Joel Myers - Triathlete and Multisport Coach

Ironman Louisville

2011-09-02T13:04:00.000-04:00

Ironman Louisville – the sequel. It’s been a nostalgic summer; riding and running the same routes in preparation for the same course where I did my first and only Ironman 3 years ago. I have a certain comfort level with this race that stems from a lot of different things: First of all, I know the course very well as this was my 4th trip there in a row, either as a participant or a spectator; second, it’s a hot race and I actually “like” the heat – I tend to race better in August than I do in April; Finally, I have a great support group in Louisville. One of my best friends since childhood (Tom) married a Louisville girl (Ashley) and they have lived in Louisville for years. They are great, and it’s always good to come back and see them and enjoy their hospitality. All that said, I was feeling pretty good about the race, and looking forward to improving on my 11:12 performance from 3 years ago.

I got to Tom’s late Wednesday night and was really able to relax and take it easy for the few days leading up to the race. It’s so nice to not be in a hotel. You don’t realize how much running around you do when you live out of a hotel for days at the time. This time I was “at home” so I did “at home” things, like sit on the couch and watch tv, sleep in and enjoy home cooked meals.

My Long Time Nemesis - The Mighty Ohio

Tom's soon to be famous "Couscous Salad"

The day before the race was a breeze. Tom lives about 10 minutes from the transition area so everything was easy. I zipped down to the river in the morning for the practice swim, came back and laid on the couch for a few hours, then zipped back down to the river for bike check in.

Bike Check-In

Race morning arrived and as usual, my pre-game jitters were out of control. I dread those race morning feelings of anxiety and nervousness so much, but I guess it’s all part of it - plus it makes getting to the finish line that much more special.

I actually quite enjoy the National Anthem - I'm just scared to death

Finally it was time to go so I jumped off the dock and started my day. It was more congested than I remember and the first 400 or so was crowded and hectic. Swallowed half the river but eventually found some clean water and got into a good rhythm. After that it was a pretty uneventful swim and I exited the water in 1:10. I am not the best swimmer so I was certainly pleased with that. After a decent transition I hit the bike course feeling pretty good.

Starting the bike was the first time I really noticed the weather; it was nice. Some cloud cover early really made the first 30-40 miles comfortable, and when the sun did come out it really wasn’t bad. It was a bit windy which slowed us down some, but that was a fair tradeoff as temps were in the mid 80s instead of low 90s which is more typical. I didn’t really have any problems staying hydrated or fueled and the legs felt “ok”.

Mile 40

After a 5:15 bike, I made my way through T2 and started doing the math as I hit the run course. I needed to run 3:26 to break 10 hours and I knew it was going to be close. I was in the midst of contemplating the shear silliness of running 26 miles after swimming 2.4 and biking 112 when I saw something very strange in the distance. Is that what I think it is? Yes, it’s a hot dog!! Steph had donned her famous hot dog costume to provide me with some much needed encouragement. I nearly laughed myself into a side stitch but it was worth it.

Me and the Hot Dog on the 2nd St Bridge

After the hot dog episode, I settled in at about 7:40 pace and stayed there til mile 18 or so. At that point, it got REAL hard, but this time I found a way to keep running, whereas in 2008 I started to walk. If I only remember one thing about the race it will be that – you can always keep running.

The pace started to slip a little so I started looking at my watch a little more often. Am I going to make it? From miles 20-23 I really wasn’t sure, but when I hit 24 at 9:41 I was pretty sure I was going to get there. As I made the turn on to 4th Street, I was about as satisfied with a race as I have ever been. It’s such a great finish line and I couldn’t have been happier to get there. 9:58.

Good Job! Um, the medical tent is that way

I am extremely proud of this result. I feel like I executed well, didn’t make any big mistakes, and fought as hard as I could when things went from “really hard” to “unbearable”. Going into this race I had 2 goals: break 10 hours and grab a Kona slot. Typically, at Ironman Louisville those two things are one in the same; break 10 and you are in. In fact, in the previous 4 years, no one in the 35-39 age group had ever broken 10 and failed to qualify, and that includes 2009 (the cool year). But this year things were different. Guys are just getting stronger, faster and smarter nowadays and if you want a slot, you really have to up your game. My 9:58 was only good enough for 15th Sunday. Maybe next year I will make another run in 40-44, but for now, time to rest……. And eat. How about these super nachos?

Thanks to Steph as always for putting up with all of this, to super-hosts, Tom and Ashley for all the hospitality and to PowerBar, Brooks, Xterra and my good friends at J&A Racing for all the support. I couldn’t do this without you guys and I appreciate it.

My Summer In Pictures

2011-08-18T21:38:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone, long time no post. Sorry, I will try to do better. I would tell you about my summer but there is way too much; so I will just sum up...... with some pictures of course.

After St. Croix, I was tired, unmotivated and I just needed a break from all things triathlon. So I took one, and I did a lot of this:

And some of this:

And yes, a little of this:

Then one day I decided I felt like doing another triathlon. So I signed up for this:

So I had to do a lot of this:

And of course a lot of this:

I'm not as young as I used to be, so as usual I had to do a lot of this:

And this time I even had to do some of this (Yikes):

After all that I feel pretty good. Time to roll the dice again next weekend.

St. Croix 70.3

2011-05-08T21:30:00.004-04:00

Wow, what a trip. If you are a triathlete and you have not made it to St. Croix yet, you definitely need to put this one on your “to do” list. The race is charming, small and accessible, scenic and incredibly challenging. All three events are difficult and nothing is easy there; the water is choppy and the currents are shifty, the bike course is hilly and windy with lots of rough pavement, and the run is hot, humid and hilly. It’s 70.3 miles and you earn every inch of it. It’s truly a test, both mentally and physically, but it is a beautiful place to race and an awesome place to enjoy a relaxing vacation afterward.

For us, the week didn’t start out great. Our flight out of Norfolk was cancelled which threw a big wrench into my pre-race planning. We were supposed to arrive in St. Croix Thursday afternoon but we didn’t get in until Friday night. And to make matters worse, my bike didn’t make the plane. Luckily, it arrived Saturday morning, so I put it together just in time to tag along for a shakeout ride with pros, Luke Bell and Mac Brown which was very cool. Our condo wasn’t far from the legendary climb they call “The Beast”, so we spun up to it to have a look. At ¾ of a mile, topping out at a 23% grade, it is not for the faint of heart.

The base of the mighty Beast

Race morning arrived and I was actually pretty relaxed. I knew I wasn’t in that great of shape coming in, so I really just wanted to race smart and do my best. This winter was hard; cold weather and too much work really hurt my motivation and cut into my training time and I just wasn’t as fit and lean as I needed to be. But I was still looking forward to the race; we had a good group of racers, some of which were doing the half and others were doing the sprint.

Body Marking

The warm up swim over to the cay

Our top performer of the weekend - Amy took

3rd overall in the sprint

Our MVP of the weekend - J-fab forgot to train for the race

but that did not deter him from finishing, or being the life of the party all week

I didn't feel great Sunday and I didn't go very fast but I was committed to enjoying the day. The course was epic, the scenery was breathtaking and our support group on the course was unmatched. Steph, Jerry and the rest of the crew were having a blast watching the race and their enthusiasm attracted some big names. By the time I made it to the finish line, our cheering section included Mac Brown, Luke Bell and Kate Major.

Glad to be done!!

I am not disappointed with how I raced; I actually feel like I executed pretty well. I am however, disappointed with the build over the winter. I just wasn't as fit as I should have been. Some things were beyond my control, but most of it was just lack of motivation and laziness, and I know if I want to be competitive I have to make some changes and do better. I'm really not sure what is next for me so I am going to take some time to figure it out. I do want to thank Brooks and PowerBar for all the support, and Jerry and Amy for being great sponsors, but more importantly great friends. You guys are always there to encourage me when things don't go well and that inspires me to get it together and do better.

After the race, we stayed for 4 days and we had an absolute blast. We laid in the sun, saw the sites, drank fruity drinks, snorkeled, played golf and kayaked.

Fruity drinks a plenty

Great Friends

Beer Drinking Pigs!

Snorkeling and diving

Every morning we sipped coffee while enjoying this view

Sunset in Frederiksted

It was a great vacation and I was actually sad that we had to come back.

Thanks for stopping by.

St. Croix Here We Come

2011-04-24T20:23:00.000-04:00

My how the time has flown by. I can't believe that St. Croix is here already. We are heading out Thursday, so hopefully that will be enough time to get acclimated to the heat and humidity before the Sunday race. I know the terrain and the conditions are going to be brutal so I am trying to prepare myself mentally for what lies ahead. I don't know if I have done enough work, but I do know I have done a lot. Time to let it fly and see what happens.

We have a really good group heading down there so it should be a really fun week. I'm looking forward to the race, but I am also looking forward to relaxing and enjoying the island for a few days afterward.

Last weekend I made time for one last long ride in Pungo.

Anyone who lives around here knows that it isn't that far,

but it still feels cool to ride into another state

I was by myself on the ride, but I did make time to say hello to some old friends:

Llama!

Big Horse

Tiny Horse!

Thanks for stopping by.

Cary Long Course Duathlon

2011-04-10T20:17:00.000-04:00

I went to North Carolina this weekend to race the Cary Long Course Duathlon. I drove down Friday afternoon and stayed with my brother in law, Brad and his family. They took great care of me (and my puppy) and their house is only 15 minutes from the race site so that was a huge bonus.

We had some serious thunderstorms roll through the night before which really cooled things down a bit. I was expecting mid 60s but we got low 50s but that was fine. The roads were dry by the time the race started and the winds were light so it was a perfect day to race. I took it fairly easy on the first run and got on the bike in 4th place. I was feeling really good on the bike and quickly rode into 3rd and by the halfway point of the bike I could see 2nd place up ahead. I rode past him but I couldn't really put any time on him. He knew he was a better runner than I was so he was content to just keep me in his sights and then run me down later; smart racing, I would have done the same. So with 6 miles to go on the bike, I decided to just let it fly and try to get a gap. I knew I might suffer on the second run as a result but it was my only chance, as I would definitely loose an 8k foot race with this guy if we came into T2 together. I managed to get about 45 seconds but it wasn't enough. With about a mile to go on the second run leg, he zipped by me and I didn't have an answer so I had to settle for 3rd place. It was a good result and I feel pretty good about St. Croix based on what I did Saturday.

This was a fun little event; very well organized, safe, good roads and good food afterward. The course is fun; spectator friendly and it has some good hills on the bike and run. If you are training for a hilly race this is a great tune up. I would definitely go back and do this race again.

A Change of Scenery

2011-03-29T19:43:00.000-04:00

This winter has been tough. It has been really cold and I have spent way too much time training in the garage. I was getting to a point where I didn't want to ride at all. Inside the garage, outside in Pungo or Williamsburg; none of it really sounded good to me. Luckily I had a chance to go home to Wilmington this past weekend and it was just what I needed. I had 4 hours on the bike scheduled for Saturday and I was lucky enough to have perfect riding weather. In addition, my parents live out in the sticks so the roads are lightly traveled and nicely paved. It was great and the ride was a big confidence builder; lots of hard work.

Highway 210: miles and miles of smooth pavement

In other news, I received a tip from a friend who is obviously fully aware of my difficult to tame sweet tooth. He informed me that the bakery down the street has "Texas Size" donuts, so I wasted zero time getting over there to check it out. The picture really doesn't do it justice; it's HUGE!

They have glazed, but I opted for the chocolate frosted

I chipped away at it for about 24 hours before Steph said, "Ok, that's enough" and tossed it in the trash. It's a shame, I know I could have finished it.

Thanks for stopping by.

Shamrock 2011 In Pictures

2011-03-23T21:42:00.002-04:00

Well, another great Shamrock weekend is in the books. With over 25,000 registered participants, and the affiliated charities reporting their highest donation totals ever, it was without question the most successful Shamrock yet.

Personally, I had an absolute blast. I knew that my new position as Media Assistant would be a hoot, but it proved to be even more fun than I imagined. Running around from place to place taking pictures and video, posting live race updates, interviewing elite athletes and other interesting people and hanging out with reporters was pretty exciting. Too much to type so I will just post the pictures.

Friday afternoon from the hotel

The official Shamrock sandcastle

Sunrise Saturday, an hour before the 8k start

Leprechaun Bob getting ready to Sham Rock On

About 10 minutes before the 8k start. I almost

missed the gun waiting for the elevator

Post race party after the 8k

Half Marathon Start

Josphat Boit wins his second race of the weekend

My brother Gavin and his girlfriend Heather.
This was Gav's first half marathon; 1:44!

Me and Steph with Tara Costa from The Biggest Loser

The Fighting Jamesons play the post race party Sunday

Staff after party - time for the Greenjackets to

celebrate a job well done

Thanks to Jerry an Amy Frostick for putting on yet another first class event, and to all the volunteers who came together once again to make it happen.

Follow Me On Facebook For Live Shamrock Coverage

2011-03-13T20:56:00.000-04:00

The Yuengling Shamrock Marathon is coming up this weekend, and this year I have an awesome job; "Media Guy!" I will be providing live Facebook/Twitter updates all weekend from the race site, expo and other events. It's going to be a blast. Become a Fan of the Yuengling Shamrock Marathon on Facebook to see all of my reports, pictures, videos, interviews and other race weekend coverage.

Thanks for stopping by.

Crystal Coast Half Marathon

2011-03-06T16:33:00.001-05:00

I have been trying to get down to this race for a few years now. Morehead City is a nice place to spend some time, and it is close enough to my hometown of Wilmington that my parents would be able to come watch the race. This year I finally decided to put the race on the schedule and I am glad I did.

We arrived Friday afternoon in time to enjoy some warm temperatures and bright sunshine before dinner.

The view of Atlantic Beach from the hotel

Saturday morning the weather was perfect for a race. After the warm up, I was feeling good and I had high hopes that I may be able to pull off an overall win. Shortly after the start it became clear that this was going to be a one man race - unfortunately the one man was not me. I was really pleased with a 5:50 first mile that felt easy, but I still found myself about 15 seconds behind. Over the next few miles, the leader continued to pull away so I just tried to concentrate on holding pace and hanging on to second place. I ran a pretty good race for the most part, although I did lose focus during miles 9 and 10 and I gave some time back there. Before that I was on pace for 1:17, but it was a lonely stretch, I was all by myself and I just got a little complacent and gave away some precious seconds. Pulled it together and ran great through miles 11, 12 and 13 but I just couldn't get the time back. I ended up crossing the line in 1:18:12; second place overall. A good result to start the year, and my parents were there to see it which made it even better.

Steph cruising through the finish

Me with my parents

Crystal Coast is a charming little event; the race is small and low key which is a nice change, the weather was great and the town is very scenic and friendly. We enjoyed our time there and I think we will be back again.

Thanks for stopping by..

Where Is The Heat?

2011-02-27T15:00:00.000-05:00

St. Croix is hot - Virginia Beach is not. Well, not this time of year anyway. I know that no matter what I do, it will be difficult to fully prepare myself for the heat and humidity that awaits me in St. Croix, but I have been doing some silly stuff to try and get used to riding and running in warmer temperatures.I have been doing a lot of work inside and that allows me to heat things up a bit. For now, I have traded in my trusty 20 inch box fans for two new friends:

My two new buddies: "Hot" and "Hotter"

And I have been over-dressing a bit for the inside stuff:

The winter base layer for the trainer ride

always makes things more fun

It definitely gets HOT during the trainer/treadmill sessions so hopefully I am preparing myself to some degree.

In other news, I am still on the hunt for the perfect post-workout recovery food. I find that most recovery drinks taste like a 50/50 mixture of Gatorade and gymnast chalk; sort of like that "contrast mud" they make you drink before a CT Scan. Yuk. So the search continues:

How many of these do I have to eat to recover?

How about these? It says "made with whole grains"

so that's good right?

Ok, I will keep looking.

Next weekend my season officially kicks off, as I head to Morehead City, NC for the Crystal Coast Half Marathon. I'm feeling pretty strong right now so hopefully it goes well.

Thanks for stopping by.

Where Are The Hills?

2011-02-19T20:24:00.002-05:00

St. Croix is hilly – Virginia Beach is not. The only hills we really have here are bridges so I have been running them; A LOT. Saturday, Janda set me up with the usual; a really long run with lots of bridge climbs. I have been working with the Shamrock Training Team on Saturday mornings at 7:30, so most of the time I try to get up and get my run done before that. That way I can devote my attention to the team and I don’t have to start my long run at noon. It has worked well but it does make for a pretty early wake up call on Saturday mornings. This morning it was 4:15 to be exact. Ugh. Starting a 2 hour solo run at 5am is pretty daunting so I called in a favor from an old friend that I haven’t seen in awhile; my Ipod. I have fallen out of the habit of running with music but today it was just what I needed. Well, that and temperatures in the 50s instead of the normal 20s we have been getting.

Hmm, how does this thing work again?

I strapped on the Ipod and off I went. The “Shuffle Songs” function did not disappoint today; it seemed to play all the songs that I leaned on to get through the Louisville training a couple of years ago. The nostalgia served as great motivation and got me through a really tough run. If you like Paramore and you are the type of athlete who responds to tough love, try “For a Pessimist, I’m Pretty Optimistic” the next time a run gets hard. It’s a break up song, but I adjust the context a little and just pretend that Haley is the voice of my next race taunting me. So her message then becomes that I haven’t worked hard enough and I don’t have what it takes to do well. It always makes me run faster.

At the top of the Great Neck Bridge.....

For the 18th time this morning!

I was beat and starving after this one so I made a run to Dunkin and discovered a spectacular new recovery treat; the Coco Kreme Puff. Oh it’s awesome and it has everything you need to fuel depleted muscles. Well, maybe not. I will hold off on dubbing the Coco Kreme Puff the next post long run super food, but I can guarantee that it will make you happy.

A breakthrough in long run recovery? Could be.

Thanks for stopping by.

Catching Up

2011-02-14T18:05:00.001-05:00

Hi everyone, long time no post. I seem to be saying that a lot these days and I apologize. In the past few weeks, I have had several people tell me that they really enjoy this blog, which makes me happy, but also makes me feel guilty for not posting more often. I take those complements as not so subtle reminders that I need to get to work and keep this thing updated.

Two weeks ago I ran the Tidewater Striders Distance Series 15k. As many of you know, the race moved to the park this year which has its pros and cons, but I was just excited to put a number on and run hard. I hooked up with Steve Speirs at the race start and we ran together most of the way. Steve is a better runner than I am, but lucky for me he was doing the 25k so the pace worked out about right. Steve is fun to run with and talk to; he is just a great dude who has a really good perspective on things. He also knows EVERYONE! I swear, every person we saw coming the other way yelled something encouraging to him. I felt like a rock star’s roadie. At the 8 mile mark, I was ready to be done but Steve was just getting warmed up for his final 10k. He quickened the pace about 10 seconds per mile when I was thinking we should slow the pace down about 10 seconds per mile, haha. I had no choice but to cry uncle. I wished him good luck and cruised into the finish as he made the turn and kept hammering.

This past weekend J&A Racing put on the 3rd annual Virginia is for Lovers 14k. The race was a huge success; bigger and better than ever. Once again, I manned the relay exchange point, also known as "Cupid's Corner". I will post a recap in pictures once I get them sorted out.

Thanks for stopping by. I will do better with the posting I promise.

Quick Update

2011-01-16T20:29:00.001-05:00

Well, the St. Croix prep is in full swing, and it feels as if Janda has stepped my training up from "crazy" to "ludicrous". This past weekend was huge; lots of hard work and I feel like surviving it was a huge confidence builder. Meet my new best friend:

Brrr!!

In other news, Steph bought a crock-pot a few weeks ago and now we are on this kick where we slow cook everything. Soup, lasagna, tacos you name it. Check out this slow cook apple crisp! After a ton of hard training this weekend, I have one remaining challenge; to see how much of this stuff I can eat in one sitting.

Bowl #1

New Year - New Season

2011-01-09T19:12:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone, I hope you all had a nice holiday and are getting your 2011 off to a great start. Sorry for being away for awhile but now that the holidays are over and things have settled down a bit, hopefully I can get back to posting more regularly.

2010 was a good year and hopefully this year will be even better. I am still figuring out the race schedule but the St. Croix 70.3 on May 1st will be the first big test. What I do the rest of the year will depend on what happens there. So the prep has begun and it has been tough. May 1st is pretty early for a big race given our climate challenges here in the mid Atlantic, but I have seen guys from colder places than Virginia Beach go to early, hot, hilly races and do well so why can't I? But it won't be easy if today is any indication. You have to get that long ride in on the weekends and in January, it isn't always as simple as going out for a Sunday morning 3 hour ride. When I checked the weather this morning the temperature was 27 with a pretty stiff breeze, so I opted for the trainer. Yes, 3 hours on the trainer. The work has to get done right?

Today's rations. One good thing about riding inside is that

you can have your coffee during the warm up.

I was expecting days like this so I upgraded my pain cave a bit with a bigger screen and a DVD player. So today I watched the movie Heat while I logged the miles. A plot, and a little suspense really helped pass the time.

Once I catch up on Sportcenter

it's on to De Niro and Pacino!

Done!

In the end it wasn't so bad; I actually think I could do it again, which is good because chances are I will probably have to. Although I can't help asking myself what is crazier: Riding outside in sub 30 degree weather? Or riding for 183 minutes and going absolutely nowhere? I will have to think about that one.

Thanks for stopping by.

Surf n Santa 10 Miler

2010-12-12T18:31:00.004-05:00

I know, I know it took me forever to get this report out, but this pesky job of mine is really getting in the way of my blog posting lately, haha. Not sure what to do about that.

Anyway, the inaugural Surf n Santa 10 Miler was a huge success. It was a good day to run, a good course and very cool (or warm) finish and post race party inside the convention center. Over 4000 participants showed up and I think this race is just getting started. Next year will be bigger and better for sure.

I really didn't know what to expect for this one. After a bike crash in September, several weeks of no running at all and several weeks rehabbing and building back to a reasonable amount of volume, I was just happy to have a chance to put a number on and run hard. My goal was to finish in under an hour, which would have been no problem a few months ago, but given the injuries and missed training time of late, it was probably a bit ambitious. But sometimes ambition is good, so off I went.

It was a competitive field which made it fun. There were lots of fast guys there which is always inspiring and I needed it, because the effort hurt early and it hurt a lot. I had to fight pretty hard to hold pace the last 4 miles or so, but I ended up crossing the line in 59:53, good enough for 10th place overall. At this point in the year I will certainly take it. Sorry I don't have any race photos, but Steph was working pretty hard during this one and she had better things to do than take pictures of me. However, I do have this one from the post race party courtesy of my friend Kate Derner.

J&A let me wear number 1 again. One of these days

I will actually earn it, haha.

My friend Jerry likes to say, "Your best races aren't always your fastest races." In this case he was absolutely right. Was it the fastest 10 miles I have ever run? Nope. I made it to the 10 mile mark of the Rock n Roll Half Marathon almost 30 seconds faster than I made it to the finish line of Surf n Santa. But even though it wasn't my FASTEST 10 miles, it may have been my BEST 10 miles yet. I am very pleased with it.

A lot of people were treating this race as their last big run of 2010. But due to the way things have unfolded for me this fall, I was looking at this race as my first big run of 2011. That said, 2011 is looking very promising.

Thanks for stopping by.

Hey, The Finish Line Is The Other Way!

2010-11-22T13:15:00.000-05:00

So, this past weekend I felt like mixing things up and having a little fun, so I did this:

1. Signed up for local 5k
2. Started local 5k
3. After 2 miles, had a big lead and was cruising to victory in local 5k
4. Was inadvertantly directed off course by race staff and ended up running 3.5 miles in local 5k
5. Finished 2nd in local 5k

Well, I wanted to run hard so mission accomplished I guess.

I hope everyone has a great Turkey Day! Don't eat too much though; the Surf N Santa 10 Miler is right around the corner.

Thanks for stopping by.

XTERRA Wetsuits

2010-11-18T10:40:00.000-05:00

I am excited today because I just found out that I have been selected for the XTERRA team for 2011. I have been racing in XTERRA wetsuits for the past two seasons and they are awesome, plus XTERRA is a great company so this is a perfect fit. I am looking forward to representing them next year and hopefully this will be a relationship I maintain for a long time. I may not be the fastest swimmer in the world but at least I get to wear the fastest wetsuit in the world – the Vendetta. Additionally, I get to wear the Velocity M; XTERRA’s new “WTC legal” speedsuit. I can’t wait.

In other news, the inaugural Surf n Santa 10 Miler is only 2 weeks away. If you haven’t registered yet, you need to get on it. It’s going to be fun and you get to finish inside the Virginia Beach Convention Center which should be pretty cool. It looks like I am going to get to run this race and I even get to wear more than just my underwear. Yippie.

Laying Low

2010-11-12T09:11:00.000-05:00

Things have been pretty laid back lately. I have been doing some base training for next year but nothing too hard or too long. Just trying to get healthy and strong so I can start doing a little more focused work in December. It’s hard to lay low sometimes but it can also be fun too. I try to take advantage of it and enjoy some of the things I can’t really do when the training load is high, like watching my beloved Falcons on Thursday Night Football. Check it out, 4th quarter.

I actually made it all the way to the end. And they won!!

This weekend we are heading to the Outer Banks for the OBX Marathon and Half Marathon. Originally I had planned to race the marathon but I decided to crash my bike instead. So I switched to the half and I am going to pace Steph. We have a good group going down and we are all sharing a beach house so it should be a lot of fun.

In other news, IT’S HERE! I ordered my costume for next year’s Wicked 10k the day after this year’s race, so over the past two weeks the pieces have been filtering in from various online retailers. Yesterday, the final piece arrived so I tried on the entire ensemble for Steph to get her approval. She managed to stop laughing long enough to give it a thumbs up, so I boxed it up and hid it away in an undisclosed location. It will remain Top Secret until October 29, 2011 at 8:00am.

Only 50 short weeks until the big reveal!

Thanks for stopping by.

Wicked 10k Recap

2010-11-02T11:28:00.001-04:00

Wow, what a weekend! Another Wicked 10k is in the books, and once again, J&A Racing hit this one out of the park. Great weather, great course, great finisher items and great party.

I had two goals for the race; to enjoy running with my brother and to one-up my “costume” from last year. I figured the first one would be easy, the second one on the other hand, not so much. I considered not wearing a brief but when I circulated that idea at the expo, it was met with extreme heartbreak from J&A leadership. I didn’t want to disappoint, so I decided to “cowboy up.”

Staging area - check out that race number!

Gav, ready to roll

Pre-race strategy meeting

Yee-Ha here we go!!

Finish Line - Gav beat me!!

Last year I was pretty nervous about wearing so little but it was much easier this year. I guess I am just getting used to it. It’s fun to see people’s reactions; they range from laughter to genuine terror. I get a kick out of it. Here are the top 5 comments I received:

5. “Hey it’s a naked cowboy” – Various street spectators

4. “OH MY GOD, look at that guy!” – Anonymous racer (obviously a Wicked 10k rookie)

3. “Looks like there is a new Sheriff in town” – A cougar dressed as Snow White

2. “So Officer, are you going to arrest me?” – Same cougar

And at number 1, the comment that made me wish I was wearing a pair of sweatpants and a long coat:

1. “I should chase that” – unidentified female voice (from behind)

This was my brother’s first big race and it was cool to get a chance to spend the day with him, do the race and enjoy the post race festivities. Actually, we may have enjoyed the post race festivities a little too much as I did not feel great the next day.

Time to party!

The J&A House Band - Rock Star Parking

The Thriller Dancers

More post-race fun

See you next year

It's Wicked 10k Time!

2010-10-28T12:33:00.000-04:00

Well, it’s that time again; time for the Blue Moon Wicked 10k. This promises to be a great weekend and I am looking forward to it for a lot of reasons. First of all, it’s a J&A race, and all J&A races are awesome. It will be a great atmosphere, there will be lots of familiar faces, we will get lots of free stuff and the post race party will be a lot of fun. All those things are a given.

Second, this is the one J&A race that I actually get to run. Usually I have volunteer duty, which is a lot of fun too, but it is always nice to actually participate in a great race. I am still rehabbing this hip thing but I have been slowly feathering some easy running into the routine, and things have been progressing well. I won’t be “racing” the race this year but I should be able to complete the distance and enjoy the day.

Finally, this weekend is going to be great because I get to run with my brother. He just started running a few months ago and this is his first “real” race. We are going to run the race together which is going to be pretty cool. It’s funny how you start to take this stuff for granted after a while; “Yeah there are going to be 8000 people, the packet pickup is at the convention center, there is a big expo, I start in corral number 2, there will be lots of surprise finisher items and afterwards there is a big party on the beach with beer and food.” Haha, Gavin has no idea about any of that stuff, he has never seen anything like it. So it will be great to be with him this weekend as he sees and does all the “big race” stuff for the first time. It’s going to be a lot of fun.

Happy Birthday Mom!

2010-10-20T19:33:00.000-04:00

Thursday is my Mom’s birthday so Happy Birthday Mom!!

I wanted to post something just for my Mom, but when I thought about it, all of my posts are for her. Sure, I keep track of how many people visit this site and I am always flattered at the number of people that not only stop by, but continue to check in to read what I have to say. But as excited as I am about the number of visitors increasing, it hasn’t changed the fact that my “target audience” so to speak continues to be my Mom and my family.

Like most sons that are all grown up, I don’t call home enough and I don’t go home to visit enough. I have tons of excuses why that is the case, none of which are good enough for Mom, haha. That said, this site is a great way for her and my family to keep up with me and see my face from time to time. So more often than not when I post something, I do so with them in mind.

Over the past year, I have toyed with the idea of posting more substantive things like product reviews and training tips. I may incorporate those things one day but so far, every time I start to put something like that together I find myself stopping and saying; “My family doesn’t care about this.” I’m pretty sure my Mom couldn’t care less about lactate threshold heart rates or the DRB Accel midfoot shank in the Brooks Glycerin 8. So for the time being, I am just going to continue reporting on my experiences as a triathlete while staying positive, and trying to keep everything in the proper perspective. Because it makes my Mom happy.

One last thing: my Mom always says that I am too skinny, so Mom, this picture is for you.

Butter Pecan!

Chrissie's Thoughts On Missing Kona

2010-10-12T10:59:00.000-04:00

Check out Chrissie Wellington's blog. I can't imagine how disappointed she must be, but as usual, she handles it beautifully. Hard to be more gracious than this. Even when she doesn't win - she wins.

2010 In The Books

2010-10-01T10:50:00.000-04:00

Well, it looks like my little spill at Patriot is ultimately going to end my season earlier than expected. Apparently I have a pretty deep bone bruise in my hip that is going to take awhile to heal completely. So the offseason has officially begun. I am going to lay low for October and just do some technique work in the pool and some easy spins. Hopefully, by the time November rolls around the hip will be good to go and I can start laying down a good foundation for 2011.

Still working out the schedule for next year but it will definitely look a lot different from this year. In my opinion there is so much to see and do in running and triathlon; I just can’t see doing the same races over and over again. So I am doing some serious “google-ing” right now to try and put together a race lineup that will not only check the blocks I want to check, but be new and exciting as well. Planning the next season is always fun.

I want to wish Josh Dixon good luck this weekend as he heads down to Myrtle Beach to take on USAT Long Course Nationals. Josh has been an absolute blast to work with this year and he is fit and ready to go. Unfortunately a flat tire made it a disappointing day for Josh at Timberman, so I know he is looking for some redemption by laying down a good one Saturday.

Happy training this weekend everyone, I wish I could be out there. Instead, I am going to eat chips all weekend and see how much football I can watch.

Maybe It's Time For A Break

2010-09-21T10:29:00.000-04:00

Well, unfortunately the enthusiasm in my last post was short lived. I went out for an easy run Friday morning and my hip did not feel good; noticably worse than the day before. As the day went on, it continued to get worse, and by lunchtime I was having a hard time getting up and walking around. Went back to the doc Friday afternoon and got some x-rays. They didn't show anything definitive so they are sending me to an Orthopedic Doctor on Wednesday. So, full stop on everything until I get some answers. Hopefully it's minor and some rest will clear it up.

It's frustrating but if you do this stuff long enough these things happen. It's never easy missing training time or races but unfortunately it's part of the game. However, there is opportunity in everything so I always try to use these situations as such and make the most of them. Sometimes that entails refocusing your training around a skill that isn't effected by the injury. For example, when I hurt my achilles in 2008, I couldn't run or bike for 2 months, so I focused on my swimming and actually made some improvements. Last year I had some issues with my back, and again I had to lay off the running for awhile. Oddly enough, the bike didn't bother my back so I focused on that and made some gains.

This time however, I think it may be a good opportunity to take a break. It's been a long year that started in November, so this might be a good time to shut it down for a bit and get some rest. It's also a good chance to do some "normal person" type things, like watching Monday Night Football (not just the first quarter), sleeping past 5:00am and eating dessert. I have big plans for 2011 and although my schedule isn't finalized yet, it looks like the season is going to start early. That means it's going to be a hard winter so I am going to take the rest while I can.

Thanks for reading.

We Do This For Fun Right?

2010-09-16T20:16:00.000-04:00

It's been an interesting week. Still struggling with soreness in my hip which makes it really hard to run; I'm oozing from everywhere; I'm not allowed to get my elbow wet which makes showering interesting; and to top it off, now I am nursing an inner ear infection courtesy of my dip in the James River Sunday. So now, my daily routine includes multiple bandage changes and frequent doses of prescription anti-inflammatories, antibiotics and ear drops. I think it's safe to say that the Patriot Sprint was not the best idea.

Earlier in the week, I was extremely doubtful that I would be able to get it together for Sandman this weekend. To me, Sandman is a big deal; arguably the most important triathlon in the area and it tends to draw some pretty good competition. The only thing on the line is bragging rights, but none of us get paid to race so bragging rights definitely mean something. So my opinion at the time was that if I wasn't 100% I would just sit it out.

Then I got an email from my friend Derek Russell. He said he was sorry to hear about my crash, and that he was nursing some injuries of his own that were going to keep him from being at his best Sunday. He reminded me that we do this for fun, and Sandman is definitely fun. The race is in our back yard, it's a course we train on all the time and everyone you know is either racing or out there watching. Derek is way too nice to put it this way, but what I think he meant was, "Stop whining about splits and placings and just go out there and have fun doing what you love to do." Hard to argue with that, so as long as I continue to improve each day I am probably going to give it a go.

A visit to Dani at Final Kick plus a good scrubbing and my bike is ready to roll again. Just minor damage luckily. Hopefully I can keep it upright Sunday, ha.

I think it looks better without the grease and blood

My First DNF

2010-09-13T08:16:00.000-04:00

In 2008, Steph ran the Boston Marathon. After she finished the race, we were walking back to the hotel and we passed by the historic Cheers bar. We thought that was pretty cool so we decided to go in and have a beer just so we could say we did (such tourists). Inside, we were chatting with a guy who also ran that day, and eventually we started talking about triathlons. In the midst of explaining to us why he was strictly a runner and didn't do multisport events, he said something that really resonated with me and I have never forgotten it: "There are two types of cyclists in the world: those who HAVE crashed, and those who WILL crash." Well, I guess today was my turn.

I signed up for the Patriot Sprint as a warm up for Sandman; a chance to rev the engine up and remind my long course legs and brain what it feels like to go pretty much all out for an hour. The day started ominously when I woke up at 4am to pouring rain. Not good. After that, the bad signs just kept coming: arrived late and spent all of my warm up time waiting in a really long line to get my packet; lost my timing chip while I was frantically trying to set up my transition area and had to get a new one; ripped a gaping hole in my wetsuit as I tried to put it on soaking wet in the rain. It was not a good morning.

I finally got ready to roll, the gun went off and I started the race. Despite only having time for a 90 second warm up, I had a great swim and hit the bike course feeling really strong. Watts were high, speed was good and things were really going well. With about 4 miles to go, there was a split in the road where you had to veer right to head back toward the transition area. It was wet, I was racing hard and I just took the turn a little too aggressively. It happened so fast. The front wheel slid out from under me and before I could even blink, much less brace myself and I was on the road. My hip absorbed most of the impact but my elbow got it pretty good too. Apart from that, some road rash on my right shoulder, arm and leg. All in all I was really lucky as far as these things go. No broken bones and my helmet never hit the pavement.

On the way home, I was telling Steph what happened, and I told her that it reminded me of Jan Ullrich's crash in the time trial of the 2003 Tour de France. She had no idea what I was talking about so I looked it up so she could see it. Aside from the fact that Ullrich was going MUCH faster than I was, my crash and his were strikingly similar. You can see Ullrich's crash at about the 7:40 mark of this 10 minute clip.

Jan Ullrich Crash

Not sure about Sandman next weekend, but at this point I would say it's doubtful. My hip is pretty sore, it's tough to walk, and according to the Doc, the gash in my elbow will keep me out of the water for at least a week and probably longer. Ugh.

Rock n Roll Weekend

2010-09-06T21:25:00.002-04:00

This weekend I raced the Virginia Beach Rock n Roll Half Marathon. I really wanted to run well for a lot of reasons: First and foremost, it is one of the biggest road races in the country; second, Brooks is a major sponsor of the Rock n Roll race series so I wanted to represent well; finally, even though the race is huge, it's still "local" so it is a great chance to see how you stack up against the best runners in the area.

Friday at the expo, I had a chance to volunteer at the Brooks - Run Happy Cavalcade of Curiosities; "a running inspired mobile carnival" where you can do just about anything; play games, get a free video gait analysis, or win a great prize like a pair of Brooks shoes or an apparel package. It was a lot of fun; the Brooks crew is awesome and a real hard working bunch. Here are a few pics from the expo:

The Brooks Cavalcade Entrance

The Magic Bus - You can get your gait analyzed

on the treadmills up top - very cool

Of course Brooks brought the whole arsenal.

Look at all those great shoes!

J&A Racing was at the expo as well promoting their new race, the Surf n Santa 10 miler scheduled for December 4. It's going to be a good time; Santa hats for everybody, a finish line INSIDE the Virginia Beach Convention Center and of course it wouldn't be a J&A race without surprise finisher items and a great post race party. Don't miss it.

Santa!

Ok, time to race. The starting line was about 8 blocks from my house which was great. I got to warm up in the front yard and I didn't have to share a bathroom with 15,000 of my closest friends. Although I must say it does feel a little unsettling to still be at home 15 minutes before the start. Even though it was only a 3 minute jog away, it just seemed like I was late.

I felt a little sluggish all week and I wasn't sure why. I couldn't tell if I was still tired from Timberman, or if I rested too much after Timberman. Either way, I wasn't feeling as sharp as I had hoped this week so I was really just hoping for the best. But when the gun went off, things just fell into place. Ran really steady for the first 10 miles and then we all had to fight a pretty nasty headwind for most of the last 5k. I ended up holding on for 1:19:36 which was good enough to win my age group. It was a huge result for me that I did not see coming at all. As a triathlete, I don't really expect to show up at a big road race and place so it was a nice surprise.

Suffering at Mile 11.5 - Anybody seen

a finish line around here?

Post race, chatting with Pat B.

Yes, Pat did eventually get that bottle of Cytomax open.

And it wouldn't be Rock n Roll weekend without some rock n roll. Lots of good bands playing this weekend and we decided to take a trip down memory lane and go see Pat Benetar on the beach. It was a really good show; she sounded great and played all the hits I remember from my MTV days.

Can you believe Pat is 57?!!

It was a great weekend. Huge thanks to Brooks for all the support this year, for putting on a great show this weekend and for letting me play a part. Thanks to PowerBar for all the great nutrition products and to J&A Racing for helping out with more things than I could possibly name. Finally, I want to say thanks to David Esteppe from Balance Therapeutic Massage for coming out to support me Sunday. It really means a lot to me and I really appreciate all the help this year. The staff at Balance has done an awesome job keeping me healthy and strong all year and it has made a huge difference.

Thanks for Reading.

Ironman Louisville

2010-09-03T09:09:00.001-04:00

This is a little late but it's been a busy week. Last weekend we made our annual trip to Louisville for Ironman. This is our third year in a row and it has become one of our favorite weekends of the year. We went for the first time in 2008 when I did the race and went back last year so Steph could race it. This year, my good friend Brian from back home in NC was racing so we decided to head over again and cheer him on.

Louisville is a fun place for us to visit because we have good friends who live there; my long time buddy Tom and his wife Ashley always take really good care of us and make us feel right at home. Plus, the race itself is really special to us because it was our first Ironman so it is just a lot of fun.

Me, Superhost Tom and my buddy Jackie

In the days leading up to the race, we visited the race site, hit some traditional eating spots and settled an old score. It's a long story but Tom and I have had a long time bet about my ability to hit an 80mph fastball. We have been trying to settle this for over a year and this was our chance. I was victorious.

No Problem; Bring On 90mph!!

Sunday, race day brought the HEAT. Louisville is not an easy Ironman course to start with (if there is such a thing) but when it gets hot it can be extremely tough. With temps in the 90s, it made for a tough day for a lot of racers. But it was great weather for spectating and enjoying a few beers with friends, haha.

Swim Course - Don't even bother bringing your wetsuit

My friend Brian on the bike course

Rebekah Keat winning the Women's Race

It was a fun weekend and we will definitely be back next year. I am actually thinking about taking another crack at this course. We will see I guess.

Thanks for reading.

Timberman 70.3

2010-08-24T20:08:00.002-04:00

Wow, what a weekend. So much to say, I am not sure where to start. How about with geography? We got into New Hampshire on Friday which amazingly enough, is just north of Massachusetts right between Vermont and Maine. Who knew? Haha.

Gilford is a beautiful place so Steph and I spent some time familiarizing ourselves with the area (we got lost) and then we enjoyed the local scenery and cuisine.

Lake Winnipesaukee

Lobster Roll!

I volunteered for the Sprint on Saturday and got to be the lead biker for the 5k run. I had never done that before and I had a lot of fun. It turned out to be a pretty exciting race too.

That's Right People - First Place!

Race day came and we were greeted by cool temperatures and cloudy skies. I was excited because you could tell it was going to be a good day to race. The gun went off and I got off to a great start and found a good group to swim with. I have really worked hard on the swimming over the past 2 months, both technically and tactically and it really paid off Sunday. It was my best swim so far (31 minutes), both from a time perspective and in terms of energy expended. I got out of the water feeling great and hit the bike course ready to roll.

Pre-Race

I love this bike course. It's an out and back course with hills in the beginning, flats in the middle and of course, more hills at the end. It had something for everyone, and the terrain made it really easy to break the ride up into pieces so it went by faster. I didn’t have a great ride but it was solid. I hit a couple of short stretches where I didn’t feel great, but luckily they went away and I was able to get back into the groove. I ended up riding 2:22 which wasn’t stellar but not bad for that course.

Going out on the run, I felt good. A little fatigued from the bike but I felt like I was going to be able to put together a good race. I took the first mile a little easy and then found a nice rhythm. The cool air felt great and it was even raining a little which felt awesome. Timberman is a great run course; scenic, pretty fast with good crowd support and aid stations. It was a great setup for me as I had friends cheering me on at the start/finish, Steph was stationed about a mile into the loop, Janda was at the turnaround and there were a lot of people I knew from Virginia Beach doing the race. So I never went more than a couple of minutes without seeing a friendly face. I ran a great first loop and at about the 9 mile mark things got really hard. At the time, I was on pace to run sub 1:25 and I was determined to do it. I held on for dear life and ended up splitting 1:24:35 and finishing with a total time of 4:21. I am really happy with it; not quite a PR but definitely my best effort in a 70.3 so far.

This is my "I'm glad it's over" Smile

I was a little bummed that I ended up 11th overall amateur; I thought for sure I had done enough to get into the top 10. Oh well, on the bright side, I did end up 4th in my age group and got a custom bottle of New Hampshire maple syrup. Very cool.

Look at all that syrup! Makes me want pancakes

Awards

This is a great race. It is a great venue and a beautiful, challenging course. If I have one complaint it is that it's a bit crowded out there (2700 racers), but that seems to be the trend with WTC races these days.

One of the highlights of the weekend was getting a chance to see Chrissie Wellington. The fact that she blew the field away and set a course record was not nearly as impressive as what she did post race. After finishing, she took a short break and then spent the remainder of the day at the finish line handing out medals and posing for pictures in the rain. She didn’t even change clothes. The pros finished at about 11am and the awards ceremony didn't start until 4pm. All the other pros showed up rested and dressed in clean, warm clothes. Chrissie just walked over from the finish line soaking wet, still in her race gear. A class act for sure.

Chrissie, making a finisher's day

Next Stop - Gilford, NH

2010-08-19T09:17:00.002-04:00

It's sad, but I don't even know where New Hampshire is. I'm definitely challenged when it comes to the northeastern part of the country. It is in the northeast right? Anyway, I have heard that it is beautiful and we are heading up there today (Steph is the navigator - I just drive). Everyone raves about Timberman, so I am really looking forward to a great weekend and a good result. I feel really strong so I am excited to get up there and see what I can do.

Once again, thanks to everyone who makes all this training and racing easier and more fun. PowerBar and Brooks for supplying me with so much great stuff, Balance Therapeutic Massage for keeping me injury free, and of course J&A Racing whose support seems to have no limits. It means so much to me and I hope to make all of you guys really proud this weekend.

Check out my new kit!!

I don't think Steph will have any problem

picking me out of the crowd?

Thanks for stopping by. I will post a full race report next week.

Taper Time

2010-08-09T12:46:00.002-04:00

The Timberman taper is finally here! Getting to the taper is always a satisfying feeling for me. It just feels good knowing that you did the work and earned the right to rest up a little. The past 6 weeks have been HARD and I feel a lot stronger than I did during the first half of the season. Hopefully all that hard work will yield a good result in New Hampshire.

I always tell my athletes to approach the taper with the same intensity and commitment that they approach their training, because a well executed taper is just as important as all the hard work that preceded it. Those last couple of weeks before the race, the focus shifts away from teeth-gritting training sessions and more toward rest and recovery. Your responsibilities during the taper are to stay in the routine but don't overdo it, sleep more if possible, watch your diet (as your training load drops) and keep up with all the little things that you have doing all along, like stretching, core work etc. It's easy to lose focus once the hard workouts are done, but you can really compromise the time and effort you have put into your preparation if you don't stay on top of things. So when it's taper time, make sure you commit to doing those things just like you committed to riding every interval or running every mile over the past few months.

The second half of the season is starting to take shape. After Timberman, I have 2 weeks to recover before the Virginia Beach Rock n Roll Half Marathon. A large Brooks contingent will surely make the trip out here for that one and I am looking forward to meeting everyone.

After that, it looks like I will be heading to Myrtle Beach for USAT Long Course Nationals in October. That's only about an hour south of Wilmington (my home town) so hopefully some of my family and friends can make it down there to watch the race.

Then it's Wicked 10k time again! This is the latest creation of my superfriends and sponsors at J&A Racing, and it is a hoot. Last year's debut was nuts so I know this year is going to be even crazier.

In November, it looks like I will be finishing the year with the Outer Banks Marathon which should be interesting. It's been awhile since I have run one of those so we will see how it goes.

Finally, I want to say congrats to Brian Causey who had an absolutely huge race at Steelhead last weekend. He laid down a very solid 4:51, a 15 minute personal best and a huge confidence booster as Ironman Louisville draws closer. Nice job BC!

Quick Update

2010-07-30T11:26:00.000-04:00

Sadly, my buddy Dave is moving back home to Michigan. This has actually been in the works for awhile, it was just a matter of him and Rachel finding the right jobs back home. There is no substitute for being close to your family and with that in mind, Virginia Beach was never "really" home for them. I will miss Dave a lot for sure. He is a great training partner and an even better friend. I'm sure we will email frequently and hopefully we can find opportunities to race against each other as well.

We wanted to send Dave off with one last spin through our faithful North End route that we have ridden together so many times, but a series of ill-timed thunderstorms derailed our plan.

On the training front, the Timberman prep continues. Finishing off the last hard block and then it will be time to rest up. I'm looking forward to getting up there and having a good race. Sounds like a beautiful area and a well run event.

I also want to wish Brian Causey the best of luck at the Steelhead 70.3 Saturday in Michigan. This is his last big tune up race before he tapers down for Ironman Louisville.

Musselman in Pictures

2010-07-19T10:46:00.000-04:00

Sorry, I have been really bad about posting lately, but things have been really busy. I will try to do better.

We spent last week in upstate New York on the Finger Lakes. Partly for vacation and partly for the Musselman Half Ironman. No racing for me which was really nice actually. I got to relax, do some good training in a beautiful part of the country and watch a great race. Musselman is an awesome event - not too big, challenging course, beautiful scenery and good shwag. Well organized and a lot of fun.

Our friends Corey and Sarah put us all up in their cottages (yes, there are 2) on Keuka Lake. It was beautiful and we had a blast playing in the water and enjoying the view.

Our estate for the week on Keuka Lake! Lower cottage and upper cottage

Not a bad view at all

The dogs learned how to dive

The puppy learned how to swim

Wait a minute, we came up here for something didn't we? Oh yeah the race.

Pre-race - The J&A crew in their brand new kits!

Steph, Lori, Mark, Amy and super-hosts Sarah and Corey

The girls took over the podium before the race even started!

Everyone did awesome in the race and we stayed for a couple of days after to relax and tour some wineries.

Ravines Winery - Great wine but more importantly,

they sell chocolate covered bacon!

Me and Steph

So long New York - See you next year hopefully

July Already?

2010-07-01T09:08:00.000-04:00

Wow, time flys. Seems like yesterday I was riding on the trainer watching the snow fall outside and now it's the middle of summer. I am hard at work preparing for Timberman and this heat wave is making the already challenging training schedule even tougher. It's good for me though. I am happy to have the opportunity to race Timberman and having never been up there before, I am looking forward to the trip. Everyone says it is a great weekend.

I am also working with some really good athletes who are working hard in preparation for their "A" races. I will be traveliing to Louisville in August to watch one of them take on his first Ironman. I am looking forward to going back to Kentucky, and this will be our third year in a row. We have friends there and we love the race so it should be another fun trip.

Next weekend we are off to upstate New York for the Musselman Triathlon. No racing for me this time, I have cheerleading duty so it should be a nice relaxing weekend. Although I'm sure I will manage to squeeze in some mountain riding and lake swims while I am there.

Eagleman 70.3

2010-06-17T21:44:00.002-04:00

Well, it didn't go quite the way I had hoped. It was tough day. I made some mistakes early and spent the rest of the day paying for them. I learned some things last Sunday that will ultimately make me a better triathlete - I just wish I didn't have to learn everything the hard way.

The trip started out great. Steph and I stayed in Annapolis and neither of us had ever been there before. I had my reservations about staying an hour away from the race site but I actually really liked it. It's nice not being surrounded by nervous triathletes the day before the race. I never realized how stressful that is. But in Annapolis, there was no evidence that one of the biggest triathlons in the country was about to take place an hour south, so we relaxed. Saturday we slept in, had a nice breakfast and did some sightseeing.

Ken's Creative Kitchen - Great breakfast and great view!

That's the U.S. Naval Academy across the water

Race morning came and I was nervous but excited. The last few months of training had gone really well and I felt ready to go. When I got to the transition area, I heard it was going to be a non-wetsuit swim. That wasn't exactly the scenario I was hoping for but I wasn't discouraged. Did my warm up and got ready to start the race.

Me and Mike V. talking a little strategy

"Are you guys sure this is 78 degrees? Feels like 68, haha"

Bottom line, I overcooked the swim. I was more concerned with putting up a good split than conserving energy during the swim and getting out of the water ready to ride. I swam too hard, and ignored the fact that not wearing a wetsuit means you are going to be slower, and ultimately you are going to be out there longer. Add to that, we got a little unlucky with the tide and the swim ended up going into a bit of a current. Times were several minutes slower across the board, and when I was in the water, I could tell that things were going slower than normal. I foolishly ignored that too and just kept hammering. So, I planned to be out there for about 30 minutes and ended up being in the water 10 minutes longer than that. Ten minutes of hard swimming is a long time and it showed. I never felt like myself on the bike and things didn't really get any better on the run. 4:41 and 16th in my age group. Ugh. It was a disappointing day; I was so ready for that race and I ruined it with poor pacing.

I have tons of pictures from the race but this one at the finish

pretty much says it all - "What the heck happened out there?"

Like I said, I will learn from this and it will make me better, but it is tough to swallow right now.

My performance aside, Eagleman is a great event. This was my third trip and I will definitely be back. It is a great venue for a race and the course is always well supported. Plenty of volunteers and they are always ready for anything. When you see ice machines out on the run course the day before the race, you know they have it wired.

Thanks for reading.

Cambridge, Here I Come!

2010-06-10T16:19:00.001-04:00

Wow, I can't believe Eagleman is actually here. This winter and spring have zipped by and the race I have been training for, and thinking about for almost six months is now only a couple of days away. I know I have done the work, so now it's all about going out there and executing. Hopefully I can do that and hopefully the result will be good. But as long as I show up AT my best, and have the guts to DO my best, I am usually ok with how I stack up.

I am definitely ready to roll this weekend. Janda has really challenged me this season and I feel like I am in better shape than I ever have been. I am lucky to have him as a coach. Additionally, thanks to PowerBar for keeping me fueled, Brooks for keeping me clothed, Balance for keeping me healthy and J&A for being great friends and helping me with whatever I need. And of course, a huge thanks to Steph for supporting me and putting up with all this stuff.

Many of you have asked about my friend Dave. He is disappointed obviously, but he has a very positive outlook on things and he is doing well. His surgery is tomorrow and then he will officially be on the road to recovery. He still plans to be at Eagleman this weekend to spectate and cheer. He says he plans on giving me an incredibly hard time on the run course, which means he will be constantly yelling at me to run faster. So I have that going for me, haha.

You can read Dave's thoughts on his situation here. His perspective is inspiring and the read is worth your time.

Thanks for reading. Talk to you guys after the race.

Breezy Point Triathlon

2010-06-07T13:02:00.005-04:00

Well, I will start with the good news. I had a pretty solid race. After surviving a choppy, non-wetsuit swim (ugh) I had a solid bike and a strong run and ended up 5th overall. So, I feel like I am ready to go next weekend. Here are a couple of shots from the race.

Finish Line

I want to say congrats to Josh Dixon, who put together a really solid race down in Georgia at the Coliseum Rock N Roll Man Half. It was a hilly course and a hot day and Josh raced strong and ended up 4th in a pretty competitive 30-34 age group.

Also, a huge congrats to my buddy Brian Mccune, who survived the pouring rain and mountainous terrain of the Mooseman 70.3 and earned himself a Clearwater slot. He worked really hard for it and I am really excited for him.

On to the bad news. The real heartbreaker yesterday was that my buddy Dave crashed during our race and he is going to miss Eagleman next weekend. He suffered a concussion, some pretty nasty road rash and a broken collarbone that will require surgery. This is a tough one. We have trained for 6 months for this race and I know firsthand how hard he has worked to have a chance at a Kona slot. The fact that he is not going to have the opportunity to see it through next weekend just kills me.

Dave is young and strong and he will bounce back, but it's still really tough to think about him being on the sidelines for awhile. He loves this stuff so much and sitting out will not be easy for him. I know this sounds selfish but it won't be easy for me either. Dave is the ultimate training partner. He is always in the pool first and out last, he always does the last interval and he always runs the last mile. He is at it every day like clockwork. Just hanging out with him makes you better because if nothing else, it teaches you what it takes to be really competitive in this sport. It certainly won't be the same without him and I hope he isn't out too long.

Get well soon Dave.

Flying Low

2010-05-27T09:54:00.002-04:00

At the beginning of the week, Supercoach told me, “You are either flying high or flying low this week.” Meaning there are a few key workouts where I need to bring it, but the others I really need to keep it easy and not push. Today was a “fly low” day, so I thought it was a good opportunity to disconnect from the not so relaxing things that I think about all the time, like run paces, heart rates, age group placing and World Championship slot allocation, and reconnect with some of the relaxing things that I really love about running.

Running free. I decided to leave the watch at home today. I wore it yesterday and I will wear it tomorrow, but today I am running free.

Good morning Garmin. I know you are ready

to rock n roll but why don't you take the day off

Sunrises. Nothing beats a good sunrise on a run. Unfortunately, today I hit the snooze button and it cost me the best part; that moment where the sun just starts to appear on the horizon. Still, not a bad view.

Rats!! Missed it by 10 minutes!

The Virginia Beach Boardwalk. The Boardwalk can be absolutely nuts during the summer, but when you hit it early, it is a great place to run. It was a perfect morning; warm but not hot, a nice breeze but not windy and no crowds.

At 6am, you can have the Boardwalk all to yourself

Enjoying the scenery. I run by the Neptune Statue several times a week and I rarely give it a second look. There are always 5-10 tourists around it, staring at it in amazement and taking pictures of it. Usually, I breeze by without even noticing, but today I decided to stop for a minute and be a tourist.

Just another tourist

Clearing my head. I love running because it gives me an opportunity think things through or just let my mind run wild. This little downhill stretch is right around the corner from my house and I often pretend it is the finishing stretch of a big race. I have probably “won” a hundred races here and it never gets old, but I decided not to race today. Instead, I used this time to think about the upcoming holiday weekend and going back home to visit friends and family.

No high fives and cheering crowds today

Thanks for reading. Enjoy the holiday, summer is here finally.

Back to Business

2010-05-24T15:21:00.002-04:00

After a tough stretch following the Kinetic Half, I finally emerged from the post race doldrums last week. The first part of the week was tough but I seemed to get stronger as the week went on. This past weekend went great; a good ride with a lot of intensity on Saturday, followed up by a strong progressive 12 miler on Sunday and an easy swim. I was exhausted Sunday afternoon but it was a good tired. I treated my legs to a cold one after the run.

Just what you guys need. Brrrr!!

Less than three weeks to go until Eagleman. Most of the work is done at this point, just polishing up a little. I am really looking forward to this race. I feel like I am a little stronger in all three sports this year so I am ready to get up there and see what I can do.

Taco Night!

2010-05-14T08:51:00.008-04:00

This week has been a bit of a struggle. Usually after a 70.3 I take a week or so off to recoup and recharge, but with Eagleman a little over a month away I don’t have that luxury this time. I didn’t have anything really challenging on the schedule this week, but usually in the days following a half, just getting out of bed is challenging for me. So needless to say, the training this week has been less than stellar. I suffered through some sessions, cut others short and have dealt with soreness and fatigue all week.

After racking my brain all day trying to come up with something that would bring me out of this funk, I finally figured it out. TACOS!! Surely a Thursday night taco fiesta will right the ship and have me recovered and in good spirits heading into the weekend.

This plus a few spices is all you need for a Taco Fiesta

In my opinion, there are two secrets to spectacular tacos; homemade avocado salsa and a freshly roasted poblano pepper. Avocado just makes everything better and a roasted poblano adds a smoky flavor that makes good Mexican food great.

Secret weapons: Homemade avocado salsa

and a roasted poblano cut into strips

Just brown and season some lean ground beef, throw it into some shells and add the salsa and poblano strips. Garnish with light sour cream and Dos Equis and the party is on!

Buen Provecho!

I feel better already.

Kinetic Half - A 70.3 Mile Slap in the Face

2010-05-11T09:44:00.005-04:00

Well, the swim actually went pretty well, so maybe it was only a 69.1 mile slap in the face. Either way, it was a tough one. I actually felt pretty good in the days leading up to the race so I had high hopes, and Saturday morning I felt ready so I thought it was going to go well.

Pre-Race - In good spirits with high hopes

If there was one positive Saturday, it was the swim. For the first time in a 70.3, I actually “raced” the swim. Usually, I start easy and build into it, which is fine and all, but by the time you get going all the good swimmers are gone and there is no one to push you. Saturday, I started up front, got out fast, found a good group to swim with and settled in. I swam fast (for me), sighted well and stayed on course. I actually felt like I was in the race in the water which was new for me and I liked it. When I exited the lake and saw 25 on my watch I knew the course was short. I have been working hard on my stroke over the winter but I know it isn’t THAT good. The times seem to indicate it was 3-4 minutes fast which still means I am significantly better than last year; so I will chalk that up as one of the day’s few victories.

No matter how many times I do this, those buoys

never seem to get any closer

Yee-Ha! My best swim yet!!

Unfortunately, the party ended here

I felt underpowered on the bike from the start, and very windy conditions only made a bad day worse. I remember starting loop 2 of the bike thinking, “If I had to run the half marathon right now it would not be fun and I still have 25 miles to ride.” Feeling that way is not good and thinking that way is probably worse.

Ugh. Glad that's over

The run started bad and then steadily got worse. My mindset gradually deteriorated from “Ok, just try and run sub 7 minute pace” to “Ok, just try not to walk”. It was one of those days where you start to care less and less about the results and more and more about just getting to the end and packing up the car.

Mile 1 - Oh boy, this is going to hurt

Mile 8 - Are we there yet??

In hindsight, I think I carried a little more fatigue into this race than I realized at the time. We have really been pushing the envelope getting ready for Eagleman, and I don’t think the taper week was nearly enough time to freshen up after all the training stress over the past several weeks. But even though it was a disappointing day, I wouldn’t trade any of the hard work I have done for Eagleman just to have been a little fresher for this race. Five weeks to go, shake it off and press on.

Congrats to the guys who put together good ones out there. Not an easy course and the wind made it even tougher, but there were some guys who did really well.

Finally, Time for Some "Triathlon-ing"

2010-05-03T13:23:00.001-04:00

Ok, the half marathons and duathlons are over, now it's time to get in the water. For me, the triathlon season kicks off this weekend with the Kinetic Half Iron. It's a fairly small race but a pretty competitive field, with several guys on the list that I know are going to go fast. So once again, a good chance to let it fly and see where the chips fall.

The first one of the year always feels strange to me. I know I have been working hard and I know I am stronger than last year in all three sports, but I still have that fear of the unknown when it comes to putting them all together for the first time in awhile. I'm sure it will be fine, but I still want to check a few preparation blocks and make sure I remember how to be a triathlete.

That said, it was a nice warm weekend so it was good opportunity to do the first open water swim of the year. Swimming in a wetsuit always feels a little different to me than without ,so I like to get out at least once before the first tri of the year. Just to put the wetsuit on, do some swimming without lane lines and walls, practice some sighting and most importantly, refresh my memory on how to get that thing off.

Hello there wetsuit, we meet again. How was your Winter?

So we headed out to the bay and suited up. I hate cold water and it looked really cold. The first weekend of May isn't exactly summer here so I was shivering just thinking about getting in.

Time to brave the mighty Chesapeake - Brrrrr

Well, I went through the trouble of putting this thing on,

so I gotta get in now.

It actually wasn't that bad after the initial dive. It turned out to be a pretty good swim. That's as clear as I have seen the bay in a long time and no crabs or jellyfish. Enjoy it while it lasts I guess.

Thanks for reading.

Duathlon Nationals Report

2010-04-29T20:23:00.003-04:00

Sorry it took so long to get this report up but Steph left town for a few days after the race and took the camera. You can’t post a race report with no pictures, that’s just wrong. So I waited.

The race went pretty well actually. I think we dodged a bullet with the weather as it looked like it was going to pour buckets the entire weekend but it never really did. Got some rain the night before which made some parts of the bike course a little wet, but otherwise, it turned out to be a pretty nice day for a race.

Transition Area - Race Morning

The first run went really smooth. I didn’t have any problems holding pace as we navigated some interesting terrain on the run course. Hills, flats, roads, cobblestones, sidewalks, grass you name it, we ran it. Pretty fun actually. I came into T1in a pretty good spot, had a great transition and hit the bike feeling good.

Finishing Up Run 1

The bike course was interesting. Three laps around an 8 mile loop. Whenever you put 1500 athletes on an 8 mile course things are going to get tight. Add plenty of technical features (twists, turns, climbs, descents, wet streets) to the mix and craziness will ensue for sure. Some crashes, lots of flat tires and lots of packs, either intentional or unintentional. It was crowded and tough to find space to get into a rhythm and do your thing, but that seems to be the trend with a lot of big events these days. I definitely moved up during the bike though and came into T2 in 5th place in my age group. Another great transition and I was on my way.

I admit it, the first time I took this big descent I was scared

I am really happy with the second run. It hurt bad but I was determined to have a good one. I nearly ran down 4th but fell about 3 seconds short. I needed another 200 meters or so - but I really did not want to run another 200 meters that’s for sure. So, 5th in my age group and 15th overall at Duathlon Nationals; I will take it. Congrats to my friend Dave Smith who avenged a tough day at nationals last year by putting together a great race and earning second place in his age group. At 26, Dave has a really bright future in this sport.

Dave on his way to 2nd place

It will be sad to see nationals move away from Richmond. I would like to race it again but it will move back out west (Tuscon, AZ) next year. Like I said last week, it wasn’t THE race but it was chance to see how I stacked up against some pretty good competition. Specifically, I was looking forward to racing Dave Slavinski, the man who has dominated my age group at Eagleman the past couple of years. But I found out that Dave isn’t a man at all, he is actually a cheetah who occasionally wears a tri-suit. Ridiculously fast. His 5k runs were 15:50 and 16:05 I believe. Not much I could do about that but tip my cap. He was the class of my age group and nearly won the whole thing, finishing second overall. Pretty awesome for a guy who will be 40 next year.

Duathlon Nationals This Weekend

2010-04-21T20:16:00.000-04:00

Once again it is race week. I am racing Duathlon Nationals in Richmond this Sunday and it should be fun. It’s a big race but it is not THE race, so I won’t be as rested and ready to go as I would like but that’s ok. Eagleman is the real goal this year so I am pretty much training right through this one. Still, it’s a good opportunity to race against some quality competition and see how I stack up.

Monday I started dialing in the race week nutrition southern style with my very own Shrimp N’ Grits recipe. I feel sorry for people who are anti-grit because they are really missing out. For example, my friend Dave is from northern Michigan and unfortunately grits haven’t made it there yet. They have lights, indoor plumbing, cars and even the internet but no grits. How is that possible? I have tried to get Dave to try them several times but I am convinced that he is more afraid of grits than the Boogieman. It’s sad.

Shrimp N' Grits - Yum

I am wearing a new kit Sunday which feels a little strange because I have never raced in anything other than the Final Kick Sports gear. But my new J&A Racing kit is pretty sporty and super comfortable, so I am excited about racing in it for the first time this weekend.

New Season, New Colors

I also have a bit of a shoe dilemma for the race this weekend. Hmm, the Launch or the Green Silence? The Green Silence is a little lighter and faster but the integrated tongue makes it a little tougher to put on fast in transition. The Launch is slightly heavier but goes on easier. It’s a nice problem to have as they are both great shoes. I will figure it out.

One final note: the final rankings for 2009 are out and for the first time I am a USA Triathlon All American. For many of the guys I train with, and compete against this is old hat; but it is the first time for me so I am excited about it. Hopefully I can do it again this year.

Quick Update

2010-04-16T11:22:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone. Things have been hectic so it’s been awhile since I have a chance to post. The training is going well but it has been hard the past few weeks. With Duathlon Nationals looming next weekend and Eagleman not that far off, Supercoach has really been putting the screws to us. I am definitely carrying some fatigue right now but I should be able to rest up a little next week before the race.

I have been nursing a sore calf the past couple of weeks, but thanks to a couple of visits to my friends at Balance, it is feeling a lot better. So although I am a little tired, I am feeling healthy heading into a big weekend.

I did have the opportunity to go back home to NC for a few days last week. It was a really nice weekend; got to visit with friends and family and got a couple of great training sessions in as well. There is definitely no place like home.

Finally, a big thank you to PowerBar for sending me all this great stuff.

Shamrock Weekend in Pictures

2010-03-29T09:23:00.000-04:00

Here are just a few photos from Shamrock weekend, many of which were shot by superstar Livestrong fundraiser, Cindy Graf.

Also, if you have never been behind the scenes of a big race and you are curious about what it is like, check this out. Steph put together a video that showcases the work that the staff and volunteers do during race weekend and all the fun they have as well. From the kickoff reception, to packet pickup, to the races and finally the staff after party, it was a blast and the video tells the story well.

Me with friend, sponsor and race director extraordinaire, Amy Frostick (the "A" in J&A Racing).

Sunrise at the Neptune statue. This larger than life Virginia Beach landmark is where the race finishes.

It was a beautiful beach weekend

Leprechaun Bob - Road Racing's best Master of Ceremonies.

My brother in law Brad after finishing his first marathon!

Shamrock Training Team member, Judy Brandt after finishing her first half marathon!

Good times as always in the post race tent.

Greg and I doing some course cleanup after the marathon. Happy or delirious? Maybe a bit of both.

Me and Steph at the after-party for the staff.

Two guys who know A LOT about putting on races - and me.

Race director, Jerry Frostick thanks the volunteers and celebrates another successful Shamrock weekend.

Race Week Results

2010-03-23T13:39:00.000-04:00

Wow, huge weekend for J&A Racing. The Shamrock Sportsfest was a huge success and sunny skies and temperatures around 70 both days didn't hurt. J&A athletes in other areas laid down some strong performances as well. I am still compiling pictures from the weekend and I will post a photo essay later this week. For now though, here is a quick recap of the weekend:

Shamrock Training Team - In a word, Awesome! Seeing the training team members cross the finish line was inspiring to say the least. So many great performances in both the half and the full marathon. I had the best time watching you guys finish and talking to you afterwards. Thank you for a great 16 weeks and I hope to see you all back next year.

Josh Dixon - 10th overall and 1st in his age group at the Cary Duathlon in NC. A great start to the year for Josh who is working hard getting ready for the Boise 70.3 in June.

Brian Causey - Laid down a huge PR at the Wrightville Beach Half Marathon. He told me earlier in the week he hoped to break 1:40. Well, he ran a beautiful negative split for a 1:34.

Brad Davis - Unbelievable performance at Shamrock! From self proclaimed "couch potato" to "marathon finisher" in 20 weeks. Not bad at all. You are just getting started man, great things to come for sure.

Congrats to everyone who gave it their all this weekend and got it done.

Race Week!

2010-03-15T13:22:00.000-04:00

This is shaping up to be a big week as I have athletes racing from Virginia Beach to North Carolina to Rome, Italy. Yes, Rome. Roy Flowers takes on the Rome Marathon this weekend in hopes of grabbing that Boston slot that just barely eluded him in Phoenix a couple of months ago. Go get it man, you are ready.

Here at home, Shamrock week is finally here. It's such a great race and I am looking forward to seeing our Shamrock Training Team get it done this weekend. We have over 100 team members split between the half marathon and the marathon; most of whom will be tackling the distance for the first time. they have all trained hard and they have been a lot of fun to work with. It has been a blast watching them progress as athletes, make new friends and learn to enjoy running. Good luck to all of you, you are going to do great.

Also, congratulations to North Carolina based triathlete Brian Causey, who took second in his age group last weekend at the Azalea Festival Sprint Triathlon in Wilmington. He has been working hard and it paid off Saturday with his first podium finish. BC was excited about this result and rightfully so, but he doesn't get to bask in the glory for long. He will be getting after it again this Sunday as he goes for a personal best at the Wrightville Beach Half Marathon. Good luck BC.

PowerBar Team Elite

2010-03-11T08:35:00.000-05:00

Wow, I could not be more excited about this. I just found out that I have been selected for PowerBar Team Elite! I couldn't be happier, and to be honest I am a little surprised. It's such a competitive program and so many talented athletes apply for it. To actually make the team is awesome, and a little overwhelming. Either way, I am really fired up to be representing such an iconic company.

I was joking with supercoach Janda this morning that my success last season was probably 10% training and preparation, and 90% cookies and cream flavored Powerbars. Now I guess I can have as many as I want so there is really no excuse not to have a great season. I wonder how many I could eat in a year? Hmmmm.

PowerBar has such a comprehensive product line. Yes, I have my favorites but there are so many things that I have yet to try, like the Protein Plus Bites, the Gel Blasts and the Recovery Beverage just to name a few. I can't wait.

What's in the Bag?

2010-03-05T10:37:00.000-05:00

Hey, what's this? I don't remember ordering anything and Christmas has come and gone.

Hmmm, Seattle, Washington? Oh, I know, this must be a package from my friends at Brooks. Let's have a look.

Wow, very cool! I may even glow in the dark wearing this.

Definitely ready to race now!

Thanks to a visit to my friends at Balance Therapeutic Massage, I am recovering well from Sunday's race and getting set for a big weekend. I have a 15 miler tomorrow and the weather looks good for Sunday, so hopefully we can escape the clutches of the indoor trainer and log some miles in the fresh air.

Colonial Half Marathon

2010-03-01T10:40:00.000-05:00

HOLY HILLS!! I was mentally prepared to do some climbing but this course was definitely more than I bargained for. This is a beautiful course; unbelievably scenic as it weaves through the William and Mary campus, through the woods and then through Kingsmill resort. But the scenery definitely comes at a price. Up and down the whole way, just relentless. The terrain was interesting to say the least. About two-thirds of the race is run on a semi-paved trail through the woods and there were a couple of sections of fresh, soft mulch. Yes, mulch. They were short sections, maybe a couple hundred meters at most but it was enough to make me yell out, “MULCH! Seriously!?” And I am pretty sure at one point, when we transitioned from trail to residential area that we actually cut through someone’s front yard. Odd, but we had to get back to the road somehow. The race actually finishes inside the William and Mary basketball arena which is pretty cool. Feels like you are finishing at the Olympics except there are only 60 people in the stands instead of 60,000. :)

This might be the hardest course I have ever run and by my watch (and Dave’s) it was about a tenth and a half long. Ugh. In their defense, it is probably pretty tough to measure a course like that properly. That said, it was a great early season test. I came in at 1:22 which was good enough for second in my age group, but more importantly, I felt strong all day. Even when things got really tough down the stretch, I kept fighting through the last hills, held pace and got home. I’m really happy with how I ran and I think the same effort on a flat course (preferably 13.1 miles not 13.25) with good pavement would look significantly better as far as time goes. So I am really happy with where I am right now.

I am also happy with my shoes. The Brooks Launch felt great; light and responsive and they have a little more cushion than a regular flat which came in really handy taking all those descents yesterday. And the color scheme drew several glances and even earned me a couple of complements.

Dave and Me Getting Ready to Warm Up

Season Starts This Weekend

2010-02-25T20:13:00.000-05:00

February has been a busy month. The Shamrock Training Team has just about made it to the taper and I know they are happy about it. The race is just 3 weeks away and we are looking forward to seeing them achieve their goal of finishing their first marathon or half marathon. The cycling workshop is also still going on and our folks are working hard. I know they are going to see big improvements on the bike this year.

As for me, the season officially starts this weekend as I will be racing the Colonial Half Marathon in Williamsburg. I am hoping to run well but more importantly, it's a good opportunity to see where I am and what I need to work on in the coming weeks. It will be great to put a number on again and just let it rip.

I do get to race in my snazzy new Brooks Launch this weekend which will be fun. I love these shoes and this color scheme will definitely stand out. I hope I do well because it will be tough to hide in these.

Gitty-Up!

Recovery Week

2010-02-10T10:33:00.000-05:00

After 5 weeks of solid training I have been granted a recovery week; a chance to throttle back on the mileage and intensity and recharge a bit. I am really happy with this block of training and this week will help me absorb the hard work I have put in over the past month or so. The training load is light this week and my focus is REST.

Look at that late wake-up call! Yee-Ha!

Of course, no recovery week would be complete without a visit to my friends at Balance. They have an awesome staff and they take great care of me. My legs have taken some serious abuse lately so they definitely have their work cut out for them today.

Let the healing begin!

This weekend is Valentines Day and that can only mean one thing: That's right it's the Virginia is for Lovers 14k this Saturday. Last year’s inaugural event was a huge success and this year promises to be even better. Many of you are racing this weekend and we hope that you are as excited about it as we are. This is a J&A race, so you know you can count on a flat, fast course with plenty of support, an awesome t-shirt, a surprise finisher item and of course, an awesome post race party with plenty of great food and beer. I will be manning the relay exchange point, better known as Cupid's Corner, where couples teams will exchange kisses, sweet nothings and timing chips, haha. Should be lots of fun.

Winter Wonderland

2010-01-30T15:13:00.000-05:00

They said it might snow, but they always say it might snow. Well, this time it did. I have been here in Virginia Beach for 8 years and I don't remember ever seeing anything like this. It's pretty exciting.

It makes you want to just sit around and watch it all day - drink hot chocolate - sit by the fire - maybe even go out and build a snowman. Oh, wait, I have work to do on the bike. Rats! Hmm, I wonder if Janda would let me take a snow day? He lives 8 hours north of me so I am guessing no. Surely he would chuckle at our measly 5-7 inches of powder. Better get to training.

As usual the weather was perfect in the Pain Cave. Ideal for threshold intervals.

Despite a wind chill in the teens, I warmed up enough to open the door and enjoy the scenery a bit. Didn't make it hurt any less though.

Quick Update

2010-01-25T13:35:00.001-05:00

Sorry for the silence on the line lately. Between the training, the cycling workshop, the Shamrock Training Team and a flood of new athletes I am working with personally, the days are getting away from me. I promise to be better about posting and I also promise to post more pictures. We just got a really nice new camera, so as soon as I figure out how to use it, this blog should liven up a bit.

Aside from being a little short on time things are going well. I feel great and I am finally starting to shed a bit of the holiday weight. Good thing too; the Colonial Half Marathon is only 5 weeks away.

Rock n' Roll Arizona

2010-01-17T18:15:00.000-05:00

Once again, huge congrats to Virginia Beach runner, Roy Flowers who ran an absolute gem in Phoenix today. He worked really hard for this one and he was rewarded with a 3:16, a 41 minute personal best!! He is officially knocking on the Boston door and it is just a matter of time. Next up for Roy, the Rome Marathon on March 21st.

"In bocca al lupo"

Team Brooks

2010-01-06T21:29:00.000-05:00

Hope everyone is doing well and getting their new year off to a good start. I just wanted to pass along that I have been selected for the Brooks Performance and Coaching Elite (P.A.C.E.) Team for 2010. I am really excited about it. Brooks is a great company and a long time icon in the running world. I am flattered that they chose me to represent them and I am extremely proud to be a part of the Brooks team.

Things are busy on the coaching front. The Shamrock Training Team and the Winter Cycling Program are in full swing and everyone is working hard and doing great. I have also started working with a few triathletes from my home town of Wilmington, NC. They are old buddies of mine, and I am looking forward to coaching them this year.

I am training hard once again and I couldn't be happier about it. I have a power test this weekend and I am already getting pumped up.

Finally, I wanted to congratulate my buddy Dave Smith who has been selected for the 2010 Zoot Ultra Triathlon Team. He is a talented athlete and a great guy, and he really deserves it.

Here We Go - It's About Time!

2009-12-31T10:59:00.000-05:00

Well, tomorrow is the first day of the year and that can only mean one thing: the off season is officially over. Regardless of whether your first big race is in April or August, New Years Day always seems to trigger that voice in your head that says, “Ok, play time is over, now it’s time to get serious.” The holidays are done, all the yummy holiday foods and desserts have been consumed and the New Years Eve partying and debauchery will soon be a memory. It’s almost time to get after it.

Personally, I couldn’t be more ready. This year I have come to the conclusion that I despise the off season. I always look forward to it as the season draws to a close, but once I get there I find it really hard to deal with. I recognize the importance of the off season, but that period where you are trying to just “maintain fitness” because it’s too early to really start “building fitness” is tough for me. I enjoy training hard and I also enjoy some time completely off after the season, but the time in between where you are just sort of treading water is excruciating. It zaps my motivation and makes me anxious. But now the calm is over and the storm is here. The return of structure, discipline, pain and fatigue is upon me……… Finally, haha. Bring it!

Balance Therapeutic Massage

2009-12-23T14:14:00.000-05:00

I am excited to announce that I have a new sponsor; Balance Therapeutic Massage in Virginia Beach. Massage is such an important part of successful training and racing and one that we often forget. A regular visit to a massage therapist does wonders for recovery and can help you stay injury free. Balance has a great staff and I know they are going to take excellent care of me this year. If you are in the Virginia Beach area, check out their website or drop by their location in the Hilltop Regency Shopping Center.

Power Test Night

2009-12-18T13:55:00.000-05:00

We are having a lot of fun with our cycling program. Dave and I have a great group of triathletes that are really eager to improve this winter. We are a week into the program and Wednesday night was power test night. Nothing hurts like a power test but it's a necessary evil that allows us to pinpoint their training zones and customize their workouts. When they test again in a month or so, they will see some good improvement for sure.

Hurts so good!

As I watched them suffer through it I was so happy that I wasn't testing, but after they were done, I was jealous that I didn't partake in the pain. Oh well, Janda says we will be testing after the first of the year, so the pain is a comin for us soon enough.

Vegas Baby!

2009-12-07T21:46:00.000-05:00

I want to congratulate Virginia Beach runner, Roy Flowers who ran a solid 1:34 at the Las Vegas Half Marathon this past weekend. Roy is a hard worker in training and he likes to race.... a lot. He ran the Marine Corps Marathon, Outer Banks Marathon, San Antonio Half and Vegas, all within 7 weeks. That's a lot of tough running in a short amount of time. He flew into Sin City with some pretty tired legs but he paced this race beautifully and earned a great result. Nice job man!

Las Vegas was his 10th half of 2009, and there is no rest for the weary. He is running Rock N Roll Arizona (the marathon) in just 5 weeks, so I have my work cut out for me to get him rested and ready. Like I said, he likes to race.

Exciting Times

2009-11-30T15:22:00.000-05:00

This is an exciting week. The J&A Racing Shamrock Training Team officially starts today! This is going to be a great program aimed at helping beginning and intermediate runners prepare for the Shamrock Marathon or Half Marathon on March 21, 2010. Each runner gets a 16 week training plan, supervised group runs and clinics on Saturdays and unlimited access to the J&A coaching staff so that all their training and racing questions get answered. We had over 70 runners register and their training starts today, although we will formally kick things off with a group run this Saturday from J&A headquarters in Virginia Beach. Jerry has been dreaming about doing something like this for years and we were happy to help him put it all together.

The Shamrock program is plenty enough to keep us busy, but we are also only a week away from kicking off our Winter Cycling Workshop; an indoor trainer based program designed to help triathletes improve their cycling over the Winter and emerge ready to race when Spring breaks. Jerry, myself and Dave have worked really hard to bring this program to life and we are really excited about getting it rolling.

I am also back in the training saddle myself. Super-coach Janda is going to keep things pretty easy for the month of December but it feels good to be back in the routine and off the junk food. It was fun while it lasted, but it’s time to start preparing for next season.

Not So Guilty Pleasures

2009-11-23T21:53:00.000-05:00

Well, the 2009 triathlon season is in the books for me. After the last race of the year I like to take 2 weeks completely off. And I mean off. No training, no racing, no stretching, just complete rest. I think it's a healthy thing to do after a long year because it gives your body and your brain a chance to recover and recharge. Right now I am pretty tired and I need the rest, so I don't feel guilty about taking some time off.

Sorry, not today guys

No can do boys

Oh, absolutely not!!

I worked hard this year and made a lot of sacrifices, so this is my time to relax and do normal person things. I don't wake up at 5am, I stay up late watching football and I watch ESPN until noon on the weekends.

Saturday morning. Now this is more like it.

This is also a time where I let myself eat and drink anything I want. Everything is fair game, so bring on the chips, salsa, beer, ice cream and chocolate.

Mine! All mine!

I love these two weeks because I get to do a lot of things that I miss out on during the year. But by next weekend, I will be itching to get back at it.

70.3 World Championships

2009-11-22T09:10:00.001-05:00

This report got a little longer than I wanted, but I really don’t see anything that I want to cut, so you guys are just going to have to suffer through it, haha.

Pre-Race - Me, Steph, my buddy Dave and his wife Rachel headed down to Florida on Thursday for the Saturday race. Our super-friends and sponsors at J&A Racing, Jerry and Amy Frostick loaned us their monster Ford F-150 for the trip. Awesome. It made the long ride much more comfortable and we had plenty of room for the bikes and gear in the back under the camper shell.

My goal at the beginning of the year was just to qualify for this race, so I was happy just have the opportunity to toe the line down there. Additionally, I suffered a bulging disc in my lower back in July, which forced me to take 8 weeks off from running when I really needed to be getting after it. I lost some training time but recovered well and had a great September and October. Heading down to Florida, I felt really fit but I really didn’t know how it was going to go.

The day before the race went pretty smooth but we did get thrown a curve with the swim. Hurricane Ida blew through a couple of days before and the lingering breeze was making the Gulf really choppy. They decided to move the swim course to the harbor which no one was really happy about. The ocean swim course is about as easy as it gets; swim straight out with sighting buoys every 50 meters, make a quick U-turn and swim straight back in. The harbor course would be a little more challenging to navigate. That said, kudos to the race staff for making that call early in the day on Friday and taking the time to print up a flyer with an explanation for why the course was moved, along with a map of the new course.

Dave and me at Athlete Check-In

That night, we met up with wonder-coach Janda, his new wife Michelle and a handful of other “Team Janda” athletes from across the country. Janda made the trip just to watch us race which meant a lot to all of us. We had a nice dinner, some good conversation and then headed back to the condo to get some rest.

Race Day – I felt about as good as I have ever felt during the warm-up. My legs were springy and rested, and I felt really relaxed. I knew I was prepared and I felt really confident that I was going to have a good one. The weather was absolutely perfect. The wind had vanished overnight, the temp was in the low 60s and a high of 80 was forecasted along with clear skies.

Got some last minute advice from Janda, kissed my wife, jumped into the harbor and I was off. The swim went well but on the way out it was really hard to see. The sun was low and right in your face and it made sighting for the first 10-12 minutes almost impossible. I know I zig-zagged a little and probably lost some time as a result. Oh well, I got out in a little over 32 minutes which is about where I thought I would be. Flew through transition, grabbed my bike and I was off.

Complaining about the drafting in Clearwater has become almost cliché, so I won’t bother. I will just tell you what I saw and how I chose to deal with it, right or wrong. The ride was completely normal for the first hour or so; just like a regular 70.3. Pretty congested at the beginning but nothing crazy. There was some bunching up but mostly due to a lot of people hitting the bike course at the same time. The bike course is fast!! It’s flat and the roads are perfectly paved so you are just cruising. I went through the 25 mile mark in a little less than an hour so I knew my goal watts were producing some good speed.

Shortly after the 25 mile mark things got interesting. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a very large bike roll by me, piloted by a super-lean, super-tall sculpture wearing a red, black and yellow tri-suit. I instantly dubbed him the “Giant German.” GG was a stud, and he was blasting along at about 28mph. In his wake was a string of 8-12 guys with no more than 2 feet between their wheels. Some of the guys weren’t even in the aerobars; they were just sitting on the horns soft pedaling. I had heard the drafting stories but I had always chalked it up to guys that were just whining because they were disappointed that they went down there and didn’t stack up as well as they thought they would. I now realized that was naiveté on my part. Not really knowing how to handle the situation, I decided to set up camp 10 meters back of the last guy in GG’s unsolicited entourage, thinking I could sit in a legal position and grab some of the draft at a reasonable effort. But GG was just cranking too hard. At 10 meters back, I was still pushing almost 300 watts trying to stay in contact with the pack. I conceded, and let GG and his peloton of minions roll away. It was pretty disheartening.

Yes, people draft at Clearwater

After that, a steady stream of packs came rolling by; one every 15 minutes or so. Each time I did the same thing; set up 10 meters back of the last guy and gauged the effort. If it was doable, I would ride there for a bit, if not I would let them go. It’s an uncomfortable feeling. Even though you are in a legal position, you are saving watts for sure. So even though you are within the rules, it makes you feel dirty. But it’s easy to rationalize it when you are starring at 15 guys in a blatantly illegal Tour de France style pack just 10 meters up the road. It’s tough to deal with but it’s just a different race down there. Sadly, the drafting has become “part of the race” in Clearwater, and every athlete has to decide for themselves how they want to deal with it. If I ever go back, I am going to make sure I am as fit as the Giant German on the bike. He was just crushing that course and didn’t even seem to care that people were wheel-sucking behind him. He just kept hammering away. I bet the guys in his wake outran him with their draft-rested legs, but Giant German is my hero regardless.

The bike went by in a flash and I rolled into T2 with a 2:12 split. An amazing number for me, but in the grand scheme of the race it was only slightly above average. I had a great T2 and hit the run course feeling good. It’s funny, I think we all think and daydream about time scenarios leading up to a big race. In training, I was thinking if things went well during the swim and the bike that I could hit the run course at about 2:50 into the race. Then all I would have to do is run sub 1:30 to break 4:20. Amazingly enough, I left T2 and crossed the timing mat at 2:49:50. Seriously, 10 seconds better than my dream scenario. Ok, it’s on now, I gotta get this done.

The run is a 2 loop course that includes a monster bridge that you have to run 4 times. It’s comparable to the Pungo Ferry Bridge if you are from Virginia Beach or the Snow’s Cut Bridge for you Wilmingtonians. You hit the bridge about a mile and a half into the run, so my plan was to run that first 1.5 miles steady and not to push. I just wanted to use that first mile+ to shake off the bike, make sure my gut was stable and get all the blood flowing to the right places for running. Then, once I hit the bridge, would increase the effort and start really paying attention to pace and time. Much to my delight I hit the first mile marker in 6:46. Yee-ha, the warm-up mile was below 1:30 pace so as long as I didn’t do anything stupid it was gonna be good. After that, I clicked off 9 6:35s in a row, just like clockwork. It was awesome, every mile came easy through the first loop and about halfway through the second. Janda, and Michelle were out on the course with Steph and Rachel yelling encouragement. The run course is very spectator friendly so I got to see my cheering section 4 times which really helped. I was having a great day but I couldn’t believe how fast some guys were running. Every few minutes a guy would scream by at what had to be sub-6 pace. How do they do that?

Run loop 2; holding on for dear life

Shortly after the last turnaround I hit the 10 mile mark and things started to come apart a little bit. My legs started hurting really bad so I just kept telling myself that I had less than 20 minutes left in the season. I was running as hard as I could but my watch was telling me that I was slowing from my earlier pace. I just had to get over the monster bridge one last time and that would be about it. Trudged up the bridge and finally made it to the top. I felt near death at that point, but amazingly I managed to notice how awesome the view is from up there. Clearwater is a beautiful place and you can see everything from the top of the bridge.

Descending the bridge my legs were on fire. If they had spontaneously combusted and burst into flames I wouldn’t have been a bit surprised. Finally, I made it to the finish chute and saw Steph. I was so happy to get there. It was such a satisfying day, and as usual my emotions took over afterward. I sobbed on Steph’s shoulder in the finish corral which, sadly, is becoming a regular occurrence for me in these big races. I’m such a softy.

I ended up running a 1:27 and finished in 4:17; actually 4:17:01. Rats! I should have sprinted and dove for 4:16:59. I was 34th in my age group and the 15th American. I am really proud of how I raced and definitely ready for a break now. That said, I can’t wait for next year.

The sun sets on a great day

Blue Moon Wicked 10k

2009-11-20T13:24:00.000-05:00

The inaugural Blue Moon Wicked 10k. Another fabulous idea from J&A Racing that came to life in grand style on Halloween day. The staff at J&A has an uncanny knack for combining running and racing with really good causes for celebration. A J&A race is never just a race; it’s always an event, an experience and a reason to let loose and enjoy yourself. With that in mind, a race on Halloween shouldn’t have surprised anyone and the occasion provided that signature J&A atmosphere that always tends to bring out the best in us.

When you sign up for a J&A race, you know you are going to get a good course, a smooth packet pickup, great race shirts and a great post race party with good food and live music. We almost take it for granted. Wicked lived up to all those expectations. The course was fast, the shirts were cool, The Blue Moon beer was great, the Beach Bully barbeque rocked and Rock Star Parking sounded great on a perfect day at the beach.

My wife works for J&A, so every time one of their races comes around, I have to fight tooth and nail to get out of volunteer duty so I can run. Earlier this year, I volunteered at Shamrock and Virginia is for Lovers, so I was due to get a chance to race. Plus, I needed this race as a last minute tune-up for Clearwater. Unfortunately Steph had other ideas for me, like being her assistant for the costume contest. No way. I had to find some way to get a race number. I started a lengthy and cutthroat negotiation process with Steph which turned out to be very costly for me. In the end it was decided that I could run the race which was the good news. The bad news however, was that in addition to my racing flats and race number, I would only be allowed to wear two items of clothing; a Halloween Speedo and a mullet wig. Yikes. Not ideal to be sure but I needed to run. And hey, at least my outfit wouldn’t slow me down.

I had a good time with this in the weeks leading up to the race. Ordering the Speedo, trying it on and modeling for Steph and shopping for a mullet wig were lots of fun, but on race morning when it came time to lose my shorts and release the black cat, I felt really uneasy. Personality wise, I am a bit reserved to say the least, so this is not the kind of thing I do on a regular basis. When I thought about it beforehand, I was thinking there would be lots of costumes and I would just blend in. Nope. There were lots of costumes but I didn’t blend in at all. A naked guy with a mullet always stands out no matter what. People were in hysterics as I jogged by on my way to the starting line. There were people taking pictures of me that didn’t even know me. Kinda spooky. Definitely much more attention than I bargained for.

Finally, the gun sounded and it was time to race. The race fell at the very end of the last big training block for Clearwater so I went into it pretty tired. I wasn’t sure what my legs were going to give me, but when I took off at the start I could tell it was going to be good. I ran steady 5:55s for the first 4 miles and before I knew it I was alone in 4^th place. I saw lots of friends along the way; some cheering on the side and others were actually racing. They would all nearly die laughing when “Naked Joel” ran by. I managed to pound out a couple of 5:50s for miles 5 and 6, and slipped in just below 37 minutes. It was a personal best for me, but I was more excited to get back to the car and put some real shorts on.

Post race party was a blast. We had a few beers and celebrated a great race and a fabulous fall day at the beach. For Dave and me, it was extra special because the finish line at Wicked marked the beginning of our taper for Clearwater. At this point, the hay was in the barn and all that was left to do was rest up and race.

** There were lots of costumes that were better than mine that day. A few are below:

Ironman Louisville

2008-09-05T07:30:00.000-04:00

Saturday morning. This was my first real look at the transition area after it was fully set up. Definitely nervous at this point.

Things are crazy at the hotel the day before the race. Everyone is trying to get their bikes down to the transition area and the result is complete gridlock; sort of like the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel on a Friday afternoon. So we had to get sneaky and use the service elevator.

One of the cool things about Ironman is that you get your own sherpa for check-in. They walk you through the whole transition area and show you where everything is, where to go and where to put your stuff. My sherpa's name was Claudia.

Saturday afternoon. I was trying to convince myself that I was strong. It wasn't really working.

Time to Race! First up - good times in the mighty Ohio. (Photo: Stolen from Brad)

Out of the water - finally. Not my best swim, and I got on the bike a little tired and a little seasick. (Photo: Action Sports International)

Fighting the hills while trying to shake off the effects of the swim. The first 35 miles were not much fun. (Photo: Action Sports International)

Starting to feel better finally.

Finally, some flat ground. The last 25 miles or so were downhill with a slight tailwind. Lots of fun. (Photo: Action Sports International)

Hot hot hot!!!!! 93 degrees on the run course. I ran pretty well considering. Until I puked at least. (Photo: Action Sports International)

I stole this one from Brad too. This is the best Ironman finish line in the world! Well, this is the only one that I have seen so my opinion may be a little biased.

The finish line is even better when you actually get there!!! Although I do hate that they can't adjust the clock with a time trial start. (Photo: Action Sports International)

This is about 2 minutes after the finish so the adrenaline is still flowing. About 5 minutes later, the adrenaline goes away and Steph has to drag me to medical. (Photo: Action Sports International)

Me and the best Ironman Cheerleader ever. Spectating these races is not easy and it's a long day. Steph may have been as tired as I was. Well, almost.

I have received a few comments about Steph's hand placement, a la Ellen Griswald at the end of "Christmas Vacation." She was actually holding my race number down at the photographer's request. It's still funny though. (Photo: Action Sports International)

How about some post-race refreshments? Forget Endurox and Gatorade for recovery; streaming saline is the way to go. I felt remarkably better after two bags, although I was freezing and my teeth chattered for an hour afterwards.

After Steph snapped this picture, she came over and sat beside me. She told me that I did great for the tenth time in as many minutes. Only this time, she added, "But I'm still the fastest marathoner." It's funny because it's true.

Sorry Jerry. Any other time I would have got out of the car and run this in your honor, but I just couldn't do it Tuesday.