Wacky Weather & Weekend Races

Suffice it to say (whatever in the heck that cliche really means) this has been the coldest spring of my brief existence in Boulder. Saturday we experienced all four season within a six hour period - sun & warmth, wind, rain, snow and back to sun & warmth. Ah well, just have to roll with it :)

Boulder was well represented at both St. Anthony's Triathlon and USAT Duathlon Nationals. Matt Reed and Brooke Davidson took top honors in their respective divisions. Matt is firing on all cylinders at the moment and Brooke turned in a stellar performance with an impressive win in the women's elite amateur category. A bit further north in Richmond, VA, Matt Russell and Ryan Ignatz secured the bookends of the podium at the Elite Duathlon Nationals. Jimmy Archer and Billy Edwards both placed in the top 10. Nice work folks!

This coming weekend is another full day of racing with both the St. Croix Half IM and the Wildflower Long Course events taking place. Also on the ticket locally is the Tri 4 Your Cause event in Boulder. Best of luck to my teammates and friends for a fun-filled & strong day of racing!

A shout out for birthday cheer to my Mom, Dad, younger brother Brian and nephew Jack (the big #5) who all celebrate birthdays within the next week!!

Keep it smooth...

Shark Attack

Friday morning a triathlete was attacked by a great white shark 150 yards off the coast in San Diego while doing an open water swim with other athletes. I read about it on the internet and shortly after received an email from my friend Caroline who was swimming in the area when the attack occurred...yikes! From what I know shark attacks are quite rare and I'm thinking the shark mistook the athlete in his wetsuit for a sea lion or seal. Very sad indeed and another reminder of just how fortunate we are to have the gift of good health!

Meeting up with a few of the fellas for a trail run this morning and then watching the Wings take on the evil Avs...GO WINGS!

Good luck to my friends racing St. Anthony's this weekend ;)

Keep it smooth...

Recovery Week

I've been enjoying perhaps my best recovery week post the nine IM races I have completed with a few easy swims, one easy bike and a couple of hikes. Yesterday morning I ventured up the Chataqua Trail to the base of the 1st Flat Iron and watched the rock climbers do their thing. It was super cool and they make it look so easy! The pitch is quite steep and I heard reference to it being a 5.5 or 5.6, whatever that means. One guy went up solo sans any gear or rope...crazy...but he looked like Spiderman as he swiftly scaled up the face of the mountain and out of view. I plan on chatting with coach Z today about several things, including my upcoming race schedule. Coming into the season we talked about opening up the doors a bit and racing more, specifically with three IM events and ideally Kona being the third. I like both the courses at IMCDA and IMUSA and will toe the line at one of them. Sandwiched between the next two IM events will be a few 70.3's.

Stitches come out today :)

Keep it smooth...

April Snow Showers Bring...

a lot of chuckles. Upon returning from the mid to upper 90 degree heat of Tempe I find myself in the midst of a snow storm. All I could do was laugh. My recovery is going very well and the legs are feeling dandy. I was back on the speaking tour with three engagements at the University of Colorado yesterday. My typical audience in recent weeks has been classrooms full of hormone-crazed middle and high schoolers, so it was refreshing to address the CU students.

I am enjoying the downtime with a couple of easy swims which are therapuetic more than anything else. Best wishes to JZ & Matt on securing their Olympic spots this weekend in Alabama...go get 'em!

Keep it smooth...

IMAZ Race Report

Race week highlights - Monday swimming in a snowstorm in Boulder, Thursday getting stitches in my finger, Saturday sorting minor mechanical issue and Sunday racing IMAZ in some dawg gone warm and windy weather.

While I did not completely tank my race it was not the performance I wanted.

I came into this race with a goal of maintaining contact with guys throughout the swim and bike to put me in position for a strong marathon. For the swim I positioned myself towards the inside and found myself swimming with the second main chase pack. The pace was comfortable and I tucked myself in to take advantage of the draft. Exiting in 56 and change I was ready to get to work on the bike.

After leaving town and heading out on the long out & bike stretch of Beeline Highway it was obviously going to be a windy day with both strong head and tail winds. I found myself just behind Sergio Marques and figured he would be a good guy to maintain contact through the bike as I know he is a strong runner. Sergio, AJ Johnson, Bernhard Keller and I rode as group exchanging positions through the first 40 miles or so. Partway through the second loop my hamstrings began to cramp. This was not a good thing as the winds kicked up dust storms and the mercury kept rising. Every time I made an effort to press the pace the cramping would return. The winds seemed to calm a bit for the third lap and approaching T2 I began to focus on a swift transition to the marathon.

Like the bike course, IMAZ serves up a three loop course for the marathon. I would not describe it as a fast run course with a lot of twists, turns and corners. My legs felt pretty good through the first four miles, but then things got a bit ugly. I really began to feel the effects of the heat and just could not find my fluid running form. Through each aid station I took in what I could to keep me moving forward. Despite how crummy I was feeling, I found myself improving my position throughout the run.

A huge kudos to the volunteers at this event. I found the aid stations on both bike and run to be on the ball and getting me what I needed. Congrats to the guys up front for setting up an exciting day of racing with the top four men all being within 1:30 of one another! Thanks to Coach Z and all my sponsors who allow me to be my best. I look forward to a quick recovery and racing Florida 70.3 in May.

Keep it smooth...

What's Up Doc?

Bugs Bunny was one of my favorite cartoons as a kid with his signature carrot, humor and line of, "Uh, what's up doc?" Yesterday I had the opportunity to ask the same thing with an unplanned visit to the emergency walk-in clinic. I accidentally got my finger smashed & gashed. After the doc examined, x-rayed and sewed up my finger tip I was good to go. The doc explained to me it was going to hurt like a bugger when he inserted the needles to numb my finger. All I could say was, "Heck doc, it sure beats having numbing shots inserted to the tip of something else."

Keep it smooth...

Global Warming

is a FARSE and Al Gore is on CRACK! These were my thoughts as I awoke to 35 degrees and snow this morning.

Keep it smooth...

Close Call

The other day I realized the tax deadline is the 15th, the same day I travel back from Arizona. For some reason I was thinking I had until the 19th and planned on dealing with the paperwork post IMAZ. So, last night I hammered out the numbers on various forms...a great way to spend a Friday evening...well not so much. I figured I could drop the love letter to Uncle Sam in my outgoing mailbox as I rolled out for my ride this morning. Placing the envelope in the back pocket of my Team Sport Beans/NTTC wind jacket I made my way, except I forgot to stop at the mailbox. When I was about eight miles outside of Boulder I suddenly realized my brain fart. I quickly reached behind me and yep, the pocket was open. I immediately thought my tax return was somewhere flying around Boulder as the wind gusts screamed with an attitude from the mountains. Thank God! The enevelope was halfway sticking out my pocket. I stopped, zipped er' up and made a successful mail drop at the Hygiene Post Office about 40 miles into my ride.

Keep it smooth...

Are You Kidding Me?!?

For those of you who read my blog on a somewhat regular basis, you might recall a couple of posts I did on lockerroom etiquette, or lack thereof. I suppose if you parked yourself in a comfy lawn chair with some good eats and beverage of choice you could probably have one heck of an entertaining time people watching. It might not be quite on par with the peeps and things you would see at an amusement park, but still full of surprises. It appears many people choose to completely shutdown any common sense when entering the walls of the men's lockerroom at FAC...strutting around in the buff, hoisting legs up on the sinks while shaving in the birthday suit and other interesting forms of behavior. Well today I witnessed, not by choice mind you, a guy lying next to the hottub on his side who thought it would be a good idea to do some leg lifts in the nude. Dude, what in the hell are you thinking? Have some freaking courtesy. I admit, the particular exercise he was doing is part of my regular PT routine, but I do it with MY CLOTHES ON. Just one more reason why I do not frequent the hottub inside the confines of the men's lockerroom. Perhaps my friends who on ocassion make a visit will reconsider.

Keep it smooth...