Rider's block

...now if I could only get the "d" to sound like a "t," which would make the title sound more like the double meaning I intended.

The last weekend in September, my next older brother, Charlie, flew down from Atlanta to Orlando to help me pack up all my belongings and move to Chattanooga, TN. I am now living in with my oldest brother, sister-in-law and two nieces back in Chattanooga. I kind of feel like Uncle Jesse from the TV show "Full House," except I'm not married to super hottie of the 80's and 90's, Lori Loughlin, who also starred in one of my favorite movies all-time, Rad. But, I digress.

I've skipped a few races and updates over the past month, so 'lemme fill you in on a few goings on in my life, athletically speaking:

1.) August 30th - I competed in and was overall winner of the Crystal River Triathlon in Crystal River, FL, which was a great, hot and sweaty sprint triathlon on the west coast of the sunshine state. The swim was roughly 400 meters of gulf water, which helped me feel more buoyant, and I was able to come out of the water first. Onto the bike, where I had just been fitted by fit guru Adam Baskin, I was able to sustain my lead. The run was flat and hot, but I was able to hold a pace a big boy like me should be happy with, which carried me to the tape. At this point in the season, I had experienced some injuries and other issues, so it was extremely motivating and encouraging to be able to win a race.

2.) September 7th - I competed in and was overall winner of the Silver Springs Triathlon, in Silver Springs, FL, which was again, a hot and sweaty sprint triathlon in central Florida. I have never raced consecutive weekends, so it was nice to get the blood pumping again. The swim was in a beautiful spring fed, 75 degree, crystal clear oasis in the middle of a sleepy town. I took the 700 meter swim out conservatively, then progressively picked up the pace until the exit. Onto the bike, where there was nothing fancy to write home about; nonetheless, I kept up the intensity and came into T2 with a good lead. The run was through a theme park, which means there were 180-degree turns and serpentines to contend with, but I was able to run faster than the previous weekend, thanks to mother nature, and my coach who figured out I wear too much clothing; I raced in only tri shorts, and miraculously was able to stay much cooler ;)

3.) September 20th - I competed in the USA Triathlon Amateur National Championships in Portland, OR. The race is contested at the same venue for two consecutive years, with this year being the second, so I was familiar with the course having competed there in 2007. When the gun (air horn) sounded, all us 25-29 year old men took off in a clockwise rectangular swim around Lake Hagg. I layed the hammer down for about 200 meters, then calmed the the 'ol blood pumper down a bit as I approached about 1000 meters, when I picked the pace up again. I was able to come out of the water with a decent swim time, quite eager for the hard bike course which ensued. I wanted to negative split the two loop bike course, while still pedaling at a decent clip for the first loop. I was able to retain my position and, I think, pass a swimmer who came out of the water ahead of me. I began the run in third place, I think, and was able to run quite a bit faster than last year, which landed me a 15th overall finish, and sixth in my age group. I'm happy.

4.) September 27th (move day) - I ran a 15k in Orlando. I'm not sure why I subjected myself to such torture, but my coach and I are onto this whole "racing" idea ;) I like it. I was able to run a 53:52, which, as a self proclaimed amphibian, elated me. Very inspiring for my final races of the season.

5.) October 11 - Hickory Knob International Triahtlon in McCormick, SC. In the middle of the week I accompanied my dad on a business trip to the nether-regions of eastern South Carolina. That about sums it up. On our return, we detoured and found a sleepy golfing community on Strom Thurmond Lake which hosted an impressive amount of athletes in an end of season race. I was first out of the water by a solid 75 seconds, and mounted the bike faster than the Lone Ranger mounted Silver. I hammered the first two miles of the bike and found myself at a major intersection, where I was directed by the local Sheriff's department to turn right. I hammered the next three miles and found myself at an even bigger intersection, except this time, there were no officers, chalk marks, volunteers or any other persons telling me which way to go. The officers at the first intersection sent me the wrong way. By the time I had returned to the point to get me back on the right course, I was already four miles out of the way, and my race was over. The race director from Setup Events was more than accommodating and understanding of my situation. Put this one in the redemption tank for the last race of the season, which is a half ironman in Wilmington, NC, also hosted by Setup Events. I'm ready to go.

Until next time, keep your rubber roadside down and enjoy the ride!

The Final Countdown

...not only is a tremendous falsetto representation of the finest music 1986 had to offer, but it represents the goings on in the life of yours truly.

My blog posts have been much less frequent than I would have hoped, and I won't make an excuse for the lack in writing which I am sure you all find riveting. That being said, all is quiet on the Orlando front. We have remained relatively unscathed by tropical storms, aside from road closures due to flash flooding. And as fate would dictate, the weather has forced me indoors. I do view this as a blessing. I have been logging some quality running on a treadmill, which isn't as mind-numbing as one would believe. I almost prefer the "hamster wheel" now, as I can have unrestricted access to my nutrition, fans blowing cool air, and passers-by in the gym wondering why there is a crazy man wearing tiny shorts and a John McEnroe headband sweating all over the place like he was in a Turkish bath.

Additionally, I have been cycling on my indoor trainer for a couple weeks now. For those of you unfamiliar with an indoor trainer, it is a contraption that attaches to the rear wheel of your bicycle with a resistance unit applying pressure to the rear tire to simulate the road. Here is what it looks like: Computrainer. Cycling on a trainer forces one to pay attention to cycling technique, as you can actually hear if there are discrepancies between the motion of each leg and force applied; I am always striving for the "even hum" sound. Similar to the treadmill, you can also have your water bottles etc, on a table next to you, allowing for more convenience while you hammer the will out of your legs. I also prefer to watch a movie on my trainer; nothing gets my blood pumping like watching the Von Trapp family stick it to the Nazis! Ok, not really. I do like to watch action/drama movies with some sort of lively soundtrack.

Now, back to the title of my blog. I have our USA Triathlon National Championships on Sept 20, for which I am aiming my cross hairs. Countdown one. The second countdown refers to my duration in Orlando. Following the month of September, I plan on meeting a few prerequisites then applying to a Pathologists Assistant program. For those of you who had no idea, I have been working as a tech in a pathology lab in Orlando.

So that pretty much sums it all up. Until next time, keep your tires rubber side down, and stay away from tropical storms.

Is it time to race yet?

On the eve of the Olympic Games, I am growing more anxious in my own endeavours. The beauty of the triathlon season is that we are able to compete from March until November, with many events all over the country on a weekly basis. My next race is Sunday, August 17th, in Gilford, NH. Keith Jordan and Endorfun Sports host Timberman, a 70.3 event. For those of you wondering what 70.3 means, it is a half ironman; Ironman is a masochistic event, consisting of 140.6 miles of swimming, cycling and running. The swim is 2.4 miles, the bike is 112 miles and the run is 26.2 miles. Divide each leg by two, and that's what I'll be doing in two Sundays.

I'm excited for a couple of reasons: one, I love New Hampshire. It's beautiful, and there are colder summer temps than the south, and rolling/difficult terrain. Two, I haven't exactly had the perfect season I had been expecting, so it will be nice to hopefully piece together a good effort. I have prepared quite well for this event (and the rest of my season), having hit some good solid training weeks of 20,000+ meters in the pool, 14hrs on the bike, and north of 60 miles of running.

I was also able to recharge my mental batteries this past weekend in Moultrie, GA, as I attended the wedding of two friends. The wedding, reception, and every event surrounding the weekend was spent with close friends, and I couldn't have asked for a better weekend. I had a phenomenal workout of approximately three hours on the best rope swing known to man. It was blast watching former national caliber divers successfully attempt acrobatics off this contraption. I tried, but failed miserably.

So for now, I am going to begin backing off my mileage and throwing in a bit of intensity in preparation for Timberman. I will keep everyone updated along the way, and maybe even write a blog as I relax before the event.

Until next time, keep your tires rubber-side down...

Chattanooga Waterfront Triathlon

Now that I've had some time to reflect, unpack and disinfect, I thought I might write about the race this past weekend:

I was excited to head back to Chattanooga not only to race, but to see my family and friends. My weekend started off better than amazing on Saturday morning as I was walking through the terminal and saw my niece with a huge grin on her face, dressed in purple and toting her suitcase, run to greet me...I could have gone home, never having raced at all, and been a perfectly content man.

After lunch and packet pick-up with my dad and niece, I think all of us were ready for the race.

Race morning. I had a good bike warm-up and was ready to walk the one mile upstream to the swim start with my dad and uncle. It was a nice relief to not have to do the walk by myself, as it helped me keep my mind relaxed. Before I knew it, I was swimming. I had the occasion to be one of the last swimmers to depart, as Team Magic did not have an elite amateur wave, which would come back to haunt me later in the race. Back to the swim, I was happy with the effort. With a quick T1, I was flying out of transition, but about half a mile into the ride, I came up on a beginner triathlete and was passing on the left, but to my surprise, this young lady swerved into me and I had to react by swerving out of her way.

I reacted and almost stayed upright. I hit the dirt (read: asphalt). Upon impact, my brand new water bottles from which I had never taken a single sip, were ejected. After about 30 seconds, I regained my composure and jumped back on my bike, sans nutrition, and hammered. Before I knew it, I was at the bike turnaround. I stopped. I calmly asked the volunteers if they had any fluids, as I had crashed and was depleted.

No luck. "Okay," I said to myself, and put my head down and rode. At about mile 18, I passed a competitor and noticed he had an aerobottle between his aerobars, a bottle on his downtube, seat tube, and a rear hydration rack with two bottles, making roughly 80+ ounces he was carrying on his person. I also notice these bottles were virtually full, as they were made of clear plastic. I slowed down to speak to this man, and gave him a brief recap of my day so far, and begged for a bottle. The man proceeded to tell me he was going to drink the remainder 60+ ounces of fluid with only seven miles remaining, and could spare no juice. Yikes...this man's belly ache might surpass the pain of my crash if he drank all his liquids.

Back to the bike. As I approached the last four miles, I found myself cycling in the hardest rain I have ever encountered on my bike. No big deal. I rode with my mouth open wide to hopefully get enough water in my mouth for a big gulp. I looked dumb.

After the fastest T2 of the day (my dad recorded all my splits) I stopped at the run start to drink as much fluid as I could from the aid station. This would not help. I don't remember running the first mile, and by mile two, the pain in my hip from crashing coupled with zero nutrition in my body from hammering for an hour and a half was enough to cause me to pull the plug. The volunteer said it was a good idea, as he said I looked rather pale. So I'm not "tan." I'm working on it.

As I was given a ride in a cool old jeep back to the staging area, I couldn't help but smile and laugh as I saw my nieces with my race number drawn on their arms and t-shirts by my awesome sister-in-law. This was hands down the best support crew I've ever had at a race, complete with mother, father, grandmother, both brothers, sister-in-law, uncle, nieces and countless friends. I hope I didn't leave anyone out of that count. Moral of the story: thank you so much, it means the world to me.

I was pleased to see my dad compile the race data in an Excel spreadsheet, which indicated that despite my crash, no nutrition, stopping at the bike turnaround, having a conversation with an overly hydrated competitor and cycling through a tropical deluge, I was only a few seconds behind the overall winner as we began the run. "Woulda, shoulda, coulda..." I could whine all day, but it is as useless as a rocking chair; it gives you something to do but it doesn't get you anywhere.

I am motivated, encouraged and ready to race the Timberman 70.3 on August 17. This half ironman is held in Gilford, NH, and I am more than excited to race in cooler temperatures and see how I hold up over this distance.

Until next time, keep your bike tires rubber-side down and share your juice.