Although, the weekend was not officially a race but it sure felt like one!  Bruce Gennari and I started the day at 6 am in the EDGE.  Bruce picked me up and we made the 45 minute drive to Clarksville, TN for the 31st annual CRAM Century Ride.  The day just felt right, cool weather, fairly overcast skies and we both had fuel in our tanks!!  We arrived about 30 minutes early and were greeted by long registration lines.  Bruce is a living legend in our state and I always enjoy traveling to race sites with him!  I gotta say, it was very cool being able to sport my Timex gear right alongside Captain Gennari!

The ride departed at 7:30 am and from the looks of the crowd the ratio of roadies to triathletes was about 3 to 1.  I hate riding for long periods of time with roadies!!  Anyway, we started and right from the gun Bruce took the lead spot and I got right behind him.  After about 5 miles, we had a paceline of about 30.  Bruce and I took turns at the front for the first 15 miles before anyone else showed anything.  After mile 20, our pace was a bit over 20 mph.  The next 20 miles, we dropped back and found some other triathletes in the group.  We let the roadies take the lead from mile 20 to 40 and the pace most definitely slowed.  For a moment, I glanced down at my computer and noticed that we were traveling at 19.5 mph and that just didn’t seem right.  At that time, I was probably 15 back but rode to the front and luckily Bruce wasn’t far behind.  From mile 40 to 60 we increased the pace quite significantly. 

Shortly after the 60 mile mark the paceline started to break and most of the roadies stopped for a water break.  Me and Bruce and 5 other triathletes rounded a corner and were greeted by 3 huge dogs.  These dogs didn’t just run alongside and chase up, they came directly after us!!  One of the guys had to clip out and kick the dog away from his wheel.  I was lucky to slide through without a bite from Cujo!! 

At mile 70, the hammer was obviously dropped by none other than Bruce himself.  I have been riding with Bruce for a while now and if its one thing I have learned is to stay with him toward the end of our rides.  The most painful part of our long rides is the final hour or so.  We turned onto a long stretch of country highway dead into a headwind.  4 of us took turns pulling into this fierce wind and my heart rate was above 180!!  I was hurting so bad and everything inside of me said “stop.”  Of course, I have learned as an endurance athlete to displace that pain and focus on the task at hand.  We were riding 26 to 28 mph depending on the wind and were 25 miles from the finish.  At mile 80, we lost one of our 4 but kept rollin’!  By now, the sun was hot and beatin’ down.  I started to feel a bit dizzy and my lips were feeling numb.  I drank but it was probably too late.  It took everything in power to hang on those last 15 miles.  I had only consumed one 24 oz bottle the entire ride-NOT SMART, I know.

We crossed the finish line and I was a very happy boy!!  I looked down at my computer: 100.34 miles with an average speed of 23.1 mph.  Bruce crossed just ahead of me but I was fine with that.  We finished the ride a bit under 4 hours and 20 minutes.  We took a few post ride pictures and then hit the showers.  I guess, we could’ve stayed with the paceline and coasted in at a 20 mph pace…..Yeah right, that’s not what we were out there for!  We were there to put Timex on the front with another strong performance.  We did just that and I’m happy to say that Bruce and I along with one other finished the ride 30 minutes ahead of the next closest group!  Eagleman 70.3 Cambridge, MD here we come!!!

In the beginning of May, Toby and I met up in Beijing to race the North Face Endurance Challenge. Toby ran the 100k and I ran the 50k. During the race, I wore a go GoPro Camera attached to a chest strap. Here is the video from the race…

Toby finished 10th and I placed 7th. It was a grueling race and one amazing experience!

About what? About driving up to Ardmore, TN.  Yes, you read that correctly.  I said Ardmore, TN.  No, there isnt usually anything particularly exciting in Ardmore, a little town on the Tennessee/Alabama border where AL SR 53 meets I-65.  But there will be this Saturday as that is where I am meeting teammate Bruce Gennari to pick up the Southeast’s own Ford Edge.

Last year was the Timex Multisport Team’s first year partnering with Ford, but unfortunately I dont think any of the vehicles provided made it south of the Mason Dixon line.  This year Ford is back and has given us five brand new Edge crossovers.  Unlike last year, though, the southern contingent of Bruce (Nashville, TN), Bo Parrish (Nashville, TN), and myself (Huntsville, AL) were fortunate enough to receive one of the vehicles and Saturday will be my first time driving it. As a result, I’m stoked to finally get to check out all the cool features like the panoramic vista roof, Ford SYNC, and MyFord Touch.

While the features are cutting edge, I’m really just excited to be driving a brand new Ford.  I realize this may seem contrived due to the fact they are sponsoring the team, but I have been a big fan of what Alan Mulally has done since taking over as CEO in 2006.  Mulally, who had previously been a long-time Boeing employee, took over a company in bad shape turned it around.

Realizing major changes needed to be made, Mulally leveraged all of Ford’s assets, all the way down to the patented nameplate, to borrow around $24 billion.  The company used that money to upgrade factories and develop new fuel efficient vehicles, realizing their cash cow (large trucks and SUVs) wouldnt sustain them forever.  Meanwhile, it shed costs by reaching a landmark agreement with the UAW to drastically lower future liabilities.  All the while, GM and Chrystler, the other two of the “Big 3″ US automakers, were churning along with their heads in the sand, producing large trucks and barely hanging on to solvency.

The result?  What looked like a desperate moved at the time turned out to be prescient.  Fast forward to 2009 and Ford did not have to take a government bailout or have its debt restructured while GM and Chrysler did. This lead to an increase in its market share by about 1%, the first time it had seen a full year increase since 1995.  Then, with the economy on the (admittedly still slow) rebound, Ford took advantage, recording a record profit in the third quarter of 2010 off a net income of $1.7 billion.

So the moral here is that smart, effective management trumps government bailouts every time, and thats why I’m excited to get the Edge.  Well that, and the fact that sunroofs are sexy.

Come check out the Edge at the Cotton Row Run on Memorial Day in Huntsville, AL, the Coliseum Rock ‘N RollMan Half in Macon, GA on Saturday, June 4th, or the Nashville Kids Triathlon in Nashville, TN on Sunday, June 5th.

Sunday, May 22nd was an event for the record books, no doubt!!  The day before the race, my wife and I made the 4 hour drive from Nashville to Tunica, MS for the Memphis in May Triathlon.  What you need to know is that the MS Delta has been completely flooded for the last month.  The flooding completely shut down the area even to the extent of cancelling the race all togehter.  The situation was not  ideal, but we were looking forward to it nonetheless…

I had made travel arrangements to correspond with Cindi Bannink’s travel so that we could see each other.  Cindi arrived a day earlier and actually raced both the Sprint on Saturday and the Olympic on Sunday.  Cindi is a freakin’ stud!!!!

We arrived around 3:30 on Saturday and proceeded to check in.  We were greeted with a nice thick layer of humidity, nothing like MS for ya!!  The sun was shining bright and we knew it was going to be a hot race.  We got settled and I went down to the lobby to meet Cindi.  She finised third this morning at the Sprint which suprised the heck out of me!!!  So I did my quick “Timex TV” interview and we all went to dinner.  We had several friends from Nashville that were at the event as well and we headed over to the “Down Home Buffet.”  Yeah, that’s right, a greasy, fried, spread of food-ideal for pre-race meal.  I think we managed to find a few things that we could eat and not be sorry about the next morning!  I tell you though, these dang casinos kill ya’ on the food prices.  I guess they just figure most people are there to get drunk and gamble and that money just leaves their hands unassumingly!  We walked back to the car and all piled in the Team Timex Ford EDGE.  Although, the EDGE is still “naked” it sure is fun to drive.  In fact, Cindi found that the rear seats actually recline-very cool!

My wife and I said goodbye to everyone and headed back up to the room for a little shut-eye!  I actually slept really good which is a rarity for sure.  The alarm went off and I jumped up quickly-I WAS READY TO RACE!!!  I made my way down to transition and got a “before” picture with Cindi.  I was in the first wave and she was in the last wave-not exactly ideal for watching each other….  The water temperature was 76 degrees and the wetsuit legal announcement went out.  The day before I had done a pool swim in 69 degree water with no wetsuit.  I did not want to get overheated, but then again I have learned that wetsuits are better than not even legal!  The start was by time trial every 3 seconds and it went off very well.  I hit the water and felt great, which was a big difference from last week at Rev3.  I got into my rythym very quickly and finished in 25 minutes.  I had a pretty good T1 and by the time I hit my bike, the sky opened!! 3 miles into the bike, lightning started cracking all over the sky.  I felt for sure the race would be called but I just kept riding.  The lightning never stopped but the race went on.  By mile 20, the rain was so strong I could barely see in front of me-seriously!  I finished the bike leg in 1:00:39 with a 24.3 average speed.  I was pumped, as that was a PR for the Olympic distance bike leg.  I had a pretty good T2, and hit the run in a “gully-washer!”  I was completely soaked, but I was going hard so the rain felt great.  The run was out and back and the wind was with us going out-SHOOT!!!!  At the turnaround, I was hammered by the wind and a bit of hail-I was having so much fun!!  I kept running and finally got to the finish line with my HR at a redline…. I looked at my watch and was pretty upset, 44 minutes-what the heck…  I continued through the finish shoot and no less than 3 guys asked me, “hey man, that run was long-look at my GPS-it was .7 miles longer.”  That made me feel a little bit better but I was till pleased with my race.

By now, we were literally in the eye of a massive storm.  I started to shiver but really wanted to wait for Cindi.  My race number was 158 and hers was 1058!!  I pulled on my dry clothes (which stayed dry for all of about 30 seconds) and waited.  I saw her round the corner and she looked like she was going strong.  She caught her breath and we talked briefly as we took the “after” picture.  There was no room for standing around any longer so we agreed to continue the conversation when we were both dry. 

I finished with a time of 2:13, good enough for a podium in my age group and a spot in the new 5i50 Championships in Des Moines, Iowa.  The race was great, despite the storm.  I got to hang out with an awesome teammate and even met a few new folks (yeah, I’m a country redneck-can’t help it!)  My wife and I climbed in the EDGE and made the 4 hour drive home.  I was wiped out, I had given it my all and I was wearing a big smile……

It’s that time of year again, the end of coaching high school swimming and the start of triathlon season with  our annual Open Water Swim / Transition Clinic the week before Pelican Fest Triathlon. This week  I play a full time  race director.

This past Sunday’s clinic attracted 48 swimmers and 6 spectators. Many of them will become triathletes this weekend; others with experience wanted to take a dip in Windsor Lake. The air temperature was a balmy 65 degrees, Windsor Lake was colder!

I start the clinic discussing the Pelican Fest Triathlon race course, what to expect with the point to point swim, 10 mile bike loop and 5k run.

Then I set up my transition with my Orbea Ordu and Team Timex sponsor swag.

Next I discuss water acclimation. The importance of getting in and out a few times before you take an over the head plunge. Swim at least 5 minutes before your wave. With the cold water it is important to acclimate slowly.

• 15 minutes before you start get in and stand waist deep for a couple minutes, get out
• Walk in at least shoulder depth and do some bobbing and breathing, get out
• The third time walk in then dive, over head plunge, get out.
• Finally get in and swim for a few minutes

All 48 swimmers did two practice mass beach starts before swimming around the lake, within the roped area. They then ran out,  transitioned to their bike, road a mile, then transitioned and ran ½ mile.

Fun times were had by all. Thanks to Timex for providing hats and PowerBar for providing PowerBites to snack on.

This was my first swim wearing my Orca wetsuit and it fits like a large neoprene glove. I love the fit of Orca triathlon clothing in general. Very comfortable.  I stayed warm, except for my bare hands, feet and head.

For those racing the Pelican Fest Triathlon this weekend I recommend wearing a long sleeve wetsuit, rent one at 3xfast in Loveland or Runners Roost Fort Collins, double up on swim caps, and if you have it , wear a neoprene booties and cap.

Enjoy the rest of spring!