2nd Overall Pro at Duathlon Nationals

I would like to congratulate my athelte Ryan G. he took 2nd overall at a tough race last weekend at Pro duathlon Nationals. Well done Ryan.

kevin McDowell

I have the pleasure of coaching Kevin McDowell. This 15 year old went to Mexico to try to qualify for ITU World championship qualifier. Kevin finished 2nd American with the fastest US run split! 16:02 off the bike. Kevin, you have been working so hard. Way to go!

Simon again!

I would like to congratulate Simon Leversha for his PR at IM Arizona. He faced the same adverse conditions all those great competitors faced and completely over came the hard day. Well done Simon, that is 4 IM races, 3 PRs!

And another..

If I am reporting PR performances, I would be wrong to leave out Steve Mitchell. Steve and I have worked together for almost 2 years now. He was over 5 hours in his marathons, and has since come close to 4 hours within the first year!

A couple weeks back Steve did the Shamrock Shuffle, here in Chicago. The shamrock Shuffle is an 8K in the heart of downtown. This year several people said their GPS had the course about .25 long. Well, that may be the case, but it didn’t stop Steve from shaving off another 4 min from his previous PR there.

Steve, you rock! As a very busy executive, I have seen you make the most out of some very real time constraints.

Another PR, and it is only April!

I want to congratulate Andy Wellman. Andy has been an athlete of mine for several years. He continues to improve and achieve every goal we set out for him. As his cycling was his strength, and his running needed some work a couple years ago we were very happy when he was able to run 3:40 or better at IM Wisconsin a couple years back. This year he decided he wanted to improve his 3:21 open marathon PR , and qualify for Boston.

Andy went 3:01:36 at the St. Louis Marathon!!!! A 19 min PR. Great job Andy, you worked so hard, you deserve the great day you had.

Heading to Arizona

Rehab is going well. It helps o be married to a great PT! We expected 4-6 weeks off running, and I have actually been cleared to run three 30 min sessions so far. It gets a touch sore after each run, but it is definitely on the mend. When I asked if it would be OK to do the run at AZ, I got that look that wives give husbands when they think they are complete idiots. It was deserved.

Under advisement of some close friends and advisors I have decided to swim bike only. To help fight the temptation of doing the run, I will not even put running shoes in T2 (maybeJ) I am very excited to be able to stand on the sidelines and cheer on the athletes I work with as well. They are going to need it as it is expected to be 96+ degrees! Now I am somewhat glad to be injured.

To everyone reading this doing Arizona, Good Luck! Back off your pace strategy and realize the heat will slow you down. If I were to be doing the run, I seriously doubt I would wear an aero helmet. I think I would opt instead for keeping body core temperature as low as possible.

Out 4-6 weeks (no running) ughhhh!

I am halfway through being out 4-6 weeks with an Achilles injury. This is probably one of only times in my life I have been forced to stop any sport for something like this. The first time was all in the off season, so the impact and effect were not too great. This time I am supposed to be not only doing the Ironman with my friends, but also when I am supposed to be gearing up for my major races.

I am on the fence with going to the Ironman and doing the swim and the bike, then being there to cheer on my friends. If I had it my way, this is exactly what I would do. The issue with this situation however is the aftermath we all have to face from our peers with a “DNF”, even if justified.

I remember getting into the sport because of the support and general feeling of being accepted, encouraged, and supported by friends, peers, and people I look up to. It is with that same feeling I try to coach my athletes with. Too often athletes are no longer given this same treatment when they start or struggle through hard times. It’s unfortunate.

I’m on the fence on what I should or better said want to do. Ill think it over for a couple more days, but the fact that it is still so windy, cold and SNOWY here makes for a good argument it would be fun to just go...have fun. Despite what the critics say.