Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone!!

One more.

Today I took my final for EMT class and passed with a very good percentage. My instructor said that this final is just as or slightly harder than the National Registry Exam; which is the test I have to take in order to become a certified EMT. I graduated today with a class that started out with 22 people. Since the start of the class, only 10 people graduated. The other 12 people either had grades that did not meet the criteria or they did not pass the final. So I am very happy to be one of those 10 individuals. Now the only thing I need to focus on is my National Registry Exam and I want to take that as soon as possible because that way, I still have all my training still fresh in my mind. So while everyone is enjoying their Winter Breaks from school, I'm still going to be hitting my books and notes so that hopefully next month, I could be a certified EMT.

WOW!

Wow I'm such a slacker. Well first off, Cyclocross went very well this season. I became very lazy about my blog and didn't write anything about the remaining cross races I had. But now that cross is over, it is time to start training for an early season half-ironman. Dad, Doug and I are planning on racing the Rev3 in Knoxville in May. Doug is planning on racing the Olympic and Dad and I are planning on racing the half. We have already started the intense swimming and the trail runs. The weather isn't cooperating very well lately to get out on the bike, so the trainer will be another one of my good friends for a while. I was suppose to take my Firefighter I and II class this winter as well, which would have meant I would not have been able to train as much and my early season half-ironman wouldn't have happened. But unfortunately, the whole program was cancelled due to lack of people and lack of payment for the class. I'm pretty upset about it because that sets me back another half a year to a year behind schedule. But, I have no control over it and now that means I will have the time to train hard for this Tri season. I will be posting more now I promise....No more slacking.

L8er

Solon Cross

This weekend was Solon Cross Race hosted by CRC. Kevin Kimmich did a great job setting this course up. It consisted of many tight corners and a crazy maze to get everyone caught up in. The start was hectic. We all had to run from the start line about 50 yards out to our bikes, grab them and take off for the maze. I was lucky and ended up around 2nd after the start, so I wasn't caught up in all the carnage leading into the maze. I felt good throughout the whole race. My legs started to feel a little tired in the middle with about 5 or 6 laps to go, but I felt like I got a second wind and ended up finishing 8th overall. It was a great race because the whole time, Brent Evans, Eric Lesko, and I were battling it out. It came down to the last corner before a set of barriers and I took the corner too fast and unfortunately washed out. I had no bad feelings about it at all though. I was just happy with the way I felt and the great race we had. Next weekend is Snakebite's Cross race in Elyria. Should be fun and another great weekend.

Later

UCI3 weekend

Last weekend was UCI3 Cincinnati Cross weekend. Friday's race was very hard. The course was very hilly, bumpy and very dusty. I did not really feel myself that day and finished around 29th overall. I really did not have a feel at all for the course. I could not get myself into a good rhythm. But every course is not going to suit you. Saturday's race was at Sunset Park and it is one of my favorite cross courses. There was a lot of tight corners, wide open sections for passing and two sandpit areas. I was feeling very good during the race until I washed out around a corner and the guy behind me ran into my bike. His front wheel ended up pushing my rear derailleur out of whack and caused my chain to jam in between my rear cog and my back wheel. It also forced my chain to wrap around my crank arm a couple times. So at this point, a few racers were passing me and my bike was unable to move forward. In one last attempt, I simply pushed my bike backwards causing my chain to slack and I was able to fix the problem. I still felt strong throughout the race and finished well, despite my mechanical. Sunday's race was at Harbin Park, and this course is another course I love. I had a great start in this race and felt the best during this race than the previous two. I picked myself up to almost top 1o with three or four laps to go and I was telling myself to keep it up. Next thing I know, I am flying down a hill and shooting up an uphill when suddenly I hit a big root and seconds later, I get a flat. I ran the rest of the way to get to the pits and take the front pit wheel. Later that lap, my Dad flatted as well and unfortunately, it was a front flat. But what was really horrible is I had the spare front wheel from my flat, and my Dad was in 3rd place in the Masters 45+ race and he had to withdraw because there was no spare front wheel. I had no idea what was going on during the race. I finished way back because of all the running I had to do and all the racers passing me. Despite the bad luck all weekend, I had a great time with everyone. It was a fun weekend and TLE had a great showing in each race. I believe we left a great mark on the competition with the great results everyone pulled off.

Later.

Weekend ahead

UCI Cincinnati this weekend! I'm really looking forward to all the racing and seeing a couple friends from Pa, who I will be racing against. It should be fun and hopefully I will have good legs for all three days...Knock on wood. Updates will be posted.

Applefest 3.2

Yesterday was the Applefest 5k in Franklin, Pa. Actually the race should be called the Applefest 3.2 mile run becuase it mapped a little bit longer than a 5k. The day before the race, we all drove up to Doug's cabin for the night. When we arrived at the cabin, we cruised down to downtown Franklin to walk around the Applefest and to get some grub. We ate at a very good Italian restaurant, which had a mile long line to get in.

The next day was the 5k. We arrived at the race venue around 8:00 and the race was supposed to take off at 10:00. It was freezing. Winter hats, gloves, tights, long sleeve shirts, etc. was being worn by a lot of people. While we were waiting for the race to start, our warm-up consisted of a couple intense games of ping pong in the Franklin YMCA, which was where packet pick up was located at. After a couple games of ping pong we started our real warm ups. While we were warming up on the course, I said this is going to be fast. I was going for a mid to low 17 minute time.

When the race started, it was a dead sprint off the line. The typical funny guys of every running race of course took off like a bat outa' hell but quickly blew up about a football field length into the race. I kept up my fast pace throughout the race. I was very happy with my first mile time and second mile time. After the second mile I was in about 6th place and running with two other racers. We had a very fast pace going and we were not slowing up a bit. When the finish line was in sight, one of the two runners already took off and the other runner and I were starting to kick up the pace to a sprint. We were back and forth the whole way to the finish. I was in front of him, he pushed in front of me; we were back and forth about 4 or 5 times. At the end, I lost the sprint and finished 7th overall and 1st in my age group with a time of 18:06. I was happy with the way I felt and the sprint finish at the end. The course was all downhill going out to the turnaround point, and the rest of the way to the finish was mostly uphill. From what I heard from other racers, the finish line was pushed further than last year's finish. So I would say the distance of the race was 3.2 miles. It was very fun and a very competitive race. I felt like I was going to throw up after the sprint finish, but it was worth it. Dad and Doug finished great. Dad finished 19th and Doug 15th; 10 seconds apart. They both won their age groups and the friendly rivalry battle continues between them. The whole morning before the race, Doug and Dad ripped on each other alot. It was great and I'm sure that is was made them extra fast during the race.

Another great time with Doug and this is the last time to visit him and stay at the cabin this year. Too bad the fun had to end so soon, but it was great while it lasted. I'm looking forward to this weekend coming up in Cincinnati. UCI Cinci Cross weekend, and it is going to be another great weekend.

Border War Tri

Saturday was the Border Wars Triathlon hosted by O.N.E. It was a very chilly morning, with the temperature being in the mid 50's. Once I had transition all set up and the race was about to start, I walked down to the water to get a pre-race warm up. The warm up was not a warm up at all. The water was a little bit warmer than the air but once I plunged in and the water soaked through my wetsuit, it was freezing. This was going to be a cold race.

The swim started with a mass start. I felt like I had a good start, but then when I looked up to get a breath, I saw quite a bit of people ahead of me. I was trying to ignore the cold water and dug deep. After the swim, I was in a pretty good position. Once I was in transition, my Dad and Doug came in together and Dad was having trouble unzipping his wetsuit. After I helped him out with his wesuit, I was off on the bike. At this point, I did not feel any coldness anymore. The first of the two laps, wasn't very good. I didn't feel like I was getting power on the straight-a-ways. When I was on my second lap, I started to get a better momentum. I was averaging around 1-1 1/2 mph faster than my first lap. When the bike was over and I was running into transition, only two bikes were in. I knew right off the bat who the two guys ahead of me were and there was no way that I was going to catch them. So I just gave it my all on the run and felt great. I ended up finishing 3rd overall and was very happy with the way I felt for my last triathlon of the season. Doug finished fantastic. He finished 4th overall and 1st in his AG. Dad finished 7th and 1st in his AG. After the race, Dad, Doug and I rode home which was about 24 miles. It was pretty much a straight road all the way home so we took turns pulling hard averaging around 21-22 mph. So when the day was over, I was beat from the race and the ride home. It was a great day though and we all had a great race.

This season has been a blast. I am very happy with my mine and my Dad's results. We both finished 1st in of our AG's in every race and I finished top 5 in every race except for two. Hopefully this cross season is just as good as our Tri season. I am already excited for next year and we are planning on doing a lot of trail running and continuing on hitting the pool this winter for an early season Half Ironman. This weekend is Kent Cross Race and I am already feeling the pain. Thanks for reading.

Later

Little Miss Wendy

Sunday was race #2 of the NEOCX series at Wendy Park. The course was very open with tons of power sections. It was going to be super fast and hard I knew from the beginning. While I was warming up, I felt really good. My legs felt strong, I practiced the barriers a few times to get my dismount and remount down, and I felt good riding the sand. Before the race, the race promoter did call ups and since I placed 5th last week, I was called to the front of the line.

When the race started I was in a pretty good position. I don't want to blow myself up completely at the start but, if you want to stay in contact with the lead guys, it is kinda hard not to go all out in the beginning. As the race went on, I felt completely opposite as I did last week. I was not having fun, I had no legs, and it just wasn't there. I'm not giving any excuses, I just had a bad race. But the weather was great, the course was great and thank you to Spin for putting on a great race. During the race Robert crashed very hard and landed on his head. I went past him one lap and I did not know it was him. I saw someone laying down with people around him but I did not know who it was at the time. After a trip to the hospital, he is all good and ready to tear it up again. Great job to all my teammates who raced and great job BAFF at the Rev3 Half and Full Ironman.

Next week is the Border Wars Triathlon in Geneva State Park. It will be the last triathlon of the season and I am really looking forward to it. Good luck to everyone who is racing this weekend. Later!!

Weekend racing.

Saturday was the Miller Paul Marut 5k run and the first cyclocross race of the season hosted at Camp Manatoc. We decided to just help out at the M&M 5k and save our legs for the cross race and the mountain bike race the next day. There was around 225 racers all together for the M&M 5k race, which was great minus the weather. It was cold, raining and very windy, which proabably scared most people away. Down in Peninsula, the weather was completely different. It was sunny, warmer and the wind wasn't as bad as at home. The cross races started later in the day with the C race going off at 2:15, the B's going off at 3 and the A race going off at 4:05 becuase of the mountain bike festival taking place. The course was half power sections, half single track with lots of roots and holes. It looked very fast and it had a double sand pit and a good ol' set of barriers right after. I was thinking to myself actually that I was going to get a flat or a mechanical because it's always my luck that the first couple races of the cross season, I have that happen during the race. I was just there to of course race and give it my all, but most importantly to have fun; which I have been doing all year so far.

The A race had about 30 people in it including a pro mountain biker from Jamis Bicycles. The start was blazing fast. I was about mid pack when we all took off but managed to squeeze through a couple of racers to get up front more. A couple of laps into the race, I was feeling pretty good. There were a couple racers, including some of my teammates that were on their way to the pit area becuase of all the roots and holes causing flat tires and mechanicals. At the end of the race, I managed to finish 5th overall and had a great battle the whole race with Scott and Brent. It was fun and great job guys. Dad finished great as well. He looked great throughout the whole race and finished 17th in a very stacked field. Thankfully there were no mechanicals for myself or my Dad today. We were really hoping that the next day's race was going to be just as good.

The next day was the Big Valley Mountain Bike Race. Lots of racers and a lot of spectators as well. Dad and I raced the the Sport race which is about equal to a cat 2/3 road race. Our races took off at around 1:30 because of the race announcer was loving to hear himself talk. The order of the waves for the race was Expert race, 30-39 Sport, 19-29 Sport, 30-39, 40-49, 50+, and 18 and under. Each wave was seperated by two minutes. I raced in the 19-29 group and came very close to getting the hole shot in the start. In a little over a mile into the race, we already caught up to the 30-39 group. It was mad chaos through the single track at this time. There were a lot of frustrating guys and a lot of sticks and leaves crunching from people passing the person infront of them who would not move over to let anyone through. Once the chaos settled down a little bit, a couple guys flew past me through an open field and I tried to keep with them but it didn't happen. They were there and gone. So at this point I found myself in third and this is where I was really trying to keep it at. After the first lap, I was feeling very good. Everything was working awesome. My legs were responding, my bike was working great, and I had alot of fuel in me to get me through another lap. About the middle of the second lap, I rode up to a huge hill that consisted of lots of roots. I did not attempt to ride this becuase I did not want to waste time. As I was running my bike up the hill, my right quad started to cramp big time. I looked down at it and could see my muscle knotting up. As I was trying to make my way up, another 19-29 racer past me. He rode up the whole hill and must have taken that perfect line to do so. Trying to ignore the cramp, I jumped up back on my bike and started to spin to loosen up my cramp. A couple minutes after the hill, I caught back up to the other racer that past me and worked with him for a little while. When my legs felt a lot better, I told him that I was coming through and from there I felt like I had a second wind. I felt great for the rest of the race and finished 3rd overall in the 19-29 Sport group. Dad raced another great race as well finishing 8th in the 40-49 Sport. We both loved this race because it was fast, the race was competative, and most importantly, it was fun. This whole weekend was fun and everyone from the team did an awesome job. Next week is Wendy Park Cross and hopefully it will be just as good as this weekend.

Later

Best weekend ever.

Saturday was the Presque Isle Triathlon and you could not ask for better conditions. The temperature was cool, it was sunny, but it was a little bit windy. Of course it's going to be windy though because it is out on the lake. We left the house very early to get there and we were the first one's in the parking lot two hours before the race. Usually at this time, there are most of the racers already setting up their transition area. But, once we got our packets and set up our transition area, people started rolling in pretty quickly. The race was sold out, which meant there were around 400 or more racers that signed up so it was going to be insane for the start.

The starts of the race consisted of four waves, not age groups. The first wave was the racers with the numbers 1-100. Second wave was numbers 101-200 and so on. Dad and I were in the second wave. The start of the swim was great. I felt great and was in front of the group until the first left turn. Instead of turning left, I kept on going straight for about 15-20 yards. Once I realized I was not on course, adrenaline kicked in and I was going pretty hard to try and catch up. I exited the water in a good position. By this time, our group is already mixed in with the first wave. Dad and I entered transition at the same time. I had the worst transition ever. I could not get my wetsuit off to save my life and Dad blazed in and out without a sweat. He kept saying, "Let's go Tony, let's go!" Once I had everything settled, I was off on the blazing fast bike. I felt like I was pushing way too hard for the first half of the bike because of the wind, but with the second half of the bike, it seemed like I caught a second wind and I bumped up the speed a couple clicks. Into T2, Dad and I were still together. We entered together and exited together. But I have been feeling great all season with my run so as soon as I exited T2, I felt like I was sprinting. I felt very strong throughout the whole run which seemed like it was four miles instead of 3.5 miles. I finished the race with a 1st place in my AG and 10th overall. I am extremely happy with my result because I pushed the whole race to my max and the competition was fierce. Dad finished in 14th overall and 1st in his AG. Dad and Doug always have a friendly rivalries every time they race against each other. This race, Doug finished 13th overall and 1st in his AG, 13 seconds in front of Dad. Awesome job guys and the next race should be exciting to find out who will beat who this time.

After the race was finished, we drove to Doug's cabin for some R and R. It was a blast and I love spending weekends there. Great fun, great food and lots of outdoor activities to do including kayaking, canoeing, fishing, swimming, and simply sitting around the fire with some good ol' sweet corn. The next morning (which was this morning), Dad, Doug and I rode a nice 25 mile loop into Oil City and back. If anyone has a chance to live near Oil City and happens to love cycling, I highly recommend moving there because the scenery, the environment and the training is great. No wonder bike racers from P.a. are such good climbers. It is all hills around there. I can't wait until the next time we are back up at the cabin. Next time I will bring my road bike and not my TT bike. That way I can climb the hills a little better. This is why I say the best weekend ever for my title. Everything went great this weekend. We all had a great race, we had an awesome time at the cabin and we even got to see the world record holder for rock skipping in action in Franklin, P.a. Next week is the Miller Paul Marut 5k running race in the morning then after that is the first Cross race of the season at Camp Manatoc. ~Git it~

Later Days!

GCT taper week

This weekend is the Greater Cleveland Triathlon hosted by Mickey Rzymek so we are going to taper in training for the week. Today we are doing the Tuesday morning breakwall swim at Fairport Beach. The swim is about a half a mile out and a half a mile back. Every week it seems like the number of people swimming increase, and there is also breakfast served from Kathy Roe after every swim . So if you are interested, every Tuesday morning at 7:30 is a mile breakwall swim at Fairport Beach (Fairport Harbor Lakefront Park). Then later today we are also going to get in a good track workout and that should be it for the longer/harder stuff for the week. We are racing the Olympic distance and hopefully it will go good this weekend, including the weather. Have a good one.

Later

Pirate Triathlon

Sunday was the Pirate Triathlon at Lakefront Park in Fairport Harbor. This is also where I work so it was very fun to see all of the familiar faces from work racing the triathlon. The weather was not that great at all. I can handle a little bit of rain but not pounding down rain. And, that's what it did all morning. Before the race, the wind started to pick up and the swim was going to be either canceled or shortened. Everyone chose to swim instead of having the race be a duathlon. So instead of the swim being 500 meters, it was 250 meters.

In the 250 meter swim, I felt like I was going to get knocked out and drown. There were so many racers swimming in a narrow swim lane, which caused the water to be similar to a washing machine. After the swim, we had to run down the beach to reach the transition area. During the run on the beach, I passed a lot of racers that came out of the water ahead of me. At this point, it was still very windy and pouring rain. I did not take a lot of time at all in transition and I was off on the bike. The bike was an out and back on very flat, open roads. I seemed like I could not get a rhythm on the bike, although I was catching a lot of the kayak triathletes that started 5 minutes ahead of the regular triathletes. When I finished the bike, I slipped on the running shoes and took off on the run. On the run, I caught 3 more kayak triathletes and I was in the lead for the 33 and under group. I had to give everything I had on the run because of the 33 and older group, which consists of very fast racers as well. When I finished I felt very happy because I knew I gave it my all. When the results came in, I ended up finishing second for the second year in a row. Congrats goes out to Kevin Park for the overall win with a bad hip! Dad and Doug were neck and neck the whole race like every year. The competition between the two of them in the race is great. Unfortunately for Doug, he wasn't even posted on the board for an overall or AG result. But with the time he finished in, he definitely finished 1st in his AG. Dad also finished 1st in his AG by 10 minutes. Awesome job guys!

After the race, the weather became beautiful and we all celebrated my Mom's and Kevin Park's birthday. It was a blast with lots of burgers and some hot dawgs. With the eating came beach volleyball. It was great getting our butts kicked by my cousin Jessica. After a few games of volleyball, my legs felt like they were going to explode, so that's when decided to call it quits for the day. All and all, it was a good day and the next Tri is the Greater Cleveland Triathlon Olympic. Hopefully we will have good weather for it.

Have a good one!

Xterra O.N.E.

Sunday was the Xterra Tri at Westbranch State Park. It was a 1/2 mile swim, 11 or 12 mile mountain bike, then a 4.5 mile trail run. It was a perfect morning to hold a race. The start of the swim was crazy for me. I tried to swim in front the whole time but I started to swim off course. But I quickly went back into my straight line toward the turn around buoy. The whole swim I was in-between 5-7 place. I felt like I had a strong swim and I was excited to run into transition to start mountain biking. In order to get to transition, the racers had to exit the water on a VERY slippery boat ramp. So instead of running out of the water, everyone was walking like turtles so that they wouldn't slip. Also, we set our mountain bike shoes right after we exited the water because it was a long uphill run to transition. Once I got to T1, all I had to do was slip on my helmet and glasses and go. I had a fast T1 mainly because I already had my shoes on before I entered. Once on the bike course, I felt like I was really doing good. At this point I was in about 5th or 6th overall. The bike course was the Westbranch Mountain Bike Race course backwards. About 10 minutes or so into the bike, I heard bikes coming up behind me. At this point I was just trying not to get a flat tire because the whole course is roots and rocks. As the bike went on, I was passed by 5 or 6 people I would have to say. I did not freak out though. I kept calm and just focused on getting through without a flat. I ended up finishing the bike and probably had one of my fastest transitions ever. I already had my feet out of my shoes before I entered the transition area. Once I had my running shoes on, I sprinted out of transition and right off the bat, I caught and passed 3 of the racers that passed me on the bike. The run course was very fun. Lots of rocks and uphills. About 2 miles into the run, I started catching all the racers that passed me and even guys that were in front of me the whole race. I felt like I was running the trails faster than I was riding them on the bike. I kept my breathing in control and kept myself cool when the heat started. I poured water over me and drank at both aid stations. Once I finished I figured I was going to be maybe in the top 5, but when I crossed the line, I only saw two other finishers. I did end up finishing 3rd overall. I was very surprised, but very happy at the same time. I was surprised because I did not do good at all on the mountain bike and guys were flying past me left and right. I am glad that I still had the legs to finish the race with a good run though.

Dad raced awesome as well. He said he had a great swim. By the way the water was about 80 degrees, so wetsuits were not allowed. We both decided that wetsuits on shorter swims like that will actually slow us down because it will take so long to strip in transition. But we will need them in longer swims of course. Dad had a great swim and he also said his bump in the race was the bike. The last mountain bike we both did was Westbranch two years ago. So that just shows you how much we've been on the mountain bikes. After Dad's bike, he felt like he was running faster than he was riding as well. He said he felt great on the run and his result showed it. He finished 14th overall and 1st in his AG. Awesome job Dad and I hope all my teammates did good this weekend at the TOV.

Later days.

Dam Tri

Sunday was the Dam Tri in Meadville, Pa. We stayed at Doug's Cabin in Utica for the weekend and had a blast. My brother and I traveled down the French Creek in the canoe for some small mouth fishing. The fishing was frustrating for me though, because all of my line on my fishing rod kept tangling up and I lost a few spinner baits because I kept on casting into trees or sticks on the side of the water. Nick caught a very nice small mouth bass though. He is seriously a Master Fisherman. After the fishing, we had some good food and FRESH carrots and beans. I only ate the carrots because I don't like beans at all.

After an early wake up, it was hard to get into the race mood. I was very tired from the night because it poured rain for the whole night. But when the sun came out and the heat started to kick in, I started to wake up. I raced the Olympic Distance which was a mile swim, 24 mile bike, and a 6.2 mile run. I felt pretty good during the swim. I had to stop a few times towards the end of the swim to see where I was going because the sun was shining right in my eyes. I finished the swim in 25.27. The bike was very hard. The 24 mile course consisted of lots of hills. There were really no flat sections on the bike. But, I felt very strong and gained a lot of my time on the uphills. The heat really kicked up during the bike. After my second transition, I was off for the 10k run. It was about 85 degrees at this time which was not good at all. Around mile 2, I was running on the Dam which is about 3/4 of a mile long one way I would have to guess. While running on the Dam, I felt like I was going to pass out because of the heat. I started to get the goosebumps and was craving lots of water. At around mile four, I stopped sweating a little bit. I was getting worried because this is a sign of heat exhaustion, and after heat exhaustion, is heat stroke. The next aid station, I grabbed five cups of water and downed them and grabbed more cups and poured it on my head. I ended up making it to the finish line in one piece. When I was finishing, I saw my Dad at the finish line. He started 5 minutes behind me and I knew something was wrong. Come to find out, he was running into T1 and noticed he had a front flat which ended his race. But, he ran the 10k course and felt good he said.

In the end, this was the hardest triathlon I have ever raced. I am very happy with my placing though. I finished 9th overall and 1st in my A.G. I also had the 7th fastest bike split, which I am very happy with. Doug raced the Sprint and finished 3rd overall and 1st in his A.G. Awesome job Doug!! This weekend was great and the next triathlon is the Xterra Tri in Westbranch. I'm really excited for this race and I'm excited for the mountain biking and the trail running again to train for this race. Thanks for reading.

Later!

Tapering

This week is a Taper week in training. We are leaving Saturday morning for P.A. for the Dam Tri. and racing Sunday morning. We are going to stay with Doug at his cabin in Franklin and I'm looking forward to the food over the campfire and the fishing with Nick. ALSO..... Today is my Dad's birthday! So yesterday was a Happy Father's Day to him and today is a Happy Birthday. I've also been watching the FIFA World Cup lately and Brazil looks like they are unbeatable. Other than that, everything is going well with the training and hopefully the training in the past two weeks will help us finish with a good result this weekend.

See ya!

O.N.E Kickoff Tri at Clay's Park

Sunday was the O.N.E Triathlon Kickoff at Clay's Park. We raced this race last year and told ourselves we were going to bring our road bikes instead of our TT bikes because the bike course has a lot of hills in it. Dad's 35+ wave started first and he blazed out of the swim in 3rd place. My wave started 10 minutes after my Dad's wave, so now I know how he feels when he is waiting to get the race going. I felt like I was wasting my energy being anxious and nervous waiting for the gun to go off. About a minute or two after Dad came out of the water, our wave started and we all ran into the water. I felt like I had a good swim. After a couple of kicks in the face, I luckily escaped some of the chaos and held a fast pace to put me and a couple of racers ahead. I made it out of the water in either third or fourth place. I had a fast transition time I'm thinking, and then I was off on the bike. I felt like I had strong legs on the bike, but I've felt better before in races. After the hilly/windy bike, I sped into transition and my transition time I felt was again pretty fast. During the run, I tried to run with a racer that was ahead of me but his pace was greater than mine. He told me to stick with him but I was going to blow myself up if I would have tried. That racer ended up winning overall. BAFF team member Christian finished 2nd overall, and I finished 3rd. Dad finished 9th overall and 1st in his AG. BAFF had a great showing yesterday and we all had very good results with four of us finishing in the top ten (Christian, Me, Frank, and Dad). After the race, the team drove over to Steve's RV who is a teammate. There we had some burgers and hotdogs along with some healthy dishes such as fruit, and a very tastey rice/pasta salad that Christian made. Great day yesterday and this weekend is the GCT training day #2 at Headlands Beach so Dad and I are not racing. Next week is the Dam Tri. Lots of training ahead of us in these two weeks. Everyone have a good day.

Late

H.S. No More

Well, I graduated yesterday. Also, that morning, Dad and I raced the Twinsburg Duathlon. It started off as a completely horrible morning. Rain, lightning, thunder and heavy winds were making it seem like there was going to be no race. But thankfully there was a long break in the weather and the race was on. I felt good throughout the whole race and finished second overall. Dad raced great as well, finishing 6th overall. The whole BAFF team had awesome results and we all had a nice showing. After the race, I received my High School Diploma and that's that for my High School days!

Good Weekend Ahead of Me.

I am very excited for this weekend for a couple reasons. One, I'm racing the Twinsburg Duathlon early on Sunday morning. I'm feeling great lately and I feel like I can finish with a good result. After the race, we have to head back home so I can get ready for Graduation. I'm very excited to finally be finished with High School. I am also currently working for the Lake Metroparks now. I am life-guarding, working a tiny bit of maintenance and staffing in the recreational department. Going back to the High School theme; the thing that is confusing to me is that most seniors are so excited to leave High School and never come back. Today, the seniors thought it would be "FUNNY" to have a cookout in the High School parking lot. I don't know why anyone would want to go back after they said they were never going back. O well. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and hopefully I'll post a pic or two of me receiving the wonderful piece of paper I've worked so hard for in the past 12 years.

HaVe A gOoD oNe!

Kinetic Tri. Weekend

Friday morning, we left for Virginia for the Kinetic Triathlon. Saturday hosted the Half Ironman, and Sunday hosted the Sprint distance. After about 8 hours of driving, we arrived at the race venue. The race was held at Lake Anna State Park. Once we arrived, we suited up in our wet suits for an open water swim. After our open water swim workout, (and 'yes' I said open-water swim workout. The water temperature was in the low to mid 70's.) we went to the best Italian restaurant I have ever been to. It was called Angelo's and they had the best Spaghetti and Chicken Parmesan ever.

The next day, we got up to go watch Kevin Park and Brian Stern race the Half Ironman. Both raced great. Out of hundreds of racers, Kevin finished 5th overall and 1st in the Masters. Brian finished 29th and looked strong throughout the race. Sunday was the Sprint distance triathlon that consisted of 730 people including me, Dad and Doug. I was in the 35 and under group, which took off at 9:00 and Dad and Doug were in the Master's group, which started at 9:14. The weather was perfect for the race and the temperature was around the low to mid 60's but the high winds kind of made it difficult to race in some spots. I had a horrible swim I thought. Every breath I took, I swallowed water. I ran out of the water and into T1 in 15th place. Once I started on the bike, I was catching people left and right. The bike distance was longer than an original Sprint. Usually the bike distance in a Sprint triathlon is around 12 or 13 miles. The bike distance for the Kinetic Triathlon was 18 miles with long gradual hills and a couple of short, steep climbs. The wind wasn't a huge factor though. I thought I was going to be fighting a huge headwind the whole time but all the trees on the sides of the road created a wind barrier it seemed like, which was great. I felt very strong on the bike and came back into T2 in fourth place with the 3rd place racer just in front of me. After T2, it was time to open it up on the run. I was still in fourth place after transition. I ended up catching the 3rd place racer a couple minutes into the run, and opened up a gap. I knew I would not catch the 1st and 2nd place racers at this time, so I just wanted to keep up the pace and not make any mistakes, like rolling an ankle or getting a stomach cramp. After my turn around point, I saw some runners closing in on me. I picked up the pace a little more and I tried to keep myself focused. I ended up holding off the couple runners and finished 3rd overall out of 730 racers. I was very happy with my performance, considering it was the first triathlon of the year.

Doug and Dad raced as well and they both raced excellent. Doug placed 1st in the Masters and Dad finished 3rd. Dad has been battling a pulled calf muscle lately unfortunately, but he took it easy on it for the week and the day before the race. He also had special kinds of tape wrapped around it before and during the race and also raced with a calf compression sleeve. He said the calf still hurt but he was able to run on it and not do any more damage to it. At first he said he wasn't going to race because he did not want to do any more damage to his calf, but thankfully the tape and the compression sleeve worked and brought Dad to a 3rd place finish in the Master's field.

Overall it was a beautiful weekend. Lots of racing and lots of sun. Virginia is a great place to visit if anyone is interested in taking a vacation there. The area we stayed at was called Spotsylvania, and around that area consists of some of the most brutal battle sites from the Civil War, along with the Stonewall Jackson Shrine. Lots of history and lots of great training roads and trails for the athlete and the History lover.

Later Days!

Scholarship

Today I had an interview for a possible scholarship for Fire/EMS. When I got to the fire station (where the interview was going to be held at), I was somewhat nervous. Once the interview started, I soon started to relax a little bit. After some questioning, I was awarded the Scholarship. I will receive the actual scholarship on May 16. That will mean that I will be unable to race Chippewa Creek but, I am very thankful for the scholarship and this will be a huge help in receiving my Associates Degree in Fire Science next year. This weekend Dad and I are heading to Virgina to race the Kinetic Triathlon. There is going to be a lot of racers there and I am looking forward to it.

Later Days!

Current Updates

Sorry for not posting a lot this month, or many times at all this year. I feel like I left out a lot of information of our current training and our races. The biggest race for me this month was the Covered Bridge Race two Sundays ago. There were a lot of attacks and the pace was very fast. It kinda sucked racing in the rain though. That was the first bike race for me this year and it had to be in the rain. The weather didn't affect me when I was racing, the thing that was bad was the cleanup after. I am definitely feeling very good so far though, but I don't want to be peaking for any races soon because I am aiming to peak for the Tour of the Valley and the Rev3 Half Ironman in September. We are traveling to Virginia during the first weekend of May to race a very big, early season Triathlon. As of today, there are 701 racers. I'm very excited to race and hopefully Dad and I, as well as our friend Doug pull out some good results. I am also working a lot on my track standing at red lights, stop signs, trains, etc. I'm getting a lot better at it and soon, I won't have to un-clip at all when I go out for rides! Again, sorry for stalling on my posts and I will update a lot more as the training and the race season goes on. Thanks for reading.

Later!

O yea.

Yesterday, Dad and I rode a fast, and windy 55 miles on our TT bikes. It was a perfect day to be outside. After our ride, we laced up our running shoes and did a brick run for 30 minutes. It was difficult to get used to riding and running in the warm weather because I am still used to training in the cold, but I'm not complaining! After our workout, I felt a burning sensation on my arms and legs. Wow! I have never been so happy to have sunburn. After a couple minutes of relaxing in the Cave, we washed our trucks and enjoyed the rest of the beautiful day. Today I won't be able to do any riding because I have lifeguard class from 11 to 4, which isn't so bad I am thinking because it is supposed to rain a little bit today. I'm hoping Easter Sunday is looking good for another good ride. Hope everyone is doing well.

Later

St. Malachi

Today was the St. Malachi 2 mile and 5 mile running race. Dad and I ran both races to have a total of 7-8 miles for the day. Dad raced the 2 miler and finished 6th out of 1,250 racers and ran with Kevin Ward for the 5 miler. Kevin ran great, averaging a 7:50 mile and looking strong on the finishing hill. I warmed up by running the 2 miler and then racing the 5 miler. I felt very strong throughout the race and I ended up finishing 21st out of 2,153 racers and 2nd in my Age Group. I wanted to keep the pace up throughout the race and I ended up averaging a 6:02 mile. I'm very happy with my result and it was a very fun race....despite the cold, windy and rainy weather.

After the race, we headed up to Bike Authority to upgrade my road bike from 9 speed to 10 speed and for some new parts. When I walked into Bike Authority today, my road bike did not have a rear derailleur, a rear shifter, cables and cable housings, or a 10 speed upgrade. When I walked out of Bike Authority about an hour and a half later, my road bike was fully upgraded and looking good with some new Ultegra components.

Overall, it was a very good day and next week is looking beautiful again..... more time on the bike and running on the trails. Later Days!

Nordic Flurry

Saturday was the Nordic Flurry 5k/10k ski race at Chapin Forest. I raced the 10k race along with Rudy. Right off the gun, it was fast. I felt strong skiing up the hills, but I couldn't keep my balance racing down the downhills consisting of corners. The 10k course consisted of two 4.9 mile laps. My first lap I was feeling great. I felt like I was in the top 10 until I reached a downhill that consisted of a sharp right corner. I couldn't keep my balance around the corner and crashed pretty hard and unfortunately, a couple racers passed me. During the same lap, I crashed again around a corner and was passed by another racer. The next lap was very hard for me. I was pretty tired from the first lap and I could feel the strength in my shoulders, arms, and legs fading very quickly; especially skiing up the hills. Although I did not crash during my second lap, I was racing with Dick Brink throughout the last lap and we battled all the way until the finishing stretch. Dick took off out of a corner and I could not keep up with him. He finished in 15th overall, and I finished 16th and 1st in my AG, and Rudy finished 9th overall. I was very happy with my performance and it was a great day.

Run For Your Heart 15k

Today was the Run For Your Heart 8k/15k trail race in the North Chagrin. I ran the 15k as well as Dad and Rudy. There was a lot of runners in our race, but I'm not really sure how many. I felt good right off the bat. I kept it at a good pace and I was in second place, running with the first place runner for the whole first lap (4.9 miles). Around mile 6, i started to fade a little bit and dropped off the pace of the first place runner, and ran my own pace so that I wouldn't blow up, because there was a lot of climbing in the race. I luckily had enough legs to finish second overall with a time of 1:22:47. I felt pretty good throughout the whole race and all the training Dad and I have been doing on the running trails seemed like it paid off. Dad finished 7th overall and had a great race he said. Rudy finished 6th. After the race, Dad, my Mom, and I did a fast walk a little bit past Squire's Castle and back. We walked for about 4 miles, so Dad and I ended up finishing the day with 14 miles and my Mom had 4 miles.

Later Days

Finally

Dad and I had a very nice ride today; not on the trainers either. It was finally a nice day, and the roads were dry! We have been running and swimming a lot lately so I haven't been on the bike barely at all this year. Instead of being a 'gloom and doom' day today, it was sunny with NO wind. Too good to be true. Dad and I ended up riding 35 miles with a few hills but nothing too bad, and kept it at a nice pace throughout the whole ride. It felt really good to be out on the roads again. The way I am making the day and the ride sound is like I haven't been on the bike in years. But, it was just a great day today which ended in a very good training ride. We are running again tomorrow then possibly skiing Saturday and heading out to the North Chagrin on Sunday to get in a 9 or 10 mile trail run. One more week until the Run With Your Heart Trail running race, so next week will be a little easier than this week.

Late

Well.

I'm not looking forward to this weekend. Tomorrow is my Grandpa's calling hours and Monday, is the funeral. To keep my mind off all the sadness, I have been running a lot. I'm feeling really good and I feel like how I was last triathlon season. I haven't really been on the bike lately. Just on the trainer. I hate the trainer. It's so boring and I can barely stand riding the trainer for 45 minutes. Next week, Dad and I and maybe Uncle Scott are going to hit the pool again. We haven't swam in a couple of weeks, so we definitely need to get back in. Hope everyone has a good weekend.

Later days

Current Training.

Not a lot of time on the bike lately. Dad and I have been running a lot and we now trying to ski at least one day a week. Since the weather has been so crappy, we have been riding the trainers with our TT bikes. We have our powertaps on our TT bikes simply because we are going to be more focused on Triathlon this year. I've been putting in a quite a bit of miles in running lately which is good because I would like to do a Half Ironman towards the middle of this year and there is a trail running race coming up on February 14. I would also like to race The Nordic Flurry at Chapin Forest this year also. I would have to get in more skiing but thankfully, I still have some of my fitness left from cross season. So hopefully I can get into shape for that.

Later Gator.