Looking at 2010, changing Teams!

Well, 2009 is done. I had a good year...didn't finish with a bang, but finished nonetheless. I am already looking forward to 2010. I have my race schedule written in pencil, but I do have my racing goals. I am signed up for Eagleman 70.3 in hopes for a Kona slot. If i don't get the Kona slot, then I'll take a Clearwater slot and give it another go. I am horribly disappointed with the recent weekend in Clearwater, and will not be too disappointed if I miss the Kona slot and get another shot at Clearwater. Something about the 70.3 distance that I really like.

The rest of my racing schedule will include Age Group Nationals, the new Charleston Half Ironman in May, several South Carolina Tri Series races, USAT HalfMax Championships in Myrtle Beach, then the big finale in Clearwater or Kona. Not a bad year!!

I am very excited about my change of teams. I will be racing for Team Kattouf in 2010. Rick Kattouf is owner of Team Kattouf Inc. I am very excited to be a part of Rick's success and hope to help him find more in 2010. Looking forward to it!!

Took a week off after Clearwater, now I'm back n the saddle.

Take Care!

Clearwater 2009 : (

Gang,

Waiting on our return flight, so here's just a quick report on an exciting weekend in Clearwater. I promised many of you a race report, so here it goes.

What started as hopes and dreams unfortunately ended up in stitches and bandages : )

Let me first say Clearwater is a beautiful venue for a race. Laura and I really enjoyed the site. As usual Ironman is very organized and the service was top notch. No complaints about the execution of this race. It's a World Championship Event, and it felt like it all weekend.

As for the race, it didn't go well. Right before the start I cut my foot on a shell that put a 2cm gash in the bottom of my foot. I tried my best to get it race ready, but it was going to be a problem. I should have went ahead and dropped out and gone to the hospital. I figured we've come this far so let's give it a go.

Swim was ok. They changed to a TT start, one at a time off a dock in the harbor. The ocean was still too rough from the storms that passed several days ago. I had to swim through a ton of people and it slowed me down, but I managed a decent time. As I exited the water, I looked down and noticed the foot was in bad shape. Oh well, I figured it wouldn't bother me on the bike, and I could see how far I could run on it.

The bike was crazy. I literally passed a couple hundred people in the first 10 miles. Was there drafting...yes, lots of it. It didn't bother me b/c the drafters weren't going very fast. I hammered along and spent most of the time yelling "on your left". As bikers finally started to thin out and I could tell I was making it to the "faster" racers, I started to feel good and really hammer. I rode past one more group of riders and had some open air to just put the head down and ride. I was flying and feeling good. I looked down to rest my neck for a second...looked up and there was a traffic cone directly in front of me that was pushed over about 2ft in my lane. Too late to react...BANG...over the bars, onto the pavement. I don't want to give too much detail, but I was unable to get back on the bike. Instead I got a ride to the hospital in the back of an ambulance. Guess, I should have called it a day after the foot incident ; ). Oh well. Nothing broken, but a chipped bone in my elbow and LOTS of road rash...tri suits don't protect you very well.

Ironman drove Laura to the hospital and picked us up afterwards. I got a few stitches in the foot, and the lovely nurse scrubbed the sh#t out of my wounds. I'm confident she got all the gravel out of me. Ouch!!! Morphine in the IV was nice though.

Best news is the bike is good. Broke a pedal, cut the saddle, but no scratches on the frame. The body will heal, but thankfully the bike is not damaged.

I've been escorted in a wheelchair the past 2 days. Laura is the best!! She's taken good care of me. We've enjoyed the rest of our stay, and I'm already thinking of unfinished business here in Clearwater.

So, all in all a very disappointing weekend for the race. My fitness is great, and I feel I prepared really well. I always like to look at the positives, so I am relieved nothing is broken and I'll be healed in a few weeks. It was still a great vacation for us.

Thanks to my training partners (Kat I owe you for the early am swims), Team Go Tri, Studio 7, Rudy Project, and friends. I'm ready for the offseason.

Chris

Update

Wow, I seriously need to update this blog.

So far the 2009 season has been good. I've been fortunate to win 2 races and podium at 2 others. Right now I'm training hard for Age Group Nationals at the end of August. I'll post some race reports and pictures soon.

In Full Training Mode

Well, I can tell training is going well...because I'm tired! So far so good on the injury front...knock on wood. I'm continuing my focus on running mileage and things are starting to take shape in the pool. I'll keep you posted...

Train hard!

Looking Forward to 2009 Season

Well, it's New Year's. I had a good racing season in '08, but am looking forward to a better season in '09. Training has started to get a bit serious, which is good. I need to drop the 5 pounds I put on over the holidays.

My race schedule for 2009 will be a lot of the same, with some changes. I plan to do quite a few of the South Carolina Tri Series races again. My faves are the SC Half, Festival of Flowers Int'l, and Tri the Midlands Sprint. My big A race of 2009 will be age group nationals in Tuscaloosa, AL. This will be the first year my A race is an Olympic distance race, as prior years have me preparing for IM distances. I am happy to say I have no plans on racing an IM distance race in 2009. Beach2Battleship kicked my butt, and I'm still not over it. Anyway...

I look forward to some hard training over the next few months. Emphasis will be more on speed than distance. That's also new for me as my main objective over the past few years has been distance. The shorter harder workouts hurt more, but take less time. Kind of a good thing/bad thing, I guess. We'll see how it goes. My first tri will be the MAP sprint Triathlon in Charlotte at the end of March. It will be a good test to gauge my speed and fitness. I also plan to do several running races through the winter and leading in to the spring. This is something I have not done, and I am looking forward to it. I'd like to see how fast I can get my 5K and 10K times.

Train hard, but smart. Don't get injured!

Beach2Battleship Full Iron Distance Race Report

Ok, so it's been 9 days since I finished this race. Don't worry I have every little detail of the day burned into my memory. Not for good reasons. Let's just say it wasn't my day, which is tough when your day is as long as an ironman distance race. Anyway enough complaining, let's get to the race.

First off, this was another great race from Jeremy Davis and his Set Up team. It was a first year race, but you would have thought it had been around for years. Great organization, FABULOUS volunteers, and overall a great venue for this race.

The city of Wilmington is beautiful. We stayed at Wrightsville Beach, about 30 minutes from the race sight. We were right on the beach, so it was nice. We arrived on Friday afternoon. I checked in, checked the bike and transition bags in, checked into the hotel, and we were all set. We met with some friends for dinner at Carraba's which was also nice. Good company...Cam Dorn and his family, Dr. David Bridges with his wife, and the cycling maniac Bob Cambers. Cam, David, and Bob were all on a relay team for the iron distance race. They smoked an 8:39 the next day...wish I was there : )

My #1 fan!!!

Saturday morning was like all the previous mornings...freakin' cold. The air temp was around 40* while the water temp was barely over 60*. I was not looking forward to this swim. Anyway, as soon as the sun was up, we were off.

Swim: As mentioned, cold. I felt pretty strong in the water. The swim was point to point, with the incoming tide helping us out a bit. I couldn't tell where I was, but I could see plenty of green swim caps ahead of me. I pushed hard trying to get on some feet, but there was one lead group, then me, then a group following me. I was in no mans land...all alone with no one to draft. Oh well. I put in a few surges to catch a guy in front of me, but I couldn't make up any ground. I decided to just settle in and swim. Towards the end of the swim the cold water and air was really starting to bother me. I as not warming up. I could feel my lips kind of stuck in position, and my jaw was locking up...weird. I couldn't wait to get out of the water...so I thought. Swim :48:11 did I mention we were pushed a bit by the incoming tide. Swim was a bit fast, but I was only 3 minutes behind the fastest swimmer, so I'm happy with that.

T1: We had about a quarter mile run to T1. It felt like a mile. I was shivering the whole way to the tent. When I got my bag, I toweled off, and tried to put on a skinsuit over my trisuit along with socks and arm warmers. My hands were so cold I couldn't hardly make any progress. I felt like I was in the tent for 5 minutes fumbling around with my clothes. It was miserable...I wanted some heat. Ok, so I ran out of the tent and to my bike. The air temp was still very cold and my core temp was very very cold. I just wanted to get on my hog and start smashing the pedals.

Bike: I know I keep mentioning that I was cold, but damn...I was cold. During the bike, I froze even more. I tried out my clothes that I was going to wear a week ago, knowing it was going to be cold...but I didn't consider the fact that I would be starting the bike freezing to death. I simply never warmed up. Every 5-10 minutes I would get out of the aero bars and rub my chest hoping to just stop shivering. I tried to block it out of my mind, but I was starting to worry about hypothermia. I just tried to stay down on the bars and move the legs. My legs actually felt pretty good, so I took it easy for the first hour, trying not to push it too hard, especially considering I was using a ton of energy trying to get warm. I exited the water in 8th place. By mile 30 I was in 2nd. I was confident despite my low power output. It wasn't until around mile 60 that I finally started to warm up. It was also around mile 60 that I started to get tired. I felt like I was staying on top of my calories, but my power was slowly fading. The plan at this point was just to stay as aero as possible and keep steady. As the miles rolled on, I was continuing to lose power. In a training ride a few weeks ago I was able to average 240 watts for 110 miles, which felt rather good...today I was averaging around 210 and fading...I didn't know what was wrong with me. I just couldn't push the pedals as hard as I was used to in training. By mile 80 I was pretty tired and wanted off the bike. I pee'd...on my bike...nasty, but it was better than stopping. Don't worry, I've bleached the shoes and scrubbed the bike since the race. Anyway, I just wanted to get to T2 with some energy to run. I wasn't going to try and push the watts, but rather just pedal as hard as I felt I could comfortably handle. One of the buys I caught earlier had caught me and repassed. He was obviously feeling better than me, and I had no intentions of pushing too hard so I let him go. Ok, I survived the 112 mile ride and was ready to get that small saddle out of my butt! My back was a bit sore too..waaaa. Bike 5:03:47 I thought I was in shape to roll a sub 4:45, but that didn't happen.

T2: Passed off the bike to some stranger, grabbed my bag and headed into the tent. Right as I entered T2, I was caught by another guy. At this point I was grouped with 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place in the tent. Two of us headed out quickly and we were off for a marathon. The last guy was busy putting on some compression socks that he couldn't seem to get on too well ; ) See ya!

Heading out of T2. That's me in the blue.

Run: Legs felt good exiting T2. My plan was to find a steady pace and stick it. Immediately I noticed the guy I ran out of the tent with was gonna take a slower pace, so I left him. Well, I then stopped at the portapotty and caught him, spoke kind words, then left him again. I was feelin' good. First mile was 7min, second was 7min. I was in my rhythm. After the second mile, you run through downtown Wilmington which was lined with people. I was feelin' the love. People were cheering...it was great. My legs felt good. Through the next few miles I made sure to get in some calories and hydration. I was still able to hold the 7min/mile pace rather easily. I was really starting to think taking it easy on the bike was the right idea. I was figuring all the times in my head and figuring what I need to run for a 9:20-9:30. I was right on schedule for my best race, and I felt strong. I hit the 7 mile mark in 49 minutes...still smooth. Then it happened. End of day. End of race. End of my perfect existence at this nice race. I crashed. It came out of nowhere. I suddenly felt pain like I had never felt before in a race. My legs ached with every step, and I was slowing down...fast. I knew I was in trouble, but I was hoping this was just a "low point" in my day. When you race long distance you will have plenty of "low points" that you just have to ride out and you will be back feeling strong again. I was not feeling like this was going away. Not this time. By mile 9, I was really hurting. The guy I passed on the run course flew by me. Goodbye second place. I tried to hold it together until the end of the first lap, but I was no longer having fun and I really didn't want to be doing this anymore. When I hit the turnaround I looked for my family for support, or for a good excuse to drop out. I couldn't find them , so I pressed on. I stopped to walk to try and regain some strength. I saw 4th place approaching. It was George Worrel, runner extraordinaire, I knew he was going to catch me. Damn I'm not liking this. I seriously thought about dropping out at mile 15, but I promised myself I would never DNF unless it was a risk to my health. I was just in pain and didn't want to run another 11 miles. I had to HTFU. I stumbled through the next few miles stopping at each aid station to drink and eat. I'd walk a bit further than I wanted hoping to get some surge of energy. I don't know how far I walked all together, but it was a lot. At mile 20, i had a banana...must have been one of those super bananas, because I all of a sudden had some strength. I started to pick up the pace. I didn't know what place I was in, but knew I was far off the podium. Honestly at this point I wanted to carry this strength in order to get me to the finish as soon as possible so I can be done with this thing. I looked at my watch and saw I could still finish under 10 hours. I pressed on. Anyway, over the next few miles, I experienced a few more "lows", but continued to run. I wanted to see the finish line, my family, and a cold beer...in that order. When I was a mile away I noticed a guy coming from behind and quick. Crap, I'm going to have to haul it in. I managed to hold him off, I managed to finish, I managed to finish under 10 hours. 9:55:19. 6th place. A far cry from the sub 9:30 that I hoped for, but I was done.

I'm hoping this race report was not too painful to read. I hope you're not depressed now. All I know is it will be a while until I do another full distance race again. I just didn't have any fun, and that's not why I do these races. I love to be competitive. I find that I can get past the pain in a race, but this pain was like no other. I'm glad it's over. I've enjoyed tons of junk food since the race. I think I've gained 5 pounds already. I look forward to more break time, then getting back on the bike and in the water in a week or two. No hurry, I'm enjoying myself.

Special thanks to my lovely wife for putting up with my crazy racing and training schedule all year!! Long races like this are tough especially when you're juggling a little one, but she always hangs tough. If it was not for her, I would not be racing.

Hickory Knob Race Report

This was the last race of the South Carolina Tri Series. Peter Kotland and I were virtually tied for 2nd going into this race. He just beat me at the Sc Half 2 weeks ago, so I knew he was in top form and ready to go. We're both training for Iron distance races on 11/1. He's doing IM Florida, while I'm doing Beach2Battleship. I was hoping he had done a 100 mile bike ride the day before, but I had no such luck.



Race plan was simple. Keep up with Peter on the swim. Hammer the bike and try to put as much gap between us as possible. Hold on for the run. I though I could hold him off, if I arrived at T2 with a 2 minute lead. Sounds simple...sh*t.



Swim: I drifted right up to Peter right before the start so I knew where he was. Then the horn sounded, we were off. I quickly got on his feet and caught a good draft (sorry, Peter). Swim was comfortable since Peter was doing all the work. With about 500 meters to go, I got in front of Peter and pulled the rest of the way. Swim was good, not super fast, but good enough. We had 2 guys in front of us out of the water.



Bike: Time to hammer. I quickly grabbed my bike and headed out of T2. This was a very hilly course, which I was fine with. Soon after leaving T2, I caught up to Ryan Alexander, but never saw the swim leader. I later found out that he took a wrong turn on the bike course and dropped. After just a few miles on the bike, I could tell I didn't bring my cycling legs with me. I was struggling to hold a good pace. It didn't help that my rear disc wheel was rubbing my frame, either. Lesson learned...never race without taking the bike for a test ride with the race wheels...stupid! I was rushed the day before to get the bike ready and didn't take it for my susal test ride. I figured I haven't had any trouble all year, it should be fine...anyway. I knew Peter was going to catch me on the bike b/c I just couldn't get in a groove. He caught me around mile 12 and blew right past me. I had nothing. Oh well. At this point I just wanted to have a good run. Finished the bike in second about 1:50 down on Peter.



Run: I felt very good starting out the run. Held a decent pace throughout. I knew I wouldn't catch Kotland, but I figured I would try my best to get a good run split. Mission accomplished. 37:08



Finished 2nd Overall. Peter took over 2nd in the series. Congrats to Dan Moss for winning the series. My teammates Parker Roth took 4th and Cam Dorn took 5th in the sries. Overall a good showing for TYB Racing!!



Here's me with teammates David Duchan (left) and Cam Dorn (right)