the ride

The new bike....the new wheels. I look fast, now I just have to go out and train. I am probably the only one who cares about my new bike, but as this is my blog, and I can do what I want, here are some pic's

wildflower, finally

Well the Wildflower triathlon has come and past, and I have still not posted about it. It is one of those things like when somone calls you or emails you and you dont immediately call or email them back, that the longer you wait, the harder it is to do. Well, this report is only about two weeks late.

Widlfower is one of the greatest triathlon events in the world. People from all over come together at Lake San Antonio in Norhtern California and camp literally in the middle of nowhere. And yes, for those of you who are not aware, there actually is some open space in California that does not have 300,000 people per square foot living there.

The swim went ok, as Luke Bell and I fought hard for the end of the lead pack. The problem was we were fighting each other and as a result neither of us made it on. I arrived about 45-1min down on the leaders into the first transition, but solidly amid the second chase pack. Onto the bike, I was climbing well, but just didnt have the power on the flats. This year there was crazy wind on the course, and I felt as though I was back in Nebraska. It wa quite a lonely day as I only had company on the bike for 2 out of 56 miles. It was just me, my bike, and the wind trying to blow me over. I faded quite a bit on the bike, but did not blow up like last year. Onto the run, I felt quite good all things considered, but my achilles was really acting up. I have been battleing an achilles issue for about 2 months or so now. Every step I took it felt as though it was going to rip. It took about 4-5 miles to loosen up a bit. Finally it started to feel a little better, but right at that moment the wind picked up again (just my luck). I battled it out to the end and got 18th, one place higher than the 19th of 2005. My time, 4:30 and change was by no means fast. In fact, it was my slowest time ever at Wildflower. But, since the winning time was the slowest time since 1996, I dont feel so bad. It was an ok result, but I was hoping for a little more.

It has been really crazy with school and work the last month, so my leadup to Wildflower was not as good as I hoped for. I am now currently in sunny California for 5 weeks of training and getting ready for the upcoming sumer season. Next up is Escape from Alcatraz. I have been training hard and hopefully will be prepared.

My buddy Mark joined me in the Wildflower triathlon experience, and we got to go out to Half Moon Bay to check out the sights. Unfortunately Mavericks was not breaking (no surf), so we just enjoyed the great weather. (See above pic's of HMB)

Cheers,

B

my life is on hold

Just got my new bike in!!!!!! Everything else will have to take a break. Pic's will follow soon. I feel like it is Christmas....

B

gettin 'er done

I am back in Nebraska, and my body seems to have finally recovered from the Thailand trip. I took it pretty easy for a few days, and then hopped in a local 5k on Sat and an adventure race on Sunday. The 5k was pretty rough...I just couldn't get going. I ended up 2nd, but not quite what I was hoping for. Time to get the speedwork in on the run.



The adventure race was quite fun. It was my first and it was a great way to get a hard four hours of training in. Our team (co-ed) ended up winning the whole thing, so that was really unexpected, but cool. I was the only person who had a decent mountain bike and any riding experience. We were a bunch of runners (my boss at the running company and her running buddy) living in a bikers world. Not much to write about as far as the race goes, but I did forget my running shoes at the start, so I had to run barefoot for one section of the run (3 miles or so). Not the smartest thing to do, but I had no choice. Feet are a little bruised and battered, but seem no worse for the wear.



Now it is on to a heavy, heavy, training cycle to get ready for Wildflower, my next race. Gotta play catch up to all those dudes training in nice warm places. As of this weekend I did my last three rides under 30 degrees. Winter came back to Nebraska and it sucks. How I long for Global Warming!



Here is a pic of my bike with my new sweet race wheels. Hopefully I will get the new Kebel soon. Keeping my fingers crossed.....



Cheers,
B

the end of siam

Well the trip to Thailand is finally over, and I am back in the USA. I am still trying to recover from the trip. I have about the worse case of jet-lag I have ever had. I am feeling a little sick to my stomach as well, and I am hoping that it is not the revenge of the Mekong river.

Some things I learned from the race in Mukdahan:

--Buddy Bike/Run is the National Sport of Thailand (No it is not Muy Thai)
My buddy Bucky and I decided to enter this race on Friday morning (two days before the Triathlon). There was some prize money involved, and we thought we would clean up. Wrong! First off, Ill explain buddy bike/run: one person rides a bike with a 1 foot rope attached to the bike and to the runner who runs next to the bike and you do so for 25k (16miles). You can switch places at any time, but the rope must be connected.
We got absolutely schooled. We were behind from the start. We figured that everyone would eventually die, but no one did. By the time we realized that we were going to finish way, way back we were so far in the middle of nowhere we had to finish. We got outsprinted for 19th place! So much for cherry-picking.....

The actual race was a lot like most season openers go: sluggish and a little rusty. Had a good swim, but between head-butted a buoy and tripping on the way out of the water, I was the first person to not make the first pack. Onto the bike, I was feeling the effects of 5-6 hour weeks on the trainer. We averaged around 45kph on the bike, so I was hurting!!! Onto the run, I was cooked. The heat index was over 100 degrees. It was a death march. I had plenty of miles in my legs from the winter, but I was dead by the run. I struggled all the way to the finish. I ended up 15th. A little rusty, but I know what I need to work on for the rest of the season. Im ready to put in some big miles before Wildflower. All in all it was a great trip, full of exciting times and great memories.

Here are some great pic's from the days before the race:

Last night with the sis in Chaingmai

Training in Mukdahan

Random elephant on the street

The oasis in the middle of nowhere....literally

The crazy tuk-tuk

Me, Bucky, Manny, and Luc in the crazy tuk-tuk

All this in less than one night!

doi suthep

Today was a hard day. I only rode, but it was enough. The locals told me about the highest peak in Changmai, called Doi Suthep. I heard that it was a challenging climb, but had no idea what lay waiting for me. The first 10k or so or about 5-6% average w/ a few steeper sections. Then it leveled out a bit (I thought I was done, but nooooo). Then it decided to get quite steeper. At tis point I had been climbing for about 40 min. in 90 deg heat with high humidity, lets just say that this Nebraska boy was hurting. Anyway, I decided to make it to the top no matter how long it was. Well it continued to go up, and even got steeper. There were definately some 14-15% sections in there. I was in my 25 tooth cog, out of the saddle, going 5mph, with my HR around 188. It ended up taking me 59 min to complete the climb. That was by far the longest climb I have ever done. Probably times 2. I cant wait to do it again. It wont be this week though, it is too hard this close to my race. Here are some pic's from the ride. It is really polluted, so it is hazy.....sorry no expansive vistas



And yes, I took these pictures coming down the mountain.



Cheers,

B

random elephant

there is a waterfall somewhere back there

The King's summer palace..just to prove I actually went all the way to the top!

more thai pics

Just some pics for you perusing edification.....

Traditional Northern Thai dress

The Sunday Night Street Walk

This is where all the Pier 1 and Pottery Barn comes from

what up thailand

Well it has been in interesting few days here in Chiangmai. The first day I arrived, the pollution levels were around 350. 300 is supposedly the cancel-school-dont-leave-the-house-without-the-oxygen-mask type of pollution. I think I took off a few years of my life running outside that day. I was thinking about leaving if it continued, but it has since gotten considerably better.

Training here has been tough, but fun. Chiangmai is located in a valley surrounded by mountains, so there are many hills. It is also like running and biking in a Sauna. Running has been fun with some trials found here and there. The 10 mile route I have been running has this hill that is probably 25% for about 150m. I dont know if you could make it up on a bike or not. The swimming pool is definately a tribute to Asian ineffeciency (if you dont know what I am referring to, just google the new Bangkok airport mess). The pool is huge: but its dimensions are 52m long (with a step-thingy so you cant do flipturns) by 37.5meters wide a one point and then 25m wide at another point. Throw in some random circle type configurations and there you have it. I will post some pictures of the pool in the next day or so. I have been swimming 37.5m a lot, which means all my sets are 75's, 150's, or 300's. Oh well, it is a nice pool and always empty so I can do whatever I want. Its great.

It has been quite fun hanging with my sister. We have been doing stuff the whole time (between training, eating, and doing all the "touristy" things I have been falling asleep around 8:00 or 8:30 each night. I am shooting tonight for 10:00 (I know, thats really late). I had my first Thai massage last night. 200 baht for 1 hour (about $6 bucks). You really cant beat it. Yesterday, I had a nice flat on my bike. Since I have my race wheels and they are tubulars, it was about an $80 ride. A piece of something went right through the tire. The crappy thing is that I had one brand new tubular and one old one, and the new one was of course the casualty. On top of that after I changed the tire and put on the spare, my little mini-pump couldnt pump up the tire because of the valve extender. So I rode the 6k home on a new tubular, which was not inflated, on a new set of carbon wheels. Not exactly the best day for Barrett's equipment. So today we headed into town to find a new tubular so I could have a spare. My sis speaks Thai, but as she is still learning, it took some time at the bike shop explaining that I wanted a new tubular tire and not an inner tube. Some things are just lost in translation....

Here are some pics of the Thailand:

Me and the sis...

We are taking care of this dog (Bailey) for a friend.....Cute, but she peed on my t-shirt

I know, I know...in my next life I will be a photographer

That is exactly what it looks like

And for dessert?