Hi all! I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend. Mine was full of long workouts, fun and a bit of sadness and hope. On Saturday morning, I logged 80 miles on my bike (longest ride to date). I felt pretty good throughout, only taking one break to stretch my back. Being hunched over in that position for so many hours starts to really become painful. That afternoon I went to a nice bbq at my new friend Ric Bacca’s house. Brats never tasted better.

Sunday, Monica and I swam 2 miles and ran 4.5 miles. We both felt really good throughout. Later Sunday, I went to a second bbq at Jeremy’s house as we celebrated Meghan’s birthday. I had my first Ginger Beer (like Root Beer, no alcohol). Pretty tasty. Had to get home at a decent hour and get up at 5 am as Jermy, Kara and I traveled to Boulder for the Bolder Boulder 10K.

This was my first BB and it was such a blast. It is one of the biggest 10K races in the country with over 50 thousand runners this year. Lots of people dress up in fun outfits (I wish I was holding my camera on the run!) and there were at least 12 bands performing along the way… each had their own unique outfits as well.

Fans along the road were handing out everything from water, to beer, to cupcakes, and even guacamole. Everyone was in a great mood and yelling throughout… I’m looking forward to making this an annual event for me. My time was 58 minutes which is a little slower than I would have liked to finish, but it was very hilly and I am still limping up hills with my knee injury.

In sad news… One of my friends, Cyrina Ballard, was up in Vail for the weekend to do some mountain biking. On Saturday morning, she took a fall and was knocked unconscious. Luckily someone spotted her on the trail and called 911. Medics took her to Vail Medical center where she was care-flighted to Denver Health. She has a fractured spine, many broken ribs and bleeding in the brain. She has regained consciousness for minutes at a time but is still being assisted in breathing. Her status as of Monday is that she has no signs of spinal chord injury, but the trauma to her brain may be severe. She needs everyone’s positive energy as she heals. Please visit her family’s blog for updates.

I’m relieved to say that this has been a great workout week. I feel 100% and have put in some decent mileage in all 3 sports… Even breaking my previous swimming time for a mile. I am on my way to pick up my race packet for the Bolder Boulder 10K which is early on Monday morning. Kara and Jeremy are running with me (more like ahead of me). This weekend will include a long bike and a long swim.

In other news… We celebrated Kendall’s birthday last night at the Hornet. In honor of the birthday boy, I made some “Kendall is my Homeboy” t-shirts for everyone. Looks like him doesn’t it? Kendall liked them and a great time was had by all. (Even without any beer for me!!!)

After patiently weathering the flu and trying to get my strength back for almost 2 weeks… I was able to ride for 2 hours on Saturday. It has been incredibly windy here for the last few days, so I didnt want to do a long out and back to fight the wind for that long. I rode laps in Wash Park fighting the wind on one side and enjoying the break on the other. It was such a beautiful day. The park was completely packed with people enjoying the sunshine and cool wind. I had to be very aware of all the traffic on the path… lots of drunk frat boys, kids, and cruiser bikes to dodge along the way. I felt pretty good and was happy to be getting back into longer exercise.

On Sunday, I ran 5 miles with Monica before I lost my strength. She went on to run 11 and I walked the 3 miles home. Another gorgeous day to be outside.

Today I had a doctors appt. because I am concerned about how long it is taking for me to get my strength back. The doc says that I just need to be patient while my body finishes recovering for the next few days. He did take some blood just in case, but his hunch is that I am fine. I sure hope so. I went to the gym from the doc’s office and did my core/weights routine. It knocked me on my ass. I’m drinking a protein smoothie here at the computer while I attempt to recover.

Im looking forward to a good workout week and hope I’m in full stride soon…

This song is currently making me happy. Thanks to Slider for sending it to me.

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Thanks to Monica for hosting a delicious dinner for Team 303 last night.

My friend Jennifer Mitchell from Dallas just joined the birthday party trip. Looking forward to seeing some of my old friends in Sonoma!

Hi friends and family,

I built this site 2 months ago in hopes of keeping everyone updated on how my training was coming, as well as all the plans we’ve been making for the big trip to California. Well, there was one roadblock in launching this… Until 4 weeks ago, I couldn’t run. As the date continued (and continues) to creep closer, I began getting more and more frustrated because of the debilitating pain in my knee when I would attempt to run.

Let me back up and explain. I’ve been a a triathlete for 4 years now… starting with tiny sprints and leading up to the half-ironman I completed last year. While running has always been my least favorite of the 3 sports, I have never experienced any pain when doing so. Last October, I was traveling in Washington DC / Philly with my long-time friend Keith. One morning I went for a long run. As I was cooling down back to the hotel, on one of my last strides, something tweaked in the back of my knee. I really didnt think anything of it until I tried to run again back in Denver. I got about a mile into it and the sharp pain kicked in and immediately slowed me to a walk. I could not take another running stride without extreme pain. After a weeks rest here and a weeks rest there, I would try to run again with the same results… a mile or 2 in, my knee was done.

Now I knew I had to take it seriously and go see a doctor. The doc x-rayed it and found nothing irregular, but suggested I get an MRI to make sure. So I got an (expensive) MRI that resulted with no ligament damage of any kind; just severe tissue inflamation behind my knee. Still a mystery, the doc said it was likely the I had I-T Band Syndrome which is the irritation of a tendon the reaches all the way from the side of the hip down to the side of the knee. You can read all about it here. The doc prescribed several weeks of physical therapy which I did…. no results.

I was starting to get very scared that I would not heal in time to be ready for the race. I turned to my friend and neighbor Kara who is a licensed physical therapist. She committed to me that she would work on the knee until the race. WHAT A BLESSING TO HAVE SUCH A GREAT FRIEND. She at least gave me hope that I possibly had a chance to run again before this window shut.

After several weeks of deep tissue massage and some prescribed daily stretching, I started to get my mileage up on the run before experiencing any pain. I was starting to turn the corner!!!!!! Having a new reason to be excited, I was stretching ALL THE TIME and starting to run more frequently! Currently I have run up to nine miles with only slight pain going up hills. YAY!

So now I feel comfortable sharing this site with you. Please take a look around and feel free to leave comments on anything. I have gone back in time and posted some older posts of significance. Wish me luck!

Aden

So after my run last Saturday, I went over to Kendall’s house to help build a deck in his back yard. I thought I was getting cold, when in fact I was getting chills. DANG IT!!! By monday morning I had a high fever and a sore throat. I could only get out of bed to answer work emails. I was worthless. Tuesday. Wednesday. Thursday. Sleep. Sleep. Sleep. I started to feel better on Friday and was able to work. Today I was able to go for a short bike ride but was very weak.

So the bottom line is that I lost an ENTIRE week of training and will attempt to get back on schedule this week. Being sick sucks!

PS. Thanks to my friends who checked in on me and brought me sick-stuff.

I’ve been hosting a fundraising pub crawl on bicycles for the past 3 years. It is called Cruiser Rocks and I just announced our 6th ride on June 26th…. here is the website www.cruiserrocks.org.

That’s right folks. Today I am openly announcing that I have cut myself off from alcohol until August 1st. Friends and loved ones… please hold me accountable and support me in this cause! Stella… I will miss you!

All flights have been booked for Team 303! We will be flying into San Francisco on Thursday July 29th and flying out Monday, Aug 2nd. This is becoming more and more real each day…

Last night, a wonderful dinner was held at Eric Kloor’s home in Boulder. He and Shanti hosted the 2010 Colorado Vineman participants and their supporters to a fine enchilada dinner as we shared stories of our past races and training experiences. Team 303 represented and we were relieved to find out that we had several other 1st time Ironman-ers in our group. Our ages ranged from early twenties to 50+. It was a great time and I look forward to seeing all of them on July 31st as we cheer each other on!

Later tonight, Monica will be hosting a dinner for me and Team 303. Yes, I have convinced Monica, Jeremy and Kara to combine forces and participate in the Vineman relay (and keep them on the hook to train with me). Let me introduce the players:

SWIM

Monica (a.k.a. the Dolphin)
A virtual blur in the water, Monica will be swimming the 2.4 miles up and down the Russian River. She is very excited to participate in this event but is concerned that the race swim cap won’t match her wetsuit. She has prepared by buying wetsuits in an array of colors. So far the race has cost her over $2700. Monica has noted that her recovery from the swim will include seeing how many shades of purple she can turn her teeth in the vineyards by the time Aden crosses the finish line.

BIKE

Jeremy (a.k.a. Spinner)
Having already logged hundreds of miles on his newly converted tri-bike in preparation for the 112 miles through the wine country, Jeremy has mastered the post-ride recovery with a healthy liquid diet of barley and hops.

RUN

Kara (a.k.a. The Cheetah)
Along with being able to heal the most mysterious leg injuries, Kara can run like the wind. She says the secret is eating 6 baskets of all-you-can-eat wings at the Pub on Pearl the day prior to a long run. We’ll have to pack them on the plane for her marathon leg of the course.

ALL THREE SPORTS

Aden (a.k.a. The Idiot)
Somehow, Aden has convinced himself that he can make it 140 miles without keeling over. Not only that, he has convinced 3 of his friends to participate, and 15 other friends and family to travel to California and watch the debacle in person. At least there will be eye-witnesses to this tragedy.

Friday, July 30th is my actual birthday and we will be hosting a huge pasta dinner at the large house in Healdsburg that a bunch of us are staying at. More details will come after I talk to Serena about the menu, and what you guys can bring (if anything). All of you are invited to come celebrate! I’ll keep you posted on the details for this. Questions? Email me.

Thanks to the mad VRBO skills of Serena, a very large house has been rented in Healdsburg, right on the Russian River (where I will be swimming). Take a look at how awesome this place is! http://www.vrbo.com/177281

Confirmed guests:

Serena, Kendall, Kelly, Jeremy, Kara, Monica, Carissa, Aden, Alex, Jehu

Want to join? Email Aden

This is my official declaration that I will attempt a full ironman race on July 31st. Watch out!