JC's Blog

2011 Cyclocross Season Recap

2011-11-28T10:48:00.001-08:00

I think 2011 cross season is a wrap for me. My first 'season' at this crazy sport consisted of 12 races, 12 weeks, lots of pain, and lots of fun. Yesterday was the last race of the SCX series, and a malfunctioning rear derailleur made for a lack-luster race. Ugh.

This tasty mud isn't doing anything for the pain.

At the end of the day, I walk away from the Cat 4 35+ line-up, with 11races, 8top 10's including 2 wins, feeling really lucky to have raced hard with tough guys way more talented, in racing conditions that continue to scare the daylights out of me, and managed to generate some results. Most importantly, I walk away with a group of great new friends, and look forward to tearing up the mud with them at a slightly different time next year.

Photo courtesy of Andrew Malakoff

Now, where are my swim trunks and my areobars?

winner, winner, chicken dinner # 2

2011-11-14T15:39:00.000-08:00

Woah, man. I won my second CX race this weekend. After a slight mechanical (rock loged in cleat) netted me 9th the previous weekend, I got really motivated to try and grab the win at Woodland Park. I think it had to do with this race venue being just 10minutes from my house, and that my family had made a firm threat to come out and see the madness.

"Let's see those fists in the air!" said the announcer

I am pretty new to the CX scene, and in/around Seattle, there's 2 groups that do a great job putting on races. Now, I don't know if one is more 'true to cross roots' than the other, but I do know MFG courses are awesome and wide, and have lots of flow and speed to them. I enjoy them more than SCX venues (probably cuz I lack the really good offroad skills).

Opening the gap...

Donovan gave me a thumbs up from the sideline b4 the start, and then it was GO time. Got a good start, made a move on lap 2, and then I just poured on all the gas I had and managed to hold off the hard charge of the MFG series season leaders. At the finish, I gave a hug to pretty much EVERYONE within reach, and then went to celebrate with a nice brunch with my family and my good buddy Joe. It was way cool to catch a glimpse and hear Theresa and Donovan every lap. Thank you Lizzy, Matty, Jesse, Lindsay, Jeff, Tate, Andrew and all 900+ other people for all your cheers while braving the chill. And thanks for reading!

21, 4..... and 1.

2011-10-30T17:18:00.000-07:00

the number sequence is a follow-up to this post.

I won my first CX race. Woah. I just went for it with 2 laps to go and it worked. My $600 'mad-props' rig and its little engine held off the cast of main characters that week after week has schooled me.

And what does 1st place in the weekend-warrior, young-geezer category get you, aside from burning lungs, tired legs, pats on the back, friendly handshakes and high 5's? It gets you a: a) Muddy rig, b) waffle-pancake mix, c) water bottle (from one of my own sponsors), and d) a very cool cowbell (left over from a different race/event). Cool shwag aside, I'm really psyched about coming up with THE race-winning move and the fact that it worked.

Let's see if I can do it again the next couple weeks. I'm getting addicted to this offroad madness.

more cross!

2011-10-17T15:57:00.000-07:00

Ugh. This past weekend I got my butt handed to me by a race course that had more tricky off-road parts than I knew what to do with. I hit the deck WAY too many times, more than in any other outing.

Crazy eye of the tiger!

Picture 2 is of a really loooooooong stretch of sand. I was able to ride it completely only once. I like how I seem to be the only one really stressing over the deep sand, while everyone seems very much in control.

I will improve my grip in the sand if I grit my teeth! ARGHH!!!!!

It was a humbling experience. Hope to do better next weekend.

Halloween is not too far away now....

2011-10-14T15:53:00.000-07:00

Donovan and cousin Matty

19, 33, 12, 9, 7....

2011-10-13T09:07:00.000-07:00

Those are my placings so far racing cross this season. I think I'm getting the hang of it, and every outing provides a chance to learn, and try new things. One thing I need is to be more assertive at times, though it is hard to throw caution out the door while sprinting hard and bumping around with guys that have 50-75lbs on you. Well, that and I need better off-road skills. Definitely helps when you get a call-up for the start so you are not racing from behind.

If you've never tried it, you gotta get out there and give it a whirl.

One more chance to learn...

2011-09-26T09:11:00.000-07:00

Summer made its last stance this weekend. With warm temperatures and less rain than expected, it provided us with nice days for kiddie futbol and cyclocross. Donovan's soccer team, the Super Hero Squad faced off against the Fire Ninjas. They were pretty evenly matched, and either tied or won their game. In the end, it doesn't matter much, they had a good amount of fun.

Gas, gas, gaaaaaaaaasssssss......

On Sunday, I got my adrenaline shot. It was a good race, didn't go down, and it gave me more experience at this crazy off-road thing and learned a thing or 3. At my weight, I can run 30psi. Squishy tires...

Check out the $3,000 wheelset behind me... ooh la la....

Photos courtesy of Jon Hernandez, so-so cross rider, and heckler extraordinaire.

Have a good week!

Cyclocross, cyclocross... muddy all the way....

2011-09-21T14:37:00.000-07:00

You know... like 'Jingle Bells.' CX race season has officially started here in Washington State. 2 races under my belt so far. No mud or cold just yet, but I am sure that will change soon. Oh yeah, the tri-geek that I am, I'm racing cx with my trisuit in those pictures. It is just so much more comfy than cycling bibs and/or shorts. I may need to look into a cx skinsuit... mhhh.....

At this time, there will be no 3rd Ironman for me this year. We had plans to hit Ironman Florida, but the CFO and CEO sat down with the Directeur Sportif and my manager, and collectively decided ending the season was probably best. The CTO also is requesting more time be dedicated to all sorts of Lego spaceships. Gotta keep everyone happy.

Cheers.

Feliz Cumpleaños, Mona

2011-09-14T10:32:00.000-07:00

We miss you. Please keep watch over us.

Wednesday morning felt a little heavy....

2011-09-08T15:11:00.000-07:00

Early in the morning, my Father called to let me know my Grandmother had passed away. She lived a full & happy life to 100. May she rest in peace. I am now officially out of grandparents.

About an hour later, Donovan stepped up to his first day of school. Granted, it is just kindergarten, but it is a 'real' elementary school, and it is big. We are talking tardy bells, lunch boxes, school buses... made me feel like a real grown up.

About two hours later, Theresa was visiting a dear friend in the hospital, his life nearing its end at the hands of cancer.

All this made me reflect on how life moves, how fleeting is our existence, and how crucial it is to be happy in the now and here to create strong memories. Right, I'm no philosopher; All I know is yesterday AM felt like one of those nature shows on the balance of life was unfolding right before my eyes.

jc

IMC -- 19th MPRO

2011-09-01T14:58:00.000-07:00

Ah, sweet, cruel Canada, I shall conquer you one day... Now, a few days removed from the day, I think it's time I give you credit for (once again) spanking my butt. Your heat and wind did me in last Sunday. You have gotten the best of me over several rounds. One of the future ones will be mine though...

There isn't a lot else to tell here, except the Similkameen Valley winds and the heat brought pain to a whole lot of people. The swim times were slow this year, and mine was slower thanks to an overzealous drafting lady that continually whacked my legs in the water, disrupting my position, and direction. Her antics slowed us both down. Thanks a bunch. My B70 Helix helped me cruise the swim easily otherwise. I then had a decent T1 (1:17).

My right groin muscle was in pain for about 1hr after getting on the bike. No idea why. Otherwise, the first half of the bike was good, and I kept riding at my target power. My stomach was a bit unsettled from the beginning, and I do wonder if I self-sabotaged my plan with the extra salt I added to my EFS drink servings. I fell a little behind on my planned nutrition, and struggled the rest of the ride, made worse by the winds. I was told I was 27th at Yellow Lake. Ugh... My Blue Triad rode well, complimented by the nice & stiff ride from HED's Flamme Rouge Jet Disc and H3, just wish the engine had been firing properly....

Off the bike, I really questioned what I'd be able to do on the run. The energy I drew from seeing Theresa and then having Donovan running beside me propelled me fwd. I wasn't moving as fast as I wanted, but I would push as best as I could, and on this day, it would only be 6:50s. Or so I thought, as the second half, into the wind, saw me slow down a lot, and it became a real struggle. If you cheered me on, and I completely ignored you, I am sorry- I was too busy trying to put one foot in front of the other in a straight line. The last 10mi I just wanted to be done, lick my wounds and be with my family. I came in 19th among the guys. And I probably should have taken an IV at the end. Though I maintain I prefer to race in the heat, the temperature differential from Seattle to Penticton was too much for me last Sunday. Hats off to Chris Bagg- a pretty big guy from mild-summer Portland who did awesome in the heat. You really rocked it, dude.

Vacations are awesome!

The rest of our vacation was great, Donovan played a lot with his friend Anja, got a new IM hat, tried rock climbing, and enjoyed one last trip before starting kindergarten. Thanks to our friends Mike, Su and Anja for hosting us. As always, thanks to my sponsors for their support. Time to chill....

JC

Oh Canada....

2011-08-26T20:04:00.000-07:00

We made it safe and sound to Canada, after a scorching hot day in the van. It was 105F at the border!That's it, I am getting a quote on recharging the AC in the van! Woah... Along those same lines, I always wish it was hotter at races. Well, this time I got my wish come true. Let's just hope the temperature gradient between Seattle and here doesn't prove too much, too quickly.

Donovan got a chance to get into Skaha Lake, just minutes from our friends' house. A good idea given how crazy hot it was today. He also played at a park with water-spraying features. As always, he has a good time anywhere we go.

I'm getting used to playgrounds with big lakes in the background....

After a not-so good nite of sleep, I got my act together and headed on out for the organized 'social ride'. I learned the draw of freebies is powerful, and as such, only 3 of us showed up. S'all good.... 1st, 16th, and 25th in 2010. Let's see what we can do this hot year.

Canada, Ukraine, and Mexico.... representin'

More soon.

Lake Chelan... oh how awesome you are...

2011-08-23T10:20:00.000-07:00

Been procrastinating writing a blog thanks to keeping busy with a good and final build for IMC, and a fantastic week-long family vacation we had at Lake Chelan, WA. Man, is that place beautiful!

It is very much like Penticton, in terms of big mountains, big lakes, just an awesome playground. I will say, Lake Chelan is the nicest body of water I have ever been in. It really makes Lake Washington here in Seattle seem like an overgrown, murky petri dish.

Moonrise over the coolest open water pool, seen from backyard.

I got to experience what it must be like to be a non-working, full-time pro, focusing on training & recovery. I actually had to watch how much I was training, as putting in the hours was very easy, and afterall, I was smack in the middle of tapering.

"Hey Donovan, can we go slower? This is WAY over race pace..."

Donovan had a blast- We played mini golf, rode our bikes, swam in the pools and in the lake, made sand castles, went to a water park. He would continuously ask if we could just live there. After a weeks' time, we made it back, with recharged batteries, looking forward to one last summer trip up to Canada for some racing this coming Sunday, and then getting ready for kindergarten... fast times....

Ironman Canada Bike Ride, 08/26 Friday

2011-08-23T08:52:00.000-07:00

For those of you in Penticton or its vicinity this week, Scott Tremblay and I have organized a bike ride on Friday August 26, departing at 8:30AM from the Northeast corner of Skaha Lake Park.

The plan is to head down Lakeside Rd, check out the McLean Creek climb, and when we get to Ok Falls, hang a right and ride back on the run course. That way, people get to see the steepest climbs on the ride and run. 19mi total, away from stoplights and off highways. The ride will last ~1hr. The pace is easy and social. Bring your friends and family.

If you are in Penticton this week for Ironman, either to race or spectate, come on by, be social with some of the rockstars of our sport- You'll have to come and see who shows up...

Please feel free to contact me with questions or comments.

Happy taper to all.

Does it get better than this?

2011-07-26T09:22:00.000-07:00

That's right: #43 is 5yrs old.
Notice an actual timming chip.

Walking to race with his transition pack

Goggles that matched swim cap color, very cool.

Easy-peasy. Now, where's my bike?

Happy triathlete with proud Papa.

As a father and tri geek, watching Donovan do his first swim-bike-run race has imprinted one of the coolest memories to date. He was all smiles every time we'd see him. The first words out of his mouth afterwards were "I want to do it again!" On the days leading up to his race, he was so excited, letting everyone know he was going to be a triathlete.

In true triathlete form, upon finishing, he grabbed some snacks and water, and asked for a massage. And then had fun on the play structure at the park.

IM Cd'A 13 MPro--- A positive race report, 4years in the making....

2011-07-02T16:19:00.000-07:00

The water temperature was ridiculous cold to me. It yielded some slow swim times and affected lots of people. With the water temps somewhere around mid-50s, and the air temps at 7AM not much warmer, I knew I was going to be hurting * I F * I managed to get out of the water. Yes, I spent TEN minutes in T1. That is the amount of time the AWESOME volunteers spent trying to warm me up and getting me into dry clothes (I had zero finger dexterity, was cramping everywhere and shivering big time). My B70 Helix wetsuit kept most of my body warm, but unfortunately, not the feet and hands.

Hmmh.. let me check the water temp- yep, it is about FREEZING deg Celsius.

I spent the first 20mi of the ride shivering and with aching muscles, and it took me 70(!) miles to be able to feel my toes again. This was a bit of a blessing, as I hurt my right foot pretty bad whent I tripped getting out of the water. My podiatrist said it probably hurt like all hell but with my feet frozen, I didn't even notice. In fact, the skin abrasions didn't even bleed. That's how cold I was. My Blue Triad was flawless and let me cover the ride using only 3.1w/kg. Thanks Michael for letting me borrow the awesome HED Jet disc wheel, brother!

Arm + leg warmers, gloves, vest, toe covers, and, yes, still shivering all over

Got off the bike, put on my bright green shoes on & got to work. Turns out I bruised a couple ligaments in my foot when I tripped and fell, and this kept me from running my best so I'm a little bit disappointed. Don't get me wrong-I pushed my bruised foot as hard as I could for 26 miles. I am good with the marathon time I was able to put together with this hiccup, and it gives me the confidence to know I can run myself back into it if I don't trip next time.

Push, Papa! Push!!

Coming down the finish, the emotions really overcame me, seeing my beautiful wife and son smiling from a distance, jumping up and down, excited that we had been able to finally put together a positive race at this event that had broken me 3x in a row. I pumped my fists, grabbed my country's flag, thanked the crowd and felt like the king of the world! 13th place isn't great at all, but what I'm really taking away are the big positives, including figuring out how to pace my OWN race so I can play my strengths, and overcoming less-than-ideal (for me) race conditions.

My nutrition was perfect (finally!). I woke up to an Ultragen shake and 5xgluten-free waffles. I hydrated from a bottle with nuun while it got time to go. With 20mins to go, I had 1 bottle with 1serving of grape EFS + 1.5scoops of Pre-Race. During the bike, I consumed ~300kcals of EFS per hour. On the run, two flasks- 1 with liquid shot, 1 with 1serving EFS+0.5scoop Pre-Race. I grabbed another 2 flasks of the same at the halfway point. I felt strong all day long, zero GI distress. I am so grateful 1st Endurance has helped me figure out what works for me. I should also add I sodium loaded the day before, anticipating it could get hot on the run.

I would also like to thank our homestay hosts, Al and Dani, who made our stay very relaxing and really took care of us. We had a great trip. Now, it's time to enjoy some sun (and ice cream!)

Thanks for reading.

Ironman Coeur d'Alene - 13th MPro

2011-06-30T09:30:00.000-07:00

Story soon. I would like to quickly thank all my friends and family for the encouraging messages I got on the days leading up to last Sunday, and my awesome sponsors for their support.

Team Ramirez walks away with a positive experience, ready to ramp it up at Canada.

Meet & greet with fellow IM'ers and ~100kids....

2011-06-24T20:24:00.000-07:00

Friday in beautiful and COLD Cd'A. First let me get the complaining out of the way- the water is very cold (to me) and the air temperature is comfortable... in my DOWN Jacket...

With that out of the way, and after the choppy cold 6AM swim, the social ride this AM was good, and we had a good showing.

The guys and gal seemed to have a good time, we discussed race course logistics and got a chance to see the harder of the hills we'll see on Sunday. There were a few that had not ridden the course before and felt relieved to have seen it ahead of time. Everyone sampled and walked away with a smattering of products and water bottles from First Endurance, and with pint glasses from Blue Cycles. Though I suggested using them after the race, more than a few people said they wouldn't wait until then for a beer.

My sponsors are awesome and I'm truly grateful for their support to do things like this. I know I definitely enjoyed the chance to talk to everyone that showed- at the end of the day, we are all the same, we've all trained hard, we're ready to complete this journey.

Later in the afternoon, I was invited to speak at the Boys and Girls Club of Kootenai, in Post Falls. That was actually really cool, being able to hold the attention of some 100 kids ages 6-12 for about 45minutes.

So you see, all you do is swim, bike and run....

They asked me all kinds of questions, wanted to know all sorts of things- Does your helmet make you fly? Is it true your shoes are glued to your pedals? Do you have to buy food when you are in the race? How much water do you drink? What is the fastest you've gone on your bike? Can I ride your bike? Is it true volunteers make sure you are ok when you finish? Are you going to win?

Can we touch the bike? Sure, you can....

It's been a day full of activity. We are tired. Time to watch a movie and call it a night. Thanks for reading.

Dear Cd'A,

2011-06-21T10:45:00.000-07:00

I wrote you this brief post last year.
Over the years on your course, I have completed and abandoned;
I have cried with joy, and with pain and frustration;
I have been hot, cold, dealt with stomach pain, even collapsed and been removed by medics;
I respect your choppy water, your sharp hills, and your heat and wind;
5 more days til we meet again. Can hardly wait...

jc

Ironman Coeur d'Alene--Bike Ride on Friday 06-24

2011-06-07T16:28:00.000-07:00

For those of you attending Cd'A 2011, I've organized a bike ride on Friday June 24, departing at 9:30AM from Cyclemetrix. Jim Kozak (owner, Cyclemetrix) has graciously agreed to host the ride at his shop at Dalton Gardens (right off N 4th St. on the bike course).

First Endurance, and Blue Cycles will hook up attendees with samples and merchandise. This is a chance to meet people, shake off some pre-race jitters and walk away with some cool free stuff. The ride will last ~1hr. The pace is easy and social. Bring your friends and family.

Please feel free to contact me with questions or comments. I will post an update in case details change. There is a chance a couple other pros may join in as well.

Happy training, it's almost taper time....

JC

I am done with my homework.

2011-06-07T09:44:00.000-07:00

The last big workouts in preparation for Ironman Cd'A got done this past week (well, the previous weeks as well). It was a block of 3 weeks, with several 85-100mi rides, 20mi fast runs, 3-4hr long-hard bricks, producing lots of fatigue, soreness and in 3week's time, hopefully, a fast race time.

The last big ride was 100mi, here's my trusty BLUE rocket with training wheels at Marymoor Park, halfway into the ride. It was a beautiful day, and a great confidence-building workout.

My family has been very supportive and understanding of the time I've spent away lately. We are gonna get it right this time at Cd'A. No more monkey wrenches...

Long weekend of training

2011-05-31T10:08:00.000-07:00

Whew... 3-day weekends, specially around this time, mean lots of hours of working hard. This one was no exception. Saturday and Sunday were both long/hard brick days, Monday was build day, which totally kicked my butt. I had help from Theresa and we basically spent all day Monday building this:

The structure was given to us by a neighbor. One trip to Home Depot, lots of drilling, sawing, wrenching, lifting... The end result? One very happy 5yr old, two very tired and sore parents. Who knew re-building and retrofitting one of these was such hard work???

back to training.

new schooliform on its way

2011-05-26T08:44:00.000-07:00

Here is a shot of the new trisuit, on its way from getting printed, ready for some summer racing. This also gives me an opportunity to thank everyone in my corner. Thank you Mike @Blue Seventy, thank you Robert @1st Endurance, thank you Chance @Blue Cycles, thank you Kimberly @Nuun, thank you Scott&Julie @Oomph! and thank you Mona for putting me on this Earth, and keeping watch over us.

See you at the races.

draggin, to kickin, to draggin again

2011-05-23T11:07:00.000-07:00

What I mean to say is these last few days I've had a combination of low and high points, where I feel I've been dragging my butt around, feeling lots of fatigue, and general 'heavy legs', and then I'll have a kick-butt workout where everything goes perfect. Not every workout can be/should turn out perfect. If they were, you are simply not challenging yourself enough. One of the hardest things to figure out is when you need to push past the fatigue and when it is time to back off and work on recovery

We had a pretty good weekend. Spent some good time building lego spaceships after devouring waffles, then headed over to the Museum of Flight, one of our fave spots to go hang out in the city.

On Sunday, somebody was really excited about getting a lava lamp for their room.

sunny skies in the emerald city

2011-05-23T10:51:00.000-07:00

The sight of bright sunny dry skies is very welcome for us all here in the PNW. The spring has been miserable up to this point, grayer, colder and wetter than what is considered normal, so a few days of happy weather has everyone sheding the coats and reaching for the shades.... ahhh... now it just needs to warm up.

Today I want to talk about 1st Endurance's awesome product line and the stuff I use. First off, EFS drink, in grape flavor, is the staple for me. It gives me the carbs, electrolytes and amino acids to keep the engine turning all day long. I have been experimenting with the low-carbo fueling strategy, even on harder days, and 4hrs seems to be my breaking point, where 1scoop/hour of EFS is enough, but not if I need to go beyond that time. I plan on racing on 2+scoops per hour. Next up is liquid shot, vanilla. I grab a flask for those long runs, and just hit water fountains along the way. Like EFS drink, liquid shot is a blend of all the goodies necessary to keep the legs cranking.

Ultragen both as a pre-race and post-race fuel is hard to beat. Cappuccino for me, pls. As the name implies, Pre-race (1-2scoops mixed in to EFS drink) helps kick-start early workouts and races. Finally, like a lot of the other guys who use 1st Endurance, I take Optygen HP and their Multi V on a daily basis. If you want to take your racing and training to the next level, don't hesitate to try out these aswesome products. If you don't want to take my word for it, just ask the guys with the bonafide firepower, like Cavendish or the Wurteles.

peace!

Mother's day

2011-05-10T15:54:00.000-07:00

Happy mother's day to all you moms out there! We honored Theresa by waking up extra early (well, Donovan's normal wake-up time, but super early for me), and heading out to this bakery to get some "panecitos" to surprise her. We did this on Friday and Sunday. We then took Grandma JoAn out for a pretty good lunch on Sunday. Today, Diez de Mayo, is mother's day in my homeland. I think Donovan and I might opt for a restaurant rather than trying to convince Theresa we can make waffles for dinner. As always, we will think of Mona and remember the good memories we have of her...

On to happier things, today the sun is out. Holly crap, what a rare occurrence! I'm not one to notice much the weather when running, but the weather today made for a glorious mid-day run, with hill repeats up this road here, known as the Magnolia Bridge. It's about a half-mile climb before it flattens out, and because it is so exposed, on headwind days like today, it can be one tough hill.

Anyhow, enjoy the sun if you are in the 206.
Peace!

Donovan's 1st Race of 2011

2011-05-03T08:30:00.000-07:00

It's official. My 5-yr old beat me to the start of the race season. A local 5k race (which my sis-in-law ran in fast style) put on a kids race, and Donovan jumped at the opportunity to toe the start line and show his early-season form. I could tell he had pre-race jitters, it was awesome. We shook them out by shaking our legs and arms before the gun.

Donovan did not stop once, keept an even pace, and kicked hard for the finish. Afterwards, he enjoyed the spoils of his effort in the form a donut.

"This donut is awesome, let's do the run again!"

We are starting to finally enjoy somewhat warm and sunny days. Well, at the very least, they are happening on the weekends, which is always a plus.

The thumbs-up mono

2011-04-14T14:53:00.000-07:00

Ryan Henry Ward (aka, Henry) is a Seattle artist, and for the past years, he's been adding some humor and color to the Fremont and Ballard neighborhoods in the form of funny-looking murals on random walls, garage doors, trucks, etc. I don't know much about him, but in my book he is a cool dude, who paints cool doodles, and adds a little character to our neighborhoods.
In Mexico, 'mono' is a term loosely used for a doodle/characture (among many other things). Donovan and I loved the mono below, the focal point of a larger mural. And every time we'd drive past it (at least 1x day), we'd give each other thumbs-up while saying "Eh", like Fonzie.
It's the " mono that says 'Eh'," we used to call him.

Sadly, this mural would constantly get tagged with worthless spray paint crap, and constantly restored. It's now completely gone, unfortunately, to make way for a residential project. At any rate, it's a tiny little memory with Donovan and I felt like blogging about it. If you'd like to learn more about Henry, here's an interview I found.

jc

Slight niggle...

2011-04-08T11:20:00.000-07:00

Ugh. Injuries or sickness are always hard to deal with. I think minor injuries are harder than being sick, b/c when sick, at least you feel your entire body hurting and your mind knows it is down-time, but with a minor injury, it is just plain annoying.

I got one of those annoying injuries, around the 3-4 metatarsal aread of my left foot. It bugs specially b/c I literally have no idea why it happened. Changed biomechanics? No. Worn out shoes? Perhaps, but did all my pairs suddenly break? Too much, too fast efforts? Hardly. Well. Whatever. Time to lay off the running, concentrate in the water and on the bike, and rethink some races.

Donovan's been a little sickley. As a parent it just tears you up inside when your little one can't sleep and is all snotty, and coughing. Ugh. And more ugh.

A long time, in a galaxy far away....

2011-03-28T09:51:00.000-07:00

Donovan and some other youngsters, indentified by the Jedi Council as showing promise to one day become knighted into the order, gathered at our humble dwelling this past Saturday for some training. Among other activities, they assembled and personalized their own light sabers, and then went through a rigorous basic Jedi training camp, summersaulting, bounding over obstacles and practicing with their weapons.

Padawans at the ready!

We were then surprised by the appearance of a powerful Sith lord, who foolishly entered the Jedi camp.

"You don't know the power of the Dark Side...."

Unfazed, the Jedi recruits charged and beat the snot out of Vader, clobbering him into retreat.

"And, apparently, you underestimated the power of a small troop of Jedis"

Post combat, the young Jedis replenished their energy by devouring some cake in the shape of the Death Star, and then used their light sabers to beat the candy out of a pi~ata, in the shape of Darth Vader's head (of course). Everyone had a pretty good time. No injuries, no casualties. Peace in the universe was restored.

The day was still not over for me, as I still found myself having to wrestle mexican lucha-libre legend Huracan Ramirez himself.

La llave del oso dormilon!

We had a fun weekend. Thanks for reading.

Obi-JC

Dear Blog,

2011-03-22T10:43:00.000-07:00

Life has been super busy in our corner of the world, haven't had a whole lot of time to write entertaining stories for all 2 of you loyal readers. I was able to pull off a surprise dinner party for Theresa's birthday. I managed to cook for ~25people, and I think the food turned out pretty good. My brother- and sis-in-law Chris & Christina gave me a hand with some of the last minute details, and it all came together. I stressed out about it for about a whole month, but it was great: She was totally surprised, she had no idea, it was cool. Next up is Donovan's 5th birthday. We will do a 'Star Wars' theme for his party, since that is what he is mostly into these days.

Other than that, the swimmin, bikin & runnin is gettin done. I've had to make some adjustments to our race schedule, and will not be kicking things off at Oceanside this year.

Happy New Year!

2011-02-02T11:39:00.000-08:00

Go rabbit, go rabbit!

Tonite we will be celebrating the beginning of the year of the rabbit with yummy treats for dinner. Theresa made awesome dumplings last nite. Donovan has decorated his lion mask and is ready to do his dance to the beat of loud instruments (and collect red envelopes promtply afterwards). I love that Donovan enjoys the mix of cultures within him.

Windy + Cold = Just another day.

2011-01-31T10:14:00.000-08:00

Life's been on cruise control for a while now, just doing the routine. Other working parents with an endurance sport alter ego can probably relate to what I mean. In the last few weeks I've hit old man status, with a birthday that put me at 37, and though I don't feel old, that number definitely lands me in the grown-ups group.

As part of our typical 'weekend routine', Donovan and I made and devoured hotcakes and waffles, and went splashing at his favorite pool. Lately he's into spending more time underwater than above, which leaves me sitting down in knee-deep water while the little fish gets his fill of exploring the bottom of the pool.

I went out riding long yesterday in what was, IMHO, a very cold and windy day here in Seattle. How cold? A couple snowflakes stung my face on the way home. I was glad to hit a warm shower afterwards. Another good day of low carbo training at ~60kcals/hr with EFS Drink, given I was hovering btwn a Zone 2-3 effort due to the strong wind.

Monday, here we come.

JC & Donovan's Awesome Waffles (Gluten free)

2011-01-10T16:02:00.001-08:00

I've decided to share with all 2-3 of my readers the recipe for the awesome waffles Donovan and I have one day of every sinlge weekend (the other day we eat hot cakes, and I'm not sure I'm ready to give out that recipe).

Ok, ingredients:

3 eggs
2 cups milk w/ 2tbsp vinegar. We sometimes use Almond milk.
¼ cup oil
3 tbsp agave or maple syrup, or honey

2 cups brown rice flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
Cinnamon (I leave this up to Donovan, who goes nuts with the shaker)

How to:
*Fire up the waffle iron. This here is the waffle iron we got. We usually set it on 3.

*In the meantime, mix wet ingredients, mix dry ingredients.
*Pour wet on dry ingredients, mix gently.
*Throw on waffle iron (we use ¼ cup batter per waffle).
*Wait impatiently, fork and knife in hand.
*Pour maple syrup in each little square. Cut. Enjoy.
*Ponder whether inventor of waffles/waffle iron has received nobel prize.

This makes ~18 waffles. I usually eat ~8, and I am well fueled for a workout. If the workout lasts ~1.5-2hrs, I use water+NUUN. Over 2hrs (and depending on the effort), I switch to water+EFS (grape flavor, please). For a while now I’ve been trying out First Endurance’s low carb strategy for my lower intensity sessions.

And when the workout is over, I usually whip out the toaster to have waffle seconds. That’s how we do it at the Ramirez household.

Dia de los Reyes Magos

2011-01-07T10:39:00.001-08:00

In my primarily-catholic homeland, on January 6th, we put one of our shoes behind the front door in hopes that los Reyes Magos (the three wise men) will stop by and drop off a little something. I was never clear if they were on their way to -OR- from visiting baby Jesus, but it was always something to look forward to after Xmas, the arrival of Melchor, Gaspar and Baltazar aboard their elephant, camel and horse. This tradition too is one that I have instilled in my family. So... we placed our shoes, and we all got a little something yesterday morning. Sweet.

This past weekend, on New Year's day, I was talked into going cyclocrossing on mtb trails, on frozen mud and snow. It was fun, and cold. I was surprised the tires tracked so well on the terrain, and managed to fall only a couple times, loosing grip on ridiculously steep grades my mtb buddy made me go up. I only managed a couple pictures, this one from a park we rode to take a quick break.

Puget Sound, Olympic Mountains in the background.

Surviving the holidays & on to twenty eleven

2010-12-30T19:14:00.000-08:00

Christmas has come and gone at the Ramirez household, and it was a great one. Donovan got great loot from his uncles and aunts, and a little something from Santa as well. This year he was really counting down the days with anticipation. Despite sleeping very few hours, I have to admit I enjoyed waking up before 5AM on December 25th to share in the excitement and put Legos together with my son.

Over these last few days, I have managed to get some workouts in here and there, nothing fancy, just enough to keep the body moving and sweating out all the wine I've been partaking in.

Wishing you all a great 2011. Thanks for reading.

Beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

2010-12-08T13:31:00.000-08:00

Despite some seriously intense rain over the last week, winter is here. And it is time to make awesome things in the kitchen. As well as relax by a warm fire, and count down the days until the 24th.

From Team Ramirez to all, Merry Christmas and have a fantastic 2011.

one last muddy race

2010-11-29T14:27:00.001-08:00

The last local cx race took place this past Sunday, and it was a tough, fast and very cold one. I barely made it to the race on time, registered in record time and lined up at the end of the field with, literally, 1min to go, while race officials radio'd in to make sure I was legit. It was full-gas from the get go, with almost no places to recover. I only slid out once, on a corner I took too aggresively, which lost me a whole bunch of places. It was cool to see everyone throwing down hard for this last race, and then enjoying the cammaraderie at the finish line, swapping war stories. I had a lot of fun racing cx and will definitely be back next fall for more. There is something freaky cool about being borderline out-of-control while going as fast as possible. I hope to be able to learn some skills btwn now and next fall so I can race faster, or at least, fall less.

We workout....

2010-11-24T15:19:00.000-08:00

... whether the sun is up and shinning, and it's warm...

or whether it's cold and windy, and there's snow on the ground.

Weather doesn't stop triathletes. :o)

Here, Papa, let me give you a little push so you can get going....

Have a great Thanksgiving, gobble, gobble!

Muddy Fun at Woodland Park

2010-11-15T08:25:00.000-08:00

Awesome action photo by Andrew Malakoff

I participated in another cyclocross race yesterday, just ~15minutes from my house. I rather say 'participated' than 'raced' because I'm doing it for fun. Oh, I still race it as hard as I can, but I'm just lucky to avoid trees and stay upright. Yesterday was a lesson in some of the finer cx details, like "tire and air pressure selection." At least that's what I heard people talk about, it's not like I have tireS -plural- to choose from, or a good idea of what they were talking about... I guess that's why I drew some chuckles when in response to "Which tires did you run?" I said, "Uh, the only ones I got..."

Photo by Ann Marije-Rook, The Ballard Tribune

I slipped around a whole lot in the mud, and managed to stay upright more than I should have. I found I was able to ride through most of the really sticky parts. Then again, I likely would have been able to run faster through some of those sections, but what do I know? Maybe I'll try that next time. To make matters worse, er.. 'more fun,' it must have been like 120 guys or more in the Cat 4 race tearing up the ground. Woah.

Photo by Michael O'Leary, The Everett Herald

You want to really get going and stay strong next time you race in the mud? Mix a shot of Pre-Race with one scoop of EFS and let your legs do the talking. Oh yeah, the First Endurance line is not just limited for use in triathlon.

Not a whole lot else to report at this time. Stay healthy. Stay upright. Enjoy the fall.

jc

Cyclocross & Halloween

2010-11-01T12:03:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday I partook in my first cyclocross race ever, on a borrowed, slightly-small, mountain bike. My cx mudster is sitting in my garage, awaiting tires to arrive in the mail. 'C'mon, go to the nearest shop and buy some,' is what I heard a lot, and I would have, but I've stretched out the budget I set for myself for this adventure. So, I opted to borrow a mtb and just give it a go. I hit the deck twice, managed to not finish last and had a good amount of fun. I should also add I've never been off-road nor pack riding in those conditions, so there was an added unknown element which made this first outing crazy. I chickened out in some sections and I struggled to engage my pedals efficiently. By the 4th lap, I was getting the hang of it.

Holly crap, I'm going to kill myself here...

The low-key, down-to-earth vibe of the race was awesome. Heck, I walked away with a 6-pack of beer, a bag of oatmeal and 50minutes of good hard work, all for $22. How cool is that? I got tires now and I'll have the cx ready for next weekend, see if I can do a little better.

Please don't hit the boulder, please don't hit the boulder...

Sunday was Halloween, and it was awesome. Donovan was Darth Vader (once again). I was Green Lantern. We had a cool get-together at our house, with yummy food, festive costumes and lots of trick-or-treaters. Donovan and I were out ringing doorbells until he could no longer carry his pumpkin full of candy and begged to be carried home. It was a lot of fun.

Feliz dia de las brujas!

cx

2010-10-05T21:21:00.000-07:00

CX. As in 'cyclocross'. It's gotten me curious. So I plan on building up a rad mud machine to throw down during the coming weeks. Said bitchin' racin' rig needs to be built up for cheap, so it is going to be a project. I'll post some pictures as I progress.

In the meantime, we have just been relaxing, catching up with life. I'm s-b-r'ing whenever and however I feel like it, no structure (yet).

Enjoy the fall/winter!

update

2010-09-14T15:23:00.000-07:00

My season is officially over. Some good races, some dissapointing ones. That's how it goes. It is time for physical and mental regeneration. There's plenty of yard work, weekend cartoons to watch, shallow pools to splash in, and lots of planning for next season.

I feel I came up with some marked improvements this season, but was not able to put it together on the big shows. The PotentrX team will be helping me train smarter to be able to make that good training translate to good racing. I will listen intently to what Dan has to say, see what it is that I am missing, so that I can do as Donovan says in the photo below.

Run, Papa, RUN!

I want to thank my awesome sponsors, Blue Seventy, Nuun, Blue Cycles, 1st Endurance and Potentrx, for being there for us and making racing possible. To my awesome family and friends, thanks for the support, and understanding (and baby-sitting!). We'll be back stronger and more determined!

And so I leave you with a nice sunset view from our home, as the summer ends in the PNW and we get ready for what looks to be another character-building fall and winter.

Thanks for reading.
JC

Fork in the road...

2010-09-07T09:41:00.001-07:00

It's been 9days since IM Canada. Still with the nasty cold/cough. ugh.

The part of me that is used to the constant state of fatigue from training is asking "Where is the familiar stimulus, dude?" The part of me that looks at the calendar and realizes the up-n-down season has been pretty long asks "What's my motivation, dude?" So, here we are, at a fork in the road. The road to the right leads to the offseason, the road to the left leads to Arizona, one more big event. Time to put the blinker on...

Post Ironman Thoughts

2010-09-06T10:15:00.000-07:00

It's been 8days since IM Canada. I've had a nasty cold/cough since the less-than-stellar race day. I've been trying to get my health back, spend time with Theresa and Donovan and take care of some home chores. It's been great so far, and has helped me not dwell too much about last week.

Here are some of my reflections from 8days ago:

*My swim is improving. I'm happy with my 59min swim, as I swam half of it on my own. It was just like long-swim training day. I need to be more assertive on race day so I stay in the right pack for better times. Keep working on it.

*Take time in T1 to dress according to the weather. Full finger gloves, arm warmers and vest kept me at a nice operating temperature most of the day. I don't care if I looked like a fashion train-wreck.

*Difficult to say if I was already sick on race morning. Bottomline is, my engine shut down 2hrs into the ride. This requires some investigative work....

Green=power, Red=Heart Rate, Pink=Speed, Purple=Air Temperature

*No matter how crappy your race is going, keep pushing. Be grateful you are able to be out there, and when things aren't going well, learn what you can to have a better show next time.

*No matter how crappy your race is going, keep pushing. DNFs leave big empty holes, and Donovan loves all finisher's hats and/or medals you give him.

JC

Ironman Canada--25th MPro

2010-08-30T17:46:00.000-07:00

The tall scruffy fellow (below) had a great day, pushed thru pain and got his picture on the front page of the local paper.
.
The short scruffy one ran out of power at ~3hrs into the bike, and jogged a dissapointing marathon on zapped legs.

Pictures and more story soon. Time for beers, thanks for reading.

Mexico & Ukraine invade Canada

2010-08-28T19:51:00.000-07:00

This pair of shaddy, scruffy-looking characters will take on the winds, the mountain climbs, the rollers and whatever else IM Canada dishes out tomorrow. Don't mess with them.

the calm b4 the storm

2010-08-28T15:42:00.000-07:00

Another lovely day in beautiful in the Okanagan. Except the winds have shifted and are blowing from the north, which is not a welcome sign for tomorrow.

2/3 of Team Ramirez is now under the weather, so it will make for a long(er) day for everyone. The remaining 1/3 of the team (me) is ready to go.

The push for the summit is on...

Shifty weather

2010-08-27T20:49:00.000-07:00

Today we woke up to some milder temperatures for this time of the year in the Okanagan Valley. I went for an early morning swim in Skaha Lake, a beautiful deep body of water. A 5min walk down from our homestay sure beats the driving time and logistics to get up to Lake Okanagan.

Do you not understand how pretty this place is???

Afterwards, I walked the 5minutes home to some awesome pre-made hotcakes, thanks to the awesome planning by the savvy team management. I then got a ride in the team car down to Keremeos, and rode my way back up Yellow/Twin Lakes. It was a tad chilly when the sun would hide, and gusty at times, and it gives me something to think about for Sunday, forecasted to be at 10C when we get out of the water.

The rest of the day included some grocery shopping, some good relaxing by Skaha Lake (before it got cloudy and sprinkled on us) and some more chilling with our great hosts. Mike and Su are super cool and we get along great, and that makes coming back to Penticton so nice. Donovan and their daughter, Anja, make each other laugh and have a ton of fun together.

Check it, Mike- This is how you play this thing... C'mon Anja, press the 'X'

Even though the Team Director is under the weather, the rest of the team is pulling together and making the best of it. See you tomorrow, T-32hrs. All systems are go...

Oh Canada...

2010-08-26T19:30:00.000-07:00

We made it! A speedy border crossing and we are back in awesome Kaleden, on Lake Skaha and just south of Penticton.

Thanks to some awesome planning by the Team Director, we got off the the van and right unto an awesome meal of noodles, chicken, veggies and fruit!

More tomorrow...

Lk Stevens Redux

2010-08-19T19:59:00.000-07:00

I was asked if I could quantify the impact the water temperature had on my race. Being a data-driven enginerd, here's my analysis-

Swim- No ergometer in the water, but the horrible swim time says it all. I did all I could and all it got me was really cold.

Bike- Ah, the beauty of power data...
0-10mi, AvePower=199w, NormPower=209w
0-16mi, AvePower=205w, NormPower=212w
0-28mi, AvePower=213w, NormPower=223w, 1:19
28-56mi, AvePower=231w, NormPower=245w, 1:14

the numbers don't lie... I was hurtin'

16mi was about the point where I stopped shivering, and my HR started becoming 'normal.'

Taper switch is ON.

Lake Stevens 70.3 - 21st MPro

2010-08-16T09:01:00.000-07:00

The last big hard workout leading to Canada is done. I really wanted to do more at this race, but I encountered 2 big hurdles:

Hurdle 1)The AIR temperature, combined with the water temperature- After warming up, they pulled us out of the water for what seemed like an eternity. So there we were, shivering in the 50F air, soaked to the bone, teeth chattering, shivering and shaking. The RD banned us from using wetsuits, by 0.2degrees. Really? You kidding me? Great judgment call on that one, sir... "So what? Cowboy up, man!" I did, and it made for a miserable first 1.5hrs of racing. By the time I finally stopped shivering, was keeping my nutrition down and could turn the pedals without being in pain, I had been blown out the back and was dead last, way back after the worst swim ever.

uffff.....

Hurdle 2) My body was/is still recovering from last weekend's leg-pounding. My goal was to clock 1:18 on this course, and I was on target at mile 10, just under 60minutes. I then came unglued in the last 3miles. I managed to get past a few of the guys who were fading, and was very happy to get across the mat. Afterwards, I sat down in a shaddy spot at the finish while Donovan poured water bottles over my head.

Happy to get the running legs going...

I would like to thank my kick-ass sponsors who were out on the course, being super vocal- Mike and Shawn from Blue Seventy; Jon from Blue Cycles; Wes from Potentrx; Scott from Nuun and Robert from 1st Endurance where there in spirit. To Theresa & Donovan, thanks for putting up with another really early morning and a long day at the races.

Outstanding job by 8th place Guy Crawford, who's been racking up some awesome races around the globe. Great job as well by my buddy Michael "Mo Powah" Gordon, who finished 20th. I think he was getting back at me for 'beating' him at Boise. He too was just working out. Now let's see how Canada treats us both.

It's taper time. The work is done. Let's see what kind of ROI we get in 2 weeks.

the long slow road to recovery and my big mouth

2010-08-13T13:56:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday's little adventure has left me out of running commission for days. Maybe it's a sign of total inexperience with trail running. Maybe it's old age. Whatever the case, it's taken me a while to bounce back. I think I will be fresh again come Sunday morning, but we'll have to wait and see...

Speaking of Sunday, today I was on the phone with my buddy Shawn, who informed he was having coffee with some of my competition. So I said to tell them I was going to hand it to them on Sunday. Little did I know he immediately relayed the message to Luke Mac and Big Matt that I was going to spank them. Great. That's like a casual weekend jogger telling, oh, I dunno, someone like Haile he's going to get schooled.

Let's hope by Sunday my legs help me get most of my foot out of my mouth.

Grand Ridge Half Marathon - 2nd Overall

2010-08-07T15:44:00.000-07:00

My buddy Dave has been raving about trail running this and that, and how awesome it is compared to pounding pavement. So this past Saturday I decided to give it a go with a half marathon that had 2,000ft of elevation gain. I figured it would be a really good workout for this build block. Little did I know the leg-pounding fest I was in for.

Post-race, food & drink in hand, happy the pain was over.

My impressions? It sure is different- it is a laid back atmosphere, and it is cool. It is also crazy, especially going downhill: I felt I was running borderline out-of-control, trying to place my foot in the right spot among holes, roots, rocks, branches, all while running as fast as possible without falling face first or injuring something. I almost won the thing too, but a XC runner hunted me down in the last 400m. I'm pretty happy with the result given, IMHO, how tough the terrain and the elevation gain was.

Will I do it again? Not sure. I found it a little dangerous, I felt like I was about to lose it at almost every corner and down section. Maybe there is some technique involved, as I smashed my legs. The workout was awesome, though. Now let's recover for next weekend.

JC

The case of the dissapearing flip flops

2010-08-05T09:43:00.000-07:00

Someone stole my flip flops. My $2, all-rubber, gray slippahs (as they say in Hawai'i). From the Greenlake Bath House steps, where lots of people leave wallets, car keys, bags, etc. in full sight. No, they were not picked up as garbage, as there were plenty of other visible garbage items scattered around the steps pre & post swim.

Well, whomever you are, I hope they keep your feet comfy. I mean, if you are taking cheap used flip flops, you probably need them more than I do. I'm more in disbelief than I am angry, honestly.

Federal Escape Olympic - 3rd Overall

2010-08-01T10:10:00.001-07:00

I did a small Olympic tri just south of Seattle. It reminded me a lot of when I was starting in the sport, back when I had just started swimming, and had gotten my first road bike. It had that low-key, feel-good vibe about it.

You see this brake thing here, Papa?

You know you are not supposed to use those when you are racing, right?

I got a swift kick to the mouth in the swim, which cut up my upper lip (fat lip in picture). It really messed with my concentration, and I wasn't able to get it together and get back in the game. At some point on the bike ride, the bleeding stopped, and I was able to tear out the big flap of skin that was hanging from my lip inside my mouth. Had I had run splits, I may have been able to do more. I eased off and cruised the last mile, stopping for Donovan to run in with me. "I gotta help Papa finish the race!" is what he says. All in all it was a good high-intensity workout, which is what I was after.

Thanks to Stefan and Melissa, for letting me come out to play. They are the RDs for this race, who put on a great event together. My family and I had a great time, and enjoyed the venue and great post-race food (organic hotcakes, sausages, fruit, granola, etc). As always, thanks to all my awesome sponsors. 2 weeks to the Lake Stevens workout, and then unto IM Canada.

jc

whirlwind weekend

2010-07-26T08:37:00.000-07:00

Another weekend of careful universe-balancing moves is in the books. That would be my universe, where family responsibilities meet triathlon dreams, where hot-cakes, cartoons and play time co-exist with obnoxiously long rides and runs, and, now that the weather is nice here in Seattle, swim time with the little fish.

Both Sat and Sun consisted of brick workouts-
Saturday's brick went as follows: a 50mi ride, a 12mi run, followed by lunch, followed by 10min nap, followed by a 1-hr lake swim with the little fish.
Sunday's brick was a little more intense: a 100mi ride, lunch on-the-go, and 1-hr pool swim with the little fish. One thing after the next.

I should add I've been experimenting using considerably less calories, trying to get my body better used to burning fat. So far so good, except yesterday, when I ran out of gas 20mi out, with a nice headwind, a 4-yr old at home, ready to go, and a set pool schedule that waits for no one.

You gotta dig deep sometimes....

jc

Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3... is this thing on?

2010-07-15T18:48:00.001-07:00

I'm excited to announce I've started working with the guys at Potentrx to try and improve my training/racing. If you are in Seattle and are looking for physiological, biomechanical, or muscoskeletal testing (and whole lot more), you should consider the services of the Potentrx team headed by Drs. Tripps and Speck. If you have any questions about my own experience, pls shoot me an email.

Warming it up...

So I had the opportunity to go in to get my VO2 tested. I wanted to obtain data to better fine-tune my bike training and racing. Sean and Wes, super professional yet down to earth, got all the Darth Vader hardware on me, put me on my bike, pointed me to the pain cave, and asked that I go in as far as possible. In I went, no lightsaber. Some 15minutes later, I came out a soggy sweaty mess, seeing spots and feeling a little weak. If they had asked me to keep going for another 30sec, no doubt I would have had to use that garbage can next to the bike.

Uh... guys...? Is it me or is it getting awfully dark in here...?

So what did I learn? While the data shows I've done an ok job bracketing racing/training efforts based on my experience, I learned where my little engine is lacking punch and how to improve and do more with what my parents gave me. All in all, it was a great experience, and I very much look forward to having them in my corner.

See how they enjoy watching others suffer? :o)

Thanks a lot you guys!

JC

Burnout & Rebound

2010-07-12T13:36:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I was clearly in the valley of post-IM depression, weighed down even more by the dissapointment of a race gone wrong. Zero motivation to keep pushing through training. Having put my (very patient and supportive) family through the rigors of training, to come up empty handed on the day when it counts, well, it made me question decisions, as well as my time management skills (or lack thereof).

So I got off the bike after hardly any work on Sunday, and did a good amount of house work instead, chores I've been neglecting for a long time. I took back the backyard with the weedwhacker, fending off vicious dandelions. After Donovan's bedtime, I opted for a short ez run. I was ready to quit within the first 2-3minutes, my legs feeling super heavy. I stuck with it and very slowly felt the snappy feeling and fast turnover coming back. 30minutes later, my spirits were lifted, and I was happy to return home and spend time relaxing with my awesome wife, enjoying the sunset from our house. We can see the mountain peaks, both literally and figuratively speaking.

Let's see what next week brings.

Make that Cd'A 3- JC 0

2010-06-28T16:28:00.000-07:00

"When you get hurt and all your sacrifice adds up to NOTHING...
are you willing to put it all on the line again?" - Conrad Stoltz

See you in 2011, Cd'A. We're not done here. Not even close...

Thanks to my dear family, friends and my awesome sponsors, for being there for me.

Time to re-focus.

jc

PS-For those who've asked, stomach cramps lasting the *entire* ride and worsening while running-shufling was the kill switch this time. I think it was the few mouthfulls of lake water....

Cd'A 2, JC 0

2010-06-24T08:38:00.000-07:00

"Lemme see your hands in the air if you underdog,
If you are not a favorite...."

The van is packed, the team is ready, we're on our way Idaho... it's time to settle the score.

Father's Day Recap

2010-06-22T14:07:00.001-07:00

This past weekend we had some really brutal weather here in Seattle to welcome the summer. Team Management shoved me out of bed at the crack of dawn on Sunday, and indicated to go swim in the cold lake. Brrr....

Photo by Zach Hodgson

Greenlake is still cold (specially with just one latex cap on), and the air temperature was ~50F. When I got done swimming, I was ready for some hot breakfast and coffee. I opened the front door to our house, and was greeted by a delicious aroma and a cheerful Donovan screaming, 'Happy Father's Day! We made you CAKE, Papa!' Not only had they made hot cakes, but also super yum coffee cake. It. Was. Awesome. As the rain started to really come down outside, and we were sitting over the cozy warmth of oven-baked goodies, I was one happy papa....

We are all excited to get going and have a nice little vacation in Idaho, hopefully with nice weather. 4 more cold swims, and a couple more rides and runs before show & tell.

México 2 - Francia 0

2010-06-17T15:21:00.000-07:00

The sweet taste of victory

¡¡¡ Viva el Tri !!!

Boise 70.3 - 16th MPro

2010-06-13T19:17:00.000-07:00

Photo by Idaho Statesman

What better way to end the last big build to an Ironman than with a lot of pain courtesy of super tough race conditions? So thanks, Boise, for kicking my butt.

I drove to pick up fellow pro Michael "Rocket Cheeto" Gordon, and then we were on our way to Boise. The drive was really nice, and we got the chance to catch up, ponder the meaning of life, and trash talk.

The 2pm race start was awesome. More 70.3's should do this. Here's how it went- The water was WAY cold for this dude. I could not keep my hands open to catch water towards the end of the swim, which got more interesting with the the little chop on the way back. I was just wanting to be out of the freezing reservoir. Wasn't a good swim.

Blue Triads racked after a tough tough ride.

On to the bike, we were immediately greeted with absolutely crazy wind conditions on top of heat. Everyone I talked to after the race agreed it was ridiculous. We got blasted the whole ride, having to either lean hard left, or right, to keep the bikes upright. After that kind of riding, there just wasn't a whole lot of running left in anyone. Just look at the run times.

Michael & I chatting it up with our buddy & runner-up Ben Hoffman.
Cuidadito con Ben- el chamaco se ha convertido en dinamita pura, y va por buen camino.

Professor M. Gordon, Doctor A. Jensen, B. Halpin, "the Missoula Click" + 1 Mexican, post-race.

Hey, if you see this guy, please remind him he owes me a beer.

We chatted post-race about what REALLY matters (the World Cup!)

Before signing off, thanks to Shane and Katie for hosting us. You guys were truly awesome! Thanks to my great sponsors, Blue, Nuun, Blue Seventy, First Endurance and Oomph! for their continued support. Last, but always first, Theresa & Donovan- I missed them so freaking much.

My lats/shoulders are still sore from fighting to keep the bike on the road, my butt is sore from all the driving. Bring on the taper, 13 days to Ironman Coeur d'Alene.

jc

Boxes & bags of goodies

2010-06-08T14:49:00.000-07:00

The new Blue Seventy Trisuits are here, and mine just made it back from getting logo'd!! The endurance suit uses Cold Black fabric to keep things cool and allow ariflow. It also has as few seams as possible. The fit is great for me and I'm excited to race in it and make a fashion statement! I would like to thank taigraphx for the print job and crazy-quick turnaround.

Representin' for the guys that support me

In addition, a package from the folks at First Endurance arrived, to restock my pantry with rocketfuel. EFS drink and liquid shot continue to be my staples for training, and I resort to Pre-Race when it's an early morning workout or, as the name implies, pre race nutrition. I was also sent the new prototype Liquid Shot flavor. I really like the original vanilla, but this is equally tasty and a good option for all you non-vanilla-ites out there. And of course, Optygen HP rounds up my stash.

The 2 small flasks are the top-secret new liquid shot flavor.
I could tell you more about it, but then I'd have to put you in the cooler...

As always, Nuun keeps on hydratin', and I recently got a little refill. Mhhhh.... bubbleycious goodness.....

Can't wait to get to the start line at Boise and then see what happens 2 weeks later.

I 'll try to make as many guys see this side of the trisuit this season.

More hurt, exploding gear and other stuff

2010-06-06T21:41:00.001-07:00

The last big build training block for the big race is on-going. Things are going well. I've been able to make the most of my bike training time thanks to the computrainer. Boy, does that thing hurt. This past Saturday it destroyed the tire on a trainer wheel. Granted, the rubber was old. Still, that is just plain cool, when you are able to take a piece of equipment to its limit (without hurting yourself in the process, of course).

On a not-as cool note about equipment failing, the battery inside my SRM powercontrol exploded. WTH? I have no idea why or how. The burst was strong enough it severed cable connections, basically, rendering it out of commission. Since it lightly holds charge, I may try to race with at Boise just so I can have speed, HR and rpm numbers in front of me.

At this point in time, I'm starting to feel the fatigue accumulating in my body. That, and a few nites of reduced sleep hours, and I'm starting to move a little slow. I am looking forward to racing hard next Saturday at Boise, and then to begin the taper down to Ironman Cd'A.

Let's see what we got then.

The Hurt Weekend

2010-05-28T16:19:00.001-07:00

I've had some really solid training over Memorial Day weekend, including some heavy cycling and running. The pedal-pounding pain was delivered thanks to racermate's evil (and fantastic) training tool known as computrainer. Load a real course video on one of these puppies, and you will be pedaling every single foot of every single mile you log. I'd like to think my fitness is decent, but let me go ahead and admit just how much ouch this thing dished out on me. It hurt.

Aside from the hours spent on the computrainer in the hurt garage over days, I also had an awesome LONG run with one of the my best friends. For me, it was a nice & low perceived effort for the even pace we were blasting. I'm not about to go quoting numbers or making predictions, but let's see what happens at Coeur d'Alene when the dust settles.

Additonally, Donovan and I took Theresa swimming with us on and we got our hotcakes and waffles on (as always).

Peace

Training with the stars

2010-05-24T13:43:00.001-07:00

This past weekend I got invited to tag alongside a couple of the top rock stars in the state. Fellow BLUE rider Michael "Pedal Pounder" Gordon and Kara Nielsen planned a long suffer fest, and I got sent an RSVP to get my butt kicked. Sure-why not? It's always nice to be humbled by riding with power houses.

Look at these two geeks...

The ride turned out to be actually really nice, though we did get hit with a heavy shower during the first hour, and the air temperatures made us wonder if Spring is ever going to come. We were able to hit some long stretches of open road, and made sure we got some good headwind beating on us. Last time I went out with Michael on this route, I was gasping for air- at least I was able to hang off the back this time.

Don't let the smile fool you- she bends crank arms just by looking at them.

I got a chance to practice my IM race-day nutrition and hydration, composed of First Endurance (Liquid Shot and EFS) and NUUN, while Michael and Kara shared a couple almonds, a fig and some cheetos. Maybe that's the secret to going fast... In any case, I got my fueling strategy down and feel confident with the 4th discipline come race day.

Small and Medium Triads. Can you tell which one is which? Mine is the more aero.

Another solid weekend of training in the books for me. Now a few days of down time, and then it's time for the final build block ending with Boise 70.3, all in preparation for IM Coeur d'Alene.

Thanks Michael and Kara for the long ride!

10 de Mayo

2010-05-10T12:12:00.000-07:00

Día de la Madre. It's a chance for me to think back on the time I had with Mona. I remember many 10 de Mayos when a phone call was as close as we could be. I would play one certain mariachi song that celebrates mothers' love and remember her crying happily on the other end of the phone. Sigh... There's also the part of me that looks at my present life and is grateful for the family we have and what an awesome mother Theresa is to our little guy.

Speaking of parenting, we had a tough weekend in that department. Donovan underwent oral surgery at Seattle's Children's Hospital. The end result is he doesn't have his 2 front upper baby teeth anymore, a product of tooth decay from having really big teeth crowded into a tiny mouth. In the greater scheme of things, it is not so bad, and it helps to see he quickly accepted what happened, is adapting, and back to being his usual happy self. My point is this- we worried, we stressed, it was mentally draining. In any case, my thoughts go out to parents and their children who battle the really tough medical conditions. You guys are on whole different level of toughness.

training, training, training

2010-05-04T10:53:00.000-07:00

Not much else to say... busy with life otherwise...

At this point, I've decided to skip Florida 70.3 on 05/16 and keep training hard, targeting Ironman Coeur d'Alene. I will race at Boise 70.3 two weeks out as final prep for IM Cd'A. Should be good....

Juggling the calendar, the $, and the little fish.

2010-04-20T16:21:00.000-07:00

For the time-constrained triathlete and on limited funds, one of the more complex aspects of triathlon is figuring out what races make sense and fit to make the most out of a full racing season. Take yours truly as an example- I was having a slight niggle in one lower leg, and hence hesitated to finalize travel plans to Texas 70.3 , taking place 04/24. Even in tip-top shape, I don't think we could have afforded the plane ticket, looking ahead to the rest of the season expenses.

The Shawnigan Half IM I thought of doing on 05/01 is out of the question. Simply too pricey and too many logistics involved for me.

So now it's time to figure out which is better: Flying to Florida 70.3 (05/06) or driving to Boise 70.3 (06/12). They both involve roughly the same travel time, obviously driving to Boise is more affordable than flying to Orlando. But, Boise is also only 2 weeks before Ironman Coeur d'Alene. Which is not too bad.

In other news, Donovan has become a fish, and I'm having a hard time explaining to him why we can't go to the swimming pool all the time. If it was up to him, we'd likely be there 2-3times a day. Where did I put that ITU U23 application???

One more partner

2010-04-09T14:49:00.000-07:00

As we head into the 2010 season, I'm totally excited to announce I'll be counting on the support from First Endurance.
From Pre-Race to EFS Drink to Liquid Shot, it is just an awesome line up of nutrition products that work. Period. I've been using their products for some time, so I'm super happy to be able to partner up with a company not only dedicated to sport, but totally interested in its athletes and their feedback. What do I currently use to train and race? Check my existing stash in our pantry:
Here's to having to not worry about nutrition when racing! Thanks First Endurance!!!

jc

Oceanside 70.3 - 25th MPro

2010-03-27T15:26:00.000-07:00

The hug from the team makes it all worthwhile :o)

Man, what a tough race! I was talking afterwards with Michael Raelert, and while he won, he agreed with me: Between the hills, head & cross winds, and heat, this is one tough course. The bike was tougher than I expected. The run was not as easy as it looks on paper. Tim DeBoom ran less than 2 minutes faster than me. I feel pretty good about that. I gave it all I had on the day and learned a few things along the way:

*A half IM swim in 58-59F water is not as bad as I thought. Keep working the swim, not bad for a first wetsuit swim in 6months.
*Transition faster.
*Review the powerfile and see where you could have metered the watts better, I had a hard time holding good power in the last 15mi.
*Transition faster. C'mon, it's a race, what were you doing?
*Trust your run and keep it steady, let go of your ego. I should have stayed put at the comfortable 5:45pace I was running, instead of reacting to faster race action around me. It would have translated into a faster run split than the 6:13 average pace I posted. Race & learn.

Here are some other images:

This is the front end of the Triad, ready to roll. Photo by Aaron Hersh

Just get me home...

Thanks to my awesome family and my sponsors: Blue Seventy, NUUN, Blue Cycles, Oomph! and Corpore Sano.

More later, it's time for a beer.

cheers!

Goin' back to Cali...

2010-03-25T22:19:00.000-07:00

We made it to Oceanside. Yeah. Donovan and I jumped in the pool of the condo we are staying at to officially declare the vacation is on. The condo complex is right on the beach, right next to the Strand, which is where the run course goes.

We are excited to go check out the beach tomorrow.

It took me 45minutes to put the Triad back together, which is pretty good, given how much I had to disassemble it to put in the box. Time to go to bed.

Paralympic awesomeness...

2010-03-16T22:00:00.000-07:00

I was watching some coverage of ice sledge hockey, part of the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic games. Long time ago, I agreed with a good friend that hockey players were indeed the most physically talented athletes out there. Seriously. Going full speed on ice, on skates, using a stick to control a tiny puck, all while getting clobbered. Nevermind trying to get the puck into the tiny goal which is, for all practical purposes, fully shielded by the dude in huge pads and with lighting-quick reflexes. Maybe it's cuz I didn't grow up on ice, but that is crazy stuff. HOWEVER, the paralympic athletes I saw last nite, for me, took all that to a whole new level. I was in awe, I could not stop watching. That's what I call bad-ass hockey players.

In other news, Oceanside 70.3 is T minus 10days. The Triad is ready to roll. Pictures up soon. Hopefully it warms up a little so we can have a good vacation (and a good race!).

Very unexpected...

2010-03-08T10:01:00.001-08:00

Saturday was a really nice day here in Seattle: Beautiful sunshine, starting to warm up a little. And in as much as it would been a perfect day for training, it was even more so for spending it with Theresa and Donovan. I can't really remember the last time I took a day completely off from training.

We woke up late-ish, Theresa made us some awesome hot cakes (!!) and then we all went to the Museum of Flight, where we've had a familiy membership now for a few years (Donovan loves it). It is a very cool place we visit way often, with some really fantastic airplanes, including a Blackbird and a Concorde, among many others. Afterwards, we needed lunch and decided to try out a place called Randy's, just one block south of the Museum. We knew nothing about it, but we were hungry enough to check it out. We are so glad we did.

Photo by Daniel Spils

The place has the decor of an era gone by, and is full of flying aricraft memorabilia. Our waitress called us "Hon" and "Dear", and tickled Donovan. The food is diner-style down-to-earth, and was really tasty and very affordable. We'll most definitely be going back there.

Donovan and I went to pay Lucia Roadenizer, the very nice lady who greeted & sat us. He handed her the 'ticket', and as I paid, she said to hold on, she had something for him. I thought, oh, a little sticker or a stamp. Out she comes with a model airplane in a box, for us to put together. Completely blew me away. This day in age, who is THAT nice? Donovan was SOOOOO excited, he was jumping up and down. We got home, all of us sat down in the sun-drenched living room and put the little plane together. Donovan wants to bring it the next time we go back.

It was just one of those REALLY feel-good days.

Back in shape.

2010-03-02T07:45:00.000-08:00

I had a short conversation late last week with an older gentleman who frequents the pool. He is a regular at the water aerobics in the shallow pool. Always says a friendly hello. We never really talked before, though. Our conversation went from how crowded the pool was that day, to how nice the weekend days looked ahead. He said he was happy to be able to walk again and enjoy the sun. Walk again? He went on to describe how a stroke had just about immobilized the left side of his body, and how hard work (water aerobics included) and lots of patience over 5yrs, had gotten him mobile again. He said he was happier now, and just wanted to get back in shape. Our conversation finished with him saying 'Someday, I'll come over to the big pool for a swim' and I assured him he would.

I don't know if there's a point to this little story, but I wanted to write it up anyways.

BLUE is in da house!

2010-02-22T10:28:00.000-08:00

I'm very happy to report I will be counting on support from BLUE for the 2010 season. I am excited to get to better know Chance Regina as well as the rest of the BLUE Competition Cycles family, and race hard on a Triad. More details to come soon, but I wanted to share the cool news with my fan club... er.... family & friends!

Thanks a lot to the guys at Blue. I'm gonna pedal the hell out of the Triad. Here's to faster bike splits!

Cheers!!

dude, really?

2010-02-14T15:17:00.000-08:00

The 2010 winter olympics are ON! It's pretty exciting to watch the events, though I can admit I am a seasonal fan (although I did watch a lot of the skiing, luge and sled events on TV during the 1-2 months leading up the olympiad). I got to say the short track races are wicked cool-totally high energy, super fast, with some strategy, and, I think what REALLY gets me into it, is the competition. No judges scoring, no time (per se), no outside factors. Pure racing. Kinda like tri, except they are done in minutes.

Anyway, the point to my blog post has to do with the one guy my homeland sends over to compete. I was in such disbelief; we looked up on the eenternet to see what we could find. You're 51 (the next 3 oldest alpine skiers are 40, 38 and 36). Wiki sez you're a trendy euro socialite. A pop-singer. A successful business guy. And a european prince. With all these things you do, you really gonna tell me you are going to bring it like the world-class 20 to 30-year olds who sleep, eat and breathe training? All I'm saying is the up-and-coming mexican athletes in other sport disciplines will likely be (shall we say?) kinda upset at the resource allocation by the mexican olympic committee to send you over if your game is not up to par, man. Not to mention the tens of millions of aztecas who will think the whole thing is a ridiculously bad joke. So bring it. I REALLY honestly hope you do.

rant off..

Hot Couture

2010-02-02T10:00:00.000-08:00

When you go riding in character-building weather, me thinks you gotta do what you gotta do to stay in comfort. I have zero problems admitting I'm a both a cold AND wet weather wuss. So, my riding fashion statement need not be 'haute', but hot, well, technically speaking, more 'warm/comfortable' than hot...

Sure, when out riding, nothing says 'I know what I'm doing' like a nice pro-peloton-inspired matching cycling kit. You know, the kind plastered with sponsors that hints "My team car is right behind me with biddons and spare wheels". Right. I don't got no team car, nor domestiques bringing me cheeseburgers. Heck, most days I don't have riding buddies. What I got are a mismatched bunch of gear items, totally 'un-haute', BUT, I don't give rat's buttocks how I look. I'm warm and dry. And training. That's what matters.

Which brings me to the point of this entry- I want to share the hardware I've found works for me when the weather goes bad. Santa got me these booties and this jacket, and, so far, they are impenetrable. I wear these tights, and while they do get wet, me legs remain warm and comfy. The gloves are a contibution of my boy Brian 'Pedal 2 da Metal' Burton. And I dare you- find me a glove that is warmer, more comfy, less bulky, more tactile, and less slippery when fully drenched. Hope this helps some of you adverse to cold/wet and looking for hardware to keep the pedals ticking, even though you may look like a fashion train wreck.

Pie in the face

2010-02-01T08:31:00.000-08:00

Donovan picked up this expression from an episode of one of his favorite tv shows. I've since adopted the phrase to describe how the wind feels during most weekend rides here in Seattle. I don't use it to complain, per se, I just think about the expression in the back of my head, in a very matter-of-fact way when I encounter the wind. There is one particular route, where if you make your ride long enough, the wind shifts 180degrees through the day, so you get pie in the face going out, and pie in the face coming back. Combine rain, temperatures in the 40F range, with pie in the face all-day long, and you got yourself a good character-building workout.

On Saturday, Donovan and I went for a swim, and then headed over to the U of W to catch some indoor track action. Though we missed the one event we wanted to see, Donovan was super excited to see a bunch of the different disciplines (short distances, pole vault, long jump, etc.). It was hard keeping him off the Mondo surface- He so wanted to participate. And of course, we made hot cakes and waffles, so the weekend was a blast, pie in the face and all.

Have a great week!

2010 Team Ramirez Race Schedule

2010-01-23T10:52:00.000-08:00

Team Management sat down with me, and this is what we came up for the season:

Oceanside 70.3----------------------March 27
Subaru Shawnigan Half Ironman--May 31
Ironman Coeur d'Alene-------------June 27
ChelanMan Half Ironman-----------July 17
Vashon Island Olympic--------------July 25
Troika Half Ironman----------------August 1
Lake Stevens 70.3------------------August 15
Ironman Canada---------------------August 29
Cancun 70.3--------------------------September 19
Ironman AZ or FL--------------------November

The directeur sportif wanted the team to race a full schedule this year. There will also be a few run races sprinkled in for good measure. A couple of the half IMs and smaller events are tentative at this point, but that is the jist of it.

Here. We. Go.....

Más Pastel

2010-01-21T09:05:00.000-08:00

This morning, of course, Donovan and I each had another cake slice b4 breakfast. He was having a hard time b/c he couldn't find a particular toy. Ah, but then a slice of pastel de tres leches restored balance to his universe. Wish everything was that simple....

I give it 4/5 days until it's all gone. :o)

36

2010-01-20T22:04:00.000-08:00

oh man, I'm feeling old. Today was my bday.

Theresa and Donovan made an awesome dinner and dessert. For dessert, we had Pastel de Tres Leches, one of my favorites and a classic Mona used to make. In fact, Mona's was so damn good, she even sold them to the oldest ice cream shop in the city for a few years. Needless to say, eating pastel de tres leches with my wife and son brought back lots of memories of my childhood.
This past weekend I got the chance to watch one of my buddies race at an indoor track event at the U of W. Walking around the track facility, realizing some of the pimply college kids tearing around the purple Mondo surface were half my age, made me feel way old. Still, it was a blast, and it made me feel good to be in decent shape at my old age.

That's about it for right now. Just happy my bones are still holding up. Now where is that AARP application?

New, new, new....

2010-01-18T16:47:00.000-08:00

Good ole' blog, it's been a while, just a busy time of the year. The new year came and went, and we didn't do a whole lot to 'bring it in', we found ourselves already in bed before the fireworks started going off. Anyhow- new, new, new!

New Year- This year marks me moving into the last year of my mid-thirties. Oh boy... time is just ticking away... I'll be turning 36 in just a few more days. 2010 will also mark my 5th year racing long course triathlons, and I'm hoping 5 is the charm.
New Work Schedule- I have to take 10 scheduled furlough days this year, so from time to time, I'll have 3-day weekends. Not too bad, I do enjoy the extra rest day at home. The first furlough day, combined with MLK day, netted me a 4-day weekend. Sweet.
New Strokes-Been trying to swim a good amount lately. I've been working on my technique, thanks to some good, simple tips from a local guru. Amazing, really, what someone who knows what they're doing can point out, and suggest ways to improve. I'm happy to report I'm zippin along quite nicely in the water, practicing to permanently incorporate the changes to my stroke.
New Sponsors- Not trying to jinx it, but let's wait and see.
New Race Schedule- Up soon.

In the meantime, an image that made me laugh lots....

talk soon

Feliz Navidad

2009-12-28T09:49:00.000-08:00

It was fun to see Donovan so excited about presents. His grandparents & aunts/uncles surprised him with lots of toys, giving us lots of play time every morning. Santa delivered an awesome balance bike, which he totally loved. The continental cycling development squads might wanna take note.

Theresa and I were telling Donovan of the toys we had when we were kids. We were saying how computers did not exist back then, which prompted him to ask in a very matter-of-fact tone, "how did you check your email?". It was very funny, and a little intimidating too, to see that at 3yrs old, he is aware of the heavy influence of technology on daily life.

Though I was pretty beat down with a serious cold for a few days, the holidays were filled with fun. Yesterday I was putting on clothes to go biking, when Donovan asked if we could go 'swimming'. I thought about it for a half-second, and the number of ZEROs I had already racked up this week because of the nasty cold, and a half-second later, I was stuffing my bag with our swim shorts, towel, snacks, etc. We had an absolute blast in the water, and my butt did not miss the bike seat, not even for one second.

Soggy runnin' mess...

2009-12-17T11:24:00.001-08:00

That's what you get when you go running on evenings when it rains moderately hard here in Seattle. As silly as I may have looked last nite, I wore my cycling plastic rain jacket, you know, one of them transparent non-breathing rubbery ones. And while I got mildly wet from the inside out, I was immune to the wind and cold rain, and it made for a nice 45min run. My feet were the only part of me that were cold.

So, if you want to keep PNW weather out, try a cycling rubber cape. In my mind, it is easier to unzip stuff than to try to get wet stuff warm.

'Tis the season...

2009-12-16T13:35:00.000-08:00

Been meaning to write this for some days, but have been fairly busy.
'Tis the season. To decorate a tree, and hang stuff around the house. To plan Saturdays around going swimming with Donovan, and workouts around parties.

'Tis the season. To spend time with family and friends, to share a yummy plate of food and drink. We recently had a little get-together at our home, which was an absolute blast. The excellent buffet dinner was provided by my sis-in-law, Chef Christina.

Donovan and the rest of the kids had a ton of fun, as evidenced by the state of the basement post-party. Scott (of NUUN) and Shawn (of Blue Seventy) showcased their babysitting skills, and Donovan asked when they'd be coming back to play....

'Tis the season. To recognize how important are the people in our lives. Not because I don't do it at other times of the year, but it is a good time as any to reiterate it to those present. When the people are gone, they are gone for good, and it really sucks when you start filling your head with "I should have..."s. I really miss Mona, and I'm happy for all the people close to us and that are part of Donovan's upbringing.

'Tis the season. To do unstructured training, and do it for fun. To make sure the energy is renewed and the embers in the tummy stay lit. Many are the days ahead with long hours and constant fatigue.

'Tis the season. Peace.

Of financial moves and validation

2009-11-18T08:42:00.000-08:00

This is one of my favorite pictures to date. Donovan's first race. The game-face is priceless. All intensity, all concentration....

On the days leading up to it. He would announce to everyone we met about how we were traveling to Canada for his race. And, how he planned on going super fast.

Finally got a chance to write this- I wanted to share my thoughts on the WTC pro membership announcement, and on a discussion that ensued in widely-read triathlon forum.

Great move by the WTC for the WTC- it strenthens up their global branding, generates them more revenue, and intends to regulate the pros. What it means to the guys/gals paying the $750 yearly membership, aside from entry to WTC events, truly remains to be seen. For one thing, if I were to pay the $750, it would make me consider WTC events I would not have thought about before if only to get my $'s worth. I postulate the 5% and 8% rules attached to the announcement will result in a rise of DNFs in the pro ranks for the people looking for a pay-day/pro slots. What I would really like to see is the proposal for the anti doping program that supposedly will be encompassed by the membership. Now, that alone would be worth the fee. Look- I'm not saying everyone's a doper, but the enforcement just isn't there at present. I also think the (hefty) fee will likely make events outside of the WTC more popular. Finally, if an athlete union is born of all this, it would be sweet....

As far as the reaction the announcement triggered, it went off on several tangents, most of them dealing with economics, branding, and validation of the sport and its athletes racing as pros. On the latter topic, yeah, everyone is entitled to their opinion, and here is mine (Note-I am referring to guys/gals recognized as elites by the governing body of their respective national federations): The sport is big enough for everyone, and if some of us choose to race in the first wave, that is our decision- It has nothing to do with whether one does sport full-time or tries to fit in to life on top of an 8-5 job/family/etc. It is about bringing it on race-day. For those that are still in development, looking to deliver that one breakthrough performance, and/or have a bad day(s) at the races, I believe most still race our hearts out, represent hard for our sponsors and take nothing away from the winners. Or dilute the sport in any way. For those who argue the sport needs to be elevated to the likes of FIFA futbol, Nascar racing or the NBA... I get what you are saying, and I'd love to see the sport grow too. My opinion is triathlon, specially at the long-distance, is not (and will never be) a fan-based sport. Despite NBC heart-warming, award-winning Kona broadcasts, the weekend warriors and public in general look at triathletes as freaks- They neither relate to them nor the sport. I am not trying to be a negative dude, but that is my perception of reality. Mis dos centavos.

peace out

Hello again, blog...

2009-11-16T08:44:00.000-08:00

As I've said before, a period of no blogs is a reflection of how busy our little life gets. This time around, it has been a busy and fun time with family and friends.

First, here are some pictures of the summer now gone. We had a really good one.

Donovan getting TV air time at the Vancouver Half Ironman.

His future sponsors should take note...

Enjoying the sun at the beach 5minutes from our house

Donovan's last minute preparations before his first race.

Halloween came and went and it was a blast. Neighbors forewarned us of the amounts of kids, and the night lived up to its expectations. We estimate we handed out candy to about 400 kiddies. Woah. We went trick-or-treating, and Donovan, dressed up as Darth Vader, had a really good time. Almost all the homes in our neighborhood really get into it, and the streets were full of adults and children, everyone having a good time. It was very cool.

Donovan and I have been going to this indoor pool some 15minutes away from our house. It's a pretty neat, shallow set of pools, specifically designed for water fun and swim instruction. The bottom and sides of the pools are soft, the water warm and shallow, and there are a few water elements, different toys, and whole lot of other kids to play with. It's been a lot of fun for the two of us, and a great activity for this crappy weather we've been having lately.

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and with it, Christmas. Donovan has been flipping pages of toy catalogs, making his imaginary wish list pages long. Theresa is equally excited, planning lights, decorations and all the cheer she enjoys spreading. It's not that I'm a grinch, but I don't get in to it as much as they do- they REALLY get into the spirit.

Sport-wise... my season officially ended after the win at Black Diamond. We looked into traveling to do Ironman AZ, but it was too costly. I wish I had raced more, but sometimes it is hard to line up all the details (time, $, etc). All in all, except for the windy day at Canada, it was a good (short) season.

Delayed BOO!, and early gobble-gobble-gobble to you.
Thanks for reading,

JC

Fast Times at the Portland Mary....

2009-10-08T10:50:00.000-07:00

I would like to give props to my homies, David Von Lehman and Pedro DeGuzman, for posting some solid times at the Portland marathon.

Dave went 3:01 ; Pedro went 2:54.

Well done you two! This calls for some beers!!!

Black Diamond Half IM - 1st Overall

2009-09-26T20:58:00.000-07:00

Really liked the 9AM start time a whole lot. Other half IM races should be like that, seriously! Theresa, Donovan and I got up just a little earlier than normal, ate some awesome hotcakes, stopped to get coffee, and got there with enough time to park, sign in, set up, etc.

I got my cow bell all ready! Go get 'em, papa...

It was a bit cold in the morning, and I knew it would take me a while to warm up after the swim. I planned ahead, and put arm warmers + full-finger gloves on the bike (just in case...) as well as toe warmers on my shoes, and left my tri top in transition.

The water temp was not too cold. Either that, or I'm getting used to swimming in colder temps. I forget how rough some of these swim starts can be. After getting away from all the flailing arms, I swam my pace and exited 3minutes down. If it hadn't been for the beating in the water, me thinks I would have come out with the lead guys. Another good swim time for me in my (awesome) Helix.

It was a wise decision on my part to play dress up while riding the bike- The dry tri top, arm warmers, gloves kept me at the right temperature. I was feeling good and rode hard, and caught the lead moto at 23-25mi. I put my head down, hydrated/ate, did my best to keep on riding strong, and got to T2 with about a 2min lead. My power and HR numbers say I pretty much even-split the ride, with a time of 1:09 to 1:10.

Lost a gel bottle with coke running out of T2, so I ran on just water and a little bit of EFS liquid shot. I waited & waited for a moto to come up & give me splits, but, well, no moto was gonna come at this event... So I just focused on running hard. At the end of the day, I got a 6min+ lead. Btw-the offroad sections and hills make this run a really tough 13.1mi route. I was pretty happy to see the finish area, and got to run the win in with Donovan.

Race you for it, papa!

Props to my buddies Michael Gordon and Kara Nielsen, who showed up on Sunday to take the Olympic-distance races.

Once again, I want to thank NUUN, Blue Seventy, Oomph!, and SportsQuest Direct for their continued support.

See? This is what the award looks like.... from the side....

Most of all, thanks to my beautiful family, Theresa and Donovan. Donovan endured the day with a cold. As the winner, I got a bouquet of dahlias- Theresa's wedding bouquet, 7 years and 1 week ago, was all dahlias. Go ahead, call me cheesy, but it was great to share that with her.

A win calls for one of these, my favorite beer & my favorite mexican tarro.....

Lake Chelan, Lake Chelan...

2009-09-22T11:49:00.001-07:00

Haven't written much lately b/c I've been crazy with work since we came back from an awesome few days of family vacation at Lake Chelan.

For those of you who have never been, boy, let me tell you, it is purty nice out there. In a lot of ways it reminds me of Penticton. The lake water is the clearest I've ever seen, and I thoroughly enjoyed swimming in it in my wetsuit every morning before the boats got going. Donovan was ready to go at the crack of dawn every day, and he would give me just enough time to get out the wetsuit, take a shower, eat b-fast and head out to the pool with him. He had a really good time, building sand castles, swimming in both the lake and pool, and playing putt-putt golf. All uncles and aunts were there to keep him entertained, which was great. It gave Theresa and I a rest from time to time. Below is one of the works of art built by Donovan, uncle Teddy and uncle Chris.
Training-wise, it's been ok lately- I swam a lot while on vacation, and found some really good rides. Haven't done a whole lot of running lately. I almost broke a toe, thanks to kicking a kitchen chair about a week ago, and I also have some issues with my left hip flexor, giving me trouble at the knee. There's a local Half IM I was planning on doing this coming weekend, and I still have not decided either way. We'll see.....

The end of the summer is quickly approaching. I'm getting in as many lake swims as I can, but the mornings are getting crispier and the sun is coming out later and later each day.

Last, yesterday was our 7th wedding anniversary, and Theresa and I got to go out and celebrate a little bit. Our life is good.. :o)

Ironman Canada 2009- 23rd MPro, 34th Overall

2009-09-02T17:49:00.001-07:00

Another one for the books. This was the toughest race so far. The forecast called for hot temps. The wild card was the wind.

The swim went well for me, thanks to my awesome Helix suit. I swam in the main pack for a while, until a quick acceleration left me in a smaller pack. I am positive I would have gone sub 60mins had it not been for a swift kick from someone, putting too much water in my goggles to navigate and forcing me to stop. I swam the entire last leg of the triangle by myself, and had a quick T1, even with a slight race belt malfunction.

The ride was good up to ~ 3hrs or so, holding an average 228watts to that point. This was a tad higher than my target, which may have overcooked me a bit early on, but at time it felt right. I found it crazy windy from the rollers to twin lakes, making that part of the ride very tough. I got to special needs at 3:20, which should have given me a 5hr split, but the ride into the wind up to that point had put a good-size dent on me.

At the end of the ride, I put out my target watts (Ave 210, NP 218), fed myself according to plan with a mixture of CarboPro and EFS, and stayed hydrated thanks to NUUN in my bottles, but was quite tired thanks to the wind.

Off the bike, my plan was to run an ez 10k, then hammer like the race was only 30k long, and hang on for dear life. Well... I did run an ez 44min 10k, but the plan (literally) blew out the window after that.

Let me describe the carnage in the pro ranks that I remember- I saw Dallas Cain hobble off the run course with cramps; I watched as Ryan DeCook took off his shoes and jumped in the lake to cool off; I told a very-slow-walking Andriy Yastrebov to hang in; I offered words of encouragement to Steve Kilshaw, who was just barely shuffling up a hill- I don't think he even heard me;

I have no idea at what point I passed my fellow countryman Sergio Quezada or fellow Seattle-ite Adam Jensen; Scott Curry vomitted his nutrition; Volunteers were running to keep Michael Simpson vertical at the turn around. Amongst all this, I too was struggling with my run. I resorted to counting just about every one of my steps up to 10, and repeated this process from mile 13 on, just to try to stay focused and keep my legs ticking thru pain and exhaustion. I left it all out there, and it got me 34th overall, 23rd amongst the guys. I'm a-ok with that. Wind sometimes beats the crap out of the best laid race plans.

I would like to mention my buddy Jeff's excellent 12:30:00 performance. That is EXACTLY his goal time for the race, so he had perfect execution! Very well done, Jeff. And thank you for your words of encouragement on the run.

Congrats to Jordan on his win. And Tereza as well. They both battled the tough race conditions better than anyone, and were both in a different zip code on the run.

I want to thank NUUN, Oomph!, Blue Seventy, and SportsQuest Direct for their continued support. A great big THANK YOU to Mike, Su and Anja for their hospitality, which made our trip awesome. Thanks to Julie for helping Theresa keep Donovan entertained on race day while watching Jeff race. Thanks for all the emails, vmails, calls, texts that I received on the lead-up days and everyone who followed it online. (We really missed you, Liz!)

I want to thank my beautiful family, Theresa and Donovan. You guys make possible, and are with me, every single step of the way.

Thanks for reading.

JC

IMC minus 2 days

2009-08-28T18:19:00.000-07:00

After getting registration, and working out done, it was time to enjoy the day.
Here we are checking out the water in Skaha Lake. The park were we were is a 2-minute walk from Mike & Su's house. How awesome is that?

Race? What race?

Is time for some chillin', that's what we are here for. C'mon, papa.......

We had a pic-nic and played at the beach, and the climb-on structure they have at the park by the Skaha Lake. We saw a couple little snakes, and we petted one for a few moments.
The swim this morning was awesome- water is super nice. The bike ride a little later this morning was even better. Mike's expert fine-tuning left the bike rockin', and this mexican's little legs are feeling snappy happy at a fast pace... If I can keep things rolling that way in 2 days, it will be a good one.

We finished our day at the park with some yoga... sorta...
Good nite. Thanks for reading.

IMC minus 3days

2009-08-28T15:32:00.000-07:00

We had a great drive up, which included the speediest border crossing in history- Wait time: zero!

A bathroom stop, lunch at Wendy's/Tim Hortons, and one gas stop later and we had made it to Peach City in 7hrs, which is really good! Donovan got to enjoy watching numerous DVDs on the way up. We even stopped by the bear, so I could have Theresa and Donovan try a peach-blueberry shake, one of the tastiest shakes I've ever had, and which I 'discovered' on my first time up here.

Look at all my fruits!!

We got all settled in and our gracious hosts came by a little later on in the evening. Mike's a bike mechanic and I asked for his expert skills to fine tune the drivetrain. Nothing like having a master mechanic look over your work to ensure you got everything right.

Pros have their own personal mechanics. What? You didn't know that?

BTW- Happy belated birthday, Mike!

While Mike rocked his skills on the bike, Donovan and Anja enjoyed one of the presents we brought her- a Stomp Rocket! If you have a little one (or even if you don't) and don't have one of these, man, I gotta tell you- you are missing out big time on serious, simple fun...

Anyhow, tomorrow is an open water swim, hotcakes (of course!), registration, a short bike ride and lots of chillaxing. We are good at that last part....

Until then... g'nite from Peach City

The monkey is out of the bottle

2009-08-24T12:46:00.000-07:00

The expression doesn't even make sense, but it sure made me laugh when I heard it.

Anyways, here we are, IMC minus 5days and feeling ready to get my race on! By the time the race rolls around, I will have swam about 25days in openwater. Let's see if the strategy pays off. Today was another excellent lake swim, with good amounts of chop, wind and rain. Plus an ez 35min run with a handful of 1min hard accelerations sprinkled in. I would say it's the last tune-up run for me, and I'm feelin good

We will start packing some stuff tonite, and getting the van ready to go. I have very few last minute details to tend to. Donovan is excited about the movies he gets to watch while we are on the road, and about being in Canada.

I can hardly wait. See what we got!

IMC minus 11days

2009-08-19T09:14:00.000-07:00

All is good in our corner of the world. We've been enjoying slightly cooler temperatures, though the last few days the mercury has been on the rise.

Theresa and I are getting pretty jazzed about the race, and about the mini-vacation that comes with it. We really like Penticton- We just wish it was a little closer. We are looking forward to spending a few days with our gracious and totally cool hosts. They have a little girl (Anja) who is one year older than Donovan, and they got along great the first year they met.

That is about it for right now. Tapering is coming along nicely. Oh, I got bib # 37. It's good motivation.

Also- wanted to report that 17-18 Open Water swims later, my Helix and yellow-tinted Hydras are absolutely awesome. My plan for this race build was to swim hard in the pool up until 4weeks out, then go become one with the neoprene 5-6days/week. So far, so good (and loving it).

Mexico 2 - USA 1 (World Cup Qualifier)

2009-08-12T17:29:00.000-07:00

Giving props to my homies for keeping the record at our Estadio Azteca 22-0.

El tri rifa!

He's going for distance, he's going for speed...

2009-08-10T09:00:00.000-07:00

25hrs. This past week I put in the biggest volume/intensity combo I've ever done. One gallon of IM-race-pace, 5 cups of half-IM pace and sprinkle intensity generously into the bowl, and the short-term end result is one very tired dude. If all goes as planned, the long-term result will be one very fit dude. The weekend was specially challenging, having to overcome the compounding fatigue from the other days, while trying my best to be dad and husband. Given my life situation (i.e. full-time worker bee), this is probably as much of the volume/intensity mix as I can handle.

After recovering a little from training on Saturday, Theresa, Donovan and I went to eat sushi and then walked over to Seattle Center to hear rockin' music at the KEXP Annual BBQ. While we waited for bands to come on-stage, we went over and rode the ferris wheel (In Mexico, we call them wheel of fortune), which Donovan enjoyed only for ~1minute, and then wanted to get off. Maybe he takes after me, and doesn't like rides. It wasn't too bad walking around after a big day of training, maybe I'm just getting used to it.

I want to say thank you to my beautiful and very understanding family, Theresa & Donovan, for putting up with the sporting demands of this past week.