Monday, February 25, 2013
Races
Recently I was able to come up with my 2013 race schedule. In years past, I have always come up with a tentative schedule; and somehow manage to change everything around as the season progresses. This year I am very excited to have an actual schedule in place. My main focus for 2013 will be the Rev3 series. This series puts on fantastic races and I look forward to having the opportunity to take part in many of their races. Specifically, I will be racing at Knoxville, Quassy, Wisconsin, Maine, and Branson. Last year I did a race that was probably the most fun race I have ever done; a F1 race in Coronado, and I can't wait to do a couple more of these this year! While I don't necessarily train for a sprint race, I had way too much fun with this style of racing to miss out! The season gets underway in a hurry because I am racing in just under a week at the Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon!
Monday, February 11, 2013
South Africa
It seems that when I go through long periods of time without writing a post it is either because I am really busy, or I feel like not much has been happening. Fortunately for me, this long absence has been due to an amazing trip to South Africa! I had the great opportunity to spend the month of January in South Africa visiting my friend and training partner from last summer, Travis Johnston. It was exactly what I needed at just the right time. I was starting to get a bit jaded with training and triathlon and this trip gave me the opportunity to have FUN and put my mind in the right spot. I am now back in Boulder and once again very excited to be getting ready for the 2013 season!
So much happened during this trip that I don't even know where to start. So I am just going to go over some highlights and share some pictures.
-I flew business class. This was pretty amazing for international travel. A bed, legit food, and booze. Wish I could fly that way all the time.
- Cycling in the Cradle of Humankind. Johannesburg is a HUGE city with crazy drivers and what I would consider pretty dangerous roads. Not ideal for cycling; but, Travis lived about a 30min bike ride away from this huge open space area of game preserves and private land. It is where everyone goes to cycle and it was incredible. On a Saturday morning there has to be over 1000 people out riding the roads. During our rides out there I saw a Lion, white Tiger, Rhino, Giraffe, Baboons, various game animals, and probably other things I'm forgetting. They call this area by that name because they have found some of the oldest homo sapien fossils in these caves. Travis and I actually went and toured the caves and they are massive. There is an underwater lake and they have no idea how big it is. In the 80's they sent scuba divers down to explore it and one died so they won't let anyone dive there anymore. To get an idea of the size they put die into the water and found the same dye over 100kms away!
-I did do a race during this trip; the South Africa 70.3. It is the largest 70.3 in the world and a huge deal there. They shut down an entire freeway for the bike. There were 3500 athletes. It was pretty tough racing in January but it was a good way to stay motivated to train while there. I finished 10th overall. The afterparty was definitely the best after party of any race I've been too.
-After the race I got to do some exploring. I went to Cape Town which was probably the highlight of my trip. There I saw the sunset from Table Mountain, went cage diving with Great White Sharks, and toured the city. I also went and spent a night in Stellenbosch (thanks to Will Clarke) and after just one afternoon/evening there I am seriously considering spending next winter there. Reminded me of Napa Valley in California but a lot less expensive.
-Kruger National Park is a giant protected land area and where some of the best safari is in the country. We were fortuante enough to be able to stay on this amazing golf course outside of the park. This area of the country was pretty intesne as far as animals. Right outside our place was a river that Hippo and Crocodile in it. During a run around the golf course I ran within about 10meters of a croc and fortunately scared it because I didn't see it at all. And I saw a green mamba snake. It was a good feeling when I got back to the states and I wasn't as concerned about dying while I was training. During this part of the trip we went on a morning game drive and saw a ton of animals. We also went on a night safari, white water rafting, and went to an African Cup of Nations soccer game.
That probably is just about half of the things I did while in South Africa. I was so lucky to have amazing hosts in Travis and his girlfriend Stacey who graciously allowed me stay with them and let me be a tourist.
So much happened during this trip that I don't even know where to start. So I am just going to go over some highlights and share some pictures.
-I flew business class. This was pretty amazing for international travel. A bed, legit food, and booze. Wish I could fly that way all the time.
- Cycling in the Cradle of Humankind. Johannesburg is a HUGE city with crazy drivers and what I would consider pretty dangerous roads. Not ideal for cycling; but, Travis lived about a 30min bike ride away from this huge open space area of game preserves and private land. It is where everyone goes to cycle and it was incredible. On a Saturday morning there has to be over 1000 people out riding the roads. During our rides out there I saw a Lion, white Tiger, Rhino, Giraffe, Baboons, various game animals, and probably other things I'm forgetting. They call this area by that name because they have found some of the oldest homo sapien fossils in these caves. Travis and I actually went and toured the caves and they are massive. There is an underwater lake and they have no idea how big it is. In the 80's they sent scuba divers down to explore it and one died so they won't let anyone dive there anymore. To get an idea of the size they put die into the water and found the same dye over 100kms away!
-I did do a race during this trip; the South Africa 70.3. It is the largest 70.3 in the world and a huge deal there. They shut down an entire freeway for the bike. There were 3500 athletes. It was pretty tough racing in January but it was a good way to stay motivated to train while there. I finished 10th overall. The afterparty was definitely the best after party of any race I've been too.
-After the race I got to do some exploring. I went to Cape Town which was probably the highlight of my trip. There I saw the sunset from Table Mountain, went cage diving with Great White Sharks, and toured the city. I also went and spent a night in Stellenbosch (thanks to Will Clarke) and after just one afternoon/evening there I am seriously considering spending next winter there. Reminded me of Napa Valley in California but a lot less expensive.
-Kruger National Park is a giant protected land area and where some of the best safari is in the country. We were fortuante enough to be able to stay on this amazing golf course outside of the park. This area of the country was pretty intesne as far as animals. Right outside our place was a river that Hippo and Crocodile in it. During a run around the golf course I ran within about 10meters of a croc and fortunately scared it because I didn't see it at all. And I saw a green mamba snake. It was a good feeling when I got back to the states and I wasn't as concerned about dying while I was training. During this part of the trip we went on a morning game drive and saw a ton of animals. We also went on a night safari, white water rafting, and went to an African Cup of Nations soccer game.
That probably is just about half of the things I did while in South Africa. I was so lucky to have amazing hosts in Travis and his girlfriend Stacey who graciously allowed me stay with them and let me be a tourist.
Monday, November 5, 2012
2012: It's a wrap
The storm that swept through Florida for the Rev3 Florida race last weekend was an unfortunate parallel to my 2012 season and the concluding race of my 2012 season. Due to high winds and a strong rip current, the swim was cancelled at the race and a 1.5 mile opening run was added in its place. So my last triathlon of the season was turned into my first ever duathlon. With the swim being one of my clear strengths, I was very disappointed to have the swim cancelled. While I do believe that the professionals should swim under pretty much any circumstances (after all we are professional athletes); the Rev3 team did all they could to make the swim happen but were ultimately shut down by the lifeguards.
So after a little bitching with the other swimmers in transition, I prepared myself for what lay ahead and started to become excited about the race. While I knew some of the race dynamics would be different; I still felt very confident in my bike and my ability to run a good half marathon.
We set off on what I would consider a pretty solid pace for the first 1.5 (somewhere around 4:40 pace). I might have had a mile PR during this segment! After a quick transition, I set out on the bike knowing I wanted to push the pace early to split up what could have been a very large bike pack. At about mile 20, I was feeling pretty strong and was preparing myself to put the pressure on during the second half of the bike. And at this point the parallels to the storm started to become evident. I received a penalty for being in the wrong lane. (I will be the first to admit that given the course layout I was in the wrong lane. However, due to some a lack of coning situation I was unaware of what lanes were open to ther race and which was weren't. I was not gaining any advantage or endangering anyone by being in the lane that I was in. I do wish that there was a warning system available for officials. A warning would have given me the opportunity to move into the correct lane; while the penalty I received, completely took me out of the race). Following the penalty, I pushed hard to try to get back into the race and while I was able to keep the time gap to the group consistent for a period of time, the wheels completely fell off my race around mile 40. Last year I had some back issues; and until this race I thought they were behind me. My back started to cramp and I could not longer stay in my aero bars. I rode the last 15 miles into what was about a 30mph head wind and felt like I was a giant sail. I was pretty beaten emotionaly and physically by the time I got to T2 and did what I could to finish the run. It was not the day I was hoping to end my season with; but, this happens in racing and it keeps me even more motivated for 2013.
I'll continue my analogy to a storm when describing my 2012 season. I had some of my best finishes as a professional, which allowed me to achieve one of my goals for the season in finishing top 5 in the Rev3 Series. (I finished 5th) However, I also had several races that went like the race in Florida. While I know racing and triathlon has a lot of up and downs, I feel that 2012 was a little more of a roller coaster year than I could have expected. I know that I made a lot of improvements this year and I plan on having a healthy and consistent winter to work one some weaknesses and continue to improve as a triathlete. 2012 was my first year as a full time professional and I am already very motivated for 2013.
For the first time in my career I felt like I had a true support system and a team behind me. Especially with my coach Grant Holicky and Apex Coaching, Todd Plymale-Mallory of Integrative Healing and Acupuncture (www.ihacupuncture.com) who took care of my body all year and kept me healthy, and my Apex Coaching teammates. The group that I train with is very important to me and I will continue to be a major driving influence in my development as an athlete. I also had the help of some great sponsors. Especially Clif Bar, Orbea, Rudy Project, Normatec, Champion System, Williams Wheels, Reno Running Company, Blue 70, SRM, and Roll Recovery.
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So after a little bitching with the other swimmers in transition, I prepared myself for what lay ahead and started to become excited about the race. While I knew some of the race dynamics would be different; I still felt very confident in my bike and my ability to run a good half marathon.
I'll continue my analogy to a storm when describing my 2012 season. I had some of my best finishes as a professional, which allowed me to achieve one of my goals for the season in finishing top 5 in the Rev3 Series. (I finished 5th) However, I also had several races that went like the race in Florida. While I know racing and triathlon has a lot of up and downs, I feel that 2012 was a little more of a roller coaster year than I could have expected. I know that I made a lot of improvements this year and I plan on having a healthy and consistent winter to work one some weaknesses and continue to improve as a triathlete. 2012 was my first year as a full time professional and I am already very motivated for 2013.
For the first time in my career I felt like I had a true support system and a team behind me. Especially with my coach Grant Holicky and Apex Coaching, Todd Plymale-Mallory of Integrative Healing and Acupuncture (www.ihacupuncture.com) who took care of my body all year and kept me healthy, and my Apex Coaching teammates. The group that I train with is very important to me and I will continue to be a major driving influence in my development as an athlete. I also had the help of some great sponsors. Especially Clif Bar, Orbea, Rudy Project, Normatec, Champion System, Williams Wheels, Reno Running Company, Blue 70, SRM, and Roll Recovery. 
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