The race season is officially under way. I raced the California Ironman 70.3 race yesterday, also known as a half ironman. Not sure why they can't call it a half ironman; it's supposed to be about not making finishers feel less adequate than the finishers of a 140.6 Ironman.

Forecasts were for rain all morning, so I was very happy to see the sun come out as we were setting up transition. It turned out I didn't have any need for my rain jacket and waterproof gloves: thank goodness!

The 54-degree water gave quite a blast to the face, but wasn't too bad after a few minutes of warm up. My feet went numb pretty quickly, but otherwise the swim wasn't too bad. I jumped into a decent group right from the outset, and I felt just fine holding the quick pace set by Olympian Andy Potts. However, he quicky put on the afterburners, and broke up our chase group. I managed to hold on until about 800 meters in, at which point I popped out the back. I was then in the midst of a moderately paced chase pack: not where I wanted to be, but not bad.

Exiting the water, and tackling the abnormally long transition, I realized that it was going to be a while before my feet warmed back up. At least I wasn't feeling the pain of running barefoot on that much asphalt.

I made a decent change to the bike, but was not as lightning fast as I would have liked: just one of the few things that gets a bit rusty in the off-season.

Within a few miles, I realized that I was riding pretty well. I had power right away, and felt like I was on track to notch a solid sub 2:20 bike split. I reeled in some of the early leaders, and applied some pressure on the early rollers. By the first turnaround on the bike, I counted that I was in seventh place. WIth more than forty miles to go, I felt I was in great position. I moved my way to fifth place by mile 18 or 20, and held steady for a few miles. At that point, I was overtaken by a small group of four. An admitted weakness of mine is that I don't particularly like to ride in groups. I like to dictate my own pace and effort. In general I chose to ride solo, even if that means riding with less of an advantage. However, the decision I made at mile 22 or so--not to ride with this group--proved to be a bad one. I sat fifty meters back of the rider in fourth position for a few miles, and gained a bit of ground on them up an over the longest climb of the race. It was on the subsequent down hill that I began to lose more ground that I had inteded. A badly timed bonk and a bit of lost focus cost me time to the group. Just as they were pulling away from me, they managed to pick up two more riders up the road.

At this point, I was losing ground, and their group of six was gaining steam. Perhaps I should have made the decision to tuck in, thus taking full advantage of the power of a group. Perhaps I'll learn from that mistake.

After slowing quite badly for a spell, I regained my momentum, in great part due to my added fuel. I knew that if the time gap wasn't too bad, I'd be able to notch a solid run to get back into the upper ranks.

Transitioning to the run, I felt terrible. On most occasions I move pretty smoothly to the run, as my legs come around quite quickly. This was an exception: my legs were tight and achey.

Looking up the road, it seemed that I was losing groud to a few folks, and in the least, was not closing any gaps. I would need to turn on some speed, or I'd be finishing out of the money.

I soon realized that I was being passed: Josiah Middaugh went by, and later Greg Krause zipped past. I stayed with them for a while, but as they caught Luke Dragstra, they gained steam, and I lost more ground. Things were not looking good for me.

At mile five I sucked down a PoweGel, and was instantly rejuvenated. By mile six I was a new man: I began to apply some pressure, and was finally running under six-minute pace. I was beginning to think I was stuck at Ironman pace all day. I got a bit angry, and I believe it helped me run. I was determined to finish strong in this race. I saw that I was gaining ground on Greg, Josiah, and Luke. Soon I passed each of them, and continued to apply some pressure. I finally felt loose, and was ready to push the pace, and really make myself hurt a bit.

I charged through miles six to eleven holding a quick pace; however, I did find myself bonking repeatedly. Unbelievably I took another gel at miles 8, 10, 11, and 12! I've never taken so much gel in any half marathon, and I will certainly take that into account in my nutritional prep for IM Arizona.

After securing sixth place on the course, I was able to notch it back over the last mile, still finishing strong, but not able to gain or lose a place.

Overall I was pleased with the race. I was strong enough to have some fun, smart enough to learn a ton, and tenacious enough not to give up when I was a bit off pace. I enjoyed getting back to racing, and am anxious to give it another go next month down in Tempe.

In the meantime, I'm going to get some good rest.

Until next time.

The race season is officially under way. I raced the California Ironman 70.3 race yesterday, also known as a half ironman. Not sure why they can't call it a half ironman; it's supposed to be about not making finishers feel less adequate than the finishers of a 140.6 Ironman.

Forecasts were for rain all morning, so I was very happy to see the sun come out as we were setting up transition. It turned out I didn't have any need for my rain jacket and waterproof gloves: thank goodness!

The 54-degree water gave quite a blast to the face, but wasn't too bad after a few minutes of warm up. My feet went numb pretty quickly, but otherwise the swim wasn't too bad. I jumped into a decent group right from the outset, and I felt just fine holding the quick pace set by Olympian Andy Potts. However, he quickly put on the after burners, and broke up our chase group. I managed to hold on until about 800 meters in, at which point I popped out the back. I was then in the midst of a moderately paced chase pack: not where I wanted to be, but not bad.

Exiting the water, and tackling the abnormally long transition, I realized that it was going to be a while before my feet warmed back up. At least I wasn't feeling the pain of running barefoot on that much asphalt.

I made a decent change to the bike, but was not as lightning fast as I would have liked: just one of the few things that gets a bit rusty in the off-season.

Within a few miles, I realized that I was riding pretty well. I had power right away, and felt like I was on track to notch a solid sub 2:20 bike split. I reeled in some of the early leaders, and applied some pressure on the early rollers. By the first turnaround on the bike, I counted that I was in seventh place. With more than forty miles to go, I felt I was in great position. I moved my way to fifth place by mile 18 or 20, and held steady for a few miles. At that point, I was overtaken by a small group of four. An admitted weakness of mine is that I don't particularly like to ride in groups. I like to dictate my own pace and effort. In general I chose to ride solo, even if that means riding with less of an advantage. However, the decision I made at mile 22 or so--not to ride with this group--proved to be a bad one. I sat fifty meters back of the rider in fourth position for a few miles, and gained a bit of ground on them up an over the longest climb of the race. It was on the subsequent down hill that I began to lose more ground that I had intended. A badly timed bonk and a bit of lost focus cost me time to the group. Just as they were pulling away from me, they managed to pick up two more riders up the road.

At this point, I was losing ground, and their group of six was gaining steam. Perhaps I should have made the decision to tuck in, thus taking full advantage of the power of a group. Perhaps I'll learn from that mistake.

After slowing quite badly for a spell, I regained my momentum, in great part do to my added fuel. I knew that if the time gap wasn't too bad, I'd be able to notch a solid run to get back into the upper ranks.

Transitioning to the run, I felt terrible. On most occasions I move pretty smoothly to the run, as my legs come around quite quickly. This was an exception: my legs were tight and achey.

Looking up the road, it seemed that I was losing ground to a few folks, and in the least, was not closing any gaps. I would need to turn on some speed, or I'd be finishing out of the money.

I soon realized that I was being passed: Josiah Middaugh went by, and later Greg Krause zipped past. I stayed with them for a while, but as they caught Luke Dragstra, they gained steam, and I lost more ground. Things were not looking good for me.

At mile five I sucked down a PoweGel, and was instantly rejuvenated. By mile six I was a new man: I began to apply some pressure, and was finally running under six-minute pace. I was beginning to think I was stuck at Ironman pace all day. I got a bit angry, and I believe it helped me run. I was determined to finish strong in this race. I saw that I was gaining ground on Greg, Josiah, and Luke. Soon I passed each of them, and continued to apply some pressure. I finally felt loose, and was ready to push the pace, and really make myself hurt a bit.

I charged through miles six to eleven holding a quick pace; however, I did find myself bonking repeatedly. Unbelievably I took another gel at miles 8, 10, 11, and 12! I've never taken so much gel in any half marathon, and I will certainly take that into account in my nutritional prep for IM Arizona.

After securing sixth place on the course, I was able to notch it back over the last mile, still finishing strong, but not able to gain or lose a place.

Overall I was pleased with the race. I was strong enough to have some fun, smart enough to learn a ton, and tenacious enough not to give up when I was a bit off pace. I enjoyed getting back to racing, and am anxious to give it another go next month down in Tempe.

In the meantime, I'm going to get some good rest.

Until next time.

After returning from North Carolina, Boulder was hit with a series of early Spring/ late Winter storms. We've been pretty lucky with the witner so far, but it's now the snowy month, and it looks like we're in for it! It seems that 2006 has been characterized by warm temps with high winds, or calm but chilly.

Due to the first snow arriving on Wednesday, I opted for a big day on Tuesday. I ended up with a great long ride and short run, followed by a nice swim before my massage. We were given a break on Thursday, so I was out on the bike after a day of only running, swimming, and lifting. I've really been hitting the weights hard this winter, and I feel it's going to help out with my bike strength. Sure, I might only ride three days this week, but I'll pound the quads pretty hard with the leg press!

Friday was a great day, because Amanda and I decided to head up to Brainard Lake for some snowshoeing with the dogs. We hadn't done any winter sports all year, and Friday was the perfect opportunity. It was snowing pretty hard down in Boulder, which generally means that up at 10,000 feet it's even more snow! Luna suited up in her winter parka (she barely stood above most of the snow drifts, as she's only a couple inches tall!). And Blue managed his temperature control by running extremely quickly back and forth and back and forth. I wish we had photos to show what a sight it is to see him move! After 1:15 of running and walking, Amanda and I were pretty much pooped. We removed the frozen snowballs from Luna's undercarriage, and made the trip back down the mountain to Boulder.

Next up was a nice swim and another hard lift. In between the two we had a very enjoyable dip in the hot tub. My first luxury purchase when I hit the big time wil be a hot tub for our deck here at the house: I love the spa!

Saturday was another outdoor day, and I notched in another good ride. I followed that up with a run... just as the snow began to fall again.

It's now looking like another gorgeous, sunny week for Boulder, but mid-week I'm off to California (where I always freeze my buns off!) to race the half Ironman in Oceanside (formerly Ralph's).

Until next time.

Last weekend was a fun one, as Amanda and I traveled out to North Carolina to participate in a clinic put on by Inside-Out Sports. One of Amanda's sponors for the past few years, and a defacto sponsor of mine--thanks, Cid!--the Cary-NC-based tri shop brought us out to help with this one-day clinic. The local tri club, Triangle Tri, teamed up with IOS to host this event. In all the day provided for a group bike ride, a group run, and several individual sessions.

We had about 100 athletes in attendance, some of whom were seasoned vets, while others were beginners. Amanda and I really enjoyed telling our stories about how we became triathletes, and how we've progressed since our humble beginnings. We got to share a bit more during the half-hour individual Q & A sessions following lunch. In addition to our part, athletes were afforded the chance to do bike fits, biomechanical gait analyses, stroke critiques, transition clinics, and much more. All in all, it was an impressive clinic, and a great first-time show.

We took advantage of being out in NC to scope out the area as a potential future home. We've always been drawn to North Carolina, and the Chapel Hill area has been top of the list. We didn't get a chance to see Ashville or Wilmington, but we'll plan another trip out there before too long.

In addition to the clinic, Amanda and I did a bit of training with the local tri crew. We did a couple of nice rides, and enjoyed a long run on the trails just outside Raleigh. All in all, it was a great trip, with a lot of laughs and a bit of easy training.

We're now back in Boulder, and are entering into March: the snowy month!

That's it for now.

So I'm back in Boulder, and I've spent much of this week rebounding from my trip to Austin. I seem to be pretty tired still, and my muscles have not had too much get-up in them. I just returned from a much needed massage, where Kris pounded out all the knots and adhesions in my quads. I suspect I'll be a bit sore tomorrow, but will be well on the road to a full recovery... just in time for the weekend of training. I am struggling a bit to get used to breathing at altitude again. It seems that ten days is just enough to 'forget' what it's like to be oxygen deprived. Although the hematocrit levels don't dip until twenty days at sea level, that 'feel' sure does go. It'll probably be a few more days before that comes back. In the meantime, I'll be suffering.

On the flip side, I think I made a switch for the better with the weather. Boulder has been sunny and beautiful, with mild temps; whereas Austin is rumored to be in the cool rain now. Good timing with the training trip!

I had better get back to some of my 'around the house' chores: we're still trying to get settled into our new home!

Until next time.

Day 10 of my training trip arrived with some chilly temps. This is about as cold as it gets in Austin: 33 degrees with drizzle, fog and wind. Hmmm... I chose to sleep in rather than join T and B for the start of the half.

I dragged myself out of bed at 8:00am for a 9:00am start to my long run. My goal was to trek down to the course, follow it in reverse (not backwards!) to see as much of the action as I could.

I quickly realized that a lot of dreams and goals were not to be accomplished that morning. I saw many a runner--from elite to back-of-the-packer--suffering through these tough conditions. I was thankful that I was just training that morning.

I found an athlete that I coach around the mile 17 mark, and she was in the process of freezing her way off pace. She just missed her goal of qualifying for Boston, but finished despite the nasty morning temps.

I finished up a really nice long run: 21 miles with enough roads and trails, and ups and downs to keep my happy. It felt very good to get that final bit of sea level mileage in the legs.

I fueled up with about a gallon of Ultragen (best recovery drink ever!) and headed out for day three of the same ride. I somehow found myself in an enjoyable little rut/ patttern, and the ride suited me just fine. I did have to wait a little bit for Todd this time (he had notched a solid 20miler that moring as well). Ah well, it was great to have his company, except on the hills. Come on. Ha!

The trip was nearing its end, and I was pretty much done. I had met all of my training goals, in fact, had exceeded many of them. I had eaten at all my favorite restaurants, and visited with all my good friends. All that was left was one final visit to Jack and Adam's Austin bikes: really the best tri shop I've seen.

We capped the day off with a trip out to Jon and Nancy's place, also known as Casa Hill, or Rancho de Hill. (At least I know it this way.) We pounded back a few glasses of red wine, ate way too much, and laughed quite a bit. It was really a nice end to a great trip.

Bright and early Monday morning, Todd dropped me at the Austin airport where I boarded a flight for Colorado. I'm now back in Boulder, planning my next block of training to ramp myself up for Ironman Arizona.

Check in for more later...

Saturday morning came very early for me. I had decided to part from what had become my norm, and to join a group for a masters swim. The venue was the gorgeous Texas Swim Center, and the Tx Aquatics coach that morning was my favorite, Whitney Hedgepeth. I joined Andrea and Jamie (ok, I was too tired to really join them, but I tried) for my first 5000-yrd workout of the year. I'm really taking a different approach to swimming this year. I've been focusing on correcting a few inefficiencies in my stroke, so I've not really pounded out the big, hard sets. This was a struggle for me, but after about an hour, I found myself warming up a bit.

We then went to the Whole Foods flagship. For fear of spending three hours describing this amazing store, I'll just suggest that anyone in the Austin area make the trip over to 5th and Lamar to see it themselves. I had such a great time eating breakie there that I decided to have lunch, dinner, and several desserts there as well: very delicious.

I then made my way over to Cassie's place to join her for a run workout. The plan down in Texas was to make use of all that extra oxygen by running a bit higher on the intensity. Her workout was twice over the Stratford loop (four miles with the first two being very steep hills, and the second two being flat). Her goal: to push the hills and the flat with recovery on all downs. We notched a very fun, and challenging ten miles, satisfied with our times and efforts; it's really a great run, and the venue for the semi-world-famous Fools' Run!

Next up was, of course, lunch at Whole Foods. Yum.

Finally I got out for the same bike ride as Friday: easy yet hilly. This was just right for my tired legs. Todd and Beth were preparing for an early moring at the Austin Marathon and Half, so I headed over to Whole Foods for one final meal, and lots of chocolate!

Friday brought the wind and cold, but it didn't stop us too much. Fortunately, this was to be an easier day for me. I slept in a bit before meeting with Ritchie Cunningham and Luke Dragstra for a short and easy spin. The wind and cooler temps slowed us down a bit, and forced us to choose a more sheltered route up north. We made our way through some nice neighborhoods, and picked up an old route past where Scott and Kathleen used to live (in case the Woods are reading). Hitting 360 we enjoyed a tailwind for the second half of the ride, although we were still freezing our buns off.

Next up for me was a bit of lounging around. I couldn't seem to drag myself off the couch!

I finally dragged myself out for a run: an easy 40 minutes. Although it was getting late by this point, I still managed to jump in for a nice 4000 at Stacy pool. It's really amazing how few people are there on a cold Friday evening. I pretty much had the whole pool to myself.

I capped the day off with a really nice dinner at Curra's with my good friends Doug and Besty, as well as Todd and Beth (my generous hosts). We really enjoyed pounding back the chips, salsa, some tamales and beer, as well as one or two World Famous Enchiladas!

Thursday Feb 16th was an adventruesome day, indeed. My buddy Todd decided to take the day off from work to join me in the life of a professional triathlete. We opted for an early start to get a jump on the pending 83 degree day! Love those Austin winters!

We walked down the hill for a short swim workout at Stacy. Who can beat this commute: three minutes walk across the street to the pool, if you walk slowly! This free city pool is heated and 100ft in length. The city has a couple of these odd length pools, so you have to get used to swimming three laps to the 100. We did a nice 45min dip, and headed--gear in tow--to Austin Java Co for some breakie... and java.

Pancakes and breakfast tacos (and Latte!) on board, we zipped over to our start point. Our goal was to ride long: six hours even. Since leaving Austin, I've not done as many over-distance rides like this, as I found that the intensity was suiting me more these days. This was to be a different ride: long, moderate, and hilly terrain. Me and Todd pushing each other like the old days.

Well, we made about thirty-five miles of this before coming to an abrupt halt. It seems that the extreme quantity of riding I had been logging over the last several days finally caught up to my poor bike frame. My super smooth, superlight, performace CAROBN road bike had met its limit. The folks at Javelin make an incredible line of bikes, but it would appear that this one, as sweet as it is, is not for me. I pushed it to its max, and managed to snap the frame in two! Oops.

I was only stranded for about 90 mintues, as my friend Lon was kind enough to retrieve me. Rather than drive me in, he actually provided me with his back-up bike, so I got to notch another couple hours. The 100+ miler turned into 80 for me. Todd still swung the 6 hours, and we did finish together, with just the break separating us for a while.

In retrospect, the 30 miles I missed on that ride were probably not needed, as I still hit 500miles for the seven days I have had in Texas. Combining that with just under 70 miles running, I think I hit my goal of a solid training camp.

Finishing the ride, I only had about three minutes to spare before I met up with a small group for a run. I had planned on having at least 30-40 minutes to 'transition', but alas, I did not.

Shoes and hat, singlet and shorts, grab a gel and go. I booked it over to the meeting place to find I was one minute inside the 'window' of acceptable lateness. Our session today included some HILLY, and I mean HHHIIILLLYYY mile repeats. Really it was a five-mile tempo run, as there was no rest between each loop.

My goal was to run steady, as this was some of the first faster running I had done all year... actually since pre-Hawaii. The sea level thing kicked in--as did the Latte!--so I felt pretty peppy. I tried to stay strong and to keep Cassie (my marathon trials hopeful and good buddy!) on pace. I think we went out to fast, as the workout was easily a good thirty seconds per mile faster than prescribed. I can't complain myself, as it was just perfect, but we definitely pushed each well. I think that normally Cassie and I have very comparable paces, normally when I'm off the bike, and she moderately fresh. It's a great training partnership.

We cooled down, and I mean this literally, as we were all sweating buckets in this February weather: 83 degrees, no joke!

Next up was a dip in Deep Eddy pool: another 100-footer, but this one is a crisp 72 degrees the whole year 'round. It's the perfect way to finish a run: soak and splash. I notched another 500 yards after linking back up with Todd.

We were done for the day, minus a fun dinner at Ztejas: margaritas, steak and a lot of laughs.

Friday will be a down day for some recovery and rest: moderate workouts in all three, plus more mexican food!

Until next time.

So I finally got out the door on Wednesday, after a productive morining around the computer. I have been doing residential mortgage lending as a part-time employment opportunity, and I had a few items that required my attention early that day. It caused me to miss a scheduled ride with some friends, but that proved to be the only drawback to my noon start time.

I ended up linking up with my good friend Jon Hill for a very hilly spin around his neighborhood. I love Austin for it's steep hills; no wonder there have been so many great cyclists out of this area with these climbs!

After about 90 minutes with Jon, I headed out to wrap up the remainder of a 4:30 ride. I found a couple of doozies to add to my quad burning hill ride, before settling into a flatter section of town.

I didn't manage to get the early run in pre-ride, so I opted for an easy 5miler off the bike. I had the energy and the gumption, so I headed down to the lake to shake the old legs out. I still have that sea-level advantage, so the run was pretty fun, and a tick peppier than it would have been up in Boulder.

Last up for the exercise portion of the day was a dip in Stacy pool. I might not be swimming a lot this week, but I sure am swimming frequently!

I capped off the day by attending a birthday celebration at a unique natural restaurant called Casa de Luz. They are all organic and vegetarian. Due to the meatlessness of my meal, I found the need to refuel with three heaping plates of deliciously prepared veggies and grains: what a meal. The glass of wine and dessert were welcome treats at this palace of health food, so we all toasted Rip's birthday, and enjoyed some great conversation.

So far my goals are all being me: swim, bike, run, eat, and catch up with all the good Austin folk!

Tuesday was VD: Valentine's Day. Not so fun to have Feb 14 roll around being separated from your Valentine. I had arranged for some tulips to be delivered to Amanda, so at least my lovely wife knew she was in my thoughts.

I began the day a bit behind schedule, due to my latte stop. I love a latte early in the morning! I met up with a crew of guys for a long ride. After strating out pretty slow, due to a pretty solid headwind, our group gradually got smaller and smaller, as we got faster and faster. Toward the end of the ride, just Jamie Cleveland and Luke Dragstra and I remained. We did one of my favorite loops in reverse direction: Austin to San Marcos, San Marcos to Wimberley on 12, on through Dripping Springs to Hamilton Pool road, back 71 to Bee Caves and 360. It was exactly 100 miles, and the end result was another nice long ride. The weather was ideal, and I think we nearly hit 80 degrees! The other highlight, besides the great company, was the fact that many of these roads were newly paved! It's a wonder what they can do in a year's time!

Off the bike I opted for a short run. Again that sea level thing kicked in, and I felt great. It didn't take me long to talk myself into running ten miles. It felt so effortless, who i am to argue.

After finishing off six+ solid hours of training, I jumped in Stacy Pool for a 40-min dip.

That really topped me off, or tapped me out, as it was truly time to eat. I called up my friend Cassie, and met her for a delicious--and all you Austin folks know what I'm talking about--Mangia Pizza. We polished that off, and my day was done.

It's now day seven-ish of my trip, and I had better sign off, as I've got another ride planned here in about... ten, make that five, minutes.

Until next time.

Oops, I fell off the wagon a bit... slacking with the updates.

After a slow start to the day Monday: latte with Zane, Terra, and Brad at the local coffee house, I did a bit of mortgage work on the phone and computer. It was actually a nice way to spend the morning: catching up with friends, and being productive in other another area, other than training. However, this trip is for training primarily, so I followed that up with one of my best rids of the year.

Leaving Zane's house, I headed straight out to one of the Austin area's greatest roads: Lime Creek. It's just one of those roads. You see very little traffic, it's hilly, pretty, fairly smooth, and very fun. I zipped in and out of all the curves and turns, and was enjoying myself (and my caffeine buzz) so much that I didn't realize I had quickly made it to the moderately famous (not quite world famous) Triple Bitch. This half-mile pitch is split into three segments--all quite steep--thus the name. I realized why training at altitude can be such a benefit, while climbing these hills. I felt great.

During a lovely three and a half hour ride the only coversation I had was with the bleach-blonde, red-camero-driving woman who pleasantly screamed at me: "do you have a fuckin' death wish?!" I didn't think the road I was on was particularly dangerous, but evidently she did.

Next up was a short swim at Stacy, and dinner with Jamie and Andrea. After a long day, that was pretty much the best hamburger and tortilla soup (and oatmeal heath cookie) I have ever eaten.

Oops, I fell off the wagon a bit... slacking with the updates.

After a slow start to the day Monday: latte with Zane, Terra, and Brad at the local coffee house, I did a bit of mortgage work on the phone and computer. It was actually a nice way to spend the morning: catching up with friends, and being productive in other another area, other than training. However, this trip is for training primarily, so I followed that up with one of my best rids of the year.

Leaving Zane's house, I headed straight out to one of the Austin area's greatest roads: Lime Creek. It's just one of those roads. You see very little traffic, it's hilly, pretty, fairly smooth, and very fun. I zipped in and out of all the curves and turns, and was enjoying myself (and my caffeine buzz) so much that I didn't realize I had quickly made it to the moderately famous (not quite world famous) Triple Bitch. This half-mile pitch is split into three segments--all quite steep--thus the name. I realized why training at altitude can be such a benefit, while climbing these hills. I felt great.

During a lovely three and a half hour ride the only coversation I had was with the bleach-blonde, red-camero-driving woman who pleasantly screamed at me: "do you have a fuckin' death wish?!" I didn't think the road I was on was particularly dangerous, but evidently she did.

Next up was a short swim at Stacy, and dinner with Jamie and Andrea. After a long day, that was pretty much the best hamburger and tortilla soup (and oatmeal heath cookie) I have ever eaten.

Oops, I fell off the wagon a bit... slacking with the updates.

After a slow start to the day Monday: latte with Zane, Terra, and Brad at the local coffee house, I did a bit of mortgage work on the phone and computer. It was actually a nice way to spend the morning: catching up with friends, and being productive in other another area, other than training. However, this trip is for training primarily, so I followed that up with one of my best rids of the year.

Leaving Zane's house, I headed straight out to one of the Austin area's greatest roads: Lime Creek. It's just one of those roads. You see very little traffic, it's hilly, pretty, fairly smooth, and very fun. I zipped in and out of all the curves and turns, and was enjoying myself (and my caffeine buzz) so much that I didn't realize I had quickly made it to the moderately famous (not quite world famous) Triple Bitch. This half-mile pitch is split into three segments--all quite steep--thus the name. I realized why training at altitude can be such a benefit, while climbing these hills. I felt great.

During a lovely three and a half hour ride the only coversation I had was with the bleach-blonde, red-camero-driving woman who pleasantly screamed at me: "do you have a fuckin' death wish?!" I didn't think the road I was on was particularly dangerous, but evidently she did.

Next up was a short swim at Stacy, and dinner with Jamie and Andrea. After a long day, that was pretty much the best hamburger and tortilla soup (and oatmeal heath cookie) I have ever eaten.

I'm back on borad with the updates: two in two days!

I finished up the day with a nice 'easy' ride, over hills with a solid wind in my face. Gotta love that wind: a necessary evil, for sure. I thougtht I was going to finish the ride without a stop (the rest stop is something I generally avoid when riding in Boulder), but no luck. I find that the more I ride down in Austin, the more I look forward to the convenience stores. It's my way of making a 'vaction' out of these training trips. I'm working hard, but getting a little break along the way. Halfway through the ride, I found myself enjoying a quick Snicker Bar, yes, King Size. Anyway, the legs were pretty tired from the long ride and run, so I pretty must just made it through 2:30, and got home for some food.

The rest of the evening consisted of hanging out with my buddies, Jack and Stacy. They have two brand new puppies, so we spent a good while enjoying getting licked by happy little puppy tongues: love that puppy breath! We also enjoyed a stop at World Famouns Chuy's (of Laura and Jenna Bush fame), for some delicious tex-mex. Love that as well.

So far Monday has consisted of squaring away a bunch of business stuff. I'm about to wrap it all up, and will soon be enjoying this gorgeous sixty-degree day. I'll check in later with updates, should I find something interesting to report.

until then.

Ok, it's been a long time since my last update--a really long time--and I apologize to those of you who have checked in for reports, only to find no updates. I'm now going to attempt more regular updates (famous words).

So, after taking the majority of December, and the last part of November completely off from training, I dove back into things on January 1st. Being the day after our one-year anniversary, it was a tough day back in the saddle, as I was a tad hung over. I've since turned things around, and feel that I've got a nice fitness base going.

After a busy January with buying a house, moving, starting jobs with new companies, I felt I needed a break from Boulder to get in a nice focused training block. I've been down in Austin now for the past four days, and will be here for another eight. It's great to come back down here to see all my friends, and to ride, run, and swim at all my old stomping grounds.

With an easy day on Thursday, I decided to plunge right into some good hard work on Friday. Unfortunately, that warm weather I was looking for arrived with a bunch of rain, so my first good run was a bit of a challenge. Before I look like to much of a nimrod, please note that those who have run on these trails in the rain know just how slick these rocks can be, and they can back me up on this one. Anyway, the short story is that I took a mean fall, and landed right on my knee. Ouch. I was too banged up to even get up off the ground. Normally my pride forces me to jump up immediately to avoid being seen in the prone position. However, this time was too painful for me, and all I could do was writhe in pain on the slick spot where I landed. Ouch. Next thing I know I'm running angry, like a mad-mad, with blood streaking down my leg. I think this incident was reposnible for me bettering my pace over the course of the next five miles, but it nontheless hurt me, and continues to hurt me. I'm tough, I'll survive.

The conclusion of that very run was a good one. I ended up climbing MtBonnell--a 500-meter-long hill with a nasty pitch. It's one of my tried and true routes, so it brought back many fond memories, as well as provided me with a hell of a workout. I felt that, in spite of the fall, this first workout boded well for a solid training week.

I followed that up with a nice, easy 1:45 on the bike, finishing up the day with a 4K swim set with my buddy Todd Gerlach. I did have to cajole him a bit to convince him we should stay in that long. It was getting late.

And in true throw-back fashion (to my days of old), I strapped on some lights, and rode home, through downtown, along my old Post Office route. I ended the day tired, a bit banged up , but ready to have some fun.

Saturday morning meant an early start, in order to accommodate Todd's schedule. We started at a chilly 7:00am, and completed most of the very pleasant--and hilly--Fitzhugh ride (toward Johnson City). Todd had to return early, so I added a bit on my return route: the bit was Courtyard and Jester with a bit of Spicewood Springs thrown in for good measure. For those not familiar with these roads, see shortened versions of St. Croix's the Beast. These hills in Austin are tough, and it's no wonder Austin has produced a few solid cyclists in recent years.

After a long 100 miles, I returned home to strap on the running shoes. I decided to make use of the 20mph wind from the north, and did a point-to-point run from hom to Jack and Adam's bike shop: 6.5 miles over rolling hills with a tailwind: up-tempo the whole way!

Day four has begun with a long run. After a four-mile warm up , I met with my good friend Cassie Heinkel, a pro runner just making the switch to the marathon. We did an enjoyable 12 together , and I finished up with my final four solo: a great 20 miles!

I'd better sign off, as it is getting later in the day, and I'd like to put in a coupoe hours on the bike prior to settling down for the day. Not to mention that it's become quite a lengthy post. Until next time...

Not a lot to report today. Amanda and I got an early start to the day with a run, followed by a short bike ride. We then took a nice dip in the pool at our hotel, before heading into town. We were supposed to be there for Amanda to be interviewd at 1:00pm, but nobody was there to enjoy the interview, so they postponed it. The expo scene definitely gets a bit later start down here when compared to the IMNA events back home. It seems like everything will get underway tomorrow, with registration starting.

Amanda takes Friday off prior to race weekend, so we'll not have much to do exercise-wise. There is a press conference at 10:30 followed by a tv interview. These should be it as far as commitments go, so we should be done pretty early in the day.

I am really looking forward to watching this race. Amanda is set to have a fun time out there, and provided she plays her cards right, she is going to be qutie competitive with the others. I wouldn't say there is a clear-cut favorite out there, so the day will got to whomever executes the smartest race. Should be fun, indeed!

That's about it for now. I'm going to see about importing a few photos from the digital camera now!

Adios

WOW! I'm quite the slacker when it comes to posting new Blog updates! Sorry 'bout that; it's mostly because I've been paying each time we hit the internet cafes, and I'm trying not to break the bank on this alone. It'll be much more fun to break the bank on chocolate, wine, and some ice cream post-race. That's right, I'm getting closer to being back on the junk! Since I've been battling this case of giardia and blastocystis hominis (so fun to say), I've been on the ulta-potent anti-biotic, so alcohol has been strictly off limits. It turns out that my liver is not able to handle it right now. On top of that, I'm lactocse intolerant, as a result of the out-of-balance intestinal flora. I'll be kicking this soon enough, and then it's back to the simple treats.

Amanda is really shaping up to have a great race. It's finally race week, and she's come around quite well. We are finally not on US time, so that's a big plus. It's really a good thing for us to arrive so early, in order to adjust. We have been doing some really nice training, and now that it's time to taper a bit more, we're even doing some fun sightseeing.

I'll have to post more info later, as my time just ran up.

Hope all's well in the northern hemisphere... summer with Christmas coming is quite fun for us!

Until next time.

Wow! It's been a long time since my last post. A lot has happened since then, so I'll quickly try to bring everyone up to speed:

After returning from SOMA, I made an appointment with a gastroenterologist to determine if my problems were resolving. It turns out that my previous diagnosis of intestinal ischemia was a bit off. My current diagnosis (after a somewhat unpleasant round of testing!) is giardia and another parasite called blastocystis hominis. It turns out I ingested these nasty bugs while drinking too much lake water in Madison or at Timberman. Bummer. I am glad to know why things went wrong, but bummed to have such a nasty afliction. I'm now on some powerful antibiotics to right things. In the meantime, I'm happily out of shape, and a bit weak from all the drugs, etc. I'll be back to normal in no time, if I can just get over this jet lag...

... yes, Amanda and I are Down Under, after a long, yet uneventful trip to Busselton, Western Australia. We're here for Amanda's season finale: the IM WA! It's a great town; a bit of sleepy beach town. We're settled in our new accommodations, which is a pretty fancy beach resort. We've got our very own apartment that has all the luxuries (more really!) that our home in Boulder affords us.

The training has been pretty relaxed, as we're just trying to back in the swing of things. (I'm basically doing whatever workouts are right for Amanda to get on track for her race... it's very fun, actually!) Later today we are hoping to get ahold of our missing bike box! It never arrived in Syndey, and has since made the trip to Perth, but not further down the road to Busselton. We have been ok up to now, but are now anxious to have the wheels: the race is in thirteen days!

That's about it for now. We're off to get a bit of food at the natural store, and to follow up our early morning swim with some more breakie and perhaps a run.

Until the next time (hoping it won't be too long), buh bye!

So the race season is finally behind me! Amanda and I travelled to Tempe, Arizona over the weekend, to participate in the Soma Triathlon. Our friend Jeff Suffolk is the race director, and he was kind enough to invite us out to the events. We had planned on going for quite sometime, and were looking forward to having a good time out there. However, we both ran into a few hurdles going into the weekend. First off, I had been struggling to get back to normal energy levels since my downfall in Hawaii. I found that I was feeling better for the most part, but I did not feel very energetic. Then, to top it off, I came down with a bit of a chest cold! Unfortunately, I passed it along to Amanda just before we were about to leave for Arizona... not good. Nonthesless, we had already committed to the race, and we knew that it was going to be a quality event. I was hoping to end the season on a more positive note after Hawaii, and Amanda wanted to have a tune-up race before Australia. So off we went.

We arrived on Friday, and went directly to the Soma Cafe. I had shipped my bike there directly from Hawaii, so we needed to pick that up. Plus, we had been invited to dine there during our weekend in Arizona. Soma is a great restaurant, created by and run by nutritionists, doctors, and athletes. Their goal is to provide healthy food and a fun environment in which to eat it. They are successful on both counts: the food is great, and it's a very casual place to hang out. They plan on opening one in Boulder soon, and I must admit that I'm really looking forward to that day.

After a large late breakfast (a pancake that nearly knocked me out!), we went back to the hotel for a long nap. We both felt the need to get as much rest as possible, seeing as how we were both so under the weather.

Our next obligation was quite fun: a gathering back at Soma Cafe that evening. There was a bit of a "meet and greet" with the pro athletes competing, so we joined up with Tim Deboom, and later Chris Legh to enjoy some more great food and to talk about the upcoming race. I think we all really enjoyed the night, as there were some super nice folks there, including Brad (Soma's owner), Todd, and the rest of the Soma staff.

On Saturday morning, Amanda and I opted for a quick run before we headed back to Soma... once again! I felt good for about fifteen minutes, but unfortunately didn't have much zip on the return trip. I was definitely starting to doubt that I would be strong enough to race the half ironman the next day.

Once again, we grabbed Tim and headed out for an awesome breakie out at Soma. We really had no obligations, so we just chilled out, relaxing and chatting for a couple hours. I must say that I really enjoyed getting to know Tim a little better. He's a really nice guy, and I think we all just enjoyed having a low-key day.

Later that afternoon, I put the bikes together, and we headed down to Tempe Town Lake. We signed up for the race, and jumped into the water for a quick swim. The water was nice enough to go sans wetsuit, although the race day temps would be cool enough to allow them.

Once we were done with the sign-up process, we did a brief Q & A for Jeff and some of teh triathletes, and headed back to the hotel for some more rest. Next up was another trip to Soma!

This time we dragged Chris along, and the four of us enjoyed a delicious pre-race meal. I was feeling ok, but definitely not normal. In spite of all the great food, I didn't have my standard appetite, and so I found myself contemplating not racing at all. I just didn't want to do any more harm to my body... although it seemed like it was going to be such a fun race!

Sunday morning came, and I still was unsure as to whether or not I would race. I felt pretty lousy, so I decided to ask Jeff if I could switch to the Quarterman, knowing that it would be a lot less taxing on my body. Fortunately, he was ok with that request, and I jumped in the water for the ealier/ shorter race.

I'll save all the details for a brief race report on my website, but suffice it to say that I had a fun time, and it was a REALLY good thing I did not do the half!

We're back in Boulder now, and the plan is to rest my bones for a few days, prior to heading back out the door to give Amanda some company in her final prep for IMWA! She's going to have a great race down there. Even though she was under the weather, and she took a wrong turn on the bike, she notched a third victory for the season! She's on a roll, indeed!

Until next time...