Oh man. Everything has been sooo good lately. Training is going really well for my "secret" race. My running is coming along nicely and I'm keeping my cycling/swimming up as well. I've gotten back on my core routine so that's nice. I'm really starting to notice a difference, not only in my core but I'm shaving off those 3-5lbs I gained after Kona....
No big plans as of right now. Running the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving then heading down to Courtneys families house for Thanksgiving day :) I'm just planning on using the Turkey Trot as a speed workout as of right now.
Schools getting more and more crazy but I'm getting so close! One more semester of actual classes then I get to do my residency and I'm done.
I've posted some pretty interesting links recently on my training log... Check it out if you get a chance by clicking the link to the right.
Back to work! Hope everyone is staying safe and training hard!!
_Jacob_
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Saturday, November 8, 2008
New website and long runs....
Ugh. SO... I've been working on the new website thinking that I'd be able to use the domain name that I currently have. (jacobevans.net) Well its looking like I may not be able to do so. Hopefully it'll all work out and all I'll have to do is terminate this domain (after saving everything of course) then buying it again through someone else so that I can use the website i've been designing. If that makes any sense at all.... Ill keep updating as to the status of that endeavor :)
In other news I have a long run tomorrow. Well 14 miles. I'm excited that I can see my running shape coming back around. Its great when I can go out for a fast 8 mile run then not feel it the next day.
Sunday I'm doing the du at Texas Motor Speedway. I'm not training for it nor actually "racing", but I will be participating. It should be fun to be able to go out there and just have fun without worrying about time or place. Ill be riding the new and improved road bike since I've had some serious issues with the tri bike since I've gotten back from Hawaii. Ill feel everyone in on the gritty details of that later...
For now its back to work :)
Hope everyone is doing well, and enjoying the "offseason"...
_Jacob_
In other news I have a long run tomorrow. Well 14 miles. I'm excited that I can see my running shape coming back around. Its great when I can go out for a fast 8 mile run then not feel it the next day.
Sunday I'm doing the du at Texas Motor Speedway. I'm not training for it nor actually "racing", but I will be participating. It should be fun to be able to go out there and just have fun without worrying about time or place. Ill be riding the new and improved road bike since I've had some serious issues with the tri bike since I've gotten back from Hawaii. Ill feel everyone in on the gritty details of that later...
For now its back to work :)
Hope everyone is doing well, and enjoying the "offseason"...
_Jacob_
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Recovery... Almost over....
So its exactly 2 weeks from the day of Kona. Everything is going well and I'm almost done w/ my 2 week recovery. (I have to admit... I did swim 2000 yesterday between classes!)
I just wanted to give a quick update about whats going on and whats been going on...
I'm currently in the process of renovating the website. I bought a new Mac when I got back from Hawaii and it has a phenominal tool for creating websites. Hopefully I'll have that up in a few weeks so I can get some feedback there!
I'm planning on taking it "fairly easy" the next few months. Just do some running races, few half marathons, and one other un-mentionable as of right now... :)
I've really made some big adjustments to next years racing schedule. I've realized that I can't be doing some races for "fun" if my goal is Kona. I can't lie, I want Kona again. Heck, I want a top 5 AG group finish to be honest. So next year the focus is getting to IMLP strong, qualifying, then going back to Kona to get that top 5 AG.
I'll be updating again soon on the status of the new website. It looks good so far. I'll also be posting a Kona YouTube video i put together as well. Hope everyone is doing well!
Also, be sure to check out my training log as I update it everyday!
_Jacob_
I just wanted to give a quick update about whats going on and whats been going on...
I'm currently in the process of renovating the website. I bought a new Mac when I got back from Hawaii and it has a phenominal tool for creating websites. Hopefully I'll have that up in a few weeks so I can get some feedback there!
I'm planning on taking it "fairly easy" the next few months. Just do some running races, few half marathons, and one other un-mentionable as of right now... :)
I've really made some big adjustments to next years racing schedule. I've realized that I can't be doing some races for "fun" if my goal is Kona. I can't lie, I want Kona again. Heck, I want a top 5 AG group finish to be honest. So next year the focus is getting to IMLP strong, qualifying, then going back to Kona to get that top 5 AG.
I'll be updating again soon on the status of the new website. It looks good so far. I'll also be posting a Kona YouTube video i put together as well. Hope everyone is doing well!
Also, be sure to check out my training log as I update it everyday!
_Jacob_
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Kona Departure < 5 days away...
Stress? What stress??
Ironman World Championships = 9 DAYS.
Well, I'm finally done with just about everything that is due before I leave! I was up till 4am this yesterday morning writing a paper for a group debate that we finished up yesterday. Talk about stressed and running on ZERO sleep. Not good this close to Kona. So I'm happy I'm done with that. Class this Friday and Monday then I'm off! Friday should be a breeze and Monday will basically not exist cause mentally i'll be long gone...
I've had really good workouts so far this week. My swims have been right on, my cycling Tuesday was great, and well.. I haven't run yet. Hopefully today I can get a 1.5hr ride in w/ a 30min run and do my swim tonight.
I've been playing around on Picnik.com as usual... Heres a fun photo of some good times! Enjoy!
Ironman World Championships = 9 DAYS.
_Jacob_
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Boooo for the stress...
Ugh.
Its been difficult lately. I'm not totally 100% sure why... maybe its the fact that I'm racing in the Ironman World Championships in < 2 weeks... maybe its school being in full swing w/ massive projects in the works.. maybe its the idea of missing 3 full days of classes for Kona... Maybe its just me letting those things get to me.
I was talking to Courtney today and we realized something... WE LEAVE FOR KONA IN 9 days! WOW. It really hit me.. this is going to happen.... I immediately got off the phone with her and started packing :)
But really, lately I've been a bit off. School really is getting a bit more stressful and a few of my workouts havent been exactly where I want them. Tomorrow I'm really going to push those negative thoughts out of my head and just have a good solid workout w/ my friend Scott.
Its so close to Kona that there is nothing else I can do thats going to help me race day and I know that... Its just difficult to actually act on that. I feel like I need to go ride 130 miles to make sure I'm ready.. Of course I'm not, but thats how I feel. I'm still waiting for that race... that race where I have NO regrets and am 100% satisfied. Things in general are coming together well.. I just need to get through next week without breaking and just stay on top of things.
Ironman World Championships = T-minus 13 days
I love you all :)
_Jacob_
Its been difficult lately. I'm not totally 100% sure why... maybe its the fact that I'm racing in the Ironman World Championships in < 2 weeks... maybe its school being in full swing w/ massive projects in the works.. maybe its the idea of missing 3 full days of classes for Kona... Maybe its just me letting those things get to me.
I was talking to Courtney today and we realized something... WE LEAVE FOR KONA IN 9 days! WOW. It really hit me.. this is going to happen.... I immediately got off the phone with her and started packing :)
But really, lately I've been a bit off. School really is getting a bit more stressful and a few of my workouts havent been exactly where I want them. Tomorrow I'm really going to push those negative thoughts out of my head and just have a good solid workout w/ my friend Scott.
Its so close to Kona that there is nothing else I can do thats going to help me race day and I know that... Its just difficult to actually act on that. I feel like I need to go ride 130 miles to make sure I'm ready.. Of course I'm not, but thats how I feel. I'm still waiting for that race... that race where I have NO regrets and am 100% satisfied. Things in general are coming together well.. I just need to get through next week without breaking and just stay on top of things.
Ironman World Championships = T-minus 13 days
I love you all :)
_Jacob_
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Meat Pie Tri Weekend!!
Well I'm now done with my final race before Hawaii! This weekend Courtney and I drove down to Louisiana so I could do the Louisiana State Championship Tri (Meat Pie Tri) so that I could hopefully get those 100 points its worth.
Since I'm trying to place 1st in my AG for the Region and get my regional elite I need these points! After the dissapointment I dealt with at Route 66 I really want to get a win and move up in the rankings.
We arrived in nachitoches (Sp?) around 6:30ish on Saturday. We checked out the race site, found our hotel, grabbed some grilled chicken at Chilis and headed back to the hotel to get some sleep. The alarm went off the next morning around 4:30 and we headed off to the race site. Pre race went well. I grabbed my packet and set everything up after a quick 15min WU ride on the run course. I found out a few minutes before the race that it was wetsuit legal by about .5 of a degree! Ha. Of course I didnt have a wetsuit... but on the upside I was getting more practice with my friend Scotts Blue Seventy Speedsuit, which i've totally fallen in love with :) The swim was a time trial start meaning everyone formed a massive line starting with the lowest and going one by one every 3-5 seconds. I went in 18th and came out 2nd! Wow. What a solid swim. Ran into transition to discover my chip was no longer on my ankle.. As I ran out of transition in second I told the timing guy at the mat that I didnt have a chip and that I was number 18.
I knew who was off in first and really worked to catch him. Unfortunately I never did, and since I dont have any splits other than the ones I got (which was only for my 5K) I have no idea if I actually gained on first or not. T2 went way smoother than I thought it would and I was off. My 5K was SMOKIN... It was somewhere from 17:59-18:01. Regardless thats a 5:48 pace and almost a PR (including my stand alone!). After checking out the results that was about a minute faster than the second 5K split. So I really gained some ground here, which is where I normally lose races.
Once results were up I saw that I ended up in 3rd overall and first Age group by 10mins! Since I was in the top 3 I got an overall award which was a beach towel and a free pair of Brooks running shoes. (which I'm probably going to sell on Ebay since I wear Newtons)
As far as points go I didnt get the 100 I wanted but I did end up with 97.9. After doing some calculations, those points put me in 9th overall and 1st age group with 95.0 points. Unfortunately I also realized that had the Route 66 racing staff put a turnaround cone on their bike course I would have gotten 100 points and my total now would be 98.66 which means i'd be in 2nd OVERALL. (Thats overall hardware by the way) So its a little bitter sweet right now. None the less its a lot of motivation to get out there and kick some ass next year in the points so I can get up there in the overall.
In other news KONA IS LESS THAN 3 WEEKS AWAY!!! I leave in TWO WEEKS! wow. Its really starting to sink in. I still dont think that my body has realized its going to be doing an Ironman distance race that soon though... which could be a good thing I guess? :) This is my last 20+ hour training week so I'm really going to focus on getting those quality workouts and just staying relaxed.
Ill post my Meat Pie Tri race report as soon as I get it done!
Back to finishing up some homework...
Click here for the MeatPie Tri RESULTS if you wanna see the overall!
Have a good week! :)
_Jacob_
Since I'm trying to place 1st in my AG for the Region and get my regional elite I need these points! After the dissapointment I dealt with at Route 66 I really want to get a win and move up in the rankings.
We arrived in nachitoches (Sp?) around 6:30ish on Saturday. We checked out the race site, found our hotel, grabbed some grilled chicken at Chilis and headed back to the hotel to get some sleep. The alarm went off the next morning around 4:30 and we headed off to the race site. Pre race went well. I grabbed my packet and set everything up after a quick 15min WU ride on the run course. I found out a few minutes before the race that it was wetsuit legal by about .5 of a degree! Ha. Of course I didnt have a wetsuit... but on the upside I was getting more practice with my friend Scotts Blue Seventy Speedsuit, which i've totally fallen in love with :) The swim was a time trial start meaning everyone formed a massive line starting with the lowest and going one by one every 3-5 seconds. I went in 18th and came out 2nd! Wow. What a solid swim. Ran into transition to discover my chip was no longer on my ankle.. As I ran out of transition in second I told the timing guy at the mat that I didnt have a chip and that I was number 18.
I knew who was off in first and really worked to catch him. Unfortunately I never did, and since I dont have any splits other than the ones I got (which was only for my 5K) I have no idea if I actually gained on first or not. T2 went way smoother than I thought it would and I was off. My 5K was SMOKIN... It was somewhere from 17:59-18:01. Regardless thats a 5:48 pace and almost a PR (including my stand alone!). After checking out the results that was about a minute faster than the second 5K split. So I really gained some ground here, which is where I normally lose races.
Once results were up I saw that I ended up in 3rd overall and first Age group by 10mins! Since I was in the top 3 I got an overall award which was a beach towel and a free pair of Brooks running shoes. (which I'm probably going to sell on Ebay since I wear Newtons)
As far as points go I didnt get the 100 I wanted but I did end up with 97.9. After doing some calculations, those points put me in 9th overall and 1st age group with 95.0 points. Unfortunately I also realized that had the Route 66 racing staff put a turnaround cone on their bike course I would have gotten 100 points and my total now would be 98.66 which means i'd be in 2nd OVERALL. (Thats overall hardware by the way) So its a little bitter sweet right now. None the less its a lot of motivation to get out there and kick some ass next year in the points so I can get up there in the overall.
In other news KONA IS LESS THAN 3 WEEKS AWAY!!! I leave in TWO WEEKS! wow. Its really starting to sink in. I still dont think that my body has realized its going to be doing an Ironman distance race that soon though... which could be a good thing I guess? :) This is my last 20+ hour training week so I'm really going to focus on getting those quality workouts and just staying relaxed.
Ill post my Meat Pie Tri race report as soon as I get it done!
Back to finishing up some homework...
Click here for the MeatPie Tri RESULTS if you wanna see the overall!
Have a good week! :)
_Jacob_
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Freakin Hawaii...
Its funny how it really hits me while I'm at work hopped up on coffee around 3:14am...
I'm getting to race in Ironman World Championships. I couldnt have imagined this a year ago. It was only a dream. A hope. Nothing more... I never actually thought then I had a chance. Now here I am a year later with aspirations of going under 10hrs on the big island.
I'm really at a lose for words so i'll cut it short. Meat Pie Tri is tomorrow and I'm ready to win. 100 points would be really nice.
Kona Taper < 9 days.
_Jacob_
I'm getting to race in Ironman World Championships. I couldnt have imagined this a year ago. It was only a dream. A hope. Nothing more... I never actually thought then I had a chance. Now here I am a year later with aspirations of going under 10hrs on the big island.
I'm really at a lose for words so i'll cut it short. Meat Pie Tri is tomorrow and I'm ready to win. 100 points would be really nice.
Kona Taper < 9 days.
_Jacob_
Thursday, September 18, 2008
New Sponsors and a fantastic birthday..
So I had my 23rd birthday on Monday! I'm definitly not too fond of this idea of growing older.. but hopefully with age comes faster and faster splits! :) wait... I mean wisdom. Yeah yeah.. wisdom.. ;)
I got some really great suprises and plenty of kind cards from friends! Thanks to everyone for making this a special birthday and one I'll never forget! A special thanks to Courtney for an amazing Sunday night dinner and my NEW Specialized Arc-II sunglasses!! I can't wait to try thsoe bad boys out on the big island in October!
In other news NUUN accepted my sponsorship application! I'm excited to represent them for the remainder of my season and especially at Kona. I've been using the product for close to a year now and really find it to be a handy form or electrolyte hydration. Plus it tastes good!! For all your NUUN needs check out www.nuun.com/shop!
I got some really great suprises and plenty of kind cards from friends! Thanks to everyone for making this a special birthday and one I'll never forget! A special thanks to Courtney for an amazing Sunday night dinner and my NEW Specialized Arc-II sunglasses!! I can't wait to try thsoe bad boys out on the big island in October!
In other news NUUN accepted my sponsorship application! I'm excited to represent them for the remainder of my season and especially at Kona. I've been using the product for close to a year now and really find it to be a handy form or electrolyte hydration. Plus it tastes good!! For all your NUUN needs check out www.nuun.com/shop!
School is in full swing and things are getting done! Its definitly difficult focusing on classes knowing the Ironman World Championships are on the horizon :) Hopefully it will get a little easier after Kona.
Courtney and I are heading out to the Meat Pie Tri in Louisiana this weekend so that I can hopefully get some massive points!! Finally. I've been looking for big points all year and have run into a few roadblocks, but its looking good for this weekend. My training is right on schedule and I feel great. A win would really be nice.
Next week ill put in some more big volume then its a drastic TWO WEEK taper to the big day!
Alrighty, its back to school work for me. Hope everyone is having a fantastic week! :)
_Jacob_
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Focused on KONA...
We're now well into September. It's really starting to hit me. I WILL be treading water in Kailua Bay on October 11th. Ill be cycling down the Queen K across vast lava fields. I'll run down Ali'i drive.
It doesnt get any better than that for most triathletes. With one more build phase to go I find myself getting more and more focused. I'm already visioning solid, beneficial workouts that lead to a succesful race.
I've even started to tighten down on my diet a little bit more. I'm really excited to see how my training plan works for me on race day. I'm ready to see what I can do when there is no pressure. No reason to hold back. If I bonk ... I bonk. If I walk.. I walk. So what. I'm IN KONA! I just ordered the wheel set I'm going to run. My good friend Andrew got me a great deal on a rental for a Zipp 404 front and a Zipp 808 rear, both clinchers. The last thing I want to do is be playing around w/ tubulars out on the lava fields if I get a flat!! Theres really not a whole lot more to do from here other than get the training miles in and stay focused. Thanks to everyone for all your support and words of encouragement :) I hope to make everyone proud October 11th.
In other news PrarieMan is this weekend. I've really been putting pressure on Scott to perform (haha!) and get that half mary under 1:30! :) Actually I'll be happy with anything. Personally I'd like to finish w/ a sub :30 swim and a sub 2:20 bike. I dont plan on pushing outside my limits, but rather trying to stay controlled while going uber fast. It'll probably come down to the winds on Sunday. I used to cycle Joe Pool ALL the time and I'll tell you those winds can really pick up near the lake. The swim isnt wetsuit legal, but Scott said I can wear his BlueSeventy speedsuit so It'll be nice trying that out in a race before Kona.
Alrighty, I need to get some reading done for school! I'll hopefully get some time on Sunday after the race to update w/ some good results!
_Jacob_
It doesnt get any better than that for most triathletes. With one more build phase to go I find myself getting more and more focused. I'm already visioning solid, beneficial workouts that lead to a succesful race.
I've even started to tighten down on my diet a little bit more. I'm really excited to see how my training plan works for me on race day. I'm ready to see what I can do when there is no pressure. No reason to hold back. If I bonk ... I bonk. If I walk.. I walk. So what. I'm IN KONA! I just ordered the wheel set I'm going to run. My good friend Andrew got me a great deal on a rental for a Zipp 404 front and a Zipp 808 rear, both clinchers. The last thing I want to do is be playing around w/ tubulars out on the lava fields if I get a flat!! Theres really not a whole lot more to do from here other than get the training miles in and stay focused. Thanks to everyone for all your support and words of encouragement :) I hope to make everyone proud October 11th.
In other news PrarieMan is this weekend. I've really been putting pressure on Scott to perform (haha!) and get that half mary under 1:30! :) Actually I'll be happy with anything. Personally I'd like to finish w/ a sub :30 swim and a sub 2:20 bike. I dont plan on pushing outside my limits, but rather trying to stay controlled while going uber fast. It'll probably come down to the winds on Sunday. I used to cycle Joe Pool ALL the time and I'll tell you those winds can really pick up near the lake. The swim isnt wetsuit legal, but Scott said I can wear his BlueSeventy speedsuit so It'll be nice trying that out in a race before Kona.
Alrighty, I need to get some reading done for school! I'll hopefully get some time on Sunday after the race to update w/ some good results!
_Jacob_
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
7hr workouts and Bikram Yoga...
Whooo. Well its been a nice few days. Saturday REALLY didnt go the way I wanted it to. Needed to get 3-4hrs in and got 1.5 due to lack of sleep. I got my 7hr workout in on Sunday. Did 115miles on the bike with a 1hr run and that went really well. Winds have been picking up the past two weekends so it makes my ride a little more challenging. Around 3:15mins-4:30mins theres a pretty good headwind. The run was great. Couldnt have been much better.
All thats left now is this recovery week. Another 3 week build phase then a 2 week taper. Im still debating on the long workouts for the next three weekends. I had a good friend throw out the idea of a 75-80mile ride w/ a 14-16mile run. I may give that a shot. I will be doing two 18mile runs for sure. Just not sure when... Nothing closer than 3 weeks out. With less than three weeks to go its mainly gonna be cycling. No hard impact long distance running at all. Max run 8miles. The taper will be drastic to say the least.
I like the idea that this race for me is so different that any other Ironman for the reason that I'm no longer trying to qualify for anything. I know good and well I'm not going to place so why not experiement and see how different things work. Thats why this time I'm doing the 2week taper instead of 3 week.
Tried Bikram Yoga for the first time yesterday. OMG. Freakin brutal. Thoroughly enjoyed it though. I REALLY wish it was something I could invest more time in. If I were ever a professional triathlete or athlete in general Bikram would be a part of my workout schedule on a daily basis. Thanks to Scott for talking me into it Believe or not I really wanna go back now!
Like I said earlier.. this week will be a nice easy recovery week before I start my final build. Ill keep up the swimming volume this week, stay on top of my cycling and running and get prepared for the Prarieman relay this weekend in which ill be swimming and cycling. Scott will be running the half mary.
Lastly, If anyone knows of a good, reliable source for me to rent or borrow a good wheel set for Kona from let me know! Preferrably a clincher wheelset. Either a Zipp 404 front, 808 rear; or a Blackwell 50mm front, 100mm rear, clincher as well... Thanks!!
I've got some coffee to drink.
Congrats to everyone that started and finished IMKY this weekend!
All thats left now is this recovery week. Another 3 week build phase then a 2 week taper. Im still debating on the long workouts for the next three weekends. I had a good friend throw out the idea of a 75-80mile ride w/ a 14-16mile run. I may give that a shot. I will be doing two 18mile runs for sure. Just not sure when... Nothing closer than 3 weeks out. With less than three weeks to go its mainly gonna be cycling. No hard impact long distance running at all. Max run 8miles. The taper will be drastic to say the least.
I like the idea that this race for me is so different that any other Ironman for the reason that I'm no longer trying to qualify for anything. I know good and well I'm not going to place so why not experiement and see how different things work. Thats why this time I'm doing the 2week taper instead of 3 week.
Tried Bikram Yoga for the first time yesterday. OMG. Freakin brutal. Thoroughly enjoyed it though. I REALLY wish it was something I could invest more time in. If I were ever a professional triathlete or athlete in general Bikram would be a part of my workout schedule on a daily basis. Thanks to Scott for talking me into it Believe or not I really wanna go back now!
Like I said earlier.. this week will be a nice easy recovery week before I start my final build. Ill keep up the swimming volume this week, stay on top of my cycling and running and get prepared for the Prarieman relay this weekend in which ill be swimming and cycling. Scott will be running the half mary.
Lastly, If anyone knows of a good, reliable source for me to rent or borrow a good wheel set for Kona from let me know! Preferrably a clincher wheelset. Either a Zipp 404 front, 808 rear; or a Blackwell 50mm front, 100mm rear, clincher as well... Thanks!!
I've got some coffee to drink.
Congrats to everyone that started and finished IMKY this weekend!
I've included a picture of some Bikram greatness.... :- /
_Jacob_
_Jacob_
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Some late night fun...
A friend informed me of a free "photoshop" type program on the web so I've been playing with that for awhile. Heres a sample of what I've been doing..
Enjoy :)
_Jacob_
Enjoy :)
_Jacob_
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Floatin' on through the last first day of school....
Soooooo.. Lets hope today was my last first day of undergrad! Hahaha. I can only hope this is my last year. I'm seriously ready to graduate. If weren't aware already school started today. Boo. Shouldn't be too tough. Classes are MWF, 0900-1350, and I get an hr break from 1200-1300 so I'm going to be able to swim 45mins every MWF, plus I'll also be swimming tuesday and thursdays nights still in Mansfield. Ill be able to get my long 3500yrd + swims in then.
Had some amazing workouts this past week. Had a rough day right in the middle where I didnt feel like doing ANYthing... so what did I do? NOTHING! Took a day off and adjusted some workouts. Still got my 12mile run in on Saturday. I did a 30min WU ride right before it and really felt good when I started the run. For me it definitly helps to get me moving if I ride the bike for a few minutes.
Sunday I had a 6hr ride planned w/ a 1hr run. Towards the end of the ride I realized I was a bit behind schedule so I really dropped the hammer and was still feeling good. Wasn't really feeling up to the run so I rode an extra 30mins and cut the run down to 30mins. So in the end I ended up riding 126 miles w/ a 4mile run @ a 7:20/m pace. The run felt better the farther I got into it. Happy to have that one under my belt :)
This is another build week then I'll recover next week. After that its 3more weeks of building w/ a 2 week taper. Its unbelievable to think how fast the time has gone by. Out of all my training periods for IMs this one has definitly been my favorite. I've tried a few new things this time and most of them have worked out. The final test will be the two week taper.
Just wanted to give a little update! Back to work and finishing up school stuff...
Heres a little video that fits the mood :)
_Jacob_
Had some amazing workouts this past week. Had a rough day right in the middle where I didnt feel like doing ANYthing... so what did I do? NOTHING! Took a day off and adjusted some workouts. Still got my 12mile run in on Saturday. I did a 30min WU ride right before it and really felt good when I started the run. For me it definitly helps to get me moving if I ride the bike for a few minutes.
Sunday I had a 6hr ride planned w/ a 1hr run. Towards the end of the ride I realized I was a bit behind schedule so I really dropped the hammer and was still feeling good. Wasn't really feeling up to the run so I rode an extra 30mins and cut the run down to 30mins. So in the end I ended up riding 126 miles w/ a 4mile run @ a 7:20/m pace. The run felt better the farther I got into it. Happy to have that one under my belt :)
This is another build week then I'll recover next week. After that its 3more weeks of building w/ a 2 week taper. Its unbelievable to think how fast the time has gone by. Out of all my training periods for IMs this one has definitly been my favorite. I've tried a few new things this time and most of them have worked out. The final test will be the two week taper.
Just wanted to give a little update! Back to work and finishing up school stuff...
Heres a little video that fits the mood :)
_Jacob_
Friday, August 22, 2008
Pikes Peak Race Report!!
Heres the link to my race report for Pikes Peak! Its a bit lengthy in parts and has tons of typos! (was also written at 2am) Enjoy!!
CLICK HERE to check it out!
_Jacob_
CLICK HERE to check it out!
_Jacob_
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Pikes Peak Ascent 2008
Oh man. What can I say? I survived the Pikes Peak Ascent. By far the craziest, and hardest thing I've ever done including Ironmans. Maybe it wasnt the course, but the conditions that made this race a life changing experience for me. At the start (6,200ft above sea level) it was about 52 degrees and raining. By the time I was at the top, 3hrs and 18minutes later it was 29-32 degrees, sleeting/snowing, and the winds were 30+mph. I was wearing running shorts, a long sleeve tech shirt, and my newton cap. Unprepared would be an understatement. None the less I had the time of my life. When I registered for this race I was looking for a challenge. I got a challenge and so much more. I pushed beyond where I thought I could. Once past mile 10 around 11,000 ft the trees stop growing. The last 5K took me 1hr and 1min. Lets just say i've run a flat 5K in 17mins. This was just downright amazing. Even though I was walking each step was a challenge. Stepping on and over boulders that were coated w/ sleet added to the challenge. I'll stop with that, because I want to leave some suprises for the race report, but let me say this. Crossing the finish line for that race at 14,211 ft above sea level was the best feeling yet, and helped me realize mentally what I'm capable of.
Other than that I've been awesome. My Kona training is going so smoothly. I'm getting in all the training I want and I'm right on schedule. I've already gotten in two 115 mile rides, one w/ an 4mile run and the second w/ a 1hr 8 mile run around a 7:20/m pace. I still have 4 more 115 mile rides planned so hopefully I can keep up the cycling and stay on track.
After Lake Stevens this year I took it upon myself to lose about 10lbs. Well since then I've lost btwn 5-8lbs and I'm really seeing a difference. In my cycling for sure, but most of all in my runs. I'm easily running a 7:15/m pace on a regular basis. Sub 7min miles are really starting to feel good. I've REALLY started monitoring what goes into my body a lot closer. The closer I get to Kona the more I'll increase my calories. Once I get down to about 9lbs-10lbs from where I was I'll increase those calories and see if I can maintain that weight.
School starts Monday and I'm definitly not as excited as I'd like to be but it should add some structure to my weeks, plus help me get back on track w/ my swimming. The weeks that i'm training for Kona are going to be tough but it'll all pay off when I cross that finish line. (hopefully sub 10!!!)
Lastly I've started contimplating the Virginia Double Iron for next year. If it wasnt for possibly Kona qualifying again next year I'd already totally commit but as of right now I cant say that I wouldnt take my Kona slot if I get it for sure. I may pay the fees for the double and if I Kona qualify just withdraw... Odd thing is.. The double Iron is less than a WTC ironman. FIGURES. Speaking of the WTC...... guess I'll save that rant for another day!
Hope everyone is doing well! Enjoy these pics from the Pikes Peak Ascent. If you want to see the rest just click on the link on the right of the page w/ my picture. It says "pictures" underneath!
_Jacob_
Other than that I've been awesome. My Kona training is going so smoothly. I'm getting in all the training I want and I'm right on schedule. I've already gotten in two 115 mile rides, one w/ an 4mile run and the second w/ a 1hr 8 mile run around a 7:20/m pace. I still have 4 more 115 mile rides planned so hopefully I can keep up the cycling and stay on track.
After Lake Stevens this year I took it upon myself to lose about 10lbs. Well since then I've lost btwn 5-8lbs and I'm really seeing a difference. In my cycling for sure, but most of all in my runs. I'm easily running a 7:15/m pace on a regular basis. Sub 7min miles are really starting to feel good. I've REALLY started monitoring what goes into my body a lot closer. The closer I get to Kona the more I'll increase my calories. Once I get down to about 9lbs-10lbs from where I was I'll increase those calories and see if I can maintain that weight.
School starts Monday and I'm definitly not as excited as I'd like to be but it should add some structure to my weeks, plus help me get back on track w/ my swimming. The weeks that i'm training for Kona are going to be tough but it'll all pay off when I cross that finish line. (hopefully sub 10!!!)
Lastly I've started contimplating the Virginia Double Iron for next year. If it wasnt for possibly Kona qualifying again next year I'd already totally commit but as of right now I cant say that I wouldnt take my Kona slot if I get it for sure. I may pay the fees for the double and if I Kona qualify just withdraw... Odd thing is.. The double Iron is less than a WTC ironman. FIGURES. Speaking of the WTC...... guess I'll save that rant for another day!
Hope everyone is doing well! Enjoy these pics from the Pikes Peak Ascent. If you want to see the rest just click on the link on the right of the page w/ my picture. It says "pictures" underneath!
_Jacob_
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Lake Placid and Lake Stevens...
Whoo! So a lot has happened. Or at least it feels like it. I raced Lake Stevens two and a half weeks ago and it wasnt what I wanted. I was TOTALLY dissapointed with myself. On the upside I feel like it was a good motivator to get going. Since then I've decided to drop a few pounds and really start focusing on my bike skills. The race itself happened like this. The swim was around 32 minutes. Two minutes slower than what I wanted. I REALLY felt like I was swimming btwn 28-29 min. With that said I feel the course was a bit long...
Came out of the water to see my time and was immediately dissapointed. Came out of transition another min and a half later so I was already 3.5 minutes behind schedule. Started the bike course feeling pretty good. Passing people on a regular basis. RARELY getting passed. The bike course really was a challenge and was a blast all at the same time. Everything went great untill about mile 48ish. It just hit me all the sudden and I just lost it. Had no energy in the legs. Basically sat up and cruised as fast as I could cruise back to town.
Started my run after a 2:39ish bike. 9min slower than what I wanted and felt pretty good. I wanted a sub 1:30 half mary. First mile was 6:40ish something and it began to fade just a bit from there. Held a 7:00/m ish pace till about 7 and started fading on the run there. Last two miles were a bit quicker but in the end my half mary was 1:35 on a reasonably tough course...
Total finish time was 4:53. A PR by five minutes but still TOTALLY dissapointing. I have yet to pinpoint what happened there... Maybe lack of training? (I doubt it) .. I did use a product I love called SPORTLEGS for the first time since Arizona there so maybe it was the fact that I hadnt been training w/ them and all the sudden used them... I also noticed post race that my tire was slightly rubbing my frame.. That also could have attributed to the VERY QUICK lack of energy out of nowhere. maybe something moved and it started rubbing. All excuses... But in the end I just didnt have it that day. More motivation to get out there and get good quality workouts in. Ill post the actual race report as soon as its done.
In other news I flew up to Lake Placid this weekend to register for 2009. How ridiculous is that? I actually had to fly to lake Placid to register for next years race?!?! I flew up Thursday morning and stayed with a friends sister. She showed my how to take the train to Central Park and what not then we grabbed dinner before seeing the midnight showing of Dark Knight which was PHENOMINAL by the way! The night before I left I only got 3-4hrs of sleep so i was fading fast. We grabbed a taxi home at 3:15am and i was asleep around 4. Got up the next day around noon. Ran the 10K look in Central Park and headed back to Queens to meet up w/ my friend Andrew. We loaded the car and headed to lake Placid. 5Hrs later we rolled into Lake Placid @ 1am! At this point we parked the car RIGHT next to the lake (mirror lake) and headed across the street to grab a quick brew before we sat up the tent. Left there around 2am, set up our tent right next to the water in the middle of Lake Placid and tried to sleep. Within 15min we weree getting TORRENTIAL rains. I woke Andrew and we slept in his car. Slept maybe 4hrs. Woke up around 7 and swam the 2.4 mile loop in about an hr ten w/o a wetsuit which was a bit more difficult than I thought it would be! Messed around all day and maybe slept 4 hrs that night in "our" tent. Woke up Sunday to volunteer/watch the race. Andrew was on kayak duty so he headed out to do that and I waded along the beach to watch the start from the best point of view. Ill post the pics and video soon :) After the start I headed to my Volunteer assignment which was T1. Around 7:30 the rain started. Not just rain. MASS RAIN. for 13 HOURS STRAIGHT. T1 was chaos. Total chaos! Stuff everywhere... Mud... rain... Finally around 10 I was done w/ my shift so I headed to find andrew and we hid under whatever we could find to stay dry. Finally around the first loop of the run for most people it started to subside/slowdown JUST a bit. When it did Andrew and I looked up to see Desiree Ficker come running by so we cheered/harrased her for a while and stayed out in the rain and our short shorts w/o tshirts to cheer people on. Long story short the rain got worse.. we got super wet.. we cheered... until 11pm. I LOVE cheering those last few people in. My good friend Tyler and his dad Jeff up in NY felt sorry for Andrew and I and actually offerend us a spot on the floor in their hotel! HOW could we pass that up?!?! So we finally got to sleep indoors and oh was it amazing.
I barely woke up intime to head down to registration. By the time I got down there it was 7:05am (registration doesnt open till 9am) and the line was probably a half mile. A HALF MILE! crazy. Around 8am the seperated the lines into volunteers and non volunteers. THANK goodness I was a voluteer. I registered and found andrew so we could head back to NY. (I later found out it sold OUT ON SITE!)
Andrew and his sister dropped me off at La Guerdia and I got back to DFW around 10:30. It was AMAZING to be back in Texas. Im happy my traveling is limited in the next few months...
All in all its been a hectic last few weeks but the next few should be nice as I begin to up the volume and start breaking myself down only to rebuild. I have goals in Kona. I will have fun.. and I will try to attain my goals. Hour swim. 5:30 bike. 3:30 mary.
yes. I said it.
Thanks for all the help from everyone in getting me to NY and home.. along with Tyler and Jeff for giving me and Andrew a place to sleep Sunday! Congrats to everyone that made it through that race. Totally BRUTAL. Just crazy. I honestly dont know if I could have made it through that...
_Jacob_
Came out of the water to see my time and was immediately dissapointed. Came out of transition another min and a half later so I was already 3.5 minutes behind schedule. Started the bike course feeling pretty good. Passing people on a regular basis. RARELY getting passed. The bike course really was a challenge and was a blast all at the same time. Everything went great untill about mile 48ish. It just hit me all the sudden and I just lost it. Had no energy in the legs. Basically sat up and cruised as fast as I could cruise back to town.
Started my run after a 2:39ish bike. 9min slower than what I wanted and felt pretty good. I wanted a sub 1:30 half mary. First mile was 6:40ish something and it began to fade just a bit from there. Held a 7:00/m ish pace till about 7 and started fading on the run there. Last two miles were a bit quicker but in the end my half mary was 1:35 on a reasonably tough course...
Total finish time was 4:53. A PR by five minutes but still TOTALLY dissapointing. I have yet to pinpoint what happened there... Maybe lack of training? (I doubt it) .. I did use a product I love called SPORTLEGS for the first time since Arizona there so maybe it was the fact that I hadnt been training w/ them and all the sudden used them... I also noticed post race that my tire was slightly rubbing my frame.. That also could have attributed to the VERY QUICK lack of energy out of nowhere. maybe something moved and it started rubbing. All excuses... But in the end I just didnt have it that day. More motivation to get out there and get good quality workouts in. Ill post the actual race report as soon as its done.
In other news I flew up to Lake Placid this weekend to register for 2009. How ridiculous is that? I actually had to fly to lake Placid to register for next years race?!?! I flew up Thursday morning and stayed with a friends sister. She showed my how to take the train to Central Park and what not then we grabbed dinner before seeing the midnight showing of Dark Knight which was PHENOMINAL by the way! The night before I left I only got 3-4hrs of sleep so i was fading fast. We grabbed a taxi home at 3:15am and i was asleep around 4. Got up the next day around noon. Ran the 10K look in Central Park and headed back to Queens to meet up w/ my friend Andrew. We loaded the car and headed to lake Placid. 5Hrs later we rolled into Lake Placid @ 1am! At this point we parked the car RIGHT next to the lake (mirror lake) and headed across the street to grab a quick brew before we sat up the tent. Left there around 2am, set up our tent right next to the water in the middle of Lake Placid and tried to sleep. Within 15min we weree getting TORRENTIAL rains. I woke Andrew and we slept in his car. Slept maybe 4hrs. Woke up around 7 and swam the 2.4 mile loop in about an hr ten w/o a wetsuit which was a bit more difficult than I thought it would be! Messed around all day and maybe slept 4 hrs that night in "our" tent. Woke up Sunday to volunteer/watch the race. Andrew was on kayak duty so he headed out to do that and I waded along the beach to watch the start from the best point of view. Ill post the pics and video soon :) After the start I headed to my Volunteer assignment which was T1. Around 7:30 the rain started. Not just rain. MASS RAIN. for 13 HOURS STRAIGHT. T1 was chaos. Total chaos! Stuff everywhere... Mud... rain... Finally around 10 I was done w/ my shift so I headed to find andrew and we hid under whatever we could find to stay dry. Finally around the first loop of the run for most people it started to subside/slowdown JUST a bit. When it did Andrew and I looked up to see Desiree Ficker come running by so we cheered/harrased her for a while and stayed out in the rain and our short shorts w/o tshirts to cheer people on. Long story short the rain got worse.. we got super wet.. we cheered... until 11pm. I LOVE cheering those last few people in. My good friend Tyler and his dad Jeff up in NY felt sorry for Andrew and I and actually offerend us a spot on the floor in their hotel! HOW could we pass that up?!?! So we finally got to sleep indoors and oh was it amazing.
I barely woke up intime to head down to registration. By the time I got down there it was 7:05am (registration doesnt open till 9am) and the line was probably a half mile. A HALF MILE! crazy. Around 8am the seperated the lines into volunteers and non volunteers. THANK goodness I was a voluteer. I registered and found andrew so we could head back to NY. (I later found out it sold OUT ON SITE!)
Andrew and his sister dropped me off at La Guerdia and I got back to DFW around 10:30. It was AMAZING to be back in Texas. Im happy my traveling is limited in the next few months...
All in all its been a hectic last few weeks but the next few should be nice as I begin to up the volume and start breaking myself down only to rebuild. I have goals in Kona. I will have fun.. and I will try to attain my goals. Hour swim. 5:30 bike. 3:30 mary.
yes. I said it.
Thanks for all the help from everyone in getting me to NY and home.. along with Tyler and Jeff for giving me and Andrew a place to sleep Sunday! Congrats to everyone that made it through that race. Totally BRUTAL. Just crazy. I honestly dont know if I could have made it through that...
_Jacob_
Sunday, June 15, 2008
MST and The Dam Time Trial....
Did I ever mention how I hate short distance racing?? Ha! Last weekend I raced the Metroplex Sprint then this Friday afternoon I race the Dam Time Trial at Joe Pool. Both races went pretty good.
At Metroplex I took 3rd Overall and 1st Age group. Then at the Dam Time Trial I took 2nd Overall and 1st Age group. At Metroplex I missed second by about 15 seconds, and missed first by about 40 seconds to my good friend Tyler. He's a runner and I knew good and well the whole time that if I didnt get enough time on him that he'd kill me on the run. In the week leading up to it I told myself no matter what happens just hang on the run. I came out of the water in 1st overall. I headed out on the bike and didnt notice Tyler till the turnaround. I knew he'd probably just hang back knowing good and well that he could dominate me on the run. I then decided if he was going to hang I'd make him work for it so I really pushed the pace. For the 11mile bike we avgeraged 25.7mph. I pushed just a bit before T2 so that I could open up a small gap. Coming out of T2 I just jogged until he caught me cause there was no use in using up all that energy knowing he would catch me. As soon as he pulled up next to me I went w/ him stride for stride. I stayed w/ him for about a half mile and that was it. Of course looking back I should have pushed through and just dealt with it. Definitly something ill need to work on before Kona.
Heres the link to my race report for Metroplex. METROPLEX SPRINT TRIATHLON.
If you want to check out all the photos from race day just CLICK HERE!
The time trial went well also. There were only about 50 cyclists out there but the competition was solid. I completed the 8 mile out and back course in 17:57 averaging 26.8mph. Let me say this.. I dont think I've ever dug that deep. That hurt like a 5K. My friend Aaron took some good photos and Ill post those as soon as he posts them. Ill also try to write some sort of race report.
In other news I've started honestly contemplating the Houston Marathon on January 18th of next year. I really do want to Boston qualify, and I finally feel like I'm capable. The thing about that race is that if I'm going to do it I need to register SOON. I thinking what I'd do is race Kona on October 11th. Take an entire week OFF then train lightly through the end of the month. Then in November start stepping it up again. I can only hope that Kona will be some AWESOME base for running. I'm going to think it over for a bit and see how I feel in a few days. NO rash decisions :)
Other than that I've been ridiculously busy with summer classes and training. My build for Kona has begun. Im going three good build weeks here before a one week taper for Lake Stevens 70.3. Id REALLY like to go sub 4:30 with a sub 30min swim. Sub 2:30 bike. Sub 1:30 half mary. I think all are possible... of course the 1:30 half being the most difficult. None the less I'm looking forward to traveling again.
I hope everyone is doing well and staying safe! Thanks for all the kind words and support!
_Jacob_
At Metroplex I took 3rd Overall and 1st Age group. Then at the Dam Time Trial I took 2nd Overall and 1st Age group. At Metroplex I missed second by about 15 seconds, and missed first by about 40 seconds to my good friend Tyler. He's a runner and I knew good and well the whole time that if I didnt get enough time on him that he'd kill me on the run. In the week leading up to it I told myself no matter what happens just hang on the run. I came out of the water in 1st overall. I headed out on the bike and didnt notice Tyler till the turnaround. I knew he'd probably just hang back knowing good and well that he could dominate me on the run. I then decided if he was going to hang I'd make him work for it so I really pushed the pace. For the 11mile bike we avgeraged 25.7mph. I pushed just a bit before T2 so that I could open up a small gap. Coming out of T2 I just jogged until he caught me cause there was no use in using up all that energy knowing he would catch me. As soon as he pulled up next to me I went w/ him stride for stride. I stayed w/ him for about a half mile and that was it. Of course looking back I should have pushed through and just dealt with it. Definitly something ill need to work on before Kona.
Heres the link to my race report for Metroplex. METROPLEX SPRINT TRIATHLON.
If you want to check out all the photos from race day just CLICK HERE!
The time trial went well also. There were only about 50 cyclists out there but the competition was solid. I completed the 8 mile out and back course in 17:57 averaging 26.8mph. Let me say this.. I dont think I've ever dug that deep. That hurt like a 5K. My friend Aaron took some good photos and Ill post those as soon as he posts them. Ill also try to write some sort of race report.
In other news I've started honestly contemplating the Houston Marathon on January 18th of next year. I really do want to Boston qualify, and I finally feel like I'm capable. The thing about that race is that if I'm going to do it I need to register SOON. I thinking what I'd do is race Kona on October 11th. Take an entire week OFF then train lightly through the end of the month. Then in November start stepping it up again. I can only hope that Kona will be some AWESOME base for running. I'm going to think it over for a bit and see how I feel in a few days. NO rash decisions :)
Other than that I've been ridiculously busy with summer classes and training. My build for Kona has begun. Im going three good build weeks here before a one week taper for Lake Stevens 70.3. Id REALLY like to go sub 4:30 with a sub 30min swim. Sub 2:30 bike. Sub 1:30 half mary. I think all are possible... of course the 1:30 half being the most difficult. None the less I'm looking forward to traveling again.
I hope everyone is doing well and staying safe! Thanks for all the kind words and support!
_Jacob_
Monday, June 9, 2008
Remembering two great people...
On my way to work tonight I heard from my local bike shop owner that two friends had been killed earlier this morning while out cycling at 8:20am by a drunk 24yr old male.
I know that often we forget about the dangers of cycling on the open road.. This has opened my eyes and is a harsh awakening to what we face as cyclists each and every day. Both of these people were phenominal people and friends that I will never forget.
I did some searching online and found an article here that says a bit more.
Click HERE for the article.
Everyone.. Please stay safe.
I know that often we forget about the dangers of cycling on the open road.. This has opened my eyes and is a harsh awakening to what we face as cyclists each and every day. Both of these people were phenominal people and friends that I will never forget.
I did some searching online and found an article here that says a bit more.
Click HERE for the article.
Everyone.. Please stay safe.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Happy Saturday...
Race this weekend. My workouts as of this week have really been slacking.. on the other hand, ive been very busy. I finally have a solid schedule written that I'm going to get started on monday.
Enjoy this vid. Its fun trying to find videos that fit your immediate emotions. This is a great one.
Enjoy this vid. Its fun trying to find videos that fit your immediate emotions. This is a great one.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Never been so motivated...
And its not because of this video... but this is how I feel right now.
I raced the Route 66 sprint triathlon today up in El Reno, Oklahoma just west of OKC. Let me say it didnt go according to plan.. due to reasons out of my control. I've never been so close to winning a race.. especially one worth 100points. Heres my post from my training log with a quick rundown.
"So. Im going to give everyone a quick rundown. The best thing to do would be watch Fleebs interview when he gets that up.
Heres what happened. In a nutshell.
I came out of the water 2seconds behind first place. Passed him in T1 and started the bike w/ a :30 lead and in first place overall. When I pulled out of T1 there was a motorcycle cop pacing. So I just put my head down and followed. Fairly excited to be in first that soon in the bike. We got onto old RT66 and I was just cranking w/ everything I could. Still feeling good. Well I started to think DAMN. Where is the freaking turnaround. Well two things about me racing. First... I DONT use a computer of any kind. Secondly I dont EVER look behind me because I dont want to know how close the person behind is, especially when I'm leading. Well long story short the Race Director didnt make sure there were people or a cone at the turnaround. Their excuse? "We didnt expect you to be that fast" The only thing there was was a turnaround arrow painted on the ground and nothing else. No cars. No cone. Nothing else. The motorcycle I'm sure was also looking for the turnaround cone and he just kept going so I just followed him. I followed him until he finally turned around and gave me NO recognition. I just kept going. I kept riding till I got to the OLYMPIC turnaround. Which by this point I was going so slow that I could see it on the road.
I turned around and rode probably 15mph all the way back. I was SO irrate. Its a good thing I was alone at that time. I lost that race for reasons OUT of my control. If you try to say its my fault for not looking for the turnaround IM SORRY but you're wrong. You try looking for small painted arrows on the ground when you're going 30mph following a motorcycle.
Got back to T2. Did an interview w/ Fleeb WHILE IN T2 then started my run.
Overall?
138th outta 156 overall.
Age Group?
21st out of 21.
Had the second fastest Swim. 4th fastest T1. Second to the slowest bike. and ran a chill 21min 5K.
In the end I have to say the Race Director and crew were UNBELIEVABLY nice and apologetic (sp?). They comped me an entry into ANY event they do so that was nice... but doesnt give me the 100points I was going for."
Enjoy.
I raced the Route 66 sprint triathlon today up in El Reno, Oklahoma just west of OKC. Let me say it didnt go according to plan.. due to reasons out of my control. I've never been so close to winning a race.. especially one worth 100points. Heres my post from my training log with a quick rundown.
"So. Im going to give everyone a quick rundown. The best thing to do would be watch Fleebs interview when he gets that up.
Heres what happened. In a nutshell.
I came out of the water 2seconds behind first place. Passed him in T1 and started the bike w/ a :30 lead and in first place overall. When I pulled out of T1 there was a motorcycle cop pacing. So I just put my head down and followed. Fairly excited to be in first that soon in the bike. We got onto old RT66 and I was just cranking w/ everything I could. Still feeling good. Well I started to think DAMN. Where is the freaking turnaround. Well two things about me racing. First... I DONT use a computer of any kind. Secondly I dont EVER look behind me because I dont want to know how close the person behind is, especially when I'm leading. Well long story short the Race Director didnt make sure there were people or a cone at the turnaround. Their excuse? "We didnt expect you to be that fast" The only thing there was was a turnaround arrow painted on the ground and nothing else. No cars. No cone. Nothing else. The motorcycle I'm sure was also looking for the turnaround cone and he just kept going so I just followed him. I followed him until he finally turned around and gave me NO recognition. I just kept going. I kept riding till I got to the OLYMPIC turnaround. Which by this point I was going so slow that I could see it on the road.
I turned around and rode probably 15mph all the way back. I was SO irrate. Its a good thing I was alone at that time. I lost that race for reasons OUT of my control. If you try to say its my fault for not looking for the turnaround IM SORRY but you're wrong. You try looking for small painted arrows on the ground when you're going 30mph following a motorcycle.
Got back to T2. Did an interview w/ Fleeb WHILE IN T2 then started my run.
Overall?
138th outta 156 overall.
Age Group?
21st out of 21.
Had the second fastest Swim. 4th fastest T1. Second to the slowest bike. and ran a chill 21min 5K.
In the end I have to say the Race Director and crew were UNBELIEVABLY nice and apologetic (sp?). They comped me an entry into ANY event they do so that was nice... but doesnt give me the 100points I was going for."
Enjoy.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Criterium Rundown...
Now.. The moment everyone has been waiting for. Ha! A rundown of the crit I raced Monday...
So. Let me start from the very beginning. The night before, Sunday, Courtney and I were having dinner w/ mi amigo Scott and his wife. Well Scott brings up the idea of me racing the Texas State Crit Champs tommorow. I of course quickly said no way.. thats crazy. Well the further we got into dinner the better and better the idea sounded. PLUS.. I've done what I want to do this season, WHY NOT HAVE some fun now? (of course w/o getting injured) So I told him id probably do it.
Later that night I checked out the website and what not and decided to go for it. I love crit racing and the race was supposed to be 45min. What a fantastic workout that would be if nothing else! So the next day I would register at the race site and do my thing.
I talked to my friend Jeff that co-owns my LBS and he let me know that another rider from the shop would be out there and if I could help him out as much as possible.
So I show up around 3. The race was scheduled to start at 3:45. I purchase my one day license and register for the CAT 5 race.
Said bye to Courtney, John and his friend Alex and went off to WU. The course seemed way fast and had lots of sharp corners (with hay bails of course!!) and a few good straights. During the WU I ended up running into (not literally) the guy from my LBS. We chatted it up and I told him, if we're still together towards the end Im getting him the win at all costs. Me.. I could care less about a road racing anything. Im a triathlete till the day I die.
We line up and we're off. Its UNBELIEVABLY hot. Around the 2nd lap I noticed I was having some issues w/ my rear derailler. Couldnt really tell what it was just yet. well I came out of a corner wayyyy fast and actually came out of the saddle to accelerate and mashed while switching gears. POP. My chain is off. I pull off to the side to fix it as the pack flies by and a ref comes up behind me. He yells at me to go to the mechanical tent. that was my ONLY option. he didnt ask if I wanted to chase. So I quickly ride to the mech tent and the guy asks me what happened and then asks if I was in the chase group. I said yes. he tells me to jump back in the Peleton when they pass by and that that lap will NOT go against me. So when the peleton comes around (after only doing 1/3 of the course or less, becasue it was a figure 8) I jump back in and we're off again.
To make an 18mile race short me and my friend David (the LBS rider) took the 1 and 2 spots. I pulled him the whole time and gave him the gap he needed to win. When I knew we had it I let him go and cruised to 2nd EASILY. (if you want to know about the details of the race my RR will be up soon)
We started celebrating on the CD lap. Congratulated everyone and went to find John and Courtney. Well after the race Im standing around w/ David and this older man comes up to me. (obviously someone in control.. possible RD.. ref... Etc) WithOUT introducing himself or anything and in a rather RUDE tone he asks me if I understand that I did not get 2nd place. I said no. Well apparently they ruled my incident w/ my chain as rider error (for not having my derailler tight enough) and told me I finished the race a lap down... in 11th place. At first I could care less but the longer he talked with his tone the more irritated I got. He came over there with the attitude that i was going to blow up on him and that wasnt the case. So I asked him if I could see a rule book just to get a better understanding of what the ruling was. At this point he got unbelievably defensive and told me there was a rule book online. I said id like to see one now. He walks over to (im assuming) his truck and starts medaling around. at this point I was a bit frustrated so I go over and tell him dont worry about it. I was happy enough that my friend David had won. This guy continues to tell me I won 2 primes (lap wins... they ring a bell... and everyone sprints for the next lap.. you win the lap.. you get a prize) and I told him I could CARE LESS about the primes. I was there to win. I explained to this douche that I was told to jump back into peleton w/o penalty. I also explained to him that if Id been given the option to chase the peleton after putting my chain back on I WOULD HAVE.. and I WOULD HAVE CAUGHT THEM AND STILL DOMINATED. obvously a bit more irritated now. He asked if I wanted to talk w/ the head ref and I said of course. The ref comes over after the douche went and talked to him. I talk with the ref and he lets me know that it was my error. I said they had poor refs out there and that this was all politics. I told them they were un organized, and that I was happy a total NOOB like my friend David could win without penalty.
The politics were and are obvious. They didnt think I could win so they told me to just jump back in the peleton. First off... Im OBVIOUSLY a triathlete.. and I obviously shouldnt be racing CAT 5.. BUT I DONT HAVE A CHOICE. They make you race CAT 5 if you havent started 10 races. That was only my 5th road race start. Secondly I wasnt from some huge local shop that sponsors the event like RBM or Colonels... (not bashing either shop). I came out there with my ghetto bike... MDOT covered calf... on a ONE DAY license and they didnt like it.
I backed down and said fine. There was nothing else I could do and I knew if I kept it up id just get more irritated. I talked with David and we went over to get our prizes. (my primes) When we got over there i was given a big tube of Chamoise butter and $25 cash... David was give $25 cash for his prime and $45 for the overall win. Right there in front of everyone he gave me the $45 first prize. I was speechless. WHAT a nice guy. He said that I saved him out there and that he was thankful. I then gave him my $25 prime so he got $50 and I got $45 in the end.
We headed back to the finish area for the little awards ceremony and the State Champ jersey presentation to David. I stood back as the three "overall" winners stood up there and got their photos taken.
A friend of mine that was taking the photos whispered to me that they were gonna take a few more with me... So as soon as everything was done he told me to get up there and the actual top three got their pictures taken together.
All in all what a fantastic experience, but somewhat discouraging that, that is what future cyclists have to look forward to. Douche bags like that guy. On the other hand hopefully they'll meet someone as nice as David. I wouldnt take that race back for anything. It was awesome.
Best 11th place ive ever had.
_Jacob_
So. Let me start from the very beginning. The night before, Sunday, Courtney and I were having dinner w/ mi amigo Scott and his wife. Well Scott brings up the idea of me racing the Texas State Crit Champs tommorow. I of course quickly said no way.. thats crazy. Well the further we got into dinner the better and better the idea sounded. PLUS.. I've done what I want to do this season, WHY NOT HAVE some fun now? (of course w/o getting injured) So I told him id probably do it.
Later that night I checked out the website and what not and decided to go for it. I love crit racing and the race was supposed to be 45min. What a fantastic workout that would be if nothing else! So the next day I would register at the race site and do my thing.
I talked to my friend Jeff that co-owns my LBS and he let me know that another rider from the shop would be out there and if I could help him out as much as possible.
So I show up around 3. The race was scheduled to start at 3:45. I purchase my one day license and register for the CAT 5 race.
Said bye to Courtney, John and his friend Alex and went off to WU. The course seemed way fast and had lots of sharp corners (with hay bails of course!!) and a few good straights. During the WU I ended up running into (not literally) the guy from my LBS. We chatted it up and I told him, if we're still together towards the end Im getting him the win at all costs. Me.. I could care less about a road racing anything. Im a triathlete till the day I die.
We line up and we're off. Its UNBELIEVABLY hot. Around the 2nd lap I noticed I was having some issues w/ my rear derailler. Couldnt really tell what it was just yet. well I came out of a corner wayyyy fast and actually came out of the saddle to accelerate and mashed while switching gears. POP. My chain is off. I pull off to the side to fix it as the pack flies by and a ref comes up behind me. He yells at me to go to the mechanical tent. that was my ONLY option. he didnt ask if I wanted to chase. So I quickly ride to the mech tent and the guy asks me what happened and then asks if I was in the chase group. I said yes. he tells me to jump back in the Peleton when they pass by and that that lap will NOT go against me. So when the peleton comes around (after only doing 1/3 of the course or less, becasue it was a figure 8) I jump back in and we're off again.
To make an 18mile race short me and my friend David (the LBS rider) took the 1 and 2 spots. I pulled him the whole time and gave him the gap he needed to win. When I knew we had it I let him go and cruised to 2nd EASILY. (if you want to know about the details of the race my RR will be up soon)
We started celebrating on the CD lap. Congratulated everyone and went to find John and Courtney. Well after the race Im standing around w/ David and this older man comes up to me. (obviously someone in control.. possible RD.. ref... Etc) WithOUT introducing himself or anything and in a rather RUDE tone he asks me if I understand that I did not get 2nd place. I said no. Well apparently they ruled my incident w/ my chain as rider error (for not having my derailler tight enough) and told me I finished the race a lap down... in 11th place. At first I could care less but the longer he talked with his tone the more irritated I got. He came over there with the attitude that i was going to blow up on him and that wasnt the case. So I asked him if I could see a rule book just to get a better understanding of what the ruling was. At this point he got unbelievably defensive and told me there was a rule book online. I said id like to see one now. He walks over to (im assuming) his truck and starts medaling around. at this point I was a bit frustrated so I go over and tell him dont worry about it. I was happy enough that my friend David had won. This guy continues to tell me I won 2 primes (lap wins... they ring a bell... and everyone sprints for the next lap.. you win the lap.. you get a prize) and I told him I could CARE LESS about the primes. I was there to win. I explained to this douche that I was told to jump back into peleton w/o penalty. I also explained to him that if Id been given the option to chase the peleton after putting my chain back on I WOULD HAVE.. and I WOULD HAVE CAUGHT THEM AND STILL DOMINATED. obvously a bit more irritated now. He asked if I wanted to talk w/ the head ref and I said of course. The ref comes over after the douche went and talked to him. I talk with the ref and he lets me know that it was my error. I said they had poor refs out there and that this was all politics. I told them they were un organized, and that I was happy a total NOOB like my friend David could win without penalty.
The politics were and are obvious. They didnt think I could win so they told me to just jump back in the peleton. First off... Im OBVIOUSLY a triathlete.. and I obviously shouldnt be racing CAT 5.. BUT I DONT HAVE A CHOICE. They make you race CAT 5 if you havent started 10 races. That was only my 5th road race start. Secondly I wasnt from some huge local shop that sponsors the event like RBM or Colonels... (not bashing either shop). I came out there with my ghetto bike... MDOT covered calf... on a ONE DAY license and they didnt like it.
I backed down and said fine. There was nothing else I could do and I knew if I kept it up id just get more irritated. I talked with David and we went over to get our prizes. (my primes) When we got over there i was given a big tube of Chamoise butter and $25 cash... David was give $25 cash for his prime and $45 for the overall win. Right there in front of everyone he gave me the $45 first prize. I was speechless. WHAT a nice guy. He said that I saved him out there and that he was thankful. I then gave him my $25 prime so he got $50 and I got $45 in the end.
We headed back to the finish area for the little awards ceremony and the State Champ jersey presentation to David. I stood back as the three "overall" winners stood up there and got their photos taken.
A friend of mine that was taking the photos whispered to me that they were gonna take a few more with me... So as soon as everything was done he told me to get up there and the actual top three got their pictures taken together.
All in all what a fantastic experience, but somewhat discouraging that, that is what future cyclists have to look forward to. Douche bags like that guy. On the other hand hopefully they'll meet someone as nice as David. I wouldnt take that race back for anything. It was awesome.
Best 11th place ive ever had.
_Jacob_
Music video of the day/night...
This is from the OKC half mary. I carried my camera the whole 13.1 miles. It was fantastic. Enjoy :)
_Jacob_
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Four States and The State Crit Champs
Good news all around.
4th Overall at the Four States Triathlon. Good enough for 98 regional points.
Randomly signed up for and raced in the Cat 5 Texas State Crit Championships. Long story short I told a friend that rides for the same shop I do that If he's still there at the end that I'm pulling him and getting him the win. 2nd lap in my chain popped off coming out of a corner and I was told that it was an "epuipment" problem and to hop back in the peloton on the next half lap. I did so and my friend and I took the 1 and 2 spots. Total domination. After the race the "director" came up to me and with no idea who he was at the time he let me know that I had not completed every lap and that, that pushed me down to 11th place. The man was rude, and his attitude was totally uncalled for. When I find his name I will pubically call him out and let everyone know that he is the reason cyclists are often seen as elitists and snobs.
Other than that, David (the other B&B Bicycles rider) took 2 primes, I took, and we took the 1 and 2 spots. Overall, a fantastic day with unexpected results. Im happy I could help him to a state jersey.
Here are some fun photos taken the day of the crit! Enjoy.. Compliments of my brother. http://www.rilexphotography.com/
Friday, May 23, 2008
It's Not About the Bike...
So I've recently started reading Lance Armstrongs novel.. "Its Not About the Bike". What an awesome read. Calling it an awesome read is seriously not doing it justice. I've heard so many stories about Lance. Being a cyclist.. and an athlete, I.. in a VERY small way can understand how dificult it is to race in and complete much less win a major Tour. Reading about everything Lance has encountered gives such an insight into why he races the way he does and oddly enough helps me to understand why I do some of the things I do and race the way I do. In my eyes, Lance Armstrong will always be my larger than life superhero.
Training is starting to ramp back up and I got to race again since IMAZ. I raced the SMW Regional Championship in Texarkana, Tx last weekend and had some pretty good results. I took fourth overall and first age group. The race report can be checked out by clicking HERE. In the end I'm happy with my performance and got some GREAT points out of the race. I feel that that is the best I could have done considering I've really neglected my speed in the past few months. Now that I've gotten my KONA slot I feel I can focus on my second goal and that was getting my regional elite and taking first in the SMW 20-24 age group rankings. (If not top 5 OVERALL)
If you still havent checked out my training log on beginnertriathlete.com click HERE to see it. Since I dont update this daily or sometimes even weekely my training log is a great way to keep up with my endevours.
Thanks for all the continued support! As always its much appreciated! Hope everyone is doing well.
_Jacob_
Training is starting to ramp back up and I got to race again since IMAZ. I raced the SMW Regional Championship in Texarkana, Tx last weekend and had some pretty good results. I took fourth overall and first age group. The race report can be checked out by clicking HERE. In the end I'm happy with my performance and got some GREAT points out of the race. I feel that that is the best I could have done considering I've really neglected my speed in the past few months. Now that I've gotten my KONA slot I feel I can focus on my second goal and that was getting my regional elite and taking first in the SMW 20-24 age group rankings. (If not top 5 OVERALL)
If you still havent checked out my training log on beginnertriathlete.com click HERE to see it. Since I dont update this daily or sometimes even weekely my training log is a great way to keep up with my endevours.
Thanks for all the continued support! As always its much appreciated! Hope everyone is doing well.
_Jacob_
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Kona > Studying for Finals....
HA! Well. Here I am. May 7th and in the middle of finals week. So much has happened. Qualifying for Kona has finally set in a little more. Dont get me wrong... Its still surreal. Ive accomplished something that SO many people only get the chance to dream about. For me.. something that was ONLY a dream. About 3 years ago, when I started this sport, I couldnt have told you the distances to an Ironman... I was a clueless 19 year old. Over the years I have found myself through triathlon, not to mention multiple life long friends. To all of those friends, I thank you for your support and friendship.
So I've recently decided that next year I'll race IMLP again and try to get another Kona slot. I'm going to head up to Lake Placid this year to get some training in, hang out with my good friend Tyler and his dad, watch his dad battle it out for a Kona slot, Volunteer, then register for the 2009 race. Im excited to get to head back up there. Lake Placid is a wonderful place, and I cant wait to see Tyler again!
I've been having some great relaxed workouts. I've decided to bump up the aggresiveness of my training just a bit. Mediocre training leads to mediocre racing.. or how my friend Jody puts it. "Long slow training, leads to long slow racing..." So when if you check out the training log my runs and rides have been a bit faster, but overall it feels nice to push a little harder and work on that speed. Today I went out with some guys on the UTA CX team and it was awesome. The pace started around 7:15/m and went down to around 6:40/m. Feels nice to get pushed a bit and have some people to run with.
So I need to get an essay written before 5am, so off to get that done I go. Hope everyone is doing fantastic!!
_Jacob_
So I've recently decided that next year I'll race IMLP again and try to get another Kona slot. I'm going to head up to Lake Placid this year to get some training in, hang out with my good friend Tyler and his dad, watch his dad battle it out for a Kona slot, Volunteer, then register for the 2009 race. Im excited to get to head back up there. Lake Placid is a wonderful place, and I cant wait to see Tyler again!
I've been having some great relaxed workouts. I've decided to bump up the aggresiveness of my training just a bit. Mediocre training leads to mediocre racing.. or how my friend Jody puts it. "Long slow training, leads to long slow racing..." So when if you check out the training log my runs and rides have been a bit faster, but overall it feels nice to push a little harder and work on that speed. Today I went out with some guys on the UTA CX team and it was awesome. The pace started around 7:15/m and went down to around 6:40/m. Feels nice to get pushed a bit and have some people to run with.
So I need to get an essay written before 5am, so off to get that done I go. Hope everyone is doing fantastic!!
_Jacob_
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
KONA 2008!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Im going to THE IRONMAN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS! Finally I can say that. Im still unbelievably behind on everything.. and its taking me forever to catch up on things. I just wanted to give a little update and let everyone know im going to KONA! Thanks for all the support!
_Jacob_
_Jacob_
Monday, April 7, 2008
Last post from Texas....
So many emotions right now. I called in to work tonight. There is no way I could have worked. I can barely focus enought right now to pack. I cant believe I actually made lists and stuck to them. Its weird right now. Im no longer nervous like I was this past week. That nervousness has quickly turned into anxiety. Im ready, or.. Im as ready as I'm ever going to get for this race. What happens in Arizona next Sunday happens. Im ready to race my race and go for it. All im trying to do right now is just stay relaxed. Not spend too much energy worrying about things I cant change. School tommorow is going to be a joke. I might as well take headphones and jam to sound good music while I daydream about running a 3:30 marathon in the Arizona sun. Never have I been this excited to run a marathon. Last year it was total fear. While this year its the exact same thing... Im anxious. Anxious to see what I can do. I'm not going to try to hide my intentions.. My goals.. My aspirations. Too many people make predictions... They actually SAY what they're going to race. I have NO idea what I'm going to race... but I do know what im going to try for. And thats SUB 10. No hiding it here. I want a sub 1hr swim. Sub 5:20 bike. Sub 3:30 mary w/ Sub 5min transitions. There it is. When I hit that marathon course its sub 8min miles... and if I bonk or blow up then SO BE IT. When I race, I race. Its been over 6 months since ive actually been able to race on my bike. Last weekend at LoneStar that wasnt a race. Just another training ride. Im thirsty to race. Im thirsty for the pain...
If you've read my training log a lot of these feelings are shown there. What I do what do is just mention how thankful I am for all my friends and family supporting me so much. This last week can totally be stressful, but thanks to my friends and family I dont think its going to be too bad. I know good and well I dont talk about my LBS, B&B bicycles enough. I was in there today, getting all the final preparations done w/ the bike. Without that bike shop I wouldnt have half the equipment I have... and I probably wouldnt be the athlete I am today.
Enough jibber jabber. I'm going to double check my checklist and attempt to sleep.
Next post.
From Arizona.
_Jacob_
If you've read my training log a lot of these feelings are shown there. What I do what do is just mention how thankful I am for all my friends and family supporting me so much. This last week can totally be stressful, but thanks to my friends and family I dont think its going to be too bad. I know good and well I dont talk about my LBS, B&B bicycles enough. I was in there today, getting all the final preparations done w/ the bike. Without that bike shop I wouldnt have half the equipment I have... and I probably wouldnt be the athlete I am today.
Enough jibber jabber. I'm going to double check my checklist and attempt to sleep.
Next post.
From Arizona.
_Jacob_
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Race pics from Lone Star
Hey hey,
They finally got the pics up from Lone Start last weekend. Check out the new tri-suit and the new helmet! Love both of them. Gotta get back to work, but ill update again before I leave Tuesday.
_Jacob_
Thursday, April 3, 2008
9 days...
Heres a little something I wrote in my training log. Just wanted to share it with everyone...
2352...
I feel good. Day off. I feel relaxed and focused. A few days of work in a row here and then tues I have class 8-2 and then I leave that night. Im not even sure why im going to class right now... All I do the whole time is run the race through my head. The swim.. T1.. the bike... T2... and the marathon. I attempt to imagine the pain... I attempt to imagine pushing through barriers I havent pushed through yet.. and I attempt to imagine the joy of pushing through those barriers when I do. I feel good.
2352...
I feel good. Day off. I feel relaxed and focused. A few days of work in a row here and then tues I have class 8-2 and then I leave that night. Im not even sure why im going to class right now... All I do the whole time is run the race through my head. The swim.. T1.. the bike... T2... and the marathon. I attempt to imagine the pain... I attempt to imagine pushing through barriers I havent pushed through yet.. and I attempt to imagine the joy of pushing through those barriers when I do. I feel good.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
LoneStar weekend in Galveston...
Good weekend down in Galveston. I raced the Quarter Iron which is something like ~1000y swim, 28M bike, 6.5 mile run. Paces were 22.75 on the bike and I believe 7:34/m on the run. The idea was to go pretty hard in the swim, and then IM race pace the rest of the race. Well the swim was great. Ended up 16th overall, by far the highlight of the day. I got on the bike and thought I had a tailwind, so I was pushing pretty good. Hit the turnaround expecting a headwind and bam.. no headwind.. So I continued close to the same pace, just a bit slower. At first it was REALLY difficult to let so many people pass me on the bike, but after a while it wasnt too bad, and I just thought about IMAZ. Came off the bike and got into the run. Felt excellent on the run. Long story short I think the mile markers were off, so my miles are REALLY sparatic. Toughest part about the run was letting myself get passed by 8 (yes i counted) 8 guys in my age group... But, I just bit down and thought about IMAZ. I thought about how bad I want KONA, and that this dinky little race isnt worth it. Finished the run TOTALLY relaxed and felt like I had just started. Was a good race in the sense that I got to race the bike in full IM race gear. I got to run in the tri-suit and I got to swim w/ my QR wetsuit. So all in all a very good training day. Wish id let off a bit on the bike but hey, I felt good and the conditions were ideal for those speeds.
Well, the reality is really starting to sink in. Im working the next 5 of 6 nights and then im off. Whatever I need to get done before I leave needs to happen now! Ill be dropping the bike off at the LBS tommorow for its needed TLC and the trisuit will be dropped off to get my LBS logos on there. Without B&B Bicycles I have no idea where I would be in the triathlon world.. definitly not where I am now. So thanks to Beth and everyone there. You guys are the best!
They havent posted any photos of the race yet so ill post them when they're up. I also am working on my Race Report for Galveston, So ill post that link as well when Im done. For now, here are some photos that friends took from this weekend! Enjoy :)
_Jacob_
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Stressed but calm...
18 days left. My taper began Monday. What a great weekend of workouts. I couldnt have asked for better quality. After really not feeling it earlier in the week, I couldnt believe I was able to come back and really finish strong. Check out my training log for specifics! Cycles well over 160miles in three days.
Spring break was awesome last week, but went by SO unbelievably fast. Most like because I spent 21hrs of it working out. School started back today and its a little stressful. Having to worry about assignments and exams while tapering for an Ironman thats less than 20 days away is.. well.. to say the least.. no fun. I also found out im probably going to miss an exam the thur before IMAZ. Not good either, but I spent 6months training to qualify and nothing is going to stop that. Ill do my best to explain to the professor what im going to do and hope that he understands.
Im going down to Galveston this weekend to "race" the olympic/quarter iron triathlon. Im definitly looking forward to finally getting to hop in the wetsuit again and get in the open water, plus get to ride on the disk again. Everything is going to be nice and easy at IM race pace. On the swim in just going to go off percieved exert, then hold ~21mph on the bike and <8:00/m on the run. Lets hope for strong winds.
Happy birthday to my mom ! I cant believe you're _ _ years old!! haha.
Hope everyone is having a good week. Looks like the weather is going to change for the best! 80s+ here we come!!
_Jacob_
Spring break was awesome last week, but went by SO unbelievably fast. Most like because I spent 21hrs of it working out. School started back today and its a little stressful. Having to worry about assignments and exams while tapering for an Ironman thats less than 20 days away is.. well.. to say the least.. no fun. I also found out im probably going to miss an exam the thur before IMAZ. Not good either, but I spent 6months training to qualify and nothing is going to stop that. Ill do my best to explain to the professor what im going to do and hope that he understands.
Im going down to Galveston this weekend to "race" the olympic/quarter iron triathlon. Im definitly looking forward to finally getting to hop in the wetsuit again and get in the open water, plus get to ride on the disk again. Everything is going to be nice and easy at IM race pace. On the swim in just going to go off percieved exert, then hold ~21mph on the bike and <8:00/m on the run. Lets hope for strong winds.
Happy birthday to my mom ! I cant believe you're _ _ years old!! haha.
Hope everyone is having a good week. Looks like the weather is going to change for the best! 80s+ here we come!!
_Jacob_
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Focused...
So ive gotten carried away with my beginnertriathlete.com blog. It really is an awesome site to log workouts, and workout data.
Whats the theme for the week so far? FOCUS. I realized a few days ago during my 100 miler that I was more or less just going through the motions. I wasnt having quality focused workouts. All of my workouts so far this week have been amazing. Even my nice EZ hr run was awesome. Unbelievably focused.
IMAZ is so close. I have 8 more days of "building" and then im done. My taper will be on. Technically there is nothing more I can do. Its odd how fast IM training can fly by. These new few days are going to be the best workouts ive ever had. I have a planned day off this week. I may end up subing a swim in there.
Im FOCUSED like never before. This is good.
So, for some fun updates.
I bought an upgraded lighter 55T chainring.
Oh.. and did I mention I finally bought a new DVD holder??? :)
Whats the theme for the week so far? FOCUS. I realized a few days ago during my 100 miler that I was more or less just going through the motions. I wasnt having quality focused workouts. All of my workouts so far this week have been amazing. Even my nice EZ hr run was awesome. Unbelievably focused.
IMAZ is so close. I have 8 more days of "building" and then im done. My taper will be on. Technically there is nothing more I can do. Its odd how fast IM training can fly by. These new few days are going to be the best workouts ive ever had. I have a planned day off this week. I may end up subing a swim in there.
Im FOCUSED like never before. This is good.
So, for some fun updates.
I bought an upgraded lighter 55T chainring.
Oh.. and did I mention I finally bought a new DVD holder??? :)
So much has happened.
I PRd for a half mary. New PR is 1:23:09. Mentally probably one of my best performances yet. Heres the link to check out my race report entered on BT. Just click here. Havent gotten to race a tri yet. Im going to do the LoneStar quarter.. Definitly wont be racing. I just want to get some good open water experience before IMAZ. The bike and the run are both going to be IM race pace.
For today, one last "long" run with some speed stuff thrown in, a 1:20-1:30 bike ride, and some light weights.
Back to "work" I go.
OH YEA!!
I learned how to unicycle. This is an old vid. Ill add a new one as soon as I get unlazy enough to upload it to YouTube.
_Jacob_
Friday, January 18, 2008
Beginner Triathlete
So I have a new addiction....
BeginnerTriathlete.com
As most everyone knows now its my new training blog. All my workouts are documented there in total detail. Its by far the easiest and most efficient way to record workouts. If you're not using it, check it out.
Im still using this site for regular updates... but beginnertriathlete is daily. If you look to the right of my page youll see a pic of my aero bars and above it reads "link to my training blog". Just click on the pic and it will take you right to BT.
:)
BeginnerTriathlete.com
As most everyone knows now its my new training blog. All my workouts are documented there in total detail. Its by far the easiest and most efficient way to record workouts. If you're not using it, check it out.
Im still using this site for regular updates... but beginnertriathlete is daily. If you look to the right of my page youll see a pic of my aero bars and above it reads "link to my training blog". Just click on the pic and it will take you right to BT.
:)
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