News...Big News...Huge News

News:

A few of my friends and I meet up at the lake each Monday of an open water swim. There is a nice sheltered .5 mile loop that we like to swim around. We usually swim 2 loops, but on this day a few of the others decided to swim three loops totaling 1.5 miles. As I was swimming just about to finish my second loop I was passed by two of the swimmers. I had been lapped! Those two had finished their 3rd loop seconds before I finished my second. Oh the horror, the horror.

Question:

Since I injured my shoulder swimming last September 9th, almost a year ago, I have only been swimming at 60%. The doctor told me that swimming over 60% will tear apart my shoulder again. During my races and training I have been very conscious of the 60% and have been very careful. Lately I have been feeling great in the water, but I am really restricting the speed. The last year has been spent swimming slow, smooth, and steady. Now I want to kick it up a notch. How am I really supposed to know what 60% is? And if I feel great should I bump it up another 10 – 20 percent?

Big News:

I have joined the Masters Swimming Program at my local YMCA. The pool is awesome and huge. I think the structured swim workouts a couple times a week will greatly improve my endurance and efficiency in the water. I think this will really improve my stroke.

Question:

Do any of you use a swimmers snorkel or fins when you are training? Do they really help, or do they just sit in the garage and collect dust? Do they help, or do they create bad habits?

Huge News:

I have a new bike! I picked it up a few days ago and man is it fast. I think the black makes it go at least 2 mph faster. It is a very smooth and comfortable ride. I figure that it will take a couple hundred miles to get used to it, but putting on those miles should be a whole lot of fun.

Question:

What is the best way to condition yourself to stay in the aero-position for an extended amount of time.

Desperado Dual - Race Report

Desperado Dual

Background:

Both my brother and I are constantly looking for fun ways to meet up with each other. He lives in Salt Lake City, UT, and I live in Phoenix, AZ. The past two years we have been meeting in Tempe, AZ, for the SOMA Quarterman Triathlon. A couple months ago we decided to kick it up a notch and ride in a century bike ride. We both decided to ride in the Desperado Dual, a 106-mile loop through some breathtaking scenery.

One week before the race I received a phone call from my brother and he stated that he would not be able to participate in the ride. I was disappointed that I was not going to be hanging out with him over the weekend.

I had already paid for the event, so there was no way I was going to eat the hard earned $45 I laid down for registration. About 1-minute after hearing the bad news from my brother I called up Josh (my brother-in-law), and asked him if he would like to go on a nice bike ride. I tried to stay clear of letting him know the distance, but eventually he asked and I had to tell him. After I let him know it was over one hundred miles the line went silent. About a minute past before he responded saying that he would if he only had a road bike. “Gotcha,” I said to myself. I told him I would have my brother drop off his road bike and helmet later that night. Josh went on to say that he had only ridden a road bike one other time in his life and that was a 28-mile ride on flat terrain. I went on to tell him that if he can ride 28 miles the he certainly could go 106. With that he reluctantly said yes.

Getting There:

I picked up two of my friends (John and Marcia) and we loaded the bikes, coolers, and camping gear into the truck and headed out on our seven-hour journey that would pass through northern Arizona and into a town called Panguitch in central Utah. The new truck ran great and fit all of our gear easily even with the new shell over the bed. We were all grateful the shell was on the truck because it rained off and on throughout the entire day.

We stopped to fill up the truck in Page, AZ, and ate lunch at the local Denny’s. The three of us took about a fifteen-minute break to admire the beauty of Lake Powell and the Glen Canyon Dam.

Three hours later we arrived at what would be out base camp for the weekend, the Panguich KOA. We met up with my parents, and my sister, and her husband, (my brother-in-law) Josh. Everyone stayed in little clean cabins besides John and Marcia, they decided to blow up an inflatable mattress and sleep in their tent.

The Race:
Or should I say ride? Yes, let’s call it a ride, because we certainly did not feel like racing anyone. The only thing racing on this day would be my heart rate. The race started at 7:00am sharp. We started at 7:12am sharp! That’s right; we started the ride late and never made up that lost time.

The first five miles were flat and I was doing OK. Then a hill came along, and I mean a big hill, and I got dropped. I suck at fighting gravity and going up hills. This is a weakness of mine and I know that I need to improve on the hills if I want to become even an average cyclist. The hill kept going and going, I mean this thing seemed to last forever. Finally 22 miles later I reached the summit at almost 8,000 feet of elevation.

My parents and Jodie were waiting at the summit with water and plenty of encouragement. It was great to see them there; they were a great help and kept me moving forward. The next stop was almost another 40 miles down the road; it was a long 40 miles. I did my best to keep the cadence in the mid 70’s, which is a comfortable pace tempo for me. Any lower then that and it takes a toll on my knees, any higher and I get winded. As I tried my best to keep my heart rate at 148 bpm and my cadence in the mid 70’s, I watched my three companions slowly pull away until they were out of site. The ride was through some amazing country with bright colors in the rock and the trees. I was really enjoying the ride past Bryce Canyon and the miles started to disappear one by one without much effort. The route goes through a steep narrow canyon called Black Canyon and I was able to reach 43 mph! That was awesome.

At mile 60 I stopped at the rest station and grabbed some water and had half of a muffin to get some much needed carbs in me. I could feel that I was starting to fatigue a little. I realized that I was now over half way through the ride and thought I could mentally break up the ride into 2 rides, a 60 miler and a 46 miler. I only had the 46 miler to go! I thought that I could certainly go on a 46-mile ride, I had broken 40 several time before in the past. No problem.

Um… actually it was a big problem. The next twenty miles were into the wind and I really started to tire out. I could feel that my legs were toast, and I had no more energy. Mentally I was also getting exhausted, especially once I realized I was counting down the distance by tenths of a mile. The last two miles before the rest stop at mile eighty seemed to last forever.

When I pulled into the rest area and located my personal support crew, I placed my bike against the nearest tree and dropped to the ground. It felt so good to stop. I laid there on the grass for a couple minutes. I soon got to my feet and stumbled over to meet up with Josh, John, and Marcia. They had been waiting for me and were ready to take off again. I told them to go on ahead. I stayed at the rest stop with my support crew and had a banana and a sport drink. After about 20 minutes, I decided it was time to suffer through the last 26-miles of the challenging ride.

My ride did not last much longer. I rode (suffered) for another 9 miles and saw the “Team Tony” support vehicle about a half mile ahead. Fighting the wind my heart rate was at 177 bpm and my cadence could not break 50, even in the granny gear. There was absolutely nothing left in my legs. As I got closer to the support vehicle I found it harder and harder to even stay in a straight line, I began to zigzag along the shoulder of the highway. I was done.

I really wanted to complete the final 17 miles, but on this day it was not in the cards. I was both physically and mentally exhausted. I placed my bike into the support vehicle and we drove on down the road to cheer on the other three riders in our group. I was really impressed with Josh, this was only the second time he had been on a road bike and here he was completing a century. All three of them did a fantastic job. They ended up finishing the ride and we all met up for a much deserved lunch.

Thoughts:

A 106 mile ride is just that, a 106 mile ride. It is not 2 – 53 mile rides, or 4- 26.5 mile rides, or in my case a 60 and a 46 (29) mile ride. Nope, a 106 mile ride is a 106 mile ride. Lesson learned I guess.

Even though I was not able to complete the entire ride, I was still upbeat and positive about the experience as a whole. It was the most beautiful ride I have ever been on, and I was able to beat my previous distance record (54 miles) by over 44 miles! I was able to camp out for a couple days with my family and good friends for the weekend.

Sicko Or Psycho?

As you know I have been MIA for a while now. I was having a great week of training and then it hit me. I still don't know what the hell hit me, but it hit me hard. I was so sick.

In a five day span I lost 18 pounds. I told myself if it lasted another day I was going to go to the hospital, and then it went away. I think I had a bad case of "the 5 day cholera," but that is just a guess. Whatever it was I don't like it, and never want it again.

Now the sickness is gone, but I am still very dehydrated. I have my first 100+ mile bike race this Saturday, my longest ride ever was 54 miles. As you can imagine I am quite nervous.

Question: If I start pounding tons of water now to get back some of the hydration I lost will I be alright for the race, or is it too late to start chugging water?

Electric Ride

We have had some crazy weather down here lately. Last week my 12 foot high tree was ripped right out of the ground by the haboob (what a great word) that passed through the valley of the Sun.

On Sunday my plan called for a 40-mile bike ride. I woke up plenty early to beat the heat and start riding, but noticed the strong wind blowing the flora and fauna in every direction possible. I do not fight well against the wind, it usually wins. With this being said I decided to sleep in and ride during the evening.

Later that night I had a great ride through the Estrella Mountains. The sun had fallen and my bike lights were on full force. It was a great ride. The roads were nice, new, and smooth. There was very little traffic to worry about, and I was feeling great. A lightning storm was getting closer and closer so I called it quits at mile 23. I did not feel any drops of rain, and that was fine with me. With the lightning striking closer and closer I chose to head back to the truck and load up my bike. I still need to make up the 17 mile difference.

It was fun while it lasted.

Too Much Free Time On My Hands

I have been working hard lately on my transitions. I am slow enough as it is, so if I can pick up some free time somewhere I am going to do it. I am really pleased with the progress I have been making bringing down my times. I went up to the lake this weekend with a couple friends and we worked on our transitions for about three hours. Yes, I said three hours. I am so glad I did.

Take a look at some of my past races and how slow my transition times were:
Soma 2005… T1=11:49…T2=9:13
Soma 2006….T1=7:10…..T2=3:40
St. George..…T1=7:19..…T2=2:59

That is all just time wasted, time I gave away. What was I thinking? I still needed to complete the distance, so I might as well have been moving forward on the course instead of resting in the transition area. I am going to start taking pride in my transitions and work hard at having clean, smooth, and fast times coming out of T1 and T2.

I love this sport.

Finish Strong

Getting prepped

After a full day at work on Friday I started my journey from Phoenix, AZ to Salt Lake City, UT. It was getting late so I stopped at the half-way point of my destination at a little casino in Mesquite, NV. The goal was to win enough money to cover the cost of my week long vacation. I lost twelve dollars. On Saturday morning I completed the last 5 hours of the 700 mile trip.

The race was on Sunday, but everybody had to be checked in and have all equipment dropped off by Saturday night. I got to my brothers house and placed his bike on my rack and headed up into the mountains to the race location in Heber City, Utah. When we took the bikes off the rack we discovered that the exhaust from my cars tail pipe had melted and destroyed his front tire and tube. With no extra tubes or tires we made our way over to the expo and bought a tube and a killer bright yellow race tire. As we were changing out the tire they kicked us out of the transition area. During the rush to replace a tire in .5 seconds we did not get to give it much care and attention. We just had to hope that he would not get any kind of pinch flat out there on the road during the race.

This race was different then what I am used to. 1700 swim, 25.7 mile bike, and 5.92 mile run. With a huge prize purse at stake and a $20,000 payout to the winners; 39 professional triathletes decided to come out and play. Another different aspect of this triathlon was the use of two separate transition areas. At first I was a little confused about the two transition areas, but it all worked out well.

The Swim

With snow on the peaks of the mountains I knew the water was not going to be very warm. After I stretched and drank a bottle of water I put on my wetsuit. I was freezing so I figured the wetsuit would keep me warm before for the next 20 minutes. WWI and WWII airplanes flew over the lake and did some cool tricks during the national anthem. It was neat to see and the planes got everyone pumped up for the race. The 39 pros entered the water and took off as soon as the Army shot off the cannon. Man they are fast.

Now it was time for the amateurs to start the death march down the ramp into the freezing water. I did my best to delay getting into the water but I finally had to take the plunge. The water was actually warmer then the air temperature so it felt pretty good. At first my plan was to stay in the back out of everybody’s way since I would only be swimming at 60%.

For those of you who don’t know I tore apart my shoulder last year. The doctors have told me that swimming over 60% will lead me right back to the hospital for surgery. I have been very conscious of this fact and stay to it even though it costs me serious time.

When we were told the race would start in one minute I changed my strategy and moved to the front. I figured I would have a better chance of avoiding being kicked in the head if I was at the front of the pack. It worked. The cannon sounded and I swam slow, steady, and smooth. I was trying to be as efficient as possible over the 1700 meters, but found myself starting to tire over the last 200.

T1

I jogged up the boat ramp and had a solid transition. Not rushed, but no wasted time either. I felt good about it.

The Bike

Immediately after the exit of the transition area I encountered a big steep hill. I just did my best getting up and over it without wasting all of my energy. I knew that I would not see another hill for 24 miles. The only other hill on the course is the 1.5 mile “Hill From Hell” at the very end of the bike that ends at T2.

The bike segment was fantastic. It was one of the most beautiful rides I have ever been on. It was two loops through many pastures full of livestock, in a bright green valley surrounded by stunning mountains.


I made sure to stay well hydrated on the bike. I drank one bottle at T1, and two others on the bike. I made my way up the infamous “Hill From Hell” and realized that my good bike segment could have been a great bike segment if I had more leg strength to get me up the hills faster. Overall the bike segment of the race was fantastic.

T2

After making my way up that monster, I entered T2 feeling great. I was eight minutes ahead of schedule and feeling very hydrated. No time was wasted in transition and I made my way out to the run (or should I say hike) course.

Run

The run was crazy insane. It went straight up a mountain for the first 2 miles. Then it was like a roller coaster full of parabolas for 3 miles then another mile uphill. My strategy for the run was simple. Take it easy on the inclines, and let gravity and weight help me out with speed on the declines for the first 5 miles. Then during the last mile I was going to give it everything I had left in the tank.

This plan was just a ¼ mile from being perfect. With ¼ mile left to go both of my quads cramped up at the same time. It just about dropped me to my knees. I struggled to walk forward for a couple hundred feet, and then the cramps seemed to go away. The crowd was going nuts and they were all screaming my name. I ran in waving to and high-fiving the crowd with pure enjoyment. I finished strong!

Looking back

I loved this race; it is one of my favorites so far. The scenery was great and so were the volunteers and spectators. To improve I need to lose weight and build leg strength. I am definitely doing this race again. Next year I am going to practice running trails and hills so I will be ready

Swim = ½ fatass and ½ badass
Bike = ¼ fatass and ¾ badass
Run = ½ fatass and ½ badass

Great News

I’m back. My week long vacation was awesome. The race rocked, I bought a new truck, and I got engaged! I will provide full details as soon as I find the time tonight to write them down.