The 2012 Elephant Man olympic triathlon race report

Today, September 30th 2012 I completed the Elephant Man Olympic distance triathlon in Elephant Butte New Mexico. This was my 81st multisport race and my 8th Olympic distance triathlon. This was by far the hardest Olympic distance I've ever raced. As a matter of a fact, the Elephant man triathlon is easily the hardest course I've EVER raced. It has massive hills, lots of very steep climbing, heat, a rough road for cycling, and a mile of sandy dirt paths on the run. It's also one of the funnest courses I've ever raced. There's AMAZING views, lots of friendly volunteers, and the vehicle traffic was very courteous.

I knew I was going to be slow today, and I was right. Today was one of the 2 slowest race performances of my triathlon career, but I don't feel badly. To finish a race of this difficulty and distance with virtually no training at all in over 4 months is something I was proud of. My legs fell apart at the 10 mile mark of the bike, so the last sixty percent of the race I finished with nothing but heart. I'm in the worst shape I've been in in over 8 years, but my courage, ability to work through pain, persevere through adversity, and my determination has always been my greatest asset, and it came out in force today.

I swam a 1 mile open water swim having not completed any swim training in over a year and still finished it in 34 minutes 41 seconds, I was 10th out of 14 in my AG, 71st out of 156 overall. I finished the 25.5 mile bike in 1 hour 37 minutes, finishing dead last in my division, 92nd out of 156 overall. And I ran the 6 mile run in 1 hour, 12th out of 14, 82nd out of 156 overall. I finished the trithlon in a total time of 3 hours 17 minutes and 58 seconds, 12th out of 14 in my AG, and 110th out of 156 overall.

I only earned 1 point in the South West Challenge Series for the 2nd race in a row. I now have 46 points, and since the SW challenge series is no longer counting the Warrior triathlon 46 is how many points I'll be ending the 2012 season with. The SW challenge series 35-39 AG points standings is currently:

1st place Price Lowhon with 65 points
2nd place Cody Hanson with 46 points
T-3rd place Matt Hall with 41 points
T-3rd Cory Adair also with 41 points
T-5th place Jan Grande with 38 points
T-5thplace Valentin Ramirez also with 38 points
7th place Mike Edwards with 36 points

lucky me

I'm barely hanging on to 2nd place in the South West Challenge series 35-39 AG right now. I just got word that the Warrior tri wont be counted in the series this year. That is lucky for me. I'm too slow and out of shape right now to be able to finish any races in a decent enough time to earn points for the series. At the Patriot tri I only earned 1 point;-( The less races that are left the more likely I'll find myself still in the top 3.

low carb and endurance running

I'm currently attempting to build up my run miles for next years Angel Fire endurance trail run. It'll be a challenging 31 mile run over mountains and through valleys using national forest trails starting at the base of the Angel Fire ski resort. Currently my endurance is poor, I have a long way to go. Last week my longest run was 6 miles. I ran it slowly and it was uncomfortable.

Earlier this week I started a low carb diet I read about in "The art and science of low carbohydrate performance". It's a low carb diet for endurance athletes. When I started this diet I assumed my endurance and speed would decrease. I was also fully expecting to feel horrible. So far I feel great. Today I ran a little over 7 miles consuming nothing but water and felt fantastic. Feeling even better than I had felt on a traditional endurance athletes diet was not what I was expecting, but that is exactly what has happened.

On my first day of my low carb diet I lost 2 1/4 pounds. I'm back into the 220's again! So far I'm loving this.

The 2013 Angel Fire Ultra Endurance trail run 50 K

In 2004 I completed my first triathlon. I was slow, out of shape, and over weight. Finishing a triathlon opened up a passion and love for endurance athletics that's hard to explain. I became insanely motivated and goal driven. My motivation was to become an Ironman. I've done 2 of them. Training for, racing in, and finishing an Ironman was a tremendous experience! One of the best experiences of my life.

 I still love endurance athletics, but am needing a bit of a change to keep me excited about training. I've decided to try being a runner for awhile. I've been running exclusively for a week and loving it. Now that I've been training consistently the next step for me is choosing a goal that excites and motivates me. I've decided to try earning an ultra endurance trail running belt buckle. The shortest distance trail run an athlete can compete in to earn a buckle is 50 kilometers, or 31 miles. There's an ultra endurance trail run in Angel Fire NM that gives belt buckles to the finishers. It's supposed to be an insanely difficult course, tons of steep long mountain climbs where the trails are filled with a massive amount of loose rocks and pine cones. I love a challenge! So now my goal is set: The Angel Fire ultra endurance trail run 50 K in June of 2013!

a new sport and a new diet to go with it

I've decided to give up cycling for awhile (see last post for the reason why), I'm now finishing my 1st full week of training to be a pure runner.

I'm adapting a new diet to go along with my new exercise routine. I'm trying a low carb diet from a book called "THE ART AND SCIENCE OF LOW CARBOHYDRATE PERFORMANCE", by Volek, phd and Phinney MD. Tim Olson who followed the low carb diet advise found in this book won the Western States 100 mile trail run with a record-breaking pace. Now I'm going to try it too! I'll let you know how the low carb diet works for me while doing an endurance athletes regimen. Stay posted!

afraid to cycle

Last year I was involved in an accident while on a bike ride. Since then I've been having difficulty cycling. When cars pass me my heart rate jumps up 20 beats a minute and I cant descend without freaking out and riding my brakes. I end up skipping most of the bike rides on any triathlon training programs I start, then get frustrated about all the missed training sessions and stop training altogether. Consequently I haven't been able to train consistently and have gained 65 pounds in the last year.

Last week I was on a run and having a blast! While on that run I realized I still love running. There's no reason for me to give up on endurance athletics just because I have anxiety cycling. I need to change sports at least temporarily. I believe I'll try being a pure runner until my subconscious starts to forget that cycling is so dang dangerous.

My next step is to find a running race that gets me excited and motivated. I have a few ideas. I'll let you know as soon I decide on one.

quick progress

I'm in my 2nd full week of triathlon training. Today I ran and I felt pretty good. During my run I didn't need to stop and walk to keep my heart rate in zone 2, I felt fast during my sprints, and I wasn't exhausted after the workout. Thank goodness my body has muscle memory. I was convinced it was going to take FOREVER to get back into shape! I think I'll be back into race shape by the Nutcracker triathlon.

If anyone sees Price Lawhon who races in the 35-39 AG, please tell him I said thank you. He was the one who motivated me to start training and eating well again after a 3.5 month layoff from training.

I'm currently 226 pounds , down from 238.

back to training

This is the 1st full week of training I've had in over three months. I've realized that occasionally I need to take some time off from training to recoup and recover. The 3 months I took off I really beat myself up. I shouldn't have. It's part of being a life long triathlete. I'm back, and that's what matters. I'm slow as heck- but I'm back.

Today I completed a swim workout for the 1st time in over a year. Today was a test day. My T-pace is 1:45 per 100 meters. Yes I know, it's shocking how slow I swam, but to be honest swimming is my fastest sport right now. My running is even slower, and my bike times are at a snail pace. But I'm back to training and eating well and that's what matters!

The 2012 Patriot triathlon race report

Last Wednesday I saw that Price Lawhon had surpassed me in the the points total for the South West Challenge series 35-39 AG. I'm crazy competitive so when I saw that Lawhon was ahead of me I HAD to register for the Patriot triathlon. I needed to place 7th or better in the 35-39 AG at the Patriot triathlon held in Rio Rancho New Mexico to regain my lead. Placing 7th at the Patriot triathlon was going to be difficult because of the three and a half months I took off from training and weight I've gained. I've only been training again consistently for a little less than a week.

The Patriot triathlon was my 80th multi-sport race and I finished it in 1 hr 37 minutes 19 seconds and took 10th place in my division. Today was the slowest I've raced in 7 years. I only earned 1 point for the series, so Price Lawhorn is still in 1st place in the series with a 3 point lead. I'm in really bad shape right now and slower than a one leg grasshopper, so if Price Lawhorn races again in a triathlon in the SW series there will be no possible way I could catch him.

A great friend of mine, Matt Hall is a super stud triathlete. He races in the same age group as I do and is competing in the South West challenge series too. Matt Hall raced today at the Patriot tri and did AMAZING! He placed 15th overall and 2nd place in our age group. He earned 9 points for the SW challenge series and is now in 3rd place in the 35-39 age group with 39 points. He's incredibly fast and will pass me in the SW series if he finishes 4th place or better at the Elephantman Olympic distance triathlon Scheduled for Sept 30th.

It's probable that Matt Hall and Price Lawhorn will end up passing me in the series and maintaining their lead and I'll be scratching and clawing for 3rd place in the 2012 SW challenge series. I'm grateful that I saw the action heating up in the series, it motivated me to start training again.

I was exhausted after todays race. Really exhausted. There's no way I'd be able to finish the Redman full distance triathlon, so I'll be taking my family to Carlsbad Caverns that weekend instead.

The Redman Iron distance triathlon

Last weekend I was supposed to race at the eagle in the sun triathlon. I didn't show up. I regret it.

Last year I'd registered for the Redman Iron distance triathlon scheduled for September 22nd. I haven't completed more than 10 workouts in the last couple months, my fitness is at an all time low, and my weight is at an all time high, but I'm going to try racing it anyways.