Taylor Time

Christmas Eve at Sugar Cycles was alot better than we all thought it would be. Full time Barista. and Part Time mud machine(mtbr) Shaun Taylor showed up with a nice surprise...

The crazed and caffienated Cannuck lugged 100+ lbs of espresso beaned paradise down to the shop and made everyone a perfect Latte.

You can't buy this....

Literally.

Shaun's been hooking me up with his home roasted beans for weeks now, and they are truly 90% art and 10% science. But, to enjoy a cup actually espresso style, not dripped coffee, it is a whole new world. The boys at Sugar truly appreciated your beaned visit.

Christmas Day Ride...

It was supposed to be a three hour epic effort cruise through the Sugar Cane fields of Sugarland, TX. (haha) It turns out, we got about an hour in with some sprint stuff.

After the ride, I headed over to Shuan's igloo(they shipped it down south from calgary). I got the opportuntiy to partake in a true Maple Leaf Candian Christmas. It was awesome. Shaun's wife, Doreen, and her parents cooked up a storm, and I literally had 6 pounds of turkey dinner. The only strange part was they offered maple syrup instead of cranberry sauce. Oh well, there Canadian! It was really nice, and thank you so much for adopting me and letting me be canadian for the day.

Best triathlon finish ever...

You need to check this out. ITU is not the most popular stuff amongst alot of the long distance triathletes, but this is....

Amazing


That should motivate you during your next interval session on the track when you want to call it a day!

mia fascia and you

after months and months of putting it off, i finally got a massage. and i even scheduled another one for january! this is something i need to do. with my l-5/s-1 herniation in my spine, i have some weird tendancies that my body has developed, and it causes an acute amount of pain daily in my left leg and lower back. of course, training leaves my whole body a little sore, so most of the time it is masked by volume and intensity.



so, i arrived at cheryl's massage works looking forward to the relief, but not realizing the amount of good pain i was about to endure. her perfection of mia fascia is amazing. granted i could have bit through the massage table at times, i felt great afterwards. after the massage i rode easy for 90 minutes, then went to masters swimming. ouch. ouch. ouch. ouch. my shoulders were killing me as i swam. when i woke up this morning i felt as if i had just raced a half ironman. lastnight i even pee-d a ecto-cooler green! there is a crazy amount of toxins in our bodies. These massages truly prevent injury and allow us to be refurbished for the next day. the mia fascia really hurts, but is so neccesary. so go do it. email me and ill give cheryls contact info.

training is going very well. december will end with me averaging about fifteen hours a week. i feel as though this will be vital in preparing me for what lies ahead in january and beyond.

Gradual Build and other thoughts...

So far, so good. It feels so good to be back training with a plan. I feel human again. Right now, and for the rest of december, i am simply just getting some fitness back. I am concentrating on running right now, with a 6 days a week regimen. Biking only 6 hours, and swimming about 8k. I also am doing my offseason resistence training routine, which feels great. I pulled something in my quad this past week doing squats, but it has finally loosened back up.

Sugar has two 2008 Specialized S Works Transitions on the floor, and they are pretty tight. So fly down to good ole Tejas and get you one. Another beautiful sight is the 08' Orbea Ordu. The new flat black/carbon frame is beautiful, truly a Pyranese work of art! And light as air.

I am so excited for this upcoming season. After a few weeks of down time, and eating, it became apparent that my life revolves around triathlon. Not just racing, every bead of sweat leading up to it.

Which brings me to life. I need to decide whether i am going to continue doing what i do for my full time job or not. This is difficult, because it confortable, i know how to do it, and i get enough time to train/race(usually), but i am not in love with it. I am a firm believer of loving what u do, so your moneymaker is not work(in the bas sence of the word). So, these next few weeks well be tough making this decision. But, once i make it, there well be a sweet breeze of freedom in the certainty or uncertainty of it.

I hope everyone is having a great holiday season. Be safe.

2008 Begins

Training for 2007 begins with a slow base build up in december. It is good to be back in the saddle. More to follow.

Gloucester Bound !!!

Happy thanksgiving everyone! This is my favorite holiday. It is all about the family. I will be flying out tommorow morning from Houston to Laguardia Airport in New York, and then on to dinner with the family in NY. After a couple of days of eating, drinking, sleeping, and eating, we will head north to Gloucester, MA. I am so excited, I haven't been home in 6 months! I get to be home for about ten days. Ihope to get some good training in during the week, but it will be alot colder than Texas.

Lastnight I ate about 6 pounds of chinese food. I feel great today.

Anyobody doing the turkey trot tommorow?

November

November rocks. Not only is it my birthday, has the best holiday(Thanksgiving), the best weather, apple picking(if i was home in Boston), you can wear a shirt while running(in Houston), Jasper loves the weather too, Marathon training(not for me) has started so the park is packed, etc. etc..

The one bad thing about November is the sun sets too early, so many evening bike rides have been ending with deathly dark rides. I have been doing what I want for a few weeks now, and it is getting old. It is a little fun to be able to ride because i feel like it, run because i want to, and eat what and when i want to all the time. But, this is going to get old very fast. It is a necessary evil to refurbish the mental and physical drive to train and race triathlons hard for eleven months, and it is beginning to get old. I miss the pain in my legs when i go to bed.

This obsession we like to call a passion is triathlon.

70.3 World Championships - Clearwater 2007

First of all, watching a triathlon, especially one like that is flipping motivating. To be able to watch that at the beginning of my off season is truly a gift. A gift, because it will motivate me. I will remember the swim splits people were dishing out, that will help me take the plunge into cold pools(my least favorite part of triathlon), I will remember the pained look on peoples faces as they came in off the 56 mile bike course, and i will never forget how it gets hot as soon as the run starts. I will carry these thoughts through 2008 until I arrive ready in Clearwater. Every day counts.

Houston, Sugar Cycles', and the Tri Commune Senior Board Member Kelly Carrington had an amazing day. She left nothing out there, and truly had a great day. On the second loop, she ran by me without me seeing her, because she is so short/and so fast, and said, "Liam, my feet are numb, is that bad?" I assured her it was normal, and she whipped up a 1:37 half, and took 24 minutes off her best, for a new P.R. of 5:04:04 !! Damn. Congratulations Kelly!

My coach, Janda Ricci-Munn, did it. His last amateur race, and he took the overall amateur title at the World Championships posting a 3:58:01 ! Absolutely unbelievable. I have never watched his race before, to see him tread through with a determined pain on his face was awesome. No computer on his bike, no watch on his wrist, Janda knows only one speed, all out. I watched the whole race with his girlfriend Michelle, and we had a great day getting sun-burnt, trying to figure out splits(like we had never done it before), and crossing our fingers. Trust is everything with a coach. Going into a race, nothing is more important than trusting your fitness. I know a lot of triathletes that before every race freak out, you need to know your fitness is there. Trusting your coach (note-a lot of variables go into a good coach), all along the season, is huge. I have always trusted Janda, and after watching him race, I really know why.

Life is experiences, period. Experiences without the people we meet along the way are usually empty in comparison. Triathlon has enabled me to meet so many great people.

A couple years ago, during the cancelled 2005 USAT National Championship in Kansas City, MO I met Shannon and Keith Porges. They are from Sharon, MA, so fortunately our lives intertwine ever so often and we get to see eachother. Shanon raced this past weeekend, with a new P.R. OF 5:16! It was great to see her and Keith during the weeknd. Keith, thanks for the Sox shirt, your the man.

Andrew Strong, a Houston Lawyer, and full time triathlon savage was also competing this weekend. I met Andrew on a weekend trip to Michigan to compete in the Steelhead 70.3. This was after Andrew did IM France, before he did IM Louisville and qualified for KONA, then did Clearwater. Andrew is not only a machine, he is a great guy(And his wife, Denise rocks), and it has been great getting to know him and looking forward to sitting on his wheel all winter.

The world is small, but the triathlon world is smaller.
We met Todd and Diane at the hotel this weekend, Todd who did IM Florida(sub 9:40) 6 days before clearwater 70.3(4:32!). Todd and Diane had met my good friend Trent Stephens a week earlier in P-City. Small world. We got to spend some time with them over the weekend, and they are simply put great people. Todd is also crazy(certifiable). I am not talking about doing an IM, then a half six days later, he pays people to drop him off a helicopter in the winlderness so he can snowboard. Yes, certifiable. Get this, they live in Coast Guard City, USA(Grand Haven, MI). I hope to get up there and hang. His wife's accent is awesome, "don't you know!"

A great weekend, and a great season. Clearwater is a great venue and a beautiful place to have a race, but if they don't do something creative to stop cheaters from drafting, I believe the event will continue to lose all its credability. I hope they do something, because it is a problem. I wish drafters(I am hesitant to call them triathletes/athletes) got disqualified for drafting. It is the one part of the sport that is incomprehensible. Triathlon is a test, on ourselves, on what we can achieve by puching our bodies to the limit. Drafting is the antithesis of the sport.

OFF-SEASON-BLUES- ; (

This past week has been strange. Working out when i want, and doing what I want? I dont like that. Eating what I want, and when I want? I dont really like that either.

It is kind of like my body is doing everything wrong right now, because it can. I'll allow it to eat a footlong tootsie roll for breakfast, or not run when I want.
It is almost like when your a kid, and your teacher leaves the classroom for a minute, the place turns into a circus.


My ocd crazy triathlon - ing self is taking a few weeks off in order to refurber and come back strong, and my body is going ape over it.



It is a necessary evil in this sport to take time off and RELAX. I firmly believe that to be true, but when your body is so used to it, our usual coping methods are out the window, and we turn to tootsie rolls for an outlet!




I have learned over the past week, that the traditional form of relaxing(lounging) does not really work with me. I do not idle well. I am more relaxed with a high heart rate, and sweat dripping down my face.



In other news, the Patriots are still undefeated, the Red Sox are still the World Champions, Boston College is 8-1, and the first slot for the US Olympic Triathlon Men's Team went to Bostonian Jarod Shoemaker. With that said, all bets are on Bostonian(GloucesterMan) Janda Ricci Munn this saturday in Clearater, FL to have a great performance.



I will be over there rooting Janda, Kelly Carrington, Shannon Porges, and Andrew Strong along the race course as I eat Tootsie Rolls.



I am bored, it might be easier to keep traning.

Triathlon Season 2007 Comes to an End

Amazing. This season began last year after Thanksgiving, and a little more than 11 months later, and it is time to reflect. One word, Bittersweet. As I lie on my bed with sore legs from yesterdays Half Iron in Conroe, TX and write this blog, I see people out the window running towards the park - My home for the past 330 days. I feel like I owe it to the 3 mile route around Memorial Park to make my easy 6 mile Monday appearance. Pavlov was right(a lil' shot out to Crazy Jane, M.D. who did her first half ironman yesterday), I am totally conditioned to training, but it runs deeper than that. As the sun gets lower, and begins to amber over the trees, I feel anxious, because my workout hasn't been done yet. There is a certain amount of withdrawal happening as seasons wind down. The daily escape, I call training is not there.

I woke up this morning, literally drank a pot of Kona Coffee, brought the dogs out like three times, cleaned my entire room (if you know me well, that is a task), checked my email, checked it again, went to John's house, went to lunch at Barnaby's with Chau

and the dogs, went to petsmart, brought the dogs out again, napped, sat as my mind wandered into fast moving circles searching for a purpose. So, I look back on these eleven months and realize throughout the withdrawal, anxiety, purposelessness, there is a huge grateful sense of absolute fortune. Life is Good.

2007 began in 2006 for me. Janda and I devised a plan, not only was I excited, I was thrilled to be working with him again after taking a year off. As I lifted and began to build a base in the "cool" Texas winter. My first race goal was set for Half Ironman California 70.3 on March 31, and it was a long, cool, and windy winter preparing for it. I tuned up with a 13th overall at the Houston Rodeo 10k, and was very happy. I have a distinct memory of doing a five hour ride on a Sunday morning last winter out in Katy, TX with John R, Gary Z, and Kurt G. It was 36 degrees and raining at the start and the sun had not popped up yet. I figured being a sailor, a coastie, and a GloucesterMan made me tough, I was wrong. I will never forget the looks on their faces as we hit head wind after head wind. We stopped at a gas station after a couple hours, I remember eating a strawberry pop-tart, fig newton, a powerbar, and a nestle chocolate milk. Haha, we also got grocery bags to put our wet feet in, thats when John told me he had an extra pair of foot covers in the car, thanks. Mornings like that will stay with you forever. It stayed with my legs in California.

After a successful 70.3, we transitioned into short course and aimed towards nationals in Oregon. A couple weeks before Nationals I took the overall at my first triathlon, Tejas Tri, then traveled north to Portland, OR and got humbled. After receiving a slot a few weeks later to ITU Worlds Short Course in Germany, the short course prep continued. I threw in another 70.3 in the middle, in Steelhead (Michigan), and had a stellar run. Work got in the way, and Germany became a missed opportunity and Long Course became the goal. Refurbished with excitement for long course training, I began to prepare for Longhorn Half Iron in Austin, TX and try for another three weeks later in Conroe at Iron Star. Longhorn was a success, and IronStar was good, but still a little fatiqued from Longhorn.

The wednesday before the race, the temperature dropped in tx, to the point where leggings and spandex were a must. Race morning was 48 degrees! Mind you Longhorn reached a heat index of 105 three weeks earlier. I was not ready for that.

After plunging into the choppy water, I realized it was not going to be an easy swim with poor sighting and choppy waters. I stopped a couple of times to clean my goggles and figure out where I was. I got out of the water at a lil over 28 minutes and was a bit shook up by the rockin and rollin, so my t-1 was longer than usual. Wetsuits are not easy to get off when you can't feel your toes. The cold air was beter than a cup of coffee when I got on my bike, but proved to keep me cool the majority of the windy and shaded ride. I spent alot of my summer traveling to the race site and doing long, hot, sweaty, painful rides in those hills. My legs were maybe still tired from longhorn, or they just would not warm up. I did not have an edge on the bike at all, and lost some time during the ride. I got off my bike at t-2 and 36 seconds later, I was running down the road. I really wanted to run to warm up, ha ha. I felt pretty good, but my legs felt heavy throughout. Nevetheless, I ended up with the fastes run of the day with a 1:22, on a decievingly (not flat) run course. I was happy, but I was sore. I didn't feel like I had my edge about me, but I left alot in Austin 3 weeks pior. I finished up with a 4:30:19, and in 4th place overall, 2nd amamteur and I won my age group. As I milled about the finishers area, I realized my season was done.

A huge kudos to my partner in crime, Chris Sustala(see below). Realizing that his (not yet arrived) twins are soon going to be occupying most of his training time, he laid it all out at Iron Star. With a 25 minute swim! 2:30 bike, and nailed the run of his season at 1:31 to finish with a PR of 4:33. Awesome job!

The races are the culmination of all the miles in between, but lets not forget that the volume of miles leading up to performing are where the majority of the memories are kept. Those memories literally make up our lives. If your training 20-25 hours a week with a full time job, there is not much more time for anything else, especially if you own a two year old yellow lab. I would be lying if I said I don't do this for the races, because I love competing, but I also love training. Waking up at 0500 on a Saturday in August, when it is still 90 degrees to go hit up the hills for four hours, or running late at work and having to get your 8 mile tempO run in at 1130 at night, or swimming in a cold pool. These are the internal things that make us stronger, but the people we share these moments with, make us better and deeply bonded. Earthlings don't understand why we live this way, and thats fair, because I don't know how they live the way they do.

Speaking of Aliens - - - - What planet is this from?

The planet of no fashin police, or Lousiana ?

Someone turned the oven off!!!

I have woken up all week to a cool morning, enjoying my coffee in the front yard with the dogs basking in the fall weather. Houston does not offer much for a fall, but this week is glorious. More to come later on my last race - iron star prep.

Longhorn Tri - Recap

They even had cows at the finish!! (Sorry "Longhorns")

The Longhorn Triathlon Festival was a good time. We rolled into Austin on Friday afternoon, and hit the expo. I was wearing my Buffalo Springs 70.3 Race t-shirt from 2006, and Mike Greer(Race Director) thanked me and gave me the finisher shirt from the 07’ race. I’m not sure if I can wear it, I didn’t do the race this year, but maybe b/c the RD gave it to me, I can. It’s a cool shirt. We picked up our packets with the free rice a roni, and headed to feed the belly. After dinner, I camped out on Jason’s Mom’s floor until reveille at 0430, and I slept like a puppy. Thank you Jason and your Mom.

Saturday Morning was the Olympic Distance and the Sprint Race. I was excited to be a spectator, because I have never watched a triathlon before. It was weird being on the sideline, and I wanted to race bad, but it was also fun to watch my friend’s race. Trent “The Intimidator” Stephens had a great race with a 2nd Overall at the sprint. Kelly Carrington and Chris Sustala, battled the tough Olympic distance, and finished with great times and overall places. The rest of the day was good, but it was tough being on my legs in the sun all day, and I really wanted to take a nap. That never happened. Then I got bit by a fire ant on my left foot right where the collar of my shoe sits, I was pissed, as it swelled up. Finally I got a shower in, and headed to Macaroni Grill and ate 5 loaves of bread, and a bowl of pasta. It was fantastic. But, I felt really tired, and almost nervous that I hadn’t rested enough the day before the race. I barely made it into bed before passing out at 930.

I did not want to wake up the day of the race, I was sleepy. Thank god Lisa dragged me out of bed. Out the door, gas station for gatorade and coffee, and we were there. As we arrive, the race site was bustling. People everywhere, dogs all over the place, they really did a great job on the venue. Running around getting finding sun block before the start was a memory i have. Thank god i found some, because the sun definately came out.

Im the one on the top left, who looks like hes wasting alot of energy trying to fly out of the water

As I waded in the 85 degree water, without a wetsuit, i felt like i was harry potter being pulled down to the bottom of the lake by savage plants, the hydrilla was crazy. It was truly nasty, but the hydrilla faded away after the first buoy. The swim felt long, and there were alot of people in the water, seeing that i was in the 5th wave. The concessus was that, the swim was long. I got out of the water a hair over 29 minutes, and ran up the hill to transition. That hill was such a slap in the face.

T1-I was in and out, and on the course. Immediatly, I felt good on the bike. I knew it was a long, hilly ride(57miles), so I paced myself ringing in 10 mile markers every 24-25 minutes feeling good. I was so excited, because I thought I was going to ride a sub 2:30 bike split, but the last five miles were up hill, and it didn't happen. It was a great bike course, with a single loop. I injested 6 gels, and my stomach was doing good. Climbing the last hill into transition, I was thoroughly sick of riding, and ready to run. I dismounted a lil' over 2:33, and was happy. I came into T2 in 60th place! I was so happy with my bike split I forgot I had to run a half marathon. I was the only bike on the rack!



Then, the race began. The sun came out around mile 50 on the bike, and it really started to cook. This became the hardest run I have ever done. The two loop run course was made up of hills, hills, and more hills, not to mention no shade. It was a 5k on the road, then a 5k on a dry trail, then do it again. There was no way to get a rythm, it was pretty torturous. I thought I would easily break 4:30, which was my goal, but I faded as the run went on, and could not keep a pace going up the last grassy hill, which was more like stadium steps. As I rounded the turn into the uphill finishing shoot, I heard Adam from Jack and Adam's in Austin announce, 15th across the line! It didn't really sink in, because I wanted it to be over so bad, but I had started twenty minutes back.

And, I was done. Absolutely done, so went straight to the medical tent. As I hobbled to the tent, Phillip(Owner and Operator of Sugar Cycles) grabbed my wrist, looked at my watch, and said,"U went 4:34?", I looked down, and said, "No, probably 4:33", Phillip then told me, "The winner went 4:30!" I was exstatic, but truly delerious, and couldn't talk.

I ended up running a hair over 1:27 on that brutal course, and was okay with that. It was the second fastes run of the day, so Ill take it, and a total time of 4:33 and change. I got Second Place Overall, and 1st Place Amateur. At the awards ceremony, they pointed out that I was not a Pro. I smiled.

A big thanks to Phillip from Sugar for helping us all out this weekend. And my coach, Janda, thank you for all you do to get me stronger and more confident in this never ending endeavor, triathlon.

Austin bound, and other thoughts...

time to go to austin and get ready for the longhorn triathlon festival, especially the half ironman on sunday. i am excited for the weekend and the race. many houstonian tri-freaks will be enroute to the city of rock n' roll and hippies today. with the olympic and sprint distances tommorow, followed by the UT V. OU game and post race party, i can't wait to actually watch a triathlon and relax for a day!!

then, ill probably eat an entire pizza and get ready for sunday.

i was really sore in the beginning of the week from cinco, but i feel loose and rested now. the course is a hilly one, and there should be some great competition(especially being in austin), so it should be good.

recently in outside magazine, eight time world champion surfer, Kelly Slater said this regarding an all-encompassing life obsessed with competition,

"Being in that competitive head-space for so long - it can kind of take you away. If you get too consumed by it, you don't always care about people the way you should. It's kind of ironic, that what's driving you can also be the thing you need to heal"...

that pretty much describes most triathletes, especially ones (most of us) that this has become our lives. there is something easy about masticistically running yourself to the ground during a race, because its easier then dealing with ourselves. physical pain is almost freedom from a wandering mental race. im not a total nut job, but i'd rather spend 25 hours a week, figuratively and literally, running from things than putting my asics on the shelf and sitting with myself.

im not sure if this was dark or inciteful, but either way i believe most serious athletes can relate. if you think im crazy, take a couple days off from your regime, and see how life is without your training plan (or coping method). for me, ill choose the former, and lace up for another day. fueled by hammer gel, gatorade, powerbar, and something that can not be bought at vitamin world.

good luck to all the racers this weekend.

cinco ranch recap

cinco ranch came out of nowhere it seems, i had been fused with half ironman training and buildup for longhorn half next weekend, as well as well as real life stuff. i went into the race tired, but determined.

i knew with distances of, 400m/19mi/3mi, it was a bikers race. this did not help my confidence. i knew i had to hammer the bike, and stay in sight of all my buddies who can ride, and then leave it to the run. but, i knew it was going to hurt. i told myself, no matter happened, i was going to leave it on the bike course.

the swim started fast, with agnew, sustala, and myself together neck and neck not helping each other out. the water was so shallow in so many places, i think i beached chris at one point, but he beached me later on. i was happy about getting out of the water with those two, because they can freakin' swim.

t1 was a lil hairy, i still havent figured out how to put my giro advantage on without choking myself. i got out on the bike course in second place, and i was lactic, and a little panick attack hit me, all i could think about was how i didnt know my speed(speedometer out of battery), and that my legs were itchy as hell, in texas a lot of our swims are in little cess-pools.

about 4 miles in, my buddy and sugar cycles teammate, trent stephens, rode past me going about 35 mph. without saying a word. nice gamesmanship ole boy! i tried to hang, but couldn't. so i drudged on, and started feeling better as my legs warmed up. chris sustala passed me about mile 8, and said "do not let me out of your sight" chris is a great friend, and training partner, and knows the bike is my weakness, but had some faith in my fitness i guess. so i didnt, i wouldnt. at times i felt fine, and at times i was gritting my teeth.

t2 - i had a great dismount, but my bike got tangled in a crowd rope, and thank god somebody helped me get it out. i through my bike down, donned my flats, and ran off racing belt in hand. all i could hear was two different people yeeling to me, how far the two in front were in the lead. thanks guys. the hunt was on.

trent was 30 seconds ahead, and agnew(the boy from oklahoma) was 3 minutes. i know agnew and i have almost the exact same run pace, so i was going to just run my ass off and see what happened. i felt great until some high school cross country runner, passed me on the run course, so i tried to stay with him, as i began to cramp up, i realized he had no bib on, and he wasnt in the race, that cramp was with me for the remainder, but i felt ok.

i am thrilled about the race, because going in i knew it was not a runners or a swimmers race. i got second overall, behind the Sooner.

2

Liam O'Connell

24

3

5:51.3

2

0:44.1

9

46:02.1

24.8MPH

2

0:39.2

2

16:12.6

5:24/M

1:09:29.3

boston boy takes the first olympic slot

jarrod schoemaker - sudbury, ma native - attains the first slot for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Boston Power ! I think it might be in the water, even if its dirty.

degrees of change

It has finally cooled down a bit in good ole Tejas. A bit, which is unbelievably almost exponentially cooler, Is only about 5 degrees. It has made training almost enjoyable again. Training down here in the heat is painful. Even a short run can turn into crampy, tight, thirsty, and an overheated effort. Doing track workouts or intervals on the bike when the ground is well over 115 degrees is sickening. But, all of it makes you stronger. So, for now, we have a slight reprieve and we can enjoy it. It will be nice to hold a steady heart rate, and make all my track intervals on time, and even swim in a pool that is not 95 degrees.

Last night, I swam over with the west university group, and I felt like a fish. It didn’t hurt, and it was refreshing. We did 6 x 250’s and I hit them hard, and felt great. I rode my bike to the pool, and put about 90-120 minutes down on the pavement before, and I hardly sweat riding over there. It was still 90 degrees, but with no humidity and a nice breeze from hurricane gellato or whatever its name was, it was so pleasant. It almost felt like early fall in god’s country (BOSTON-NEW ENGLAND AREA).

By the by, has everybody seen the announcement for 70.3 Ironman Boise, Idaho. I am there.

CHELLY DOES IT !

CHAU AND KELLY, A.K.A CHELLY YOU ARE AN IRONMAN(WOMEN)!!!!

My roomate Chau , and her counterpart Kelly completed Ironman Wisconsin this past Sunday in Madison. It was their first Ironman, and they both had an amazing day, Chau(13:33), Kelly(11:36). They had a blast, and came back thrilled. I am so proud of them both.

Other than that, training and life is good.

the new plan - and i like it

austin triathlon this weekend went well. there are some fast dudes out there. awesome course, they pretty much closed downtown for the race. the swim was long, i think due to a last minute course change, i was really happy with my bike time, and my run was slower than usual, but ill take it. overall, i had the 15th fastest time of the day, 4th amateur, and i won my age group. jane had an awesome day at her first olympic distance race. and miss toby the chubby pug was there to watch the finish.

so, the plan. long course. oh yea baby. i really love long course training, racing, and everything involved. so, that will be my focus for the rest of the year and all of next year. half ironman/70.3 distance. i am so freakin excited about it. im gonna hit up cinco ranch sprint, then longhorn half, then finish the season off at the iron star half.

i am not sure, if it is because i am so excited for longcourse training or what, but i have felt great this week. tuesday morning, even after beating the body down monday during the olympic distance, i was up and rolling by 0600, and feeling good. i feel pretty good right now. the past six weeks, i have to admit i have been very tired, maybe i was sick, im not sure. i started taking a multivitamin religiously, and it has really made a difference. so get some centrum, some sleep, and keep training.

Germany - ITU Worlds - A no-go

i have been m.i.a. for nearly two weeks.
triathlon is all about planning. you plan your races out for the year, perfectly timed to benefit your "a" race. you plan your workouts, in order to get the appropriate volume and intensity for each work week. you plan feeding times, stretching, massage, rest, and everything inbetween. triathlon is such, because whatever we, as triathletes, do today, will affect our race months away. if we could just get up and do a triathlon in six months, and have the same outcome, we wouldn't care about the six months inbetween. but, we must. a wise person once said, "right now, somewhere in the world someone is training, and you are not. when you race him, he will win!" i'm not sure who the wise one is, but this is why we plan. i guess who ever plans the best, and can consistently adhere to said plan, they might achieve higher levels in the sport. enough with the rant... my plan went down the tubes august 17th, and there is nothing i can do about it.

scheduled to fly out of new england for hamburg, germany to compete in the itu world championships early this coming week as a member of TEAM USA, i will not be able to make it. if you ask me what i do or anything about me, i usually tell people, i am a triathlete. which, i am. but, i am also in the uscg, and this sometimes messes with the plan. unfortunately this time, it really messed with the plan. last friday, i was the lead officer on a criminal investigation, and it is now in full swing with all parties (prosecution/defense) going at eachother's necks. the rare investigation has taken precedence in my life, and i am needed at work this week. the only way i could plausibly make it to germany is to fly out on thursday or friday from houston directly to hamburg, and return on tuesday. it is just not possible.

if you dedicate yourself to the sport/life of triathlon, these plans i speak of will chisel your entire life. when you wake up, look at the lunch menu, get asked to grab a beer on a friday night, when your tired, lazy, unmotivated, and before you go to bed. good triathletes, are good, because they sacrifice. they sacrifice the onion rings at lunch, sleeping in on saturdays, partying on friday nights, and all sorts of things all year long. these plans become us. earthlings(non-triathletes) do not understand. they don't get the fact, that on thanksgiving you need to run ten miles, and when shit got in the way, and its raining and dark already, we lace up our training shoes. roadies(no offense) do not like to ride in the rain, triathletes have no choice. we need to follow the plan.



so what do we do when the plan is taken from us?

we make another plan.

"he conquers, who endurs"-persius

HOLY CRAP ITS HOT !!

Dude, it was 110 with the heat index this past weekend, and i was dying. We rolled out onto Chapel Hill's course at about 0700 sunday, and it was so hot and humid, the road was wet. I was shocked how much i sweat so during that ride. I drank over 200 ounces of gatorade and I even started eating little salt packets in order to prevent the total dehadration and sodium depletion state. Overall, it was probably one of the hardest rides I have ever done. Trying to keep up with some of you roadies on those hills with my legs and a tri bike was not easy.

It is thursday morning, and tues and wednesday is done. in the world of liam= i'm done with the hard days(until the weekend). I woke up this morning with my roomate yelling "Liam, wake up!" Dude, my legs hurt so much this morning, i really contemplated going back to bed. Tuesday was a 2 hour interval session on the bike in the blistering misery of Texas heat, and then a 2500 yard battle in the pool at Tommy Elder's (92 degree pool). I swam competitively for over 10 years, and i have never gotten a over-heat/dehadration cramp in a pool before. Wednesday began with a 1 hour heart rate ascension on the bike, and when i was done, i was done. not really - a lil' 6 mile jaunt as well. I definetly increased the protein intake after that one.

I really had some heavy legs this morning, and i was hurting. There is a hurricane brewing in the gulf, and the heat has subsided a bit. We will continue to watch the progression of DEAN, and hopefully it will not prevent my Germany bound intents.

Safe training.

steelhead 70.3 recap

I finally got my bike packed and in bed around 0130 Friday Morning, so the 0530 wake up call from driver Trent Stephens was a tough one. After picking up Andrew Strong, we got to Houston's Hobby Airport at 0700 for our 0905 flight to Chicago's Midway Airport. I ended up sitting and passing out next to a very nice midwestern couple, and Lisa McC arthy(Houston Area Super-Triathlete) was also on our flight, not to race at Steelhead, but a business meeting in Chicago. How Ironic.


We arrive in Chicago, get our rental car, and drove 45 minutes in traffic in the wrong way. FU*K! After that, we finally got into Benton Harbor, MI around 1730, a long day...We roll into transition, and it is packed. I really thought I was in southern california, because the beach did not look like a beach on a lake! the transition was packed, 2700 people registered!

We get our bikes in transition, set them up safely, and hit the pasta dinner. I felt pretty good, maybe a little tired. I took thursday off, but other than that i trained through steelhead. We ran around for hours, purchasing too much gatorade, and finally getting into bed around 11.

0445 and we are up, i did not want to get out of bed! we got outside, and holy crap it was freezing. i couldn't find my pants in my bag either, so i was cold. i set up transition rather quickly, because i wanted to find a port o'potty line. i never did, the lines were crazy, and i had a 1.2 mile beach venture to take in order to get to the swim start. never found the john(read between the lines)!

I literally had to jog down the beach to get to the start, by the time i got there, i got to watch the first wave shove off, and stretch out for my wave 3 departure 5 minutes later. i felt like the swim went well, it actually felt long, but i was okay, i got out of the water a hair over 29min. the worst part was the quarter mile soft sand jaunt to get to transition from the swim finish.

after t2, i realized that i was no longer in texas. i was freezing, and begging for the sun to come out. I could not get warm. I am not sure what was wrong with my legs, but i had nothing until mile30. i finally started to warm up and feel my legs pushing, and then it happened at about mile50, my sciatic nerve acted up. i had to stand on my bike and stretch out my lower back, and glutes. Those last 6 miles were hell, and i had already decided that if it was going to borrow me on the run, that i was done. it hurt that bad.

i fired out of t2, and i was pissed. i was pissed that my 2:41 bike split was a 2:41. racing the clock against my goal now, i was pissed. i needed to run the hell out of this course just to give myself a respectable time. i was out of my age group goals and overall goals, because of the damn bike, now it was time to hunt anybody and everybody down just for a little vindication and try to finish with a decent time.

i hit it hard, and averaged 6:15 for the first 9 miles, then we looped back in and the course was full, and i had noone to chase, i slowed down a bit, finished the run with a 1:22, good enough for the 5th fastest run, all within a minute. i m happy about that. overall time 4:39. a faster bike time, and i'd be where i need to be. i will eventually get there, i will.

t-5 days till steelhead 70.3

and i'm done. my legs are done, my arms even hurt, there is something pulled in my chest and it hurts when i breath, my head is tired, i'm done. this past two weeks have been physically and mentally trying on ole' liam.



my body is not going to know what to do this week with reduced training volume and intensity. i'm not fully tapering for steelhead, but just ensuring that i can race on saturday.

we fly out friday morning. im psyched, its time.

body-shock!

Dude, when i started my run today it was so humid it was foggy out. Misery. I got the workout done, and my body felt good, but it was so hot my body temp was through the roof, and was very uncomfortable.

Gearing up for steelhead 70.3 for the rest of this week, it will be a nice to have a little reprieve at the end of the week, then hammer out the half im on the shores of lake michigan. these past few weeks have been a good little bump in the intensity of my training. i started a strict/specific training regiment during thanksgiving 2006 for the 2007 season, which landed me at half ironman 70.3 oceanside, california(march), usat national championships in portland, oregon(june), now steelhead(august), then itu world champonships(september), and hopefully finishing up november 14th in clearwater, florida at 70.3/half ironman world championships. believe it or not your body gets used to the consistent massive volumes of intensity and time that triathlon training is constructed of. months go by, and you need to throw a wrench in your system, and almost shock it. that is what janda did to my training schedule starting in july. it has been painful, tiring, mentally tough, but absolutely exciting and another rewarding experience training has brought me.

jasper chewed up one of my roommates shoes this afternoon while we were running, not cool. jasper is literally in the dog house right now.

Jasper. Curious about why his dad is always in lycra?

This week has been intense. I am definetely happy friday is my active recovery day. There is not much more i could handle at this point. With a long work week and training, it has been a long and tirning week, but i got it all in. Houston is still a rainforest, and poor jasper is missing the park.

the things we do....

Early Afternoon:



I had an epic ride. I know that sounds a little intense for road biking, but it really was awesome. My legs just rode at an intensive level for nearly two hours as if they were made to do so. I really felt great, and the time flew by.

Mid afternoon:

I decided to take a little break, and do my six miler in the evening. I caught up with one of my favorite people in the whole world, for a while u know who you are. It was great talking to you. I have USCG duty this week, so my schedule is a little shaky...i got a phone call about a little collision in the houston ship channell, and my training/eating/sleep schedule just got tossed.

Late night:

After ensuring the situation was secure, i got home around 1045pm, and hit the trails for my run. Feeling like i should be asleep, i drudged through. if my coach is reading this, he is probably pissed(duty week). about 4 miles in i got something in my mouth. it was either a large bug or a baby tree frog, im still not sure. i softly escorted it out of my throat and i believe it is still alive. yuk. i finished my run shortly before 1130pm, and thought to myself...the things we do for this sport...

Hay in the Barn

These past two weeks have been very good. I continue to put hay in the barn, and make effort-ed deposits into my bank. my legs are heavy, and tired, but they will be ready for my final withdrawal at itu worlds.

My legs feel better, after introducing some resistance training into the workload. at first it was a shock, but now it is a regular pain i have gotten used to enjoyably enduring. my legs have not been as used up as they felt last week in a long time. which tells me something, a lesson learned, we must always change our training up to manipulate our systems into continual growth. i hope its working, but i think it is.

sunday was the webster duathlon # , the last in the series. a sprint race down in the random pastures of texas, offering a 2 mile run, 12 mile bike, and 2 mile jaunt to the finish. i knew my bike had been improving, and the regulat guys would be there, so i was going for the win. Janda
(my coach)had warned me that i would be tired, and reminded me it was a training race. he was right, the gun went off and i immediately got in the lead pack with heavy legs, then a high school runner started to make the pace. it was then just him and i, and i was going to let him keep it, bc i was feeling it. knowing he would probably die out in the bike, and the regulars where behind me, i let him take the lead.

i got to the transition, and ran out with my bike directly into a newspaper photographer, and she geared my rear derailleur down, so when i hopped on my bike the chain was stuck! i got off fixed the problem, lost a few seconds, and got out on my bike. the toop loop course was nice and flat, but had a steady head wind on one side. i felt strong, but the wind hurt. one of the local duathlon savages passed me at mile 5, and i stayed with him, until his pedal fell off! i was kind of bummed bc i planned on pacing him form the ride. i was once again feeling the lactic acid and toxins attempting to repair my muscles from the hard week. i got off the bike averaging 23.5, ill take it.

when i started running there was 2 people in front of me. i knew right away, that my legs were not the way they usually are. my quads felt like they should look like norman stadlers', but they don't. i pressed on, passing a guy and continued to close the gap with the leader who averaged a whopping 26mph on the bike(duathlete). he ended up beating me by 40 seconds, and my running pace was 20-30 seconds slower than usual!

at first i was bummed, bc the win would have been nice, and i think i could have gotten it if my run was normal, but this is good stuff. my training is working, and i am getting there. my legs will be fine on the real race day, and my run will be there, this race tells me, my bike will too.
so fire tired trained legs, i feel good with the 2nd place finish, and time of 54:50.

A full week of training lies ahead, as well as a full week of uscg duty(10 days in a row!) then i will recover up for steelhead 70.3 and see what damage i can bring to the shores of michigan.

i hope everyones training is going well. a big kudos to all the sweet people from sugar cycles road team that competed or supported the duathlon this weekend, it was a fun day, the pancakes being the best part. oh yea, if anyone finds sugar tri shorts on 45 north, they are mine :)

That which does not kill you, will only make you stronger!

So im back full throttle, with a new focus on developing power on the bike. This was definatly the most painful training week in a while. which is good = its working. janda (my coach-see his blog at http://www.jandariccimunn.blogspot.com/ ) is really tuning me up for worlds. my legs feel so heavy, yesterday at work i almost fell up the stairs 3 times.



introduving alot of short burst intervals and some weights is really going to help my cycling. the weather has also sucked this week down here in texas, so the motivation to get poored on was low. this helped - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIl5RxhLZ5U if you are ever lacking the drive for a workout, or think a trainer is a better option then dealing with the elements, watch this clip. totally motivating... i have the webster duathlon this sunday 2/11/2, so i hope my legs get a little lighter before then.

who's doing the webster du?

ITU Worlds Slot -

Mondays usually suck, and as i strolled into work today, I throught - man Mondays suck!
I walked around the office for a few minutes busting balls and conducting my greetings, then I figured it was time to reintroduce my brain to my cubical. EMAIL. As I looked down the inbox list, I saw...work, work, work, junk, junk (sometimes the same thing), work, funny, work, USAT....SUBJECT....Congratulations! I got a roll down slot for ITU World Championships in Hamburg, Germany. I had an off race at Nationals, and didnt secure a slot, but got the roll down. Sweet.....So for the next two months, I will live in pain, so I have a good race day in Germany. Im ecstatic!!

TEXAS HEAT IS BACK !

Holy crap it is hot out today. With the past few weeks of rain, i almost forgot how hot Texas summers are. It is hot here. I went out for a 7.5 mile run today at high noon during my lunch break, and it was painful. My legs felt great, but my heart felt like it was going to explode out of my chest, and roll down the street resembling a fried egg! I think that has to do with the corn muffin, and two egg and cheese on a bagel i ate shorty before the run. I hate that feeling. It was 92 degrees, with a 102 degree heat index!

i felt good when it was done, i jumped in the pool and got back to work ;( my body heat was so high, i didn't want to eat for over eight hours. this evening, i got in a nice 90 min spin, and now it is time to chill in the commune. tuesdays aren't too bad.

speaking of my spin, i need to mention cadence. a couple months ago, philip from sugar cycles saw my bike on top of my car. it was the first time we met, and he remarked on how i was a typical triathlete with my gears all the way down my cassette. as he giggled, he asked what my cadence was? cadence? i had no clue, what do i look like, a roadie? i don't draft!
it turns out, after we put a cat eye double wireless computer on my bike, that my cadence was part of my bike split problem.....

i was averaging high 60's for my tempo pace!! killing my legs, and just pumping lactic acid through them, with no chance of flushing it out. how could i ever accelerate when i was getting passed if i was already lactic and pushing only 67rpm? so, i learned about cadence...

you need a high cadence to be able to ride/race fast. like 90-95, this will allow you to accelerate and be much easier on your legs. especially for triathletes that can run, your legs are used to a quick lactic turnover, so whip up your cadence! another thing i learned, you need a cadence meter. my coach prescribes certain cadences, and i thought i was following it correctly. WRONG, you need a meter.

in other news, it feels good to be back rolling with training....i got back to work this week. i had a week of taper, race, and then a recovery week to rest the body after a long 6 week cycle, and i was losing my mind. i was so bored the other day, i went grocery shopping. i am excited to back into the swing of things this week.

full week...keep training...

tour de france begins.......in england??

so, whats the problem with the french?

tour de france and they go to england for the important and popular prologue? i think it is cool as hell, its historic and fun to watch a huge bike race in London. i just feel a little bad for the french, their own tour, and...... Americans have won it for 8 straight years, and now England gets to celebrate the beginning of the race.

are they giving up? the french have sacrificed their own tour?

will we be racing in russia on bastille day in a few years?

come on france, get your damn race back. you have paris, the alps, the pyranese, and a beautiful country. i know we've pretty much covered it all during past years, but we wont remember, we were drunk. make it the tour de FRANCE.

what the hell do i care. kona will always be in kona.

Tour de france # 1 @ sugar!

Oregon

beer, an alternate carbohydrate ?

chau, my roomate, a.k.a pinkgurugal (see her blog its hilarious), and I got done with a long week of work, training, and normal everyday life drama. i trained and went grocery shopping, and chau snorkled throughout the texas floods......

....and got a solid track workout in. so, its all over, life was on slow motion for a few, and there was no better way to enjoy this strange idleness than with a cold beer (chau might have had 3?)....

life is good in the 007. we both need to be up early for bike rides and work, but you know what....you can sleep when your dead. its important to relax a lil' every once and a while, unwind and realize how good we have it. remember folks, carpe diem.....sheeeeeeet!

we need some sun

i thought i would never say this, but houston needs more sun! it has been raining for weeks. it feels like boston here ( a warm bosotn). either way, i have gotten used to the consistent texas sun, and i want it back. if anyone finds it, let me know.

this week i am taking it pretty easy, and just throwing down some quality miles in all three. this weekend, we're gonna put some miles down on the bike. saturday at sugar, and sunday in the "hills". let me know if you want to join. i hope the sun will come out.

today, some quality time must be spent with jasper. the lil blond furball is begging for a long park session. a good run with jr, and a swim is in order as well.

by the way la fitness' pool is awesome, and only $30/month. i went there last night and was totally impressed.

the tour de france begins tommorow in london ! so everyone whould ride with sugar in the morning and hang out at the lounge for the prologue. should be fun.

nationals - race recap

1st off. Oregon rocks. what a beautiful state. it reminded me of maine, but with a real west coast attitude, and a little hillier. what i liked most of all was the daylight hours: the sun rose at 5am, and didnt set until about 9pm. it is an outdoursman/womans dream.

well i should have known it was going to be a tough course, when i arrived at my buddies house last thursday night. they live on, (what would be a mountain in most places, but they confirmed it was just a hill) this absolutely beautiful "hill". my flight arrived in portland around 11pm, and i quickly got a cab, because my buddy and his wife were out of town that night. getting a cab was an experience all alone. he was the only russian cab driver in the city, who had no idea where he was going. a 30 dollar cab ride quickly turned into a 50+ ride. as we climbed this monstrasity of a "hill" where the Oregon Health and Science University and Hospital is located, i though, uh-oh? put it this way, this hill is so steep they installed a $75million tram to bring people up and down throughout the day. so, we finally found the house, and i nestled into a cumfy bed, not to wake until 9am!

so as i wake up, and start thinking how badly i need coffee, i found the kitchen, and holy crap a view. their porch looks out on the city of portland, the columbia river, and the mountain range containing mt hood, mt st helens, and mt rainier. amazing, as i fight the caffiene headache, i think to myself, "of course, i forgot my camera" so i built my bike and ventured down the ravine/road to get a cup of coffee. after almost getting killed by a box-truck, i stumbled upon about thirty starbucks and local bean-ettes on 23rd street. i hung out had some unbelievable coffee, a few bagels, a beer, and some pizza. i needed the carbs. then i ventured back and took the tram up the "hill", in order to save my legs for the race, of course. so as i cruise up this tram, filled with doctors and med students, clad in my sugar spandex, i got a few looks. but, my face looked weirder as i stared at the incredible face of mt hood. it was so impressive, it almost looked scary.

my buudies wife, erin, came home, and told me that jimmy was still on duty(uscg) and might not make it home until after the race. i was totally bummed, and kinda felt bad, because now his wife was like quasi responsible for her husbands friend whome whe never met. haha. we had a great time. we went out to the packet pick up and the transition to drop the bicycle off. as we drove out to the course, and her car was whining going up the hills, i thought 1) i might be screwed, 2) has pancake flat texas really got to me, 3) i need to get back to boston.

as we arrived to the transition, all i could think about was how it was the most beautiful race site i have ever been to, hagg lake. this picture was taken in early spring, imagine everything green. it was a really cool place. so, as every other athlete was duct-taping bags to their drive trains and saddles, i dropped mine in my spot and went down to see holw cold the water was. it was perfect.

we ventured back to portland, and she made me an awesome seafood pasta dinner. thank you erin. it was awesome. as i went to bed kinda early, i was thinking, and then passed out, i never do that, especially before a race. i slept awesome, weird.

race morning: 5:15am, and im up, and were out the door, and looking for the first starbucks. we found one, and i got my fix. we arrive, get on the bus to the transition, and it was freezing. not texas. in highnsight, i should have probably warmed up more because of the temperature. the scene was busy, and i decided to leave my shoes off my bike, because of the hill leaving transition! so, let's swim.

the swim was a deepwater start, and i felt ready. i found the guy to draft off of (he ended up swimmimng sub 18 for the 1.5km) with that said, i couldnt stay with him for long, and probably started to hard. my first length of the rectangular course was crampy and slow, but my length back felt good and rythmic. my t1 was okay, it wasnt real quick, but i got out of it, and got on my bike. holy crap...

so, there is a half mile peice of the course that's flat, that was nice, but the rest was either up or down. the two loop course was a battle for me, i just didnt have the legs to crank up those hills. i've been riding the flats of texas, and it was a shock to the system. by bike split was 1:08, for

the 40k, and it was too slow. i will tweak my training, and ride local overpasses over and over, hopefully preparing me for hills. at first, i was really disapointed, but i have accepted it, and now i know what i need to get better at. and i will.

i had a great dismount, and cruised out of t2, and forgot my race number. i ran back, and pulled it out of my bag, and through it on, a total rookie move. haha. i started running, and my legs were heavier than usual, and damn! the run course was on the bike course, hills.
i finally got into a rythm around mile 3, and started passing alot of people. it wasnt my usual pace, but noone passed me. i finished with a run split of 37:15 for the 10k, and a total time of 2:10 something. i missed team usa by about three minutes. i obsessed about the shouldas' and couldas' for two days, and thank you erin for listening to me. but the truth is, all the shouldas', couldas', and wouldas' wont get me a cup of coffee and a donut. so, i will move on, get stronger, and faster. crossing the line is the best part of the race, but we cant forget the miles in between.

thank you erin and jimmie laird for having me at your place, and driving my ass around all weekend. portland rocks! thanks to everyone for your support, expecially sugar cycles and janda ricci-mun.

nationals - i need bigger legs

well, it was hilly. hillier than i thought. there was probably half a mile of flat on the bike and none on the run.

so...i got my as kicked on the bike, and i couldnt make it up.

i was really dissapointed and still am, but there are good days and bad days.

so, i will move on, and try to get bigger legs and learn to be able to hang on the bike with the best.

i need to be able to ride harder, and that is what this sport is about. progress, and turning your weak points around.

Oregon pre-nationals

im finally here. i am staying at my buddies' Jimmy and his fiance erin's place, and i feel like i am in a pine tree. oregon is absolutely beautiful. looking outside, all i can see is mountains and trees.

with that said, it is a little hilly....

so yesterday, was travel day. before i began my travels i got stretched and massaged in a last minute plea by cheryl francisco. awesome. i was referred to her by a friend, and now i know why, she really loosened me up, and after my lil jog this morning, i am feeling good. she is on richmond, if you want her number let me know. she has magic fingers, and an awesome person.

i then went out to sugar cycles, and the boys tuned and cleaned my bike, and it is looking good. (as good as a gold bike can look). i will be sportin' the sugar onsie tommorow.

i used my boston a-hole driving skills to get to hobby in time, and jumped on my flight. southwest only charges 45 bucks to carry a bike, that beats continental's 95. i got in real late and went to bed.

i woke up to find myself in that pine tree i was talking about, and realizing the race is tommorow.

my goals for tommorow is #1 qualify for worlds and gain a spot on team usa #2 do well overall and in my age group #3 have fun. it always fun, so im not worried about that. i want to swim sub 20, ride between 60-63 minutes, and run sub 35. all with quick transitions.

it will be painful, but pain is like sex- it ends, then you can laugh about it.

following my coach's directin, (http://www.jandariccimunn.com/) i have been eating 700g of carbs a day, for a couple, and it sucks, but it works.

thank you, to all my friends, for your calls or messages of support.

streeetching

i dont stretch that often, something i need to change in my routine. so i am focusing on loosening up for nationals this week. little short workouts, bursts of intensity, and slow leisurely spinning. these will help me get warmed up so i can stretch it out.

i am flying out tonight, so i have alot of things to get done before then.

i will spend the next two days visualizing race day, hopefully that will get ris of some of my nerves.

remember - "cougars are always better than kittens"-M.L.

lay off me...i'm starving

dude, it seriously feels like i can never eat enough. while i was riding today i got hunger pains and i had to stop and eat. i had gels and bars on me, but it wasn't enough. so, i ate a sandwich! i am eating enough, and it is of good nutrition. a balanced package of protien/carbs/even fat. maybe i need more calories, straight up more food!

what about the heat? i must be burning more calories b/c of the Houston heat than normal. so...it is hotter, and i am working harder, using more energy, and neet to eat and drink more. or maybe i am just not drinking enough, ao that void in my belly is just liquid lapse. hmm.

i will continue to experiment, but i think i just need to eat and drink more.

Last hard workout before Natl's

One track workout, not that complicated, left. 3 mile warmup, 1 mile at 5:45, 2 800's at 2:40, 2 400's at 78sec, and then a little cooldown. After that, it is a week long miserable experience of feeling fat, unfit, and sloth-like while i taper down for usat nationals in portland, oregon saturday.

I guess during a taper, we forget about all the workouts, and races leading up to this point. this track workout is nothing compared to lastweeks, but it is a reminder that I am ready. THE HAY IS IN THE BARN, and it is time to make a withdrawel from the drive-by teller. If monsoon season would ever subside in Houston, it would be nice too. All of my friends are at Buffalo Springs this weekend, and a couple Sugar Mama's even made http://www.ironmanlive.com/ just look in the picture section. They are all gonna have a great day in Lubbock...

Race Recap: Tejas Tri - First Overall Win!

Race Recap: Tejas Triathlon in Sugarland, Texas.

The popular Houston event sold out at 800 participants over a month ago, so I have been anxious for race day for weeks. I knew that if I could get my bike split together, sit on the pain, average a respectable speed, and have a solid swim and run, I would have a chance at the win. I really wanted a confidence boost before USAT Nationals in Portland, Oregon later this month. Janda Ricci-Munn, my coach, knew this as well, so for the past few weeks we have really focused on my cycling. I was going to attack the .5m/11m/3m sprint, and make my first honest attempt at riding hard.

Race morning was early. I woke up at 4 a.m. and felt very tired. My body felt good, but I was really hungry and tired. I was a little nervous about being so hungry, so I ate a couple PB sandwiches and swilled down some coffee. A couple buddies and I got to the race at about 5:45, and I began to prepare for the start. Janda told me to get a solid warm-up on the bike, and that is what I did, as well as gobble down a couple more PowerBars.

I always learn something new at every race, either about myself or racing in general. At Tejas it was both: Look at the swim course! I never do, I just go to the start. I guess that comes from swimming my whole life, but there is no course difference in pool based swimming! Janda and I had talked earlier in the week, and the plan was to be at VO2 Max the entire race, and that I did. I charged off with my red cap for about 100 yds, and couldn’t see or feel anybody. That is a good feeling, because being 23 there are always a couple ex-collegiate swimmers in the pack that haven’t gotten that out of shape. As I closed in on the first buoy, I began to see other red caps off my right side about 50 yards away. I had totally cut the swim course wrong, and I ended up playing catch up the entire swim.

Getting out of the water with a big effort knowing there was 2 already out bothered me, and it took me 5 tries to buckle my race belt. I finally got out of the busy transition area, and instantly noticed more acceleration than usual. I didn’t start my watch, and there was no magnet on my wheel so I had no idea what time it was or what speed I was holding. All I knew was that it hurt, and I wasn’t backing off. I was in the fourth wave, so the two-loop course was very crowded. As I approached the dismount, it had just occurred to me that for the first time in five years I did not get passed on the bike.

I had a very fast T2, and I knew it was time to throw down the hammer and go for it. Exiting the transition I started my stopwatch, felt my tight hamstrings, and thought for a second that I might have ridden too hard. A lot of people had told me that you will always be able to run off the bike, no matter how hard you ride, and for a second I doubted them. As I approached the first mile marker in the turning and curvy course, I looked down and saw 5:05 on my wrist, slowed down a little bit and kept going. There was a lot of pain throughout the whole race, including the run, but I felt strong every second of it. As I crossed the finish, only knowing that my run was fast, the race clock said 1:09.35. I started 15 minutes back, and knew last year’s winner was somewhere in the 54 minute; I was satisfied. I had finally put together a solid bike split, which was my missing link. Even with the poor swim start, and an ironic one seeing that I have a Bachelor’s degree in marine navigation, I still swam 9:30 for the half-mile swim. I think I was happier about my bike split than my overall place, because for so long it has been preventing me from reaching the podium. I averaged 24.5 mph, and finished it up with a 16:20 3mile run split; An average of 5:25/mile pace. My final time of 52:35 gave me the overall win and the course record.

I moved to Texas after joining the USCG in 2005, and put together a long distance season with poor training in 2006. Janda told me to call him last fall, and he told me that I had two options: I can race a lot and have fun finishing or I can train hard, race smart, and see where I can go in the sport of Triathlon. I chose the latter, and the training plan Janda has for me is smart, and it allows me to race hard. With Janda’s help, I will see how far I can go in Triathlon. Next stop, USAT Nationals in Portland, OR.