To be Naive

Another race has come and gone.  I had the opportunity to compete in the last Rev3 Pro race in the near future.  Unfortunately for me, I raced some pretty fast boys.

Naive: adjective (of a person or action) showing lack of experience, wisdom, or judgement.

This describes me to the "T."  I had huge goals coming into this year.  2009 was my first year competing as a professional triathlete, and I went into that year with similar goals to mine this year.  I was a first year pro and fully expected that I could win several Professional races and would just excel as a "professional" athlete.  I found out early on that year, that racing against Age groupers/amateurs is a whole different ball game than the Pro's. 

I eventually got stronger and faster and during my third year racing as a Pro, I had some good results and unfortunately picked the big prize purse races to be my A races for the season.  Well, when there is a large prize purse, the "big" boys show up.  I finished inside the top 15 in two races, the top 10 in two others, and only once in the top 8 which is what earned me a pay check.  I got injured towards the end of that year (2011) and then didn't do another Pro race until New Orleans of this year (1 month ago).  

My off season training this year had been pretty solid, but looking back on it, I didn't really ride my bike that much.  And looking at my recent results, it is showing that I didn't ride my bike that much.  I was feeling strong during most of my workouts, only missing a handful of workouts all year, and had a lot of confidence going into NOLA.  I expected to pick up right where I left off in 2011.  At that point in time, my 1/2 Ironman race pace efforts were in the ball park of 300-320 watts and Olympic distance was 320-340.  I could then get off the bike and run 5:30-5:45 pace depending on the distance.  Even when I ran "bad" I was sub 6 min miles for 13.1.  

Well, I didn't pick up where I left off and am realizing I have a long road ahead of me.  My competitors have only gotten faster, and I missed 1-1.5 years of training that has left me playing catch up.   

Rev3 Knoxville was the worst kind of Pro field for myself.  There were 6-8 "super" swimmers and probably another 6-8 that were really good swimmers.  And then a few other guys.  The field was small only being about 20-25 guys.  Where I'm at right now, I just don't have that kind of speed in the water.  At NOLA, there were about 30 guys there, and only 1 super swimmer, Andy Potts.  I was able to keep the pack close and stayed on some feet for almost the whole swim in NOLA. I came right out of the water in the mix of things. At Knoxville, if the whole start list had raced, my race might have played out a bit differently as I could have come out of the water with a few guys, rode hard, and maybe stayed close to everyone. 

Unfortunately, I got dropped about 4 minutes or so into the swim and swam solo the rest of the way.  I was 16th or so out of the water, only about 1 minute back from 3-4 guys.  I took off hard on the bike, but never saw a soul until I got passed at about mile 20.  I kept him close and I rode into T2 about 30 seconds behind him.  I felt strong, but just never got into a rhythm, especially in the aero position which is important in these races.  Because of this, I lost a lot of time on the bike and came into T2 WAY behind everyone else.  

Starting the run and having a little fun.

I started the run with my family and Casey yelling for me and getting some great photos. This helped me get my mind right and prepare myself to suffer for 10 miles of running.  I started clicking off 6 minute miles and at about half way, I realized I had 2 guys only about 30 seconds up the road.  I picked up the pace and negative split the run.  I caught both of those guys and ended up finishing in 16th place.    

I can't thank Casey, my dad, and my step mom Phyllis enough for coming to watch the race.  They gave me the motivation I needed when the race wasn't going like I wanted it to. 

Casey and my family have been huge supporters of the whole process.  During the 2012-2013 winter, I had convinced myself I didn't want to race anymore and Casey supported whatever decision I was going to make.  I got a lot of questions from my family and in laws about my racing and I always just gave some general answer and would end up dodging anything specific.  Later in the year, I realized how much I missed the sport and started training again.  The few local races I did only added fuel to the fire for my return to racing.  I knew my first few races this year would be a re-learning process, but I expected to be in the mix a little more than I have been.  I now know what I need to work on, and in what direction I need to head.  My coach, Beth Atnip, has helped me a ton in the past month since NOLA and if I keep progressing like I have been, then I expect to be back in the mix.  I just have to trust in the process, the work I'm putting in, in my Lord and Savior, and to have confidence when racing.  

Kansas 70.3 is in less than 3 weeks and I'm back at the grind. 

Thanks for reading. 

What the heck is Vector 450????

This is a great new product that I have fallen in love with.

When I was first introduced to Vector 450, I had no idea what I was even looking at.  I was told that our team, Tri4Him, was sponsored by Vector 450.  and I was like, cool?  It was a bottle of pills that could potentially help me during heavy training loads.  I guess I'll give it a shot, it was approved by USADA/WADA and was taken by some of my fellow athletes and even Lebron James???  Of course I'll try it.

Vector 450 contains Muno-IgY which stands for Immunoglobulin from Yolk - found in the common hen egg yolk.  It supports your body's immune system.  It helps it perform optimally and properly.
When I first started taking it, I looked a lot like this...

I may be exaggerating.

Well, now almost 2 months later, I have been taking it daily, and am a huge believer.  I started only taking 1 pill per day since it was my only bottle and it had 60 pills in it.  I could make it stretch 2 months.  But I ordered some more after 2 weeks and immediately started taking 2-3 pills a day depending on the day.  I take 2 pills every day, and 3-4 on days that have a lot of volume/intensity.

And now I look like this...

ok, maybe not, but it's a metaphor for how I feel ;)

Benefits that I have personally noticed:
1. Makes me VERY regular, if you know what I mean.  I have yet to make an "emergency" stop during a training run since I started taking Vector 450.  I wake up, have my morning coffee while reading my daily devotional, drink my UCAN, do my "business" and then go out and knock out my morning workout.
2. Helps with Allergies.  I have always had a little issue with seasonal allergies and I always relied on Sudafed until I got my pro card and found out it was a banned substance.  I immediately stopped taking Sudafed and just suffered with slight allergy problems since 2008.  Nothing crazy, just lots of stuffiness which turns into snot rockets during training run/bike/swims.  But since I started taking this, I have noticed I can breathe out of my nose better than I have been able to in the past 3-4 years.  and it has been allergy season.
3. Faster recovery.  Most recently, I did a 65 mile bike w/ efforts going straight into a 5 mile run with some short efforts.  The next day I had a very challenging longer run which I didn't think I could do after Saturday's workouts.  I ended up having a great workout.  This has happened on multiple occasions when I had back-to-back tough days and I nailed all of the workouts.  But I have only been able to do this since I started taking Vector 450.
4.  Less soreness.  I guess this goes along with the faster recovery, but I couldn't believe how good I felt after NOLA 70.3.  The only soreness I had was from my little spill I had the day before the race and bruised my ribs.

If you want to give it a shot, use my code to order some and get a pretty good discount.  TWHITETRI14

Check out their website for more info...

Vector 450

Tone Loc

ps.    In all honesty, I have lost weight, but I believe that was due to the fact I cut ice cream from my diet for a few weeks.  During the winter, I eat A LOT of ice cream.  Vector 450 is not a weight loss or muscle building supplement.  Just having some fun  ;)

My Pocket Knife at the Gun Show

NOLA 70.3 has come and gone.  It was a great weekend making some new friends as the local Nashville crew had several people travel down to New Orleans for the race.  I traveled with two buddies while meeting Casey on Saturday since she had to work on Friday.  We drove down Friday, got some good food down in the French Quarter Friday night, and mostly had an uneventful day other than spending most of it in the car.
Saturday we did our normal pre race workouts, then Sunday rolled around.  I was anxious as to find out where my fitness is.  My swim workouts have been pretty solid, but not quite where they once were, my bike workouts have been mostly indoors due to the weather, and my running has been going pretty well.  Again, not where I have once been, but not far off to be honest.  Vector 450 has really helped with these workouts as I am recovering faster than I have in the past.  It helps with the inflammatory process and reduces the soreness from the harder workouts, making it possible to do some harder workouts on back-to-back days.

The biggest question I had was about my bike and my nutrition.  I was using Generation UCAN for the first time for a race and was excited about it considering I have been using it all winter for my workouts.  My bike is a few years old, and I don't remember the last time I got it tuned up.  I did my best but apparently my best isn't very good.  My personalized bike fit got me comfortable on the bike, but my bike wasn't ready for the bumpy roads of NOLA.  Thankfully I was riding my my ISM Attack seat which was fantastic for those bumpy roads.

After some research on the best approach with UCAN for a 70.3, I planned on taking two packets of the UCAN Pomegranate blueberry powder mix in 1 bottle for the bike, with 8-12 Salt Stick tablets.  I also had a shot of Eboost to take in final mile of bike as a final pick me up before running.  I had a 10 oz bottle which I mixed 1 more packet of UCAN sitting in T2 to take with me on start of run and consume before the first mile.

Sunday morning rolled around, and I got everything prepped, and we went to the start.  I set up everything, and headed to the swim start.  My heart goes out to the family that lost a loving father/husband in the cycling accident just 2 days before the race.  He had traveled to NOLA from Atlanta for the race and was riding when a car struck him from behind.  His widow came down to speak to everyone before the start which was awesome of her.  Remember to keep her and her family in your prayers.  You can find out more about this accident at Slowtwitch.

Just a few minutes before swim start.

After the pro introductions, we jumped in the water, and got a 2-3 minute warmup.  They got everyone behind the start line, and fired the cannon with no count down.  Two weekends in a row, I was caught with my goggles up.  I quickly put them on and got out fast.  I stayed smooth, found some feet, and cruised in a pack to the first turn.  Just 100 meters after turning, I sighted a yellow buoy which I thought was our next turn (it wasn't).  I swam in that direction for just 1 minute or so before realizing I was going to wrong yellow buoy.  I got back on course, but lost the feet of the group I was in.  That probably cost me 30-45 seconds but I stayed smooth and finished the swim very comfortably and feeling good.  I ran into T1, slipped on my Rudy Project Wingspan helmet  and had a decent transition.  Once on the bike, I was right in the middle of the Pro field.  I held 275-280 watts for the first 15 miles or so, keeping everyone in sight, then that is where I realized my lack of cycling fitness.  Somewhere 15-20 miles in, I heard a little noise, but just assumed it was the car that had just passed me.  Well I kept hearing it and looked down to see that my left, front brake caliper/pad had come loose and was pointing straight up and down (supposed to be parallel with ground).  I pulled it away from my wheel and that stayed for a while, but the further I rode, the looser the brake pad got.  The last 41 miles, I rode by myself as everyone slowly pulled away.  I had a few guys pass me and I just watched as they went.  My power dropped to 255-260 until about 45 miles.  Those last 10 miles, the brake pad got really loose and it was rubbing my wheel.  I spent more effort trying to keep the pad off of the wheel and my power dropped significantly while dealing with this.  (This is by no means an excuse as to why I didn't finish as high as I had hoped, this was just a distraction.  It maybe cost me a minute or two on the bike.)  I came into T2 a little annoyed about my bike situation, but was going to get in a good long workout no matter what happened.  I would walk/jog the run if need be.  I took off at what I thought was about 7:00 pace.  It was actually closer to 6:00 and I was surprised to go through the first 4 miles right at that pace and then hold 6:10's for the next 4 miles after that.  Once I got to 8 miles, I was in no man's land with no one behind really catching me, and only 1 guy right in front of me.  That last 5 miles were right around 6:30-6:40 pace as I threw in a few short walk breaks.  I tried to pick up the pace a handful of times, trying to remember how it feels to really suffer, and that is something I will need to work on.  Those final miles of a 70.3 are always brutal, no matter what pace you are running.

I ended up finishing as the 15th pro and 18th overall.  Definitely not close to where I wanted to be, but it provided me with the information that I needed.  I finished with my wife yelling and screaming.  She was so excited for me to finish a 70.3 and that made me so happy.  I realized that I was happy to finish and that the finisher's medal does mean something.  I used to just take for granted that I would finish and be upset if it wasn't fast.  Sunday, I was happy to be competing again and grateful for everyone's support.

Tri4Him took a chance on me taking me onto the Pro team without any Pro results for the past 2 years.  I am forever grateful for that opportunity.  Casey has supported me in every decision that I have made.  I wouldn't have been on the starting line Sunday without her.  The Lord has blessed me with the athletic ability to compete in triathlons and presented the opportunity to Glorify him while doing so.  He has also blessed me with more family and friends then I thought was possible.  I love hearing from everyone on Facebook, text messages, Twitter, etc.  It always reminds me of my support team, and puts a smile on my face.  I met fellow Tri4Him team member Jodie after the race and we talked briefly after the race.  It is awesome to see our team uniform out at the races and meeting new people every day.

My next race is Rev3 Knoxville which is 5 weeks away.  I plan on spending those 5 weeks on the bicycle.

Alpha Delta Pi-athlon

My first race of the season has come and gone.  It was a small, local triathlon that had some unique distances.  It was a short 300 yard swim, in a 12 lane pool, so you had to go under a lane line at every 25 yard mark.  It was a short run to the transition area and then a flat, and easy to follow, 11 mile bike ride, followed by a 5k run through MTSU's campus in Murfreesboro, TN.

I knew it was going to be chilly, but was hoping it would be warmer than expected.  That did not happen.  I woke to 42 degrees at my house and thought that I could deal with that.  I packed my car, grabbed my coffee and Chocolate UCAN and hit the road.

Well, as I arrived in Murfreesboro, it was 36 degrees and "felt like" 32.  That is a cold triathlon.  I prepped everything and jogged the run course to make sure I knew where I was going.  The course was marked well, which is a problem is a lot of smaller triathlons, so I was able to scout the course and know exactly where I was going once on the run.

After getting everything laid out in the transition area, I walked to the pool for the start.  I laid my Tri4Him long sleeve cycling jersey on the pool deck to slip on after the swim and walked into the pool.  Everyone got lined up and I was seeded #1.

I was chatting with the #2 guy before the start when a lady walked up and just said "Go" without any warning that we were about to start.  I quickly put on my goggles and jumped in.  After an uneventful swim, I ran to T1.  After a little trouble slipping on my cycling jersey, I got to my bike, put on my Rudy Project helmet, and took off.

One of the main reasons I decided to do this race 1 week before NOLA 70.3 was to get some kinks worked out.  And boy were there some kinks.  Of course my power meter wasn't working for the first time this year, so I tried to figure that thing out for the first mile or two until I decided it didn't matter.  I also just didn't feel right.  I felt like I was a little low on my bike.  After spending the winter on the trainer, it is always hard to get comfortable when riding outside.  For whatever reason, during the winter when I'm mostly on the trainer, I tend to lower my seat a little.  Then once I go outside, I realize that my seat is too low.  Well, needless to say, my bike split wasn't near what it needs to be, but it was ok.  I have since then adjusted the seat height and hopefully got it all figured out.  I got to the last 1/2 mile or so of the bike and had to got over 5-6 speed bumps while trying to get my frozen feet out of my bike shoes with my frozen hands.  This probably cost me 30-45 seconds just doing that.  It probably would have been faster to leave my feet in my shoes and have run into T2 in my bike shoes.

I racked my bike and took off on the run with my numb feet.  Again, it was an uneventful run and I crossed the finish line first.  I never started my watch because of the abrupt start so I had no feedback during the race.  I didn't see a clock until I finished.  I believe I ran the 5k in 17:40ish.  Nothing great, but not bad considering how terrible I felt on the bike.  But it could also be the training I've done over the past few weeks. I had a pretty solid ride the previous Tuesday of about 3.5 hours, and had a great 6 mile fartlek in about 34 minutes on Thursday.  So I was definitely not rested.  But NOLA is the first big goal of the year.  Getting my feet wet in my first Pro race since Steelhead 70.3 of 2011.  I'm nervous, but very excited.  I'm still putting together my nutrition plan, race goals, etc.

No matter what happens, my goal is to finish L.A.S.T.  God has bigger plans for me no matter how I finish.  One thing I used to get caught up in before the race was analyzing the start list.  I am not going to show up and be able to put out some super human performance.  I need to stay focused on what I know that I'm capable of doing and not get overwhelmed by who I'm racing.

NOLA race report will be up in about a week.  Stay tuned....

Make sure to check out the race coverage at Ironman

Big Announcement!!!!!

This has been the worst winter that I can remember, but I'm sure that everyone else feels the same way. But since it is technically spring, then I guess it is about triathlon time.

I am racing for the Tri4Him Pro team this year!!!!

I couldn't be more excited.  It combines my favorite hobby of racing triathlons with my faith and gives me a way to share my faith with anyone that will pay attention.  Our goal is to "use our training and competition in triathlons as means to honor God, glorify Jesus, and love others."  One thing that I cannot express enough is the Love others aspect.  So many people get hung up on how Christians behave and "judge" others because of their actions.  God did not put us here to judge others, only to Love.

One Professional runner that I have always respected and enjoyed his thoughts on is Josh Cox.  He tweeted a quote from Billy Graham just yesterday or earlier today that sums up my thoughts about Love really well.  "It's the Holy Spirit's job to convict, God's job to judge, and my job to Love." This was Billy Graham's response to a reporter when asked why he was attending a rally in support of Bill Clinton during is sex scandal.

Southland Christian church in Lexington, KY and now CrossPoint Church here in Nashville have similar pastors that feel the same way.  Jon Weece is known for covering some very controversial topics and sharing the Love of Jesus Christ to anyone and everyone that will listen.  He has been to several homosexual bars/clubs in Lexington to share to Love of Jesus.  He doesn't go there to judge, only to talk to anyone that will listen, or to listen to anyone who needs to talk.  I love that about him and that is why I made that my home church before moving away from Lexington.  Pete Wilson is very much the same here in Nashville.  That is why we have made Crosspoint our home church now.

One goal for our team this year to to be L.A.S.T

Listen, Affirm, Serve, Tell about Jesus.

No matter what happens during the race, I know that I am representing my Lord and Savior.  Racing as a Pro Triathlete is just a bonus.

Tony

check out our team website...

Tri4Him Pro Team

Rock'N'Roll St. Louis Race Report

Two straight weekends that I have raced and I have loved every minute of it.  Sure I had to travel a bit but it was worth it.  It just so happened that our race overlapped with the World Series which was awesome.  I was able to support my favorite MLB team in the World Series while in St. Louis, what could be better.  Maybe if I had tickets, sure, but I don't have that kind of money haha.

Anyways, ever since Competitor's decision to drop elite athlete support, I decided that I wasn't going to do any of their events.  Well, I had signed up for this race back in June on "National Running Day" since it was deeply discounted and Casey wanted to do a 1/2 marathon where we would both compete.  And it also gave us an opportunity to visit her parents.  So, no more Competitor races for me, but I did go ahead and run this one since I was already signed up.

My week going into the race wasn't the best training wise.  I felt a little sluggish and sore from the 10k the previous weekend and my "tune up" workout a few days before the race didn't feel very good.  We left for St. Louis on Friday, watched a lot of football and baseball on Saturday, and woke up super early on Sunday for the race.  Since there were no "elites" I wasn't sure how close I would be to the front.  Maybe a few fast locals show up, maybe no fast guys show up, maybe something I didn't even think about happens???  I knew that I was capable of running right around 1:12-1:15 depending on the day/course/etc.

Pre Race Pic about 10 minutes before the start.

Pre race, my In-laws really helped out with our warm up clothes, parking, getting up to the start line without any hassle what so ever.  They were a huge help.  Brad and Kim took our warmer clothes and wished us luck.  I stood on the start line for 5 minutes before the gun went off.  I made sure to be there on time, ha.  At 7 am, we were off.

I settled into my pace which is always hard to judge for the first 1/2 mile or so.  I ran with the 2 leaders until we hit the mile mark at 5:25.  I knew it was a little fast, but it felt good so I stuck with them.  After 2-3 minutes, one guy dropped back a little and the other started to put a small gap on myself.  We all kind of settled into our own paces and that is about how the rest of the race went.  2 miles was right around 10:55 and about 5 seconds behind the leader.

Cruising through the 5 mile mark.

I went through the 5 mile mark right around 27:55.  The leader had a larger gap now and it was only growing.  I held onto my pace and kept it smooth.  I went through 8 miles just under 45 minutes and 10 miles at 56:15.  My next mile was a little uphill but nothing killer.  I ran a 5:50 mile and got a little worried.  I thought the wheels were falling off and I still had 2 miles to go.  Luckily, the next mile was mostly downhill and I ran a 5:15 mile.  I settled back into my pace of between 5:30-5:40 miles and crossed the finish line in 1:13:28.  The winner ended up running under 1:11 so I was no where near him and third place crossed the line about 1 minute or so behind me.  Considering there was 13,000 people in the race, I didn't expect to finish in the top 3 but was happy regardless.

Coming Down the Home Stretch.

I was very happy with the effort and glad it was over.  Brad and Kim were right there to get these amazing pictures and hand me my warmer clothes.  I jogged back to cheer for Casey as my cooldown.  She ran a huge PR and then we had a HUGE Panera breakfast afterwards.  We laid around and watched the Lions and Cowboys go back and forth while cheering for our Fantasy football players and napping.

Sunday evening after attending the World Series Pep Rally.

Just a little Superman pose while at a Rest Stop in Illinois on the way home.

That evening we went downtown to enjoy some World Series festivities and then watched the game at a bar for the first few innings before heading home to get some much needed sleep.

Medical Center 10k

Well, now that the race results have been posted, I can reflect on my 10k from Saturday.

Overall, I am pleased with the effort / time that I was able to accomplish on Saturday.  I have always run pretty fast on that course considering the difficulty of the race.  My "official" time was 33:47.  My watch had me at 33:40.  How was it 7 seconds off?  Let me explain.

I woke up at about my normal time considering the race didn't start until 8:30.  I had a light breakfast, some coffee, and hung out until I was ready to head down to pick up my packet.  I parked, got my packet, and took off on my warmup jog at around 7:45.  After a good 25 minute warmup, I put my racing flats on, did some strides as I was heading to the start line, and got myself mentally prepared for the pain I was about to endure.  It was about 8:20 when I left my car.  When I did my last stride at 8:24 about 200 - 300 meters behind the start line, I heard an announcement saying something to the effect of "2 minutes."  I looked at my watch and double checked that I had over 5 minutes until 8:30.  The wheelchair race was scheduled to start at 8:25 so that is what I assumed was 2 minutes away.  I walked towards the start, saw an open porta potty and started to go in just to make sure I didn't have to go during the race.  Right when I made it there, I heard the announcement "20 seconds."  I look over and do not see a single wheel chair.  I quickly changed my mind about the porta potty stop and jogged closer to the front of the start area.  Before I got close to the front, the gun went off and everyone took off.

I was 100% warmed up, but just didn't expect the race to start early.  It took me about 7-8 seconds just to get to the start line before I was able to take off.  Another 5 seconds or so before I was able to get into an open area and then I was off.  I figured since it had chip timing that there would be a "finishing" time and a "chip" time so I wasn't too worried.  Well, after looking at the results, there was no chip time so I made a mistake before the start that cost me 7-8 seconds of racing time.  Whatever.  It's not like the guy in front of me beat me by 3 seconds.  He beat me by about 1:30, ha.  One positive to starting a little bit back was I was able to start a little more controlled than I usually do.

Seconds after the gun went off, the rain started to fall.  It was 57 degrees and calm when I woke up.  The temperature was dropping and now it was raining.  I worked my way through the field and by the 1 mile mark I was in 10th place (I didn't know that at the time) and about 5 seconds behind the first female.  She looked very familiar and I was about 90% sure it was Ali Morgan who I ran with at UK.  I decided I would use the 2nd downhill mile to catch her.  Well, she pulled away from me.  I was 5:21 for mile 1, 5:13 for mile 2, and was about 7 seconds or so behind Ali.  I caught a guy just before the 5k mark and going through right at 16:40 (on my watch).  I finally caught Ali just before 4 miles.  We laughed for about a 1/2 second since this was the first time I've seen her in a year or two.  We worked together to maintain pace for the next mile or so.  Going up the long, gradual hill that is the 5th mile, I did get away from her about the exact distance that I would finish in front of her.  I went through 5 miles just over 27 minutes.  We weaved our way around the football stadium and finished on the field.  I crossed the line in 33:47 (race time), and at 33:40 on my watch.  Ali finished just 9 seconds later and we had a good laugh about the race afterwards.

By then, it was pouring and getting colder.  I did a quick cooldown and made it back to the car completely soaked and freezing.  I have only broken 34 minutes for a 10k a hand full of times so I was happy but was secretly hoping to surprise myself.  There was no surprise.  I just met my expectation.

I hate standing around on the start line just waiting for the gun to go off, but I guess that is better then missing the start.  Next time I'll make sure I'm lined up in time.  Off to St. Louis this weekend for the Rock'n'Roll St. Louis half marathon.  Not sure how it's going to work out with the World Series going on but that would be awesome if I managed to get tickets for it while we are there.

Tony