Sixth place! Wow. I ran the Marin Ultra Challenge 50-mile race on Saturday March 10, 2018 and finished sixth place overall, third in the ultra-competitive 40-49 age group. It was a great day: perfect weather, no nutrition problems, good pace management, and only one small silly mistake. SIXTH!
(Awesome photo by Chris Cleary on Crowdpic)
My first ultra was the 2017 Lake Sonoma 50. 50 miles. 10,000ft uphill. 10,000ft downhill. Sara kept asking me "why?" while I was training. Maybe I'm running from something. Maybe I'm too competitive. Nah, it's just a good way to have second dinner and not feel bad about myself.
I had an awesome race. I made a plan, I ran the plan, and everything worked. I finished half an hour faster than my goal in 30th place. I think I'm hooked!
It's been four years since my last triathlon, but I managed to be one of the lucky 2300 when registration opened and snagged a spot for the 2015 Vineman 70.3. I had a great race, but I have to admit there were some tough times during the run when I was wondering "why do I do this?".
The Fighting Bobas arrange a Team Time Trial (TTT) race in Geyserville. It's a 16.8-mile course with some rolling hills and very little traffic. It's a ride at your own risk kind of thing, no services offered by the Bobas, etc. Indeed it seems like they don't even really offer timing services (ooh, burn).
Colleagues and friends from Keysight, Medtronic, and the Red Peloton cycle club - Jon M, John S, Loren B, Nina S, Steve R, Joe F, Patrick Z, Nate B, and I - joined to form the team Clown Jewels. Nina, Joe, Patrick and I were on full TT bikes with aero wheels and helmets. Everyone else suffered!
I've been training hard since mid-May, logging 20-50 miles per week, and Sunday morning it all came together. I ran a 3:08:07 at the Santa Rosa Marathon, a new PR by 32 minutes, and qualified for Boston! It was really hard. I'm really proud of myself.
I raced Bike Monkey’s Tuesday Night Twilight series for the second time. I missed a few races while recovering from pneumonia, which I had during my first race but didn't know about. I had a fun time, was smarter with my exertions, and finished a very close second place at 31.5mph and 766W!
I raced my first criterium yesterday evening at Bike Monkey's Tuesday Night Twilight series. I had fun but was over-eager, screwed up my racing strategy, spent too much energy early, and threw away a podium spot. I coasted over the line in something like 10th place.
After the brutal season-opening Wildflower I wasn't too keen on another half-Ironman triathlon. The Vineman 70.3 changed everything. What a fun race! I set new personal records in the swim and bike and minimized my losses on the run.
The Wildflower Long Course is well-known as a brutal early-season race: 3500ft elevation on the bike and 2100ft on the run! Crazy. The great thing about doing such a hard race as my first 70.3 mile half-Ironman distance is that I will be faster in every race from now on! With little sleep and much less training time available (thanks Charlie) I knew it was going to be a tough race. It didn't disappoint.
I raced the 2010 Marin County Triathlon on an amazing beautiful morning in China Camp on San Pablo Bay. Last Triathlon of the season! I raced hard, finished third in my age group, and most importantly BEAT MY TIME GOAL FOR THE SEASON!
Cycling
Running
Triathlon