Steamboat

Hey guys! This past Sunday I had a race in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Steamboat is definitely one of my favorite places on earth, if not my absolute favorite. I love to snowboard there in the winter... and also to race tri's there in the summertime!

I came in second overall in the race with a new personal best time. Yes, I went faster at 6900 feet of altitude off of no rest than I did the week before off of 4 days of rest and at sea level (in Burlington)... I guess that food poisoning took more out of me than I had thought! That being said, I am verrrrry anxious to see what I can do at my next pro qualifier in Myrtle Beach in October.

I met up with the UW tri club the night before and we camped out together... I think I will do this more often! I love camping, and its obviously way cheaper than a hotel. Christine, you are much more organized as a president than I was!

Check out this spread! We had grilled veggies, spaghetti and meatballs (my traditional pre-race meal), and grilled peaches. Special shout out to Will, Joe, and Mark for cookin!

Just look at this venue... They say that people come to Steamboat for the skiing, and they stay in Steamboat for the summers... I can see what they mean. I would love to one day live in Steamboat Springs, the whole time during the race, I felt at home.

Well thanks for checking this out, everyone. I hope you enjoyed the pics from Steamboat, do yourself a favor and go see it firsthand. Until next time, follow the Pace Rabbit!

Burlington!

What's up my friends? Here, as promised, is my post strictly about Burlington, Vermont. This is where Age Group Nationals took place this past weekend. In my inaugural visit to New England, I was completely charmed. If you ever head up to Vermont, be sure to check out Burlington, or at least Lake Champlain!

I was expecting the quaint red barns and lots of trees and rolling hills, but I was not expecting a Boulder-esque hippie-filled college town! Burlington walked that line nicely. It would have fit in just as easily in Nebraska as it would have in California with its colorful variety of people, shops, restaurants, and homes. A picture speaks a thousand words, so here are just a few pics from Burlington.

A little post-race indulgence... yes, that is bacon on a donut with real Vermont maple frosting...

A quiet beach on Lake Champlain. Hard to believe those mountains on the other side are New York!

This one didn't turn out very well.. but its this street musician who, despite his strange appearance, was amazing! He played the didjeridoo, made percussion with tambourines, drums, and bells, and rapped. It was a combination of Native American music, bluegrass, and hip-hop that I loved! And yes, he is wearing a deer mask.....

Some gorgeous flowers at the Farmer's Market that was going on after the race. The friendly girl behind the counter agreed to let me take a picture as long as I blogged about it since I wasn't buying... Who am I gonna give flowers to, my mom?? Come on!
...Sorry, mom :) Love you!

This was a huge, OLD, beautiful and quiet farm on Lake Champlain. Old being an understatement. That guy on the Quaker Oatmeal box? He was the original owner... Ok I might've made that up.

I meant to get a pic also of Muddy Waters coffee shop. The interior was like a log cabin, and the coffee was delicious! I could picture myself going there on a cold winter morning before a loooong day of skiing. It also helped their cause that the barista girl was absolutely darling... I was too captivated to order for a good 3 seconds... she probably thought I was a weirdo for staring!

I hope you enjoyed these as much as I enjoyed taking them. Please please please if you are ever in Vermont, do yourself a favor and check out Burlington. I'm gonna go get a track workout in. Until next time, follow the Pace Rabbit!

Age Group Nationals

Hey there followers! As promised, here is my de-briefing on Age Group Nationals, which took place this past Saturday in Burlington, Vermont. Now I will try to keep this short, but I am going to warn you its gonna get long... I've got a lot to write about! If you're in a hurry, just read the last couple paragraphs.

I flew into Boston that Wednesday and met my parents. I had been running on very little sleep the past nights for various reasons, so I was maybe a bit grumpy... anyway, we got all settled in and went for an easy jog in Cambridge. I felt like a dumb jock compared to all the brilliant minds at work in Harvard and MIT just around the corner, but it was such a beautiful area to be in. Here is a pic from the run!

That next morning as we were getting ready to go to Burlington (about a 3 hour drive) I realized I felt  terrible. I must've had some bad seafood the night before, because I proceeded to puke my guts out and writhe in agony the whole car trip up. Great way to go into the weekend of the biggest race of my life, but honestly I don't know how much it really affected me come race day.

The day before the race I was feeling considerably better, although my appetite hadn't quite come back all the way yet. Any way, I went for a tune-up run along the beaches of lake Champlain in my new Newton shoes!

Beautiful venue for a triathlon, don't you think??

These are the new kicks. Against my better judgement and the advice of the guy who sold them to me (who turned out to be Brandon Jessup, a track star from my hometown who is now a pro triathlete in Denver... weird coincidence I know, but that is another story in itself) I wore them race day after only a few runs in them. They flew. These shoes do not like to go slow, I felt like I had strapped Wile E. Coyote-style rocket shoes on my feet. But I digress...

Race morning came and I felt great. In retrospect now I would have left the pack on the swim and gone on my own. I am not a pack swimmer, because I have never had to be, so it would've been to my advantage to be alone. The bike I maybe would have pushed a bit more. When I started bonking on the run, it was from the heat, not from my legs giving out. The run was my best split ever by close to 2 minutes. I guess all that track work has paid off... Thanks Mac!

Now, more about the bonk. I was an inch away from totally rolling over at about mile 4.5. I guess the old me would have. But that day, something inside me changed. I felt a defiance in myself that I hope to be able to tap into again when I need it. Something just said "NO!! We are NOT going to quit until this is DONE!" and so I didn't. A good portion of it was you, as I said before. I knew I couldn't address my followers knowing deep down that I had given up on myself. Thanks for keeping me in line!

Here is a picture of my transition area on race day morning. It is a tradition of mine to always take a picture of my transition area and send it to some friends for good luck. Bike shoes in the pedals, helmet on the aero bars, and running shoes to the side, it is set up for speed and simplicity.

Well like I said, I knew that was going to get a little long. I will do a post tomorrow about Burlington the town. It is such a cool little place that I am definitely going to have to go back when its not a business trip! Until then, keep following the Pace Rabbit!

AGN Preliminary

Hey guys! This is just a preliminary post to let y'all know how things are going up in Vermont. I will do a couple follow-up posts once I get back to REAL mountains!

First of all, I did not get my Pro-Card. I had a PR by over 4 minutes, including cutting 2 minutes off of my fastest 10k (yeah, that includes even a flat 10k, no swim/bike before, so this was a huge improvement!) I don't think I need to tell you that I love my new running shoes... For those who want times, my swim was a 19:51, bike was 1:00:15, and run was a 36:33. All together, it was a 1:59:20.

I can't seem to upload photos with this internet connection here, so those will have to wait until I am back home, sorry! Burlington is a lovely, quaint, quirky little town. I could stay here forever if they had real mountains. The venue was great, Lake Champlain is as majestic as you could imagine! Again, I will upload photos ASAP so you won't have to use your imaginations for long.

I want you all to know that I thought of you, on the run portion especially. I had taken it out solid, but at about mile 4 I started feeling the heat, the fatigue, and the immensity of what I had already done weighing down on me. I wanted so badly to roll over and just finish. Then, I thought of you. Yes, YOU as you are reading this. I knew that I would not be able to write this post knowing that I had given up. I gritted my teeth, packed up with a guy, and blew by him with 500 meters to go, all to make YOU proud. The pace rabbit will never give up! Death Before Surrender!

Thanks for checking this out, again, I will make more detailed and photo-embellished posts when I get home. Keep following the Pace Rabbit!

Boulder Stroke n' Stride

Hey Guys! So last Thursday I decided to compete in the Boulder Stroke n' Stride that evening at the Boulder Reservoir. Yes, this was a very last-minute decision, but I knew this race series is pretty low-key so I wasn't too worried.

The Stroke n' Stride is a series of races on Thursday nights in the summertime in Boulder. They consist of either a 750 meter swim option or a 1500 meter swim option and a 5k run. There is also just a 5k run option if you're so inclined. I would definitely recommend this series to someone just wanting to get their feet wet (no pun intended) in multisport. The entry fees are super cheap, it is a great low-key atmosphere, and I mean, look at that venue!

Unfortunately, this was the last of the series for this season. (It makes me sad! Is summer really over?? I say no way!) They start again next June, and you can bet I will be going to a lot of them! I came in second overall out of the 1500 swim/5k run option. I had swam about 3k and biked that morning, so I didn't exactly feel fresh. Out of the gates I was in 4th on the swim, but I eventually passed all but one guy in the water, who I then passed in transition. I had chosen not to wear a wetsuit, which made that transition a lot faster!

On the run, I took it out a little too fast I think. At the one mile marker I looked down and saw 5:40 on my watch... on tired legs at altitude, this was probably a bit... um... over-zealous for me. Eventually I settled into my pace, but a professional did pass me with just over a mile to go.

In any case, this race was a ton of fun, a beautiful day, and a great tune up for Age Group Nationals this week! I will do a post sometime tomorrow about Nationals and the pro-qualifying process because frankly, its kinda confusing! Thanks for stopping by everyone, and until next time, keep following that pace rabbit!

Polar Bottle Winners!

Hey guys! I just did the drawing and here are the winners.
Congratulations to;
Sears McAdams
Knox Martin
Burke Wilson
Jenna Eppley
Breanne Feldman
Tom Tye
Lauren Crow
Logan Ripley/Durban Swarz
Ashley Gammon
Kevin Magyar

You've all won a free Polar Water Bottle which will keep your beverage of choice cool in any activity you do. To receive your water bottle, email me at pacerabbit@gmail.com an address to which I can ship the bottle. If you live in the Denver area, or I otherwise see you often, I will probably hand deliver the bottle.

I just got another testimony from a water-afficionado who has had success with Polar. This is Bobby Boucher before he found Polar Water bottles:

As you can see, he was struggling a bit. But now, like our winners, he has Polar water bottles and always keeps his cool. Look at him now!

As you can see, he went from waterboy, to champion with Polar water bottles, and now you can too. Be sure to keep following the Pace Rabbit for more promos like this one. Congrats again to our winners!

Polar Bottle Reminder

Hey Guys! So I was hanging out with Indiana Jones and his dad today, and some "bad guy" decided to shoot his dad. This was obviously pretty frustrating, but fortunately Indy had his Polar Water Bottle, so we were able to save his dad.

We were pretty upset, until we found out that the "bad guy" was using "the other brand" of water bottle, which ultimately resulted in his demise...

Anyway, I just reminded you guys not to make the same mistake as the bad guys and be sure to use Polar Water Bottles! Follow the Pace Rabbit by tomorrow at noon and you'll be entered for a chance to win one.

Asian Frittata

Ok, now before you scowl in disgust, hear me out. Think of it like egg foo yung, but better, because it has cheese! Here is how I made it... Again, I don't measure, so this is all approximations

-Big Pan; saute 1/4 onion, 1/4 lb baby bella mushrooms, and a bag of broccoli slaw
-I then added some pre-cooked brown rice that had teriyaki sauce in it (yum!)
-I seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic, and ginger, and let everybody get to know each other over medium heat.
-Then I added 3 eggs and 3 egg whites, whipped really well with a splash of milk
-Spread eggs evenly, but then LEAVE IT ALONE! until the sides start to set up
-Add about 1/4 cup of cheese (yeah, cheese) of your choice to the top
-Put under the broiler for about 2 minutes until eggs are cooked and cheese is brown and delicious

At this point, I figured it couldn't get much weirder, so I served it with some everything-bagel-style-bread-toast (too many hyphens? no way) and some really good cantaloupe. I chased it down with some Kangen Water in a Polar Bottle... and an adult beverage. I am not going to endorse any beer companies, but this is a favorite, and it rhymes with "shmanger IPA" and its made by a brewery that rhymes with "shmew shmelgium."

Let me know if you have any questions on this recipe. My biggest advice with cooking is don't be afraid of it! My mom used to always say "Cooking, like love, must be approached with reckless abandon or not at all." This might be someone more famous's quote, but I heard it from my mama and I completely agree with the sentiment!

Until tomorrow, Follow the Pace Rabbit! And go to bed...

In the saddle

Today I had a really solid training day in all three disciplines, but I am going to focus on the bike. On my ride today, I came up with a few things I should share with my followers, and I have also seen great progress in my cycling lately.

First of all, I have gotten pretty fast. All of those interval workouts at Washington Park are paying off, and I can now sprint like I've never been able to! I play games with myself while on rides... Today there were two big groups of cyclists coming at each other on the trail, and I was behind one of them. Rather than being cautious and slowing down, I did what I do best (meaning be brazen, decisive, and stupid) and shot the gap so to speak. I made it, but I would not recommend trying this... I was going over 25 MPH and had I not been lucky, I could very well be writing this from the hospital.

All of this being said, I might give a word of advice to those who would cross the path in front of me... run FAST, don't stop in the middle to see where I am going, and be aware that I already assume you are an idiot. I only bring this up because it happened about 7 times on my ride today, and each time the "pedestrian" pulled the "deer in the headlights" move and I had to swerve, slam on my brakes, and swear at them under my breath.

I realized I hadn't added a picture of Ruby yet. This is my training bike, a Specialized Roubaix Elite. I call her "Ruby." She is my mistress since Sara is my girlfriend, but I like this view of her best. As you can see from the goose egg on my cyclometer, I was not brassy enough to take this picture while actually riding...

I had a friend today ask me, "how do you do it each day?" The question caught me off guard I guess. Let me give you some insight into my mindset. I don't think of it in terms of "how am I going to go this hard today and still have something left in my legs for tomorrow?" I simply put each training session in front of me as one task at a time. I do it because I hate losing, not because I love winning. I do this because I know it is necessary, I don't even think of it as a choice. I know I can do it simply because I know I can do it. I don't know if this makes me special or different, but it is how I think, and I feel like a lot of athletes would agree with me.

Anyway, I just wanted to update you all since it had been a while and tell you that my cycling is really solid. My pedal strokes are smooth, with a motion similar to scraping mud off of my shoes. My cornering is flawless, with my weight distributed between my outside foot and my inside hand.... (If you were paying attention, that was a brief lesson in bike handling!)

Until I post my recipe in about 20 minutes, follow the Pace Rabbit!

Polar Water Bottle Giveaway!

Hey guys! So, I am an athlete ambassador of Polar Water Bottles, and I received a case of these lovely little bottles in the mail to give away to my loyal fans! Now I did only get a limited supply of these, and I've gotta give one to my mama, and a few other select people, but I've got a plan for the rest of these bottles. Here's a pic of the bottles.

So, here is what I am going to do for you, I am going to give away 10 of these sweet insulated water bottles to my followers! Winners will be announced Friday, August 12th at noon. If you already follow this blog, you automatically have an entry, if you join by Friday the 12, you will get an entry also! Double entries will be given to those who follow me on this blog and on Twitter @PaceRabbit.

These are made in the USA, are BPA-free, dishwasher and freezer safe, and have removable (and replaceable) valves for cleaning. They are bike cage-compatable and VERY well insulated. I went on a 2 hour ride with mine today in 85 degree-weather, and the water stayed refrigerator cold the whole ride! Here is a picture from their website, http://www.polarbottle.com/

They were actually delivered in a block of ice, so hurry and follow the Pace Rabbit before they melt!

....Ok, so that was a complete dramatization.... but still, you should hurry!

Brick Workout/Curry for Breakfast??

What's up guys? So, yesterday I had a really solid brick workout at Washington Park. Now, for those of you who don't know, a brick workout is when a triathlete mimics a race by going from one discipline to the next. In this case, I did a bike to run brick. I found a track at a high school about a block from the park, and so after I warmed up I did 3 laps around the park on the bike (this was with my race bike, Sara!) for about 7 miles total, and then did a mile at race pace (or what I felt like I could hold for a 10k) on the track.

I ran through that 3 times. On the bike I held about 24 to 25 MPH with 90 RPM for a cadence (again, mimicking my race goal) and on the runs I went a 5:44. 5:45, and a 5:40... What can I say, I felt good! I was very pleased with those run times. I guess all that speed work is paying off.

On the way home, Sara flatted out, and since I don't carry a spare kit on her, I had to call Libbie for a ride. Did I mention I love my sister a lot? She is a really nice lady!

Here is a picture of Washington Park, it is always really pretty like this at sunset.

The other day I made one of my favorite breakfasts. It is really simple, but I don't measure anything, so here is the basic rundown...
-Stir fry some veggies (I use frozen, they are cheaper and easier to use) and then add a serving of crumbled tofu.
-To crumble it, I squeeze it in a paper towel to dry it out a bit so it gets crispier.
-Then, I add 2 egg whites and one whole egg and let that scramble up.
-Season the whole pan with salt, pepper, and CURRY POWDER!!!
-Next, add a bit of feta cheese and let that melt.

I like to plate it over a bed of greens with a little asian dressing, and then enjoy with a cup of green tea and some Kangen Water!

Well tomorrow I will post another recipe... some grown-up grilled cheese! Until then, follow that Pace Rabbit. Thanks for reading!