Buffalo Springs Lake 70.3 closed out a solid 4 weekends of back-to-back races in Steamboat Springs, Kansas, Boulder, and Texas (3 of the 4 were with the family), and I loved every minute of it! Because of the repeated high level of stress on my legs, I decided to scale my runs way back during the weekdays.  I only did 6 training runs in the entire month of June, and saved my legs for competition.  It paid off and resulted in 2 new ½ marathon PR’s in a ½ Ironman.  Recovery is key! 

 Friday night I dove to Lubbock by myself and camped in a little town in route called Clayton, NM.  After a brief 20 minute run in the morning, I got into Lubbock in the afternoon, checked in, met with the Trakkers team and got some sleep.

Race morning came and I felt great.  I was expecting the sun and 102 degree temps that I saw on Saturday, but instead woke to clouds and wind.  I got to the race at 4:30, and lined up in my wave for the 6:45AM start.  This year I was wearing my Trakkers GPS device (www.trakkersgps.com). I was testing the device for Trakkers which allows you to be seen via their website on a Google map updated every few seconds.  It’s waterproof so I wore it for the entire race.  The swim went well and I exited in 25:45, just behind fellow Coloradoan Eric Petersen.  I jumped on my TTX and was on my way.  The precipitation didn’t really start coming down until mile 45 and soon developed into a steady rain. The wind did not let up either as it was a 20 MPH on much of the course.  I soon saw the orange glow of my fellow Timex teammates at the turnaround, Adam Wilk and Gabriella Loskotova!

As I rode back into the park, there were many downhills.  I tried my best to have the combination of cork brake pads, carbon rims and rain not allow me to lose control of my bike and successfully made it back in 2:22.  Out on the run, it was still raining, but I did my best and ran 1:21 on the hilly course securing my spot for 1^st Amateur and 7^th overall at 4:12.49.  I found out later that Cameron Brown finished just behind me in 8^th by 3 seconds!

 After a quick warm down in the lake, I packed up the car and drove 8 hours to make it in time for dinner and bedtime with Nikki and the boys.  No 72oz. steak dinners in Amarillo this year, but it sure was tempting!

 Tim

Up here in Boulder, CO was the 5th Annual 5430 Sprint Triathlon(www.5430sports.com) - a race directed by our very own Timex Team member, Barry Siff.  Boy, he sure does put on a great event!  With over 1100 finishers and many of them doing their first triathlon ever, the race was more than accommodating.  Complete with several hot air balloons, plenty of recycling bins and being very family friendly, the race did not disappoint.  Brian Schaning and myself were the other Timex Team athletes who raced the 1/2 mile swim, 17.2 mile bike and 5k run in and around the Boulder Reservoir.  For me it was a day where I put the speed work to the test and it paid off pretty good considering I raced a 70.3 last weekend.  I finished 7th overall and 1st in my age group winning a Timex watch ironically enough.  Basically, I pushed very hard the entire 1 hour, 11 minutes and 57 seconds of racing and it felt good.  Brian had a great finish winning his age group in 1:11.36 and scoring 5th overall!  Well Done Brian!  Next up is Ironman Buffalo Springs Lake 70.3 on June 28 then a little break in racing.

Getting an award with my son Connor

Have fun and be safe–

Tim

Our trip to Ironman Kansas 70.3 last weekend was definitely a memorable one.  We brought the boys again and lucky for Nikki and I we were both able to race, something that rarely happens anymore, so we enjoyed every minute of it.  We left Friday night and stayed in Salinas, KS.  Saturday morning we went on a 20 min run on a rural road through some wheat fields that probably saw more tractors than actual cars.  We arrived in Lawrence, checked in our bikes, and headed to Kansas City to stay with our friends.  

The 3:15AM wake up call came sooner than later.  We got to the race on time and we both were ready to go.  When I began the swim, I was in the 2^nd to last wave.  With a race of over 2000, I did my best to navigate through the swimmers.   I made it through in 25:20, which is within 20-30 seconds of my usual 1.2 swim time.  Going through T1 was also a little tricky as well, but right away started my 56 mile bike.  Fully equipped with my Bontrager Speed Bottle and Aero Race Pack (http://www.bontrager.com/products/accessories/water_bottles_and_cages), I was appropriately hydrated the entire time.  The race pack has a nice pouch for gels that were easy to access.  I was really pushing hard on the bike as I was feeling good.  I liked this course better than last year and simply riding through the wheat fields was fantastic! I got to see Nikki for the first time at the mile 25 turnaround where she gave me a small “fist pump” letting me know that she was having a great time on her new Trek!   Speaking of, I saw Trek after Trek out on the course and several of them were the TTX 9.9 SSL, their top end model.  Welcome to the Midwest, right?  After a little rain at mile 30 or so, I made it back to T2 with a new PR bike split for 56 miles at 2:18.

Right around mile 4

The run was 2 loops around the campground and was very spectator friendly.  I felt great off the bike which has been a consistent feeling over the last 2 half- Ironman races.  I really believe the secret to a good run in a triathlon is to get set up properly on your bike.  It’ll make you more comfortable riding, hence being stronger and having more power for the run.  The 1^st 2 miles were great and after mile 7 I saw Nikki heading out onto her 1^st loop of the run, smiling from ear to ear.   The last 5k was very tough because for a moment there I thought I could finish very close to 4 hours even.  I managed to finish with a new PR run of 1:19:29 placing as the 3^rd amateur overall and 1^st in M35-39.  Overall time was 4:05.53 also a new ½ Ironman PR.   After the race I congratulated former pro, former Timex teammate, and current father of one, Curt Chesney on his well achieved 1^st place amateur placing.  It was too bad the top 3 amateurs were all in different age groups as we were only 85 seconds apart!

A happy finisher!

Way to go Nikki!

As Nikki finished, I was so happy for her as she said she enjoyed her race so much and felt great.  Her right knee has been giving her some trouble recently, but luckily the pain subsided for the day.  After a great dinner with our friends back in Kansas City on Sunday night, the family and I headed out for the 8 hour drive home on Monday.

We had a fun time.

 A huge shout out to fellow Timex team members Andrew Hodges, Trista Francis, Gabriella Loskotova, and James Cotter whom also raced in Kansas!  One of the great things about being on the Timex team is consistently seeing our quality athletes at many races across the country and world!

 Tim

 By the way, here is a great 2000 yd. (or meter) swim workout that I made up and used the week before this race:

4 x 200  (150 fast/50 steady) :15 rest

4 x 150  (100 fast/50 steady)  :10 rest

4 x 100  (50 fast/50 steady)    :10 rest

4 x 50    (25 fast/25 steady)    :5 rest

This week my legs are sore!  After racing this past Sunday at the Steamboat Springs ½ Marathon, it is time for a little recovery.  However, I really wanted to do the Rev3tri ½ Ironman instead, but the realities of family, work and other life obstacles made it a better choice to stay local.  It all worked out for the best as I brought the family with and we stayed through Monday.  

I really tried to rest up for this race since I am racing every weekend in June and wanted to do well.  I am basically using my races as speed work and intensity and my weekdays are for recovery.  I used this strategy last year and it seemed to pay off.  After a small 20 min run and swim on Sat morning, we headed up to Steamboat, checked in, and played in the hotel pool before bed. 

The morning of the race I was feeling great.  This year there were about 1100 starters for the sold out ½ marathon, and I know it sounds crazy but I really wanted to win it.  After bussing up the canyon to an elevation of 7200 feet, the gun went off and we were on our way for the point-to-point 13.1 mile run back to town.  Right away I took the lead and my first mile was 5:42 and I was feeling great, I just kept pushing and got a few time checks from the lead mountain biker following me.  My Sugoi Timex running singlet (www.sugoi.com) worked awesome as well as my Saucony Fastwitch 3 racing flats (www.saucony.com).  At mile 4 I was ahead by 1:10 on 2^nd place and after mile 9 I was ahead by 1:30, then took my one and only Power Gel (www.powerbar.com).  Unfortunately, that was when an unusual pain in my left thigh began.   I tried to ignore it and kept pushing on.  At 2 miles to go, my lead was shrinking, but I still was keeping good speed.  I hit the tape in 1:18.29 in 1^st Overall, while second place was about 40 seconds behind!  Soon after finishing I sat in the ICE COLD Yampa River for a good 20 min soak which 48 hours before was all snow.   It was a great trip and would love to come back next year!  Next up is Ironman Kansas 70.3 where my wife and I will both be racing!

The finish!

Also, a huge congrats to my fellow Timex temmates who have posting very impressive results in the last few months.  It’s an honor to be part of such a well rounded and fast group of athletes year after year!

Thanks for reading,

Tim