Miami International Triathlon

1.5k swim/ 40k bike/ 10k run
Miami, FL
15 March, 2009
1st overall amateur

The best part of my weekend was no doubt the fact that my dad's cousin and her family hosted me at their home in Ft Lauderdale. They took me to and from the airport, fed me, gave me a great bed to sleep in, fed me, shuttled me to and from the race site, cheered for me, and fed me. Words cannot express my gratitude towards Tina, Brett, Tyler and Brittany. Thank you guys.

Saturday, the day before the race, I felt okay. I was finishing up a pretty heavy training block, so I was anxious to test out my racing abilities slightly tired. A good hour ride on Saturday loosened up my joints and got me ready to kick the tires and light the fires...yeehaw. Sunday, at approximately 5am, my adopted family shuttled me down I-95 towards Miami. On the way, we passed a "gentleman's club," which was still thriving with activity...at 5am. Bienvenidos a Miami, for sure.

We had to deposit our children, errr, bicycles, the day before the race, so the set up on race morning was fairly simple. I go for a quick jog warm up and throw on my awesome new Zoot wetsuit, the Zenith 2.0. I warm up for a few minutes in the water and get ready to lay the hammer down. The last instructions that were given to the Elite Amateur wave were to swim to the left of the big buoys, which I did. After about 200m, I had a nice gap on the rest of the field, and proceeded to hammer the rest of the 1500m. I swim to the left of the last buoy, as instructed, and exited the water with a nice 1:40 lead, give or take. As I am running up the beach, I hear my cousin, fans and race officials yelling at me to go back into the water, and swim the RIGHT of the last buoy, which was a good 30m away. Bummer. I came onto the beach the first time in about 17:30, so my little detour cost me about 1:15, which as fate would have it, still allowed me to be first out of the water. Onto T1.

The bike course was a two loop, out and back adventure on the Rickenbacker Causeway, towards Key Biscayne. Traveling west, towards mainland, we had a nice tailwind, almost direct. Traveling east, towards the Key, was a not-so-nice headwind. Oh well, everyone had to deal with it. My Kestrel Talon SL, thanks to Steve Harad, performed wonderfully. It was my first race on this machine, and she was nice. I bike the second loop in roughly 90 seconds faster than the first loop, which got me pumped for the run. Onto T2.

Matt Reed and Andy Potts were about to finish their first 5k loop when I started the run, as their wave left about six minutes before mine. It was fun pretending I was ahead of them for at least a little while, and when Matty caught me before I started my second loop, reality sunk in: I had another 5k to go, but at least I held them off for three miles (please include sarcasm). The run itself was beautiful, with some decent shade and views of the Bay. Last year, I was caught in the last half mile of the run by a Gazelle, and got second place. This year, I was looking over my shoulder, probably too often, nervous of a repeat of last year's efforts. I held my own this year and broke the tape to earn the W.

I'm already back to fairly intense training in preparation for my next race, which is the St Anthony's triathlon on April 26th. See you then,

Christmas Come Early

"Meli Kalikimaka is the thing to say on a bright Hawaiian Christmas Day..."

The past two weeks for me have been nothing shy of awesome. East Ridge Bicycles here in Chattanooga, TN and Kestrel Bikes have teamed up to put me on two Talon SL bikes; one road and one tri bike. Last week was the maiden voyage on the tri bike, and she screams down the road just like the bird of prey after whom she's named (ahem...brand name, Kestrel, that is, not the model name, thanks to my overly intelligent friend, Jimmy. Kestrel(brand name)=bird of prey. Talon(model name)=deadly sharp toe). I've already done a few rides on it, and being a "not entirely svelte" athlete, I appreciated the responsiveness of the frame, as I have about 174 lbs to put some power into the bike. I hit a sprint at nearly 1400 watts, and the Talon SL took it like a champ. More to come on these bikes after I put more miles on them.

Smith Optics has been so awesome to me over the past year, and their sunglasses provide my eyeballs with the safety I need, in addition to making me feel a bit more stylish with their frame designs and fashionable apparel. I have been racing and training in a pair of street sunglasses, the Super Method, and even though they're not "performance cycling glasses," I find they have outstanding eye coverage. Their polarized lenses also add to their sun-conquering light reduction.

I can't say enough good things about Zoot Sports. For the past two years, I have exclusively raced and trained in their apparel. They are not just a triathlon apparel company. In a most recent care package (understatement), I received some cycling bib shorts that hands down are more comfortable than any boutique brand, European, overpriced, fancy-chamois bibs I have ever worn. Eli, Brian, and the gang out in Vista, CA have really made me feel like part of the family, and words cannot express my gratitude. More to come on some of their 2009 products...

Last, but certainly not least, I had the honor of being a groomsman at one of my best friend's wedding this past weekend. Kyle and I have been buds for quite some time now, and it was awesome to see him tie the knot. I actually have known the bride, Crystal, for even longer than I've known Kyle. Crystal was a diver at Alabama while I was swimming, and the fact that I got to see two friends get married only made the weekend that much more special. Everyone knew everyone at the wedding, and we all had a wonderful time thanks to a very special day between two of some of the best people I know.

Until next time, keep your tires rubber-side down, wear sunscreen, and eat your veggies.

Lazlo Hollyfeld

One of the cinematic jewels of our time, 1985's "Real Genius" was on television last night, as I stretched on the floor to recover from the week of training I had just completed.

Why such an obscure title to a blog post, and what does this have to do with endurance sports? Contemplation and self-realization. "I drank what?" is a line presented by Val Kilmer's character, Chris Knight, during a moment in the film when he is more or less reviewing his collegiate experience following a conversation with a corrupt professor. I encourage everyone to see this film immediately.

Chris Knight's pensive looks atop his dorm's roof caused me to be pensive as I writhed on the floor atop my foam roller to help stretch out my IT bands. My coaches are in the process of getting me ready for this upcoming season, and yesterday's reflection brought me to an utterly happy place as to my current level of fitness at the end of February. Two weekends ago, I traveled to Orlando, FL to train for a few days with my coach Marc before racing in Florida's Great Escape, a 1.5k swim, 18mile bike, and a 5mile run. Starting in the second wave, I was too proud (read: too dumb) to wear a wetsuit, but I still managed to swim within 50 seconds of the wetsuit-clad ITU guys who took off in the wave prior to mine. I'll take it. Onto the bike, I gave it what I had. My time in the saddle recently hasn't been exactly epic, as I have been limited to drills on the trainer, and small chain ring riding, so I wasn't unhappy with my bike split. Onto the run, I was able to put one foot in front of the other quick enough to win the overall amateur title. It's time to toss my hat in the ring with the big boys and earn my Elite license.

I am more than excited to be racing for East Ridge Bicycles in Chattanooga, TN this year. I have known these guys for quite some time, and through them I will be racing on Kestrel Bicycles. I am ecstatic to continue my relationship with Zoot, Powerbar, PEDRO's and Smith Optics. These companies are much more than business entities; they are friends of mine. So, thank you, and let's get ready to rock and roll this year.

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!