6/22-6/23 Dead Dog Stage Race - Laramie WY

Dead Dog is a long standing stave race in Laramie WY, which consists of a long road race, crit, and time trial all at altitude.  This was my first year but I am so proud of out Sonic Boom Racing team for truly working and finally seeing our plans come together and produce the results we have been working for.


The road race was one of the toughest I have done with almost 9k feet of climbing up and over 12k feet with brutal winds too boot. This year was cooler temp wise but still did not make it any easier with the wind. The group held together for the most part on the way out, but split up on the second half. Ryan was kept up front the whole time and he stayed there on the way home. Walter dragged me up the climb on the way back and lost me on the decent only to be found again in the last headwind section. Bart and Travis were riding with other guys as well and pulling out some personal bests for the course. At the end of the road race Ryan took third, myself 11th and Walter right behind in 13th. It was a tough day, but we had a very nice pasta dinner at the house complete with massage complements of Matt G and his wife Pam.
Sunday we had a late start for the crit so we watched the 4s race and hung out at the hose until race time. Matt's advice for the Crit was to go right from the gun and work together, Ryan was the man but though to make up any time here. He had to be ready to TT well to keep his 3rd place in the GC. Travis hit it hard for the first 2 laps, then Bart and myself took over out front. Bart pulled through the wind, and got me off the front. Once out there Walter, and Ryan stayed in the front of the pack blocking for a few laps. This helped me secure the break away all the way through the finish for the win. I can't thank the guys enough for making this happen for me, it was tough, fun, but most of all a team effort.

Right after the Crit was the TT, less than one hour. We booked it up to the start 15 minutes away and got gear ready. The typical 10 mile out and back is usually a downhill out and uphill back, but today the wind changed that up a bit. It ended up being a hard effort out and easier with the wind pushing on the way back. Still tough after a weekend of hard racing, but all solid results for everyone. Ryan came away 2nd and myself 4th.

Overall Ryan held his 3rd place in the GC, I was 10th, and Walter 13th. What a fun weekend of racing and just goes to show what we can do when the team works together. The other categories did very well too. Jim of course won the GC, RR, and TT for the 1/2 field, and I will copy Matt's note from last night for the complete laundry list of results for the team. Great work all weekend guys.

Pro-1-2
1st Place General Classification
1st Place Stage 1
1st Place Stage 3
4th Place Stage 2
6th Place Stage 2
SM 3
3rd Place General Classification
10th Place General Classification
13th Place General Classification
1st Place Stage 2
2nd Place Stage 3
3rd Place Stage 1
4th Place Stage 3

SM 4
8th Place General Classification
9th Place General Classification
9th Place Stage 1
SM 45+
15th Place Stage 1
15th Place General Classification

7/9 - Kansas 70.3

This was the 4^th time I have completed this race in as many years, it is within driving distance and a great race for spectators.  The whole family decided to make the trip this year and camp for two nights right on the run course as it goes through the camp ground.  We arrived later on Friday night, the kids played around all day Saturday, went to the beach, dinner, and got set up for the race.  It was stormy Saturday night before the race which does not yield much sleep in a tent with two kids worrying about the rain.  Either way we woke up to a wet course Sunday morning, but the forecast was nice for the day, particularly cool for Kansas standards.  There was not a huge pro field in the men’s race, but I knew exactly who was going to be up front, Craig, James, Dan, Paul, Joe and hopefully myself.  The swim was wetsuit legal and I made my way out front taking the long way outside the swim buoys.  By the end of the swim I had a 30-40 sec lead on the field, this was nice but I knew it would not be long on the bike before Craig was going to catch me.  Turns out that was mile 5, so I got to lead the race for the first 5 miles into the bike.  I stayed with him for a few miles, but his pace was a little too fast for me to run off of and I backed off.  A few other guys steadily caught me on the bike, but after Joe I stayed close behind.  Bike was hilly as usual, but I maintained a 311 watt average, which is about where I want to be so I am glad to see my training finally catching up this season, just took a little while.   The end of the bike is where the fun started this year, heading into T2 I had quite a spectacular crash in front of everyone.  I was ready to get off the bike with the bike on my side standing on top of my shoe, when the shoe came detached from the pedal sending my foot into the ground and my body into a roll on the pavement, bike flying over as well.  I am quite comfortable coming in hot to T2 and running fast right off the bike, but I did not expect to shoe to come loose, I guess I must have twisted it a little.  Either way my left hip and elbow was bruised, bloody toes, knee, etc.  I got up quick and headed out on the run, I was still in 5^th place for the money.  Though Paul was only a few seconds behind.  The whole event has been captured on video thanks to Dave Ericson.  Apparently Shanon and Corrie were right at T2 and witnessed the whole event, Corrie started crying.

T2 crash - http://youtu.be/_tC6NOlzqXE

My run felt strong and I relaxed a bit after that embarrassing crash.  Craig and Dan were a few minutes ahead, but James and Joe were only a few seconds up the road, and Paul was right behind me at this point.  The first lap I held a steady pace and I thought I was on track to catch James and was pulling away from Paul behind me.  Even the 2^nd and last lap I was in good shape and had folks cheering for me throughout, including my whole family at the camp site.  At the end I was in 5^th place and it seemed I was not catching James or Joe.  I crossed the line in 5^th for my first payday in pro triathlon, not much but hey this is a hobby not a career.  All in all a fun day in Kansas, I have some time off to lick my wounds and a few bike races before my next 70.3 in mid July.

Swim:	22:33
Bike:	2:16:16
Run:	1:20:15
Overall:	4:01:29

Race summary video - http://youtu.be/te9Cvn_6PZ8

Thanks to Dave Erickson for the race videos 

5/27 - Bolder Boulder

This is the 3^rd time for me racing the largest 10k in the world (55k this year), every year we have lived in CO.  I was just hoping to beat my time from the year prior, but I had set the bar high with a high 36 last year.  I was in the first wave with all the sub 38 folks.  They start fast, very fast, there were a lot of 4 minute low for the first mile this year, racing to the camera truck.  But many of them fell back fast after that initial sprint.  Every year I race this 10k I feel like I am that ‘old dude’ racing with all these young people, this year was no different.  Either way it’s a hard 10k, at over 5k’ altitude and a net uphill by the end.  I kept the pace around 5’ 40’’ most of the race and finished hard to beat my time last year by almost a minute and break 36 minutes just barley by one sec.  This year after the finish I had to jog back to the start a few miles away and meet the girls and Shanon to do it again with them.  This ended up working very well, though it was tough to find them at the start as they were a little late and got there just in time.  I found them right after their wave started and ran / walked with Riley, Corrie, and Shanon.  There was something exciting for the girls to do every ½ km or more through the race.  We found belly dancers, do a cartwheel make the spectators drink, hulla hooping, slip-and-slide, many bands, free hugs and lots of other crazy Boulder type costume watching.  Christine and Owen were one of them dressing up as a butterfly and net respectively, very clever I thought.  It took some coaching to get the girls through the 10km but less than I expected and it was a hot day out as well.  The best part of the race was the last 1/2 km running it with my girls racing each other and entering the stadium to see 55k people cheering for them and giving high fives.  They were both in such amazement it was great to see.  They sprinted to the line and ended up 1 second apart.  We spent a while in the stadium for the memorial day festivities, which included watching the pros finish, 8 paratroopers landing on the field, a fly over and general remembering our brave men and women who sacrificed all to give us what we take for granted day to day.

2012 – 36:57

2013 – 35:59.14

mile 1-5:34.68 

mile 2-5:43.82 

mile 3-5:59.48 

mile 4-5:56.99 

mile 5-5:43.15 

mile 6-5:48.20 

pace-05:47  

 

 

5/17-5/19/2013 - Superior Morgal

The Friday time trial was after work right in the town of superior near our home.  I was short a little gear for this race as I discovered a crack in my rear race wheel and had left my helmet at the last triathlon I completed.  So training wheels and no aero helmet for me on this TT.  The TT here is pretty tough 6-7 miles mostly uphill.  I thought I had a decent time as no one passed me and I passed the 2 guys in front of me, but Eric from my team finished right after me and he started a few back.  I was 7^th on the day leading into the crit Saturday and RR on Sunday.

TT Pic

dailycamera.smugmug.com/Sports/05-17-1…

Saturday was the crit, the CAT 3 was later in the day around 5PM.  I was busy around the house and with kids all day, I rode over to the race that afternoon.  The race started faster than I thought it would and I found myself just hanging on each lap.  Towards the midpoint of the race I got caught up in a crash, the crash happened and I rolled into it, not really much of a crash for me.  This caused me to fall off the pack and never really catch back up, I ended up trying to catch on the rest of the race, which was much tougher then racing in the pack.  In hindsight I should have taken a lap during the crash and stayed with the pack.

Sunday the road race we were greeted with a course change due to the traffic barrier company going out of business.  This affected a few other large races in CO that weekend as well.  The new course was 4 times out and back, up and down the ‘wall’, still about 50 miles total.  The first lap I was happy to lead and keep the pace high, but towards the end of the first lap I was once again caught up in a good crash this time.  Two guys went down hard in the middle of the pack, Gage H in 2^nd place was one of them.  I was right behind them and could not go left or right due to other guys riding there.  So I had no choice to try and stop.  I still hit them both hard enough to leave my bike on the ground and head out over the bars onto my shoulder and left side.  I did the whole crash and roll thing, the guys on the ground were in bad shape but medical was already on the way.  I checked myself out and found all I had was a bloody hand and a bruised shoulder/ left side, I could ride for sure.  I went back and picked up my bike and water bottles, got my chain on, and headed back on the course.  By this time I was a few minutes back off our CAT 3 group.  Travis and Glenn were waiting for me to help catch back on.  They helped where they could, but it was windy and I soon realized that this was going to be tough.  The CAT 1 / 2 35+ came along and I rode with them until the race official made me pass them up and work alone.  I got within sight of my group a few times but never could close the gap for the next 3 laps, so I ended up out of it.  I rode with another group of about 15 guys that had broke off from the CAT 1 / 2 35+ group for much of the race, I know you are not supposed to but there was no way we were making ground on the CAT 3 group and riding alone in the wind that day was rough.  I still tried to keep the power up and make a good day out of it, but was pretty far back in placement.  The good aspect of this race if there was one is the fact that I think my power on the bike is slowly coming around for this season.  I was 366 average on the TT, 356 on the Crit, and 314 on the RR.  My FTP last year was 320, so I think I am already above that.  Looks like I just need to put it all together and have a good race, a lot easier said than done I know.   The next days I had a sore shoulder and a few wounds to lick, but nothing major.  Overall Eric from our team in his last CAT 3 race made it to 6^th place, so it was a good day for the team.

5/4/2013 - Wildflower

Wildflower is one of the longest running and most organized races on the triathlon circuit, I did the race for the first time 2 years ago and was sure I would be back.  Last year injury kept me away, but this year I was ready….or so I thought.    I used this race as a chance to go and see my brother in San Jose, he was also going to be racing the Olympic race on Sunday.  We made our way to the course and got settled in the house with about 8 other pros racing.  Race morning I was happy to learn of a no wetsuit swim, this is rare at this race and definitely an advantage for me.  The swim went well I ended up swimming in 4^th place for most of the race with one other guy.  1^st and 2^nd were 30 seconds ahead and we were 20 seconds ahead of the main pack.  I exiting the water and made my way to transition, when I was taking off my Zoot speed suit I could feel something slimy on my chest when I was getting my helmet and glasses on.  I was covered in a nice green algae bloom, it got all over my glasses, hands and chest.  Sunglasses went in my pocket and I headed out on the bike, not much I could do about the mess now.  The beginning of the bike winds around by the lake before heading uphill away from the park and around the lake.  The bike is tough here and hilly but very pretty as it heads through vineyards  of central CA.

http://www.slowtwitch.com/Features/2013_Wildflower_Long_Course_3583.html

During the course of the bike I was passed by many of the male pros, I knew that my bike form was not here for this race.  I rode the end of the bike with Thomas and we spoke about how crappy the race was going for both of us.  Either way I was going to have a nice run and enjoy my time in CA.  Off the bike I headed onto the run which is mostly trails and many steep hills through the park.  The heat was getting to me today a lot more than usual and I could tell that the cough and cold I had the days prior was the issue here.  I ended up walking and taking a nature break on the run, neither of which I have ever done in a race before.  I finished the race about 10 minutes slower than my previous time here, it was hotter this time and my form is really not there yet.  I could come up with a list of excuses none of which are really that relevant now, but the bottom line is I had fun racing at Wildflower and my form will come later this season.  Brian raced the next day in the Olympic race dominating the swim and most of the race in the age group.  It was nice to hang out with him this weekend and spend some time in CA again this year.

4/20/2013 - Weld Co RR

The Weld Co road race was the first road races of the season for me this year, the course is fairly flat but has a nice dirt section thrown in each lap.  It was great to see such a huge CAT 3 field from our team representing at this race.  We were confident we could put together a break at this race for sure.  The race started out fast from the beginning and each time we headed through the dirt section of the lap I found it hard to hold the group, I made sure to catch on and stay there though.  I think it was the fact that everyone felt like they had to put in some hard efforts on the dirt, either that or I suck in the dirt.  In the 4 lap race of 50 miles we managed a few small breaks, Andy and I had one going for a little while and Andy made a solo for a long time.  But in the end nothing was able to get away and no one else in the field really even tried, there was one crash that happened mid pack and took out Walter, he was alright though.  In the end I put in some hard efforts to keep the pace high through the last 6 km and strung out the group which I feel helped get Ryan get into 6^th place.  I fell off hard at the end, but that was my role here in this race.   Overall a great road race and just need to get some organization throughout the CAT 3 squad, but this is early season and we will learn to work together.