What A-Race

      One hour and twenty six minutes on the clock and I'm tired, exhausted searching for breathe and my calves were locking up. I tried to stretch them out but nothing would help. Time to push through or time to give up. That moment is what you train for, what you wait for, what you desire. The point where you test whether you can push yourself beyond where you have gone before.

     My A-race of the year was last Saturday. It was my biggest race, my entry into multi-sport, my first duathlon. I was looking forward to this race more than I have any other. I had been training (although not as well as I could) for this and the day before I had no nerves, no excitement, not much of anything. I was calm and ready, until night came. That night I had to pack up everything for the race. A few days earlier the weather had taken a drastic u-turn and instead of being 72 and sunny it was going to be 43 and rainy. I hadn't prepared for this, I hadn't even ridden in this. I didn't know what to take or what to wear. The stress started creeping in as I packed my transition bag, but no matter what the morning was coming.

     Early race morning my wife and I got up and start getting ready. We got dressed in our warm clothes and made sure we had everything. I started loading up the bike as my wife started to put on her shoes and she got a text from a friend. Her friend was asking why we weren't there yet and she said it was about to start. The questions starting running through our heads; "Did I read the time wrong?" "Are we an hour off?" "Can we still make it?". So we jumped in the car and drove off as fast as we could, and then we got another text confirming she was the one that was off on the time.....wow that was stressful, but we were on our way.

We arrived at the race and KC went and picked up our packets as I went and put my bike in transition. It was calming seeing a friend running my first ever transition. It was cold, but the rain was holding off. You could feel the excitement from everyone, the way it usually feels before a race. We put on our race numbers, aired up the tires and did a final check of everything. Just a few more minutes it was pre-race meeting and race time.

     After some waiting we were in the group and the gun had fired. We were off. The race was a sprint duathlon with a 5k race, 14 mile bike, and then another 1 mile run. There was also a 5k race going on at the same time. My wife was running the 5k, but this was the first time in a race we weren't running together. It was a strange feeling, but I kept on moving to beat my total time of 1:45:00.

The first mile of the run I felt like I wanted to reserve a lot of energy for the bike, and so I wasn't going all out. I got to the turn around and glanced at my clock, it was at 14 minutes and something. I did the math and figured I would come in from the 5k at around 29 minutes and something. That wasn't exactly what I wanted but maybe it would help reserve some energy. Soon after I saw my wife and she stopped to take a picture :) I started to pick it up a little, and as I came close to transition I looked at the clock and did a little double take. It was at 26:40 and I was ecstatic. It wasn't a PR but less than a minute off.

I ran into transition and switched my iPhone over to my bike. I took a long drink, put on my gloves and my helmet and took off. I wasn't feeling as confident about the bike portion. People had been talking about how the hills were pretty killer, and so I started going hesitantly to see what was ahead. I made notes in my head as I hit the first downhill, "This is not going to be fun to come back up". That first big downhill my chain came off and so it eliminated my speed going down as I had to stop. It was hard putting it back on with my gloves, but 20 seconds later and I was back up.

Five miles into the bike ride I was going harder. I wasn't hesitant anymore I was just pushing hard enjoying the ride, until I came to this massive winding hill. As I approached I saw three or for people walking up with their bikes. I went into it hard and soon switched to my low gears. I was going slow but in my head I kept repeating "do not get off this bike". I finally made it to the top and it was great finally seeing a little bit of flat straightish land. I kept riding hard and saw some friends cruise by on the other side of the road and knew the turn around must be coming up.

I hit the turn around and pushed hard. Up every hill and down the others I was cruising. I knew I had more to give and so I did. I passed some people and then came to the hill from early on. It was time to go back up, but I knew compared to that other one, this was nothing. I looked down at my clock and realized I had 20 minutes until my goal time. I didn't know exactly how far away I was, but it was really go time now. I hit the hill with no problem and made quick work of it. I started to come around a curve and saw the orange tape and my beautiful wife there all bundled up ready to take more pictures.

I rushed into transition threw off my gloves, left my phone on my bike and started running. I heard my wife's name over the speakers, and 2nd place following it. So I raised up my hands to cheer. In transition I took off, against my better judgement, without stretching my calves. I had done only one brick workout (going straight from a bike to a run) in training for this and that was the one thing I learned, but I felt good....for a minute. Then my calves started locking up, and I couldn't stretch them out. So I decided, "what the heck, only a mile, run it out in the pain". By the half mile mark I was feeling good again and a sprinted back to the finish. As I approached, there it was 1:34:15.

Crossing the finish line I grabbed some water, took off my timing chip and hugged my wife. What A race! All in all it was amazing. My calves were sore for a couple days, but I finished 3rd in my age and received my first race medal.

So proud of my wife

My Friend Corey and I

My wife got me a pre-race present, with a bike picture frame with my girls pictures in it,
and a biking magazine. She's the best.

My bike in transition

I'm Back

I am bike at training...oh I mean back. Well both actually. I have been waiting to get a bike so I could go ahead and keep training for this duathlon coming up on Oct 6th, and between no bike, being sick, vacation and super busy couple weeks at work I didn't quite stay with what I wanted. My biggest thing for me was getting a bike. I wanted to ride, and train on it. I know I can go out and run a 27 minute-ish 5k, which still needs to improve, but I am happy with for the race. The thing I haven't really known is how well I can do on a bike.

Last Monday I finally sold my guitar, which gave me enough money to go ahead and  purchase my bike. I knew what I wanted, and I had ridden it one other time at the bike shop. It was an Orbea Aqua TTG with Shimano Tiagra/105 components. When I hopped on that bike I knew. It was smooth, it road like a dream and picked up speed effortlessly. The shifting was a fine as I could ever want. Black and Charcoal grey mixed in design. It was perfect!

So I called the bike shop again to make sure they still had it in my size . . . well no go. They didn't have it anymore, and the only thing they did have in my size and price range was an Orbea Aqua TPX with SRAM Apex components. When the person on the phone told me that I said, "with what?" He explained it and told me that is what he rides with and loves them, but I still got off the phone a little discouraged. I wanted to go to this bike shop because it offered lifetime free tuneups and a couple other things that I really liked, and I really wanted my bike now....not really later, but I knew I wasn't going to settle.

I had done research and research after riding my dream bike on Orbea's and Shimano components, but had only seen stuff on SRAM and never really looked into it. As soon as I got off the phone I started researching. I knew I liked the Orbea Aqua frame, no problem there, but what about this SRAM? Everything I read said they were very good, same type of quality as Shimano, but not as smooth!!, felt different!!, and used something called a double tap system!!??? I did not like the sound of that, but I knew the only way to know was to go up and ride it.

It was cloudy, gloomy and rainy, but my wife and I took the little longer than usual hour drive to the bike shop.I walked in, and told the guy what I was looking at, and he hooked me right up, and let me take it out for a spin in the rain. I hopped on and road around that parking lot probably 20 times. Back and forth, back and forth. I like the feel, I loved the red and white color, but I was still not sold on the SRAM shifting, and so I kept riding. Eventually I came in and said, yep this is what I want!

It was only a couple minutes later and I was on the bike again, only inside this time, out of the rain and on a trainer. The guy was sizing me and the bike up to make sure the fit was perfect. A little later I was grabbing a spare tube, a hand pump, and a case for my iPhone. The rain had finally let up, but I still wasn't using the bike rack. We removed the front tire and laid the seats down in my back seat and the bike fit perfectly.  I was a very happy man.

Since then it has been a few days and I have been itching to get on the bike. My family and I took a leisure ride where I hooked up the kid trailer to the back of it, and we had a nice family ride. The next morning I woke up at 6 to go out and ride, and it was pitch black outside. I turned on my little lights, but knowing the roads out by my house i couldn't go that fast or I would wind up in a major pothole with a bent wheel. Finally Tuesday morning after all my meetings I went for an 11.2 mile ride. It was amazing!! Beautiful morning, great roads and actually got to get out on my new bike and log a few miles, even if I did realize how out of shape I have gotten. I also fell in love with the ultra quick shifting of the SRAM double tap system.

In the end, it is bike on. Training is back and I couldn't be happier. I am eating better, working out better and overall my motivation is through the roof.

Training Notes:
Sept 17th - 6.3 mile ride, 25:43, 14.7mph
Sept 18th - 11.2 mile ride, 44:46, 15 mph

I want to ride my bicycle!

Well I had a bike, and now I don't.

This statement really saddens me. Biking had become my new favorite thing. I literally could have been happy riding my bike everyday. It is such a good workout and it is just fun. I would ride my bike to work and accomplish two things at once, a commute and exercise. Now that the weather has become so nice, and not 107 degrees everyday, I feel like I should be taking every chance I have to ride, if I had a bike.

Okay so I am making this out to be a really sob story, but in all honesty It was my choice, and I think a very good choice. I had purchased a road bike from Walmart not too long ago and it really ignited a passion in me to ride. When I decided on getting into road biking my wife and I had decided to by a less expensive bike to make sure I was going to really enjoy it, to make sure I was really going to commit to it. I have a tendency of getting really excited about things and eventually letting that fade away. It was a very smart move, but after a little while the handlebars kept coming loose and I figured there must be a crack in the tube. I thought my next step was to take it to a bike shop, until I talked to a friend at my church. He said this one thing to me, "You should try a higher quality bike, when you try it out you will understand the difference."

Uh oh....now I was thinking. My bike was ok, but it had its flaws. I had spent $160 on it, and more than likely it was going to cost around $100 to fix it, was it worth it? Or should I test ride a different bike and really see the difference, even though I really don't have the money for a $700+ bike . . . or so I thought. I few years back I had another one of those passions, and so I bought something, a Taylor Guitar. I used it for a while, and some other people had used it at the church, but the other day I looked at it in my office and thought, there is my new bike. WIth that my wife had a great idea, instead of taking my current bike to a shop, and then trying to sell it, and making virtually no money, let's just take it back to Walmart. It is still returnable, it broke, so why not. So we did.

After that decision my family and I went shopping, and I asked if they would drop me off at the bike shop while they went to the mall. I knew they had no interest in being there, and I could take my time. I walked in to that store, looking at all the racks of bikes. Glancing at all the price tags, $1299, $799, $2499, $4999. . .wow. These were some nice bikes. I talked to one of the guys there for a while, explaining where I was at and what I was looking for. It just so happened that they did not have an entry level bike in my size, so he asked if I wanted to ride a $1299 bike. It seemed a little convenient, kinda like when you are watching one of those shows where people are buying houses and the relator always shows them a house 50 thousand dollars out of their price range, but I wasn't about to turn down the opportunity to ride. He put some pedals on the bike and tuned it up and let me go.

I pedaled that thing just once and realized the difference. With its light aluminum frame, carbon fork, carbon seat post and sport tires it flew around that parking lot. On top of all of that was the real treat, the Shimano Tiagra/105 shifters and components. That bike was so smooth, and at that point I understood what I wanted in a bike.

Now all I have to have is patience. Easier said than done I think. I am waiting on my guitar to sell, so I can buy a bike. I have been missing it a lot, but it will come. I am a person that believes in God, and his perfect timing, even in the small things. So here I wait, doing what I can, training like I can.

I know this seems a little trivial, wanting a new bike, but its fun and kind of important to me. Working out is important, and my goals are important to me. What type of things get you excited to reach your goals or to work out? What may seem trivial to other people but is important to you?

And if you want to buy a guitar let me know :)
http://tulsa.craigslist.org/msg/3217885834.html