Mazatlan

Last weekend took me to Mazatlan, Mexico to race in the ITU Pan Am Cup. The race as a whole went ok. Zane and I focus on the process of a race rather than the outcome, and in this case the process didn't go as planned, and as such my outcome suffered. Here is the rundown! Lovely photography by Libbie Holmes

Beautiful beach! Mazatlan was nice, but the assault rifle-wielding police officers and drug dogs walking across our baggage at the airport reminded us we were in the 3rd world. This didn't seem like a place North Americans come for vacation, but rather a vacation spot for Mexicans. I was glad I speak Spanish!

I got settled in and felt fine in the pre-race workouts, although some confusion and lack of preparation things on my part caused more stress than I liked... more on that later.

On my way to the venue race day morning! I felt solid on warmup, but I lacked a plan. This caused me to cut my warmup shorter than I should have, again, the process didn't go well, so the outcome suffered. I am still learning. I learned how tough ITU racing is in Florida, but Mazatlan taught me how the tiniest details can have the biggest impact.

The swim was even more aggressive than Clermont, probably because it was longer. I have the bruises still to prove that it was no cake walk. I would say "you should see the other guy," but I don't even know what body part hit me, let alone what country it was from.

A less-than satisfactory entry was made up for by a good swim, and I found myself in the lead group. The two other Americans took off, but I couldn't see them make the move or I would've been able to go with them. In retrospect, I definitely should've been more aggressive.

I am ashamed to admit this, but again, my T1 lost the race. I was probably 10th coming out of the water, but I didn't have tape with me. A detail that will never again be overlooked. What does tape have to do with anything? Well, tape usually holds my gels to my bike, but since I had none I had to stop to put the gels in my suit. Maybe 6 seconds extra. 

That 6 seconds might as well have been 6 years as I was sprinting out of the saddle-on top of my shoes-as I came out of transition to catch the front pack. Just as I got to the limits of my legs, HR at max, eyeballs about to fall out, the group accelerated and I was still 5 meters behind- too far to catch on. I felt like the guy in the movies who just missed the last train home and chased it down the track in desperation before falling over in exhaustion. 

I sat up and let a couple dudes catch me so we could work together. I had no idea though that the Mexican team is notorious for not pulling. I would do my share of about 30-40 seconds at the front and then pull back and let someone else take over, but the two guys I was with initially were Mexican, and they had no intentions pulling when a capable gringo like myself was with them. Frustrating. Finally, our group gained size from catching a few and being caught by a few, so I wasn't alone, cursing at some Mexicans in Spanish (¡Jale! ¡Pinche Joto!) and was able to finally get a bit of rest.  

A Canadian, Alexander Hinton (who had a hell of a run!) and myself broke away on the last lap for a bit, only to be out sprinted by a bunch of the Mexican team going into transition. Evidently they are known for riding hard for 2k of the race; the first k and the last!

It didn't matter though, because I cooked most of them in T2 and I ran the rest of them down. I gotta say, I got HUGE satisfaction out of this! Look at that photo, I almost don't run like a swimmer anymore! I had a solid run, nothing to write home about, but it showed progress. Just like my race overall, really. I came in 22nd.

The coolest part of the race was how much I felt like a celebrity afterwards. Kids were coming up to me, asking to have their picture taken with me. It was like nothing I have ever experienced. I gave my shades to some kid who wanted my autograph. It made his day, and for some reason I felt like they didn't belong to me anymore. Shortly thereafter, I got a combo deal at a beach shack for a smoked marlin fish taco and a pair of M Frame knock offs for 100 pesos... Nice!

Yes, we did do a little of this too. It was, after all, Mexico! In short, I need to be better planned going into every race. If details don't go overlooked, the process will go smoothly, and the results will follow.

Once again, I have a lot to work on before Kansas City, although the non drafting style will feel a little more like home to me. Until next time, FOLLOW THE PACE RABBIT!

Moving Home

Let's just go ahead and get it out on the table. It'll be quick, like ripping off a band-aid. I'm moving back in with my parents to train full time.

Yeah yeah, call me a quitter, or a mama's boy (partially true), or a slacker. Fact is, I gave up a seat in dental school to pursue triathlon, so I want to DO that as best as I can. I am moving home to cut costs, so that I can train full time, work part time, and then have money left over instead of spending it all on living, traveling, and business expenses... (yeah, like new bikes!) So you can call me whatever you want, but I will be watching the Star-Trek marathon from my parents basement between workouts!

Actually, I hate Star-Trek... and I will be keeping pretty busy.

You can probably tell from my last few posts that my training has been going awesome, but everything else in my life is falling to the wayside. This is not how I want to live my life, and when push comes to shove this means I am going to have to cut some things out. I am nowhere near ready to cut out triathlon, so I am moving home to cut a lot of the other stuff out that comes with living on your own as well as living in the city... and lets be honest, I am a country boy!

Yeah, my top-5 least favorite things include parking garages, stop-and-go traffic, and Affliction T-shirts. All of which are abundant in downtown Denver.

...Also topping the list are giant squid and any music by Pink or The Cranberries, but I can still avoid those in Nebraska.

And, most importantly, I won't have to be quiet when I cheer for the Huskers! And, CU football fans would be like, number 6 on that list of least favorite things... Yes Shook, Rachel, and Hogan, this includes you, but only on game days!

This is not a permanent solution. I love Colorado, and I know I will be back here within a couple years... Just not downtown Denver. This state is the perfect place for triathlon training, I just can't afford it right now. After a year at home, we will re-evaluate based on my training, race results, and savings, and go from there.

Now, expenses are obviously cut down by like, 90% by moving home, but I will basically have to act as my parents' groundskeeper and cleaning guy, which I am OK with. I have also got some sweet opportunities for part-time work that will fit in with my training. Bottom line is, I am not exactly going to be like Will Ferrell in Step Brothers, except that you do have to call me Night Hawk or I will put my balls on your drum set.

This decision may seem rushed, but I actually considered it pretty seriously right after college. This year in Denver has been awesome and I wouldn't trade it or any of the people I've met during it for anything. I am so grateful to have been given so many opportunities out here, and I hope to receive half that many when I come back. But, right now, I just can't make it work.

I will be moving the first week in May, but there are already lots of times in my schedule that I will be returning to the mountains. I am excited to move home and to be able to train full time and see where this takes my performance. I will miss Colorado, but its not like I am moving to Mars. I will totally come back and sleep on your couch for a weekend and train at altitude!

Wish me luck, because as soon as I move home, my training gets amped up! Thanks for your support, and FOLLOW THE PACE RABBIT!

Training update

Whatever happened to the days when I could just go for a run, ride, or swim? When I didn't have to worry about paces, heart rate, or nutrition?

Well, I'll tell ya. Those days should've gone away when I decided to give up a seat at dental school to pursue triathlon. They should've gone away again when I qualified for this sweet card that says "elite" instead of "Men 20-24." But, ultimately these days did not go away until I hired a coach. I've said it before and I'll say it again, having a coach has made all the difference.

Its the organization, the periodization of the training year, and the consistency that have taken me to that next level. Zane is a detail guy, and this has caused me to pay attention to those details as well and see how they fit into the big picture.

For instance, before every workout I think about what kind of mood I am in, what is on my mind, what my nutrition has been like that day, how I slept the night before, and what kind of soreness or fatigue I have from prior workouts. All of these things play a big role in how the workout will go, and if I make a note of them all, we can see how they trend.

This may sound like a lot to consider, but hey, its my job! And besides, it has paid off for me a ton. I now realize how consistent I have to be with nutrition, sleep, and attitude in order to have my training at the level I need.

Writing off purchases like wetsuits as "business expenses" is one of the perks of an elite license. Can't WAIT to try this thing out!

Had to trade in donuts for apples as snacks lately... ahh, sacrifices...

3.5 hour ride on my birthday... I'd be hard pressed to call this a "sacrifice" though... I finally got away from the concrete jungle! And the mustache made me faster.

Lovely evening ride up Lookout Mountain... I am just now realizing these pictures don't really have anything to do with the rest of the post... my bad...

What level, you ask, is the level I now need and can attain? Well, lets just say I have been hitting running and cycling paces that would've been unheard of as recently as 2 months ago, and I have been swimming times I haven't hit since I was in college. The intensity in my training has picked up a ton, basically since right after Clermont, and I can already tell I the athlete named Sam Holmes who will race in Mazatlan is not the same athlete who raced in Clermont.

Well I hope your training is going as well as mine is as the season starts to pick up! Until next time, FOLLOW THE PACE RABBIT!!