100% Healthy... Almost

    Tomorrow is the first race of the season for me.  Usually get in an earlier race but decided to take it easy this year to maximize the recovery from my last hip and hernia surgery last September.  For some reason this recovery went way better than last years.  My run came back a lot faster as well as my bike power.  While I'm still not back to the training splits I had a few years ago I also recognize I'm now 35 and coming off surgeries on 6 body parts in the last 2.5 years.  

     While the surgeries have been no fun I've struggled to put my finger on why I just haven't felt right over the past few years. I thought it was more due to lack of training, sleep deprivation due to two new kids and an inconsistent training routine.  Then a couple of months ago I started having severe breathing issues.  Over the past few years I've had issues with this and was diagnosed with exercise induced asthma.  Although now I was struggling to breath all the time.  I couldn't even hold a simple conversation without being out of breath.  My wife who is now a doctor recommended that I stop taking my inhalers to see if anything got worse or better.  Reluctantly I did and there seem to be little or no change so I went in to see Dr. Knop who is one of the premier family practice docs  in the Twin Cities who specializes in athletes.  In the end he refereed me to a pulmanologist who started me on Singular, which is a drug to help with allergy induced asthma.  This was two weeks ago and might I say since then I've felt fantastic!  I'm no longer tired all the time nor do I have to fend off the hunger beast all the time.  Both of which I chalked up to over training.  On top of that my training has gone much better and I've enjoyed my workouts a lot more.  I'm still not 100% but I feel that I will get there soon.

      After everything I've been through the last few years I'm really optimistic about tomorrow.  I've upgraded from my old P3 frame to a Scott Plasma 3.  I also got professionally fit and moved up to a 56cm frame from my old 54cm P3.  All in all I'm hoping this will help my bike split.  While I'm not expecting to be running 5:40 splits tomorrow like I did in '09 and '10 I feel confident that I will be around 6 mins and not be destroyed doing it.  Most of all I'm really looking forward to swimming.  In the last couple of months my stroke has really come around and I'm feeling the water really well.  All in all I'm really hoping to be competitive with the always tough crowd at Minnetonka.  

      I also made the jump from Twin Cities Multisport Club to Gear West a few months ago.  It was a decision I did not take lightly.  I've been with TCMC since 2009 and have nothing but awesome things to say about them.  Although the club seems to be at a cross roads right now and I decided to look into other options.  I thought about Gear West back in 2009 although they seemed intimidating to me at the time.  I was a newcomer and everyone on the squad was a stud.  TCMC was new and I didn't want to get lost in a sea of studs.  Since then I've become friends with Kevin O'Conner and a lot of the GW guys.  They are all awesome people and am totally stoked to be racing with them.  I just want to put on a good first race flying the new GW red and black colors.  

     

Bike Vs. Run

   This last weekend I went up to Duluth for a Half Ironman.  After encouraging races at Buffalo and Minnetonka I was also forced to realize that I still have a long ways to go before I get back to the shape I was in 2009 and early 2010.  I worked hard on my bike in the last month and realized that pushing hard for short periods of time didn't work very well with my hips and legs being so uneven.  Rather longer slower distances were easier to maintain balance thus I decided to jump into the Duluth Half Ironman instead of doing some other short course stuff.
   In preparation I started hitting my tri bike in training more.  Especially on long rides.  I actually like the tri bike better which a lot of people would find strange.  I just like to go fast and straight.  I was also hoping that it would help my running as well.  Two weeks prior to the race I did a 54ish mile bike and followed it up with 7 x 1 mile repeats. Avg. pace was 6:20ish with 1 min rest in between.  This was an awesome workout but I wish I had done it the week prior since it beat me up pretty good.  By the beginning of last week I realized I was in trouble with over training.  Tuesday I rode my bike in the morning and had to shut it down early.  then I essentially stopped training for the week with the exception of a light swim on Wednesday and some light yoga until my Friday pre race workout. Luckily I felt good and was even hopeful that the hard taper would pay off.
     I stayed with my Buddy Josh Blankenheim in Duluth Friday night.  Josh has been battling an achilles surgery and unable to race this year.  Josh hooked me up with a great homemade meal and a bed to crash in.  It was ideal since Josh's place was about 25 mins from the race site not to mention free, which is a pretty good price.
    I knew my main competition was going to be Jmatt Keil.  We raced against each other at Buffalo where he blew by me on the run like I was going backwards just a mile or so in on the run.  I was hopeful that I could have a better swim and bike to hold him off on the run this time.
   Jmatt had introduced himself to me before Buffalo as we have a mutual good friend, Ross Weinzierl.  Jmatt is one of those guys that you instantly know is cool as ice, super friendly and a hoot to be around. I messaged him on Friday to talk some friendly smack.
    Race morning was nearly perfect.  Cool with a light breeze that would make the way out on the bike interesting but not too difficult.  Then a nice push on the way back in.  I knew my best chance would be to push as hard as I could on the bike without totally wearing myself out for the run and hope I could hold him off.  I figured I would need about a 10 min lead off the bike to do that.  I also hoped that if I could put 12 min on him it might break him to the point of racing for second instead of trying all out for first.
    The swim went well at the beginning.  I caught a good draft until the turn back towards shore on the first loop.  Then we were going against the wind and everyone seemed to break up.  I would try to catch up and get on someones feet but just could never seem to quite make it.  About 3/4 through the swim someone grabbed my leg and my calf seized up.  I had to stop and try to message it out to no avail.  At that point all I could do was just swim and hope it would loosen up.  Luckily it did until my other calf cramped in the same way.  This time I just slowed down and shook it out.  I came out of the water with a few others and figured I was about 10-15th out of the water. I had a solid transition and got on the bike in front of almost everyone I got out of the water with.
    I stayed in the small ring for the first 10-15 mins on the bike to find a rhythm.  Since I was going into the wind a wasn't loosing anything.  I could tell my calves and inner quads felt like they were on the verge of cramping so I started hitting the water pretty hard.  Regardless of the legs my turnover was perfect and the bike felt almost effortless.  I soon started passing a few guys and started wondering how far out of first I was.
     The first part of the bike was very smooth.  Then about 2-3 miles in it got bumpy, really bumpy.  It didn't bother me too bad so I just kept chugging along.  I then came on a guy who was pushing pretty good and started thinking I had to be in first or close.  Then I saw the next guy ahead of me and the lead motorcycle ahead of him.  I figured it was Jmatt and it was.  We exchanged a few pleasantries as I passed.  I don't have a computer on my bike so I had no idea how far into the bike we were. I knew it wasn't too far which was good for me. Then I saw a mile marker that said 13 miles.  At that point I thought I was in really good shape.  This would give me over 43 miles of bike to make time.  Then I made a huge mistake.  I refilled my aero bottle but when I went to put my bottle back in the cage I missed it.  On my P2 I train on the cage is on the seat tube but on this one it's on the other tube.  In the end the mistake probably cost me no more than 45 seconds if that and made no difference in my place.  In the past this type of issue might have caused me to panick but this time I was very calm about it.  Jmatt did pass me but I retook him shortly after.
     At the turn I looked at my watch to see how far back Jmatt was.  I clocked it as around 1:30.  Doing the math meant I had a 3 min lead.  Doing more math I figured I would have a roughly 9 min lead off the bike.  I know Jmatt can run and my running has been suspect this year so I wanted an even bigger lead but I thought 9 min might be enough.
     The trip back to T2 was one I will never forget.  The bumpy 11 mile section on the way out was even bumpier on this side of the road.  Every bump made my taint feel like I my seat was razorblades.  It was the longest 11 mile stretch of road I've ever ridden. It was also very flat so very few opportunities to get out of the saddle.  In fact I stood on a few mediocre hills that I would not have otherwise.  This was unfortunate because I loved this course and would do it again if it weren't for that section of road.  I talked to someone after the race who said they were going to fix that stretch until the rain storm last year that washed everything out. Now there's no telling how long until it gets done.  They also mentioned that they may adjust the bike course next year.  If something isn't done I don't know if I'll come back.  It was that painful.
     When I did finally get to T2 my quads and calves that never felt right on the bike definitely weren't.  My calves cramped up as I was getting off my shoes and my inner quads were already sore and tight.  My transition was very smooth and not too fast.  I later found out that I had about a 9 min lead off the bike as I thought.  Problem was my legs were very tender. For the first three miles I just tried to run easy and hope they loosened up.  Then the soreness went away and I was able to put together a pretty good stride.
    The run course was interesting. It was about a 3 miles and change to an out and back then it utilized a two loop run course before heading back to the finish.  At the out and back I looked at my watch to time how much of a lead I had over Jmatt.  The first time I clocked him at 4:30 behind.  What I didn't know was that he erased half the lead in the first 4 miles.  I thought he just came off the bike sooner than I hoped.  Although I was able to push just a little harder with the added motivation that he was coming. After the second loop I was 2:30 up and new it was going to be close.  Unfortunately not that close.  Jmatt had some sort of turbo boost waiting and erased the lead in the next two miles.  Then put another 2 min on me in the last 2 miles to take his first win. 
   While I was destroyed after the race I felt like I ran it as well as I could.  I suffered but not so much that I melted down.  A problem I've had in the 70.3 distance.  Jmatt and I hung out with his buddy that came up to watch while we waited for the awards.  Jmatt and his buddy were a total hoot to hang with and we added Chuck Jensen to the mix for some drinks.  We dominated the menu and had a couple of beers to rehydrate while waiting for Rod to hand out our Plate Trophies.  In all it was just what I was hoping for in a race.  While I didn't get the win I did get was I was hoping for... an awesome race with drama.  Jmatt definitely served that up and I look forward to every race we have in the future.
   

Buffalo Recap and Minnetonka Pre Race

     Well it's been almost two years since my last post.  Since then there have been a few setbacks.  First was a torn Posterior Tibial Tendon that is still not 100%.  While recovering from that I decided to check out my right hip.  I then found out both my hip sockets are too shallow, have arthritis and the labrams are torn.  I opted to fix my right one last year which has taken some time to heal but is now finally feeling pretty good. 
      Since I was going to be off my feet for a while with the hip scope I decided to fix my bunions at the same time.  While this was by far the most painful of the three surgeries it took the least amount of time to heal.  All in all this has been a long recovery and have been looking forward to getting back on the starting line since September of 2011.
      I had intended for Minnetonka Sprint to be my first race back but as the season got closer my endurance was up and training times were decent.  Since Buffalo fell on the weekend I was going to do my first brick I decided to jump in.  I had the hopes of doing a 2:05 and thought given the start list this might land me on the podium or close.  While I fell short of that mark by nearly 5 mins I would have to say this was one of my favorite races I've ever done. 
     To start there was no pressure.  I was relaxed and new that I can only do what I can do.  Before the race I also got a lot of "good to see you backs" from friends which was awesome.  Buffalo is an awesome race with a lot of great people.  I knew this was not going to be my fastest race ever so I concentrated on keeping a steady pace and not blowing up.  Normally I finish and nearly need medical attention but this time I finished and while I had pushed it I didn't need a ton of recovery time.  I finished 12th overall and even got chicked by Cathy Yndested.  No shame there as she will be in the hunt for national Athlete of the Year honors this year.  Still I had a warm and fuzzy after the race and was super happy with a 2:10.
     Since then I've gotten back to training like I used to.  My times are still not where they were in 2009-2010 but I feel good about them and enjoy my workouts more than I have in a long time.  I keep showing improvement and my energy level is still up.  The problem has been that my left hip and knee are showing real signs of wear and tear.  I'm already scheduled to have my right hip scoped in September and my knee may need to be scoped as well. It's an issue that has plagued me for nearly 8 years now and I need to get something done before there is a real problem that would keep me from running all together.  I'm hoping the doc says fixing the hip will fix the knee but something tells me there's been too much damage done.
     Having said all that I still hope to have a great race tomorrow.  The competition will be stiff with my buddies Patrick Parish, Scott Swensen and Ross Weinzierl there along with three time winner Brett Lovass and last years winner Brooks Gossinger.  There will more than likely be a couple of other fast guys in the mix as well.  I'm hoping for top 5 but realize that top 10 will be a victory. 
    After Minnetonka my future is uncertain.  My knee and hip are not responding to training well on a regular basis.  Some days they feel great while others I wonder if I should continue or move up the surgery date and scratch the rest of the season.  I want to get in at least one more race but health is a priority and believe getting the surgery(s) done sooner will help me get back close to 100% by the start of next season. 

Bad News!

I believe in four years I've only blogged in the off season once. That time it was to brag about my beautiful daughter being born. So you know when I blog this time of year it's going to be big. Unfortunately this time it's not on the good news side of things.

In September I was ramping up my mileage in preparation for the Mankato Marathon. I was feeling fantastic and running better than I've run all year. Then on a lunch run I felt a tweak in my inner ankle. I gingered it back to work and figured I would rest it for a few days. However I had long run with my buddy Ross Weinzierl two days later. On Friday night I was on the bubble but didn't want to let Ross down and I've run through things like this in the past. Unfortunately I'm not 28 anymore and running was a bad idea.

Ross and I ran two 8 mile loops with a ten minute breather in between. It was painful but not unbearable. The last couple of miles were especially bad but I was still able to run even though I was wincing with every step. At the end I thought "thank god I made it through that without making it worse." The ankle felt ok and was fully mobile. Later that night I woke up to go to the bathroom and nearly fell down with my first step being that my ankle was so stiff. I knew then I was in trouble.

I went to Tria a few days later to see if I could salvage it before the marathon. The PA told me it was post tibial tendonitis and I would be out for four to six weeks. I asked if there was anything I could to speed up the recovery. The PA gave me a boot and told me to see the Physical Therapist once a week. I did both but I was not getting much better. So I asked my wife for some help.

I am blessed to be an athlete with a doctor for a wife. She is in residency and doesn't specialize in sports injuries but she does know who does and who's the best at it. She asked her old professor Dr. Knop what it could be and he immediately feared the worst and that I had torn post tibial tendon (at least I think that's what it is). The doc recommended me to Dr. Cotzee who is supposedly one of the worlds best at this injury. In fact that is his direct specialty. The best part is He's at Twin Cities Ortho, no kidding, two miles from my house.

When I called they told me he was booked till March. Keep in mind I called in October. I told them who I was and my sad sob story. I also named dropped my wife and Dr. Knop and that got me in a month later. After examining me for a minute Dr. Cotzee shot me straight and said I had a 5% chance of not having surgery. I kept thinking, "so you're telling me their's a chance." I had an MRI last week and yesterday, my birthday, the doc called me and essentially said it's not bad it's really bad.

So apparently I have a two inch lateral tear in my posterior tibial tendon. Or that's the medical jargon I heard so don't quote me. Bottom line is I'm in a cast for two weeks after the surgery. Then I can swim. I can bike at a month or so, elliptical at 6-8 weeks, yoga in 8 and running in 12 weeks. Or at least that is what I'm shooting for.

For my rant of the week I have to say how disappointed I am with Tria and how thrilled I am with Twin Cities Ortho. When you tell someone your a competetive athlete they should treat you as such. When my ankle is swelled up like a bastard I want you to MRI it and not send me on my way. If I had been satisfied with Tria I may have damaged this thing to the point of never running again thinking it was just tendonitis. Or at least just have been out for three months before realizing it was something more. Luckily Dr. Cotzee immediately wanted to MRI it due to my lifestyle. Fortunately I only lost a month to the incompetence of the PA at Tria vs. three extra months.

The good news is that it's the off season and with my hopeful timeline I think I can get back into pretty good shape for June and the beginning of the season. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Didn't See That Coming

Wow!! What an Awesome race. I've come to grips with the fact that I'm not it the shape I was in 2009 so I was hoping to just not suffer too bad and finish sub 4:20. I knew Dan Arlandson would be their along with my buddy Ross Wienzierl. I figured Dan then me then Ross for the podium. I then hear Bennett Isabella was also there. I have only raced against him once at Turtleman where I flatted out. I knew he was a stupid fast runner but I was able to make up the difference in the first few miles of the bike before I flatted out. I had no idea what his swim was like. I knew he could be a contender but figured if he caught me on the run it would be around mile 9-10ish. What unfolded was probably my favorite race of the year and a totally unexpected result.

The morning was nearly perfect. Very light wind and about 60ish to start. Ross and I chatted at the start and went over our plans. As the gun went off I took it a little easy as planned but found a good stroke right off the bat. Ross was actually ahead of me and I drafted him to the first bouy. I then got ahead of him for about 100 yards till the next bouy. I then tried to put a little into it to drop him from my draft and thought I did. I then saw someone ahead of me a worked a little hard to see if I could close the gap and catch a draft. It worked perfect and later found out that for the third time in the three years I've done this race I was on Thomas Krenz's feet. Then about halfway I notice Ross was still on me. I figured he was working harder than he probably should since he is not known for his swimming. We ended up coming out of the water together and Ross and I were in 3rd and 4th to start the bike.

Ross and I rode together for the first few hilly miles of the bike and again I thought Ross might be a little ambitious for his first Half IM, which is a common mistake no matter how experienced you are. I then started putting distance between us at about mile 20 I looked back and couldn't see him so figured he had dropped back pretty far.

As I started the second loop I heard my mom yell that I was in good shape and was only a couple of minutes back. I knew Dan would destroy me in the water so I knew the only hope I had was to match his bike split and hope I somehow could out run him. A tall order, I know but it was all I could hope for.

I had made a gutsy decision for my bike nutrition plan. Since it was cooler at the start but would be getting warm I decided to not take a water bottle on my stem and only use my 1 liter Aero bottle with 16 oz of Heed in the extra cell. There was a water bottle drop at halfway and I would refill my main cell then use the Heed for the last 30 mins of the ride. I would also have four GU's taped to my top tube and I would have one every 30 mins. The strategy worked perfect as I took all the fluids I wanted and was literally sucking the Heed dry in the last mile of the bike.

As I came into transition I heard times from 30 secs to 2 min behind Dan. I knew I was close but also knew the next few miles would be where the race was decided. Rather than blasting out of T2 like I did against Rhett Bonner in 2009 I took a nice easy steady pace and just chugged along. Not worrying about Dan I knew I just had to concentrate on keeping my breathing slow and steady and not overheating.

My legs were fatigued but I was able to keep a decent pace. When I say decent it was probably 8:30 miles as the first half is almost all up hill with some rather steep inclines. I did notice that my hamstrings were almost cramping so I wasn't able to open up very much in order to keep from pulling one. The best way to put it was I was carefully running. I knew I needed to let my stomach absorb everything I had in it to keep the cramps at bay.

As I chugged along I noticed Dan wasn't putting much time on me. In fact at about Mile 4-5 I thought I might actually be gaining on him. Then I heard some seriously fast footsteps behind me. I honestly thought it was a recreational runner who was doing some speed work. No way was a competitor running that fast at this point in the race. As he went by I noticed it was Bennett. No way was I going to be able to run with him and he asked me if that was Dan ahead of me. I sad yes and that he was going to catch him.

As Bennett glided past me I was still focused on catching Dan. Then Bennett caught Dan. At that point I thought I saw Dan walking. Sure enough he was. Then he tried running again only to go back to a walk again. As I passed him he jumped in behind me for a bit then tried to pass but only made about a 10 yard gap before he started walking again. My strategy had payed off but yet I was still going to be 2nd. Or so I thought.

At the turn around I was impressed to see my buddy Ross. I was also a little shocked as he was only about 1:30-2:00 back. I thought this was a decent gap but I had to go or he would catch me. At the same time I thought there is no way Ross can keep this pace with it getting hotter. On the way back my legs were feeling a little better but I still felt the hamstrings tighten up ever now and again. Especially if I pushed it too hard for too long. With about 3 miles left I noted Ross was only about 45 seconds back and looking good. I did the best I could to push the pace. My legs were responding and I my heart rate wasn't spiking and breathing was under control. Problem was Ross was still putting time on me.

With about 1 mile and a half left Ross made the pass. I figured I would still try to keep a tough pace and hope he faded on the last hill. Unfortunately Ross just wasn't going to slow up. In fact he may have been able to keep that pace a while longer by the looks of it. I still haven't seen the results but Ross put down a serious run to grab second overall. It had to be Ross's best race yet and it was awesome to see a good friend have such an amazing race. Even if it meant finishing behind him.

After the race I got in the water for a bit and knew I needed electrolytes. Then I started to cramp up and bad. I had to drag myself to shore just as my mom brought me my recovery drink. Someone else brought me some Gatorade and I was able to get function back in my legs.

I have to admit that even thought this the outcome I was hoping for I was ecstatic with the result. I felt like I had put as good a race together as I could of, didn't suffer too bad and got to see a good friend take it to the next level. I also got to talk with Dan after the race. I could tell he was disappointed but as he put it, "some days you have it, some days you don't." Very true.

Bennett was a monster and I'm really curious to see his run split. It had to be serious along with Ross's. Congratulations to both of them. I think all three of us put together the best races we could have. It was a fantastic finish to a good season and left me with a feeling of anticipation for next season.

Next up Mankato Marathon followed by a pub crawl.

Square Lake Preview

I can't believe it's almost over. This will be my last multisport of the year and I feel strangely unfulfilled. Most year by the end of the season I am ready to throw in the the towel and get down to yard work. For some reason this year I want the season to last another month. I think it's partially because a somewhat disappointing August with a flat tire at Turtleman, good but not great performance at St. Paul followed by a frustrating race at Maple Grove. It could also be that I had higher expectations for this year. My '09 season I seemed to have everything go my way and had a huge August. I think I was hoping for a similar season. I did have a few ups, but also more downs than I am used to. In '09 it was almost all ups.
Another reason I want the season to be longer is that I feel like I am still improving or at least finally working out the kinks. I have my run where I want it and my swim feels like it comes around more often than not. However my bike power seems to be dropping. Funny how that is. Just when I feel like everything is pulling together, the season ends.
As for Square Lake, Dan Arlandson is on the register list so it looks like I will have to settle for at least second. My good buddy Ross Weinzierl will also be there to see how he fares at this distance. Ross tried to do Chisago Half last year but flatted out. For me I'm just hoping to come in somewhere between 4:15-4:20. In '09 I came in at 4:15ish on a warm day in a battle with Rhett Bonner. I believe my swim may be better than then but my bike is not. However my run could be faster. We'll have to wait and see.

Janickied

I was really looking forward to this race. There was a big buzz from last year and now there was the 111 race with Macca and some other pros. When I got to transition I was blown away. It was very well put together, a huge transition area and all the amenities of a pro level race.

I got my packet and headed into transition. They had a racking system that went by age but the Elite rack was not marked very well on the layout they had. The layout map was marked by wave except for the Elite wave. It took three volunteers to finally tell me they had no idea and to rack in the overflow. When I did I saw my friend Kim Gorman who is an official. She helped me out and showed me where the Olympic Elite was on the map. Now it made sense. It cost me a good 10-15 mins just to find my rack. When I found it though I got right to warming up.

I just got finished when they started kicking us out of transition so no loss with the racking. When we got to the water there seemed to be some more confusion as to the Olympic course swim and which direction to go. It eventually got settled and the swim went off without a hitch.

The Elite wave only had five guys in it and no one I recognized. I had a decent swim and came out of the water in first for the guys. I thought at this point that I had the race in hand but still wanted to push to see if I could go sub 2:05:00. The bike just never seemed to click. I'm guessing the intestinal bug I had earlier in the week hurt my power but I just kept pushing.

T2 was a little sloppy but not horrible. In an Olympic I'm not worried about it as much anyway. My legs felt sore in a different way than normal. They hurt but I had no problem with turn over. My first loop I felt fantastic and then it happened.

As I came down a hill near the park there was a sign saying sharp turn. There was a hard turn at nearly 180 degrees going down hill. I didn't feel right but I saw a volunteer about 20 yards after the turn and figured I would just make the turn and ask. When I got to him I said I was Olympic and needed to do a second lap. Where am I going? He told me that I was on track and to keep going. "I couldn't miss it." A few hundred yards later I noticed there was no where to start the second lap and I was in the finish shoot just before the finish. I've missed turns before but never on a run course. I stopped and thought "oh crap." The announcers Jerry Mcneil and Chris Swarthout shouted at me to keep going and I was having an amazing race. I told them I still needed to make a second lap. Jerry asked over the PA for help from a volunteer. I realized I needed to run back out the same way and just keep going where I was before the turn. At that point I made another mistake, I panicked a little. I ran back to where I made the wrong turn a little too hard to make up for lost time. Luckily I realized it before I blew up too bad and backed off.

The second loop I felt strong but knew I was starting to slow down. Unfortunately being the first one threw a course means the volunteers are not prepared for you. There was a water point that was only on the second loop so I was the first one through. I needed Powerade but they weren't ready for me so I had to grab a water. I was even more frustrated at this point as I knew I was going to have to go the rest of the way without and extra energy or electrolytes.

Fortunately I pushed through it and came down the finishing shoot as the first Olympic finisher. The wrong turn had meant nothing and like Minnetonka I was able to overcome it. I enjoyed talking with Claire Bootsma and Becky Youngberg in the lake to cool down and then we went up to see the finish of the 111 race. When I did my mom informed me that I was second on the finish list. I thought it was just someone who missed a lap and didn't think anything of it. I went about my business hanging out with my close friend Scott Swenson and figured I would go over and check the results. I was floored to see Doug Thiessen did in fact beat me by two minutes. Doug is from Thunder Bay, raced in the 30-34 AG and slipped under the radar. At this point I was frustrated that the wrong turn may have in fact made the difference. But it would have been close and there is no way to tell.

Since I was second overall I stayed for awards to see what I got. I was wondering how they would do it since Doug was the overall winner. Would they put me in an AG or just do Elite awards. They went all the way through the awards and announced me as the Elite winner. When I looked at the award it said Sprint Overall Champion. I went back to switch they gave me the Olympic Male Overall award. Doug was right there so I said give it to him. He deserves this since he won. I then asked if there was anything for me. They told me to wait and they would straighten it all out.

Then after they announced all the sprint I talked to one of the race directors. She explained they thought the overall winner would be an Elite and they didn't do a 2nd or 3rd place overall. In other words I waited 3 hours for awards. Then another 30 mins for awards to end to find out that I get nothing. I really don't care that I got nothing. I just care that I waited nearly 4 hours that I could have spent with my wife and baby daughter to find out that I got nothing. To be honest I feel bad for the 2nd and 3rd place Elites that stuck their neck out to jump in the first wave to get nothing. They should have just stayed in their divisions and gotten a nice AG award.

I guess you can see where this post was going. The event was very well organized. Great food, awesome venue, but they forgot the basics. Most importantly marking the course and properly briefing volunteers and having them in the right spots. I could care less about the awesome post race buffet if people get lost on the course. I also don't want to hear that it's the racers responsibility to know the course. That's just a cop out that race directors say so that they don't have to take responsibility for not properly marking the course or having volunteers that don't know what they are doing. I will say this. I thought the bike course was marked pretty well. Not awesome but close. The run course was very well marked and had great volunteers until what I would consider to be a point that obviously could be a trouble spot. When I came around for the second loop there were 5 volunteers directing you where to go so they must have figured out there was an issue after my wrong turn. I know my buddy Scottie made the same turn. Luckily the volunteer that sent me the wrong way learned from his mistake and sent him the right way. I also know at least on Elite female also made the turn only to be sent back by the same volunteer.

For any race directors out there who read this I offer advise and extend a challenge. Racers are not focused or thinking about the map you gave in the packet. While racing we are thinking about the 20 feet in front of us. We don't take the map out of our pocket and check to see if we are going the right way. My opinion is to not even give a map and dedicate that time to marking the course correctly and properly briefing volunteers. Then if anyone who makes a wrong turn on your course and it makes a difference in the results should receive a free entry for next year.

Congratulations to Doug Thiessen! He had a monster race and this post was not meant to say I would have beat him but... but more to vent about how important it is to make sure that the racers know where they are at all times. I met Doug at the awards and he is an ultra cool guy. Doug is coached by another cool Canuck by the name of Jon Balabuck. Maybe you've heard of him. I look forward to racing with Doug again. Hopefully he realizes how fast he is and jumps into the Elite wave next time so we can go head to head. I think it would make for a very exciting race.

Next up is Square Half. I'm actually finally feeling strong in the run and water. Hopefully the bike comes around and I can put it all together like I did at Twin Cities.

Maple Grove

When I decided to do this race I was hoping to do the Tri Star 111 race. Unfortunately the 111 was almost a $100 more expensive, which was too rich for my blood. So instead I opted for the Olympic course. I was also hoping that this would be my premier A race of the year next to Square Lake but that has taken a turn for the worse as well.

I came down with a minor cold a few days before St. Paul tri last week but it was just a runny nose and a scratchy throat. Nothing that I haven't had before or that would effect my race. Then on Monday evening I was not hungry after my evening swim. This is not common. Usually I can't stop eating from June to September so not wanting to eat anything was a bit peculiar. Then by the time I went to bed I felt like my intestines were going to explode and had no energy. It was a case of an intestinal bug of some type. I actually called in sick to work for the first time I can recall since I had mono in high school. Luckily by later on Tuesday I was able to do some light training but my stomach was still feeling a little raw and I didn't get my appetite back until later on Wednesday.

Needless to say training this week has not gone well and tapering has become more of recovery from illness. I have no idea how this will effect my performance on Sunday and I don't like to make excuses but I don't plan on this being my best race of the year.

Looking at the start list I saw Devon Palmer's name. Luckily he dropped into the 111 race and I don't recognize any other names on the start list. So hopefully I can pick up a win even with having to spend the week recovering from a stomach bug.

I have been looking forward to this race though and am very curious to see what the talk is all about. Maybe this will take over Graniteman as my favorite race of the year. Regardless I'm really hoping to put together a better swim than last week. Ever since masters took a break my stroke and power just don't seem to be as sharp. I really want to get things tuned up prior to Square Lake Half.

St. Paul Tri Recap

Going into Sunday I knew Brett Lovaas would be my toughest competition. I would give me the upper hand but not by much. When Brett is on he is tough to beat. I knew that I would have to bring my A game or Brett would take it to me.

Race prep went as normal but I somehow was running later than usual. Because of this I didn't get in a very good swim warm up. I really didn't think this would matter because my best swim this year came with no warm up. I also decided to go with my sleeveless wet suit for the swim since the water temp was probably in the low 80s. This suit worked well for me at Graniteman and I like having no sleeves to keep a little cooler. Unfortunately I seem to have lost some body mass since July because I noticed it was a little looser than I would like when I put it on.

As the swim started I immediately did not feel as comfortable as I would have liked. Then for some reason I kept drifting to the left. I would try to compensate but just couldn't straighten it out. I also did't feel as fluid as I had in the past this year. After the person just ahead of me tried to exit after one lap and had to go back I was in second but was pretty far behind Brett.

I exited the water knowing I didn't have a strong swim but figured I was only about three minutes back. A gap I thought was overcome-able but wold not be easy. I hit the bike a little conservatively in the first loop and just didn't quite get into a groove until the second loop. Unfortunately the second lop we got mixed in with the sprinters. Combined with the rough rode the sprinters made for a very dangerous second loop. No one seemed to be staying to the right and the bumpy road made people very unpredictable. In all I thought it was a strong bike but after a slower transition was still a minute and a half back from Brett to start the run.

With how I my running seems to be improving and from past races with Brett I figured I may be able to close the gap but it was going to be close and possibly even a sprint finish. The first loop I felt very strong and held back a touch at the beginning of the second loop for a mile or so to save a little for the finish. With about two miles left I started to really hit it hard but with about a mile left my buddy Ross Wienzeirl (who won the sprint) told me I was about 45 seconds back. At this point I knew I was beat but kept pressing as my HR seemed to be within tolerance and I wanted to see how hard I could push.

In the end Brett took me by a little over a minute. Looking at the results he really put it together in all three legs and had a fantastic run to close it out. When I'm on I usually out split him by 10-15 second miles and I felt like I had a great run on Sunday. Yet I still only out split him by 5 second miles.

Congrats to Brett on a great race and as always I look forward to racing against him again. He is always tough and we have battled each other now for a few years. Next is Maple Gove Olympic.

St. Paul Tri

I did this tri in my very first season in 2005. At the time it was a PR of around 2:20. I was 12th I believe and was super stoked. A lot has happened since then and I have improved more than I could have ever imagined. I do remember liking this try but at that time it was put on by Sommer Sports and has since been bought out by Randy Fulton and Front Runner.

I'm guessing that I will be near the top of the field if not the favorite come Sunday. However there is a lot of talent out there and you never know who is going to show up. I've been humbled before and I'm sure it will happen a lot more. What I am hoping for is to put together a good race and use it as a tune up for Maple Grove. I do back to back races all the time but this is the first time I will go back to back with a Sunday to Saturday race. I'm hoping it works out.

Training is going well but I am starting to feel the fatigue of the season. My bike just doesn't seem to have the power it did a few weeks ago and the legs are starting to feel heavy. I decided to jump into Square Lake Half so I have slightly increased my training volume with a few longer rides and a big brick two weekends ago. I'm not worried about my endurance but hopefully the volume won't slow me down too much.

I'm also looking forward to seeing how well I can swim and if my run has come around yet. I ran well at Turtleman but didn't get to run the second half due to flatting out. I do think I will be able to put it all together though and with the previous results think a sub 1:55 is not out of the question.

Oh Well

I have to admit I was not as excited as I usually am before Turtleman on Saturday. I don't know if it was the weather or the fact that duathlons play to the runners more than the cyclists. However my cycling is much improved since the beginning of the season and my running seems to be coming around.

The day started out as usual other than some rain and being overall gloomy. I chatted with Matt, Patrick, Kevin, Thad Ingersoll, Josh and a few others before the race. The Elite field was deep but there were only about 140 total registered. This made for more of a small race feel even though there was some serious talent there.

I knew I needed to run well and bike fantastic in order to do well. Josh and I have had a blast this year beating each other up on the course and I figured I needed to be within 40 seconds of him coming out of T1. As the race started I took a back seat to the runners and just kept plugging away as best I could. At on point I looked down at my watch expecting to see 3 min based on the pain I was experiencing only to see 6 min. This meant I was running well and felt like I had a lot left in the tank.

I managed to run straight through T1 without needed to catch my breath and left T1 only about 32 seconds behind Josh. The bike felt tough from the beginning but it always does especially in a duathlon. I picked of Bennet Isabella at around mile 6ish. Then I came up on Josh at about mile 10. It was slightly disheartening that Josh had held me off that long and I didn't pass him with as much authority as I thought I needed to put time on him before the second run.

After that I came up on Chad Millner and Kevin OConner. When I passed I figured I would be able to drop them but a few minutes later Chad passed me back. I quickly returned the favor but couldn't put any time on him. We then went around a corner and I almost lost it. I somehow managed to hold it up though and thought I just went too hard on wet pavement. Then I started to think I may have a flat. I started paying attention to how the bike felt and it did feel a little rough and not very responsive on the front end. I looked back again and Chad was still about 5 bike lengths back. As we went into the next turn I went very gingerly and sure enough I still almost lost it. I then slowed down enough to look down and confirm I had a flat. Who knows how long it had been going flat and how much of a difference it was making. I didn't want to risk injury or my $1000 dollar zip 404 so I decided to call it a day.

Fortunately this was my first flat out and it happened in a race that I had no hope of winning or even making the podium. Funny because I had been having problems with the valve on that wheel for the last two races and was going to replace it after this one. One too many I guess.

Next week is St. Paul tri and I'm hoping to have all the kinks worked out by then.

Swim Cyclist? Trutleman Duathlon

With the change in my training schedule I thought I would be better suited for duathlons this season. Unfortunately it seems that I am becoming more of a swim cyclist instead. Not that I'm not happy with an improved swim split but I have been disappointed in my run splits. I know I can run faster than I have been.

So what has been wrong and what can I do about it. One problem is I used to swim in the afternoons so I could run on fresh legs three times a week. Now I only get two fresh runs and have to run twice more in the afternoons. Once after a bike work out and the other after a big swim. In neither case do my legs feel fresh. The only thing I have been able to do is move my lunch back an hour in the hopes my legs recover just a little bit more.

Another thing I have changed is my physical therapy. It was a few tweaks but I have decided to change back and also put more of an emphasis on them regardless of my racing schedule. So far so good. I also wasn't sure of my sprint distances so I also increased them by about 5 seconds per 400. The last thing I've done is increased my core workout. I had hoped that I could cut it down to save time but I think it may need to go back to where it was.

I don't know what has made the difference but I do seem to feel better on my runs. VO2 seems better and I'm feeling much more comfortable than I used to. My stride also seems longer and I my form feels much better. The only thing I'm unsure of is how my arms swing. I'm hoping that this will work itself out when I stop thinking about it.

As for Turtleman I'm cautiously optomistic. I'm guessing that the usual suspects will be there similar to Gear West. Gear West was my first race of the year and I ran well but I wasn't biking at my potential yet. Hopefully I can bike better and close the gap some more on the runners.

Twin Cities Rocked

I was really interested to see how this race would play out. I was unsure of how the fast swim and hilly course would effect everyone. Given the start roster I figured that Ryan Giuliano would win, Patrick would take second and I even had Matt edging out Devon. I was pleasantly surprised to see Patrick take it rather easily. Devon ended up edging out Matt but that could have been a different story if not for Matt's timing chip falling off three times. Although you never now how it will play out if everything goes perfect. Then Ryan coming in 4th. Given his talent I'm guessing he trained through the race or flat out exhausted himself on the swim.

I was leaning towards coming in 6th figuring Josh Blankenheim would catch me on the run again. Although David Holden and Brett Lovaas were wild cards. In fact I had no idea how 5th through 8th would turn out. I also hated how bad last weekend hurt and did not want a repeat performance of exploding on the run.

In order to beat Josh I knew two things needed to happen. One, I needed a huge lead out of the water. Two, I needed to be fresh on the run and put together a solid run split. In order to do that I wanted to not push quite as hard on the bike hoping to save the legs some.

One issue that came up last minute was the Sheriff's department wouldn't let us do a Elite Wave start so we had to do time trail style. This gave Josh an advantage since he could jump in the time trial start right behind me. Josh is not quite as good of a swimmer but could jump in behind me a use me as a draft. The bonus for me was the water was too warm for wetsuits to be worn.

The swim started great. Since we couldn't warm up I did a few push ups prior to jumping in to get the blood flowing to the upper body a little. I knew Josh was right behind me but I didn't want to push too hard too soon since we hadn't warmed up. The strategy worked perfect. I found my form for the first few hundred yards when all of a sudden it felt like, yeah, there it is, repeat. I started hitting it hard but never felt like I was even pushing hard. For the most part it felt effortless. The good news was I dropped Josh and then some as I came out of the water with over an minute and a half lead on him. On top of that I came out right behind Patrick, Matt and Brendon O'flannigan. Patrick and I are even but Matt and Brendon usual blow me up pretty good.

For T1 I left my shoes in since there was a little bit of an incline to start and then a short flat until Ohio Hill. I knew I needed to build speed as much as possible prior to the hill. I took Ohio very cautiously so I didn't blow up right away and stayed in my seat. I then kept a rather fast casual pace. I never overly did it but also kept pedaling hard. I felt like it was more of a Half Ironman Pace than Olympic pace when it was all said and done. I came into transition with Ryan Giuliano and knew he was going to outrun me. As soon as I started running I knew it was going to be more comfortable than last weekend. My legs felt pretty fresh and my stride was long. I kept it conservative up the Wabasha bridge and down the back side on to Shepard Rd. Once on the relatively flat Shepard I started pushing a little harder. Just after the Turn around Josh was almost exactly a quarter mile behind me. I figured I had about 1:25ish on him. Although I thought he would catch me I didn't panic but picked up the pace a touch and then started to increase it as I felt more and more comfortable. I took the hill back up to the Wabasha bridge a little harder but never blew up. On the way down I had to find a clean stride and push hard to the end. As I made a left turn loop I looked to see if Josh was behind me. I was shocked to see he was not within short sight of me. At this point I had a ton left in the tank, felt fantastic and was able hold a fast pace for the final stretch to the finish.

This race had to go down as one of my best races. I put together a great three leg race and felt like I could have kept going. At the end I was thinking that I could hold close to this pace for a Half Ironman. I still need to work on my run but I felt like my form was good through the hole 10k. Now I just need to increase the speed. Now I have a few weeks off to work on the run before Turtleman Duathlon.

Twin Cities Preview

This was a race I was really looking forward to. After last weekends fun sapping heat race I've lost my fondness for racing for a little bit. I didn't melt down completely on the run but it was close. I did screw myself up bad enough that my training has been much less this week. This was going to be the intent to taper but now it's more for recovery purposes. My heart still doesn't feel like it's clicking in the right rhythm and my legs just don't seem to have the normal pep at this point in the week.

When I signed up for this one it seemed to be a three deep field. The pro Devon Palmer, Patrick Parish and myself. Since I have little to no hope of beating either of them I was looking forward to pushing hard for a respectable third place finish. Since then the field has grown. Matt Payne has thrown his hat in and wil bump me off the podium. Although Brett Lovass and David Holden will push me hard and make me work for fourth. Brett is not at his best this year but never count him out. David is super fast and has beaten me at least once before. I will admit I do like having a deeper field to push the pace. It will make for a much more exciting race.

The one draw back is that the swim is 1.2 miles long. It may be with the current of the Mississippi but I still think the course will be long giving the advantage to the swimmers. The bike course on the other hand has a huge hill to start it off. This will hopefully be my advantage. I love hills and as long as I don't wear out my legs I should see a big advantage on the bike. It should all come down to the run. If I can find my legs like I did at Graniteman I will be good. But that is the only time this season that I felt like my run was strong all year. Bottom line I may need to take a tinge off my bike to help save my legs a little for the run. Hopefully I don't get carried away on the bike course like usual.

This Is Going to Hurt

The obvious buzz leading up to the race was how hot it was going to be. Temps could be near 90 on the run with the heat index near 105. I will admit I didn't pay that much attention to this as there is not much I can do about it and everyone has to deal with it. This both helped me and hurt me in the end.

My dad decided to make the trip up for this race and next weeks Twin Cities Tri. Because of this we decided to get a hotel room in Annandale to make the trip short in the morning. We enjoyed the drive up listening to the Twins and discussing politics and the world debt crisis. I somehow managed to fit in some tri talk as well. As we pulled into the hotel I noticed a familiar face in the parking lot. It was Rhett Bonner. I then noticed another familiar face with him by the name of Brian Bich. Rhett and I share a special bond after our little dual in the sun at Square Lake a few years ago. Brian and I have only been able to chat once last year after Waconia. You will be hard pressed to meet two nicer guys. It was awesome to be able to introduce them to my dad and shoot the breeze for a while. We then got settled in and I managed to get a good nights sleep minus a passing train a few times.

As soon as I stepped outside I know it was going to be interesting. It was 80 degrees and the dew point was through the roof. As I started setting up I started noticing the usual suspects as they came in. I went for a quick bike and run to warm up and found myself drenched in sweat. Never the less I had a hydration plan and figured I would be set for the race. I went with my Aero Bottle with Heed in it and a regular water bottle on the frame. I hoped this would be enough.

The water was a different story. Because of all the recent rain the water temp couldn't have been over 78 degrees. This felt even cooler due to the air temp and I found myself using this as a way to cool down prior to the race.

I lined up around Kevin O'Conner, Brian Bich, Rhett Bonner and fe other fast swimmers. Because it was crowded I figured I would just stick to their feet as long as I could instead of going to the middle to fight it out with the dash and crashers. The strategy worked pretty well as I hung on longer than I thought I would. In fact the only reason I fell off was because they went a little to the left to get around everyone else. I found myself in no mans land and had to fight to get back near the regular pack to draft. I then made a steady increase in intensity and new I was in good position around the second corner. Somehow I knew Patrick Parish was on my feet and I even managed to drop him by a few seconds towards the end. Patrick then blew by me on our way to the bikes.

T1 did not go as well as I would hope but wasn't a disaster either. I put my shoes on in transition so I could get right to pedaling and started to hit it. I again changed my seat position slightly this week and immediately felt the power. The heat was bearable on the bike but it was still uncomfortable. I started picking people off and found myself gaining on Patrick fairly quickly. When I got to him I was moving pretty good. I made the pass and gave him a the usual nice work. Patrick gave me a look like. What are you doing here? I haven't been biking at his level yet this year. He managed to pass me back after a minute or so but I quickly returned the favor and left him behind.

I then noticed a pack of three riders up ahead. They almost looked like a draft pack but as I got closer realized they were legal distance from each other but it looked like no one wanted to push the pace. As I started passing them I noticed it was Kevin O'Conner, Brian Bich and Rhett Bonner. I was hoping they wouldn't be able to match my pace so I could gain some ground on them. Unfortunately I looked back a few miles down the road and saw that I was leading the pack and they weren't going to let me go. with a couple of miles left Rhett made a pass followed by Kevin and Brian and I was content to follow them into T2. I knew I had put up a monster bike split since I knew i put 30 seconds or more on Patrick. When I went to rack my bike I realized I was at the wrong rack. I found my rack only to have trouble racking my bike. On top of that I had to put some body gluide on my heals to keep from blistering. It was not a pretty T2. As I left I realized I didn't know where the exit was. When I turned around Patrick had already gained back what I he had lost to me and was running out of T2. What sucked was the exit was where the bike entrance was. This meant I lost time due to my transition being positioned farther inside the area than most of the other top guys. That's a dig on me as I need to know that prior to the race.

The run started good. I felt good and my legs were working pretty well. It didn't even look like the four guys in front of me were gaining much. Then I made a nutritional mistake. My stomach was a little sloshy so I opted against any fluids. As I got to mile two I knew this was going to hurt. I knew Josh Blankenheim, Brooks Gossinger and possibly Chad Millner were going to be coming from behind. I was running scared at that point which can be very dangerous. I just had to keep going though and hope I could hold them off. I started noticing Josh at about 2 miles in although I had almost a half mile on him. I knew that this may not be enough though.

The run just kept getting hotter and harder. Small hills were starting to feel like mountains and I knew my heart rate was maxed out. With about a mile and a half left I saw Josh was definitely closing in on me. I decided to keep pushing and hope I could just out will him. At about a half mile I looked back and only had about 5-10 seconds on him and knew the pass was inevitable. I made another decision that when he passed I would not try to keep up with him unless he didn't decided to match my pace. Unfortunately he had just a touch more in the tank and made the pass with a little less than a half mile left.

At this point it was more about survival than anything else. I was expecting Brooks to catch me more than Josh but I expected both of them to catch me. In fact I was stoked I held Josh off as long as I did. I looked behind but no one was in sight. My legs felt like bricks as I crossed the line in sixth place and I could hardly stand. I grabbed a bottle of water and headed to the beach. The water was possibly the greatest refreshing feeling I have ever felt. I noticed that Kevin and Dan Hedgecock also had the same idea and we talked about how brutal the heat was.

In the end I am extremely happy with how I did. With as much trouble as I was in on the run I outran several guys that typically dust me to include both Brooks and Chad. I talked with Brooks about it after the race and he said he was completely toasted off the bike. All he could do was worry about finishing and was not worrying about passing anyone or being passed. Tony Schiller even had troubles with the heat and he is as seasoned as anyone you will ever meet.

Thanks to my mom and dad for braving the heat to watch me race. Minus the heat it was a ton of fun and I loved the race and enjoyed talking with tons of people I don't get to see very often. Next up is the Twin Cities Tri. I pray the heat wave is over by then.

Heart of Lakes Preview

This is a race that I have passed up for a number of years. Not that I have never wanted to do it but that it just never fell quite right in my schedule. This year it fell perfectly though and I have planned on it being one of my A races. However, things change and I've added a few races which threw my training schedule into a tizzy. Which basically means all my races have essentially become A races. Although I'm a little more focused on next weeks Twin Cities. On top of that I'm fighting off my 2nd cold in three weeks. Like before it hasn't held back my training and I should be 100% on Sunday. To be honest other than being slightly more tired than normal and have a runny nose and scratchy throat I haven't been affected.

The fun thing about this race is I have little to know idea how I could place. I know Patrick and Dan will blow my doors off but after that there could be hope. When I say hope I mean I need people to have bad days and I need to have a good day but anything is possible. Especially because last Sunday after Granitman I had a monster bike ride on my training bike where I found my bike position. I avg 22.6 mph over 48.6 miles which included stopping for stop signs and stop lights. Keep in mind that this was also done at about 80 degrees with high humidity and on my training bike and training wheels. This was one of the fastest rides I've ever had on my P2 at any distance much less my long ride. So I am super stoked. Now I just had to simulate this on my P3. I tried and think I'm close but may not be their entirely yet. But I did feel like once again I'm fresher off the bike. I think I'm close to if not feeling as good as I did at the end of my epic '09 season when I finished with three 1st place and two 2nd place finishes. But more importantly was putting up stupid fast times.

Here's how I see the race. The only hope is that Kevin again is not at his best and I have improved since Waconia. Brian Bich is an icon and an awesome guy but has not raced much this year and is not as fast as he was. Even so if he is at his best I still have little chance. The big wild card is Brooks Gossinger. Brooks was only 9 or so seconds behind me at Waconia and closing fast. He will have an extra mile to catch me on Sunday so I will have to have improved my run and bike to stay ahead of him. That could be a tall order as Brooks is stupid fast and been quietly improving over the last few years. I hate to say it but I give an edge to Brooks on this one.

The bottom line is I need to have improved since Waconia to show that I can bark with the big dogs. Will my extra work and new bike fit make the difference. We'll wait and see.

Graniteman Recap

I was really looking forward to this race. The point to point swim intrigued me and the distance suites me very well this year. I stayed at my coworkers place in Monticello again to save some drive time/sleep. It worked well and I got one of my better nights sleep before a race. As I got into my car I noticed some ominous looking clouds on the horizon. I prayed that the weather would either hold off or just let go before the race. Luckily it let go on my drive to the race making for a wet but manageable course.

As I set up I noticed a rather interesting transition. You biked in and out from the same place. I thought this could pose a problem. The run out was also hidden a little on the side which made transition fare for nearly everyone depending on where you racked your bike. Luckily I asked the race director how transition worked prior to the race and new how everything worked.

The swim was a straight point to point and was with the wind. This made for an awesome swim and I rocked it in 9:48 and came out in around fifth place among the Elites. I had a good T1 and started hitting the pedals. It was windy and I never seemed to get any rhythm. I found myself in 2nd around mile two and just a half to quater mile back from the leader. I was hitting it pretty hard and was making up time but not as fast as usual. This had my a bit worried as I don't usually have to much competition on the bike unless it's a higher profile race. At about mile 6 I started closing the gap much quicker and took the lead at mile 9ish. It was a long straight stretch back to transition with a nasty cross/head wind but I managed to muscle through it pretty well.

As I came into T2 there were people still coming out of T1 making for an interesting mix. The volunteers were all over it though and made sure everyone stayed to the right. I cruised in and made a safe dismount. My transition was good and I saw the guy in second coming into T2 as I was leaving. At this point I though it was Nate Hoffman who was picked by Tri MN News to be in 2nd overall. If this was the case I was in trouble as Nate is a serious runner and I figured I only had about 30-45 seconds on him. The good news was I had moved my seat position up a little after Waconia in an attempt to feel better on the run. It worked as I immediately felt my legs and they were fresh. I ran hard but held back a little in case I needed some gas at the end. I figured if it was Nate he would catch me at the turn around and there would be nothing I could do. If not I would have a little to sprint at the end.

The run had a couple of pretty good hills on it and a stretch of soft sand/gravel that made for a slightly slower run. At the turn I saw 2nd coming behind me but it didn't look like he was gaining much. I asked my buddy Ross how far back he was when I passed him and he told me about 35-40 seconds. I thought man, he may not be gaining but I haven't put any distance on him either. I started to push a little harder and new I had it in the bag with about a half mile left. I must admit it is always an exhilarating feeling to come across the line first.

The guy behind me came across about a minute later. We congratulated each other and I introduced myself and asked who he was. I was a little surprised to hear it was Marcus Stromberg. A name I have seen but am not too familiar with. Marcus then asked where I came from on the bike. I guess at first I thought, from behind. He told me he didn't see me at the out and back. My reaction was, "what out and back?" I don't know if Marcus realized that an out and back means you go out on the same road you came in on making for a turn around point with a hair pin turn. This course did not have that. I then sensed that Marcus thought I had cut the course somehow. I told him that I had gone everywhere the volunteers had told me to go and had marked him since mile 2. I'm not sure if Marcus fully believed me but I can assure you I missed no turns and actually felt like my bike was a little weak. I know the feeling though, when you think, "how did that guy do that." I was puzzled when a then no name Sam Janicki blew my doors off at Chain of Lakes last year. I'm sure we all now know who Sam is now.

For awards Bill (the race director) handed out sweet pieces of Granite for trophies. I have to admit the granite plaque is right up there with Minnetonka's stupid huge trophies in coolness. I was also super impressed with the overall race. Bill did an awesome job and the volunteers seemed to be very well briefed in how t o avoid any incidents with any of the issues I saw that could pose a problem. I was also impressed with how well the course was marked. I never once questioned if I was off course, which I usually do and sometimes am.

Shot out to my ever supportive mom and my buddy Ross who raced with me. Ross did not have a stellar race due to dropping his chain and some difficulties locating the run out in T2 but he handled it like a veteran. Some races just don't go your way. When they don't you just have to remember, there will be more.

The Great Debate

For the first time since I started doing triathlons I will not be attending Lifetime Fitness. It was a deep debate that got even deeper as my training didn't suffer from the increased time needed with my 6 month old. As much as I want to through my name in the hat I have no chance of beating Dan or Patrick and the only chance to beat Sam would be if he doesn't race at 100% to save himself for Racine the following weekend. I think he's going to race fast though so I'm out for top 3 for sure. I also always seem to have a poor race at LTF and don't see that changing this year.

Since Lifetime was out I opted for Granitman. It is not as competitive since all the talent gets sucked up by Lifetime and Timberman but I know the race director and will admit am interested to see what all the hype is about. I love smaller races with more of a small town feel. Not only that I love the feeling of having the opportunity to win. I felt fantastic after Minnetonka and hope I can repeat the feeling.

My stiffest competition that I know of will be from my friend and off season training partner Ross Weinzierl. Ross started strong this year but has not been able to put it together in a few races. On the other hand I seem to be getting faster with every race. I'm hoping that I can finally get my run to come around so I can start competing at the level I was in 2009 and the beginning of 2010.

This morning I did make one last adjustment to my seat position. After Minnetonka and Waconia I have not been able to run like I believe I can and think my seat was a touch low and forward wearing out my hip flexors for the run. I rode on it this morning and feel like it may be better dialed in. What may hurt me is I put in a serious brick workout on Saturday that consisted of a 48 mile bike ride with a 9 mile run. Both at near race pace intensity. I really hope this was not too much as I felt it Sunday and still felt a little fatigued yesterday. To compensate I took it easy on the bike this morning and will also take it easy on the runs today and tomorrow.

Waconia Recap

I woke up a few minutes before my alarm on Sunday. Normally I can't sleep for crap, wake up at 4am and roll around until five and then just give up. This time was different though. Without the normal nerves I brushed my teeth and got everything ready, gave Kelly a kiss goodbye and made it to transition with plenty of time to spare.

The warm up was nothing special. I talked with my buddy Ross and said high to the usual suspects. I knew in order to grab 5th I would have to hope Kevin was out of shape. He told me he was but even if Kevin is out of shape it will still take a great race to beat him. I also noticed my freind Dana from work showed up. Dana is big into home movie production and was delivering a video of a play his daughter did to another parent and thought he would stop by to record the action this week with a better camera. Sweet!

The swim warm up was better than normal. I felt smooth and found my stroke right away. This rarely happens so I was hoping for a huge swim. As I got out of the water I looked around for Kelly and my mom but did not see them. I had seen my mother earlier but I had not got a glimpse of Kelly, Avery or my sister in law Jenny who also came out to see the race.

The Elite field seemed smaller than most years. Which is nice because then you don't have many 100 yard dash and crashers in the water. As the gun went off I got a good start and felt strong. I noticed I was staying with the pack swimmers and doing pretty well. Then all of a sudden I noticed that there weren't any bubbles in front of me anymore. When I picked up my head to sight I was at least 20-30 yards off course. Then I over corrected and went 20 yards to the inside of the course. I finally go my bearings straight and got back into it. I didn't panic but I definitely started to push a little harder to make up the lost time.

At about half way I finally felt comfortable and seemed to be swimming in a straighter line. On the back stretch I caught up with who I later found out was Tony Schiller. Just like Minnetonka I followed him out of the water. There was someone who had been on my heels for the last half of the swim. I was surprised to see it was Patrick Parish. Normally he has 20-30 seconds on me in the water. This meant either he was not doing well or I was doing great. I later found out that Patrick took it easy on the swim so he could hammer the bike.

I came out of T1 a little behind Patrick and thought I would stay with him for the bike. Patrick had a different idea and put the hammer down and quickly put distance between us. The bike felt much better than last year yet I didn't have as good of a split. I would chalk that up to how good of shape I was in at this point last year, while this year I'm still improving. About 14 miles in I came up on Sean Cooly and then Kevin Oconner. I've never been ahead of Kevin in a race. I must admit I felt a small sense of accomplishment and a little bit of hope that I could beat him if I could put enough time on him before T2.

I came into T2 with about a 20 second lead on Kevin. That quickly went down to 10 seconds as we left T2 and Kevin erased that within the first quarter mile. I kept up with him till a little after half mile in and then he seemed to just accelerate away. Kevin then proceeded to put a minute and a half on me by the end of the race.

In the back of my head I knew Brooks Gossinger would be coming for me though. At the turn around I seemed to have over a minute cushion. What I didn't know was Brooks was out splitting me by almost 30 seconds every mile. The math added up to a much closer finish than I hoped. I kept checking my rear and noticed Brooks with a little over a mile left. I tried to keep going hard but my legs just didn't seem to respond very much. With about a quarter mile left I had about 20 seconds on him. I knew I had to push hard as Brooks would give it all he had. I forced my legs to go as hard as they could go for the last 400 yards and came in 9 seconds in front of Brooks.

I am puzzled by my slow run splits. I haven't changed my taper routine and I'm running faster than ever in training. I'm hoping I just need to tweek my seat position a tad to save the legs. That or not kick so hard in the water. Whatever it is I would like to get back to my sub 6 min splits from 2009.

As usual I had a blast talking with people after the race. Every year I get to meet more and more people. Racing is becoming as much of a social event as it is a competition. Next up is Graniteman. I am really looking forward to this race. Bill Corcoran is the race director and does a great job.

The great news is Kelly and I have decided to add 3 races to my schedule. I was hoping to do the 1k, 100k, 10k Maple Grove tri. Unfortunately that is $175 and not in my budget. So I'm leaning toward Twin Cities Tri, Maple Grove Olympic and Square lake. Although nothing is set in stone yet and I may look into St. Croix Olympic, Graniteman Big Lake and Treadman.

Waconia Preview

This is the only race that I have done every year since I started triathlons. The first time I did it I was something like 90th overall. Since then I've been 13th, 8th, and 5th in 2009. I love the competition here and the course really plays to my strengths.

MN Tri News has posted that I should do well Sunday. I believe this to be true. I believe I am in near top shape and the only thing that is holding me back is a few tweaks to my form. The one wild card is I came down with a slight cold yesterday that I seem to be holding off pretty well. I should be at 100% Sunday as long as there are no setbacks.

Now the question is where do I fit in when I cross the finish line. Looking at the competitors I'm shooting for 6th. Although this is one of those races that I could do better or worse depending on how I race and how others race. That's typically true but usually there is a buffer zone. I don't see much of that on Sunday.

In order to move up I have to hope either someone flats or that Kevin O'conner is not at his best. This is a tall order as Kevin is always tough and even in decent shape he should still take me. On the flip side I will have to hold off Ross Weinzierl and Brooks Gossinger. Ross had success earlier in the season but has slumped a bit lately. I'm looking for him to have a comeback on Sunday. Brooks is a super fast runner, a great triathlete but more of a duathlete. I have come in ahead of him in previous years but he has been improving the lately and has had a couple of great duathlons earlier this year that lead me to believe he will be chasing me hard on the run.

This race will have three of the best triathletes in the country in it. Matt Payne, Patrick Parish and Dan Hedgecock are in another solar system and Alex Hooke is right in there with them. If I can somehow nab 5th I will be ecstatic. To be honest if I can make Kevin run me down and stay within a minute of him I will be stoked.

After Minnetonka last weekend I believe I have my bike dialed in. The only question is can I put together a good run off the bike and a good swim to set up the bike. If I can put together a good race I believe I can make a statement that I can hang with the big dogs.