Family and Friends Friday - Factory Rider Family

The Factory Rider is a one of my blog buddies. I got to know his dad and step-mom before starting to learn about FR. His dad, Rudy, is the head mechanic at Bike Authority. He's also a brutal competitor on the bike. Julie, the step-mom, is a gifted athlete that continues to branch out into various areas of the cycling world. She has been primarily mountain biking this year but has also been All-American in Duathlon which allowed her to travel around the world with Team USA.

Anyways........I was at the track when the three of them came out to ride. I was taking pictures of the races. This one has stood out for me ever since I took it.

This was after one of the races. Without alot of people in attendance everyone raced together.

Rudy to FR, "Are you having fun?"

Nuf' Said.

Game On Factory Rider Family

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

I often can't come up with a G,B and U but today was not a normal day. Day one of my big training weekend had me up at 5AM to get ready for my 2.5 hour run.

The Good:
Running on stretches of road with no cars around.

Cool temps with a slight breeze and cloud cover.

Seeing this during my two loops through the park. Simply Beautiful.

19.9 miles in 2:37......7:53/mile


The Bad:

After the first hour there were more cars on the road. Oh well.


Accidentally discarding the BIMActive information from my cell phone. I still had my watch splits.


The Ugly:

Two big chaffing marks on the inside of my legs. Should have put on some BodyGlide.

Fortunately the Ugly gets taken care of with this stuff. It's AWESOME. And no wise cracks about it being a Monistat product.

Game On.

Stuff It....Stuff It Real Good

The local Fox station has an annual campaign called "Stuff The Bus". The station is collecting new school supplies for the children of Cleveland and East Cleveland schools. The supplies will be taken to the Cleveland Resource Center, which is operated by the Kids In Need Foundation. The supplies are sorted and placed on shelves. Teachers from all of Cleveland and East Cleveland schools will then be invited on scheduled days to come and get the free supplies for their students. And teachers say this means the world to the kids. Without the help of generous people, many students would have to go without. Last year, thanks to so many generous viewers -- Fox 8 filled four school buses with supplies.

This year Aimee mentioned getting some supplies to TriGuyJT who works at Fox 8 thinking that the bus stuff was next week. Watching the morning show we realized it was TODAY. Aimee shrugged it off as not doable. But the bug was planted in my feeble little mind. She didn't realize that I would be at a customer near downtown. I could head over to Steelyard Commons, purchase some supplies, and drop them off at the station.

So by 11:30 I had stopped by Staples and loaded up the car.

I was at the station in no time where the volunteers grabbed my stuff and loaded the bus. I spoke with one person and he said they were on their fifth bus already after 6.5 hours of donations.

So I leave you with this........

300 two pocket folders: $29

2 boxes of copier paper: $50

10 packages of filler paper: $9

120 pens and 216 pencils: $20

Thank-you's and a good feeling: Timeless

A childs education: Priceless

Why.....Because I Can

Fitness Test.....kindof

I had a 45 minute run this morning. We woke up at the crack of 4 dark 30 so we could both get our respective runs in. I haven't done much running in the morning this summer, mainly swimming. Temperature read 70 degrees already. So I put my shorts and racing singlet on and headed out the door. Damn it was warm and humid. Before I reached mile two the singlet came off and was tucked into my shorts.

My pace felt fast and whenever I passed under a street light I checked my heart rate. I was below my target zone, based aerobic, and felt great. I was holding up pretty good. As I ran through mile 4 I decided to push the last mile in order to increase the heart rate and test myself. How hard could I push for one mile at a steady pace. I really haven't had any speedwork since it's all about Ironman this year.

With one mile to go I hit the split button on my watch. I had 42 minutes in the bag after 5.5 miles. I picked up the tempo and started hauling ass back home. Each time I felt my pace start to diminish even a little I surged forward to keep the pace going. With half a mile to go I picked it up again and tried to make sure I was keeping form, staying loose in the upper body and running solid. At the entrance to our development I pushed it again and was practically sprinting to the house, but in a controlled manner.

6:02

That was the time for my last mile. There were times when I felt like my legs would buckle under the speed. I forced them to move. Pick up those knees, increase the tunover, land on the ball of the foot. In the dark you can't see the undulations of the road and I could feel the waves under my legs as they moved quickly over the asphalt.

Somehow I kept my footing moved forward with determination and felt great at the end.

Thanks Hallie.

Now more than ever......Because I Can = I Know I Can

Brainless Weekend Brick

I arranged to ride my Saturday brick from a friends house, Chris. He lives a little bit further west from me and also has great access to country roads. I told Chris that I needed four hours but didn't want to think about where to go. He was happy to oblige since he was riding from his house. He didn't let me down. I just listened to his instructions, "turn left" or "turn right". I can do that.



We picked up Peter along the way and we had a great time. Peter just graduated from high school and will be leaving for college in one week. He just got back from USA Cycling Developmental Camp and is a strong rider. He joined us on his cyclocross bike while Chris and I were on our Cervelo TT bikes.


I took my camera along for some pictures and video.

We started around 6:30AM so the sun was still rising and burning off the morning haze. Clouds were moving through the entire time so it never got too hot.

Here is Peter waiting for Chris to finish one of his half dozen pee breaks.....I think the small bladder is a family thing.

This is one the many times Peter was leading us. I did mention that he was on his.....CYCLOCROSS BIKE!!!

Chris during out feed zone break. He has his package of Sharkies. Such talent on the bike sans hands.

And I can't have pictures without video. I had to stop the camera work due to the rough tracks we were approaching.

Rode 74 miles and ran 5.5 miles. Met a new young rider. Enjoyed the company of friends. Done by 11:30AM. Overall a great training day.

Huntington Sprint Tri Race Report

Wait a minute......a race report? But I still haven't posted my race report from Morgantown. I know. But this will be a shorter read before I lay the monster on you. I hope you enjoy my race ramblings.


The Huntington Sprint Tri is one of the most popular races in the Cleveland area. The race draws seasoned athletes as well as those attempting their first triathlon. I haven’t been able to participate in this race since 2004 when I was training for my first half Ironman race…Great Buckeye Challenge. It was my best showing at the race with a top ten finish and winning my age group. The next three years would find me traveling to races and keeping me away from my favorite local race.

For 2008 I would be in town and I didn’t want to miss the race. The trick was figuring out how to incorporate the race into my Ironman training without deviating from the volume required for the weekend. Coach Angela and I figured out that the race would be a good test of speed endurance and mental toughness considering the weekend she had planned for me.

As a warm-up for the race I had a 5 hour bike and 40 minute run as my Saturday brick. The bike was flatter since I had attacked the hills the weekend prior. It was a difficult day with some mental challenges later in the ride but Aimee was waiting for me to ride her bike by my side during the 40 minute run.

Sunday originally called for a 2 hour run by Coach. Figuring that I would complete the sprint tri around 1 hour we opted for a 1 hour warm-up before the race. I managed to show up early third bike in transition and headed out for my run. With all of this long distance training I have been finding that it takes longer for my legs to get moving. Sunday was no exception due to the prior days ride.

I found my running pace within the first mile and was holding steady in Zone 2. It was a good seven miles by the time I made my way back to the event site. I finished setting up my transition area where my newly painted TT bike was making its debut. I had taken the Elite apart and found a guy who does powder coating. The bike was looking good hanging on the rack. I was able to chat with Aimee, Kim and my parents who all came out to watch me race. The hard part with racing the local events is that you get to know a lot of people and the chit-chat can sometimes take you out of your race preparation. I said my final hellos to friends and made my way down to the beach with my friend Jason who would be competing in his first tri.

At the beach I saw Sara and her four high school girls and told them they would have a great day today. I knew they were nervous but would be able to handle anything that came their way. I did get into the water for a small warm-up. The water was perfect temperature for swimming without a wetsuit.

As the race director made his final announcements I heard Coach Angela and Scott yelling to me from the stairs where they would be watching. I gave them a quick wave to acknowledge them and made my way to join my starting group.

The first several waves started then it was time for the 40 – 49 age group to start. I lined up right at the front determined to make the best of a quick start and swim. The horn went off and we ran into the water. I ran as far as I could then sank into the water for a couple of strokes. I then proceeded to execute a couple of dolphin dives in the shallow water to help propel me forwards. So far so good my goggles were still on my face and I felt good heading towards the first buoy marker.

As we approached the first marker I lost my rhythm and stroke. My breathing was erratic and out of control. I hadn’t raced a sprint in so long I wasn’t used to the quick start. I had to swim breast-stroke for approximately 50 yards to get things under control. Once I forced myself start swimming again things started to click. My stroke was back and I was starting to catch-up and pass people from my group. The remainder of the swim was perfect. My sighting kept me well on course and I could see one of the other top triathletes in my group not too far ahead of me exiting the water.

I swam as far as I could before standing up which is usually about one foot of water. I peeled off my swim cap and goggles as I ran across the beach hearing people cheer for me as I went by. The run to transition is about 200 yards with a road the takes us up to the bikes. I washed my feet quickly and ran to my bike.

With not much gear to worry about I dropped my swim cap and goggles and started to put on my helmet sunglasses socks and shoes. I also put a PowerGel in my back pocket for some quick energy. I grabbed my bike ran out of transition and jumped on my bike Cyclocross style.

Once on the road I started to pass people from the waves ahead of me but I was also getting passed by some of the other riders behind me. One person from the Spin team passed me and I kept him within reach trying not to draft behind him. I was holding a good speed but needed to keep the cadence high because the legs were not willing to provide any power due to the previous days ride. There was also a headwind as we headed west away from the park but I was hopeful for a nice tailwind on the return trip. I was very happy with the effort I was able to put into spinning the pedals.

The bike was uneventful as we continued to pass people from previous waves. The Spin rider had built a gap on me but I was bringing him back in as we approached the park. Once I saw the entrance I started to take my feet out of my shoes and prepare for the running dismount into transition.

While placing my bike back onto the rack I almost caused it to fall over. I took off my helmet and slipped on my shoes. I only had to grab my visor and race belt before heading out of transition. I was exiting to start the run at the same time as the Spin athlete. He glanced over at me and said he was a duathlete. I nodded and we made out way down and up the first of two hills on the course.
I managed to run with him for about a quarter mile and then he had more gas in his legs and pulled away. I was still maintaining a constant pace that was very sustainable. I was trying to redline the run and as far as the legs were concerned I was already there. I kept a mantra in my head that I read in a teammates race report “I can do anything for 20 minutes”. I knew I could keep this pace for 20 minutes during this 3 mile run.

During the out and back section I could see where some of my friends were and I gave them a quick word of encouragement. A quick word was about all I could provide in my anaerobic condition. Several times I could see people ahead of me and wondered if I could real them in. I kept my steady pace and if I did catch some more people that would be some nice icing on the cake.

At the aid station I grabbed some water and dumped some on my head. The humidity of the day was taking its toll and the heat I was generating was not leaving the body. I looked up and realized that I was gaining on several people ahead of me. One person I had my eyes on was Bill. We met each other several years ago at a Duathlon where we raced each other to a new friendship. I finally passed him right before we turned into the park where we would have to run the final down and up right before the finish line. He cheered me on as I passed and I pushed forward. The downhill was steady as I gained on more people and I pushed upwards to pass several more right before the final turn to the finish line.

I could hear Aimee, Coach, Kim plus my mom and dad cheering for me as I made my way to the finish line. I was completely spent when I crossed the timing mat and had to grab my knees to catch my breath. I had completed one of my hardest training weekends preparing for Ironman Wisconsin. Being able to race the sprint tri as part of my training helped with my fitness and confidence.

Game....pant, pant, pant.....On

Just something quick and short.....

.....for my blog post, not my swim this morning. Coach had me down for 4200 yards. That is 24 yards short of the Ironman swim of 2.4 miles. Completed in 1 hour 20 minutes. That's including rest between intervals or sets, warm-up and cooldown. My goal on race day is to hold close to 1 hour on the swim. Lake Placid swim was 1:05. 800 yards today are race pace totaled 12:14, that's about 1:32 / 100 yards.

Game On.

Where in the world am I?

Not posting on my blog that's for sure. Work has had me traveling during the week and training has kept me busy, and tired, on the weekends. I'm posting this from the Las Vegas airport. No this wasn't a pleasure trip, business. Really.....needed to have a customer meeting. I'm not saying I didn't have fun. My sister-in-law was also in Vegas for work so we managed to have dinner together.

My Ironman training has been going extremely well lately. The weekends are kicking my ass but in a good way. I am getting stronger with each ride or run. I'm resting more so that my body can recover for the next round. This past weekend I did a hilly 4 hour ride followed by a 2 hour run. Aimee accompanied me on her bike during the run and it was a big help.

Oops....they are boarding the plane. I hope to be back soon with another post.

Game is On......so is my training.

Family and Friends Friday - All of You

I consider all of you my friends. For some you stop by my blog, read my ramblings, endure long droughts of nothing, wait patiently for something to show up. I hope you manage to be entertained, learn something, take something away from my posts.

You are my friends. Without you I wouldn't be able to share my experiences and knowledge, especially over such a great forum that has a wide reach. Your blogs and posts provide me with entertainment and motivation. So I say thank you.

Friends should not be shy to ask friends for favors. You have waited since the beginning of the year, so today I finally post my declaration of intent for Ironman Wisconsin.

I sent the following message out to those in my Yahoo contacts:

CANCER SUCKS......IRONMAN IS COOL........

You want to be cool, right?

As some of you may already know I am currently training for Ironman Wisconsin at Madison, WI on September 7th. This 140.6 mile event will be my second Ironman. Similar to 2006 and my fund raising at Ironman USA, I have accepted the Janus Charity Challenge and have signed up to raise funds for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation of Northest Ohio.

I have chosen this charity again because of who they are and who they support. In 2007 Komen provided grant money to the Karen P Nakon Foundation, http://www.nakonfoundation.com/, whose Turkey Trot I've run the past two years. It is wonderful to see grant money staying local and helping organizations in your own city.

I have also dedicated my race season and Ironman to Hallie Nanda, you can read my blog post about her here... http://trierictri.blogspot.com/2008/02/family-and-friends-friday-halle-nanda.html

Hallie lost her battle with ovarian cancer earlier this year leaving behind her husband and two young children. Her courage and fighting attitude will provide me with the motivation I need for my training and race.

I'm keeping this request short but the attached document has much more detail about the fund raising program, including web links that would be useful.

Please consider helping me raise funds to fight breast cancer. My goal is $5000. Visit the web-sites below to help us all reach the finish line together. If you have any questions please let me know.

My web log (blog) site to read about my Ironman journey.
http://trierictri.blogspot.com/
Fund raising website to make contributions and track my progress
https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorreg/donorpledge.asp?ievent=250249&supID=225415826
Susan G. Komen website to learn about the fight against breast cancer
http://www.komenneohio.org/
Ironman Wisconsin web site for event information
http://www.ironmanwisconsin.com/
Ironman Live for tracking day of progress during my race
http://www.ironman.com/

Please pass this information forward to anyone whom you feel would be interested.

Thanks in advance for your consideration and contributions.

Why do I do this..........

Because I Can

Running the Numbers

40 - minutes to get out to Findley State Park to run the trails

5 - Deer seen while running the trails.

3 - Wild turkeys, 2 adults, 1 baby

1 - family of geese I passed three times.

4 - water crossings that were at least up to my shins.

5 - times I fell during the run.

2 - roots that caused two of the falls while stubbing the same toe each time.

1 - knee bashed and bleeding

10 - miles run on the trails

2 - hours of feeling completely alive.

Game On

The Daily Double - Video Post

Do not try this at home. Remember I am a highly trained cyclist.






Game On

Don't Try This at Home - PSA

I'm managing to keep my head above water between work, training and home life. Unfortunately haven't been able to post much. I finished my race report from Spirit of Morgantown so I hope to have that posted soon.

In the mean time I wanted to share a little incident I had on the road while riding my bike last night.

I was in the early stages of a 1.5 hour ride. I was approaching a stop sign where I would be making a left hand turn. I looked behind and saw I had enough room behind me to take possession of the lane and signal my turn. As I was signaling my left turn the driver behind me crossed the double yellow and passed me within 100 feet of the stop sign.

I lost it at that point. I moved towards the center line so I could pull up close to the rear bumper of the drivers side. I yelled at the guy that I had the right of way. When he didn't acknowledge my comment I back handed his rear fender and yelled at him again. He paused shortly and made his left hand turn.

I moved through the intersection quickly after him since there was no traffic coming. I saw the street he turned onto and very briefly thought about following him, then reconsidered. It wasn't worth the effort, time, or aggravation.

I regret I lost my cool and may have put some other cyclist at risk in the future by becoming the a$$hole the driver already was. The rest of my ride was uneventful and the remainder of drivers I encountered were patient at stop signs/lights and provided plenty of passing room.

One bad driver......oh well.

Be safe out there on the roads.

Game On.

Friday Bike Porn

It has been a long time since anyone has posted any bike porn. So in anticipation of the Spirit of Morgantown I took this movie of Aimee's Cervelo. We got this bike for her in preparation for the Half IM in West Virginia. She has already said how she feels her cycling has improved and she is ready to have a good bike segment on Sunday.

Enjoy and there will be a race report next week.

Watch This!

How much do you want to reveal?

When I train I have a very active mind. I lose myself in the run or ride and let my mind process the many thoughts I have stashed away. I try to push to the back things like work and think about my life and how it sometimes relates to triathlon.

Now I don't lose myself to much that I don't keep the purpose of my workout on track. Performing the workout in key to my training success.

Over the past two and a half years of this blog I have read other blogs and forum posts about how a person reveals themselves with triathlon. First is how a person handles the emotional roller coaster during a race and NOT revealing themself to the "race". Second is how a person may or may not reveal their true identify as a triathlete, especially an Ironman.

I have my own personal feelings about both topics but today I am writing about the first topic.

Revealing Yourself to the Race

With triathlon there are so many emotions that go into training and racing this sport. We may feel guilty that our training takes up so much time away from our lives. We may miss moments with family and friends that we will never get back. Parents with young children especially have it hard since the early years are the most magical in that young persons life.

As we train and race we also learn to deal with the psychological impact of training hard and pushing through barriers that we never thought to reach much less break through. All of this weighs heavily upon our shoulders, especially as the race distances increase resulting in longer training periods.

A triathlon often takes on a personae of it's own. We learn how to deal with adverse weather conditions, mechanical issues, competitors, fears and anxiety. Because the "race" has a personality we must be mindful of what we reveal to the "race" so that it does not know how we are feeling.

We want to enjoy the race but perhaps we shouldn't enjoy it too much. What if the "race" doesn't want us to be happy and suddenly increases the heat or causes a cramp in our side. We also don't want to show how poorly we are feeling. At the first sign of weakness the "race" may take advantage of the opportunity and inflict even more suffering upon our weakened bodies. And worst of all, revealing to the "race" that, "yeah I've got this in the bag, it's all downhill to the finish from here." Oh the "race" won't like that and the last mile(s) can soon turn into a walking and stumbling death march.

I am speaking to this "revealing" from experience at three different races.

The first Half IM I did was the Great Buckeye Challenge. Aimee and I were working with Coach Angela. This would be our first long course triathlon. This was entering new territory. But this was all about finishing. Time didn't matter. Just finish the race. And I did. Thinking back to the finish though I realize how I cheated myself of the accomplishment.

I was a bad ass long distance triathlete now. I was surrounded by friends who came down to watch Aimee and I race. Coach was there with her husband as well. I crossed the finish line as if I had been there before. I got some water and bent over on the ground to collect myself.

The emotions of what I had just accomplished were right at the top of my throat, but I didn't let them out. The event medics even came over to check on me because I knealed there on the ground trying to contain the emotions for such a long time they thought I was having problems.

I can't believe I robbed myself of that moment. Two years later, 2006, would be Ironman USA. I started this blog to capture my IM journey. IronWil was my inspiration for writing. I found the Kahuna/williamlobdell and Bolder/write2fight. We were all on similar IM journeys that would lift and inspire us in different ways. For IM USA I participated in the Janus Charity Challenge raising funds for Komen.

Talk about emotional baggage. Family, work, training....the trifecta. Raising money for charity.

I was reading books and forums about race strategy. Keeping yourself cool. It's a long day, don't waste your energy on emotion. Don't reveal yourself to the race....not until it's over and you are across that finish line. I was holding well at Lake Placid. That is until the second loop of the run. I passed the Inspiration Zone heading back to he finish. The announcer said my name and said I would finish. I almost lost it right there, but quickly brought myself back together because damn-it, I still had at least 6 miles to go. I wasn't across that finish line yet.

Get yourself together....you're not done yet.....keep running. There will be time to celebrate later. And I soldiered on. Before I knew it I was on the Oval heading towards the finish line where I would hear Mike Riley say, "You are an Ironman."

Over the finish line into the waiting arms of two wonderful female catchers. I caught myself again not really knowing how to react. I had raised my arms up in triumph for the finishing photo, but now what. Somehow Andrew (son), Amanda (daughter) and Becky (sis-in-law) had snuck their way towards the finish line.

I went to them....hugged them all.........and cried. It was finally over and I had my release.

In 2007 I backed down the training and prepared for an early season Half IM at Racing for Recovery. This would be a flat and fast 70.3 miles. No hills. No IM preparation. All out, balls to the walls, leave it on the course racing. Training went perfect for this early June race. The Lake Erie water was even warm enough to go without a wetsuit.

I was severely focused on this race. Mentally ready to suffer and see how fast I could go for the distance. Having completed IM USA the year prior helped take any pressure off from being able to finish. This one was about being fast, not blowing up and crossing the finish line with a PR.

I was very much within myself during the entire race. I barely acknowledged Aimee or Coach Angela. Maybe a slight wave when I went by. Emotions were in check....all energy was being poured into the effort.

As I ran down the finishing chute I knew I had a good day. My watch validated that I had beat my previous Half IM times by 30 minutes. I was also 5 minutes faster than my prediction.

I didn't hold anything back this time either. I stood at the finish line and screamed out loud for everyone to hear. You would have thought I had just won it over-all and had money waiting for me. No.....I just had a different, joyous release for this race.

I don't know what type of finish's I will have this year. Spirit of Morgantown, a 70.3 distance race, is this weekend. I'm going all out for that one. Then Ironman Wisconsin in September. Laying it on the line there also.

No matter the outcome of these races I will learn something about myself and others. But the one thing that I have learned and want to pass on to others is to embrace, enjoy and celebrate the accomplishment of crossing that finish line, no matter what distance the race.

You will be doing yourself and those around you a disservice by not letting the world know how you feel. Because bottling it up will serve you no purpose, but letting it out may show someone else how much fun you have training and racing. You may even inspire someone to give it a "tri" themselves and experience the thrill of crossing the finish line.

Game On

How to ride a bike and take video

Vegas Vacation

Aimee and I went to Las Vegas this past weekend to help our friends celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. We lost no money on gambling...you have to play to lose. We didn't see any shows....wished we had. We did eat well and got in some light training. I'm posting some of my favorite pics from the weekend.

Aimee, Dave and Wendy (the happy couple) the first day in Vegas.

Pictures from the Bellagio

Eiffel Tower on the Strip

Our bike ride through, you guessed it, Red Rock Canyon.

More flowers in the lobby of the Mirage Hotel

Walking along the Lake Mead Railroad Trail.

Hanging out at the poolside cabana's as the happy couple kiss

Dave's dad finishing off a bottle of Grey Goose

Family and Friends Friday - Dan Van

Dan works with my wife, Aimee. A couple of years ago Dan wanted to get a little more serious about his running. Knowing that Aimee was a marathon finisher he started asking her questions, followed a training plan and signed up for the 2007 Marine Corp Marathon. He trained, he ran, he finished. In fact he finished his first marathon in 3:58:55. A wonderful way to start his marathoning career.

Not long after the marathon Dan didn't quite feel right. He knew something was off. Unlike some men who just shrug off the occasional weird feeling, Dan visited his doctor. Dan's doctor ordered a colon scope. Dan had early colon cancer.

Again I was saying to myself, "Why Dan". He takes care of himself, is one of the nicest guys I know, sometimes house sits for us because the dogs absolutely love him.

Then I thought good for Dan. How is this good for Dan? It's good because it could have been alot worse. Because Dan was running and taking care of himself he recognized the ever so slight difference between feeling good and being slightly off. Being that in tune with your body is what possibly saved his life.

Someone else might have let it go and they would now be facing certain death. But Dan only lost 12 inches of his colon and is training for his second marathon.

Because of Dan my perception of the company he and Aimee works for, ADA Architects, is solidified. I always knew it was filled with good people to work with/for. Dan was worried about his recovery and the extended time off from his duties. Instead the company owners put together a fair and generous package so that Dan would only have to worry about getting better.

Not only did Dan recovery from his surgery but was back at work in half the time the doctor said it would take. Dan was physically fit heading into surgery and his level of fitness allowed him to recover that much quicker.

So like I said Dan is training for a second marathon. I've included the text of an e-mail he sent out to friends.

Game On Dan.....GAME ON.

Spring is finally here, I for one, am happy to see winter go this year because for obvious reasons, it sucked! However, I consider myself lucky that I have gotten thru the cancer for the most part unscathed and feeling 150%. My experience gave me a small glance of how this disease can impact others. I believe there are many in the office that can attest to the impact that cancer has had on family members and friends and themselves. It is because of this that I have decided to dedicate this running season to raising money for the Lance Armstrong Foundation for cancer research. I have entered a marathon in Maine on October 19th, 2008 and hope to meet my donation goal by this time. So, I come to uncomfortable territory here, in asking you to donate some of your hard earned money to the foundation. Please follow the link below to my donation page and give what you can. Also, please forward the link to anyone else whom you think would like to make a donation and make sure you use the donation box in the middle of the page so it credits my donation goal.


Thanks in advanced and thank you again for all your kind words and support during this time,

Sincerely,
Dan Van

http://www.livestrong.org/grassroots2008/danvanluvender

Message to triathletes......

You can also view the inspiration for this sign at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unkIVvjZc9Y

Bolder Boulder Race Report

Work and training has kept me very busy so I haven't had time to blog, especially posting my race report from the Bolder Boulder 10k. So without further delay here is the race report.

30th Bolder Boulder 10k

I am going to keep this to a race report instead of a complete recap of the entire weekend trip to Denver and Boulder. The only preface I want to provide is that Friday through Sunday were beautiful days despite the cooler than normal temperatures.

We ate at a very nice Italian restaurant with Bolder in Boulder as our pre-race meal. It was just what we wanted for the night before the big event. When we returned to the HABC we settled in for the night with good conversation and plenty of laughs. I hadn’t been sleeping that well all weekend but I was still feeling rested. Part way through the night I woke up to use the bathroom and I heard rain falling outside. The rain was constant until the early morning when we woke up around 5:00AM.

Breakfast consisted of half a bagel with peanut butter and Boost. I really didn’t need the Boost for a 10k but I drank it anyway since my stomach was used to this type of breakfast. The three of us left around 6:00AM for the race so we could find good parking for the short walk to the start. Walking to the starting area I was nervous but in a much different way than other races. My nerves were calmer and I didn’t have any butterflies. Being an “A” race I thought I would be much more nervous to run. Was it the atmosphere for the race? Was it being with Aimee and Bolder that kept me calm?

The start of the Bolder Boulder is done in waves……a lot of waves…..87 waves to be exact. There were people holding poles with the start waves similar to the pace groups of a marathon. I was in wave AB which is the third wave to go. Looking up the street it was impressive to see all the people. The race was expecting over 50,000 people for the day. I left Aimee and Bolder at the bag check while I waded through the masses to my start area. The first 23 waves you have to qualify for by submitting a previous race result. The security for these waves was very well organized. They were checking race bibs to make sure you belonged with the group.

For each start a trumpeter played the “Call to Post” with 30 seconds to go. Then Davis Phinney would say a few words to the group before he shot the starter pistol. At 7:01:50 we were on our way.

I was back further from the starting line than I wanted to be. I had to weave around quite a few people before I found good open space to run in. Once I made my way towards the front I was able to get a better stride going. The first mile has a downward grade. It’s one of those that you don’t notice but it definitely increases your speed. During this mile my left quad tightened up on me ever so slightly. I don’t know if it was a mild pull or some type of strain but I used the first mile to take a quick inventory, see what the quad wanted me to do and decide my course of action. I’ve never had this muscle tighten up on me like this so I really didn’t know what caused the issue. After crossing the timing mat for the first mile I knew the muscle would get me through to the finish. This race was going to be a test of pain management.

Despite the profile of the race course, the uphills were not as bad as I thought. Sure there were some visible inclines but nothing that lasted too long or couldn’t be handled with extra helping of leg muscles. One aspect of the Bolder Boulder that helps you make it through the streets of Boulder is the on course entertainment. There were 30 bands, musicians, entertainers and front yards that provided distraction for the 50,000+ runners that would pass by during the day. I saw the Blues Brothers, Elvis, an 80’s garage band blasting their neighborhood, belly dancers (something I wish I hadn’t seen) and cheerleaders. I heard some bad karaoke and people saying “you’re almost there” with 4 miles to go.

Back to my race, I was running strong. The effort felt right as I was pushing hard for such a short distance race. I never looked at my watch but marked the splits when I passed each mile marker. Each mile that ticked by was the only indication of where I was. Not knowing the streets was a possible benefit that allowed me to just keep running. When I reached mile three I was half way done. I knew my pace was still good and it was something that I could keep until the finish.

At mile 4 was the first of two sharp uphills. I powered my way up the hill and through the aid station at the top. The volunteers at this aid station were not handing out the cups but were standing behind the tables filled with cups. I ran along the tables until I spotted the Gatorade I wanted and snagged it from the table. Since the volunteers were not handing out the cups they were able to cheer very loudly for us runners as we went by. Separated by only the table, their cheering surged through me and I felt the extra boost of energy as I crested the hill. I used the adrenaline rush to begin the downhill push towards the center of Boulder.

Bolder had told me that between miles 4 and 5 the street would have a slight downhill grade that would help with the pace. As I rounded the corner onto Pearl Street I tried to shoot the gap between two runners. They squeezed together just as I increased my speed. This was the only time I made contact with another runner. I backed off briefly until they separated again and made my move. I pushed down the street until we made several turns and crossed the 5 mile timing mats.

During mile 6 is where I started to really feel the fatigue but I was still in control of my race and kept a good pace as the course headed towards Folsom Stadium on the campus of Colorado University. Looming ahead was the second short uphill that dropped us into the stadium. What a cruel place to put an uphill so late in the race, but the benefit of finishing inside the stadium was worth it. I powered up the hill surrounded by runners from my wave and the wave before me and we all entered the stadium for the final lap to the finish line. I stopped my watch after crossing the finish line and tried to compose myself as quickly as possible. The finish line volunteers were trying to move people through the area quickly and I tried to oblige in between grabbing my knees for air. I finally was able to look at my watch and saw 40:13. I missed my goal of being sub 40 by approximately 13 seconds. I was immediately happy with my race. I ran hard and solid on a tough course. I left everything I had on the roads of Boulder except my breakfast. My actual chip time was 40:06, so I missed my goal by 7 seconds.

There are several people I have to thank for such a great run: Aimee for believing in me and reminding me to keep my arms down and loose, Jeff for telling me to stop scuffing my feet on the ground when my foot lands, especially when I’m tired, Coach Angela for getting me ready with some great workouts leading up to the race, Bolder for providing insight into the race course and accommodations while in Boulder. When everything is combined together it made for a great weekend in Colorado and a race to remember.