The 2014 Missile man duathlon DNS (did not show)

My Grandpa died. During the week we were at the funeral, visiting family, or traveling I didn't train at all. This Saturday was the Missile Man duathlon at WSMR, NM. I figured the time off was nothing more than a taper. I paid for the race, packed, and even started to drive there, but an hour into the drive to the race I had realized there was no way I was going to be able to ride my bike in a race with vehicle traffic. I DNS'd (did not show). Getting ran over by a vehicle while cycling back in 2011 really screwed me up. I only have to complete 14 more races to accomplish one of my bucket list of finishing 100 triathlons or duathlons, but I'm beginning to doubt if I'll be able to do it now that I'm afraid to bike in traffic.

Yesterday was my 1st day back at weightlifting. Since I had taken a week off coach Shane Miller had me train with slightly lighter weights than usual. He's a smart man. Even with the lighter weights I'm still a little sore today. Today I rode my bike indoors on my Cycle Ops trainer:
5 min warm up
3 min hard, 3 min recovery
2 min hard, 2 min recovery
1 min hard, 1 min recovery
2 min hard, 2 min recovery
3 min hard, 6 minute cool down

I ate like crap the entire time we were traveling. I'm afraid to see where my weight is now.

The 2013 Missile Man Duathlon race results Whit Sands Missile Range NM

Here are the results for the 2013 Missile Man duathlon. The South West Challenge Series Clydesdale Open division isn't listed on The South West Challenge Series web page yet so I posted them here.

So far the Clydesdale open division points for the South West Challenge Series, 3 races into the season are:

1st Michael Barrow 2 races/ 20 points

2nd T. Strasser 2 races/ 15 points

T-3rd C. Roehrman 1 race/ 9 points

T-3rd D. Wilson 1 race/ 9 points

T-5th E. Ytuarte 1 race/ 8 pts

T-5th Zapata 1 race/ 8 pts

T-5th Cody Hanson 1 race/ 8 pts

T-8th Greg Trujillo 1 race/ 7 points

T-8th John Barefield 1 race 7 points

2012 Polar Bear triathlon race results (White Sands Missile Range NM) December

I had been having a hard time finding the results to the Polar Bear triathlon. It wasn't listed on The South West Challenge Series web page or anywhere else online that I could find. The Rd was nice enough to send me them so I thought I'd post the results here in case anyone else is trying to find them. Click on each page to view.

 

So far the Clydesdale open division points for the South West Challenge Series 3 races into the season are:

1st Michael Barrow 2 races/ 20 points

2nd T. Strasser 2 races/ 15 points

T-3rd C. Roehrman 1 race/ 9 points

T-3rd D. Wilson 1 race/ 9 points

T-5th E. Ytuarte 1 race/ 8 pts

T-5th Zapata 1 race/ 8 pts

T-5th Cody Hanson 1 race/ 8 pts

T-8th Greg Trujillo 1 race/ 7 points

T-8th John Barefield 1 race 7 points

 

 

 

The 2013 Missile Man duathlon race report

I left my house this morning at 1:30 am to drive to White Sands Missile Range New Mexico to race The Missile Man duathlon. I really enjoy racing any of the multisport races held at WSMR NM. They have excellent post race meals of pasta, french bread, and Gatorade. During the awards ceremony they have a raffle where free race entries are handed out for any White Sands Missile Range race. There are showers available so you can get cleaned up before you drive home.  The WSMR races are held on a military instillation, so there's little to no vehicle traffic on the bike course; which is important to me since I freak out riding my bike near vehicles thanks to a very large vehicle running over me and giving me a traumatic brain injury in September of 2011.

If you interested in racing a multisport race at WSMR here's the link to their 2013 race schedule:
http://cody-the-clydsdale.blogspot.com/2012/10/white-sands-missile-range-2013.html

The Missile Man duathlon  was my 83rd multisport race, and my 19th duathlon. It was a 7k run, 28k bike, 5k run. I was nervous about this race, I wasn't sure I'd be able to complete it since I've done virtually no swimming, biking, or running, and have gained 75 pounds since the accident.

The last triathlon I raced in was in September 2012. It was my slowest race ever, so I knew I had to do something to stop the gaining weight. I joined Zia CrossFit in Santa Fe NM the 1st week of January. I was doubtful that doing CrossFit 3 times a week for 4 weeks would make me race any faster. But before I knew it, it was time to see....

I started out feeling good on the 1st run of 7 kilometers, or 4.34 miles. I finished the 1st run of the day in 45:01, which is around a 10:21 per minute pace. I was pretty sure I was in 4th place in my division (it's easy picking out who the Clydes are), but I wasn't sure if I could pass anyone later in the race when I'd need some endurance- did I still have any of that stuff called endurance?

The bike is an out and back 17.4 miler, the 1st half is a gradual downhill. On the first few miles I felt fantastic! I was passing people left and right! At mile 5 my left calf started cramping, I did my best to ignore it and focus on my effort rather than the pain. Eventually the cramping went away.... On the return route I started the long gradual (dreadful) climb back. Climbing is all about fitness and being at a low body weight, so I assumed I'd suffer and be slow coming back because I'm heavy and I was pretty sure I'd lost most of my fitness..... I surprised the heck out of myself by doing better on the climb than I did going downhill! I'm not saying I was fast, I'm just sayin' I was climbing fast for a guy weighing 250 pounds. I passed at least one Clyd on the way back to the transition area. Progress! Apparently CrossFit does build speed! Who knew? Well now I do that's who! My end bike time was a dismal 1 hour 19 minutes which is a 13.1 mph average, but it was still faster than my last race in September! Like I said, progress!

After the race I started thinking.... I raced on aero dynamic wheels and wore an aero helmet, and I only rode an average of 13.1 mph. A cyclist has to ride at least 19 mph to make riding on aero wheels or in an aero helmet worth while. I knew I was going to be slow, so why use aero equipment? Why wear out my expensive equipment when it doesn't benefit me? That was dumb. Really really dumb. I bet I looked stupid out there. I bet I looked a lot like the guy in this picture.

On the 2nd run I was a mess, both calf's were cramping up and I was fatigued like crazy, but I didn't allow anything to take my focus off of running as hard as I could to the finish. I knew the clyd I passed on the bike was right behind and I didn't want to let that guy pass me! The thought of missing a podium finish got my competitive juices flowing and I can get REALLY COMPETITIVE! I ended up finishing the 2nd run of 5 kilometers in 23:51, which is a 7:41 pace. Yup, I'm mighty happy with the 2nd run time! Run fat boy run!!!

I finished in 26th place overall, and 3rd place in the Clydesdale 39 and under. So like I said, I did much better than I assumed I'd do, but I'm still a very long way away from my strreak of top 3 overall finishes back in 2010. No, you didn't read that wrong. Top 5. I used to be lean and FAST! I know it's hard to believe it by looking at me now, but back in 2010 I finished 5 races in the top 5 overall. My average sprint triathlon times were 6:16 for a 400 meter swim, I'd average just shy of 21 mph on the bike, then still be able to run just shy of a 7 minute per mile pace. I realize I'm a long ways from where I used to be, but this is a life long sport. It doesn't matter where I am right now, what matters is where I'm going. Next step is to start off supplementing CrossFit with a little cycling and running.

With today's 3rd place finish I have 8 points for the South West Challenge Series. 1 race down, 4 more races to go until I hit the minimum number of races needed to qualify for The South West Challenge Series series, and 4 more races minimun needed to qualify for the Chasing 3 Open Water Series. Yup, I'm going to try and compete in both deries this year.

weaknesses and strengths

Since starting CrossFit I figured out pretty quickly what I'm weak at and what my strengths are. What I'm best at is my upper body strength, which is surprising because I haven't done any upper body strength training since 2004. My weaknesses are many, but the three that I need to work on the most are my body weight bearing exercises such as burpees, push ups, pull ups, etc., my cardio, and my leg strength. During most of my CrossFit workouts I end up gassed out long before I reach muscle failure- the exception is when I'm doing strength bearing exercises, or a strength workout on the legs.

Since starting CrossFit a couple weeks ago I've already doubled the amount of push ups I can do. But I still need to improve a lot.

Yesterday I finished the WOD in last place out of everyone in the class, but I'm getting better quickly, and I'm finally eating well again. Yesterday after my CrossFit workout I rode the indoor bike rollers for 55 minutes while watching the biggest loser. I love that show. The 55 minute bike was rough. The Missile Man Duathlon at White Sands Missile Range on February 2nd is going to kick my butt! Hopefully there wont be many Clydesdale open division athletes showing up, because I'm in sad shape. This is the least fit and most overweight I've been in since picking up triathlon back in 2004.

The Missile Man duathlon

After almost a year without training at all I've decided to jump into the 2013 triathlon season head first. On Feb 2nd I'll be competing in the The Missile Man duathlon at White Sands Missile Range New Mexico. It's a 4.3 mile run, 15.5 mile bike, and another run 3.2 miles. The Missile Man will be my 83rd multisport race and 19th duathlon.

My current weight is 244 pounds. I'm a Clydesdale with room to spare right now.

low carb induction phase

This was my 4th day back to the low carb diet induction phase and 4th day back to duathlon training. The 1st few days of the induction phase I was grumpy, tired, and light headed. My workouts had been horrid. This morning I woke up and felt great. During my 17 mile bike ride today I also felt wonderful. This morning I weighed in at 230 for a loss of 6 pounds in 4 days.

The training program I'm on right now will have me peak for the Missile Man duathlon on Saturday Febuary 2nd at White Sands Missile Range New Mexico.