Columbine Elementary Marathon Mile

Last Friday I had the priviledge of participating in a kids' fun run at a local elementary school. It is an annual event held at Columbine Elementary School here in Boulder with all K-5 grades completing the run as a healthy year-end activity. All the kids wore race bibs and custom t-shrits for the run. It was an incredibly cool scene and I was humbled to be in the presence of so many outstanding athletes from various sports. Only in Boulder would you be able to assemble the cast of atheltes pictured above for a 9am kids' fun run which included many current and past Olympians, world champions, world record holders and hall of famers (Fernando Cabada - '08 US Marathon Champion, Jorge & Edwardo Torres - Olympians, Uda Pippig - marathon champion, Mark Plaatjes - 1993 marathon World Champion, Benji Durden - marathon champion & Colorado Running Hall of Fame, Cameron Widoff - professional Ironman triathlete, Barry Siff - competitive triathlete Team Timex & owner of 5430 Sports, Adam Chase - ultra endurance runner & Marcelo Balboa - former US World Cup soccer team along with many others!) Most notably though was the charitable spirit & encouragement each athlete brought to share with the kidos.

I lined myself up with an eager group of first graders. It was a hoot to see them explode from the start line and continue their sprint/walk/sprint mode over the one mile course as it looped through the neighborhood streets surrounding their school. The kids were all smiles as they made their way towards the finish line and received their medals.

Here is a link to a video posted on YouTube from the event: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_ZehzAjhPw

On a personal note it was truly a pleasure to be a small part of this celebration. I was stoked to meet Marcelo Balboa as I saw him score one of the most incredible bicycle kick goals during a 1994 World Cup match being played in Detroit in which the US downed Switzerland.

Keep it smooth...

Brad

Rest & Recovery

As a competitive athlete it is often difficult to listen to one's body and back off things as training volume & intensity begin to accumulate. Over the years Coach Zane has done an exceptional job of analyzing my training data, giving me the proper balance of volume/intensity & knowing when I need a break from training. It has been over three weeks since my last complete day off from training and my body & mind were ready for a break. Having a meeting & speaking engagement early in the day triathlon was off my radar as I enjoyed a late afternoon matinee showing of The Soloist. It is an excellent film depicting the true story of a one-time Julliard school of music student turned homeless on the streets of L.A.

Training has been going extremely well with a good dosing of consistent quality and increased volume. I find taking a complete day off from the sport is very refreshing on many levels. This is not to say I never train when fatigued...heck don't we always feel tired!?! All too often athletes push themselves beyond the fine line of fatigue & overtraining. Listen to your body and be sure proper rest & recovery are part of your training plan.

Keep it smooth...
Brad

Littlefoot Triathlon

Sprint triathlons hurt...sprint triathlons at altitude hurt even more...With some recent changes to my race schedule I opted to stay at home this weekend to train and race a sprint called the Littlefoot Triathlon (750 meter swim, 15 mile bike, 4 mile run). After a solid week of training and putting together a very good swim & long run on Saturday I was looking forward to testing my body and racing through the fatigue.

Sean Wendt and his crew put on a great event...very low key and a grass-roots atmosphere. Bear Lake State Park was a beautiful venue with the chilly 55 degree swim, rolling bike course with plenty of twists & turns and flat run along the lake. I think the run was shy of 4 miles in looking at the splits...

Swim (11:01) - The pro wave was set to go 20'' after the last age group wave which gave me plenty of time to get in and warm-up. Just as the starter was about to count us down a boat moved in to adjust the first turn buoy which had blown off course from the stiff winds. After a couple of minutes and some laughs it was time to go! I found myself on the feet of Matt Balzer and the leaders for about 50 meters before my heart told me to back the bump off. For the remainder of the swim I tried to calm my breathing which was way out of control and swim with a small group of three. With a short run to the bike rack I began to fumble with my wetsuit and lost some precious time in T1 with a transition just over 1:00 - yikes!

Bike (39:41) - One of my goals was to simply hurt through this bike and boy did it hurt! The lactic acid quickly pooled in my quads as my heart continued its pounding. The two loop bike course was a hoot with lots of technical sections and couple of hills. During the first loop I came into one of the turns a little too hot and overshot it going right through a section of cones (had there been a barrier or bales of hay I would have been up & over :) Getting back on course I continued to work and try and bridge up to the guys ahead of me. I rode through the first loop in around 20'' and I wanted to get the bike under 40''. Not missing any turns on the second loop I caught a guy near the end of the bike coming in just under the forty minute mark.

Run (19:22) - Onto the run and my focus was all about finding some leg speed! Joe Gambles and the guys from the Riptide Multisport Team were pushing things well up front. As the run progressed I was gaining a little ground on the guys up the road, but in a sprint you have to be with the group from the get-go.

9th place overall in 1:11:54. It was an entertaining way to spend my Sunday morning and I think my breath is finally coming back to me :)

Congrats to Joe for his solid win and all the athletes for a competitive, fair & fun race!

Keep it smooth...

Wildflower Triathlon

This was my second go at the challenging course served up by the good people at TriCalifornia and it certainly lived up to expectations! I rank this course as one of my top three and look forward to returning to scenic Lake San Antonio State Park next year. Huge thanks to Terri Davis & his crew for putting on another stellar event. In particular I'd like to thank Dixie who organized the housing & logistics for the professionals as well as the voices of Wildflower - Sean, Nick & Julie for their energy & enthusiasm throughout the weekend. It was a great race weekend traveling with several friends from Boulder including Billy, Kirk, Shane (one of my athletes) and Christiana (one of Kirk's athletes). We shared a beautiful house with four other athletes on an adjacent lake and it was loads of fun! I met several great people throughout the weekend and enjoyed seeing so many of my friends from FCA-E and spending some time at their booth post the race. At our race briefing TriCal had some swag for give-aways and I earned some goodies for being the oldest male pro. In reality I wasn't as Scott Young (43) was racing but did not attend the meeting. It made for some good laughs back at the house. We were blessed with very good weather on race day and I felt ready to roll.

Swim (27:22) - With close to 60 pro men entered it made for a rather cramped swim start on the edge of the lake. I lined myself up to the left next to Kirk as we had our tradtional lunch on the line for fastest swim. Getting caught up in the masses I failed to have a solid start and soon found myself being gapped by the main chase pack along with Kirk, Rutger Beke, Trevor Wurtle and a couple of other athletes. The pace was very comfortable and at times I thought about making a move to swim around the leaders of our small group. Not seeing anyone in sight to whom I could bridge up to I made the decision to conserve some energy and sit in. Kirk & I swam side-by-side for the majority of the swim and as we neared the exit I picked it up just bit in hoped of at least earning a free lunch. I nipped Kirk out of the water and as we ran up the steep boat ramp to T1 he looked at me and said, "Nice swim Bradley." He ran a bit faster than I up the ramp as he remembered the timing mat for the swim was at the top not at the bottom where I was thinking it was placed. We both eneded up with the exact same swim split so I guess lunch is a wash on this one.

Bike (2:37) - My goal for the bike was to be patient over the first portion while maintaining a stead effort to avoid blowing out my legs. I felt very comfortable spinning up the steep one mile
Beech Hill climb and over the rollers leading out of the park. I dropped my chain on one of the first rollers inside the park and had to stop & dismount to get it working. I figure it cost me about :30-:45 and stayed calm with things. I had a good chuckle making the left turn onto Jolon Road with the two Cal Poly volunteers completely sleeping in their chairs holding signs with an arrow indicating our turn. Nice party the night before boys?! Focusing on my target power range I rode up on a small group of guys including Victor Plata. We rode together legally within the stagger rules for a good portion of the ride attracting the attention of a race official who stayed with us. Around the 35 mile mark one of the guys was told to stand down for an apparent penalty. I then took the lead and readied myself mentally for the upcoming hills. At the base of Nasty Grade Victor and I were together and exchanged a few words. He encouraged me to continue my effort and I felt really good climbing both Nasty Grade & Heart Rate Hill. I was able to ride away from Victor on the climbs and maintained a good work rate over the final five miles. Entering the park I caught Rutger Beke and near transition rode past Chris Stehula and Hector Llanos. My mind began to shift to the run as I entered transition.

Run (1:18) - Heading out on the run was fun with the spectators, energy and mountain bike athletes completing their run portion. I had to weave in, around & past a lot of these athletes as I worked to find my running legs. The first five miles were tough as my legs really began to cramp. I was soon in pure manage-the-damn-cramping-mode and had to let up on the gas to avoid a complete shuffle. I caught several athletes within the first few miles and even though I could not see any athletes up the trail I kept reminding myself to continue working the effort. Through the aid stations I was all about hydrating and taking in my Endurolytes. As mile six rolled around I finally started feeling good and was able to press the pace a bit. The Cal Poly volunteers and spectators along the course were great. I love this run with the isolation of the trails and boisterous crowds within the campgrounds. Entering the "pit" (1 mile out & back section of the run) I was able to take stock of my position and focused on catching whoever was within range. The final two miles were tough with the uphill out of the pit and the final steep downhill on Lynch Beach Road. Crossing the finish line I was grateful for another day of racing!

My finishing time of 4:25 placed me in the middle of the deep pro field at 23 out of 56. In talking with several guys who raced last year it appears it was a slower day on both the swim & bike for many. I felt much better with my effort than I did in Oceanside and look forward to my build for IMUSA.

Congrats to all those who made it to the line including my FCA-E teammates, the two brothers from the Biggest Loser and the TriCal training camp team of Reed & Eileen Swanson. Big props to my teammates Alexis Smith (8th overall), Ben Hoffman (8th overall) and Jeff Piland for their efforts and of course a big thanks to my sponsors (Team Sport Beans/NTTC, Champion Systems, Rudy Project, blueseventy, Mix1, Spira, Flexpower Sports Cream).

Thanks for reading!

Keep it smooth...
Brad

CatholicTV

Here is a link to an inteview I did this morning for a progam out of Boston called This Is the Day - CatholicTV.

Hope you have a blessed weekend and good luck to all my friends throwing down at St. Anthony's in Tampa, FL!!

Keep it smooth...
Brad

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Spring Melt

I snapped this pic with my phone today during a recovery interval between hill repeats up on of our beautiful canyons. It was a stellar day for climbing with a backdrop of deep blue skies, sunshine, evergreens and snow melt creating numerous waterfalls along the canyon. Boulder Creek will again be an ideal place for soaking the legs post workouts :)

To the individual(s) who scattered scrap metal on both shoulders along 36 heading out of Boulder...get a life!

Keep it smooth...
Brad

37 & Rain

As I look out the sliding glass door there is a steady rain with temp of 37 degrees F. Moisture on the front range is a good thing, right?!? Well the rain will moisten the land and melt yesterday's snow :) Today's plan a moderately long trainer ride w/intervals and run off the bike.

On a more exciting note, the Wings are in action later today in Game 2 of their quest for Lord Stanley. Those of you reading this who don't follow hockey...shame on you. I grew up playing pond hockey on the frozen lakes near my home. I was never a super star skater or puck handler, but mixing it up with my buddies on the weekend for some "old time hockey" (that's a quote from Slapshot - perhaps the funniest hockey movie ever) was always a hoot.

"Let's Go Red Wings" will be echoing through Joe Louis Arena this evening!

Good luck to my friends Pat & Dennis racing IM China & 70.3 this weekend!!

Keep it smooth...
Brad

For Sale: 52cm Felt B2 carbon frame

52cm Felt B2 carbon frame (excellent condition - no dings, scratches, etc.) bought frame in July 2007. Dura Ace brake set, Dura Ace front & rear derailleur, Dura Ace bar end shifters. Vision Tech aero bar with s-bend carbon extensions, Ergomo carbon cranks - $1,500 plus shipping.

Ergomo power meter currently hooked up to frame, but only giving speed & distance. I believe a couple of the wires need to be soldered for unit to work properly. Basically it functions as a bike computer at the moment. Ergomo given for free to interested buyer of frame.

Cali 70.3

It was an incredibly fun race weekend staying with my friend Caroline in Del Mar. She also had another friend, Jenny, who was in for the race so we had loads of laughs throughout the weekend. Friday before the race I was invited to speak at the IronPrayer service being held on the beach. It was such a blessing to meet other athletes & volunteers and hear some motivating words & music. I have spoken at several of these events and the Oceanside gathering wasy very cool with the sun setting & ocean waves as a back drop. A special thanks to Robin & Troy Soares for getting it organized & hooking me up with a ride from San Diego up to Oceanside so I could register, attend my pre-race briefing and participate in the IronPrayer service. If you are ever looking for a special way to jump start your race weekend check out the IronPrayer at your next race. The weather was fantastic on race day and the four days I was in San Diego. It was great to see many of my friends racing and get things rolling for '09.

Swim (26:30) - Upon entering the water in my new blueseventy helix I felt calm & relaxed. I had a decent warm-up and did not feel too cold unlike previous years. I lined myself at the front sandwiched between Michael & a few guys I did not know. I had a fairly clean start, but took a good whack to my face which knocked my goggles. After about 300m I had to stop & adjust my goggles as they were beginning to fill with cold, salty Pacific water. I could see a gap had developed between me and the main pack, but I was able to secure a draft and swim the entire distance with Trevor Wurtle & Sergio Marques. It seems like Sergio & I often swim together and as we exited the water he was probably thinking, "Oh that guy again" just as I was. The three of us exited T1 together and were off on the challenging 56 mile bike course.

Bike (2:34) - Early in the bike course I hit some rough patches of road which caused my seat post to drop down. I could tell my position was off, but figured if things got bad I would be able to find some kind of tech support up the road or borrow some tools from a spectating cyclist. As the bike progressed Sergio & Trevor faded away in the distance and I seemed to be moving backwards. I just could not generate the necessary power and at times felt like a circus clown in my new "position". As my legs fatigued through the middle portion of the bike I started debating whether or not I should simply stop and wait for tech to make some much needed adjustments. I continued to ride and found myself coming off the bike dead last!

Run (1:16) - Needless to say I was quite happy to get my bum onto the run course. After donning my new red racing flats from Spira I was determined to put together a solid run & salvage this day. It took a good four miles for my legs to come around and I felt stronger as the run progressed. I caught my teammate, Jeff Piland, shortly after making the first turn-around and we exchanged a few encouraging words for one another. Through the second loop I was feeling pretty good and kept the focus on staying relaxed with my form while trying to press the pace. I caught a couple of the Timex fellas within the last mile and was happy to hold things together despite the frustrations with things on the bike crossing the line in 4:22 and 33rd overall.

A big congrats to Matt Reed for his overall win & all my friends on their finishes. I really appreciated the cheers & words of encouragement from folks along the course. Thanks as well to my sponsors for their continued support: Team Sport Beans/NTTC, Champion Systems, blueseventy, Rudy Project, Spira, Mix1, Flex Power & Adrenaline Tri-Sport.

Keep it smooth,
Brad

Snow Day

And it kept snowing and snowing and snowing...

PHF

Patience, humility, fortitude...as stated by Gordo in a recent article on xtri these are a few virtues which endurance training & racing demands. Interestingly these same virtues may be applied to life which is perhaps the greatest race of all with its many twists, turns, surprises, challenges, etc. As a professional athlete I often find myself needing a subtle reminder (aka God slapping me upside my head) of the big picture with respect to training. Over the years I have become incredibly more patient with my progressions in sport and things in life. That is not to say I am so relaxed and simply kick back and just wait for some magical gains to be made. Like most athletes, I take pride in having a focused work ethic and being consistent with day-to-day training & living. Humility is certainly something I respect in others and strive to achieve in my own life. The past several days I have been at battle with a cold & sinus congestion which has not derailed me from my training, but at times slowed me down. Athletes don't like to go slow and I have eaten some humble pie in a couple of sessions the last two days. Just yesterday Matt & Kirk toyed with me during our bike intervals. These guys are exceptional athletes and I am glad to have them as friends and training partners. Fortunately God has given me the grace to be cool with these opportunities to grow in humility :) It seems athletes, or more importantly inviduals, who walk with humility possess a hearty dose of self-confidence which in turn allows them to display fortitude. While I am not a walking dictionary or thesaurus I reckon this is simply about persevering through all sport & life has to offer in a consistent fashion. As I scribble this entry we are getting dumped on with snow. While it would appear to be a great day to watch a movie and relax, I see it as even better opportunity from God to practice PHF.

As I often like to remind myself...God's gift to us is our potential, what we decide to do with it is our gift to God.

Thanks for reading!

Keep it smooth...

Brad

Random Team Sport Beans/NTTC Camp Pics

Thanks to Alexis for these candid shots...

Let the games begin at our essence tasting

Group pic before 1st winery tour - kudos to Stephanie (far right) for hooking us up

Greg, aka "wine guy", imparting his wine wisdom


Team Director, Mark Wendley, educates Jelly Belly marketing staffer Andrew on the finer points of triathlon

Leah testing her skills at essence tasting

Nice smile ladies!

Yours truly getting "bean boozeled" - note the smirk on Lauren's face

Ben & I sharing a few laughs between photo shoots

Jessica & Lauren in a heated sword fight

All smiles during team orientation

As one can tell the good peeps at Jelly Belly made sure we enjoyed our annual team camp! A big kudos to my teammate Daniel Brestcher who was selected as USAT's Male Professional Rookie of the Year...nice work Daniel!

Keep it smooth...

Brad

Team Sport Beans/NTTC Team Camp 2009

I returned this evening from our team camp hosted by Jelly Belly at their world headquarters in Fairfield, CA. It was a stellar weekend filled with team orientation, distribution of 2009 training/racing apparel, media stuff, swim/bike/run sessions, Napa winery tours, incredible meals, fun schwag and of course loads of laughter. My roommate for the weekend was Ben Hoffman (Durango, CO & about 15 years my junior) which was great since we both enjoyed the NCAA conference tourneys that were being played.

Tammie, Stephanie & Rob from Jelly Belly along with our team Director Mark once again rolled out the red carpet for us in serving up top shelf attention to detail, a shopping spree at the Jelly Belly store (I won't tell you which teammate's tally was close to $500), winery tours in Napa and gourmet meals! In addition to the administrative items and team orientation we were able to get in some fun group training sessions. The power of the Sport Bean was working it's magic in getting us unlimited, free access to the 24 Hour fitness center a stone's throw from our hotel.

The pictures are from the tour we did Saturday afternoon visiting two different wineries. It was a hoot and one of them included an essence tasting. Basically, the wine guy had several bottles for us to sample along with about 14 different items with varied scents ranging from fruits to spices. The trick was trying to dertermine which aroma one could smell in each wine sample. It was quite interesting and in the process I was "bean boozeled" by a few teammates. Ladies, just know that I can be quite sly with my paybacks! More pics to follow as others forward me their shots.

Keep it smooth...

Brad

Heading West

Tomorrow morning I depart for our annual Team Sport Beans/NTTC team camp being held in Fairfield, CA - home of Jelly Belly's World Headquarters. It promises to be a fun-filled weekend with team meetings, media jazz, training and most importantly some hearty team meals and a Napa winery tour. The timing is perfect as Coach Z structured this week as active recovery. It's always refreshing to have some time to get caught up on the more basic things in life (laundry, cleaning, mail, emails, etc.). Monday was a complete day off from the training scene. I took advantage of the opportunity and after completing a few of the more mundane tasks around the casa I've been neglecting, I hopped on the bus to Denver and spent a few hours downtown visiting a couple of coffe shops. Denver is a pretty sweet city and has a pleasant urban vibe to it.

At the moment I am staring at my new PowerTap Elite (training) and PowerTap SL+ (racing) power meters (gracias to Marky V for venturing to FedEx in south Denver & picking them up). As slick as they look in their boxes, I'm thinking they will look even better on some new wheels!

Hope you enjoy a healthy, safe & blessed weekend of training, family & friends!

Thanks for reading & keep it smooth...

Brad

Sponsor Highlight: Team Sport Beans/NTTC

While enjoying the 70 degree weather on a recent easy ride I did some brainstorming about my blog and decided to add a new feature of highlighting a sponsor each month. Note to reader - this is not meant to be a shameless marketing tool which my sponsors have requested. I simply wanted to share some info on the great people who are helping me be my best!

To kick things off for 2009 it made sense to start with Jelly Belly's Sport Beans since Jelly Belly is the title sponsor for my team, Team Sport Beans/NTTC. You may have read one of the recent press releases from our top shelf team director, Mark Wendley, about this year's squad. I am stoked to have Alexis Smith & Lauren Jensen return on the women's side as well as Jeff Piland on the men's. First-year team members Jessica Jacobs, Leah Daugherty, Daniel Bretscher & Ben Hoffman are certain to add some excitement to the mix!

Team Sport Beans/NTTC was originally founded in 1992 by current team director Mark Wendley who at the time was racing professionally. The early years saw the likes of Mike Pigg sporting the NTTC colors. After a 11 year hiatus, the team returned with a new title sponsor in Jelly Belly, makers of the Sport Bean. There has been some rumblings about the legitimacy of a candy company getting into the sports nutrition biz, and quite honestly the Sport Beans brand has exceeded initial expectations. With four original flavors of Berry Blue, Lime, Orange, Fruit Punch and two newer caffeinated flavors of Watermelon & Cherry, Jelly Belly is able to offer endurance athletes & active people some serious portable power! My favorite flavs are orange, lime and the watermelon when I want a little extra giddy-up. Each packet of Sport Beans contains 100 calories, 80mg sodium, 40mg potassium, 25g carbs and 19g sugar. The caffeinated packets are the same with 50mg caffeine. There is no HIGH fructose corn syrup in the beans.

Keep it smooth...
Brad

What Happened to February?!?

Whew, February was a bit of a blur with quite a bit of travel, training & speaking engagements. Earlier in the week I made a quick trip to Toledo, OH to celebrate the life of my uncle. It was great to see my extended family and share great memories of my uncle. He died from complications with lung cancer and was yet another reminder for me to be grateful for the gift of good health! My uncle was a loving husband & father. If you saw the movie Gran Torino my unlce was very close in nature to the character played by Eastwood.

On the training front I am in the midst of a big two week block and absorbing the demands - sometimes like a sponge, other times like a brick. The weather has been decent and I am hoping it continues to improve as we March forward (yes, a bad joke :) I am stoked to be getting on my new ride in a couple of weeks and back to power with my new PowerTap. We have our Team Sport Beans/NTTC camp in mid March then off to San Diego in early April for Ford California 70.3.

Thanks for reading!

Keept it smooth...
Brad

Florida Great Escape

Getting back to my roots I raced my first sprint triathlon in over five years this morning at the Florida Great Escape (1m swim/18m bike/5m run) in Clermont, FL. I was 6th overall in 1:30 something and splits unavialble at time of this post. My goal was to simply go hard and see if I could find a few extra gears. It was a super fun affair with several of my friends from Boulder and two of my teammates from Team Sport Beans/NTTC toeing the line. Great to see my friend Carole Sharpless getting back in the mix after a two year hiatus...way to go Sharpie!Congrats to Kevin Collington & JZ for their overall wins!

My accommodations for the quick trip south included a homestay with Dave McFarland. He has been running a triathlete hostel of sorts for numerous years and it was a great time. We had a good number of athletes in the house including: Dave - owner, Filip - Slovakia (been here training for 4 months and finished 4th overall today), Rob - D.C. area (here for a training camp hosted by the National Training Center & 4th in his age group), Josh - Ontario, Canada (escaping the frozen north for a solid 10 day training block), Leah (Sport Beans/NTTC teammate & 4th overall woman) & her buddy Kevin (completed his first triathlon today in fine fashion). It was a hoot preparing & sharing a few meals with the other athletes. The location & casual atmosphere of the house is sweet and very conducive to focused training. If you are looking for a winter training camp Clermont is a great place with plenty of good riding, running & the National Training Center. Dave runs a pleasant homestay operation ($25 bucks/night for short visits) and can be reached at trihomestay@cfl.rr.com.

It was a hard 1:3x effort and I really enjoyed the late start time (9:00am v 6:45am) and being done with my race by 10:30am. A few of the more simple pleasures from this race included: not having to pack a boatload of race day nutrition, no separate gear & special needs bags and being able to run with no socks! Each of my big toes is sporting a blister on the tip from the no-sock deal, but c'mon it's a sprint right!?!

Heading back to Boulder tonight.

Keep it smooth...
Brad

Going Short

Next Sunday I will be racing my first sprint triathlon since...well...ummm...oh gosh....uhhh...a long freakin' time! To test the fast-twitch waters I included a local 5k as part of my long run this morning, affectionally called the Frozen Foot 5k. It is a benefit for the local CU Triathlon Team and typically has several fast cats. With a start time of 9:00am I was able to enjoy a solid night's rest and awake with no alarm. After downing a tasty PB&J, coffee and water I put on my cold weather running gear and did a solid round of movement prep before heading out the door. It was a leisurely 2.5 mile run to the campus and race registration. The low-key atmosphere was refreshing and I enjoyed chatting with several friends before completing my warm-up and a few strides just for giggles & kicks. The last 5k I ran was two years ago and I recall the burning of lactic acid as I went out way too fast. Today would be different and I simply settled in with the lead group of guys. Just past the one mile mark our lead group of seven dwindled to four (Jake Timm, Tim O'Donnel, Robert Thayer and me). The course was a mini-adventure twisting & turning throughout the CU campus and included enough short hills to keep things honest. With about a half mile to go Tim & Jake put in a little surge that I could not cover and shortly thereafter Robert cruised by me. He is an excellent runner having just completed his career at CU specializing as a miler. As he went by all I could do was say, "Way to go dude." He eventually ran down Jake & Tim in the final stretch taking the overall win in 16:57. I was fourth in 17:18. As you can see not a blazing fast course, but a super fun morning. Congrats to Robert and Uli for their overall respective wins and all my friends who were in the mix! It was great seeing so many of my friends toeing the line.

Keep it smooth...
Brad

Sedona's Goodwill Ambassador

If you have ever traveled to Sedona, AZ you might have crossed paths with Gator, Sedona's self-proclaimed goodwill ambassador. More on this character in a moment.

Along with my teammate Leah Daugherty, I traveled to Sedona for a Sport Beans photo shoot on Monday. Sedona is an incredibly beautiful place and it is on top of my list for a camping, hiking and backpacking trip. The red rock canyons are absolutely stunning. The photo shoot team was comprised of Rob (Jelly Belly's director of marketing), Kelly (co-owner of Nice Advertising), John Segesta (rock star photographer - if you read Triathlete Magazine or Inside Tri, then you've seen his work) and John #2 (John's partner/assistant). At 7:30am we gathered in the lobby of our comfy accommodations at the Sedona Hilton Spa & Resort and then ventured out for the morning shoot. Below are some pics of the location with Leah & I having fun between set-ups. This area was incredible with plenty of scenic trails to run and hike.

The afternoon shots were done up one of the other canyons outside Sedona. We had to drive about six miles up one of the most rough roads I have ever traversed, but it was well worth it. Similar to the morning shots we did more "rock runs" and I got to play around on a mountain bike. The effect of the natural lighting as the sun set in and around the canyon was pretty sweet and I was ready for a hot shower and some hearty eats as we wrapped things up around 5:45pm. I was really blown away by God's incredible creation in such stunning scenery.

It was a quick trip with an early morning flight Tuesday departing Flagstaff at 7:30am. Back to my buddy Gator. He was the driver arranged to shuttle me and Leah to the airport. He greeted us at 6:00am in his pimped out Lincoln fully equipped with a set of steer horns on the front. I was pretty certain this would be an entertaining ride for the 40 minute drive back up to Flagstaff and Gator did not disappoint. He shared with us his 17 year carrer in the rodeo riding buck horses and finishing up his career as a rodeo clown. There are two types of rodeo clowns - the ones who pop up and down in the barrels to entertain the crowd and the ones who look after the riders. Gator was the latter clown. He was an original cowboy alright and proceeded to tell us the guys wearing helmets and kevlar vests are, well to put it politely, just a bunch of pansies!

This cowpoke is in need of some sleep.

Keep it smooth....

Brad

Tucson Pics

gotta love Chipolte
coming down Phoneline Trail in Sabino Canyon

cactus everywhere, including my shin