then finally to bed around 9 pm. The next day we were supposed to get snow in the afternoon and I had a 9 mile run scheduled after my meeting. The weather did just as it was supposed to and it snowed and snowed. I still did my run but it was challenging. I stepped through some ice early in my run and my feet were very wet and cold but I pressed on. I finished my run in 1'22" and I felt pretty good. I would have kept going but I was meeting my friend Steven for dinner. On Wednesday I headed back to H-Town only to find the snow travelled back with me. It was neat to see the snow in Houston. I actually think it was colder here.

Long Road Out of Eden

2008-12-10T08:52:00.004-06:00

I had the incredible opportunity to see the Eagles last week at the Toyota Center. This was the show I was supposed go to in September but our friend IKE got in the way of that. This was a very different scene from the Metallica concert a few weeks ago and was probably a good thing. The Eagles have always been known for their great harmonies, their song writing and their ability as musicians and they did not disappoint on this night. They opened up with 4 songs of the new album "Long Road Out of Eden" before getting into a long set with the classics. They did something I have never seen before and that was they put an intermission halfway through the set. After the break they performed a few more songs off the new album and then it was back to classics. The total time was around 3 hours and they were good for every second of it.

This was definitely one of the best shows I have been to. As I was sitting in the audience I was thinking about what great performers they were and how I had forgotten what a great guitar player Joe Walsh is. If you get a chance to see them it is well worth the money.

Ironman Cozumel

2008-12-01T14:45:00.003-06:00

I meant to do this post on Saturday but I never got around to it. Saturday marked the one year countdown to Ironman Cozumel. I am still very excited to be competing in this event. I have already began preparing my plan for next year and I think its going to be a great event. I still would like to an Ironman event prior to Cozumel but I am not sure if that will be possible. We shall see.

I did make one decision this weekend and that was to skip the Dallas Marathon. I have done so many events this year and a lot of them have been out of town. I don't mind traveling but it does take me away from the kids and it has just been costing me so much money. I also think I am starting to experience a little burn out and I think I need a break from competitive events. I will still keep training as I am signed up for the Houston Marathon and I want have good day on January 18th.

Death Magnetic

2008-11-25T06:13:00.003-06:00

On Thursday I went to see Metallica at the Toyota Center. I have had the opportunity to see Metallica one other time in 1991 in Oakland, CA at a festival called Day on the Green. It was festival with 4 bands that included the then unknown Soundgarden.

I was very excited about seeing one of my favorite bands and they did not disappoint. We did not make it for the opening act and it didn't matter to me because I never heard of them and their name escapes me now. We were in the mosh area not more than 10 feet from the stage. There was a little bit of moshing going on and needless to say my anger management issues kicked in and I had to set a few youngsters straight. :)

The set was a little over two hours. Most of the set was between the new album "Death Magnetic" and the "Black" album. I know you have to promote the new stuff and you have to play the stuff off the best selling album but I would have loved to have heard a few more of "And Justice for All" or any of their earlier records. It was a great show and I'm glad I had the opportunity to see them.

San Antonio Marathon

2008-11-17T13:30:00.003-06:00

Yesterday I ran the San Antonio Marathon and although I did not have the race I was hoping for I did finish and I should be back at it in a few days. Before I get into the details of the race I wanted to share my feelings on the pre and post race activities.

We arrived in San Antonio around 1:30 and you could see that it was total chaos around the Alamo Dome. There were a lot of roads blocked off and while I was trying to find a detour I found myself stuck in the downtown area and it just sucked. After 45 minutes I finally found some parking down the street from the dome. After we were yelled by a cop for crossing the street we finally made it inside for packet pick-up. This might have been one of the biggest disasters ever. They had a very small area set up for the pick up. It was so small that the lines were merging together. You could barely wade you way through the bodies. After getting my packet and arguing with the lady that was giving out the race shirts I made my way through the expo which was also a disaster. You could barely move or look at anything. Why they only had part of the dome open and set up things the way they did is really bizarre. The post race set up was just as stupid. For some reason we parked at the AT&T Center and were bussed over to the downtown area and then finished the race at the Alamo Dome only to have to wait in freaking line for hours to get back to your car might be the stupidest thing. We took a taxi just so we didn't have to wait. At the finish there wasn't much food and it seemed they were charging for the beer. Most races it is free. They also wanted you to pay for the finishers shirt. The Rock N' Roll people should call the event people from the Houston Marathon and ask them how to do a marathon.

Now for the race itself. (sorry about the complaining) When we got to the start it was very cold. I had a lot of debate over what to wear and I did not choose wisely. I wore thermal tights, a sleeveless shell, a thermal shirt and a long sleeve running shirt at the start. ( I am a sissy in the cold). I began running the race with Jarntip, Kyle and Crystal. When we got started I felt good and quickly pulled ahead of the other 3. I quickly got hot and had to start stripping off layers eventually throwing my thermal shirt away but I was stuck with the rest. I wish I would have just worn shorts and a running shirt. Around mile 4 I had to pee very bad so I stopped at a Port-O-Can. Shortly after I was back on the road and I took a Power Bar Gel and I had some stomach problems about 2 minutes later. I don't know what was in it but it did not settle well with me. I kept running at a decent pace despite my stomach but I had to stop around mile 6 to use the restroom. After I got back on the road I still wasn't feeling well and stopped at mile 10 and again at mile 13. All during this time I kept a good pace but I felt it taking its toll on me. I couldn't take any Cytomax as it seemed to aggravate my stomach and I really needed some energy. At mile 14 my stomach was still bothering me but I was through the worst as far my stomach goes. I kept going well until mile 19 and then things got really tough. My right knee starting causing me a lot of pain and I had to slow way down and eventually walk. I starting running again for a while and then walking and finally stopping to stretch until mile 23. That is when Crystal caught me walking. We walked together for about half a mile and then I just started running despite all the pain I was in. I pulled ahead of her and I was just trying to block out the pain. I wanted to stop and walk but I wanted to finish even more so I picked up the pace even more. I finally managed to get to the finish line and came in with a time of 4:27:41. This was my second marathon and it was a PR for me. I'm happy that I finished but I felt like I would come in closer to 4 hours based on my training. I am going back to the drawing board to tweak my training and I need to figure out why the gel made me sick. My next event is the Houston Marathon in January but I may do the Dallas Marathon in December if its still open.

I am pretty sure I will not do this race again at least not next year. It is two weeks before Ironman Cozumel and I don't want to take the chance of an injury. If the event gets straightened out then maybe I will do but it will take a lot of convincing to make me want to do this race. The course itself was good and it was nice seeing all my peeps from H-Town it was everything else that sucked.

Seattle

2008-11-13T15:09:00.003-06:00

I was in Seattle last week and I must say it is a beautiful city. I see why the people there love it so much. It did rain every day but it didn't seem to bother anyone in the city like it does here in Houston. If we had that amount of rain in Houston I think the city would shut down. (Just kidding) I didn't get to do too much site seeing but we did head down to Pike Place Market. Its the place you see on TV where they throw the fish from person to person before they wrap it up and give to you. It was kind of neat. At the market we also visited the first Starbucks and a kick ass Clam Chowder joint. We also ate at Pegasus Pizza in Alki (a suburb of Seattle) with Mark Vega and his girlfriend. (Mark is Dave Vega's brother) The pizza was awesome and so was the company. I hope to go back to Seattle someday. It reminds me of Austin and San Francisco combined together.

When I travel I always try and workout. I didn't do as good of a job with this is Seattle. I did run on Friday morning at Discovery Park. The park was very nice and very hilly. My goal was to get a 10 mile run in but I strained by left calf early in my run. I was only able to get 5 miles and I have been limping around since then. I have done two runs since Friday. I did a 5 mile run on Tuesday and 9 mile run today. My calf is still very sore but I think I will be O.K. for the marathon on Sunday. Even if I'm not I'm still running. I may have to crawl to the finish but I am going to finish.

I'm Ready

2008-11-03T07:36:00.002-06:00

Yesterday I finally did my 21 mile run in preparation for the San Antonio Marathon. I felt pretty good during the run and this morning I am just a little sore. I finished my 21.02 miles in 3:13:17 which includes a few stops at traffic lights. I pretty happy with that time and I feel that I am ready for the marathon.

Backing up a few days I was able to get a short swim in on Friday and I rode 46 miles on Saturday. My swimming is getting better but I need more time in the pool. That is going to be tough with my travel this week. The 46 miles I did on Saturday was great. It was the first long ride since the Longhorn 70.3.

Lastly, I have had a big debate with myself about what races I want to do in 2009. I am already signed up for Ironman Cozumel but my goal is to do two Ironman races in 2009. My initial thought was to do Ironman Brazil. It was the first one I planned for when looking at the 2009 schedule. The main issue there is the cost. I know I could be ready in plenty of time. While on the Ironman site the other day I noticed that Ironman Kentucky was still open. The cost to get to Kentucky would be a lot less but the issues there are a tough course and it is on August 30th. (Very hot!) I'm still not sure what I will do but I will make a decision soon.

Moving Along

2008-10-28T12:27:00.004-05:00

My training for the San Antonio Marathon is moving along well. I am a little nervous about doing my 21 mile run so close to the actual race but it is necessary due to my schedule. I will do that run this weekend and hopefully I will be able to recover properly. I ran a little over 17 on Sunday and I feel pretty good. I plan to ride my bike today despite the cold weather. I have not been on my bike in over a week and I don't want to fall behind in this area. I will also get a couple swims in this week and a long ride on Saturday. My main issue right now is my diet. I have been eating really crappy the last couple of weeks and I need to pull it together and see if I can drop a couple pounds prior to the race. We will see. I do have to travel again next week so it may tough to diet.

On a weight lifting note, I have really been feeling good. I have been strength training 3 times a week for the last few weeks and its starting to pay off. I'm starting to feel my strength returning and its nice to be back in that mode even if its for a short time. I would probably weight train 5 or 6 times a week if it wasn't for the marathon.

The Beat Goes On

2008-10-20T14:39:00.004-05:00

My training goes well this week. This last week I ran almost 40 miles for the first time in a long time. I have another run scheduled for Tuesday evening followed by 18 miles on Saturday. I feel like I should be ready to go for the San Antonio Marathon in November even though I am a little behind on my mileage. This week I plan to increase my swimming and biking a little just so I don't fall behind on the triathlon side of things. I really feel like I have hit my mark with my training over the last 6-7 weeks and look forward to my upcoming events.

On another note I want to say I am really proud of the Lonestar Team. I have really been pushing the miles with the team and they keep meeting the challenge. I really feel good about this team and I am sure that they will continue to do well.

No Rest for the Wicked

2008-10-10T17:19:00.003-05:00

I have been feeling pretty good this week and despite some very poor eating and drinking habits I decided that I don't need to take time off this week to rest. I still have some marathons to run and I don't want to fall behind in my training. I have had three great weight lifting sessions that started with a superset on chest on Tuesday. I did a short swim on Wednesday and ran 7.25 miles on Thursday after a back workout earlier in the day. I finished off the weights with a good leg workout today. I am hoping to get a few miles on my bike Saturday with my team but I may have to ride SAG. I have a long run scheduled for Sunday morning before doing some "brick" training with some members of the Lonestar Team.

I am looking forward to watching some football and the Ironman Championship this weekend and seeing my friends and swapping war stories. I am also going to enjoy my last couple days of eating and drinking everything in sight.

Longhorn 70.3

2008-10-06T12:35:00.003-05:00

Sunday marked my 7th and final triathlon of 2008. This season has been very productive for me. During the season I set several PR's and I have really surprised myself on how I have performed. My first race was the CBI Sprint in May where I did not PR due to a flat and some mechanical problems. A few weeks later I did the Silverlake Sprint where I beat my previous race time by 3 minutes. I finished off May with the Capital of Texas Triathlon where I beat my previous Olympic PR by 4 minutes on a hot and humid day. I didn't race again until August where I competed in the Clear Lake International Triathlon. This was the first year for the race and I finished in 2:07. Two weeks later I did my first Half Iron of the season competing in the PrairieMan Half Ironman. I had a cold and fever and I was still able to cut 27 minutes off my previous best. Last week I had my final tune up for Longhorn racing in the Stonebridge Ranch Olympic Triathlon and setting another PR with a time of 2:38:14 and taking almost 17 minutes off the PR I set at Cap Tex in May.

Now for my "A" race of the season the Longhorn 70.3. This was the first time racing in an official "M-Dot" event and I have to say it was a little exciting. When I arrived at packet pick up at the Sheraton Michellie Jones and Simon Lessing were in the lobby chatting. It was neat to see the pro athletes at the event. There was really cool swag in the packet pick up bag including a cool running hat and shirt. After I bought a couple things at the expo it was off to race site to check my bike in and then to the hotel to rest. One of the great things about the weekend was having the opportunity to race with Terry and Coach Liz. Both are tremendous athletes and as we were eating dinner I was thinking to myself I was just hope I can keep up with them.

My race morning started the same as usual. I woke up a little after 4 am and ate my pre-race meal of Capn' Crunch. For whatever reason it really works for me. I left for the race a little after 5 and when I arrived to the race site there were thousands of participants waiting to get on a bus to get over the transition area. There were so many people they delayed the start of the race to allow everyone to make it to the transition area. I was in the 5th wave and I was feeling a little nervous but I knew I was ready. I had an awesome swim shattering my previous swim times at this distance and coming in with a time of 36:52. I couldn't believe my time when I got out of the water. The bike course was little different than last year. Somehow they found a way to make it tougher by adding some extra hills. On top of the hills there was a horrible head and crosswind but I finished the 56 miles in 2:50:27 which matched my PrairieMan time. This was great considering the conditions. Then I was off to the run. The run course was same as last year. I wish it wasn't because there were some tough hills to run up. One hill, a very long hill, has the dubious honor of being labeled Quadzilla. Sounds fun doesn't it? The one difference from last year is that it wasn't quite as hot during the run due to a few clouds and wind. I ended up finishing the run in 2:08:22 and again I matched my PrairieMan time on a much tougher run course. The damage at the end was a time of 5:41:25 and another PR. I am still in disbelief. I expected to do well but not to beat my time from PrairieMan. To shave another 14 minutes of my PR is so sweet. On top of that I beat my time from last years race by 41 minutes. That is just insane. Needless to say I am really excited about my time at Longhorn and all my races in 2008.

Now for next season. I have tough work ahead of me with at least one but probably two full Ironman races in 2009 and a handful of other triathlons, marathons and bike rides. I need a little rest but I very excited about what I have coming up.

Stonebridge Ranch Triathlon

2008-09-29T10:24:00.003-05:00

On Sunday I competed in my 6th triathlon of 2008 with one more to go. I traveled to McKinney to compete in the Stonebridge Ranch Olympic Triathlon. This was my final tune-up for the Longhorn 70.3 on October 5th. I had a great a day out in McKinney that always starts with those pre-race nerves. Here are the details:

When I arrived to transition it was actually a little chilly outside. I got my bike racked and my transition area set up and then it was off to the swim start. The swim was 1500 meters and was two loops around this man made lake. The nice thing about the lake was that it was cool enough to make it wetsuit legal and the bad thing was the water tasted awful. As I started the swim I just wasn't feeling it but I motored on. I'm a slow swimmer and I like to take my time as to not use too much energy but I still had an O.K. time of 37 minutes. The run from the water to transition was down a hill and over a bridge. When I got on the bike I felt pretty good. The ride was tough. There here some tough hills that you couldn't get any speed on and I was also riding part of the race with Sprint Race people and at times it did get a little frustrating. After all was said and done I finished the bike in 1:06:48 which was a 21.6 mph pace. Pretty good considering the hills. I got back into transition and I began to realize that I was on a PR pace if I had a good run. The run was hilly as well. I had to run down hills through different tunnels and then back up another hill to the street. As I was running I began to get a little pinch in my right side and I had to slow down for a little bit to get my breathing in check. After the pinch went away I was able to pick up my speed and finished the run portion in 48:24 which was a 7:48 mph pace. That was awesome for me. As for the overall results I set a PR for an Olympic distance triathlon with a time of 2:38:13 which was 8th in my age group. I did not set out to do that. I just wanted get some training in for the Longhorn 70.3 next week. I am very happy with this time which is almost 17 minutes faster than my previous PR that I set in May.

Now one thing about me. I am a very competitive person. When it comes to triathlon I am competitive but it has always been against myself. I have always tried to improve and get better race to race. I know I am not the fastest so I just try to race well each time I go out. With this race I really did set out to just get some training in but when I realized that I was going to have a chance to PR it was opportunity to prove something to those people that don't take this sport seriously or who think they are better than everybody or who don't value me. There a few people out there that I just wanted to prove to that I can hold my own. Now I know that I really don't have anything to prove but it was nice beating some other peoples PR's who think they are better than everyone else.

I'm pretty anxious about Longhorn but I know I am ready. I am also ready to put an end to this tri season. I haven't been doing my job as a Dad and I need to get my act together. I'm looking forward to quality time with my kids.

Johnny Romano

2008-09-25T08:23:00.002-05:00

It is with great sadness that I write about the passing of Johnny Romano. Johnny passed away yesterday. Here is an excerpt from Julie Romano's blog:

"Johnny is a trooper. He never cries, screams or complains. NEVER. Not once. Such a hero. But we never sees it that way. Heroes never do."

As I was typing in the excerpt from Julie Romano I was getting a little choked up. As a father of two I continued to be thankful for having very healthy and happy kids. There are times that I wonder why I stay with Team In Training. As a coach or a participant for the third straight event you start to get a little tired and you want to have your time back. All I have to do is read Johnny's blog and I don't have to wonder why I am here.

I have never had an opportunity to meet Johnny or his family. I hope to meet his family soon. I have two triathlons over the next two weeks. I have an Olympic in Dallas on Sunday and I have a Half-Iron in Austin the following Sunday. When I'm out there sweating, hurting and starting to cry and complain I will think of Johnny. I want to be a hero too.

My Training

2008-09-22T16:44:00.002-05:00

My training goes well. I have not done a lot of long distance training except since the PrairieMan Half-Ironman two weeks ago but I still feel pretty good. I am off work this week and plan to get in some long distance work in anticipation of the Longhorn 70.3 in two weeks. I really need time on my bike as I have only done one short ride which was today since PrairieMan.

On another note I have had three great weight training sessions in the last week. Weight training is my first love but it tends to get in the way of the whole swim, bike and run thing. I realized something the other day when I hit gym. I was wearing an old shirt at the gym and the shirt was big on me. This was a shirt I wore in my pre-tri years. I used to really fill this shirt out specifically in the arms. I really need to spend some more time lifting. Maybe after Longhorn, or the San Antonio Marathon, or the Houston Marathon. I guess not. Its the price I have paid to the Triathlon Gods.

Later

Lonestar Half-Iron Team and the Nation's Team

2008-09-22T16:06:00.006-05:00

Saturday was the first official practice for the Lonestar Half-Iron Team. We had a small group for our first practice but it was a good practice. We did two loops around the park and the team did a good job with the run. We have our first swim and bike practices this week and I am anxious to get the team started.

As for the Nation's Team Saturday will probably be the last time that I see most of these guys. There has been and I am sure will be many social gatherings with this team, however I will probably not attend. For one thing the dates getting kicked around for a reunion party conflict with events on my calendar and I think I need a break from the team. I was very proud to be part of this team and very proud to see the improvement of everyone but as the season went on I became very frustrated with a number of the participants. I know as a coach that you have to be patient and understanding with those you are teaching. I am also aware that each person was out there was trying to raise quite a bit of money. But as the season went on and you are having to repeat simple things that we had been talking about for months it becomes frustrating. People would be whining about stuff that we had been doing all season. You begin to wonder if anyone reads your e-mails or listens when you are speaking. There was also entirely too much partying from this team. Now anyone that knows me will probably look to see if they are reading my blog. I have been known to be a pretty hard charging partier but when it came down to the training and more specifically race day I was there ready to go. I never drank before practice and there is no way I would drink anywhere near race day. However some of the team would come into Saturday's practice with 2 or 3 hours of sleep and obviously hung over. Lastly, the thing that really burns me up is that I gave up some of my personal things including money with no thanks. I had tools and other equipment that I would loan out and would come back broken with no apologies. I made donations to several participants with very little or no thanks given. That is just rude. There of course is more to this story but I think I made my point.

If anyone from the Nation's Team reads this I know it will come across as very negative. I want to say that it was an honor to coach this team. The one thing that would make me smile was when someone would say thanks. That meant more to me than people know. I didn't get into this coaching gig for money. I got into it to share my love and knowledge of triathlon. I hope that everyone appreciates the knowledge I had to offer and the sacrifice of time and money that I made to coach this team. I'm sure that I will get over how I'm feeling very soon.

IKE

2008-09-13T10:54:00.000-05:00

I am sitting in my hotel room in Washington, D.C. getting ready for the Nation's Triathlon and I have to say I am very worried about my friends in Houston. My family was able to go to San Antonio on Thursday and they are safe so I am relieved about that. It was disappointing to not have some our team not make the trip due to the storm and various other reasons but I know that the team is ready and will do well on Sunday.

I just got off the phone with Norma and she has no power and no water and she was trying to see if she could get a a hotel room but they are all on generators and not renting out rooms right now. She says there is damage around her place and you can't really get around. I know she will be O.K. but I still worry. I am anxious to get back home and check on things. Everyone be safe out there and I'm praying for all of you in H-Town.

PrairieMan Half-Ironman

2008-09-08T11:22:00.000-05:00

So yesterday was my first Half-Ironman of the season with one more to go. Needless to say I was freaking out on my way to Dallas feeling that I was not as prepared as I should be. I thought to myself just use this as a training session in preparation for the Longhorn 70.3 next month and my Ironman events next year. I tried to convince myself of that but I was still nervous.

On Saturday morning I started feeling a little sick but I thought it was just my allergies. I learned later that day that I was getting a cold. While I was arriving in the Dallas area there was a sign that said that it was an Ozone Action Day and that you should limit your outdoor activities. I remember thinking that I was dead meat. Not only am I sick but the sun will probably melt me. When I arrived at the hotel I got my things together and just rested for the evening.

I woke up at 4 am on Sunday and I immediately ate my pre-race meal of Cap'n Crunch cereal. That's right Cap'n Crunch, it works for me. I left about 5 am for the race. I was real nervous and my cold had me feeling worse than Saturday but I was determined to give it my all. Prior to the Half-Ironman was the Sprint Race. While the Sprint was going on the Half-Iron participants were having a meeting with the self proclaimed rude race director. The cool thing about the Sprint was that first 3 people out of the water were ladies. It got a big cheer. The funny thing was when the first man got out of the water someone yelled out that's nice the first man is out of the water. It got a big laugh.

After the meeting it was time for the race. My nerves were still a little shaky but I knew I could make it around the swim. The swim was very tough for me. The water was very choppy and you felt like you were getting thrown all over the place. This made it very hard to breath and to sight. You either couldn't see where you were going or you were drinking water when you wanted to breathe. After I made the final turn on the swim my goggles started to fog up and I could not see where I was going. I had to keep stopping to get an idea of where the finish was. After I made it out of the water it was on to the bike. As soon as I got on the bike my quadriceps were on fire. It took me about an hour for my legs to feel good. When I do a race I try to find a person that I can pace off of to keep me on track and to keep my mind focused on the task at hand. I found this person about 6 miles into the ride and her name was Stacey. She was a very funny gal that was in the same wave as me. (All the men and women in all the age groups started together) When I pulled up near her she yelled out "that looks like Batman passing me". She said "that looks like Batman's bike" and I responded "I've heard that once or twice". I stayed with her for the majority of the bike with her passing me towards the end of the bike loop. Now the run. When I arrived at the race it was 66 degrees when got off the bike my computer read 96 degrees. Yay! After I racked my bike I switched out the Fuel Belt bottles that I froze the night before with the ones Norma had in my ice chest. The ones I froze were already thawed and very hot. I got out on the run and I'm not feeling to well. My cold was getting the better of me but I still had my legs. As I started running I thought this shouldn't be too bad if I can keep this pace and if I stick to my nutrition and hydration plan. Part of my plan was to take my electrolyte tablets at mile 3 as I did on my previous Half-Iron. The only problem was that it gave me a very upset stomach that bothered me for rest of the race. As I plugged along I caught up to a familiar face that I saw on the bike course. It was Stacey and she called back "is that you Batman"? I said "yes" and we ran together for a while even properly introducing ourselves at one point. At the point that we did the turn back to the finish (mile 6 I think) my left calf began cramping. This is the same calf I strained the previous week so I was a little concerned. I told myself if you stop running you will never make it to the finish. I kept plugging away and tried to put my upset stomach, hurt calf and the heat out of my mind as I ran to the finish line. Now the one thing I want to say about this race was my goal was just to finish. I was not thinking of a time except that I would probably finish in 7 hours. I set out to take it easy and just finish. With that said, I kept looking at my watch and one point realizing that I should be able set a new PR for myself at this distance. So as I pulled into the finish I was very excited to have a time of 5:55:49. This is 27 minutes better than my previous Half-Iron time.

As I limped around the race area satisfied with my race Norma informs me that she was bitten by a dog. The dog got her pretty good in the face. I didn't know spectators could get hurt =(. She survived and the dog was ejected but there were no hurt feelings. All in all it was good day. My cold is still kicking my butt and I'm a little sore but I am looking forward to the next race.

The Summertime Blues

2008-08-31T18:27:00.000-05:00

The majority of the Nation's Tri Team went to Freeport, TX to compete in the Summertime Blues Triathlon today. This is a small race that I have never competed in and it seemed to be run well. We had several folks that were completing there very first event and overall everyone did real well. The Nation's Team has from the first practice impressed me.

We did have four people that placed in their age group. Kevin, Lindsay, Audree and Charlie all placed in their age group. Congats dudes!

On a final note, I had the great honor of being team photographer for the event. This is not a role that I see myself doing on a regular basis but it was fine for today. I do have to give Norma props for being the photographer on most of my races. Its tuff work trying to run all over the race trying to get everyone's pictures.

Memorial Park

2008-08-31T17:58:00.001-05:00

I meant to write the beginning part of this entry yesterday but I didn't get around to it. I thought I might calm down if I waited but as you will see I didn't. Enjoy!

Saturday morning I went to Memorial Park to get a 8 mile run in prior to my practice with the Nation's Tri Team. Since moving to Houston in 2006 I have for the most part enjoyed running and riding my bike at Memorial. One thing that I do have to keep in mind is that there are a lot of people in this city that use the park for the same thing at all hours of the day and night. Saturday was one of those days when everyone was out at 5 am including several running groups. Now I have nothing against running groups. As a matter of fact I think they are great and I even considered joining one once. With that said I must say that the majority of the running groups at Memorial yesterday were filled with freakin idiots. Is it so hard to not run five wide? Is it? Is it so hard to run on the right side and pass on the left? It doesn't seem that hard to me and I'll admit I'm not the smartest guy out there. There are even signs posted on the trail to remind you if you forget. USAFit and TNT, thank you for following the rules. You other groups including the as***e with the "Survivor" logos on his car who parked on the trail please go somewhere else. Believe it or not you are not the only people on the planet. Other people would love to utilize the public park as well. Now I know those people that are reading this are saying to themselves this guy is nuts and he definitely has an anger management problem. OK, I'll give you that. I have a major anger management problem and I'm sure you could find more than one doctor to certify me a crazy man. Here is the thing, I like to run, bike, swim and lift weights so I can keep myself happy and stress free. Its my Zen time. All I want is to get in my runs in without having to dive off into the bushes or onto the street or navigate a maze of people who can't follow the rules of the road or the trail. So for those people who are in one of these groups or if you are just one of those people who can't seem to follow the trail rules please for goodness sake run somewhere else. You may be saving my sanity.

Zube Park and Platelets

2008-08-29T10:12:00.000-05:00

The last week has been pretty good as far as my training goes. I have had several long runs, rides and swims. I was going to try and sign up for the Austin Triathlon but the registration closed. That is probably a blessing as I have been pushing myself pretty hard. I did a 40 mile ride at Zube Park yesterday which was supposed to be followed by a 8 mile run but the heat got the better of me. I only got 4 miles of my run in and it was a painful 4 miles. I still feel good about my upcoming races and this was just a blip.

Monday afternoon I went to the Gulf Coast Blood Center to donate platelets, plasma and red blood cells to Johnny Romano. I have never done this before so I was a little nervous. What I didn't realize is you can't donate these all at the same time. So I decided to donate platelets. Initially they told me it would take 45 minutes to an hour to donate platelets. Unfortunately it took 87 minutes for some reason. It was a painless process and they had TVs for me to watch so it wasn't so bad. The most important thing is that my donation will go to help a little boy who really needs it.

Clear Lake International Triathlon and Johnny Romano

2008-08-25T07:12:00.001-05:00

I have been very concerned about my training over the past few months and for good reason. It seems that work, family, injuries and personal problems seem to get in the way of my training. My training is very important to me. I am always to trying to improve myself physically, mentally, spiritually and professionally. I want to be good at everything I do. As Saturday approached I must say that I was very nervous about my race.

For the race itself I have to say I was very surprised at my performance. The race was a 1000 meter swim, 30K bike and a 10K run. I finished with a time of 2:07. I had planned on finishing somewhere around the 2:30 mark. Imagine my surprise when I came in at 2:07. This was a good race and I think with a few adjustments the race director could make it great. There were two challenging parts of the race. First, the swim course was not marked very well. The course needed a few more buoys. I had a decent swim working but at one point I started sighting off the wrong buoy and I swam an extra 150 meters. If I had been breathing out of my left side I might have seen the the correct buoy to sight off of. There is something to be said for breathing on both sides. Apparently several athletes had a similar issue with the swim course. Second, the bike and run courses were very narrow. At one point of the race there were runners in both directions and cyclists in one lane. It was manageable but you definitely had to pay attention. All in all I will say it was a good race and I was happy and encouraged by my performance. I'm looking forward to my remaining 2008 races.

On Sunday instead of taking the day off I decided to do a run in the Clear Lake area in support of Johnny Romano. Johnny is the Honored Teammate for the Lonestar Half-Ironman Team that I am coaching starting in September. I was a little tired from Saturday but I put in another 6 mile run and must say it was one of the nicest runs I have done in a long time. The park we ran at was quiet and peaceful, unlike Memorial Park. While I was running there was beware sign for the Alligator and Snake Habitat that you were running through but that didn't bother me. I ran all the way to the bay. The view was beautiful. When I finished my run and I met back with the runners and we took a photo for Johnny's family. As I conclude this entry in my Blog it makes me think of a few things. First, I am very blessed to have two very healthy very special kids. I don't know what I would do without them. Second, there are a lot of people who are not so fortunate. Johnny is a real sick boy and he and his family need help. I hope anyone who reads this Blog will go to Johnny's Blog to check on how he is doing and to see how you can help. To view Johnny's Blog go to http://j-grom.blogspot.com/.

The Olympics, Karaoke and My Car

2008-08-14T10:51:00.000-05:00

I have had a very interesting week. My training has been so-so. I am still hurting but I am feeling better. I did a six mile run yesterday and I felt OK. I am a little over a week away from my next triathlon and I feel like I will be ready. It's a shorter distance one so I feel confident that I'm good to go.

Now for the bad part. My car was broken into on Monday night. Without getting into too much detail they took stuff out of my car. It has been a big inconvenience for me. I am trying to be a nice on this post but I am very very angry.

Now for the fun part. I have never done Karaoke or ever had a desire to do so. For those people that were at the fund-raiser on Saturday I'm sure they would not believe that. I must say it was pretty fun. I must have sung 20 songs. I know that I can't sing but it was a really neat experience. Erin (Nation's Triathlon Mentor) said I had a rock n' roll voice. (I did not pay her to say that) The funniest part was when my fellow Nation's Tri Coach Jay and I did an Eminem song. I now know why I am not a rapper.

Now for the inspiring part. The Olympics are always very special for me. I take a lot of pride in our country and how they perform at these games. With that said, there are two things that have stood out during these games. First, Phelps and all these Gold Medals and World Records is so freaking cool. What an amazing accomplishment. Second, and most important, I LOVED the pimp slap that the Americans put on those trash talking Frenchies in the 4X100 relay. (that's right I said pimp slap) You should always be careful about trash talking. It might just inspire your competition.

Man, I am Hurting

2008-08-08T11:43:00.000-05:00

I have been training but definitely not from the distance standpoint. I have been having some recurring back, knee and hip pain. These have been chronic issues for me for several years starting back to when I weighed 235 pounds. I am hoping to do a long run and ride this weekend but it will depend on how I feel. I decided that I am going to listen to what my body is saying for once.

Saturday, I will be coaching my first practice with the Lonestar Half-Ironman Triathlon Team. I am pretty excited about this team. The one tough thing will be balancing this team with the Nation's Tri team and all the other activities I have. I'm sure it will all work out. =)

UltraMarathon Man

2008-08-01T08:58:00.000-05:00

I went to see a documentary last night on Dean Karnazes called UltraMarathon Man. I was fortunate get an e-mail from my Tri Coach Liz Garcia on the movie and I must say it was worth the price of admission.

The documentary was about Dean Karnazes and his quest to run 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 consecutive days. That is 1310 miles in 50 days. That is over double my personal run total for the last year. During the course of 50 days he participates in 8 actual marathons and then he has the race directors from 42 marathons help him recreate the others using the official course. Some of the runs were in the city, some in the country and some were on trails. The scenery in some of these places was magnificent to see and there are a couple of marathons that I now have on my personal to do list.

The movie was very inspiring and there were lots of funny and touching parts of his journey and quite frankly it makes you want to go out and run. The people that ran these races were very interesting as well. There were people that were cancer survivors, people that were running with one leg and there were lots of kids. You even saw a few Team In Training people out there as well.

I'm trying not to tell you all of the documentary but two things that I thought were very cool. His fastest marathon that he ran was his last one (New York City Marathon) and after he finishes the 50 marathons in 50 days he takes a couple days to do some interviews and then he decides to run another 1300 miles back to the start of his first marathon in Missouri. It is just insane. I recommend this checking it out!

Bassackwards and Dolly

2008-07-28T16:20:00.000-05:00

I had a much better week of training than I thought I would despite the weather that was created by Hurricane Dolly. There wasn't much long distance work but I did get in work everyday. I swam almost two miles and ran around 13 miles with the bulk of that run coming on Wednesday night in a very bad rain storm. The weather did stop me from riding as I only put in 23 miles on the bike. I also put in my normal two days of weight lifting last week. This week is supposed to be hot so I will have to be creative.

The Nations Triathlon Team did our first Bassackwards training and the team pulled through despite a few people that had cramps. We also had some past TNT participants that came out to train and I think they had fun too. At the end of training we had a BBQ with the burgers being supplied by a good friend of mine Carla Moore who is a franchisee of McDonald's. Of course being a long time employee of McDonald's Corporation I decided to handle the grilling duties. As far as I know everyone liked the burgers and I don't think anyone became ill despite my grilling skills. Everyone seemed to have a good time and I think a quarterly BBQ will be great for the team.

Back on Track?

2008-07-21T12:59:00.000-05:00

This weekend was a little better as it relates to my training. I was able to get a 900 meter swim in on Friday and a 20 mile bike on Saturday. I also did a couple of short runs on Saturday and Sunday. I am not sure if I'm back on track but I am feeling a little better about my training. I am a very routine oriented person and when my routine gets disrupted it just creates a lot of drama in my life. I have a good week of training planned so we will see how it goes.

I am a little nervous about my upcoming events but I think that if I stay focused I will able to do well on each of these events.

The Dark Knight

2008-07-21T12:47:00.000-05:00

I must say that this movie was freaking awesome! I am huge fan if Batman and I suspected that this movie would be great and it did not disappoint. I don't want give too many details of the movie away for those who have not seen it yet but with that said Heath Ledger as the Joker was a great choice. This might be one of these evilest characters I have ever seen in a movie and he does it all with a smile on his face. (HA HA) The special effects they used for Two-Face were great and of course I really like Christian Bale as Batman. This movie has lots of action a great story and a few surprises. I highly recommend this movie.

On another note, if you want to see some real interesting people go to a midnight showing of a movie. There were people dressed up as Batman, The Joker, Batgirl and for some reason Spiderman and The Hulk. It was pretty funny to see.

Tough Times and Good People

2008-07-18T12:24:00.000-05:00

Everyone goes through these times when life gets in the way of everything that is important to you including your training. After having a tremendous week of training while I was in New Mexico I have had some family matters that have got in the way of my training. Right when I think I am getting back on track I get a cold. I'm through the worst with the cold and I'm not letting those outside influences get me off track anymore. I'll be back on track this weekend.

My Nations Triathlon Team is so great. We did our first open water swim last Saturday and they all did great. On top of that we had 100% recommitment to the team. I don't think this has ever happened with TNT. I know Jay and I are very proud and thankful to be a part of this team.

On the Nerd side of things I will be putting my DARK KNIGHT movie review on my next update.

My New Mexico Trip

2008-07-15T09:38:00.001-05:00

Here are some pictures from my trip to New Mexico. Enjoy!

I saw The Light in The Land of Enchantment

2008-07-07T13:57:00.000-05:00

I just returned Friday night from La Luz, NM where I grew up.(La Luz means The Light in Spanish) It was time off that I desperately needed and I was able to spend time with my Dad and get some training done.

My week really got started on Monday where I did a 4.35 mile followed by a 5 mile bike ride in the mountains. The scenery was nice but that was about it. I don't know what was worse the mountains and hills or the altitude. Tuesday was a real treat for me as I was able to bike with my Dad for the first time in probably 25 years. My Dad doesn't ride much anymore but we did get 20 miles done. We followed the 20 mile bike ride with a tough hike through the hills where I found a sea shell. (In the mountains?) This part of New Mexico used to be covered with water. There were also dinosaurs that roamed this area at one time and we saw what appears to be the footprint of a dinosaur embedded in the stone.

Wednesday and Thursday were my long distance training sessions. I ran 7.12 miles on Wednesday and rode 42.5 miles on Thursday. Both were the toughest training sessions I think I have ever done. The run on Wednesday was very tough, very hilly. My bike ride on Thursday was hands down the toughest thing I have ever done. I started by riding my bike down the mountain down into the town of Alamogordo back to La Luz, then down to back gate of Holloman AFB. The tough part was the 14 miles up hill capped off with 8 miles straight up the mountain at the very end of the ride. I think I'm still tired from the ride.

Thursday was also a special day as it was my Dad's 57th birthday. I haven't been able to spend any time with my Dad over the last few years so this was especially nice for me.

This past Saturday it was back to my coaching duties with Nations Triathlon Team. We did a 45 mile ride with the TNT Cycle Team. The Nations Team just continues to kick butt. This was a great ride and the best part was the first 7 riders in were from the Nations Team. I would have thought that the Cycle Team would have been much faster but that was not the case. Everyone on the team finished and I have to say I was very proud of everyone. This team is so great. Everyone seems to get along and they are competitive group as well. I can't wait to see them in D.C.

I will have some pictures from my trip up soon, so please check back.

The Swim Guru

2008-06-28T13:13:00.000-05:00

This weeks training has been good despite some knee, back and hip pain. I am pleased about my progress but it has been hard training in the heat and with the pain. I didn't do a lot of long distance work but it still was meaningful training. My swim workouts were particularly good. I put in a little over 2000 meters in the pool and I am hoping to put much more in the water next week.

What else can be said about the Nations Triathlon team. They are progressing at a pace far beyond my expectations. They are very competitive and several members of the team are already competing in Sprint and Olympic Triathlons.

On Saturday our team had the honor of having Emmitt Hines at our swim practice. He was able to spend 3 hours with the team going through several different drills with team. I was fortunate to get some coaching on my own swimming which was very helpful (even coaches need coaching). Anyone that knows swimming knows Emmitt. It was neat to see how many people at the park knew him and how they all appreciated his coaching. I am attaching a picture with Emmitt using me to demonstrate proper lines in the pool. He really is a Swim Guru.

There was a Sunday morning White out

2008-06-23T15:40:00.000-05:00

It is funny how you have to be creative when planning your training sessions in Houston during the summer. It seems like it is either extremely hot or raining when I want to train. I beat the rain on Friday but it was 102 degrees (according to my bike computer) when I went riding at the Loop. It was a short ride but still good. Saturday I put in another 20 miles on the bike and a 3 mile run. Sunday I ran 8 and rode 11 but it was very hot. My training seems to still be on track so I've been pretty happy.

The Nations Team still looks strong. The brick on Saturday was great and everyone's endurance level has been improving week to week. On Sunday there were several overachievers at Memorial doing some extra work. Norma, Charles and Jennifer were all out riding and/or running in the morning. Way to go guys!

During my run at the park on Sunday there was a Mayor Bill White sighting. He was riding his bike on the loop and Norma was able to get a few pictures of the Mayor on his bike. Along with being a cyclist he apparently is a runner as well. Maybe we can recuit him for a triathlon?

Go Green!

2008-06-20T09:06:00.000-05:00

My training has been a little off target this week. This was due to weather and work related barriers. Unfortunately the weather does not look much better for this weekend. I'll cross my fingers and hope the weather is good.

Thursday night I rode for a little bit in a Poker Ride. This was a lot of fun and I hope there is another one soon. Unfortunately I wasn't able to to do the whole ride but as I said it was fun. Great job Andrew in setting up the ride.

On a non Triathlete note. There was a great a basketball series this last week between the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers. For those of you who are my age (or older) this was very neat to see. This was the renewal of a great rivalry from my childhood and it was exciting to see the Celtics put the beat down on the Lakers. I hope that this the beginning of many more championship series between these teams.

You wouldn't like me when I'm angry

2008-06-16T13:24:00.000-05:00

I didn't do a lot of training this weekend. I did do a 10 mile run on Saturday morning. This is the longest run I have done since the Houston half marathon in January so it was still pretty productive. Sataurday afternoon was great as I was able to spend some time at the Cap Tex triathlon team party. It was great seeing the team and enjoying a few adult beverages. (no tequilla)

As for the Nations Traithlon team, we did our first long run of the season. We did a six mile run with some hill work. The team continues to impress me as they made it right through the run with no problems. It was also good to see the team out running when it was hot and humid. You never know what the condititions will be like on race day.

Sunday I pretty much stayed at home and relaxed however, I did go see the Incredible Hulk. For those who know me you knowI love comics, cartoons and pretty much any kind of superhero movie. (Yes I am still a kid inside). It was good much better than the first movie. It has a tie in with Iron Man which was great and for those who like these kind of movies I'm sure you will enjoy it. Please be sure to check back with me in July for my Batman movie review. (He's my favorite)

The Nations Triathlon Team

2008-06-13T08:30:00.000-05:00

This is a pic from a couple weeks ago. Most of the team is in the shot.

Swim until you can swim no more.

2008-06-13T08:15:00.000-05:00

So I swam around 850 meters before I had to coach my folks on Wednesday night. I followed it up with an 1100 meter swim on Thursday. My swimming is coming back to level I want it to be at and I feel like I am back on track with my training as a whole. I have a long run scheduled on Saturday morning prior to my team's run. I'm sure it will be good.

As for my Nations Triathlon team they are making fantastic progress. Our swim practices keep getting better and better. It has been very exciting to see the progress of the entire team. I can't wait to see how they do on the long run we have planned for Saturday.

Tri-ing to train

2008-06-11T14:02:00.000-05:00

Training this last week has been great. I am finally breaking through the wall I hit after completing the Cap Tex Triathlon. I did a 15 mile bike last night followed by a 5 mile run before work and I am looking forward to a good swim before I coach my Nations Triathlon group tonight.