Bob the runner

Joking around with my better half before the race Its always fun at these event to run into friends On Sunday,  I completed my second triathlon of the year.  The event was called TriBoulder and was held at Boulder Reservoir in Boulder Colorado.  This was an olympic distance triathlon which  included just under a 1 mile swim, 26.4 mile bike ride and 6.2 mile run.  This race also offered a Long Course (Ironman 70.3 distance), Sprint course and Aquabike (swim and bike only). We lucked out with the weather as the morning started out about 63 degrees and warmed up to the low/mid 70s for the run.  The sun was beating down pretty good on the run but the temps were definitely not terrible. My goals for the race were: Finish the race Beat the TriDot expectations for me and find out my fitness level Test my nutrition plan Do my best and have fun Overall I was satisfied with my performance.  I always wish I was faster but was the best me I could be for the day.  I accomplis

I really struggled with whether or not to write this race report.  I have bounced into embarrassment, frustration and other emotions.  Eventually I decided for the report so I can reflect on the event and put it behind me.  I had no control over the bad parts but am just not happy with my results.  Yes they could have been worse but I had high expectations with all the training I've been doing and with my new Cervelo P2 triathlon bike. Last Saturday I completed my first triathlon of the year.  This Sprint triathlon was held in Loveland at the High School with the swim held in Loveland Lake.  Last year I did the Olympic distance and was so impressed with the event that I decided to do the Sprint this year.  For me, there was anxiety leading up to the triathlon as the weather forecast was predicting rain and high 40 degree weather.  I could handle the cooler weather but racing my new bike in the rain made me a bit nervous. We decided to go up a day early and spend the nig

Oregon is one of those US states I probably would not have visited without my goal of running a half marathon in all 50 states.  Not that I have anything against Oregon, it's just that it's up in the left corner of the US and until recently I  didn't know anyone that lived in Oregon.  Anyhow, last Friday, Julie and I flew into Portland and then drove our rental car to the Fairfield Inn in Lake Oswego.  I learned the proper way to pronounce it is Os-we-go.  For some reason I want to pronounce it Os-way-go.  This hotel was comfortable and convenient since packet pickup was held there. Around 4pm, we headed down to packet pickup.  Packet pickup was small but they gave me my bib, running shirt and answered all my questions about the race.  One other cool thing is they were giving away race shirts from previous years.  I grabbed one and Julie found a couple as well.  They didn't care that she wasn't running this race as their only goal seemed to be finding someo

Enjoying the sights in the Big Easy The latest stop on my half marathon tour of the USA was in New Orleans Louisiana.  This was our first visit to the Big Easy.  New Orleans is an interesting place with lots of opportunities to indulge and experience just about anything you desire.  We experienced many things including my successful finish in the Rock and Roll half marathon.  This was my 21st state that I have completed a half marathon in. Leading up to this race, I've been training with an online stats based program called TriDot.  About once a month I take an assessment in swimming, biking and running and they use that assessment to design a training program for me.  One of the toughest things for me was they had me train most of my running miles in HR zone two.  In the beginning I had to walk/slow jog in order to stay in this zone.  In fact my runs during the first month were as much as 4-5 minutes slower than my normal 9 minute per mile pace.  Interestingly enough I can