New Orleans 70.3 -- 3:59:53

  "we came here to live life like nobody was watching....
  Learned from that failure, gained humility, and then we keep marching"

"expectations are resentments waiting to happen" 
                                                -Macklemore and Ryan Lewis

    Maybe a bit dramatic of a line for a race blog, but it speaks to me.  Can't be afraid of any other athlete I race, any thoughts associated w/ results, any concerns or comparisons to anyone else.  Just be yourself, be confident, and compete.  Accept what that is. Plus those are lines from songs I was listening to pre-race, so there's that.

    I can say I did that pretty well this weekend at Ironman New Orleans 70.3.   I had a fair amount of confidence coming in from Galveston, where I felt like a good result got taken because of a flat tire.  I took care of what I could to stop that from happening, mostly rested up leading into this race, and was ready to go.

    Race morning, and I knew it would be a tough race, with the last minute inclusion of Andreas Raelert, the man with the fastest Ironman time in history, as well as a very solid field w/ athletes like Trevor Wurtele, Brandon Marsh, Tim Van Berkel, and others....The head was screwed on right though, and I was game.

* It seems a lot of people saw pics/posts/etc...from our training camp in Tucson this year.  So this is a pretty cool video Sean Watkins (www.wattieink.com) made of the camp.  Nice to remember a great camp and plus, who doesn't love this song?  CEC Pro Camp video (www.cliffenglishcoaching.com)*

      Good swim for me, I actually stayed pretty close to the front 3 guys for a good part of the swim, but finally got gapped.  Settled in late with the main pack of contenders, and got out of transition in a great (top 5 overall) position.  Swim split: 25:27

     Unfortunately, the legs weren't there.  I just couldn't hold any watts early, and did everything I could to get in gear and stay with that main group.  Nothing outside of my control, just popped at 15 min.  15 minutes in, and it already seemed like my day was over.  There was a real part of me that just wanted to turn around, pack it up, and go home.  But that wasn't gonna happen, I tried to regroup, get in some fluids, and get back going.

me "not feeling it"

Derek Garcia came by after a while, and by then I felt a bit better, and could hang with him, though it was very tough for me.  I was discouraged at first, b/c the top guys were quite a bit ahead.  But I just stayed with it, and sure enough, by the last turnaround at Bayou Sauvage, we had made up a LOT of time.  Big confidence boost, though I almost lost it all back STRUGGLING the last 5-6 miles of the bike.  That's where I realized I was pretty low on the calories and fluids I typically aim for.  Oh well, not much to do about it then. Bike split: 2:11:28

Starting the run, I was kinda the same as the bike, just didn't have it.  I said on the run the same thing I said to myself on the bike- "bad legs now, good legs later"....I honestly have no basis for thinking that, but whatever works at the time, right?

  You don't get to be tough sometimes.  This is where you have to be tough, when things are bad, not when things are great.  It's easy to push when everything's clicking. Much harder when you're not feeling it. Run split: 1:20:20.

    So anyway....Not much more to say, other than I just kept going, though I was pretty trashed, and I just stayed on it, and got just under 4 hours, 3:59:53, 11th Overall.

     It was my first time under 4 hours, which is solid, especially on a tough day.  But I want to compete with the top guys, compete for podium finishes.  I'm not going to be happy with 11th place.  But I am thankful to take a step forward.  I'm grateful to have a complete race where I went the absolute best I can on the day.  But this is the starting point for the season, a lot of work to do, and a lot of time left on the table.

    Thanks so much to everyone who supports me. I just want to respect and represent all the support I have from everyone in my life.  Thanks to Sarah, my family (Mom, Dad, Jessy-next time you boil crawfish, make sure I'm in town!), my business partners, everyone who lets me keep this up.  And my boys for singing Thrift Shop with me and continuing to ask me why I didn't win (I'm trying!). Thanks to my great friend Ryan for hanging all weekend and just being a big help with everything. Big thanks to my sponsors for everything you do for me, it's great having you guys in my corner. Let's keep this going and keep improving.

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Galveston 70.3...that was, uh, interesting.

      "the first skill to learn is the art of letting go the human inclination to judge ourselves and our performances as either good or bad" -Timothy Gallwey
 

  Galveston 70.3 was the 1st race of the season for me. Training has been going very well, a good 3 week camp in Tucson, but we backed that up w/ another really good 3 week block. I think it's easy to go from season to season and try new things, look for that magic training plan or workouts that will bring you to the next level.  I really didn't do any of that this year.  But I've really focused on just doing everything right.  So whatever Cliff's plan was, whatever my nutrition plan, just doing it all as prescribed.  I handled the training well and was fairly confident going into the race.  There's always a question mark before the first race, but at least it was a good chance to see where my early season fitness was.

 

me looking appropriately disinterested during the pro meeting

    Relaxed travel and I felt good leading into the race.  Got a chance to get a good warmup, and had a great start in the wetsuit legal swim.  Couldn't quite stay with the Richie Cunningham/Will Clarke group, but settled in right on Pedro Gomes feet, and got out of the water and into transition in 25:19 with Chris McDonald, Tim Van Berkel, Gomes, and most of the other contenders.

    I was smart on the bike, but committed to staying strong.  The pace was solid, and I was definitely above my target watts at times, but that's how racing works.  I knew Van Berkel and McDonald would be in the mix of this race, so that's where I planned to stay.

   I heard a good quote from Jesse Thomas' California 70.3 race report, "courage over confidence"...He got that from a sports psychologist he works with, and I just stole it from his blog.  So maybe I'm misinterpreting it, but it seemed to work for me.  Forget about any preconceived expectations of where you, or anyone else in the race "should" be.  You don't deserve to be ahead of some other guy just because you think you've "paid your dues."  Likewise,  there's no reason why, if I'm fit enough, I shouldn't be at the front of the race or ahead of anyone else, regardless of their palmares.

  A decent group heading out, Chris McDonald finally made a big move that only Tim Berkel and myself went with.  A small gap formed from them to me, but I was back on by about 38 miles, and we were closing on on 1st place.  Galveston has multiple timing mats, so there's evidence that I was riding very well, and had outsplit Richie C.  and the other leader ...here are the 1st 3 checkpoints:

15.5 mi 15.5 mi 35:13 1:02:59 26.41 mi/h
28 mi 12.5 mi 27:22 1:30:21 27.41 mi/h
40.5 mi 12.5 mi 28:50 1:59:11 26.01 mi/h

*updated w/power file:

http://www.trainingpeaks.com/av/55LY6VSOCVA2UKUCKL4ARC4WEAIV636VM4R65BY

I was under control, but riding well.  Then, BAM!   Flat rear tire.  I honestly couldn't believe it.  A huge cut on the tire, so a Co2 was useless.  No tech support (until mile 54!) so I really had two options, pull out and get a ride back, or just ride it out.  It was pretty frustrating to be passed (and passed, and passed) by groups of guys I was well ahead of. If you've ever ridden on a flat, you go from 26-27 mph, to 20 mph, like that. 16 miles was a long time to ride on a flat, but it was my only option at that point.

 Then, to add insult to injury, a group of 5 guys passed me, and the last guy sat up to take a gel.  The official with them told me I entered the passing zone, and had to pass the group.  I told him it was "f***ing impossible" as I had a flat and could only go as fast as I was going.  Red card, 4 min penalty.  I was pretty upset about this (and let him know) but what can you do?  I had a different official w/ me the WHOLE ride before I flatted.  I was proud of my ride, and felt like the call was more to just make a call, not to insure a clean race.

  "it is not so difficult to have a beginner's mind and to be willing to invest in loss when you are truly a beginner, but it is much harder to maintain that humility and openness to learning when people are watching and expecting you to perform" - Josh Waitzkin

So my "breakthrough" race out the window, I reminded myself I was there to get a race under my belt, and see where my fitness was.  What else was I gonna do that day, right?  AJ Baucco, who also had a flat tire early on the bike, ran up on me in the 1st 2 miles, and we just tried to give an honest effort and see if we could catch a few guys (which we did).  I think I was capable of a faster run, but a low 1:18, considering the situation, at least made it an solid day. Also, riding well pre-flat, I wanted to prove, mostly to myself, that I had the fitness for the whole race.

the only race pic I currently have

    So, despite the problems, I still went 4:05:14.  Which in years past I'd probably be happy with.  But me and Cliff knew I was around 3:55 shape, and I think that showed.  As I said after the race, moral victories suck, but I gave the best effort I could on the day.  Going forward...just stay fit, continue to try to do things right, and fight another day.

Next up is New Orleans 70.3, followed by Florida 70.3.

Big thanks to my sponsors/support team.  Athletes Lounge, Blue Seventy, Rolf Prima, BMC bicycles, ClubSport Oregon, Craft USA, Oakley, Sci-Con, and Quietly Fierce Media.

 Also a huge thanks to my incredible coach Cliff English, and Jesse Kropelnicki of QT2 for the nutrition/body composition work.  And especially thanks to my family, for unconditional support for what I do.

  Thanks.