Runnin' in Tulsa...

One of the cool things about travelling for work is that you get to see a lot of cool places. For me, the best way to see what a different city is all about is to run there...really cool change of pace. This week I was in Tulsa; did an hour and twenty minute trail run. It was hot, humid, rocky, undulating and totally awesome. I LOVE trail running. It reminded me a ton of upstate New York, when I was a 10 year old kid, trailblazing in those dense woods where I grew up...

I ended up rolling my ankle, on what was the flattest part of the trail, when I awkwardly stumbled over a rock half the size of a golf ball...Foot is now swollen, elevated and on ice...chillin', enjoying a birthday beer and looking forward to a little ride tomorrow morning with K on her new tri bike...8 days til IMMOO! Go K.

Steamboat Springs Triathlon Race Report

Great race. Great weekend. Definitely a must do...maybe not next year as IM Wisconsin will be a few weeks out.

Spent Friday in Winter Park with BJ, Jess and the kids...then headed to Steamboat on Saturday...good way to do that drive for sure. I'd never been there, it was all I had expected...beautiful.

The race was longer than a sprint...1,200 swim, 20 mile bike and a 4 mile run. Apart from the few mechanical issues (spoke and aerobars) on the bike all went well...and I finished at :30 seconds over my goal time.

The altitude kicked my butt on the run...tried to hang with Matt (another HEPster) but just couldn't hang on...Overall, happy with my results. A part of me is glad there aren't any more tris for the year...now I can focus on my running.

Swim - 22:40
T1 - 2:34
Bike - 1:00:23 (19.9 mph)
T2 - 1:13
Run - 33:30 (8:23's)
Total time 2:00:30

Puddle jumping...

Futile was my attempt to keep my feet dry...Not 100 meters from the house, "cerplunk" left foot in a puddle, as wet as wet could be...filled up to the overflowing. I contemplated turning around and swapping out my left shoe for another...and then..."cerplunk" right shoe full. It was inevitable, it was going to be a soggy run. I catalogued my clothing inventory and doubted I even owned anything that would keep me dry for 2+ hours.

52 degrees and pouring in August...pretty uncharacteristic. I tried to transcend to a time and place where this weather was actually fun and I became a puddle jumper!

15 miles, 2:19.

Fight the good fight...

Every Olympian has a story. Close to home for us (literally and figuratively) is the story of a cycling legend and a prodigal son. A story of triumph in the face of difficult odds, of struggle and success. Bittersweet yet hopeful...Fight the good fight, Davis and Taylor Phinney...Good stuff!

Going for gold...

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Back in the day when I used to dive, I'd always go for the BLING!!!

swimming whitewater...

OK, so they aren't 4 foot swells...but they sure seemed like it when I was out there. The wind was howling, proof positive from the horizontal windsock. The lifeguards gave a reluctant thumbs up for the open swim...I was the first in, one guy and one lady followed.

I passed the lady on my fourth loop and headed back for shore. The chop picked up as the storm seemed to be right overhead. The lifeguard kayak passed me and reached the lady, threw her a left vest and helped her out.

I was really hoping to bust out a Michael Phelps impression today, having been inspired by his incredible athleticism, but rather I ended up more like a piece of driftwood on the open sea...boy was it fun. Ended with heavy legs on a three mile run in the rain. Fall is in the air a bit, as well.

5430 Race Report

What a day...we arrived at sunrise to the Rez...and there was almost a chill in the air. OK not really but at least it wasn't 100. As we got body marked and transition set up, Kristina and I caught up with the Wilsons. At 6:30 it was on...Kristina & Chris let 3 waves before me. Balloons overhead made for a nice distraction...

Swim was pretty uneventful...I feel faster, but the clock says otherwise....On the exit, I took a spill and gashed my palm open...still can't figure out, why with hundreds of feet of sand would you put a water exit on sharp shale rocks...this isn't freakin' Xterra.

T1 was slow, bloody..."pro hill" is always a grind for me...200+ yards up a hill to transition.

Bike was solid...fast for me and just about even splits, slightly faster on loop two...I followed the plan to a T...hit 48 mph on St. Vrain.

T2 was quick. Met up with K in transition. No "issues" today - last year 4:30 in the port-o-potty.

My run splits were less than perfect but within about 40 seconds/mile. First half was solid. Second half was decent until about mile 10. My calves were definitely talking to me...the last mile they where totally shot. Thanks to Eileen from San Diego for sharing 2 hours of her race day with me...it made the run fly by.

This year's 5430 was a race of many PR's. Kristina beat last year's 5430 (her first) by 32 minutes. Wilson hammered it... and I beat my course time by 36 minutes over last year and set a 24 minute PR...one hell of a day!

• Swim - 42:23
• T1 - 2:30
• Bike - 2:46:11 (20.2 mph)
• T2 - 1:46
• Run - 2:05:54 (9:37)
• Total - 5:38:42*

* I also received my first penalty ever...for what, I don't know. It was my understanding that race officials "flag" you when you have a rule infraction...no flag, no count? and 4 minutes? I hardly saw any officials out there...(that makes 5:42:42 officially, I suppose)

Additionally, race etiquette seems to continually erode on the bike at many races...lots of side by side, chatty, discourteous riders who have no clue what "on your left" means....its almost like they think they're the only ones on the road...Not that I am the fastest guy out there, as I am most certainly not, but I do have the sense to get the hell over when someone is hammering by...move over bitches.

Dog Days of Summer...

Ever wonder where term "dog days of summer" originated...well I'll tell you...

In ancient times, the un-obscured night sky enabled astronomers, scientists and common-folk alike to "draw" images in the sky by “connecting the dots” of stars - constellations. In part, culturally driven, different cultures saw and created different images.

They saw images of bears, (Ursa Major and Ursa Minor), twins, (Gemini), a bull, (Taurus), even dogs (Canis Major and Canis Minor).

The brightest star, other than the Sun, is Sirius, which is part of Canis Major (the big dog); which also happens to be the brightest star in the night sky. So bright in fact, the ancient Romans thought that the earth received heat from it.

In the summer, Sirius, the “dog star,” rises and sets in conjunction with the sun. The ancients concluded that the heat from both the sun and Sirius together were responsible for the hot and sultry weather during late July and early August. Appropriately, they named the 20 days before the conjunction to 20 days after, “dog days” after the dog star.

It's damn HOT...hotter than its been in 134 years...thank God for A.C. Even so, Luna's enjoying every bit of summer! We had an early morning swim today.

Brick oven...

That picture to the right sums up the better part of my workout Saturday (minus the ambiance)...who cares that it was all done before 9:30 am...40 mile ride/7 miles on the trail, bacon!

The afternoon was filled with birthday beers for the adults and cake for the chitlins as we celebrated Big #5 for Grabel!

Stroke n' Stride Fun...

Kristina, Jess, Craig Wilson and I had some good, clean fun last night at the Stroke n' Stride at the Rez...a great opportunity to red-line it. Only one more left this year...and probably my only real workout next week apart from the 5430 Long Course, which is still frightening me a teence...especially with the 100 degree weather we have been having as of late.

I ended up 30 seconds slower than my last S n' S, which was 3 weeks before IM, but overall pretty OK results...CW was solid as always, even though he may not think so...Jess had her first real workout since the wreck and Kristina is swimming fearless...good clean fun!

Results:

Lap 1 - 15:52

Lap 2 - 17:17

Total Swim Time - 33:08

Transition - 1:49

Run: 24:34 (7:56/mile)

Total: 59:30