Milk can do a body good... at least the right kind of milk

I used to drink a lot of milk... I mean a LOT of milk.
I'd easily take out 2 to 3 gallons a week.  That's by myself before I was married.  I'd drink it cereal, by itself, chocolate milk... any excuse I could find to use it, I was in.

It started with the 2% milk.  And, when i was more interested in strength training and running every now and again and was 24 and no worries about metabolism, it was no big deal.

Then, as I got more into endurance sports and realized that less weight equals easier time racing, I started switching to 1% and then skim.  Like everyone else, I was sold on "fat free" must be better and it's still milk, right?

So, there we were happily going along even after getting married and producing some rug rats, skim milk.  I had scaled back some, but the kids were big on chocolate milk so we still shot-gunned through 2 to 3 gallons a week.  We switched our son to whole milk as he had issues with solids and preferred to get nutrition through drinks only, but that's a separate deal.

But now things have changed...
For the past month and a half or so, my wife and I have been eating a lot better.  It's kind of one of those duh moments, but it's hard to change the direction of a big ship and devote that energy to eating healthy.  It takes time and money to eat better, sadly.  Society and big food chains have made it so easy to grab a crap burger and fries in 5 minutes rather than spending 45 minutes (give or take) to prepare a real meal with real food at home is out of the question.

No, we don't buy all natural or go to whole foods for everything.  We have spend more on food, produced more dirty dishes by eating at home and produced more trash by buying more food to prep at home, but our waistlines and mental well being thank us.

That all goes into the milk equation.  I LOVE milk.  But, now I really don't drink much at all.  We try and get vitamins and what we need from our daily meals and supplement some vitamins, but every now and again I'll use some milk to make a recovery shake or recovery chocolate milk.  We also use unsweetened almond milk for a splash for shakes and other items we want a little more substance to than just water.  It's got most of the good side of milk, minus protein.  We use protein powders and a lot more chicken and tuna in our lives to make up for the difference.

Actually, come to think of it, we have been without milk for a few weeks now and never the wiser for the loss.  My wife actually found THIS ARTICLE touting the dark side of skim milk.  Now, it make or may all not be true, but if even some of these are facts, that's just nasty.

1. It was designed to profit off of you, not make you healthy.
2. It’s got a mystery ingredient they’re not telling you about.
3. It contains antibiotics, nasty bodily fluids, and GMOs
4. It provides almost no nutritional value.
5. It won’t make or keep you skinny.
6. It won’t help you avoid heart disease

Its just sad...
That with all of the every day foods that are mass produced, more and more keeps coming out about how the need for profit and speed outweigh the need for health.
Pink slime
Hot dog filler
Frosty filler
Just to name a few...

How are we suppose to turn the tide of obesity in America?  When big food producers are just as bad as tobacco producers in their apparent greed and interest in the bottom line, then it's up to each individual to make the decision.  Unfortunately not everyone has the option or will power to eat the right things.

Moral of the story, "fat free" isn't always a good thing.

Kiefer swim gear for all your swimming and triathlon needs!

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June 2013 Kansas City area races from KC Sports Commission

Camp WIN - June 17-20 Camp WIN is designed to empower girls in our community by introducing them to over 14 new sports and fitness activities over four days! High school girls serve as team leaders and instructors come from local universities, colleges, high schools and other area organizations! Camp WIN offers a fun, safe and encouraging environment for the girls to explore and learn these different activities! But hurry, space is limited! Sign up now Buck O'Neil Baseball Clinic - June 22 Participants will receive instructions on various aspects of the game from Jonathan Krysa, pitcher who started in the inaugural T-Bones game and 2006 Northern League's Pitcher of the Year.  Participants will also receive an Official Buck O'Neil baseball t-shirt, goodie bag and one Royals ticket for that day's game versus the White Sox starting at 1 p.m. Register today! 9th Annual Red Dog Run The Boys & Girls Club of Lawrence is hosting their 9th Annual Red Dog Run on Saturday, Aug 3, 2013 at Haskell Indian Nations University.  The 5K, 10K and 1 mile Family Fun Run/Walk helps support after school and summer programs for 1,200 Lawrence youth everyday.  The programs provide a safe, positive place for youth, ages 5-18, to engage in fun engaging activities that are centered around youth development and physical fitness.  For more information or to register visit www.bgclk.org.

June events presented by Bank of Kansas City
8	Bark N Blues 5K Run/Walk and 1 Mile Stroll with your dog	8	Erek's Run
8	Jazz in the Woods	8	Kansas City Rock'n Bowl - a STRIKE in the fight against cancer
8	Ozanam Guild Martini Mile	9	Boots n' Daisy Dukes 5K and Lil' Critter Fun Run
15	Kevin Gray Father's Day Run	15	Sanctuary  of Hope Run the Good Race
15	Tinman Triathlon	17-20	Camp WIN: Ages 6-8
22	Buck O'Neil Clinic	22	Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead Fishing Tournament
22	Inaugural Kansas City DEA Fallen Heros 5K Run/Walk	22	Sprint Race 5K Run/Walk to Benefit Saf-K
22	Walk the Dotte	29	Glow Run 5K Kansas City

Early July Events
4	Stars & Stripes 5K & Lil' Firecracker Fun Run	4	35th Annual Lenexa Freedom Run
6	Darren Sproles 5K

@KarbonSpeed SpeedPac bike hydration system review

Where do you stuff your hydration on the bike? There are hydration belts, which most triathletes are going to use on the run, and not the bike. There are the single and double seat-post mounts. There are the frame mounted cages that hold one or two bottles depending on the frame size and geometry. And then you have the SpeedFil setups that replace the frame mounted cages or bottle systems with drinking tubes that snake to the cockpit area. The latest is the aero bar bottle mount system.

You can go with the regular bottle on the mount and you could also go with a bottle/drinking tube setup as well. Basically there are enough choices and setups out there that long course triathletes have no reason to come out of aero except to dismount or stretch and aching back. It’s a beautiful thing.

For your consideration, Karbon Speed has built a bar mount system for triathlon bikes. They shipped us their SpeedPac system and we tested it out. Read on below to find out what we found out about the SpeedPac.

Packaging / Appeal / Marketing - 3 out of 5 bike pumps

When we received the SpeedPac, it was in your standard postal box and sealed in a heavy duty zip-lock bag. It was well protected from damage in shipping, but this particular unit did not come with what one might expect to see with products hanging on the peg boards at the local bike shop. It's an exercise in minimalism that KS can hopefully keep costs down while supplying quality products and not dump overhead funds into shiny wrappers.

Form / Construction - 4 out of 5 bike pumps

The FXR plate and Kage is made from KS's line of flax carbon products. What may look like defects in the surface are actually natural forming patterns due to the nature of the flax carbon. Read HERE for more information about the flax carbon line.

Through the installation and testing phase of this review, we've torqued and wrenched on the SpeedPac system and it's still not broke, despite our best efforts. It takes a good amount of abuse and use without needing special handling. Now, we haven't gone after the SpeedPac with intent to apply the maximum torque, compression and tension to find the breaking point. Destructive testing isn't our bag. Through 4 weeks of riding and usage, the SpeedPac is still as strong as when it arrived in the mail.

The design is simple and straight forward. There's no reason to make a front bottle mount system over complicated. It comes with a bracket, 4 Velcro straps and and bottle cage. It takes 2 minutes to install as long as you don't need to reconfigure computer mounts or other cockpit items. There are no zip ties and the only tool you will need is an allen wrench for the cage screws (don't forget to tighten the cage screws! We learned that lesson too late that we will visit later). Simply cinch it down on the bars, tighten two screws and throw on a water bottle and you're out! Fashion / Appearance - 4 out of 5 bike pumps

Right now, black is in. The SpeedPac is all black and has white lettering. Black pretty much goes with anything, but if time moves on and the SpeedPac is successful, maybe they'll venture into other colors. The design is minimalist, functional and sleek. It looks fast and gives you the impression that you can shave seconds off your bike while using this hydration system.

You will have an occasion when you look at the flax carbon and wonder if the finish is fading or scratched. That’s just the nature of flax carbon. It’s not a defect, just the way the product looks. Don’t be discouraged if you’re riding a tempo ride and look down and wonder what’s going on with the finish.

Fit / Function - 5 out of 5 bike pumps

We have ridden the snot out of the SpeedPac. Ok, maybe just the snot out of us on sprints, intervals, hills, tempo rides and long rides. We tried it with regular water bottles and the SpeedFill A2 water bottle system.

One ride descending at 35+ mph onto a bridge found the SpeedPac ejecting the standard water bottle when we hit the transition from the road to the bridge joint. It was around a half inch rise that was enough to jostle the water bottle from the cage. The bottle wasn't held in place with anything other than the friction of the bottle cage. Luckily, the bottle was spared a certain demise by stopping just short of going over the side of the bridge for a 20 foot drop. Be aware, bottles are more at risk to ejections over bumps.

Another item of note, make sure to tighten the cage screws to the FXR plate before heading out. Check them often. We made the mistake of not checking before the maiden voyage which resulted in the lose of a screw. We replaced it with a screw from the tool box and we were good to go. The vibrations resonating through the bike to the SpeedPac is substantial enough to unscrew a loose screw.

One issue is the mess that can be made from having a water bottle sitting on its side, while being vibrated to kingdom come on training rides and races. It's not a real fault of the SpeedPac, but more a fault with the water bottle. If you're like most triathletes, you undoubtedly have an army of water bottles either store bought or goodie bag earned. Through use, washing and more washing, these bottles get a little loose and the nozzles don't seal like they used to. If you're using anything with a powder or sports drink in the SpeedPac, be ready for a little leakage on the mount, handle bars and bike. That's why we switched to the SpeedFil A2 system that eliminates the nozzle from the equation. Leaking bottles were no longer an issue and the SpeedPac worked great. Notice that Karbon Speed offers a SpeedPac system with an A2 includes for a bundled price. For this review, we bought our own A2.

When not using a bottle like the A2, a regular bottle will work fine. Reaching for a bottle mounted on the bars is a lot more convenient that reaching for a seatpost holder or between your legs for a bottle on the frame. There’s no need for getting too far out of normal riding position and no torquing reaching for the bottles. If you do use regular water bottles only, one suggestion would be to buy cheap Velcro strapping and cinch the bottle on to secure it to the bike and enable one handed retrieval of hydration bottles. But, it feels more safe using a bar mounted bottle system.

The SpeedPac strap system also allows for the adjustment of the placement so you can move it up or down on the aero bars to your liking. If you’re like a number of long course triathletes, you’re bike cockpit is probably getting a little full and anything you can do for flexibility, the better.













Cost - 4 out of 5 bike pumps

When you break it down price wise, you have to consider the individual pieces and the package as a whole.

• KS Kage - $34.00
• KS FXR - $32.95
• KS SpeedPac - $58.45
• KS Super SpeedPac - $112.55 Use code "MVT" for 10% off for the readers of this review!

Competitors

• Comparable XLAB plate - $34.99
• General Carbon Bottle Cage - $40.00
• SpeedFil A2 - $48.99
• Total buying separate without tax and shipping is around $124.00.

There’s a chance to find a more competitive pricing for comparables, but overall Karbon Speed is the same or better on price. You won’t be winning by a large margin on price, but you will get the same quality at least for a little less than the contenders.

Final thoughts

Before the SpeedPac came our way, we didn’t really consider the aero bar bottle holder setup. Using other hydration systems and double bottle holders on the seatpost served us well. Now that we have tested it out, this reviewer is leaving as a permanent installation on our tri bike. It’s convenient when paired with the A2 or similar bottle setup with a drinking tube to allow hands free drinking in aero. This also solves the issue of leaky bottle nozzles. It works the same with regular water bottles and offers more safety in reaching for a bottle without having to turn your body for the rear or reaching between your legs. The only real issue is the flax carbon appearance. It’s not what you think would be normal for anything labeled as carbon fiber. It’s not unattractive, but it is a little different than the industry standard.

Karbon Speed SpeedPac has it’s place with the best bar mounted hydration systems on the market. It’s priced right to compete and buyers won’t be disappointed.

Disclaimer

* Writer's note - Karbon Speed supplied a SpeedPac for this review. In no way did they influence this review. Use code “MVT” for 10% off Karbon Speed products.

2013 Ironman 70.3 Kansas Triathlon event review

June 9, 2013, was the 6th running of the Ironman 70.3 Kansas Triathlon. They have had their ups and downs as a race. The heat, wind, humidity and severe weather has played havoc with triathletes in the past, but in the end the majority of triathletes that are able to cross the finish line and come away with a good experience and stories to tell at the office for weeks after.

Men results can be found HERE and women’s results can be found HERE. It was no real surprise that Craig Alexander took the top spot, but only by a minute.

You can also catch IM Reporter Dave Erickson laying down some videos at HIM KS as well HERE.

Race day forecasts were all over the board. Some sites called for severe storms all morning with an 80 percent chance. Some called for only a 10 percent chance. Some sites saw storms coming in over night and moving out around 6 A.M., just in time to get the pros in the water and on the way. Not to mention, this portion of Kansas has experienced significant snowfall in early spring and below normal temperatures, so athletes were very nervous as to how cold the water was going to be.

Triathletes, fear not. Mother Nature was a triathlete fan on June 9th and rain came and ended by 4 A.M., roads dried by the time the pros made it our of T1, winds stayed around 10 to 12 mph, water temperature was at 70 degrees and air temperatures stayed below 80 for much of the day. As far as triathlon weather goes in Kansas, it does not get any better.

Your favorite blogger toed the line for the 5th time of the 6 year history for HIM KS. From my experiences (feel free to check out my personal recap HERE) to your computer screen, here is what we thought about the 2013 IM 70.3 Kansas Triathlon.

The Price

Pricing for WTC Ironman Half’s are pretty standard. It can range from early bird pricing of $200 to $275 the week of the race. Obviously the sooner you can sign up the better. But, if you live in the area where travel expenses are not really an issue and you’re unsure about your schedule, waiting a few months to sign up won’t break the bank.

Also, the HIM KS has never sold out. Numbers have fluctuated around 1500 +/- 100 athletes for the 6 years it’s existed. There’s really no worry about not having a spot if you wait until the last minute. That being said, there’s no telling what WTC might do to bring in more numbers or what good conditions such as 2013 will do for good word of mouth to increase numbers.

Packet Pickup

Checking in consists of getting your timing chip, race number stickers, athlete bracelet, goodie bag, race shirt and signing your life away if you get hurt. It also consists of dropping your bike off at least the day before the race. Usually.

With severe weather on approach, the RD opted to allow race day bike check in. This allowed athletes to rest easy that their bike would stay safe and dry with them instead of leaving it overnight in T1. Not to mention the hassle of lugging the bike around to check in and dropping it off, walking another half mile to T1 from check in. It was nice to see the human side of the organizers and realize that the rules are there for guidelines and common sense can alter the runs when required.

What wasn’t fun was the wait in line. No one wants to get sunburned the day before the race, but if you didn’t bring sunscreen and went early afternoon on Saturday, you would have had 45 minutes to an hour to sit out in the sun. Past HIM KS check ins never took this long. It must have been cosmic fate that brought hundreds to check in at the exact same time.

Web Site / Instructions / Course Info

The WTC is pretty standardized when it comes to the sites. They get the course maps out early and post all of the rules well ahead of the race. Athlete guides were sent out around 2 weeks out for athletes to mull over and ask questions.

The email frequency was somewhat low considering the length and magnitude of the race. Most athletes had to wonder to the Facebook page for questions and answers. The reassuring part was that for the most part, admins were quick with answers to most posts on Facebook. Many athletes had answers within a few days to their questions. The down side is to using Facebook as your means of communication is people having to sift through comments and posts to get to the answers. Race day bike drop off was posted on Facebook only and started as word of mouth and later verified by admins. It would have been more comforting to get an official email with that change so athletes were not sweating having their bikes ready on Friday or Saturday.

For anything standard about the race, the website was pretty informative and reliable. Wave starts, schedule and athlete info was all there at your fingertips. They just had to be aware of the Facebook page to get timely news and changes.

Location / Parking / Access

Clinton Lake is a Kansas State Park. The entrance is usually a toll entrance, which causes a backup at check-in arrival and race day arrival. Now, they do not charge for those, but you still have to stop at the gate and state why you are there. Race day triathletes just drive through, but it’s a narrow entrance and a few turns to get back to the main road. It causes a little bit of traffic delays if you’re not ready for it.

Parking was allowed right next to the IM village area instead of a half mile away as in years past for check in. It would have been nice to know before parking, but what are you going to do? Race day, everyone was directed to park in the same parking loop as in years past. It was a huge grass field and with rain the night before, it was a little muddy after hundreds of cars drove over it to park. It’s nothing anyone can control and there is no nearby location for paved parking, so it is what it is.

The real issue is how long it takes to walk from parking to T2, and then T2 to T1. With a two transition race, triathletes had to be prepared to split transition gear into the right combo to get the right gear in the right place. So, athletes lugged everything from parking to T2, which was maybe a half mile. Then, they lugged T1 gear from T2, which was maybe another half mile. In the end, people are racing 70.3 miles, so walking 1 to 2 miles is only an issue for arrival logistics and timing to allow to get ready before T1 closes.

Spectators also needed to be in the park by 6:30 A.M. before they closed off car access for bikers to exit the park. In reality cars were still coming in as bikers were riding out, so it’s just a matter of time allotment to get from parking (the same area as athlete parking) to spectator areas.

Swim start and T1 are the best draws for spectating and the T2 and the run course offered up to 8 chances to see athletes running around. As far as spectating goes, the run course at HIM KS doesn’t get much better. Campsites line the run and allow people to set up shop and watch people suffer. It’s not easy to get in, get your crew and gear into place, but once you are there, the run course is a bonanza of spectation.

Port-a-potties

It’s safe to say that any triathlete wants more port-a-potties. The T1 area had around 12 to 15 lined up and towards the start of the waves, athletes were looking at 15 to 20 minutes of standing in line. Again, it was a matter of being organized and proper time management to get that last minute pit-stop.

There were 15 or so around T2, but once you left T2 for the swim start, those weren’t an option before the race.

The Actual Course

The course has been pretty standard since 2009. The swim is all within Clinton Lake. Normally in this marina area for the swim, the morning breeze does have an affect on the water turbulence to create some light waves on a normal day. It won’t be as smooth as glass, but 5 times out of 6, it’s very swimmable.

The bike course is out in the Kansas countryside south of Clinton Lake. It covers roads of other local shorter triathlons, so the locals know those roads, hills and winds well. Normally there is a strong northern breeze that makes stretches of this bike leg painful. If you were lucky enough to race this year, the wind was relatively quiet and not a real issue. The talk is also always about the hills. Racers will see over 1500 feet of elevation gain over the ride, so be ready. The only other item for the bike that sticks out is the stretch on road 1023 where ship seal dictates riders stay in the middle of the lanes to stay on smooth road. This causes issues with passing and safety when slower riders don’t stay to the right and force faster riders to pass on the wrong side or having to cross the centerline to pass.

The run course, as mentioned before, is all within the campground area by the marina. There is only one major hill that is ran twice and otherwise flat as a pancake. Spectators have access to hoses and sprinklers, helping out with the heat and trees provide a small respite here and there while suffering on the course. The pavement is relatively good condition without many potholes and cracks for tripping hazards. Aid stations were spaced out to catch people coming and going and at least every 1 to 1.5 miles, triathletes had access to water, sports drinks, gels, chomps, oranges, bananas, cola and ice. There was no shortage of runner support on the course.

Another note worth mentioning is the support of the volunteers. People that don’t get paid, but for whatever reason come out and offer support and encouragement. They had fun with their jobs and always eager to help any athletes. HIM KS dug up great volunteer support and that makes a huge difference after swimming 1.2 miles and biking 56 miles.

Race Day Instructions

The announcer kept in constant contact with racers and spectators. The speakers were appropriately turned up and facing the athletes and start area so you could hear and understand the directions from most anywhere around the start area.

When they announced that as long as you make the bike cut-off back into the state park, you would be allowed to run the course no matter how long it took you and they would not drag you off for missing the finish cutoff, it set in that at least someone cares. In the day and age when dollars drive the ship, it was nice to hear a little informal vindication that organizers do care, a little bit.

Finish Line

Gone was the yellow-brick-road that’s synonymous with Kansas and the Wizard of Oz. Maybe it got lost in storage or had hosted its last race in 2012, but whatever the reason, some athletes were left wondering what happened to it. The official web site for HIM KS even boasts the yellow brick road, but it was nowhere to be seen. They also had around 5 to 6 Dorothy's and no more cowardly lions. There were some Good Witches and Bad Witches, but maybe times are tight and the costume budget got cut for a full Oz regimen?

They did have the usual finisher’s chute with a finish arch, cold water and medals. There was no rush to get finishers out of the immediate finish line area and they allowed everyone to cool off, take finish line pictures and leisurely exit to the spectator area. It was well handled and low pressure after busting your ass for a couple of hours.

Somewhat of a let down was the lack of post-race athlete amenities aside from food. Large events like HIM KS provide post-race massage and an assortment of food options. They hosted the standard fare of local bike shops and product vendors, but there was very little in the way of free athlete activities.

But, don’t misunderstand. They do host an athlete tent where famished finishers can choose from oranges, bananas, chocolate milk, chips, pulled pork sandwiches, PB&J sandwiches, water, pop and sports drinks. The sandwiches were warm and the drinks were cold. It was an improvement from last year where they only had pulled pork that was more akin to chopped up luke-warm shredded car tires. It was nasty. This year was better.

The only real finisher tent issue was space. With around 1400 triathletes, the tent got full in a hurry.

Overall Impressions

After racing HIM KS 5 times and HIM Boulder once and countless other triathlons, 70.3 Kansas has the nuts and bolts tightened down. The event will go as planned and it’s planned and executed well. There’s no real grey area when it comes to the instructions and order of business. Where they may fall down is relying on informal services like Facebook for formal race announcements. Weeding through Facebook posts to find out event changes isn’t acceptable. They need to go back and look at how they will distribute information and changes about the race. Some people may not know that when Ryan Robinson or Tom Ziebert posts on the FB page, that they are race officials and not some schmoe off the street posting erroneous information.

For people looking for a destination event, they may not think of Kansas for a half Ironman. But think again. Lawrence , Kansas, is home to the University of Kansas and a great college town. What’s better is that the HIM KS event is after class lets out, so visitors are not inundated with partying college students. It has a lot to offer aside from the race as far as tourism, shopping and eating. It’s a hidden gem out in the plains. The race itself attracts the likes of Craig Alexander and Hines Ward, but lacks the media circus that seems to follow them.

Crowie getting some tri tats!

It’s a real race for real triathletes. It may lack some of the luster and bows, but it’ll do in a pinch.

2013 Ironman 70.3 Kansas Triathlon Race Recap - 6/9/13

Man what a day for a half ironman!
The talk was about the weather and lake temperature.  Would the water be too cold?  Would storms roll in and cause a shortened race or no race at all?  Would it be a soggy bike ride?

Well, as it turned out the cool spring kept the lake right around 70 degrees.  Perfect for wetsuit swims!  Early morning rain swept through and left the roads a little damp, but by the 6:30am pro start, it was pretty dry, calm winds and cool temps.

Basically from my past 5 years at this event, you could not have asked for a better race day weather wise.  It was just up to the athletes to make their way through the 70.3 miles.  Mother Nature was smiling on us Sunday.

Cutting it close.
This year was pretty similar to years past as far as the day and night before.  I was originally planning to camp, but Em was on board to be an athlete supporter and we opted for a hotel.  I wasn't sure what we were going to get two weeks out, but we did get the last room at the Oread hotel right off the KU campus.  Coincidentally it's the sponsor for the race.  It was pretty cool to check in and the staff was wearing IM KS gear and they were set up to support the racers in for the weekend.  And, the price wasn't outrageous.  AND, school was out for the summer so we didn't have to worry about late night house parties and didn't need the hotel supplied ear plugs.

It was a great hotel and experience.  If IM KS is on the schedule for 2014, I'll be checking their rates for sure.

From valet service (not free) to just being accommodating and convenient to the race site, stores and restaurants, it was the best hotel stay the night before IM KS we have ever had.

The only problem was how close I cut getting to T1 and T2 and getting set up.  I thought I would have plenty of time, got up right at the alarm, normal race morning routine, normal breakfast, valet had my truck ready when I got downstairs, loaded up and I was out.

Problem was that traffic into the lake was already backing up and it probably took 45 minutes from leaving hotel to getting parked.  Normally it would be all of 10 minutes.  That left me with just enough time to walk the 0.5 miles to T2, drop gear off, walk 0.5 miles to T1 and get everything set up.

Since the forecast was calling for storms with winds, the RD allowed bike check in the morning of the race.  I'm all about keeping my bike with me until I rack it on race morning.  Good call, but it also created the need to utilize every minute possible for setup and exiting transition on time.

I was basically wetsuit lubing and spraying sunscreen on when they called for T1 to close for the race start.  That was the first time I had to lug the wetsuit out with me and put it on in the port-a-potty line.  Did I mention I had to hold my morning deposit until after T1 was closed?  That's a long time and I really had to go... Had I gone before setting up, I would have had a real problem.

The short of it is I cut it too close.  Luckily I had plenty of pre-prep time in the hotel the day before to plan out T1 and T2 bags and get squared away so they could take the provided T1 bag and lug it to T2 so we could just pick it up.  It all worked out, but with no time to spare.

The one issue I have, though, is people setting up transition and racking bikes.  You face the handlebars the direction your number is facing on the rack.  This allows the alternating direction of bikes so your handlebars do not get tangled with the person next to you.  I think that should be in the athlete guide somewhere in bold letters.  I got hosed in T1 and T2 on this when people next to me set up their gear under my bike spot and face their bike the wrong way.  The rack lines were long and you had to be on the correct side to get your bike in and out.  It's a complicated dance and no one wants to fight someone's bike.  Just be courteous out there.  ;)


Race with Hines Ward
So, yes, I'm always racing myself and my past performances.  I always want to do better each year, especially in A races.  But, they have Hines Ward out there Becoming One with Chocolate Milk training for Kona this year.  He's an NFL MVP, Super Bowl winner and MVP and will be in the NFL hall of fame.  I couldn't carry his jock, when it comes to football.  Triathlon, though... this was my chance to say I beat Hines Ward... in anything.  So, he was there and it was a joking but half serious mission to get a better time than him.  After all, he is retired and has nothing to do (I'm sure that's not entirely accurate) other than train for triathlons with Paula Newby Fraser.  I tweeted at him, left messages on his FB here and there... but he was a bigger man and didn't get baited in with trash talking.

It was a fun game in my mind to play to have another motivational tool when times got tough.

Best swim ever - 1.2 Miles // 34:19 // 1:46 min per mile pace // 47 AG // 336 OA // 261 Male
Beat my preview goal of 35 minutes!

It's not sub 30 like the pros and great age groupers, but it is a personal PR for a HIM swim.  Score.

It's around a 40 second best over the IM Boulder swim in 2011, which was water like glass and no wind.  Last year was 20 minutes slower.  Allow me to repeat, 20 MINUTES SLOWER.  No wetsuit, lost my ear plugs, 30 mph winds and 2 to 3 foot rolling waves last year.  This year was a little bit of a breeze and some choppy water with wetsuit legal option.

Years past had been similar conditions, but I blew away my best swim time for the Kansas course by 2 minutes.  It's looking like the reconstitution of my swim workouts has indeed been paying off.

Aside from taking in a mouthful of water swimming to the start, it was a pretty uneventful swim and went according to plan.  Just the way I like it.

I'm in the yellow swim cap... see me?

Transitions are boring...
There's no real action in either transition minus T2 where I was wrestling with some dudes bike that he placed on my rack number and faced the wrong way.  I was nice to his rig... but it took restraint.


Pedal power - 56 miles // 3:05:46 // 18.09 mph // 101 AG // 625 OA // 517 Male
Beat my preview goal of 3:10 and almost hit the 3:05 best case.

As I mentioned in the preview, my goal was not to kill the bike split, but to have a smart and systematic approach to the bike.  Heart rate below 160, conservative on hills and headwind and pound it with a tailwind and downhills.

My mission is to break whatever I have left loose on the 13.1 mile run.  That's a long enough distance to expend any energy you thought you left on the bike.  You can always give when you have reserves, but you can't take back what you spent on the bike if you start suffering on the run.  I learned that in 2009 after bonk, cramps and a general "this sucks" feeling on the run.

The big pleasant surprise was the lack of wind.  It was actually a little reverse of years past with the wind direction changing.  Going out, I had my best splits.  Coming in, I was managing energy and a mild headwind.  The killer south turn around leg was painless compared to years past.  I never knew what it was like to be able to exceed 20 mph without going over 180 bpm downhill heading south on this leg until this year.

I ate my gel blasts early, alternated between water and a combination hydration mix.  Electrolytes / BCAA / Glutamine / and sports drink mix.  I wanted a touch of protein, but not so much it would give me gut issues.  I do have to thank the wife, Em, for helping me logically think out what would work best.  She has a lot more background in the dietary world, and what she came up with worked great.  I wanted to get solids in early (every 30 minutes and cut it off after 2.5 hours) so I could process it in low zone 2 and switched to hydration mix and then nothing but water 15 minutes out from T2.  I wanted nothing sloshing around after T2 to cause stomach issues.

Nailed it.

But I will say this, I tried as best I could, but to anyone I inadvertently sprinkled with pee on the bike leg, I'm truly sorry.  I wasn't going to pull over to pee and I had to pee like 5 times.  That's the price you pay for proper hydration and temps in the 70's.  Forgive me... Chrissie Wellington does it, why can't I?

And, for all the effort I have put into PT and Chiro work and strength training, I have a little bit to go to get my back ready for 112 miles at Lake Tahoe.  Around 50 miles my back was killing me and nothing catches wind more than sitting up in the saddle and stretching your back out.  Minor detail, but it's so much more improved than in the past, I can't really complain.

Conservative to start the run - 13.1 miles // 1:49:07 // 8:19 min per mile avg // 75 AG // 444 OA // 359 Male
Beat my preview goal of 1:50.

Never ever ever ever come out of a HIM or IM T2 gunning at full speed, unless you're a pro going for first place.  Nothing is more debilitating than spitting out 7 min/mile or better to be slowed to a walk, shuffle and cramp plagued crawl at mile 7.  I've been there and it sucks.

Just like the bike, take the first few miles easy.  Get your footing, find your groove, start your hydration and nutrition plan.  Stay low zone two and take a minute to allow some aid station fluids to get in.

What I didn't mention on the bike was the last aid station, I grabbed a banana.  Right out of T1 I cramped a hammy exiting the lake on the bike.  I knew I needed some help to avoid cramps on the run.  The good part is, I figured out how to peel it in aero.  The bad part is, I hit a bump and half of the half banana feel off.  I only got a quarter of a banana in, but it was better than nothing.

That was one of the best runs in a HIM I have ever put out there.  Both timing and feeling wise.  I was never in a hole, I was always in control and I was smart about adjusting my plan with my performance.  I stayed at 160 bpm for miles 1 through 10 and I opened the gate at mile 10 to see what I could do.

One wild card was a groin cramp at the second downhill back into the dock area.  from mile 8 to 9, I was coasting under control downhill and the cramp started.  Luckily I was able to dial it down and get it under control at the aid station and it wasn't an issue after that.  I just knew I would need to stay on top of hydration.

The run portion of IM KS is pretty sweet.  It's all on the campground area and family and friends line the roads with signs, cheering, music, water hoses and squirt guns.  You are never really by yourself in the mental black hole.  You are always distracted enough to not let your mind wonder, but to stay in the moment.

Long training runs I usually stop every 3 miles for hydration and nutrition.  This course was nice in that the out and back style loops allowed pretty much an aid station around 1 to 1.5 miles.  I adjusted my stopping points to every other station to stave off cramps and bonking.  It worked out great.  There I was, hopping along at 8:19 pace overall at 160 bpm or less.  Sure, I was passed a lot at first, but passing the suffering masses in the last 3 miles was vindication.

And the results are in - 70.3 miles // 5:34:46 // 75 AG // 444 OA // 359 Male
My preview goal of 5:40 was smoked.  My PR HIM of  5:49:55 was blown away.

That's the overall clock, so ignore it.  ;)

It's all about energy management.  You have so many calories in your body stored from carbs, protein and fats.  You can only train so much to get your body to use the most plentiful stores, but the hardest to convert. In reality, the typical age grouper can only take in 200 to 300 useful calories during exercise and that's if your body is able to process it.  If you don't understand what you can do in training and racing and how that translates into race day strategies, like me in 2009, you'll be shuffling to the finish line lamenting race day and vowing never to do this long of a race again.  But, here I am 5 years later and wiser from my experiences.  ;)

I had my moments of cutting T1 close too close, wondering if my rear 1080 ZIPP wheel was going to hold air the entire race and what the run was going to look like, but in the end I tried to manage each part as best I could.

It was awesome to hit the final 3 miles a little harder and feel good at the end of the race.

Some parting thoughts...
I beat Hines.  He ended up with a 5:53, which is not too shabby for a first HIM.  He actually beat my bike split, since the more solid people were able to utilize the downhills better with slower wind speeds.  He looked like he might gain some time on the run on me, but at the halfway point I could tell at the turn-around I was putting him further back.  Mission accomplished, I beat Hines.  I wonder if he knew we were racing?  ;)

The only real gripe about the race organization was the line to check in on Saturday.  I waited nearly and hour.  Luckily I was next to some nice people from Oklahoma who had some family members that lost homes in the Moore tornados.  Makes me appreciate not having to go through that.  But, we all sat there in the sun for a long time.  I'm not sure what was the difference than years past, but I never had to wait that long before.  Maybe I'll go on Friday next year.

Sunburns suck.  It's my own fault.  I lathered up in T1, but through the day and missing the sunscreen out of T2 and on the second loop, I suffered.  Fluid Nutrition is looking good with a permanent sunburn tat, but it's not very comfortable.

Thanks to my Tri buddy Jon for some good training days and the extra bit of motivation at mile 10 on the run to pick it up.  I knew he was closing in and someone mentioned his tri team right as I left an aid station and I knew it was him.  That was the last bit of motivation I needed to kick it up a notch and get it done.  In the end it's all for fun, but I'm competitive and like I said with the Hines Ward deal, anything you can do that positively affects your mind during a race is all the better.  A little friendly competition never hurt anyone.

Thanks to family.  Thank you to my wife for working with me where we realistically could for training and allowing me to follow my dreams and passion working in the world of triathlon coaching and consulting.  The results of my race are a direct reflection of the attention I have been able to give it and her help in nutrition and getting the crud out of my diet (except for the epic cheat days... Fire burgers, whole pans of brownies or lemon bars, Chipotle, 6 pancakes... mmmmm).

Thank you to my mother and mother-in-law for helping with the kids.  I do not want to go down this path alienating my children from me.  I train, race and work comfortable in knowing that the kids are with people that love them and will make sure they are well taken care of when I need a sub.  I try and manage my time to impact the kids and family as little as possible, but they help bridge the gap when I need that extra time.


Thanks to my partners and sponsors.  Out there with me was:
Heritage Family Chiropractic
The back's not 100 percent ready, but it's 100 percent improved from where I was.
TK Muscle Therapy
Kent keeps me in one piece.  Aches and pains are so much easier to deal with when Kent's on board for sports massage.  Now, the massage might be more pain than the race, but you'll thank him the next day.
Karbon Speed Wheels - SpeedPac - "MVT" for 10% off
The SpeedPac worked like a charm.  I used it for water and it was right there in my face to remind me.  Great addition to their arsenal.
Kokua Multisport
Coach Bob gave me some great pointers in all 3 categories.  My swim has improved, my bike is stronger to get the same results with less effort to spend on the run.  He's also given me great insight into being a coach myself.
Skins Compression
Recovery is a forgotten 4th sport.  If you're not 100 percent at the start, you're going to pay for it in the end.
Fluid Nutrition
The same idea applies to nutritional recovery.  Crap in equals crap out (literally and figuratively).  Chocolate fluid recovery drink mix is my go to after a brutal work out.
Xterra Wetsuits
Man, where would I be without my sleeveless Xterra suit after 4 years.  Takes a lick and keeps on ticking.  I treat that suit like a red-headed step child and it's still in great shape and gets the job done.
EverymanTri.com
Roman has go my back helping with ideas and the right frame of mind to be in the endurance world from more than a participant perspective.  Having that "out of body" mentality lets you get to the root of some mental issues holding you back.  Writing has been an outlet that has created so many positive impacts.

In closing...
If you have read this far, consider me as your next coach or someone to consult with for your next triathlon.  This is now my job and source of income and support for my family.  I have a passion for the sport and with the USAT clinic under my belt, I have learned so much that has taken me to new levels in triathlons.

Whether you want to up your game or just stay in the game for years to come injury free, I can give you tips and pointers on how to get there.

I have exciting partnerships in the works that will benefit Kansas City area athletes as well as athletes all over the country.

Check me out at:
www.SetThePaceTriathlon.com
Like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SetThePaceMedia
Follow me on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/trijayhawkryan