El Paso Tri Club

The El Paso Tri Club is up and running and I would say...oficially off the ground. I just wanted to give the quick update. Google the El Paso Tric Club to check us out.

I am currently training for a duathlon at White Sands Missle Range. I have to do well because in my last race...well let's just say that I had no business racing. The other race that I am getting ready for is the El Paso Marathon. I will be doing the 13 mile run. I did this race in 2007. It is a pretty tough run. The first six miles are pretty much all up hill.

Well the duathlon is about 3 weeks away. I will keep everyone posted on the results!

Polar BEAR 2008 (2009) Season

Today was the beginning of the 2009 Triathlon season. Well maybe not exactly I believe the Jingle Bell Triathlon was actually the beginning of the 2009 season. Anyway, I did not train for the race but I still had a great time and the turn out was awesome. I saw a bunch of people I haven't seen in a long time. I saw Cody who is in my age group. I had not seen him since the last Polar Bear, I believe.

The weather was cold....as can be expected in December, but talk about dodging a bullet. Right as the race came to an end the winds picked up! We had an occasional gust or two on the bike during the race but nothing compared to how the winds were towards the mid morning and afternoon.

I ended up in second place overall for the 2008 SWCS racing season. My goal next year will be to get first overall. In 2007, during my first year in the 30-34 age group I placed third overall. It only makes sense to keep progressing. With the next race more than a month away. I have to start training and getting ready for the 2009 season. I plan not to be so busy at work next year and I plan to dedicate more time to the things that make me happy.

I have no idea what placed I finished but I am working on getting the splits and placings....stand by I will update soon.

String of Bad Luck at the Yucca Triathlon

Okay so I had back to back triathlon races this past weekend. So let me start off with the Yucca Triathlon which was a 10k run, 48k bike, and 400m swim. When I started the run I felt good. I haven't had a chance to download my GARMIN 405 data yet, but at last glance I think I was averaging 8:20 miles for the 10k, which I know is not fast but I was happy with it. As I transitioned into the bike my legs felt good so I jammed out on the bike, then it happened! Approximately 10k into the bike I went over a good size rock, I even felt the back tire move to the left. So of course the next noise I was waiting for was the loud pop! Oh yeah let me mention right now, I am riding tubulars and I am not carrying a spare tire or tools. So I don't hear the bang but I do feel slower. So I am trying to look back at the rear wheel. Well I don't know what happened but my rear tire was riding low. I rode a couple of more miles and I looked back again to check on the tire. I could not understand how I had been able to ride the next couple of miles and not loose all my tire pressure. Long story short I don't know what happened but I lost a significant amount of tire pressure without going completely flat. So there I was with about 38k to go on the bike and I was asking myself do I stop and wait for the SAG WAGON or do I keep on knowing I wont place but at least I will finish. So, I decided screw it, I will keep going. Okay, I hit the 40k marker and BANG!! So if you are a reasonable person like I am you are thinking the rear tire is done! No, my front tire blew out....and I mean it blew out, there will be no riding this one out!

So not only did it suck riding on rear low tire but then I get stranded with 8k to go, walking, bare footed, and pissed! So this goes in the record books as my first DNF (did not finish).

I dropped off my tri-bike at Crazy Cat for repairs that evening. The next day (Sunday) I had a race at Ascarate Park in El Paso, Texas and with my bike in the shop I would have to use my road bike for the race.

I woke up sore the next day but I was ready to redeem myself. Here is the race layout; 1.5 mile run, 6 mile bike, 1.5 mile run, 6 mile bike, 800 meter swim. Again, I have not downloaded the Garmin 405 info, but my final time was 1:15 and I finished 3rd in my age group. I am still fighting for Southwest Challenge points and the Yucca DNF really hurt me on the points especially since I am playing catch up. I will keep you all posted on my strategy!

Back to Back

On September 6, 2008, I will be participating at the 2008 Yucca Triathlon and on September 7, 2008, I will be participating in the Tre Foil Triathlon in El Paso, Texas. I have never tried back to back races and since I will be putting in full effort into both of them it should make for an interesting weekend. The Yucca will be a 10k run, 48k bike, and 400m swim. The Tre Foil will be a 1.6 mile run, 6 mile bike, 1.6 mile run, 6 mile bike, then 800m swim.

My training has been going well. I will give a post race report...stay tuned!

IN CONTROL OF MY LIFE AGAIN

I know it has been a long time since I have written anything on my blog but I am back. I am also racing again, which feels great!

So a quick recap! Back in February 2008, work took a hold of me and without going into great detail, I was basically working 16-18 hour days. Being consumed by work did not leave me any time to train and therefore no time to race.

But believe it or not the rest was well needed. I feel fired up and ready to go again. I am way behind in the Southwest Challenge Series Triathlon points but I have full intentions of making a run for the points before the year is up!

My first race after the lay off was the Las Cruces Duathlon. The day started off great beginning with the weather. I had never done the course so I had no idea what it would be like. For those of you who have never done the Las Cruces Duathlon here is the run down. The course is a 5k run/26mile bike/5k run. The race was held at the field of dreams, which by the way is a nice sports facility. The run was flat, half pavement, and half loose gravel, which in all actuality was not so bad. The bike was 26 miles, not bad right? Well the first thirteen miles were up hill. Never having done the course I thought the hill would never end. Now the awesome part, the course was an out and back, so you guessed it! We were moving on the way back! If I remember correctly I hit a top speed of 45 mph, and I held it for a little while. After arrival at T2 it was off to another 5k run same course, however the final 400 meters were done around a track, for what they called a victory lap! It was a great race. I am still waiting for the results. I left right after the race for breakfast at the Cracker Barrel!!

Last weekend I did my second race after my layoff and the 4th race of the season for the Southwest Challenge Series. I was in good ole' Odessa, Texas for the Tumbleweed Triathlon. The first time that I did this race was back in 2006, it was also my last. I was excited to see how much I had improved in two years. One quick story! I thought the race was on a Saturday, so I left El Paso Friday afternoon, arrived at the YMCA for registration and then they broke me the bad news! The race was actually on Sunday. So I had to pay for an extra night at the hotel. No big deal I had the wife and dog with me so I had no worries back home!!!

Now to the race. The race consisted of a 5k run/12 mile bike/500m swim. It was a great race I felt great. The only factor, it was a little windy, other than that it was a great race. I improved my 5k run time and my 12 mile bike time. I don't have the exact figures but you all will have to take my word for it. The swim time was about thirty seconds slower. I will attribute it to the following: in 2006 the race was traditional order S/B/R. This year it was reversed so I think I would have had a faster time but since it was my last event I figure that's why I was thirty seconds slower.

Anyway, I'm back! I am excited, primarily cause I have a grip on my life again. I took a look at the points and Cody Hanson is in the lead. Pretty good for his first year as an age grouper.....my congrats! I don't know if either one of us will get the eight races in time but we will see. I know the rules changed regarding the amount of races that you have to do. But when the points are close you almost have to get your eight races in. Anyway, I hope to see you all at the races!!!!

No more Excuses

I have been super consumed by work and I have taken about two weeks off. I feel well rested physically but mentally....well that is a different story! I am going to miss the El Paso Marathon due to lack of training! I was going to sign up at the last minute but I figure I would just get injured if I tried to push it.

So I did the John Stermer Duathlon! PT Dog Matt and I had a great time! Great race! PT Dog was nursing an injured ankle so he took it easy on the run. The bike was great I never lost sight of him and I think that really helped keep the focus of my burning legs and in the long run I think that I had personal best on the bike. We averaged 21.1 mph, we were moving!

So it looks like Alpine will be next! I will more than likley do race day registration and we will see how it goes. More on work later! I had 80 hour work weeks the last two weeks!

So aside from failing health I have no more excuses I WILL make time to work out! See you all at the races!!

FLIP TURNS

Ok, so I have been swimming since May 2005! I was never a swimmer before and my first day in the swimming pool consisted of swimming one length of the pool (25 yds).....rest......swim another length.....rest......repeat.....call it a work out after 400 yds. Well I have come a long way since then. I did my first open water swim in 2007 at Buffalo Springs Lake 70.3 and today I did my first flip turn in the pool. I was excited, I've always wanted to learn how to do a flip turn and today I got it down, so I did the entire work out with flip turns! I did not realize how much it takes out of you! Anyway, I just wanted to share this with my readers! Train Smart~