It's Not Over... The Pyramid of Suck... SnakeBite Indoor Cycling Workout 1/10/12

I tried to mix things up this week... and I like to surprise the class with a little something extra.

This workout had the usual sprints and hill climbs, but the main set was different than in the past. It was the culmination of the past few classes. In past weeks, we started doing sets of Threshold work - varying the resistance/cadence but holding the same Zone 4 heart rate - right at AT / LT. This was to work the critical systems needed for endurance racing - and learning to control our effort at Zone 4, in different conditions (wind/false flats/etc) - important skills for race day. We then began to add some Zone 5 efforts within the Zone 4 sets - again - to simulate the surges in racing (break-aways, chase downs, etc.).

What I put together was the "Pyramid of Suck" - a 30 minute main set in 2:30 intervals of Zone 4/5... Starting with 2:00 Zone 4 / 0:30 Zone 5... then adding 0:15 Zone 5 (and reducing Zone 4) until we were at 0:45 / 1:45 and then worked back down to 2:00/0:30 again. It was really tough!

My favorite little surprise was after the last sprint set... kind of gave the impression that we were done... the next song was Daughtry's "It's Not Over" during our recovery. I asked the group who sang it... got the answer... then I asked for the title... someone yelled it out... then I saw the look of realization spread across faces... We had one last, nasty 7.5 minute hill climb left. I chose Metallica ONE for this last climb. Starts off kind of slow and intense... then builds toward that last 2:30 which is the out-of-the-saddle, all out assault on the body and mind. I turned the class loose to destroy themselves. The last minute was totally all-out effort... and I know left everyone wiped out. It was great!

Only downside was that the group who went out for dinner/drinks afterwards was unusually quiet afterwards...

	Pre-ride introduction… start at 6:09	This is War
WARM UP	5 minute Warm up	Chutes and Ladders
	120rpm sprint
	1 minutes easy spin	Black Horse and Cherry Tree
	120rpm sprint
	easy spin   (START LAP ON START OF KEEP HOPE ALIVE!)	Keep Hope Alive
Speed intervals	30 / 15  hard effort #1   (0:47-1:17)	Keep Hope Alive
	Recovery - easy spin (1:17-2:11)
	30 / 15  hard effort #2 (2:11-2:56)
	Recovery - easy spin (2:56-3:50)
	30 / 15  hard effort #3 (3:50-4:37)
	Recovery - easy spin (4:37-5:47)
	30 / 15  hard effort #4  (5:47 - END)
	Recovery - easy spin
	30 / 30 hard effort #5  (START ON 0:21 NAME OF GAME)	Name of the Game (0:20)
	Recovery - easy spin
	30 / 30 hard effort #6
	Recovery - easy spin
	30 / 30 hard effort #7
	Recovery - easy spin
	30 / 30 hard effort #8
	Recovery - easy spin	BulletProof
	Hill climb - first half - seated… second half - ATTACK!	Trip Like I do
	Recovery	Love the way u lie
Pyramid of Suck	2:00 / 0:30	Brass Monkey
	1:45 / 45	Gonna Make you Sweat
	1:30 / 1:00	Middle Class Rut - New Low
	1:15 / 1:15	Stereo Love
	1:00/1:30	Hot in Here
	0:45 / 1:45	Black Keys - Tighten Up
	1:00/1:30	BulletProof
	1:15 / 1:15	Only
	1:30 / 1:00	Heavy Cross
	1:45 / 45
	2:00 / 0:30
	Easy recovery	Bad Romance
Last Sprints	30 / 30 hard effort #1  ( 0:22-1:10)	Stronger Faster
	Recovery - easy spin (1:10-2:14)
	30 / 30 hard effort #2 (2:14-3:09)
	Recovery - easy spin (3:09-4:05)
	30 / 30 hard effort #4  -  Right at start of Invincible	Invincible
Recovery	Recovery before last climb and all out	It's not over - Daughtry
	Last song = hard climb, building to all-out at 2:30… go nuts!!	One - Metallica
Cool Down	cool down	Lazy Eye

SnakeBite Racing Indoor Cycling - 12/20/11

Tonight was a fun and challenging class - with about 30 in attendance.

Here is the playlist and workout summary:

Pre-ride introduction… I Ka Barra (Habib Koite)
Warm Up - easy spin Clocks (Coldplay)
Warm-up a few jumps: Christmas / Sarajevo (TSO)
Warm Up - easy spin Tonight I'm F-ing you… (E. Iglesius)

Sprints: 0:30 on / 0:30 off - Let the Bodies Hit the Floor (Drowning Pool)
Sprints: 0:30 on / 0:30 off - Re-education through Labor (Rise Against)

Steady seated climb Remember the Name (Fort Minor)

Recovery - Wake Me Up (Evanescence)

Climb with jumps Lose Yourself (Eminem)

Recovery- Send the pain below (Chevelle)

25 minute main set: Alternating between 2:00 at Zone 4… 0:30 at Zone 5 - TOUGH!
Sexy and I know it (LMFAO)
You're Going Down (Sick Puppies)
Faint (Linkin Park)
Hella Good (No Doubt)
Catalyst (Linkin Park)
Hoodie Ninja (MC Chris)
Monster (Skillet)

Recovery - Tainted Love (Marylin Manson)

Out of saddle - Climb with jumps Can I Get A… (Jay Z)

Recovery - HollaBack Girl (Gwen Stefani)

Steady seated climb: High Roller (The Crystal Method)

ALL OUT Sprints: 0:30 on / 0:30 off... Break (3 Days Grace)
ALL OUT Sprints: 0:30 on / 0:30 off... Monster (Skillet)
ALL OUT Sprints: 0:30 on / 0:30 off... last full minute - Wizards of Winter (TSO)

Cool Down: Dream on (Aerosmith)

Shanghai International Marathon - 12/04/2011

This was my first race in Asia and my third race overseas - twice I have run marathons in Europe. It was a fantastic experience! Because this was a last-minute race entry for me, I chose to run the half marathon. I ran a perfectly even paced 1:32 (7:02/mi avg), to finish 129th out of over 8,000+ runners from all over the world.

When I quit my job as Global Operations and Logistics Director at my last company, I thought my international travel days were behind me. Not quite! Two months after I started my new job as VP Operations for an Ohio Manufacturing company, I found out I needed to go to China for a few things. My current Chinese visa expired at 12:00am on 12/02/2011 - so I had to hurry! Then I found out this race was going on during the weekend I was there - but it was already filled and closed! :( I told my friend in Shanghai about it... and he managed to get me in!

Race morning was nice as far as weather goes... clear, sunny and about 50F at the start. We started right on the Bund! Me, and 25000+ of my closest running friends from all over the world! See how tightly packed together we are? I had to stand, jammed in like this for about 45 minutes!

Before the race, there were drumlines, dancers and a "warm-up leader". It was quite something - not quite like the opening ceremonies for the 2008 Beijing Olympics - but you get the idea.

Then it was 7:30am and time to start!

The crowded start made it impossible for me to find my friend or for him to find me. The amazing thing is that since I was running with my camera, and taking photos along the way - I accidentially got a picture with him in it!!

About 5k (3.1miles) into the race, we ran up and over the NanPu bridge. I've driven across it scores of times, usually in heavy traffic... it was amazing to cross it by foot with zero vehicles on it!

First 5K was about 21:50... as it turns out, my next three 5K splits would all be the same! I ran quite the even pace for this race!

After about the 10k mark, I finally had room to run. I was surprised and impressed at the number of good runners in the race. I guess I shouldn't have been. This is one of the biggest races in China, and much of Asia. Runners from Japan and Korea were everywhere... as well as some "ex-pats" like myself from Europe and USA. The Chinese runners are solid as well. The fastest marathon for a Chinese was 2:12. Not too shabby! (the top 3 were 2:10-2:11... Kenya, Ethopia and South Africa).

My legs felt good, and since I carried my own nutrition, I was OK in that regard. I wasn't ready to experiment with the local energy drinks, tea or water on the course...

I kept taking pictures and video along the race course. There were a lot of people lining the race course - yelling "Jiao Ye" or something to that effect... Not sure what it meant, but it sounded encouraging to everyone!

In the last 5K of the race, we doubled-back along an earlier section of the race course, where I could see the bulk of the 25,000 runners... man - there were a LOT!

As I came to the finish (1K to go), I let my legs run hard, and had to pound up a bridge with a decent incline and decline. It felt good to have strong legs that far into the race. With no one behind me and no one to catch, I just pushed myself to the last 100 meters - which was packed with people. I turned on my video camera and recorded those last 100m. It was pretty cool!

Once I finished, I learned that I won a pair of socks for my finishing position. (top 50 won shoes, next 100 won socks).


I gathered my post-race food and drinks and my finisher's medal, then found my friend and his wife outside. We made our way back to the finish line to watch the professional men finish the marathon... and cheered in the first place man at 2:10:XX (from Kenya) and second (South Africa) place only :07 seconds behind! Third place (from Ethopia) made it to the finish, and then I was right by him when I staggered around, totally out of it. He had put himself into the hurt locker big-time... it was kinda cool to see a world class athelte hurting so much right after a race!

Stiff, Sore and Flat... not the race I wanted today... ;(

I did the Portage Lakes Olympic Triathlon as my last race of the season - and it sucked.

They can't all be great races... and I am OK with that (so I keep telling myself). To be honest, I'm embarrassed about my result today - but there is a reason I raced so badly today.

Just 16 hours before, I did the Alan's Elite Race - a "grand prix" style race set of 3 sprint triathlons back-to-back-to-back with just a few minutes' rest between. I did great on Saturday afternoon... and had nothing left for Sunday morning as a result.

The weather was on the chilly side (about 50F at the start), but brilliantly sunny. There were a lot of people I knew at the race. That was cool - except that I had this bad feeling I was going to race badly in front of them. Oh well - I do this for myself...

I knew right away in the swim that I was going to have a long day. I could just feel it. My warm-ups were OK, but I didn't do anything with high speed or intensity like I normally do, since I was sprinting all afternoon before. I settled into my swimming rhythm and did the best I could to keep going quickly. Never really found any good feet to follow in the swim, so I pretty much expended full energy without a draft. Bummer... but that's how it goes sometimes.

The bike course was brand new for this race - so I had no sense of my speeds / times / etc. It was a good course. Road conditions were good, lots of rolling hills and a few climbs that got you out of your saddle for power. Problem for me was I just wasn't feeling it. But I carried on.

Speaking of not feeling it... my feet were totally numb during the bike (and a good portion of the run). It was rather chilly that morning, and not being acclimated to cold weather yet, and choosing to leave the arm warmers in my transition bag - I lost my feet out there. It isn't that my bike was THAT bad... I did take pleasure in sprinting up the steep hills past people. but I just wasn't into it mentally, which made it hard to push.

I didn't realize how bad my numb feet were until I took them out of my bike shoes coming back into the park for a flying dismount into transition. I was shocked at the numb blocks hanging at the end of my legs. Not good - and I was really worried I'd fall flat on my face jumping off my bike. Luckily I didn't fall over... but running to my bike rack was not easy.

Pulling on my shoes was a real challenge too! I manged to finally get my shoes on, take a deep breath and head out.

My entire body was upset with me for racing so quickly after yesterday's effort. Legs felt depleted and dead like the final miles of an Ironman... and my head just wasn't in it today... My pace felt sluggish, but to my surprise, my first uphill mile was about 6:20... but after running 5:XX miles yesterday - it felt relatively slow anyway.

At mile 3, I was really feeling crappy, and contemplated walking - me walking! Man, I was just not into it today. I actually had to stop and pee along the 3rd mile as well. Ugh...

Then I saw teammates on the out and back and that gave me a lift to try to hang in there and do better... I pushed up the pace and tried to start reeling in more people in front of me.

The second loop I maintained a 7:00-ish pace... but knowing what I should be running... and how I felt, it just wasn't a good experience.

When it was all said and done, I came in a disappointing 16th overall. :( I'm used to being around 5th or 6th overall in the HFP Olympic race... but I did come in 6th overall in the combined 3 race set just 16 hours before...

So, the moral of the story is that my season actually peaked in July (5th at Caesar Creek Olympic and 2nd at Huntington Sprint)... then travel to India and China and family vacation got in the way... and the whole month of August was a training bust. I milked my fitness for USAT Nationals in August... and didn't train again until last week - too late to have a good race today! Oh well - lessons learned.

It was a great season for me overall... from a big PR in Boston Marathon, to my highest finishes in Sprint and Olympic triathlons, a new PR at Olympic triathlon and my first National Championships! Just kinda went out with a tired, flat fizzle.

Gonna use this for motivation to kick ass in 2012!

"I've been everywhere, man..."

I have literally circled the globe many times in my world travels the past 3 years. It has been exciting and a learning experience for sure. I've seen amazing sights and met interesting people along the way. Been exposed to extremes of poverty and of riches... eaten some downright weird and wonder foods and seen some of the most beautiful and remarkable places in the world.

Recently, the travel has also started to become a chore... missing the family, routine, and consistent training. Luckily for me, I've accepted a new position as the Vice President of Operations for a new company in Cleveland, and my high volume international travel days will be behind me for a while!

From a culture standpoint, I have learned a lot about how other people think and behave and a little insight into why. I've enjoyed having to add German and Chinese language skills to my Spanish. I'm lucky enough to now know people on all seven continents (I have an old friend on Antartica!). While I am not fluent, the people with whom I work overseas genuinely appreciate the effort of trying to learn their language and experience their culture. I am around plent of "ex-pats" who don't make the effort, and the connection with the local people just isn't there.

Famous DOM Cathedral in Koln, Germany

Ending my world travels caused me to reflect back on some of the many sights, sounds and tastes I've experienced along the way.

I have taken 14 major international trips (usually 2 weeks long each)... and visited (and been running in) 13 countries: China (8), Germany(7), Japan(4), Austria(3), India (2), Switzerland(2), Spain(1), Netherlands(1), Belgium(1), Korea(1), Brazil(1)
, Wales(1), England(1).

Sao Paolo, BRAZIL




I have enjoyed running in each of these places. I often go running with my camera and capturing some memorable things along the way. I have even been lucky enough to compete in two marathons in Europe during my travels - including the "Dreis Landeren Marathon" (3 countries marathon) which started in Germany, and went through Austria and Switzerland in the foothills of the Alps. Incredible! I've even been running along the Great Wall of China - where the hold the Great Wall Marathon! Now that is some seriously difficult terrain!

Food has been an exciting part of each country and culture. From dog and scorpions in China to amazing and unique sushi in Japan to tapas in Spain to chocolate covered waffles in Grand Platz in Belgium to Schnitzel in Germany to weiner art on a mountain top in Austria. Often, food defines the local culture. I go out of my way to always try the local fare. I avoid the "Chains" like the plague. I can't stand to travel with people who insist on eating "safe". I feel bad for them. How often do you get a chance to sample some of these foods, gross as they might seem (pig lung soup, for example). You can always get a hamburger or pizza again in the USA...

OKTOBERFEST in Germany - with high school friend John Holmes, who was stationed there at the time.



I have many travel photo albums posted to my Facebook account (www.Facebook.com/kenhagan)... I couldn't possible post them all here!

So, I have been able to see the world on the company's dime... an incredible experience! But the time away from the boys and Amy has become increasingly difficult... The boys (now 6 and 10) are definitely missing me when I'm gone, and while they enjoy the pictures, stories and gifts when I return... they are going to be glad to consistenly have me at home. So am I!

My triathlon training suffered, too. It's really difficult to deal with jet lag, dangerous roads and an incredibly busy schedule to stay on track. Of course, I don't bring my bike (sometimes borrow them overseas) and don't normally swim overseas either. So I get a lot of running in when I can, but not much else. I have on occasion stayed in hotels with exercise bikes in them. I put myself through some of the spin classes I have taught, while alone on the bike. Let's just say that I've wrecked those fitness centers... :) When I return home, I can't just pick up my training either, I need to make time with the family and catch up on sleep and jet lag. So it is really disruptive, but I've adapted as much as I can.


Time to move on to another phase of life and career... let's hope I don't feel to "cooped up" now that I'm not traveling every 8 weeks or so!

I think I'll be just fine! Next time I get the urge to fly overseas, it will be with Amy and the boys - to go explore together!

The long road to the 2011 USA Triathlon Nationals…

As my flight lifted off from the Cleveland airport toward Vermont I was trying to clear my head of the challenges of work and other stresses… As we rose up, I looked down and saw the stretch of road where this past winter, a training partner and I endured -4F temperatures to run our speed workout together.

** CLICK **

My entire mindset shifted just like that. A huge smile came across my face, and the prickle of excitement for what was about to happen ran down my spine. I was suddenly inspired to take a look back at the training, successes and sacrifices that I have made to get me to the point of racing in the USA Triathlon National Championships in Burlington, Vermont – August 20, 2011.

The frozen runs... trying to find a clear track... the intense spin sessions that I led and I followed... So much time in the pool, pushing to get stronger and faster.

Then spring came and the Boston Marathon was a big success, with a 3:08 PR on my 39th birthday!

Then summer and the two and three a day training sessions... the heat, humidity and punishment I put my body through. Just as I was about to crack, I would take a break.

Then I would have to travel... To China, to Germany, to Japan, to India - all this summer while trying to prepare for the triathlon season. Hard to train on the road like that, as you can imagine - but I did every chance that I had.

I truly believe you have to "Practice Suffering" - and I like to think I've put myself through the ringer a few times... I truly believe that will pay off this Satuday - when I push myself to places I've not been before.

I'm re-reading Chris "Macca" McCormick's book "I'm Here to Win" today. Great quote from it:
"You don't PLAY triathlon. You play soccer; it's fun. Triathlon is WORK that can leave you crumpled in a heap, puking by the roadside. It's the physical brutality of climbing Mt. Everest - without the great view from the top of the world..."


If you recall from an earlier blog entry, that 10 years ago, I was a 200lb couch potato that was out of shape and totally stressed out by life. In 24 hours, I will toe the line with the some of the best in the country in the Nationals! I won’t recall that entire journey again here… but it is worth remembering where I started from… if for no other reason, than to allow others to believe that at any time, they can make positive changes in their life – and there is no limit to the potential and possibility! To quote Nike – “JUST DO IT”! There is a lot of truth and power in that simple phrase…

Huntington Triathlon Race Report - 2nd Overall, 1st in Age Group

This was my first sprint triathlon in a few years. I've been focused on Ironman racing the past few years, and this year has been all Olympic Distance. I am focused on the USAT National Championships in August in Burlington,Vermont. I thought a sprint 4 weeks out would be a good idea. Sprints are short distance - and as the name implies - "a full-on, all-out, redline from the start" sprint race... that lasts about one hour.

To race a sprint well, demands a high degree of mental focus - not only because of the pain factor, but also because any lapses in concentration that allow you to slow you down result in time lost thatyou don't get back.

Plus - this is a great, fun local race to see friends and teammates, as well as experience the pain and high intensity as a solid brick workout in preparation for Nationals in 4 weeks.

Besides not having done a sprint tri in a few years... I haven't had a rest day in 18 days. I was doing this race at the end of the most intense triathlon training week I've had all season (or ever?). Every workout this week was either high intensity speedwork or hill work or a combination of both. Nothing "zone 3" about this week. So, this day, my legs were totally dead... today would normally have been approached as a rest day, but with the "big one" in 4 weeks, and a real taper on the horizon, I went for it.

PRE-RACE:
I got to the venue about 6:30am like I do for all 8:00am starts. Gives me time to get all settled in without any rushing, do my warm-ups and have time to socialize with people before the race. This race being one of the bigger "local" races, I wanted to have plenty of time to chat with the 13+ teammates doing the race and my other friends.

During my warm-ups, I felt like crap. I was beyond "flat" - I worried this was going to be a bad day. I also made it a bit more difficult than it needed to be by blowing out both tube and new tire while bunny-hopping some bad road stuff at about 28mph... BOOM... I knew what happened instantly... and I was 2 miles from the transition area - where I had just made the conscious decision to remove my tools/CO2/spares and race without the weight since it was a sprint race. I am NOT making that decision again! (See my "Murphy's Law" post) Thankfully, one of our team sponsors (Bike Authority) had a tent on site and took care of me while I finished my pre-race routine. Thanks Mike!

SWIM:
This was an age-group only race, and I was in the second wave with the others in the 35-39 age group. I really prefer when the top overall contenders start together in the same first wave... you know exactly where you stand that way. Anyhow...

When the "gun" fired, I sprinted into the clear, calm water of Lake Erie along with the other 50 or so in my age group. Dolphined twice until I was deep enough to swim properly. I immediately went full-speed until the first turn buouy... then started looking for feet to draft off of. Didn't find a reliable pair of feet, though.

Well - this is a sprint race... there is no time to settle into a real rhythm... it is all out from the gun. As I mentioned, I felt crappy, flat and tired before the race started... this continued through the swim. Maybe I just didn't get enough warm-up before the race from my flat situation... whatever the reason... Lungs and arms burning...

My swim has improved rather significantly this year over after the last few years of being "flat"... but I will be the first to admit, there is still more work to do.

I got out of the water, unsure about my position... all I knew is that there was a 1/4 mile uphill run to the transition area to start the bike... and it was a chance to get some time back on those who beat me out of the water. I probably passed 10 people in that short run who were fiddling with wetsuits or recovering from the swim while jogging up to transition... but in a sprint race, every second counts... and I would win time back. I had the fastest run up to the transition area on the day... 2:14 vs 3:00 or more for most people. Again, in a sprint this is make or break!


BIKE: I had the fastest overall bike split of the triathlon + duathlon!
After the fast run up from the beach to transition, I had time to mentally prepare for this transition. It went extremely smoothly and quickly.

Out on the bike, I hadn't slipped my feet into my shoes yet- I wanted to build up to full speed and get around the first corner before doing so. Then, I realized I was with a strong looking guy with a "G" on his leg (my age group) who was also moving fast. I cranked up the speed to 30mph or so to make sure I got around this guy and not let him think about hanging on. After 100 yards and another turn, I knew I had dropped him and finished getting my shoes on.

Now it was time to hammer on the bike... my true strength...

I started passing people who started in the wave before me, and a few from my wave... bang, bang, bang... I was carrying good speed, and my legs were finally starting to feel decent. (Remember, I was riding without a rest day in about 18 days.) I continued to pass people from the wave that started before me - which meant I was really 4 minutes ahead of them.

About half way through the bike course, we came off a bike trail and had a hard left onto the road... I was carrying a lot of speed into the turn, and apparently too much! The police officer controlling the intersection kept yelling to me to slow down, he was right, as I leaned hard into the turn I realized I was going too fast, touched the brakes, fish-tailed around the corner, feeling happy to have stayed on the road!!

After a couple more turns, I was on the final long straight run back to transition along beautiful Lake Road. I had just turned myself inside-out with a group on Wednesday on that stretch of Lake Road that week. I kept reminding myself how much that hurt, and how I hung in - even when I felt I couldn't anymore...

I kept my head down, my legs pumping and flew toward transition where a huge crowd was waiting for the athletes to come in. I know the roads well, and knew to slip my shoes off well before transition, so I didn't have to fiddle with them while navigating some rough road and other cyclists coming in from the duathlon.

I came screaming into transition, heard friends cheering me in... I knew I had a good ride! I did a flying dismount, almost missed the timing chip mat and scrambled over to rack my bike and start the run.

T2 was also a smooth, quick and efficient transition for me.

RUN: (11th fastest run split overall)
I started the run flying down the hill... I still hadn't put on my hat or race belt, but I wanted to keep focused on starting the run hard and fast and get down the hill, and up the short, steep hill on the other side, before screwing around with that stuff. I came to an aid station and just grabbed some water - a mouthful just to refresh the mouth, and the rest on my head.

Even though this was a short race, it was already rather hot, and very, very humid. I pushed on and finished the first mile in about 6:20 pace. Not great, but not bad. The second mile was along the out-and-back section where you get to see the other guys and know how far ahead/behind they area.

I was really pushing it now... I knew I had a good chance to be top 3 overall after seeing where everyone was...

Mile 2 was 6:10. Good.

Mile 3 was coming back around the park. Like most people were feeling at this time, the intensity of the race was starting to catch up to me. I knew where most every one was, and didn't have anyone right around me to chase, or that was chasing me. There were a couple of guys from the earlier wave in front of me, so I set the challenge to catch them (even though in reality they were 4 minutes back). The last mile was a bit slower... about 6:40 I think.

Coming to the end of the race, the new course had us running down and back up the short little hill to the finish. The cool thing was that the big crowd surrounded the final hill back to the finish. There was a wonderful tunnel of screaming, cheering people we ran through to get to the last right had turn to the finish line. I liked that!

I came into the finish and stopped my watch... 1:02:XX. Great time! I knew I got everything I wanted to out of the day (and my body). It was a challenging pace to carry for the full hour... higher intensity than an Olympic Distance triathlon - an excellet training race!

I knew that Brian Stern started in the wave behind me and would be coming soon... question was - how soon. I watched the clock, and saw him come in at about 1:01:XX. I knew he beat me - but I expected it. He has a sick run... He's one hell of a great triathlete! Gives me a new target to shoot for next season.

Post-Race:
My team, SnakeBite Racing, had about 15 athletes racing today, and we had an excellent showing!
I had 2nd overall of the 300 person triathlon...
Mike Larimer had 1st overall of the 75 person duathlon...
Eric Gibb returned to racing after his knee surgery earlier this year...
Martha was 2nd overall in the women's race, Angie 4th, and many of the rest our team won age group awards! Great job, team!

It was wonderful getting to see so many other friends at the race, as well as watch people trying the sport for the first time. I loved listening to the chatter of the newbies before and after the race. We were all newbies once!

I'm finished racing now until August 20th in Burlington, Vermont!

Time for 2 more serious weeks of intense training, then I will start the taper...