training for the swim again!

This is my wife's 1st week of summer break. To celebrate her recent successful semester she has suggested I do a brick this morning & swim this evening. I'm pretty sure that's not how most wife's go about celebrating.
I'm excited. I haven't been able to train in the pool since my 2nd son was born October 2009. I'm not sure how well I'll do having not swam outside of racing for 20 months, but I plan on swimming until my arms stop working!

My wife says she is going to make sure I can swim at least twice a week her entire summer break. What an amazing person I'm married to!

How to pick the right running shoe

I got this from Active.com
http://www.active.com/women/Articles/How-to-Pick-the-Right-Running-Shoes.htm?cmp=17-1-677

Finding your perfect running shoe can be more confusing than the search for Prince Charming. Luke Rowe, vice president of business development at Fleet Feet Sports, gives us the inside scoop on what you need to know before setting foot in a running store.

As told to Jessica Sebor


Women's Running: Why is finding the right running shoe important?

Luke Rowe: Your shoe will be the training partner that stays with you throughout all of your runs and races. It needs to fit well and be comfortable. Finding the "perfect" shoe can help you to prevent injury and improve performance.

Your shoe should not only shield your feet from glass and stones, but also enable shock absorption, so that one point of your foot isn't bearing the brunt of your bodyweight. A good shoe will also correct any imbalances in your form and keep you balanced.

WR: What are your thoughts on minimalist shoes or barefoot running for the everyday runner?

LR: Barefoot running can certainly be a component of your training. There can be a benefit to running short distances barefoot on soft surfaces in terms of strengthening muscles in the lower leg. I'm not convinced it's a good idea for running long distances on hard surfaces.

Minimalist shoes are a little different. For a few people, a minimalist shoe can be an everyday shoe. But for most runners who require more support, this should be a shoe to wear only occasionally during speed workouts or races. Moderation is a key to life in general and definitely in regard to footwear.

WR: A runner enters a sporting goods store ready to buy a new pair of shoes. Can you walk us through the proper buying process?

LR: First and foremost, you want to find a staff person who understands basic biomechanics. Look for a specialty store where the staff is knowledgeable and can spend time with you.

The person assisting you should first assess your needs. She will take into account your foot size, whether or not you have pronation, what your training and racing goals are and if you have a history with injury.

For example, at Fleet Feet we'll ask you a series of questions based on your training, background and current shoe. Then, we observe your bare foot to look for issues, such as bunions or black toes. Next, we measure your foot to compare how it responds to pressure. Finally, we have you run barefoot on a treadmill to see if your stride needs correcting.

The staff person will then recommend a few different shoes to fit your needs. Run around wearing each of these options to decide which shoe feels most comfortable. If it's a dead tie between a few shoes for comfort, then you can buy based on price and looks.

After you get home, wear your new shoes around the house to ensure that they remain comfortable over an extended period of time.

WR: What is the single best piece of advice you can give someone buying a pair of shoes?

LR: Shoes should be comfortable. The biggest thing I've learned in my 30-plus years of experience is that comfort is king.

Long runs & wild life in Santa Fe

This morning I did my weekly long run at the Rancho Viejo housing development. I absolutely love running there. It's beautiful. A few feet from the trail head I found a 5 foot long bull snake sunning itself.

I also saw a black crow land near the run trail, it dropped something, dug a hole with it's beak, pushed the thing it dropped into the hole, & buried it with his beak. Then it picked up a rock & a couple branches to hide the freshly dug hole. I was curious, so I went to see what it was the crow had buried. It was a baby rabbit about 3 inches long. I had always heard crows were intelligent, but I had no idea they were intelligent enough to bury carrion & camouflage the hole. Pretty impressive. I see the most amazing things being an endurance athlete in northern New Mexico!

Road Racing, time trialing, & criteriums

I saw that there will be some cycling road races later this year. I've always wanted to compete in a road race, but have avoided doing one... roadies don't like triathletes much. If my wife will let me I'll show up for the the NM criteriums state chamionships July 10th, the NM time trial state champioships Aug 21st, oak flats road race Aug 28th, & the Moriarty record break 40K TT Sept 2nd & 3rd. Anyone want to join me?

2011 Ironman Arizona goal times

In 2008 I finished IMAZ in PR time of 14 hours 37 minutes. I raced that day extremely over weight. I'm expecting to show up to IMAZ weighing somewhere between 180-190 pounds. That'll have me racing 47-57 pounds lighter than my Ironman PR that I set in 2008.

My IMAZ swim was slow. I finished it in 1 hour 27 minutes. I should be able to beat that easily. My goal for the swim this year is a very manageable 1:21, knocking 6 minutes off my PR on the swim.

My bike in 2008 was good. I finished 112 miles keeping a 16.1 MPH average. Even though I'm struggling finding time to get in enough bike miles this year I'll be 50 pounds lighter, so I should be able to match that time at least. If I match 2008 my bike time will 6 hours 56 minutes.

In 2008 I messed up my pre race nutrition about as badly as a person could. I fell apart on the run because of horrible stomach cramps. I finished the marathon in a pathetic time of 5 hours 52 minutes. I feel very confident that I'll be able to run a 10 minute 20 second pace fairly easily this year, even if I'm hurting pretty badly, which would have me complete the marathon in 4 hours 26 minutes.

If I finish the 3 events in the times I'm expecting that should give me a finishing time of 13 hours 4 minutes, which is VERY close to my goal of going sub 13 hrs. I'm getting pretty excited!

The biggest factor on if I can go sub 13 hours is if I can keep my weight down. If I can stay at or below 190 I'm sure I can go sub 13 hours!

I'll keep you updated on my training, diet, & weight right here. Thanks for tuning in!

Transition times & Carb building

I usually have fast transition times in triathlons. This weekend I had one of my best races in regards to transition times. I finished with the fastest T-1 & the 2nd fastest T-2 in the entire race. The guy who finished in 2nd place overall in the race had a bike that was 54 seconds faster than me & a run that was 72 seconds faster than mine, but I only finished 9 seconds behind him. He obviously was a faster athlete, but the transitions times came close to deciding the race.

The weekend of the Jay Benson I had a break through personal best race even though my training had been average at best & I was racing on fatigued legs. I believe the reason I raced so well was because I ate my metabolic rate for the 1st time since January. Since January I'd lost 44 pounds, & although being light is fast in triathlon that kind of weight loss hurts the body. I believe I raced so well because my body was fueled well for the 1st time in months. If racing on a full tank made for that kind of performance I decided I'd see if I could top the tank off even more by carb building at the Dog House sprint triathlon. The day before the Dog House I ate about 750 extra calories in carbs. This is the 1st time 2007 that I'd tried carb building. I've read so many conflicting articles over the years about carb building that I had stopped doing it. I'd decided to try it again & use myself as a guinea pig.

My cardio felt great & was able to push myself harder for longer, but I was having problems with a stitch in my side the entire run. I hadn't had a problem with stomach cramps since the last time I tried carb building which was Ironman Arizona 2007. I think it's a push for me. More cardio ability for the race, but problems with stomach cramps.

Sacrifice at the 2011 Dog House Sprint triathlon: a race report

Last night I arrived at Buffalo Springs Lake outside Lubbock TX at 12:52 AM. While driving to Lubbock I listened to an audio book called "Night" by Ellie Wiesel. It was an autobiography of the authors own gruesome experiences of the death camps in Germany. I got decent sleep in the back of my van at the race sight, but after listening to the book about the holocaust I woke up missing my wife & children so badly I ached inside. I'm grateful that I know God is in control, that He loves my family with all His heart & is there with them always. Regardless of whether I'm there with them or or not, they are never alone. I honestly have no clue how those who don't have a close personal relationship with Jesus can face daily life thinking they & their loved ones are facing the world alone.

The race started with a 500 meter open water swim. I decided to do this race last minute & I rushed packing for the race, so I forgot my wet suit. The water was 52 degrees! Somehow that didn't seem to slow me much. I had a great swim 7 minutes 42 seconds. I was shocked by my time! I swim at the GCCC pool in Santa Fe. They won't allow children into the gym's day care unless they are 2 years or older. My wife goes to school full time & I watch my babies all day so I haven't been able to practice swimming since my youngest was born 20 months ago. So completing a 7:42 500 meter was a feat of miracle proportions!

The bike was 17.6 miles on a course with some pretty brutal hills. My cycling has been my weakest of the 3 sports all year. Plus my front HED3 tubular wheel got a flat tire last weekend during the Jay Benson triathlon. Since I hadn't originally planned on racing this weekend I hadn't put on a new tubular tire yet. So I raced on my Shimano 105's. My 105's are the wheels I train on. I hate fixing flats so my 105's have heavy duty Armadillo tires with thick thorn proof tubes. They are very heavy & slow compared to my HED3 race wheels & are not a good set to be lugging up & down the hills of Buffalo Springs. To make things worse there was a strong head wind. I was surprised to find the non-aero wheels were hindering me more on the flats where I could ride faster than they were climbing the hills. I've always heard that aero dynamics were more important than weight, but I had no idea how true it was until today. Even though I was racing on heavy non aero wheels in strong winds I was still able to complete the 17.5 mile bike in a little over 51:30! I was having a great day regardless of having no wet suit or decent race wheels!!!

The run was a 5K run on a flat fast course! Recently my running has been great! I have no idea why. I haven't been doing any speed or hill work, but my running just keeps getting faster & faster each week! I've never made gains like this before. I'm a faster runner now than I ever have been & I'm still 7 pounds heavier than I was last year!

During the run I knew I was somewhere in the top 5 overall, but I wasn't sure where in the top 5 I was exactly. A guy passed me at the half way point & I started pushing myself to repass him. He & I had a massive battle. He'd pass then I would. With only a mile remaining of the run he stopped running & doubled over with cramps. I knew since he stopped I was going to have that much higher of a placing, but rather than take the higher placing I slowed down & started yelling at him, "keep going, don't stop! We're only a mile from the finish! You can rest in less than 7 minutes!" He listened & started running again. He & I started battling for position once again. He'd pass me, then I'd pass him. The last 125 meters he slammed on the gas & as hard as I tried I just couldn't keep up. I found out at the awards ceremony he finished 2nd place overall male & I placed 3rd overall male. He finished seconds ahead of me. I know on the run he had given into the pain & stopped running. But because of my encouragement he started running again & pitting himself against me. If I hadn't of yelled at him to keep going I would have had my first top 2 finish of my life. But what matters more to me than the highest finish of my life is to know that I helped someone accomplish something they wouldn't have without my help. That feels great. Instead of walking away feeling good because of a higher finish I'm walking away feeling great because I did something for someone most people would never have done. I did what I did because I dont race for glory. I race to glorify God.

I finished today's 5k run in a little less than 21:56 minutes. I completed the entire race in in 1 hour 23 minutes 13 seconds. I missed breaking my PR by less than a minute. Considering what strong winds there was & that I was using a slow pair of training wheels I think it was a great day.

This was my 8th race for the SW Chllenge series & my 73rd multisport race all time.

Last second Dog House tri registration

For those of you who don't know me I'm very OCD. All week long I've been thinking about me having completed 7 South West Challenge series races & the series takes an athletes the top 8 races. My next race isn't until the Storrie Lake triathlon the middle of June. I doubt I could keep my sanity having to wait a month to hit 8 races with me being so close! At 4 PM today my wife told me, "Why don't you go ahead and go race". What a great woman I'm married to! I packed as quickly as I could. I should reach Lubbock TX slightly after midnight. Thankfully the race has a late start so I can sleep in a little.

My legs are tired from Ironman training & not having enough recovery time recently so I decided to register for the Dog House sprint triathlon rather than the Buffman & Squeaky Olympic triathlon. The Squeaky Buttman-er, I mean the Buffman & Squeaky is my 2nd favorite race of all time, but my body just isn't feeling up to an Olympic distance right now, I'm in serious need of some rest & recovery time from training.

Last year I did this race & I felt it was one of my top 2 race performances ever. I finished 1st place 35-39 AG & 5th place overall male in a time of 1 hour 22 minutes. A couple of my buddies from El Paso & Las Cruces will be there, Jon & Brooks, I'm excited about seeing them. Unfortunately Rob won't be making it, he's recovering from pneumonia. I'll be praying for a quick recovery for you Rob!!!

In the aero position on rollers

Awhile back I had promised I'd post a video of me riding my rollers in the aero position. Here I am doing part of a 45 minute recovery workout where I keep my RPM's 100+. I usually watch Netflix when I'm on the rollers, & my wife dared me to record myself use a remote control like I normally would while in the aero's & to publish it on my blog if I fall- which I do occasionally! I was a little wobbly, but I didn't fall & make an idiot out of myself!

A new PR at the 2011 Jay Benson triathlon: a race report

On Mothers Day I raced in the 2011 Jay Benson triathlon. Last year the Jay Benson had 550 competitors. Last year I felt it was slightly unorganized for such a large event. This year there were 640 competitors. I was afraid it would be too packed & I felt that even if the race was extremely well organized there would just be too many people, spectators, etc for the race to be put on without a hitch. I was dead wrong. The RD's nailed it this year! It was perfect. No problems what so ever. I was amazed at what they accomplished!

This was the 5th time I've competed in the Jay Benson triathlon, & the 4th consecutive year I've tried to break my PR set in 2006 of 1 hour 4 minutes. Every race I've done this year I have been 2- 2.5 minutes slower than I was last year, so I wasn't expecting to get anywhere near my course PR.

I felt fast on the run. Much faster than I thought I'd be. When I ran into T-1 I knew I was on track for a PR, but that's a mighty big IF because my cycling has been a huge weak point for me this year. I finished the run in a time of 20 minutes 48 seconds which was a 6:43 pace.

T-1 was pretty long because of how many athletes there were competing, but I still had a pretty decent transition time of 59 seconds!

I had a 20k bike of 33 minutes, keeping a 22.5 mph average! My bike time sure took me by surprise! Where did that come from?!?

When I entered T-2 I looked at my watch & knew I was close to my PR, but it was going to be CLOSE either way! I had a good T-2 time of 68 seconds.

The Jay Benson is famous for having the pool PACKED. This year was even worse than any of the other years! With how crowded the pool was I was finding it extremely hard to swim fast. There was multiple times that I came up to lanes with 4 people packed shoulder to shoulder all in one lane & all fighting fighting for position. I've never swam aggressively at the Jay Benson because of how many newbies triathletes there are at this race. But this year I swam really aggressive! I cringe thinking of how many people I swam over & dunked, but I was swimming for a PR that had been mocking for 5 years! The swim became a full contact sport for anyone who was around me.... I sure hope no one recognized me when I was bumping, grinding, & pushing! I knew with the way I was swimming I could easily get penalized or disqualified. Gulp. But I was on a mission people!!! Because of how packed the pool was I ended up with a pathetic swim time of 7 minutes 48 seconds, but it turns out it was fast enough to have finally broken my longest standing PR with a time of 1 hour 3 minutes 33 seconds!!!!!!!! I finished in 44th place out of 640 & 6th place in the 35-39 AG. Oh how sweet it is baby!!!

stopping my weight loss, maintenance time

I've decided to maintain my current weight for at least a few weeks even though I'm only 2.5 pounds away from my goal weight of 190. I'm seeing signs that my body is no longer content being on a calorie restricted diet. I feel weak & am not training well. At last weekends race I felt slow & unable to push myself as hard I'm usually able to. The biggest sign I'm seeing is MY HUNGER!

I've been losing an average of 1.5 to 1.75 pounds a week since January. I wasn't restricting my calories enough to feel that hungry, but gradually the hunger has been building, & yesterday I was hungry enough that I was very unpleasant to be around. I've had this happen before: I'd get close to a goal weight and I'd ignore my bodies warning signs. Then I'd end up falling off the wagon & gaining most or all of my weight back. So this time I'm not going to ignore my body. Even though I'm only 2.5 to 3 pounds away from my goal weight, I'm going to do what my body's telling me it needs. This time I'm not so focused on the short term that I end up destroying my long term goal. I'm going to let my body recover & start to feel good again. Perhaps I'll try to drop the extra 3 pounds in late May or early June. If I decide to, it will be because my body feels great & I know it's ready & able to. If I feel that my body isn't ready, I won't. This more moderate approach to dieting is something I've never done before, which probably explains why I've always shown up to my Ironman triathlons over weight. The only thing that has held me back from finishing an Iron distance triathlon in under 13 hours has been my weight. Hopefully this November I'll show up to Ironman Arizona between 180-200 pounds & break that elusive 13 hour mark!

Right now my metabolic rate is 3100 calories. I'm excited at the prospect of eating 3100 calories a day plus the calories earned from exercise!

The upcoming 2011 Jay Benson triathlon

This will be my 4th time competing in the Jay Benson triathlon. My PR on this course was set back in 2006 in a time of 64 minutes, which was a miracle. In 2006 I was still somewhat new to triathlon, wasn't fast or well trained at all, and was still way over weight tipping the scales at 237 pounds!!! The 2006 Jay Benson triathlon was my single best performance of my triathlon career. I raced way above my ability level that year. I finished in a time of 1 hour 4 minutes. I've tried to beat that PR a couple times now and have come up short. Last yeat I was racing the Jay Benson weighing 4o pounds less than I weighed in 2006 but still I was unable to beat my best time. I'm not in as good of shape as I was last year for this race, so the odds aren't good that I'll beat that PR this weekend, but if you add into the equation that this will be my 5th race in 4 straight weekends, the cards are stacked against me for sure!

This will be my 7th race for the 2011 South West Challenge series. I've heard a lot of people call this race the New Mexico triathlon championships. Most of the fastest triathletes in the state show up to compete in this race, so I'm not expecting to get more than a point or two for the series. I'd bet my race wheels this race will end up just being bonus points for the South West Challenge Series, but I'll race hard regardless because I want to crush that PR of mine!!!

Almost to goal triathlon weight!

Today's workout was a 30 minute recovery bike keeping my peddle RPM's 100+. I forgot how much different Iron training is from sprints. Very unique and interesting training techniques for the longer distances. I know 1 thing for sure, I was in desperate need of the recovery time!!!

I weighed in this morning at 192.8!!!!!! If I keep losing at my current rate I'll be at my goal weight of 190 pounds in approximately 10 days!!! From there I'll try to maintain that weight until September. In September I'll start trying to get down to 180 pounds by Ironman Arizona. After Ironman Arizona I'll allow myself to get back to around 190, which is the weight I feel healthiest at.

The 2011 Atomic Man duathlon race report

Sunday was supposed to be my day off of training, but I raced in the Atomic Man duathlon instead. As a matter of a fact the last three Sunday were supposed to be recovery days, but I raced instead!

The 2011 Atomic Man duathlon was my 71st multisport race & my 17th duathlon..

Like I posted before, this is my favorite race of all time! 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! 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, organic meat, organic veggies, organic bread, fruit, many other things. The only thing they didn't have this year was photographers taking pictures that they had given out on the net for free on previous years.

I had a hard time racing today. I was low on motivation. I just wanted to sleep. Thank goodness this race decided to have a late 9:30 AM start time. I really needed the extra sleep on race morning! If it was a traditional 8 AM start time I doubt I'd of shown up. I've been trying my best to function on 4 hours sleep 5 days a week since my wife started up this semester in school. I'm SO TIRED! I feel like I could lay down & sleep for a year only waking to eat, which I haven't done much of for the last 4 months either! My legs felt dead on race morning. Part of the reason was lack of sleep, part is having been on a calories restricted diet since January 1st, I've lost 42 pounds since then, part was from not having a day off from training since April 24th, & partly because I'm putting my body through a new workout routine that it's ENTIRELY unaccustomed to. I have done nothing but high intensity short course training since late 2008, & I just started a training plan for Ironman Arizona that has a ton of long grueling workouts. My body is in complete shock from all this long distance training! My legs have been sore for 3 weeks straight. The thing I missed most about training for Irons is the amazing sleep! I fall asleep immediately & get the deepest sleep I've ever had when I train for Ironman- or perhaps it's because I'm not sleeping much & my body is overly tired.

Anyway, back to the race report. The Atomic Man duathlon is a seriously hilly course!!! I posted the terrain in with the pictures above.

I ran the 1st 4K in 19 minutes 15 seconds, which averaged out to a 7 minute 28 second pace. Not bad for someone who is chronically fatigued & racing on exhausted legs.

I felt great on the bike & I ended up much faster on the bike than I thought I'd be. I finished the 15K bike in 28 minutes 20 seconds keeping a 19.7 MPH average! For that course I felt I'd had a fantastic performance!

I thought for sure I'd fall apart on the 2nd run. I was hurting & my legs had began to feel flat. I couldn't hit that 5th gear to save my life! Turns out a kid all of 4' tall passed me about half way through the run, after the race I found out he was 13 years old! I wasn't going to let a young child spank me, so my competitive juices got all fired up & I dug deep & ran extremely hard the last half! I was shocked to find out I ran the 2nd 4K in 20 minutes 20 seconds keeping a 7 minutes 45 second pace!! BTW, the 13 year old kid still beat me by 20 seconds! That kid could race!!!!

My finishing time was 1 hour 8 minutes 48 seconds. Not to shabby on a sleep deprived, calories restricted, & overtrained body, but still 2 minutes 20 seconds behind my PR I set last year racing with the stomach flue.

I finished 2nd place in the 35-39 AG behind Marty Moriarty.

I race this Sunday May 8th at the Jay Benson triathlon. By the Jay Benson triathlon I will have trained hard everyday for 28 consecutive days, so I'm not expecting much out of my body. I'll be happy with just finishing!! Wish me luck, I'm going to need it!

My boy cycling indoors

Here's a video of my oldest son who's 3 & a half training on the indoor trainer. He's getting pretty good!

Race morning

It's race morning for the Atomic Man duathlon & this is what I see as soon as I get here, a 5 gallon container of steaming hot coffee with Splenda, sugar, sweet & low, half & half, milk, & cups. The RD's know how to wiggle their way into my heart: COFFEE!

It's cold here in White Rock! Around 30 degrees. It's starting to snow. It's looking good that the short course will still be held, but it's uncertain if the long course will. I'm hoping the snow doesn't fall until after the race so everything can be held as scheduled!

racing question!

question! I'm not sure if i should use my HED3 aero dynamic wheel for the Atomic Man duathlon in White Rock NM, or my light weight climbing wheel. The HED would be faster down hill, but the biggest down hill is so technical I usually can't get to top speeds without risk. I'm afraid wont get the benifits of an aero on the biggest downhill, but I would still get the binifits on the flat & other downhills. So, which wheel should I use?

microdermabrasion for cyclists & amazing Santa Fe pictures

I've lived in NM since 1989, and this is the windiest I've ever seen it. While I was out cycling today the winds were 39-40 mph according to the weatherchannel.com

I knew today's bike ride was going to be an adventure so I brought my camera. I got more great pictures than I had even hoped for!

For the first time I got hit by a dust devil while biking. I had no idea the strength those things had! It blew me across 2 lanes of the road & a roofing shingle hit the back of my helmet hard enough it knocked my glasses off my head. Great way to get free microdermabrasion! This picture is the south west corner of the East frontage road & Bonanza creek rd.

I passed a NM highway truck that was repainting the stripes on the road. The end result wasn't pretty. The paint was blown across the entire 8 foot median. It would of made sense to wait to repaint the roads for a day that wasn't this windy.

I saw the biggest bull I've ever seen in my life. He was mingling in a herd of antelope off highway 14 near the New Mexico State Penitentiary.

Somewhere around 4-6 miles East of the frontage road on Bonanza Creek rd I saw some sort of buzzard or vulture feeding off of some road kill. That was only the 3rd or 4th time I've seen one of these in the 8 years I've lived here in Santa Fe. The bird flew away before I could get my camera out, I got this picture off the net. This picture was the one that looked most like the bird I saw.

I found this web site describing the rout I train on daily. It's amazing!!! I pass 2 movie ranches & countless gorgeous sights. If you get an opportunity to ride around this rout you wont regret it... unless you get hit by a dirt devil ;-)

http://www.seesantafe.org/day-trips/41-day-trips/124-into-the-wild-west.html

Fun times being a triathlete in New Mexico!

The upcoming 2011 Atomic Man duathlon

I'll be competing in a local race this weekend, The Atomic Man duathlon. The Atomic Man is my favorite race of all time. The Atomic Man has a ton to offer any athlete. There's two distances races to choose from, there's a free bike mechanic, a mobile coffee van, Great RD's, amazing swag, a GORGEOUS course, free pictures including a great finish photo, free pre and post race food, someone announcing your name and where your from as you cross the finish line on a PA system, a great finishing chute, pro photographers on the course, a team competition, and both courses are really challenging, & all the pictures from the course are free. Most races charge athletes for thier pictures. This small local race really does have a big time feel & draw to it. Last year there was a couple pro's and an Olympic duathlete who showed for this race.

This will be mt 5th time competing in the Atomic Man duathlon. My PR was set last year in a time of 1 hour 6 minutes 29 seconds. I seriously doubt I'll get anywhere close to beating my PR this time. Last year I was in much better shape, I weighed less, & I was racing on a borrowed pair of 404's (thanks Jason McClure!!!). Those wheels were super fast for a race as hilly as this!

This will be my 6th race for the season & for the 2011 South West Challenge Series, my 3rd race in 3 weekends, my 71st multisport race, & my 17th duathlon.

Day 3 of training for Ironman Arizona

Today's my 3rd day of Ironman training. My legs are sore. I've been training with a lot high intensity sprint distance type training for awhile now. I fully expected my legs to be fatigued switching to longer slower training, but the soreness surprises me.

I woke up weighing in at 196 pounds! 6 pounds to go until I'm at my goal weight of 190!

A large portion of my clothes are no longer fitting so I had to bring all my skinny clothes out of shed & throw my fat boy clothes into storage. That felt great!

Triathlon training in New Mexico

Here in New Mexico we are in the middle of a drought. After months of having very little to no rain, yesterday it rained on me for my entire 85 minute run. Minutes after my run ended the rain stopped. Today during my brick I got caught in a hail storm. By the time I was done with my brick the hail was gone & the weather was perfect. Yesterday was the 1st day of my training plan for Ironman Arizona 2011. Interesting timing. I guess that's the life of an endurance athlete in the high deserts of New Mexico!

Almond butter versus peanut butter

I got this off "The athletic minded travelor.

http://www.athleticmindedtraveler.com/blog/almond-butter-versus-peanut-butter-which-is-the-healthier-choice

Almond butter versus peanut butter:


Both butters are rich in protein, fiber and fatty acids and have the same amount of fat (16 grams) and calories (190) per 2 tablespoons. They also have about the same amount of carbohydrates.


what about "nutrients?"
Almond butter takes the lead: Almond butter has 26% more Vitamin E, 3% more Iron, and 7% more Calcium than peanut butter. It's higher in magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and antioxidants.


Almond butter versus peanut butter. Which is the healthier choice?


While there is something deeply gratifying about the sweet, creaminess of peanut butter (unless you lean crunchy), and the way that it often sticks to the roof of the mouth, studies demonstrate, it might be time to switch the nut. Almond butter, which also comes creamy or crunchy, offers more on a strictly nutritional basis.



What about the "fats?"
This is where the almond really shines. Almond butter has 50% more monounsaturated fat than the peanut spread and about 25% less saturated fat. This is good news for anyone, and especially for those keeping an eye on cholesterol. Another important factor is that almond butter does not contain any trans fat. NONE.


On peanut butter's defense, there is a misconception that all peanut butter contains trans fat or hydrogenated oils. This is not true. You can now choose from a range of "all natural" varieties that eliminates the trans fat (and any un-natural ingredients). These varieties are made from pure peanuts with no added oils, fats, or sugars. You'll recognize natural butter by the oil separation at the top of the jar. The trans fat found in regular peanut butter is so minimal (less than 1%) that the FDA labels it as being at 0. For more information about this check our post on organic peanut butter.



What about organic peanut butter? It's another option and it simply means that the peanuts were grown without the use of pesticides. Most grocery stores carry all three types of butters. Remember to refrigerate your natural and organic butters.

POSSIBLY THE BEST REASON TO SWITCH: Almonds are considered alkaline while peanuts are categorized as acidic.

According to some research there are benefits to consuming alkaline foods: speed up metabolism, increase energy, and prevent sickness. Almonds fall into this category. They are a powerful nut and the only nut categorized as very alkaline.

Health gurus argue that it's important to consume at least 60% alkaline-producing foods in order to maintain a balanced diet. If one's Ph levels aren't in balance the body has a hard time absorbing vitamins, minerals, and other important food nutrients. In short, Ph affects everything. In contrast acidic foods can be damaging and a variety of physical problems and diseases can be caused from acidic intake (some go as far to say that an acidic ph can cause cancer--see below caveat). Peanuts rate very high in acidity. This site provides a nice summary chart.


CAVEAT: While there is some scientific research regarding the potential dangers of an acidic diet, it is hardly conclusive. This article by the American Institute for Cancer Research summarizes the risks and notes that what you eat certainly affects your cancer risk, BUT the acidity/alkalinity of the foods is not the factor.


How do the prices compare? There is a significant price difference (usually $3-4 bucks) between the spreads. Peanut butter is the cheaper of the two. At Trader Joe's a jar of the almond stuff costs $4.99 while regular peanut butter only costs $1.79. If you want organic it's $2.99. So at Trader Joe's you're getting a bargain. If you shop elsewhere almond butter can cost up to $13.00 a jar. Generally organic butters are more expensive. With almond butter you're paying more for the quality. And remember places like Whole Foods allow you to grind your own. Now that is fresh!



One almond butter that we love can be ordered online for $7.00 a jar. Hopkins Ag makes their almond butter fresh every day.

Which one tastes better? This is a matter of preference but if you like a sweeter taste, peanut butter is likely the way to go. However, companies like Hopkins also sell almond butter with honey. It's equal to any peanut butter. We've also seen vanilla almond butter and a few other flavors.

Personally, I am partial to peanut butter. Some almond butters can be grainy and slightly bitter. But, when cooking or making smoothies, I'm now an almond butter convert. Athletic-Minded Traveler posted a smoothie recipe a while back. Give it a try.

Redemption at the 2011 Spring Fling triathlon- a race report

Today I raced at the 2011 Spring Fling triathlon. It was a seated 400 meter pool swim, 25K bike on a really hilly course, & the 2nd hardest 5k run I've ever done on a sprint distance triathlon.

The RD of the this race is Mark Mico of Tri Sport coaching so I knew it was going to be a well put on race. It had plenty of volunteers, well marked courses, it was micro chipped timed, had a quick and painless packet pick up, great performance T-shirt, the race results were posted at the race with in minutes & online with in 2 hours of the the last person crossing the finish line, & the race even had an awesome finish line chute with banners & lots of spectators yelling & cheering! I'd say Mico & the Greer's (who put on the BSLT) put on the best races I've ever competed in.

Since I haven't done any swim training at all in over a year I was happy with my 400 meter swim time of 6 minutes 39 seconds. I felt fast & buoyant! I glided along well, keeping a long pull, glide, & recovery.

I had a ridiculous 1st transition time of 55 seconds! It was by far the slowest transition time I've had in a couple years. There's no reason to be that slow in a transition, especially considering I raced without socks & have a pair of triathlon specific cycling shoes. I should have had a T-1 time half that long. The transition is free & effortless race time lost.

This was the first triathlon with a swim/bike/run format I'd done since July of last year. 10 months! I was afraid I'd be rusty, but I came out of the water feeling great & ready to bike!

I usually struggle with any races that has significant climbing, & for a sprint triathlon this race has a TON of big long climbs. I still had a surprisingly strong bike. Last weekend at the Holloman duathlon I averaged 20.8 MPH on a perfectly flat course. Today I was able to redeem myself by keeping a 20 mph average on a MUCH more difficult course. I'd say my effort on the bike and the run today ranked in my top 5 all time. The time may not show that because I'm not in as good of cycling shape as I was the last couple years, but my effort level was top notch.

At one of the turn arounds a police officer let a motorcycle drive through at the same time as me. The lady driving the motorcycle collided into me & sent me swerving & skidding into the curb of the turn around. Thankfully it was a gradual slanting curb so I was able to stay upright & skid/ride up it and continue racing once I hopped back onto the road on the other side of the turn around. Close call! Apparently I was envious of the war wounds Rob Lovit had sustained recently at the Mesa Valley triathlon & was wanting to get matching road rash.

I felt like I was a climbing animal today! Usually I struggle, huff & puff up hills. Not today! I killed it!

Today I rode a 404 rear wheel for only the 2nd time. I'm not sure if the light weight aerodynamic rear 404 was the key to climbing so well today, but I it may have been. The last race I rode the 404 was the Atomic Man duathlon last year & I had a phenomenal bike that day also. I can't wait until I save up enough $ to buy a 404 front wheel to match!

I wasn't sure how my legs were going to hold up on the run because of the serious climbing, the swim/bike/run format, & because I really hammered myself silly on the bike.

I did a perfect flying bike dismount, but had another slow transition time. Ugh. What the heck? Transitions are usually my specialty!

Once I got into my Zoot triathlon running shoes, my FCA running cap on, along with my race belt I was on my way! Right off the bat I felt really good. From the start there's a REALLY long gradual incline. After a mile or so the pavement ends & the course continues on a sandy uphill trail run that is absolutely brutal! Straight uphill with tons of speed & energy sapping ankle deep sand. I ran much better up the hills than I usually do, especially considering I'm not accustomed to running in sand. I finished the brutal 5k in 25 minutes 2 seconds.

I finished in a total time of 1 hour 20 minutes 12 seconds. I thought for sure I'd be in the top 5 of the 35-39 age group. Turns out I only took 8th place!!! 8th is my worst age group finish since 2009! The difference between my 8th place finish & 5th today was less than a minute, which was the time I had lost in my 2 turtle like transitions.

All in all it was a good day. I have to say I enjoy the races in Southern NM & West Texas more because of my fellow triathletes of that region. They've really embraced me & accepted me as one of their own. It seemed like something was missing today, and it wasn't until I was driving home I realized what was missing was the fellowship I'd had the last half dozen races with Rob, Brooks, John, Jason, & Val. I hope to race with you guys soon, cause multisport without you guys just isn't as much fun!

Teaching my son bad things & a clydesdale no longer

Today I started teaching my 18 month old son to say something that could get a Daddy in big trouble! He's a quick learner, this is a video of him after the 2nd time I him told what to say. Am I the only one who finds this funny?

I weighed in this morning at 197 pounds. I've weighed in under 200 pounds all week. I wanted to wait until I had an entire week under 200 pounds before I changed the name of my blog to Cody-the-FORMER-clydesdale. This is the 3rd time since I started triathlon that I've dropped below 200, the 2nd time I've added FORMER to my blog's name, I'm hoping this time it's permanent.

The upcoming 2011 Spring Fling triathlon

This Saturday I'll be competing in The 3rd annual Spring Fling triathlon. This will be my 70 multisport race, and my 41st sprint distance triathlon.

Last year I had a decent race time of 1 hour 26 minutes 36 seconds, I barely missed making top 3 AG. This is a really hard course for a sprint triathlon, the RD shortened the bike this year. I'm not even sure if it's the same bike course, so I wont be able to compare my times from last year.

This is my 5th race for the 2011 South West Challenge Series. This is turning out to be my most challenging year for the series by far. I've got some really fast athletes gunning for the 35-39 AG series this year. This will be the 1st year I'm not able to podium in the series if I don't start getting my bike times up.

Fatigued triathlon legs

Yesterday my daughter asked if I could build her a garden. I'm wrapped around her little finger, so of course I built her a dream garden. The garden is separated into 3 sections, each is 8 feet long & 3 feet wide. I dug down a foot and a half in each one to make sure the vegetables I plant can have a deep strong root system. It has a raised beds so that the root system will be be warmer which stimulates growth. It has steer manure & mushroom compost. It'll be a %100 organic garden. I started working on it at 9 am & finished at 3:30 PM, then went to work for a twelve hour shift. Sundays are my scheduled day off of training, but I raced at the Holloman duathlon instead of a recovery day. My legs are already fatigued and I have races the next 3 weekends in a row. I'm tired, & I know I should be taking the day off to let my body heal & come back stronger.

I weighed in at 199.8 pounds this morning. I've weighed in under 200 pounds every morning for almost a week. If I take the day off I won't be burning the calories, which will make me that much farther from reaching my goal of weight of 190. I know my thinking is flawed. I know I need rest & recovery to heal. My drive, focus, & desire is what makes me as strong of a competitor as I am, but I also know it's mt biggest weakness. Pushing myself as hard as I can all the time in everything I do is the only way I know, so instead of resting I'm doing bike speed intervals. Here's to HARD CORE baby!

This weekend I'll be racing the Spring Fling triathlon. It's a very hilly race. I own a 404 rear wheel that is awesome for hill climbing. I haven't been able to save enough money for the front 404 yet, so I'll be using a HED3 front wheel & a 404 rear. I'll look like a nerd, but I'll be a faster nerd. Besides, if I ride fast enough I'll just be a blur as I peddle by.

See you at the races!

From his crib to his toddler bed

My wife & I moved our 19 month son out of his crib & into a toddler bed. The bed transition for our 2 oldest children was easy. But Rion is always our little terrorist, always finding a way to cause trouble. He's making this a real challenge. Last night was the first time he let my wife & I sleep through the night without waking us by playing, tearing apart his room, & otherwise making a ton of racket. I told my wife,"Perhaps he's finally decided to sleep the night all the way through in his bed."

This is what I saw when I went into his room. I don't know what he was doing, but he fell asleep on the floor doing it!

so close I can taste it!

I weighed in this morning at 188.8 pounds! I'm getting so close I can taste it! What does it taste like you may ask? It tastes like speed! Rubber burning, carbon bending speed! 36 pounds lost since the beginning of my season, 8 more to go! I cant wait!

A missed oppurtunity at the 2011 Holloman duathlon- a race report

Greg Southard,Patricia Miller, and I post race awards ceremony

This is a picture of my triathlon machine with more than enough room for my bike, 2 pair of race wheels, 3 bags of gear, a lunch box, & a bed for me to sleep in.

Today I raced in the 2011 Holloman duathlon. This was my 69th multisport race & my 16th duathlon. The Holloman duathlon is one of my favorite races because it's the fastest course I've ever raced! The RD's are usually pretty horrible, but I'll always compete in this race because of how fast & flat it is. There's not a single hill, incline or decline of any sort on this entire course. Flat flat flat!

The Holloman duathlon is usually a cherry picker race, but apparently no one got that memo. Out of the 53 athletes who showed up all but a couple were experienced and fast, including the 2010 national duathlon champion Jason Atkinson.

Before I blog about my race, I have to explain some of the things leading up to it to better explain what I didn't do on the course today.

I got sick a few days before the race. The worst of it hit the on Saturday, the day before the duathlon. I'm not sure if it was just from my illness, or in combination with something else, but I was having really bad asthma issues. Triathlon training has strengthened my lungs to the point where I rarely have issues with my asthma. I've only had a few asthma attacks in the 6 years I've been training. The night before my race my asthma was so bad I kept waking up wheezing & coughing.

On Saturday , the day before the race I had one of the worse days I'd had in a very long time. I'll spare you the details, just know I was physically & emotional drained. I slept in my van the night before the race approximately 2 miles from the race start. That was awesome. I got to sleep a little longer because I didn't have to load all my equipment from the hotel room to my car & drive a long way to race start. I woke up at 6 am, & was at the transition area by 6:10.

It was a 5k run/ 30k bike format. The wind is usually blowing really bad at this race. There was no wind at all today, & the temperature was perfect! It doesn't get any better weather for racing than what there was this morning!

Like I said before, the run is flat. At the half way point I realized 3 things. 1) my asthma wasn't bothering me at all.
2) the course was a little longer than the scheduled 5k.
3) I was having a REALLY fast run! Probably fast enough to set a run PR.

By the 3/4 mark of the run I started to make up ground on Val Ramirez who a super fast guy who's in my age group.

I finished the run, which ended up being a 3.28 mile run in 23 minutes 26 seconds. I PR'd the run! My best run before today was at the Chick-Fil-A triathlon last year. At the Chick-Fil-A triathlon I weighed 186 pounds & ran an average of a 7 minute 20 second mile for the 5k. Today I weighed in at 199 pounds & I still ran a 7 minute 6 second pace!!!!

On the bike I started out feeling great. My legs still felt fresh and my HED3/ disk combo was working like a dream! I was cutting through the course like a fat guy at a buffet line! By the 10k mark I just kind of gave up. I'm not the type of person who usually gives up. I was having a stellar race, but a bunch of negative thoughts & feelings started running through my head & they ended up getting the best of me. I ended up finishing the 18.74 mile bike in a time of 54 minutes 7 seconds. I kept a 20.8 mile bike average even though I had stopped pushing myself. I still ended up doing pretty well, but I know now that I messed up big time. If I would have continued pushing myself like I normally do I'd of had the single best race of my life! I pr'd the race by a minute and a half, finishing in a time of1 hour 17 minutes 33 seconds. I finished in 4th place in my AG. All three of the guys who beat me ran sub 7 minute miles & finished the bike 90 seconds faster than me, which means they biked for a 22+ mph average. FAST DUDES in my AG this year!

After the race I was pretty down on myself & Brooks, Rob, & John did everything within their power to raise my spirits. They did, & I'm so grateful. I love triathlon not just because of the sport, but because of the people I race with. God blessed me fully when he got me into the great sport of triathlon & allowed me to meet such great friends.

Pre-race sickness

The last 3 days I've been dealing with the worst allergies I've ever had. It wasn't until I woke up this morning that I realized it wasn't alergies, I was sick. I woke up & felt horrible. I tried to go on my scheduled 60 minute run & struggled, I ended up having my first asthma attack in over a year. I knew I should have taken the day off from training, but I can't take a day off without feeling overwhelming guilt & stress. Guilt & stress makes me want to turn to food for comfort, & overeating for any reason is not good for triathlon, speed, or endurance.

I have found through trial & error that getting sick 1 to 2 weeks before a race is a sure sign that I'll have a smoking fast race. When I push myself as hard as my body will go, that breaks my body down, then I have a couple weeks of lower intensity training, and wallah! my body supercompensates, & I end up with a perfect taper & perfect race. But getting sick 3 days before the Holloman duathlon, the worst of it hitting the day before the race not a good sign at all.

This is the life of an endurance athlete. All I can do is show up, ignore the pain, & push myself as hard as I can & leave it in Gods hands. That exactly what I'll do.

By the way, remember those run shoes that I raced in at the Mesa Valley Triathlon that had given me such horrible blisters? I'm wearing them again baby!!!

Great triathlon day

Today I weighed in at 199.2 pounds. I'm no longer a clydesdale! I'm now within a 5 weeks of my goal weight!

This morning I received 2 new pairs of Brooks adrenaline running shoes from overstock.com saving me $40 per pair! I also got a pair of FCA cycling socks and an FCA running cap!

Today I completed a 2 hour 10 minute bike ride, a small part of which was on my HED3/HED disk to make sure my wheel set I'll be riding this weekend works well, & it worked perfectly!!

I took my boy Cody to his ballet class, I love watching him dance, he loves it so much. Cody has his 1st wrestling tournament on Saturday in pecos New Mexico. He'll be wrestling in the pre-k 30-35 weight class. I'm SO EXCITED! We have the camcorder charged up & ready to record! After his tournament I'll be driving to Alamogordo NM for the Holloman duathlon on Sunday morning. The only thing that could make me any happier would be a little sleep, but I never get any of that. I can't remember the last time I was able to feel well rested. Oh well, I can rest when I'm dead. Until then God has blessed me more than I could ever have wished for!

don't assume you're registered for the Holloman duathlon!!!!

This morning I woke up packed for the Holloman duathlon. I was pretty excited about this race because I'd be able to use my disk, & it'll be my 69th multisport race! Then I attempted to put my disk on my bike. After an hour and a half of trying unsuccessfully to get my bike shifting properly I took it to my favorite bike shop, Frankie Flats here in Santa Fe. Turns out my rear derailer was bent & my chain needed replacing.

It was a nightmare registering for this race. I emailed daily for 2 weeks & called daily for a week before I was able to get a registration form, and the people I talked to on the phone were abrupt, bordering on rude. Finally at the end of March I was able to get a registration form & I sent it in with a check.

Since I'd had such horrible difficulties with this race my wife suggested I call the Holloman duathlon to ensure that they have me registered. I called them, and no, they didn't have me registered. At first they down right refused to register me because the registration deadline was a week & a half ago. I told them about the nightmare I'd been having dealing with the race. After 45 minutes of complaining they finally transferred my call to a Christie Stoccio & she let me into the race, probably just to shut me up & get me off the phone;-) On the 1st try my card was declined! Uhg, what a day. 2nd card went through. This was the hardest I've ever had to work getting into a race. If your reading this, call to ensure your actually registered. The race seems to be unorganized at best.

On a side note, there is a momentous battle going on in the master Clydesdale division, and they will both be there racing this weekend. I'm excited to watch how it unfolds!!!

The Tumbleweed triathlon

Turns out The South West Challenge Series won't be able to award series points for the Cochiti triathlon this year due of enforceable problems. No fault or blame there, it was just fate. So now I'll have to drive to Odessa Texas the weekend of July 31st for the Tumbleweed triathlon instead of racing the Cochiti triathlon which is 45 minutes from my house. uhg. There's more unexpected time & money lost in the pursuit of another SW challenge series championship. At least it's a flat and fast race. I like flat & fast. I'll use my disk that weekend. I've owned my HED disk for around 4 years & have only had the opportunity to use it a couple times. Once at The Ransom Canyon tri in Lubbock TX- which was a mistake, it was not flat enough & I'm not a talented enough of a climber to warrant a disk. I also used it last year at the Chick-Fil-A triathlon, which worked out awesome! I'm excited about the prospect of a race flat enough to use my disk again, I'm not so excited about a 14-16 hour round trip drive for a race that'll take less than 75 minutes.

I raced the Tumbleweed tri once back in 2006. My finishing time was 1:19:34. I swam a 500 meter swim in 10:48, a 20K bike in a time of 40:49 which was a 18.2 mph ave, and a 5k run in 28:22, keeping a 9:01 per mile ave.

Speaking of using a disk, I'll be using mine at the Holloman duathlon this weekend! Twice in 1 season! Happy Happy Joy Joy! Happy Happy Joy Joy!

The upcoming 2011 Holloman duathlon

I'll be competing in the Holloman duathlon this Sunday April 17th. In the last few years this race has been called the Stealth duathlon, The Raptor duathlon, & the Holloman duathlon. It's the same course & distance, just a different name. I'm surprised at how hard it's been to register for this race. I've done this race 4 times and all but 1 of those years my times were within 81 seconds of each other. My PR was set in 2009. In 2006 this was the 1st race I had won a medal for top 3 in my division. I'm excited to be going & doing this race again.

2009 1:19:00
2008 1:19:50
2007 1:20:21
2006 1:32:37

I'd left a ton emails & phone calls for weeks requesting a registration form. When I was able to talk to someone they were rather abrupt with me, acting like I was an annoyance. Oh well, it's a flat fast race & I sure love a flat fast race.

Wedding rings & triathlon aren't compatable/ Or weight loss & triathlon

The other day I was talking to a fellow triathlete & cycling stud named Jason McClure. Jason is one of the most amazing cyclists I've ever seen. Anyone who knows about cycling & running knows the lighter a person is the faster they are. Jason weighs 238 pounds & is still one of the fastest cyclists competing in the South West Challenge Series. How he does what he does on the bike being so big I don't know. It's simply not human.

Jason had seen how much faster I'd become in triathlon because of my recent weight loss. He asked what I'd been doing to drop so much weight & get so much faster so quickly.... I'd like to apologize to any athletes out there who are in his age group. I told him my secret. I told him, "It's all about the diet." & I told him about the diet plan I'd been using. I can't even fathom what kind of speeds this guy will be able to get to if he tries dietpower! The sky's the limit!

When I first started triathlon training I was overweight. Within months of starting a triathlon training plan I was able to get down to 235 pounds, which was progress from where I had been at, but I got stuck at that weight. Nothing I tried seemed to get me below the 235 mark long term. A couple years ago I found a diet program called Dietpower that gave me the tools I needed to get triathlon thin & fast! Shortly after I started using Dietpower I was able to drop below 200 pounds for the 1st time since high school. I was able to stay between 184-200 pounds for a year & a half. I got my body fat tested in May 2010 at The University of New Mexico physiology department & at 186 pounds my body fat percentage was eight & a half percent. I had a ripping 6 pack (see picture above), & was a faster runner & cyclist than I'd ever of dreamed I could be. Over the winter I stopped utilizing dietpower & gained my weight back. By the new year I was back to my old weight of exactly 235 pounds. Why the heck does my body like that weight so much? I dunno, but I know I sure didn't like being 235. I was slow in triathlon & I didn't like the way I looked, so I started using dietpower again. Since Jan 1st I've lost 34 pounds & have got my run speed from a dismal 9:30-10 minute per mile pace back down to a 7:36, which is what I averaged at this weekends Mesa Valley Triathlon in Las Cruces New Mexico.

As I lose weight I get thinner everywhere. Even my fingers get thinner. The only bad thing I've found about triathlon training & finding a diet that works well for me is that I've had to buy a new wedding band every time I lost more weight. The old one became to big- rather my fingers became too small. I've had to buy 3 wedding bands, 2 in the last couple years alone! The 1st couple times I lost so much weight I had to buy a new wedding band I thought it was cool. I'm hoping if I get to my dream Ironman Arizona weight of 180 that the wedding band I wear now will still fit, having to buy a 4th wedding band would be ridiculous!

Triathlon 101 mistake on race day

I always post the good and the bad about my training & racing. I made a really dumb rookie mistake during the Mesa Valley triathlon last weekend. I bought a new pair of Zoot triathlon shoes & was so excited I decided to race in them without having ever trained in them. By the 2 mile mark I had massive blisters on both feet. The last 1.2 miles of the run was excruciating. I'm sure I could have broke the 23 minutes mark on the 5K if I'd have raced in shoes I was used to running in. It's a miracle I didn't get blisters on my face from me grimacing the majority of the run;-)

All in all I'm running well considering how heavy I still am. I'm currently 201 pounds at only 5' 11". That's normal for an average Joe, but it's pretty big for a triathlete.

On the up side I'm down to 201 pounds. I've lost a lot of the off season weight I'd gained. I now only have 11 more pounds to lose to be down to my goal race weight. I should be down to 190 by the 3rd week of May, which is the weekend of the Dog House sprint triathlon. Now that I know I'll finally be down to my race weight that weekend I'm contemplating doing the Dog House sprint tri. I shouldn't because if I race that weekend I'll have raced 5 weekends in a row. That's hard on the body & I really should be focusing exclusively on IMAZ. I have difficulties not getting OCD about the South West Challenge Series. I love the series. A couple of the reasons I love the series so much is because I don't like focusing on racing/beating any one particular local triathlete, they are all so friendly, encouraging, supportive & are honorable sportsmen to the last. But to compete in a series takes away me needing to focus on a person & I can focus on a series of events & my individual performance in numerous events within one goal. The other reason I love the series so much is because I love hanging out with all my tri buddies many times/races through the course of an entire season.

Since my wife has started going to school & I stay home with our babies in the day while she's at school & work nights I've been having to do a lot of my cycling on my rollers & indoor trainer. I think that has a lot to do with why I'm not getting the speed I'm used to at races on the bike. But I'm ok with that. My family comes first. I'll accept being a slow cyclist knowing my wife will graduate, get a great job making lots of money to buy me lots of new & triathlon gear;-)

Toughman competition at the Mesa Valley triathlon

This weekend was the Mesa Valley triathlon in Las Cruces New Mexico. There was some amazing performances this weekend.

Jason McClure passed me with authority just passed the half way point of the bike. He immediately got a flat on his rear tire, continued racing regardless of the flat tire & put even more time on me with a flat! Amazing performance!

Rob Lovit had a bad crash about a mile into the bike. He ruined his front wheel & had some pretty bad road rash on his hand, back, shoulder, & leg. It took him a bit to put his bike & wheel back together enough to be able to ride again, but as soon as his bike was able to be ridden he was back into the race pushing himself as hard as he could. Even with the crash & the pain from his injuries he was able to ride himself back into a 2nd place Clydesdale finish. Another amazing performance!

John Gardea, one of the most consistent & most improved triathletes in the SW series took 1st place Clydesdale. The clydesdale division is going to be one fierce battle this year & I'm looking forward to watching it as it unfolds.

Brooks Vandivort took 2nd place in the age group 35-39, which is my division. He's ahead in the 35-39 age group in the SW challenge series. He's getting faster with every race. He has absolutely crushed my course PR's at every race he's done this year.

Ross Martinez showed up & raced at the Mesa Valley triathlon after not racing for almost 10 months. His time off from racing sure didn't seem to slow him down any. He took 3rd place in the 35-39 ag.

Valentine Ramirez who has beaten soundly in 2 of the races I've competed in this year took 8th place in the 35-39. Turns out his weakness is swimming. Even though he's far superior to me on the bike & run, he struggles enough in the water I may be able to finish ahead of him in the SW series- as long as he doesn't improve his swimming much.

I had a great run finishing the 5K in 23:42 averaging a 7:38 pace. I had poor bike time of 49:11 in a 25K averaging 19 mph. I had a really poor swim time of 10:19 for a 500 meter swim. I finished in a time of 1:23:10 taking 5th place out of 9 in my age group & 32d male overall out of 133.

The 5th place this weekend gave me another 5 points for the SW challenge series, I now have 23 points total. I'm in 3rd place in the south West Challenge series 35-39 Age Group behind Brooks Vandivort & Val Ramirez. My next race will be the Holloman duathlon. Both Val Ramirez & Brooks Vandivort are registered for this race, and since there's no swim in the Holloman duathlon I'll probably be finishing behind the 2 of them. Hopefully I'll be able to find a race or two this year that the 2 of those beasts aren't going to be at, because the 2 of them keep getting farther & farther ahead in the SW challenge series with every race we do together. Since 2006 I've finished in 2nd place in the SW series twice & 1st place 3 times. This might be the year that I get beaten up & humbled. I'll do my best, but I be honored to be beaten by either one of those guys. They are great people & honorable competitors. Looks like this is turning out to be a challenging season! I'll keep you posted on how it goes.

Triathletes are great people

I'm going to compete in the MVT triathlon in Las Cruces New Mexico tomorrow morning. I was planning on sleeping in my mini van at the races parking lot to save money. Jason McClure a fellow triathlete I compete against regularly found out I was racing this weekend, he contacted me out of the blue & asked me to stay with him & his family. It was completely unexpected & appreciated.

Today on the way to MVT triathlon in Las Cruces I stopped at the Chick-fil-a for a diet lemonade. When I went to pay the cashier he handed me a piece of paper & told me the car in front of me paid for my drink. The paper said, "From your FCA-Endurance brother & sister in Christ. God Bless. The Tovar's.

When I first started training for triathlons I'd heard of a local triathlete by the name of Hector Tovar. He was one of' the fastest triathletes in the South West. He rarely finished a race outside of the top 2 in any race, & he was in my age group! Although we both race heavily I'd never had an opportunity to race him until The Spring Fling & Jay Benson triathlons in 2010. He was even faster than I imagined he was, I was pleasantly surprised how humble & friendly he was, but what impressed me most was he raced with a Fellowship Of Christian Athletes racing top on. I raced at those 2 races in my FCA gear also, & even though he & his wife were focused on the race (Hector being close to being in the lead) they both took the time to wave at another Christian triathlete. After the race they both came & talked to me for awhile. They were warm loving people who had a true love for the Lord. I only met them those 2 times, the last time was 11 months ago, yet somehow they still recognized & remembered me almost a year later sitting behind them at a drive through & paid for my drink.

Triathletes are some of the kindest people I've ever met. I'm so grateful to be a part of this amazing multisport community.

I believe that God worked through the McClures & Tovar's today to remind me that God is with me everyday in everything I do. It was a wonderful reminder & I was touched deeply today by God, the MCClure's & the Tovar's thoughtfulness. I will race tomorrow as the Lord requested for me to do by way of my kind fellow triathletes.

God speed & God bless!

MVT triathlon

I'm registered for the MVT triathlon this weekend. I wasn't planning on doing this race, but I got an email that the awards ceremony for the SW Challenge series will be held after the MVT triathlon. I took 1st place in the SW Challenge series AG 35-39 last year, so I can't miss that!

This years MVT triathlon is in the same area, & is the same distances as the MVTC triathlon, just a different (& better) Race Director. The old RD's retired. I've done this race 3 times before, I got flats 2 of the 3 times I've raced this event. The one year I didn't get a flat was 2006, I PR'd the course that year with a time of 1:36:03. Even though I'm still out of shape & over weight from my off season I'm relatively certain I'll break my MVT course PR this year. In 2006 I ran a 5K averaging an 8:08 pace, which was dang good considering the course & how much I weighed at the time. My bike & swim splits that year were ridiculous. I was surprised to remember how slow of a cyclist & swimmer I was in 2006! I'll post my race report as soon as I can!

Strength training

After the Sully Super Sprint triathlon I was sore, much more than I should have been. I realized I need to implement some strength training. Today was my 1st day & my boy decided to join in also. Here's a video of him lifting with me.

Holloman air force base duathlon 2011 registration form

After a week of daily phone calls I have finally got my hands on a 2011 Holloman duathlon registration form! It was password encrypted so I decided to just post it here on my blog for anyone o print off for their own use.

The 2011 Sully Super Sprint triathlon race report

Today I raced in one of my all time favorite triathlons, the Sully Super Sprint Triathlon in Alpine Texas. It's an extremely difficult 3 mile run, a 15 mile bike, & a 360 yard swim. Some of my favorite fellow competitors showed up, Rob Lovett, John Gordea, & Bobby Gonzales. I think I end up have more fun visiting with them than I do racing!

Bobby Gonzales absolutely crushed everyone at this race- no surprise there. He finished in 1st place overall with an astonishing time of 63 minutes.

A guy I've raced with for a couple years by the name of Brooks came up to me, shook my hand & told me I'd been his golden carrot. He told me we race in the same age group & one of his goals has been to beat me. He said that he can usually run faster than me but that I always bike well enough to finish the race ahead of him. Apparently he is now my golden carrot because he didn't just beat me, he mopped the floor with my butt!!! I'll have to check the official finishing times tomorrow, but I think he finished 3rd place overall male & came in somewhere around 5 minutes ahead of me!!! This guy got fast! He'll be a force to be reckoned with!

A guy by the name of Rob Lovett raced today, he is now in his 2nd year of racing triathlons. We've had some amazing neck & neck finishes. Last month he beat me soundly at the Presidents day duathlon. He had finished almost 4 minutes ahead of me on the run & then put even more time on me on the bike. Today I was able to finish the run 20 seconds behind him. I was able to make up a good 12 seconds in the transition to the bike & passed him about half a mile from the bike start. I had a lead on him of about 50 meters at the halfway point, but that didn't last long, he passed me just a few minutes later & he was able to get about 100 meters ahead of me by the end of the bike. I made up a lot of time in the 2nd transition, he was no more than 20 yards ahead of me when he entered the water. I knew last time we had raced that I was a much faster swimmer, but that was 10 months ago. I knew if his swimming had improved at all from our last race it would be doubtful if I could catch him because of the very short swim. This races swim is only 360 yards. Somehow I was able to bridge the gap & pass him on the 4th lap & was able to put a 30 second lead on him by the finish.

I finished 5th place overall male with a time of 77 minutes 10 seconds, which was a little over 3 minutes slower than I was able to do at this race last year.

I really love this race. It's held in one the the most beautiful towns I've ever seen. For such a small triathlon the race directors go all out. There are volunteers at every turn & corner of the race so an athlete never has to worry about getting off course or lost. The awards ceremony is always held quickly, the shirts are top notch performance tees, the race packet has a few goodies in it like Honey Milk post workout drinks, & the medals are top notch, there's free food post race, & there's free post race massages!

a more traditional aproach to triathlon training

I apoligize for not posting more triathlon related material lately, my oldest son Cody has started wrestling and is practicing 4 days a week and is dancing 1 day a week. My daughter is also doing dance. With all the new activities my babies are now doing I was struggling to find time to blog. By the way, I've started a blog about my son wrestling, it's http://juniorwrestler.blogspot.com/ I've mostly posted videos and pictures so far. I'm sure proud of him. He's doing AMAZING for being only 3 years old. Check it out.

The last couple months of training has been going great. I've been concentrating on building my base fitness and dropping my off season weight since January. So far I've dropped 29 pounds & only have 20 pounds more to lose to be at my ultimate race weight of 185! So far this year anytime I felt tired or unmotivated I took the day off of training. This is an approach I've never attempted before. I'd always been told I should have an off season, then a season of slowly building endurance and base fitness, then have some hard training at the end of the year. I knew this was the way triathlon training was supposed to be done, but I never did it. My approach has always been to train hard all season long. My approach to training never worked out for a long productive season. I'd start off training really hard in the early winter when everyone else was ramping down their training. I would log at least 550 bike miles and 100 run miles a month with lots of speed work all winter long. Every year without fail I'd be really fast until the summer, then I'd start to feel ran down and fatigued. I never allowed myself rest and recovery, much less an off season so when I felt ran down I'd chalk it up to weakness and force myself to train even harder. Eventually my body couldn't handle the amount & intensity of my training anymore so I'd get burned out and I'd stop training, start eating more, I'd gain back all the weight I'd lost, and I'd end up having a poor performance at my years end my A race.

Every year that was what I did. This year I'm learning from my mistakes & breaking the pattern. This year I'm starting off easy, ramping up my training slowly. I'm feeling confident in my new training methods & am hoping this more traditional approach to training will help me achieve my seasons ultimate goal of a sub 13 hour Ironman in November, and succeed at my 2nd most important goal of beating my best friend Jimmy at my tune up race, The Elephantman half Iron in September.

The sprawl

Here's a video of my son learning the sprawl. He really seems to love wrestling.

The Patriots coach told me the SFJW won't have enough kids his age to have a pre-k division so he'd like me to put him in the kindergarten division. The coach said he'd be wrestling kids no more than 4 pounds away from Cody, & Cody weighs 37 pounds. I can't imagine there'd be a ton of 4 & 5 year olds who weigh less than 40 pounds, but regardless, I'm afraid of wrestling kids 2 years older than he is. If he had more experience I'd be more comfortable with it. But since he's only had 2 practices I have to admit

takedowns

Here's a video of my boy practing takedowns for the 1st time.

Essential life skills

Tonight my children & I were practicing some skills essential to a successful life, push ups & pull ups.

wrestling warm up

my son warming up for his 1st wrestling practice with the Santa Fe Patriots!

taking the back

Here my son is trying to break bad habits. I taught him the basic jiu jitsu
positions. Here is is trying to keep in the rear mount, in jiu jitsu that's a good thing, in wrestling that's not a good thing.

learning to wrestle!

1st full contact wrestling

Here my son is experiencing his first full contact wrestling.

my boy the wrestler!

Cody James did amazing his 1st day of wrestling with the Santa Fe Patriots! He paid attention the entire time, took directions well & wrestled hard the entire practice even against a boy who had 25 pounds & 1.5 years on him. After watching him even his Mommy is excited about him wrestling at only 3 years of age.

If there's enough 3 & 4 year olds who register he'll have his 1st tournament here in Santa Fe next Saturday. If there aren't enough three & four year olds they'll want to have him wrestle against 5 & 6 year old kids as close in weight as they can find to him, which is 37 pounds. I hate to be the frightened parent here, but if there aren't enough kids in his division I won't let him compete yet, I don't want him to get hurt his first week into wrestling & become discouraged. It would be different if he was experienced. If he had a few months of practicing I may feel differently, I feel wrestling kids that much loder than him with absolutely no experience would be asking to much & be dangerous for him.

From here on out he'll be practicing 4 days a week year round. Think about it, by the time he's wrestling as a senior in high school he'll have 14 years experience!!

Childrens wrestling!

I've been dreaming about getting my oldest son into wrestling since he was born but I assumed wrestling teams didn't allow kids on their team until they are close to mid school age. I'd heard the Santa Fe Patriots had one of the best wrestling programs in the state and because I'm slightly OCD I contacted them under the assumption I'd be told he could start in 5 years or so. I found out the program here in Santa Fe starts their kids out at 3. I'm stoked, my boy is 3.5! I could have had him start wrestling tomorrow night, but I desperately want to be there for his 1st practice & I work tomorrow night. So his 1st day of wrestling will be on Monday!!!! Man am I excited! I'll keep you posted on how it goes!!!

Scooter girl

Today was the 2nd day I took my kids to a skate park. Today we tried the skate park in Santa Fe. We were there for over 3 hours when we got rained out & they still didn't want to go home. 3 hours of hard physical activity is going to make for a fantastic nap!

My 5 year old daughter felt much more confident on her scooter trying new tricks & going down bigger ramps. She seems to have mastered the leg pump when going up and down a wall or bowl. Here's a quick video of her.

Ripping it up 2

Getting braver! He gets going so fast his hoodie gets blown off.

Rippin it up

I took my kids to the skate park today. Out of all our babies my middle son is our most tentative, but today he started doing things that was scaring me! I don't know what got into him!

calories burned during Ironman triathlon

On November 2011 I competed in Ironman Arizona. I weighed 182 pounds and burned 6,842 calories. Apparently Ironman distance triathlons are a great way to burn calories!

fearless

Out of all 3 of my babies, my daughter is my most fearless. Here she is spinning on a merry-go-round. She spins so fast that she makes kids older than her freak out and want to get off. I love that little dare-girl.

The SW challenge series points keeper

Since I did my 1st triathlon in 2004 I've been competing in the SW Challenge series. It's the largest & oldest series in the world. Tonight I found the message on the web page where I usually find the series points standings:

For the past 11 years I have thoroughly enjoyed keeping the points for SW Challenge Series. Being the "pointskeeper" has provided me with a way to contribute to my passion (endurance sports) and meet a lot of great people. Thus it saddens me to announce that I have decided not to continue keeping the points for the Series. With the recent addition of many new races and the huge increases in participation at most of the races, the task of keeping the points has become almost overwhelming. However, the additional workload wasn't the deciding factor; the main reason is that I feel the series has outgrown my ability to accurately keep the points using my manual methods.

I plan to continue this yahoo group as an endurance sports information source. I will be sending out a message soon to explain other plans for the group.

The good news is that the Series is continuing and further Series information will be available on http://www.southwestchallengeseries.com/

John LeRoy

Anyone know what's going to happen to the series? Will there just be a new points keeper or is there more serious changes coming?

Just a reminder, the Jay Benson registration opens this morning, March 1st 2011. This event always sells out so if you're wanting to race it you better sign up soon!

Escape artist

Today I found my 1.5 year old playing outside on our play set unsupervised. I got upset at my 3 year old because I assumed he had let my 1.5 year old out the front door. Later in the day I caught my youngest opening the front door by himself to play outside to his hearts content. Looks like our youngest is smart & loves trouble!