gusano

June?

2011-07-24T18:35:00.002-05:00

Ha! I really didn't have much of a June. I practically took most of June off with one race and three runs besides the race...

I'm picking up the training a little in July (since I feel like a total slacker). Finished a 13 mile run today just because.... I wanted to know I can still do it... I have a race in a couple of weeks but haven't trained specifically for it. Ill get in some quality workouts but for the most part I'm working on base and building junk mileage for next year. Gonna concentrate on running and a bit of biking. Wanna put together some solid half marathons and have a good run at IMTX next year.

June Totals

Run - 15.35 miles

Tejas Triathlon (Sugarland, TX...sprint)

2011-06-14T18:50:00.003-05:00

June 5th I raced in the Tejas Triathlon in Sugarland... 600 yard swim, 11 mile bike, 3 mile run. This year they changed up the bike course to one and a half loops. Other than that it was the same ol same ol.

I went solo to this race since Cat just had her surgery on her foot. Arrived really early and got a great spot on the rack (open racks). Got everything set up and then went off to be by myself and watch the sunrise over the lake.

It wasn't much later and I was chest deep in the water waiting for the gun to go off. Nerves weren't too bad this go round... The gun goes off. I found myself in the middle of the front of the pack being pushed and slapped around a little. I say pushed and slapped because it felt nothing like the IMTX swim two weeks ago. I would get hit then the guy would kinda back off. I thought I could use this to my advantage and started swimming a lot more aggressive than normally. Throwing bows, fists, kicking nuts, grabbin balls, you name it. I don't think it helped much because I didn't post an amazing swim time or anything.

Swim - 11:00? ( I'm not sure on the time because they have my swim and T1 time lumped together = 12:21)

T1 - 1:21? good transition, no problems.

I started from the get go hammering the hell outa the bike. Never really caught any rest from the swim and Im sure my HR was red-lining (just as planned). Passed two guys drafting and I couldnt keep my mouth shut about the guy sucking wheel (said a few choice words with him as I passed). Jerkface. No one passed me on the bike. Had the 3rd fastest bike split in my age group but we all know the race doesnt end at T2 ;)

Bike - 30:14 (21.8 MPH)

T2 - 0:31 (fastest T2 in my age...how you say...BOOM)

Felt really sluggish on the run, partially due to pushing too hard on the bike and probably due to 140.6 miles two weeks before but Im not out to make excuses. I think 3 guys passed me during the run (one of which was in my age group, and wearing freaking vibrams - shoot me). I started to feel better after the first mile and picked up the pace on mile 2 and 3. It still wasnt good enough to hold off the guy behind me. He passed me within 1/2 mile to the finish. Jokes on him because he got 4th place which put me in 5th and everyone knows how bad I hate 4th place... hahahaha loser.

Run - 21:19 (7:06 pace) I should be running sub 7 min miles. Gotta get this figured out (without slowing down on the bike).

Swim + T1 - 12:21

Bike - 30:14 (21.8 mph)

T2 - 0.31

Run - 21:19 (7:06 pace)

TOTAL - 1:04:26

5th in age group

44th overall

The plan now is to rest up, get my run faster, and podium this year while im in the 25-29 age group. No worries if I don't, would just be nice.

Im also thinking about racing Oilman half iron (Ironstar) in November to cap off the racing season...

May Totals

2011-06-04T12:50:00.003-05:00

May wrapped up Ironman Texas training which was basically tapering. Ive ran once, swam once, and biked once since Ironman two weeks ago. Today I just signed up for a local sprint race that Ive done 3 times before (Tejas Tri in Sugarland, tomorrow). Its a good and fun sprint that seems to attract a lot of speedy locals (600 yard swim, 11 mile bike, 3 mile run). I didn't race there last year due to IMCDA training so I'm excited to see how I now fair on this course. But, I cant expect a whole lot coming off IMTX.... we shall see.

May Totals

Swim - 10,124 yards

Bike - 275.69 miles

Run - 49.17 miles

Me, Phil, Devin after checking in bikes at IMTX.

Ironman Texas

2011-05-26T21:23:00.009-05:00

I went in to this race not knowing what to expect. I felt that I learned a lot at IMCDA and this experience would carry over to IMTX. My training hours were cut back a ton due to moving in January and starting a totally new career in March. I wasn’t sure if I had it in me. But that’s what I love about Ironman/long distance racing. You never know whats gonna happen. So I trained as much as I could without wearing myself down. My swimming was practically cut in half and my weekly training hours hovered consistently around 12. I really didn’t take rest weeks since I wasn’t hitting 18+ hour weeks as I did last year. But I made sure my workouts counted this time. No more fiddling around just to get in the hours. If I was gonna wake up a 4:30 I was gonna put in a good effort. All my swims were fast and my runs were pretty hard too. I put in 4 separate 100+ mile rides and totally bonked riding the IMTX course with Phil and Devin (totally executed the plan). My original goal (with everything clicking) for Ironman was sub 12 hours. That obviously didn’t happen at CDA and I was unsure I had a close shot at IMTX. I figured I would be around 13 hours with a good race and truly just hoped to cross the finish line before midnight.

Wednesday night before IMTX Phil and Kate arrived from NY. The next day we were at packet pickup and drove the entire bike course (Cathlene wasn’t able to make it due to work). Friday morning @2for1 (Amy) arrived and Devin met up with us to head to bike check-in and to swim some of the course. Phil and I wore our wetsuits since the rumor was the swim would probably be wetsuit legal (didn’t happen). We tried to get back home asap so we could all kick our feet up and get ready for the big day. The girls went grocery shopping and ended up having a blast (literally) with champagne bottles. Thankfully, Phil and I missed out on the excitement. That’s all a whole other story. We had chicken and rice for dinner and called it a night around 8pm.

3am rolls around and its race morning. Coffee and chickfila chicken biscuits were on tap that morning. We were out the door at 4am rolling to the race with some Rise Against and the Ironman bobby versus commercial “You vs You”. Found my parents at transition and then made our way to our bikes to get them race ready. So I find myself finishing airing up my rear tire and when I try to remove the pump my valve extender blows off. Effing great. At first I just starred at it, then I freaked, then I cursed, then I said I better fix this bad boy quick cause I don’t have much time! I knew the tire would be hard to re-install so I ran over to phil to help lend me a hand. It wasn’t 5 minutes later and I was installing the wheel back on my bike. Thanks for the help phil! We made our way (1 mile hike) to the swim start and stuff started getting real. We had our pictures gave our hugs and then were off to the swim start. We made our way through the crowd toward the water when some officials stopped phil and told him his speedsuit was illegal. He had it off in no time and before you know it we were in the water trying to find a good spot to set up and tread water the next 5 or so minutes. Just treading water I was getting kicked and hit so I had a feeling the swim would be…..”exciting”. I lined up about 5 people back from the front.

The gun goes off and we are finally on the way. The first 100 or so yards I swam with my head out of the water hoping to not get kicked in the face. Good idea. It was nuts in the water. I feared (yet again) for my life in the Ironman swim. I tried to get as far left as possible but the kayaks kept pushing up back into the mass. About half way to the first turn buoy I see Phil to my right. I knew something was wrong, he should be way ahead of me (turns out he had some major problems with body contact during the swim). After I made the second turn buoy things started to open up a bit. My eye socket was hurting really bad so I rolled over on my back to relieve some of the pressure by pulling the goggle off and replacing it. I made it to the canal where they funneled us back in to a pack and things again got rough. Nothing major though except I felt the ground with my hand one time. Finished the swim in 1:22:57 (2:10/100m).

No problems in transition. Socks shoes helmet glasses etc. on and out the tent. T1 = 4:49

Phil passed me within the first 5 miles of the bike. It wasn’t long after he passed me that I picked up my pace a little. I was feeling excellent and holding 20+mph was effortless with the tail wind. I ate a hammer bar the first hour, drank perpetuem every 30 minutes and took 3 endurolytes every hour. At special needs I swapped out my perpetuem bottle for a fresh one and grabbed my chicken biscuit. Ate half the biscuit, chunked the rest and kept right on trucking. Around mile 70 I had to make a stop and water a couple trees. Mile 100 came and went and before you know it I was at the dismount line feeling great. Finshed the bike in 5:54:00 (19 MPH).

Long run through transition and into the changing tent to put on shoes and visor. T2 = 5:14

Started the run feeling great (well, almost as good as you can feel after swimming 2.4 and riding 112 miles). Within the first mile I saw Edwin and his daughter Jenna and then the rest of the family at the first aid station. They were a great site to see. My supporters mean the world to me. I love to see them having a good time. The first 4.45 miles I averaged an 8:27 pace. From there on I gradually slowed down to my slowest splits at 11:33 pace then picked it back up the last 5 miles finishing the last 1.8 miles at a 9:12 pace. For most of the run, when I was running, I was holding close to 9 minute miles. My quads would start hurting or my stomach would start cramping and drive me to walk a little bit. I walked through every aid station from the 3^rd station on. I saw my family, friends, co-workers each loop of the run and boy did that help. Running past the finishing shoot for the last time before finishing I yelled to some college friends (fellow kings of trees) “one more lap, one more!”. Around mile 18 I started to hit the wall. I passed my family/friends for the last time and then made it up to Devin. We ran/walked the next few miles together chatting it up. I made it to mile 20 when I finally realized that I had a shot at going sub 12 hours. I told Devin I was gonna go for it and started picking up the pace. The next 6 miles were the hardest I have ever run. I dug deep. I wanted 12 or below. I had to walk a little bit but I wouldn’t let myself walk for too long. I had 1:10 to run 6.2 miles. I did have time for a little fun though… I grabbed a shot (Alabama slammer) from a fellow Houston Racing member, gave a hug to the lady in the bikini with a sign that said “free hugs, happy endings” and kept on trucking. Two miles from the finish I started running with two girls that were holding a good pace (I had 25 minutes to run 2.2). Dropped them at the next aid station and found a guy running a good pace that I hung with until the next aid station. I took a short walk and grabbed a cup of water at the last aid station. Running by my co-workers I yelled out “IM GOING SUB 12!”. One last short walk before entering the finishing shoot I got my stomach and legs back for a nice finish. I wanted to make sure I could enjoy it. Coming around the last turn was just as amazing as dreamed. I first looked at the time on the clock, then heard some friends yelling my name, I was well under 12 hours. I ran along the shoot giving everyone high fives then saw Cathlene and the girls on the other side. High fives to them and a few fist pumps later I was finished, an Ironman, a sub 12 Ironman. I saw Cat at the end of the finishing shoot and I couldn’t wait to hug the hell outa her. A few tears later and everyone else were around congratulating me. I was totally on cloud 9. I was talked in to going to medical and that probably was the best decision I could make after the race. The IV bag and lying by myself, soaking it all in (literally) was great. Finished the run in 4:28:45 (10:15 pace).

Total time = 11:55:45 ….. 25^th in age group (30^th counting the wetsuit swimmers), 456^th overall.

So now its 5 days later and I can’t wait for my next Ironman. I was just saying how I hate the training and how hard it is and crying like a little girl but man o man how I love this sport and lifestyle. I can’t thank my support group enough. They keep me going. I love all you guys so much.And a huge thanks to my wife, Cathlene, for pushing me, keeping me motivated and putting up with me through all this. No way I could do it without you babe.

I want to end with a tweet from Phil - “My bud @gusano82 broke his goal of 12hrs at #imtx today, he is on cloud 9. What car accident almost killed him?!?” – It’s easy to forget the past and how we got to where we are today. I used to think about that accident every day and found myself slowly forgetting it after Ironman CDA. I don’t want that to be my label, but it’s nice that people still remember and know how hard I’ve worked to get here today. Ironman used to just be a dream.

Big shout out to Philip Lavoie finishing his 3rd Ironman distance race and Devin Brown finishing his 1st Ironman!

Finishline Video

Tejas Triathlon (Colmesneil, TX)

2011-05-15T07:54:00.005-05:00

A first year sprint triathlon held in Colmesneil TX at a small Lake Tejas (400m swim, 13 mile bike, 3.1 mile run). Very back woods, nice area that felt just like home. It helped to know half the field competing and probably 80% were first timers. 46 people showed up to race including my brother in law Jake, good friend Mauiricio and life long friend Wiley. It was all their first triathlon and I felt pretty special to be a part of it.

The start was at noon so we had time to drive from my parents house to the race. I thought the noon start was pretty cool and it was perfect timing to see how I dealt with the heat.. Heat? what heat.

Wore my wetsuit in the swim and felt pretty good. I swear the sleeves restrict my shoulder just enough to tire out my bad arm. The swim was longer than expected. I say it was around 600m instead of the planned 400m. The RD thought it was long also. I got a good jump on the swim and stayed in about 3rd the whole way out and was passed by one guy coming back in. So Im 4th in to transition, and 4th out. No big deal. Transition went really smooth except for the sandy transition area and gravel that we had to run out over before mounting the bike.

The bike was hill after hill after hill. The hilliest bike course I have ridden. They werent huge but the ride never flattened out. I passed the first 2 guys ahead of me within the first 2 miles and could see the next one about 1/4 mile up ahead. This whole time I had no idea what place I was in so I was hammering trying to get the next guy. I caught and passed him around mile 8 and kept looking for the next one. Made one turn onto a straightaway of rollers and I couldnt see anyone ahead of. DANG someone must be super fast! Made the last turn and the cop "truck" (of course it was a cop truck, cop cars suck) passed me, threw on his flashers and escorted me in to transition. I was thinking, umm, maybe Im first? maybe not, maybe they are doing this since there is such a big gap. Rolled into transition racked the bike and I was off on the 3 loop run course.

I noticed there werent any other bikes racked but I still had a bad feeling that someone could be ahead of me. It wasnt until the second place guy came in did I realize I could coast and still win. The second loop I finally asked some friends working the water station how far back was second, They said at least half a lap back. I brought my pace down to a more comfortable feel and really enjoyed the last loop. The run course was three loops around the lake on a dirt/sand road. Not the best running surface but we all had to deal with it. It was a great feeling coming in the finishing shoot. The RD announced me crossing the line in 1:10:36, first place overall. Second place came in about 4 minutes after.

I had a great time cheering on my friends and seeing them compete in their first. Had some good times and it was awesome doing a "hometown race" and seeing how much endurance sports have grown in East TX. I was great having my mom and Cathlene there to support me. I think I made them proud :)

April Totals

2011-05-04T20:35:00.002-05:00

Same story, different month.

Swim - 17,512 yards

Bike - 462.66 miles

Run - 91.4 miles

Ready to race. The hours have been lower than last year but the intensity has increased. Ive added more speed workouts and feel way stronger than I did last year. I only had one 100 mile ride leading up to IMCDA and this year I have 4.

The goal this year is to run most of the marathon. Hoping for sub 5 hours.

Lonestar 70.3

2011-04-16T19:33:00.006-05:00

Now known as Ironman 70.3 Texas.

Im starting to learn something about goals and this long distance Ironman stuff. They are nice to have but all goes out the window as soon as the gun goes off.

I had a decent race last weekend and am pretty proud of the results. I just wish everything could click for me on race day. Had great support and that always pushes me a little harder. Saturday night my family shared a double bed hotel room. Family as in Cat, mom, dad, sister, niece, and 2 nephews. Was up at 3:30 ready to race! Had half a chicken biscuit, banana and some coffee for breakfast.

The swim felt great! The water was cold enough for age group wetsuits but the pros were unable to wear theirs. Anyways, within the first 100 yards some punk punches me in the face and one eye fills with water. Rolled over on my back, drained it and kept on going. I felt really good the entire swim except for my shoulder. It started getting pretty tired toward the end of the swim but I was able to hold a steady pace. I think my wetsuit puts a little more stress on the shoulder since I dont really experience this in the pool. Came out of the water in 39:17, a lot slower than I expected but Ill take it.

T1 - 2:24 - skipped the wetsuit strippers. Shoes already clipped in. No problems.

The bike was pretty awesome. Started out with a cross/head wind going out and I hammered pretty hard. I felt really good and held my MPH over 20 until the last 5 miles or so when wind really started slapping you around. I felt my 88mm wheels were great in these conditions. It only took one close call when I grabbed my water bottle and the wind almost blew me off the road. Held on tight after that. Made it to the turnaround and everything got quiet, ahhh nice, the tailwind I was hoping for. Averaged 19.16MPH on the way out and 21.76 on the way back.

Finished the bike in 2:44:54.

T2 - 1:43 - nutin to it.

The first mile of the run I knew it was going to be a long tough one. I couldnt find my pace and having some aches. First my quads cramped up... that went away after popping some endurolytes but then my stomach started feeling full. I was thirsty but didnt want the water or anything else to go in. This never really went away. Due to my quads cramping my IT bands started getting screwy. It wasnt until about mile 10 so I was able to still run without too much pain. The four loop run went like this: 28:14 (8:37), 31:01 (9:28), 34:18 (10:28), 36:29 (11:08). Finished in 2:10. No where near where I should be but oh well, this is all part of training and learning for IMTX.

Totals:

Swim - 39:17

Bike - 2:44:54 - 20.4 MPH

Run - 2:10:02 - 9:55 pace

Total - 5:38:20

Age group - 44

Overall - 581

Had a great time! Cant wait for IMTX!

IMTX Training Weekend

2011-04-02T08:36:00.005-05:00

Last weekends training was flipping awesome! Friday I took half the day off to pick up the LaVoie's from the airport. Phil was coming in to check out the IMTX bike course and get some good training in, in some heat. The temps were decent but really not hot enough for what May will bring but that dude will be fine.

As soon as they arrived I took took them to Freebirds for some fuel before our swim. good idea? bad idea? probably bad, I'm known to make bad ideas. So from there we head to Dads Club to swim in the outdoor pool, something Phil doesn't get to experience much in NY. Kate decided to jump in with us. Phil and I started off and swam about 2500 yards (for a warmup?). Decided then to swim 5 X 100s at a 1:20 pace, then 2 X 200s easy and 6 X 50s as hard as we could. Finished up with a cool down to knock out 4100 yards in about 1:07 (total swim time for me)... BOOM!

From the pool we met up with Shannon, had a few beers at the house and then went to Cathlene's boys playoff soccer game where we met up with my sister and nephew. After the game I took everyone to meet my buddy Jesus at a local TXMex place where we grubbed out and drank margaritas out of plastic boots.

Saturday morning Phil and I picked up Devin and headed out to The Woodlands to ride the IM course where we met up with 5 others. We had some studs in the group, including Phil, and they pulled us around averaging about 21-22mph the first 50 miles. We hit 100 miles right at 5 hours and I hit the wall. I couldn't make my legs move fast enough to keep up with the group so I fell back and tried to hold 18mph. We ended up getting in 110 miles on the course (including some detours that were not apart of the course) in 5:37, 19.5mph.

We decided not to brick the ride and headed to Freebirds. Beer and burritos after a long hard ride were perfect. From there Cat and Kate took Phil and I to Cats school to ice down our legs. The rest of the day we just kicked it, met Shannon again for mexican food, and crashed out early.

Sunday morning Devin met Phil and I for a quick 7 miler from the house. I was surprised our legs felt as good as they did and we finished with a 7:39 pace.

We finished off the weekend with Migas and beer!

Had an awesome weekend! Who needs to pay hundreds of dollars to train with friends for a weekend when we can throw our own camp? I see many more training weekends in the future. I'm hoping we can make it up to NY some time this summer for one and Devin and I always talk about heading out to west TX for some training.

March Totals

2011-04-02T08:30:00.002-05:00

Started a new job in March which totally threw my schedule off. So I'm just getting in what I can when I can. I think I'm still able to manage pretty good training weeks though. Still not hitting 18 hour weeks but they are consistent and I'm hitting all the distance goals. Ive ridden 100+ miles 3 different times (which is more than for IMCDA) and swam over 4k twice now. I'm running 10+ about once a week and will try to get an 18-20 miler in soon. Next weekend I have Lonestar 70.3 so this week will be a slight taper. Hoping to really crush that course. Its perfect for me, flat flat and flat. Will be my first to race the half in Galveston.

March Totals

Swim - 13,300 yards

Bike - 447.32 miles

Run - 73.38 miles

Rodeo Run 10k

2011-03-04T11:39:00.002-06:00

Had a pretty good 10k. Ran the first 5k with my friend Mauricio who ran a 3:25 San Antonio marathon. He had a good bit left in the tank so I told him to shift gears. We were holding right at 7 minute miles and I felt like this is all I could manage. I tried to keep him in my sights but mile 5 we came back up an overpass and I slowed down to 7:25 for that mile. Picked it back up and finished pretty strong one minute behind Mauricio.

44:07

7:05 pace

25th in age group

163rd overall

Its cool to see my progress over the years of this race. Ive ran it every year since 2005 except 2007 when I destroyed my ITbands and tried to fight that suburban on my bike.

The following are my times over the years:

2005 = 51:48 (8:21 pace)

2006 = 51:23 (8:16 pace)

2008 = 49:23 (7:56 pace)

2009 = 48:02 (7:43 pace)

2010 = 47:21 (7:37 pace)

2011 = 44:07 (7:05 pace)

February Totals

2011-03-04T11:35:00.002-06:00

Found a pool at the end of the month. Very little swimming this month but i did knock out a 4k swim in 1:12 which would put me just under my IMCDA swim time. I'm not too worried about the swim. Bike is a different story.

February Totals

Swim: 4,000 yards

Bike: 325.54 miles

Run: 83.79 miles

Strength: 4:45 hours

NOLA Half Marathon

2011-02-17T18:35:00.005-06:00

This past Sunday Cathlene and my parents made the trip out to NOLA to watch my uncle run his first marathon. We were planning on running but finally gave in and Cat and I signed up for the half. I needed to train that weekend anyway. We got there around 1pm Saturday, met up with my aunt and uncle, picked up our packets and hit up some local bars. I wanted to enjoy New Orleans so I didnt hold back to much on the alcohol. I didnt drink a lot but we definitely had a few.

Sunday morning came around and I was feeling pretty good. Walked our way about 2 miles to the start with Cat and my parents. Gave them all shake n bake knuckle bumps and headed to my corral. The weather was perfect and the course was flatter than Disney. The only problem was the road conditions, geez they were uneven and had lots of pot holes. No big deal though. I wanted to hold sub 7:25 pace and started off doing that pretty well. Without Phil, I wasnt sure I would be able to run as fast as we did at Disney. It wasnt until mile 9 when I fell above 7:25. I was ahead of the Disney PR though so I just tried to hold it together. Kept the next few miles under 7:35 and finished strong in 1:37:32 a ONE second PR over Disney! Haha consistent.

1:37:32
7:26 pace
345th overall
50th in age group

We had a great time in NOLA. Went back later to watch my uncle finish. Thats what its about. Was so cool seeing him cross the finish line.... Congratulations uncle Greg!!

Me (far left) Cat (right pic, left) with my uncle (right)

January Totals

2011-02-01T20:56:00.000-06:00

I haven’t found a pool so my swim suffered in January. Biking has been strictly on the trainer due to the convenience but I plan on starting some weekend long rides this month. Slowly ramping up on running. Still doing P90X every now and trying to get in the 15 minute Ab ripper every other day to help with my core. My weekdays have been going really well except for the swim. Weekends have been really busy with working and still trying to get settled in the new house on top of volunteering for races and racing. Last Sunday we volunteered at the Houston Marathon, This Sunday morning I am pacing Devin for the last 20 miles of his first 100 and then trying to get enough sleep to stay awake during Superbowl. The next weekend we will be in New Orleans for the marathon weekend where my uncle is running his first marathon and Cathlene and I will be running the half. Two weeks after that we have the Rodeo Run 10K.

January Totals:

Swim – 4,600 yards

Bike – 212.98 miles

Run – 55.21 miles

Disney World Half Marathon

2011-01-21T20:27:00.004-06:00

Disney World turned out a lot cooler than I expected. But we also had the coolest people to hang with while there and I can’t wait to go back. Cathlene and I arrived Thursday before the race (on Saturday) and met up with Phil , Kate, Samantha and Dave. Before you knew it we were all shacked up in the Dickers room drinking mini keg beer out of cups. That was Monday (I think) after the race so let me start back on Thursday. We all had dinner and a few drinks that night to make for an interesting Friday morning. Packets were picked up Friday and we hit the parks breaking me in with the “it’s a small world” ride… Friday night Cat and I found our pre-race meal in one of the parks and had chicken strips and a chicken fried chicken sandwich with fries (it sounded good at the time and really set well with my stomach on race day).
Saturday morning we were up at 3am and on the magic bus to the race start by 3:45am. Met up with Sam while Phil and Kate were stuck in traffic on their magic bus. They finally made it, Kate found the girls and I found Phil at the entrance to our corral.
The first few miles were pretty crowded and right off the bat stupid people that started in the first corral were walking. I have no problem with walkers but if you know you’re gonna walk, start in the proper corral, that’s what they are there for. At first I thought we were going out way too fast. I didn’t think I would be able to handle the pace but as we kept charging I keep feeling the same,,, good. It was awesome running with Phil. That dude pushed me hard. Around mile 10 he looked at me and said “you know you’re going to set a new PR right?” He dropped me on a couple hills (overpasses) but would slow down and let me catch back up then kept on pulling. It was a great feeling passing the 1:40 pace group with about a mile to go. I didn’t have any goals coming to this race and we kinda set some while running. I was thinking it would be awesome to break 1:40 as my current PR was around 1:42. The weather was perfect and the course was flat. This set us up for a great run. I ignored my heart rate and pace and just ran hard. Our splits were awesome and the final mile ran sub 7. We both finished at 1:37:33 grabbed our medals, pictures, hydration then met Phils parents and waited for the ladies to finish.
We were both worried about the girls since they said they were under-trained or injured but they all finished together with no issues. Big congratulations to Kate for kicking butt in her first half marathon!! Had an awesome time hanging out with these kids and can’t wait to do it again next year. Rumor has it we are running the full marathon, and possibly doing the goofy challenge…HiiiiiiiHoooooo!

2010 Totals

2011-01-18T20:33:00.003-06:00

Thought I would do a quick summary of my 2010 training totals excluding weights/strength training. This was by FAR my biggest year and hopefully I can continue putting up these numbers.

Swim - 121.03 miles
Bike - 3,550.85 miles
Run - 869.74 miles

Goals for 2011:
Swim ... 150 miles
Bike ... 4,000 miles
Run ... 1,000 miles

December Totals

2011-01-13T08:40:00.002-06:00

Lazy December. Only ran and worked on strength training. Just got back from Disney and we are moving this weekend. I'm pretty sure I won't be able to get into a routine until we are settled in the new place. We will be changing pools too. The plan is to get a membership at a nearby 24hr fitness. I'm hoping to get my swims in the early morning before work.

December Totals:
Swim - 0
Bike - 0
Run - 47.79 miles

November Totals

2010-12-05T10:38:00.002-06:00

Pretty much took all of November off. I only ran 3 times and concentrated on strength training. Doing a little P90X... Plan is to pick my running back up slowly and keep doing some strength/P90X stuff through December. January after the Disney half marathon Ill get in to my Ironman Texas plan and stick to it. Not gonna lie, I'm really enjoying taking time off. Ive still got to wrap my mind around IM training again.

12 miles total of running
0 yards swam
0 miles biked

October Totals

2010-11-11T13:00:00.002-06:00

October was not a very impressive month. I cut way back right after Longhorn and don't plan on starting back to any consistent training until December or maybe January after the holidays. I plan on getting in some weight training for a few weeks and then slowly rebuild. I need to get my run mileage up pretty quick since I'm running the Disney half and then plan on pacing my friend Devin the last 20 miles of his 100 mile run in February.

October Totals:
Swim = 6,864 yards
Bike = 167.86 miles
Run = 82.22 miles

On another note my wife, Cathlene, recently finished her first 50k trail run. I'm so stoked for her. It's awesome to see her complete something this big and I know she won't stop at 50k.

Longhorn/Austin 70.3

2010-11-04T09:37:00.002-05:00

Finished! 5:46:16
Swim - 38:55
Bike - 2:48:41
Run - 2:11:10

Race morning I skipped coffee. I’ve felt that it makes me too jittery and my adrenaline is already high enough without caffeine. Instead I opted just for my normal Hornet Juice and some water. Ate half a Chic Fil A chicken biscuit and banana. I had stayed with some relatives so Cathlene myself and my cousin got up and left their house around 5:15. Parking was a pain as normal but we eventually got in and the bussing to the lake was fast and efficient. Got my bike ready then waited for the start. This was another race where I would have a lot of support. 3 cousins, aunt and uncle, sister, Cat, and Devin and his wife were all there. Kathleen (former Houston Racing Prez) was also there volunteering. It’s always good to see familiar faces.
I lined up on the outside about 3 deep in my wave. I ended up staying wide and away from the crowd most of the race. This was nice to not be in the mix of things getting beat up but Im pretty sure I added yardage to my swim. The only problems I had during the swim was a side stitch about 1/3 of the way and then toward the end my shoulder started giving out on me. Came out of the water feeling good and hearing people yelling my name.
1.2 mile swim = 38:55 (2:01/100m)
Transition went well, wetsuit stripper, ran up the long grassy hill to my bike, stuffed wetsuit into bag, race belt on, helmet on, glasses on then off to the mount line. A few people blocking the mount line but I made my way around and hopped on my bike.
T1 = 2:47
I started out the bike feeling great but gave myself a few miles before I really started hammering. The first part of the course has some rolling hills then it flattens out a bit, the road conditions get worse then better and back to a few rolling hills. Around mile 40 my legs quit on me. Just like that I could barely hold 19mph. They were screaming for me to stop. Felt some cramping coming on so I downed some water and inhaled electrolyte pills. It was starting to heat up and the wind started to blow. I wasn’t sure my legs would work if I made it to T2.
56 mile bike = 2:48:41 (19.9 mph)
Stretched a bit in transition, put on my socks, took my time to get prepared for the next 2 hours. Ran out and saw all the family and friends.
T2 = 4:43
I started off feeling really good on the run. I was holding sub 8min miles for the first 1.5 miles or so. Then the hills started putting a hurt on me. They never seemed to stop. Half of the course looped around the park and took you off-road. My pace slowed way down running through the grass. It was a two loop course and I finished the first loop right around an hour. It started to heat up and the hills started to hurt worse. I found myself walking a lot more on the second loop along with some cramping. Made it to the finish and saw everyone there that was supporting me. Was really hard to hold back tears seeing everyone. I felt a lot of memories from this race but now I can put Longhorn in the bag. I am done. It only took me three years but I came back, just this time I wasn't on the sideline wearing a neck brace cheering for my sister. This time Jennifer was on the sideline, pregnant, with Cat and the family, cheering for me. Love the support. Love my family and friends.
13.1 mile run = 2:11:10 (10:01 pace)

Total = 5:46:16
812 overall
119 age group

I'll take it. Wish I couldof held it together on the run. The hills killed me and it didn't help going all out on the bike. That was the plan though. It taught me a lot. This season taught me a lot. Man do I love this lifestyle. Can't wait to punish myself again...

Austin/Longhorn 70.3 Game Plan

2010-10-13T14:50:00.003-05:00

So I'm finally racing my first half Ironman this weekend and I wasn't sure how to approach it. Should I hold back on the swim and bike to guarentee Ill be able to "run" the run or should I just throw the hammer down and see when I end up on my face? I've talked it over with Cathlene and my buddy Phil and they both seem to think what I'm thinking, balls to the wall baby! This race means a lot to me and I'm going to finish, I just may not have a stellar race.
I had a great swim last week, 2500 yards at 1:38/100 so I'm hoping I can do close to the same Sunday. Ill be stoked to finish in 37 mins though. Last year I did the bike portion of the Longhorn relay and averaged just over 19mph.. That kicked off my IM training... I'm going to try and hold 20mph this year. Now the run, who knows what will happen. Sub 2hrs will be ok with me but I won't be happy. BUT if I hammer everything before I get to the run will I even be able to run. We will see. If I start feeling like I'm gonna blow up on the bike I'll probably scale back a bit so I can run. I refuse to DNF this race.
Let's shoot for sub 5:30 and see where I fall. It should be fun and the weather forecast looks good.

I've also heard some rumors that Lance Armstrong may race or make an appearance. Wouldn't THAT be cool!

2010 Kona Picks

2010-10-08T22:16:00.002-05:00

Thought I would throw out my 2010 Kona picks....

Men:
1.) Chris Lieto
2.) Craig Alexander
3.) Andy Potts

Women:
1.) Chrissy Wellington
2.) Samantha McGlone
3.) Mirinda Carfrae

Im calling for Macca and Terenzo top 5. I believe Lieto truly has the heart to be #1 this year and hope he got his run together. Andy Potts seems to be a good contender this year for the podium. Unless Chrissy has a mechanical or broken limb there is no reason she shouldn't win.

September Totals

2010-10-04T08:50:00.002-05:00

September was an “ok” month. My running has picked back up due to Cathlene training for her 50k but I’m still slacking on the swimming and didn’t do great on the bike this month. But I’m still maintaining and believe I’ll be just fine going into Longhorn 70.3. Weekend runs have been awesome. Cathlene and I have been meeting up with a group almost every weekend for the past two months and have run 13+ each time. My knees have been pretty good up until this past weekend on our 16 miler. I rode 52 the day before and really hammered the hills so my legs were pretty shot and made for a tough run the next day. I’m feeling some ITBS but nothing to worry too much about. One more week of training and then taper for Longhorn on Oct 17th. This is my first half Ironman so I don’t know what to expect. I’m hoping to break 6 hours and a perfect day would give me sub 5:30. But knowing how anything can happen I just hope to finish on my two feet un-injured and feeling decent,, not great but decent. Things will be perfect if I puke at the finish line.

September Totals

Swim: 16,315 yards

Bike: 256.57 miles

Run: 82.79 miles

2010-09-09T15:39:00.001-05:00

Ironman CDA 2010 from Gusano on Vimeo.

August Totals

2010-09-08T15:10:00.001-05:00

August #s were a little bit better from July except my running. I am slowly building back my mileage due to ITBS in both knees. Icing, stretching, rolling, E-stim and paying close attention to my running form has allowed me to get in some decent runs the past week. I was able to run 12 miles last weekend but I kept it at a slow pace and made sure my foot strike and alignment was right on. If I start getting lazy I can feel it in my knees and I usually pay the price for being lazy.

Swim: 18,146 yards

Bike: 417.83 miles

Run: 24.31 miles

I am officially signed up for Longhorn 70.3 on October 17th. After getting that 12 mile run under my belt I feel confident my recovery is headed in the right direction and I’ll be ready in time for Longhorn.

August 18, 2010

2010-08-18T09:38:00.000-05:00

It’s been 3 years today since my accident. I’m not fully recovered but I know I will never be the same. I took too much of an impact with my shoulder and head (trying to save my bike of course) to ever be 100% back to normal. I am perfectly ok with that. 3 years ago becoming an Ironman seemed impossible, something only crazy folks do. Well, I did suffer from a high grade concussion so I was probably left a little crazy in the head.

One of the first things I asked the doctor as I was lying in the hospital was if I was going to be able to compete in my first half Ironman that October. I didn’t realize that I would be wearing my neck brace through November. So I got pissed off, said screw the 70.3, I want the whole thing. It can’t hurt worse than changing the bandages in my arm.

Since August 18, 2007, I have gradually increased my training. 2008 and 2009 seemed pathetic compared to this year.

To this date from my wreck I have:

Swam – 134.46 miles

Biked – 4,120.88 miles

Ran – 1,268.57 miles

Raced – 35 races, including 1 Ironman, 5 half marathons, 11 shorter runs, and 18 shorter triathlons.

I know these numbers aren’t very amazing or anything considering some people put these up in just one year BUT, this is what I’ve done and how far I’ve gone. From a hospital bed not knowing if I will ever race again to an Ironman, this is what it took for me to get there.

Bridgeland Triathlon

2010-08-14T15:04:00.004-05:00

I raced Bridgeland last Sunday after riding 100 miles on Saturday. This race wasnt planned but when I found out about a few friends racing and you could buy a resale packet I jumped on it. I didnt expect a great race and just wanted to get back to racing and have fun.

I felt pretty good during the swim and didn't push too hard. It was a bit crowded but nothing too bad.
500 meter swim
9:57 - 1:59/100m (1:49/100yard)

T1 was awesome! I was first in my age group for T1
T1 - 0:56

Bike was basically and out and back on a flat concrete road. I was in a group of 3 other guys (2 in my age group) that kept passing getting passed, re-passing and on and on. We always stayed 3+ bike lengths between and never drafted. Around mile 9 I put the hammer down and passed them holding 25MPH. 2 of them caught me with around 2 miles to go. Looks like we dropped the 3rd guy that was in the group.
14 mile bike
36:16 - 23.2 MPH

T2 was pretty good too.
T2 - 0:50

The run hurt pretty good. My run has suffered since Ironman due to shredding my knees up so bad. I havent been able to run much since then. I was mostly by myself during the run until about one mile to the finish 2 guys in my age group running just under 7 min miles passed me. I held on their heels for a few seconds until I started dry heaving so I brought my pace back down to something manageable. I figure if Im dry heaving that means I'm basically leaving it all on the course.... which is the only way I race :)
3.5 mile run
26:16 - 7:30 pace

1:14:16 total time
10th place in 25-29 males out of 74
50th place overall out of around 800

July Totals

2010-08-14T15:02:00.001-05:00

July training totals:
Swim - 6,637 yards
Bike - 182 miles
Run - 12.2 miles

I slacked way off in July. Still recovering from Ironman. ITBS is still bothering me on my runs. Slowly getting back to training.

June Totals

2010-07-16T14:06:00.001-05:00

June was wrapped up with Ironman Coeur d'Alene. Totals were a little low but that was expected. I took a few days/almost 2 weeks completely off from training after Ironman and just started back to training everyday this week. I'm starting back easy and slow as I tried to hammer a run the other day and was reminded that I shredded my knees just a couple weeks ago. ITBS came back but with some rest and easy runs I should be back at my 1 hour runs soon. My next target is Longhorn 70.3 on October 17... I talked Cat into making this our anniversary trip since 2yrs for us will be that Monday :). It should be fun and I'm really ready to put this race in the books. Time to start over. I'm a new guy now, I've got an Ironman logo on my truck ;) So look out Longhorn, Ima bout to make you my.....

June training totals:
Swim - 25,825 yards
Bike - 462 miles
Run - 88.41 miles

Ironman CDA 2010 Race Report

2010-06-30T10:33:00.019-05:00

What an amazing experience. I could start from the day we arrived in CDA but that may make two whole books and I only want to write one. So I guess well go from race morning. How bout we start off the last post... Drinking coffee with my dad race morning. ---->

We all headed down to get body marked, check my bike, air up my tires, place all water bottles etc on my bike, turn in my special needs bags and I stopped once by my T1 bag to grab my inhaler for one puff before the start. The beach area was so crowded trying to get from one end to the other. I was freaking out trying to get back to see the family where I planned on putting on my wetsuit. Cathlene followed me close by and kept me from freaking too much. We made it to were everyone was, I pulled on my wetsuit and said my goodbyes. That was tough. "See you guys tonight". Knuckle bumped almost all 36 supporters with a little shake n bake and Cat and I headed toward the entrance to the beach. I put my two caps on (for extra warmth) hugged the hell outa Cat and slowly made my way down to the beach. I made my way to the water to splash myself and then down the beach to the very inside of the buoys. Got my goggles on and ready when they announced 2 minutes until the start.

Before you knew it the cannon went off and all nerves were aside, there was no turning back. I had a special lucky rock in my hand that I collected from Mexico last year at this time with Cat. We had decided then that this lucky rock would travel to CDA and be thrown into the water at the start. (Corney I know, don't judge me). I held on to the rock until I had to open my hand to swim. The first few hundred yards were INSANE, I didn't put my head down for the longest due to the water being so crowded. The red turn buoy seemed forever away and it felt like we would never get to it. I swam mostly on the inside of the buoys and then outside the turn buoy. The turn buoys are where I really feared for my life. It seemed to just stop right at the buoy and swimmers started piling up, you had to tread water for a good bit until everyone could get around and take back off. This meant for elbows to the face, kicks to the legs, and where I started feeling the first of the cramps. Nothing too bad,,, Yet. The swim was brutal. I don't see why its not part of the MMA fights. I started to get some water in my goggles but I toughed it out until we made it out of the first loop. Got out, let the water out of my goggle, and then right back in to the water. I kept telling myself to just stay calm and the swim would happen. I found some open water a couple of times but not enough to really stretch out and swim hard. I found myself singing the finding nemo song "just keep swimming, just keep swimming" to help me stay calm. This second loop is where I started feeling more cramps, first they started in my left calf, then worked up to my hams and when we hit the turn buoys again and had to stop, both legs were hit. OUCH! I made it though, made it to the beach and I was soooooo happy to be finished with the first part of the race. But as soon as I stood up, both legs locked. I hobbled my way out of the shoot and the cramps went away. I knew this was a bad sign, I hardly ever cramp and especially this bad. The wetsuit stripper did their job, as I was headed to the change tent I saw my uncle and aunt in transition asking if I needed anything. I think all I said was man I'm cramping. (I blame the cramps on the cold water)

2.4 Mile Swim = 1:21:09 (2:09/100m pace)

I got my helmet on, socks, shoes, vest, gloves, sunglasses, grabbed the arm warmers, nutrition in my vest etc etc.. Ran through the tent and my aunt was there with sunscreen for me. Made it to my bike, grabbed a bottle to put in my vest and headed on my way.

T1 = 7:56

Out on the bike I felt pretty good. It started off a little cold due to just getting out of the water and my toes were numb so I had on some arm warmers. I took my perpetuem every 30mins as planned. At mile 20 (where the hills really started) my chain popped off while going 7mph uphill. I had tired to shift to an easier gear and I guess shifted too far. I was already riding close to the shoulder with maybe 3 feet to the edge of the road. I was nervous as I unclipped and I heard a guy behind me yelling "hey, hey, hey!" He was trying to pass on my right and must have been right on my wheel. He fell into me from my right side, I put my left foot out to keep us both from falling over and this is where the toe of my cleat broke. I apologized to the guy where he then said he shouldn't had been trying to pass to my right. I thought yeah jerkface, it's not totally my fault. I felt so stupid and wanted to crawl in a hole. It was until I tried to clip back in did I notice something was wrong with my cleat. And then I remembered looking at them before the race thinking they were a little worn down. I just didn't want to change them that close to the race. I even asked my friend Phil about changing them. I was still able to clip in but something felt funny about them. Then I tried pulling up on the pedal and my foot would come right out. From here on I concentrated not to pull with my left leg, only push while pedaling. I scared myself pretty good while bombing down a hill and my foot slipped out of the pedal. And then when I tried to clip back in I kept catching cramps. I saw another aunt and uncle on the way back to CDA. Tried waving at them but I'm so super fast, hahah.. Made it back to town and saw the reason I kept pushing myself to the finish. All my family was there cheering me on. All my worries went away. Around mile 60 I stopped for a pee break and actually looked at the cleat. It was the lip on the toe part of the cleat that broke off. No worries, I made it 40 miles without it I'll be just fine. At special needs I grabbed some salty peanuts hoping they may fix the cramping. This second lap was pretty tough and I found the plastic that broke off my cleat on the same hill. I made myself smile and have fun, enjoyed the beautiful course. I would ride up to people and make jokes to try and pass the time. I had to stop once more and found a tree to water, also found a penny on heads that I picked up. The hills were tough and the wind going back into town was right in your face. I stuck to the plan and didn't push myself too hard on the bike.

112 Mile Bike = 6:43:45 (16.6 MPH)

I made it into T2 and boy was I happy to be off my bike. This was a great feeling. I got off the bike, a volunteer took it from me and racked it while I made my way to the change tent. A ton of my family was in T2, my sister right at my bag, my dad helped me change into my shoes and gave me my other garmin watch for the run. mom, Cat, bro in laws etc. were all there for me with anything I needed. I don't remember coming through transition very well, I do remember sitting down in the tent with my dad. I dumped the bag out to get my shoes and told him there was no way I would finish under 12 hours. I had to run a 3:30 or so marathon to break 12 hours and it just wasn't possible. He assured me that it was ok and to have fun and just finish. No problem dad, I got this.

T2 = 3:07

I started out hurting pretty bad on the run and that pretty much sums up the rest of the marathon. The first half mile I ran right what I planned on, just under 9 min mile pace and then my knees couldn't handle it anymore. I stopped to stretch but nothing helped. My knees were killing me due to the cramping I experienced beforehand (ITBS). If you know anything about ITBS you know that there is little to do once the pain sets in. It only gets worse the more you run. And I had 25 more miles to run. I thought if I could just hold 10 min miles I would be ok. I passed my family again around mile 3-4 and mentioned my ITBands and cramps. Then I was on my own for what seemed forever. The lake was beautiful to run beside and this kept my mind off the pain. I had started to try and run to each aid station, walking through them. (each aid station was about 1 mile apart). This turned into just running as far as I could until I couldn't handle the pain and then I would walk. Sometimes I would push myself a bit further and others I wouldn't make it 100 yards. I would gather as much as possible from each aid station. Chips, pretzels, water, ice, oranges, gatorade it all seemed great. I never felt ill or that my nutrition was off. If anything I may had taken in too much nutrition on the bike (stomach felt a bit full at times). At one point I stopped to get a rock out of my shoe and talked to a family who looked up my splits for me on their computer. Very nice people. I asked them for a beer... Made it back to town and I saw the inspiration again (family). Talked to Edwin and told him I was planning on just having fun, that there was no way I was going to have a good marathon time. That's ok though. Saw my dad, mom, Cat, jenn, travis, greg and the bro in laws etc. and tried to tell them the same. I'm here to finish, and I'm going to finish even if I have to crawl the rest of the way. It was hard seeing everyone at this time. I got real emotional and choked up. I wanted everyone to know that I was having the time of my life and it didn't matter how long it took me, I was going to be and Ironman that night. Made it back through where most of the family was set up and gave everyone my last high fives and such. I was on my own again for the next 10 or so miles. When I got back out to the lake area my sister and bro in law showed up (Jenn and Travis). And just before this I saw my cousins working an aid station that I didn't expect them to be at. I gave them hugs and this got me though the next few miles. Jennifer and Travis would drive up ahead of me, get out and take some pictures until I made it to them. They did this for miles 18-22 or so. Wow this helped so much. I would run when she held the camera up and walk when I saw the camera down (I couldn't have a picture of me WALKING!) haha. Ran walked my way back to town and I figure from mile 23 and on you couldn't wipe the smile off my face while running or walking. Volunteers would say "your almost there" I would pump my fist and just cheese! All these long training days, early mornings, late nights were paying off. I was about to finish. It wasn't until I made the last turn when I really knew I had made it. I wasn't about to walk this last stretch with hundreds of people cheering for you. Besides it was all downhill and the finishing shoot was glowing. Words cant describe my feelings when entering the finishing shoot, I made sure to find Cat and my parents. I stopped to give them hugs and others high fives. Nothing was going to take this moment from me. The finishing shoot was mine. The spectators were great and the energy was amazing. I crossed pumping my fist, (then the Crowie poise) and of course I didn't hear a sound. Everyone says you never remember or hear Mike Reilly say "You are an Ironman" and that seemed true for me. I didn't need to hear it. I had dreamed and visioned this moment for so long. I was there. In the moment. Crossing the finish line, AN IRONMAN.
.
23.6 Mile Run = 5:37:27 (12:53 pace)

Total Time = 13:53:22

I have so many people to thank for their support. You cant do this alone. From the long training days to the long race day you need your support there for you every step. You guys and girls that were there for me, We did it! My family that came in to support me was awesome! I cant thank you guys enough. I'm pretty sure we had the largest support group at IMCDA.
Ask me five years ago if I were ever to do an Ironman. "No way, not me, those guys are crazy". Bad things may happen but they can always be turned around. I'm coming up on three years of my accident. The Ironman reminded me of that pain, but just like the race, the pain don't last forever. You will have aches every so often but the positives always outweigh the negatives. Our minds and bodies are capable of amazing feats, we just have to push them a bit to get there.

Race Day

2010-06-27T05:41:00.002-05:00

Is race morning, I'm nervous, scared, excited and not really sure what I should expect today. I'm eating a pb&j, bagel, banana and sipping some java. It's a little chilly outside with a tad bid of wind (high 50s temp). Looks like it won't break much over 80 and that will be after 3pm today. I'm just hoping for a good race where I feel pretty decent most of the time and plan on having fun today. This is my first Ironman so if I finish, it's a PR. I have so much support here and I couldn't ask for more. I have over 30 family members here to cheer me on. I'm stoked! Let's do this! Shake n bake!

Headed Out

2010-06-23T12:47:00.003-05:00

Im just about all packed up and ready to go.. This has been pretty nerve racking trying to get everything together, hoping I dont forget anything. I cant wait to get there and get in some short workouts. Mostly ready to check out the freezing water temp but also excited to be going from the TX heat (95+) to about 75 for the high. The forecast for race day has changed so much so Im not sure what to expect. Its mostly been looking pretty good though. Im prepared for anything.

Been looking forward to this for so long. Im already loving the excitement and whatdayaknow, Ironman TEXAS should be announced TODAY! Looks like I will be signing up for another Ironman before I even do my first one. Im thinking they will announce and then open up registration Saturday or so right before CDA to give people the opportunity to figure out which one they would like to do next year. So Im ready to drop the $550+ for registration... If all goes according to plan, IMTX will be a HUGE event for some friends and I. Already tons of friends are saying they will be here to race... IMTX will be EPIC. EPIC I SAY!!! Be there! ;)

The journey

2010-06-20T13:50:00.006-05:00

Woke up this morning to an article in my hometown paper about my Ironman journey written by a great friend. I like how he put it out there that yeah, thousands of people complete the Ironman. I'm no one special but I do have a different story on how I've come to this point. This race just isn't my first Ironman, it's much more than that, and not only to myself but all my family and friends who understand what it has taken to get here. Everyone has their own story to tell. Life isn't easy and sometimes we hit a speedbump (or in my case a Suburban) but we can't give up.

QUARLES: Friend overcomes wreck to compete in first Ironman Triathlon
By EDWIN QUARLES/The Lufkin Daily News | Posted: Sunday, June 20, 2010 12:15 am

Next Sunday one of my friends will be in Idaho to compete in his first Ironman Triathlon. A lot of people are going to support him, and it seems his entire family will be there.
I know it’s not as if he’s the only one to ever compete in Ironman Triathlon, which consists of a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and 26.2-mile run, but knowing him and knowing some of what he went through to get to this point makes it more impressive.
In August of 2007 Jeremy Webb was finishing up a 56-mile bike ride with his sister Jennifer. He was riding downhill in a Lufkin neighborhood when a Chevy Suburban made a left turn in front of him. He smashed into the back-seat passenger side window. Thankfully he was wearing a helmet.
Jennifer was a little ways behind and when she topped the hill she saw her brother lying in the street.
He was taken to a local hospital where tests revealed that his neck was broken in three places.
I had just finished up a round of golf with Jeremy’s dad an hour or so before I got a phone call about what happened. A friend and I went to the hospital emergency room and talked to Jeremy. He asked repeatedly what had happened. I kept thinking that he’d probably never be able to get on the bike again. And if he could, he probably wouldn’t want to.
He was sent to a Houston hospital for surgery and was told that if he moved wrong he could be paralyzed.
More X-rays and an MRI showed his neck was stable and he wouldn’t need surgery. The three broken vertebrae turned out to be one. He had surgery on his shoulder and lots of glass was removed from under his skin. He was in a neck brace for about three months.
When he was able to, he got back on his bike. There’s still some soreness at times and the scars left behind are a reminder of the wreck. But it didn’t cause him to quit.
He kept riding, and running and swimming. Now he’s one week from achieving his goal of completing an Ironman.
I don’t know if he knows this but every time I run down that hill where he had his wreck, or drive down it, I think about what happened to him. And most times when I’m running, it encourages me to keep going.
The guy called Worm, a nickname that a friend and I stuck him with when he was little, never gave up. Even when there had to be some fear about getting back on his bike, he did it. Even when the training got tough and the temperatures heated up, he completed his 100-plus mile training rides, an 18-mile run and 3,000-meter swims.
We should all have that much determination in the things we want to accomplish.
Edwin Quarles is city editor of The Lufkin Daily News.
His e-mail address is equarles@lufkindailynews.com.

Final Push For Ironman CDA

2010-06-16T21:53:00.002-05:00

So I wrapped up my last week of hard training this past weekend. This was by far the hardest week of training since I started back in October. I went into Monday with a huge week just before including a 100 mile ride and 18 mile run, not to mention our air conditioner went out on Saturday. No AC in the Houston heat is pretty dang tough. So I had to deal with 4 different days of AC repairman coming out to try and fix the problem this week and it took them 7 days. So we were without AC for 7 days in 90+ degree heat. Boooooo. I was not a happy camper. And “camper” is how I felt with all the fans and sleeping downstairs on a blowup mattress etc, etc… Trying to stay motivated during this was tough. Then Thursday I took off work feeling sick and sleepy and just worn out. About mid-day I received a horrible phone call that a family member was in a tragic accident and didn’t make it. I don’t want to go into details. I was ready to pack up, head to my parents and start my taper a few days early. Nothing mattered but being with my family.
Cathlene got home later that evening and informed me that she and Shannon had been planning on dinner with some great friends. Phil and Kate were flying in Friday from NY to surprise me and push me through my final hard weekend of training. This totally made my day when she told me. Emotions were out of control this week. I was pissed about the AC, sad about the family tragedy and then happy that I have friends that care that much about me. After Phil and Kate got in we took them to Beavers and had some good TX BBQ and Firemans #4. Then Phil informed me that I didn’t get a rest day just because they came in, we were running today. Geez if I wouldof realized that maybe I would have held off on all the beer! I took Phil on a route that showed him a good bit of my everyday training runs. We left the house through areas where the Marathon course went, to Memorial park around the 3 mile loop, out through a portion of the MTB trails and then back down San Felipe to the house. Ended up getting in just under 12 miles.

That night we met up with FKN Doug and Shannon at Chuys to have Mexican food and drink more beer. I was informed that Phil was here to ride with Devin and I on my last long ride Saturday morning. Phil would ride my Javelin and we were staying out at Shannons parents house that night and rolling out the next morning. Her parents live basically on the same loop we normally ride out near Fulshear so it was nice not to have to drive that morning. Devin arrived around 7, Shannon and Phil went to Chick Fil A earlier to grab breakfast and we rolled out around 7:20. We had a great ride with some really tough wind. I struggled to not get dropped on the way back in. We got in 58 miles and that was plenty for me. Devin headed home (acting like he wouldn’t see me again before the race); Phil and I drank more beer then headed to BWW for wings, beer and the USA vs England soccer game.

Many beers later around 4pm we headed back to Shannons parents place. On the way in the neighborhood Phil said “hey I was told that you should read all of the signs”… haha this was awesome; someone else on the SAME street was having an Ironman party! Wait, they are team Webb too! CRAZY.. And who is this guy with the same name!? Walked in the door and of course I blamed everything on my wing man,,, “Phil got me drunk”. Then I started seeing some of my friends sitting around, they were like “Heeeyyyy, surprise, your uhh early”.. Apparently we were 30 minutes early and Phil can’t read Texas time. I was so stoked, more friends started arriving and the party started. I couldn’t believe all these guys/gals were here in support of my first Ironman. Im still smiling about the whole night and I can’t describe that feeling of having all my closest friends there for me. That truly means a lot to me and I will carry that night with me to the finish line. I feel so blessed to have this much support… It was a great night with lots of beer and plenty of good times to reminisce on for many years. I can’t thank everyone who showed up enough. You guys ROCK.

Special thanks to Shannon for starting/planning the weekend, Cathlene for dealing with my training blues over the months and still wanting to throw me a party and not throw me in the bayou behind the party house, Phil and Kate for going out of their way to fly in for the weekend just to send me off, Devin for going on many training rides with me, and all my family and friends that came to the party or are coming straight to Idaho next week and of course God and little baby Jesus or big Jesus with a suit and tie on. So many to thank and so many have supported me.

So that’s how the final weekend push went. I feel so much better about my race. All the work is in the bag and I’m just in cruise control until 7am on June 27th. I’ve put a lot of miles and hours in for this race. Training started at the end of October 09 and I got a good plan to work with starting in January of this year. Being coached was nice and having someone there to answer my questions was good but I’m not sure I got what I expected. I’ve been an athlete all through HS and I kinda expected a coach to act more like that, more personal etc. I got a great plan, learned a lot and don’t believe I would do things much different. I feel ready for my race. I am ready… Bring it! SHAKE n’ BAKE!And were off (didnt know Cathlene was taking this pic)
Signs the girls made

Ironman cookie cake (nothing wrong with some cake every now and then)
Lets get this party started! (beer noodle bongs for everyone!)

Cheers!

May Totals

2010-05-30T14:54:00.007-05:00

Wowza Im putting up "May totals" which means this is JUNE, well tomorrow is June.. Call me captain obvious cuz Im cool like that...I had a pretty good month and put in some decent numbers. My legs feel it too. Im still feeling strong and ready for the big day. Finished another 18+ hour week last week. Ill do it again this week and then one last push with a 20 hour week including my last century ride..

Nerves are getting to me and Im pretty sure Im being a little difficult to live with at the time. ;) Good thing Cathlene loves me. Im moody, tired, hungry, tired, freaking out, tired, and tired. and mostly hungry and tired together. But I still have time to enjoy my beer or rum. Good thing is this is all NORMAL.. So dont freak on me. Supposly everyone racing CDA is getting a little wirey (wirey, did I make that up?). Staying motivated can be difficult but ive found the best thing to do is not give myself any other options besides working out. Its what I do, kinda like breathing... So on the way home from work when I never feel like stopping by the pool I just do it. Just Do It, like Nike. Nike Air Jordans. There are no other options. none, zip. and if I do skip out Im just doing myself more harm and could potentially be disapointing everyone rooting for me. Im a little delirious so if this makes no sense at all please forgive me. Im tired, hungry tired and delirious.

Swim = 29,582 Yards (9.82 hours)

Bike = 602.17 Miles (40.32 hours)

Run = 112.62 Miles (17.03 hours)

Silverlake (sprint) / 20 hour week

2010-05-17T13:28:00.002-05:00

Silverlake (sprint) Triathlon/20 hour week

I finished my first 20 hour week last week!! Im so stoked and feel pretty fricking amazing considering all the training… Thanks to Shannon I received a free entry into the triathlon on Sunday but I also had my first 100 mile ride scheduled for this day. So I did what any triathlete would do, signed up for the race and moved my 100-miler to the day beforeJ.

To throw another twist in things, Saturdays weather forecast called for rain, and lots of it… For once the weather man was dead on. Devin and I met with a group from our local Tri club to do a 55 mile loop where we would ride with them the first loop and do the second loop on our own. Well to keep things short, we rode for 6 hours 54 minutes in the pouring rain where at times you couldn’t see the road (not safe at all and probably stupid on our part) but dangit we didn’t stop… We only got lost once on the second loop and didn’t have too many close calls with the traffic. 114 miles at 16.5 MPH pace… I did a 2 mile transition run right off the bike and felt great. I was tired and my neck, geez, my neck is/was sore but overall I felt goooood and freaking stoked!

Sunday came around and I was tired and a bit sore. It was hard to wake up but I made myself (with a little help from Cathlene). Wetsuit Legal! Got to transition with 15 minutes to set up. Racked my bike in a fire ant bed, beat the ants off me, moved my bike to the end of the rack, set back up in 5 minutes…

Swim 400 meters: I started to the outside front of the wave and when the gun went off I jumped right out in front (after cutting my toe on something in the mud). I felt good the entire swim and led the wave for the first 200meters.. A 12 year old passed me and I tried to draft off him but he pulled on ahead. No problems in the swim and I came out of the water 3rd in my age group. (BTW that 12 year old finished 2nd….OVERALL!)(edit-the kid was 14 but looked 12 in the water,,lol, and finished 4th overall,, who knows if hes the one who zoomed by me)

Swim time: 7:38 (1:44/100 yard pace)

T1: Was fast and easy. Shoes already clipped in, wetsuit off, helmet on, grab bike and go.

T1 time: 1:21

Bike 10 miles: The bike hurt. I was only passed by two guys and I re-passed one of the guys in T2. My legs were dead on the bike. Quads were hurting and it was hard to push. Around mile 7 they really started to feel dead.

Bike time: 27:53 (21.5 MPH)
T2: Good dismount, racked bike, helmet off, shoes on, grabbed hat and race # and go. Beat a guy in my AG out of T2.

T2 time: 0.49

Run 3 miles: Right from the start I had a guy running on my heels. I kept thinking he was going to pass but he never made his move. So then I thought maybe he was fading and I could push him too hard. Didn’t happen and I had an eerie feeling that he was in my age group… I found out at mile 2 when he picked up the pace and put a small gap in between us. I tried to close in but I could only hold my own. He’s the only person who passed me on the run and I pulled him most of the way. (I bet he got a good night’s rest and didn’t ride 114 miles the day before)…

Run time: 20:10 (6:43 pace)

Total time: 57:54

4th in age group

20th overall

I finished off the day with a 2 hour trainer ride to break 20 hours.

Im disappointed that I didn’t podium but I’m pretty happy with my results. I can’t expect to have a great race to cap off a 20 hour week with my first century ride mixed in. I can’t expect to, but that doesn’t mean I don’t WANT to! This week and weekend was a big confidence booster with Ironman coming up. I feel strong and good about where I’m at with my training. I know I have put in the time for Ironman and I still have 3 good weeks to put in some more. I have my nutrition figured out and I’m very confident that unless something major happens, I will finish within the allotted time.

8 Weeks

2010-05-02T20:21:00.005-05:00

I just finished up a 4 hour ride followed by a 1 hour run and I was thinking a lot about these next few weeks. Im also trying to figure out my nutrition and what I plan on wearing based on the weather (all tips are welcome)... I think I have my nutrition down I just have to figure out how Im going to execute it during the race (how many bottles, what to put in special needs, etc)..

Ive got 8 weeks until Ironman. This means I have about 6 weeks to train before beginning taper.. This also means that I truly only have 5 weeks of good solid training left. I have two weeks of build, one week recovery, three weeks build then recovery and taper for the big day.... I cant miss any workouts these next few weeks. I haven't missed many in the first place but I'm making sure I hit all these weeks dead on. I have two huge weeks at 20+ hours that include a century ride in each. This will be my first time to hit 100 miles on the bike. EXCITING huh!!? Lets do this, bring on the fun!

Lake Coeur d'Alene

April Totals

2010-05-02T20:17:00.003-05:00

April consisted of two races and more recovery weeks landed in April than previous months. Soooo my totals are down a bit this month. Still feeling great with no injuries (fingers crossed). 2 more months to go and I'm steadily getting stronger and faster ;)

April Totals:

Swim = 19,350 yards, 6.28 hours

Bike = 414.85 miles, 28.67 hours

Run = 90.93 miles, 15.56 hours

CB&I Triathlon (sprint)

2010-05-02T09:30:00.004-05:00

500 meter swim, 15 mile bike, 5k run...

I love this race. Its flat fast and crowed.. I hate the crowded part though. I raced here last year and finished in a time of 1 hour 14 minutes placing 7th in my age group. I was hoping to be top 3 this year.

Had my morning coffee, muffin and a banana before the race while sipping on some Hornet Juice and Gatorade. Also drank a lot of water to mix in with the sugary stuff. Seemed to work for me.
The water temp was 76 degrees so just enough to make it wetsuit legal and I always wear my wetsuit if it is legal. I got into the water and made my way to the front. The swim was super crowed. I was swimming over people, being swam over, being punched by little kids that I wanted to punch back but I didn't (putting ages 29 and under in one wave = bad idea). I finally got into a rhythm after the first turn buoy but then started hitting the stragglers from the previous waves. This made it even more crowded and at times I had to stop and breast stroke around these fools. Sighting seemed tough in my newish goggles (a bit tinted and it was cloudy out).
Swim = 8:42 (1:44/m)

I was able to get out of my wetsuit pretty quick, throw on my glasses, helmet and I was off. First time I started the bike with my shoes already clipped in and it worked like a charm.
T1 = 1:14

The bike course was very crowded and it was hard to stay out of packs. I managed to hang back or in front of this certain pack most of the time. One 16 year old was pissing everyone off. He wasnt even trying not to draft and at one time pulled right in front of me barely missing my front wheel. Geez kid ya trying to kill someone. The bike course was flat with a few turns and FAST. Fast=Fun
Bike = 38:27 (23.4mph)

T2 went smooth, jumped off bike already out of my shoes, racked, both zoots on, grab bib # and hat and I was off.
T2 = 0:47

I was hoping to run sub 7 min miles for the 5k but I havent rested my legs since last weekend. This included a 12.5 mile run just two days ago. Coach said this was an "Ironman Simulator" race. I felt pretty good the entire run and grabbed some water at the aid stations to pour over my head and wet my mouth. It had started getting pretty hot on the run.. With about 200 yards to go I started hearing some guys behind me. They were cheering on a friend. When this friend of theirs passed me I noticed he was in my age group. I couldnt hang, I tried to kick harder but was giving all I had without puking. The guys cheering for him were on "medical bikes" and were riding on each side of him. Whatever... When I crossed the finish my name was announced as "Jeremy Webb training for IMCDA"... haha this put a huge smile on my face.. Reminds me that the BIG day is still to come..
Run = 21:52 (7:01 pace)

Total time = 1:11:04 (1st in my age group was 1:08:08) I placed 6th in my age group and 32nd overall.

Had a few pigs ears (beers) post race and hung out with Cat and the rest of team BA..

Lonestar Olympic (Duathlon)

2010-04-26T19:53:00.007-05:00

This past Saturday I was supposed to race in my first triathlon of the season. Well a storm was passing through that morning and the wind was blowing like crazy so the swim was canceled. I was pissed. They said over the speaker that they couldnt keep the buoys in place. I call BS on that. They know Galveston has some extreme wind so I truly believe they were/shouldof been prepared for that... I read on a forum that the head lifeguard called off the swim saying it was too choppy making it tough for them to see the swimmers. Thats a little better excuse but still...

Its not like the waves were like this..

This was the bay..

So with the swim canceled I was pissed so I started asking around if there was any way I could switch from the Olympic (on Saturday) to the 70.3 (the next day on Sunday). I couldnt find the right person to ask and it was getting close to the "duathlon" to start so I finally manned up and did what I came there to do... well, without the swim part...

The duathlon was just the regular olympic tri without the swim. They started us off on the bike TT style allowing one person to go every 3 seconds. I was already in my shoes when I started. We still had to run past the timing mat and to the mount line. I didnt have the best mount but thats just a couple seconds lost. The bike is an out and back down the coastline so you are guarenteed a strong wind in your face one way or the other... I seemed to forget about this head/cross wind and hammered on the way out.. The wind was mostly at my back and I was holding 23 to 25mph.. Until I hit the turn around. On the way back in it was hard to hold 18MPH. I just watched my average MPH go down. :( (oh and for nutrition I had 2 hammer gels and hornet juice mixed with gatorade)
Total Bike time = 1:13:07 (20.4 MPH)
T2 = 1:07

The run is my favorite... I started out cruising along feeling pretty good. Had a few rough spots where I had to slow it down a bit but overall held a good steady pace. I drank water at every aid station and toward the end just grabbed a cup to wet my mouth and pour over my head. Finished strong with no problems... (thought I may had pulled something in my butt, but all is well)
Total Run time = 46:07 (7:25 pace) which is my new 10k pr.
Total Time = 2:00:20
17th in my age group

Sunday we volunteered to escort the pros for drug testing. This ended up being pretty fun and interesting. We were able to be right in the finishing shoot when they crossed. As soon as they had all their pictures taken and caught their breath we were to read them their rights! or read them some rules on what would happen the next 60 minutes. We basically had to stalk our assigned athlete until they made their way to the doping room (we were to lead them there). They had 60 minutes to get there and had to be watched the entire time (incase they wanted to drink something that would skew the drug test results). I was assigned 2nd place male which ended up being Timothy O’Donnell. He was a cool cat.
Cathlene was assigned 1st place female which ended up being Samantha McGlone.
We also got to meet Terenzo Bozzone, Chris Lieto and Heather Fuhr.

Chris Lieto on the run
Terenzo Bozzone on the run
Terenzo on the left, Tim, then me.

2010-04-09T18:49:00.005-05:00

Found my old pole vault videos from High School. Thought I would save them to the computer for backup and then I made a short clip of my two best vaults in HS. Clearing 13'3" to win the meet and tie our HS school record then 13'6" to break the record. Pole vaulting was my life...

March Totals

2010-04-06T12:18:00.002-05:00

a few days late but whatever... I'm king of d trees. Wrote this a few days ago. Just now posting. Busy busy.

So another month has gone by.. On to April.

Ironman is less than 3 months out, less than 13 weeks, less than 90 days… I think Im getting there. Im pretty confident I will finish the race which is my main goal. I can’t go in to this race expecting to have a super fast finishing time. Too much can happen and I’ve never been through it before. But that doesn't mean I don’t have a time I’m trying to finish under... besides 17hrs. So between now and then all I can do is keep piling on the miles, follow my plan to a “T” and hopefully it will all come together in June. I will use any extra time I have to get in more hours of training but ensure myself to not overtrain. I must get to the lake shore uninjured and healthy…

March Totals:

Swim = 33,200 yards, 11.17 hours

Bike = 509.33 miles, 35.74 hours

Run = 103.08 miles, 16.68 hours

Ironman Training...ugh

2010-03-25T10:01:00.007-05:00

I have never trained so much/hard in my life. Truthfully, this is only the second time I have followed a "plan". Most of the time I'm just competing in sprints and other short distance races. My workouts would just happen,, depended on how I felt that day. The only other time I followed a plan was for Longhorn 70.3 2007. And that race didn't happen.

Ironman training has been fun but man is it tough to get all my workouts in. Last week was one of my toughest weeks so far. My in-laws were staying with us, my parents came in and we went to the rodeo 3 nights in a row. And going to the rodeo means beer.. And rum/coke.. Yeah :) ... But I still had to get up at 4:30 and get half of my workouts in for the day. I rode the trainer in the dark playing on my phone (all rooms were taken and I didn't wanna flip on the light and wake Cathlene). She actually slept right through the rides. As soon as I got home from work I would go directly to the pool or to run so I could spend some time with the family or head to the rodeo. My brother in law ran and swam with me a few times so that made things easier.

I needed this week though. I proved to myself and hopefully my family that nothing will stop me. I was able to spend a lot of time with the family and still get in my training. I would "pad" my workouts here and there so if I had to cut one short, it wasn't a big deal. I was scheduled to do 17 hours and I ended up getting in 18+ hours.

This race means so much to me... I must do my part,, it's not that hard after your workout is finished. What's hard is starting. Starting your workout,,, starting your training program. Getting to the "start" line.
I always finish something I start,, that's how my parents raised me.

To all you Ironman finishers, I respect the hell outa you,, you can't fake this stuff. I hope to join your ranks soon...

February Totals

2010-02-28T20:15:00.006-06:00

Wow what a month... What a week! I just had the biggest week so far in my IM training and I feel pretty dang good...
I had a little setback with some minor hip problems this month but that seems to be going away pretty fast. I think I went too hard on the trainer without a proper workout and strained my hip flexors.. (According to doc Cat).. Cant wait to really call her Doc Cat. I keep telling her to go back to school.. One day, soon.. Then hopefully she can read my mind! ;)

I just finished up an 18 hour week. I PR'd my 10k yesterday and today rode the longest I have EVER!
Ran a 47:21 at the Rodeo Run 10k yesterday. And I negative split the run! First 5k was 24:03 and the second was 23:17.. 7:37 pace overall.

Swim: 33,799 yards = 11.63 hours
Bike: 257.17 miles = 18.83 hours
Run: 120.85 miles = 20.36 hours

On to next week where Coach has 17 hours scheduled for me then a recovery week! Woot!

So what if this has nothing to do with triathlon..
Its an old Forestry Wildlife picture of my Field Station class.
(who am I?? yep, in the middle with a blue hardhat.) This was dinner :) mmmmm

Austin Half Marathon

2010-02-21T20:11:00.008-06:00

Cathlene and I both ran the Austin half marathon. We were both
treating this as a fun long training run so we didn’t feel too guilty
staying up late the night before on 6th with Philip, Kate, Bill, Shannon and Doug..
(Shiner bock=carb loading).
On race morning we met everyone in the lobby of our hotel and made
it to the start line by around 6:30am. I ended up running with Phil and Bill. Phil was running his first “stand alone” marathon while Bill was running the half (Phil, Bill, Phil, Bill, Phil, Bill hahahaha,,, sorry I tend to entertain myself sometimes). We all had the same goals for this so we ran together until the half course split from the full.

I had been instructed to stay base and keep my HR in zone 2 which I maintained until the last few miles when Bill and I started picking up the pace. The course started out with a nice long steady hill. You really couldn’t notice the elevation change. Then coming back into town it was a long downhill where you could pick up a lot of free speed,,, and I HAD to in order to keep up with these guys.. They were flying down the hills. I never realized how fast you could go down hills and not really be out of breath.

The last major hill around mile 12 was gruesome. I had to walk a bit of it. It totally sucked, I thought I was gonna fall backwards. I needed a rope to pull myself up to the top,, It was a freaking MOUNTAIN. Should of brought some chalk to grip the crevices,, and a safety harness,,, I think there was snow on the top of that hill........ Ok ok you get the idea..

I ended up finishing in 1:54 and change. The course was nice but at
times it got a bit crowded when the roads narrowed. The finish was
also very crowded due to having the photos, medals and tshirt
distribution relatively close to each other. Cathlene also had a
great race and pretty much destroyed those hills. DESTROYED!
It was a good test for the both of us since we rarely get to run hills. After the race I got to meet female pro triathlete and winner of the half marathon, Desiree Ficker. Im not bragging or anything but Im pretty sure she wanted my # ;) ..
Just look at the hand placement.

(Shiner and Firemans #4 are great recovery drinks,, I felt no pain Sunday night)

Thanks to everyone who rocked out with us that weekend! We had an awesome time...

L-R: Phil, Me, Bill, Cathlene

January Totals

2010-01-31T16:37:00.004-06:00

This was my first full month of straight Ironman training. Everything was at low effort since I am still in base. Coaching from ZenTri is going great and I'm feeling pretty good about hitting my goal at IMCDA.

Swim: 28,000 yards = 16.19 miles = 10.4 hours
Bike: 314.65 miles = 24.23 hours
Run: 102.41 miles = 17.92 hours

I'm feeling pretty good, injury free and ready for February! The hardest thing for me right now is getting motivated to swim when its cold (even though the pool is closed when temp is below 45) and also holding back on my workouts and not going too hard.

Houston Half Marathon

2010-01-17T18:18:00.005-06:00

This is gonna be brief and to the point (maybe)... Race started at 7am. We arrived around 6:20 (my parents, wife and myself). It wasn't too hard finding a park so we made it with plenty of time to get in the proper corral. I was in the front corral so I did the Webb "Shake n Bake" knuckle bumps with my family (cause thats how I normally roll) and made my way to the start. I was looking for Bill and my friend Mauricio but couldn't find them when the gun went off. For the first mile I was trying to maneuver around slower folks and I finally made it to Bill. Good thing because I was probably going out too fast. I felt really good and a PR seemed doable. We aimed at running right at 7:40 miles and hit it right on almost every mile. I found my sister and her husband at mile 5 taking pictures and gave them some high fives (stole some energy from em). Made it to mile 9 at the turnaround mark feeling good and still hanging with Bill but around mile 10 I had to slack off. I told Bill to go ahead and aim for his PR (around 1:39) so he took off with me trailing. I gathered myself back and picked up the pace around mile 11.5. Found Bill again at this point and he said he wasn't feeling the PR and decided to pace me in. I finished with all I had in 1:41:31, a 7:44 pace and my new PR!! My slowest mile was 7:58 (according to Garmin). I'm pretty happy with not breaking in to the 8min mark (I was very close at times)

We got our finisher stuff, food and of course beer then Cathlene called us to say my dad was in the med tent. He stopped at mile 9 with pretty bad chest pain. He was released but should be going to see a Dr this week. We were pretty worried about him and hope its all minor issues. He said this would be his last half marathon. My mom finished her half in 3:09 and Cathlene finished in 2:46! Great job guys!. I'm very proud of my awesome family! Its become a tradition to run Houston. My sister wasn't able to run this year due to a torn PCL..
I'm super stoked to say that my buddy Sha nnon finished her very first Marathon in 6 hours even! She had some knee issues so we made it out to mile 24 to help run her in the last stretch... Good job pushing through the pain Shannon. You are now a "marathon runner".
My sisters SIL, Kori, also finished her first marathon! Good job guys! So stoked for everyone!! :)
.L-R: Bill, Cathlene, Mom, Me, Dad, Kori

2009 to 2010

2009-12-30T10:28:00.001-06:00

2009 has been a good year for me. I PR’d a lot of races but that was expected since I started training more (due to having more time and recovering from my wreck). I set a PR for the half marathon, 10k and 5k. I also PR’d most of the triathlons I entered but I never made it to a podium finish. 4th place in my age group was common this year. I think I raced in more triathlons in a year than I ever have. My wife and I volunteered at IMCDA and I signed up the next day for 2010. I made it to the 2 year mark since I was hit on my bike, one year anniversary at my job and of course a wonderful first year anniversary with my beautiful wife, Cathlene. I had another shot at Longhorn 70.3 where I did the bike portion of the relay. As Jason Lester would say, 2009 was “epic”…. But I’m thinking 2010 will be more than “EPIC”. I won’t be competing in as many races this year but with Ironman as my focus I won’t have time for many. I am giving it all I’ve got these next 6 months. Ironman will fulfill this empty space lurking around me, it will give me back something I believe was lost in 2007, it will somewhat, finish what I started…..?

My thoughts on Newton Sir Isaac Guidance Trainers

2009-12-07T13:11:00.004-06:00

I had been reading about these shoes for quite some time. I have always wanted to try them out but couldn’t bring myself to first off, spend the money and second, why change when my current shoes work just fine. I have run in Asics since I first started running and most of the time these have been the Nimbus models. I tried out the Nike Frees when they first came out and bought some Pearl Izumi’s when they hit the running scene. The only other shoes I wear consistently are my Zoots. Any race 10k or shorter I wear Zoots. Other than that I have always gone back to the Nimbus.

I went to Lukes Locker planning on trying out a pair of Newtons but most likely buying another pair of Nimbus. The salesperson talked me in to trying out the sir isaac’s and after watching me run and looking at the wear on my old shoes he said I would have no problem with these shoes since I already run forefoot. He said it was the other Newton shoes with larger lugs that would need the 25 mile break-in period but not these. So after confirming they would honor the 30 return policy, I purchased and took them on my first run.

They felt awesome in the store and good through the first mile. After mile one I started to experience pain in both arches and by the end of the run my arches were burning with the feeling of pins and needles. I was ready to take them back the first day but decided I would try them out a few more times just to see if anything got better. Well, after a few more runs and a total of about 12 miles I decided I had enough and returned them. My experience with arch pain at first and later pain on the top of my foot made it an easy decision.

It seems that people who try them out either love them or hate them and I am a far cry from loving them. I think if you want to run forefoot, learn to do it properly without being forced to run this way. As far as these shoes promoting more of a barefoot style of running,, last time I checked I didn’t have lugs under the ball of my feet. With the exception of very few, most fast runners are not running in Newtons. For example: The salesperson who originally sold me the Newtons was talking about how he has had trouble breaking 4 hours in the marathon. He loves the shoes and talked about how much faster you could run with them. The other salesperson that I returned the Newtons to doesn’t like them and runs in simple racing flats. He said he is always skeptical of any shoe that claims to make you run faster or with better form. He ran the Rodeo Run 10k this year in 32:43 (5:15 pace). I found this interesting.

If they work for you that's great. But they aren't for everyone.

quick update

2009-11-29T16:18:00.007-06:00

Ive been slacking on keeping the blog updated so here is a quick update on my training a such...

I am still following my training plan from trifuel.com pretty well except for this week. (around 1 more month until I begin the ZenTri program!)During Thanksgiving I took a few days off. Lots of family came in and it was my birthday on the 23rd. Cathlene bought me a underwater ipod housing and headphones (h2o audio). I cant wait to try them out.

I also bought some Newton Sir Isaac shoes and so far hate them. I ran 6 miles in them yesterday and 2 today. They put a lot of strain on my arches. I naturally run forefoot and I was told that I would adjust right to them because of this. I have the Dallas half marathon in two weeks and really wanted to run in a newer pair of shoes for this race. I will give these shoes the rest of the week and see if my arches get any better. If not Im going back to my Asics Nimbus. They have never let me down... If it aint broke, dont fix it... yeah yeah but with all the hype Newtons have I just HAD to try them.

Recently started getting deep tissue and ART massage from an Athletic Trainer that Cathlene is friends with. My ITBand is feeling a bit better from this. I will probably go a few more times and then just "as needed".. I think its helping my ITBS... My recent longer runs have been a lot better. I have still been occasionally taping my ITB with KT tape,. Seems to help more on the bike though.

I ran a local 5 mile trail run in my home town and got 2nd overall. Not a ton of people entered into the race but it was a fun fast training run.
ran the Houston Sheltering Arms 3 mile turkey trot in 20:22 ~6:52 pace. Ended up 5th in my age group and 67th overall.

Yield to Life

2009-11-04T19:17:00.005-06:00

Check out the website Yield to Life. I sent my story to them last year and they have posted it on their website along with others who have been hit by vehicles while riding. This is a big step in a good direction and means a lot to me. Its hard to explain to people why I would rather ride my trainer than ride with traffic,,, actually its pretty easy to explain but I guess hard for people to understand. Still after 2 years I get nervous when I hear a vehicle or see one coming at me or stopped at an intersection.

On the other hand, Brett from ZenTriathlon posted a sketch I sent to him featuring some bad ass zen/chuck norris style face kicking moves I could have with a Zen Tri tattoo on the bottom of my foot. Pretty good stuff. Check it out. ZenTri

Week 2

2009-11-01T09:23:00.005-06:00

Today ends week two of training for me. I found a 36 week training plan at trifuel.com that im using until January. Starting in January, Brett from Zentri is supposed to start coaching me. Until then I'm going "mostly" off the trifuel plan. Ive been following it really well except for the swimming part. I haven't started swimming yet but plan on easing into it. I'm throwing a few extra runs in the mix to help prepare for the few half marathons I have coming up. Today I have a 35 min bike followed by a 55 min run. This should give me close to 8 hours for the week and a total of 15 to 16 hours for the first 2 weeks.

I ran in the Great Pumpkin 5K yesterday morning. I was hoping to put out a PR but came up pretty short. I started out way too fast and barely held my last mile under 8 mins. Finished 14th in my age group with a time of 22:25, 7:14 pace.

Last week I rode the bike for the relay portion of the Longhorn 70.3. This was the race I was training for when I had my wreck. I had a lot of emotions going into this race/ride.. brought back a lot of memories.
I ended up doing better than I thought I would. I just wanted to see how well I could do at the start of my training. I have never ridden this far and this would really be a test on my neck. Around mile 35 is where I started feeling the neck pain. I toughed it out and finished the 56 miles in 2 hours 56 mins, 19 MPH average... I'm really happy about my results and know with more time in the saddle/in the aero bars to get my neck used to the pain, I can do 112 miles..

Refusing Mediocrity

2009-10-14T17:12:00.007-05:00

One of my receiver coaches in high school always yelled... "Don't be mediocre Webb!".. "Just because your white, doesn't mean you run slow! I need more SPEED!" He was all about speed. No matter what you were doing, it was never fast enough. He would say the same thing when I pole vaulted... "You gotta run faster Webb!".

There is always room for improvement. ALWAYS. I refuse to be complacent, refuse to be mediocre. This goes for everything in my life. Who wants to be average. Push yourself beyond what you think you can handle. Be something great. Do something great. Be the best at what you do.

I vacuumed the HELL outa our carpet the other day! That day, I was the baddest, most efficient, fastest vacuumer that ever walked this earth!
I will not settle for less. I will work at becoming the best at everything I am or do. Life is short and precious, it can be taken from you in an instant. I don't want to be average in my life, I don't want to be mediocre...

Living/Dealing With ITBS

2009-09-23T11:56:00.017-05:00

I have dealt with ITBS (Iliotibial band syndrome) since I ran my first half marathon in 2005. I did it to myself. I know it’s my fault I have ITBS. It probably could have been prevented if I wasn’t so hard headed. ITBS is very painful and only gets worse when you try to run through the pain. It can bring you to tears. What’s worse is when you really want to run and every step is painful, like a knife is stuck in your knee. Nothing is broke, it doesn’t bleed, and you can’t see what’s hurting or why it’s hurting. It doesn’t look like it should hurt so why does it hurt when I want to run!

I am definitely no expert but I have read a lot about the Iliotibial band and have seen Drs and been to PT since 2005. The Iliotibal band runs along the outside of your leg basically from the hip to just past the knee. The pain is usually located at the outside of the knee but can sometimes develop at the hip. My pain is at the knee(s). From my understanding the pain comes when the ITB rubs across the (inflamed) bursa at the knee. This is why it doesn’t hurt when you first start running but slowly becomes inflamed and the pain becomes worse the more the ITB rubs back and forth over the bursa. For me, when my ITB is aggravated, I can make it hurt by bending my knee slightly and leaning forward as if I am in a slow motion run or pushing off with the back leg. Going down stairs or down a hill is painful as well. I have learned to try and not bend my knee past a certain point when it is inflamed.

So back to how I was blessed with ITBS.. My sister had run her first marathon and I was told I couldn’t ever run that far. Wrong thing to say to me. I have always been active and ran occasionally but never consistently so I decided to run the Houston half marathon to prove people wrong. I ran “consistently” for about a week prior to the half and finished right at 2 hours. After that I had this ache in the outside of my knee but I had just run 13.1 miles so I figured it was supposed to hurt. I ran a few 5ks and one 10k that summer and signed up for the San Antonio Marathon in Nov. Again I didn’t really train and ran it with my sister finishing in 5:21. My knee was starting to feel a lot worse but I ignored it and ran the next Houston Marathon (Jan 06) with my sister again. Finished in 4:54.. After this I wanted to actually start running and training for other races but my knee was killing me. I finally went to the Dr and he told me I had developed ITBS. Obviously from running too many miles without training. I had a cortisone shot and was sent on my way. I was also prescribed a z-pack later that year. That summer I ran a few short races and signed up for SA and Houston Marathon. I bought an ITB strap to help with the pain while running. I trained a little bit more that year and finished SA in 4:13:09 with my ITB killing me. Ran Houston that next January and had to walk most of the last 6 miles finishing in 4:49… This is when it hit me that ITBS SUCKS and you really can’t run through the pain and just deal with it like my Dr. said (yeah, he actually told me to just push through it,, he also thought I was an idiot for running that far). That was my last marathon (Jan 07). I ended up with ITBS in BOTH knees.

That year I went back to my ortho and he sent me to PT. I couldn’t touch my toes the first day of PT and by the time I left I was able to fully grab them. PT consisted of stretching, weights, ice, massage and ultrasound. I started using biofreeze (like icy hot) on my runs and always stretched and iced after each run. Stretching included rolling on a foam roller. (now I have a foam roller, TP Quadballer/roller, The Stick, and I use my Indo Board roller because it is made of hard plastic and doesn’t give at all. I got used to the foam). The PT thought the problem was from an imbalance in my hips/glutes and that I needed to strengthen my legs and core along with tons of stretching. This is one reason I like the weight room. I truly feel that strengthening my legs helps with my ITB. But I also make sure I stretch a lot. I have read that the ITB itself cannot be stretched but for some reason it feels a lot better getting a good stretch on the outside of my leg. My favorite stretch is sitting down with one leg straight out in front, the other crossed over with my foot on the ground beside my knee. Then I try to touch my toes and get a good stretch on the outside of my leg. (hopefully this makes sense). During therapy I had stopped running and took a few weeks off. I would swim and ride during this time to maintain my fitness. Sometimes riding aggravates it too but not near as bad as running. I slowly started back to running and always made myself stop when just a little bit of pain started. I made sure I didn’t run on any cambered roads and if I ran at the track I would change direction every 2 laps. The ITB strap would help me finish some longer runs. I would carry it with me and if I started to feel pain I would strap it on. It seemed to help but definitely didn’t cure the problem. I was starting to get control of it and then I had my bicycle wreck and had a mandatory 3 months of no running. I guess a good thing about breaking my neck and shoulder is my ITB got some needed rest.

I still deal with ITBS. It will go away for months at a time then I will do something that aggravates it. My last big flare up was after my wedding (Oct 08).. I got too jiggy wit it on the dance floor (seriously). Then there was this last January when we were moving into our townhome with stairs. So it’s usually stupid things that aggravate it. I stretch, roll, sometimes use “the stick” and ice after EVERY run. I stretch every chance I get. I incorporate weights in my training with lots of leg press and squats. When it starts to flare up during a run I shorten my stride and try not to bend my knee as much. This works pretty good to finish out a run. I recently tried Kinesio tape / KT tape. I didn’t have great results but I plan on experimenting with it to see if any different technique or just adjusting the tape a bit works. The tape is way more comfortable than the strap so if I can get any relief with it I will use it. I am lucky enough to have an Athletic Trainer as my wife so I’m able to use her whirlpool for ice baths and sometimes use her ultrasound machine. It is possible to live with ITBS. You just have to know your limits and know when to stop or cut back your running.

What its like??

2009-09-12T10:35:00.002-05:00

I took the footage I captured from IMCDA this year and edited it to look more like the actual chaos I saw on race day. As a volunteer/spectator it flew by so fast and I can only imagine how it is for competitors. The song seems to fit perfectly.

Ironman CDA 2009 Chaos from Gusano on Vimeo.

Training Begins

2009-09-07T08:35:00.001-05:00

I started training this week. I got in a few short rides on my new bike. Had to take the bike back to the shop to get the aero bars shifted out a bit. It was killing my shoulder being in the aero position for too long. They stretched me out a good bit and now its awesome. Its crazy how just a few small adjustments on the bike can change how good the ride is... A good bike fit is not over-rated. I asked them about my feet going numb so they adjusted my cleats but my right little toes are still going numb after a hard ride. They said my shoes are too small. Damn! That was not in the budget... I really like my shoes and they freaking match (haha). okok I did not just say my shoes matched my bike. . So depending on how training goes I may be looking at buying some shoes in the future.

I also started lifting pretty hard this week.. Pretty hard=freaking super stupid hard.. The first day I worked out my legs with a little bit of arms mixed in. Then finished with 1 mile on the treadmill. I could barely walk the next day.. I worked out my arms that next day and mixed in some leg extensions to get blood flowing in my legs. Finished off with 1 mile on the treadmill. OMG the next day I really couldnt walk and my arms wouldnt straighten out and look normal when walking.. Cathlene gave me an awesome massage to work out some of the soreness. DOMS she calls it, Delayed onset muscle soreness. So today Im feeling a lot better and can actually walk pretty normal. Im going for a run with my sister on the trails at Memorial Park. Plan on running 6 this morning an then when Cathlene gets off we are all going on a ride. Not sure how far but it should be fun. PEACE! (oh and Im finally registered for the Longhorn 70.3 RELAY.. bike portion for me, we are The Craptastic 4 thanks to Philip)

This is me on the right.. (dont judge me)

My Orbea Ora

2009-08-28T18:48:00.000-05:00

So here she is... On the way home and when I got her in the house to meet my other baby, Elle..

I went in to Tri On The Run in Houston to pick up my new bike and get fitted. They spent a lot of time with me making sure it was all set up right. Told me that my shoes may be too small for me in the toe box. My little toe on my right foot goes numb when riding. Its not as bad as it used to be but it still goes a little numb. But yeah Tri On The Run is the bombdiggity. I am a very happy customer.

Max HR 211!

2009-08-26T18:43:00.000-05:00

So on my way home from work today I decided that I needed to go for a run. Taped my knee with KT tape (Kinesio tape for my ITBS,, use it for my neck too but that's all another story), Put on my CEP socks grabbed the garmin 305, ipod, shoes, running clothes,,,anyways I was planning on doing my normal 4 mile loop around the neighborhood. It wasn't really hot when I started (90 degrees 95 heat index)well,, it could be hotter. At 0.8 miles I had to stop at a light, wait for cars, then take off again. When I took off running again I felt my heart rate skyrocket and got the light headed feeling I usually get when my HR goes out of control. I looked at my watch to see my heart rate... It was floating above 200 and hit 211. I immediately stopped running and started walking. After about 30 seconds I had it under control and around 170bpm. I was able to finish my run but just slower than I really wanted to. I concentrated on taking deep breathes and not pushing myself too hard when my HR got high.

This is nothing really abnormal for me. I have had occurrences for a long time. I remember having this happen to me in football practice after running a route. I always thought it was my pads too tight on my chest. I never told anyone about it. They wouldn't believe me anyway. Football practice wasn't suppose to be easy,, so I kept my mouth shut. It would always happen after sprinting.. Looking back it seemed to occur more during football than baseball but I did have some instances during a baseball game or practice. After high school they didn't happen near as much,, but started again when I started playing softball. Very rarely did it happen when going out for a normal run/jog. I think it was last year during my nephews baseball practice did I actually have it happen with a HR monitor on. I used to coach his team and I would sometimes run before practice. This day I had ran and left the monitor on. I was helping shag balls and felt my heart rate increase. I looked at the monitor and it was floating above 200bpm. I told Cathlene and she thought I should bring it up to my doctor.

My doctor didn't seem to be very concerned about the high heart rate. He said it was a type of tachycardia or something like that. He wanted me to wear a monitor to catch the rhythm or something but it would only last for a few days and I would have to try and make my HR skyrocket.. I couldn't figure out how to "make" it happen and it happened only about once a month so I decided to just let it be. I can pretty much control it once it happens,,, just breath deep and relax. It is scary when it happens though... It has been a few months since the last time. The doctor didn't seem to be worried so neither will I.. Now if it starts happening all the time I am sure I will be seeing someone again.

Back to training?? Well...

2009-08-25T20:30:00.000-05:00

I'm still not back to training. I plan on starting soon but I haven't set a date yet. For sure doing something by next week. Maybe when I get my bike... Ive done some pushups lately though. Does that count?
I want to start out doing a lot of weight lifting. I wanna get strong. cock strong.. haha. I figure Ill concentrate on lifting for a few weeks and then spend a good bit on the bike and running. I have a few half marathons this winter that I plan on running (Dallas Whiterock, Houston, Austin). During all of this I need to work on my swimming. I suck at swimming. I used to love going to the pool but here lately I hate it. I think because I really don't see any improvements. Ive swam the same pace for years. Oh yeah I keep forgetting about Longhorn HIM.. I gotta do the bike.. I still gotta sign up though..
So anyways,,, Ill get to that training soon enough.

New bike

2009-08-18T20:43:00.000-05:00

So I finally ordered my new bike. Now I just hope they can get one in my size. Its a 2010 Orbea Ora TLE. Couldnt be a more perfect day to order. 2 years since my accident.

Today has been a rough but good day. I suppose every August 18th will be this way. Alot of thoughts run through my head. Its been like that for the past few days. We finished off tonight eating at the Cheesecake Factory. Its been a good day,, much better than 2 years ago... Im super excited about competing in Ironman next year. This race means a whole ton of alot to me. I will ROCK CDA!

Random thoughts/Athletic career

2009-08-18T20:37:00.000-05:00

Sometimes when you’re expecting a fastball life throws you an outside curve ball. So you do whats expected of a good player,, you see the spin of the ball, determine where it will break over the plate and take that SOB opposite field.

You can always describe life as if it were a baseball game. I love baseball. I played as long as any team would let me. I didn’t try to play in college so high school is as far as I went. Then I started playing slow pitch softball. Its just not the same though. Now I randomly play softball since I am more focused on triathlon training. I was a pretty decent ball player. I could play almost every position. Our high school team sucked. We were more focused on football. We were bad ass in football. Football was exciting and fun. There was nothing like a Friday night football game. I wanted to quit so many times but Friday would come around and make everything much better. We were top ranked in the state my senior year but crapped out in the first round of playoffs. We went 10-0 in regular season that year. I was a receiver. I also pole vaulted. I still have the school record at 13’6”. Got 6^th place in regionals my junior year. I won every meet I entered in my senior year. I broke a pole once. I missed the mat a few times. At district I was disqualified after winning for looking at the video camera between runs. My coach never told me this was illegal. For 4 years I didn’t know (until the kids coach who didnt make it to regionals had a fit said something about it). I got track athlete of the year my senior year.. I walked on in college and vaulted for a bit…. Then I found running and now triathlon.. Im competitive and love sports.. And yeah I like baseball and the way it can describe life.

Why does the neck hurt?

2009-08-13T17:27:00.001-05:00

Just recently, my neck has started bothering me a lot more than usual... The only thing Ive done different is NOT train. Maybe I need to get started back to running or something.
Maybe its all in my head.. 5 days until exactly 2 years since the wreck. Been thinking a lot about it lately.

Philip has an awesome idea for Ironman. If I get a disc wheel or aero helmet I'm gonna get this sticker put on it. What do you think? (crash dummy logo).
Maybe this can be an awareness campaign? DON'T RUN OVER CYCLISTS!
How about the word "ALIVE" across it.... hmmm

Rivercities Triathlon

2009-08-03T20:06:00.000-05:00

Right after work I headed to Diboll, TX, to my parents house. We stayed the night there then Saturday morning got up drove to Cathlene's moms house (mother in law) picked her and her 2 boys up and drove to Shreveport, LA. We left Lufkin around 9am and got to Shreveport around 11:30. Made it to pick up the packet at the now "old" sportspectrum store. They were in the process of moving to a new store a couple of miles away. So this seemed pretty organized (packet pickup) until I was told "and now you need to drive to our new store and pick up your numbers"... WTF!! really, i mean really?? your trying to get me to visit the old store and then I have no choice but to visit the new store to get the rest of my packet so hopefully I will spend more money,,, i mean really...? I didn't spend anymore money at the new store but the old one had lots of shoes and stuff on sale so I did get new tri shorts and Cat got some zoot shoes! very nice!!.. So whatevea, I'm over that, I understand them making us visit both stores but still it was pretty crappy to split up the packet pickup.. onward to the race!..

The drive to the race site was about 33 minutes 24 seconds... google maps said it was around 45 minutes. guess they rounded up.... way up.. so we got to the park at 5:30am and waited in line with the other vehicles until 6 when the gates to the park opened up. by 5:45 there were about 50 to 100 cars lined up outside the park.. . now why cant they open up the park a tad bit earlier? just a little bit, so maybe we wouldn't all be sitting out on the main "small" highway,.. whatever though,,, onward to race site. oh yeah,, I drank Hornet Juice mixed with Gatorade on the drive there. Also had my CEP socks on!! booyaaa

Parked the truck and headed down to transition to find the open rack. (knew it was going to be open rack so I wanted to get there a little early). Found my rack! It was one of the few that was located in the grass!! and it flooded the day before! woohoo.. everyone else has the parking lot to set up transition... now to body mark.. first lady to actually mark my number over my scars. haha, i like to see peoples faces when I pull my sleeve up and they see the scars.. she was gangsta and wrote right over them though.. didn't even blink.. alright now to the swim...
I had plenty of time to get ready, which I like, .. I hate being in a rush.. So when it was my time to leave the family I was able to "shake n bake" with them all and give Cat a kiss and make it to the water where I waited to start. (shake n bake means to fist bump and say "shake n bake"!).. The announcer was annoying talking about Kid Rock and how cool/great he is..yada yada... He announced my wave to start but said the wrong color caps and wrong age.. With about 10 seconds until we started he finally got it right. then BOOM! the canon goes off and we are on our way. The swim was pretty good,. I thought I did really well. Only a few people hit and kicked me,, no biggie. Swam until my hands touched the sand, got up running to my bike...
swim = 0.5 mile 16:50 @ 2:07 pace...

T1 = 1:32.. nothing major.. long run to bike.

The bike went really well,. I was passed by a lot and also passed a few myself. I took one gel and drank water.. The bike course had a lot of rolling hills but nothing bad or really steep.
Bike = 18.6 miles 52:06 @ 21.4 MPH

T2 = 1:24 .. I came in with my feet out of my shoes, nailed the dismount, tried to go straight to my rack but this rude volunteer lady was in my way!! she wouldn't let me go to the rack, said I needed to go all the way around... I didn't understand this at first and the way transition was set up didn't really make sense to me because my rack was sooooo close yet sooo far away. I had a few words with her any ran on around the circle back to where I practically started.. This could have been communicated a lot better.. I guess they thought by making us go all the way around cut down on traffic but where my rack was located it did nothing... but piss me off and make my HR sky rocket..
Racked bike, put on shoes, grabbed hat and race belt and took off.

The first mile of the run was awesome, the temp was still good and I wasn't too hot,.. I ran a sub 7min mile and thought I was going to have an awesome 5k...... the second mile was slower and around 7:15.. I thought I picked up the pace the 3rd mile and then it shot off along a trail,,, a muddy trail,,, What can you expect when it flooded the day before.. The trail sucked and I guess I lost a lot of time on it.. Came into the sandy finishing shoot feeling pretty good.
Run = 5k 22:49 @ 7:22 pace..
I really thought I ran around a 7:05 pace.. felt really good,.

Total time = 1:34:40
25th in Age Group
211th Overall

Found the beer tent asap along with the rude volunteer handing out beer.. (there are nice ways to tell people that you should only get one beer, this guy didn't know how to).. I got mine so I'm good.. As soon as the transition area opened I grabbed my stuff and tried to exit with my bike.. BUT, bikes aren't allowed out of transition until 11:00...

I had a good time at the race but I think I expected a first class race.. The race is 28 years old and looks like they would figure some things out by now. It seemed as if they needed more volunteers,, nicer ones would be great.. Maybe I'm too used to Texas people..lol... This was nothing like the Lonestar triathlon ran by Keith Jordan.. That is a top notch race. But,, the race packet was awesome,, the best ever.. I got a beach towel, bag, cap, two shirts, sunglasses and some gels... Also got a finisher bottle when crossing the line. Thought they were giving out medals but I don't think the website was updated since last year. Not sure if I would do this race again. Its good and bad in many different ways.. I loved the swim and bike.. Not many supporters along the race..

This is my last race until I start Ironman training.. So tonight I'm drinking rum/coke and going to sleep early.

SttuFF

2009-07-26T19:41:00.000-05:00

I just finished a 3.75 mile run right before a small storm hit. Ive been doing pretty good this month keeping up with training. Next Sunday I'm headed to Shreveport LA for the Rivercities triathlon. This is suppose to be my last triathlon of the season but it may not. I'm probably doing the bike portion of the Longhorn 70.3 relay. This was the race I was suppose to do in 2007 when I had my accident. I also may do Toyota US Open Dallas Triathlon. I just found out that my wife will be working the race and can possibly get me a compd entry. I cant pass that up. She is also working the Dallas White Rock Marathon so I will probably be running the half.

I had an MRI of my shoulder a couple weeks ago and found out last week that nothing is wrong with it. Thats good news but doesnt explain why I still have pain almost 2 years later. It gets tired really easily. Even from just holding a phone to my ear (seems to put the deltoid in a bind). So the doc said I need to strengthen whats left of the deltoid muscle. ha, oh yeah and the xray he took showed that I still had a chunk of glass in my bicep. Not suprising to me since the doc that removed all the glass said he had to leave a large piece because removing it would cause more damage. The glass doesnt seem to cause any problems though.

Congratulations to all the Ironman Lake Placid Finishers! Last I heard Philip Lavoie finished under 12 hours!!.... Thats awesome and I hope to be there next year... well, not "there" as in LP but "there"., you know..
gotta go! time to eat...

Jeff & Bredes Triathlon (Sprint)

2009-07-13T21:00:00.000-05:00

On Sunday I raced the Jeff and Bredes Tri put on by the Houston Racing Triathlon Racing club. This was my first J&B tri. It is a 300 meter pool swim, 12 mile bike and 3 mile run. My goal was to finish under 1 hour 5 minutes.
The race started at 6:30 and I arrived around 5:45k... Drank hornet juice/gatorade and ate a pop tart on the way to the race site. Got body marked (#83 which is 83rd start position in the water) then found my rack for my bike. This was again an open rack which sucked big time! I found a small area to rack my bike, put out my shoes and stuff and put my bag to the side beside the transition fence. The rack was slanted which made it hard to keep the handle bars straight so I could balance my helmet on top (I rack my bike by the seat, ISM Adamo saddle).. It worked out ok but was still a pain in the azz..

Swim.... The pool was indoors which made waiting around for my start pretty hot. It was already in the 80s when we arrived that morning. Finally made it to my turn to start and was counted down until I could jump in feet first to the 4' pool. The first half of the swim was good until I met up with a lady that was walking the entire swim... Finally passed her and then my goggles started leaking. No problem though because I didnt have much more to go. With about 3 stokes to the end of the swim I felt the guy behind me tap my toes.. ($hit, he caught me!) I jumped out of the pool and started making my way toward T1.
Swim Time: 5:33, 1:51/m pace

T1... Feet got dirty from running over,,,uh,, dirt,, wiped them semi clean then put on shoes and helmet then took off for the mount line. (oh yeah, my helmet fell when trying to grab it to put it on, and my sunglasses were fogged up so I left them) Almost fell trying to stop to get on bike but didnt,,, clipped in and took off.
T1 time: 1:51

Bike... I got passed by a girl! and she was hauling..... on a road bike.. damn,, I suck.. and I thought I was doing good.. ate a gel and drank water from my aero bottle.... got passed by a couple more dudes (MEN) and passed a few other MEN...
Bike time: 35:25, 20.3 MPH

T2... came in with my feet out of the shoes jumped off and kept on running... almost lost my rack but found it.. racked bike, threw off helmet, put on shoes, grabbed visor and race belt and took off.
T2 time: 0.48

Run.. The run felt really good most of the way... It didnt seem too hot and there were plenty of aid stations. Around mile 1 and 2 I drank a little water and poured the rest over my head.. This seemed to help cool me down a lot. I kept a steady pace and passed a few people only getting passed by 2 dudes. One of them was super fast and turned in a 5:49 pace.. WTF! but he came in one place behind me at number 7.. his bike sucked. ... coming into the finish my sister and wife were there telling me to go faster and pass the chick in front of me... being the gentleman I am I just cruised on into the finish..
Run time: 21:14, 7:05 pace

I was really happy with my time considering the lack of training I have had since going on vacation... I didnt have many good runs since and was really hoping to just stay under a 7:30 pace.. I seem to base how well my race goes depending on my run. Its probably not a good thing but it seems to be the easiest way for me to know how well Im doing. Looking at past results I peaked in May running 2 triathlons at a sub 7 pace and in April I ran my fastest stand alone 5k...

Total time: 1:04:18
Age Group Place: 6
Overall Place: 53

I have one more race this season.. Rivercities Triathlon in louisiana in August. Then starts Ironman training.

Getting back to training

2009-07-07T11:46:00.000-05:00

I finally started training again the Tuesday after getting back from Puerto Vallarta. I haven't missed a day since. I don't really have a plan and for now I'm focusing on running... I see the most improvement in my running and I like to see results. I have been stuck at the same pace swimming and have improved a little bit biking but my running has really improved.
I swam one day last week and biked once on Saturday. My wife and I rode for about 23 miles on the 4th. Sunday we went to the beach were I was able to get some surfing in... I consider this a swim workout since you are fighting the current the entire time and everytime you catch a wave you must paddle back out past the break. Surfing is very tiring and works out a lot of muscles you normally don't work out with just swimming..
My running suffered since I haven't ran in a little over a week with vacation and all. I have been running 3 to 4 miles and trying to keep the pace under 8mins. Normally for a 3 mile run I can hold closer to a 7 min pace..
I have a sprint triathlon this weekend and I hope I am ready for it. I think I will be happy if I can hold a sub 7:30 pace on the run but who knows... Its a 300m pool swim, 12 mile bike and 3 mile run... I'm aiming for 4th place..
After that I have one more sprint this season.. Rivercities sprint triathlon... Its suppose to be an awesome race with a great packet..
Then starts Ironman training in September... I will follow some type of plan until January.. then I am hiring Brett (aka texafornia) to coach me from January thru June 27th. I don't plan on screwing around and really want to do well at my first Ironman...
If you have any suggestions on a good free training plan from September to January let me know..

And I almost forgot... I met Sister Madonna at the Ironman!! Very cool!

Ironman CDA 2010

2009-06-30T21:19:00.000-05:00

Im finally able to sit at my computer and write a little something about my last week.
Cathlene and I made it to Spokane Washington last Saturday rented a car and drove to Coeur d'Alene to pick up our tshirts and wristbands for volunteering on Sunday. The town was beautiful. I loved it there. If it wasn't cold I could live there for sure. Anyways, we were set to volunteer from 11:30am to 5:30pm at transition aid station.
We got to the race site right after the pro wave took off. It was a little chilly and windy. Found a good spot on the pier to watch the race and settled in to film and take some pictures. The start of the race is just as chaotic as everyone describes but super awesome to watch. 2000+ people running into the water is freaking cool. We were able to catch the first few pros come out of the water and get on their bikes. We watched them for a bit then made it back to the swim to see the final age groupers come out of the water. The energy was amazing seeing/cheering in the last few swimmers before the cutoff time. I admit,, I shed a few tears, I wanted them to make it sooo bad. About 10 people were still in the water when the time was up. It was heartbreaking seeing them be told they could not continue.
We sat on the bike course until 11:30 when we went into transition. This was really cool! We were right there when the pros came in off their bike. I filmed alot of the first few pros in T2. We saw Kate Major who came in 2nd out of the female pros and Amanda Lovato. I even had to point Amanda Lovato in the right direction to the portapotty. wooohooo!!... It was fun seeing everyone come into T2 and trying to help out as much as possible. I think I learned alot about the transitions by working this area. When 5:30 came around, no more bikers were allowed to continue the race.. Cat and I went to eat our free volunteer food and by this time it was raining. So now its rainy, windy and cold... You could tell this sucked big time for some of the athletes.
We stood in the bleachers for a little bit cheering in some finishers at the finishing shoot, walked up and down the last half mile to the finish and then decided to grab some beer at a bar right on the course. This was very nice. very very nice. out of the rain drinking beer and watching runners pass by.
Around 10:45pm we started making our way back to the finishing shoot to stand on the bleachers and cheer in the last finishers. THIS was super freaking awesome!! The time went by sooo fast and the energy was again amazing. It was awesome seeing Mike Reilly announce "YOU ARE AN IRONMAN". The last couple of finshers made it in with the help of the crowd... Its hard to describe how awesome and how much energy the finish line had. These last few minutes were really great and I'm so glad we stayed until the last guy made it in. The last guy was actually 3 or 4 minutes over 17 hours. Sucks that he doesn't get an official time but the crowd tried to make up for it. Mike Reilly still announced him in but did not say "you are and ironman" and one finisher that stayed to see the last finish offered to give this last guy his finishers medal. . What a great guy!...
We got up the next day to go down and sign up for next years race. They had already started signing up but I was able to move right to the front of the line with my volunteer wristband and get signed up in just a few minutes!... So now, today, I just finalized my registration... I am signed up for Ironman Coeur d'Alene 2010!!!!! Can I get a mofo Hell to tha yeah!!!! I cant wait to cross that finish line. I have been dreaming of it ever since. .. not sure when my training truly starts or how this next year will pan out but who cares!!,, It will come and I will be ready.. im super stoked! So wish me the best and hopefully I can entertain/inspire you during the process. June 27th 2010 IMCDA!!

The next day we flew to Puerto Vallarta for our belated honeymoon (~6months later) and relaxed and drank lots of beer on the beach. What a great trip.. Couldnt be better....

Tejas Triathlon

2009-06-10T19:51:00.000-05:00

This past Sunday I competed in the Tejas Sprint Triathlon in Sugarland, TX. My wife also was on a relay where she did the bike portion of the tri. Her team along with Shannon and Katy placed 3rd female in the relay!!

I started off the race weekend on Saturday by going to Galveston with family. I sat on the beach and had a few beers in the hot sun. Sounds like an awesome day huh?? Well I "caught" this horrible migraine headache, probably due to dehydration and not eating properly.. (Cathlene hates when kids say they "caught" something,, cramp, etc. haha).. My neck was also killing me so I took some good drugs hoping it would make the pain go away.. Didn't happen,, just made me nauseous and we had to pull over 3 times on the way home so I could puke my guts out. Twice we didn't make it but I had my trusty plastic bags in my truck so yeah you know... Got home, took Tylenol, packed my race bag and slept...

600 yard swim, 11 mile bike, 3 mile run
I felt awesome when 4:45am rolled around. We took off shortly to the race and I ate crackers and drank Gatorade/hornet juice on the way. The transition area always sucks in my opinion. The end of the rack is marked with a set of #'s and you don't have a specific place on the rack for your bike. I hate when your specific spot isn't marked for your bike. Lucky me I get the far end of the rack which explains my transition times.

I started the swim on the far side behind one person. It was a wadding start.. I only had a few people bother me during the swim from swimming zig zag and grabbing my ankles. The swim was and always is longer than 600 yards at Tejas.
Swim time 12:35 @ 2:05/yard (650 yards would put me closer to my average pace)

T1 = 1:16,, bike shoes on, sunglasses on, helmet on, grab bike and go

The bike was a flat out and back with a slight headwind on the way out. I think I passed one person in my age group and as always got passed by a few. I really need to get out more on the bike if I want to be more competitive. First in my age group averaged 25Mph.
Bike time 31:15 @ 21.1MPH

T2 = 0:58,, same as always, come in barefoot, rack bike, take helmet off, shoes on, grab hat and race belt while running out.

The run felt really good. I passed around 4 people in my age group including a guy who averaged 23.4MPH on the bike and ran a 7:40 pace on the run. I caught up to him with about 1/5 mile to go. I passed him but he hung on my heals and re-passed me with around 100 yards to go. I knew I had him so I stayed right behind him and with 50 yards to go turned on the burners and made a good sprint past him. I wish I would have been around a 6:50 pace but will take my time.
Run time 20:59 @ 7:00 pace

I ended up 14th in my age group out of 48 and 101 overall. At first my results weren't showing up but after talking with the timing peeps they got it figured out. Also, Cats relay team showed 4th place for them on the posted results at the race but ended up in 3rd later that night when results went online.. Something was wrong with the timing that day but I guess they got it all figured out. I hope they get their awards..
NO beer at the finish sucked!! but at least they had pizza..

August 18, 2007

2009-06-05T22:19:00.000-05:00

Ive been thinking about this a lot lately and thought I would post my story... It helps to put things out there sometimes.

My sister and I were out on a training ride for our first half iron distance triathlon. After about 56 miles we were heading back home (~5miles to go) through a neighborhood that we frequently pass through. I was going down a hill when a suburban turned left onto a side street in front on me. I do not remember anything from about 15 minutes before the wreck to about 2 hours after the wreck. I am told that I smashed into the side of the suburban busting out the back seat passenger side window. My sister said when she rode up on me I was lying down, holding my shoulder and saying it was hurting pretty bad. My arm was bleeding pretty badly so she took her cycling shirt and wrapped it around the open wounds. She said I kept asking what happened and where we were. The ambulance arrived and strapped me down onto a spine board and that’s when I mentioned that my neck hurt. We went to the local hospital and after many x-rays a CAT scan, and MRI they came in and said my neck was broke in three places and they were sending me to Houston for surgery. I was told I needed to lie still and not move or I could become paralyzed. This was the first I remember. My dad rode in the ambulance with me to Houston. I remember dying of thirst but they couldn’t give me any water and the spine board was very uncomfortable. I laid in the ER in Houston on a Saturday night until around 6am Sunday morning. I had to stare at the ceiling for hours listening to gun shot and knife stab victims screaming. Hours later I had more x-rays and another MRI. This all showed that my neck was stable and I would not need surgery. The three broken vertebra turned into one and somehow two of the vertebra were already fused together (possibly from a childhood neck injury). They had also slipped forward tearing all the ligaments and stuff holding them together. Later checkups I learned that it was C5 and C6 and my disc in between them was/is shot. I had fractured many of the small bones in the back of my neck at C5 and C6. Without surgery I would wear a hard neck brace for about 12 weeks. They preformed surgery on my shoulder and removed tons of broken glass from beneath my skin. It would be weeks later until another doctor looked at my shoulder and determined that it had been fractured and separated. I was released from the hospital on Wednesday. I had many checkups on my neck and lots of physical therapy for my shoulder. The spinal doctor told me I would probably be at best within 2 years. Well It will be 2 years this August... I sure hope this isn't the best. I still have pain in my neck, I go through good days and bad... Its no where near where it used to be but still some days it hurts like hell. My shoulder tends to give out very easily. It tires out just from holding a phone to me ear. But again it is no where near how it was 1.5 years ago. I couldn't lift my arm for weeks after the wreck. I am still seeing my doctors for both injuries. I should be seeing another guy for my shoulder pretty soon.

I think about the wreck everyday.. Sometimes wake up in the night from
it... But I do know that it HAS been worse and can only get better. I set tons of personal goals and do a lot of races. It would be easy to give up... I accept that it is what it is but I refuse to let it hamper me,,, I tell myself at every race to "finish what you started" whatever that means.lol.. Maybe IMCDA will be the finish... Thats what I'm hoping for. I don't expect people to understand why it means so much to not do a half iron first, but thats my plan. I had all my races planned out.. I was to do Longhorn Half Iron and then IMFL in 2008 or 09. I feel as if I did Longhorn... I still got up and went to the pool with my sister after the wreck.. I was at the race,, I trained for the race..

Here is a pic of me body marking my sister.

Combat Triathlon/ROS

2009-05-25T15:30:00.000-05:00

This past Wednesday was my second time riding in the Ride of Silence. Last year I organized the inaugural ride in Lufkin, TX. We had over 75 people come out and participate. Pretty good for a small town with not much interest in anything other than High School football. This ride means a lot to me since I was injured by a motorist almost 2 years ago. My parents rode in the Lufkin ROS this year with about 25 participants while my wife and I rode in the Houston ROS with about 100 people. My mom said the ride in Lufkin went down the same hill I wrecked on. She said it was very emotional going down that hill imagining my collision. It means the world to me that they got out and participated in this event. I cant thank them enough. My friend who I have known my entire life wrote an article about it for the local paper Lufkindailynews. He is actually the same person who started calling me "worm" when I was a baby which now has evolved into a more manly man "gusano". In the Houston ROS the brother of a local girl who was hit and killed this year by a fire truck participated in the ride along with many friends. He said a few emotional words when we stopped at City Hall.

Saturday I raced in the Combat Sprint Triathlon. 300 yard pool swim, 15 mile bike, 3 mile run.

We were positioned to start the swim based on an estimated 300 yard swim time we entered when signing up for the race. I had estimated 5:00 minutes which had me starting 76th position in the water. The pool had 6 lanes and we would swim down and back in the same lane then go under the rope into the next lane. Swimmers were started every 10 seconds. Everything should work perfect and you shouldn't have to pass anyone if everyone estimates their time right. This never happens. I ended up having to pass one lady and some fool didn't finish out their swim and decided to walk a few feet to the exit ladder (WTH! this is a SWIM) It didn't hurt me too much though.
Swim time = 4:47 @ 1:35/100yds

T1 = 0:54

The bike went pretty good. It was a mostly straight flat ride on I45 going toward Galveston. Normally really windy but this time we had just a slight cross wind. So yeah for 15 miles I rode... Took one Hammer Gel and drank water from my aero bottle.... That's pretty much it... Oh, I was able to stay in aero the entire time except for the turn arounds. My neck hurt a good bit the day after,,,like always....but its getting better..I think..
Bike time = 42:04 @ 21.4 MPH

T2 = 0:27 I didn't have any problems in T2.

I felt a little sluggish on the run. It was pretty hot and I didn't have anyone around to pace me. Again my Zoot shoes were awesome!! No blisters and I didn't have any problems getting them on. Thanks again Anne from CEPsocks!!! I caught up to the guy who started right before me on the swim. I didn't push hard to pass him since he wasn't in my age group and I knew if I just stayed close I would beat him as far as time since he started 10 seconds before me. I also didn't feel like puking or almost puking at the finish. Some 15 year old dude blazed past us with about .5 miles to go,,, he had to be running close to sub 6min miles.... I was hoping to go sub 7 min miles but fell short. Shouldof drank more Hornet Juice or something.
Run time = 21:27 @ 7:09 pace

Total time = 1:09:40

I ended up placing 4th in my age group AGAIN! I was 43rd overall. I'm proud of my finish but it kinda sucks getting so close to the podium, (in this case the gym floor..lol). I got home and recovered wearing my CEP socks, drinking a beer and eating a Reeses Easter egg. (Sponsor me Reeses!! I'm running out of eggs!)

I think my next race will be Tejas Sprint in Sugarland, TX. A top 10 in my age group will make me happy there. This race usually turns out some pretty stiff competition. I have a few weeks of no racing to get ready. I need to get my run back under 7 min miles and get faster on the bike. The swim,, yeah I need to be faster butI'm not a fish, nor do I want to be a fish... I just need to be faster at all, like super fast,,, like shake and bake fast... like baby Jesus with little golden wings fast.... yeah.... THAT FAST!!!!

Silverlake Triathlon

2009-05-18T20:02:00.000-05:00

This Saturday my wife ran her first 25k (hogs hunt in Huntsville, TX). She did awesome and finished! I am so proud of her. I took the dog and we met her at mile 6 and ran with her until mile 10 then had to book it back to the finish line to see her finish. The trails were really sandy and there were some pretty good hills mixed in. She looked great the entire time. Good job Cathlene!!

Sunday I did the Silverlake Sprint Triathlon in Pearland, TX. It was a 400 meter swim, 10 mile bike and 3 mile run.
Cathlene and I got to the race with about 20 minutes before transition closed. I like to be in transition way before it closes so I was a little nervous making sure everything was in place.

The water temperature was too hot for wetsuits so I had to leave mine with Cat. I was the third wave to take off. I lined up at the front and to the side like I always do. My first stroke I noticed I forgot to give my wedding band to Cat,,, awww great now I gotta worry about it falling off in the lake... I kept pushing it on with my thumb through the entire swim to make sure it didn't fall off. I don't think that slowed me down any though.... What got to me was the idiot without a top and a tattoo on his left shoulder that was a little larger than me cause I wouldof punched him in the face if I thought I could take him but THIS MOFO kept zig zaggin in front of me and I couldnt pass!!!!ugh!! I ended up making it out of the water in 8:29 (2:08/meter). Last year I swam it in 7:40...

T1 was 1:04

The bike was pretty uneventful.. It seemed like I had a headwind most of the way but the entire course was flat. Oh and it had a ton of sharp turns through a neighborhood. I ate a hammer gel and drank water from my aero bottle. Passed a lot of people at the dismount line while they were stopped and unclipping. 27:52 (21.5 MPH)

T2 was 0:38. There was a tree right in the middle of the bike racks that I had to weave around when racking my bike. It slowed me down a lil bit but not much. Racked bike, put on shoes, grabbed visor, race number and glasses and took off out of transition putting everything on.

The run went great for me. My Zoots felt great and didn't rub any blisters on my feet even though I didnt run in them previously. I passed a lot of people on the run but couldnt find anyone in my age group. One guy passed me but he was a clydesdale. I held a good steady pace and felt great the entire time. I was rounding the last corner with about 50 yards to go and a guy in my age group passed me. I said oh HELL NO this dude aint about to beat me with 50 yards to go..... He must not know they call me "White Lightning" in slow pitch softball!!!.lol.. I kicked hard and passed him along with a few others. Run was 20:12 (6:44 pace)

Total time was 58:14 enough for 4th freaking place in my age group! Oh well though, the guy in third beat me by 54 seconds. I ended up in 44th overall. Im pretty happy with everything except my swim. The guy that couldnt go straight really messed me up but thats apart of triathlon. Im super stoked about my run! I can really see an improvement these last few races. I really need to get faster on the bike..

Next Saturday I have Combat Sprint Triathlon. Its a short 300 yard pool swim 15 mile bike and 5k run...

And this Wednesday, May 20th is the Ride of Silence taking place all over the world. Everyone should participate! Look it up, its a free ride! www.rideofsilence.org

Rough Week

2009-05-14T18:46:00.000-05:00

Wow what a rough week! Can I start over??

I didn't want to share my personal problems on a blog and just wanted to talk about my training but what has happened this week has kept me from training so.. (I will keep the personal things to a minimum)..... My grandmother unexpectedly passed away on Sunday (mothers day). The funeral was Tuesday and my wife and I drove home that night. Wednesday my wife came home to find our house burglarized. Someone broke in through a window and took her jewelry and most/all of our small electronics.
During all this time I was dealing with sending my shoes back to trisports.com and they really didn't want to help with the broke shoes. They didn't understand that even though I bought these shoes over a year ago I only race in them. They have less than 60 miles of wear!! I was hoping to at least get prorated for the amount of miles I have put on them!. They werent having any of it and I couldnt handle dealing with more stress so my good buddy Anne from CEPsocks stepped up to the plate. Im really not sure what she did but a brand new pair of Zoot shoes arrived today via UPS (no charge). I cant thank her enough!!! After all Ive been through this week thats the last thing I needed to worry about was arguing with trisports.
So Im not running barefoot at my triathlon this Sunday (damn!!). .

My wife has raised a ton of money this week for Athletes for a Cure and she will be representing during her first 25k this Saturday!!

I ran Sunday after getting home from East TX. Tried to clear my mind... Ran the #tweet5k for AFAC. Thats the last training activity Ive had. Now, Im drinking Rum and Coke,, ,About to put my CEP socks on...
Anne and the CEP guys have been so great,, they by far have the best customer service out of any business I have delt with,,, they are real people that truly care about their customers and anyone willing to say hello..

barefoot

2009-05-10T21:31:00.000-05:00

Some people have asked about me running barefoot. Here is a picture of me finishing a sprint triathlon in 2007 barefoot (was actually the last triathlon before my wreck). I had put new insoles in my shoes and they gave me really bad blisters so at mile 2 I took them off. I carried them until right before the finish line and threw them to my sister. It felt awesome but I'm worried about running a full 5k barefoot.

Zoot Shoes

2009-05-08T18:27:00.000-05:00

At my triathlon last weekend my zoots broke. I didnt realize it until I was walking around the post race party (drinking beer of course). The top eye hole for the laces broke. I was like WTF, what do I do, my life is OVER,,, but I sucked it up and tried to convince my wife that I needed new shoes.. That didnt fly over too well so I called zoot and they told me to call who I bought them from (trisports.com)... So trisports.com told me to ship the shoes back and they will inspect them and then give me some options.. They sent me a prepaid UPS shipping thingy.. So now they are shipped off and I am without a pair of racing shoes.

I have a sprint triathlon next Sunday. I doubt I will have my shoes or any new shoes by then so Im debating running barefoot or trying out a pair of my training shoes. I never wear socks during my races but I always wear socks (CEP compression socks of course) during my training runs. I know I can run a mile barefoot but Im a little worried about running 3. On the other hand, Im worried about getting blisters wearing my training shoes. I may try to run barefoot a few times this week to help me decide what to do..

Now Im off to my hometown for mothers day and I hope to get some runs in.. Either that or drink lots of beer with my dad.....holla

1st post

2009-05-07T19:15:00.000-05:00

So I really dont know what your suppose to write on your first post but....

Some background info.. In high school I played baseball (ss, 2nd, outfield), football (receiver), and pole vaulted. I pole vaulted for a short period in college also. Being so active in high school I really needed something to keep me going through college so I started running with the push from my sister. I ran my first half marathon with about 2 weeks of training and was pretty much hooked since then. Over the next 2 years I ran 4 marathons with minimal training which is probably why I always suffer from Iliotibial band syndrome. I completed my first triathlon in 2006 with my sister and wife (at the time, girlfriend). Now, I am hooked on triathlons. The longest distance I have completed is an Olympic distance triathlon. I went through months of training for my first 70.3 (07 Longhorn Triathlon) and had a major setback about 1.5 months away.

I dont want to get into details right now but on August 18, 2007 while on a long training ride for the Longhorn tri a Suburban turned in front of me while I was descending a hill. After that I wore a neck brace for about 3 months and couldnt move my arm for a few weeks.... THAT WAS my 70.3...

This year I am just racing sprints and volunteering at Ironman CDA to register for 2010. I refuse to race a 70.3 before I finish 140.6. Call me stupid, tell me I cant do it, thats just fuel for the fire. Thanks!

I have a series of sprint tris coming up but I have only registered for 2. Next Saturday, my wife is running her first 25k in Huntsville, TX at Hogs Hunt and I am racing the Silverlake tri in Pearland, TX on Sunday. The next weekend is Combat tri in TX City..

I have completed 3 triathlons this year. Last weekend was CB&I where I had a great race. It was 500m swim (1:51 pace), 15 mile bike (21.6MPH) and a 5k (6:55 pace) for a total time of 1:14:52. I placed 7th in my age group out of 50 and 70th overall out of 901. I was happy with it but I want hardware damnit! Last year at Silverlake I placed 4th in my age group,,, I hope to better that next weekend!