Unfortunately pulling out of races has been the trend in the last two blog entries. I am finally recovering from my illness, but it took quite a pounding on my body. Sometimes I don’t hesitate to race regardless of setbacks, but in this case I have decided it is best for me to pull out of the race. My next official event will be Buffalo Springs 70.3 on June 29th, but I could possibly have another event pop up before then depending on my training.

Illness can be tough to handle. As an athlete, I have never banked off of anything more than the previous day’s work. What I mean by saying that is I believe I am only as good as my preparation. This is not to say that other athletes roll with nothing other than their natural born talent. It just means that my ability to prepare and execute is what I believe to be my strength.

Illness, injury, and offseasons all pretty much set us up to improve over the long term (assuming neither of the three becomes chronic). Once we bounce back and move forward we usually surpass the last height of our progression/fitness, but its crucial to patiently wait its return (in my opinion). Forcing old fitness will only make you as good as you were, and not as good as you could be.

Its also naturally frustrating to find yourself ill or injured. Often times it comes at a point when you feel unbreakable and unstoppable. Two Sundays ago I finished my long run along Magnolia Road and consciously acknowledged my good form. I was looking forward to hammering it out at Ironhorse and Boise, but 12 hours later I had a bloody nose and a fever. Breaking through and breaking down are sometimes separated by a very thin line.

To good health,

jdb

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Well I have had to make (actually my body made it for me) the decision to not race this weekend in Durango. I had planned to take on a three day omnium competition (road race, criterium, and time trial) over Memorial Day weekend before heading to the Boise 70.3 on June 1. Unfortunately I came down with a nasty little virus that has had me log my fourth zero (aka ‘day off’) in a row.

I would describe the illness as either 1) a severe cold, or 2) a light case of the flu. Either situation is completely lame, but I am forced to be reminded that I’m not invincible from time to time. Each time I get sick I usually have a sense of optimism on day one. I often think that it will only be a 24 hour bug and I can be back on the wagon in no time. Then day two comes along and I give in and lay in bed for 23 of 24 hours. On day three I’m usually frustrated and bored. Today is day four and I am still bored, but a little more optimistic. I was actually able to sleep through the entire night for the first time and that greatly enhanced my recovery, though I’m still hacking like a champ. Tomorrow is an exciting day because it_might_involve a 45 minute bike ride….

…Living the dream…  ….on the couch!

At any rate, once I get over this I am sure I will find good form as May’s training has been solid. I cannot guarantee on my start at the Boise 70.3, but if I feel healthy by Wednesday of next week then I will at least make the trip, if not the start line.

Enjoy your Memorial Day weekend for me. Race hard if you’re racing.

Healthy Training,

jd

There are plenty of famous training routes in Boulder, but the one that I appreciate the most is Magnolia Road. “Mags” was probably always famous to some, but it received a lot of attention (on my end at least) after Chris Lear wrote Running with the Buffaloes. Lear documented the University of Colorado’s Sunday long runs up and down Magnolia Road.

Magnolia starts as a paved road rising above Boulder Canyon, but 4.5 miles up it turns from pavement to dirt and continues for another 7.5 miles to the Peak-to-Peak Highway above Nederland, Colorado. From there you can cross the highway and run another 3K to the the turnaround, but most folks choose to turn around once they reach the Peak-to-Peak highway.

The topography of the run is quite challenging. You begin atop a hill at 8200 feet before descending down to 8000 feet (the lowest point of the run). From there you stair step up to 8700 feet to the highway. If you run from the start of the dirt to the highway and back you will have run 15 miles with 1200 feet of ascending and descending; all of which will be above 8000 feet.

I first started running Magnolia Road in 2005 when I came to Boulder and it became a weekly staple throughout the summer. I often get a strong sense of “supposed to” when I go up there.

Huh?

There are times when I train when I feel as though I am doing exactly what I am “supposed to” be doing to improve. Mags is one of those sessions that only requires that you show up. From there the road will give you the stimulus you need. Should you decide to go out too hard it will send you home humbled, but if you complete it you will ultimately become a fitter athlete.

I have never considered myself to be overly obsessed with data, but I have every split from every run on Magnolia recorded in my log. Yesterday I ran Magnolia for the first time this season and PRed the session by more than three minutes. More importantly, I did it by ‘just running’ and not by hammering. The splits are only relevant when you have a lot of data to go by (because of the climbing and elevation), but after four years the splits are actually starting to resemble ones from a ‘real’ run. Hopefully we can expect to see more where that came from as the weeks roll by towards Ironman Canada.

Summer is almost here,

jd

This past Friday I ventured to an elementary school in Louisville (right outside of Boulder) to speak to a group of fourth graders about triathlon and health. I was not sure how interested 10 year olds would be in triathlon, but they were very engaging and, honestly, insightful. When I asked them to help me list off a number of factors that contribute to success in sport and life they left me with littles else to add. Their understanding of hard work, nutrition, and health seemed well beyond my own understandings at their age ( and I considered myself to be more conscientious than most as their age).

I tried to keep my presentation educational, but more importantly, fun. I was secretly trying to recruit a couple athletes, but I didn’t want to come across as pushy!

I mention recruiting because my house recently added a new resident, Australian Triathlete Joe Gambles. Joe is a 26 year old professional from Tasmania who is stateside for six months to race in North America. When he arrived we spent some time asking questions about each other; sports and otherwise. We are still in the process of getting to know one another, but he did tell me a bit about his background (read his website for more info from the link above).

One fact I will pull from his bio is that he raced his first professional race at 16.  I might be one year older than him in human years, but his athletic lifespan makes me look like a little pup. I spent my teen years getting to know Mr. Marlboro.

At any rate, his athletic lifestyle has not deterred his motivation and its pretty exciting to see that someone who has been racing for more than half their life is ready to tackle his training (he puts in 30 hours while working in AUS) and racing. Sport is the life he knows. I’m sure he will continue to do well and hopefully I can learn some things from him while he lives across the hall.

Back to the kiddos…

My hope, current and long term, is to grow the participation of triathlon with America’s youth. I’d like to see 26 year old Americans mention that they have been racing for ten years (and still love the sport).

Check back in 30 years and see how that is coming along.

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The Jouney of JD Part Two is now live on Xtri here.

Its May 13th and its snowing in Boulder.

jd

If you have ever been to this website before, you probably have noticed a few changes since the last time you logged on. The folks at the o2 Group out of Golden, Co are responsible for all the changes. If you have any web needs I would get in contact with them. You will not be disappointed.

I know its been a long time since I wrote the first installment of “The Journey of JD” and I apologize for not getting out the second installment in a timely fashion. I got caught up with all of our training camps in March/April and neglected any writing assignments I had given myself.  I received a lot of postive feedback from the first artcile and I promise to have it finished this week. You can probably expect to see it by Wednesday or Thursday on Xtri.

More later,

JD