CAF's Operation Rebound California

On March 29th I'll be competing in my first race of the season, the Ford Ironman 70.3 California. The grueling (and cold!) 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike ride, and 13.1 mile run take place in the Camp Pendleton Marine base in Oceanside, CA.

I've decided to use this race to support the Challenged Athletes Foundation, an organization that raises money to help people with physical disabilites pursue an active lifestyle through physical fitness and athletics. CAF’s mission is clear: give those with the desire to live active, competitive lifestyles every opportunity to compete in the sports they love.


CAF’s Operation Rebound program is helping troops permanently injured in Iraq and Afghanistan get back in the game – and back into life. Each of the CAF military team members has experienced the healing power of sports. Now, they want to make sure their brothers- and sisters-in- arms have access to the same opportunities.

By making a donation towards my fundraising goal you will directly help a challenged athlete in need. Click here to make a donation to Operation Rebound and thank you for your support!

My New Ride!

I haven't had a chance to post photos of my new ride...a 2008 58cm Cervelo P2C Dura Ace. She came from the great guys at Bike Authority located in Broadview Heights, OH (outside of Cleveland). They were awesome to deal with and took excellent care of me throughout the entire process. I can't recommend you check them out enough if you're in the market for a high-end road or tri bike. I feel so lucky to do what I love on such a nice bike! Here are the full specs:

• Shimano Dura Ace 7800 Crank, Ders, Pedals
• Zero Gravity Ti Brakes
• Easton Vistas (Training)
  
• Hed 3 Clinchers/Renn 575 Disc (Racing)
• Michelin Pro Race 2 tires
• Hed Vantage Eight Aerobar w/Carbon s-bends
  
• Tektro Carbon Brake Levers
• Ritchey WCS Stem
• Selle San Marco Aspide Saddle
• Profile Design Kages
  
• Fizik Microtex Bar Tape
• Custom Carbon Hydrotail
• And of course the custom sailnfast graphic below the seatpost!

Now I just need to continue to work on building an engine worthy of such a nice ride!

Soggy Surf City Half Mary (But Still a PR!)

I awoke early this past Super Bowl Sunday to the sound of raindrops falling on the roof...uh oh. I've never really raced in the rain before, but there's a first time for everything. I signed up for the Surf City Half Marathon to force me to work on my run fitness and ultimately improve my run times for tri season. I was in for a very wet and windy race!

It was really pouring at the start of the race and within the first five minutes my shoes were as soggy as a wet sponge. Fortunately, the wind was at my back and the poncho I was wearing kept me mostly dry and somewhat warm for the first 8 miles or so. I paced off of my friend Scott since I knew he planned to average 8-minute miles for the first-half of the race with the intent to negative split the second-half. This plan worked well, but at mile 8 we turned south for the long straight run back to the finish and the wind was head on! I dumped the poncho and did some quick math in my head...if I pushed it the last four miles I had a very good shot at going sub 1:40:00 which was my stretch goal. I contemplated this decision for a mile or so, wondering when my soggy feet were going to start blistering and how long my legs would hold out, but decided it was worth a shot. At mile 9 I picked up the pace to around 7:20ish and felt pretty good. I held this for the last 4 miles or so and down the home stretch was motivated by the marathon winner passing me by right before I came into the finisher's chute.

My official time was 1:40:03...three tiny seconds short of my stretch goal. Nonetheless, I was quite happy with my performance as it was a Personal Record for me, averaging 7:38 over the 13.1 mile course in very crappy conditions.

I was shivering uncontrollably after the race, but fortunately my friends Anne and Seth live near the finish and invited us back to relax in their hot tub! I've never enjoyed a hot tub so much in my life!