For the Colorado Mountains, Snowboarding Season has Started

13 inches of powder welcomed us to Vail on our first snowboarding trip of the season.  We regularly go to Vail during early season when the crowds are non-existent but the famous Back Bowls are closed awaiting their 60 inches of base needed.  Everyone is excited for a massive year of snow from El Nino's input and so far it looks like the rumors may be correct.

Clear blue skies during the day gave way to heavy snow our first night.  Vail offers beautiful views from the valley and a pure European feel to the town.  There are too many amazing runs and Colorado ski towns to tell someone to go to just one, but you won't be disappointed in Vail if you like first class amenities and don't mind a few high prices for dinner.  

We spent each day traversing from Lionshead Village to East Vail making sure to use the gondolas whenever possible.  Vail is special in the way you can extend a run from East-West or West-East by a bunch of easy connectors and varying terrain.  When you need to unfreeze your face you can finish a run right into a restaurant's patio - this winter may make that a common need.  Western skiing has spoiled us royally compared to our formative days in the hills of Pennsylvania hitting ice slopes.  Altitude, powder, and long runs leave you exponentially more sore!  If you haven't been, what are you waiting for?

Jess was sure excited to get going!

Happy Holidays!

Ironman Austin 70.3 Race Review 2015

This year my triathlon race season ended on November 8th at Ironman Austin 70.3.  We elected to undertake the relatively long drive to Austin for the race knowing that we'd need to have a car either way and that we could avoid shipping my bike if we just saddled up and completed the 13 hours down south.  We weren't that brave however as we spent nights in Lubbock both on the way down and on our return trip.  Buddy Holly and Texas Tech welcomed us to the Texas plains town and the people were as kind as they come.  This is mainly a race review but we did have good food on this trip at Triple J in Lubbock, and Black Star Co-Op in Austin.

First off, Austin is a cool, active, and fun town.  This race is not in cool and fun Austin.  It is 15+ minutes NE of town where there isn't too much going on.  Open land and ranches mixed in with some concentrations of town like density made up this race course.  Staying for the event was easy but you'll need a car for this race (no staying downtown and just walking everywhere).  This is an event with 2 transitions, T1 down by the lake, and T2 by the arena where you finish indoors on the run. The event transports your items from T1, such as wetsuit, googles, etc., if you shove it all in a marked bag before you run off with your bike.  Not really a big deal, just know what you're doing and expect an extra 30 seconds in each transition.

Pre-race and race day was WINDY with a strong 20+ mph torturing everyone from the north as it was much colder than expected due to the cold front and rain storms that were ravaging the area for weeks up to the race.  I was happy to see no irreversible damage to the area while we were there; it didn't seem like we were too huge of an additional burden to the town.  The main problem was the mud in T1 as bike drop the day before and transition set up the morning of pretty much destroyed the grass.

The Swim:
Unfortunately, my day didn't start till 8:15 am while transition closed at 6:45 that morning.  Jess and I hid from the wind and begged for the sun for a few hours in the morning and I put on my wetsuit for warmth about 90 minutes before my start.  In hindsight, that was a poor choice even though it kept me warm, because it is hard to go to the bathroom when bundled in skintight neoprene.  Due to the wind, the swim was choppy, the roughest water I have swam in for a few years (since ocean swims back in Virginia).  I had my fastest half ironman swim of the year despite dodging and swimming around a range of swimmers performing breast stroke, back stroke, and even elementary side stroke.  This was kind of a shame since I felt it slowed me down significantly to swim behind many slower age groups as I felt great but had to take longer lines at times.  The design of this race had men age 30-39 in 4 waves all starting at the back of the race, which turned out to be absolutely unsafe and terrible.  The swim was safe, but a pain catching many slower swimmers from what in general are slower age groups.  It's not really fair to those swimmers who have competitive males trying to get past them while they are uncomfortable in the water, nor to the competitive age groupers who have their race in-proportionately affected by their start time to other competitive male age groupers competing for top finishes.

The Bike:
+I'll preface this by saying I think I'm a rather positive and patient guy, because this review will look like the case is otherwise+
So I wasn't too happy having to start behind what amounted to pretty much every athlete in the race for the swim.  Where it really became unfair and a burden was on the dangerous and shameful bike course that was put forth by this race.  The course was bumpy and rough, which is fine enough if that is it, the problems come from when large gaps of broken road and dirt accompany the bumps as well as a large stream of athletes.  A cyclist couldn't pick their own line and people you were passing were swerving and endangering everyone else as they tried to avoid getting stuck or having to replace a flat.  ... It didn't stop there.  After the first 10 miles of the course, the course is open, and in this case that means cars driving slow paces between cyclists going the same direction as well as cars coming the opposite direction down the road.  You had three choices to pass the massive sea of athletes you were catching.  1.  Play chicken on narrow roads passing a car in your lane while another approaches you at uninhibited speeds and a vast majority in inertia.  2.  Wait behind the car in your lane hoping you can pass all the cyclists along the right side of the road when that car can.  3.  Pass illegally on the right dodging between cyclists and a car heading in the same direction.  It was disgusting to be so focused in a race you identified as an "A" race on trying not to die from the terrible road combined with terrible congestion.  So, yes it did get worse.  After you passed the roughest sections of roads you would see a few athletes the next mile all replacing flats or waiting for support.  Ambulances were whizzing by us in the opposite direction every few miles.  You cannot get nutrition because all of those much slower athletes you are catching are clogging up the flow of the stations as they wobble on their bikes.  I started going to the full opposite side of the road in aide stations and screwing my chances to do well by becoming dehydrated so I wouldn't be involved in a wreck as I saw two people in misery from aide station crashes during the first part of the race.  I carried 62 oz of water on the bike, which is a good portion but not enough even on a cool but humid day.  My final concern is this, I love that the city police come out and support us/help us stay safe, but there was not real evidence that they knew what was expected of them for this race.  I was traveling at 32 mph down a -finally!- flat  and smooth stretch when an officer controlling traffic turned a van directly in front of me and a female competitor.  We both violently swerved into the other lanes small shoulder as not to run directly into the side of the van at which time the van threw it into reverse while blocking the whole road and barely missed my rear wheel as I squeeked by screaming.  No I could not have stopped in time unless I bailed and I would have likely slid under the van, so I consider myself very lucky and Ironman very lucky they don't have a lawsuit from a few competitors.  As I looked back at the officer, who I didn't like at that moment, I saw that over 10 cyclists had stopped on the course and had to wait for the van to turn around.

The Run:
Boy, was everyone happy the ride was over.  One pro female (who started and came into transition a long time before me) had quit at T2 calling the bike course what it was and ripping off her timing chip rather than continue.  I don't blame her.  The run was very boring.  Out and back on a road and around a little section of park 3 times.  It was overly congested and once again I had to play chicken with either bikes which were on the same road or runners coming in the opposite direction multiple times as the hoards of walkers/joggers took to the course.  I'm not against anyone completing a race in any time, I am against my race being limited by it and potentially also their race as neither had a clear path.  On the 3rd lap my severe lack of fueling on the bike took effect as the day heated up.  I had a full water bottle of Skratch waiting for me in T2 which means I felt well at first in the run.  To be honest I was so done with the race that I just struggled in the last 4 miles and was ready to leave.  It was easy to leave this race as the indoor finish and after party was severely lacking and minimal anyways for such a big and expensive race.  Good riddance, Austin.


Race Recap:
I wish you best in your training if you choose to race a 70.3 distance race, but I will simply warn you that your training maybe completely wasted if you head to Austin to reap the fruit of your labor.  I don't dislike Ironman; I really enjoyed their Boulder 70.3 course and Boulder Peak.  In the future, however, I will give weight to race reviews as I read many negative ones on Austin and a few "it wasn't as bad as people say" reviews.

With the completion of Austin, it is officially triathlon off season for me, and I look forward to many small and local running races with Jess.  Life is good, but only because I survived Texas.  (barely).

Happy training and stay warm this winter!

Tents attempting to be kites and Hikers wishing to have sleds: 14er Hiking Trip in Colorado

Last weekend we packed up our tent, hiking gear, food, and anti-bear attack supplies to get in a final mountain hiking excursion before snow takes over the peaks.  In Colorado there is an obsession that some catch to climb all of the 14,000 feet peaks in the state and if you did one a week for a year you'd still not be finished.  We aren't quite enamored as some with the idea of Class 3 and above climbs so instead we decided to knock out some Class 2 climbs and live to run and race this weekend.

We drove to Alma, Colorado on Friday as the sun was setting and pitched our tent on a campground near Kite Lake at an exposed 12,000 feet.  The wind and cold quickly ramped up with no where to hide.  After a quick meal of rehydrated lasagna and teriyaki rice compliments of our JetBoil we retreated to the tent for warmth at the late hour of 8 pm with the goal of starting our trek at sunrise.  

The best thing about camping up in the mountains in Colorado is the view at night.  The Milky Way was out in full force and the stars were beyond beautiful as they filled the sky.  If you have a nice camera where you can adjust shutter speed and capture the night glow of the stars and galaxy on the mountains it would be time well spent.

After struggling to sleep (holding down the tent) in 30+ mph winds all night we woke up cold and reluctant to leave the little warmth we had in our sleeping bags.  So, after quickly lighting fire to our coffee (Pumpkin Spice Latte Via will go up in flames if some of the powder floats into your JetBoil flame) we began our hike with the goal to summit four-14 thousand foot peaks in one nice bundled 7 mile hike.  

First, with our hearts struggling to help our legs warm up we went the traditional route and summitted Mt. Democrat.  Here we are below...

The 2.5 miles to the top of Democrat took more of a toll than expected, most likely from the lack of sleep, shivering, and having already spent the last 12 hours at 12,000 feet or above.  Looking across we saw the long high altitude trek to the next two peaks of Mt. Cameron and Mt. Lincoln.  As we hiked the saddle between the mountains the exposure increased and the trail led us into snow and scree.  It became much slower and more brutal than expected as we transversed packed snow/ice occasionally with skids or using all fours.

On of the easier parts in the snow heading to Mts. Cameron and Lincoln

Eventually, after a few more hours had passed, we achieved our summits of Mt. Cameron and Mt. Lincoln and turned our attention to hiking towards Mt. Bross which was ... closed ?? ... but the enforcement of closure was to be done out of respect to the land owners who have not given 100% blessing for the Forest Service to allow access to the summit.  Many people were resting and enjoying the summit of Mt. Bross, and as a 14,000 ft high peak, many wanted to bag it while they were there to count towards their tally.  The bypass trail and summit trail of Mt. Bross take you down a scree field at a nice 40 degree angle where skidding and using your hands is necessary.  It appeared that there was another trail across the valley, I would recommend seeing if you can find a way over there to make your descent back to your car less of a frustrating and slow experience.

All told we hiked 4.5 hours and spent 6.25 tiring hours getting it done - here is our strava data: https://www.strava.com/activities/410426542 

A nice size camelbak and some lunch/snacks should get it done for ya.  If you finish up early enough stop at our favorite little local diner in Fairplay/South Park - the Brown Burro - to refuel as well.  Happy hiking!

Hiking Scree up Mt. Democrat was much preferred to sliding down it on Mt. Bross

A flat tire, a thief chase, and World Championships Qualifying - Funtimes at USA Triathlon Age Group National Championships

The dust has settled, my swelling has gone down, and my mind is rested.  So it is time to look back at my fun racing vacation in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for USA Triathlon Age Group National Championships.

We traveled to Milwaukee on Thursday for, in many ways, the amateur USAT event of the year as the weekend included both Olympic and Sprint National Championships.  I had earned entry into the qualifying Olympic event a few times over the past year and decided to make the trip, and for the fun of it, I decided to race two times in as many days.  We arrived in the humid and warm Lake Michigan city and took our chance off the bat to get ourselves a famous local beer and some Wisconsin cheese. Cheese is good everywhere, of course, but the cheese curds at Lakefront Brewing on this trip are especially worth the trip.

Olympic Race Recap:

I had a distinct plan for the Olympic race, it was simple, just don't mess up the swim so bad that you can't bike and run yourself back into some contention!  While I can't say it went perfectly to plan as I came out of the water 6 minutes behind the leader, I did PR by a massive 4 minutes for the 1500 meter distance on the year and heightened my chances to put out a good time if I could manage on the bike and on my feet.  Catching the feet of other competitors throughout the swim undoubtedly assisted my time and I was ready to rock as I ran to transition stripping off my wetsuit.

I went out HARD on the bike, maybe too hard in retrospect, but this is a national championship and I would be damned if I didn't at least try for it.  Well, because of my aggressiveness early I continued to find a fast rhythm as my power jumped up and down as I sought out more people to pass.  The course was surprisingly difficult with the crosswinds on the bridges which were the de facto hills on this course.  After the final turn, to head for home, I began being passed by a few cyclists who I had powered by earlier in the course.  I realized my speed wasn't quite where I wanted it to be but thought I must be struggling more than expected.  We approached the final "climb" and I was really laboring and the road was awfully rough.  It was at the crest of the hill, when I thought I had my chance to fly downhill into T2 that I realized what had been wrong the whole time.  I was smashing out watts on the descent and unable to breach 30 miles per hour, low and behold, my rear tire was flat and my poor carbon wheel rim was doing all the rolling while the floppy, deflated rubber attached to it did it's best to drain my chances.  I came in on the bike about 4.5 minutes slower than desired and averaged 24.6 mph on the 24.8 mile course.  I was happy to get off my disable 2 wheeled vehicle and onto my own feet, and that's where the fun began.

Now, I can't say I was in the shape I wanted to be for a 10k entering this race as I don't think I was near my running only PR, but I knew that running was my both physical and mental strength in a triathlon.  I took off at a steady pace and did my best to hold off the rib/chest spasming I have continued to experience after T2 in races this year, luckily, I had my amazing wife to adjust my spine at 4:30 in the morning, which greatly reduce the level of the tightness.  I exited T2 in 25th place, and over the next 6.2 miles ran myself into the last spot on the podium moving up 15 spots to 10th.  

A very happy 10th place finisher crossed the line.

A Thief Chase:

To many this is their favorite story of my weekend.  To Jess, she calls this my 2nd of 3 races.

I used Race Day Transport, so between the races I checked my bike back into Race Day to hold until I could check it into the Sprint Race Transition.  It was an hour or so after my finish of the Olympic race and I sat on the grass next to my bike rack to replace the flat from the race.  It was peaceful as Jess and I chatted about the race and my parents waited outside transition for our much needed trip to lunch (and famous Milwaukee beer - gotta get that from the source PBR).  Suddenly, one man was yelling at another - it was the head of Race Day Transport following a young man out of Race Day's personal trailer.  The arguing escalated and as Jess and I sat on the grass we thought nothing of it in general despite the obvious oddness of the situation.  Then, as I fed my tube into the tire, "Stop HIM", "SOMEBODY STOP HIM" echoed under the trees.  Jess and I look up to see the young man running through the fenced in area of Race Day with multiple smart phones in his hand.  He sees that the front entrance is blocked - and shoots up a side path - the exact one where Jess and I are sitting.  Jess is between him and I and goes to grab him.  He shruggs her off, accelerates and uses his free "non-cellphone" hand to launch himself over the chest height fence.  Now I am not sure why that "SOMEBODY" had to be me, but before I knew any better I run past Jess and jump the fence in pursuit.  Unfortunately, my tired legs didn't respond well to what was on the other side.  Race Day had all of their rain tarps laid out outside of the fence and as I landed and attempted to accelerate they grabbed my ankles like Devil's Snare (I know you know the reference).  Now you can picture a guy launching into a chase only to immediately face plant.  I usually take pride in my athleticism, but maybe that is why I needed the ego check.  I quickly push to get up, and guess what?... that's right, the Devil's Snare struck again.  Now I'm mad, and in a blink I was up and moving with determination.  I'll give the beer-gutted asshole thief credit (notice how before he was a young man), he had an good burst of speed and got away from me to start as I weaved behind him through a row of tractor trailers over the grass.  Then we hit open field and the folly of stealing from a group of endurance athletes must have become apparent to him.  I closed the ground on him shouting "stop him, stop him!" to the oncoming pedestrians.  I mostly received confused and noncommittal looks from the first few groups, but the next group of good samaritan guys stood in front of him and we blocked him in.  No one, including myself, committed to violence or physical altercation as I wasn't about to risk getting stabbed.  Instead, I paced with him, ready to finish the pursuit if needed.  Soon, a group of guys rode their bikes down from Race Day and helped keep him from attempting another run as he panted "I just need to catch my breath".  He was constantly calculating his escape but made one last attempt too late.  The final group to arrive was a group of 4 police officers who put him on his stomach in handcuffs and boy was I happy to get that part of my day over with!  I came out of it with a nice cut on my left leg, an opening of my recent bike wreck hand and arm wounds, and a little anger it took me that long to run down the jerk.  He's lucky I fell twice I keep telling myself.  Haha, anyways, it was a story I will remember and the swelling has gone down/the cuts are scabbed over, so the physical memories will soon be distant.  

Hope you enjoyed the story! Onto the Sunday Sprint...

Sunday Sprint Recap

I was a little sore/swollen/tired entering Sunday.  Saturday had been a good day and I was thinking "Why the heck did I sign up for the Sprint?"  I was happy to see the smaller crowd and it reduced my stress to have a much smaller swim wave.  The gun went off and *smack*pull*punch*grab*push* ... this small, supposedly less competitive group of athletes had a bunch of purposely violent swimmers!  I struggled to find a rhythm and find fast feet like the day before.  I came in from the swim at a much slower pace than the twice as long Olympic and had a lot of work to do if I was going to get myself onto the top-5 podium of the Sprint Race.

I felt that I could push the bike, especially with a newly inflated back tire, to get back into the competition.  Boy, did I struggle.  I pushed and pushed and pushed but struggled to hit the times I thought I was capable of when coming to Milwaukee.  My bike legs were by far the most disappointing of the weekend, but I did continue to move up on the bike to get myself into the top 10 to enter the run

Today was a good run day.  I had none of the pain and spasms that had limited me in my previous 3 races and I knew I had to take full advantage.  I began to turn the screws during the run and continued to feel stronger throughout the race as I ran down 4 athletes for ... 6th place and 7 seconds too slow for the podium.  What a fun weekend.  I really think I did earn my recovery week of diet cheating and sleep.

Downtown Milwaukee is a beautiful place with the river walk and contains world class amenities including museums, art centers, and breweries!

Conundrum Hot Springs Hiking Vacation

Pictures, pictures, and more pictures.  One of those places in the world where pictures don't do it enough justice.

We arrived into Aspen on Wednesday night in order to get a good night's sleep before our early wake-up time to start the hike.  The drive from downtown Aspen is no more than 15 minutes (if you don't miss the turns) as you take the first roundabout on 82 to Castle Creek Road for approximately 5 miles until Conundrum Creek Creek appears on your right.  It's a disguised turn on the forested road so keep your eyes peeled if you want to give this hike a try.  Just stay on the road, which narrows to a wide single lane dirt passage up to a dirt parking lot where hopefully you will find a spot!

Our GPS information on the hike up from Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/352795676 , expect 8.3-8.75 miles one-way based on any side excursions you may take.  We hiked 17.5 miles total on the day, which is no joke especially if you don't live at altitude, and it took us about 3:45 up and 3 hours down with some periods of jogging and lots of stops for photos.  Pack a lunch and plenty of fluids (or a water pump/water purifying options) and plan to spend some time soaking your legs half way through in nature's hot tub if you do it as a day hike like us.  Most people spend the night at one of the multiple camp sites near the hot springs which requires a heavier pack, but half the hiking per day.  There are both campfire and non-campfire legal sites off the trail near the hot springs and depending on the weather, there are sites out of and under tree cover.

Take a look at some of the route below with some more information on the hike!

You'll enter the Maroon Bells/Snowmass Wilderness - if this is your first trip to Aspen you can't miss Maroon Bells, some of the most photographed peaks in the world.  There are also great hikes in that valley if you don't have your heart set on bathing in the natural hot springs reward of this hike.

We spotted a moose early on while looking right off of the trail about 0.5 miles into the hike.  He was a big active bull moose feeding voraciously.  Just like bears, I was happy to be far away while we spectated.

Pack an extra pair of socks for the hike, some river crossings are simple wide balance beams like below, while others aren't so easy including a river ford crossing about 6 miles up.  

You can't hike in Aspen without a picture of the famous trees of course.  This grove was leaning with the hill and would be absolutely stunning in the fall when your path would be lined with gold.

We didn't get fall foliage colors, but all of the wildflowers were in full bloom.  The variety of flowers (and bugs) was terrific.  If you haul a quality camera for the hike you won't be disappointed with your photo haul.

As you hike you will see the 14'ers in the distance, that is where you are heading!  It's a long ways but you'll be happy when you're in the hot water taking in your majestic Rocky Mountain surroundings.

Be fleet of foot to keep your shoes dry!

Check out the views from Conundrum Hot Springs - and you get to be relaxed and warm as you take them in.

 The large and warmer pool

 Taking it in with a GoPro selfie in the big spring

 The small, cooler spring.  Also muddier and buggier - we were big social pool fans

Jess with an incredible balance performance - she kept her shoes dry and I'm going to credit her gymnastics history.  This is the river ford but you can try to stay dry like Jess on the log crossings.  There are multiple water crossings during this hike.

And Celebration!  We took a stop in a nice part of Buena Vista on South Main at Eddyline Brewery.  It's a nice little spot if you need a stop outside of Aspen (assuming you took Independence Pass!)

Rocky Mountain State Games - First Overall Triathlon Win!

This morning I competed for the second year in the Rocky Mountain State Games Triathlon in Colorado Springs at Memorial Park/Prospect Lake.  The sprint distance triathlon is a USAT National Talent ID race for junior elites and qualifies athletes for other elite developmental races.   However, for an old hat like me, it is a chance to race close to home and also a lot shorter than I'm used to.  There was great talent at the race but my two friends who took 1st and 2nd last year (to my 3rd place) are focusing on upcoming Pro races which definitely heightened my chances.  This year the support of sponsors was extensive and I hope it can continue to grow for this important local event.  Thanks to Pikes Peak Acura, Colorado Running Company, Peak Multisport, Marriott, COS Racing, Rudy Project, Road ID, SL3S, Criterium Bicycles, the volunteers, and to everyone else who was out there today to support the event. 

Race Report:

I started in the second wave of the sprint race due to my age group and had a lot of fast younger athletes starting 3 minutes ahead of me to provide some inspiration to keep up my speed.  Since swimming is my weakest discipline I enjoyed being in less traffic than usual as I was out of the water in 3rd place from my start wave.  With a short bike ride, I knew it was guns blazing the whole way and went for it from the start.  Unfortunately, that caused a large increase in heart rate and breathing which led to some pain occurring in my anterior chest in the lower right.  I knew the pain from last year's short sprint races as my intercostals and obliques locking up and I could only hope for the best from there.  The fun up/down/left/right criterium-like course for the bike took away some speed regularly due to the room available around other athletes on the 3 loop short course but I came out of the bike strong and ready to run.  The run, usually my strongest discipline, couldn't be covered after the checks I cashed on the bike overdrew my account.  I had immediate chest tightening/spasming making even the shortest breath painful and impossible feeling.  I struggled to run at all and my heart sunk as my 5:30 pace expectation went out the window.  I struggled for about 10 minutes, then, luckily, I was able to get a quick on-ground adjustment to my thoracic spine from Jess about a mile in and the slight release allowed me to breath again as my split times went from 10:20 per mile to 6:10 per mile, both below my normal capability but enough to hold onto the overall win in the end.  It was a fun competition and the course is different than my normal race which made it exciting as you passed the homestretch crowd 9 times total during all of the legs.  

Jess provided me with some action shots!:

Thanks!  See you in Milwaukee for Age Group National Championships!

Perfect Summer Training and Three Weeks Till Milwaukee

The countdown continues until USAT Age Group National Championships in Milwaukee and while the training is ramping up in intensity and specificity for shorter races it doesn't mean you can't throw some fun days into the mix.  This past week I hit the bike for an extended day in the saddle, Jess and I got some beach time, and new trails were explored.

With sport, you have to love the process, otherwise motivation will come and go and so will improvements.  I told myself day 1 that I wouldn't stop the little things I love even when I decided to commit my focus to road triathlon.

This past week I joined my buddy, Marcus, for his Ironman Boulder training ride including a backloaded 2,500 feet of climbing from miles 40 through 70.  We took the eastern Colorado Springs roads where the only cars seen are the ranchers trucks and you pray it's not a windy day.   I found I need more practice shooting with the GoPro on the bike as this was the only real quality shot I managed.  This next week I'll promise to do better as I've seen impressive shots on Instagram from other riders.

Growing up on the east coast, one of the things we constantly discuss missing is the beach.  So, Jess and I spent some time on the beach in Boulder at the Reservoir.  Who said you can't spend some time shoreside on the sand in landlocked Colorado?  The surprising part is how wicked hot it can get when you don't have an ocean breeze at the beach.  We are pretty sure our Colorado beach dates hit the heat index harder than our previous home in Virginia.  Colorado Springs doesn't have the beaches like Boulder but they are well worth the drive north for the variety.

This summer we have taken on seeing a bunch of new places, whether by bike or foot, and trail running is fantastic cross training for the legs and the brain.  When the snow finally melts by the end of June the high elevation running and hiking goes a lot faster and requires less equipment, which is a runner's dream on technical terrain as safety becomes less of an issue.  I like trails all year long and I'm not sure when the scars on my back from Crags Trail will go away, but at least in the summer we don't have to worry about the hidden ice!

Boulder Peak Triathlon Race Report

We were back in Boulder, Colorado for another race this past weekend finalizing my 5 races in 5 weeks streak and firmly earning a nap.  As always, I had the best support in the world from Jess which makes the early mornings easy.  This week the Life Time Fitness/Ironman event - Boulder Peak Triathlon - went off without a hitch.  The course support was excellent and the climb up Olde Stage Road left many legs screaming after only 6 miles into the bike course.

It was a nice sunny warm day and the competition was fast including one of my past teammates Tyler Evans who finished 3rd in the Pro race.  He showed up strong a couple weeks after an unfortunate bike wreck and really earned it out there - check him out!  For my race, I started about 10 minutes after the pro group in the age group race and, like usual, despite it feeling fine during the swim I had a poor swim time and was surprised with just how behind I was on the start of the bike.  Luckily, I had the legs to crank out the fastest bike split of my age group and come home with the fastest run split as well.  Despite the land sport efforts, with my swim time those two "sport wins" didn't result in the overall three sport win.  I'll be hitting the pool and the upper extremity strengthening hard this next month hoping to make up as much as possible for my long term lack of arm sports!  We will see in Milwaukee how that has all gone.

The reason this race is special is beyond the beautiful venue that Boulder always provides.  The long steady climb including a mile averaging 15% grade up Olde Stage Road added a new element to the triathlon.  A lot of triathletes, like yours truly, can sit in aero position and hammer out a steady flow of watts for hours on end; this race required each athlete to work hard just to keep moving with most athletes spending time around 5-7 mph for a long period of time where aero position won't do you much good!  The first half of the bike course was advantage to the cyclist, the second half was advantage to the time-trialist.  I was hoping to have a shot at the "Reach the Peak Challenge" which was a separate timed portion from T1 to the top of Old Stage Rd.  After the race I found out that the Pros were included in the challenge and that my legs aren't quite up to that level yet.  Instead, I was happy with a respectable 6th in that competition.  If you want a triathlon with fast competition, beautiful scenery, and great support, this top-10 triathlon in the country a must-do.

Splits for those interested:
Swim: 29:04, 17th/47 Age Group
Bike:   1:06:47, 1st/47 Age Group
Run:    37:46, 1st/47 Age Group
Total:  2:16:10, 2nd/47 Age Group

Thanks as always for your support!  Till next time, train hard and enjoy the process!

USA Triathlon National Championships on the Horizon

It's here and it came quick!  We are in the heart of summer and that means that USA Triathlon Age Group National Championships are right around the corner.  Jess and I will be traveling to Milwaukee with a lot of gear to spend the weekend with family in a new city.  I will be racing in both the Olympic and Sprint USA Triathlon Age Group National Championships.  My training has been going well but now is the time to start building the shorter course speed I am lacking coming off of the Boston Marathon in April and Boulder Half Ironman in June.  They both did a good job of beating my aging body up.  Being a physical therapist is certainly helpful in understanding what I need to do to stay healthy but, like all triathletes, the quantity of time spent training can be a difficult undertaking.

Luckily, living in Colorado Springs blesses triathletes in certain ways which is why I am continuing to build confidence in my chances for a great race in Milwaukee.  Pikes Peak Athletics runs the masters program at the Colorado Springs Olympic Training Center Pool (below) which will be a place I need to pitch a tent at for the next month as I prep for National Championships.  Gaining fitness in the pool is hard for an old runner like me in terms of pacing and speed.  It feels like my heart is fine but my poor arms want to sink to the bottom of the pool like lead.  I imagine the triathletes with pure swimming backgrounds can often feel the same way when running at times.  I have fallen more in love with swimming lately in what it provides, and the people involved in the PPA program are fantastic.  Thank goodness they make it easier for me to show up for a break to my work days, even if it means lunch in my car.

A new piece of my training for the last few months has been an improved indoor cycling experience with Zwift (pictured below).  When it's late in the evening or thunderstorms are rolling in over Pikes Peak, I can simply set up the trainer and plan my workout on a virtual island with a group of similar riders.  Going for the overall lap, mountain, or sprint jerseys is a great way to mix up the type of energy systems you want to tax during a hard ride as they each require very different measured efforts.  While Zwift has been a great tool in increasing my steady state power, we have also been enjoying the great outdoor rides of Colorado this summer despite all the potholes.

A recent ride picture below from the White River National Forest where we found a nice flat bike-way at a comfortable 5,400 feet elevation.  We are hoping the altitude training from Colorado will benefit us greatly as we drop down to a much lower and flatter Milwaukee for the races in August.  Personally, I wouldn't mind a few large hills in the Championships Courses as you can't avoid them for long when riding in Colorado.  

Of course, our original and favorite sport of the triathlon group is running.  Breaking up the triathlons so far this year have been two running races, Sailin' Shoes 10K and Half on the 4th, which have replaced some tempo runs during the week.  We always found running is a great sport to race into shape with as long as we are consistent during the rest of the week.  We also enjoy stopping during our travels to new places (like pictured below at Lake Dillon) where we can explore and break up our drive with a nice 5 miles or so.  It also doesn't hurt to find a few local spots such as Dillon Dam Brewing which we'd highly recommend for the workout re-fueler who loves craft beer that finds themselves out there.

We are looking forward to our trip to Milwaukee and we are excited to meet all of the racers and spectators from across the country who will be convening there.  In the meantime, I promise that I will train hard, and I hope you all do as well.  Let's Race!