Post Race Pics!

Sis and Bro:

The fan club:

Jodi with the two sandbaggers, Lauren Harrison (left) and Lindsey Jerdonek (right). Needless to say, they both had awesome races and DOMINATED their respective AGs:

Tristan "T-Pain" Brown, Bruce "Dont knock my IRONMAN tat" Gennari, and Ben "Folds Five" Harper. I'll let you fill in the caption on this one:

After the awards, it was off the to the bar. For this next pic, I'd just like to apologize to Amanda Balding and Erin Krummer...

Me, Katie, and my good friend, Mojito.

After the bar, where else but IHOP! Bruce and rockstar Cindi Bannick:

And of course, what RR would be complete without food?? Nothing like a western omlette and buttermilk pancakes at 2AM:

70.3 World Champs Race Report

Before diving into this, I have to give a big "Thank You" to my sister, Katie, for picking me up from the airport and driving me around on Friday. She had to put up with my impatience/anxiety/drama-queen-esque attitude most of the day on Friday as we had to rush around to take care of all of the usual pre-race nonsense.

As for the actual race... Saturday early morning went off without a blip. I went through my usual routine and was feeling calm, confident, and focused. I was feeling great about my training and was ready to put it all together and EXECUTE because I knew if I did that I'd have a good result.

After a swim in the Gulf, I found myself on the beach at the start line for the World Championships. It was a picturesque setting with the sun rising and a calm ocean in front of us. The cannon sounded and we were off. I didnt have a great start and was a bit boxed in. By about 1/4 of the way into the swim I had found some open water and settled into my rhythm. Unfortunately I had been boxed in and had already lost contact with the front pack so I spent the rest of the race swimming by myself. I could see the other swimmers ahead and although I thought I was catching them I could never quite close the gap.

Coming out of the water I was a little dissapointed with the time but hoped I wasnt too far down. After a quick transition I was out onto the bike. It was a crisp day and I was ready to DOMINATE the bike ride. After 7 miles or so a couple of guys passed me and went about 50 meters up the road. However, they werent really pulling away and by the 15 mile mark I had almost caught back up to them. By this time I was feeling great and more importantly, moving FAST. My first 5 miles had been a bit slow at just under 12:30 but the next two 5 mile splits were both under 12 minutes. Additionally, I was feeling really good and even hoping to open it up around mile 40 and negative split the ride. The next few segments continued this sub 12 min 5 mile trend and I was looking forward to a nice PR on the bike.

Then, around mile 32, it happened. I heard the sound everyone dreads when they are on a bike. Within seconds, my rear wheel was unstable and I was forced to pull over and stop. I immediately got to work popping the wheel off the bike and fixing the flat all the while trying to keep a good attitude and reminding myself that even if I lose a couple of minutes, I can still have a decent finish. I finished the pit stop NASCAR style and soon enough I was back on the bike.

As I got up to speed, I was pleased with the efficiency of my change and was still determined to have a good ride, even with the stop. I knew I couldnt make up the time I had lost but I could still turn in a solid time by simply staying focused and riding strong.

Then no more than 5 minutes later, it happened again. This time however, it was the front tire and the air screaming out of the tube was taking my chances for a decent finish with it. Somewhat luckily I was close to the bike preem where there was an official with a race radio who called for support. He asked if I wanted to continue a couple of times, almost like he thought I wanted a ride back. I just wanted a tube... the thought of not finishing hadnt crossed my mind.

Needless to say I was pretty upset but at that point, what could I do? Not much so I sat down and watched male and female pros scream past while waiting for tech support. As I sat there I was determined not to let the unfortunate turn of events ruin my day. I sat there, soaked up some sun, and was just happy to be able to be out racing in a World Championships in beautiful weather, nonetheless.

Eventually the tech support came, I got my flat fixed, and I was off. The temporary lull had come and gone and now I had to find a way to get going again after a 20 minute break. The remainder of the ride was strange. I was racing, but almost in the twilight zone as in the last 20+ miles I saw a grand total of 2 competitors: pro women who I passed. I was actually worried about a cop not paying attention and letting someone pull out in front of me as I was screaming home. I did have a redneck in a pickup truck try to cut me off but the cop was luckily on top of it.

Finally, I arrived back in transition at which time I was greeted by the announcer with, "and it looks like we have another of our female pros finishing up the bike ride!" Awesome. Incidentally, my bike splits from IM live tell the story:

BIKE SPLIT 1	20.7 mi. (49:54)	24.89 mph
BIKE SPLIT 2	20.3 mi. (1:09:06)	17.63 mph
BIKE SPLIT 3	15 mi. (35:00)	25.71 mph
TOTAL BIKE	56 mi. (2:34:00)	21.82 mph

The run actually started with some excitement as when I started my run Terenzo, who was in 1st place, had just started his 2nd lap of the run but the 2nd place male was still on his 1st lap. So it appeared, for those not paying attention, that I was in 2nd place. I actually had the NBC guys taping me for a solid mile or so until the following conversation took place:

NBC Cameraman: I'm assuming you are in second place...
Me (smiling): Nope, I'm just on my first lap!

At that point the cameraman mumbled something to the driver and the motorcycle sped away. So much for the pub. A bit later, I caught Terenzo and we had a little conversation:

Me: Dont worry, dude. I got two flats and am on my first lap.
Terenzo (In Aussie accent): You just made me shit my pants!



The second lap was considerably less exciting and I lost a little focus in the middle of it. It was kind of hard to push through those hard miles when I knew my time was still going to be slower than a number of girls. But I made it to a mile to go, had a pretty decent last mile, and was more than happy to finish.

Immediately afterward I apologized to Terenzo for making him soil himself and went over and talked with my awesome family members. Everyone was really supportive, including my cousin, Aiden, who is about 5 years old and asked, "Andrew, what took you so long??"

I'll fill in some details (hopefully with pics) about the rest of the day later, but thats all I've got for now. While I was certainly disappointed to not be able to showcase my fitness, I still had a good time celebrating an otherwise successful season with friends and family.

Checking in from Clearwater

I had a pretty uneventful trip down yesterday. Katie picked me up from the airport and then we bolted straight to Chipotle which was everything I wanted... and more... probably because I was going through withdraw.

Anyway, right now we're off to meet some members of the posse for a swim which will surely be followed by some pancakes which will then of course be followed by all the normal pre-race nonsense. At least the weather down here is awesome. Not a cloud in the sky with the highs in the upper 70s. Gotta love Florida in November. Well... time for a swim!

Cruising into Clearwater

Now that new socialist regime has been elected, I figure I might as well quit my job and do the triathlon thing full time. Why not? I mean with all this "redistribution of wealth" that has been touted, where is the motivation to work hard?

As for triathlon related issues... tapering is awesome. I had a nice run last night and swim this morning and should be ready to rip on Saturday. Tomorrow I'm flying down to Tampa where my awesome sister will pick me up and shuttle me and my bike to Clearwater. I get in at 6PM which means it should be just about time for dinner as we pass by the Clearwater Mall en route from the airport to our hotel. Why is this important? Well, it just so happens it would appear that across the street from the Clearwater Mall is Chipotle. I havent had the pleasure of a Chipotle burrito since I was in Kansas for the 70.3 in June so I'll definitely be looking forward to some goodness. Yummy!

GO VOTE

If you live in the US and are a citizen... get out and vote. And thats all I have to say about that.

Oct27-Nov2

S: 27,200 yds
B: 8h 28min
R: 2h 12min

Total: 17h 28min

The last semblance of training is in the bank and now it is full on taper time. Last week went pretty well and things are pointing towards a good race this weekend. Really though I'm just looking forward to seeing how I stack up against the huge field. There are around 65 male pros on the start list so I will hopefully have plenty of people around me in the race to keep things interesting. Also, being the last race of the season, I certainly want to end on a good note so there will be that extra bit of motivation as well.

Sunday Sunday Sunday

Well it is officially taper time for Clearwater. Yesterday I had a nice 2:45h ride + transition run which went well. With the race being on Saturday, I got that last longish tune up out of the way yesterday so I just had a swim and easy bike today. It was great to not have to do the usual long ride today and I enjoyed the extra relaxation time. This included watching coverage of IMAZ and the New York City Marathon on TV which were on at the same time. Its not often you see an IM and marathon on TV at the same time... pretty cool! While the IM did have an unusually close finish, I have to admit the marathon was still more exciting to watch. Of course part of that couldve been due to the TV coverage (NBC vs Versus) but who knows...

Only a few days of work this week and then its off to Clearwater!

Happy Halloween!

More importantly though Halloween means one thing... its time for the game formerly known but no longer officially referred to as the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. This little skirmish down in Jacksonville between the University of Florida and the University of Georgia is heightened this year due to Georgia's on field antics last year. After scoring their first touchdown the entire team ran onto the field to celebrate. While it really was silly, I guess I can understand why the dawgs were so happy to get a measly six points seeing how they had lost 14 of the previous 17 meetings. Tomorrow's game promises to be a good one as both teams come in off big wins but hopefully the Gators can pull it out. I cant wait!

Why do we play?

Paulo and Joel both posted a recent rant from San Francisco's head coach, Mike Singletary, during which he rather emphatically stated that he, "only wants winners". This of course reminded me of one, if not the greatest, all time football coach rants from former Jets head coach, current Chiefs head coach, Herman Edwards. It is concise, coherent, and marvelously well delivered:

All trianer, all the time

While daylight savings time doesnt officially end until this Sunday, November 1st, bike riding outside during the week has all but completely vanished. The sun is now setting a few minutes before 6:00 which means there just isnt any way to get in a 1:30h ride after work but before the sun sets.

As a result, I've been on the trainer the last two nights. Fun times for sure. Luckily though I actually havent had that hard of time getting motivated for the sessions, likely due to the fact that Clearwater is just around the corner. Admittedly this sentiment will likely have completely vanquised by the middle of December when my nearest race is months away but we'll just have to deal with that then...

While I was mashing the pedals last night I was watching E:60 on ESPN while also listening to one of my stations on Pandora. I had a Zn4 workout to DOMINATE so I was really just listening to the music and only using the TV as ancillary entertainment. However, during a rest interval of the workout, I noticed there was a story on Viagra as a performance enhancing substance. They showed pictures of the Rockies and of football players at Mile High Stadium getting oxygen on the sidelines but the story seemed to focus on cyclists, especially older age group athletes looking for a boost. Unfortunately I was too busy pounding away at the intervals and listening to music to hear the story.

Interested, I did a bit of Googling and found this story in the New York Daily News which is centered on the fact that WADA is looking into whether or not Viagra is a PED. While there are numerous studies currently being carried out, Kenneth Rundell, a respiratory researcher at Marywood University, says, "There have been studies that indicate that Viagra allows you to exercise at sea-level capacity at higher elevations." Additionally, according to the infamous Victor Conte, "Viagra vasodilates (widens) the lungs and pulmonary arteries. This is where the exchange of carbon dioxide and oxygen occurs. So more red blood cells carrying oxygen get into the heart and more carbon dioxide is pumped out." Naturally then this would help improve performance in endurance sports.

So what does this all mean? Unfotunately it looks like this is another way for people to cheat. There will never be drug testing in amateur cycling, running, or triathlon races so this really just harms those who try to do it the right way and want to be competitive at the same time. While some of these people are certainly out there for that all important AG award, I believe most people know what a good performance is for them and get satisfaction out of that good performance, whether or not it is accompianied by a ten cent plaque.

Oct20-26

S: 23,900 yds
B: 9h 53min
R: 5h 53min

Total: 21h 45min

I had another nice week of quality workouts capped off with the best (in terms of TSS) long ride of the current training cycle. This is encouraging because the increase in TSS came while the duration of the ride remained the same, indicating an increase in intensity. I also upped the intensity on the tempo run as I joined David on his MP run. I kept him company for six miles which was enough for me since by that point we were running faster than 5:30 pace. He continued on for another 6 and should have an awesome debut marathon.

With the last long ride out of the way and less than two weeks until Clearwater, the hard work is (almost) completed. Now its just time to get ready to race... Bring it on!

The wonderfood that is apple crisp and other ramblings...

With the ride postponed to this afternoon today due to chilly early morning temperatures, I decided to make some apple crisp. Now is the season for apples and when I saw some Granny Smiths on sale at Publix, I couldnt resist. What I didnt realize, however, is that it is great pre bike ride food. Of course with the enourmous amount of sugar, this should be no surprise. It was so good preride, I had some more after the ride as well:


And here is the cumulative damage:


In other ramblings... naps are awesome. Especially when they follow swimming, running, and homemade buttermilk pancakes... The WLOCP next weekend in Jacksonville will be huge. Florida and Georgia both had comfortable victories this past weekend setting up next weekend's game as the de facto playin for the trip to Atlanta in December. The game also has national title implications with the loser all but gone from a chance at the national title and winner still very much in the hunt (albeit still needing some help). As if all that werent enough, there are the antics from last year which were at the annual preseason SEC Media Days... Rednecks like their dogs. They also like to let their dogs run around their yard. Thirdly, their dogs like to chase things, like cyclists. When it only occurs once in a while, getting chased by a dog isnt too big of a deal. But when it happens 4 seperate times by a total of 6 dogs it has just gotten out of hand... I feel really sorry for Rich Brooks. Its never good when your defense cant stop the opposing team's offense. It also isnt good when your offense cant move the ball against the opposing teams defense. But its just downright awful when you also get your first two punts blocked. Result? Florida 28, Kentucky 0 after the first quarter.... Speaking of things that arent good, it is never fun to get stung by a wasp, especially when it is 2h into a 3h ride... How 'bout the hoos?? Somehow Virginia pulled out a big win over GA Tech. This can only mean one thing: a loss next week against Miami even though the hoos will certainly be favored... It has gotten chilly here and will be getting cold next week. Good thing Clearwater is just around the corner... Despite the aforementioned "distractions" I had a great ride today. Of course I wouldnt have known this without the PT. Yes, it is just that awesome.

HEAT

Flipping through the channels on Tuesday night I came across a new episode of Frontline entitled HEAT. The summary looked interesting, so I decided to watch. Not surprisingly, it was superb.

If you aren't familiar with Frontline, it is a show which airs weekly on PBS. Each episode is essentially a two hour long video report on a given topic. The length of the program and the fact that each episode focuses one only one issue (unlike other news magazine programs), allows the reporter to thoroughly explore every aspect of the given topic. Additionally, the reporting is generally remarkably unbiased, with tough interviews of influential representatives on both sides of a given issue.

The episode which aired Tuesday was HEAT, "A global investigation into one of the greatest crises that mankind has ever faced -- Can we roll back global warming?" It began by discussing some of the causes and effects of climate change and then dove into the economic and political forces which have been and are continuing to drive our nation's (and the world's) energy policy.

Some of the more interesting topics which were highlighted and discussed included the advantages of and barriers to carbon sequestration, the glaring lack of investment of oil companies in alternative energy, and (most importantly) the absurdity of ethanol as a viable sustainable energy option. It even touched on topics like the rise and fall and rise again of the electric car at GM and the huge increase in carbon emmissions of India (several hundred million new drivers will be taking to the streets) and China (where they currently building new coal plants at the rate of 2 a day).

If you missed it, the entire video is available here, on the PBS website, and I'd highly recommend watching. While I was in grad school at UVA I took a class on energy policy and since then this is the most thorough, non-biased overview of the factors currently influencing our country's energy policy that I've seen.

Hey Paulo, you think that stew had a lot of saturated fat??

Last week Paulo commented that my beef stew recipe was loaded with saturated fat. If only he had realized how timely his comment was. The beef stew may not have been the leanest meal I've ever made but it was downright anorexic compared to the feast I enjoyed on Saturday.

The occasion? My friend Greg Reynolds decided to have some people over for a barbecue and football watching on what was otherwise just another Saturday in the fall. Unbeknown to me, Greg is quite the master when it comes to grill.

He got up at 4AM to get the smoker going and start smoking two pork butts* and some racks of ribs. They were, quite simply, incredibly delicious.The pic below shows the thermometers as its hard to time these job precisely...

Here is a nice shot of the ribs:
And here is one of the butts...

before Greg pulls it apart. MMMMM pulled pork.... YUMMMMMY!!!
Greg used a kick ass dry rub and the meat was so flavorful and juicy that sauce really wasn't needed. My contribution to the party was some apple cider vinegar based coleslaw which complemented the pork nicely.



*A "butt" actually refers to the shoulder of the pig. Why it is called a butt I have no idea...

Oct13-19

S: 23,700 yds
B: 9h 33min
R: 6h 28min

Total: 21h 57min

Another solid week down the drain. I can't say there were any spectacular workouts, just a lot of high quality "getting the work done". Additionally the perpetual state of soreness/tiredness has returned to almost full force so getting out the door has been a bit of a struggle but with Clearwater less than a month away, the motivation is there to get out and train.

Bonus to the weekly update we have a quote of the week. This gem is courtesy of Newt Gingrich who, when referring to the Bush Administration on This Week with George Stephanopoulos, said, "They came in as social conservatives and are leaving as conservative socialists..."