Providence 70.3 Pre-Brief

Well, here we are again, in the midst of taper. Lots of extra time and that unusual feeling, energy. I have been excited about this race in particular for a long time. It is the inaugural year, my first A race, and an hour and a half from home.

I have been having some hamstring/piriformis/glute - mostly hamstring problem for about two weeks now, and hating it. It has destroyed a few bike rides, some runs, and kept me pretty uncomfortable. I pray it loosens up by Sunday.

Does life pass you by as you train?

Lately, i have re-realized again, that I have no life, relative to people my age. Due to work, and training hours i uphold, it is hard to want to go out and do normal people things.

Relationships for one, i don't have time or energy to even think about getting involved. cop out? maybe, but i have a goal and nothing is going to get in the way of it.

i wouldn't trade it for anything. my definition of life, or what will at the end of mine, define my life will hopefully be more than the norm.

the beauty of triathlon, and the life of an endurance athlete, that is a huge part of it, even if it is usually a subcontious part of it, is the fact that day in and day out, we push the envelope, we push the buttons of what society tells us to be, we test ourselves, we see how far we can take something.


back to the race, janda ricci-munn(coach), trent stephens, andrew strong, nick dufresne, and amanda russel will all be headed to RI race day. good luck.

Lonestar - Galveston HIM - PRE-RACE

Well, the first race of the year is here. I am pretty surprised of how quickly it came, but nontheless it is here. My taper this week is going well. I am tired, achy, and I want to sleep. SO = Good taper. I think it is funny that when you reduce your training volume and intinsity extensively, you get more tired. Our bodies are so used to the beating and endless exhaustion that is parralleled with Triathlon.

I have not blogged in a while. A lot of stuff going on outside my tri life, unexpected and expected. So, I continued training, ofcourse, but unfortunately I have not been on top o the blogosphere.

I hope all of you racing this weekend, have a great day, and I wish you good luck.

I recently acquired a 2008 White Orbea Ordu with SRAM Red!! I will be racing on it this weekend. I have spent two weeks on it thus far, and I love the bike. It truly rolls, and its light, responsive carbon is almost as irresistible as how damn good it looks. I will get pictures up soon.

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.

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!!

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.