Half way to Hy-Vee

Well its been a month since my crash at Lifetime and we are about the half way point between there and the big race of the year, Hy-Vee, so thought it might be time for an update.

The ribs are healing. Once I had x-rays done they confirmed there were no breaks in the bones.They think the pain and trouble breathing and exercising is due to cracks in the cartilage along with some bruising of the muscles and bones. So it's not worse case, just painful, and the worst part is rest is the only real treatment. I have been going to Ti-Massage here in Boulder to use the cold laser and the e-stem machines on it as well as some soft tissue work to help speed up the process.

I took that initial week completely off and enjoyed a wonderful pre-baby road trip around the mountains in CO. Got to see some beautiful scenery which helped take my mind of the ribs. Once I got back it was two weeks of pretty much biking only, with some very short swims and some water running. Finally, this past week I was able to get in a couple decent runs, and some more substantive swim work which has boosted the fitness and the confidence a bit. The whole time I have been riding a lot, including winning yesterday's Lookout Mtn Hill Climb in the Cat 4's followed by a 5.5 hr ride in the hills.

Now I have three weeks to put in some good hard work before blowing out the legs at Chicago and then a final week of prep for the throw down in Des Moines. Now that I have gotten more back into the swing of training I am feeling better mentally about getting ready and the body doesn't seem to far behind. I know injuries are bound to happen and I know you are supposed to only worry about the things you can control, but that is always easier said than done. Especially when you are expecting a lil man in about 3 months!

On other fronts, Natalie and I have been busy starting to get ready for the baby. Spent a solid 4hrs at the newly opened Ikea in Denver and now have a lot of boxes in the house that need assembly. Lucky for me the swim team is on their break so I have a few more afternoons now to get things done, and just rest up around my workouts. Natalie is at 30 weeks this week and although tired a lot now, the baby seems to be doing awesome.

I am starting to get the itch to race again and really look forward to the next few weeks of prep work and then the racing. Not a lot of races left on the calendar but they all matter now for one series or another so its time to up the game. Its been great to watch the swimming word championships and the ITU races in London for motivation and inspiration these last few weeks.

Game time 27 days and counting...

3rd time not a charm

So far I have been to Minneapolis for the Lifetime race twice and both times there has been a bit of an issue, which is most definitely not to say anything bad about the race because I actually really like the race. Last year I went there as my first race back from a stress fracture in my foot and I was on course record pace until the run, which I hadn't done in 6 weeks and, needless to say didn't go well. This year was a bit of a different story as going in I was running better than ever, riding and swimming well and really looking forward to a great race!

Race morning started well, good breakfast of EFS and oatmeal, hopped on the bus and got to the Lake plenty early for a good warm up. I actually didn't feel good during the warm up but from past experiences with swim meet and races, feeling bad during warm up is almost a good thing for the race. The weather was cool and windy and it rained a bit right before the swim start, just enough to get the oil to the surface of the roads and make the the rough roads that much trickier.

Lifetime brought back the equalizer this year so the men started 10:43 behind the women and on the horn I ran into the water and jumped right on Andy's feet. I had a good swim exiting right with him and we had put about 30 sec into the the other guys which is a solid effort. Once on the bikes I slammed some Hulk Juice (remember 1 EFS vanilla gel, 1 EFS lemon lime scoop, 1/2 scoop pre race) and took off. I got away from Andy pretty quickly and by the half was point had a decent lead. When you race in urban areas there are lots of cops stopping traffic for you but some times they aren't paying attention. My first incident was coming up to a crossing I had to start screaming at a cop to get him to stop the cars, and luckily he did, first crash avoided!

Then about 1/2 way through the bike a dude out for a ride got an ear full from me as he came to a screetching halt just shy of T-boning me at another intersection, 2nd crash avoided.

I hammered out a good pace for the second half although I was a bit cautious around some turns because of the wet which I know cost me a bunch of time. I had passed a few more girls and was heading back into T2 in the lead, feet were on the pedals, 100 yds from the dismount and then incident number 3. An age grouper came out of transition and tried to do a flying mount onto his bike, however, from lack of practice or body control he began to go through the line of cones and into my lane. I slammed on my breaks and road over to the left as far as I could to avoid him but my C75 met the curb and I did a slow motion flip over the bars and onto said curb. 3rd crash NOT avoided!!!

I jumped up looked at the bike, seemed to be ok. Felt for issues with my limbs, seemed to be ok so I jumped back on the bike only to find the chain off. So I hopped off and ran the last 100yds into T2. To add insult to my injury Matty rode by me during my jog. Mentally I was absolutely pissed and physically so jacked on adrenaline that I could have fought Tyson. Racked my bike and started running with Matty and a couple girls. As we exited T2 I could feel I had bashed my hip pretty good but running didn't seem to make it worse so I kept going. I ran well for about 2 mi and then slowly the hip started to hurt more and the boys began to get closer behind me and my mind started to fight me as to whether it was worth it to continue. I just kept putting one foot in front of the other and trying to focus on my running form.

Half way through the 2nd lap I realized I was still in 5th and there was no one really that close behind so it was time to shut up and finish. I got home with no more incident and headed straight to the med tent. Pulled my suit down a bit and had a personal best strawberry on my hip and a pretty awesome bruised feeling in my ribs. I tried to stay calm and luckily no one ever told me who had wrecked me. I am guessing that exchange would not have been good for anyone.

After a bit of time to cool off, and a change of clothes I was over it, or at least a little less pissed. The race director and the Toyota Cup people both sincerely apologized, which after the incidents already this year at Cap Tex was greatly appreciated. I am still young and I tried to take something away from the accident for future use. Here is what I have so far:

- #$%& happens when racing. Control what you can, hope for the best.

- If you can physically finish, DO. One DNF can lead to a lot, not a habit I want to start.

- At least I fall well, my helmet has no scratches and the body could def be way worse!

Not sure if the USAT officials ever found out who hit me but to all the age groupers out there please, please stay on your side of the road. You are out there competing and racing and I love that, but as someone who does it for a living and needs to be in one piece these kinds of incidents are scary!

Now its time for a road trip with Natalie, luckily had planned an easy week for this one so letting the ribs and hip heal will fit right into the plan. Next up Chicago and Hy-Vee...the big ones are about to start!!!

Philly Tri weekend

The third stop on the Race for the Toyota Cup was in Philadelphia, PA this past weekend. For me it was a chance to race again after a few good training weeks at home and also an opportunity to hang out with and meet the people from my bike sponsor, Kestrel, which along with Fuji is based in Philly. The people of the Advanced Sports team not only make the best bikes out there but they are definitely some of the best people in the sport!

Going into the weekend I was really pleased with the way training had been going and was excited to toe the line again with Andy, Matt, and the rest of the usual suspects. The couple days before the race went great with some light workouts, a lil party at Cadence cycles and the the VIP dinner at the St Joe's boat house.

Race morning came bright and early at 4am and after my standard oatmeal and EFS breakfast rode down the hill to the race start with Matty. After setting up the transition and a quick warm up it was onto a bus that took us up the river a bit to the start. Now I won't say the Schuylkill river is certainly not the cleanest water on the planet but since the rain held off it was just a nice muddy brown color. If you ask Pip Taylor, who had a rough go with some swallowed Schuylkill, it was awful but I luckily had no such mishaps.

Once the gun went off I got out fast and once I was clear of most of the group dropped in behind Potts and held on for dear life. The guy was an all-american in college and still swims like it. I held his feet for most of it and then lost a bit of time near the 1k mark but coming out was only down about 10 sec which I knew I could make up in T1. The best part was that we had separated from the main group and were leaving on the 4000's on clear road. As we rolled out we both put in good efforts on the first hills and went back and forth for the majority of the first lap. I was able to finally get some time up Lemon hill and then hold on as we bombed back down Black's road to complete lap one when I realized I wasn't able to shift my rear derailleur,CRAP!

So after a quick mental pro's/con's list I decided I had to stop and fix the cable or I was gonna toast my legs on the climbs the 2nd lap. So I slammed on the brakes, watched Andy fly by, and jumped back on. Lead gone, now playing catch up, and trying to keep the adrenaline under control. I hammered away but didn't catch him until Lemon hill again and although I was able to get a bit of a lead into T2 it was certainly not the substantial one I was hoping for.

I tore out of T2 dodging age groupers coming out of the water and doing my best to find some relaxed speed. Problem was I didn't seem to have either. As we neared mile 2 Andy caught and passed me and when I tried to step on the gas there just wasn't anything there. At the turn around I could see Bennett and Reed hammering out a fast clip and by mile 4 they had gotten me as well. I was struggling to stay relaxed and when I get tired I had a bad habit of leaning backwards, which I am sure I was doing the whole run.

Luckily, I had done enough on the swim and bike that my less that awesome 10k was enough to keep me in 4th. I am certainly not happy with the result but the effort was there and in a series that has 7 races and you can score 5, I think 4th was good enough to not have to throw away. Only time will tell, but I am excited to be heading back to Minneapolis in a couple weeks, and unlike last year coming off a stress fractured foot this year I will be ready to run! I was also happy that even with the quick pit stop on the bike I got the bike prime which is good. You never know when you will need that extra 1/2 a point!

Thanks to the race organizers for putting on a wonderful event, and to the guys at Advanced Sports for being awesome hosts! A weekend in Boulder and then as Jay-Z says, "It's on to the next one..."

It's a BOY!!

This past weekend I did not race. In an effort to write about something other than a race this is the most exciting news I have gotten recently. Last Tuesday, Natalie and I went in for the 20 week untra sound of our baby. We had decided we both wanted to know the sex so we were excited to finally be able to call the growing baby a he or she. Almost as soon as the tech started she paused on a screen and said, "Yes that is definitely a boy!" As we looked closer we realized that our lil man has potential to be a swimmer as he is not very modest at all, just sort of sprawled out with it all hanging loose. The best part is that everything else seems to be in the right place and as of now he has a clean bill of health.

I gotta say I am psyched to be having a boy. I feel like a boy is sort of the like the training wheels of parenting. Now that's not to say boys are easy, but I feel they are definitely easier. They seem a little less breakable, and have way less drama. Although lately I had been looking for shot guns and rocking chairs and watching Bad Boys II. There is a great scene in their where the two guys grill an unsuspecting kid that came by to pick up the daughter. If you have ever seen my brother it is easy to picture the two of us having a similar discussion.

Oh well. Now I guess its all about getting this lil guy some good Hawkeye onesies and deciding what professional sport he will play when he grows up. Oh and a name, still gotta find a name...

CapTex, from bee sting to podium

I guess one of the bigger parts of the race happened on Friday last week the day before I flew down to Austin. I was out for a tempo run and 15 mins into a 60 min run got stung by a bee right between my head band and glasses. I have no bee allergies and forgot about it when I went to bed that night. However, when I woke up the next morning to finish packing my eye was swollen a little and very tender. No big deal, just go through the routine and it will pass with some Benadryl.

WRONG...over the course of Saturday it got progressively worse and when I woke up Sunday morning it was shut. The following pic is from about 10 am on Sunday. I think I look like Sloth from the Goonies but whatever. When I woke it was completely shut but luckily started to open a bit. I was gonna race if it was open enough that I had depth perseption so it was game on as usual, get the pre race workouts in, meeting attended, pizza enjoyed and early to bed. I just hoped the next morning it would be ok.

Race morning the eye was swollen pretty good but not shut so pre race oatmeal, First Endurance EFS and Pre Race and on the bike to ride to the race. I always love races I can ride to. Some people worry about popping tires but I just love the early morning rides through cities and the warm up. At the race site, got things settled in transition, did some loosening and headed to the water for the pontoon start. Thats when it was all about to get real interesting.

On the gun thirty or so guys hit the water and headed to the first right hand turn buoy. The course was just a big rectangle, simple right? Well yes, at least until a See Doo pulls in front of us and tells us we need to follow the paddle boarder and that we were off course. I was annoyed but whatever so we headed after the boarder. Unfortunately, that guy didn't have any idea what was going on and moments later I hear him say I'm wrong head back. WHAT? A professional race was just sabatoged by a couple volunteers??

Dustin and I charged hard and we were able to get all the way back to the front of the group with just a little bit left, or at least we throught. Everything was good until I got to my rack and Pott's Kestrel was gone! I was pissed, totally confused and wondered how a guy that big and fast in the water had disappeared? Now we know he fought the See Doo and went the right way, sometimes it pays to not listen.

On the bike I was mad! At myself, at the volunteers that sent us off the right course, at Andy for somehow getting it right, so I did what I am trained to do, ride as hard as I possibly can! I just started hammering. The bike was a little hilly and really windy but I did everything I could to catch the big guy out front. Lately I have prided myself on the fact that I lead the bike but honestly it was kind of nice to have a carrot dangling out there to chase. It was hot so I was hitting the First Endurance Hulk Juice pretty hard and trying to turn it into the jet fuel to get back the 2:45 Andy started the bike with.

Glad to say it paid off. I got away from the crew, caught Pott's on the last lap and rode the fastest 40k by almost 2 mins over the next best split. As is sometimes the case really hard riding makes for a tough run but I battled hard when Andy caught me and then again when Hunter came by and was able to put in a good blue collar 10k good enough to stay in 3rd. Another podium, made 4 top 3's in 5 weeks, definitely the best month of my career to date. I am making a name for myself, enjoying occasionally rocking the numero uno, and racing fast.

Best part of the trip was my beautiful wife finally felt good enough to make a trip and my lil bro Brandon who recently graduated from CSU came along as well. It was awesome to have a wife and a body guard and all the support I could wish for. Now I have a good 3 weeks to train before the Tri-Wars Battle Royale in Philly on June 26th!

Lessons to learn from the race:

- Roll with the punches, don't get discouraged because something goes wrong, you can still turn in a good result.

- If you are not yet at the start line, don't freak out about things that can possible prevent your race. My eye got better and I raced well. You and your mind can be your best friend or worst enemy.

- Race hard...no matter what. Feel good great. Don't, too bad. You still gotta give it your best.

Rain, Lightning, and a couple stray dogs...MIM

I just got back from my week in Tennessee and I gotta say that southern hospitality lives on. Not only did I have an amazing homestay with my man Tom in Memphis but all the people at the race, the hotel, the restaurants are just plain nice. Not to say Boulder is a hard knock place but it put BOCO to shame...anyway back to the race that was Memphis in May (In Tunica MS).

After a couple good days of race prep in Memphis Tom and I headed down to the Harrah's Veranda hotel for the MIM triathlon. It is an old race that has been going on for years and put on by the same fine people of Start2Finish Racing but this was the first year in a new venue. On the whole I don't think it was better but just different and the guys put on another great race.

Because of the points that were available for Hy-Vee the race was way bigger than normal and quite stacked with good athletes. The catch at MIM is that it is the only race that plans a TT start with 10 sec going between each pro. It doesn't sound like much but it really does split things up over the 1500 and make for a truly non-drafting race.

The forecast was for hot and humid with a chance of rain, so of course we woke up to lightning, thunder and pouring rain. By the time our race was supposed to get underway at 10:30 the rain had come and gone and come again and with it some pretty gnarly lightning. After talking it over the directors decided to wait a bit and try again and then after some coaxing from us point hungry athletes we were gonna just do a bike/run in the TT start if we couldn't swim.

Luckily the weather broke just for a bit and we started the full triathlon about an hour late. I gotta say the TT swim start is really hard because with no mad dash to the water it is hard to get going right away and then just push yourself for the whole swim. I started number 23 but by the time I exited I was in fourth and headed out through a muddy transition onto the bike. After slamming some First Endurace Hulk Juice I hammered the pedals and caught and passed the other riders to take the "lead." The thing about Tunica is it is flat. I mean like salt flats, speed record setting flat. I averaged almost 30 mph and while I consider myself a strong rider thats a solid number to chuck up for 40K. I built a solid lead and felt ok, but after dodging 2 stray dogs, and riding through an inch of standing water and rain the last few miles I didn't feel great starting the run. Once out on course I knew I was in a good place but I was having a lot of trouble breathing.

Not sure if it was the humidity or what but I started to have side stiches and then full on chest cramping making it really hard to breathe while trying to run fast enough to maintain my stagger on Gemmell, Fleischmann, and the other top runners. I never felt good but was able to pound out good enough for 2nd place, even if it was by tenths in an essential tie with Flash. Funny how the first sprint finish of my career never happened because we started 50 sec apart.

It was a tough day, in some crazy weather but I gotta thank the guys at Start2Finish again for getting a full triathlon in for us. I know sometimes race directors have to make tough calls but these guys really had the athletes, and the interests of the Hy-Vee qualifying's best in mind.

Now it is a week here at home before heading down to Austin to Cap-Tex to hopefully keep and add to my lead in the Toyota Cup series. Excited to have my brother and Natalie traveling with me, and excited to redeem my sub par run from this past weekend.

PS. I miss you Grandma, may you rest in peace

Rev3 Knoxville

This past weekend was the second running of the Rev3 olympic distance race in Knoxville, TN. Now those of you that know much about me know I have some southern roots, a grandmother still in TN, and a soft spot for southern cuisine. This trip afforded me an opportunity to take advantage of all the above with a post race trip to Grandma's and some good eating. Unfortunately I was solo for the trip because Natalie is still not feeling great and a week long trip to the south didn't seem like a great idea.

If you have never done a Rev3 race I seriously suggest you check them out! They have trucks, and jumbo-trons and all the bells and whistles of a major organization and they put on some great races. This year that had a TV crew on hand to catch the action and put out little clips both before and during the race in preparation for a syndicated airing later on.

I got to Knoxville on Friday and true to southern hospitality was given the keys to an awesome loft right next to the finish line. A huge thanks to Peter Quinn for generously providing an awesome place to stay! After building the bike it was time to meet up with Greg and his TV crew to film some pre race interviews and some b roll stuff for the tv show. It was nice to see the crew again and talk a little bit about the sport, how to make it better for TV and how this telecast was gonna go. They did a good job of hyping up the race between Leanda/Julie and Matt/Me and at least on the guys side we gave them the show they were looking for. Unfortunately I didn't come out on top, but it was another really solid performance and some motivation for the future.

Morning of the race was cool but the rain was holding off so it was setting up to be good weather for some fast racing. Similar to marathons, if it is warm enough that you are not actually cold, about 60, then it is prime weather for fast racing. Woke up and downed the now ritualistic breakfast of maple and brown sugar oatmeal, EFS lemon lime with a half scoop of First Endurance Pre-Race. I LOVE coffee but just never drink it before a morning race, so gotta get my kick start for somewhere. Then it was time to ride around a bit and end up at transition to set up the bike and go for an easy jog. The weather was chilly and had been for a week so the swim was gonna be a wetsuit one. As a swimmer I would prefer to not wear the wetsuits but since it was so cold glad to have my Blue Seventy Helix.

Before the gun went off we were only allowed about 5 mins in the water so wasn't much of a warm up but got in a few strokes, lined up, and hit the gas. Had a good start going straight to the front and then settled into a good rhythm an led the train out to the first buoy. About half way through the swim I was comfortable leading but the chop on the river once we turned to head back was pretty solid so when Flash came up on my hip I glady dropped in on his feet and took a ride to the dock.

Once on the bikes I slammed some Hulk Juice ( 1 scoop EFS LL, 1/2 scoop Pre-race, 1 vanilla gel) and started to hammer out a good cadence. I caught Flash about 3 miles in and from there on it was time to put the boys in the hurt box. I knew Matty and Yoder were fairly close behind but I kept it moving really trying to hammer the uphills and stay aero on the down hills. For the record, this is the most honest, technical non-draft bike course out there, I LOVE IT! At the one turn around I saw Andrew and Matt and then the main chase group a bit back and knew that there was still room to build a lead so heading into the last major climb I planned on hitting the gas. Ironically, that was the same time when Andrew came up next to me and the video that has been going around of me shaking my head came about. I saw him come up on me and pretty much decided that just was not gonna fly. So in an effort to squash the pass right away I hammered into and up the climb, making sure to rep the 303 as best I could. By the time I got to T2 I didnt know how big a lead I had but it never really matters you still gotta haul on the run so into the Pearl Izumi Transitions I went and onto the run.

Honestly, I have rarely felt better than I did at the start of the run and all the way to the turn around I felt in control. When I hit the turn around I knew I still had a good lead on Matty, but I also know how fast those long ass legs can run and I did what I could to keep upping my effort. With about a mile to go I hit an aid station and just as I was getting out of it I heard them yelling at someone else, NOT GOOD! Matt had run me down in a hurry and as we headed back to transition I could hear the foot steps. When we came by me we were on a slight downhill and I did my best to surge and stay with him. After about a quarter mile though the bike effort set in and I just could not hold the pace. I did what I could up the hill to the line but could never quite make up the gap again.

2nd place is sort of like a back handed compliment. Its good, I mean you need to be happy about beating the quality of people I did and riding as well as I am, but at the same time, that's two in a row where I got caught within the last 2 miles. My running is improving. I ran similar to everyone but Matty so its not like I was slow. You don't like to lose to anyone but I respect Matty and the work he has put in to become the king of this distance and I know what it will take to overthrow him. I was happy but not satisfied and now have plenty of motivation to keep working hard and find a way to hold on to that 9 seconds next time.

Now I am spending the week in Memphis at anther amazing homestay with Tom O'Kelly. Will be a good chance to get in some time in humidity, cut out a trip back and forth to CO, and think about how to best attack this weekend at MIM.

Miss you Natalie!

Rule #87: No excuses, play like a champ

That was the motto as I arrived to transition for my first ever title defense and found out that as they were afraid of the wind was howling and the swim course had been shortened and moved. My first thought was CRAP! Now there is a shorter, easier swim. AND a long long run to T1. Could they make this any more runner friendly????

I stood around with some of the other strong swimmers and we bitched and moaned, talked about how Philip, the awesome race director( I really mean that!!!) was screwing us, how the pts for Hy-Vee would be messed up and basically whining like some rank amateurs.

Post bitch session, I realized I was still wearing #1 and should get my head on straight and do what I can. Always better to control what you can, so went out on my warm up and tried to start thinking positively about the race, especially about my favorite bike course!

As the sun came up and we headed to the swim start we saw that the first buoy was barely in the water, awesome long run in and out, but at that point it was gonna be what it was gonna be so, NO EXCUSES!

They held us a long time at the start but once they unleashed the hounds it was a mad dash to the water in what I would argue is the most competitive and deep mens field ever assembled in a non-drafting olympic distance race. The guy that got 9th has 3 Olympic medals...

The swim was choppy but not bad and we made it back to shore rather unscathed. Side note, first time my hair has ever been a factor was when my cap came off with about 300m to go on the swim, nothing like a lil hair to block your view of the shore. Anyway, starting sprinting down the sidewalk knowing some of the worlds greatest runners were on my heels. I was in 4th and believe it or not only lost one spot to Gemmel at the end of the run. Needless to say I was quite pleased with that as we grabbed the machines and headed out.

This is becoming my element. I am a swimmer, but my bike is improving and I am starting to really enjoy getting strapped into the PI kicks and smashing! I hit it hard and by mile 2 had a lead that I decided I was gonna try and maximize over the 40K. I really like this course. I really like my Kestrel 4000. I really like my Hulk juice from First Endurance( 1/2 scoop pre race, 1 scoop Lemon-lime EFS, 1 vanilla gel package, shake and serve cold). All the things I like really came together and I felt strong and in control the whole ride. I knew I needed to put a hurt on the boys as they were all pacing each other in a group and I was out breaking the wind solo.

By the time I got to T2 I heard I had 90 sec, which was nice to hear but in reality it was more like 65. I threw on the lime green and black PI Transitions and we headed out, this time with my headband! Yes that is a big deal. On the run I felt strong and the thousand fans or so lining the sidewalk heading out really helped me get in the zone. Time to hammer and see what I could maintain through the turn around. Turned out to be about 40 sec I guessed which was good, but Filip can run and so can Matt, so it was head down time. My mantra when I run is "run tough" so I did was I could. The big man and the Czech caught me with about a half mile to go and I did what I could but didnt have the wheels to stay with them. I sprinted in and held on for third which all things considered I was really pleased with.

Obviously, I would have loved to defend the title. I think I really could have if the swim had been normal length and rough in the bay but no excuses, they were better than I was on Sunday. I gave it my best and came away with my best ever legit 10k off the bike and my head held high.

If Memphis in May goes well I will be all set for Hy-Vee and I still made some good money, including the bike prime. I love that race, and Philip does an outstanding job of the directing this race. Next year hopefully we will be in the bay no matter the weather but a short swim is way better than no swim!

Now, 12 or so days of good training and then on the road for 3 races in 3 weekends. I love the racing season, makes all those cold rides in the winter worth it!

PS. I got one of the best compliments I have ever received after the race. A coach of another athlete came up to me and said he knew I would have loved the longer swim, but he really respected the way I race, and loved watching it. That means a lot. I know I can't run with the best yet, but as Prefontaine always said, might as well win the race from the front!

D-FENCE! D-FENCE

If I were a football player, as I often am in my dreams, this would be the week where all I herat practice is DEFENSE! For the first time in my five year career I will be attempting to defend my title at the 2010 St Anthony's Champion. On top of that I am coming off a win at LTF South Beach a couple weeks ago, so trying to keep that ball rolling as well.

During these past three weeks I have continually tried to remind myself that this is the exact same race as any other, 1.5K/40K/10K as fast as possible. Doesn't matter what number you have on your arm, or who is behind you on the start list you gotta show up and race. I saw a great quote by the greatest b-ball coach of all time, John Wooden, the other day that really struck a cord with me.

"You can't let praise or criticism get to you. It's a weakness to get caught up in either one."

I sort of took that and paraphrased it a bit to be: you can't let your good or bad workouts/races get to you. No matter the previous outcome you still gotta show up.

Now, I am no one famous and that is certainly not a new quote or thought but I think it helps keep things in perspective. I just won a race, so what! I just had an awful workout, so what! The bottom line is that no one race or workout mean anything by themselves so you have to be able to refocus and keep your goals in mind. Quotes are cheezy, especially sports ones, but I love 'em. They always hit home and get you thinking.

So going into the weekend of a big race, sporting the #1 its still all about racing, gotta show up and make something happen. Really excited to be heading back to St Pete. Lots of good friends, and will get to introduce everyone to Natalie.

Safe travels to those racing St A's or anywhere else and I will see you on the beach Sunday morning!

Big News...and South Beach W

This past weekend I won a big race in triathlon, and for the second victory in a row my now wife was not in attendance. Last year at St Anthony's she had to work and couldn't go and this year for South Beach she just wasn't feeling very good. However, this time the not feeling very good made a lot of sense, which leads me to the big news...

Natalie is pregnant!!

I always wonder who is on the other end of my ramblings, so some of you know this already but those of you that don't there it is. So far this has been an amazing 2011. I got married on the first of the year, started another successful season as a pro triathlete living a dream, and now my lovely wife is pregnant.

Anyway, on to the weekends happenings. As I have already said this trip was supposed to be a bit of time for the two of us to hang out as well as me to start off this years Toyota Cup/Lifetime Fitness series with a good showing. Since Natalie couldn't make the trip I had an awesome king sized bed, a big rental car, and really no plans for the weekend. Got into Ft Lauderdale Friday afternoon and drove down to Bike Masters in Miami for a little shin-dig with the other Advanced Sports athletes and the patrons of this awesome bike shop in Miami. Post party it was back to the hotel for some relaxing.

Saturday I got up, grabbed some breakfast in the lobby with I think every person in Miami headed out on a cruise ship that day, and then headed over to South Beach to meet up with my boy Justin and get in some warm up workouts. We did an ez spin/run around the south beach neighborhoods and then did a quick swim out on the beach. Then it was time to grab some lunch before hanging at his homestay's place till the pro meeting. And let me tell you about the $125 burrito I had for lunch...

If there is a tiny parking lot that says will tow unless shopping in one of the three shops there, believe them! We parked, ran around the corner and figured we will get burrito's to go and be back before there is any way a tow truck can get here....WRONG! Luckily for us we did get back in time to see him hooking me up, and then after a very polite discussion about my car were told he would unhook for $115 or take it for $205. So Justin and I hit the ATM and kept the car. Not sure exactly how that would have gone in Miami without it but just glad my burrito didn't take any longer than it did to make.

Chilled for a couple hours, watched some golf, and then went to the pro meeting. Nothing unusual there so then it was back to my hotel for my standard pre race dinner...hawaiian pizza! Ate some 'Za watched some tube and then tried to get some sleep. Which is always rough the second night going east but you do what you can.

Next morning was a standard pre race. Get up, hot shower, eat some oatmeal from a hotel coffee machine and head out. Got in a little bike warm up riding to transition and then a quick jog and it was time to walk up the beach to the swim start.

Usually I am not a fan of two turn, straight away swims, but this one was actually alright. I lead out to the first buoy before Andy took over and Ben and John and myself just stayed in a pack a bit behind him. I came out of the water with Ben and hammered up the beach to get to the bike. Threw on the helmet and it was time to let the 4000 fly.

It is always interesting being the first biker out because cops aren't ready, cones aren't out and you never really know when a city bus will block your path heading over a one-way causeway causing you and the other leader to veer into the wrong side of the bridge, unclip, hop a grass median and continue on. Anyway, once we got going again I tried to slowly turn the screw on Andy and the other guys and by the half way point myself and Andrew Yoder and gotten a significant gap on the main pack. Over the second half I tried to continue to accelerate and by the time I got back to T2 I was well ahead of everyone including Andrew, found out later he got a penalty. Threw on the shoes and number belt and took off. Unfortunately, my trusty headband apparently was taken during my absence so I blame that person for my ridiculous flopping hair in all the pictures.

The run was survival as I knew many a fast runner was coming for me, but I know I have put in the work to ride like that and still finish so I did what I could to continue to push the pace. At the turn around I still had a decent lead but knew it would take some guts to maintain it and luckily I had just enough making it back to the beach in time to throw out a couple high-5's and grab the tape before Andy and Filip came blazing in.

I was really really happy with the race. It is not often that you can sit down with a coach, lay out a plan and then execute it. I mean we always try, but its nice to know that it can and does come together sometimes.

This got long, but there were hopefully some funny parts. Now its a couple weeks to train and then rest for my first ever attempt at a repeat victory and wear #1 at St Anthony's 2011 on May 1.