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)

More pics from the SC Half

Here's Dan Moss, me, and Gregory Carr in the last few miles of the bike

Teammates Cameron Dorn(left) raced his first half today and smoked a 4:25. Hal Outen(center) was on a relay and ran the half marathon.

I'm asking Andrew Hodges, "How the hell did you go so fast?"
My 2yr old enjoyed the "sprinkler tent"

South Carolina Half

I just raced the SC Half yesterday, so here's a race report to tell you all about my fun-filled day.




Sunrise off Lake Greenwood.


The SC half is one of my favorite races of the year. The first year I did it, I had my best race ever, so that mentality has kind of stuck with me. Last year, I had a terrible race, but there's plenty of good reason for that. Shouldn't have ever started the race, but I had already paid. Not too smart. Anyway I was really focused on having a great race this year. My run training has been a bit short due to some ailments, but I had been able to log some quality miles a few weeks before the event. I was very optimistic about my chances for a PB at this race this year, as my swim and bike fitness were pretty good.

We live a little over an hour from the race site, so an early morning drive was in order. It's not like you sleep much before a race anyway, so no big deal. The weather forecast was ideal. Temps started out in the 60's with a high of 82. A little warm, but not for the south.

Swim: I was late getting in the water for a warm-up, as I had to get my swim cap I left in the car. Only got in about 50 yards of warm-up before I was told to get out of the lake. Not good, as I usually need a good long swim to get the arms awake and ready. Back in the water after race announcements, and boom, we're off. The game plan was to find the group of swimmers that I know, and follow them for the swim. Dan Moss and Peter Kotland are just a bit faster than me in the water, so ideal drafting partners. I was unable to find them at the start, so I ended up swimming it alone. I felt pretty good in the water. My goggles were a bit fogged up, so I was having some trouble navigating, but was able to see some splashing ahead of me. Throughout the swim I was alone and feeling good. At the last turn buoy, I saw 2 people about 25 yards ahead of me. I picked it up to catch them. What do you know...it was Dan and Peter. I followed Dan for the last 100 yards of the swim into T1. Swim: 27:54

Heading out of the water.


T1: Off with the wetsuit, on with the helmet. A team mate of mine, Hal Outen yelled out that there was a group of 4 about 3 minutes ahead of us. "What??" was my response. 3 minutes?? Damn, I had better get moving. I took off and left Peter and Dan behind me.

Bike: I'll already admit it..I went too hard at the start of the bike. I knew Dan would catch me at some point b/c he's the stronger cyclist, but I also wanted to see how many people I could pick off all while trying to put a gap between me and Peter. I felt super strong starting out on the bike. I really felt like I had a ton of energy to spare. I picked off 2 guys in the first 10 miles. Dan caught me at mile 17. We caught a third guy at around mile 25. I was feeling good. Haulin' butt and catching people. The third guy we caught stayed with us and benefited from Dan and me pushing the pace. At around mile 35 I asked a volunteer how many were in front of us and he said "2". Crap, I thought we only had one in front. I knew one of the guys in front of us was Andrew Hodges. I wasn't even expecting to mix it up with him, as he's out of my league, but I had no idea who was still up there with him. As the miles added up, my quads started to feel the pain of going a little too hard. I was starting to get concerned about my ability to run later, so I let off the pace a little bit. The three of us stayed within 50 yards of each other as we finished the ride and headed into T2. They were in front of me, so I entered T2 5th OA. Bike: 2:17:20

Heading into T2

T2: Quick tip...think about your transition before you get there. My dumb butt ran right past my bike rack. Luckily Dan was nice enough to ask "Where are you going?". I've raced at this site many times and we usually get racked on the opposite end of the transition. I guess I was thinking my rack was still up there. Thankfully Dan saved me some time. Other than that, T2 was smooth and I was out on the run. Ugh.

Heading out of T2, as you can see I'm smiling..not for long

Run: I have to say, I was feeling pretty good at the start of the run. Dan and the other guy that I will now refer to as Gregory Carr were not too far ahead of me. Dan was obviously off the pace, so I knew something was wrong. I caught him right before mile one and he was having some serious stomach issues. He summed it all up by saying "Have fun", when I caught up to him. First mile was 6:06. Damn, that felt easy. Sweet. It looked like I was starting to catch Gregory as well. I just tried to find a rhythm and stay there. Second mile was 6:14, a little slower but more uphill. That's ok, 'm still feeling good. Third mile was 6:38. Wait a minute I was slowing down and I couldn't seem to pick it back up. Not good. I've seen this before. Alright, at this point I was starting to tire already and I had a long way to go. My quads were getting very tight, and I was concerned of them locking up. I started to get in defensive mode. The next few miles were getting slower and slower. At this point I just wanted to hold a 7 min mile pace. A few miles I really struggled and had some really slow miles. Not good as Peter Kotland was about 3 minutes behind me at mile 6. He was looking good, too. Damn. I had a few side stitches and my legs wanted to cramp on me a few times, but I was able to hold it together, just barely. I saw third place in front of me was slowing as well. I caught him at mile 10. Yeah!!! I'm in third place...podium and check $$ await me at the finish. I turn around at mile 11 and see Peter hard charging. He's less than a minute behind me. I had to push it to keep my third place. I turn around again at mile 12 to find him about 100 yards behind me. I tried my best to pick up the pace, but I knew I wasn't moving very fast. In a few moments I passed Brooks Keys going the opposite direction. He says "Good job Peter". That can't be good. I turn around and he's right behind me...flying. Okay, he goes by, I say farewell to my trophy and check. He was going much too fast for me to hang on. I end up finishing in 4th place OA. My legs ached and they're very sore today. Run: 1:30:44

Total time: 4:17:55

Not smiling anymore...

Not a PB, but still a decent race. I really had plans of running a sub 1:25 half mary, but my legs had no go power. A result of taking it too hard on the bike and not having the run conditioning
needed to hold that pace. Andrew won the race with a 3:59:55. He was flying on the run. Gregory Carr was second with a 4:10, and Peter was in front of me with a 4:16.

Next race is a local Int'l Distance race, then I'm headed to Wilmington for the Beach2Battleship Iron Distance.

New hand position on the bike

Below is a pic of my revised position after going to the wind tunnel. The only change is my hands are raised a bit. I actually find this position to be more comfortable. Notice how the top of the forearm is parallel to the ground. Please no comments about the pretty painting : )

Even more pics...

Everyone likes pictures, so here's some more from the wind tunnel. My blog only allows me to load 5 at a time.

A2 offers customers a chance to test different helmets, bars, and wheels. Very cool. However, if you are a manufacturer, you cannot use these products to test against you own product. The helmets we tested were our own. I was digging the Hed3 Deeps in the background.Here's John Cobb telling me to get comfortable b/c I'm gonna be in this oversized closet for a long time. That's Herbert looking on.
Here's a shot of the customer side of the control center. You can see Mike Giraud getting my bike set up. He's the Bicycle Specialist at the A2 tunnel and conducted all of the tests for us.
This is me with Simone Barbazza (Marketing) and Norberto Fava (Product Manager) from Rudy Project. Both were great to work with!!

More pedalling...

More pics from the wind tunnel

That 30mph wind in my face was killin' my eyes. Thank goodness Rudy Project makes sunglasses.
More shots of the smoke... That's Simone Barbazza taking a picture in the background.


Another pic with the Giro Advantage. That's Mike Giraud in the background. He's the Bicycle Specialist at the A2 Tunnel. Very knowledgable about bikes and TT aerodynamics. Nice guy, too.

Some of the glasses we tested. The fastest ones are not what you think... I can say that after testing all of these glasses, Rudy Project makes the best glasses I have ever used. Very high quality. Thanks to the guys at RP for letting me have a pair.

A day at the Wind Tunnel with John Cobb and Rudy Project

I was very fortunate to spend most of yesterday at the A2 Wind Tunnel in Mooresville, NC with John Cobb and Rudy Project. Just to back up a bit, John selected me and Herbert Krabel(administrator for Slowtwitch) to join him for aerodynamic testing. It was a bit of luck, but the day was a little bit of work in exchange.

Anyway, back to yesterday.

We met at the tunnel at 7:30AM. Once there I met John, Herbert, a couple of John's friends, and two representatives from Rudy Project: Simone and Norberto (both from Rudy's Corp. Office in Italy).

Here's the A2 Wind Tunnel. The building in the background is a larger wind tunnel for race cars. It is used 24/7 and is booked for a full year in advance.

We set up my bike in the tunnel and began testing with Rudy's new road helmet. This helmet was so light, it was ridiculous. We tested it with a winter cover as well. We then tested about 10 pairs of Rudy glasses. We also tested them against most all of the competitor's top sellers. This took a while, but the data showed a good pair of shades can save you as much time as a front race wheel. No kidding!!! It all has to do with the way the air flows around the glasses and around the helmet/head. Even John seemed surprised by the results.

We then tested Rudy's new aero helmet. It was a prototype that was a plaster mold with a normal helmet inner. Very heavy, especially to wear for a while. The finished product will obviously be much lighter and not made of plaster : ) I can't show pics or say too much about it. I can say that it tested FAST!! I look forward to getting one once it's in production. We compared it to a Spiuk, a Giro, and an LG Rocket Air. All helmets were tested at 0* and 10* yaw. It was very interesting to see how much development goes into developing a product. The Rudy guys and John were both coming up with ideas to test with the helmet. Let's just say they were using their share of cardboard and duct tape. It was all very exciting to be a part of. It was also very cool to give feedback about fit, comfort, air flow, etc... As you all know , the more air flow results in less aerodynamics. Rudy is making something that will work for both...The helmet was part transformer with lots of ideas and possibilities. In the end John made some recommendations for a few subtle changes, but the helmet will remain very similar to what we saw.
Here's me with the Giro Advantage.

After the helmet tests, we broke out the smoke. We used smoke to show airflow with the new road helmet and the new aero helmet. John also used a string to show the airflow disturbances with the aero helmet. Cool, but messy. I needed a shower after the smoke. Lots and lots of pics taken during the smoke.

Here's John showing Norberto how the air flows over my back.

Then, John did a few runs to test my aerodynamics. We really just tested my hand position. He said he liked my position overall, but thought we could improve my aerodynamics by moving my hands up. After testing two different positions, we found one that will work better than my original position. Very cool. I'll be using the new hand position beginning now and can test it at my race next weekend, the SC Half. Not much of a change, so I'm not too worried about making the change this close to one of my "A" races. I was able to find out which helmet tests fastest for
me. Well, the fastest helmet in production for me is the Spiuk, my current race helmet.

Here's a pic with the Spiuk. This was before the hands were raised.

After this, we switched bikes in the tunnel and Herbert put in his Jamis, which is a very nice looking bike. Those Xentis wheels and bars are wicked cool. Much nicer to see in person. We did use my training wheelset for both bikes, so the Xentis wheels had to sit in the control room. Herbert also tested all of the helmets including the Rudy prototype. He has a "Type B" back, where I have a "Type A" back. This different back shape allowed John and RP to get more data on the performance of the Rudy helmet compared to it's competitors. Once again, the Rudy tested very FAST. After many many more runs and many many more photos we finished all of the tests.

Overall a GREAT experience. Being able to listen to John at work was worth the trip all together. John's a great guy that was a lot of fun to hang out with for the day. He has a very "down to earth" way of looking at things. He's a "simple solutions" for problems kind of guy. Although some of his "simple solutions" come from years of wind tunnel experience. I learned a lot about air flow and aerodynamics during the visit. I hope to help out again.

Triathlon and Injuries : (

Anyone that has been in endurance sports for a couple of years has had to deal with overuse injuries. I've definitely had my share. This is my 3rd season in triathlon, and I have yet to make it through a full season without a MINOR issue. So far, this may be the first season that I don't have a MAJOR issue. Here are my thoughts on how to deal with injuries, and most importantly, how I've dealt with them this year.

First of all, when I say MINOR issue, I mean an ache and pain that prevents me from doing the full distances I would like. But, I am still able to do some training.

A MAJOR issue is when I'm laid up and not able to do any training.

My first year, I developed "Runner's Knee" and Achilles tendonitis

My second year, I developed IT band friction syndrome (the worst injury ever!!!!)

This year I have been able to hold off full blown achilles tendonitis and IT band friction syndrome. Both in opposite legs from last year. Go figure. Maybe my body is just not designed to do endurance events, or maybe I just push too hard too early. I'm thinking it's the second.

My first reccomendation to anyone that feels a tightness, pulling, achiness, or any feeling that is other than ordinary fatigue/soreness from training, talk to someone that knows sports injuries. Don't make the mistake of just "running/riding through it". I made that mistake my first two years. I thought I was a wuss if I didn't train in order to rest, so I just put myself out of my misery. Not a wuss, just real dumb.

Let me emphasize "someone that knows sports injuries". I can refer you to someone if needed, but I have seen Dr's that really don't know how to help serious endurance athletes.

If you do endurance sports, then you have to know the RICE acronym. This is the first treatment for most all overuse injuries. Google it and you can find a ton of material on proper techniques. It stands for Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation. I have been able to apply the RICE method to my two injuries this year and prevent them from getting any worse. I've also used strength exercises that I've learned from my prior experiences.

The other step in keeping your injuries from getting out of hand is to know when to STOP. Again, don't run through it. You're not a wuss if you end up walking home. I do a lot of running on the treadmill when I have MINOR issues, so I can stop whenever I feel I need and not have to walk home. This is what happened to me last year with my ITBS. I was 5 miles from home, my knee was getting sore. I ran 5 miles home...end of story...out of commission. Had I stopped at mile 5 and found a way home, I could have possible avoided the injury that totally ruined my second half of last year's season.

So, again this is just some quick points from my experiences. I could make tell more, but I think you get the point. I'm still nursing my right IT band as I'm preparing for the SC Half and the Beach2Battleship Full Iron race. I'm not able to put in the running mileage I would like, but I AM still able to run.

My best advice for anyone that's having a problem is to see someone that knows sports injuries. Don't leave it up to WebMD for your diagnosis. Odds are you may need rehabilitation, and you don't want to leave that up to yourself.

Take care!

TYBRacing Website Launched

Our team website is up and running. Check it out at TYBRacing.com

SC Half and NA Sports New 70.3 Augusta

For those of you that have not heard, North American Sports (aka Ironman) has announced that they will be having a 70.3 (half ironman) race in Augusta, Ga. in 2009. This will be the first "Ironman" branded race in the NC, SC, GA area. They have chosen the typical weekend of the SC Half as its date.


Why this date??? I'll let you draw your own conclusion. Me?? I'll always race the SC Half. If you race any of the SC series races, then you should too. Don't let the mystique of spending twice as much for a HIM race lure you to Augusta next year. Support your local series! NAS is business first, sport second. They will continue to place races near both the location and time frame as other non-"Ironman" branded races.

Another point...if qualifying for Clearwater is interesting to you, then you may feel inclined to race Augusta. Fine, no problem. I clearly understand. I would also be interested in qualifying for a Word Championship race. One day I dream of racing Kona. But...I'm not interested in the current venue for their 70.3 World Championship. It is well known that this race is a "draft fest". Too flat of a course with too many fast people on the course at the same time. Just my personal opinion and food for thought.

Tri the Midlands Sprint Race

I just took about a week and a half off from working out, as I wanted to take a break before I start my preparation for the fall season. My racing season started in April and ends in November, so I knew that was way too long without finding some break somewhere. I just started back training the week of this race, so luckily I still had some residual fitness from my weeks prior.

This race was all for points in the SCTS. The schedule wasn't the best for me, but I need to take advantage of any series races that would not require an overnight stay for me. This would be one, but the 2 hour drive before the race was a bummer.

First off let me say that this is the first year of the Tri-Midlands, and it was a great race. Set Up Events continues to put on incredible races. Hopefully this race will be here to stay. The race took place in the Lake Carolina Development. It's really nice!!! Very new development that has some very nice houses. Overall a very nice place to race. I'll definitely come back next year.

Swim: A shorter than average open water swim at 500m. The idea here was to stay close to Peter K. I've only been in the pool twice in two weeks, so I know my swim fitness wasn't great. Mission accomplished. The short swim kept me from losing too much time as I exited the water around 20 seconds back.

Bike: Only an 11 mile ride, so I knew I needed to lay down the hammer right from the begining. I wanted to try and put a minute on Peter, as I felt like my run fitness could get me in trouble. We exited T1 together, so I tried to go hard right from the start. Bike course was very nice. Good combination of rollers and flats. I just hammered as best I could, hoping to make a time gap. When I neared T2, I felt pretty good. Time to see if I could run. My lead was a little over a minute.

Run: Exiting T2, I felt good. It's always hard for me to tell what kind of pace I'm running right off the bike. It always feels real slow, but the splits sometimes tells me otherwise. The plan right now was to try and stay out front. I didn't get any splits as I forgot to start my watch. The only splits I did get were times between me and the others after the turnaround. I had about a minute on second place, so I felt confident I could hold him off for one more mile. The run course was pretty cool. Most of the course was on paved bike/jogging trails. It had a pretty serious hill at around a mile and a half.

Was able to finish 1st overall. : )

Overall I'm real happy with my result. The first half of the seaon has gone very well for me. Now it's time to go back into hiding and prepare for the fall season. Just kidding about the hiding part, as I'm happy to train with anyone that wants to. The SC Half and Beach2Battleship will be my "A" races, while doing some of the other series races for points. Time to get in some mileage!!

Racing and Recovery

I just finished my 5th race in 6 weeks. 2 Half Ironmans, 2 Sprints, and 1 Olympic, not in that order. I've had quite a few people comment on the consistency that I've been able to achieve from race to race. I've also had some ask how I recover week after week, without falling apart. So, below is my philosophy on racing often and racing well. Maybe more like some random thoughts that I threw together on this blog.

Let me start by saying I am not the most experienced on this topic. I'm just sharing my experiences from 2 1/2 seasons of racing, I'd get the advice from a coach, which is what I do!! Also, take note that I have not finished any better than 2nd in all of these races. Granted I finished no worse than 3rd, so I have shown consistency. I'm just letting you know I feel I am having a good year, but could be better : )

Recovery is very individual. Each body respods differently to stress, both physical and mental. I have not mastered recovery, but I have learned a lot this year. My body responds better to active recovery. A steady swim and an easy bike ride helps my body recover from a race better than just rest. Nothing too hard, but just hard enough to flush the body and get the heart rate up. But...sometimes my body needs to just kick up the feet and do nothing. This was the case before last weekends Olympic distance race.

This is the first year (out of 3 seasons) that I have been able to race week after week, and be content with my results. In prior years I have been very inconsistent. I'd have a terrible race followed by a great race, and vice versa. Last year was a dissapointing race season all together as I was not able to reach any of my goals. So, what's different?? One big thing!!! Not determination, not desire, not the will to perform, not diet. One word...CONDITIONING. Plain and simple, I'm in better shape this year. I started this season in the best shape of my life. Last winter, I approached Jamie Church to help me with my training for the '08 season. Working with a coach has been the biggest factor in my results this year. Jamie takes all the work out of planning my training schedule. I've read most every tri-related training book written, but I still struggled to write a good training schedule that I would stick to. Now all my efforts can be directed in the workouts, as Jamie keeps me challenged. Honestly, my training hours are not that much different, but my training is now on point. I'm stressing the body when I need, and as often as I need.

So, back to recovery...for me the biggest factor in recovery is conditioning. You simply can't race well week to week and not be in great shape. So, I believe what you do before the races will have a bigger impact on your recovery than what you do after the races. Not to disregard what you do after the race, but I think it takes a distant second to your conditioning leading up to the race. But let's now talk about post race...post race nutrition is very important. I'm not super strict on my diet. I enjoy cookies, ice cream, burgers, and all the like. I am however very strict with "nutrient timing". Eat what your body needs when it needs it. High GI carbs with a 4:1 carb:protein ratio immediately following a hard workout and race. Eat "clean/healthy foods" for a few hours following a hard workout and race. Beyond that I'm pretty loose with my diet. I really like to snack, french fries is my favorite food followed closely by pizza. I also like to have a glass or two of red wine, or a beer or three.

So, my recovery plans are relatively simple. Listen to my body and don't go too hard between races, but go hard enough to keep the body alive and fresh. I consult with Jamie a day or two following a race to get his feedback as well. I tell him how I feel, and he translates that into what I specifically need to do leading up to the next race.

Take care, looking forward to the rest of the season.

Festival of Flowers Olympic Distance

The last of 5 races in 6 weeks. Well, one more in two weeks. I'm actually looking forward to some weekends where I can get back on the open road for some good runs and rides.

I had low expectations for the race, as I was feeling super tired earlier in the week. I was trying to get in some good workouts in order to recover from Rock n Roll Man, but I was only feeling worse. After consulting with Jamie, we decided to just kick the feet up and chill for a couple of days. Good idea!!!

All the Open field studs were at this race, so I really wanted to have a good race. The points race for 2nd and 3rd will be pretty tight this year, so I knew this race was important. I really want to get 2nd in the points...forget 1st...Dan's got that wrapped up.

Game plan: Swim with the stornger swimmers, hammer the bike like mad, see if I have anything for the run.

Swim: I was able to stick with the lead group of swimmers. A few times I tried to move up to 3rd or 4th, but it was better to sit on Peter's feet as we were all bunched up for most of the swim. Exited out of the water with the lead group. Mark Woody put a little time into us the last 300 meters, but not too much.

T1: As everyone was taking off thier swim skins, I went from 5th to 2nd by just grabbing my bike and helmet and heading out of transition. I put sunscreen on my back before the race, but obviously not enough...ouch. T1 went great...left foot on shoe, right leg over bike, pedal, strap on shoes.

Bike: I felt very good on the bike. I actually felt much better than I hve in the past few races. I knew I needed to put as much time into everyone as possible, soI just hammered the bike for most of the ride. I went a little easier the last 2 miles just to get the legs ready for the run. Overall the ride was good.

T2: Another good transition. Running dismount, take off helmet, put on shoes, grab visor/number belt/shirt. I'm off...

Run: I knew I wasn't going to set any records on the run given I raced a Half last weekend, so I just figured I'd try and hold 6:15 miles for the entire run. First three miles were good: 6:10, 6:10,6:10...then I started to fall apart. The heat was oppressive and I couldn't go any faster than what felt like snail pace. I knew I had a few minutes on Peter at the turn, but I didn't want to totally blow up and get caught. Also at the turn, Dan had already made up all the ground he needed to be in virtual first place. At this point I would be very happy with second.

For the last 2 miles it felt like everyone that I was passing on the way out were flying, but I was jogging. I really struggled. Then, a little past mile 5 I started to feel good again (probably from the shade). I tried to pick up the pace, but had difficulty due to a side stitch that all of a sudden came on. I drank too much water at once and now I was suffering. Oh well, I made it to the finish.

I did get 2nd overall : ) I was happy with my results, although a faster run would have been nice. Now it's time to plan on the fall racing season. I have one more sprint race in 2 weeks, but it's like a c- race as far as priority...just for points. The 2 BIG fall races will be the SC Half and Beach2Battleship, so I'd better get ready to get in some miles on the bike and run.

Rock n Roll Man Half (Macon, Ga.)

My second half ironman of the season. Definitely the tougher of the two. That's Felipe on the left and Dan on the right.

Overall, had a good race. Finished 3rd overall behind Dan Moss and Felipe Bastos. I am now the "USAT Southeast Regional Amateur Long Course Champion". Pretty cool, as I never knew there was such a thing...oh well. I should get that tattooed on my butt or something.

OK here goes...

Swim: This is the first year we had an "Open" wave, so it was nice to go out first in calm water. Beach start, so that was cool too...take off running and dive forward. I just took off for the first buouy. I swam side by side with Felipe all the way to the first buouy. I guess we were giving Dan a good draft that he couldn't miss : ) Anyway, at the first turn I thought, I'd get behind Felipe. Dan was already there, so I just tailed Dan to the second turn. The three of us were still all together making the final turn, but after the final turn buouy Felipe opened a gap on Dan, and Dan opened a gap on me. I think we exited the water all about a minute apart. I was very happy to swim with them, as I wanted to be close to the front at the end of the swim. Mission accomplished. They don't stop the swim split until you get up that ridiculously steep hill, so I was about a minute or so faster than the split. 28:58

T1: The run up the beach and to T1 at RnR Man is the toughest. It's always hard to run fast after being horizontal for 27 minutes or so, but then to have to run up a seriously steep hill to transition is enough to wear me out. All went well. Mounted the bike well, and I was off. No issues with transition.

Bike: The bike course is rolling hills, very similar to the foothills of SC, so very familiar to me. One age grouper caught us on the swim. He was freakin' flyin' on the swim. He went like 24:XX in the water. Crazy fast. Anyway, I caught him in the first few miles of the bike, and he tagged along behind me. Them at around mile 10 or so I caught Felipe. He tagged along behind the guy behind me. Anyway I pushed the pace pretty good. I didn't feel real strong on the bike, and I knew the run was going to be tough as it was supposed to be in the mid 90's, so I didn't kill myself on the bike. I kept the pace up pretty good and put in a few surges to drop the guys behind me. I should have charged them admission after the race for giving them an up and close guided tour of the bike course...anyway. Dropped Felipe at around mile 45, and the other guy hung around enjoying the broken air behind me all the way to T2. Just so you know, I knew this wasn't a draft legal event, not sure everyone else knew that...(sarcasm) Bike Time: 2:21:40

T2: Legs felt good getting off the bike. My family was there to chear me on and give high 5's, which is plenty motivation for me!! I knew I wasn't in any condition to try and catch Dan, who was about 4 minuntes ahead of me. I just wanted to hold onto 2nd.

Run: This can be a lonely run course, as you are away from the race site for the entire run. The out and back sections are out away from transition. Kind of quiet. First few miles I felt good. I was holding 6:40 pace, so I was content knowing I needed to stay in reserve for the "heat fest" yet to come. As I passed miles 5 and 6, I could feel the sun taking its toll on my body. I was unable to hold good pace. I knew Felipe was closing in on me, so I just tried to hold on to around a 7 minute pace. The aid stations felt like they were taking forever to get to. It was hot and I was freakin' tired.

Ok, Felipe caught me at mile 8, and he was cruisin'. I knew I couldn't hold his pace, so I was content with holding onto third at that point. To be honest, I really just wanted to get to the finish line. So a few miles later, I noticed Felipe wasn't going any faster than me. The heat must have been taking a toll on him, too. I thought "What the hell, I'm already near death, I might as well see if I can go faster"...so I picked up the pace to see what would happen.

As I approached mile 12, I noticed I wasn't making up enough ground, so I just settled into a pace that I knew would get me to the finish standing. As I approached the finish, I saw my boys along the side of the road chearing me on, so that made me smile...A couple of high 5's and I tried to hold my best form for the camera. Run Split: 1:34:11 (ouch!!)

Total time was 4:26:49

9 minutes faster than my previous attempts at this race, so I'm happy. It was in much tougher conditions, too.

An IV, 1 Pepsi, 1 Sunkist, 2 Chicken Sandwiches, 1 Gatorade, 3 cookies, and 3 beers later...I felt like a million bucks : )

I was given an award for Top Amateur and received the title that I'm getting tattooed on my behind. I am also getting a cool trophy to add to the collection. Oh yeah, got a check too, but I had to hand that over to my better half. It covered the race fee and some gas $$. Really cool, though : )

Anyway, I'm tired now. Have to try and recover for next weekend's Festival of Flowers Int'l distance race. It has a stacked field, and I have to figure out how to get these dead legs to wake up before then.

Later.

Lake Murray Race Report

Okay, another "C" race in the bag. Had a decent day, can't complain.

Swim was a little choppy, but not too bad. Felt pretty good, was out of the water in 5th. I still really need to work on my swim.

Bike was ok. I never really got comfortable on the bike, so I just tried to "muscle" through. Came in to T2 in 2nd. Legs felt tired and I was not looking forward to the run. I knew Dan Moss was ahead of me, so I just wanted to hold onto second.

Run was decent. The legs were out of sort for the first mile, but my splits were pretty good...better than last week. I just tried to keep a steady pace, but I saw third place was gaining on me. I put in a surge at mile 2 to shake him, but unfortunately he held on, then put in a surge of his own and dropped me. Need to work on my run, too.

Finished 3rd, so I'm not terribly dissapointed...I just hate that I was run down...again.

Oh well, three races in three weeks are now over. I have two weeks to be ready for Rock N Roll Man, my "A" race for the first half of the season. The recent racing has made me a bit tired. I'm nervous that my fatigue won't go completely away, but I'll stay optimistic as RnR Man is a great race, and I'm hoping for my best performance yet. The plan now is to put in a few more hard days, then begin my full taper.

Clemson Sprint Race Report

I felt pretty good heading into the sprint race, as I was worried about being tired from White Lake just this past weekend. Race went pretty well. I hoped for a podium spot and scored 3rd, so I'm content.

Swim: I guess I'm the only swimmer that doesn't sprint out at the start. I suppose I should start, b/c I felt like I had to swim over 10 people heading to the first turn. Oh well, I guess they do call it a sprint race for a reason. I lost a good amount of time trying to get around people...lesson learned. Swim was OK, not spectacular. I had 5 guys out ahead of me, so I had my work cut out for me on the bike.

T1: Terrible. In a hurry to get out on the bike, and I lost probably 10 seconds trying to get my shoes on. I need to practice this!!

Bike: HILLY!! Whoever said rolling hills needs to be shot : ) It was either up or down with about 1 mile of flats. Hammerred as best I could to get in a good position for the run. Came off the bike a distant second right in front of third. I wanted to hold onto second at this point.

T2: Crap. Lost another 5-10 seconds trying to get my feet out of my shoes and on top of the shoes while still pedalling. I really need to practice this. 20 seconds lost due to shoes is too much in a race so short.

Run: OK, now I remember I just did a half ironman last weekend. My legs couldn't get out of 2nd gear for anything. Well, excuses didn't make me go any faster. I was a sitting duck to be run down. I made it back in 3rd place. It was a pretty tough Open field, so I'm happy with that.

Looking forward to Lake Murray this weekend. Longer bike segment, which suits me well. I'll practice my transitions this week, too.

White Lake Race Report

Finally!!!! I've been able to put together a strong performance since the SC Half from 2006. Last year was a major bummer for me, as I was never able to put together a strong race. Mostly because my fitness was not at the level that I wanted to race, therefore I'd fall apart at some point on the run. This season has been much better as far as the preparation goes. This is my first year working with Jamie, which has been the major difference in my fitness level compared to last year.

OK, so White Lake 2008. Here goes...Let me start off by saying this is a go fast course. The water is calm, the roads are flat, and the run is...well flat. Last year the winds were pretty rough, but this year they were not too bad.

Swim: I had a game plan to follow a certain someone's feet, as I knew he was a strong swimmer. Worked great. I could have gone faster, but I felt the pace was pretty good. We had a group of 4 of us swimming. I could tell there was a group of swimmers ahead of us in a pack, so we were in the second pack. I saw no benefit of getting out of this group to try make ground on the lead group. When we exited the water, I was dissapointed with the time. But...these swims are all relative, so I always compare my time to the top splits. Today I was 2 minutes off the leaders' pace, so I'm happy about that. Also, after talking to a few of the guys afterwards, they all agreed the swim was about 2 minutes slow. Well, at least that makes me feel better. Swim: 29:37

Bike: Just to give you a little history on me, I have always used a powermeter for cycling. I find them very beneficial, and usually try to pace my race efforts off target watts. Well, my powermeter's battery died a week before the race, and I could not get it back from the factory before we left for the race, so I had no PM. Oh well, I dediced to go completely off perceived exertion...no cycling computer, just a stop watch. Worked well for me. After exiting T2, I quickly passed 3-4 guys that were ahead of me. By mile 5 I had passed all but 1. I saw him ahead of me, so I just tried to settle in and thought I could reel him in, too. But, that was not the case as he eventually put time into me. During the ride, I never felt real comfortable. I was trying not to go too hard, but my hip flexors were killing me for some reason. I had to continuously stand on the pedals and stretch. Funny thing is this never happens to me on trainnig rides. I can usually go 4-5 hours without any discomfort in the aero position. But not today, I was dying to get off the bike and start running. Overall the bike ride was very lonely...no one in sight for nearly the whole ride. There is one out and back section at around mile 40. Great spot to check splits. I saw the leader (he was hammering) about 3 minutes ahead of me...Cid Jr. was behind me, about 3 minutes back. At this pint I knew I needed to pick up the pace a bit, so I did. Also I finally started to feel pretty good in the saddle. So, for the next 15 miles, I hammered it pretty good. Took it easy with 1 mile to go in order to get the legs ready for ground. I didn't mention that they had no water on the bike course, except for an 18 mile aid station. The remaining aid stations were not there...it was about 80 degrees, I had no fluids since about mile 35, as I was counting on getting water on the course. I was very concerned about my hydration, since I had sweat dripping in my face the entire ride. Anyway, T2 was good...it's always motivating to hear the crowd. No issues in T2, ran out, gave the baby a kiss on my way out to run 13 miles. Bike: 2:18:08

Run: As stated above, I was a bit dehydrated, so I made sure to take the early pace easy, while taking in plenty of fluids at the first few aid stations. Funny thing, how you have to take in fluids to make it, but too much or will shut you down. I nearly had problems with nutrition.... So, first mile, and my legs feel solid!! In my 2 seasons of racing, my legs never felt this good getting off the bike. I was very excited about the run. Well, another problem arose...there were no mile markers on the run course, so I had no idea what kind of pace I was running. So, I just ran what felt comfortable. I was still concerned about hydration, as well as finishing all 13 miles strong. The run course is a double out and back, which I like since you can split the guys around you. As I approached the first turnaround the leader passed me. He was flying!! Justin Park is an ITU triathlete, who was tearing up the course. Once I saw him, I thought, well, let's just hold onto second. So that was the plan. Volunteers finally got mile markers out on the course on our second lap. At this point, I wasn't worried about actual pace, since I was putting time on third...well, I thought I was. I kept splitting my lead on Cid after each turnaround, and I was able to gain on my lead. At the last turnaround, I noticed Cid wasn't there, but another guys was in third. Plus, he was only 3 minutes behind me, so he'd been gaining ground. I began to pick up the pace. No problems with the faster pace, but my stomach started to cramp at around mile 10. Probably too much fluids at the prior aid station. It was one of those painful grab your side stitches. I just shuffled my legs as best I could knowing third place was coming on strong. At around mile 11.5, I had shook off the cramp, I looked back (I know, I know), and saw third was about 1 minute behind me...I really picked up the pace at this point. With about .5 mile to go, I took the next to last turn, saw third place was about 30 seconds behind me, so I put in the best kick I could. Fortunately I was able to hold him off, and finished second. Run: 1:26:55

Total time: 4:17:08

Overall, my best result for a Half. Time was good, but it is a fast flat course. The entire race I felt like I was in control. I was at a comfortable pace that I felt was conservative, but good. I really think doing the whole race without any knowledge of pace was a benefit. I just went as hard as I thought I could manage for the duration. Can't complain with the result. Will I follow this plan again??? Hmmm, I don't know...We'll see.

Looking forward to Clemson this weekend.

2008 Race Schedule

Below is my racing schedule for 2008. Looking forward to a good, long, injury-free season. Ready to get started!!


13-Apr Greenwood YMCA Sprint
3-May White Lake Half
10-May Clemson Sprint
18-May Lake Murray
31-May Rock N Roll Man
8-Jun Festival of Flowers
21-Jun Tri the Midlands Sprint
17-Aug Greenville Sprint
7-Sep Hartsville Int'l
14-SepDuke Liver Half
28-SepSC Half
11-OctHickory Knobb
1-NovBeach2Battleship