Wolfpak Tri 2011

The Wolfpak Tri concludes the last triathlon of the season, and to think I had doubts of doing it because I was mentally tired.  It happened to turn out to be one if not the best race of the entire season.  I had everything packed and ready to go the night before.  Woke up and had a small breakfast.  Wait wonder if that Wood Chuck came into play at all last nightJ.  I arrived at the race site by 6:20, one of the first people like normal.  Racked my bike, changed, & downed a GU.

Last year my swim was way too fast and I knew I didn’t need to redline so early this year, so I backed my swim from a 7 min ¼ swim to 7:46.  This pace was very good and pretty relaxed the whole way.  I ran out and passed 2 or 3 people going into T1. 

As I ripped off my swim cap and goggles and changed shoes I was out of there in 31 sec.  Moving to the bike I again hammered the mess out of last year and couldn’t ever catch my breath.  This year was about pacing and saving for energy for the run except for one minor detail.

This one guy on the bike seems to have beaten me barely in ever road race triathlon there was this season.  I wasn’t sure about his mountain bike skills but I knew I needed to catch him and keep him in my sites.  He is a hell of a swimmer and a great road biker.  I saw him half way on the trail and realized he doesn’t MTB bike too much.  He was holding his own, but road seem to be his stronger suit.  I passed him and made sure I opened a gap.  That was my only goal for the bike, I made sure to stay relaxed and take deep breaths when I could.  As I approach the home stretch for T2, I would not in a million years expect to get a tap by my buddy Charles as he passed me.  HOLY CRAP, THIS JUST GOT INTRESTING!  21 mins flat which was faster than last year’s split.

We raced into T2 racked the bike and threw on the shoes.  I was out in 20 secs.

The dreadful run

I got out ahead of Charles from T2 but it’s never enough.  We basically left together and ran pace or pace the whole way.  I knew the first hill was going to be a killer so I tried to take it easy, but didn’t want Charles out of my sight either.  He always gets me on the runs.  Our first mile was 7:44 pace.  I was excited about and felt ok for the most part.  There was a Memphis Thunder guy we saw not too far ahead and our plan was to pull him in.  As we picked up the pace our 2^nd mile was 7 mins flat and the thunder guy wasn’t any closer.  We both grabbed water from the aid station and our buddy Brad was there handing it out.  Charles asked where I was and I gave him a friendly tap on the back in return.  I think he knew I was there but just wishing it was someone else.  This last ½ mile of our run just kept getting stronger, we were pushing anywhere from a 6:30 to 6:40 pace and was doing fair.  Charles and I traded position back several times I think to give each other breaks.  But the end was getting close and I have never sprinted Charles out before.  He is returning from an injury, but he always has a great race after an injury so I couldn’t cut him any slack.  We were still pace for pace with .05 mile to go, there it was.  The epic sprint up a grassy hill.  We pushed and strained all the way to close out the race.  I ended up having a small step ahead of him, but we finished having the exact same time 47:58 for the 2011 Wolfpak Tri.  It was a great day and the best race ever.  I showed us have an avg 7:07 pace on my Garmin, which was unbelievable.  No, we didn’t pass that Thunder guy, but that was irrelevant at this point.

All the Journeymen athletes placed in their age group. (Anthony, Bobby, Charles, and myself) 2- 1^st places, 1- 2^nd place, & 1-3^rd place.)    We have a great group of guys on our team, and glad to see the tri scene expanding some from JMR.

Ironbutt 2011 (100 miles on a MTN Bike)

PreRide

So with the lack of mountain biking this year, I wasn't sure if my bike nor I would be up to par for this year's challenge of the Ironbutt. Although I have been putting in lots of time on the road bike, mountain biking takes a whole different approach than road.

The night before my wife and I went an ate wiseguys pizza for a carob load. It was quite tasty but probably undid all the hydration efforts I did that day. That night we were staying with some friend in Memphis, so we both could be closer to our activities the next day. Unfortunately staying with friends that you don't hang out with end up being a late night. We didn't get into bed until 12:30ish, which was probably 4 hours later than I really wanted to be :) Okay a lil far stretch, I would have been good if I was asleep at 10pm. Because 4:45am the next morning came way too quickly.

One last thing before the start of the event. I was suppose to ride this awesome air nine carbon bike from a local bike shop as a demo, but that morning we were unable to snatch my pedals off to swamp them over to the demo bike. I was very frustrated, because this would have been a great opportunity to test out a 29er MTN bike compared to my 4yr old 26 inch bike. Thanks Kenny for your efforts in bringing it anyways. Maybe next time it will work out.

Ironbutt 2011

As 46 riders left Chris's house, the pace started off pretty fast. Oddly I felt like I was having a hard time keeping up on the road. Not sure why but I pressed on to keep up with the lead pack. We approached Lakeland trails with in a few miles. After a very technical ride there, we set off for the longest road portion to Herb Parson. Again the pace was set around 18 to 20 mph. This would be easy on a road bike, but tough on a mtn bike and even covering 100 miles that day. Majority of us stayed together and approached Herbs with no problems. After the trails once again we pushed it on the road to the connecting path of four wheeler trails that was much bearable than last year. We still had to hike a bike thru many sections but nothing comparable to last year. The worst section was coming up. It a service road of loose large gravel with thigh high weeds in sections. At this point of the day it was starting to cook up pretty good. Charles, Chad, and I stayed within a reasonable distance of each other to keep each other going. From this rocky road we jumped onto the greenline. Smooth asphalt my butt says thank goodness. This stretch was short lived as Charles and I jumped off onto the blue trail north of walnut grove back to Shelby farms. Wait wait wait....... That sounded like it was easy didn't it. At this point unfortunately my buddy Charles ran into some major problems with his bike. It took us a while to rig it back up as we were being eaten by mosquitoes with teeth. The chain kept coming off and he told me to press on. The man is not a quitter and I knew we were within a few miles of the food stop. So if need to be I could have returned if he didn't show. Shortly after eating he pulls up as does most of the 1st group too. We all take a much needed break, down some food liquids, and change into fresh clothes. You have no idea how good fresh socks felt at this point. Charles worked on his bike more as it was unstable prior till. By this point we were at mile 62. TDW wasn't bad, fairly hot in the fields like normal. After TDW, Chad jumped on and we took off for the WRT. Balling down the gravel road, Charles caught a flat. This wasn't his day. Again he told us to press on and we did. I haven't road WRT since the flood. There was about 2.5 miles of sand that made it impossible to ride. Chad and I had a great time trying to stay up right riding thru it. We loop back by where Charles flatted and didn't see him. Check the phone, and suggested he fixed it and was behind us. So we road on to our next stop Stanky Creek. Nothing to exciting here except more overgrown trails with thorns to slice your arms open as your road. Larry and Brad was waiting on riders at Stanky to mark off the list, they also had more liquids which couldn't have been better timing. Chad and I refueled and made our slowest lap ever out at Stanky. We took one small break as there was no breeze or cool air inside the trail. Just more heat and humidity. When we finished our lap, there was Charles and guess what :) He was working on his bike again. Dang it man. He was a trooper, and I also think he became certified to work on bikes after this day too. From here we had about 8 miles of road to go and it couldn't have gotten there quick enough. I had no time in mind of really finishing but just to finish. From start to finish it took a little over 11 hours for 106 miles. Out of the 46 riders only 23 finished. Im glad to say I was one of them again this year. I plan on returning next year and hopefully on a 29er.



Here is a link to my route Ironbutt Route
Here are pic from the race Pictures

Contribute to my Best Friend

My best friend is a very special person in my life.  They are the first person I think about when I make plans.  They are the first person I go to when you need someone to talk to or to talk for no reason at all.  They are the most important person in my life.

I met my best friend back around October 2000.  This person approached me while I was at work, asking me to perform a silly task in front of them (like they were on a scavenger hunt).  I wasn’t sure what to think, but I played along anyways.  A week later I ran into this person while on an errand from work.  What started as series of phone conversations and dates lead to a relationship that grew bigger and stronger.  If you haven’t caught on yet, my best friend is indeed my wife.

Most of my posts recently have been about triathlons and racing.  Triathlons have been a big part of my life recently, well mornings anyways, but bigger than racing in my life is my wife and kids.  I always knew I was pretty luck with her, but realized even more this past weekend.  I have several friends whose past relationships haven’t worked out for the best unfortunately.  I am not saying my relationship with Sherri hasn’t had their ups and downs; they have.  I am very thankful we get along really well and not much bother’s either one of us.  Married and relationships take lots of work on each party, and even more when kids are involved.  We have been together for 9.5yrs total and there seems to be something new and different to tackle each week.

We are still working on the “Perfect Routine” raising our kids.  It seems once one thing is going well, we (probably more me) start slipping in a different area.  But we are human and mistakes are going to happen.  Right now we are in the stages of potty training, listening, sleeping all night and being quite during Mommy and Daddy’s show with Eli.  He is 2yrs and 7mths old.  Mabry, oh my baby girl; she is great.  She is in that sponge stage, where Eli is showing her everything to do.  She is talking more and repeating words more clearly. 

Anyhow, in order to keep a strong relationship with your best friend (Wife/Girlfriend) there are certain things I try to do.

·         Communication- This can be hard but needs to be easy.  You must communicate what’s going on or how you feel.

·         Don’t go to bed anger- It’s always better to settle up and resolve any problems instead of letting them spoil inside of you.  

·         Separation- You must have time to yourself from time to time, that way enjoy the time being around your spouse.

Disclaimer: I am not a relationship expert.  This post was intended and purpose only to tell the World I love my wife and thankful for her every day. 

Southeast Championship Xterra Pelham

Southeast Champions Xterra Pelham

Last year I ventured down to Pelham, AL to participate in the Xterra Sport series.  The race was pretty top notch, so I had to recruit teammates to go with me the following year and race it.  There are Pros from all around the world that competes for a $1,800 cash prize for 1^st place in Male/Female Division.  With little to no persuasion at all, I was able to get my faithful teammate Charles to race the 2011 event.

We left late afternoon Saturday and took the drive down.  As we were discussing the race, I realized I forgot my dang wetsuit.  The water temps were hovering around the threshold to be wetsuit legal or not and I needed it just in case.  Lucky for me we walked up to a board with a “BIG SIGN” saying “No wetsuits, water above 75 degrees.”  This made me feel good since I didn’t want to be the only idiot without a wetsuit.  On the other hand a wetsuit keeps you buoyant and helps you exert less energy when swimming over long distance.

Charles and I arrived pretty early as normal to get ready for our first Xterra race of the year.  We set up our transition and made our way to the swim start.  They had a small cannon that fired off blanks, but it packed a loud bang.  As we took off, I had to take it slow and easy.  Our swim leg was .90 of a mile and I haven’t trained for this is well over 4 months.  I knew if I took it easy and steady I should make it without much pain.  As I began my 2^nd loop swim, I was feeling pretty good and heard a familiar name on my heals.  I focused on form and simple swim strokes with sufficient breathing.  The second loop Charles and I pretty much swam stroke for stroke.  We exited the water together, but then he hit the afterburners and took off.  I was thinking, “This guy is on crack!” J 

I beat Charles out of transition, but he hauled tail pass me on the road to the trail.  I wasn’t worried at all, I was glad he passed me, because I know trust his riding style and I preferred to ride his rear wheel when I could rather a stranger.  Also to add not much surprise but we were racing side by side again for the 3^rd straight multisport race of the year.  There really isn’t anything better either.  As we rode 90% of the trails together, we shared the brutal 3 mile climb that seriously thought never ended and also the sweet flowing single track.  After some of the downhill bombs, I noticed my shifting wasn’t working as well.  Its seems from all the vibration, my fingers started to go numb.  The trails are very demanding and you must focus the whole time.  If you took the slightest break, it could have caused you to crash.  Both of us were fortunate not to have any bike failure on this race.  Toward the end of the 20 mile mountain bike ride, I got stuck behind 3 riders.  Charles was able to break free earlier and got a lead on me.  He entered transition about 30 seconds ahead, and I knew we were about to enter in his strong sport “Hill Running.”

As I started to run, I knew an even pace over the 10k trail was my best approach.  I started getting a small cramp during the swim, and my legs were tired from the mountain bike terrain, and on top of all of it I seriously needed more fuel. (GU’s, water, Gatorade, cheeto’s, taco, whatever FOOD).  Xterra had all the water stops at the perfect location for me.  However the 2^nd stop was a little tricky.  I was trying to juggle two water cups and a Gatorade running.  As I was doing so, I kicked a root and busted so hard on the ground.  I had no time to catch myself at all and dropped all my fuel.  I was frustrated but glad I didn’t feel any pain from it.  I got up and proceed on.  Mile 3 was a booger too.  It housed one of the toughest climbs on the 10k course.  I decided to conserve energy and walk up this incline.  I say it helped but really have no idea.  All I know is I had nothing left when I finished and couldn’t think of anything better than sitting under the rain tent they had setup.  My total time was 3hr 33mins and 20sec.  I was 4^th in my age group.  3^rd was 10mins ahead and 5^th was 20 mins behind me.  I must get faster at swimming and need to improve my trail running.

Our end of race tradition normally involves with us stopping by sonic and getting the biggest greasiest hamburger, fries and a large milkshake.  Well little did I know the love of “WHATABURGER” Charles had?  J  We made a slight change of plans and chow down on a Whataburger burger and fries.

It was much worth it and so filling, until I got home and also ate half a Papa john’s pizza J  Racing is so much fun and racing with teammates is so much better.  I’m hoping we have more JMR out there next year.  Charles and I already have a few in mind and we will begin working on soon.

I must also add, on our way home we stopped at this gas station (Was) to view a neighborhood that got totally destroyed by the tornado damage 3 weeks prior.  The site itself will take your breath away and I couldn’t imagine the pain those families are going thru.  As I write this, our very own Joplin, MO location also got a mean storm which leveled the whole city.  Many of my co workers up there have lost their homes, but we are fortunate of no deaths to hear of yet.  My prayers go out to them.



Until next time JOURNEY ON!!!

Natchez Trace Triathlon

March 20, 2011 marked a 2yr annv. of my triathlon career/hobby.  This first triathlon was Natchez Trace Tri in Wildersville, TN.  Well my great buddy Charles and I decided to tackle this event again as its the first triathlon race of the season around our area.  Yes, the water is still quiet cold this time of season even though we have an awesome sunny day.  Going into the race, I felt pretty confident.  I was a little concerned about the swim, mainly my lack of swimming.  My plan of attack was to take it easy on that part and not over do it.  So here is my race report.  I hope I reread this for next year.

Swim
The plan was to swim a little before the start.  We were able to get into the water some but not really enough for me to test out my setup.  As I ran and high stepped as far as I could into the water at the start of the race, I could feel the cold water creeping into my wetsuit.  Finally, diving into the water and begining my strokes, my goggles started to fill with water slowly.  I dealt with the issue for a little bit until it was causing me to swim off course some.  So, I poked my head about water to empty the water and try to readjust them.  (Didn't work as planned).  The freezing water was making my face numb, and I spent too much energy trying to keep my goggles free of water.  I allowed myself 12mins on the swim and finished this segment in 10mins and some change.

T1
As I raced into transistion, I saw Charles getting ready to head out.  I made my quick change into my bike gear and had him in my sights as I was getting ready to mount onto the bike.

Bike
And this is where the trouble started,  2yrs ago i dropped my chain on this huge hill into the bike course.  Low and behold, I did it again.  Except this time it damaged my front derailuar where I could not shift into my big ring up front.  Luckily, I have done most of my training rides in mid gear.  I had to run up the hill as i was trying to free my chain and wheel at the same time.  Its was very frustrating as I feel the bike is my strongest point.  My first mile avg was 13mph.  This didn't make me happy and my chances of chasing Charles didn't seem high.  So apparently i took it out on the course.  Mile 14 out of 15 I finally notice a familiar jersey.  Yep its him which drove me even more.  I knew I needed to be in front of Charles for him to push me on the run portion.  From here it just gets very interesting.

T2
As I thought i left Charles a little bit, he kept up with me and ran right past me as he yells "Gotcha!!"  I couldn't help but start laughing my tail off.  Great Teamate.  I transition into my run gear just a tad quicker and got out in front of him as i was jumping around crazy and throwing my arms out so he couldn't pass me.  It made for good entertainment for us and all the spectaors.

Run
Soon out of T2, Charles passed me.  Go figure.  He has always been stronger when it came to the run portion between us.  I knew I needed him close and couldn't let him gap me.  We ran pace for pace for a while with him gapping to about 50ft.  We both go to pass another racer in my age group, and Charles tells him I was behind him somewhere.  The guy apparently thought a ways back, and then he said D@MN he is just right here.  Pretty funny I thought!!!  Our first mile was 8:13 on rough trails which i was pleased with.  We finally hit road and picked up the pace a little bit.  As we got closer I did chase Charles down but he had some gas left in the tank as well and just couldn't pull the pass across the finish line. 

Overview
I had an absoulte blast and had a great buddy out there pushing me to my limits.  We both battled it out once again as we do, but i was able to pull the quicker time this race with 1hr 17mins.  This was good enough for a 5th place OVERALL!!  This was by far my best finish overall in an event.  They gave us cash money and a certificate for a prize.  The results aren't up but I think Charles placed 7th overall.  He did take 1st in his age group and won cash money as well.  I am looking forward to the rest of the race season.  Oh and please don't shift gears next year on that stupid hill, just smash it out and get over it.

Coming Up with a Title

Those of you who have been friends with me, know I am a triathlete. Triathlete - an athletic contest in which each athlete competes in three different events: swimming, cycling, and running.  Although me being a fit nut now days, did have some influence on naming my blog its wasn't the basis.  My first reason was when I decided I wanted to become a father.  Having a plan is usally a good idea, but little did i know how hard (And also wonderful) parnet hood actually is.  My parents were 19 and 20 when they had me.  I enjoyed the fact they were pretty young and interactive with me as i grew up.  So i decide when I finished college that I wanted my first child, but I also didn't want to be older than 25.  No logic at all but I was guessing that my 25 was like my parents being 20.  You know 30's are the new 20's kind of thing.  No matter what I knew or thought I knew, parenthood will test you.  So therefore, you must think "Lightning Fast" and keep control.  I doubt I am telling you stuff you didn't know, but just informing you on how i arrive to my blog's name.  Now on to your first thought how i came up with my name, Racing !!!  Yes, I am ultra comptetive and strive nothing but to become better and faster.  Finishing in a top percentage is nice, but my main objective is to beat my previous times.  So I wanted to think of something that could moviate me or others.  The name isn't to betray me as cocky or way self confident.  You just need postive influences around you to become postive yourself.

I think I may have covered the first couple of standard blogs now when first creating a site.  I hope to have more interesting post ahead.  But in order to get somewhere you must know where you came from first.  My foundation came in two post, but hopefully its enough to hold the mountain bestowed ahead.

My First Blog

Well here it goes.  Tonight i venture into the world of blogging, as if i need one more thing to keep me busy.  I have a few reasons for starting a blog.  1.) To work on some personal goals of my in the grammar dept.  I have never enjoyed English or Literature in school, and it will probably show throughout my blog.  So if i make a mistake, go ahead and laugh.  Practice makes prefect right ¿ 2.) My wife, Sherri has one so i figured i would try something she likes doing too.  Her Blog.  She does a great job posting blogs about the kids and our life, but as you know there is always two different stories about the same thing.  Well now I am ready for bed.  Waking up at 4:45am will exhaust you by night time.

Ha, thank goodness this has spell check.  Although not as many as i thought were misspelled.