Ellensburg Triathlon

Well, the last two races (a short season of only 4 triathlons) are done.  I am going to keep this short.  First, a big thank you to Rory, Deanna, and Jenna of Budu Racing.  Their friendship means the world to me, and I am so thankful that they allow us to compete in fun, safe, and challenging events all over WA State.  They have always been very supportive and generous to me, which I appreciate. 

 

Second, thank you to Ayla and her family who have been very supportive of me.  I enjoy spending time with them, it's always a laugh when Ayla and her Aunt Debra start chipping on me.  Ayla and her family are always there to cheer and take pictures, and they are the most kind-hearted family I have ever met. I spent Friday night with Ayla's grandma watching Dr. Phil.  I found Grandma Wyman's distaste for the guest on the show quite entertaining.  In gratitude of all their support I threw a pizza party at the Wyman house after the race on Saturday.  It was great for so many reasons. I haven't had Pizza Hut pizza forever!

 *So adorable

 

 *One of my favorite tri friends, Jenna Muller of Budu Racing. PS real men wear pink.

 So...how did the race go? I said I will make it short. I took off and had an amazing swim and got a nice gap.  On the bike I was able to push the big ring the entire route, which I have never done on this course before, but my time was not all that impressive.  The eventual winner, Ryan Brown, passed me on the bike and I started the run in 2nd place.  I did my best on the run, but there were some animals in the chase pack.  With my top-end run speed taking the year off I found myself in deep water near the end of the run.  I had a chance for a sprint finish...something I usually love more than anything...but my sprint speed wasn't there when I reached for it. Patrick Sheeks took the 2nd place spot right at the line. Good job to him.  Joshua Fitchitt again ran me down for the third race, but also for the third time I was able to hold him off by a few steps. He did a good job this year, it was fun racing him.

*Congratulations to Ryan Brown (1st), and Partick Sheeks (2nd). They earned it.

I could be disappointed with 3rd place overall, my time splits, and I definitely could be sour grapes over losing a sprint battle at the end, but I am not.  I am more mature than that.  I appreciate getting beat at the line, because it allowed me to feel that fire, that desire to do what it takes be fast.  I stepped away from that type of training and race-mindset this year to do the bodybuilding show.  I am not disappointed about anything from this year. It's has been great, even if I wasn't able to go as fast as I usually do. I feel that fire to get back to high level racing now, it's actually been really great to experience other things so that I can see how fun swimming, biking, and running is. All good stuff in my opinion regardless of results this year....no disrespect to my three 2nd places and one 3rd. lol

 *25-29 age division podium:  Great job to Hubert (left) for having a great race!

That's it, thanks again to everyone.

Keep On with Keeping On

Well, more of the same from me. I am enjoying my transition back to less muscle and more hustle.  I have been slowly adding training to my muscles, and my second Hammer Nutrition article just came out.  A big thank you to Hammer! You can read the article on page 18 of  Endurance News.

This year I have been doing a lot of different things, and one of those is riding my mountain bike a lot more.  My mountain bike allows me to ride anywhere, I go exploring, dirt, pavement, hard pack, anything really, the bike does it all.  I was lucky enough to make it over to the western coast and I found the Olympic Trail which is a bike path of beyond-epic-ridability. Riding that trail would alone be worth the trip.

*The most comfortable and comforting thing on two wheels is when I ride my Felt Carbon mountain bike with about 45psi in the tires in weather that requires arm and knee warmers. It is pure bliss. 

*Getting out of town via farm land trail portion. 

*Dense rainforest tunnel at 20 mph.

I am amazed at how much I have missed. Riding a road bike limits you to the pavement, a triathlon bike is worse because you can't even move your head around to look at the scenery.  You ride for hours and all you see is pavement.  This year I have spent far more time on my mountain bike and I have been enjoying the scenery of bike paths and other exploration routes.

*This quarter-mile elevated bridge was breath-taking.

The route I rode was a 40 mile route.  That is pretty far on my mountain bike.  When I rode it in the evening it had the perfect amount of people on it to make you feel you had it mostly to yourself, but still not lonely.

*Riding next to the Strait of Juan De Fuca, which is where the Pacific Ocean cuts inland in western Washington.

*My knobby tires would howl down the bridge planks, it was awesome.

I really enjoyed the foreign climate of the coast.  The flora and fauna were exotic. The humidity and moistness of the air was cooling, yet warming at the same time, my skin and lungs felt great in the moist air.  The scenery was absolutely amazing.  Every morning at 5:30 I swam at the rec center, I couldn't tell if most of the grandmas doing water aerobics took displeasure or delight in the new guy in town with the flashy speedos. ;)  After I finished my work obligations I would ride my mountain bike on the trail for hours into the evening, and finish the day with a transition run before being delightfully tired.   

*Scary...

I have always been fascinated by the vastness of the ocean, and what lies beneath it. At times I honestly couldn't even believe that this was "just another evening ride after work."  The people who live there are so lucky.

*This passenger ship was actually HUGE, the picture doesn't do it justice. 

*I scaled the viewing deck in my bike shoes and kit. You can see my bike wayyyy down there.

*It is not, but this ship reminded me of the Northwestern from Deadliest Catch.

And finally... Happy 4th of July everyone!  For the first time, in a long time, I didn't race on the holiday weekend.  It was kind of nice to enjoy a weekend of training and relaxing where I didn't have to travel or plan for a race. It was nice to spend the 4th with the extended family, especially the two little turkeys.

 *When I was babysitting I told Uriah to stop kicking Paisley's toys.  He obeyed...after proceeding to "accidentally" bump into and knock over her baby-boll bed, block stack, play piano, and scooter on his way out of the room, while wimpering. "Allllright."  It reminded me of when I would do the same thing, shockingly similar to me.

It was also very nice to have Stephanie with us.  We had some great workouts riding and running in the hot sun, running/hiking the "M", and wakeboarding.  We also went on a family bike ride, which I don't think I have done for 20 years.  The last time I went  on a family bike ride I was probably buzzing my sisters tire causing her to crash, complaining, and being a general annoyance. :)

  

Hope you are having a great summer, everyone. More riding, more running, and more scenery, please.  I love the hot weather!

 *PS believe in the power of the blue bike shoes