Amazing grace!

Earlier this year I dedicated myself to spend less of my spare time reading, talking, & obsessing about triathlon & spend more time with God, studying His word, praying, having fellowship, etc. In return it seems God has decided to bless me in the one thing that I'd been allowing to take too much time & attention away from Him. This year has been BY FAR my best year of triathlon racing, yet I'm training an average of 5 to 6 hours a week less. I'm faster than I've ever been, I'm lighter than I've ever been, & a couple months ago I got my 1st sponsor, Frankie Flats bicycle repair shop! I am very excited about the opportunity to have a sponsor, especially one as wonderful as Frankie Flats! It's a great opportunity, one that I'm FULLY aware would be a dream come true for a lot of athletes who are much faster than me. But here I was getting the sponsorship!

Last year I qualified for the Halfmax National Championships for the 2nd year in a row. But it was looking like I wasn't going to be able to race it. The registration dead line was fast approaching & there was simply no way I was going to be able to come up with the money to register. We have 5 people living off my 1 income, my wife is a stay at home Mom, we have 3 kids under the age of 5. My wife just started going back to school so we had to pay for books & tuition, & 1st & foremost we tithe to our church every pay day. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed, but I'm a Christian & family man 1st, so I was willing to accept that this year I'd be missing my big national event. Then yesterday another miracle happened! I got word that I was approved to get sponsored by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)! I should be getting my 1st check from AFSCME soon & it'll be enough to cover the majority of my race registration fee! God is very good to me! All I had to do was put Him 1st & the rewards just keep piling in! I'm speechless! I can't believe I am now sponsored by 2 companies! Thank you Frankie Flats & AFSCME! & most of all, thank you Lord.

I quit, I'm raising the white flag!!

Looks like I may be giving up on a couple things. Just call me the local French representative!

The 1st thing I'm quitting on, I'm done trying to lose weight. I'm burned out. I think my body needs to try & maintain at 188 pounds for awhile to get used to this new lighter weight I'm at. It's stressful on the body to drop weight while still training hard. I've been losing or gaining weight non stop since last July. I've decided I'm going to attempt to stay at the weight I'm at until November 1st. At that time I'll try & drop this last 8 or 9 pounds. My dream weight is 179-180. If everything works out the way I'd like I'll be at my goal weight by the 1st race of the 2011 race season.

I did a lot of praying both last year & this year to get faster at multisport, & I became faster than I ever dreamed I could be. Now I'm going to continue to pray for speed at triathlon, and to maintain my weight until November. For those of you who are new to my blog, my weight has always been an issue for me. It wasn't until late last year that I was able to drop a significant amount of the weight I'd been hanging onto the last 5 years. The most important thing pertaining to multisport I'll be praying for is for me to be able to use triathlon & duathlon to spread God's word.

The other thing I may end up having to bail out of is the Halfmax National championships this September. I qualified for the Halfmax National Championships last September & was hoping to race & attempt to qualify again for the 3rd straight year. It's not that I don't want to compete in that race, because I desperately do, it's that I can't afford the entry fee & travel.

I've been working on getting sponsored by AFSCME. If I can get them as a sponsor before the registration deadline I'll jump at the opportunity to race at the Halfmax National Championships, but if not then it just wasn't meant to be. I'm ok with that, I am a Christian & family man 1st, multi-sport athlete 2nd.

This Saturday I'll be competing in the Chick-fil-a sprint triathlon in Amarillo TX. I called the the RD, Mark G. & asked him exactly what the bike course is like. He said "flat!" I asked, "rolling hills flat, or really flat". He replied, "flat as a pancake flat!" I'm was already excited about competing in The Chick-Fil-a triathlon. But now I'm even more excited! As many of you know I am much more powerful & competitive on a flat course than a hilly one. I struggle badly with climbing. Any race I do with hills I will get beat by people I normally finish ahead of. Case in point, I beat a fellow by the name of Garrot Rennonat the Dog House Sprint triathlon in Lubbock TX in May by a minute 19 seconds. A month later I competed against him in the Gallup triathlon, which is a VERY hilly course! He beat me by 2 min 13 sec.

It's rare that I get the opportunity to race on a very flat & fast course. I love flat & fast courses!!! I always have my best performances at flat races. Oh me! oh my! I am excited!

A great thing happened at work last night. I witnessed to one of my fellow co-workers. He's now wanting to come to church with my family & I. I'm going to do my best to plant the seed of God's great word & hope God makes it grow. Anytime I try bringing others to Christ I always feel like I am such an unworthy person to be bringing such a great thing as God's grace into someone's life. He's such an awesome God, & I'm such an average man-on a good day. Most days, I'm a wretched, sinful man who would have no chance of entering heaven on my own accord. For someone like me to try & spread God's word, I feel a bit overwhelmed. But then I think of some of the stories I've read in the bible. The story of Moses is the one that comes 1st to my mind. Moses felt like he wasn't a good enough of a man to do all that God asked of Him. But through God, anything is possible. If any of you prayer warriors out there are willing, I'd sure love a few prayers for me to be able to show him the way, & let God take it over from there.

2010 Atomic Man duathlon race report

Sunday April 25th was the Atomic Man Duathlon. This was my A race. I'd been training for this race exclusively since December. My training had been going great & each race I'd done this year I'd become progressively faster.

Saturday, the day before the Atomic Man duathlon I slept 20 hours out of a 24 hour period. I rarely am able to sleep more than 6 hours straight. That was unusual, but I chalked it up to my taper. Tapering usually does weird things to an athletes body.

Sunday, race morning my stomach was upset. This is also very rare. I inherited an iron stomach. I can eat anything anytime & I never have stomach issues.

During the 1st 4 kilometer run I was on the verge of puking. I had a decent run time considering how I felt, although if I had felt better I'd of been able to keep up a much faster pace. I ran 4K in 18 minutes 41 seconds, finishing the 1st run with an average pace of 7:29 per mile.

T-1 was 55 seconds.

I felt fine on the bike. It was a 15 kilometer bike which I finished in 26 minutes 33 seconds keeping a 21 mph average. My bike was the 7th fastest split of the day.

T-2 was 40 seconds.

My 2nd run was a disaster. I was dry heaving the majority of the run, now my stomach was cramping horribly & my stomach issues had dropped a bit lower if you take my drift. I was contemplating voluntarily DNF'ing my first race. The first half was just a bit faster than a trot. The 2nd half I was making a mad dash for the port-o-potties that were at the finish line! Because of my internal and uncomfortable motivation to move with a purpose I had a negative split, finishing the 2nd 4K run in 19:42 keeping an average pace of 7:53 per mile.

All in all I finished in 1 hour 6 minutes 29 seconds. God blessed me that day. This was the 4th consecutive year I'd completed this race, & I PR'd it with all the stomach & GI issues I had that day. I took 11th place overall & 3rd place in my division.

30 minutes after I got home from the race & awards ceremony I got the chills, cold sweats, & all the unmentionable problems associated with a stomach flue. I spent the next 2 days in bed feeling like death warmed over. I realized it was not "unfortunate" I had problems during the race. I realized it was God blessing me by holding off the worse of the stomach flue until I was done with my race. Thanks to Him I still went to my favorite race & set a best personal course time while sick.

My next race is the Jay Benson triathlon in Albuquerque on May 9th 2010. The Jay Benson will be my 8th race for the 2010 South West Challenge Series competition. I'm hoping to beat my course PR of the Jay Benson of 1 hour 4 minutes. So far with 7 races completed I have 63 points for the series. My closest competitor is an all around great guy & fellow triathlete named Greg Gouveia who has 38 points. The Jay Benson triathlon will be my 60th multisport race.

I have decided to register for a 2nd scheduled half iron this year, the Silverman half iron which will be held on November 7th in Henderson Nevada. The Silverman & I have unsettled business. I tried the full Iron distance race in 2007 & received my only DNF in almost 60 multisport races. The Silverman is the hardest Iron in North America!

The other half iron I'm scheduled for is the Redman half Iron triathlon in September which is the Halfmax national championships. I qualified for the Halfmax national championships last September with a half iron time of 5 hours 30 minutes. I'm racing about 11 pounds lighter right now than I was then, so I hope to set another course PR & qualify for the Halfmax nationals for the 3rd year in a row.

no longer a clydesdale & the HalfMax National Championships

I've been using dietpower.com religiously since December. My starting weight late December after my 2 weeks off of triathlon training & the holiday feasts was 222 pounds. As you may have been able to tell from the new name of my blog, my weight this morning was under 200 pounds! 199.8 to be exact. This is only the 2nd time I've been below the 200 mark. I've raced twice under 200 & BOY WAS I FAST. I shattered PR's at both of those races.

My next race is the Sully Super Sprint triathlon in Alpine TX on March 21st. I'm hoping to be 192 pounds by then, which will make that the lightest I've ever raced at! I'll keep my peeps updated on how I do.

On another note I had decided to only train & race sprint distances this year to improve my speed & to have more time with my mini-me's. Today my best friend called me & told me he was doing the HalfMax National triathlon championships in September. I also qualified for this years HalfMax nationals, so like a good friend I'll be racing with him in Oklahoma city in September. This will be interesting because I'm still going to train strictly for sprint distance triathlons. I'll be essentially showing up & gut checking a half ironman distance race.

On one hand it will be a very difficult race for me because I won't be used to such long distances. On the other hand I'm excited to see what kind of times I'll be able to put up because I'll be 18 pounds lighter (if I can hit my goal weight & maintain there) than I was when I PR'd this course September of last year. Again, I'll update you to how that race goes also.

Cody the FORMER Clydesdale!

2009 Redman Half Iron & Halfmax Championships race report

I completed the Redman Half iron triathlon Saturday Sept 19th 2009. This was my fifth half iron race.

The Redman's race packet pickup was unorganized, chaotic, & took forever.

On race morning there was a %20 chance of rain. Shortly after I set up my transition area a torrential downpour started. within 20 minutes the transition area was filled with an inch of standing water. The rain had flooded the surrounding area so badly that the RD was contemplating making the race a swim/ run/ swim.

They ended up postponing the race 1.5 hrs. thankfully they still had the race as planned, just a bit late.

I swam the 1.2 miles feeling comfortable & much faster than I've ever swam in an open water mass start. My finishing swim time was 35 minutes 45 seconds. A PR of 8 minutes!

The transition area was very long & I was in the worse placing possible. About as far from the entrance & exit for both the run & bike a person could be.

Before the race start I had placed all my race equipment inside a water proof gym bag to prevent my race gear from getting wet. I was expecting a slower T-1 time from having to dig my cycling gear out of the bag. Surprisingly my transition time was relatively fast. 1 minute 46 seconds.

The 56 mile bike was a NIGHTMARE! The first 25-30 miles of streets had puddles of water at least on inch deep. There was a 100 foot section where the water was so deep the USAT officials had a mandatory dismount to walk our bike through the 16 inches of water that had flooded an intersection. I believe most RD's would have handled these conditions poorly by making knee jerk or imprper decisions. The Redman RD handled the situations & obsticles perfectly. Throughout the entire course the volunteers were AWSOME!

The Redman RD's exagerated, the bike course was not nearly as flat as they had claimed on the web. I rode a disk, and regretted it. I'd of been much faster on a pair of tri-spoke wheels. Of the 5 half's I've done both Soma & the 5430 has easier bike courses. It was pretty large rollers the whole way out & back, throw the free standing water into the equation & that led me to have a long & slow bike. I also bonked at mile 40. My bike time was 2 hrs 57 minutes.

I had another great T-2 time of 1 minute 54 seconds.

The majority of the 13.1 mile run course had flooded. There was at least a quarter inch of water on most of the course with an occasional low area being 4 or 5 inches deep.

I had bonked on the bike & didn't start feeling better again until mile 6 of the run. I was shocked at the half way mark of the run to see my time was only 53 minutes! Even with the bad run course condition & me having bonked I was on my way to a run PR. I started picking up the pace from mile 6 to mile 10. At mile 10 my hamstring started to cramp up so I tried switching my run style up. I ran more heel to toe which puts more of the stress on the quads & relieves it on the hams. That prevented my cramping in the hamstring from getting worse, but the cramping didn't go away. It was still there grinding away on the back of my leg.

At mile 11 my lower back started to seize up. I ran through the pain.

At mile 12.5 I saw another clydesdale 100 yards in front of me so I picked up the pace hoping to leave him in the dust. That was a mistake. Half way to running him down my quad & ham in my right leg cramped simultaneously & so badly I had to lay down right in the middle of the course. I laid there for about a minute trying to work the cramps out. Once they went away I got back up & tried to run as close to my pain threshold as possible without pushing so far as to cramp up again as badly

Somehow even with the water on the run course, the sporadic rain, & the horrible cramping I still PR'd the run by over two and a half minutes with a 1 hour 54 minute time.

I ended up having PR'd my half iron time with a 5 hour 30 minute 11 second race. I finished 8th total out of 28 Clydes & 273rd out of 750. I wonder what time I could of completed the race in if it wasn't for the poor conditions? I also realize that if I finished so well with those kinds of conditions I obviously had a great fitness level, so I'm looking foreword to CRUSHING the Silverman half in a 7 weeks. Without a doubt my coach is the bomb!

I must say I've never seem more aproachable & friendly RD's than the Redman's RD. I would do the Redman again, but only if they are NOT a part of the Halfmax series!.

The Halfmax National Championships promised to give out national awards for top 3 in each AG plus clyd's 39 & under, clyd's 40 plus, & same for the Athenas. They didn't. As a matter of a fact there was nothing there at all that that showed any hints the Halfmax being there or a part of anything at the REDMAN at all. There wasn't any awards, swag, or even any recognition from Halfmax. I believe the Halfmax is just a gimmick. Just a way someone has thought of to try & steal $ from athletes & race RD's. There's still no info posted anywhere on who finished in what place for the Halfmax National Championships. Only the rsults for the Redman. A felow Blooger triathlete went and complained to a Halfmax rep & the Halfmax rep said if she complained they would disqualify her! One of my biggest goals this year was to qualify for next years Halfmax National Championships. Now that I know what a shabby & untrustworthy organization they are I WONT race the Halfmax Championships even though I did end up qualifying by time. Dont get taken, ignore anything and all from this organization.

my family in training

My daughter who will turn 4 later this month has really been getting the hang of riding her bike. Today I took her to ride in Santa Fe on a bike/run trail that follows the NM Rail Runner. She thought this was the neatest thing. I in turn was amazed that she rode almost 2 miles!!! Wow. That's a LONG ride for a 3 year old. I'm a VERY proud Daddy today.

As we were driving home I told her how proud I was & that she did absolutely AMAZING! Aparently this went straight to her head because she told me "I'm ready to race you Daddy. I'll beat you too."

Tomorrow I'm going to take her & our 2 bikes to the New Mexico Corrections Academy track where she & I will have our first race. I'm sure I'll look back at tomorrow fondly the rest of my life. I'm also pretty sure her statement that she can beat me in a bike race will come true, sooner than I'd like to imagine. Early teenage years perhaps? Earlier knowing her. My daughter truly is a natural athlete. She is leaps & bounds ahead of most kids (including the boys!) her age in all things needing any athleticism.

My son who just turned 2 is more like me. Athletics don't come naturally to him, but he has a determination level that's astounding to see. Sometimes when I'm at the house working out my kids will attempt to do what I am doing. Anything from crunches to lunges. My daughter has always been able to mimic whatever it is I'm doing quickly & with very little direction, then pump out reps using perfect form without much thought or effort. My son doesn't pick up the form nor is he able to do the exercises as easily as she did at the same age. But he'll stay trying to master it long after my daughter (who is 2 years his elder) has grown bored & wondered off.

Last week my son continued to do walking lunges up & down the house with me until he hit muscle failure. Unwilling to stop in-spite of hitting the wall he looked around for a solution. I then watched in amazement & pride as he walked over to the couch & continued doing lunges using his hands on the couch to help lift his fatigued little body, getting in those extra repetitions. I do love fatherhood. It is so rewarding to watch each of them develop their own little personalities & strengths.

My training for the Sept 19th Halfmax National Championships is going almost as well as my children's training;) I'm fluctuating between 202- 205 pounds which is a fast & powerful weight range for me. I'm now down to 17 days until race day. My nutrition is on the money & my taper is going GREAT! I'm mentally & physically prepared & motivated for for this race.

The Halfmax will be my 6th Half Iron distance triathlon in the last 4 years. I think I have it within my grasp to beat my personal best Half Iron time of 5hrs 36 minutes & change. Stay tuned to see how things go!

Thanks for reading.

Ready to race!

I'm all healed up from my stomach flue & back on track with my training. I'm on the maintenance diet so I will be approximately 202 pounds on race day. Being on the maintenance diet for 3 weeks before the race will ensure I'll be fully prepared physically for my race, the Redman half Iron Sept 19th. I'm feeling great, training well, all things seem to be lined up for a great performance.

There are 58 Clydesdale's 39 and under signed up for the Redman, but only 8 of us had race times fast enough last year to be in contention for the Halfmax National Championships, I'm one of the 8!!!

I figure since I'm going to maintain my weight at 202 until after my race now would be a good time to take my measurements. I can't remember the last time I measured myself.
Chest 43 inches
Stomach 39.75 inches
Butt 44.5 inches
quad 26.5 inches

reevaluating my goals & the beginning of a family tradition

This Sunday I got the worst stomach flue I've ever had. I'll save you the gruesome details but along with the usual problems it also came with horrid cold shivers, the sweats, and aches all over. Although I'm well enough now to go to work, my stomach still gets upset if I eat anything other than bland foods. Most people would lose weight under those circumstances. Not me. I have to avoid foods like saltine crackers, Nila Wafers, & Graham Crackers because those are my comfort/binge foods. Even when I'm struggling to keep food down due to sickness I can still eat enough of them to gain weight, & today marks the third day of me being unable to eat anything but my kryptonite foods. Before I got sick I was 205, now I'm afraid to get on the scale for fear of what I'll see.

The good news is I feel motivated to start eating healthy again as soon as my stomach can tolerate it- tomorrow, hopefully. The desire to eat well comes as a relief to me. This is only the third time I've been at or below 205 since starting to compete in triathlons.When I'm at or below 205 pounds I'm very fast. Last September weighing 204 I qualified for the Half Max National Championships, something I had never even dreamed I could accomplish.

It's always some minor bump in the road such as this weekend that knocks me off the diet wagon. I've been on a roll continuously dropping weight the last few months. This will be my first true test of whether I can right the ship. I'm hoping & praying to God I can. The Red Man Half Iron is in 3 weeks & next year I'm planning on having "my year to remember", the kind of year I could sit around & tell my Grand kids about. That happening hinges upon whether I can stop the momentum of eating my comfort foods, it depends on whether the stress of being unable to be in complete control of my diet has started the landslide I've been all to often unable to control, it depends on whether I can stay on the diet wagon PLUS lose another 1o pounds after that.

The usual weight my body tends to want to maintain even with the high amounts of miles I log each week swimming, biking, & running is 227. My (new) goal is to race at no more than 195 all of 2010, but he truth be known I'd rather be at 185.

During this struggle I have had of loving ultra endurance triathlons, having a slow metabolism, & a tendency to eat for emotional support I've noticed a pattern. The lower I get my body weight, the more of a struggle it is to maintain that weight. If you frequent my blog you may have noticed my goals have changed. I had hoped of racing all of 2010 at 185 pounds, and dreamed of 175. Not anymore. I'm unsure, shaken to the bone. I keep thinking to myself,"how can this be happening AGAIN?". When in fact I don't yet know if it has.

I've dropped to my dream weight two other times. Each time I reached my goal weight I self destructed. I'm praying to God the combination of having lost weight much more slowly this time, having more knowledge of the nutritional needs of endurance athletics, & having a goal that isn't as strict will keep me on the right track this time. Or, perhaps I'm just fooling myself.

All of next years dreams, aspirations, & desires are dependant upon what I'm able to accomplish tomorrow with my eating. This time I have prepared myself with a contingency plan. This time when I start to feel myself crave foods &/or eating, I wouldn't just keep plugging along trying to ignore it like I had in the past, hoping the desire would go away on it's own. It never does. I always knew it wouldn't. "Failure to plan is planning to fail". This time I have planned that if at any time I feel like I am going to fall off the wagon, I'd go to a maintenance diet. Trying to maintain my weight rather than lose 2 pounds a week gives me an extra 1000 calories a day to eat & enjoy. That new plan, hopefully, starts tomorrow. So I guess you can tune in here to get the uncensored version of my eminent success or failure.

This year I planted a garden. Sunflowers, tomatoes, cantaloupe, green chili, jalapenos, yellow peppers, zucchini, grapes, & rhubarb. Fast forward to when the plants start to sprout, the zucchini looks nothing like a zucchini should. Once it's fruit stated to grow I though it was a watermelon. It wasn't until later I realized it's a pumpkin plant.

My wife & I are expecting baby #3 (if it's up to me it wont be our last) in October, so growing pumpkins this year seems appropriate. I have come to the conclusion that growing pumpkins every year would make a great family tradition to start on the year our October baby is due!

LOL. This is the life & times of a Christian triathlete, a father, & a husband of the woman I've always dreamed of. Who could have known all that would of resulted in so much time spent training, dieting, & chasing so many children:)

blog

I'm usually very slow to try new technology. Blogger.com has had for awhile now the ability for their bloggers to post via cell phone. As usual my stubborn mind set is to not accept or try new technology. Consequentially to post on my blog I write my posts on my PDA's email, send the email to my home computer, then once at home I open my email, copy & paste it on my blog, then publish it. I have finally decided to try this new & easy posting option via my Palm Pilot. We will see how it goes for a technology moron like me.

On to the important stuff, like triathlon, Multisport training, goal races, body weight, & power to weight ratios! Oh me oh my isn't my favorite hobby exciting?

My weight today is 225. Down 2 pounds from last week. Slow & steady weight loss is the name of the game this year. My goal weight is 200 by Sept 19th; dare I dream of going lower again? That didn't go well last . That gives me 25 pounds to lose in 18 weeks. Now, I don't mean to spin it to say this will be easy. I've only been below 211 pounds twice since high school. High school ended 15 years ago for my old fat butt. One of those times I wasn't yet involved in the Multisport lifestyle, & I had simply stopped eating. We all know how self induced starvation in America ends. A quick weight gain that far surpasses any losses!

Any how, the slower I can lose this weight the better it will be for my power to weight ratio. A persons speed on the bike is essentially figured out by their power to weight ratio. If a person loses a lot of weight rapidly they invariably lose power along with the weight. So the slower I can lose the 21 pounds I'd like to lose, the better for my speed & endurance it will be.

The lightest I've ever weighed for a 70.3 race (also known as halfiron which is a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run) was 204 pounds. I had a break through performance that day crushing my previous PR by 23 minutes! There's no coincidence that my PR of 5:35 was done at a weight of 204 & at a difficult course. While my previous PR of 5:58 was done on a MUCH easier course, but at 236 pounds.

On top of the speed benefits of being thinner I need to lose some weight because my two remaining 36-40 sized work pants are getting horribly thread bare. I've patched them multiple times, but they are close to becoming unrepairable. I have at least 6 pair of size 32-36 work pants that I have that are in near mint condition. Last year when I finally lost the weight I'd always wanted to lose I advised my work I needed to start receiving smaller pants & shirts for my yearly issue. I then promptly shot back up to my usual weight of 225-230. Pride has prevented me from advising my work I am now in need of a larger pant size again. But hopefully in a month or so I'll be able to fit into those size 32-36's again!!!!

My next 70.3 distance race will be the Redman in Oklahoma city in September, which is the Halfmax national championships. The Halfmax National Championships is a race a person has to qualify for. Thank the lord & weight watcher online I qualified with a 5 hr 35 minute time, barely making the cut off time with only 40 seconds to spare.

Today I registered for the Redman Halfmax nationals. It was $200 to register for the event. That's $150-200 cheaper than a 70.3 sanctioned event. The Halfmax also has a Clydesdale & Athena division, the Iron & 70.3 sanctioned events no longer have those divisions. So, from here on out I'm a Halfmax racer & supporter. Down with the Iron & 70.3 series I say!

My training is going very well. I'm on a recovery week right now. On Sunday I'll be competing at the Jay Benson triathlon in Albuquerque NM. The Jay Benson is the most heavily attended Multisport event in New Mexico. NM's fastest racers show to this event. Many call this race the NM championships.

The Jay Benson is one of the 30 or so races in the South West Challenge Series. This Sunday's race will be my 7th race of the 2009 SW series. As of now I am ranked first place Clydesdale with 59 points & 6 races. 2nd place is Alex Garcia with 33 points & 4 races. 3rd place is Jason McClure with 26 points & 3 races. With almost 20 races left in the series it's hard to say if I'll be able to keep my lead. But I'll give it my all.

Thanks for tuning in.

The Redman Half Iron!

My training hasn't been going well this year. By far the least motivated & the least amount of training I've done since starting training for triathlons in 2005. Surprisingly my weight has stayed consistent, higher than I'd like, but consistent. Mid-high 220's.

I started training for sprint distance triathlons (400 meter swim, 12.5 mile bike, 3.2 mile run) last year after Ironman Arizona. I chose to do that because sprints are my favorite distance to race at. I have been shocked to find out that although sprints are my favorite distance to race at half irons are by far my favorite distance to train for. Iron training was in my opinion a bit to much time spent training to really be enjoyable. At my peak training last year I was training 19 hours a week. On Sundays I'd do a 6 hour bike with a 45 min run, then Monday morning I'd do a run from 3-3.5 hrs long. So full Ironman training was to long and monotonous, yet training for anything shorter than the half iron distance leaves me feeling unsatisfied, which was why a couple days ago I was surfing some half iron web sites.

Last year I found a series called the Halfmax & ultramax. They are the same distances as Ironman & 70.3 (half iron), but this new series has Clydesdale & Athena divisions which Ironman & 70.3 no longer has. The minute I found that series on the web I decided that the Halfmax national championships was one of my eventual goals. A person would have to qualify for the Halfmax national championships. At the time I'd found the max series on the web I was weighing less than 200 pounds & I needed to qualify as an AG 30-34. Time needed to qualify- 5hrs 05 minutes! That is VERY fast indeed. An entire half an hour faster than my PR.

Well a couple days ago I saw that the Clydesdale qualifying time is 5:35. I am a Clydesdale now! I had finished the 5430 half Iron in 5:35 late last year as a tune up race for IMAZ. So that means I DID qualify for the Halfmax national championships!!! I was so excited I emailed the all my friends & the RD to let everyone know I'd be racing at the championships which will be held in Sept in Oklahoma city! The race that the event will be held at is called the Redman Half Iron.

I was nervous about emailing my coach & asking him to rebuild my plan for the 2nd time in 4 months. Coaches don't like their athletes to change A races. I did this in February when I decided to not race at the trisport.com dessert classic duathlon, & here I am doing it again 6 weeks before my current A race of the Milkman triathlon in Dexter NM.

My coaches response was amazing. He was supportive & as pumped up as I was about me qualifying & competing in this years Halfmax national championships.

So once again I'm back to training long, & I've changed my A race once again. I believe that going back to training for the longer distances will help control my weight too. That's important because in endurance athletics skinny isn't a body type, it's a tactical necessity!

Last September at the 5430 I was weighing 210 when I busted out with a 5hr 35 minute time. I believe I need to be at LEAST that light to match my 5:35 time. Hopefully I'll be lighter.

Current weight is 227 with four and a half months until the Redman Halfmax national championships!!!!

Wish me luck Peeps! & thanks for tuning in!

Halfmax Triathlon series

Another busy week almost in the books. I got back from visiting my favorite Aunt in Hobbs NM on Sunday. She has cancer. It was an emotional weekend. That entire weekend I didn't work any overtime. So I'm having to make up for it now. I've worked a 12 or a 16 hr shift everyday since my return. I plan on continuing working everyday until May 17th when I plan on driving to Lubbock TX to compete in the Buffman & Squeaky Olympic triathlon. That will be 17 days working in a row. Race then probably another couple weeks working in a row. I really need to win the Lottery. Anyhoo....


While surfing the web yesterday I found a new series called the Halfmax. It may not be all that new of a series, but it's new to me. It's a series of half Irons that are non-Ironman sanctioned events. That is good because I have a bone to pick with the Ironman & 70.3's. They don't have a Clydesdale or an Athena category in their Championship races. I.E. Kona 140.6 & the Clearwater 70.3. They've gotten numerous requests, but stead fast refuse to have championship slots given out to Clydesdales or Athena's at any of their numerous qualifying races. I think that is wrong & I support any series trying to compete with the Iron Sanctioned events. Anyway, back to my findings on the Halfmax. There are multiple Half irons throughout the country. If you qualify at one of these qualifying events then you can race at The National Halfmax Championships race in Boulder NV in Oct. I've decided that I'm going to attempt to qualify for the Halfmax National Championships. There are 2 ways to qualify.

1) To take the top 33 percent of your age group in any qualifying Halfmax race.

2) To finish any 70.3 distance (half iron) in a designated time. The times are different depending on your AG. 5 hours 5 minutes is the time I would need to qualify for my age group of 30-34. 5 hours 35 minutes for Clydesdales 39 & under.

My first attempt will be in March 2009 at the Lone Star Half Iron in Galveston TX. I chose this race because because it suits my strengths. I'm pretty fast on flat courses. To put it bluntly I suck at climbing. Its the whole power to weight ratio on the bike that makes me so dang slow on hills. The Lone Star Half Iron is a very fast & flat course from what I read. I should do very well at this race.

If by chance I don't qualify at the Lone Star Half my next attempt will be The Moose Man Half Iron in New Hampshire. I chose this race because my wife wants to go to New Hampshire for a vacation. Perfect. First 3 days I get ready & race. Next 4-7 days we vacation. Win win for my wife & I.


If I don't qualify for the Halfmax National Championships the 2nd time at The Moose Man Half Iron I'll do attempt #3 in Sept 2009 in Arora Co at The Harvest Moon Half Iron. If I do qualify at one of the 2 races earlier in the 09 season I won't do the Harvest Moon at all. I'll just put all my attention , focus & training to the October Halfmax National Championships in Boulder NV. Boulder NV was where I DNF'd the Silverman Iron distance in Nov of 2010. So qualifying for the Halfmax would be particularly sweet because on top of racing a National Championships race I'd also be able to take my revenge on that course. I did the Harvest Moon Long course in Sept of last year as a tune up race for the Silverman Iron distance. I came into that race overweight. On top of that I decided to race with only one water bottle cage on my bike to make my bike as light & aerodynamic as possible. HUGE mistake! When I picked up a bottle of Gatorade at an aid station I'd finish the bottle of fluid before I was half way to the next aid station. By the end of the 56 mile bike ride I was severely dehydrated. I finished the race in 6 hours & 25 minutes. Considering what a hilly race the Harvest Moon is & how dehydrated I was that wasn't a bad time. But I could of done SO much better. If I do this race in 09 I will do better. Much better. Revenge of the Former Clydesdale!!!

Yes. I realize how anal it seems to have my triathlon schedule planned out until October 2009. 17 months in advance. But since I'm giving you a glimpse of my madness I might as well share with you that I have my season planned out until May 2010. My next A race after the Halfmax National Championships is the Florida 70.3 May 2010. Yup, my tri schedule is planned out 2 years in advance. I know I know. Borderline psychotic. Welcome to my world.