Karen sent me this little message today. Hard to believe these little miracles turned 3 on Sunday.

In my world though that’s actually a good thing. I trained for an competed in 3 Ironman 70.3 events, in addition to some smaller events in the last 10 months. My fitness level was pretty high and for the first time in many years I was enjoying training again. My last race was August 7th in Boulder, but I kept training at a high volume – even taking off from work on my birthday and going for an easy 50 mile ride. The last weekend of September I went for a 10 mile run with my buddy Chris Blaylock. Something didn’t feel right though. I kept asking him to slow down. I just didn’t have my usual energy (although we eventually ran a pretty fast 10 mile time). The next day the bug hit me. I was going to get the rest I needed whether I liked it or not.

Enter the forced offseason: I coach endurance athletes on the importance of a solid offseason: just good old fashioned laziness for a few weeks to let your body and mind recuperate before the rigors of next season’s training and racing. It’s imporant to let your legs and lungs recover. I think it’s just as imporant for your mind. Sometimes its just not fun getting up at 4:45am to go swim in the middle of the winter or bundling up in 14 layers to go for a 3 hour ride in the sleet. Your mind has to rest from those demands. I didn’t do a good job of shutting myself down after my last races of 2011 and I paid for it. Your body will shut you down eventually and mine did.

The first week I was sick I didn’t think about triahtlon or training at all. I just laid in bed and watched baseball (an entire playoff triple header one day!). By week three I was reading training plans and articles, mapping out possible racing schedules for 2012, planning my restrengtheing regime, setting goals, etc. My mind was healing. Now, I’m dieing to train. I can’t wait to get back out there! I did my first workout in several weeks today during lunch – I made it through half of my lunch time yoga class. It’s a start. One more week off from swimming, biking, and running and hopefully I’ll be ready to go again physically. November holds lots of easy trail running and lifting. By December…it’s time for a 20 week half-ironman plan. First race? Tentatively Rev 3 Knoxville HalfIronman May 6.

Bonus! New pic of the kiddos:

Sunrise on race day

View from atop Flagstaff Mtn.

Our crew (Me, Karen Nikazy, Bill Hampton, Emily Tardy, Amanda Hampton – Daniel taking the picture) in front of the Village (the best breakfast in Boulder)

The South Boulder river - hidden deep within Walker’s Ranch at 8000ft.

Walkers Ranch trail head. This was a long day.

Yours truly trying to smile before the race with a sprained shoulder

Me and Daniel Tardy prerace

Descending Flagstaff the afternoon before Boulder 70.3. Crazy.

Flagstaff Mountain

GOOFY FACES ALERT!!!

Daniel Tardy, Bill Hampton, and I with our age group awards after Boulder Sunrise Tri in June. Check out my face!!! I promise I was happy.

Here we are after Boulder 70.3 looking pretty sunburnt. We’ve taken to calling Daniel “Photo Shop Daniel”, because he generally looks like he’s been photoshopped into pictures. Whats with that creepy grin?

This year I woke up early – 5:00am. I expected to be awake before dad for once, but when I walked into the living room there he was, fully dressed, drinking coffee, and watching TV already.

We got to the race site early. That allowed me to take the very first spot on the bike racks – right next to the bike in and bike out. Bill Hampton and I went for a short warm-up ride before walking down to the swim start. We were numbers 2 and 3, so we’d be starting at the very front end of the race.

A 20 year old kid hit the water #1, followed by Bill, and then me, and then a swarm of guys with good swim speed. We rounded the dock after the start with Bill still a few feet in front of me. Within 25 yards I came around Bill and set my sights on #1. As we got to the first left turn at the big yellow bouy I caught him, swam a few strokes in his wake, and then passed him. I swam alone for the next 200-250 yards in the very front. In the final stretch towards the ramp I was caught by a single swimmer. I noticed he was #10, so this guy was flying to have started that far back and still caught me.

Bill in front with me following in 2nd and 3rd position.coming around Bill and setting my sites on #1

I exited the water satisfied with my swim, quickly pulled my shoes on and started the one mile run to the bike transition. There were now two guys in front of me. I ran calmy up a long hill not wanting to blow up too early in the race. Once the course leveled off I caught them and ran just off their shoulders. One of the guys faded as we picked up the pace, so #1 and I ran into the transition area still the virtual leaders on the road.

Once on the bikes I followed him for the first mile, easing into my pace. We climbed an on-ramp onto Vietnam Veterans parkway. I’m usually strong going uphill so I seized the opportunity to pass him and take the lead spot on the road again. What an awesome feeling! I was the first person out there…just the lead motorcycle in front of me. I stayed in the lead until I was finally caught by the eventual overall winner at about 5.5 miles. He was going so fast that I didn’t even try to go with him. I stayed calm. I was riding fast at 22.5 mph, so he was flying. I saw Bill at the turnaround, so I rode hard up the long climb back up Vietnam Veterans.

We came into the transition area again in that same order. Sean Torr leading the race wearing #19 and then me.  I was still 2nd on the road – hoping I had distanced some of my old rivals a bit. The first mile of the run felt like 3 miles. I kept waiting to see Torr heading back, but it took forever. He eventually crested a hill in front of me heading the opposite direction. There was no hope of catching him. About a 1/4 mile after I made the turnaround I saw Bill again – running strong. Shortly after I saw my old friends Javier Rodriguez and Brian Waller both running smooth. I felt better headed back towards the finish line and eased into a 6:50 pace…not hurting, but not quite loafing either. With about a 1/4 mile to go I ran past Karen, my mom, and the kids.

I crossed the finish line 2nd, but ultimately was 13th overall and 3rd in my age group. Not bad out of 400 racers. It was a new PR time for me by 5 minutes at Old Hickory Lake. It wasn’t my best overall finish there (12th in 2008), but 13th against a stacked field was still great.

Read about my special day in 2008 here

2011 Race Results round up (so far):

Hell of the South bike race – 17th overall

Country Music Half Marathon – 1:39

Florida 70.3 – 5:33

Boulder Sunrise Triathlon – 6th overall / 1st Age Group

Old Hickory Lake Triathlon – 13th overall / 3rd Age Group

Boulder 70.3 – ? Still to come

Me – shortly after our arrival in Austin for the Longhorn 70.3. I came ready to party, or ride a bull, or…do a half ironman.

One things certain; I killed this bee. It’s a long story, but here’s the short of it: he was a buggin’ us, kept flyin around pesterin’ the women, I swatted him with my hat, he wasn’t happy, I cussed him, threw punches at him, and then smashed him. Tardy laughed – hard.

me and Bill before the swim start. Notice – we’re still smiling. Ah, so young and naive. Hours of pain still awaited us.

Swim start. See me? Trust me. I’m out there somewhere. Swimming.

me, Tardy, and Bill in front of Mellow Johnny’s that night after the Ironman Austin and 3 large pizzas.

Oct 22 was Kate and Max’s 2nd birthday. I thank God for my 3 miracle children everyday.

on a hayride with “Papaw”, Max and Kate

Me and Max hayridin’

Izzy was a pretty witch for Halloween.

Papaw and Izzy on the hayride. And no, we don’t let her wear makeup when it’s not Halloween

I was able to get tickets to see Jack in Atlanta. I have a great friends down there and several of our friends from Nashville were headed down as well. We left on Friday morning as soon as Izzy went to school. My mom and dad came down from Hendersonville to stay with the kids Friday and Friday night. I had scoped out a couple of climbs along the way to ride, so i brought my bike. We stopped near Chattanooga where I rode Elder Mountain Road and Raccoon Mountain. Each climb was 3 miles long at an average gradient of 8+%. I didn’t preview the climbs, so I was shocked at how little shade was available. I suffered big time in the noon heat, but loved every minute of it. Karen snapped this pic at the gas station where I changed clothes. I looked much worse afterwards:

After my hour long ride we drove into Atlanta and checked into the Georgian Terrace. We were thrilled with the luxury of the hotel. We needed a getaway bad, so we spared no expense. After freshening up we went to dinner with my buddy Moebes at the Vortex:

Karen had some sort of Hawaiin chicken sandwich and sweet potato fries…with Marshallow dipping sauce! So good. I had the “Hell” Burger. It comes with a disclaimer stating “this is not for wussies. there are no returns.” It arrived covered in Habenerno relish, pepperjack cheese, and a grilled jalapeno. The tattoed waitress simply said “good luck with that” when she put it on the table. I love my hot stuff, but to simply call this creation “hot” would be an understatement. Half way through the burger I could feel the insides of my lips blistering from the habenero relish. As an act of defiance I went ahead and finished it. I rank it #2 or #3 on my list of favorite burgers now.

After dinner we headed to the show, in a downpour. I had brought along ponchos for us to wear just in case, so we were prepared. We met up with our friends from Nashville and had a great time singing along with Jack under the stars. Most importantly, Karen had a great time. She needed the break from the kids. Someone shot this video of “Taylor” at the show:

Saturday morning Karen and I had breakfast in the fancy Georgian Terrace Hotel restaurant. I won’t tell you what I paid for a single Belgian waffle. It was worth it though. I took Karen to IKEA to look around after that. We left with all this stuff (table included):

We had no plans after that so we debated going to Dahlonega, GA, Nantahala, NC, or Chattanooga. We ended up deciding on Chattanooga. I drove downtown and found a suite at the Marriott Residence Inn right on the riverfront. We decided to eat at Taco Mac.  Sounds crazy, but their wings are the best! We walked around late into the evening in downtown Chattanooga – stopping by the river and Ben and Jerry’s. It was so nice to just have some quiet time for the two of us.

Sunday morning I rode my bike over to and up Lookout Mountain on Scenic Highway. The climb is nearly 4 miles at 7% grade, but the views along the way distract you from the pain. Here’s my view from the top that morning (above the clouds):

Karen picked me up at the top as the road was too wet to make a high speed descent down the twisty mountain road. After a nice breakfast we decided to drive up to Rock City, Point Park, and Ruby Falls. Here’s a pic I took from Point Park atop Lookout Mountain:

While at point park I learned some interesting stuff about the Battle of Chattanooga. Round numbers here, but 300-something confederate soldiers were killed, 2000-some wounded, and 4000-some “missing. Really? 4000 “missing” on Lookout Mountain. Where did they go? Interesting stuff.

It was a great weekend! We won’t wait 2 years to do it again!

1st day of 1st grade

First day with her best friend Ryan and an Allendale Alligator

2nd day looking like a little teenager

for more comprehensive Giro coverage visit my cycling blog The Polka Dot Jersey

It was a long cold winter, but now the signs of spring are here…including the pro peloton embarking upon their first grand tour of the season! While many familiar faces, like Lance and Levi, will instead race the Tour of California in June there are still intriguing names riding the Giro – including 4 former winners.

Last years champ Denis Menchov will sit out this year opting to focus on his July aspirations in France. Menchov’s top lieutenant Robert Gesink will also be absent. Seems Rabobank is banking on the Tour de France. The rest of last years Giro podium Di Luca and Pellizotti (ahem) will also sit out. High profile spanish riders Alejandro Valverde and Sammy Sanchez will also skip the Giro. Others key riders sitting out are Frank and Andy Schleck, Fabian Cancellara, Mark Cavendish, and of course the white elephant in the room Alberto Contador.

We will, however, be treated to seeing current world champion Cadel Evans ride the Giro for the first time since 2002. He’ll be rivaled by likes of Italians Damiano Cunego (former winner), Ivan Basso (former winner), and last years King of the Mountains Stefano Garzelli (former winner). Former TDF winner Carlos Sastre will also ride to win. Other interesting names are last years TDF surprise Bradley Wiggins riding for Team Sky and recent Liege and Giro del Trentino winner Alexander Vinokourov. Linus Gerdemann, Vincenzo Nibali,Christian VandeVelde and Marzio Bruseghin also bear watching. Former winner Gilberto Simoni also returns to the Lampre squad for one final run at the pink jersey before retirement.

The riders will climb such key mountain passes as the Mortirolo, the Gavia, Monte Zoncolan, and a time trial up the brutal Plan de Corones.

Here they are…my total guess work predictions (I reserve the right to change these of course  )

1. Cadel Evans – He’s the strongest rider in the race, and although I suspect he’s riding in Italy to prepare for July in France, Evans says he’s riding to do well. He wore the Maglia Rosa in the 2002 Giro before blowing up and losing the jersey and race. Time has shown that he’s better when he does 2 grand tours back to back so if he does well in Italy watch out in France. He’s showing more aggressiveness in his climbing of late and he’ll win the Giro in the Time Trials.

2. Carlos Sastre – Sastre wants to win the Giro. Its not simply a TDF tune up for him – in fact, he’s not even sure he’ll ride the TDF this year. He’s still strong enough to ride away in the mountains as we learned with 2 stage victories in last years Giro and as we learned in his TDF victory a couple of years ago, he can ride a strong enough Time Trial to hold on. He still feels the disprect he was given at last years TDF in the midst of the Armstrong-Contador fued. He won’t be able to lose Evans more than once in the mountains though.

3. Alexander Vinokourov – I’m going out on a limb here. I know he’s making a comeback from his doping suspension – I know most of us don’t want to see a doper do well, but he’s looking simply awesome lately. He won Liege. He won Giro del Trentino. Turns out the “clean” Vino is still among the best.

The rest:

4. Basso – won’t time trial well enough, with the exception of the Plan de Corones, to keep up. Turns out the “clean” Basso is also still very good.

5. Wiggins – training ride for the Tour de France

6. Garzelli – King of the Mountains again.

Big Sis “Flootsy-Dootsy” and Little Sis “Peedle-Piedle” in matching St. Pats outfits

Izzy, Max, and Kate getting into the drink bucket (coke, pepsi, and sierra mist in case you’re wondering!).

15. Beirut – March of the Zapotec

14. Dead Weather – Horehound

13. Built to Spill – There is No Enemy

12. The XX – XX

11. Manchester Orchestra – Mean Everything to Nothing

10. The Decemberists – The Hazards of Love

9. Dinosaur Jr. – Farm

8. Pearl Jam – Backspacer

7. Ben Harper and the Relentless 7 – White Lies for Dark Times

6. Mastodon – Crack the Skye

5. Neko Case – Middle Cyclone

4. The Swell Season – Strict Joy

3. Mew – No More Stories Are Told

2. Nirvana – Live at Reading Festival

1. Jack Johnson – En Concert

I ran into a older guy I hadn’t seen in years in the locker room. He’s uber-fit and super fast for any age – much less his own. He doesn’t race much anymore – maybe once a year. He’s wise now. He looked at me quizically and said “I haven’t seen you in a LONG time. You have a family now, right?” He’d seen it before. I told him that I have 3 kids now. He asked how everyone is doing, so I informed him of the last couple of years. He said “Wow, sounds like you’ve been through the ringer.” I agreed. I said “But everyone’s healthy now. So I’m here trying to get myself back together too.” I thought about that afterwards: “getting myself back together.” Alot of people would tell me to shut up – after all I still race near the front of my age group when I race (just 4 times in the last 2 years).  It feels different though. I’m racing on whats left of my ability now and not on training.

I’m training for the Country Music Marathon in April. It’s only December and I’ve already dealt with achilles tendonitis, a sore hip flexor, and on- going knee pain. Some have suggested that the stress of the last couple of years have done a number on me both mentally…and physically. I think they’re right. I feel much older than 35. I wonder if I can ever be who I was before (melodrama alert). Mentally I know the answer is “no.” I’ll never erase some of the images in my head. Physically? I’m really beginning to wonder.

I’m a prideful guy (unfortunately). It’s difficult for me to train “right” and accept my new place in the pecking order athletically. This year I have no choice though. Everything is slow. I’ve slowed my running pace down to a “back of the pack” pace until I’ve built a base. We’ll see if the speed is there when the time is right. I get tired swimming 1000 yards. I’ll ramp up the distance very slowly towards summer. Cycling….doesn’t exist. Eventually I’ll get back on the bike. I have my eye on a new indoor trainer that will give me better feedback (speed, power, distance, etc).

I’m swallowing my pride for awhile and becoming “that slow guy.” I keep reminding myself of what Scott Tinley said about ultra-runners (what I eventually want to become): “Ultra runners have 2 speeds: slow and asleep.” For now, I can get with that.

A year ago at this time Max and Kate were both in critical condition at Vanderbilt Childrens Hospital with RSV, Karen was home sick with Strep, and Izzy had a stomach virus. Needless to say the Christmas spirit was slow to catch hold at our house. This year is different though; Max and Kate both have a cold, but that’s actually a good thing – they’re strong enough to get colds and not need hospital stays. The rest of us are decorated and have the Christmas music cranked up. We’re blessed…very blessed to have come out of the eye of the storm (mostly) unscathed.

I’m personally looking forward to 2010. I have lots of ideas and goals – maybe I’ll share them later.

Training is a struggle right now. My injured achilles turned into an injured hip flexor, and now I’m having some trouble with my knees after mid-distance runs. Comes with the territory though. Big mileage means big risk – also means big rewards if you survive.

This morning I logged 4 more miles, slightly faster, but still slow. I felt nothing from the achilles! Happy days are here again! I went and bought a pair of Zensah compression sleeves to help me ward off new lower leg woes as my running picks back up. My plan wants 20 miles from me this week, but I’ll have to play it by ear. I’m wearing my compression sleeves as I type this. Sweet recovery! They feel great. I can’t wait to run in them on Thursday.

I’ve had running injuries before, IT Band Syndrome after the 2003 Country Music Marathon, plantar fasciatis a few times, and even my current ailment – Achilles tendonitis. I was younger back then though – still in my 20′s. Somehow being 35 seems to make the recovery process a bit tougher. I’ve never had to go cold turkey on the running. I am this time though. Achilles Tendonitis is nothing to mess around with. I definately don’t want to have achilles surgery because I wouldn’t give it rest when I needed to. So I’m resting it.

I put on a flotation belt and went for my first “water run” a couple of days ago. It was “fun.” They say it’s great for runners who are rehabing or need to log more “miles” without injury. I’m also trying to do some swimming and am riding the bike when my achilles feels okay. It’s getting better. In fact, I think I could probably run at this point, but with maturity has come patience.  11 days and counting; hoping to run by the weekend.

Chickasaw Trace down in Columbia is my favorite place to run trails. It’s an 8 mile loop that gains nearly 1700 feet of elevation. Most of the trail is densly forrested and runs along the Duck River. It’s pretty technical with lots of ups and downs, twists and turns, etc.

I ran 10 miles on the trail this past Saturday. Unfortunately, my achilles tendon started bothering me 3 or 4 miles into the trail. I think I started favoring that leg, because around mile 5 I twisted my ankle badly. It hit the muddy trail spewing expletives – no one around to hear them except for the many deer you see there. I thought “Oh no, a broken ankle 5 miles deep into this trail.” I had my phone, but knew it would be a real chore for anyone to come and get me. Eventually I stood, putting more and more weight on the foot, I began to  hop on one foot, eventually limped, tried to walk normally, and finally started a slow jog. I had to get off the trail somehow. Honestly, this is what I love about trail running – the adventure. This kind of thing won’t happen on my normal road training loop. And what’s the fun in that? I prefer the unknown at this point honestly after many years of running in circles seeing the same old stuff over and over.

The ankle is still a little sore – as is the achilles, so I took it easy the rest of the weekend. I got my 10 miles in though.

Here are some pictures I’ve taken of Chickasaw over the last few weeks:

cabin near the trailhead

the Duck River

the beginning of a pretty dangerous descent – on a muddy morning