Late Season Push

I just got back to Lawrence from a little vacation time in Estes Park, Colorado and I am happy to report that these first few days back to full time training have proven that I don't seem to have lost hardly any fitness during my week away. This is probably due to the fact that my family and I did some pretty serious hiking at altitude all week and I managed to cram in a couple run and swim workouts while I was there also. The time off has done wonders for my motivation and focus, the mental break was much needed! I'm totally ready for the late season push now. I have just 4 races left this season with the next one being the Muncie Triathlon on August 7. I feel like my conditioning is good for this time of year and I'm just hoping that I can maintain it and improve upon it for the rest of this season, which is the longest race season I have attempted. The major hurdle left to deal with is moving myself back to Muncie at the end of the week and then moving to a new house with my roommates once back in Muncie. It's going to mean a couple of really busy days and a whole lot of headaches I'm sure, these things never seem to go as smoothly as you think they will.... anyway, I'll let you know how it goes and talk a little bit more about my feelings about this upcoming race when it gets a little closer...

A Little Vacation? Yes Please!

The one thing that is tough about this long stretch of training without any races is the routine starts to get a little monotonous. Training day after day without any end in sight... it makes the motivation a little difficult to keep up. Also, this will be the longest race season I have ever scheduled so it is important that I don't burn out too early because these later races in August and September are some of the most important to me of the year, especially Age Group Nationals at the end of September. Luckily for me, the fam. is headed on vacation at the end of this week! We are heading to Estes Park, Colorado for a week of hiking and general relaxation in and around Rocky Mountain National Park. I'll still keep up some training: running some in the mornings and getting to a small pool at an aquatic center in Estes Park. Also, there is a stationary bike in the place where we are staying but for the most part I am going to take this opportunity to take a bit of a mid-season break, both for the body and maybe even more importantly, for the mind. It will be really nice to get some change of scenery and to escape this intense Kansas summer heat! Really looking forward to it, and then once I get back it will be time to make the push leading up to the August Muncie Triathlon on August 7th... plus I have to move to a new place, that I am really not looking forward to... more to come later.

Tour of Lawrence

The Tour of Lawrence was this past weekend, and since I won't be able to race the triathlon I had planned on racing next weekend I decided this could be a fun substitute. Also, I could use the experience racing in a group over some tight courses if I really want to race ITU someday. The Tour of Lawrence basically consisted of two races. A tough, hilly 4 mile circuit race on saturday up on the campus of K.U. and a criterium race around a 1 mile course downtown on sunday. Because I have never raced in any road races before I automatically ended up in the Cat 5 (the bottom category) for both races. That was fine with me except that it meant racing with a lot of inexperienced riders over some courses that require some pretty solid bike handling skills. The circuit race on saturday was a lot of fun, except that my water bottle got ejected from its cage when I rattled of a pot hole on the second lap and was never heard from again. The main pack jumped off the starting line way faster than I expected but I was able to bridge back up to the main group on the numerous, and pretty tough climbs (400ft of elevation change per lap). We did 3 laps and I ended up in 11th place out of some 50 riders... not bad for my first road race! The crit race downtown on sunday was a bit of a different story. Again, the pack shot off the line way faster than I was expecting and I got dropped completely by the end of the first lap. So I spent most of the 25 minute race out in the wind by myself, although I was able to work with some guys off and on throughout the rest of the race. If nothing else it gave me some good time trial practice and the course was a lot of fun. The whole experience was a good learning one for me about the intricacies of racing in a pack. It really does take some major skill and solid game planning to be able to hang in a pack for the duration of a race and my experiences this weekend along with continuing to go on group rides with the Lawrence Bicycle Club will really pay dividends towards making me as good at it as I need to be in draft legal triathlons. These road races just might be something I do a little bit more often... well, maybe. Here are some images from the races:

Mid-Season Update

Now that it is the beginning of July and I have done 4 races up to this point out of the 8 or 9 that I have planned I figured now would be as good a time as any to reflect on how successful my season has been up to this point and what my expectations are moving forward. The first half of the season would have to be mostly defined as an exercise in patience and the ability to adapt. The weather has not been all that cooperative with two races already being altered due to heavy rain. Even so, my results have been pretty solid. I have already accomplished a major goal which is to qualify for Age Group Nationals for the third year in a row and actually go to the race this year in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. I'm really excited to have a big race like that to end the season in late September and it will also be a solid opportunity for me to gauge how I stack up against some of the best age group athletes in the country. My swim results haven't been all that great through the first 4 races even though I PR'd at the Topeka Tinman Tri a couple of weeks ago. I'm still optomistic, though, because I have been feeling super strong in the pool lately and I feel like my technique, form and fitness are finally coming together in a way that can result in some much more competitive swim splits. The frustrating part is I probably won't be racing for over a month because the race I was planning on entering next weekend was full when I tried to register the other night, I guess that's what I get for waiting so long. I'm also going on vacation with the fam later in July, which will be a nice break from the routine, but which also means no chance to race until the beginning of August. In reality, I could probably use the extended break from racing, to give my mind and body some rest and to put in a really solid block of training, but it's hard to swallow when it feels like you're wasting some really good fitness. Once again time will tell, and if nothing else this will just make me super pumped up when I finally do get to get back on the starting line at the Muncie August Triathlon on August 7th.