Well I just returned from Fort Worth, Texas and a wondefull Thanksgiving with the fam. I drove down on Wed from Nebraska and drove back on Sunday, so it was a shirt trip. It is always nice to go back to Fort Worth to see all the family and friends. While I was there, I did manage to sneek in a 5k race on Thursday. The Turkey Trot has been an annual venture for me the last few years. It always falls on a bad time for me: right after my 2-3 week break. Typically it has been super fast 1st mile followed by pain and slowness. This year proved to be muvh of the same. The only difference was that the first mile was faster than normal, and the last two hurt was worse. First off, running a race in Fort Worth is quite different than Lincoln......especially when there are over 1000 people entered. I went through the first mile in 4:56..not too shabby....but way too fast. I was in second (behind the winning Kenyan who trotted to a mediocre 14:37 finish) until mile 2 when the world came down with much force upon me. I crawled the last mile and ended up 6th in around 16:30. If I wnet out in 4:56, guess what my last mile was in? Yeah thats right....pain. Oh well, that is what is to be expected when you take nearly three weeks off.
In other news, it appears that i will be riding Kuota again in 2007. I am super excited as I really enojoyed the bikes this year. I will be riding the Kuota Kebel for my road bike and am will probably ride the K-Factor as my TT bike. The Kebel should be arriving soon. Also I will getting some new race wheels, and they should be here any day. After breaking 4 wheels last year (3 carbon, 1 aluminum) I am in dire need of race wheels, and there has been someone generous enough to provide me a pair for next year. I will continue with Powerbar next year, and the other sponsors are falling into place. On the racing front, it looks as if I wont be raicng again until late March, so it should give me a great 4 months to get in some serious training. After May next year, I no longer have school to hold me back, and I will be faced with the realities of being in the "real world." I am going to trow myself whole-heartedly into sport to see how far I can go in triathlon. Til' next time.......
Cheers,
B
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Friday, November 17, 2006
sleasy = slow + easy
Well the short break has come and gone and it is time to start long easy training. I am really looking forward to next year. I hopefully will have some exciting news in the next few weeks, as I finalize my plans with the European teams. It will be a whole new experience living and racing in Europe next summer. Here are some pic's of me racing in Hong Kong. I just got them and thought they were pretty good.
Until next time.......
Cheers,
B
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
fat and happy.....soon!
The season is finally over. Thank goodness. Treasure Island has come and gone, and while it was not quite the result I hoped for, it is over. The race was simply a lackluster performance. I had an ok swim, but just missed the first pack. Onto the bike we stayed close to the group, but eventually the string broke and we lossed quite a lot of time. Onto the run, I went out hard, but could not quite hang on. My body felt quite lethargic and slow throughout the whole day. I finished just outside the top-10 for the race, but held on to 6th place for the Tri-Cal series. Unlike last year, there were some really fast guys in the top 4 of the series, so it would not have been a cake-walk to increase my place.
After the race a bunch of us went to North Beach in San Fran to just hang out and relax. It was a great time, as it always is, just hanging with the guys. It is really awesome how many good friends I have in the sport. The next day Bucky Schafer and I went surfing at Half-Moon Bay. The waves were tiny and the water was freezing, but it was a great time. Living in Nebraska, I will surf whenever I get the chance.
It is time now for some downtime. I will take the rest of the week completely off. Simply eat, sleep, and drink coffee. Then groundwork for next season will start. I had some ups and downs this season, but the main thing I need to work on is consistency in training and racing. I am really excited to start training for next season, but for the next few weeks, things will be pretty chill. I will go to Fort Worth for Thanksgiving to see the 'rents, and then to New York in the beginning of December for an engagement. After that it is down to Miami for 11 days to get in a mini training camp. Then it is Christmas in Fort Worth (with another mini-camp). Hopefully I will be in decent shape by mid-January. I plan to go race 2 continental cups at the end of January. It has become that time where chasing points is necessary if I ever want to do a World Cup.
Well now it is off the more coffee and sleep!
Cheers,
B
After the race a bunch of us went to North Beach in San Fran to just hang out and relax. It was a great time, as it always is, just hanging with the guys. It is really awesome how many good friends I have in the sport. The next day Bucky Schafer and I went surfing at Half-Moon Bay. The waves were tiny and the water was freezing, but it was a great time. Living in Nebraska, I will surf whenever I get the chance.
It is time now for some downtime. I will take the rest of the week completely off. Simply eat, sleep, and drink coffee. Then groundwork for next season will start. I had some ups and downs this season, but the main thing I need to work on is consistency in training and racing. I am really excited to start training for next season, but for the next few weeks, things will be pretty chill. I will go to Fort Worth for Thanksgiving to see the 'rents, and then to New York in the beginning of December for an engagement. After that it is down to Miami for 11 days to get in a mini training camp. Then it is Christmas in Fort Worth (with another mini-camp). Hopefully I will be in decent shape by mid-January. I plan to go race 2 continental cups at the end of January. It has become that time where chasing points is necessary if I ever want to do a World Cup.
Well now it is off the more coffee and sleep!
Cheers,
B
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
footspeed
This past Sunday I decided to participate in a 15k road race. The purpose was just for training and to get ready for Treasure Island in 2 weeks. I rode my bike right before, so it was quite tough the first few miles. On top of that something I ate didnt quite settle in my stomach, so I was holding onto my luch for dear life. I went out conservatively, and then built the rest of the way. It was a good idea, and I ended up finishing 4th, but in 51:55, which was 1:115 faster than I did the race last year. All in all, it was a good day, my legs feel strong and I cant wait to race. 
Wells, the weather has been quite bad the last few days, and so I am forced to the rollers and the trainer.....I cant wait for my break. It has quite a long and busy season with a lot of travel, but nevertheless been a good one.
Cheers,
B
Monday, October 16, 2006
ill hong your kong
At this moment I am sitting in the Chicago airport, less than 500 miles from my home, and of course my flight is delayed. It is just my luck, though. My fligh from Hong Kong to Tokyo was early and I had a whole row to myself. My flight form Tokyo to Chicago was early also AND I had a row to myself. This means that United needs to make my trip uncomfortable somehow. So hear I am 7 hrs after I arrived in Chicago, still in Chicago.
Anyways, enough about the travel, on to the race. First off, Hong Kong is a great city. Everywhere I have traveled this year seems to offer some unique, new perspective. I really enjoy the travel (forget what I wrote above, ill be over it tomorrow). I met a few new people at the race, which is always a plus. We had a great time after the race.
The race itself was average, similar to the way my season seems to be going. I had a good swim, which put me comfortably in the first pack. This race was really about the bike. The course was crazy hilly. About 1k out of transition was a hill at about 15% for 300m. Then there was one that was 6-7% for 2-3k. Repeat 4 times in hot, humid weather. This recipe makes for a hard race. Through about 10-12 solid ITU guys and you have a race. I was hurting form the first pedalstroke on the bike. I knew it was going to be rough ride. I made it through the first 2 laps fine, but on the start of the 3rd (at the ridiculously steep hill), Greg Bennet decided to test out his new Dura-Ace SRM and see how high he could make it register. So while Greg was doing windsprints up the hill, I was getting gapped with my heartrate well over 200, and smoke coming out of my ears. There were 4 others who dropped off too, so at least I got to share my misery with a few others. I finished up the bike, and headed out to what I thought would be a death march, but was actually ok. I ran conservatively to make sure a repeat run-bonk would not happen. I ran in 9th place for 9.95k of the run till a certain Kiwi named Liam (you sure he isnt Scottish or something?) decided to play swords with me at the end. He won, I lost. So finished in 10th place. Not too shabby, but not too great. Gotta keep riding that bike! Well, had a great trip and even won a butt and tummy toner from the race sponsor. You heard right, OSIM gave us a tummy and butt toner. There are already pics in the works.
One more race (Treasure Island) and then Im out. Guess Ill have to roll out in TI.
Cheers,
B
Anyways, enough about the travel, on to the race. First off, Hong Kong is a great city. Everywhere I have traveled this year seems to offer some unique, new perspective. I really enjoy the travel (forget what I wrote above, ill be over it tomorrow). I met a few new people at the race, which is always a plus. We had a great time after the race.
The race itself was average, similar to the way my season seems to be going. I had a good swim, which put me comfortably in the first pack. This race was really about the bike. The course was crazy hilly. About 1k out of transition was a hill at about 15% for 300m. Then there was one that was 6-7% for 2-3k. Repeat 4 times in hot, humid weather. This recipe makes for a hard race. Through about 10-12 solid ITU guys and you have a race. I was hurting form the first pedalstroke on the bike. I knew it was going to be rough ride. I made it through the first 2 laps fine, but on the start of the 3rd (at the ridiculously steep hill), Greg Bennet decided to test out his new Dura-Ace SRM and see how high he could make it register. So while Greg was doing windsprints up the hill, I was getting gapped with my heartrate well over 200, and smoke coming out of my ears. There were 4 others who dropped off too, so at least I got to share my misery with a few others. I finished up the bike, and headed out to what I thought would be a death march, but was actually ok. I ran conservatively to make sure a repeat run-bonk would not happen. I ran in 9th place for 9.95k of the run till a certain Kiwi named Liam (you sure he isnt Scottish or something?) decided to play swords with me at the end. He won, I lost. So finished in 10th place. Not too shabby, but not too great. Gotta keep riding that bike! Well, had a great trip and even won a butt and tummy toner from the race sponsor. You heard right, OSIM gave us a tummy and butt toner. There are already pics in the works.
One more race (Treasure Island) and then Im out. Guess Ill have to roll out in TI.
Cheers,
B
Thursday, October 05, 2006
thursssday
I guess I really dont need to post only after I do a race. Plus, that last race result was quite depressing, so I dont want it to be the only thing I see when I look at my blog. Well, things are starting to come around it seems. I still have the small lingerings of a head cold, but the sickness seems to be subsiding. Training has been going well this week. I am looking forward to notching a solid week of training before heading off to Hong Kong. I am really excited about going. The more that I think about it, the more excites I get. Hopefully the trip will be rewarding in several ways. I know it will be fun, but I want it to be productive also. I really need a sloid placing increase my world ranking for next year and have any shot at getting in to a World Cup. Well, now it is off to ride and run....
Cheers,
B
Cheers,
B
Monday, October 02, 2006
going slo
This is the race report from Scott Tinley's. First off, I love San Louis Obispo. It is a cool town woth lots of cool little inderpendent shops, and a real small town feel. Laid back? Check. Near the ocean? Check. Lots of hilly country to ride? Check. Lots of small coffee shops? Double Check!! They also have great Mexican food there which really reminds me of home back in Fort Worth, Texas. Anyways, SLO is a place I could definately stay in for an extended periodof time.
Onto the race. See I was really jsut writing the above blurb so I could delay thinking about the aweful race. Basically, I got sick leading into the race, and my result showed this chnage to my body. I had a good swim and first transition, so I was actually first onto the bike course. That was fun, but it just showed me how far I could fall. I went backwards on the bike. I wanted to/would have dropped out, but I need the tri-cal points for the series. By the time the run arrived I was down and out, but trudged along to the finish. So now I dropped form 3rd to 6th in the series, but have a shot at getting top 4 with a strong showing at Treasure Island. Oh well, now it is time to get healthy, before I head over to the orient....Hong Kong!
cheers,
B
Onto the race. See I was really jsut writing the above blurb so I could delay thinking about the aweful race. Basically, I got sick leading into the race, and my result showed this chnage to my body. I had a good swim and first transition, so I was actually first onto the bike course. That was fun, but it just showed me how far I could fall. I went backwards on the bike. I wanted to/would have dropped out, but I need the tri-cal points for the series. By the time the run arrived I was down and out, but trudged along to the finish. So now I dropped form 3rd to 6th in the series, but have a shot at getting top 4 with a strong showing at Treasure Island. Oh well, now it is time to get healthy, before I head over to the orient....Hong Kong!
cheers,
B
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
your services are no longer needed
This week was the last one in the “four in four” races that I have been doing the last month. This week’s segment was in Rye, New York. It is about an hour outside of the city. This race did not go as well last week. I had a great swim and gave out in the middle of the lead pack, and stayed in the front pack for the duration of the ride. I started the run in contention, but my heel injury flared up. I have been struggling the past week with a hematoma/bone bruise on the bottom of my heel. I thought I would be able to race through it, but not so much. I was limping from the get-go, and decided to call it a day after about 1k into the run at the risk of jepordizing the rest of my season. I did make the front pack, though, which was a good indicator of how things are going.
Through connections of connections me and a few buddies made it down to Manhattan after the race with a driver and a car. Nice. New York is always a fun city to see, and it was a nice diversion after the disappointing race. After the shenanigans we headed back to Rye were I crashed at a “holistic retreat.” I think I hugged a few trees last night, and finally made peace with my inner child.
Well four weeks have gone by and brought me to Switzerland, Boston, California, and New York. All were great experiences. Some of the races went well, some not so well, and one race (Boston) didn’t even go at all. Anyways, gotta get back to Lincoln, actually do some schoolwork for a change, give the old heel some rest, and resume training to get ready for Scott Tinley’s Dirty Adventures in two weeks………
Cheers,
B
Through connections of connections me and a few buddies made it down to Manhattan after the race with a driver and a car. Nice. New York is always a fun city to see, and it was a nice diversion after the disappointing race. After the shenanigans we headed back to Rye were I crashed at a “holistic retreat.” I think I hugged a few trees last night, and finally made peace with my inner child.
Well four weeks have gone by and brought me to Switzerland, Boston, California, and New York. All were great experiences. Some of the races went well, some not so well, and one race (Boston) didn’t even go at all. Anyways, gotta get back to Lincoln, actually do some schoolwork for a change, give the old heel some rest, and resume training to get ready for Scott Tinley’s Dirty Adventures in two weeks………
Cheers,
B
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