The Adventures of the YellowDart

Rock/Creek - Scenic City Marathon

2011-05-27T04:05:00.000-07:00

Before starting into this report, I think it best to thank those who put together such an amazing event. R/C Race Series and Randy Worton proved yet again that no matter your experience level R/C continues to put on world class events which open the running world up to the pleasures of being in the woods. I mean how many races on the east coast have a helicopter and camera mounted mountain bikers filming a trail race? Unreal!

Following W2C 50k at the end of March, I took some time to recover from my back injury and build up my speed. After racing essentially eight races in three months, I felt that my base was good enough to start hitting the track and the pavement for some structured speed/tempo sessions. Over the span of six weeks, my speed progressed with steady long, long tempo runs and LT track workouts (milers, 1200's, etc). On paper, I felt that I was coming into the race with 2:30-35 road marathon shape. That said, on race day things tend to play out differently.

I started my taper roughly three weeks out from the race, hoping that by decreasing my mileage that far in advance, I would absorb my training and not feel flat on race day. Unfortunately, the extra time did not afford extra rest as work took over and I quickly found myself up to my nose in research. The week leading into the marathon was restless to say the least.

Race morning went off without a hitch (aside from a slight delay due to the helicopter landing). Within the first mile, the peeking order was established. I knew from Arron's previous races that he would take the first half hard so it was not a surprise when he assumed the lead position. My plan was to run conservatively off the back of Arron for the first half and then sort it out on the second. However, when we cruised through the first aid station (5k) well under 5:50/mi pace, I dropped back a few steps to run my own race. I figured the heat was going to be the deciding factor and if Arron wanted to push the pace hopefully I could catch him in the second half.

I clicked my watch at the ten mile mark around 57min. Apparently, I was not running as conservatively as I wished. On the road, this would have been acceptable; however, on trail, I knew this was probably a little quick for an opening ten mile. Reluctant to fall back further, I tried to hold pace still hoping that the heat would limit Arron's lead. At mile ~13, the lead had stretched out to two minutes. At ~18min, he had six minutes on me. Knowing that I was in command of second place and that I was starting to succumb to the heat, I decided to drop the gear down and not turn myself inside out. The finish line was a welcomed sight and I enjoyed the crowd support running around the field for the final 400m. The highlight of the day was without a doubt running with Kristen the final ~3mi. I was supposed to be 'pacing' her and she absolutely dropped the hammer on me. I am still recovering.

I would like to extend my congratulations to Arron on taking command of the race. He is a talent and I look forward to racing again in the heat of Raccoon Mountain at the upcoming R/C Stage Race. Before that though, I am off to the Washington D.C. North Face 50miler to square off again against Forest Gump (aka Dean Karnazes).

Way too Cool 50k

2011-03-14T17:38:00.001-07:00

Getting acquainted with my Frog cup-cake (finisher award)

I want to extend some thank you's before launching into a full blown race report. First of all, a huge thank you to Julie Fingar, W2C race director. Not only does she put on one of the largest/most competitive 50k in the country, but she was willing to take time out to play host to Owen and myself the day before the race. She made the transition across the country seamless. Without her help neither Owen nor I could have made it the start line in reasonable health (more on that to come). Secondly, thank you to La Sportiva and Rock/Creek Outfitters for their support in sending me out to Cool, CA equipped with the best trail running gear available. The support I have received from these two incredible companies has allowed me to string together back to back to back to back races.

Alright... now a race report

Way too Cool 50k ... The best finisher award ever! Cupcakes!

Honestly, Mt. Mitchell went far better than I was expecting it to. The obstacles that aligned prior to that race really made the finish line a wonderful experience. Following Mitchell, I was mentally charged and ready to get back on a race course. So, the next weekend, I found myself toeing the line at the Umstead Trail Marathon. After a week of little to no running, I thought that my recovery had gone smoothly. However, as soon as the gun sounded, I knew I was not fully ready to race. I stuck in with the leaders believing that perhaps I was just still a little sore; however, as we cruised through the five mile marker and my legs/back were not loosening up, I decided to save the effort for W2C the following weekend. I took the following week tremendously easy with one short track session on Tuesday to judge how the recovery was progressing. Thursday I grabbed a flight out of RDU and seemingly 24hrs later arrived in Auburn, CA. A six hour flight from D.C. turned into eight+ hours of sitting as our plane was stalled on the runway for over two hours before finally taking off. Thankfully, both Hannah Pate and Owen Bradley were troopers, waiting a few extra hours to pick me up at the airport.

The next day was spent catching up on sleep after getting in around 2am. We got out quick in the morning and stopped off at the race expo at Auburn Running Company (amazing running store with extremely knowledgeable staff) before heading out to the race start in Cool canyon. Along the way, we got sidetracked on the Western State 100 race course. The scenery was breathtaking and once we finally got to the race start line I couldn't help myself so I ran for a little over an hour on the course. Unfortunately, I did not realize that for the first thirty minutes I was running down into the canyon only to have to turn around and run back up the canyon for the next thirty minutes. Almost too excited to sleep, I was up before my alarm sounded.

The gun sounded and we were off flying. I slotted in feeling very comfortable around fourth position. Talking with Julie before the race, she had said that in order to win this race you needed to play it smart in the early miles. With a newcourse (an 8mile loop before leading out on the larger 24mi loop), I knew I wanted to start the larger loop in around fourth position. The earl

y miles breezed by and I quickly realized two things. One, the course was extremely muddy. Second, the early pace was a little quick. Having never run the course and not knowing any of the other competitors, I glanced back only to see the world famous Hal Koerner leading the chase pack. I knew Hal was a smart competitor and had raced the course before so I eased up and dropped back to his group. We came in through the mile eight (back through the start line) in fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh respectively while being chased by a large harry man dressed as a gorilla (not Owen Bradley who is equally as furry).

We dropped down the "shoot" which was more a slip-n-slide with the mud. At the bottom we were still holding around six minute mile pace. Onto the fire road, I was introduced to fourth place finisher, Tim Olsen, who ran a patient race to finish just off the podium. Best of luck next week, Tim as he takes on the best in the business at Krissy Moehl's Chuckanut 50k. Heading into the first climb of the day, Tim had already put a 20s gap on our group. I knew I needed to pick up the pace and bridge before I lost contact; however, at a creek crossing, I slipped causing my back to spasm. My heart sank as I began to worry that the same back injury that I had to fight during Mt. Mitchell was back. On the next uphill, I lost contact with the chase back as my back spasmed resulting me having to walk to the uphill. From that point on in the race, I was unable to lengthen my stride as my back repeatedly would spasm, contracting down on my diaphragm. Aside from the misfortune, I had a blast enjoying the beauty of Cool Canyon and American River. Coming into the last aid station, I knew my shot at a top five finish was blown out. I focused on breaking four hours and with a mile to go, I knew I had it pretty well in hand. Crossing the line was a relief as W2C was the fourth race started in four weeks. Honestly, I was a little upset with the overall finish but you cannot be frustrated with a 15 minute PR.

So what's next? I was registered to race Bull Run Run 50 miler. I have decided to withdraw and address my back injury. My next race will be in a few weeks but for the meantime best of luck to all those that are racing this upcoming weekend (to my running partner, Owen at Oak Mountain 50k). Finally, thank you to Owen and Hannah to putting up with me for a few days and getting me to/from the airport at ungodly early hours.

Mt. Mitchell Challenge - I had my doubts

2011-02-28T04:14:00.000-08:00

Going into Mt. Mitchell Challenge, I had my doubts. I had doubts about my fitness, my health, my nutrition and perhaps my sanity for even attempting the run. Since November, I have been targeting the Challenge in hopes of putting together the most competitive race possible on that given Saturday. For months, training went smoothly. I logged my base mileage then moved into a structured build phase which transitioned into a focused race/speed phase in the weeks preceding the race. This was all well and good until following Mt. Mist 50k the muscle running the length of my back locked up causing excruciating pain to run down the length of my back and feed into my right leg. Needless to say with three weeks to go until the start of Mt. Mitchell, I was having trouble walking up a set of stairs. A very focused approach to physical therapy (thanks in large part to me assuming the role of Kristen's PT practice dummy, yes, dummy) nursed me back to health. I was placed on a rigorous schedule of stretching, low level lasering, icing, messaging, more icing/lasering, more stretching, and a whole lot of ibuprofen . which got me to the start line of the Pilot Mountain Payback, a 15miler ("heavy half-marathon") sudo-pain free with a week to go. Pilot Mountain went well. I battled back a respiratory infection all week only to find myself on the start line with a pounding headache and a raspy cough. The race unfolded with me exchanging leads with the eventual day's winner. I took over the lead at the half-way point. The leader caught me on a downhill section and me not wanting to rip my

still tender leg reluctantly gave over the lead and limped in around 30seconds after the winner. Congratulations goes out to fellow Sportiva athlete, Jason Bryant, who set a blistering new course record on the marathon while overcoming a 5 minute deficit at the half-way mark.

I got back from the race and essentially crawled into bed for the next three days. The respiratory infection, that I was battling during the previous week, took the better of me and I started to run a low-grade fever. Sunday, Monday and Tuesday were pretty rough but by Wednesday I started to pull it together. Honestly, I was tremendously worried about my health and ability to start the race considering I could barely get out bed without becoming fully exhausted. I figured I would take it day by day and see what Saturday would bring.

Following work on Friday, Kristen and I drove to Asheville. We checked into the Presidential Suite at the Motel 8 and before I knew it alarms were blaring and we were meandering our way to the start line.

Before detailing the race, I want to extend my congratulations to Mark Lundbald on putting together the race of his life. At 42 years young the guy can still throw down against the best runners in the country. Old man strength!

So the race went off and the only thing I can remember is a man sprinting up the road wearing a large cowboy hat. Aside from the early antics, the race formed as I expected with the pre-race favorites taking control on the lower slopes of Mitchell. Up, up and away. For the first few miles, my respiratory infection seemed to be taking its toll as I was still hacking up all sorts of green goop in an effort to stay in the top five overall. Still unsure of where my fitness was, having only starting running back without pain a few days prior to the race, I was more than happy to sit in around fifth.

As we climbed, the race pace quicken once we hit the Toll road. Dane Mitchell and Kevin Lisska made it honest up to the marathon turn around point. Here the race fractured with Dane gaining a slight lead. Mark Lundblad was the only one able to respond. I figured with about a marathon still to run it was a little early to make a decisive move for the win. So I waited. Across the parkway, we entered into a stretch of trail bogged down from snow melt. I lost contact with the chase pack as my back started to lock up on the uneven trail.

Through the icy section, my back continued to lock up as I tried to stabilize myself from slipping off the edge of the mountain. At the top, I got word that I was not too far off the chase pack. Interestingly, I also found that I was sitting in fifth overall with Dane Mitchell apparently having taken a wrong turn. (It was later determined that Dane had slipped on the ice and separated his shoulder).

Once we moved onto the pavement on the road down, my back completely locked up and I had trouble breathing. At the marathon turnaround, my dad, brother and mom were waiting. I told them that my back was locked and it difficult for me to breath. My brother gave me a quick pep-talk that went something like this:

Josh: "Dude, my back is spasming. It is pushing down on my diaphragm (gasp). I am having trouble breathing."

Jake: "You could call it for the day."

Josh: "Take my ipod. I'll see you at the finish"

I laid into the descent and before I knew it my back had loosened up. I was running in complete control. At the bottom of Appalachian Way, I saw the fourth place runner. I paced myself up to him and not wanting to get into a sprint finish, moved quickly past. Rounding the lake, I was determined to finish under 5:15. I am very happy with how the race turned out considering fighting through the flu and injury over the last few weeks. I am looking forward to building on my fitness through the Umstead Marathon and into Way too Cool 50k.

It has often been said that it takes a village. This race definately took a village to overcome injury and illness to find my way to the finish. Thank you for all the support from my friends, family and sponsers. A special shoutout to La Sportiva and R/C Outfitter s for all that you do to help me reach the finish line.

Check out the NEW!!! R/C website to learn about our newest Race Team Member, The Toyota 4Runner by clicking here. In the Toyota's debut race, she took home top honors in the team car division. Be sure to look for the Toyota out training on the roads around the Chattanooga area in preparation for the next R/C event.

Mt. Mist 50k - Lessons Learned

2011-01-17T12:02:00.001-08:00

I finally have had time to link together a solid training block as I settle into my new routine of graduate, real world working average Josh. Last semester/year brought a lot of challenges and changes. The transition from a 'constant on the road, go-go-go, 4am blaring alarm' to a now 'calm 4:30am alarm clock routine' has been a welcomed shift. My frustrating drop out at Lookout Mtn. 50 renewed a willingness to commit to a training cycle in preparation for the 2011 season. In hindsight, the race probably turned out for the best as I was able to recover quicker. With that said, the added pressure of a new job coupled with running expectations has made for some listless nights. However, going into Mist, I was confident in my fitness.

Mist has always ranked high on my racing bucket list. I first heard of Mt. Mist when I was fourteen years old. People have always said, "Oh, you run ultras in the south? Have you raced Mist?" There is a rich history that surrounds this race not only because of the strong fields that the race assembles early in the season but also with regards to beauty/difficulty that accompanies the course.

I targeted this race as an early marker of where my fitness stands as I prepare for my main spring goals: Mt. Mitchell at the end of February and Way Too Cool 50k in March. Since Huntsville was within driving range, I could not pass up a chance to race some of the top 50k runners in the country. Coming off a three consectitive 100+ mile weeks culminating in a 115mile run week, I knew I would not be fully rested. Regardless, I took the week leading up easy and, before I knew it, found myself shivering at the start line Saturday morning with 350 other scantly clad, large quaded ultra-running loonies. Thankfully, the gun (a rather large civil war style musket) sounded (exploded) and the race was underway.

I slotted in behind defending Mt. Mist champ David Riddle and passed the early miles chatting pleasantries. As expected, Hal Koerner was nice enough to join us (not only from Oregon) but also with the pace making at the front of the race.

I was told that the early miles were fast and sure enough before I knew it we were making our way across a clearcut power line trail somewhere around mile ten. The first climb was a welcomed shift from the icy descents we had been tackling; however, trying to stay on pace proved difficult for everyone as we slipped and slided our way up the icy ascent. Hal dropped back on the climb leaving just Riddle and myself to march on into the second half of the course. Unfortunately, on the next uphill section, I lost contact with Riddle as an inopportune bad patch left me scrambling for nutrition. From the limited information I could gather at aid stations, the next few miles proved decisive in the race outcome. I stayed roughly 1 to 2 minutes behind Riddle; however started to lose time at creek crossing (and cave crossings?) due to my unfamiliarity with the course. The white markings on an already snowy backdrop added a little difficulty spotting the correct path and often I had to stop to scout out my next few steps. The second to last climb was a barn burner as we had to navigate an icy waterfall into the second to last aid station.

Moments following losing contact with Riddle. Coming into a colorful aid-station, somewhere around halfway(-ish).

Here is where the lessons were learned. With six miles left, I skipped the second to last aid station figuring that the limited calories I had taken earlier in the course would tide me over to the end. Normally not one to train with calories, I felt the gas light come on around mile 29. I glanced back and saw Hal making his way down the trail towards me. I knew the catch was inevitable. Figuring I still had two miles left and one large climb, I slowed my pace and tried to gather my remaining energy reserves to match Hal when he caught me. As soon as Hal came up on me though, I knew I was on fumes. In the last two miles I lost my podium spot as I got passed again in the final half mile. All in all, I learned an important lesson. THE MOST IMPORTANT AID STATION IN A RACE IS THE SECOND TO THE LAST. You can rest assured that at Mitchell I will not make the same mistake.

The story of the day goes to Riddle as he crushed David Mackey's course record by close to three minutes on a very slippery/icy day. Impressive is hardly the word I can use to describe it. Honestly, it was a privilege to run with him as long as I did. I wish Riddle the best of luck as he tries to make the US 100k team. Hal, I look forward to racing you again in short order at WTC.

Having trained through Mist, I am now turning my attention to the Mt. Mitchell challenge here in a few weeks. In the meantime, I want to thank Huntsville Track Club for putting on a wonderfully organized event which will definitely remain on my race calender for years to come.

2010.12.18 - Lookout 50

2010-12-20T03:20:00.000-08:00

I usually let the dust settle for a few days before jotting down my thoughts from a race. Unfortunately this time around I had a few more hours than I had hoped for to piece together my impressions. So what happened?

First, a little perspective. The last few months I have been traveling between Boone, NC and Durham, NC. My weekly schedule had dissolved into a blurred marriage of night driving and lab work. Friday through Monday I worked in the Center for Human Genetics at Duke University. Following work on Monday I would get in the car, drive to Boone and take classes Tuesday through Thursday in order in finalize the remaining General Education requirements I had left to graduate. Thursday after my 5:00 class I would get back in the car and drive the 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hour drive back to Durham. Aside from the spastic nature of my schedule, I found a rhythm that worked and got through the semester only reasonably sleep deprived. This was all great except when it came to logging consistent run mileage (most runs were pieced together at 4am then again around 9pm).

Following the crash and burn attempt at the sub-4hr mark at the R/C StumpJump, I went back to drawing broad and closely scrutinized my training logs from the previous months. A noticeable pattern arose, the absence of rest. So, following StumpJump, I took an easy week to get back into the swing of things, then hit it hard with a very consistent build in mileage up to a 110mi/wk. Following, I took an easy recovery week in which I started to have dull shin pain. Discarding it as artifact of the previous week's work/school/training schedule, I pushed into the next week with a steep jump in mileage to start the new training cycle. My body thought otherwise and before I knew it a short run around East Campus (~3mile) turned into a scene from Thriller. So fearing the onset of a tibial stress fracture, I promptly took 10 days of complete rest. I came back refreshed, rested and as usual (no matter how much I worry about it), without a loss in total fitness. So I hit the mileage hard again, linking three weeks of >105mi which included a stretch of 4 18-20mi/days and 2 5.5hr runs (both in the snow). Coming into the race, I was pleased with where my fitness was considering the inconsistency over the preceding few months.

I "graduated" from Appalachian State University Magna Cum Laude on Sunday, December 12 at 2pm. I put graduate in quotes because in typical Boone fashion, the weather prevented my family and myself from attending the commencement ceremony. I did return to Durham, however, and got a very productive few days of work, aside from battling off a slight cold. On Thursday morning Kristen and I awoke only to find the ground covered in a thin layer of ice. We got out for a short jog to judge the severity of the storm. It quickly became aparrent that we needed to get onto the road. Sensing the urgency in us getting on the road before the sun came up and the light falling snow turned to ice, we both threw together travel bags and with a quick fish-tail out of our parking deck we were on our way. What normally would account for a 7hr drive, turned into a slippery 12hr pludge down through Chattanooga having to pass through Atlanta.

Friday passed uneventfully aside from a morning MRI. Before I knew it I was standing on the start line shivering, waiting for it to get light enough outside to start the race. The gun sounded and I found myself towards the front enjoying a lighthearted conversation with fellow R/C racer and super shirtless stud Owen Bradley who was running the 50 as a training run for Bandera 100k in three weeks time. I pushed the pace early in order to get to the single track without getting boxed in. I assumed second position and within two miles had quietly slipped into first. As we descended off of Lookout Mtn, my stomach became unsettled. For every 4 minutes I built on the chase pack, I would lose 3 minutes as soon as I had to pull over to take care of business. I will spare the reading audience the details but every 4 miles and or every full bottle of liquid I had to make a pit stop. This was not a problem early on and I hit the climb out of Reflection Riding with a commanding lead. Onto the climb, I felt in control and on the steeper sections picked up the pace to put a larger gap on the group chasing. Passing through the Start/Finish line for the second time around 2:45, physically I felt great; however, my stomach continued to deteriorate. By the time I got out to mile 28 at Lula Lake, I had roughly 10 minutes on second place. The section through Lula lake was different from previous years which I believe vastly improved the difficulty and novality of the race. At the climb out of the Lula Lake waterfall, I saw Randy Worton who imformed me that I had a 12 minute lead. I could only comment that my stomach was trashed before turning back to getting out to the 34mile aid station at Nickajack. In a span of four miles I had to stop three times to take care of business and was having trouble finding my balance over technical terrain. I hit 34 and took Coke with three Gels before running up the hill and onto the 4.5 mile loop at High Point. The High Point loop was the low point as I knew my race was deteriorating into a stumbling mess. For every bottle of liquid I got in, it would come right back up. Alas, I pulled up at the 38 aid station recognizing that an attempt at 10 more miles would have been a crippling shuffle as I could not keep any liquids on my stomach.

So what did we learn? Unfortunately, there were not a lot of life lessons to be gleaned from Saturday's performance. Physically, I felt great. My training was perfect. In ultra-running especially when tackling distances over 50k, the stars have to start to align. Often the smallest issues can turn into huge problems. In retrospect, I probably had a stomach bug combined with the flu/cold symptoms I was experiencing earlier in the week and was not fully recovered. As I venture into longer and longer distances, I will need to alter my racing style of charging off the front. I hope to take on a quieter role in my next few races in hopes of learning how to race with patience and strategy. Sounds good on paper but when the gun goes off...

So the record stands: Lookout 2, Josh 1. I will be back next year to even the score.

Upcoming News and Events:

I am proud to announce that I will be racing for La Sportiva and R/C in 2011. I could not be more honored to have the privilege of representing two such outstanding companies. My next race will be in Huntsville, AL at Mtn. Mist 50k towards the end of January but for now a few days of concentrated rest/recovery. Oh, and Merry Christmas!

Early Birthday Run

2010-10-27T12:34:00.001-07:00

Since the Fall is rapidly leaving the high-country, only to be replaced with 5months of winter, I wanted to get in an early birthday run roughly one week out from big number 23. Historically, my birthday runs have been...well...epic. There was the year that I decided to run 50mi off the couch, only to have to call in room-mate life support around mile 38 and have them pick me up at 8am on the side of the interstate. Then there was the year that I repeated the stunt and ran through a whiteout snow storm on top of Grandfather Mountain only to have to pull up and call in room-mate life support at an Exxon station where they found me frozen to an empty cup of chicken noodle soup. Needless to say, my track record has been less than exemplary. Without the option of calling in life support and perhaps since I am gaining some wisdom in my old age, I opted for the less epic ~27mi run between 19E and Carvers Gap on the Appalachian Trail. A few years ago, in the middle of the summer, Kristen and I tried to run the out and back on this beautiful piece of trail but in the end had to turn back early due to dwindling food and increased grumpiness (word?). I have ran on this trail repeatedly throughout the years; however, I have never gone back to run the entire stretch end-to-end in one out and back push. Today seemed like as good of a day as any to try.

As usual, for the Birthday Run, I was awoke to driving rain and dropping temperatures. I drove over to the trail head in the dark. Awesome! Determined to not have another hypothermic birthday blast, I put on two rain coats (thanks Gore-Tex Trans-Rockies for the awesome running Gore-Tex gear) and started up the trail in the pitch black. Note to self, probably best to bring a headlamp when starting at 6am. Enjoy the pictures from my day-off adventure.

StumpJump 2010 Race Report

2010-10-05T13:50:00.000-07:00

Coming into this year's edition of the R/C StumpJump 50k, I felt like my aerobic fitness was tremendously higher than in previous years. Not only was the so called "monkey off my back," having finally won the event in 2009, but I really was eager to gage exactly where my fitness stood following what on paper was my strongest running training block in recent years. The spring saw an easy progression into reasonable mileage weeks (avg. 95mi/wk) with an early season emphasis on back to back progressive tempo runs on the weekends. A second place finish in June to Dane Mitchell (drug test?...)at the R/C Stage Race put my fitness right on track to keep up with Nick Selbo at TransRockies in late August. I built my mileage steadly throughout the summer having a nice block of ten weeks at 100miles (M, hill repeats; Tu, mile repeats; W, easy; TR, hard tempo; F-Sun, long aerobic) even with MCAT studies and working full time. Thankfully, this paid off and I didn't slow Nick down too much at TransRockies where we had a surprising third place overall finish.

After TransRockies, I took an easy workout week, mainly to get on top of the lab and school work I had missed the prior week. However, once I got my feet back on the ground the next two weeks saw the mileage sky rocket back into the 110-120 range with two solid 4hr trail runs up Grandfather Mtn and two encouraging high aerobic track sessions (1200's and 800's). The next week I dropped my mileage back into the manageable 70-80 range and increased the intensity of the track workout (2x200m,4x400m,2x200m) running in spikes for the first time since my mile repeats pre-TransRockies. Then finally I backed it down into taper time for the StumpJump.Coming into the race, I knew that the field would be stronger than in recent years with my toughest competition coming from my TransRockies partner and now close friend Nick Selbo. However, with the addition of Inov-8 strongman Mark Lundblad and the tribe called La Sportiva, the field looked wide open. Race morning finally came and after a quick car ride over with Vasque mutant-runner Bryan Dayton I found myself aimlessly wondering down the start line after a few warm up laps on the Nolan High School track.

I had two strategies coming into the race, one was conservative while the other was...well...less so. Since Bryan Dayton ran a sub-4hr StumpJump (old course), I have had it my head that is possible to break the 4hr barrer. This year with how my fitness had progressed through the summer I wanted to see if I could run four hours. To everyone that figured I looked like a loony dropping 5min/mi pace for the first 1to2miles of a 50k let me explain. It was my hope that by jumping off the start line I would attract a few other brave souls to help me push the pace. I had the mile splits in my head and when no one was up running next to me by mile 3 I honestly started to doubt my strategy to run for broke. However, after slowing up on the pace, I hit Suck Creek Road crossing for the first time right on pace for four hours (37:23) with no one in sight. I figured I would keep the pace at the 4hr mark until the Indian Rock House. The pace (7:45min/mi) felt very comfortable and did not seem unreasonable. Coming into the Rock House (1:16:change), I knew I still had the four hour mark in my cross hairs and after a quick water bottle switch I was up the trail without glancing back. My nutrition was spot on as I was taking in a 100cals every 20min. (3miles), plus with a steller carbo load thanks to my carbo and bread coach (Kristen) I knew I was running with a full tank. My next checkpoint came at roughly the half-way mark as the trail turned uphill at a fire road. I cruised through mile 16.58 change right on target (2hrs and 4min). On the uphill I noticed that the ambitious pace was starting to sting a bit. Being alone since the start line, I too was starting to lose a bit of focus. To get back in the right state of mind, I paced the next uphill section, switched songs on the Ipod (Celine Dion was just not cutting it) and entered into the infamous Rock Garden. Out of the Garden I made sure to get my entire water bottle down with a few extra calories.

I came back through the Indian Rock House for a second time right on target to go under four hours (2hrs 36min.). I thought great all I have to do is a 1:24 on the return trip, I made it out here in 1:16. Passing through a few people on their way out, I got an adrenaline rush from their encouragement. The next four miles breezed by and before I knew it I found myself at Suck Creek Road for the second time. At this point, I noticed my pace had slowed slightly and I had in fact only 40minutes to get back to the start line to du

ck under the 4hr mark. No matter, I grabbed two cups of Coke and turned my attention towards setting my mind right for the grueling final 5miles. In hindsight, I knew my pace was slowing but instead of playing the conservative (smart) card, I pushed the pace on the upper portion of the climb out of Suck Creek. At the top of the climb, nueromuscularly I started to feel off. I felt like a car running out on fumes. My legs started to get the familiar tingling of encroaching cramps. I knew my fate was sealed as my pace slowed to all but a walk on the decent. On the downhill into the swinging bridge, I lost the lead and almost the will to continue. Instead of dropping at Mushroom Rock like I first considered I walked the remaining 3.5miles back to the start line unable to muster up even the slightest jog.

It was the greatest experience I have ever had in a trail race. The words of encouragement and my brief attempt to run with Bryan Dayton kept me from crashing out. On this day, I went for broke. I have no reservations and would run the same race today if I could walk upright. I was confident in my fitness and confident in my ability to run off the front; however, in risking everything, I went all in and came up short. Through it all though, I remembered why I love trail running.

A huge congratulations to Jason Bryant of La Sportiva for a wonderfully calculated effort. I am looking forward to learning from your experience at the upcoming Mt. Mitchell Challenge

2010/2011 Trail Race Schedule (Tentative)

18-Dec R/C Lookout Mountain 50

22-Jan Mountain Mist 50k

6-Feb Uwharrie Mountain Run 40

25-Feb Mt. Mitchell Challenge 40

5-Mar Umstead Trail Marathon

9-Apr American River 50

Early May Rest, Build for Vermont

Late May Smoky Mtn. 1Day Traverse

June R/C Stage Race

17-Jul Vermont100

Better late than never - The Lookout Mtn. 100k...er...50miler

2010-01-12T04:46:00.000-08:00

I am back to the grind stone, working 5am to 11pm, after a very adventurous holiday season. I want to apoligize for the delay in updating my blog; however, since I appear to be the only one reading this, I wanted to get just sleep deprived enough to start writing...er...talking to myself again.

Where to start? Last semester was for lack of better words, hard. I ended strongly though rounding out a excellent academic year with a 4.0 and straight A's and CR's in all my trail runs. I left Boone a day before the sky dropped out and dumped 30inches on the high country. The storm, however, did not miss Chattanooga and in typical Lookout Mtn. 100k fashion racers and race directors alike were greeted to the prospect of having to run 62.whatever miles in the pouring rain and 33 degrees. Luckily (much to the chagrin of a number of able bodied and overly confident racers) the race directors made a wise decision in cutting the race back to a 50miler. I want to start this report by thanking the staff of Rock/Creek and namely the Wortons who worked tirelessly to put on a race (although shorter) on such short notice. This is simply a testament to the level of commitment and organization that goes into R/C races. At the end of the day the race directors were keeping in mind the best interests of all the racers and volunteers on course and I applaud them for making the correct decision.

Unfortuntely, due to the weather, a number of bigger named racers were not going to be able to make it down (from Asheville). So my initial race plan was kind of thrown out the window. I figured that the best plan of action (knowing the course) was to stay warm (unlike last year, see hypothermia) and eat as much food as possible for the first 18ish miles. Once at mile 18 there is a ~6mi uphill section that I figured I could get a pretty good idea of how bold everyone was feeling and take the race from there. It was here on the climb up to Covenant College (rocking out to The Cure and The Smiths, (I was having a moment) that I started to run alone, again, off the front.

I want to say a special thanks to a few collegiate runners that were training down at Reflection Riding as we came through. Riley I missed you but Will thanks for the support!

I came into mile 22 alone and after a quick change of clothes and a bite to eat I was off towards Lula Lake. From that point on it was cold and rainy and I was sore for most of the way. The stretch from Covenant College to Lula Lake turned out to be one of my favorite stretches as we meandered along a muddy creek bed and through some waist deep (probably knee deep for most people) creek crossings. I got out to Lula Lake to bound down the hill over the bridge and out to the 33ish mile aid station. This section was an out and back so on the back portion I could gage where my lead stood. At that point I figured that it was basically a game of attrition and that unless someone was dropping a minute/mile faster mile splits (I was holding steady at 7min/mi so 6min/mi seemed a tall order) I should survive to the finish.

The rest of the course, although very challenging and clearly the brainchild of Randy Worton, presented all sorts of surprises including a repelling section...well...we used a little rope to descend some steep rocky cliff lines followed by a breath taking long run next to a beautiful waterfall (42ish aid station).

My brother got to run with me for about a mile and half total including the last 1/2mile of the race which was unforgettable. That was very special to me that he came out not only to support me but even managed to throw down the thunder and pushed the pace on my tired legs. Guess that's what I get for being the big brother.

I finished around 6:50. Crossed the line, realized I was quickly becoming hypothermic after I couldn't hold a coffee cut steady from shivering and got in the car. I left and went home and watched the Hawaiian Ironman which seemed to slightly higher on the suckometer than what I had just experienced.

The Lookout Mtn. 100k will go down as probably my favorite race to date in the R/C trail series. Not only does the race present numerous challenges with the time of the year (shortest day) but the weather always promises to add another element of difficultly. This race course is astonishingly beautiful and demanding. The Lookout Mtn. 100k was an experience that I will not soon forget (perhaps because my legs are still sore).

Well, I am back to the grind, buried by medical school applications and the prospect of running Mt. Michell here in a few weeks. I hope the best for everyone in whatever their next adventure maybe in 2010.

UpChuck 50k - The Hardest 50k in the World...er...Soddy Daisy

2009-11-19T03:44:00.000-08:00

Ouch.

Just saying.

The Upchuck 50k is the brainchild of two very demented trail runners. The run starts in Soddy Daisy and traverses over mountains, through canyons, beside an interstate, over ladders, across waist deep streams, along ridge lines and requires extensive mountaineering experience. Well maybe not the last one but the Upchuck does offer an trail running experience unlike anything else!

As my fourth race over the 26.2 distance mark in the last 7wks, I really wanted to come to Chattanooga to get in a long run in a fun environment without getting hurt. Mission accomplished. The trail itself was extremely challenaging as the wet leaves on rocks made for slippery descents and frustatratingly slow ascents. At times I found myself questioning if I was even still running on a trail but I came to realize that this is trail running in its truest form; a runner with limited assistance blazing down an endless trail through some of the most beautiful scenery the Southeast has to offer.

Highlights:

The numerous bridge, ladder, random obstacles that lined the trail broke up the boredom of running alone off the front for five hours.

The interstate section nuked my legs. Less than a mile long, the transition from trail to road and back to trail shocked my legs for the next few miles.

Two aid stations. Awesome. Who needs anymore than that, I ask?

Getting lost for fifteen minutes following property line flags instead of the actual trail race markers. I am a freaking genius.

Swimming across what probably was a knee high creek for most of the other runners. I was too zonked out to realize that I probably could have walked across, but instead I plunged headfirst into the creek and began swimming. Once again, freaking genius. Hey, I'm not in triathlon anymore so I've got to incorporate my swimming somehow.

Leaving the creek bed soaking wet, knowing I had six more miles to go.

Running to the next creek crossing two miles later only to be told I had six miles to go.

Running three more miles to the road only to be told that I had six miles to go.

Only having a mile and a half to the finish when I thought I had six miles to go.

By far and away the greatest, most challenging trail race I have ever competed in!

City of Oaks Marathon - The 2hr40min Enema

2009-11-02T16:27:00.000-08:00

As the saying goes, 'even a blind squirrel can find a nut.' I believe this best summarizes my marathon preparation (or lack thereof) for the City of Oaks Marathon.

After the Rock/Creek StumpJump 50k, I turned my attention towards picking out a good marathon to run a Boston Qualifying time (~3:10 for my AG). Orginally, I thought it would be cool to head over to the coast and run in the Outer Banks Marathon since the course would be flat and fast; however, with Kristen getting injured, I figured it would just be best to find a semi-local race and drive down the day before. No thrills.

Leading into the race, I had no idea what kind of pace I was running or where my fitness stood. Just as with the StumpJump, I was running exclusively on feel, without a watch. After StumpJu

mp I took a down week (80mi/wk) and then quickly revamped my mileage into normal ranges (90-100mi/wk). I took to running a little bit more on road to get my joints used to pounding the pavement. The weekend before the race I went down to Charlotte and logged out a nice 18mi tempo run (my first time running with a watch since May!) around 6:20pace. Things seemed to go smoothly, so I figured I would not have any trouble hitting the 3:10 Boston Qualifying time.

So here comes the blind squirrel part, my marathon taper:

The week of the marathon I logged 93miles (including the marathon) with my longest run (before the marathon) coming on Thursday (~18miles in doubles). I did my first 'track' workout since May (8x200m) on grass (without a watch) on Tuesday and took Friday down (running only 6miles total for the day). Both Tuesday and Wednesday nights I was at the hospital past midnight and averaged a little over three hours of sleep/night. I am more of a mad (exercise) scientist!

Saturday we drove down around noon, ran a little on course in bright sunny, warm weather and went to bed. I awoke on Sunday only to be greated to my most favorist weather, 50degrees with driving rain and high winds. Having gotten hypothermic numerous times in this kind of weather, I bundled up for the race wearing arm warmers, gloves, hat and an undershirt. Burr!!!! After my trademark 'josh, do not get hypothermic' warmup, I found myself shivering badly on the startline. Right before the gun went off my watch stopped working (way to go Garmin) so I had to borrow Kristens. I figured ah, what the hell, I will just find someone faster than me to run and see what the day brings.

On the startline, there were a few guys spouting out PRs. I heard one of them say that he had ran a 2:31 at Boston. He looked fit, so I figured I'd run a little with him. The gun went off and up the hill we charged. Mother F, why do they always start races uphill? Just no reason for it, I say. Anyways, the Kenyans took control and I said goodbye to conservative pre-race plan. I was going to run for guts and glory.

The first 10k seemed fast. It was rolling and into some headwinds. The tall guy with the fast PR kept getting in front of me on the windy sections, so I had no choice but to draft (hey it's a race and I'm getting old). I could tell that it was frustrating him but I mean honestly he was not going to get any draft off of me.

Well, we went through the 10k and I was freaking already freezing to death. The PR guy had pulled out to a 15-20m lead and I was happy to let him run. Onward into the death rain we ran. At mile 10, I linked up with the guy who would eventually get second and ran with him through Umstead Park. We came into the 13.1 around 1:19. I figured that I had given myself a nice cushion, in the event of what was looking like a definite bonk, to hit the the 3:10 mark. I linked up and just maintained pace.

Umstead was 3.5miles of unpaved road. It was like the twlight zone! Let me set the scene, thank God it was close to Halloween or I would have been scratching my head:

We were alone (3rd and 4th on the road...er...trail) running in pouring rain...fog...hail...frogs(?exodus)...For 3.5miles I did not see anyone expect the guy I was running next too. Up and down hills, over bridges and through the woods (towards Grandma's house?) we charged. I did not even know if we were still in the race. The trail was completely saturated and gave us about a 2 to 3inches of muddy cushion to trudge through, which made the uphills less than enjoyable. I have to say when we finally came out onto pavement, I was overjoyed to be greeted to the 20mph headwinds and freezing rain.

It was about this time that I realized that we were approaching mile 18 and that I was sitting in 3rd...er...4th place. I thought, holy cow, I could podium. So I started to play the tactical game. On the uphills I slowed slightly next to my competitor and was slow to re bridge at the crest. He started to catch on as he was asked me how I was feeling. I told him I was freezing to death and that 20miles would probably be the end of my race. He said that I looked tired and cold and that if it was ok with me (nice guy) he would pick up the pace at mile 20.

At mile 19 we recieved word that the second place guy (the Kenyan...apparently not a cold weather guy either) was doing the death waddle. I also received word (for the first time that 3rd place got 600 bucks). Now it was on like donky kong!! I am not going to lie I felt slightly more motivated thinking that I could net at worst 400 bucks on the day.

Sure enough, mile 20 came and my new running buddy surged blindly. Sure enough, I had played my cards right and surged right back, picking up his draft. The look on his face was priceless. I stuck to his draft all the way through mile 24 as we bridged up to the death waddling Kenyan. Game on mother Fer!

It was at this time that the 90mi run week started to take a toll (I think in hindsight if I had known that I would be battling for an ~800dollar payday I might have tapered a bit more). I came slightly unglued as we started in towards downtown Raleigh. I was still roughly 15m off the back of the two Kenyans but that I was not making any headway into the headwinds. It was at this time that we started running into the tail end of the half-marathon finishers.

The highlight of my race came around mile 24 when the two kenyans in front of me were getting cheered on by the crowds only to have the same crowds react in utter surprise as a skinny, pale white guy came running like a madman 15seconds later. It was at that point that someone on the side of the road shouted "You GO get those Kenyans, WHITE GUY!" I have to say that I do not promote racial slurs but at that moment it was really funny...only in the south!

I was unable to bridge and eased up into the finish line. I was hoping to roll under 2:40 (finished 2:40:20) but a 6min marathon PR wasn't too shabby considering the conditions. When the dust settled, I made 400 bucks as the fourth finisher and 3rd american! I have to say that I am very pleased with how the race went considering I raced hard for a 50k less than a month ago and hit this marathon mid-90+ mile run week. Well, I qualified for Boston. What a great way to spend my 22nd Birthday weekend...fun times (minus how hypothermic I was post race)!

Side Note:

Hats off to the winner (ie the tall white guy at on the start line). You ran an inspirational race, negative splitting in the worst racing weather I have seen in over a year. I am enormously impressed as that has to one of the guttiest performances I have ever had the privilege to witness firsthand.

StumpJump 2009, the hail mary pass

2009-10-08T16:48:00.000-07:00

The road to the start line of the Rock/Creek StumpJump was a long and rocky one. Returning from Africa, I was still very hesitant to start training at full steam having just recovered from a left tibial stress fracture. I figured that I had roughly six weeks to get in shape to run (not race) 50k and would just take it day by day. The main difference in my training preparation for this race from any other trail race was that I trained as a trail runner. I ran roughly 80% (~80-85miles/wk) of my weekly mileage on trail. I left my watch, track workouts and tempo runs at home and went on feel day by day. Working in the emergency room at night did not leave me a tremendous amount of time during day light hours to train so most days I found myself up at 4-430am and getting in the mileage before my 8o'clocks.

Two weeks out from the Stump, Kristen and I went over to VA to run in

a trail race put on by Odyssey called the 40mi Rampage Run. Kristen ran the marathon and took first overall female in route to setting a new c

ourse record. We both had a blast sleeping in the back of my Suburu in the race start parking lot the night before. I went to VA to figure out my nutrition for the Stump, figuring if I could run 40miles then 31 should not be that difficult. The race went well, as I took the lead (overall) in the opening 50seconds of the race and ended up taking the overall in the 40mi in route to setting a new course record. All told it was a great day for Team Wazungu.

Side note: I had another wild life spotting, this time a black bear, in the final two miles of the 40miler (~43miler)... Seriously!

Coming into the StumpJump I was feeling extremely worn down, but confident in my overall fitness level. (The weekend before I had logged car to car in the rain an impressive 2hr 18/19mi tempo effort up Grandfather Mtn on trails.) I

knew that I had Friday to rest up for Saturday's race. Kristen and I got in late on Thursday after an eventful week of exams, late nights in the E

R and running in the freezing fall rain. Friday morning Kristen and I went out and ran the opening three miles of the course then proceeded to eat 2 loafs of banana bread while writing lab reports before heading downtown to the expo. R/C did an amazing job of putting on a first rate expo and pasta party which was followed up by a highly entertaining slideshow from Ultra-Marathoning Icon, Dean Karnazes.

Saturday morning came after a rather restless night. Coming into the race I had a few things in mind as far as how I would approach the competition. I knew the field promised to bring some strong talent as Bryan Dayton (Vasque runner and StumpJump course record holder) was returning. From my training, I knew I was close to 4hr/StumpJump shape and if I had a chance at the overall I would need to isolate Bryan early in the race. So when the gun went off I jumped to the front and pushed the pace through the opening three miles, wanting to see who would be foolish enough to join me. After three miles I looked u

p and recognized that only Bryan and

Nick were around. Perfect! So I slotted in behind Bryan, happy to allow him to dictate the pace while I sat back and focused on nutrition. We came into the rockhouse aid station a minute or two down on Nick who had taken over the lead. Not wanting to chase, Bryan and I allowed Nick to get out to a six minute lead by the halfway marker. The 10mi lolly pop portion of the race is the fastest/easiest part of the course and having ran the course six weeks prior I figured this would be the time to recover and wait to attack

on the way back through the rockhouse at mile 20. Unfortunately, not everything goes to plan. Jeff and Andy ran up on us about a mile out from the rock garden and instantly moved past Bryan at the aid station. On the next climb (~1200m) I took the lead and looked back, realizing that Bryan was slotted in at 5th position. Knowing that it would be hard for Bryan to respond to an attack, having to go around Andy and Jeff, I charged up the hill. Still 14miles out from the finish line and six minutes down on Nick, I figured it was time to throw up the Hail Mary and go for the W.

At the time I figured that I could gain some time on Nick through the rock garden and loose the three runners behind me. Out of the rock garden I ran like a man possessed to catch Nick. Having spent the prior hour eating and drinking b

ehind Bryan I felt like an Ricky Bobby on lap one of Talladega coming through the rock house for the second time. I got the report that I still had four minutes to make up on Nick with on ~8-10miles left in the race. After some quick math, I knew it was time to roll thunder and make up 30seconds/mile. I threw utter caution to the wind, going totally light weight, leaving my water bottle and nutrition behind (NOT ADVISED). By the suck creek road crossing four miles away I recieved word that I was roughly 45seconds dow

n heading into the final two climbs of the day. I took the next climb easy as to not cramp and to get my mind right for the final push home. It was on the downhill that I finally caught Nick. I turned my music off and ran silently behind him for the next uphill mile listening and observing everything he was doing. At the mushroom aid station I put in a slight surge on the uphill and saw no reply. I then layed into it and ran for the finish.

The final climb off the trail and around the school was emotional for me. Growing up only three miles from the race start and having idealized the winners of this race since its conception nine years ago, to say I wanted to win this race badly would be an understatement. I am happy I could bring home to bacon for Team R/C and Team Wazungu.

I am thankful for such incredible competitors and friends who make this such an amazing event to come back to year after year. Growing up three miles from the start line, it feels like coming home every time I have the opportunity to run on the Cumberland Trail. Kristen ran an inspiring race, setting a PR for her first 50k ever with her last two miles being her quickest. I want to thank the event staff for the countless hours spent turning this race into one of the premier trail races in the country.

Africa

2009-08-18T03:20:00.000-07:00

There is little in the way of words that could or will be used to describe the experience that Kristen and I had while in Africa. The people, the culture, the land was unlike anything anyone could ever imagine without visiting the country firsthand. I find myself reeling in the days following our return to the states, questioning much of what I found to be common place in our society. Africa challenged me on all levels. It pushed me past the confines of comfort physically, intellectually, emotionally and spiritually. It forced me to face my inner demons.

The mentally and physically disabled children of Shaurimoyo, that we had the privilege to work with, define the human spirit. I will forever be shaped by their level of compassion to one another and their outlook on a horrific life that is unimaginable in our western culture. To the children in pediatric burn unit of Mawenzi Government Hospital and to the nameless patient on the surgical table in the OR, I fully am able to now comprehend exactly why I want to be a doctor.

For the first time in my life I can say that I truly felt alive. Our experiences in the Ngorongoro Crater, at sunset in Zanzibar, running for miles through fields of sunflowers at the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro finally allowed me to take stock in what is important in life. I will leave a handful of pictures that briefly capture a life changing trip.

Tanzania, Africa July 25-August16

2009-07-24T17:26:00.000-07:00

Update:

I will be out of the country between the dates of July 25th and August 16th working as part of the humanitarian group Cross Cultural Solutions. Kristen and I will be working in the Shaurimoyo Special Needs School with mentally and physically disabled children. I want to sincerely thank those that have supported us with this trip. We are truly blessed and looking forward to not only traveling to a third world country but the opportunity to make a difference.

On other fronts, I have been recovering from a stress fracture in my tibia and am looking forward to bringing back up my mileage for some fun filled ultra-running events in the fall and winter months. After Africa, I will have one week before starting school. I am looking forward to a variety of opportunities that have presented themselves over the last few weeks. Starting in the fall I will be working in the ER 8-12hrs/wk evenings and nights as well as part time in an adult oncology setting. I have also been granted the chance to spear head a research team and split time between the Immunology/Biochemistry Labs at ASU and the UNC Research Campus under the direction and genius of Dr. David Nieman.

Parting Shot of Moshi, Tanzania

Perspective

2009-06-15T08:39:00.000-07:00

I wanted to post a short blog message to those that have been trying to reach me over the last week. I apologize for my phone being off and myself being remotely out of touch. Allow me to elaborate on the prior week's events.

As with any story, I guess it is best to start at the beginning. Last Saturday Kristen and I drove the short drive to Roan Mountain State for a four hour trail run. We returned late on Saturday exhausted and exhibiting the early signs of a summer flu. Sunday arrived and we decided to take the day easy by going for a hike since we were both feeling the effects of the prior day's 4hr adventure and the rapidly devoluping flu-like cold. We returned home again exhausted from the hike and ready to for dinner. It was around 4:00pm when the phone rang. It was Kristen's brother, Chris, telling us that we had to get home immediately. Kristen's dad had suffered a massive heart attack and was being taken to the heart ICU in downtown Charlotte. We dropped everything, ran to the car and drove (95mph average) to Charlotte. This was Sunday afternoon.

I have spent the last week in Charlotte, NC with Kristen's family. Kristen's dad suffered a massive heart attack on Sunday following a three hour bike ride. He was walking to the pool when he collapsed on the side of the road and was spotted by a passing cyclist who notified the lifeguards. The lifeguards were able to call 911 and provide CPR until the ambulance (less than 90seconds later) arrived. He was recesitated on sight three times after undergoing cardiac arrest due to a 200% arterial blockage. His body was then immediately cooled down and he was placed in a drug induced coma to preserve neurological function. When we got to the hospital an hour and half later he was in ICU on a ventilator. The doctor told us he had a 5% chance of survival. That pretty much hits the high points. The last week has gone by in a sleepless blur.

I am now back in Boone following what the doctors have labeled a 'miraculous' recovery. Craig Campbell should be dead right now but due to his physical fitness level (47y/o) and the immediate medical attention he received, he is alive and walking the hallways at CMC with no apparent neurological damage. The doctors plan to release him home within the next 24hrs. I will be in Boone until tomorrow taking care of a few affairs before returning to Charlotte for a day. I will then be in Chattanooga, TN for a day to get an MRI and then off to the beach for a much needed vacation over father's day weekend.

Thank you to everyone for your thoughts and prayers over the last week. Thank you to my mother who traveled from Chattanooga at a drop of a hat to be at Mr. Campbell's bedside and to help provide comfort to a grieving family. Thank you to the health professionals for fixing the unfixable.

It is times like these that allow us to take a step back from the pressures of tomorrow and really be thankful for the now. I am exhausted but finally at peace.

One last race report...For now

2009-05-30T10:34:00.000-07:00

Today is Saturday and I am on my way to sit by the pool and enjoy the sunny weather. Today was also the Over the Mountain Triathlon in King's Mountain, North Carolina.

Quick recap of the days festivities: As usual, the 4:30am wakeup came slightly earlier than expected but after a restless night's sleep, I was honestly ready to wake up and get the day underway. Kristen was kind enough to drive me out to King's Mountain for the race start. Unique to this race, the point to point format offers a wonderful vista for the racers but always results in a logistical nightmare the morning of the race. I set up transition and arrived at the race start with five minutes to spare. I warmed up with my now trademarked "will not get hypothermia during the warmup" warmup which consists of jogging to the portolet and splashing around in the water right before the gun goes off. Well, its honestly a little bit more thought out than that but I believe that covers the highlights.

The swim was uneventful. I managed to sit into the second pack until the turn buoy where the pack splintered and one group went left while the other group went right. I decided to swim...well...straight and figured the groups would have to come back together before the swim finish. Luckily, I was right and the groups did come back together, unluckily (word?) it occurred right before the final buoy where it was a mad dash for the shore anyway. Onto the bike and into the pain locker. After roughly three weeks of what Marc would call 'reasonable volume' and I would call I cannot move off the couch by seven o'clock at night, I had little in the engine room to respond to the early pace. However, the pace settled and I was able to ride into sixth place coming off the bike. With the two leaders clear of the rest of the field, I was feeling confident in my running ability to bridge up and finish on the last stair of the podium. So I stopped racing and packed my gear up, got Kristen, got in the car and went to get lunch/sit by the pool. Seriously, though that's exactly what happened.

After much thought and prayer, I have decided to step back from the sport of triathlon. This decision did not come easy at first but as I thought more and more about it, it is the right one. For years it has been my goal to achieve something special and prove myself in the sport. At this point I have nothing left to prove. I have placed top ten in the world in my age group, I have won every age-group race I have entered at the half-iron distance and I believe I have distinguished myself as a contender at most races. I am not willing to sacrifice what is most important in life, relationships and careers, to pursue a hobby that should be nothing more than a lifestyle. With everything I have given 110% of my efforts to achieving my goals in triathlon but there comes a time when you need to get your head above the water and see if you are headed in the right direction. At this time I do not feel like I am headed in the right direction. With medical school quickly approaching my priorities need to focus more on gaining entrance into a top medical program rather than on a hobby. I am not willing to lose the one's I love and to throw away my academic career for another top podium spot.

It is difficult to step away from something that has been such a part of my life for so long. However, I find myself at a crossroads. I wish to leave a legacy but as a father, a husband, a doctor and then a finally at the end of the list a badass endurance athlete : ) Fear not I will continue to keep my fitness up just in the odd chance that Dean Karnazas might show up to an ultra-race in the near future that I might be running in...but for the time being I am going to enjoy interning in the emergency room/the local oncology team, performing medical research and exercising for fun because at the end of the day, "if its not fun..."

I want to thank my friends, family and sponsors from the bottom of my heart. Without your years of unquestionable commitment and support, I would never have been able to even attempt most the goals I sought to achieve. You make me recognize what is truly important in life and your advice over the last few weeks has been heartfelt and deeply insightful.

White Lake Half-Ironman II Race Report

2009-05-10T11:37:00.000-07:00

I never seem to be able to get much sleep the night after a half-ironman. Perhaps it’s the large amount of caffeine consumption throughout the race or an increased metabolic rate, but I always find myself lucky to get in six hours of restless shuteye. Regardless, here’s how it went down yesterday.

Leading into this race, I was very uneasy about my fitness level. Not to say that I was feeling out of shape but I had not put in a full week of training in a little over a month. Having been sick one week before Collegiate Nationals (ie. see Valdese Triathlon Race Report and the Valdese Swim Complex locker room for complete details), I had to take some time off to completely heal from the flu and then taper for Collegiate Nats. However, Collegiates flopped on me, with me getting hypothermic during the swim and bombing the rest of the race due to a lowered core temperature. Lame. Coming down from Collegiates, it was good in many a sense to come right back into exams. I really had targeted Collegiates for a breakout race and to be honest not getting the expected result left me questioning my goals and overall fitness level in the sport. The last two weeks have been a complete blur. Having a round of exams and then finals, left me bug-eyed and strung out, running on a coffee IV for roughly 14 days. Not the best training conditions. Many of my workouts over the last two weeks were cut short (to fit in more study time), altered (ie. cut short) (to fit in more study time) or skipped all together (to fit in more study time). I guess the only positive aside from making straight A’s on my finals (booya!) was that I would be completely rested for White Lake.

Kristen and I took off on Thursday for Charlotte, NC and spent the night. I got up and got in the normal pre-race day before workouts (15min run, 15min bike, 15min swim) and spent the remainder of the day waiting on grades to be posted and Kristen to finish visiting with the doctor (just a checkup), so we could begin the 3.5hr car ride over to Whiteville, NC. Since Kristen wasn’t getting out of the doctor until late there would be no way for us to make it to packet pickup the day before; however, thankfully packet pickup was still available at the race site the morning of between 5 and 6am. After a restless night in our crack motel (between the lights, sirens, horns, car alarms and a leaky sink, I was lucky if I got in 1.5hr of sleep), I got up at 3:45am and loaded the car. Kristen and I then drove the remaining 45min to White Lake, NC to just barely make the 6am packet pickup cut off time.

With an hour left until the start of the race, I set up transition, jogged to the port-o-let, took care of business, jogged back to transition and put on my wet suit. This concluded my new and improved, bulletproof, will-not-get-hypothermic warm up. The water temperature was reported to be 77degrees which was a far cry from the reported 53 degrees seen at Buffalo Springs Lake. I figured that since I would be wearing my wetsuit at Kansas 70.3, I might as well wear it here even though I had my kickass SpeedZoot with me. Alas, I’ll have to unleash the fury of the SpeedZoot another day. I waded out into the water, dolphin dived twice and was then informed by the announcer that the race would be starting in 45 seconds. ‘Cool,’ I thought, ‘Let’s get it on.’ I lined up right behind Alex McDonald, knowing that if I could at least stay with him for part of the swim I would be setting myself up for a decent swim; however, as soon as the gun went off, Alex was gone and I was drowning. The first 400m were fast, like Michael Phelps fast. We hit the first turn buoy and I spotted and realized that I was sitting in about 8th position. ‘Badass,’ I thought as I looked left to see Alex ‘IronDoc’ McDonald staring me in the face. ‘Badass,’ I thought again, ‘I’m with Alex.’ Apparently Alex breathes the left and I breathe to the right so since I was sitting on his hip we continued to stare at each other for the next 1000m. Awkward. As we rounded the last buoy, I drifted back behind Alex to conserve energy leading into transition, knowing that a good swim time was in the bag. The exit for the swim was a single ladder at the end of the dock. There were four of us in the chase group and it was an all out sprint to the ladder. I got there third and waited my turn before running the 200m into transition. Alex got to the ladder first and was about 15miles in the bike ride by the time I got to transition.

The first hour we were rolling mad thunder. I think I clocked through the 27mi maker at the hour. Knowing that there would only be water on the bike course, I brought a canister of Nuun with me; however, I had stacked my electrolyte tabs on top of all the Nuun tabs. So when we hit the first aid station, I dumped all the contents into my jersey and fished out the fizzling Nuun tabs and dumped four of them into my bottle (concentrated). I made up a few places on the bike course and could see the chase pack ahead of me on the long, flat straights. So around mile 32 I put in a surge as we started into a strong headwind section and caught up with the chase group. I was able to gage my position on an out and back section and realized that I was roughly seven minutes down on Kevin Lisska and two minutes down on the chase pack. Because, I can probably count the amount of long rides I have done on one hand this season, I really started to feel the wear and tear of the race around mile 47; however, I stayed calm and continued to focus on good nutrition and my own rhythm. Before I knew it I was sitting in roughly 8th position on the tail end of the chase group. As we headed into the last few miles of the bike and I was more than happy just to sit 10m off the back and stretch.

Nutrition on the bike:
4Gu’s, 6electrolyte tabs, 4Nuun tabs, 32oz concentrated Gu20 mix, 4 12oz water bottles

Oh yeah, I rode in my new kickass Rudy Project Helmet, not wanting to risk anymore helmet issues after what happened at Nationals. Here's a picture of me in my new helmet before the race (I know what you are thinking and yes, sometimes I like to carry a spear around in transition).

Into T2, I heard over the loudspeakers, “Here’s Josh Wheeler. Josh just completed his Human Genetics final two days ago and here he is racing today.” Awesome, thank you Kristen. I exited the run in 8th and moved instantly into 7th. The idea was to run at 6-6:15/mi range; however, at about mile 47 on the bike I realized that with the heat I might be better served to start out at a little slower pace than normal. I was racing with my Garmin 405 so I was able to track my pace perfectly. I backed it down to 6:25/mi pace and found myself smiling at how easy the pace felt. However, knowing that I have not run more than 30miles in one week in almost five weeks, I put my game face back on and prepared to enter the pain locker. What can I say about the run? It was freaking miserably hot and windy,

a reported 91degrees. The aid stations were sparse at best; however, I found my rhythm early and paced 6:20/miles to the turn around. At the turn around I was roughly a minute down on fourth and two minutes down on third, so I picked up the pace a little and moved into fourth overall. On the straight road, I could see that I was starting to make up some time on third place as he was slowing at each aid station for water. By mile 10 the gap had shrunk to roughly 200m and by mile 11 I was roughly 15seconds down. At that point I was getting some feedback from the racers on course telling me that the guy was starting to hurt (I was thinking they clearly do not know what I am feeling like). At mile 12 we made a left hand turn and had roughly 50m towards the final aid station. I knew that he was going to get water, so I took my fuelbelt off and tossed to the side. The aid station was right before a slight uphill section so I surged as he went towards the aid station and passed him on the hill. He responded and matched my pace. The hill leveled out and we started on the descent. With a mile left, I re-attacked on the downhill, surging and opened a small gap. We rounded towards the finishing straight and I checked my six as to not get tagged at the line only to see no one around. I did up my jersey and crossed the line in third overall (~4:20 total time) and won a free trip to the medical tent where I got two bags of IV fluid and some oxygen.

Run Nutrition:
Fluid intake was sporadic but took in a Gu/Electrolyte mixture every three miles that totaled out to 4 Gu’s and 2 more electrolyte tabs. My sweat rate was low due to large sodium intake during the bike, so I was able to focus more on managing my rising core temperature rather than fluid intake.

Collegiate Triathlon Nationals - Lubbock, TX

2009-04-19T04:48:00.000-07:00

There are times when everything can go perfectly in training only to show up on race day and have everything go wrong. That is how I feel about the 2009 Collegiate National Championships, summed up in one poorly punctuated sentence fragment.

I want to start off by thanking my friends, family, coach and sponsors who throw their unquestionable support behind me with everything I do. It makes it possible not only to travel and train at the level I want to perform but also helps me recognize what truly is most important in my life.

The build for this race started back in January. I targeted this race as an early season goal after a sub-par performance last year in Tuscaloosa, Al. Going into this race, I was ecstatic about my form. I was posting faster running times on the track than I had ever seen, my cycling power to weight ratio was measured to be off the charts and I was finally starting to swim at a respectable level. I had no reported injuries and had only had a minor bought with the flu two weeks ago. Most importantly, I had survived training in Boone, NC for one of the worst recorded winters in recent years.

I chose to go down to Charlotte, NC with Kristen last weekend to clear my head and get in my final few days of training in some weather closer to what I expected to see in Texas. Training went well through the weekend and we came back to Boone on Tuesday rested. After a long day at school on Wednesday (ie. physics lab ended at 8:30pm) I turned back around and drove to Charlotte, NC to catch an early morning flight out to Lubbock, TX. On the way down to Charlotte, I got a call from the fraud agency telling me that someone had hijacked my debit card in Atlanta, GA and had taken out 500 dollars. Freaking awesome. After getting everything worked out and completely deactivating my account, it was off to bed to wake up and rush off to the airport.

My flights went well. I got to Lubbock on time without any delays. The same cannot be said for Stephanie's flights who missed her connection in Atlanta because her flight in Chattanooga was delayed due to the pilot oversleeping. Got to love the small airports. Since it was going to be a few hours until Stephanie landed, I went ahead and checked out the rental car, loaded my gear and started to drive towards the race sight to get in an afternoon swim. The only problem with this plan was that as soon as I started driving on the interstate golf ball size hail commenced falling, threating to systematically destroy the rent-a-car. Since it was a Ford, I was worried about it breaking down and fled from the interstate in search of shelter. Freaking awesome. Instead a nice, carefree swim at the race site I spent about 45minutes huddled under a highway overpass with about 50 other people waiting on the hail and subsequent tornado warning to pass.

Here's a picture of the 'tornado' warning from the local newspaper. I elected to go to the hotel, without swimming, build my bike, eat and wait on Stephanie. Off to bed.

Friday, the day before the race, Stephanie and I went out to the race site early (~9am) only to be greeted by flooded streets and freezing temperatures. I got in a few miles of running, a freezing cold swim that left me laughably shaking next the car and a terrific bike ride out to the bike turnaround. The rest of the day was left to carbo loading and studying chemistry.

Race morning:

Everything went according to plan race morning. We got to the race site on time, got to transition on time, and started setting up transition on time.

The first problem arose when Charlie, USAT's head ref, started to check wave1 helmets in transition. I have a Giro Advantage aero helmet which for those not familiar with all things TriGeek related is a European manufactored helmet. Here in America (that's America like George Bush says it) we do not like Euro helmets without USA certified stickers. Since Charlie was checking I decided it was best to come clean rather than be DQed coming into transition. So I self reported my helmet. I had brought with me my road helmet, a Giro Atmos which I was under the impression is USAT legal. Well, long story short and a few stressful minutes later, neither helmet met Charlies approval and I was left without a helmet and a transition area that was closing in less than 60seconds. Needless to say my pre-race warm up jog was spent running around the race site trying to find someone with a legalized helmet. I finally was able to find a USAT affiliate who loaned me a legal Rudy Project road helmet (looked like a old lady helmet) and promised to put it on my bike in transition since the transition area was now closed to athletes. Awesome! So this is where I stand now, I have no idea if my transition area is set up correctly, if I even have a helmet, if the helmet even fits or if my bike is in running order since I was unable to pump up my tires or even check my gears/brakes.

8am. (race starts at 8:30am) I leave the race site and try to find some quiet ground to calm down and clear my head. I put on my wetsuit (I was freezing cold airtemp ~36-39degrees) and on top of my wetsuit I put on two jackets, my swim cap and another wool hat on top of that. I headed over the race start (8:15am) and preceded to get in my 10-15min swim warmup. As soon as I had finished swimming in the reported 53.1 degree water and was feeling quasi 'warmed up' (I take ice baths in that water temperature) I got out of the water to mark out a good position on the start line. It was then that I found out the race start had been delayed by 15minutes and we would not be starting until 8:45am. Not good. With a measured 4.3% body fat, my core temperature plummeted and I was left shaking uncontrollably on the start line for 15minutes. I tried to do some strides which didn't help since the outside temperature was ~42degrees and even elected to get back in the water. I tried to get my HR under control knowing the effort ahead but I couldn't get settled. As soon as the horn sounded I hit the water and felt like I ran into a brick wall. I almost passed out from shock. Needless to say, the hard work in the pool over the last few months didn't pay off as I came out almost 10minutes behind the leaders.

Into T2, I was shaking so hard that I could barely get my wetsuit off and put on my granny helmet. Onto the bike, I was still shaking so hard from the water temperature on the way out toward the turnaround I almost crashed on the first descent. I was able to make my way back into the chase pack but still was roughly 10minutes down from the leaders coming off the bike. Due to a rushed pre-race morning I did not scope out the mount/dismount line for the bike and I dismounted roughly 25m from the actual dismount line and had to run my bike an extra 20+seconds into transition.

The run. I had been really happy with my run training recently. Coming off a fairly comfortable PR of lower 1:14 at the hilly Birmingham Half-Marathon a couple months ago I had gotten my 10k speed down around 5:15mi/pace. The only thing I did not account for was not being able to feel my lower legs or feet on the run. Surprisingly, at almost an hour and half into the race, I was still shivering. I couldn't get my core temperature elevated and my motivation was at an all time low. As I was running towards the run turnaround, I started to count off the people coming back and realized that I was in the top 25 placing out on course. I couldn't get into a rhythm and crossed the line frustrated, only to be greeted by the announcer shouting over the loud speaker, "Here's Josh Wheeler, Brain Cancer survivor." I guess all things are in perspective.

I was hoping for a top ten finish. With a swim time around 21minutes which is what I expected coming into the race I would have been there. The race was lost for me in the hour and half prior to the race. There are things we cannot control but one thing we can control is our attitude. I trained hard for this race and yes, I am disappointed with the result. But to be hypothermic on the start line, I figure the race went about as well as it could have. I run a very fine line between training, being a pre-med student and a full time athlete that a few small details can have a large impact. I planned to have a good transition setup. I planned on having the right equipment. I planned on the race starting at 8:30am. I warmed up when I was supposed to and the race was postponed for 15minutes. Those 15minutes probably cost me my desired result. I will be back probably not to TX next year (St. Anthony's is looking more inviting aka Florida swim) but I will be back to Collegiates to have that breakout race I know I am capable of. In the meantime it is back to work. I have exams the next two weeks and White Lake Half-Ironman in three weeks. Life marches on.

Thank you tremendously for the love and support from my friends and family. Without you I am nothing. Here is the post race interview link (sorry for the Albert Einstein hair, it was a long, stressful morning for me)

http://www.myfoxlubbock.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail?contentId=8407710&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=1.1.1

Ryan Hall - Boston 2009 Champ?

2009-04-10T05:03:00.000-07:00

A week and a day out from Lubbock. I can say that I am starting to get a little excited. The flu/stomach bug/fever/death cold had really taken it out of me for a couple days. After Valdese, I honestly was pretty bummed that I wasn't able to put forth my best effort simply because of all the hard hours I had been logging in training. I love to race and train to race. When I cannot show up to a race and 'showcase' all the work I have been doing, it is frustrating.

However, to find the good in everything, this sickness might have been a blessing in disguise though. The short bit of rest Marc gave me heading into Valdese allowed the virus to settle in. If we had continued to push through and waited till the end of this week or the beginning of next week to start resting, the virus could have had a devastating effect on Collegiates. Alas, the life of an endurance athlete, always walking the thin line between being in peak shape and on the verge of starvation and a debilitating illness/injury. I am heading down to Charlotte this weekend to get into some warmer weather for my last little bit of hard training, spend some time with Kristen and get away from all things race related before we ramp it back up and I fly out to Lubbock early Thursday. I am copying a few quotes from a recent RunnersWorld article done on Ryan Hall about his upcoming Boston preparations.

"You ran well in the Beijing Olympics, but of course many, again, had very high expectations of you. Afterward, you didn't make excuses, but you said you never felt quite right in the race or your training. April marathons have been good to you the last two years. Do things feel different than pre-Beijing? How so?

RH : Oh yeah, I feel night and day different. Just to give you an idea. I am doing eight-mile tempo runs on the same course as before Beijing but running 3:00 faster...three times three is nine, nine minus 2:12 is...well you get the picture...all I am saying is that my fitness is in a totally different place. I remember doing runs before Beijing and feeling like I was trying so hard but my body was just plateaued. Looking back on it, I think I never let my body totally recover from London so I never made the physical gains that I needed to. I am just excited to race again, which is even more important than the workouts. Before Beijing I was concerned but trying to stay optimistic and hoping for a miracle (what else could I do). I am proud of what happened in Beijing because I did the best with what I had even though I wasn't my usual Ryan. In Boston, I will be fully Ryan."

Do you pay much attention to the kind of results we saw at Rotterdam and Paris last weekend? How do you react when you see this proliferation of truly fast marathoners?

RH : Man, when I saw those results, I wanted to do another long run, even though I had run 25 miles the day before. It got me pretty pumped up. The world of marathoning is changing. It is exciting to be apart of it and be spurred on by what other guys are doing. When you see a 2:07 guy take a couple minutes off his PR, it makes you think about what is possible for you. I think there is a couple of ways to look at guys stepping up their game. Either be inspired by it or give up. I have always chosen to be inspired."

I will leave on this quotes:

"I don't know if I ran to my fullest potential if that would equal a win in Boston, which is exactly why it is easier to focus on running to fulfill your potential then to focus on winning just as long as focusing on fulfilling your potential doesn't cause you to not fulfill your potential. Welcome to "Runners World" philosophy 101. I like to set goals that I know I can achieve independent of my competitors (like praising God with every step, or doing my very best) but this doesn't mean I completely ignore my competitors. I believe competition in the purest form is not to challenge each others competency but rather to challenge each other to be the the fullest of who we are."

If you want to check out the full article it is at http://dailynews.runnersworld.com/2009/04/a-brief-chat-with-ryan-hall.html

Valdese Triathlon - 1st OA, 101Fever

2009-04-04T13:49:00.001-07:00

Valdese Triathlon Race Report

Heading into this race, I was feeling pretty good after finally having one and half days of lighter training. The morning of, Kristen and I departed for Valdese, NC at six am. So much for my Saturday slumber. After a relatively short hour drive, we arrived at the race start and a balmy 44 degrees/windy. At least it wasn’t snowing like in Boone.

Warm up went fine expect my stomach was starting to act up and I really couldn’t find a rhythm running. My legs felt heavy and lethargic but I figured it was normal pre-race jitters. I headed over to the pool (which was inside a bubble!) and got in roughly 2000yds warming up. Overall, I was just not feeling that sharp but once again I dismissed it as pre-race jitters. The only problem I could see was that I was freezing cold and it was roughly two thousand degrees inside the pool bubble. I dismissed it again as pre-race coldness (?).

Being the first one in the water has its perks, namely being the first one in the water. The downside is that there are a nervous group of 500 type a triathletes waiting behind you who are more than willing to laugh and point if you get pasted by one of the ‘slower’ swimmers. Lining up behind me were two Davidson swimmers (freaking awesome, who I saw splitting 25s 50’s during warmup) and a high school swimmer who probably doubled as the local high school’s tightend. The stomach problems I had eluded to earlier re-surfaced (maybe not the correct word choice) around the 125yd mark and I spent the rest of the swim wondering if I was even going to make it to the poolside.

Luckily, I was able to prolong the march of the amphibians and exited the water in second position by one second. By the time we had exited transition I was in first again and following behind what looked to be the Cash Cab. With blinking lights and horns blaring, we started our ‘gently rolling’ 9mi loop. The only problem was that the ‘gently rolling’ quickly turned into quarter and half mile long uphill followed by dramatic sweeping downhill and 90degree turns, as well as chilly crosswind (Luckily I am from Boone and it was like a spring day). I think I spent a total of two minutes in my aerobars! I came off the bike with a 3+min advantage and started the run. Side note: my rear wheel skewer was not fastened down. I couldn’t figure out why I was getting so much road vibrations and trouble shifting. Note to self: fasten the skewer before next race. Thankfully, I didn’t crash…I’m a freaking genius!
Here’s where the fun started.

As soon as I started the run my stomach completely cramped over. The quote that comes to mind is from the movie, Rat Race, “I’m prairie doggin’ it.” I never could get into a full stride thanks to the fact that I was on the verge of forfeiting my entire GI tract. Once I hit the two mile marker I realized that I was over a half a mile ahead of the next guy and eased up tremendously in hopes of my stomach issues subsiding. I should point out that I was also running a fever at this point in the race. Needless to say the following two hours till the awards were spent over a toilet.

All in all, a good effort on a day that I physically was not 100%. It’s good to get one under the belt before Lubbock in two weeks. With my immune system strong and my body fully rested, Collegiate Nationals should be a breakout race for me (as soon as I can keep some calories down).

Lets get it started - Nationals Tune-up Race Tomorrow

2009-04-03T06:30:00.000-07:00

"Running one might say, is basically an absurd pasttime upon which to be exhausting ourselves. But if you can find meaning in the kind of running required of you to stay on this team, perhaps you'll find meaning in another absurd pasttime - life."

Bill Bowerman

Snickers Marathon Race Report

2009-03-08T16:20:00.000-07:00

Kristen and I fled the Arctic chill Thursday afternoon after I my typical 5500yd nightmare swim session. We drove down in separate cars to Charlotte and dropped her car off at her house, grabbed a quick pasta meal at the nearby Macaroni Grill (~4:30pm, early bird special) then proceeded to drive into the armpit of the peach state in search of the town known as Albany. Kristen had to be back in Boone on Monday to continue her job shadowing hours for physical therapy.

Around 10:00pm we had far exceeded our saturation point of driving and in kind consideration for the safely of other drivers decided to call it a night in Macon, Ga. We stayed at the Hilton (bling) on Mercer University's Campus. After a sleeping in (~7:30am) we were about stir crazy sitting in the hotel and decided to throw on our running gear to get in a jawg around the mighty Mercer campus (think their mascot are bears but couldn't come up with a pun, so feel free to insert pun here...) Pretty place but lord knows it must be hot in the summer because after running in the snow it felt like Death valley with humidity! As soon as we had stretched, ran some pickups and I had found a baseball (bling), we packed the car, stole some silverware (we needed oatmeal bowls...I mean come on we are starving, broke college kids) and drove the remaining two hours to Albany, Ga; the birthplace of Ray Charles. The rest of the day was spent going to the grocery, continuing the carbo load and visiting the expo.

As usual 4:30am came early. Kristen's mom and dad were kind enough to come down and cheer us on, plus give us a ride to the race start. We decided to take the first half of the race conservatively (1:50) and then pick it up on the second side. Knowing how important the race was to Kristen and her hitting her Boston qualifying time, I wanted to give back to her for all the support she has given me during my races by pacing her out and carrying her fuel belt (which contained enough nutrition to make a summit attempt on Everest).

The race went as expected. We took the opening miles easy (8:25 pace). The weather was overcast with a huge blanket of fog. We were worried about being warm but the weather turned out to thankfully be a non issue. Around mile 9 we came in contact with the dreaded chatty marathon runner who proceeded to tell us all about the dozens of marathons he had run and exactly how his GI problems were going. Awesome! Kristen and I picked up the pace in an effort to drop the guy (we didn't want to be rude); however, at mile 12.5 Kristen decided she had to use the bathroom so we stopped (FOR THREE MINUTES...I was freaking losing my mind) and the chatty guy caught back up to us! SOB! We went through the half at 1:51:23. Needless to say I spent the next few miles upping the pace and doing a lot of mile calculations in my head. I knew that we needed to hit mile 20 at 2:50 to have a shot at the 3:40 cut off. Instead of me pushing the pace; however, Kristen started to up the pace to 7:40s and I simply remained at her side to 'hold her back.' I still have few words to describe the feeling I had watching her cross the line in 3:35 after dropping her fastest mile (~7:10) and finishing 8th overall woman and first in her age! She trained hard and earned that time! Truly incredible!

This week marks my spring training camp here in Chattanooga, TN. I will be running roughly 70miles, swimming 25,000yds+ and completing over 13hrs+ on the bike plus numerous strength and yoga sessions! Bring the thunder! Tomorrow starts the fun off with roughly six hours of training!

Training in Paradise!

2009-03-03T02:43:00.001-08:00

Yesterday, March 2nd, we finally got a long overdue snow day! The two days before I had suffered through 16mi longrun in 35degree freezing rain quickly topped on the sucky scale by the 3.5hr trainer ride with a 5mi brick run in white out conditions off the bike.

Boo...ne

At my apartment we measured 8inches of accumulation (8-12 was the average), which all came in a matter of six hours. I awoke Sunday to rain and when I went to bed Sunday it was dumping! This weekend is Kristen's marathon followed by my spring training camp (ala Spring Break)!

As promised...

2009-02-23T13:28:00.001-08:00

Here are some pictures, thanks to my mom, of last weekend's race down in Birmingham.

Enjoy!

This is going into mile three! Note: the amount of people still in the lead group. We had just ran the last three miles at 5:32pace...

Mile four...same pace...less people...

um...well, mile 13...

coming into the finish...hero shot

classic.

Willie Nelson!

2009-02-19T11:32:00.000-08:00

Kristen and I are headed to see Willie Nelson tonight with Asleep at the Wheel in Holmes Center! After a long week of tests and chilly training, definitely been looking forward to the concert.

Taking off to Chattanooga for a little 'warm weather' training this weekend. Monday evening I am being inducted into the Chattanooga Athletic Hall of Fame. Very cool! More to follow soon.

Mercedes Benz Half-Marathon Race Report

2009-02-15T18:42:00.000-08:00

Mercedes Benz Half-Marathon Race Report
2-15-09

After training in the Siberian Tundra for the last three weeks, Kristen and I decided to travel to Birmingham, Al for a little early season tune up run. Kristen was using the race for pacing practice for her marathon in Albany, Ga during the first week of April, while I was just getting an overall idea of where my running fitness stood.

Kristen and I left Boone on Friday for Chattanooga. After crashing in the Nooga overnight, making a hundred on my Human Genetics online quiz (yes, I do homework on Friday nights) and eating my bodyweight in carbs we were ready to set off for Bham the next morning. We got to Birmingham, rocked the expo and took off for our Latina getaway (aka…La Quinta Hotel) before meeting up with my mom, who was kind enough to travel down to see us race, for a Valentine’s Day dinner.

The Fourth of July celebration came early at 4:30am (technically 5:30am our time thanks to the central time change). With roughly fourteen alarm clocks blasting, the radio turned on and a ringing wakeup phone call we decided it was probably best to get up before we got arrested for disturbing the peace. Kristen and I got to the race start roughly an hour before the race began, ran our four mile warm up and just barely made the start time.

So we were off and running. Thank god, because surprisingly I was chilly standing around for the minute I was on the start line. Marc and I had planned to take the opening four miles extremely conservatively (5:40-45 pace) after my performance at Toronto Half-Marathon back in October where I PRed for the 5k, 8k, and 10k then promptly blew completely apart. We lumbered along through the few miles at 5:32-35 pace. Felt easy as was observed by the roughly 50 people that were running along with us at the time. By the time we got the third mile the field had thinned out to about 10 people. I slotted in behind a track shack runner as we headed into a tough headwind. The pace felt stupid slow but I kept it rolling along knowing that from mile six to roughly mile nine we would be going uphill. My pace slowed from 5:35 to 5:50-53 pace for the uphill two miles (which was frustrating bc I got gaped by the track shack guy…lame). Once we got up and over the few miles of long rollers we had some sweeping down hills. There was an announcer at mile nine calling out split times as it was the top of the hilly section and on UAB's campus. When I got to the top of the hill I was in roughly ninth or tenth place. Over the load speaker I hear, "It looks like we have one of our elite women making a move up to the front pack, Let's cheer her on as she comes to the top of the hill." Freaking awesome...So after getting a big boost from the crowd of hungover college students, I swallowed my ego and surged repeatedly to try and close the gap back up to the track shack guy. Frustratingly, I found myself in no man's land and couldn’t close the 200m lead he had on me. From mile 10-11 I dropped my quickest mile at 5:08-10 then slowed down to 5:35 pace for 11-12mi due to slight incline. Once I hit mile 12.5 I was crossing an intersection, cruising close to the people lining the side of the street and had a blue haired lady pull directly out in from of me. I came within a foot of getting creamed to only have the lady stop completely in the intersection much to my and everyone on the side of the streets surprise. *Insert Dumb and Dumber quote here about the elderly* Regardless, I finished in eighth place overall with a PR of over thirty seconds (1:14:23).

I am very pleased with my result. After doing almost all of my tempo runs and track workouts in the snow, I am happy with my level of fitness for February. I felt in control the entire race and stuck to my pre-race plan completely. A great way to start of the 2009 season.

In other news, I want to thank Zoot for supporting me this season with race apparel, clothing and shoes. I am very excited for the opportunity. Thank you tremendously Brian and Elisette for the chance to represent such an outstanding company.

I will post some race pictures shortly.

-16 degrees F

2009-01-16T05:30:00.000-08:00

It has been a while since I last gave an update so I decided during my run this morning to write a few words to inform everyone of my whereabouts.

For those that are not familiar with Boone, NC it is officially colder than the Arctic Circle! The last week I have been running in sub-Arctic temperatures while combating frigid windchill. Needless to say it has made all my tempo runs extra enjoyable. However, this morning took the cake. After rising at my normal 5am and getting in my bike ride while listening to Beethoven's 9th (don't knock it till you've tried it), I checked the outside temperature to determine my outerwear selection. To my surprise (not really though, I mean it is Boone) the temperature read -16 degrees F or -26degrees C or 246K (I'm a nerd). I thought, "cool I have never ran in that cold of temperature. I have to try it." So after dressing with enough clothes to summit Everest, I embarked upon my 'recovery' seven mile morning run. To my surprise, about three miles into my run my eyelashes started to freeze together. Freaking awesome! On top of that my face mask was frozen rock solid from the moisture in my breath. I have to say, however, that at that cold of temperature I there was little movement from anything or anyone and the entire run was quite peaceful. Running up the 600m hill to my apartment, honestly I did feel as if I was summiting K2. I was being tossed around by the 20mph wind with my eyelashes frozen and my face mask glewed to my face. To top it all off, outside my apartment we have hung Himalayan prayer flags... I figure with a few more training runs in that temperature I should be ready to take on either the Michelin Man in a boxing match or hang with Dean Karnazes on his Arctic 100ks.

Quick Update:

I have posted a tentative 2009 race schedule with my 09 debut race taking place mid-Feb at the Mercedes Benz Half-Marathon. Training has been going well. I will more than likely hit close to 90mi running with roughly 15k in the pool and 5-6hrs on the bike. Not bad for technically wk1.

School is going to be tough as I am taking 15hrs all science with 3labs. Surprisingly, I feel like I will have more free time to train and study as I will not be assisting with as much research this semester.

I have posted some pictures from my run this morning.

Me at the start, -16degreesF

Me at the end of the run outside my apartment

Lookout Mtn 100k Race Report

2008-12-22T15:30:00.000-08:00

Every dog has its day, never judge a book by its cover, one tomato short of a good spagetti sauce, the Lookout Mtn 100k ultra-marathon seemed to be a day of cliches.

The preparation heading into this race, needless to say, was less than ideal. After battling back strep throat and pneumonia for two weeks, I came off two long, stressful exam/final weeks to arrive in Chattanooga Monday night. The following morning I started shadowing the peds oncology team at Erlanger Children's Hospital. It is a tremendous honor to work aside these brilliant doctors during break. I have learned more in four days than I would in an entire semester; however, being on my feet for twelve hours straight while trying to 'taper' for the 100k certainly did not help my pre race prep.

Two days before the race, Kristen came into town after finishing up her exams. The plan for the race was to lead the race from start to mile 44 where I was to meet Kristen and run the last twenty miles with her.

I awoke Saturday morning to cloudy skys. Stephanie and I drove out to the race start at Lula Lake. After some pre race preparations, I jogged down to the race start which was a mile away. I like ultra running simply because without a bike there are a lot less details to worry about. Just as the race started, the rain started to come down. Right off the gun I abandoned the pre race plan and jumped to the lead knowing that the first mile and half was on single track trails and that I did not want to get log jammed. I was officially soaking wet and cold after the first mile and half crossing a knee deep (ankle deep for most) creek and found myself in third place overall. I kept the first and second place runners in sight, sizing them up when they passed me. To be honest I was more concerned about the leader than the guy in second place. I figured the guy in second to be a recreational runner who more than likely did not know what he was getting himself into. The guy was dressed in a nike racing flats, a cotton t-shirt and basketball shorts for a 100k run in the rain! We three built a pretty good lead on the rest of the field and came into the first aid station at around mile six together. From there we shared the lead until the aid station at mile 14 where the nike flat guy and myself broke away from the other guy.

I knew the trail coming up and took the lead through mile 18 where I stopped to fuel up at an aid station. The nike free guy went past me. I knew the next ten miles were uphill so I figured that he would blow since he had not stopped for fuel. Once again we started to swap leads back and forth. By mile 26 though I had started to fade. My energy levels started to wane and I quickly became disoriented and hypothermic in the cold rain. It took me 2 hours to cover six miles. I was hallucinating and hearing sounds by the time I arrived at the mile 33 aid station. I figured myself for suffering from hyponutrimia since I had only been consuming water for the duration of the race so I asked for chicken broth. I staggered out of the aid station and headed for Lula Lake only to be corralled into a car and taken back to start line.

Lesion learned, never size up a fellow racer. As it turns out the guy in the racing flats had won numerous 100milers and had finished Badwater last year. Incredible! I would like to appologize to the front runner who crushed the feild in a cotton t-shirt, gym shorts and no nutrition. Guess there is an exception to every rule.

I will be taking about four or five days off before starting back to work for the upcoming '09 triathlon season. Merry Christmas!

Pictures coming soon...

'Oh my God! We shut the mountain down thirty minutes ago!"

2008-11-21T06:31:00.000-08:00

Not since 1968 has Boone reported such terrible weather before Thanksgiving. Living in the high country definitely has its perks. The great views, wonderful running trails, biking routes and rock climbing just to name a few but all of these are well and good when you are able to get outside and enjoy them.

With that said, last Sunday marked my first day of training for my upcoming 100k ultra. Since I was unable to get my birthday 42mi run in on Nov. 3 thanks in large part to the fifteen hour drive to Clearwater, I prolonged it to the first Sunday available.

As usual I woke up and ate my normal oatmeal smorgasbord, topped off my water bottles, filled my backpack with varying food items and emerged from my apartment only to be greeted to gail force winds (alright a steady 25mph wind) and about three inches of snow on the ground. I had to put on my yacktracks (if you gotta ask you don't have to know) and slid down the hill to the main road. I then ran the three miles to the trail head which would take me out to the BlueRidge Parkway. Since the trail was covered in snow and ice, it took a little bit longer than normal to get out to the Parkway but none the less once I managed to slug my way out and over downed trees and frozen creek beds, I arrived at Julian Price Park at the base of Grandfather Mountain. At this point I was roughly 15 or 16mi into my journey and the weather was starting to turn. Never a good sign when I planned to ascend Grandfather Mtn which is a little over a mile high (~6000ft). I started out up the mountain having to run on the side of the road due to the amount of ice. About half-way up , the wind started to pick up stirring up the snow drifts and creating white out conditions. Wonderful! Not only was this great but since it was a balmy 19degreesF (with the windchill it was probably close to hum...Everest), my waterbottles were frozen solid. I am managed to suffer through the blizzard and mild-dehydration to reach the ranger station at the top of Grandfather. Normally, on my bike rides I fill my water bottles up at the fountain outside the station but today the fountain was frozen over...go figure...and I had to go inside. I entered through the door and was greeted by two wide-eyed rangers, who responded, "Oh my god, we didn't think anyone was on the mountain. We shut down the mountain thirty minutes ago." That was reassuring...I simply asked where the bathroom was and went in to dethaw my waterbottles so I could make it back to Linville. I descended off Grandfather and into Linville where I should have stopped and picked up some calories at the gas station. Instead, I shedded some clothing figuring I could make the eight miles to Banner Elk before I needed to refuel. How wrong was I! The great part about running from Linville to Banner Elk is that it is on the side of a major highway 105 and slightly uphill. About four miles into the trek, the weather started to turn again on me with the wind picking up, making the temperature plummet. At this point the calorie deficit started to take its toll on me and my pace slowed to what could best be described as a death march. About two miles from Banner Elk I realized I was not going to be able to make the fifteen plus miles back home in this kind of weather. I made the call for help and collapsed into the gas station at Banner Elk where I set in on all the chicken broth I could purchase with the three dollars I had on me. As I was standing in line, I was getting really weird looks from a group of teenage kids. They were jeering at me and I was delirious so I turned to them and said, "Do you guys have a problem." My wind burnt face and skinny shivering body must have been extremely intimidating to them bc they all looked startled and apologized. My roommate came to pick me up thirty minutes later. Three hot cinnamon buns followed.

2008-11-15T15:27:00.000-08:00

And I thought that racing the World Championships was hard...

I feel like I need to document the last week since it has been completely epic! Following Clearwater 70.3, I embarked upon my week long sleep deperveration/studying ultra-marathon. the day after the race I drove fifteen straight hours from Florida to Boone, NC with a thirty minute lay over in Chattavegis to switch cars. I made sure to get some sleep Sunday bc I knew the next few days were going to be difficult but to be honest I had no idea how difficult.

Starting 5am on Monday till 1pm Thursday, here is how my days went.

From 5am to 9 or 10am (depending on the day's classes), I worked in the library. Then went to class till about 12am. From there I spent the rest of the day in lab until 9or10 o'clock at night when the janitor staff would kick me out. Then I would head to the library to continue working upon school work/research until 2am when the library would close whereby I would stumble over to Kristen's apartment and fall asleep for three hours on her couch. Then at 5or6am I would shower and return to the library till class started. This break pace continued through till Thursday when I got in the car and drove the six+ hour drive to Nashville.

Friday I had my MRI early in the morning and then went to the SERMACS conference to support some of my collegues who were presenting their research findings. Finally, this morning at 8:20 I gave my 21min lecture on the 'Validated Application of New RP-HPLC for Determination of Select Polyphenols ((+)-Catechin, Quercetin, and Trans-Resveratrol) in Blood Serum, Plasma and Urine,' got in the car and drove the six+ hour drive back to Boone.

Needless to say at this point I am so tired I cannot sleep. Tomorrow to top it all off I am running my first long run of this training cycle in preparation for my 100k ultra-marathon in December. The run will be between six and seven hours adn more than likely will be in the snow.

I hate being bored.

What I have learned this week:

1. Not training 25hrs+ a week allows me to get a lot done
2. Not sleeping 7-8hrs a night allows me to get a lot done
3. Drinking five cups of coffee a day helps me get a lot done
4. I do not like getting a lot done

Clearwater World Championships 70.3 - November 8th

2008-11-08T20:20:00.001-08:00

I figured I would write a race report since I cannot seem to get to sleep thanks in large part to some tired, crampy legs and my race car metabolism.

Where do I even start? I guess I should start at the beginning, back in March when I did my first race of the season. This truly has been a long and at times difficult season. I raced back in March my first triathlon of 2008 down at the very chilly Florida Great Escape and really have not stopped since.

I targeted this the World Championships back in March beginning with my preparation for Florida 70.3 I came down to Florida and trained the course, knowing that the course conditions and terrain would be very similar to what I would experience in November. I qualified at Florida, mind you not without a little bit of drama and a few hours in the medical tent. Throughout the rest of the season I have targeted races specifically in preparation for Clearwater. Minus the month and half hiccup I had with a stress fracture in my back, the rest of the season's training was spot on. I came into this race with excellent fitness and the confidence that I could race against the best in the world.

I left school on Monday following a terrible nine days of little sleep, lots of studying and six exams culminating in a six hour long attempt at my first MCAT (medical school entrance exam). Arriving in Chattanooga late Monday (ie my 21st birthday for those counting), I was able to get in a solid track workout and swim before embarking upon the nine and half hour drive the following day to Clearwater Beach, Florida. My dad and I arrived at Clearwater mid-day Wednesday, roughly three days before the race. After finding a local swim club and begging the coach to allow me to swim 1500m, we were able to get settled into our room (which was only a half a mile from the race start) and start the carbo load. The next few days were filled with athlete meetings, bike preparation, eating, sleeping, eating more, watching the bike geeks do wind sprints up and down the road out side our hotel in their aero helmets and compression socks, and eating again. Finally Saturday rolled around and the alarm finally went off at five in the morning. Since I was in the last wave to start (8am M18-29), Marc and I leisurely waltzed over to body marking at six in the morning. I did the normal bike evacuation readiness routine and my dad, mom, Marc and I walked down to a coffee shop about a quarter of a mile from the start.

At a quarter till eight, I was warmed up, coffeed/oatmealed up, and standing in the starting corral waiting on my age group to be called up. The gun went off and the Braveheart charge was on. For the first 750m, I think I spent more time under water than I did actually swimming. I was crawling over, under and around athletes. Whom ever slapped me across the head about 400m into the swim if you are reading this I want to say that was uncalled for and rude. Anyways, the lead pack as usual got away and I quickly found myself in a foreign situation. I was actually swimming quickly! Leading the light brigade around the first turn buoy, I recognized that I was in front of the chase pack. Realizing that I was probably not hte man for hte job, I slotted over to some feet to the left and hung on until we made the turn for home. It was at that moment, I realized that not only were my goggles filled with salt water, but the guy I was drafting off of had decided it would be better to swim into gulf of mexico instead towards the shore. I spotted a group off to the right and bridged over to them, leaving Christopher Columbus to find his own way. Onto the beach, I checked my watch, PR by a minute and a half. Stop, drop and roll: I ran up the 100m sand run, through the fresh water showers and rolled onto the ground for the volunteer wetsuit strippers to rip off my suit.

Out of transition, I hammered the first ten minutes then found my rhythm just in time to match up with a nice group of about five guys on the bike. Draft fest 08 but what are you going to do? On two separate occasions, I launched attacks to try and get away from the group I was riding with and both times I found myself in no-man's land, breaking the wind, dangling 45seconds off the front. Figuring my energy would be better spent on the run, I simply set right off the back of the group for the rest of the ride, ate and laughed at the crazy German (Vinner, the techno twin) cursing the dumbass American for repeatedly cutting him off.

Into T2 and onto the run. Marc was at the first mile to tell me as usual that I was running way to fast (~5:40). The rest of the run was a blurr. I remember it being hot and people taking the cold sponges at the aid stations before I could get them (Frenchies). All said I am very happy with the outcome of the race. I PRed by 18min, PRed for the swim, bike and run and still managed to pull a top ten in my age group, top 100 placing IN THE WORLD. Not too bad when you consider three years ago this time I was getting ready for my first brain surgery and had never even thought about competing in triathlons. There are still many things I can improve on and learn and I look forward the challenges that the future has in store. In the mean time I think I might take up ultra-marathoning through the winter. See you out in the snow.

Thanks to everyone who made this dream a reality. I would not be the athlete I am today with the support of my family, friends and coach. You guys inspire me.

First Snow! and Last 'Track' Workout

2008-10-28T10:41:00.000-07:00

Today marks the first snow of the season. Having watched the weather slowly deterate yesterday into ideal snow making conditions, I was pleseantly surprised to awake to a winter wonderland outside my window. I woke up at my normal six am and got dressed to brave the frosty conditions, however, once I opened the door and was almost thrown backwards by a windgust I started to have second thoughts about my early morning track workout. The winter wonderland that looked so peaceful from under the covers turned out to be a freezing rain/snow mix with about three inches already on the ground. To top it off, there were forty mph wind gusts! I stepped outside with a 'what the hell, its not like the weather is going to get any better today' attitude and almost slipped on a patch of black ice. That was that. Not willing to throw away an entire season of training with Clearwater so close, I turned around and went back to bed.

Fear not though, following Chemistry, I bundled up (insert picture of the kid in A Christmas Story), and went out for my 'track' workout. Once I got to the track, the frosty conditions had different plans. Seeing that the track was completely frozen over, I opted to head out to StateFarm to the grass track and clock my 1.5mi repeats there. As soon as I started the repeats however the headwind picked up and so did the snow! Before I knew it I was running in close to white out conditions. Freaking Lame!!! Doesn't anyone know that it is not even Halloween. Regardless, I still managed to split two sub-8min 1.5 repeats in my soggy trainers. So I believe this qualifies me to say HTFU : ) Clearwater here I come!

In other news, this week marks one of the biggest test weeks I have had to date. So far I am three for three on my tests. Having made my first 100 on a college exam ever, I crushed my Statistics Mid-Term and I promply followed that up with two solid performances on a Biochemistry Test and a Phyics Test. By the way both those tests were back to back with about five minutes between each. I think I am more proud of those repeats than my 1.5mi splits today. Med Schol here I come!

Goodlife Toronto Half-Marathon Race Report

2008-10-20T17:04:00.000-07:00

After school on Wednesday I logged out my normal 'long' ride of the week knowing there would be no biking for a few days in TO, packed my race gear and picked Kristen up from class. We then drove down to Charlotte and spent the night after watching a very invigorating final political debate (when will the pain stop?). The next morning we woke up, Kristen got her run in while I got my final bike ride in before hoping on the plane and flying the short 1.5hr flight to Toronto. For the next few days, I got the privilege of meeting every member of Kristen's extended family while logging numerous running miles around the CN Tower and Lake Ontario. I have to say I had an absolute blast walking around TO which blew me away by how modern and clean the entire city was!

Well, before I could say 'Eh' it was 5am Sunday morning and I was eating my normal pre-race oats and Tim Hortons (Canadian) coffee. Kristen, Kim (Mrs. Campbell) and I then walked the fifteen minute walk to hte Hilton to board the bus to take us the thirty minutes north to hte race start. After a short delay due a shooting (seriously), the bus arrived at the race start with about 45minutes to spare. By this time the air had warmed up to a balmy 3 degree C (~cold) and I was ready to warm up! I warmed up for about 25-30 minutes with some light drills and pickups to get my heart rate up, then took to the start line before hte rest of hte 5000 competitors that were runnign the half marathon arrived. There was a lot of jockeying around for position on the start line but I staked out my spot right smack dab in the middle on the front line! At three minutes past 8am, the gun went off and we embarked out into the frozen landscape. Instantly, a pack of five guys formed, containing the two Kenyan runners. I was sitting in fifth position through the first k point. I could feel that we were running slow (1k was only 3:43, when I wanted to be running ~3:30) so I went to the front and pushed the pace a little. The moment I went up to the lead, the pack surrounded around me almost daring me to go off the front. With TV cameras in my face, I decided I was out of my league and cowered back behind the front runners, letting them dictate the pace. Since the marathon was to start an hour after us and run the same course there were two sets of km markers out. I got confused as to which was ours and made the call to just run with the leaders. The course was supposed to be flat but leading into the 5k point we went down a short hill and then up a 600m hill. I missed the 5k marker and continued on in about 5th or 6th position. At this moment, I reconized that the two Kenyan runners were exchanging leads. Each time they exchanged leads, the pack would slightly accelerate. This was not clear to me at the time but we were steadly increasing our pace. By the time we hit the 8k point, we were flying along at sub 5:20mi pace! I PRed for the 8k, passing hte marker at ~27:13. Feeling good I went with it. We then seemingly picked up the pace and hit the 10k at ~33:52. I was still in about 6th position as we started up a slight hill and made a left hand turn before descending a long down hill. It was here that the two front runners simply lengthened their strides and gaped the field in about 5seconds putting about 50m on everyone. This splintered the pack up. I tried to make a move with another guy to bridge up to them but as I started to accelerate my quads and hamstrings tightened up. Recognizing that we had barely hit hte halfway point I slowed my pace and gathered myself, hoping to relax my legs. The remainder of the race I could not get my legs to settle adn simply ran at a steady ~5:40-50ish pace to the finish line. I finished 13th overall out of almost 5000 competitors with over 43 countries represented after cramping down severely at 14k point. I had an overall time of 1:16:03 and was either the top or second place American finisher. Not too shabby considering my heart rate never spiked into z4 during the second portion of the race (of course my legs felt like they were barely moving).

In better news, Kristen had an eight minute PR finishing in the top 250 overall with a time 1:37 and change! Awesome!

Lessons learned:

1. Do not piss Kenyans by running off the front
2. Electrolytes are a bitch
3. Screw running down hill
4. Run your own race! Dictate your own pace and do not back down (I know this goes against my 1st point, so I will rephrase: dictate your pace unless you are running against Kenyans and then simply let them run ahead of you then run your own race)
5. Wear socks (maybe two or three pairs) when it is 3 degree C outside!
6. Do not drink too much straight water the day before the race

Fall Break, Leaves and Toronto

2008-10-15T14:11:00.000-07:00

Its finally here, Fall Break! After weeks and weeks of busting my butt to get to class, get to workouts, get to lab, and get to bed I finally have a few days off. With the leaves changing and the pool closing, Kristen and her family are kindly putting up with me for the elongated weekend and flying me up to Toronto to run the Toronto Half Marathon. So its off to 'Oh Canada' to see exactly were my running legs stand before Clearwater. With a flat and moderately downhill course, I am hoping to improve on my time from March and potentially run under 1:14 but who knows what the day will bring. All said I am stoked to get out of Boone Town and away from the Freak Show of old people and craft fairs that has now infested all of my cycling routes. Only a few more weeks till the show and I am looking forward to toeing the line. It has been a long hard season full of its ups and downs but I can emphatically say I am fit, lean and ready to rumble against some of the worlds best come Nov. 8th.

Ironman Hawaii

2008-10-06T06:14:00.000-07:00

In honor of the upcoming Ironman World Championships and my procrastination for studying biochemistry, I will post some of my favorite ST musings about Ironman's Greatest Champion, Dave Scott.

1. Dave Scott doesn't swim the first 2.4 mile leg of the race....He runs on the ocean floor.

2. Dave Scott doesn't inflate his tires.

3. Dave Scott's resting heart rate is 1.

4. After he races, Dave Scott swims home...to Colorado.

5. Dave Scott once ran a 4 minute mile... in 3 minutes.

6. If Dave Scott played golf he'd carry a one iron.

7. Dave Scott shaves his legs......with a chainsaw.

That being said this years podium for Hawaii will be...drum roll...

Men's Podium
1. Craig Alexander
2. Macca
3. Norman Stadler

and Chrisse Wellington will win the overall...

Enough Said...

2008-09-29T12:18:00.001-07:00

Research is what I'm doing when I don't know what I'm doing. ~Wernher Von Braun

Three Years and Counting

2008-09-27T19:53:00.000-07:00

Sept. 28, 2008 marks my three year anniversary of my brain cancer diagnosis. Three years and still in remission. Wow, sometimes it all seems so surreal. How my life has changed over those three years. I am now looking hard into pursuing a biomedical research career. Three years have passed and I now have a strong chance of placing at the World Championships in Triathlon. None of this would ever have been possible without the love and support of my friends and family. So here is to another three years and counting! Sometimes words are not enough...

Shadow Ninja Warrior

2008-09-19T12:06:00.001-07:00

I will go on ahead and apologize for the title but it pretty much sums up my training last night. Normally, I do not blog about my the specifics of my training but last night's run was too weird not too.

Coming out of Duke, I felt completely recovered from my race the following day/afternoon and fully ready to resume the normal workload. However, Marc calmed me down and we took two days of moderate volume to get me back to where I could tear the roof of it again.

Yesterday was a normal volume of training with a two and half - three hour ride in the middle of the day with long, hard intervals. The legs were not 100% right off the bat but once I had climbed over Grandfather Mtn. they started to loosen and I ended up destroying the final long interval sets. Good stuff! Note: the weather is starting to get cooler and the leaves are starting to turn! Freaking rocks training up here right now (not looking forward to Feb though)

I decided after the ride to try and give my body a fighting chance at recovery and took the afternoon off, planning to run after my Health Professionals meeting (I know, just the way I want to spend my TR night). I ended up getting home late (~8:20pm) and throwing on my running gear for 'quick' 8miler. I turned on my headlamp, threw on my arm warmers and stepped out into the darkness.

After a quick 2mi warm up I was stopped at the covered bridge by two hoodlums asking directions to the 'nearest trailer park.' I swear, I could not make this stuff up. Obviously not knowing where the nearest trailer park was I told them that needed to get back to running and that they were simply out of luck. This answer seemed to not sit well with them as they turned their bikes around and attempted, attempted to follow me. I had three miles of tempo and I felt good, dropping low 5:20/mi pace in the pitch black with Leroy and Dicky peddling close behind. So it went on like this for three miles! They followed me all the way through State Farm and then out the other side and onto the flats. WTF! At the end of three miles I turned around and politely asked if I could assist them further to which they replied 'Hot damn man, you are flyin' Got to love Appalachian!

About this time I started to feel the downward push and knew I needed to find a bathroom asap. In the distance like a bright glowing mirage stood a Citco. I managed to get to the bathroom alright and just the brown trouts were about to spawn I hear someone else walk in through the door. This man walked around in the bathroom for about five minutes before finally settling on a urinal. Then there was a long moment of quiet (to which I thought the guy might have left or passed out or a combination of the both) followed by the loudest fart I have ever heard. I swear it nearly shook the building! The man replied, 'Oh my!' Taking this as my cue to leave, this shadowing ninja warrior quietly excused himself from the bathroom and slipped back out into the night. The final four/five miles were thankfully uneventful!

Duke Half Race Report

2008-09-14T16:20:00.000-07:00

Duke Liver Half-Ironman Race Report

Heading onto the second lap of the run. Feeling great!

Heading into Duke I knew that I had some good form. My workouts had been going really well since coming back from my back injury at the end of July/start of August. I spent ten days in Chattanooga in the middle of August, before heading back for the start of fall term, training hard. The base I built in Chattanooga carried over into a few more weeks of consistent mileage/volume. Marc had been very accommodating since my school/work/social life schedule has been needless to say kind of out of control. After a few weeks of ninja training (ie. training at ungodly early hours or late at night in the shadows with throwing stars) and training in the cold and rain, I had unfortunately come down with a very severe head cold that sidelined me last weekend. After a large dose of extra sleep and cold medicine, I was close to being back to 100% by Saturday. I still have a light cough but it is nothing to write home to mom about.
So on to what everyone wants to hear about, The Race! Marc and I felt that this race would be a good ‘dress rehearsal’ for Clearwater and devised a plan to test out a few new racing tactics that could be beneficial in November.

Well, Kristen and I left on Saturday for Cary, NC at eight in the morning expecting to arrive around 11:30am with plenty of time to check out the course and get some light workouts in. As we started getting close to Cary, I saw a sign on the side of the interstate that read, “Jordan Lake.” I thought shoot that is where we are going, let’s just get off here and drive over to lake, it could save us some time. After two and half hours of driving around in giant circles and being completely pissed off at each other, Kristen and I finally arrived at the race sight, New Hope Boat Dock only to find the transition area not set up. After driving for almost five hours (it was supposed to be a three hour drive max), I had to get out for some air so I threw on my bike clothes, Kristen went for a walk and we met back at the car shortly thereafter feeling a hundred percent better. Since there was no swimming at the boat dock, we had to drive to what I deemed Redneck Ravine, a beach area five miles away. I was only allowed to swim within the restricted area but did get in a good ten minute swim before I sensed it was time to get Kristen and myself fed. Back in the car and thirty minutes later (for those counting we are now up to almost six hours in the car), Kristen and I arrived at InsideOut Sports for packet pickup but more importantly we arrived at Panera for lunch. After inhaling two sandwiches and on better terms we were ready to grab my packet and head over to the hotel. Night before a race, Josh’s OCD takes over and I packed and repacked the car for the following day, ate dinner and got to bed all before 9:30 but not before pouring over some Biochemistry notes (I know, Saturday night, I am a nerd).

4:20am came quickly. Out of bed and straight to the coffee cart in the lobby (thanks again Zach). After not consuming coffee for ten days leading up to the race, the coffee hit me like a brick (thanks again Zach) and I spent the remainder of the morning between setting up my transition area, running/swimming warm up and racing to the port-o-let. The day before the water temperature had been measured at 77 degrees (which I found shocking having swam in the ‘bath water’ a few hours before). However, when we arrived at transition, we were informed that in fact the water temperature had warmed up overnight and was now a balmy 79.1 degrees. Therefore, no wetsuit and on top of that with my speed suit having been stolen at Florida 70.3, I figured that I was going to find out exactly how fit I was in the water since I had no apparent swimming advantages at my disposal. I had a great swim warm up of about 20 to 25 minutes. At 7:05am, the elite wave was corralled to the swim start. Knowing that Alex McDonald was the defending champion, I decided my best chance for a clean swim start was to line up next to him and draft off his feet for as long as possible. Unfortunately, this seemed to be everyone else’s plan too and as all the elites lined up behind Alex, the gun went off and we were swimming. Quickly, a swim pack formed and stretched out. I found myself in about sixth position holding tight through the first turn buoy (~800m). However, as we rounded the first buoy, the pack accelerated and I found myself about 5 to 10m off the back, leading the second pack. So for the remainder 1200m I put my head down and swam (in a straight line I will have you know!) trying to stay in reasonable contact with the lead group of swimmers, while leading the rest of the elites. I knew if I could simply come ashore 1min to 2min back I could make up some time in transition and bridge to the group in the opening miles of the bike. With about 150m left in the swim, I saw an age-grouper coming up strong on my right. I thought this was strange since they started about four minutes behind us and I was still swimming strong but I have come to not question anything while swimming. Since the guy seemed to be rolling mad thunder, I decided to jump on his feet and stroke out the final 100m. As we came to shore, I quickly found out why the guy was swimming quickly as he bent over and started to chunk. Assuming he cut the course short, I slipped coming out of the water trying to avoid the projectile throw up. Overall I ended up swimming 30min and change, which is about a five minute PR. Not too shabby.

I clocked a sub-1 minute T1 and was onto the bike. For those that have never been to Cary, NC or the surrounding regions, let me fill you in on a little secret, There is NO flat ground to be found anywhere. Well, onto the bike ride. I knew that I was close to the lead group since I saw them exit the water, so I put my head down and rode the first 15miles like I was racing an Olympic distance triathlon. At the nuclear power plant (yes, we rode around a nuclear power plant), I had closed the gap to the leaders but could not bridge up to the third, fourth and fifth man (I was in sixth) since they seemed to be sharing some of the workload. The bike all in all was pretty uneventful expect losing all my nutrition and almost crashing out of the race at a railroad stop around mile 28 of the bike. Humming down the road at 28mph, I saw a little too late that I was getting ready to make a right hand turn and then cross a railroad track. I am still unsure of how I did not go down but I lost both my Gu2O water bottles. So, no excuses, I put my head down and drove on without nutrition to the aid station at mile 36. I had only water the rest of the bike but that’s ok, Phelps swam the 200m final with his goggles filled with water. I more than likely could have biked a PR but ended up 2:27 and change.

Coming into the T2, I knew I need to pump electrolytes as soon as possible, since I had none during the bike ride aside from GU. After another sub-1 minute transition, I headed out to tackle what would quickly become the most challenging run course I have ever been on. Within the first mile and half we had trekked up a mile long hill that pitched in sections at 8%. Whatever sick bastard designed this race course obviously has not raced it. At each of the aid stations I took water and filled my jersey with ice to ward off the 93 degree heat. The course was all on gravel/high grass trails. I ended up feeling very solid throughout the run although I have not logged much running mileage since my injury. I negative splitted the run, which was a Marc’s challenge of the day. Total run time was around 1:30.

I crossed the line in fifth with a total time of 4:32 and change. Not bad after fighting off illnesses and losing my nutrition on the bike. Most importantly, aside from Kristen being at the finish line to congratulate me, was that I did not end up in the medical tent! First half-ironman I have not won a free trip to the tent! Good things.

Mile 1.5 and 7.5 hill/aid station.

I want to thank Alex for pushing the pace and making the run look easy. It is easy to see why he won the amateur world title at Kona last year. Also, thanks to my cousin Aaron and his beautiful wife for coming out and supporting me this weekend as well as Stephanie’s sister’s family! It was great to see you guys and I thanks for all the words of encouragement.

Wow, that’s a lot of writing! I am hungry so until next time…

I will close with some swimming observations:

It turns out for those that were wondering swimming fast comes down to being about 90% between your ears. I only needed to believe in myself that I could swim quicker. Thanks Marc for kicking my ass the last month in the pool.

300m repeats or 25x50m ties for the two worst swim workouts ever.

My next big event will be the Toronto Half-Marathon in October. Look out Kenyans, I am starting run training this week!

Duke Half-Ironman

2008-09-10T18:38:00.000-07:00

"He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them-a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have last-minute stamina, they have to be a little faster, they have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill." —Mohammed Ali

Rolling Thunder

2008-09-03T12:28:00.000-07:00

The first week of school is always insane! But to add to my normal insanity I was chosen to help coordinate and lead to the Qcomm blood draws. For all those that are left scratching your heads at my last statement allow me to explain further. Everyone morning, starting on Tuesday ie first day of classes and running through Saturday (yes, Saturday), I awoke between 4:00 and 4:30am, grabbed a quick bowl of oatmeal and rode my squeaky mountain bike to lab, Where for the next five+ hours over 2500 blood samples were taken! Lovely! Before the start of each Qcomm blood draw, I got the privilege, neigh, the honor to work alongside Dr. Quindry and observe his surgical techniques on his exercised lab rats. Very cool. Then from roughly 6:30am till class time (~10:00-10:30) I would experience a blur of coordinating running centrifuges at various temperatures, speeds and times; aliquoting blood samples into separate vials, digging around in liquid N2, organizing snap frozen samples and making sure everything/everyone was running smoothly! Wonderful. Then off to class for two hours followed by four-ish hours of training. Typically, I would be lucky if I hit the pillow by 11:30pm.
With that said I am happy to report that the blood draws are over until next month and I have safely returned to my niche on the 4th floor of the CAP building. Overall, training is going extremely well and I am iching to toe the line at the Duke Half-Ironman next weekend. If I can carry that numbers and efforts I have been doing in training, I have a really good feeling about what might happen.
Finally, (I have three minutes before my samples are done spinning) a rant! Last week, Wednesday or TR, not sure since all my days are running together I had my car booted! I have parked for over a year and all through the summer at Kristen's apartment due to its close proximity to campus. The individual (who will remain nameless simply because I do not know his name) called the tow truck company on me after yelling at my girlfriend about my car being parked in the parking lot. I would have moved the car if I had known it was upsetting this resident but since I was unaware and had been at work since 4:30am I did not know until Kristen called me after class that my car was getting ready to get towed. Needless to say, I had a great training day afterwards. Very upsetting that this 50year old man who lives in a college apartment could not confront a 20year old student but rather had to call the police first, the tow company and then yell at my girlfriend. Grow some balls old man!

I will close with some swimming observations:

300yds or 300m is the worse distance to swim intervals!

The snorkel still makes feel as if I am drowning a slow painful death.

Practicing kicking, although tedious, is very in swimming faster.

Nose to the grind

2008-08-24T14:02:00.000-07:00

Wow, so much to report!

Let's see, I finished the summer school with a total of ten hours completed and an outstanding 4.0 GPA. I also completed two independent study hours which has allowed me to continue my research into the fall semester. I am looking forward to this upcoming school semester as the stars are finally starting to aline for me. I will be taking on a leadership role in the lab with the Qcomm bld draws and I will be continuing my research into the seemingly endless benefits of anti-oxidants. Most recently I have been accepted into an undergraduate research program here at App State which is funding my research and paying for travel expenses to conferences. I will be traveling to Nashville the week after Clearwater to make my first presentation of my research which is extremely exciting. Following presenting I will driving to Chatty to run a 50k the following day in order to start my training regiment for the 100k I will be competing in in December. All really good things!

I am back to hitting it hard again. I had two weeks off from lab following second summer session. So as usual I choose to spend my vocation time at home training my skinny butt off. After two weeks of hitting close to 70hrs total of training I can say that there will be some results talking for themselves come mid-September at the Duke Liver Half-Ironman. This race is something I am really looking forward to since I have not raced a half since Florida 70.3 back in May. I am using it as a tune up for Clearwater.

I close with a few swimming observations:

1. Who is Michael Phelps?
2. A snorkel made for swimming freestyle only worsens one's technique while providing the individual with lung fulls of chlorinated water
3. What is the deal with the IM? What a sickening event if one swim stroke wasn't enough let's make you swim four different ones as fast as you. Swimmers are mastitis!
4. 50m is a terribly long way in a dimly lit pool at 6am in the morning
5. My hair will turn blond with enough sunlight and chlorine. I have not highlighted my hair for all those that are wondering!

Sport's Barn Sprint Race Report

2008-08-10T15:09:00.001-07:00

First race since May! I can't believe it has been that long but that's the beauty of set back. Coming into this race, I knew it was going to be a savage all out effort of forty minutes. Oh how wonderful are sprint races.

Having started training about ten days ago the forth and fifth and even sixth gear needed to excell at such a distance was probably not going to be there. After a long week of great bike training along with two days of 'light' training, 4am came rather quickly.

After a wonderfully delightful breakfast of oatmeal with peanut butter and honey it was time to stash my running gear at T2 and head out to the lake. Warm up went smoothly in the dark. Just as the sun was starting to rise of the Chickamauga Lake, the buzzer sounded announcing that it was time to start the suffer fest.

The first 200m of the swim flew by and for the first time in my short triathlon career I found myself in about forth position in the water. We cornered the turn buoy and headed for home. I was passed by one swimmer and decided that I was in good enough position to attempt to draft. I sprinted out the final 50m to come ashore in fifth or sixth place. With a speedy transition, I was in second place heading out onto the bike. 600m up the road was the leader. Son of a bitch that guy must have been crushing the bike because by the seven mile marker he still remained about a minute up on me. I came off the bike leading the light brigade and exited transition still in second place but only with about fifteen seconds to spare on a group of three or four runners. Onto the run and out into the unknown foggy fitness area. Having only logged about thirty miles at most in one week of training, my running legs were far from fine toned. Unlike last year, the volunteers pointed the chase group down the wrong road and as usual being in the lead I was the one that suffered the time deficit. Could have should have would have but I came to a four way intersection with not a single clue on which way was the right way to turn. The people behind me only had to trustingly follow my ignorant lead. Luckily, my internal compass was operating and I embarked out on the right pathway. However, I saw the leader (who debatablely went the right way gaining a few seconds) and realized that the gap to him was not coming down. On the way back we were pointed onto the right bridge. I checked my six heading into the final 800m and saw that the guy behind me was up on his toes and looking like he was going to swallow me whole. I realized that I had no top end speed and needed to attack on the final bend if I had a shot at the podium. Rounding the last bend and into the last 600m I surged hard. The chaser countered hard and I moved into his draft but could not out kick him in the final sprint.

Overall, I am really happy with how the race went. Far from my ideal distance, I finished fourth overall with run course that left much to doubt. I had one of the fastest swim splits and backed it up with an equally strong bike and sub-11min 2mile run. I am heading into a couple weeks of building myself back into some decent fitness. Most importantly, I was over two minutes quicker than last year's time.

In other great news, I finished the school year strongly with an A in Philosophy and an A in bioanalytical chemistry. I am proud to announce that I am on my third summer break before the 'real' school year starts back in earnest August 26th.

Good luck to Zacca who will be taking the fight to the yankees at this year's Timberman 70.3 Look forward to toeing the line with ya in November at Clearwater!

It is coming! To a race course this August

2008-07-21T12:56:00.001-07:00

Josh's radical new bike position...and beefy new swimming muscles

On the road again!

2008-07-20T16:13:00.000-07:00

I want to start off an apologize for my last rant about dopers. Alright with that said, Vive Le Tour!

As the title implies, I am back training part time on the road.I am coming back stronger on the bike and stronger in the water as well as stronger mentally. I will still be cautious over the next few weeks but fear not all training loss due to not training on the road will be made up with water running and cycling on the trainer.

In other news: Got a new job in the fall analyzing athletic performance-based hormones and hemocrit levels. Should be an amazing experience monitoring and learning about how different types of training affect different hormone production. Yippe!

I will close with another swimming observation: Monofin = the devil

SCREW THE DOPERS

2008-07-17T04:58:00.000-07:00

After Solar left the tour due to a broken wrist, Ricardo Ricco quickly became my choice for the overall KOM winner. Having already won two stages in the tour and numerous big mountain climbs, Ricco was thrown out the tour today after being caught with a new strain of EPO.

Being in the sport/medicine, I am constantly bombarded by people asking about my options about drugs in sport and the controlled measures/enforcement measures taken to punish these cheaters. Here we go again:

First of all, doping is not exclusive to just cycling or track/field. Doping is a horrible travesty that is inflicting all sports. It seems more prominent in these endurance sports because these are the sports that are taking the necessary measures to find and punish the cheaters. I can somewhat sympathize to the riders. Imagine running a ultra-marathon all out for 24straight days regardless of how you feel or what the weather or terrain might contain. On top of that imagine that this is your job and if you do not perform you loose your livelihood. Now imagine that there is a way to easy the pain during the marathon or a way to make you feel better at the start line the next day. Or imagine that you are constantly getting beaten by the same guy each day by a measly 5seconds. Because of that 5seconds that guy makes 30grand more a year than you do. Would you not look for anyway to improve? People have to realize that these people are more competitive that most people can believe. They will do anything to find that five seconds or recover quicker or make the constant wear and tear of training 35+ hrs/week. I am not supporting the dopers or making claims that what they are doing is right but to some degree I can see the rational behind their doping measures.

The real victims here are the people that do not dope. The clean racers that are suffering day in day out to compete at the same level as the dopers. I feel for the organizers of the tour de france having taken extreme measures to ensure a clean race. It must by tremendously embarrassing for them now that they are having to excuse entire teams of cheaters.

So here it is, screw the dopers, the cheaters and those that pretend to race clean. There is no honor in what you do. You are a cheater. You have no soul. You are a pretender. You race against everything that racing stands for. How can you claim to be a professional? As someone that is attempting to race/train cleanly it must be embarrassing to you that we can still compete at the same level as you. There is no place for you in our sport. Get out and stay out! You a disgrace and discredit the sports which we love!

Screw you Ricco and your cleavly disigned, new strain of EPO+!

'Next time you are in your car, strip down to your underwear and jump out of your car. That is what it is like to crash in a professional bike race'

2008-07-14T17:11:00.000-07:00

Always being one to frown on watching too much TV, I have as of late found myself nightly glued to the tube. Between the Olympic Trials, Tour De France and then followed up by the Olympics this is prime time TV viewing time for Josh as of which has not been seen in four years.

Tour De France

I follow pro cycling like most people follow normal sports (ie. football, baseball) I have been preaching these as the overall podium finishers in Paris.

Winner: Cadel Evans
Second Place: Alejandro Valverde
Third Place: Frank Schleck

At this moment my picks are holding strong. Valverde is starting to suck. I knew Valverde would be a threat in the Tour but I thought that he would have a hard time finishing atop the podium. He just won the Daulphine! You cannot carry that level of fitness for an entire month. Cadel although in yellow is still afaird to ride aggressively. This is Cadel's year though. He has focused this year on this race and come in smartly strong enough to progress his fitness in order to peak on the right days. Lotto has built a strong team around him plus they have Robbie Mcewen! I like the Schleck brothers but Frank is the obvious choice for the overall GC. Frank had a solid Tour de Swiss but is only now coming into strong fitness.

Last thing I am going to say...well...quote, "Screw the dopers, they ripped the soul out of the race." Kick ass Cadel! You're my dawg now that Levi isn't riding.

In other news:

I do not want to speak too soon but I have started my build back towards badass fitness. Swimming is progressing faster than I could have imagined. Very very excited with how it is going. Riding stronger than I was before I got hurt eventhough I am still confined to the trainer. Solid water running sessions are keeping my overall run muscle memory intact. I have a few more weeks of school left then a summer break part three. I more than likely will take those two weeks to build back a solid level of fitness along side a few local races! Thanks to everyone for their patience. I am more focused and determined than I have been all season and ready now to start the second portion of my season with a fully recharged battery!

In other other news:

School and work are going well. We have almost finished running all the F2 Iso's and then I get to start in on my own research. At this point I am I working hard alongside a few other highly motivated scientists to develop a Multiple Polyphenol Assay. I know what you are thinking. There is already a multi polyphenol assay. I know but mine is special in the sense that once perfected it will allow us to examine numerous samples at one time as opposed to ony running one sample at a time. With the data, work can be done towards differnet scientific avenues including oxidative stress, cancer research and obesity studies. Good stuff!

I am currently taking an Intro to Philosophy with Dr. Bartel. We are studing Plato's Republic. Well, Josh what have you learned from taking this class. Thanks for asking. I have learned nothing aside from the fact that I hate Plato and his closed minded bull shit! Aside from that I am really enjoying the class since it is utilizing a different part of my brain that I am not used to taping into. If anything I will be getting another humanities credit out the way.

I will close with an observation.

Short Course Meters = the Devil!

Firecrackers and 5ks

2008-07-04T12:42:00.000-07:00

Today as you probably know is the fourth of July. Go America. That being said and now that I have gotten my patriotism out of the way I figured what better way to spend a fourth of July (besides the obvious, fighting off aliens alongside Will Smith) than compete in a 5k.

With my back out of commission I have been reduced to becoming an amphibian; part man, part scientist, all sea otter (Kind of like a mini Jabber Jaw_). Yes, to many people's surprise, I have been taking the necessary time to heal and mend my broken back and have shied away from thrashing my body with my normal training volume. Soon though I vow to be back training full time and when that magical day comes I will be a force to be reckoned with at Clearwater.

So back to my 5k which I am sure everyone is wondering, WTF you ran a 5k? No, I did not run I swam a 5k. 1.whatever down river and 1.whatever back up stream in roughly an hour. Looks like my swimming is coming along even with taking a full week off from doing anything.

I returned to ChattyVegas on Wednesday after working a miserable, blitzkrieg of 50hrs in four days in the biochemistry lab. I was running on average 25-30 samples a day! Tough stuff. Nothing like a mental exercise when your body is crapping out on you. Yesterday was spent with my mother who I have not seen in weeks since she has been doing mission work in the third world country of Equador. Hearing about her trip only reinforced my excitement about Kristen and my trip to Africa next summer.

temp. I hate not racing Chattanooga Waterfront but I do not envy those that will be swimming in that water. We set out in the dark spotting off the far bank as our course wrapped around the bank and dropped us into a cove. Since it was the fourth people thankfully were getting a late start on the lake to This morning in typical Josh Wheeler fashion, I awoke at my normal 4:45am to get the swim race on time. I recently got a one cup French Press Coffee Maker which has been saving my life in these wee hour mornings. I jumped in my car flew down the mountain (ib flew not the right word since I just got a speeding ticket as I was attempting to hone in my nascar skills driving through Johnson City, 'If you're not first, you're last'). I got the swim start with about thirty minutes to spare and promptly was the first to jump in the water which was around bathtub and we seemingly had the lake to ourselves at 7am. I was mindful not to take it out too hard since I have not swam since Sunday. However, I couldn't control myself and dropped the hammer early hoping to get onto the flipper guys feet. That worked for about the first 1000m then I got dropped and put in my place with the normal swimmers. Still not a bad position to be in. I did realize that when I swim openwater I have trouble holding a steady pace. Unlike cycling or running I cannot judge my speed so I am constantly accelerating and decelerating. I was trying to learn how to more effectively draft in the water since I suck at this skill and typically spend most of every triathlon swimming alone by myself in zig zags from buoy buoy. I learned as usual that I need to draft off the hip but I felt bad doing so because I kept runnign into the swimmer in front of me. Finally we reached the turnout point, a piece of shit rotten dock with two bass fishing boats tied up to it. Get R Done. The fishermen (I think I am giving them too much credit calling them fishermen, when in reality they were just bubbas out getting their fishing done before what they called the 'parade, sturred up all the trouts') Always fun to mix with the locals. The way back I was finally coming around on my stroke and settled down a little. I finished probably fourth or fifth person back in a little over an hour and five minutes. Not to shabby I guess when you consider that was a faster average than I did for the Fl 70.3 swim and I was swimming up river.

The remainder of the day was spent breaking into our neighbor's pool since they are out of town (hey I am from TN, I do have do partake in something redneck, white trash on the 4th) and finishing my newest book No Shortcuts to the Top by Ed Viesturs, one the greatest high mountain climbers in the world, and reading my MCAT book. Ahh, I love my off days.

Headed back to Boone Town on Sunday with school starting up on Tuesday. Wonderful, right back to work. Should be back up to training alittle next week and surely back to full steam the following week. Watch out, I am focused, healed and ready to rip the aero bars off with my teeth...right...

Dr (?). Joshua Riley Wheeler (MD-Ph.D ??)

2008-06-23T18:22:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Kristen and I traveled far and wide visiting graduate schools. Yes, I know we are nerdy for visiting graduate schools in the middle of the summer, on a Friday and during our Sophomore year but you know what I am glad we did!

First stop, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

This is it. As soon as we started to walk around on campus I felt the same feeling that I had felt oh those many years ago when I first walked onto App's campus. As of late, I have decided to peruse a MD-Ph.D and Chapel Hill offers one of the premiere programs in country. Kristen and I walked around the campus for about three hours because we didn't want to do one of those stupid tours with all the high schoolers who's moms made them dress up in the middle of the summer and march around in the heat and pretend to care when really they just want to not be seen in public with their mother. That being said we got severely lost on campus but got to see parts of the campus not shown on most tours, namely the back woods behind the medical building. It was quite a sight to behold. The upside to our special tour was that we got to tour around the creepy library that we immediately dubbed as a scene out of Scooby Doo and we got to get locked out the biomedical lab building. I was able to talk to a number of students and administration that are heading up or participating in the MD-Ph.D program. I have sense revisited my undergraduate goals... Basically I have to retake a few classes, bump up my GPA by a little and score a next to impossible score of 38 on the MCAT. Fear not, I got my Princeton Review MCAT book and have started the preparation. Chapel Hill 2010...errr..2011..2011.5? here I come!

Chip off the ol' Block

2008-06-23T18:02:00.000-07:00

False start! I am back to limping around like a 90 year old man. After one day of kickass training, I woke up the next morning with a brick workout planned only to find myself three miles into a 'run' paralyzed from pain on the side of the road.... Alas, back to PT for me.

On Sunday night I drove down to Chattanooga to visit with Dr. Tommy Brown the following morning. After getting up at 4:30am to make a master's swim workout, I was very thankful for coffee (thanks to Zach for making a coffee addict). I know what you are thinking. Why are you swimming if you can't walk? Well, I can swim without pain which is alot more than I can say for most other daily activities. Therefore, I swim. On a positive note, I am impressed with how my swimming is progressing. Not being able to run or bike maybe a blessing in disguise as I am now able to focus interaly on my weakest discipline while I recuperate.

After my X-Ray photo shoot, Dr. Brown and I sat down to examine the pictures. As soon as we turned on the light, it was obvious what the problem was. There on my L4 transverse process (the little boney pointy thingy on your the edge of your vertebra for those none science types) was a clear fracture. From the looks of it, it appears that I fractured the vertebra a few months ago (probably from running 100-120miles for 8wks back in Nov./Dec) and due to the high level of stress that the Fl 70.3 provided on my body it seems the bone fragment finally chipped off the process completely.

So what does this mean? It means that I do not have a pulled muscle, separated muscle, pitched nerve, bulging disc, hunerated disc, or herpes. Which is all good news! I will not be able to race or run for a little while due to the compression and stress that running puts on my vertebra. The good news is like I eluded to earlier, I will be able to swim...A LOT! I'm going to be a merman! Watch out Michael Phelps...

I AM BACK, BITCHES!

2008-06-19T06:51:00.000-07:00

Recovering from injury is the worst experience for any athlete. Not only do you know that you are missing out on fitness but in the back of your mind you know that your competition is out there training while you are sitting back massaging your butt.

But to that end, I am proud to announce that I am back to training and will soon be back to kicking some butt. With a newly formed PT and recovery process, I will be back to full strength within the week.

Watch out all those racing Chatty bc I am headed your way with a renewed vengeance!

2008-06-18T16:34:00.001-07:00

The adventures of the yellowdart have been put on hold the last week due to an unusual pain in my lower back that has reduced me to walking around like a 90 year old man. After a steller block of training following Florida 70.3, I was looking forward to toeing the line again. However, following a light 10mi run on Wednesday of last week, I felt a light twing in my back which I immediantly iced and went onto bed. I woke up the next morning, hammered out a tempo run and couldn't walk to class. I made the call to take it easy until the race that weekend but after not seeing any improvements I canned the race and got the opportunity to travel to Charlotte and chear on Kristen during her race. As hard as it was, I have to say that it was one of the better experiences I have had this year at a race. It reminded me that in triathlon we all have a first race and regardless whether we are embarking out on our 15mi cooldown tempo run or can't move for a week following that race we are all people before we are triathletes. I have continued to take the rest of the week off and feel that I am finally up to strength to start back training full time. Look out Chattanooga, here I come!

In better news: This weekend Kristen and I will be heading out to checkout the Chapel Hill and USC med programs. Sounds awesome!

In even better news: This weekend is the Olympic Trials! Sadly, Alan Culpepper is not going to be competing.

In even even better news: In Japan It's A National Law For Companies To Measure People's Waistlines - Men over 33.5" and Women over 35.4" are in trouble. If 10% of them don't lose weight by 2012, their companies might be fined up to $19 million.

Tri-Nerd finds a summer job

2008-06-10T19:41:00.001-07:00

Here's my job! Takes about seven and half hours straight to do one of these puppies...Ouch

F2 – Isoprostane Assay

THAW, CENTRIFUGE PLASMA SAMPLES BEFORE STARTING

Label plasma tubes with initial, plasma number
2ml Di H20
20 ml internal std. (d4 8-iso PGF2a, found in freezer) with Hamilton syringe; clean with ethanol following use, touch syringe to side of tube

Add sample to tubes
RECORD VOLUME USED!
Plasma: pipette as much as possible from thawed tubes and record volume
Urine: 200 ml
Vortex

Adjust sample pH to 3 using 1N HCL
Using a pipette top touch small amount of sample to pH paper
Vortex

Put C18 Sep-Pak into place
Syringes, label with sample number and initial
KEEP AND LABEL SYRINGE STOPPERS
Waste tubes, label with sample number and initial then put into corresponding place with C18 Sep-Pak
Precondition with 5ml methanol, then 7ml pH3 H20

Decant waste into waste beaker
Vortex samples before adding
Add samples, do not push through too rapidly
Label new, clean tubes with sample number and initial

Wash samples
10ml pH3 H20
10ml heptane

Add new, clean labeled tubes
Decant waste into waste beaker
Elute sample into new tubes with 10ml 1:1 ethyl acetate:heptane
Remove tubes, replace with waste tubes

Remove C18 Sep-Pak and replace with silica Sep-Pak (black tops)
Pre-rinse with 5ml ethyl acetate

9/10. Add small scoop of sodium sulfate and vortex lightly
Pour into silica Sep-Pak, *Do not to pour in sodium sulfate*
Push through slowly
Wash samples
5ml ethyl acetate
Label small tubes and tops with sample number and initial

Add new small tubes and pour off waste into waste beaker
Elute sample into small tubes with 5 ml 1:1 ethyl acetate:methanol

Dry samples under N2 bath at 37 degrees for *25min* or until evaporated

Esterify samples
40 ml PFBB
20 ml DIPE
Vortex
Place at 37 degree (wet incubator) for *20min*

Dry samples under N2 bath (approx 5min)

Reconstitute sample
50ml 3:2 methanol:chloroform
Make new reconstitution of 3:2 methanol:chloroform each time

TLC Purification
Make sure that the TLC plates have been prepared fresh daily
Draw line across TLC plate 13cm from origin
Spot 5ml TLC std. (PGF2a TLC std) to separate TLC plate
Spot samples - 50ml sample
Dry samples and place samples in TLC tank, allowing solvent to move to the 13cm mark before removing from tank, dry plates
Mark centrifuge tubes with sample number and initial
Spray std. with phosphomolybdic acid, place std. on hot plate until dark band appears (1-2min) then mark 1cm above and 1cm below mark
Pair samples with mark from std. plate, scrape samples onto filter plate and pour into marked centrifuge tubes
Add 1.25ml ethyl acetate,
Vortex

Centrifuge at max rpm for *2min*
Label new centrifuge tubes with sample number and initial

Use 1ml pipette to decant ethyl acetate into new centrifuge tubes, *make sure not to decant any silica*

Dry samples under N2 bath at 37 degrees (approx 15min)

Add 8ml DMF, 20ml BSTFA (located in brown, sealed containers)
Vortex, place at 37 degrees C for *5min*

Dry under N2
Reconstitute with 15ml undecane
Label and prepare GC tubes
Pipette out samples, cap samples

This is not a road, it's a trail!

2008-06-10T19:16:00.001-07:00

Its been a few days since I have had a free second to write anything down. We'll call it the weather.

Training Update:

Getting stronger everyday! Over the weekend had one of the best brick workouts of the season. The story goes like this. I decided the morning of the ride (which was supposed to be 3.5hrs) to map out a new route because for some reason I was getting tired of riding the same ol' roads. After marking out my new path, I embarked upon what was soon to become one of the craziest rides of my life. Ideally, I was going to drop off the mountain and descend into Lenior the land of flats roads, country women, brown water and hot weather then come back up the mountain after a little sight seeing and drop into Blowing Rock. That was the plan. Here's what happened. I started out riding and got to the road that was going to take me off the mountain. Much to my surprise the road was a steep gravel descent into the backwoods of Appalachian. Sketched out I made the call to turn around and ask one of the locals if this in fact was the right road. I found an elderly man on sitting on his lawn mower and asked directions. He informed me that the gravel would end 3-4miles down the road. Since he looked like a trusting ol' timer I figured Father Time knew what he was talking about and took his word. Shoot, what's 3-4 miles down a gravel road if I get to ride on flat roads anyways. The 3-4 miles turned into a dramatic decent down a gravel ravine into a land of nothingness. I found myself sliding down a loose gravel road for an hour in search of the fabled paved road. These words fail to describe the level of pissed off I was at having to walk down this road with my TT bike. Many might think why not turn around? Well, by the time I had thought of that I had traveled 3-4 miles and kept thinking the road was right around the corner. The only person I saw for an hour and half as I traveled deeper into the bowels of Appalachian was two ladies driving a beat up pickup truck. I asked directions and almost got laughed off the road as I was informed I had a long ways to go before I got to the paved road. I pictured the old man sitting on his lawn mower laughing at how he had tricked me. I was reduced to a caveman style vocabulary as I grunted and cursed my way down the mountain. THIS IS NOT A ROAD, THIS IS A TRAIL I screamed every thirty seconds. Finally I got to the bottom and took a right (I guessed that to be the correct way) I biked for another hour before I saw anyone or anything. Then I found myself at a general store where I asked directions. The man working the feed store in formed me that if I "followed the yellow brick road" I would find myself in Lenior before I knew it. Great I thought. I found the only man in Appalachian with a sense of humor. By this time my total riding time was fastly approaching three hours when I was supposed to only ride 3.5 hours. Oh yea, it was 96+ degrees. There were points in the ride that I was riding down the road and the tar on the road was melting and sticking to my tires. To add to my missery I ran out of water for forty minutes. Delierous I found a BP and stopped for water, soda, oatmeal creampie (most bang for the buck). The lady working behind the desk told me the only way I could get back to Boone now was to bike to Wilksboro and take hwy 421 straight up to Boone. So thats what I did. I biked for close to 5hrs 21min in 96degrees down a dirt road thanks to a mean old man and then had to TT across the desert with melting tires to find myself climbing the final 12miles (avg 7%) into Boone. I was supposed to run following adn being a sucker for pain. I jumped off my bike, threw on my shoes and clocked out 6miles (first two miles 5:42 avg miles pace, last two miles 5:34 avg pace)!

Moral of the story: Do not trust an old man sitting on his John Dear to tell you directions when embarking on a 3.5 hr bike ride unless you want to bike down a gravel road for an hour and half.

Totals for this week were high: 25k pool, 13.5hrs bike, 58mi run
I'm hungry.

F2 IsoP Assays and 30hrs of Training - Neither makes much sense to me

2008-06-05T17:17:00.000-07:00

Week two of summer school for those keeping track and I am now officially hired on to help out the in biochemistry labs doing really smart stuff that I don't pretend to understand. The last two days have been insane to say the least. While trying to balance four to five hours of training, I am attempting to go to school and learn all there is to know about biomechanics and working in the chemistry labs till seven or seven thirty at night. I do believe I have been bitch slapped by the real world. For all those that constantly worry about my health and more importantly my sanity, I am cutting my lab hours back to two days of seven hours (Monday and Wednesday) in order to properly prepare for my class and train full time.

Here is a peak into the wide world of Josh (TR 6/5/08) for a day:

6:00am wakeup call

615-7:45 Breakfast, shower, yoga, study F2 IsoP Assay techniques, finish biomechanics COM lab report, 'clean', watch the weather channel, think about going back to sleep

8:00-8:20 Bike to WSC for my morning swim, change clothes, flex in the mirror, stand on the pool deck for ten minutes wondering how cold the water is

8:30-9:45 Swim LCM (oh boy) with the ancient hardmen that show up to the pool in their banana hammocks

10:00-10:20 Shower, bike to school, pass school go to Stickboy, eat second breakfast, buy bread for Kristen, droll over the cinnamon buns for five minutes, realize I am late for class, buy coffee, time trial to school (again)

10:25-11:45 Biomechanics class, eat third breakfast (morning snack), drink water, look interested, think about my second swim workout

12:00-12:20 Drop off employment papers, bike to my car to get my license, kick with Kristen for five minutes, bike back to school, print lab report, eat first lunch, turn in lab report

12:20-1:00 Videography Lab

1:15-1:25 Bike to SRC pool, change clothes, flex in the mirror, stand on the pool deck wondering if this water will be warmer than this morning's

1:30 - 2:45 Swim again (faster)! 1st afternoon snack

3:00-3:20 TT home on my trusty steed (aka my mtn bike)

3:30-3:45 Ate lunch, downloaded music, changed clothes, flexed in the mirror, got on my other trusty steed (Kuota) and set out for a ride

4:00-6:00 Biked, thought about eating more food, ate more food, chanced down a herd of wild thundercats (see below for definition)

6:00-6:20 recovery run, fell in the pool, showered, started dinner

6:30-7:15 ate...a lot

7:15-8:30 Videography Lab report, listened to the Doors and Kristen coughing

9:00 Bedtime

9:30 Second dinner, second bedtime, epsom salt bath (metro moment with JR), dreamed about eating and running and lab (just kidding)

Twitchers and ThunderCats

2008-06-02T10:44:00.000-07:00

Twitchers:

Anyone who visits the website www.slowtwitch.com more than 5x daily. Not there is anything wrong with this website because it provides a valuable source of current endurance sports related news that cannot be found in one place anywhere else on the internet. However, the problem I have is with a number of key qualities that seem to be personified by these twitchers. These people exemplify what is wrong with today's triathlon. No longer is triathlon or any endurance sport for that matter about personal fitness, quiet competition or accomplishment. Rather these twitchers bring a materialistic, narcissism to the start line of all the races they sign up for. It appears to me that it is more about who has the best bike, the hardest race schedule or the most worthless accomplishments. Since when did listing our race results become a prerequisite for entering into a race? These twitchers bring an arrogance that is not needed in our beloved sport. They look down on those with lower quality gear, precieved less fitness or triathlon newbies. We all need to remember that we all started somewhere. No one came right out riding the best gear or splitting a course record in the first race they entered. It drives me crazy to show up the day before a race and see people riding their disk wheels around in the parking lot or walking up to the packet pickup wearing their aero helmets and racing flats. It is cool to have the good gear. The joy of competition should be on our minds before attempting to purchase the newest, lightest water bottle. Twitchers stop critiquing each other's positions or showing off your rides! Loose 25 pounds first, see how that helps you out on the race course before you decide to drop an additional two grand on a new break lever. HTFU is not a battle cry! Shut up and train, let the results do the talking for themselves.

Thundercats

Thundercats are an indigenous species of power riders that enjoy slightly rolling hills and flat grounds. They are at home amongst other Thundercats and get extremely aggressive when passed by smaller riders or Twitchers. They have massive quads and calf muscles and huge upper bodies. Thundercats typically have hairless legs but a grizzly chest and furry back. They ride in packs, it is very rare to see a Thundercat on its own separated from the herd. Like twitchers they always have the latest, greatest, lightest gear. Thundercats cannot climb hills, mountains or stairs. When racing Thundercats will typically be last out of the water, first off the bike and finish dead last on the run. Thundercats are most known for their ability to push a gear of 60rpm for any distance. Unlike Twitchers, Thundercats will not wear their racing flats to packet pickup. They will, however, wear their aero helmets down to the swim start. Thundercats are nicer than Twitchers because instead of going back to making excuses at the end of a race about their overall placing a Thundercat will belly up to the bar and knock back a few cold ones before clearing out their transition area. Thundercats are almost always male however on rare occasions a female Thundercat can be spotted.

Peddle Faster, I Hear Banjo Music

2008-06-01T11:44:00.000-07:00

Taken from one of my favorite hippie bumper stickers around Boone, "Paddle Faster, I hear banjo music," I thought the title only fitting after my 4.5hrs jaunt through the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee.

Today I rode for a long time. I rolled mad thunder the whole time, practiced my nutrition and did not seem to get too worn out until the final eight mile climb (don't know what I was thinking trying to tackle Shulls Mill after biking for eighty miles but we'll know for next time...)

I started out under overcast skys and got soaked for the first hour. Then the sun opened up and shined down its smiling rays of joy on the road making it a freaking sauna. Unbeknown to me I ended up riding a good portion of the Blood,Sweet,andGears course. There were plenty of Appalachian, backwoods types out on the course to cheer me on though so I didn't get too lonely. I was happy to see a wide variety of ex-Confederate Civil War soldier, Dancing Outlaw, distill moonshine in the bathtub in their front yards locals. Regardless, it was a beautiful ride through the countryside!

2008 Season - 1/3 in the books, six months till the big show

2008-05-30T13:13:00.000-07:00

Here's what is instore for the yellowdart for the rest of the 2008 season! Love the fact that only 1/3 of the season is over...Bring on the heat! Look forward to seeing everyone at the races...

Phase I: Build/Re-base

June 17th - Tri Latta Triathlon - Charlotte, NC - 750m, 17mi, 5k

July 13th - Chattanooga Waterfront - Chattanooga, TN - 1500m, 25mi, 10k

July 27th - Charlottesville International Triathlon - Charlottesville, VA - 1500, 40k, 10k

Phase II: Half-Iron Focus

August 10th - Sports Barn Sprint - Chattanooga, TN - 400m, 12mi, 2mi

Sept 14th - Duke Liver Half-Ironman - Raliegh, NC - 1.2mi, 56mi. 13.1

Phase III: Peaking and Tweaking

Oct. - Olympic Distance~

Nov. 8th - Clearwater 70.3 - Clearwater, FL - 1.2mi, 56mi, 13.1mi

*Not included are running races, hot airballoon races, Connect Four Tournaments, SuperSmash Brother Marathons and all night rave parties

- 5k,10k,and 100k dates to follow

Attack of the Angry Beavers

2008-05-28T06:36:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was my first day back to class. Lame, I know but it wasn't all that bad. After waking up at my normal (alright abnormal by normal people standards) 6:00am, I headed out for the trails for a quick eight with some neuromuscular intervals. All in all felt great but still do not have that top end speed that I was feeling leading into Florida 70.3

I got to school early hoping to jump into a Yoga class but thanks to a poor showing the class was canceled. Oh well, maybe I will have better luck today with the class. I decided to head down to the Convo and shoot the breeze with Dr. Dumke before class. Everyone was headed out to the ACSM conference in Indy so there was a lot of nervous energy floating around since no one had started getting ready to leave until that morning.

Class was ok. I was drooling on myself about fifteen minutes in but woke up later only to be reminded why I was falling asleep.

F=ma is so exciting. I think the only thing I learned was why Superman can fly on Earth. Clue: He doesn't fly, he jumps!

After class, Kristen and I jumped in her car aka Seymour (sp?) and drove out to Price Lake. It was raining so we parked ourselves next to the lake and napped/read till the weather cleared. In a moment of sure procrastination (still cannot turn on my brain from my short summer break, aka reading fifty pages of biomechanics is tough) we made the call to go trekking down a creek looking for the beavers. Instead of finding the beavers we found ourselves on the wrong side of the creek, stuck in a rainstorm and trudging through thick rhododendron groves. As soon as we had seen a snake and were covered in mud we decided that the beavers were not happy and made the call to try and find our way out of the beaver kingdom.

Last night was spent riding my bike trainer and studying : (

and eating : )

Dear Diary,

I got a job working in the biochemistry labs this summer! More on this to follow...Got to head off to class and the pool!

Last Day of Summer

2008-05-26T12:30:00.000-07:00

Well, its finally here THE LAST DAY OF SUMMER BREAK!!!

The Last Day of Summer Break...(sigh, tear)

For normal people this would come around August but not for the study types like myself. School kicks up full swing tomorrow with a round of Biomechanics Labs and Biochemistry early in the morning. Oh boy!

I still can't believe that my summer break is over. Lame! At least my brother is still in school. To kick off my final day of summer, I slept in till 7:15am then jumped on my bike trainer for two hours while watching the Today Show. I know I am that cool (see like my post about being an old man below) After 2x20min z3 it was time to answer emails, phone calls and the occasional bird calls. Then off to the pool for the first round of swim practice, 4k of drilling and kicking...someone shoot me in the head!

I had to pick up my books afterwards. The worst news of the day came when I found out that I HAD TO BUY MY BOOKS! I never wanted a biomachanics text book but guess I have one now and I have to say it is kind of nice : ( I don't know how to make a crying smiley face or I would.

Well, I'm off to finish my final day of summer break (I know I keep saying that but I am bummed out) with another swim workout and some light water jogging! Sweat!

Tomorrow I start in the labs...I am now officially a Tri Nerd (the tri geek title is only reserved for thundercats and twitchers). I am looking forward though to having more time to train and recover. I think this will make a huge difference in my performances over the next couple of months! Hopefully, I can learn to swim because I am tired of treading water.

Until next summer break

Firetower

2008-05-25T07:00:00.000-07:00

I think I am starting to come around after a long week of limping around on swollen feet and sore hamstrings. Yesterday, I went out and ran a firetower simply to see run through giant flower filled fields and lush green shaded trials. Maybe went a little heavy on the adjectives but regardless it was spectacular! The firetower run starts at the parking lot at Bass Lake and proceeds to climb for five and half unrelenting miles to the firetower atop one of the local mountains (elv. ~4800). My plan was to go out and jog the route. However, by the time I hit the halfway point at the Manor House I was on record pace and I had stopped to let numerous horses pass. I figured what the hell, it is a pretty day and I feel good lets hold this pace for the remainder of the run. From Manor House the trail pitches sharply upward for about a mile and a quarter then dumps out into a panoramic field filled with wildflowers over looking Grandfather, Beech and Sugar Mountains. The trail then winds its way up around some steep switchbacks for a few more miles before summitting at the tower. All told, without pushing it, I shattered my old firetower record by two and half minutes.

The highlight of the entire run though came on the way back down the mountain. First I passed a Lady Slipper (it is an endangered orchid) on the side of the trail. The best part came shortly afterwards as I came in contact with two horse drawn slays (I know its summer but anything is possible in Boone). These buggies were each being drawn by two very small, skinny horses that were STRUGGLING to get up the mountain. It quickly became apparent why they were hurting so badly. In each of the buggies sat perched two giant women who could not understand why their horses were going so slowly up the hill. As they sat there cursing at the horse to go quicker I really felt badly for the horse especially since I had just ran up the trail it was trying to get up. What has America come to when our definition of hiking and enjoying the great outdoors involves strapping our lazy boys to back of some small skinny horse and having that horse drag our fat asses up a mountain. Sad...but funny none the less.

Like an Old Man

2008-05-23T07:22:00.000-07:00

I am back in Boone town 'training' again following an excruciating car ride back from Florida.

After the race I had the privilege of spending 90 minutes in the medical tent receiving two IV bags (probably should have gotten a third) and limping back to my hotel to tend to my trashed feet. This seems to be a pattern of mine following a race; black out at the finish line, spend time in the medical tent, then limp around on swollen feet for a couple of days. Hum...can't be good but at least I do not have to race like that every weekend. For the record my finishing blood pressure was 104/53 (my normal is 118/76) with a resting heart rate of around 100 bpm (my normal is around 46 bpm).

The night following the race was terrible. I could not sleep thanks in part to my cramped up legs and to the fact that I was still extremely dehydrated. After three hours of sleep and four Epsom salt baths it was time for me to get up and go swimming. I got in about 1500yds and felt great all things considered. However, with the amount of external and internal blistering on my feet it was a weird sensation trying to flip turn and push off the wall. Marc corrected my stroke which turned out to be more of a kicking problem and a slight over rotation on my right side (thx to the watchful eye of Zach).

Then it was time to hit the road for eight hours. Leaving the Training Center I really did not have too much soreness but by the time we parked in my driveway I could barely walk to the door. Countless Epsom salt baths and few massages later I can now walk like an old man.

Training has sucked the last couple of days but I think it will be ok. I have a month before my next race and about six and half months till Clearwater...I have logged good running and swimming mileage (should hit 65mi running and 15grand in the pool) but I am pissed it is taking me this long to make a full recovery. Ran yesterday at Moses Cone. Rude awaking back to 'altitude' and Boone weather. 45degrees with 25mph wind gusts left me wishing for some Florida heat. Still have a lot of residual soreness in my calf and quads but seems that my shoulders and lower back have fully recovered.

Class starts back on Tuesday. Thank god having time to train and fully recover is weird. Plus not being stressed out about school leaves me with very little to worry about. Got to go eat!

Until next time stay clear of the thundercats and twitchers.

Florida 70.3 Race Report - "A Pure Guts Race"

2008-05-22T13:20:00.000-07:00

Leading into this race all the stars seemed to line up perfectly. Getting down to Florida six days before the race payed off tremendously allowing my body to acclimatize to the heat and humidity plus recover mentally and physically from the last few weeks of school. I knew the course, my taper went well and I remained confident in my fitness.

I woke up about thirty minutes before my alarm was to go off on race morning (3:30am). Showered, shaved and ate my oatmeal breakfast. I drank 16oz of Gu20 before I got in the car. Having packed the night before, we were able to simply walk down stairs and get in the car. I wanted to get the bus drop off at about 5:40am thinking that would give me enough time to finalize my transition area and get a good warm up in. We stopped for coffee and by the time we got to the bus it was 5:55am. Oh well, I figured I didn't need that long of a warm up anyway. Standing in line I got to shake hands and talk to Craig Alexander, who wished me good luck in his sexy Australian accent. The bus ride was smooth. Kept sipping on my second bottle of Gu20 as I strolled into transition area around six o'clock. I had a great transition spot. I made sure everything was dialed in before I left transition. My tires were 145-150psi since I thought the road would be hot and the tires might expand on me a little. I made sure all my nutrition was secure and left transition around 6:10am with about twenty minutes left before my wave was scheduled to hit the water. Ran a few above LT pickups to get my heart rate up, stretched and walked down the beach start. Waiting on my wave to get into the water I ran a few more strides to stay loose until the race announcer called us down. I felt I had a great starting spot. I was on the far outside in line with the first buoy. All the way until the gun went off I really did not get nervous. I simply remained focused on my game plan for the swim and listened for the cannon.

Once the race was underway, I ran as far as I could out into the lake and started to dolphin dive. I think I got in two dolphin dives before I abandoned the notion that I could dolphin dive and started to swim. I did not swim all out to the first buoy as I normally do in a race. I knew it was going to be a long day and I wanted to make sure I got a good position in the swim without having to red line my heart rate too early. On the way out to the first turn buoy I swam alone. I saw a good pack forming to my right but they were about 30m off the buoy and I was swimming slightly slower than them but in a straight line, buoy to buoy. So I decided to hold my line for now thinking I would intercept them at the first left hand turn. Once rounding the turn buoy and swimming over the top of a few of the slower swimmers from the previous wave, I found some feet wearing a green swim cap (aka my age-group) and stuck to his hip like glue till we made the second turn. I knew that I only had about 750m left in the swim and at this point felt comfortablely discomfortable. I put my head down and started to hammer for the shore. The guys feet I had been drafting off of fell off pace so I left him for open water. To my right once again the same pack of swimmers had formed and they were still about 30m off the buoy line. I made the executive decision to swim diagonally and intercept them thinking that swimming in that pack would save some energy for the bike. However, by the time I bridged over to their group I realized that they were not swimming as efficiently as I would like so I made the second executive decision to bridge back over to buoy and swim alone for the final 500m. I dolphin dived twice to get out of the water and clocked my watch at 34:50. I was about four minutes slower than I thought I should have been but I didn't panic having learned my lesson earlier in the year at Collegiate Nationals. Instead I gathered myself up and sprinted through transition area. I threw on my race belt, helmet and sun shades and was off. Unlike Collegiate Nationals, I had no trouble flying mounting my bike.

I knew I had the fitness, nutrition and race preparation to hammer the bike course. Right from the get go I start to peel back time on my rivals. My plan was to ingest a Gu by mile 8 and finish my first bottle by the first aid station at mile 22. I crushed the first twenty five miles splitting a few minutes under an hour! The aid station was not at mile 22 like promised rather it snuck up on me early at mile 15~ no matter though by mile 15 I had already eaten my Gu and started in my second Gu as well as already finished my first bottle of liquid CHO. I slowed and grabbed a bottle of water and refilled my nutrition before discarding the bottle within the aid station. The long straight aways on the bike course seemed to fly by. I could see my competition ahead and one by one I set my cross hairs on the next man in line and powered towards him. At the first turn around on the bike course I clocked on my watch that I was around 5-7 minutes down on my main competition. By the second turn around I had put three minutes into them and was now down around four minutes back. Their group looked solid though as they were sharing the pace setting really well. I came up on a decent cyclist around mile 27 or so that I thought could possibly share some of the work with me since once I passed him he re passed me back. This pissed me off since I am not used to being behind anyone on a race. I decided to do what I do best and be a front runner. I re attacked and he would then re attack. The hardest portion of the course was the section of the course I was most familiar with. I remember laughing at how easily I was biking up the hills, maintaining around 24mph! I ate my third Gu right before I came into the second aid station, which unlike the first was at mile 34 where it should have been. At this point I was electric. I started in on my red bull to get some extra sugar and settle my stomach with the carbonation. That is when it started to rain. It only rained a few drops but it must of poured up the road. I felt badly for the other riders but it was their fault for swimming so quickly. The guy (Harry or Howy from what I could make out on his name tag) kept attacking off the front. He was a big thunder cat so I figured what the hell let the guy have his day because once we get to the run I will skip past him. The only big hill came at mile ~36 and as was planned I simply eased my gearing and cruised up it. Once I got to the top however I put out a big surge to maintain speed and crushed through the next few rollers. At that point Harry ThunderCat was on the side of the road throwing up. I felt badly for him but he was going way harder than he needed to up the hills. My fitness really took over. I only had good thoughts. I kept my arms loose and my shoulders relaxed. At mile forty I ate my fourth Gu and finished my second water and second bottle of Gu20. I checked my watch and realized that if I maintained 25mph I could get back to transition by 2hours and 30min which would make up for my poor swim. I put my head down once again and went to work. The miles ticked by. It was misting and I was riding into a decent headwind but I was still holding 25mph at about 95rpms. I was really working hard at this point and made the call to eat my last Gu around mile 48 instead of waiting to mile 50. There was an aid station but I assessed my nutritional needs and desided I was good with what I had and need to not break my rhythm on the bike. I also turned around realized that I had a new thundercat drafting off me. I did not react verbally but rather put the throttle down for a mile and turned around to no longer see the him. That made me happy. Coming into the transition area I was right on target, having maintained the necessary 25mph speed limit for the last 16mi. I only drank water for the last six miles since I knew as soon as I got started onto the run I was going to be ingesting calories. All told I drank two waters (32oz), 2 Gu20 (32oz) and 12oz of Redbull and ate 4.75 Gu's. I clocked 2:23 and some change from my watch.

My second transition was the best of the year. I came off the bike around 15 or 16mph right behind one of my main rivals. I was stoked having made up almost seven minutes on him during the bike ride. I slipped on my shoes, grabbed my fuel belt and started the 13.1 death march.

Mi.1 - 5:37
I really really tried to run the first mile conservatively and since it was on pavement it felt super slow. I ate my Gu as planned but the aid station was not at mile one like promised so I drank from my fuel belt.

Mi.2 - 6:25
Since the first mile was fast I knew I had some time so I stopped and used the bathroom. I was severely dehydrated. I couldn't believe it since I felt like I was not sweating on the bike and I had ingested over a gallon of liquid. My left knee/quad started to cramp so I drank some Red bull for the simple sugars. I threw water from the aid stations to try to cool myself but I was starting to overheat a little.

Mi.3 - 6:14
This was a good split for me. I even stopped and stretched my lower back. My stride did not feel rushed. I knew I was running slower than I wanted but I was passing the Pro's so I figured everyone was running slowly. I simply did not panic and kept a good efficient foot strike. I ate my second Gu at mile three.

Mi.4 - 6:25
Coming into this mile it must have rained because I entered into a sauna. I really started to hurt right then. I had some bad thoughts about having two more laps like this left but I knew I couldn't focus on those. I got the time split that I was still four minutes down. I did the math and knew I needed a mile a minute to get him on this lap. No problem.

Mi.5 - 6:29
Craig Alexander dropped out. Kinda of a buzz kill since he was one of my favorite triathletes. I was stuffing my jersey full of ice as my GI tract was shutting down. I knew I was not digesting fluid or CHO at this point so I made the call to keep my core temp regulated the best I could and make every effort to get to the line.

Mi.6 - 6:24
Heat was really really making my low back and feet cramp. I got in my third Gu but it took me till about mile seven to fully get it down. I think I had finished the water/red bull in my fuel belt at this point and decided to throw away the bottles since they were extra weight.

Mi.7 - 6:36
I was making up time on my competitors and I knew it. I started to think positive thoughts. I knew I only had one more lap left but it was such a bummer running by the finishing shoot a second time. I still was regulating my core temp with all the ice I had stuffed down my jersey. I knew I was cool since the ice was not melting at that point.

Mi.8 - 6:38
Cardiovascular drift started to set in and I had some trouble regulating my heart rate. At this point I focused on the fact that if I was feeling this badly I knew my competition whether in front of me or behind me was feeling even worse.

Mi.9 - 6:46
Last Gu. Choked it down. My left side started to go limp for some reason and I was leaning heavily on left leg. I kept trying to straighten myself up the muscles on my left side were just seemingly shutting down. I focused on technique and keeping a good working foot strike. I shut my mind down at this point. I just turned it off and told to do what I needed to do to get to the finish line.

Mi.10 - 6:59
I don't remember this mile.

Mi.11 - 6:56
I don't remember this mile.

Mi.12 - 7:27
Last aid station, my left side finally gave way and I collapsed. I knew it was coming for quite some time but when it did I just hit the dirt. Annoying. I remember the medical people trying to help me but I yelled at them because I was afraid of getting disqualified. I willed myself up and went chasing after my Clearwater spot. There was a guy with a 23 written on his leg and I was really scared that he was ahead of me because I knew I could not sprint. I tucked in behind him and as we rounded the final bend he turned right to start his third lap and I turned left toward the finishing tape.

Mi.13.1 - 7:32
It was surreal. I remember collapsing across the finishing tape. My legs were giving way about 50m out from the finishing line and finally gave fully out once I hit the line. I left it all out there and on that day it was good enough for a first place finish.