Love the Hurt

Exciting things ahead...

EZIA (whom you should follow if you don't already) tweeted out a cool quote a few weeks ago:

“If you always do what you have always done, then you will always get what you have always got.” -Anthony Robbins

One of my favorite posters/quotes

I think it's important to switch things up often when it comes to training and coaching. It's very easy to get caught up in the same routine which can become boring over time. After a year stint with Walsh - whom I learned so much from - I coached myself over the past 6 months with good success (also learned a lot) but then my workouts started getting stale, I started getting a little bit unmotivated and down because of all of the sickness. So I started putting my feelers out for coaches again to help me get back on my feet especially after several bouts of sickness (I blame myself for a lot of that). I missed too many days then I tried to play catch up (big no, no) then relapse after relapse.

So after chatting a lot with a fellow Wattie Ink'er / OG, I decided to get on board with Robert Flannigan (Flanny) from CVE Coaching. Not only is Flanny a cool guy but he also has a similar background of being a successful runner in college turned successful triathlete. We are on the same page in overall training philosophies so as of this week I'm being coached again and super excited about it. As I've mentioned in past posts I really want to dedicate a lot attention to detail these next 4 months leading up to Vegas by crossing every I and T and having a coach is part of that.

One of those details is bringing down the overall alcohol consumption. Now before you give me hell, I want to say that I didn't quit or anything crazy like that, just backed off. I was in a terrible habit where everyday or every other day I'd crack a beer or two open in the evenings to wind down. Nothing wrong with that but then on the weekends I'd probably have 3 or 4 (sometimes more) in a sitting and I would often wake up the next day just feeling flat and not recovered at all. Everyone's opinion on what alcohol does for training is different but I feel it's just that. Everyone is different and people will respond differently then others. For me, I've noticed a HUGE difference in recovery and the ability to get up early to get in a workout. So it's a no brainer for me and now it's become a special treat/reward to have instead of an everyday indulgence (again see above quote).

So I've always been semi-serious about triathlon but now I'm going to get real serious about it. It's only four months - what would happen if you committed your "all" to anything in your life for four months? I'd bet you'd see drastic improvements and that's my plan. My family (team) is on board and what do I have to lose? I have an epic fail at Vegas? Who cares, I just made huge fitness gains so it's a win, win in my mind.

So here's to training! Don't call me for happy hour and don't ask me to stay up late. I'm drinking water and going to be early. See you in Vegas and I promise you I'll be bringing my best.

How to guide

I get asked a lot on how I do it....This is not a brag post or pretending I have it all figured out because I don't. I just want to share how I balance being a husband, father of two kids, have a successful career and be a semi successful triathlete. I get asked this a lot and I have written about this a few years ago on my Time Management post that I did. A lot of that post still holds true today. It really is all about mapping the time you have and figuring out where you're spending it. I'm tired of always hearing people say "I don't have any time for that...." The truth is, 99% of us do - we just choose to ignore where ALL of our time is being spent.

Unless your a freak of nature, in order to be a great triathlete you need to put in the time. That means sacrificing a lot if your scenario is a lot like mine. The most important place to devote your time and energy to is your spouse...then your kids. And I'd argue that to the grave -most have it backwards. And if you're the only bread winner - then obviously you need your career to take precedence over triathlon. Some people have that backwards too which can really cause a lot of head aches for you, your employer and your family.

THEN maybe triathlon comes next....

So let's start with your spouse or even your significant other. Get them involved in your triathlon goals/pursuits. Communicate! Don't just go out on these long training days and spend all this money on races without including them. Amy and I are a team and we always map out my training weeks so we are on the same page. I try and run with her and the kids and we plan my big rides when she has things lined up with friends/family so she's not left home with crying kids while I'm outside riding my bike all day! Make vacations out of your races. Don't make it all about you. Treat your family to a nice vacation (again, importance of a successful career) on your big races.

Kids. Include them into your triathlon pursuits as well. Get them into the Ironman kids races or local road races. Get them on their bikes, run with them, swim with them. Not only does it promote a healthy lifestyle but it show them its fun and that's why you're constantly training. If they don't understand why its so fun then they are eventually going to hate you for doing triathlon because it takes you away from spending time with them.

Work. Share with your boss and co-workers what you do. Sure, you'll get the annoying "When's your next marathon?" questions but I think it's very important that you share what your passion is outside of work. "I don't do marathons!!!!" lol. You'll be surprised how many will support your pursuits and they'll probably respect you more when you decline that happy hour or donut instead of giving them any type of explanation.

Money. It's no secret that triathlon is expensive. Just make sure when you're buying bikes and gear that you are spoiling your spouse in his/her hobbies/passions. If you're spoiling your spouse they'll most likely not question you when you want to drop another $350 on a stinking race.

Free time. What free time? haha. No really, if you want to be good you really shouldn't have much free time. Learn how to multi task. If there really is a movie you want to watch, foam roll while you watch. Instead of taking a lunch staring at the computer get a short run in. Instead of staying up late watching TV, go to bed early and get that early trainer ride in. Get that early trainer ride in so you can spend time with your family in the evening. Plan your workouts around your families schedule not the other way around.

It's not easy. I still have a lot to learn when it comes to discipline with my time. What do you do that helps you balance it all? Would love to hear from you!

Ironman St. George 70.3 Race Report

Anyone that's been reading knows I've struggled with sickness this year. I always hate to use excuses - but when you have a poor race like I did, they are more explanations than anything. I had another relapse of sickness two days before the race and I wasn't properly prepared to race fast with all the days I took off leading up to it (also from being ill) = hence the ridiculous slow times/placing I put up. I still took a lot of positives away from it though. The biggest one was just not quitting. Not caring how the results played out or how I looked out there. I just refused to quit. At least I got to do it in one of the most beautiful race settings I've ever been at. Here's how it went down...

Pre Race: Amy and I along with the kids headed up to Vegas Wednesday to stay at a huge house with some friends. the house had a pool, kegerator, pool table, big screen TV's everywhere, BBQ....etc etc. Total vacation home and it was perfect way to relax leading up to the race. However the next morning I woke up feeling terrible. I had planned to go over the Vegas course a bit and get a good solid ride in but I ended up feeling fever-y, with the same head/chest congestion that I thought I got rid of a few weeks prior. Full on relapse again. This pretty much confirmed that I have this virus that I can't shake. I HATE going to the doctor and I HATE meds - but I might not have a choice now. I need to get better. There have been waaay too many times where I've gone to the doctor, paid the $50 co-pay only for the doctor to have a 5 minute conversation with me and say "Yup, it's going around. Just drink a lot of fluids and get plenty of sleep..." Lame.

Conditions were perfect!

So Thursday I took the day off and Friday I woke up without the fever but still really congested. I went on a chill ride in the am, packed up the family and we made our way to St. George. My Wattie team mate Aaron Dewald aka. professor hooked me up with the house he was staying only 1 mile from the swim start. This made logistics so much easier since T1 and T2 where miles apart - I wouldn't have to deal with the shuttle bus crap, sleep in a bit and hang out with the boys. That night I got my brand new custom Wattie Ink Blueseventy Helix and after putting it on for the first time I was really debating whether or not to race in it. I know the golden rule of never trying anything new on race day but after swimming in my old wetsuit that same week in Vail lake (near my house) my suit was just filling up everywhere with water. It's old, ton of holes, patches and it's too big on me as I was about 15 pounds heavier when I first got it. I decided to just go with the new one and cross my fingers it was a good decision...

Professor and I getting ready to race!

Swim: 1.2 miles 34:35 (1:47 pace) 62nd out of the water in AG

That morning I slammed my normal eggs, bacon and potato meal, headed over to T1, set up my transition which Ironman made extremely confusing. We had to have everything IN our Ironman bag before and after we transitioned onto the bike. Then we got an announcement saying we couldn't have our shoes on our bikes and that everything must be in the bag. Then they contradicted that statement again later...just super unorganized. Before I knew it - it was time to get in the water. It was advertised at 60 degrees, some said it was 56...either way, I thought the water was nice. About the same as it was at Oceanside. The conditions were absolutely perfect and the surroundings amazing. U2's "Beautiful Day" started blasting over the speakers and the cannon went of for the pros. Even though I was already hacking up and blowing out a ton of snot (sorry), there wasn't any other place I wanted to be.

I lined up about the second row and we were off! I only got about a 150 yard warm up in the new Helix and it was hard to tell how it'd play out. It was super tight and just not worked in much. About 800 meters in my arms were already burning. Not the typical hard swim set burning but just from my arms being restricted and not used to the suit. I grabbed some feet here and there, did a lot of dodging from previous waves and just did my best to swim as hard as I could while blowing out as much snot as I could in the process. Only being able to breath in and out of my mouth made it quite difficult especially under water. Add in elevation. St. George ranged from 2000-4500 ft - quite the nuisance for this sea level kid. I wasn't too bummed about my time. I swam a lot faster in Oceanside but that was salt water, sea level and I was a lot healthier - so no big deal.

T1: 2:43
Soon as I got out I let the wetsuit strippers do their thing since I wasn't quite sure how I'd do with the new suit. The funniest thing about T1 was I had the uncontrollable sneezes. About every 30 seconds I'd sneeze a bunch of times like crazy - snot, water blowing everywhere...ya, I was quite the sexy sight!

I'm the dark guy in the middle...

Bike: 2:38 (21.2 mph) 27th in AG (3,600 ft of climbing)

I got on my ISM saddle and Cannondale Slice and rolled out continuously eliminating the demons in my head. My body was telling me and giving me every sign that this was not a good idea. My mantra for the day was: Race hard and finish. Oceanside it was Stay Stubborn and Hurt. So you get the idea...

This bike course is pretty brutal. Definitely a climbers course which is why I picked it. I love to climb, I'm good at it - so why not race it? To be honest I was pretty surprised with my split. With all of the wheezing and coughing up stuff throughout the course I thought I'd be a lot slower. For those of you that have raced or worked out sick, I just had that achy - zero power feel to my legs. No bueno. I did a lot of passing and just tried to work hard while enjoying the beauty around me. My ism saddle was money (as always) and I fueled with Powerbar throughout the day. Using Perform, Cola Blasts and a Cookies and Cream Powerbar. To help with hydration I took in a lot of e21 recovery tabs throughout the ride too. After climbing the dreaded "Snow Canyon" climb towards the end of the ride it was a quick ride back to town and before I knew it I was headed into T2.

T2: 2:16

Took my sweet KASK Crono off, put my Kswiss Kwicky shoes on and rolled out. I saw Amy and the kids as I headed out which put a big smile on my face.

In a world of hurt!

Run: 13.1 miles - 1:48 (8:19 pace) (1,100 ft of climbing)

I knew going into this race sick and unprepared that the run was going to be a suffer fest. My strategy was simple. Don't walk and finish. I had a really hard time breathing and just coughed up junk throughout the run. Not fun. I think I had a 10 minute mile at one point. 1000+ft of climbing in a half marathon is pretty brutal. You were either going up or down. I was just in survival mode on the way out. Seeing team mates on the course and spectating helped...but only for like 2 seconds, then it was back to reality. Running's always been my weapon in triathlon and I rarely get passed. Let's just say there was a lot of passing going on. When you're going that slow you never run into those guys that are hurting because YOU are that guy. I was starting to get a little sketched out with about 4 miles to go. I started getting really bad chest/lung pain and that's when I started coughing/tasting a little bit of blood. Just a really bad chest infection. I just refused to quit. It was tough for my pride to finish but when I crossed that line I was smiling inside because it was one of the hardest things I've ever done. Everything in my body and mind told me to quit but I refused to. I will use this race for fuel when things get tough in future races.

Feeling it...

Finish Stats: 5:06:44 - 30th AG, 236 Overall

St. George was the hardest course I've ever done. We were lucky that we had perfect conditions as if it was hot or windy like it normally is this time of year out there, this could potentially be the hardest 70.3 out there (or at least right there with Vegas). So to almost break 5 hours under the circumstances I was facing, I'm pleased with the race. There's a lot of work to be done now. Amy and I have had a serious talk about the remainder of the season. I'm going "All In" if you will. I will dedicate every moment and every decision I can to triathlon these next 4 months leading up to Vegas. Balancing career and family with triathlon is difficult but I am so lucky that I have such an understanding wife that will deal with my commitment these next 4 months and let me give it a go. I understand that I can't become super fast in 4 months and that it takes a lot of time to get to a high level but when you do a lot of the little things right you can make huge gains and that's what I plan on doing.

What's next? Since I won the overall amateur title at San Diego International last year they are putting me in the elite/pro race this year. So this will be my first race with the big boys. SDIT is a legit race in San Diego (1k swim, 40k bike, 10k run) with most of the top locals racing so I will have my hands full. I'm just excited to mix it up with them and see if it elevates my game that day. Time to get rid of this sickness and countdown to Vegas.

Thanks Wattie Ink, team mates and all the sponsors that make triathlon such a fun sport. And thank YOU for reading!

More pics from the weekend:

Always a good time...

Kids had fun on the strip too - M&M Shop

Playing at the park

St. George was very kid friendly, especially with the splash park
right near the finish!

My support team!

Getting the rig ready, thanks again Dusty for letting borrow
some wheels!

Leaving for a hell-ish half marathon...

Kids loving the park

Bringing it in after a LONG day

Red Rocks where beautiful...ignore my man boobs!

Only smile of the day!

Katie got a good shot of me when I was in a very very bad place...

Thanks for reading. Cheers!!!

1 week out, St. George

This has been an interesting way to prep for a race. As I've mentioned in previous posts, I've been down for the count with sickness. The past 10 days I've been able to get in some pretty good workouts. Although I can't seem to shake this sore throat, all of the chest congestion has left and has at least allowed me to get in some decent S,B,R miles. So instead of the steady taper for this race, I've been ramping up volume/intensity to at least try and put together a decent race next weekend. At this point the more volume/intensity the better off I'll be. My legs are fresh but just not sharp and really lacking endurance more then anything. Last week I put in a pretty hard 4 hour ride and four weeks ago, that kind of ride wouldn't have phased me much. This time it left me on the couch for the rest of the day, just completely wiped out. Swimming is coming back slowly - no where near the shape I was going into Oceanside and running? Well tonight will be the first intensity I've done in a few months ...We shall see!

This Saturday's Elevation profile!

This Saturday I rolling up to the Alpine Challenge with my buddy Andrew for the 63 mile "Pine Valley" ride. Includes about 6,800 feet of climbing - so it's going to be ideal for trying to get my climbing legs back for St. George. I would have loved to do the 100 miler, but don't want to completely destroy myself for next weeks race. Although all of my buddies/team mates are heading to Wildflower next weekend, I'm still pretty stoked to race in St. George. We are making a vacation out of it, staying in a house with some friends that has a pool, kegerator, pool table...etc. It's going to be a nice way to relax and wind down for the race instead of dealing with the heat in a tent like we did at Wildflower last year.

That is all, hopefully next post includes me writing pool side, relaxing and getting ready for the race!

Camping fun

Nothing better than a good beer around the
campfire with great company!

With this sickness sidelining me for so long - I had a lot of down time. This sinus infection has really been interesting because with the help of some over-the-counter meds I'd be fine and could perform everyday tasks. But when I tried exercising I would instantly start getting that fever feeling and it would sideline me for the next several days. So I took a lot of time off in hopes that it wouldn't come back even worse like it has on me two different occasions now. It's not worth ruining the season just trying to get ready for St. George. Being quite stubborn, I did not want to let go of St. George. I have visualized this race in my head over and over since November. This has been my "A" race and all of my off season work has been geared towards this type of course. What I didn't imagine is being out for the count so long. This A race has now become a C race for me. I took more time off then I did in the off season and it shows. This is my first week back and it really feels like I am starting all over. I know it should come back fast but I also don't want to push it and risk making my sickness worse...Yes, I'm still coughing up green crap. Soooo over it. So St. George is now going to be a fun family get-a-way with friends and team mates. We're going to make a vacation out of it, visit Zion, different parts of Vegas and really enjoy ourselves. The race? Well it's going to be more of a big workout for me now and I'll be sure to treat it that way. There's a good chance I'll be lounging by the pool with a beer in hand most of the time leading up to the race. And I'm OK with that!

Love opening day!!!

With the downtime came some fun non-triathlon related activities. I went to the Padres opening day, worked an EXPO at the convention center for work and went camping with family/friends. Amy and I grew up camping and during our first 5 years of marriage sans kids, we did a lot of it. Since we've had them, we've slowly backed off just because of how hard it is to tent camp with two little ones running around. Only this time, we camped about 15 minutes away from Amy's folks so they were generous enough to loan us their 5th wheel for the weekend. Man, what a difference! Time to start saving some pennies, because camping with a trailer/motorhome with kids was a blast! Cousins everywhere, family, friends, campfires, horseshoes, great weather and great beer made for a really cool weekend. Although I would have to say the highlight of the weekend for me was watching Scarlett ride the first few days on her training wheels only to take them off and ride without them for the first time on the third day! It was one of the most proud moments a dad can have. She's been asking me for the past three months and telling me that she's ready and that she wants them off, but the paranoid dad (me) didn't think she was ready. I learned a lot from this. Never doubt Scarlett! I did a few laps with her running alongside her, but eventually realized she didn't need me anymore....The first of many experiences like this to come....She's getting big waaay too fast and I am so proud of her.

As far as training/racing goes....The gameplan at this point is to slowly add volume/intensity up to St. George. Pretty much the opposite of what you'd do in a typical "Peak" period of a training plan but I need it. I need to get some decent climbing legs in me before I hit this hell-ish course. Just over two weeks to go!

Here's some pics from the weekend:

So many kiddos!!!

Taylor, the mechanic

Here's Scarlett with the training wheels...

1st bike ride!!!

Love throwing shoes

Good beer was consumed, Lightning Brewery (Poway, CA)- Double IPA

Western themed EXPO for work...Like the stache??

Scarlett's princess carriage for Awana's. Amy did such a good job in just a few hours of work!

Tried a new recipe from the feedzone, really good. Never though Anchovies would taste like salty beef jerky!

Sick of being Sick

Yesterday marked the 30th day of zero exercise just in this year alone. That is more than I took off last year combined! Pretty much our whole family has been hit hard with this flu season. Amy was talking with the doctor last week and he said there have been three really bad strain of flu's to hit this year, the worst he's seen in years. Even if you got a flu shot - most likely you were still vulnerable to it. The sicknesses I've had -have not been the typical stuffy nose, cough, sore throat etc. They have been the serious ones. Viral Bronchitis, Sinus infections, fever - all the worst ones to have when you are a triathlete. I was almost fully recovered until I raced Oceanside. I felt good for the first time two days before the race and then the day after the race I woke up with a raging sinus infection. The past few weeks have been very minimal in training. One of those things where you really have to be careful so you don't end up with pneumonia. I went on a ride the other day and had to turn back. Started breaking out in sweats, feeling fever-y again and just not right. So needless to say, I'm really bummed as we hit three weeks out from Ironman St. George 70.3.

It's a good thing I qualified for Vegas at Oceanside because it looks like St. George is going to be just more of a workout day for me. I cannot risk jumping into a tough three week block to try and get ready for the race. It's just not worth it. I've already relapsed from two sicknesses this year from racing and cannot afford to miss anymore time off. It's super depressing. For those of you that work out often and constantly get that endorphin high, when you miss workouts - it really brings on a chemical imbalance to your body and leaves you....well a bit depressed. I still try and look at it as a positive though. I was going to take a few easy weeks after St. George to start slowly building towards Vegas, so now with all this time off - I'll just have a longer base-building phase which will make me even more strong leading into build and the World Championships.

Does anybody have any great tips for staying healthy through the flu season? Especially ones with kids? We feel like we do what we can to prevent it to spreading in our home but are always open to any one's advice. This is what we currently do:
1. Eat very clean.
2. Top of the line SportMulti multi-vitamins, supplements, immune boosters...etc
3. Sanitize our hands often.
4. Clean house, clean carpet
5. All bathe very often!
6. Exercise
7. Ton of water (no soft drinks)
8. Try to avoid other sick kids/people when possible
9. Plenty of sleep

I've become a bit of a germ-a-phobe since I started racing triathlon, but would love to hear what everyone else does to stay healthy!

That's all I've got. Lack of training and beer makes this blog a bit dull haha. Hopefully the blog next week brings good news on the training front!

2013 Ironman Oceanside 70.3 Race Report

Bringing it in from a hard day

What an amazing weekend with family, friends, teammates and just the great atmosphere Ironman provides. This was my second "Ironman" race - last year was Oceanside too; although, this one had a happy ending. I went into Desert Tri about a month ago just getting over sickness, raced and then it came back worse. The week before the race I spent 5 days of zero exercise. Viral bronchitis accompanied with a fever - I was miserable and definitely wasn't ideal going into this race. About two days before the race - I finally started feeling like myself again, just not as sharp as I was feeling going into Desert Tri. I checked in at the EXPO on Thursday after work, and met up with fellow teammate Mu and an old friend (from high school) Kendra Goffredo - who ended up being the female overall amateur champion! After the EXPO I picked up our sweet new Wattie Ink kit and then Friday it was all about resting as much as I could around dealing with last minute bike issues (thanks Bike Shop!! - I'm in debited to you!), packing, and getting the kids down to the grandparents so Amy and I would be kid-free for the race and post-race festivities.

Slice ready to rip, thanks Dusty again for loaning wheels!

Pre-race: I powered down my new pre-race meal scrambled eggs with sweet potatoes. I've been experimenting on the off-season with pre-ride/pre-swim meals. Just listening to my body and seeing how it responds to different meals. Everyone is SO different so I think it's key to not listen to what the magazines say but experiment with what works for you. The protein and carb combo work great for me. I sipped on water took two e21 capsules and Powerbar Perform up till the race start and even had a half of a Powerbar to top of my glycogen stores. Got body-marked by my lane mate Heather! And just chatted it up with a lot of friends and teammates - which really makes it fun. Some people get nervous before the race, but to me, the pre-race vibe is my favorite part of racing. You can just feel all of the energy in the transition area, all of the smiles and laughs - it just rubs off on you and I love it.

Swim: 1.2 miles -30:00 (1:33 pace) 47th out of the water in AG

I know, I couldn't swim one second faster! I wore my Garmin for the first time and as soon as I got out of the water and saw 29:5x, I gave a big fist pump and yelled in excitement which probably cost me that one second lol. Problem was transition was just up the ramp so breaking 30 will have to come another day. A lot of people were criticizing the swim saying it was short. That's the problem when you have people with Garmins and then outsiders not seeing the conditions. Some people had 1.2M, some had 1.1M - I think the REAL reason why it was fast was because of the conditions. They were absolutely perfect. Last year once you leave the bay we ran into a TON of chop which is pretty normal for this race. This year it was all glass and maybe even a bit of a current coming back in. My 10 cents...I lined up on the front just to the outside with my sweet Blueseventy Element goggles. My goal was to ease into it at the start this time instead of blowing up like I usually do. Once we were approaching the turn around I found myself leading what I think was the 3rd pack. I ended up swimming with one guy all the way home from there, both of us taking turns leading. We caught the tail end of the second HUGE pack coming in and even though I was 47th out of the water - I was just at the tail end of a bunch of high 28-30 min guys. I couldn't be more pleased with the swim as everyone knows that reads this blog that I have put a lot of time in the water over the off season. This is a 4 1/2 min PR and even though I'm pleased with the time - everyone that beat me in this race was 2-6 mins faster than me out of the water. At least it's progress.

T1: 3:24

T1 is a long run up to transition area and I was actually happy I was up more near the bike exit which meant more running sans bike. I sprinted as hard as I could. My heart rate reached it's highest point coming out of the swim and sprinting to my bike. The only problem was I was breathing so hard I was a little delirious trying to get my wetsuit off and getting outta there. No doubt, my transitions need work!

Bike: 56 miles (~2800 ft of climbing) - 2:34:06 (AVG 21.8mph) 14th place off the bike

I started the bike just a bit conservative. My heart rate was still sky high from that swim so I wanted to get it down a bit and take in some nutrition before I started hammering. Looking back on it, I wish I would have started hammering earlier (more on this later)...My bike set up was simple. One bottle of Powerbar Perform in the cage and a small water bottle of Perform in my tri top in case I lost bottles throughout the course. I weight 138 pounds so to keep my bike light too, I try and carry the least amount of nutrition possible. I had a bento box with one Powerbar and four e21 capsules. No doubt about it the e21 capsules were key in me not cramping. They are the most powerful electrolyte boost available on the market and it's all from a natural source and they work GREAT for me. I'll have a discount code shortly or if you see me ask me about them and I can get you some samples. If you cramp or struggle with electrolyte imbalances, you need to get your hands on this stuff. So that's all I had, I drank three bottles total of Perform and ate 3/4 of a bar. Feel free to critique my nutrition, I train pretty minimal, so I race minimal and I felt great the whole race (not stomach issues or feelings of bonking).

Bringing it home w/my KASK Crono...

I fought my way up to the second pack. We all flip flopped for the first 30 miles are so. Referees were everywhere making sure no drafting was going on - another great thing about Ironman. Once we hit that first major climb I hit it fairly hard and dropped a lot of people then on the second climb I hit it even harder and when I looked back there was no one in sight. At this point I had passed 32 people in my AG on the bike. In front of me there was no one in sight. I was in no mans land, fighting this crazy headwind up these hills. I just stayed on it as much as I could. When you don't have anyone in front of you to help you target and push the pace, it can be tough. I finally started catching some pro girls and at that point I thought maybe I was having a pretty good bike split. It wasn't until about the 45 mile mark or so that I realized my split was going to be waaay off of what I though it'd be. I really thought I could break 2:30 on this course but it wasn't going to happen today. I had to overcome that those last 11 miles as speedy Adam Zucco (35-39 AG) flew by me like I was a child. With hardly anyone is sight ahead of me I started having a bad feeling that the first pack in my AG were waaay up there. Time to go to work on the run...

Such a cool shot Amy got...putting on socks and KSWISS
and my comfortable Fuelbelt!

T2: 1:47

Nothing special here. Those 47 seconds came from putting on my socks. I hate doing this but it tears up my feet for weeks if I don't. Not worth missing future training for...

Run: 13.1 miles - 1:24:45 (AVG 6:28 pace)

My goal pace was 6-6:15 for the run. As I've mentioned before in previous posts, my running has been sent to the back burner these past several months. I've been putting time in the water instead and just hoped that my 15-20 miles/week would suffice. The 10k at the Desert TRI I felt like I made the right decision...After this half...Not so much. That 1:24 was waaay harder than it should have been. My first 10k I was nailing all 6-6:15's then I just started progressively slowing down and there was nothing I could do about it. When I first got a glance at my competition I saw friend and stud Reilly Smith aka. Godzilla coming back and I was waaaay back. I figured he was in the lead so now I had to try and figure out how many were behind him. At this point we were mixed up with the pro's so it was pretty hard to figure that out. I just started gritting it out. The cool thing about my early wave time I was actually able to run with some of the pros that were on their second lap. I hung with Kyle Leto for awhile before he dropped me. It was just a cool experience and kinda lit a fire in me to become a better runner. As I started my second lap I saw women's pro champion and Wattie Ink Queen Heather Jackson coming in. I kept waiting to see second place but they were waaay back. Incredible that she just blew away a field like that, amazing!

Because of my lack of running miles, my IT band flared up big time and I ended up hobbling the last 3-4 miles home. Absolutely brutal. As I was rolling up to the finish I spotted #Eurostar (who's trending on twitter btw) who gave me an ass slap and as much as I was deep in pain, he got me to laugh - shows you the power of humor (pics below)! The family, friends and Wattie crew support was absolutely amazing. Pretty much every part of that course I had someone cheering and it helps tremendously - I thank you all!

Time: 4:34:02 - 8th in AG **Ironman 70.3 World Championships Qualified

I had a 13+ minute PR and it really didn't surprise me. Without the cramps I was able to just race. I think my only mistake was not hitting the bike harder earlier. I'm learning in order to place high and win these races there's no such thing as pacing. You just have to rely on your fitness and go after it the ENTIRE time. Walsh always tried to explain this to me last year but it never made sense because I would cramp. Now that it's not longer an issue- IT IS ON in St. George. After the race I had no idea where I placed. My parents, aunt/uncle who watched me for the first time race (which was awesome!) said Ironman live showed me at 10th place. My realistic goal was to place top 10, my secret goal was top 5. So I was semi-happy with the result at the time.

One of the many celebratory beers for qualifying

All I know I was ready to eat. We went to Breakwater Brewing - (my first time) and was impressed. A pitcher of IPA (thanks Danny!) and some pizza later my dad said Ironman updated me to 8th place. Score! Oceanside was giving 4 slots to my age group so with the three international competitors ahead of me and the hopes that some of them claimed at late races last year- I felt I had a pretty good shot at getting a roll down. Amy and I headed down to awards/slot allocation and sure enough I got the last spot! I was sooo stoked to get it in my first race. My A race and focus has been St. George this entire off season and if I didn't get it there I was going to have to spend a lot of money chasing that slot at other Ironman races around the country. Not ideal. So overall, excited about my performance and I know there is A LOT more in me for 70.3. This was a great learning experience and I can't wait to tow the line at Vegas with the fastest triathletes in the world. The fire has been re-ignited because of it. Time to get to serious work!

Here's a bunch more pics from the awesome weekend. Thanks for reading, supporting and being a part of my little triathlon story...