Snow birding it up

Training in the Portland, OR winter is not the easiest thing to do. It is cold and rainy, and it gets dark very early.  With low circulation in my right hand, cold weather causes me a lot of pain when I’ve been out on the bike for more than an hour. Solution? Move to a warmer climate during the winter.  Two years ago I was in Phoenix 5 days a week for about 3 months. During that time I learned all the training locations, made friends with the local athletes and had a blast.  So I’ve moved back for a few months.  I told my grandfather that I was becoming a snow bird and he queried (or you could say “said”), “Son aren’t you a little young for that?”

I’ve been in Phoenix for a few days and been enjoying the sun and warmer weather immensely.  On Saturday Allan and Alison were in town for a Challenged Athletes Foundation swim clinic and they helped look at my swim stroke.  I’m in the middle of a rather large swim block and have made some fairly major changes to my swim mechanics, swimming out doors in the sun versus inside is so, so much more enjoyable.  I’m working on my tan and stroke at the same time.

Allan and Alison

I still have to take my first bike ride here in Phoenix.  This year I’ll be racing on a Specialized Shiv TT.  When I got the bike late last year it was like getting on a rocket ship. Super Super Fast! I’m still adjusting to the more aggressive positioning that Russell at Upper Echelon Fitness put me into. On longer rides its not super comfortable, however since I race short course triathlon its worth sacrificing a bit of long term comfort for a lot of speed. I love it!

Less than 7 mins from my winter house there are some great off-pavement trails for running.  Monday afternoon I was up there for some light trail running.  It’s a bit different running on trails in Arizona; everything is rocky and hard.  This time of year in Oregon trails are pretty muddy and slick.  I think I might miss that while I’m here. Compare and contrast below:

Portland Vs Phoenix

From here on out this winter is all about consistency and staying injury free.  I’m building towards USA ParaTriathlon National Championship in Austen, TX on May 28.  Hoping to see the top of the podium again!

Sep 18: 2011 ITU ParaTriathlon World Championship

The last week I've been in China to race in this year's ParaTriathlon World Championship.  Saturday night was a good friends wedding but the previous week had been so busy with work and final preparations to leave for China that I had not started to pack. I stayed up all night before leaving to pack and clean.  Arriving in China was pretty easy although getting to the hotel took about 5 hours between waiting for my bike, clearing customs and immigration, waiting for the ITU bus and driving around Beijing.  I was rooming with Travis (see pic below)

The rest of the week was full of final training, race meetings and similar. Race day rolled around. Our start was at 3:45 pm so after a light morning jog I spent the day relaxing, reading, repacking my race bag and trying to get my head in the right spot to race.  Most of the morning I felt pretty keyed up and nervous and anxious. I was trying to take Phil 4:6 to heart. I made a few calls home to talk with people which helped a lot. Then decided to start reading Psalms. I started at the beginning and just read. By the time I got to chapter 18 I was starting to put my trust in God and by chapter 24 I was calm and focused.  There is something about those poems which calms the soul. I think its the raw emotion that the writers display.

I road up to the race site about 3k's away to check into the athletes lounge.  I the way up I noticed that the front break on wasn't retracting quite right and was causing some rubbing on one side. Lucky for me Specialized was on site with their Team. I stopped by and they were able to get it mostly working.  Turns out that the cable is catching where it comes out of the stem. 

Checking into the lounge and then getting my transition area set up was pretty easy to do. I got in my run warmup but ran out of time to do a swim warm up. There is no temperature cut off for wearing a wetsuit for paraTriathletes. I was planning on not wearing a wetsuit because the water was pretty warm, however one of athlete put on a wetsuit and within about 30 seconds everyone had one on.  

We all lined up for introductions, starting with the Tri-6 athletes and working towards the Tri-1 we were all introduced.  I got an ok spot on the starting pontoon. Close to some of the fast swimmers with them on the correct side for my breathing to be able to watch them.  The start was fast and furious as always. I hung with the lead pack for the first 100m then got dropped.  I need to learn to go out strong then settle to stay on the feet of the leaders instead of building throughout the swim. After the second buoy I started to catch people eventually I found a good pair of feet to follow for the rest of the swim.

I booked it into transition and with the help of my handler quickly got the wetsuit off and onto the bike. Exiting transition I jumped on my bike and slid my feel into the shoes. Or at least that was the plan. In reality I jumped on the bike, slid one foot into the shoe and then kicked the other shoe off the peddle. the 10-15 seconds I lost going back to get my shoe was the difference between 7th and 8th.

On the bike I was generating good power but people who I out biked last year pasted me.  Even one of the AK athletes was able to hold with me for a while on one of the climbs. I found out after the race that I had a slow leak in the rear tire and I road most of the race with a low tire.  The bike course was challenging and interesting with two 12% incline climbs and some semi technical descents. The first loop I didn't realize that I could use the whole road and stayed in my lane. I'm too used to having to follow the rules of the road.  Even with the low tire I was pretty fast. The course was 2k longer and much more challenging than the pancake flat course last year in Budapest and I road essentially the same time.  Thats what training and a much faster bike will do for you! I'm bummed that I wasn't able to use the rocket ship of a bike that Specialized sent me to its full potential but sometimes you just have bad luck.

Transition two was smooth and fast.  Then it was off to a four loop run. I ran my heart out. On each loop there was a 180 turn where you could get a time check on athletes in front and behind you. I was closing a 30 second gap with a Dutch athlete and trying to stay away from a German behind me. On the third lap the German passed me and I passed the Dutchman.  The German started to build his lead to 15 seconds but on the last straight before the finish I started to close. Each step got be a bit closer. Around the final 180 turn you need to swing wide to get to the 300 meter finishing shoot. When I went to make the wide turn two wheel chair athletes pinned me into the turn. I had to slow up to almost a walk to get around them.  By then the German I was chasing was gone. I finished 11 seconds behind him in 8th place.

With my handler after the race

All in all it was a good race, much better than last year.  The field this year was much more competitive than previous years.  The Tri-4 field continues to be the most competitive in ParaTriathlon. Its good to compete and I've had a good year with 2 wins (Madrid and NYC) I'm much more competitive than I was last year. Over the course of the off season I'll be focused training to produce more wins next year.

Sep 6: Portland City Triathlon

It has been a crazy few weeks since my last post about winning at the USA ParaTriathlon National Championship. The last hard push for training for World Championship and work has been eating all my blogging time up. Today though I have some time to write Two weeks ago I raced one of my favorit races of the season, the Portland Triathlon. I love this race. It's my hometown race and plays to my strengths with a challenging bike course (climbing and technical descents) then a flat fast run course. Because of the location a lot of my friends are able to come. Check out these shirts they made for me.

The race started with a fast swim in the river. I felt good and was able to find a strong rythem. Coming out of the water in T1 I slipped on some wet grass. I didn't notice it at the time but I banged ny elbow pretty good. By the run it was swollen up and hurting.  I biked very well. I wouldn't say I crushed it mostly because I didn't take risks on the descents. With Worlds so close I didn't want to go down. The run was hard for me. I tried to build it but just couldn't get my legs under me till the last kilometer.  Even with a slower run I still was fast enough for my first age group podium!

Aug 11: USA ParaTriathlon National Champion

National Champion!!!!

Yes, I won another National Championship!  Two years ago some of the fastest guys were  hurt and unable to race.  I jumped on the chance and won.  This year was so much sweeter.  The big guns were out and I pulled of an awesome win!

Here's my race report:

Race morning it rained, the roads must have been pretty slick because shortly before the highway was to be closed for the race a car hit the gard rail and over turned.  Fortunately everyone was ok, however the race start was delayed so that the oil and gas could be cleaned up.  No one wants to race on a slick surface and then go down.

The New York City Triathlon race is a bit trick as far as the start times go. This year with the delayed start and the new starting procedure I wasn't quite sure when the start would be.  I timed my warm up a little late so only got in about 10 mins instead of my normal 20-30. Also because of the current there is no swim warm up.

The swim was pretty rough (see video of an age group wave).  The wind was going against the current producing significant swell.  I had a very hard time finding my rhythm until the last 500 meters.  Eventually I figured out how to swim up one side and ride the swell back down and still be able to breath.

Unlike last year I had good transitions.  T1 was fast and efficient.  My handler was super great and helped with my wetsuit and helmet.

The first 5-10 kilometers of the bike I found it hard to generate power.  It wasn't until the first climb that the legs started to really kick in.  This is a bit odd because usually I get out of the water ready to kill it on the bike.  About 1 kilometer from the first turn on the bike I spotted the Willie Stewart who I thought was in the lead.  Willie is a fast runner so I knew I needed to attack him on the bike.  I passed him on a short steep climb and then kept building my lead.  At the second turn I had almost 2 mins on him.

On the bike at USA Nationals

When I hit T2 I was a bit surprised to find out that there was another athlete ahead of me.  I'd never raced Daniel before so I missed him on the bike.  That happens when there are 4000 age group racers out there.  Worse I had no idea how well he could run.

Look at those awesome Nike Streak XC shoes!

My plan for the run was to build it from the start.  As it started a woman ran next to me asking "what are you doing." To which I replied, "Running."  She thought I was a pro. She wanted to pace me but had to drop off after the first mile.  By this time is was hot and humid 90+ degrease and 90% humidity. My TYR carbon suit which normally dries in about 3 mins was soaked with sweet the whole run.  I kept pushing knowing Daniel was out there and worried about the fast runners behind me.  With 1.2 kilometers to the finish I passed Daniel.  I was so deep in my own personal pain cave that I didn't realized it was him until i heard him swear as I went by.

The last few meters of the race were totally amazing.  I may have enjoyed them a little bit too much as you can see in the picture.

After the race I spent time in the medical tent getting ice and cooling down.  This always seems to happen to me after hot races.  In the finnish area there was a Muscle Milk tent which I took advantage of. Then went to the Accenture VIP tent for food and to wait for the podium.

Special thanks to: Coach Lara, USA Triathlon, PACE, Athletes Lounge, Muscle Milk, Trigger Point and many others  who have helped me this year!

On a sad, rather serious note, there were two deaths in the swim this year.  One of them was the sister of one of my coworkers.  These things are a strong reminder that sports are dangerous.  Things can happen quickly that are often out of your control, no matter how in shape you are or how good of a swimmer you or how good of a skier you are.  My heart and prayers go out to the families so effected my this tragic loss of life.

Aug 6: USA ParaTriathlon National Championship is Tomorrow

Tomorrow is the Accenture ParaTriathlon US National Championship.  I love this race.  It plays to all my strengths.  The swim is fast in the Hudson river.  The bike is a challenging course that requires power and guts.  The road surface is not very good and there are a ton of people on the road to get into the way.  The run is a rolling course through central park.  

Two years ago I had a breakthrough.  Some of the fastest guys were injured and unable to race.  I took advantage of that and pulled of out my first ever win.  It was awesome.  In 2010 Willie Stewart was back on form and he beat me.  I came in third overall and second in the arm category.  This year I'm looking for redemption and a second National Title.  Race is tomorrow morning at 6:40 am.  Wish me luck!

Weekly Training Recovery

Recovery is one of the most important and often over looked areas in triathlon.  Sometimes I think it should be the 4th discipline. Swim, Bike, Run, Recover. If I'm honest I have a hard time taking this to heart. I always want to train more, train harder and train faster.  Coach is always working on me to make sure I take tie to recover between workouts.  For the past 1.5 years I've been taking one day off a week.  We've found that the extra day sets me up for progressively harder workouts.  On my recovery days are a bit different from training days and generally contain a session of muscle regen with Trigger Point and a massage.

Sometimes I stress about my fitness levels with a day off but I haven't had any injury that would cause me to take more than a day off in almost 2 years. And if the results from a few weeks ago are any indication of fitness I'm right where I need to be right now.

I think the tendency of all athletes is to try and push the limits too far. There is a real danger of not recovering or over training or injury and then having to take weeks off.  That is what we should be more concerned about.

ITU ParaTriathlon World Cup Madrid 2011

Here is my race report for ITU World Cup Madrid.  It was a fast hard race.

The swim was a bit tough and felt longer than it was. I was surprised to come out of the water with the pack. The run to T1 is really long. Probably about 400 yards with the first 50 across a floating plastic pontoon which moves under you. It's a bit unsettling. I moved up a few places on the transition run.

I had a quick transition but was a bit over ever to get my feet in the shoes once I mounted the bike. Road the first few 100 meters with one foot between the strap and the shoe but not in it.

I pretty much crushed the bike course. Within the first k I was in first place. There was a photo/video bike who followed the leader. At first it was a bit annoying but then you just end up pushing harder. You've got to look good on film and all. At the last 180 turn 2.5 k before T2 I did a time check and was up on 2nd place by about 45 seconds.

Hit T2 and missed finding my rack finding my rack. Next time I'll be sure to scout it better. Lost a few seconds there but not to bad. The ITU transitions are super nice! When you get off the bike you are pretty much at your rack unlike big transition areas where you run a ways to the rack.

The run was hard, I took off at a fast pace and felt like I was going to die. Chest heaving, couldn't get a breath. I must have looked like crap to the guys on the moto bike. I kept praying for the turn. Eventually it came and then I realized why the run was hurting so much. It was a false flat. The way back rocked and I picked it up a gear. The guy in second was way too far back to catch me. And I cruised in to the finish. I'm trying to get race photos but for now you'll have to settle for the podium shot.