Bike Frame For Sale

Howdy fellow bloggers, Googlers, and interweb aficionados! I'm selling my trusty old steed, my 2009 Felt B2 Pro Frameset that has seen me through 5 Ironmans total and a couple great days in Kona! Please see the text below for more details and please let me know if you or anyone you know might be interested! Thanks- JC

For Sale:
USED 2009 Felt B2 Pro 54 cm carbon fiber frameset. Only frame, integrated fork, seat post, and three stems (lengths) included. This bike has never been crashed, but has seen some high mileage and racing. I started riding this bike NEW (original and only owner) in December 2009 and stopped riding in September of 2012 when I got a new frameset. I’d estimate that about 25% of total time in use was on an indoor bike trainer. There are no cracks or dents in this frame, but there are some scuffs and blemishes resulting from normal wear and tear, transport in bike cases and on bike racks, leaning up against walls, etc. Of note, some scuffs/blemishes/clear coat delamination are: leading edge of right fork leg, trailing edge of down tube, trailing edge of right seat stay, chain-knicks on right chainstay, and knicks in paint around rear dropouts. This bike is still in good shape and the frame is strong and extremely aero. I am 5’10” and this bike has fit me comfortably in a number of fit variations. Again, this is for a used 54 cm carbon fiber frame with integrated fork, seat post, and three stems (lengths) ONLY. Brakes not included in asking price, but if interested let me know and we can negotiate. Thanks for looking and please contact me if you are interested!

Link to Pittsburgh Craigslist posting.

Kona 2011 race report

 

Last Saturday, October 8th 2011, I competed in and finished my third Ironman World Championships in as many years. This race has become the goal and focus of each year of my triathlon life, and I was feeling really good heading into this one and really gunning to keep shaving off time in my IM finish times. My first year out in 2009 I finished in a 10:28:19 and then followed that up with 55 minute improvement in 2010. Could I shave another 55 minutes off my time this year? HAHAHA, I would guess most likely not, but I knew that my improvement had continued from last year and despite some disappointing races earlier this year, I had learned some valuable lessons and had worked harder than ever. I was ready.

Race morning started at about 4am at the condo and Jocelyn and I were up and starting to bring in the nutrition (read: CARBS!). Over the course of the next couple hours, I drank 3 bottles of Ensure, ate a large banana, guzzled some organic apple sauce straight out of the jar (sorry honey!), and had one package of uncaffeinated GU Chomps and one uncaffeinated GU. This was all supplemented by some Gatorade, but who knows how much and I was feeling pretty fueled up and hydrated. Jocelyn and I had planned on catching the shuttle down Ali'i Drive but after being passed up once, we decided to thumb it and were thankfully picked up by a family in a Jeep from the same condo complex who were in from Arizona and Alaska to cheer on their family member Greg. After getting down to the King Kam and the pier, getting body marked and wandering around for a while in the wrong direction and wrong order of activities, I finally got my special needs dropped off and then we got into transition to set everything up.

Jocelyn and I left transition and I headed over towards Ali'i' and the seawall to try to meet up with my family, Ty and Ryan, and Chad, Beth, Chris, Eric, and Joe if possible. After successfully seeing almost everyone over at the seawall and the flurry of good luck wishes, it was time to head back over to transition again. It was getting close now!

A little bit before the pros went off at 6:30, Chad, Beth, and I walked over and back into transition to get ready to head into the water once the gates were opened up for the age groupers. I had not seen Jocelyn since we parted ways for a bathroom stop and then the meetup over by the seawall, and I was looking at every pink cap that was wearing a pz3tx swim skin to try to track her down before the swim start to wish her luck and score the pre-race kiss, but alas, I did not locate her. Thankfully she tracked down Joe and Kim before the start and went into the water with them. I got out towards the front with maybe 15 minutes to go to the start but a little bit left of where I was last year, within 10 or so yards of the edge of the pier. I was hoping to avoid being pummelled like I was for a little bit last year and especially like I was at Lake Placid this year.

After a little bit of treading, visualization, and a lot of fighting for position, the canon blasted at 7am and we were off!

The first 1000 meters were insane, and much more of a cluster-F than I remember from years past. I was literally out of the water at times, buoyed up by human bodies to my left, right, and underneath me, when you would have the inevitable people shift directions or drift into you, and you would get "pinched". Twice I got my favorite move, where a guy will put his hand on your shoulder and push off and in the process, push you back. Real cool man, for almost everyone out here it's going to be a race of 9+ hours, but I know you're in a terrible hurry. I just tried to stay as calm as possible and not let my heart rate (HR) skyrocket, burning up valuable fuel and setting off a negative cascade of stress hormones into my blood stream. For the most part I think I was successful and things spread out a little bit into the second kilometer of the swim and to the first turn at the boat. It got a little hectic again at the far turns, but nothing like the start. I tried my best to swim a straight line and keep on someone's feet and was largely successful with this for the last 3/4 of the swim. I was also trying to keep my turnover up and really focus on fast, powerful strokes, and not gliding too much, but I felt a little ineffective in the water and my bottom half was also completely disjointed from my top half with my hips and kick feeling very uncoordinated. As I approached the pier again, I expected a time north of an hour, but was pleasantly surprised to see the clock approaching 59 minutes as I ran up the steps and onto the pier. Based on how I felt in the water, and the more sizable ocean swell than what we had last year, I feel like I can almost 100% attribute my swim split to good drafting. This is probably a little dramatic, but I did not feel nearly half as good as I had in the water in the two weeks leading up to the race. In the end, my swim was a :59:12, 45 seconds faster than last year and a 1:31/100m (1:24 yards) average pace.

T1= 2:54, not too bad, although probably should have been 30-60 seconds faster. My helmet sucks and I should probably attach more of my nutrition to my bike, and stuff less into my singlet pockets!

Off and onto the bike, and heading up the first little part of Palani towards the "Hot Corner", looking strangely rigid and out of sorts. Who knows.

Starting the bike, I was certain to get into my shoes quickly and also make sure that I didn't loose any valuable nutrition when heading north onto the rough part of Kuakini like I did in '09. I tried to take it easy through town and not get too excited; you would pay for it later in the day if your HR remained jacked for too long at the start of the bike. Chad caught me on the out and back section of Kuakini and while I thought for a moment about going with him and working together, he was clearly on a mission and knew I had to ride my own race. I planned on seeing him again. Up and out of town and onto the Queen K, I tried to settled into a somewhat hard, but relaxed rhythm. My plan was to ride the first 40k or so pretty steady to try to get some separation on some of my competitors and also get out of town quickly, before the trade winds picked up along the coast. Then the plan was to take it "easy" for the middle 90k up to and back down from Hawi, and then really build into it and ride hard the last 40-50k back into town to finish strong. The last two years I have faded badly on this last stretch when facing the headwinds, and I was determined to ride this section better as my training has been more intense and strength oriented this year, but I also wanted to make the right decisions on the race course (i.e. pacing and fueling) to make this easier to accomplish. The first 45k I rode at an average power (AP) of 222 watts, normalized power (NP) of 236 watts, with an average HR of 153 bpm, cadence of 95 rpm, and an average speed of 23.7 mph. I was moving along pretty good, but it felt very controlled and sustainable. Between the airport and the Mauna Lani Resort area, there were TONS of guys coming through, riding what I would expect to be WAY too hard, and a couple times it almost looked like packs were starting to form or the rotating pass lines were getting too complex and risky, so I took the opportunity every so often to sit up, ride clean, get in some more calories, and not burn myself digging too deep to pass a line of 10 guys. For the first two hours or so I was getting in about 3 bottle of Infinit per hour plus GUs, salt tablets, and water, so I definitely felt like I was banking some good calories and hydrating myself well. I didn't dramatically slow once I made the turn in Kawaihae, but just kept things comfortable and kept rolling along. The winds got pretty bad in the final 5-10 miles prior to the turnaround in Hawi, but I don't know, they just didn't feel as bad to me this year, maybe due to increased strength/fitness, but possibly also due to experience and better race management decisions. 2nd quarter, 218 AP/231 NP/148 HR/89 RPM/21.7 MPH. I went through the turnaround in Hawi and had to stop at special needs as they did not have my bag ready for me with the hand off, but I took the opportunity to inhale a Powerbar and take a couple deep breaths to marshal my strength for the ride back into town.

Heading back down the hill from Hawi is always a ripping good time, and I was definitely enjoying myself and didn't feel like a bonk or heat stroke was imminent, like it had been in years past. I keep trying to really force the fluids as best that I could, but it was in this section that my stomach started feeling a little unsettled so I backed off a little with the Infinit, as I had been doing a very god job up until this point. For a couple miles, I just did water, caffeinated GUs, and salt, and this seemed to heal my stomach somewhat and pep me up even more. 3rd quarter (net downhill), 204 AP/220 NP/149 HR/88 RPM/22.3 MPH. Making the turn from Kawaihae back onto the Queen K, now it was time to work! This is where I had faded terribly in past years and where the notorious winds would always beat me into submission! Not this year my friends! While it was still tough and my avg speed was still the lowest that it had been for any other section, it was not nearly as bad as years past (sub 20 mph), but even better than this, when usually this was the section where I was getting passed by an endless stream of my competitors, this year I was doing the passing! And maybe even better than that, although surely a function of my relative race position, was that my attitude was also much more positive. I wasn't muttering expletives and incoherency's under my breath, and I was feeling strong! Final quarter, 214 AP/221 NP/151 HR/89 RPM/21.0 MPH. Over the course of the 5+ hours I took in about 2300 calories and probably drank about 180 ounces of fluids.

Final bike time = 5:04:25, a 8:36 min improvement from last year in very comparable conditions, and an IM bike PR. Total bike stats = 214 AP (3.19 watts per kilo)/227 NP (3.39 watts per kilo/150 HR/90 RPM/22.1 MPH. I felt very good on the bike today - I felt in control and was able to push to the level I felt appropriate for my fitness - really this was the first time this happened for me racing all year. Let's get ready to run.

T2= 3:01, again, a little slow but I've had worse. For some reason I was having a little trouble with my lace locks, maybe it was my brain's last ditch attempt to keep me in the chair a little longer and out of the heat!

Starting out on the run, my plan was similar to last year - start the run at a pace that almost seems  ridiculously easy, keep the HR below 150, and let the body settle down a little bit and adapt to the heat and humidity along Ali'i' Drive. Your cardiovascular system is so warmed up right now and this is also where your running economy can really carry you for a little while if you have built it well, so you can get by for a little bit by running "easy" - if you took off running by HR or at some speeds you hit back home in cooler, less humid climates, you could easily cook yourself in Kona. This worked out well, as my stomach was a little upset anyway from pounding the calories and sugar on the bike, so I was just taking in some Perform and water at the early aid stations, but not every one as I apparently was having some issues with gastric emptying. What served to keep my energy levels up on the bike, was now kind of creating problems for me in the early stages of the run. Quite the double edged sword. One thing however that I was surely getting at every aid station was cold water, ice, and wet sponges. Core temperature regulation is essential at this stage of the race, and even if these practices only have minimal effect, at least you can fool your brain into thinking that you are cool for a quarter mile at a time! I ran the opening 5 miles in only about 7:25 pace, but kept my avg HR at 149. My stomach was starting to settle down a little bit by this point and I started in with the gels, perform and coke. I was starting to feel more comfortable now and I ran the next 5 miles or 6:50 pace with an avg HR of 152 as I came back through town, saw Ty out on Ali'i Drive cheering on the Ballou Skies squad, and got ready to tackle the kicker that is Palani Drive and head out onto the never ending stretch of highway on the Queen K.

Heading up onto the Queen K, this became the roughest patch of the run for me, as the 35 minutes of minimal to non-existent fueling started to catch up with me. This is also where the previous gut discomfort evolved into intestinal discomfort. As I was running along, the building pressure was becoming too much to ignore. After stopping briefly at one porta-pottie and discovering accidentally that it was in use (whoops, but door was not locked and red!), I made the decision to head into the bushes (tall grass) on the side of the road before things got ugly. As fearful as I was that this would continue for the rest of the run if I continued to take in the gels, perform, and coke, I knew I needed these calories to make it through the final half marathon. The quick pit-stop wasn't too time consuming and was probably my fastest "transition" of the day. This bought me some temporary relief as I pushed along and headed down into the Energy Lab for the turnaround. I was only feeling so-so at this point and the fatigue (or hypoglycemia) was really starting to build, but historically whenever I make the turn in the Energy Lab, a switch flips in my head and I always get an immediate boost in energy as I know that I am heading into the home stretch. The last 7 miles out to the far turn was my slowest stretch of the marathon, with the two slowdowns/stops I ran 8:01 pace with a HR of 150. Coming back out, I was slightly energized and the stretch on the Queen K usually goes a little faster, maybe because you know the landmarks better by now and also partly because you are that much more delusional as you dig deeper into the pain cave? I required one more stop in the bushes around the 21 mile mark, but once again I was pretty quick and I was really starting to pick up the pace now as I knew I was pushing towards an IM PR and my third finish in Kona. I ran the final 9 mile stretch back into town and the finish in my fastest segment of all even with the stop, at 6:48 pace with an avg HR of 149. The final mile to half mile I ramped it up as much as I could and got the speed up to about HIM pace, but my worked heart/brain/CNS could only manage 161 bpm at this point! The marathon would end up taking me 3:10:07 for an IM marathon PR, at 7:15 pace and an avg HR of 150bpm. All in all I would say an ok run - I never really felt like I had that extra gear or the turnover like I did at IMHI'10 or IMLP'11, but I guess you really can't argue with a PR.

 

Running down Hualalai again to Ali'i' Drive, I began to reflect again on another long year of hard work and hard racing, and how fortunate I was to be healthy enough to compete at this level and also to be part of such a wonderful triathlon team and community of triathletes in Pittsburgh. I thought of how great and meaningful it was that Ty and Ryan were in Kona to watch the 6 members of our Ballou Skies Tri Team crush it, and to see what it is that drives us so much as we strive to better ourselves and the charity through our efforts. Coming across the line in 9:19:39 was a dream come true and a new Ironman PR - what better place to get it than in Kona!

Many thanks to go out to my wonderful wife of two years, Jocelyn, who keeps me working hard throughout the whole year and shows me such unwavering love, my parents for once again joining us in Kona with their wonderful presence and support, Ty and Ryan and the Ballou Skies Charity and Tri Team, and all others who support what I (we) do on the path to excellence. I will be sure to Ko Aloha La Ea (Keep your Love, 2011 race motto) for next season and keep this year's race in my heart always. Thanks for reading and everyone have a great offseason!

2010 Kona Race Report

Last Saturday, October 9th, I raced in my second Ironman World Championships, and while it and the preceding week retained every bit of emotion, fulfillment, and mystique that last year's race held, this one was every bit its own race and an evolution of last year's experience. The addition of my wonderful wife Jocelyn, racing by my side in Hawaii almost one year to the day that we were married in Hawaii, plus close friends and training partners Chad, Matt, and Beth, this experience was more complex, but for that reason additionally rewarding. While Ironman generally is a very individual pursuit, and this race would be no different when "down in the trenches", racing at The Big Show with those that are so close to me and so loved and respected, made this event very dynamic, communal, and just plain incredible.

Saturday morning started out early as detailed in my update post, getting down onto the beach by 6:35 or so due to the earlier pro start (6:30) than last year's cattle call at 6:55. I got into the water much earlier this year as a result, so had some time to swim back and forth to warmup, and also to visualize the day and soak up the atmosphere that was crescendoing with the drumbeat. I found myself a little closer to the front this year, and more to the right than last year. The cannon went off @7am and we were off! The first 500-600 meters I estimate were pretty hectic as usual, but only had one or two really close encounters with others. I went out pretty hard and was swimming a straight line for once(!), so I didn't seem to be playing bumper cars as much as I usually do. The swim is always tough to analyze and be objective about because you have no visual cues, reference points, or any type of feedback or metrics at all, so ultimately the objectivity is limited to swim time and the rest is all feeling and whether you found the rhythm or not. I didn't feel as though I had while I was swimming, and felt like I was very average in the middle third, but when I excited the water I was pleasantly surprised to see a sub hour in 59:57 as I raced up the astro-turfed steps to beat that landmark. The new BlueSeventy PZ3TX must be as fast as everyone says it is!
After navigating the zoo of transition, I was out and on the road after a reasonable 3:16.

The first 8 miles of the bike course loops you through town a couple times, going up and down both Kuakini Hwy and Palani Rd before you are deposited out on the Queen K where things really get underway. The first 25 miles of the bike course felt super fast and easy, and I didn't feel any of the elements of Kona...yet. At around the 25 mile mark, I remember first noticing the wind and the heat, although relative to what was to come, this was pretty insignificant. I kept cruising along, trying to keep the avg speed above 23 mph if possible, but most importantly keeping the HR steady and around 150 or above while taking in as much nutrition as I could stomach. I had had some questionably fueled rides in the last couple of months where I kinda fell asleep with my nutrition, so I wanted to avoid that today for sure. At around mile 40 I made the turn at Kawaihae and started to get a little bit more variety in the terrain and scenery. I started the long gradual climb up to Hawi and just tried to keep the pressure on, and the cadence high. The crosswinds really started in earnest maybe somewhere between miles 45 and 50, and the cycling at an angle (leaning into the wind!) began. It was up and over the top of the hill in Hawi and then grabbed the special needs bag for the extra Infinit bottles. They actually had my bag ready for me so I grabbed it on the fly and emptied the contents with it hanging from my teeth for the first time, so I was proud that I still had the coordination to pull this off! Then it was time to bomb back down the hill to Kawaihae and accept some of that free speed, while always keeping alert because now the crosswinds had a little but more speed to play with and your surprise gusts would take you just that much further across the road. I was continuing to take in the nutrition, but around this time my stomach started to get a little gassy and upset and I think this was the beginning of some trouble. As the Infinit and GUs were not sitting that well, I instinctively backed off a little bit on frequency of ingestion, but of course this would bring other problems. Somewhere around mile 90-95 (Waikoloa to Puako) I started noticing declining power and focus, and watching my HR and speed start to drop off. I started drinking Coke at all of the aid stations and trying to take in more salt in an attempt to settle my stomach and simultaneously get in the necessary calories. Once I got up over the hill by the airport and began seeing signs of civilization again, my mood rebounded and I started mentally preparing for the run. I came into town, got out of my shoes and sat up about a mile out in one final attempt to let the stomach settle and to prepare for the marathon. I came in for the bike leg at 5:13:01 for a 21.47 mph average, with a 147 average HR that had declined steadily throughout the bike. Would I have anything for the run I wondered?

I was in and out of transition pretty quick, although my time of 3:55 was inflated by a stop in the porta potty before heading out to Ali'i Dr.
I started out the run thankfully feeling pretty great and fresh, despite a still partially upset stomach and presumed calorie deficit. Aside from a good deal of burping and farting in the first three miles, I felt amazingly comfortable and energized, but I wasn't going to make the mistake that I did last year by running opening 6:30 miles. I was going to ease into this a little, and hold back until I knew my systems had stabilized a little bit. I was running along at about 7 minute pace or a touch under, and my HR was only about 150, so I was confident that I could keep this up for the length of the marathon, anf hopefully build on it as well. Seeing my parents out on Ali'i, as well as Jen, Kristen, Carrie, Chad, Matt, and Beth gave me a nice boost and a welcome distraction from the enormity of the task at hand. The out and back on Ali'i came and went, and I was feeling great and starting to pick it up starting to run 6:45s to 6:50s pretty consistently.
Looping back through town and up Palani Dr, I was reminded of how my family surprised me with a quick spectating shift last year and busted me walking up Palani hill, and also how my friend Joe told me that I better HTFU and not walk it this year, so I laughed and just shuffled up, keeping my HR under 160 bpm. Then it was up onto the Queen K again, but it was much more mentally challenging this time around, with an additional 114 miles in the legs. Now this stretch of the Queen K just DRAGS on. When Jocelyn was asking me for pointers on how to break down the course, I told her this segment was only about 4 miles, but it turns out that its nearly 6, and so isolated. The throngs of cheering fans and supporters from Ali'i, Kuakini, and Palani are gone, and its just you, your competitors, your thoughts, and the HEAT. I was still running strong along this stretch and doing pretty well, but suddenly after an unexpected burp and subsequent acid reflux taste around mile 16, my stomach turned and I had to stop, double over, and projectile vomit 5 consecutive times. I felt like such a chump, doing this right after I passed Ironman legend Ken Glah. Who knows though, maybe he was impressed to see me Puke n Rally, standing back up and resuming running right away. But probably not! So I quickly resumed my pace and got down to business doing the out and back in the Energy Lab section of the course, easily the hottest place I have ever been on Earth. I took three aid stations off from any drinking or eating, and once back up on the Queen K, took two full cups of Coke and even some pretzels washed down with more Coke. This seemed to do the trick, and not a minute too soon as I was starting to get a little dizzy. The rest of the way down the Queen K the mental strategy was to remind myself that every step brought me closer to the finish, and that the quicker I could go would give me an even greater PR once I did the math. Turning right onto Palani I felt an instant surge of power, and remembered the ecstatic final mile from last year and my energy was easily doubled. Three turns later, I was coming onto Ali'i Dr for the finishing stretch of another dream come true on this storied road. I kicked it up a notch in the finishing stretch, but not quite as fast as last year as I wanted to take in the moment and drink it in a bit more, as last year I remember being a little too cooked and not as present in the moment. Coming across the line, I put my hands up in the Helping Hearts sign, showing my love for Ballou Skies and the team, and then pumped my arms and fists for the gift of such a wonderful day. I ran the marathon in 3:13:05 to finish the race in a PR of 9:33:14.

As the night wore on, I regrouped with Jocelyn, Chad, Matt, and family, and recounted the great days everyone had and the powerful experiences that were now etched into our legs, arms, hearts, memories and consciousness. Jocelyn overcame a terrible set of circumstances after being hit by a truck on the preceding Wednesday that ruined her bike and ballooned her knee and elbow. Chad realized his dream to return to the Big Island after tireless work and commitment to his goal and passion for the sport. Matt raced here in Kona for the first time as bad luck had conspired against him on too many occasions, finally fulfilling his dream. Beth did her first Ironman after not quite being sure that she wanted to, but ended up loving it, I think it is safe to say, as we all do. Ironman starts out as this external accomplishment, but becomes a part of who you are, I think in large part due to the goals you set, dreams you pursue, and the people you meet along the way. It is not the destination, it is the journey. Although Kona is certainly a worthy destination! Many thanks go out to Jocelyn, my family, friends, Ryan and Ty, our great team, great charity, coworkers, and to all who cheered, supported, tracked, or showed interest or gave energy in any way - you are the best, and I am incredibly grateful.

Mahalo nui loa!

New Orleans 70.3 Race Report

Two weeks ago on April 18th, I raced in my kickoff tri of the year, the Ochsner Ironman New Orleans 70.3. Training had been going very well before the event and I was very eager to test out my early season fitness. Race morning started early at about 4:15am and I started getting ready and ingesting some calories for the long day to come. After a short walk down towards the river and the host hotel Hilton, I hopped on the first shuttle bus of the morning up to transition at the UNO Research and Technology Park on the shores of Lake Pontchartrain. After quickly getting body marked, grabbing my chip, and setting up transition with the remains of my morning gear, it was down to the lakeshore to await my start. They made everyone vacate transition at a ridiculously early time of 6:45 when the pros didn't even start until 7am, and I wasn't until the 16th wave that left at 8. I had plenty of time to sit on the beach and continue to visualize my race, continue hydrating, and to watch the winds increase as well as the chop on the lake. I watched both pro waves start and finish before I even got my chance to go, but the race appeared to be setting up to be very competitive among the pros with some big names coming into transition clustered together. At 8 I finally got to start, and got off in front, making good use of my old beach patrol surf bash skills and dolphin diving to make my way out through the long stretch of shallow water. Shortly after starting swimming though, I encountered the first of many waves and swells to hit me that morning. The swim was surprisingly rough, and I definitely found myself struggling to find a rhythm in the first half. My course wasn't bad in the first half, but sighting was certainly more difficult than usual and my breathing pattern was often interrupted by the incoming swells from the north/northeast. I made the turn and immediately started having some new problems because now I was sighting into the sun. I just put my head down and worked in towards the beach while trying to not to get any more flustered than necessary. I hit the beach in a disappointing 31:01 but charged up and over the hill into transition.
After a fairly quick transition in 2:10, I was out on the bike leg. This was my first race on the new ride, the Felt B2 Pro, and I let it rip immediately. She wouldn't disappoint. The first couple miles of the bike were routed through a residential neighborhood with some rough roads, and hundreds of of other athletes from the earlier heats. These early miles fighting through some slower riders who were taking up most of the road, and my frustration from the swim set the tone for the rest the bike. I was hammering along at the top of my heart rate zone, legs whirling at a high cadence, and blowing by people as I was on a mission. The majority of the first half of the bike was into the 10-15 mph headwind, but I was still averaging 23 mph. I hit the first turnaround of the three out and back legs on the bike, and suddenly I had the tailwind and I was effortlessly pushing 26 mph+. Things were going very smoothly and I had calmed down from the tough swim, when I passed a fellow 30-34 division competitor who apparently decided to jump on my wheel for a free ride. Every time I went to pass someone in front of me and I glanced over my shoulder to check the traffic behind before pulling left, I caught a glimpse of this blatant cheater out of the corner of my eye. No joke he sat within one bike length of my rear wheel for the next 8-10 miles. Despite my yelling at him to get off my wheel, trying to get the attention of draft marshals going the opposite direction, and varying my pace, he wouldn't go anywhere. Finally after making another turn to head back out with the wind at my back, I got out of the saddle and put in a large surge and finally ditched him. The rest of the bike was pretty uneventful and I rolled back into T2 feeling strong and with a bike split of 2:17:29 for an average speed of 24.4 mph.
I transitioned in 1:50 and was off and running. I felt incredibly good for the first couple miles and was clipping along at sub 6 minute pace for the first three miles. After that my pace would stabilize around 6:30 miles as I would begin the battle with my gut, cramps, and the heat in the midday sun. As I entered the City Park around the 4th or 5th mile, I felt my first signs of cramps in my quads and some rumbling in my gut. I tried to keep everything loose with my stride and I stopped drinking gatorade, and went solely to water and cola. I started feeling a little better by the 7th mile or so and started picking up my pace again, and started trying to hit around 6:15 pace per the forerunner. I soon spotted a fellow 30-34 competitor and passed him shortly before leaving the park. I had no idea where I stood at this point in my AG, but knew that I was probably in the top five at least within my wave, although there were two waves of guys for my age group. As I left the park and started towards the French Quarter, I was starting to struggle again with my digestion, but as I was progressing further and further along on Esplanade Ave, I caught a glimpse of a guy that I had seen early on in the bike leg who could possibly be in my AG as well. I ratcheted up the pace and started reeling him in, little by little, and as I was about to make the turn onto Decatur Ave, I had the mystery man in my sights and just a block ahead. I surged and came up on his right and tried to blow by him, hopefully demoralizing him in the process and rendering him unable to go with me. I thought I was going to yak, and I wasn't sure if I could keep it up and hold him off, but it seemed to work and I held on to cross the finish line strong with a 1:23:55 run, and for a 4:16:23 overall. Here I am coming across the line, proudly displaying the Ballou Skies "Helping Hearts" hand sign.
I got my finishers medal, some drink and grub, and kicked my feet up for some rest in the shade. It wasn't until about an hour later when I saw the provisional results and learned that I had won my age group! The two guys I had passed over the last 5 miles ended up taking 2nd and 3rd so I ran my way to the win. This was my first AG win at a major national level race, and I also took 22nd overall and 7th amateur.

Here I am on the podium out of order, with the 2nd place finisher, Dirk, to my left, and the 3rd place finisher, Lucas, on the far left end. Thanks to Lucas and his stepmother for sharing this photo from the awards ceremony as I was unprepared at the finish line.
Overall, I was very pleased with my race and couldn't think of a better way to kick off my 2010 season. Hopefully faster splits and even more complete races are to come this year. Next up is the Kinetic Half on May 8th where I will continue building the foundation for the larger races to come later in the summer. Thanks for reading, and my next race report will be here hopefully in less than a week!

return to the blogosphere, 01.12.10

Back by popular demand, Knuckle Up Triathlon returns to the blogosphere for the "tens" (2010)! I suppose a lot has happened since my last blog post, which was an inexcusable 6+ weeks(!) ago, but really not too much has happened in the way of significant training or anything on the racing front. I'll mention some of the things that stand out to me, but really just start fresh with the New Year.

Definitely the most tri-applicable news is that I am now on a new tri bike for 2010, a 2009 Felt B2 Pro. After five great years of training and racing on the trusty Cervelo steed, I have retired this bike to the pastures and I am stoked to be on the full carbon rig for the new season. The Felt is super comfortable (I think I have a nearly identical fit to my P3 dialed in now on the B2), and I can't wait to see what it can do on the open roads. It just looks incredibly aero and sharp with the Zipp wheels and DA drivetrain. Hopefully some of this snow will melt soon and we'll get one of the unseasonably warm winter days that I've been telling everyone we're bound to get and I am so desperately hoping for.The biggest non-tri news without a doubt is that my younger brother Chris got engaged to his longtime girlfriend Alyson. CONGRATS guys! They are planning a summer wedding of this year and I can't wait for that and for them, they are a great couple and this is going to be huge! Christmas and New Year's came and went, and I enjoyed the time off from work and as always had some nice time with my family and my newly minted inlaws. Wonderful gifts, wishes, and holiday love and cheer was spread far and wide. New Year's Day Jocelyn and I went to the Y for one of our traditional New Years Day workouts, and once we were done swimming, took some fun underwater pictures and also a few practical ones and video for some stroke analysis.
Friends Jim, Leslie, and Bill. Jim is our masters swim team's self-appointed "spiritual leader", Leslie a northern VA swimmer visiting her USMS buddies, and Bill is our masters coach and resident super-swimmer at the SEWY Y. Note the swedes on Bill as proof of his speed.
Unfortunately I have yet to find my groove with the indoor cycling this winter and have been struggling to get in real long sessions on the weekend. So in place of some of the volume that my sanity is not currently allowing for, I have been supplementing with a little more intensity than usual and am getting in some focused, steady to mod-hard sessions. Not having the group CompuTrainer sessions like we have the last two winters has definitely made a difference, but some talks are in the works to put together some basement sufferfests with friends! In the meantime though, Jocelyn and I are trying to make the most of this old school, snowy Pittsburgh winter with a little cross country skiing. Last Saturday the wife and I went up to Sewickley Heights Park and did some xc on trails we had previously only run or biked on.
Saturday night we had dinner at our friends' Joe and Fay, where they made some awesome homemade Chinese, with some mongolian beef and coconut curry vegetables and rice. There was also a case of Hofbrau House Dunkel on hand, as well as some sake and the night was definitely full of great tastes and indulgence. Below is the tasty wedding cake made for us by Fay's mother, which all of us made quick work of after the Chinese feast!
Pictured from l to r: Judy, Jocelyn, Steve, Fay, and Joyce. (not pictured: me, Joe, and Russell)
Sunday morning was a little rough seeing as I am now a lightweight, but Joe and I met for an 11 mile progression run in the 8 degree temps. It was a struggle to get going, but after 5 miles or so I found my legs and we started clipping along around 7min pace and below. JV and I post-run trying to warmup and let hats and beards thaw.
Sunday afternoon Jocelyn and I saw Avatar which we thoroughly enjoyed - I must admit, I'm a sucker for visually astounding, reality bending, consciousness questioning sci-fi flicks. I had the same sort of feeling after seeing the original Matrix for the first time. Sunday evening we had dinner at my rents' house, and afterwards my mom pulled out my old swimming warmup jacket that she found while cleaning some unseen corner of the house. This was a huge blast from my AG swimming past with the Sea Dragons, and probably from about when I was eight or nine years old, judging by the progressive swim lesson patches and the size of the thing. It would be so cool to sport this relic from my first days as an endurance athlete to a current masters swim meet, but I doubt I could get this tiny hoody around my shoulders or zipped at all!
So until the weather warms considerably, I'm going to have to stay motivated by watching the upcoming winter games, and following along with the ongoing Epic Camp in NZL for the next 5 days. I better start getting into that champion mindset myself though, because the first race of the year is only about three months away! Happy training-