2014 Race Schedule

2014 Race Schedule
Date	Race Name
March 16th	Ironman Monterrey 70.3 - Monterrey MX
March 30th	Tri Tyler Half
April 6th	Ironman Texas 70.3 - Galveston, Texas
April 13th	Ironman New Orleans 70.3 - New Orleans, Louisiana
May 3rd	Ironman US Champs 70.3- St George Utah.
June 8th	Ironman Kansas 70.3- Lawrence, Kansas
June 22th	Ironman Syracuse 70.3 - Syracuse, NY
June 29th	Ironman Buffalo Springs- Lubbock TX
July 6th	Ironman Munice 70.3- Munice IN
July 20th	Ironman Racine 70.3 - Racine, Wisconsin
August 10th	Ironman Steelhead 70.3 - Benton Harbor, Michigan
September 7th	Ironman World Championship  70.3 Mont- Tremblant, Canada *
September 28th	Ironman Chattonoga, TN*
September 28th	Ironman Augusta 70.3 - Augusta, Georgia*
October 26th	Ironman Austin 70.3- Austin TX
November 16th	Ironman Arizona - Tempe, Arizona

Season Kick off

2014 racing season has began with a bang for me this past weekend down in the Big N Easy.

With My buddies from Tyler TX

                                                         Rocking my Cobb Shorts!

As a runner my go to "fitness test" is a road racing and as I was down in the great Crescent City working the expo at the Rock n Roll Half & full Marathon, I decided it would be prefect to run the half marathon. With that been said, working two days on your feet before a race is less than an ideal plan. I embraced the opportunity and set the goal of beating my time from last year (1:14:40) or so.

With the race being 3 weeks earlier this year and I'm also not in the same running fitness I knew it would be a tough task, but hey setting stretch goals is what makes us better. I also have been working on a new program with Elevate Life www.elevatelifewellness.com which I feel will help me get to the next level this year.  More to come on this program in the lead up to my first 70.3 in March.

To give an idea of my preparation run wise, the last 5 weeks I've been focused on my swim, so my run mileage has been (39 miles,26,37,20 and 40 race week) in terms of workouts they have been on the short side (4-5mi cut downs) nothing faster than 5:25 pace.   The day before the race I ran 6.2 miles easy and put in 40 min on the bike trainer to help the legs recover post 9 hours standing.  Then a  beer and a burger with my mates Seth, Jeremy and Peter before off to bed for our 5 am wake up call.

Race morning came fast, with a nasty change in the weather from the previous few days! More importantly the humidity was nasty (98%) I was glad I wore my Cobb Tri Shorts www.cobbcycling.com as not only did make sure I would have some extra support in my hips/quads they are also perfect for racing in hot/humid conditions due to their lightweight and quality material.   I decided after a quick 10 min warm up it was best to start out a little conservative and work into the race. After 5 km I knew it was going to be a grind with the sweet dripping off my forehead! So the plan was keep the foot on the gas and chase! As we hit downtown about 8/9mi  into the race I heard some friends shouting and it gave me motivation to keep pressing as 2rd was just ahead of by about 50 meters. I decided at 10 miles it was time to close the gap, right at 20k I bridged up, but a min or so later he pushed hard and opened up again to deserve to hold 2nd place.

For my warm down I ran out to pace in my buddy Seth to an excellent top 10 on a rough day for a Marathon.

Overall I was pleased with my effort and it sets me up for a great run block towards March.
Thanks,
Robbie

2014 season thoughts

The days have been flying by and we are nearly into February, but I'm still in the middle of the building phase of my base training. Over the years I have learned that its best to be patient and let your fitness come back to you without pressing and stressing. Its really a case of trusting your mind and body that you can get to where you want to be at the right time without over training. There's no shortcuts to training or magic sessions or overnight success, its all about putting in the work, staying consist and believing in your system.

Speaking of system, I have had some adjustments and developments to help me get to the next level and achieve what I believe is possible. Anyone can dream only some can do! After reviewing my 2013 year I decided it was time to add some key aspects and members to Team Wade. (More to come on this over the next week or so)

Right now I'm focusing on the simple things and doing them well, the cornerstone to my training plan are basic but very specific.
5 swims( I like to do MOST masters swim  as our coach Susan provides excellent workouts and knows how to make me tick! also I may do one swim by myself on Sunday with more of a longer focus)

5 bikes (1 brick, 1-2 trainer focus sessions, 1-2 easy, and 1 long with race pace)

5 run (1 brick, 1 tempo, 1 track/hills, 1 easy, 1 long)

Depending on the week and the training block the above varies slightly but the key is consistency and not aiming to knock it out the park but get around the bases. Oh and another little thing is 'recovery", I will touch more on this also. In terms of races right now my aim is to open up at the new 70.3 in Monterrey and in the lead up I will do some local running races and Duathlons.

Longhorn 70.3

Austin 70.3

Last Sunday I got to race in the Longhorn 70.3 (closest WTC race to home) this is a great race and I recommend if you are planning your2014 to have it on the list. It always attracts a great Pro startlist and this year was no different. We had a large field with many household names and some soon to be 70.3 stars lining up to battle in ATX.

After some thunderstorms in the early hours of the morning we got pretty lucky for race time, with an overcast day and somewhat mild temps. But the action in the race was hot all the way ! The swim was out fast and I feel we were split into swim packs after 100-200m I missed the 2^nd pack and swim in the third all  the way. My swimming has been up and down the last few weeks and to be honest I’ll take a 27:53 but needed to be in the 26-26:30 range.  I got out with 4 guys and quickly got on my bike, chasing hard as I could see another group up the road. My training partner Mark Saroni was one of them; he was unlucky to have an issue with his bike and had to withdraw to end his season. But made some great gains in fitness and will be stronger and ready in 2014. Around mile 8 I passed a strong rider and we ended up linking up and rode well together for the entire ride passing a lot of guys. I hit a bad pack around mile 35-40 ish but I knew it was mental and stayed focused on keeping 10 bike lengths behind. I came around by mile 45 and ended the ride strong. I rode a 2:14:06 on a no fast but fair bike course.  Only losing 3:45 to the fastest bike split on the day.

Here is me leaving T2 on a mission!

Getting off the bike I was excited to hear my Revolution Racing teammates and friends along with my wife Heather and Rory was even there to cheer!!!  The legs felt good on the initial run into T2 after hopping off the bike, so I was ready to go hunting after hearing I was just over 7min off the lead. Going out I saw the clock was 3:44ish so I knew a sub 4:00 was possible with my usual run split.  The legs were moving and my first km split was 3:19 (5:20 pace) I was holding my pace and catching guys early on. At the turn I got a little discouraged to see I was still many places down, but I stayed positive in my mind knowing a lot of racing was left. It looked like a a lot of guys got an “easier ride” than me as they were not that far part on the run. So lesson here is swim more!!! 

After the first lap I was so impressed with the amount of cheers I was getting on the course it felt like I was racing at home.  I was also getting support from all my friends doing the lead on the bike.  Maybe next year I will be alongside one of you guys.  Even many age groupers were shooting for me, I moved up well on the 2^nd lap and as I hit my 3^rd lap my body was telling me it was going to be a painful one. 

(Shout out to my friend Herb for the above pic) 

For two reasons, I was not enjoying my gels for some reason and could only get in three on the bike and one on the run. I needed another one on the bike and then one around mile 8 on the run. Something I've learned after doing 70.3's is you can't perform if you don't fuel. So I do my best to plan before the race what I need and when I need to take it. Sometimes your body tells you no. But lesson learned force it down!!

 But nevertheless I pushed on and took it one Km at a time late on in the run. Also I have been dealing with some Achilles issue in the last few weeks so my run workouts have be shorter than normal, hence my fad in the last 3 miles. When I'm normally still going strong.  I focused on my mindset and experience to get me home and I was happy to cross the line in 4:01 for 11^th place.

This racing season I have been lucky to be supported by some amazing sponsors and without them this triathlon business for me would not be possible or fun, this allows me to chase my goals, So thanks you Revolution Racing, Simon at The Fit Kitchen. Jeremy and the crew at Cobb Cycling (more to come from them to get me faster on the bike) Superfeet of course my employer and makers of the best Insoles in the business, Immunotec, their product helps me train hard and recover strong  Just one more race to end 2013 so check back for more details.  

The main man(Rory) below enjoying his first Ironman event experience.