Customer Service

I had thought that good customer service was a thing of the past until last weekend. A few weeks ago, I picked up my new P2C from BikeSource. I had a quick fit using the figures from last fall and everything seemed right. Since I was racing Boulder Peak and didn't feel like I would have enough time on the new bike, I kept training on my P2SL and the P2C sat in the corner.

Last week with Boulder Peak behind me and no races on the horizon, I decided to start training on the P2C. During my first ride, I noticed that I couldn't quite drop my heels at the bottom of my pedal stroke. I've had tight calves in the past and I can usually stretch them while riding but on the P2C I couldn't.

After the second day of riding I started to think the setup was wrong. Out came the tape measure and the P2SL. I started measuring everything on the two bikes and comparing them. Everything seemed to match. I looked at my road bike and just happned to notice the crank arm length. I looked at the new P2C at the cranks were 172.5 whie my road bike and the P2SL were both 170.

I called BikeSource, described the issue and they said come on in. I thought that I would have to leave my bike and come back later but 15 minutes later, the cranks were swapped and I was on my way. No hassle, no charge, just a thanks for coming in from the manager.

The Power of Yellow

It is said those who can't remember history are doomed to repeat it. With this year's Tour de France wrapping up, it appears that this saying holds true for sports as well as life.

In 2004, Thomas Voeckler grabbed the yellow jersey during a long break away. For days he carried the yellow jersey on his shoulders. When the race tipped upwards in the mountains everyone expected him to lose it to Lance Armstrong but to everyone's surprise, Voeckler rode better and faster than ever to hold onto the jersey. It took three mountain stages to finally dislodge his grasp on the jersey.

In 2007 on stage 14, Alberto Contador attacked on stage 14 climbing the Plateau-de-Beile. Cadel Evans didn't respond and allowed Contador a 1:50 cushion. Everyone assumed that Evans would grab the jersey on the penultimate day during the time trial after all, he was the best rider. Somehow Contador rode the time trial like he has never before. While Evans was faster, somehow Contador was quick enough to retain the jersey relegating Evans to second place.

Looking back on 2008, the same situation happened on stage 17 climbing Alpe d'Huez. Evans kept watching Frank Schlek and failed to notice Carlos Sastre. Sastre attacked at the base and rode his way to winning the stage and a 1:34 gap over Evans. Again everyone thought Evans would win the jersey during the time trial but again, powered by the yellow jersey, Sastre rode the time trial of his life. While Evans was faster it wasn't enough and again he wound up second.

Maybe next time, when someone attacks, Evans will cover it to make sure he retains yellow.

2008 Boulder Peak - Epilogue

I was the twelfth person to cross the line but that meant little considering the number of athletes in later waves. I quickly found Brad and Ben to congratulate them on great performances and then went searching for shade. At Boulder Res, shade is always in short supply and high demand. After a quick massage, I set out to find Bruce waiting for Holly near the top of the hill. She was on pace at the start of the run but the heat finally caught up with her.

As I write this a few days later I only now realize how good by bike was. I didn't hear the whoosh-whoosh sound of any disc wheels passing me. I passed a few disc but none caught me.

I'm also pleased with my run. It wasn't my fastest but it was one of my smartest. Last year I caught and passed a runner with about a mile to go. I didn't catch and recover, I just went straight to the front. Last year my pass didn't stick. This year when I caught Ben, I settled in and recovered for a couple minutes. When I finally made my move with a mile to go, I had recovered enough to make it stand up.

All in all, a great race and a fabulous PR.

Total time: 2:16:35, 32 overall, 3rd AG M 40 - 44

2008 Boulder Peak - The Run

Grab the hat, number belt and dash out of T2. It's early, the temp hasn't climbed much and it's time to put some time on the run and see if I can hold off the rest of the wave. I pass a few runners from the first two waves on the hill and when I head out on the first part of the dam, Brad catches and passes me. I know I can't match his speed over 10k so I'm content to let him go and hold my pass.

On the way to the turn around there aren't many people going out and fewer people coming back. I start to count runners to the turn and there are only fifteen people in front of me. I saw Brad and Ben so I know there are at least two people in my AG. I set my sights on Ben but it's a long way to go. Remembering the lessons of the Taos marathon, I know I don't have to catch him right away. Working consistently I slowly close on Ben and finally catch him on the north portion of the dam.

Knowing how I passed and couldn't escape from a runner last year, I settle in behind Ben for a little while to recover. I decide to use the last aid station to make my move and by quickly grabbing a cup I'm able to open a small gap but Ben is able to close the distance. I keep pushing hard on the last section of the dam until I can't hear Ben's footsteps. All I have to do is hold the pace to the downhill and I'm able to hold off Ben.

10k - 41:06. 6:38/mile

2008 Boulder Peak - The Bike

This is probably the last race for the P2SL and I'm really interested to see how much it will help on the bike leg. The results on the P2SL have been great so far so there should be a good improvement here.

Out of the reservoir, down on the aerobars and off to Jay Road and another bout with Old Stage. At Loveland there weren't many people ahead of me and there aren't a whole lot out there at Boulder. Having two waves in front help with the focus. I get passed by BC on the way to Old Stage but at the time I didn't know that. I caught and passed him near the top but on the descent he passed me.

The P2SL handled the climb quite well and on the Left Hand Canyon run out, I was maxed out on the gears. I think the P2C will do better on the run out with the 53 tooth chain ring.

Focus is key and I try to keep catching people in front of me. It gives me a target to fix on and keeps my mind from wandering which would cause my pace to drop. On the road back to the reservoir, I catch BC again and roll into T2 with a small gap.

42k - 1:09:45, 22.4 mph

On my way to my rack, I do a quick bike count and there aren't any in my row and only a few in the rest of my wave. That's a good sign.

T2 - :57

2008 Boulder Peak - The Swim

Originally I was supposed to start in the third wave at 6:45 wave but with the long lines, the race director decided to postpone the start about 15 minutes. After zipping up and warming up, I scooted over to the start arch. Last year, I started near the front in the middle and had a terrible time. This year I was going to start at the front off to one side but no one was lined up at the front. With everyone hanging back a yard or two, I lined up front and center.

At the horn, I take off and try to put in a hard 100 and it pays off. When I take my second or third sighting, there are a few swimmers in front of me but not too many. I look for some feet but I'm sort of in no mans land behind the leaders but in front of the chasers. At the first buoy, I pull the pace back and settle in for the swim. At the home turn, everything feels pretty good and the sighting is pretty good with the big inflatible Clif Bar arch.

1500 meters - 23:58, 1:35/100

On the run into T1, I notice a lot of bikes still racked in my wave which is always a good sign. Drop the wetsuit, sunglasses, Carb Boom gels, helmet, bike and out running. I pass a few people walking out of T1 and a couple more with the flying mount.

T1 - :51

2008 Boulder Peak - Prologue

The saying is that timing is everything and at Boulder Peak this weekend the saying was proved right. On Saturday we went to packet pickup early, leaving my house around 10. When we arrived, there wasn't much of a crowd and we were out of the expo in about 15 minutes. On the way out of the reservoir, a line was already forming at the gate.

On Sunday morning we decided to leave my house at 4:30. An ungodly hour at which only owls and triathletes are awake. When we got to the reservoir there was a small line to get in but were through by 5 when the transistion opened. We shouldered our bikes and walked to body marking. After a few minutes in line, we were in transistion setting up our bikes. Last year I was much later and had to hunt for a spot. This year, I was in the second rack in my row.

After setting up my gear, I walked to the bathrooms where there wasn't a line. Since I had over an hour before my start, I checked over my gear a few more times and just relaxed. Looking towards the reservoir entrance, the line of cars was almost as long as the line for body marking. There were so many people still trying to get in that the race was postponed for fifteen minutes. I just relaxed happy that it wasn't me this year.

Le Tour de France

I guess we now know how Riccardo Ricco was able to pull away from everyone.

Le Tour de France

The first full week of racing at Le Tour de France has wrapped up and it's been an exciting week. The wild card teams have been working hard to show they belong. Agritubel has riders in every breakaway and the Argyle Armada holds the third position on the GC. Team Columbia has had a great first week, holding the yellow jersey, white jersey and green jersey. Alejandro Valverde kicked off the TdF with a strong win in the first leg to seize yellow setting his claim as the race favorite but when the time trial finished, it was Stefan Schumacher from Gerolsteiner who was in yellow. Ricardo Ricco stunned everyone with a strong showing on two of the first four climbing stages grabbing two stage wins. After ten stages, the top five riders are separated by less than 60 seconds.

USA Swimming Olympic Trials

Wow! What a great week for USA Swimming. The trials were great to watch and the venue looked fantastic. Who ever thought of holding the trials in a sports arena was a genius. The crowds looked packed and were rocking for every event. By holding it in an arena, they were able to use all the lights like a basketball or hockey game. And how did they get a 50 meter, 8 lane pool into an arena and make it look like it always was there?

Not to be out done by the venue were the swimmers. Everyone expected Michael Phelps to do well and he delivered, winning every event he entered. Ian Thorpe said you can't swim eight events at the Olympics and win gold in each event but Phelps is going to give it a try. If anyone can, he's the one.

The women are being lead by Katie Hoff who qualfied in five individual events and one relay. Backing up Hoff will be Olympic veterans Natalie Coughlin, Amanda Beard (4th Olympics) and Dana Torres (5th Olympics). Torres at 41 smoked the field winning both the 50 and 100 free, setting American records along the way.

2008 Loveland Lake to Lake Triathlon

Prologue
Clouds. Sweet overcast skies with temps in the low 60s. The weather looks perfect for racing. The sleep on race day eve was terrible. Last year I didn’t have any expectations before L2L but after last weekend, maybe I’m expecting myself to finish high. Last year I was seventh in my AG, just dipping below 2:30 for the first time. Toss, turn, toss, turn. At least I slept well Thursday night.
3:30 time to get up and get going. I’m carpooling with Bruce and Holly so at least I can zone out on the drive. By the time I get to transition, the area is packed. It looks like a row of racks are missing. I find a space with just enough room for my running shoes and hat so I take it. Some people really need to learn how to minimize their space.
Act 1 – The Swim – 1500 meters – 24:43, 1:38/100The L2L swim is in Lake Loveland I really like the swim here. I am in the first wave which means clear water and makes for an easier swim from last weekend. I catch a set of feet at the first buoy and I work hard to hang on. The feet are swimming pretty straight so I don’t have to work too hard on sighting. Somewhere before the second turn, I lose the first set of feet but I find a second set with the same pace. The second set of feet take me all the way to shore and it’s a nice grassy run to T1. There’s only a handful of my AG in front of me so I’m in a good position.
T1 – 1:04
Act 2 – The Bike – 30 miles – 1:19:03, 22.7 mphThe bike at Loveland is in my opinion one of the harder courses in Colorado. First there is the climb as you leave transition and head through the neighborhoods. Then there is the long steady climb on highway 38 to Masonville, the short drop, followed by another steady climb to the south end of Horsetooth. Once you peak at the south end, there is a short drop followed by another long steady climb and short descent to a sharp hairpin turn. The rollers coming south on highway 19 aren’t any fun either.
I felt really good through most of the ride. I tried to stay in the aerobars the whole time including climbing and was able to except for the last long climb. I really like the compact cranks for climbing. I was able to stay in my big ring the whole time and had a couple of cogs to spare in the rear. I only passed a handful of people but that’s probably because there weren’t a whole lot of them out there. I did get passed by an AG as we neared T2 but I was able to stay close and I dropped him when we exited T2.
T2 - :42
Act 3 – The Run – 6.2 miles – 40:26, 6:31 pace/mileThe bike hurt and after last week’s run, I knew this run would hurt too but isn’t that why it’s called a race? The runners were strung out along the course and I didn’t see many people until mile 2 when the race leaders were returning. Without a lot of people to catch, focus was critical. There weren’t a lot of people ahead so I had to focus on my own race. I was in good shape heading into the turn around with only eleven people ahead of me. Around mile 5 I finally caught another AG. I settled in a little to catch my breath and then made a move after a turn. The left hamstring started to cramp but with less than a mile to go I was going to push hard and try to hold my place. Fortunately I was able to hold him off and finished strong.
Total Time: 2:26:00, 25th overall, 2nd AG M40-44
Epilogue
I love L2L from the swim, the grassy transition, the tough bike course and the shady run but what I like the most is the food. The burrito bar is great with meat, rice, beans, potatoes, scrambled eggs, green chili, salsa, cheese, tomatoes and hot sauce. Yummy. After eating I talked to Brad (1st AG) and Ben (3rd AG) and we’ll all be back together again at Boulder Peak. It’s going to be a fun, fast time at Boulder in a few weeks.

Tri the Creek - The Rest of the Story

One reason for racing Tri the Creek was Pelican Fest being cancelled, another reason was the location and the last reason was the raffle. The race has a couple raffles before the race for early registration and a couple at the post race party.

I got a look at the preliminary race results so I knew I would stay for the results. For winning my age group I won a Nalgene water bottle. Fortunately it was the new non-toxic kind so I don't have to worry about using it.

The raffle was supposed to happen after the results so why not stay another minute or two and see what I could win. My friend Brian told me that in 2007, they had to draw four numbers before they had someone present to win the prize. Remember, you must be present to win.
According to the race website, you could win an untouchable bike and untouchable according to the race was defined as a Cervelo P2C with a Zipp 404 front wheel and a Zipp disc for the rear.

The crowd was like the Roman Coliseum. The announcer would read a number and everyone would groan and then try to look over the crowd to see if anyone was moving. No one would approach the stage and the announcer would start counting down like an auctioneer, going one, going twice, gone. When the announcer said gone, the crowd would cheer.

First number called, second number called, third number crowd. The crowd is anxious. It took four numbers last year. The fourth number is read 3 - 5 - 8. Wait, that's my number. I yell out, that's my number and start moving forward, the crowd groans and then applauds. I move to the stage pulling my sleeve up to show the number on my arm.

Wow a brand new Cervelo P2C.

2008 Tri the Creek

Prologue
It's the start of the triathlon season and the return of swimming in Cherry Creek where I swam over twenty years ago growing up. Triathlon season was supposed to start four weeks ago but was put on hold after the tornado wiped out Windsor. The race was originally postponed and was finally cancelled for the year. So it Tri the Creek at Cherry Creek.
I wasn't sure how the race would go since I've been traveling for work the last week. I didn't get in a lot of swimming and very little cycling. I was in St Paul and no one knew where a public pool was. Life Time Fitness wanted $25 for a single day which seemed a little steep so being cheap meant no swimming.
Act 1 - The Swim - 800 meters? - 17:27.7,
It's the first open water swim of the season. I've been working on my stroke, getting good pool time and hopefully it will pay off. The course is a very slanted triangle that almost parallels the shore on both the out and back. The first buoy seems to be missing or it's just a long way out. Either way, it's the course that's set and it's what we'll swim.
There are eight waves but for some reason the waves start only eight minutes apart. It spreads the crowd out a little but the swim is still crowded. I move to the start of my wave for the start and start out with a quick minute sprint to get into clear water. That doesn't last long as I start to catch the earlier wave and after three or four minutes, I'm in the thick of the earlier waves.
I had a little trouble staying focused on the way back to the shore and I found myself having to work to keep my head in the game. I saw some people stand but I think I misjudged the depth once when I tried to stand. Time to keep the head down and swim to shore.
T1 - 1:12.6
Like always it's uphill to transition. I've spent a little time practicing transitions and one thing I've learned is it's not about speed but about patience. Slow down a little, focus and don't make mistakes and you will get out faster than if you rush and forget something. I run out passing a couple in transition and a couple more as they mount up. Jump and start to ride.
Act 2 - The Bike - 14 miles - 33:06.4, 25.4 mph
A quick out and back from the marina to the spillway loop. The course started with a little downhill stretch and then flat across the south end of the reservoir. There were some small climbs on the east side which helped break up the ride and I tried to stay on the aerobars the whole way.
The turnaround was the parking lot by the dam spillway where I used to fish growing up. Even though it was early, there were fishermen out just like I was years ago.
Most of the way I was doing the passing but on the return leg someone finally passed me. The P2SL rode great and it's a lot of fun flying by people on bikes that are much more expensive. I was also reminded about the discussion I had about wheels at the bike store. The aero wheels look great but you need a good engine to make them work.
I kept with me for most of the way to back to transition and felt pretty good about my ride. I was in the aerobars almost the whole way including up the hills. Another interesting thing was that I rode near the front of the saddle most of the way. It wasn't really a conscience decision, it was just how I became positioned.
T2 - 45.8
I left the shoes on the pedals and on the way into transition I heard some kid comment that they don't even take their shoes off the bike.
Act 3 - The Run - 5k - 19:40.4, 6:20/mile
A quick downhill to start the race and then out on the bike path. I tried to get the legs to stretch out but settled for turnover. I had some right calf cramping on the bike and it was a little tight on the run which I think kept the stride short. I was able to keep the turnover high which helped keep the speed up. I caught someone around half a mile into the run who I thought would be good to pace off of but passed him after about ten seconds when I figured I should run my race. About twenty seconds later, a young shirtless guy passed me and I couldn't go with him. I kept the pace for the rest of the race and at the turnaround I was the sixteenth person. I passed two more of them on the way back to move up to being the fourteenth person over the line.
Total Time: 1:12:12, 6th overall, 1st AG M40-44
Epilogue
Wow, my first age group win at a competitive race. It was hard to know where I was on the course since the swim start intervals were so small and body marking didn't include age. After the race I met Ed the shirtless runner and Brian Todd from ski patrol. Brian's wife was racing so he was cheering her on with their daughter. For the first race of the season, I was really pleased with my effort and the results. Hopefully the rest of the season goes as well as the start.

2008 Bolder Boulder

Memorial day dawned grey and dreary; it promised to be a good day for racing in the streets. The rain that woke me at 3 am had stopped leaving the streets wet and the sun hidden behind clouds.

I made good time getting ready and left with plenty of time to make the trip to Boulder. During the walk to the start line I saw the T-T group and saw Bob wearing his AG champ jersey from 2007. He went on to win his AG again this year.

I had plenty of time to get a good position in AA and lined up only a few people off the front. The wheelchairs started, A started and then I was off and running. You have to watch the pace the first kilometer since it's a slight downhill which combined with the enthusiasm of the start puts too many people out too fast. I held back a little letting the crowd settle down. The triathlete I met at the start left me behind even though he was trying for a time a minute slower than mine. I caught him around 4k and never saw him again.

I caught my friend Scott around 4k just like last year. Strange how I caught him both years around the same place. The rest of the race went pretty much according to plan, nice even splits, keeping focused on good form and good pacing. I finished in 39:09 which was good enough for 6th out of 388 in my AG and 429th of 48387 finishers overall.

After finishing the race, it started to drizzle a little which meant the trip to the post-race expo was quite short this year. No sense standing in the rain cooling down and catching a cold.

Perspectives

My first triathlon of the season was supposed to be this Saturday and I was wondering how everything would go. I raced Pelican Fest last year so I have an idea of the course and I think my training has been going as well as last year. We had a few warm days so the lake shouldn’t be too cold and it’s only a sprint.

Should I take a couple easy training days or just maintain my training. I still had to change the tires on the Cervelo from the trainer tires to the race tires. When would I get the time? And then there’s the graduation parties the night before the race and the race is an hour from my house so it’s going to be an early morning. I haven’t checked my race gear for a year so I should pull everything out and make sure I have body glide and everything else I need.

That was the thoughts Wednesday night and Thursday morning. Around noon a massive tornado hit the town hosting the race. The tornado was traveling around 50 mile per hour and was reported to be a mile wide. The hail was reported as baseball size. The damage to cars, homes and businesses was devastating. Hundreds of people are homeless without power and utilities.

It puts my case of nerves in perspective.

USAT All American

A few weeks ago, I found out that I was ranked 158th in my age group and I was pretty excited. Well imagine my surprise when I received a mailing from USAT stating that I earned All American status for 2007. I've never been All American at anything. Needless to say, I was very excited. I guess all that basement time paid off.

2008 Cherry Creek Sneak

Yesterday was the psuedo-official start of the race season with the Cherry Creek Sneak. I've run the Sneak several times and I've always had a fun time and this weekend was no exception. The main event at the Sneak is a 5 mile run through the Cherry Creek shopping district. The course has changed a little since I last ran it with the hill on York St being removed.

The sub-30 runners were given a five minute head start and then the rest of us were off. I lined up a few rows back from the start and was off and up to pace pretty quickly. My goal for the race was to hold 6:20, maybe a little below. That's my goal pace for the Loveland and Boulder triathlons and I wanted to see how my training is going.

I went through the first two miles around 12:06 and decided to pull back just a bit but not too much. Mile 2 saw the only climb and it wasn't really much. There was a slight breeze from the south so I pulled up behind a bigger runner for a little wind protection. Miles 3 and 4 are nice straight stretches down and back on Speer. Just when you're getting close to the finish line, you take a left and head into the shopping district, so close yet almost a mile to go. I tried to pass a couple people as we wove around the streets of North Cherry Creek but I wasn't able to get away. The last mile was a series of pass and be passed. There wasn't really a chance to sprint for the line. When you came around the last corner, you were twenty yards from the finish line.

Overall, it was a great race and things are looking good for the 2008 season. I finished fifth out of 205 in my age group and 32nd out of 3800 overall. My splits were pretty consistant according to the Garmin. I had it set to take 500 meter splits and they were around 1:50 - 1:55 with one at 2:15 and one at 1:40.

158

USAT posted the rankings for last year and I was ranked 158 in my age group. I know that doesn't sound too great but it's good enough to put me in the top 5% of my age group nationwide. There are about 3360 registered USAT members who raced at least three sanctioned races in the country. All in all, I think 2007 was a very good year.

Swim Test

After doing the same swimming workouts for weeks, I finally broke down and purchased Workouts in a Binder. Even though I've been on swim teams for years, I never really paid attention to the workouts, I just did them.

The first step in Workouts is to determine your pace. There are two fitness test: 3 x 300 and 3 x 100. Since I had plenty of time at the pool, I decided to do both test with a 200 recovery between sets.

My times for the 300s were 4:20, 4:15 and 4:10 which averages out as 4:15 for an average 100 pace of 1:25. On the 100s, I did 1:15, 1:14, 1:15 for an average of 1:15. I was really please with both paces, especially the 100s since I haven't been that quick in a while. I'll now have to see if the Workouts make me faster or just add variety, hopefully both.

Simplicity

With training in three sports, most triathletes don't have time for core or strength training. While it's not a great program, I've come up with a simple program that doesn't take too long and gives me some basic strength training.

Every morning I do three sets of ten crunches, situps, pushups, dips and curls. For the crunches and situps, I use a camping pad and for dips I use a chair. To do the curls, I purchased some elastic resistance tubing. Nothing fancy but it does help me build some strength and it doesn't take a lot of time.

Round 2

Thanks to everyone who took the time to vote for me in round 2 of Evotri: Making the Team. The three finalist were announced and I have to believe I was a close fourth. There's one more slot to be awarded so I've not given up yet. Maybe three is my lucky number.

Evotri Project - Part 2

So how you become more green? Here are some simple chances I'm making to become more enviromental. Nothing really radical like making my own gels, just simple things anyone can do.

Waste

• Recycle tires and tubes
• Recycle or donate running shoes
• Use powdered drink mixesUse gel flasks
  

Climate

• Register online for events
• Car pool, take transit, ride your bike to practices and races
• Purchase carbon offsets if you event offers them
  

Materials

• Trade, sell, or give away unused equipment
• Purchase equipment made with recycled materials
• Reuse your water bottles
  

Community

• Use designated drop areas
• Pick up equipment discarded outside designated areas
• Contact event coordinators and ask about their recycling plans
• Sign the CRS petition
• Support events and companies that are being green

C'est La Vie

In the spirit of fair play and sportsmanship, round two of Making the Team has been extended a week. Apparently some people had trouble making the link work on their blogs. I can understand that since it took me a couple tries to get it working. Good luck to all who are competing for the second slot.

Evotri Project

Part of the latest Evotri team contest is to think of an event or project for Evotri. My idea is for Evotri to propose and adopt standards for becoming more environmentally friendly. As triathletes, we need a clean environment for swimming, biking and running and since we often compete in other people’s neighborhoods, we need to be aware of and minimize our impact. We have the opportunity to race in some beautiful locations and we should strive to protect those areas.

By reviewing the Council for Responsible Sport (CRS) event guidelines, I have developed a set of guidelines for individuals and teams to adopt. CRS has organized their metrics into five categories: Waste, Climate, Materials and Equipment, Community and Outreach, and Health Promotion. While my guidelines aren’t the same, they can be grouped into the same categories.

Waste – How much waste is recycled or reduced? Do you mix your own sport drink or do you buy premixed? What about gels? Do you buy the individual packets or do you use a gel flask and buy the larger gel bottles? Do you recycle your water bottles, shoes, tires, tubes and clothing?

Climate – Do you drive alone to races or do you ride your bike or car pool? If carbon offsets are available, do you purchase them?

Materials and Equipment – When you upgrade or replace old equipment, do you give away or sell your old equipment? Do you buy clothing made with recycled materials?

Community and Outreach – When racing, do you pick up all your trash and dispose of it appropriately? Do you only drop supplies in designated areas? Do you pick up trash during your training rides and runs?

I think if we all make a couple changes we can have a positive impact.

Evotri - Round 2

Round 2 voting for Evotri opened this weekend. My video application didn't make it passed the preliminaries in round 1 so I hope I do better this round. If you want to vote for me, scroll down and click on the big red evotri banner below.

Making the Team: 2008

This round of Making the Team is described as perhaps the easiest of the rounds but in some ways I think it’s harder than the video contest. Illustrating your personality and commitment to the endurance sport community is a challenge for me.

I think my dedication to endurance sports illustrates one aspect of my personality very well. I think the best way to show your passion for something is how you apply yourself to it. Someone once told me what you consider important is what you make time for. Triathlon is something I definitely make time for.

I’ve been involved in endurance sports for over fifteen years and triathlon for ten. My typical schedule involves an early morning workout (high school swimming habit), another workout at lunch and a couple evenings a week I run with a group of friends. My dedication to training also appears when I travel. Whether it’s for work or pleasure some of the first items I pack are my running shoes and clothes. Training on the road helps me handle the stress of travel and has enabled me to find some beautiful places.

My commitment to the endurance sport community shows itself in my commitment to the people I meet and know and my involvement in my community. I am constantly encouraging and motivating people I know to try triathlons. Last year I helped five people train and complete their first triathlon. This year, four have already contacted me about doing another. When training with a group, I’m always willing to run with anyone just so everyone has someone since I know it’s easier to workout with a partner. At races I offer encouragement to everyone I know and even people I don’t know.

Another example of my commitment is my company relay team. For three years, I organized the relay team at work which involved making proposals to management for funding, recruiting participants and keeping everyone motivated and training. Each year we had eighteen people participate and only ten of those were runners.

In my community, I am a volunteer member of the city’s Transportation Commission. While it may not seem related to the endurance sports community, my work on the commission could have a big impact. Two years ago I was given the task of studying the feasibility of adding on-street bike lanes to the city’s transportation plan. This winter, the commission approved my plan for on-street bike lanes and it now goes to the city council for approval. My plan will connect my city and neighboring cities creating a network of bike lanes for cyclist and triathletes.
My wife and friends wonder why I keep applying but I think it’s just another aspect of my commitment to triathlon. Being a member of Evotri will give me the opportunity to reach and encourage more people to become triathletes.

Thanks for reading! If you think I should be the next fully-sponsored member of Team Evotri, please write down the URL of this web site and have it ready for voting when you click the EVOTE button below. Thank you!

Minnesota

It's just plain cold up here. I'm in Minne-So-Cold and it's living up to it's name. When I arrived here, the pilot so politely told us the temperature was 4 degrees and then added "that's above 0." Like there's a big difference at that temp. The wind chills are in the -25 to -35 range with exposed skin warnings of 10 minutes. Time to run on the treadmill and stay indoors.

Evotri

It's spring time and time to apply to file more team applications. This time it's with Evotri and it's a different process. First Evotri wasn't necessarily looking for podium finishers as much as community oriented people and not just any community people. The community they are interested in is the endurance community.
The application process was also different this time. Most applications are just written but this time it had to be a video application. Where to start? My first thought was to get filmed swimming, biking and running and then splice everything together into a movie. Off to Swim Labs to get filmed and then I had my wife and some friends film me cycling and running.
I then decided to splice in some stills from races and training and even to incorporate some testimonials from friends. Converting video from VOB to MPEG2 to AVI so it could be copied into windows movie maker was a challenge but that's another post.
The good news is that after hours of editing, I actually produced a video. The bad news is that I wasn't selected as one of the finalist. Oh well. It was a good experience learning how to make movies and if I need to make another movie, I'll be better equiped to handle it.

Maintenance

If you're like me, you've been spending time on the trainer building your base. Something to think about right now is getting your bike tuned up for the season. A lot of bike stores are offering specials on tune ups right now and they aren't very busy.

I noticed that my shifting was a little hesitant going from 13 to 14, 14 to 15 and 16 to 17. I called my local bike shop and took my bike in for a tune up. Talking to the technician, all my cables had stretched.

Since they weren't too busy, they were able to retension all my cables and adjust both derailers in one day. I didn't lose that much training time and I would rather lose it now and have a good shifting bike than wait until race season. So if your bike hasn't been tuned in a while, call your bike shop and get one now before the season starts.

Tempo

When training for marathons, I usually think the standard twenty minute tempo run to be too short. If I'm going to be racing for three hours, shouldn't my tempo workouts be closer to forty or sixty minutes?

The way I do longer tempo runs is by using cruise intervals. The purpose of the tempo run is to run at or near your lactate threshold so your body improves its threshold. It also has a mental component where you mentally get conditioned to holding your pace for a longer period of time. Cruise intervals are done by running at your lactate threshold for five to fifteen minutes, taking a short rest interval and then repeating. You could do six repetitions with one minute rest. This would give you thirty minutes at your tempo pace with the rest intervals making sure your body didn't exceed your threshold for too long.

It's a good way to do a longer tempo run without exceeding your limits.

Doubles

As the days get longer and warmer, it's time to start thinking about double workouts again. I've started doubling up on a few days but not every day yet. I'm trying to gradually work my way back sort of like how you slowly climb into a cold pool. One day at a time, one extra workout at a time. I try to start doubles with swimming and either running or cycling. Since swimming is mostly upper body it compliments the lower body workout of running and cycling.

Bicycle Lanes

Success

It's been over 18 months since Ed made his request for bike lanes in Westminster and at the last Transportation Commission meeting progress continues. I presented a letter of recommendation to the Commission and the Commission unanimously voted to send the letter to the City Council. I don't have a scheduled date yet but the next step is to present to the City Council. Hopefully by the summer, we will have City Council approval.

Compliments

Last week after a night run, my group was sitting around stretching and shooting the breeze in the Rec Center. A bike officer, Eric, came in, we waved and he came over to say hi. He told us how he was out riding the path and saw some lights in the distance. At first he thought the lights were a bike rider since they were moving pretty quickly. After watching the lights for a while, he realized that they were runners and they were us. I thought it was pretty cool that he thought we were going fast and came by to tell us. I guess it's the little things that make a difference.

Treadmills

People either love treadmills or hate them. They call them hamster wheels or dread mills but for people with real winters, treadmills can be an great training tool. Even people with good weather year round can benefit for a session or two on a treadmill.

I run on a Precor 956 which has a set of preprogrammed workouts and I'm becoming a fan of the 2 minute interval workout. The workout alternates the pace and incline every two minutes. The base workout alternates between 0% incline for 2 minutes to 3% incline for 2 minutes.

My latest workout is 50 minutes long, 8 minutes to warm up, 32 minutes of hard inclines and then 10 minutes warm down. The warm up is 8 minutes long to give me to sets of inclines. 32 minutes gives me 8 sets of inclines and then the 10 minute warm down gives me 2 inclines to warm down followed by 2 minutes flat. Right now I'm breaking the 8 sets of inclines into 2 sets of 4 with each incline being slightly faster than the last in each group of 4. I think start again with the second set of 4.

So before you give up on the treadmill, look at the programs and try something different.

Base

It's that time of year when I start to increase my base training. Since the end of the season in October, I've been only doing one workout a day and as we know, if you're training for a triathlon, you race three sports.

When I add a second workout, I make sure that I reduce the one I usually do. That means if on Tuesdays, if I've been doing a base running workout and add a base swimming workout, I reduce the distance and duration of the run. By doing it this way, I reduce the chances of getting sick or hurt.

Remember, it's still early in the season so you don't have to be doing long, hard workouts in all your sports yet. You just need to be working the base and getting ready.

Recovery

I know a lot of people who workout at lunch and don't always have time to eat right away. They get pulled into meetings, returning voice mails and emails and before they know it, an hour has passed and they're starving.

The solution? Chocolate Milk. Every year another nutritionist releases a study about the benefits of chocolate milk as a good recovery drink. It has protein and carbohydrates which is just what your body is hungry for after a hard workout.

So if you have trouble eating after working out, bring some chocolate milk to work and drink it instead of a soft drink. It will help satisfy your hunger and help your body start recovering.

2007 Review - Part 2 - The Running Races

The whole season wasn't just about triathlons, I also completed a few road races. The running season started in my backyard with the Warrior 5k. The weather before the race was wet and the dirt course showed it. Some people joked it was like cross country but everyone in the lead group went around those puddles. After catching the overly enthusiastic youngsters on the rec center hill, I settled into fourth and stayed there until the end. Not a bad way to start the season.
Memorial Day saw me in Boulder for my fourteenth Bolder Boulder. Since I had completed the Pelican Fest triathon two days prior, I wasn't sure how I would do. My strategy was to stay with Kara as long as possible and try to finish strong. I felt good and made my move at the four mile mark and held on to the end. I wanted to finish under 38:20 but I was very happy with my 39:07, especially two days after a strong triathlon.
In July, I took a couple days off and went to Grand Lake. Since I was in the neighborhood, I had to do the Buffalo Days 5k which I've done a few times. The plan was to relax and run easy since Boulder Peak was the next day. I started easy and passed a lot of people on the long climb. I passed a few more on the steep rollers coming back and finished second in my AG. A really good finish especially since I didn't push too hard.
September saw me racing in my backyard again at the inaugural Panerathon 5k. This race was worth doing for the post-race food. Panera supplied the bagels and sandwiches which were very yummy. Oh, yeah, I finished fourth overall.
October took me to Chicago for my big race of the year. Barry and I signed up almost a year before the race. Unfortunately this was year of the big heat. The temp was close to 80 at the start without a breeze in the Windy City. I was doing fine until twenty-three when I decided to pull back on the speed to avoid heat problems. I finished in 3:09 which was pretty good considering the conditions. Over 10k people didn't finish so I guess I did really good.

2007 Review - Part 1 - The Triathlons

2007 turned out to be a very successful year for me. I became sponsored which started the season right. I've been trying to get a sponsor for a few years and it finally happened. Whether it's a club or sponsor, racing in a team kit is a great experience.

Part of the sponsorship requirements was that I compete in at least six races and since it was a triathlon team, I focused on triathlons and did fewer road races than usual.

The triathlon season started with a new race for me, the Pelican Fest Triathlon in Windsor. I did pretty well on the swim and the bike but lost a position in the last kilometer of the run. It was early in the season and a better mental focus would have gotten me on the podium. As it was I finished fourth in my age group.

A couple weeks later saw me racing at the Mini Ha Ha. Extremely short, extremely quick and extremely fun. A lot of my friends were competing which made the race even more fun. I took the lead quickly upon leaving T1 and held it for most of the bike. I was passed with about a half-mile to go. I stayed close going into T2 had a fast transition and took off on the run scared. Fortunately the other triathlete wasn't a strong runner so I held on for the fastest time of the day. Afterwards I was talking with another triathlete and he told me he didn't think transitions mattered until he saw the two of us come in together and me take off.

The results from Mini Ha Ha look a little peculiar since I was racing in the team category. I had the fastest time of the day but was excluded from the overall and age group categories. It didn't matter much since Holly, Bruce and I handily won the team category.

The next race saw me return to Loveland Lake to Lake (L2L). I first competed at L2L in 2003 and I've always wanted to return, it just took a few years. Things that make L2L fun are the grass transition area, the grass run from swim to T1 and the post-race party. The food is always good and there are people wandering around handing out popsicles. Except for a close encounter with a truck on the bike, the race went really well. I didn't finish as well as I would have liked but I was happy with my performance. Post race I was chatting with a race official and he thought I did well and would do better during the rest of the year.

July saw the return to Boulder Peak (BP) for the biggest race of the year both in terms of competitors and depth of talent. This was my seventh BP and I was hoping to improve upon last year's performance. I had a solid swim and the run was good but bike was outstanding. I dropped over three minutes off my previous bike split and finished four minutes faster than my previous best. I also had a best age group finish of tenth which given the caliber of competitor at BP, I was extremely happy.

Most years I host a breakfast in August for the Holy Cow Trail Stampede but this year with so many friends running Pikes Peak, I didn't race the Holy Cow. That freed the weekend for the Rattlesnake Triathlon at Aurora Reservoir. Although I hadn't done the race before I am familiar with the venue since it's the home of the Harvest Moon triathlon. The swim used an individual start which was great for me. I instantly fell into my rythym and had a great swim. Although the bike and run were a little slower than BP, the swim more than made up for it and I won my age group. I was pretty stoked when I saw the results. It was especially satisfying since it was open water and the competition was tough.

Fate played a hand in getting me into my next race, the Fall Frenzy (FF) in Parker. I waffled between doing the race and not doing the race and then it sold out. Unfortunately or fortunately my brother who was entered became sick and I got his slot. FF is really nice not requiring you to rack your bike before the first competitors start. That worked in my favor since my heat wasn't until 11:00 AM and the first heat was 7:00 AM. I showed up around 10:00, got set up and put in a solid performance. I finished third overall and first in my age group.

The triathlon season wrapped up at Harvest Moon in mid-September. I had my new bike and had a few weeks in the saddle. After the long season, I was just ready to have a relaxing day and let the race come to me. The swim was good and the buoys didn't move like in 2006. The bike course was changed and it was either the new course, the new bike or a combination but I flew. I battled with a Kestrel rider for a while and finally broke away on the rollers. I paid a price for the bike on the run but it wasn't too much and it was worth it. I dropped my time from 5:13 to 4:43. A thirty minute difference and twenty of that was the bike. I finished second in my age group to a semi-pro which isn't bad at all.

2007 Resolution Review

It's time to review last year's resolutions to see how I did.

• Complete an ultra - either 50k or 50 miles - This one has been around for awhile and once again, I didn't sign up for anything longer than 26.2. Maybe this year will be the year that I finally go long.
• Complete the Chicago Marathon in under 3 hours - As you've probably heard, Chicago was a sweltering race this year. I was on pace to go sub-3 through the first 20 miles but after that the heat became too much. I was very happy with the sub-3:10.
• Run a 5k in under 18:20 - 3 5ks and neither one was under 19. The first one was on the extremely muddy Big Dry Creek. The mud made the race extremely fun but very slow. The second was the Grand Lake 5k so the altitude and climbing didn't make it possible there. The third was on the new Panerathon and I was pretty tired from a long race season.
• Run a 10k under 38:00 - I only did one 10k, Bolder Boulder and while I was under 40, I didn't get under 38. The triathlon focus didn't allow any other 10ks.
• Average 22 mph on bike during an Olympic distance triathlon - 40k bike - I raced three Olympic distance races, Loveland Lake to Lake, Boulder Peak and Rattlesnake. At L2L, I averaged 21.9 for 30 miles. At Rattlesnake, the average was 21.9 for 25 miles. At Boulder, I finally broke 22 averaging 22.1 over the hilly, rolling 26 miles. Oh yeah, at Harvest Moon, I averaged 23 mph over the rolling 56 mile course.
• Run under 40:00 during an Olympic distance triathlon - 10k run - I was close but didn't quite get there. At Boulder Peak, I ran 41:16, at Rattlesnake it was 42:11 but the really good race was Loveland Lake to Lake. At L2L, I went 40:10.
• Finish under 2:20 at an Olympic distance triathlon - 1.5k swim, 40k bike, 10k run - I probably would have been under 2:20 at Boulder Peak if the bike had been 40k instead of 42k. At Boulder Peak, I finished in 2:20:53 so those 2 extra k's were probably it. At Rattlesnake with a true 40k bike, I shattered the 2:20 mark finishing in 2:15:40.
• Get one new person to complete a triathlon - Not one person but 5 new people joined me this year at Mini Ha Ha.

Overall: 3 successful resolutions out of 8

Resolutions

Congratulations to everyone with a resolution to take control of their health and become more fit. It's great to see all the new people at the gym and on the bike path. Remember that you didn't lose your fitness over night and it will take time to get it back. Just stick with it and great things will happen.