Learning from the best!

As a Professional triathlete one of my favorite things to do is share my knowledge, passion and love for the sports with other triathletes. I was fortunate this weekend to have the opportunity to do this in Tyler Tx and Shreveport LA.  One of my main sponsors Cobb Cycling, invited me up to do some talks with the local area clubs. Most people know better than to hand me a mic but my buddy and Cobb's Athlete Coordinator Jeremy Brown got this Irish lad to team up with the awesome Ben Collins to hopefully provide some helpful tips and provide an insight into our lives and why we work with such great companies who help us strive to be better athletes and role models.

The weekend for me was also jam packed with a little 15k running race and a mini training camp along with the opportunity to work with the legend himself John Cobb.

My new bike position

Let me start by saying how welcome I feel whenever I'm up in the Tyler area, Its almost like home to me, they Tri community is very friendly and supportive. You would go a long way to find a better bunch of people.  Also they put on some amazing races there too,  like Tri Tyler Half (which has a sprint and Olympic also) this will take place in just over 3 weeks and also Rose City Tri in Sept.  I have won both and will be back again for them in 2014. But this past week I was replying on my running legs in the Fresh 15k, Early I was joking when I referred to this as a little race. It was a first year race put on by Meghan (Event Manager) and the Fresh team  they did an amazing job putting it on,  they also did an superb job putting together a fast field of local and international stars.  I was pleased with my 6th place hit out,  my favorite part of the race was getting to run along side local hero Clay Emge who is a good friend of mine and amazing triathlete, I can't wait to see him in the Professional ranks this year.  This is going to be a big year in many ways for Clay.  

Back to the Training camp part, so after the 15k I ran another 5 miles easy the loaded up on post race Fresh food along with a 16 oz of The Refresher Juice from Juicer Heroes before hitting the pool for a swim with Mark and Jeremy.  Then following more straight calorie intake I hit the road with Clay for a 3h+ ride were we ended up around 65mi with some solid efforts.  Towards  the end we got to link up with Jeremy and Ben C for some miles before we got back to FRESH for the East Texas Triathletes talk. It was a great opportunity to talk about training, life and 2014.

On Sunday morning I was up bright and early for a 10mi jog with the lads, we started at before 7am shirtless and right around 6 or 7 mil the weather was turning and the temps were dropping. Towards the end it was down from 70 to 50 with the rain starting, the for sure would put us indoors to bike and  lead me to have my longer ride on the trainer of all winter.  But it went by quickly due to the company and set we did. 

In the evening time we went to Shreveport for another talk with the local Tri club there (Sunrise Tri Club) Mike and Jeremy did an excellent job with about 20-25 people showing up to listen to Ben and I talk and ask some excellent questions on racing, balancing training and life and getting it done.  On the way home we were driving into the ice storm that was hitting North Texas,  but thankfully our main man Jeremy got us home in one piece to cap over a great week for me. 

On Monday we had to miss our swim due to all the pools been closed as a result of the ice storm that hit pretty bad.  So Ben and I got to Cobb Cycling world HQ a nice and early to spend more time with the master and his great crew.  Its amazing to be around someone like John with such knowledge and experience, but what I find the most inspiring is the time he spends giving back to the sport, not just with professionals athletes but with beginners and people who do the sport for fun and fitness.  I've also been fortunate to work with John at a practice Tri session and see him connect with these people, smiling joking and giving them tips. This is why as long as I ride a bike there will be a Cobb saddle on it. 

Finally, I got to knock out a another trainer ride with Ben, who is also a stand up guy and I can't wait to see him light up the circuit this year. So if you don't already follow him, get him on twitter @triBC and his website is : http://bencollins.org 

In another news I will be opening up my multi sport season at the Blue Northern Duathlon this weekend in Seguin TX. 

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.