Sunday, June 28, 2009

Seattle Rock n Roll Half

What a fun race! This is the first time I have done a Rock n Roll race. They had a band playing music approximately every mile. The course was relatively flat. It started in Tukwilla and ended at Qwest Field.

There were several people running, some triathletes & teachers. For a few of them, it was there first half marathon. I wrote a training plan for Katie and she had a great race.

Originally, Lee was supposed to run the race. He was still recovering from his Ironman. I used this as a training run. I had good bike, run, and swim workouts Thursday & Friday. I wasn't sure what to expect. My goal was to run between 1:25-1:30. I was actually surprised with my time, especially since I walked a few times because of blisters. I put body glide on my feet and it wasn't enough. Anyone have ideas?

After the race, we chilled and met Katie's puppies. They are very cute. I can't believe how many girls wanted to pet the puppy. They are a definite chick magnet!!!
My calves and quads were a little sore this morning. A two hour bike ride will help with that.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Support Crew is hard work!



Karen got lucky on the first picture. She happen to put the camera in the air and snap a picture of Lee coming out of his first loop. The second picture is Lee in swim-bike transition. The third picture is Lee smoking the run. The last picture is of the trio post race. Karen made us cool shirts to support Lee. It was a picture of a guy with a rocket booster sitting on a P3 with boom boom pow on the front. On the back was his race number and his real name "Rocketman".

Anyone who has ever supported a racer at an ironman, my hats off to you! It is hard work. I thought that I would be chillin and relaxing while Lee was out and about. Not so much! Karen made me extrapolate times to make sure we would see Lee. A couple of times Karen cheered so loudly, that a few of the racers actually jumped.

He had a great race. Not only did he beat his Arizona time, but he proved he can now run off the bike. He asked me, "Did you feel that?" I said, "Feel what?" He said, "As I passed 2nd year Bruce on the course, I spanked him on the ass at mile 18." I have to admit, that there is some funny stuff. Even you didn't know it, he has already calculated when our running times will intersect. March 2010. I can't wait!

We got back to Lakewood just before 8. We unpacked everything (mostly me). I chilled for a bit and went to go pick up Indy for a week of dog sitting.
Tuesday I had a nice swim in the morning. It felt really good after a day of no workouts. Later I went out for a hard ride followed by an easy run. Bike felt strong. My legs felt tired on the run.
This morning I had a rough swim. I felt good for the first part of the workout then faded fast. Karen put the smack down on me. Just to remind me how much faster she is than me. I ran in the afternoon. I felt pretty good, but didn't have enough energy. I called it a day. I will relax for the rest of the day and get ready for another good bike workout tomorrow.

Friday, June 19, 2009

Chillin in Couer D'Alene (CDA)

I am out here supporting my best friend at the Ironman. This will be his second race at this distance, but first time on this course.


We (Lee, Karen, and myself) left Wednesday just after noon. We stopped a few of times. The first stop was for coffee and gas. The second stop was for wine tasting at The Cave near the Gorge. If you haven't tried wine from stainless steel barrels, you are missing out. The wine doesn't have that wood taste. Lee and I agreed there Chardonnay was the best out of the eight tastes we had. The last stop was for dinner (PF Changs) in Spokane. We opted to sit outside to keep an eye on our bikes. There was a suspicious guy checking out our bikes. He was merely admiring the smoking fast bikes.

We arrived into CDA a little after 8. Just in time for a fresh plate of cookies at the hotel. We called in a night.

The next morning we were up by 6 for first breakfast. Then went to the lake for a nice brisk swim. There were a few companies there with wetsuits, so we opted for a 2xu. It felt good, but not as good as my Vendetta. The swim was very choppy, no where near as bad as Ironman CDA 2007. They only set up about half the buoys, so we swam 2 loops.

We went back for second breakfast then packed up and moved over to the race hotel. What a view! We are on the 5th floor. We have a view of half of the swim.
Once we got everything unpacked we headed out for a short bike. Lee & I put on our race wheels to see which set up he should go with. I felt very comfortable with my 808 front & disc rear. Lee had no problems with the 1080 front & Sub 9 back. Lee had a nice easy ride, while Karen and I did some tempo work. After the ride, Lee prepped his bike for race day and we ran for 20 minutes.
We were starving, so walked over to the Pita Pit for lunch. Then walked over to the expo. Lee had a meet and greet with the fellow Executive Challenge athletes. We also met Greg Welch, Heather Fuhr, and Paula Newby-Fraser.
Today, Karen and I opted to try the Blue Seventy wetsuits. We still found our Xterra wetsuits to be supreme. Today the weather changed to rain. We don't know what to expect for race day. Lee being the big shot he is, was asked to do an interview. Lee even plugged us little people.

Monday, June 15, 2009

Blue Lake Triathlon

This race is known as a fast & flat course. Unfortunately, I experienced more FLAT than fast.

I had a typical night of sleep. I woke up frequently and either drank or went to the bathroom. I finally decided to get up 30 minutes before the alarm was scheduled to go off. I figured no reason to lay and stare at the ceiling anymore. I had 2 Boosts, got everything ready, and headed out the door.


We arrived at the site early with a line of cars. The gate was already supposed to be open. I decided to grab my bag and ride my bike over. It's funny how you run into people sometimes. Tim & Tracy were in the car right behind us. We chatted briefly then I rode out to transition. I was the first person body marked, so I took the end of the bike rack. The best place to be for a race.

Karen and me pre warm up. I'm not sure what I was looking at, but it must've been good. I had a good warm up on the Lynskey. About a mile away to transition, my bike kicked out a rock or something (I would pay for this later). I didn't think anything of it. I situated everything for the bike then headed out for a run with my Newtons. I felt very strong. Transition was all set up. I grabbed my Xterra Vendetta and headed to the water. The morning was nice and relaxed, no rushing.



My wave (30-39 males) started 1 minute behind the elites. I started out feeling okay. I thought my line was little off and made a few corrections. After the first turn buoy, I started getting into the race. I think it's funny how swimmers in earlier waves do not want to let you pass. Don't they realize you are swimming a lot faster than they are? There were no clocks posted anywhere, so I had no idea of my time (22:16). I was in & out of T1.

I am getting ready to take my first left out of the park when I feel my rear tire bouncing. I stop and notice the tire is low on air. Joy!!! Mental note: ALWAYS check tires before heading to swim. Have you ever tried to unscrew a valve extender when your hands are wet and there isn't a dry spot on you? It was so frustrating. At that point, I was contemplating quitting because I was so close to transition. I knew that was not an option until I had no resources left. The real problem was I could not use a tire lever because there was too much air in the tire, but not enough to ride. I grabbed a CO2 cartridge (Thanks Lee for telling us to take 2 just in case) and inflated the tire. I was getting ready to install the wheel when I hear POP. Can my day get any better?

Round 2 of flat repair. I had already put everything away, so I get to go through the same process twice. I grab the tire lever and get the tire open. I remove the tube. I go to release the valve extender and it pulls off the tube stem. Now I have the tip of the stem stuck in the extender. What can you use to unscrew something a couple mm long & wide? If you guessed teeth, you are correct. It actually took a couple of minutes because of the nylon tape that is designed to secure the extender to the stem. I screw the extender on the new tube, replace the tube, and close up the tire. I inflate and everything is ready to go. The guesstimate of time spent here was 10 minutes or so. I think they should put a sign up, Bruce's flat repair. I finally head out to start riding.

At this point I am fuming. There is nothing like being ready for a race and then have mechanical issues. This is 2 consecutive triathlons that I have flatted. At a Arizona it was the front tire and this time the rear.

The best part about changing a tire so close to transition is all the people riding by. My favorite line, "That sucks, dude." I put my head down and hammered. I made my right toward the industrial area and saw riders going left to the airport. It was a good feeling to pass them before the turn around since I figured they were at least 4 miles ahead of me. After the turn around there was a tailwind, so I am pushing big gears. I take a drink from the Aerocup and hear it is now empty. Only 8 miles to go with no more fluid. I know most of you are thinking, no big deal. If you didn't know it, I am a heavy sweater (the last sweat test I did was on a run at 7am and I lost 5lbs in an hour). Nothing I could do about it now. Will I pay for it on the run? I get my feet out of my shoes and prepare for T2. I am in and out. Bike Time - 1:09.04. I wished I would've timed the "play with my tire session".


I start the run feeling okay. My legs felt a little heavy. My hamstrings start cramping. Hmmm I wonder why. Oh yeah, I forgot to carry enough fluid on the bike. Did I push the bike too hard? The answer was absolutely, positively, yes. I had no gears on the run. I maintained the same pace throughout. Only one person passed me once I started riding my bike. He passed me around mile 5 and ended up with the second fastest run of the race. Run Time- 40:52. I finally crossed the finish line, super frustrated. Final Time - 2:15.17

I know I would've placed in the top 5 after seeing the results. I'll be back to fight another day!

Great job to everyone else at the race: Karen, Kurt, Ross, Tim, Jared, Lisa, & Megan.

The day wasn't a complete bust. I won $100. I predicted Jared would swim faster than Roger. Lee didn't believe it. Jared was too new to the sport. Needless to say, Jared out swam him by 1:45. Thanks Jared! I'll hook you up with a pair of drag shorts, so the rest of us can keep up.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

4 days out til race day

I had a good bike last night. I did some pace work for the race. I felt pretty good. There was definitely more wind compared to last Tuesday. My run off the bike felt very strong. I saw a friend on the side of the road changing a flat. Being the good guy that I am, I gave her a hand.

This morning, I had a good swim. My legs felt a little heavy from the ride less than 9 hours ago, so I wasn't expecting too much. Surprisingly, I felt good. It is always fun swimming with a distance swimmer. Especially since I am probably more of a sprinter, possible middle distance swimmer. We were finishing up a set of 150's descend after 7x300. I took it out fast and was a good body length ahead after a 50. I could feel myself slowing down. I happen to take a breath to the left with 20 yards to go. I see hard charging Karen trying to beat me to the wall. I mustered up enough to just hold her off. Mental note, never count a distance swimmer out.

Once I finish with work, I will set up the race wheels. I haven't touched them since November. No more workouts for the day. I am hoping to catch up some sleep.

Good luck to Guy this week at Eagleman. He finally bought some race wheels, so his bike split should be fast.

Good luck to Ellina at Boise.

Monday, June 8, 2009

First tri of the year

Swam an easy 3000 early this morning. Just finished a nice short run with Fina (ADHD Vizsla).

I'll be racing in Oregon on Sunday in the Blue Lake Olympic Triathlon. I did this race two years ago. I ended up with a blocking penalty. I didn't realize I couldn't take up the whole lane while getting my feet into my shoes. Since I am swimming, biking, and running faster than ever, it will be nice to see the improvement from 2007. I have a few friends (Karen, Kurt, Lisa, and Jared)that are racing, so it should be a blast.

Good luck to Bi33y at Boise on Saturday!

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Welcome to my blog site

I am going to keep you updated on what's going on in my life. Enjoy and try not to laugh too hard.