I was so excited to have time to ride a three hour ride on Wednesday.  There was a new trail just built and with very little wind and nice blue sky’s I was ready for a nice long effort.  I should have known that some higher power didn’t want me to ride that day when I took my bike off the rack and the chain was feeling a little “sticky.”  I really had to push to make it move and it made some strange noises when I pushed down on the pedals.

I was doing well until about the 15 mile mark when the clouds started moving in.  I didn’t think much about it, but that should have been my second clue to head back.  A few minutes later I went through a small town and on the other side there was nothing in the distance but trail.  I went another few miles when all of a sudden something didn’t feel right.  My rear tire was going down.

I stopped and noticed that it must not be a big hole as there was still a little air in the tube.  I pulled the tire out and got to work on fixing it.  All was going well until I tried the co2 and it didn’t work.  It looked a little sketchy and old, which should have been my third clue that this just wasn’t the day to ride.

I quickly realized that I had a few options: 1. call someone to pick me up.  This would have been ok if I knew what podunk town was three miles behind me.  2. wait for someone to come along and maybe they would have a spare.  Not on this day.  There was very few people on the trail today.  3. Start walking towards the town.  I chose number three.  After about two miles of walking I finally saw a cyclist coming towards me.  I flagged him down and asked him if he had an extra co2.  He said yes and I could have it.  I noticed he was a little annoyed for having to stop.  I asked him if he knew how to use the co2 and he said yes, he had done it before.  I asked him if he would be willing to inflate the tire for me as I knew that luck was against me today and I didn’t want to waste his co2.  Again, he was annoyed which should have been my fourth clue.

I watched he un-open the presta valve on the tire and I realized that he was not going to inflate the tire because he didn’t even know that you have to keep the tire valve open when you try inflating it.  I just let him waste his cartridge as I was very annoyed with him and the situation by this point.  When it didn’t work he told me that it must be a problem with the tire.  I said “do you have another co2?  I’ll pay you for it.”  He said yes, “but the tire is messed up and it won’t work.”  I angrily said thanks and walked away.

When I finally got to the little town I was able to call a friend and 40 minutes later she picked me up in her truck.  The rain held off and I was able to have a great swim an hour later, so I wasn’t too upset at the moment.  When I found out later that my chain was installed incorrectly I realized that the higher power was trying to tell me before I even started the ride that I shouldn’t go.  If I had gone three hours I would have ruined my bike.

The lesson of the day is don’t assume that just because things are going against you all is bad.  There may be a positive to the situation, but you may have to go through some hardship to find it.

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I used three of these pouches during my bike race weekend in Iowa City on Saturday and Sunday, and the affects of the energy that the PowerBar Performance Energy Blends provide were seen in the numbers.  My watts have never been higher or more consistent throughout a road race, TT or crit.  Thank you PowerBar for creating another great product!

You can find PowerBar Performance Energy Blends at http://us.powerbar.com/where-to-buy

“Go to http:

1. I didn’t crash

2. I finished in the top 5 in the road race

3. I finished in the top 4 overall at the end of the weekend

4. I won the TT

My power numbers looked pretty good in each race, but I did find that I lacked some strength on the hills, especially during the crit.  I’m excited about where my cycling is right now, but I do have a few things I need to work on prior to my Half-ironman in July most notably hills and long rides.  Both will happen when I move back east and have more hills and more time to work with.  For right now I’m going to do what I can with the time that I have.  Preparing to move is such a stressful thing, and while I’m excited to move I’m even more excited to have the move done with.

The goals for this years race weekend are a little different as I have a big racing season ahead.  I want to be smart this year and not push the pace too early.  Here are the goals:

Road race: 1. Don’t crash.  2. Ride in the pack and save as much energy as possible.  3. Only make a move if the opportunity presents itself on the final 10 miles.

TT: 1. WIN!  2. Ride faster than last year.  3. Have a faster time than all the Cat 3 riders including by buddy Joe (the looser buys the winner a beer).

Crit: 1. Don’t crash.  Stay near the front.  3. If I’m feeling good with 4-5 laps to go then give it a shot and try pushing the pace.

Overall: 1. Top 3.  2. Bank enough cash to pay for the whole weekend.

CRITERIA A: Finish within 8% of the winning elite time on the same course as the elites (distance and format) in three USAT sanctioned events that offered a prize purse of $5,000 or greater. All three results must be from the same calendar year.

CRITERIA B: Finish top-10 overall and within 8% of the winner’s time at the ITU Age Group Olympic Distance World Championships.

CRITERIA C: Finish top-10 overall in the amateur field at Ironman 140.6 World Championships in Kona.

CRITERIA D: Finish top-5 overall and within 8% of the winner’s time at USAT Age Group Olympic Distance National Championships.

CRITERIA E: Finish top-5 overall and within 8% of the winner’s time at USAT Collegiate Olympic Distance National Championships.

CRITERIA F: Finish top-3 overall in the amateur field at an Elite Qualifying Race.

2013 Elite Qualifying Races:
All triathlons on US (including territories) and Canadian soil that have a corresponding elite race in the same distance with $20,000 or more in elite prize money shall be Elite Qualifying Races. Please confirm prize purse amounts directly with race organizers.

I’ve achieved at least one of these in the past on several occasions, but never filled-out the application to race pro.  I’ve always been satisfied knowing that I had achieved that level of success, but now after a year off I’m ready to make a push to that level again.  This time I just may complete the application to race pro in 2014.

1. Swim: if you choose to do a swim race (maybe a masters swim meet) choose to swim a longer event like the 500 or the 1,000 or choose to swim 4-5 shorter races throughout the meet.  Also make sure to have a hard bike ride planned for after the last race of the meet.  Get on the bike asap and ride for at least :30-:45 at just below threshold pace.  This will give you a chance to see how it feels to ride hard after the swim.

2. Bike: if you do some bike races I would suggest entering a weekly time trial or weekend time trial event.  Get a good warm-up in and make sure to ride with your tri gear on including helmet, race wheels and racing suit.  Have a planned 3-5 mile run post ride.  Jump off your bike as fast as possible and get to the run.  Run at race pace for the first mile before settling back into a moderate run pace for the next few miles.  Finish with the final mile at race pace.  If you choose to do any sort of bike race still plan on a run afterwards.  Just make sure you don’t tell the roadies that you are saving your legs for the post race run.  They don’t care and don’t want to hear it.  Make sure you don’t make too many enemies at bike races.

3. Run: No matter what distance tri you are training for you need to do some brick workouts during training.  The longer the race the longer the brick.  So if you are planning to compete in a half-ironman and you want to use a half-marathon race as part of your prep make sure to do a ride before hand.  It can be the night before, but ideally it should be right before hand and use the two workouts as a brick.

No matter what race you are doing make sure you are practicing your nutrition and hydration.  This is a good time to find what works for you and what doesn’t.  Go race!

3.

Since then I’ve dealt with injury and took a long time off with Patrick being born.

When I started training again in January I had no idea if I would ever get back to the speed that I felt was fast enough to compete at a high level.  My runs have been coming down in pace and time the past three months, but it wasn’t until last week that I finally finished a run where I knew I still had some good old speed in the legs.  It was a mild 37 degree day with no wind and a lot of sunshine.  I rode an easy ride before work that morning so my legs were nice and loose the rest of the day.  When I started running I just thought I would try hitting 6:15-6:20 pace after a few miles of easy running.  Well after I looked down at the first mile split I knew it was going to be a good one.

I felt strong the whole way and just kept getting faster.  It was one of thoes runs where you feel as if you could go forever and your mind is off in some happy place where you feel no pain.  I planned on doing 7 miles, but when I stopped my watch I was at 10 miles.  I though I may be around 6:10 pace for the average, but I was surprised to see 5:50 pace.  I just about broke down crying.  It has been so long since I ran any mile under 6:00 pace let along 10 miles.

When I got home I thanked my wife for letting me run that day and for supporting me through all the pain and anguish I was in this past fall.

The run isn’t there yet, but it’s getting close and it feels amazing.

I’m a decent swimmer, but nowhere close to the speed it takes to make the Olympic team.  You need to swim really, really fast.

Good luck tattoo man.  You sure will need it.

Spring brings a sense of excitement as racing season is right around the corner and that means the training intensity starts to kick up a notch.  I feel so much stronger mentally and physical in spring.  It isn’t too hot and the body isn’t physically spent.  Spring just plain rocks.

Long swim repeats will be replaced with harder intervals.  Progression rides on the bike will be replaced with bi weekly 2×20, 3×20, 4×20 workouts and hill repeats.  Mid-distance runs will be replaced with track repeats.  I have goals this year that include triathlon wins, qualifying for bigger races and breaking PR’s.  Last year was a great break from this high intensity training and racing, but now it’s on.

Here’s to another Spring and another year of rocking the swim, bike and run during my favorite season of the year.  I can’t wait to start this season out right.