St. George Olympic Triathlon

I've been milling over this race for a week now. At first I was just going to spout off negative garbage about the whole event and the weeks leading up to it but... no. First of all, I don't want to get away from the main purpose of this post (the race), and second, nobody wants to read it. And I certainly don't want to write it. So, I have decided that every critique I give myself here, I will also highlight something that went right during the race.

The swim was a simple out and back course. When the horn sounded, the 30 of us in the open division wave swam like maniacs to secure a fast pair of feet. Being the new kid on the block, I had no idea who was a fast swimmer. I have my suspicions that the fast swimmers/triathletes all knew each other, teamed up, and started together. But that may just be an excuse. By the time I broke through the front-line of white water I saw that a pack of 5 swimmers on the far left were well ahead. I kept stroking hard but I couldn't close the gap. I was left to swim 1500m completely on my own.

It's hard to judge your efforts on a new course and with new athletes but I felt my swim was off from what it could/should be. I was out in 6th place (15th place OA) but my time of 24:45 was a good 3 minutes behind the leaders. I know I shouldn't base my performance at St. George on years past, but it's difficult not to. You can only base your performance on yourself and the conditions. However, I did swim in a straight line this time and put on a little entertaining show for the crowds as I tried to wrestle my wetsuit off. Overall, I executed my swim well and without any major flaws, I was just a bit further back than I expected.

Once on the bike I was relatively patient for the first mile or two but as I attempted to start pouring on the power, I could tell that this was not the day. I know what I have been able to do in the past on the bike and I was not doing it. The athletes were just too strong and I was unable to dig my calfs and hamstrings into the back half of the pedal stroke like I remember. The leaders out biked me by a good 5 minutes. Ouch! Seeing that time difference definitely ruffled my feathers. But for some good news, I was luckily able to hold my 6th place position throughout the bike course. So not to bad really.

Now onto the run. Coming into T2 the leaders were already at mile two so a push for the win was easily out of the question. But, I had been working extremely hard on my run so at the very least, I was ready to let loose a ripper 10k and see where it took me.

Again, like the bike, the run was not going to be the magic bullet for today. I had pushed very hard on the bike and my legs were feeling pretty fried. I managed to catch one guy at mile one so that lifted my spirits slightly. At mile 4 I caught another dude and moved into 4th. No one was catching me and on paper it appeared I was having a good run. In the end, I pulled off the second fastest run of the day with a 37:20 and moved up two places on the run!

So I should be happy right? I mustered a 4th place finish in a field of 900 or so. Yes I am happy. It was a great race and I got to see my mom and Spruce the dog learned to swim while he was waiting for me to finish. But at the same time, I know I can do a whole lot better. But that is what keeps us coming back. There is always room for improvement.

Until next time, train hard and stay sane.

 Oh that pesky wetsuit.



Out of the shoes and off the bike.

 My favorite, the run.

 So close I can smell the burritos!

When I'm Not Sitting or Running

When I'm not sitting or running, I'm usually found walking the trails enjoying nature. Spring is always an exciting time for a horticulturist. You never know what exactly you will see or discover.

 A view of the Cache Valley. The Wellsville Mountains are in the background. As much as I dislike the long cold winters here, spring seems to make the wait almost worth it...

 Utah Milk Vetch (Astragalus utahensis).

 Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana). An edible very under rated little cherry. It smells great too!

Meadow Death Camas (Zigadenus venenosus).

Huntsville 30K Road Race

There is something I like about racing. From the time the gun goes off, to the time I cross the finish line, my mind is clear of clutter. As long as I am racing, even during bad races, nothing else matters. There is one task and one task only, to get to that finish line in the quickest way possible. Last Saturday, I was reminded again how much I like racing and entering that single, clear, mind-set.

It was easily the coldest morning in a long time. Ice was covering the puddles and the smell of frozen vegetation was in the air. "What happened? Last weekend was in the 80's." The race was about to start and deciding whether or not to run in my warm-ups was getting me all worked up. No time to think, off went the warm ups and the race was on.

I let the pack do their usual thing of going out fast and settled into what I thought was a good pace. We passed the first mile and it was a little on the slow side, but more importantly, not on the fast side. I tightened the effort screw just a fraction and started inching my way through the groups.

The sky was clear, the fields were green, and the road was wide open. We passed old homesteads, horses, and beautiful lakes. My legs, lungs, and body were disappearing leaving my mind free and flying five feet off the ground. Each mile became quicker and quicker and soon, I had run my way into a group of four behind the two leaders.

We started creeping up the long 4 mile hill and I was hesitating. "Should I go now, or wait?" At mile 8 I felt as patient as I could possibly be and decided to tighten the effort screw again. It was commitment time and from here on out there was no going back. Second place was looming closer and closer which made my job easier. Who doesn't want to chase a carrot. Now that I think of it, he had on a bright orange shirt too. Anyway...I had been holding close to 6:00min/mile pace since I opened it up and that was good enough to close the gap on second place by mile 13. But now I was all alone. Five miles to go.

At three miles to go I tightened the effort screw as far as it would go. My subsequent last three miles were the fastest of the race. I finished second to Ben Van Beekum (who was rumored to be a 2:20-something marathoner) so I was very happy. I gave Brianne a big ol' sweaty kiss and then plopped down to stretch my legs.

Unfortunately there were no free shoes at the end of this race. But fortunately, there were boxes of free doughnuts and hot chocolate which I took full advantage of.

So next race is scheduled to be the St. George, UT Olympic Triathlon in three weeks. I'm eager to test out my new triathlon fitness. Hopefully my mind and body can stay healthy and be ready to roll when the time comes.

And don't forget to smell the flowers, they're wonderful this time of year!

http://www.stridersrunning.com/

Moving Around

Have I mentioned I am tired of moving and starting over? Yes, it is true, Brianne want's to move again. We have only been in this rental house for three and a half months and she's ready to move again. We were in the apartment for four and a half months before that so it's been one move after another. I also packed up all my crap and moved back in with my mom for three weeks in January on top of all that moving. I just wish to stay in one place long enough to call home, even if there were potentially better options. It almost makes me not want to travel to any races this summer. Fortunately, the new house is still here in Logan only a few blocks away with a nice back yard and a little garden space. I should be getting a phone call any day now about some great jobs I've applied to. To be honest, I would actually be fairly surprised if I didn't get one (knock on wood). So in all likely circumstances, I will be moving at least two more times in the next few months if things happen as I see them.

And speaking of moving around, I have been doing a fair bit of that. This week was a heavy swimming week and my back is ready for some easy days. I have been feeling the water in a new way like never before. I was trying to come up with analogies for swimming and I think my favorite so far is: "Swimming is like chess. It's not how hard you move your pieces, but how you move your pieces." Write that down. lol.

A Day Off

Finally I have a day off from training. I used to dread the days off but now I welcome them. They are a time to absorb the training, look back on where you began and where you are going. For the most part the training has been going well except for the usual bumps that always pop up from time to time.

Currently, I just finished my three weeks of general conditioning. I start the outdoor (bike) sessions next week (depending on weather), and will slowly incorporate some endurance. Years past I always focused heavily on the swim and bike assuming my run will be there to take me the rest of the way. This year, however, I've been focusing a little more on the run and getting it back to where I think it should be. Running is tough, likely the toughest, but the most important discipline of the three. Getting it back has broken me down to pieces more than once but I am improving and learning.

Coach Matt along with masters swim coach Emily (both retardedly fast swimmers) have helped my swimming climb to new levels. I am easily swimming 30% less than before but my swim times continue to drop. Hand paddles and "the evil band" have become my new best pool friends (except when Brianne isn't injured). I never thought one could improve swimming 25s with so much rest but it is a cornerstone to gaining strength in the water :).

My cycling has been improving too. At least strength-wise, (speed-wise we'll find out later I guess). My rides are almost exclusively indoors on the trainer except for the occasional mt. bike exploratory session. The duration of the rides have been short compared to years past at this time, nothing more than an hour and a half but with plenty of intensity. Yes the calves and glutes are happy campers thanks to the weekly low RPM sessions.

Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens

For spring break, Brianne and I traveled to sunny California for a change of scenery. It seemed simple but there were only two things we had on our agenda for the whole week, parasailing on Sunday and train outside in the sun. That was it. Well, as soon as Friday rolled around we shot out of Logan, UT as fast as we could towards St. George. This little town in extreme southwest Utah was beautiful and warm situated on the very edge of the Mojave Desert. The following morning Brianne and I found a perfect little running/cycling path right by the Virgin River and got in a good solid hour of running with a nice 20 minute tempo thrown in. Then it was time to pack it up and drive to Los Angeles. And that concludes my enjoyable outside training for the week unfortunately. And we hadn't even made it to California.

Los Angeles is big. It's crowded. Everyone is in a hurry and the cost of living is through the roof! As soon as we arrived in LA I had to absolutely force myself to go for my shake out 30 minute jog. To avoid getting lost I just ran out and back stopping about every 2 minutes to cross a busy street or wait for cars to back up. I realized very quickly LA is not the best place to train for triathlons. I did however, enjoy the new exotic plants and warm(ish) sunny(ish) weather.

One of the highlights of LA was visiting the Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens. I have heard about these gardens for a long time and have been itching to visit them if given the chance. Well, now was my chance and boy oh boy, they did not disappoint. Coming from a cold temperate climate, the gardens were loaded with tropicals from around the world that I've only seen and read about in books. These were likely the most impressive gardens I've ever visited... and I've visited many!

Golden Barrel cacti (Echinocactus grusonii) right center, Silver Torch cacti (Cleistocactus strausii) left center, Mammillaria geminispina bottom center, and many other cacti species.

A pathway leading through the spectacular mass planting of Golden Barrel cacti (Echinocactus grusonii). Many of them are over 75 years old!

Vatricania (Espostoa) guentheria on the left and some other candle like cacti to the right.

Brianne admiring the largest Pony Tail Palm (Beaucarnea recurvata) ether of us have seen.

A Dragon Tree (Dracaena draco) among a smorgasbord of other desert succulents.

This is an Ombu Tree (Phytolacca dioica) from Argentina. "They are usually scattered many miles apart and are often the only trees to be seen. The native cowboys have long used them as shelters and landmarks under the seasonally dry conditions. In habitat, ombu trees form a massive base that stores water for use during drought periods. This ombu tree was planted here in 1914."

A crown of thorns shrub (Euphorbia milii var. vulcanii). Prickly!

Not sure what this one was but it's pretty.

I'll never get over how impressive the mass planting of Golden Barrel cacti (Echinocactus grusonii) were.

I always thought the Joshua Tree was the largest species of yucca but there are many other equally large species in the garden.

This is the Creeping Devil cactus (Stenocereus eruca). They look like big spiny caterpillars.

It was very nice to see Brianne's friends in LA and we were both very grateful for their hospitality. However, we both decided that we didn't ever need to go back to LA. Onward we made our way to Davis California to see the campus and the arboretum in the hopes that I may get the great job I have applied for there. If you have never been to Davis you may be like me and think that it would resemble any of the other stereotypical California town with over sized houses, speeding cars, and image obsession but it was not like that one bit. Davis was rated the number four cycling friendly city in the USA and it was easy to see why. Low speed limits, tree lined streets, small houses, large yards, a warm Mediterranean climate, and a history rich in agriculture. Yep, I could live in Davis California no problem. Please oh please I want the UC Davis Arboretum position...

From Davis, Brianne and I slowly made our way over the Donner Pass. And I emphasize slowly! It was snowing harder than I had ever seen it snow. The mountains had already gotten something like four feet of snow in the last two days with an additional two plus feet expected that day! We were forced to buy chains other wise the pass was a no-go. We then sat in traffic for hours and my bladder proceeded to fill to the point of bursting. Nothing like being stuck in traffic and having to pee. Finally we got over that God-awful pass and made our way to Elko, NV (ie. the middle of nowhere). In the morning we were greeted to five inches of snow! So much for this sunny California training vacation. By the time we finally arrived in Logan, UT all the snow was gone and it was a balmy warm spring day. It was the best weather we had seen all week! $%@!!

And that concludes Brianne and Adam's Spring Break 2012.

Back to Utah

So, after much debate and thought I ended up driving home for three weeks to see my mom and dad (and the dogs) and get some good quality job searching in. I did manage to find many amazing jobs but so far... nothing... still. People have been telling me that is okay, now I can focus 100% on triathlon and really see where it goes. Unfortunately for them, I am not the sort of person that can train and then sit around at home twiddling my thumbs waiting for the next workout. Besides, how do you pay the bills? Some die-hard triathletes might find it crazy but triathlon is not my life. I like to do and participate in other stuff too, even if the majority of my blog is filled with tri-jargon.

Anyway, I went to Spokane and enjoyed feeling fast again due in part to the altitude drop. Now I'm back in Utah sucking wind on my tempo runs and hard swims trying to get acclimated again. Also, my new coach Mathieu O'Halloran, is really working well for me. I don't have to think about my training anymore, I just do it. Having Matt monitor workouts and progress sure takes a lot of pressure off. In addition, having an expert to consult with has helped me avoid doing dumb or unnecessary stuff. Training for three sports is tiring and hard. We Americans have much to learn about this concept that more is not always better. No need to do more than you have to. At least not now in February.

In one last note, last weekend Brianne did her first swim meet in almost five years! I was very proud of her, especially for taking on the 500 yd free with like a week of training! I am excited to see her progress and look forward to many more good times sitting together on the pool deck. So that's it from Utah, happy training.

Brianne in the 100 breast.