training camp!

The whole goal of my early season racing and travelling around the world was to get into Madrid WCS and the big-money ITU HyVee race....and I failed on both accounts. I just missed getting into Madrid WCS. It seems if I would have placed one place higher at ANY race I did this year I would have gotten into the race. Madrid is the first big race in Europe this year, first race of the 2012 Olympic Qualification, and the first completely filled ITU WCS race of the year.

After my initial disappointment of not getting in, I decided to look at the positives: an 8 week training block! There is literally no ITU racing anywhere near the US in May or early June, so for the first time ever, I will put in a big block of uninteruppted training in the middle of the season. I just finished up the first 4 weeks, and have to say that my training times/indicators are really good.

My next race will be June 26th in Canada. Because there are no races this summer in the USA I will have to travel again to race. I still have another 4 weeks to put in some hard training and prepare for Canada and the heap of races I have planned in August-October....

Over the next four weeks, I will do some local running races to boost the confidence and hopefully set some new pr's.

the focus of training/racing over next 2 months: Get back to this race (Kitzbuhel WCS)!

happy training,
B

Monterrey and Ishigaki

ishigaki world cup video (i am in red and white)

I am currently sitting on a plane heading back from my latest round of races. At this point I have been travelling for about 25 hours and have had plenty of time to think and assess the past two races and where I go from here.

After I raced in Mazatlan in March, I quickly realized that while I had quite a large base of fitness, I lacked some of the speed and sharpness needed to be successful racing ITU races. I had a great 4 week block of training w/ reduced volume and plenty of Vo2 max work. The numbers and response were good and I felt ready to go heading into the Monterrey/Ishigaki double.

Monterrey was the first race up and after a quick uneventful trip, I was ready to race. I got blocked in a bit at the start and by the time I made it to the front of the swim pack, a gap had formed to a group of 8 or so. I led the main pack for most of the swim and was comfortable.

Onto the bike that comfort ended. It was definitely one of the hardest bikes I have ever done. The course had many tight turns, u-turns, and general bottle necks which strung out our pack. We chased the lead breakaway of 8 riders from the first k and didn’t slow down the entire bike. Towards the end of the bike, I started to have some cramping issues with my stomach. Onto the run, they got worse. I struggled a lot, but shuffled along and finished 27th. Not what I wanted or where I feel I am capable of finishing by any means.

After Monterrey, Manny Huerta and I began the very, very long process of getting to Ishigaki, Japan. We left Monday morning at 7:00 AM, spent one night in the air, one night in Okinawa, and then finally arrived in Ishigaki Wednesday morning around 10:00AM….that is a lot of hours! Combined with the previous weekend’s race the rest of the week was damage control: sleep, eat, and train just enough your body doesn’t fall asleep.

After being disappointed in Monterrey, I was ready for vindication in Ishigaki. Race day arrived faster than expected, and I was ready to race. Ishigaki is notorious for breakaways on the swim, so I was very keen to get on the train out of the water. I had a great swim and exited in the top 8 or so, very much in the break. Immediately out of transition we go up a steep bridge which forces the selection out of the water. I had good legs and made the break. I was ecstatic. There were 11 of us in the break with some strong Russian and Australian riders. I thought that this was the race.

Unfortunately, we were riding hard, but unorganized and the chase group was 20 seconds behind us. After 20k out front we were reeled in. Once this happened we went from 11 to 30, and we stopped riding. We slowed so much around 30k that the 3rd pack caught us and we swelled to 35. There were some very slow swimmers who ended up making the “front” pack by the end of the race. Obviously this was quite frustrating for me, but it is the nature of ITU racing.

Onto the run, I again felt sub-par running. Unlike the week before, I was able to keep the top 10 in range for the first 5k, After 5k, I started to struggle and slipped backwards. I ended up 21st. Again, not what I felt I was capable of doing. When you do 2 races back to back with so much travel and stress, it is very difficult to figure out exactly what went wrong, and how to fix it. So now the coach and I need to sit down and figure out what needs to be done over the next 6-8 weeks.

On the positive side, there are some things that I can take away from the last 10 days. For one, my swim is where it needs to be. I am swimming better and more consistently than ever, and have found what I need to do swim fast. Biking is improving as well. While I struggled in Monterrey, my powerfiles from the 2 races showed some big jumps in power to what I have done in the past. Running….that is the mystery! I had great workouts leading up to the races, and felt great. One big thing I am going to do differently is change my pre-race nutrition. I have been having problems for a while, and now have the resources to use a nutritionist to help me figure out what is my best fueling strategy for racing.

That’s plenty for now. As the US men are doing well right now, it is touch and go which races I will be doing in May/June. I still have a decent shot getting into HY-Vee, so that will be the focus over the next 7 weeks….

Cheers,
b

boom!

2010 Schedule

Recently it has been lots of training and not much else. I have been laying the groundwork for the upcoming season, and have been very busy the last few weeks.

After Ecuador, I was sick for nearly a week. It was not pretty. To date, I have raced in 23 countries and in some very, very, dirty water. The only place that I have gotten sick from the water/food has been Oklahoma and now, Ecuador. After my unplanned "recovery" week it has been 3 weeks full gas with very few hiccups. I have accumulated a lot of hours and miles in the old legs and I think that the preparation for this season is moving right along. Swimming is swimming, biking has seen quite a big jump in fitness, and my running has been my most consistent block ever. 10 of 13 weeks since mid-December have 60mile+ (about 100k) weeks. Consistency is KEY.

I am getting excited to race!! My next race is March 20th in Mazatlan, Mexico. I will be finishing up the my aerobic-base build right before the race, so I should be fit, but not too fast. After Mazatlan, the ITU World Cup Season (for me) will start in Monterrey, Mexico on April 18th. Here is my somewhat-finalized schedule for 2010. Some of these races I have to be ranked high enough to get into so nothing is for certain....it is more of a penciled-in schedule. I will be racing 14 events on 4 continents and in 9 different countries if all goes as planned this year.

2010 schedule:

ITU Salinas PanAm Cup-2/13/2010-Ecuador
ITU Mazatlan PanAm Cup-3/20/2010-Mexico
Monterrey ITU World Cup-4/17/2010-Mexico
Ishigaki ITU World Cup-4/25/2010-Japan
Seoul ITU World Champ Series-5/8/2010-South Korea
Madrid ITU World Champ Series-6/6/2010-Spain
Hyvee ITU Elite World Cup-6/13/2010-Iowa
Kitzbuhel ITU World Champ Series-8/14/2010-Austria
San Francisco Triathlon-Alcatraz-8/29/2010-California
The Triathlon at Pacific Grove-9/11/2010-California
US Pro Nationals-9/26/2010-Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Huatulco ITU World Cup-10/10/2010-Mexico
Tongyeong ITU World Cup-10/17/2010-South Korea
Hong Kong ITU Asian Cup-10/24/2010-Hong Kong

That is all for now....I will update again soon once the racing gets underway. Who wants to hear me drone on about training all the time? Travelling and racing is where it is at!!!

Cheers,
B

Equador ITU

post-race "festivities" in Guayaquil, Equador

This past weekend I made the trip to Salinas, Equador to start the 2010 season. I have never raced in Februrary before (much less the beginning of it), so I knew my body was in for a few shocks!! Training throughout December and January was consistent, but a little light on total hours. In addition to the holidays, I got married on January 17th!!! While this was/is great news it also meant that I arrived to the start line a little "underdone" on the training.

Apparently since Olympic qualification starts pretty soon, ITU races in the middle of nowhere (even in February) are getting quite popular. The start list here was much stronger than I anticipated when I booked the trip. I guess there are no more easy "points runs" any more. You have to work hard to get your points! (Points are arbitrary numbers assigned to race finishes by an international organization that forces me to travel around the world and accumulate these little goodies in hopes of being eligible to go to the Olympics).

The race itself went ok. I had a great swim, and exited the water in about 3rd...my open water swimming seemingly just keeps on improving year-to-year. The bike was wet, dangerous, and tough (and I have not been biking much at all). Through my "wedding season" I focused on maintaning running volume, and thus the biking suffered. I was worried coming about it coming into the race, but I ended up managing just fine. I stayed out of trouble (the rain caused around 15 people to crash), and was in the first pack the whole way. Onto the run (the one discipline I thought would go quite well), I stuggled a bit. I just didnt have that extra "race" gear I need to run super fast. With only some solid base/easy miles in my legs, I was only able to run steady and fell from about 9th place at 5k to 13th at the finish. While my running fitness is decent the overall fitness package still needs lots of work!

All in all, I am happy with the race. 13th got me a few points, and I moved up to 97th in the world rankings. This will help me get into some bigger races later this year, and was the sole purpose of the trip. I am now back in Fort Worth getting ready for a huge 6 week block of training. It is time to get into serious training mode: lots of training, lots of sleeping, and a little bit of eating!

Next race is Mazatlan ITU on March 20th.....

Cheers,
B

off season and coaching...

pics from Brazil

The 2009 season has finished. I took a short week off, and now am slowly getting back into proper training. I am still not quite there yet...the bike, as of right now, is still in its case. I started running and swimming again quickly, and they seem to be going well already. I have some big changes in store for 2010, and can't wait to start the real groundwork for next season.

My first race next year will be February 6th in Ecuador, so I'd best get going!! The next 6-7 weeks are focusing on the run and building a solid foundation for next year. After that it will be time to put in the miles: swim, bike, run, eat, rest and repeat..lots!!!

On another front, I will be coaching a few athletes in 2010. I have available a coaching packet that details my background in triathlon, coaching philosophy, and some other helpful information about how I can help you accomplish your goals in sport. If you are interested, or have any questions please send me an email at info@barrettbrandon.com for more information.

Cheers,
B

fin de la saison

bem-vindos a Brazil

Last week I headed down to the sunny (or more like scorching) village of Huatulco, Mexico. It was a quiet little tourist village situated on the Pacific side of Mexico. It would have been great for a vacation, but it was torture for a triathlon. In addition to the 100 degree heat there was a monstrous hill (600m at about 18%) that we had to go up 8 times. In the end, I don’t know if it was the heat, the hill, or my bike fitness, but I ended up on the wrong side of this statistic: only 22 people out of the near 50 who started, finished. It was that tough.

I left the night of the race to get back to Texas ASAP. I was heading to Brazil this weekend, so I only had a few days to recover and train before some more major travel. On the way back to Texas, I had to overnight in the Mexico City airport. Let me say it was an experience. I could write a long blog of that adventure. We will leave it at you should avoid going through there if possible, and if you must make sure you have LOTS of time between connections. Since we had about 10hrs, we made it ok. Once home it was only 3 short days before I boarded the flight to South America.

The travel was long, but painless. I was really excited for my first trip to Brazil, and I wasn’t disappointed. It was an incredible place, and I am definitely going back if/when I get the chance. The people were friendly, the weather was perfect, the beaches were serene, and the food was amazing. I came to Brazil to race the Cambirou ITU Continental Cup to gain ever important world ranking points, to secure funding for 2010, and to pad my frequent flier account for next year. It was a success on all fronts.

The race was nearly a repeat of Huatulco: an ocean swim, a ridiculously hilly bike, and a warm run (albeit, Cambirou was much cooler than Huatulco: 80’s and humid). I swam like a beached whale, but still made the first pack easily. The bike was tough, again. There was a 450m hill with a gradient of about 16-17% we had to do four times (plus 4 more on the backside of the hill). I stayed out of trouble and fared much better this time on the hill. I had a little snafu putting on my shoes and ended up starting the run way behind. I eventually worked my way from 11th to 5th by the finish. A solid result, and a nice way to finish the season.

Well, it wasn’t quite done. Manny Huerta and I decided that we wanted to try to attempt the Cambirou “double.” 90min after the ITU race finished was the Cambirou GP Sprint triathlon. This was a non-drafting sprint triathlon that started in time-trial format. There was a 10,000USD purse on the line, so of course we were in. Gotta make that paper somehow!
During the middle of the ITU race (about 8k into the run, actually) I decided there was NO way I was doing another race right after. Well, after a little chiding, goading, and coercing w/ the others after the 1st race, I decided I was in. And that decision is still affecting me now. I am still so sore I can barely stand up and walk…but it was great fun!

The course was the same as the ITU race (just half the distance) so we had to go up and down and up that hill several more times. To make matters worse, since it was a time trial start (one person every 30 seconds), you had no idea where you were in the standings. You could be winning, second to last, or battling it out for the last pay spot and you wouldn’t know the difference. The horn goes beep, and you flog yourself for another hour from start to finish. I ended up 8th, and just out of the money. Ouch! It was good fun, though. I got revenge on Manny who beat me in the ITU race, so that was a small consolation for the flogfest!

After the race, we hung out with the race director, Juca “di Luca” Salvadori. He showed us a great time exploring the city. He is a great guy, and was really kind to me and Manny. He went way out of his way to make sure we had a good time in Cambirou. I think all we did was eat: fried shrimp, pao de queijo (cheese bread), and of course meat! We went to an authentic Churrascharia where I am sure I ate my weight in beef. Overall it was a great trip, and a nice finish to the year.

Now it is time for a short break before I lay the foundation for next year. My first race of the season is actually January 10th so my break better not be too long! Unlike the previous years, I actually am really excited about training right now, and am looking forward to getting back into the heavy training pretty quickly.

Team America

you cannot believe how much meat I just ate!

Me, Juca, and Fred champagne toast!

Remember, winter miles = summer smiles!!
Cheers,

B

HKG

What a difference a week makes. Last week I raced the Palembang Asian Cup in Indonesia and was able to secure my first major win. This week I was a little further down the results finishing in 9th. When compared to my other results this season, 9th would have been ok, but after you have a paradigm-shifting performance, your views on what is “good” and what is “sub-par” begin to change.

Hong Kong is an incredible city. It is China, but it has been tempered, shaped, and molded by Western occupation into this entity that is unlike any other. It has amazing food, plenty of culture, world-renowned shopping, and arguably the best skyline in the world. It is an exciting and dynamic mix of cultures, and I just can’t seem to get enough of the city. Much like the city itself, the composition of men’s field boasted a broad range of international athletes from all over the globe. With several Beijing Olympians and World Cup winners, the field was not only diverse, but also highly competitive.

The race venue at the Hong Kong ITU race was also unique: it took place in Disneyland. The swim was in the ocean just outside the steps of the Disneyland Hotel. The bike traversed through the maze of roads exiting the park out toward a large bridge (read: hill) which we went up and down it seven times. The run was flat and went through the grounds as well. When you combined the speed of the swim, the hills on the bike, and the humid oven on the run you had one tough race!

The swim start was the dreaded in-water start. I got hit in the first stroke of the swim, and continued to get hit until I exited 1500 meters later. Despite this, I managed to swim well, and exited in the front pack of 6 containing the Polyansky Brothers, the Alterman Brothers, and Daniel Sapunov. We had a small break out of the water and worked hard the first few k’s of the bike to keep the gap, but were swallowed up by one chase pack, then another and then another. Coming into T2 almost the entire field had bridged up to the front pack.

After a little bauble into transition I ran hard to make up the ground I had lost, but I knew instantly that I was going to be in for a tough run. Unlike last week when I felt good the instant the run started, this week the legs felt heavy, and my stomach was giving me issues. I did what I could, ran hard to the end, and crossed the line in 9th place. It was a solid field, but I can’t help but be disappointed after the great result from the weekend before. The form and ability are there, but part of racing successfully on the ITU circuit is the ability to back up results week after week, no matter how the body feels.

Congratulations to Tony Moulai for a great win! Monsieur Moulai is looking quite fit heading in to the Huatulco Word Cup next month. As for me, this Asia trip was quite successful, and has set me up well for the rest of the season and into 2010. Now I am heading back to the USA to recover and to get ready for the Huatulco Word Cup on November 8th. Although the season is winding down, my fitness is solid, my motivation is high I and can’t wait to get to the next start line!

Here are some pics from Indonesia last week:

Junior and ITU podiums at Award Ceremony

suffering in the heat on the run

running out of T2

being interviewed by the governor of Sumatra

Cheers,

B