Back to Utah

Traveling to Vernal, UT this weekend with the Riptide/MM team for the Dinoland Tri. I've had a tough week of training this week and am feeling wiped tonight so I'm going to have to take it easy the next two days with the race being on Saturday. Had back to back hard days with Monday at the crit loop for a ride/run workout. Then Tuesday was 4 intervals of 2x the crit loop. I felt a bit tired but held it together and rode 7:30, 30, 40, 40. Good enough without completely crushing it, should have rode the TT bike to shave off some time. Josh was crushing it and rode under 7:00 on a couple.
After the workout tonight Amy and I got some large and in charge Chipotle burritos and Reeses ice cream to finish it off so I'm feeling a bit better now.
It looks like Chipotle's stock has taken a dive this year, down to about $90 from a high of nearly $150 at the New Year. Time to get on board with some? I don't know, surely a good spot though.
I've been getting so into getting the new bikeBounce website going that I've been eating too little lunch too late which definitely tired me out yesterday (I also did my morning run at 2pm). Once get wound up and writing that comp code I just can't quit!
I always looked down upon the computer science majors in college but it's actually a bit fun I must admit now that I've learned it.

BAM

Had a good weekend in Utah hanging with Taylor and Martha and racing Battle At Midway. Race day was chilly, 38 degrees when we got into the parking lot. I got out really well for once on the swim but when the pack separated and started moving I missed out on getting in with them. So I swam a little ways back and set in to swim hard. It was so cold getting out of the water that getting shoes on was a challenge. Out on the bike and I got rolling, rode around some of the Multisport Madness guys for a bit then caught Jimmy Archer. Felt good and kept it going. The only hard thing was that I had no idea how many guys were ahead of me or how far ahead they were, I wasn't around anyone for the last third of the bike. The run was TOUGH! It was on the XC ski trails where the 04 Olympics were. I knew it would be a bit hilly but not that hilly. It worked to my advantage though as the longer/harder run suited me well. I was in 8th off the bike and got past Michael Simpson and got to work on catching Ben Hoffman who was a good ways up. It took some work and time but with about a mile to go I got past him. I was making some ground on Remaly and McDaniel but they were running tough and I ended up about half a minute behind them. Very good race all in all for me, every segment was solid for me, top 20 swim, 5th fastest bike and 3rd fastest run. Feeling good going into the next races that at this point are Dinoland Tri and Boulder Peak.
Battle at Midway Results

To BAM

At the airport this morning with an early flight to Salt Lake for the Battle at Midway. Race looks like a good one for me - 56 degree water, a slightly shorter bike and a tough run with what looks like 500ft of climbing judging by the online profile. Competition looks good with David Thompson, Greg Remaly and Stephen Hackett, not to mention the whole Multisport Madness team that will be there. More to come after the race.

Bama

Raced Xterra Southeast Champs on Friday on Pelham, Alabama.
Turned out to be a sweet course, not necessarily conducive to me racing my fastest since it was fairly technical with lots of cornering and roots but it was a great race course nonetheless.
Hit the jackpot the day before the race and some other pros and I found the local $1 theater. 21 is a good movie and best of all loads of it is filmed at my ol' school Boston U.
So to the race. Swam strong but missed the main pack but oh so little and have to mash it out 25y behind them on my own for the whole swim. Got on the bike and felt decent but didn't quite have the ooompf in the legs that I wanted. No crashed but maybe I wasn't riding hard enough. Got through "Blood Rock" without trouble and reaped applause from the crowd that had set up in hopes of a bloodied rock. On the bike I thought, "Hmm, it's supposed to be way hot today but it doesn't feel too bad." For some reason when I have this thought it turns out to be roasting on the run and I hit a big hurt. That held true and the 1st part of the run felt good but once the hills came (yes Bama has hills) it was survival mode. Luckily it was survival mode for everyone and the last miles of the run were quite the massacre with everyone struggling big time. Finished as the 14th pro. Not good but not bad. Looking forward to getting back on the roadster at Battle At Midway this weekend out in Utah.

Pitbull/Racoon Attack

I was out for a leisurely ride today and was heading back home when it happened. I was all alone and out from behind the 7-11 dumpster emerged the most feared due known to mankind. First I saw the Pitbull (purebred) peek out at me. He jogged towards me and I thought I had the jump on him but then a 30lb raccoon (possible Bobcat hybrid) came tearing out as well. It took some doing and the above injuries (they tell me they're none life threatening) but with my fighting skillz the terrible two-o are now in dog and coon heaven.
Ok, so I fell off the bike. We were doing a workout with ride/run transitions and while wiggling my foot into my shoe it popped out, my foot went into the front spokes and I was down. It stung quite a bit but now it's all good. Funny how you never seems to go down how you envision yourself going down. Reminds me of the ol' police training where you can never let your guard down. Tis true.
But after feeling tired for most of last week I felt much better today and the legs were back. So as long as I heal up I'll be ready for Xterra Southest Champs this weekend in Pelham, Alabama.