Rachel and Lucas at Blood Sweat and Gears

Here is a nice little note from my friends Rachel and Lucas.

Rachel here. Thought you and Susan might enjoy the pics from this past weekend at Blood, Sweat and Gears century ride. Over 13,000 ft of climbing including an 18-20% grade for over a kilometer at mile 63(Snake mountain). God, it sucked but we finished in 7:20 together. Definitely a challenge. 150 riders didn't finish.

Mach Tenn Triathlon 6-6-09

Mach Tenn Triathlon Results for STtrainer athletes

David Stock 1:33:37
Mindy Craven 1:38:36
Kevin Clouse 1:44:17
Chase Ledbetter 1:48:33
Sean Jackson 1:51:09
Alex Tolbert 2:09:46





Photo: Dave Stock drew a tough age group. He got 7th 55-59, but would have won 50-54.


Photo: Mindy Craven, out of the wheelchair and back pounding pavement the way we know her.


Photo: Richard Radford sporting the team colors.

Also a big congrats to my friend Larking Montgomery, who was the women's overall winner. Look at this great picture and also note the SWEET Felt bike that she got from ACME Multisports THIS WEEK.


Photo: Pure determination. Photo courtesy of Mary Ann McCain.



Team ACME: Richard Tomkins, Larking Montgomery, and Rob Allison. Photo courtesy of Mary Ann McCain.

Carrie R. Blitzes Asheville by Bike

A couple months ago I wrote about the virtues of a blitz weekend. Read that article [link here.]


Photo: Asheville, NC

This past weekend my client Carrie R. drove to Asheville, NC to participate in the Fletcher Flyer Ride. She rode the metric century distance (64 miles) which had 3037 feet of climbing.







Photo: The pristine Blue Ridge Mountains, venue for the Fletcher Flyer.



Photo: Ready to ride.

Carrie is training for the Augusta Ironman 70.3 in Sept. She has overcome some injuries from past years and is in the midst of a great push in her training. She attributes the improvement to a great chiropractor and working with a coach.

Moreoever, this is the first time in a long while that Carrie has actually focused on getting faster. She has done two half iron races in the past, well over 6 hours. But this time her goal is sub six.


Photo: The hard dive home.

Of course, when you are done with the race the hard part is yet to come...you have to drive home. The more remote and exotic the event, the harder this part becomes. A small group of 2-3 people helps to rotate the drivers, but there is also a certain pleasure in doing a solo blitz.

Article on Blitz Weekend Race link here.

Muddy Buddy Nashville

This race was absolutely TFC! Honestly I can't believe how fun it was.

Participants entered in 2-person teams. The 6.5 mile course was divided into 5 segments. On each segment one team-mate ran while the other mountain biked. At the checkpoints there were obstacle courses such as balance beam, rock climbing wall, rope nets, and the final chaos:


VIDEO: Click here to see the mud bog.

Okay...and now for some post-race photos:


Photo: Susan and I immediately after crushing our wave. Next to us are John and Brian Jayne.

Coed 56-65 Overall
1 TOA-Gibbs Bib: 184 5 48:52
Susan Howell F 27 Nashville TN
Stephen Taylor M 34 Nashville TN
(5th overall)

Not to brag, but Susan and I were the second overall co-ed team. Not to mention only three mens teams beat us.


Photo: Fran McConnell and Fiance Susan.


Photo: Australians who flew from Chicago to Nashville for country music...and mud.


Photo: Team Magic. These ladies--along with Russ Arnold--won two different divisions.

Coed 76-85 Overall
1 Team Magic 2 Bib: 400 61 57:47
Les Whatley F 36 Birmingham AL
Russ Arnold M 49 Franklin TN

Female 86-95 Overall
1 Team Magic 1 Bib: 401 27 54:04
Faye Yates F 41 Nashville TN
Therese Bynum F 48 Birmingham AL




Photo: Fer real.



Photo: The final obstacle, a mud mound.


Photo: Team ACME being represented by Allen and Leslie.

Also props to our friend Richard and Bob, who won their division.

Male 76-85 Overall
1 Need More Beer Bib: 502 7 49:22
Richard Tomkins M 40 Gallatin TN
Bob Boer M 41 Gallatin TN

Milestones Towards Ironman Florida

I coached Bart Freeze on the Vanderbilt Triathlon Team during his senior year here. He impressed me by going from a completely de-trained state to completing a duathlon and olympic distance triathlon. Great guy; drank the triathlon kool-aid.


Photo: Bart Freeze 2 years ago at Monster Duathlon, his first race.

So I was suprised when he e-mailed me last December. "Hey I've signed up for Ironman Florida. Will you write me a training plan?" This was part of his self assessment:

In regards to swimming, when I get into a groove I can swim for a long time. However, I am slow. This makes it hard to swim with other people (masters classes for example) because it is difficult for me to do any of the workouts in the allotted time frame...

I am most concerned about the running. I am pretty heavy for long-distance running (about 198 right now). My legs generally get tired well before my heart/breath wear out...my legs have a hard time under the weight. Also, I am concerned about hurting my knees/feet from the pounding of long-distance runs.

Capital City Half Marathon, Columbus, OH
13.1 Miles 2:02:30



Photo: Bart looking svelte at the finish line, May 2.


I am getting in pretty awesome shape. Flirting with 180 pounds. Swimming at about 1:45 per 100M (which is waaaay faster than before). Starting to really get zenned-out when running.

I can tell you I remember how painfully slow Bart used to swim...1:45 is warp speed. The best part is that hegetting closer to ideal endurance weight and is doing 2 hour runs with no injuries! He is right on the right track for IM Florida, but there is a lot of work ahead. Next mission: Half Iron Distance Triathlon.

Swim-bike-run. Swim-bike-run. Swim-bike-run! Go Bart Freeze!!!

Beth Todd featured on Blonde Mom Blog

Beth Todd, a truly high-achieving back-of-pack age group athlete was the topic of her sister's blog, Blonde Mom; Just Another Manic Mom Day.

Read the piece here, entitled: Swim-Bike-Run-Grump.

JCC Triathlon May 25

Rob Tanner 1:00:02
Rob Warren 49:34
Kevin Clouse 49:28
Libby Pietrzak 1:16:47
Fran McConnell 53:51
Colleen Chafiatelli 1:34:55
Shari Payne 58:25
Terry Walker 1:05:47
Catherine Dewberry 50:21
Alex Tolbert 1:01:32
Lora Fox 57:01
Jim Garges
Mary Garges 57:20
Jason Haggard 45:14
Kathy Davis 1:11:43
Kathleen Moore 59:50
Marlena Waters 1:23:49
Craig Zimberg 55:52
Gray Stahlman 49:37
Kevin Herrington 47:55
Tim Lance 53:25
Beth Todd 1:16:01
Deborah Godfrey/Ashly Dewberry Team 1:34:34