Kona 2014 - 6 Days Out

Needless to say life's been crazy busy with the arrival of RJ in late June. So to recap my last post until now it's been a great journey as a Dad so far.  

RJ travelled with us to IM Mont Tremblant and was awesome. What about Mont Tremblant...I guess I had a good day. 

I was super comfortable in the swim, probably went out just a little too hard on the bike and ran well enough for 14th overall in 9:29 and 2nd AG...so here we are prepping for Kona for the 4th straight year.

Our trip is shorter to Kona this year due to some circumstances out of our control but we plan to make the most of it. I'm pumped to share this magical place with RJ and can't wait to arrive on Wednesday.

Last year I had a great race so I'm making an attempt at trying to mimic that "taper"...not exactly the same as much of it will be done here in Chicago instead of on the Queen K, in Kailua Bay, or Ali'i Drive...but such is life.  I think this year the volume may be down slightly in some areas but definitely more focused.  6 days until Kona. Can't Wait!!

Special thanks to all of my sponsors once again!   Zoot, Ceepo, Gu, Smith, Bonk Breaker, Lake, Vitality Sciences, TP Therapy, Garmin.  

Balancing...

Life's been quite the balancing act lately...between getting ready to be a Dad, getting the house ready for a new family member (baby), work, training, and L3 Endurance it seems as if the day should have 30 hours instead of 24...and with those extra hours I'd probably get some more sleep.  I won't say that I've been balancing it all that well either...so that is my current goal.  Get the balance that I need.  I've been able to get out before work on Tuesday and Thursday for a ride...there is something about logging solo miles which is just awesome to me!

It is a time for me to get some good thinking in...and I would say that it's my "therapy"...I always say if nothing else goes right on those days at least I was able to get a ride in...even if it wasn't the best ride.  I've been logging some good miles this month on both my Ceepo Mamba and my Ceepo Viper...there is a new bike in the stable...my Ceepo Stinger is currently getting built up by my awesome friend Nick.  I can't wait to get that bad boy back.  I'll be rollin with Zipp 303's and SRAM Force22.  Should be incredibly slick once it's done!

My body feels fine now after the race last weekend at Rev3 Knoxville...it's a good thing I have a physical therapist as a wife as she helped me to work out some kinks since I went into that race well undertrained...and so I had a few niggles afterwords...LESSON LEARNED! 

With the weather having finally broken it's time to lay down the sessions that need to happen for success in the coming months.  Racing is on hold momentarily due to the fact that there is a little person growing right now and I can't wait to meet him/her (we don't know what we're having).  Time to put my head down, get that proper balance, and do work!
 

Rev3 Knoxville Wrap Up

This past weekend I decided to kick off my triathlon season with the Rev3 Knoxville Half Ironman.  Was I 100% prepared for it?  Nope.  Do I have anyone to blame other than myself?  Nope.  Am I happy with the result?  Nope.  Was it the result I deserved?  Probably not, but I'm lucky I ended up where I did.

I ended up finishing 2nd overall in the Half Ironman Distance Race.  The course was tough...especially the run course which was super hilly...not something  I was ready for.  So if you're reading just to see the result...there it is you have it.

Unfortunately, Brit couldn't come with me to this race as I wanted her to stay at home and work on building that little baby instead of travelling 9 hours each way to Knoxville and home...I definitely didn't want to be that far away and have her go into labor.  My mom did go with me though, and we had a nice weekend together.  Knoxville is a cool town...though it is FAR from Chicago.  In Knoxville along with the race it was the "International Biscuit Festival"...something my Mom found extremely entertaining...and there were some seriously large people there.

We arrived on Friday night after a few hiccups on the road travelling there.  I knocked off a quick run in my new Zoot Kiawe 2.0's and felt great (if only I would feel that good running on Sunday).  After a good old southern meal we called it a night.  Saturday was kind of a crummy day, and I knocked out my pre race run, easy spin on my Ceepo Viper all "Zipp"ed out, checked in and swam in my new Zoot Prophet 2.0 wetsuit.  I didn't feel great...though that's pretty typical.

An afternoon of getting set to race, writing L3 Endurance athlete programs and checking my bike in made the day go by quickly.

Race morning was pretty chill.  I arrived early, set up my transition and then went down to the swim start with my mom to hang out.  Prior to the race I was able to chat with a L3 Endurance athlete racing (who ended up winning her AG...YEA!!) 

THE RACE

Swim - 29:xx = I pretty much swam alone...and definitely not all that straight, but I'm alright with it.  I thought I'd be a bit faster, but I was able to come out of the water kind of towards the front.  Whenever I can swim under 30 minutes I'm happy...though still work to do.

T1 - I ran, took off my wetsuit, put on my helmet and sweet new Lake Cycling shoes, and Smith Optics VO2's and was off

Bike - 2:26:xx = I caught the leaders of the race by about mile 6 of the bike...then it was time to make a decision.  Either conserve energy and stay in the vicinity of them...or try to get away.  Well...I decided to try to get away.  I was successful and my Ceepo Viper took great care of me with the fastest bike split of the day by about 4 minutes.  It was a tough course...and pretty cool to have a police escort for most of the ride.  Nutrition was a non-issue thanks to GU...a few GU's and Wish I had a picture of that...sorry I don't.

T2 = I arrived in T2 with a lead...how big I'm not sure.  Time to put on the Zoot Kiawe's, trucker hat, and sweet Smith Optics shades and to run...

Run = UGLY...I'll just leave it at that.  At mile 12 I was run down by the eventual winner and I had nothing to go with him...no one to blame but myself.  I gambled and played the one card I had...lay it down on the bike...and it didn't pan out as I had hoped.  I wouldn't say the run was horrible...but it wasn't a half ironman run pace...more like an ironman run pace. 

I probably got a little more than I deserved with a 2nd place overall on the day...which just makes the motivation increase moving into the rest of the season.  Overall, a solid weekend.  A huge thanks to my sponsors: Zoot, Ceepo, Lake Cycling, Garmin, Smith Optics, GU, Bonk Breaker, PowerTap, Myothon, Speedfil, Fuelbelt and L3 Endurance

My new toy to build thanks to Ceepo

Gu keeps me going...

Knoxville Finish

My mom and I...not sure why it's sideways

Podium

 

Time Flies...

I just realized that it's been since January that I have posted...so here is bullet point list of what's been happening lately followed by  a picture update.

• Brittany is building our baby, and is doing an awesome job of it!
• Training has been going alright...like always there are peaks and valleys
• Speaking of peaks and valleys, we took a trip out to California for spring break to get away and to spend some time with the awesome folks at Zoot
• My sponsors have taken great care of me!!  Thanks Zoot, Ceepo, Garmin, Smith Optics, Trigger Point Therapy, Fuel Belt, GU, Bonk Breaker, Speedfil.
• The house is still a work in progress...soon is what I always say.
• I've been riding my bike, running and swimming
• The dogs are awesome

As promised...the picture update:

Team Zoot Captains at Lunch in Oceanside, CA

Zoot HQ

Zoot HQ

TP Therapy

Smith Optics

Kerry, Jake, and Bryan

VG's Donuts in Solana Beach=AWESOME

US Military Helicopter training at Camp Pendelton

Palm Springs Pool View

Weapon of choice on a coast ride in North County, San Diego

Marilyn on the move from Palm Springs

Viper on a Palm Springs Assault

Ceepo Viper attacking the Palm Springs Tramway!

Brit @ Joshua Tree

Joshua Tree

Brit and the Balooga on a hike at Joshua Tree

Love the Viper

Brit demonstrating with TP Therapy Products at Team Zoot Captains Camp

Brit at the top of the Tram

One last ride in Cali

La Jolla...wishing we didn't have to leave

Back to the mean streets of the western suburbs

My new toy thanks to Ceepo!!

 

Whoa...where is time going?

I'm not sure where January went...it seems as if it's come and gone extremely quickly.  Not all that much to report...just been working on the basement, staring at the black line at the bottom of the pool, pedaling away on the trainer, and doing a little running too.  I've got a better idea of some races that I want to do, so that's a positive.  I do have some stuff to report on...and in a few days I'll do so with pictures...until then. Work Works.

Whoops...

I can't believe a month has gone by...I was doing a better job of keeping up with this, but I suppose the holidays, snow and the so called "polarvortex" caught up with me.  Happy 2014!  I'm excited for another awesome year, and I think this year will be even better than 2013!

Things have been pretty chill from a training standpoint.  I have some goals for the year that I can't wait to accomplish...first though there is work to be done.  So I've been easing into the work necessary and making a plan to accomplish those goals.

L3 Endurance has taken off and we have more support than I could have ever imagined.  We have arrived in year 2 where I was hoping to be in year 5!  Craziness!  So I've been busy helping athletes create racing schedules, and hopefully inspiring them to reach for their dreams.  If you're interested in seeing what L3 Endurance can do for you please contact me at Rick @ L3Endurance . com let's make your 2014 season and beyond better than you could ever imagine!

Keeping it short today, I will get to posting more frequently though...