I meant to post this 2 weeks ago, after the race, but with prepping for Kona and taking care of all my other daily responsibilities things got away from me…so better late than never!

For the second time this year I successfully defended my title at a regional half ironman. Last September I was here in Durham, NC completing my final prep for Kona and now that I have officially moved here and racing the Duke ½ and Kona worked so well last year, I though I would do the same this year. Also it is a great way to meet other triathletes and get into and involved with the triathlon community in the area, which by the way is huge!! In the triangle area (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill) there are at least 4 triathlon clubs…and those are just the ones I know about…I’m sure there are others. I was excited to race having been focusing on solid training since IMLP in July and also being able to compare my times to the same course as last year. Setup Events does a lot a races and does a great job, this race was no different.

Enough babble…onto the race!

It was a beautiful warm morning when I arrived in transition, about 70 degrees with no breeze and the sun had not even begun to come up yet. Before I knew it, I was in the water warming up. The 79 degree bath water was not wetsuit legal, but I had planned to wear my Blue Seventy PointZero3 regardless of water temp in prep for Kona. Everything I planned to use in Kona, I used at the Duke ½.

The Swim: 29:57, 5th out of the water
The gun went off and so did the “open wave,” that is those not racing age group. The starting line was a little vague and there was no real group, it was just a long line. I wasn’t sure who the fastest swimmers were, but I took it out pretty hard and found myself in back of a small pack pretty quickly, but then they moved on and I found myself in front of the main back, but behind about 4 other guys who were pretty strung out. I honestly felt great in the water, I kept it smooth strong, yet relaxed. I find that the more I struggle the more the water pushes back. I came out just breaking the 30min mark, which was my goal. Although I was not blazing fast I have never felt that good and relaxed in a race! Thank you North Carolina Aquatic Masters swimming!

Bike: 2:17, 2nd out of T2
I was 2 minutes behind the leader leaving T1 and excited to ride hard, but consistently. I quickly found myself in second position and riding some beautiful scenic roads all alone with just me and my PowerTap , again good practice for the desolate roads of Kona. I focused on holding a steady effort despite the small rollers and some head wind. I held a higher power than last year and completed the course over 2 minutes faster in warmer temperatures and tougher winds! 2:17

Run: 1:24, 1st across the line!
I exited T2 4:30 behind the leader, who I knew at this point was Eric Bean, a great cyclist and solid pro triathlete (later I found he was doing a Kona prep race as well). My T2 was a little longer than usual because it takes a little more time to put on my compression socks , which I was skeptical of at first, but I think there really is a benefit. In all honestly, begin 4:30 back I was a little scared but I put it in gear and “ran like I stole something,” as I like to say. This run course is beautiful, but difficult, it is 90% on gravel roads and grass trails (I hate running on dried pine needles), also it is pretty hilly. To make things even more interested, but also great prep for Kona, it was getting up to 95 degrees on the run, and although there was some shade, it was still getting pretty nasty on the run course. At the halfway point my deficit was down to 1:10 so I confident I could make up the rest, but I knew the race is not over until I crossed the finish line. I moved into first about 2 miles into the second lap and kept up the effort until about mile 10, however, at the second out and back I just cruised to the finish it an effort to not be totally beat up for the next 2 weeks of solid training heading into Kona. So although my run time was pretty slow given the course, weather and race conditions I was satisfied with the result.

All in all a solid race!  I beat my time last year by 1:30 and set a new course record in certainly more difficult conditions.  Things are certainly on track for another great race in Kona.

Full Results

Thanks and train hard! 

For those of you who I’ve not had the pleasure of meeting (which is 80% of the team!), here’s a bit of trivia about me: I’m a Brit, live just south of London in the summer, and in Oz in the winter, am a rookie pro long-course triathlete and my brother is a cage fighter (so don’t mess!). But don’t hold any of these things against me!

I thought I’d finally commit to the Team Timex blog with some good news: I finally got a clean bill of health from the sports docs. :) For the first time since January I am finally 100% free of injury. Long may it last!

I had hit a bit of a setback in early January when a virus wiped me out completely for a fortnight – the result of long-hauling it back from Oz to the UK for Xmas and not breaking from volume training – and then had very little recovery prior to going on Epic Camp NZ and beasting myself for 8 days. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the best part of the next 4 months were a blur of training ups and downs, cramping and muscle pain, fatigue and moodiness! Finally, a pile of normal blood tests later, it was given a name: post viral fatigue – though luckily not as severe as some cases I’ve since seen or read about. To add insult to injury – or perhaps injury to insult – I had also picked up shin splints in March as I continued to try to drill my body through excessive fatigue and general tightness (and a questionable pair of trainers too). Luckily for me the solution to both problems was pretty similar: rest, rest and more rest. So much of March and the whole of April was pretty much a write-off, and even in May, though my appetite for training was starting to return, the running was still on hold.

So, a load of rest, a few tonnes of ice, hours of massage, aquajogging and core, a handful of physio and podiatry sessions later (and did I mention orthotics?), I started to run with trepidation at the start of June – just a few kms a week to start, and gradually building (despite a small setback when i got totalled by a bus in London!). I even went to IMCdA knowing I wasn’t running the marathon – that was tough mentally! (But great to finally meet some of the team and Tristan, as well as ride the beautiful orange Trek in a race scenario). But this week I’m hitting 70kms running – a milestone for me as it is what I generally consider a weekly floor to run volume in ‘normal’ training.

I am finally back in training properly as of next week. Touch wood I’ve not jinxed the recovery process - but you can’t blame a guy for being positive! It is amazing how great such a simple thing as being able to run properly again, and enjoy training fully can make you feel. Its not to be taken for granted! With just over 7 weeks to IMUK, looks like my season will be starting a little later than anticipated, but better late than never.

Happy training! Looking forward to meeting the rest of the team at some point - perhaps in Florida?

Toby

Whenever I have a conversation with a non-cyclist/triathlete about the issues of leg shaving, the main reason I quote for doing so is the ability clean up the road rash after an accident.  I always tell people, “it’s not an issue of IF you crash, but WHEN you crash,” because everyone at some point or another will crash, or worse yet get hit by someone or something.  Well, this past Thursday, after 5 years of competing and training for triathlon the inevitable hit…literally.  I was at 4:50 of a 5 hour ride in 95 degree heat after some hard Ironman pace sets, I was exhausted and glad to be almost home.  I was climbing a hill and going straight thru a green light and before I knew what was happen there was a car turning left across my lane…into me!!  Had I not been so tired I may have been able to avoid the car, but I was only able to let out a yell, and before I knew it I was sprawled out across the pavement in the middle of the intersection.  I immediately sat up and had a few choice words for the driver, so I knew I couldn’t have been that badly hurt. 

I had landed on my right side, helmet and hip taking the brunt of the impact with some road rash on my shoulder, elbow and ankle.  Aside from the terrified driver stopping to make sure I was ok and apologizing profusely, there were 2 or 3 other people who stopped as well, all willing to help out in anyway they could, which was very kind of them.  My personal favorite was an older gentleman who ran up to me saying “That was totally her fault, you had a green light, I’ll be your witness if you want to sue!”  I thanked him, but I thought I was ok.  I asked the small crowd if my pupils were the same size, if I was slurring my speech at all and went through several other symptoms of a concussion and after realizing that I was, for the moment, ok I turned my attention to my baby…I mean bike.

Amazingly it seemed in relatively good shape.  It appeared that she had hit me on my left rear wheel skewer and basically just pushed the rear of my bike to the right and out from under me.  I was going slowly enough over the hill and she was turning slowly enough that there was only some cosmetic damage to my trusty Trek, although I still inspected the carbon fiber frame carefully for cracks. 

After taking a few minutes to collect myself, I stood up, brushed off, collected insurance and contact information, and rode home for my transition run.  That evening and even a few days later I am realizing the full extent of the bruising and general soreness that comes with hitting the pavement.  However, with IMLP very near there is no rest for the weary.  So, please be safe out there and no matter how safely you ride, you cannot control others.  Lastly, at the risk of standing on a soap box, always, always, always wear a helmet it most likely saved my life, thanks Rudy Project!  No excuses now go train!

For more info go to www.alexmmtri.com

2008 Ironman Coeur d’Alene Race Report 

10th Professional - 9:26:30 

I thought I should write a race report before I forget more of the details from this last weekend. Each Ironman that I race, I find another piece or two to “the puzzle” of having a great race. This time was no exception. Improvement is ALWAYS good and this race was just that. It was my first top 10 professional finish, it was a PR on a tough course and it is the first time that I have qualified to race in Kona as an elite.

All week everyone worried about the water temperature being too cold, but when we arrived at the start line on Sunday morning, it was back up to 59*F…perfect temp to me. The swim started off pretty well considering it was a beach start…I don’t do well with those. I missed the front group of guys that broke away, but ended up in the second pack about 4:45 behind. There was a wicked current that seemed to push us all over the place, so everyone came out a bit slow. I exited the water in 9th and hustled through T1 to make it out onto the bike in 7th.

Onto the bike I felt pretty good. I was really looking forward to the ride, as it is similar to what I have been training in. I let a few guys go, who were HAMMERING the first section, and just stayed steady. Having my Power Tap is a HUGE key to doing this. I stuck to my plan and rode along in 9th or 10th spot for most of the ride. I started to bring back time on a few guys up the road, but at about mile 70 I started to get tired. I just tried to take advantage of the downhills, stay aero where I could and keep on top of my nutrition. I wasn’t sure what was going on, but I just stayed positive and in the moment. The last 20mi were back into the wind and this section was pretty tough for me.

I got off the bike in 10th and was soon out on the run with Olly Piggin. We chatted a bit in the first few miles and had similar paces. The effort and pace seemed good, but I didn’t have the rhythm that I wanted. I hoped that I would find my groove and could settle in. I was pulling back time on the guys up the road, but then the wheels started to come off a bit. I knew I was in 9th or 10th, so I just focused on running as strong as I could. I was happy with my ability to not back off mentally when it got tough, this is easy to do. Soon, I was in the last mile (a looooooong downhill that feels awesome on the legs) and before I knew it, I was done.

I want to thank all my family, friends and sponsors who support and believe in me and my future in the sport. Timex, The Trek Store Madison, Blue Seventy, Coffee’s of Hawaii, Twin Six, SaltStick, Berkeley Running Company in Madison and my coach, Kurt Perham, for all his guidance. 

I want to give a huge shout out to the Fortis family for hosting me. You guys are awesome!! I also want to thank Sue Hutter and her family for setting everything up and always making sure that I had everything that I needed. 

One more fun fact: Tom Evans, who won, is 14yrs my senior :) Needless to stay I am just beginning!!! 

Next up is Ironman Wisconsin on Sept 7 and Kona on Oct 11!! 

       “The Becker Buzz”
California 70.3 Race Report
March 29, 2008
 

This last weekend I raced the first important race of the 2008 season at the California 70.3 Half Ironman.  I came into the race with 5 days rest as I started my taper for Ironman Arizona on April 13^th.
Training has been going well and I hadn’t been below 20hrs of training per week since the middle of December.  Needless to say I was anxious to see what I could do.
Race morning brought cool temperatures in the low 50’s, but not as cold as they could have been.   The water was also a chilly 60*, which hurt the face a little bit upon getting in.  I had my new Blue Seventy TST Wetsuit which is much improved over last year and I felt ready to go. 
We only had about 5-8min of warm-up before the gun went off, which I don’t think was enough for me.  I moved to the second row of athletes and keyed off of a few others who I thought were slightly faster swimmers.  Today, they were more than that.  The horn sounded and the effort was not hard, but I couldn’t get the arms to turn over like I needed.  Within 300 meters I was off the back and I thought I was in “no-man’s land”……until the turn buoy when I flipped on my back to check out the situation and saw I was pulling a group of over 20 athletes.  As I rounded the second turn buoy, I had NO idea where I was going and proceeded to turn 90* the wrong direction (sorry guys).  This actually ended up benefiting me.  Lewis Elliot took the lead and proceeded to sit in on his feet, as I had no idea where we were going.  We exited in a little bit over 27 minutes.  But about 2:30 back from the first pack.
Out of the water and onto the bike.  My Trek TTX 9.9 SSL and  Wireless Powertap SL was showing me the wattage that I was hoping for.  I rode steady out to hills, passing 10-15 athletes on the way.  Once through the tough climbs, I was greeted with a stiff headwind back to transition.  Normal Power for the ride was 308 watts.  This is 28 watts higher than I have seen in the past and a huge jump for me.
I took off onto the run with a few other athletes and found the first few miles a bit tough, but at mile 3 things got better.  I was still off of my goal pace, but not by much.  I ran the next 5 miles at about 5:55 per mile, but soon I had a few twinges and had to back off a bit.  I managed to pass a few more athletes to finish with a run of 1:20 and a finish time of 4:15.  It was good enough for 17^th place overall.
This was not a bad way to start the season at all and I have been able to gather a lot of confidence from this race in knowing that I can compete with almost any athlete on that start line. 
After the race I attended my Timex Team Camp is Carlsbad, CA and had a great time catching up with old teammates and meeting a few new ones.  We have a great support team this year which includes great managers and new sponsors including Trek, Powerbar, Bontrager, Powertap(Saris), Rudy Project, Timex and TP Massage Rollers.
I also want to thank my homestay in Cali, Sergio Gurrieri.  Your hospitality was much appreciated.  Now I had about 10 days to Ironman Arizona.  Be sure to check out live coverage at www.ironman.com on April 13^th, starting at 6:45am Pacific.