Don't be stupid

After a long unwanted absence from racing due to a variety of reasons, I toed the line this morning at the HITS Triathlon Series Ocala Half Ironman. I know what you are thinking: "a half, this early in the season, after many months of racing? You're not serious." I am. And the beat down was well deserved.

My motto for this race was "Don't be stupid." I told Jessica to keep reminding me of that throughout the race so I wouldn't get too excited. First out of the water? That's great. Don't be stupid. Out in the early lead? Terrific. Don't be stupid. You get the idea.

Out on the bike course in 2nd.

Without too many details, I had sub-par race. However, I am thrilled to have stuck it out and finished a disappointing 8th. It was a deceivingly hard day with high temps on the run and a windy, rolling bike course.

It was probably my slowest Half distance races ever, but gave me a great baseline to work from. I am now painfully aware of the weaknesses that need to be addressed, and can go to the drawing board and make a plan to have things fixed before the next race - which I don;t know what it will be. When I do, I will post it here. I should also have a race calendar shortly.

In other much more interesting news, Jessica raced her first triathlon ever and finished 4th overall after leading the swim. She led for a while on the bike, but unable to get her feet into her cycling shoes, she rode the entire time atop them. Needless to say, less than ideal and made a for a slower than desired bike and a tough run. I'm pleased to say, however, that she is hooked, and I doubt it will be long until she finishes a race on top. I've created a little monster. Makes me so proud. 

Race Season Prep

I know, I know. It's been a long time since I last posted. I've been bad and promise to update more often this season.

Now that most of my sponsor ships for the new year are ironed out, I am finally able to focus on the race calendar. While I don't have a complete idea of what the year will look like, I will be kicking off the season at the HITS Half Distance in Ocala, FL on March 25, and I am certainly looking forward to it.

I have not raced the Half distance in several years. The last time I opened a season with one was in 2007 at the Kinetic Half, where I was 5th (losing 2 spots in the final miles). This time, my hopes are that the preparation ensures I don't crumble right at the end. That being said, expectations are not very high. The main goal is to have a good hit out to set me up for the rest of the race season.

Training is coming along well, particularly swimming and running. The bike is slightly behind due to living in a big city and the difficulties of just getting a good ride right out the door. On the weekends, Jessica and I have been driving to San Antonio to enjoy the hills. She just bought a QR Seduza from Cycle Therapy (it was quite a good deal) and we are planning on heading to Ocala to see the bike course this weekend.

I've enjoyed seeing her progression from runner to triathlete quite a bit. She has an engine in her, and coaching her to race her first ever triathlon, an Olympic distance also part of the HITS Series on March 24 has been a blast. Needless to say (but I will say it just the same) the rest of the race season will be even better once we have this first one out of the way.

I promise to update more often in 2012.

Felipe

I'm back!

The bar exam is done. My diploma arrived today. It's all done.

So, naturally, I celebrated with some long overdue training. After a morning strength session, in the afternoon I headed over to Alafia State Park for a good outing on the Scott Spark RC. 

While there are several levels of trails ( from Easy to Extremely Difficult), I wisely chose to warm up on the River loop, one of the easiest ones. So far, so good. A few bridges, some twisty turns, but I was managing just fine. And my confidence kept rising. Fast.

After I felt sufficiently warmed up, I decided to enter the hardest mountain bike course I have ever seen. In hindsight, this was a mistake. Below is an image of one of the many "speed bumps". I saw at least 3 of these guys, as well as deer, bunnies and a baby armadillo. Cute little bugger.

Sadly, the images do not do this course justice. I am no professional mountain biker, but found myself forced to dismount over 30 times in just a few miles ( both up and downhill), and had plenty of near misses.


I am not sure if it is the lack of time spent on a mountain bike (or any other bike, for that matter) over the past few months while Law School graduation and the bar exam consumed my days, but my skills certainly were far behind my eagerness.

I am proud to say, however, that I only had one (minor) tumble. I braked hard to avoid a fall, and rolled to the right. There was a ditch, and I rolled (gently) down it, ending upside down and without any way to support my self back up, so I was upside down for a good few seconds until I finally propped myself back up. Nothing to worry about, really, but it made me extra careful the rest of the lap.

Alafia State Park is only 45 minutes from downtown Tampa, but it feels a world away. The easy course is a lot of fun, and if you have some serious skills, the Moonscape and Roller Coaster courses will treat you just fine. Maybe.

Back to FL

It's been a very long time since I last wrote, but better late than never. Since last February a lot has happened.

I have graduated law school and will be sitting for the Florida bar exam in a few short weeks. Scared out of my mind, I've been putting in solid studying hours. keep your fingers crossed.

I have also relocated to Tampa, FL. I am absolutely loving it here - the coast, the ocean breeze, the proximity to some of the world's best beaches all make being here a great experience.

On the training front, I have been running a lot given the lack of real time to swim and ride. The fitness is not where it used to be, but it is coming back. I plan on doing a few local running races to get the racing legs back, and as the fitness returns, the triathlon and off-road racing will resume as well.

I have a new Scott Spark RC, courtesy of Cycle Therapy. I also have Enve Composites on it which make it the lightest MTB I've ever touched by far even though it is a full suspension. It has motivated me to do an 8 hour off road event, which I should tackle around October. Pic below.

I will try to keep this updated more often. The past few months have been absolutely crazy, but things are falling in place again and I can tend to my duties better.

Be good,

Felipe

Long Overdue Update

Okay, I will admit that it has been far too long since I last updated my blog. At some point, too much happened and I kept postponing the update. Well, the time has come. 

I spend a couple of weeks in Queensland, Australia during the month of December. It was an outstanding trip altogether. Getting used to the lack of ocean swimming took a little while (saltwater crocodiles,  sharks and deadly marine stingers kept everyone out of the areas not fenced in), as did getting used to the heat and humidity. It’s usually not a problem when I slowly get acclimated, but jumping from near freezing temps in the States to close to 100F everyday in Cairns took the better part of a week.

 

The visits to the Tablelands (the gateway to the outback), the Great Barrier Reef,   the downtown Cairns Esplanade and the other local attractions were all incredible. I could easily get used to spending winter break Down Under yearly – the only issue is the super long flight.

When I returned I spent 5 days in Tampa before heading back to Alabama. I just wasn't ready to brave the wintry weather yet, and the weather, as well as the company in Tampa were too good to pass up. 

Since being back, I have been trying to not spread myself too thin between working at a couple of law firms, taking the last few credits before I add J.D. after my name, and professional sports training. I have been doing most of it at night after work, and adapting to this schedule has been tough to say the least. The much-colder-than-usual winter

I have posted an album with Australia images on my facebook, if you have an interest in seeing them. I also did the majority of the updating on twitter if you wanna see a play by play of the trip.

I am currently working on a race schedule, and will share it once it becomes available. I promise it will not be as long until I update next time.

Felipe

 

Navigator Triathlon

Last weekend I once again visited the lovely town of Rome, GA. Last time I was in town was back in March, and another visit was overdue. Once again Trey Smith of Cycle Therapy organized my entire visit and  could not have been happier. As per my request I stayed at the Hawthorn, a local hotel that is built on an old warehouse.

I have spent probably 2 years of my life in hotels, and the Hawthorn is my favorite. I can't really pinpoint one quality that does it for me, but I just feel at home and relaxes there. I always sleep well, I love the quaint atmosphere. 

 Now, back to the reason I was there: the Navigator Triathlon. This year on a new course at the Darlington Upper School, and featuring an afternoon time trial start, I knew that I would have to push it from the gun. I am no fan of time trial starts as I like my competition close, but I managed to start off well and push the pace on the bike. That gave me a sizable lead o the run, and I was able to keep it under control for the 5k mixed course and win the 44th race of my career. 

For an October event the weather was extremely warm, and I was fortunate to play my lead on the run and not finish too dehydrated. Many of the other athletes were not as fortunate and finished under much warmer temps later in the day.

The race organizers did a phenomenal job putting everything together and I will certainly be back next year.

Florida Campaign Recap

I ended up spending 6 weeks in FL rather than the 7 I originally had planned. I wanted to come home early, spend some time with my fiancée, and catch some rest before heading to my last 8 months in law school. Time flies!

I ended up undefeated while in Florida, which was absolutely amazing to me. I really seemed to have found my bike legs once again. it's nice to be able to ride at 26-27 mph once again. it had been a couple of years since I'd been able to do that. And in fairness, a large part of that comes from the super fast Scott Plasma 2 I am riding this season, courtesy of Cycle Therapy. I've got some Profile-Design bars on it, and custom Edge Composites wheels, and a Quarq powermeter. It is a sick fast machine, and the help I got in January from Todd Kenyon at TTBikeFit and Coach Al made all the difference!

I first won the Crystal River Triathlon. The last time I had won this event was the year before I left FL and moved to Alabama, so it was a great feeling. Kevin Grogan and I swam and rode together, but I pushed hard on the run to win by almost 90 seconds.

The following day I raced the Gainesville Melon Run 5k, an incredibly competitive event held yearly on the 4th of July. This year the course changed and was slightly slower than in previous years, but it made me go right by my fiancé's parent's house, where I was so graciously hosted- a I always am. I am happy that come December they'll officially be my parents in law.  I ended up 6th, running in the mid 16's for a hilly, somewhat off road course.

The following week we traveled down to Inverness for their 5k Cross Country event. I pushed harder on this day, once again facing the pure runners, and ended up with a 5th place. I was pretty pleased to make the podium and see how my form was already coming along nicely.

Next was the Jacksonville Triathlon. I really wanted to break the course record, but the strong trade winds on the bike, as well as the oppressive heat and humidity on the run course got me 40 seconds short of my goal. Fortunately, I'd have a crack at it once more in a few weeks.

With 2 wins under my belt, I knew my form was coming along. So I raced the Twilight Triathlon going all out from the gun. The effort would yield me a bike course record, averaging close to 26 mph, and a 3rd victory in a row, making me plenty nervous to end my campaign in Florida undefeated.

On my last day down there, I won the Amelia Island Triathlon, breaking the course record and setting a new bike course record. I arrived in T2 over a minute ahead of everyone else, so my work was mostly done by the time I hit the 5k run course.

Back in Alabama, I've been struggling to really absorb it all. My body seems to be destroyed from what I put it through. As a result, I am not making any crazy commitments for the time being. I do plan t be back down there for the AmeliaMan Half in October as well as MiamiMan in November. I just love racing in Florida!

Xp Multisport put out a newsletter, and you can see it here: http://drcsports.com/XPMultisport.pdf

Back to Back

I am pretty excited to have won 3 triathlons in a row here in Florida. The training seems to be falling into pace despite the long days in the office during the week.

This weekend I won, for the 2nd time, the Nature Coast Twilight Triathlon. The last time I raced this even was in 2006, and prior to the event I had serious doubts as to my ability to repeat the win - 4 years is a lot of time.

Knowing I'd have serious threats from the local sprint specialists, I decided to attack the course from the gun and solo at the front. My strategy worked well as I exited the swim with a small lead, but long enough that I had a 5 second gap at the beginning of the bike. I used it to my advantage, putting my head down and riding 29-30 mph for the first 4 miles in order to build a comfortable margin.

The strategy worked. At the bike turnaround I had a 40 second gap to 2nd and 3rd place (working together to catch me). I increased that lead to nearly a minute at the end of the bike ride, and ran alone to finish with a 50-second margin at the finish line, beating my time from 4 years ago by 30 seconds, and beating the winner from the past 3 years in the process. I also broke the existing bike course record averaging near 26 mph.

I will race next at the Amelia Island Triathlon on August 7, my last weekend in Florida before heading back to Alabama to resume my last year in law school. I certainly hope to win again and leave Florida undefeated. So far I have won the Crystal River Triathlon, the Jacksonville Triathlon and the Twilight Triathlon. I also finished in the Melon Run 5k and 5th in the Inverness Cross Country 5k. It's been a very rewarding summer so far!

FL 7 week-trip - Update 1

The first 2 of 7 weeks I'll be spending in FL have gone by quite fast. Last weekend I raced the Crystal River Triathlon on saturday and on Sunday I raced the Melon Run 5k, a very competitive local run race.

I am very pleased to say I won the Crystal River Triathlon. I had not been to that event since I moved away from FL in mid-2007 and was thrilled to be back. I had plenty of competition to keep me honest and was unsure about my chances to pull off a win until well into the run. I just love how competitive these FL races are!

Still sore from the race I ran a local 5k the next morning, finishing 6th. I ran with the lead group for the better part of the first mile, but they were simply going too fast for my tired legs. I got dropped on the first hill (winner averaged 4:545/mile) so I had to settle for running alone between the 1st and 2nd groups. I blew up a bit at the end, and ended up running a 16:49. Given how tired I was from the previous day, I can't say I was too unhappy with it.

Tomorrow, I'll race another 5k, and next week, I'll be racing again. Just not sure where. There are so many races in FL in the summer!

Disappointing Day

I have been somewhat injured since December of last year. That's no news. But the injury has really not prevented me from performing (most) of the required training I had in mind this season, aside form some of the faster speed sessions.

Usually, my body recovers well by itself whenever I have an injury. Rarely do I need to resort to drastic measures such as anti-inflammatory meds, and I erroneously thought this injury to be one of those.

But when it forced me to pull out of the Rock N'Roll Half yesterday near the mile 3 mark of the run, while in striking distance of the podium, I realized it had gone on long enough. I am now trying to find an ART specialist that I can work with in order to solve the problem. After the end of my race I had one of the therapists work on it and it feels much, much better. I was already able to do intervals this morning so, needless to say, I will be making use of the ART technique to hopefully get rid of the injury to my left semitendinous muscle once and for all.

I'm off to Florida in 3 weeks, and will be spending 7 consecutive weeks there - working at a law firm and training. I am hopeful that by the end of that period I'll be healed.

Talladega 21000

This season I have been using running races to reach better form in the early season. This plan culminated today with the unique Talladega 2100 Half Marathon benefitting prostate cancer education and research. I finished fourth overall, first in the 25-29 age group. The 13.1 mile course started and finished on the famous Talladega Superspeedway and was followed by a post-race party in the pit garage.

Though I really wanted to place top three, as a result of reduced mileage and intensity while nursing an injuryan injury, my wheels completely came off at mile 9. In the end, I was still very pleased to finish fourth in a true running race.”


The venue itself was unreal. The starting line was at the base of turn four of the legendary Nascar track and the finish line was in front of the main grand stands. I couldn’t get over the sheer size of the place!

Next up will be first triathlon of the season at the Peachtree International Triathlon in Peachtree City, GA, on May 15.

Spring Update

This past week I was in Gainesville, FL for a training camp, and on March 21, I was set to race the Gator Half Ironman in Sarasota, FL. I once again stayed at the Black household fr the entire week, and could not have possibly felt more at home. They are so sweet to me.

On March 12, on the way down to the Sunshine State, I stopped at Cycle Therapy in Rome, GA for a clinic. On Saturday morning we did a group ride and a run, where I showed everyone some drills to work on. it was a great experience and we will likely have another one in the summer,  probably over the whole weekend. Updates will be up shortly.

Unfortunately, upon arriving in Florida, my left ankle flared up big time. It hurt swimming, riding AND running. So much so that riding home one day I had to unclip the left leg and only use the right leg. It was bad. After a course of anti-inflammatory medicine (oral and topic) , it seems as though it is mostly gone. Not totally yet, but I can once again do hard sessions pain-free. As a result, I was forced to miss what I had hoped to be my season opener.

As of right now, it looks like my first multisport even of the season will be the Making Tracks Duathlon in Anniston, AL on Apr 3. I am usually not keen on Duathlons ( they hurt a lot!), but I'm looking forward to it.

On different news, my custom cycling kit is ready. It is, as everything else this season, Brazilian inspired. Pyro Apparel did an outstanding job, had an incredibly quick turn around, and I was able to wear it when training in Florida.

I will update again in a couple of weeks.

Ciao,

Felipe

Running Races

The running form is finally coming around, it seems. This morning I raced a local 5K and was pleased to average 3:25/km ( just under 5:30/mile). It is still above what my goal for the event was, but it is better early-season form than I have had in years past. Winning was just icing on the cake.

The course was not nearly as flat as I had previously thought but it went by my local running grounds so it was fun to race through areas where I usually only use in training.

I will be racing another one in a week, so I am hopeful for a faster time, and hopefully meet my goal of 3:20/k pace.

I will also be doing a photo shoot tomorrow, and will post a link to photos as they become available.

Ciao,

Felipe

Weekend in Rhode island with TTBikeFit

This past weekend, I traveled to Rhode Island to have my bike fit and my run form and biomechanics looked at by 2 of the best in the sport: Todd Kenyon ( TTBikeFit.com) and Coach Al (Coach-Al.com).

The weather was actually pretty nice, especially considering it is the middle of winter in New England. Todd & the TT Bike Fit crew have an amazing set up that I highly recommend visiting, and not only if you live near Providence. I went up there from Alabama just to work with them, which should explain just how much I trust their evaluations. If you cannot travel up there though, they do video analysis as well.

My bike position was actually not too bad ( Todd had already worked with me on it via video), but my running immensely benefited from the visit. I left with a great deal of excitement about the next few weeks' working on my run form. it was also very nice to have confirmation that the bike position was powerful and comfortable.

Before the fit on Saturday I got to do a 2 hour group indoor ride and it was a blast. We did some virtual riding in the back roads of Lake Placid, NY ( not on the Ironman course), and also some rollers across the Canadian border. It was absolutely awesome. Group indoor riding makes time fly by!

On the way back Delta/United/Northwest/KLM/Pinnacle Airlines managed to temporarily lose my Scott Plasma, but it has since been recovered. If you follow me on Twitter (@felipebastos1) you may have seen a post of 1,296 about it. If so, rest easy, it is now safely in my possession.

I was already excited about 2010, working with such knowledgeable guys only makes me even more eager to begin racing!

Ciao,

Felipe

More Scott Plasma

I know, I know....it's all I have been posting about lately. I can't help myself. Besides, I have't posted an image of the new ride with the race wheelset yet. I will alternate between the rear disc and the rear 68mm, but always running the 68mm up front. Edge Composites laced them with a low spoke count to DT Swiss 190 Ceramic hubs, so I am confident it will be a speedy combination on the asphalt. I apologize for the low quality photo, but my iPhone's camera is not a Nikon (yet).

A week from now I will be in Providence, RI, getting a bike position fit, as well as my running gait and motion videotaped and improved by Todd Kenyon of TTBikeFit.com. I am pretty excited about it and I am sure it will be a tremendous help in making 2010 the kind of season I want it to be.

My race plans are nearly finalized, also, with a few exceptions. I know for certain I will return to the Coliseum Rock N' Roll Half Ironman for the 5th or 6th year in a row. I also decided that I will be using running races as a pre-season race regimen and am hopeful it will be the difference I want it to make.

Soon I will be revealing my 2010 partners and sponsors. Some old names, some new ones, but I am excited about all of them. The new season is shaping up to be a great one and I am looking forward to giving it my best once again.

I will hopefully have some video to add shortly as well.

Finally Ready

Well, it took 2 days, help from a pro mechanic and a good friend to get the Scott Plasma fully built, but it is done. It is shown below with an Edge composites clincher training wheel set.

I will post soon images of it with the racing wheel set, also by Edge Composites.I will probably post a video shortly as well.

It's now 2 am EST, my Subaru Outback is packed ( to the brim!) to make the 7-hour drive back to Alabama.

Law classes start early Monday morning, but fortunately, the following Monday is MLK day so I get a nice break to absorb the initial shock from reality.

Scott Plasma Limited Update

A couple of days ago I received a photo of the completed Scott Plasma. Toby at Hot Tubes did such an amazing job I wanted to post it here, although I still plan on posting a photo of the finished product. Needless to say, I can barely wait to receive it here on Thursday and begin putting it together. I have hopes to have it finished by Friday and ride it then.

Florida

I arrived in Florida yesterday. When I left my home in Alabama, it was 28F and sleeting. Today I rode in 80F weather. It is quite amazing to be able to do my pre-season here.

I rode close to 4 hours today, and it was an eye-opened of how much fitness I have lost this off season. I have a lot of work to do.

What I will ride in 2010

Through a partnership with Rome, Ga.'s Cycle Therapy, Shirley, Mass.'s Hot Tubes and Sun Valley, Id.'s SCOTT USA, I am proud to announce I will be atop one of the fastest bikes in the world for 2010 - a SCOTT Plasma 2 Limited. I will also be riding SCOTT footwear.

For most, that would be enough. But the bike will be custom painted in a design based upon the Brazilian flag, and will have customized matching brakes from TRP Brakes, custom decals on Edge 1-68 wheels, and I will also sport matching kits from Kiwami and eyewear from Rudy Project. Below is an image of the winning design.

Thursday

This past Thursday I had the standard mile repeats. After averaging a solid 5:21 for the first few, I definitely mis-paced the last one, ending in 5:01. Now, that alone would have been enough to fry my body, I thought.

That evening, I decided to run a half marathon on the treadmill. 13.1 miles and go nowhere. I started easy and kept increasing the pace as the miles clocked in, and ended the last one with a solid 5:20. My treadmill goes to 12mph ( 5 min/mile), so it made for some fun sprints in the middle of the entire run.

Unfortunately, the 20 miles for the day really overcooked my body, and now I have a bit of a cold. Hoping that by tomorrow my body will be ready to rock and roll once again.