2007 Race Schedule

4/21/07 - MaxTrax Duathlon
5/6/07 - Race for Sight
6/17/07 - Rec Plex Triathlon
6/23/07 – QuarterMax
6/24/07 - Octomax
6/30/07 - USAT Age Group National Championship
7/9/07 – South County YMCA Triathlon
7/14/07 - Tour de Donut
7/15/07 – Ballwin Triathlon
7/21/07 - Show-Me State Games Triathlon
7/22/07 – Kirkwood Triathlon (volunteer)
7/22/07 - Missouri State Time Trial Championships
7/28/07 – Prairie Duster Duathlon (Worlds Qualifier)
8/4/07 – Steelhead 70.3 (extremely tentative)
8/12/07 – Wood River Triathlon
8/13/07 – Babler Beast Triathlon
8/19/07 - Alligator Creek Triathlon
8/26/07 – Jackson Country Triathlon
9/2/07 - Lake Saint Louis Triathlon
9/3/07 – JCC Labor Day 5k
9/9/07 - NEMO Triathlon
9/15/07 – Halfmax – USAT Long Course National Championship
9/16/07 – Octomax – USAT Club National Championship
9/30/07 - USAT National Long Course Duathlon Championship--Powerman Ohio
10/7/07 - Rec Plex Fall Triathlon
10/21/07 – World Long Course Duathlon Championship – Richmond, VA
11/22/07 - Kirkwood/Webster Turkey Day Run 5k
12/31/07 – First Night 5k

The Look

I needed some inspiration that I can keep on hand... so here it is. I think that watching "American Flyers" this evening might be the final touch.

Driveway Rash

This would be "road rash's" cousin... I suppose I will never learn "not to run in the house" or out of it for that matter. I have always had this strange urgency to run up my driveway to my car or run down the driveway to my house. I cannot walk. This driveway does not allow the word "walk" in its vocabulary.

So I found myself heading out to the car to get something out of the trunk. I walked out the back door. I walked down the stairs from the deck. But once I hit solid ground... I RAN... but not for long. The driveway that had been my running buddy for over 2 decades turned on me...

I have run up that driveway 1000s of times in my life and have never fallen, not even once. Today everything changed. The driveway reached up and grabbed my foot... I began to fall... slow motion style... to the ground. I have always chuckled to myself when I hear "old people" recount falling and how they "just don't roll like they used to." Well, I think I've become an old person because I sure as hell didn't roll. I hit my driveway like a ton of bricks. First came the hands... I felt one hit followed by a bolt of pain, the second hit moments later with keys in hand and I knew that one was gonna leave a mark. Next came the knee... oh, god, not the knee that has been plagued with pain and stiffness for the past few months... oh, yes, that knee. I could feel the sting of a nice ripe strawberry (I hoped for the best) through my pants. Why didn't I roll? I'm only 24. I'm too young for this kind of fall... the kind of fall that causes bones to break, and egos to bruise...

But alas, I was on a mission... I needed that bag (of miscellaneous items) from my car. And by god, I was going to get it. So I walked it (hobbled) off and got the bag. Once inside, I could tell that my limbs were going to retaliate against me. My hands began to sting uncontrollably. My knee was already stiffening up and becoming glued to my pants.

Headed to the bathroom my mother could only bow her head in disbelief as she scavenged for medical supplies as if I were 4 years old and just fell on the playground. I knew it was coming... "When are you going to learn how to walk?"... I ignored her. With hydrogen peroxide staring me in the eyes, I defiantly chose to clean my wounds with tap water. I'll rely on my own immune system to take care of these little puppies. I had had enough pain for one night. So, the irrigation process was complete but I still had to take care of the debridement process... carefully trimming those poor pieces of skin that had been torn from my hands and knee. Finally, at long last Bandaids were applied so that I didn't bleed all over the house.

I have this nagging feeling that I'm not as young as I used to be... and tomorrow is going to hurt a lot more than when I was 4 years old...

Kirkwood Webster Turkey Day Run - November 23, 2006

Sucked... my knee really hurt. I had it wrapped up in everything but the kitchen sink. Mile 1 - 6:30, Mile 2 - pain, somewhere in between 2 and 3... I stopped... yeah, I actually stopped running because my knee hurt so badly...

And then I saw Sparkle (yes, that is actually someones name) and vowed that my knee didn't hurt badly enough for her to beat me...

So I sucked it up and ran to the finish... along the way I saw out of the corner of my eye a familiar figure with sunglasses on running the other direction on the side... hmmm... and then the finish line swallowed me up and spit me out... I was not happy. I just kept walking... all the way back to the car...

Rockbridge Revenge 10k - October 22, 2006

Coming soon...

Land Rover Pumpkinman, Las Vegas - October 15, 2006

Coming soon...

Rec Plex Triathlon - October 1, 2006

This was by far the best race that I had during the entire 2006 season. My swim wasn't fast by any means but I certainly wasn't tired out by it either, although, truth be told I never am. I started early this race which I usually hate doing since its so cold this time of year but it was sooo much warmer this year. I'm talking shorts and tee shirt weather... yay! But the morning was still slightly cold. Once out of the pool, I definitely felt the chill but it was sunny which I knew would make my time on the bike so much nicer... I had my fastest bike split of the entire year... I felt good and it really showed. I almost averaged 21mph. That was my goal but I always forget that the end is slightly more technical than the rest of the ride and that usually brings averages down a bit....

now for the best part of the entire day! The run? Yeah, the run... I felt amazing. I had my legs. I mean really had them. They not only could move but they could move fast. I started out really quick and tucked in between a guy from St. Louis Triathlon Club which was the best move of the day. The guy was holding a pace that was comfortable but quick and one I knew that I would not be able to hold on my own. I also took a look at his race number and noticed that he had started a couple minutes ahead of me but in reality I was actually a couple of minutes ahead of him if I could stay with him... ah, reminded me of "American Flyer" when David Sommers and the "Cannibal" were racing in Hell of the West, ya know. Anyhow, We ran together the entire run leg although there was never any communication or formal acknowledgement that we were doing this. He led during the flats. I pulled him up the hill in the subdivision parts. He promptly passed me and took the lead again once we were out of the hills... and continued to sprint ahead of me at the finish... I didn't care in the least bit... I was already on cloud nine before I even saw the time clock... and boy, when I saw that clock I thought I was seeing things. That clock had to be wrong... there is no way that I could have finished a full 5 minutes faster than in the spring on the EXACT same course. When the results were posted... it was true. And to top that off, those 5 minutes actually came from the run. I had averaged nearly a full minute faster per mile than the spring version of the race. I had run 6:56 pace for 5 miles!

And I finished 3rd... that's right no longer the 4th place loser that I had come to know so well this season. I got 3rd, a plaque, and $50... a check for 50 bucks too, not a gift certificate... AWESOME!!

NEMO Triathlon - September 10, 2006

Ah, NEMO... and I'm just now posting a race review in... February. I am terrible. I can't find the splits for the race anymore as they are no longer posted online. But I'll do my best to recount the experience...

Last year I got 6th OA, 1st AG... and cursed at the hills during the entire run. I vowed that 2006 would be different. It was... I got 5th OA, 1st AG.

The swim was as cold as always. My swim time was 20:17 compared to 20:00 last year. At least I can swim consistently when I only actually get in the pool about 4 times a year. Definitely something I need to work on...

Out of transition and onto the bike... I had a pretty quick bike last year but was still hoping to improve upon my time since 2006 has seen my fastest bike times ever... 53:06 out on the bike this year compared to 53:14... a whopping 8 seconds faster than last year... not quite the improvement I was expecting but at leat its not slower than the previous year...

on to the run... my nemesis... those hills that can break my spirit in half... the hills that saw me in 2nd place last year at the start and that brought me to my knees in a 6th place finish as women just kept passing me mile after dreaded mile. My run split was 37:38 this year compared to 39: 21 last year. I will most certainly take that. The hills and I came to terms with each other. I certainly did not conquer them but at least they did not conquer me...