Throw Back....Friday - Escape from Alcatraz Weekend

OK, so it's been a year since I've last written a post.  Sorry about that.  Life is busy!  I'll try to keep this one short, because we all know long blogs are less likely to be read all the way through.  We'll start with a fire-drill of race results so far this season:

Oakland Half Marathon:
I was so pumped to be 100% healthy after 2 years battling Achilles and calf problems, I decided to give a half marathon a go with minimal training.  I was also happy to run the Oakland Half, as it is my hometown.  Only having run one official half marathon prior, I was hoping for a PR, but wasn't expecting one.  I ended up with a huge PR to take 2nd place in 1:11:03.  It showed my hard work was paying off and I was even more excited to get this triathlon season started.

HITS Napa Olympic Triathlon:

Being 3 weeks before Wildflower as well as my first triathlon since July of last year, I was happy to race this low key Olympic event in Napa.  Rebecca and I made a weekend out of it with some good friends.  I had a great swim getting out of the water with a minute lead.  On the bike, the lead quickly diminished and by the time I was off I was sitting in 4th place, losing over 4 minutes to the leader.  With all the work I had been putting into the run, my bike has dropped off a bit, however I was strong on the run and caught the leader before the 5k turnaround.  I came away with the win, making it a great rust-buster for Wildflower!

Wildflower Long Course:
When I thought about Wildflower this year, I envisioned redemption.  Last year was rough...as you can see from my previous blog post.  I was very under-trained and it was my very first 70.3 experience.  I feel like I had learned a lot since...but the bike course still scared the hell out of me.  I really felt like this year was going to be a good one, especially with the altered course (2-mile run after the swim to T1).  I had the best swim of my life (even better than last year) to get out with the main pack.  I still really had no idea where I was in the field until I ran past Rebecca 1 mile into the run to T1 when she yelled "6! You're 6!"  I also heard people cheering for Jesse Thomas behind me!  Any time Jesse Thomas is behind you, you are having a good race!  Unfortunately that was only the swim/run.  The bike proved just as difficult as last year.  I lost up to 15 minutes to the leaders over 56 miles.  That's a lot.  Needless to say, Jesse wasn't behind me anymore.  I was able to recover for the run and use it to my advantage (unlike last year).  I ran myself from 21st off the bike up to 13th at the finish.  Overall, a great performance for me and still a TON to learn.

This brings us to the topic of this blog - Throw Back...Friday.  I know, I missed it by a day - I had a busy day at work.  Let's rewind to TODAY in 2008:

I'm sitting at Pete's Coffee outside Sports Basement Walnut Creek with my coach at the time, Wayne.  I was brand new to triathlon, in fact I only had 1 race under my belt.  I had no idea what I was in for.  Wayne took out a paper and pen and drew his best diagram of the San Francisco Bay with a little circle in the middle and labelled it "Alcatraz".  He then drew a bunch of arrows going towards the Golden Gate Bridge and said don't swim straight to the swim exit, but rather aim for different buildings at different points of the swim.  With only 6 months of swimming (ever) under my belt, I now knew I was in for a struggle.  "No problem" Wayne said, "Make sure you stop in the middle, look left and look right.  Check out both bridges and take a moment to realize where you are.  It's awesome!"  Stopping in the middle of a race?  I wouldn't even think about it.  Well, I did that year and it was awesome.  I finished my first Escape from Alcatraz that year, swim, hilly bike, sand latter and all!  I've come to think of this race as my home course and have competed every year since.  Here are some pics throughout the years:

2008 up the sand latter for the first time

2009 Run

2008 head to the finish!

2009 - 2nd in age group

2011 Finish

2013 Swim to Bike

2013 out of the water - very cold

Last thing, I promise:

One of the cool events going on during Escape weekend is happening tonight at Sports Basement Presidio.  Eric, the voice of Escape will be going through the course giving pointers and info to you athletes on everything you need to know for race day.  That starts at 5:30.  At 6:15, Andy Potts and myself will be there to answer any questions you might have about the race, triathlon in general, and life as an athlete (and full time employee).  We will be signing autographs after.  Here's a sneak peak at my super cool post cards, courtesy of Tanner Von J (photo) and Michael Stricklan (making it all happen).  Which one is your favorite?

Wildflower 2013 - The Day of Many Firsts

Oh Wildflower!  The "Woodstock" of triathlons, which brings 90-degree heat, wind, lots of hills, and crazy (not always clothed) fans, is one of my favorite events of the year.  Of all the places I've raced, Wildflower is special to me because its where I raced well enough in 2011 to earn my Pro Card.

Before my Achilles injury kept me from racing in 2012, the plan was to give some 70.3 races a try.  With a swim that is similar in distance to the Olympic, but a bike and run that's more than double, the 70.3 just suits me better.  More time to catch up after the swim (there is some irony here...more on this later).  Now that I'm back to racing and feeling great, it was time to go back to this famous triathlon and give the Long Course a try.

My first ever half ironman (aka - 70.3) was a great experience.  Not only was it my very first 70.3, but many other firsts happened along my 4.5-hour journey.  The week leading up to the race was extremely warm.  Wildflower is usually a very warm race, but the heat seemed to be on everyone's mind this time.  The air was so warm that for the first time in Wildflower history, the water temp was above the legal limit for pros to use wetsuits.  This didn't necessarily make me nervous, but more "crap, I'm already at a disadvantage with my swimming ability, and now I can't wear a wetsuit!"  Little did I know, I was about to have the swim of my life.

I was calm and relaxed on race morning as Rebecca and I packed the car and headed to the course.  I was excited to get this race underway.  The air was already starting to warm up and the water was a balmy 70 degrees as I jumped in for a warm up.  In past races I haven't given the swim warm up enough credit.  I've been working really hard in the pool over the last 12 months and know that I feel better and swim my fastest times halfway through my workouts.  I was one of the first swimmers in the water to warm up for this race.  I made sure to get in the equivalent of my nice long pool warm up so I was ready to roll when the horn went off.

That's me in the red in the LEAD pack!

As we were called to the start line, I thought to myself "OK, here we go, 70.3 miles of racing starts now."  My goal for the swim - find some feet and stick to them!  The horn went off and a frenzy ensued.  36 of us were all trying to swim in the exact same spot...nothing new in triathlon.  I started on the left side with a clear shot to the first turn buoy.  I felt good in the group of swimmers right ahead of me, so after dodging a few feet aimed for my face, I found a nice draft.  After the ~300-meter sprint start and the first right turn, things started to settle in.  I was still following the same guy and it felt easy!  The swim has never really felt easy to me.  Every time I looked up to site, I saw a ton of green caps ahead of me, but they weren't getting away.  A small gap opened up ahead of the guy in front of me so I decided to try and go around him.  I pulled up along side him and it felt like I was sprinting again.  After not making up any ground after a while, I decided his speed was just fine for me, so I stopped swimming for about 3 seconds and jumped right back on his feet.  At the half way point of the swim, the course takes 2 quick right turns to bring us back to shore.  It was when I looked around the buoys of those turns and didn't see any large grouping of green caps, that I thought I may be in the main group!  I was so determined and locked into the feet ahead of me for the rest of the swim.  No mater how hard it felt for the rest of the swim, I was not letting those feet go.  I finally hit ground and started running up the steep boat ramp to transition.  Looking around, I took note of who was in my group.  I saw Jesse Thomas, Leon Griffin, Joe Gambles, Matt Lieto, and thought "Holy Crap these guys are studs!  I swam FAST!"  In my first half ironman event, I had the swim of my life and for the first time since I began competing, my swim had put me in contention.

Last miles of the bike...legs fried

After getting out of the water with the eventual top 4 overall finishers, I was so excited to get onto the bike!  I had a great transition and was rolling out right behind Jesse Thomas's (eventual winner) wheel.  I reached down to tighten my bike shoes and realized that the Velcro strap to my left shoe had slipped out of its loop. Crap!  My right shoe was fine, but I had to thread the strap through the loop while trying to keep the bike straight and not lose any ground.  Well, I lost ground.  I immediately went to the back of the main pack and lost them on the first climb of the bike course.  That's OK I thought as I climbed up the hill and got out of the park.  The main leaders group was gone, but I still had a guy in front of me I could key off of.  I kept him about 50-100 meters in front of me for about 15 miles.  It was extremely hot out there on the road.  I went through 2 water bottles in 20 miles and just set in for a long, painful ride.  At mile 25 I lost site of the guy in front of me and was being passed by the chase pack.  This pack consisted of the eventual 5-10 overall finishers.  As the last guy of the pack passed me I got out of the saddle to try and match his speed.  My legs just weren't responding.  I wasn't even halfway through the bike yet, so I settled into my own rhythm and tried to keep it steady.  At mile 40, the course starts getting incredibly hard.  "Nasty Grade" is the infamous 2-mile climb from miles 41-43, but it doesn't get much easier after that.  My legs were shot and I was beginning to feel a slight cramp coming on in my left hamstring.  I've never experienced a cramp like this during a race before...another first.  At this point I kept telling myself to get through it, don't slow down, and just get to the finish.  The last 10 miles of the bike were a struggle.  A few more guys passed me.  As they passed I tried to respond and match their speed but nothing was happening.  I rolled back into the park and through the gates to a tunnel of people and noise.  The fans at Wildflower are the best around.  They go so crazy that they practically carry you to the finish line, which was exactly what I needed.  I flew down Lynch Hill and into transition.  I had a smooth transition and grabbed everything I needed and was off running.

My first couple steps were great.  I got out of transition with 2 other runners, but I could tell my body was wrecked.  I trotted through the first mile losing contact with the others.  In the 2nd mile, my back was tightening up, my left calf and hamstring were cramping, and I had to use the bathroom.  I knew there were bathrooms at the 2-mile mark so right as I was coming up on the aid station I veered off the trail and headed straight for them, prompting a nice roar from the crazy aid station crowd.  As crazy as it sounds, it was that brief moment of not moving that let my body reset.  It was a nice break, but I hope that this was my first and only mid-race bathroom break.  Back on the trail, with yet another cheer from the crowd I found my stride.  I immediately caught one guy who had jumped ahead during my "break", but my light feet only lasted about a mile.  As soon as the course hit the dirt trail, my legs gave up again.  I kept my pace consistent but it was SLOW.  Miles 5 and 6 are on some pretty gnarly dirt/sand trails with some crazy steep hills.  I've never ever walked in a race, but it was on one of the hills back there, that I was jogging so slowly that when I started walking, I think I was moving faster.  I walked to the top and found my stride again.  The rest of the half marathon was a series of finding my stride, then tightening up to a slow jog.  The best part of the run was miles 8-10 through the camp sites.  Once again, the fans came out with their cheers and entertainment and carried me for the fastest 2 miles of the run.  I passed a lady who offered me bacon (it smelled so good), I was offered numerous cans of beer, and was even joined by a drunk college kid for 200 meters with his pants pulled down asking if I'd smack his ass...to which I politely declined and used the little energy I had to throw in a surge to get away from him!  In this 2-mile section I passed on more runner, who would be my last pass.

Coming into the finish

The last 3 miles of the run were back on the hot blacktop.  It felt like a death march.  I was not gaining on anyone, but no one was gaining on me.  Every time I tried to speed up the legs were not responding so once again, I just tried to keep my pace steady.  In the last 10 minutes of the run I thought about the race.  The 70.3 distance is going to be great for me.  I thought about all the work I needed to do to be competitive on the bike and still have enough for the run, but I also thought about how far I've come since my Achilles injury.  I thought about how hard the Wildflower course can be, especially in 90-degree heat and that every 70.3 I did from this point on would be so easy (I was probably delirious at that point...of course they will all be hard).  I thought about the accomplishment I had just achieved - my very first half ironman!  I crossed the line to a huge ovation and doubled over with my hands on my knees.  I stayed like that for a good 30 seconds until an official asked if I was OK.  After I reassured him that I was able to walk on my own I went to the cooler and grabbed a Gatorade.  I found my amazingly supportive and happy fiance, Rebecca, gave her a kiss and a hug and said "I'm ready for another one!"

Wildflower was the race of many firsts.  My first half ironman distance, the first time I was out of the water with the leaders, the first time I've experienced leg cramping and so much fatigue on the bike and run, and the first time I've taken a bathroom break in the middle of a race.  Just like I told Rebecca right after I crossed the finish line, I am so hungry to get to the start line of my next triathlon and very much look forward to my next 70.3.  I finished 21st out of 36 pros with a time of 4:35:30, but the greatest achievement I take from this race - 7th out of the water and a huge amount of confidence in my swimming ability.  In 2014, I'll be back down to Wildflower, better prepared to mix it up with the leaders on the bike and run!

As always, thanks for reading and following me along my journey as a triathlete!

Thank you Elyse & Rebecca for the great pictures!

Andrew Who?

For those of you still wondering, the answer is YES, I am still a triathlete.  I do plan on racing again.  In fact, after a long bout with various Achilles issues I’m pulling all my race stuff out of the closet for next weekend’s jump (or dive) off the boat.  I am finally able to race again and have been looking forward to Escape from Alcatraz for a while now.  I am very excited to rekindle those competitive feelings I've missed for over 1.5 years.

So you haven’t been training?  What have you been doing?  Oh I've been training.  Since running was out of the question and cycling was uncomfortable for a while as I was healing, I turned into a fish.  I've been spending a lot of time with the Walnut Creek Masters.  It is a blast to swim every day and begin to see improvement.  I’m very much looking forward to seeing all the hard work in the pool pay off this season.  Of course, without running and cycling in my life for a good amount of the year, I've had time for a host of other things.

Year 2012 brought great traveling and great times.  Best of all I got engaged to my wonderful fiancé Rebecca!  Rebecca and I took a vacation to Hawaii and swam with the turtles, took numerous trips to Yosemite and went home to Michigan for the holidays.  What didn't I do?  I didn't shave my legs for 12 months and it was glorious!

Looking forward to Escape from Alcatraz on Sunday March 3^rd, I’m hoping for a good day.  Training has been going as well as it can be on the road back to race shape.  I've still got a long way to go.  It’s a long season, but I’m excited to let loose at Escape and see what happens.

Of course, with Escape being one of the most sought after races in the country, there tends to be a variety of activities in the few days leading up to the plunge.  I’m very excited and honored to say that I will be part of a really cool event Friday night, March 1^st at Sports Basement Presidio (where I work).  Sports Basement is hosting 5-time Escape from Alcatraz champ Andy Potts, 2-time Wildflower Long Course champ Jesse Thomas, and some schmuck who is just fast enough to call himself elite….me;  Two Michigan grads vs. a Stanford grad.  Sorry Jesse, you’re the odd man out.  Andy and Jesse will answer questions about their experiences, advice for the course and how they are so fast.  I will try to bring a little local experience to the table as well.  At the end, we will be available to sign autographs and chat.  Sports Basement has even made me these awesome little posters of myself for me to sign…that is if anyone is interested in my autograph!  Here is the info:

Race Orientation Meeting w/ Special Guests

Sports Basement Presidio

Friday March 1, 6:00-8:30pm

I hope to see you all there!  If not, good luck to all of you racing!

Check back here after race day for a recap.  Thanks!

SF Tri @ Alcatraz Disaster

Triathlon is one of very few sports where an equipment problem can take you out of a race.  I've been pretty lucky in my short career to have finished every race I've started....up until this past Sunday.  Sunday was the San Francisco Triathlon at Alcatraz, one of my favorite triathlon venues I've raced and right in my backyard.  My training has been going very well and with only a few races left in the season, I was excited to get into a race to test my fitness.


When I parked at the race site, and started to unload, the bad luck started.  When I pulled my bike out of the car, I discovered that my rear tire was flat.  I tried not to panic, quickly changed the tube, and set up my transition in close to record time.  It wasn't until I was sitting on the bus to Pier 3 that I was able to take a deep breath and relax.  I was definitely warmed up.  On the boat ride out to the start, the water looked pretty calm.  "Oh yeah, this should be a good, smooth swim" I told my good buddy Ethan Brown, who had never swam Alcatraz before.  As we were let out onto the ledge for the start, the smooth water turned to white caps.  Oh crap, sorry Ethan, this is gonna be a tough one.  I jumped in and tried to keep contact with a few bodies for the first part, but immediately got dominated by the waves.  I breathed to the right and got a face full of water.  I tried breathing to the left...same thing.  Every time I would look up to sight, all I saw was the next 3-4 foot wave coming at me.  It was brutal out there.  It was tough to stay motivated while getting pummeled and knowing you are losing a lot of valuable time to the leaders.

Finally, I got to the beach and ran up the stairs.  In past Alcatraz races, I've taken my arms out of the wetsuit, but kept it on while I ran the half-mile to transition.  This time, I stripped it off as fast as possible and threw my shoes on.  As I did this, I heard Rebecca yell "15!"  I took all that time in the water, and came out only 15th?  Sweet!  I passed one on the way to transition and quickly jumped on the bike.


Out on the bike, I felt great!  I flew by Sports Basement and gave a salute to my co-workers who always come out in full force for every single race that goes by our marquee store.  They always give me an extra boost.  Two miles into the bike, I had passed another and caught up to a 2nd.  I was having a great ride.  I climbed well up to the Legion of Honor and bombed down the hills through the neighborhoods and past the Cliff House onto the Great Highway.  I planned on using the Great Highway, which is flat and straight to get into a good rhythm and try to take time out of some of the guys ahead of me.  The only bad thing is that it's extremely bumpy.  I struggled to find a good line.


When I reached Golden Gate Park and some smoother roads, I felt something weird on my rear wheel.  Even though the road was smooth, the ride felt bumpy.  I knew something was wrong, so I quickly jumped off my bike to check it out.  The tube was pushing the tire off the rim.  It was still ride-able, but I couldn't go fast.  At this point, I was halfway through the G.G. Park loop, so I jumped back on made the decision to slow pedal back to transition and compete in the run.  I made my way through the Park and on the final descent back out to the Great Highway, my front flatted.  My day was done.


A DNF sucks.  The feeling is brand new for me.  I've been racing competitively for over 15 years.  In 15 years, I've turned ankles, gotten ridiculous cramps, hit a steeplechase barrier, and crashed my bike and never not finished the race.  This is the first.  Unfortunately it is part of the sport.  What I can do is take the positives from the race.  Even though the swim was a suffer-fest, I came out mid pack in the pro field.  That's good for me!  I also felt great on the bike and was making up ground on some of the competitors ahead of me.

Thanks to Rebecca and her mom, Beth, who skipped her Sunday morning bike ride to come out and cheer me on, for their support.  Sorry I couldn't finish the show.  Thanks Mrs. Leto for picking up my water bottle after it unhitched from my bike...happens every time!  Up next is Pacific Grove on Sept. 11.  Thanks everyone for reading!

Pick Your Head Up

Last Saturday was my 2nd attempt at this whole ITU style racing thing.  This time it was conveniently located 15 minutes away from my front door on Treasure Island in San Francisco.  I was looking forward to this day for a while.  Rebecca signed up for the age group race and I was excited for this rare opportunity for both of us to watch each other race.  We got there early in the morning and I found a nice place to sit and relax as I watched Rebecca leave it all out there to take 2nd in her age group in only her 2nd Olympic Distance event.  She's awesome!


I felt good going into my race and was hoping for a good swim to set myself up for a good finish.  With 59 athletes and a wide variety of talent, I figured there would always be a pack to swim and bike with in the early stages.  If I could get myself onto the bike with a group in good position, I could relax and rest up for a strong run.  Anyway, that was the game plan...


It was 250 meters to the first turn buoy and I knew it was going to be crazy.  The horn went off and I took off in what I called a sprint.  Apparently my sprint is half the field's regular pace and by the time we hit the turn buoy I found myself at the tail end of the pack.  The pack at the first turn buoy resembles a mosh-pit at a Rage Against The Machine concert.  We all came together as 59 guys tried to swim in the same exact spot.  Once again, I got dunked, elbowed, kicked and was drinking unwanted salt water from the bay.  Usually the plan is to start hydrating on the bike and not in the middle of the swim.  After the mayhem of the first turn, the field split.  I found myself at the back of the 2nd group in the water.  I was in a great position and feeling the draft.  As we came up to the end of the first lap, I put my head down for about 6 strokes without breathing and when I picked my head up to sight, I found myself a little off the pack and to the left.  Oh crap!  I put my head back down and tried my hardest to reconnect with the pack but could not.  For much of the 2nd lap I swam alone until 3 guys overtook me.  I finished the swim with these guys about 1 minute down on the pack that swam away from me.


The bike was a mess.  The first and second groups out of the water packed up nicely, but behind them, was unorganized chaos.  With no organization back in my pack and the wind howling on Treasure Island, it made for a tough day on the bike.  I started with a few guys and my legs weren't responding to their surges.  The first 2 laps of 6 were a series of falling off the back and catching up.  A few guys caught us, worked their way to the front and gapped us without a response from me.  For the last 3 laps I rode with one other guy from Canada taking turns riding steady.  We came into transition another minute down from the few that I started the ride with.  It was now up to the run to reel some in.


The 10k run course on Treasure Island is a 3-lap flat run.  I ran well off the bike for the first mile.  I ran away from my bike partner right away and caught 2 guys from the group ahead.  Starting the 2nd lap, I felt my back begin to tighten.  I've had issues with my lower back in the past, so I knew this was going to be a tough finish.  I struggled through the final lap and a half and made it to the finish line in 29th place for the day.


I was pretty disappointed as I crossed the finish line.  I was disappointed with myself for letting the pack swim away and for letting some of the guys slip by me on the bike with no response.  I believe I could have done better on this day.  Rebecca and my coach reassured me that on a "bad day" I finished 29th out of 59.  On my cool down, I settled down, and thought about the race and where I'm at.  Last year I watched this race on Treasure Island in awe as the pros flew around the corners.  This year I was in it.  I've come a long way and I'm looking forward to getting back out there and race again!

Monroe ITU Pan American Cup

This past Saturday I lined up on the beach next to some of the best in the country.  Three-time Olympian (triathlon has only been an Olympic sport 3 times) Hunter Kemper and a top US Pro Ben Collins highlighted my first ITU Olympic distance experience.  I didn't go into the race expecting to be rubbing elbows with these guys, but I was excited to have this opportunity to gain valuable experience for future races.  Going in, I knew the swim would be fast.  All ITU swims are fast.  The first 300 meters went by in a blur.  It was a whirlpool out there and I was getting sucked along for the ride.  The first buoy was 350 meters out and at that point the bottleneck happened and I was no longer sucked along for the ride, but sucked under the water.  I got absolutely pummeled at the turn.  At one point I came up for a breath on my right side and took in 0% air and 100% water.  After taking some swim strokes, choking, coughing, and trying to take a breath all at the same time for 30 seconds, I regained composure.  After the quick 2nd turn heading back to the beach for the end of lap one, I saw that I was well back of the leaders.  I tried to catch some feet but could not.  At the end of lap one, there was a short run along the beach, around a buoy before plunging back in.  I sprinted onto the beach and ran as fast I could around the buoy to catch some guys.  After all, I'm faster on land than in water.  It worked.  I caught a pack and stayed on their feet for the rest of lap 2.  Once out of the water, I ran as fast as I could to transition (every second counts in ITU) and grabbed my bike.  Heading out I noticed that most of the bikes in transition were already gone.  I had some work to do...


I was scared that with a bad swim, there would be no one to ride with and that I would be hung out to dry all by myself.  Fortunately for me, that wasn't the case.  I jumped on my bike with 3 other guys together and worked hard to mop up 3 more riding by themselves on the road.  I felt really strong on the bike taking, what felt like, faster pulls than the others.  On the 4th lap of 8, we caught the 3rd group on the road growing our group from 7 to 12 riders.  I still felt like we needed to go faster, so again I took strong pulls at the front.  We got out of the water 2:30 down from the lead group and although I felt like we had a decent ride, lost another 2 minutes on the bike.  There's not much you can do with a 10k run when you come off the bike 4 and a half minutes down on the lead group.  I still had some work to do.


I came out of the water in 35th place out of the 39 that started.  After the bike, I had moved up to 25th.  Immediately off the bike and into my run I felt dead and my legs were shot.  I could now feel all the work I did on the bike and regretted it (chalk that one up to "experience").  Two of the guys in my bike group took off and I didn't have the legs to respond.  About a mile into the run, I was able to compose myself and settle into a pace that slowly picked people off, but was not making up ground on the 2 that broke from me.  I made my way through most of the 2nd bike group on the road and even caught a few stragglers from the lead pack that was 4:30 ahead, but I was just not feeling strong.  With a half mile to go on the 4th and final lap of the 10k run course, I gave it all I had to pick off a few more guys in sight, but I was happy to see the finish line.  At the end of the run, I had made my way up to 17th overall.


A good day of racing for me.  I have a lot of work to do and a lot to learn.  It seems as though I say that after each race I compete in this year, but it's true.  I'm in a whole different league now racing professionals that have been doing this for years.  At this level, it's not always the strongest triathletes that come out on top, but the smarter racers.  Monroe gave me some of that valuable experience my coach, Brian and I can take to form some specific workouts for the next few races.  The goal is to not only become a very strong triathlete, but to work on being one of the smartest in the field.


Next up for me is the San Francisco ITU Pan American Cup on Saturday July 9th.  Yes, I said San Francisco...my home town (sorta)!!  The elite race starts at 1:00pm sharp on Treasure Island.  I invite all Bay Area triathlon fans to come out and support.  Swim is 2 laps, bike is 8 laps, and the run is 3 laps.  You will see us A LOT and won't be disappointed.  I hope to have a better swim and get more experience in this fun style of racing.  Thanks for reading and hope to see you out there next Saturday.

A New Style of Racing

This Saturday I will be taking part in my first of hopefully many Olympic distance ITU-style races. Most of you triathlon-savvy people know what this is, but for you that are not familiar with the wide world of triathlon (thanks to you for reading my blog by the way...it means a lot), ITU racing is a fast, exciting, and unpredictable experience.  I will explain...

Almost all triathlons in the age group division and all full and half-Ironman triathlons are non-drafting on the bike.  In any race, you can swim directly behind someone in the water, catching a draft and can run in a group like a road race to pace off each other.  Drafting in the water or on the run makes a difference in effort, and is almost impossible to enforce a non-drafting rule, but it isn't as substantial as drafting on the bike.  There are 2 main reasons age group races and Ironman races do not allow drafting.  Number 1 is safety.  In non-drafting races, athletes usually race on time-trial (TT) bikes, shown here, that are equipped with long aero-bars for positioning the body as aerodynamic as possible, and tough to maneuver.  Crashes are more likely to happen if a group of athletes on TT bikes are riding close to each other duking it out.  These races have anywhere from 300-3000 participants.  Reason number 2 is to promote individual efforts.  Imagine if 2 Ironman athletes got out of the water together and were equally strong on the bike.  The second guy could hypothetically follow the first guy's draft for 112 miles.  That just wouldn't be fair.  So drafting on the bike is illegal in most triathlons out there.

ITU-style racing is different.  ITU (International Triathlon Union) rules allow for drafting on the bike.  This changes the whole complexity of the race.  Biking in a group is much easier than biking by yourself.  Have you ever watched stages of the Tour de France where there is a breakaway of 2 or 3 riders five minutes ahead of the big peleton?  If you have, then you know that 9.5 times out of 10, those 2 or 3 guys are caught by the end of the race.  Because drafting on the bike is allowed, more emphasis is put on the swim and run.  If someone can get out of the water with the front group, he will have an easier time navigating the 40k bike course by drafting off of someone versus someone who finishes the swim 30 seconds or a minute back and has to ride by himself.


In this type of racing, more than non-draft racing, every second counts, making swim-bike and bike-run transitions more important.  If someone gets out of the water with the front group and takes 10 extra seconds putting their helmet on and grabbing their bike, by the time they are riding the group is gone.


I come from a running background, so my goal for this Saturday in Seattle is to swim as fast as I can for 1500 meters to finish close to the front of the 60-man field.  If I can make it into the front group, or the chase group with a chance to catch the front group, and conserve enough energy on the bike, it puts me in a position to take advantage of that running background and have a good result.  I also want to take away from this race the experience of draft-legal racing.  The more I do it, the more comfortable I become.


It will be an exciting day!  I'm really looking forward to experiencing a new style of racing.  Next week, I will have a race report up from Seattle.  Thanks for reading.

The Rock, Hills and Sand - Escape from Alcatraz

If there were any nerves floating through my body as I was on the San Francisco Belle motoring out to the start of my first ever professional triathlon, they were quickly thrown out the window 4 minutes before the starting horn.  At 7:26am I had drank my last sip of water, had my GU and was slipping into my wetsuit.  I asked for a zip and halfway up the zipper got caught.  I brought stretch cords hoping to really have a good warm-up before jumping into the 52-degree water, but I was relegated to sweating profusely in my unzipped wetsuit as it took 2 people to fix my zipper.

With so much adrenaline pumping and a flurry of arms, I didn't really notice the freezing water of the San Francisco Bay.  Triathlon's super swimmers of the field took off, but I settled into my pace, which conveniently happened to be the pace of most of the pro women in the field.  I had a group to swim with!  The Bay has some crazy currents going on so sighting was tough at times.  I would keep my head down for a few strokes, look up and the group would be way to my right.  I would then swim hard to catch them, put my head down for a few more strokes and have to do that all over again.  I then decided to sight more often and make a better effort to stay on the feet of the group.  A few times it got physical and usually I don't mind bumping elbows or whacking someone in the head in a triathlon swim.  It's part of the game...I get it too.  But I was in a group with most of the pro women.  A couple times I would hit one of them and think "oh sorry," but not really.  Like I said, it's part of the game!  I had my goggles and a swim cap as a disguise.

I got out of the water and made the 1000-meter trek to T1.  As I ran along the path, I saw some of my competition already take off on the bike, but as I got to my bike and headed out myself, I saw other competition still making their way to T1.  I was in a good spot!  The Escape bike course is extremely demanding.  For the entire 18-mile course you are either going uphill, going downhill, turning, or on terrible pavement.  There is no getting into a rhythm on this course.  At mile 4, Kenny Rakestraw came up next to me on one of the climbs.  I thought to myself "perfect, him and I will work together for the rest of the race."  Well, I was with him for another 2 or 3 miles and then my legs decided to stop working.  The hills had gotten to me and Kenny slowly started to pull away.  I found myself in a pack with 2 other riders that stuck together for the rest of the ride.  I was 23rd out of the water and I believe I had made up 1 or 2 places on the bike.

After racking the bike and heading out for the run, I immediately dropped the 2 other cyclists in my pack.  Two other runners were in sight ahead of me, but that was about it.  At mile 2, I caught the 2 runners, but could not drop them.  The damage was already done to my legs from the ride and I could not get them to respond.  The 3 of us ran together all the way down Lincoln, onto the beach for the 1.5 miles of sand running, then up the sand ladder.  The infamous sand ladder consists of just under 400 log steps laid across the sand to aid the climb from the beach 400 feet back up to Lincoln Ave.  My coach told me before the race that no matter how terrible I felt, he wanted my last 5k to be fast.  After the sand ladder, I gathered myself and ran at the back of our 3-person pack until the 3 miles to go sign.  At that point I took off.  My surge dropped one of the two.  Three minutes later I put in another surge and dropped the last guy.  I thought to myself "where had this speed been the rest of the race?"  I kept that pace all the way to the finish line for a 19th place finish, almost catching 18th.

Overall, it was a great first experience as a pro triathlete.  The field was stacked with past Ironman and Half Ironman world champs, a few Olympians and local studs like Leto, Rakestraw and Dahlz.  I want to thank my dad who flew out all the way from Detroit to see my first pro race.  He's without a doubt, my super-fan.  Also, thanks to my girlfriend Rebecca for all the support and cheering her head off out there, and to everyone along the course screaming for me.  There is a lot of work to be done, lots to learn, but the fact that my friends and guys I train with finished on the podium motivates me to work harder and stick with it.  Next up for me is a trek up to Seattle area for my first ever ITU draft-legal race on June 25th.  After that is another ITU draft-legal competition back in San Francisco on Treasure Island.  Thanks for reading everyone and thanks so much for the support!

Success at Wildflower!

This season has been about change.  This is the first full year under my new coach, Brian Priddin, and therefore a new approach to base training and learning the sport of triathlon.  For the most part, it's been about setting a strong foundation for the rest of my triathlon career vs. being ready to race the next race on the calendar.  I have seen dramatic improvements in my training and was very much looking forward to putting this all on display in the first triathlon of the season.  Wildflower has been a huge star on my schedule since the course beat me down last year.  Last year I wasn't ready for the demanding hills and heat that come with the intense competition.  I let the conditions get the best of me.  This year was going to be different.  After my little training camp 2 weeks before race day, Brian told me something that I thought about leading up to the race: "you're in such good shape this time around, that even on a bad day, you'll still dominate."  On race day, it gave me a sense of relaxation, and looking back at it, I was never stressed out once during the entire race because of my confidence in the work I had done.

This year, Rebecca was able to join me down south.  This also kept me relaxed and helped out a ton to have my girlfriend and partner in crime there with me.  She's been such a huge supporter in my triathlon journey and it was awesome to share this important weekend with her.  We swam and ran together in the days leading up to the race.  We just had fun together and it took my mind off the race.  Sports Basement also played a major role in the weekend, as they provided a secure place to pop our tent and took care of meals and drinks.  One less thing to worry about during the craziness of Wildflower.

I was very calm race morning.  I don't get nervous for races myself, but sometimes all the nervous people around me in transition make me feel a little anxious.  It was a good morning to have my iPod for warm up.  I was in my own little zone.

Swim:

I was more confident and looking forward to my swim for this race than any other triathlon I have ever competed in.  I know that I have the strength to find the fast swimmers after the horn and stay on their feet.  After a crazy 100 meters or so, 3 or 4 guys took off.  They gapped me and I knew I couldn't get them, but a guy swam up next to me going at a decent pace that I thought I could hold the rest of the swim.  We swam stroke for stroke, shoulder to shoulder for about 4 minutes and I thought, this is stupid; I'm working much harder than I have to and we're going the same pace.  I slowed down for a few strokes, tucked right in behind him and let him do the work.  I followed him in his slipstream the whole way until about 400 meters to go.  We were on the last long straightaway and because its a long way, there were kayaks stationed along the straightaway for sighting.  Even though I was drafting, I still looked up every now and then to see where we were going.  I noticed he was headed right for the kayak and I could see the kayaker trying to move out of the way.  I immediately broke from my leader and as he ran straight into the kayak I took off.  I've been working a lot in the pool on 200s all out so I got into 200 all out mode and hammered to the end of the swim.  My swim time was 20:00-flat, the 24th fastest swim among all the men for the day and a huge 1-minute PR in the 1500-meter.  I had set up the rest of the race perfectly and took all that confidence into the bike.

Bike:

My strategy on the bike was to keep it chill.  In training, I've had some back problems going from the bike to the run and I didn't want that to creep up on me on this day.  I didn't want to hammer up the monster hills too hard, draining my legs, but wanted to keep a high, intense tempo on the downhills and flats.  Because I was the 4th wave to start the triathlon behind the men's and women's collegiate waves and the under 24 men's wave, I could use the people ahead of me to key off of.  Everyone feels fast when they constantly pass people.  I had a bike split goal of 1:05, but it was a little windy and when I hit half way, I knew that was a little out of reach.  Having 1 of my 2 water bottles pop out in the 3rd mile of the bike didn't help either (I need to figure out a better hydration situation on the bike.  Any suggestions?).  On the way back, I focused on staying relaxed and getting ready for the run.  My bike split of 1:07:29 ended up being the 3rd fastest of the day.

Run:

I had a great transition, which was key for me.  I had some blister issues with my shoes the last few weeks leading up to Wildflower, so I decided to put socks on in T2.  I figured the time I would lose in T2 putting socks on would be less than the time I would lose if I ran with blisters for 10k.  After looking at the results, my T2 time was 3rd fastest out of the top 10 finishers.  My first mile was 5:20.  Mile 2 was 5:25 and I thought, crap I'm slowing down.  Thankfully my back was holding up, but my legs were very tired.  At that point, I told myself to work it hard for 10 minutes.  At the 5k sign, I was over 17 minutes, but I knew the 5k sign could not have been in the right spot.  At around that point, some collegiate guy from Cal Poly who had stopped to walk a bit, I think his shoe might have been untied, started running with me.  We were shoulder to shoulder for about 800 meters and this gave me my second wind.  This helped a ton and I set a new goal of hammering the rest of the run and dropping this guy.  After all, I was racing the clock.  I had no idea what my splits were for the rest of the run, but ended up splitting 32:36 for the 10k.  That time, from a little research (and I think this is correct) is the 3rd fastest 10k ever recorded on the Wildflower Olympic course.  I was 2 minutes faster than anyone else that day.

I knew that around 2:02 has won the race the last 4 years.  The last 3 winners are my training partners and friends John Dahlz, Kyle Leto, and Kenny Rakestraw, who are now all pro triathletes and having very successful careers.  It's a huge honor to win this race.  My time was 2:02:26.  I thought I had won it until I checked the results 20 minutes after I finished to discover I was beat by exactly a minute by a dude named Dylan McNeice.  Dylan is a pro triathlete from New Zealand who has raced in World Cup events and even the World Championship race for his country.  He is one of the best swimmers in the world triathlon circuit which explains how he put a full 3 minutes on me in the swim (I was 20 seconds faster on the bike and 2 minutes faster on the run).  It's a tough pill to swallow taking runner-up at Wildflower, but the silver lining is that I qualified for my pro card.  It's something I've been chasing since I took 4th amateur in 2 races last year that top 3 go pro and crashing in a 3rd race where I was set up for a great result.

Now it's time to race the big boys in the sport as a professional triathlete!  Next up is Escape from Alcatraz in San Francisco, an event I've done twice before but always looked up to the pros in awe on the start boat.  After that, at the end of June I head up to Monroe, WA for my first ever draft-legal Pan-American Cup race against other pros from all over the world!

Thanks to everyone for the support on facebook, twitter and in person.  It feels so good to have people interested in the sport and interested in how I do.  It keeps me motivated.
Thanks for reading.

Wildflower Prep...1 week to go!

First off, my apologies for not updating this on a more regular basis.  I could try to come up with some obscure, sympathy-seeking excuse, but in reality, there is non.  What I can tell you, though, is that I've been working really hard and I'm feeling ready to rock it next weekend down in SLO.  This past Monday and Tuesday, Rebecca and I made the trip down south to meet my coach, Brian Priddin, for a little mini-camp on the course.  I've put in the work, so it was time to see the course and fine-tune some things before race day.



Monday morning was the ride on the bike course.  The way out was 5 minutes hard, 1 minute easy.  After the turn around, the way back was race effort.  Last year's race was so hard for me and those hills out there can be very challenging.  I've been doing 100% of my riding on my Felt TT bike since early February when my road bike was stolen.  I see it as a blessing in disguise.  Last year, I did most of my prep for Wildflower on my road bike.  This time around, I'm used to going up hill and going down some crazy descents on my TT bike.  I'm more comfortable and feel a lot faster on my race bike.  The hills this time seemed smaller and more manageable.  I feel I can power up and over them much better.  Like I said, blessing in disguise, although after May 1st, I'll have to pony up some money and buy a new road bike.  The other reason I feel so comfy on my race bike is the fit I got from TT bike fit export Joe Santos at Davis Wheelworks.  The guy works with some of the best triathletes and professional cyclists in the area.  He makes them really fast on their bikes, and from what I've noticed so far, I feel like a different rider on the same bike I've been riding for 2.5 years.  It's pretty cool!


Next on Monday was a swim.  We practiced some starts and finises at the bottom of the big boat launch.  It was nice to be in a wetsuit again.  I hadn't put one on since my last race of last year back in October.  Brian paddled alongside me in his kayak.  It felt like I was following the lead boat in a race.  I'm not THAT good a swimmer, but maybe someday I'll experience drafting off the lead boat in a real race like Kyle Leto!


Monday evening was my run workout around the 10k course.  Workout was miles 1, 3, 5&6 hard, with miles 2 and 4 cruising recovery (still decent pace).  My run split in the race last year was 34:52.  That evening I ran with my heavy trainers on, and took 2 of the 6 miles at an easier than race pace speed....and ran faster than my race split last year.  That means 2 things:  1.) I sucked last year...and 2.) I'm fit this year!


Tuesday was a series of mini-triathlons to get comfortable with transitions at real speed on the real course.  After doing this, I am now confident in my first and last little bits of each discipline.  It makes for less things to think about on race day.


The rest of this week and next week will be more sharpening of the knife and focusing on feeling good going into the weekend.  I'm excited to get my official race season started.  This race has been the star on my calendar for a while.  I'm ready to roll!


(Shameless plug (I know, I'm a dork) - follow me on twitter @bauer_andrew for more day-to-day training updates)


Thanks for reading.

Stanford Treeathlon (Duathlon)

This past Sunday I competed at the Stanford Treeathlon.  Well, actually it was a duathlon this year because the water temp in Redwood City was under 50 degrees.  Thankfully the race directors decided that it wasn't in their best interest to have almost everyone competing in their race to end up with hypothermia, so the race was changed to a 2k run, 20k bike, 5k run.  This race is a great early season fitness test and gives you a chance to see your hard work paying off.  The Treeathlon usually draws a good amount of talent for these reasons.  Even though I wanted to test my swim and see if all the yards and flip turns I've been doing in the pool would actually translate to a straight open water swim, I was pretty excited to hear that this duathlon would favor the runners.  My training parter, Kyle Leto was joking with me before the race, "now you get to experience what it's like to be on the bike first.  Don't get lost."

I'm not really sure how accurate the actual distances were, but When the horn sounded, I took off.  It was me and one other guy from Cal Poly at the front.  After about 600-800 meters, I took the lead and kept the pressure on.  I finished the "2k" in 5:17 (which is 4:15 pace....hence the quotations) and was first on the bike by about 10 seconds.  Dustin McClarty had a blazing fast transition and actually took the lead from me 1 mile into the bike, but I immediately took it back.  I was riding at the front (and not getting lost) for about 3 more miles when, as expected, Kyle took over.  I held on for the rest of lap 1, fell off the pace a bit in lap 2, riding in 4th, and in lap 3 after a GU, I started to reel Kyle and another rider back in.  I finished the bike at the back of the 4-person lead pack.

This time, I had a fast transition.  I was the fourth in and second out, about 150 meters down from a Cal Poly guy, with Kyle and Noah from Cal right behind me.  I passed the leader a half mile into the 5k and like before, kept the pressure on.  Last year I was woefully out of running shape for this event, running 16:40 for the 5k.  I wanted to see what kind of time I could run  I ended up taking the win, running a 16:07 for the "5k" (again in quotations).  Cal Triathlon team coach John Dahlz told me he had me at sub-5 for the first mile, but that's not important.

What's important is that I can see my hard work paying off.  What my coach and I are doing is working.  I haven't done a single bit of speed work and I'm running close to 5:05-5:15 pace for a race.  I'm biking 26 mph averages for time trials.  Things are looking up, and I can't wait to get in the water and rock it!  I want to give a shout out to Kyle Leto, who has really impressed me with his running fitness.  When an athlete like him, one of the fastest swimmers in the sport, can come up with a competitive run to back it up, it's scary.  He is on his way.  Also, Noah Beyeler from the Cal Tri team who is in crazy shape right now.  Thanks for the help and motivation on the bike.  Keep an eye out for this guy at the front of the pack at Collegiate Nationals.

The next 4-6 weeks will be my dive into some more strength and speed work in preparation for Wildflower.  Happy training!

Take A Step Back...

Triathlon these days is all about how much work you can put in week after week.  You can swim 25,000 yards, ride 200 miles on the bike, and run 50 miles each week and you'll be in crazy good shape.  You will build an incredible base.  That used to work for me when I was a runner.  Coming from a running background, in my college days, I would pound the pavement and trails every summer during my base training phase running anywhere from 70-105 miles a week.  I'd be so fit coming into cross country season every year.  Putting in the time and miles works with running and for the most part, cycling as well, but we're talking about triathlon here.  There's a third discipline that most runners have a hard time conquering.

Last year I joined the Walnut Creek Masters swim team.  It's one of the most decorated masters programs in the country.  The coaches are tremendous, the group is great, and the workouts are challenging.  I was excited to swim at a higher level in hopes that I would shrink my deficit to the leaders out of the water in races.  I put in the time and yardage all winter and spring, but when it came time to race, my swim wasn't that much better.  I was getting onto the bike a ways behind the leaders and I was usually exhausted from pushing water around in all the wrong directions trying to propel myself forward.  In Los Angeles last October, reflecting on my 2010 season, I knew something had to change if I was to keep going and be competitive in this sport at an elite level.  I would have to take a step back in order to hopefully take two steps forward.

Good form trumps distance in any discipline in order to get faster, but it is more relevant in swimming than anything else.  My coach, Brian and I decided to dissect my swimming technique and totally relearn the stroke...the right way; Build strength in the right muscles involved in swimming instead of the little weaker ones I used to use with my old form.  Instead of writing long, tough workouts and swimming everyday with the masters team, Brian wrote on my calendar "Get in the water, work on technique.  When it falls apart, you are done".

I've also been getting help from training partner and one of the best swimmers in triathlon, Kyle Leto and his former UC Davis teammate Trent Richardson, now a swim coach.  They have taken me under their wings twice a week having me swim drills and work on nothing but technique.  I've been spending a lot of time in the water, but haven't been swimming that many yards.

As a result, I've already hit a few PRs this year.  I've swam 100 yards faster than I ever have (1:00.02).  Yeah, that was Trent on the watch.  He might have a slow finger...I've also swam 400 yards faster than I ever have.  I haven't done many intervals past 400 yet, but I'll get there.  Come race season, even if I swim the same times as last year, I will swim those times taking less strokes and using less energy because I'm swimming the right way.  If I swim the same times as last year, I will be getting on the bike not feeling exhausted, but ready to attack and make up the deficit I created for myself in the water.  Of course, with all that being said, I hope I won't be swimming the same times as last year....

I grew up a runner.  I've had great successes as a runner.  I feel I know how to train as a runner to get the most out of my ability...but I'm not a runner anymore.  I'm a triathlete.  With that comes new philosophies on training, new right ways to train, and new angles to take.  Sometimes, with the long season triathlon has, taking a step back in order to take two steps forward is worth it.  I've already seen evidence of this in small doses.  I hope that in a few months, when race season is underway, I will see my "hard work" pay off!