The Life and Times of Sam Luna

You Spin Me Round, Like a Record

2011-05-10T13:42:00.000-05:00

Friday night under the lights at Alkek Velodrome. I haven't raced at the velodrome since 2004, and thought it was time to get back at it. If you are ever on the west side of town on a Friday night, stop by the velodrome for some fun free entertainment. Racing is broken up into categories, by age and skill. You earn your skill levels, and they stay with you for life. So even though I haven't raced in 7 years, I race at that same level now, Cat 3. Usually you will race in 3-4 different events throughout the night. Since the Cat 1-2 and 3 fields are small we usually race together.

12 Lap, Point a Lap - Pretty much what it sounds like. The first rider to cross the line on each lap gets a point. Total up your points at the end of 12 laps and who ever has the most points wins, 2nd most points gets second and so on. I sprinted for points on laps 3 and 4, but had no luck. I lost contact with the front group and drifted backwards and latched on with a second group and just spun my legs out. What was I thinking?

Miss-N-Out - Each lap the last rider across the line gets pulled, and is last place and so on until 3 riders are left and they sprint for 1-2-3. I finished 5th. I was outflanked and out gunned.

20 lap Scratch Race - This is the simplest to follow. The first rider to finish wins, 2nd and so on. I made the break in this race and finished 4th, 1st Cat 3.

Bayou Bash Relay

2011-05-09T12:46:00.001-05:00

As a member of the Al Lawrence running club, I have participated in the Bayou Bash Relay a number of times. Back in the day it was held out in Sugar Land at the Fluor Daniel Complex. Now it is held at Rice University with a spectator friendly course. I completed on a mixed open team with Sarah. The sun stayed behind the clouds which made the afternoon sun pleasant. This race is a lot of fun, your relay team of 4 runners, each run 1.9 miles. 2 loops around the football stadium and bike loop. Afterwards is the HARRA end of the year party with games and food for the whole family. EGG TOSS!

Results

He's Baaaack!

2011-04-28T16:36:00.001-05:00

Yes, its like a bad movie that doesn't know only Rocky can have 5 lives.

2 story lines here: First this was my first race back in quite a while. Second, this was the race director’s first race.

Pre-Race: I haven't changed much. I get to the race super early with Sarah. I explain that open bike rack means you choose your spot in transition, so you better get there early so you don't have to lug your bike around. I was one of the first participants, so race officials and body markers weren't ready, but no worries they quickly jumped on me once I was in the corral.

Run: I studied the map, but wasn't quite sure how the 2nd run was going to be done. A lot of other athletes were asking the RD for directions too. A couple brave souls who had done the Tejas triathlon, which uses the same run course, offered up their rabbit services. Too bad those services only lasted the first 400 meters. I had anticipated starting out a bit slowly and then feel a rhythm, but I was like fresh meet and went with the front group from the gun. A few guys got away from me, but went off course, I yelled and got them back on track, but by then they had to chase back to catch me. Then they passed me again, oh well. I felt pretty strong and was happy with my first 3 miles.

Bike: Onto the bike I felt good. The race director had everything on the bike course buttoned up, plenty of police and cones. A sign signaling that the U-Turn around was upcoming would be nice, but no complaints. My legs on the other hand just spun. No real power, just a lot of spinning.

Run: The wheels fell off. My slowest 3 miles ever.

Overall: Pretty happy with my results. I finished 1st in my new age group, 30-34. I have not ridden outside since 2009??? Wow! It has been too long.

Results
Official Race Photos

Wallow in the Mud!

2010-02-10T09:30:00.004-06:00

Its 2010 and I needed a New Years Resolution! Not really, but I am a person that likes to check things off, so I put a new to-do on the list. The HARRA Spring Race Series looked a like good one! A couple of the races I have run before, the others are all new courses for me.

I kicked off the season with the Buffalo Wallow 6k XC race. The temp was in the low 40's and the sun was out to warm the runners bodies. Lets face it, it was cold, and it rained all week so the course was muddy! The neat thing about this race is that it is very spectator friendly. It is a 3-2km loop course. So friends and family can set up right in the middle of the course and see the runners 6 times through out the race. I took it easy the first lap and got into a nice group of a couple others and settled in behind them. On the third loop I felt strong enough to push for a little while, so I picked the pace up a little bit, just enough to break from the group and closed the gap on a couple other runners. I finished with a time of 24:15, my goal was to be under 25 mins. The course has 2 tough hills and is along the bayou between Waugh and Taft.

Congrats to all the other runners, especially all those ALRC members!

Up next is the Bayou City Classic 10k. See you there?

Full Results

Some Flickr Photos courtesy of Hardeep

Official Race photos

HMSA 25K Relay

2009-11-09T09:56:00.002-06:00

I got an email from some Al Lawrence running friends who needed a 3rd person to run the 25k relay with them. So I decided I was up to running a 5.2 mile leg and could help them out. My best guess of my fitness was that I would run in the 6:40- 6:45 pace per mile. I ran a bit quicker to turn in a 33:25 split for my 3rd leg, avg. 6:25 pace. It was alot of fun watching and cheering on all the other ALRC runners and Congrats to all those who finished, it was a warm day.

Full Results

Imogene Pass Run

2009-09-16T10:27:00.010-05:00

I broke the race up into 3 parts, the first 5.5 miles to lower camp bird, the next 4.5 miles to the summit and then 7 miles downhill to the finish.

The first 5.5 miles are at gradients of 8-15% steep. I was able to jog portions and walk the steeper inclines. I made it to the lower camp bird, mile 5.45 in about 1 hour. That’s an average pace of 12 minute miles.
The next 2.2 miles took me nearly 50 mins, I reached Upper Camp Bird, mile 7.65 in 1:52:50. Heading on towards the summit, the next 2.35 miles took me another 57:50, making my final time to summit 2:50:41. Yes, that is an avg pace of 25 minute miles for 4.5 miles. The Summit is at 13,114 ft of elevation.
I descended the final 7 miles in 1:09:45, an average pace of 10 minute miles. I finished in 4:00:27!
My thoughts about the course. Its hard, period. You are going up a mountain and altitude. Lets be realistic, its hard, really, really hard. The views are incredible, the mountain can be wonderful or down right ugly if it gets cold, windy, wet or snowy. We were fortunate and the weather held. The terrain is rocky. Descending is very technical on the way to Telluride. My legs are sore, but not torn up like they have been in the past after some races. I kept myself in check through out the entire run/walk/hike to be sure I would finish safely. I stopped at every aid station and ate and refueled and took pictures when I could safely handle the camera. The Imogene Pass Run is definitely the hardest event I have done to date. Congrats to both Melissa and Annie who completed the race with me and thanks to all those who provided support and encouragement.

Full Results
Flickr Photos

Track, Tri's and Track

2009-07-06T07:29:00.003-05:00

So over the past month I have been busy! I raced in the Friday Night Rice All-Comers Meet June 19. I ran in the mile and ran a post college PR of 5:07, last year was 5:12 and the year before was 5:18. So steadily improving.

I competed in the the Memorial Sugar Land Triathlon put on by Finish Line Sports. This is the same course as Try Andy's, but with a 300m pool swim instead of the 300m lake swim. I have stuck by my non-swim training technique and continued to rock climb to maintain my upper body fitness. I swam within 13 secs of my best swim for 300m, had a pretty fast T1 and then headed out on the bike. I have just been trying to ride consistently over the past month and haven't done any speed work on the bike, and it showed. I averaged 23.6 mph for the 10 mile course, hopefully by the time Try Andy's rolls around I will be closer to 24+mph. T2 was really fast thanks to using my platforms on the bike. My run was so-so. I have not done any brick workouts, but have been doing speed work. I ran a 20:02 for 3 miles. A bit faster than COMBAT tri, but I would really like to see the time closer to 19:30 for Try Andys.

As usual, there was a great showing by the Fort Bend TriPsyclones at the race and as volunteers.

Full Results, Official Race Pics Bib #43, Flickr Photos

With July Starting I will be spending some time at the Alkek Velodrome to work on my bike speed. I hope to also be able to hang in for some Friday night races come Aug/Sept!

Combat Triathlon

2009-05-27T16:32:00.002-05:00

So my first tri of the 2009 season was a complete success, I hurt and had a lot of fun! It was great having my friends Father Mikey, Big Jim and Ali, Scott, Leah and her hubby Jimmy who I work with. Jimmy also had a great race, look for some more fast times this year!
The swim was better than expected, I hoped for anything under 5 mins, so 4:21 was awesome. Out of transition and onto the bike. Since the course was 15 miles, I stuck to my 20 mile and under rule of biking in my running shoes with platforms. I have never noticed any loss of power and the time gains in T1 and T2 are great. Superman mount onto the bike went smooth as usual.
The bike course was unknown to me. I wasn't familiar with the course, winds or how my body would feel and hold up. I actually raced with a bike computer, I haven't used a computer since 2003. I used it to keep a judge of reality. If I started to see 24mph+ and felt like I was pressing I backed off. With the wind my speed was 26-27mph and that would start to feel hard, so I went by perceived exertion, and used my speeds as marks for my upper limit.

The run was well, exactly as expected, heavy legs and little endurance. No brick training, 2 weeks of running 3-5 miles a run 2 times a week. My run split has my T2 in it, which I got at 25 seconds. That gives me a 20:30 3 mile run, 6:50 pace. That is pretty much the same pace as one of my early Dallas Tri's in 2002. So its promising that with a bit of training, by the end of the season I can run in the low 19's.

Post race was nice catching up with everybody who did the race and an added bonus was Jimmy and I both placing in our age groups!

Race Results and Pics

Bouldering in Austin

2009-05-26T08:15:00.004-05:00

Toby topping out a route

A very busy Memorial Day weekend, Combat Triathlon, Astros Game and some fun in Austin Bouldering and catching up with friends.

I have been bouldering for a couple years thanks to some friends in San Antonio, Joe and Jill. They coach endurance athletes and taught me how to climb. With a couple friends from Houston we headed up to Austin to climb at the North Austin Gym. It is set up primarily for bouldering. There are alot of good routes and great climbs. We got to meet up with my buddy Nick from San Antonio and Samir who got to climb for their first time. Some pics and a couple videos are here.

A very MUDDY BUDDY!

2009-05-18T18:08:00.011-05:00

The 2009 Austin Muddy Buddy was awesome! A great race with great friends.

The short story is it rained Saturday afternoon cooling off Austin. Temps Sunday morning were perfect in the low 60’s and overcast. The 6ish mile course was technical and muddy. I pushed the bike up quite a few hills! My partner Dee and I had a great time of 40 mins and some change which placed us first in the CO-ED 76-85 age group, combined age of 2 partners.

Our friends from up North, Mark and his daughter Jenna had a great race also and cut 15 mins off their time from the Chicago race last year!! Jenna also trains people, "Buddies in training", for the Chicago Muddy Buddy at Elite Fitness and Racquet Clubs. Check it out if you live in the Milwaukee area.

Check out some of our photos here. We have a short video from pre race below! The longer "Race" Video is kinda large and needs to be cut down, it will be up soon too! Race results and photos!

Back in the Saddle

2009-05-11T20:18:00.010-05:00

So I am finally running again! 3 miles every Tue/Thur/Sat. It is not much, but it feels great! I am making a come back, wait so you say, "how many times can Sam come back?" Plenty! I have the honor of competing in the Austin Muddy Buddy this weekend with the Fabulous Dee! I did a couple of races in her place with the Bionic Thongs in 2007, now I get to fill in for Allison and race with Dee! I hear we will be thonging with a couple other friends, Mark and Jenna, so Austin better watch out!

News and Update

2009-03-21T11:54:00.006-05:00

So since the Austin Marathon I have been having some pretty sharp pain in my right Leg/Hip Socket Joint. I tried to run a couple times and the pain was pretty significant, so I gave it 3 weeks and thought all was better. I was in DC for work so I saw a 10k that looked like a run that would be fun. Plus I have never ran in DC, so what a great deal. I started the run pretty comfortable, and nothing felt off the first mile. The second mile I felt a little twinge. By mile 4 I was hurt. Miles 5 and 6 were a jog/walk hope trying to finish as quickly as possible without doing any more damage. Its kind of a catch-22, you want to finish really quick so the pain stops, but the quicker you go the more painful it is. I got back to Houston, gave it a week to heal and the pain did not go away. I went and had an x-ray and no stress fracture, but possibly a torn/strained hip flexor. I start PT on Monday and will give it another 4-6 weeks to see how it heals up. I have a check up with the Doc in 5 weeks. So no running, no biking, no climbing… only 1 thing that’s left, ugh, the pool. So I mustard up the courage today and went to the pool to swim. 30mins straight, and I still don’t miss a second of it. It is really great though to get a workout in, any kind. Maybe in a couple weeks I can get a green light and try some aqua jogging.

Some thoughts. I started running 1995 for Jr. High Track and Field and ran Track and Cross Country through High School and some in College. In College I picked up Cycling and began doing Duathlons, Road Races, Crits, Time Trials and racing at the velodrome, Triathlons where soon to follow. I did not have any injuries until 2002 when after competing in the World Duathlon Championships I raced the following week in an 8k cross country race, a Friday night Alkek Velodrome race, a Saturday night Superdrome race and a 5 person relay marathon that turned into my first marathon when nobody on the team showed up. 4 races in 8 days, not the brightest, but I was younger and indestructible, so I thought. I aggravated my IT band pretty good and had to take off 2-3 months and stick to weights and water aerobics. Yes funny, but it was fun too. Since then I have been smarter about my training and racing and have been fortunate to stay injury free. So now 7 yrs later I have an injury, that with time will heal and I will be back it at no time. Off to the pool!

Austin 20-Miler Marathon

2009-02-17T07:19:00.007-06:00

So first, I did not finish, I pulled out at mile 20. I did not have it in me, so another day, another race. I am a bit disappointed, but I have learned a lot during the training. Thank you to all for the well wishes!

The plan:

Take the first 3 miles out with the 3 Hr pace group uphill and then use miles 4-7 downhill to make up a bit of time. Miles 8-11 get into a comfortable pace. Work up the hill at 11 and then rolling hills through 18. 19-26 are somewhat down hill so pick up a bit of speed heading back in. Take a gel every 4 miles, and 1 gel right at the start. Alternate between water and powerade at every water stop. I thought if I could get through the half around 1:29 I could run even or better the second half.

Race Recap:

Race morning was really nice, cool and windy. Temp was in the 40's and it looked to be overcast. The race started 15 mins late, that does not seem like much, but when you have nutrition and bathroom duties to take care of it can be a little problem. The race was underway and I stuck to the 3 hr pace group. We made the turnaround and headed back into downtown. I rolled off the front of the group and let the downhill carry me but being careful not to go to fast and blow out my quads early. I turned away from down town at 6 and began the run towards shoal creek. I kept really steady, maybe about 5-10 seconds per mile too fast. At mile 10 I was 1 minute ahead of 3hr pace and 1 minute ahead of my time at the 20 miler. All was looking good. However instead of quickening the pace like I did at the 2o miler, I went the opposite way. Instead of staying down in the 6:35 - 6:45 pace range I ballooned up to the 7:15+ range! Yes it was hilly, and it was getting warm but I just told my self, its ok, stay comfortable at 7:15. I went through the half around 1:29:29, but the wind and hills and temp zapped me. I tossed some powerade around mile 17. Mentally I knew it was down hill from 18 but I just did not feel right. At mile 20 I pulled the plug.

Post Race:

After I got home I went through all sorts of crazy thoughts, run a marathon next weekend, next month, the following month. Then I stopped and thought about what I would say to another athlete. Give your body some time to recover, give your mind some time to recover. A race, any distance will take alot out of you, not only physically buy mentally also. Many athletes will run a race back to back to try to get a faster time, but often they run slower or if they are lucky they run about the same. Very rarely to do they run faster. So I will listen to "coach" and wait till the fall to run another marathon, maybe Houston? For now I will get back to focusing on running 5k's and 10k's for Triathlons and Duathlons. So time to write a new schedule and get back on the bike, literally! Congrats to all those that finished, it was tuff day.

Mile - Pace
1 - 7:11
2- 6:43
3 - 6:43
4 - 6:37
5 - 6:31
6 - 6:34
7 - 6:30
8 - 6:55
9 -6:46
10 - 6:44
11 - 6:59
12 - 7:16
13 - 6:55
14 - 7:05
15 - 7:07
16 - 7:12
17 - 7:14
18 - 7:30
19 - 7:45
20 - 7:20

RunTex 20 Miler

2009-01-12T07:57:00.005-06:00

This was my first running race since the 10k in August of 2008. I have completed 8 weeks of marathon training in preparation for the Austin Marathon Feb. 15.

1 - 6:48, started off nice and easy
2 - 7:01, got comfortable and relaxed
3 - 6:50, joined into a group training to run a 3hr marathon (6:53 pace)
4 - 6:50, spot on, even pace, good group of 6/7 guys, gu #1
5 - 6:54, 1/4 of the way done, hills are rolling up and down
6 - 6:21, 2 of the guys stretched it out on this downhill mile
7 - 6:37, group gets back together, but we were pressing some with the rolling hills
8 - 6:33, the pace is staying even, I was going a bit faster than I wanted, but I didn't want to run alone so I stayed with the group, gu #2
9 - 6:33, this mile took its toll later on, I went with 2 of the guys in the group and we gapped the rest of the group
10 - 7:52, 1st half 1:08:24, uphill and getting windy, I let the 2 guys get ahead of me while I recovered.
11 - 6:28, used the down hill to pick up some leg speed, began to catch runners that went out a bit harder than me
12 - 6:35 , gu #3, made my first pass, legs were back under me still running solo though
13 - 6:29, part of mile 12 and 13 where on jeep trails, through me off for a bit
14 - 6:34, staying steady
15 - 7:09, ugh! a long climb into the wind
16 - 7:10 , gu #4, the climb continued, the wind continued, but caught up to 1 of the 2 guys from the earlier group that I ran with for the next couple of miles
17 - 6:44, the pace and hills started to zap my legs, but I used the downhills to keep up my leg speed
18 - 6:56, last hill to climb
19 - 6:44, recovered from the climb and the course flatened out some
20 - 6:15, 2nd half 1:07:06, strong finish and caught a couple more runners in the last mile.
Finish 2:15:30, 6:47 avg. pace
17th Overall, 2nd 25-29 age group
Full Results
More Pics

Bike List

2009-01-02T09:29:00.004-06:00

Ok, seems to be the thing, here are a couple buddies and my list of bikes:
Adam's Bikes
Brandon's Bikes

My bike list 2001-2009:
Dave Scott Ironman Centurion - Steel, Given to me by a friend, size 61! This bike started the craze!
Litespeed Tuscany - Sweet Ti Love
Litespeed Saber - Had to have more Ti
Colnago Dream - This bike could turn on a dime! Awesome road race bike.
Look AL Track bike - My love for the track has never faded
Quintana Roo Zero Gravity - Funny ITU road bike
Quintana Roo Lucero - First Sponsored Tri Bike, really nice carbon
Litspeed Siena - Ti, never got to ride it enough
Guru Veloci'Ti - Wow, beautiful paint
Scott CR1 - Really stiff carbon
Titus Racer X - One ride and moved on from the off road stuff, maybe someday again.
RMS Sparrow -Fully Custom Ti Tri Bike, I ride what I love
Cervelo Super Prodigy - Steel, sweet ride!
Cannondale F4- Hardtail Mtn. Needed something for the trails and Muddy Buddy races
Some Rush - Fixed gear, back to the track! Steel, very stiff!

Since I have been in or around the bike insdustry for many years I have ridden just about everything. There are alot of great bikes, but Ti bikes will always have my heart.

My favorite road bike was probably the Colnago, with the Tuscany a close second. I road the 'nag to quite a few Road Race wins, but the Tuscany gave me my first. For tris I road the saber for close to 5 years and won the U23 Texas TT and Ironstar Half Ironman on it. My RMS fits a bit better since it is fully custom, now I just need to get back in shape. I like a bit stiffer ride so I have always prefered Ti over Carbon. I am hoping the Cervelo will give me the "Steel is Real" feel everybody talks about.

Pictures from Paris and Milan

2008-11-10T07:06:00.003-06:00

Ok, So the good thing about digital cameras, lots of pictures, the bad thing about digital cameras, lots of pictures. For your viewing pleasure, our pictures!

I will write up about the places to visit over the next couple of weeks.

Enjoy!

Paris - Milano

2008-11-07T17:27:00.003-06:00

I will post a full trip update asap, but here are a few quick pics. The weather has been great, no rain! We have seen Paris, Milan, Bellagio, Lake Como, EICMA and 6 Day track racing with Paulo Salvodille and Fabio Sacchi!

Bonjourno!

Midnight Moonlight Ramble

2008-10-27T15:08:00.002-05:00

Over the weekend Bike Houston put on a great event, the Midnight Moonlight Ramble. I had the pleasure of riding the 20 mile route with some good friends. The ride starts and finishes at the George R. Brown Convention Center and takes you through the Galleria area and down Memorial and Allen parkway for a scenic tour of Houston. By the way, the ride starts at 2 AM with the festivities beginning at midnight. The ride is for everybody, Hard Core Roadies, Nob heads, sub-culture messengers and families with tow-alongs. Pics of Team Moose. Thanks to Dakine for the Moose head!

Places to Train on the Road

2008-08-28T10:08:00.001-05:00

So staying at hotels and working out can be tough. Here are some outside options that I have found:

Atlanta – Tribble Mill, Lawrenceville – 10 miles or so of single track trails. There is also a couple of miles of paved path for road bike riding.

Grapevine – Rockledge Park, Lake Grapevine – Single Track MTB riding and trail running. The trail is 9 or 10 miles in length, so great for long runs or rides.

Fort Worth – Trinity River Trail – Miles of paved trails for riding that goes from outside Fort Worth all the way into town.

Arlington – River Legacy Park – DORBA maintains a 3 mile loop of singe track trails.

OKC – Lake Hefner - Lots of paved trail around the lake, water stops every couple miles.

Tulsa – Tulsa Cedar Creek Trail – Tulsa maintains paved trails for riding and commuting. Very hilly portions.

Redemption in Wee-Chi-Tah

2008-08-24T19:37:00.003-05:00

I spent this past weekend at the Hotter’N Hell 100. On Sunday Morning I competed in the Wee-Chi-Tah 10k Trail Race. It was simply Muddy, I hope to get some pictures soon to show. I had a great race having spent Thursday-Saturday Working the Expo standing on my feet. I finished 2nd overall in the 10k race getting out kicked in the end. This makes me 1 for 3 in Wichita Falls.

In my college days, I enjoyed competing in Collegiate Bike races. In my last year of college MSU held the regional collegiate qualifier for Nationals. I thought I would give it a go and see if I could qualify. It was over Easter weekend so the whole family loaded up and we drove out to Wichita Falls. The first day was a 4 loop, 80 mile bike ride. The first loop in, I was done, ka-put. The next day was the Crit, so I focused on it and got a good nights rest. The next day, 5 laps into the crit, I was off the back, 10 laps in and I was sprinting for a prime for the “last 3 guys on the course”. I won the prime and I was done. Two days of racing, zero races finished. Forward 4 years, a few more lbs, a lot more experience and a lot less pressure. A great 10k and I am no longer fear full of Wichita Falls.

Full Results

Getting back on the wagon

2008-08-12T07:21:00.003-05:00

The wagon needs new wheels, horses, heck a complete overhaul.

I completed the Darnd’st Du, same distances as my first Frost yer Fanny Du years ago, back then I went 17:30, 47 ish, 19:33, that was a 5:40 mile pace for the first 5k, 23.5 for the bike and 6:19 for the second 5k… total time was 1:26:14. My times weren’t even close, but I know with time it is possible.

I knew the race would run be over 1:30 total. I also knew I have not done any training over an hour, so my body would not be adjusted to the time of racing. I took the first run out comfortably in 6:30 pace to run a 20:19 first 5k. That was the 20th fastest 1st run. The bike was painful. My body recognized the lack of training. I used to have my “comfortable pain” and my “push hard pain”. All I had on Sunday was PAIN. My bike avg of 20.5 had me finishing the 30k bike in 55:41. 38th fastest on the bike. The second run was just hanging on. 7:09 pace for a 22:20 5k, 21st fastest. So pretty even across the board.

The race itself is great. Transition area is huge rack anywhere you want, first come first serve. So of course I picked a spot right next to the bike in/out. My T2 of 21 seconds showed I still had some skills. The run course is out and back with 1 turn. Lots of hills, up and down. The bike course is um, hilly. Yeah, that’s about right, hilly but really pretty. The second run is the same as the first. The post race party was a lot of fun. I hooked up with some friends from San Antonio and Austin and enjoyed burgers and hotdogs and music. This is definitely a race to come back to.
Full Results and Pictures

HOT in the Heart of Texas (Triathlon)

2008-08-03T12:35:00.005-05:00

It has been a while since my last post, and even longer since my last tri. I dusted off the shoes and helmet and did a local tri in San Antonio that has been around for over 25 years, as the website says. This was the 5th race this year, and was a 400 meter pool swim, a 12 mile bike and a 5k run. The pool is 50 meters, the bike course is a 3 mile loop, 4 times, and the run is out and back.

The swim: Lets say they will need to fill it up before the slides open at 1pm! I drank my fair share and was reminded with every stroke why I should get in the pool more than once a year. Enough Said, swim to the bike!

The bike: I have a habit of finding new ways to add onto bike courses I am not familiar with. The course is a circuit, 4 laps, 3 miles each. So by the last lap there are triathletes everywhere. I was seeded 6th in the pool swim, so I was actually third to hit the water with evens starting on one side, and odds on the other. The 20 sec interval put me a minute behind the first person in the water, Jack Alexander who is a fish! When I hit the bike course it was empty, so off I rode to the end of the base, whoops! Turn around and found the course a little over a mile off... I rode comfortably within my ability and waited for the run to come. The bike course has alot of turns, so sitting upright and paying attention is very important.

The run: Its hilly, the first 1 mile is all uphill away from transition area, then it kind of levels out and heads up again to the turn around. The way back is down hill mostly so finishing is fast but hard on the quads.

Post race: Sausage hotdogs and a nice awards ceremony by the pool.

This race is a no-frills local event that people have been coming to for a reason, you can measure yourself against it year after year, race after race. T-shirt is included, but no splits on the course, just overall time. So if you are in the area, check it out and head down for a nice sprint tri.

Race Results

Sam's Racing!?

2008-07-09T10:02:00.005-05:00

So I decided I needed to get a baseline for where I am at now. I have been running 2-3 times a week and riding once a week. I signed up for the Freedom 5k in Sugar Land and had a great time running. I made a rookie mistake and forgot to double knot my shoes, so I stopped at the start of the second mile to re-tie my shoes. I went out pretty easy and was able to get by a few people over the last half mile. The first mile was a bit long, the second mile was short, the 2 mile mark was dead on, along with the 3 mile and finish. I ran a little to hard on the second mile to make up for my shoe and paid for it on the 3rd mile. My splits

Mile 1 - 6:17

Mile 2 - 5:48, 12:06

Mile 3 - 6:21, 18:28

Finish - 18:54

Full Results

Check out more pics here from RaceShots.

What I learned at Tri Camp

2008-07-03T10:26:00.001-05:00

endurance camp day 2 125
Originally uploaded by the.lunas

Check Out Penn State Swimmer Jamie Keily showing how to turn a Buoy in Open Water!

Endurance Camp Update

2008-06-27T22:55:00.003-05:00

Day 1
- 50 min run at Huntsville State Park, 9 runners, 9 different routes, 1 picked up in a car, 1 Dirt tasting session :)
- 30 min swim in the lake, 1 muddy bottom

Day 2
- 30 miles of hills
- 30 min run
- 40 mins of swimming

pictures are here

more to come!

Triathlon Training Camp

2008-06-11T14:17:00.002-05:00

Mandy and I have been busy the last few months putting together a Triathlon Training Camp. It will be 4 days of training and technique exercises with Mandy and I as the coaches with help from a few other experienced Triathletes and professionals. To find out more about the camp visit the site here. Thanks to Gu, Sharkies, Sugar Land Finish Line Sports, On Ur Left and Ozarka for helping to make this camp possible. We are really excited about this upcoming camp and lookforward to many more!

Training weekend #2

2008-05-05T09:30:00.003-05:00

So this weekend Mandy and I meet up with John and Ned for another long ride and run. This time however instead of sitting back and watching, we joined in on the fun.

On Saturday Mandy and I meet up with our morning running group at Memorial Park for an easy 10 miler.

Brazil Training Crew, Ned, Mandy and John Enjoying some Gu!

On Sunday we drove the caravan out to Belin park with John and Ned. John's plan called for 65 miles on the bike and a 6 mile run afterwards. So I mapped out our route and it looked to be around 70 miles.. pretty close. The run would be easy, out and back 3 miles. We headed out from Belin towards Fulshear with the Fort Bend Tripsyclones. From there we headed west to Simonton to Sealy, Patterson, Frydek, Brookshire, back through Katy to
Fulshear and finish back at Belin. The weather was incredible. Sunny and cool.

70 mile belin
Find more Bike Rides in Sugar Land, Texas

My favorite part of the ride was our last 8 miles or so in. As we headed in on 359 we rode upon 2 guys who were blocking the entire shoulder, so Mandy led our group around them. They immediately put on their “Spartan” faces and accelerated to keep up with our group. By this point in the ride we all still had fresh legs so we had some fun with our 2 new friends. They asked Mandy how long we had been riding and she replied close to 70 miles, and they said they were riding 30 miles finishing at Belin park also. The 2 guys took off in a sprint and Mandy, Ned and John immediately brought them back and ramped up the pace. Ned loves to hurt people (so does J0hn and Mandy but they knew we still had to run after we finished riding). Ned and Mandy Proceeded to take turns pulling until the 2 guys legs were like wet noodles and could pedal no more. Spartans they were not.

After the ride John set out on his run. Mandy ran the first 3 miles with him, and I ran the second 3 miles. The clouds came out and kept the run cool for us. John ran some pretty impressive splits ranging from 9:40 – 9:10 for his last mile. A full 2 mins faster than last year. He is definitely ready for Ironman Brazil! Afterwards we enjoyed a meal for warriors of ribs and chocolate chip cookies!

Please, be sure to take some time and check out John Black's Fundraising efforts. He is helping to raise money with his law firm triathlete buddies for the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Team Gibbs & Bruns will complete Ironman Brazil. They have been training like true warriors and will all be very successful in Brazil!

Best Athletic Support!

2008-04-28T09:14:00.008-05:00

So at the end of 2007, the Fort Bend TriPsyclones bestowed upon me a very prestigious awarded of the Best Athletic Supporter. (kind of like the one guys wear!) This weekend, again I did my best to be the best support available. I drove a couple of friends training for Ironman Brazil out to Smithville, 110 miles away. They rode their bikes through 3 hours of rain and 6 hours of headwinds to complete an EPIC ride! John and Ned, my hats off to you! Great Ride!
Video of the ride, comments and the finish are Here. The phone battery died so some of the video cuts out. The picture isn't too great, but hey its better than nothing.

Fun at the Lake

2008-04-20T08:56:00.003-05:00

This weekend we headed up to Bethy Creek Resort for some fun in the sun with Sun and Ski Sports. We headed out with Paul and Jonathan who gave us some pointers for our first time to Wakeboard. For me it was completely un-natural to have both feet connected to a fixed object. For Mandy it was very natural. Lets just say that I got up and gave it a few good runs. Mandy on the other hand (actually feet) ripped it up! Lucy also got to enjoy in the fun and spent the entire day outside with the crew. She even swam for the FIRST time!!! The water was pretty cold, so hopefully as it warms up she will take to the water a little bit more. For now though, she definitely takes after me, do what you need to do and GET OUT! Check her out below. More pics and video to come.

Family Ski Trip to Utah

2008-01-18T05:56:00.000-06:00

We just got back from Skiing in beautiful Utah! Mandy and I went with my parents and sister for a week of fun in the snow. We skied at both Deer Valley and Park City and took in the site and sounds and taste of Main Street. There are lots of great restaurants and shops that compliment the great skiing. We were fortunate to have snow every night and then blue skies during the day. We ALL looked good and had a lot of fun. Mandy and I also built our FIRST Snowman, he looks pretty good if I do say so myself:

See more pics of our ski trip!
While there Mandy received some great news, she has been accepted to the Zoot/Gu Triathlon team for 2008! So watch out for some new gear and nutrition! Zoot and Gu are dedicated to Triathletes and products that exceed our demands. Plus with as much Mint Chocolate Gu we eat this will help off set some costs!

Once arriving back in Houston we had another surprise waiting for us!!!

Adios and Hello

2007-12-03T07:32:00.000-06:00

This weekend was full of goodbye's and hello's. I spent Friday and Saturday out in San Antonio with my good friend Jay. I meet jay about 6 years ago in Austin at ATC when he was a manager there. I was just a baby triathlete and a horrible bike wrench. Now I am a full fledged triathlete, and know just enough to be dangerous with bike tools. I had the pleasure of working with Jota at Roger Soler Tri Sports in San Antonio. a great time in SA being with all my triathlon buddies. Even though I lived there for a short time, I developed alot of great friendships. We had a nice dinner at Mima's and Dimi's Greek House restaurant, I highly recommend the Gyro Platter! The restaurant turned into an after hours club featuring Cotton Eyed Joe, Latin hits and R&B. Check out this site for some video of Kat, Kit and Nick cutting the rug!

On Saturday I was a bike course marshal, medic and a host of other duties at the Hel of a Du in Helotes. Our buddy Adam puts this race on. Last year Mandy and I raced, this year I helped out. It was a rainy morning, so we had a couple spills on the course and even a participant that made it half way around the bike course with no helmet! After the race it was back to Houston.

Once back in Houston it was Time for Mandy and I to head out to the FORT BEND TRIPSYCLONES end of the Year Party. We had a blast, our hosts Deb and Joe were great and they took some great Pics! Mandy received the Most Valuable Triathlete and I was named the Best Athletic Supporter. Our Awards were Mandy's IV from Rivercities signed by the tri group and a $25 Gift Certificate from our favorite running store, Sugar Land Finish Line Sports. I received an athletic support strap.... I think you get the picture!

After the party Mandy and I took home the Godfrey's wonderful children Jack and Catherine. We made waffles with ice cream for breakfast and spent the afternoon at the park playing on the jungle gym.

Now its back to our regular work week. Next up, part II of the patio!

Turkey Weekend

2007-11-27T08:13:00.001-06:00

It has been a while since our last post. To keep everybody updated, I have been to Arlington, Chantilly, Gaithersburg, D.C., Towsen, Nashville and Atlanta over the past couple of weeks. Oh and San Marcos, more to come on that later... It is nice to be home for the holidays and spend it with Family and Friends. We had Thanksgiving with my Mom's Family this year and a lot of my time was spent working on computers for work and family. There was however quite a surprise in store for me. My parents thought of the idea of driving up to San Marcos at 9:30 PM and get there right at Midnight for when the stores opened for the after Thanksgiving Day sales. It was incredible, the Interstate and feeder roads were completely stopped with traffic. Luckily for us, Jen had her Iphone and directed us to some back roads which cut off a couple hours of traffic time. We shopped from 12-4am! Most of the Shopping was done at Pottery Barn/Williams Sonoma as Mandy and I had quite a few gift cards from our wedding, thanks everybody! Some great finds were a rug for the living room, steak knifes, lamps, pots, pans and a lot of cookware! There were also great deals to be had at many other stores, great for gift shopping! Oh, did I mention it was COLD! I was dressed like an Eskimo. We turned around after we finished shopping and had breakfast at the greatest roadside establishment, BUC-EES in Luling! The have the best kolaches! We then headed home where we would begin work on our backyard patio. More to come...

Halloween

2007-11-01T15:46:00.000-05:00

So we had our first Halloween this past weekend, pumpkin carving, family, friends, candy, but no trick-or-treaters!

I did find a great belt for my sister Jennifer, check out the video below. The belt has a flat head, philips head and bottle opener on it! It should come in handy at the tailgates.

We also took a trip out to Santa Fe, NM for our friends Andy and Jean (now Stewart)'s wedding. They were married in the Loretta Chapel, which is a very beautiful church, and houses the miraculous staircase!

While in Santa Fe we participated in a group run Saturday Morning. We ran from our hotel and meet up with everybody about 1.6 miles away. We then took off to run a 5 mile run with the group. 7.5 miles later we started our run home from the
meeting spot. It was a very tough run at 7,000 feet of elevation over a very hilly run. It is a local runners staple and proved to be a real eye-bulging leg burner!

The next couple of weeks will be base training for the Austin Half Marathon. Turkey day is around the corner so we will be running the Sugar Land Turkey Trot.

(these are 2 mechanical engineers)

Playing Catch-Up

2007-10-18T08:22:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I know everybody has been having a terrible week since I have not gotten the weekly post up. This post may even stir the pot some!

So early in the week my dad participated in a fund raising event for the United Way at his work, Jacobs Engineering. They had an employee competition to decorate an area with their college school colors. Some went all out others were a bit lacking... I will say the top 3 were UH, LSU and UT. Whose House? COOGS HOUSE! You be the Judge:

I never knew green was an aggie color?

Try Andys Tri was another great success this year. It was a point to point 300 meter swim, 9.8 mile bike and a 3 mile run. Mandy had a great race to cap of her best tri season! She Finished 3rd Female overall, with a blistering 3:57 swim, 23.1mph avg on the bike and a 7 min/mile average on the run! Full results are up! Pictures will be up later this week here. I would like to say congrats to many people, but will keep the list short, all Tripsyclones, Ironbabe Jane, John Black, Jeremy Doyle, Mark Futrell, and everybody else who competed and volunteered.

My race report is lacking, I did not race. I have been pretty deep at work, so my training is on hold till Thanksgiving. I had a great time cheering everybody on and letting them know when to dismount their bikes.

Football report, well LSU took their first loss of the season last week and dropped to #4 in the rankings. The Rankings are pretty crazy this year, not many teams still have a 0 in the loss column which could lead to an interesting and possible double national champions similar to the outcome in 2003. My beloved Houston Cougars are holding strong at 3-3 for the season and 2-1 in CUSA after their win over conference Rival Rice.

Last night over dinner with Mandy and her friend Heather, we picked out our winter training goal, the 3M Half Marathon in Austin in Jan. 2008. So look for some higher mileage running over the next few months.

Kona report, We watched this live online. What an unpredictable race. With so many past champions having to pull out, race strategies changed and we saw some incredible racing in the mens and womens fields. Way to go Macca!

Report from Death Valley

2007-10-08T07:48:00.001-05:00

Wow, what a game! We spent the weekend in Baton Rouge for the LSU vs. Florida game. Friday night we witnessed a first for the Lady Tigers, the Soccer team defeated Tenn. 3-0 for the first time in the school's history. Saturday morning Mandy and I did a short ride over to the levees, and around campus with a quick run down to the lakes. Afterwards it was all tailgate all day! ESPN Game Day provided alot of entertainment with the Schick game day girls shaving the guys. There were quite a few games to play through out the day, Beer Pong, Beer Plinko, Cajun Golf and many others.

Originally this was billed to be a huge game, however Florida’s loss to Auburn dropped them to #9 in the rankings, so there was more at stake for the #1 ranked Tigers. Florida showed up angry and ready to play. LSU suffered from some bad calls and turnovers the first half, but were able to keep the game close at half time. The second half was another store. In the 4th quarter the Tigers made a 9 min, last your life-time drive to score a final TD for the win. All 92,000 fans were still there for that final touchdown. The roar of the crowd was deafening. This was by far one of the most thrilling games I have ever attended, and I have seen some good ones, TX/OU, TX/A&M, Army/Navy, UH/Rice (gotta show some love).

Next weekend we head out to Sugar Land for Try Andys Tri to finish out the triathlon season and start our winter mode of base training. I think it looks like a running winter so keep an eye out for some long Jan/Feb races. Good luck to all those racing in Kona this weekend!

See the rest of the pics here.

Weekend Re-Cap

2007-09-26T07:12:00.001-05:00

We had a really good weekend.
LSU won, UH won, Texas won, Rice lost... Sorry Jen!

We were able to catch up on some "house" stuff this weekend and get started on all the thank-yous.

Saturday night Mandy and I ran in the Tornados Cross Country Run near St. Thomas. Mandy and her fearsome foursome finished 2nd in the Mixed open Division! The ALRC team took honors also as 3rd overall in the Open Male Division. Now just a couple more weeks of training and Mandy will race at Try Andy's Tri and close down the Tri Season for us.

There is a very important Kids Tri race on Oct. 20, so if your 5-12 year old is interested in doing a really fun kids race, come out to the Sugar Kidz Tri!

Congrats to Our Friend Melissa

2007-09-05T06:27:00.000-05:00

Our friend Melissa Henderson just took another step towards her goal of running in the marathon in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing for Belize. She just completed a very hot marathon at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka! You can catch a glimse of her running here. Way to go! I think she may even make an appearance at the Wedding Day Run!

Wedding note, 10 days and counting. Lets see, still quite a bit of stuff to get done, Marriage License, Programs, Music, Rest...

Up and Down Week

2007-08-27T08:20:00.000-05:00

Some things in life you can not understand, it is just how some things are. This past week has been very tough for my family. My cousin Tamara Higgins passed away after fighting cancer for the past year. She beat rounds of chemo, radiation and operations to enjoy her life with her loving fiancé Eric. This is a tough loss for us all. This lead into our weekend which Mandy and I were competing in the Stephanie Johnson Triathlon highlighted in the Houston Chronicle here. The event was put on by Stephanie's Husband Greg. The morning of the race included introductions of Stephanie, and others currently fighting cancer and cancer survivors. Many loved ones were racing in honor of those unable to participate. Mandy and I were racing for Tamara. My mother who loves to watch us compete told us at the family gathering after the celebration of Tamara's Life, "one of you better win for Tamara".

Race morning came early and was very smooth. The volunteers were body marking and directing people to the correct bike racks. People were getting assistance with how to set up their bikes. This race had 71% first timers! That is incredible. The weather was great, no rain in site. The pool swim was laid out well, the bike course was fast and the run was scenic through the neighborhood. Mandy was number 8, and I was 19, so we got to get onto the course early. With the staggered swim start, Mandy was 4th into the water, and I was 10th into the water.

Mandy's race (from coaches perspective, me) She had a lightning fast swim of 3:10 for 200 yards and one of the fastest T1's of the day in 56 secs! Mandy has been getting so strong on the bike, and her hard work paid off by putting a full minute into the nearest Female competitor over the 6 mille bike course! Mandy then laid down a 29 sec. flat T2 (top 3 of the day) and headed out on the run. Mandy has had some ups and downs on the run recently. This past week she did a killer workout, 400m, 800m, 1200m, 1600m, 1200m, 800m, 400m on the track at just a bit faster than race pace. Again she put another 1 minute into the field with a 13:29 2 mile run giving her a top 5 run split out of the entire race! Her total time of 33:49 won the Womens Overall title and placed her 5th overall, Watch Out boys!

This race is short, and you go 110% the whole time. The swim started and I hammered, at least I felt like I was. I came out of the water around 4 minutes and got through transition quickly. I got onto my bike and got out onto the course, it was fast and smooth. I approached the turn around and saw the race leader go by and then Mandy pass the leading female to take the lead. I headed into T2 and had a not so stellar 2 mile run in 13:25 for a total time of 33:57. That was fast enough to win my 25-29 age group. I would like to also comment on Ben Proko's race. This was his first Overall win in a Triathlon. I have been racing with him for about 4 years and it was great to see him put together an awesome race for the win.

Also competing was a large group for the Fort Bend TriPsyclones, including Dave D. who took 1st place OVERALL MASTERS MALE, Catherine took 1st in her AG, Mark B. took 1st in his AG, Jean L took 1st in her AG, Fran took 3rd place in her AG. Also competing for the first time was June and Fran. Veterans Anne and Jannelle notched another triathlon on their belt.

In the Kids Race Barrett Roberts took 1st in his age group and Rian Babin and Jack Godfrey completed their first triathlon! Close Friends Diana and Robbie Hirst had Abigail and Daniella finish first and fourth in the 13 and older AG. I don't think they are that old though.

It was a great weekend of racing for everybody and in Keeping with the race motto, "Keep TRI-ing until there's a cure!"

Full Results

A weekend in Shreveport!

2007-08-07T07:00:00.000-05:00

We traveled down to Shreveport on Friday afternoon for the River Cities Triathlon. If you have not heard about it, and you live in the south, you need to check it out! They are known for having an incrediable race packet that includes a Triathlon bag, multiple socks, shorts, sunglasses and hats. Well worth the cost of the race. For this years race it filled up in 3 hours online! So wake up early and sign up!

We went down to the race with about 30 others from the FORT BEND TRIPSYCLONES club. On Saturday morning we went down to the race and watched 2 of our younger athletes compete in the Ironfish Triathlon. Barrett Roberts finished 1st in the Male 9 yr old division and Catherine Godfrey finished 4th in the Female 11 year old division! They both had awesome races and gave everybody some feedback on the course, "Its hot!" After the race Mandy took some time to bike part of the bike course and we noted that it was pretty hilly, constant rollers.

Sunday Morning came and we headed out to the race site with another 1100 triathletes. Mandy got her transition area set up and was seeded with the other top Women and Men. She started in the first womens swim wave. She had a great swim and a fast transition onto the bike. Unfortunately the race took a turn for Mandy on the run. She suffered from dehydration and fought through the 5k run. Afterwards she received 2 liters of fluid through an IV. Thanks to the medical personnal and volunteers at the race that took great care of her and all of the athletes. Mandy did hold on to 3rd place in her age group! So now we have a couple weeks of training before the Stephaine Johnson Tri.

Racing in Dallas

2007-07-28T21:28:00.000-05:00

Here is a quick recap of our weekend in Dallas. Since I have now retired from Muddy Buddies, I have to find a new hobby. I have picked up pretty quick being a decent sherpa. We made plans to head out to Dallas Friday for the Irongirl Triathlon in Las Colinas. It is a pretty big name race with the likes of Desiree Ficker. Mandy's Brother lives in Frisco so our housing and fine dinning was taken care of.

The week leading up to the race was not promising, both Houston and Dallas had received alot of rain, so the weekend had a gloomy out look. The trip up to Dallas was pretty uneventful, but included the mandatory stop in Centerville. If you have not been, go! Awesome jerkey. We rolled into Dallas in the evening and stopped by a running shop to pick up a race packet. I decided to run a 15k Saturday morning around White Rock Lake while we were in town for a training run. We then headed up to Frisco to Mandy's brother's house. Its great, and has lots of rooms, some missing beds though... bring your floor mat :) We had a great Mexican dinner and headed in for some shut eye.

I woke up early Saturday morning and headed out for the To Hot to Handle 15k, and boy was it hot! We started late around 7:50 am, and it was very hot. I started out a little to fast and then settled into a comfortable pace for the rest of the run. Not much to say except, its a big lake, and a long way to run. I headed back and picked up Mandy to go out to the race site to pick up her race packet and check out the course. I was pretty familiar with the course and it was very similar to the TexasMan race I did there in 2003. Mandy got suited up and headed out for the bike course with me following. We got out to the turn around point and Mandy motioned to me to pull into the nearby parking lot. She said she smelt rain so we loaded up the bike and then BOOM! It started to rain, She had perfect timing! She looked really solid on the bike so she was a GO! for race day. We headed back to the big-d and checked out a couple landmark sites, one being RBM, Richardson Bike Mart, its huge, period. For dinner Mandy's brother cooked up an awesome plate of fish topped with crawfish bisque and sides of twice baked potatoes and spiniach and crab stuffed mushrooms! It was delicious, watch out emril.

Race morning was early! 4 am! We packed up and head out to the race site. Parking was in a garage. I like this, it is well lit so you can fiddle with your bike and stuff before the race and see what you are doing. It also gives you some space to pre ride your bike on a solid surface and not a dirt parking lot. Mandy racked her bike and we checked out the swim course. It looked flat (in a canal) and fast. Mandy started in the 4th wave and had plenty of people to chase throughout the day. By the time she came in on the bike she had pretty much caught and passed everybody from the earlier waves and was looking strong for a great run. I did not see her again until she was running down the last turn into the finish and she looked awesome with great foot turn over speed. She finished 2nd overall, making that 3 top 3 finishes this year!

Next up is Rivercities, Stephanie Johnson and Try Andys! See you at the races.

My Muddy Buddy Career

2007-06-26T08:18:00.001-05:00

It has started and ended. I think I may make a come back.

I have a couple of friends who are racing every Muddy Buddy Race, The Bionic Thongs. One of them was injured in Austin, and so they invited me to fill in for her for the San Jose and Atlanta Race. I first must say thank you Thongs for bringing me along, it was a blast! You can read more about the races and adventures here on their blog. I recommend that everybody does a Muddy Buddy at some point, it is so much fun!

Good Luck in Richmond Thongs!

I am going to take a week off from training and then begin to focus on Triathlons again. I took the first part of this year to train for the 1 mile, and got a new PR in the 1500 and got my mile under 5 minutes, something I have not done since high school. My next
triathlon will be Try Andy's Tri in October.

I have traveled out of town for the past 3 weekends, so I am looking forward to the next couple of weeks here at home.

Wild West Relay

2005-09-12T09:55:00.000-05:00

Iron Star Half Ironman

2004-10-27T16:28:00.000-05:00

Iron Star Half Ironman TriathlonThis past weekend I completed my first Half-Ironman. I raced in the Ironstar Triathlon in Conroe, TX. The course distances were 1.2 mile swim, 59 mile bike and a 13.1 mile run.
Brief Race story:
The swim was non-wetsuit and foggy. I caught an elbow in the first 20 meters that knocked my goggles off. I tried not to panic and I swam steady and got my goggles back into place. I didn't find a rhythm until about halfway through the swim. I had hoped to get out of the water in 35-36 mins. I surprised my self with a 29:20! Definitely an improvement than can be attributed to the swim work that I have been doing with Patrick at TriVantage, plus the TYR "Spiderman suit" kept me a bit more buoyant in the water, another definite advantage. I dashed through the first transition and headed out for the bike ride. I now understand how people have life changing feelings after completing a race this long. Out on the bike I had some ups and downs and every time I thought about having to still run 13.1 miles I thought it was crazy. So I just focused on eating my gels and fig newtons every 30 mins and getting all my fluids in me. Jason and I had talked about nutrition and how important it was going to be over a long race, especially if the weather got hot. For the first 20 miles or so I had a group of people who were always around me. At about mile 34 I caught and passed a guy in my age group from Austin. This was a turning point in the race for me. I was definitely in a rhythm and was having a solid bike ride. I kept my heart rate under control and just focused on keeping my pedal stroke efficient like Johnny had told me. Coming back into transition I saw some of the guys I was racing in there first mile of the run. I new they were close and the run was long, maybe I would have a shot at running them down. I got through the second transition very fast and was out on the run. I got very excited and ran too hard the first mile and had some incredible cramps in the second mile. I had to stop, sit, stretch, and really focus on moving forward. I began to jog and then run again. I had passed a few people in the first mile and they again went past me while I was stopped. I slowly caught some people in my age group. I would see the lead bike with the lead runners from the earlier wave, but I couldn't even think about figuring out the time splits. I just focused ahead and kept running as efficient as possible. With about 6 miles to go I saw Matt, who had been in front of me all day. I ran him down with 5 miles to go and by this point my legs were shot. I just pushed ahead and tried to open up a big gap between Matt and I. I entered the resort with 2 miles to go and glanced back to see nobody. I ran hard to the finish and pretty much collapsed at the end. The fastest time of the day until I had finished was 4:48. My finish time was 4:44! I had won the race! I had no idea until I was sitting down eating and drinking, and it still has not set in yet. This has been a really incredible break-through year for me. It could not have ended any better. I look forward to many more years of racing.
Thanks to all my family and friends who came out and cheered me along the way. Although I was kinda out of it during the race I could hear you all and it kept me motivated. I will now focus on training for the St. Croix Half Ironman in May 2005, a qualifier for the Hawaii Ironman. Thanks also to those who have helped support me in my training and racing, Andy Stewart at Finish Line Sports, everybody at TriVantage, Rudy Project, and Frances from TYR.
Age Group Results Overall Results Photos will be posted by Oct. 28

Metroplex Sprint Tri

2004-06-13T16:27:00.001-05:00

Frisco VelodromeMetroplex Sprint Tri
Results.
Swim - 12:46
T1 - :53.6
Bike - 41:36
T2 - :31.6
Mile 1 - 6:33
Mile 2 - 6:30
Mile 3 - 5:55
Run Total - 19:27
Finish - 1:15:47

Hot Springs Duathlon Race

2004-05-31T16:27:00.001-05:00

Hot Springs DuathlonRace morning. Didn't sleep too well and still not psyched up for the race. Looks like it will be a hard training day. The weather turned out to be very warm and humid! The race was going to be closely contested. In attendance besides Wes and myself were Race Favorite Dwain McDuffie, Rick Rosales, Marius Maianu, Todd Hink, an unknown local and a couple of other "sleepers".The gun went off and all of the above mentioned did the first two miles in 11 mins. I was off the pace at 11:37 and new I would be chasing a pack trying to drop Dwain and Marius. I chased for the first half and only caught a couple of people as the packed kept its distance. On the return trip Rick new that a surge was need to drop Dwain in order to have a gap coming off the bike. Local Ted Herget went with Rick as I caught the remainders of the pack. I went into the second run 3rd place with a fast Dwain on my heels. He passed me within a quarter mile and went on to run down the rest of the field to take the win. I had a sizable gap on my nearest competitor and cruised in to finish 4th overall 1 minute behind the leader.This race was much closer that Louisiana earlier in the year. I never felt like I could really take off on the bike. I did feel like I gave a continuous effort through out the race.Results.
Run - 11:36
T1 - :20
Bike - 31:33
T2 - :25
Run - 12:45
Finish - 56:37

Tom Landry Triathlon

2004-05-03T16:26:00.001-05:00

Since the TT last weekend I have been battling with some serious allergy problems plus not getting much rest. On my drive up to Dallas Fri afternoon I lost my voice and spent all Saturday in bed resting and talking Claritin and flo-nase. Sunday morning I woke up with my head pounding and my nose and eyes a watery mess. I went ahead and went to the race and gave it a go. All through the swim crap was coming out of my nose and my goggles were filled with mucus crap too. On the bike my nose just kept running and all the meds were affected my heart rate. By the time I got to the run I just wanted it to be over. My eyes were all teared up affecting my vision and I puked liquid around mile 2. I was definitely sick. I finished the race and pretty much collapsed. I didn't even stick around for awards. I crashed the rest of the day Sunday and I am driving back this morning (Monday) feeling a bit better. Results.
Swim - 6:50
T1 - 1:00
Bike - 46:58
T2 - :51
Run - 17:56
Finish - 1:13:33

SMW Duathlon

2004-04-04T16:25:00.001-05:00

Finally a decent race this year! So its now 4 months since I broke my collar bone, and despite some disbelief. I am starting so show some of the form I had last year. The Metroplex Du-2-Du is the longest Du on my race calendar, a 5k run, 42k bike followed by another 5k run. It is under 2 hours of racing, but it hurts. This was my third year to complete this race. I went into it hoping for a top 10 placing, and was pleasantly surprised to finish 2nd overall to duathlon power-house Dana Lyons.Race morning was pretty typical, I got to the race site at 6am and filled my tires and set up my transition area. I decided to leave my shoes off the bike and put them on in transition. I didn't want to take any chances of knocking them off the bike like I did in Austin 2 years ago. I hung around and chatted with a few of the Tri-geeks from Dallas and talked to Dana and the Woodlands group and wished everybody luck. I just wanted to have a solid race and not get tossed like the past two weeks of racing. Three races in three weeks would bother some people, but I have raced a lot more in the same amount of time. I have had good recovery in between each so I felt confident that I would have a decent race. I went to the bathroom one more time, yes BATHROOM, at Jacks races, there is a real bathroom, along with port-o-cans for those that need to stand only..There were two waves, 39 and under and 40+, Dana would be in the second wave starting 4 mins back. I just told myself, just don't let Dana catch you.. then I would have a decent race. Dana beat me by 3 mins in Opelousas and it was a shorter race. There were some familiar faces in the starting gate, and some new ones. The gun went off and the race was on. I stayed in the second run group not wanting to go out with the sub 5min mile group. Dwain let the runners through a blistering 5k, I felt confident staying in the top 10 on the run would set me up for a decent bike. I went through T1 kind of slow telling myself I still have another hour and 20 mins of racing. I got on my bike and passed four guys just leaving the park. Once out on the main road, I caught up to runningmanrick and was joined by the ever present Paul Pear. We got our speed together and rode in order to the turnaround. I noticed that the leader, Marius was losing time to us. I kept my heart rate under control and then around mile 10 I made my break to catch Marius. I figured that if I wasn't going to win the race I would at least be remembered for something, leading off the bike. I went to work and by the second turn around I had really closed in on Marius. I caught Marius at the last turn around with about 6 miles to go and put almost 2 mins on him, Rick and Paul. I was unaware of where Dana was at the time, but I assumed he would be closing in on me and I would be seeing him sometime while I was dying on the second run. I went into T2 happy with leading off the bike. I have not lead a major race so it was a very satisfying feeling. I had a great transition and got to work on the second 5k. I was surprised to feel so good going out onto the run, no major leg cramps, and I had an efficient turn over. I will attribute this to my new saddle (fizik arione) allowing me to get a bit further forward on my bike and utilize some different muscle groups. I had never run my first mile after biking under 6:30, so when I turned a 5:59 I was like, whoa, this is cool! In the back of my mind I was thinking when I would be caught by Marius and Rick, I was completely unaware of how much time I had put into them on the Bike. I was unaware of the time difference until I made the u-turn for the last 1000 meters of the run. That’s when I also saw Dana! He was close to 4 mins back, but he still had another mile to run.. He know new what he had to do to win. I crossed the finish line tired, and I knew that I had been beat. I didn't realize how close it was though. I waited for Dana to finish. I watched the clock tic by. 2 mins, 3 mins, 3:30, 3:40, and then there he was...so close.. I lost by 17 secs. My closest finish ever to Dana. I was definitely happy, and I had the fastest bike split, with some notoriously fast bikers such as Jason Fisherman and Ed York.
Full results
Mile 1 5:24
Mile 2 5:42
Mile 3 6:18
5k 18:12
T1 46.1
Bike 1:04.01
T2 23.3
Mile 1 5:59
Mile 2 5:44
Mile 3 6:13
5k 18:21
Finish 1:41.44

Texas State Tri

2004-03-28T16:24:00.001-06:00

I had a great time in San Marcos for the Texas State Triathlon, host of the Regional Collegiate Triathlon Championships. However, as my first Olympic Distance Triathlon, I got my ass kicked. The swim course tore me up, 1.5 - 2 ft swells in 62 degree water. I definitely need to visit Autumn for some open water training. I didn’t have the range of motion in my left arm for really handing the choppy water well and I am not used to open water swimming so breathing to the side proved to be quite difficult also. The bike course was super hilly and windy, I didn't use my disk. I had a bad stomach/intestine problem about 15 miles into the bike, I really wanted to get off and go to the bathroom, but I thought it would pass, my whole stomach was tight for the last 9 or so miles on the bike and definitely hurt my cycling. I think my body didn't like the drink mix I was using. I had really bad gas etc.. I started the run and let one rip (gas/bodily release to put it nicely) I thought it would help but it just got worse and I had to stop to go to the bathroom, the first one was locked and so I ran about another mile to the second bathroom and it was open. I spent quite a bit of time in there and then felt kind of better, but was frustrated with my race. I then picked it up. At least next race I am guaranteed a PR!
Swim - 32:14
T1,Bike,T2 - 1:11.15,
I think my bike was around 1:09
Mile 1 6:26
Mile 2 7:48
Bathroom 4:02
Mile 3 6:16
Mile 4 6:14
Mile 5 6:07
Mile 6 6:03f
inish 2:24.26

Early Season Racing

2004-03-21T16:24:00.000-06:00

I decided to go and visit Louisiana for an early season du. I needed to get back into racing and the Louisiana State Championship race fit into my schedule. The race was 2-16-2, a good short race to get back into the swing of things. The bike course was pretty windy with some winding hills along the feeder road. I pretty much lost touch with the leaders when we hit the bikes. I definitely have a way to go before I am back into top biking shape. Results. Next weekend I will head to Canyon Lake to race in the 2004 Collegiate Regional Triathlon Championships. It will be my first time to compete in an Olympic Distance Race.

Update

2004-02-16T16:23:00.000-06:00

Well I saw the doctor and he took some more x-rays. They were a little better than the first back in December, but he wasn't satisfied with the healing rate. I will go back in again in March for a Cat-Scan in order to get a complete view of the bone. I have started jogging again about 6 miles 3 times a week and riding outside on Sunday for 40 miles. My collar bone feels ok, but I still can't swim. The motion is to much and so I will put the pool off for another couple of weeks.

Cougar Cycling

2004-01-23T16:23:00.000-06:00

So far my new year has been pretty un-eventful. I started school this past Tuesday and am looking forward to another great semester. The UH cycling team held the Regional cyclocross race on Campus! Results and Pictures. I have been able to spin indoors four times a week. I will see the Orthopedic Surgeon again Feb. 9 so keep your fingers crossed and hopefully I will be able to run quickly there-after!

Broken Collar Bone

2003-12-29T16:22:00.000-06:00

I hope every body had a Merry Christmas! My training has been suspended. On my first group ride out at Katy Mills in over two months I was taken out by a fixed gear rider with a flat. I broke my left collar bone. It will be 4-6 weeks before it heals and 2-3 months for a complete heal. I will be seeing an orthopedic surgeon next Monday. I will not be able to race until late March or early April. So I will miss the entire spring series of collegiate triathlon and road races.

Jingle Bell Run

2003-12-22T16:22:00.000-06:00

I have been running only for the past two months, and I am beginning to miss the bike. After the Houston Half-Marathon, I will be happy to get back into multisport training. Two weekends ago I decided to sign up and run the Jingle Bell Run. Only the top 20 runners receive an award, a Pearl Izumi printed running shirt, a highly coveted item that brings out Houston's fastest runners. I signed up for the race with my main intent being to place in the top 20 or just to jog it if I wasn't in striking distance. *Note Lengthy Race Description Follows* I had looked at the results for the race over the past 5 years and noted that the 20th time was usually somewhere between 29 mins and 29:45. I felt confident that I was prepared to break 30 mins and to set a new PR. At the race I noted that a top female from the UT XC team was running and that she would probably run around 29:45 for the 5 mile race. The gun sounded and the runners bolted. I ran hard to stay with the large pack putting me somewhere in the range of 10-30th place. As we crossed the first mile marker in 5:20 the pack began to break up as the strong head wind began to pick up. I slipped in behind a runner and within seconds our entire pack was one long pace line. The pack broke up more as we went through the second mile in 5:30 and I was now in a group of four. At the turn around on Shepherd, one of the runners in our group picked up the pace and opened up a 50 meter lead over the next half mile. The three of us began throwing the punches picking up the pace on the downhills and the uphills. The little changes in speed definitely hurt, and I continually wanted to "jog". Our third mile was in 5:40 and I was hurting. I do not remember anything from the fourth mile except that it was in 5:54, the pace was really hurting on all the underpasses we were making underneath Waugh, Montrose and Studemont. As we kicked into the final mile we caught one runner and spit him out the back. With about a kilo to go I picked up the pace significantly and opened up a 4 meter gap, but they held me there and closed in with 300 meters to go. About 150 meters out we were three across going into the final turn and I was on the inside. We made the turn into the final stretch and we were closing on the fourth running that had broken away at the turnaround. As the three of us sprinted towards the finish I hear "19th runner, 20th runner-last award". I held on to finish 2nd in our group of three in the sprint as we finished right behind the break-away runner. There were four of us in the shoot so I assumed I had finished 21st and was quite disgusted that I didn't finish in the top 20. As we walked towards the end of the shoot they were handing out place cards and I watched the runner in front of me get handed the last card, my heart dropped. It was confirmed, I was 21st. I dropped my head and then saw the lady take a card back from the runner, two cards had stuck together! I was 20th and he was 19th! I had done it, I finished 20th, and set a PR of 28:35. My heart the sunk again as I turned around to shake the 21st runners hand and tell him great race, but I knew was in his mind: "No, not a great race, I just finished 21st." See you at the Half-Marathon in January!

KRTS 25k

2003-11-11T16:21:00.000-06:00

It has been a while since my last post, but I have been very busy running. I competed in the KRTS 25k on Nov. 9. The longest run before it was 12 miles, so 15.5 miles was going to be pushing it. I started off way to fast and ran a 5:30 for the first mile. I settled into a 6:15 pace and held that until mile 10 and I fell apart on the last loop avg. 6:55 per mile. I am still please with my overall time of 1:42.20 which placed me second in my age group and 48th overall. Full Results

The TexasMan Triathlon

2003-10-13T16:20:00.000-05:00

The TexasMan Triathlon was a great first time event. The RD really put together a memorable event. The weather was perfect in the morning, 70 degrees, and overcast sky's the whole morning. It was a wetsuit legal swim, so I dawned the wetsuit Phil loaned me. I lathered my legs up with PAM so that it would slide off easily. The swim was pretty quick and the first transition went smooth, but my chip came off when I took my wetsuit off.. so no more official splits. The bike course was very hilly and had strong head winds. So I wasn't able to keep up a good rolling speed. After about 3 miles I had moved up to 2nd place but I wasn't making any headway on the leader. Going into T2 I put my run shoes on and tried to feel the inside of my wetsuit for my chip, but couldn't reach far enough to grab it. My run was pretty typical of this year, a slow ugly death.. Full Results

Try Andy's Triathlon

2003-09-21T16:19:00.001-05:00

Today was quite a wet day. I woke up at 5 am to the sound of rain drops and got my food bags prepped for Try Andy's Triathlon. The race was held at the Sugar Land Aquatic Center and put on by Andy Stewart of Finish Line Sports I was seeded number 420 in the 300 meter pool swim. We went off at 10 sec intervals. I caught the gentleman in front of me and had some difficulty passing him as he speed up as I started to swim around him. My last 100 meters in the pool was pretty smooth as I prepared for my first transition. I exited the pool quickly and ran straight to my bike and easily mounted and slid into my platforms. The bike course was very wet as it was still raining, but there was not a lot of standing water. The course was well marked as well as many volunteers out directing traffic. I finished the 10 mile bike and headed into transition. I ran down the wrong aisle but saw and opening and ran under a rack with my bike and racked my bike properly. I headed out to the run and the pool water that I had swallowed started to churn. I got the water out of my system (tossed the cookies..) and finished the run, but didn't feel really strong. I finished second overall behind veteran triathlete Shawn Smith. Full Results

Sugar Land Duathoon

2002-07-30T10:10:00.000-05:00

This past weekend I raced in my second Sugar Land Duathlon. This was my first multi-sport race last year, so I was looking to see what kind of improvement I could make. I really wanted to improve on my fifth place from last year, and beat all the "runners". The first run was set off at quick pace by the Houston Marathon winner Drew Prisner and Track State Champion Rainbolt. I finished the first two miles in 9th place. On the bike I passed all but the 1st relay and Dana Lyons and John Zuilof. I struggled on the second run and was passed by Austin Conner who took the 39 and Under win, and I finished second, dropping 2 minutes from last year. So now its off to a few road races to see how I and my new Rudy Project helmet and shades stack up against the roadies and then to the Duathlon World Championship

Duathlon Nationals

2002-07-20T10:07:00.001-05:00

This is the race I have been unknowingly training for since this past December. My Goal for this year was to qualify for the USA World Duathlon Team. I went to the first qualifier of the year at Powerman Alabama. It was my first real race, and I was not physical ready for what it demanded. I learned a hard lesson, but one that has brought me a long way. Over the past few months I have been "racing", but in reality it has been training for Duathlon Nationals. I had to learn to respond to my body, and know what it is capable of. My training for Nat's has been a serious one, even my diet had to change in preparation for my only chance to qualify for the World Team. My mileage increased to 125 miles a week on the bike, 25 miles a week running plus I had to maintain my swim at a minimum of 3000yds a week. For most serious athletes this probably wouldn't sound like alot. However, I work 50 hours a week at two jobs, Printing-X-Press, plus I am a student at the University of Houston. The school provided the Cycling/Triathlon Teams with money that purchased our new bike and wheel case.

During my last few weeks before the Duathlon Nationals I competed in the Texas State Time Trial Championships, for two reasons. Mainly I wanted to work out all the quirks on the bike, I needed to feel a full effort on the bike, and I also need to know what I was capable of. I came away from the State Championships with a State Title. I really didn't expect anything, I just figured I would go up and race. I raced better than I ever had, winning the Espoir Title. Amazed with my time and with only a week to go to Nat's my final taper began. I immediately came home and went to Catherine Elder (713-397-6885) for a great massage to help me recover and prepare me for California. Running only a few times, and not even biking until I arrived in Carlsbad was all I had left before the race. My homework was done, all that was left was to take the test. In this sport you can not "cram" the night before, either you have done the work necessary or you haven't. I left Houston knowing that I had done everything I could have done to prepare myself, but even then I wondered if it would be enough. I traveled to Carlsbad with my coach Tad Molloy. He too was competing to get a slot on the Duathlon Short Course Team. He had already qualified for the Long Course Duathlon to be held in Weyer, Austria. We arrived in San Diego Friday night, and drove up to Carlsbad. The twenty-minute trip seemed to be endless as I starred at the consisted rolling hills. We knew we would have to climb some, but we never execpted what was to come. As a competitive athlete, I always do my homework on who and where I will be competing. I had looked at last years times and I was aware that the bike portion was difficult.

Saturday morning I awoke and went down to breakfast in the hotel. As I walked down to the hotel I ran into the previous two years US Duathlon National Champion, Greg Watson. He was walking with Andrea Ratkovic. I greeted them and they asked me how I was doing. We all sat down to breakfast and talked, well I really just listened hoping to pickup any hints I could as to how to handle the difficult task that lied ahead. Following breakfast I put the bikes together and then traveled to the race sight. It was about 5 mins away, and the weather was great. We picked up our packets and looked at the transition area. It was huge! 650 people! WOW!

We took the bike course map and drove the course once. The loop was 20Km. We would have to do it twice for the race. Once we drove it, we hopped on our bikes and headed off on our merry way. The first few miles were great, all downhill. Then we hit the bridge, we took it easy going up at about 10 miles an hour. Around Lego Land and then back down the bridge, hitting 48 mph before slamming on the breaks and taking a hard 90 degree right turn. It was back up hill for the next few miles till we made a swinging left turn and then a great down hill again close to 40 mph. At the bottom of the downhill was a treacherous right-hand turn at close to 100 degrees that was followed by an immediate up hill. A mile of climbing was then followed by a couple miles of flat land. The last mile and a half of the loop was uphill at about 15 percent grade. It was very slow going, often I dropped below 10 mph. That was one loop, it was to be done twice. And that same tuff last mile was also the last mile of our first 10K before the bike even started. We checked out the 10K run, pretty up and down with the tuff climb at the end, but the last 5K was very flat and quick.

We meet up with some other Texans from Austin, Jack Murray (13th in A/G), Missy Ruthven (4th o/a amateur) and Shellon McCallie (9th in A/G). We all went to the Pre-Race meeting and then to lunch and all agreed that the bike course was going to be difficult. I spent the rest of the day relaxing. I went down to Encintas and went to Nytro, one of the largest Triathlon Dealers in the United States, it was ok, I must say the Austin Tri-Cyclist is far superior with its knowledgeable staff and wide variety of products. I went to the beach and just relaxed.

Sunday morning we got up around 5 AM and headed out not to long afterwards. I set up my bike in the transition area and got all my stuff laid out for fast transitions. I warmed up with Jack, he was in my starting group, 29 and under. Jack is quite a bit faster than I am running, but I can hang on to him on the bike. We made took our bathroom breaks and talked to Greg again before the race started and wished him luck. At Powerman Desiree Flicker, the Womens pro winner also went to the bathroom in front of me. Would Greg also benefit from my bathroom luck and take the Mens title for a third time?? We headed to the chute to start the race and with a few sprints we were ready to go.

The first part of the 10k was pretty flat with a few downhill sections. The last mile was straight up hill. The transition zone was set up well, by age groups. I got onto my bike well and was off to chase down some of the guys. The bike course was pretty technical, long windy down hills, tough up hills and two down hills (45+ mph) with 90 degree turns back up hill. It was a two-loop bike course, so it was pretty congested my second loop with just about all 600 bikers on 12 miles of road. The road was completely closed to cars so we had plenty of room in the tight turns for my quick ATC setup Litespeed with a wicked Corima Disc. It was back into transition and out to the two loop 5k run. My first loop felt good and as I started my second loop I caught up to Missy, you can't miss those bright ATC jerseys. I passed one guy in my age group and then sprinted to the finish. Jack was sitting there cooling down, so we waited till Missy finished.

Once everybody was done, I headed back to the hotel to shower and pack my stuff up. My flight left at 2 PM, so I had just enough time to head to the awards ceremony. It was then announced that a fellow competitor had passed during the final run. The results were finally posted, and I had done it! I finished 5th in my age group, so I was automatically qualified for the 2002 World Duathlon Championships. I also glanced at the bike splits and noticed that mine was just over a minute faster than Jacks', but he says he chain did come off, so we will have to wait till Georgia to see if his shiny new bike can make up the difference??

Powerman Alabama

2002-03-29T16:47:00.000-06:00

I Traveled to Birmingham, AL to compete in the first 2002 Duathlon World qualifier. I Competed in the 20-24 age group. The distances of the race were 8k run, 60k bike and then another 8k run. For those that only understand miles, 5 mile run, 37 mile bike and then another 5 mile run. I flew to Birmingham with my parents on the Friday before the race. Also on our plane was Jack Murray, a fellow ATC team member. Sat was spent putting the bike together and picking up my race packet and info. We drove the course to get a feel for things. The run was two loops around a dog race track. During the run there were two main climbs one at miles 1 and 3.5 and the other at miles 2 and 4.5. The bike was also two loops, however it did not have definite climbs. It was a long rollercoaster. The down hills last 1-5 miles and so did the up hills. It was possible to be going 27+ mphs for quite a time and then have to climb at 15-17 mph for twenty or so minutes. After the bike it was back out to the same run course. Race morning was great, the weather was upper 40’s, and very little humidity. My wave started 15 mins after the pro field. The first run went pretty smooth, I was feeling good, and went a little faster than I had planned, 31 mins vs. 32 mins. I hopped on my bike and began my 37 mile trek. The first loop wasn’t too bad, but the second lap started to hurt. I was definitely feeling that fast first run. I had the chain hop off once, a first so it was quite unusual. I finished the bike in 1hr and 45 mins, right around 21.5 mph. So on the second run came the tough part. I had now be at this for over two hours. I thought, man this is really a long race. My first two miles were pretty slow, I still haven’t conqured that bike to run transistion. My legs were pretty heavy. By the third mile I was in stride and my last two miles were flying, 5:40 mile pace. I finished in 2hrs, 52 mins and 23 secs. It was over. All in all I had a great race. That was the time I felt I was capable of doing and I did it! So now its on to Metroplex and then a nice break till late May when Triathlon season starts up. The Duathlon National Championship will be in July in Carlsbad, CA so that’s my next BIG race. It is also the final qualifier for the US World Duathlon Team. So I have some work ahead of me. Full results

Frost Yer Fanny

2002-02-23T16:35:00.001-06:00

Ok, wow this was a fun race. I usually don't race this early in the year, but since I am preparing to race in March, I figured I might as well have some fun. This race was the longest to date for me. It was a 5k run 30k bike and then another 5k run. Oh, did I mention it was COLD!! I stayed at a fiends place the night before. When I wonke up in the morning there was ICE ON THE WINDSHIELD! I did not come prepared. I got to the race sight and set up my bike. Everything was going great until the race started. I did not follow my race plans to run around an 18:30 for my first 5k. Instead I ran a blistering 17:30, puttin gme in the top 10 along with Pro's James Bonney, Dana Lyons, and Adam Reiser to name a few. As you can imagine, as much as my coach, Tad Molloy, Said, I suffered on teh bike. To start with, as I left Transistion zone, I was attempting to place my feet in the shoes that were already connected to the pedals. I knocked the shoe off, forcing me to stop, dismount my bike, put my shoes on and then continue. I dropped back to somewhere around 20th place. I was getting hammered on the hills. On top of the tough course I was so cold I couldn't effectivly grasp my water bottles, so I became dehydrated. I got off the bike and prepared for a brutal last run. I had hoped for a 19 min flat last 5k but had to settle for 19:33. I finished under my 1 hr 30 min goal time with a 1:26:14. That put me 2nd in my age group and 13th overall. Yes, I did catch some people on the second Run.

Full Results