Movin' on up! SF Elite Team for 2011

Just a quick note-

I got some exciting news today. I confirmed with The Sport Factory owner and head coach, Matt Russ, that I will be on the Sport Factory Elite team for 2011! So far all I know is that I will be signing a formal sponsorship contract and am eligible to earn prize money. Hopefully I'll be getting more details soon - because I'm psyched about this opportunity.

Want to know more about the Sport Factory? Check out the Team Sport Factory and The Sport Factory web pages.

Grand Rapids Half: race report

Last weekend I ventured north....way north, to Grand Rapids, Michigan to run the Grand Rapids Half Marathon. Naomi and our friend Lauren would tackle the full. I signed up mostly on a whim since I would be going anyways to support Naomi. I had zero expectations for this race and figured I would just run however I was feeling that day. I had not really run a half in about 3.5 years, since I ran the Tybee half in February of 2007 in 1h 28min. I only ran 3 or 4 times in the two weeks coming into the race, but I'd done a lot of fast tri racing in the last month.

On race morning we awoke to perfect racing conditions. I had a good nights sleep - thanks Naomi's brother Dennis and his wonderful family for hosting us. They also showed up at 8 AM for the start of the race and cheered us both through the whole ordeal. I toed the line feeling optimistic. When the horn blew I positioned myself with the 2:59 full marathon pace group and decided I would run with them and see how it felt. We glided along and it was feeling almost effortless at 6:45 miles. I Passed the Newton gang after a few miles

and gave them big goofy wave - I was having a grand ole time. The leaders of the pace group did a fair amount of talking which was pretty entertaining, the miles were ticking away fast and smooth. Doing some quick math in my head I figure we were right on pace for me to be just about at my PR.

Nearing the half way point I started to feel myself surging off the front end of the pace group and decided I must not waste this opportunity to run a fast half marathon. I brought my tempo up and left the pace group in the dust. My garmin read of my mile 7 split at 6:18 and it really didn't feel to frantic. Seeing a low number like that got me really excited so I did some more math...if I could hold onto that for the last 10k of the race I'd be around 1:25 or 1:26 total time. The next three miles I ripped off 6:19, 6:19, and 6:20.

5k to go and I started to have to work for it a bit, and my HR was letting me know it - I was only about 3 beats from my threshold of 185. The greenway path I was running along came to a T with another path and there was no course markings. I went right, then quickly realized 3 guys behind me went left, shit - that just cost me a couple hundred feet of extra running and maybe 15 or 20 seconds. This kind of knocked me off my rhythm a bit and my HR went up even more. Garmin tells me that mile was 6:30, not to bad only 2 to go and I star

t to get my rhythm back. I'm really gritting my teeth now running way outside my limitations at this point. As I start to double back on the course we ran out, I see all the 4:30+ plus full marathon pacers prancing along like their out picking fricking dandelions. Meanwhile I'm grimacing like a gazelle trying to escape a couple of hungry lions, full on foaming from the mouth.

Garmin beeps again saying 6:27 for that last mile. The course breaks from outgoing traffic and I'm pretty much all alone. Wide open and flat to the finish there's only a handful of runners ahead of me. I passed a few more runners, make a right turn and see the Newtons giving me a big cheer so I stick my tongue out in the fashion of a dog that just can't stop chasing his ball. The Garmin beeps 6:23 and I'm at 1:25 something with the last tenth to go. Hit the line in 1:26:15, an new PR by a couple of minutes - definitely a fist pump worthy performance (and yes I did a fist pump).

This was easily the most fun I've had at any marathon or half marathon I've done. There's nothing quite like feeling great on a long run and having it all come together when you least expect it. I had a nice recovery brew while soaking in a hot tub at 10:30 AM thanks to Dana! Naomi wasn't to happy to hear that I was living the good life while she was crankin' it through mile 20 of her marathon, but I felt it was well deserved after all the races I've had this year.

Time to start planning the 2011 racing schedule - more to come on that later!

Bordom

A couple of weeks have passed since my last race of the year and I have done my due diligence in taking some much needed down time. I've gone on couple of mountain bike rides and runs here and there just to keep myself from going crazy, but not two weeks into the "off season" I'm starting to be wishing I was training for something. I'm definitely bored.

This weekend I'm running a half-marathon in Grand Rapids, MI while Naomi runs the full. I decided long this was not a race that would be high on my totem pole of importance after the year I've had. I think I may actually just run it for fun - now this is something that I have never done. Gonna take it nice and easy and enjoy the course and the trip.

I'm certainly not very good at working out just to work out. Training for me is a means to and end. That end usually being a race with a specific goal in mind. I think one thing that got me last year was not enough down time in the off season. I ran the Rocket City Marathon in December of last year which I training pretty hard for, and then went right into Ironman mode. I was in really good shape right away, but the second half of the year I struggled to stay with it. I read a quote that I really liked about the off season:

Don't be a (January) National Champion

With that being said, I'm going to keep my training very unstructured and keep my racing to a minimum this off season. I want to make sure I totally recharge the batteries mentally and physically before I get into next year. On that note - I think I'll go for a run. How far and how fast? Well maybe just whatever I'm feeling like :)

Favorite spots

Just like anyone else who is into endurance type sports, I have my favorite places that I like to train. Today I visited one of those spots for a mountain bike ride. This particular place I have been going to for nearly a decade now. I've watched the mountain bike trails grow from not much at all to a great 13 mile loop - they are also a wonderful place to trail run. Fort Yargo State Park is only about 25 minutes from our house which really isn't to far to drive for what you get to enjoy! Often I go out to Yargo with the intention of busting out a serious hard workout, so today I figure I'd take a more relaxed approach in my ride around the park. I brought along my camera to snap a few shots of the more scenic spots along the trail. Pretty amazing what you can find so close to home :)

Here's to the off season...a time to "go mountain biking and drink a beer" as my friend Kat Tindol likes to say.

Kona Obsession

This weekend is the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii. This is race is the super bowl of triathlon - it doesn't really get any bigger. This year I find myself particularly invested in the race. I've been following the top contenders all year and their race results from all the marquee races around the world. Sadly, this is not an event that I can watch on TV live. I'll have to settle for following the results on the day of the race and then waiting a few weeks until NBC shows it on tape - paired down to about an hour of coverage. I've decided the only way to really watch this race would be live. With that being said there may be a trip to Kona for Ironman week in sometime in my future.

There are a couple of websites that are giving great race week coverage. A lot of athlete interviews and reporting of the general goings on in Kona.

Everymantri.com

Triathlon.competitor.com

One of the great things about this sport is that there is really nothing differentiating the pro triathletes from the age groupers. Lets say you are a golf fan and just an average Joe golfer - could you go enter a tournament that Tiger woods was entering? Probably not. Triathlon, on the other hand, is much different. Craig Alexander, the two time Ironman world champion, raced a fair amount of half-iron distances in the U.S. this year. Any of these races I could have easily entered. Our bikes would have been in the same transition and we would run the same course. Chances are, if I really wanted to I could go up to him and shake his hand after the race. I could probably also have a conversation with Craig, just as if he were any other competitor. How cool is that? Pro's and Amateurs toeing the same line at the start and crossing the same line at the finish.

Lanier Sprint: race report

This was my last triathlon of the year, and it took place right in my back yard. I live near the race site and ride up to the islands about twice a week. I rode the bike course twice this week during training just to give myself every advantage. It was a massive field for a sprint – over 1,100 competitors. This being my last race of the year I made a decision going in to just race it like my hair was on fire. I figured if I blew up it couldn’t be that bad with only a 5k at the end.

I started off in the 3rd wave and had swim over, under, around, and through the racers in the waves in front of me. The 400m swim was over before it started and was followed by a 200 yard steep uphill sprint to T1.

The cool temps made for a bit of a chilly bike ride but it kept my HR uber low, I wasn’t anywhere near my normal sprint HR so I just let it all hang out. I rode the entire bike leg on the left side of the lane as I was constantly passing. It was good motivation to keep me red lining it for the ride. Hit T2 with a 31:25 split for the rolling 13 miles – 24.8mph. Fastest split on the day. Got off the bike just hoping I could still run after that!


Took off on the run with a high tempo and numb feet from the cold concrete in T1 and T2. Felt like balloons on the bottom of my feet but I just hammered on. That cool crisp fall air was treating me right today and felt strong to the end. Hit the line in 58:45 and an 18:45 run split. Good enough for 2nd overall on the day. The trophies for top 3 were these amazing blown glass sail boats made by Thom Lillie from Lillie Glassblowers – coolest Tri trophy I’ve ever seen! Great race by GA Multisports and props to Roswell Bicycles for the excellent bike support. SF had a good showing and I was pumped to end my year on a high note! See you in 2011 :)

Ride the Divide

Last night I stumbled upon something that was very entertaining - at least for me, and the best part was that it is free. It is a documentary that is currently showing free on you tube through midnight today.

"Ride the Divide" follows 15 cyclists as they attempt to finish the Continental Divide Trail race that runs from Bannf, Canada to the Mexican border. If you have any sense of adventure it will make you want to plan something big. If you have 80 minutes to spare today I highly suggest you check this out!

end of a long road

My triathlon season is drawing to a close. This weekend is my last Tri for the year - the Lake Lanier Islands Triathlon. It's just a little sprint that is about as close to home as a race can be. I ride the roads that this race takes place on at least twice a week.

I have never raced as much as I have this year, and it didn't all go down without it's challenges. I've had a pretty big year in the sport and a lot of good surprises along the way. I picked up a sponsorship and a coach. I also managed to check off all of my major goals for the year. Which included:

1. Finish my first full Ironman


2. Lower my half-Iron PR by 15 minutes


3. Break into the top 3 over-all in some local races



Towards the end of this run I've stumbled a bit and became unmotivated. I took a step back in training load and seriousness and made sure I was having fun doing this - and this seemed to make the biggest difference. This adjustment allowed to to relax and coincidentally I turned in some of my best results of the year. This also has really gotten me very excited for next year!

Back to the Lanier Islands race - I actually got to pre-ride the bike course yesterday. I'm psyched that I know it so well and will feel so comfortable on it during the race. I actually did this race 3 years ago and rode the bike course in 36 minutes. Yesterday I rode at a moderate pace about 15-18 BPM (talking HR here) under my race pace and it only took me around 33 minutes. There's something that puts me at ease about know exactly what is coming on a race course that also allows me to push myself very hard.

I'm hoping to close the year out with another over-all podium finish - and wouldn't it be nice to do it in my own backyard? While it is a sprint, it's a HUGE sprint with about 800 competitors - so you never know who is going to show up. Guess we'll find out on Sunday!