Friday, July 31, 2009

IMUSA


With my family vacation winding down I figured it was about time for me to share a few thoughts from last weekend's IMUSA.

This is perhaps the most scenic North American race I have experienced. The Adriondack Mountains are absolutely beautiful and the town of Lake Placid has a great history of playing host to large sporting events. The support from locals combined with the enthusiastic crowds make this one of my top five events.
Swim (55:42) - With limited swimming two weeks prior to the race due to a strained serratus muscle I was a bit uncertain how this portion of my day would go. I had a good start and found myself in a small group which included Jason Shortis, Christian Brader, Peter Vabrousek, Dave Harju and Sam MacGlone. The swim in Lake Placid is pretty straight forward with it's rectangle shape and two loops. As our group began to run into traffic on the second loop I was determined to stay on the feet of Jason as he navigated through the masses. Our pace was comfortable and I felt relaxed and smooth.
Bike (5:20) - Exiting T1 and into the early miles of the bike leaving town I was in good company with several of the race favorites. Within the first two miles I lost one of my bottles and had to make some adjustments to my fueling plan which would cause me some stomach issues on the second loop of the bike. Unlike last year's downpour, we had good weather and I was able to maximize the long descent into Keene before making the sharp left-hand turn on the flatest part of the course. Making the turn I reminded myself to be patient despite the nice tailwind. My legs felt great and I was maintaining a good mental focus. Through the first loop I rode mostly on my own and was spot on my target time as I made my way past the famed hockey arena to start the second loop. Once again I lost some of my nutrition as a gel flask slipped out of my race kit after going over some rough road on a steep downhill just outside the transition. Around the 85 mile mark I started to have stomach issues and felt downright awful. Burping, belching & wanting to puke was not something I had experienced during a race. As three of my buddies from Boulder (Curt, Billy & Dennis) passed and rode away from me within a 10 mile stretch I knew it was going to be a long, tough climb back to town. I tried to keep my mind in a good place, but admitedly had thoughts of simply calling it a day.
Run (2:54) - My legs felt pretty good on the early stages of the run. Coming off the bike in 17th I knew I had a huge task if I wanted to make the top 10 after giving up so much time on the bike. Running out of town I felt comfortable & relaxed with my focus on fueling & hydrating through the aid stations. I ran down a couple of guys through the first two miles and caught my buddy Dennis on the out & back section of the course. He was struggling a bit as we exchanged words of encouragement. Making my way back to town the crowds were great with their encouragement and I was beginning to make some ground on the fellas in front of me. From miles 16-20 I was in a really bad place and found myself in IM survival mode as my paced slowed to what seemed like a crawl. At this point I was in 8th place and giving all I could to hold on to the final money spot. My friend Carrie gave me a big lift as she told me she was praying I had strong finish when I passed her on scenic River Road.
Crossing the line in 9:15 and 8th overall I was grateful, humble and glad to be done with my day. I was able to hold things together fairly well despite the stomach crud. A big congrats to my friends Billy & Curt for their strong finishes in 7th & 9th overall.
I thank God for the gift of good health and the support from family, friends & sponsors.
Keep it smooth...
Brad


Monday, July 20, 2009

Race Week

My body & mind are in a good spot heading into this weekend's IMUSA in Lake Placid, NY. I am looking forward to my weekend visit in the Adriondack Mountains. How can you not like racing in the same location as where the historic Miracle on Ice occurred back in '80!?! For those of you reading this who weren't even born, you missed out on one of sports greatest moments and I hope you have at least heard about it.

Bags are packed for my afternoon flight to Detroit where I'll spend a couple of nights before making the scenic drive over to Lake Placid on Wednesday. Unlike last year, I will have some friends from Boulder also racing IMUSA (Laura, Billy, Dennis & Curt).

You can follow the action on Sunday at www.ironman.com

Thanks for checking in!

Keep it smooth...
Brad

Thursday, July 02, 2009

BSLT 70.3 Race Report

Another fun road trip down to Lubbock for the BSLT 70.3 last weekend. The drive down to west Texas with my buddy Michael was fairly uneventful with the usual conversation...life after 40 (for him...I'm still MANY weeks away), training, women (or lack of in my current situation), where to stop for a "safe" meal, coaching...

This will be a relatively brief re-cap.

Swim (30:33) - What the hell?!? Well, at least the ridiculous running which took place the last two years at the start of the swim was non-existant(apparently two ladies were the only ones to violate the "no running" rule - shame on you ;) Not sure if the course was a bit long this year or if the course was short the last few years. I had a clean start and quickly found the feet of American Patrick Bless. We swam together and on the back stretch were joined by Argentinian Mario DeElias who seemed to be swimming solo noticeably wide. I felt very comfortable in my blueseventy point zero skin suit and was quite surprised to see my swim split close to four minutes on the south end of the last couple of year's.

Bike (2:27) - Legs felt very good throughout the ride as I rode within my target power range. Riding into and up the first canyon I was caught by my buddy Pat who reminded me this was the same spot he caught me last year. True, only last year I did a better job of maintaining closer contact with him. On this day he rode away from me with little response from said blogger. Mistake, big mistake, mental mistake, tactical mistake...you get the picture. I rode the remainder of the hilly & windy and at times rainy bike with Bless. Fueling was spot on and legs felt ready to roll as I approached T2.

Run (1:17) - Slipping on my comfy Spira Stingers I made my way onto the challenging run course. Within the first mile I put a move on Bless and was able to get away from him. Legs felt the best they have on this course and I focused the effort on hydrating and maintaining a swift rhythm in an effort to close the Grand Canyon-like gap between me and the guys up the road. I ran well through the long out & back section of the course (aka Energy Lab II as it is an exposed 1.5 out & back with a powerplant towering alongside). Shortly after entering the park I caught Kiwi Jamie Whyte and was working hard to catch the young Argentinian DeElias. Approaching the final stretch he took a couple of looks over his shoulder as I was digging deep and held me off with a six second spread.

Crossing in 4:18 I was grateful for another day of racing. It was great seeing so many friends from Boulder on the course and meeting new friends from the FCA-E team. I was honored to be invited to speak at the IronPrayer service Saturday before the race and look forward to being part of the service in Lake Placid for IMUSA.

Congrats to Paul Matthews & Amy Marsh for their wins as well as my teammate Ben Hoffman (6th overall).

Thanks to my support team of sponsors, friends & family.

May God bless you with a healthy, safe & fun holiday weekend!

Keep it smooth...