Category: James

Dare2Tri Injuried Military Camp / Leon’s Triathlon (6/3-6/4/17)

“’Children, it was the most single, wonderful outpouring of generosity that this school has ever seen. More cans of food feeding a hundred and ninety-three families came to this school than ever before. We only have one problem and we’re gonna deal with it this coming week. We’re gonna cancel our regular classes and what we’re gonna talk about is: what are those people gonna eat next week?” (Harry Chapin)

Far too often, Veterans get forgotten. Sure, you think about them on the major Military holidays. But what about the rest of the year? The above quote came to mind when I started writing this blog, and I think it’s pretty apt.

Having formed connections with Team RWB, I was excited to turn a one-day race (Leon’s) into a two-day weekend. There were reporters and camera crews throughout, and their stories will do much better justice than I can. Let’s leave it at – these people were amazing to sacrifice their lives on the battlefield and they continue to amaze even after being wounded.

While volunteering for the second day of the camp, I got a chance to talk with several of the veterans and learn from them. I also had a chance to help them during the day with things such as fireman carries out of the water. An incredible day, which ended with the race crew raising the gigantic American flag and taps being played.

Help is a two way street though, and during breaks at camp, I got some help myself. Some came from a teammate helping us with better bike starts; other came from a vendor coming up with a better swim tether. Both helped on race day, and will continue to help going forward.

While Leon’s Triathlon is a great course, that’s not the only reason I love doing it. Leon himself is always out there doing EVERYTHING to make sure that not only do things go smoothly according to USAT rules, but that it’s an amazing experience. I STRONGLY recommend that you pencil it in on your 2018 calendar NOW. Figure first Sunday of June 2018 and then wait for an official announcement in early Feb 2018 for the actual date.

Going into this race, I felt more confident than I did ending Leaning Tower. With the new swim tether, I had gotten back full arm extension on whichever side the guide is on. And with the bike starts and going to clips, I had gotten more power/speed than with flat pedals/’skateboard’ start. Now if only the run would be okay…

Long story short – the swim was great, the bike was great and the transitions went better than before. But the run is still my Achilles heel. While my back was tight during the run, at least it was a little better than the last race. I still had to do a fair amount of walking / stopping to stretch it out on a tree/pole. Even though the run was a mess, there was no way I was walking it in. Even though my body was killing me, seeing the finish line gave me that extra push I needed and I made it through.

Even though it wasn’t the end result I wanted, I made strides forward on several pieces. I’m confident that when I can get everything straightened out with the run that I’ll be a lot more satisfied. Until then, it’s just continuing to push forward and not letting the frustrations derail anything.

Bubble Burst – 5/21/17

As a Cubs fan for a long time, the slogan has been ‘wait until next year’. It eventually happened for the Cubs this past year after 108. I know it won’t take that long for me to push to the next level; if just has to be a ‘next year’ view.

Even though I won’t get to race in the Nationals wave, I will still be at Nationals (PC Open). That’s a step in the right direction and towards that goal. And it’s better than where I was at for last PT Nationals. Since it was in Santa Cruz, I couldn’t even race PC Open due to it being cost prohibitive.

With the qualifying changes, this race was my last chance to qualify for 2017 PT Nationals. Unfortunately, it went as bad as it could have. Between losing time on wall turns, gear issues/torn pavement slowing us down on the bike and my lower back becoming one huge pretzel knot on the run, it was a loss. I think I was over qualifying time by the time we were ½ a mile into the run.

Disappointing to say the least, but it could have been worse. As I mentioned in one of my previous blogs, I almost didn’t have this chance. Thanks to an amazing guide that stepped up in the 11th hour, I was able to get there and race. While I am disappointed in not qualifying, I would have been even more so if I had not had the chance.

This is just the first outdoor race of the season. I am focusing on rocking the PC Open wave and towards qualifying for 2018 PT Nationals (among other things). If you’re at Pleasant Prairie, feel free to stop by and say hi.

National Beatings – Breaking Point (5/13/17)

[Still not me. But Sunday should give me an opportunity to have a similar photo.]

“Fill up your head and fill up your heart and take your shot” (Dave Matthews)

Sunday is the day – my shot to qualify for PT Nationals. And while I’m a little nervous going into it because of how quickly I need to do the run, I’m grateful to have the shot.

Last Saturday, what was supposed to be the ‘put together’ session did not go well. While I was glad that my guide was honest about it not going to work, it was a hard blow. To be honest, I came very close to just tapping out and focusing on June’s races. I wasn’t upset or frustrated with my guide, just with the situation it put me in. But Mr. Miles refused to let me dwell in the bleh of the situation.

I believe his exact words were “Meow Mrrrow Mrrrrrrrrow Meow Yowl.” Loosely translated, it means “Pull your head out of your ass and find another plan.” And so I did, and it should all work out.

One of the givens of this sport is that there’s going to be adversity. Whether it’s a double flat, unknown dehydration or something else, you have to be strong enough to fight through it. Rely on those in your inner circle when you need that extra boost. Don’t ever let it break you.

For those of you who want to come out and watch, the race starts at about 8A on Sunday in Niles (Leaning Tower YMCA) for our group. Looking forward to writing the blog on Monday sharing how I qualified!

Grant Approved! – 4/20/17

In 2016, I had to pass on a lot of very good training opportunities. Not being able to drive, it was either an issue with not having someone to help with transportation or shoulder the high transportation costs. Knowing that I needed to take advantage of more of these opportunties in 2017, I looked at options.

What looked to be the best fit was to apply for a grant with Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF). Their grant process takes several months from application to announcement, so all I could do was wait, plan and train.

Last week, I received an e-mail that my grant had been approved! This means that I’ll be able to attend a long list of swim, bike and run sessions in the Chicagoland area starting in early June. This will help tremendously not just for the 2nd half of my 2017 season, but as I continue to push forward after it.

THANK YOU to CAF for approving my training grant!!!

Lifetime Lifeline – 4/19/17

While I love living in the Chicago suburbs because we get actual seasons, the downside is the winters. What that means from the Triathlon perspective is getting chased indoors for at least the swim for a good 6 months.

Earlier this year, I joined the Y so that I’d have a place to swim and train indoors. The guide that I’m working with for two of my 2017 races is a member at Lifetime. When we first met, it seemed like we would be able to work out all the logistics. But then after the first swiim at Lifetime, I was informed that I could only go as a guest once every 60 days.

But after we explained the situation to several people within the Warrenville location, they allowed me to come as her guest through race day so we can train. I am grateful for their generosity, as it will help with our training! It will help immensely as I push towards qualifying for PT Nationals!

National Beatings – Weeks 5 & 6 (4/10 – 4/23/17)

[Still not me, but getting closer to qualifying opportunities so I can be there…]

Like weeks 3 & 4, there were struggles with getting workouts in. While I’m not hitting every one, I still believe I’m on track to qualify. I hope to get two bites at the apple in May, but need a guide for the 1st one at this point.

While there were struggles, there were several very bright spots. These included:

1) A local facility helping to make sure we’re comfortable in the pool (next post).

2) Another organization putting their support behind me (2nd post).

3) Finding a solid alternative to having to go to St. Charles every time. I will still do that for major issues, but it’s really nice to have them close.

The story of the last month has been ‘it’s not how many times you get knocked down, it’s that you get up one more time…’

Beat the Eagle 5K (4/8/17)

This seemed a perfect race to do — Eagles running in the Beat the Eagle 5K! And before things went awry for the last two weeks, this was going to be my benchmark race for April triathlon in terms of time. While that had changed, it still was a good testing race.

Around the last half marathon that I did (Chicago Monster), one of my guides mentioned salt to help with cramping. More specifically this meant things like Endurolyte capsults and similar products. So two days out as well as race morning, I was taking capsules. More about that later…

Proper pacing has always been a problem for me. Even though I don’t intend to swim/bike/run the first part (100/5mi/1mi) so fast, it always happens. This means that the rest of that discipline is slower because my body it trying to recover from going out too fast. Even when I’m running tethered, it’s still an issue. I really wish I could figure out a way to fix that quickly. I know it will come with time; but time is not my friend right now.

To illustrate what I mean about pacing, even with walking about a minute during the first mile to catch my breath, I was at 11:52 for it. I should have been at about 12:30 instead of 11:52. Because I pushed too hard the first mile, the last two were significantly slower. Even though the time part was frustrating, it was a great race.

That wasn’t just because I had two amazing Eagles to run with, it was also because of the learning experience. As I had mentioned a couple weeks ago, Hammer Nutrition’s generous support put a wide variety of supplies at my fingertips. For this race, I had Heed in my bottle along with using the Endurolyte capsules. Even though the breathing/endurance was an issue because of the too fast first mile, other things felt better than in other races. So I will keep using that plan going forward this season.

A huge THANK YOU to Martha & Charles for guiding me! I look forward to doing this race again in 2018!

National Beatings – Weeks 3 & 4 (3/28 – 4/9/17)

[Still not me in above photo, but pushing towards being in a similar one this summer.]

“When life looks like easy street, there is danger at your door.” (Grateful Dead) Or in other words, when things look like they’re going well, you have to guard against yourself. The focus needs to stay on your training plan even when you think things are going better than expected — or worse.

For me, the last two weeks have been a struggle. I haven’t gotten in enought workouts between work and other personal things. But there’s no use in dwelling on that — the better use of time is to get back on the horse. And that’s what I’ll be doing this week.

One of the most important points of the last two weeks has been learning to listen to my body, both current and future. Last year, I would have pushed myself and kept an April triathlon on the schedule. But this year, I’m being more realistic. While I wanted 3 shots at qualifying for Nationals, I will focus on having two strong ones.

Maybe a better way to look at it is accountability. If I had been able to keep on track the last two weeks, then I would be further along. The April triathlon would have been a stretch race, but a realistic stretch. But because I missed so many workouts the last two weeks, my ‘penalty’ was scratching that race off.

Hammered – 3/27/17

[I’m not smiling only because there’s no logistical way to do audible selfie taking and smile in ¼ of a second. This photo will be updated shortly.]

During conversations with my parents about a fundraising project, they remarked that I was probably tapping the same pool for too many different projects. While I know that people in my standard pools have interest in supporting different projects, I still took that comment to heart.

As there are still things that I need to get in place for my 2017 season, I am in the fundraising mode. Based on their comment, I started thinking outside of the previous pools. One of these thoughts took me to reach out to companies whose products I was already using. The thinking here being that since I was already supporting them through my purchase/use, they might be likely to support me.

Last week, I received a very kind reply from Hammer Nutrition that went beyond my expectations. I’ve been keeping that generosity quiet until I had a proper picture in their gear to share. The box arrived earlier today, and I was able to get an initial selfie so I could share this.

I am extremely grateful to the entire Hammer Nutrition team for their support! What they’ve provided for me will be extremely beneficial throughout the season, especially as I make the crucial push to qualify for PT Nationals.

Again, THANK YOU Hammer Nutrition!!