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| Marlene and Christine before their last half in Pagosa |
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| Straight up Baller going into the swim start AKA Allen Iverson or for the new generation, LaBron... |
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| RRRRR!!! Could have been a minute faster...EZ!! |
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Racing in the Mother Land..(NM) 7-21-11
Summer is flying by... yet again, but I can say it has been one of the best on record so far! The training has remained constant as consecutive day #212 went off yesterday with a bike ride and a return to Hot Flow Yoga class. The ride was chill enough, but the yoga class was down right BLISS. I always leave that place feeling like a brand new person inside and out! Yesterday I went through my old training logs and it revealed I have only trained abut 15 more hours this summer then last...What the heck, last summer I was taking days off from the training and this summer I have not. Hours in general for the year are not a humongous amount different either for that matter. This is my take on it: it seems that in the years past I would take a little break then have a big training day of say 5 hours or so, now, I am consistently around 2 hours a day. When you do the math the numbers come out surprisingly close... The one thing which has happened with the consistency in everyday workouts is that people have told me I look much thinner...I say leaner...(171 and 6.5%) either way I feel pretty good and I have taken full advantage of the opportunities to train in places I wouldn't have otherwise (streets of Denver, hot springs in Ouray, and even a hotel facility...that I was not staying at). EZ training runs with Mar have been the staple of my recovery and rest days and as a result she has just signed up for her 3rd half marathon!! She has really gotten into it, enough to ask me about giving her some speed workouts so she can bring her times down:) Before it was just about finishing and having fun, but now it seems like she has gotten a bit more competitive...Awesome!
Boulder Race Report: After the Tucson race I was feeling a little pissed about my swimming! Seems like last year at the same race/distance I was able to do a 10:26 and this year it was 11:03!! WTF, if I would have done somewhere near the same time it would have been an easy win! The best I can figure is that my body composition has changed a bit and I don't float as well as I did last summer so I work a little harder now to keep proper body position where as before I didn't worry about it?? Anyways, I did get some speed sleeves from Trisports.com (to go along with my farmer john wetsuit)..straight up GEEK at the start line! I practiced with the sleeves prior to the race and they felt excellent...in the pool. Problem was that on race day the pace was faster and the sleeves immediately started slipping off my arms. At first it was one arm at a time, then both together, then just the left, then the right....no rhyme or reason it just seemed like they wanted off my arms!! I was pissed and almost left them floating in the Boulder Reservoir, but I just kept pulling them back up and sprinting forward. I would kick as hard as I could, get streamline, pull them up one at a time, then take off again...SUCKED!! After the swim it was business as usual , hammer on the bike then try to run hard and don't get passed. The bike ride was absolutely beautiful with a 16% climb at about mile 7-8 then some fast downhill followed by mild downhill (push the biggest gear you have) till about mile 20ish where the rollers are...all in all it was a fun course. The run was a simple out and back 10k on dirt roads. The return trip was faster then going out and I need to remember to push harder in that direction next year! When it was all said and done I finished 20th in the amateur division and got to see fellow Trisports.com team members Brad Hendron, Missy Kuck, and Amy Regan. On a positive note, The dude that won Deuces Wild, Cam Hill (former professional) was there. He did a 2:07, same time as in Show Low. In Show Low I was a full 14 minutes behind him! In Boulder I was only 6 minutes back. Cam raced in the Elite division and placed 5th....Nice guy by the way :)
With my first NM triathlon of the season on the horizon I have to say all systems are GO!! Until next time, be safe, God Speed, and keep the rubber side down....
Friday, July 8, 2011
Blast from the Past.... 7-08-2011
Seems like summer is in full swing and we have been running around the bases non stop. Part of the joy in being teachers is, of course, getting the summer off. I for one try my best to take full advantage in order to return completely refreshed and rejuvenated! Sometimes throughout the summer months, however, we are able to run into, hear from, or hear about a former student/athlete and it makes us just want to return to running around the Field of Dreams in Las Cruces with a blind 8th grader....in my case anyway:)
As you already know Leticia Martinez is one of my peeps who I put tons of faith into, someone who when they call (text) will certainly brighten your day, someone who not only levels out the negatives and makes it all worth the while, but someone who can actually make me see past myself:) For the better part of the past 2 years Leticia and I have texted (via an app which adds voice to text). We keep one another updated on the goings on if you will, we encourage each other...I try to send her good vibes about her training and let her know about my race results while she keeps me motivated and encouraged by not only her remarkable race results, but by her shear resilience, will power, drive, and positive attitude. A couple years ago I remember Leticia being really happy when we took our annual Colorado family vacation because it meant a lull in her triathlon training for a few days (mostly the running). This summer as we are in CO... so is Leticia, only she is also training and racing....AT THE OLYMPIC TRAINING CENTER!!! Yeah she is a total bad ass swimmer now. She attacked that sport much the same way she attacks everything in life...pedal to the metal! Currently Leticia is ranked number 1 in the United States and 6th in the world among blind swimmers! Her current goal is to break :30 seconds in the 50 free, her longer term goal...London 2012!! To express how very proud I am of her would be extremely difficult, so most of the time I just say keep it up or good job or something along those lines. It's not until later that it all begins to sink in and I realize just how far she has come and how dramatically sports can change a persons perspective on life... makes me very happy! A funny on Leticia.... I remember when we would train for the run, Leticia would do this little trick where she would not only loosely tie her shoes, she would also tie one just a fraction looser then the other..Why, you ask yourself?? Easy, because as we would get to running first one would "mysteriously" come untied, then a a little while later the other one would do the same... She would get to rest, sit, and tie her shoe, not once, but twice! I would let her for the most part and just pretend not to be hip to her trickery, but then during the Socorro Triathlon when it was game time one little shoe came untied and I quickly tied them both...TIGHT! She said,"what are you doing I usually tie my own shoes"... not this time I explained. We needed to hustle to the finish line and sitting down in the middle of a triathlon to tie not one, but two shoes (in a quarter mile) was just not an option, she sort of gave a frustrated sigh, then later a little chuckle, and at the end a huge thank you as we crossed the finish line....
On the racing/training front... Last weekend the Montoya Mafia was in Tucson (thanks to Jaclyn for not letting me off the hook) The Tucson race in July is always hot! This year it was no different. A few cool things about the Tucson races: you never know who will show up and try to out sprint you, there are always familiar faces, there are always races within the race, and I can always count on pushing as hard as I possibly can... in 100* weather! This year perhaps the the three most memorable events were racing Seton to the line for a beer and pushing the limits with Leo...again, and the fact that this race was going to be my 200th career triathlon. At the beginning of the race Seton and I shook hands and sealed the bet. He had a slight head start and I knew it would be close and mutually beneficial not to mention a hell of a lot of fun to race each other. Trouble was, when he caught me on the run I was way too out of sorts to go with him. He opened up a gap and I tried to close, but it was too little too late...plus he fricken sprinted to the line as well! Seton, I owe you a cold one next time I am in Tucson.. As for Leo, man the guy don't quit! We usually race within a few seconds of one another there, but in that kind of heat... and our age... whew, lucky to get out of that one without loosing consciousness..FOR REALS! Marlene asked me after the race what it's like to push that hard in that heat....EZ, come out of the swim with a two minute deficit, ride the bike so hard you puke (just a little), then run side by side pushing the threshold to the point of your surroundings getting a little blurry from time to time... then cap it off with a sprint to the line.. IT HURT A LOT, but it was totally worth it and that's what part of this amazing journey has all been about.
Right after the race we loaded up the car and headed for Denver CO. 15 hrs later we had driven across the Salt River Canyon, back through Show Low AZ, and were at our destination by 4:45 the next morning.. Which brings me to today. Today is our anniversary! 16 years ago today it is safe to say Marlene didn't know what kind of roller coaster she was getting on, but for the grace of God it has been a wonderful ride (for me anyway)! Huge THANK YOU to Mar for putting up with me for so long. The consecutive training days are still a go and today just happens to be number 200! Maybe a sunset run with Mar through the forest trails?? Lastly all systems seem to be a go for one of the biggest races I have done in quite some time, The Boulder 5150. Should be stacked with the best of the best.....Bring It!!
As you already know Leticia Martinez is one of my peeps who I put tons of faith into, someone who when they call (text) will certainly brighten your day, someone who not only levels out the negatives and makes it all worth the while, but someone who can actually make me see past myself:) For the better part of the past 2 years Leticia and I have texted (via an app which adds voice to text). We keep one another updated on the goings on if you will, we encourage each other...I try to send her good vibes about her training and let her know about my race results while she keeps me motivated and encouraged by not only her remarkable race results, but by her shear resilience, will power, drive, and positive attitude. A couple years ago I remember Leticia being really happy when we took our annual Colorado family vacation because it meant a lull in her triathlon training for a few days (mostly the running). This summer as we are in CO... so is Leticia, only she is also training and racing....AT THE OLYMPIC TRAINING CENTER!!! Yeah she is a total bad ass swimmer now. She attacked that sport much the same way she attacks everything in life...pedal to the metal! Currently Leticia is ranked number 1 in the United States and 6th in the world among blind swimmers! Her current goal is to break :30 seconds in the 50 free, her longer term goal...London 2012!! To express how very proud I am of her would be extremely difficult, so most of the time I just say keep it up or good job or something along those lines. It's not until later that it all begins to sink in and I realize just how far she has come and how dramatically sports can change a persons perspective on life... makes me very happy! A funny on Leticia.... I remember when we would train for the run, Leticia would do this little trick where she would not only loosely tie her shoes, she would also tie one just a fraction looser then the other..Why, you ask yourself?? Easy, because as we would get to running first one would "mysteriously" come untied, then a a little while later the other one would do the same... She would get to rest, sit, and tie her shoe, not once, but twice! I would let her for the most part and just pretend not to be hip to her trickery, but then during the Socorro Triathlon when it was game time one little shoe came untied and I quickly tied them both...TIGHT! She said,"what are you doing I usually tie my own shoes"... not this time I explained. We needed to hustle to the finish line and sitting down in the middle of a triathlon to tie not one, but two shoes (in a quarter mile) was just not an option, she sort of gave a frustrated sigh, then later a little chuckle, and at the end a huge thank you as we crossed the finish line....
On the racing/training front... Last weekend the Montoya Mafia was in Tucson (thanks to Jaclyn for not letting me off the hook) The Tucson race in July is always hot! This year it was no different. A few cool things about the Tucson races: you never know who will show up and try to out sprint you, there are always familiar faces, there are always races within the race, and I can always count on pushing as hard as I possibly can... in 100* weather! This year perhaps the the three most memorable events were racing Seton to the line for a beer and pushing the limits with Leo...again, and the fact that this race was going to be my 200th career triathlon. At the beginning of the race Seton and I shook hands and sealed the bet. He had a slight head start and I knew it would be close and mutually beneficial not to mention a hell of a lot of fun to race each other. Trouble was, when he caught me on the run I was way too out of sorts to go with him. He opened up a gap and I tried to close, but it was too little too late...plus he fricken sprinted to the line as well! Seton, I owe you a cold one next time I am in Tucson.. As for Leo, man the guy don't quit! We usually race within a few seconds of one another there, but in that kind of heat... and our age... whew, lucky to get out of that one without loosing consciousness..FOR REALS! Marlene asked me after the race what it's like to push that hard in that heat....EZ, come out of the swim with a two minute deficit, ride the bike so hard you puke (just a little), then run side by side pushing the threshold to the point of your surroundings getting a little blurry from time to time... then cap it off with a sprint to the line.. IT HURT A LOT, but it was totally worth it and that's what part of this amazing journey has all been about.
Right after the race we loaded up the car and headed for Denver CO. 15 hrs later we had driven across the Salt River Canyon, back through Show Low AZ, and were at our destination by 4:45 the next morning.. Which brings me to today. Today is our anniversary! 16 years ago today it is safe to say Marlene didn't know what kind of roller coaster she was getting on, but for the grace of God it has been a wonderful ride (for me anyway)! Huge THANK YOU to Mar for putting up with me for so long. The consecutive training days are still a go and today just happens to be number 200! Maybe a sunset run with Mar through the forest trails?? Lastly all systems seem to be a go for one of the biggest races I have done in quite some time, The Boulder 5150. Should be stacked with the best of the best.....Bring It!!
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| The finish line is often times just the beginning |
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| Good thing Leo is Mortician... at least he can make me look pretty after he gives me a heart attack!! |
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| Seton totally laying it on the line for that beer!! |
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