I know, not the most prestigious of names, but it normally draws quite a field and is a very well run and organized race.  This year would not disappoint and included the last two years’ champions who subsequently turned professional, Michael Gordon and Jeff Smith.

It was raining and cool, which I like.  Throw a little wind in there and I am pretty happy when it comes to racing.  Don’t really like to train in that, but I love racing in it.

The swim was a typical early season Pacific Northwest swim in a 0% visibility lake due to the runoff.  Or, if you raced at Nationals in Kansas City, MO, just like that.  I led the swim from the start and was first out and with a 30 second lead on second.  I love the new B70 Helix!  I never use Body Glide anymore and it even comes off fast.  I got to my Trek and threw on my Rudy Project helmet and glasses.  Now it would be about getting a larger gap on the bike.  Michael can run with the best, and has done so in both Oly races and IMs… I, however, have not.  And Jeff can ride well but runs similarly to me, so I needed a gap on him too.

The bike was solid.  The Bontrager Aeolus wheels sliced through the standing water on the road up a windy false flat.  I knew it was slight uphill because my watts were high and my speed was low.  Or my brakes were rubbing?  I hit the turnaround and took a split on 2nd and realized I was about 3 minutes up on 2nd… NICE!  But I knew on the way back it would be fast and the opportunity to gain the same amount of time was not good.  I maintained the same power and my speed increased dramatically as well, as did everyone’s.

I was first into T2 and it was solid.  I threw on my Zoot shoes, and I was off and running on a mud trail.  Since it had rained, this mud just stuck to the bottom of your shoes.  You could literally feel it stacking up on the bottom of the shoe.  I was running about 50 steps and then shuffling to wipe it off.  It felt like I was running with weights on.  But it was only for the first mile and the last mile.

 I just wanted to get to the turnaround and start running back.  I took a split on my TIMEX iPod watch… because it’s orange… as I rounded the cone and started back.  Up the road I could see Michael coming towards me.  It looked like he was flying.  Granted, he was running on a slight downhill and I was on a slight uphill.  But I am sure it looked like I was pulling an ox cart.  I had a pretty good gap.  One that would be tough for any runner to close assuming I could maintain.  I started down the muddy trail and knew I was within 1 mile.  Though he would have had to run about 4 minute miles to catch me, I still had to look back.  As I rand down the trail it was nice to acknowledge all the athletes that were on their way out that were cheering for me as well.  I was able to muster an exhaling ‘thanks,’ or a nod and a finger point.  I think it’s important to acknowledge people.  Especially when they are in the race too and make it a priority to give you a little boost.  I held off Michael and was the 2008 Onion Man Champion.  Which also yields a $100 bill too.  Just enough for gas to get me home.  A good day.

I have to wonder, what race names have you found that were a tad odd?

I first want to say how grateful and honored it is to be on Team Timex! Not only is the support from sponsors incredible, but the athletes on the team are incredibly talented and motivating. Between seeing your teammates do exceptionally well in races, and the aura that surrounds you when you show up in a Team Timex outfit, makes you want to train hard and perform well!

Being I hate cold weather and water(yes, 55 degree air temp is cold to me, I live in Texas) I really don’t get racing until late spring. I decided to race the 25^th Annual Corpus Christi Triathlon. I looked at the past results, and thought I could do well in the race and get a win for the team.

I line up for the swim, really don’t recognize anybody(then again when people are in wetsuits, caps and goggles, you can’t recognize anybody anyways) gun goes off, and I storm off into the bay with my Blueseventy Helix suit (http://www.blueseventy.com/). I am a pretty good swimmer(not Bruce “beecho” Genari ability) and I finish the 1000m swim in 3^rd place about 30 seconds behind the leader.

I jump on my new Trek TTX (http://www.trekbikes.com/) and cycling being my strength, I took off in pursuit of the leader. Now my race plan is usually to stomp the first 5-6 miles of the bike to catch whoever is ahead or put distance into the chasers. I knew right away I was in trouble when I was riding 24 MPH into a stiff headwind, and the lead motorcycle didn’t get any bigger! At the turnaround I was 1:30 down and couldn’t believe they guy put almost a minute into me! Rode back strong (I love tailwinds) and set off on the run.

Now running is my weakest event, so I usually try and hang on for dear life here.1st place was history, so I concentrated on keeping second. Well, I was slowly being run down, so with about a half mile to go, I slowed my pace, tried to catch my breath, and planned on running on the shoulder of the guy chasing and turn it into a sprint. I think the guy saw me doing that, so he countered and sprinted by me! He got a gap and maintained it to the finish.

3^rd overall, beat the course record, but lost to two pros (first place guy who destroyed us was 2^nd overall in the military championships)who also set course records and I have ZERO leg speed now that I am Ironman training!

After 5 years and I lot of blood (literally) sweat and tears my wife Ashley and I graduated from medical school this past Sunday!  So, now I can remove that asterisk from my name when I say “almost a doctor!”  Now Dr. Ashley and I have to pack up our lives and spend the next 2 weeks homeless, bumming off of family and friends, attend our 5^th year undergraduate reunion at Connecticut College.  In the same 2 weeks I’ll race Mooseman buy out new Prius and then drive down to Durham, NC! J  It has been a busy week and there is no end in sight!  I’ll keep you all posted!

Graduation garb is pretty ugly and uncomfortable…but I at least perfer this hat! :)

Train hard! Rest Harder! 

www.alexmmtri.com

May 18th, 2008
Temecula, CA
1st 20-24 AG

I’ll just start with the fact that it was a very interesting day! I had been battling a head cold all week and woke up the morning of the race with everything having shifted downward into the lungs and chest…yuck! I made the decision to go and do the race, but not actually ‘race’. I had spent a lot of time and money to get all the way there and it would have really put me down if I hadn’t at least tried to finish. I knew it was going to be a rough day as the temperature forecast was in the high 90s with lots of sun and NO SHADE anywhere on the course. As I coughed the entire way to the race venue, I kept telling myself that the only thing I wanted to do was cross the finish line, and with a smile!I set up transition, coughed some more, put on a gallon of sunscreen and tried to relax as much as possible. I really wasn’t all that nervous, almost more anxious to get it over so I could get back to being healthy. As the gun went off for the swim, I found a comfortable pace that got me from shore, around the buoys and back to shore. There were definitely a few backstrokes here and there to help alleviate the coughing, but could have gone way worse.

The bike was quite comical and very irritating as I just wanted to go harder. I’m pretty sure I got out of my small ring on one or two descents during the entire ride and spun up every hill almost going backwards. I’m also pretty sure I got passed by about 100 people on the first lap of course, however, most people blew up pretty badly and I ended up passing them back during the second lap, even going at the snail’s pace my butt was moving. I will contribute the finishing of the bike segment entirely on one piece of equipment I almost chose not to bring with me…MY CAMELBACK! Yes, I raced with it, will do it again for every race, and loved every second of it…even if I did look like a giant goober. For midgets like myself, mountain bikes only have room for one bottle cage and in my case, you can hardly even get the bottle in and out unless you’re stopped forcing me to carry them in my jersey pockets or use an alternative. I chose to use the camelback for the race since I knew the only way I would survive was staying hydrated. Being able to take sips every couple minutes was absolutely key…even if I did have a bike split almost 20min slower than I should have :)

To the run…can we say hilly?!? There was without a doubt not one flat section on the entire course. It was either too steep going up to run, or too steep and technical going down to run. This is usually my favorite part of the race and the place where I make up the most time so I got really excited to start running people down. HOLD UP…with the 102 degree temps and the current condition of my lungs, that wasn’t going to happen and I had to face the facts. So after running the first 10min straight up hill, I decided to notch it down and run/walk to keep from coughing up a storm. As I was stopped at an aid station, I overheard a girl saying how she just couldn’t go any longer and was going to drop out. By this point, I had absolutely no voice left, but grabbed her arm and mumbled that WE were going to finish no matter what. With the raspy voice I could get out, I kept encouraging her that it didn’t matter how fast or slow we went, we were just going to cross that finish line with giant smiles on our faces and it was going to be awesome. She was super excited and agreed to run/walk the rest of the way with me. We picked up a few others on the way who were definitely suffering and needed a little encouragement to get to the finish line as well. It felt amazing being out there for others instead of racing for myself. I’ve never experienced anything like that before and although deep down I wish I could have been out there kicking the crap out of the course and comparing myself to the highest competition, I wouldn’t have changed this day for anything!

I got my slot to Maui (Xterra World Champs) after pulling off a surprising age group win and had the opportunity to meet and hang out with some very cool people whom I will be spending lots of time traveling and racing with over the next year! Temecula, watch out, because this girl will be back…and with lots of vengeance!

I know, I know, this is a late race report.  Well, I guess better late than never.  The new job has got me pretty busy.  I’ve been traveling quite a bit in the past couple of weeks.  Now I am at home and things have seemed to settle down for the time being.  So, I thought I’d sit down and tell you all (or Ya’ll for you in the South) how things went down in the 26^th Annual Gulf Coast Half Ironman.
The week prior to Gulf Coast I was back in California.  Santa Ana, California to be precise.  And no, this trip wasn’t as fun as my previous trip to California.  It was a MedAvant Sales Meeting that lasted all week.  And while it was good to meet the people I was going to work with I was wishing I could have been back in Nashville, TN preparing for the upcoming half that was looking me right in the face.  I was definitely outside my comfort zone and was just going to have to make due with what I had.  Adapt and overcome!
I flew into California on Monday and immediately got checked into the hotel.  The first thing I did was look at the workout facilities.  Well, how about the lack of workout facilities.  At least they had something that looked like a bike in there.  It was one of those recumbent bike machines.  Hey, at least it simulated biking.  The pool was 4.7 feet wide and 2 feet deep.  Swimming was going to be a challenge.  Looks like my flip turns are going to get a whole lot better.  Just kidding.  I brought a stretch cord with a belt affixed to it so I could do some stationary swimming.  It’ll do in a pinch.  Running, well, I could do that outdoors.  I was set.  Rest easy!
So, the week was all about day long meetings and eating.  I ate a ton.  Hey, it wasn’t my dime that was buying the food.  At the beginning and end of each day I was trying to get in some kind of workout.  These weren’t exactly high quality efforts.  But, I did get some work in.  I kept telling myself that it was OK that I was supposed to be resting this week anyway.  Power of the mind!
The week did come to a quick close.  Thank goodness.  I needed to get to Panama City.  In order to do so I had to take some drastic measures.  I took a “red eye” from Orange County, California at 7:44 that night and arrived in Birmingham, Alabama at 8:30 the following morning.  I could give you all the details but let’s just say that there wasn’t a whole lot of sleep involved in this event.  I did get to see a couple get kicked off the Las Vegas to Charlotte leg of my venture.  That was quite cool.
So, once I arrived in B’ham my wife and kids picked me up at the airport.  Drove to my Mom’s house, picked her and my nephew up and away we went!  My Mom has been making going to Panama City with us an annual event ever since my Dad passed away.  She has a great time and the kids, Tammy and I love having her there.  My nephew, William, is also a welcomed person as he really keeps the kids occupied most of the weekend.
The drive (yes, I drove) down to Panama City was uneventful.  We rolled into the city at about 3:30 in the afternoon.  I immediately headed over to the expo, got checked in, bought a few items for the race and then headed down towards the condo that we were staying at for the weekend.  I have to give props to Cynthia Smith for her place down in Panama City.  It’s very roomy, very clean, right next to the beach and it’s also on the run course.  If you’re ever down in Panama City and you’re looking for a place to stay I highly recommend it.  You can see her place here http://www.findvacationrentals.com/10080.

At this point I am so tired I can’t even see straight.  All I want to do is get some sleep.  I got my gear ready for the following morning, went for a quick bike and run and then ate dinner with the “gang”.  Yep, Sonny’s all you can eat BBQ.  I am really picky for pre – race meals as you can see.  Got back to the condo, got the kids to bed and then went to sleep myself.  It was 10:00 and I feel asleep at 10:00 plus two (2) seconds.  I don’t even remember falling asleep.
5:00 the following morning the alarm goes off.  I sit up and have no idea where I am.  It was quite freaky.  I finally got my bearings and it dawned on me, HOLY CRAP!  I’ve got a race to do this morning.  And not just any race, a half Ironman.  This was going to be interesting.  I could have slept for ten (10) more hours.  So, after gathering up all my gear and eating I was out the door, heading down towards transition.  Actually I had to be driven down to transition as it was over five (5) miles away. 
Once into Transition I got all my gear set up and headed for the beach.  Looking at the surf I knew that a lot of people were going to have a rough time.  The professionals had already taken off and were already half way through the swim.  I was in the 11^th wave.  I had a little time to mull over how I was going to race this day.  I came to the conclusion that I was going to just do my best with what I had on this day.  That’s about all anybody can do on any race day I thought to myself. 
Once my toes where in the water and listening for the horn I switched to race mode.  Horn sounded and I was off.  The surf was rather big about ten (10) yards out.  I dolphin-dived under a couple good size waves and was swimming.  About fifteen (15) more yards out you hit a sandbar.  More waves and more dolphin-diving.  After that things were a bit better.  The ocean was very choppy and sighting was difficult.  Add to that the outbound site buoys were green (yeah, who make that decision) and you kind of get the picture of a very zig-zaggy swim.  I was all over the place.  I finally got a bead on the turn-around buoy and headed straight for it.  I was passing people left and right.  Once I got to the turn-around buoy I knew things would get better.  I was finally able to get into a groove with my stroke.  I altered it a bit as I took shorter strokes but really concentrated on stretching my arms out once they were underwater.  This worked very well and before I knew it I hit the shore.  Took a glance at my watch and say 23:44.  Not too shabby I thought.
Running to T1 I took off my Blue Seventy Wetsuit (http://www.blueseventy.com/) and ran as fast as I could.  Now, I could sit here and “gush” over the Blue Seventy Helix but I’d just be preaching to the choir.  It’s the best wetsuit I’ve used (and I’ve used a lot in my day) BAR NONE.  Dean Jackson and the boys have really done themselves proud.  I can’t wait to get to use the speed suit!  Here’s a pic of me heading towards T1:

Into T1, off with the wetsuit and on with the bike shoes, helmet and sunglasses.  Wasn’t’ the fastest transition but it’ll do.  I have been accused in the past of having a “tea party” in transition.  Well, this time was no exception.
Out on the road you could immediately tell that the wind was up.  Heading North you would have a tail wind.  Heading back South, well, that was a different story.  I got into a fairly good groove right from the get go.  No issues with lack of sleep.  This was a good sign.  I was experiencing some soreness in and around my knees but I figured that would go away once I got “warmed up” on the bike. 
I was passing a lot of people at this point and giving encouragement to all the people that I knew.  It’s amazing how many people you know out there on the road.  I was cruising on the Front Beach roads and really having a good time.  The Trek 9.5 (http://www.trekbikes.com/) was cutting through the wind like nobody’s business.  I had also chosen not to ride a disc wheel this day because of the strong winds.  I rode an Aeolus 6.5 (http://www.bontrager.com/) in the back and an Aeolus 5.0 in the front.  The front was a loaner from my local bike shop as the 6.5 I got had some issues with the carbon bulging out when a pumped up wheel was on it.  As of today I’ve got the wheel back and am ready to put it through its paces.  Pic of me on the road.

Anyway, out on the road things were shaping up quite well.  Then it happened.  I was on Highway 388 and heading towards the turn-around point on the race.  I was passing people pretty regularly and not having any issues.  We’ll I was about to.  About 600 meters from the turnaround I came up on a group of people who were riding in the middle of the road.  Evidently the right hand of the road was very, very rough and they were trying to avoid it.  I would have avoided it as well.  Anyway, I came up on this “pack” of riders pretty quickly and moved over to the left to pass.  Evidently I scared the crap out of the first rider I passed.  He yelled WHOA and then proceeded to turn right into me.  Ok, survival mode started kicking in.  I leaned right back into him and pushed him back where he came from.  I could feel his front wheel basically running down the length of my bike.  I was leaning hard right for all I was worth.  Once his front wheel came off my back wheel I heard that most gosh awful sound.  It was him going down.  I felt awful.  I stood up and soft pedaled to make sure that he was OK.  I couldn’t stop as people were coming up behind me.  I told myself I would hit the turn-around and catch him going back the other way.  Of course he wasn’t there when I went back.  I also got some “colorful” comments from one woman when I came around the turn-around.  I think her comments were “You should be disqualified you Son of a Bitch, I saw what you did”.   Hey, I was passing where I was supposed to, on the left; you were riding in the middle of the road.  What was I supposed to do? 
Now, like Earl, I do believe in Karma.  After the race I was talking to Charlie Crawford who was the Head Referee for the race.  Well, it seems that the guy I tangled with was a “bandit” racer.  So, not only is not going to get his injuries covered by USAT but he is going to get suspended for a year from racing and the guy who gave him his number is going to get suspended as well.  Karma, don’t mess with it.
Well, the rest of the bike was “kind of” uneventful.  There was another wreck that I was around but certainly didn’t cause.  I just heard it.  It was awful.  I turned around and looked and saw three (3) people on the deck.  Not good.  Again I pulled up to make sure everybody was OK.  Once I saw that they were, off I went.  The rest of the bike was mostly in a pretty stiff head wind.  Time to really get aero and see what I can do.
I had a solid ride back into town.  I ended up catching and passing a good friend of mine, Brett Reagan.  Brett is an excellent cyclist and would go on to post the 4^th fastest bike split of the day.  He and I headed into T2 together.  Bike time was 2:14 and change.
T2 was, once again, slow.  For runs over 10k I pull socks on.  What can I say?   I am a bleeder.  Plus, it was really warming up and I didn’t want to have to deal with blisters.  I pulled on my Zoot shoes (http://www.zootsports.com/) and headed out.  Now, I could sit here and give you all the details of the run but that would be pretty boring.  I think this race report is long enough.  Let’s just suffice it to say that it was SLOW.  I really struggled with the heat.  I think by the time we hit St. Thomas Park the temps were in the mid 80’s.  Couple that with some fairly humid air and you have the makings of a melt down.  All I know was that the last four (4) miles seemed to take forever.  That finish line couldn’t get there fast enough.  Here’s me dying in out on the run course.
 

Yeah, it was that hot out there!
Well, thankfully the finish line finally came into sight.  I had very little left in the tank.  I crossed the finish line and stopped the clock at 4:18:37.  Not exactly my best effort but certainly not my worst.  I’ll take it considering the “out of sorts” week leading up to the race.  

1 MIKE NEILL              	36 VICTORIA BC             	4:06:38

2 ZACH RUBLE              	26 MONROEVILEE IN          	4:07:32

3 DANIEL MOSS             	27 SIMPSONVILLE SC        	4:11:10

4 NICHOLAS VANDAM         	21 WEST POINT NY           	4:15:47

5 BRUCE GENNARI           	42 BRENTWOOD TN            	4:18:37

6 JOHN ROBERTSON          	34 HOUSTON TX              	4:19:47

7 ANDRES MUNERA           	37 TAMPA FL                	4:19:59

8 NICHOLAS STERGHOS       	21 WEST POINT NY           	4:21:41

9 PETER KOTLAND           	36 MOORE SC                	4:22:30

10 JASON WILLCOX           	38 ALBANY GA               	4:26:36

 The first three (3) guys were professionals.  Mike Neill has won this race several times.  He’s a great guy and a fierce competitor. Evidently he and Zach were running stride-for-stride on the run.  Mike put it into overdrive with 1.5 miles to go and took the win. 
So, that’s pretty much how things went.  I have that “happy” but not “satisfied” feeling about the race.  I always ponder “what could have been”.  I know I shouldn’t but that’s just how I am “wired”.  But, I can honestly answer with an emphatic YES to the question; did you give the most you had on this day?
Next up for me is the DeSoto Triple T in Portsmouth, Ohio.  I’ll try to be a bit timelier on the race report.  Until then, I hope you all Train smart, Train safe and Race fast!