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| Finish of ParaTriathlon Nationals |
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| On the bike at ParaTriathlon Nationals |
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| Athletes Lounge Wednesday Night Training Race |
Monday, August 2, 2010
August 2, 2010: Racing Pictures
Thought I would share a few pictures from my recent races.
Monday, July 26, 2010
July 26, 2010: Accenture ParaTriathlon National Championship
I got up at 3:30 AM on race morning, showered, grabbed something to eat, and then caught a cab to T-1. For some reason traffic in New York at 4:30 in the morning was bad, real bad. So I made it to transition a bit later than I wanted to but still with plenty of time before it closed.
The 1 mile walk from transition to the swim start was different this year. They completed a new promenade that is right along the river. As we walked to the start we saw several waves go by, including the pro waves. Watching them I decided that I was going to get an outside line no matter what. The current was stronger the farther from shore.
Because it’s the national championship us paraTriathletes get treated pretty well. At the swim start and finish we share a tent with the pros and get treated like them. That means, among other things, we get to skip the madness and hassle of dealing with the age group chip distribution and have a great place to just relax before our start time.
I took a quick warm up jog, and then it was time to get the wetsuit on and head to the start pontoon. I got a spot towards the end of the pontoon where the current was strongest. When the horn went off I fought for position for a bit and had feet to follow for about 200 meters, then I was dropped and swam the rest on my own. A few times the current pushed me closer towards shore than I wanted, but I headed back out to where it was stronger each time. I had a good swim, not amazing but strong. At the swim exit I had my wetsuit stripped off. Then it was the 700 meter run to transition. Wow it just kept going and going.
I got to transition where the handlers told me I was about 3 mins down on the leading 2 arm guys. That’s a lot of time to make up but I decided that I would push on the bike. This year the bike was not as congested as last year. I pushed hard on the bike and at the first turn saw the leader about 2 and a half mins ahead of me. I was making time. I did have one really close call on the bike, while passing at about 31-32 mph a rider suddenly swerved towards me. That pushed me into a parallel rut. I could hear the tires bouncing off both sides of the rut. Thankfully I kept my bike upright and popped out. I caught one of the paraTriathletes ahead of me just before the second turn, second place on the road.
Storming into T2 with a good runner right behind me I tossed my bike in the racks, got a time check on the runner in front of me (2 mins), threw on my racing flats and took off. By this time it was starting to get really hot. Running down 72nd street to Central Park was really awesome; I found my legs right away and then started to push. My mantra was run hard, run efficient. I flew past age grouper after age grouper. Once I was in the park I kept on pushing. I knew the guy ahead of me was a fast runner but you never know what might happen.
The weather had gotten really hot. I walked the water stops to take in as much fluid as possible. Every stop, CytoMax, water, water on the face, water on the head, water, then right back to race pace. At mile 3 I picked up the pace even more. The last 2 miles really hurt, hurt a lot.
I finished in 2:22:16. That was 2nd in the Arm Category and 3rd ParaTriathlete over all! All in all a good outing, my fastest 10k off the bike in some of the hardest conditions I’ve ever been in.
Next up is the Mid Summer Triathlon (Portland, OR) August 1st
The 1 mile walk from transition to the swim start was different this year. They completed a new promenade that is right along the river. As we walked to the start we saw several waves go by, including the pro waves. Watching them I decided that I was going to get an outside line no matter what. The current was stronger the farther from shore.
Because it’s the national championship us paraTriathletes get treated pretty well. At the swim start and finish we share a tent with the pros and get treated like them. That means, among other things, we get to skip the madness and hassle of dealing with the age group chip distribution and have a great place to just relax before our start time.
I took a quick warm up jog, and then it was time to get the wetsuit on and head to the start pontoon. I got a spot towards the end of the pontoon where the current was strongest. When the horn went off I fought for position for a bit and had feet to follow for about 200 meters, then I was dropped and swam the rest on my own. A few times the current pushed me closer towards shore than I wanted, but I headed back out to where it was stronger each time. I had a good swim, not amazing but strong. At the swim exit I had my wetsuit stripped off. Then it was the 700 meter run to transition. Wow it just kept going and going.
I got to transition where the handlers told me I was about 3 mins down on the leading 2 arm guys. That’s a lot of time to make up but I decided that I would push on the bike. This year the bike was not as congested as last year. I pushed hard on the bike and at the first turn saw the leader about 2 and a half mins ahead of me. I was making time. I did have one really close call on the bike, while passing at about 31-32 mph a rider suddenly swerved towards me. That pushed me into a parallel rut. I could hear the tires bouncing off both sides of the rut. Thankfully I kept my bike upright and popped out. I caught one of the paraTriathletes ahead of me just before the second turn, second place on the road.
Storming into T2 with a good runner right behind me I tossed my bike in the racks, got a time check on the runner in front of me (2 mins), threw on my racing flats and took off. By this time it was starting to get really hot. Running down 72nd street to Central Park was really awesome; I found my legs right away and then started to push. My mantra was run hard, run efficient. I flew past age grouper after age grouper. Once I was in the park I kept on pushing. I knew the guy ahead of me was a fast runner but you never know what might happen.
The weather had gotten really hot. I walked the water stops to take in as much fluid as possible. Every stop, CytoMax, water, water on the face, water on the head, water, then right back to race pace. At mile 3 I picked up the pace even more. The last 2 miles really hurt, hurt a lot.
I finished in 2:22:16. That was 2nd in the Arm Category and 3rd ParaTriathlete over all! All in all a good outing, my fastest 10k off the bike in some of the hardest conditions I’ve ever been in.
Next up is the Mid Summer Triathlon (Portland, OR) August 1st
Thursday, May 6, 2010
May 6, 2010: Masters Swimming
Swimming in Phoenix is such a Joy. In Portland all the pools I swim in are indoors, shallow and often a bit short. In Phoenix however there's a great pool really close to where I was staying. Its outdoors, deep and can be set up for long course meters. Long course meters is swimming lingo for a pool that has 50 meter lengths. Most pools are short course yards or 25 yard lengths.
There also is an amazing masters swimming group, Sun Devils Masters. They meet 3 times a day weekdays in Tempe and once on Saturday, plus other times and places further from where I was staying. My swimming grew leaps and bounds swimming with other swimmers. The first session I was barely able to hold 1:50 100's on a significant about of rest. When I left Phoenix two and a half months later I was swimming 1:45's on 2:00 no problem and put down a fastest 100 at 1:36. Huge improvement's that I'm super happy with. Now that I'm back in Portland I need to find a group that I can swim with here. Swimming by myself just isn't quite the same.
There also is an amazing masters swimming group, Sun Devils Masters. They meet 3 times a day weekdays in Tempe and once on Saturday, plus other times and places further from where I was staying. My swimming grew leaps and bounds swimming with other swimmers. The first session I was barely able to hold 1:50 100's on a significant about of rest. When I left Phoenix two and a half months later I was swimming 1:45's on 2:00 no problem and put down a fastest 100 at 1:36. Huge improvement's that I'm super happy with. Now that I'm back in Portland I need to find a group that I can swim with here. Swimming by myself just isn't quite the same.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
April 29, 2010: 2010 USAT ParaTriathlon National Team
I just found out that I've been selected to the 2010 USAT ParaTriathlon National Team! I'm super stoked and excited. This is awesome!!!!!!
Being selected to the Para Triathlon National Team is something I've been working towards since I found out about its existence. All the hard work over the last few years is really starting to pay off. I will follow up with more info as it becomes available. But for now I'm just super excited.
GO Team USA!!!
Being selected to the Para Triathlon National Team is something I've been working towards since I found out about its existence. All the hard work over the last few years is really starting to pay off. I will follow up with more info as it becomes available. But for now I'm just super excited.
GO Team USA!!!
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
April 20, 2010: Leaving Phoenix behind
I've spent the last few months traveling back and forth between Phoenix and Portland in my roll doing services work for my company. For about 4 months I've spent almost every weekday and a lot of weekends down in the valley of the sun. I grew up in Phoenix and being able to reconnect with all my friends and spend time with my brother who's doing graduate school at Arizona State (go Sun Devils) has been awesome. This weekend was one in Phoenix and I celebrated by going to a final Fast Friday swim with the master group I've been swimming with, riding is the blazing sun without sun screen on Saturday and chilling with my friends all weekend.
Now I'm back to the Cold and damp of the Pacific Northwest and hopefully I haven't turned into too much of a wet weather pansy.
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| Riding in Phoenix |
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| Hanging with Friends |
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| The other side of the room |
Now I'm back to the Cold and damp of the Pacific Northwest and hopefully I haven't turned into too much of a wet weather pansy.
Friday, April 16, 2010
April 16, 2010: Splash and Dash
Friedrich Nietzsche wrote, "That which does not kill us makes us stronger." In that vain I decided to do two fun races which combine my two weakest triathlon disciplines, swimming and running. Traveling to Phoenix does have its advantages. It is warm enough here to start open water swimming in March and April. Back home in Portland its still way, way too cold. The first Splash and Dash or Sploosh and Doosh as the masters swim coach here calls them was April 3 the second on April 15.
April 3: 1000 meter swim and a 3 kilometer run. Wow it was fast. I got there early had a good warm up and then it was off to the races!! I swam well and then killed it on the run. With about 400 meters to go a guy passed me. I jumped on his heals and we pushed each other to the end. I came around him just before the finish to finish side by side. They would have needed a camera to tell which one of us finished first. (Edit: looks like they gave him the edge by .1 seconds)
April 15: 750 meter swim and 4 kilometer run. Again this was fast. Because I was working that day my race prep was not as good and I paid for it on the run. The swim I killed, fast strong and mostly on target. I fought for position on the first 200 meters, maintained position on the next 200 then settled in for the 3ed 200 and pushed the last 200. I had a nice quick transition then busted it out on the first kilometer. At that first kilometer marker my GI system started to act up. I had to drop the pace a little bit for the last 3 kilometers but still finished strong.
I also won a gift certificate to Tribe Multi Sport. To bad I didn't get it a while ago as I've "given" them quite a bit of cash since I've been in Phoenix.
April 3: 1000 meter swim and a 3 kilometer run. Wow it was fast. I got there early had a good warm up and then it was off to the races!! I swam well and then killed it on the run. With about 400 meters to go a guy passed me. I jumped on his heals and we pushed each other to the end. I came around him just before the finish to finish side by side. They would have needed a camera to tell which one of us finished first. (Edit: looks like they gave him the edge by .1 seconds)
April 15: 750 meter swim and 4 kilometer run. Again this was fast. Because I was working that day my race prep was not as good and I paid for it on the run. The swim I killed, fast strong and mostly on target. I fought for position on the first 200 meters, maintained position on the next 200 then settled in for the 3ed 200 and pushed the last 200. I had a nice quick transition then busted it out on the first kilometer. At that first kilometer marker my GI system started to act up. I had to drop the pace a little bit for the last 3 kilometers but still finished strong.
I also won a gift certificate to Tribe Multi Sport. To bad I didn't get it a while ago as I've "given" them quite a bit of cash since I've been in Phoenix.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
March 31, 2010: Bartlett Lake Triathlon
A few weeks ago I raced the Bartlett Lake Triathlon. My life's been a bit crazy since then so I haven't had a chance to write it up until now.
Since mid-January I've spent just about every weekday and most weekends in Phoenix for work. Of course, this means that I have little to no social life, but I get to train in some of the most amazing weather while my teammates and training partners have to suffer in the cold and wet back home in Portland. Also, it means that my first triathlon of the season comes a full 2 months earlier than last year, and it's a full Olympic distance with an open water swim.
I arrived at the race site early enough to be able to park close to the transition in the lower parking lot. That left me with plenty of time to get my transition area set up, go through my traditional warm up of a 10-15 min run and 15 mins of swimming and splashing around in the water trying to adjust to the cold temperature. My Garmin 310xt, which I love, froze up and died on me during my warm up. (Not to worry I was able to fix it later) That was a bit frustrating, and I had to do the entire race without a way to check in on time, power, heart rate or speed. Lets hear it for RPE!!!!
The swim was ok but not great. I swam faster than I did at Worlds last year but not anywhere close to my fastest time of 32 mins. Its a bit different getting back into a wetsuit and open water after spending all winter in a pool. The transition to the bike when well. The wetsuit came off well, Fit2Race suits rock!
The bike course was a monster!! Two loops climbing right out of transition with no flat sections. Each loop climbed about 1200 ft before turning around and descending. Like I mentioned before, I didn't have a way to measure speed, but I did notice that the speed limit for cars was 50 mph. On each descent I was pacing and catching every car. I've been practicing my bike dismounts, trying to exit the shoes while still on the bike, riding the last 100m or so with my feet on top of the shoes so I can hit the ground running for the run transition. I have to say that I looked pretty pro out there.
The run was much the same as the bike. Steep up, steep down, steep back up and steep down to the finish. I felt pretty strong on the run but had one guy pass me which is always a bit disappointing. I might need to spend a bit more time running hills. I also felt like I could have and should have pushed it a bit more on the run. Well next time right?
All in all a great race. I highly recommend this course for people out there who are a bit weak on the swim but are strong on the bike and run. You can make up a lot of time on those hills.
I ended up with a time of 3:12:12 with the 10th fastest bike split and 2nd in my age group. That's my first age group placing since my accident.
Since mid-January I've spent just about every weekday and most weekends in Phoenix for work. Of course, this means that I have little to no social life, but I get to train in some of the most amazing weather while my teammates and training partners have to suffer in the cold and wet back home in Portland. Also, it means that my first triathlon of the season comes a full 2 months earlier than last year, and it's a full Olympic distance with an open water swim.
I arrived at the race site early enough to be able to park close to the transition in the lower parking lot. That left me with plenty of time to get my transition area set up, go through my traditional warm up of a 10-15 min run and 15 mins of swimming and splashing around in the water trying to adjust to the cold temperature. My Garmin 310xt, which I love, froze up and died on me during my warm up. (Not to worry I was able to fix it later) That was a bit frustrating, and I had to do the entire race without a way to check in on time, power, heart rate or speed. Lets hear it for RPE!!!!
The swim was ok but not great. I swam faster than I did at Worlds last year but not anywhere close to my fastest time of 32 mins. Its a bit different getting back into a wetsuit and open water after spending all winter in a pool. The transition to the bike when well. The wetsuit came off well, Fit2Race suits rock!
The bike course was a monster!! Two loops climbing right out of transition with no flat sections. Each loop climbed about 1200 ft before turning around and descending. Like I mentioned before, I didn't have a way to measure speed, but I did notice that the speed limit for cars was 50 mph. On each descent I was pacing and catching every car. I've been practicing my bike dismounts, trying to exit the shoes while still on the bike, riding the last 100m or so with my feet on top of the shoes so I can hit the ground running for the run transition. I have to say that I looked pretty pro out there.
The run was much the same as the bike. Steep up, steep down, steep back up and steep down to the finish. I felt pretty strong on the run but had one guy pass me which is always a bit disappointing. I might need to spend a bit more time running hills. I also felt like I could have and should have pushed it a bit more on the run. Well next time right?
All in all a great race. I highly recommend this course for people out there who are a bit weak on the swim but are strong on the bike and run. You can make up a lot of time on those hills.
I ended up with a time of 3:12:12 with the 10th fastest bike split and 2nd in my age group. That's my first age group placing since my accident.
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