Really a 4:23.....

Raced Vineman 70.3 this weekend. Great race. I felt fantastic. There is no better feeling in racing then when you are peaking. On sunday all cylinders were firing!

The Good: The main mission of qualifying for Clearwater 70.3 World Championships was accomplished. PR'd in the HIM distance by 10minutes. PR'd the 56mi bike by 10minutes (2:22:24). Fell seconds short of my Run PR, but still ran a 1:24:59 in 90degree plus weather after smoking the bike. Also pr'd the swim by 10 or 15seconds (30:15) and really never felt in serious oxygen debt like i usually do. Besides the 90degree weather and 75 degree water temp the conditions were perfect with no wind or fog during the bike ride.

The Bad: My "official" time (along with hundreds of others) was 5-plus minutes slower than what I really completed the race in. Not really a big deal but it is kind of aggravating since I just had the best race of my life (especially on the bike) and only have my Polar watch and Power Tap to prove it.

The Ugly: Seven miles into the bike (about 2 or 3 minutes before i arrived) an Oak Tree fell out of nowhere onto the bike course. The tree fell on top of one guy who was taken to the hospital seriously injured. A few others ran into the tree right after it fell over, breaking collar bones etc..... Race officials and City officials closed the bike course temporarily so they could tend to the injured and chainsaw the tree out of the road. We all had to wait in line patiently for the road to re-open. All of us are very lucky that we were not hit by that tree. That tree could have decided to topple over moments sooner or later than it actually did. It also turns out that is the fourth Oak Tree in the county to fall and either kill or seriously injure someone in the last six-months.

After dissecting other athlete's race splits, its obvious that the fast swimmers in my Age Group passed the spot of the accident before officials had closed the road (their bike split and overall times are accurate). They arrived at the scene and with EMS already there, they just climbed over the tree and continued with the race. On the same note, some of the really slow swimmers in my Age Group reached the spot of the accident by the time it was all cleaned up so they did not have to stop and their overall times were not affected either.

Overall i finished- 20th out of 2,324 & 5th in my Age Group out of 142. If i had been given my time of 4:23 I figure I would have finished around 12th overall and 3rd in my age group.

THANKS- I want to thank my Grandparents from Denver for coming down to cheer me on. Thanks to GU Energy as always for keeping my stomach happy on race day. Thanks to my wife Kelsey for letting me train consistently and buying my new pair of Oakleys before Vineman. Thanks to Coach Ciavarella (TriOdyssey Coaching) for working with me the last few weeks. Special thanks to Coach Mark Kendall (Speedshot Racing) not only for helping me build up to a huge peak race day on Sunday but for helping develop me into the athlete I am today since 2005. Mark has seen me go from a chubby guy running in basketball shorts to an All-American triathlete in the four years coaching me. And of course a huge thanks to all of my family and friends who continue to encourage and cheer me on as I chase my dream (Pops, Mom, In-Laws, grandparents, drew, tony, Adm, Sal, Aaron, Aunt Mary, cousin April, fellow triathletes, you all know who you are).

Pre-race: My Grandparents from Denver met me down there on Friday after i drove 11hours solo. I had great time visiting with Grandma and grandpa exploring "wine country" and previewing the race course. Sat night before the race i had a mostly rice meal (some veggies, some fish) and a glass of wine.... and 150grams carb drink before bed.

Woke up race morning at 4am bursting with energy. I forced down a 500 calorie breakfast. Drank a bottle of Pedialyte & some water while driving out to the Swim start in Guerneville.

SWIM- 30:19. River swim, shallow water, wave starts from 6:30am-8:30am...a couple spots where there water was only 2ft deep! I seeded myself on the far end of the river close to shore so I wouldn't have to worry much about getting kicked in the face. While waiting for the race to start fellow Vancouverite Judd Rench noticed me and we exchanged words of encouragement before the horn went off. I started off pretty mellow and built into my swim like I did in my last few races. Seems to work well, and its nice not being in serious oxygen debt three minutes into my races like i have been used to. Weaved through lots of swimmers from previous waves and this portion of the race seemed to go buy very fast and pretty painless. I was happy and felt good coming out of the water.

T1- (seperate from T2)- 3:00- Took my time on this one to make sure all my belongings were put away and tied up in the bag so volunteers could transport my wetsuit back to T2

BIKE- 2:22:24- Killing it out there! Besides a few guys that passed me after we re-started the race nobody passed me the entire time. I went back and forth with Kyle Hummel for a little bit before I put some distance on him for the remaining miles of the bike. I got stronger as the race went along and started to bump up my efforts on the hills and flats as I knew I would have some downhill to let my legs recover. Stayed on my nutrition with GU every 20minutes (GU Roctane towards end of ride). Took in 80 oz of fluid (40oz GU Brew, 20 oz of Gatorade from aid station, 20 oz water). Also took one S-Cap at mile 40 of the bike. This really is a fun bike course. It can be technical at times and the road can be rough in many areas. I bet I could have gone a minute faster if I was a little better at cornering and a little more confident descending. Regardless, I rocked and the morale was sky high coming into T2!

t2-1:54- Not the fastest, but one of the fastest of the day. Transitions were pretty long at this race. Took the time to throw on socks (feels great not having blisters), grabbed a couple of Gu Roctanes and my SCaps and was off.

Run- 1:24:59- I just felt really good on this run. It was hot and there was no wind to cool you down. But for the first time I never really had that uncomfortable hot, exhausted feeling that I usually get at this distance. I dumped water over my head at every aid station. The first two aid stations had ice that I would throw down my shirt and also kept a few cubes in my hands. Just running with chilled hands seemed to help a lot in the early miles. The course was not as fast as I thought it may be...but there were some good downhill sections and some good flat to rolling areas where you could really get into a rhythm. I was passing people the whole time (including about 5 from my age group). I didn't feel super fast, but felt super strong and steady. Kyle Hummel came flying by me (en route to a 1:21 half marathon) around mile 2. I thought about going with him, but played it smart and thought that I may see him in the late miles if he fades.
Mile 3 the usual cramps inside my thighs came along. I had to come to a complete stop and massage it out and gingerly walk and then started to jog slowly. This is where my experience is starting to pay off. If this was two years ago, I would have panicked and thought my race was over. But i knew if I gave it a chance, the knot would loosen and go away and i could gradually build back into my race pace. After the 6:50 mile, I got back into the rhythm and kept pumping out 6:30 miles. I was ok with this pace because I knew how hot it was and could see people fading badly around me. So I just hung strong till the end. The last three miles hurt as I upped the heart rate 5 beats per minute, but didn't seem to move much faster. Regardless, I could see the time on my watch and knew I was moments away from crossing the line with a HUGE breakthrough performance....I did a lot of smiling in the closing miles. I finally had raced up to my expectations. Coming in to the finish the heat was starting to get to me and I was just happy to be done and looking forward to doing some wine drinking.

So thats it. My big PR race in the books. I'm looking forward to 3rd Annual Hulaman Half Iron on August 16th. This will be a pretty competitive race for us local amateurs ($500 for the winner) and it will be awesome to see some of the Pro's that show up to compete for the $18k prize purse. I will be looking to get some revenge on Aleck who kept me from defending my title from 2007 last year.
I will also be racing Folsom Olympic Triathlon on August 9th, representing their official Energy gel sponsor GU.

Looking forward to Vineman 70.3

So the main goal for Vineman a week from this sunday will be to qualify for Clearwater 70.3 Worlds. My age group has 4 projected slots to give out to the first 4 finishers in my ag. If people do not have the money to pay, or the interest to race there or have already qualified already, the slot rolls down to the next person and so on. Below are the four guys and their splits who received Clearwater slots after Vineman last year

Mickelson

Ian

M 25-29

USA

4:24:03

0:25:35

2:32:24

1:22:09

Quinn	Greg	M 25-29	USA	4:59:03	32:34:00	2:44:30	1:36:26

Lamar	Brian	M 25-29	USA	4:23:18	22:32	2:33:48	1:22:25
Ree	Nicholas	M 25-29	USA	4:27:44	26:39:00	2:29:07	1:27:40

As you can see 3, 4, 7, & 24th place received slots. There is a good chance i can get a slot even if i have a disaster of a day and finish just under 5hrs (would have to be a horrible horrible feak occurence day). 20 guys passed on their offered spot last year. I will keep that in mind....no matter what happens I am dragging my ass across that line.


TOP 24 in AG last year

1293	Shaun Guest	Concord, CA	26	M	04:14:15.0	1	3
1266	Alan Archard	South San Francisco, CA	26	M	04:17:57.5	2	6
1250	Brian Lamar	Whittier, CA	25	M	04:23:18.6	3	12
1326	Ian Mikelson	Manhattan Beach, CA	28	M	04:24:03.7	4	15
1274	Craig Pansing	Pasadena, CA	26	M	04:26:04.5	5	16
1372	Luke Walton	Poway, CA	29	M	04:27:32.4	6	21
1335	Nicholas Ree	San Francisco, CA	28	M	04:27:44.9	7	22
1297	Brandon Mills	San Diego, CA	27	M	04:30:29.1	8	29
1355	Curtis Olinger	San Francisco, CA	29	M	04:30:37.5	9	30
1286	Nolan Hansen	San Diego, CA	26	M	04:33:27.3	10	37
1260	Jon Wojcik	Wyandotte, MI	25	M	04:36:14.7	11	49
1389	Trevor Glavin	Salinas, CA	29	M	04:36:49.2	12	51
1345	Aaron Jenniges	Vancouver, WA	29	M	04:37:34.2	13	55
1301	Chris Cadotte	Santa Clara, CA	27	M	04:44:35.7	14	89
1387	Stephen Bourque	San Francisco, CA	29	M	04:45:21.9	15	91
2273	Nathan Gushwa	San Francisco, CA	29	M	04:45:58.5	16	96
1352	Cameron Collins	Mission Viejo, CA	29	M	04:46:52.7	17	101
1304	Corey Collins	San Juan Capistrano, CA	27	M	04:48:52.7	18	115
1302	Christopher Nall	Louisville, KY	27	M	04:51:31.1	19	131
1339	Ryan Pearson	Newport Beach, CA	28	M	04:52:59.3	20	145
1256	Jake Martini	San Francisco, CA	25	M	04:56:08.4	21	165
1319	Brian Gruenemay	Davis, CA	28	M	04:57:38.6	22	178
1298	Brandon Guillory	Baton Rouge, LA	27	M	04:58:21.0	23	188
1360	Greg Quinn	Livermore, CA	29	M	04:59:03.7	24	195

Now with all that said, I am feeling ready to kill it! My body feels really strong right now and this is the fastest potential 1/2 IM course that i will have raced on. All my other half IM's have been tough courses (Hulamanx2, Napa Valley Half, Halfmax Nats-Pumpkinman course, Pacific Crest, Grand Columbian). My PR was set at Napa last year with a 4:27, however the swim course there was fast by 6min (i swam a 25min) at least. So lets say my true PR is 4:33.
I strongly believe i am much stronger and faster than what my Half IM race results have shown. But I have to race smart on bike and first half of run and then be ready to hurt on the second half of run to hit what i feel my true potential is. We'll see what happens, but regardless I'm going to make sure I just finish the race and have fun because I want to be in Clearwater in November.

Blue Lake Olympic Triathlon

Here is a link to the full results

And top ten right here:

                             OVERALL    DIV     SWIM          TRAN    BIKE            TRAN  PL AFTER  RUN
  NAME                 AGE SEX    TIME    PLACE    TIME   PLACE  TIME    TIME    PLACE   TIME    BIKE    TIME   PLACE  CITY & STATE

1. Roger Thompson        37  M    1:53:54     1    0:20:09   10   1:32   0:54:00     1    1:01      1    0:37:12    5   Spokane, WA          
2. Matt Berg             36  M    1:58:22     2    0:19:49    8   1:49   0:57:27     3    1:03      2    0:38:14    7   Milwaukie, OR        
3. Cameron Dorn          21  M    2:00:41     1    0:22:49   35   2:01   0:55:57     2    1:13      3    0:38:40   12   Waterloo, SC         
4. Chris Ramsey          36  M    2:00:49     3    0:23:22   43   1:55   0:57:50     7    1:29      7    0:36:12    1   Portland, OR         
5. David Gettle          27  M    2:03:55     1    0:21:14   19   1:51   0:57:44     6    1:13      4    0:41:52   47   Weiser, ID           
6. Joshua Monda          27  M    2:04:23     2    0:23:25   46   1:46   0:59:08    13    1:18      9    0:38:46   14   Vancouver, WA        
7. Warren Bloomberg      39  M    2:04:40     4    0:20:11   11   2:38   1:01:38    38    1:53     10    0:38:20    8   Salem, OR            
8. Daniel Hough          28  M    2:05:10     3    0:21:20   20   2:29   0:59:36    17    1:29      8    0:40:16   23   Talent, OR           
9. Josh Speer            29  M    2:05:11     4    0:24:05   60   1:55   1:01:15    34    1:32     22    0:36:24    2   Portland, OR         
10. Dave Campbell         40  M    2:05:15     1    0:22:25   33   2:29   0:57:43     5    1:20      5    0:41:18   40   Newport, OR  

I had a decent race. I got to race site extra early and snagged the "pole position" (first spot on elite transition rack) just seconds before Roger Thompson (overall winner). I was pretty paranoid about getting a flat tire this race (i've had 6 or 7 of them in training since Wildflower). So i brought my trainer along and rode on the trainer by my parked car for a warm up. I got down to the lake fifteen minutes before the start and got my warm up in. In total i ran 15min easy, rode on trainer for 15min easy w/ pick ups, and splashed around in the water for 5 minutes before the start.

SWIM- The horn blew and i took off in the Elite wave (maybe 10 or 12 of us?). Everyone seemed to be starting out pretty hard and my original plan was to build into the swim so I hung back and just tempo'd. The other part of the plan was to wait for one of the Uber swimming 30-39 yr olds who were starting a minute after us. I knew that if i got passed by a blue swim cap that would be my chance to jump on some feet and really get pulled along.
Well, starting off easy left me in "no mans land" pretty quick and by the second buoy i was all alone. I started to pick up the pace and felt fine....and then it happened...i saw a blue cap flying by on the left. I jumped on his feet and he pulled me for about 45 seconds before he lost contact. That was pretty cool, I thought. I just knocked 10 or 15 seconds off my time! The rest of the swim was pretty "blah". Came out in 23:25 (1:25/100yd pace) which is more of a pace i would like to his in a 70.3 race...but it is what it is...need to keep working on the swim.

T1- 1:46- third fastest overall

BIKE- I still have not put in a whole lot of threshold work on the bike so I knew it would be important not to hammer right out the gates and just try to build into 300+ watts. I started out at 270ish for the first 10-12minutes. Got time splits on Roger Thompson and saw that he was already 5-6 minutes ahead of me...sheeesh! That's annoying when you are as competitive as me. but he is one of the top amateurs in the country so what can you say?.... anyways, props to Old TIm Winenstorfer who passed me right away on the bike en-route to a 57:36 smoking hot bike split (I forgot to ask his heart rate on the bike!). At 15 minutes in I started to pick the pace up to 290watts. At that point i found myself in no mans land again as I could see NOBODY up ahead of me. These guys were really getting busy on the bike today. I was happy when Chris Ramsey flew by me because then i just kept him in my sight and it was good to have another racer to look at (since it is a race) instead of just being in TT mode by myself like its a hard training effort. After the second turn around at the airport, i started pushing the pace into the low 300watt range. I really pushed hard the last 2 miles of the bike. Maybe i should have pushed harder earlier so I could spin a little easier before getting off the bike...because...as soon as i got of the bike i felt cramping coming on...uh oh...however i did PR with a 59:08. Only 13th fastest bike of the day though...I told you these guys were getting busy!

T2- It was great coming off the bike to hear all my friends and family. Mom, Meena, Aunt Mary, Sal & Aaron, Paul and lots of other voices i heard encouraging me. t2 time 1:18...only 6th fastest or so. I was cramping up in the hammys as i put on my shoes.

RUN- I transitioned way faster than Chris Ramsey as I was right on his heels coming out of transition. I noticed he was not in the elite wave so he was actually 1 minute ahead of me since his race started 1 minute after i started in the water. He made a comment about all the people cheering me on, which really made me appreciate everyone. As we started to leave the park I could tell he was feeling good and I was starting to get really tight in the abdomen. so tight to where i could not inhale but short shallow breaths. I passed Old Tim (who was looking pretty strong actually) and tried to get into a rythm and force some deep breaths but it was not happening. I had to stop to try and stretch and take some deep breaths. I thought about dropping out, but knew i couldnt and shouldn't, knowing everyone is waiting for me to finish. As Tim came running back by I started to run with him. My first 3 miles were 6:12, 6:34 (stop and stretch), and 6:57 as i ran with Tim (his heart rate was 160). The cool part about this race is you get to see the leaders on the out and back and get time splits. Then as you hit the turn around you can see about 3/4 of a mile in front of you. So you can really eye down your vicitims if you plan on going hunting. Well I felt like going hunting and decided to give it a GO. The 6:57 third mile when i was running and relaxed and conversational with Tim really helped because i went 5:45 on the next mile. Then 5:51 as we hit the one tiny hill on the course, and made my move from 9th to 7th before the end of the 5th mile. I saw Warren Bloomberg up ahead (I had passed him right on the end of the bike, but he passed me when i was struggling early in the run.). He was having a good run, but i was feeling good now (I could breathe!). I caught him with about .5 mile to go. ran 5:45 for the last mile and cruised home the last .2 in 6th place overall (2nd in my age group). My final run was only 38:46 - 6:14 pace- the first 5k killed me. The second 5k i ran at a 5:47 pace which would have put me at a sub 36min 10k if i did that the whole time. Oh well.
The best part about the race for me was forgetting about my overall goal time of 2:02:00 when I hit mile 3 and just enjoying being out there competing and catching guys on the run. JUST RACING! It felt really good to pass those 3 during the last two miles.


FINAL TIME- 2:04:23 (about 2minutes faster than when i did this course last August)
I just need to figure out what i could have done wrong to get the stomach cramping. i did not drink too much caffeine, i had one bottle of watter with GU2O (100calories) a gu roctane gel and one thermolyte on the bike.
Props to all the guys that killed it out there today and everyone who PR'd.

Thanks to GU for keeping me fueled. The Wife for letting me train :-) Sal for being an assistant coach! CRST Swim team for helping me with my stroke. Thanks to Everyone who came out and watched cheered. And Pops for cheering from far away in AZ!

I also want to welcome to the Pacific NW local Tri scene
-Cameron Dorn fresh in from South Carolina (1st overall in the sprint yesterday and 3rd overall today). This guy is a Beast on the bike.
-Chris Ramsey from Boston (fastest Run split of the day and a smoking fast bike split to accomodate it, taking him to 4th overall)
Watch for these guys on any confirmation lists in the future. they are No joke and it sounds like they will be around competing for Podium spots out here for a while!!

USA Triathlon 2008 All-American

I am happy to say that I was named an All-American for the first time. I ranked 54th in my age group nationwide. I think the top 99 guys in my age group got All-American status. So pretty cool.
Congrats to some of the other local guys who got AA honors (Aleck, Ciaverella, Folske) and Kurian & Chris Bell with Honorable Mention.

Wildflower Long Course 2009

Finished...ready for Beer (and some more GU Chomps! :-) )

Total fake smile, I was HURTING!


blah

Final decent at end of a tough tough tough bike

Looking at my new PR in the swim!


I'm leading that pack....by about 10minutes (they started 10min after me)




Well it was a day of "firsts"for me.....unfortunately those firsts did not include first place overall or in my age group :-)
First off I would like to say I had an absolute blast during the four and a half day trip down to Lake San Antonio. Traveling with Don Ollila, Paul Shoen, Jeff Platt and Patrick McCann kept me laughing the whole time (my stomach is actually more sore than my legs from all the laughing I was doing). The entire Wildflower experience is definitely all its cracked up to be. I have never been to a race that took such great care of the athletes. The race expo, aid stations, finish line, awards, volunteers and staff were all first class. Camping next to thousands of other triathletes is also quite the experience! I will be back next year for the experience and for revenge on the course.
Onto the race:

Swim- 30:37 (1:28/100yd pace)- So the start was pretty cool because i got to stand behind and watch the pro men take off at 8:00am, then the Pro Women at 8:05, then it was our turn at 8:10. The swim starts on a boat ramp and is a running start into the water. I positioned myself in the second row and right in the middle with the idea of starting really hard to get out and hang on with some of the fast swimmers. Well as soon as I ran and dove in the water I got kicked in the face (first time that has happened!) and my goggles got knocked up onto my forehead. I stood up, adjusted and jumped back in. The rest of the swim was pretty uneventful. i just swam hard and got onto some feet from time to time, but didnt find anyone really worth drafting off of for longer than 1minute or so. I am happy with this swim as its about a 1:30 pr for me.
t1- 2:10- this is a tough steep run up the boat ramp and through a huge transition area. Heart rate had to be at 200bpm running up that ramp.
bike- 2:39:51- After about a mile of rolling windy short hills on a bike path you get to beach hill which is a steep mile climb that hurts to hold just 8mph going up. Halfway up my GU flask (with most of my nutrition for the bike) fell off! I had to turn around and stop, pick up GU and restart on that steep ass hill! First time I have dropped my nutrition, but i wasnt going to make the mistake that others have made in the past and just leave it behind. Then the flask almost fell off the holder again! I soon realized that the velcro backing on the flask had come unglued and had to stuff it down my shirt for the rest of the bike. Oh well. Soon I got into a groove and was able to execute my race plan, sticking to the watts. I was flying out there! I was blitzing that course and most importantly having fun. I felt good. I was even passing the pro women! I was on pace for a 2:30-2:32ish bike split, which is smoking for an Age grouper on that course. Unfortunately I hit the wall at mile 38 (right before the course goes from hard to really really hard). I couldn't get my watts back up, my legs were just done. On top of that, it started getting hot out and I was not used to racing in the heat yet being its only May. I stuggled up the mighty Nasty Grade and all the hills after that for the last 18 miles. 2:39:51 is not a bad time for that course, but I wasn't racing to be "not bad" i wanted to make my mark out there and it was just not meant to be that day.
In the end, after reviewing my Powerfile, we found that I spent over 30min in threshold watts before hitting the hills late in the race. This was crucial because I only had about 30min of threshold in me based on most of my training being done in the Tempo range. I should have saved half of those 30minutes for later in the race and I would have had a much different outcome. My normalized watts were 26 less for the last 18miles vs. the first 38.
t2- 1:08- Threw socks on for the first time ever in a Half Iron. Did not more than 10 extra seconds and boy did my feet thank me for it. Its nice not having to nurse blisters for a week after a half iron race for a change! Also popped and S-Cap as I was running out of transition
Run- 1:34:change- took off on the run still feeling like crud from the bike. As soon as we hit the first hill my quads started to cramp and i was forced to walk it out. Five miles and 1500 ft of climbing later I had already put in two 10 minute miles! I was pretty much in survival mode and my competitive drive was non existent. I just kept trucking along, dumping water on my sunburnt body, gulping gatorade and sucking on my GU Flask. I passed a "walking" John Dahlz, who won Collegiate nationals not too long ago, along the way. Just being able to see a pro at that point who was clearly having a bad day but soldiering on determined to finish nonetheless, helped keep me going. At mile 7 i started getting passed by 30-34 year olds (who had started 10minutes after me), and tried matching their paces. It worked. My legs were waking up and had been refueled and I was able to pick up the pace. Last few miles were spent with a tough 31 year old, Chuck Mccarroll. he was top ten at wildflower last year and was having a slightly off day, but of course he was 10 minutes ahead of where i was at in the race. His company helped keep me at a quicker sub 7 minute pace up until the last mile (which was all downhill) where i was able to rip off a 5:35. It was interesting to experience my body "bonking" like that, and continuing to soldier on until i started to emerge from the deficit and get my energy back for the latter miles of the run. I will remember this race when i do my first Ironman.
Final times:

231 - JOSHUA MONDA

Race	Long Course
Age	27
Hometown	Vancouver, WA
Time	04:48:40.830 at Finish Line
Rankings	47th Overall 45th Overall Men 12th 25-29 Men
Splits	Interval Time Pace Swim 30:37.280 25:31 min/mi T1 02:10.620 Bike 02:39:51.910 21.02 mi/hr T2 01:08.430 Run 01:34:52.590 07:15 min/mi

Nutrition-
Half bag of Gu Chomps before swim start
900 calories on bike (700 of them from GU)
75oz of water
One Nuun tab in each of the first two water bottles
One SCap @ 2:00hr mark on bike
One SCap in T2
300 calories of GU on run
Water at every aid station. Gatorade at every other aid station


Well thats that. Next race is Blue Lake Olympic on June 13th, and then Vineman 70.3 on July 19th. I will have two big training camps leading up to Vineman. So i hope to really be ready to make my mark by then. I have 11 weeks to work on it....

Beaver Freezer Tri & Spring Classic Du

Race season has begun! I have had two great races on back to back weekends to kick off my 2009 season!

The first race was Saturday April 4th on the Oregon State University Campus (The Beaver Freezer Sprint Triathlon). I really love this race because:

1- its the first race of the season and I am just itching to get out and let loose

2- i used to be a lard-ass when i attended that university my freshman year...ahhh the memories!

This year was my second time racing the Freezer and last year it lived true to its name as I charged into transition in third place, right behind the others, only to have my hands so cold and frozen that i could not grasp or feel the buckle to get my helmet off. I spent and extra 1min 30sec in T2!! I finished second last year and was disappointed to not at least have a chance to try and run with Nathan Smith for the victory. Well this year not only have i been improving on my swim and bike, but I also practiced grasping and memorizing where my helmet buckle is in case i ever have numb hands again.
The weather turned out great (clear blue skies and in the 50's the entire race). I came out of the 500yard swim in 6:59 (28 second improvement over last years place) and about 9 seconds of that includes run from the pool to the timing mat outside. Again this year I felt good on the bike and worked my way up to 3rd place coming into T2. Nick Alden was leading the race at that point, and Jared Wilson was right in front of me. I had a great transition but still exited t2 behind Jared and in 3rd. We quickly caught and past Alden, but I could not match Jared's speed as he zipped through the 3lap 5k run course in 16:42. I was able to hold a strong and steady 17:19 ( a pr off the bike and 2nd fastest run of the day) to finish 2nd overall. Nathan Smith ran strong into third place to round out the podium.
results here

On April 11th, I went to defend my Spring Classic Duathlon title from last year. I have to admit I was a little nervous before the race, especially see Jay Cech show up (one of the fastest athletes I know in the area). Dave Campbell (another fast and respectable multisport athlete in the region) recaps the day better than I can on this Racecenter.com blog

I just want to say I had a blast and really really really felt on fire on Saturday. I think that is probably the strongest and fastest I have felt since I started competing in endurance sports four years ago. The good new is I am not tapered yet! Huge thanks to Pops, my biggest fan, for supporting me andcheering me on at both races. You make a great "Tri-Caddy" Dad!
Thanks to my wife, Kelsey, for being extra supportive this year. And all my family and friends who find their way out to spectate at the races and those who cheer from far away. I know its not the most interesting or spectator friendly sport but I work my butt off to be the best I can. I appreciate your appreciation for that!
Next up Wildflower Half Iron!

Vancouver Lake Half Marathon 2009

Great race this year. We got some good press too!
check out our local paper, the Columbian, here
And the top Master (Joe Dudman) runner in the Portland Metro area decided to sit this one out and cheer us on. His take on the day and great blog can be found here
Results are HERE

My day went about as good as it could with the conditions. I hung strong in 2nd place up until mile 6 where I got passed by some respectable runners. I stayed in fifth place the rest of the day and finished in 1:15:11 (was 1:16:22 last year). It was tough running in the slush but we all had to do it and it was good experience.
Big congrats to Jesse for having a big day (1:13:21), coming in 2nd overall and edging out the 1st and 2nd place guys from last year.

Thanks to the Columbian for the race recognition and article on the front page (and putting my picture on p. 3!)!
Gotta say many thanks to Russ Zornick & Clark County Running Club for giving me a course to PR on every year
All the volunteers (especially Karon & Bob) thank you!
Coach fo sho! Couldn't do it without him!
And of coure much appreciation to GU Energy for their constant support and keeping me fueled in every race.

Now I'm ready to recover and start the big build up to Wildflower in May. Will be focusing heavily on the bike and swim. But I will throw in some running races in the next couple of months to stay sharp on my feet.

Later!

Kell Jaske 2nd at US Half Marathon Champs- Houston

Track and Field Videos on Flotrack

She is a Portland Lawyer, was a 'jogger" in college,, and now is duking it out with Olympians in the big races. My kind of story!

Uh oh! Whitfield off to Carmichael

and will add some 70.3's to his schedule this year.........more details on his blog post from yesterday

A couple of IM Hawaii videos

I just love pure racing videos. None of the other bs, just clips of the top guys & gals pushing themselves and making it happen at the world championships. Notice Stadler cramp up immediately after getting passed for 1st place by Eneko Llanos on the run (about 4:50 in)... TOUGH SPORT


the world champ's take on the race:

Naeth also to TBB

Angela Naeth,
who's progress i followed closely last year since I am a big fan of her Coach's blog (and philosophies on life), will be on teamTBB this year as well. looking forward to seeing how many other up and commers end up out there and how they do under the boss.

Offseason Moves-

Jonathan "Jonnyo" Caron and Big Zach Ruble the newest athletes to join Brett Sutton's TeamTBB

Cotter to Race IMNZ

James Cotter is signed up to race IronMan New Zealand on March 7th. I'm curious to see how he does at the Ironman distance. I have followed JC's blog this year and he is a strong Oly and 70.3 competitor...really strong. See his 2008 results below:
1st Place- Lavaman Triathlon
1st Place- Austin Triathlon
2nd Place- Playtri Triathlon
3rd Place- Cap Tex Tri
4th Place- Rhode Island 70.3
6th Place- Spirit of Racine HIM
7th Place- The Rooke
9th Place- Chicago Triathlon
11th- Escape from Alcatraz
12th Place- Wildflower Triathlon
17th Place- Dallas Open


Expect to see another solid outing at the longer distance

56k swim week!

Not for me (I wish i had time for that), but for Angela Naeth. This year was her rookie pro season and she had some great results. Swim is her weakness, but she kills it on the bike and is strong on the run. Keep an eye on her and we should see a huge improvement by next season....
check out her coach's really good blog Here

Simon Whitfield, Olympic Triathlon Silver medalist

for 2008 and 2000 Gold Medalist!!!!


A few things:
1.Simon is an awesome athlete and an even awesomer guy!
2.Those olympic medals are HEAVY!
3. Simon rocks!

Article written by the best distance runner ever

http://www.newsweek.com/id/166926/page/1

Even on Bloody Feet

It's hard to run away from a military dictatorship. How the world's fastest marathoner found a way.

By Haile Gebreselassie | NEWSWEEK

Published Nov 1, 2008

From the magazine issue dated Nov 10, 2008

I came of age under a communist military regime in Ethiopia. I could have become a farmer like my father or a soldier like many of my friends. Instead, I became a long-distance runner. And on Sept. 28 in Berlin, I broke my previous marathon record, finishing in 2:03:59—the fastest time in history.

Audacity is not always a valued trait in the Ethiopian countryside where I grew up. You cannot afford to take risks when you are feeding 10 children from a 12-acre plot of land as my father did. And when you live in a dictatorship, any disdain for authority can be taken as a sign of treasonous intent. Yet in spite of my father's and the regime's best efforts to subdue me, I remained headstrong, which is why as a young man I ran two races I never should have.

When I was 15, my high school needed a runner for the 1,500-meter race at a county track meet, so I volunteered—and was ridiculed. At that time, I was smaller than most kids my own age, and the older boys towered above me. The spectators laughed when I burst onto the sand track in a sprint. I could hear them jeering from the metal bleachers, saying, "You'll never make it like that!" They stopped laughing when I pulled farther and farther ahead, however. And they cheered and lifted me in the air when I won.

At 16, I was invited to represent my county in the nationals in Addis Ababa. I'd never even seen a multistory building before. I was still staring at the skyline when my coach returned from the stadium's office, frowning. It turned out my race had been canceled. They'd tried to call ahead to warn us, but back then the only reliable form of communication was face-to-face. I decided that I could not return to my village without competing, however, so I asked my coach if I could enter the marathon. He refused. I was too young, he said, and I had not trained for it. He only changed his mind when I began to cry.

As the race began, I could not see past the runners in front of me. I had no clue how to pace myself and I ran in spurts. By the last five miles, my locally made shoes, made of flimsy rubber and canvas, were coming apart. The fabric between the soles and my feet had worn away and the heat from the sun-baked pavement was beginning to burn. An older, more experienced runner from my village sailed past me on the final stretch, whispering encouragement; as he disappeared into the pack, I understood the importance of leaving something for last.

I would have quit—I wanted to quit—but I kept thinking of my classmates who had joined the Army, their grueling training and their willingness to die. Under such a regime, everything, even homework or plowing a field, became part of an ongoing war—even in a time of peace. I too would make a sacrifice, I thought, though not for the tyrants that ran the country, but for my community.

And I made it. Though just 16, I finished the race in 2 hours and 48 minutes, putting me among the top 100 runners. Crossing the finish line, someone steadied me before I collapsed. As I drank some water, I noticed the blood. The exposed rubber soles had torn through the blisters on my feet. I stayed an extra day in Addis Ababa because the pain was too excruciating to walk to the bus stop.

I swore I would never run again, but a week later I was standing in front of the regional president and an Army colonel who were reminding the athletes of our patriotic obligation to persevere. Though perhaps not in the intended way, the meeting inspired me to keep running. Sometimes we persevere in spite of what we're made to suffer and sometimes because of it.

That first marathon was the most painful competition of my career, and I often think back to it as I run today. Since then I have been world champion four times and have twice won the Olympic 10,000-meter race. In the past four years I have focused my energy increasingly on the marathon, a race that often goes to the mature athlete. Looking back at my fortunate career, I hope I have saved the best for last.

The second half of the season

pic of Don O. (thanks for letting me borrow your race shorts Don!)

Halfmax Nats

Well I have not posted much about my races lately. Part of the reason is I have just been really busy with work and taking care of other things when not training. The other reason is i just was not incredibly thrilled with any of my performances as of late (except for Halfmax on the 18th). The second half of my season has been a learning curve for me in finding out how much racing I can handle in one season. Also how quickly I recover and how to train to peak for a certain race.
Anyways here is how the season progressed after my last race report on August 4th.

Hulaman Half Iron- Last year I won this race at my first attempt for this distance. this year a little bit more competition.
33:30-swim- average for me. Water was a little rough.
2:33:31 Bike- 1min faster than last year, plus the road was all torn up, plus i was riding solo the whole time instead of last year where i raced with Bill Thompson and tried to keep him in sight.
1:37:09 Run- I suffered here. I new it right away. I have never felt worse on the run...even felt worse than PAc Crest. It was humid & hot, i felt like crap. After the first lap I found out Chris B (who was kicking my butt), pulled out of the race and I was in first. Problem was Aleck was close behind me. I tried to pick it up and was able to hold of Aleck as he was nipping at my heels for a few miles. Aleck eventually passed me and he really deserved the win since he had made a wrong turn and ridden 3 or 4 miles off course on the bike. He was still able to run me down too. After Aleck passed me i though i would just jog in for second place. Instead with a mile to got Adam Blalock was closing on me so i had to pick it up and run a 6:20 mile the last mile......finished 2nd place behind Aleck who was really strong and never gave in and had a great race. Props to Athlete's Lounge for putting on the race (free race/transition bags for everyone plus Primes and $500 1sst place, $200 2nd place).

Portland Tri- Great race here with a swim in the willamette, multi loop (spectator friendly) bike and run courses in the heart of downtown portland and a cool enviro-friendly race director.
Decided to have fun with this race and just go without a watch or bike computer the whole time.
Swim- 27:36- slow course as you have to swim against the current the second half of the swim. prob equiv to a 25min or 24:30 no current 1500. out of water in 27th place.
bike- 1:09:44 (24miles)- 3 lap course with 3-4 miles going up each lap.....12th fastest split
run- 36:44 10km- this felt good. although i only passed up a couple guys i felt good out there and stress free running without the watch. Ended up 11th overall in a fairly competitive field of 217 athletes.

USAT Age Group Nationals-
Felt great coming out of water in 23 minutes. was really starting to lay the hammer down on the bike and felt better than i had all season long! Then I flatted 10miles into bike. Had no spare since it was Oly Distance. was a spectator the rest of the day. I did make it onto the Championship Video though! I am right just before halfway through this video running into T1 and stripping my Zoot wetsuit, exposing my Team ZootGu gear- (notice how easily that suit comes off)
http://www.endurancefilms.com/TheCompany/OurSponsors/NAGCHIGHLIGHT.aspx

Best Dam Run 10k- Official results say 34:00. My watch said 33:59.7. I'll call it a sub 34! 4th place overall. felt good

Kaiser Permanente 5miler (part of POrtland Marathon)- 28:23....5th place. Tough slow course. Was fun running and getting cheered on by all the portland marathon spectators!




Halfmax Nationals- 13th place overall, 3rd place age group. Had a decent 32 minute swim. Bike time was 2:44 on the 55 mile course, but 6000feet of climbing made that a decent split. moved my way from 50th overall to 14th during the bike. I was racing out there and feeling great. The last climb on the bike is 6miles @ 8%. And you roll straight into t2 after that climb. so no spinning easy after the climb! The first half of the run was all down hill pretty much. but it was getting hot and i was trying to recover from that bike, so i never got going. Hit the turnaround and the rest of the run was uphill and me just trying to hold my overall finish aroun 15th place. ended up getting passed by 2 guys, but passing 3 so i moved to 13th overall. This was a good result for me at a National Championship event. And one of my favorite races this year because of the challenging course and because it was my bike that got me on the podium in my Age Group!

Overall the was a really cool season for me. I had four Running only race and 9 Multisport races. I confirmed that I am much more of an "elite" if racing Duathlon vs. Triathlon. But I would still rather be a "pretty good" triathlete, than a "very good" duathlete. My 1500 swim PR went from 26:30 last year to 23:20 this year. I can go sub 34:00 on a 10k now. I ran a 35:00 10k off the bike at worlds!

I want to thank my Coach, Mark Kendall for guiding me through another successful season and helping me hit numerous PR's yet again. I'd also like to thank Doug, Mike & Darlene of Columbia River Swim Team for letting their High School kids beat up on me! I have really become much more fit in the water since training with these guys.

Thanks to Team ZootGU for all their support and keeping my energy stores stocked up throughout the season. And thanks to my TeamZootGU teammate Don O. for letting me borrow race shorts for Nationals!

Thanks also to my training partners this year:

Matt Urbanski, Jessie and Eric Doelzal- For whoopin me on the track on a regular basis.

Sal- My swimming and Tri related topic chatting buddy

Chris B- For getting me to swim hard in my open water swim workouts. And for giving me history lessons about our sport!

Thanks to all my teammates with Speedshot Racing (Don, Sue, Don, Andy, Bob & Karen, Allana, Brandon, Jerry, John Colleti), it was great to train and race with everyone again this year.

I'd like to thank all my family and friends for all their support in this journey. And I also want to thank my Wife, Kelsey for trying so hard to put up with all the training and racing. I love you babe.

1st Annual Walk-Mile-For-Kyle!!

This last Sunday we held our 1st Annual Walk-A-Mile-For-Kyle. The walk in Kyle's memory was originally Kyle's Mom's (Debbie) idea to hold an annual walk. When Debbie met Mamie (the Portland marathon Charity contact and Medical director), we were set with an event day and a great organization (the Portland Marathon) to support our cause.
Choosing Open Meadow Alternative Schools as our Charity was the perfect fit. Me, Kyle, Andrew and Adam all went to Open Meadow and the school played a major role in helping each of us turn our lives in a more positive direction when we were struggling in High School. When it was all said and done, we raised more than $2200.00 worth of Donations for the excellent program.
Our Walk was a 6.2mile (10km) hike along the last miles of the Portland Marathon course. This worked out really great because we were able to cheer on all the Marathoners at the same time. Among the marathoners was Open Meadow's Executive director (Andrew Mason)who finished in a solid 3hrs 31min (over an hour faster than his previous marathon time)!! Now there were over 9,000 people running the Marathon on Sunday. We must have really stood out though because I cannot tell you how many volunteers, spectators and police officers who asked me "who is Kyle?". It was so cool to be able to tell complete strangers about my best friend and how his nick name came to be "Walk-A-Mile", hence the event name Walk-A-Mile-For-Kyle

Now on to the Walk:



This is the park where all 60 of us would meet the morning of the walk. Notice two things in this picture:
1: Grammy Wammy (Kyle's Grandma) needs to set the correct date on her camera!
2: You see that strange light up in the tree? Kyle was with us on this day. Smiling down on us the entire time. Probably laughing that we were having to walk in the rain like he had on so many occassions when he was earning his nickname "Walk-A-Mile-Kyle"
 Walkers getting ready to get the show on the road!

This was the wide part of the road that we could stay to the left of all the Marathon runners and out of their way. There were some sections though where Marathoners had to weave through a sea of green Zupan logos!
Yep I wore my blue tights! And yep, Orion wore cut off jean shorts with a hole in the butt!
Thanks for the awesome Water Bottles and GU2O, GU Energy!!
Everybody seems really happy in this picture. This must have been taken before we started walking!
Walk-A-Milers-For-Kylers all over the place! Grammy Wammy and Aunty Mary made cool picture-pins of Kyle (you can see on the shirts) that we got to wear!
2hours of Walking in the rain and we were finished! 6.2miles proved to be a long distance to Walk. Everyone hung in tough and finished for Kyle though!
A big thanks to Mamie Wheeler, Les Smith and the Portland Marathon for letting us participate in their event.
Huge thanks to Zupan's Markets for sponsoring our team and their generous donation.
Thanks a million to Gu Energy for keeping us all hydrated by supplying waterbottles and GU2O for the entire team. (We have extra water bottles and Gu2o that was not used and will be given to Open Meadow students to use)
Thank you Debbie Kepic for getting this event going!
Thank you Grammy Wammy and Aunty Mary for doing such a great job promoting this event!
Thanks to everyone from Lane Powell who participated and donated! You guys really came through for us!
Thank you and Congrats to Andrew Mason, Paul Shoen and Mondo Espinoza for joining our team, donating to Open Meadow and finishing the entire 26.2mile run strong on Sunday!
Thank you also to the staff of Open Meadow. Especially Donna Schaeffer, Michele Taylor, Bob Kellett, Andrew Mason, oh and you too Hoover! It meant a lot to us to be able to raise money and recognition for your program. We appreciate all the support you gave us to make this event run smoothly.
I also want to thank the entire team who walked on Sunday and everyone that helped donate in memory of Kyle. YOur support for this event in its first year was huge, and I am looking forward to growing and improving this Walk for years to come!
Thanks Everybody!

Kyle Robert Kepic
"Walk-A-Mile-Kyle"
Rest in Peace Bro!

Walk-A-Mile-For-Kyle

Open Meadow Alternative Schools alumni and supporters will walk in the Portland Marathon on Sunday, October 5 to honor the memory of a former Open Meadow student.

Join the 6.2 mile memory walk, Walk A Mile For Kyle, to honor the life of Kyle Robert Kepic, a former Open Meadow student who got caught up in using heroin as a young adult and tragically lost his life at the age of 24. The walk will also help to raise awareness of at risk youth and drug addiction, and benefit Open Meadow.

How to Get Involved

• Register for the walk at www.portlandmarathon.org. Click on “Register Online,” click on “Register Now,” select 10K Mayor’s Walk, select Walk A Mile For Kyle Team and enter team password “openmeadow.”

• Entry Fee - $20 Adults

• Start time: 9:30 on Sunday, October 5

• Walk begins at N. Harvard & Willamette Blvd near the University of Portland and ends at SW 3rd & Salmon – Join us for all or part of the walk.

Donate to Open Meadow in Kyle’s memory

• Donate online when you register at www.portlandmarathon.org.
• Donate online at www.openmeadow.org and receive a receipt.
• Donate by writing a check to Open Meadow Alternative Schools and remitting it to Open Meadow, Dept. W, 7621 North Wabash Ave., Portland, OR 97217

Open Meadow is a nonprofit educational organization that last year served more than 700 youth at risk of disconnecting from school and those who had already dropped out. Open Meadow’s mission is to educate youth in small, relationship based programs that emphasize personal responsibility, academics and service to the community.

For more information about Walk A Mile For Kyle, please contact Josh Monda, Team Captain, at jmonda@richardjamesinc.com or 503-810-4596.

Mid-Summer Olympic Tri (Blue Lake)

Raced at Blue Lake sunday. Although the field only contained about 200 people the top 10 or so was pretty competitive. This was my first time racing the Olympic distance on the course and I was eager to see how my swim and bike fitness were coming along. I was given the instructions to "time trial" the swim and bike and then just let my running legs do what they do.
Swim- 24:04- New PR for me. I started in the "elite" wave for the first time. I figured it would pobably force me to push the swim more than i am comfortable. Felt pretty good on the swim. Avg hr was 177 though. 16th place out of the water
T1- 1:47- decent time. HR avg'd 192 though. my heart rate was really running high all day
Bike- 1:00:45- this was not supposed to happen. with the effort I put out (181 avg hr) and the conditions and flatness of the course, i should have been somewhere between 58 and 59 minutes. It didnt help that 3miles in I turned the wrong way at one turn and lost about 15seconds. Once Trevor Davies and Bill Thompson passed me (they started the race in the wave after mine, 1min back) I knew i was having an off day, even though these guys are strong strong riders, i should have held them off for more than 7 or 8 miles.
T2- 1:18-
Run- 38:25- 4th fastest....not feeling well on the run. HR was at 180-185 the whole time and i was running 6:11's. I was not exhausted but could not get my legs turning over any faster and ended up running well off my 35:00 10k time i ran at world in June. Chris Bell started out the run with me and pulled away after 1.5miles to finish 3rd overall.
Grant Folske won the race with some fantastic splits and was the only guy to go under 2hrs in the race. He is looking really strong.
i finshed in 6th place overall in 2:06:19
Oh well we all have our off days. Back to training now and getting ready to Defend my Hulaman title on Aug 17th!!