The Move

Timeline of the week:

June 9 - Arrive back in Greenville (IL).

June 10 - Move out of house in Greenville. Go home to Ottawa (IL).

June 11 - Unpack, repack, sleep.

June 12 - Drive from Ottawa to Estes Park...950 miles in one shot.

It has been a crazy few days. So far I have been able to get in some short rides/runs, a decent swim, okay longer ride, and preview the Estes Park Half Marathon course. I thought it might be easy to jump right back into things since I was only back in IL for 3 nights...we'll see how this coming week goes.

Shakeout ride

VFuel - Maple Bacon is legit!

32 degrees for my long run? What?!

Chillin' by the pond

That doesn't look too steep...

Bear lake!

Good night!

Colorado - High Altitude Camp 2014 - Pt 2

The rest of my Colorado trip was pretty interesting. I was able to meet a lot of cool people and see a lot of neat places.

Tuesday 6-3

Swam in the morning. This was the 2nd day of swimming at altitude, and it was a little rough. I am used to bilateral breathing, but I had to switch back to one side.

I ended up going for a walk Tuesday evening. I figured after the super long run the day before, I needed a recovery day.

Wednesday 6-4

I had the brilliant idea to ride from the house to the Alpine Visitor Center via Trail Ridge Road. This made for quite an interesting ride. It was basically a couple hours of climbing, then it took less than an hour to get home.

As I was riding up, I had many people in cars say, "you're crazy" or "I wish I had your strength" or "you know, it is much easier to see the view from the top in a car." Obviously it is easier to see the view from the by car...but when have I ever done things the easy way?

Wednesday also happened to be National Running Day, so I wet out for a 1 mile run. I was kind of spent after the ride, but I figured a short mile couldn't hurt anything. I even got to see a decent sunset at the pond.

Thursday 6-5

The day started out with a swim. Swimming seemed to get easier as the week went on. The pool heater was also fixed and running again...so that may have had something to do with it.

Thursday evening I went mountain biking in Pinewood Springs. I don't remember the exact trails. We started at 6:30pm and ended around 11:30pm. We made it to Stony Pass for the sunset. It was pretty neat to be able to look out and see Boulder lights from the top of the mountain. We then made our way back down using headlamps. Round trip was almost 5 hours of riding. This was one of my favorite experiences of the trip.

Friday 6-6

I slept in Friday. My normal routine has a 5:30 am wake up call, but that was not happening. I went to the noon lap swim and relaxed for the rest of the day. Well...most of the day. My aunt and uncle picked me up in the afternoon and we went back into Rocky Mountain National Park.

First we went to Alluvial Fan to check out the waterfall. It is pretty crazy how all of the rain/flooding last year caused the river to make it's own path.

Then we went up to Bear Lake for a partial loop around the lake. I feel like that could be a fun loop to run some mornings.

Saturday 6-7

Our last day in Estes Park. I ran a nice, hill 8 miler in the morning. We went back to the waterfall to explore for a bit.

We finally had to say goodbye to Estes Park and made our way toward Westminster to visit family. After dinner I met up with one of my old high school teammates, Jesse, that I hadn't seen in 9 years. It is always fun to catch up with old friends.

I had a great experience out in Colorado. I am very thankful for Joe and Audrey for opening their home to me. They are always such great hosts. I had a lot of fun meeting new people, seeing new sights, and challenging myself on runs/rides. I liked it so much that I decided I should stay! I was offered a job and found a place to stay, so I will be moving to Estes Park next week! I can't wait!

There will be some new challenges that come with this decision. Training at 7500 feet will be a new adventure. There isn't really anything too flat in the area - everything is uphill then downhill.

I said I wanted to get back to short course racing this year - short, fast stuff. It will be interesting to see if the altitude slows me down at sprint/Olympic racing. There is only one way to find out!

Thanks for reading! Good luck to all racing soon.

Colorado - High Altitude Camp 2014 - Days 1-3

I had the opportunity to go to Estes Park for a week. I love Colorado, so I was not going to pass it up.

Friday we drove to western Kansas.

Saturday morning we drove to Colorado. 

Within an 30 minutes of unloading my stuff, we were already heading out on a trail run. The nice thing about Estes is the Rocky Mountains are right there. We took a trail off Trail Ridge Road.

Sunday

Sunday morning I met up with my buddy Mark and a new friend Alan for a trail run. We met up with the Estes Park Trail Runners and went out to Cow Creek Trailhead. From there we did the out and back to Bridal Veil Fallls, and the added on a couple extra miles. Mark was saying he was still tired from the marathon he ran the week before...but he sure put the hurt on, on the way up to the falls.

Sunday afternoon I had my first real mountain biking experience. Mark took me out on a trail and it was rough. A lot of up/downhill and "ballsy" sections... Great for a first timer...right? Riding up to 9000+ feet sure made for an interesting time. I was starting to get a little too comfortable descending and I flipped over my handlebars on a technical downhill section. It was awesome! Let's just say I am in love with mountain biking!

Monday

I had my first swim in Estes on Monday. The pool is located at 8,000ft. I did my normal warm up and was about 6 seconds/100yds slower during the warm up. For my main set so did 2x[10x100 on :15 RI]. I was able to come within about 3 seconds of my normal times...but it was not pretty. I felt tired and could definitely tell the difference between CO and IL.

In the afternoon I met up with Mark and Alan again for a trail run. It was supposed to be the Twin Owls Loop from the Lumpy Ridge Trailhead - maybe 11 miles. I am not the best with directions and ended up going way off course. I finished with 13 miles...and 2:26 run time. So that ended up being my longest duration run...ever. I'm not so sure I really ran everything - there were some pretty wicked hikes out of some sections. Either way that was a lot of time on my feet.

The log run was fueled by a new product I am trying called ViFuel. It is made lin Estes Park. It would be along the same lines of most energy gels, except better. They taste great (Maple Bacon is my favorite...and saved me 2 hours into the run) and they go down so smooth!

Anyway. The Monday log run may have been a little (or a lot long) but it has been fun so far. Can't wait to see what other exciting things happen in the next 5 days of CO! Thanks for reading and have a great   week!

April and May 2014

After 70.3 NOLA I decided to go back to short racing for a while. I like the 70.3 (and think it will be my best distance someday), but I really love speed! So...I decided to put together a string of some shorter stuff.

Litchfield Spring Duathlon

2nd OA

6 days after NOLA I was on the start line of a 2 mile run/12 mile bike/2 mile run. I knew I was not fully recovered, but I love a good duathlon, so I could not pass it up. I also made the decision to be aggressive on the first run to and see what happened.

I was first onto the bike. I was in the lead until mile 5 or so, then Randy Murdick came flying by me like I was in slow motion. He's known for being a great biker, so I was just hoping to stay close for run #2. I was passed again by another guy. We ended up going off course and adding about 3/4 mile to the course. Randy was too far gone as I came off the bike in 4th. I ran my way back to 2nd with a mediocre run. It was a fun event and I would go do it again!

Try Tri SIUe - 1st OA

Short stuff hurts! I went into the race wanting to just focus on doing the small things correctly: quick transitions, no dropped bottles, no wrong turns, etc. The course is a simple pool swim, out and back bike/run. I had a good swim (4th), solid bike (4th), and okay run (1st) to pull off the OA win. This was my first time winning a tri with more than 75 people in it.

North Central College Gregory Invite

May 15 (5k), May 16 (1500m)

My running had been feeling a little "off" for a while, so I decided to race a couple short things on the track. Thursday we drove up to Naperville for the 5000m. I ran 16:06 and felt pretty good about it...I had forgotten how much the 5k can hurt. The next day so raced the 1500m. I was nowhere near my PR, but I ran a pretty evenly paced 1500m, so I was happy to have a consistent race. I ran 4:14.

Rockford 10k

They were offering prize money to the top 3 in the 10k and half marathon, so I decided to try and go win some grocery money. I had no idea who was in the race, I just wanted to go have a solid day. I still felt like I was in a rut, but I was determined to break out of it. I took the lead early and never really looked back. There are a couple out and back sections, so a couple miles in so decided to pus the pace and open up the gap even more. I knew I was running faster than I should be, but I wanted to give myself a cushion if I blew up. The last 2 miles were into the wind, and tr last mile is ahead hal uphill..I was starting to feel it. I ended up hanging on for the win and $100.

Streator Family YMCA Memorial Day 5k

Should I have raced 2 days in a row? Probably not...but what fun is it doing what you're supposed to do? This race got ugly quickly. I had planned on going out in 2nd until the turnaround, then trying to take the lead. I hadn't realized Matt Morse was in the race.. My first 1/2 mile was 2:24 and he already had a couple seconds gap in me. The 2nd half of this race is also hilly/uphill. It made for a long last mile haha. I took second place as Matt continued his domination in the Illinois Valley!

So what have I learned over the past few weeks? I'm not sure. I do know that it has been a lot of fun and I am liking forward go many more races.

So yeah, that is what has been going on in with me. Thanks for reading and hopefully I'll see ya out there!

Ironman 70.3 NOLA 2014 Race Report

Short recap: Okay swim, dropped a bottle and cramped/threw up/blew up on bike, cramped and walk/ran the run. I ended up in med tent for 2 IV bags upon crossing the finish line. Somehow still managed to be 2^nd in AG and snag a spot to 70.3 Worlds. Happy/thankful to have qualified, but that is not how I had imagined it happening!

Cheap bag, blah hat, another shirt...

Swim – 35:27 (1:14/100yds)

T1- 2:42

Bike – 2:35:56 (21.7mph)

T2 - 1:16

Run -1:41:14 (7:44/mile)

Total – 4:55:33

2^nd AG, 114 OA

Here is the longer report with the fun details.

Swim:

I have been spending a lot of time in the pool and I am considerably faster than I was before (in the pool). My open water swimming still does not match up with my pool swimming, but that will hopefully come with more experience in open water. I cannot be mad about my swim, because it was a half ironman PR swim by almost 2:00. I also came out of the water feeling fresh and ready to ride. The swim course is an “M” and kind of difficult to navigate – the sun was coming up and we were looking for yellow turn buoys. Besides the water tasting funny and looking pretty dirty, I thought the swim conditions were okay. I exited the water in 17^th in my AG, which happens to be the highest I have ever been out of the water! Woohoo!

She looks WAY too happy.

Bike:

The bike course is essentially a “Y” on closed roads. I think it is a great course – flat and closed roads. I was told to expect a headwind on the way out, and a tailwind on the way back in. I know we had a headwind on the way out, but I honestly cannot tell you what the wind did on the way back in. All I know is that it was not a tailwind, and we had a headwind toward the end of the bike course. Gotta love when the wind shifts.

I felt fresh out of the water and onto the bike. I believe I was under my target wattage for the first 5-10 miles, and was passing quite a few guys in my AG. Everything seemed to be going well. I traded my empty bottle at the first aid station and was ready to hit my target watts. Somewhere between miles 17-18 I dropped my water bottle. I knew it was going to be a long day. At mile 25 I was already cramping, at mile 30 I had pretty much stopped sweating, and by mile 35 I was throwing up on the bike. At the next aid station I decided to take water to dump on myself and drink, along with IM Perform to try and get some of the calories/electrolytes back. I was hurting pretty bad at this point. The next 10ish miles were just pure torture – into the wind and people were blowing by me. I was struggling to hold 18ish mph. At the last aid station on the bike (mile 50) I took two waters. With two miles to go, I was cramped so bad that I couldn’t pedal and could only coast. I was seriously considering walking my bike into t2.

Blue skies.

Coming into T2 I knew the run was going to be painful, but I was ready for it. The first couple steps off the bike actually felt great. At this point I thought I was already out of the AG race, but I was not too sure. I had not been passed by anyone in my AG on the bike, so I thought maybe there might be a slight chance I was still in the race.

The first ¼ mile on the run felt great. I started thinking I may be able to save the race. Then BOOM! Cramping – legs and arms. I knew I was in trouble. The first 6 miles of the run course have a couple bridges and overpass crossings, so it was not flat. At the first aid station I planned on taking Perform and Coke. I guess they didn’t have the coke ready, so I took perform and ice. At mile two, I was finally able to get Coke…unfortunately it was not flat and I started throwing up shortly after drinking it. I was miserable, but determined not to walk.

Around mile 7 or 8 – I really do not remember – there was a lady cheering us on yelling, “You look great. You’re doing awesome.” …and I was walking, getting ready to stop and stretch. I was bent over in the middle of the street, so cramped up that it probably looked like I was trying to do some yoga pose…and the race photographer was there. Awesome. I decided to try and run by, but I don’t think I was too successful. I had to stop and do more yoga in the street, haha. As all of this was going on, a race support vehicle stopped and a guy asked me if I was okay. I think I said, “no” and continued to stagger down the street. He then got on the radio the alert other race vehicles to watch for me coming down the road – I guess I didn’t look too good.

I look great...

At mile 8 I came up on a kid with a “20” on his calf. I told myself I needed to make the pass, and then get around the corner so I could start walking again without him seeing me. Right before turning the corner I looked back and saw him walking. That was when I made the decision to run if he ran, and I could walk if he walked. At that point, I had a feeling that we were somewhere near the podium for our AG, but I still didn’t think it would be a Worlds spot.

Over the next couple miles, I was passed by a lot of M40-49. As they would come up on me, they would say stuff along the lines of, “You’re younger and faster than me, run with me.” But I could honestly only run with them for a minute at a time before having to walk. It was not pretty, but I am very thankful to have had multiple running partners to drag me though that last 5 miles. I was in more pain that I have ever been in, and mentally I was ready to be taken away in an ambulance before dropping out. My head was throbbing, my body was on fire, and I felt like I had knives stabbing my quads, arms, and feet.

About to fall over...

I finally made it to the finish line and happened to be cramping and kind of fell over. The volunteers that caught me said, “You don’t look too good.” In my less than coherent state, I replied, “How rude.” She laughed and brought me to the med tent. They asked me how I was feeling and told me I was one of the more rough looking people they had seen so far. Great. They started an IV bag. After my first IV bag they looked at me and decided I needed another one… Did I really look that bad?! I was feeling pretty alright after the second bag though. So thank you to the wonderful medical staff for taking care of me!

Podium. Thanks @maggieru

I can’t say that I am thrilled with how my race went, but I am happy to have qualified. I think I was just disappointed that I put in the work to have a great race, and then things just kind of fell apart on race day. I know that race did not show the fitness/progress I’ve made since last year. I do think it shows that I am mentally a lot stronger this year than other years. Last year in Vegas I think my mind gave up on the race before my body did. This year, my body was shutting down, but I was fully prepared to suffer for as long as I needed to.

Finisher and 2nd AG medals

Thanks for reading and thank you for all of the texts/messages/calls before and after the race. It has been a long training cycle, and I am looking forward to recover and racing some short stuff now! Good luck to all as the race season

begins!

Late March--Early April Update: Coaching and Training

The kids I coach found my blog, and told me I need I need to update it. So, here is the update.

I miss the FL sun!!

 On March 10 I started coaching a junior high track and field team. So far it has been a great experience – I just wish it would not rain so much. I have learned many things in the first month of coaching, but most of the things are what the athletes say about me.  The students are not afraid to say what they think, so I figured I would share a few things with you:

1. I’m mean. I actually make them do workouts. *gasp*

2. I have a GameBoy Color— I’m old.

3. Everybody Loves Raymond is my favorite TV show – once again, I’m old.

4. Everybody Loves Raymond is on TV Land… You guessed it, I’m old.

5. I was born in 1990—yep, I’m old.

So yeah, this is what my athletes have taught me so far. We still have 4 weeks left in the season, so I am sure they will continue to let me know how old I am…everyday.

They think they are cool...

 We have only had one track meet so far…well we had half of a track meet and then it got rained out. The next meet was cancelled and rescheduled due to severe storms. The rescheduled meet was cancelled because of rain. They were going to reschedule the rescheduled meet, but we could not find a day that works. Anyway in the first meet, we had a pretty awesome showing from our milers. Our guys went 5:37, 5:54, 6:04 in the season opener – all running PRs. We also had a girl run 5:58. They are all faster at the mile in junior high than I was!

Trainer rides... Yay

 Now, 70.3 NOLA. I say that every race is a new and different experience…this will not be an exception. Training for NOLA had been great while in Florida. I do not regret coming back to Illinois, but it made training a little more difficult. I got sick within the first 2 days of being back in the state. Always fun. Then I guess it must have been one of the snow covered long runs I did that triggered an old injury, and I found myself in the walking boot for a couple weeks. I was going to try and run through it, but I found myself almost in tears less than 2 miles into runs. At that point I figured it was time to let the foot rest. I was still able to swim and bike without much pain, but running was out of the question. I also found myself on the trainer for pretty much 95% of my rides upon arrival in Illinois. Normally I can just suck it up and get it done, but after almost 95% of rides outdoor in FL, riding the trainer indoors really was not much fun. Over the past month, the one thing I will say that has been great is swimming. I have really been enjoying it, and I have made some good progress in the pool. I have never been known for being a strong open water swimmer, but I am hoping some of the things I have been figuring out will help.

So what does it all mean? Well, my foot and ankle are pain free now, so that is a good sign. Basically all I can do is focus on what I can control—power, nutrition, staying focused on the task at hand. Chrissie Wellington found a way to win when she was less than 100%. I am by no means on the same level as Chrissie, but it shows how important it is to be mentally tough. I am excited to race!

Bring on the warm weather--I'm ready for summer!

Thanks for reading. Good luck to everybody as the race season starts.