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.