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Rangar Del Sol 2011- Bittersweet happiness!

Mon, 07 Mar 2011 02:42:22 +0100

I don't know where to start with this post. This would have been my fourth Ragnar Del Sol. For those of you unfamiliar, it is a 202 mile relay through Arizona with 12 people on your team. This year, we decided to just hook up with another van of 6 people that we didn't know, so that we would only have to worry about coordinating things for our van. Great decision!

As some of you know from prior blogs and tweets, I got injured in early December, 10 days before running Tucson Marathon. I couldn't enter the race. I had a lumbar disc bulge that was pinching nerves, which in turn weakened some muscles in my right leg. That resulted in other muscles in my right leg overcompensating and getting injured. Long story short, I was only allowed to swim since then. Three weeks ago I got cleared to start biking and two weeks ago I got cleared to start running 2 miles at a time. The reason that I share this is that (if you haven't figured it out already) I couldn't run all three legs of Ragnar. Needless to say, I was super bummed. But, I decided to partake in Ragnar anyway and cheer all my teammates on (best decision ever!).

I'm going to share with you the names of all my teammates and how they came to be part of the team. I'm doing so because I think it shows you how social networking, genuinely nice people and runners/triathletes are pretty special and cool. So, here we go:

Amanda: My girlfriend of several years. We have run two prior Ragnars together. I won't go into detail, since her story is pretty much told in other blogs.

Billy: My college friends Travis and Jen got married. Billy is Jen's little brother. We became friends several years ago and are semi-regular running partners (when we're both healthy!). Billy is an awesome person and also edits and creates most of our race videos.

Christian: Amanda and I met Christian last year through Ragnars website, when we needed a last minute runner replacement. We invited, he accepted, the rest is history. We have kept in touch with Christian ever since Ragnar 2010 and plan on doing many more races with him. He's become more than a race buddy, but a good friend too. Oh yeah, and he plans on doing every single Ragnar Relay race in the country this year!! Plus, he is doing a few more non Ragnar branded relays. I think something like 22 relays this year. Nutty! Check out his site at The Relay Runner.

Richard and Darren: Both are from the DC area. Christian met them at a Ragnar event in 2010 where Richard was a runner and Darren the driver. He insisted that both join us, since they are so much fun. No arguments here.

Justin: Christian's buddy from California and all around bad-ass drummer for the band Augustana. Little did I know until we were half way into the race, when we had been talking about his band for half an hour that I finally asked him what his band's name was. When he told me it was Augustana, I couldn't believe it. Amanda and I had seen them open for Counting Crows and Maroon 5. Billy has two of their CDs. By the way, he's a kick-ass runner too!

MaryKate: She and I started tweeting on Twitter a few years ago, since we both lived in Scottsdale (at the time) and were both runners. We had never met in person, but I thought I would give her a shout when we needed to fill another spot and she jumped at the chance. She's a grad student in California and a great runner that rounded out our team perfectly.

Ok, now on to the race report.

I have to say it was a bittersweet beginning to the day for me the morning of the race. The night before MaryKate, Amanda, Billy, Christian, Justin and I all had dinner together and got ready for the race the next morning. The morning of, I'm happy for everyone and feeling the energy of race day, but a little bummed that I can't race. Then, I hear that the other van may need a runner, so of course I volunteer, even though I was not ready to run. Come to find out, they found another person at the last minute to fill their last spot. We finished decorating the van and Darren drove us to Wickenburg.

Christian led us out of the chute and put is in a good position from the get go. I think he was third or fourth into the exchange chute. MaryKate was next and ran a solid leg. I was getting pumped at how good our team was this year. I so badly wanted to be part of the team, but realized I would do more damage to myself and the team if I took over 3 legs. I decided I would run with Billy for 4 miles of his over 7 mile leg. I have to say, it was pretty fun to go out there and run with your teammate. I guess you normally would never have an opportunity like that, because nobody would want to waste their energy knowing they had to run 3 of their own legs themselves. I peeled off after four miles and let Billy finish his leg. I felt good, having gone out and run with the team.

After I ran, I loosened up a bit and felt a lot more relaxed. Even though I didn't officially run a leg, it just felt good to get out and run on the course. Justin, Amanda and Rich all rocked their legs and we handed off to our other van. We pulled into the next exchange after grabbing a bite to eat. Four of us did some yoga and had Muscle Milk, while the others grabbed some shut-eye in the van.

The night runs were next. I always love the night run. It's something different to run that late at night with headlamps on. It's kind of surreal, especially with all the other runners and vans doing the same thing with you in the middle of the night. We started getting giddy from lack of sleep. For some reason, we kept the same radio station on the entire race, which happened to play Enrique Iglesias, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears and Ke$ha at least once an hour. Well, these became our theme songs. Let me just say, "and I need a vacation tonight!!". Our van also bore the brunt of our inside joke by having "E'scuse Me" (in the Enrique accent) embroidered on the hood.

The night runs were just awesome. Everybody rocked their legs that night. Our van was on fire with lights all over the inside, a sabre, pink flamingo and palm tree on top w/ jungle vines garnering the entrance to the sliding door. Yes, we were the tacky tourists, hence the obnoxious outfits. By the way, MaryKate suggests Walgreen's as an excellent source for cheesy Arizona tees. The rest of us went the Goodwill route and found plenty of tropical print garb.

After the night runs, we all went back to our place and grabbed showers and about an hour of sleep before heading out for our last legs. Last year, we were in van #2. Because of the unfortunate death of a runner ahead of us last year, Amanda was the only person in our van that ran all 3 legs. The rest of us had to skip our second legs, due to part of the course being blocked off. Because of this (and because I was feeling good), Amanda graciously let me run her last leg for her. I was so pumped up to run (even though my fitness is only about 70% right now). She had a 4.2 mile leg that was a slight downhill for the first two miles and flat for the rest. I felt great. It was cool, overcast and fast. I "killed" (passed) 20 runners on the leg and ran at around a 7:15 min/mile pace, which I was so happy with, given my current fitness. That really meant a lot to me for her to give her last leg to me. It made me feel like I was truly a part of this amazing team.

Before my last leg During my last leg

After our last legs, we met our other van at the finish line, took pictures and our van headed to Zipp's for some much deserved beers and burgers. The rest of the night consisted of beers, laughter, hot tub and sleep. Even though I didn't officially run this year, this Ragnar was just special. I loved our team. Everybody clicked. We finished the fastest that I've ever done in a Ragnar race, placing 50th out of over 350 entrants at a time just under 28 hours.

That's what this sport of running is all about, having fun. Relays are special, in that you get to share that with a team, rather than just be an individual runner out there. We all talked about doing other races again with eachother in the future. I know people say that after some experiences, but I can guarantee you that this team will all race again. It was an amazing race that allowed me to grow stronger bonds with people that I already knew and create new friendships with others. Cheers to Amanda, Darren, Richard, Christian, Justin and MaryKate! Thank you for being a part of a truly special weekend. Here's to many more cool experiences to come!

(from left: Justin, Billy, MaryKate, Christin, Amanda) (Justin, Billy, MaryKate, Christian, Me)

Race report:

This year's Ragnar Relay Del Sol was great. They added extra safety precautions, by providing orange flags for teammates to hold up when crossing roads. Even though some legs (or parts of legs) were not allowed to be van supported, they did an excellent job providing one or two aid stations for runners along these routes. Plus, I think limiting van support in dangerous areas was a great way to prevent accidents. It was a bit of a crowded race this year and that showed mostly in the exchange areas. I know planning a race like this has to be a logistic nightmare, but the exchange areas have to improve. There have to be fewer exchances with narrow and limited driving space and parking. At one exchange, the toilets were probably half a mile from the furthest parking spot. I know it's tough, but they need to improve on this. As usual, the start line was great fun. No problems there. This year they ended the race it the Tempe Arts Center, which was an improvement from Tempe Marketplace, but the beer area was so separted from the finish line grounds, that it didn't even feel like it was part of Ragnar. I think I had the most fun when it was at a park with the beer garden in the finish line area with bands too. The medal was top notch again this year. Great quality and cool design. My only suggestion is to mix it up next year. I've done four Del Sol's in a row and all the medals are very similar.

I've since been cleared for full time training. I'm ready to race again and everything has gone great in the week since Ragnar. I'm ready to get back out there. It looks like I'll be doing Marquee Triathlon (Tempe, AZ) and Las Palomas Triathlon (Puerto Penasco, MX) in April, then Rio Salado Triathlon (Tempe, AZ) in May.

All in all: Fantastic race, fantastic race organization, amazing team and superb time. Yes I'd do it again. In fact, I'll do it every year. I'm thinking about maybe doing Ragnar New England this year and we've talked about doing Ragnar Florida Keys as an Ultra team (ouch!). Hope you enjoyed my blog. Please leave any comments you'd like.

Back in the saddle again!!

Sat, 12 Feb 2011 19:22:01 +0100

It's been way too long since I've blogged on my site. I decided it's time to explain why I took so much time off and saddle up again. Here goes:

September 26, 2010 was my last triathlon of the year. Amanda and I kicked off the end of the year with a blast at the Las Vegas Triathlon in Boulder City, NV. It was at the Hacienda Resort and Casino. If you've driven from Phoenix, it's that first big casino you see when you get through the Hoover Dam. It's a bit of a hole in the wall, but man is it fun! The rooms were a bit shady, but seemed clean. The casino was small, but had decent food and the tables were super cheap with free drinks. Needless to say, I didn't get the best sleep the night before the race.

I signed up for the Olympic distance and had a decent swim. We drove the bike course the day before, so I knew I was in for some hills. That's an understatement. You were either going up or down, no flats at all! I actually surprised myself with my time on the bike. The end of the ride started to get hot. I came into transition and started to feel it within the first half mile. About 2.5 miles into the 10k I started to feel sick. I think I threw up about 3 or 4 times on the run course. But, I finished 5th in my age group (not as good as it sounds).

After Las Vegas Triathlon, my goal was to focus on the Tucson Marathon. I dedicated all my training to running, swimming and strength training. I was feeling awesome! I actually felt like I had an outside chance at Boston qualifying. I finished all of my long runs, 2-16 milers, 2-18 milers and 2-20 milers done! All I had left was 2 weeks of 5-6 mile maintenance runs during the week, a 12 miler on the second to last weekend and an 8 miler on the last weekend before the marathon. After finishing the 12 miler, I noticed that I had a small twinge of pain in my right knee when I walked down the stairs. Later that day, I went out on the bike when Amanda did her 12 mile long run and my right leg just felt like it was getting tighter and tighter. I took Sunday off and went out on Monday to do a 4 mile run. 1/2 a mile into the run I had severe knee pain. I walked home. Tuesday, same routine. Wednesday, same thing again.

My doctor was ill that week, so I decided to go to Urgent Care and see if I couldn't get a physical therapy prescription. That's what I did and went to 6-7 physical therapy sessions that lasted about 2 1/2 hours each. I did everything I could think of there; stretching, strengthening, massage, electrical stimulation and ice. At the end of therapy (3 days before the race) I could run about 3 miles before the knee pain set in. I had all but given up.

Amanda was entered in the Tucson Half-Marathon, so we headed down to El Conquistador Resort on Saturday. We went into the expo and I just got that bug again. My head was thinking, "if I can just get through 5-6 pain free miles on the treadmill tonight, I should be good to run the marathon". So, that's what I tried. 5.5 miles in and the pain sarted in again on my right knee. I became a spectator then and there. Amanda had a great race and it was a lot of fun to watch her get a PR! Nice job Amanda!

When we went back to Scottsdale, I went in to see my doctor. About 5 years ago I developed a disc bulge in my lumbar back from doing yard work hunched over for about 4 hours. My foot was actually partially paralyzed for about 2 weeks. Steroids and physical therapy got me back to normal. Well, my disc bulge is somehow back. Basically, what was happening was that the disc bulge was pushing on nerves that were causing weakness in certain muscles in my right leg. In turn, other muscles in my right leg (like my IT band, glutes and hamstrings) were overcompensating for the weaker muscles. Then, the muscles that were overcompensating got injured from the extra load, causing all the tightness in my right leg and pain in my knee. So, after a week of steroids, I was back in physical therapy again.

This time, I am going to Endurance Rehabilitation. My doctor wanted me to go there because of a lower back traction machine that basically pulls your back and gives release for the discs in your spine, hopefully allowing the bulge to slip back into it's normal place. My therapy also includes a technique called A-Stym. Look it up online. It's basically modern torture! They use devices to "scrape" the damaged muscles and tendons. This scraping is supposed to break up nodules and scar tissue on these areas. Then strengthening exercises re-align the tissues back into the lengthened and proper shapes they are supposed to be. It hurts like hell and causes my leg (and butt) to be black and blue, but I think it's worth it!

Well, I've been a complete schlub since not being able to race in the marathon. This year was full of racing ups and downs for me. I was training for Soma Half-Ironman in October, 2010, but when the dam broke at Tempe Town Lake, I scrapped that plan. After weeks of trying to figure out what my next "A" race was, I decided on Tucson Marathon. When I got injured 10 days before the race and ultimately couldn't race, it just took all the wind out of my sails. I was so bummed out. I took a lot of time off and let myself get out of shape.

Two weeks ago, I decided to change my attitude and start focusing on the things I could do and start training hard again. I've been getting some great swim training in. Yesterday my physical therapist cleared me to bike up to 60 minutes today. So, that's what I did! I felt great. My back, right leg and knee all feel great. I've definitely lost fitness, but I think I'm on track to overcoming this injury. Next week I'm going to be cleared to run 2 miles at therapy. If that goes well, I should be able to start slowly run training again. I haven't ran in over 6 weeks! That's the most time off I have taken in years.

Looking forward; I'm back on track and positive I will get back in race shape soon. We've got a great group of people coming in for Ragnar Del Sol in a couple of weeks. While I'm bummed that I'm going to miss running the race for the first time, I'm excited to be in the van with everyone cheering my buds on! On that note, sorry to everyone that's dealt with my bummed out attitude lately! I promise I'm back on track and positive again.

Don't lose sight of your goals, no matter how far off in the distance they may seem.

Ironman 70.3 training

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 02:04:58 +0100

It's been a long summer already. For me, it's hard to train here in Phoenix over the summer, due to the heat. The problem is, that's the time to train for fall triathlons and half-marathons. This year, I've been trying to do a good bit of training outdoors, to adjust to the heat during the run on some of the triathlons this fall. I've learned that there should be a good balance of indoor/outdoor training. I get discouraged when I feel terrible on outdoor training runs or rides. But, I also realize that I'm adapting my body to the heat. I'm also trying to get more nutrition in on my long training sessions. It wasn't good when I felt hungry on my half-ironman last year. I've never felt that before, but should have expected it when I'm racing for 6 hours, while only eating GU!

This year, I'm trying to run twice a week and ride 2-3 times per week outdoors to try and acclimate to the heat. Last year, I absolutely crashed during the run at Soma Half-Ironman Triathlon. The run is my strong suit, so it's pretty deflating to burn out on the run. I'm still doing my long rides outside, as well as long ride/run bricks, but I'm trying to do long runs inside. Along with that, I do some speed work and 10k runs outside to get used to the heat. I'm hoping it all pays off.

I'm contemplating doing Ironman 70.3 Cancun this year. It looks like a lot of fun and a cool course. Either way, my big races this year will be Soma Half-Ironman in October and P.F. Chang's Marathon in January, with a half-marathon in December, possibly Tucson, Fiesta Bowl or Las Vegas and Ironman 70.3 New Orleans in April, 2011. I'm waiting to see how I feel after Soma to decide if I'll do Ironman Arizona in 2011.

I bought a bike trainer the other day, so I can do some more bike workouts inside. I'm also doing 25 mile rides 2-3 times per week before work. I really want to bulk up on the bike, since that's my weakness. I'm getting itchy to start racing again, so stay tuned for some results from sprint triathlons soon.

Take care,

Jess

Nutrition, equipment, gear!

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 23:09:27 +0100

Not that this will be a super exciting post, but I thought I would write a quick blurb about the products that I use when training and racing. So, here they are:

Shoes: Newton Gravitas - I use these shoes for almost everything from training to racing. I have a pair with laces that I use for training and running races, as well as a pair with Yankz to get them on quickly during triathlons. I also use Zoot Ultra shoes for sprint triathlons and during the splash and dash races, since they are so light and easy to get on and off. The Newton's provide some more cushion for longer races. I also use the Scott Makani II shoes for training.
Glasses: Rudy Project Rydon II. I love Rudy Project's products. These glasses are awesome. They come with a super cool hard case and spare lens case too. They are virtually indestructible. I use the smoke lenses during the day and the clear lenses for night rides.
Anti-chafe: Body Glide is the way to go for running. I use Brave Soldier for anti-chafing during biking or triathlons, since it's a little thicker and lasts longer. I had serious chafing issues on my armpits and neck from my wetsuit, until I found Tri Slide. This stuff is an awesome spray-on product.
Hats: I usually don't wear hats during running races, but I usually do during hot triathlons. I usually use my Tribe hat or visor.
Fluids: During races less than a half-ironman distance, I use Nuun. I love this stuff, because it's so easy, has low calories, a light flavor and is a tablet that you can just drop into your water bottle. Plus, it comes in a ton of flavors. My favorites are banana and Kona Kola. Post race or hard training I always use Fluid. Fluid is the best recovery drink out there. I love the Tropical flavor, which is a bit of a pina colada type tast. For long races, where I need calories, I use Cytomax or Gatorade Endurance.
Protein Bars: Tigers Milk
Energy: During a race, I use GU Energy products. They have tons of flavors and are easy on the stomach. Strawberry Banana and Espresso Love are my favs! Pre and post race I use Livewire Energy chews. I can't say enough about these things. I don't just use them for training. Amanda and I use them almost daily. They have a ton of vitamins in them and one chew is equivalent to a Red Bull! Plus, they have great flavors. Try the chocolate flavor. It tastes like a Tootsie Roll!
Bike: Scott Plasma 20. What can I say? I just got it and have only used it in one race, but this bike rocks! Thanks to Tribe for hooking that up! Pictures to come soon!
Goggles: I can't say enough about the Aquasphere goggles. Seriously, I used to use Speedo and TYR, but these are the best. They don't fog or leak. Plus, they give you the best range of vision of any goggle I've every used.
Bike Rack: Kuat. You've got to try these racks. They are the best. Super lightweight and you can get them on an off in about 60 seconds. Awesome!
Helmet: Rudy Project Slinger.
Arm Warmers: Moeben
Shorts, shirts, etc: All my other gear, including most of what I listed above, I purchase at Tribe Multisport in Scottsdale, AZ. Tribe has a huge selection with a knowledgeable and friendly staff. Go a couple times and they make you feel like family. That's why I race for them!

Pre-race pains

Fri, 09 Apr 2010 00:40:08 +0100

Here I am, getting ready for my usual Thursday night rides with Tribe and speculating about the upcoming triathlon in Mexico. It's a little over two weeks away now. I'm definitely ready. Training has been going well. My endurance and speed are right where I want them. Only one problem, my right calf and achilles are killing me when I run.

I don't know what it is. I get so frustrated. It seems like I have some type of nagging issue before every big race that I train for. This whole thing started on a 7 mile treadmill run, after an hour long ride on the stationary bike. I'm about 5 miles into my run, when I feel like I landed wrong on my right foot. My ankle didn't twist or anything. I just kind of landed pigeon toe'd (or however you spell it). It felt like the inside of my achilles tendon was just tender.

That was over two weeks ago. I've iced it, elevated it, wrapped it up in compression, used a Strassburg sock and tried using anti-inflammatories. Nothing works. My right calf is also sore, but I'm not sure that it's related to the achilles tenderness. The area is not sore to the touch or anything. I just feel tenderness when I run and it's taking me off my game.

So, I've decided to take my training down a notch. I took yesterday completely off. Tonight, I'm only biking. I guess we'll see how it goes. I'm planning on a 40 mile bike and 10k run this Saturday with Vance. I'm hoping I feel good for that, so it gives me some confidence before the race. I'm also using this weekend to test my endurance in the heat. We are purposely starting a little later, so that it will fairly toasty when doing the run around Tempe Town Lake, late in the morning. I'm wanting to run in some heat, since it can get pretty hot, humid and windy in Rocky Point.

The run portion of the Las Palomas Triathlon is all on the golf course cart path. While I kind of like that idea and it's kind of scenic, it's probably the worst thing I could ask for with my achilles pain. The cart path is super curvy and has tons of rolling hills. Well, all I can do is try and heal my leg and finish my training.

Next Thursday is a Splash & Dash race at Tempe Town Lake. It's a 750m swim followed by a 4k run. It's the perfect little tune up to get me back into remembering open water races and quick transitions. I'm hoping to gas the run too. Then, next weekend, another tune up race, the Sprint in the Park. It's a super short triathlon, but again, perfect for practicing my transitions and blowing out the run.

I think my bike has gotten a lot better this year. I've been logging a lot more miles riding and I think the strength training has really helped. I'm hoping that between the tune up races, the strength training, extra bike miles and getting in some good, long bike/run workouts, I'll be able to really step it up a notch in Mexico.

With that being said, I'm excited! Amanda is doing her first real sprint distance triathlon and her first open water triathlon. She did a super sprint last year, but this will be her first big race. We have a 3 bedroom condo at Las Palomas Resort, which is the host hotel for the race. We're going down and meeting up with a few friends. I can't wait to celebrate on Saturday morning after crossing the finish line.

Good luck to everyone racing in the next few weeks. I'll try and squeeze in a race report or two before Mexico!

Vistancia Triathlon Race Report

Tue, 30 Mar 2010 02:19:54 +0100

Ok, so I will start this post by saying it's probably not a good idea to have many adult beverages on a Friday before a Sunday race. I've learned my lesson. 'Nuff said.

Sunday's Vistancia Triathlon kicked off at 8am. It was a pretty perfect day, other than wind.

Swim
The swim was in a 4 lane pool. Everyone lined up according to their approximate finish time for the swim. You swam 4 lengths of the pool. Each time you hit the wall, you would swim under the lane markers into the next lane. When you finished 4 lengths, you had to climb out of the pool and start all over again in the first lane. This repeated 4 times to get the full 400 meters out of the swim.

As if you can't picture it from what I just described to you, it was a complete cluster. No less than 3 times, I hit the wall with at least 5 other swimmers there. I had to push off under water and dolphin kick to get ahead of them and start swimming again. It was a mess, but I handled it really well and was actually really pleased with my swim. It was about as close to open water as you can get without actually being there. Tons of kicking and punching in the water. Glad it was over!

T1
I had a great transition. I was really fast putting my bike shoes on and getting my helmet and glasses on too. I ran to the line and hopped on the bike and sped off. I'm not sure of my exact transition time, but it was quick.

Bike
This was a 3 loop course. 12.4 miles total for the sprint. My first loop was pretty good. The first half of each loop was uphill. The highest point in the course had some serious wind and it was blowing me all over the place. I felt sorry for the guy that I saw in transition with full disc wheels on his bike, he was probably being blown off the road. Ok, I really didn't feel that sorry for him. Why do you need a disc wheel for a 12.4 mile bike segment? I felt like I never caught my breath on the bike. My last loop was not good. I knew I was slowing down, but still thought I was headed for a decent time. Jeffrey Ryan passed me on my second loop and was hauling. Way to go Jeff!

T2
On my way into T2 I had a super smooth time getting my feet out of the shoes and on top before I hit the dismount line. I had another fast transition. Slipped my bike helmet off and put my Zoot shoes on quick. Off for the run.

Run
I went out on the run and was cruising for the first half mile. Once again, I just never felt like I could get my stride on this race. I wasn't sure exactly how fast I was going at the time, but I knew I was slower than usual. I decided to just try and get into my stride on the run, even if it wasn't my usual pace for this distance. After I did that, I felt much better. I never could push it much further, but I got into a rythm and crossed the finish line after passing several people on the run. I ended up running around a 7:45 min/mile pace, which is terrible for me at that distance. I was really hoping to run sub 7:00 min/miles for this race, but oh well. Life happens. My Zoot shoes were also killing me. I could feel hot spots on the outside balls of both feet. Also, something was seriously rubbing on the inside of my left ankle. Sure enough, more blood on the inside of the shoes after the race from blisters. I need to figure this out for my next race.

The Kicker
So, get this! As I'm at around mile 2.9 or so, I'm coming up to this guy in front of me. He's 21 years old, based on the age written on his calf. He doesn't know I'm behind him. He's about 30 feet away from a turnaround sign on the course. He stops early and starts to turn around to come back. He sees me and rests his hands on his knees to try and play it off, like he wasn't going to turn early. I pass him and run to the turn around. I make the turn and he's already headed back to the finish line! I can't believe it. I pass him on my way to the finish and tell Amanda as soon as I cross the finish line, since she's collecting the timing chips. She can't believe it either. Then, I see him coming and I wait for him at the finish line. He crosses and I quickly remind him that he cut a turn early. He completely ignores me and walks away.

I talk to one of the race organizers and they encourage me to report it to the USAT timer. I agree, since this guy needs to know that he can't get away with cheating at an event like this. I tell the timer, he writes the incident down and thanks me. An hour later, the guys is getting a trophy for being second in his age group. I'm pissed. First of all, I want to point out that he was second in his age group out of 4 people total. Secondly, he should have been disqualified just to learn a lesson. I mean, these races, these triathlons, these marathons...they are all about proving something to yourself, not anyone else. This guy needs to learn that lesson. It torked me off for the rest of the day. I hope I don't see him at another race again. Amanda will probably try and stop me, but I would say something to him. Have some integrity for God's sake. If you can't finish a 5k run in a sprint triathlon without cheating, then you've got some issues. Grow up. Plus, he let an old 35 year old man (me) beat him by 5 minutes.

Ok, enough of my rant. But, I hate cheaters!!

As usual, 4 Peaks Racing did a great job putting on this race. It was organized and had plenty of happy, helpful volunteers (including Amanda!). The finish line food was water, bananas, oranges and cookies. The awards were really cool and so were the shirts w/ a big "V" in the Superman symbol style. Very cool. The bike and run were both very scenic and enjoyable. The run was along a nice paved trail that made it very nice.

The downsides of this race were only two things:

The pool swim was an absolute fiasco. Doing a serpentine swim and having people get out of the pool and start over 4 times to get the meters out of it was a huge pain. There were a lot of newbies at this race and, although given directions, they don't stay to the right or get out of the way when you are trying to pass and you get clubbed by fists and kicked by legs. My suggestion would be to start in waves. Have two people assigned to each lane and have a volunteer count off their laps until they're done, then start with the next wave. I know this makes for a longer total race day, but it makes it more fair. The first 10-20 swimmers had a definite advantage being able to swim in the pool unobstructed for the first 100 meters.

The end of the run was confusing. It was like a figure 8. For the most part, the run was an out and back. However, when you got back, you had to pass the path that led you to the finish line (which you could see only 25 yards from you) and go on another short loop before coming back and crossing the finish line. It was very confusing. I saw tons of runners get completely confused by it and plenty more were talking about it after the finish.

Overall, this was a super fun race and well organized. I'm disappointed that I didn't rest up Friday to be fresh for this race and have a better shot at placing. I came in 6/19 in my age group and 31st overall out of about 108 men. Not my best showing. I'm especially disappointed with my run. On the bright side, Mike Sanchez from Tribe did an awesome job volunteering. He did all the body marking before the race and directed people in and out of transition. Jeffrey Ryan from Tribe had a great race and finished 2nd in his age group. Angie Axman, also from Tribe, was the overall female winner and was only seconds behind the overall male winner!! Amazing! Fantastic job from the Tribe triathletes. I'm still amazed when I do races in my Tribe kit and random people racing and spectating are always givine me the "Go Tribe" yell.

Thanks to Jeremy and Dan from 4 Peaks Racing. Another successful event! See you at the Splash and Dash Series!

Ragnar Relay Del Sol 2010 Race Report

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 03:44:13 +0100

For those of you that don't know what this race is all about, here is a quick synopsis.

This is a 204 mile relay race from Prescott to Tempe, AZ. Regular teams consist of 12 members, while ultra teams consist of 6 members. A regular team splits their team up by putting 6 people in van #1 and 6 people in van #2. Each runner is assigned a position (1-12) and you must stay in that order. Runner #1 starts the race and completes their leg, handing off to runner #2 and so on, until runner #6 hands off to runner #7, which is the first runner in van #2. While van #2 completes their 6 segments, the runners in van #1 have time to rest, eat and maybe get some sleep. Each person on a regular team runs 3 segments, consisting of anywhere between 3-9 miles per segment. Each person runs between 14-23 miles total. Ultra teams cover the same distance, but with half the runners, so they are typically running about a half marathon distance for each of their three segments. So, in essence, someone from your team is running at all times, until you cross the finish line 204 miles later!

Here's my story!

This is my third year doing this relay race. Although the race is punishing, there is something about it that makes us want to do it again every year. This year was no exception. We were van #2 this year. Our van consisted of Amanda Miller (my girlfriend), Kristy Montano (HS friend), Billy Cox (my friend and running partner), Brian Soto (Tribe Multisport running partner) and Christian Hanson (I'll explain later!). Once again, we were "Team Brushfire".

We decided not to go to the start line, since we didn't have to start our segments until around 1pm on Friday, February 26, 2010. This year, we went crazy with decorating the van. We went for a western theme and put a nice orange skirt with chili peppers around the van. The windows had our team name, sponsor logos, saguaro cacti and a cool "Boot Hill" sign. The inside had white string lights so we could rock out at night. The topper was the cow skull we mounted to the front of the van!

As you can see, the 2 hour drive tore up the skirt a bit!

We drove up to Kirkland, AZ to get ready for our first segments. For those of you that don't know where Kirkland is, well, neither do I! The other vehicle's last runner, Dawn, approached the exchange chute, handed off the slap band to Amanda and she was off! Amanda rocked through her 4.3 mile hilly leg. Brian was next. Brian does ultra marathons, so we gave him the hardest segments!! Thanks Brian! Brian had a 5.5 mile, super hilly leg. He absolutely rocked it. He was flying by people. I think he ended up "toasting" about 15 runners on his first leg.

Billy took over after Brian and also had some tough hills over his 6.7 mile stretch. We were off to a great start. Everyone was running fantastic paces. Billy handed off to me. My leg was a 7 mile run along a packed dirt road. I started way too fast (5:45 pace) and got winded quickly, plus, the dust from all the vans was killing my throat and eyes. I slowed my pace down, caught my breath and got into my rythm. I think I ended up toasting around 12-14 people, including a kick-ass looking Ironman girl towards the end. Kristy took over after me for her 8.5 mile leg. Her terrain was basically the same as mine, but she had to cross 2 washes! The rules allowed us to pick her up and drive her the 10-20 feet over the wash and start running again.

Christian was our last runner. This year was so hectic for our team. We had over half our team drop out for injuries. We ended up contacting Christian from a post that he put on the Ragnar website looking for a team. He came in to town from San Clemente, CA the night before the race! So, Christian had the last leg, which was a 7.1 mile, rolling hill segment. Most of it was on packed dirt, but the last 1-2 miles was a gradual uphill on asphalt. This was the first leg that it got dark for, so Christian ran with a headlight, backlight and reflective vest (as required). He had a great pace and tallied up some more toasts for our vehicle. He handed off to our other van and it was our first chance to relax.

We went to the Frog Rock Cafe in Congress, AZ. We have since given it the name of Fraggle Rock. This was a tiny little diner with a bar attached. They were definitely not ready for the crowd of people. It took them an hour to even start cooking our food after we ordered! Ridiculous. So, we passed some more time talking and deciding that next year we were going to keep tally of our "toasts" by hash marking the outside of the van. After dinner, we drove up to the next major exchange point and tried to get some rest. Amanda, Brian and I all slept in the van, while Kristy, Christian and Billy all slept in the "Junior Suite". The junior suite consisted of a counselors office in an elementary school that was piled high with books and papers. Somehow, Billy managed to sleep, but I don't think Kristy and Christian got much sleep on the hard floor. I think we basically got about an hour's worth of sleep.

We woke back up around midnight and Amanda prepared for her second leg. The van handed off to her around 1am and she crushed her 8 mile leg! Towards the end of her leg, we drove up ahead to the exchange point to get Brian ready for his long run. That's when the chaos started. They were holding everyone at the exchange point, because one of the runners up ahead was involved in an accident. We ended up being held there for almost 2 hours, when they finally told us to go to the next major exchange point and we had to skip our 2nd legs. By the time we got to the major exchange it was around 5am. We got assigned another start time, so they could stagger the course a bit. Van #1 took over at 7:50am to finish their 3rd legs of the race. The news of the accident put a bit of a damper on the race and we wondered whether it was even right to finish the race.

During van #1's legs, we all went back to my house for showers and naps. We woke back up around 10am, cleaned out the van and restocked the coolers. We were back! We all finished our last legs and felt great. Christian decided to go with his "Mexican" outfit, which consisted of a zarape, sombrero and a Mexican flag mankini.

We celebrated our finish at Zipp's with some wings, burgers and beers. I think it took us around 29 hours to finish. I guess what keeps everyone coming back to this race is the fellowship you feel with your team. We all definitely bonded over the race this year and I think we made some new friends. Christian is coming back into town in a week, so we plan on hanging out. This type of race is special for other reasons too. I think the feat of running 204 miles is definitely a draw. The other thing is that running is typically a fairly lonely sport. You are out there running against yourself, not other people. At Ragnar, you don't want to let your teammates down. It motivates you and drives you to get up in the middle of the night to run through the desert. It's a pretty cool race, now that I really sit back and reflect on it. You will have to try it to truly know what I mean.

Race report:

I love this race. You have to deal with so many things, like weather, sleep deprivation and multiple runs in a 29 hour period.
There are no aid stations on this course, so everything is self sufficient. Your van is your aid station.
The weather this year was great. Not too hot during the day and not too cold at night.
The scenery and variety of terrain can't be beat.
Cool technical race shirts
Awesome "bottle opener" medals
The only downside this year was the finish line at Tempe Marketplace. They should move it back to the park, where they had a beer garden and live bands. Much better!

The sad part of this experience is the runner that was struck during our second legs. His name is Robby Mayasich. He ended up dying several days later from severe head trauma. He was only 18 years old and a student at Brophy High, here in Phoenix. If we run Ragnar again, I think we will dedicate the race to Robby. He will definitely be in our thoughts next year. If you are reading this, please take a few moments to give some thoughts and prayers for his family.

Lost Dutchman Half-Marathon 2010 Race Review

Sun, 14 Feb 2010 22:51:08 +0100

Ok, to clarify, I took this race off and didn't run. However, I rode most of the course on my bike supporting Amanda Miller. This is one of my favorite half-marathons, but I forced myself to not enter this one, since it's only been 4 weeks since the P.F. Chang's Marathon.

The plan was that I was going to ride my beach cruiser bike along the course to watch Amanda throughout the race. Of course, there was a bit of a wrench thrown in that. I got everything ready last night, pumped up the bike tires, put the bike rack on the car, etc. This morning, the front bike tire was flat. So, we picked up Amanda's friend Karen in the Wal Mart parking lot to take her to the race and I ran in and bought a new inner tube.

We were hauling down the 101 and the 60 to Apache Junction for the race start. I realized I was going to have to walk them to the start line, then come back to the car to deal with changing the tire. We got there in the nick of time and the girls got out of the bathroom about 30 seconds before the gun went off, but it was all good!

I got back to the car and got the tire changed after a few curse words and headed out to spectate! I first found Amanda around the 3.5 mile mark. She looked good and threw me her jacket. I hopped on the bike and saw her another mile down the rode. I camped out there and waited for everyone to make the turn-around to come back.

Amanda - Mile 8.8

It was kind of nice to spectate for once. I got to see the leaders of the marathon and half-marathon. Karleen Dirmantas (a Tribe Multisport teammate) was kicking serious butt and was the 5th woman overall when I saw here around 8.8 miles. Mitch Hill was also kicking some behind at the same mile marker. Amanda came through the same point and was hurting a bit. The police didn't seem to care, so I followed her on the bike for about a mile and then biked up to the 11 mile mark. I met up with her again and led her to the finish line. Great job Amanda!!

So, Amanda did a great job finishing, but her PR eluded her. Karleen Dirmantas was the 5th woman overall and 2nd in her age group. Mitch Hill won first in his age group! Rich Dirmantas ran the 10k in a great time. Congratulations to everyone.

Karen and Amanda Mitch Hill - 1st Place Age Group

Karleen Dirmantas - 5th overall, 2nd place Age Group

So, here is my summary of the race:

I used to love this race, because they had some really cool hills on packed dirt that made the course unique and challenging, including a monster hill called, "The Dutchman's Revenge". Although this course still has some rolling hills in it, they took out the segment of this race that made it special. My opinion: Change it back!
The weather was awesome. This was the most mild I've ever seen it for this race. Perfect start time temperature. Although the sun came out, it never got sweltering hot.
As usual, fantastic aid stations, nearly every mile.
The finish line area is one of the best. Tons of volunteers with great post race foods, including chips, salsa, cheetos and breakfast burritos!
The views of this race are great. The first few miles of the half-marathon are staring right into the mountain with the sun rising over the top. Fantastic!
Very well managed race!
Great long sleeved race t-shirts
The finisher medals are among the best. Very heavy and super cool design.

Overall, I would still change this back to the old course to give it the original flavor that it had with the hills, packed dirt and "The Dutchman's Revenge". With that being said, I think this is still one of my favorite races in the valley and I can't say that I'm not a little bit sad to have not raced it this year. Had I run the same pace as my last half-marathon in December, I would have placed 3rd in my age group! Hind-sight is 20/20! I would definitely recommend this race. I'm rating it a 9/10 for half-marathons.

I don't think I will skip this one in 2011!

Take care,

Jess

Amanda and I

"Screwed" at P.F. Chang's Marathon

Sat, 13 Feb 2010 01:58:51 +0100

Well, marathon over. I can tell you this my friends, the marathon is no joke. You've got to respect it. Your body is just not meant to run that far. I learned that the hard way yesterday. Here's a recap:

I usually set 3 goals for myself on race day. 3 different times that I would be happy with. One time represents everything going perfect, even better than perfect. The next time is a stretch, but an attainable goal. The last time is what I would be happy with if everything that could possibly go wrong, goes wrong. Let's just say I wish I would have picked 4 times for this race.

The day started off well. The weather was absolutely perfect for racing. Overcast with the start temperature around 48 degrees. We started off in downtown Phoenix and I felt awesome. I was actually running ahead of my best goal time at about a 7:45 min/mile pace. I got into a groove and kept going. Then, shit started to hit the fan. At mile 12 I tripped on something in the road. I wasn't sure what it was, but it made me fall ass over head in the middle of the course. It disoriented me, but I gained my senses and realized I was sitting in the middle of the course facing runners coming at me. I got up quickly and started my stride again. Starting up again after stopping or falling is no easy task. After running for 12 miles already, your body and legs are in this mechanical, almost automatic, motion. When you stop, you throw a serious wrench in thoes mechanics. I started to do damage control to figure out how bad I fell. My hands hurt from bracing myself, but my right butt cheek took the brunt of the fall. My time was still really good. I ran a 1hr 45 minute half marathon at that point.

About half a mile after the fall, it felt like I had a rock stuck in the tread of my right shoe, right under the ball of my foot. Over the next few miles I kept trying to drag my right foot once in a while to try and dislodge the rock, but to no avail, I couldn't shake it loose. Mile 15 was the turning point for me. My body started to feel the pain. I'm not sure if my altered gait from the rock in my shoe really made a difference, but in retrospect I think it did (more to come at the end of this blog).

At mile 16 I retreated into the "dark" place. For distance athletes, this is a place your mind goes at some point during every long race. It's a mental state that you either succumb to, or fight through. I kept battling through, but my body was trying to quit. I was just taking the race mile by mile at this point. My only goal was to make it to the next mile marker. Not such a great strategy, but it had to do in this case. Every part of my lower body was killng me. My ham strings were so tight and combined with my glutes, kept cramping at every step. My feet have never felt this bad. The ball of my right foot was in agonizing pain. By mile 20 the wheels had absolutely fallen off. I was down to running about 10 min/mile pace. Basically doing the "marathon shuffle" down the racecourse.

Well, I made it to the finish line. The second half of the marathon was basically just damage control and felt like I was just inching my way to the finish line over the last 13 miles.

Here's the kicker:

So, I can barely walk after I cross the finish line, but Amanda and Jerome (my step-dad) walk me over to the post-race grass area and I lay down. I asked Jerome to pull my legs up to stretch out my cramping ham strings. When he does, he looks at my right shoe and says, "what's this". "What's what?" I replied. He takes off my shoe and proceeds to take 5 minutes unscrewing a 2 1/2" drywall screw from the ball of the sole on my right shoe. Apparantly that fall that I had at mile 12 was me somehow driving a drywall screw into the bottom of my shoe. The supposed "rock" that I kept trying to dislodge from my tread was a 2 1/2" screw that I ran on for over 14 miles of the race. No wonder my foot was killing me. The screw was completely lodged into the tread, where all you could see was the head of it. I ran on it for so long that I actually grinded down half of the head of the screw! I'm guessing it made me alter my gait to compensate for the pain in my foot, which also probably contributed to the rest of my legs getting so fatigued and cramped.

Well, I missed all 3 of my time goals, but I crossed that finish line still running. It was a crazy day, but in hindsight, it was worth it. I also want to congratulate my friends Vance Cobb and Mitch Hill. Both of them kicked my butt and qualified for Boston. Awesome job guys!!

Lessons learned:
1. Respect the marathon! It's no joke!
2. Set 4 time goals :)
3. Be proud of yourself for just finishing a race.
4. Bring a screwdriver to the next race.

Hey there!!

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 04:33:13 +0100

I just got done setting up my home page. I hope everyone enjoys this site. I'm planning my first official blog to be for Amanda's upcoming Lost Dutchman Half-Marathon on Valentine's Day. Stay tuned!