What a Weekend!!

A few super cool things happened over that last few days so let's get right to it!

After recovering up from Rage towards the end of the week I hit the pool with Form on Friday afternoon and cranked out some swim sprints with this maniac! He's a machine and only getting faster each week, keep up the great work Form! So after I almost puked twice during sprints and swallowed about half the pool water I survived and we headed to lunch. The rest of the day was getting ready for the Labor of Love (LOL) Canyon 50k, Marathon, Half Marathon & 10k run which I was volunteering at aid station mile 4.6 on an out and back course.

Now I wanted to have a super cool water stop as many of us know that on some of these smaller races it's just a table and water/sports drink and some super volunteers out there. Being as this was pretty much out in the middle of Vegas mountains/hills NOWHERE I thought I needed a theme or some decorations or something, so I went with a Red, White, Blue USA Theme or 4th of July I guess you could say. Well I went to the store got some stuff and was ready to go. Got my cooler with beer all packed up, food ready and clothes ready as it was going to be a cold in there morning with some wind.

Morning came at 4am! and I'm not even racing up it did start at 6am and I had a little drive to get there. Once at mile 4.6 it was completely dark outside at 5:15am and the wind was SUPER Blowing!! Oh and my car temperature read 39*!!!! WTF! I got out, got things set up but the wind was blowing so strong it was hard to do anything. Finally I got my table cover on, taped down. I managed to get a couple of other props up without them blowing away. I had a square pop up canopy and tried to set it up but it was just too windy to do it by myself and if I did get it up it might actually be blowing away during the race so I opted not to put it up, Which was a downer b/c many of the other Props were going to go on the canopy. With no canopy I did manage to put a few on my car, which I parked right next to the table with water/Heed. By now the sun is up its about 6:20ish and I'm waiting to see the faster runners for the 50k come through.

With the Music Cranked up I see the first 50k guy coming down the road, super fast. He passed me, waved and kept going, barley a blink of the eye. The next runner was about 8 mins behind him, HFS! 8 mins, in the first 4.6 miles! As the 50k's passed I was looking for my new super friends and TNT runner Coach Antonette along with super friend #2 TNT Coach Cynthia! and here they came. It was great to see there smiling faces and they were looking and feeling good in a long day ahead. A quick High Five, encouragement and they were off. I would be looking forward to seeing them on the way back.

A short time later the Marathoners came through, some fast, some slowing to chat really quick. Many loved the music going as I tried to keep it loud. They liked the Balloons tied to the top of the car, the windmill spinners stuck in the ground and my Big Uncle SAM Hat along with the Red, White and Blue bow I had pinned to the back of my White Short sleeve shirt, with Blue Long sleeve sweetshirt pulled up to expose my Red Long Sleeve, Hence, the Red, White and Blue theme and my Blue sweet pants at this time as it is cold but later to warm up and reveal my Blue shorts! HAHA. Then the Half Marathoners came though all liking my stop.

As they came back up this nasty little 1.5 mile snakey climb I was at the top so they were super glad to see me there cheering them on, rocking with the music and beer! Of Course Beer. So what its 9:30am! A few of them asked for some, drank up and took off running! Go Runners!

Several of them said I had the best aid station by far but I wasn't too sure what my competition was. At one point I recognized this truck driving up, STEF!, I was so glad to see someone I knew out there helping out as well. She was helping out at the marathon turn around and seemed to be a little envious of my rockn' aid station and wanted to stay but her duties were called elsewhere. That's OK Stef, next year, we will plan to rock out together!

So based on super fast 50k's guys pace I figured he would be coming around 9:30am, Wrong, it was 9:20! The dude flew by again, waved and kept going. So Fast! That's like a 7:10 min/mile pace! Well luckily since he passed so fast I had plenty of other peeps to keep me occupied. By now the sun is up after a nice little SNOW STORM that blew SNOW for like 15 mins! The wind had died down a little so it was nicer but still not the best. But I was super happy once again to see Antonette & Cynthia!! They came rocking up the hill, looking good and ready to be done. After a little bit of chatting, refueling and getting things situated for there last 4.6 miles home they took off and once again I was sad and lonely.

After all the runners were passed me I packed up my aid station and went to the start, dropped everything off. Got to talk with the race director Joyce, saw Antonette & Cynthia and there finishers medals! SUPER CONGRATULATIONS on that 50k!!!! Amazing to run that far (.. humm..., can JT do it.. I wonder in the back of my lil brain.)  After seeing the girls off I headed back home and rested up.

Now that was just Saturday!

Sunday, I was up early again at headed to meet TNT group with the girls Antonette & Cynthia for me to get a run in. I was nice to be running with the TEAM and getting to talk with them on there goals, fundraising and experiences. I was running 16 miles so I was able to run with a super nice couple who are preparing to run Seattle Rock n Roll Marathon. There were great to run with and on the way back we all picked up the pace. It was hot by now and much different conditions that yesterday for running. I managed to pull ahead the last 4 miles but I was caught by, I think her name was misty or mandy?? and she was running fast! There was no way I was going to get dropped in the last 1.5 miles as she was pushing the pace so I stayed with here and we finished up together. Now the main reason I had to stay with here as I knew that if she finished before me Antonette would have certainly told me "I got Chick'd" and that was not going to happen. We finished up, cooled down and sure enough I told Antonette I wasn't going to get Chick'd.. she laughed and said she would have exactly told me that! too funny!

Overall, it was a great run. My best in a super long time and my farthest since training for Ironman last year! I was good to be out there and run on a good course without too many hills!

What a weekend!! I loved it!! GO TEAM, GO girls Antonette & Cynthia!! whew.. I need a vacation..

rockon'

Post Rage Recovery.

Before the sun was even up today, I somehow woke up before the chickens. I was laying in bed trying to go back to sleep but it was not going to work. Finally, by 5 am I was up and out of bed putting my running gear on to head out the door.

Now yesterday, I managed to drag myself to the gym to go ride the stationary bike and run on the treadmill as my legs were still feeling sore and not recovered. I had got in the family pool earlier and did some kicks but it wasn't enough to flush things out and wake my legs back up. Once at the gym I managed to ride the bike for about 20 mins and then run a measly 2.5 miles. It was a pathetic showing in itself but an accomplishment. After the short run I went to the stretching area and I must have stretched for about 30 mins. I felt better but overall just tired. As went to sleep early than normal my legs still felt a little heavy but when I woke up!!

Again, I woke up at like 4:25 am. By 5am I was deciding to get up and go run. I moved my legs around, flexed, stretched while laying in bed and hey! They were feeling good, very minor soreness if any. I finally hit the pavement at 5:35 am and away I went.

The first couple of miles seemed really slow and just warming up so I took it easy as its a slight down grade and flat but my pace was pretty good. Then a short uphill and THEN some nice down hill sloping for a while. My pace was good. Heart Rate good. Breathing Good. Finally, I hit the 5k mark, at 31:41. Feeling good and ready for the return.

Shit, Head wind as soon as I turned around. No wonder I had a great 5k time. Well it's work back up the gradual decline and with head wind do your best, I told myself. My HR got a little high a couple of times so I slowed and walked at 2 points. Finally, the home stretch and I turned it up and kicked it and clocked the 2nd, 5k at 31:38!! Holy Shit, I just Negative Split with a head wind, uphill and walking! SWEEEEEEEEETTTTT!!!

Guess this means I am recovered, damn, more training again. Naw, actually, ready for it, All but the use of Triple Cranks, sorry Form (btw, Race Report on RAGE??)

I still feel good and looking to get in the pool later this afternoon. Oh, I did decide on my run that my New Balance shoes are causing me problems so I will be looking to switch back to Brooks Beasts.

rockon`

RAGE in SAGE 70.3 Recap..

My second Successful Failure in the month of April.

Let's start off from picking up Luke and his awesome gal Norma from there hotel, as they were in for business/pleasure. At 4:10am were packed and heading towards the Lake. Get there and start unloading some things and take the bikes over to transition area, get set up, body marked, pick up timing chip, get wetsuit on, go to bathroom, its time to get in water.

Once in the water, yes, it was COLD, Yes, it WAS COLD! but overall I didn't think it was as cold as Ironman CdA last year so warming up was not too bad. Now as the gun went off, I took off with everyone but towards the back a little as to not get in a slug fest. Got on line and just swam, all was good. Had a couple of poor swimmers that couldn't site worth a shit and crossed over my line only to realize as soon as they crossed over they were off track and cross back over to get on line, UGHH!! So after that little annoying mess I have made it around the turns and heading back home. Water was a little choppy head on but not bad, I've swam in worse in that lake. Then sure enough, Leg Cramp #1 Right Calf. I flex my foot, move it around and it goes away quickly. All is Fine. No, Leg Cramp #2, Left Calf! WTF! this one will not go away and annoys me for a the remainder of the swim, about 500 meters. Finally, Land in site, Stand up come out and get to running. I see Luke exiting the water just in front of me.

Swim: 54:23. OK I guess.

T1: I actually ran though transition and politely yelled at some people to get out of the way, on your left type thing b/c the Sprint racers were already in T1 and the isle way was a little narrow. Saw Luke changing out, as he was next to me, and he was quickly off, and me to follow.

Time: 3:37.

Bike: I took out of T1 up the dreaded incline to get out of the beach area and it's not a nice way to start your bike leg, No time to warm up as its low gear, start cranking up the hill to the road. I passed several of the sprint people and was soon on the road making my way through, taking in nutrition. I passed a couple of Half people when Leg Cramp #2 Returned, could this be #3, well, let's just call it #2 revisiting as it will be there several more times through out the bike. I start taking in some more salt tabs to get things working there but as the cramp continues on and off, I continue with the salt only to realize I took too much too close together (lots of to's in those words, haha) and now my stomach was no TO happy! I back off on salts, take in some gels, power bar (which didn't go down well either) and Gatorade. Finally, cramp #2 is gone but cramp, well kind of a cramp, but more like a tight pain in my right glute, Cramp #3 shows up. I actually attribute this to riding out of position or something as I have Never had this type of problem or maybe my seat moved or something. Anyway, I fight this stupid thing for while and it comes and goes. Attacking some of the hills up and down to get my grove going but overall it just seems I have no Power! .. (cryn'.. Norman Stadler style.. uhhaahh.. I gotz no pow'aarrr.. 1:03 on video) and I could only think and cuss Formualic in the back of my mind for the Mulholland ride last week, sorry Form, it's your fault, HA!. I finally get close to the turn around and I see Luke about 8 mins ahead of me which means 16 b/c I have not made the actually turn around yet.. then I see Form, who I calculate at 4 mins ahead of me, meaning 8 mins. I make the turn around and now as in training it's time to lay down the hammer. I quickly settle back in and all is working well, FINALLY! I feel good. Stomach OK, Cramps None. Power Working.. all for about 15 mins.. then stomach cramps come back, ugh.. not really cramping but just sloshy and blah feeling, lots of belching. I began to slow. I'm fighting it, keep working the hills, take advantage where I can. Then the 8% hill, I've climbed it before a few times in training, I know where to attack it, and recovery but Mr. 8% has different plans for JT. I quickly settle in for beginning crank at the bottom, humm, I feel something.. I then hit my out of saddle point and attack, when just as Last year, Mr. 8% attacks back and locks up my left Quad!!!! FUK!! Cramp #4. Mr. 8% wins out and I sit back down as I am instructed to and crank up the hill seated style. After that I was really ready to get off the bike but still about 10 miles to go. I took another salt and felt fine. As I approach the last nasty little climb I see Form and he's about 2-3 mins ahead of me.. I can catch him at T2. I make the last climb and scream back to T2.

Time: 3 hrs 22 mins.

T2: In and out right.. uneventful. 2:05.

Run: I start out great and again it's quickly uphill through the gravel roads but just have to walk a little due to the HR being sky high and now its Hot. Once I make the level part of the gravel road I try to settle in and get going. I saw Stef and she was looking strong heading home and I was jealous!! Things are working OK. I feel fine, just hot. I make the turn on the paved road that once again leads up for about a mile or longer and its a walking/HR game. It's OK. I get to the top, hit the trail portion once again where theres plentyO rocks and cuss some more about this run course. Finally, I am at the top of the trail heading to the tunnels and just feeling tired and hot. Gels and anything else is just not working anymore and I stick with Water only. I run the sunny parts to the tunnels and walk the shaded parts inside the tunnel. Finally I see Luke coming back and he's looking strong, says he's beat up but hey, he's on the way back home! Finally I see Form and I know I am close to the turn around and he tells me so. EXCEPT in classic Form fashion leaves out the excitement of the turn around. Although I will give Form a Little Bit of credit as he didn't run the Half last year he didn't know BUT I remember where the turn around was and I timed the gap between us. Now here is where it changes.. I make this turn around a hill and then see the makings on the dirt pointing the way.. I then see where it leads, look down to my right about X amount of feet Below and see the turn around tent! Are you Serious! They moved the turn around from last year and now I have to go down this big ass decline trail and back up.. I knew right then I was not going to catch Form. I make my way to the turn around, am drinking Flat Pepsi by now and it's working for me, make my back up the hill and back to where I saw Form and check the time, He's 12 mins ahead. Based on my pace, feeling and whats left.. I know he's a goner. I begin the run sunlight areas, walk the shade but things are quickly falling apart, I'm tiring like crazy, feet are not hurting and I feel like I have blisters on each foot which makes walking worse than running. I make my way back to the paved area and it's a lot of nice gradual downhill which I settle in and pretty much run it all the way back stopping only at the aid stations for water and bath, except one time, the kids at the aid station gave me a HEED Bath which I then had to wash all that off with more water to not be sticky.. hey, they were having fun throwing the water on me and one got a little carried away, no worries. Once back on the last gravel part I was just trying to stay consistent and make it home. I did take a look behind me several times to make sure the last place Half guy was not coming up on me and I was way clear of him. I made it to the finish to see Form, Mrs. Form w/baby Form looking from the inside out, Amanda and her daughter Izabelle, All Super Sherpas (expect Form). I was glad to cross the line and be finished.

Time: 2 hours 43 mins Flat.

Overall: I had a great race and PR'd over last years time of 8:21 with this years time of 7:05 but I would not have changed it b/c running with SWTRIGAL made it the most memorable race to date! Yes, IMCdA is memorable but in a different category. SWTRIGAL and I did it together and that's what makes this sport such a great thing, a year later and we are still friends!!! You Rock Debi.!!

So I pr'd, made a smashing bike time even though I had a Stadler going on and I feel apart on the run. I learned and experienced a few things which I will have to take into action and change on future training. MY SUCCESSFUL FAILURE, again.

Oh, and I decided I will not run this race again next year, I will Sherpa for you all day long and take pics of you, like Norma did of Luke and I, Great job Norma!! and help out at the end of the race, Thanks Norma and for driving back!! but I'm not racing!

Saturday night after the race the Mr. & Mrs. Form and baby Form, along with Stef and husband met up with RBR who came into town with her LA friend to do RAGE. It was great to meet her and hang out with them for a while.

rockon'

Mulholland Century a Successful Failure..

On Friday Formulaic and I headed down to the coast line of west LA, Calabasas to be exact to ride the Mulholland Century Challenge - Stage I of King of the Mountains Challenge.

We got settled in Friday night after grabbing some fresh strawberries and watching Fast and the Furious, I thought it was a good movie but then again, I liked the 1st one.

4:30am came really quick and we were up and ready to go and at the check in at 5:30am. We got all squared away, our bikes ready and rolled out of the start at 6:41am with a few other riders and about 44* and as the sun started to come it, it got really freakn' cold! Luckily for me, I had gloves but Form was SOL and the fingers froze, but good thing once I got back home and cleaned out the car today, I found the extra gloves under the seat, HA! Sorry Dude.

Now again, did you ready the the 1st sentence of this post? Mulholland Century Challenge - Stage I of the King of the Mountains Challenge!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and that is no freakn' ASS Joke! We got to enjoy some quick down hill right off the start and soon we were on the coast line of Pacific Coast Highway enjoying the morning waves and beach and it was getting a little warmer, and then the first long gradual climb came. Lots of riders were chatting with each other and we were all kind of getting to know each other as these are the group of people you are going to be seeing for most of the day. As got to check point #1 and received our sticker dot, grabbed some quick gels and water and took off.

Then as we approached a familiar area that I had rode back in Jan a more serious climb started so I settled in and worked it, overall not too bad and we hit the descent and as soon as that was over it was a not so nice snake hill climb which again I did partially back in Jan but this time there was no turning around and it turned out to be a lot of work to get to the top and hit a little decent and stop at rest area #1 around the 40 mile mark.

Here lots of stuff happening, bathroom breaks, water refill, snacks, gels, gu's.. all provided by the event which was cool. I had stopped my Garmin here b/c I was thinking to save the battery life for later but when we left I forgot to restart it and it was until 4 miles later I realized this and would not do that again the rest of the day. During the short 4 miles of no Garmin data, we did manage to climb almost 1400 ft. and it was totally Work! The decent was totally Nasty due to the poor road quality and super steep which made it fast and not enjoyable because you had to ride your brakes so much which then lead to super vibration in the hands but as the day was playing out, All descent's were overall way shorter in comparison to the amount we were climbing. At the end of this crappy road decent we were at check point #2 around mile 60 and a lot of the riders were talking about the shitty road quality and as I was yappn' Form took off thinking I had left so he got ahead of me and I didn't see him till check point #3 about mile 73.

Now after riding along the Pacific Coast Highway again in a different area it was nice to be in the aero position for a while and again enjoy the ocean but as all good things must come to an end, the climbs started again. This one was up Mulholland Canyon and overall its like 9 miles of uphill, some steep, a lot gradual.. some steep and gradual at the same time, if that can even happen. This is where my day started to change for the worse. I had to stop and removed some extra clothes b/c now the sun was shinning and working those hills it was super hot. Then I just had to stop and take a break and rest my legs as I was tired. Then as we were getting closer to the top I noticed my left knee ITB was feeling achy and a little uncomfortable but I kept working to get to the freakn top as we had climbed 1600 feet in about 9 miles. Once at the top my knee was letting me know it was not liking all these hills and basically said what the fuck? As I rolled into check point #4 around mile 73 I met up with Form, refueled, complained a little and off we went for a nice fast 40 mph decent back to the coast but only to start the beginning of the end for me.

As turned off the coast highway the road Immediately turned sharply uphill. It was mandatory out of saddle climbing for everyone. I rode about 200 or 300 yards and I had to stop and rest. My knee was now turning from achy WTF to I don't F'n think so but I was trying not to listen. I started climbing again and was able to stay in the saddle for a short while but then again had to stop and rest. I did this a couple of times before King of the Mountains in training Formulaic caught up to me and passed me and I told him my knee was really starting to hurt and keep going. Once he was gone I caught up to another older guy rider who was walking and throughout the whole day that had never crossed my mind but now I was joining him on the walk. I walked for about 1/2 mile and now only about 1 mile into the 3 mile climb up Decker Canyon, if anyone has heard of it. I got back on and road again but this time the knee has pretty much taken over and said oh hell f'ing no!! and it was right. The pain from pushing down on the pedals was now sharp and piercing each time and I knew it was not good to continue. I got off and started walking thinking I will just walk the whole way to the top. By mile 2 my right foot was now developing a blister from walking in my cycling shoes with the cleats on. I finally said I'm done! This is not worth wrecking my 70.3 triathlon in 7 days! I moved over to the side of the road, sat down and told the next rider to send SAG to come and get me, along with texting Form to let him know.

I felt a short moment of defeat and failure but only for it to be washed about by what I had accomplished and what was at Stake in the next week. To make a long story short, SAG would not come and get me anytime soon, WTF!! and asked if I could just walk the rest of the way.. WTH am I supposed to do.. so I walked the last mile to the top by which point the blister on my foot was screaming. I told them I was done and needed a ride back to the start.. Oh wait.. We cant give you a ride till like 7 or 8pm.. (its 4pm now).. WTF again!! I began to wait and got lucky as the RD came to check on things and ended up giving me a ride back to the start. I must say the RD was really nice and we talked and expressed his concern but not picking someone up and making them walk and then originally plan on having them sit at the check point for 4 hours! HELL NO!

Once back at the start area I checked in as a DNF and waited for Formulaic and my car key which I gave to another rider to give to Form to come and get me from the check point originally. We got some food, packed up our things and headed back to Vegas smelling very lovely even in a fresh change of clothes. I was super tired by the time I got home, showered and straight to bed.

Overall experience: I actually have to say the Hardest Sporting thing of swimming, biking and running I have done. More than a marathon.. more than Ironman!!!! I will say in defense I needed to have a better gearing set up for my bike for that type of riding. I did accomplish 84 miles overall, my longest since training for CDA last year and manage to CLIMB 10,000.FT per Garmin! Today, my knee is not happy at all and legs are just heavy and tired. Blister is there but I think will be fine by Sat. I am more worried about my knee in the RAGE climbs than anything, although no where in comparison to this ride.

This does bring up the question of Breathless Agony -Stage II of the KOM challenge and should even attempt it in 3 weeks, and 2 weeks after 70.3. At this point, No, it's not wise, I don't have proper gearing and Stage 2 is much more climbing at a higher Altitude and I just cant afford to incur a long term injury that may effect official ironman training come July.

Would I recommend this Century? Sure.. its tough, no joking around. Bring some triple cranks and a serious climbing cassette or else you'll be walking and SAG will only come and get you when there damn good and ready.

Will I do it again.. Not any time in the near future.

Did I have fun? I did, up until about mile 65 even with the crappy road decent that jarred my hands numb, cold in morning and a bum knee.

rockon

2009 California 70.3 pics.

Trick Baby At his Finest!

OZ Sanchez!

Sitting Down on the Job! Check out this Long Transition from Swim Out to Bike In. Oz Heading to the Finish. Greg Welch & back of Mike Riley.

Form Starting 2nd Run Loop Form Heading Towards the Finish! OH YEAH!!

Gotta have Elvis on the Course.

California 70.3 Sherpa Recap and training..

On Friday, Formulaic and I headed down to Oceanside for California for his 70.3. Jump on over to see if he has posted his race report. He will have his own views of the race as an competing athlete but I have mine as a Sherpa on the scene.

The packet pickup and check in was a little on the down side compared to IMCdA but all went smoothly and there was no problems. The Expo was smaller than I had expected for venue of this caliber and pretty much the standard was on hand and nothing out of the ordinary. I did mention to Form that I was a little bummed on the whole expo as I thought it would be in comparison to IMCdA but then again, CdA was my first real triathlon expo too.

After packet/expo stuff we started heading over to our hotel and were driving around Oceanside near the beach area and seemed to notice that it was not the place or streets in town. At one of our turns waiting for the light to turn green some lady was having a problem with another lady across the street and was yelling as loud as can be at someone.. "Trick Baby"!! Your momma's a Ho.. Trick Baby!!! Take your Ho ass down the road Trick Baby!!" It was very funny and the Trick Baby verbage quickly became a laughing saying for the rest of the trip!

We got checked in and went to eat at Sizzler! Yeah Buddy, the feed bag was on. Some how I forgot I wasn't racing and seemed to eat just as much as Form or even more but as a Sherpa I had to set a good example right? Once finished it was back to the room to digest and finish out the night.

Light were out by 9pm as 4am comes really quickly but not long after we were asleep the guests next door seemed to lack Parenting skills and were letting there kids run crazy and scream for quite some time, waking me up and Form wasn't even asleep. I quickly turned on the air conditioner to drowned out the noise as much as possible although it didn't help that much. After about 30 more mins I told Form All I know is that they are not going to like us at 4am!! Paybacks Biatches!!! So come the Late Tom Bodet Wake Up Call, as we were already awake.. It was TRICK BABY!! Time as Form and I started to make noise and get things going! Trick Baby was yelled a few more times before we left the room.

We got parked and Form had to ride about 1.5 miles to the transition with everyone else and I had to hope on a bus taking sherpas to transition and walk about 1/4 mile after that. Form was all set up and ready to go and then it was waiting time as the Pros started about 6:30am. From didn't start till 7:45am but the time went by fast watching everyone else start the swim and seeing the pros come through along with the Challenged Athletes Foundation - Operation Rebound, as Oz Sanchez was on hand to do his race. I saw him through tout the day a few times and it was great to cheer him on.

Once From was out on the swim I waited and watched and took up my camera spots and soon was back near transition to watch him come through when all of a sudden I could hear "Trick Baby!" and saw him running up the T1 path. He quickly did his T1 and was off on the bike. Nice job but I did get some great pics of him sitting around taking his time, hahah!

Once Form was on the bike I jumped the bus shuttle back to the car and changed out my clothes and headed out for run on the course. I was able to hope in about the 2.5 mile mark and started running along with several other runners that morning along the course. It was quite interesting to run through the aid stations and see everyone patiently waiting for the leaders. I hit the end of the turn around on the run, ran past it a few blocks and came back but as soon as I was back on the course I see a bike with a sign that says Race Official. I thought oh crap he's gonna yell at me or something but he was very nice and asked if I was training for any races and I quickly answered and he just wanted to let me know that the Lead runner was coming through so to stay to the right. Sure enough, like 30 seconds later over the hill here comes Matt Reed hauling ass! He made turn around and quickly passed me like I was standing still and then I see a 2nd pack of runners with Andy Potts and others chasing away. As Reed passed them they ALL checked there watches to see how much time difference there was, it was really cool to see. Then all of a sudden the pack passes me like I'm still standing still and I tell out to Potts to keep going and he's doing good!

As they all pulled out of site I had been noticing that my right calf was having some burning pain and not feeling very well. It started making me nervous and I pulled over at one point and spoke with some local residence who didn't know much about triathlons, gave them the 411 on things and watched as the lead female came running past. I was stretching my calf out on the curb but it didn't really seem to be getting any better. I began to run again and it was a little better but as I got back to the starting point it was not feeling any better and actually felt a little worse so I stopped running and was only able to 5 miles on a 11 mile planned run, UGHHH!!! Sucks every time for my long runs something is happening. I got cleaned up and headed back down to the transition area to wait for Form on the bike in and run out area.

I saw Form coming and started yelling.. Guess? Yup!! Trick Baby!!! LOL.. he quickly saw me and knew where I was on the run out. As he made his T2 and came by I got some good pics and off he went. Then it was just cheering all the runners on as some made there last pass and others had to start the 2nd run loop. Soon I see the great blue Jersey of the Las Vegas Triathlon club coming, grab some more pics and Trick Baby starts his second loop. During this whole day as a Sherpa it's your job to keep the significant other posted on the race and so I was in text mode with Mrs. Form to let her know how things were going.

I moved closer to the finish line and listen to Mike Riley and Greg Welch announce the athletes as they came across the finish line and just a short while later here comes the LV Tri Club Jersey!! It's Form and he's looking great coming down the finishing chute. As he gets closer I yell out.. You Go Trick Baby!! Your Almost There!!! he passes and I head over to the transition area to meet up with him.

He shows up pretty fast and is looking a little tired but overall Great! And he even has pizza for his Sherpa!! but mostly I was able to get some water and Gatorade from him as that is one thing I totally forgot to get on the way back down to watch T2 and it sucked cuz there was no place to get anything to drink. Once he got situated it was a long 1.5 mile walk back to the car! and Form changed out and we went to eat at this place called LoneStar BBQ..!! Great Texas BBQ as the owner, Richard, was from Chorpus Christi and yes, he had authentic Texas BBQ!

After all the recovery food it was back to Vegas and I had to send Form on his way with lovely Mrs. Form who was very kind to meet us about 1/2 half in Vegas land so I didn't have to drive all the way to there house, Thanks Mrs. Form! Great Hair, btw!!

Overall the race was great, I had a lot of fun and I would totally like to race this venue sometime in the near future!

Now on Sunday I headed out to Lake Mead for quick swim and then hit the bike course for Rage and I was able to really push my envelop to see how things would feel. I did good on the course but just not to sure I can bike that hard coming out of a 1.2 mile swim and then have to run 13.1 afterwards we shall see. The Calf seemed to be fine but after the ride my low back and foot were hurting so those are more problems to deal with. I must add that I have using PowerBar's Recovery Drink and I love this stuff as the hot day seemed no problems after downing this stuff after that ride, thanks PowerBar!

Friday its back to West Coast California, Mulholland area in Calabasas to ride out the bike ride Form and I signed up for a few months ago. It's a Century and has me quite nervous!!

I will post Pictures tomorrow..

rockon`

Windy Day In Paradise!

Imagine that. Wind in Las Vegas this time of the year. Since I have been back it has been windy more than I care to remember and I am not just talking about a slight little breeze where the dust blows, I mean down right steady wind at 20+mph or higher and with gusts up to 35+! It sucks for training on those given days.

Well today I had my long bike of 75 miles scheduled and all mapped out so after taking care of business in the early AM I was about to get out the door by 11:30am which I knew I was in for some increased winds buy Geez!

I headed out towards Mt. Charleston and last time I went there I only made it about 3 or miles miles up the road from the highway b/c its a complete steady gradual Climb the whole way to the top! I caught up with another rider and although he wasn't heading to the top he did break the silence for a while but then I was left all alone on the road to the top. Now one thing about this road, there is NO Shoulder, or very little so your basically riding in the road and luckily there was not a lot of traffic on a Thursday afternoon but the wind had showed up from the left side and even Head on at times so it made it difficult to hold your line.

As I continued to just grind it out I passed the first elevation sign: #3000 Ft. I started about 2300 Ft. and when I passed the 3000 feet sign I was like, Humm.. that's cool. Well as the wind continued so did I at a steady effort and even stopping to take in gels or nutrition just b/c it was so windy that I didn't want to get blown over and possibly get run over. Now the road continues to gradually incline, not really sharp but STEADY! Next thing I know I was at the 4000 Ft. Sign and I had to stop and take a picture.

Then I was back on the road with more uphill and Even More Wind! When I got to the 5000 Ft. Sign the wind was actually getting a little scary blowing me around at times farther into the lane and 2 times cars where close by. As I approached the Spring Mountains Sign I looked at it and thought to stop on the way back down as I was really thinking about turning around at this point b/c the wind was really bad, so bad I looked down at my garmin and I was going 2.7 MPH! Is that possible?!!! An oncoming Motorcycle, who passed me earlier, honked at me and gave me the Thumbs up sign as I grinding away, in place as what it felt like. I thought Hey that's Awesome as I tried to way back at him but almost fell over. I ended up going to 5350 ft on the garmin and made the turn to come back. I did stop at the Mountain Forest Signs.. See Pics..

and what took me like over an hour to go up.. took me 25 mins to get down!! Although it was windy and blowing all over I did manage to clock out a 43.7 mph and pretty much tried to enjoy the ride down while covering the breaks. I will look to ride this road again but on a No Wind Day!

So I had a great bike although by the time I got back to the house area it was really crazy wind and just not safe so I stopped at 47 and I was looking to get 75, Not Even Close, Freggn' Wind. So this only means that come Sunday I have to ride longer, UGH! No worries, I guess. :)

Now I am looking to head down to Oceanside with Formualic for his California 70.3!!! So I will take lots of pics and give you the details on Sunday..

rockon`

S-L-U-G-G-O

I am not totally sure what happened since Sunday. You see after a great workout weekend I rested up on Monday, did some stretching and core work, nothing really strenuous but I noticed I just seemed tired. My legs were tired, I didn't sleep well and I just didn't have that usual energy.

Now on Tuesday, I slept well throughout the night and woke up ate breakfast and then I just felt totally tired again. I took some time and I looked like this for the morning :

As the morning progressed I just totally kept feeling like a slug and HUNGRY! I ate lunch and some snacks and started preparing for the swim but then I quickly found myself in a nap and then looking like this: (right pic)

So by 5pm I ate an early dinner and WHAM! that did it. Right after dinner I was finally full and I felt much better! I was speaking with CoachLiz and we concluded that I just didn't eat enough this weekend after all the training and my body was in a recovery, sleep and eat mode. I really can't believe how much better I feel and now I just don't feel hungry!

So now I know that after that much training I really need to put the feed bag on and get plenty of food. It's actually hard to eat good clean food in mass amounts as many of you know.

Now that I feel better I am ready for tomorrow as it will be a high level of running day and I am looking to pick up my swim that I bagged today, ugh!

rockon`

Weekend Training & a Newbie's First Triathlon..

OK this is a little long..

Wow, what a week of training it turned out to be since I was slacking during the beginning of the week. Mid-week I decided to get a hair cut so I went along with my dad to the Air Force Base. I guess this should have told me something but I did get my hair cut from there right when I moved here so I thought no worries, right? Well after telling the nice young lady how to cut it, it somehow turned into her own style and well.. it looks like I just in listed! Short all the way around. I kind of had a feeling it was going to be shorter than expected when she touched my head and I could feel it. Well it will grow back, so no worries.. but really sitting in front of a sign that says "We are the Experts in the Military Cut" I should have known they were gonna get me!

After looking around the base and seeing some cool stuff it was back to the house I was able to get a swim in later with some wicked cramping due to poor hydration during the day. So I climbed out of the water with 2000 completed. And I was actually feeling good otherwise, leaving me 500 short on the swim.

On Friday night I was at Forms house as we watch John John Molina go 15-0 with another TKO! John was totally prepared for the fight and although he took some hits, he was able to lay his power on the guy and just take him out in the 2nd Round! Nice job John John!

After the fight we went next door to neighbor Mike who was preparing for his 1st Sprint Triathlon on Saturday afternoon, called the Showdown at Sundown Triathlon. It was a Sprint and Olympic distances. So Form gave me some last minute pointers and he tried the wetsuit on that he was going to be using, then it was back to Forms to get to bed.

Saturday morning I was up early as I had to meet up with Southern Nevada Team in Training marathon group to help out. I got the run place, meet the coach and we got situated on the where I was to go. I was able to speak with some of the participants briefly at the start but was able to really talk with them more after the run. It was fun to be back with TNT and I even got to get in the group picture as I was told I was with the So. NV. Chapter now and had to be in it! They were all very welcoming and I look forward to being involved more with the marathon groups and hopefully as a Triathlon coach later this year!

After TNT was over, Form was riding his way over to the TNT park where they ran and were going to ride some more from there, but I could not get a hold of the speed demon so I left and fortunately I saw him flying down the road and turned around to chase him down. Once we got caught up we went back to his house and rode out from there for a nice painful hil climbing 50 mile experience in what is called Seven Hills.. but really it should be called like 42 hills or something b/c they are never ending in this Vegas subdivision. It was a great ride, I even got called an Asshole by some dipshit in his convertible b/c I had dropped some stuff out of my back pocket and I quickly turned around b/c I was not going to ride to the top of Ass Kicking Hill #X to turn around, come back down, get my stuff before it got ran over and then go back up ass kicking again. So I checked for traffic... dipshit was far off but oncoming.. and I went back down the rode about 100 meters on the wrong side and I guess he got scared or something b/c he slowed as I waited for him to clear and he called me an Asshole.. I just totally laughed as I picked up my stuff and Form told me I had missed the turn anyway so good thing I didn't go up that freakn' hill.. not that it mattered b/c he took me to another hill that was much worse! Thanks Dude! Oh and it was called "Democracy Hill" .. Not sure where that freakn' name came from b/c all I know it should have been called DICTATOR HILL b/c it will own your ass if you don't work your butt off to get to the top of it.. Long steady climb with a nice turn up in grade the last 5oo yards or so.. it sucked! but I did it and then we had super fun flying down the hill !!!

Oh.. I can talk about the last major long hill climb that Form totally dropped me on with his out of the saddle climbing and me trying to grind it out and real him back in but that didn't happen, I guess b/c I gave it hell on Democracy Hill or something.. But Form did a nice job on that hill and I was surely impressed at Mr. I'm Slow.. in the pool .. on the bike.. and run.. YA WHATEVER! This guy is machine getting ready for IM Cd'A.!!!

So once back at the house we quickly changed and headed for Mikes 1st Triathlon.. He was nervous as any 1st timer and it was great to see him and others like that as it brings back memories to when we were all in that 1st Triathlon position!!! Do you all remember yours? Mine was Americas Triathlon.. aka Capital of Texas Triathlon! So Mike was ready and went off in the last wave of guys and was out of the water in about 12 mins.. he did good and was glad to be done. The T1 was seriously long at Lake Las Vegas but its a nice place so off he went on the bike and we went to the watch the leaders come back on the bike .. where we saw the 2nd place guy totally miss the turn and as we all YELLED at him he kept going only to have the 1st place female who was 3rd on the bike overall follow him. Shit!! that's gotta totally suck! Luckily there was a police officer there with a motorcycle that quickly went after the lady and she quickly returned but the guy was way down the rode and by the time he came back he was in 4th or 5th, I cant remember. Then Form and I started yelling to the others to make the right turn and the cops got some more cones to make the turn more noticeable.. Not sure where the RD was on that one. We saw Mike come back and quickly ran to T2 and got some pics of him off on the run. He ran a quick 5k and got to see him finish as well! Nice job Mike! Afterwards we all went to dinner and enjoyed his post race review. I think we have another triathlete in the making.

Sunday I was out on the bike for a 25 mile windy crazy ride but I got it done and then transitioned to a nice 10k run. It was windy as well but manageable. I planned my run route so that my 10k mark I would basically still have about 4.5 miles back to the house and ran the 10k part a little harder than the last 4.5. Overall it was a good 10.5 mile run for me and it was somewhat hot so that helped in case RAGE is hot that day and/or windy. After I was able to jump in the pool which is now about 60-62*.. cold but very nice for an ice bath!

OK .. that's it for now.. sorry it was so long this time.. but good things are happening!!

Don't forget to jump over to Forms blog and wish him luck at California 70.3 this weekend!!

rockon`

Red Rock Loop Ride..

Now that Hump Day if over it seems like training this week has been next to none and I wonder WTF! The weather this past weekend was totally shitty here, with winds 30mph+ and who knows what the guts were clocked at but Sunday-Tuesday was just not fun weather.

On Saturday I was able to meet up with Formulaic and Stef and get in a good lake swim, cold though but didn't seem to be as cool as Coeur d'Alene last year, but it was close. I remember the burning feeling and once my feet and body got used to the water it was my hands that took longer than normal to adjust but once they did I was off and swimming. It was nice coached workout with Swim Las Vegas and as we stayed together as group it was comforting feeling of swimming with others just as a race plays out once people string out in lines. We practiced drafting, short sprints and long continuous swimming. After we went to spectate at our local clubs mini-Duathlon which turned out to be a good number of participants.

Sunday as I said the wind rolled in and I ended up going to the gym for a good long workout and was satisfied. Monday did some more gym work but no cardio stuff. Tuesday, umm.. not sure what happened.. but Wednesday!!

Wednesday is the famous Red Rock Loop ride which leaves at 6pm from one of the look out points. Form has been asking me to do this ride since I got back to Vegas and since I know Red Rock I have been reluctant to do it, ok, SCARED! Why? Because in the first 4 miles you climb like 2000 ft.! So he finally talked me into it and we plan to ride. Oh, and it gets a little dark or can be totally dark by the time you make the come back down so Head Lights of some sort are highly recommended. Form says, No worries.. I have one for you. Great I said.

So we get there get ready to go and Form gives me the little head light to clamp to my bike with the batteries. I open to put them in and go hey, Form..! Wrong size batteries, you needed to steal the other size from the office. As he proceeds to die in laughter I am wondering nervously how I will be able to see coming down the mountain at excess speeds blindly! just then the group of cyclists start pulling out and now there is no one really to ask for a lamp, batteries or anything so JT just goes without.

The warm up to the park loop entrance is nice and fast with the help of the wind pushing. Once at the park its an immediate start of climbing for about a mile then a short false down hill and somewhat levelness for about 1/2 mile with the immediate return of uphill. We catch a couple of the other rides, ok, so they were on Mountain Bikes, but we still caught them and they left before us, that counts. Then about mile 3 is a nice 2 or 3 minute down hill recovery which is well needed for due to the next 1.5 miles of continuous climbing at a nice steep grade. I found my rhythm and started to grind away. A few times I worked on climbing out of saddle but my HR went through the roof, not like it wasn't on the top of the ceiling to begin with but it pushed it over board so I sat back down to steady it out. At one point I heard Form yell and I only heard something about a crash, So I briefly looked back and as I did I drifted farther to the right side of the road where the dirt gravel was and Yup, guess what? My tire snuck into the gravel and down I went. Good thing I was going so freakn slow it actually felt like I laid down! LMAO. Now this has a couple of good things really. 1) I was going so slow uphill that I didn't get hurt or even scratch. 2) I was able to get a recovery rest in and being my HR down and 3) I got to take a drink of water. Once back in the saddle its the final 1/4 mile climb to the top where the rest of the group is wait and brings on another nice recovery rest. Form and I don't hang too long b/c it is still light and I don't have a head lamp so we take off knowing the rest of the group will eventually catch us.

The down hill trip was fast and fun. As I said the Pelaton caught us and we jumped in but talk about trusting other rides to lead the way. I stayed with them for quite some time and at one point the first rider to catch me said Hey, jump in! So I got in behind him and we worked together going down the hill but then on one of the flats the rest of the main group caught us and then it was about 6 of us all freakn` haul ass at 40mph in almost darkness! CRAZY!! then we had a good uphill climb and I got dropped! Crap. Now I was the guy in between the lead riders and the main pack, the Lone Guy with NO HEADLAMP any only a blinking red tail light to follow from the ride about 1/4 mile ahead of me. I worked as best I could to catch back up and I finally did but I really think they slowed down. Once back at the car I began to feel like I was going to puke! Not really sure why but there for about an hour after the ride I did not feel well.

Overall a super fun ride and I think I really should have gone sooner when Form suggested it. Light or no Light you can do the ride and be safe. But Form.. Bring the right batteries next time! LMAO!..

rockon`