Tempe, Arizona
Red Rock always does a great job with their races, and this race was no exception. Also I thought the visor they gave out was the best I have ever received. Swimming into the sun in Tempe Town Lake is always difficult for me. I can’t see in the water, and I can’t see in the air. We had some cloud cover for the bike. Other than losing my gel flask and having no nutrition on the bike it went well. It is a good course for me I didn’t feel very strong on the run, but lucky for me I found a running buddy about two miles into the first loop who kept me at a good pace. (Thanks Jeff and good luck with Ironman Arizona!). The run was hot and keeping that pace apparently caused me to seriously overheat which I did not fully realize until I finished. Sorry Red Rock for stealing all that ice from the fruit trays but it was a medical emergency as far as I was concerned. Red Rock always has a good breakfast with scrambled eggs etc. My heat situation prevented me from feeling like eating, but Red Rock deserves accolades for the good job they do. I like doing races at Tempe Town Lake. It feels like home. Thanks Red Rock for another great race.

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Nautica Malibu Classic Distance Triathlon

Malibu, California
This is race sold out in under 3 hours, so I was glad to get a chance to do it. This race has a celebrity division. Hollywood celebrities have their own division and awards. Jay Leno hosted the awards this year. racing 2 days in a row does take a toll. I gave this race my all. The bike hurt, but I fell just shy of a 20 MPH average. The run was shorter than the day before, but much more difficult for me. I was still able to pull off a sub 9 minute pace however and complete the 4 miles with a 08:55 average. Even though my speed suffered a bit, I hit the podium again with 3rd. For these Races I competed in a rare category. These races have a 225+ Clydesdale division. I weighed in a 233 for these races, more than qualifying me. I don’t ever sign up for the Clydesdale division even if it is available, but I wanted to drive a point home to myself. I have long known that I am handicapped by my weight. This was solidified for me by the fact that when I compete with athletes with the same handicap as I bear, I can take the podium in back to back races. I have got to find the discipline to lose the weight. People at races always assume I am a beginner because of my weight. On loop courses they always assume that I am on my first loop as opposed to my second or third because of my weight. I am getting tired of hearing “way to go BIG guy!” or “Let’s hear for the big guys” I appreciate that fact people are just being nice, but I feel like an embarrassment to this sport. This sport is a sport of Extreme discipline and I need to find the discipline to eat better. I can get up at 4:30 every morning and bike and run for miles, but so far I have failed in the discipline to eat right. Being able to compete with others who are 225+ helped me confirm that I am still a good athlete underneath this self imposed handicap. I am competing in these races wearing a fat suit and it makes me slower. I spend money to be aero, when losing weight would make me far faster than any aero equipment.

Nautica Malibu International Distance Triathlon

Malibu, California
I like this race a lot. It was an over-all well put together experience that I would do again. I experimented with this race. I decided to give the bike an all out effort and stop worrying about the run. I have lived the fear of not being able to finish the run for long enough. I hammered the bike and decided to just give it my all and worry about the run when I got there. If I blew up, I blew up. I averaged over 20 MPH despite some hills. That is good for me. I have gone slightly faster for an Olympic bike split, but that was a flat course. The weird part is that, not only did I not blow up on the run, I had my fastest 10K ever. I held an 8:26 pace for 6.2 miles. I have never run that fast even doing a 10K all by itself.

Swim Distance Challenge

Venice Beach, California

Because I successfully swam the 2.4 mile distance in this race last year, I was qualified to compete in the 4.8 mile distance this year. The 4.8 mile race is divided into 4 x 1.2 mile legs. At the completion of each 1.2 mile leg you have to swim through the surf, up shore and go up and get a medical check to make sure you are able to continue. During the first 1.2 mile leg three people went shoulder to shoulder to hold the lead for the whole first 1.2 miles. If they were friends, they obviously are not acquainted with the benefits of drafting. I swam right behind the center of these three swimmers for the entire first leg. There were others who wanted to take advantage of the great draft they were creating too, so there was a little shoulder bumping, but a small price to pay for the benefits of a phenomenal draft. You never get a three person wide bull dozer like that for 1.2 miles. Never! Running up the beach to the check station is the hardest part of each leg for me. It shoots my heart rate up. After crossing the timing matt and a quick drink of water it was back into the surf for the second leg. The bulldozer trio had either broken up or ended up behind me after the first check point. For the second leg I found a guy who put out the biggest kick I have ever seen for a distance swimmer. He was pacing well towards the front and a decent sighter. I followed him for the second and third legs. He sure was easy to follow. I ate a cliff shot gel at second and third check in. I also gulped down about four cups of water each time. It was nice to hydrate for once while swimming. At this point it was hard to tell where I was in the mix. I definitely know I wasn’t passed in the water, but it was hard to keep track at the check points. Entering the water for the final leg I decided I needed to drop the big kicker, he just wasn’t going fast enough anymore. I spotted a long armed skin swimmer who was picking up speed as he started the final leg. The 4.8 mile swimmers wore bright orange caps in this race and he was the only orange I could see in front of me. I hit the gas and closed the 50 yard gap between us and then settled into a draft behind him. I had to swim hard to stay with him. He was a great swimmer. Then something happened that has never happened to me in all my years of swimming. A muscle in my left forearm began to threaten to cramp. I had to stretch it while swimming. I couldn’t lose one of my paddles. It continued to twinge now and then, but never actually fully cramped thankfully. I kept track of it as I swam trying to load my right arm a little heavier and kick harder every time it started to threaten a cramp. The Albatross guy I was drafting was an excellent sighter and there were actually were some orange caps in front of us, which we passed. This guy was flying and I was flying right behind him. I thought he could possibly be in my age category, so I mentally prepared for the last 400 yards to shore. As we turned the buoy, I pulled out from behind his draft and hit the gas. He hit the gas with me. He did not want to let me pass him. I increased to 95 percent capacity and still he hung with me at my shoulder. As we neared the breakers I began to pull slightly ahead of him. Whoever he was, he is a better overall swimmer than me, but I think his sprint abilities had been taxed. I was ahead of him and closer to the finish chute and I thought I had him until he caught a wave and I didn’t. That put him about 10 yards ahead of me. Once he hit the beach running I knew I wasn’t going to be able to catch him in a sand run up the beach. I ran hard and my heart rate must have hit the roof, because after I crossed that matt I could barely breathe. I ended up finishing second in my age category.

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San Francisco 1st Half Marathon

San Francisco, California

The draw of this race is the course. It was a very iconic tour of San Francisco. I walked down from a few hundred yards from the Hyatt, where Lori and I were staying. The race starts on Embarcadero at the Ferry Building and runs through Pier 39 and Fisherman’s wharf. Alcatraz looms off the left in the early morning fog. We all got hungry as we ran right past Boudin’s Bakery as they were baking some early morning bread. Then it was up the hill by Fort Mason, down through the park and on to Chrissy Field which I remember well from my Alcatraz swim. At about mile 5 we head up a steep hill to the Golden Gate Bridge. Running the Bridge was the highlight for me. The bridge comprised 5 miles of the run. By the way, I never noticed that the bridge is not flat. You notice these things 5 miles into a run. After the bridge it is up another hill through the Presidio and then up and down, up and down through some residential neighborhoods until we hit Golden Gate park. I was looking for some flat course to make up the time I lost on the hills, but you won’t find it, even after you hit the Park. The hills and some occasional congestion cost me some time, but I went into the race with the attitude of enjoying the Experience more than fretting about time. I reached down and powered the Chrissy Field miles and the bridge to bring on some pain. All things considered, it was a good run for me. The race was only a small part of this great trip with Lori to San Francisco. San Francisco is the perfect summer get away. When the rest of the country is suffering in the heat, San Francisco is bundling up to go out for dinner. I wore gloves on my hands the entire run by the way.

Frontier 5K

Bountiful, Utah

This race was part of the celebration of Pioneer Day, which is a big deal in Utah. I ran this race with Christian and my nephew Skyler today. Skyler finished faster than I ever have. He needs to keep running.He didn’t even train. I finished good enough for a second place trophy. I left it at my parent’s house since it was a handcart and I thought they would like that. This race started with a canon blast. It went slightly uphill for about the last half of the race. There was a good free breakfast after this race. I was running on the slow side. I don’t know if it was the elevation or more likely all the overeating I have been doing this summer during my many various trips and vacations.

Mountain Man Triathlon

Flagstaff, Arizona

I had a surprisingly difficult swim. The water was muddy from recent rains. Visibility could be measured inches, and not many. I Started next to a former Olympic swimmer. I decided to try to stay with him. That was a mistake. Within about 300 yards I was gasping for breath and my muscles were cramping for lack of oxygen. I forgot I was swimming at 7,000 feet. That is 6,000 more than I am used to. I actually had to breast stroke for a few seconds for the first time ever in a triathlon to catch my breath. I have never had to do that before. This is not the first time I have swum at high altitude. I couldn’t seem to recover after that. I was almost done with the swim by the time I started feeling ok. This course is just beautiful. I had a good bike ride and my run was ok. I felt the elevation a bit again on the run. I don’t know what my deal was with that today. Christian won his division and was jazzed to get a trophy.