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.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
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.
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.
Monday, November 15, 2010
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
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
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
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
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
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