Powerman Zofingen World Championships

This is the worlds hardest duathlon, worlds most famous duathlon and rated in the top 5 multisport events across the world. I would have to agree with all of this as well. This event took place in Zofingen, Switerland and consisted of a 10k run (6.2 miles), 150k bike (93 miles) and last a 30k run (18.6 miles). Both run courses are very hilly. Iwould say about 80% of the run course was either up or down. Running down the hills would just tear your quads apart while running up some of the hills was almost more of a shuffle because of the steep grade. The bike course consisted of three 50k laps. On each lap there were a total of three climbs with the middle one being a blistering long one.

The Race: The first 10k was two loops and started with a long gradual climb. Then there was a long gradual down hill. I could feel the pounding of the down hill and decided to slow it down a notch to same my legs. I made sure to keep the leaders in sight. I cruised in the first 10k in 31:46 while the main pack cruised in at 31:25.

On to the bike I had the main pack in sight for the first 20k but decided to go my own pace because the bike course is known to put the hurting on you on the 3^rd lap. On the beginning of the 2^rd lap John Phillips flew by me and I know he is a solid cyclist since he always destroys me on the bike in all duathlons in Colorado. John and I along with another two riders all joined as we kept a true pace and keeping a solid 10 meter between us because of the non-drafting rule. I rolled in off the bike with a time of 4 hours 14 minutes and 30 seconds which I was pleased with because I felt strong still.

On to the last run I first had a little cramp on my left quad for the first 3k. I was thinking...”ohh this could be bad!” As my legs loosen up the cramp thankfully went away. Running up the long hills felt more like a shuffle. Running down the hills was even more painful on the quads because of the impact. I was able to catch at least 5 guys on the least run and finished an overall 13^th place in the elite field. I finished the last run of 18.6 miles in 2 hours, 5 minutes and 8 seconds which is an average of 6:44 per mile.

I felt like my nutrition was pefect. On the bike I took a total of 6 gels (One 1^st endurance flask which has 4 gels in it, one power gel and the last one being a GU with caffeine) Every 25k I drank 12- 16oz. I also had one drink with 2.5 scoops of 1^st endurance EPS which I sipped on through out the ride. For food I had a total of 5 little bars. Each bar was about 113 calories and tasted like a half of a powerbar. I also had maybe 2 bananas on the ride as well. On the run I had one GU gel with caffeine, maybe 1 banana total cut up, coke and water as well. The food/water stations did a great job and supplied me with the bananas, water, and bars. I stayed hydrated the whole time, felt strong with energy the whole time, my stomach digested everything well and I only had to urinate once which was on the start of the 2^nd run.

I am happy with my overall performance. The field was very strong this year. With my total time of 6:53:43. I would have placed 6th overall last year. There were many more and very strong competitors this year. Congrats to all of the finishers and to Joerie VanSteelant for breaking the record in a time of 6:11:35 Also congrats to Jonas Baumann with placing in the top 10, Corinne (Jonas's gf) for winning her age group, Jason Spong (from South Africa) with a great performance as a rookie and to Lukas Baumann with his solid 11th place finish. Jonas and Corinne provided me with a wonderful homestay. Thanks!

Results: http://services.datasport.com/2009/tri/zofingen/RANG030.HTM

My training log prior to Powerman Zofingen:

JULY

28^th workout 4x mile repeats on colombia track 5:15's at 5,000ft. Total run time: 1 hour

29th- off (traveled from Colombia to Denver)

30^th – run workout 12 miles. 20 minute tempo 5x2minutes

31^st – bike 4.5 hours. Run 30 min (Tarryall, CO to Cripple Creek)

AUGUST

1^st- Ride 2.5 hours

2^nd- run workout 4x10minutes on Bison Peak. 15% grade @ 10,000 feet run total 2:10

3^rd- 3 hour ride

4^th- run 1 hour

5^th -workout ride 5:45 and run 1:15 (Rode from Boulder to Estes Park and ran in Boulder..Eagle trail)

6^th- 2 hour ride

7^th -workout. 1 hour run 5 by 3min hard. 2 hour ride 4 by 10 minutes hard (Highlands Ranch with Collier)

8^th30 min run and 1 hour bike

9^th 5430 long course. 2:17 for 56 miles 24.5mph run 13.1 in 1:20 (Boulder, Colorado)

10^th bike 3 hours

11^th – run 12 miles 2 x 20 minute tempo @ 9000ft (Grand Lake, Colorado with Collier)

12^th Brick. ride 5.5 hours Grand Lake, trail ridge, estes park, trail ridge, Grand Lake ..run 4 miles with Collier (8000 feet of climbing)

13^th off

14^th 40 min run

15^th Pikes peak accent 7^th overall in 2 hours and 30 minutes and rode 2 hours after (7,800feet of climbing running and 2,000 feet of climbing while cycling)

16^th off

17^th rode 144 miles. 8 hours (Woodland Park, Deckers, Bailey, Konosh Pass, Jefferson, Taryall, Lake George, Woodland Park) about 5,000 feet of climbing?

18^th 1 hour bike easy, 1 hour run easy

19^th 1 hour run easy

20^th workout. 1 hour run 5x 5minutes hard in Bozeman, MT and hiked for 2 hours.

21^st workout on bike. 3 by 15minutes ride time 1:45 Grand Tetons, WY

22^nd mountain trial run with Collier in Grand Teton National Park. Total 4:15 includes stops 4,000 elevation gain.

23^rd off

24^th Workout... 3 by mountain repeats. Each one in 1:24 around 26 miles each followed by a 1 hour run. (2,000 feet of climbing each mountain repeat?)

25^th Off traveling to Switzerland!

26^th off

27^th 1 hour ride easy

28^th 2 loops of course 100k in 3 hours. Run 1 loop of run. 15K in 1 hour 3 minutes. Felt strong! Rode with 6 other guys and ran with 4 other guys.

29^th 35 minute run and 1.5 hour bike

30^th off

31^st run workout 5 by 3 minutes. Total 45 min run. Bike 1.5 hours. Cycled a strong effort up the hills.

SEPTEMBER

1^st 45 minute run (quick run...6 minute pace)

2^nd- workout 1:45 bike (3 by 4:00)

3^rd 35 minute run

4^th Off

5^th 30 minute run and 1 hour bike

6^th Powerman Zofingen 10k: 31:46, 150k bike: 4:14:30, 30k: 2:05:06 Total: 6:53:

RACE UPDATES (April thur August)

April

5th- ThunderChief 5k. Boulder, CO...1st in 15:37

This was my first race back from Colombia on a brisk icy morning. The race started on the CU Boulder Campus. The morning was bright but all of the side walks we ran on were icy. During the race I ended up falling on one of the turns. Thankfully I was ok and ended up cruising in 1^st with a time of 15:37 However, I felt like the course was about 40 seconds fast. It was more of a 3 mile race vs. a 3.1 mile race. Regardless, it was a solid workout.

18th- Powerman Alabama. 5m, 33m, 5m. Birmingham, AL...4^th

With lots of snow storms and delays in Denver area I finally was able to make it safely into Birmingham, AL. I had a wonderful homestay with Tanya and Jeff Beck. It was nice to race with a few other people I knew such as; John Phillips, Dereck Treadwell and Uli Bromme.

Dereck took the first 5 miles out while I cruised in 3^rd. Then came the 33 mile bike with 3 laps and in each lap there was roughly 23 turns!! I thought it would be wise to bring my road bike with my tt-bars because of all of the turns. However, the TT bike was the way to go. On the last 5 mile run my fastest sprint was from the finish to the port-o-potty.

Overall it was an alright race and a great trip! I learned a few things such as a TT bike will pretty much always be faster on any course and that I probabaly should eat dinner a little sooner then later to prevent runs to the port-o-potty.

26th- Atomic Man Duathlon. 10k, 40k, 5k. White Rock, NM...1^st

My friend, Tate Behning and I took a little road trip together down to New Mexico. It was my first time in New Mexico as well. The road trip went well as we crashed on the floor of the race directors home. The morning was brisk but the sun soon came up to make it a pleasant temperature to race in.

In the first 10k run I cruised in 3^rd overall. Scott Nagelkerke, who used to run for Western State had a solid lead on the first run while Tate rolled in 2^nd. On the bike I quckly made up ground. The course was rolly, then a solid climb and then back down the climb to the rolly road again. I came off the bike in first and ended up running my last 5k strong to finish 1^st. I had the 2^nd fastest bike split and I believe the 1^st fastest last run split.

After the race Tate and I stopped at for while and explored Bandelier National Monument.

http://www.nps.gov/band/index.htm

May

2nd- Lookout Mountain Hill Climb. Golden, CO (cycling)...2^nd

This hill climb cycling race was a short but sweet race. The field was loaded with over 80 guys! I managed to stay out in front with another 5-8 strong cycling pulling up the mountain. When I got close to the top it was foggy. I was looking for the finish but couldn't find out where it was. Then the next thing I know there was the finish only 8 feet infront of me while I was in 2^nd. I had more in the tank and was hoping for a victory. However, I settled for 2^nd with a 12 pack of beer for a prize to celebrate.

9th- Barking Dog Duathlon. 5k, 30k, 5k. Denver, CO...6^th

The Barking Dog duathlon was the most competetive duathlon I have done in Colorado. There were lots of fast guys there racing with me. Ripetide Multisport brought their whole squad so I knew my work was cut out for me. I cruised in 6^th overall, behind (listed in order of finish) Josh Merrick of Ripetide, Justin Hurd, Jordan of Ripetide, Andy Bigelow, and Tate of Ripetide. I was happy how the day went for me with the tough competetion. Sometimes I train with the guys from Ripetide Multisport. They have a great group of guys! You can find more about them on their website at www.ripetidemultisport.com

23rd- Apple Duathlon. 5k,33k,5k. St. Cloud, MN...9^th

Josh Merrick and I traveled together to MN. It was a very short trip. After our plane landed we had to drive an hour to get to St. Cloud. Once we got to our hotel we had to put together our bikes. By that time it was really late and we only ended up getting maybe a max of 4-5 hours of sleep that night.

There were a number of talented athletes in the line up. Justin Hurd, Josh Merrick, Ryan Guilano, David Thompson. I knew I had my work cut out for me. On the first run I ended up cruising in with the lead pack which I was very happy about. On the bike I was slowly losing ground which was frustrating. On the last run I took off and ended up running the 2^nd fastest spilt. Unfortunately I had lost too much ground on the bike was finished 9^th overall. After the race I knew I needed to spend more time on my bike...although it didn't help that my brake pad was rubbing a little bit against my rim. This race was qualifier for Short Course World Champs and only the top 3 in this race qualified. David Thompson, Justin Hurd and then Josh Merrick qualified. After this race I was hoping I could make a spot on the team with my resume.

25th- Bolder Boulder 10k. Boulder, CO (road run)...27^th

This was my first time ever running the Bolder Boulder. There were over 50,000 people in the race! The biggest race I have ever
competed in by far. The course is not a fast one with a fair amount of hills. During the race about 6 people or so yelled “GO PRE” as I ran by them with my thick mustache. I ended up with a sprint finish to take 27^th overall in a time of 33:20 on my watch. The offical net time was 33:24, hense it took me 4 seconds to get to the starting line. I was happy with my race and the whole experience of the Bolder Boulder.

You can see me finish by out kicking a few people with a time of 7:33:25 on the video. http://www.thedenverchannel.com/video/19559956/index.html

June

6th- Triumph Development Vail Pass Half Marathon,Teva Mountain Games. Vail, CO...5th place

The Vail Pass Half Marathon was an uphill marathon climbing 3,000 or so feet to the finish. This was my first year competeting in the Teva Mountain Games and there were some top guys in the race such as Rickey Gates, Matt Carpenter and Simon Gutierrez. I started the race a bit more dehydrated then I normally do. I think I drank too much coffee instead of water. Because of being a little dehydrated it was difficult for me to find my stride. The grade was not that steep going up Vail Pass but I sure expended some calories going up it! I rolled in 5^th overall and hydrated with lots of water. After I congradulated Rickey Gates on his win as we both enjoyed a beer on the tail gate of a truck.

7th- NATIVE EYEWEAR 10k spring runoff. Teva Mountain Games. Vail, CO ...6th place

I decided to run the 10k trail run the day after the half marathon. This course was a tough real trail race with some parts of 25% grade uphill and some decents around 15% or so. The field was even more competetive then the half marathon. I ended up rolling in 6^th place overall beating some other runners I have never beaten before. It was a hard double but was glad I raced both races. The Teva Mountain Games has a great atmosphere with all types of athletes such as rock climbers, kayakers, mountain bike, BMX, road cycling, fly fishing and even dog jumping.

13th-Big Sky Duathlon 4k, 25k, 4k. Bennett, CO...4^th

The Big Sky Du ended up being short du to flooding on the dirt road section. Therefore the run ended up being a 3k instead of a 4k. This favored the cyclist since my cycling needed some work. I came in 3^rd
on the first run and then again lost some ground on the bike and came back with the fastest last run lap to finish 4^th. If I had another 1k on both runs I might have finished 2^nd overall.

Reguardless it was a fun quick race. John Phillips introduced me to this young man Collier Kempton who certainly has a future in Multisport. He is also going to be competeting in Short Course World Champs for the Juniors.

20th- Mount Washington Road Race 7.6 miles 12% grade. North Conway, NH (road mountain run)...9^th

In mid june, I flew back to New England to run in the Mount Washington Road Race. My sister and brother-in-law (Justin) drove me to my race and watched me. The nice thing about Mt Washington is that there is only one hill. Yeah...one hill that is 7.6 miles and 12% grade. Yeah it was a tough one! I ended up finishing 9^th overall. I ran for my friends team to support the Central Massacusetts Striders. After I finished I ended up running all the way back down Mt. Washington to greet my sister and Justin.

Pushing it up to the finish.

27th- Bluegrass 10k. Madrid, NY...1^st

My friend Peter Mallet and I ended up running a race next to my

hometown. Peter ran the 5k and won it and I won the 10k. For a prize, Peter won a carved bear and I won a carved squirrel! That's northern New York for you!

July

2nd- Stroke and Stride 5k.

This was my first day back in Colorado after being at sea level for 2 weeks. On the morning of the stroke and stride I ran 11 miles. Then I went to the Boulder Stroke and Stride to do a secondary esay run and got lured onto running on a team. This one man swa for me as I ended up running on already dead legs and sucking through the thin oxygen air again. I ended up running even splits and clocked a 16:42 5k.

4th - 4k on the 4th. Boulder, CO...9^th

Why not run a 4k on the 4^th? So I did and finish 9^th overall. After the race I cooled down with my friend Adam Chase and had a great breakfast burrito during the awards. I won my age group category was won a case of Avery beer which lasted me a month after sharing with about 5 other people.

19th- South America Duathlon Championships 10k, 40k, 5k. Envigado, Colombia...4^th

Back in Colombia!!! Loved every second of it! I hung out with some great friends such as Ricardo, Carmenza and Tatiana.

Racing in Colombia was a great experience. South America Duathlon Championships was a draft legal race with some great competetion. My friend Ricardo from Colombia is very strong, Silivo Gu from Edu who is a 3 time Olympican was also in the race. I ended up finishing the first 10k run in about 7^th place. Then getting on the bike there were about 4 of us together. This one guy from Argentina and I were the only one pulling for the first 2-3 out of 10 laps. Shortly after I started to develop bad cramps in my calfs. Every time I started to push more then 300 watts my calfs would cramp up bad. Therfore I just settled somewhere around 250 watts and was still the only guy who was pulling. There ended up being a total of 10 guys or so in my group and no one wanted to pull except me. Then going on to the last run I made a quick transition and ran the 2^nd fastest time placing 3^rd overall. I ended up getting cramps in my calfs because I got dehydrated and 1 water bottle wasn't enough. It was so hot with a blazing sun! I snatched one bag of water on the bike which did help. Overall I was pleased with my race and this was one of the most exciting/fun race I had competed in this year. I really like the draft legal style of duathlons.

26th CARRERA ATLETICA RECREATIVA 10K BODYTECH. Medellin, Colombia 6th

I was warming up and looked at my watch as it read 7:53:11. Alright I am going to head over to the start. As I make my way over to the start I see people already running with the starting clock reading 30, 31, 32. What the heck I thought? They started 6-7 minutes early? Well I jumped into the race and tried passing people, jumping on to the side walks just to get around. I found out that I wasn't the only one as a few other fast runners passed me. My friend Tatiana said she heard a girl saying something like “I'm going to sue them! I was planning on winning and they started early with no warning!”

I ended up finishing up 5^th or 6^th overall. There was some prize money for the top 3 but even if I did start with the other I might have only gained 1 more place higher. Reguardless it was a solid workout/race for me in another country!

August


15th- Pikes Peak Accent 13.3 miles Manitou Springs, CO (mountain run)

Ryan Dorsey was a trooper and woke up at 5 to make the drive to Manitou Springs, CO with me for the start. As I did about a 200 meter warm up Ryan gave me a few last words of encouragment. I lined up on the front wearing some gloves because it was a brisk morning and who knows what the weather will be like almost 8,000 feet up. Thankfully I made the right call in wearing gloves cause my hands always seem to get cold. The race started out with a group of 5-6 runners as I trailed behind about 50 meters on the 1k on the road. When we entered the trail I was joined with Kevin Tilton. He set a solid pace crusing up the trail as I was on his tail. I ran around one turn as a tree stripped off my sun glasses from the top my hat. I turn around and took a few strides back to pick up my sun glasses. When I started back up the trail Kevin had good lead on me as he started to creap away.

Around mile 5 I ran past this beauitful doe mule deer who was standing as still as ice. The doe was literally 3 feet away from me. From mile 6-10 I did not feel the greatest. I had lost 2 spots and was in 10 place. From mile 10-13(finish) up above tree line where there are all rock, I started feeling much better and passed 3 people. I ended up finishing 7^th overall in a time of 2 hour and 30 minutes. This was the first time I had ever steped foot on the trail and I was happy with my first ascent.

After the race Ryan and I drove back to Woodland Park. In the afternoon, I cycled down to Manitou for the awards ceramony and then back up to Woodland Park for a solid hour and a half post ride. That evening i met up with an old high school classmate (Danelle (Barr) Schrader who i haven't seen since high school which was 7 years ago. Danelle has a beautiful child and her husband also ran Pikes Peak Ascent. It was certainly nice to catch up Danelle.

Safety First!

That’s right! Safety Smart Wear is first in my book with cycling and triathlon clothing. Safety Smart Wear is located in Medellin, Colombia and I personal had the opportunity to go to the factor which I had great first impressions of. I could clearly see that the company was very well organized. The owners were very nice as I felt comfortable in this welcomed environment. Safety Smart Wear has only been out for three years and has become very successful within Colombia as well as internationally. I was very impressed with the chamois in the cycling bibs and triathlon suits. The pads are right where they need to be as I felt like I was riding on a cloud when I was sitting on my saddle. It’s not only a comfortable chamois but they offer air-ventilation with anti-bacterial and anti-friction movement. I was also impressed how Safety cares about our nature and they do what they can to be green for the environment.

The crew at Safety Smart Wear was able to make me a custom triathlon suit for the 2009 season. A big thanks to Tatiana who works in the international department at Safety. She went out of her way to communicate with me in the process of making the custom suit. Below is a layout of my triathlon suit with the logos of my sponsors. Within two weeks, I was handed the custom suit. They even deliver fast! Thank you to the whole crew at Safety Smart Wear for exceeding my expectations on every aspect! For more information on Safety Smart Wear please go to www.safetycol.com

Great food, great training, and great people!

Every morning before I ride/run I enjoy a cup or two of the Colombian coffee. I have had the best coffee here in my life! I’ll certainly have to bring some back. Another tasty beverage is called Panela. It is a high in nutrients drink served warm most of the time. It tastes a little like honey and maple syrup. Wiakepdia explains this Panela best. Whenever I go riding I always bring some Bocadillos, which is shown in the picture below. A Bocadillo is the pulp of a guayaba. It has about 69 calories per bar which is an inch to two inches and wrapped up in a Banana peal. It is the Colombians fuel during cycling like we use gels in the states.

Bocadillo

This past weeks training:
Monday- ran 12 miles. Tuesday- rode 6 hours. Wednesday- rode another 6 hours. Thursday- ran 12 miles. Friday-ran 10 miles and cycled 1.5 hours. Saturday- ran 5 miles and rode 5 hours. Sunday- rode 4.5 hours with a couple of triathletes. I took today off and had a nice massage. I am certainly getting strong on the bike! My running is lacking a little bit because I like to run 70 mpw but regardless I am getting a solid base of hours for the 2009 season. This coming week I am going to start doing structured workouts.

Ricardo Cardeno and Carmenza Morales and are the triathletes I rode with yesterday. Ricardo has completed in 9 Ironmans with a best time of 8:39. Carmenza has completed 7 Ironmans as well as competing in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. I have run with Ricardo on a couple of occasions prior to cycling with him yesterday. After the ride Ricardo invited us to his house for a BBQ. WOW is all I can say. It was the best meal I have had since I have been here. They served so much food as we were all able to stuff ourselves. We had a loaded salad, 4 different types of meat, bread, beer, wine, ice cream, chocolate and the best coffee I had ever tasted for after. Tomorrow Ricardo and I will be doing a running workout. It will consist of a 1000, 2000, 3000, 1000. After the workout, I will most likely go for a longer ride. The people here are very friendly and I have certainly appreciated this experience thus far!

First month in COLOMBIA

I apologize for not posting earlier but the first week we didn’t have internet and then the internet we had wasn’t working well so finally its been working smoothly. I will try to sum the first month here. The majority of my time consists of riding, eating, cooking, cleaning and sleeping…repeat. We (as in Sebastian, Ryan, Marvin and myself) have a very nice apartment on the 5th story with amazing views of the mountains. Medellin sets in a valley between the mountains at about 5,000ft. Each day we cycle we have to climb up about 3,500 feet. It is like cycling up Ward in Boulder, Colorado everyday. No wonder these Colombian cyclist are so strong! No matter how easy we say we are going we are still throwing the watts down riding up 5-8% grade. I am riding about 18-22 hours a week as well as running 3-4 hours a week. I cycle about 4-5 days a week and ride anywhere from 3.5hrs to 6 hours. Some days we ride with a group of Colombians in a pack of about 15 or so. The days I am not cycling I am running 10 miles and some mornings I get up extra early and run 4-6 miles before I ride. Every week there is a crit race on Thursday and a road race on Sunday. The crit course is about a mile from here and has a very nice soft surface trail in the inside that is a mile long where I do all of my running.

The four of us.

Since we have been here we went on a 2-3 hour hike as well to this mountain right next to us. Great views from the top as we hiked by many bananas trees, coffee trees and avocado trees.

Coffee beans on the tree. The top of the mountain...looking down on Medellin

During the afternoon there is this man (Fernando) who walks around and yells. “Mas-a-moro” Spelling? He is yelling “corn” which he is carrying in two big buckets. The corn is boiled in water. For 2,000 pasos (equivalent to about 75 US cents) he fills up a big pan. Then we boil the corn again and throw in some milk and sugar. The soup is very tasty and it is known around here as “strength” or “energy” food. It’s always a treat when we hear him yelling “Mas-a-moro”
We also always treat ourselves to a bakery on the corner of a street. The bakery is called “Playas Pan” and they have very type of pastry, cake, cookies, and bread you can imagine. We started going there about two weeks ago and we hang out there for at least an hour sampling as much as our bellies can consume for about 4-5,000 pasos ($2.00) It’s considered our hangout place from 8pm-9pm.
One night we went out with one of the top Colombian cyclist named Alejandro. We hoped in a taxi with him and he took us out to a nice little hangout. We sat around just talking for a few hours. He treated us to burritos and beer that night which certainly hit the spot. Speaking of food again…. They make the best burgers here I have ever had in my life. They cook the burgers right on the street and load the burger patties up in this large bun with sauces and bacon that make your mouth drool while you watch them make it.

Enjoying the burrito!

The weather here in Medellin is amazing! At nights it cools down to low 60’s and during the day it warms up to the mid 80’s. This is year around too!!! Hence, it’s next to the equator. I am enjoying that there is little to no wind here at all. I LOVE how green it is here. Parts are like the jungle because it is so thick. If it rains it does at night or early morning. Quick often there are afternoon thunderstorms like it does in Boulder in the summer.

A few days ago we all got our hematocrit level tested to see if we were anemic or not. My result was a 43.9, which is within the normal limits. The last time I had my hematocrit tested was two and a half years ago in college and I remember mine was on the lower spectrum. Therefore, I take a little bit of iron with Vitamin C to help with the absorption. Overall, my hematocrit was decent. A little on the lower spectrum but it is understandable since the volume of training I have been doing.

We are all eating healthy. Besides the hamburger stand and the bakery, We eat a lot of food. We are eating eggs, red meat, lots of beans in a soup stoked with veggies, bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, and oatmeal. Every morning we brew a cup of Colobian coffee.
A vast amount of people have heard it is/was not safe here in Colombia. Say 15-20 years ago that was the case but I feel safe here in Medellin. The people here are very nice. The only time we really have to keep our guard up is when we are riding in the city for the first 10 minutes and last 10 minutes of the ride. We just have to be cautious and pay attention…just like any other city. There are a lot of motor cycles here that zip from one place to another.

So far this has been an amazing adventure and I am thankful I have had this opportunity to travel and experience a different culture in a stunning environment. Missing my family, friends and the Boulder Manor crew. Thanks for reading!

Sebastian, myself and Marvin fixing a flat...of course!

Parrets right outside our apartment.

Medellin, Colombia

From Jan. 31st to March 31st, I will be in Medellin, Colombia for cycling training camp. I will be going down with my roommate Ryan Dorsey, who has just signed with a Pro Mountain bike team http://www.mafiaracing.com/. Medellin is considered the safest city in Colombia set in the mountains at 4,500 feet above sea level. We will be cycling everyday with a European team training for the Tour de France.

Brooks modeling

Last year I modeled for Brooks running shoes and clothing. Brooks stated that they did not use any of my photos and would call me back if they did. Recently I just found this on the Brooks website. Page 39 of their catalog. http://www.brooksrunning.com/Athletes+%26+Events/Team+Athletes/Team+Dealers/Fall+2008+Team+Catalog/
page 39

My New Rides!

Orbea Ordu

Orbea Opal

For the 2009 season I have decided to ride Orbea Bicycles. I decided to go with Orbea because I believe in thier bikes. Thier strong, stiff carbon fiber frame is a smooth ride that is sexy!

Duathlon.com Interview

I was recently interviewed by Duathlon.com. You can find my interview at http://www.duathlon.com/articles/4498

Sponsorship time!

Yes it is the time of year for Sponsorship. Right now I have a few sponsors lined up for 2009. Recently I just signed a 3 year contract with Rudy Project. Rudy Project will supply me with racing and casual sunglasses as well as a road and TT helmet. First endurance is also sponsoring me and providing me with sports nutrition products. Another sponsor is Joint Juice which is a dietary supplement (in a bottled drink) to help keep your cartilage hydrate. I have some pending sponsorships such as: Orbea Bicycles. (Currently I have a Orbea Ordu TT bike and a Orbea Opal road bike and they are sweet rides!) Rolf wheels and Pearl Izumi which I modeled for 2009 spring/summer catalog as well as 2009 fall/winter catalog.

Duathlon World Championships

I had a great experience in Rimini, Italy. It was my first time racing overseas. There were a total of 53 men in the Pro Field and four American's; Josh Merrick, Ryan Giuliano Derek Treadwell and myself.

I was 22nd overall and the first American to cross the line.

More race recap coming soon!

Flying!!!!

A big congrats to my speedy roommate Tom Zirbel who finish 2nd overall in the USA Cycling Individual Time Trial Pro Championships out in South Carolina early today.

Results: http://www.usacyclingchampionships.com/2008-time-trial-results.html

GoLite Model Shoot

This was my third running model shoot in the last year and yet the longest one. We met at 6am bright and early before the sun was up at a Starbucks in Boulder. There were three other models besides myself. Two girls and one other guy. From there we drove up past Nederland and past Eldora ski resort into the mountains to the “fourth of July” trailhead. I could probably write a whole book on the day because it was so long. We practically hiked 2-3 miles on the trial to Diamond Lake. It was such a beautiful lake and once I was up there I just wanted to escape and run! I will surely go back there sometime.

The Golite crew were really nice people and fun to work with. After the shooting, which literally took allll day we hiked back down and made it back into boulder a little past 7pm. Dang I was exhausted! Lets just say it’s a good thing I was planning for an off day (from running and cycling) because I was beat. I will have to admit that they have some pretty sweet stuff. I really like the GoLite drimove lite short sleeve shirt. The shirts feel so good and they are sooo light! Go figure eh?! The running shorts felt pretty nice and light as well. I was pretty amazed at how light and comfortable their gear is. A 20 degree sleeping bag that is under two pounds?! Can’t really beat that. Golite is fairly new and they have been around now for exactly 10 years. They are based from Boulder and they will be having their factory warehouse sale from Sept. 12-14th. Everything is 30-90% off at the sale. For more info go to: http://www.golite.com/main/home.aspx I should appear in the 2009 spring/summer catalog.

Diamond Lake

Starting to get into shape

For everyone who trains at altitude...here is the conversions as if you were racing at sea level...according to NCAA standards which is on a track. What you do is find your race distance and find the elevation you are running at. It shows an example on the chart. Lets say you run a 16:06.08 at Boulder (5,260ft) ....well that is 966.08 seconds. Then you multiply that by .02748 and end up with 26.55. You subtract that time from 16:06.08 and coverts to a time of 15:39.53 if ran at sea level. You can follow the attached chart and figure it out for yourself. The longer it takes you to finish a 5k the more time you take off. The quicker you run a 5k the less time you take off.

Tonight 8/21 I finally put on some spikes for the first time in over a year and decided to hop on the track to test my rusty legs. I did end up running 16:06.08 here on the Boulder track. I was hoping to break 16 minutes but I ran solo and that 16:06 is mainly off of base work with maybe 2 workouts in the last 3 weeks.

Last Saturday I decided to run a 15k race out past the Boulder Rez. There was not much competition there as I also raced solo. The weather was very cold for August. It was 50 degrees and raining. I ended up cruising in at 51:57 on the rolly wet dirt road course. This was a 5:35 pace over the 9.3 miles. Slower then my half marathon race pace but I'm starting to come around since I had a broken wrist last month. I just got the cast off last week and I am enjoying the freedom of a cast free wrist and starting to get back into shape for Duathlon Worlds in Rimini, Italy. I will soon blog about the whole incident of getting hit by a careless driver when I was cycling.

USA Trail Championships (June 29th 2008)

Steamboat Springs, Co....what a hoppin place! My roommate (Nick) and I rolled in at dusk and there was a rodeo going on. We watched the rodeo for a little and then saw there was a party going on a little ways away on the bottom of the ski slope. We walked over to check it out and realized it was a wedding reception. I thought about crashing it but we were dressed unapporiate. While we were walking by a little girl, about 10 years old came running up to us and said "Excuse me if you think this is the hokey pokey, well you're wrong and not invited!" hehe she has quite the little squirt! Nick and I ended up hiking half way up the ski slope to a tower where we had a beautiful view of Steamboat. We just sat down as we could see the town, listen to the music from the wedding reception in the ski lodge, and watch the rodeo under a clear night with stars. We just chilled up there for a half and hour. Then we started trekking down the ski slope. Half way down i noticed a couple that started walking up the ski slope. Then Nick and I stopped and sat down in the middle of the ski slope. We watched the couple keep walking to about 100 feet from us and layed in the grass. I have no idea how they did not see us because the whole slope was lit up from the rodeo lights! Well we could see that the couple was clearly doing the hokey pokie...that little 10 year old girl was WRONG! After that excitment, Nick and I cruised downtown Steamboat. Lastly we set up the tent and camped out right near the rodeo on part of the course.

The next morning we didn't have a far commute to the starting line. We were about 200 meters away. The race consisted of three 4.4k loops. The start ran right up the ski slope. It was literally about a 40% grade and EVERYONE had to power hike to get up it...No one could run it! It was the first time I had ever walked in a race. I was hoping to squeeze in to get a top 7 finish because the top 7 came home with a little prize $$. I was holding 3rd position most of the race and exceeded my expectations and finish 3rd overall. In the last 1k I ended up twisting my ankle but had enough of a lead to just cruise in and finish comfortably in 3rd. This was the toughest race i have ever ran before! It only took me a little over an hour but felt just as hard, if not harder then a marathon because of all the hard pounding running downhill and power hiking quad burner up the ski slope...3 times! I felt the course suited me well because once I summited the ski slope, it felt like I had just gotten off my bike because my quads were shot. Overall it was a grrreat weekend and race!

Ottawa Marathon (May 25, 2008)

This was my first marathon in almost 4 years. My goal was to just break 2:30 and running a personal best and beating my soft 2:46 first marathon time. I ended up training right around 75 miles a week, which I thought would get me to my goal. The Ottawa marathon is only an hour from my home town in Northern NY so my family was able to watch and cheer me on. The course was pretty flat overall. I was able to run in the elite field so I had a few water bottles out on the course for me. In the first half there were some slight gradual inclines here and there. I ran pretty even splits. For the first half marathon I went through in about 1:14 and felt comfortable. I ended up missing 2 of my most important water bottles that had gel attached to them. I was trying to consume a gel every 30 mins but I only ended up taking two the whole time. In the second half of the marathon I pushed a little more and cruised in with a time of 2:29:21. I was happy considering I had met my goal. I realize that I am going to have to do higher mileage in order to run any faster. Therefore I have a new goal to break 2:25 at the St. Jude Marathon in Memphis on Dec. 6th.

My Dad, brother-in-law, and sister after the race.

Pearl Izumi model shoot

Right after Duathlon Nats I ended up doing a model shoot for Pearl Izumi. The catalog/gear will come out in spring/summer of 2009. I was modeling for trail running and all of the pics were taken in Boulder, Colorado at the Red Rocks. Here are a few pics

Duathlon National Championship April 27, 2008

I would have to say this trip was a pretty amazing exerpience! This was my first race as a professional athlete. I was hoping to squeeze in 5th place to make the team to duathlon worlds.

The race consisted of a 10k run, 40k bike and a 5k run. The first run was two loops which was cross country like racing with a few little hills and some sharp turns to run up on a bridge and over the James River. I ran into transition in 6th place off the first run.

Next was the 40k bike which was draft legal. Ryan Ignatz (store manager of Colorado Multisport) and I worked together on the bike course. My 11 year old Kestrel sure did the trick on the course. Ryan and I worked our way up to the front. We caught up to Ryan Giuliano who jumped in and road with us. Off the bike into transistion I was in 3rd place.

On the last run the lead runner had about 30 seconds on me. I felt pretty strong still and passed Ryan Giuliano and was gaining on the leader, Tom Jeffery, last years champion. I caught up to him after the first mile and passed for the lead. The last two miles I felt relaxed and criused it in for the win. I was ecstatic! I couldn't believe I just came in first for my first pro race...let alone this was the national championships. I ended up running the last 5k leg about a minute faster then anyone else and won by 56 seconds.

Other then the race, I had a wonderful time in Richmond. I went on a beauitful ride with Tonya on Saturday. We rode next to a river and I forgot how beauitful the east coast is with all of the green trees. I certainly miss seeing the deciduous trees. After our ride we went to Cold Stone to get some amazing ice cream. MMMM I'll certainly make the trip back next year. Now I am on the team to duathlon worlds in Rimini, Italy in late September.

http://www.runwashington.com/news/apr08duathlonon.html

Canyonlands Half Marathon. March 8, 2008

This was quite the adventure for a weekend. First, I had plans to go to Moab, UT with some friends and run the half marathon. However some conflicts came up so I had to drive to Moab solo in my explorer. I ended up just sleeping in my very useful explorer right next to the finish. My road bike and I cuddled all night in the back with my comfy futon matress. Jealous?

The morning came early and school buses picked us up and brought us to the start of the half marathon. I waited for about an hour and a half for the race to start, along with 3,000 other runners. The temp. was about 40 degrees and overcast. It was the coldest I've ever been before a race. The race runs along the Colorado river which is very beautiful with the landscape of the rock walls.

The gun went off and my first mile was 5:07...then a 5:13 mile...then a 5:21 mile. Those are the only splits I remember. I ran most of the race next to this man who runs on the fleet feet racing team in Boulder. We were in 4th and 5th position. Around the 9th mile one guy faded and we were now in 3rd and 4th position. At the 11 mile mark I made a move and the man running next to me did not respond. I continued to cruise in with a 3rd place finish with an overall time of 1:10:36. Averaging 5:23 pace. I was pleasantly happy since I did not feel like I was in great shape, the course was slightly rolly at 4,000 ft above sea level. Not a bad start to the beginning of the season.

After I ended up meeting up with another fellow who was from Colorado to go for about a 3o mile ride. The first 10 miles were fine. Then I had 3 flat tires! I ended up hitch hiking back to Moab. Of course they were red neck 4 wheeler guys. Me in tight spandex sitting next to beer belly guys who out weigh me by double. Atleast I got a ride back!

Once I got back I had another problem. My explorer did not start! I had to get towed to a shop which was 3 miles outside of town. The shop was closed by this time and the repair man would not be there in the morning. I would have went into town that night however I had a flat tire on my bike. I was stranded...so i just spent the night in my explorer cuddling with my bike again. The next morning I woke up to a guy knocking on my window. The man quickly repaired my alternator and I was on my way back home.

I didn't necessarily have great luck after the half marathon but my main reason to go to Moab was to run well. All in all it was an adventous trip!

24 hours of Boulder- Oct. 13th 2007

I was on a team with four other runners. Our team was called GO FAST, since we were sponsored by them. The course was an out and back at the boulder reservoir. It was an out and back and consisted of 7.14 miles per lap. Our team was planning on breaking the record which would mean each of us would have to complete 6 laps each and one man completing 7 laps. However, the weather did not cooperate during the 24 hours. The first 6 hours were nice, in the low 50’s, a little wind and cloudy. Shortly after the wind picked up a lot more, the rain came down and it was in the low 40’s. Not ideal conditions. I was able to complete a total of 6 laps which ended up being 42.84 miles. I calculated my average pace per mile which ended up being 6:13 pace. The last few laps were the toughest because my hamstrings had tightened up and it took me a little while to actually get moving. During the whole 24 hours I might have slept 2 hours. At one point I had a longer rest time, however it took me nearly 2 hours to fall asleep because my heart rate was up so high and it was difficult for me to relax. Overall it was a solid effort and we won as a team. We ran a total of 207 miles.

Pics of the race:
http://www.skipix.com/skipixv2/viewlargeimage.php?lang=en&photosetid=1593&filename=DSC_0826.jpg

http://www.skipix.com/skipixv2/viewlargeimage.php?lang=en&photosetid=1594&filename=DSC_0900.jpg&position=2&total=50

http://www.skipix.com/skipixv2/viewlargeimage.php?lang=en&photosetid=1597&filename=DSC_1067.jpg

http://www.skipix.com/skipixv2/viewlargeimage.php?lang=en&photosetid=1598&filename=DSC_1129.jpg