One cool video for a few cool guys!!

Tim DeBoom getting ready for the toughest Ironman distance race on the planet.

Boulder 70.3

Boulder 70.3 was my first attempt at the Half Ironman distance last year, as always its nice to race in your own back yard. This course can be very deceiving, many athletes think of Boulder of a cool Mountain town with plenty of hills to challenge you on the bike and run. Well this can be true but not this event, expect a flat and fast course with little rollers and temperatures in the mid 90's. 

Swim:

 

Again I managed a good start to the swim, avoiding all the josseling and mayhem that ensues in every swim start. In the first few hundred meters I found myself swimming with the big fish (fast guys) but that soon faded and I eventually found myself swimming with plenty of open water. Besides swimming over and around a few of the slower waves before ours I was only accompanied by one other competitor in my age group which was new to me. I came out of the water in 29:03, this was a P.R. and I;m very happy to finally join the "under 30 club"....I just made that up.=)

Bike:

The bike course is a 2 loop course, again a very fast course with some rollers. For this race I was attempting to try some new things when it came to my nutrition. My legs felt a little sluggish but I pushed the pace to finish lap one in a time of 1:07. I felt I could maintain this pace for the second lap but at around mile 40 I began to feel very nauseous and weak. I knew right away that I missed something on my nutrition plan. I sat-up and slowed the pace down until I could get to the next aid station where I would grab as much fuel as I could. I came off the bike and into T2 at 2:21:06. Only a few minutes off from last year, wasn't too happy with that but I knew where I made the mistake and I plan to fix it for the next race.

Run:

Out onto the scorching run course (93 degrees) I began to struggle with my usual Side-stitch. I tried every trick in the book to rid of this stitch, and ended up resorting to breathing out with a loud grunt. I received some very interesting looks from my competitors but it worked and the pain eventually subsided around mile 5. From here it was pure survival for my running ability or the lack there of. I know this is my weakest leg...for now, and I know what needs to be done in training to fix this. I look forward to the off-season and working diligently on my run. Towards the end of the run the heat began to really get to many athletes, I took in as much ice, water and Gatorade as I could at each aid-station. I gave a final push at the end to finish the 13.1 miles in 1:37:47. Not the fastest by any means, but as I said before this will change and I plan to knock off 15 minutes by next season!!!!! You can count on it.

Finish:
Final time was 4:31:05, which placed me 54th Overall and 8th in age. I knocked off about 12 minutes from last years time on this course. I was also able to get a slot to 70.3 World championships in Las Vegas in Sept. I'm happy to take it and have the opportunity to race again this season against some of the world's best at this distance. Until then its back to training full gas and prepping for worlds in September.

Boulder Peak

Ok, wow!!! This blog is a little late, I apologize to all 4 of my readers. I hope you don't cancel your subscription to this one of a kind blog, OK.....Good!!!! Lets get to the race. This past weeke.....I mean a few weekends ago I was back in beautiful Boulder, CO for the Boulder Peak Olympic triathlon, which is now the Boulder 5150 Series. This change only means its a qualifier for the US Championship in Des Moines, Iowa. Other then that its still the same race course, with the same bike course climbing up Old Stage road, if you haven't been up Old Stage, I like to compare it to parts of Little Park rd here in G.J....Damn Steep!!!!

Swim:  23:14  (2010 swim time: 25:46)
Alright, the swim was pretty smooth sailing. Again, I lined up on the far right with very little company (which is always nice and rare). The main goal for this was to stay on course this time, it was a little difficult as we swam straight into the Sun's path...Blinding!!! Eventually we made a turn around a buoy away from the Sun, from here sighting of buoys was easier but the waters soon came congested with the slower swimmers in the waves before ours. Can't complain to much as this happens in every race. Came out of the water in 23:14 just behind the leaders.

T1: Coming out of the water I slowly found my land legs and made my way in and out of transition.


Bike: 1:05:56   (2010 bike time: 1:13:17)
The first 6 miles of the bike heading of Boulder Reservoir are all up-hill. I knew coming into this race that athletes would hold back a little to prepare for the climb up Old Stage Rd at about mile 4.  Coach Tony DeBoom gave me the green light to be aggressive in these first few miles....Roger That!!!! I made my way up Old Stage only thinking to myself ..."dang this is a lot harder then I remember"...I made it atop the hill and I can only remember that I was about to lose my breakfast from that morning.....No worries I kept it down. The rest of the ride was what seemed to me all down hill with only a few rollers. I put my head down and mashed the gears to get me back home to T2.

T2: Came flying off the bike to get my running shoes on and out I was.

Run: 41:48  (2010 run time: 45:06)

This is the part where everything seemed to Sssllllooooooowww down a bit. After about half a mile I found my running legs. The goal was to find a good rhythm early in the run then at the turnaround/halfway point I could open the stride more and push it to the finish. This run is all on dirt so it makes it harder to find a good grip, so you really need to rely on your turnover. I did the best I could for this run, everything seemed in order besides my stomach. I felt I was running a little heavy in the belly. I think it has to do with my pre-race nutrition. Something I hope to change by the time Boulder 70.3 comes. Anyways I slowly pushed the pace back to the finish in a time of 2:13:59.

Overall: 2:13:59, 7th in age and 57 Overall out of 1500.  (2010: 2:26:31, 21st in age and 131 Overall or 1500)

Ok, so if you haven't noticed I knocked off about 14min from my time last year. This is HUGE and I am super happy about this. I think the best part was leaving my coach speechless for a few seconds when I called  to tell him the results. =) Up next is Boulder 70.3 in August. Crunch Time!!!!!

Boulder Sprint

Had a good effort this past weekend in Boulder, CO for the 5430 Boulder Sprint. 750m Swim, 26mile Bike and a 5k run. With only 6 days of rest and recovery from my previous race at Boise 70.3 I was surprised how well I recovered, this gave me a good indication that my race fitness is on par. I also came into this race very relaxed, my only expectations for this race were to improve on last years times and not worry about my placement or anybody else race. This kinda of attitude seemed to work out well for this race.

Swim: 11:50
An improvement from last year, not much but it was better. I opted to line up on the far inside of the buoy's and to my surprise I was all alone with only a few other athletes near my bubble. This made for a very clean and bump/bruise-free start to the race. I wrestled only a few athletes  but managed to find good open water, but this might have been the problem. At the time I thought I was spotting well, keeping all yellow buoy's on my right, I even spotted a pack of guys from my wave just a few meters ahead. But it wasn't until someone in a kayak was yelling and pointing at us to turn around....WTF!!!!! I popped my head up for a moment and quickly realized that about a dozen of us young and reckless swimmers were cutting the course..... and not on purpose I will say. I just might need to get my eyes checked next time!!! We back tracked about 25m or so and were back on course....kids!!!!!

Bike: 43:02
Into T1 and out I was, now onto the bike. Not too much to talk about here, it was a fast course with little rollers. I found a good rhythm from the start and kept a good pace throughout, a few guys in my age group passed me within a few miles onto the bike course. So I kept the pace with these guys and kept them in my site. So yeah, that's kind of it for the bike....nothing too special though I did improve again on last year.

Run: 19:09
My biggest goal for this race was to finally break the dreaded 20min 5k in a triathlon. Out of T2 I gave my legs a chance to find themselves and smooth into a nice cadence before I found my stride. I pushed hard checking my splits only a few times. With doing Boise 70.3 last week it made these 3miles seem like only a mile. They went fast. So I came down the shoot with a time of 19:09, I was pretty pumped about this. I know some of you might run this time in your sleep, but hey give me a break. This white boy is SLOW!!! So this was a big improvement and I'm happy with how things are slowly coming around for me.

Overall: 1:17:03  25th Overall, 3rd in age.

Up next for Mua is the Boulder Peak. An Olympic distance with a very talented field both Pro and Amateur. Should be a good one.

Boise 70.3

I've been looking forward to Boise for some time now. My goal was to knock this race out of the park, get in a good build and take it to the house. Well it was warning track power for this race, if you can remember I came down with a nasty cold that took a solid chunk from my build for this race. Would you call this an excuse???.....sure why not!!!! I felt great and back to normal about a week or so before the race, training was back on par so my outlook was back to an all time high.

I arrived in Boise on Thursday after a 9hr drive, got my packet and then settled in for the night after a short run. Friday was the usual routine, I did my usual pre race warm-up, prepped my bike and took it up to T1 after a short spin. I was fortunate to have my good friend and racing buddy Richie in Boise with me for the race. His family took me as one of their own and treated me like royalty.....much appreciated Richie!!!!!

Swim:
The race start was at 12pm, very different  from the usual 6:00am starts. But I felt it was very easy to adapt to the later start. My age group was the last wave to go off at 12:45. The water was a balmy 50-53 degrees, (that's down right cold) and the only warm-up you got was about 3min before your wave went off. Cold water can have a huge effect on your performance but I feel that my body wasn't so distracted. Shoot sometimes I have a hard time jumping into the local pool because of how ''cold" it is....so either way I made the adjustment. Finding open water was tough from the start, I lined up on the far right (closest to the buoys) and some how ended up on the far left (furthest from buoys) after about 300m (nice route Magellan). I got my bearings in check I was well on my way back on course. I felt I had a good swim, felt strong and smooth, only few rough spots especially maneuvering around the other athletes in the water. I came out of the water in 31:30....not at all what I was hoping but by looks of it, many athletes had just as rough of a swim.

In and out of T2 I was, onto the bike.
Bike:

Not the hardest course I have done but this course had its challenges of hills and many long false flats. The goal for this bike was to build into a solid rhythm and be aggressive. I felt I put in one of my most solid bike efforts so far in a 70.3. Finally felt closer to actually racing instead of trying to finish. I attacked the hills and stayed strong throughout the course, staying very focused on maintaining a good nutrition plan to get be ready for the run. I was only passed by one guy in my age group. He was riding well, I might have tried to hang with him but I knew I was trying to put down a solid run. So I stayed within my race and kept pace. I finished the bike in 2:29:58. Right where I wanted to be. Now onto the run.

T2 was fast, I was in and out before I knew it.........T2: 1:11
Run:
Coming out of T2, my legs felt great, the first 3 miles were around a 6:30 pace. I kept focus on keeping a high turnover and concentrating on the race at hand and not the unknown the lied ahead. The run was along the Green Belt of Downtown Boise, next to the river and plenty of trees to hide from the sun. For this race we had a nice overcast, which helped keep it nice and cool for the run. Heading into the second lap of the course I could feel that my pace was fading slowly.  Looking back I could have used a few more calories from the aid-stations to hold me over.  The last 2.5 miles I was in survival mode and again I took in very little calories, I just wanted to get to the finish..... I finally came down the final stretch excited about my accomplishments in this race. I was pumped that everything went well, no flats, cramps, side stitches, walking, excuses, just a solid race.
Finishing time 4:43:23 85th Overall and 9th in age.

I'm pretty excited about this race, I am coming a long ways from where I was. But I'm in no way satisfied, I know I can compete with those top athletes in my age group. I put in a lot of hard work and I feel that I am doing everything right that I can and know how. From here its a matter of making some small but big adjustments in my training and of course staying consistent. Though the results might not show, I see a very bright future in this sport. Its just a matter of finding the right pieces and molding them into the game plan.Also trying to learn Patience!!!!!


Next up is the Bouder Sprint Triathlon, the beginning of the Boulder Series.

Chasing a Dream!!!

Summer Open Tri....Duathlon

Its days like these that make you appreciate your health as well as adding more fuel to the fire.

In the final days leading up to the race the water conditions reached over 4x the E. coli limit, prompting the race organizers to move the race to a duathlon (2 mile run, 12.4 mile bike then a 3.1 mile run). Also in this time I caught a nasty cold that left me sleepless for the 3 nights leading to the race. At one point I was convinced I wouldn't be toeing the line on race day. Not the best scenario(s) for a race but I had to find the positive and make the best of it.

I love racing and competing so it was easy to convince myself to race then surrender to such a nasty virus. I worked hard in the weeks leading up to this race, the goal was to train straight thru the race and use it as training guide to my build for Boise 70.3 in 3 weeks. I made the decision to race that morning of the race, again, its hard to say no to competing. The race went off well, I gave a good effort, the best I had for the day. I felt I was in 3rd-4th gear the whole race, especially the run, it was difficult to push the envelope in the final miles of the race.  34th OA, 5th in age (2mile Run 12:35, 12.1 Bike 30:32,  3.1mile Run 20:23)

I sure wasn't happy with getting a cold in such a pivotal moment in training, it really derailed some training goals I set for Boise. Its been over a week and I'm now starting to feel the cold beginning to fade away. I have just under a 2weeks till Boise 70.3. In the mean time I'm still trying to make the best of the situation, I'm looking forward to the race, its been a race marked on my calendar with a big star next to it. We'll see what happens until then, I'll see ya in Boise.

Retul University

Back in March I had the opportunity to visit Retul University in Denver to obtain my fitting certification. I’ve sat in on a hand-full of fittings here at the Bicycle Studio as John led the fittings as he has been doing for the past 15 years including 3 years with Retul. With a degree in Kinesiology I found it fairly easy to comprehend the basics of the fits. But when it came to reading and dissecting the data, I found myself overwhelmed with information. So the visit to Retul University was the ideal learning opportunity for myself to get a solid base of knowledge on Retul.

            Before we could participate in the class we had to complete prerequisite lessons and tests that would be covered in the three days that we were at the Retul Studio. The lessons learned were basic bike fitting topics that would help us improve our ability and knowledge of fitting such as basic anatomy, basic exercise physiology, the fit flow, marker placement, physical assessment and assessing the Retul data ranges. Once we are able to confirm that we understood these basic concepts, it was on to the big show.

I must admit that I walked into this learning experience a little intimidated. I didn’t know what to expect going into this course, I imagined the usual “college” experience of sitting in a lecture hall full of hung over students from the nights “study session” as the professor rambles on about how the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is responsible for the production of the protein or something of that sort. But my fears were quickly diminished the moment I walked into the Retul Studio and met one of the founders; Todd Carver and his Retul Staff.

The best part of the class was that our instructor was Todd Carver; since he is one of the founders we got a good look into why and how the system works and the ins and outs of the Retul 3D system. So it was no question that Todd knew his stuff and he’s done his fair share of fits. To name a few here is a small list of his past fits: The U23 Livestrong Team, Lance Armstrong, Craig Alexander, Tim DeBoom, Chris Lieto, Team Garmin-Cervelo, Team Radio Shack and the list goes on and on. So it was no question that we were getting our money’s worth with the knowledge that Todd brought to the table.

During my three days at Retul University all three of us fitters had the opportunity to practice out fitting on actual Retul customers. Each day we had about four clients of different ability and riding styles. While Todd led the fits we were all hands on in the process, each fitter was assigned a duty for each client. Once we gathered the data we carefully studied and discussed what we found, then as a group we conversed on to what we thought would be the best way to correct the client’s current position. The fits lasted about two hours each, and at the end of each fit we sat down together to discuss any questions we had or where we could improve on our fits. 

The information I learned in these 3 days at the Retul Studio was more then I expected. Some of the information was overwhelming in that every fit we did was different then our previous fit. What we learned from the previous fit necessarily couldn’t be taken into to the next fit. Each rider that comes in has a different style, purpose and or issue, and that is the beauty of Retul. There are no generalizations that apply to fitting a rider, each rider will have a unique fit and experience when they come in to use the Retul system.

            Though I may have received my certification with Retul, my education of becoming a better fitter hasn’t stop. The data doesn’t lie but to be a good fitter one must also be able to look past the numbers and look at the riders themselves. This is why for each client’s we do an extensive evaluation of there riding history, medical history and future goals. Here at the Bicycle Studio when we have a client come in for a Retul fitting that John will usually lead, I find myself learning something new in every fit we do. With his background in Physical Therapy, John brings a very valuable, unique style and knowledge that you won’t get with other fits in the business. I look forward to the ongoing learning process that John and the Retul System bring as well as helping each client reach their cycling needs and goals. 

Las Vegas Rage Half-Ironman

This year I decided to throw in a little warm-up race to ramp up the season by doing the Rage Half-Ironman in Las Vegas, NV. I've heard many good things about this course such as the rolling terrain and the run course that takes you up to the Hoover Dam....well just shy of it. On the other hand I also heard about the organization of this race or the lack there of. Overall it was the perfect set-up for me to get the season rolling with Vegas only being a 7hr drive from Grand Junction. My intentions for the race as they usually are, is to go out fast and give it everything I have. But my coach (Tony DeBoom) had different plans for me. The plan was to build into each discipline and avoid going out like "gang busters", find a good rhythm and focus on my nutrition. You got it coach!!!

The swim was held in crystal clear Lake Mead, I've never swam in water so clear but yet so dangerous. Many locals refer to Lake Mead as "dead body water". Just as it sounds, they do have many deaths in this lake whether they were accidental or not. Why would I mention something like this or even fret about it in this blog, well when visibility in the water is so clear you can spot a few interesting objects down on the bottom of the lake. The day before the race I went for my usual pre-race swim. About 300m out from shore after passing a few rocks and tires I spotted two cinder blocks tied together with rope........let that play with your mind a little as your out in the lake alone.

Race morning we were set to go off a 6:30am. The water was cold (about 60 degrees) but manageable. The swim was a mass start around a one loop course that stayed pretty close to shore. I decided to brave the crowd and line up near the front row. Right on time the gun went off, my start was good, I was able to settle into an early rhythm without pushing myself too much. I noticed only a few "gang busters'' out front but didn't worry about them to much keeping my focus on my stroke. About halfway through the swim I began to pick the pace up a little bit. I was breaking most of my own water, with a few guys on my heels. I popped out of the water in 30:17, right where I wanted to be then made the long trek up to transition.

Swim: 31:11

I exited the water 7th overall but made a quick transition to pick up a few spots coming out of transition

The bike course was my kind of course. It consisted of rolling hills with a few steep climbs and some fast descents. I've never considered myself a good climber but today sure seemed to point to that. I was able to work my way past a few of the leaders to get into second place. I played cat and mouse with a few guys on the climbs and descents. At the turnaround I was holding onto a solid 3rd place with the chase pack about 3-5min behind, the leader had a good solid 5min or more on me at the turn around. He looked solid and I knew unless he had a breakdown he was holding on to that lead. It felt good to be out front with the leaders for once, something I plan to work for even harder for for future races.

On the way back at about mile 40 I could feel my pace begin to slow up a bit. I tried hard to get calories in but my stomach wasn't really feeling it. I also knew my race fitness (or lack of) was coming into play, something I didn't worry to much about for this being my first race of the season. I was in a good position and from here it was to see what I had left in me. 

Bike: 2:39:02
I entered T2 in 6th place, but again with a fast transition I got out of there in 4th after maneuvering my way thru the sprint and Olympic finishers. 

The run course was mostly on dirt, that eventually made its way from Lake Mead up to an old Rail road trail that worked its way thru about 4 or 5 dark tunnels up to the Hoover Dam. They used this old rail road trail for when they were building the dam, it was a nice distraction from the pain of climbing up to this trail.The first 4-5miles were a gradual climb out of the park, before eventually flattening out to the turnaround then it was all down hill, a fast descent if you had the legs to keep up.

Out of  transition 2 I was able to regain 3rd quickly, it wasn't until about mile 4 that I was passed and fell into 4th place, it felt like I was standing still when he blew passed me. Since it was an out and back course I knew I would get a good look at the leaders and there pace. Once at the turnaround I saw that I was only a minute back from 3rd, I turned up the heat a little bit and began to open up the pace. But this didn't last long, the pace began to fade fast. By mile 10 I was in survival mode, I was once again passed and from here I tried my hardest to hang on to 5th. For the last 3 miles I struggled to hang onto any pace, I found that I was looking over my shoulder a lot (shhhh...don't tell my coach). Just when I thought it would never come I crossed the finish line to be greeted by my girlfriend who shouted "hustle-up"......hahaha. That's why I love her!!!!

Run: 1:36:07
Overall 4:49:44 1st in age, 5th Overall

I knew it was a tough course with some good athletes out there, I enjoyed this type of course, it kept everyone honest and was a challenge every step of the way. This race was a big confidence booster that all the hard work of the off season is paying off. From here its back to training hard and smart as I prep for a small sprint triathlon in Denver in May then its off to Boise 70.3 in early June.