TIMEX Multisports Team Camp

February 23rd, 2010

Last week the athletes and staff of the 2010 TIMEX Multisports team had a very unique opportunity to train at the TIMEX Performance Center in New Jersey. This facility is the home of the NY Football Giants organization and is the most state of the art facility in all of the NFL. Needless to say, I was like a kid in a candy store.

I flew in from San Diego on Thursday evening and Tom Shuler was there waiting to pick many of us up from the airport. We have quite the team this season . . . Forty-seven athletes in all, with nearly a third of the team comprised of international athletes. It was nearly a miracle that everyone arrived on time, but in happened. A great start to team camp!

After a quick check-in at the hotel, we headed over to the TIMEX Performance Center (TPC) to meet up with all the other team members that had flown in on earlier flights. It was a massive reunion for most of the team and I could immediately tell this was the exact atmosphere I was looking for when I applied for the team. After a great dinner covering about every food you could think of, we headed to the auditorium for a presentation by Keith Meyer and Tristan Brown. The team was introduced to members of the NY Giants medical staff (Ronnie Barnes – legend in his field), the President of Timex Business Group, Adam Gurian, and many other professionals that work very hard to keep the TIMEX Multisport team a very well oiled machine. Right before the meetings ended we were even given the new TIMEX Global Trainer that had been rush delivered to members of the team specifically for the camp (these will not be available to the public until late May at REI). All I can say is the watch system is amazing and will definitely be on my wrist for training and racing this season.

Friday morning came very early (still on West Coast time), but I was eager to see what the first day of camp was going to bring. The team headed over to the TPC for breakfast to fuel up for a long day of clinics and seminars. We were given an assignment to create short videos with FLips to embody the collaborative efforts of TIMEX and the NY Football Giants. We shot footage most of the morning before we headed in to some “round robin” clinics in the afternoon. After learning about the awesome TIMEX products, we were given the opportunity to play some football on the indoor turf field. It is amazing the quality of the field and overall facilities the Giants players utilize on a daily basis. Our team ended up with a sub par record (probably due to my multiple interceptions), but fun was had by the entire Multisports team and TIMEX staff. However, the biggest surprise was yet to come.

For those who have never been to Medieval Times . . . wow. This is where we went Friday night for dinner and it was quite the show. The entire team walked down the road to the restaurant where we were given cardboard head crowns to wear for our dining festivities. We were to cheer for the RED Knight, who fought a gallant battle, but ended up losing to the black/white knight in the finale. It is amazing how the spectators get so in to it, me included. I thought for sure our knight would have won on sheer enthusiasm alone. The entire TIMEX team was doing the wave and making sure EVERYONE in that place knew who we were. Oh well, can’t win them all.

Saturday was the dawn of a new day and a day in which our videos would be finalized. The NY Giants editing staff did an amazing job of putting our videos together and they all turned out very well. The legendary Giant Carl Banks was our guest judge and I really forget which team won the competition (I know, but I am not giving them an opportunity to rub it in even more). In addition to the FLip competition, we had various other clinics focusing on functional movement and a presentation of MELT, a series of myofascial release exercises in the arms and feet to loosen the muscle of the entire body. Cool stuff I will be using down the road to help with injury prevention. After a long, but great day at the TPC, we all went our own ways for dinner. I ended up visiting two of my childhood friends in the East Village that I rarely see anymore. It was great catching up with them both and we are really coming up with some great fundraising ideas for the DA Taylor Foundation. I am really hoping to meet my monetary goal for Kona with the help of the Janus Charity Foundation.

The last day of camp was very sad, but we did get to take some team pics and play the championship football game. The red team won in penalty kicks (that’s what you get when triathletes play football). After packing up the massive amounts of TIMEX product we were given to test, I headed to the airport to begin my long journey back to San Diego.

Last weekend made me realize how lucky I am to be chosen for this team. Every member of the team truly cares about the success and happiness of others. Results will surely come when you are surrounded by fellow competitors out there cheering and supporting you on the course. I am already looking forward to team camp next year!

Many thanks to the TIMEX corporation and the NY Football Giants organization.

Pics of weekend below:

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Giants welcoming the team!

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Giants have won three Superbowls!

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Amazing weight room

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Global Trainer - thing is dope

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V02 Max testing

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Starting RB Brandon Jacobs

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Underwater treadmill to take the load off the lower extremeties

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Bruce doing functional movement analysis

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Final day of camp, it had to be done Keith! Sorry

I have also attached a short video clip below (Click link and 2/22 - Timex greets Giants)

http://www.giants.com/multimedia/

PT, Coaching & Timex Camp

February 17th, 2010

Since the turn of the new year, things did not exactly go according to schedule. I was feeling a slight pain in the back of my knee in Maui with the family and immediately got an X-ray with Dr. Freeman as soon as I got home. My diagnosis was confirmed when he discovered I had a torn lateral meniscus. I have had 3 prior knee surgeries on this knee, all for a torn meniscus, so I was a bit frustrated to hear the news. However, in the grand scheme of things, it is really not the end of the world. Physical therapy with Gino at UCPT (the best ART & PT in San Diego) has been going great and I am well ahead of schedule. I hope to be running by the end of the month.

Everything else besides the knee has kept me very busy and has not even really given me a chance to think too much about it. I have committed to working 5 Ironman events in the US and I am playing a more active role with Multisports.com as well. The private coaching is going very well along with the UCSD team poised to make a run at Nationals this season as well. We have a VERY talented team (best the school has ever seen) and our main goals include  winning Conference and the National Championship. With all these commitments, which are awesome, I will not be racing an Ironman this season except Kona in October. I simply do not have the time to put in the necessary hours to really race an early season Ironman at a high level. Roch and I have some great ideas about my training this season which will be a shift from long and boring hours. I am really excited to try some new things.

I am off tomorrow for Team TIMEX camp in Newark, NJ for 4 days. I can not describe how happy I am to be on the team this season. I come from a team-oriented sports background (lacrosse and basketball) and love the camaraderie TIMEX has already been displaying with their athletes. We have a big group this year on the squad and are lucky enough to get to train out of the TIMEX Performance Center for the camp. TIMEX just signed a 15 year partnership with the NY Giants so this will be our headquarters for camp. I will be sure to tell Eli that San Diego says hello. I will also have a chance to meet up with my good buddies I grew up with in the city on Saturday night. They are all on the Board for the DA Taylor Foundation and I am sure we will come up with some great ideas for raising money for the annual scholarship.

I hope everybody is enjoying this San Diego weather . . . wish I could take some to NYC with me!

UCSD Tritonman Sprint Triathlon

January 28th, 2010

Just a reminder to all triathletes that the UCSD Tritonman sprint triathlon is taking place on Saturday, February 20th down at Fiesta Island. There will be prizes from CLIF Bar, X Terra wetsuits, Lululemon, TIMEX,  Avia and more. Sign up soon because there are less than 100 spots left.  This is a great tune-up for those looking to race an early season 70.3 or Ironman. Hope to see you all out there!

Coaching

January 16th, 2010

Just a quick note that I will be coaching with Multisports.com this season and am accepting athletes at the moment. My rates and contact information can be found here.

Hope all your seasons are off to a good start!

Janus Charity/DA Taylor Foundation

January 5th, 2010

I have been waiting a while to write about this, but this is probably the most important agenda I will have going in to the 2010 season. Not only will I be racing for an amazing new team (Team Timex), but I will be working with the Janus Charity Foundation to raise money for the DA Taylor Foundation.  After speaking with the Board Members of the Foundation (also my best friends I grew up with) and with DA’s family, they all gave me their blessings to begin the fund raising process.

This gives a brief synopsis of DA’s life and his eventual battle with meningitis.

On March 20, 1995, D.A. Taylor died from meningitis as a teenager. His family and friends founded the D.A. Taylor Charitable Foundation in 2006 to honor D.A.’s spirit and the quintessential and symbolic good that he represented.

His existence naturally touched all of us, and it is our proud obligation to prolong that spirit through his name.

Anyone who came in contact with him knew he was a special guy. The kind of young man you never forget and want your children to emulate.

You can read the Mission statement that established the Foundation here.

The money I will be raising for the Foundation will go towards a collegiate scholarship. More detailed info below:

Scholarship

Financial aid to support a four-year college education will be awarded on an annual basis to at least one student from the state of Virginia who embodies all the good for which D.A. stood.

The scholarship will be administered and managed logistically by The Norfolk Foundation in Norfolk, VA, under the following guidelines as written by the Board of the D.A. Taylor Charitable Foundation:

The late D.A. Taylor believed that the best way for an individual to improve him or herself is to obtain a well-rounded education, preparing each person to become a productive member of society who could make lasting and positive contributions to his or her community. In memory of D.A. Taylor, the purpose of the fund shall be to provide scholarships for students attending high schools in South Hampton Roads who are in need of financial aid for post-secondary education at a four-year college or university. An applicant should display the qualities exhibited by D.A. Taylor, such as strong leadership and academic abilities, involvement in extra curricular activities, a commitment to helping others, and overall excellence inside and outside of the classroom.

Feel free to contact me or any of the Board members here. My goal is to raise $20,000 for the Foundation - culminating in Kona, October 2010 for the Ironman World Championships. I also plan to create a LARGE team to run the Va Beach Rock and Roll Half Marathon this Labor Day Weekend (Sep 5th).

More information on how and where to donate will be up soon (working on my fundraising home page now).

Hope everyone is doing well. 2010 is going to be an amazing year!

Wind Tunnel Tutorial

December 18th, 2009

On Monday I was given an opportunity to check out the Wind Tunnel in San Diego thanks to Multisports.com (who I will be working with this season). I met Dave Sanford and Kraig Willett down there and they were nice enough to let me sit in on two cyclist’s getting tested. They did their best to explain what the protocol was used for testing aerodynamics, but the main thing I took away from the experience was that every athlete is so different. There is not standard answer for reduced drag across the board for every athlete. EVERY ATHLETE IS DIFFERENT. Hence, the need to spend time in the tunnel to precisely see if the equipment or body position you are using is going to yield you the fastest time, while also allowing you to conserve enough energy to nail the run. It is all a balancing act just like the sport itself. They could slam you in some crazy aerodynamic position (which they do for the Tour riders they test), but there is no way you could hold that for 56 or 112 miles.

Both Dave and Kraig were quite the aerodynamic gurus and I definitely saw the benefit in getting tested. Hopefully, I can get in there before Kona, but I will be in charge of taking athletes down there this season through Multisports.com. If interested or know anyone that is please send me an e-mail through my website contact info.

I have attached some pics to wet the appetite.

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The tunnel is right near the Airport downtown.

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The bike is set up on a revolving elevated circled to simulate wind conditions (tested @ 5 thru 15 degree yaw) - they can mimic this while the air is on, which allows the rider to experience simulated wind conditions without getting off the bike every time. The price is not cheap for the tunnel, but you do get a lot of runs for 1 hour of tunnel time. They can also see precise wattage while they test you.

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You can see Kraig here using the wand to expose high drag areas before they test him.

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As they test different positions, Kraig outlines the rider to make sure every test is as close to perfection as possible (these guys are ANAL - a good thing)

Just some pics of athletes who have been tested at the tunnel!

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Heather

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Kate

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Paula

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Lance

I hope I did justice in explaining the process, but rest assured you are in good hands when Dave and Kraig test you!

2010 Sponsorship Update and Race Schedule

December 4th, 2009

I am alive! I am finally getting around to updating my blog after weeks of inactivity on the training/racing front. Only days after I raced IM Florida, the UCSD tri team headed out to Borrego Springs for a cycling camp. We did two nights of camping under the stars and we all had a blast riding up Montezuma and Banner Grade in to Julian . . . some great riding out there. I returned Sunday evening and then immediately headed to Arizona driving a 24′ box truck full of bike racks for IM Arizona. I worked by butt off under the guidance of Roch (including 22hrs straight on race day) and finally drove the truck home three days after the race. I really think every athlete should volunteer to help out at a race once a year. I have a whole new appreciation for what goes in to one of these races and it makes training and racing seem very easy!

Now, on to the sponsor front for next season. Zoot has been my main sponsor for the last 3 seasons and I consider them family. Eli and Brian have supported me through injuries and not so stellar race results. In short, they have always been there for me. Eli has moved on to create her own business, www.smackmedia.com, and I pursued an opportunity to race on an American professional team. For the 2010 season, I will be racing for Team Timex. Zoot has been very supportive of my decision and I wish each and every individual at Zoot great success. They will always be family.

My tentative race schedule is listed below:

February 14th - San Dieguito 1/2 Marathon

March 20th - Devil Dog Duathlon

April 11th – SuperFrog 1/2 Ironman

May 1st - Ironman Utah

June 5th - Honu 70.3

June 27th – Ironman Coeur d’Alene

July 18th – Vineman Ironman 70.3

August 22nd - Timberman Ironman 70.3

September 5th - RnR 1/2 Marathon Virginia Beach

October 9th – Ironman World Championship

November 13th – Ironman 70.3 World Championship
I hope everybody is enjoying the off season!

IM Florida recap

November 10th, 2009

I am not a big fan of writing race reports because 95% of them sound the same. They end up being long-winded and, to be honest, I never really read them unless I coach the athlete.

I will just say it was not wise for me to do 3 Ironmans in a span of 4 months, but you never know until you try. I tried and felt sluggish all day. I will also not race any flat Ironmans anymore. That style of racing does not suit me well. Once again, I tried, it did not work.

I am putting this race behind me and focusing on next season. There will be A LOT of swimming and running throughout the Winter. I was not able to train all last Winter due to injury so I am excited to have the opportunity to really focus on my weaknesses and do some block training for a couple of months.

My off season has begun and I am really excited  about focusing my energy towards the UCSD tri program and working on some sponsors for 2010. New sponsor info will be announced soon!

Enjoy the off season!

Interesting news finally announced

November 6th, 2009

Read article here.

Better get FAST if you want to race professionally. I really like this and feel this will help legitimize the sport on a professional level. The talent of the pro field will be VERY high and you will basically have to finish top 3 to go to Kona. Bring it on!

Press for IM Florida

November 4th, 2009

Click here and here for articles.

Nice recognition, but now I have to go out and prove I deserve it.

Thank you to all those who have wished me good luck!