UCF 5 miler

I had a great race today at the UCF 5 miler. The weather was excellent, around 50 degrees, and the result gives my a lot of confidence for the 10k and next triathlon season.

I haven't competed in a race longer than a 5k in a while so i wasn't really expecting anything great based on my low mileage, so i was just out there to have some fun. Marc and I ran together for the first three miles, despite my not feeling that great for the first mile i stuck with him and we talked strategy and tried to stay relaxed. On the fourth mile i was feeling really good and just took off from the guys i was running with and passed about three people ahead of me, and i just kept the momentum going into the last mile. I was really happy with the splits because my last two miles were faster than my first, when i was expecting to slow down a little towards the end. My splits were 5:37, 5:47, 5:45, 5:31, and 5:34 and i finished in 28:16.

Im looking forward to increasing my mileage while staying healthy this winter, and bring my running to a new level.

season plans

Ive been running pretty easy these last couple of weeks and Sunday is the next race in the Track Shack Grand Prix series, the UCF 5 miler. Im excited b/c its through my school campus. Im also excited that i get to race a longer distance than a 5k. Im a little unsure as to the result, but im just gonna go for it and see what happens, should be a blast since its going to cool off. Its supposed to be 57 degrees that morning, YES!!!

I also planned next season for triathlon, and have a 7 week training trip to Marshfield, MA next summer to escape the florida heat and kind of recharge my mental batteries for age group nationals in august, im soooo excited!

im also going to take advantage of the State Park by my house, and buy a year pass tmrw so that i can run in the trails there. There are apparently 4500 acres of land and some 25+ miles of trails out there, so it should be some great running for the winter, and there is no way i can get bored!

Celebration of Running 5k/Fun day

I ran the Celebration of Running 5k this morning right outside the Orlando Science Center. It was a hot and humid, usual summer florida day. I felt great the day before on an easy run and race day i was ready to go. I took it out very controlled and around mile two a exploded from the kid i was drafting and passed 3 guys to finish in 16:56 which ties my best time. And i am very happy because i ran my best time on a hot and humid day and after about a month and half of tapering. I had junior nationals last week and felt no pressure about this race, so it was really fun. Alot of the cool guys i train with (Dave, Richard, Josh, and my coach Marc) also competed and most had great races as well.

I went MTBing later in the day too! w/ felllow training partner Timmay. I ate it in the first quater mile trying to go too fast around a turn, but i learned my lesson and slowed down and luckily im not hurt. We MTBed in Wakiva springs, it was great fun the trails went alot further than we expected which was cool, but there were some rough sections with tree roots. Its all part of my 2 week break that begins today!!! Tmrw were going to much better trails up in Ocala National Forest, were i hope to have a good time but not bust my ass and screw up my running season. Oh we also went kayaking which was cool, fun day anyway!

Junior Eilte National Championships

I flew out to Denver, CO on thursday afternoon and drove 1.5 hrs to Colorado Springs to race my last race as junior. Since Colorado Springs is above 5,000ft in altitude, i can't say i didn't feel the lack of oxygen and the dry air which i'm not used to.

I was ranked 6th in the U.S for junior men going into the race and so i got a good spot on the starting line, although it didn't help much because i got off to a really rough start on the swim. Before the first bouy i had been pushed about 2 feet underwater by one of my competiters which caused me to stop and gasp for air, while already feeling the lack of it due to altitude. I really suffered the first lap of the swim and so lost my position and fell back behind the leading pack of swimmers, where i usually am positioned. On the second lap i regained focus and passed about 5 swimmers before the first transition. I really swam hard the last 50 meters knowing that the large group up ahead would form a big pack on the bike and that i would be caught behind them. On to the bike i was feeling surprisingly good so i hammered as i hard as i could to catch the chase pack but with no success. I settled in with 4 other guys before the start of the run. By now i wasn't really worried about my position, i just wanted to finish strongly, so i ran with the guys from my pack and caught about 5 other athletes throughout the run, feeling better and better as the run went on. I finished in 15th place, not exactly what i had hoped for but i was exceptionally pleased with my ability to bounce back from a bad swim and have decent race. This was my last race a Junior Elite and so know i will first take a 2 week break and focus on my running before i enter my first season as an amateur elite. I hope to obtain my pro card next year while racing non-drafting races all over the country!

Strawberry Fields Triathlon Junior Elite Cup

Dad and I flew to Los Angeles, CA on friday morning and drove an hour through horrible traffic up to Oxnard, CA for the Strawberry Fields Triathlon. The top two juniors would qualify to go to the Junior ITU World Championships in Australia in September, and although i missed out on these places, i am still very pleased with my result and the experience.

Race morning the water was freezing, about 60 degrees, and there were swells from 3-6 ft. Everyone expected the swim to be rough, and sure was! The first 5 minutes of the swim was really rough, considering getting through the first break of waves and getting kicked in the mouth as we were swimming around the first bouy. After that i made my way to the outside and passed as many people as I could only to find myself leading a gap from the four front swimmers about 20 sec ahead.

I rode a lap of the bike alone until i was caught up by a chase pack, that worked well together for the most part. I made sure to stay safe going around the 180 degree turn.

The run played out much better than last weekends race in Clearwater. I stayed somwhat controlled for the first lap and then just let it rip the second lap of the 5k. I caught about 3 guys in the second lap and finished strongly in 7th place. I was really happy with the result considering i ran much faster off the bike than in clearwater. I also overcame some obstacles in the swim to come out of the water in 5th. Overall it was a good race, and a great experience.

Watermelon 5k and MPM triathlon

Its a been a really hot and humid summer here in FLA. Race morning of my 5k proved to be no different. At the starting line i saw alot of familiar faces of high school kids i had raced a couple years ago. It was a fun race, i tagged along the back of the front pack for a while until i got dropped and then just waited for the 2 mile mark to pick it back up again. Although it was really hot i felt decent and was able to run about 15 seconds off my best time.

The following weekend i woke up at 3am to drive an 1hr and 30min down to Cleawater Beach to race the Morton Plant Mease Sprint Triathlon. Last year the race was cancelled due to bad weather so i was excited to compare my fitness now and that of 2 years ago. At the starting line i thought of an ITU swim start and how fast you need to take out the swim, so i practiced that here and was succefully first to the first bouy and first out of the water. The long run to T1 was painful considering the cobblestones we had to run over. I tried then to get into a rythmn on the bike so as to not loose so much time to Spencer and avoid getting caught by Lucas, who proved strong on the bike and run. Coming off the bike i gave it everything i had on the run for the first mile and then succumbed to overheating, and lack of nutrition, i finished the race in 5th overall which was not bad considering i dropped 6 minutes off my time from 2 years ago.

Couple Home Races

I raced the first Lake Louisa Sprint tri early this month. I have to admitt the it was much harder than i expected. Since the lake is so shallow its basically a 400yd dolphin dive, 7 mile bike, and 1.5 mile run. It was really all out from start to finish and the heat added to the intensity. I went in a little too confident, and was suprised when kevin came off the bike with me, and giving me a run for my money. Luckily i gapped him a little and took the win, but the following race, Central Florida Triathlon Series, the tables were turned and excpecting again to maintain the lead i got from the swim i was suprised to find kevin pass me a little before mile two on the run and then put a minute lead on me. It was also really hot and humid that day. Its been really hot and i must take that into consideration my next couple of races here in FLA. The heat also effects my training, so i plan on spending some time up north next summer to get away from the heat.

I have a packed racing schedule with the Watermelon 5k this weekend, MPM triathlon in Cleaarwater next weekend, and my junior worlds qualifier in California the weekend after that, so intensity is the name of the game lately.