Checking In

Its been a while since I have posted and so much has happened I don't know were to start. So this will be a quick overview and more focused on getting me up to speed on blogging.

After 70.3 worlds I raced Rose City Tri and Possum Kingdom ( a gem of a race) I feel like I missed my peak by a week as I was jumping out of my skin both days. Its easily to sit here and say I could have done x y and z at Vegas. I had those guys actually! as you race the race on the day and get your finishing place to life with. End of story. Live-learn-forgot. But it got me excited for Austin 70.3 and beyond.... fast forward to Sept 19th (my bros birthday actually) I was in Baton Rouge, knocked out 3k in the pool with a masters group and was on one enjoyable  6 mile run around the lakes at LSU when I had a bad fall turned out fractured my Thumb and had surgery a week last. So 2012 was over and out !

6 weeks in a cast all up my arm with 3 pins holding my thumb in place for 4 weeks and the last 2 weeks I had just a case around my hand. I started back a little swimming in the last week when the cast, just 1000m or so 3 times. When the injury happened I decided to take a 1-2 week break and not do any workouts, then I started running only, with no structure just putting in miles and some tempo type stuff when I felt like it.

So when I hopped back officially in the pool, I wasn't expecting much in terms of pace or feel ! I was just happy to be back in the water and meet my friends at the pool again. But my masters Coach, Susan had me move to my normal lane for a set of 200m's, my goal was to hang on! when I saw the clock after rep 1, I knew I hadn't lost much at all. Just some endurance, which came back after a week or so. I'm so lucky to have a great swim coach to help me with my weakness and I'm excited to see what 2013 brings for me in Triathlon. No more losing lots of time !!!

Thankfully down in San Antonio we have amazing winter and our crew has starting to get focused and ready to put some solid basework in order to build for the next racing season. Wes and I have been kicking about racing plans for 2013. Lots to be determined and organized but for now its time to put the head down and get the work done. This coming week I will aim to get more specific with bike workouts and keep my swim volume high.

Finally I did the Hel of a Du Duathlon on Saturday and had lots of fun and knocked out a solid time to break the course record with my limited biking the last 12 weeks.  

Have a great week.

Robbie

70.3 World Champs

On Sunday the 10^th,  I raced the World Championships in Las Vegas, the field was stacked with all the household names along with the up and coming guys in the sport of Triathlon.  WTC did an amazing job finding a true course to test the physical and mental strength of each competitor you really earned your finishers medal out there!

Race day rolled around pretty quick and so did 3:30am on Sunday morning, race time was 6:30am and my morning went smooth and uneventful.  I did forget to put tape cover on my Disc to block the opening for the value! Ah well could have forgot to put on my water bottles.  I was positioned next to my friend Shannon for New Zealand, we always end up riding together when we race, I joked that we would probably end up getting out of the water together and getting in each other’s way on bike out.  Funny enough we did get out pretty much together.

The swim start was in the water and the hard part was for us not trying to inch/float forward after the 30sec countdown. But the line held somewhat steady then all crazy broke out with the sound of the cannon. I kept contact and was in the mix on feet to the first buoy. However, my group of 3-4 lost contact with the pack after a few hundred meters. When you have the caliber of guys like Potts and Josh Amberger the swim is going to be super fast from the gun. With that been said I was disappointed when I saw the clock at just under 30min,  my training and other races have indicted I should be around 28min. But I stayed positive and set out to hunt. We had a long transition before we got to our bikes, then I saw a few guys start the climb so I attacked the first hill to make contact, and ended up just driving past and keeping the head down. I caught some more guys before the turn around at mile 24; we had some serious climbing   and descents and then hit a head wind on the return.  Before I reached the turn I saw the front group of 12 and a chase pack of 9, I counted myself at 39 so I picked off 5 bikes and ended up getting 6 or 7 more before hitting T2. I got off the bike feeling ready to run, but reminded myself patience’s was key to the run with the heat and hills, I kept moving up and hitting solid splits both up and down hill, until right at 10.5miles when my focus turned to the finish mode, I did pick off some more guys and kicked in strong to end up 24th in 4:20:56.

Overall I was pleased with my result, I don't think I raced up to my expectations and fitness level but when I look around at the guys just up the road from me and behind me I got to be happy, time/splits is really not a factor it's all about getting yourself in the mindset of racing on the edge on a day when it’s so hot.  I can proudly say I'm 24th in the world in my second year racing Pro.

This result wouldn’t have be possible without the great support team of  sponsors, friends and family so thanks so much to Bart and Mindy of Snapple Tri Team, Also On Running Shoes (Thanks Jon Cook), Immunotec keeping me healthy and allowing me to recover strong. Superfeet for being the best company in the world to work for and making great performance products that everyone should be wearing!! And last but not less my amazing wife Heather.

More to come on Rose City Sprint Tri and Trifecta Olympic  double win weekend.

Thanks,

Robbie

Steelhead 70.3

Since I got the official word about the 70.3 World Championships, training has been going really well.  I guess knowing that I'll be lining up with the best in the world was definitely a motivator.  The weather down here in San Antonio hasn't caused much of a problem.  The exception has been those few days that are superbly hot and dry, so when I'm on the bike I'm always thirsty; but for the most part a good 96-99 degree temperature is the norm.  

There are some great triathletes who are pretty hardcore down here, which makes it fun to get the workout knocked out at anytime. San Antonio has turned out to be a true gem for training, most recently I moved across the street from a new park (Phil Hardberger Park).  This particular park has some great trails for running and a spot to stop and get some filtered/purified water, talk about sweet!  Another great asset I've had since moving here was access to a master swimming group, coached by Susan Ingram.  She has been a great help and I'm excited about making another step up in my swim. 

This past weekend marked exactly 3 weeks out from the 70.3 WC in Las Vegas, so I decided to head up to Steelhead to have one more solid race.  I feel like I'm finally starting to get a good feel for the distance, not to mention that I'm excited to take part in another midwest event.  I wasn't looking forward to the cold water, but I have to say them temperature was perfect both in the lake and the air.

I was really lucky to stay with a great Family, who have been a part of the Steelhead race forever! Kathy and Matt Davis and their two sons Gordon and Mitch.  I should mention the lads are super fast swimmers! Matt and Gordon did the relay and a posted a great result.

Onto the race details !! at 7am we made the mad dash from the beach to Lake Michigan, we had a decent bit to run/drive before the water was deep enough to swim, I stayed in the mix for the run part and then just focused on hanging in the group and wait for the pace to settle. I was pleased with my swim, coming out only 3:00 min down. But still lots of work to be done, as I want to be in the mix starting the bike.

 After a solid T1 I caught the 2 guys who were just ahead of me on the swim as we rolled out to chase. I was cold on the bike and my calves were cramping during the first 15miles, it was still under 60 deg, which is something I haven't been pushing in for a while. I probably should have brought Calf sleeves (note for cold races, when training in heat) It took me a long time to felt my normal pop on the bike, not until 20miles to go did I actually get going.

Going in I was hoping for a sub 2:12 split, hitting T2 I felt. Really good both mentally and physically, I got the word I was 9th from my friends.  So. lots of work to do on the run, with the cool temps and amazing feeling in my legs I was ready for the chase. I hit 5:33 at the top of the hill for the first mile and could see 2-3 guys up the road. I keep the pace right around 5:40 average until 9mi and then fell off to 6:00 flat for the next 3, I had 3rd in sight however I was starting to not feel good ( with the cool temps I did a bad job with nutrition . My estimation is I was about 500cal off my normal 70.3 intake.  With a mile to go I shut down and focused on just getting across the line. Zach Rubble put in a great effort to kept 3rd, he runs himself to the red, I must give this guy credit as a tough competitor! I ended up splitting 1:17:10 on the run, goal was 1:15:30 so looking at the splits I lost 1:20 from my average pace in the last mile and 10 secs per mile for miles 10-12. So I got 3 weeks to nail some good workouts before Vegas.

I can't complain as I finished with a PR by a min, and had a good race before 70.3 Worlds in Vegas.

Now the shouts outs.

Thanks to my amazing homestay family The Davis's, I plan to come back next year. To my teammate Chris Ganter for saving me the day before when I ripped my pedal off, that would having been a great YouTube video.  The Ironman crew for all the support on the run. I love when they call my buddies and I get the "Kyle said run faster!".  

Finally to my great support system, Snapple, Superfeet, Immunotec, On Running, Hed Wheels, Rudy Project, Tri-sition Area, my wife for pushing me out the door to get the work done, Wes, Carlos and Sean for being superb training partners.

World Champs 70.3

It's official ! 6 weeks away. Off to bike, blog when I return. http://ironman.com/events/ironman70.3/worldchampionship70.3/ironman-world-championship-70.3-first-qualifiers#axzz21n86vtAL