Trying to get back on track.......

It's funny how easy it is to get way off track.......... self-discipline is not something that comes easy for me. The snooze button has become my best friend.


It goes like this:


Oh well, I'm sleeping in - I'll just do an open water "swim" this afternoon........


--or--


I'll just do the group ride - that'll be good enough...........


--or--


Whew, i just ran three solid miles..... i'm done - give me a BOOST Chocolate Shake (300 calories to replace to the 125 that I burned......)





Man, when it comes to making deals with myself, I'm definitely a used car salesman:

Well, I put it out there, no more hiding -- it's time to get back on the program. Not too much racing coming up except for the last BFAST on July 12th and then Xterra First Coast on the 27th. Tahoe is looming out there in October, seems so far away, but I know it'll be here before I know it and I'll be gasping for air at 7500' wondering what the hell was I thinkin back in June......

NOTE TO SELF: Tahoe is going to be HARD.

2008 - 1st Half RECAP

Well, here I sit at the halfway point of my season. Things have been going "ok" - not great, but I've had some good results and (lately) some not so good results. Here's some highlights of the past couple of months:

In February, me and the mtb-boys hit the 12 Hours of Santos for some team relay racing, as well some camping and some "beer-appreciation". Result: 3rd place Pro/Expert Team (refer to pic #1) AND a really fun time (refer to pic #2).
In beginning of March, I did my first ever Gate River Run. Now for those of you not in the KNOW - this is a HUGE running race held right here in J-ville. Its deemed the USA 15K Championship. Of all the years living here, I've never participated - so this year, with my tri-training in full effect, I figured I check it out and use it for some good run training. Had a great time, even with the 40mph winds on top of the bridge - and will definitely hit this race again. Now I will say it just for the record - I AM NOT A RUNNER!! So for me to be out there with some elite runners, I'll say that I was somewhat happy with my results - I'll definitely improve next time - I was kinda nervous about THE BRIDGE at the end of the race so I held back a little for the first 10k, but in retrospect I coulda pushed a lil harder. Next year - sub 1hr but this year's result: 416th OVERALL and 72nd in age group -- not bad considering there was something like 12ooo people there!

Here's a lil bird's eye view of the finish - Here's me and my bro-n-law (He's in his first year of running and this was his first River Run also - props to him most definitely)

Then in mid-March, I hit the first round of the SERC (Southeast Regional Championship) race in Gainesville (at Haille's Trails, which are some of the most fun trails to ride in FL - too bad they aren't open year round - BUMMER). I had figured it would be a good test of my mtb fitness, as I was kinda anxious to see how my training was doing AND I would be racing my first race in the 30-39 Expert class (yeah, I'm getting OLD!! 30?!?!?! - whoa!! ). Had a great race and found myself sitting in third for the entire race until getting passed on the LAST climb on the LAST lap - Result: Fourth place AND a big mtb confidence boost.

Next, it was on to my first Xterra race of the year - Miami (Oleta River State Park). I was anxiously anticipating this race - as I had decided that this was my main focus for this year. I had been working with Shawn Burke to help get ready for this and I was feeling GOOD going into this race. Now this wasn't my first Xterra ever- but it was my first Xterra ever that I have actually TRAINED for, so it would be interesting to see how I would stack up against some bonafide offroad tri-guys. The race went well - was actually leading after T2 (the transition from bike to run) after setting the fastest bike split of the day and passing Casey Fannin. On the run, Mr. Fannin put the hammer down and made me realize that I've still got a little work to do. Great race - really cool venue - especially the run, with some river crossings where you had to pull yourself across on a rope - A LOT OF FUN!! Result: 2nd overall / 1st age group

After Miami - I took my newfound MULTISPORT ability to the BFAS Duathlon in Nocatee on April 19th. This was kinda a small race but would serve perfectly as a tune-up race for an upcoming Xterra in Ft Yargo. Short distances of a 2mile run / 12 mile bike / 2mile run would suit me well, especially since - say it with me, "I AM NOT A RUNNER". Hit my goals with this one and went sub 1hr - avg'd about 6:30 pace on the run and about 24mph on the bike. Fun little race - hope they keep those things going. Result: 8th overall and 1st agegroup.

Now, here's where it starts gettin good -> the weekend of April 26th and 27th was an action packed weekend full of good times and some decent results. Saturday was the Ft. Yargo Xterra, put on by GoneRiding - who always does such a GREAT job with running races. SUPER fun trails had me stoked to be out riding and I put in the second fastest bike split - right behind Xterra pro Craig Evans. I started the run in second - but faded to 5th overall (probably due to the fact that - "I AM NOT A RUNNER") but was stoked to say the least cuz I actually felt somewhat fast on the run - definitely faster than my run in Miami.

That's me in the wetsuit with the orange cap doing the freestyle stroke --

Coming out of the water -UH -- where'd I put my bike again????

AhH - i love these TRAILS!!!!

Startin the run --

And then this is what's its all about:

The next day was a SERC race and I figured that since I was there then I might as well race - especially since the trails were AWESOME - was feeling pretty good in the race - actually held third until the final lap when i got passed on the last climb (uh, don't they call that dejavu?) (uh, don't they call that dejavu?) Oh well, fourth place for a race that I did totally without any expectations - stoked (as well as $80 richer - expert racing has its advantages!!)(hey check out Trent Maddox (first place dude) - I think he's WASTED!!)

After the Yargo Experience, I had a month until my "A" race, so I hit the training hard - including some good rides with the Bluester:

As a prep race, I did the first round of the BFAS triathlon - felt kinda off that day for some reason - might've had something to do with running late and not getting in a warmup (note to self: warmup at next race). Still ended up 2nd in age group and something like 18th overall. Those are super fun races (and close to home!).

Next up was the BiG Daddy of Xterra Races: the Southeast Championship in Pelham, AL. Was super stoked and looking forward to this race like no other. BUT, it just so happened that I came down with some nasty head cold on the Friday before the race. ARGH!!!!! I don't get sick very often but this was the most INCONVENIENT time possible. Oh well, after a decent swim and a mediocre bike section, my body decided that it didn't want to move forward anymore. Just finishing that run was probably one of the hardest things ever!! The run was a 10K and about half of it was some super steep climbs - a lot walking (and some crawling) and more cramping spelled out a bad race for me. Was in 2nd agegroup but fell back to 7th - but I finished, so considering that I felt like crap - I have to be somewhat happy that at least I didn't die out there on the trails. Well, here's a pic - i had to digitally alter it so that you couldn't make out the painful grimace on my face - I did my best to pretend that I was running when I saw the photog, because MAN, I WUZ HURTING!!

Oh well, 1st half of 08 is over with. Time to move on and learn from the past six months. Looking forward to some fun times over the next couple of months - the big day is approaching (September 6th) and that is gonna have most of my focus for the coming months, but I'll be racing a little bit and will try to put something together for the USA Xterra National Championships in Lake Tahoe in October.