Crankset Lust

I haven't read much feedback on how anyone else feels about these, but I think they are sexy. The brand is called Ciamillo and I can't believe I'm just now hearing about them. Needless to say, my list for Santa has just been completely rearranged.

It's looks like a crankset from the world of Tron or something. I pulled the image from BikeRadar, where they have a short article with details. What it all boils down to: a sub-400 gram crankset that is stiffer than Dura-Ace. Winning.

#Image

My agent says that I need to be more present on social media. I'm trying I swear. Self promotion just really isn't my bag, but the days of actions speaking louder than words appear to be gone.

It's not totally applicable, but my new coach, Paulo Sousa said, "The people writing all of these articles on 3-steps to fast swimming or whatever are not the ones who need listening to. The best coaches, the ones who have the good stuff, they aren't sharing it. Because they are too busy coaching."

I want to just do the work. I want to be like Quentin Cassidy and train in a cabin in the woods and then show up out of nowhere and beat the world. I want it bad. I don't want to #hashtag my way to the top.

I admit that right now I have time to write blogs and tweet pictures of my dinner. It's part of the game, I know. Nothing screams ROI like: "#swimming @swimsponsor @nutritionsponsor @watchsponsor @snorkelsponsor #sOmuChFuuuUUn!!"

I realize this barrage of advertising is necessary in order to show value to sponsors, who can keep food on the table. Sometimes I see tweets with thank yous to 12 sponsors and I feel like someone is dumping a bucket of names on me in hopes that some will sink in. I think that I can work my way into this stuff without making it so annoying that people assume that I'll promote any sponsor that gives me a pair of socks. I am working hard to find things that are actually meaningful to me so that my tweets, blog, and more importantly, my recommendations, are genuine and reflect who I am. My title sponsor, Athletes Lounge has enabled me to make it to races around the world, train in San Diego for a month, and so much more. I'll do my absolute best to offer them enough exposure to repay them for what they have done for me.

I apologize if this came across as whining. I've talked to quite a few pros who feel the same way, so I think it is a relevant topic that brings you a little closer to my experience. I really am going to redouble my efforts to bring you, my awesome followers, the all-Eric-all-the-time experience you deserve. Afterall, I know you're all secretly dying to know how I cooked my pasta tonight ;)

Cookie Karma

Trevor-"If we're going to get dinner, we're going to get it now. Like immediately"

Joe-"Oh, ok. Where do you guys want to go?"

Trevor-"Chipotle?"

Kevin-"I just want meat."

Heather-"Well there is that Mediterranean place near Chipotle.."

Trevor-"This doesn't look like much food, we should do Chipotle."

Eric-"Seriously, 660 calories for $5.99? That's like HALF of a Chipotle burrito."

Heather-"I'm glad I got Chipotle, I would have still been hungry."

Eric-"We'll have our food finished before they get their burgers."

Kevin-"All I care is that it came from a cow."

Joe-"No seriously, take as many onion rings as you want!"

Heather-"Trevor looks like he may be regretting ordering those french fries."

Eric-"I have $1.75 in quarters! I'm totally getting a cookie too."

Cookie saint-"Just take a cookie man, it's Christmas."

Cheetahs Running Super Fast Super Slow

I may be the only one, but I was completely glued to my computer screen for the duration of this video.

I'm visualizing cheetahs on my run tomorrow.

San Diego

Insert Anchorman quote.

I'm in San Diego training with Paulo Sousa's Triathlon squad until December 20th. So far it's pretty awesome, training with some great people; Jason Pedersen, Joe Maloy, Kevin Ryan, Heather and Trevor Wurtele, and Anna Battiata.

We're all getting along swell, but Paulo has warned us to be prepared for when we are "training hard and get grumpy like sh*t". You never know when your best friend will steal your last apple out of the fridge and you'll have to administer a beat down!

As I look at housing prices around here, it appears my dream of living in a van down by the river might become a reality. Or I'll have to become a part-time pool boy for a wealthy divorcee. I'm putting equal amounts of energy into both avenues :-)

Going Hard

Something that occurs to me from time to time.. Do I REALLY know what it means to go ALL OUT?

I was talking to Coach Salaz of Maverick Aquatics as we watched his team do a sprint workout. The basic premise was 4x 40 yards 100% effort, and then into the next set. We were observing how all of the kids appeared to think they were going all out (breathing hard, complaining) but when a "sprint 25 for time" was presented, everyone's speed increased noticeably. Obviously, a set of this nature done at any speed lower than "fight for your right to live" is a waste of time.

We've all heard the overused saying, "It doesn't hurt less, you just go faster." I would venture to say that "as you get faster, it hurts more." You may not notice it as you progress, but I believe that athletes who rise to the top constantly find a little extra suffering that they are able to endure. Just like training the body, you slowly get yourself used to going harder and harder. Ocasionally, there are epiphanies as well, and you realize that the definition you had for "all-out" was total B.S.

The Legend

So I challenge you as I challenge myself, see if you really know what "All out" is. Watch some Gladiator, poke a grizzly bear in the eye, whatever it takes to get you pumped up, and really go hard next time.

Getting Dirty

I've started back into training for 2013, and just as I did last year, I am seizing the opportunity to get some time in on my beloved mountain bike. The way I see it, if I'm going to be soaking wet and cold in PDX, I might as well be tearing down a trail and be muddy as well.

Danny and I repping Athletes Lounge in the C's

This is right after the patch of gravel that I fell on

A new addition to my highly scientific off-road training protocol this year: Cyclocross!!
I've wanted to race "cross" for years, but it never quite coincided with my training, or conflicted with what runners refer to as "cross" (cross country racing). This year however, I seized the day, and my second ride back after rest period was the cross race at Barton Park. I had an absolute blast, raced C's so as not to stress myself out (and I was on my mountain bike) and only crashed once. Next weekend I am going full-tilt and racing twice; at McMenamins Edgefield, and in Hillsboro somewhere on Sunday. And I'll be racing the A's! My plan is to go as hard as I can as long as I can until I blow up. If I can see the leaders, I'll be happy :)


The day after racing at Barton, Matt Berg and I drove up to the east side of mount hood, near Surveyor's ridge and rode mountain bikes. Portland was in a thick soup of clouds, but up on the mountain it was 60 degrees and beautiful! A recent light rain made for a tacky trail that seemed to grab on to our tires and not let go, rocketing us out of every turn. I can't wait to get back out, flying through the forest at top speeds appeals to the primitive, hunter side and leaves me with an unrestrained sense of joy.

Today it's back to the road since the skies have cleared, at least for the moment :)

Auckland U23 World Championships

On Oct. 10 I arrived in Wollongong, Australia after a full 24 hours of travel time from Colorado Springs, Colorado. This began the first international trip of my professional triathlon career. Wollongong was an amazing experience, and I hope that I'll be able to make it back someday. I stayed in a house with two Olympians, Sarah Groff, and Gwen Jorgensen, and my teammate, Greg Billington. We trained several times with the Australians who were also preparing for World Championships, swimming in the ocean, and motorpacing on rolling Australian roads. As we prepared for battle, USAT provided us with massage, chiropractic, and transportation to all training venues and I was constantly impressed and grateful for the amount of support they gave us. The only thing better than the exotic birds, beautiful scenery and great weather was the knowledge that our governing body was fully invested in us and giving us every chance to succeed. I took several days to adjust to the time change and recover from the flight, but by the time we left for Auckland 6 days later, I was feeling ready to go.

Once we arrived in Auckland, all the work was done and it was just time to recover as best as we could from the months of training and mentally prepare ourselves for what lay ahead. We previewed the race course in pouring down rain, swam in the frigid water, and addressed any last aches with the treatment team. There was a lot of concern around whether or not we would be racing in the rain, as the Auckland bike course is universally considered to be the most difficult and technical course on the world circuit. A rainy day would mean lots of crashes and a much slower ride. The weather was completely sporadic in the days leading up to our race, so it was anybody's guess what race day would bring. After our final team dinner of spaghetti the night before the race, we turned in early and tried desperately to get some sleep.

The U23 Men's race was scheduled for 4:15pm, as many ITU races are, which meant a full day of sitting around, trying to stay calm, and not waste too much nervous energy. As Greg and I made our way down to the race course on our bikes, we had a few drops of rain fall on us, but by the time we reached the venue, the skies were relatively clear and a full 100,000+ triathlon fans were happy and dry, cheering on the elite women who were racing before us. We went through the pre-race motions, getting our bikes inspected and weighed, photos taken of our uniforms to ensure compliance with regulation, and other ITU checkpoints. The hectic nature of the athlete check in, combined with the security and throngs of people ended up cutting into my warmup time, but there was nothing to be done about it as I jogged down to the swim start after hearing my name announced after, "and representing the USA..." What a rush of adrenaline!

Lined up shoulder to shoulder among 60 of the World's best triathletes under the age of 23, I focused on my task and cautiously let the adrenaline prime my muscles for the 300 meters battle royale to the first turn buoy. Going anything less than 100% at this point in the race can mean the difference between 1st out of the water and 31st as I have found out in past races. You need to be already warm and prepared to hit the water at terminal velocity and maintain it until the kicking, scratching, and flailing of limbs is behind you. Then it doesn't hurt to hold on a little longer.

As I approached the first buoy, I prepared myself for the possibility that I wouldn't get a breath for the next 30 seconds as 60 guys tried to fit through a space wide enough for 2. I knew I was off to a good start when I made it around with relative ease (only kicked in the face once) and saw just a handful of arms churning in front of me. Fast forward to the end of lap 1, and my realization was confirmed as I ran out on to the dock, seeing only 5-10 athletes in front of me before diving back in and continuing my battle to stay in the lead pack. From this point on, I just focused on monitoring the distance to the lead swimmer, and staying on the feet of the athlete in front of me. I exited the water around 12th place, right at the tail end of the lead pack! I looked frantically around for Greg, hoping that he had come out right next to me like our race in Coronado, but it wasn't until I was exiting transition that I saw him run in. This meant that I would need to wait for him and try to help him close down the 40 second gap to the group that I was now letting ride away.

As I rode easy and starting preparing myself to give everything I had, Greg was riding up to me with a group of 15 or so other athletes. When they got to me, I positioned myself near the front and started working. It was apparent almost immediately that the lack of bike warmup and the easy kilometer I had just ridden had left my legs completely flat and lacking in blood flow. I wrenched myself up the first climb, 580 meters of 13% gradient, hoping that I could shock them out of the coma they seemed to be in, but they hardly responded. This theme continued for the next two laps, and despite my strong cycling abilities, I was unable to overcome the botched warmup and I was dropped on the big hill. I rode solo for two more laps before getting caught up by the third group on the road. Almost at the moment they caught me, my legs suddenly came alive. I felt strong going up the hills instead of like I was lacking oxygen, and I cursed myself for my mistake. I knew that I could not help this group chase after Greg's group, as that would run the risk of bringing stronger runners up to compete with Greg, so I sat in and recovered.

Coming off the bike, my legs felt heavy, but I resolved to run the best 10k I was capable of at that time. I knew I came into the race with number 58, and I was running in the 30-40 range. I wanted to beat every person I possibly could to show the hard work I've put in on my run, and to improve on my start position. Racing ITU you can never just call it day if the race isn't going great because there are rankings to consider and every last point you can pick up can make a difference. I figured this was a great time to practice that. I fought hard, running 45 seconds faster than I did at USAT Nationals, which was my best run to that point.

Coming across the line in 33rd place was not what I was hoping for, but I am more upset and disappointed that I wasn't able to help Greg when he needed it most. I am optimistic about the future, because I have shown that I can swim with the best out there, and my run is constantly improving. My bike warmup is a fixable thing, and the next time I encounter such a course, the circumstances will be different and I will be ready.

I'll post another blog soon with more stuff about the trip and just a general season wrap-up. I've already started planning for next year, and I can say that the future is bright :) As always, thanks to my supporters and everyone who has had a part in this ten year journey, this is so much bigger than me.

F1 Triathlon 2012...3rd Place

The return of F1 racing to the United States came with quite a bang. My U23 teammate, Greg Billington, and I traveled to Coronado, California, to go fast and furious for 45 minutes, and we came home with more than just an experience!

 1st: Greg Billington
2nd: Clark Ellice
3rd: Eric Lagerstrom
4th: Leon Griffin
5th: Kyle Leto
6th: Ben Kanute
7th: Tyler Butterfield
8th: James Hadley
9th: Manny Huerta
10th: Derek Oskutis




The strong pro field included several Olympians, and 
sitting at the press conference in B&L bikes, I have to admit that I was a bit intimidated, but definitely excited for the race. The swim course was a rectangular 300 meters out into the surf and back, with a decent amount of running on the sand to get to the transition area. The bike course was a 10 lap, 4 mile ride that went under the freeway twice, through narrow walking tunnels. After T2, the 1.5 mile run course led straight along the seawall and back 5 times.
Once we finished that, we got to run straight back into the water and did it all over again! This style of F1 racing is known as "Enduro" style. I learned this from Matt Reed (Olympian and the only athlete at the race with experience in this format). There are other styles that include multiple races with rest in between, and tournament style, elimination rounds.

I had a decent first swim and came out about 15 seconds behind strong swimmers Tommy Zafares and Dylan Mcniece. Greg Billington, Ben Kanute, and Leon Griffin were among the athletes that came out of the water in my group. I went to the front as quickly as I could and started working to pull myself closer to the leaders. Greg stayed on my wheel, and within a couple of laps we had closed the gap and rode into T2 in  a small group. On the run, Greg and Ben got out to a very strong start, and while Greg stayed about 10 seconds ahead, myself and Leon Griffin closed the gap to Ben Kanute, and we all started the second swim together. By the time we came out of the water for the second time, Clark Ellice (New Zealand) had caught a wave, seemingly coming out of nowhere to start the bike in the lead, with Ben. I went back to work and closed the gap once again, and came off the bike right behind Ben, who had a strong last lap. Once on the run, Greg surged once again, and put the time between himself and the rest of us that would ultimately hold till the finish line. Clark Ellice slowly passed me, and I worked my way past Ben into 3rd place. This order stood till the end, and when I crossed the line I was still in amazement that I had made my first pro podium!

MORE PHOTOS HERE  http://www.slowtwitch.com/Features/2012_Formula_1_-_Coronado_3115.html

This was such an exciting race format, both for the athletes and for the spectators. Many people who watched came up to us afterwards and told us how much they enjoyed watching the event, especially compared to the traditional triathlon format, where spectators see the athletes for mere seconds in transition.  I predict a strong future for this format going forward. The organization was wonderful, and they took care of the pros from start to finish. I personally can't wait to do another F1 race, and I wish the race organizers the absolute best in their quest to provide a full series next year.

I want to take a moment to thank my sponsors for their support, I couldn't have gotten this far alone. Classic Body Restoration keeps my muscles working properly, Kreger Chiropractic does an amazing job making my old-man hips cooperate, Orca outfits me with the best racing suits available, and Athletes Lounge, my title sponsor, sets me up with the best equipment money can buy, and gives me the support that allows me to train the way I need to in order to succeed.


Bryant, I'm ashamed to say I haven't thanked you nearly as much as I should have.  I've struggled with how I can ever repay you or give you the credit you deserve. When I heard "how bad do you want it!?" being cheered out of the crowd in Coronado, I struggled to maintain composure as a wave of emotion and visions of our 11 years of training took over me. You started me in the sport, and you stuck by me when any other coach would've walked away. "Thank you" seems unbelievable insufficient.

My parents. You've been there and supported me through everything; and again, thank you doesn't even come close. Through thick and thin, and everything in between. Having your twenty year old son move back in isn't exactly the stamp of parenting success that most people look for. I've been praying for the day that I could tell you that I made money doing what I love.

On to Worlds and the next step :) Things are just getting started.

Buffalo Recap, Going to Worlds, OTC Day 1

It's been an absolutely crazy last week, I've been meaning to put out a blog, but with all the recent developments I thought it would be a good idea to save it all for one. I hope I made the right choice, there's a lot to cover!

Dan Feeney, Myself, and Jason Pederson after Buffalo

First off, the Buffalo race was USAT pro nationals. This means it was draft legal and the top American athletes showed up to go for the title and some pretty decent prize money. I had my best showing yet, and got a little closer to making it into the money. The start was hectic as always, and I was the 48th call-up out of 50 athletes. This means everyone except for me and three other guys had already picked out there spots on the start line. This is a critical part of a race because being next to a group of fast swimmers will be immensely helpful with actually getting into a pack with those athletes. I was 30 guys away from the guys who made up the lead pack and my start wasn't good enough to get me into their group. I came out of the water 20 seconds behind about 9 leaders and couldn't close the gap in the early stages of the bike. I fell into the chase pack, which worked decently well together, but far from ideal, and we lost about a minute through the 40k ride. Going into the run I felt fresher than I have the last two races and I had an awesome first 5k. Around the halfway point, my quads started doing their typical cramping routine and the pace lagged just a bit. I couldn't quite close down the gap to the U23 podium, and finished in 4th place. I was the 9th American and 16th overall. This is definitely my best result so far. Kelowna was a 16th place finish, but didn't quite have the depth of talent that this race did.

Following the race I spent a week hanging out with my buddy, Matt Curbeau in Penn Yan, New York. His folks have a beautiful house on Keuka Lake, which I found to be a perfect training location. Matt is training for the Hawaii Ironman and was in the middle of his "big week" so he had some big workouts that I joined in on and some that I didn't!

Two days into the stay, USAT called and asked if I could do U23 worlds. My task would be to "domestique" for Greg Billington, which meant that I would break the wind for him on the bike and give him any support that he needed in order to better team USA's chance at a medal. Also included in the deal would be time at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, and a short training camp in Australia prior to the race. Needless to say, I jumped at this amazing opportunity and started getting myself out of off-season mode and back into race mode. I had a return flight to Portland that got in at 9:35pm Saturday, and a flight out to the Springs on Monday afternoon. Just enough time to get together 5 weeks worth of training and racing equipment!

I've now been at the training center for almost 24 hours and I'm already very tired and looking forward to bed. Swim practice was at 8, bike ride with lots of all-out hill repeats at 11, and run at 4. Typical day really, except it was at 6000 feet and I felt like a fish out of water. Until a thunderstorm with lots of rain and lightning chased us off the hill and back to the training center. Nothing a long, warm shower, and some nap time couldn't fix. Day one of many in the books.

Looking forwad, Greg and I will be racing in Coronado, CA this weekend in an F1 triathlon. This means it's super short and super intense. 300 swim, 4 mile bike, 1.5 mile run. Two times straight through. Running back into the water for a second swim after an all-out mile and a half run should be interesting!
www.f1tri.com/    If you're interested in checking out the website and pro start list.

Here's to taking things to the next level! Thanks for reading :)

...I'll elaborate on the time at OTC and the details of the World Championship preparation a little further down the road.

Kelowna Recap- 16th place

Kelowna was an amazing trip. I can't possibly hope to convey how beautiful Canada was; crossing the mountains literally blew my mind! I am so thankful for my father, who came along to support me and share the driving, after a couple of trips together, we've really become a great road-trip and race team :)

This trip truly was brought to you by Athletes Lounge! The likeleyhood of my 200k mile Subaru making it over the Rockies without causing a major delay was very slim, and the store saved me once again.

I'm going to be brief with this post as it already late (apologies) and my training is at an all-time high in preparation for Elite Nationals on Sept 15th.

Kelowna was far from a perfect race and as my second professional draft-legal experience, it was just as full of learning opportunities as the first. I took one step too many running into the water, and I face-planted into the water, at less than optimal velocity, filling my goggles up with water. It only caused a split-second delay, but it was enough to get me caught in traffic to the first buoy and I missed out on the lead pack. I managed to claw my way through the field and finished the swim 40 seconds back of the 9 leaders, and at the front of the chase group. Upon mounting my bike, I discovered that my front tire was flat, (due to a faulty valve) and had to stop after two miles for a wheel-swap. This meant I had to chase for about 4 miles to catch back up to my group, using precious energy in the process. Our group grew to 12 by halfway through the ride, and we came into transition 2 as a group. I had a strong start on the run, and definitely improved on my performance in Dallas, but still not as fast as I need to be. Improvement is the key though, and in this crucial rookie season, I'll take it. I had a blast racing, and it certainly is a privilege to race at such a high level with such talented athletes.

In the past week, I have had time to reflect and speak with my coach, and know what I need to fix in order to make it as a professional. To all of those who have believed in me, supported me, and stood by me, thank you so much. It means the world, and it keeps me going during the toughest days. I've got a lot of work to do.

Race Next week.. Finally!

I've essentially been given a green light to go off of my blood thinners for several days in order to race the Kelowna Pan American Cup this upcoming weekend. The idea being that I am at less risk for death by throwing my clot while briefly NOT on blood thinners than I would be if I were to race in an aggressive pack while ON the medication. (For those who are unfamiliar with blood thinners, the risk is that I would crash on the bike and either: bleed uncontrollable from an open wound, or hit my head and suffer a brain bleed.

My doctor would not have given me a tentative "go ahead" on this plan unless the clot was almost dissolved and was no longer at risk for breaking free. So this also means that I should be off of the medicine and back out on the roads for good very soon!

In the meantime, this is my new definition of riding outside :)

The race this weekend will be my first since Dallas PanAm Cup at the beginning of June. I missed the Magog race I was hoping to attend roughly a month ago due to the clot. I've been following my workout plans that my coach, Bryant laid out at the beginning of the summer, with race simulations and multiple computrainer sessions per week. I'm the strongest I've ever been and the internal pressure that builds up before races has been driving me to push myself even harder in workouts and I can't wait to unleash it in Canada next weekend.

There are some strong athletes on the start list, with both swim and run specialists in attendance. This could prove to be a different dynamic than most Continental Cup races because the course has a decent hill in it, and from what I can tell, is a loop rather than an out-and-back. This means that there are less opportunities to see your competitors on the bike, and some may be planning a breakaway, hoping to capitalize on the concept of "out of sight out of mind." The hills means that athletes who haven't spent much time on the bike may struggle. In the past, strong swimmers have sometimes been able to get a gap on the field coming out of the water and maintain it throughout the race. This will require me to be very vigilant during the early stages of the race and be willing to risk a blow-up to stay with the leaders. Olympic distance racing is all about pain threshold and efficient/intelligent use of bursts of energy. At the end of the day, it will come down to how well I'm able to execute my run, and I'm confident in my preparation to put down a fast split.

And the beat goes on

It's been a little bit since I did an update, but not much has changed. Work still needs to be done.

Still on Blood thinners. Getting my clot looked at again soon, but right now it's still holding on for dear life.

I've been swimming a lot
       -Swim meets for speed
       -Open water buoy-buoy efforts
       -Miles.
I've been sweating my butt off on the computrainer
       -Dozens of max efforts in a workout
       -Long threshold blocks with accelerations
       -Miles.
I've been running some stellar workouts with some stellar guys
       -All out transition runs
       -1 mile, 2 mile, 800, 400 repeats. I've done them all
       -Miles.

Putting in the work, channeling my anger over the lack of competition and storing it up for when I get to race again. Kelowna Pan American Cup!

Congrats to Sarah Groff and Galen Rupp for their awesome performances, USA!

My new favorite video

This is probably the most inspirational video I've ever seen. I don't want to say that I can totally relate to it, because the level of poverty and desperation is something I've never had to experience. I'm living with my parents while trying to become financially stable rather than living under an overpass. It's always good to take a step back and realize that the things could be a lot worse, but ultimately the question we all have to ask ourselves at the moment when our dreams seem far away and unreachable, is "How bad do you want it?"

I Love Red Bull. and stuff.

Regardless of whether or not you like their drinks, everyone has to agree that Red Bull does more than any other company for the world of sports. They sponsor hundreds of athletes, teams, and record attempts. Someday I hope I can count myself as part of this great company. Imagine a bike all painted up with the charging bull! Get's me goin! In the meantime, I remain a fan, and here is one of the cooler videos I've watched recently.

This is a custom built chassis (you can watch a video about just the car), highly modified Hyundai engine, and obviously custom, radical carbon fiber body.

It really doesn't get much better than that.

Or does it?
Specialized partnered with McLaren, the great F1 racing car producer to create the most aerodynamic helmet ever. Will the awesome ever end?

Unexpected Change of Plans

After my race in Dallas a couple weeks ago I received an IV due to extreme dehydration. I was not able to walk because my legs were cramped so badly, so the paramedics took me into the ambulance and pumped in a liter of fluid. Pretty typical post race procedure from what I hear. Thousands of athletes get IV's every year in this same situation (first time for me), and it's very straight forward. Somehow I managed to get a minor infection at the point of insertion and that lead to the formation of a blood clot. Lucky me!

(Feel free to skip this paragraph if you know about blood clots and blood thinners)
I had a pretty strong pain in my forearm and the vein that had been used turned very hard. I went to get an ultrasound to find out if this could be dangerous at all, and the technician informed me that the clot had actually become an issue, and was a Deep Vein Thrombosis. This means it is in a deep vein in my arm and is at risk for breaking off and causing death if it travels to my heart or lungs. I was immediately placed on blood thinners (the big serious kind) and will have to remain on them until the clot is dissolved. I'm told this could be anywhere from 6 weeks to 3 months. The blood thinners will prevent my blood from clotting at all by killing off the platelets, and this should allow my body to "naturally" dissolve the clot on its own without it getting bigger. While on blood thinners, any cut or scrape I sustain will take a long time to stop bleeding, larger ones may never stop until a counter-agent is injected. Head traumas will cause uncontrollable bleeding in my brain and ultimately death. Enough drama though, this is all worst-case scenario of course..

What this means for my season:

-Nothing "risky"... so no riding outside except in a super controlled, no risk of getting hit by a car type of situation. Soo pretty much no riding outside.
-No MOUNTAIN BIKING! Gah! I was really looking forward to doing some camping on Mt. Hood this summer. I guess I'll just have to cut it back to lake swims and trail running. There are worse things in life :)
-Luckily I can continue to elevate my heart rate without restriction, and so far I have noticed no side effects from the medication except that I bruise quite easily. This is to be expected.
-No bike racing or draft legal racing. Both of these events have a high likelihood of crashing.
-I may be able to do a traditional non-drafting triathlon, but my parents are very concerned for my safety of course, so I wouldn't worry them unnecessarily, (only a big race with a simple course would work)
-Races I'll be missing: Magog Pan-Am, Pacific Crest.
-Races I may miss: Subaru Sooke, Kelowna Pan-Am
-Races I may substitute in: OBRA TT Champs, still looking for others.

I'm staying positive and pushing on. This will afford me a bit more ability to focus on my run, and luckily Oregon is still bringing the rainy, depressing weather, so riding on the computrainer alone or with my coach, is much more bearable :) This is a small setback career-wise. Missing the races which would have given me experience, potentially a pay day, and many other intangible benefits, is extremely frustrating, but it's out of my control, and all I can do is react to my situation and train like an animal for the next race.

Dallas Pan American Cup

I know it's a bit delayed, and I apologize for taking so long to get this out. I've found myself incredibly busy with getting back to work, sorting out my new training schedule, and the usual stuff associated with returning from a trip. End of excuses, on to the race! It was my first draft legal pro race, which, for those who don't follow triathlon closely, means that athletes are allowed to ride as close to one another as they like. This means that they can work as a group, just like in cycling, with some athletes "breaking" the wind, while others ride easily behind. In this style of racing, a group or "pack" of riders working together and taking turns leading can ride much faster than an athlete riding alone. This makes it so that a large group of athletes can make it to the run portion of the Tri relatively fresh, and ready to run extremely fast. It is also worth noting that this is the format that is used for the Olympics, and is therefore what I need to spend the bulk of my time doing. (versus Ironman or 70.3 distance)

 At this particular race, I had a strong swim, and I managed to come out of the water with the lead pack of athletes, except for a trio of very strong swimmers who were a minute ahead. It doesn't necessarily pay to come out of the water far in the lead unless one is strong enough to hold off the fast-moving, larger group behind. My group quickly caught the leaders, and then slowed considerably, having eliminated the threat. Unfortunately there was a group of strong runners about 45 seconds behind us, and in order to keep them from catching up, we would need to pick up the pace. At a particularly slow moment, I moved to the front with one other athlete, and our acceleration went unanswered by the group, which was very surprising. Before we knew it, we had a 50 meter gap and were continuing to pull away. As we rode by the start of each lap, we got time checks from spectators. 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 1 minute! Every time we went by, the crowd got louder and louder, I definitely think they wanted us to succeed. By the time we came in to transition 2, ready to start the run, we had a lead of 1:20 and I was feeling strong.

When I got out on the run, things quickly took a turn for the worse. The 95 degree heat, (more like 105 on the exposed tarmac) went straight to my legs and within one kilometer I was on the brink of having my quads completely lock up with cramps. The lead I had worked to establish quickly faded away and I slipped through the field and came across the line in 27th place. Definitely disappointing, but also encouraging. I know heat is a weakness for me, and I need to work on my hydration strategy so that I can have success in these hotter races.

 After the race I sat in an ice bath for quite a while and eventually was taken in to the back of an ambulance by worried paramedics. After getting an IV I started feeling better and was able to walk on my own. It's taken the last 5 days for me to fully recover, and I'm psyched to get back to full training so I can work on preparing myself for the next race. Every race I do is an opportunity to learn and develop myself both physically and mentally as an athlete. At the race I competed in last weekend, the Capitol of Texas Toyota Cup, I let myself get psyched out because I was racing with Olympians. It was my first pro race ever, and I got three hours of sleep the night before because my heart was racing and the adrenaline was flowing. By the time I got halfway through the swim, I had worked myself up so much, I was mentally fatigued and when the lead group of three or four swimmers got away, I convinced myself I was having a bad day. This was not the case in Dallas, and I turned things around and never let myself loose my mental edge. As long as each race is better than the last, I know I can make a living at this and achieve my goals :)

Check out my sponsor page to see the people who are supporting me and making this possible. I can't thank them enough.

Magog Pan American Cup is a little over a month away. Back to work.

Hectic Week

The last few days since I've been back from Arizona have been crazy. Workouts haven't slowed down obviously, and trying to jump back in to life at work and early morning workouts has been a great reminder as to just how much of a blessing my trip south was. On top of the usual stuff, I've been scrambling to get my uniform printed for ITU racing, which is surprisingly quite the chore. The rules for logo placement and sizing are about 10 pages long and a mistake could mean missing a race. There's been some other stuff going on in my life as well that took up some time, but anyway, all I'm trying to say is I'm sorry for those of you who check this at regular intervals and have had nothing new to read. But, I can assure you, training is going great, and I hope to post a blog about my races in Texas that involves the acquisition of some hardware :)

To make up for things, I give you the funniest video I have seen in quite a while. Louis C.K.

This really is worth your time, I promise.

Tornado!

Two days ago I went for a long ride around South Mountain park in Arizona. It's about a 50 mile ride, and it has a tendency to be pretty windy. This occasion was no exception.

As I turned off the highway onto Riggs Rd, which was to be the start of my tempo interval, a massive swirling cloud of dust kicked up in the distance and starting gaining height and speed, heading towards the road! I had seen a couple of smaller cyclones that morning, but they were a ways off, and while exciting, they didn't propose any danger. This was a bit different. I stopped about 100 meters from where the "twister?" (I'm not sure what the proper label is) had made it on to the road. I suppose "engulfed" is a better term for what was happening actually, as I saw a minivan disappear into the dust. There was nothing to do but stop and wait.

I really wish that I had a picture or even a video, but I was a little busy being amazed and wondering if I should look for cover. There wasn't any cover, I was in the middle of the Phoenix desert after all.

Luckily, the swirling cloud hit a large building and seemed to dissipate. At least it ran out of dust to suck up, so maybe it continued on to the other side of the building in stealth. At any rate, I wasn't going to wait around to find out, so I started my interval and put as much ground between me and the site as possible.

Everything has been going great at camp, I've had excellent bike workouts and some very fast runs that I'm excited about. This morning I did the South Mountain time trial, but my Garmin is being finicky and I can't upload the file to find out if I got any KOM's on Strava. Devastating :)

My Dream..

I feel as though so many athletes write blog after blog about their training and eating and latest recovery toys. Well today I decided to remind everyone that blogs should be interesting and spark your imagination.

BEHOLD: 

Ever since Athletes Lounge purchased their E350 Super Duty Sportsmobile from Chris Lieto and I got to see/sit in/touch it for the first time, I've been completely in love. Yesterday I saw for the first time ever, a red one. Just like this. Complete with headlamps and everything. The options on these are amazing and they represent all that is good about America. A huge vehicle that you can go anywhere and do anything in. The tops pop up offering elevated ceiling/ bunk space. They can be outfitted with full kitchens, solar panels, televisions, all the racks you can think of, and much more. If I had one, my home would be everywhere. The training possibilities are practically unlimited. The beach? check. The mountain? Check. The desert? Check. Driving THROUGH the river and THROUGH the woods to Grandmothers house for a mountain bike training ride? No problem.

If you or anyone you know has access to one of these amazing machines or something even remotely similar, let me know. I need a vehicle for training camps, semi regional races, and the like, for the price of semi-free. Unfortunately these things are priced for people who don't actually have time to use them because they are busy working to pay for them. I obviously don't fit into that category. Picture your logo on the side of this marketing slam dunk. Or if you are an independent investor, a huge self portrait? But in all seriousness, someday... I will have one. I've decided it's just something that needs to happen :)



That's all for today, time for dinner and daydreams about big, red, terrain-crushing, American monster vans.

AZ State Crit Champs..NON-state champ race

The last couple of days have been awesome. We made an attempt at a Crit on Saturday (see last post for details) and yesterday we made it to the second one, and had an absolute blast. This isn't tough to do, as bike racing s a beautiful sport and every race is different and exciting. Yes, triathlon is awesome too, but bike racing has such a level of complexity, both in strategy and the manner in which energy is used, that it's like playing chess while trying to squeeze every last bit of power out of your legs.

This race was special, because my good friend Matt decided 10 minutes before the race that he was going to jump in and experience bike racing for the first time. He had his doubts about his ability to stay with the group, but I had total faith in him and knew that if he just played it safe, he'd finish with the group, but more importantly, keep the rubber side down. (not crash)

The race was a smashing success, as Matt not only finished with the group, but did the bulk of the work and managed to single handedly split the pack with 2k to go. This would have set up great for me, to attack and take the victory, but I had somehow let myself get distracted and had miscounted the laps. I feel terrible that I let his hard work go to waste, it really was perfect timing. I've never raced with a teammate in a race though, so lesson learned. Thinking that we had 2 to go, I came across the line in 14th wheel (roughly) and to my dismay, the lap board showed 1 to go. Damn. I put in a strong push to move toward the front, but just as I did, the racer in third wheel (where I should have been) made a very strong attack and got off the front. I sprinted to the front of the line, took the third-to-last turn, and sprinted again, hoping to close the gap to the leader, who had at that point, been joined by one other rider. Unfortunately, there was only 400 to go, and while I had gapped the rest of the field by a comfortable distance, I was closing the gap to the two leaders too slowly, and only managed to make it across the line in third.

I've always had a problem with counting in races. I miscounted a 200 backstroke once (8 lengths of a pool). I get so caught up in racing my opponents that I lose track of time (or rather conjure up my own timeline) and mistimed my final effort. No problem though, Matt and I finished out the weekend with 160 miles of riding, $40 in prize money, and a phenomenal start to our two-week training camp in Phoenix. And YEAH-it's sunny every dang day :)

*when I find some pictures from the race, I'll put 'em up*

The Ride.

Yesterday was an adventure marked by tradgedy, overcoming of obstacles, commitment to a goal, and the making of a great memory. I rode with Matt Curbeau, who many of you already know. He's a stellar guy, and an aspires to be a professional triathlete. At our morning wifi session, I was busy booking airfare for my pro debut, so check out Matt's write-up and enjoy :) Www.turbeaucurbeau.wordpress.com "Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it" -Lou Holtz

Quick King's Valley Road Race recap

King's valley is a very small town not far from Philomath, Oregon. It is a beautiful place, and the race organizers put on an excellent event. I wish I could have had a better result, but I made some tactical errors, had some bad luck, and came in at the back of the main group. As a triathlete, I don't really need to be involved in a sprint; I'm trying to get race experience and there's no sprint finish into T2. That being said, I don't think I could've mustered much of a sprint anyway :) I was pretty blown.

Race Timeline

-First few miles sat comfortably, talked to racers in the peloton
-Mile 5 got a front flat. Quick change thanks to great race support
-Mile 15-ish finally caught back on to the group
-Mile 22, 25, 28 covered attacks by prominent players
-Mile 42, 43 made attacks of my own in the crosswind
-Mile 54 made my final attack, got a gap, but blew up monumentally with 600 to go
     *At the end of all this I discovered my cycling computer was off and when I thought I was attacking with   1      mile to go, I actually had 2.5 miles to go.

I feel like I probably could have held my final move if I hadn't had to bridge back after the flat, and then made 5 significant efforts to cover moves and make attacks. If I had been a bit more patient, I would have had more gas in the tank for the final move. The winning move.

Lesson learned, had fun, got stronger. Mission accomplished. Podium would have been a bonus :)

Zipp 303 Wrap-Up

Yesterday I finally returned the set of Zipp 303 carbon
clinchers that I've been borrowing from Athletes Lounge. I've taken a little longer than I had hoped to get a follow up post with my impressions of the wheels, so while I'm waiting for TurboTax to update so I can e-file my taxes, I thought I would make up for lost time.


Quick Facts on the 303's (From Zipp website)

Total Weight	1498g
Tire Bead Inside to Inside	16.25mm
Brake Track Top	25.14mm
Brake Track Bottom	27.57mm
Recommended Tire Width	23-32mm
Max recommended rider weight	225lbs

My setup:
Bike: Cervelo S2
Tires: Vittoria Rubino Pro Slicks I do most of my summer riding on these. One of the cheapest, most durable tire options out there that actually rolls fairly well. (I was definitely happy with this choice, as I was flat-free on the gravel, and both of my spare wheels got used by other riders, and that set of Rubinos went un-punctured as well!)
Brake Pads :Swissstop carbon (yellow) on Ultegra 6700 calipers.

Speed
These wheels are fast. They roll phenomenally well and handle nicely in crosswinds, largely due to the new Firecrest" shape. I felt that they caught a little more wind than I had anticipated, but I think this is due to the extra spokes that the 303 has. (18 Front, 24 Rear) as opposed to the 404 (16 front, 20 rear) Still, the wheels were predictable in the wind, and seemed to track smoothly.

Durability
Obviously, I can't comment on the long-term durability of the wheels, but I must say that while I had them, I put them through the hardest conditions one could encounter. I rode on chip seal mostly, did a hard run on several miles of rocky dirt road, and of course, 15 miles of large-chunk gravel road while racing. You would never know it. The wheels appear brand new and are completely true. This is after all, what they were designed for. Those extra spokes make for an incredibly solid ride, and you would be hard-pressed to do much damage without taking a hammer to the rim.

Handling/ Ride Quality
Carbon clinchers present an advantage over normal clinchers not only because they look ten times better, but because they are lighter rims. This means that these wheels spin up super fast and feel great when climbing. I loved stomping on the pedals to accelerate because it felt like the bike was actually floating above the ground.
The cornering may be the only drawback on the 303's and it is a small one at that. For those who prefer an ultra-stiff wheel for cornering, this might not be your best option. I noticed a stiffness difference between these and my Easton Ea90's, but honestly, it wasn't as significant as I had thought. I probably wouldn't use these in a crit, but any other application, they can handle with ease. I didn't notice too much of a comfort benefit or loss during my test, but I tend to feel every bit of road vibration because of my Cervelo S2 frameset anyway. (harsh ride)

User-Friendliness
The carbon clincher design is very appealing to many people, because not only does it make changing tires for different race conditions very easy, but you can also train full-time on these wheels if you choose. Zipp skewers are pretty simple and easy to use. There is an appropriate amount of force required to tighten one to a safe tension. Zipp freehub bodies tend to be pretty sturdy, and are the products of high quality machining, so swapping cassettes is a relatively easy.

SO WHAT?
At the end of the day, the 303's are an amazing wheelset. If you could only buy one wheelset, to use for everything, these would be the ones. This is a wheel you could run fat tires on for training, and not be frustrated in crosswinds, but then throw on some race tires and tear it up in a breakaway. To quote Ferris Bueller, "If you have the means, I highly recommend picking some up".
                  ..Or head down to ALounge and demo the set that I used :)