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.

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!

I....must....hurt....you

Now that I'm done with the Redman Half Iron I'm in recovery mode. I'm waiting for my coach to give me the green light to start training again. He doesn't want to start hammering my body until I'm recovered enough to avoid injury. I'm waiting impatiently. I'm salivating in anticipation. I'm more focused than I've ever been.

In November 2007 I attempted the Silverman Iron distance triathlon. I failed. The Silverman has been my only DNF in 54 multisport races. A DNF is when a person quits or is pulled from a course. The only reason an athlete is pulled from a course is when they are to slow & don't meet the minimum cut off time.

On November 11th 2007 I was to slow. I DNF'ED. At mile 92 of the bike I found out I wasn't good enough, wasn't fast enough, wasn't strong enough.

Now it's payback time. I'm going back to that course & I'm going to destroy it.

I'm on track to weigh between 188-190 pounds by race day. The lightest I've ever raced at was 192 pounds at the Jay Benson triathlon in May 2008. I had the best race of my life. In triathlon skinny isn't a body type, it's a tactical necessity. I plan on this being the first race of a new era. One in which every race from here on out I'm no longer a Clyd. From this years Silverman on I'll be an age grouper.

This time on Nov 8th 2009 I plan on putting a hurting on that Silverman course, rather than that course hurting me.

Before the Silverman in 07 I told my Dad who was dieing of emphysema I was dedicating that race to him, & I never even crossed the finish line.

on November 11th 2007 I was going to run across the finish line of my first Ironman holding my 2 year old daughter. I never even made it to the finish line.

This time I know what kind of punishment the Silverman has to offer. This time I'm light, this time I'm physically & mentally prepared, this time I will cross that finish line with a great finishing time!

recovering from a PR & a new coach

Well, I'm post Redman. I was excited about my new 70.3 PR of 5 hr 30 min. I never dreamed I'd be that fast at that distance, especially considering all the rain, standing water, and mud from flooding on the bike & run course. I realize the biggest reasons for my increased speed was my low body weight- low for me anyways, and great coaching.

My coach is having me take off until Friday, then we'll evaluate how I feel & start training for the Silverman half Iron which is schedualed for Nov 7th. The Silverman is a very hard course with lots of climbing. So low body weight at the Silverman will be even more important than it was for the Redman. I feel I can get to 190-195 by then, & 180-185 by the New year. If I can get to that weight I'm going to race all of 2010 as a 35-39 AG. Racing as an AG, & under 200 pounds for an entire year has always been one of my biggest goals in triathlon. Wish me luck!

I'm ahead in the South West Challenge series. The athlete closest to me in points is a guy named George Ferland. Apparently he's very fast. He's won the Clydesdale division in every race he's competed in the last 2 years. There are 2 races left for the season. Essentially what it boils down to is if he races in either one of the next 2 he will be champion. If He doesn't compete in either of the 2 remaining I win the series. I'll keep you informed.

After the Silverman I'm going to be looking for a new coach. I've been with the coach I have now since the summer of 06. Coach Pete is awesome and he has shown me what nearly perfect triathlon coaching is like. He's good. Very very good, & he knows how good he is. Consequently and understandably he is raising his prices at the new year. I just can't afford to keep him on. $ is the one & only reason I have to get another coach.

I've had bad coaches before. Nothing is more aggravating & disheartening. I had a feeling this was going to happen with Coach Pete, so I'd been keeping my eyes open for other coaches for awhile. If this happened I was planning on hiring a retired pro cyclist by the name of James Webster who coaching here in Alb. Then, after speaking with my current coach this weekend, he told me he has some coaches who have signed on to coach for his company who are outstanding. He also gave me a discount on the coaching he's giving me until the Silverman as an incentive to stay with Mile High Multisport coaching. I'm now unsure what I'll do. 50/50 I guess.

James Webster is a local coach. That's a plus. He made a living from being a pro endurance athlete, the knowledge he'd have to offer based on his life experiences in pro cycling would be priceless. He returns phone calls very quickly, the negative side of him is that the times I emailed him, he took a long time to respond or never responded at all. Although I must point out I wasn't his paying athlete, so a slow response is understandable to a point. The other negative side of James is that he & his triathlon club has a pretty serious blood feud going on with mine. My tiathlon team, the NM Outlaws have always been such a supportive & kind group of people, I am unwilling to leave the NM Outlaws. I doubt James would be willing to coach me if I refused to join his team & race for "the enemy".

I trust my current coach whole hearted. If he says the coaches he has working for him are good I believe him. He'll also be over seeing the coaches under him, so I'll still have Coach Pete there giving advise to my new coach, explaining my strengths & weaknesses & how best to deal with them. There is also the fact that I have some serious food issues that coach Pete has been very patient with. I'm unwilling to tolerate someone saying something stupid & inconsiderate like "just be more mindful about what your putting in your mouth".

For right now I don't know which way I'll go for a new coach. I'll keep you informed.

Thanks for tuning in.

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.

A great wife, great triathlons, & a kicking boy

Last week I did a 1000 yard Time Trial & shattered my old PR. My previous best was around 17:30. I swam a 14:39 last week. I'll be wearing a wet suit during my upcoming race, which makes a person more buoyant & fast. I'm expecting to break my half Iron swim PR by 5 minutes.

Like I said in previous posts, I'm in full blown taper mode & rearing to race! I feel good & have been averaging a weight between 200-204 pounds. Wish me luck!

New news! My buddy won't be able to utilize his Silverman Half Iron Slot, so he gave it to me! My cousin Chris & I are going to race the Silverman Half triathlon together. The Silverman is Nov 8th. I suspect I'll be weighing approximately 190 pounds by then. The lowest I've EVER raced before was 192, & I was SMOKING FAST at that race! I plan on weighing less than that at the Silverman. & I will no longer be a Clydesdale!

One year out of every 5 my cousin & I are in the same Age Group. This is one of those years, & since I will no longer be a Clyd, he & I will be in the same wave start for the Silverman. That makes for a pretty exciting race component! By no means am I expecting to have a finishing time anywhere near his, he's a natural triathlete. But it will definitely make the race more fun & challenging!

Let me break something down here, let me explain to you how amazing & supportive a wife I have. Sept 19th is the Redman Half Iron in Oklahoma city Ok. That's 4 weeks before my son, baby #3 is due. The Silverman half Iron in Las Vegas, Nevada is Nov 8th, 3 weeks after my son is due. That my wife is willing to let me leave her for a race with an unborn child & 2 toddlers is mind boggling to me! What she'll be going through will be much more difficult during each of those 2 triathlon trips than ANY Half Iron I could attempt! I thank the Lord for her every day.

I work nights, & every morning when I crawl into bed my unborn son and I play for half an hour or so. When I lay in bed next to my wife I lay my hand on her stomach he'll start kicking, kneeing, & elbowing my hand, I'll poke him back. Yesterday morning for the first time I felt him push against my hand with his hand.... I felt my boys hand for the first time! It was very exciting & touching for me.

Again, I'd like to point out what an amazing wife I have. I lay down to sleep at 6:30am and my boy & I poke at each other for half an hour through her stomach. She patiently puts up with our rough housing with each other until one or both of us boys falls asleep.

My unborn son knows the difference between my touch & anyone else. He only plays like that when he feels my hand. If my wife puts anyone else hands in the same spot on her stomach my son won't play with them like he does me:) My boy & I have already developed a bond & trust. I love being a Dad!

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:)

On a roll or Righted the ship

My training has been great for the last 2 months. I've been consistent with all 3 triathlon disciplines, core work, strength training, diet, & for the first time in years I'm even getting the sleep needed for proper recovery. My cycling which has been consistently strong all year has gotten just a tad bit stronger, my swimming is at an all time best, & my running has finally started to improve again.

All things seem to be lining up for a great race in Oklahoma city on Sept 19th. That's going to be one of the most important races I've competed in. It's the Halfmax National Championships. It's a race that an athlete has to qualify for. I qualified last year in Boulder Colorado at the 5430 long course triathlon with a personal best Half Iron time of 5hrs 36 minutes. I'll be weighing on race day about the same as I did at last years 5430, approximately 200-204 pounds.

Last year @ the 5430 my swimming was poor, my biking was good, & my running was exceptional. Like I said earlier my swimming & biking is better this year comparatively, but my running isn't up to where it was. I'm hoping the improvement in the first 2 disciplines will even out the lack of running speed & endurance.

I have 2 goals for the Redman Halfmax Championships. The first is to finish under 5hrs 45 minutes. The next goal, which will be much harder to accomplish, but is doable if I stick to the race plan set up by my coach Pete Alfino, is to set a new Half Iron PR of under 5 hrs 36 minutes & 27 seconds. Whish me luck!

As most people know in ultra endurance athletics body weight is VERY IMPORTANT for success. Paying meticulous attention to calories in/calories out is vital! Since early June when I signed up for dietpower I've been kicking tail! I've lost 21 pounds & I believe maintaining a consistent racing weight around weight of 185 for all of next season is attainable for the first time in my triathlon career.

Simply put everyone who is watching their diet has a bad day on occasion. If a person cuts out all the fun foods it's inevitable they're destined to fail eventually. One piece of pizza or any kind of junk food while trying to cut weight is just fine & is actually a good thing to break up the monotony a bit. But because I'm an all or nothing, OCD kind of guy when I have a bad day & temporarily fall off the wagon it can take awhile to regain control & focus. A long while indeed.

This morning I had a bad time with the diet. I got home after a long shift & was very tired. Fatigue is a trigger for over eating for me. Because I work at nights I was missing my babies & wife, which is another trigger for my emotional eating. To top it off I had a bit of an argument with a family member the night before, & BAM! A diet implosion this morning when I got off from work. I ended up going to sleep having downed 1900 calories while watching a Net Flix movie. Ugh.

Once I woke up I decided it was a new day & opportunity. So I decided to jump back on the proverbial wagon. I ate 3/4 cup cottage cheese & 3/4 cup grapes with coffee, & set off to burn off those extra calories. I went on a 1hr 35 minute bike ride consisting of a warm up, 3X12 minutes at high zone 4 with 5 minutes active recovery, then hopped off the bike & went on a 2 mile run. From my workout I ended up burning 1900 calories & earned enough extra calories that I was able to negate my early morning feast & was even able add a small taste snack to the usual meal I take to work! Current weight 206.2. Ah, the wonderful life of a Multisport athlete! How very sweet it is!

2009 USAT rankings

The USAT rankins are out.
Triathlon ranking
2008- 1167th place, 75.525.
2007- 65.23
2006- 67.95

My 2008 duathlon ranking wasn't shown for some reason.
2007- 68.21
06- 65.75

My weight this morning was 219.8. 8 pounds down, 20 more to go, & 16 weeks until my goal race of the Redman Halfman.

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!