Fast friends and cool finds

I am grateful for my friends and teammates during my journey. Here are links to some of my teammates that are all faster than I am;

David Warden - PowerTri.com owner and sprint triathlon specialist. He also does an amazing podcast for all you Tri junkies out there. David is one of the most intelligent triathletes I know.... no question about it!

Coach Keena - Keena is an absolute inspiration and has one of the biggest hearts in the industry. She has already qualified for the Olympic distance world championship in Budapest and the Ironman world championships in Kona Hawaii. She is trying to qualify for Clearwater at the 70.3 race in Lubbock Texas later in June. WHEN she qualifies that means that she will be going to ALL three world championships as an athlete - WHAT??? Now that's EPIC!

Spencer Woolston - Best new comer in the United States. He has come on to the scene so strong it makes me nauseous. Spencer has the most talent of anyone I have ever met and the dicipline to pull it off. In his second Ironman attempt he qualified for Kona and will be headed down this fall. His bike speed scares me..... look out tri world, here comes Spencer!

Other fast friends and team mates-

Jameson King

Leslie Howlett

Sarah Jarvis

One of the best things I have found this week was the pandora radio app on my iPhone. Unlimited free music in whatever style you like.... it is off the hook!

"You aren't going to make it"

This week was a bigger than normal workout week for me having no races this weekend..... but I have been scolded by more than one person for trying to do too much. These are some of the things I have been hearing lately

"You aren't going to make it!"

"What's the point, you're hardly raising any money"

"You're going to get hurt, then what?"

"You can't afford to do this"

Pshhhh. Quit? What? There is a way! I don't know how, but I know there is a way. The cause is great! We have so much and I know this is how I am suppose to help out and leave my little mark here on earth. I have a few tricks up my sleeve.... who's ready to be epic?

The Uncle Sam

This was a great burger because it was one we all know and love! Garen T. Winn (Gaurantee Win, get it? That's his real name!!) did an awesome job again and everyone had a blast! We had many athletes and burger fans in the crowd this week. 70.3 Florida was a great race! To check out the burgers we will be making this year go to www.cheeseandburger.com and if you would would like to see my project for 2010 please visit www.TriandGiveaDam.com If you feel the urge.... donate a few bucks... if not just enjoy the fun! Thanks for all the support to date! Here are also a few pictures of the kids we are affecting in Africa. These are actual picture of the kids....

Run.... ok I did a lot of walking too.... so what...

Run - 1:58:41

Still feeling awesome from the bike, I stormed through T2 and headed out on the run. My first mile was a 7:10 and a smile came to my face. I KNEW I was going to have a personal best day and have an outside chance of a World Championship slot. That feeling lasted 2 more miles before my body started to shut down...again. The feelings from St Croix started to creep in. My legs started to get really heavy and everything started to go into slow motion. By the half-way mark of the run, the hearing in my left ear started to go again and the ringing was back. I slowed right down as the day heated up. During my second lap, I watched as a guy collapsed from the heat of the day. Other athletes quickly went to help him. His day was done and it felt much the same for me. I kept

thinking to myself, "How can I feel so good one minute and so awful the next?" I kept doing the math and my high hopes of achieving a personal best were long gone and the realization soon set in that I wasn't even going to break 5 hours. Dang....

The photo guys seemed to have caught me every time I was walking... nice! I did, however, muster up a smile after completing the 5th half-ironman of the year. Only 15 more to go....

Personal Best and Drafting Cheaters!

Bike - 2:26:47

HOOORAH! Finally had a great bike split. After a poor swim I threw caution to the wind and started out on the bike ride. My legs felt good and I just got into a rhythm. Being the last wave I had most of the field in front of me. I started blowing by packs of people. And when I say packs, I mean packs. Their was drafting going on everywhere. I just kept thinking, "Well, if that's how they want to do the half-ironman experience then more power to them." At one point, I past a large group of riders and thought nothing of it. After about 5 minutes of me minding my own business, I looked back and saw that entire group attached to my wheel drafting off of me! Feeling good, I stood up out of my saddle and said enough is enough! I dropped that group of cheaters at my expense! A few miles down the road, I had another single rider enjoying the draft off my back wheel. I yelled at him and he completely ignored me fully content to just sit there. I swerved left so he would get the hint and get off of me. He picked up his pace and passed me up. Moments later his chain blew off his bike - karma is a bitch! I felt strong the entire ride and was incredibly happy with my performance here. I had my friend Jess Brereton's PR bike time in sight from our first half-ironman years before. I fell just a bit short but am still very happy at this point. The friendship record is still yours Jess.... for now!

Warm, Calm and slow.

Swim- 38:42

I had a hard time sleeping cause I was pumped for another 70.3.... and this is the best I have felt.

I used the coffee maker to heat up some water for this mornings dose of Rokitfuel. I grabbed my gear and headed to the Magic Kingdom for a fast day out on the race course. It was an uneventful check in with no issues. The winds were down the the skies were clear. It looked like it was going to be a perfect day.

I was in wave number 22 (last wave of the day) so I was able to watch all 2250

athletes take off for their day on the course. At 7:24 it was finally our time to get in the water and get going on our day. I jumped in and the water was super warm. I can see why they did not allow wetsuits. I am finally comfortable enough in the water so the "no wetsuit" issue didn't bother me. What bothers me is that I forgot my BlueSeventy skin suit again. I pounded through the swim with strength and confidence. I was super disappointed when I found out my time. When I spoke to my wife Sunny after the race

she said "When I saw your swim time I worried something was wrong." Nothing wrong.... just slow dear!

Saturday May 15, 2010

I slept in without any worries of missing any deadlines. My hotel was really close to the race site and I had 'til 6pm to get all checked in. I walked back to Shoney's for a yummy omelet before returning to assemble my bike. I am getting pretty good at it and nailed it on the first try. With the use of my trusted iPhone I drove right to check-in, which was located at the Magic Kingdom Theme Park (Disney-world).

I breezed through check-in and decided to spend some extra time at the expo learning more about compression technology, both active and recovery. I'm sold! I have been using compression pants from Skins bought at Powertri.com for pre and post race recovery. I was given a pair of Zoot calf sleeves in Texas and in Florida got a pair of "active" 2XU compression sleeves. So far... I'm a fan. At the expo there was a booth where they were advertising a brand new 70.3 event, I guess I am just going to have to do it too- Puerto Rico. The race site looks awesome and the guys were super nice. They make me look like a midget in the picture though.

After seeing all I could see at the expo I made my way back to the hotel to get off my feet. I grabbed "Chi Running" (a book I am reading to try and improve my running) and headed down to the pool for some relaxation. Down at the pool I had a moment where I really missed my kids and wished they were here with me. The whole area is geared towards kids (duh, it's Mickey Mouse Land!) and my girls all love the princesses. Subway and Vitamin Water was on the menu for lunch and it was super tasty.

Once again I ate at Golden Corral. Feasting on my own is getting old. I would like invite anyone to dine with me at any events I go to. However, I had a good conversation with my sister from Canada where I invited her to do an Ironman with me in 2012. She has turned down the idea and that is ok with me. Ironman is not for everyone......

Florida 70.3 Race 5 of 20

I have been waiting to write this post as it was an interesting race for me. I had many emotions and experiences this time around and I wanted to process them all before I wrote them down. So this may be a longer post but should still be a good worth while read as I continue on my journey to a world record and my humble attempt to make a difference on the people on the other side of the world. I am experiencing this journey in a way that I didn't think I would when I started. Every time I race the 70.3 distance I gain respect for it. I also get some perspective on what life could possibly be like in Africa. I am hot, thirsty and tired for 5 hours.... the African people are hot, thirsty and tired all day, every day.

Friday May 14, 2010

I packed up the Ellsworth prototype and all of my gear for a race that I was super excited to go and do, and actually race. I have had a two-week break and some good training sessions with Coach Keena. I have done some good bike rides and did a quality track workout to work on my speed for the run. I was excited for this race because I felt that I could "race" this event instead of doing the event. The conditions were ideal for my style of racing. Lake swim, flat bike course with no winds in the forecast and a flat run!

My flight was direct and I had no issues... well except that I get angry every time I check my bike cause I feel that they take advantage of cyclists. I thought I would try a new approach this time and check my bike curb side and see if I could sneak through without paying the absurd amounts that they charge. The guy was about to ring me up for 100 bucks when at the last second he decided to go inside and check.... 190 was the final verdict, DANG IT!

I landed safely, shuttled to my car rental and set out to find my hotel. How did people travel prior to the iPhone?! This device has saved my butt so many times. I located my hotel with no problem and was instantly excited when I pulled into the parking lot and saw a sign that said, "The Worlds Largest Python Water Slide". I couldn't wait to see this! Well as you can see by the picture, I think the hotel staff may be delusional or suck at research cause there is no way that this is the largest. I checked in, went to Shoney's for all you can eat ribs and mashed potatoes and called it a night.


In the middle picture is the "PYTHON SLIDE" and the one on the right is my view from my room!

The RHINELANDER - post St Croix Burger.......

For those of you new to my blog, after each race I choose a burger from the website www.cheeseandburger.com and make it with my friends. Here is a picture and a video for your enjoyment. This is the video after my 4th 70.3 event of 20. I am working on the race reviews, experience and the newest burger party.

Good Quote and Cute Girls

This was a quote my sister posted on her blog and I really liked it so I am sharing it with you all.



And this is a fun video of my girls out on the street "training"