Encinitas 2XU Triathlon - Results

The race went well over the weekend.

Despite a rocky swim start (on account of some big surf), and despite feeling a little flat on the run, I still managed a solid overall race that resulted in a 4th place finish in the elite/pro category. I think my bike carried the day, and I am anxious to see the split times (which should be posted on the results page by Wednesday evening) to see just how my race broke down (time-wise) between the three disciplines.

The raw results (i.e. overall times, sans splits) for the race are posted here:

http://www.y-events.com/07encinitas.htm

A big congratulations to all of those Breakaway Training members who competed in the Encinitas events over the weekend (be it the running race, the bike race, or the triathlon)!

Check out some of the photos from the weekend here:

Breakaway Training website: http://www.breakaway-training.com/photos/EncinitasSprintTriathlon/index.html

and
Jay Buddy's Blog:
http://tribuddy.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=126&Itemid=29

With the Encinitas Sprint race now behind me, I will be going back to logging some long steady miles over the next three weeks, in preparation for the half Ironman in Baja, which will take place on June 10th.

I will keep you posted in the lead-up to the race.

Encinitas 2XU Triathlon - May 20th

This weekend I will be competing in the 2XU Encinitas Sprint Triathlon, along with a number of the Breakaway Training members. Good luck to everyone this weekend!

Results and race update to follow...

Spring Sprint - Photos

Post Race - Emilio De Soto, Erik Nau, Felipe Loureiro, and Me
























Me

















Kirsten Loureiro, Felipe Loureiro, and Me


















Group Photo with the New Uniforms




















Matt Simpson, Felipe Loureiro, Me, and Stuart Fish at the Expo on Saturday



To see more photos from the race, go to the Breakaway Training website blog:
http://www.breakaway-training.com/photos/SprintSprint/index.html

Spring Sprint Triathlon - Recap

First of all I would like to congratulate all of the Breakaway Training members who competed in the Spring Sprint and Wildflower Triathlons this weekend. Great work! We are quite the force in our new uniforms... The "Breakaway Nation," as Felipe has coined it.

The Spring Sprint went very well for me today. I won the event (1st elite/1st overall), my first outright win at a triathlon, in a time of 46:17. It was a good win for me today, especially considering I was racing against a number of fast guys in the elite division, including Felipe Loureiro, Erik Nau, and Emilio De Soto.

It was a close race from wire to wire. I spent all of the swim and bike, and most of the run battling with Erik and Felipe for the lead. We were within seconds of one another in each transition, entering and exiting T1 and T2 in concert. After about one mile of the 3.1 mile the run, I made a bid for the lead and created a ten or fifteen second gap, which I was able to hold until the finish.

I felt strong throughout the entire race. It was reassuring for me to finally put together a complete race, from start to finish. After the disappointment at the Oceanside 70.3 (due to nutritional problems), it is a real confidence boost to see my training validated with the win today.

After a rest day on Monday, it will be back to business as usual, as the training builds towards the next big event, the half Ironman in Baja, June 10th. I am really looking forward to the next couple of weeks of training, and to the race in Baja.

Again, great job Breakaway Training competitors! We really put up some great results at both races this weekend! And for those of you who came out to support us, thank you.

Race Results from the Spring Sprint:
http://www.breakaway-training.com/photos.html

Spring Sprint Triathlon, Mission Bay, May 6th

Good luck to all of the 29 Breakaway Training members who will be competing in this upcoming Sunday's Spring Sprint triathlon at Mission Bay. It will be great to see so many of us out there competing in the new Breakaway Training Uniforms!

La Jolla Half Marathon Pictures - Thank You Gladys!

Nearing the Finish...




















Group Photo with Ultra-Runner Dean Karnazes (pictured center-right with back pack)




















Me, Felipe (with energy bar stuffed neatly into right cheek), and Dave

La Jolla Half Marathon - Results

The Half Marathon went well today.

I finished the course in 1 hr. 27 min. and 14 seconds. I was sixth in my age group, and 31 overall. I guess that's not too bad for my third half marathon, on a challenging course, with about 5500 participants. Still, and this is where my ultra-competitive/never satisfied side comes in, I know I have a long way to go if I am going to start running with the "big boys" - as some of the faster times recorded today were in the low teens and beyond.

The goal today was to put in a solid training effort, and I feel I did just that. I did my best to stay calm and steady throughout the race, and tried not to cross my "redline" (in terms of effort expenditure) at any point. As a result, I put in a solid time that didn't leave me totally "gassed" afterwards... A positive sign that my running fitness is coming on.

Today's course was, how should I put this... "Fun" ( you know, "Fun" the four letter word, with a capital "F"!) - a couple of steep and long climbs, matched with seemingly endless false flats, and a few hair-raising, quad-punishing descents... Not to mention the ankle-biting, cobble-stone finishing chute (a favorite among those of us with a history of sprained ankles). The Torrey Pines uphill (mid-course) proved a worthy adversary, and on the La Jolla Shores Drive downhill, when I let the legs go, I was curious as to how long I would be able to stay upright before beginning to tumble down the mile long downhill (When your slowest mile on the day was a 7:45, and your fastest was a 5:50, you know you are dealing with a course with some serious elevation change)... In all seriousness, it actually was a pretty fun course, as the variations in terrain kept the run from becoming monotonous at any point.

All in all, it was a good day. I am happy with my time, and the corresponding effort level required to achieve that time. The completion of the race today has polished off a solid training week. I feel that things are still moving in the right direction, and that slowly but surely I am making the necessary fitness and speed gains to eventually achieve my goals. Most importantly, I am really enjoying myself out there, training and racing.

To all the Breakaway Training members who competed today (there were over 30 of us), great job! I see a lot of you achieved personal bests on (again) a very difficult course. And to those of you who came out to cheer us on, thanks for the much-needed encouragement along the course!

La Jolla Half Marathon, April 22nd

This Sunday, a number of Breakaway Training members and I will be running the La Jolla Half Marathon. The course is hilly, rolling along the coastline between Del Mar and La Jolla. I think "challenging" would be a good word for it. Those who have run the Torrey Pines hill before know what I mean...

My goal is to utilize this weekend's race as a solid training run - a steady effort that doesn't leave me too tired for the coming week of training. Yet, knowing me, it will take a lot of self-discipline to simply run steady, and not get carried away with the idea of running for a personal best.

I will keep you all posted as to how it goes, especially as to whether or not I resist the temptation to run hard.

To all the Breakaway Training team members competing this weekend, and all the other competitors for that matter, best of luck on Sunday!

Photos - Oceanside 70.3

Feeling good at the start of the bike



Heading out onto the run course...



Starting to feel the run a bit



Post race chat with Felipe. Exhausted...