Tri Indy RR - DNS

That's Did. Not. Start. I've had better days.

I stayed in Louisville last night with Mike and Katy (thanks guys). I had to get up early and drive to Indy at about 4 am. No worries, I got some coffee, cruised on up and arrived in plenty of time at around 6 am. Check in and body marking was a breeze. Then I got my transition area set up and walked back to the car. After some body-glide application, the last thing to do before walking to the swim start was put the keys away. I crouched down to slide them out of sight and felt and heard a familiar click. This happened in January. I tried to stay calm as I stood up, hoping I could get whatever it is that goes awry to go back to right before the race. Trying to relax and stretch it didn't work. A bounce home test was also negative.

Hence, I had to gimp over to Transition, get my bike and turn in my timing chip. The drive home sucked and it was painful. The knee still hasn't come back to normal. Last time it took about a day and a half with some PT, so I'm going to keep stretching it out and working on it, just hoping for the best. Frustrating day.

Race Time!

So...it's been a long time coming (per the norm), but it's time now to do a bit of racing. I had been planning on doing the Tri Fall Creek Falls in Pikeville, TN, but it was a bit more expensive and the INDY race seemed like a better idea for travel and logistics.

A few things I'm excited about going into this race include
1. The canal swim through downtown (see picture below) and getting back in my wetsuit.
2. Testing some swim fitness just to see how I'm doing.
3. Working on that dreaded T1 that I have (Shoes on bike, running start and hammer).
4. Seeing how much I can push on the bike and still run well (no speed guarantees or goals besides go hard.
5. Suffering through the run and pushing as hard as I can for the last 5k.

The weather is looking good in Indianapolis on Sunday. I tend to do well with cloudy weather and cooler temperatures.

The excitement is back and I'm looking forward to it.

Ride your A$$

These are some pictures from our ride yesterday. We needed to get out and move after the Fourth's Feast and a hard run at the 10-k.

A quick 10-k recap: I haven't been doing too much speed work, and was not as well-trained as last year. Hence, there were no PR expectations. That's Rodes city next March. Get ready. Mike and I had a little too much fun the night before hanging out and staying up late playing Madden. It was a good time. The next morning we all got out the door a little late (Katy, Mike, Amber, and myself) due to some bowel testing. There was a nice line at the port-o-lets and we all tested their hospitality prior to the race.

Mike and Amber both PR'd and had good races. Katy finished strong, but I'll let her tell you about it. I went out at about 7+min/mi pace and the HR was skyrocketing. I figured it wasn't a PR kind of day as earlier determined, so I went for a good tempo run and finished in 43:02. It was a good time. The weather was overcast and rainy, and pretty cool for July.

The 1st annual SAMBER Independence day cookout was a success with a lot of people coming over for inside out burgers and cornhole. Fun was had by all. Hopefully we'll get some pictures up on the other blog soon.

My riding buddy Jeff and I went out for a nice 45 mile ride saturday morning. Paris is lovely in the summer!

After that, came home and got some lunch and then Amber and I went for a 15-miler. She's getting stronger. About 1+ mph faster than the last ride. We stopped for a quick visit with a local farm inhabitant.

Papa John's 10 miler Race Report

So I realize that I've become a fitness freak when I have racing traditions. This is my new one: a longer run to kick off the season and get me going. Last year it was a half mary pacing Mark, this year, a fun run with Mike at the 10-miler.

The other reason I know I'm a fitness freak is that I look at a race as training for something else. Seriously. I got to Lousville friday afternoon and was more excited about riding over to the stadium on the bike with Mike for packet pickup than I was for the race. I felt a little bad (and took a lot of crap) for pushing him a bit on the bike. There were some good hills and Mike was pretty exhausted by the time we got done with our ~23 miles. Sorry bud. We'll do it again next year and you'll be in shape.

It was a cold morning. High 30's. There was record attendance yet again for this event. Around 7500 people.

My plan was to go out along with mike pretty easy the first 3 miles until we got to Iriquois park. This is where the race begins. There were some solid hills out there. Nice long hills are really becoming something I enjoy more. But I especially enjoy it on the bike. The run, it's good, but not my favorite thing. However, I was killing it in the hills this day. I was able to have just a solid cadence, and I was passing people like gangbusters. After the first hill, I decided it was time to start pouring it on and let Mike run his own race and me mine. The last hill in Iriquois was pretty rough, but it felt good to have it over with and the downhill was a glorious break. I took in a gel before getting to the water station and then it was back to the stadium. Mostly a slight up grade and into the wind just a smidge. I was able to keep the cadence pretty high and at mile 9, just before the last hill ( a bridge over the RR), I started planning the finish. Halfway up the hill, some tall young dude caught me and went by me. He looked like a basketball player. I decided that with current conditions, I would use his apparent strength to my advantage. I slowed down a step and hopped in behind him. I'm so happy drafting is legal in running, because it just isn't fair that I used this poor sap the way I did. I was right on his heels and I'm sure he heard me, so he just kept pushing harder. I enjoyed it back there, just matching him step for step experiencing no wind. as we turned into the stadium at about a 1/4 mile to go, I pulled out around him and poured it on. I'm not sure how close he was, but I definitely wasn't letting him catch me.

It was a good finish. I went and got my chip taken off, grabbed a water and a powerade and went back to get Amber. I had done training runs with her, and we figured it would be fun to run in together. My knee and calves were hurting heading back. I saw mike coming in as I was going back out. Mike beat his time from two years ago by like 8 minutes. I found Amber around mile 8.5 (so I got in a half mary all told). She was running really well and ended up going sub 10-min miles for the whole thing. She had done the half mary last spring in over 11-min miles, so we were both pretty stoked; especially considering the amount of training she'd been doing. We've been pretty busy with weddings and moving and such lately.

Steve should have his first Tri race report up soon. Maybe we can get Mike on to do it too?

In case you were curious about Cyclocross...

MiamiMan Pics, You want it, you got it

Crystal Clear Larry and Penny Thompson Lake

Sam Stooging in T1

Sam running with Jose (Jose hung for about a mile and then ran into the bushes, not sure what he did there)

Coming into the finish (ecstatic to be almost done)

Amber's abstract triathlon photo (pretty cool, I think)

Mark and Sam struggling to stand up and look human

The momster

Amber and I celebrating

Miami Man ½ Iron Race Report

This was the “A” Race for the year. A lot of training and a lot of work went into preparing for this event. I wasn’t outwardly worried about the race, but I think it had me a little stressed out over the last few weeks leading up to it. I had a small eye twitch for multiple weeks that is now gone. Weird, huh? Maybe I put too much pressure on myself, but I hadn’t really made any stated official goals as far as time or place for the race, so it didn’t make sense. But I’m pretty sure this was the answer. By the way, this report might not be nearly as long and extensive as others, but at least I’m writing it. I’m not sure what it is, but I have no desire to write this stuff at the end of the year. It was the same with Chicago last year. I don’t feel nearly as burnt out mentally as after the marathon though. Anyhow, let’s get down to the nitty gritty

Pre-race

Did a short easy ride with some bursts along with my brother on Friday. I followed that up with a quick 2 mile run around race pace, attempting to stay aerobic. Saturday consisted of a leisurely drive down to Miami with a contingent. It was fun; we stopped at Cracker Barrel, went to the Harley Store, ran the kids at a rest area, and had a good time. We went straight to the park when I got down there to check in, do packet pick-up, check in the bike in transition, see Mark, and hopefully get in a short swim in the wetsuit. Got checked in pretty easily, the volunteers were doing a good job, I weighed in at 192.2 lbs which I thought was a little high. Hehe. So the one big disappointment of this day was that they closed the swim an hour earlier than what they had said, so we didn’t get to swim. It was too bad, because this was a very nice lake. Cool water, very clear, quite refreshing.

We ate dinner at Outback that night, where I consumed a large quantity of food. I wasn’t too worried about it, as it was about 5-6 pm when I ate, and the next meal was race morning. Hung out with Amber and the family a little bit, picked up some oatmeal and bananas for breakfast the next morning, met with Mark to discuss the race and departure time.

Race Morning: Standard getting ready stuff. Glorious 2 cups of coffee and the outfall it precipitates. Mmmm.

Swim: 1.2 miles, 37:14, (1:46/100 yd)

I was really happy with the swim. I felt like I went too hard the first lap, but relaxed on the second and felt like it went a lot faster. I’m really beginning to enjoy the swim in these races a lot more. I’m hoping to swim quite a bit this winter and get a good deal faster. If you want a nice swim though, you should do races at this venue.

T1: Long Run into T1, I used the wetsuit strippers, and it was great. (4:22)

Bike: ~54 miles, 2:32:08, 21.3 mph

This course was FLAT! It was so great. It was super easy. I stayed aerobic the whole time. There were a few wankers who were illegally drafting, and I just don’t understand these people. They make absolutely no sense. Do you really enjoy your “victory?” Whatever, I didn’t let ‘em bother me. They’re gonna do they’re thing.

My favorite part was when people would slow down on some of the “hills.” By hill I mean a 100-ft section where the road tilted slightly up at approximately 0.25% grade to get over a canal.

Coming into T2 was pretty cool with all the people out there cheering. These kinds of things make me want to do Roth or IM Wisconsin, the classic races with huge crowds.

T2: Had to throw on the socks, shoes, hat and grab some more e-caps, but forgot to grab my race belt and number. I also stopped at the port-a-potty on the way out of T2. The pee was only slightly yellow, so I was pretty pleased with the 5 bottles of fluid on the bike. (3:23)

Run: 13.1 miles, 1:40:22, (7:40/mile)

The run course was great, and I didn’t start hurting until the second loop. Running through the zoo and partially on dirt/grass trails was cool. I caught Mark long before I expected to. I was thinking mile 10, and I caught up around mile 3, we chatted for a bit and then I pressed on. I really did feel great on the run. Got to see my whole cheering club twice on the run (at two different spots). All in all a great race.

4:57:29, 41st overall, 2nd in 25-29 AG.

There were some rumors about this race being a qualifier for the USAT national championships, and potentially the world championships at this distance, but I have yet to figure out if this is really the case. If anyone reading this knows for sure, please help me figure this out. I’m not saying it’s going to happen for sure, but I’d like to at least know what’s possible before making the decision.

All in all, a great season finale. Now for some other things, some good time with people who are important to me, some holiday parties, and some rest. I’m currently beginning to do some life brainstorming about goals, life as a story, personal legacy, purposes, values, etc., so hopefully in the next couple of months that will become more apparent. Thanks to all the people who supported me this year in Triathlon. Especially Amber, who made numerous sacrifices of time and energy to support my hobby.

Let's Roll

I sometimes forget how mental all sports are. However, this is especially true for endurance sports. While many people close to me would probably say I never stop thinking and talking about it, but I sometimes do. Anyway, it's good to know that there's at least one thing that can be controlled when it comes to races, as well as life: How will you react? This is especially important for people who weren't given the best genes, don't have all the best experience or natural speed or anything like that. Grinding is what I like to call it. When it looks bad, so what. If you're hurting, get going. If it's hot, whatever...

I say all that to say this: nothing really looks bad and I'm ready for Miami. But I don't know what race day holds. Fair weather, a storm, wind, severe heat, cramps, flat tire. Whatever. No matter what on sunday, I'm settling in and sticking it to that Miami course. Man, I love this crap!

If you were pissed last weekend....

That you didn't really get to watch any of the IM world championships from Kona, then I have your solution. You can find the full video from ironmanlive here.

Chicago Marathon (Sam's a-hole moment)

I'd like to start by saying it's a crying shame what happened yesterday. People shouldn't be dying at these events. But it's going to happen when people have health issues (known or not) and choose to run. You know that little voice inside your head that automatically speaks (silently if you have a filter)? The voice inside is brutally honest, and I have to say speaks from the heart with no concern for how people feel. I have to say before I start, I honestly don't care either way if someone wants to run a marathon to say they did it or for whatever reason. If they want to do it and choose health, good for them. I'm happy you're working at it. That's a whole heck of a lot more important than qualifying for Boston. However.....

My unfiltered mind has a couple of questions.

(1) What kind of weather were these people "training" in all summer to prepare for this marathon? I ran Chicago last year and I suffered through a lot of brutal heat. I know from my training runs that it probably would have added 15-30 mins to my overall time. But that's it. No more. My theory (supported by a lot of personal experience) is that many people don't train and aren't in anywhere near good enough shape to try to cover 26.2 miles in a morning.

(2) If you can't get past halfway by 4 hours, what are you doing trying to run a marathon? That's OVER an 18 min/mile pace! That's 3.2 mph. Most people can and do comfortably walk at this pace touring the Mag. Mile. Seriously people. It's an effing marathon! Not the dog Park.

(3) How you gonna disrespect a marathon? The thing is named for someone who died upon completing a mammoth feat. I speak from experience (and I ran sub 3:30) when I say I trained with fear. I knew I was going to do it, but there was a little bit in the back of my head that said "26.2 miles is a long way to run!" I don't think I'm alone in this. This is the PSA portion of the questions. If you don't run, you need a year to train. If you do run and haven't run a marathon, you need 4 months minimum to really train for a marathon. These people who write training programs say these things for a reason. The body needs time to make adaptations.

(4) It was hot all week and the weather was predicted. If you know you're running slow, you should be prepared for the eventuality that aid stations might not be that helpful. Why weren't you? 'Nuff said about that. You're solely responsible for your safety. Paying $100 doesn't mean someone else takes on the burden of your personal health assessment. (Granted, this same logic applies to the people running the race. This article is in no way an excuse for your shameful performance this weekend if what the reports say are true).

I really write this article to say this. It's ok to not do big stuff like this. Your health and life are more important than this stuff. But if you want to do it, really get ready so race day is a celebration and maybe a time challenge, but certainly not the time when you answer the question "is this really possible?" Follow the training programs and get ready. Let's not have people dying and gettting hurt over things that don't matter.

I write all this and say i sure hope the evil karma doesn't come get me in Miami. It probably will and I'll have a bad day because of this. But you know what? I'm ready. 65-mile ride yesterday at 18+ mph for 3:30 in 93 degree 60% humidity weather. If the bad comes, I'll drink some water, suck it up, and curse the heat.

Painful to see.

I might have to qualify for this thing sometime.
My question: why not use more bridges to break up the pack? Well, it's gonna be fast.

You might be taking yourself too seriously...

If you're 70, and you're cheating at triathlons. Seriously? Seriously.

Tri for Sight Pictures

Dave (one of my bosses) and Myself Looking alert and sessy before the swim.

Dude who wouldn't let me pass him for the last 250m. Little frustrating, but oh well.


Me in T2 wasting time on the watch. I don't think I've ever come back to that empty of a rack.

Coming in on the run. Man that was painful

Getting my award (a piece of glassware)

Cheesin' at the finish line

Tri for Sight Race Report

So one of the goals I had set for this year was to podium at a race. I thought this would push me to train harder and work for some goals. That said, let's get on this race report, shall we?

I wasn't quite as strict with the diet this week. I had already put in 90+ miles on the bike prior to the race. I drank beer on friday, I ate pork and beef at the company picnic on saturday. I just didn't care. I told a couple friends friday night that I was either going to podium or blow up on the run. Saturday night, I had a splitting headache. I think it was due to large stressors in my environment the past few days. Dealing with the fallout of getting run off the road on thursday afternoon during my long run, having to call 911 for a guy having a stroke or heart attack at my company golf scramble, etc could have both contributed to it. Thankfully, I have a great girlfriend who took care of me and helped me get ready last night while I was laying on the couch, hurtin'.

7 am races are early, so I got up at 5 still with a bit of a headache. I popped an Excedrin Migraine, drank some coffee, a diet coke, and ate some cereal. I was ready.

Swim: 800m, 14:29 (1:47/100m)

It was a pool swim, and I felt really good. Passed about 3 or 4 people, was passed by one. these times seem long to me, but everybody's times are slow. Maybe I need to swim more. 500 yds this week is a bit thin.

T1: Long run from the pool to the Community College included: 4:14

Bike: 18+ miles, 49:55 (21.6 mph)

I didn't feel all that great on the bike today, and apparently I need to take a class on gear shifting. I threw my chain again. It's a pretty hilly course, but fun day out there regardless. Guy I know caught me at the end of the bike, and I knew I was going to have to hammer the run if I was going to beat him.

T2: nothing much to tell other than dropping my bike into my leg and gaining a nasty cut. 1:01

Run: 4 miles, 25:04, (6:16/mile)

I didn't know I was running this fast, but I was trying to hold true to my blow up/podium promise. It hurt, but I kept passing people and finished pretty strong. I beat my friend on the run by 2:30. Beat him overall by 12 seconds. whew!

Overall: 1:34:41, 7th overall (out of about 300 I think) 1st/23 in AG.

One guy in AG actually beat me, but he won the overall and is trying to qualify for nationals. Dude's fast. So I got the AG trophy (pics later). Needless to say I'm pretty stoked.

More Music City Pics

Exiting the swim

My supporters (minus 1) looking moderately confused

In T1 wasting time.

Rod and Myself Running step for step.

Me on the verge of puking but putting in the kick

Music City Triathlon Race Report

This is the second Olympic Distance Race of the season and really the final prep race for Miami Man in November (I'm doing the local sprint this week, but I don't really think it qualifies due to its short distance).

The weekend began with the drive down to Nashville to stay with Amber's very hospitable family (A big Thanks to the Leslie's). Saturday, we went over to get registered since I signed up late and was on the waitlist. I was pretty sure I would get in, but didn't want to leave it to chance, so I showed up before they opened. I got in, got the right size t-shirt and a blue cap (you'll see below why this was so interesting-it did help the spectators find me though. I might try to do this in other races). Race Report Below: The pic below is me hangin' out before the race. I'm easy to find with my blue cap. If you look directly to the left of me, you'll see a guy who I think is related to Mr. Miyagi. Dude was whipping out some dojo stretches before the race and Steve and I shared a few good-natured laughs over it. Steve also gave me some swimming tips on streamlining my body in the water. Thanks brotha!
Swim: 1500 m (I think + run to transition, not sure) - 27:32.87 (1:50/100m)

I felt pretty good most of the swim. I also felt smoother in my stroke than I did a couple weeks ago. I still swam off course a little bit, but still an improvement. I'm hoping to keep getting better on the sighting. It'll come. I got out and my adoring fans were cheering me on the run to transition. It was pretty cool.

T1: 2:08.9 - No big deal. I ran out the wrong way at first and had to turn around. I just need to keep getting quicker.

Bike: 22.5 miles - 1:01:28.43 (21.96 mph)

The bike was really good. It was a hilly course, but most of the hills were shorter than the ones here in KY. Honestly, I just had one of those really good days where I felt like I had juice in my legs in almost every gear. At about mile 16, I thought a big climb was coming up and tried to gear into my small chainring. As I did this and threw the chain, I swore at myself for being an idiot. I had to slow down and stop to put it back on and lost probably a minute to minute and a half. In hindsight, this was a painful mistake. About 10 people I had passed in the last 5 minutes passed me when I stopped. I was pissed, but decided I was going to use it for motivation to track people down on the run. All in all good bike, but I need to not have mistakes like that

Run: 10k - 40:12.21 (6:29/mile) PR by 6 seconds for a 10k!

I got out of T2 and almost fell down on some uneven ground. Ran about a quarter mile and then went up a 1/2-mile switchback hill that was brutal. At the top, I fell back just a little bit of some skinny dude that looked to me like he was going to put together a good run. So I latched onto him a little bit to try to keep a good pace. After a while we got out to the dam and I was running next to another guy named Rod. It was an out and back and we ran over a dam and down a large hill that we had to come back up (also painful but we made it). On the back, Rod pulled me up one hill and said "hang on and get up here!" I'm grateful for that as I would not have had the run I did without him. As we were getting back to mile 5, I knew it was mostly downhill and I wanted to repay Rod for his help, so we started picking it up to try and catch dude in gray who was in Rod's AG. On the .5 mile steep downhill, I just let it rip striding out fully and going about 5min/mi pace. Rod yelled at me from behind "It's not even fair with those long legs you've got!" I told him my large arse was pushing me down the hill. At the bottom of the hill, I was hurting bad, but still had about .3 miles left. We had passed gray suit dude on the hill and all I wanted to do was beat him. We caught another old guy at mile 6, and I poured on almost all I had. At about 50 yards out, we went in through the fence (and my cousin Steve said he thought I would get kicked at the end), I decided I'd worked too hard to lose at the end, so I poured on everything else I had and finished strong in front of rod and old dude. We must've dusted gray suit dude (or he was demoralized by watching me stride past him like a bloated camel), because he wasn't in the video that Amber took.

Total Time: 2:14:06.25, 4/29 in AG, A really solid race for me. The real twist now as I look at the race results is if the guy ahead of me is really in 3rd place since he had a 2 min drafting penalty (cheater). If his penalty has yet to be assessed, I finished 3rd. Oh well. Good day regardless. I'm asking the RD if I'm reading the results correctly and will update when I find out.

Summary: I need to keep getting better on sighting in the water, keep speeding up my transitions, and not do stupid crap like throw chains on the bike. However, I do believe this HR training/base training really works. I feel so much better running at that speed now. It's uncanny. I'm really looking forward to lower volume, smooth pace base work this winter in hopes of really cranking it up for next spring at the Louisville Triple Crown and St. Anthony's.

I've attached some pics below of Amber and Myself after the race, and Steve messin' with my bike with me thinking I was leaning out of the picture.

Racing into Shape...or Something like it.

So one way to work in some speed when you've been struggling to get the speed workouts in is to race frequently. I've got one this weekend, the Music City (1.5-K Swim, 40-K bike, 10-K run) and the Alcon Tri for Sight in Lexington (800-m swim, 18-mile bike, 4-mi run) next weekend.

One problem with the Music City: I signed up late and got put on the waitlist because the race is sold out. I should still get in according to race directors, so I'll be there. Look for the Race Report(s) coming up and then a little break for some ramp up to MiamiMan.

Buck Creek International Triathlon

(I do not as of yet have any pictures to post, but as soon as I get some, I'll slap 'em on here) The Buck Creek Triathlon was Sunday Morning. The Madre came up friday and we hung out friday night, and drove up saturday afternoon. There was a massive T-storm on our drive over to the park and I was excited at the prospect of an overcast day for a race.

Packet pick up was smooth, We did a little pre-race exercise at the hotel just to work out the kinks from traveling in the car, then it was off to dinner for some fish and a sweet potato, along with a salad...and some bread...and some of mom's salad...and some of her steak...I think I was done after that. Got back to the room and set up the bike and got all my stuff out and ready to go. Didn't sleep well at all, but that's typical the night before the race. I need to figure out a way to solve this.

I don't like showing up too early at races as I hate sitting around. That said, i was there at 6:40 and had almost two hours to get ready. Plenty of time. had the Garmin FR 305 all set up with Multi-sport function and ready to go. It was pretty warm, but they said the water was 76.5 F. I didn't buy it, but really wanted to give my wetsuit a shot at a race. Humor of the day: as the sprint race was getting ready to start, some dude walks up to the guy with the Megaphone...Dude with megaphone delays race start and asks if anybody has experience in popping shoulders back in place because dude would like his shoulder in correct position before starting his swim wave. Unreal.

After all the sprint waves, the 0-39 International distance wave (mine) was set to go. I was chatting with some dude before the start. He said he signed up elite and was hoping to go 2 hrs. He wasn't convinced though. He also said he thought the swim was a bit long. I had thought that the day before, but didn't really care as I was planning on going out easy on the swim and then pushing on the bike and run. My swim isn't exactly a strong point.

Swim, 1500 m + run up massive hill into transition: 32:36
I went out easy just like I had planned. The current was such that the out leg of the rectangle was tough and the back was easier. I gained on a lot of people on the back of the first lap, then lost a lot to them on the second lap. What happened was that I am not a very good open water swimmer, and I was all over the place. It's totally my fault, but I'll bet I swam at least an extra 200m if not more. I pushed a bit at the end and came out winded, thus going pretty slow up the hill to T1

T1: 2:23 :
No big news here other than my transitions need practice. I couldn't get that dang wetsuit off. Bike, 40k (23.7 miles) : 1:07:03, 21.2 mph I felt pretty good on the bike most of the time. It was rolling, but mostly flat. Definitely flatter than what I ride in KY most of the time. For the most part, people were riding a really clean race. Except for one guy, he was drafting everybody he could. It was ridiculous. I passed him on the second lap only to have him bridge the gap and draft me for 3 miles heading back to T2. I didn't want to waste energy on him out there, but I kind of wish I would have seen him after the race to let him know people know he's a rat fink putz.

T2: 1:38 :
No big deal still need to speed it up here.

Run, 10k, 44:50, (7:14/mile)
I had taken in a bottle of gatorade and two gels on the bike, which I thought was pretty good, but there was definitely some cramping going on during the run. It was pretty flat with the exception of a couple tough hills. I wanted to go a bit harder but just couldn't really on the second lap of the run. I came in feeling pretty good, all alone.

Total: 2:28:31, 6/12 in 25-29 AG, 21/90 total Int'l finishers.

I need to speed up the swim just a bit, and definitely get the sighting worked out. I need to keep improving bike fitness as it was definitely in better shape. And transitions, I think I could easilty take a minute off just by working on those. Other than that, nutrition needs to be figured out for the 1/2 in miami. Let me know if I missed anything.

Hmmmm?

Am I scared of pink? No. I even sport it to work from time to time. But I'd like to say that Spencer Smith is in possession of a set.
Wow. Just. Wow....But I'd take that bike (even in pink) if they gave it to me. And I'd ride the crap out of it.

Oh ya...It's on!

Here we go. Bring the jitters and the excitement. It's race week. The race is the Buck Creek International Triathlon. The course maps can be seen here. The race organizers describe the course as rolling to sometimes hilly, but from looking at it on Google Earth, and it being Ohio, It looks kind of flat to me. But we'll see.

I certainly pump the excitement as I write here, but the most difficult thing with all this stuff is staying relaxed around the race. So that's the focus for the week, especially friday through sunday. I'm looking forward to testing myself and pushing it this weekend. We're also hoping to be able to stop by IM Louisville on the way home as well. Should be gangbusters. If moonpie wants to make an appearance, he should bring it.