From car accident to PR at Bolder Boulder 10k

The pages of the calendar are flying off and the biggest weekend of the year in Boulder is upon us. Memorial weekend draws a big crowd to Boulder for the Boulder Creek festival BolderBoulder 10K Expo and Memorial Day race. Its the biggest 10k in the country and if you get the chance for the experience you really shouldn't miss it. Seriously, this race is so big its the a common question asked...oh you live in Boulder? Have you done or are you doing the BB?


This year offered a course change where the first 2k was a slight uphill instead of a speedy downhill and added about 4 more turns to the race. Using my awesome time from the Cherry Creek Sneak 5m I was seeded in the AB wave (3rd wave...of about 50), and my goal was 42:50 or better. Last year I was in the GL unseeded wave since I hadn't done a road race in 3 years (sadly triathlons and pole vaulting does not count). My running has really been progressing since the Platte River Half Mary that I did in April. I'm not sure if I'm faster or more fit then I was last year and I've certainly lost some muscle mass (my guns are more like pistols now). However, Ive gained experience, confidence, the ability to pace evenly and I'm more acclimated to the altitude.

I woke up at 5:25 to get in my pre race bagle early enough for it to settle before the race. The weather was @50*, overcast with a slight wind. My warm up was a run of about 1m down to the starting line. Don't you just love when you re able to do that? Not having to fight traffic and finding a parking space before a race is one of the best ways to toe the line stress free and in complete focus. I threw on my RR Vizipro uniform and Pearl Izumi Streaks (first time racing in these) and I was out the door.

When you have a race that's expected to draw over 50k (actually a record 54,554 entrants) people the starting area can be a bit of a mad house but this being my 2nd time in this race I knew the drill by now and found a great spot in the front of my wave. Most of my Boulder running friends were in the first wave because they are rock stars and can run under 40 mins. In my wave with me was my RR teammate John, and it looked as though we were going to have another showdown like at the Cherry Creek Sneak 5m.

By bugle the 30 second warning was announced and the gun went off. The 4 lane street provided ample room for the crowd so we spread out pretty quickly and this year instead of going out with a reckless 6:13 pace, I settled in with a conservative 6:22 pace and felt pretty good with it, despite the incline. I ran the first 2 miles with some of my friends who are members of the Boulder Express racing team. By the 3rd mile I was sick of the climbing, I was constantly assessing how much I had left in my legs and reserving enough for the hardest parts of the course. So instead of pushing the pace at the first chance of an extended downhill, I used that section to recover, knowing that Id have to do a bit more climbing over the next mile before gaining back all my efforts through potential energy.

Along the course there were many distractions of fun including belly dancers with actual bellies (not sexy!), slip and slides, min pools, garage bands and a dancing/singing Elvis.



Mile 4 brought with it the highest elevation of the course, I charged the hill and gradually increased my speed as we approached downtown Boulder. This section I had trouble with last year due to my wave assignment. Its a tough course, its a popular race and its 10k... people get tired by this point and either slow down or start walking making them tougher to pass and ultimately slowing you down. This year there were less people in front of me to cause too much of a road block but I did start to pass a considerable number of other A wave runners. Generally these people are good runners at sea level and try to run the same at altitude. You know what I say to that? "Sea Level is for Sissy's!" (I have the T-shirt).

Mile 5 I was brought back to reality and reminded myself of how this was another showdown between my teammate John and I. I didn't know how close he was, and didn't look back to find out. With less then a mile to go I tried to speed things up but it didn't really seem like I was successful. We turned on to Folsom Rd and began a short climb to the stadium finish and there he was. Initially he carried some momentum past me and the hill hit him. We exchanged words of encouragement and I thought he was going to go with me. I started my finishing kick with about 500m to go about mid hill and he didn't respond like he did at the Cherry Creek race.



I entered the stadium in full flight for the only flat part of the whole course .1 miles to go. The plastic runway protecting the field felt springy and fast compared to 6 miles of hard asphalt. I finished ahead of John by 2 seconds and with a PR of over a min over last year's time. Its such a hard race, but the most fun you will ever have. I reunited with my teammates and wallowed in the post race high, while waiting for the pro race to kick off.












overall place:878
division place:22 out of 454
gender place:773 out of 22348
mile 1: :06:22.60
mile 2: :06:43.31
mile 3: :07:02.50
mile 4: :07:02.73
mile 5: :06:47.14
mile 6: :07:02.07
net time:00:42:15.44
pace:06:48 (based on net time)

The Crash-Almost got Raptured

Judgement Day: Now I'm a non-believer and I'm certainly not one to remain at home counting down the hours but when you stop and view what the world has become and what surrounds you from an outsiders point of view, what you see can really rock your world.

The day started out with nothing really out of the ordinary. I took the Felt TT bike out for a spin and quickly noticed 2 factors that ultimately shorted my ride. First one was that somehow my aero bars had slipped out of position and where now angled closer to the front wheel, the severity of the situation was heightened due to windy conditions (which isn't out of the ordinary here in Boulder on the front range). So I took the Felt back to the stables and jumped on my road bike for the remainder of a 25 mile ride. I need to make some serious adjustments to this bike now that I have the old seat back on it and now that I'm trying to get used to a more aggressive aero position. It was great to finally see the sun shining after so many days of rain so after lunch I had other outdoor activities planned.

I was on my way to meet up with some friends for my very first climbing session outdoors in Colorado at some kick ass routes in Clear Creek Canyon just outside Golden. However just passed an intersection a car 2 cars in front of me had stopped to turn into a parking lot that was blocked by a car exiting the lot. Myself and a pickup truck in front of me stopped to allow that trade to happen. While stopped I looked up at my rear view mirror and I instantly knew trouble was approaching. I saw a SUV come barreling through the intersection without hesitation, when it got to 50' or so behind me I knew it was time to brace for impact. Cue SLOOOW MOTIONNNNN! I was stopped about 7-8' behind the pickup and there wasn't time to plan out options of escape. It was weird, I waited for the sound of screeching tires as sort of a warning of the eminent situation. It didn't happen, full steam the SUV slammed my bumper setting myself, the car and all its contents into motion. My glasses and cap were thrown from my head as my glove compartment opened and the spare change from the center console took flight. Having mear moments to visualize this occurring I guess I didn't include the chance of a second impact, my car struck the bumper in front of me as it sought refuge under the pick up truck. Misaligned cosmic forces being visually acted out for the people of Lakewood (for you judgement day believers).

It all happened so fast and slow at the same time, I was stunned and couldn't really identify if it was over or to prepare for something else. This was my first crash, mainly due to a fundamental rule I drive by... To never occupy the space of another object at the same time. Yes generally I do drive in a fashion in which some may call aggressive, but I call it foresight. Being able to carefully calculate and predict actions and timing as I scan the situation and take in new data. But when you are at rest you're pretty much at the mercy of the driving abilities and attention of drivers behind you. Its not an easy concept to grasp, you are trusting other drivers with your life. The driver of the SUV came to my window to see if I was ok, and I was. I hadn't hit anything personally, nothing was broken or bleeding. I got out to assess the damages. At first glance my first thought was, "good thing I don't drive a smart car, that would have been a dumb way to die." The driver of the SUV actually had not locked up his brakes, he stated that he was looking right as he drove through the intersection. At least he wasn't texting! The truck and SUV had minimal damage, there were 9 people involved and no one was seriously injured. Surprisingly to me, there also were no airbags deployed either.

All cars were drivable and when the cops came to take statements and write reports we were instructed to move our vehicles off the road. My hood was so crunched up it made it difficult to see over.

I'm known to be a punctual person so by this time my friends were wondering where I was and what had happened to me. I showed up almost an hour late in a cloudy daze but still with the will to go climbing. However as the shock started to wear off I noticed more and more back and neck soreness. In the days to follow this increased.

Now that my car is at the shop getting an estimate while I wait for the insurance companies to battle it out, I was forced to ride my motorcycle to work. After being in a car accident on a clear day the last thing you want to have to do is get on a motorcycle for the commute in the rain. I've been on high alert ever since, constantly checking to make sure that other drivers see me and that I see them. Just like when we ride our bikes for a major crank session, we are vulnerable out there. Be careful, stay alert. Don't text!

What I learned

This is an old draft post of a few things I learned during my training for the Syracuse 70.3


Training:

Quitting your job just may be the best thing you can do for your training, it takes a lot of time from your busy life and some things are going to get cut in the process.

I've tried gels of all kinds, but so far blocs are my fav and upset my stomach the least on the run. They are easist to injest while running (least sticky) with minimal water.

A great pre-race meal: Chicken with oil/pasta and some bread. Lots of water and have great sleep 48 hours before race morning.

Drink 16oz per hour on the bike during the race
Eat one gel or fuel replacement every 45 min.

Swim:

Cheap drug store wax ear plugs work the best and really help you not panic in open water.

90 full pull through

Hand enters the water just about ear to top of the head

time in open water is the only way you will learn to swim straight.

butterflies and mixing up your strokes can keep your shoulders loose and increase range of motion for a better and faster freestyle stroke.

Do not warm up in the water on comp day, you will be wet and have to wait around cold. Do some drills and some runs.

Bike:

One leg intervals can improve crank efficiency and teach your legs to push pull.

Baby powder in on the tube will decrease the number of pinch flats you get, so will pumping up the pressure to 90-110 psi

Run past the mount line if its congested and then just hop on.

Run:

Shallow breathing when not recovering is more efficient
That everyone has a different weekly regiment quantity that they can handle and quality is always more important.

Its a good idea to mix it up as well.

Defending the Colfax Cup

We switched a few things up this year for the Colfax Marathon Relay, a new team name and we had to switch out our lead off runner. The greatest thing about CO however is that there is no shortage of good runners to fill any team spot you may have. We settled on the team name "Race For The Tap" keeping our traditional non-offilliation and to keep it fun. We didnt make up tank tops this year, instead we were dawned in all black, murdered out and ready to kill it! Think of it as an incognito team trying to be the underdog.

Promptly at 6:05 (five mins late for the start) the gun went off. Wave 1 including: the Marathon runners, Half Marathon runners and the first leg of the relays, were off for a loop around City park on this cold and rainy morning. Many of these runners had to get up at 4am just to make it to the start on time so they were eager to get this thing under way and get out of the cold as quickly as possible. Our newbie Ryan did not let us down leading us off to a great start in about 20 mins (3.27 miles) and about 5th place.


At the exchange we were neck and neck with what was expected to be our closest competition the Boulder Express Women's team.



Kylee took to the course for us and attacked her 6.37mile leg in 38:30 (including a sub 18 min 5k). The leg was a mix of roads, Colfax Ave (passing by the state capital building), and the Cheery Creek Bike Path which concluded at Invesco Mile High stadium about a minute behind the BX women's team. We were 4th.





Next up it was Emma's turn to run the longest leg 6.46 miles which was mainly uphill. Within the first 2 mins of her run she eyed down the BX team through the cold rain and passed by without flinching. Just a cold hard snipe and she was gone. We were now in 3rd behind the Mens BX team and an all male team made up of mainly runners sponsored by the Boulder Running Company (running store). Emma also handed off at Invesco (in about 39 mins). Scott and Emma had no hand off trouble like last year. He had what was marketed as the best leg, a fast downhill run (3.97miles) that took him past all the sights, even through a firehouse. I had just missed the hand off when I arrived and started warming up but I had a pretty good estimation of the times we were expecting, of course people do some amazing things on race day. Scott showed up about 5 mins early and it was difficult to see him through the rain and recognize him in all black and with a winter hat on. He ran right past me at the beginning of the exchange shoot so I ended up having to track him down, get off my warm up gear and pawn it on him before beginning my leg. Well I didn't exactly get all my gear off, I still had on a long sleeved top that I was on the fence about taking off. While waiting 40 mins or so there had been a few snowflakes that came down and if you've read any of my post race write-ups you know that I'm more of a warm weather runner.



My 6.15 mile leg started off downhill for 1/4 of a mile and then started weaving around on the Platte River path. I probably went out around 6:20 pace for the first mile due to wanting to warm up (my feet were already numb from the start), and the downhill start. We were still the 3rd team, behind the 2nd place team by at least 4 mins so I knew the possibility of us catching up to them was pretty slim. There were a few short but steep inclines as I transfered to the Cherry Creeek Path and then the streets of Downtown Denver. It was like doing tempo intervals!




At mile 3.5 there was a massive hill on 17th St. that definately slowed me down and increased my heart rate, I fought the hill as best as I could and pulled over to the water stop at the top. It was here where I doused my already cold face with water and proceeded to snort a little as well, lets call that a water station failure, and on top of that it tasted like hose water (dont you hate that?). I recovered quickly and picked up the pace, I knew the women's BX team wasnt more then 3 mins behind and that I had to be careful to stay out of view and out of range of their anchor leg. Which she did do at mile 5, but by this time the course was starting to descend a little and I felt pretty strong and prepared for a finish battle. A half a mile later we entered City park and went on this out and back tangent to add on some distance before joining the half marathoners to the finish. This tangent included a 180* u-turn and opportunity to size up my competition. She was about a minute behind me and we slapped a high five as we passed each other. I wasn't worried at all, even if she was half the distance, she still wouldnt have been prepared for my strong kick.

When I joined the half marathoners, there were a lot of trotters and walkers (this was the last 1/4 of those runners), so I had to weave around a bit as I lengthened my stride and tried to locate the finish line. With 400 meters to go I meet up with 3 of 4 of my teammates and we all kicked it to the finish line together. It was sort of a hidden finish line and I felt like I was kicking forever! I finished in 43:10 mins which is good enough for a 10k PR, and our total time was 2:47:22. Just a few off from the Womens Marathon Olympic Trials Qualifier (2:46:59). We were the 3rd relay team, ahead of 4th by about 45 seconds and well ahead of the 2nd place coed team about 28 mins back.






View the recap article that mentions us Here

And tour the course but imagine it cold, dark and rainy


We did it! Successful in the repeat and defending the Colfax Cup! Join us next year when we go for the threepeat.



9019 OPEN-C Race For The Tap 3 1/230 2:47:22 6:24

Its finally in

“I’m on my beater bike”
"Translation: I had this baby custom-made in Tuscany using titanium blessed by the Pope. I took it to a wind tunnel and it disappeared. It weighs less than a fart and costs more than a divorce." By spokesandbeans

I give you Cortez: The newest addition to my geargasm... the Felt B-14



After almost 2 months anxiously waiting my 2011 Felt B-14 is in! While Retul was having it put together by Colorado Multisport I scheduled my final bike fitting. With Matt (who I got fit by previously) being occupied by a wedding I settled on a fitting with Ivan. A few people in the RMTC had been fit by him and he came highly recommended since he was trained by Todd Carver the bike fitting master.

This morning I showed up promptly at 0956 at the Retul studio in Boulder (if you're on time your late, especially if you are type A). However, the studio was no longer being used for bike fitting so I had to drive over to Colorado Multisport, also in Boulder. The problem with this was that CMS just had moved into a new space and the directions given were hazy at best. But I eventually found it. I was greated by a film crew Holly and Courtney from Retul for the demo they were going to film and use me in, and to my surprise Matt had reworked his schedule to get me set up!

My bike was center stage proped up and locked into a Cycle Ops trainer. Matt was using my initial zin measurements from my frame finder data to set the seat height/position and aero set up. I had brought pedals, my brand new Look KEO's and my Adamo ISM road seat (which I had been riding on my road bike for the last month to get used to it).

The session started out with a few interview questions with the Retul camera crew and then the moment I was waiting for, my introduction onto my very own TT bike. After getting my first road bike last year, I certainly stepped it up a notch this year. The fit was great, like a glove made of carbon fiber.

I got to hand it to the people at Retul, the really are no joke. They know what their doing with the fitting and rider education service that they provide. Its cutting edge and I cant wait to see whats next. Stay tuned for the demo video after its edited and approved.

Things are looking up

Ever heard of the saying keep your chin up with a keen eye on the horizon? Well thats exactly what Ive been doing since ive moved to Colorado. I've kept an open mind to try and apply myself in many different directions and its really starting to pay off. Im settling into the CO laid back lifestyle which is a lot different from the work-A-holic NYC lifestyle I recently (over a yr ago now) left behind.

Two recent opportunities have been passed to me:
First off the shoe review program with Competitor is on hiatious for a little bit but may continue with Triathlete Mag, but when one door closes another one sometimes opens right up and Brooks has invited me to review a pair through their testing program. I had signed up months ago and anyone can enter so I suggest you do so Here.

Also, I've hinted that Retul is going to include me in a promo video.

"Hi Dan,

If it's still okay with you, we would definitely still like to do some filming next Friday for a short promo video on Frame Finder. I would like to do a few interview style questions on your bike buying experience with Frame Finder and take some footage of your final fit with Ivan. I will plan on seeing you at Colorado Multisport next Friday, the 13th. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. We really appreciate you participating in the promo video.

Best Regards
Retul"

Need A Vacation?

A conversation the other day made me start to think of what perks we gain from our employer other then the agreed upon salary. It just so happens that New Belgium Brewery gives their workers a free trip to Belgum after their 5th anniversary with the company. My response to that was, "I can go to Belgium now, and not have to wait five years." Suggesting that I dont wait around for a company to reward me, I reward myself.



This got me thinking of Kona and other destination races, but mainly Kona. Triathletes work hard to get to the championships and that Hawaiian vacation. Its almost like their type A nature wont allow them to just book a trip until they think they have earned it (and in this case earning it at 12-22 hours of training a week for up to 8 months of the year). To support this theory what is the first thing people ask you after you say you just finished a marathon or Ironman? "Did you train for it?" Of course you did, and im not sure why people ask such a dumb question, but it does get asked.

Moderation is certainly key and the best way to be well rounded, happy and healthy. So remember to take a vacation every once in a while to recharge your batteries and switch things up. Experience life before it passes you by.

Cherry Creek Sneak Write-up

Cherry Creek Sneak 5 Miler
Denver, CO

I woke up with sore calfs from taking a 4 mile shake out run yesterday where I tried out my Zoot OTEC racing flats (which I've warn before but not that often). I had been hydrating properly so I didn't think it would affect my race potential too much, it would just be an added pain id have to suffer through.

I got down to Denver an hour early and its a good thing that I did. There was a 5k race at 8 and my 5m race was at 9:15. Apparently they shut down the roads at 7:30 and wouldn't let anyone get to the designated parking area. My suggestion for future races is to have an alternative parking area in mind and know the area in case traffic turns into a nightmare and threatens your getting to the start on time. I always try to get there an hour before hand even though my warm up on race day is only about 10 mins. I cheered on some people I knew in the 5k race and then found the Native Eyewear tent(one of our newest sponsors).

I took care of attaching my bib number and timing chip. The chip, true to my triathlon roots I attached to my timing chip ankle band. After that I milled around the finish area as 5k competitors were coming in and around 8:30 I began my warm up dawned in gloves, calf sleeves and under armour. My warm up consisted of a series of short jogs with intermittent stretching. I was trying to loosen up my calfs and hamstrings enough just to get through the warm up let alone become race ready. After that I did some drills. @9:00 I changed into my Zoot OTEC's, chilled with some of my teammates and headed to the start. I was a little early in getting to the start and they were just about to start the kids 1.5 miler. As I stood there a feeling came over me, now normally its that feeling of having to go to the bathroom one last time as your race nerves finally catch up to you in your crazy morning prep, but no, this time I was warm. It couldn't have been warmer then 46* but I was ready to ditch the Under Armour and go in just my thin tank top jersey. Its safe to say that I was warmer at this start then I was at the Shamrock 8k in VA Beach.

By the time I did that and walked back to the start line it was packed with at least 600 more people, but there weren't corrals. There were only suggested pace sections and I lined up at the 7:00 mile pace and under with at least 100 people in front of me by the time the gun went off. We were off right on time and it only took me a few seconds to cross the line. Within 400m things were loosened up enough to get at my own pace without much fighting.

I left the people I had started with behind me within 800m and didn't know if that was a smart move, but I went with it because I ROLL OUT! I had some great RR and Boulder fans along the course as I settled into a pace and tried to stay with a few people I had marked as "my pace." There was a short up hill and longer downhill in the first 2 miles followed by a 600m uphill that was almost steep enough to cause some damage. That ended with a U-turn down hill and that's when I started rolling. I also got a chance to wave to my RR teammates both in front of me and behind and survey the scene. Courses like this are great for that, but don't exactly lead to the best times in the world. By mile 3 I was confident that this race was going to be great, I was loving the course (yea even the U-turns that kill your stride). Mile 3-4 I know I slowed down and had a rough patch. My left hamstring started to hurt like it needed more stretching right behind the knee. My form turned more into a limp but the uphill section and view of the finish line made it go away. It was at this point I got passed by 3 people, trying to fight off one of them but ended up letting them go. I wasn't ready to start my finish phase. 400m later the finish line was in view but I had a sneaking suspicion that there were going to be more turns to come first. I was right.




The course twisted 2 blocks away and back about 600m from the finish with a series of incline and decline. Just before the final turn with 200 to go my fans were there to offer some sparks and I lit a small fire for 50m or so and then hammered back. I had to slow down for the final turn and was sort of in no mans land with no one to out kick for the finish.






I turned the corner however and there about 20ft in front of me was one of my RR teammates John. I reawakened my kick and closed like a MFer. I never ran with John but apparently he has a kick of his own and was in no mood to be passed 30m from the finish so he fought me. I thought to myself "no, come on lets not do this" at first but I'm stubborn. I reached deeper and lifted my legs higher with each cycled explosion. We were neck and neck at the wire and I out leaned him with a little elbow action at the finish. We came in at full speed and almost took out a camera man and a few other keeled over runners just beyond the finish. It was exciting to say the least!


I almost feel like I won something. I leaned out not only my RR teammate John at the finish but also I beat myself. A weaker version of me has been replaced by one that is on a 1 in a row count for PR and I'm going to keep this momentum going. Big shout out to my fans Kylee, Jax, and Emma for the words of encouragement and support, and I wanted to thank the volunteers and my RR team for just being awesome. Great job out there.

Chip 00:34:14
Clock 00:33:21
Overall place: 105/3751
Place Men: 91
Age Group: 16/199

1. 6:29
2. 12:55 (6:25)
3. 19:50 (6:55)
4. 26:?? (7:??)
5. 33:14 (7:00?)

OA pace=6:38