The Ehh, Nice, and Ugly - Tower Triathlon Race Report

This past weekend I jumped into a local sprint triathlon put on by the Leaning Tower YMCA in Niles, IL.  I grew up in Niles, and have known about this race for quite a few years, just haven't done it.  No real reason, just haven't.  So this year one our L3 Endurance Athletes (and friend) wanted a race prior to his first half ironman of the season, so I agreed that this would be a good way to knock the rust off and to get a race in.  If you want the short version of the race report here you go...I swam alright (did get lapped by the dude in my lane who was FLYING), rode well (thinking the Ceepo Viper rode well and I was just along for the ride), and ran crappy (the Zoot Kiawe's were ready to run...if only I was ready to go with them).  I was able to win the race by about 2 minutes, so that's a positive.  That's the quick version...the longer version is below:

"The Ehh..." aka the swim.  I've been swimming a lot!  But for some reason I don't feel that it really showed in this race.  I guess the thing is that I don't have that "fast" in any sport right now so I swam the pace I always swim.  So not fast, not slow, but I could have been the last one out of the water in wave 2...slightly embarrassing I guess...but I don't know if I was or not.  T1 was uneventful and I passed quite a few people there.

"Nice" aka the bike.  5 loops on any course is annoying...though this didn't seem bad.  I thought it was going to get super crowded, it didn't!  The worst part was going over the timing mat which was like a speed bump.  The first (of 5) times that I went over it I thought for sure I was going to either flat or get launched since I hit it at 30+mph.  The Ceepo Viper was spot on and I ended up with the fastest bike split of the day by about 2 minutes.  Not too shabby for an 18k bike course I suppose.  T2 was once again uneventful, grabbed my other Spy sunglasses, through on my Zoot Kiawe's, SRAM truckers hat and was on my way.

"The Ugly" aka the run.  I ran slow, not because of the shoes, not sure what it was but I just didn't have that extra gear.  It didn't hurt, and a 5k is supposed to hurt.  For whatever reason I couldn't get the legs going, I couldn't get to that place where it hurts.  I was comfortable, and I was ok with that.  The good is that I did feel comfortable, so holding onto that pace for longer was sustainable, I have that going for me...but I wanted to run faster, it was upsetting at the time and a definite wake up call.

The next few weeks I'm going to run, and then run some more, and hopefully run some more. 

Special thanks has to go out to my awesome sponsors and support crew: Zoot, Ceepo, GU, Spy, Garmin, PR Bar, SRAM, Zipp, Speedfil.  And thanks Mom for riding with me to the race, and cheering me on as always!!!!!!!

It Happens...

Life gets busy, that happens.  Keeping things in perspective is really important, and I haven't been the best about that lately.  I did read something this morning which made me think and reflect.  Funny how sometimes the most simple statement can help you to reflect and to turn your attitude around.

I'm still super busy, and will be for quite a while (yea it's pretty much non-stop from 4:00 a.m. when I get up until 10-11:00 p.m. when I head to bed).  Balancing life is not always the easiest, but it can only make you stronger in the end right? 

2 Months...and the Maiden Voyage Awaits...

2 months from today Brit and I get married.  It's a super exciting, though stressful time.  She's done a great job of preparing for this wedding and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with such an amazing girl! 

With that the kitchen is slowly coming along as well...hopefully it will be done relatively soon here as it will be nice to have a house put back together.

The weather (and my time to be able to ride outdoors) is finally going to align this afternoon and I'll be able to get my new Ceepo Viper out on the road.  I'm pretty pumped about it as the ride in to work with it was awesome.  I can't wait to see what it's like when I'm not wearing a huge backpack and I can open it up out on the roads.

Training has been slowly coming back together and there have been some confidence gaining sessions as of late.  Especially in the pool as swimming has been coming along nicely.   Let's hope that the times in the pool translate to solid times in open water.  If not at least I hope to be more fresh for the remainder of the race.

Race season is almost upon us and I couldn't be more excited to get after it

Rolling...

Things have been rolling along nicely, and it feels as if that "forever soreness" is starting to come back.  I have missed that feeling, and I absolutely love it.  It makes me feel alive, like I've actually accomplished something, like I'm working, like goals are attainable.  Each and every day I enjoy riding my Ceepo Viper more and more.  I'm getting more dialed in with it, and more comfortable.  The power transfer has really surprised me, and it's much easier to sustain certain levels of power which never were before.  Definitely an awesome bike!

Brit and I were able to build a pretty sweet fence around our garden (which will hopefully be planted soon).  This fence has a gate and all...oh yea and solar lights on top of the corner posts.  Did I go overboard?  Probably...but it looks pretty cool.  I'll work to get a picture of it up here, as I'm pretty proud of it.  I really hope we get a solid crop this year, as there is nothing quite like eating fresh food from your own garden.

If you're interested in joining the L3 Endurance crew for some group training this week let me know, or check out our website www.L3Endurance.com

Cold and rainy...but the work continues.

The weather last week was a total tease...as this week we've had rain, more rain, cold, rain, clouds, wind and all around CRAP weather.  However, there is still work to be done.  And I've been able to put in a few solid sessions this week...mainly in the pool and an awesome session on my CycleOps Fluid2 Trainer on Wednesday night.

I'll spare the details of the workouts, lets just say that luckily my arms are resting on a table right now because I'm not sure if I have enough strength to lift them up at the moment.  Thanks to Keating, swimming has been royally whooping me into shape.  It's nice that from a cardiovascular standpoint I can feel improvements...so the strength has to keep getting built up.

I'm pumped to be headed to the Cubs game tomorrow...and if we had some sun that would be a bonus!  Brit bought the tickets a while back for a rooftop, this will be her 2nd Cubs game...I think there is still hope for her.

So with that on tap it looks like another early morning of training...bring it!