Some Pics

And of course, I posted these in the opposite order. AAAHHHH!!!
Me sprinting it in just to make sure Nick Waninger didn't catch me. Thanks for the scare buddy.

Coming out of T2.

Taking off on the bike.

Coming out of the water.

Nice little pre race photo with Casey.

Clearwater 70.3 RR

Well, my 2010 season is over and it is nice not having to worry about my workouts for once. I woke up this morning not sure how I was going to fill the day. I have mostly been doing some things around the house before I head to work this evening. Doing a little laundry, grocery shopping, and a few little chores that I had put off last week just because I didn't have time to do them. Now I'm catching up on my favorite TV shows on Hulu.

Our trip to Clearwater began last Tuesday night when I departed Lexington and drove a whole hour to my hometown of Corbin to spend the night and meet up with my bro before we left for Florida. Wednesday morning we hit the road and spent most of the day in the car. We had a nice dinner on the beach that evening and I enjoyed some fish tacos for the first time in my life. Thursday came around and I went for a little jog before my brother and I hit up IHOP for breakfast. This wouldn't be my normal breakfast, but our hotel didn't offer breakfast and IHOP was less than a 1/4 mile from the hotel with no other options (not that I'm complaining, I love a good IHOP breakfast, just not usually this close to a big race). Ben and I went for a little swim later, then picked up my roommate Kevin, my sister, and my mom from the airport followed by a little lunch at Firehouse. We hung out for a little, went for a little spin, then met up with my grandparents for dinner. Friday was about the same. Some easy morning workouts, a little IHOP for breakfast, the pro meeting, Subway for lunch, meeting up the family to discuss the race day parking situation, checking in my gear to the transition area, dinner with my dad, and bedtime.

Saturday rolled around and the weather was perfect. High 50's, not much of a wind, and clear skies. After my usual breakfast, I headed down to the transition area to finish my pre race prep. At about 6:15, I had my wetsuit on, got a good luck kiss from Casey, then headed down to the water for my warmup. At 6:40, I was standing on the beach with some of the best triathletes in the world waiting for the gun to go off. There is nothing more nerve racking than the "waiting" period just before a big race. At 6:45, the cannon went off.

I didn't have a great starting position, but actually had a decent run into the water. I shot through a little gap, did the dolphin dive a few times, then was in water deep enough to swim. I put my head down and tried to get into a good position. I fought with a few guys for the first 200 - 300 meters, and swallowed a few mouth fulls of water in the process. I got right on the buoy line and felt like I was decent position. I lost the feet in front of me about 600 meters in but kept that group close until the first turn buoy. Once we rounded that turn, we swam 100 meters directly into the wind/waves. That is where I lost the group in front of me. I thought for a second I was in no man's land, but after the next turn buoy, I had another group catch me, so I just sat in and swam with then the rest of the way into the beach. I was the last one in that group out of the water, but I was out with some fast cyclists such as Maxim Kriat, Chris Legh, and Leon Griffin so I knew that I had a chance to pace off of some really fast guys to help me get back into the action. Well, apparently my T1 was terrible and I never once saw those guys. I felt that I had a decent transition, put my head down for the first 5 miles on the bike, and I caught 4 -5 guys that were just up the road. None of these guys were the names that I previously mentioned and I found out that the guys that I caught were not the strongest of cyclists. They were strong enough to sit behind me and pace, but not enough to be in the wind themselves. When I would back off, they would pass me, but our pace would drop a couple of mph. So I basically pulled this group for the majority of the race. We did have 2 MUCH stronger cyclists pass us, but they were out of my league. I tried to pace off of both of them when they passed, but I felt like I was going sprint tri speed and not 70.3 speed, and I did want to have something left for the run. I came into T2 well behind the leaders and not in a great position overall. I took off on the run and realized that the flat and windy course had done some work to my legs. I felt like I had no gas in the tank what-so-ever. I just decided right then that I was going to finish the race, no matter what, and give it my best effort. I fought off cramps and just an overall terrible feeling in my whole body for the first 3 miles of the run. After I got a little fluids and Power Gels into my system, I felt a little better. The rest of the run, I paced off of the guys who were just up the road. I did eventually catch them around mile 10 - 11. My fastest splits on the run were actually my last 3 miles which was a little surprising. I guess that is what happens when you are trying to pass competitors. After a little scare from my buddy Nick Waninger at mile 13.05 of the run, I managed to cross the finish line just in front of him in 28th position among the pro's.

I was extremely happy to be finished with the race. This was my slowest 70.3 of the year and I was not overly happy with my performance, but I know that there are days that you just have to grind it out, and today was one of those days. Overall, I felt flat the whole race. I felt that I couldn't keep up the strong pace on the bike and that I didn't have any turn over on the run.
I know that I am better on the harder bike courses that have more hills because that is where I tend to be a little better than the average triathlete but these flatter courses are not the best for me considering the terrain of central Kentucky.

But, my season is now over and I have 2011 to look forward to. I would love to see how I can match up against these guys in Las Vegas. I know I need to keep up my work in the water, actually train on the bike in the off season, and then keep up my mileage over the winter. I'll bet that having a decent base phase will make a world of difference going into a new season.

I want to thank everyone who travelled down to Florida to watch me. It was a blast having everyone there and supporting me. My roommate Kevin had an amazing race and finished 2nd in his AG and 8th overall among the amateurs. My brother fought his way through the race battling his injured IT band and finished the race. We were all happy to be done for the season.

Tony

VERSUS 2009 Trailer - We got ourselves a game with lyrics - Underdog com...

Are You Ready?

The week has come and in a few days my season will be over. I have been anxiously waiting for this Saturday and am really looking forward to competing against some of the best 70.3 athletes in the world. I'm headed to Clearwater tomorrow to get checked into the hotel and just going to hang out and rest before Saturday.

As I have heard before, "The hay is in the barn." I am just doing a few maintenance workouts before Saturday and that is just to keep the blood moving. All of the hard stuff is over, I just have to go out and perform this weekend. I watched "Friday Night Lights" this morning while I was on the trainer and I absolutely love that movie. It always gets me pumped up before a big race.

And I know I have posted that video before, but it's one of my favorites. It is the Versus commercial from 2009. I don't know if there is anything better to watch to get you motivated to go out and give 110%.

T-Bird

Medical Center 10k Classic RR

Well another 2 weeks have gone by since my last post and all is well. The weather is starting to get a little colder, but nothing too serious. It's nice that the weather has stayed as warm as it has allowing me to train outside more so than I anticipated going into Clearwater. I'm still doing my computrainer workout once a week, but trying to get outside on most of the other days. I have yet to retreat to the treadmill and this up coming week looks to be sunny on most of the days.

I traveled to Bowling Green this past weekend to visit the family and run in a little 10k that has a pretty fast course (and a little prize money). I figured since it was at the end of a recovery week that I might run a PR if I raced well, and maybe even dip under 33 minutes for the first time. After a good warmup with my brother, I headed to the start line just before the start at 8:30. At 8:30 the gun went off, and so did the Kenyans. I have never raced in such a deep field of Kenyans and I felt like I was out of my league even 100 yards into the race. I knew I wasn't there to compete for the overall victory as the last 3 - 4 winners have all broke 30 minutes, but I was simply there to be as competitive as possible and run fast. Well, after about a 1/4 mile, I was in about 25th - 30th position and falling back from the main pack. They were absolutely flying and there was nothing I could do to hang on. I went through the first mile in 5:00 and realized that, yes, they were running fast as I was a good 20 - 30 seconds back from the leaders. The 2nd mile gave me an opportunity to pass a few of the competitors who wanted to be in the lead group, but were not in shape enough to do so for very long. I passed 3 - 4 guys during this second mile and went through the 2 mile in 10:11. The pain set in and I realized that I wasn't far off of my 5k PR pace. I managed to get away from another competitor during the 3rd mile and made my way up the biggest hill on the course. It's about a 1/2 mile long but very gradual. I went to 3 miles at 15:30 and the 5k at 16:05. I knew the 4th mile would be the hardest with the hill, but it is always the hardest mile of a 10k anyways. I tried to keep my rhythm, but fell off pace a little and went through 4 miles in 21 flat. I sped up a little, but was chasing 2 guys who were a good 30 seconds up, and trying to get away from a guy who was about 20 seconds back from me. I was in no man's land and just trying to hold on for dear life. I went through 5 miles in 26:25 (which is a best for me). One thing I love about this race is they have the mile and kilometers marked throughout the course. I went through 9k at 29:43 meaning I had to run the last kilometer in under 3:17. It is mostly downhill and I had just enough in the tank to do so. I crossed the finish line in 32:53ish.

A 10k is extremely painful when compared to a triathlon. You are running at top end speed for a good 30 minutes and this hurts your lungs A LOT. In a triathlon, it is more painful for the body as a whole, but I am never that close to my VO2 max during a triathlon (especially during a 1/2 IM).

I spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out at Jackson's Orchard, my grandparent's orchard in Bowling Green, and watched a little football. Sunday morning came around and my brother and I got in a great ride through the flat country in Warren and Logan Counties. It was a little windy, but was a good prep for Clearwater.

Less than 3 week to go before Clearwater, and then its time for some downtime.

Tony

The Adventures of T-Bird

I had a great week of training this past week but I did make a silly/amateur mistake. The week started off pretty simple with some simple workouts. Thursday came around and that is my usual day I have efforts on the bike. I had a 2 hour threshold set and it is extremely useful to have the computrainer at Swim Bike Run of Ky to use. I definitely put myself in the hole during that workout, but had the strength to finish it which was encouraging. It was definitely the hardest bike workout I have ever done, but having the strength to successfully finish it made it even better. Now I did have trouble walking for the rest of the day, ha. Friday came around and I skipped out on my tempo run in the afternoon since I had a long day at work, so I decided I would just include it into my long run the following morning.

I met up with an old friend, Ali Grace (or maybe its Morgan, she just got married about a month ago), Saturday morning to do my tempo/long run. She runs professionally for ZAP fitness and made for a great running partner this morning. I met up with her about 10 minutes into my run and we headed out to the new "Legacy Trail" to start our workout. I ended up running 5 miles before we even started our workout and then our tempo session started. I helped pace her for her efforts. She had a 3 mile effort at 6 minute pace, and then every effort after that got a 1/2 mile shorter and just a tad faster. After our 2nd effort, I realized that I was 12 miles from home. I never once thought about the total distance of how far I was running until this point. I didn't freak out at first. We turned around right after the 2nd effort and started our recovery jog. I helped pace her for her next effort and then that still put me about 6 - 7 miles from home. So I just ran the most direct route that I could back to Swim Bike Run of KY (since it was 2 miles closer to my current location than my house was). Luckily, Jeff Buhr was about to leave the shop so he gave me a ride home. I ended up running 20.4 miles miles when I was only scheduled to run 13 - 14 miles total. Needless to say, I took the following day off from running, ha. I still got in a solid bike ride with Kevin on Sunday to finish off a great week.

One encouraging thing about that run on Saturday was the fact that I didn't take any kind of nutrition and a lot of the run was at "tempo" pace and I never "bonked." Don't get me wrong, I was extremely tired and hungry but I guess the intense training that I have done of the past few years is helping and making me a stronger/fitter triathlete. And the fact that my "best" distance of a triathlon takes around 4 hours to complete and this run only lasted 2:15. It is still my longest run in almost 3 years.

Today was a nice recovery day and I'm back at the hard stuff tomorrow.

Tony

RJ Corman Duathlon RR

Yes, those are real.

Well, I "officially" competed in my first duathlon today and it turned out to be a GREAT idea considering this was my trophy. I have done several in the past, but only because the swim leg got cancelled from a triathlon. The Chrysallis House and Swim Bike Run of KY teamed up to help RJ Corman put on this high dollar event. They are really looking to make it a big event next year. The owner, Rick Corman, put up $6,000 for prize money but did not necessarily want to make it a professional race. He wanted it to be a "Go Big or Go Home" kind of deal. And it definitely was. You either received $1,000 for 1st, or (originally) nothing for 2nd place (Swim Bike Run of KY stepped in and donated some gift cards for 2nd and 3rd place so they wouldn't go home empty handed). The winners of the Duathlon and 5k would each receive $1,000 and then there would be 8 $250 drawings for random people who competed in the race (either the duathlon or the 5k). As it turns out, that kind of money will get people to stick around for awards. It was one of the biggest award ceremonies I have seen at a smaller race like this.

Anyways, I have been struggling all week trying to recover from last weekend. I did an easy bike ride Wednesday which didn't feel too bad but I still didn't feel normal. Thursday had some easy swimming and running involved in it but both workouts took all of the motivation I had stored up inside of me to get out the door. Friday morning I did a 1.5 hr computrainer ride and then rested for the rest of the day. I wasn't sure what to expect today but I felt pretty decent. It was 43 degrees this morning so it was a little chilly at the start. The first 5k felt A LOT better than expected. We went through the first mile in about 5:12 and I had no idea I was running that fast. We slowed down a little over the next 2 miles but I managed to get a little gap on the next 2 competitors going into T1. I think I ran around 16:40 for that first 5k. I hopped on the bike and was off through RJ Corman's property. He owns A TON of property and the first 3 - 4 miles of the bike course is on his private property and then the last 3 - 4 miles of the bike course is on his property. Two of those last miles are on his Runway for his jet. Crazy, huh? Anyways, the middle section of the bike is pretty technical. We go down a fast decent into a hard right hand turn. They did a great job warning us about the course but the 3rd place finished had a bout of bad luck with his carbon brakes and didn't make it into that turn.

I came into T2 with about 2.5 - 3 minutes on the next guy and I was off onto the 2nd run. It was the same course as the first run so I knew what to expect and I just kept a good tempo across the finish line. It was a 5k / 15 miles / 5k Duathlon and my finishing time was 1:16:something. I was extremely pleased with how I felt and the effort for the day. My legs felt a little heavy on the bike but nothing too terrible. My roomie, Kevin Ryan, finished 2nd overall and then Jeff Buhr came home in 3rd. He ended up with a little road rash, but nothing too serious from his spill. Allison Stewart brought home the W on the ladies side.

Now its time to hit it hard and get in a big block of training for Clearwater. I plan on running a 10k in Bowling Green here in a few weeks but there will be no taper or rest for that race. Then my season will be done.

T-Bird

Augusta RR (rest and recovery)

Well today is day 3 since Augusta, and I have not done much since. I took Monday off and yesterday was filled with a short swim and a short run. Today I'm hoping to get out on the bike and ride a little of the RJ Corman Duathlon bike course before Saturday.

One thing I forgot to mention in my last post was my brother's new PR for a 70.3 distance race. He dropped about 8 minutes from his previous fastest race and went 4:18. And also, Congrats to Jamie Johnson for completing his first 70.3.

I'm really looking forward to is getting back into the swing of things (or maybe not looking forward to). I have been sleeping in quite a bit and doing 2 workouts after work. Once the hard workouts begin, I won't be able to get away with that. Usually the week of a race, or even the week following a hard race, I'll sleep in a little more and tend to not worry about my workouts as much. I still get them in, they are usually shorter and easier, thus easier to squeeze in 2 workouts after work. I guess next week I'll have to break the habit and get my butt out of bed.

And in other news, I am 2-1 in fantasy football and I only lost in week 2 because my boy Chris Johnson was shut down by the Steelers. But I don't think he'll let that happen again, ha.

T-Bird

Augusta 70.3 RR

Well, I have another 70.3 under my belt, and I learned that racing in the rain isn't really that bad. It was actually pretty nice. Last year at this race, it was in the mid 80's and sunny. This year it was in the mid 70's and raining. The wind wasn't too bad and I never really felt too overheated. My brother and I got to Augusta Friday evening and just hung out. We went for a little shake out run, and then met up with a buddy, Jamie Johnson, and his father at Mellow Mushroom to enjoy some pizza. Saturday was filled with a lot of hanging out in the hotel room, watching football, and doing a lot of nothing.
Sunday morning came and we set up our stuff for the race, and got ready to roll. I found out that the new rule change for the wetsuit cut off temperature would allow the pro's to wear wetsuits in the swim. I haven't raced (or even worn) in a wetsuit since Steelhead of 2009. So almost 1 year and 2 months!!!

I went to the start and at 7:30 we were off. I had a great first 100 yards but other than that, I never really felt like I was catching much water. I stayed close to the buoys hoping for a little help from the current, but I didn't stick to anybody's feet and that was a big mistake. I lost the only feet that I tried to stay on and I was having trouble sighting with my foggy goggles so I was relying on the splashing from the swimmers in front of me. I came out of the water in 17th position which was a huge difference from the 4th position that I came out in from Steelhead. At the time I didn't know what position I was in, but I knew I didn't have a great swim. Fortunately, I felt good on the bike and went after everyone. Chris Legh was right behind me so we paced off of each other to pass a few people and to catch the next bike pack. Once we caught them, he went right by them and was headed towards the main bike pack. I am not quite as strong as him on the bike so by the time I had recovered from our first effort, he had put a good 50 - 100 yards on me. I knew that it would take a really hard effort to get him, but I just didn't have it in my legs. He eventually caught the main pack as I got settled into that 2nd pack. We did not draft, we just used each other for pacing and to help each other stay motivated. We tried hard to catch the main pack for the first hour but we ended up losing almost 2 - 3 minutes on that pack over that last 25 miles or so. Patrick Evoe came by us with about 6 miles to go and really bumped up our pace heading back into T2.

I had an average T2 and was off on the run. I believe I was 15th starting the run and was a little demoralized at the time. I knew I was out of the money by a long shot and not even sure how far back I was of the next competitor (excluding the guys I came into T2 with). After about a mile of running, Nick Waninger was using his fleet feet to pull away from me, and I had pulled away from two other guys. I was just trying to keep Nick close and hoping we would catch a few guys. I went through 6 miles in about 34:30 and didn't really feel too terrible. I caught 2 more guys around mile 7 and then I started my 2nd lap of the run. At this time, a lot of AG'ers were on the run course so I couldn't really tell too much of a difference between guys that I was catching, or guys that were 1 lap behind me. It really helped to have some of them (people to pass) there because around mile 11 I thought about walking and again just about 1/2 mile from the finish*. I had some really rough patches and I know those last 2 miles were significantly slower than the rest of my run. I found out at the finish line that I ended up passing another 3 - 4 guys and finished 7th overall. I was really happy to see the finishing clock at 3:53 and change as I have never been faster than 3:54 and I haven't done that since 2008. I crossed the finish line in 3:53:51.

My finishing spot wasn't what I had hoped for, but there were some really fast guys there. I have never gone that fast in a 70.3 and I found out that it hurts A LOT to go that fast. I am really looking forward to Clearwater and hoping that I can have a similar result on the bike/run while putting together a better swim.

Now I just need to focus on recovering fast since I have a duathlon this weekend here in Central KY.

Tony

*One of the hardest aspects of racing professionally is the fact that you are by yourself for most of the race, so you are fighting that little voice in your head the whole race. When I raced as an AG'er, I always had a lot of people to pass, which gave me a lot of reinforcement for how fast I was going, and a lot of times it would help me continue going that same speed. My wave always started kind of late compared to everyone else, so that gave me hundreds of people to chase after. Now that I start first, you are either in first place and by yourself, or somewhere in the top 10 - 20 hoping that you are close to the other professionals that you are racing against. For example, at Kansas this year, I rode for almost 20 miles without seeing another competitor, so that little voice in my head telling me to slow down did not help matters, ha.

Off to Augusta

Here is a couple of photos from Tri for Sight.

And I guess it's never a good sign when you have to create a new password to log on to your own blog considering I forgot my old one. I am sitting in Corbin, KY right now and am headed to bed. My brother and I are headed to Augusta, GA tomorrow for the 70.3 on Sunday. I'm really looking forward to racing this weekend. Training has been going really well the past 3 - 4 weeks and my running in particular has felt good. I have put in over 200 miles of running over the past 4 weeks which I haven't done in a long time. And I've also put in about 620 miles over that same period on the bike. My swimming isn't as consistent as it once was, but I still feel decent in the water. Especially with the race course as it is in Augusta, the swim is the least of my worries. It is a down river swim and considering I swam under 21 minutes last year in the middle of a "rough patch" of swimming for myself, I'm looking to do about the same this year with stronger bike and run legs. Saturday, we'll probably just hang out and watch a lot of football and I'll make sure my fantasy football team is ready to play.

I'm really looking forward to testing out my new Kiwami Uniform. They really did it up for me and I got an all red uniform with my Kiwami gift certificate that I won at the Tri for Sight. And I also have some new shoes, but they aren't broken in yet so I wait to test those out a few weeks from now. I got the new color of the Brooks Green Silence. Check 'em out:

http://www.brooksrunning.com/product/1100961D/374669/Green%20Silence

Well, off to bed. You should be able to follow the race on Sunday at www.ironman.com.

There will be a link to the Augusta 70.3 and it will bring up athlete tracker. Race starts at 7:30am

T-Bird

Dusting off the Ole Cobwebs

Well, I competed in my first triathlon in over a month yesterday here in Lexington, KY and it was a blast. It was a lot different than what I'm used to. I'm usually traveling to a race that is at least an Olympic distance and it usually takes up my whole weekend. But the Tri for Sight offers me a great opportunity to break up the monotony of training and get in a solid effort for a shorter triathlon while staying at my own house. This means I have to hang up my "distance" legs and find my "sprint" legs. Unfortunately, I was unable to find them, in 2 of the 3 sports. My run training has been going really well the past few weeks and I felt pretty solid on the run yesterday but that also might have had something to do with the weather. It was a cool 52 degrees when the race started yesterday.

I got in a solid week of training this past week and was a little tired going into the race but I knew that Augusta and Clearwater are the two "big" races left for the year. Ben and Dana (his girlfriend) traveled to Lexington for the race on Saturday so we all had a nice lunch and dinner while watching the Cats take down the dirty Cards in football. Casey, Ben, and I all woke up on Sunday to get everything ready for the race and to travel down to the transition area (which is less than 1 mile from my house). I racked my bike in transition, got everything set, helped Casey set up her transition area, and we were ready to race.

I was number 101 so I was first in the water for the time trial start. Annie Fryman was swimmer number 2 (a girl that I coached last year) and then Casey was number 3. I knew that I had to swim fast enough not to get passed by either of these two fast swimmers.

I got out of the water where I started and had a quick T1 and was out on the bike. The bike was pretty uneventful even though it was a different course from last year. I could really feel my "dead legs" during the 2nd half of the bike which was coming back into town and is mostly uphill. I stayed within my zone and made it back to T2 still maintaining the lead. I had an average T2 (had trouble getting my new shoes on fast) and was out onto the run. It is so nice to have cooler temps to run in. I went through 2 miles in 10:50 and realized that I haven't ran that fast in a triathlon in a long time. On the way back, I had a little digestion problems, but nothing too serious. I just slowed a little and made it across the finish line in a decent time. I ended up running 22:10 for a legit 4 mile course which was nice considering some of my recent triathlon run splits. I loved the Brooks T6 racer. They were light and fast and helped me run as fast as I did.

A few minutes later, my brother crossed the finish line and ended up 2nd overall. He also ran in the T6 racers, so I'm sure it was no coincidence. I put on a little clothing since it was a little chilly, and jogged back out on the run course to cheer for Casey. She came through a lot faster than she expected and finish in an hour and 50 minutes which was 10 minutes faster than her goal time. This was her first triathlon and she finished FIRST in her AG and 6th overall.

Overall it was a great day and always a pleasure to compete in such a great event. Beth Atnip does a great job with this race and puts a lot of effort into the event (even after she put on IM Louisville 1 week ago). Congrats to my bro and to Casey for racing well. And to George Van Meter for winning his AG at IM Louisville and getting a slot to Kona.

Up Next: Augusta 70.3.

P.s. I was going to race a 10k this weekend in London, Ky for a chance at winning $10,000, but it was canceled because they didn't have enough people signed up for the race. This race offered $30,000 of prize money to the top 3 male and females but less than 100 people had signed up for it so I guess they couldn't cover the cost of putting on the race. It has been delayed until 2011. I guess that is what happens when you don't put a lot of effort into advertising.

Tony

Long Time No See

Well, I am alive and well. I know it has been a long time since I posted last, but I have been recharging the batteries and getting ready to gear up for the remainder of the season. I used the week and a half following Steelhead to recover and get in a few solid days of cycling before I left the country for 8 days. The day before our vacation, I did an uphill time trial here in Lexington which was put on by the local tri team here (Bluegrass Tri Club). It was a lot of fun (or at least as much fun as you can have during hard efforts) and a solid last workout before vacation. I drove to Corbin after that bike ride, packed my bags, and was ready to roll Thursday morning. We left Corbin around 5 am and made it to Knoxville for our flight with plenty of extra time. We flew to Charlotte, and then to Punta Cana, Dominican Rupublic. We arrived sometime in the late afternoon and we used the rest of the day to check out our resort and find a nice place to eat. We only had to narrow it down to 1 place of the 14 restaurants that were on our resorts property, ha. We went to bed early since we only got 3 - 4 hours of sleep the night before and were ready to hit the beach.

Here's a pic from our first day on the beach.
Just a shot of the water from our seats. Nice a clear.

We mostly hung out the rest of the day and went out to eat at a different place (which I regret) that evening. Here is a pic from dinner.

Unfortunately, I got something from the food and was sick for the next 2 days. I never threw up but you can use your imagination what I was dealing with. I lost roughly 3 - 4 pounds in 24 hours. All I did was drink water/Powerade, rest, and make frequent visits to the potty.

But, that was the worst part. I still managed to hang out on the beach those days because I didn't feel terrible, just not normal/good. The rest of the food was pretty amazing. We had room service from 7 am - 11pm so we usually ordered a fruit tray after our afternoon run. Fresh papaya and mangos are amazing. The breakfast was always good with omelettes but their version of oatmeal was a little strange (or at least for my taste).

Once I was recovered, I tried to take my rental bike out for a spin, but the chain was broken. Oh well, guess I was going to have to stick to running for the remainder of the vacation.

Adam and I found some pretty baller hats. We did not purchase them because it would have been a safety hazard for us both due to the ladies, ha.

Since we had all of the entertainment we would ever want right on our resort property, we stayed put most nights. This night I tried my luck with some roulette. I lost money really fast that night. I may have lasted 3 minutes. The next night I went back and played for almost 45 minutes and managed to lose zero dollars, but I did not make any as well.

We got to swim with dolphins, sharks, and manta rays while we were there which was pretty cool. Here the sharks are only inches below my feet.

We had a great time and here was a family pic from the last night.

We got back late on a Friday and I was ready to get back to the serious training. Only problem was the fact that I hadn't swam/biked in over a week. My first few rides were a little rough, but I didn't feel as terrible as I thought I would in the water. It is now Saturday morning and I'm about to head out for another bike ride.

Tri for Sight is on the 5th of September, the 10k for 10k in London, KY is the 11th of September (along with UK's first home football game and the first weekend of NFL football, holler) and then I have the Augusta 70.3 race on the 26th of September. With my vacation, I'm mentally and physically rested and ready to hit it hard leading up to Clearwater 70.3.

Until next time...

T-Bird

Pic of the Podium

So I definitely snagged this pic from James Cotter's blog. Thanks bro. Nice race.

And as you can probably tell, we were definitely not ready for the picture. I believe the announcer has asked us something so everyone turned around except for me. Guess I missed out.

Tony

Steelhead 70.3 RR

Well, my last race in the month of July has come and gone and I am extremely pleased with the effort/result. Now its time for a little rest and recovery during the month of August before I start my training block for Augusta and Clearwater.

Thursday, my brother and I left town and headed for St. Joseph, MI to compete in the Steelhead 70.3 race on Saturday. We got up there in the late afternoon and went for a little lake swim. It was extremely windy and the lake conditions looked more like an ocean when we swam. We only hoped the weather wouldn't be like that for the race. After the swim, we walked around downtown, found some good food and ice cream, and called it a night. Friday we woke up, got our pre race workouts over with and hit downtown again for some more food. Afterwards, we drove to a blueberry farm and picked up 10 pounds of blueberries and the best blueberry scone I had ever eaten. We headed to pick up our packets and made it back to our home stay's house before 4:30. After a little cat nap, we went to dinner and called it a night.

Saturday morning came and it was extremely nice knowing that the transition area was only about .5 mile from our home stay's house. The second we walked out the door, it started to spit rain and it only got progressively harder. I racked my bike in transition, and attempted to stay dry for a while. My brother and I decided to run our bags back to the house since we had a little time to kill, and the house was in the direction of the swim start. I walked down to the beach from the house, and swam to the swim start for a good warm up.

At 7 am we were off. I had a great start and may or may not have been the first person to the first buoy. After a little jockeying for position, I got a great rhythm and swam as fast as I could. About halfway through the swim, I had a swimmer come by me so I sat on his feet for a few hundred yards. We closed the gap to the group in front of us and we actually went by the group. I ended up leading that 2nd pack out of the water which was unusual for me. I was 4th out of the water but the pack was made up of about 10 guys, so I was probably the 8th person or so out of T1. After 2 guys took off in the first 5 miles or so, I settled into pace and just tried to keep those guys in sight. Around mile 20 - 25, Michael Lovato, Zach Ruble, and another guy flew by me. Once again, I put my head down and attempted to keep them close. I did a decent job until about mile 40. Daniel Bretscher and myself ended up almost riding the whole course together (legally). He did beat me back to T2 by 15 seconds or so, but he was still in sight. I had a great transition, but thanks to the rain, my shoes were completely soaked. The rain had only stopped a few minutes earlier, but the sun was already poking its head out. I tried to do what I did at Kansas and just take my time on the run. I was not catching anyone in the first hundred meters so I needed to pace myself. Around mile 1 I ran by Bretscher and Ruble was just up the road. I passed him at mile 3 and another pro around mile 4. At the 5 mile mark I had a spectator tell me I was in 5th position. I had no idea what place I was in, but 5th place was the last place to get prize money so I needed to stay where I was at. Ryan Bates, who was spectating, yelled at me and told me Lovato was just up the road. I was on a mission to catch him. I ran the next 4 miles at 5:45 pace when I covered the first 6 miles in just under 6:00 pace. I passed Lovato around mile 10 or so and tried to pick up the pace from there. I held onto 4th place and crossed the finish line in a time of 3:58:17.

This was my best finish in an Ironman event, my first time receiving a paycheck from an Ironman event, and I also qualified for the World Championship race in Clearwater.

Thanks again to Ann who let both my brother and I crash at her house for the weekend.

Evergreen Lake Tri RR

Well, another week, another race report. I know this is a little late, but Kevin and myself traveled to Bloomington, IL this past weekend to race at the Evergreen Lake Triathlon. It was an Olympic Distance triathlon that offered a little prize money that attracted a few professionals and fast elite amateurs. I decided I would give it a go and try and win some money. We drove up Friday afternoon and stayed with his aunt and uncle's house in Farmer City, IL. They have a large farm and it was a great place to stay the night before a race. Thank you to the Ryan family for opening up your house to me. We were served fresh corn on the cob and homemade pizza when we arrived Friday. We had a nice dinner in downtown Champagne, IL and then hit the sack early Friday night.

We had an early wake up call since we were about 40 minutes from the race site and we weren't exactly sure where we were going. We had no problems thanks to our Garmin. We got our packets, set up our transition areas, and were ready to go.

We were in the first wave and this was actually my first wave start this year that had more than 10 people in it. It was a little crazy, but a nice feeling. I have done too many TT starts and need to do more open water wave starts. I had a great start but then settled into my "not that fast" pace that I usually do during a triathlon. I was about 7th out of the water but a good 1.5 minutes down to the leaders. I had a good T1 and was out on the bike. I passed a few guys early and recognized Kevin up the road when I got to about the 5th mile mark. I chased him and another guy down over the next 5 - 7 miles and was in no man's land for the rest of the bike course. The 3 leaders were well up, and I was in fourth position. I came into T2 in fourth and took off after third place on the run. After about a .5 mile of running, I realized it was going to be a long day. I didn't feel good and it was hot. The run course had no shade and the sun beat down on us during the whole run course. I was slowly gaining ground on the third place guy, but not fast enough. Unfortunately, I got passed around the 4th mile by another guy. He came by me like I was standing still and I realized why when I saw his run split. He ran almost 3 minutes faster than me. I held onto 5th position and was about 45 seconds out of 3rd.

All in all, it was a good effort on a hot day. I didn't rest as Steelhead in 2 weeks is the main focus right now. Chattanooga on a Sunday, an extremely long and hard bike ride on Tuesday, and then this race on Saturday made for a hard week. But a nice relaxing Sunday made for a great recovery day, and I went back to work yesterday.

The race was a little eye opening showing me I need to work on all three sports. Especially since this wasn't that big of a race and I got out biked by almost 4 minutes by the fastest cyclist, and out ran by almost 3 minutes by the fastest runner. I believe all of those rest WEEKS that I took in the early season are coming back to haunt me now. I guess this will be the kick in my butt for next off season to get me training when the weather is cold and nasty.

Until next time.

Tony

Chattanooga Waterfront Tri

Once again, I spent the 2nd weekend of July in Chattanooga, TN for the Waterfront Triathlon. This was my third straight year traveling there for the race and once again, I regretted my decision, haha. That bike course is really difficult, and it always hurts, ALOT. Which in turn, makes for a difficult run just because your legs are fried.

In all seriousness, it is a great race. I wouldn't have returned (twice) if I did not think it was a great race. Team Magic does a great job putting the race on and making it a fun race. The swim is down stream in the river, the bike course is on the highway, and the run is on the path that runs alongside the river. It's a great course, just not an easy one.

My brother and I arrived on Saturday evening. We picked up our packets, went to the "elite" meeting, then grabbed some dinner with some good company at the Big River Brewery. Sunday morning came, we rode our bikes down from the hotel, and prepped our Transition area for the race. Luckily, I was given race number 1 since I was the returning champion. Even though most of the guys I was competing against swam competitively in college, I was still the number 1 seed in the water (not cool).

Well, 7:30 am rolled around, and I was off. It didn't take too long for Zach Winchester to come flying by me. A minute or two later, two others came by me, and towards the end of the swim a fourth guy flew by. I guess I was happy to only have 4 guys pass me, but I was out of the water in about 18 minutes which is decent for me. I ran up to T1 and took off on the bike.

The bike was uneventful. My legs didn't feel great, and I knew that I was catching everyone that was up the road, I was only making up about 2 seconds per mile (rough estimate). They were still a ways up the road, even at the turn around. I passed one guy around the 15th mile, but that was my only victim on the bike. I rolled into T2 in 4th position and had a good transition. I took off on the run with two guys in sight. I caught Winchester about a mile into the run, and with a few encouraging words from him, took off after the next guy. It took me 3.5 miles to catch the first guy off of the bike, but I managed to go by him and put enough time between him and myself to cover the time trial start. I never caught Eric Limkemann who took home the big W for the event. I crossed the finish line in second position. It was a tough run, but I felt decent about it. Well, when I checked the results, another competitor had beaten me by 1 second. He was third across the line, but if he started 1 minute back from me, then he only had to finish 59 seconds behind me. it's hard to figure out placing with the time trial starting.

It was a tough and hot day but was happy to have finished where I did. There were some fast guys there. It was a much deeper field than in past years. It always brings out the best in people when you are racing against the best. I have a short week ahead of me, and another race on Saturday (the Evergreen Lake Tri) in Illinois.

Off to the pool.

Tony

4th of July

So even though it is the 3rd of July, I'll go ahead and post. Today was the annual Bluegrass 10k and I ran it for the 8th straight year. I ran a 10k PR last year on this course and I feel like I'm in better shape than last year so I was looking forward to running fast this morning. Well, needless to say, I am feeling a little tired from my little training block. I have had 2 straight weeks of the highest amount of training I've put in all year, and this is my third week of about the same amount. I had a gruelling bike workout on Tuesday and then a nice little track workout on Wednesday. The workouts went great, but they definitley feel less than optimal. I felt like I had heavy legs for the past 2 days, and it wasn't much better this morning.

I got in a great warmup on my way to the start list and was ready to go. The gun went off and I went straight to the front (still had speed in my legs from doing some 200's on Wed). Well, that wasn't smart and I paid the price. I ended up in no man's land for almost the whole race, and I only had 1 guy pass me between miles 1 & 6. Two guys caught me at the six mile mark and I was able to hold off one of them, but the other charged away. I ended up running 34:05 (almost 40 seconds slower than last yr) but I wasn't too worried about it. It was a great workout and got me a race paced effort. The middle of that race is always my down fall. Take out the 3rd and 4th miles, and I averaged about 5:20 - 5:25 miles. But those middle two miles are brutal, and a little long (according to Garmin). I ended up finishing 8th.

Casey ran her first 10k and she was happy to break 50 minutes in her first attempt. She has a big half marathon on the 17th of July, I know she'll do awesome. And Ben broke into the top 15 for the first time at this race so he was pleased with his effort as well. We stuck to our usual plans by going to Panera after the race and pigging out on cinnamon crunch bagels. Now we are about to go for a little swim, then watch some soccer and track. I am really missing out on the Tour of France since Lexington Insight doesn't carry "Versus." I need to file a complaint. At least I can watch it on DirecTV at work during the week.

Next week is going to be a little easier, then I'm headed to Chattanooga for the Waterfront triathlon on Sunday the 11th.

Tony

Another great Week

It is once again Monday and I have another (short) update. I have once again had my biggest week of training of the year. I had about 21.5 hours of training this past week and may have even more this week (doubtful with the annual Bluegrass 10k on Saturday). I put in almost 170 miles on the bike which is a pretty solid week of riding for me, along with almost 50 miles of running. I opted out of the local triathlon which was yesterday to focus on my training. I knew I would at least rest a day or so going into the race, and I needed a solid week of training so I chose not to race. Congrats to my fellow coworkers Kevin Ryan and Allison Stewart for their big W's and my brother for finishing 2nd only to Kevin.

However, I did enjoy my first weekend in Lexington since May 16th. I had 5 straight weekends on the road so it was nice to be able and not travel this past weekend. I got my workout over with early Saturday morning, had breakfast at Panera with Casey, and relaxed most of the afternoon by watching some track and field and the World Cup. Sunday I ran my longest run of the year, went for an easy spin with Casey, and watched more soccer and track. I took an active recovery day today and am hitting it hard once again tomorrow.

Off to bed.

Tony

Summertime

Since my last race, I have had a great week of recovery and a great week of training. Last week I hit my yearly high for hours of training in 1 week, and the week before I was at the lake for 4 days getting in plenty of rest after Kansas 70.3.

I got in a few easy bouts of exercise the days after Kansas, then went to Lake Barkley on Wednesday of that week. I was there until Sunday. I got in plenty of boating time which including waterskiing and tubing behind the boat, along with some pool time. I was able to finish "The Blindside" book which was a great read. I have seen the movie twice, but the book had a little more background information about the whole story behind the left tackle in the NFL and also a little more background about the people involved in the story. Anyways, I played a little golf, and our family had a surprise party celebrating my great aunt and uncle's 60th wedding anniversary.

I got back to work on Monday and I had a very solid week of training last week. I got in a great longer ride with my brother on Saturday even though it rained on us for most of the ride. And we got in our long run yesterday before it got blazing hot. It was still really humid and made for a not-so-comfortable run but we got in the miles. I finished the week with over 20 hours of training which was the first time this year I've hit that mark.

After the run, we had a great father's day in Corbin by eating a great lunch after church, then hanging out by the pool with the family.

Now I'm taking advantage of my recovery day by sleeping in this morning and get a little work done at the shop right now. I might end up at the pool and get in a little swim later today.

Until next time.

Tony

Kansas 70.3 RR

I am finally settled back in Lexington and will be leaving once again tomorrow. The annual family reunion is this weekend at "Land between the Lakes" in Western Kentucky and I'm really looking forward to it. We stay at the Lodge on the lake and just hang out all weekend including: golf, skiing, sitting by the pool, ping pong, and eating lots of home baked sweets.

Anyways, I got back from Lawrence Kansas where I competed in my first 70.3 of the year. I did feel a little out of shape on the bike, but I finally ran well off of the bike which is unusual for me. I usually go too hard on the bike and then fall apart on the run. With the help of my coach, Beth Atnip, I finally nailed my nutrition plan on the bike, which I feel is a big reason that I ran so well. I have always taken in enough calories (or at least I think I did) but I never thought about how many electrolytes I was consuming. Thanks to the help of my Powerbar gels, EFS, and Salt Stick, I had plenty of electrolytes for this race.

We left Lexington on Friday and just drove the whole way. It was a long day in the car, but traveling with Eric, Kevin, and my bro, it made the trip seem not as far. We had some good pizza Friday night and then crashed. Saturday we woke up and had some breakfast before we headed to the race site to get in a little shake out workout. Saturday warmed up to almost 95 degrees and was sunny all day. It made for a hot workout, but we knew it was supposed to cool off for race day. I went to the pro meeting at 4, headed back to the hotel to chill, then grabbed some dinner before we went to bed. The pro meeting was kind of funny. I've never raced against Chris Lieto so I have never seen the following that he has. There were 4 - 5 guys from K-Swiss that were considered "handlers" that just hung out at the pro meeting and were there obviously for Chris (and maybe Andrew Yoder). I didn't realize that triathletes had "groupies." Maybe one day I can have some, haha.

Well, race day came and I was ready to roll. I stayed calm and collected before the race and didn't get over anxious before the race like I did several times last year. I put on my Kiwami "Torpedo" and got in the water for the race start. The swim started without much fighting and I started on Potts' feet. Needless to say, that didn't last very long. And I found out that I need to work on my ability to swim straight. I probably swam an extra 50 - 100 meters extra thanks to my horrible sighting skills. I ended up between packs and swimming by myself for the whole swim. I was 6th out of the water, but was a few minutes behind the leaders which wasn't where I wanted to be. I took off on the bike and just didn't feel great. I was kind of going fast, but not like I did last year. I got passed by 2 guys around mile 10, and then didn't see anyone for another 20 miles (except at turn arounds). It's hard to keep pushing when you are by yourself the whole time. That is one of the biggest differences between being a professional and an amateur. When I was a fast amateur, I got reinforcement when I would pass people (and I usually passed a lot of people considering my age group went last). Now, not passing anyone until the 35 mile mark, that's not very reinforcing. But I did pass one guy. Around mile 45 I was ready to get off of the bike and start the run. I made it back to transition in 7th position, had a decent T2, and took off in my new Brooks Green Silence shoes (which I love BTW).

The guy I passed on the bike came flying by me just 1/4 mile into the run. I didn't even try and keep up hoping that he would fall apart towards the end of the run (he didn't). I just put my head down and really focused on being controlled. I didn't look at my watch until the 2 mile mark which I went through at 11 minutes flat. I thought it was a little fast, but it didn't feel fast. I kept that pace for the next 6 miles and went through the 8 miles mark around 44:30 or so. I did slow down a little towards the end but I never went through the pain that I have gone through in the past which was a nice change. I guess all of those running miles that I put in over the winter finally paid off. I ended up running a 1:14:06 which is a huge PR for a run split in a 70.3. Again, I feel that my nutritional plan and the lower temperatures helped me finish the race like I did. I ended up finishing as the 7th pro (8th overall since 1 amateur beat me, but he had a wetsuit, so...) and was relatively happy with my race. I dropped 1.5 minutes from last year's race and I wasn't that sore afterwards. My brother and Kevin both finished in the top 4 in their AG and got spots to the World Championship in Clearwater. Beth also had a great race finishing the the top 10 amateurs overall.

We were extremely happy with our races and we hit the road back to Lexington. Thanks to the Miller's for letting us crash in Chesterfield Sunday night before finishing the trip on Monday.

Off to the Lake for some R&R, then hitting it hard for a good month or so before I race again. Next up is the Markey Race for Cancer here in Lexington.

T-Bird.

My Short Work Week

Well, last weekend I flew to St. Louis to visit Casey. I flew out at 8 am and arrived at 8:05 (with time change) which is always nice. I went for a little run and hung out by the pool for the rest of the day. It was a nice and relaxing weekend with my girlfriend and her family. Saturday I got to swim with her old club team which was a change of pace. That area has a bunch of outdoor swimming pools. I swam with the club team Saturday morning in a 50m outdoor pool and then with the Master's team on Sunday morning at a different outdoor 50m pool. I love swimming outdoors, especially when it's a long course pool. I squeezed in a few runs in the sweltering heat that weekend and managed to not miss a day of training on my Memorial Day weekend. I got in 2 workouts Sunday morning before we left for the river (first time for me). Casey's family has a boat on the river and we took it out. I have never been on a boat on the river. I grew up on the lake and always travel to the Lake for our annual family reunion but I've never been on a river. The water was a little rough and we had to dodge a few more logs and sticks, but otherwise it was a good time. Friday night and Sunday night we ate some amazing home cooked/grilled food and Saturday night we visited "The Hill" and had some really good Italian food. We drove back on Monday (Casey had to return to Lexington for school on Tuesday). St. Louis isn't as far as I had originally thought, but it was a short drive either.

I worked Tuesday thru Thursday and got in some solid taper workouts before I hit the road again yesterday. We left Lexington before 9 am and arrived in Lawrence, Kansas last night around 6 pm. It was a long drive, but we borrowed a full size van so we could fit 4 people with 4 bikes and all of the luggage. It worked great. I may have consumed enough calories yesterday on the trip to feed a normal American for 3 - 4 days, ha. Something about being bored in the car and snacking just goes together.

I had an amazing Hawaiian chicago style pizza at "Old Chicago" last night and we hit the sack soon afterwards. I woke up this morning feeling good and rested. It is 75 degrees right now and overcast. They are expecting record highs today here in Lawrence, but its only a high of 80 tomorrow and overcast. That will be a nice change of racing weather when compared to Memphis.

Well off to get in a little workout and then race tomorrow. Will have the race report up sometime in the 2 days following the race, ha.

Tony

A day in the Sauna

So I raced in Millington, TN yesterday at the annual Memphis in May triathlon. It just so happened to be the hottest day of the year (for me) and also the hottest day that I've ever raced in. So that made for some fun race reports (from friends and fellow competitors).

Just like last year, we did our usual dinner at Amerigo's the night before the race. We woke up early and I drove Ben and Kevin to the race site and I went back to the hotel to go back to bed. The pros start time was at 10:30 compared to the 7:15 race start for everyone else. I showed up to the race site close to 8:30 and it was already a warm day (only to get hotter). I got my gear ready and tried to stay cool before our race start. I watched Ben, Kevin, Sean, Beth, and Allison all come in off of the bike and take off on their run while I was getting my transition area set up. I started my watch when Ben took off on his run to see his 10k split. Well, after the 40 minute mark passed, I stopped the watch because I had to go get ready for my race. I saw Kevin come in looking pretty bad so I knew it was going to be a long day. Kevin ran under 38 minutes 2 weeks ago at the Knoxville Rev 3 tri and ran 44 minutes yesterday. Ben ran under 37 minutes last year on this very course and ran over 44 minutes yesterday. Needless to say, I was not looking forward to the run.

By the time we started, it was close to 90 degrees and still rising. The ITU race I did in Austin last year was a little warmer but there was no humidity compared to Memphis. Luckily, Millington has comparable weather to KY because the humidity was almost as high as the temperature. I had on my Kiwami speedsuit and was ready to roll. I was the 10th pro into the water. I felt really good in the water, and I got into a pretty good rythym which is wierd, haha. The last 300 - 400 yards I was hurting a little bit, but overall I felt that I had a decent swim. It was my fastest swim split ever at Memphis so that is something to be happy about (18:04). I came out of the water, stripped off my speed suit and grabbed the bike. I have felt really good about my bike workouts lately so I was confident about the bike. It took me a few miles to get warmed up, but once I was, I got around several of the guys that passed me in the water, and the others that started in front of me. After ten miles or so, it was only Andrew Starykowicz and Daniel Bretscher. We rode together (don't worry, it was legal) for the rest of the ride pretty much going into T2 within 15 seconds of each other. I knew that Starykowicz was injured, but it was still a little confidence builder to ride with him considering he is one of the strongest cyclist in the business. My bike split was around 54:45. I had a great T2 and was the 2nd pro overall to start the run.

AND THEN....

It was all down hill from there. I immediately felt the heat and was overwhelmed. I was walking with a 1/2 mile of starting the run. When Daniel came running by me, I started running again and we spoke for a brief second until he dropped me. I walked the first aid station to make sure I got enough fluids over my head and in my system. I ran the whole 2nd mile considering it was shaded. I was running slower than 6:30 pace and I couldn't have cared less. I felt horrible about DNF'ing at St. Anthony's last year and that wasn't happening again. I was determined to finish the race no matter how long it took me to run/walk the 10k. At about 1.5 miles, Zach Winchester came flying by me. Just like Daniel, he had some encouraging words for me to keep going. I hung in there and told myself only to walk when I absolutely needed to. There was no walking if it was shaded or if it was downhill. So I almost ran 2 miles with walking. At the turn around, I stopped and walked a little to get some more ice water over my head. I made it up the hill that is the 4th mile of the course. I felt better and better as the run went on (not that I was really running any faster). I took 2 more short but sweet walk breaks (aid stations) and I managed to run my last 2 miles in under 12:50 (compared to the 6:50 pace I ran for the first 4 miles. I finished the race with 2 competitors within 20 seconds of me (but they started behind me at the start of race so their overall time was faster than mine by more than 20 seconds). My 10k split was 41:39. But considering the fastest professional run split was 39:15, I wasn't too terribly upset about my run. Instead of being a swim/bike/run triathlon, it turned into a swim/bike/"survive the heat the best" triathlon. And apparently I'm not that good at surviving in the heat.

I finished the race with a smile on my face and was happy that I had gutted it out. I had a blast racing which is THE goal of the year. I want to have fun which I did (the pic at the top proves it because that is 100 meters from the finish line). It was fun to go fast on the bike. It wasn't as much fun to battle the heat like that on the run, but I dug deep and managed a 5th place amongst a solid professional field and a little pay day. Only 13 pro men and 9 pro women ended up finishing the race considered 30+ started the race.

We stuck around for the awards ceremony, then we hit the long road back to Lexington. By the time Kevin and I made it back, we had some techno music jamming in the minivan trying to keep us awake. We had a fun trip, and we're looking forward to another road trip to Lawrence, Kansas in 2 weeks for the Kansas 70.3 race. Hopefully it won't be as hot, ha.

Tony

Memphis in May Weekend

So I am in Millington, TN for the annual Memphis in May triathlon. I have done this race for 6 years in a row (including this yr) and I absolutely love this race. This was my first ever Olympic distance race and also the first race that I won some money at as a professional. It is always ran well and just a fun weekend overall. We came down from Lexington yesterday and got here late in the afternoon. We went for a little swim once we got here to cool off (the AC went out in our van on the way down) and then went to the hotel to check in. We kept it low key last night by just hanging in the hotel and watching "I love you, Man." We did stop at Wal Mart which I happened to find my new favorite candy: Pretzel M&M's.

This morning we woke up and went down to the race site to watch some of the Mideast Multisport athletes compete in the sprint distance race. Beth and Allison had great races by placing 10th and 11th overall on the female side while Sean also put up a pretty solid performance (not sure of his placing overall).

Kevin, Ben, and myself all went for a little spin on the bike to loosen up the legs, got in a short run and the hopped in the lake to cool off. Once we were finished, we left and grabbed some lunch at McAllister's. I always love me some sweet tea.

Now I'm off to the pro meeting and then some dinner at Amerigo's. I really pumped about the race tomorrow as it is my first "bigger" race of the year. My training has been pretty solid, and I've backed off a little this week for a little rest. I'm also excited about trying out the new gear. I'm rocking the Zipp 1080 rear wheel and the Zipp 808 front wheel. I also have some EFS to drink and a new Salt Stick dispenser to help me keep my electrolytes up during the race. I'm definitely going to need those tomorrow when the temperature hits close to 95 degrees.

I'll have a Race report by Monday evening, but I'm sure I'll "tweet" a brief summary of my result.

Tony

Mother's Day Weekend

I spent the weekend in Bowling Green with most of my family and had a great time. I left Saturday afternoon after work and came back late last night. I was able to squeeze in my longest run of the year with my brother and eat lots of amazing food. We had a huge lunch at my Aunt Jill and Uncle Brent's house. They cooked up some amazing burgers, grilled chicken, asparagus, strawberry pretzel salad, and some other amazing sides. And to top it off, we had some Coconut cake (which I love). I ate until I couldn't eat anymore. I guess that is one of the bonuses of running 15+ miles in the morning.

It was really nice to catch up with the extended family and to see my mom on Mother's day.

Last week may have been my biggest (hardest) week of the year and I'm happy about it. I have been having a lot of fun with training and haven't really dreaded a single workout yet. Getting out of bed for the early morning workouts haven't been as hard as usual. I have had some swimming partners, biking partners, and running partners, which I'm not used to having for all 3 sports. I have had 2 great weeks of cycling and hope to continue this training. I'm taking today easy as it was nice to sleep in this morning.

And it was cool to check out the results of Rev3 in Knoxville and it really made me wish that I had raced (excluding the cold temps). It is rare to have such a big event so close to home, and unfortunately I didn't put in the training this off season to want to race this early in the year. But I hope the race had great success and they return to Knoxville next year. Congrats to Kevin Ryan on his solid performance in the Elite Male category there. He dominated the swim and held on for a 10th place finish.

Until next time.

Tony

Picture Time

Here are just a few photos from the past 2 weeks or so. I have a few from my first Tri of the year, a few from Keeneland and then one from the WA swim banquet last week.

Enjoy.

The Past Few Days

So I am trying to get my butt in gear and get in a consistent training block before some of my bigger races come up. I know that I'm nowhere near my fitness last year, but psychologically, I feel much healthier. I know what to expect when I compete against some of the best athletes in the world and I know that I have a long way to go this season before I would consider myself "in shape." haha. But I don't know if I really consider myself "in shape" most of the time. I have a warped opinion and have probably only been in peak physical condition a few times in my life.

I have had a great time with training and work lately. Its fun to go out for a bike ride with a few other guys, or even a large group. Its fun to meet up with guys for an easy run or a to swim with the kids that I coach just a few months ago. Even though I am working more, and forcing myself to workout at hours that I'm not used to, I am having fun which is the key for 2010. I have Memphis in May next on my schedule which is somewhere around the 23rd of May.

I spent last Friday in the UK dental school for about 7 hours. My old roommate is graduating from dental school and he needed a patient that had a cavity and I ended up having a cavity (actually about 4). He gave me 2 fillings on Friday, and then his good friend gave me another on Saturday morning. And since I qualified to be his patient, I got paid. It was nice to have a few cavities filled and to be paid to do so. But it made for a long weekend. And my good friend Tyson married his sweet heart Amy Saturday evening. That was a great wedding and a great reception. We had a lot of fun.

After a long weekend, it was great to have a little fun Monday night by going to The Catspy's. My girlfriend finished up her 4th year of elgibility for the UK swim team and was invited to the "Catspy's Awards." I was lucky enough to be her date. This is just a little awards banquet for all UK athletes and they really do put on a good show. It was cool to see guys like Randall Cobb, John Conner, Pattrick Patterson, and of course John Wall. But also the athletes that don't get as much publicity that compete for "the love of the game."

That about it for now.

T-Bird

Happy Birthday Bethany

Today is my sister's 19th bday. Happy Birthday Bethany.

This past Saturday after the race, Bethany, my brother Ben, Casey, and myself all went to Keeneland to celebrate the wonderful weather and my sister's birthday (a little early). It was as crowded as I have ever seen it, but it was still fun. And it was the first time in a LONG time that I have left Keeneland after MAKING money instead of losing money. Of my last 5 bets, I made money on 3 of them. So after betting almost 30 dollars for the day, I left with about 40 dollars. I know, I dropped some big money, haha. And we ended the day by eating some Pazzo's, which is always one of my favorite places to eat.

Heart and Sole Triathlon RR

Well this is my first race report in a long time. I haven't been working near as hard as I did last off-season and yesterday gave me a good idea of how far behind I am.

The few days before the race, the weather was predicted to be cold and rainy. Saturday was supposed to have a low temperature of around 38, which is really cold for a triathlon. What I found out Friday night, is that low temp was for Saturday night, going into Sunday morning. And the rain came a little early by hitting us Friday night. So the roads were dry, and it was only in the low 50's race morning. That is still a little chilly, but it wasn't terrible, I've raced in worse.

I was the #1 seeded person again this year, so I didn't have to worry about fighting with people in the pool as I try and snake my way through the pool for the 400 yard swim. The swim was about normal, and without any highlight. I came out feeling pretty comfortable and took off on the bike. I pushed hard on the bike, but I didn't want to go all out because of my lack of fitness. Well, that plan didn't work because I found myself really hammering the hills and then asking myself why I was pushing so hard. My legs haven't felt pain like that this year so it tells me there is a lot of work to be done. Because I was the first cyclist coming through the bike course, all of the cops that were directing traffic were still in their cars so I had to stop at a stop light, but got lucky with the other intersections since I hit a few green lights. I came off of the bike and my legs felt like jello. My feet were numb from the cold wind on the bike and I just felt like I have never ran off of the bike in my life. It was pretty rough for about 7 - 9 minutes, but I loosened up and probably ran faster for the second half of the 5k. I forgot how nasty and hard that XC course was. I crossed the finish line in 59:57. Which to my surprise was less than a minute slower than last year, so I was pretty happy with my performance. I was hoping to run a little faster, but I haven't done any speed work so I feel that will come fast.

Thanks for reading.

I know, I know

So it has officially been about 4 months since my last post, but nothing super exciting has really happened in that time. I have only raced once since that time and it was a smaller Half Marathon located in Bowling Green, KY. My training has been really spotty, but now that the weather has changed, it is starting to look better. But here is my last 4 months in review:

After my really successful 2008 season, I was really excited about my 2009 season, and my first year racing as a professional. I started training for the '09 season in December of 2008 after only taking 1 - 2 weeks of down time after Clearwater. I put in a large amount of training during the winter months and was ready to go in April of 2009. After a disappointing St. Anthony's, I began to question whether I was up to the challenge of racing as a Professional. I doubted my fitness and lost a lot of confidence at that race. I raced for the rest of the season with a little chip on my shoulder. I was stepping on the start line of every race analyzing the field and telling myself who I could beat, and who was just out of my league. When you step on the starting line for the first time against guys like Matt Reed, Andy Potts, and Tim O'Donnell, its hard to tell yourself that you can beat these guys when I had looked up to them for the previous few years as the icons of the sport. Races like Chattanooga and Tri for Sight were fun little races for me to compete in, but still it seemed like I had a lot of pressure on me. I was racing as if everyone in the sport would notice if I didn't race "fast." I did end the season with my best race of the year. I went into Augusta 70.3 with a different attitude. I was to stay relaxed in the swim as opposed to freaking out because I was swimming with "faster" swimmers. I came out of the water not to far behind the main guys and had a pretty solid race overall.

Once the season was over, I took some time off, and when I starting working out again, I wanted to focus on what I really wanted to improve. I felt that I needed to improve my swim and my run so that is all I did leading into December. But once it got really cold, I lost a little motivation and started working out less and less. I finally realized that I needed a break since I had been "training" for almost 2 years straight.

I have had a lot of fun this winter with coaching and training. I would go out for a run, swim, or bike when I wanted to, instead of sticking to a plan. This has helped my mind set for the year and gotten me back to my roots. The first few years I raced, I was a runner that did triathlons. So that is what I've been doing. I have been running more than usual, while also swimming 5 - 6 times a week, and the occasional bike ride. And now that the weather is nice, I have enjoyed going for bike rides. Instead of training because I HAD to, I have been training because I have WANTED to. This makes a world of difference.

I have also started a new job since my last post. I am the Assistant Manager at "Swim Bike Run of KY." I am now finished with my assistant coaching position with Wildcat Aquatics and am solely working at the new tri shop that has opened here in Lexington, KY. This training/retail center is an awesome place. We have a computrainer studio, an endless pool, and a few tready's in the training half of the shop. On the retail side we carry just about anything and everything you would need to do a triathlon. I am grateful for the swim coaching position that Ben Davis gave me, and I developed many life long relationships with him as well as with the swimmers that I coached.

My training is coming around and I am excited about the upcoming season even if I may not be in near as good shape as I was at this point last year. I'm swimming in our home Master's swim meet this weekend and then I'm racing the Heart and Sole Triathlon in Versailles, KY on the 17th of April.

That's it for now. I'll probably watch "The Master's" today and see if Tiger can shoot another amazing round. Then I'll head to the UK baseball game this evening if the weather warms up a little.

Tony