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.