rough day in the islands

St Croix 2009 was not quite the race I was hoping for. First off, let me say that the island is amazing. It has such a great feel to it, and is really beautiful. I can unserstand why so many people come back year after year. That said, this is an incredibly tough race. Wildflower and this race are always on the same weekend, and I often would look at and compare results. There is no comparison: St Croix is tougher. Rumor was that this year was an "easier" year with very little wind. That was made up for with hills, hills, heat, and humidity.

Pre-race was island style: laid-back and chill. I had a couple days to rest up and relax before toeing the line this past Sunday. On race day, I was calm and excited to race. I was a little anxious for the swim as there were quite a few fast swimmers in the men's pro field. I started the swim smooth and in control and sat in the lead pack very, very comfortably for the entire swim. It was perfect. My HR was low, and I was sitting in 3rd wheel just chilling in the water. I wish all my ITU swims could be that easy. I exited the water in 4th and made my way to transition.

I hopped on the bike and took off.....er should i say pedaled. I felt pretty bad from the start of the bike, and struggled immeadiately. The first 15 miles I kept ralphing every time I would drink anything. My stomach settled around mile 20 and I was able to down some liquids and gels. Stomach issues done, but back...no bueno. My back started to hurt around mile 25-30. I ignored it for a while, but it got worse and worse. By mile 35, pedaling hard in the aero position would shoot pains up my lower back. It just kept getting worse, and I was getting slower and slower. By around mile 45 I couldnt even get in the aerobars and my back was spasming. I decided to call it a day. I was no longer racing, just soft-pedaling back home. Not how I wanted to go out in St Croix.

Looking back I think several things caused this to happen. 1)I was riding a road bike. Not the smartest idea for this race. 2)My position in front was too low and aggressive for the distance. 3)Probably most importantly, I didnt spend enough time training in my aerobars before the race. Doing 5-10min repeats the week of the race in your new aerobars does not prepare you for 2.5hrs of solid time-trialing in them. Lessons learned. I definitely want to go back next year and redeem myself for the race. All I can do know is put my head back down and train for the next race. In 2 weeks I will be toing the line at the ITU Pan-American Championships in Oklahoma City. First ITU of the year makes me a little nervous, but my swim at St. Croix gives me a bit of confidence leading in. Should be a great race!! Here are some pics from the race:

Cheers,

B

gentlemen, start your engines...

I am at about 1 post/month right now....not so good at updating these days.  Training has been going really well lately.  There hasn't been quite the volume that I have had in the past, but lots of intensity and consistency.  These two things quite often have lagged in my training.  This Sunday I am racing the World Championships of Benbrook, Texas (otherwise known and the Benbrook Sprint Triathlon).  It will be my first time to don the race uni since last November.  It should be a great hit-out for the season.  Plus, I have lots of friends who are doing the race so it should be a lot of fun too.

After that things get  bit more serious.  I am opening up the "real" race season down in St. Croix for my annual 70.3 distance race.  The start list looks good and I am excited to finally start my season.  I just got a sweet new bike and lots of other exciting things to blog about, but not quite enough time right now.  When I get the race machine all dialed in I will post some pics and a bit more about my recent training and the build-up over the past 4 weeks.  Once the race season starts.....more consistent blogging!!!!

Cheers,

B

vid

training is going well, but dont feel like rehashing it right now. I have been increasing the quality, and the body is coming along. I will update soon with more on training, and on the sched for the next few weeks. Here is a cool new ITU video....This is how we roll!

Cheers,
B

the past week

This past week I got in my first "real" week of training.  Well, I have been training very consistently over the past 6 weeks, but haven't logged the bigger weeks I was hoping for.  After the half-marathon last Sunday my legs were shot the first few days of the week, but managed to get a great week of cycling.  

Totals:

swimming-18k

bike 14 hrs

run 41 miles

hrs 24 hrs

Bike was the focus this week (and the next two weeks also).  Running is moving along, but I still have to be careful with the foot.  I did get in a 16.5 mile long run on Sunday w/ the last 3 miles tempo effort.  Pretty jazzed about that! Since the swim group is on taper/holiday, swimming is either solo or w/ one other person.  That said, I had two really solid swim sessions last week.  

This coming week should see more swimming. biking, and running (go figure) and will also include my first visit to the track this season.  I am planning to defend my title (ha!) at the St Patty's Day Triathlon this w/e.  Time to feel the pain....

Cheers,

B

les fotos

it is freezing and windy...do i really want to do this?

cheers,

b

long time between drinks

I have been totally slacking off on the blogger front. Sorry. Although, my new-found interest/obsession with twitter makes it easier for me to update little tidbits about my training. If you want you can check my twitter in the sidebar for frequent updates.

In reality the month of February was a quiet month on all accounts. I ticked off some decent training, but nothing spectacular. My foot is not 100%, but I am managing it and slowly building up the miles. Biking and swimming are ticking along. March will be much different. It is time to really start stressing the body by adding volume and intensity to the workload. I am in decent shape now, but a long ways from where I want to be in May when the real action starts.

I got real sick about a week and a half ago, but have repsonded well from it. I even raced my first "open" half-marathon this past Saturday. It was a test for me to see where my running is w/ my very, very limited build-up thus far. I ran a smartly paced race and exceeded my own expectations time-wise. I ran 1:15:31 on a hilly course w/23-24mph sustained winds. The wind was whipping something fierce, and the course is not fast to begin with, thus, I am quite pleased. 1:15:31 is 5:45 pace almost on the money. Considering outside of some hill repeats, I havent raced, been to the track, or even done a single tempo since last November this time is good for me. Definitely gives me somehting to build upon going forward. I will post some pics as soon as I get them...

Cheers,
b

onwards and upwards

With the advent of the twittering and the constant preoccupation there, the blog posts have slacked a little.  Training has been going well the last 3 weeks.  Nothing to write home about, but putting in 15-20 hours of mostly base.  I am slowly building the volume, with an emphasis on strength.  My foot (plantar fascia) has really been giving me troubles so I have had to put a limit on the yogging.  I have been rolling it, massaging it, icing it, and sleeping in a boot--not so much fun, but necessary.  It is finally coming around and I can hopefully up the diet of running.

Other than that nothing much to report.  I have found a great training partner who has helped me to maintain the consistency even through the sporadically "terrible" texas weather, so that has been a real plus.  In sponsorship news, I would like to welcome Profile-Design on for another year.  I have been with them for 4 years now, and they are a great company committed to triathlon.

 I will update again when the training gets more "serious."  After all, it it still only January....

Cheers,

B

sweet pics

These are some nice pics I found from the San Francisco Triathlon.

cheers,
b