Mid/Late Season Thoughts

So is everyone ready for Eagle in the Sun? Have you already had your “A” race for the year and begun to slow down on the racing? Or are you putting in those last few months of grueling workouts to end the season with a 70.3 or 140.6? Regardless of where you are in your season, it’s always a great day when you can wake up and push your body to the limits.

It has been two months since my last blog entry and I can’t really pinpoint why it has taken so long for me to put another one out. After the Buffalo Springs 70.3 I was a little over half-way through my race season. For the entire month of July and most of August I had been getting ready for the Redman 70.3 in Oklahoma City at the end of September, but because of dog emergencies (haven’t we all been there) I will not be able to attend. In addition to taking care of my dog, I also missed a huge chunk of training (8-10 days) because of work obligations. So what’s my point?

Not sure I have a point to make, but given where we are in the Tri season, I have a couple reflections on the season so far that might be of help to a few of you.

What do you train or race for?

Last year I raced to race. I loved the feeling of competition and the drive that came with it. I didn’t always do well, but I couldn’t help feeling butterflies at the beginning of each race. This season I was looking forward to racing, but was much more interested in how much I could improve my overall abilities in each discipline. I began working with a coach (Francois Modave) and cut my race schedule from ten races to five. I found that I didn’t want to even do a race just for fun, because I would miss a long workout that I had planned that day. Training became just as gratifying as racing. I’m completely content with not racing again until February and training hard for the next five months. Find your reason for training/racing and it will help clarify your goals.

 Being an Endurance Athlete is a life style not a hobby.

The happiest endurance athletes that I have met are the ones that can incorporate their family, work, and down time into the sport. I know some workouts just have to be done by yourself and take a significant amount of time from your day, but others can be done that incorporate the many other pieces of your life. Have your wife, husband, children, or dog participate. Plan mini-vacations around your races and incorporate your healthy eating habits into the family’s diet as well. Pretty soon they won’t call it “Dad’s healthy stuff”, but instead “dinner”, “lunch”, or “snack”. Incorporating work can be a little harder, but not impossible. I like to swim during my lunch break or even get a run in at a local park. I know this isn’t possible for everyone, but by breaking up the day with a workout, I find that I can be much more focused at work and not constantly thinking about how many hours of planned workouts I have when I get home. This also allows you to spend more of your free time with your family.

Find your ceiling and then SMASH IT!

Thanks to a focused workout plan and the help of several friends that are incredible triathletes, I have been able to far exceed many of my expectations. You can do the same, but be willing to put in the effort. I know I’m simplifying a statement from both Bobby Gonzalez and Francois Modave but, “If you want to be a better runner, run more. If you want to be a better biker, bike more. And if you want to be a better swimmer, swim more”. The point being that hard work has its rewards. Improving your swim stroke and swimming 1000 meters a week won’t make you any more ready for a 1.2 mile swim then if your stroke was garbage and you swam 1000 meters a week. Those new running shoes are not going to shave three minutes off your 5k time and your sleek new bike helmet won’t help you average 26 mph. What will help you accomplish those things is a ton of hard work and a strong desire to improve.

I hope everyone has a great time this weekend and I look forward to seeing many of you out there!

 

Buffalo Springs 70.3 Race Report

Well, I’m finally back from the Buffalo Springs 70.3 and I’ll do my best to put the experience into words. Before I get to the race report I just want to thank Claudia, my brother and his wife and my Dad for making the 12 hour drive from Missouri to come watch me race. Living so far apart we don’t get to see each other much, so I was happy they were there.

The morning of the race was gorgeous. I arrived at transition around 4:45 in the morning and started to set up my bike and layout the rest of my race gear. Water temperature was a warm 75.6 degrees and my new sleeveless wetsuit was the right choice. For those of you that follow this blog, you know that swimming is difficult for me. Not so much proper stroke and technique (even though I can always get better on my technique), but the anxiety and lack of comfortableness (is that a word?)in open water swims. I have certainly put in plenty of pool time, but once the race horn goes off and the hundreds of swimmers start thrashing around, all bets are off. I was in wave six and we began the swim a little after 6:30. I stayed near the back and off to one side at the start just to avoid as many swimmers as possible, but the way the course was laid out made that plan a little difficult. The swim course at Buffalo Springs is basically a rectangle that you swim counter-clockwise. From what I heard they were having trouble with people cutting a portion of the beginning cove so the set up a buoy at about 100 meters that we all had to swim to and then we took a 90 degree turn and started the rectangle. This led to a huge traffic jam, but I am proud to say that I didn’t freak out and even though I had more hands slapping and grabbing my legs then I would have liked I stayed focused and kept swimming. The rest of the swim was pretty tame and I didn’t have any major problems. I was hoping to finish the swim as near 40 minutes as I could and was very pleased to get out of the water in 35 minutes. 

And there we go!

Transition was smooth and with the help of a wetsuit stripper (not what you think ;0) I got to my bike and was ready to go. Unfortunately, they had a single lane exist for the bike out and I literally waited in a line for 45 seconds to get out of transition because of all the people trying to get out at the same time. The bike course at Buffalo Springs is pretty tough. Challenging hills, head wind, and rough roads made it an adventure. I started out and after two initial hills out of the lake I settled in and tried to focus on the task at hand. I started to have a sick feeling though when I began to get passed by dozens of people. My speed was slow and the more effort I gave it seemed the more people passed me. I smelt rubber burning a little bit and looked down to make sure my tires weren’t flat and they seemed to be alright. My initial thought was that all these racers that were passing me would gas out later on and I would pull them back in. My bike has been real strong lately and I had confidence that whatever was going on would correct itself later in the race. I was very wrong. I kept getting passed and even when someone would pass me and I tried to draft for a couple seconds to get my speed up, I couldn’t maintain it and was dropped within a couple seconds. After a good swim I felt that I could have finished the bike in the 2:40-2:45 range. Instead I finished the bike in 3:12. I averaged about 17 mph. To put it into perspective, when I started doing triathlons a year and a half ago, I was averaging about 18 mph and that was on an aluminum road bike without aero wheels, aero bars, clip peddles, and aero helmet. To say I was a little dejected would be an understatement.

So now what? I entered Buffalo Springs 70.3 to evaluate all the hard training that I have put in and finish in a strong 5:10-5:30. The bike portion of the race had not only killed my time, but my hamstrings and quads felt like I had been doing squats for three hours. This is where the mental aspects of the sport kick in and it can be hard to get a hold of yourself. I decided to make the best of the race and vowed to have a strong run and just chalk-up the bad bike portion to a fluke. I put on my shoes and hat and began the 13.1 mile run. 

Gretchen McElroy had told me the run was tough and that the hills during the course are not to be taken lightly, but honestly how bad could they be? Very bad. I began the run and was able to average about 7:55 miles for the first three miles and then the wheels fell off. At the beginning of mile four is the first big hill. It is very steep and goes on for days! I would say 75% of the people going up the hill were walking, but I wanted to keep my pace going and decided that I would keep jogging, even if it was at a crawl. That lasted about 100 yards and then my walking began. I know everyone is different, but for me walking is the surest way to a downward spiral during a race. My legs get really stiff and it is a struggle to get them running again. For the rest of the course I ran and walked off and on. Not very proud of the effort, but I can honestly say that until I started doing triathlons I had never experienced my body just shutting down. You can talk about heart, courage, determination and all the other aspects of racing, but when your body says “NO” it means it. I finished the race in 6:26 and was glad to see the smiling faces of my family and girlfriend. I really didn’t have many words to say to them and was glad that I had sun glasses on, because self-confidence and pride were running a little low. 

I managed to sit in the lake for a little bit and cool off and then talked with everyone about the race. My family was amazed at how great the race was and thought that I did fantastic, but I explained to them my goals and how bad my bike was and that it really wasn’t a very good race at all. My brother took a look at my bike and sure enough we found out the problem. My front brake was rubbing the entire bike portion of the race. Imagine driving your car with the emergency brake engaged. While it was nice to know that my training hadn’t failed me, it was heart breaking to come to the realization that all the preparation for this race went out the window, because I didn’t have my bike set-up probably. Francois, my coach, said these things happen and we will move on and get ready for the next race and not to dwell on it too much.  

On a side note, many times (myself included) athletes have a “poor me” mind set. We say things like “my front brake was rubbing”, “my goggles fogged up”, “I have blisters”, “my nutrition was off”, any number of phrases come from our mouths. In conjunction with the Ironman race at Buffalo Springs, they also had the Handcycle 70.3 Championships. The men and women who participate do not have use of their legs and complete the entire course with only their arms. I can’t begin to tell you the physical and mental toughness of these men and women. No matter had bad my race was I’m very thankful to be out there competing and have the utmost admiration for all those pushing their selves to the limits.

Two Steps Forward and One Step Back

Two steps forward and one step back, that was the net result of this week’s Milkman Triathlon in Dexter, New Mexico. Before I get into the details I want to congratulate all the El Paso and Las Cruces athletes that participated. It was nice to see so many El Paso Tri Club and Run El Paso people there. Not only did the two groups have a high participation total, but both groups brought home more than their share of hardware! Great Job everyone! I also want to congratulate the Milkman racing staff and all the volunteers. The race was very well done, as always, and the amount and variety of post-race drinks and food was spectacular.

Waiting for the Swim start

Ok, time for the race report and the good and bad that took place. This being my second full year in the sport, I realize that every race is a learning experience and too soak in as much knowledge as possible is very important. I had a plan coming into this race to better last years’ time and really push myself on the bike and run. I also wanted to try-out a new wetsuit and see how it felt before I use it in Lubbock in three weeks. First, lesson of the day: Plans change.  

Out and back 500 meter swim

Race morning was very pleasant and when I went down to the lake to test the water temperature it felt a little cold. As a note to those of you who have not done an open water swim before, I’m  willing to bet all open water at 6:30 am feels a little cold so don’t freak out about it. If you’re expecting bath water temperature it just isn’t going to happen. At 7:15 am the race director announced that the water temperature was 74 degrees, so I decided to go for a little warm-up swim and then decide if I was going to wear my wetsuit or not. 74 degrees is a very nice temperature and even though it feels cold getting in, your body will adjust and pretty soon it will feel just fine. As many more experienced racers can tell you a great number of open water swims are done at 58-65 degrees, so 74 degrees is nice. I decided not to wear my wetsuit and that was my first mistake. It wasn’t a mistake because of the temperature, but for the fact that I had wanted to test my new wetsuit, and just because the water temperature was nice, doesn’t mean I should have abandoned my original plan. Yes, I would have been a little slower in transition, but the whole point was to try the suit out. So now I’ll be at the pool doing a workout in my suit and won’t have the benefit of using it in a race environment.

 

The Milkman Triathlon uses a wave start to begin the race, so I was part of wave #3 that consisted of men and women in the 35-39 age group. I was feeling great and couldn’t wait to get started. I have put in a good amount of time in the pool this season and wanted to see if the hard work was going to pay off. The gun sounded to start my wave and I quickly began my swim. I wanted to get a fast start just so I could avoid all the bumping and thrashing that occurs at the beginning of a swim. As I began to swim I was taking a breath every two strokes (As I always do), but after around 25 meters I realized I was not breathing OUT! This led to me not being able to catch my breath and just like that, my swim was falling apart. Since I was ahead of ¾ of the swimmers I didn’t want to just turnover on my back and get swam over, so I started to breast stroke. I was able to make forward progress, but didn’t catch my breath until the 250 meter mark. As I looked at my watch I was at 6:15 (Never a good sign when you can look at your watch during the swim)! I was able to start my freestyle stroke at the 250 meter mark and felt really comfortable the rest of the way. I was feeling very frustrated but happy that I swam the last 250 meters in 4:11 and finished the swim at 10:26. Not a good time at all and I had spotted the leader in my age group over a minute and a half and the elite racers in the field a full 3 to 3 and a half minutes.

Transition to the bike went fine, even though the pity party I was having probably cost me a few seconds, but I knew in order to get back into this race I need a strong bike. I headed out on the bike and hammered as hard as I could. The road was rough. I didn’t remember it being so bad last year, but this year I didn’t find a part in the course that wasn’t jolting my bike all over the place. I passed a ton of people and caught everyone in my age group except the leader and even though I was pedaling hard I felt that I had plenty left for the run. 

Transition into the run was smooth, but I do have a little advice for those new to the sport. I wear socks during races. I know many people that have been in the sport for a while don’t, but I don’t like the feeling in my shoes when I don’t have socks. Remember though that if the race begins in the water and you put on socks afterwards to ride the bike, the water will run down your leg and your socks will soak it up. When you get done with the bike, your socks will be swollen because of the water and you might have trouble getting your shoes on. I already have my shoes tied and just slip them on after the bike, but it is harder to get them on if your socks have soaked up water. The run course at the Milkman is flat, but a mixture of trail and pavement. As I was finishing my bike I saw the person in my age group that was leading heading out on the run and I wanted to run him down if possible. Overall I had a solid run and finished it in 21.20, but I just couldn’t catch the leader from my age group. He ended up beating me by 50 seconds and the minute and a half lead I gave him in the swim was my undoing.

The good news is that I beat my last years’ time be over three minutes and felt strong on the bike and run. I also didn’t feel bad on the swim once I caught my breath, so I’ll take that as a positive. Bobby Gonzalez won his age group and finished 3^rd overall and Albert Lugo and Cid Lopez finished first and second in the 40-45 AG and also 4^th and 5^th overall. Both had incredible races and I don’t look forward to moving into that age group next year. Jim Kehrle had a great race and took first in his age group and Greg Garcia finished with a strong third place showing in the 45-49 AG. Laura Bernal finished in third for her AG and did a great job out there! 

I look forward to racing the Buffalo Springs 70.3 in three weeks and just want to remind everyone that is going to get your hotel room soon. Rooms seem to become scarce every year for this race so book early.

Back in Action

Finally, another race weekend to get excited about! If you haven’t noticed this season I am spending much more time training for a few longer distance races and haven’t raced very much so far. I enjoy the training, but will be glad to compete in a race and see what I can do. This weekend I will be attending the Milkman Triathlon in Dexter, NM. This will be my third race this season and will be my tune-up for the Buffalo Springs 70.3. So how exactly does a sprint in a small rural community act as a tune-up for a very difficult 70.3 race in Lubbock? I’m glad you asked.

The Milkman Triathlon is a great race that has been around for over 28 years and is run by some of the best people in the region. Three factors make it a great tune-up for Lubbock;

1)      Competition. The race is “The Best of the US New Mexico State Championship” and attracts some of the very best in the region. Between some of the best athletes in New Mexico being there, you’ll also find racers from El Paso, Lubbock, and Midland/Odessa. Together all the top athletes make it very difficult to place, but the competition can really push you to your limits.

2)      Open Water Swim. As many experienced triathletes can tell you, swimming open water is very different than swimming in a pool. For me the hardest part is staying in rhythm while people are swimming over the top of me and smacking me in the face with their arms. The Milkman lets you experience open water, but in a very controlled environment that puts you more at ease. The wave start at the Milkman usually puts about 25 racers in the water at the same time (as opposed to a couple hundred or even a thousand at some of the bigger races). You will still get smacked around a little bit, but not nearly as bad as in Lubbock. Another aspect of the Milkman swim is the open water course. Lubbock and many other open water swims use a rectangle or triangle shaped course that requires a fairly good amount of sighting. At the Milkman the course is a straight out and back with a line of buoys attached to a rope. Even though sighting is a skill we all need to practice, the Milkman course allows you to follow the rope and buoys the whole time.

3)      Similar Roads, Heat and Wind. The roads used for the bike course at the Milkman are very similar as to what you will see in Lubbock. Rural asphalt roads that can get a little bumpy at times are par for the course. Lubbock has more climbing than the Milkman, but you will get an idea of how the roads at times have very little shoulder and have patch work repairs every now and then. Wind isn’t anything new to triathletes and especially ones from El Paso and Southern New Mexico, but it certainly can affect how you race. At the Milkman, just like in Lubbock, you can expect a decent headwind going out on the bike and for some reason instead of a tailwind coming back it is more of a cross-wind. Of course, this can change with the weather on that given day, but it should be prepared for. The heat is also similar to Lubbock. By the time you hit the run at the Milkman the temperature will start to climb and there is virtually no shade on the course. Even though the run portion is only a 5k, you can begin to get an idea of what to expect during your 13.1 mile run in Lubbock.

I hope everyone has a great weekend of racing and I’ll have a race report up early next week. Before I sign off I want to congratulate Gretchen McElroy for her incredible finish at Ironman Texas a couple of weeks ago. In her first attempt at an Ironman she completed the course in 11 hours and 59 minutes! Great job Gretch!!

Also, take advantage of the Trisports.com Promo Code: BVAN-S for any shopping that you might need to do.

Yum Yum and Yummy!

Now that Duathlon Nationals is over I can begin focusing on my longer races for this year. I plan on doing both a half and a full Ironman distance race in the next 5 months. While training will be tough, the thing that has killed me for the past two years is race day nutrition.

For shorter sprint distances I haven’t had as many problems simply because I don’t have to take in as many calories as I would in a longer race. My problem begins when I have a race that is five or six hours long and my tank starts to run on empty. Many seasoned triathlon vets have found a gel, drink or nutrition bar that works for them. They have spent years trying different products and experienced both the good and bad out there. Hopefully, my insight can help those of you out there that are just starting out and don’t have time, money, or the stomach to try dozens of different products. 

Two products have saved my life lately, the Honey Stinger Waffle and the Honey Stinger Gel. The waffle is a small 160 calorie snack that I use both pre-race and while on a long bike ride. It comes in several flavors, but I prefer the Honey one. I have had no stomach issues at all, but as the name suggest it is made with honey, so if you are allergic or not a fan of honey this might not be for you. You can find the waffles at your local bike shop or nutrition store, but they usually run about $2.00 each. If you want to save some money visit the Trisports.com on-line store and you can find them for $1.30 each when you buy 16 or more. You can also use the promo code BVAN-S for an additional 10% off and that brings the price to just a little over $1.00 each.  

The other product that I love is the Honey Stinger Gel. It works just like other gels, but if you have a hard time choking down the nasty taste of most gels, you will love the Stinger gel. It is simply honey! Once again it has several flavors, but I prefer the Honey Stinger Gold. You can also pick up the gels at Trisports.com and they will cost about a $1.00 each when you purchase 24 or more. Use promo code BVAN-S for an additional 10%.

In a follow up post I will talk about what liquids have worked well for me and which ones I now avoid.

Laughing It Up In Tucson!!

What a weekend! Between the laughs and even more laughs the crew from El Paso showed that we went to Tucson for more than just good times, we came to qualify for the World Championships later this year in Nancy, France and qualify we did! 

Where to begin? I guess the drive up to Tucson from El Paso is as good a place to start as any. Bobby Gonzalez, Gretchen McElroy, and I all piled into Bobby’s truck and left early Friday morning. Ruben Rosales and Laura Bernal followed us in Ruben’s truck and together we arrived in Tucson sometime around noon. I love driving in the same vehicle as Bobby and Gretchen, because not only do they make me laugh, we talk non-stop triathlon. I get to pick up useful racing tips just being around them. We stopped by TriSports and did some shopping and picked up a few last minute nutrition items. If you have never been to the TriSports store in Tucson it is a must for all triathletes. They have everything and the staff was very helpful in getting us what we needed. 

Once we checked into the hotel we went to the host hotel to pick-up our race packets. The race packet had everything we needed for the next day as well as a nice race shirt, fuel belt, water bottle, and other odds and ends. We put our race numbers on our bikes and went to the race site to check-in our bikes. I had never had to check-in my bike the night before, but apparently at bigger races it is the norm. I found out the next day that by checking in our bikes the night before, race day is much less stressful. After we checked in our bikes, Bobby drove us around the course. The run looked to have a slight incline for the first mile and then you turn around and have a slight decline for a mile. The third mile is the one that is interesting. For the first part of the third mile you go down a pretty steep decline, but what goes down must come up and the last half of the third mile looked really steep.

The bike course was a two loop course that was very similar to what racers in the El Paso area consider freeway rollers. The only difference was that at about the two mile mark you have a mile and a half of a slow steady climb. 

The night of the race I was miserable. I had the worst headache and of course race jitters. I woke around 5:00 am and started to get ready. My headache had gone away and I felt as ready as ever. We made our way to the race site and were happy that the morning weather was nice and cool. Unfortunately, the cool weather did not last and once the race started it began to get a little warm. Francois Modave, another racer from El Paso, met us at the race site and we all began are warm-ups. 

Bike Transition

At 8:15 my wave was ready to begin. From my coach (Francois) to Bobby and Gretchen, everyone had told me to believe in my training and make sure not to go too fast during the first 5k. As the race horn sounded I heeded those words and my race began. The pace for the first 5k was incredible! Racers were doing 5:10-5:30 minute miles and I had to really make an effort to slow down. As other racers were pulling away, I just stuck to my game plan and let them build a lead on me. I was a little frustrated because I knew I could be running faster, but was worried about fading badly during the last 5k. I ended up running a 6:35 pace and entered transition feeling good. 

For those of you that know me, biking and I have a love hate relationship. I don’t particularly like the bike portion, but I can do well enough to hold my own. I’m certainly not the guy who is going to make-up anytime on the bike, but I usually don’t lose too much time on other riders. I felt good throughout the bike and felt like I was keeping a pretty good pace. I didn’t finish even close to the main group during the run so I was hoping to maybe catch a rider or two on the bike, but that really didn’t happen. I managed not to get passed by anyone else in my age group, but I believe I only caught one rider. I ended up averaging 22.1 mph on the bike and so far was a little bit faster overall than I expected.

The final run did not disappoint. I had never run a full duathlon before so I was nervous as to how my body would handle the second run. As most of you know once you get off the bike and start to run, you really can’t feel your legs for the first half mile. I was no exception. I wanted to run under a 7:00 pace for the first mile and was lucky enough to hit 6:50. The second mile was just as fast, but then we came to the dreaded third mile and the hill of agony! I lowered my head and grinded out the final mile and finished the second 5k with a 7:12 pace. I had made it to the finish line in 1:43:39, but had a done enough to qualify? 

I went to the results tent and received a print-out of my results and right there in black and white it showed that I had finished 18^th in my age group! The first 18 places in each age group qualify for TEAM USA and the World Championships! Yes! I was very happy and relieved that months of hard work had paid off. Now it was off to cheer for the rest of my friends. 

Bobby Gonzalez finished 5^th in AG, Gretchen McElroy finished 3^rd in AG, Ruben Rosales finished 21^st in AG (But because of roll downs I believe qualified for Worlds), Laura Bernal finished 17^th in AG, and Francois Modave finished 10^th in his AG.

Ruben, Laura, Bobby, Gretchen, and Me

 Overall a very successful day for El Paso!

Championship Weekend

This weekend is the USAT Duathlon National Championships in Tucson, AZ and me and several friends will try to qualify for Team USA and represent the USA at the World Championships in Nancy, France later this year. I have to admit that I have never been so hyped/nervous/anxious as I have the past couple weeks. I know I’m not the first athlete that has invested huge amounts of time and preparation for a big event, but this race is my early season Super Bowl and I want to have a good showing. 

My coach, Francois Modave, has done miracles with my training and I know that I am at my absolute best right now. Obviously, as I train throughout the year I will get better, but I know right now I’m in the best possible shape I can be in at this point in the season.

So what concerns do I have? Well, first and foremost is going out to fast during the first run. I need to tell myself that it is “ok” to let the other runners sprint away at the start of the race and focus on my own pace for the first 5k. But what is “my” pace? Good question! I’m really going to try to fall somewhere between the 6:30-6:40 range for the first 5k. I know I can run faster, but I need to have something left for the final run.

The bike is 35k and going to be a real mystery for me. It consist of two loops, so at least I will have an idea of what I need to do on the second loop based on my first loop time. I’m shooting for the hour mark on the bike portion.

The final run will be gut check time. Coming off the bike the legs will feel like cement, but I need to remember that it is now or never. Ideally, I would like to have a similar run time as the first 5k, but I will be happy with anything around 7:00 minute miles. If I don’t spend too much time in transition and I can hit my times, I should be able to finish somewhere around the edge of qualifying. This assumes everything goes perfect and as most of you know things rarely go perfect in competition.

Hope to have a race report up by Sunday. Good luck to everyone racing this weekend and especially the Mighty Mujer triathletes competing in El Paso.

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Life as a Spectator

On April 1^st I had the opportunity to attend the Mesilla Valley Triathlon in Las Cruces, NM, but the catch was that I was there as a spectator and cheering section for my friends. At almost all races I compete in I hang around and cheer on fellow racers and catch-up with friends, but this is the first time that I had been to a race and not competed. I have to admit that I was very anxious and it was hard not to run home and get my bike and race with everyone else. 

The weather was great and the times were very fast! Bobby Gonzalez won the race by breaking the hour mark and Gretchen, Art, Misha, and Cody had super-fast times. I did my best to cheer them on and took several pictures of each racer. I also had the chance to notice the event staff in action and they did a great job putting on the race. For local West Texas and New Mexico racers, I highly recommend this race. 

As promised I also want to make you aware of different sales and merchandise that Trisports.com has on sale this week. Trisports.com is celebrating their 12^th anniversary and has plenty of items to choose from. If you are looking for a new wetsuit or looking to get your first wetsuit, take a look at their website and you will have a huge selection to choose from. They even have the TYR Hurricane Freak that Lance Armstrong wears. Make sure you use Promo Code: BVAN-S for additional savings.

TriSports.com Discount Code!!

In an earlier blog post I mentioned that I would pass along a promo code that would give you an extra discount at TriSports.com. Well as promised here it is: BVAN-S

Simply enter the promo code and you’ll receive an extra 10% off your order. I’ll pass along any special deals I come across. Let me know how the promo code works for you!

Series Awards and Sully Super Sprint

Well the 2012 Tri season has kicked off for many area athletes and between the weather and the time change, lots of evening workouts can now be completed without freezing J This past Friday I had the chance to attend the El Paso Tri Club social/Southwest Challenge Series Award presentation and it was great to catch up with so many of the area’s best. Greg Gouveia, the Club President, did a great job making everyone feel welcome and just like Matt Emrich before, the El Paso Tri Club looks to do some great things this season. 

I was fortunate to win my age group this year and have to say that I was pretty happy to be getting the coveted Southwest Challenge Series winners vest. Other athletes receiving awards included Gretchen McElroy, Bobby Gonzalez, Rob Lovett, Michael Castaneda, and Scott Darling. I won’t be participating in the Series again this year, because of other triathlon goals, but the Series is a great way to meet new people and compete on courses throughout West Texas and New Mexico.

Bobby chowing down!

Gretch caught eating her fifth burger! J/K

Mike getting his award.

Not sure what I'm doing?!

Rob getting his bottle of wine.

After many months of training and not really taking an off-season I decided to head to Alpine with Bobby this past weekend to compete in the Sully Super Sprint and shake off some of the rust. Those that have never done this race would be pleasantly surprised at the quality of the course and the difficulty of the run portion. Race morning had perfect weather and except for the fairly stiff headwind on the return portion of the bike, we couldn’t have asked for a better day.  

One change that I have made this season was to hire a coach to prepare me for the Redman full ironman later this year and to also fine tune my very erratic training practices. Francois Modave has developed a great training plan for me and I was anxious to see what results I might have at this race. We have only been working together for about four months, but I knew I should be able to best my last years’ time. The run portion is very hilly and you can separate yourself from the pack if you have put in significant time doing hill repeats in your workouts. Fortunately for me I had ample practice with hills and was able to finish the run portion in second position among the age groupers only behind Bobby. Transition was smooth and I had hoped to maintain whatever lead I had throughout the entire bike portion. I have been doing plenty of bike miles in training, but partly because of winter weather and partly because I’m a sissy to the cold, most of my miles have been on the indoor trainer. The bike was uneventful and I felt really good for about 90% of the course. I did get leg weary on the final mile or so, but overall felt really strong. 

One thing I should add here is that you can have the greatest coach in the world, but if you don’t complete all the workouts they write for you, it is no one’s fault but your own if you struggle come race day. With that said, the swim portion of the race was a nightmare. I entered the pool with a huge lead over third place, but just couldn’t close-out the race the way I should have. I haven’t been in the pool very consistently and it showed. Third place blew past me with about 30 yards left and I had to settle for third overall and first in my age group.  

The good news is that I bested my time from last year by three minutes. Next race is Duathlon Nationals and even though it requires no swimming, I’ll be hitting the people hard for the next several months. Good luck to everyone racing the MVT this weekend!

2012 TriSports.com Champion Athlete

This season I have the opportunity to take part in the TriSports.com Champion Athlete program and wanted to pass along the information to those interested in getting great Tri gear at even better prices. As I have found out over the past two years, triathlon racing can be pretty expensive. Between having a good bike, wetsuit and running shoes you also spend money on entry fees and travel cost. At the end of the day all these things add up and you could end-up in hot water with your significant other if not careful J TriSports.com has developed a program that will allow me to pass along a 20% discount to those who enter a special promo code. Fast, easy and no strings attached. I should be receiving my new promo code within the next two weeks and will make sure it is always posted on my blog for you to use. In the meantime here is a current sale going on:

Up to 50% on 2XU clothing and wetsuits! Sale ends Friday!

http://trisports.com/2xu-2011-special.html

As far as training, I have been sick for the past five days and just started back up on Monday. Before getting sick I had begun to make big strides in my running and I hope to be able to get back to that level soon. My bike training has been hit or miss because of the weather and swimming has been severely lacking, but I am hopeful that by the Buffalo Springs 70.3 in June I will have had enough swim time to put me over the top. Not sure when my first race will be, but all my training is geared towards the Duathlon National Championships the end of April.

New Things for 2012!

New and exciting things for the 2012 season! This coming race season I plan on racing just a handful of races, but hope to compete in my first full Ironman distance in late September. Instead of racing 10-12 times this season I have decided to add triathlon reporting and highlights to my blog. I want to interview local racers and also attend several races as a spectator and capture video of the event. The southwest has many spectacular races and I want to showcase the individuals that attend and organize these events. In addition, I will also showcase area coaches, equipment retailers, and supply companies that keep all racers fueled and equipped for the big race.

If you have individuals that I should contact or if you have a product that you would like in the spotlight, just shoot me an e-mail and I’ll get with you. I envision short 5 minute podcast to get started, but look to grow as the season goes on.

Back in Action

Can you feel the excitement in the air? Well, if you can’t that means you are still in your winter hibernation and need to wake up! The 2012 race season has begun and many area athletes have been putting in a bunch of hours of training to get ready. The month of December saw Francois Modave log over 450 running miles and Gretchen McElroy in addition to her running and biking has been tearing up the pool. Despite a few spells of bad weather, El Paso has once again proved that year around training outdoors is the norm.

Many of you are trying to get your race schedule planned out for the year and have been asking what races are available? Well here are some links that you need to go to:

Billy the Kid Sprint and OLY – June 9, 2012

www.nmsportsonline.com 

Storrie Lake Tri Sprint and OLY – June 24, 2012 (Register NOW)

www.chasing3.com  

Dread Mon Xterra Tri and Dam It Man Sprint - July 21 & 22, 2012

www.damitmantriathlon.com  

Cochiti Lake Tri Sprint and OLY – July 28, 2012

www.chasing3.com  

Elephant Man OLY and Long Course – September 30, 2012

www.elephantmantriathlon.com

In addition to these races, the Southwest Challenge Series will be conducting another season and will post their schedule very soon. Keep checking their site for more details http://www.southwestchallengeseries.com/Home_Page.php  

I’ll have another blog soon, but wanted to pass along now some of the information that I have received.  

Also wanted to pass along a discount code for any pair of Spira’s you want to purchase. Anyone who uses the discount code: Brooks22 at http://www.spirastore.com/default.aspx will get 30% off their shoe order! If you haven't tried a pair of Spira's or need to replace an older pair, now is the time. Enjoy the discount!

www.spirastore.com