While I did the 10K with the boys, Nikki raced the ½ Marathon the same day up in Loveland, CO as part of the Heart of the Rockies run series.  The 10K started on a beach so pushing the stroller through sand and getting around people was very difficult.  I soon dodged a few other people to get some open road.  I was feeling good and the boys did great and didn’t make a sound!  I passed more people and got some comments such as, “Yea, make us all look bad…”  I ended up placing 4^th Overall to my surprise and winning my age group in 39:52. For all you dads out there, don’t let those babysitting duties prevent you from doing your favorite run, just take them with you! 

 The cyclocross race on Sunday was really a fun time.  I used my mountain bike since I don’t own a cross bike and signed up in the Cat. 4’s. Racing on a mountain bike in a cross race is a great intro, but certainly is not the fastest bike to do the course in.

Before the start

Crossing a sand pit

The final lap!

I started off in the back, but after the first lap I began to pass people.  Going over the barriers and through sand pits was awesome!  It was great to do something different.  I finished well behind the leaders, but got in a hard workout.  Isn’t that what it’s all about?

 Thanks for reading,

Tim

 The last few weeks of training have been going well.  I’ve been doing some short, high intensity sessions on all three disciplines.  I’ve also logged some high altitude runs and races in Breckenridge, CO which I hope has helped.  My taper has been different than other years since I’m working with a coach, Nick White, from Carmichael Training Systems, but I’m feeling good.  I’m arriving on Wednesday the 8th and am excited to hang out with our team and especially my family!   Best of luck to all who are racing!!

 Tim

 It was cloudy and about mid 40’s at the start, but no rain.  The race was held in Aurora, CO and was a short drive from our house. I got to see many of my friends in the triathlon community here in Denver.  Our wave went off at 7:30AM and I got into a good rhythm right away and was soon leading the group.  I exited the water 1^st in 24:47 and got onto my Trek TTX. At mile 4 of the bike I was soon passed my one other pro, but just stuck with my plan.  It was a modified loop bike course in the farmlands of Eastern Colorado and was very scenic.  However, it was very lonely as I rode all by myself until I was just about to transition.  Local pro Billy Edwards caught up to me and we both entered transition together in 2^nd and 3^rd place respectively.  As we headed out onto the run, which was an out & back course around the reservoir, I fell back about 15 seconds, but then at mile 5 found a little more energy and pulled ahead of him.  The race course was only a few miles from Buckley Air Force Base so during the run I’d occasionally see a few squadrons of F-16’s and F-18’s flying low over us.  I love seeing that as Top Gun is one of my favorite movies!  I kept pushing hard until the end and finished placing 2^nd overall.  I was happy with my race, as it gave me a good indication for my fitness before Hawaii which is under 4 weeks away.  Thanks for reading and be safe!

 Tim

Tragically, she died in a car accident on I-70 in Vail, CO last September when another car flipped over the median and landed onto her car.  She was only 27.  Her dad is a doctor in Vail who I spoke to whenever I saw Becky as they worked in the same office.  It took me a while before I could come in to see him.  I could not imagine the physical and emotional stress that her family had to face over the next few months.
In June of this year, her dad told me that they were going to have a race for her called the Bec Tri in early August, and I knew I had to sign up.  When I told her dad I was going to race, he told me, “Tim, you were one of Becky’s hero’s, she would be honored to have you there.” – I felt my eyes begin to water.

On race morning, I was so impressed with how well the race was organized.  Plenty of sponsors, goodie bags, pictures of Becky, and most importantly, all the people that knew her, athlete or not, were planning to race.  I even racked my bike next to Becky’s mom and brother who were both racing.  The race was a 400m swim, 15k bike and 5k run and it was really fun.  I placed 1^st overall, which meant a lot since triathlon was the passion Becky and I shared.   After the race, I thanked Becky’s dad, mom, and brother for a wonderful experience and told him that I thought about her a lot during the race.  I knew she was looking down on all of us as we celebrated her life as well as ours.   As the tears ran down their faces, her dad told me, “The fact that you won this race I know made Becky happy.  It meant a lot to us that you raced today for her.” 

Its races like these that put things into perspective for me, and make me realize how lucky we are to be able to participate in this wonderful sport.
For more information, please check out www.bectri.com
 

Thanks for reading,
 

Tim

However, this particular trip was like no other.  We chose to take the “less traveled” route and the reason why it’s less traveled is because it’s classified as a Class 3 route meaning scrambling on loose rock.  After camping the night before, Mark and Steph (friends of mine from college) and Kent (a friend of Marks) started at 5:30AM and after 5 hours of climbing, we made it to the Class 3 section at about 13,200 feet. 

Every step was challenging as you just don’t know which rocks are loose and which are not.  The wrong step could mean a very bad day.  We worked as a team and got through each section successfully with a few minor scares.  These first two pictures are of Steph and I traversing up to a snow patch debating how to proceed.  We are pretty small in the pictures if that gives you and idea of the size of the rock face.  This was the toughest part of the day.

We made it to the summit at around 12:30PM and took an easier way down to the car. It was such a great time, but not for anybody scared of heights as these pictures show.  We had a great time and for Kent, who just turned 65, said it was one of the best hikes of his life.  It’s always great to try something new and challenging!

After our 3:45AM departure from the house, we got into Boulder just before 5 AM and got everything set up.  My mom watched our boys for the morning and we felt so grateful that she was there to babysit!  My dad was in the first wave since he was 64 and Nikki and I were in the last waves so I was hoping to catch him before the finish.  The Olympic distance bike course takes us through Boulder County with a small mountain section carved out on the bike.  This was my 7^th go around at this race and I was excited to see what I could deliver after doing a lot of ½ Ironmans this season.  After the gun went off, I had the usual difficulty in sighting for buoys at this race because of the sun.  The weather for this race, or in Boulder for that matter, is typically cloudless in the morning, so navigation is challenging as we stare directly into the sun at the start.  After rounding the buoys toward the finish, I saw I had a small lead.  I then hopped onto my Trek and was on my way. 

On the 42K bike, I was feeling good, but have felt better on this course in the past.  I just kept pushing thinking that before I know it, the race will be over (2 hrs goes fast when your used to racing over 4 hrs).  I hit the hill in Left Hand Canyon and was feeling strong but was looking forward to the flats for the remainder of the course.  The Power Meter was working well and I just kept trying to keep up the watts.  I came into T2 leading my age group and felt very good beginning the out and back 10K run. 

I was hoping to catch my dad as I knew he was ahead of me somewhere, and sure enough at mile 4 I caught him as we exchanged some Elvis quotes – “Thank you, thank you very much.”  Soon after passing dad I saw Nikki who was looking great!  She is always such great motivation for me.  I finished in 2:04, and was 1^st in my age group and 2^nd Overall amateur, a result I was happy with! 

The best part of the day by far was my dad discovering he placed 3^rd in his age group.  He went up on the awards stage just loving it – you could just see it in his face.  I took some pictures and felt very proud of him.  Coming from sea level the day before, and at age 64, it was an impressive feat! Way to go dad!!!!

Thanks for reading –

Tim

Two days before the race, I drove down by myself and camped on Friday night in Clayton, New Mexico, a small and quiet town just west of the Texas border.  After I got up and went for a little 20 min run, I was on my way to Lubbock.  After checking in and seeing some friends at the race meeting, I headed to my hotel and got into bed early.  I was very excited to race and was hoping that good things would happen on race day.

Race morning was cloudy and cool, an unusual trait for Lubbock.  Typically it’s very hot and dry, sometimes reaching up to over 100 degrees.  As I got my bike set up and did a little warm up, I certainly felt ready to go and well rested.  My wave was called and I was off!

Right away, I could feel a good rhythm in my stroke and soon led my wave of 30-34 men.  I was in the 3^rd wave while the pro men and women went off 10 minutes before me.  In a way this is a good thing because I can try to catch up to as many as I can during the race.  I came out of the water finishing the 1.2 mile swim in 22:36.  On the bike, I knew this was where I really had to work hard.  With my PowerTap rigged up (http://www.saris.com/) I was trying really to push up the watts.  I was feeling really good and soon caught up to some pro women and even a few men to my surprise.  The rain started to hit at around mile 30, so I just was extra careful on the down hills and turns as crashes could happen at any moment.  As I came into transition, I saw that my ride time was 2:23, my fastest bike time on this course by over 5 minutes!  Out on the run, my legs felt great and just kept pushing my pace.   I caught a few more pros and finished the run in 1:22.  I was the 1^st amateur and 8^th overall.  Total time was 4:11 and I was very happy!  After the race, I made the 9 hour trip home back to Denver to arrive just in time to have dinner with Nikki.  A long drive, but well worth it!

On a side note, and perhaps one of the more memorable parts of the trip for me was when I was walking to the car after I had finished.  I overheard a guy talking to his wife on his cell phone saying how excited he was that he qualified for the Hawaii Ironman in Kona (this race was one of the very few ½ Ironmans that you can qualify for the Hawaii Ironman).  He kept saying how great the race was, how good he felt, and how happy he was to finally able to be going to Kona –you could just hear it in his voice.    It reminded me of that first time I qualified in 1999 and what a special moment it really is.

 A  big thanks to my coach, Nick White from Carmichael Training Systems (www.trainright.com).  He has helped my biking in many ways over the past few months!  Also, thanks to Trek (http://www.trekbikes.com/) and Bontrager wheels (http://www.bontrager.com/) for hooking me up with a great set up for my ride, as well as Bicycle Village (http://www.bicyclevillage.com/) for a stellar bike fit!

Thanks for reading –

Tim

I rigged up the full Timex Bodylink (HR and GPS unit) as I was curious to see what the profile would look like when I got home.  Here I included a screen shot of the elevation and my heart rate.  Once again, the Timex Bodylink did a superb job of giving me information about my race which I can use to help my future training.

I started the race feeling very good and kept a steady rhythm.  A few people passed me and I passed a few as well.  At mile 9 my good friend Andrew Adamowski and I were running together and chatted a little bit.  By mile 11, he had pulled away and I was once again running alone.  At 2 miles to go, or around 13,500 ft., I was starting to get a little dizzy from the lack of oxygen, but I could see the finish only a few switchbacks away.  I ended up placing 8^th overall in 1:59.12.  It was a great run and very challenging!  Check out some pictures below including some mountain goats who greeted all the finishers!

Thanks for reading,

Tim