HURRY! There's less than seven days left before the submission deadline! Be sure check out all the details on the main post. Then get over to the Facebook page and submit your video. Good luck!
HURRY! There's less than seven days left before the submission deadline! Be sure check out all the details on the main post. Then get over to the Facebook page and submit your video. Good luck!
The SBR/RBS complex is quite the facility. You walk into an open area where there's stadium seating for not one, but two projectors. Except the seating isn't leather recliners, but rather a dozen linked CompuTrainers. It is really, really sweet. (This winter they're a part of an indoor race series from all over the US and Canada. More Info - PDF) In the back is the bike studio, complete with a GURU dynamic fit unit. And the day I was there, they were going to outfit a room with several TRX devices to offer the pleasurable pain that only TRX users love. The whole place is one block off the Ironman Wisconsin bike course and the infamous Fireman's Park in Verona. In warmer months, they open the doors at 6 A.M. to support all the riders that visit. (And we're working out some things for WIBA, so stay tuned for exciting news there!)
But let's go back to the Quintana Roo...
It was in August when we first got shipment of the CD0.1. (Many, many thanks to HUB Endurance and Quintana Roo for the connections and facilitating the sponsorship. I really look forward to the partnership and know that good things will come of it.) I was in the midst of packing after selling it our house, so the bike got no love. For the team announcement, I slapped the wheels on and set it on my porch for some shots:
Then it went back into its box to get moved to my parents' basement. And like Harry Potter, it stayed in the dark depths under stairs until its eleventh birthday - or at least that's what it felt like until I could recover it in October. I immediately took it over to the SBR/RBS studio for some much needed love, along with the old bike that had all of my components on it. Jess had me get on the old steed, which gave her quite the fright. She immediately knew that things were all wrong, wrong, wrong. My angles, reach, and other terminology were all drastically off, but she promised to fix it. She made some notes, and we talked about a few things and turned things over to Pete and the bike shop to build things back up.
It was sometime later that Pete had the QR mostly built so I could get my final measurements before they cut the aerobars and put all the final pieces on. Jess and I talked through positions, seat angle, and the ever-important comfort vs. aerodynamics. We settled on comfort and left options open for a more aero fit when I get in shape. With that, it went back to Pete for the final touches.
So finally, after some life-getting-in-the-way-of-fun issues, we got together again at the studio. Pete did a wonderful job pulling it all together. As soon as I got on, both he and Jess commented on how much better I fit. Jess made a few tweaks to the seat height and angle, and then a final tweak to the aerobar angle, and I was set. I decided to go with a little flash and Pete obliged with red cable housing to offset the black frame and give a little pop. It looks freakin' sweet.
Now entering its sixth year, the members of Team Evotri continue to challenge themselves and others to live a healthy and active lifestyle through endurance sports. They have been given an extraordinary opportunity to train and race with the same equipment and coaching as the pros. They continue to dedicate themselves to maximizing their potential, to sharing what they learn from their experiences, and to making a positive contribution to the endurance sport community.
Team Evotri is again ready to welcome a new member to the family. For 2012, Team Evotri and its sponsors have pulled together a one-of-a-kind package to provide an age group athlete the opportunity to train and race like a PRO, while giving back to the triathlon and endurance community. The current team members will be looking for an individual who embraces the spirit of triathlon: a positive attitude, enthusiasm for the sport, desire to improve, and dedication to give back to the endurance community. Years of triathlon experience and good race results are not deciding factors in choosing a winner, but passion is.
The next team member will benefit by receiving an excellent package courtesy of the team's sponsors:
- QuintanaRoo will provide a top-of-the-line CD0.1 frameset with innovative shift technology that will undoubtedly take your bike splits to a new level.
- Zipp Speed Weaponry knows just how to outfit a frame like the CD0.1 with a 404 front and 808 rear wheel set.
- SRAM will add to the bike with its latest cockpit and drivetrain components.
- CycleOps finishes the bike off with its cutting edge SL+ wireless PowerTap hub and Joule 2.0 computer.
- HUB Endurance puts it all together providing a full year of expert triathlon coaching to deliver the newest Evotri athlete to the top of their potential in 2012.
Here's how you can be the next Team Evotri member:
Create a video that's no longer than three (3) minutes. The video should answer the following three questions:
Guidelines:
Process:
Important Notes:
Then, you watch this and realize that you would do it all over again in a heartbeat:
REV3 Triathlon SOUTH CAROLINA 2011 - Age Group Recap from REVOLUTION3 Triathlon on Vimeo.
]]>When we decided to grow up and buy a house, our search wasn't yielding much in the downtown that we could afford. It was the height of the market, and anything worthwhile was getting snapped up and (now) ridiculous prices. Then one night, a house come on the market with an open house the next day. Since it was close by, we went over to check it out. The outside looked pretty bad.
But, when we went to the open house the next day, much of the interior was remodeled. We wanted it badly. After a 2nd walk-through that same day after the open house, we put in an aggressive offer with a quick turnaround. Within six hours, we had an accepted offer. A month later, we moved in.
In the five-plus years we lived there, not one room hasn't been improved. The entire exterior was replaced and improved. We grew from a family of two to three, hosted numerous friends, trained long hours in the basement, but ultimately grew out of its quaint size.
We were so naive about owning a home, let along a hundred year-old one at that. From a leaky roof to asbestos siding and a rotting porch, we learned that nothing is square, plumb, or otherwise is as it should be expected.
I didn't think I'd be emotional as I got as we cleaned out the last of our things last night. Going from room to room, it hit me just how much energy, blood, sweat, and tears where shed maintaining and updating our first home. Lots of memories are tied up in each drop (sometimes gallons) of those blood, sweat and tears.
It's bittersweet moving. Bitter because we'll be further from the downtown we love, but sweet because a new owner will enjoy this one as much as we did. Her excitement at the closing today reminded us of the excitement we had.
Good bye house, we'll see you again soon.
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After I turned in my Holter monitor, I met with a cardiologist that specializes in heart rhythms. We talked through various things and the bottom line conclusion is that I need to keep my blood-volume up by staying hydrated and salinated. Rare is it that a heart doctor recommending to eat salty food, or even add some, if necessary. The other conclusion is that I'm getting a bit older and my body doesn't react as quickly to sudden changes in pressure. That, and my lower blood pressure (averages 100/70) makes me predispositioned to dizzy spells when standing.
We reviewed my monitor results, which showed no abnormalities, but did reveal a healthy heart. My highest heart rate was 168bpm during my run and my lowest was 31bpm(!) while sleeping. That's one beat for every two seconds. The doctor said that was a good thing to have that low of a rate while sleeping.
He did order an echocardiogram just to be sure, which is a sonogram of my heart. It was really cool. You can see all the valves, chambers, aortas, and veins and how they all work together during a "beat." During the test, the technician turned down the lights to see the screen, and had me lie down - perfect conditions to see how low I could get my heart rate. From what I could see on the screen, it was under 40bpm for most of the procedure. Fun!
Before the echo, I stopped by the lab to get my blood drawn. I just got those results back and they show that I'm continuing to get healthy. Note that I lost 35 pounds in late 2004 and started triathlons in 2005.
I'm looking forward to getting the bike set up as soon as I can. In the mean time, here's a shot of me with my CD0.1 and another discussing the finer points of the Shift Technology with my daughter, who just had to be in the picture.
The image above is my chest covered in sensors that connect to an "Intelligent Holter Monitor." (I'd hate to have one of the dumb ones.) It been checking on things inside my chest for the past day, with one more day to go. Anytime I feel dizzy or light headed, I push a button on the data collector (on my waistband) and record what I was doing at the time. I'll turn it back in on Wednesday, and then meet with a heart rhythm specialist next week to go over the results.
For my run this morning, my chest was a different kind of lumpy with the sensors under my shirt . (Normally it's just my love handles.) Kris thought it looked like I had a bunch of piercings. I think it blows away my normal chest strap and that it would be really cool if I could just get my Garmin to communicate with it somehow. If it was really intelligent, it would communicate via ANT+.
]]>Health: My stitches were taken out a week ago. The chin is still sensitive if I knock it into something, and the scar tissue will make it a bit of a bigger scar. Shaving will introduce some new challenges. I saw my regular doctor the next day and he completely blew me off. "Some people have a tendency to faint," and "Don't stand up so quickly" were direct quotes in response to my questions about what happened. So that was my last visit with him.
I got in to see a physician's assistant yesterday and he ordered a bunch of lab (blood) tests as well as a Holter monitor. After I wear that for 48-hours, I will review the results with a heart rhythm specialist. The thought is that since my resting heart rate is well below normal (like ~40 bpm), I might experience times where I don't have a beat for 3-5 seconds. I don't think that's the case, but who knows?
Evotri: We're getting a new sponsor, which means there's going to be a new toy in the house soon! Can't wait for it to get here, even though I won't have any time to play with it.
Everything else: Life right now is crazy! I'm in El Paso later this week, then announcing at the Centurian Wisconsin, then the heart monitor stuff, then vacation, then we pack and (fingers crossed) close on our current home, all the while look for a new home to move into. Don't forget about the day job!
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Then, I posted a picture of the gash in my chin with a equally cryptic message about "Wando's catching my face."
As expected, it yielded a bunch of questions, so here's the story: Every now and then, I have experience a vasovagal syncope episode. Plainly, I faint. We were at Wando's, the second bar in a nine-bar pub crawl. I had spent the previous two hours inside at the Memorial Terrace drinking one beer. I was on my second at Wando's when we were discussing the merits of a horrible movie that was on the TV. When, all of a sudden, I felt dizzy, nauseous, and thought that it would be good for me to sit down. Next then I know is that I'm looking up at the ceiling with my wife and a friend looking down at me. By the time I came around, 911 had been called, and ice was already on my chin. Except from suffering from a major case of embarrassment, I felt fine.
From what Kris could see from where she was, I took a stumble forward that she thought was part of a joke but then I proceeded forward and hit the tile floor with all my weight on my chin. She freaked and several folks suggested getting CPR started. Thankfully, a nurse was on hand and confirmed that I was indeed breathing and didn't need it. (Phew!) The ambulance was there promptly, confirmed the need for stitches and offered a ride to the hospital. So, for the first time ever, I'm in the back of an ambulance on the way to the emergency room.
The constant theme of the afternoon was my low heart rate. It was consistently below 45bpm, which caused all the doctors and nurses to confirm that I was an athlete. But, what it really did was add to the complex question, "Why is an healthy, fit, 35 year-old male fainting for no reason?" The simply neuro tests showed nothing wrong, so they did an EKG and that came back normal. (My heart rate was at 37bpm when they hooked me up to the machine!) In the end, I came home with three stitches in my chin, some small chips out two teeth, and a jaw that feels like I got into a fistfight.
I've had similar episodes happen twice before. Once in high school that I had completely forgot about, and another about five years ago while waiting in line at the airport. We've replayed this most recent scene over and over again and can't find anything out of order. I was relatively hydrated (urinating twice while at the ER), not hungry, and not hot. The only thing I can blame is the really, really, bad movie.
]]>Here it is in three still shots (Courtesy of ASI):
On Friday night, the last thing I did after I posted my new mantra was to check the weather. It specifically stated that the best chance of thunderstorms was between 7am and 1pm, prime racing time. Then, the next morning at 5am, the radar confirmed the forecast, featuring high winds along with the rain. But, like the rest of the forecasts this year, you can count on them as far as you can throw them, which isn't very far. Setting up, it never rained, and only sprinkled as we were waiting for the waves to start. But, it stayed cloudy and humid.
The water had risen two degrees overnight and was now at 83°F - totally non-wetsuit legal. My teammate Chris showed me this cool tip where I put my top on, but don't put my arms in, pulling it down to around my waist. Then I tucked the whole thing into my shorts except for two "tabs" that I could pull out as I ran to my bike. I tested it beforehand and got some kinks worked out, so I was good to go for the race.
SWIM
After waiting for all my teammates to start before me, I finally got to go about 10 deep in my wave due to the time trial format. I got the go and went in. I think with my run in, flop, and one dolphin dive, I passed everyone who started before me who were doing the backstroke, breaststroke and I don't know what else. Since there were about 45,000 people already in the water, I stayed to the outside and took the long route to keep clear. Sure, it's longer, but likely faster since I don't have to worry about zig-zagging around everyone else along the buoys. I kept in the moment and made sure my stroke was long and smooth as possible. I got into a nice groove, especially into the slight wind and chop. On the beach and ran up the chute, I perfectly executed the new top tip and ran into transition.
Swim Time: 23:37.7, 2nd in AG
Transition was a big place, but I found my bike, got the shoes on and nearly took off without my helmet.
BIKE
The main goal was to be above 20mph average. The course is winding and urban, with lots of cracks and potholes to avoid. Sections were busy with other competitors, but roads were closed, so there was plenty of room. I was really humming along, and the legs were fatigued from a lack of training, but my Joule & PowerTap said I was within acceptable power limits, so I kept going, keeping myself in the moment as much as possible, though I remember passing some houses and thinking those were really big and cool looking. But, I snapped back to the race and pressed on. I got to see my cousin and her family out on the course, too. My total distance came out to be mile long, which was confirmed by others. Officially, I averaged 21.8mph, so I'll take it.
Bike Time: 1:10:20.9, 24th in AG
My second transition left a lot to be desired. When I saw the radar before the race, I smartly put my socks in a bag inside of my bag to keep them dry. Only problem was that I forgot to take them out before the race. I momentarily "lost" them and had my shoes on - sockless (which I never have done) before I checked one last time in my bag and found the bag. I got them on as quickly as possible and got out of there. Needless, to say, my transition time was below average.
RUN
It took the first mile to get my legs used to running. (Personal note: Must do more some bike-run brick workouts.) Once I started to feel good, I focused on running the straightest line of the winding path, which helped to stay in the moment. I also started to worry about Michelle, who started before me but I likely passed in the swim. At the only point on the course that's out & back, I see her about two minutes back. My new goal becomes to prevent her from passing me before I get done with the first loop. But, she doesn't. Buoyed by this, I confidently press ahead. When I see her at the out & back again, she's only gained about 30 seconds. I pressed harder.
Must. Not. Let. Michelle. Catch. Me.
I press again when I see a green sign marking the course, only it's not the 6-mile mark that I thought it was, it's the 2-mile mark for the first lap. Do I hold back? No, I'm in the moment, so I keep pressing. Finally, there's the turn off to the finishing chute. I see Chris is done and Sarah is with him taking pictures. I pass looking grimly and enter the finish chute. Then things got fuzzy.
Run Time: 46:58.6, 25th in AG
Total Time: 2:25:45.9, 9th in AG
Once in the med tent, a few people started asking all sorts of questions. I readily answered them, even jokingly. I was just really, really hot. Then they said they couldn't get a temperature from my skin. They'd have to go anally. That's when all the joking stopped. None of my persuasions would change their mind. I guessed that I was around 101°F. Turns out that I was at 104°F. Into the ice bath for me! After ten minutes, I was back on the lounge chair under cold towels, mentally readying myself for a second temperature check. My lack of joking concerned them a bit, but I was busy mentally making my temperature go down. This time, I was below the magical threshold of 100 at 99.9°F. I could go! Many thanks to Brian, Tracy and Christi who stayed with me while I cooled down.
SUMMARY
This is a great race. There were lifeguards every fifty yards on the swim course. There were at least two volunteers at every crossing, corner and turn on the bike course. (Some were better than others, but at least they were there.) From first hand experience, the med tent was top notch. For as big as it is, it was well run - even with the potentially dangerous weather.
My race went really, really well - even with the sock issue - right up until I finished. I don't know what got me so hot, but I was satisfied with my mental state throughout the race, pushing through racing pain and getting myself to the end. Despite the probing, I'm going to consider this race a success and learn from it. I'll probably come back next year and do my best to avoid the med tent.
]]>So my new mantra is "In the moment." It's a reminder that I need to be mindful and stay focused on where I am, what I'm doing, and how I'm doing it. I can feel a difference when I remind myself that I'm running. My back straightens, my stride shortens, and my speed picks up without any extra effort. On the bike, my pedal strokes become more circular, my head stays up, and my breathing calms. I hope to keep this going at the Lifetime Minneapolis race tomorrow. I'm going to need something special to have a good day.
[If you feel like tracking me via txts, I'm #909.]
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