2013 The North Face Challenge

2013 TNF 13.1 - December 8th 2013  
Mill Valley, CA

December in Marin always has some tricks up its sleeve. A last minute winter storm warning in 2012 cause the race to be canceled. This year the race took place, but with flash 36 degree weather at the start. BURRR.

I had been looking forward to this one for a while. It's in my home town, and it's in one of the most beautiful & challenging places to run anywhere. It also caters to my strengths, or so i thought. The run is comprised of 3 hill climbs, each followed by a fun little descent. I had never done the first climb at anywhere near race pace, but I was pretty confident sitting near the top of the strava leaderboards on #2 & #3 from my preview run 2 weeks prior.

1) Miwok to Wolf Ridge - A casual 1.2 mile 10% grade climb

2) North Face Endurance hill 2 - A steep as hell 0.6 miles, followed by a more mellow 0.8 miles, averaging out to a 1.4 mile 10% grade climb

3) Marincello (Tennessee Valley to Bobcat) - a deceivingly long 1.4 mile 9% grade climb

Fastforward to raceday. As I mentioned before it was freezing...

1:42:11  |   16th Place OA / 3rd Place AG




2013 "The Kitten of Vallejo" CX


Cat B SS Men - 3:00PM
Lap1: 5:57
Lap2: 8:47
Lap3: 8:53
Lap4: 8:49
Lap5: 8:58
Lap6: 9:02
Lap7: 9:05
--------
Total: 59:34 ( 6/17 )

Click to see in Strava





2013 "Stafford Lake Wildcat" CX


Cat B SS Men - 3:00PM
Lap1: 8:09
Lap2: 8:47
Lap3: 8:41
Lap4: 8:51
Lap5: 8:52
Lap6: 8:41
--------
Total: 52:03 ( 7/28 )

Click to see in Strava


2013 Surf City CX #2




2013 "Lion of Fairfax of Los Altos" CX

Great Venue. Horrible race on my part. I do feel comfortable blaming it on the gearing though.

Click to see in Strava









2013 McLaren Short Track Challenge


2013 McLaren Short Track Challenge - September 7th 2013  
San Francisco, CA

A little back story to how I entered this race.  I haven't mountain biked in at least 20 years, but after watching the recap of Aaron Johnson's epic race across Colorado last month it definitely piqued my interest again.

After mentioning the idea to my parents, it just so happened that one of my friends dad's was trying to get rid of his 1996 Trek 9700 SHX.  After doing a little research online I found out that this was one of the first full carbon fiber mountain bikes ever made, and with some TLC and a bit of money, it could be built up into a unique and surprisingly capable lightweight 26er.

I spent about 3 weeks building it up, and it came out perfect.



After about 5 rides, Nate somehow convinced me I should race McLaren Short Track Challenge. Whats the worst that could happen right?



This was definitely the most un-prepared I have ever felt for a race. After doing the warm up lap I almost thought about bailing.  Most of the course was alright, but once we got to the "advanced" part of the course I almost shit my pants.  I was not expecting stairs, 10+% grade switchbacks w/ sharp 180 degree turns, or little bridges that were so narrow you would scrape your handlbebars going through them. Props to Nate & Ryan that claimed this was all "easy" and that I should calm down.

Once the race started things did get a bit easier though. I played follow the leader and stole other peoples lines through the technical stuff, and used my fitness to pass people on the non-technical parts.  I was gassed after two laps, but ended up finishing 15th out of 60, which was WAY better than I thought I was going to do.  To be honest at the end I just felt lucky I didn't kill myself on the stairs, and it was a bit of a wakeup call that I need to get in better shape for cylcocross season. I better stop skipping those Wednesday lunchtime rides @ Arastradero.

Congrats to Nate and Ryan for kicking ass, and to Alicia who got a podium finish in the women's beginner category.

Mens Sport 19-35 
Lap1: 14:16
Lap2: 13:41
Lap3: 14:36
Lap4: 14:19
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Total: 56:54 (15/60)

2013 Vineman 70.3

Vineman 70.3 – July 14th 2013 
Sonoma, CA
Swim: 33:54 ( 1:46 )
Bike: 2:29:22 ( 22.5 mph )
Run: 1:33:07 ( 7:07 per mile avg)
--------
Total: 4:41:13 ( 22nd AG / 110th OA )
Pre-Race: 

A little info about myself: I’m 32 years old, weigh 155 lbs, my FTPw is 260watts, and my VO2max is 69.2. The past two years I have finished vineman 70.3 in 4 hours and 41 minutes.  For 2013 my goals were a 30 min swim, a 2:30 bike, and a 1:30 run. Throw in ~ 5 minutes in transition and I was aiming for a 4:35 finish time.

5:30AM 3 Eggs, 3 pieces of bacon, toast and coffee.  ( 600 cal )
7:30AM Bannana + water
8:30AM Race Start

Swim (1.2mi):
I’m not a strong swimmer so usually I just try and survive the swim and try not to fall too far behind. This time was a little slower than usual but I managed to finish top 25% of my age-group.

Swim Total: 33:54

T1: 2:33

Bike (56mi):
I have been biking A LOT since this time last year. One because its fun, and two because I thought it would be a prime way to save some time and get closer to my 4:35 dream. For 2013 I wanted to try and hold a constant 215-225 watts over the race; A full 20 watts more than last year. Hopefully this should give me a nice bike split and leave enough gas left in the tank to run a 1:30 half marathon. 

Bike Nutrition:
 0-30min: H2O
30min: Honey Stinger Waffle (160 cal)
50min: 2 Cliff Shot Blocks(66 cal)
1hr10min: 2 Cliff Shot Blocks(66 cal)
1hr30min: 2 Cliff Shot Blocks( 66 cal)
1hr50min: 2 Cliff Shot Blocks( 66 cal)
 2hr10min: 2 Cliff Shot Blocks( 66 cal)
I drank 3x 22 oz bottles of water during the bike but I think this turned out to be too much water for the 63-67 degree weather because the last 2/3 of the bike course I really had to pee to the point where I was literally dreaming of the bathroom in the transition area, and every bump I went over on the bike was killing me. Yes this happened in 2011 too.

Bike Total: 2:29:22

T2: 2:17

Run (13.1mi):
There was no real strategy involved in the run other than i tried not to go out too fast, and i tried to keep it under 7 min miles for as long as i could. Going out slow helped because i had zero cramping during the run. The only discomfort was that i felt "tight" as the race went on, and around mile 10 my knees started hurting. The biggest hiccup I faced was that I stopped to visit the restroom at mile marker 1 and had to wait and entire 53 seconds for the guy to get out of there. 

Click to see run in Strava




Run Nutrition:
Mile 3: ½ Peach
Mile 6: ½ cup Gatorade
Mile 8: ½ cup Gatorade
Mile 11: ½ cup Gatorade
Misc: Drank ½ cup of water at every aid station & poured ½ cup of water on my head.

Run Total: 1:33:07

Race Total: 4:41:13

Lessons Learned. Apparently 4:41 is my magic number. 3 years in a row with the same time. The main difference was that i felt great during this one. I tried not to stress out too much before the race and i had wonderful support from the frechettes, my parents, and alicia. So both of those helped. I can also say that im in the best shape of my life. woohoo.  Next year if i actually go to masters swimming, and don't waste a minute in the john i should be able to reach my goal of 4:35. It wouldn't hurt to start earlier in the day either, but im not one for excuses. 



2013 The 103rd Annual Dipsea

The 103rd Annual Dipsea 7.4M – June 9th 2013 

Mill Valley, CA
Run: 1:04:37 ( 9:23 per mile avg)

First run in 1905, the Dipsea is the oldest trail race in America. The 7.4 mile course from Mill Valley to Stinson Beach is considered to be one of the most beautiful courses in the world, but this beauty comes at a price. The trail includes uneven footing, single-track footpaths, and almost invariably steep terrain, featuring about 4,000-foot (1219 m) elevation gain and loss over the course. The uniqueness of the Dipsea Race course owes largely to the opportunity for competitors to choose from any of several alternate routes on diverging and converging trails, adding a competitive premium for strategy, experience, and familiarity with the course.

 After a great race last year in the heat I was able to earn a spot as an invitational runner. No more lotteries, no late start, just racing. My goal this year was to try and finish sub 60 minutes, which should earn me a spot in the top 100.

I started the race strong. Last year year it took me 42:58 to complete the first 4.2 miles of the race (Depot to Cardiac), but this year was able to reduce that to 41:50. A full minute + faster.  After reaching cardiac it all went downhill though.  Not sure if the mud was just too sketchy for me but I was pretty hesitant / nervous passing people on the slippery steps and steep descents.  This led to me being a full minute and a half slower on the final 2.8 miles to the finish. ( Cardiac to Stinson Beach ). 

Looking on the bright side of things I was able to cross the finish line 241st and get invited back to do it all again next year. Congrats to Lucas Agricola and Jessie Smith for crushing it, Gordy Reid for qualifying for next year, and Erin Wager, Stephen Schneider, Mike Truong, Mike Voors for finishing

No dice this year with my goals. Last year I had the advantage of running a full fledged practice race two week prior to help with my pacing, but this year  was too caught up with Team bike challenge to fit in proper run training.  I thought biking 200 miles a week, and throwing in 2 runs a week would be enough. I was wrong. 


Click here see this race in Strava.


2013 Wildflower Olympic Triathlon

Wildflower Olympic Triathlon – May 5th 2013 
Bradley, CA
Swim: 28:34 ( 1:54 )
Bike: 1:16:31 ( 19.4 mph )
Run: 40:02 ( 6:27 per mile avg)
--------
Total: 2:29:11

Pre-Race:

This weekend was a little crazy in the weather department. After a blistering hot Saturday, the winds picked up while we were sleeping bringing cooler temperatures and chaos to the campsite as the wind started blowing around all the non-staked down tents. Thankfully we staked our down, but it was almost comical all the sounds coming from outside the tent.

Per the usual routine, I try to eat at least 3 hours before race time. At Wildflower I am always worried about what I will be eating pre race, since I usually perform best on Eggs, Bacon, Toast, and lots of Coffee. This year SF Tri Club catered an AMAZING breakfast with mostly organic tasty eggs, coffee cake, coffee etc. Great start to the day.

Swim ( 1500 km ) - 23:53 ( 350th OA ) - 1:35 pace

My swim was horrible this year. It was almost embarrassing. I would like to blame it on the winds, and the rough "surf" but I had only been swimming 2 days a week coming into this event and it showed. 

T1 - 2:44

Bike ( 40 km ) - 1:16:31 ( 62th OA ) - 19.4 mph / 235 watts / 91 rpm


Not much to say on the bike except it was really windy. Half the time i was going what felt like 10 mph and the other half I felt like superman biking at 30mph. It was pretty sketchy to be honest. Lots of college kids on disc wheel being blown all over the road.  I had to have my hands on the brakes for a lot of the race rather than the aero bars. sigh. I had been biking a lot going into this so I thought I would have done better.

T2 - 1:20

Run ( 10 km ) - 40:02 ( 69th OA ) - 6:27 pace


Opposite of last year, this was the only part of the race I felt good about. I hadn't been running as much as I would have liked leading up to this event, but it seemed that all the biking + cool weather equaled Wildflower run course PR. 

Total 2:29:11 (41st OA )
I finished 41st out of ~2000 athletes, and 11th place in my AG. As an added bonus my time in conjunction with my kick ass fello SF Tri Club members was able to earn first place overall in the Olympic distance club competition.  Sweet. Also congrats to Mark Tripp who was 1st OA for the second year in a row.


Click here & here see this race in Strava.




2013 Silicon Valley Sprint Triathlon

2013 Silicon Valley Sprint Triathlon

Silicon Valley Sprint Triathlon – April 20th 2013 
Morgan Hill, CA
Swim: 17:44
Bike: 49:49 
Run: 19:21 
--------
Total: 1:28:47

Pre-Race:

I signed up for this one a little last minute. I just wanted a quick local race to get back in the groove before wildflower. 

Swim ( 0.5 mile ) - 17:44 

T1 - 1:07

Bike ( 17 mile ) - 49:49 - 21.0 mph / 226 watts weighted AVG


T2 - 0:46

Run ( 5 km ) - 19:21 - 6:07 pace

Total 1:28:47 (1st AG / 4th OA )
Lets start with the excuses. I had just gotten a new fit on my bike, and while it felt great biking I couldn't for the life of me get my shoes on and off while doing flying mounts / dismounts. Also had some weird nutrition issues on the run. Was burping up shot blocks. yum. So it was kind of an epic fail in terms of race execution, but it was nice to go through the motions again and was something I needed to do before wildflower to get my confidence back up.

2013 Preview

2012 was a trip. I quit my job in Los Angeles, sold my house, and moved to the Bay Area to take my dream job at Tesla Motors. On the athletic front I was on a roll too. I finished top 25 OA at Wildflower, was 13th OA in the "runner' division at the Dipsea Race, and literally the morning after I moved up north I set a PR at Lucile Packard 10K. Unfortunately it went down hill from there. Moving across the state, and getting acclimated to my new job threw a wrench into my training program and while I felt mostly prepared i wasn't able to reach my goal of 4:35 at Vineman. To continue this streak of bad luck I was led off course on my last race of the year, which led to me missing becoming an USAT All-American by a couple spots. Oh well.

For 2013 I had a whole new training plan set up to try and reach that magic 4:35.  After building a great cycling base racing cyclocross all winter, I was going start the year w/ no cycling ( except bike commuting ) and start running 25+ miles a week. After 10 weeks I was going to slowly roll my cycling back into my exercise routine, and then mid march I was going to start swimming again.

This plan lasted all of 2 days after rolling my ankle running on some cruddy trails in marin. Instead 2013 has been cycling focused from the start. Check out my strava for more details.  I guess we will see at Wildflower how this newly revised strategy pans out.

Enough Rambling. My races / events planned for 2013 include;

Silicon Valley Sprint Triathlon
Wildflower Olympic Triathlon
Team Bike Challenge
The Dipsea Race
Vineman 70.3
Marin Century
Pacific Grove Triathlon
Levi's GranFondo
BASP Cyclocross Series
Stafford Lake CX
TNF 13.1 Trail Running Championships

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