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Onwards and Upwards

As I was sitting in the back of the pick-up truck looking around at all the volunteers, I knew this would be my last triathlon for the foreseeable future. I had crashed very hard descending The Beast during the St. Croix 70.3 and was now being driven back to the race start by a local volunteer to receive medical attention.  Reflecting on my triathlon career during that drive brought a huge smile to my face. I was in the back of the truck with another young athlete and realized it was at his age (26) that I first got in to the sport. I am now 34 years old and have so many things in my life I would like to accomplish.

As I reflect back on my time in triathlon I can’t help but think of all the funny stories I have been a part of or been witness to. It is the training days with all the great people I have met along the way that I will truly miss.  Race results come and go, but the experiences will be what I look back on with great admiration.

It was not this bad crash that lead me to walk away from that sport, only the icing on the cake of what my plan had been for some time now. I knew heading in to this season that after October I would be done racing in the “professional” category.  I wanted to qualify one last time for Kona and have that be my last race. However, sometimes life does not work out the way you want in to!

The main reason I am stepping away from triathlon is I have simply not liked the person I have become. Ever since my succession of injuries right after Kona in 2007, my passion for the sport dwindled. I take full responsibility for the attitude I took (we all have control of one thing – OUR OWN ATTITUDE) in dealing with my injuries. Over the years my happiness has been dictated by my race performance. This has taken a burden on my wife, my Mother and family and my friends. I have missed weddings, not even seen some of my best friends children and have not spent enough time with my Mom while she battled cancer (and lost her husband).  As much as we try to deny it, triathlon is an extremely selfish sport for many. Some find that balance, but I was never able to.

I know I will miss racing/training, but I am excited for the next chapter of my life. Time to go reconnect with my friends and family.

Good luck to everybody this season and thank you all again for sharing the racecourse with me over the years!

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Timex Team Camp - NYC

As my alarm went off a couple minutes before 4am this past Thursday, I had already been up for 15minutes. I had set my “internal” alarm that many triathletes can tap in to the morning of race day. This was not a race morning, but the first day of Timex Team Camp in New Jersey at the Timex Performance Center (home of the current SuperBowl Champion NY Giants). This is always one of my favorite weekends of the year.

The Timex Multisport Team is comprised of 48 athletes, both amateur and professional. 2012 will mark the 11^th season of the team’s existence, the longest running triathlon in the world. This is a statistic that all the athletes, Timex Corporation and NY Giants staff take a great deal of pride in. This will be my 3^rd year on the team and every season has gotten better and better!

When I arrived Thursday evening, I was picked up and taken directly to the Timex Performance Center. Walking in the door to the Center is amazing. To the left you have three Lombardi trophies (given annually to the SuperBowl Champions)

I yearn for the day when my hometown San Diego Chargers can win one of these.

After drooling over the trophies, I was lead in to the dining hall for a quick dinner before heading in to the team presentation in the Giants auditorium given by Keith Meyer and Tristan Brown.

The boys dressed for success.

 

The 2012 team was introduced to members of the NY Giants staff, the VP of Timex Marketings Group, Herbie Calves, and many other professionals that work very hard to keep the TIMEX Multisport team successful for over a decade. Right after the lectures ended we were given a ton of Timex schwag.

 

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. After a 5am wake up call, we headed over to a local highschool for a team swim session. I made it though the workout, but was definitely feeling the lack of sleep (it was 3am PST). We then headed over to the TPC for breakfast to fuel up for a long day of clinics and seminars. First on tap was Shimano where we learned about new wheels and some exciting new products coming this summer. We also were fortunate enough to be joined once again by many students from the Korey Stringer Institute from the University of Connecticut. KSI has been one of the top Exercise Physiology post-graduate institutions for over a decade and this was the 2^nd year they had been partnered with the Timex team. At camp we were focusing on figuring out our sweat rates.  The KSI converted the Giants training facility in to a heat sauna by shutting the doors and using portable heaters to get the room temperature up to 85 degrees. We were then asked to run or ride a stationary bike for an unknown amount of time while they recorded perceived effort and internal body temperature. What I failed to mention is the night before we were given orange jugs to urinate in all night and all morning. We were also given internal heat thermometers in a tablet form we had to take right before our swim earlier in the day. All this was well worth it once I got the results back. I learned a lot about my body in humid conditions and am eager to apply it when I race in St. Croix and Hawaii this summer.

After performing a 45min run, all my sweat was captured in this tub and analyzed.

 

After a long, but great day at the TPC, we all were treated to a catered Mexican dinner at the Meadowlands Stadium (where the Giants play their games). It was a great evening with a ton of amazing speakers, namely Karen Smyers and Steve Weatherford, the starting kicker for the Giants. After the speeches, awards were given out by Keith Meyer to outstanding athletes on the team.  Chris Thomas and Jackie Arendt were named athletes of the year and were well deserving.

Two impressive athletes on and off the race course.

 

Keith Meyer also gave a very emotional speech about Erin Kummer who was elected to the Timex Hall of Fame. She’s battled a ton of injuries and has persevered through them all with an amazing attitude. The awards ceremony came to an end and we all headed back to the hotel where some nighttime festivities lasted into the wee hours of the morning. It’s pretty hard to sleep when there are just too many great people to catch up with on the team!

 

Saturday morning came early once again. I opted out of the swim for a bit more sleep, but definitely got ribbed for it! After another huge gourmet breakfast and some headshots snapped by Larry Rosa, we were presented an amazing Q and A with Quintana Roo. Mac McEneaney and Brad DeVaney are the forces behind this company and I am really excited to be working with them this year. The CD 01 is the bike of choice for Timex this season and I can’t wait to get aboard one!

 

 Mac McEneaney on the left and Brad DeVaney on the right. These guys know their stuff!

 

After the QR clinic I headed back to the hotel and got in a quick jog before I headed downtown with a bunch of teammates. NYC was amazing and I’ll just say we did not make it home on the last bus.

The last day of camp was very sad, but we did get to take some team pictures and say our final goodbyes. 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 a part of 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.

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On to 2012

The Holidays were simply a whirlwind of activity. Meredith and I headed to Rome for 7 days with the family in mid-December and then took the train down to Florence for 4 days over Christmas. Italy is an amazing country with so much history and I recommend checking it out if ever given the opportunity.

Once we returned to the States, we decided to head down to the Chick-fil-A Bowl where UVA was playing Auburn (the defending National Champions).  Fortunately, we got to meet up with Meredith’s friends from college, Kim and Angelo Crowell, for the second New Years in a row.  Angelo played linebacker for UVA until 2003 and recently retired from the NFL so it was fun sitting in the stands with him for his first game as a spectator instead of a player.

Unfortunately, UVa got whooped, but we all managed to stay up until midnight on New Years. No small feat!

This week was my first week back training and I have a ways to go, but I can already feel some of the fitness coming back. Consistency, consistency, consistency. I hope to be ready in time to race Cal 70.3, but Roch and I will determine where my fitness is come that time. The goal of 2012 is to get to Kona.

I am also really excited to announce a partnership with Bonk Breaker Energy Bars and Extreme Endurance for 2012. So excited to be working with these companies and I can’t wait to help them grow within the sport. Needless to say, I am stoked to be on Team Timex (the best team in the sport) for another season. I simply love this team!

My family gets here tomorrow on their way back to Oz, and Matt Charbot is going to be staying with us for a bit this week as well. Really pulling for the VB boy to get to London in 2012 and hoping he moves out here as well!

That’s it for now, thanks for reading!

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Kona Predictions

Men:

1. Craig Alexander

2. Marino Vanhoenacker

3. Raelert

4. Rasmus Henning

5. Ronnie Schildknecht

6. Timo Bracht

7. Luke Bell

8. Eneko Llanos

9. Faris Al Sultan

10. Pete Jacobs

Women:

1. Wellington

2. Carfrae

3. Cat Morrison

4. Kelly Williamson

5. Mary Beth Ellis

6. Caroline Steffen

7. Rachael Joyce

8. Caitlin Snow

9. Leanda Cave

10. Linsey Corbin

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Build to Arizona

After a couple weeks of easy training and catching up with all my neglected projects/chores, Roch and I decided that Ironman Arizona would be my next race. The race is only 7 weeks away, but it gives me enough time to work on some specific weaknesses that I was not able to do in my build heading in to Wisconsin. The training from now until race day will focus a lot on top end in the water and leg turn over running, while maintaining my cycling strength.

This November will also mark the 4th year I will be raising money for Movember. Movember was started by an Aussie, Adam Garone, years ago when his friend’s Uncle was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He recruited some friends to grow mustaches for the entire month of November in Oz while raising funds. More info can be found here. As some may know, my Father battled prostate cancer nearly a decade ago and my Mother is currently fighting breast cancer at the moment. Obviously, many are effected by this disease and I am really excited to partner with Movember to spread awareness and raise money this Fall. We had a great team last year and if anyone is interested on joining our team this November, please contact me.

Thanks for reading!

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What I think it means to be a “professional”

It is my responsibility, and the responsibility of all professional triathletes, to leave the sport in better shape than when we started our careers in triathlon. This is the basic rule I have for the sport and believe all pros should have the same mentality. As I wrote many month ago about my internal struggle with my racing, many things have changed. Some of those things are personal, which does not warrant a public forum, but others were simply a matter of self inflection. I think many pros really need to take a hard look in the mirror and figure out what triathlon means to them. Personally, I know I will never be McCormack or Craig Alexander, but I love the sport. Therefore I asked my myself, “How can I race at a high level, help my sponsors and still make some income without winning races?” I believe I had already added tremendous value to my sponsors by setting up local retail connections to expand their product growth and increased their product awareness to my coached athletes. I have also begun to take classes to pursue my Master’s in Exercise Science to further my understanding of the human body and how it pertains to the sport. I am also writing for a national triathlon publication, which helps brand my coaching and sponsor affiliation.  All of these can add up to a lifelong career in the sport that, in my eyes, is WAY more important than winning an Ironman. Believe me, sponsors, or shall I say savvy sponsors, see the value in this. I think Empfield really nailed it in this article and I could not agree with him more.

Many second tier pros are in this EXACT same dilemma. Let me give you some advice . . . life is not fair. We have to work off the course harder than the Maccas and McCormack’s. They are better athletes and always will be. They will make more money than us. Yes, deal with it. The biggest thing that bothers me is when pros whine about prize money, but then do not offer any value than simply showing up and racing. Have you offered to do a clinic before the race? Speak at the carbo dinner? Speak at the awards banquet? Help at the kids race before the event? Why would a race director or corporation increase prize money or appearance fees for no added value? Our generation of sport, except for a handful of top tier athletes, will not get rich racing . . . ever. However, if the sport continues to grow as it is doing now and we, as pro athletes, stop whining and find a way to recreate ourselves, the next generation of pro triathletes can prosper. Be a bit unselfish and pave the way for the next generation, but most importantly, act NOW to better the sport. It is our job.

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Ironman Wisconsin Race Report - LAVA Magazine

I wrote this last week for LAVA Magazine …

There is a certain youthful feel to a college town, and Madison is no different. My wife and I drove around the WU campus before the Badgers football game on Saturday and could feel the electricity. Everyone was dressed from head to toe in red just waiting to go nuts for kickoff. This was our second trip to Madison and once again, the race weekend did not disappoint.

Race day started with the usual singing of the national anthem, but today was different. It was the 10 year anniversary of 9/11 and there were many first responders actually racing the Ironman. I remember treading water before the gun went off thinking of all the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces, firefighters and paramedics that serve our country on a daily basis. Their sacrifices go unnoticed so many times and I am so truly proud to be an American.

The professional race cannon sounded at 6:50 a.m., 10 minutes before the amateur race was set to start. The conditions were ideal and the sunrise over Lake Monona was amazing. Romain Guillaume quickly took the lead distancing himself from the rest of the men’s field. While in the women’s race Meredith Kessler took the lead early putting three minutes in to Heather Gollnick, a multiple Ironman champion.

On to the bike and the race began to take shape. Guillaume pushed the pace on the bike early, putting time in to the men’s chase pack consisting of fellow pre-race favorites Ezequiel Morales of Argentina, local pro Blake Becker and South African Freddy Lampret. On the second loop of the bike I noticed the temperature on my power meter read 88 degrees so I knew hydration and sodium intake were going to be paramount for the remainder of the race. On the women’s side, Kessler and Jessica Jacobs rode nearly the identical time, which gave Kessler a nice cushion coming into T2. The female race was turning in to a two-woman battle.

The Frenchman Guillaume entered T2 with a five minute lead over Morales while Becker and German Stefan Schmid were only a couple minutes in arrears. The temperature on the run course was climbing and the marathon became a battle of attrition. Morales, known for his amazing run splits, took the lead from Guillaume and never looked back. He posted the fastest run split of the day and crossed the finish line for his first Ironman victory in his career. Stefan Schmidt ended up running a strong marathon as well to finish 2nd, while class acts Becker and early race leader Guillaume walked in together after fading on the run. I was fortunate enough to run in to third place after “surviving” the run. As I stated after the race on Twitter, “not a pretty day today at IM Wisconsin, but sometimes showing up, putting one foot in front of the other and never quitting gets you to your goal.”

The women’s race would not be decided until the last 10k of the run. Kessler was running well, but there was simply no quit in Jacobs. The Green Bay native and retired Army captain gave it her all, which would be enough to earn her the title. When Jacobs crossed the tape, she gave an emotional celebratory speech to the spectators while her husband watched online from Iraq. Kessler finished in second after setting the pace for most of the day and Whitney Garcia from Boulder rounded out the podium.

Ironman Wisconsin was a very special day for the Jacobs family. At the awards banquet, Jessica gave quite a stirring victory speech praising her Army soldiers and explaining her decision to move back to Green Bay to be with her mother and sister after her father had passed. No one deserved and earned that victory at Ironman Wisconsin on the 10-year anniversary of 9/11 more than Jacobs.

Ironman Wisconsin

September 11, 2011

2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run

Top 5 Pro Men

1. Ezequiel Morales (ARG) 8:45:18

2. Stefan Schmid (DEU)  8:57:51

3. Mac Brown (USA) 9:08:14

4. Ernst Moser (AUT) 9:09:42

5. Andreas Wolpert (DEU) 9:13:57

Top 5 Pro Women

1. Jessica Jacobs (USA)  9:41:03

2. Meredith Kessler (USA) 9:50:45

3. Whitney Garcia (USA) 10:03:53

4. M. Soledad Omar (ARG) 10:06:57

5. Katya Meyers (USA) 10:10:28

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TriStar 111

I wrote this race recap for Lava Magazine on the plane ride home from Minnesota yesterday…

Minnesota is not traditionally known as a hotbed for multisport events, but my trip this past weekend to TriStar 111 in Maple Grove proved to be one of the best experiences I’ve had in the sport. I arrived in Minneapolis Thursday afternoon after a short flight from San Diego where my gracious home stay picked me up from the airport. As we drove to his house it was easy to see why so many athletes come from all over the Midwest to compete. The vast rolling green hills, abundance of horse farms and warm weather really makes the area conducive to outdoor activities.

The TriStar Series is very well established in Europe, but this was the debut of the unique distance (1k swim/100k bike/10k run) in the U.S. The format favors strong cyclists, but really attracts a broad range of athletes due to the shorter run. An athlete can go all out on the bike and still recover much better post-race due to the short 10k run. The 111 is a great distance for all triathletes looking to compete in a race a bit easier on the body than a 70.3. I have a feeling this distance is going to catch on here in the States.

After a day of easy workouts, some course recon and an amazing barbeque, I was ready to get the race started. The race morning air temperature hovered around a brisk 56 degrees, but the Bass Lake water temperature read a balmy 78. USAT rules required a non-wetsuit swim for the professional field while the age group race was wetsuit-legal. The two big name athletes on the start list were Chris McCormack and Maik Twelsiek. The race figured to be played out between these two, but unfortunately Macca had to stop early in the bike due to a bike mechanical. In true champion form, McCormack entered the Maple Grove sprint race after returning to the start line and raced alongside the amateur competitors.

The men’s race became the uber-cyclist Twelsiek’s to lose and he did not disappoint. After exiting the water shortly after McCormack, Twelsiek put on a cycling clinic and distanced himself from all other competitors. San Diego professional Karl Bordine, known for his cycling prowess, rode extremely well but could not reel in the flying German. Coming into T2 with nearly a five-minute lead, Twelsiek increased the gap even further with the day’s fastest run split. The German managed to break the official TriStar 111 course record previously held by another German and former Ironman World Champion, Thomas Hellriegel. Local pro Devon Palmer raced very well and rounded out the podium.

The women’s race had its fair share of mishaps. Local pro Amy Kloner and Boulder-based Aussie Christie Sym were the only two pro females registered for the race. Sym held a solid lead out of the swim, but both women took wrong turns on the bike course. Sym mistakenly cut the course short, while Kloner got some extra work in on the bike and ended up riding nine extra miles. Both women completed the run and had great attitudes at the finish nonetheless. Jenny Wilcox ended up taking the win.

The unique after-party and awards ceremony was held that evening on the St. Croix ferry boat. Picture the old ferry boats in the South from the Tom Sawyer/Huckleberry Fin novels and you can imagine the ambiance of travelling up the river. The food was great and hearing the athletes reminisce about their day’s races were all-time. Do yourself a favor next year and sign up for the TriStar 111 race in Minnesota. The unique format and local hospitality will not let you down.

I ended up in 5th place after a drafting penalty on the bike. My first penalty EVER in the sport, but all was not lost. I ran well and my watts were right where they needed to be heading in to IM Wisconsin in 2 weeks!

I will be wearing bib # 6 for the race and you can all follow on race day here.

Thanks for reading.

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Finally an update . . .

It has been a LONG time since I have written anything on my blog mainly because I have not felt like writing anything triathlon-related. I took a break after racing the Encinitas Sprint Triathlon nearly 3 months ago because I was a mess mentally. One of the athletes I coached at UCSD passed away from a heart attack, my Mom was diagnosed with cancer and my Dad was in and out of the ICU with complications from hip surgery. Needless to say, my training and racing was simply not a priority. Everyone at Timex was very understanding as was my amazing wife and friends. I truly do have the best friends in the world.

I got back in to the swing of things towards the end of June and have really been enjoying training again. Luckily, I have a damn good training partner who has pushed me to levels I have not seen in years. I also decided to get Roch Frey to coach me.  Phil Skiba is an amazing coach, but at that point in my life I needed to step away from the sport.  My build to IM Wisconsin has gone flawlessly and I am very eager to see how I go. I will be racing TriStar 111 this weekend to gather some data and get one last hard effort before I shut it down for IM.

Thanks for reading!

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What it’s all about

After graduating from college in 2000 I returned to Virginia Beach to live for a couple of years. Being an athlete all my life I was looking for a new challenge in my life. I had always enjoyed running, but decided that I wanted to run a marathon. I stopped drinking alcohol for 4 months (all my buddies loved that) and “trained” for the Richmond Marathon. My training consisted of running 3 times a week for an average of 45 min and running a long run that topped out at 9 miles. I ran the marathon, had some success and realized that I truly loved running.

 After I recovered from Richmond, I immediately began researching local running clubs in the area. Final Kick Sports was the premier running shop in Virginia Beach so I decided to check out some of their weekly group runs. I showed up to the first workout wearing lacrosse shorts (I thought lightweight short running shorts were for dorks) and ended up meeting some very cool people. I continued to run three to four times a week with the group over the span of a year and ran the Richmond Marathon again the following year. I took nearly 45min off my time, dropped 20 lbs and knew endurance sports would be a part of my life forever.

 None of this would have happened without the support and guidance of Jerry Frostick. Jerry was the owner of Final Kick, but was so much more to EVERYBODY, not just me. He lead all the weekly group runs, travelled to all the races, coached many of the athletes (including me) and was the heart and soul of the running community in Virginia Beach.  Jerry was like an older brother to me and is responsible for introducing me to endurance sports. Without Jerry’s guidance I would not be where I am today. I am a better person because of Jerry Frostick.

 I headed down to St. Croix to race this past weekend mainly because Jerry was bringing his crew down there. My race did not go as planned, but I am not going to bore you with a race report (you can read tons of other triathletes blow by blow accounts of their races).  What I am going to write about is a guy by the name of Jim Morse – aka –“ J Fab”, the MVP of the entire weekend.

 J Fab lives in DC and has been active in endurance sports for nearly 20 years. He has seen a lot of changes in the sport, but one thing has never changed . . . his attitude. J Fab signed up for St. Croix months ago, but did not train properly for the race at all. And when I mean not at all, I mean the man did not swim for over a year and could count on two hands how many rides he had done in the last 8 months.  We went for an easy spin a couple of days before the race and I got to check out the man’s style up close. He showed up to the ride with a rusty 1999 Fuji tri bike with 650 wheels and old school aerobars. His outfit was also impressive. A cotton Demolition Man race t-shirt from 1999 and the hairiest legs you have ever seen!

However, the one thing he did do was run, He signed up to race a 50miler two weeks ago, but had to pull out due to an injury. We all said he was well tapered!  However, J Fab signed up for the 70.3 and is a man of his word. Leading up to the race J Fab’s “diet” consisted of grilled cheeses, cheeseburgers, fries and at least two beers per meal. Consistency was key. I honestly did not think he would finish.

 Come race day J Fab was calm, collected and wishing all of his competitor’s good luck. He even walked across the transition area to where I was racked to see if I needed anything. He was more concerned for his friend’s than he was for himself.  J Fab ended up finishing the race, far from first place, but I can guarantee the Final Kick cheering squad gave him louder cheers than the winner.  He naturally crossed the line, hurting worse than most and immediately began asking how everybody else’s race had gone.

 The night after the race we decided to head out to a celebratory dinner with all the Virginia Beach crew and J Fab, yet again, put on another show. After a great dinner amongst friends and a couple of beers, we all thought J Fab should conquer The Beast one more time. He had not really gotten a good look at the climb during the race so we raised some funds to encourage his conquest. He, of course, agreed to run up the entire way (not allowed to walk at all) in sandals and in the buff. At 8:30pm we were off to the Beast and by 9pm J Fab was conquering the brutal hill by foot. I cannot go in to details (you had to be there, one of the funniest things I have seen in my life), but J Fab made it up in 9:02 with an ENOURMOUSLY loud cheering section. I am pretty sure not too many people would, or even could, accomplish what J Fab did last weekend.

The take away from this experience is triathlon should be fun. Whenever you get stressed out about your race or things go south, think “What would J Fab do?” I know I will.

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