SO EXCITED TO RACE!!!!

Thanks for checking in!! I cannot believe that I will be racing the Wildflower Triathlon for the 3rd time this weekend! This really is one of my favorite races (the olympic distance, NOT the half iron). For those who have never done this race, it is certainly one of the old school triathlon races on the scene, that attracts a top pro field, and is one of the most competitive age group races around being the second largest triathlon in the world and its location in the global triathlon mecca which is California!

This year is a very important year for me in terms of triathlon racing. I had a REALLY terrible 2010 season, recovering from stress fractures in both my lower legs from over-running on the asphalt streets in San Francisco. Then in my first race back in early June, I had a nasty fall on my bike damaging my s-works time trial bike and dislocating my thumb. Note to all out there - DO NOT USE BAKING FLOUR TO MARK THE BIKE COURSE CORNERS! This is DANGEROUS to the athletes!!!

This year, I am coming off an awesome off season where I paid special attention to my running and spent way to many laps and painful mile repeats on the track, and worked on my overall core and functional strength. I am injury free, feel super fit, have all my equipement and pride repaired. So, I fell pumped and ready to go for the Olympic distance race on Sunday.

I raced this race in 2008, and finished with a very strong 7th place in the super competitive Mens 25-29 age group. I am now an age group up, and feel like I have made progress in my training. It's really hard to have goals, as I do not know who I am racing against. But, my goals are to #1 have fun, and to not get negative during the race regardless of how things are playing out. Second, I want to be really strong throughout the entire race, and finish with a strong last 2km on the run. Third, I want to drink beer at the finish with my friend Scott and the crew in the sunshine :)

My Weapon - "Bullet" - fastest bike around!

Swim Gear

Racing bib and flats

Me with Wildflower camping pass

A little self motivation ;)

Just finishing off my taper this week with a few rides on Bullet and some open water swimming in the brisk waters of SF bay. Feeling good, and ready to give it my all on Sunday. Check back for my race report :)

YYYEEAAAHHHHH!!!!!

Stephen

BELIEVER! 2 weeks till Wildflower!!

Hey Everyone, Thanks for checking in. So, the Wildflower Triathlon is in 2 weeks. I will be racing the Olympic Distance race on Sunday May 1. I had a really excellent race at this event back in 2008, and will be hoping to have another great race this year. My preparation has been sorta up and down, with the cancellation of 2 of my sprint/preparation tri's. However, my actual training has been quite solid, and hopefully it will translate into a fantastic day out there!

White Party T-Dance - FREEMASONS - Palm Springs 2011

This past weekend, I spent 5 days in Palm Springs for the White Party and to do some training in the heat. The training went really well, and I enjoyed swimming in the outdoor pool, and running in the sunshine. The White Party was over the top AWESOME. Here is one of the tracks that made a mark on me over the weekend. One of my new fav's by the Freemasons. It is titled "Believer" and I am making a conscious effort to get my mind back onto the positive optimistic track....Enjoy....

"March Madness" - a whole lotta biking :)

So.....what's a triathlete to do when he has 2 consecutive races cancelled, when all the training has been done, and a full on taper is complete??

"MARCH MADNESS" bike camp is what you do!!

Of course, immediately after last weekends cancelled race, the weather  in California took a turn for the better and it has been absolutely sunny and hot here! With the way my work shifts fell this week, I was in a position to do some serious training this week. I must admitt that I am totally sick of swimming and running right now, and the thought of anymore laps in the pool or on the track just makes me cringe! And with all the rain we had been having, I really have not been putting any serious mileage onto the bike.

I kinda made up my mind that this was to become "March Madness" week, and that I would get a significant block of cycling in to prepare for my upcoming races. And the conditions could not have been better, as likely all 3 of my upcoming races will be in the heat - Wildflower, Ironman 70.3 Hawaii, Great White North Triathlon.

I was able to ride the Tiburon Loop 5 days this week - Mon/Tues/Thurs/Fri - with Thursday's version being extended into a brick with a VERY difficult 60min run off the bike including 80 degree temperatures, running on the beach and 2 sets of the incredibly difficult sand ladder. OUCH, but I rocked it!

Tiburon Loop

The loop is one of my favorite rides, and gives around an 85-90km ride depending on where you start from. So, that gave me somewhere around 450km of cycling this week. I think that is probably the most I have ever done. I thought that since I have the time, and the conditions were ideal, I would make the most of my tapered body and really put in some good training.

Time for an ice bath and some beer!!

Have a great weekend, and best of luck to all the athletes who will be racing in Oceanside this weekend, as the weather has finally cleared in California!

Steve