USATF Frostbite 10k

“It’s every man for himself today”…. “just try to survive”… “it feels worse than it looks”. These were the encouraging words that were ringing in my head as I warmed up for the USATF club nationals. I heard everything from -10to 10 degrees with pretty big wind gusts. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I was going to give it my best come race time. As much as I did not enjoy this race it helped me learn allot about myself, and also what it takes to be great.

For the past two months I completed some of the best, most focused training I have ever completed since high school. For the first time since summer I had been injury free for quite some time, and to be honest I started to really fall in love with training. I was excited to run with a fast field and a fast group of guys at Club Nats. I can say that physically I was in great shape. This is where my personal lesson comes in, but we will get back to that after the race.

My warm up went well I was still cold, but not as bad as 30 minutes ago. As I took my sweats off I just told myself to have fun, and race my race. The gun was up and whether I was ready or not, the race was only seconds from starting. The gun went off and I began running. Luckily I did not start at the front of my team; I was tucked into a nice pack, protecting me from the wind. After about 100 meters I decided I wanted to be farter up to avoid the big jam up that usually occurs on the first turn. I worked my way out of the pack and into the COLD side wind. Luckily this idea somewhat paid off because at the turn I just slid my way around the congestion that was occurring. For the first mile I just tried to stay relaxed. I passed the 1 mile marker at 5:13. and not too much longer after that I finished my first lap.

Lap two is where my race started to go down hill. I can honestly say I just mentally checked out. People were passing me and I just did not care. I did not have any fight to go with them. Mentally I needed to change something if I was going to salvage my race. I heard this phrase not long ago that said “fake it till you make it”. The idea was that if you are having a bad race, just pretend like you are having a great time, and pretty soon you will feel good again. I decided to try and smile, but as I went to move my lips I realized they felt like rubber and would not move. That lasted 3 seconds. Hmmmm lets see what else do I got oh “Pain is only temporary” OK that made me laugh a little, the wind was icing my legs quite nicely, numbing my legs from pain. I tried numerous quotes that usually inspire me, but none worked.

As I was having these thoughts in my head I saw a competitor in front of me just stop, shake his head, and walk away. Shortly after, another competitor appeared from the pack ahead, and started running the opposite direction, he had one bear foot, and one shoe. At this point I immediately thought of Mt. Everest, where people get way too cold and start to do crazy things. I have huge respect for whoever this was because instead of dropping out, he ran back, put his shoe on and finished the race.

Right before I was about to start my third and final lap I suddenly started passing people. I had found motivation. The Idea of, the faster I go the faster this last lap would be over with finally was the motivational thought I needed to start racing. With a sudden gust of energy I was passing people by the dozens, I was feeling smooth and simply excited to be almost done.

It was here I mentally took another fall. Out of no where I got a sharp pain in my side, I never get side aches when I run, but this hurt quite bad. For the first time in my life I was 99% sure I would DNF the race. I started running a pace that felt like I was walking, and pressing on my side, because it was the only thing that made the running bearable. I couldn’t even count how many people were quickly passing me,

I had most definitely hit a low point in my race.

I learned a very good lesson when I hit this low point. I learned the value of running on a team. If I was running solo out there that day I would have dropped out, no questions asked, but I knew the team was counting on me to finish. This race was not about me, I had 6 other guys that were counting on me to finish. Snails pace or not I need to get to that line! So with this thought I just kept running. Still feeling in pain and running slow I came to the corner where some of the tri-fusion gang, was cheering me on. This gave me more motivation to finish, and I appreciate them cheering us on more than you can ever imagine.

After what felt like walking for half a mile, the pain subsided, I had half a mile to go and I had some serious work to do. I tried as hard as I could to pass as many people as I could. I wasn’t thinking about a time, all I could think about was points. Every person I passed was one less point counting against our team. With 200 meters to go I kicked it in picking off 4 more runners. With great relief I was done.

I was standing at the finish line cold, bleeding, miserable, but I was very happy with what I had just done. I got home from the race and started getting ready for the post race fun. I noticed I had a headache, but decided to go anyways. As I sat at wingers I realized I was not feeling well. My forehead was splitting, my vision was blurry and I could barely understand anything that people were saying to me. I decided to opt out of the USATF post race party, and my dad took me home. At this point I just felt like dying. I threw up everything I ate at wingers, and could no longer hold down water. I was dehydrated. It didn’t matter if I was standing up, or lying down, I still felt dizzy and hot. It was a long night, one at which I did not sleep. I was either trying to drink water, or throwing up the water I just drank. It was at this point I wondered why I do this, and questioned ever racing again.

December 13^th was a long day.

Every race you compete in will teach you something new about yourself, this race taught me allot.

1. Never give up- I felt like I could not take another step, with my side ache, but after a short while it went away. Suffering 1 more minute was an easy trade off to my first DNF.
2. Team is very important- If it wasn’t for the team I would have probably quit, and never learned the first lesson or finished the race.
3. The power of mind- physically I was very prepared for this race, but mentally I was not.

I will never forget this race. I now know that if ever want to get better, and compete at a higher level in any sport, I need to mentally be tough. There were allot of amazing runners out there that day, and pretty much all of them ran very tough. A strong athlete will race, but a great athlete will win. A champion will be prepared for anything, and rise to the occasion. Even with the cold conditions the leaders still ran around

30 minutes, and thought nothing of it. Today as I woke up, the day after the race, I felt inspired. I know what I have to do to race at a higher level, and now I have a whole winter to prepare.

I would like to thank all my teammates, you guys all ran awesome!! A huge thanks to Steve from brooks who put the team together and allowed me to run on it! I would also like to congratulate team EMDE, and the Spokane Swifts. You guys represented Spokane well, and ran great! A huge congrats to Forest Braden who placed 3^rd overall running 31:00. Keep an eye out for him in the not so distant future! I would like to thank everyone that cheered for me on the course out there, and I would also like to thank my parents, they support me not matter what I do.

Final time- 35:24:00

Getting to Know you (pt. 2)

Some random facts.
This post is about more random hobbies that I enjoy doing!

1. I played piano (took lessons) for 14 years. I haven't taken lessons for a while, but still play. I like to make up songs and play improvisational music, making things up as I go. I really like to mimic, and see if I can figure out songs from the radio. See if you can figure out what this song is.



2.I like to rock climb.
I have been rock climbing for a while, but I love it!! For me it clears my mind, and relaxes me. I have spent many afternoons bouldering at deep creek, and many weekends climbing with old friends.
3.When I get bored I do dumb things





4. I enjoy cooking (and yes I cook twice as fast in my jersey)
5.I am somewhat of a nerd and really like salt water aquariums!
(This is a mall glimpse at mine)

6.I like to go on Somewhat random adventures.
Some examples are
-Exploring caves (yes there are caves in spokane)
-I once went on a 2 mile trek through the storm drain sewers in Spokane with a friend.(would not recommend this) People give you a strange looks when you pop out of a man hole in the middle of the night.
- I used to boulder and climb on buildings and objects in downtown at night.

7.One of my favorite places in the world is our families lake cabin up at Priest lake.
I like to four wheel, swim, lay on the beach, rock climb, backpack, pick huckleberries, and ski in the winter.



This is actually Hunt lake, a great place to backpack near priest.
8. Lastly I like Jeeps.
I will probably never own a jeep again, but in highschool I owned an old white jeep wrangler.
There is no greater feeling on a hot summer day than driving around with no top, no doors, and blasting music. I used to take it off roads allot. From Sundance mountain, to the ORV park there was not allot of places I didn't go.

Getting to know you (Pt. 1)

So I decided since it is the off season I will add a couple posts, that help people get to know me better.
This post is very simple. It is just showing one of my hobbies.

Photography
Here are some of the many pictures I have taken. I like to take pictures for fun :).

Spokane Marathon 5miler/ EWU Invitational

I was very excited for this race. I have not raced in a while and getting some racing in would be fun!! I wasn't too nervous for this race. It's a fun run, so you are suppose to have fun!! I did not matter where I finished. I had no idea where my fitness was at, and this would be a great test. First things first. This race was COLD!!! I am a big wimp for cold wheather, but once I got racing i forgot all about the cold wheather. Besides I had my proper warm up attire on.
Hey when it gets cold you have to take things seriously(full head gear required)! Kurt from Runners Soul counted us down and sent us out on our way. From the start I took it out quick. I quickly found a comfortable pace and settled in. At this time I would like to talk to all the athletes out there about over hydration. They had 3 water stations on a 5 mile run, and two of the stations you pass twice. Many people were stopping 5 times to gulp down water!! I think it is ok to have a water station every mile in an Ironman, but in a 5 mile race, you have got to be kidding me! I felt very comfortable throughout the race. I just followed the lead biker ahead of me, and tried to maintain my pace. With about a mile and a half left to go. I decided to turn on the cruise control. I had a race the next weekend and I didn't want to beat up my body from all the pavement running of this race. So with cruise control set I finished my race. My time was 26:34 That was good enough for 5:20 per mile. I only wish this was a 10k, I definently felt like I could have kept my pace going, if not run a much faster pace the last mile. This would have put me at a high 32min-low 33min 10k. Oh well there is always time.




One week later I had a race that was the same distance, but with much harder competition. I decided to run the EWU cross country invitational unattached. I wanted to run a race where I would get my butt kicked. I needed some people to push me harder and make me tougher.

I was a little bit nervous going into this race because I did not want to be last. I was Ok with second to last, but last place is not something I am ok with. The reason I was nervous for this was because these guys train close to 100 mils a week, and I only run 20-30miles a week. This is a huge difference in performance levels. The one thing I was afraid of was a very fast start! In triathlon you get off the bike recover a little bit, and then build into your pace. In running races it is much different. Usually you go out very fast, somewhat shocking the body, then you try to settle in for the middle, and at the end you take it up a gear. This style of racing puts you into oxygen debt from the start.
To my surprise the race started out pretty slow, and I found myself up in the top 3 for a little while. I knew later on in the race I would be nowhere near the front, but figured hey this position will work for now. We went through mile 1 at 5:15 and it was a much slower first mile than I anticipated. Sweet!! From here the hammer came down and the pace took off. I held on as best as i could and when it was all said and done I ended up 17th out of about 60 runners. I ended up running an almost identical time to the week before. I ran 26:35. There was one big difference though. The race before had no hills what soever. This race was a very hilly cross country course, It had a steep hill in the course that we ran 3 times. SO I was ok with running an Identical time on a course that was probably 3 times as hard.
It is two days after the race and I still cannot walk. My legs are not sore at all. I have an achilles tendon that is swollen like crazy, and doesn't wan't me to walk. I hopefully can get it healed up in time for the Tri-Fusion 5k. the last week I only ran 3 days, trying to nurse the injury,and sooner or later these weeks of sparse running will catch up to me and my fitness will collapse. Oh whel I am very thankful that I got to race. I would also like to thank Matt for coming out and watching me at the EWU invitational. He was my cheer squad, and I apreaciate his comming out to watch a ton. So if you wondering where I am this whole week. I am probably at PT or icing my leg!

My new bike for the 09 season!

Starting next year I will be riding a new bike. I decided I need to get more aero. My transitions might be a little slower though.

A new Feeling

The feeling hit me on Thursday. I was running up Tower Mountain with a local high school cross country team. The run started easy with casual chit chat and joking around, but after a couple miles things started to change. The laughing and talking slowly disappeared, and the heavy breathing began. Starting at mile 1.2 of this run the hill begins and it does not loose a grip on you until mile 5.2. With every mile runners began to drop, and soon it was just Adam and I charging side by side to the top of the mountain.

I must say I have never run a road that teases you more. It climbs and climbs, and when you think you have reached the top, the pitch gets steeper and the hill reveals that it isn’t about to give up. After you get off the road, you then hit a trail that makes you wish you could go back to the tolerable pain that the road inflicted. Hitting the last long climb, my legs were begging me to Stop, my lungs were about to explode, and every ounce of my body was begging to concede to the mountain before me. The only thing that kept me going was my mind. I felt this strong urge to push my body harder than I have ever pushed it before, Raising the bar and stretching the limit.

In years past I pull back when pain approaches. In high school my strategy was to train so I feel no pain when I race. I avoided and hated this pain that would occur in my legs. But on this day I find myself taking pain to its own limit. I was seeing how much a dose of itself that pain could take. Enjoying this exploration of the limit of my pain is something not too often experienced by me. I reached the top of the mountain and it felt great. I knew I ran hard, but more importantly I learned to beat pain, and use it to motivate myself.

Now that the top was reached it was time to finish the rest of the run. The remainder of the run winds back down the mountain, and back to the school. The climb is only for five miles, but the whole run ends up being twelve miles. Looking back at my times I realized the 5 mile climb, was run at 6:38 pace. Not too bad for steep uphill running. I ended my run in 1 hour 13 min. coming down a mountain really helps your time J. That night I had an hour swim, after a bite to eat and some homework it was time for bed. The only thought spinning in my head, was an excitement to race.

Black Diamond Olympic Triathlon

I have never done an Olympic distance race before, and this was only my second triathlon, so as much as I really wanted to set lofty goals, I only allowed myself to stick with one. This one goal I allowed myself to have was finish the race! As some of you know I have been hurt most of the summer and not able to race, but after quite a bit of persuading I was off to black diamond. Leading into this race I had not been swimming, barely running, but getting some good cycling training in, so the swim and run made me very nervous.

I was standing in the water with my nerves on end and then the race got underway. Right from the start there was allot of contact, I got hit hard a couple of times(once in a bad place to get hit) and took some big gulps of water. Even with all the contact I stayed very calm. I think the fact that I was getting hit, and hitting people made me forget all about how tired I was, and the fact that I haven't been swimming lading into this race. I even got some good drafting done on the swim which was excellent. I expected my swim to be anywhere from 30-35 min and when I got out of the water I had no idea what my time was I just ran as fast as I could to transition, and headed out on the bike. It turns out I swam a 28:59 which was way below my expectations, and I was more than happy with this time.

Swim: 28:59

T1 went fairly well I had a little bit of a hard time getting my wetsuit off, and I still made the rookie mistake of forgetting to un-Velcro my shoes. But this is why you race to learn from past mistakes.

T1: 2:12

The day before I thought up a plan for the bike, and as I hoped on my bike and headed out of transition, I did not follow my plan. My plan was to take the first couple miles easy to get my legs under me, and ease into my ride. But me being me I took off as fast as I could. The whole ride I just focused on who was ahead of me, and when I would pass people I would look and see if they were in my race. The bike was not as flat as I expected it to be, but that is ok. I pushed my hardest and rode a 1:03:26 I was more than happy with this time.

Bike 1:03:26

T2 went fine, it wasn't very fast, but eventually I will get there.

T2:1:03

Now it was onto the part that I enjoy best, the run. Leading into this race I have not been able to run too much, and don't know where my run fitness is at. From the start of the run I ran hard, I ran hard the whole race, and just picked off competitors one by one. I really liked this run course I do not know why, but I just enjoyed it. I pushed most of my run, and at the end kicked it into the finish. Later on I found out I ran a 37:14, I was not to happy about this because I know I am capable of faster.

Run 37:14
Overall time:2:13:01

Overall I was happy with my race it was only my second triathlon, and it was my first triathlon at the Olympic distance, I got 5th overall, and got first in my age group. I learned allot of things that I will remember for the next race. I would like to thank Matt Cusack, and Jessie Sullivan for convincing me to race, and also helping on and before race day with all my questions on where I should place things, and many other newbie questions I had. I would also like to thank Rodger Mckeon for the ride to the race. Phaedra was aslo racing, and rocked her race placing 4th overall, with not much training I might add.

Tuesday Time Trial.

Now is good time to turn off your TV, turn off the radio, stop that music that is playing on your i-pod, tell the kids to be quite, and just listen. if you listen close enough you may just be able to hear MY QUADS SCREAMING!!! This season I have not done allot of speed workout on the bike, and I thought that the baddlands annual Tuesday night twilight time trial would be the perfect place for a speed workout. If I had to describe it in one word it would probably be ouch! From the get go I was a bit nervous, because I don't know where I fall as a rider. I know I can run well, but as far as the other two sports go I am not sure where I land. For this reason I thought this time trail would be a good test to gauge my cycling ability. I signed up for the race and put myself on the A start list. Not sure why I did, but at the moment I thought it would be fun. As more and more people started showing up the more my nerves were growing, and I wondered why I put myself on the A list.

I went for a very short warm up, and got ready to wait for my start time. With my super fast mountain bike helmet, and no idea what I was doing I was ready to go in the A class. 5...4...3...2...1 And I was off. From the get go I went out very hard. I knew this course was very short, so I figured I had to be all out from the get go. By the time I got to the turn around on lap one, my lungs felt like they were going to blow up and my legs were screaming!! I thought crap I still have 2 and a half laps to go, and I am already dying. I just told my self to hang tough, and keep trucking. Now I was onto the second lap, and all I can say is that out section on the course was killing me, there is only a couple short climbs, but I felt like I was breaking down and fading fast!! I just told myself one more lap, you are doing ok. My biggest fear was getting caught and with almost two laps completed I still had not been caught. The fact that I had not been caught yet, started to give me a confidence boost. When I started lap 3 I started to feel better, my legs hurt, but my lungs had calmed down, and as I got to the turn around I noticed I was catching the rider that started before me. Sweet!! This is going ok. From that point on I gave it everything I had to catch him, but I just didn't have enough to real him in. I finished strong and was happy with my race.

I ended up in the middle of the A pack which is just fine with me. I also learned a ton from this experience, I don't race with allot of equipment, I don't have a power meter, a heart rate monitor, a cycling computer, or even a watch for that matter. I just go as hard as a can for as long as I can. But I learned that I need to start racing smarter. Pacing myself is a good thing, and equipment such as those will help me race smarter. I also learned that I need to warm up much more before a race like this. A short out and back with not do.

I must also give a big thanks to all the tri-fusion people that were there. They just kept telling me to have fun and not worry about anything. I have been around allot of teams and clubs, in my running career, but none of them are as nice or as supportive as tri-fusion. Everyone out there did an amazing job.

Hopefully soon I can get healthy and ready to race tri's again. I would like to hit up one more late season race this year, but we will see :)

My First Triathlon ( I survived! )

Today was my very first triathlon. It was the Medical Lake trailblazer triathlon, and to say the least I was very nervous. I wasn't afraid about the bike, or the run, or for that matter my slow transitions. I was terrified for the swim, and the fact that I have a hard time getting my wet suit off. My T1 could end up being 20 minutes.

All morning I was thinking of things i might need because I didn't want to forget something important like, oh lets say my helmet or my biking shoes. I arrived at the race about two hours before it started. Luckily since I recently joined a club called tri-Fusion, I have met allot of people, and now know many people at these races. It was time to load into the trucks and head over to the other side of the lake.

We all got in the water and were waiting for them to start the race. This is when I started to relax a bit. Everyone in the water had almost a playful attitude, and they were all just having fun. This put my nerves at ease, and helped me relax. After standing in seaweed that was neck deep for a while. It was finally time to start the race.

5...4..3..2..1 and we were off, since this race was a sprint I started swimming as fast as I could. I could see people I knew in the water and as I swam, it really wasn't that bad. I did not have a feeling of panic. After a little while people started moving away from me, and I tried to maintain ground. About 2/3 of the way through the swim I saw Matt ( my sponsor), he was looking strong and kept on swimming by me. It was time to exit the water, and right ahead of me I saw a white platform. Remind me next year not to take this platform!! It was a little slick and I could not get up it, but luckily Natalie Gallagher was there to pull me out of the water. Thank you!! you saved me from being stuck in the water.

Swim place: about 39th

T1 was the one thing that I was terrified of. Getting my wet suit off in less than 10 minutes is not something I am good at. But with a little body glide it came right off, and I was out on the bike. The only thing running through my head on the bike was, this is a sprint, I better ride as hard as i can from the get go. This is what I did. At first there was allot of people, all in small packs, but soon it started to string out. I must also say sorry to Tiffany, I kind of passed her on the right going around a sharp turn. not cool. After a short wile on the bike there was no one in sight, and I was worried how far ahead the next group of people were. eventually I could see one more person ahead, and worked very hard to catch them. It was someone I did not know, but as soon as I passed him, he jumped on my back tire. This was not cool!! Luckily after about a minute of riding my tire I heard a loud pssssssssssss. It was my drafter getting a flat tire :). Ok I should never wish that on someone, but I was kinda happy since he was drafting me. after this I could see Steve ahead of me and pushed hard to catch him. This was not easy!! He was cranking, and I had a heck of a time catching up to him. At this point the bike was almost over, I came into transition, and got ready to run.

Place after bike-13th

Now it was time for the run, and now I was relaxed. I don't feel tense or anxious when it is time for the run, and usually am excited. I just started running, settling into a relaxed but steady pace. I caught some more people on the run, and just kept going. I really liked the self serve water station they had in this race, the line was too long so I did not stop for water. When I finished I did not know what place I was in because the people ahead of me were absolutely flying!!! Later though I was told that I was fourth place, but one of the places ahead of me was a team. So in the solo division I was 3rd. I was ok with this. As I said earlier I was very nervous going into this race, and for my first triathlon I was quite happy with 3rd.

I am very glad I did this race and now I am very excited (and not so nervous) to race more triathlons.

Post Falls Duathlon 2008

This is my first race report so We will see how it goes. Leading into this race my biking has been feeling Better, and I am feeling stronger almost weekly. My running on the other hand has had some trouble the last two weeks. Due to tight IT bands in both legs I have not been running very much. For me this was ok because I really wanted to focus on my bike leg of this race. If I am ever going to be competitive at triathlons I need to be able to at least maintain on the bike. Rolling up to the race site I was quite nervous. For some reason I get very nervous at races. I see fancy bikes, and sweet jerseys and I think uh oh, they must be fast.

Well the siren goes off and we are under way. Right from the get go two men dart to the front and take the lead. I immediately jump up to where they are at and in my head I am thinking man these guys are taking it out fast!! After about 400 meters into the race the two men quickly drop off the pace, leaving me to suffer for the bad decision i made to start out in a sprint. For those of you that have never done the Post Falls duathlon the run consists of Two out and back loops. These give you plenty of opportunity to see your competition and where you are at. I was feeling good even though I took it out a little too hard, and I hit the first turn around. After turning around and running a little ways a man running the other direction threw up his arms and yelled "its not a fun Run" Im not sure what that meant, but I just kept running.The first 5k went well I had a good lead (4-5min), and I did not feel like I was pushing it very hard. I rounded the corner to the clock, when I saw 14:33!!! I knew right away that there was a Mistake in the time, and If it was true I would have been done right there and then.

First run-16:48(including transition)

The first run was now done and I was quickly running through transition to my bike. For those of you that have seen me race or know me, you know I have slow transitions. Not only do I have slow transitions, but I set the standard for the term slow transition. Today was another one of those days. Running up to my bike I first grabbed my helmet and threw it on. Next the running shoes came off. This is where it went down hill. I immediately noticed that my shoes had the Velcro tightly strapped, and not open. So i grabbed them and undid the Velcro. next I had to grab my water bottle and place it in my jersey and I was off.

T1-Just over 1:17 (sweet that means my fist run was sub 16)

Off to the bike. Continuing into the bike the transition is still haunting me, because as I run out of transition and hop on my bike I realize, oh yeah I am in the hardest gear of my bike. This makes for a very slow start. I guess you have to start learning somewhere:) . Starting the bike my legs felt dead. This made me scared. I was only about half a mile into the bike and I felt spent. Riding up the first big hill I took deep breaths and focused my breathing. I just kept telling myself you are ok, ride it out. Luckily after about 2 miles of riding my legs arrived and I felt better. Biking has been a weak spot for me at my last two duathlons, the second I get on the bike from the run, I just sit and wait until someone catches me. I ride just assuming that any second I will be passed. In this race I made it to the turn around and saw no one. This was a feeling I didn't know. Still unsure about my riding capability I pushed hard. I did not want to get tired the second half of the ride and loose the lead, like I have done many times before. Luckily the way back was mostly up hill, and I pushed hard, knowing this is where A small body type like mine could make up ground. This course is only 18.5 miles, but for some reason the climb on the way back seems like an eternity when you are racing. Eventually to my relief I made it to the top and had no one in sight. Now it was down the hill and one more run. At this point I was thinking, I might be able to win this!! This got me excited. I flew down the hill as fast as 120 pounds could take me. I hit the bottom and started across the long bridge. I decided that when I got to the end of the bridge I would look back and see if anyone was catching me. I turned around and aaaaaaah!!! There was someone right at the bottom of the hill, probably 500 meters back. Whoever this person was they had made up huge ground on me, he was like Houdini, and just came out of no where. I pushed hard. I rounded the last corned for the the final straight into transition. It was at this point I got an idea. I should try to take my feet out of the shoes well I was still riding into transition. I tried this and it worked wonderfully. I was stoked, I might have a fast transition now!!

Bike-52:47

I got my feet out of my shoes well I was still moving sweet!!! I came into T2 very excited about this. I dismounted off my bike threw it on the rack. Next I took off my helmet, and took the water bottle out of my jersey. I threw on my running shoes like I had practiced in my living room the night before. This was turning out to be a faster transition. one shoe was on and I had only one to go. The second shoe gave me grief though it took quite a while to get the shoe on and then after running about five feet, with everyone staring at me thinking why does this kid take so long in transition I had to stop and re- put it on.

T2-a tad faster than the first

The second run went well. The man who had an amazing bike also had a fast transition, and I thought I felt his presence right behind me. I pushed hard. After the first turn around I did not see him, and this made me feel more relaxed. After I passed him going the opposite direction, I felt more confident that I might be able to actually win this race (a goal I set at the beginning of the season). The rest of the run I tried to take water twice but dropped the cup both times. Oh well its not too much longer to run. At this point I just focused on keeping a steady pace that was not too hard. I finished and It felt good to be done.

Run #2 18:03 (minus
my 1:10 transition= 16:53)

Overall I felt very happy about this race for a couple reasons 1. I set a goal at the beginning of the season to win the race. 2. I learned allot of things I would do differently in transition, and hopefully my next race might be faster. 3. I felt good that I could still run ok off of two weeks of very weak run training (about 1/4 of what I normally do)4. I learned that I need to not worry about the bike leg and just ride my hardest.

Overall time-1hr 27min 38sec

Next years goal
Run#1- 16:00 (5:10/mi)
Bike - 50.27 (22mph)
Run#2- 16:16(5:15/mi)

Overall time-1:24:44

I will start with a video I made a while ago

Well most of the time I get bored, and when I get bored I go do something. So I decided to make this video with my canon camera that only takes 10 second clips.