9.27.2008

Riding with Floyd


I had the chance to ride with Floyed Landis recently. Dude is really down to earth, very easy to talk to, and told a lot of very interesting stories about training and racing in the pro peloton.


In 2006, Floyd won the inaugural Tour of California, the Paris-Nice stage race, the Tour de Georgia.


The ride was social in nature, but he turned on the jets a couple of times just to let us experience the speed. It was quite outstanding. I was behind him on a small hill and really was within less than 10 seconds of a blow up when we crested and thankfully, he let up.

9.11.2008

9/11

I would like to ask we all take a moment this morning to acknowledge the fallen victims of the attack on our nation on 9-11-01.

We can never forget.

9.10.2008

Groove

After what has been one of the busiest summers of my life, I am finally settling into a nice groove again. Law School is still taking up considerable amounts of time and energy. However, I have come up with a training plan that still allows me to improve while putting in a high academic workload and learning the law.

Maintaining a career as a pro athlete and law student at the same time is tough, but I am enjoying the challenge. For me, it’s only fun if it is challenging!

I only have one class on Fridays, so I get to drive home and stay there until Monday morning. It’s a bit crazy having 2 homes and spending time equally each week at both, but it is the set up I found that will best allow me to maintain both edges of the knife as sharp as possible. It’s working thus far, so I plan on staying with it.

9.01.2008

Callaway Gardens Triathlon

Yesterday I my celebrated 31st overall career win at the nationally acclaimed Callaway Gardens Triathlon, America’s oldest ongoing continental triathlon. The event, held over Labor Day weekend, is older than I am - it has been going on since 1980! The Callaway Gardens Triathlon has been one of the “Top Ten Races” to do in the USA multiple times over the past 28 years, and I wanted to race it and pay my dues at one of the nation’s oldest triathlon.

Crossing the finish line in a time of 1:29:50, I led the race from start to finish, eventually stopping the race clock 28 seconds ahead of my nearest competitor. The race temperature never got above 82°F and a light breeze made the 30k bike course and 8k run course easier on myself and all of the other 290 athletes on the race course.

This has certainly been a great season – this is my 4th win and 7th Top 3 podium – and I still have a couple more races before I shut down the season, so I am going to try to get 10 podiums, which would be a first for me. With the help of some of my sponsors, I have changed my diet this year, and it really shows in the results. I always pushed the envelope and that often meant weakening my immune system, but I have not been sick this year at all, which is also a first for me.

My fiancee was there getting some video footage for the 2009 promo video, and it was nice to get footage of the finish line celebration to add to it.

Ciao,

Felipe