I am finally in my off season. After a somewhat disappointing performance at the half-iron I am setting myself anew. I took a week and half completely off from exercise. I have slowly gotten back into easy running with the XC team and am hitting the weights more. Three times per week more. I am hiking and riding my trainer intermittently. I have yet to get back in the pool, which I probably should. I know I will have little to no access during Christmas break when the Natatorium closes. But then again, why get in now when i will be out again for four weeks in December? I think I might just stick with the weights and ease my way back into the water after break.
I am feeling pretty good right now. I have to start thinking about my race schedule for next year. I am contemplating a run at the XTERRA series or focus more on doing better at the half iron distance. I think I could make the world championships for XTERRA, but I really want to put down a better time for the half...I will definitely have to think on this one.
The whole day, in retrospect, seemed so surreal. Sure it was 5 hours of racing, but it seemed to go by so fast. So I will start from the beginning and, guess what, finish at the end.
Saturday was mandatory bike check-in. Meaning, for those of you who don't know, that you pick up your packet with your race numbers, timing chip, schwag bag, and walk through the expo of retailers. You also have to leave your bike in transition over night. From what I can deduce, its only because it creates less chaos the morning of.
At this race, everyone had a specific place in transition that was reserved for them by their race number. This made the whole process less congestive and more fluid. Nice.
My parents and I browsed the booths, didn't buy anything and went to listen to the athlete meeting. In athlete meetings they go over everything you need to know for race day, course maps, starting times, aid station placements, cut-off times, even who is going to be supplying food after the race. It is totally comprehensive. We sit and listen until the end and since I have already checked in, we leave so my parents can go grab some lunch (I had my daily PB&J). We also check into the hotel.
From 1-3pm on saturday, they were allowing athletes to enter the water and test it out. Make sure your wetsuit was fitting right and you could sight the bouys that lined the course. After lunch, we went back to the race site to try this out. I had yet to swim in open water with my wetsuit since I bought it. The race this summer had its swim cancelled due to high surf. So, it would be a true test of its abilities. I swam about 500 meters and got out. Good test. Worked great.
We went back to the hotel, rested and went out to dinner at PF Changs. I ordered the Crispy Honey Chicken. Bedtime.
When I consciously know I have to get up early, I always tend to wake up every hour thinking its almost time to get up. My first wake-up was 11pm, then 11:10pm, then 12:20, 1, 3, and finally I get up at 3:45 for my morning. As many of you know, I like to be one of the first people to transition on race day.Transition opened at 4:45, i was there.
Pre-dawn is an understatement. It was still night at 4:45am. Thank Red Rock (the race promoter) for lights and music that early on. And speaking of music, I have never heard Black Eyed Peas more in my life than I did yesterday. Was that song on repeat? Anyway, I get my transition area set-up, its now 5:15. FCA Endurance had a small church service at 5:50. I go for a short jog, stretch, drills before the service. Make sure everything is set. "What else do I need?" "Sunglasses!" I almost forget them on my head. Could have been a horrible mistake. What was I doing with sunglasses on my head at 5 in the morning?
Church Service ends at 6:08 and transition closes at 6:15. I have to get my wetsuit out before it closes. One mroe mental check over my stuff adn I am good to go. Waiting for my parents to show up, riding their bikes from the hotel. National Anthem plays. Still not here. First wave begins and they just show up. Freaking me out. I was about to run to the car and put my backpack away and hope I make it back. They showed up in time.
I squeeze myself into my wetsuit as we watch the first waves of racers start their swim. Swim cap on. I get so interested in watching, that I am apparently not listening to the announcer, who I have hard time hearing anyway over the background music and through a swim cap.
My mom says. "Hey, Oranges are getting in the water!" Sure enough, my wave was headed into the water. I didn't think we were that far along yet. I run over, get in and then wait the 4 minutes between waves. I set myself up on the left side of the pack about midway through.
The horn goes off. It takes probably a good 10-15 seconds to get going because I am waiting for those in front of me to start moving and not kick me in the dome. I get into a rythmn, swim over a couple people, and bump out into some open water. The main pack is in a line to the left of me and I couldn't be happier staying where I was. I didn't want to get into that mess. So far so good, I am cruising, feeling good albeit some tightness in my shoulders.
I was nervous and hesitant after the previous days swim in the lake. The bouys were way down there. And open water swimming always makes me a little uneasy. It is a TOTALLY different experience from swimming in a pool. No walls, no bottom, can't see your hand in front of your face, you have to sight your line where you are going, tons of people around you, kicking, hitting, waves, etc. But, my goal was to cruise down to the turn around. I wasn't going to stop, I wasn't going to let anyone stop my momentum. I wanted to have a good first half and then turn on the after burners for the way home. We were swimming east and the sun was right in our faces. I could only see the bouys once they were right next to me. As long as that line of people was still there to the left of me, I was going to keep swimming with them. I hti the turn around and felt great. I had begun to pass people from two and three waves ahead of me by this point. That means I had made up 4-8 minutes on some people. I was hauling. I felt great. I didn't know my pace or time, but knew I was doing something I had never done before, having a strong swim.
About 150-200m from the end, I was swimming next to another guy. He splashed me and I got some water in teh mouth and with it came air. I got this tight spot in my chest from teh air that I needed to burp. But, couldn't because of my quickened breathing and horizontal position. I didn't want to stop to get it out because I was almost done. It was kind of uncomfortable for the last section. But I made it. Swim time: 34:11.5 97th fastest swim out of 615.
I ran out and into transition as I was taking my wetsuit off. Never done this before. First race with a wetsuit. Not any huge problems. Kind of a struggle to get it off over my timing chip. Sunglasses on, helmet on, shoes on, on my bike and off I go.
Bike course was 3 laps of 18.5 miles roughly. My goal was to finish in under 2hrs 30min. That would mean averaging under 50 minutes per lap. I was on the bike about 7:32am. I finish my first lap. approx. 48minutes. Perfect thats right where I wanted to be. I plan on hammering the second lap and then spinning more and letting my legs recover for my third lap. Well, I start to feel it on the small hills that dot the course. My legs are getting more tired. I have taken in a couple PowerGels, water and Xood power drink. Only a dozen or two people have passed me and stayed out front. Second lap: approx. 50min. Still right there, but if I did what I had wanted this lap was going to be faster than my first.
I didn't want to try and make up for lost time and hammer the third lap, only to sacrifice good legs for the run. So I kept steady and made sure my pedaling cadence was higher to keep lactic acid from building up. About halfway through the third lap, I knew I needed some food that was solid. There was an aid station about two miles from the finish of the lap that had powerbar products. I grabbed a chocolate power bar from the wonderful volunteers. Thanks volunteers! And ate that, definately helped. Almost done. Slower. Third lap: approx 57 min. Total bike time: 2:35:20.3. 134th fastest bike split. It was about 10 minutes slower than I thought I was capable of. Had I kept the pace of my first lap, I would have had the 21st fastest lap. Onto the run.
When I got to transition and hopped off my bike, i could tell my legs were going to give me a problem. They felt heavy and tired. More so than I had expected. The run was 2 long loops around the lake. About 6.5miles each loop. Mostly flat and almost all on concrete. 6 aid stations each loop. I had my GPS watch with me to make sure I was sticking to the pace I wanted. I started out at just over 7min/mile pace. A little slower but I thought it would take a couple miles to run the tiredness out of my legs and then I could get going faster. Instead my miles kept getting slower. From 7:04 at the begining to 8:20s at the end of the first loop. By the second loop I was just running between aid stations. Jog to the aid station. Walk through it, make sure I was getting all the fluids and nutrition I needed. Gatorade, water, coke, oranges, pretzels. And then start off jogging again. About 3 miles into the second lap I saw a kid (25yrs old) who had passed me on the first lap. Talked as he passed and then must have blown up on the second lap. I patted him on the back and said let's keep going. He caught up to me and for the next 2.5 miles we ran together, talking and walking through aid stations. By the last mile and a half, he had more in his legs than I did and took off, which was totally fine. I was just glad to be 1.5 miles from finishing my first half-ironman. Total run time: 1:49:15.2. Which averages over 8min/mile.
I finish. Finishers medal draped across my neck. Food table calling my name. John Foster, the leader of the FCA Endurance team in phoenix was helping take off timing chips. He congratulated me and told me they were cheering for me throughout the race. Which I heard and wanted to say thank you to them for that. It was nice to hear your name called out in the middle of the crowd. Food table. Animal crackers, oranges. Water.
The kid who I ran with says congratulations. (number 461 below)
It was hot. I didn't do as good as hoped. I know I could have gone at least 20 minutes faster. It was a lack of training and knowledge about this race distance. But, if you know anything about me, I will be back and will hammer the next race.
Thanks to the volunteers, FCA Endurance and Tyler for keeping my pace up. Thanks to my parents and friends who always show enthusiasm for my crazy sporting ventures.
Check out this video. I don't know who is in it or who shot it, but I think it is a good representation of the race.
I am only 4 days from my race! It is going to be a half ironman distance: 1.2mile swim, 56mile bike, 13.1 mile run. 70.3 miles total.
My training hasn't gone exactly how I imagined it. I had my ups and downs. When you are as busy as I am and work or school call, they become priorities and training takes a back seat. But, I think I totally have it in me to have a great race. I had a great brick workout the other week and it gave me huge confidence in my ability to finish well. My swimming has been good, although, again not exactly how I planned. I could have spent more time on the bike, and longer runs would have been nice too. But, I can't look back at what I didn't do and can only look forward to what is to come.
I am so glad that my taper is here. It has been a long season of training and racing and I am looking forward to taking some time off before beginning my base for next year.
Depending on how this race pans out will decide how and where and how far I race next year. After the good brick workout last week, I feel like my calling might be to the longer distances. Especially with more consistent training, I think I could do really well. The Olympics might not be my ultimate goal. And now that I think about it, I am not sure they were ever my ultimate goal. I just want to become a professional triathlete. If I never win a world championship, or make it to the olympics, I will still be doing something that I absolutely love. Qualifying for a big race is not as important if I am doing what I love to do.
Stay tuned for a race re-cap early next week. Be ready for a novel.
I have had a rejuvenation this past week. And it begins with Rio. The spanish word for river. Maybe the river of life and wisdom. Maybe the river of creativity and perseverance. Maybe the river of January. Literally the "river of January" is the meaning for Rio de Janeiro. I have fully re-devoted my training to the 2016 Olympics. They will be held in Rio. It has rejuvenated my push for professional status. It has also rejuvenated my push for God's will through my training, because without his grace I would not be able to do this athletic endeavor. So, as I reach for higher athletic fame, I must also redouble my efforts for God to grant me what he has the power to take away from me. It is becoming clearer to me that training and racing triathlons is a priviledge granted to me by God. Many people can and will race the same triathlons I do, but they will feel no more than personal, earthly satisfaction out of them without God riding tandem with them. I fully commit to riding tandem with God through all my training and racing in the next 7 years.
With that said, here is the training that has been happening since I last posted. I have had some niggles in my foot that has sidelined any increase in intensity of my training for the last week or two. I am still running 20-30 miles per week. But, not as many morning runs or workouts with the team I coach in the PM. I have gotten in some good rides, but got run over with school work this last week and hardly got on the bike at all. I am refocusing some energy into weight training and injury prevention, so that the small things stay small and no new pains pop up. My swimming has also taken a hit because of my busy schedule and I have only been in the pool two, maybe three, times in the last couple weeks. I don't think I am losing any fitness in the pool, but I am not improving thats for sure. I ran a 5K race on friday and did ok. It wasn't as great as I wanted, but it was pretty close to where it should be considering where I am at in my training. I think I am in about 1:25 half marathon shape right now, which will translate, hopefully, to about a 1:30 half at the end of the triathlon. I am shooting for 1:30. I did 130min bike ride last weekend and averaged (at 7,000ft elev.) 22mph (approx.) which is exactly where I want to be for the bike in the tri. I also swam a 1000m time trial last week and finished in 16:50, which puts me right around 32min for 1900m, which would solidly place me in the swim as well. Overall, my times are doing ok, with the lack of training I am experiencing. I have about a week and a half of solid training time left before a taper and the race. Pretty stoked to see how I do and where I am able to finish!
Just signed up for Soma this morning. First Half-Ironman. In fact, its the first triathlon over a sprint that I will do. 8 1/2 weeks out. Swimming feels good. Need to get back on the bike and running will be ramping up next week. Til next time.
Epic: 1: of, relating to, or having the characteristics of an epic 2 a : extending beyond the usual or ordinary especially in size or scope
I am not sure a better word can describe the Grand Canyon, although many words have tried. An immense hole in the groud, cut through solid rock over millions of years. A plethora of various animals habitate there. Water seeps from the most solid of these rocks where the porous nature of these said rocks is questioned. Plants, trees, grass, and cactus all live here in an otherwise inhospitable environment.
The vista from the rim is the view that 95 % of visitors to the park see when they gaze upon its, almost, infinite quality. But, diving deeper provides a surrealistic envoronment that is hidden from the guardrails and ice cream parlours at the top.
I began my hike on August 15th at about 7am. It was a free fee weekend at certain national parks around the US, in order to encourage getting outside. Something our nation tends to take for granted too often. The wind at the top was pretty intense. A nice respite from the wind was welcomed after dipping just below the surface.
I chose the Bright Angel trail for a couple of reasons. For one, it has pretty reliable, consistent water sources located at various points along the trail. And two, because I was hiking alone, it was more populated and if, God forbid, anything happened, someone would be along shortly.
As is the case in most hiking stories of the Bright Angel, the tourists take the cake at the top. Hi-top Nikes and Converse are more common than hiking boots for the first mile and a half. The further you descend, the less crowds you have to fight to pass. And after Indian Gardens, the numbers dwindle even more greatly.
I was feeling great heading down. The air was cool, the sun was rising, and I just happened to be smack dab in the middle of one of God's greatest creations.
I had hiked in the Canyon once before this. The far western section of the South Rim, by Dripping Springs. But I had yet to see the river. That was my goal.
I couldn't have prepared myself for what I would encounter. I have hiked a lot in my young life. I have been to the tops of mountains and through valleys. When you descend into the Grandest of Canyons you leave the preconcieved notions of what you thought the canyon was behind. You can look down from the scopes from in front of the Bright Angel Lodge and see hikers far below, maybe a mule train. But, hiking in, ironically, makes you feel like you are out of the canyon, even though you trudge deeper in. By this I mean that once you leave an overhanging or a ridge and the trail flattens out, you forget that you are in a canyon. You are no longer looking at the Big Picture from the top, you are getting the intimate welcome from the Canyon itself.
It holds another ironic notion. The desert, the dry, the inhospitable becomes the friendlist place on earth as you encounter other hikers enjoying the same thing you are enjoying. Short conversations with individuals in passing brought smiles to my face. A runner (passed once each way) on the longest, hardest running leg of his life, has time for some friendly conversation. No names need to be exchanged, maybe a place of origin, but the enjoyment of being deep in where few people, relatively speaking, have ever gone is just remarkable.
Overall, it was an incredible place. I have fallen in love with the canyon again. I told my mom yesterday that although I have never had that 'WOW' moment when first seeing the Canyon. I love it just the same, if not more than most. My parents tell me that I was only 7 months when I first went to the Canyon. We would go up every new years day. I think I need to bring back that tradition. I can think of no better way than celebrating the new year.
I hiked out, not quite feeling as good as I did going down, but I made it. 19 miles. Rim-Ranch-Rim. I have already vowed to go back. I had forgotten how amazing hiking is. As a runner, you tend to think, "How do I get to the finish as fast as possible?" The destination, in hiking, is only as important as the journey there. And I have missed that.
My parents and I went back again on Sunday. One, because it was another free fee day and my parents wanted to go again. But, also because our one and only President, Barack Obama, was going to be there too.
My sore legs weren't going to allow for too much hiking on Sunday. But, we took it leisurly, did the tourist thing. Waited with the masses for 50 minutes for the 30 second passing of Obama as he left in his bullet proof outfitted vehicle and 17 car entourage. (No kidding, probably 17 cars) Went to the Imax. Ate Navajo Tacos. It was an incredible day. God really does bless those who love him. And...It was my parents 23rd wedding anniversary.
I sometimes forget that my parents aren't true natives of this great region. Dad being from all over, mom from california. But, this region is as much a part of their lives as it is mine. I can't tell you how much of a priviledge it is for me to have grown up in the family I live in now. They afforded me the opportuinities to get outside. To enjoy what God has provided and really appreciate the place I live. Too many kids don't get that same invitation anymore. It is a huge shame.
I will leave you with a few more photos from my hike on Saturday.
I am a college student who loves exercising as part of an enriching life to glorify God. Exercising and competing give me that little time each day to be with God and share in his wonderful environment for which i live.
