Draft Legal Triathlon Races and Winter Break!

Hello all,
I hope my post finds you all doing well this holiday season! I am doing wonderful. Winter season is now upon us and here on the west coast we are very lucky that we can ride just about 365 days a year while some other places around the year are indoors riding trainers for the next couple months. I have taken that to heart and have begun to implement a little bit of treadmill and trainer workouts into my routine especially when it is 29 degrees outside at 4:45 in the morning.

Winter Break has just begun for me which means no school and lots of work and even more training. Racing season is quickly coming around the corner and I will be starting my season in January with a local Crit series to work on bike handling and group racing tactics. For those of you who don't know what a Crit is I will explain. A Crit or Criterium race is a bike race on a very small course about 1 kilometer or less with anywhere from 50 to 75 bike racers racing around the course for 45 minutes and the first person to cross the line without being lapped is the winner. In many crits they have special laps called primes and a prime is a lap which is designated by the ringing of a cow bell in which the first person to cross the finish on that given lap will win a small prize. Crits can become hairy because they are such small courses usually with tight turns and many riders going into them they can cause very large spills if people aren't careful with there bike handling skills and alert of everyone around them. January will mark the first time I will race in those races. I am just hoping to get a grasp of strategy and comfort in large groups the first couple of goes and who knows maybe at the end of the month I will try and set myself up to win a few of them but we will see.

Also during Christmas I have upped the amount of swimming to help with speed and endurance so that I remain in the lead groups during draft legal triathlons rather than having to attempt to play catch up during the bike portion and be tired on the run. this has been my favorite portion so far especially training because it's the warmest in the pool. I'm working on some new running technique which includes running with a metronome to work on turnover speed no matter how fast or slow I'm supposed to be running. Right now i have it set to 178 beats per minute but i want to work it up to 182 beats per minute by racing season. I'm starting to see a lot of benefit including softer and quieter landing. News on the bike has been great I feel this is where the greatest improvement has been for me. My average speed has gone up while maintaining heart rate and my body has become part of my new time trial bike that has been given to me graciously from my new bike sponsor specialized bicycles. Locally we have a few time trials that are recorded with best times and recently I broke one time trial record by more then 30 seconds and the other one I had tied it. if you want to check them out go to www.strava.com create an account and see the posts for Santa Maria, California and look for different segments I'm trying to earn a few hill climbs now as well.

As for racing season we have made one change. The Olympic Training Center has requested that I participate in a few draft legal races to see how I perform in that setting so I will be adding my first draft legal triathlon in March in beautiful Clermont, Florida. I look forward to this opportunity to race the sprint triathlon with some of the countries best. For those who don't know what a draft legal triathlon is it has the same rules as a non-draft legal triathlon except the fact that you are able to draft off others and work together on the bike portion. This changes the tactics of triathlon dramatically. Now you don't want to go all out on the bike and ride off the front because others are going to sit on your wheel behind you and not do any work and still be in the lead group so they can work you down on the run while they are rested and you spent the whole bike up front. Draft legal triathlons have become a swimmer and runner sport with the bike becoming unimportant portion in some aspects of what it take to win the race.

With that I will part with you guys today and will be posting soon. If you have any questions pertaining to anything I have written or any other questions about training or racing feel free to leave them in the comment box where I will be able to answer them in upcoming blogs.

Olympic Training Center Acceptance and Other News

Hello All,
 These past two weeks have been quite eventful. With the olympic training center posting its benchmark tests for residency stays of elite athletes we have been chasing the standards a little bit to check our fitness and compare to some of the countries elite. I had quite a performance. The swim time standard was a 18:23 for a long course 1500 M swim. I used my swim time from this past year of 16:54. For the run time trial I had a not so phenomanal 3k TT. I was out a little slow and negative split coming home. This Past weekend I ran a 5.1K footrace ard went 15:58 which met the time standards of a 15:45 5.0K race. I recieved my invitation to train with some of the top Triathlon coaches in the country as work to qualify for the U-23 Draft Legal National and World Championship teams. I will be going between June and September of 2012 to hone in skills of pack racing, get some altitude training as well as get some exercise physiology testing. I am very excited to be provided this opportunity.

In other news I have recieved my first of new new bikes from my sponsors at specialized bikes. I have recieved my timetrial bike and will be getting my road bike in the next 2 weeks. Once again thank you to Specialized for providing this to me.

The off season is well under way and Training has been steadily increasing and I feel that i'm getting stronger each week I look forward to my first race in March!

Olympic Training Center and U-23 World Championship Team

Hello Everyone,
 I hope this post finds everyone well! Now that we are a month into the new season of training, We have set our sights on a few early season benchmark tests! Last week the United States Olympic committee released its benchmark tests for both the U-23 World Championship team and its benchmark test for the residency programs at the Olympic Training Centers in both Chula Vista, California and Colorado Springs, Colorado. The swim times are posted as a 18:23 for a 1500 M swim and 18:00 for a 1650 Y swim. Those will be rather easy times to hit considering my swimming back round. I will pursue the long course time trial next week in San Luis Obispo. Also the running time trials have been posted. There are 3 time standards, they include a 9:00 3K run, a 15:45 5K, and lastly a 33:00 10K. Today I will be pursuing the 3K TT at Cal Poly with my Tri team. Next week I will  pursue the 5K TT with a current ITU 40-45 Age Group Long Course World Champion. He is one of my coaches athletes and has a fast 33 minute 10 k coming off the bike. He will be a rabbit to set up the first 2.5-3K where I will be off to do battle on my own. These times will help secure a spot for me to do a week long residency program at either of the Olympic training centers with my coach. We will be given the opportunity to work closely with other USAT coaches, as well as do some exercise physiology tests such as Max VO2, Lactic threshold, and metabolic heart rate tests. I'm looking very forward to get this as well as see where my fitness stands currently as I pursue getting on the U-23 World team. Keep posted this week as I will update you all on the status of the Time Trials!

The Offseason Has Begun

Hello everyone,
 The off season has officially begun! Some exciting things to post along with that. My last race of the season was Tinley's Adventures. I raced the very competitive sprint distance race a week after racing in Los Angeles. The race was fairly successful I took second place overall as well as in my age group... There were a lot of my future teammates participating as well all of whom had very successful races. Here is my recap of the race. So after viewing the race site and the pre race meeting board The swim was supposed to be counter clockwise but they changed the course as I was warming up and made it clockwise, apparently everyone got the memo but me and one other athlete. So after about 100 meters i look to see no one was near me to realize they were all going the other way. I changed directions and caught back up into the lead pack of three swimmers. I exited the water first with two Cal Poly athletes. After a distorted transition i was second on the bike I held second until about 9 miles into the ride. After nine miles I was passed by two other riders and went into transition in 4th place. After 1/4 mile run I moved back into the podium spot and with half the run remaining I moved into second but was out of contention to win it. I ended up with a 6:30 swim with going the wrong way, a 20 m.p.h. average bike and a 5:50 mile pace. I was very very satisfied with the run split definitely the fastest of all year and look forward to applying that to my 10 K next season. I was unhappy about the bike split though and that will just motivate me more for next years racing. Also navigation in the water will be very key as well!

After a two week break from triathlon and exercise exceeding no more than an hour a day and the effort of walking an overactive dog I'm back in the saddle and very grateful! I was able to analyze the season with my coach and was very pleased with many of my results. I also set my goals for next year but I would like to keep those between my coach and I for now I will say though that they are quite big and I am more then ready to tackle them. The last two weeks have been very aerobic and long which I have been looking for.

The two biggest things that have happened over the off-season so far is surviving through my 21st birthday this past weekend and more so I would like to welcome aboard my new sponsor Specialized bicycles! They will be working with me and there rep to get me on board with some bikes and equipment. I'm more then excited to be working with Matt and the company I've got some big things in mind for the racing season next year. Check in on Sunday for the newest update talk to you then!

Los Angeles Triathlon Recap

Hello everyone!
Day One
Friday, I traveled down to Los Angeles to compete in my first Elite race. While the day was rater uneventful Lauren one of my core supporters traveled down with me for the weekend to watch and enjoy the event. We left a little later in the day which was a plus and minus because there was no traffic but we were both tired when we were taking our turns driving. It was a beautiful drive though, coming through Santa Barbara there was a large lightning storm that was passing through and lightning storms are just awesome while your driving if you are the passenger. Unfortunately during that part of the trek I was the driver so I didn't get to watch it too much but just being in the midst of something that powerful is incredible. We check into the Fog harbor Inn in Marina Del Rey, a very quaint inn about ten minutes from the race venue. The hospitality was wonderful but let me tell you there was one woman at the front desk who was just in awe of the sport triathlon, she could not believe that it only took 2 hours to finish this grueling race and thought I was getting prepared for the Marines or the Navy Seals. It was hilarious hearing her keep repeating " a mile swim a 25 mile bike and a 6 mile run" over and over again trying to put it together in her head thinking "is that really humanly possible or is he just yanking my chain..." Got settled in the room and went back upstairs to confront the hospitality lady again. Walking through the office with my bike she just could not help but asking "how are you supposed to ride that thing it looks like you would lay down on it" After a short half an hour explanation of how to ride the bike and why lay down on it due to aerodynamics I was able to get back to the room and hit the hay!

Day Two
Saturday morning was great woke up at six to a rerun of the ITU World Championship Grand Finale. Those Brownlee brothers are phenomenal I can't wait to get to that level and line up with them to duke it out. Went for a morning swim at the swim venue and checked out to see if it was possible to walk to the course from the hotel, It was!  The water was so warm compared to here in San Luis Obispo a very warm 67 degrees unlike the 55 degrees I'm used to swimming in. After my morning swim I headed back to the hotel for breakfast and a quick cat nap. After my nap Lauren and I headed to the shoe store so I could get some brightly colored laces and Lauren was going to try on some new running shoes but unfortunately that didn't work out. Next we headed back to the hotel Lauren got to work on psychology homework while I had to head out to race registration and the mandatory pro meeting. After signing my friend Berto and myself in, I headed to the Pro meeting. Let me tell you, there is no way you could make the Herbalife building more confusing. Luckily I spotted another elite athlete and followed him. He looked rather experienced in this field and navigated us to the meeting room. Turns out it was Cameron Dye, good guy to be following to the meeting. That was probably the most nerve racking part of the weekend, sitting in the Pro meeting all I could do was sit there saying to myself Greg Bennet 2 time Olympian and many time world championship race winner, Cameron Dye crazy hair and super fast biker, Lisa Norden Olympian 2 time winner of LA tri and me, a few amateur wins and the youngest by at least 6 years. The most important thing I learned about the race at the meeting is you are running through a movie set for the new Batman movie so don't be alarmed if there is snow and there are New your cabs and busses around you. You are not going the wrong way (I thought that was quite cool). After getting to the hotel we did a slight walking tour of the area surrounding the hotel and watched the boats and paddle boarders. At around 5 my coach Dave Sullivan came to the hotel and we all headed out to dinner at the cheesecake factory next door. I had a delicious Lemon Herb Chicken. After we had eaten dinner Berto finally showed up (not a big surprise) unfortunately he was caught at work and got stuck in an accident. He too had dinner we sat around talking about racing and a little smack talk too while Lauren went back to the room. By the end of the night we went from two people in the room to 4 people with putting a twin size air mattress in the room two bikes and a bunch of other tri equipment everywhere. Lauren was definitely a trooper with three men and a bunch of stuff i applaud you!

Sunday was race morning wake up at 4:15 thinking man where did the hours go. We quickly eat breakfast and as quietly as possible Coach Dave, Berto, and I were off to the venue. We arrive at 5:00 and start to set up the transition area. Unfortunately there were no lights and luckily my coach as awesome as he is brought a head lamp so I could see what I was doing. After a half hour of screwing with my bike wheels and getting changed I was off to warm up. Warm up felt great I was hitting stride went back into the transition area to check my bike once or twice. I was just about warmed up when I saw 4 or 5 officials piled around my bike and I began to stress what is wrong what is wrong, finally I went and asked and luckily I had no problems they were complimenting my set up and the simplicity of it all. 10 minutes before transition closed one random guy racks with the elites and slams his bike next to mine and his bars got stuck on mine and I walk in thinking something happened and luckily it just got stuck on mine. I was rather upset but it happens. 5 minutes before the race started I broke my goggles out of nervousness and luckily packed two pairs. I get into the water and was relieved to find it just as warm as yesterday.

Day Three
And from here the race begins it was a mad house getting in the water this also was the first time I did dolphin dives which is jumping off the bottom doing a butterfly stroke multiple times until your out deep enough to swim, after that it was war. I unfortunately swam to the wrong buoy which was the exit buoy and had to make up ground being one of the fastest swimmers in the field I moved up from last to 5th by the end of the swim I just kept thinking I was as my coach puts it "Gilligan lost at sea" and I would never make it back in. I definitely need to work sighting in the off season. I managed to get out though in 5th place. With the swim I had I should have been out first but could of would have should have. After having a flawless transition the fastest in the whole race actually I was off on the bike. I was not able to get warmed up until about mile 5 but I was still not feeling great until about mile 12. After that I was able to turn it up and felt great. I could now undertand as well why ic had cost an arm and a leg to race in LA. It was beautiful and how often do you get the chance to fly up and down the streets with out cars and stop signs, never. I loved coming right into downtown LA surrounded by monstrous sky scrapers that make you feel like an ant next to them especially when you were coming into transition. I was able to once again flawlessly move through the transition zone again even though I had to run nearly a quarter mile before racking. I had the 3rd fastest T2 on the day. Coming out of transition I felt great good tempo and good technique thats all that was on my mind. I could Hear both Dave And Lauren up the road yelling and screaming as well as an awesome cow bell. I didn't look over to them as I had two elite guys in front of me within a few hundred feet, Dave and Lauren both yelling stay on there feet test them let them have it. We get to the mile long climb and I pass both of them run down the mile hill and loosen up as i'm passing another Brazilian guy in the elite race by this point I am  fired up. We get to the turn around point and one of the elite guys I passed was still clinging on to me waiting to see me crack I made it up the climb again and cramp right in my side I'm huffing and puffing trying to hold off my competitor as I felt myself slowing I ended up getting passed by him with less then a mile to go we end up duking it out back in forth to the finish my coach yelling somewhere only 90 seconds to go anything can happen we keep fighting it out I finally hear Lauren again telling me to go go go near the chute and he ends up toeing me and passing me. I ended up 8th overall. I couldn't complain I had the run of my life by 2:20 and my bike was within a minute of my best, my swim was about 3 minutes slow. sitting in the finish chute I realize i'm bleeding in my shoes and get taken care of just a few popped blisters but a bit of blood.

Race Time!
After the race I warm down a bit and we wait for Berto to finish as well as the penalty time to show up. We wait a long hour for a massage which felt great afterwards and by this time the penalties have been posted. One big lesson my coach taught me was to always check penalties for yourself and your field because you never know what will happening close races. We look at the penalty board and in my race there were 4 men with penalties. Luckily I was no one of those men, but it did help me secure a 7th place finish. The race in total was a great experience I learned more in depth of my weakness' against an elite field in which those weakness' can sometimes be hidden when you blow apart an age group field. They gave me great insight on what needs to be done in the off season so that I learn and that I improve for the coming year. This weekend will be my final triathlon of the Season. I will be racing the Scott Tinley's Triathlon sprint race on Saturday the 1st of October. I am looking for a course record being the first guy under 59 minutes as well as a screaming run split under 18 minutes. Look forward to the race and I will update afterwards!

week of 9/19/11 update!

Hello Everyone,
 How is it going? This is my last week before my first Elite Race in LA this coming weekend. I've been studying the course and watching the waves to observe what I will be working through so far it looks to my advantage. This week will be my first taper of my triathlon career and I'm feeling great. I was planning to taper for National Championships this year but as noted in previous posts I was hit by a car and taper was off the table so that i could just get in reasonable shape for the race. Now though I'm feeling great the run is coming together really well, the bike fitness keeps growing stronger and my swim is at par again. I have been finally swimming double nearly everyday to get back to where I was and biking has been the priority. Got the bike cleaned up last night and best part of taper after cutting the workload is practicing on the race wheels on my bike rides. They are so awesome and look so good! I'll be leaving on friday morning for LA in which I will hang out get a few ocean swims in and then race day will be Sunday morning! I will keep you all updated through the week!

Catch UP!

Hello All,
Sorry for the delay in updatesit has been a very hectic couple of weeks so i'm back to weekly updates and race reports! first and foremost i will bullet below some of the past highlights

• San Luis Obispo Triathlon (DNF) unfortunately after creating a three minute lead ahead of past collegiate champion I was hit by a car on the bike course 2 blocks into the race. after a trip to the ER we determined i had a gradeII separation in my shoulder a sprained ankle and sprained toe as well as a bit of road rash.
• Picked up a new Premiere sponsor: Endurance Films Racing team check them out at endurancefilms.com
• 2 weeks following the accident I was racing again at the Santa Maria Tri-The-Bull super sprint race, where i placed 1st overall and age group while breaking the course record by more than 5 minutes.
• 2011 USA Triathlon National Championships: final time (2:09:04) top 95th percentile on swim with only a week swimming under the belt due to the accident. Great showing finished in the top 10 % overall and was invited to first elite race!
• 9/11/11: first trail race 10 K lopez lake run first place overall by two minutes final time 0:44:12

Currently i'm 13 days out from my first elite race at the LA triathlon where i will be fighting for a top three spot at the Toyota Cup to earn a spot the Following week at the Dallas Toyota Cup National Championship! My bike is getting faster and faster every week which has improved my run fitness dramatically and i'm returning to form is the pool as well. Check out below for picture from national championships with my new kit form endurance films