The 2013 Nutcracker triathlon race report

After virtually no swimming. cycling, or running training for over 2 years I decided to sign up for the 2013 Nutcracker triathlon. This was my 86th multisport race and was the 4th time I've raced The Nutcracker triathlon. The Nutcracker triathlon used to be called the Jingle Bell triathlon, but due to a copy right problem with another race they changed the name.

The Nutcracker triathlon is RD’d by Mark Mico of Trisportcoaching.com  Every time I race a multisport event put on by Mark Mico I’m amazed. His events are always extremely well organized and stress free events. The race results were posted online by the evening of the race. He always hands out the nicest age group awards of any local sprint. This year each and every athlete who placed top 3 in their AG received a wood plaque that had “The Nutcracker triathlon 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place division” on it. The registration fees of his events are always much cheaper than any other sprint distance races.

It was a Run-Bike-Swim at the Rio Rancho Aquatic Center. The bike course was an out-and-back (moderately hilly) 20K. The run was a hilly loop 5K course. The swim was a serpentine 400 meter swim, up/down one lane at a time.

Because of my lack of endurance training and because of my current weight my run was horrible. I'm slow and to be honest I was humiliated by my physique and performance. I finished the 5k in 38:34.

The bike course was shortened this year to a 20k. I felt a little stronger cycling than I did running. I passed a bunch of people and only got passed once, but I was still sad. I was mourning for the athlete I used to be. For over 2 years I finished almost every triathlon I entered in the top 10 overall. I was mourning for the way I used to look. I used to have a 6 pack, now I weigh 265 pounds. It's been so long since I was in shape and looked good I forgot how great it felt until I saw the top triathletes speed by me on their bikes in their aero position. That used to be me...... But today the bike took me 61 minutes.

I've always been a natural swimmer. I had a great swim passing many more athletes and even swimming over a few.

I finished in 1 hour 50 minutes, took 72nd out of 100 athletes, and 1st place Clydesdale.

Even though I was sore it felt great to show up on Monday at Miller weightlifting. It felt good because I was taking another step to being the top notch athlete I used to be, but in a completely new sport of Olympic weightlifting. Even though my body was fatigued from the Nutcracker triathlon yesterday I threw up some of my biggest weight yet. I'll be a great athlete again. I'll look good again. It'll take awhile, and a lot of effort, but I will. And some day I plan on outlifting my current golden carrot Barry Schroeder of CrossFit Sandstorm in Bernalillo NM

New Mexico Olympic weightlifter Barry Schroeder sets records and inspires

When I first started triathlon I was 292 pounds and couldn't swim, bike, or run worth a crap. Heck, I was so out of shape I could barely walk without breaking into a sweat and hyperventilating! Early on in my triathlon career I raced against a couple Clydesdales who were unbelievably fast. Arnold Ceniceros and Brian Pilgim. I was amazed and motivated by them and thier athletic dominance in the Clydesdale division. I used these 2 triathletes to motivate myself. By using these 2 amazing athletes as motivation to transform myself from the obese and sedentary person I had been to a triathlete who lost 117 pounds, qualified for 6 national triathlon championships, 1 national duathlon championship, and 1 world championship (the 70.3 world championships).


Now that I've given up triathlon and picked up Olympic weightlifting I've found another athlete who is equally unbelievable. Barry Schroeder. He's in my age group of 35-39, but he's probably even more impressive at Olympic weightlifting then Arnold and Brian were at triathlon. He has set 6 New Mexico state records in the 35-39 age group, 3 state records in the 85k (169-187 lbs) weight class and 3 in the 105k (206-231 lbs) weight class. Barry is a trainer at CrossFit Sandstorm in Albuquerque NM, and Barry's a beast! 

I've found that my body is not  particularly gifted for Olympic weightlifting, but I have the work ethic, determination, tenacity, and exellent coaching that very few do. And now I have found something- someone- that will fuel me. It's going to take a tremendous amount of time and hard work, but I'm going to out lift him someday. To compete with him will push every one of my physical limitations. I know I'll have to work twice as hard as him to get to where he's at. But once I get something in my mind I never let go.

                                   This is Barry Schroeder

The 2013 Atomic Man duathlon race report

I competed in the Atomic Man Duathlon this morning to make up for being a no show last week at the Spring Fling triathlon. This was my 84th multisport race, and my 20th duathlon.

The Atomic Man duathlon is my favorite race of all time! This was the 8th time I competed in this race, and this year it was a qualifier for the duathlon national championships. Last year there was a couple pro's and an Olympic duathlete who showed for this race. The RD's go all out to make sure everyone has a fantastic time. They had a ton of stuff in the race packet bags from performance t-shirts, chap stick, gels, bars, water bottles, coupons, honey, wet suit bags, & those re-usable shopping bags, and pro photographers throughout the course! They have the most comfortable timing chip straps I've ever seen at a race! They also had more swag than I've ever seen in a non-Iron distance race! Ruby helmets, Ruby sunglasses, gift certificates to tri sports, gift certificates to a local bike shop. they had free coffee (5 gallons worth), gluten free sandwiches, organic meat, organic veggies, organic bread, fruit, many other things.

The race is a run/ bike/ run format. The first run I completed having kept an 8:58 minutes per mile average. The bike is a very difficult and MOUNTAINOUS course, but I still kept a 15.5 mph average, which suprised me since I'm weighing in over 230 right now. The 2nd run I kept a 9:15 minute per mile average. I finished the race 1st place Clydesdale, 18th place overall.

updated 2013 triathlon and duathlon series

Every year since I started training and racing in multisport I'd been competing in the South West Challenge series. Last year the SWCS had 36 races, This year it has less than 10 races and the majority of them are in the Las Cruces/ El Paso area. Sadly, since there are not any races in my area I wont be competing the the SWCS anymore. I'll mostly be competing in the Chasing 3 series open water series. And I'll be racing as a clydesdale (220 pound and above) all year.

So far it looks like this will be my race schedule for 2013:

Feb
1- The Missile Man duathlon (duathlon)

May
2- The Jay Benson triathlon, Albuquerque NM (sprint)

June
3- The 4 corners X-terra triathlon, Farmington NM (X-terra)
4- The Billy The Kid triathlon, Fort Sumner NM (OLY)
5- Storrie Lake triathlon, Las Vegas NM (oly)

July
6- City of Lakes triathlon, Santa Rosa NM (sprint)
7- Cochiti Lakes triathlon, Cochiti NM (oly or sprint)

Aug
8- The 505 triathlon, Cochiti NM (LC or Sprint)

Sept
9- The Santa Fe triathlon, Santa Fe NM (sprint)
10- X-terra Dread Mon, Truth or Consequences NM (X-terra)
11- Trinidad Del Muerto, Truth or Consequences NM (Half Iron distance)

Dec
12- The Nutcracker triathlon, Rio Rancho NM (sprint)

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.

Changes to the Clydesdale and Athena divisions

USAT has changed the minimum weight of the Clydesdale and Athena triathlon and duathlon divisions. I copied and pasted this from the USAT website:

Weight Class Division - In events where a weight class division is offered, the minimum weight shall be 220 pounds for men and 165 pounds for women, monitored by the event organizer. The weight class age categories for men and women shall be 39 years of age and under and 40 years of age and over. Participants are not eligible to compete in a weight class division and in an age group division at the same event.

chasing Arnold day 3

Friday was my first day back to training after having surgery on October 12th. I ran a little over three miles. Considering how little I've trained this year I felt pretty good.

Saturday was a triathlon rest/recovery day for my kids soccer and some time for my wife and I.

This morning I rode my bike for the first time in a VERY long time. I started a little before 7 AM when there was enough ambient light to ride safely. After only a few miles a large truck passed me pulling a horse trailer and I immediately came back home and finished the rest of my workout on my indoor trainer. A little over a year ago I got ran over by a vehicle while cycling, since then I've struggled to ride outdoors near traffic.

I've lost most of my cycling fitness in the last year, so my indoor cycling workout was terrible. My rpms kept slipping below 85 and when I tried to increase my cadence above 85 per minute my heart rate would sky rocket into zone 3. I wrapped up my workout after an hour so that I could get the kids up and ready for church. In that hour of riding the rollers my average pace was less than 12 mph. I have a LONG ways to go until I'm able to accomplish one of my personal goals of beating Arnold Ceniceros, the champion (multiple years) of the Clydesdale open division in South West Challenge series. At the Eagle in the sun triathlon in El Paso Texas in September Arnold Ceniceros swam 400 meters in 8:06, biked 12 miles keeping a whopping 20.2 mile an hour pace, and ran 5 kilometers keeping an average pace of 9:36, he finished in 1 hour 16 mintues. My average race swim and running times are comparable to his, but I've only had a few races in my life that I was that fast on the bike, and I'm no where near average right now. If I'm going to try competing against ol' speedy Ceniceros I have to get MUCH MUCH faster. There's a LONG road of training ahead of me.

a triathlete extraordinaire is back, and I want to race against him!

Since I'll be racing as a Clydesdale next year I was looking at some of the race results and found a name I hadn't heard in a long time: Arnold Ceniceros. He was one of the fastest Clydesdales I'd ever raced against, but a few years ago he graduated from UTEP and moved away. I was very excited to see Arnold Ceniceros is back in the area and racing again. Not only was he a tremendous athlete but more importantly he was a great person.

When I was looking at some of his race times I saw he is still one seriously FAST triathlete! I've raced him dozens of times and never even came close to beating him. One of my bucket list goals had been to beat him in a triathlon. Now that he's back it looks like I have a new goal for 2013, to beat Arnold Ceniceros in a triathlon. That's a pretty lofty goal, one I've never even come close to accomplishing before, but one I'm very motivated to accomplish. Looks like a season of ultra endurance trail running will have to wait awhile, because I'm on the hunt! Time to start healing up from the surgery I had on Friday and get into serious training mode!

This is Arnold:

South West Challenge series points almost totaled!

There's only 2 more races left to be tallied for the 2012 South West Challenge Series! The Elephant Man olympic triathlon and the Cotton Country triathlon. So far, with just 2 more races needed to be counted, there are seven triathletes in the 35-39 age group who are still in contention for the coveted top 3 awards in the South West!!!!

35-39 Age Group
58 points- Price Lawhon
49 points Cody Hanson
48 points- Jeremy Harwood
48 points- Jan Grande
46 points- Mathew Hall
44 points- Mike Edwards
38 points- Valentin Ramirez

I'm still 232 pounds and the first two races of the 2013 multisport season are only 7 weeks away so I'm certain I'll be racing in the Clydesdale open division next year. These are the top in the Clydesdale open division with 2 more races left to be tallied. This divisions year end points aren't nearly as close, but the athletes in contention are very fast.

Clydesdale open division:

57 points- Brett Laird
45 points- Arnold Ceniceros
35 points- Jeremy Sanchez
28 points- Martin Hedge

My daughter is only a few years away from competing in adults triathlons so I looked up their points totals for the season for the female 20 and under division and there isn't a single female under the age of 20 who completed the minimum 5 races to be eligible for awards in the South West Challenge series. Looks like my daughter will probably be able to take top 3 in the Female 20 at the age of 10 just by completing 5 races!!!!

burnout lingers

Last week I was doing well getting back into triathlon training after taking a little under 7 weeks completely off. I'm not saying my training was high quality mind you, just that I seemed to be back in the swing of training again.

Monday morning I was scheduled for a bike ride. Nothing really difficult, a 90 minute ride with ten 60 second sprints with two minutes of active recovery in between. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't force myself to get on my bike.... So apparently the burnout continues.

I have the desire to train hard, I just don't want to do any swimming or biking at all. Which brings up another issue that has been lingering in the back of my head for awhile. For the last 18 months I've been wanting to get back into weight lifting. I've done a little triathlon sports specific strength training to increase the speed & power of my legs this last season, but that's not the kind of lifting I have the itch to do.




Back in 2000 I got into weight lifting pretty seriously. I got really good results. Apparently I have the genetics to pack on a bunch of size & strength relatively easy. For some reason I miss the weight training.

I'm wanting to spend some time hitting the weights & bulking up. I'm not giving up triathlon completely. I'll still compete in at least four 2011 South West Challenge series races as a Clydesdale, 4 being the minimum # of races an athlete can compete in and still be eligible in the SW challenge series competition. I'll still be forcing myself to do enough biking & running to be able to get through a sprint triathlon- notice I said "get through", I did not say I plan on doing enough training to do well at it. I know I'll struggle finishing triathlons next year because I won't be doing enough triathlon specific training to excel, but the biggest reason I will probably struggle is because muscle burns A LOT of oxygen! & if I plan on bulking up for awhile, the extra muscle will make it REALLY DIFFICULT to race hard in all the 3 disciplines of a triathlon. Good thing for me there were only a few serious Clydesdales competing in the South West Challenge Series 39 & under division last year. Perhaps I can still hope for a top 3 next year in the Clydesdale 39 & under. We'll see.

Today I started the first day of a 6 week phase of Anatomical Adaptation. This phase is designed to prepare the ligaments & tendons for putting on a bunch of size & strength quickly. The anatomical adaptation phase is the equivalent of a base building phase in triathlon, & can be just as uneventful & boring. I'll finish that phase in late November & then I'll start the hypertrophy phase, which is where all the muscle gets packed on! Perfect timing to be bulked up by spring time!

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!

a new season

The Silverman 70.3 triathlon was going to be my last race of the year, I had to bail out of the Silverman. My wife simply wasn't healed up enough from the C section. Now the 2009 season is officially over. I ended up having a decent season. I took 7th place in my division in the Halfman National Championships. I PR'd a 70.3 distance race with a 5 hr 30 min time. & I took 2nd place in the Clydesdale open division in the South West Challenge series.

Although I'm weighing in 17 pounds higher than was my goal for this time was, I'm still super excited about the upcoming 2010 season. Although I'm weighing in 17 pounds higher than was my goal, I'm getting faster. I'm only training for sprints this year so I haven't been going long much. I've been doing more speed work than I ever have in the past.

Back at the beginning of the 2008 season I was weighing in the low 200's & felt I could get below 200 & stay there for the whole season. Based off of how I felt I decided to race the season as an Age Grouper. I ended up taking 1st place 30-34 AG in the SW series, but was very disheartened & frustrated because I was only able to stay below that magical weight of 200 for a little over a month.

This year again I have decided to race as an age grouper. This year I know the chances of me getting below, much less staying below 200 pounds is slim to none. My goal unlike 2008 is to race as an AG & enjoy the competition of the age group I'm now in. Oh, by the way, I age up this month. I'm now 34 & where my birth date lands puts me in the 35-39 ag.

The 35-39 ag is no joke. That age group is easily the fastest age group out there. So my work is cut out for me. But I have something a lot of the faster 35-39 year olds don't have: the willingness & suport to do 16 or more races in the South West this year.

Wish me luck for the 2010 season I'm going to need it!

Home again

My wife & I had baby #3. He was 7 pounds 10 ounces. He was born via C section on the 12th. He's perfect in every way.

I have a great wife. We were in the hospital for 3 days & each day my wife would feed baby Rion so he'd sleep well, & then she'd tell me to go workout. The whole time we were in the hospital I never missed one workout.

Once we got home training became a bit more difficult. Since my wife had a C section I've been taking care of her while she's recovering, while also trying my best to keep my 4 & 2 year olds occupied & happy, & try & hold & bond with baby Rion. The amount of training I've been able to do has been cut by more than half. I don't mind at all, just stating the facts. My long rides have been cut from 4-5 hrs to 1.5-2 &, my long runs have gone from 13-15 miles to 6 miles. Consequently my goals have changed. I went from my goal being The Silverman Half in November of this year & the Mountain Man in Aug 2010, which are both 70.3 distance triathlons. Now my next A races will be the Jingle Bell & Polar Bear triathlons in back to back weekends in Dec. I have absolutely no idea what my next A race after that will be. I don't know how much time I'll have to train, but more importantly I don't think we'll have the money for me to do any half Iron distance races which cost $250 & up or any Iron distance races which cost $500 & up, depending on the popularity of the race. Plus I'd have to travel to any 70.3 or Iron races, & we can't afford to travel either.

I am also now officially without a coach. The 5 weeks I'm taking off of paternity leave have stretched us beyond the breaking point financially. I'm hoping I can afford another coach mid next year, but to be honest I'm not sure we can rebound by then.


So, the only 2 things I do know about next years triathlon season is that I'll be doing local races, & I'll most definitely be a Clydesdale again next year. I'm doing poorly with the weight loss, gaining rather than losing. My current weight is 215. I don't mind doing local races or being a Clydesdale at all. The local races here in NM are fantastic. & the Clydesdales here in the SW all know each other & offer each other great support. I just wish I could stay under 215 pounds, which I'm thinking wont happen....again. Thanks for tuning in

re-evaluate

I'm readjusting my goal of getting to 180 pounds. I've decided I'm going to try to get to 200 & maintain it.

Seems every time I get to 200 pounds & I get to the point where I'm about to drop below it I fall off the wagon for 3 or 4 days & gain 5-9 pounds. I figure I need to think about the long term. It would be better for me to maintain 200 than to keep attempting to drop below it, fail, then become disheartened & gain all my weight back. So it looks like I'll be racing the 2010 triathlon season as a Clyd again. Once I feel comfortable about my ability to maintain 200 poundsfor awhile I'll try to start dropping again. Until then I'll do my best to dominate & terrorize the Clydesdale division.

Hey, keeps me from having to rename my blog:)

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!

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.

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

2009 Jay Benson triathlon race report

2009 Jay Benson triathlon race report

Sunday May 10th was the Jay Benson triathlon in Albuquerque. I love this race. Its close to my home and because its a local race most all of my tri-friends & Outlaw triathlon team mates show for this race.

After I got my race packet I started setting up my transition area. After I pumped up my tires I realized my front tire valve was broke & was leaking. I went to my car to get the spare sow up tire & realized I'd forgotten my "emergency" tire. Apparently there would be no racing for me today. Well, I live & learn.

I started loading up my race gear to leave & the guy parked 2 cars down from me asked why I was loading up my bike. I told him of my dilemma & he reached in his car & offered me his spare wheel to race on. This was no common trainer wheel. This was a $900 Rolf wheel he offered to let me use. He'd never seen me before & yet he was willing to risk a complete stranger stealing or damaging his gorgeous wheel! I was absolutely amazed, & completely grateful! I later found out his name is Jamie Dispenza & he's the photo editor at the Albuquerque journal. Props to him. Very few people out there who are so trusting & giving. Thanks Jamie.

I had a good friend who I hadn't seen since 2006 show up at the race with his family to root me on. They came down even though it was Mothers day. That they gave up part of their day touched me deeply.

The race had the Clydesdales starting in the 3rd of 3 waves. This wave had the Clydesdales, Athenas, & women 40 & over. It was nice to have the Clydesdales racing separately from the other men so I knew exactly who I was in competition with. This race was a reverse triathlon. Its order was run, bike, swim.

Out of habit I started the run in the middle of the pack. This was a mistake I wouldn't have made if I'd of thought of it. But I've never been accused of being a deep thinker or an awe inspiring strategist.
All of the fastest triathletes had started in the first 2 waves. So where I chose to start the race had me running with people I'd normally run much faster than. It took me at least 2 minutes to work my way through the herd. In the mean time all the people I'd normally be as fast as or faster than had built a large lead on me.

The run is a loop & once I got out of the pack I started chasing down Clydesdales one by one. By the end of the run I ended up catching all but 4 Clydes. One of the Clydes I was unable to catch ran 7 minute miles. Needles to say I never saw that guy again. I finished the 3 mile run in 32:31 averaging sub 8 minute miles the first time year.

I had one of the best T-1's I've ever had. The transition area was at least 90-100 yards long yet I only had a 60 second transition. I got out of the transition area & onto my bike in front of 2 of the 4 Clydes who'd recorded a faster run than me. Transition practice makes perfect.

The bike route is a bit more technical than most triathlons have. Lots of turns & curves & 3 switch backs. I liked the U turns because I was able to see how much of a lead I or my competitors had. I ended up really hammering on the bike finishing the bike in 34:31, a 21.6 MPH ave!

When I got off the bike there were 2 clydes in front of me & despite having another really fast T-2 of only 85 seconds & really good swim- ok, it was good for me, not necessarily good for most triathletes- I wasn't able to catch either of them. I finished the swim in 7:55 & had a total race time of 1 hr 8 min 21 seconds, finishing 3rd place Clydesdale & getting 8 more points for the South West Challenge Series with 63 points in 7 races.

Overall I was excited with my results. There's something about this race that brings the best out in me.